🤍 ℱ𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇

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It had been some time now since Aonung had been staring at the sleeping face of his lover.

She looked so peaceful in his arms, their legs entangled with warmth. It made him wonder what she might be dreaming about right now.

While he was about to caress her cheek, the sound of a lizard jumping into the pond awoke her.

Immediately, he closed his eyes and retracted his hand, feigning sleep as she opened hers.

For a brief moment, Lia forgot where they were as her eyes searched his sleeping face. Then a reminder of last night flashed through her mind as she brushed her fingertips along his cheek.

As she gazed at his face, peace and comfort washed over her.

Her gaze fell on his lips as she leaned in toward him for a kiss when his eyes popped open and a handsome smile adorned his face.

A yelp escaped her lips as she jumped, her eyes wide with shock. Aonung let out a low chuckle as he planted a kiss on her lips.

"Morning," he smiled.

"You were awake this whole time?" She frowned, sitting up and looking around.

"Yup, kept my eyes on you the whole night," he joked, sitting up to face her as he stretched out his muscles.

"That's not creepy at all," she rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her lips.

As it became daytime, the flora and fauna around them grew more prominent. She realized they were in a secluded area surrounded by tall plants.

Aonung took her hand in his, bringing her attention back to him. His eyes were filled with concern as he looked into her eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great because of you." She smiled as she squeezed his hand and ensured he knew her words were valid.

However, her heart ached when she saw the little wounds on his knuckles. He had gotten hurt because he fought for her.

"Your hand," Lia frowned. "Let me see."

"I'm fine," he shook his head. "It doesn't hurt at all."

Despite his words, her eyes still held concern for him so he smiled as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"You're my medicine. I'm already feeling much better," he said playfully. "I know we should probably be heading back right now, but there's something I want to do first."

Her eyebrows creased together in curiosity.

"Close your eyes."

Though she had no clue what he was planning, she closed her eyes anyway. Then she heard him digging around in his pouch for something.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now, babe."

There it was again. The nickname he gave her. Just like the one in her vision from Eywa. There was always a fluttering sensation in her heart every time he called her that.

Lia opened her eyes, and a soft gasp escaped her lips when she saw what he was holding in his hands. It was a turquoise gemstone set in a delicately made necklace adorned with pearls.

His smile grew when he saw her awe-filled eyes.

"It was my mother's when she was young. She wanted you to have it."

"It's beautiful." Her eyes softened.

"Turn around. Let me put it on you."

Changing positions slowly, she turned her back on him. His eyes focused on her as he went closer to her, sweeping her hair to the side and tying the necklace around her neck.

As he fixed her hair back in place, he surprised her by giving her a loving kiss on the shoulder. Before turning around to face him, she closed her eyes, absorbing the sweet moment.

"How does it look?" She asked, gently touching the necklace as she looked up at him.

It complimented her beauty as if it was made just for her.

"Perfect," he smiled.

He cupped her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. When his lips touched hers in a gentle embrace, she closed her eyes.

Though gentle at first, it quickly intensified when he moved his hand to the back of her neck. His touches, his kisses—every little thing felt different this time.

It was as if everything had intensified since they became one—their love, their desire for each other.

The kisses he poured over her already had her gasping for air and panting heavily. The same was true for him.

His hands roamed her body as he trailed kisses down her neck, pulling her onto his lap in a swift motion. Placing one final kiss on her lips, he forced himself to stop, his forehead meeting hers.

"I love you," he whispered, breathless as he caught her gaze.

"I love you too."

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🤍

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Together, they walked back to the village, hand-in-hand.

"Will you be okay?"

Though his question was vague, Lia knew exactly what he was asking her. Before they left, she had already decided about Tufe and Amife.

Perhaps it was because Aonung was by her side, exuding warmth and comfort. Or perhaps it was because her father had taught her to take her experiences and use them to benefit her strength in living.

Whatever the case may be, she was not going to let them take away her happiness because of their actions. It gave her a sense of confidence and strength and she wasn't afraid to face them.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," she reassured him, her lips curving into a smile.

As they traversed along the shore of Awa'atlu, their attention was drawn to a small crowd up ahead.

From the corner of his eye, her brother caught sight of them and ran toward them.

