CHAPTER 16

Learning about the ocean was probably Erìhe's favorite part about living with the Metkayina. It was a gorgeous place. On more than one occasion, Tsireya had taken them on tours within their reef.

One evening she had taken them to see some ethereal jelly-like creatures that glowed. She had told them that they helped the person who wore breathe.

Other times they just swam around on ilu, racing each other and playing tag. They could do that now since the Omaticaya had learned how to hold their breath. Erìhe had sworn she'd never get it right, but turned out she had learned faster than Lo'ak.

One morning after breakfast, Erìhe was walking down the beach with Lo'ak. They had not spent a lot of time together lately, as she had made new friends and he loved spending time with Tsireya - so Erìhe had practically forced him to go in a walk with her. Just so that they could catch up.

"So.. how are you and Tsireya?" Erìhe nudged him teasingly as they walked along the shore.

Lo'ak looked away and started walking toward the forests so he could hide the blush dusting his cheeks, "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean," Erìhe laughed.

"No I don't," Lo'ak denied. Then he looked her over, "I like your hair - your bracelet too."

Erìhe knew he purely said this to change the topic, but she would not push him to speak of something he didn't wish to speak of. She looked down at her bracelet and grimaced, "Liar," she pushed him gently. Aluva had truly done her best to save the jewelry, but it was still uneven and had odd holes here and there.

Lo'ak laughed as he stepped away from Erìhe to avoid her hands, "I'm not! It's the prettiest I've ever seen!"

Erìhe narrowed her eyes at him playfully, "Now you're just being mean." She reached over to tug on his tail, but he jumped out of the way while still laughing. Then her eyes fell on a familiar group of teenagers close to the water. "What's happening there?"

Lo'ak turned his head in the direction she was looking at and he squinted as he tried to make sense of the scene. Then his eyes abruptly widened and he looked furious, "Those sons of bitches," he said angrily before heading in the direction of the boys.

Erìhe followed behind him, keen to see what was going on. As they neared, she could see Kiri in the midst of four Metkayina boys - Ao'nung among them. Immediately her face mirrored Lo'ak's anger and she hurried up to walk side by side with him.

The boys seemed to be trying to hold Kiri's hands while making fun of her.

"Hey!" Lo'ak called as him and Erìhe neared the group. The boys and Kiri looked back at him as he approached, "Back off, fish lips," he said as he stepped into the shallow waters.

The boys watched as Lo'ak approached and walked right up to Ao'nung. The older boy had to hold his shoulders and push him further to keep some distance between them. "Oh - another four fingered freak," he laughed.

"Look at his little baby tail!" A shorter, curly-haired boy laughed as he reached over to hold his tail. Erìhe was personally offended by what he'd said and she stepped closer. The boy seemed intimidated by the look she was giving him as his grip on Lo'ak's tail slackened - though his smile and laughter had gone nowhere.

Lo'ak pushed the boy holding his tail, causing him to let go while still snickering. "Don't touch me!" He turned and pushed Ao'nung as well - for good measure.

Erìhe grimaced as she walked past the boys toward Kiri, "You okay?" She asked her, placing her hands on the girls shoulders.

Kiri smiled softly, "Yeah." Erìhe nodded before turning around to look at the boys. One of them was looking at her with a smirk, and she could tell he wanted to make a comment about how she did not belong there.

She ignored him.

"Leave us alone," Kiri said as she watched her brother be surrounded by the Metkayina boys.

They laughed and mocked Lo'ak as they circled him, making him push and shove at them when one of them got close.

"Ah - baby tail!" The boys taunted them as one grabbed onto Lo'ak's tail. From the corner of her eye, Erìhe could see Neteyam approaching.

The boy standing close to Eríhe teased her for her tail and held it - but she did not pay him any mind any more. Watching Neteyam was much more entertaining.

Neteyam walked up to them and Erìhe had to admit that he looked rather intimidating. His eyes looked furious as he approached, his hair swaying from side to side as he walked. Then he came to a stop behind Ao'nung before pushing him away from Lo'ak.

Ao'nung was no longer laughing when he met Neteyam's eyes. There was no humor behind them. "You heard what she said," Neteyam said darkly, pointing a finger to Aomung's chest.

"Ah - big brother coming-" one of the boys started to say, but he was silenced by Ao'nung holding up his hand.

"Back off." Neteyam said loud and clear, "Now."

The boy holding Erìhe's tail let go, and she hit his hand as her tail curled angrily. She has just noticed that he was still holding it.

Ao'nung looked at Neteyam before holding up his hands - as a sign of peace.

"Smart choice," Neteyam said, "And from now on, I need you to respect my sister," he broke eye contact only to glance at Erìhe. "And Erìhe," he added.

One of the boys snarled at Neteyam, but Ao'nung pushed him back. Kiri stuck out her tongue and Erìhe snickered.

"Let's go," Neteyam told his siblings and Erìhe, walking over to Kiri and her and placing a hand on Erìhe's shoulder - to lead them away.

"Bye bye," one of them said tauntingly.

Eríhe did not shake his hand off, she merely glanced over her shoulder to look at the others' faces as they left. It was funny to her.

They were leaving peacefully when Ao'nung decided to speak to his friends, "Look at them," he said, "All freaks. The whole family."

Lo'ak stopped in his tracks and Erìhe turned to look at him. Neteyam's hand fell off her shoulder as he turned his attention to his brother. "Lo'ak," he said with a warning edge to his tone.

"I got this, bro," Lo'ak assured him. They all watched as he turned and started walking back toward the boys. He approached Ao'nung and held up his hand. "I know this hand is funny," Lo'ak said as Ao'nung watched him with a mocking smile. "Look - I'm a freak. Alien," he said as he showed him his pinky while the Metkayina boys laughed.

Eríhe hid her smile behind her hand as she watched with great interest.

"But it can do something really cool," Lo'ak told Ao'nung as all the Metkayina watched. They seemed to think that he would show them a magic trick. "Watch." Lo'ak told them as he used his other hand to dramatically fold his fingers down to form a fist. "First, I ball it up really tight, like this. Okay?" He paused to make sure that they were all with him. Ao'nung stood and watched his hand - waiting for the trick. "Then-" Lo'ak's fist collided with the side of Ao'nung's face.

After two more punches, the Metkayina was sent flying onto his back. Eríhe snorted as she saw his confused expression. Blood was trickling down Ao'nung's nose as his friends helped him back to his feet.

"It's called a punch, bitch!" Lo'ak said as he watched Ao'nung struggling to his feet. "Don't ever touch my sisters again!"

As soon as Ao'nung was steady on his feet again, he snarled and charged at Lo'ak - knocking right into him and causing both of them to fall back into the shallow water.

Ao'nung landed on top of him, but Lo'ak was quick to flip them over and land another punch to his face.

Two other boys hurried forward and pulled on Lo'ak's tail, trying to get him off their friend. It was four against one - the fight was not very fair.

Eríhe wanted more than anything to punch Ao'nung, but she knew for sure that they would be the type to refuse to hit girls - so she did not bother joining in on the fight.

She grimaced and leaned back slightly as Lo'ak got hit across his face by one of the boys' tail.

Neteyam chuckled slightly and scratched his head before jogging forward to help his brother out. He joined the fight by punching one of the boys in the face before kneeing another in the stomach.

-
A/n:
I'm not really proud of this chapter but it is what it is <33

How is everyone?