Mighty Jewel | LO'AK + NETEYAM

chapter ten

A few days had passed and Marrek had barely spoken to his daughter since he had let his fear control him. Since he had been aggressive and scared his daughter away. But he would do anything to protect Kyalayi even if that pushed her away. Marrek remotely stared at his daughter who sat on the deck, her legs swinging and splashing water. She was still a kid. She wasn't ready for the truth. The whole truth about where she had came from and how she gotten those scars. But Kyalayi deserved some answers and Marrek knew that. He hated the idea but he finally understood why it was important to his daughter. The man approached, his footfalls vibrating the deck's wooden planks. Kyalayi turned around to see her father sitting down, next to her. Each of them unable to met the other one's gaze as Marrek still blamed himself for the way he acted toward his daughter. Kyalayi still regretting the questions that had caused great damage to her relationship with her father. Marrek finally cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"Kya, I never meant to hurt you. You have to believe me." He cocked his head, searching for a reaction from his little girl. Her face's expression stayed rigid. "I cannot give you all the answers you want," He paused. "But I can tell you that your mother was a beautiful soul."

Kyalayi rapidly faced her father, her mouth slightly opened from the shock. The moment she had been waiting for all of her life had come. Finally. "Tell me more. Please." The girl begged.

"You have her hair. White as clouds." Marrek touched the tip of one of Kya's braid. "You have her smile, her kindness, her courage. Every time I hear you laugh, you sound just like her." The man felt his throat closing up as he remembered the woman he once and still loved. Kyalayi gave all her attention to her father. For such a long time, she had craved the words he was saying. "MyEvelyn." He whispered under his breath as he stared down at the water, hoping to see her face. Evelyn's face. Kyalayi examined her father's traits, he seemed devastated.

"Why did she abandoned us?" The girl softly spoke, her voice shaking as she let the words come out of her mouth.

"Oh, baby." Marrek returned his focus on his daughter and held her in his arms as he broke the news. "Kya, I want you to understand this. Your mother sacrificed her life to save us. To save you." The girl softly gasped, it was almost inaudible.

"She saved us from the Sky People?"

"Yes. She did." Marrek let go of his daughter. Instead, he cupped her face. He noticed the tears slowly forming in her eyes. His heart sank as he looked at Kyalayi. He couldn't bare to tell her the truth. That her mother was an Avatar. She wasn't ready just yet for the whole truth."Now, I want you to be as courageous as your mother. Because they're coming." Kyalayi knew who he meant, the Sky People were coming. "They are burning down villages after villages. We have to do everything we can to protect Jake and his family. We cannot let them take away our loved ones again."

Marrek's words reasoned with Kyalayi. In a matter of minutes, she had both won and lost her mother. All at once, she felt happy and wistful and terrified. Her feelings were all over the place. For fifteen years, she had wondered and now, she knew the truth. Well, Marrek's version of the truth. We cannot let them take away our loved ones again. The Sully's had became a part of the Metkayina clan, they had became family. Loved ones. Kyalayi wouldn't let anything happen, she would protect them and her village with her life. She swore it to Eywa.

"What about my scars? Was I born with them? And my nightmares?" Kyalayi asked to her father, touching lightly her gloves as she kept asking a few more questions that had been on her mind. What she didn't know was that she had just fed the lie her father couldn't bring himself to make up.

"One day at a time, Kya. But yes, you were." Marrek grudgingly lied to his daughter. She smiled to what she thought was an honest response. Marrek took his daughter back in his arms and held her with all the love he had in him. Kyalayi was the most precious thing in his eye, she was Eywa's divine gift. Suddenly, a tall wave of water splashed over their bodies, soaking them. Lo'ak rode up from under the surface on Ilu's back. Both Kyalayi and Marrek chuckled to the struggling boy. The girl remembered her first time mounting an Ilu, her muscles were sore for days after it, because of the several times she had fallen. Lo'ak approached the deck with difficulty as he tried to control the creature, he stretched his arm, offering his hand to the blond girl. Kyalayi grinned to the boy before turning her head to her father, seeking his approval. Marrek nodded, a small proud smile creeping his lips as he watched his daughter enjoy life for once. Kyalayi grabbed Lo'ak's hand before climbing behind him on the Ilu. They stayed on the surface, moving away from the shore and deeper into the ocean. The other Sully's also practicing their Ilus' mounting. Tuk, now fully recovered from the poisoning, rode behind her sister, Kiri. Kyalayi smiled at the image, happy to see the youngest at her healthiest.

"You're getting good." The girl smiled as she gripped the boy's waist to avoid falling off.

"We've told you. We can adapt." Lo'ak said as he twirled his body to face Kya.

"And you did." Kyalayi smiled, she'd grew found of the forest boy. His reckless but courageous attitude made him so much more interesting than anyone in the village. "So," she started. "You told Neteyam." Her tone indicating this wasn't a question, but rather a fact. Lo'ak's eyes widened, his ears expressing his embarrassment of being caught.

"I did." He replied. "I'm sorry Kya. I never meant to betray you but he is my brother. I cannot lie to my brother."

"I understand. I forgive you."

They both stared at each other for a moment, enjoying the feeling of finally being seen by someone. Lo'ak placed one hand on hers—which was still resting on his waist—and slid the other one on her thigh as they got ready for diving into the water.

"Let's see what you got, forest boy." Kya calmly exclaimed as she tapped her free hand on his shoulder.

From afar, Neteyam—on his own Ilu—spotted the duo. He gently touched the pearl tied around his neck, not taking his eyes off from his brother and the girl. The girl he wished was the one helping him. And as they sank underwater, Neteyam felt his heart sank too, at the very bottom of his stomach.