She didn't hear him approach. That bothered her more than the ache in her ribs. "So," So'lek said, stopping beside her and sitting. His tone was light, almost careless. "Is this where you go when you pretend you're not bleeding?" So'esya snorted, eyes still on the glowing forest below. "Is this where you go when you pretend you're not worried?" A beat. Then a quiet breath of a laugh. "Careful," he said. "You'll bruise my pride." She finally looked at him. Moonlight caught the scar on his temple, the one she never stared at. Never traced with her eyes. "You worry loudly," she said. "And you," he replied, stepping closer, voice lowering, "disappear like mist and expect no one to follow." Their shoulders brushed. Barely. It was nothing. It was everything. "So'lek," she murmured, softer now, "if you keep watching me like that, someone might think you care." "I do," he said too fast. Then, after a breath, he added, lighter, teasing, careful, "Someone has to make sure you don't get yourself killed without witnesses." She smiled at that. Small. Sharp. Dangerous. For a moment, neither of them moved. The forest hummed. Pandora waited. And neither of them said the thing already rooted between them, because once spoken, there would be no going back.

❝ not really sure how to feel about it something in the way you move, makes me feel like i can't live without you. ❞ 𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 two teenagers, who despised one another, came to realise they had a lot more in common than they thought. ❪ aonung ✘ fem oc ❫ ©- 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐠𝐟, 2023

‼️go read my other story too hos‼️ Vineya, Neteyam's shy twin, never wanted to leave the forest. Aonung, the Metkayina heir, never wanted her in his clan. But enemies turn into something dangerous when jealousy, forbidden desire, and unexpected feelings pull them together. He's trapped by duty. She's drowning in a world not her own. And the closer they get, the harder it becomes to breathe. A/N characters are aged up a few years

They took the Sarentu and therefore stole his peace. Now So'lek is hunting. There are no rules left to follow and no mercy left to give. He will pay any price, spill any blood, and will overcome any distance to find her. The hunt as begun, and this time, he doesn't play fair. -follows the events of from the ashes until it doesn't -spoilers!

The time of war had ended. Peace flourished as the remnants of the RDA fled the Western Frontier, only leaving behind scraps of metal as proof they'd ever been there. For a time, Pandora began to heal. She reclaimed what the sky-people had ruined, stitching the wounds of time closed with root and vine. Life moved forward. The Resistance turned its focus to the living world Ewya breathed. Alma settled into her human body again. Ri'nela learned what it meant to carry the weight of a tsahìk's voice. Teylan shaped metal and wires into something meant to protect, rather than destroy. Yet, Tamtey did not find peace. Sleep brought the memories of TAP that haunted her, driving her from her bed night after night. Only the soft wind beneath unfamiliar stars offered any peace. She was rarely alone for long. So'lek always found her there, sharing quiet hours until the dawn chased away the dark, trading dreams and the horrors that kept them awake. Still, the forest shook with unease. Ewya's song wavered, strained by something distant -- quickly approaching. Smoke stained the horizon. Thin and gray, whispering against the clouds. A single flake of ash drifted down, landing on top of Tamtey's bouncing knee. So'lek reached out and swiped it away, pinching it until it vanished. "Ash..." he murmured, gaze fixed on the rising plumes beyond the trees. "And fire," Tamtey replied, her voice unwavering. The forest fell silent around them. Even the animals did not cry out. A new enemy was coming.