꧁𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒌𝒚꧂

○nine○

●"You know you don't have to stay with me all day." It was the next day and Sìkve was laying down comfortably inside a small pod with Nîryni sitting at his side. She refused to leave even when he asked her to.

"I know." She nonchalantly played with her fingers but Sìkve knew there was something on her mind.

He reached over to hold her hand and gain her full attention. "What is it that you want to ask me?"

"How did you escape?" She couldn't imagine how he had done the impossible but by the amount of wounds he had, she figured it was a long and deadly fight.

Sìkve sighed and gestured for her to lean in closer as if he was telling her a secret. Nîryni being Nîryni leaned in with perked ears only to hear,"I kicked ass."

Nîryni groaned and resisted the urge to smack him. "Dad! Be for real for once please."

The wounded man chuckled from her annoyance even though it hurt to laugh. He had missed their banters greatly. But eventually his smile fell and his eyes hardened. He didn't want to tell her everything that had occurred during his time away.

"It wasn't a planned escape. Not in the way I expected. They allowed me to join them in hopes that I would teach them to bond with the ikran."

"I saw a opportunity and took it.'' That was the shortest version of what happened. In reality, Sìkve had learned to be a good actor. Over a period of time he had pretended that they had broken his resolve and that he would take the deal offered to him. Everytime Quaritch was around he would mask the hatred in his eyes and even act friendly towards the recom. That was the only reason he was allowed to leave that prison.

What they didn't expect was for him to call his own ikran the moment they lowered their guards.

Nîryni carefully looked at his wrists and by the looks of it, she could see something had been tightly bound to them. She then looked at his neck that was covered in a gel-like substance that helped with pain. Underneath the medicine was charred and bruised skin. Those were the main things that stood out to her. Guilt and regret filled her heart. Everytime he winced or scrunched his nose up in pain, it made her cringe and wish they could switch places.

"And Spider?" She was afraid the human boy had been hurt just as badly as her dad.

"I couldn't take him with me. He'll be okay, they treat him well." And that was the end of that conversation. Sìkve didn't want to speak more about it and Nîryni wouldn't ask out of respect. For now she would help him heal and stick by his side even if it killed her inside.

Sìkve hated the mournful expression on her face and decided to switch the topic to something lighter. "So what's up with you, Lo'ak and that girl?"

Nîryni's head went blank from being caught off guard and she stared at him in confusion.

"Think her name was Tsireya? She was worried about you two last night, which I'm still grounding you for, but she had a bad fight with her brother about it." He wouldn't admit it but gossiping with Nîryni was one of his favorite things to do.

"Wait really?" Nîryni tried to picture a pissed off Tsireya and just couldn't. The girl was always so sweet and soft.

Sìkve watched his daughter closely wondering if his hunch was right. "Mhm. Eventually got sent home by her parents."

"Oh."

"Really? That's all you're going to say?"

She gaped at him then rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to say? You can't just show up all beat up then ask me about my love life."

Bingo! Sìkve couldn't hide the growing smirk on his face, "So you do like her."

"I never said that-"

"And I never mentioned your love life, you just assumed." The father-daughter duo stared at each other. One grinning ear to ear and the other glaring.

Nîryni's glare melted the longer her dad smiled at her. She truly missed him and all his irritating teasing.

"I missed you dad."

Sìkve ignored the way his body screamed in agony and pulled her into a loose hug. "I missed you too sweetheart." He would go through everything all over again just to experience this moment.

♡

Nîryni walked across the sand looking for the specific group of people she knew would be together. She would have stayed with her dad all day if she could but it was time for him to be seen again by the healers and he needed to rest. So here she was, looking for her chaotic group of friends.

A few moments passed before she spotted them sitting in a circle. Tsireya and Tuk sat on top of a rock slightly higher than the sand where Rotxo and Kiri sat. Ao'nung and Neteyam were standing close by. And finally her boyfriend sat in front of Tsireya.

She picked up her pace and approached them with mixed emotions. She was still upset with Ao'nung but would try to get over it.

Of course Tuk saw her first and hopped up to greet her. "Ryn!" The two collided in a hug that Nîryni appreciated deeply. The child broke the hug to drag the older girl to the rest of the group.

Both Lo'ak and Tsireya visibly brightened up from her arrival. The latter getting up to pull Nîryni into another tight hug.

"I was worried." After being sent home, she didn't get the chance to see Lo'ak or Nîryni until today. The entire night she was anxious to make sure they were okay.

"Nothing to worry about princess." Nîryni hugged her back then let go just to plop down next to Lo'ak and comfortably nestle into his side.

"So what were you guys talking about?"

"Lo'ak was telling us about your adventures with a killer tulkun." Kiri spoke in her usual sarcastic tone while drawing random things in the sand. Occasionally she would bump Rotxo to show him what she had drawn.

"Huh?" Nîryni looked to Lo'ak with a tilted head but the boy shook his head and scowled at his sister.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Payakan saved us. Right, Ryn?"

She figured that was the name of their newest friend and nodded. "He was very sweet and took us back home because a certain someone left us."

All eyes turned to Ao'nung who raised his hands up in defense. "I already apologized." His only response was a quick hiss from Nîryni and a glare from his sister.

Neteyam stood up exuding playfulness, "My baby bro, the mighty warrior who faced the killer tulkun and lived to tell about it." Unfortunately that's what pushed Lo'ak over.

He hastily pulled back from Nîryni and stood up. "You guys aren't listening." He walked off clearly agitated.

"Lo'ak, I'm listening." Tuk tried to mend the situation but Lo'ak got farther and farther away.

Nîryni sighed and pulled her knees to her chest. For once she decided not to follow after him.●

◇A/N◇

{again im lazy af and didn't feel like writing Sìkve's escape but if anyone wants to see it ill write and add it in}