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The following morning was at it usually was; Rowdy. — Tuk was chasing Kiri around, trying to get her back for stepping on her tail purposefully, not succeeding in gaining much speed compared to her sister. Ni'teya and Lo'ak however, arrived at Jake and Neytiri's hut a little later.
Ni'teya greeted everyone, placing herself opposite Jake to receive and eat her breakfast. Lo'ak didn't say anything, which wasn't completely out of the ordinary, as he was known to be extremely grumpy after waking up; He was definitely not a morning person by any means. What was different however, was his appearance. — His eyes were puffy, that was the main thing. He continued to look down as he began to eat his food, attempting to hide his face from everyone. Neither Kiri nor Tuk noticed, however both of his parents did, of course. Jake wanted to say something, however he decided it was wise not to when Ni'teya appeared to be uneasy too.
The two of them ate in silence, Ni'teya finishing her food first as she usually did, placing down her bowl before getting up to leave and get ready for the day. — Just as she was about to exit the hut however, Jake stopped her, pulling her aside and moving her out of the way so that Lo'ak wouldn't be able to hear them talk.
Immediately, Ni'teya knew what he was about to ask her.
"How's he doing?" Jake cautioned, looking down at the girl who began to fiddle with her fingers.
Ni'teya breathed in, "He had another one last night, a bad one." She spoke quickly and quietly, clearly on edge. "I think they're getting worse." She added, turning to face Lo'ak for a second before looking back up at Jake.
He sighed, placing a hand on her cheek gently. "I know you're worried Teya, but listen. They will stop eventually."
"What if they don't!" She suddenly lashed at him, her lack of sleep causing her to be rather easy to upset. Her brows pushed together, her eyes clearly frightened.
"Ni'teya, I promise you. — He doesn't know how to deal with everything, none of us do. Once he learns to turn his grief into something better and healthier than it is now, he'll heal. He's a stubborn one, you know that." He stroked the girl's cheek with his thumb, bending down a little to match her eyeline.
"I know, I'm just— I'm just scared." She admitted, a deep sigh following her sentence, showing how truthful she was being in that moment. Jake delicately smiled, raising back up and removing his hand.
"I know you are." He stated in a hushed tone. "...And, I also know that you want to help him. — But listen, you can't block out what you're feeling just to make sure he's okay."
His statement made Ni'teya stare for a short while, as if his words hadn't completely sunk in yet. She then looked down again once he continued to talk.
"Tell me... How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"
The girl was silent, not having an answer to give him as in truth, she had no idea. She didn't even recall falling asleep at all the night before.
"Ni'teya, you can't keep this up, you know that—" He sounded troubled.
"I know! Okay? I know." She rushed the words out of her, not wanting to be told what she already knew all too well. The girl didn't wait around to hear it either, she started to walk away from Jake once she'd finished talking, the man not stopping her in doing so.
He sighed as she left, scratching the back of his head.
But, what neither he nor Ni'teya knew, was that someone had been listening in on their conversation. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Lo'ak was able to hear what they were saying, all too clearly at that.
He'd heard Ni'teya admit she was scared, as well as her practically revealing that she hadn't slept the previous night; The night he had a bad dream. Because of how protective she got towards the end of the conversation, and how Jake reacted to her and her words as well as silence, he understood something else, too. He understood her unspoken words, the fact she hardly got any sleep anymore, not just the previous night but all of them.
He could only guess at the deepness of it.
In truth, Ni'teya would stay awake at night until Lo'ak woke up from his dreams, knowing they were a common occurrence. She was scared he'd wake up alone, knowing there was no way he'd purposely wake her up too. Trouble was, the dreams didn't happen every night. And, Ni'teya didn't know when he would or wouldn't have them, meaning she'd stay awake every night, even if it happened to be one of the dreamless ones. And so, sometimes, more often than not, she wouldn't sleep. At all.
Lo'ak suddenly felt guilty. He already did feel a little guilty for waking Ni'teya up after having a nightmares, which is what he thought he was doing. But now that he knew the truth, that would lie awake next to him, he was almost angry at himself for letting it happen and not noticing it sooner.
He stayed inside the hut so that Jake wouldn't suspect anything, not eating anything else as he'd lost his appetite. — He then spent the rest of the day indoors, claiming he didn't feel like doing anything that day. Kiri and Tuk had tried to usher him out, although when he snapped at them, tell them to 'leave him be', they did as they were told to do, not wanting to cause trouble where it wasn't needed.
Differently, Ni'teya spent her day on the beach, shell-hunting.
This proved to be a vital mistake however when the constant sound of waves crashing onto the sand beside her made her feel incredibly sleepy. Her eyelids got heavier, her feet slowing down without her realising it. Soon, she struggled to walk all together. So, she took herself to a nearby tree, resting her back on it and telling herself that she'd only rest her eyes for a couple of minutes to gain some energy back.
Minutes turned to hours, hours turned into an entire day. Unaware, Ni'teya had been sleeping up against the tree until nightfall, only waking up due to the sound of a twig snapping in front of her.
Her eyes shot open, immediately spotting the figure that stood directly in front of her, her eyes widening upon realising how long she'd been asleep for.
"Oh, uhm... Hi, Lo'ak." She nervously raised to her feet, hoping she'd be able to explain herself if she used her words properly.
However, Lo'ak already knew what was going on. He looked at her with saddened eyes, though his words had a vastly different tone.
"That's it." He muttered, turning away from her and beginning to walk away.
Worried because of how angry he sounded, she followed him. "What? What do you mean, that's it?" Ni'teya repeated his words, her pace quickening to catch up with him.
"I mean, that's it with you sleeping next to me." He suddenly halted, making Ni'teya stop too with shocked eyes. Her face grew puzzled, her head tilting as he thinned his lips in front of her.
"What? — Why?" Ni'teya questioned, unbeknownst to the fact the boy knew she hadn't been sleeping well.
The boy's brows furrowed together as he walked forward, speaking as he did so in a low tone. "You know why."
Ni'teya realised promptly that she indeed did know why. Somehow, he'd found out. — She stared at him for a little while before finally plucking up enough courage to agree with him on one point he made.
"Okay. I do know why, but—"
"There's no 'but' about it, Teya! Now, do you want to switch beds or shall I?" He hastily moved on the conversation before Ni'teya could object; A smart move, but one he failed in accomplishing.
She pleaded, "No! What if you have another dream, Lo'ak—"
"I don't need you to look after me all the time, okay?!" He raised his voice, making her step away from him, a judging look on her face. It then changed into one of pure annoyance.
She pointed her index finger at him, beginning to pace forward towards him quickly. "Don't you try and use that one again, mister!" She spoke with the same volume he had, making him back away from her.
"Shit— Okay, okay, alright! ...Damn it, if it'll make you feel better, I'll wake you up if I have one, okay?" Lo'ak compromised, though he was definitely forced into it.
Ni'teya relaxed a little, her posture softening and her finger lowering back to where it was before beside her.
"Promise?" She raised an eyebrow at him, making sure he was completely serious. Studying his features, she watched as he answered her.
"I promise."
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