𝓱𝓪𝓫𝓲𝓽𝓼
...

the sun blared high and bright in the cloudless sky. it reflected off the water, creating little white shimmers across its surface. everything was a complete opposite to night—bright, almost white sand, the bluest sky, dazzling water: it was lively.

everyone continued their duties as normal, everything seemed happier and more ecstatic that usual. almost like a spurt of energy wafted through the whole village.

but, neteyam sat slumped on the beach. his eyes barely open and his ears cloudy—the rest of his siblings laughed and splashed in the water, closer to shore.

he knew it was a terrible idea to check out the forest, but he'd only intended to stay a few moments. of course he lost track of time, and by the time he arrived back at the marui pod, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. he just felt lucky to get past his parents and into bed, even it was for a minute.

kiri, who had just poked her head out of the water, obviously saw her older brother's fatigue.

trekking out of the excited waves, she made her way of to the omatikaya, who had indeed fallen asleep—his head laid on his arms, which were propped up on top of his knees.

she sat down gracefully next to him, observing him for a moment whilst she thought of how to address his unusual behavior. neteyam and tired  were never said in the same sentence. even if he was, he never showed it. never. why? because it made him look weak. vulnerable.

kiri had begun to think he was catching something—he'd started to seem more clumsily, unaware, tired. maybe it was the stress? or maybe the constant exposure to sun? was he getting sun poisoning? whenever she had gotten the courage to confront him about it, he just denied and denied.

' ' hey. neteyam? ' '

she probed his fore arm with a sigh. neteyam only responded with a ' 'hm ' ', his head still tucked in his arms.

' ' you okay? ' '

a moment of silence hung in the air. not long after, the omatikaya lifted his head up—it felt unusually heavy for some reason—to face his concerned sister with drowsy eyes. he thought of a way to conceal his late night habits, any type of excuse would work at this point.

' ' i think so? ' '

he responded, almost moodily. everything was annoying to him right now, even the tiniest of thoughts in his head would give him a pounding head ache.

' ' you don't seem okay. ' '

for once, neteyam had wished he didn't have such a caring and observant sister. he thought about his next answer throughly, looking amusingly at lo'ak's playfulness with tuk.

how could he get her off his tail? she knew they weren't suppose leave at night. it was dangerous, or something. he heaved a sigh.

' ' i'm just a stressed out. plus, i'm not used to the whole sleeping situation. ' '

he forced a laugh, oh how much he hated lying to his sister. he was stressed out, but not with what his sister probably thought.

thankfully, kiri seemed to let it slide, although she didn't seem fully convinced.

' ' you should get some rest, you look like shit. ' '

they both let out a laugh, neteyam felt relieved.

' ' hey, you are shit. ' '

he added, standing up and playfully pushing kiri's head, to which she scoffed at.

' ' can't say your wrong. ' '

she let out a small sighed as he walked off. neteyam just shook his head and aired out a laugh to himself.

instead of heading straight to the marui pod, he let himself walk—despite his body wanting to collapse on a comfortable surface and sleep till the sun rose again.

the forest na'vi didn't have a particular reason as to why he'd chosen to go on a walk instead, but in his mind he probably had many.

he kept his senses sharp and his appearance sharper—after his sister had caught him sleeping, he didn't want to show his fatigue. what if people thought he was weak?

so, he kept his orange gaze pierced and his ears perked. his shoulders were high and his tail subtly twitched at the kink.

he let his slim, but surprisingly durable, legs take him on his journey through the lively village.

metkayinas moved about him: swerving past him carrying pots, baskets, weapons, nets, etc. some perched on stools and cooking beautiful meals of fish, clam, or some other weird sea creature he'd never heard of. others gathered their tools and ilu for a short hunting trip.

his ears perked and pinned, controlling the volume in which he heard—in case it had gotten to loud for his acute sense of hearing.

soon enough, however, he found himself walking a little further away from the village. he looked down and watched as the waves curled over the sand, sometimes bringing, or taking, different rocks and shells.

it was much quieter: the village noises lost behind various lush foliage and trees. neteyam preferred it that way, it was less harsh on his senses.

his ears drew a map of his surroundings, like always. they picked up on every sounds: waves, animals in the brush, and- wait..

his ears twitched again, signaling in on a particular sound—a voice.

his heart skipped a beat, it was ao'nung's. but, he quickly let a frown take over his surprising expression: there was another voice, a girls, it was the one from last night.

