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rescue

Lo'ak was on his ilu as he tried to find Aonung. He still didn't apologized to him, as his father demanded him, for the fight. He searched for him in the ocean because usually Aonung was about to go hunting at that time. He had to make peace between them because of his fathers wishes and Lo'ak knew it was the right thing to do. The family didn't need anymore trouble after the war in the forest.

Lo'ak found Aonung with his group of friends at the coast about to go hunting and made his way on his ilu to them.

"What is tree boy doing here." One of the boys said in disgust as he spotted Lo'ak approaching them behind Aonung. Lo'ak looked directly at Aonung and ignored the other boys. Aonung had a very noticeable deep colored bruise on his right eye and the other boys didn't looked better.

"I'm sorry that I hit you." Lo'ak apologizes which was directed only at Aonung, because he wouldn't apologize to the others. "So many times." He added but a little pride was in his voice even though his face didn't show anything. Aonung looked Lo'ak up and down and then glanced to his friends across from himself who nodded slightly and Aonung knew that his friend has some kind of plan to get back at Lo'ak.

"Agh. We should be friends." Aonung stretched out his arm to Lo'ak as he looked at him waiting for his reaction. Lo'ak looked down at his arm suspiciously but grabbed Aonung arm either way, agreeing for them to become friends. Holding their arms firmly Aonung got an idea.

"You should come hunting with us outside the reef." Aonung looked at him inviting. "That's where the men hunt." He added and tilted his head slightly with his lips turning into a smirk.

"No way. I'm not allowed." He responded right away. He would get in trouble again.

Aonung hissed disappointed as he removed his arm from Lo'ak's and turned to his friends. "I must be asking the wrong brother." He teased as he looked at his friends with a mischievous smile. His friends laughed at this comment.

"No. Let's do it." Lo'ak said quickly and Aonung was satisfied that he walked into his trap as he handed Lo'ak his hunting weapon. They called out a warrior cry and got into the water quickly.

They were sometimes riding above the surface of the water and sometimes below it. Lo'ak actually had fun swimming with the oceanic boys. Maybe they could really become friends now. Jumping out of the water with their ilus a swarm of birds quickly flew away because of the sudden movement. When they arrive at the Three Rocks Brothers  Lo'ak was impressed by the three big stones rising out of the ocean.

"That was insane cuz!" Lo'ak exclaimed excited as they came back up from the water, earning a few weird looks of the other boys because of his unusual phrasing.

"This way, I know a good spot." Aonung said smirking and glanced to his friend, who nodded smirking in a devilishly way. Lo'ak didn't sensed what the others have planed and was excited for his first hunt. They left their ilus at the surface and swam together down to the sea ground while holding their weapons.

"Call the fish." Aonung signed to Lo'ak as the group hid behind corals to not turn the fishes attention to them and made the sound for calling the fishes. Lo'ak swam forward and called the fishes, imitating the sound Aonung just made. Aonung turned to his friends who were watching Lo'ak amused and smirked because of his dumbness.

"What a moron." One of them signed laughing and while Lo'ak was distracted the oceanic Na'vi quickly swam away from him, leaving him alone in the deep sea far away from the village.

Lo'ak was aiming for one of the fishes and shot it perfectly with the weapon and then turned around to see if the other saw his perfect aim but he noticed they were gone. He swam back up to the surface and saw that their ilus were also gone.

Sitting back on his ilu he looked around himself of any sign of the other boys. "Hey guys!" he shouts in hope that they would hear him and come back, but no response came. "Come one! This isn't funny!" His panic was rising as he understood that they had purposely had left him alone in unknown waters. He wasn't sure if he would ever find the way back to the village. He looked around again and still he couldn't see anyone. "Shit!" He cussed.

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Back in the village the group of oceanic boys came back from their 'hunt' and made their way to the center, talking about how stupid Lo'ak is to trust them so easily.

"Where is Lo'ak? I saw him going with you." Leyra said behind Aonung and he turned around to face her. He didn't knew someone had saw them going away with him.

"We were hunting and we lost him somewhere." Aonung lied, hiding the truth from her because he knew she was going to be pissed at him and never forgive him.

"Where were you hunting?" She asked harshly and looked to the friends of Aonung.

