Blood and Water | Neteyam

Bitter Words ∼ 27

Rotxo had joined them not long after they had settled down on the beach, carrying a basket filled with mussels he had been asked to pry open and clean for his mother.

Tcelia had welcomed the distraction but quickly found out that not even Rotxo could take her mind off Neteyam. She kept getting flashbacks to when Kiri had told her that he had been upset the entire day because Tcelia had avoided him. She hated being the reason that Neteyam felt bad. And besides, it wasn't even really Neteyam's fault that she felt the way she did, it wasn't fair to punish him, letting him think that he had done something wrong.

"Tcelia, Rotxo! Look!" Tuk yelled at them from further down the beach where she had gone to explore. She scrambled over to them, shoving her hand under Tcelia's nose eagerly. She was holding a small shell she had found, "Can you put this one in the bracelet too?" She asked excitedly.

Tcelia nodded, smiling as Tuk beamed, dropping the shell in Tcelia's lap and ran back down the beach. The shell clinked between the many other shells that Tuk had found in the brief period of time that they had been sitting on the beach, and that Tcelia hadn't had the heart to turn down braiding into the bracelet because of Tuk's enthusiasm. Tcelia sighed as she rearranged her already complicated mess of a bracelet, making space for yet another shell.

"Maybe you should just make her a top," Rotxo suggested as he split open another mussel, "Or you know, if your heart is set on making a bracelet, my spirit brother is in desperate need of new jewelry."

"Ha ha," Tcelia said dryly, "You saw how excited she was, how could I ever disappoint that face?"

"It is pretty difficult, I will give you that," Rotxo looked down towards Tuk, a smile playing on his lips.

"I will just have to make her a lot of different bracelets, so that she can switch." Tcelia sighed, moving the shells around in the sand once again, "As long as she does not bring any more shells it will be doable."

"You might have to tell her that," Rotxo said with an amused expression on his face as he nodded towards a spot further down the beach. Tcelia's head swiveled, spotting Tuk carrying an armful of shells, smiling from ear to ear as she happily bounced her way towards them.

After multiple hours of first making Tuk choose between her favorites of the shells, then actually creating the bracelets – Tuk managed to narrow the number of shells down so that Tcelia only had to make four bracelets total - Tcelia's fingers were throbbing.

Tuk had left when Tcelia had finished the first bracelet, running off to their pod to show Kiri. Tcelia was glad that Rotxo stayed with her as she worked on the rest of the bracelets, but she also knew that he was growing more and more suspicious as to why she was so adamant on staying on the beach to finish all the bracelets. He had multiple times suggested that they take a break and go find the others, but Tcelia had refused, making up stupid excuses, insisting on finishing all the bracelets for Tuk. 

She tied the last knot on the bracelet and let out a long breath. She knew that there could be no more avoiding Neteyam any longer. Besides, she had started to miss him – she had never gone longer than a day without speaking to him. Even when they had argued about 'Ukxo all those years ago, and Neteyam had given her the cold shoulder for the better part of a month, he had still made polite conversation with her when Jake and Neytiri had been around.

Rotxo, who had long ago finished cleaning the mussels, patted her on the shoulder, "Whatever it is you have been dreading," he said, "It is best just to get it over with."

Tcelia groaned then picked up one of the bracelets she had finished and tied it around Rotxo's bicep, "Do not tell Tuk," she smiled at him softly.

He grinned at her in thanks, but his eyes quickly narrowed in a mock attempt at looking serious, "Do not think that this gets you out of facing your problems." He said as he pointed an accusing finger at Tcelia's face.