~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Awa'atlu gathering.

"Of course," Neteyam fixated himself behind his female friend and slowly began untangling the knots in her long black hair. Once most of the tangles were brushed out, he began taking individual pieces and braiding them together. 

Kiri smirked a bit and tried not to stare, before flicking Lo'ak whenever he opened his mouth to make some remark. Even though they were trying to be respectful, not even Neteyam's parents could keep their eyes off the pair of friends. They watched for a couple seconds, before returning to their mature ways and ignoring it. 

Eventually, Lo'ak couldn't keep his mouth shut. "So, do you guys do that often?" 

Neteyam's tail flicked in agitation, but he kept his snarl at bay. "Shut up, Lo'ak."  

"No, seriously," Lo'ak continued, that annoying smile creeping onto his face. "How many times have you braided her hair?" 

"How many times have you kissed Tsireya? Three? Five?" Neteyam wasn't even halfway done with Fe'ya's braids, and he wasn't going to put up with his brother's antics. To his satisfaction, Lo'ak's cheeks turned a faded purple, and he scoffed, "I haven't kissed her, bro, shut up." 

Neteyam hummed in response. Spider was watching as a distant bystander and put his hand under his chin, trying to fight his bubbling laugh. Neytiri held up her three-fingered-hand, "All right, children, calm yourselves. Let us not make jokes of one another." 

Kiri rolled her eyes and picked up a round pottery bowl, before moving swiftly over to Feya and Neteyam, placing the bowl in her hands. The dish was filled with different slices of fruit and seeds--all thrown together to create a mixture of sweet and tangy flavors. "Here," Kiri stated, "You must be hungry. After you guys finish, we can go decorate for the gathering."

Fey'atsi thanked the fourteen-year-old and popped some fruit into her mouth--Neteyam thought maybe she wouldn't like it at first, considering she was used to the tastes of Omaticayan food, but her face lit up as she was chewing. "Thank you," she remarked, then she made some sort of hissing yelp sound. 

"Sorry!" Neteyam realized he'd accidently pinched the sensitive area of her neck where her kuru grew from. "Your hair is longer than Tuk's." 

Tuktirey bounded over to where Kiri, Feya, and Neteyam were sitting. "He pinches me sometimes, too. But then I get him back!" she reached out and pretended to claw Neteyam in the face, but never actually touched him. He moved his head to avoid her hand and finished the last couple braids, before patting Fe'ya's head. "There, all done." 

She shifted her body away from Neteyam and touched her hair, her ears perking up. "Thank you! I'm surprised it did not take longer--I haven't properly braided by hair in weeks." 

Neteyam had to admit, considering Feya's hair was much more layered and lengthier than Tuk-Tuk's, he did a good job. He'd left some parts of her hair loose, simply because that was how it originally was--partially braided but mostly left undone in wavy twists to blow freely in the wind. Her hair was too pretty to tie up in hundreds of braids, too. 

Tuk felt a piece of Feya's hair, practically beaming like the sun. "It's so beautiful--I bet you and Tsireya will be the prettiest ones at that party!" 

Feya laughed, charmed. "Your brother is quite the stylist. But I believe you'll be the prettiest of them all, Tuk." She poked the little girl's cheek and smiled, her pearly fangs revealing themselves. 

Neteyam had been watching their interaction until he noticed Kiri's golden eyes boring into his. He turned to her, his ear flickering. "What?" 

She just smiled. "Nothing. Now, let's go help set up for this gathering."