Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 29: Painful Realities

When Ja'lia saw Tuk slowly move over to Jake, her lips etched into a smirk as she knew it wouldn't take longer than a minute for Tuk to get what she wanted.

"Daddy, can we please do something?" Tuk pleaded, and Jake glanced over at Neytiri for help. Neytiri smiled at her youngest child and husband before speaking, "Baby, it's cold outside. There's not much we can do in here."

The mother's words brought a pout to Tuk's face before she nodded and went to sit beside Ja'lia. Ja'lia felt that Tuk was forced to be in such a small area when she should be allowed to play, but Neytiri was right. There wasn't much they could do in the pod.

Until an idea came into Ja'lia's mind.

Tuk loved to have her hair braided, and she constantly begged Ja'lia to braid it, but Ja'lia never had time because of her warrior training or her healer training. The rainy day in the Metkayina clan gave Ja'lia the perfect opportunity to fulfill Tuk's wish.

Slowly, Ja'lia pulled herself out of Lo'ak's grip, bringing a frown to the boy's face as he watched his best friend groggily rub her eyes. "I could braid your hair, Tuk," Ja'lia offered, and it was as if Ja'lia had offered to give Tuk her favorite snack with the way her face lit up.

"Really?!" She exclaimed, and the teen girl nodded.

The youngest Sully child squealed in excitement before pulling Ja'lia onto her feet so they could sit somewhere less crowded, causing Lo'ak to grimace at the lack of warmth on his body. "Tuk, where are you taking my girlfriend?" Lo'ak mumbled.

"Ja'lia said she would braid my hair!" Tuk cheered.

"But why did you have to pull her away?" He whined, causing Tuk to roll her eyes. "You're such a baby," Tuk muttered, and Lo'ak playfully glared at his younger sister before he moved to sit beside Ja'lia once more.

Neteyam smirked at how clingy his brother was while Kiri rolled her eyes and snorted.

As soon as Ja'lia was comfortable with the position she was sitting in, she started to undo the braids in Tuk's hair. She pulled out the beads and feathers Neytiri gifted to all her children so they always had her with them and handed them to Lo'ak. "Why do I have to hold them?" Lo'ak questioned.

"Because you couldn't go a couple of hours without being attached to my hip," Ja'lia joked, causing everyone in the pod to laugh. Lo'ak looked at her with feigned hurt as he held his hand over his heart, "Are you calling me clingy?" He asked.

"She's not calling you clingy. You are clingy," Kiri said, and everyone laughed except Ja'lia, who had tried to keep her amusement at bay. "Haha, you're so funny, Kiri," Lo'ak said with sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Ja'lia started braiding the back of Tuk's hair and then made her way toward the front. As she slowly made her way around the young girl's hair, she would grab the beads and feathers out of Lo'ak's hand. Neytiri watched the two girls with a smile on her face because she knew how much Tuk hated it when she braided her hair.

The mother was notorious for making their braids so tight that they wouldn't be able to lay down properly or touch their head without feeling a stinging sensation for a couple of days. Although, no matter how much her children whined or complained, she wouldn't loosen her grip when doing their hair because the braids needed to be tight.

If they weren't tight, then loose strands would flow in their faces, and it could prevent them from seeing something important, or they could get caught on something in the forest.

However, they weren't in the forest anymore, which meant they didn't need to be as tight as Neytiri did them. Not that Ja'lia wouldn't make sure Tuk's braids were tight, Neytiri just knew that Ja'lia wouldn't pull as hard as she did.