Beautiful Eyes (Aonunete)

Ilus

The next day, Neteyam was in a very good mood, he was smiling and he looked genuinely content, which surprised his parents as he had been sad and silent the last two days that they left their home back in the forest. The talk he had with Ao'nung during the night really changed his emotions, he was excited now that he could get along with him. Neteyam imagined that soon enough, they would be friends. He only hoped that Ao'nung would behave well and that he would not bully him anymore, he didn't like feeling intimidated or scared of him, but it was not a surprise to anyone that Ao'nung was very tall, had a fit muscular body and a handsome tough face with a braided cool bun.

How could he not feel intimidated by him? Adding his manly voice, his beautiful blue eyes that saw him with a feeling that he was still not able to discover, Neteyam was invested with him. Neteyam wanted to put together the puzzle that Ao'nung was, and get to know him. Neteyam promised himself to stop feeling scared of Ao'nung, if he was always scared, then he wouldn't get to be his friend.

However, Ao'nung was not that approachable yet, he was rude and loved to prank other people with jokes that were not fun. Neteyam thought he was out of character just by apologizing to him last night, he had to be patient.

"Did something good happen, my son?" He heard his mother ask him while caressing his hair gently, realizing that his braids needed to be retouched in a few days.

"Why do you say that, mom?" Neteyam saw her with his eyes filled with doubt.

He was just happy that he was on good terms with him, hoping that they could get along better at the training they had.

He heard his siblings playing with Tuk loudly, right next to him. Kiri was running towards Tuk and Lo'ak was trying to grab Kiri by the tail as well. Seemed fun and entertaining, that made him remember the kids he played with before and promised himself that he would look for those kids later and bring Tuk too to play.

It was a good thing his siblings were having a little bit of fun during those stressful days they were experiencing. He hoped they could all adapt well and learn the ways of the water correctly. Hoping they could all thrive in their new unknown home.

His father was quiet but paying attention to the conversation Neytiri and Neteyam were having, eavesdropping. He was trying to make breakfast with a concentrated gaze, cooking some new fish that he was able to hunt before. He was indeed struggling a little bit as he never handled that type of species before.

"Well, I just wanted to know if something good happened. I know you were very sad to leave your home behind but today, you are actually smiling." Neytiri said with a chuckle, walking towards Jake to help him with the fish.

Neteyam's ears folded down, suddenly feeling homesick again when he remembered the forest. That beautiful forest that he lived so in love with. He missed walking through the mud, soft grass, the tree bridges they had.

He needed to interact with his old home again, as well as the living creatures that he had known so well. He wanted to see the colorful bioluminescence of the animals and plants in the Forest, that shone on the night, unique and mesmerizing.

He missed climbing trees, climbing the Hallelujah Mountains, feeling that adrenaline in his body while doing it. He missed the cold weather that welcomed him every day, with fog and humidity.

He missed flying with his Ikran, feeling free from all problems. It was such a beautiful place that now he could only treasure it in his memory. He wished he could return one day and be able to feel safe again surrounded with the trees, nature and mountains, being so used to that life of freedom.

He wanted to see his grandma again and his people. He somewhat missed being the future Olo'eyktan. He trained for that position all his life and it was just ripped away from him without warning. What was he supposed to do now? He was useless to the Metkayina clan until he learned their ways.