Little Miss Perfect | Neteyam¹

Chapter 26: Warnings

Italicize - someone's thoughts or a story from the past

Bold - sign language

The Sully family awoke to a gloomy day. It was cold and rainy, so training was out of the question for the day. Still, the Sully children wanted to know what they could do, so they went to the Chief's tent to ask Tsireya and Ao'nung if there was anything they could do to keep themselves entertained.

Neteyam and Lo'ak were walking ahead of the group, talking about something that seemed to keep the two occupied. Kiri was walking beside Marali, and Tuk was being carried by Marali because she didn't want to walk.

Now that Kiri and Lo'ak knew that Neteyam and Marali kissed, they started teasing the two teens. Anytime the two glanced at each other for a second too long, Lo'ak would make kissy faces, and Kiri would smirk at them.

The only way Neteyam and Marali were able to get them to shut up was to mention who they liked or the fact that Lo'ak kissed Tsireya.

The walk to the Chief's pod wasn't long. However, with the wind and the rain, the children were freezing, so when they finally made it there, they immediately ran towards the fire to warm up. "Yeah, sure, come right on in. Don't knock or anything." Ao'nung says sarcastically.

"Okay! We won't, Nungie." Marali fires back with a smile on her face.

All of the children snicker at her words while Ao'nung scowls at the nickname she recently started calling him. "Nungie? No one's called you that name since you were little." Ronal says as she looks up at her son.

Ao'nung looked at his mother, embarrassed before he shot a glare over to Marali.

"Well, his name is a mouthful, so I came up with a nickname to shorten it. I don't think he likes it very much, though." Marali said with a shrug of a shoulder.

The Tsahik hums as she continues to work on the necklace that she was making when the Sully children first came in before she speaks, "So, what are your guys' nicknames then?" Ronal asks curiously.

The question takes the children by surprise as Ronal has never shown much interest in getting to know any of them. However, maybe she knows about Tsireya's feelings for Lo'ak. Or maybe she's finally starting to get used to them being there.

"Tuktirey's nickname is Tuk or Tuk Tuk, Kiri is already short, Neteyam's nickname is Teyam or Nete, Marali's is Mara, and I don't have a nickname," Lo'ak explained.

Tuk looked at him, confused. "Lo'ak, you do have a nickname! Remember what I used to call you when I first started talking?" Tuk grinned, and Marali, Neteyam, and Kiri smirked at the boy, who had a nervous look on his face.

"Tuk, please don't," Lo'ak pleaded.

"Do tell us, Tuk," Ao'nung said as Tsireya giggled at Lo'ak's face.

"When I first started talking, it was hard for me to pronounce Lo'ak's name, so instead of Lo'ak, I called him Lolo," Tuk informed.

Ao'nung immediately burst into laughter while Tsireya tried to conceal hers when she saw the look of horror on Lo'ak's face. He hadn't been called that nickname in years, and he had always hated it. When Tuk could finally pronounce his name correctly, he made her promise to never say that nickname again.

Lo'ak's look of horror soon turned into playful anger as he chased after his little sister. "I swear, when I catch you, Tuk, you're going into the water!" Lo'ak says as Tuk runs away, squealing in excitement.

Everyone watched the scene in amusement as Lo'ak was chasing after Tuk. He was having a hard time catching her because she kept hiding behind people who weren't willing to help him out, as they thought the entire situation was hilarious.