39% of the chapters completed! Only 16 left!

Kailua takes the brunt of Lo'ak's bonding with Payakan, protecting both him and her younger sister. Both question her in a flurry of emotion.

playlist/0ypdkGuQnq83SSSw5JmJzU?si=7f1d8bcb8bf44408
Bleeding love, Lost it all & Who knew

A few days passed before Kailua saw Lo'ak again. It would appear he took her words of resting seriously. She dealt with her mother's constant questioning about her visions and if she'd had any more. Kailua made the stupid mistake of telling her about the vision where one of the Sully children died. Her mother had argued that many things can be altered, that nothing is ever set in stone.

When Kailua argued back that death and birth are the two things only ever set to happen, her mother slapped her upside the head with a glare. "You can alter when and how, Kailua. Do not be obstructive,"

So Kailua took it upon herself to start teaching the Sully children, alongside her siblings, everything they needed to know. Tsireya taught them breath holding and slowing down their heartbeats while Kailua taught them swimming in multiple different environments. They took them to the edge of the reef, near the protective wall where the waves were the highest and the harshest. Kailua taught them how to swim in sync with the waves, rather than against them.

All swam away bruised and sore, but better for it.

Ao'nung taught them how to swim in a current if you get caught in one. And all three taught them sign language. It reassured her they could hold their own; it wouldn't be the ocean that took their lives.

After Lo'ak had healed, she and Tsireya took him out to teach him what they'd already taught Neteyam and Kiri. Rotxo and Rigloxín had stayed behind by the shore to teach little Tuk while her dad taught Toruk Makto and her mom taught Neytiri. It hurt how touchy Tsireya was; but a small, rational part of her said that was just how Tsireya was; even as a young girl her affection was physical touch.

But Kailua didn't always think rationally. Often times, she'd hit first, ask questions later. Which is why she rivalled her sister and made sure to touch Lo'ak as often as she did. If Tsireya touched his chest, Kailua touched his shoulder. If Tsireya grinned and held his hand, Kailua would "accidentally" touch his tail.

It was petty, sure, but at the end of the day, Kailua was only 17.

Remembering that: "Kailua's hit first, ask questions later" attitude, well, she found herself arguing with her mother and father over Lo'ak. Kailua hadn't actually spoken to him for around three days as she was busy helping her uncle hunt for some food for the clan. Thanks to her abilities, she could reach further into the depths to get the nicer fishes to eat.

But during those three days, Tsireya, her dumb, but well meaning sister, had let Lo'ak bond with Payakan. Like… actually bond. They were now officially spirit brothers.

When word reached her mom, unhappy was an understatement. Kailua was descaling a fish when her siblings, the Sully boys and her parents stormed into the hut, fury and disappointment written as clear as day. "You ALLOWED him to bond with the outcast!" Kailua put her knife down with a frown. "Tsireya," Dad hissed. "You disappoint me, daughter,"

Kailua took a place next to her despondent little sister. "Father, it was not Tsireya who let him. It was me; I encouraged Lo'ak to do it," She lied. "I did not tell him why Payakan is outcast. It is my fault," Tsireya gently tugged on her loincloth while the boys stared at her with various looks surrounding wonder and confusion. "Kailua. You know better," Dad said. "I do not believe you. You do not think with your emotions like your sister: you think about your actions first," Mom argued. Tsireya sniffled beside her. "No, mother. I saw Lo'ak swimming a few nights ago, to the tulkun, to Payakan. I encouraged him to bond."

Ronal's face grew slack in shock before tensing up in fury. "Mother, you did not see them. They are true spirit brothers, and you know how rare those are. Especially with a forest na'vi," It was true. While everyone in the clan had chosen a tulkun, and the tulkun had chosen them, it was incredibly rare for the tulkun to seek out the na'vi out of season. Never mind bonding with a non-sea na'vi.

"Irrelevant!" Mom barked. "He is outcast for a reason! By extension, the boy is now outcast!" She huffed. "Or should be by the tulkun way!" Kailua shook her head. "You cannot defy Her will. If She decided Lo'ak and Payakan should bond, then bond they will!" She argued. Mom glared at her with a disgusted sneer. "Go. I do not want to see you,"

"Why did you tell mama it was you?" Kailua was in the middle of drawing a heart in the sand with a stick when her little sister approached from behind. She shrugged. "I dunno," She drew eyes. "Mama seems ready to fight me at any given moment at the minute, so I figured I may as well give her a reason," Kailua drew the nose. "Mama loves you, Lua. She's just worried," Tsireya defended. Kailua scoffed. "She yelled at us and called us disgraces, yet, you still defend her?" She finished with the mouth. "She's our mother," Tsireya took a seat next to Kailua's larger, but broken stick.

"Children are allowed to fall out with their parents, Tsireya. We are allowed to not like them from time to time. It doesn't make us bad people," Kailua said softly. "I know," She answered softly. Kailua huffed harshly, dragging the stick across the heart quickly. "She's right though," Kailua said a few moments later. "With what?" Tsireya asked, drawing her own shape with one of the broken pieces of stick from earlier. "Bonding," Kailua answered simply. "You shouldn't have let him,"

Tsireya sighed softly. "If for nothing else, then the problems Lo'ak will have in the clan because of it," Tsireya sighed again. "I know,"

"Why did you lie for me?" Kailua snorted. "If I had a pearl for every time somebody said why did you to me today," She mumbled, kicking a stone. "I'm not even gonna ask," Lo'ak stepped into stride with her. She continued walking, despite being very aware of his body heat less than five inches away. "And to answer your question," She said a moment later. "Because my mother already hates you," She stepped over a log with ease. "And she could do without any further reason,"

Lo'ak grunted as he slipped behind her, though he tried his very best to disguise it as a snort. Kailua turned with a raised brow. "I thought you were adapted to walk smoothly on uneven terrain," She teased. Lo'ak was unamused.

She chuckled.

"Can you jump?" She asked, suddenly overcome with the urge to be really childish. "Uh… I think so. That's where you fall with intent, right?" He asked sarcastically. Kailua flicked some moss over her shoulder. "How about your breath control? That good?" She asked lightly. Lo'ak hummed. "I guess so. Why?"

She turned with a grin. "Last one in the water is an akula!"