Learning to Breathe

By the time the sun peaks around Naranawm, Tsireya is giddy with excitement. "I know you two did not impress anyone with your manners yesterday," her youngest sister says in that patronizing way of hers as they make their way to the beach to meet the Sully's children, causing the twins to roll their eyes. "But, I do believe we will all get along quite well. Neteyam and Kiri are your age, and Lo'ak is mine."

Ao'nung catches her gaze above their sister's head. He makes a dramatic show of disgust behind Tsireya's back that Hahana, despite promising their father to do her best to teach the Sully's, laughs at. Tsireya continues to tell them more about the children while Hahana pretends to listen and Ao'nung openly yawns, much to the distress of the youngest member of their family.

"I am telling you, little sister," he croons. "You are wasting your breath on these skxawng."

Tsireya looks to Hahana helplessly. "You, too?"

Hahana shrugs. "We will simply have to wait and see, will we not?" Her sister shows her teeth in a weak attempt at intimidation. Hahana drapes her arm over her and is quickly shoved off. "I am eager for your lesson, Teacher," she says with a laugh as Tsireya stomps ahead of the twins, muttering as she goes.

By the time they make it to the sunning marui they agreed to meet at, the Sully's are already waiting. Neteyam stands above his siblings while Lo'ak kneels over the woven path, watching Kiri interact with an ilu. Tuk reaches out, trying to touch the ilu, but it shies away from her, preferring Kiri's presence. Tsireya and Ao'nung have not yet noticed Kiri's strange affinity to the creatures around her. Hahana wonders if it is only a coincidence or if there is more to the Sull'y eldest daughter than they know.

Neteyam turns to them, his arms crossed over his chest. He reaches out and hits his brothers lightly on the head to get his attention. His face is tight but his eyes bright with excitement. At least one of them is eager to start their lesson.

Lo'ak pushes at his brother, but when he sees Tsireya approaching, her elder siblings in tow, he jumps up.

"Hey," he says, greeting her the same way he did when they first landed on the shores of Awa'atlu.

Neteyam only nods to them, at least acknowledging Hahana and Ao'nung. Kiri only mumbles a hello and Tuk waves excitedly.

"Alright, Great Teacher," Ao'nung sneers to Tsireya when they reach the Sully's. "You may begin your lesson. Come on, Hahana." He nudges her to the edge of the path before he himself dives into the water.

Hahana does not give a second glance to the Sully's before shrugging to her sister. "This was your idea," she calls and with a sharp grin, she dives in after their brother.

The water is refreshing, if not a little cold under the morning rays. She flips beneath the surf, feeling the drag against her hair and skin. With everything that went on yesterday, Hahana had not been able to go on her daily swim. Even only a day away, and she feels as though a lifetime has passed. Her tranquil mood only lasts a moment when she remembers exactly who is joining her in the water.

A flash of irritation is enough to ruin her mere moments of peace. The last sense of peace she fear she will feel in a long time.

When she opens her eyes, she finds Rotxo with her brother, the two boys sitting on the sand with matching smug expressions as they wait for Tsireya and the others to join them. She is reminded that her two closest friends, after Ao'nung, are away and she is stuck with Rotxo and the other boys in the meantime.

If her mood was any more sour, she is afraid she would shrivel into herself.

But if there was anything that could possibly bring up just a small amount of joy, it was the ungraceful mess that is the Sully's diving techniques.

The Omatikaya all jump in with varying degrees of success. Tsireya covers her smile with her hand when Lo'ak all but belly flops into the water, proving to Hahana that their work will be cut out for them.

Given the way they all entered the water, Hahana finds she is surprised they know how to swim at all. She turns to Ao'nung and Rotxo, this may be worse than we thought.

Much worse, her twin signs back to her before pushing off of the sandy bottom and swimming deeper into the reef, Rotxo just behind him.

Tsireya catches up with Hahana, and together they swim, leading the way to some of the more impressive colonies of coral.

Hahana chances a glance behind her. The Omaticaya are absolutely enthralled. While doing a poor job of keeping up, Hahana gives them a very small, almost miniscule break since this is something she imagines they are seeing for the first time.

Good. She thinks. It would only irritate her more if they didn't find her home as beautiful as she knows it is.

The two boys kick hard in an attempt to catch up with them. Thin arms and legs work inefficiently in the water as they try to swim at a decent pace.

Hahana notices Tuk a little further back, but Kiri is swimming away from them. While she is not exactly a graceful swimmer, she looks significantly better than her brothers - a compliment Hahana does not give lightly. Nor one she would give outloud.

