Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past
Bold - sign language
"Watch out!" A voice yelled.
Within an instant, Ja'lia ducked and swung her right leg sweeping the perpetrator off their feet.
Lo'ak lay on the ground as he groaned in pain from his fall. He had been the one who Ja'lia was fighting with for the first round of fighting.
"Damn, Lia," He grumbled as he tried to get his bearings back from the shock of his fall.
The boy thought that he was going to win the fight because the entire time, he had the upper advantage due to him being taller than her and stronger than her. However, he grew cocky, and as the fight continued, Lo'ak wore himself out.
It slipped his mind that Ja'lia had the endurance and speed to easily knock him on his ass before his mind could even register what was happening.
Everyone who had been with the older Sully children and Ja'lia tried to stifle their laughter as they didn't want to get yelled at by the Chief, but ultimately, they failed horribly.
"Haha," Lo'ak said, shooting them a glare, "Why don't you try to win a fight against her?" He challenged, and the laughter quickly died down as the Metkayina teens rubbed the back of their necks.
None of them wanted to fight against Ja'lia. She was more skilled than they were, and if Lo'ak, the boy who trained by her side, couldn't beat her, how in the world would they even come close to winning? The boys didn't wish to fall straight on their asses within the first five seconds of the fight, so they all looked down at their feet or anywhere else to avoid being picked next.
Except for Ao'nung.
Ao'nung was the best warrior in his age group, and he was also the Chief's son, so if he were to act nervous or scared of Ja'lia then he was afraid that his father might be disappointed in him.
"Alright, who's next?" The Chief asked.
"I'll go," Two voices said at the same time.
Ja'lia looked up from her fingernails that she had been staring at in boredom, and her eyes widened. Both Neteyam and Ao'nung had volunteered to be her next challenger.
Shit. The girl thought to herself.
It's not that she was afraid of fighting them. No, she couldn't be afraid to fight them, as that was almost anyone's worst weakness on the battlefield. It was more of the fact that she had never fought Neteyam as she had with Lo'ak. She'd only observed his fights.
And he was good, like extremely good. Back home, he was undefeated, and that's why he always had a target on his back when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
Jake had taught him every play in the book, which meant he would have the upper advantage. From what Ja'lia had observed when she watched him fight a million times, he never got tired, he was exceedingly fast and perceptive, and the boy always knew the person's next move before they did.
However, that didn't mean she wanted to fight Ao'nung either. She had never seen him fight before, and they were in his home where he had been training since he was allowed to.
Plus, they were on the sand, and Ja'lia didn't want to make a fool out of herself by slipping and falling on her face.
"Who would you prefer, Ja'lia?" Tonowari questioned, asking the girl if she had a preference.
She, of course, didn't as it was a lose-lose situation either way.
So, Ja'lia said something that would make her appear more confident than she was feeling at that moment.
"You pick Chief," She said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Tonowari thought about it for a second until an until idea crossed his mind, causing his eyes to light up in delight. "How about you fight both of them?" He asked, and Ja'lia's eyes slightly widened as she tried to hide her shock.
"Father, I don't think that's a good idea," Ao'nung shook his head.
"Yeah, I don't want to hurt her," Neteyam said, immediately rejecting the idea.
When Neteyam said that he didn't want to hurt her, she took slight offense to it, even though she knew he was right. If she were to fight both of them at the same time, it would be a complete and total disaster. Unless, she could pit them against each other.
Of course, the idea was evil, stupid even, but she was going to be fighting two boys who were at least two heads taller than her, so fair was fair.
Besides, it's not like it would be an unnecessarily hard task to complete. Ao'nung and Neteyam still didn't get along from what Ja'lia could tell, and all it would take was one whisper of the ear for all of the attention to be off of her.
"I'll do it," Ja'lia shrugged her shoulders, and everyone's eyes widened, and their jaws dropped.
"Great, everyone get into their positions," Tonowari commanded.
Both Ao'nung and Neteyam hesitantly got into their fighting positions while Ja'lia walked over to be at standing next to them at an angle, making the shape of a triangle. The two boys glanced over at Ja'lia to see a small smirk on their faces, and it confused them.
What game was she playing in that cute little head of hers?
Neteyam knew Ja'lia. She wouldn't have agreed to fight both of them without already having a plan in mind that would ensure her victory. The only problem was that he could never get a read on her, no matter what he did. Ja'lia was the only person whom he couldn't tell what her next move was going to be.
He had observed every fight he could, and he always tried to predict her next move, but when Neteyam thought she was going to do one thing, she would do the opposite. It drove him insane that he could never predict her moves.
"Alright!" The Chief's voice was heard loud and clear, "You may begin!"
Everyone expected all hell to break loose when Tonowari said those words, however, no one had made a single move yet as they were all sizing each other up.
Ao'nung and Neteyam both looked at each other before giving a slight nod of the head. Soon, the two boys were walking toward Ja'lia, who still had yet to make any indication that she was going to do something to defend herself.
