(DONT BE SILENT READERS)

There was never a time when Mei'lu felt fulfilled. She always had this feeling in her chest, it felt as if something was missing.

It was a void she couldn't fill, and when she would lay at night she couldn't help but think of ways to fill this empty place in her heart.

She eventually realized that nothing would fix this feeling. She felt like she had tried everything, she tried making more friends, spending more time with her cousins and their parents, being around her brothers more, she even tried fixing her relationship with her parents for Eywas sake.

But nothing seemed to help fill the emptiness in her heart.

So she just busied herself so she wouldn't have the time to think about the way she felt, and when she did have time, she would be too exhausted think about it.

(This didn't last for long though, as she quickly realized that she would rather be alone than be worried with duties and she silently thanked Eywa that she wasn't next in line, unlike her cousin Ao'nung.)

But no matter how busy or tired she was, the feeling was always there. Mei'lu just refused to acknowledge it.

LESSON 1

Today was the first day of training the Sully's, and Mei'lu was far from excited, Tsireya on the other hand was blatantly obvious about her excitement. When she showed up to the girls marui in the early hours of the day she beamed of joy. She was quick to drag the 3 out of their pod.

They made way to where the Sully children were being taught. It'ey was practically jumping up and down, happy to see his new friend whilst Ka'ey had a blank look on his face. It was quite obvious that the two eldest of the group were tired.

When the four had finally arrived, Mei'lu was slowly walking behind. The rest of the group had soft smiles on their faces and Mei'lu's held a look of exhaust.

"Awe is it too early for princess Mei'lu?" A voice, far too obnoxious for this hour spoke.

"Ha ha very funny Ao'nung." The girl sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes at the smiles planted on everyones faces. They all seemed amused at her tired manner, and their smiles made her more annoyed than before.

She enjoyed spending her mornings alone, just her and the water. She would much rather be by herself right now but here she is, stuck being a teacher.

The sound of giggling in the distance caught her attention and she couldn't help but smile at the sight of her youngest brother and the young Omaticayan girl playing happily.

Mei'lu is happy her brother has found a friend outside of family, she never got that option growing up, and it made her heart warm that her brother is getting the experiences she didn't. It seems Eywa has answered her prayers.

They were starting with swimming, to get them used to the water, and to see what they were working with.

The teal navi dives into the large body of water, and when they watch the sully children jump into the water messily, Mei'lu can't help but chuckle.

Mei'lu watched closely as they saw the beauty of the sea for the first time. The look of pure admiration on their faces made her bite back a smile and she couldn't help but feel jealous, silently wishing she could see the heavenly looks of the water for the first time again.

Deciding on diving further down, they had gotten confused when they looked behind them and didn't see the Sully's.

The eldest son stuck his head under the water after a moment, and Tsireya signed to him.

"Swim with us."

She only received a look of confusion from the boy, which made the group realize that they do not know their signing language.

"What is wrong with them?"

"They are bad at diving."

"Stop. They just have to learn."

The argument had ended as quickly as it started and when they swam up to the surface they could hear the heavy breathing coming from the family of Omaticayans. "Are you okay?"

"You swim too fast! Wait for us!" The little girl replied. "Just breathe." The reply sounded silly coming from the girls mouth. How can she expect them to breathe when they are not used to any of this?

"You are not good at swimming, probably better at swinging through trees but-" Ao'nung was quickly cut off by his sister, who slapped the back of his head, muttering a 'stop it' in the process. She couldn't believe he was already being so rude, he didn't even know them.

"C'mon bro, we don't understand your finger talk" The boy spoke, moving his fingers in a way to 'copy' their signing.

"Mei'lu and I will teach you."

Mei'lu squinted her eyes at her best friend as a way to object. The girl only raised her eyebrows and lifted her chin as a way to say, "you are doing this.", The older girl just rolled her eyes, deciding not to argue with her. The interaction made Ka'ey snort which caused his sister to splash him with water.

"Where has Kiri gone?" The words came from Roxto, which surprised Mei'lu. She had almost forgotten that the boy had tagged along.

"Who?" Ao'nung had questioned. "Kiri. Where is Kiri?"

The group had quickly started to worry about the girl, "Do not worry Tuk! I will go and look for her." It'ey said, trying to cheer up his friend, but that was quickly shut down by his sister. "No, you stay here. I will be back."

Mei'lu dived into the water, beginning to look for the girl. It didn't take long to find Kiri, the time she had been gone was not long and it was not like she was a fast swimmer, she really didn't even have the time to go as far as she wanted to. But when she found the girl, she couldn't help but stop and stare.

It was a beautiful sight really, the deep blue girl was sitting on the ocean floor, fish surrounded her and they glowed as bright as her smile. She looked truly happy in that moment, so Mei'lu had decided against bringing her back to the group, not wanting to disturb her peace.

She swam back up to the group who had looks of worry on their faces when they saw that the girl had not come back with Kiri. The looks of worry were quickly washed away at the words next spoken. "She is okay, just exploring. She is not far."

Some of Kiri's siblings thanked Mei'lu and she hummed in response, telling them it was no problem. It truly was not a problem, she had wanted to get alone for a while. Even if it was just for a second.

Mei'lu could not wait for todays lessons to be over, alone time has never sounded so beautiful to her.

M SPEAKS!
HI GUYS!!
it's been a while since i last updated so i apologize, there's been so so much going on. but i hope you all enjoyed this chapter!! i'm in a writing mood so maybe y'all will get spoiled 🤭
anyways i hope you enjoyed and ily all, please lmk if y'all have any ideas for this book.
AND PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE, this took 2 days to write 💕💕

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