"magnificent"
Neteyam woke up with his family talking very loudly. normally he would just fall back asleep but Kiri kept yelling at Lo'ak louder than normal, to stop bothering her.
Neteyam sighed and sat up. "good morning, my lovely family." he said sarcastically and stood up and stretched.
"Lo'ak, stop it!" Kiri hissed at him. Lo'ak rolled his eyes and started poking her and pulling on her tail again.
Kiri growled and decided to jump on Lo'ak. Lo'ak grunted and tried to pry her off of him but Kiri held a tight grip and hit him in the shoulders.
"hey, hey. hey!" Jake carried Kiri off Lo'ak and set her down on the other side of the room. "both of you, behave." he gave them a pointed look. "we just got here, we don't want to be kicked out."
Tuk mindlessly played with one of her toy figures and Neytiri was in the corner learning how to weave a good basket, with different type of material then she's used to.
when she messed up, once again she hissed at it and threw it away. Neytiri stared at it angrily hoping it would burst into flames and burn.
"you'll get it, sweetie." Jake encourage her as he was walking by and kissed her head. Neytiri huffed and grabbed the unfinished basket and unraveled it, to try again.
Neteyam stared at his mom and dad with a smile. he wanted that. his mom was willing to leave her people just for Jake and her family. she was willing to learn more arts and crafts to stay on the island. the same with Jake. he would drop everything just for her and his family. Neteyam knows he's only hard on him and his brother because they were practically in a war and they almost got killed. he felt loved in his family but he wanted their love, that romantic thing.
"Neteyam!" Lo'ak screamed in his ear.
Neteyam jumped and pushed his brother away, rubbing his ear. "what's wrong with you, bro?"
"you should really get your ears checked." Lo'ak told him. "let's go to the beach."
"yeah, i'm coming." Neteyam walked out with Lo'ak.
Neteyam and Lo'ak walked out together and went their way to the beach. they were talking when they heard a crowd cheering.
Lo'ak looked at his brother and they walked faster to the beach. they saw a bunch of people crowding two others.
the brothers shoved their way through and finally saw Y/n and Ao'nung.
Ao'nung charged at Y/n but she stepped aside. she then grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground.
she stepped to him and before she could get closer, Ao'nung kicked her in the stomach sending her back. that gave him enough time to stand up and look at his sister.
Neteyam looked at the crowd around them. the faces of them showed that they liked what was going on and liked the excitement of what would happen next. no one even tried to stop them, so when Neteyam wanted to do something his brother held him back.
Y/n smirked. "it's not a surprise that they told me that i will be chief."
Neteyam tilted his head. Y/n would be the future chief, does that mean that she's betrothed to another.
"you don't even know how to fight."
Y/n had swept Ao'nung feet from under him and sat down in his stomach. she punched him a couple of times and then Ao'nung flipped them.
he didn't get to hit her once before he was thrown off of by Y/n kicking him in the chest. she climbed on top of him again.
instead of punching him again she pushed down on the middle of his chest to make it harder for him to breath.
the crowd around either cheered for Y/n or shouted at Ao'nung to get up and fight back. Ao'nung tried to catch his breath but Y/n smashed his head into the sand and punched him again.
Neteyma furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Ao'nung laugh. "you know." he wheezes. "at least i get to choose my own mate."
"move!" Lo'ak was pushed by Ronal as she and her husband tried to get to their kids. Neteyam caught him before he could hit the sand.
Y/n stopped and shouted. "what?!" she went to punch him again but her father pulled her off. Y/n just pulled her elbow out of his grip and stared at her brother.
Neteyam glanced at Ao'nung and he looked pretty bad considering Y/n had no damage done to her, whatsoever.
she turned around and looked at her parents. "is that true?" she asked them in disbelief.
"is what true?" Ronal asked.
"that you are going to pick my mate?"
Neteyam could hear the sadness in Y/n's voice. she has every right to be. i mean, not getting to chose the person that you're going to live and spend the rest of you life with fucking sucks. and worst of all, your parents are making the decision for you.
"we have decided that we would find you a suitable mate." Tonowari looked down at his daughter.
