CHAPTER 6
Watching Jake giving up his position as Olo'eyktan had been hard for the entire family - and Erìhe. Neytiri and Tuk had watched with tears in their eyes as the new leader cut Jake, signifying the change of leadership.
As they walked past the people, Erìhe could hear Neytiri crying silently as she walked in front of her. It was a sad sight to see. The people watched as they left - probably wondering why they'd abandon them. They understood why they had to leave - but it still must have felt pretty horrible to be left behind by their chief who was meant to protect them.
Erìhe had said goodbye to Aok and Nupxa the previous night. The two had cried and clung to her - begging for her to stay. Their tears moved Erìhe, but not enough that she would consider staying. She was set on going with the Sullys.
"I thought that we were a family," Aok had said as she hugged her when Erìhe broke the news, "Just the three of us."
"You're leaving us to stay with them," Nupxa had wailed.
Erìhe felt bad. She truly did. But all the guilt tripping and begging would never work on her. She was warm and welcoming until it came to something she felt strongly about. She would never budge once she set her mind onto something. It was something that Neteyam often called on. He called it a major flaw of hers.
But then again he called just about anything she did a flaw, so Erìhe did not let it bother her.
The journey had been long and tiring. Erìhe knew that Jake and Neytiri had discussed where they'd be going, but the teenagers and Tuk did not have a single clue.
Or maybe they did - and it was just Erìhe who had been left out.
During the trip she often found herself wondering what the arrangement was going to be. Would she stay with them in the same home like one of their children - or would she get her own space and just be a nuisance?
Whichever it was, Erìhe decided she would be happy with it. She was allowed to go with them after all.
They had traveled over water, over forests, over mountains and through storms. The journey had felt much longer than it had actually been. They had arrived after one day of flying, but Erìhe was relieved to finally see land again. For the longest time they had just been flying over the bright blue ocean.
As they neared a village, they could see all kinds of marine life in the shallow waters beneath them. While stretching her neck to look over her ikran's head at the water, Erìhe had lost her attention and caused the animal to move to the right abruptly.
"Watch where you're going, skxawng!" Neteyam yelled as he quickly moved so as to not be crashed into.
Erìhe looked back at him with a mocking smile as she willed her ikran to fly straight once more. Neytiri had glanced back at her son, "Don't speak like that to her," she had told him. This had caused Erìhe to snort and have to resort to biting her lip so that she would not laugh out loud.
Neteyam had looked at her accusingly.
The village was beautiful. Their reef was set apart from the ocean by massive seawall terraces, which would protect them from predators and larger waves. The shallow water was bright and clear - showcasing the plants and animals that lived there peacefully. Behind the many houses of the village, Erìhe could see a mountain rising out of the water. It was majestic.
Erìhe watched as the waves crashed against the terraces as they flew over them. They could see the villagers hanging out, sitting in the sun or bathing in the shallow pools created by the rocks. It seemed like they had a great time living there.
The group circled above the village gracefully and Erìhe could see the people looking up and pointing at them. Some were excited while others were confused - it was not everyday that strangers visited them by arriving by ikran.
A horn sounded, announcing their arrival. They saw the marui pods hanging above the water as they flew overhead, looking for a place to land. Some people would jump into the water from their homes and swim over to the shore.
Finally Jake pointed at an empty spot of sand, signaling that they should all land there. When Erìhe willed her ikran to land, she noticed she was the last of the group to do so. The others were disconnecting their queues and getting off their ikran.
Erìhe hopped off of her ikran, stroking her head as she walked over to the others. She did not want to be alone.
She realized many villagers and warriors approaching them - some more cautiously than others. Neteyam did not even complain when Erìhe moved over to stick to his side. Perhaps he was nervous too.
The two of them followed his parents as they walked to meet the villagers halfway.
"Hey - leave it," Jake told Neytiri once he had seen her taking her bow. She nodded and left it back with her ikran. "Follow me," he said to the teenagers and started walking forward, holding his arms out to show that he meant no harm.
Tuk walked over to her mother and held her hand, nervous to walk alone.
