To our little ones || Aonung x Neteyam

Chapter 30: Bird calls

(I was writting the main scene for this chapter last night and I had to stop because the fucking ground started shaking 

I guess the universe coudn't handle all this and had to send an earthquake my way. )

Neteyam scribbled on the paper in front of him. It was early in the morning and Ao'nung was still sound asleep on his bed. The first rays of sunlight hit his face making him move around in search of Neteyam, opening his eyes confused at the absence of his warmth.

"What are you doing?" Ao'nung mumbled looking across the room.

"Writing. " Neteyam muttered, too focused on writing down his trail of thought before it vanished.

"Teyam...Did you come to bed last night?" He waited as he stood up to approach him, getting no response. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Didn't have time." Neteyam smiled mischievously before the worried look Ao'nung gave him. "I'm not tired."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't rest. Part of the reason why I encouraged you to do this was because I knew it would provide comfort and distraction, but if your health is getting affected by it..."

"Is not." He shook his head, finally looking up at him.

"Promise me you won't do it again."

"I promise I'll try."

"Teyam..."

"I will! I will!" He hid his chuckles as he began to put the pages together.

The sunlight hit them directly since Ao'nung had moved Neteyam's desk next to the window after he had told him he felt confined inside the room.

"What time is it, anyway? Is still a little cold." He yawned feeling the chill of the morning draw goosebumps all over his body.

"I think...seven or eight, mother already left to check on Tuk."

"I guess she will stay there for the day, no?"

"Yes, Tuk gets bored when she's lonely and we don't want her being an inconvenience to anybody."

"She has so much energy, I don't know how Reya can keep up with her."

"That is because your sister has the patience of a saint, otherwise she wouldn't be able to put up with Lo'ak."

"Ugh, is so early, I don't what to talk about unpleasant things." Ao'nung laughed at Neteyam rolling his eyes.

"So, what did you write about the whole night? It must be good if you were so inspired." He spoke keeping one hand on the backrest of Neteyam's chair and the other on the edge of the desk.

"Just...about childhood." He shrugged.

"Can I read it?" Ao'nung asked a bit fearful of rejection. He knew Neteyam loved his family more than anything, but there were still some parts of his life he had trouble speaking about due to how sad it made him remember.

"Of course, I will go take a bath in the meantime." He shook his head before Ao'nung could offer his help. "It's a little boring, you have been warned."

"That I'll decide for myself." He waited for Neteyam to leave the room before he took one of the pages from the stack.

"The morning of his father's departure was hectic. Their mother was crying and her husband wore an apologetic smile like he didn't have a choice but to oblige with the duty of a man that never expected his decisions in life to cost him so great.

A father who once was a son; A man who once was a boy; a boy who became a soldier and believed the only family he would ever have was the men from his squadron, and even then he was bound to see them all die and himself perish among them.