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(POV: Lo'ak)
It had been a while since Ni'teya had returned from the rock, so much so that my whole family was already inside their own huts and falling asleep. Everyone except for me. I had been wide awake the whole time, lying on my hammock with my hands behind my head, waiting to hear Ni'teya's footsteps entering her hut safely. She was probably just distracted, or something.
It was so late now that all the torches were being put out in the village, letting everyone take their rest and still, no sign of Ni'teya. I got up from my hammock, stepping out from my hut and taking a better look around, looking in the direction the rock was in. Nothing.
I thought back to when we were all over there, remembering that one minute Ni'teya was wearing her shell-covered neckpiece and the next, she wasn't. I tried harder, in the end remembering even more. I could see Aonung holding Ni'teya's neckpiece clearly inside my head, wondering if he'd ever given it back to her. Did that idiot steal it?
I then headed over to Tsireya and Aonung's huts, locating his hammock and shaking him violently after discovering that he was the only one in the room.
"Wha- What the hell?! Lo'ak?!" Aonung cried, making me have to cover his loud mouth with my hand.
"Listen! Where is Ni'teya's neckpiece?" I whisper, still clutching his hand which I eventually had to move when I was sure he wouldn't scream again.
"I gave it back to her, what the hell?" he sounded irritated, laying his head back down upon discovering that my question was so meaningless to him.
"Did you give it to her before or after we left the rock?" I continued, hindering another groan coming from the idiot next to me.
He thought for a while, "Uh... After. Definitely after." He whispered in a tired tone, yawning as he finished his sentence and answering my question.
Lying brat!
Ni'teya hadn't left her necklace on the rocks, so where the hell was she? I jogged back past the huts, checking if she'd returned while I was gone before going to look on the beach myself. Once I got there, I scanned the sea-line, squinting my eyes and trying to see as far as I could out to the rocks. However it was no use, it was too dark to see that far out, so I prepared myself to begin swimming.
I had just touched the water with my feet as I found something. A spec, it seemed. No, a liquid, red liquid. A trail of blood made it's way out of the water, past where I was stood and all the way back into the trees behind me.
Oh, crap.
I immediately followed it without a second thought, tracking it deeper into the jungle to hopefully lead me to it's bleed-ee.
That's when I discovered her, laying lifeless against a tree, her head dropping downward. Her eyes were opening and closing on their own. Ni'teya could barely stay awake, one second she'd raise her head and peek open her eyes and the next, her head would fall violently and her eyes would roll back into her skull.
I panicked, searching for the wound I knew she had suffered, locating it on her hip, immediately pressing my own hand on it to apply even more pressure. The makeshift bandage she'd crafted was coming loose anyway, meaning her blood was flowing out of her for Eywa knows how long before I arrived. That was definitely the reason she was losing consciousness, the blood loss.
Too panicked and immersed in what I was doing, I hadn't picked up on her small taps to my arm, making me shift my focus and watch as her eyes stayed open for a bit longer this time, before inevitably closing again. I lifted her head with my free hand, trying to get her to open her eyes again, checking her temperature and feeling her pulse on her freezing neck. As I did that, she regained consciousness and looked for me again, trying to say something but failing to.
I didn't say anything yet in case I interrupted her, watching her lips closely to try and figure out what she was saying.
"Wa-" she breathed out, "Wat-"
Wat?
Water! I finally figured it out, looking around for the nearest water source, deciding that the closest one would be the ocean itself. I checked her wound, still bleeding. I couldn't leave it, but I had to get her water. I moved her hand with my own, pressing it in on her wound, making her hiss out in pain. "Please try and push it down, okay? Please!" I begged, leaving her there and rushing as fast as I could to get her the water she needed.
Next problem, though. I had nothing to put the water in. My head whirled, figuring out a way to get the water back without it spilling everywhere, which I managed to do quite quickly. I reached into my side-satchel, retrieving a yellowy-blue shell and using the dipped side of that to transport the water in.
