In preparation for his surprise tonight, Aonung searched along the shore of Awa'atlu for seashells.

Tuk, Neteyam, Kiri, and Rotxo accompanied him.

In their hands, the two boys held woven baskets filled with seashells.

"How about this one, Aonung?!" Tuk hollered, picking up a small seashell in her hand. It had a little hole in it.

"Do you like it?" He questioned, to which she nodded happily.

"Yeah, I think it's perfect!"

She giggled, running over to Neteyam and putting the seashell into his basket.

They continued down the shore until the two baskets were full then made their way back toward the village.

"My legs are tired," Tuk whined.

Neteyam and Aonung exchanged looks, communicating with their eyes before the latter bent down.

"Come here, princess Tuk Tuk." Aonung gestured for her to get on his back.

A big smile spread across her face, and she hopped up on his back.

"Yay! Thank you, banshee princess!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Banshee princess?" Rotxo glanced at his friend with a questionable look.

"You don't wanna know, bro," Aonung shook his head.

"Yup, that'll happen when you hang out with Tuk," Neteyam said jokingly. "It's like you suddenly got a whole new identity."

"When Netty and I play castle, he's always the prince! And I'm always the Queen."

"Wow, so he gets to be the prince but I'm stuck as the princess?" Aonung rolled his eyes.

Tuk giggled, nuzzling her head in the back of his neck. "That's because you have a better girly voice than Netty. He's really bad at it."

"Okay, I don't know if I should be offended."

He tightened his grip around her as he let out a war cry and dashed forward. Taken by surprise, Tuk's eyes grew wide as she squealed loudly, holding on to his neck for dear life.

Suddenly, she lost her grip as she managed to grasp onto his necklace, choking him in the process.

"Agh—you're choking me!" Aonung wheezed, coming to a halt.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Tuk cheered through bubbles of laughter.

He paused momentarily to catch his breath as the others caught up to them. The little one fixed his necklace and stopped when she saw the marks Lia had left on his shoulders as a result of last night.

She gasped. "Your shoulder is bleeding. It's like two tiny scratches and marks. Did someone hurt you?"

Neteyam peered over his shoulder, then raised his eyebrows suspiciously at Aonung when the realization hit him. Rotxo nudged him, catching his attention as the two shared knowing smiles.

"Yeah... I, uh, accidentally scratched myself," he stuttered.

Kiri walked over and took a look. "They do look like nail marks. But I don't see any scratches though?"

Her eyes darted back and forth between the three boys, all of them avoiding her gaze.

"You know what? I don't wanna know," she gave them a disgusted look.

Neteyam cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, uh, where do you want these?"

Aonung glanced at the basket of seashells in Neteyam's hands and nudged his head at the communal area.

"You can put them over there for now. We won't be using them until later tonight. I was thinking maybe at the start of sunset."

Neteyam nodded as he and Rotxo departed from the group.

"Okay, you can put me down now!" Tuk exclaimed as Aonung lowered her to the ground.

He watched as Kiri took her hand and the two sisters scampered off. Having only a small window of time left until he had to return to his duties, he had one more thing to accomplish.

Entering his family's Marui pod, he walked over to his wooden box. There were articles of clothing inside, along with a beautifully made necklace encased in a smaller wooden box.

Little pearls were woven into a brown thread in a beautiful pattern and a delicate turquoise gemstone adorned the center.

It was his mother's when she was young. Ronal had given it to him to put on Lia.

A soft smile spread across his lips as he carefully placed the necklace inside his pouch.

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It wasn't long before the color of the sky began to change, signaling the approaching eclipse.

Lia's training with Ronal for the day had come to an end. She tested Lia on her knowledge of potions, plants, and healing techniques.

They also discussed Lia's random visions that she's had from Eywa, leading to minor seizures. Ronal couldn't help her much on that matter either. The only information she had was the information Neytiri had already shared with her.

In the course of the day, Lia followed her to greet a few families within the village. They cared for the sick, the young, and the elderly. By now, the whole village knew about Lia's position as the future Tsahik and Aonung's mate.

No one had asked or spoken of Amife. However, Lia could sense the elephant in the room, no matter where they went or who they met.

