Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 08: Fish Boy

Slowly, Ja'lia moved her hands and softly brushed her fingers down the ill's neck, pausing when she felt the animal grow tense under her touch. When Eymí would tense, Ja'lia would rub that specific area until she relaxed. She took her time with the animal, while Neteyam and Lo'ak had already tried to ride their ilus at least fifteen times.

Eventually, Ja'lia finally made it to the area where should would be mounting the animal and brought her leg up until she saw Eymí's pupils dilate, signaling that she was gonna move away if the girl didn't stop.

And just as she was about to fully climb onto the animal, some movement behind Ja'lia spooked the ilu, causing Ja'lia to fall face-first into the water because she wasn't expecting Eymí to move.

As she lifted her head out of the water, she heard hysteric laughter, and she lifted her head to see Ao'nung, "What the hell?" She gritted.

"That shit was so funny. You should have seen your face," Ao'nung said between his fits of giggles.

"Why did you scare her away?" Ja'lia asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Ao'nung's face grew serious when he saw she wasn't laughing with him, "Because you're here to train, not make friends," He said.

"Why can't I do both?" Ja'lia scoffed.

"Have you even been able to ride her once?" Ao'nung questioned with an eyebrow raised, and Ja'lia fell silent. "Exactly, Lo'ak and Neteyam can at least ride the ilu without falling off, you haven't even attempted yet, and it's almost lunchtime," He shrugged.

"Fine, call an ilu over here," Ja'lia mumbled, and Ao'nung obeyed her. Ao'nung called an ilu over, and Ja'lia immediately mounted the animal, "This is Leyra. She's the one little kids usually use to practice. She's very gentle, just make sure that you think calm and happy thoughts when you connect your queue," Ao'nung instructed.

Ja'lia did her best to calm her mind and think happy thoughts as she rubbed her legs against the animal's sides. Once her mind was calm and clear, she reached behind her to grab her queue.

"You've got this, Lia!" A voice yelled, and she turned to see Tuk cheering her on.

The girl gave her a confident smile and made the bond gently, feeling her pupils dilate as they connected. Leyra slightly stirred under her, and Ja'lia told her to calm down in her mind, and the animal instantly relaxed.

As soon as Ja'lia was ready, she directed the ilu to move slowly in the water as they went deeper and deeper until the girl's head was no longer above water. Everything was going smoothly as they glided through the water, and Ja'lia decided she wanted to go a little faster, so Leyra picked up her pace.

It was harder for Ja'lia to hold on, but once she got used to it, riding the ilu was a piece of cake.

When they both broke the surface, Ja'lia heard loud screaming and smiled when Lo'ak, Neteyam, and Tuk were cheering her on. Tsireya was also clapping for her, but Ao'nung rolled his eyes and left.

"How did you get it on your first try?" Lo'ak asked, running over to his best friend.

"Because I took my time entering the water instead of making it a race," She retorted, and Lo'ak gave her an offended look.

"Neteyam did the same thing I did!" He yelled, and Neteyam glanced at his brother, confused.

"What did I do?" Neteyam questioned with his eyebrows furrowed.

"You went directly underwater right after you connected your queue," Lo'ak said.

"So did you," Neteyam bluntly said.

Ja'lia ignored the two brothers as they got into a petty argument over who did what. She walked up to Tuk and Tsireya, "Do you guys want to go grab some lunch?" She asked, and both girls said yes, so they decided to head to the place where they were going to be having lunch.