But that was Ja'lia's plan all along. She wasn't going to fight at first, but as the fight went on, Ja'lia knew that she would have to start to defend herself. Because if she allowed them to constantly attack her without a counter-attack, they would know something was up, and then it would be game over.
Just a few more steps. Ja'lia thought to herself.
As soon as the two boys got within reaching distance of Ja'lia, she saw how Ao'nung was going to take a swing at her. Ja'lia easily dodged it as she slid out of the way, placing herself behind Neteyam.
When Ao'nung missed his attack, he was confused when he saw Ja'lia no longer in the same spot she was in before. Neteyam blinked and quickly turned around to see Ja'lia smirking at him. She brought her leg up and kicked him in the stomach sending him back into Ao'nung, and they both went crumbling to the ground.
"What the hell, Lia?" Neteyam said.
"Come on, Neteyam. I thought you were more skilled than that," She teased, causing Neteyam to hop onto his feet. The Metkayina boy soon joined him, and Neteyam looked at him.
"You take her from the left. I'll take her from the right," Neteyam whispered, and Ao'nung silently agreed with Neteyam.
The two boys stalked toward Ja'lia as she started to devise a plan in her head. Let them catch her, whisper something in one of their ears that would make them pissed at the other, enjoy the show, and win by default.
She didn't necessarily care about winning. It was more of the fact that she wanted to leave that session with any cuts or bruises. Also, because she didn't want to train in the first place, but because Jake and Neytiri were her guardians, whatever they said went, no questions asked.
Although, Ja'lia wasn't going to easily allow them to catch her. That would make it too obvious that she didn't want to fight them. No, she was going to defend herself this time, and if one of them happened to say take her to the ground, then so be it.
Ja'lia pulled herself from her thoughts, and just as she did, she immediately had to duck when she saw something coming towards her from the corner of her eye. Neteyam had been the first one to approach her, and now she was physically fighting him. Blocking punch after punch, she backed up when she needed to, and moved forward when she counter-attacked.
Little did she know that Ao'nung was coming right up behind up as a sneak attack. And as soon as he was close enough, he grabbed her by wrapping his arms around her waist. Ja'lia thrashed in his hold, but Neteyam quickly came up to the girl and grabbed her legs.
"Come on, Lia! You've got this!" Lo'ak cheered for his best friend.
This was the moment she had been waiting for. It was finally time to start conducting her plan, and she felt the adrenaline coarse through her veins as she gathered up every last bit of strength to begin her plan.
When Ao'nung and Neteyam thought they had her beaten was when she would start, and as soon as she saw that glimpse of victory flash across Neteyam's face, she smirked.
The girl immediately brought her legs as close to her chest as she possibly could, and kicked back, sending herself and Ao'nung in one direction while Neteyam fell back in the other.
However, Ao'nung was quicker to gather himself than Ja'lia anticipated as he moved from out under her and pinned her to the ground.
"Got you," He smirked. Ja'lia only returned his look of victory as she kneed him in the stomach and rolled over on top of him, pinning his hands above his head.
"Hmm, looks like Neteyam was right," She whispered, and Ao'nung shot her a glare. "You were easy to take down," Ja'lia brought her mouth down to Ao'nung's ear, "I guess it must suck losing to outsiders, huh?"
"I'm not easy to take down," Ao'nung seethed.
"No?" She taunted, feigning innocence, "Then prove it," Ja'lia whispered.
Ao'nung pushed Ja'lia off him as he stood up and stalked toward Neteyam. The teen girl took a few steps back until she was standing right beside Lo'ak. "What are you doing?" He asked, confused.
"Just watch," Ja'lia said.
Soon, Neteyam and Ao'nung were fighting each other. Neteyam tried to ask him what was happening as they were supposed to be fighting Ja'lia, not each other.
"Don't act dumb, Neteyam. You were asking for a fight," Ao'nung said, attacking at every chance he got.
Unfortunately, the fight eventually got out of hand as all the tension that had been building up since the Sully family first arrived started to come to a head. After about five minutes of fighting, Ao'nung and Neteyam were rolling on the ground cussing at each other, pulling the other's ears or hair, and overall causing a huge ruckus.
Tonowari rolled his eyes at the scene before him and knew that Ja'lia had something to do with it. The Chief had been warned by both Jake and Neytiri that the girl had an amazing, but devious mind, and if she didn't want to do something, but wouldn't admit to not wanting to do it, she would find the next best thing.
And the next best thing was pitting his son and Neteyam against each other.
Although, he had to admit. It was quite smart on Ja'lia's part because she knew that the two boys still had major issues to figure out as the Sully family, and she wasn't going to be leaving for a while, if ever.
Nevertheless, the Chief couldn't allow the two boys to continue rolling around on the ground in some petty fight initiated by Ja'lia.
