𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟎𝟔 - healing

lo'ak pov

"lo'ak! you came back!"

i turned around at the sound of a high-pitched voice. tuk ran towards me and hugged me tightly, her voice cracking with emotion. "i- i thought you left us forever."

i felt a wave of guilt wash over me. i knew i had to be a better brother to tuk, especially since the oldest was no longer with us.

"i'm sorry, tuk." i rubbed her head with my hand and crouched down to her level. "i would never leave you, i promise."

tuk frowned and held out her fourth finger. "pinky promise?"

i nodded and held out my pinky finger to her before i felt a light smack on my back.

"lo'ak..."

i turned to see kiri standing behind me with a concerned expression painted on her face. "where have you been?"

"i needed some time alone," i mumbled, wincing at the slight sting and rubbing the back of my neck.

"mom and dad were worried about you."

i rolled my eyes at her comment. as if on cue, two tall figures emerged from our family's marui pod. my mother ran up to me, her eyes filled with worry with a hint of anger.

"where were you, son?" she hissed between gritted teeth as she touched my face practically everywhere with her hands. "i pray to eywa that i don't-"

her voice was cut off and i knew it was my dad who silenced her. i looked up through furrowed brows and saw him staring at me with a different look in his eyes, one i hadn't seen before. it was almost as if i was a stranger.

"lo'ak... is everything okay, son?" he asked.

"i'm fine, dad," i responded. "everything is fine."

in truth, everything was not fine. i still felt like a disappointment and that i had let everyone down. i just needed to find tsireya and apologize to her. neteyam's words kept echoing in my head. i wanted to do it for him, too. i turned on my heel and left my family behind to find her.

⠀───⠀ 𓇼 ⠀───⠀

the breeze was cool on my skin and the air smelled of salt. it had become familiar to me, with the amount of time i spent on the water with payakan. i scanned the open ocean, thinking of where i could find tsireya. i made a clicking noise from my throat to signal to my ilu to head towards the rocks, where she had taught me how to breathe.

the closer i neared the rocks, i saw her seated with her back facing me. it made me smile that the first place i thought of where she could be was where she was. there was no breeze and the air was silent except for the sound of water splashing against rock.

"tsireya..?" once i called her name, she immediately spun around to face me, our eyes meeting. i scrambled onto the rock and came closer to her. suddenly, all of my previous shyness to speak with her melted away, and worry overcame my senses.

"are you okay? how is your leg? can you still swim?" all the questions i had bottled up came rushing out at once. my hands hovered over her side, hesitating to touch her, as i scanned tsireya from head to toe, noticing the gash on her leg had slightly shrunk in size.

"lo'ak." her gentle voice silenced the thoughts racing in my mind. my gaze softened as i looked back up at her.

"i am fine now. do not worry." she smiled warmly, placing one hand on top of mine and holding my palm with the other.