Flood of Ashes [sequel to 'Not So Perfect']

11

***

Neteyam's pov:

It was quite a nice day, my mother had been getting better since the passing of our grandmother, Mo'at, a few weeks ago and today was the day that the older kids would finally be able to get their own Ikran. De'iya was ecstatic about it, along with Zaria and Yalìo who were also old enough. Eyrae was unfortunately still too young.
I watched De'iya, Zaria, Yalìo, Naeyi, Emra'o, Aoran, Izan, Khalilah and even Tuk follow after the Olo'eyktan's kids to where they would get their Ikrans.. Surely, I was worried for my children since it was dangerous but I could not be more proud of them.
"Dad, when do we go home?" Eyrae asked me as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, "I miss Zani."
"Just a little longer, son," I whispered as I was feeling nostalgic from watching the kids climb the roots with such excitement, I could still remember doing it myself, "I've waited more than seventeen years to be back here."
"So, five minutes?" Eyrae asked as I pulled him up into my arms and chuckled at his request. That's when suddenly the voice of Seyza sounded through the throat microphone. I'd missed her lovely voice for several weeks.
"N-Neteyam?" Her voice sounded distant and like she had been calling my name multiple times already, "Neteyam?"
"Seyza!?" I exclaimed, drawing Lo'ak, Kiri and my father's attention to myself as my mother last minute decided to follow after the kids so she could watch them get their Ikrans, "we've been trying to contact you for weeks! What happened? How are you?"
"Neteyam, you need to listen to me carefully," Seyza said sternly, "you need to stay away from Awa'atlu!"
"Stay away from Awa'atlu?" I asked confused as my siblings and father drew in closer to me with big question marks forming above their heads.
"There's a war going on! The Ash People attacked, we've been fighting them for weeks and we couldn't get ahold of you guys," Seyza explained as my heart dropped, "Rotxo.. he's.."
"What about Rotxo? What do you mean war?" I asked her as suddenly Kiri gasped and leaned in even closer, fearing for her husband.
"Rotxo got badly hurt, I don't know if he'll survive," Seyza said, "his entire right side of his body got scorched and- Miya! How's Rotxo?!"
"He's alive," Miyara said from a distance, "you've managed to make contact with them, good. Tell them to stay at the Omatikaya if that's safer."
"What happened to Rotxo?!" Kiri demanded from me.
"He's alive, but the entire right side of his body got scorched," I explained, "the Ash people declared war on Awa'atlu."
"It only took them about eight years," Lo'ak scoffed as our father was intensely listening.
"We can't stay here! My children will want to see their father!" Kiri said stern.
"Neteyam, tell your sister that for the kids it's probably best to stay there, Rotxo got so badly hurt because he tried to fight Kanzia," Teungyi explained, "Kanzia's their strongest fighter, I'm not even sure if I can beat her.. she'll destroy everything.. stay- just stay in the forest. Don't come back."
"We ran from war once, Teungyi," I said sternly, "I'm not running again."
My father nodded in agreement, as did my siblings. We wouldn't stay away from a fight again, we'd return and get our home back.
"Can I say hello to mommy?" Eyrae asked me but didn't wait for me to answer him, "hi mommy! De'iya, Zaria and Yalìo are getting their Ikrans but dad said I can't.. can you change his mind?"
I could hear the sadness in Seyza's voice, surely she was proud of her children but she was sad that she couldn't witness it.
"You need to listen to your dad, my sweet boy," Seyza said as she sniffled, "he knows best."
"Your mom said no," I simply said which was followed by a scoff from Seyza. Eyrae couldn't hear her and she found my way of telling him no not good enough.
"We'll return as soon as the kids are back with their Ikrans," my father said, "we will first go to the island where Ronal and Tonowari live and then we'll see if there's safe passage home."
"Jake, there's no safe passage," Yrritsyo joined in, "they have our borders on patrol the whole time, we can't even reach Ronal and Tonowari.. we don't even know if they are still alive or if the Ash people killed them already."
"Don't worry," I said on my father's behalf, "we'll get home."

***

Khalilah's pov:

I was last to go. I don't know why I hesitated so long, even the younger kids had gone before me. I knew that I wanted this but I was so frightened.. I wondered if my father was too, or my mother.. I didn't even bother asking them before I left because I was so excited.
"You ready, Khalilah?" Ralu asked me with a beaming smile upon his face and I nodded hesitantly. I suddenly felt jealous of Araoukai's courage, I was there the day he mastered to ride a Skimwing on his first try, Mo'iki was bragging on and on about what a good teacher he was and all I could look at was Araoukai. How his wet hair sticked to his face, how he got dimples in his cheeks when he so proudly smiled, how he raised his strong arm in the air as the village cheered him on and how his bright colored eyes landed on me so suddenly. His smile had softened and for the first time he saw me, not just as Spider's daughter or the girl his sister made fun of, no, he saw me for who I was. I had a crush on him ever since.
"You can do this!" A farmiliar voice called from behind and my eyes locked with my dad's, "I believe in you, Khali!"
I smiled at him as I felt myself get more courageous, like I just needed his encouragement to get through with this, the need to make him feel proud of me.
When I turned back around to face the Ikrans my face was no longer painted with fear, but rather a strong sense of determination. I was going to win this, I would succeed and I would show everyone that I'm not weak.
And so my feet carried me further towards the Ikrans, some of them flew away but the one that tried to kill me reminded me of someone.. it reminded me of Araoukai, the markings on it's body had the same bright color like his eyes. Like he was here with me, helping me through it all. It gave me enough strength to jump onto it's neck and pin it against the ground. The Ikran nearly threw me off but I managed to get up and tie him down. I grabbed my queue as I held the Ikran pinned to the ground with all of my strength and I connected mine with his.
"You know what to do," Ralu said as he nodded to the sky to my left and I chuckled. My dad was cheering me on with his arms up in the sky.
"That's my daughter!" He shouted so proudly as I took my ikran for the first flight and sealed our bond.
I had flown with my parents on their Ikrans before but never had it felt so freeing as it did now. I could feel my Ikrans breath and heartbeat and he could feel mine. The Sky embraced me like a warm hug and the wind tickled my nose, with every dive we took my heart would race and this exciting feeling in my gut would light up, like a campfire in the middle of the night.
I had never felt more free, more limitless than I did in that very moment. But it all vanished in the blink of an eye when I landed and was met with nothing but serious faces.
"I'm so proud of you, my daughter, but have to go to Awa'atlu," my mother said as she came up to me, "there's a war going on back home."

I just saw someone add my third Voltron story to a cringy reading list of theirs, the list is called "cringy" and that kind of hurt my feelings but whatever man, my art is at least dope if I do say so myself 😂
Everytime I write a new story I like way more than what I wrote on previous stories, not just ideas but also the way I write things.. you know?
But still I lost quite a lot of motivation for the story (the last Voltron story of my trilogy) but I have this issue where I can't leave my work unfinished.. so please never worry of me not finishing stories when new stories pop up I will finish it eventually..
I just needed to say that haha..

Aaaaanyway, what'd you think of this? Be honest, don't try to make me feel better. 😝
In the next chapter there might even be a fight between the ash clan's bringer of death and the oldest Olo'eyktan's daughter of Awa'atlu.. what'd you think of that?
I hope you're all having a nice day 😊