pathway., neteyam x reader

chapter twenty-four

You sat yourself up, wincing slightly at the pain that crossed over your waist. Your leg felt strangely numb, but your sense came back to you as you moved it back and forth slowly and gently.

You sat there for a moment, waking up had become harder to do.

You understood that you needed to rest, but you also couldn't really go back to sleep. And laying down all day would only make you feel lazy and unhelpful.

It was also harder to get up completely, it was this whole thing where you had to grab your crutch, and try not to bend too much at your waist as well as place too much pressure on one leg.

You swore to yourself that if you ever saw that guard in your life again you'd break all his limbs.

It was really exhausting just trying to fully get up on your own.
Regardless of this, you managed, and made your way out of the hut.

You didn't head too far into your village, you watched from far.

Lots of people were setting up decorations, hunters bringing in food while others were already cooking it. Everything was being set up accordingly.

You decided to keep moving, you could use the walk and you wanted to have a moment of nothing but silence. You also decided the perfect place for that was the rock you and Neteyam first spoke at.

This time, you couldn't go onto the rock, so you stood at its side. You took a deep breath, then exhaled.

"Y/N!" Neteyam yelled for you, making you turn your head to the direction of his voice. You were wondering if he had also tried to continue sleeping but simply couldn't. And if he also needed to relax himself.

You turned your body over, your crutch lifting and pinning back into the ground.
Your tail swayed around, ears perked up. Your smile large, with your dimples prominent.

"Good morning, Neteyam."

You moved closer as he approached. You nodded to him, as he showed off that same smile he and his mother shared.

"Y/N, let me help you."

You were confused, what did you need help with specifically?

"My dad told me we needed to replace these." He knelt in front of you, his head right around your waist.
You were a bit taken back, literally taking a step back as it was unexpected.

Neteyam held the roll of that long piece of cloth, as well as a paste your mother had mixed up for the two of you which would fight with any infections and held you heal properly.

He leaned in, pulling you closer with his hands on your hips. You looked down to him, inhaling slowly.
He looked up at you.

"Come on, trust me."

He began to slowly unwrap the old bandage around your hip, moving his hands behind you to grab onto it and then coming back around to repeat the process until the wrap was loose and came off.

The wound was still bleeding, it wasn't anything severe or intense but definitely would need to be treated constantly in order for it to stop.

His knees were planted into the sand, his braids fell to the sides of his face as he looked down to the small bowl with the paste in it. Dipping two fingers in and moving them up to your wound.

His eyes met yours again, "It will hurt a little." He warned you, placing one hand on your hip, and leaning closer to gently rub the paste around the injury.
He was so gentle that the pain was bearable. Your stomach was full of butterflies again, your face felt hot with your ears pinned down.

You were also feeling too vulnerable as you felt you could do it yourself. But there wasn't much to stop him now, and in a way you didn't want to stop him.

He took the new bandage, and began to wrap it around your waist again, making sure not to tighten it too much not too loose either. "Is this okay?" He pulled the wrap one more time around, you were comfortable with the tightness so you nodded your head yes to him.

He tied it off, hiding the end of it under one of the layers. His hands again on your hips, having the magnificent idea to place a small kiss right onto the wound.

Your eyes widened, tail swaying around quickly.
Your face and ears were so hot you thought they were going to melt off at any point. You took another step back, flicking at his head with your free hand, laughing.

He stood on his feet, holding the bowl in his hand. His laugh made you feel more flustered by twice the amount.

"Shut up. You can't laugh." You nudged his shoulder with your hand, he stumbled slightly and kept the same sharp smile with laughter especially his lips.

"You're welcome, Y/N."

., unedited