The Breath of Water | Neteyam

70 • After the Long Fight

A/N: Happy New Years Eve! Or New Years~

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Once the victor was announced, everyone from everywhere made noises. Cheers came from those who had wanted and placed bets on Team 2's triumph, and cries of frustration from those who placed theirs on Team 1. The Sullys jumped up in joy once they realized Lo'ak and Neteyam had won, barely able to hold in their excitement.

Neteyam and the others were collected from Team 1's safe zone, confusion for why at first.

"You guys won; the game's over." the UWO said, patting his back. Neteyam looked at him with a dropped mouth, trying to process what he had just heard. When he, Masanai, and Tsyätrril reached Lo'ak and Aonung, the two boys fist pumped in the air, whooping. Lo'ak couldn't contain his relief and just plopped onto his brother, giving him a hug; Neteyam's arm had held Lo'ak's back so he wouldn't slip into the sea. The younger boy started to cry as he hung onto his brother, fully thankful that the entire game was fully over. He wouldn't have to put up with this damned pain in his leg anymore.

Neteyam, still processing what was happening, held onto Lo'ak absentmindedly, looking around. He could see everyone in the stands whooping and shouting, his teammates crying, his opponents crying too, but their tears weren't happy ones. He could see Rotxo and Femtrì riding in from the sidelines towards them, huge smiles on their faces.

He could see all of this happening...but heard nothing. His ears weren't working for some reason, but then his eyes found their way over to the leaders' platform.

Liyanin's hands were over her mouth. If she had tears in her eyes, he couldn't see them from down here.

And it was at this moment, he could hear again.

Whooooooooo!

"We did it, bro...!" Lo'ak cried out. Neteyam looked down at him, now fully realizing that he was being hugged.

He began to laugh, now gripping onto his brother more firmly with his one arm, returning the embrace. "What the hell happened up here?" he wondered aloud, burying his face into Lo'ak's shoulder.

Now, all the players were lined up on the shore, waiting for the leaders to speak. Neteyam had held Lo'ak's arm over his shoulder to help him with his leg, looking up at the platform. The families and onlookers came from the stands, trickling onto the beach where they first placed bets. Tonowari stepped down from his platform, immediately walking over to the teams. He held his hands up, cheering.

"Players! What a remarkable game!" he exclaimed, grinning. The teens stood there, looking at him. Team 1 had their heads down, but Team 2's eyes went everywhere. Tonowari, now that he was closer, could see the state Lo'ak's leg was in. He shissed at the sight, shaking his head. "I'll make this announcement quick so my mate can fix that."

Everyone now went to their pods, getting ready for the post game meal that was always held after Taronsäwem was fully completed. Everyone was invited to this banquet, even families of those who only watched the games. Due to this, the feasting pavilion was used again and had to be prepped once more, so Ronal couldn't stay long after helping with Lo'ak's injury.

"Keep that bandage on for a week, then come back here to get it replaced." She said as she cleaned up her area. She looked over at Neytiri who gazed at her son with pained eyes. Her children just seemed to have an affinity for getting hurt. "My children need this space to get ready for the feast so...you will have to take him back to your Marui soon."

"Thank you, Ronal." Jake said to her. Neytiri then looked up, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, thank you."