Last but not least, they inspected the garden in the jungle. Having spent much of the day with Lia, Ronal got to know more about her personality and behavior.

It was now clear to her why her son had fallen in love with Lia. Her kind heart towards the villagers was evident in the way she cared for them. The light she cast was completely different from that of Amife.

She held no arrogance in fulfilling her duties and exercising her powers as Tsahik. Instead, she exhibited sincerity and compassion. The more she saw Lia, the more she grew to love her too.

"You did well today, Lia. I am beyond impressed," Ronal complimented her.

"Thank you. It was all thanks to your excellent guidance," Lia smiled.

Ronal returned her smile. "Go and get some rest. We will take a break from tomorrow as well."

On the horizon, the sun had already dipped halfway into the sea. After saying goodbye to Ronal, she went on her way with Aonung on her mind.

All day, she was eager to see him. But while she was busy with her duties, he had his responsibilities as well.

"Lia!"

Rotxo's voice drew her attention up ahead. She met him halfway along the shore as he stopped to catch his breath.

"Hi, Rotxo. What's up?"

"H—Hi!" He huffed. "Are you ready for your surprise?"

Her eyes widened as she recalled Aonung's words. She had been so busy, she almost forgot about it.

Rotxo's lips curled into a smile as he took her hand and pulled her along with him toward the jungle.

"Come on, it's this way."

As they entered the jungle, he led her to a pathway. Along the path, she saw beautiful seashells of all sizes and colors.

"I think you know what to do from here," he said, smiling at her.

"Thank you," she returned his smile.

As thoughts of Aonung filled her head, her heart beat faster. Having no idea what he had in mind, she was excited to find out.

Truth be told, she never really thought of him as a romantic. Nevertheless, she loved how sentimental he could be at times.

Rotxo remained where he was as he watched her follow the seashells. After completing his part in the surprise, he went back to shore to find Kiri.

He scanned the scenery until his eyes landed on her by the communal area.

"Wait, where's the other basket?" Kiri questioned, searching every nook and cranny.

However, there was only one basket of seashells. Confused, she turned to Neteyam, who just shrugged.

They were supposed to take the seashells and line them up in the jungle, but the other basket had disappeared.

"What's wrong? Do we need to catch a thief?" Aonung joked, drawing their attention to him.

"Uh, it seems we were too late. The other basket's gone. I don't know what happened to it. Will one be enough?" Neteyam scratched his head.

"Oh, yeah I think we could still make it work." Aonung shrugged.

It wasn't a big deal. If they spaced the seashells out, there should be enough to line a pathway. His secret hideout wasn't too far in the jungle.

Up ahead, they see Rotxo approaching them, a smile on his face.

"What are you still doing here, bro?" He asked, pointing to Aonung. "Shouldn't you be at the place?"

"What are you talking about? We haven't set up the seashells yet." Aonung's brows furrowed in confusion.

As soon as Rotxo heard this, his face dropped.

"What? But I— But didn't you tell Tufe to tell me to take Lia?"

"What?" Aonung's jaw tightened as an unsettling feeling washed over him. "I never told that skxawng anything about this."

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With every step she took, Lia was becoming more aware of where she was heading.

She appeared to be headed toward Amife's secret hideout that she was invited to previously.

When the seashells disappeared and she was standing in front of the giant leaves, she realized she was right. The first thing she saw when she made her way through was Amife.

Her lips immediately curled into a frown.

However, Amife's eyes lit up as she waved to her.

"Lia, hey! You made it!"

"Um," Lia's voice trailed off as she scanned the area. There was no one else there except them.

"Come on! Come over here. Aonung asked me to help with your surprise," she beckoned Lia toward her.

Lia's eyebrows creased together in confusion. "He did? What's happening for the surprise?"

"You'll see! First, here's your favorite yovo juice," she said, handing a cup of yovo juice to Lia. "By the way, congratulations on becoming the next Tsahik."

"Um, thanks..."

Though Lia was starting to feel uncomfortable, she couldn't help but wonder why Aonung had asked Amife to help. He could've asked Kiri or Tsireya instead.

