"Damn!"

Loak laughed as Aonung stumbled a few steps back from Neteyam's punch.

He glared at Loak, panting heavily, exhausted from his practice match with Neteyam.

"You good, bro?"

Neteyam offered Aonung his hand and helped him to his feet.

Laughing at the blood dripping from his busted lip, Aonung shook his head while sweat dropped everywhere.

"Hey, fist, remember," Neteyam continued, pointing to his hands which were curled into a ball. "Strong grip and strong deliverance."

In a fighting stance, Aonung balled up his hands into fists and nodded.

"Baby bro, come. Let me see you and Aonung," Neteyam gestured to Loak who grumbled, reluctantly getting up.

The two boys faced each other, waiting for Neteyam to give the green light.

"Go!"

The first strike was delivered by Loak, but Aonung dodged it as he bent down to avoid a punch. Using an uppercut, he knocked Loak back several steps before falling to the ground.

"Oh shit, you did it, bro!" Neteyam exclaimed, eyes wide.

Aonung's curled into a smile as his eyes glowed with excitement.

However, Loak wasn't happy.

"Bro, you just got lucky," he grumbled, rising from the ground with the help of Neteyam.

"Let me take a look," Neteyam said, examining Loak's face.

However, Loak pushed Neteyam's hand away as he glared at Aonung.

"But, good job, I guess," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Did you see stars?" Aonung inquired.

"No, why the hell would I see stars?"

"Damn," he pouted, disappointed. "Your sister made me see stars for a good second."

"Ew! TMI, bro!"

Loak made a disgusted face at Aonung who just rolled his eyes in response as Neteyam chuckled.

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🤍

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Over the next few days, everything seemed to blur together.

Though Aonung still kept his promise of being Lia's caretaker, he rarely linger behind like before.

Rather, he stayed for a while and then went back to help his father.

She thought he was acting strange, but she didn't question anything.

With every passing day, her ankle injury was healing and she was recovering well.

She could walk now, though with a limp still, but she no longer needed help from anyone.

"Ha! Scissors beat paper."

Kiri giggled, beating Lia in a game of rock-paper-scissors.

"Fine, go."

Lia rolled her eyes as she waited for Kiri's question.

"Okay, okay. Um... What do you think of the chief's son?"

"Different question."

"No! You have to answer it. I answered yours about Spider."

Crossing her arms, Lia huffed in frustration.

"Fine. Uh, the chief's son is... okay, I guess."

Kiri rolled her eyes, refusing to take her answer.

"Liar. You have to answer honestly. Come on."

"Okay, fine. Remember those furry little animals from dad's planet? It's cute but it can like, attack you too."

"Oh! You mean dogs?"

"Yeah, those! He's like one of those, right? But like, the opposite. He looks like he can kill you, but he's actually a real softie."

Lia burst into laughter as Kiri joined her.

"Care to share what's so funny?"

As they caught sight of Aonung outside the Marui pod, the sisters laughed harder.

After their laughter subsided, Kiri got up and walked away.

"That's my queue to leave. Bye! Woof woof!"

"Kiri!" Lia gasped through bubbles of laughter.

"Woof woof?"

He tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at Lia with a questionable expression.

"Please don't say that," she muttered, forcing her lips together in an attempt to stifle her laughter.

As he approached her, his questionable expression turned into concern.

"I-It's Sky People humor," she explained awkwardly, raising her five-fingered hand for him to see.

Aonung chuckled. "I didn't say anything."

When he was close enough to her, she could see a faint bruise on his cheek and arm that hadn't been there before.

"Did you get into another fight?" She questioned, a look of worry on her face.

"Oh, nah," he said. "I'm taking fighting lessons from your brothers."

"What?" She gasped.

"You knocked inspiration into my face. I haven't met a girl who can easily bruise me until I met you," he said jokingly.

Embarrassment and guilt still ingrained in her, Lia bit her bottom lip and turned her gaze away.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Aonung chuckled. "Don't be. It's reassuring to know you can throw a punch for yourself."

"Why did you want to learn suddenly?"

"Well, it's more effective than tail-pulling, right?"

Lia smiled. "Point taken."

"How's your ankle?" He inquired, shifting his gaze to her ankle.

"You ask me that every day," Lia rolled her eyes. "And my answer remains the same. My ankle is fine. I'm almost convinced that someone is forcing you to ask me that question."

He burst into laughter. "Hey, am I not allowed to worry about you?"

She paused momentarily, her gaze shifting to his face.

"Why would you be worried about me?" She questioned, her eyes searching his face for an answer.

It was a question she had been asking herself since that day he saved her from the water.

His laughter faded as he locked eyes with her.

Her unexpected question stumped him.

