Invisible String - Jake Sully

6 (Edited)

"What happened back there, Kiri?" Tawn asked, slowing her pace to walk beside Kiri.

Kiri sighed dejectedly, turning her head away from Tawn, "Aonung is just being an asshole."

Tawn chuckled, "tell me about it," eliciting a slight huff of air from Kiri, "sometimes I wanted to wrangle and smack him," Tawn thought about it, finding the idea so tempting.

"What happened to him anyways? Did Ronal drop him or something because Tsireya is an angel," Kiri asked.

Tawn shrugged her shoulders. She also didn't know what happened to him, "he's a bit rough on the edges, very prideful like any other future olo'eyktan, but once he tolerates you and your family," Tawn paused, trying to find the correct sentence, "he'll still be an ass but more tolerable. Behind all that facade, he is actually very sweet and caring," she smiled fondly at her nephew.

Kiri was listening, and she didn't dare to believe what Tawn said, "of course, you said that you're his aunt," Kiri huffed rolling her eyes at Tawn.

Tawn laughed, "you caught me there," she teased.

Kiri giggled at Tawn and pushed her away slightly.

Tawn looked slightly offended, but then a warm smile graced her face, "I'm serious. When he warms up to you, he'll stop with the taunting and the mean words," Tawn reassured the girl.

Both girls were enjoying their time together that before Kiri knew it, they stopped in front of a school of ilus being fed by Lei'la.

"What is this?" Kiri asked Tawn with a look of displeased on her face. She was tired, and feeding ilus wasn't on her list.

Tawn giggled at her face, "Aounung and Tsireya promised to feed the baby ilus with Lei and me, and since they bailed on me again, you are their replacement," Tawn teased.

Tawn grabbed her hand and dragged her towards Lei'la. Waving her hand to Lei'la, "Lei, we have a new member here!" she yelled excitedly.

Lei'la waved back at her, and when they were close enough, she offered them two baskets of chum.

"Where's Tsireya and Aonung?" she asked.

"Don't know where Tsireya is, but Aonung got into a fight," Tawn said, slowly approaching the baby ilu. She grabbed one of the bait and gently gave it to the chirping ilu.

Kiri mirrored her movement, giggling when the ilus clapped its fins.

"Is he okay?" Lei'la asked Tawn.

Tawn smiled slightly, gazing at the pretty metkayina while nodding her head, "he's fine. He's always fine."

Kiri looked at Lei'la, "you like him?" she asked, stunned.

Lei'la shook her head quickly, and her face turned a different colour. Lei'la tried to focus on feeding the ilus, ignoring the giggles behind her.

"What did you see in him?" Kiri asked, genuine curiosity lacing her words.

Tawn rolled her eyes at Kiri's candour and splashed water her way, eliciting a squeal from the girl.

Lei'la, on the other hand, didn't want to answer her question because she was also confused about what she saw in him. Her feelings were useless and one-sided since Aonung always saw her as Tsireya's friend.

"but seriously, Lei, what did you see in him?" Kiri pressed. Feeding her ilu and then turning to look at the girl's back.

"Kiri," Tawn warned, glaring at her.

They could see Lei'la's shoulders drop, "I don't know." Lei'la turned to both girls, her eyes cast downwards, "Under all that hardness he got, I sometimes see a little softness inside of him, hidden behind that harsh glare."