unity| lo'ak fic

eclipse

"today, an offer has been made to us to join what may be the final war against the sky people." the cheif continiues," this war, if we choose to join, may determine the fate of not only our warriors, but also the fate of our clan, our home, and ewya herself. for this reason, i feel it is best for you all to be aware of our situation." tur'itan turns and motions for lo'ak to stand by him.

"this man here has traveled from the reefs to inform us of the possibility to be rid of the sky people, permanently." lo'ak felt the attention shift to him as the space fills with growing mumbles. he turns to ikari who quickly shifts her attention back to the crowd. "if his claims are true, then we will finally fufill our hope of peace. we will no longer be forced to live in fear of the demons and their destruction." the air grew louder, so the chief increased his tone.

"but, if his words are lies, it means the sky people stay, and out fate will end." not even the birds spoke at his words. all was silent. but tur'itan continues.

"i ask our tsahik to join us for our collective debate." he says holding his and to an approaching woman. "i feel your input will be crucial for our decision." his voice slightly softened when he spoke to her, hand remaining interlocked.

"now, my people. i ask for you all to return to your homes to rest. we will inform you of our decision after eclipse has subsided." with that last message, the clan obeyed dispersing to their homes leaving the 5 alone at the tree.

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letting out a long exhale, the chief proceeds.

"let's begin with fe'ran. why don't you share what you think." tur'itan suggests.

"i feel we should fight. you claim his words come from the mouth of turok maktou himself, so we have no reason to not trust them." fe'ran states. ikarí grew visibly tense at his answer and proceeds with her own.

"we cannot blindly trust him because of a single claim. the situation is too hypothetical. it is all based on 'if's'. unless we have concrete evidence that his words are true, we should not involve ourselves for the safety of our clan." she was speaking out of term resulting a glare from both fe'ran and tur'itan .

"and what evidence would you want, ikari. a written document? all wars are based on hypothesis until you win." fe'ran rebuttals. his tone was arrogant which angered the girl.

"wars are also based on trust and we have no reason to trust this man. you want to blindly join a war because he claims he speaks the words of turok maktou? that is dangerous and irrational, and almost irresponsible. at the very least we need to form some kind of bond with him or his people if we are even going to consider his proposal." her voice was angry ans passionate, but in that moment she did not care. fe'ran was being irrational and she wanted her brother to see it.

"watch your tone, ikarí." her brother reminded. she was embarrassed at her mistake.

"all i am saying is that if we are going to fight, if we are going to risk the lives of our warriors, we should at least have a reason to trust the people who fight along side us. we must have some reason to trust that they have a way to drive them away and so far all we have is a small offer." she continues. her tone calmed but her embarrassment still lingers.

"so if we were givin a full written plan of attack you would agree to join?" fe'ran snarks.

"yes. i would consider his offer deeply if i was sure they had a plan. but even then i do know if it is best to agree unless we establish trust." he only scoffs at her answer causing tur'itan to glare once more.

the last person to speak was the tsahik who looked to te chief for permiton before proceeding. he gave her a short nob of approval

"i also believe establishing trust is important in the mist of a war, especially a war as dire as this one," her voice as smooth and calm as she spoke, "it will be best if we find a way to establish that trust with the other clan, or at the very least the man who requested our aid. we cannot go into this blind, but war is not planned nor can it ever be planned."

"thank you, tseotu. i agree completely." tur'itan spoke.

"so you both are just going to agree with this child? the child who has no experience with war or violence. you are really going to take her word over mine? if she doesn't trust the words of turok maktou, when what makes you think she is going to trust him, huh?" fe'ran words were angry, angrier than ikari's previous remark.

"i am not a child, fe'ran . my opinion in this clan as value." ikari spoke attempting to remain calm.

"i suggest you calm your words, fe'ran, because my sister is right. she is right about both her placement in the clan, and the fact that we need to bond with our allies before proceeding into war. your words have proven to me that you do not have the correct mindset to logically contribute to this discussion so i ask you to leave." the chief's words were controlled and slow to prevent his irritation for his friend to escape. the warrior gave one last look to the group before walking off. the area was now tense as ikarí's sorrow resurfaces in her chest. she keeps her head lowered as tseotu places her hand on her for comfort. embarrassment and dread. that is what all gathering bring her.

turning to lo'ak, the chief goes to speak. "i have made decision. as you heard, we must establish trust with both you and your people before proceeding in this war. with your agreement, you will stay among our people under the supervision of my sister until that bond is formed." he pulls ikarí to his side knowing his choice has probably upset her. she felt her teeth clench at his words and swallowed any remark she felt bubbling in her throat.

"that would be fine sir, thank you." lo'ak felt his body calm with his outcome.

"in return, i will send a warrior to live among your people to create the same bond. i hope that will be enough to create an alliance between our people. after this is done, i will make my final decision to join." the chief concludes.

all lo'ak could think to do was nod and thank the man. they both go to shake hands, finalizing the agreement.

"i will inform my people of this tomorrow. in the meantime, ikari will show you to where you will be staying temporally. i trust she will use her day tomorrow teaching you the ways of our clan." tur'itan looks to his sister for her answer but she just gives a stiff nod.

"good. goodnight karí, you too lo'ak." he said taking tseotu's hand leading her to their home.

as soon as they were out of view, ikari leads the new guest to his new location. she does not dare to look at him though his eyes were trained on her back. she walked swiftly, not waiting for him to catch up. the closer she got to his place, the higher her emotions bubbled. she was growing overwhelmed by them causing hot tears to prick her eyes. her pace increases. when they reach his home she turns to speak to him.

"these are the warriors homes, you will stay here until they are no longer vacant. then i will relocate you." her eyes dart anywhere but in his direction as she rushes through her speech, "in the morning i will show you our village and we will continue working on the dead animals." the two stand wordlessly for a moment before lo'ak responds

"alright, thank you." he suddenly felt awkward while staring down at her. he was honestly just releaved he wasn't sent home.

"ok. goodnight." she hurried away before he was able to respond.

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she was overwhelmed. the emotions she buried throughout the day began to resurface in the confinements of her home. she wanted to cry, to release them but she couldn't. they burned her throat as she choked back a growing sob. she attempted to mask them with her desire to sleep, but even when she laid down tears still managed to escape her eyes. she was filled with embarrassment once more. the last thing she needed was to cry but here she was. she closed her eyes to hold in her final tears only to drift asleep.