No one else seems to notice Kiri's change of course. As long as she stays in the shallow area of the reef and close to the village, she should be alright. Her father would have her head if anything happened to Toruk Makto's children while she was supposed to be guiding them.

Tsireya continues to sneak glances at Lo'ak, thinking herself to be a master at stealth. Hahana only rolls her eyes. Race to the arch? She motions to the coral archway a few yards in front of them. Rotxo and Ao'nung are already waiting, swimming around it and chasing each other's tails.

Tsireya nods with a grin and kicks off.

Tsireya has always been the most graceful swimmer of the three of them, but Hahana has yet to lose a race against her younger sister.

They weave around coral and scare off schools of fish.

The water whipping passed them as they approach Rotxo and Ao'nung. The two boys lay on the top of the arch, pumping their fists in a silent cheer to the girls.

To no one's surprise, and Tsireya's annoyance, Hahana pushes herself underneath the arch first, securing the win.

Tsireya meets up with her on the other side of the arch. The girls laugh and for a moment, Hahana forgets she was ever annoyed with Tsireya. She imagines, just for a moment, that her friends are here and they are all young and carefree. That any whispers of war are so few and far between that even the biggest gossips in the village do not think it interesting enough to repeat. That she is still chosen to represent her home in the Tan'urui Clan and her cautiousness is not rooted in cowardice.

But only for a moment.

Tsireya nods her head upwards, and Hahana looks up to find the Sully's floating above them at the surface of the water, looking down at them.

Ao'nung signs to his sisters and Rotxo, I told you, did I not? Dead weight.

If they were dead weight, they would not be floating. Hahana counters with a wicked smile that takes her too much energy to plaster onto her face. Her minute of peace ripped away on the tide by the forest warbringers. The pit in her stomach since their arrival growing tenfold at the reminder of their presence.

She wonders if she could slip away. The Sully's would not stand a chance at catching her, nor would they have any reason to try. Ao'nung is almost as fast as her, but with her heart threatening to burst, she figures she can outswim him.

Tsireya frowns at the three of them. They just have to learn. She signs before pushing off the sand and meeting the Sully's at the top.

Rotxo shrugs and follows her but before Hahana can decide if she will join them or make her escape attempt, Ao'nung grabs her wrist. This is a waste of time. Let us leave them.

And suddenly, with an escape plan all but dropped in her lap, Hahana's heart stutters and her racing mind grinds to a halt. If it were only her, she might do it. But to bring Ao'nung with her? Her father's words slip into her head and she remembers the last time she ran from her responsibilities and what it cost her.

A mistake she will not allow Ao'nung to make.

And you will explain to Olo'eyktan that we left Tsireya with strangers? Hahana rolls her eyes at him, pretending she wasn't thinking the very same thing just moments before. Do not do anything stupid, she adds before pushing off the sand before Ao'nung can respond.

Hahana and Ao'nung surface as the youngest girl, Tuk cries, "you are too fast!" The twins smile at each other, Ao'nung's smug grin not going unnoticed by the boys. Tsireya looks sympathetically at them and Hahana does everything in her power not to roll her eyes. Her youngest sister, a champion for the weak.

"We can't hold our breaths long enough to reach you," Lo'ak says, more to Tsireya than to any of them.

Ao'nung nudges Hahana and Rotxo conspiratorially, a vicious grin cutting across his features. "You are not good divers. You are probably much better at swinging through the trees than you will ever be at swimming."

Tsireya hushes their laughter. "Why did you not say anything?" She asks and Hahana bites her lip to keep quiet.

Tsireya's heart is always in the right place, but she struggles to consider all aspects. She assumed the Sully's would know how to swim and dive - and they are lucky they could swim, otherwise they surely would have drowned. She also assumed they understood sign language used to communicate underwater, something Hahana is certain the Omatikaya people have never had use for. Hahana may not be as kind as Tsireya, or as brave as Ao'nung, but she always thinks everything through.

"We don't know what you are saying," Neteyam says, confirming her suspicions. "We can't speak this finger talk you guys do."

"We will teach you," Tsireya says, eyes wide with realization. She turns to Hahana, a sheepish look on her face. "Maybe we should have started with breathing?"

Ao'nung scoffs but Hahana splashes at him, earning a dark look from her brother. She sticks her tongue out at him. She wants to tell him that the sooner the Sully's can be left to their own devices in the reef, the sooner they will finish their task and will no longer have to watch them. But like Tsireya, Ao'nung never thinks ahead.

Turning to the rest of the group she says, "if you are done with this lesson, Tsireya, I will take over from here."

