90 • Reluctance

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Neteyam had decided to go for a walk to the lab. Liyanin had unintentionally fallen asleep, and no matter how many times he tried to wake her, she stayed put. Guess an intense bang sesh followed by a warm bath for a pregnant woman coming from a nearly 10-hour walk would drain her batteries, so he let her be.

Besides, he felt like he needed some time away from her right now. He felt guilt accompanied by mistrust whenever he looked at her, and he felt she didn't deserve that.

However, on his way to the lab, he ended up running into some familiar faces.

"Neteyam? It is true, you have returned!" a guy his age exclaimed.

"Tewti! The golden boy is back~" a girl said next.

"Haha, Ekuì, Fwäewä...!" he gave them both a tap on their shoulders, smiling brightly. "...you two are fighting now?" he noticed they had war paint on their faces.

"Yeah, our squad just got back from a semi-successful ambush." Ekuì said.

Neteyam's brow furrowed, looking between the two. "Semi-successful?"

"We had a lot injured," Fwäewä explained. "...a few losses."

Neteyam's smile fell, the topic of death always hitting him close to home.

"Butttt, the ambush itself didn't fall through, we managed to destroy two of their robot holds. They are going to spend a while recovering all of that, and during that time we have more chances to strike." Ekuì added.

"Wait, wait...the Omatikaya is on the offense now?" Neteyam asked, folding his arms in thought.

"After you guys left, Tarsem suggested that waiting on an attack wouldn't be the best idea. He wanted a way to let the Sky Demons know that the Sullys were no longer with us, so he decided to lead an attack on one of their airships. And since it was so successful, we lead more offensive maneuvers." The girl said.

"Ah..."

"But hey! The best young teen warrior is here to reclaim his place, haha!" she laughed, peeking at his biceps. "You've even trained for your spot, you got muscle now!" she poked his arm, causing him to look downwards. He flexed his fingers, looking down at his arm. He was surprised, actually. He hadn't really taken the time to give himself a good look, so much had been happening and nothing called for it. Plus, there aren't mirrors (just a few) in Awa'atlu.

"Ha, actually this is just a house call." He chuckled, a new form of confidence filling his brain as he lifted his chin a little, folding his arms across his chest. "...I'm gonna be a dad." He bragged smugly.

Both Ekuì and Fwäewä's mouths dropped open in utter shock.

"You WHAT, bro??!" the boy screamed.

"A father? That means you..." the girl started, putting one of her fingers through the 'o' she made with her other hand. Neteyam played it shyly, merely shrugging his shoulders.

"Wait, so you've mated? You've found your muntxate?" Ekuì asked eagerly.

"I have. And she is..." his voice trailed off, smiling as he bit his bottom lip just thinking of her. "...she is amazing."

"A reef Na'vi? That's who you picked?" Fwäewä scoffed. "You'd think the boy whose been trained to be warrior for the forest would find his mate from the forest."

"Haha," Neteyam laughed. His thoughts soon travelled somewhere more serious, his smile lessening a bit. "...but...what is she up to?"

"Who?" Ekuì asked dumbfoundedly, earning himself a smack from Fwäewä.

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⏰ Last updated: Jan 21 ⏰

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