꧁ Unrequited Love ꧂ / Aonung x Neteyam

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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Neteyam's POV

"are we there yet?" Tuk asked, for the hundredth time now. "one more 'are we there yet' I'm going to lose my mind" Kiri snapped, glaring at Tuk. Tuk pouted and focused on her ikran. "Guys, we're almost there. I can feel it" I said, calming everyone down. Lo'ak squints his eyes through the thick fog. We've been stucked in here for two days. Dad leads us at the front, same goes with mom. Both of them seems to be talking to eachother about something. A sudden light peered through the fog, blinding us all. We covered our eyes with the back of our hands, hissing loudly. After a while, dad shouted infront of us. "We're here!" he said, letting out a huge relieved sigh. I blinked many times before looking to the front. I was in an awe. It is beautiful, much more beautiful than I'd remembered. We flew above the seawall terraces, glancing slighty towards the people beneath us. I sucked in the the fresh, light air, stretching my back. I glanced towards Lo'ak, he seemed nervous. I could relate. The more we're getting closer to Awa'atlu, the more nervous i get.

The horn blows as we reached closer to the island. The people rushed towards the beach, watching us land. I jumped of my ikran, patting it lightly on its neck. "calm, boy" i whispered to it as my eyes wanders around,searching for someone. I walked towards Lo'ak, keeping him by my side while I waited for dad to tell us what to do. He walked towards the crowd with his hands up, meaning no harm. I did the same, controlling my breathing as i did. The crowd soon turns to a loud chatter. I pursed my lip, swallowing hard. We suddenly heard splashes of water from behind us. We turned around to find the olo'eyktan making an entrance as he gets off his skimwing. He walked closer to us, signing the i see you sign. We signed back, paying him some respect. A guy my age appeared from behind him. I didn't recognise him at first but my heart races fast as soon as I did. It's him. I know it's him. I could tell by his light blue eyes, and his curved lips, and the mole on his forehead. He signed the i see you sign to us and we signed back. His eyes wanders around to find something. His eyes locked with mine. I guess he had found something he was looking for. His eyes softens at the sight of me, nodding slightly at me. I nodded back, smiling warmly at him. His appearance had changed so much. "Jake Sully, you have returned!" The olo'eyktan begins, smiling warmly at us. "welcome back" he nodded towards mom, and she nodded back. The tsahik appeared behind him, her eyes lights up as soon as she saw mom. "Neytiri!" she grinned widely. Mom grinned back, signing the i see you sign to her. "i see you, Ronal" she said, still smiling. The tsahik signed back. "I see you, Neytiri" she said respectfully. A little girl cling to her hand. I'm guessing that's her daughter. I'm glad she was safe and well. She looks beautiful, her eyes glistens under the sun. It reminds me of Aonung's. I glanced towards Lo'ak, his eyes scanning the area. He's definitely looking for someone. Just then, a girl appeared from the crowd. She lets out a loud gasp as soon as she sees us. I could tell that it was Tsireya. The way her dimples appeared on both sides of her cheeks as she smiled. Lo'ak looks so mesmerised by her beauty, his eyes sparkles in awe. "Everyone, Jake Sully have returned!" the chief grabbed dad's arm, holding it above his head like a trophy. Everyone cheered for us. "My family would like to invite you to a dinner at our pod tonight, to celebrate your returning. We are happy to have you here with us" he smiled, glancing towards all of us. "thank you" dad said, bowing slightly. "thank you" i thanked him and smiled towards Kiri. She looks tired, i felt bad for her. I walked towards her and pressed her shoulder lightly. "everything's fine?" i asked, tilting my head to the side a little bit. She nodded slowly. "yeah, just had a little headache" she said, her voice sounds hoarse. I patted her back gently before turning my attention back to the olo'eyktan. "Aonung and Tsireya will help you to your pod" he glanced towards his children. Aonung's ears perked up as soon as he heard his name being said. Tsireya just nodded happily. "Come, follow me!" she said excitedly as she walks closer to us. I approached my ikran, getting my stuff off it's back. "you're free to go" i whispered to him, looking at him gently. "do you need any help?" my heart dropped as soon as i heard that voice, so deep, yet so familiar. I took a deep breath in before turning around, facing Aonung. He's much more bigger than me, now that he's standing right infront of me. I stared at him up and down, before speaking. "I'm fine on my own" i replied, shouldering my stuff. He raises both of his hands, nodding. I recognise that move very well. It just, hurts. I took my stuff and follows Tsireya, Aonung follows me from behind. "wait up!" he tried to make a conversation as we walked on the net, towards our pod. I sighed and turned to him. He gave me a smile, a warm one. "... I've gotten bigger" he says, flexing his muscles. I tried not to laugh, instead i rolled my eyes. "i can tell" i eyed him up and down. The corner of his mouth twists. "you got more muscular" he says, eyeing me up and down, stopping at my chest. I frowned at him, hiding my nervousness. "pervert" i mutters and continues to follow Tsireya to our pod. He laughs, so loud, and i can't help it but chuckles a little.