My blurry eyesight and mindspace made everything go quicker, I was already back with Ni'teya, helping her drink the water and regain energy that she so needed.
She finished it all, my hand still pressed on her wound, managing to put an end to the bleeding at long last. Her two hands shook as she held the shell, all the while she was letting out dreadful whines and hisses as there was no sign of the pain stopping. I took the shell from her, placing it back into my satchel and focusing on her again.
"Breathe, Ni'teya. Deep one in, deep one out, in, out, remember? Just like we learned today." I tried my best to help her calm herself down, as that would be the only way of easing the pain she was in. When that didn't help, I took her hand and held it tightly with my free one, pulling it upwards onto my own chest, showing her how to breathe properly. "In," I started quietly, even though my own breath wasn't all that steady either, "out."
It seemed to be helping her, her breathing slowed significantly, all the while she kept her two worn out eyes on mine, visibly trying her best to focus.
When she got calmer, I whispered a silent "Good." as I released her hand from mine and brought my own up to her now warmer cheek. She never broke her stare, either. Even if I'd look away to check her wound for the millionth time, I could still feel it burning into me.
A small chuckle escaped her, causing her to wince but continue with what she was about to say. "My turn.. to be... saved." Ridiculously, she smiled at her witty sense of humour, making me only return the smile due to the fact that she was strong enough to speak now. Because of that knowledge, I looked down and closed my eyes, letting myself catch my own breath.
I let out a laugh, replaying the past few minutes' events in my head over, using my hand to scratch the back of my neck anxiously. That laugh however quickly turned into a silence, followed by my smile dropping slowly, still leaving my head downwards.
Idiot.
(POV: Narrator)
Lo'ak had an unreadable look in his face. His eyes alone were filled with dread and worry, but if you looked at all of his features, he seemed frustrated.
"How did it happen, Ni'teya?" He whispered a little louder, lifting his head further upwards.
He watched as she angled her head towards the ocean before answering him. "Rock." She simply stated, irking a disbelieving emotion on Lo'ak's face this time.
He sighed, "why didn't you tell us?"
She met his eyes again, not speaking. She only shook her head in response, confusing Lo'ak.
He decided not to force it out of her, moving onto his next order of business. He checked her wound once more, standing up and turning his head away from her, only to receive a sharp tug on his arm followed by the sound of an ouch!
"Woah, steady on-" he said, facing her again and noticing her uneasy expression. Her nails were digging into his arm, reminding him of their run-in back at the forest. "I'm just gonna clean up your cut, okay?" he explains, allowing Ni'teya to let go of him. He rummaged for a few clean leaves and stems in order to make a better bandage than the one she had made before, returning with a mass selection.
He first cleaned the wound itself with a leaf he'd washed in a puddle, then going on to ripping off a piece of fabric from his satchel, folding it and placing it on the cut. He placed a few twigs on the cloth in order to prevent it from moving around and then finally wrapped the longer leaf around Ni'teya's stomach, securing it safely and tidily.
"Done! Better?" Lo'ak exclaims, throwing the rest of the materials away to the side of him and wiping his hand together in triumph. Ni'teya nods politely, looking down at her new big plaster.
"Alright. Do you think you could walk? You need to go-" he tried to suggest to her, but Ni'teya had other plans. "I'm not going anywhere. You can go if you want, Lo'ak. I'm not moving tonight, I can't." she states, averting her gaze.
Expecting him to leave just as she suggested, Ni'teya continued to look elsewhere, not hearing any noise come from his direction. That was until a loud thump sounded.
Lo'ak had placed himself next to her against the tree, pulling his legs up and leaning on the wood just as she was doing.
"Okay" was all he said.
"What?"
"I said okay. You don't have to move." He says, keeping his head still against the bark.
Dazed, she continues to stare at him in a bewildered state.
'Was he seriously going to wait with me?' Ni'teya thought. She didn't know if she was pleased or not, realising that she'd just blatantly lied to him, knowing she probably could walk if she tried to.
A silence took over them, Lo'ak still resting, his eyes shut while Ni'teya couldn't do the same. She was still thinking about what she would do the following morning, worrying about what everyone would say.
