'.SOFT WAVES.'

'.Meeting new friends.'

Riawäni was eventually let out of her grounding thanks to her mother but now her father was keeping a close eye on her. Even when others try to convince him that he should let her have this 'friend' he understandably doesn't want his daughter to find love so soon.

Until one day when Riawäni comes back with a boy...

"Sempul! Come over here!" Riawäni shouted at her father. Riawäni was met with a happy face but it slowly contorted into a stern one. Seeing the boy holding hands with his precious daughter was the last straw for him.

Riawäni had finally convinced Sangìk that it would be ok for him to meet her parents since they would be playing together most days.

Vangek looked at the boy with disdain and put down whatever he was doing to separate the two. Riawäni looked a bit confused but still gave her father a smile.

"This is my friend! Sangìk!" The boy looked a little nervous now. Vangek was giving him a hard glare; it was almost like it was burning right through him. But he stood his ground nonetheless staring right back at the man.

This staring contest went on for a few minutes before Kxayre interrupted. "Well well well! Who is this? Is it the boy you were talking about the other day?" The two quickly turned to her while Riawäni ran over and jumped into her mothers arms.

"Yes! I wanted to introduce him to you guys!" Vangek felt like he was going to drop dead here now. He could not win against his muntxate. So he only huffed and motioned for the boy to follow him.

Kxayre was going to follow along as well but was stopped when Riawäni wandered off again. She figured it was nothing too serious and followed the little girl.

What they did not know was that Vangek was threatening Sangìk that if he ever hurt his daughter he would feed him to the akulas. Sangìk shivered at the prospect and nodded his head, "Yes sir."

Vangek was satisfied with the answer and went back to his wife and daughter who were now playing in the water. Riawäni didn't question the scared look on Sangìk and only shouted over at him. "Come play with us!"

Sangìk took one final look at Vangek before walking into the water towards the two girls. Kxayre was more than happy to welcome him into the family and asked him many questions.

"Hi! What's your name? How did you meet my daughter? How long have you been friends? What-" She was stopped by Riawäni when she had splashed water all over her. She gasped at this and went back to play with her daughter.

The Olo'ekytan and Tsahìk that had gone to check up on Sangìk saw this scene and they felt like the happiest people on pandora. It was good to see Sangìk finally finding peace.

———-

.later.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" The question was unexpected, Sangìk was about to depart to his own mauri when she asked. He hesitated for a second. It had been a long time since he had eaten with people.

"Hello? Still there?" Sangìk snapped back from his thoughts and in the heat of the moment agreed. "Great! Come inside we are preparing right now so it may take a few minutes."

Sangìk was welcomed with a bright and colorful home. It was spacious and had a warm vibe. It feels a lot different from his. Riawäni was watching her mother prepare the fish and her father getting the fire ready.

For once he felt welcomed. Sangìk sat down near the fire and watched as the family laughed together while working in harmony...

After they had all eaten Sangìk didn't want to leave but he knew he had to. The family had all said goodbye except for Riawäni who was tuckered out and fell asleep right after dinner.