Counting Stars - Aonung x Neteyam

Part 1

- It's not by age. Eywa tells us. There is something about us that changes. Your sister told me you had a similar ritual. - I frowned for a second without understanding and then it dawned on me.

- It's not the same. - I said quickly looking away. - It's not a ritual, it's a ceremony of choice. When the woman we want to mate with reaches childbearing age, we do the ceremony of choice. - I finished in a low voice, feeling that I was talking about something I shouldn't be talking about.

- Have you already done it? - Neteyam asked after a while. I looked at him quizzically.

- Of course, I haven't. I'm not ready to be a father, I haven't even finished my preparation to be my father's successor. - I shook my head.

- I'm sure your mother already has a list of possible candidates. - he said smiling. I couldn't help smiling back as I looked down at my hands.

He was right, my mother had told me about all the women who might be a good choice. She had never insisted, as she had known my father naturally, but she always reminded me to make a good choice for the future of the tribe.

- You will do well. - Neteyam said, putting a hand on my shoulder. - You will be a good leader; you have all the qualities you need and a family that will support you. You will do well. - His hand felt warmer than usual on my shoulder and I stayed longer than would be considered normal looking into his eyes.

It took me a few seconds to realize that my sister was calling me. I shook my head quickly and turned around. She showed me the work she had done in Lo'ak and asked me with signs what I thought of it. I answered with a roll of my eyes.

They didn't speak again for a while and soon the sun began to set. Natyam's father appeared a little later, also painted differently along with his wife who was wearing new jewelry. The forest boy looked at his parents, relaxed and smiling for the first time in almost a year and I couldn't help but feel sad.

Thinking about the life they must have had if the demons from heaven had never come. Her mother would tell him that he is wrong and that Eywa maintains a balance. For they brought her father to her and in turn brought them to this beach. Where surely Lo'ak had met his future wife. Everything was happening for a reason; she would tell him. But he wasn't ready to understand that.

He just wanted to live in peace, without ever having to feel a bullet go through his body. He prepared to get up, but a feeling of dizziness and heaviness settled in his head. He sat still while the boy next to him kept looking at his hands and moving his feet. He stared at him longer, feeling something, he had never felt before. But without the mental energy to try to figure out what exactly it was.

It was funny, because the other boy was also thinking about him. About how fate had brought such strange people into his tribe to be a part of their lives. On how if he had crossed a little to the right, they would have ended up in another tribe where perhaps Lo'ak would not have met any women and it would be Neteyam who was ready to marry.

That idea as strange as it seemed, made Aonung feel as if heaven had given him a gift. The water boy did not stop to try to understand those feelings either. He only accepted that perhaps the Sully family needed them as much as his tribe needed the Sully.

I got up from where I had sat an hour ago to help Neteyam up. He was still moving slowly and sleeping more hours than he was awake. Without asking him, I placed a hand just under his left arm. I lifted him up without much effort and placed him with his feet firmly on the wooden board. He looked at me with his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows raised.

- It's not good for you to make too much effort. - I said quickly, feeling myself blushing. I didn't know why I felt uncomfortable or why I still wouldn't let go of his body and move away. I just stood there like an idiot looking at him.