Low Tide | Neteyam

Chapter 6

By the end of the lesson, Kayra almost jumped out of her skin when Tsireya declared that it was time for dinner; she had completely forgotten that she hadn't been alone with Neteyam for the past few hours.

She tried to quell the almost put-out feeling that was coursing through her as they got up and started to make their way back to the village, having enjoyed herself so much in Neteyam's company. She had found herself liking his attention being on her alone and no one else.

Assuming that he'd want to talk to his siblings, Kayra slipped in front of the group, walking a couple of paces ahead. But to Kayra's surprise, she barely managed to walk alone for five seconds before Neteyam joined her.

"Already running away from me, are we? Was I really that bad of a student?" He joked, matching her strides and looking down at her with a teasing gaze.

Kayra suppressed the giddy feeling welling up in her. "I'm starving," she said, only realising after making her excuse that it was true. None of them had eaten in the past six hours. She glanced up at Neteyam, meeting his eyes. "You're not a bad student. Mediocre perhaps, but not bad." She sent him a wry grin, unable to help herself.

He snorted good-heartedly, obviously knowing that he'd been a picture-perfect student. "I'll have to prove you wrong, then." He returned her grin, playing along. "Good thing you've promised me private lessons, or I might never have had a chance to redeem myself."

Kayra rolled her eyes and sidestepped a small bush, accidentally bumping into Neteyam with her arm and sending shivers up her spine. She wondered briefly if he had the same reaction to their skin touching as she did. "Can't today technically be passed off as a private lesson?"

Neteyam narrowed his eyes playfully, eyeing her. "Are you trying to get out of the lesson you promised me yesterday?"

He seemed unfazed by their touch. Maybe it was just her then.

Kayra chuckled. "Fine, you caught me. I haven't actually prepared anything for today." This was only half true. After she'd caught Neteyam's arm yesterday and offered him to do the private lesson the next day, plenty of things that she could teach him had run through her mind. Kayaking, fishing, hunting, facts about the ecosystem—nothing seemed interesting enough for the son of Toruk Makto. Kayra found herself wanting to impress him. Talking about a skimwing's anatomy had suddenly seemed dull and unimportant.

Neteyam's eyes flashed before a small smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure we could think of something." Before Kayra had time to consider if there had been a double meaning to that line, his expression changed into something more earnest. "Just don't cancel, okay?"

Kayra swallowed, meeting his gaze. "Alright."

Dinner took forever. It seemed to stretch out, lasting hours upon hours. All she wanted was for the fires to be doused with water so that she and Neteyam could excuse themselves and be alone.

She chanced a glance over at Neteyam, who was talking to her sister. Kayra considered for the hundredth time if she, herself, should splash some water on the bonfires and end the meal.

As the group had arrived by the bonfires, Kayra had been swept over to her friends by an overly eager Teol, who wanted to have her provide her opinions on an argument the friend group was having. She'd laughed when the others had laughed and pretended to listen when the others had talked, but her mind had been elsewhere.

She pried her eyes away from Neteyam and Tsireya and tried to focus on Mako, who was currently in the middle of wrapping up why she was right and the others were wrong.

"All I'm trying to say is that it's completely ridiculous to even consider bonding with an Akula just to make you 'look cool'." She shot an accusing stare at Teol, who seemed to bask in the pleasure of having riled her up.