Lia made her way along the shore, clicking for the ilu as she carried a bucket of raw fish with her.

Two appeared from the water as they playfully splashed water at her, eliciting a chuckle from her.

She fed them each a fish and placed the bucket on the sand before mounting one of the ilu.

Together, they dove underwater and back to the surface. It felt refreshing.

She found that being in the water made her happier and alleviated any worries she had about a certain Metkayina boy.

Though last night was rough, hopefully, she would make it through today.

Once again, they were back to the constant staring and exchanging of silent messages.

From afar, her eyes caught sight of him walking along the shore alongside his father.

Their eyes met briefly before they turned away simultaneously, as if on cue.

As it turns out, she wasn't the only one affected by the event of last night.

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🤍

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It wasn't long before noon arrived.

Several Metkayinas gathered together in the communal area along with the Sully family.

Lia was situated in a circle with her siblings, Tsireya, and Rotxo.

In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Amife beckoning her towards her.

Everyone was busy chatting amongst themselves, so she took the opportunity to slip away for a minute.

"Hey, Lia," Amife greeted her, pulling her aside.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for last night. I was in the heat of the moment and we shouldn't have peer-pressured you to drink. I won't let it happen again, I promise," she continued, a remorseful expression on her face.

"Oh, it's okay," Lia forced a small smile.

"Listen, there's going to be more hangouts in the future, so you're still more than welcome to join. If you want to, of course," she smiled.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"We're still friends, right?" Amife questioned, her eyes filled with hope.

Lia nodded. "Yeah, friends."

However, deep down, she knew she would probably never go back to any of those hangouts again. Who knows what would happen next time if she stepped foot in that place?

Teenagers can be frightening.

Lia returned to the group after their brief exchange, and the circle now had another member, Aonung.

They avoided each other's gaze as Lia settled down between Tuk and Neteyam.

Neteyam side-eyed her and Aonung, analyzing and understanding that an awkward tension had befallen the two.

Seeing that he hadn't seen Lia last night, he figured something must've happened between them.

"Hey, everyone's free after lunch right?" Neteyam spoke up, catching their attention.

They nodded, exchanging looks with one another.

"Good," his lips curled into a mischievous smile. "I'm gonna teach you guys how to play a Sky People game."

"Oh great," Kiri mumbled, rolling her eyes.

The girl already knew what her brother had in mind.

As soon as they finished their food, the group migrated to the shore.

"Okay, so the game we're gonna play is called chicken fight," Neteyam began.

"Oh yes! I love this game!" Tuk cheered excitedly.

"Um, what is chicken?" Rotxo interjected, raising his hand like a grade schooler.

"Uh, It's like a dorado verde banshee," Neteyam explained to the best of his abilities.

There were no birds on Pandora, so the closest thing to a chicken was the smallest-winged banshee.

"So, this chicken can kill you?" Tsireya inquired, her eyes wide with concern.

"Well..." Neteyam stammered, contemplating his next words. "I don't really know, but for sure they can harm you. Based on what my dad told us, anyway."

"Well, your father lived to tell the tale. So, that must mean it is okay?" Tsireya looked at Loak for reassurance, who merely nodded at her with a smile.

She was too cute that he couldn't bring himself to spout a mean chicken joke to scare her.

Kiri rolled her eyes. "Yes, they can kill you. They have sharp claws as their weapons."

"Serious?!" Rotxo gasped. "Then the little one shouldn't be playing with us. She could get hurt!"

He pointed at Tuk, who crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Hey! Don't underestimate me. I will show you no mercy," she exclaimed, earning chuckles from the others.

Neteyam shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Alright, I will explain the rules now. First, I'm going to pair you guys into two. One of you will carry the other on your shoulder and we'll head into the water. To win the game, you and your partner will have to work together to separate your opponents from each other, got it?"

Everyone nodded as he began to pair them together.

In the end, it was Tsireya and Loak.

Neteyam and Tuk.

Kiri and Rotxo.

Then Lia and Aonung.

Lia, however, was too uncomfortable with the awkward tension that existed between them. In order to avoid anything from happening between them, she asked Kiri to switch with her.

Aonung's jaw tightened as he grasped the fact that Lia would rather pair up with Rotxo than him.

While Neteyam raised a suspicious brow at the two of them, he said nothing.

The first pairs to fight were Tsireya and Loak versus Neteyam and Tuk.

"You're going down!" Loak exclaimed.

Tsireya, on the other hand, couldn't stop giggling. She had never sat on someone's shoulders before and his hair was tickling her thighs.

"Oh yeah?! Bring it on!" Tuk retorted.

