surrender | lo'ak

➾ seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

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the next day, alea waited for the return of her companion. with her time alone when he leaves, she is completely isolated with her thoughts. and she loathed it because she's forced to wonder why she feels so trusting towards the boy, why she wants to learn more about him and why she craves his presence.

just a few weeks ago, alea was content being alone. living and dying alone, it was all the same to her. but now she felt she had a reason to truly live, and she had someone she wanted to spend her life with. it may be just because she didn't know anyone else, but alea felt like she could make do with only knowing lo'ak. he brought her comfort, laughter and peace.

alea felt sad about the way she felt her independence slip away from her, like it was in the tip of her fingers but slowly rolling away. she was scared to let go and let lo'ak in, scared of what might happen if she does so.

bringing alea out of her thoughts, she heard the familiar sound of an ikran nearby. she slowly stood and made her way to the entrance, taking liking to watching the beautiful creature in hopes to have one of her own one day.

a few minutes later, lo'ak made his way up the tree and sat criss cross opposite the girl. he told her he had a surprise and she had to close her eyes, so she did.

her heart was beating as she decided to trust lo'ak with this surprise. she heard him rummaging through his bag that he brought along, clearly searching for something.

"okay, hold out your hands." lo'ak spoke softly, eager to show alea what the mystery is.

she hesitated, "it's not going to bite me, is it?"

"no! what the hell do you think i brought you?" he started laughing, "seriously, just hold your hands out."

alea cautiously held her hands in front of her, right in between her and lo'ak. almost immediately, she felt an object in her hands.

"okay, you can open your eyes now." he stated, a small smile forming already.

alea peeked open one eye first, then both once she saw it was nothing dangerous. "what is it?" she held the object between her fingers delicately, looking at the colors.

lo'ak beamed, "it's a bracelet. i noticed you don't have any, so, i made you one."

alea stared at the bracelet, which was covered in purple and blue beads. her heart made its way into her throat as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

lo'ak felt his smile drop as he watched alea inspect the bracelet and not saying anything, "oh, you don't like it, that's okay. i'm sorry, i should've asked first-"

"no! lo'ak, this is... it's beautiful. i love it." she interjected, not wanting him to think she disliked it. in fact, it was the opposite. she was in love with it.

"can you help me put it on?" she held her wrist out with the bracelet. the smile returned on the boys face, happily accepting her request.

his left hand held her wrist steady and his fingers gently wrapped around her forearm. his right hand held the bracelet, which he then started trying it around the wrist she held out. his fingers lightly traced her skin in the areas he touched, sending fireworks through both of them. the simple touch was enough to set ablaze their questioning feelings.

it was quiet as lo'ak worked on tying the bracelet. alea didn't let her eyes leave lo'ak as she watched him, her mind running a million miles a second.

finally, lo'ak finished tying it. he glanced up to see alea was already staring at him. his grip never let go of her hand, and her eye contact never left his.

the two stayed this way for a long second, waiting to see what the other persons move would be. alea's breath hitched as she saw lo'ak's gaze drift down to her lips for a split second, making her panic.

"um, thank you. i really do love it." alea brought herself out of whatever trance she was in, bringing lo'ak with her.

he sat straight up and let go of her hand, gulping. "yeah, no problem." he cleared his throat.

alea smiled as she held up her wrist to her face, admiring the gift. "i didn't know you were a beadmaker?"

lo'ak rubbed the back of his neck, "uh, technically i'm not. i may have had my little sister help me make it."

alea felt her face soften at his confession. he actually went out of his way to do this for her and asked for help. she'd never been happier than she was in this moment—all over a bracelet.

"that's so cute. i'm never taking this off by the way." she kept her smile.

grinning, lo'ak replied, "you'd better not, i took a lot of teasing for that. but it was worth it." he shrugged.

alea couldn't help herself as she leaned forward and hugged the boy, catching him off guard. she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head against his. lo'ak was surprised at first, then got himself to wrap his arms around her waist. he had no idea her reaction was going to be this genuine, honestly. but he was glad she liked it.

"no one's ever done anything like this for me before." she whispered to him, trying not to become emotional.

lo'ak simply rubbed his hand up and down her back in a soothing matter, loving the way her bare skin felt against his hands. "it's nothing, really-"

she backed away to face him clearly, "well it means everything to me. so, thank you."

lo'ak felt himself getting flustered now. he was glad that he decided to go through with making it, a part of him had thought the idea was stupid and she'd laugh in his face. but after seeing how happy the bracelet made her—he'd make her one every single day.

alea decided they should rest that day, having enough food stocked up to last her a few days so they wouldn't need to hunt.

they laid down in her tree hut, overlooking the surrounding landscape. alea's head rested on lo'ak's shoulder as his arm was wrapped around her shoulder respectfully. his finger softly tracing circles into the skin on her, making her sleepy.

soon enough, both alea and lo'ak had fallen asleep as they laid in the comfort in each others arms.

as the two moved around in their sleep, alea subconsciously moved her arm and leg over the boy to get comfortable. lo'ak responded with his hands resting on her arm and leg that lay over him.

entangled in each other, they both felt the most peace they'd ever had since meeting. now that they had it, they weren't letting go.

unbeknownst to the pair, a certain pair of eyes watched the entire interaction. neteyam's heart and mind fought each other; to tell dad and inform him of lo'aks recent whereabouts, or let his little brother keep his secret.

but which would he listen to?

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