𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐒; neteyam

CHAPTER TWELVE

TWELVE

"all I ever wanna say is are you mine?"
-r u mine, arctic monkeys

THE FOLLOWING DAY, Neteyam was calmly strolling around the village when he found Namaoyi. He'd been looking for her on and off all day, but his spiraling thoughts kept him from panicking about it.

"Mao!" He shouted, watching the girl swivel around quicker than usual. He took no notice, as unusual as it was, as his mind distracted him from watching her too closely. "Mao, would you like-"

"Have you seen Lo'ak?" She interrupted frantically, looking around behind the boy before slowing down and letting out a sigh. "I am sorry, but I cannot find him anywhere."

Neteyam furrowed his brows before he finally thought of something other than his rehearsed words - where was his brother? "I have not seen him," he muttered with a shake of his head as he suddenly became hyper-aware of where they were, and how the girl in front of him was fidgeting like crazy. "Have you checked the beach?" She nodded her head. "We will check again."

He directed her down the paths, hand resting on the small of her back as they past by villagers and people they knew. When their feet hit the sandy shore, the only people they could see in the darkness was Ao'nung and his friends. The ocean, having been lit up by the deep corals and other bright sealife, was bear of the teen.

Namaoyi watched the boy and his friends laugh and joke while they walked away from the water, eyes on nobody but themselves as they slapped one another on the back for applause. Neteyam and Namaoyi knew that they were the cause, and knew they were their only chance left of finding where Lo'ak had gone.

They approached them, an angry Namaoyi leading the way, as Neteyam walked slowly - hesitantly - behind her. He pledged to stop her from getting hurt again, so he kept a close eye on her rage-fueled figure.

"Ao'nung!" She shouted as she walked up to him and his friends, the boy raising his brows and looking over at the sound of his name. "Where is he?" She seethed, but the boy didn't answer. Neteyam walked closer, stepping around Namaoyi as he moved to grab a hold of the boy and force his chin to look at her. 

"Answer her," he demanded, watching as Ao'nungs eyes flicked between his and the worried girls before him. His friends merely stepped away, watching with frightful eyes.

"We took him beyond the reef," he finally muttered, sight falling to the floor in guilt. "We left him there. It was only a joke."

"A joke?" Namaoyi scoffed, toying with the words on her tongue as she looked away before facing him again. "A joke! Why would you do that as a joke?"

He shrugged, scared. "We thought it would be funny."

"It is not funny," Neteyam hissed, pushing the boy back before grabbing him just as tight once more. "It is stupid . . . you can tell my father."

Which is how Namaoyi and Neteyam ended up standing at the front of their hut before an extremely confused Jake Sully, Ao'nung shuffling between them as Neteyam held a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Tell him what you told us," he demanded, pushing the boy forward as his hand fell to his side. Ao'nung lowered his head, Jake coming to a stand in front of him as he locked eyes with Namaoyi and Neteyam from over the boys broad shoulders.

"What is this?" He asked, turning to Namaoyi for the answers she always provided. However, this time, through her anger and self-control, she waited for Ao'nung to speak up first.

.  .  .

"Please, I can help!" Namaoyi persisted as she trailed behind Jake and Neteyam, eyes wide as she held her hands together in front of her heart. Her bleeding heart.

"No, Nam, no. We've already had this conversation, you're staying back," Jake demanded, turning back with set brows as he stared down at the pleading girl. She frowned, her eyes falling to the ground as she let out a defeated breath. Neteyam turned with his father, watching her let out a sad sigh, mindlessly tugging his heart towards her own.

"I will stay with her, dad," Neteyam decided, looking up from the girls eyes to his fathers determinedly. Jake looked down at him, having a silent conversation to him through their eyes in which Namaoyi couldn't interpret, before performing a curt nod and taking off.

"Why, Teyam? You should help your brother," Namaoyi fussed, her hand coming to rest on his bicep as she stepped closer. He silently sucked in a breath as his eyes flickered over her hand touching his bare skin, before he forced them to look at her own.

"But I wish to help you," he said, moving his hand up to place it on hers already clinging to his skin. "He is getting help, I could not provide much more. But here, I can provide help to you."

She caught his eye, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of her lips, before she wrapped her arms around him in a thankful hug. "Thank you, Neteyam. I do not deserve you."

He smirked. "What happened to thank yous being absurd claims," the boy quoted, holding his fingers up in the air as he mimicked her past words. She laughed, pushing his shoulder back with a smile as she shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she teased as she walked away, holding onto his hand to drag him along.

"Are we going to our tree?" He asked, looking at the back of her head as she navigated her way through the seas of people. She shook it.

"Not today, we have to wait for Lo'ak," she muttered, eyes focusing on the beach crowded in the distance. He frowned, looking down at their conjoined hands before he ran the back of his thumb over her nervous skin. She knew it calmed her down, it always did.

He felt the tightness of the muscles beneath her green skin flatten as his thumb moved to a stop. "He will be okay, you know? I believe in him, he's strong."

She sighed. "I know, I cannot help it. He is out there, Teyam, and there is nothing we can do."

"They will bring him back," Neteyam muttered, pulling them to a stop by one of the trees on the beach. He looked down into her eyes, holding a promise they knew he had no power to keep. "Dad will always bring him back."

They stayed on that beach until night had completely fallen and Lo'ak had returned, Neteyams back pressed against the rough bark of the tree as Namaoyis back relaxed against his front. His knees stayed steady by her sides, holding her close as she softly fell away to sleep. He didn't dare wake her, not until his brother walked onto the sand, because he knew she needed it.