Skipping Stones | Lo'ak

11

CHAPTER 11

When they had eventually arrived at the village it was pure chaos. Just as 'Kanu had expected it to be. The Sullys were panicking, not sure of what they should do and the villagers would want to come and see what was wrong. Obviously they weren't allowed to - not even 'Kanu went near the Sully pod.

The next morning when the sky people arrived it was chaos once again. The Metkayina were visibly stressed and 'Kanu did her best to calm the children with Tsireya. To maintain some sort of peace, none of them had spoken about the tree of spirits momentarily losing it's light to anyone but the Tsahik and Olo'eyktan. The leaders had of course been immensely concerned for it was their most sacred place - but when they had sent their children back to the place, all was good. The tree looked exactly as it always did. Glowing and beautiful.

It was the most peculiar thing. 'Kanu could not clear her mind of the situation no matter what she did - but to be fair she had not really tried to. She wanted to know what had happened.

Her thoughts were disrupted when someone sat down in the sand next to her. 'Kanu had been sitting by the shore in peace, replaying yesterdays events in her head.

"How are you?" Rotxo asked as he stepped next to her and looked at her intently, trying to read her expression.

"I'm alright," 'Kanu responded without looking at him, "Just worried for Kiri. Has she woken up yet?"

Rotxo shrugged, "I wouldn't know. They aren't letting anyone but the Tsahik in their home - and all those skypeople with their weird things."

'Kanu nodded, "I hope she wakes up soon," she sighed.

"Yes," Rotxo agreed, "It was pretty scary yesterday when the tree of souls just went dark."

"It really was. Nothing like that has ever happened," 'Kanu frowned in concern, "Did you notice that the tree went dark after I disconnected Kiri from it?"

Rotxo shook his head, "I had not noticed," he told her, "There is something weird about her." When he noticed how 'Kanu had narrowed her eyes at him, he quickly raised his palms up in a sign of peace, "Not like that! She's just - different from us. It could be good."

'Kanu sighed again and turned her gaze back to the sky, "I agree with you. She seems to have some kind of connection - to everything."

There was a moment of silence in which Rotxo gazed at her. She knew he was looking but she refused to acknowledge it. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on their village where she could see children running and their parents trying to keep up with them. The sight put a small smile on 'Kanu's face.

When Rotxo spoke up again he spoke very gently, "I'm sorry."

'Kanu finally looked at him, "For what?" She needed him to be specific - there were loads of things he could be apologizing for. They had been friends for years and in that time they'd both had plenty fights that he usually started.

Rotxo sighed and leaned back on his arms, "Just for annoying you every day since I've known you. I've expressed my feelings but I'm not great at not expressing them - you know?"

'Kanu nodded slowly. He was talking about how he told her he loved her every day. There was nothing wrong with being honest, but when she had told him so many times that she did not feel the same, it had gotten annoying, "You better not say it right now."

Her words were harsh but Rotxo could tell that this was her attempt at easing tension between them. He laughed and nudged her, "I will not say it," he assured her. 'Kanu smiled until he continued, "I will wait for you to say it first."