"I'm the chief's son, remember?" He answered, clearing his throat as his lips curled into a small smile. "It's my duty to make sure you're recovering well."

Lia sighed, once again disappointed in his answer.

"Right, because you're the chief's son," she mumbled, averting her gaze.

Although she knew this was what they were always going to be to each other, it hurt her a little.

He, the Olo'eyktan's son just doing his job, and her, the reckless newcomer he was appointed to watch over.

This was the reason why Lia didn't want anything to happen.

In spite of this, she was already falling for Aonung the moment he carried her back to shore.

It was a lost cause for her.

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🤍

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"Really? Another tangled net?"

Rotxo shrugged as Aonung raised an eyebrow at him.

"Bro, that was the only one left, I swear!" Rotxo shook his head, trying to avoid his friend's deathly stare.

Despite his best efforts, he hadn't found any other nets in every nook and cranny. As a result, the tangled net from last time, abandoned by the others, was the only option.

Aonung sighed as he shook his head at Rotxo.

"Aonung, can we talk?"

Their attention was drawn to Amife's voice as she approached them.

"What is it?"

"In private, please," she begged.

Rotxo cleared his throat awkwardly as he dragged the tangled net away from them.

"Sure, make it quick," Aonung answered as she followed him to his family's Marui pod.

As soon as they were inside, Amife threw herself into his arms, eyes closed with wonder.

"What the hell, Ami?" He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away.

"I miss you, Aonung! You haven't been spending time with me anymore, and I'm starting to get lonely."

Aonung sighed. "You know I've been busy. It hasn't been easy since—"

"Since what? Busy with what? That girl, Lia?"

His eyebrows creased together in confusion as he looked at her.

When he failed to answer her, she knew she was right about her assumptions.

"It's true, isn't it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He began, but she quickly cut him off.

"T-There were rumors going around that you and that girl have been getting cozy together. People saw you at the pier together and you often go to visit her."

Aonung let out a heavy sigh, getting the hint that Amife was going into one of her dramatic breakdowns again.

She would often do this when Aonung was seen with another girl. Though he had flirted and did things with other girls before, she didn't seem to care as much until now.

"Look, like I told you before. As the next Olo'eyktan—"

"That it's your duty, right? Don't lie to me, Aonung. If those rumors weren't true, then why you have not come to see me at all these past few days?"

"Ami, we're just—"

"Friends? We're just friends, I know. I'm fully aware that we were arranged to be together by our parents, but why can't you just accept my feelings for you? You know how I feel about you." she begged, her eyes gleaming with tears.

Seeing her about to cry, his face softened. However, he had always been honest with her about his feelings and he will continue to do so.

"Ami," he sighed, "You're like a little sister to me. My feelings for you will never change."

He knew his words were harsh, but he was never one to sugarcoat things.

"It's because of her, isn't it? Sylvon and Faytu were right."

Her voice trembled as she lowered her head to the floor.

"You like her, don't you?" She continued.

She stood there, waiting for Aonung to respond.

His silence, however, was loud enough to be heard.

Neither did he deny the rumor nor did he acknowledge his feelings for Lia.

She let out a small sob, turned around, and ran out of the Marui pod, bumping into Tsireya along the way.

"Ow— Ami?" Tsireya called after her, but she was already gone.

Aonung let out a stressful sigh, catching Tsireya's attention as she looked at her brother with confusion.

"Why is Ami crying?" She questioned, crossing her arms against her chest when he didn't reply.

"Aonung, answer me. What did you say to her? Did you guys fight?"

He licked his lips, avoiding his sister's gaze.

"Seriously?" Tsireya sighed.

"It's Lia," Aonung answered after a momentary pause. "She was asking me about Lia."

"And what did you say?"

"Nothing. I just told Ami that she will always be like a little sister to me. You know that I've always been honest about that."

She shook her head. "Brother, this was exactly what I was trying to tell you. One way or the other, you'll end up hurting Ami or Lia."

He turned away from Tsireya, mumbling something to himself as he did so.

Approaching him, she frowned and turned him back around to face her.

"Tell me, brother. Do you have feelings for Lia?"

Aonung let out an irritated groan.

"Not you, too, sister. Look, I already got your message the first time, alright? I know what I'm doing," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"Is that so? Then why can't you answer my question then? It's a simple yes or no."

Pausing momentarily, he glared at Tsireya.

"I can't," he answered, his voice low.

"Why not?" She frowned.

"Because... I don't know. I don't know what I feel for Lia. S-She's different and every time I see her, I feel like my heart is about to burst and I could just die on the spot," he rambled, words just coming out of his mouth.

As Tsireya heard her brother's confession, her eyes widened.

In addition, Aonung's own words prompted him to realize it as well, as he and his sister came to the same conclusion.

"Oh Eywa, you are in love, brother."