Where's My Love? - Lo'ak

Chapter 23: Hands

Esmyrie heard the yells that the Sully boy returned and she so badly wanted to get up and run to him, but she had strict orders to stay laying down, and she had already broken that rule once, she didn't want to do it again.

So she waits very impatiently in her bed, her nails almost digging into her skin and drawing blood from how anxious she is to see the boy.

She saw him this morning, but after learning of his abandonment outside of the reef, her anxiety and concern for the boy increased.

She was already nervous knowing he was apologizing to boys that he just got in a fight with three days ago, so to know that they left him there, alone and in territory he didn't know made her more concerned and if her side didn't hurt so bad she probably would of punched Ao'nung when she found out the news.

When she sees the boy enter the hut she can't help it, she forces her body to get up and see the boy, but Lo'ak is quick to run over to her and grab her hand.

"What are you doing? Lay back down." Lo'ak urges, his arms going to her back to gently put her back down on her bed. "You're hurt, Esmy. You aren't supposed to be standing and walking around."

Esmyrie only shrugs and holds onto the boys forearms, forcing the boy to sit down with her when she is gently sat down.

"Lo'ak, you're hurt." Esmyrie whispers, her hand going towards his arms and shoulders that are scratched up. Her eyes holding more concern.

"Just a few scratches, I'm alright." Lo'ak tries to shrug off his injuries, but if he were being honest, they were starting to hurt and the salt water he was in didn't help the pain.

"Come here." Esmyrie urges, moving slightly so the boy can sit on her bed, her hand moving to his cheek and caressing it.

Lo'ak accepts the comfort and moves his face so he is closer to her touch, her hands feeling like fire needed on a cold day. The boy closes his eyes, wanting the comfort from the girl to surround his body and heal his wounds, heal his heart that is fractured from the words of his father.

'You brought shame to this family.' A phrase that would run through his head until he dies.

"You scared me, Lo'ak.... I thought something bad happened to you." Esmyrie says, her thumbing rubbing soothing motions on the boys cheeks, feeling how tense his body is from the day, trying to have him relax and realize he is safe.

"I'm alright, really. I actually, I made a friend." Lo'ak says, a smile starting to form on his face when he mentions Payakan, the Tulkan that saved his life. The one that stopped him from drowning and took him back to safety.

"A friend? But I thought Ao'nung and them left you?" Esmyrie questions, moving her hand down to rest on his chest, right above his heart where it still beats rapidly.

"No, not them. I tried to become friends with them but then they abandoned me. I became friends with a Tulkan, his name is Payakan. He saved my life." Lo'ak says, opening his eyes and looking at the girl.

Her eyebrows are down in concern, her eyes focused on her hand that rests on his chest. However, her eyes cast upwards when she hears the boy talk about his life being saved.

"What?"

"Yeah he is-"

"You almost died?" Esmyrie whispers out, he hand pushing slightly harder at his chest, trying to get into her mind that he is okay, that he is breathing. That he is here, safe.

"Uhh... Yeah.. I uh... I got attacked by this really big sea creature. It attacked my Ilu first but then saw me and just kept coming after me. I uh... I had to swim in some coral, thats how I got my scratches, but it eventually stopped trying to get to me in the coral. So I swam up, needing air, but then it saw me and went right after me, in open ocean. Luckily Payakan was there and he charged and killed the creature. I uhh.... I ran out of air though."