Lo'ak's mate

Family quarrel

Jake sully clears his throat before crouching down. Lo'ak and I relax and sigh in relief.

"Do you know what time it is right now?!"
Lo'aks ears fold down. "Sorry we forgot the time..." Jake glances over to me and back at his son. He gestures for us to come out the cabin.
"It's been thee hours since we last saw you! Don't you think before leaving, to tell anyone where you're going?!" His dad scolds him. I fold my ears but feel guilty he's getting the blame.
"But- I told him to come with me... and I kept talking without thinking about his curfew!"

"Faxei'a I know you care about my son but you don't have to lie him out of this situation-" Jake starts but he gets cut off by his other son.
"It's true dad. She's not lying. Also, me and Wëkei'o knew they were leaving together to talk." He walks up from behind a tree. "After Wëkei'o left I stayed near to keep an eye on them."

Jake gulps and glances around. "Fine. But I want you boys home in an hour." I nod in response and the brothers respond with a loud and clear. "Yes sir."

We gather around in front of the cabin since we three couldn't fit in together. "My tsmukan left?" I ask Neteyam. He nods. "He said something about training." His gaze averts to Lo'ak. "So? Did you guys make up?" He asks. In surprise I turn to Lo'ak. "We never fought though... right?" I ask. He nods. "Neteyam doesn't know what he's talking about." Lo'ak says.

Neteyam shakes his head while chuckling. "Oh really? I thought I heard something about not being able to hang out with Faxei'a anymore..." he says recalling a conversation he must've had with Lo'ak before. I can't help but be surprised at this new piece of information. "Bro! You know thats not because of a fight but-" he glances over to me. "Don't listen to him. He's joking around." He continues.
Neteyam and I chuckle. Eventually he smiles too and for once, in a long time, I felt genuinely happy.

"Faxei'a!" My tsmukan's voice echoes through the woods. He sounds angry, and i'm not the only one who made that out from his yell. The brothers get up and we walk towards the origin of the yell. Neteyam behind me and Lo'ak in front. "Wëkei'o?!" I yell. Not much later we stand face to face with my brother. His eyes glaring towards us.

"Go home." He demands. In confusion I step back. "What? Pelun?" (Why?) he steps closer to us and tries to reach for my upper arm. I block his hand away. "What is wrong with you? Why are you mad?" I ask him.
Suddenly I see Lo'aks arm in front of my body. Guarding me.
Wëkei'o grows angrier. "Faxei'a. You're not hanging out with these brothers anymore. Follow me. Now."

The brothers look at me, confused but assuring me they got my back. "Thats not your decision to make Wëkei'o." I say irritated. Why would he suddenly be mad about me being friends with the sully's. He has never minded them before.

Neteyam interups before my tsmukan can respond. "Have we done something wrong? I assure you we have no bad intentions towards Faxei'a. You must know since we've been friends for forever." Neteyams calm demeanour sparks over to my raged brother and he takes a deep breath.

"This is between me and my tsmuke. Faxei'a let's go home." (Sister) He seems calmer than before. I look at Lo'ak once more before slipping between the brothers and following my tsmukan's orders, heading home right away.

Wëkei'o has some things to say to the brothers but he waits until I'm too far away to hear what their saying. To prevent him from getting more angry I ignore it.

Back in our hut it doesn't take long for my tsmukan to enter. He seems more calm and collected than before. He sits down across from me. "I don't want you to hang out with them anymore." He states. "Why?" I ask him cooly. His gaze sharpens. "Because I say so." He demands. "You're not my parent. I hang out with whoever I want. Wëkei'o." I grumble.
He slams his fist onto the floor. "Why are you mad? You can't even explain why you're mad at them!" I yell. "I DO!" He yells. I shoot up on my feet "THEN WHY?!" I scream back.  A silence falls between us. I catch my breath.

"Sit back down." He finally breaks the silence. "I'll tell you." He adds. I do as he says and sit back down. So he might have a valid reason for this afterall.

"Neteyam and I spoke at the campfire, after you two left." He begins. I listen intensively for his heartbeat. If it's inconsistent he's lying if its steady he's telling the truth. "Neteyam told me something about Lo'ak."

...

It's steady.

"He told me Lo'ak has romantic feelings for you."

...

Its- "wait what?!" I can't be bothered to listen to his heartbeat cause this shocked me.

"Neteyam told you that?" I add. "Yes, I can't let you hang out if he has those intentions towards you. You have to wait until you're older." The rage that has subsided has started boiling again.
"What?! Thats bullshit!" I yell. I'm already of age too!

He seems taken aback by my response. "What you want me to allow you two to hang out when he thinks of you that way?"

"Are you implying he'd hurt me?! He's my friend. We're just friends!"

Wëkei'o looks as if he wants to say something but hasn't come up with words yet.

Perfect time for me to get out of the hut, away from my brother.

Enraged I get up and stomp out, leaving my brother speechless.