Don't blame me - Neteyam

Chapter 7

She slowly looked up, her eyes scrunched in confusion. Was he talking to her? Surely not; they hadn't spoken to each other in over a week.
"Hmm," she shrugged off, putting her head back down, thoughts of her siblings invading her mind again slowly overtaking her.

"You wish to speak to them?" Neteyam asked lowly, giving her a pointed look.
Her droopy ears immediately pricked up. "What?" Her voice was high in surprise at his question. Never once had Neteyam put himself before her. Neteyam shuffled in his seat, reaching over to one of the bags and pulling out what looked like a black string.

"I have my comm for emergencies, and I know, like you, I'd like to speak to my family," he replied, giving her a small smile. Lei'la's eyes widened at his confession, and she gave him a tired smile, shuffling closer to him. Neteyam sighed internally, moving over so she could sit on the log. He undid the clasp on the comm. "May I?" Lei'la nodded, lifting her hair to the side, while Neteyam skillfully tied the comm around her neck. His breath fanned the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. They had never been this close unless they were fighting; it felt strange like he was meant to be there. Lei'la tried to control her breathing as his fingers worked meticulously behind her. After he tied the communication device, his hands slid down her arms until they reached his side once more.
A purple dust scattered across her face at the contact. Wait, no, she couldn't blush; she hated Neteyam.

"Um, just press this button to speak and release it to hear. Simple," she shrugged, moving back from giving Lei'la her own space. The girl felt colder as his body moved away from her, but she pushed away any feelings, focusing on her family. She slowly pressed the button, muttering a quiet hello. She waited a few seconds; the only thing she could hear was a low crackle until...

"Hello? Lei'la?"

Lei'la let out a small gasp, tears gathering in her eyes, at the sound of her baby brother. "Hey baby bro," she breathed, smiling brightly. "How is everything?"

Ka'ey let out a breathless laugh. "We're all okay here, Tsmuke; Dad has given me your responsibility till you return," he beamed. Lei'la could clearly hear the excitement in his voice.
"Really?" she teased lightly. 

"You handling them okay? He's not being too tough on you, is he?" worry lacing through her words

"No, no, not more than usual." Ka'ey shrugged, letting out a sigh. "It's weird without you here."

Lei'la took her finger off the comm, letting out a tearful sigh that she didn't want Ka'ey to hear, but Neteyam heard it loud and clear. 

She pushed the button and said, "Yeah, I know, but I'll be back in three weeks, and everything will go back to normal".

Neteyam looked down at her words, directing his gaze to the floor. Maybe he was stupid for thinking anything would happen on this hunt. It was stupid for him to suggest it to his father in the first place.

"Lei'la!" A high-pitched voice screamed down the comm, making the older girl wince. RaiRai was babbling a lot of nonsense that Lei'la could understand, but she added a few years and comments as the young girl talked her ear off until a certain comment caught Neteyam's attention.

"Is Ka'ey going to stay hunting chief when you are Tsahik?"

If Lei'la's eyes had widened any further, they would have fallen out of her head. She spluttered over her words, trying to calm her sister down. "Why would you say that?" She panicked, giving Neteyam a glance, who wasn't looking at her but he could clearly hear the conversation as he was smirking from ear to ear.

"Because Nali said you and Neteyam were in love and were going mate," she said happily, clearly not understanding the gravity of her words.

"Um, no, Tsawksyul, that's not going to happen," she muttered, sparing Neteyam another glance, who was already looking at her. Her eyes turned downward at his expression.
"Um, I'll talk to you soon, RaiRai," Lei'la mumbled, already hating to say goodbye. Once the line disconnected, a single tear ran down her cheek as she handed Neteyam the comm and earpiece back. "Thank you," she whispered, standing up and walking into the forest, leaving Neteyam to think about what RaiRai had said. Did people really think they were going to be mated?

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a/n

in some way i managed to complete all my a level exams like what! Ok so now im doing my teacher training but now i have no stress i can finally focus on this book !!!!

please dont forget to vote and comment , i love reading and responding to them :)

-S