Erìhe smiled softly at Lo'ak when she had seen him looking over at her warily. He had looked questioning, but she hadn't realized why he'd look at her like that until she registered the feeling of Neteyam's hand on her back.
Immediately she hit his arm and hissed. Neteyam furrowed his brows before it dawned on him what he'd done. Still - he wouldn't apologize for it. He would never apologize to her. "Keep walking," he told her.
Erìhe merely rolled her eyes before walking ahead of him. Instead of walking next to Neteyam, she now stood beside Lo'ak and linked her arm with his. Lo'ak had found this embarrassing and tried to shake her off, but after just a second of trying he decided to give up and just let her hold onto him.
"Be nice," Jake said to the group following closely behind him and Neytiri repeated, looking over at them with warning in her eyes.
Eríhe glanced over her shoulder briefly and smiled when she saw Neteyam mimicking his father, holding his arms out to show his empty palms. She found it funny - like he believed the warriors would find him to be a threat.
The villagers gathered around the newcomers and the warriors held their spears as they inspected them. For some while, none of the Omaticaya spoke. They looked around them as the Metkayina whispered silently to each other, wondering why they have come.
Suddenly two boys pushed past the crowd and walked ahead, watching them as they walked past. Erìhe, Lo'ak and Neteyam hurried to bring their fingers down from the foreheads, greeting them. Her mouth fell open when the boys did not even bat an eye but instead continued on walking.
"Easy," Jake said quietly, "Just be cool."
Erìhe could sense the boys walking behind them, she could feel their eyes raking her and the other two's bodies. They were visibly different - and it seemed as though they weren't fond of that fact.
"Look," the shorter one said, "What is that?" The other smiled and chuckled. "Is that supposed to be a tail?" He motioned to Neteyam's tail and they could hear many Metkayina laughing.
Erìhe glanced behind her at the two boys - then her eyes fell on their tails. They were much different from hers. When she looked back over at Lo'ak, she could see that something had caught his eye.
Following his gaze, she saw him looking over at a beautiful girl rising out of the water.
With a laugh, she let go of Lo'ak's arm and stepped slightly to the side. It seemed like Neteyam noticed as well. He smirked as he looked from the girl to Lo'ak who looked down - only to glance back up at her a second later.
When the girl approached, she went over to the two boys who were still laughing and pointing at Neteyam's tail, "It is so small. How are they supposed to swim?"
The girl hit his hand, "Do not, Rotxo - Ao'nung," she scolded them. The smaller one - Rotxo - looked down and stopped laughing while the older barely bothered to hide his smile. The girl looked back at the Omaticaya and smiled at them.
Lo'ak looked back at her, "Hey," he said, making the girl laugh a little and look down shyly.
Erìhe and Neteyam shared amused looks before they heard the flapping of wings. Erìhe looked up just in time to see two skimwings fly over their heads and land near the shore in the water on the other side of them.
They watched as the men slid off the animals' backs and waded through the shallow water toward them.
The man who walked up to them first was clad in Olo'eyktan's clothing - which lead Erìhe to believe that he was the chief. As he neared, they all greeted him with the familiar gesture.
"Olo'eyktan," the man said as he greeted Jake the same way.
"I see you Tonowari," Jake said.
Now he would have to somehow persuade him into letting them stay.
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A/n:
Can I just say I love everyone's comments SO MUCH (especially those who point out my writing mistakes like ilysm)
Also I said I wouldn't have these authors notes on ever chapter but I guess that was a lie
I'm gonna say this now bc I feel like I'll disappoint some people idk (and yes I know full well how dramatic I am being and that's whatever)
1) there will be no smut cause he's underage and like I'm not comfortable writing that yk
2) idk how to write anything that is not slow burn but I'll try to speed things up for you guys bc I got a few complaints with my Lo'ak fic about it being very slow BUT then again this is enemies to lovers (ish) so I think I can actually make it as slow as I want
3) i don't know, I just wanted to make a third point to make this seem dramatic and serious you know
Feel free to give me feedback and tips! Love you guys! <33