"We lured him to hunt beyond the reef." One of them smirked while laughing with the others. "What a stupid forest boy."

"Was this your idea, Aonung?"

Aonung wanted to deny it but he knew it could be dangerous out there so he just nodded with a guilty look on his face as he looked at her.

"It is forbidden to go beyond the reef for young people!" She shouted at him. "You are the reason he could die out there!" Leyra turned around and stomped to the beach.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He yelled after her but he got no response as she was already gone in the ocean.

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Before Lo'ak even could move with his ilu to go back, something shot out of the water beneath him which made him fall off his ilu and fall back roughly into the water. It was a bigger sea creature that was now chasing his ilu underwater. Lo'ak needed to adjust his eyes at the sudden touch with the water and looked to the big fish in the distance. The poor ilu tried to get away from it while it cried out in fear. Luckily the ilu got away with only a wound on his right fin.

Lo'ak turned to look at the creature as it quickly came rushing to him and his eyes widened in fear as he tried to swim away quickly. He saw a coral reef not far away from him and moved his legs and arms to quickly get there. Because of his body type he wasn't that fast as it would be needed to get away from the danger that was right behind him. He protects himself in the coral reef when the mouth of the creature was about to swallow him. The creature tries to break through the corals as it opens his mouth again and again while it crushes the corals. Lo'ak stumbles back while the creature comes forward with every bit and the sharp corals cut through his skin. He aimed his weapon to the mouth of the big fish and fired when the mouth was wide open, but in only flinched a little and then just swallowed the weapon.

He pressed against the corals as the animal came nearer and because of the rising panic the air came out of his lungs. He needed to go back to the surface for air if he didn't wanted to die because of loss of breath. He moved out of the corals and swam up but the creature got sight of him again and went for him. Lo'ak moved to another coral reef and hid in there until he lost sight of the creature. He looked around and thought it was gone. He started coughing because he needed air so he swam back up unprotected.

But the deadly creature just waited for Lo'ak to come out of hiding and aimed again. The same clicking sound echoed trough the water which Aonung had shown Lo'ak before. The sound caught the attention of the large creature and it turned around. Lo'ak looked up and saw Leyra on her skimwing not far away from the surface. How did she know he was here and needed help?

Leyra looked briefly to Lo'ak and signaled him to go back to the surface to catch a breath. Then she looked at the creature coming for her. "Let's dance, bitch." She signed provoking to the animal which was now moving angrier and faster to her. She patted the head of her skimwing and started to move right in to the direction of the animal. Sometimes confrontation was the best solution.

Lo'ak who was watching her from far away and thought she was insane for putting herself in danger for him and was confused why she wouldn't swim away from the creature.

Leyra grabbed her dagger which was attached to her thigh and quickly swam underneath it before it could snatch her up in its mouth. While she was swimming she sliced the stomach of the animal with her dagger. Even though it didn't made much damage to it, it would weaken it either way. It's blood would attract other animals that would maybe kill the one attacking them.

Because of bad luck the rear fin of the animal knocked Leyra off her skimwing and she lost control, their bond disconnecting. Her skimwing wanted to swim back to her but the creature aimed for the much smaller skimwing. Lo'ak swam quickly to Leyra and grabbed her hand.

"Go." Leyra quickly signed to her skimwing and it quickly escaped the large creature. She didn't want Tey'lar to get hurt but now Leyra was unprotected in the deep water with Lo'ak by his side. They looked at each other and Leyra pulled him into a hug. She was glad he was okay and he hugged her back but they break apart fast because the creature was coming for them again.

Leyra pulled Lo'ak behind her into another coral reef to hide from it, but she soon noticed that Lo'ak struggled to hold his breath and she felt herself that she needed air too. They have been too long underwater. Leyra looked around and didn't saw the animal so she slowly swam back up. Lo'ak followed her quickly. The creature just didn't give up. Lo'ak pulled his dagger out too and held it ahead of himself while he holds Leyra's hand in the other. They accepted their fate that they would die now but at least they were together.

Before the creature could swallow the two Na'vi a much larger fish crashed the other into the coral reef beside them. Sadly Leyra and Lo'ak lost their last breath and their hands loosened from their grasp while their bodies floated further into the ocean.