Y/n exclaimed and backed away from them.
"only because we want the best for you and our people." Ronal looked at her husband and then back down at her daughter.
Y/n shook her head angrily. "you do not get to tell me what is best for me." Y/n pointed at them and walked away from them.
Neteyam pulled his brother back to him so Y/n wouldn't hit him as she walked past them. Neteyam watched Y/n as she walked away to the huts and disappear from their sight.
the people started going back to their places and started to talk about what had happened. Tonowari and Ronal walked to the huts hoping to find their daughter.
"that's rough, bro." Lo'ak patted Neteyams shoulder.
"what?" he turned his head, making his braids fly through the air.
Lo'ak looked at his brother. Neteyam realised what he meant and shook his head. "no. no. it's only been 3 days. i don't like her."
"i never said anything about liking." Lo'ak smirked and walked past his brother. Neteyam blushed in embarrassment and sighed.
"fuck you, Lo'ak." he whispered and made his way back to his pod.
◦ ◦ ◦
a couple of hours later and Neteyam was stuck in a room with his siblings and Tsireya.
Neteyam sighed as he watched his little brother shyly flirt with Tsireya.
Tsireya came over to their hut to pull them out and teach them how to sign. Tuk kept complaining about how it hurts her brain and Kiri just started massaging her head to make her stop complaining.
Neteyam sighed once again and put his head in his hand. he looked at the opening and saw Y/n walk past it.
his head perked up and he leaned back to see if he could spot even just a small part of her. when she was completely gone, Neteyam slouched back down and sighed.
"what was that?"
Neteyam looked up at Kiri and Tuk. "what was what?"
"that." Kiri told him. "you were bored and then got all excited and then... bored again." now Tsireya and Lo'ak had started paying attention.
"what? i did not, okay?" he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
"yes, you did." Tuk nodded her head. "you got excited when Y/n walked past us." she said innocently.
Neteyam glared at his sister as Lo'ak covered his laugh. Tsireya smiled at Neteyam. "if i remember correctly, she's on her way to teach the class."
"wha- why should i have to... know that." Neteyam asked her a little nervous.
"i just thought that maybe you wanted to know." she shrugged with a soft smile that showed her dimples.
"what happened at the beach?" Kiri brought up. "she got in some fight? it doesn't look like she did."
Tsireya smile dropped a little and sighed. "Ao'nung got the most damage. he isn't a good fighter but has a strong spirit." Tsireya told them.
"so, did he like, defend her or something?" Kiri asked again.
"no, they got in a fight with each other." Lo'ak shrugged. "it sounded like something about a chief thing."
"our father recently told Y/n that she would be the clans future leader. Ao'nung didn't take that well." Tsireya finished. "anyway, let's get back to sign language."
Lo'ak immediately turned his attention to her and Tuk had stopped complaining about her head. Kiri turned to Tsireya too as she actually wanted to learn.
Neteyam looked at them and decided to stand up very quietly and slip out without anyone noticing him.
as Neteyam was walking out, Tsireya looked to the side and saw him leave. she smiled to herself before turning back to the others.
'where am i going? Neteyam thought to himself as he walked further away from the pod. he remembered that Tsireya told him that Y/n was teaching and he remembered that Y/n told him she was teaching the kids at the same pot where he rode his first Ilu.
'it wouldn't hurt to drop by.' he thought and started walking to the spot. as he walked closer he could see a bunch of kids and Y/n riding an Ilu.
she really looked beautiful. her hair shine under the bright sun and the way she smiled just lit up Neteyams heart.
he watched as she placed a kid on the Ilu and then turn her head. Y/n let go of the kid and rushed to another. she splashed some water and then turned to the kid in the Ilu. The Ilu had thrown him off and Y/n caught the kid just in time.
Neteyam started slowly walking in the water and to their class. Y/n stopped a kid from picking in another and then stopped another kid from climbing on top of the Ilu and risk getting hurt.
she clearly did not have any control over them and Neteyam smiled. he struggled like that too in his forest when he taught a couple of kids on bis to jump through trees.
he smiled and decided to help her. "hey, kids!" he shouted. Y/n and the kids turned around and saw him walking to them. "how about we play a game?"
the kids jumped up and down and swam to him.
