~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

Awa'atlu gathering.

Jake nudged his son, lowering his voice to a whisper. "I'm hoping if Lo'ak sees you asking Feya he'll gain the courage to ask Tsireya." 

Neteyam nodded slowly and began his trek towards the trio of dancing girls. Once he approached, they turned to see what he was doing, each slowing their movements sporadically.  Kiri and Tuk gasped excitedly when Neteyam smiled at Feya, before reaching for her three-fingered hands and pulling her away, twirling her around. She let out a shocked burst of laughter, her silky hair swinging in the air. "Neteyam!" 

"C'mon, just dance!" He encouraged her, their hands interlocked. Something about Feya he hadn't noticed before was a small hoop earring at the tip of her ear, along with a small tattoo below the piercing. 15, the ink wrote, and it caught his attention as their noses were inches apart. 

Once his mind and body eased into the traditional Omatikayan dance routine, Feya seemed to remember the movements and began executing the steps the woman was meant to perform. They moved in sync with the routine, but eventually the loud, rhythmic music worked its way into their flow, and they began just dancing freely, just having a carefree type of fun. Feya was laughing hysterically the whole time, the sound of her joy making Neteyam laugh himself.

"You didn't even ask properly!" She hollered over the music and the overlapping chatter.

"And yet you are having a good time!" He responded, twirling her around once more. While he was spinning Fey'atsi round and round, he stole at glance at Lo'ak. The younger boy wasn't paying attention to anything except for Tsireya's curvy frame in the waves. Neteyam felt a pang of pity for his brother, although he knew with a little encouragement, Lo'ak would eventually gain the bravery. 

But Neteyam noticed something else. Occasionally, Lo'ak kept staring at the other clan members, his eyes darting about the reef. He rubbed his arm tenderly as if it was sore, and he seemed to shrink in upon himself. 

Neteyam's gleeful expression faded, and he touched Feya's cheek, saying, "I'll be right back." 

He already knew his little brother did not do well under high-pressure situations, but there was no condescending pressure surrounding him currently. When Neteyam approached Lo'ak and grabbed his shoulders, making him face him, there was a resigned look on his slender face. 

"What's wrong, baby bro?" Neteyam asked, his voice open and curious. 

Hardly bringing his shoulders up, Lo'ak shrugged and avoided Neteyam's eyes. "Nothing is wrong." 

"Then why have you been standing here this whole time?" 

"I'm allowed to stand, ya know!"

"C'mon, little brother. Just tell me. Why don't you go dance with Tsireya?" He gestured towards the dancing reef girl. "Are you afraid she's going to say no?" 

"What? No! That's not--I'm not scared she'll reject me, you skxawng!" 

"Okay, okay. Then what is it?"

The fourteen-year-old hesitated. "She's... busy." 

Neteyam's ears twitched in amusement. "We're going to be here all night if you don't fess up, bro." he pressed his finger against Lo'ak's chest. "Tell me the truth." 

Lo'ak huffed deeply and rolled his eyes, but he answered. "It's just--it feels stupid, but--what if they see us dancing and think it's weird? I don't think Olo'eyktan likes me, and Tsahik definitely doesn't. A hybrid forest-sky-person dancing with their precious reef princess?" He shook his head in doubt. "No way." 

Neteyam's stomach panged with guilt. He knew his brother faced insecurities, many of them, to say the least. He knew that. But each time he saw Lo'ak deal with those personal issues he wanted to punch someone in the face, despite there wasn't really anything that could be done about it. Lo'ak was different--they all were. But out of the four Sully children, Lo'ak had the hardest time accepting it. But he was also given the hardest time about his differences--his eyebrows, his hands, his reckless behavior and his unimposing talent.