The truth was, Ni'teya hadn't returned that night out of worry. She believed that if Jake or Neytiri were to find her injured in such a stupid way, then they'd think of her as a risk or a klutz. She thought Jake would resent her for causing yet another issue, making him do whatever he said he would do if she made another mistake. Ni'teya's mind spun wild, thinking up all sorts. The forest, her family, Lo'ak's family, her pain, anything.
Yet again, Ni'teya was tearing up however this time she'd spotted it before it got out of hand. She slowly and quietly lifted her hand up to her eyes, wiping her tears from one of them before moving onto the next. A fatal mistake was made, Ni'teya accidentally let out a small sniffle, making Lo'ak flinch from the noise but quickly realise what he'd heard.
Upon glimpse of him moving, Ni'teya snapped her neck away from him, using her arm as a sheild.
"Ni'teya?" he called quietly, leaning forward and off of the tree, trying to make Ni'teya turn to face him. He tugged on her arm and tried to reach over to her other one, but she was persistent.
"Ni'teya-" he said again, this time successfully pulling the arm that was further away from him closer, revealing her cloudy eyes. He thought silently, before persisting to get up onto his knees, lifting her head up to look at him. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs, holding her face gently as he lowered himself. He let go, finding her hands to hold onto next.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, causing Ni'teya to swell up even more due to the fact she had to admit what was bothering her.
Her lips quivered, her eyes finding his and then leaving them again, fidgeting with his fingers.
"No. You'll... It's stupid." she gives up, tugging her hands away from his but failing to make Lo'ak let go.
"You can tell me, I promise I won't do what you think I'll do" It could've been anything, laugh, cry, yell, Lo'ak didn't care, he agreed anyway.
She sharply breathed in, collecting her words before looking up and beginning.
"Your dad, he-" she breathed out, "he said that if I screwed up again then he'd have to punish me and-" her voice was welling up noticeably and so Lo'ak tightened his grip on her hands in an attempt to ease it and shoe that he was listening.
"And I didn't want to be the problem." She finally gets it out, her tears dropping without her being able to prevent them.
"I can't mess up, Lo'ak I-" her voice broke, "I dont wan't to be an outcast here too-"
Instantly after he'd heard her say those words, his arm moved towards her, placing itself behind her head and taking her in closer to him so that she was then resting on his chest as she silently sobbed. "No." He stopped her from carrying on, "Listen to me, Ni'teya" he whispered in a hum, stroking her ear with his thumb.
"I'm so, so sorry." Lo'ak was even more quiet this time, listening to her cry in his embrace. He seemed to realise in that moment how much his words had stuck with her, making his chest hurt and voice break. "You are not an outcast." Lo'ak softly brings her head up again, holding it in both of his shaking hands.
"Do you hear me?"
Ni'teya only looks at him then, her eyes still damp although she was no longer crying. With no answer, she inched nearer towards Lo'ak, burring her face into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck, using one of her hands to stroke it slightly just as he had done with her ear moments before.
"Thank you for helping me." She whispered to him, making him resist his hesitations and returning her hug, letting his arms cling tightly to her back.
Ni'teya shut her eyes, wondering how things had lead up to this. She was arguing with him and hating him yesterday and today, well. The hug speaks for itself.
But of course, Lo'ak had to go and ruin it.
"Oh, um. Sorry but-" he starts off, letting go of Ni'teya, practically forcing her to let go as well without realising it. She watched him as he dug into his satchel, rummaging around trying to locate something.
In a flash, he took out a shell. The shell had a yellow glow, partnered with a few blue specs here and there. Knowing what this was almost immediately, Ni'teya looked down at the shell, her shell, then back up at Lo'ak, then down again. Lo'ak seemed on-edge and rightly so.
Ni'teya's face was now plastered with a wide smile, even though she was hitting Lo'ak in the shoulder over and over again before snatching her shell away from him.
"You ass!" She yelled, laughing.
.
.
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