We arrived at our pod, it wasn't that bad. Just a little bigger than how it used to be. The rest of my family were placing their stuff in the ground, looking around for a bit. I was still outside, scanning the pod. "we're glad you come visit us" Tsireya suddenly whispers to me. I nodded, smiling widely at her. "I'm glad too. You look, stunning" i complimented her. "your brother too" i glanced towards Aonung. It's true, they are stunning. "my brother misses you dearly" she raised her tone a little, hoping Aonung could hear. Aonung's ear perked up and he glared at her. "Tsireya!" he says with a stern voice. She giggled and stood next to the pod's entrance, waiting for Lo'ak. I entered the pod, placing my stuff on the ground. I glanced towards Aonung, who was leaning outside of the pod's entrance. He seemed to be waiting for me. I sighed and went towards him. "what?" i asked, folding my arms. He smiles, his teeth are visible. "are you not happy to see me?" he asked, folding his arms aswell. I pursed my lips, because i am. I am happy to see him living well. I noticed the tattoos on him, knowing that he'd completed his iknimaya. He snaps his fingers infront of my eyes. "hello?? Neteyam?" raised his brows. I shook my head, snapping out of the trance. "I'm not" i raised my chin proudly. He shrugs. "well then." he turns around and walks away, rubbing his neck. His ears are flat and i could tell that he was upset. A wave of regret washes over me.

That night, we went to the chief's hut. The chief greeted us, welcoming us inside. Inside, the mat and food were already prepared on the floor. Father sat next to the chief. The tsahik, Ronal, sat next to her husband and next to mother. The little girl earlier sat next to her. Lo'ak and Tsireya sat next to eachother, their tails wrapped around eachother's. They're lucky noone could see them. Tuk sat next to Kiri. That's left me and Aonung. He was smiling slyly at me. I scrunched my nose and decided to sit next to Kiri. He made a pouty face before sitting at a corner, alone. I snickered at him. The chief begins his speech and i listened to it carefully. His words are wonderful. My ears twitched as I feel as though someone was staring at me. I turned around slowly and noticed Aonung staring at me, his eyes are sparkling. He noticed that i was looking at him, and he looked at the chief quickly. After a while, his eyes moved back towards me. I laughed quietly. "you aren't sly" i mouthed the words to him. He seemed to understand, so he rolled his eyes. The chief finally allows us to eat, and we started to dine in while telling them our stories. He told us about the little girl. She was born the day that we left. Her name is Ro'a. Such a wonderful name. They talked about some things that I'm not interested in, so i just focused on eating. ".. since your children are grown enough, they should be ready for the iknimaya..." my ears perked up as I hear that. I glanced towards father, and he was nodding. 'Metkayina' s iknimaya?' i thought to myself. I found it very intriguing. Mother agreed to it aswell. "my son will help your children get ready with their training.." as soon as the chief says that, Aonung's face lights up, though he was choking on his food a little. "me?" he points to himself. "yes you, son" the chief says, sighing. He glanced towards me, grinning. I gave him a little smile before continuing to eat.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

⊱A/N⊰
HEY YALL. I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING SO OFTEN. AND I'M SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT. I'VE BEEN SO BUSY LATELY IM RLLY SORRY 😞😞🙏🏼🙏🏼. I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM. TYSM FOR THE VOTESSS.