Shooting Stars | Lo'ak¹

Chapter 13: Healing Wounds

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

Bold - sign language 

Ja'lia and Lo'ak sat silently with their backs against the cool wall of the cave they were currently hidden in. After they had been standing a while, Ja'lia's back had started to hurt from the position she had been standing in because Lo'ak towered over her, and sometimes when he hugged her, it was at a weird angle.

The only thing that could be heard in the cave was the ragged breathing of Lo'ak as he was still trying to catch his breath from how hard he had been crying. Ja'lia pulled one of his hands into her as she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Other than Lo'ak getting scolded by his father, it was a beautiful night, and Ja'lia was glad she got to spend it with Lo'ak, despite the current circumstances. The girl could only imagine how Lo'ak was feeling after Jake had told him that he brought shame to their family.

How could someone talk to their child like that? How could Neytiri allow Jake to talk to her child like that? Especially in the condition, Lo'ak showed up in. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, but because it wasn't anything major, Jake nor Neytiri seemed to give a damn about his well-being.

If Lo'ak had been Ja'lia's son and someone spoke to him that way, Eywa herself wouldn't be able to save them from her wrath.

It almost made Ja'lia sick to her stomach.

But it also made her beyond frustrated with Lo'ak for lying. His relationship with his father was already fragile as is, so why would he strain it even more to take the blame for something he didn't do? And why did Jake and Neytiri believe he was stupid enough to go beyond the reef on his own? Did they think that low of their own son?

Then she thought about Neteyam and how they probably blamed him for not being there for his brother.

Of course, Neteyam didn't realize his brother was missing at first, but once he realized, no one was stopping him from informing his father of what happened.

And that's probably what upset Ja'lia the most.

Her best friend. The boy she claimed to be in love with was missing, and she didn't even notice. Lo'ak being gone hadn't even crossed her mind because she thought he needed some time and space. She felt like a horrible friend.

Ja'lia had no idea what she would have done if he wouldn't have come back in one piece, or even come back at all. Tonowari and Ronal probably would have had to banish her so that they could ensure their son's safety because Ja'lia would have killed him with no hesitation.

Lo'ak was her reason to be alive. He gave her the will to breathe and live her life like she had always wanted to. The boy who had always been an outcast was her lifeline.

When he wasn't around, it felt like she couldn't breathe until she saw him. And when she did see him, it was like the air would come crashing into her lungs all at once. She only wished that Lo'ak felt the same way she did.

It's one of the reasons she had become obsessed with going to see the stars almost every night. The first time she did, she saw a shooting star, and when Jake told her the meaning of them back on Earth, she was hooked.

Each night she prayed to see one, and one-day Eywa answered her prayers. About seven months after her parents died, she was laying with Lo'ak at their spot, and a star came flying across the sky. Lo'ak had pointed it out to her, and she had quickly closed her eyes and made a wish. The first time she saw one, she wished her parent's death wouldn't hurt as much anymore.