Your Protector

33.0 Loss

A loud laugh erupted from my mouth at the sight of Neteyam attempting to fly a loop with his Ikran. We were flying above the islands, granting ourselves a spectacular view.

He was flying in front of me so I decided to catch up with him. When he looked to his left and our eyes met he smiled at me. As though infected, the corners of my lips lifted and I smiled back. His previously sparkling eyes now had a glint of mischievousness in them.

„I bet I can fly around the whole island quicker than you." he called out, a confident grin covering his face.

I scoffed in disbelief, although I knew he was an excellent flyer, it amused me that he thought he was better than me.

„Try not to fall behind too far." I answered and accepted the challenge.

Diving down slightly, me and Eka flew faster. The wind around me increased as she practically glided straight ahead. A broad smile making its way onto my face when I felt her getting excited.

I looked back to see how Neteyam was doing and saw him following me closely, almost catching up. My adrenaline grew and we tried to fly even faster.

The beautiful night sky surrounding us with along with the light from multiple stars and planets. We turned the corner gracefully and flew onto the other side of the island. Eka was always very fast and with her big wings she could reach quite a speed. It took me some time before I got used to her and was able to use her gifts to our advantage.

After my talk with Aonung I had walked back and Neteyam found me on the way. And when I told him what happened even he was surprised by his reaction. Although he started bragging that, it must've been because of their fight something about ‚him now being scared' of Neteyam, which I didn't believe honestly.

Just as were about to turn the corner for the last bit of the island, Neteyams Ikran suddenly appeared next to us. While doing that, almost touching Eka and making me gasp. I wanted to scold him but I noticed that they had picked up their pace and we were flying head to head now.
But my competitiveness couldn't let that happen.

I tried to get her to fly even faster and we turned to the side, flew past them closely before straightening out again and dashing towards the finishing line.

A squeak of victory left my lips when I saw that we had won, with Neteyam arriving at the same spot only a moment later. I petted Eka and we flew back down into the forest.

While breathing heavily, I climbed off of her and praised her quietly while breaking our bond.

When I heard him and his Ikran get down too I turned around.
„See, you didn't fall too far behind. Well done." I teased with a sly smile and walked up to him.

He jumped off his Ikran and broke their bond „I let you win."
His voice spoke in a dry tone, sounding out of breath too as he walked closer to me with a soft smile.

„Mhm sure you did." I countered and held his face with my hands and his ones found themselves on my hips.

He made a quiet humming sound back and leaned in for a sweet but short kiss. When I pulled away, I took some time to admire him up close as the only sounds were made by the insects of the forest. He looked down at me and put his forehead against mine while our eyes found themselves dancing all over our faces.

I opened my mouth to say something but he beat me to it by saying something I never expected.

„I see you."
He spoke in his deep voice, sending shivers down my entire body. His golden eyes shining like stars in the dark while he watched me intensely.