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Koänä was outside the reef with a couple of the warriors she began to train alongside. After the whole situation with him she had no purpose to train with him again. So she didn't. She spoke briefly with Tonowari and Ronal that she wanted a deeper acknowledgment of the way their people fought and the mated pair agreed to let the girl train among two of the best Metkayinan warriors. Iworan and Sepal were their names. The two were extremely talented in Koänä's eyes. They did not back down or believe in taking it easy. It was a very admirable thing.
" Iworan? Sepal? I think that is a tulkun.." Koänä told them once her eyes had been casted upon a floating tulkun with a small calf by its side. She could tell by the looks on both of their faces this meant something big.
" Sepal, stay with Koänä and the tulkun. I must warn the Chief." Iworan briefly told them before speeding off on his ilu back to the village where he could speak to the man.
Koänä looked over to Sepal and noticed the woman had tears in her eyes, a hand covering her mouth to stop any sobs from leaving it. Koänä went over to her on Nala and rested a hand on her shoulder. She could feel Sepal lean into her touch. It was obvious the woman needed some sort of comfort in the traumatic moment.
" It is Tsahìk's tulkun, Roa. That is her calf." Sepal finally cried out after being silent for such a period of time. Koänä felt immediate grief for the spirit sister of Roa. She simply couldn't imagine losing O'tekare. In a way, that was her spirit sister.
Koänä let her hand fall off of Sepal and went closer to the tulkun. She swam around noticing the bright tracker's stuck into the tulkun. She didn't let Sepal know what it was, terrified of the woman and what her reaction would be. Koänä knew it was sky people with the horrid machines they had. The beeping of the tracker and the flashing light made it all the more obvious to Koänä.
Koänä and Sepal heard chants and whoops of the Metkayina people coming closer by the second. Koänä looked back and saw Tonowari and Ronal leading them, their eldest son following closely behind. She felt her heart's pace pick up a tiny bit at the sight but remembered what had happened only the day before. He looked at her with great sorrow in his eyes and she couldn't help but feel like she needed to let her little grudge go for a moment. Koänä looked to her parents next, not noticing they were there for a second. Jake tilted his head a bit toward the floating tulkun and she nodded. That was all the Sully couple needed to know what this was all about.
They were never supposed to be dragged into this...
Was all Koänä could think as Ronal swam up to her spirit sister and rested a hand above her eye. She looked at the dead calf with tears urgently collecting in her eyes. " She was my spirit sister. She was the composer of songs, we would sing together!"
Koänä closed her eyes, tilting her head down at the pain in the woman's voice. No matter the person, no one deserved to see their dead spirit brother or sister.
" She waited many breeding cycles to have this calf. The clan was so happy for her!" She continued on, now looking at the group. At her mate." What is this, Tonowari?"
" What is this?!"
With that Koänä finally looked back to Trítön. The boy, along with his father, seemed to suck in a breath, trying not to let themselves become emotional with the scene. It was heartbreaking for all of them. Trítön grew up with Roa and waited with her through the breeding cycles so she could have this calf. He looked at her and felt himself nearly let a tear fall down. The emotions he has felt in the past two days were a lot. Something he'd never want to deal with again.
Slowly people cleared out. Jake and Neytiri were some of the first people to go along with a few warriors. It was none of their business to be there anymore. It was time for Ronal to grieve her spirit sister and the calf. Tonowari was by her side the whole time. The man gave Koänä a look to take his son away from the scene. So she did without a complaint. Although she did not want to speak to him at this moment, she knew it was not time to put herself first.
Koänä tapped his arm and nodded away from the sight. He took the hint and they began to go back to the village. Once they arrived neither had said anything to the other. Koänä simply didn't know what to say. Trítön on the other hand, had a million things to say but no energy to do so.
" I am sorry." He mustered out. She looked up at him without saying anything. " Koänä, I messed up. I am so sorry for what I said. I do not see you as a freak, I promise that."
" The words you said, the words you didn't say, and the words you meant to say all hurt." She stated. Koänä could see him visibly deflate at that. " You are forgiven."
He watched as she walked away to her and his siblings. He saw his little sister's face become emotional and soon enough she was crying over the news she had been told. Trítön saw Tsireya hug the older girl very tightly as she sobbed in her arms. Ao'nung, his sweet brother, did not know how to react. He sort of just looked around in shock, trying to ignore the fact there were tears welling up inside his ocean blue eyes. Koänä held an arm out for the boy and he hesitantly walked into them and leaned into her touch, wrapping an arm of his own around Tsireya. It was an emotional sight to see his siblings hug the girl he loved- loved? Trítön was now baffled at how quickly the realization dawned upon him. Loved...Such a strange word. It felt foreign for him to love someone. He knew he felt something for her, who couldn't? She was fucking perfect in his eyes, but love? That was a whole new level of intimacy he didn't think he was going to face so soon.
" Trítön." His little sister called his name and brought him out of his train of thought.
He looked to see his siblings coming towards them and just like he saw the Sully girl do, he held his arms open for them to crash into. Tsireya and Ao'nung hugged him so tight he felt like he was going to lose his air flow any second. The hug held so much passion in it. He looked up to see Koänä with her arms around Kiri and Tuk, watching him. After the brief eye contact she gestured her siblings away to somewhere else.
" Koä? What's going on? Why are Reya and Ao'nung crying? " Tuk asked, looking at her big sister with her wide curious eyes.
" Do not worry about it, Tuk. It'll all be okay." Koänä couldn't tell who she was trying to convince when she said that. Was she trying to convince herself or Tuk?
Tuk shrugged and ran off happily. Kiri, Neteyam, and Lo'ak looked at her with expecting looks. Koänä sighed deeply. " Roa and her calf were killed."
The three of them didn't need an explanation of who Roa was. They already knew. Ao'nung and Tsireya made sure to brag about their mother's spirit sister the day when Lo'ak told them about what had happened with Payakan.
" So they're hunting tulkuns?" Lo'ak nervously mumbled, his mind going in a million directions at once.
" Do not even think about it, Lo'ak." Koänä hissed, glaring at her brother. He glanced up at her before looking back down to the ground.
" I, for one, am with Koä this time, Lo'ak. Payakan will be fine. Your safety is our main concern." Kiri told him, resting her hands on his forearms and shaking him slightly. Lo'ak nodded at them.
" Lo'ak, promise me you will not do something." Koänä pleaded to him. She needed her little brother to be safe. " Promise me."
" I promise."
In Lo'ak's mind...Promises were meant to be broken.
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im giggling.
I can't keep the love birds away from each other for so long cuz...well...you'll see
it just makes sense to not have them hating each other for the chapters after this one.
also sorry for shorter and shorter chapters!! they'll be getting longer from here on out!!