𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟎𝟒 - courage

author's pov

a light breeze blew overhead and the sun shone between scattered clouds. the sound of faint voices and splashing could be heard in the distance. a turquoise-skinned girl sat not too far from the noise, carefully braiding dried kelp while watching her brother and friends play in the water. she was crafting a basket for the medicinal herbs that her mother used to treat the villagers.

tsireya was so deep in concentration that she didn't notice another figure approaching her from behind.

"RAH!" large hands gripped her shoulders causing her to squeal in surprise, dropping the half-made basket and whirling around to face her offender. it turned out to just be lo'ak, who fell backward in the sand in laughter.

"'reya, you should've... seen... your face..." he gasped between laughs, putting a hand over his stomach as he sat up.

"does it look like i'm laughing, lo'ak?" tsireya crossed her arms in unamusement, watching him with a blank expression. when she saw that he wouldn't be serious, she gave in and laughed with him, tugging at his arm.

"please, stop laughing! you look so funny," she giggled.

"okay, fine. what were you doing?" he asked curiously, his amused expression turning to interest as he scooted closer to her, staring down at her work.

"i was just working on something for my mother," she explained, showing him the basket made of kelp. "it is for her herbs."

lo'ak glanced up at tsireya and gave her a look. "come on," he said, gently taking her wrist. "play with us." he motioned with his head toward the ocean where the rest of the kids were.

tsireya followed his gaze and watched them. kiri carried tuk on his back and ran around in the water while roxto chased them. ao'nung was laughing at the chase and splashing them.

she sighed and turned to lo'ak, giving him a small smile. "i would love to, but i must finish the-"

"you can do that later," lo'ak pressed, grinning. "just come, have fun with us."

tsireya sighed in defeat and started giggling again as the boy pulled her to her feet and led them in the direction of the ocean. her face heated up at the feeling of his hand tightly holding onto hers.

"guys, look! lo'ak got tsireya to play!" tuk's high-pitched voice called from over the waves. everyone turned around in excitement as the two ran into the waves and joined in.

" lo'ak, you're it bro!" ao'nung ran up to him and smacked his back. he then dove into the waves, roxto following quickly behind.

lo'ak whipped around to face his sisters' direction. tuk squealed in delighted fear and clung to kiri's shoulders, while the girl began to run through the current of waves as he chased after them.

"come back!" he growled playfully as kiri dove into the water, tuk still on her back. he followed them underwater but turned to look for another target.

kiri swam deeper towards the bottom until a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her behind some coral. she turned around in surprise to see ao'nung holding a finger to his lips as he pulled the two sisters behind him and roxto, pointing to the surface.

kiri and tuk peered up in confusion, then smiled at the sight above them.

tsireya was floating near the surface, teasing lo'ak to chase her. he smirked and began to swim in her direction. however, tsireya was a swift diver so she swerved out of his reach and swam hastily away from him.

lo'ak chased her in pursuit, adrenaline pulsating through his veins. he was still surprised at how fast she went ahead of him, even though he knew she was a good swimmer. he chased her around the giant corals, a big smile turning the corners of his mouth upwards.