Nice to see you again

goodbye. for now.

The next night Neteyam got there at the same time he did the last night, but this time Aonung was already there waiting for him, so they immediately started by seeing how long Neteyam can hold his breath. He did better than the first time he swam because he held his breath for 3 minutes unlike just holding it for a few seconds, but he still wanted to do better so he kept practicing until Aonung said "why don't we take a break from this boring stuff and see how you would ride an ilu, hmm?"

"You know what fine why we don't see how hurt I can get by an ilu," Neteyam stated sarcastically as he was starting to get up.

Aonung stood up after Neteyam was already up with an evil grin that can only mean trouble, Aonung called for an ilu. After the ilu got there by the rocks Aonung jumped into the water with the ilu, "come," Aonung told Neteyam as he held out a hand for him. Neteyam was scared to take Aonung's hand he didn't know what would happen if he took it, he was excited to see what would happen as he rode the ilu. Neteyam took his hand.

A lot of things happened when he climbed on the ilu, first, he fell off multiple times, and all those times Aonung laughed at him and called him names like forest boy, it was annoying for Neteyam. Neteyam did want to learn more about what the Metkayina do when they have free time for example he wanted to know where they would swim and what they would do with the stones and rocks so the next night he asked.

"Hey, what do you do in your free time."

"My free time? Well, me and my friends like to race with our ilus sometimes," Aonung said in a reply.

"Oh, ok"

That sounded interesting, racing with ilus he wanted to try but he knew he need to do more practice if he wanted to race Aonung. So, for weeks, Neteyam practiced with Aonung, and over time they got closer, they spent more time together and they shared more things about themselves. For example, Aonung told Neteyam about his sister and how if Neteyam met his sister 'Tsireya' she would have immediately start teaching him about the Metkayina and showing him how to make the jewelry they wear and more stuff like that. She sounded nice.

Aonung also told Neteyam about his parents, like how his mother was strict but she was very kind if you got to know her and his father that was always very nice until he needs to be responsible like if there was a war his father would start fighting if it meant his tribe and family would be safe. In return, Neteyam talked about his family and why he left them.

"My father, toruk makto, is always strict if we need to fight or just daily, he can be very nice, but I think he just wants to keep everyone safe. My mother is also very protective but she's more of a parent than my father is she makes sure we have food and that we are safe." Neteyam told him before they fell into silence.

"Do you have any siblings?" Aonung asked after a moment of silence.

"ya, I do, I have 2 sisters and a brother, one of my sisters is a little younger than me, Kiri, she was adopted by my parents because she was my parent's friends child after she died,"

"After?" Aonung wanted to make sure he heard Neteyam correctly.

"Yes, it is hard to explain. Anyway, my younger brother, Lo'ak is a year younger than me, and he's a troublemaker I always must take the blame because in the better sibling and it would be better if I took it so that he won't be in too much trouble. And my youngest sister is always involved with everything that my other sibling does, she gets hurt most of the time too."

It was surprising to hear about Neteyam's siblings, why was he here did he leave his family? "Why are you here it sounds like your siblings need you," Aonung asked him, silence falling over them.

"Well first I wanted to be left alone, secondly I got in a fight with my dad if I went back now, I don't know what I would say, it's been too long."

"I think that you should go back, I think it would do you and your family some good."

"Do you really think so or do you just want me to feel better," Neteyam said in a response to what Aonung said.

"I do, I really do, it would be good for you."

"How about I go back after just one more night with you, hmm?" Neteyam said half as a joke, but he really did want to spend more time with Aonung before he left, he wanted to know more about his family and people.

Aonung stared at Neteyam wide-eyed, did he really want to spend more time with someone like him? "I- uhh, ya I would like that," Aonung finally muttered in response.

"It's a deal then," Neteyam told him as he stood up before helping Aonung up on his feet. Neteyam was happy to finally get that off his chest, he was glad someone was listening to him, he wasn't as excited to leave as much as he thought he would be. After that long night, Neteyam finally said goodnight to Aonung and went back to the forest for the night.

The next night Aonung and Neteyam spent more time talking about themselves and giving gifts to each other as a goodbye, Aonung gave Neteyam a bracelet and a knife, and Neteyam gave Aonung a neckpiece and an arrow to show that if he ever returned, he would know what would be attacking him. "I'll see you next time Neteyam."

"Yes, it was nice meeting you, see you next time Aonung," Neteyam said as he climbed on his ikran and flew to where he came from. He won't forget Aonung.