Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter forty-three of "Gone in the Dark." This chapter has some Lo'ak/Tsireya. I felt I needed to show more of Kiki and Kipling interacting with others. Stay tuned for chapter forty-four.
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Chapter 43: Seashell Hunting
Aonung, Kiki, and Kipling walked along the beach. They had small sacks across their shoulders. They looked toward the ocean, seeing two white-spotted dolphins leaping into the air. The dolphins reentered the water very quickly. They returned to the surface. They spouted air from their blowholes. They rolled over on their backs. They flicked their tails, throwing water upward. They dove underwater with playful squeaks.
Kiki spotted a shell sticking out of the sand and squealed delightfully. She ran toward it. She picked it up to look it over. It was straight from top to bottom. It was white with the exception of the bottom being brown. Yellow spots decorated every part of it. It had an opening in the front. She giggled, eyeing her siblings as they joined her side.
"This is such a pretty shell," Kiki shouted gleefully while slipping it in her sack.
"It is, but the one I found before this one is prettier," Kipling said and touched the strap of his sack.
"Sure, it is," Kiki retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Guys, I should remind you two are not having a shell-finding contest," Aonung said with an annoyed huff. "It is just a simple hunt for shells. Is that clear?"
"Okay," Kiki and Kipling responded.
"What a spoilsport," Kipling mumbled.
"I heard that, Kipling!" Aonung said in annoyance. "I am in charge, so you need to watch what you say."
Kipling gave his brother a nod. They and Kiki resumed walking. He saw another shell sticking out of the sand. He smiled while going to it. He picked it up. It twisted around all the way down. It was white and had blue stripes all over it. It had a narrow opening in the front.
"I have another pretty shell to keep," Kipling said, swiveling his ear as Kiki and Aonung joined his side.
"No kid can have too many shells," Kiki commented, her ears and tail swiveling.
"You are so right about that," Aonung agreed and chucked softly.
"Yep," a male voice said.
Aonung spun around to see Lo'ak and Tsireya standing a short distance away from him and siblings. He saw they were holding hands. The couple made their way over to the trio. Aonung couldn't help but smile. He placed his hands on his sides.
"Well, well, if it isn't everyone's favorite lovebirds returning home," Aonung teased. He noticed the couple's messed-up hair. "I can see you two got really busy last night."
"What do you mean by that, Aonung?" Kiki wondered.
Aonung looked down at his sister. "That is a talk for another time."
"When?" Kiki asked.
Tsireya giggled. "In about ten years."
Kiki gave a shrug and scratched the back of her neck. She moved her head from side to side to stretch it. She swung her tail, smacking Kipling in his side. He looked at her annoyingly.
"Watch it with that tail!" Kipling blurted out and narrowed his eyes at his sister.
"Okay," Kiki said. She made another swing of her tail and hit him in the same area. She giggled in a quiet way. "Oops. My tail forgot."
He growled playfully. "Oh, you!"
Kipling pinched his sister's cheeks and made funny noises. She grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands off. She placed them at his sides before giving them gentle pats. She patted his cheeks while speaking gibberish. Lo'ak tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help himself.
"I swear, your brother and sister get sillier by the day," Lo'ak said as he touched the top of his head.
"We know where they got that silliness from," Aonung pointed out while crossing his arms.
"Gee. I don't know who you are talking about," Lo'ak said, trying to appear innocent.
"Don't deny it, Lo'ak. You taught them to be silly," Aonung commented truthfully.
"Okay. I did teach them that," Lo'ak mumbled with a roll of his eyes. "What's the matter with being funny? Laughter is good for the soul, especially in such a trying time."
"Just because people have died doesn't mean we need to mope around," Tsireya said, clasping her hands together and placed them against her waist. "We've got work to do, including giving patients medical care."
Kiki reached into her sack. She pulled out the shell she had just found. She presented it to Tsireya, who knelt down and touched it lightly with a smile on her face. Lo'ak joined his girlfriend's side, his tail going up and down twice and side to side three times.
"That is a pretty shell, Kiki," Tsireya complimented in a sweet voice.
