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part 8. forest girl

Taronyu

The forest girl smiles as she watches an Ilu swim around her, her eyes sparkling in fascination. I wade deeper in the water, up to my hips, before helping her mount the animal. She takes my hand as she gets on, and I hold up the Ilu's queue.

"The first bond should be gentle."

Her yellow eyes meet mine, our gaze locked on each other's like magnets. My tail respondingly wags in the water. I try to regain focus, turning my attention back to the Ilu's queue. She guides her neural whip to it, and the animal shivers from the first bond.

"Keep a relaxed position when you dive in, comply with the flow of the water," I advise to her.

"Okay," she replies, tucking her braids behind her ears in preparation.

She takes a deep breath, holding on to the harness tightly, and the Ilu begins to swim forwards. I duck under the water, observing her first attempt. She has one hand under the animal's neck for stability as she glides through the water.

I call for another Ilu, mounting quickly to join Ka'lani. Catching up to her, I mentally command the Ilu to swish its fin, sending a current towards her.

The turbulent water pushes her off her course, and she feigns a shocked face. I grin, before cruising away swiftly on the back of the animal. Turning my head back, I see her trying to catch up to me. She's slow on the animal, so I decelerate slightly, giving her a chance to catch up.

She speeds up, becoming more unsteady as she chases me through the water. Her body leans upwards a fraction too much, and the water drag pulls her off the back of the creature, sending her into a spin. I wince, riding in her direction on my Ilu. She stops spinning, and rises towards the surface as quick as she can, swaying her thin tail to try to swim faster.

My Ilu and I break through the water surface, and I hear Ka'lani coughing for air.

"Try to keep up, Forest Girl," I chuckle.

Her eyes narrow, but I see a little smile tug at the corner of her lips.

"I would have loved to see your first try at this, Reef Boy."

She splashes water at me, her other hand resting on the neck of my Ilu for support.

I feel a smile creep onto my face even before I respond.

"Clearly you don't know what you're talking about. I was an Ilu-riding prodigy. Ask anyone in the clan."

Ka'lani scoffs, "Oh, I know you had worse first-tries than me."

"You know nothing, Forest Girl," I reply, half-smirking.

---

"Breathe in," I look at the Omatikayan teenagers as I inhale, motioning towards my tightened core, "and breathe out," I exhale slowly.

Tsireya, Rotxo, Zeph, and I sit on the rocks by the southern seawall, rehearsing our breathing practice with the four oldest Sullies.

My sister holds out her hand, waving her fingers, "Imagine flickering a flame. You must slow down your heartbeat."

She leans towards Lo'ak, placing one hand on his chest, and the other hand on his abdomen.

"Breathe in," she instructs, "breathe from down here."

He inhales deeply, looking ahead.

"Breathe out slowly."

The forest boy does as she says, blowing out the air from his lungs.

"Lo'ak, your heartbeat is fast. Try to focus."

He apologizes, repeating the slowed breathing.

My face pulls into a smirk, and my eyes flicker up. Zeph and Neteyam are already looking up, and Rotxo quietly chuckles. Ka'lani's eyes meet mine, a small grin plastered on her lips. Kiri rolls her eyes, unamused.

---

We ride our Ilus through the coral reef as the sun sets, casting a warm glow through the surface of the water. I watch as Neteyam and Lo'ak play around in the water, chasing Ka'lani. Tsireya leads the way back to the village, and I stay in the back, making sure no one strays away.

Kiri rides off to the side, many of the fish swimming alongside her as she passes through. My attention turns back to the others as Ka'lani spins playfully with her Ilu, her braids lifted by the water.

I disembark the Ilu, wading towards the shore. The others follow suit, and we head towards the tribe's communal marui, where the entire village shares evening meals. Lanterns light up the marui pods, and the bioluminescent coral gives off light from below.

Zeph joins me in the front of the group.

"I'm glad we ditched skimwing training. Although it would have been fun to see Jakesully try."

I chuckle, "Couldn't have been much worse than our first tries."

We step up onto the bridge, and I notice Namari by one of the entrances as we enter the marui. The delectable smell of herbs and grilled fish meets my nose, and I show the Omatikayan teenagers where the different foods are. We prepare our individual meals on large leaves and sit down by the fire.

The clan's evening meals are comforting events, with everyone in the community coming together to contribute food and stories. I wish some were as welcoming as others are, though. My gaze finds its way to Namari, and I excuse myself from the others, making my way towards her.

She's standing with two of her friends, their conversation stopping as I approach them. They look up at me, and I sign 'I see you' to the three girls in greeting.

"Namari, could I borrow you for a second? You should meet the forest people."

She gives me a confused look, and her friends share glances.

"I can't see why I must meet them," she replies.

"My siblings and I are showing them our way, you, by relation are also connected to them."

"Okay," she agrees, excusing herself from the others.

I smile, leading us back to our group. Glancing at the forest people, Ka'lani's eyes meet mine, before she looks away. The others' attentions turn towards us as we approach.

"I'd like to introduce you to Namari. Namari, this is Neteyam, Lo'ak, Ka'lani, and Kiri."

Everyone exchanges greetings, and I take my seat next to Zeph and Ka'lani. Namari sits down beside me. We eat our meals, sharing our stories from the day.

---

Author's note:
I'm so sick rn </3 but luckily I have lots of time to write! I love Taronyu and Zeph'te so much they're such cuties:)

Word count: 1078