Low Tide | Neteyam

Chapter 3

"Ao'nung, quit being a baby and come with us," Kayra tapped her foot impatiently, "Or do you want me to get dad and tell him that you're refusing to help?"

Ao'nung's eyes narrowed, before returning to sharpening the spear in his hands, "You wouldn't."

Kayra looked over at Rotxo who shrugged. Tsireya had already gone to fetch the Sully kids and Kayra's part in their plan appeared to be harder than she'd thought it would be. After breakfast, Kayra and Tsireya had drawn straws to see who got to get the Sully children and who got to drag Ao'nung down to the beach. Kayra had unfortunately drawn the shortest straw. Luckily, Rotxo had walked past them just at that moment and Kayra had pulled him along to their Marui where she knew Ao'nung had gone to sulk.

Kayra blew out an annoyed breath, "Fine," she muttered, "Dad it is," then she turned on her heel, crouching down to crawl down from their pod and onto the walkway. But just as she had suspected, her foot had barely touched the rope before her brother called after her.

"Wait-" he grunted, "Just wait, alright?" Kayra sat down, twisting slightly so that she could look back at her brother and Rotxo, her feet dangling over the Marui's edge. Her brother continued, "I just don't see why the future Olo'eyktan should bother with trivial tasks like this."

"This isn't trivial, bro." Rotxo began, "It's the children of Toruk Makto, there is no higher honor than this." He made his way over to Kayra who looked up at him with a confused expression. No higher honor than teaching some kids how to swim? Rotxo looked at her with a look that said, 'just play along'.

Sure enough, Ao'nung has missed Kayra's confused look because he was busy staring down at his spear with a self-important look, "Yeah. No higher honor than this." He mumbled to himself, then he cleared his throat, "Fine," he dropped the spear by his side and got up, "I suppose I could spare a few hours of my time."

"Yeah, maybe someday someone will even sing songs about you teaching them." Kayra clapped her brother on the back when they had gotten down from their pod and was walking towards the meeting point.

Rotxo elbowed her in the side, shooting her a look that said 'don't overdo it'. But Ao'nung didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in her voice as his back straightened ever so slightly and a smirk appeared on his face, undoubtedly already imagining the chorus of the song.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Kayra whispered to Rotxo as they slipped behind Ao'nung, who was walking with confident strides.

Rotxo grinned innocently as they turned right, closing in on the Marui that the Sullies were occupying, "You won't believe what I've gotten him to do just by playing into his sense of self-worth."

"You're my hero."

"What are you guys talking about back there?" Ao'nung's voice was tainted with suspicion causing Rotxo and Kayra to squeak 'nothing' way too quickly for it to actually be nothing. Luckily, they were saved by Tsireya, who called to them from the edge of the walkway a bit further out, sweetly waving them over to her and the Sully kids.

Kayra smiled at them as they joined the others. The warm rays of the sun bathed the surroundings, casting a golden glow over the scene and played with the turquoise colors of the water, creating a stunning display of shimmering brilliance. The gentle breeze carried the scent of salt in the air, mingling with the sweet fragrance of nearby flowers and plants. The rhythmic sound of crashing waves provided a soothing backdrop to the vibrant scene as Tsireya and Ao'nung asked the Omatikaya kids questions to figure out how good they were at swimming.

Then the moment arrived for the actual swimming instructions. Based on the answers provided by the Sully children, it became clear that while they had experience with swimming in lakes and rivers in the forest, they had never been formally taught the proper techniques. With this in mind, Tsireya and Ao'nung took on the role of instructors, approaching the task with patience and treating it as if they were teaching young children. Or at least, Tsireya did. Ao'nung was speaking slowly, mainly directing his condescending words at Lo'ak. Rotxo stood to the side, smiling politely along.