Neteyam looked up at Y/n and smiled at her confused face. "this game is called the whisper game."
he saw Y/n's ear twitch at the unfamiliar game. 'wow, that was adorable.'
"okay, everyone on a circle." he instructed. the kids started walking into a circle and looked up at him with full interest. "now i'm going to start whispering a word or a sentence to you and you'll whisper the same thing to her, okay?" the kids nodded.
Neteyam tried to think of a word but couldn't. he looked up and saw Y/n standing there with her face twisted in confusion. he stared at her for a moment. he smiled a little and then leaned down to whisper in the kids ear. "Y/n is beautiful."
"what?" he looked up at him. "i did not hear that."
"then you have to whisper what you thought you heard to her." Neteyam explained.
the boy nodded his head and leaned to the girl next to him. they continued to whisper to another and it finally got back to Neteyam.
the girl told him to crouch down but he shook his head. "now you have to tell us what you heard to see if that was the correct sentence."
the girl looked at the others and nodded. "growing is a grime." she said laughing.
the other kids laughed and Neteyam too. "that is not correct." he glanced at Y/n. "you want to know the sentence?" he asks them.
they all nodded their heads and leaned forward. Neteyam spotted Y/n leaning forward too and smirked. "come closer." he nodded to the kids.
as they got closer, he crouched down so he was their height and hid away from Y/n. "you won't tell Y/n, right?"
the kids nodded and leaned in even closer. Neteyam chuckled at their excitement. "the sentence was 'Y/n is very beautiful.'"
some of the kids started laughing and they all backed away. Y/n stood a couple of feet away with an even curious expression. "what? what was the sentence?"
Neteyam put a finger to his lips and the kids laughed even louder. he heard water splashing next to him and saw Y/n walk up to him. she got closer and then slapped his shoulder. "what was the word?"
Neteyam only grinned and shrugged his shoulders. it has only been three days, he couldn't tell her that she was pretty otherwise it would just come across as creepy.
"who wants to do that again?" he turned to the kids, who immediately cheered and went into a circle.
"i still have to train them." Y/n told Neteyam. he looked at her and then back at the kids. "right." he whispered.
it seemed like Y/n really wanted to train them as it was important to the people that the kids would learn young so they could get even stronger as they got older.
Neteyam turned from Y/n and to the kids. "kids, we're going to play again, but this time one by one you will ride an Ilu and then join back in, okay?" he said and waited for their response.
the children cheered and pulled him into their circle. Neteyam laughed with them and stood in between two little girls who looked down into the water as he smiled down at them.
"Pone'mal, come." he heard Y/n say and a little boy went after her.
"alright, who wants to start this time?" a couple of hands were shot up and Neteyam pointed at a boy in front of him. the boy cheered and whispered a word to the kid next to him.
he watched as some of the kids tried to hide their smiles and laughs as they continued whispering to the person next to them.
finally, a girl had to whisper the word to Neteyam. so he crouched down so he could reach his ear.
"tutan." she whispered.
Neteyam chuckled and whispered the same thing to the girl on his other side. after he whispered it to her he stood up straight and glanced at Y/n.
she was smiling and cheering for the boy as he probably git something right. Neteyam stared at her smile. it was beautiful, her nose was a little scrunched up and her smile showed her teeth.
Neteyam was snapped out of it when the kids started laughing again. he looked down at the water with a blush on his cheeks.
he waited for another kid to start and another to go to Y/n.
Y/n had finally finished training every single kid. the kids wanted to finish their last game and then just have fun.
Neteyam crouched down a and let the girls whisper in his ear. he nodded his head slightly and then whispered what he heard to the girl on his other side.