Then again, Amife was like a little sister to him, so it would make sense. Befriending the girl would be a good change for Lia too, despite their past encounters. At least, she hoped that would be the case.

She took a sip of the yovo juice and waited awkwardly, uncertain of what to say. Was she just supposed to keep waiting here with Amife?

The surprise suddenly didn't feel so romantic anymore. As she took another sip of the juice, she caught a weird facial expression from Amife.

However, she ignored it as a kind smile emerged from her lips.

"Thank you for helping out. That's really kind of you. Also, I never did get to thank you properly last time for defending me against your brother. I hope we can be good friends, Ami."

"You really are so stupid."

Confused at the girl's sudden change of attitude, Lia was rendered speechless as her smile turned into a frown.

Amife crossed her arms, anger in her eyes as she walked up to Lia. "Do you really think Aonung would've asked me to help? I don't even know what he sees in you. Besides, I was only pretending to help you, you stupid bitch."

"What?" Lia backed up a little, wondering what had happened as she dropped the cup.

"It was me. I was supposed to be his mate and the next Tsahik. But then you showed up with your stupid forest family and ruined everything!" As she spoke, her voice grew louder.

In deliberation, Lia remained silent.

"He was mine. And you took him from me!"

In the blink of an eye, Amife delivered a smack to her face. She felt the sting on her cheek, turning back to Amife and looking at her with wide eyes.

Amife smirked. "You deserve to be slapped. Over and over again."

As she raised her hand, ready to slap Lia again, Lia stopped her midway by taking a hold of her hand mid-slap.

"Agh! Let go, bitch!" Amife screamed in frustration as she struggled to free her hand from Lia's grasp.

Truly, she felt terrible for what had happened to the girl. But Aonung's feelings were his own. She didn't ask him to love her. Who he loved was up to him.

"You know what, Ami? I did feel awful for you and I hated myself after you told me everything. I wanted nothing more to do with Aonung. I tried to leave him, I did."

Lia's grip tightened on Amife's hand as she yelped in pain. A weird sensation stirred in the pit of her stomach, her toes and fingers suddenly feeling tingly.

"Get your freaky fingers off of me, you five-fingered freak! You don't deserve Aonung!" She screamed, clutching her wrist with her other hand as she tried to tug away from Lia.

"Look! I don't want to fight you, Ami. You are like a little sister to Aonung—"

"Don't say that! I love him! You don't know anything. If you hadn't shown up, I would still be with him. This is all your fault! I wish you would just drop dead."

Her voice softened as she laughed. Then, her lips curled into a sinister smile.

"Though I suppose another alternative would be fine. It was a good thing I paid attention during my past training with the Tsahìk. Soon, the paralyzing toxin from the delta tree will start to affect you."

As her heart dropped, Lia felt her blood run cold. Then it dawned on her. Amife had poisoned the yovo juice. However, she only took two sips. Though this would only paralyze her temporarily, she was still fearful of what else Amife had planned.

Suddenly, she recalled Aonung's words as regret washed over her.

"Ami is not a nice girl, okay? I've known her for a long time, and trust me, she does not want to be your friend."

As Lia stood in utter shock and horror, she immediately struck the girl with a backhand slap. Amife cried out in pain as she fell to the floor.

Then she heard it, the sound of rustling leaves coming from behind Amife as three boys appeared. It was Tufe and his two friends, their faces adorned with malicious smiles.

Suddenly, her heartbeat accelerated and her breathing began to quicken as she turned on her heel and ran for her life.

By now, it had gotten dark. Her eyes wandered around, searching for the way back but the seashells were gone, kicked all over the place. In a panicked state, she just took off, panting heavily, running as fast as her legs could carry her before the toxins fully kick in.

She ran through the jungle, brushing past trees and large leaves, not caring if she got pricked by some of them. She just needed to get out of there.

However, as she took a step forward, her legs suddenly gave in and she fell to the ground. Then she heard a twig snap followed by loud, obnoxious laughter.

They were getting closer and closer to her. Her heart beat rapidly against her chest as she attempted to catch her breath.

Then it hit her, like a ton of bricks.

During her visit to the Cove of Ancestors with Tsireya and Loak, this was her last vision from Eywa.