strong - neteyam x oc

sturmbeest

Kireyi

Though high in the air, the rumbling from the animals was loud, shaking the ground and trees around them. She'd only been thankful she hadn't needed to be on the ground with them unlike some of the Omatikaya. She followed close to Neteyam, her siblings all throughout the air.

"Go after one Kireyi! Trust yourself!" Neteyam moved to the side, creating leeway for the girl.

Her heart had been beating fast, everything seeming so chaotic, so loud. Her eyes flickered between Neteyam and the Sturmbeests, the boy gave her a solid nod, urging her to try. Air filled her lungs with the breath she took, and now she full heartedly trusted her Ikran, Esen, as she pulled her bow off her shoulder. Straightening her back, she lined up her arrow just as Neteyam taught her, her fingers squeezing the wood between her fingers and the string.

Ululations of victory and defeat surrounded the area around them, her mind nonstop racing through the various thoughts. She was nervous, she was excited, she was everything in the moment and couldn't figure out how to pinpoint the exact emotion.

Kireyi closed her eyes a few seconds, promising to herself the next time they opened she'd be read. And those few seconds felt like hours, the thumping of her heart ringing in her ears, "Come on Kireyi...." She whispered to herself- words coming out as soft mumbles.

They repeated, slipping past her mouth as some sort of pep talk until finally- she opened her eyes. Her breathing stopped as her eyes searched for a target, and the moment she the already firm tug on her string became harder. Pulling and pulling- stretching until it felt as if the arrow could no longer move. Yet her eyes didn't trail to her arrow, to the environment around her. Just the Sturmbeest running a few paces ahead of her and Esen. Her breath came back, and the arrow flew.

The Sturmbeest hit the ground fast, and Kireyi turned to Neteyam, the boy gave a wide grin, shouting in triumph. Kireyi laughed in return, raising her bow and shouting too. The two stood back, watching as other's either succeeded or failed at hunting the animals, both in air and on the ground. Kireyi couldn't believe she actually succeeded as she watched, in the flash of time she prepared her weapon, the Sturmbeest looked to be moving slower. Yet as she watched now, they hadn't been moving slowly at all.

It'd been different in a sense, not immediately praying to Eywa after a hunt, but her people did it too. It was never until they got back to their land that they'd do a prayer over every life taken for food, traditionally done by Tsahik. She could only guess that would happen once they got back to home tree.

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"Come, follow me," Kireyi giggled as Neteyam pulled her to follow, the two making their way away from the crowd with their food.

"Where are we going now?" She picked up her pace as the boy continued forward, moving the plants to clear her path. The two would "sneak off" often, always exploring the jungle with one another. It was definitely the reason she'd learn so much about the place, Neteyam always teaching her new things, showing her new places. This must've been another one of his little places, the area a hole in a tree. It was big enough to fit perhaps three or four people, the inside lit up with the moss and leaves beginning to grow around it. They hadn't been far from the celebration, the Omatikaya not even eyes length out of reach.

"Sit, get comfortable," Kireyi smiled as he took her food, allowing her to do what he said. He joined her, ducking under the hole to sit too.

"How'd you know about this?" Her eyes trailed the small enclosure, watching how the moss twinkled in vibrant colors, grass softly brushing against her skin.