"It sure is," Lo'ak agreed.
"Thank you," Kiki said, putting it back in her sack.
Kipling grabbed his shell and showed it to the couple. "It is not as pretty as this shell."
"That is a pretty shell too," Lo'ak commented and touched it so lightly that it seemed he wasn't even doing that.
"Thank you," Kipling said with much pride.
"What pride you have, Kipling," Tsireya teased.
Aonung uncrossed his arms. "You need to be careful, little bro. Having too much pride is not the Na'vi way."
Kipling nodded in agreement and slipped his shell back into his sack. Lo'ak and Tsireya rose to their full height. They sighed heavily before looking down at the sand. They shifted their attention back to Aonung, who perked up his ears somewhat.
"We visited Mom. There is still no change in her," Lo'ak mumbled sadly and touched his forehead.
"Damn it. I wish Neytiri would wake up," Aonung said in a quiet yet irritated manner.
"Watch your language, Aonung," Tsireya said, gesturing toward Kiki and Kipling. "You do not want them—"
"What does damn mean?" Kipling asked, curiosity showing in his eyes. "Did you make that up?"
Aonung cringed a bit. He wished he did not curse in front of his younger siblings. He knew his parents would have his tail for it, especially since he picked it up from them. He decided it was not worth keeping an explanation from Kiki and Kipling. He knelt down, as did Lo'ak and Tsireya.
"That word is not made up, Kipling. It means to condemn. It is frequently used in fits of anger and frustration. It keeps people from getting physical with each other," Aonung explained swiftly.
"Just please do not say it again," Tsireya pleaded. "We don't need toddlers repeating bad words."
"Why is it a bad word?" Kiki asked.
"It's a word little kids like you shouldn't be using. It's not hard to figure out," Lo'ak blurted out frustratingly. "Jeez. You can drive people bonkers with your frequent questions."
"We can't help it if we are curious. We are kids!" Kipling yelled, hints of anger showing in his voice. "We are supposed to ask questions about things we do not know enough about."
"We know. I am sorry for snapping at you," Lo'ak apologized guiltily. "We can lose our tempers when we get pushed too far."
"That is why you must never push someone's buttons constantly. You may not like what you get, especially if they do not like you," Aonung added. "Do you see what we are saying?"
"Yeah," Kiki said with a nod.
Aonung touched his sister's head and gave it a gentle pat. He decided to sit down, as did the others. They put their knees underneath them. The toddlers took their sacks off their shoulders. They laid them down beside them. They put their hands in their laps.
"I was wondering. How long have you been helping your siblings collect shells this morning?" Lo'ak wondered.
"We've been collecting them for a while," Aonung admitted with a chuckle. "Some looked downright weird."
"Mine were weirder than Kipling's were," Kiki said, giggling.
Kipling laughed sarcastically. "Sure, they were."
"You want to know weird? Loki enjoyed laughing like he was a spotted hyena and running around on all fours like he was a nantang or palulukan," Lo'ak said while rubbing his chin. "He even thought he could fly at one point."
"You once told me about a cartoon where Tweety was being chased by a cat flapping his arms like wings in the air, Lo'ak. He told the cat he didn't know he could fly. The cat realized what he was doing and fell down like a rock," Tsireya said, snickering under her breath.
Kiki scratched his ear. "How can anything fly without wings?"
"There is a little something called cartoon physics. For example, cartoon characters can walk on air until they look down and realize what is happening. Then they fall down a great distance and hit the ground in a puff of smoke," Lo'ak explained.
"You should never attempt to walk on air. You will suffer deadly consequences if you do," Tsireya added sternly.
"Life does imitate art sometimes. That does not mean you can go around doing whatever you want," Aonung commented while holding up a finger.
"Do you understand?" Tsireya asked.
"We think so," Kiki said and rubbed her nose.
Tsireya smiled. "Good."
Lo'ak rubbed his hands together with an eager laugh. "Now, let's see some more of your seashells."
Kiki and Kipling picked up their sacks. They dumped their seashells onto the sand. Lo'ak and Tsireya grabbed two of them. They proceeded to examine them carefully.