Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 12: Found

"No, I have to go apologize to Ao'nung," Lo'ak said, removing her hands from her feet. "Why do you have to apologize to Ao'nung? He should be apologizing to us," She asked, bewildered.

"It doesn't matter. It's what my Dad wants," Lo'ak whispered.

"I'll come with," Ja'lia said, placing her herbs in her pouch. "No, I can go by myself. Neteyam needs someone to apply medicine to his wounds," Lo'ak insisted, and Ja'lia wanted to fight him on it, but he didn't even wait for her to respond before walking away.

"Lo'ak!" Ja'lia yelled, but it was no use because soon he was a distant figure.

"He's going to be pissed off for a while," A voice said, startling Ja'lia as she whipped her head around to see who it was. "Why does he have to apologize?" She questioned.

"Because it was Ao'nung who we beat up," Neteyam sighed.

Ja'lia nodded her head in thought. It did make sense that they would have to apologize because it was Ao'nung, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She thought that she and Ao'nung could be friends, but maybe their differences were too great, and it wouldn't be possible.

Ao'nung was a decent kid, so Ja'lia didn't understand why he was behaving the way he was. It could be his friends who were encouraging him. It could be his mom who didn't want them to get along. Ronal hadn't seemed too fond of them. Or, maybe Ao'nung was just an asshole, and that night they talked and got to know each other meant nothing to him.

However, to Ja'lia, it was a friendship she couldn't wait to blossom.

"We should get your wounds cleaned up," Ja'lia said as she noticed his bruised and cut-up knuckles, as well as his busted lip.

Ja'lia dragged Neteyam to a secluded area before she went to get some water so she could crush the leaves to apply the medicine to Neteyam's cuts. Although, she did have to admit, Lo'ak and Neteyam looked ten times better than the Metkayina boys.

The Metkayina boys looked as if they had never been in a fight before, and that certainly wasn't the case for Lo'ak or Neteyam.

Fighting was a part of the training back home. All the men and women in training had to do hand-to-hand combat under Jake's orders when he was the Olo'eyktan. Ja'lia remembered the first time she had to fight someone.

It was a boy, and he thought that he could easily overpower Ja'lia because he was taller than her and stronger. However, his hopes and dreams were quickly squashed when she kicked his ass in record time because he tired himself out too quickly.

As memories from Ja'lia's first fight flashed through her mind, she gently placed the paste on Neteyam's knuckles causing him to hiss in pain. "You know, you have zero pain tolerance." She teased, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration.

"I do have a pain tolerance," Neteyam defended.

She applied a bit more paste to the knuckles on his right hand and started to rub it in. Neteyam bit his lip to try and stop himself from showing any reaction because Ja'lia was right. He had zero pain tolerance. The boy could deal with any other type of pain. Mental pain. Emotional pain. But physical pain?

That's where he drew the line.

He had always been that way though, and it was probably never going to change.

"Give me your other hand," Ja'lia demanded, and Neteyam instantly took away his right hand and gave the girl his left.

Once Ja'lia had a hold of his left hand, she followed the same process and applied the medicine to his left hand. Neteyam was one of the only left-handed Na'vi she knew, and according to Jake, Neteyam inherited the trait from him as Neytiri was right-handed.