"Lia! Thank Eywa, you're okay!" Neteyam exclaimed, a sense of relief washing over him as he embraced her.

"Netty, what's going on?"

Before he could answer her, Neytiri, Loak, and Kiri engulfed her in a group hug. Her mother was silently praying to Eywa as her father strolled over and thanked Aonung with his hand on his forehead.

"Hey, you alright, baby girl?" Jake inquired, placing a hand on Lia's shoulder.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?"

Her father exchanged glances with her brothers. Then Loak cleared his throat.

"It's Tufe and Amife."

He nudged Neteyam to continue his explanation.

"Yeah, we went looking for you with Aonung but Loak and I stumbled on Tufe's friends so we beat them up," he snickered. "Then they told us what had happened and we went to retrieve Tufe's body."

Lia gasped. "My Eywa! He's dead?!"

"Pfft—if only," Kiri rolled her eyes as Neytiri placed an arm around her shoulder.

"Oh," Lia's voice trailed off.

"Come on," Jake nudged his head. "We got something to deal with. If it weren't for your brothers, I would've murdered the guy myself."

He mumbled the last sentence under his breath, but Lia had caught it. She glanced over at her father and the facial expression on his face told her that he wasn't lying.

They walked with her family toward the group of people as Aonung held her hand. Upon closer inspection, she noticed Tufe and his friends kneeling in shame, surrounded by his parents and Amife.

In front of them were Aonung's parents and Tsireya.

The three boys looked like they had been beaten to a pulp. The only one unscathed was Amife, apart from the pinkish imprint Lia had left on her cheek.

Aonung tensed up as Tufe glanced at her, and she pulled him back before he could stroll up to him.

It was so hard for him not to inflict more pain on Tufe, but his parents had to settle the matter. Tonowari turned toward them as Ronal grabbed Lia's chin to examine her for injuries.

"Mother," Aonung called to her. "She's fine, she's safe. I was with her all night."

"Oh?" She dropped her hand back to the side as her ears perked up.

Lia bit her lip, exchanging glances with him as he gave her a reassuring smile. Tightening his grip on her hand, he turned to his mother.

"We are mated before Eywa. It is done," he whispered.

"Oh," Ronal let out a soft gasp, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she turned to her husband. "Now that Lia and Aonung are here, we may proceed."

"Very well," Tonowari nodded. "Tufe, the son of Heite and Eeyii Atxone was indeed a potential warrior and hunter. But he has committed a cruel crime, bringing shame and dishonor to his family."

The people gasped, looking at one another in shock as Tufe's parents lowered their heads in shame.

"He will be punished according to his crime. In the event of an attempt at forced mate bond, his queue will be cut off."

"No...!" His mother gasped, a look of horror on her face.

"What?" Lia's eyes widened as she turned to Aonung.

"What's wrong?" He squeezed her hand.

"Cutting off his queue? That's a punishment far worse than death..."

He nodded. "He hurt you. I would've cut off his queue myself last night."

In response to her silence, he cupped her cheek.

"Hey, look at me," he whispered, his voice soft and gentle. "This is a punishment for anyone who committed the same crime. It has been done like this to prevent normalizing forced mate bonds. He knew that and went ahead with it anyway. You didn't do this to him, okay? He brought it upon himself."

Aonung knew Lia's heart was too kind, incapable of deeply hurting those who had hurt her. Though she won't forgive those who caused harm to her family or those she loved, she could easily let go of those who hurt her.

Among other reasons, this was one of the reasons why he was perfect for her. Those who caused pain to her would be hunted down to the end of Pandora. He would be her shield to protect her.

"No!" Amife's loud cry caught the attention of everyone. "Please! It wasn't my brother's fault. It was mine! It was my idea—I wanted to hurt Lia."

"Ami..." Her parents looked at her with wide eyes.

She turned to Lia as she got on her knees. "Please! I'm begging you, please don't hurt my brother. If anyone should be punished, it should be me. Tell them, Lia!"

Wide-eyed, Lia was rendered speechless. Before she could utter a word, Amife clung to her in desperation.

"Please, I'm so sorry!" She pleaded. "I'm so sorry I hurt you..."

