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It had been a few days since Koänä arrived and like every day Koänä had woken up to Tuk jumping beside her and chanting her name. " Tuk, please, let me sleep."
Neytiri almost grinned at her daughter's groaning. Tuk only laughed and continued. Koänä rose from her spot and stared down at Tuk with no emotion.
" Island life starts early, sis." Neteyam told her, walking by and handing her some food. Koänä looked down at the fish and fruit with a look of denial on her face.
" Do I really have to eat this?" She mumbled.
" Eat fast. Trítön is waiting for you." Neytiri spoke up. The boy had been teaching her the way of the Metkayina people the past couple of days but they really only covered breathing and how things worked there.
Koänä's eyes snapped to her mother. She handed the plate to Tuk and grabbed the fruit with her hands before walking out of the pod. She heard her family laughing back inside but she ignored them with a flushed look on her face. Koänä put some of the fruit into her mouth, her eyes widened before putting more in.
" You seem to be enjoying that." A deep voice spoke behind her.
Koänä froze in her spot. She slowly turned around to see a very amused Trítön looking at her. She swallowed the remains of the fruit before nodding.
" It was good?" She said but it came out more of a question. The boy chuckled and began walking beside her.
" I was thinking we could start with the ilu. I'm sure you would love a tsurak but we should begin with something more gentle." He explained.
" I don't mind rough." She said, not taking her eyes off of the scenery. Koänä slowly came to terms with what she had said when Trítön laughed from beside her. " I did not mean it like that."
" I'm sure you didn't, Koänä." He teased looking at her with a smirk. The girl bit back a smile and shoved him to the side lightly.
The two walked to the beach in silence. Koänä was taking in the completely different environment. Everything was run so differently here, it amazed her to no end. While she was looking around, Trítön could not seem to take his eyes off of her. The way she smiled at young children and their parents when they gave her nothing but judgemental stares, or the way her hand would brush up against his unintentionally when they got too close. It made him feel like he couldn't breathe properly. It made him feel like he was in a whole new universe.
When they got to the beach they got into the water and Trítön called for the ilu. Koänä tilted her head, side eyeing the boy with heat rushing to her cheeks.
He made a noise. Why are you freaking out about a noise?
She asked herself inside her head.
An ilu swam up them and Trítön began to gently rub the top of its head with his hand. The ilu nudged its head up into his hand more and he chuckled.
" This is Nala. She is very sweet. We found her outside of the reef a couple years ago. One of our best ilu here I'd say." Trítön explained before holding a hand out to Koänä. The girl eyed his hand before taking it.
She didn't miss the way the boy looked at her fifth finger with a tiny smile on his face. He pulled her towards him slightly and patted the top of Nala. Koänä hopped onto her and rubbed the top of her head with a smile forming.
" Make the tsaheylu," He commanded.
The girl reached back to grab her braid. She took a deep breath before connecting to Nala. The ilu jolted forward, Koänä nearly fell off but she noticed Trítön's hand on her waist. She looked down to the boy with slightly wide eyes to which he only smiled at her.
" Hold here," Trítön grabbed both of her hands and placed them onto the ilu's antenna. Koänä felt her stomach so a small flip. " You must hold tight or you will fall off."
" I don't think I will be very good at this." Koänä admitted. She could feel her shoulders become tense and herself straighten out.
" Feel her strength, Koänä. Feel her emotions. Her breath. Indulge in the bond you made." He guided her, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths to show her what she needed to do.
Koänä sighed before closing her eyes. It was like bonding with a direhorse. Yet this was a completely different species with a completely different purpose. The girl began to take deep and slow breaths to make some sort of calm between Nala and her. The ilu's squirming had stopped as she felt Koänä become at peace with her settings.
Trítön held his smirk in as Koänä's shoulders untensed and her posture not becoming so stiff. When she reopened her eyes she saw him backing up.
" She will listen to what you say as long as you stay connected." Trítön told her. She nodded. " Now command something."
" Go. Slowly."
Koänä glided against the water. A small laugh came out of her mouth as Nala speeded through the water. Go under, slowly.
Koänä tightened her hold as Nala shifted from above water to under it. Koänä held her stance on the ilu for a moment before letting her legs glide behind her as they soared through. Nala did small twists and turns at a pace where Koänä could focus on keeping her hold tight but also admire the coral and all the sea creatures under the water. The girl couldn't help the wide smile that had sneaked onto her face.
Koänä tapped on Nala's body gently and instructed her to go back to shore. The ilu returned and Koänä disconnected the bond. She swam over to Trítön, who stood there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.
" I must be a pretty good teacher." He smugly jokes once she stood in front of her.
" Or maybe I'm just that good of a student." She challenged, a smirk of its own on her face.