the omatikaya scoffed and was quick to pivot on his feet, he planned on just walking back to the village. although, he stopped himself—a bit of ease dropping wouldn't hurt, right?

he was only curious as to what the two were up too. ao'nung wasn't at all interested in her, maybe he'd taken her to a secluded place where he'd confessed that he'd hate her—therefore her crying mess wouldn't draw any attention.

he shook his scenarios out of his head and rolled his eyes, mostly at himself for his outlandish actions. he pivoted back with a heavy sigh and began making his way to those voices. hopefully this wouldn't end bad.

he settled silently behind some bushes—his dark -stripped skin blending in with the bending and speckles of shadows. neteyam could just peek out enough to see the two and not be too uncomfortable.

ao'nung looked pretty lax: his arms fell to his sides loosely and his shoulders weren't tense like they were last night when he saw her. was this an act? or was last night an act?

the forest na'vi felt his stomach churn with different feelings of indifference, by now he was fully awake and ready for what was to come next, although he was half dreading it.

the girl, on the other hand, looked obnoxiously ecstatic. her hair was all done up—a little differently from before. neteyam mentally scoffed: she must really be trying hard.

she was walking slowly along the shore, bending down to pick up a few shells to show ao'nung, who made small comments about them.

the omatikaya felt a lump in his throat, he was scared that if he even gulped or took a small inhale he'd be found.

his orange orbs narrowed suspiciously. now, he was examining both of the metkayina's body languages—one more than the other.

they exchanged a few words before the girl had suddenly appeared right in front of ao'nung. she looked nervous as to what she was going to say next.

' ' i almost forgot about this! ' '

she nervously laughed, taking out a small necklace—from what neteyam could see, it was pretty simple and it had a beautiful shell on it. the center piece was big enough to notice, but not big enough to be an eye sore: the perfect size.

' ' i, uh.. ' '

she looked down at the ground, as if finding words. the other just looked at her with an amused look at his face. what was he thinking?

' ' i thought you could have this. i spent a long time picking out the charms. ' '

he felt his pupils shrink with hatred—maybe it was jealousy? the omatikaya used all his strength to keep his tail was lashing too much.

' ' it is cute. i like it. ' '

ao'nung gratefully grasped the small piece of jewelry and held it up, he observed it with bright, inspecting eyes. now that neteyam's could see it: he realized it was a bracelet, not a necklace.

neteyam flattened his ears more, if that was even possible. a horrid idea had conjured up in his brain: what if she was courting him?

it's a stupid idea really. in his years of living, he'd never heard of it, not even from tales. the fact of someone claiming you for their own made him curl with disgust.

blinking back to reality, he noticed the bracelet was now slid comfortably on ao'nung forearm. the girl now looking at him like she was going to say something.

clearly the other noticed—he always does. ao'nung flickered his ears up with interest.

' ' what? ' '

he voiced, causing her to look down at the sand below her feet.

a few moments past. say it already, don't keep him waiting.

' ' when are we going to tell your father? ' '

neteyam jolted up, not to much though. what were they hiding? his head swirled and his stomach churned with different ideas and scenarios.

' ' about us? ' '

the forest na'vi felt over whelmed with all kinds of emotions. his chest tightened and this breath was shallow. was this heartbreak? it felt like death.

everything felt like it was in slow motion, or maybe time itself stopped—only for moment. just enough for neteyam to make up his mind.

ao'nung went to open his mouth, but the omatikaya didn't stay to watch what he said. quickly, and probably no so quietly, he turned away and pressed through the foliage. he tried to get as far away as possible.

he resorted to a short cut through the trees he'd just made up in that moment—if it took longer to make his way back to the bustling woven paths of the town, he most certainly wouldn't be mad.

neteyam just needed to clear his head, to think of a plan, and maybe some further quotes for future conversations.

he couldn't rack his brain around what just happened: it felt like two seconds ago the metkayina was hating on the girl, now he has another secret relationship?

he stopped dead in his tracks, taking in a few deep breaths. the omatikaya tried to calm his nerves and keep his eyes from watering over. he felt childish and his body trembled with emotions.

he needed to make up his mind: what would he do? how was he going to move forward? he couldn't just talk with ao'nung and be all buddy buddy with him like nothing happened. he felt the urge to think of a plan.

and he did.

neteyam wouldn't sneak out in the depths of the night to visit his paramour. and somehow, ao'nung sensed that, even before dusk emerged.
                                                ...

1848 words! <3
sorry if there's any typos!xoxo