𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦

5.

The walk back was silent, but comfortable. Neteyam kept sneaking a look at Rolayea, thinking that she wouldn't notice, but she definitely did. He went to sneak another look at her when she grabbed his arm and stopped him. 

"What" He asked, confused. She looked around, checking to see if there was anybody looking. She turned quickly back to Neteyam.

"I want you to teach me something." She asked, fighting back a smile. He looked at her, confused. "Teach you what?" She bit her lip and looked to the platform where the ikrans of the new islanders were. He followed her gaze and shook his head.

"Absolutely not."
"Why not?"
"Because 1. It's dangerous, 2. We'll get in so much trouble, and 3. There aren't any here for you to even tame." He shook his head again, reaffirming his earlier statement. 

"Just take me on a ride then. Please?" She looked at him, eagerly trying to convince him. He did want to take her on a joyride, but he was just thinking about what could happen if something went wrong. She could fall and get really hurt, or even die. And if their parents found out... he didn't even want to imagine what his dad would do to him. 

He didn't want to hurt her, but he also didn't want to let her down. 

"Okay, how about this. Tonight, at midnight, I'll take you on a small trip. Small." She smiled and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Thank you!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at midnight." She winked at him and walked away to the village, leaving him speechless at the beach. He couldn't believe what he had gotten himself into. 

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6 Hours Later

Everybody was in bed, well, everybody except Rolayea and Neteyam. Neteyam had used the excuse of needing to pee and snuck out of his cot with his family, and Rolayea simply just said she was going on a walk. Meeting under the night sky, they saw each other.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Neteyam asked thoughtfully. Rolayea nodded her head quickly, obviously very excited for the night's events. Neteyam took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, and they started walking to where the ikrans slept. 

"Tell me at any point if you want to stop." Neteyam added, voice barely above a whisper. Rolayea nodded, and tightened her hand around his. Neteyam noticed that Rolayeas hair was up instead of its usual down across her shoulders. It was instead in a braid that went down her back. 

"Your hair" He said "It's up." She smiled sheepily. "Yeah, I thought it'd be best, what with the flying and all." He nodded, and quickly said "It's pretty." She was about to respond when they arrived in front of the sleeping ikrans. Not being used to the close proximity with these creatures, Rolayeas grip around Neteyams hand tightened, and she grabbed his arm. He instinctively positioned himself to be in front of her, and approached his ikran. 

Rolayea immediately noticed the difference in Neteyam. He was in his element. He had been around these creatures his whole life. His steps were silent, compared to Rolayea's crunches beneath her feet. He moved toward his ikran so skillfully, and for a second Rolayea forgot she was supposed to follow him, and was just busy admiring him being in his element. She had gotten so used to him being clueless about everything that she forgot that he had grown up doing these things. She knew what warriors had to do in order to be able to tame these creatures. She thought it to be a violent and useless act, but in this moment, she wanted nothing more than to see Neteyam fight an ikran and win.

Waking up his ikran gently, he softly cooed to it. "Wake up... shhh... This'll be quick I promise.." He softly pet his ikran's head. He looked back to Rolayea, who was still sheepishly hiding behind him. 

"Come, pet him. He doesn't bite-well... he won't bite you." Neteyam tried to sound reassuring, but not doing a great job. Rolayea slowly put her hand on its head and started to pet it. She was definitely scared, but she tried to trust Neteyam. "He's yours right?" She looked up at Neteyam. He nodded, grabbing the end of his braid and quickly making the bond. Sure he had trouble with the Ilu earlier but he definitely did not have trouble with this ikran. Quickly hopping onto the back, he helped Rolayea sit behind him. 

"Put your legs here and here" He said, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. "Hold onto me." Rolayea loosely held his chest, trying not to make it awkward. Before they took off, she whispered into his ear. "Thank you Neteyam." He looked back, "Of course Laya." 

And then, they took off. Immediately Laya scurried to hold onto Neteyam tighter, to where her chest was directly against his back. He tried not to pay attention to it. They soared upwards, and Neteyam wanted to take it easier in the beginning. They slowly flew straight, the wind flowing through both of their hair and bodies. He heard Laya laugh from behind him and he was relieved she was having a good time. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared she wouldn't enjoy this, but now he saw how much fun she was having. 

Holding onto him tight, Laya was having the time of her life. Whooping out random sounds, trying to look at her home from a new perspective, wind in her face and her hair, Laya was glad for this opportunity. Laya was glad that this family came from the jungle, and she was glad that she had asked Neteyam for this. 

Deciding to up the ante, Neteyam made the ikran speed up. This change was not unnoticed by Laya, who held Neteyam tighter to her, if that was even possible. The night sky surrounded them, and a blanket of stars lit the way. Flying in circles, Neteyam decided to land on a tree, where his ikran could take a breather and so he could get a moment with Laya. Not that he wanted a moment with Laya. He just wanted to talk to her and-

The ikran landed on a nearby tree and Laya loosened her grip on Neteyam. She looked up, and was amazed. Stars were even brighter tonight than usual, and she had a way better view from up here then she did from her cot. 

"Beautiful" She uttered. Neteyam looked at her and agreed. "Yeah."

"As much as I want to sit here and look at the stars all night, we should head back." She said, looking at Neteyam. He nodded, forgetting how much time had passed since he initially snuck out of his family's pod. Helping her onto the ikran again, he made sure she was all good and positioned correctly before taking off. Feeling the familiar feeling of her arms around his chest, he smiled to himself. 

They flew back to the village, but not before doing a few flips that scared Laya shitless.

"You dick! You should've warned me!" She screeched, desperately clinging onto him. "But where's the fun in that?" He laughed. 

Once they arrived to the village, he told his ikran to be quiet and landed silently. Removing his braid from the ikran, he helped Laya down. 

"How awesome was that?" He asked Laya, voice a small whisper. She laughed, and filled with adrenaline, grabbed onto Neteyam and gave him a huge hug. "That was amazing. Awesome. So cool." She rambled. He smiled, and they released each other from their hug. She grabbed his hands and held them close. "Can we do that again?" She asked tenderly. He laughed and shook his head. "Maybe another night." She nodded. "Another night." 

He interlaced his hands with hers. "Goodnight Laya." He whispered. "Goodnight Neteyam." She replied. Breaking off his hands, she walked away, looking back only once. The only time she did look back, she saw him looking at her. 

She smiled to herself. She had a good night.