strong - neteyam x oc

tree

Kireyi

They had arrived back at the beach quickly, the whole walk quiet. Kireyi was simply trying to calm herself after the entire situation, including embarrassing herself near the end. She was only a few paces ahead of the boy and couldn't even think of looking back at him, he flustered her, and he had to of known. Neteyam let her be; he didn't want to press anymore for now, seeing how she reacted. Despite the fact her reaction wasn't bad, he realized they made progress, and it'd be best to see how that changed everything. Plus, how bad could stepping back be if she wore the flower he picked for her? The boy chuckled as she ran off to her younger sister.

"Where'd you go?" Tsireya scanned her older sister to see if she was alright.

The older one shuffled on her feet, she hadn't been flustered around her younger sibling in a long time, and the feeling was new, "Uhm... nowhere," She bent down to Tsireya's ear, "I'll tell you later."

As she positioned herself back to normal, her sister noticed the flower in her hair, and the boy who wasn't far from Kireyi, "I know what later means with you, come on, tell me now!" She attached herself to Kireyi's arm and walked farther from the group.

"Did he give that to you?" Tsireya giggled, touching the flower's petal; she saw how her older sister's eyes lit up and realized Kireyi probably didn't even notice.

"Yes..."

Tsireya squealed, sitting the two down, "So what happened?"

As the two sat and talked about the interaction, Neteyam and his brother did too, "So? Handing out flowers now, right bro?"

"Yes, and what about it?" Neteyam looked over to his brother, who was on the verge of laughing.

"Oh, Neteyam, give me a flower too!! Does it fit my eyes," Lo'ak began speaking in a high-pitched manner, mocking his older brother. As he sat and continued laughing, Neteyam however, took a flower shoving it into Lo'ak's laughing mouth.

"No Lo'akie it seems to fit your lips the best!" Neteyam was the one laughing now before the two continued into a small fight. Kiri rolled her eyes, Tuk taking after the older girl before they stopped their little fight.

Stories leisurely came to an end, and the group joined into a circle again, "So, we would like to take everyone to our spirit tree! To ensure safety, we will take two people per Ilu." Kiyeri explained.

Once again, Tuk chose Aonung, the older boy took good care of her during the games, and she enjoyed his presence. This gave leeway for Neteyam to go with Kireyi again, she would be the one to bond with the Ilu though. Getting on behind her, Kireyi tensed as Neteyam's hands wrapped around her waist. His touch was tender, and her own tail snaked around the boy's waist. They made way to the spirit tree, and daylight began to dim. The ride over hadn't been horrible, the waves calm throughout the sea. As they approached several arched rocks the Omatikaya reveled at the scenery. 

"This is our spirit tree, it is best to visit during eclipse," Tsireya dove into the water first with Lo'ak.

"Make sure you all take a good breath before following us, we may be down here for a little longer than usual," Rotxo warned.

Kireyi looked back to Neteyam, she had a soft smile, excited about showing the boy the tree, "Come, follow me!"

She dove into the water, waiting for him to join her. The water here was almost still as it surrounded the tree, Kireyi took his hand, leading him underwater. If they had felt the waters in he reef were brightly lit at night, it was ten times that here. Everything shimmered and sparkled in the water, including the children. Their freckles were light, skin reflecting the soft pink and purples from the tree.