Little Miss Perfect | Neteyam¹

❀˖°𝔹𝕠𝕟𝕦𝕤 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣❀˖°

"Nete!" Marali squealed as Neteyam splashed water at her. Neteyam laughed at his friend before burying his hands into the water to throw more water up at his friend, "You started it!" The boy smiled.

And so, the water fight commenced.

It was a beautiful breezy day in the Omatikaya clan, and the two eight-year-olds were soaking up the sun before they had to go back home. Luckily it had just been the two of them playing. Not that Marali didn't like Lo'ak or Kiri, but it was nice to spend some time with her best friend. She lived for the moments she and Neteyam got to play together because as they grew older they became fewer and farther between.

They used to play together every day, but once Neteyam's younger siblings were born, he decided to help Neytiri take care of them, and sometimes Marali would help because she loved Neteyam's siblings as if they were her own. Marali was a timid child unless she was around the Sully children.

The two children splashed each other one last time before plopping down into the river, panting from how fast they were splashing and chasing each other. "That was so much fun," Marali laughed, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm her heart.

"Yeah," Neteyam nodded, narrowing his eyes as he looked at something behind his friend.

"Is everything okay?" Marali asked, and the boy hummed in response before jumping to his feet. She watched Neteyam in curiosity as he kneeled to inspect something in front of him, "Nete, what's wrong?"

Neteyam glanced over to look at his friend with a small smile on his face, "Look what I found!" He said, causing Marali to slowly make her way over to her friend.

When she saw what he'd been looking at, she gasped in awe. In front of the two children was a beautiful purple and blue flower. "I bet it would look pretty at night," Marali whispered, and Neteyam nodded. He saw the way Marali looked at the flower, and he wondered if he should gift it to her, after all, what's the harm in picking one flower?

Of course, the plant was still a living organism, so he would have to pray to Eywa and thank her for the flower, but if he could see that smile on Marali's face for a couple of days, it would all be worth it. "Do you want it?" He asked, and the girl turned to look at him.

"You think I could have it?" She questioned.

"You like it, don't you?" Marali nodded.

That was all the confirmation Neteyam needed as he placed his fingers at the bottom of the plant stem, and gently pulled. Without much effort, the plant soon popped out of the ground, and Marali took the delicate flower into her hands as she observed the intricate details of the plant. She then looked at her best friend and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you!"

The boy blushed as he tried to cover his tinted cheeks with his arm while he cleared his throat. "It was nothing," Neteyam said, suddenly feeling shy.

"We should go show your mom!" Marali cheered, and Neteyam smiled before getting up and offering Marali a hand. "I'm sure she would braid it into your hair if you wanted her to," He said, and the girl's eyes widened.

"You think so?" She said before pulling Neteyam with her as they ran back towards Neteyam's home.

Their short legs carried them as fast as they could go, and soon Neteyam returned home while Marali ran past Kiri and Lo'ak to find Neytiri. The girl looked everywhere for Neytiri, but when she turned around to tell Neteyam that she couldn't find his mom, Marali ran into her. "Is everything okay, Mara?" Neytiri asked in concern.

"Yeah! Look what Neteyam got for me!" Marali revealed the flower, and Neytiri inspected the plant before a soft smile made its way onto her lips. "That's very pretty. Where did he find it?" The mother asked.