??? ?????; neteyam

TEN

"There's things I wanna say to you, but I'll just let you live."
-cinnamon girl, lana del rey

KIRI AND NAMAOYI hadn't spent much alone time together since their arrival on the island. Namaoyi was always with Neteyam, or with others while occupying herself with the presence of the younger girl. Kiri was typically with Tuk, or by herself as she swam with the wonders of the ocean she'd never seen coming from the forest.

"How are you liking it here?" Namaoyi asked sincerely, her feet kicking up behind her. The two girls were lying with their stomachs in the sand, elbows pushed into the shallow, shallow water as they stared down at the tiny fish in the ocean.

Kiri looked at the girl with a smile. "I love it. It is so different, and so beautiful. I will never get sick of it," she said passionately, staring up into the sky with a nostalgic smile. Namaoyi admired her from the side, her eyes crinkling with delight upon seeing her friend so happy.

"That is what I told Neteyam," Namaoyi said, her shoulder bumping against the girls beside her as she let out a laugh. "I cannot compare this place to the forest, but they are both beauties of their own."

Kiri nodded, eyes wide as she let out a laugh. "Yes, that is what I have been saying. Oh, Eywa, that makes so much more sense. How do you always have the right . . . the right words?"

Namaoyis smile softened as her eyes flicked to the ground, her hand lowering to the sand in the water to trace shapes that would quickly wash away. "I do not know, someone has told me that before. I just say whatever appears in my head, it just . . . it just comes to me from here."

Kiri watched with furrowed brows as Namaoyi pushed her sandy finger towards her chest, it smudging against the fabric, leaving a mark. "You have a strong heart, Kiri. You can do it too, you just need to connect with yourself. Your true self."

Kiri smiled at the girl, before it vanished in an instant upon her ears pricking up. She'd heard the sound of laughter, teasing laughter, coming from behind them. Namaoyi noticed her discomfort and immediately turned around, seeing Ao'nung, Rotxo and the rest of their friends crowding around them.

"Huh? What did you say?" Kiri asked as she raised herself from the shallow water, holding a hand out to help the girl with narrowed eyes beside her up.

Ao'nung pushed himself in front of his friends as he sneered at the girl. "Are you some kind of freak?" He teased, looking Kiri up and down with disgust as his minions began to laugh. Namaoyi watched as more of his friends started to circle around them, inching closer and closer to the two girls.

"You cannot tease her when I was doing the same thing," Namaoyi said as she moved in front of Kiri protectively, holding a hand out behind her as the younger girl looked around her with flattened ears.

Ao'nung scoffed, looking to the unfamiliar boy beside him with a sneer. "You hear her?" The boy nods with a wicked snicker, causing her to take a step down. "You are just as weird. You traitor, you are not welcome back here." Namaoyi frowned as her feet subconsciously inched back, brows furrowed while her eyes darted along the sandy ground. 

"Hey!" A voice shouted from outside of the circle, causing Namaoyi and Kiris ears to perk up once more. "Back off, fish lips," Lo'ak seethed as he pushed himself through the crowd, placing himself between the girls and the taunting boy before them.

Ao'nung laughed. "Another five-fingered freak!" He teased, pushing his face forward in a teasing motion as his friends laughed.

"Look at the little baby tail," Rotxo joined in, reaching for Lo'aks tail. He immediately jumped away.