✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Three and a half years earlier
Her eyes were glued to him, watching his every move. She saw how he accidentally cut his finger on one of the plants. He groaned, squinting a little before putting his finger in his mouth and sucking on it. She slowly shifted over to a different spot, hoping to catch a better look at him. He looked a little funny. Her eyes studied him, noticing that his eyes were a little further apart as well as an extra finger on his hands. She'd never seen something like that before. It intrigued her to say the least.
When she accidentally stepped on a twig, making it snap, she cursed at herself in her head. The boy's head flung around in her direction, making her jump behind a tree. It wasn't the best hiding spot but better than nothing.
'You know I can see you, right?' The boy asked, making her peek from behind the tree.
He was taken aback. It was a girl, probably around his age.
She slowly left the tree, making her way over to the boy. 'Who are you?' She asked, having never seen him before.
'Who are you?' He repeated, throwing the question back at her.
'I asked you first.' She said, crossing her arms.
'I'm not telling you before you tell me.' He frowned like a child.
She scoffed at him. 'Then I'm not telling you either.'
'Fine.'
'Fine.'
They both looked away from each other, eyes focussed on the ground. The girl peeked over at him a few times before giving in. 'I'm Ikariya.' She said. 'You?'
His head shot up. 'Lo'ak.'
'Nice to meet you, Lo'ak.' Ikariya said, smiling at him.
He smiled back. 'Nice to meet you too, Ikariya. You have a long name.' He said.
It made Ikariya laugh at him. 'You don't.' She pointed out the obvious.
'Mind if I call you Riya?' He asked her gently.
Ikariya shook her head. 'No, go ahead.' In fact, she was delighted by him calling her that. He already gave her a nickname. This had to mean they were friends. She'd never had friends before.
Lo'ak was her first friend and she would cherish him.