Family

Neteyam

It's been a few months since the dream walk. I've been wanting to talk to Joey, but after our conversation got interrupted, I haven't really found the right time. I'm also scared to. I mean, I thought I'd made it obvious that I want her to be my mate, but she either didn't get the hint or doesn't want to choose me. And I'm too scared to find out which it is.

My parents are having date night, meaning Joey and I have to babysit. It used to be a lot harder, especially when Tuk was a baby. She pulled hair and screamed bloody murder whenever our mom wasn't around. It's easier now. Lo'ak and Kiri fight less, and Tuk can play on her own for the most part. This specific night, she and Kiri are trying to braid Joey's hair. Joey usually wears it loose, maybe in a bun or with some little braids thrown into it. Today it was in a bun, and her usually beautiful waves are a tangled mess. She winces silently as they busy themselves with her. Lo'ak is staring out at the sky. I decide to go sit with him. We're pretty close, but while I follow the rules, he does not. He's always in trouble. This month, he can't ride his Ikran.

We sit quietly for a little while before he speaks. "What was it like? Your Dream Walk? Was it scary?"

"I was scared going into it." I admit. "But once you're under, you kind of forget what's going on. And once you wake up, you're just glad it's over."

"Do you think I'll ever get to dream walk?" He seems genuinely worried.

"Of course little bro." I wrap my arm around him and ruffle his hair. "Why wouldn't you?"

"I'm not as good as you." He shrugs. Usually he'll fight me off when I treat him like that, but he seems deflated. "Maybe I'll never be good enough to be part of the clan."

"Yes you will. You're just younger, that's all." I assure him. "Joey and I got into plenty of trouble when we were younger."

"Remember that time we rode our Ikran so far that it took us two days to get back?" She calls over from her torture.

"You did that?" He asks, surprised.

"Yeah we did." I laugh at the memory. Joey and I rode our Ikran into the floating mountains and got lost. It was further in than we'd ever been. Our Ikran got tired, and we had to camp on one of the mountains. It took us two days to get back. "Dad and Norm wanted to kill us when we got back."

I sit with him a while longer, glad to have been able to ease his worries.

"Brother." He speaks again, this time more quietly. "Are you going to choose Joey to be your mate?"

His question takes me by surprise. He'd always joked and poked fun at me for her.

"Why?"

He sighs and looks back at her. "Because, brother. I'm friends with a lot of the boys in the clan. A lot of them are about to Dream Walk too. A lot of them like her. They wouldn't have dreamed of competing with you, but now it's taken so long for you guys to choose each other, they're wondering if they should give it a try."

The thought of another man taking Joey from me infuriates me. I guess she isn't mine, but she is my best friend. Should she mate with someone else, we wouldn't be able to see each other every day, or sit at night looking at the stars. She'd be doing that with someone else. I look back and see that her braids are done. She looks totally different, but still beautiful. They hang long, down past her shoulder blades, and Kiri has added gold bands and rings that shimmer in the moonlight. 

"I'm not trying to say you need to hurry." He tells me. "It's obvious how much she cares about you. But you'd be stupid to let her slip away just because you are scared."

"I am not scared". I scoff, clearly scared.

"Brother, you know I care about you." He continues. "You are all set to be Olo'eyktan. You need a strong tsahik. And she's it. You've seen how she and Kiri are. And Norm loves you, he won't be a problem."

"Brother, why don't you worry about yourself first." I snap. I don't mean it, but he's pressuring me a lot. I'm just waiting for the right time right?

He shrugs his shoulders and says nothing, but we both turn and look at Joey. Tuk and Kiri have taken to adjusting her braids and redoing some as Joey sits there miserably. I know she hates getting braids done. They mess with the waves and curls in her hair and are impossible to remove, but she does it for my family. She does it because she loves them.

"You're right, brother."

Lo'ak turns and looks at me. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."