"Ami..." Lia's voice trailed off as mixed emotions stirred within her. The girl looked so distraught and her parents looked so heartbroken.

"Ami—" she began.

"Please! I'm begging you, Lia, please—" Amife continued, weeping loudly to which Lia cut her off by delivering a smack to her face.

In shock, she clung to her cheek, the same area where Lia had smacked her the night before.

"Oh, my Eywa," Lia's eyes widened in shock at her actions as she listened to Aonung trying to hold back his laughter.

As her siblings stifled their giggles, her parents' eyes were wide. They had seen Lia like this before, though usually on a rare occasion, she could be quite scary just like their mother.

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Pull yourself together, Ami. The punishment for your brother's crime is not up to me, but the Olo'eyktan. I'd advise you not to waste your energy on me."

Without another word, she shook off Amife and took a step back as Aonung intertwined his hand with hers. In a subtle manner, he placed a kiss on her head.

Absolutely bewildered, Amife got back up as her mother came to her side. Her pleas did not affect Lia and she was out of ideas.

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🤍

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Along the shore of Awa'atlu, some people lingered behind to say goodbye to the Atxone family.

In the end, Tufe kept his queue and they were banished from the main village, driven to a smaller island that was less populated.

"T-Thank you, Aonung..." Amife stuttered, her eyes gleaming with tears for the boy in front of her.

However, he paid her no attention as he handed her father their belonging.

"Don't thank me. It was Lia who decided to spare you and your brother," he said.

Before she could say anything further, Aonung turned around and walked away.

For a moment, regret lingered in her heart. Even though she loved him, she failed to see that he could never return her feelings.

Because to him, she will always be like a little sister. But now, because of what she had done, she was nothing more than a stranger.

At a little corner of the communal area, Jake sighed heavily.

In between wrapping the fish in giant leaves, Neytiri side-eyed her husband.

"What is wrong, ma Jake?" She inquired.

"Nothing," Jake shook his head.

Prior to speaking again, he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"It's just... our daughter. Mated? Mated with that fish boy?" His voice cracked as he spoke.

Despite the seriousness on his face, Neytiri found herself laughing. He frowned, unamused by her response.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked, flabbergasted. "I mean, I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. But like, I was kind of hoping for later."

"Ma Jake," Neytiri shook her head, her laughter subsiding as she placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "What do you expect? We made her, I birthed her. Obviously, she got the whole mating early thing from you and me."

His mouth dropped open at her joke, leaving him speechless. However, she just covered her mouth and laughed. Her favorite thing about him was his unexpected reactions.

Inside the Sully's Marui pod, Tuk was having a hard time letting go of her older sister.

"Tuk, I'm only moving a few pods down," Lia reassured her.

Now that everyone knew that she and Aonung had mated, thanks to Ronal's exciting proclamation, they were now assigned to a Marui pod of their own.

"No... I like sleeping with you. You keep me warm at night," Tuk whimpered as she tightened her grip around Lia's waist.

"Hey, now we can do sleepovers. You and Kiri can come over anytime and we'll kick Aonung out," she said playfully as she ruffled the little one's hair.

"You're gonna kick me out already?" Aonung feigned hurt as he entered the pod, drawing their attention to him.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Tuk's eyes glistened with delight.

"Yeah, you're right! I wanna do sleepovers now!" Then she ran out, calling Kiri from afar. "Kiri! We're gonna do sleepovers at Lia's!"

Aonung rolled his eyes.

"Please tell me you're not gonna kick me out for our first night together," he joked, wrapping an arm around Lia's waist and planting a kiss on her head.

She chuckled. "I think you mean our second night, but who's counting right?"

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow as she slithered out of his embrace.

"Come on, it's almost eclipse. Do you wanna go on a little adventure?" She teased him, a playful smile on her lips as she slowly exit the pod.

"With you? Always." Aonung bit his lower lip, his eyes scanning her from head to toe as he followed after her.

As she ran from him, he chased after her. Holding her waist, he blew a sweet kiss on the top of her head before taking possession of the luggage.

The sea breeze carried the lovers' laughter across the shore of Awa'atlu as they gazed into each other's eyes—a continuous journey of love in the waters awaiting them.


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