~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Sephora

After a moment, his own eyes went wide, and his ears flipped backwards. Neteyam knew this girl--one, from when she helped him after he'd fallen in the lab, and two, from when he was a little boy. His stomach rolled at the sight of her--it seemed so long ago since he'd spoken to her, and no matter how much her appearance had matured, he remembered everything about her. Fey'atsi. 

 Not to mention seeing Feya washed up the memory of his old infatuation towards her. Her face, still having that familiar childlike wonder, had instantly brought him to remember a babyish crush he'd nursed for a couple years. But that was a childhood crush, if it could even be called that. He was older now. 

He smirked a little, "Sehpora?" 

Almost instantly, her face lit up. "You remember. How are you? What are you doing out here?" 

"What are you doing out here? I can recall that you were not much of an explorer." 

She rolled her eyes, but her sarcasm was outweighed by the toothy smile across her pretty features. "I am an explorer. But I have responsibilities at home that often keep me from exploring. I don't get to come out here much." 

They were in one of the deepest parts of the forest, ways away from the Omaticaya Stronghold. Neteyam cocked his head, careful with his words. "Is that why you missed the shot?"

Her mouth fell open, but soon, a series of laughs came tumbling out of her. "No, that is not why, you skxawng!"

He held up his hands in a submissive gesture, his smirk growing bigger. He'd missed what it was like to make a witty remark to Feya--she would always just laugh and dismiss the accusation. Or she would make one back, depending on what she decided. She had always been an easy person to hang around. She wasn't tense or demeaning. 

He laughed. "Okay, okay. But you did scare away my prey."  

Her head tilted downwards but her eyes lifted, and she casted Neteyam a sly, somewhat flirtatious glance. "Well, I apologize for that." 

Suddenly, Neteyam found himself staring like an idiot at Fey'atsi's beautiful face. Her eyes, her nose, her ears, her lips. How each feature all lined up in the perfect arrangement. The way her hair was effortlessly elegant despite how it was entangled with a mess of feathers and braids. The thin, woven top that was draped along her shoulders. But mostly, it was her gaze that made him nervous--he didn't recall her looking at him like that when they were eight. 

He wanted to slap himself across the face. He'd not even been speaking to her more than five minutes, and she already had him stargazing at her. Maybe he wasn't as strong as he assumed he was.

Neteyam swallowed thickly and blinked away his accidental stare, "I, uh, wanted to thank you for helping me--when I was sick."  

"Of course. it was kind of funny, though." Feya twiddled with her hands, as if she was now anxious about something. Then she chuckled, tasting the word, "Sephora." 

"Maybe that's what I'll call you from now on," he joked, although he was slightly embarrassed this nickname existed. He didn't remember anything other than a blurry face helping him back to his room, each step broken into pieces of vague images. 

She shrugged, her expression carefree. "I don't mind." 

They stood in the forest alone, neither of them saying a word. The only sound to be heard was the orchestra of insects and creatures buzzing in the air. Neteyam rubbed the back of his head while Fe'ya fiddled with the feathers in her wavy hair, the evident awkwardness making both of them unsure of what to do. 

"Why don't we try hunting again?" Neteyam finally suggested, reaching inside himself and pulling out his confident social skills once again. 

Fey'atsi cocked her head. "Are you sure? That doesn't seem...safe for you."