Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 06: New Beginnings

"Easy," Jake said, "Just be cool,"

All three teens took in a long deep breath as they watched how the other two teens continued to inspect them. Ja'lia squirmed under their harsh gaze as the taller boy looked her up and down with a smirk.

The taller boy's gaze had been fixated on her before he was distracted by his friend's words, "Look," The shorter one said, "What is that?" He said as he pointed at Neteyam's tail, causing the older boy to smirk, "Is that supposed to be a tail?"

Laughter echoed all around as the people of the Metkayina clan found the short boy's words amusing. Ja'lia, however, did not, and she shot the boy a harsh glare before something in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

Ja'lia looked to her left to see a beautiful girl making her way out of the water, and it seemed that Ja'lia wasn't the only one who noticed her looks. Lo'ak looked at the Metkayina girl with his mouth slightly parted, and Ja'lia felt her jealousy start to bubble in the pit of her stomach.

Her attention was pulled away from the girl and Lo'ak's seemingly new crush when she heard those knuckleheads still making fun of Neteyam's tail, "It is so small - How are they supposed to swim?" The boy said, still pointing at Neteyam's tail.

"Do not, Rotxo - Ao'nung," The girl scolded, and Ja'lia felt her jealousy melt away as she shot the girl a grateful smile. Rotxo, the shorter one, looked down in shame as the taller one, Ao'nung, looked back at Ja'lia with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the girl who had put a stop to the two boys' relentless teasing, "Hey," Lo'ak greeted, and the Metkayina girl smiled shyly before giving Ja'lia a warm smile.

Neteyam gave Ja'lia a worried look as he knew about her feelings for Lo'ak, but the teen girl gave him a reassuring smile, telling him she was okay.

In all honesty, she was far from okay. Lo'ak had found a girl that he liked and the worried Ja'lia. She selfishly wanted to keep the boy all to herself, even if that meant he never mated with anyone.

The flapping of wings pulled Ja'lia away from her thoughts as Ja'lia looked up the see skimwings flying over her and the Sully family's heads. Once the animal's landed in the water, the man hopped into the water.

The man was wearing Olo'eyktan clothing, and Ja'lia watched as he pushed through his people to see what was going on. Then from the front side of the crowd, Ja'lia saw the way a woman walked through the crowd, and her aura demanded respect.

The Tsahik. Ja'lia thought to herself.

"Olo'eyktan," Both Jake and the Chief said.

"I see you, Tonowari," Jake said.

Jake then turned to look at the Tsahik, "I see you, Ronal. Tsahik of the Metkayina," Jake greeted, and Neytiri soon followed her husband's lead.

"I see you, Ronal," Neytiri said, causing the Tsahik to draw her attention away from Jake, over to the woman who spoke to her. Ronal, the Tsahik, eyed both of the cautiously as she went over to stand by her mate.

Tonowari extended his arm out to Jake and spoke, "Why do you come to us?" The Chief questioned.

Jake took a deep breath and looked back at his family, "We seek Ukturu,"

"Ukturu?" Ronal said, surprised. It seemed that she would be harder to persuade than Tonowari.

"A sanctuary for my family," Jake informed.

Ronal departed from her husband's side as she walked toward the Omatikaya people.

"We are reef people," Tonowari said as his wife continued to look over the group, "You are forest people. Your skills will mean nothing here,"