Neteyam chuckled. "Let's do this, baby sis!"

"Ready, set, go!" Lia exclaimed.

With a war cry, Neteyam and Tuk charged at Loak and Tsireya.

"Is it just me or does it feel like Loak's arms are about to break off any minute now? This is why I keep telling him to work out," Kiri said, shaking her head.

An amused laugh escaped Aonung's lips.

"Kiri," Lia lightly smacked her sister's arm.

"What? It's true! Look, look at this difference," she reasoned, pointing to Aonung's muscular build.

Even though he was a little surprised by Kiri's sudden gesture, his lips curled into a smirk when he caught Lia's eyes lingering on him.

She couldn't help but stare.

The fact that his arms were crossed against his chest, defining his already sculpted arms, didn't help the situation either.

When she caught his eyes, she quickly averted her gaze back to the fight.

Not even a second later, Neteyam and Tuk managed to separate Tsireya and Loak.

"Yes! We won! Eat water, losers," Tuk exclaimed, eliciting a chuckle from her brother.

"You alright?" Loak questioned, pulling Tsireya back on her feet.

"Yes," she laughed, wiping away her wet hair. "That was quite fun!"

"Good try, you two," Lia encouraged as they walked back to to them.

"Okay, Rotxo and Lia! You both next," Neteyam called to them.

"Ready?" Lia smiled at him.

He nodded, slightly nervous but excited to try something new.

With Lia on his shoulders, the two of them approached Neteyam and Tuk in the water. This time, Kiri was counting down for them.

"I'm gonna get you, Tuk!" Lia exclaimed, reaching her hands out toward her.

"Netty, go closer!" She urged him, pulling on his braids.

"Ow! Okay, that hurt."

The others laughed at the sight of them. Meanwhile, Rotxo clasped his hands together, entrapping Lia's calves in his arms to keep her balanced.

With full force, Lia managed to push Tuk back as Neteyam's grip on her loosened. On her way down, he managed to grab a hold of her leg and pulled her head out of the water.

"You guys got lucky!" Tuk pouted as he held her up on his waist.

"Yes, we did it, Lia!" Rotxo cheered, patting Lia's calves excitedly.

"Hmph, I'll get you next time," Tuk stuck her tongue out at him, to which he returned the favor.

"Nyah nyah nyah," he imitated her voice.

"Just you wait. You're gonna catch these Sky People hands if you—" Tuk began, but was cut off when Loak bonked her head.

"Stop it. You already lost," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Hmph!" Tuk crossed her arms, turning her face away from him.

Neteyam chuckled at their bickering as he placed her back on the ground.

Meanwhile, Kiri and Aonung approached Lia and Rotxo.

She couldn't help but let out a shaky breath, preparing herself for the battle ahead as he got closer to her.

Kiri, who was placed higher than Lia, had an advantage because of Aonung's height.

"Prepare to lose, losers!" Kiri shouted, interlocking hands with Lia.

"Bring it on!"

The boys were also pushing each other as the girls struggled with their strength. In the blink of an eye, Lia nearly fell backward as her eyes widened.

Rotxo's hands flew from her calves to her thighs as she managed to lean forward and used his head for support.

Aonung paused for a moment when he saw this. An urge to kick Rotxo suddenly seized him as he licked his lip. Somehow, it irritated him that his friend's hand was all over Lia's thighs.

With a swift motion of his leg, he managed to swipe Rotxo's leg, causing him to fall. Lia followed suit when Rotxo lost his grip on her.

"Yes! Winner winner chicken dinner!" Kiri cheered as Aonung let out an amused laugh, setting her back down.

Lia gasped, sitting up from the water as she tried to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Rotxo managed to ask, extending a hand out toward her.

She was panting heavily as she reached for his hand.

Out of nowhere, Aonung grasped her hand in his and pulled her upwards, flushed against his chest, his other hand wrapped tightly around her waist.

Stunned, Rotxo and the others gave them a weird look.

Lia paused momentarily, her eyes wide opened. Then she looked up at him only to see him smirking down at her.

In spite of the fact that they were just playing a game, Aonung decided then and there that he didn't like her skin-to-skin contact with Rotxo.

Perhaps, he realized that he was jealous.

Something that he had never felt before with another girl.

However, it was at this moment between the two of them that Tsireya knew her brother was no longer keeping his word.

She knew already from when she saw them together under the moonlight. When she saw that Aonung was going to kiss Lia.

They way that they looked at each other—and the fact that Lia didn't pull away from his touch, Tsireya knew that Lia felt the same way about her brother.

And from these moments, she knew that he had made up his mind.