Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 04: Caught in a Web

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

Bold - sign language

Ja'lia was sitting between Kiri and Tuk as she slowly ate her breakfast, and stared into space, "Are you okay, Lia?" Kiri asked, and Ja'lia lazily glanced at her friend.

"Yeah, I'm still tired," Ja'lia said as she placed the last of her food into her mouth.

"You went to bed right after you finished dinner," Lo'ak grumbled. "How are you still tired?" He asked, and the teen girl shrugged her shoulders.

She slept quite well last night, which made up for previous nights when it felt like she didn't even get a wink of sleep. For Ja'lia, sleeping through the entire night without waking up at least three times was a rare occurrence, so maybe that's why she was struggling to keep herself awake.

"I don't know," Ja'lia muttered, and Lo'ak rolled his eyes at his best friend. "What are we doing today?" Tuk asked as she was hopeful that they would be going to explore the forest.

Neteyam, Jake, and Neytiri had already left to go on a mission, which meant the rest of the Sully children, Spider, and Ja'lia, were left on their own to do whatever they wanted, within reason. Obviously, they weren't allowed to visit the battlefield from the first war, but anything was possible with Lo'ak. Even though, Jake had warned them multiple times to never go there under any circumstances.

"I was thinking we could go explore the forest," Lo'ak spoke, and Tuk's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Who's gonna tell Norm?" Kiri asked, and Lo'ak groaned in frustration.

The only way any of them were allowed to leave the campsite was if they told Norm where they were going and when they would be back. Norm didn't usually care how long they were gone as long as they returned before eclipse. That rule had been implemented by Neytiri because the mother knew how dangerous the forest was at night.

"Why do we have to tell Norm?" Lo'ak said, annoyed.

"Because you left camp for hours without telling anyone where you were going, causing the rest of us to be punished for your stupidity," Ja'lia informed, and Lo'ak feigned hurt.

"Such harsh words," He said, and Ja'lia smirked at him.

"I'm done eating, so I can tell Norm," Spider volunteered.

"Thanks, Spider," The other three teens said all together.

As they watched Spider walk away to tell Norm that they were going to be leaving momentarily, Tuk suddenly grabbed their attention, "Can I come?" She asked.

"No," Lo'ak stated, and Tuk looked at him in disbelief. "Why not?" She whined, and Lo'ak ignored her.

"Lo'ak!" Tuk said, raising her voice.

"Because we are going to go check out the old battlefield, that's why," He said, and Ja'lia looked at him with wide eyes. "We are not going to the old battlefield. We are never supposed to go there," Ja'lia said, refusing to go.

"Oh, come on, Lia. Live a little," Lo'ak teased.

"No," She said.

"Please, Lia?" Lo'ak asked, and Ja'lia saw that he genuinely wanted her to come, and it was hard for her to refuse him. "Fine," Ja'lia groaned. The boy said a loud 'Yes' before looking back at his little sister, who had already been looking at him with her arms over her chest.

"If Lia's going, does that mean I can go too?" Tuk questioned.

"I already told you no, Tuk." Lo'ak rolled his eyes.