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Above the surface a bruised up Lo'ak and Leyra were laying on something and were floating in the water. Still unconscious the sky is slowly turning in to orange and yellow colors as the sun sets down. The waves splashing against Leyra's body woke her up and as she opened her eyes she saw the intervened hands of her and Lo'ak. She felt many cuts on her skin as the salty ocean water rapidly got into them.

She squeezed Lo'ak's hand to wake him and when he opened his eyes they were locked on her. "Thank Eywa, you are okay." He said as he pulled her into his arms. She melted in his arms as she put her arms around his waist. "I thought you were already dead out here." She mumbled and looked at him. Tears formed in her eyes and she understood how deeply she cared for him.

"Thank you so much for saving me." He whispered as he looked into her eyes while he stroked over her right cheek gently. "Of course. I'll always will save you." She answered and glanced down at his lips while licking over her lower lip.

"Can I kiss you?" Lo'ak asked softly while looking at her for her consent.

"Yes." She nodded.

He gently lowers his lips on hers and the feelings in their stomach exploded at the touch. They waited for this for so long and they finally could kiss each other. Their lips were moving in synch and their lips perfectly fitted to each other. They broke the kiss as they suddenly felt the thing underneath them moving.

Lo'ak and Leyra looked around and noticed they were laying on a very large animal as it puffed out some air. "Shit." Lo'ak exclaimed as he thought that the were in danger again but the shape of the animal was known to her, as it was a very meaningful animal to her own clan, a tulkun.

They got into the water to look at the right side of the tulkun's face and Leyra immediately saw a sharp object on the smaller fin from the tulkun. Lo'ak sat down on the fin and the tulkun brought them back to the surface. Lo'ak looked at the animal curious while his tail flickered excited and he understood too that this was a tulkun.

"You saved us." Lo'ak said to the animal thankful as they big eye of it looks at him and Leyra. "Thank you." He added and Leyra signed it so the tulkun could understand them. The tulkuns have a very special way to communicate but the Metkayina's could understand them perfectly. They communicate through vocal sounds and they understood the Na'vi sign language.

"Can you help me?" The tulkun vocalizes as he looked at Lo'ak with his eyes. Lo'ak had a confused expression on his face as he glanced at Leyra for help. "Buddy, I have no idea what you just said!" Lo'ak said a little chuckling but Leyra understood the animal.

"Do you need help with that thing?" Leyra signed while motioning to the sharp metallic object that went through the tulkun's skin. The tulkun blinked for a yes.

"Lo'ak, help me get the object out." Leyra said to the boy next to her and quickly got underwater examining the strange object. "They hurt you, didn't they?" He asked sadly and referred to the humans that were back on Pandora. The tulkun clicked in response and Leyra could hear the sound underwater. They are haunting the tulkuns and kill them.

"I try to pull it out okay?" He said before he tried to pull out the object above the surface but it didn't work so he got underwater where Leyra was frowning because of the thing the tulkun just told them. She quickly twisted the end of the spear and threw the loose end into the water. Lo'ak grabbed the spread again and pulled it out of the tulkun's fin.

Leyra and Lo'ak sat down on the fin again as the tulkun brought it back to the surface. They inhaled the fresh air and the tulkun made thankful voices because of their help.

"Friends?" Lo'ak asked the tulkun and in response it made happy noises. "Yes, he would like to be friends with you." Leyra smiled while looking at Lo'ak. "And with you." The tulkun vocalizes to Leyra and she put her hand on his large head as a response. "That's right, we all are friends now." Lo'ak grinned.

His grin vanished when the tulkun lowered his fin were they sat as they fell back into the water. "Bro!" Lo'ak exclaimed as the tulkun put his fin above the two making them go into the water fully. The tulkun made a backflip in the water and Leyra got sight of the clipped fin on the left side. Her eyes widened slightly because she knew which tulkun it was in front of them. The tulkun offered to take them on a swim.

"We have to go back. They are already searching for us." Leyra signed to both of them and she knew the clans opinion on the tulkun in front of her. She feared that the clan will find him close by the village and hurt him. She took Lo'ak's hand and they went back to the village.

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Leyra and Tey'lar
[art by me]