Pializtli lets his boredom stew as he stands on guard for hours at the outskirts of Talokan. It has been weeks since he started staring at the wide, vast nothingness of the ocean. Weeks with no peep from Niecalli.
"Way…" A timid voice calls. He spoke too soon. He slightly tilts his head to the left and sees Niecalli hiding behind a massive rock, her big eyes staring at him.
"Are you still mad at me?"
Pializtli stays silent. He turns his head and looks back to staring at nothing, ignoring her. Niecalli whimpers. He has every right to be mad since she's gotten him into trouble multiple times and got him punishments that wastes his time.
Pializtli has a fascination with jellyfish, much like Attuma's hammerhead sharks and Niecalli's orcas. Although, his interests are slightly different. Attuma is passionate about engaging hammerhead sharks in battle. To him, battling with one is the best kind of training and defeating it as the greatest accomplishment one can achieve, as seen through his helmet that proudly sits on his head. On the other hand, Niecalli's interests lie in communing with orcas, collecting them and having a pod of her own at her beck and call. Unlike Niecalli and Attuma, however, Pializtli tries to incorporate jellyfish aspects into his own fighting style.
Talokanil warriors start off with a basic fighting style, which is what Niecalli is learning under Attuma. But when warriors want to specialize their skills further, they need to take time out of their day researching and harnessing their own techniques- like Pializtli. Although he has not integrated it yet, he does spend most of his spare time collecting and studying different species of jellyfish to figure out the best way to fight using them while maximizing his strengths. Him being stuck in punishment takes time away from his research and practice. Hence, why he's angry.
Pializtli sees something floating towards him through his peripheral. He turns his head and sees a jellyfish swimming his way, stopping right in front of him.
"I know how much you like jellyfish. It's called a-"
"An Australian box jellyfish."
Niecalli hums cluelessly. "I thought it was called a sea wasp?"
"It is." His answers are short, staring at the jellyfish in wonder.
"Oh. Well…" Niecalli trails off, disheartened by Pializtli's sharp replies. She stares down and starts playing with her fingers. "It took us weeks to get to where they were. I asked Namor to come with me to get them… a-and I thought being gone will give you some space and provide time for you to cool off."
She grabs his hand, still looking down. "I'm really sorry, Way."
Pializtli stares at her and smiles softly. He raises his other hand and pats her head.
"Thank you for the jellyfish."