"Enough!" His voice echoed, and the fight immediately came to a halt. Both boys scrambled away from each other and onto their feet as Tonowari shook his head in amusement before looking at Ja'lia, "You know, Jake and Neytiri warned me that you might do something like this," He said, and Ja'lia shrugged her shoulders.
"What are you talking about?" Ao'nung asked, confused.
"Pitting you and Neteyam was Ja'lia's plan the entire time, wasn't it?" The Chief questioned, wanting confirmation.
"Yep," She popped, and both boys' jaws dropped.
Laughter was heard around the two boys as the fight had suddenly become funny to the rest of the group, who had images of the boys rolling around on the ground flashing through their minds.
Ao'nung looked pissed at Ja'lia, but Neteyam just rolled his eyes and slung his arm around her shoulder, "You're evil," He chuckled, and Ja'lia beamed at him before glancing at Ao'nung, who was still glaring at her.
"Come on, Nungie. Even you have to admit that it was a smart idea," Ja'lia spoke, "I mean, I had to give myself the advantage somehow," She revealed, causing the Metkayina to sigh before a small smile made its way up to his lips.
"Whatever," Ao'nung smiled.
"I think that's enough training for today," Tonowari said, and sighs of relief were heard all around. "You're dismissed," The Chief informed, and Ja'lia practically leaped for joy as she ran out of Neteyam's grip and walked over to Lo'ak who had started to leave the training session without her.
When Lo'ak noticed that Ja'lia was right beside him, he scowled. "I can't believe you beat me, again," He muttered, and Ja'lia laughed.
"You're too impulsive. You move without thinking, and tire out too easily," Ja'lia informed.
"I do not," Lo'ak scoffed.
"Really? So, if we were to say, fight again, you'd beat me?" She asked.
"Yes," He said, oozing confidence.
"Okay, then let's go to the forest, and you can prove it," She shrugged, skipping off to the forest, leaving a stunned Lo'ak in the dust.
However, he was soon chasing after her, and when Ja'lia noticed that he was running after her, she burst into a sprint before she was soon running through the forest.
Eventually, they made it to their spot, and they both allowed themselves to catch their breath before getting into position. Once they got their breath, however, all bets were off.
The air was charged with anticipation as Ja'lia and Lo'ak stood facing each other, their eyes locked in a steely gaze. They found themselves surrounded by towering trees that seemed to bear witness to the imminent clash. The atmosphere crackled with energy, foretelling the intensity of the forthcoming fight that Ja'lia had taunted out of Lo'ak.
It was silent as they both waited for one of them to make a first move.
Without a word, Ja'lia lunged forward with quickness, her agile frame slicing through the air as she unleashed punches and kicks in a blur of motion, aiming for Lo'ak's defenses with precision. She was like a whirlwind, her movements a testament to her extensive training and innate skill.
Lo'ak, though taken aback by Ja'lia's sudden outburst, swiftly regained his composure. He blocked and parried her attacks with an impressive display of agility and strength, showcasing his skills. He countered with calculated strikes. His movements were fluid and powerful, leaving Ja'lia surprised.
The boy had never fought with such precision before, and it seemed that her words from moments before ignited a fire within him.
Lo'ak went to take a swing at Ja'lia, and as she took one step back to block his punch, she tripped over a branch that she had forgotten was there. The boy, who had previously been attacking her, quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him with more strength than he had intended to.
As Ja'lia was pulled into Lo'ak's chest, it was like everything happened in slow motion. One minute Lo'ak had saved Ja'lia from falling to the ground, and the next Ja'lia laid on top of Lo'ak as she waited to feel the crash. Lo'ak had taken almost all of the impact as the wind was knocked out of his lungs.
Ja'lia's eyes were clamped shut before she slowly reopened them to see how close she was to Lo'ak's face. The girl gulped, and when Lo'ak opened his eyes to see her above him, she almost jumped.
When Lo'ak saw how close Ja'lia's face was to his, his heartbeat quickened, and he had to fight the urge to place his hand before her head to pull her in for a kiss. It was taking every last drop of self-control the boy had, however, it seemed as though he was failing as he moved his head closer to Ja'lia's, and placed one hand at the back of her neck, and the other on the small of her back.
The girl's eyes widened at his action as she saw that he was asking for her permission with his eyes. He continued to pull her closer until all it took was one small movement, and a fire would be ignited in both of them that neither of them would ever want to blow out.
It was evident that neither of them wanted to pull away. Both of them wanted to kiss each other, but there was still that pang of doubt in the back of their mind that if they did this, if they gave in, then it would all be over.
Their friendship would change, and nothing would ever be the same again.
And they weren't sure if they were ready for such changes yet.
Unedited. 07/04/23
Word Count: 3,003
Quick note-
Oolala. It's getting a little warm in here.
Thank y'all so so much for over 1.1K reads on my story! I love all of you, and I hope you have a wonderful day.
For those of you who celebrate, Happy 4th of July!!