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CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
SPIRIT TREE
talia and lo'ak eventually went back to the marui to rest for the night, needing it especially after seeing how exhausted the boy was after an emotional day. when they returned, they noticed everyone else had fallen asleep already.
then as talia went to lie in her own bed, lo'ak pulled her back to him with a tightened hold. she tilt her head in his direction with a quizzed expression. his eyes still held a certain sadness to them when he whispered, "don't leave me."
she nodded, knowing she'd be there for him to the ends of the world. lo'ak kept ahold of her hand as he walked them to his bed, laying down then tugging her with him. talia noticed his distanced look as he tried to relax, making her wrap her arms around him and hug him into her chest. lo'ak seemed to decompress under her touch, his eyes getting heavy instantly.
there laid lo'ak and talia, limbs and hearts tangled, as the the boy was lulled into a deep sleep. his soft snores let the girl know he was out, so she took the chance to slip out from under him. after carefully maneuvering herself from lo'ak, she went back outside.
unable to sleep herself, talia wandered out to the beach. she walked across the sand and let the night air try to help with clearing her mind. then as she neared where the edge of the beach meets the grass, she spotted a lone person.
upon closer observation, she saw it was aonung. he hadn't noticed her yet, leaving her to wonder if she should turn back around and avoid him. but it was too late.
aonung saw her out of the corner of his eye as he sat on on the grass, instantly standing when becoming aware of talia's presence. talia narrowed her eyes in his direction as she carefully made her way over, her movements obviously hesitant.
once she was close enough, aonung said, "hey."
talia couldn't clear the thoughts of lo'ak almost dying today once she saw him up close, his face reminding her of the unfair things he did. with her rage that hasn't seemed to settle after all the hours, talia quickly punched him across the face.
aonung stumbled back holding his eye where she made contact. he hissed out of pain, "what the fuck!"
"that was for leaving lo'ak out to die." she hissed back.
aonung rolled his eyes as he rubbed the discomfort away, "your mate is fine, clearly."
talia huffed out of frustration and turned to walk away, feeling better now that she got that out of her system. but aonung pulled her back, "why didn't you tell me you had a mate- sorry, two mates?"
