[LOOK AT ME] Nᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ.S ˣ ᵐᵃˡᵉ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

[A little strange ]

"I want to show them today, brother!" Tsireya exclaimed excitedly walking along side you. Once again you and your siblings were trusted with the task of taking care of the Sully kids.

She practically bounced in place as she walked along the shore. Her excitement seemed to grow with every passing minute and just like that you had also grown accustomed to her bubbley energy by now. However, you have never seen her so enthusiastic about something so trivial.

Ao'nung had agreed not too long ago when Tsireya asked him. To be honest the boy didn't really care. He was all for bragging about his home. It was very common for him to boast from time to time. He almost never took anything seriously.

You wonder how each of you turned out to be so different. To the point where at one point it was practically impossible for either of you to get along with one another.

"Go ahead." You gave a simple answer not even looking at the girl. You didn't have to. You could feel her smile grow impossibly wider. You just knew if you looked,even for a second, you'd burn to death by its sheer power.

She didn't say much after. Not verbally anyway as she hopped her way across the shore to where you'd have to wait for the Sully's.

"So, I was thinking...-"

That is, whether they were there or not. You go for the latter. They never show up early. Whether it's because they wake up later or just don't make an effort you have no idea.

"And then...-"

Well, Kiri was clearly something. You had to keep an eye on her or else the next time you looked she'd be long gone in this vast ocean. That made her brothers, Tsireya and surprisingly Rotxo worry their blue skin off on more than one occasion. It was hilarious to watch sometimes. Those were the times when you weren't forced to look for the girl.

*

"Oh no..." Lo'ak came out of the water and started frantically turning his head, looking for any signs of his sister and when he found none, "Where's Kiri?"

You had no idea why your first reaction was to silently turn towards Neteyam. You could have sworn he said something on the lines of, "Not again." Your eyes never left the boy.

"Leave her be." You made it sound like the simplest conclusion you could make.
It was to you anyway.

Neteyam lifted his head at that point, making eye contact with you in the process. He gave you a concerned expression, probably for his M.I.A sister, squinting his eyes a little.

Damn his eyes.

You scowl at the thought.

*

"Brother, are you listening?"

You let your mind wander for a short while not registering your sister's calls.

You don't answer and turn to her. You let her know she has your attention, at least for now, like you often do.

Her ears dropped, "Have I upset you?" You didn't answer her, not even once, during her short ramble and when she finally looked up to see your reaction you looked irritated. Visibly so.
She wondered if she caught you at an inconvenient time this morning which made her feel worse. Could she have said something wrong? Or maybe you misheard her in some way?

You raise your arm and reach out your much larger hand to flick your index finger under her chin briefly. It was a playful gesture. You hoped she would catch on.

She lifted her head. By now you had stopped walking and faced each other.

"Don't think too much about it." In truth you didn't know what the girl had saying earlier. You assumed she thought your bitter expression was about something she had said.