Neteyam felt someone staring at him and so he looked up. he saw Y/n fidgeting with a part of her and her lips slightly parted. 'my Eywa, doesn't she look magnificent.' he breathed out.
he finally realised that she was actually staring at him. Neteyam quickly got warm and wanted to look away but couldn't. as they continued to stare at each other, he got more and more nervous. Neteyam broke eye contact and made a decision to go to her instead.
he smiled at the kids and then started to walk to where Y/n was standing. he saw her smile at him so he smiled back. he patted his thighs nervously as he walked to her.
he eventually stood next to her and looked at the kids, who had finished their last round of the whisper game. he smiled as the kids played together and laughed.
"thank you." Y/n said out of the blue.
Neteyam looked at her. he furrowed his eyebrows and placed his hands behind his back.
"for helping me." she finally said and looked up at him.
"it was not a problem, really." he said. "i used to go the same to the kids in the forest."
Y/n smiled and looked away but Neteyam didn't. he stared at her as she smiled at the kids laughing and playing while he smiled softly at Y/n.
he thought back to what happened at the beach and frowned. he hated the fact that Y/n would end up with someone that's not him. even though his opinion wasn't valid as she wasn't even his and the fact that they met three days ago, he still hated it.
"i'm sorry." he said without thinking.
"what?" Y/b looked at him.
"i'm sorry for the... mate thing." he said, continuing to dig himself a bigger hole.
"you saw that?" she sighed.
"i think everyone did." he laughed.
Y/n laughed with him and Neteyam was happy that he made her laugh. "i really do not want to talk about that." she shook her head.
"yeah... yeah, yeah- no, tha- that's fine." Neteyam stuttered.
Y/n smiled up at him. "thank you." she said. Neteyam smiled back and looked at the kids.
"you know, i was supposed to be the next Olo'eyktan in my clan." Neteyam boasted and smirked proudly.
"really?" Y/n asked in disbelief. "i would never had guessed." she smiled.
Neteyam put a hand to his heart and gasped. "that was mean." he fake sobbed.
Y/n looked at him and laughed. Neteyam laughed with her. he loved her laugh, it was his favourite sound.
after they calmed down Y/n looked back at him. "do you miss it?"
"miss what?"
"the forest."
Neteyam stopped. of course he missed the forest, it was his home. his first step, his first words, his first hunt, so many firsts were made in that forest.
"that was a stupid question." Y/n said after he didn't answer her. "obviously, you miss it."
"yes, i miss the forest." Neteyam answered her question. "but i do enjoy being here."
Y/n grinned and then looked at something behind him. "i might have something that would make you feel more at home."
"oh, really? what is it?"
Y/n sighed and looked around. "meet me by the dock. tomorrow, after dinner." she instructed.
Neteyam nodded. he went to say something when someone called for Y/n.
"Y/n! we have to go home!" Tsireya yelled to her really loudly.
Lo'ak wakes up behind her with Tuk and Kiri following. "bro, dad called for us." he yelled out.
"alright, kids." Y/n clapped. "this class is done now. go find your parents." she said. the kids nodded and went to find their parents but one of the children stopped.
he turned around and hugged Neteyam by the waist. Neteyam grunted by the added weight but hugged back nonetheless. soon all of the kids began hugging him.
"thank you for the fun game!" one of them thanked.
"no... problem." Neteyam said and scratched the back of his head. the kids finally let go and ran out of the water.
the two ran up to their siblings. the two households were on different sides of the village so they had to part there.
"thank you, again, for the help." Y/n smiled softly and grabbed Neteyams hand before walking away with Tsireya to their house.
Neteyam stared at Y/n and then back at his hand. he smiled and chuckled. Lo'ak put a hand on his shoulder. "you're being really creepy, bro."
"yeah, Neteyam it's getting creepier." Kiri said while picking up Tuk.
"there's nothing creepy about this!" he exclaimed and started walking past them. he shoved Lo'ak to the side, making him fall into the water.
Neteyam looked behind him to see his brother glaring at him and giving him the middle finger.
"love you too, bro!"
『••✎••』
please do not forget to vote, it really motivates me to write more <3
i have burned my hand way to many times today but yeah.
an update. i'm trying to make a system here but it keeps not working. i mean it kinda is but it isn't.
you get it.
i'm in a theatre group thingy in school and we're doing a Cinderella story play. really excited tbh