Safe Space ~ Lo'ak Sully

Lo'ak

Subtitled: Birthdays

(a chapter in Lo'ak POV)

It's been about three months since the events with the Sky People. At home, it's starting to feel a bit more normal than what it did two months ago- though there is definitely tension between Spider and my mom still. He fears her while she can't even stand to look at him. It's been hard for her to adjust to life without my brother. It's been hard for all of us. We've all found ways to cope though. Mom and Dad visit the Cove of Ancestors a lot. Kiri tries to go with them, but my parents don't let her, which pisses her off. She's still trying to find different ways to feel connected with her mom and our brother. Tuk, since she is still very young, I'd say it was easiest for her to feel normal and find ways to distract herself from the pain. Mom and Dad are scared the trauma will come back to haunt her later though, which they are probably right, and it sucks. Me on the other hand.. I have Tsaeyla!

Tsaeyla is mature for her age, wise beyond her years, and she finds it easy to express her feelings. That means she's super open and honest with me about the past events. I don't mind it though! It's brought us really close together. We've talked about things that I've never shared with anyone. She's my safe space and- if I can say this without sounding egotistical- I think I'm hers.

"Hey, bro!" Spider's voice calls for me, snapping me out of my thoughts as I walk along the net pathways of Awa'atlu. I turn to face him, and stop in my tracks, allowing him to catch up with me. Perfect timing, I think to myself.

"Hey!" I smile at Spider, looking down at him since we have an obvious height difference. Apparently Spider is tall for humans though. Back in the Forest, Norm would also mention how tall Spider had grown and complain that Spider's taller than him.

–Flashback–

"How tall is he?" I ask Norm while Spider, Kiri, Neteyam, and I all stand inside the lab at High Camp. Today is Spider's birthday, and because of tradition, he had Norm measure how tall he'd gotten. Just like Dad does with me and my siblings.

Norm looks at the measuring tape above Spider's head and reads it out loud for us all to hear. "5'9! Damn, Spider! You are growing way too fast." Norm chuckles, "Trying to catch up with these guys, I see."

"Nah, I'm trying to catch up with you, Norm!" Spider says, playfully hitting the older man's shoulder as he steps away from underneath the measuring tape.

"Well, you still have a bit of a way to go, little man."

"Not that much, just like..." Spider trails off, quickly doing the math in his head. "Like 4 more inches!"

Norm shrugs, "Not if you count my Avatar too."

"No! Why would I count that!" Spider shakes his head, though a smile still spreads across his lips. "I'm only gonna count human you."

"Either way, you're never gonna be taller than me, cuz!" I laugh, putting my hand on top of Spider's head and messing with his dreads.

"Cut it out!" Spider slaps my hand away.

"I don't see why height matters so much to you guys." Kiri rolls her eyes, "It's not that big a deal."

Spider crosses his arms and looks over at my sister. "Easy for you to say! You aren't constantly being towerd by someone else!"

"That is not true!" Kiri shakes her head. "My parents are taller than me." She adds in her defense, gaining a laugh from Neteyam and I.

"That literally doesn't count." Spider tells her, a serious look on his face before he can't help but laugh.