𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦

6.

Walking back to her cot that contained her cousins and their parents, she felt dread filling her stomach. Somehow, her aunt, Ronal, always knew when she broke the rules. Then again, she didn't know if going on a joy ride with one of the outsiders was against the rules. Either way, she knew that it probably wasn't one of the things to boast about. 

She crept into her bed, slowly lowering herself down without alerting anybody else. Successfully laying down, her mind was racing. She didn't know what was going on. Ever since the Sully family came into her life, something changed. Maybe it was simply that there were more mouths to feed, or maybe, just maybe, Laya found somebody that she really wanted to get close with. 

Eventually, she drifted off to sleep. 

Tsireya, still awake, knew about Laya's little adventure in the sky. She wasn't going to tell her mother, but she was happy to see Laya find a friend. She did wish that Laya was a little quieter though, especially when coming home at night. Perhaps the jungle boy could teach her his ways. 

And with that, the whole family fell asleep.

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The next morning, Neteyam was in an argument with his parents.

"Where did you go last night? You went to the bathroom then you didn't come back!" His mother exclaimed. His father, trying to calm down his mom, put his arm around her.

"You realize you worried us? You don't do these things Neteyam. You don't disappear for periods of time and then come back when we're sleeping!" His dad yelled.

Neteyam knew the consequences last night, but he felt a twinge of regret. Though he had an amazing time, there was probably a way to go about it without being yelled at. 

"I'm sorry sir." Neteyam looked down. "I was exploring. I lost track of time."  

"No excuse. You look at me boy." HIs father grabbed his chin and forced Neteyam to look at him. "You worried us sick. Don't do that again. You're grounded." Neteyam nodded. His dad released him from his grip. "Yes sir." He looked at his mother, who was already looking at him. 

"We care about you Neteyam, we just want you safe." She said softly, putting her hand on his cheek. He nodded again, walking away from his parents. 

He hated being yelled at, and it always struck the emotional part in him. He didn't want to cry in front of them, so he quickly walked away. He started walking towards the trees of the island, hoping to get some resemblance of home. Walking thicker into the forest, he found a tree and started to climb it. Scurrying up it quickly, he sat on a branch. He started to let some tears fall. This always happened when he disappointed his parents, especially his father. He tried so hard to please them, but it was never enough. Especially with his father being "Toruk Makto", he knew he'd never catch up. His father had always been demanding and strict, but was usually loving and compassionate. He knew that his parents had been stressed lately, but they were starting to take it out on them. 

Tears falling down his face, he tried to think about the good side of his parents. He loved his mother and father very much, and he knew that they were good at what they do. Like leading military-style missions. His father was very good at that. So much in fact that it carried into their home life. Calling him sir was the norm. Neteyam didn't mind it, but he knew that Lo'ak hated it. He understood why, it was frustrating, but he dealt with it. His mother was extremely compassionate and loving towards her kids, but he often saw the disdain that she held for Spider. 

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he started to climb down. Expertly climbing down from the tall tree, he was met with the ground. Starting the walk back, he didn't want to talk to anybody. Trying his best to avoid people, he failed when he saw Lo'ak run up to him.

"What happened bro? All I heard was dad tell you you're grounded. Finally for once it's not me-" Neteyam shoved Lo'ak away.

"Shut up bro. Nothing happened. Mom and dad are just stressed out." Neteyam voiced. Lo'ak didn't buy it. 

"No way. Tsireya was telling me that Rolayea didn't come home till late. So tell me brother, did you get any?" Lo'ak smirked.

Though Neteyam wanted to tell his brother about the events of last night, he didn't know if Laya wanted people to know that they were hanging out last night. He made a note to talk to her later. He shook his head.

"Nah, I was just looking in the forest. I didn't see her last night." He shrugged, trying to keep up the illusion. Lo'ak still didn't buy it, but decided to let the subject drop. 

"Sure bro, sure." He winked at him and skipped off to where Tsireya was. 

A small smile grew on Neteyam's face, and he decided to go find Laya. 

Walking towards the beach she had first took them when they arrived there, he found her with a small spear in hand, spearing fish. Sneaking up behind her, he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and scared her. She jumped back and pushed him off of her, letting out a loud yelp. Neteyam burst out in laughter, putting his hands on his knees. She realized who it was and rolled her eyes at him, then pushed him over. He fell on his back onto the sand, still laughing. 

"You dick! I could've-" She looked at her spear, "I could've speared you!" This made him laugh even more. 

"Oh Eywa forbid you poke me with that stick!" He let out another loud laugh, still laying on the sand. She smirked and started to kick him gently, but as another hit came, they started to get harder. 

"Poke you eh? How about this!" She started to kick him around. Not hitting hard enough to hurt, but definitely hard enough to get her message across. He started to let out loud yelps, obviously exaggerating the pain. 

"Evil! Evil!" He called out. "You're really abusing the newcomer?!" She smirked and nodded. 

"Of course I am. It's called hazing." She stuck out her tongue. Stopping her kicking, she held out a hand to help him out. He eyed her hand, before using it to help himself up. Tempted to let him fall, she did in fact help him up, but the thought definitely crossed her mind. He stood up and thanked her.

"Thank you for that." He said. She eyed him. "For the kicking or the helping up?" She questioned. 

"You know I was going to forget about the kicking but since you bring it up..." He suddenly picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. Then he started the walk to the water. She immediately started to fight back. Kicking the air, hitting his chest, she tried to get him to drop her. This all failed though, because he just held onto her tighter and laughed. 

She eventually gave up and went limp on his shoulder, holding her head up by putting her elbow on his shoulder and resting her face on her palm. 

"This is unfair." She stated. He scoffed.

"Says the one who was kicking a man on the floor mere seconds ago." She had to bite back a smile. She did get him pretty good on the floor. 

Neteyam, with Laya on his back, was walking into the deeper side of the water. Suddenly, he let her go. Letting out a shriek, Laya, out of instinct, grabbed onto Neteyam before she could fall. She hooked her arms around his neck and fell down his back, clinging on by his neck. 

"You're- Choking- Me!" He let out. She let go of his neck, realizing that they aren't that deep. Getting her footing, she brushed herself off and coughed.

"Sorry." A smile forming on her face, she looked into Neteyam's eyes. Him, still recovering from being choked, took a few seconds before meeting her gaze. He looked confusedly at her.

"What?" He started touching his face, as if something was there. "Is there something on my face?" She let out a laugh.

"Yes actually" She held up a hand next to his face. "Idioticy" Then she lightly slapped him. She sighed and turned around, starting to walk away. 

"Wait!" He called out, reaching and grabbing her hand. She turned around. "Are you actually mad that I picked you up?" She got closer, so close that Neteyam couldn't think. They were almost touching noses when Laya turned her face toward his ear. "No. But I'll get you back." Turning and backing away, she smirked at him. He let go of her hand and just stood there, waist deep in the water, awestruck. Then he looked down.

"Shit."