Chapter Three

36 1 0
                                    

Naweya looked around for Lo'ak, wanting to apologize to him for asking such a private question. She found him at a tide pool, her favorite tide pool. He was holding his head, shivering a little. Was he crying?

She found herself going towards him. His ears flicked over to the sound of her footsteps and he quickly wiped his eyes of tears. "It is okay to cry," She whispers gently. He looked away from her. "I am sorry if what I asked hurt you," She took a seat next to him, blushing a little at the closeness. "It's not your fault," he mutters, hardly audible. She sighs and rubs his back a little, he stiffens under her touch.

 "Do you miss him?" she finds herself asking. He finally looks up at her, his eyes teary and red. "More than anything, and it's my fault he got taken," He curses himself after letting a tear fall. "If I listened to dad, if I didn't take him with me, he would still be here," She pulled him against her. He let more tears fall, crying silently against her.

She understood him. Her mother died giving birth to her, her father had died before she was born. People had blamed her for her mother's death. She was a mistake. Her adoptive parents were loving to her, but they never loved her like one of their own, and they never will, she understood that.

After a couple of minutes. Lo'ak had calmed down, sniffling against her. "I am sorry," He said, looking at the wetness soaking her shoulder. She smiled. "No need to be sorry," She giggled as he blushed. They sat in silence for a bit until she heard Tsireya call for her. "Naweya! Where are you?" she screamed. Naweya sighed and Lo'ak smiled. "It is okay, let's go."

They walked to Tsireya who was helping Tuk feed an Ilu. When Lo'ak saw his mood shifted. He laughed and praised Tuk. She was petting the head of the Ilu. "I love her already," she laughed fondly.

Soon after, they had gathered on a small rocky area, trying to get better at breathing longer. "Breath in." Tsireya muttered, taking a deep breath in, as did the others. "And breathe out," she exhaled slowly, motioning with her hands the process of the breath. "Imagine flickering a flame," she held her hand out with the other on her chest.

 "You must slow down your heartbeat," Naweya joined in. She places her hands on Lo'ak's chest. "Breathe in," she whispered, he took a deep breath. She placed her hand on his stomach, "Breath from down here," he tensed under her touch. "Breathe out slowly," She peeked at his face from under her lashes and smiled.

"Lo'ak, your heartbeat is fast," she said, hearing sniggers from the group. "Try to focus," she tried to calm him down. "Okay.." He answered breathily. She nodded. "Breathe in and breathe out," she turned behind her and saw Neteyam and Roxto laughing quietly to each other. She turned her attention back to Lo'ak. "Let your mind clear," he got it right.

She clapped at him in praise, he blushed at the action. "Let's go swim with Ilu now," Roxto said. Everyone agreed and got onto an Ilu. Lo'ak gave her a huge smile and dove forward on his Ilu. She laughed and dove behind him. Everyone swam around, playing and being the teenagers they are. Lo'ak and Naweya stuck closely together, while Tsireya stuck closer to Kiri. She was proud they had started to breathe.

They swam together to the surface, a prideful look on Tsireya's face. "You are learning to breathe," They were all proud of each other. Naweya gave Lo'ak a thumbs up with a big laugh. Her and Lo'ak decided to go off on their own and swim together. "This is amazing!" he called out. She laughed and splashed him with water. "Hey!" he smirked playfully and she gulped. 

He chased her for hours, losing track of time. They only noticed when the eclipse started to come. "We should better get back," Lo'ak said sheepishly. Naweya agreed, though slightly disappointed that it ended. They slowly went back to the village, trying to lengthen the time together. They saw Neteyam, Tuk and Tsireya at the shore. They waved to them, and laughed because of the fact that they were alone together. They both blushed at this.

Ones true love (Lo'ak x OC)Where stories live. Discover now