Shells | Lo'ak Sully

Part 14 - Quiet

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(POV: Lo'ak)

Why is it she's always not where she's supposed to be at any given moment?

I couldn't find her all day, yet there she was with my sister, claiming to have seen the Sky-People. I began to think that Kiri should've known better than to let Ni'teya go with her, but hearing those words in my head made me realise that Ni'teya had probably not given Kiri a choice.

I had successfully kept her out of trouble for the past few days, even knowing that she didn't want to be stuck with me throughout the entirety of it, and the second she got the chance to, she ran and hid.

And now, the thing that I'd precisely wanted to avoid had taken place.

I watched her as she told my sister something, pointing over at the trees behind our hut before she went on her way towards them. Naturally, I followed her, wanting to check for additional wounds or anything, really.

The air that night was crisper than usual, the sky was darker too, resulting in a much darker forest.

When I had caught up to her, she was sat in the middle of the trees, fiddling with leaves, pieces of wood and bamboo, stems, even thorns.

"What are you doing?" I ask her, giving her a chance to explain herself. She froze in place for a second, not expecting to hear a voice behind her. That, or she'd just been caught doing something she wasn't technically supposed to be doing.

"You startled me." Ni'teya stated coldly before pursuing her previous antics.

I stepped around and in front of her, trying to make out what she had between her hands. Almost instantly, I recognized the half-moon shape to be that of a bow's belly, quickly scrambling for thoughts on what in Eywa's name she was doing holding it.

"Why do you have that?" I look to check her expression, which was concentrated and flat. I didn't know whether she was ignoring me or if she simply didn't process what I'd asked her, but either way, I needed her to answer me.

I sat down in front of her, trying my best to make her look at me, which she refused to do for some reason. Her hands raced to tie a knot, moving too quick to actually be able to tie it properly, meaning that it came undone as soon as she let it go. This provoked a frustrated sigh from her, throwing the stem that hadn't done what she'd wanted it to her side, picking up a new one and proceeding to do the same thing.

"Hey." I stepped in, knowing she wasn't thinking straight and needed to calm her mind down. I reached for the bow as well as her hand that was clutching it, took it into mine and gently lifted it off, taking the bow away from her and away from her eyeline. She sighed again, this time allowing herself to look straight at me, her eyes empty.

"What's wrong this time?" I tried to lighten the mood, chuckling a bit as I spoke, failing to make her smile too. I then reached forward, using my fingers to touch the beads that were hanging from her neck, averting my gaze for a while in hope that maybe she'd speak then.

I could feel a strong stare continue to hit me and soon after, I heard her voice. "What are you thinking, Lo'ak?" She whispers, so quiet and quick that if I hadn't been paying attention to her, then I'd have missed it completely.

I didn't know what she meant, but I answered her anyway, still admiring her beads. "I'm asking myself why you're making weapons." I spoke in the same hushed tone as she did, attempting to match her energy as to make her more comfortable.

"And, I'm thinking... You probably have a reason, so, why don't you tell me?" I tried,  letting go of her beaded neckpieces and moving my look back onto her face.