"Everything comes back to the ocean, we are part of it. The salt in the ocean is the same salt in our sweat, in our tears," Hahana says from her seat in the circle. Neteyam sits to her right and Ao'nung to her left. Next to Ao'nung is Rotxo, followed by Tsireya, Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk next to Neteyam to complete the circle. The group is silent as she speaks but they fidget endlessly.

They sit near one of the ocean wall pools that separate the reef from the open waters beyond. The waves crash against the rock, spraying them in a gentle mist. Although loud, Hahana and other Metkayina find the rhythmic clapping from the water to be meditative.

Much to Hahana's annoyance, the Omatikaya children do not. To their benefit, they try to pay attention. Although Hahana is not a practiced hunter in the forests inland, she cannot imagine for a second that any one of Toruk Makto's children can be still enough to successfully hunt anything.

Hahana presses her hand against Neteyam's stomach, encouraging the others to look closely. "From here," she instructs, keeping her voice even so as to not sound as irritated as she feels. "Watch." She takes a deep breath, her other hand on her own stomach. Her diaphragm expands. "See how my shoulders do not rise like yours do? Do not breathe from up here." She exaggerates a breath, lifting her shoulders to her ears and then back down. She pushes her hand harder onto his stomach. "Let me feel here."

Neteyam nods at her, but his brow furrows. His lips thin when he concentrates, she notices. He takes a breath, his shoulders still moving more than they should, but beneath her palm, his diaphragm expands. For two more breaths, Neteyam pushes against her hand, shoulders lifting less and less. She looks up to find his bright yellow eyes, almost golden in the waning light, watching her intently.

Hahana nods, a little bit more stiffly than she means to. She leans back, returning her hands to her own person. "Good," she says and watches the rest of the group try to follow her instruction.

She can feel Neteyam's eyes on her face. Her ears twitch.

Ao'nung bumps her shoulder before her thoughts can spiral, "hardly worth your time, Hahana," he whispers loudly, with no real attempt at secrecy. "He will forget the moment the waves wash over him."

Tsireya scowls but Hahana shoves him back playfully, a small smile spreading across her lips at the welcome distraction. "I suppose they will simply have to prove us wrong." She looks back at Neteyam, seeing his eyes narrow. She cocks her head to him in challenge.

If these brothers are anything like any other boy she has ever met, a little bit of a challenge may actually inspire them to learn quicker. Or, more likely, in their haste to prove themselves, they may fail extraordinarily. Hahana suspects either outcome will be entertaining.

Tsireya ignores her sibling's posturing and places her palm against Lo'ak's stomach, instructing him as Hahana had done with Neteyam. The younger boy is not heeding her direction as quickly as the eldest brother. When her younger sister points out the speed of his heart, Hahana suspects his elevated heart rate has more to do with her sister's proximity than his natural incompetence. She glances at Ao'nung and finds him openly glaring at the other boy.

That cannot be good.

"Imagine breathing into a flame," Tsireya says, oblivious to Ao'nung's scorn. "You must steady your heartbeat."

Ao'nung mutters something to Rotxo that Hahana does not catch. Tsireya glares at their brother quickly but does not otherwise turn her attention from the Sully's.

Hahana scrunches her nose at being left out of whatever Ao'nung is planning with Rotxo. With the way they are both now openly glaring at Lo'ak, she knows a target has been painted on the boy's back. If Ao'nung felt he could not share it with Hahana, it means he knows what he is thinking is stupid. She feels her temper flare as if she herself was breathing into an open flame.

Hahana reaches across Neteyam to Tuk and praises her breathing before she can cuff her brother across the head and demand he forget whatever half-witted idea is cooking up there.

She admits, in some ways, it is easier to teach the youngest Sully. She hasn't had years of bad breathing technique to hold her back. Kiri laughs when she tells them as much.

"Of all of you, Kiri may have been born in the waters," she says. Ao'nung scowls but Hahana ignores him. "We may make a diver out of one of you yet." She glances at Neteyam, the grin on her face is all challenge. She makes sure Ao'nung has noticed, if only just to annoy her brother. A dangerous game.

"What about me!" Tuk cries out, interrupting her scheming.

"Alright, alright," she smiles at the youngest in their circle. "Two of you," Hahana concedes, much to Tuk's delight.

Pronunciation:

Ao'nung: Ow-noon
Etera: Eh-tih-raa
Hahana: Ha-HaNa
Pania: Pah-nee-ah
Tsireya: Tsee-ray-ah

I don't have the energy to learn a new language, so if they aren't speaking English I'll indicate that with italics. I personally hate having to google translate a made up language while reading.