CHAPTER FOUR ✧˖*°࿐
❝ GAMES UNDER WATER. ❞

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

"Come here, my daughter."

Emea sat in front of her mother, eyes falling on the bump. "Are you doing okay, Mother?" She looked at her. "I will go get some water if you're not."

"My child, it's okay," Ronal spoke, placing a hand on her cheek. "Listen, I'm trusting you to check on them." She gestured with her head towards Neteyam and Lo'ak who were talking with Tsireya, who were, unbeknownst to Emea, talking about her. "They need to know the way of our people from the next Tsahìk."

"Yes, mother," Emea bowed her head.

"Don't be too hard on them either," her mother said with a soft gaze and Emea nodded, feeling like a child when her mother spoke so softly with her.

It was weird, she'll admit, to think that some people may think that her mother may be too strict. But she was a good mother to her children and to her people. She reacted the way she did sometimes because she needed to protect them as much as her husband. Emea didn't blame her.

"I'll try not to be."

Ronal smiled a bit before breathing out. "Be careful and do not go past the reefs."

"I don't do that anymore," Emea smiled at her, dragging out the last word as she stood up from her sat position.

"Just a reminder."

Emea walked out after bowing her head. She walked towards the group of people, watching as they all turned to look at her. She stood next to Neteyam who beamed at the fact she did so, all of them getting in the water in a synchronized matter.

"We're separating into groups," she started. She looked at Lo'ak. "You're with me and Tsireya, you're with Neteyam."

Neteyam was too into the fact that she finally remembered his name that he was caught by surprise when the youngest sister dragged him away.

"Um," Lo'ak started as he saw Emea circle him, a rock in her hand, "you won't kill me, right?"

"Do you like my sister?" Lo'ak gulped at the sudden question that Emea knew the response to when he took too long. "If you can't answer a question out of fear, how will you be able to protect her?"

"I'm just afraid she won't reciprocate the feelings back," Lo'ak said while his hands moved in the water. Emea's eyes softened at his nervous state, sighing, guilt creeping up.

"Okay, then," she mumbled, loud for him to hear. "Forgive me as it is not my business and I will not tell her. But do not be afraid to go after what you love and believe in."

Lo'ak nodded with his gaze in the water, not daring to look at her. "Thank you."

Emea looked at Tsireya and Neteyam as they spoke, both of them glancing at one another before staring at her, almost as if they were making sure she wasn't looking.

"We decided to change groups," Tsireya raised her hand in the air. Neteyam nodded in agreement. "I'll get Lo'ak."

Emea couldn't let out a word before Neteyam grabbed her wrist, pushing her to him to swim away. Neteyam could swear he could hear her gasp at the contact—she did—but he made them swim away, further away from their younger siblings.

"Did you talk to him?" Neteyam asked as Emea looked around to find a good place to throw a rock. She didn't answer. "I'm guessing that's a yes."

"I did talk to him," Emea replied. "But, I realized that It's not exactly my business to be asking him questions if he likes my sister or not."

"He said yes?"

"Yep," Emea nodded and Neteyam chuckled.

"So, what are we doing?"

Emea showed him the rock. "We are going to be working on your breathing," she named off, "and when that happens, we are going to play a game. I'll throw this rock and you have to catch it."

"Sounds good."

"Your breathing," Emea started, swimming in front of him, placing her hand by his chest, "mostly comes from here. You panic and get scared because you're not used to swimming in the water and you make yourself panic, which then causes the water to go in." Neteyam nodded. He felt her place a hand on his stomach and he gulped. "You have to breathe more from here, too. Don't just depend on your chest."

Neteyam nodded and hoped to Eywa that she could not hear or feel the rapidness of his heart. "Okay, I think I got it."

"When you swim," Emea continued, smiling a little at the water and the animals, "remember the fact that it's your new home. It's home. You are okay. Panicking isn't good, you will not be able to breathe in the water."

Neteyam listened to her and she didn't dare look at him. She always assumes that when she explains the nature of her home, she will get looks because she is not good at explaining her thoughts.

But Neteyam understood her.

"It is okay for you to go up and breathe," the girl continued, "but don't do it too often that it prevents you from being an expert in breathing underwater. Now, I will also teach you our language under water. My brother told me you couldn't understand."

"Of course he did," Neteyam rolled his eyes, listening to the girl as she swam around him. He started swimming with her, blocking her sight since he kept swimming in front of her. He chuckled as she tried swimming away.

"Remember to understand everything around you," Emea continued with speech, ignoring the way Neteyam kept staring at her under the sun. "The animals feel you. The water feels you. Connect with it as much as you connected with your other home. The sea gives and the sea takes."

"Do you connect with it?" Neteyam softly asked and Emea looked at him under her eyelashes. "Do you feel the connection of every thing that swims?"

"When they hurt, I hurt," Emea answered, gesturing to her chest. She looked at the animals. "It is hard to understand my feelings and understand the connecti—"

"I get you," Neteyam spoke above a whisper, almost as if they were sharing secrets between them and he didn't want any other living soul to listen to them. "I get you."

Emea stared at him and he stared at her. She cleared her throat and looked away.

"Let's get to business," she muttered. Neteyam tried to hide his smile, drooping his head as he found her cute at the way she couldn't handle the way he spoke with her. "I am going to drop this rock. It is your job to catch it. But, you need to get it as soon as it reached the end."

"Okay, I got it."

Both of them got ready and Emea glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Breathe. You're okay. Do not think something will happen to you. It is okay. I'm here with you."

Emea doesn't know what those words did to him, but she knew that she didn't mean those for words to come out. They naturally did slip out.

"I'm ready," Neteyam nodded, doing the breathing exercises Emea told him to do. Emea curtly gave him a nod before throwing the rock, her eyes trailing down to the shadow of it slowly disappearing. Neteyam looked at her.

"I'm here."

He nodded, taking a breath before disappearing into the water.

He swam down, his eyes focusing on the rock leaving his grasp. He started to panic, but he told himself over and over again, he was okay. He was okay and he is okay.

As he grabbed the rock, he swam upwards but he admired what he was surrounded with. The scenery of such beauty made him jealous but, he knew that he was going to announce his victory to the beauty of them all.

He raised his hand, the rock between his fingers. "I caught it, Emea! I caught it!"

The girl looked at the face he made. He was so proud of himself. She couldn't bear to be harsh with him. So, she gave him a smile, a smile she thought she'd never give to him after such few days they just met.

"You did it," she breathed out, nodding her head out of amazement at the fact he learned so quick. "You did it, Neteyama. But tomorrow, we're going deeper into the water."

Neteyam didn't care if his fear. He could breathe and he felt serene.

She really was the breath of fresh air he needed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Writing cheesy lines at the end
are the way to go 🫡

Ignore spelling mistakes because
I was falling asleep :)