𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦²

1.

Laya was exhausted. They had been flying all day, and Laya couldn't help but fall asleep with her arms wrapped around Neteyam's back.

Neteyam felt Laya's head drop down and rest on his shoulder. He was tired too, but he felt more comfortable with Laya resting comfortably behind him. He kept following his parents paths and looked behind him. He saw Laya with his coat wrapped over her, and her bags wrapped behind both of them, tied down to the Iran. He looked in front of him and sighed. They still had ways to go.

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A few hours later and they were finally approaching the floating Hallelujah mountains. Neteyam looked behind him and saw Laya still asleep, so he nudged her awake.

She let out a groan and dropped her head down.

"What.." She mumbled, obviously tired. A small smile formed on Neteyam's face.

"We're almost there" He said. Laya looked up to him and smiled. "Really?" Neteyam nodded. "Are you ready?" Laya raised an eyebrow.

"To see my home." He said proudly. Laya looked at him and saw the relief and happiness in his face. These mountains were obviously very important to him, so Laya knew she was going to grow to love this place.

They flew closer to the mountains and Laya marveled at the place. Magical mountains, most of which had waterfalls flowing down. A smile grew on both of their faces as they admired their home, familiar to Neteyam but new to Laya.

Neteyam had an idea and smirked. Suddenly he dived down and flew them into the waterfalls. Laya let out a shriek and tightened her hold onto Neteyam. He let out a loud laugh and shook his hair, splashing the water onto Laya. She let out another shriek and dug her head into his back, hiding her face from him.

"Evil!" She yelled. Neteyam looked back and laughed again, pecking her forehead before turning back and focusing on his flying.

Neteyam started to weave them through the different mountains, maneuvering them expertly. They suddenly descended onto a specific mountain that had an opening to a cave system.

Laya was amazed. She saw different houses placed into the caves in the mountain. As they descended onto the mountain, Neteyam reached back and squeezed Laya's thigh.

Laya let out a breath as they started to land. Neteyam separated his braid from the Iran and jumped off. He stepped back and grabbed Laya's hand, helping her down. She jumped down and held onto Neteyam, steadying herself. She took a deep breath and looked around.

"Wow-" She said, but not before she was interrupted. Tuk ran up to Neteyam and hugged him. "We're finally home!" She squealed. Neteyam hugged her back and ruffled her hair. "We sure are! Why don't you go help Mom with the unpacking?" Tuk nodded and ran off.

Neteyam looked back at Laya and smiled. He leaned in and pecked her on the lips. "How're you feeling?" He asked her as they interlaced their hands. "Tired.. exhausted.. like I'm about to collapse.." She dramatically sighed and rested her head on his chest. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Let's get you to bed." Laya nodded, her eyes drooping. Neteyam moved backwards and led her down the path. She tried to keep herself awake as she walked down.

She saw the people staring at her. She was obviously different from the others. Her skin was a lot lighter and much more turquoise, her eyes were bigger and light blue, and her arms were much thicker thicker. She also had different markings on her skin that resembled the reflection of the water, different to the Omaticaya whose markings resembled the animals that lived in the forest. Laya suddenly felt insecure and tightened Neteyam's coat over her. Neteyam saw this action and held her tighter to him. Then her tail flicked and revealed itself out of Neteyam's coat. She saw peoples eyes widen, and she felt herself grow even more insecure. An aching feeling started to grow in her stomach and she felt tears start to prick at her eyes.

Neteyam glared at the staring village folk, throwing them glances that warned them not to say anything. He knew that this would happen, that she would draw attention, but he didn't think the whole village would be there. He now realized that it was a pretty big event, the Sully family coming back. He didn't know if his father would become chief again but that wasn't his priority right now. His priority was making Laya feel as safe and comfortable as possible.

He moved her quickly through the staring crowd, a glare still on his face. He looked back to his mother, who just nodded and pointed her head to the direction of their home. Neteyam nodded and threw her a look of gratitude. She smiled back and focused on helping Tuk and the others.

Neteyam rushed her to his home, not bothering to get their bags. They were both exhausted and wanted to let the excitement die down. They finally arrived to their hut and Neteyam let out a sigh.

"Here we are. Just as I left it."

Laya squeezed his hand and urged them forward. He opened the door and walked in. It was cold, lifeless. He had never seen the place to quiet and sad, but he figured it would quickly liven up. He saw his old room and slowly creaked the door open. Seeing the messed up bed, the old memorabilia that he was forced to leave behind, he smiled.

"Here we are." He said to Laya, who smiled. She looked at the pictures that were in there and smiled. Pictures of him as a child, him with his family, and even pictures of him with a certain girl. She stiffened. "Who's that?" She asked.

Neteyam looked over and saw the picture she was referring to. "Just a girl I was friends with." Laya looked down and nodded. Neteyam noticed the change in her and squeezed her arm. "Hey, you wanna lie down?" He asked her. She nodded and collapsed onto his bed. He laughed and joined her, spooning her from behind. She cradled into him and sighed.

A silence filled the room as the two drifted asleep. Before Neteyam fell asleep, Laya spoke out.

"So who's the girl?" She mumbled. Neteyam groaned as a response, muffling his voice into her hair. She adjusted herself so she faced him and traced his face with her finger. "Hey 'teyam, talk to me." She said, a wave of alertness falling over her. He groaned again but opened his eyes. "She was just a friend that I sometimes hung out with." He looked at his partner. "Nothing nefarious, I promise."

Laya nodded. "Okay.." She mumbled. Neteyam smirked and eyed her.

"Are you jealous Rolayea?"

Laya bit her cheek and looked anywhere but her. He smiled. "You are!" He looked to the side and laughed. Laya blushed and slapped his chest.

"I'm not-" She was interrupted by his laughing. She huffed and turned around, facing away from him. He stopped laughing and softly exhaled onto her neck.

"You're so jealous." He taunted.

Laya rolled her eyes and burrowed her face into the blanket. He continued. "It's okay, I don't mind it." He looked at her and lowered the blanket that hid her face. "You're actually pretty hot when you're jealous." Laya blushed and hid her face deeper into the blanket. Neteyam smiled kissed the top of her head.

"I love you Rolayea."