" Really?"
" Definitely."
Koänä let out a tiny gasp once Trítön splashed her with the water. The boy laughed at her face and backed up slowly. She rolled her eyes before splashing him back with a grin. The two had continued splashing each other until Trítön began to run away from her.
" Child." Koänä mumbled to herself before running after him. She had passed by a lot of the clan, trying not to keep her eyes off of the running boy.
Jake and Neytiri were walking back to their pod when Trítön ran past them with a laugh. Jake shared a confused look with Neytiri. " Is he not supposed to be teaching Koä?"
Once the words left Jake's mouth the said girl ran past them. She turned around to wave and smile at them before continuing to run after the boy. Neytiri laughed at her daughter nearly tripping over a basket that laid on the ground while Jake was confused with the whole encounter.
Koänä watched as Trítön dove into the water with elegance. She slowed down for a moment before shaking her head and picking her speed up, jumping into the water after him. The girl landed with a splash and caught up to him.
" Follow me." Trítön signed to Koänä but the girl just tilted her head at him, confused by what he was doing with his hands. If the boy could sigh he would've in that moment when he realized Koänä had no clue about signing.
He gestured to go above water and they both swam up, Koänä inhaling a deep breath once she resurfaced.
" What the hell was that finger talk?" She laughed as he rolled his eyes.
" It's called signing. We do it so we can communicate under water without having to resurface like we just did." He explained. " I'll teach you within time. For now, let's just swim."
They both dove back down into the water and swam through the ocean. Koänä trailed behind him so she could look at all of the different things down there.
He looked back to her and his emotions deceived him. His body felt warm and his stomach felt funny as he stared at her. Her hair was floating in the water and the sun shone down on the water, making her look angelic. He was in such awe when around her. Koänä was just so different compared to any other girl he has seen, he understood it was a lot because she was from the Omatikaya clan but even her personality was purely new to him. He's never met a girl with such the passions she has. He saw her without even knowing her.
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They were walking back from the swim they had in the reef when Koänä heard grunts and yells about a tail. She looked into the clearing seeing Lo'ak and Neteyam fighting with Ao'nung and his friends.
" One second." Koänä said, walking over to her sister with an aggravated look on her face. Kiri watched her sister walk up to the group with wide eyes.
Trítön had followed her and went to step in but Kiri held an arm out. " She's got it."
Koänä grabbed Lo'ak by the arm, yanking him behind her. She shoved the boys that were picking the fight with him backwards. One of the boys stayed back while the other laughed.
" You always get big sis to defend you?" He taunted Lo'ak. Her brother's jaw clenched and he squeezed his hands shut tightly.
" Don't look at him. Look at me. I'm your opponent now." She growled at him, tilting her head with a smirk.
The boy swung first so at this point Koänä was having some self defence. She stepped to the side, chuckling at the boy to agitate him. It worked. He hissed at her, pouncing forward only to be met by her fist. The boy fell into the water, cradling his jaw. His friend helped him up and shoved him away from Koänä.
" Ao'nung!" Trítön finally yelled out. His younger brother came to a stop with an alarmed look on his face.
Koänä walked to Neteyam and grabbed his ear, dragging him over to Kiri and Lo'ak. She stared at Neteyam with disappointment yet pride in her eyes. It was obvious him and Lo'ak won the fight.
" Really? A fight?" She questioned the boys.
" We had it!" Lo'ak piped up with anger in his tone.
Koänä's head snapped towards him and she walked closer to him. He took a small step back and did not look her in the eye.
" The fight I saw did not look like " You had it" Lo'ak!" She seethed. The Metkayina boys were being scolded by Trítön but they all paused to look at the boy being yelled at.
Koänä looked over at them with a glare of rage. Ao'nung and Rotxo were the only smart enough ones to look away from the girl. She saw the boy she punched still holding his jaw in pain. The girl flipped him off with both of her hands before shoving her siblings off the sand. They all walked silently. Lo'ak and Neteyam looked at the ground while they walked, not knowing what to say but they both had one thing on their mind.
" I'm not saying anything to him." Koänä mumbled to them. Kiri looked at her sister surprised.
Koänä was not a snitch. She had gotten into a fair amount of fights with a couple of the boys from home because of them making fun of her five fingers. Once a lesson was taught, the girl was never bothered again.
" He'll find out anyway, you know this."
Her brothers only sighed. Kiri had broken off from the group to go do her own thing while the three trekked back to their pod. On the way back they passed the Chief's pod to hear him scolding his son loudly. Koänä winced, only being able to think about the lecture they were going to receive from their father. Once they entered the pod, Jake was already there with an angry look on his face.
" Sit."
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i came to the conclusion i suck ass at writing combat/fighting scenes
it's really just not for me