Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 10: Joy Ride

"But, maybe we could try to empathize with him as well," She finished, and Lo'ak continued to watch her as she watched the stars.

For Ja'lia's age, she was wise beyond her years, and Lo'ak always appreciated her advice, but it didn't help the way he had been feeling for over a year.

"It just hurts so much. Why can't I be the perfect son like Neteyam?" He whispered, not realizing that he uttered those words out loud.

"Neteyam isn't perfect," Ja'lia said, shifting closer to Lo'ak to feel some warmth as the cold air brought goosebumps to her skin, "He likes to act like he is," Lo'ak said bitterly.

"Neteyam has just as much, if not more, pressure on him than you do. He was supposed to be the next Chief leader, Lo'ak," She said, and it didn't seem to sway Lo'ak's jealousy and bitterness towards his brother. "How many times has he taken the fall for you? Or watched you and your siblings when your parents went out on date night? How many times did he have to skip out on hanging out with us because he had to train?" Ja'lia fired off questions.

"I never asked him to do those things," Lo'ak grumbled, and Ja'lia scoffed in disbelief.

"What if Neteyam wasn't the oldest? What if you had been born first? Would you be able to handle all of his responsibilities?" She asked.

"If I didn't have any other choice, then I would have to handle all of the responsibilities of being the oldest," Lo'ak said, realizing the point Ja'lia was trying to make.

"Exactly. Neteyam doesn't have a choice. He feels like he has to be perfect to protect you, Kiri, and Tuk. Believe me when I say that Neteyam wishes that he could do everything you do," Ja'lia sighed.

Both Lo'ak and Ja'lia spent the next couple of minutes in complete silence as they looked up at the stars. The night sky soothed all of Ja'lia's worries and anxieties as she felt that her parents were watching over her when the stars shined through the night. Her love for the night sky had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she wished to see a shooting star so that she could make a wish.

"Why do you like star gazing?" Lo'ak whispered.

"I think the stars are pretty," She murmured, placing her head on his chest to stare up at the sky. Lo'ak hummed, and as they continued to see the twinkling lights, and Ja'lia listened to Lo'ak's heartbeat, she was lulled to sleep.

Soon, Lo'ak also drifted to sleep wondering if Ja'lia's answer was the entire truth.

~~~~

"Ja'lia!" Lo'ak said, carefully moving out from underneath her body so she didn't hit her head on the ground. "What?" She grumbled with her eyes still closed.

"We need to get back," He insisted, and Ja'lia slowly sat up, holding her hand out for Lo'ak to help her. Once she was on her feet, the two teens slowly walked back to the Mauri pod as they fell asleep in the forest last night while they were looking at the stars.

The walk back to the pod was slow as neither Lo'ak nor Ja'lia had been fully awake yet. Lo'ak had only woken up because the sunlight practically forced his eyes open. He continued to hold Ja'lia's hand as he didn't want her to fall behind him or stop someplace on the beach to go back to sleep.

After a couple more minutes, they were now walking on the pathway that led them to the Sully family pod. Once they arrived at the pod, they both could hear that everyone was up and talking loudly.

"Where's Lo'ak and Lia?" Tuk asked.

"They probably snuck out last night, Tuk," Kiri informed.

When Kiri said they probably snuck out, Lo'ak and Ja'lia glanced at each other before stepping into the pod. Everyone looked at the two teens, and Ja'lia and Lo'ak made their way over to everyone else.

"Where were you two?" Neytiri asked, and Lo'ak grew nervous as he saw his father staring up at him. "We went for a ride on our ikrans, and then we fell asleep stargazing," Ja'lia shrugged, and Neytiri seemed satisfied with her answer.

Ja'lia, however, was unsure of whether or not Jake was satisfied with her answer.

"That's okay, right, Dad?" Lo'ak asked nervously.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Jake said, and Ja'lia raised her eyebrows.

"Because I'm supposed to be grounded?" Lo'ak said.

"When we got here, I decided to give you a clean slate," Jake informed, and Lo'ak's jaw dropped.

"So, you're telling me I haven't been grounded this entire time?" Lo'ak questioned, raising his voice in disbelief.

"Nope," Jake said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lo'ak shrieked.

"You never asked," He said as a teasing smile formed on his face. Lo'ak blinked at his father, and Ja'lia tried to stifle her laughter as she went to sit beside Tuk.

Tuk had been playing with Kiri's hair as Kiri focused on weaving a basket. "Lia! Can I play with your hair?" Tuk asked.

"Sure," Ja'lia answered, and Tuk walked over to stand behind Ja'lia.

As Tuk played with Ja'lia's hair, Neytiri asked both Lo'ak and Ja'lia a question, "Did you guys go in the forest last night?" She asked.

"Yes," Ja'lia said bluntly.

"You both do know that you're not allowed to enter the forest?" Jake asked.

"Mhm," Ja'lia hummed, and Jake rolled his eyes at the teen girl, "So, you went against the direct orders of the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan?" He questioned.

"Wouldn't be the first time," She smiled cheekily, "And it certainly won't be the last," Kiri said with a snort.

"You two are unbelievable," Jake said, trying to keep a smile off his face.

"It's not like anything would have happened. That forest was no different than the one back home," Ja'lia informed.

Jake shook his head in amusement before looking at his children and Ja'lia again, "What are you guys going to do today? Since you have the day off?" He asked.

All of them thought for a second as they were unsure of what they wanted to do. Then an idea popped into Ja'lia's head, "What if we took Tsireya, Ao'nung, and Rotxo for a ride on our ikrans?" She said in excitement, and the Sully children immediately agreed with her.

"Yeah!" Tuk cheered.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Neytiri said.

"Please? We have to learn their ways. We could show them our ways," Ja'lia said, trying to persuade Jake and Neytiri. "Come on, it'll be fun," She pushed, and the two parents shared a look.

"Okay," Jake sighed, "We'll talk to Ronal and Tonowari to see if they like the idea," He agreed, and cheers were heard throughout the pod, "But that doesn't mean that they'll agree, and we have to respect their wishes," Jake said firmly, and they all nodded their heads in understanding.

Jake glanced at Neytiri as they both got up to go talk to Ronal and Tonowari, "Alright, let's go," Jake encouraged, and they all instantly shot up off the floor and followed after the two parents.

This is going to be so much fun! Ja'lia thought to herself.

Unedited. 06/25/23 (my birthday 🥳)

Word Count: 2,503

Hey everyone!

Hopefully you enjoyed - I feel kind of meh about this chapter. I also wrote this in the airport because my flight has been delayed like 5 or 6 times. 🙄

If there is anything you would like to see in upcoming chapters, please comment ideas! I would love to hear from all of you.

If anyone would like to make a cover for the book, please feel free to reach out! The one on the book is generic because I have no artistic skills.

Thank y'all so much for over 400 reads! I love y'all so much!

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Have an amazing day!