Ma Neteyam

11

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The next day they walked in silence towards the beach. Vareya was oddly quiet today and it slightly unnerved Neteyam.

It's not that she's always been talkative with him, but she looked distracted, as if her mind was reeling with thoughts and evil ideas.

" Everything good?" Neteyam couldn't help but ask as they reached the beach.

Vareya turned to look at him, her eyes gleaming....that terrified him. " Sit down forest boy, you have some breathing to work on."

Neteyam gave her one last weird look before obeying her and taking a seat. He had almost forgotten about her odd behavior as she had practically gone back to normal once they began. Once again, she poked and prodded him and continued with the name callings.

But he felt himself getting used to it, so he was able to calm himself enough to slow his heart beat, to focus on where he holds the air and when he could breathe.

Vareya tried to keep a frown on her face, but he would like to believe that the way the side of her lip slightly lifted meant that she was secretly impressed.

Then suddenly she stood up, glaring down at him and saying, " Walk with me."

Neteyam stood himself, confused, he rushed to catch up as she made her way down towards the water. " What are we doing?"

She didn't answer his question, " As I told you, my training methods are different. I believe warriors need to be prepared for any given situation. You know how to fight well on land, but your not in the forest now, your on an island. The ocean surrounds you, it can give  and it can also take." she took a breath and stared out into the grand sea in front of them before continuing.

" The water slows you down, there is no air that you can breathe, and there is no where to have footing. You have no place to hide, completely vulnerable in the open waters. It is a deadly art that you must master if you want to be the best." They both stepped into the water, but Vareya kept going deeper. What choice did Neteyam have but to follow.

" In the forest you depend on those flying beasts, and here we depend on our own creatures to keep us afloat. You must learn to move with the waves, be quick, graceful, and clear headed. But most importantly..."

They had already reached the point that they were swimming, the shallow somewhere behind them, and his feet far from the sandy floor. Vareya slowly floated to Neteyam as she finished her sentence....

" You have to survive." with that, she launched herself towards him. With her weight on top of him, he was sent abruptly under water. Her movements came so unexpected he didn't even have a chance to gather a deep breath, and he almost made the mistake of gulping in water.

Neteyam pushed her off enough for him to lift up and take a deep breath, but in no time she was on him again. Dragging him under water by his hair and taking him further away from the air above.

His heart was pounding, his lungs felt tight, and his head hurt from Vareya yanking his braids. He thrashed and tried to break free from her hold, but she was strong and resilient.

Neteyam was confused and unsure what to do. Did she want him to fight her or just break free? She wouldn't actually let him drown right?

But when he turned to her, trying to sign that he needed to go up for air, she showed no intention of letting him go. He spasmed once as his lungs began to contract, he needed air.

In desperation, he managed to move enough that she lost the grip on his hair but was quick to regain a good hold on his arm. When she did, she wrapped both his arms quickly and skillfully with a rope she must have had on her. Neteyam wanted to yell, but he couldn't.