Through The Valley • Ao'nung

Chapter XXXXII

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The rules of Eywa applied for the people in the forests as well, as they weren't obliged to hunt their fauna or flora whenever they wanted, but maintaining their gardens, she was never assigned to do.

The bio-luminescent plants glowed the deeper the teenagers dove.

Teaching the girl the underwater language while explaining her what to do, At'anau watched the boy's hands work around their flowers.

Harvesting seaweed and cultivating coral. Protecting their reefs from harms. At'anau watched the men and women handle their home with care.

Ao'nung grabbed the girl's upper arm, getting her attention and pointed beneath the crevice of a boulder. The hand warm to her skin she looked at the boy who turned to her side and pointed.

The sun broke through the water, glowing on the rocks beneath, showing a perfect spot for the placement of the water filtering and nurturing coral.

Not too far from the spot was a sock of coral specimens, clustered together. At'anau understood they were going to rearrange the spot and redirect and promote the reproduction of the specimen.

Swimming after the boy he cleared the empty spot of all rocks. At'anau joining in clearing the sand pushed the loose rocks on the surface away until the boy signalled it being sufficient.

At'anau noted how much patience the boy showed her to have and grew to be less anxious by the minutes. They were still around his elders, which she reckoned would be the reason ofhis attentiveness, but she decided to profit from it instead of fretting.

Using their knives the boy showed her how to remove a piece of the spongy coral from their roots and handled them with care in his hand.

The piece of the coral specimen was large, but didn't seem to be as heavy as the boy lifted it with ease.

The girl held her blade, choosing to pick a size of the creature as big as the boy did and worked her way to the roots.

Feeling the rough handling by the girl's hands the porous material transformed as sharp as freshly cut glass, biting into the girl's skin making her release the piece in an instant.

Letting it drop through the water the boy, put his piece aside and came to the girl's aid.

Pulling her hands to her chest when he opened his to put hers in, she simply rubbed her palm against her skin. Letting the raw skin burn for a second, before it would fade away.

Ao'nung rolled his eyes at the demeanour of the girl and decided to let it go, leaving her to herself as she swam up to the surface for air.

Turning back to the work needing to be done he dug holes in the sand and placed his tall piece of the coral inside. Reaching for the girl's piece she dropped he handled it with care. Careful not to damage his own skin and held both pieces up.

A second pair of hands buried the roots of the plants with sand before rolling the heavy boulder against the sand covered surface.

Ao'nung looked at the back of the girl's head as she worked around having taken the initiative which he appreciated. Her hands were still covered in small cuts, but it didn't seem that she was in any pain.