●As usual Ronal woke up earlier than her family. She felt the warmth of her family surrounding her and she almost never wanted to get up but unfortunately she had to.

She let herself take a moment to admire her family's sleeping faces and her tail swung slowly in happiness. Her family were the most precious people to her and she hoped they knew just how much she adored them.

As she carefully unwrapped Nalani's arm from around her, she woke her husband up.

The two had duties to attend to and liked to get a headstart on it.

"Should we wake them?" Tonowari was gazing at Lani who, in the absence of her mates, wiggled her way to pull Tsireya protectively to her chest. Roxto wrapped both arms around her and Ao'nung curled his body close to them.

Ronal sighed dreamily at the sight but shook her head no.

For once she agreed with letting them sleep in especially with how tired her wife seemed to be last night.

"If they aren't up soon I'll come back to wake them. For now, they may rest."

Tonowari gently rested his hand against her back and the two began their morning routine.

♡

Nalani didn't get up for at least thirty more minutes. She sleepily looked around her and saw only Tsireya and Rotxo sleeping close to her. She assumed the others were up already.

Although she knew Ao'nung planned to spend the morning with his friends so it wasn't a surprise that he was gone.

Tsireya was snuggled up in her chest and Rotxo laid his head against her stomach with both arms around her.

A tender smile that showed her love for them made its way across her face.

They were the heavier sleepers of the family and Nalani assumed they got it from her.

She decided to wake Rotxo up first as she knew Tsireya would be harder to wake.

Her hand started to run through his curls carefully but to her surprise he opened his eyes right away.

"You weren't sleeping, were you?" Her tone was a little bit accusatory.

The boy shook his head with a tiny grin. He had been awake for a while but wanted to stay in the warmth of his mother and sister just a little longer.

"How about we go for a small swim, just the three of us?"

He didn't feel like using his voice just yet and only nodded his head.

Nalani smiled at him in return and decided to wake Tsireya up.

She shook her shoulders with just enough force but the young girl only drowsily pushed her hand away.

"No, Zaza." That made Lani pause. Her children had mostly grown out of calling her that so hearing it again made her heart skip a beat.

Suddenly, she was back in time and saw a tiny girl instead of the growing teenager in front of her.

"If you don't get up, I'll have no issue throwing you into the ocean in front of everyone." Her tone was teasing of course but the threat was real. She had done that a few times before so Tsireya knew she wasn't lying.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake." She peeked one eye open then the other and tried blinking the sleep away from her eyes.

When her vision cleared she saw a clearly amused Nalani and Rotxo.

"I was thinking of going for a swim to help wake up before we start the day."

Tsireya could never get enough of the swimming with her family and quickly bounced up in excitement.

Lani laughed quietly but sat up to stretch and Rotxo finally let go of her.

♡

"Alright, let's go before someone needs us."

The three walked out of their home and quickly dove into the sea next to it.

Nalani felt all of her senses get a small shock but she felt so refreshed. The mesh top she changed into allowed her skin to shine beautifully underneath the water.

For a split second, she let her eyes stay closed and she focused on the way her body relaxed from the warmth of the Sun and ocean combined.

She felt arms around her neck and saw Tsireya holding onto her with a playful smile. Both of their hair created a flowing curtain around their faces.

Her eyes then instinctively searched for Rotxo and she saw him swimming with a school of fish with a beaming face as if he had never done it before.

Nalani let Tsireya hold onto her as she dove down deeper to be next to her son.

The three swam in peace with nearly matching smiles. It was moments like this that made Nalani wish she could pause time even if just for a little while.

♡

Of course peace never lasted for long.

"A fight? Really?" Ronal was pissed as she faced her eldest child.

Behind her were her mates who had different expressions. Tonowari looked disappointed while Nalani looked indifferent.

"Have we not taught you better?"

Ao'nung was kneeling in front of them in silence. When asked why the fight broke out, he couldn't answer. His guilty face was enough for his parents to know he had started it.

To be honest he didn't really know why he started it. Maybe he wanted the approval of his friends or he wanted to feel superior to cover his own insecurities.

At his silence, it only made Ronal even more upset. She hissed at him angrily and Tonowari held her waist to calm her down.

"Nalani can you..?

The woman nodded and he calmly guided Ronal to another section of the house to calm down. Being upset wasn't healthy for her right now.

Nalani kept her cold expression as she tended to her son's wounds.

Her quietness made Ao'nung nervous but he was used to this.

His mother rarely got angry enough to snap at them. She was level headed and calm in the worst of situations but sometimes that seemed worse than his father's disappointment or his mom's angry eyes.

"Learn your lesson?" She was cautious in her touches just in case they hurt him. The last thing she wanted to do was put him in more pain.

He nodded and avoided her eyes. They were too intense with emotions he could not read.

She nodded back, "Good."

But in reality Ao'nung was far from learning any type of lesson.

Nalani sighed deeply, "One day when your father steps down, you will become Olo'eyktan. And you will have to deal with those who you may not be fond of but as leader, you cannot have these childish outbursts. When I am done, you must apologize to those you have hurt. "

Ao'nung hummed in response. He badly wanted to respond that he was still just a child himself but it wasn't worth the lecture he'd get.

Her ears drooped down at his lack of words and she figured she said the wrong thing again. She decided asking questions would help her understand him better.

"These friends you surround yourself with are no good. Taking pleasure in being rude to people should send warning horns off in your head. Yet you go along with them, why?"

Nalani was genuinely curious as to why he put himself into so much trouble. He wasn't like Rotxo or Tsireya who spent most of their time helping with whatever they could. She noticed over the years he had gotten colder and it worried her that they weren't doing a good job at being his parents.

Her words would often come out as harsh even when she tried her best to be gentle which led to lots of misunderstandings.

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know."

"Perhaps to fit in?" He lowered his gaze at that and Nalani felt sorry for him.

"My boy, as our children, you and your siblings were not made to fit in. You are to be leaders and to guide our people on the right path. That is the will of Eywa." She hoped that her words would make him feel confident enough to not let his friends influence his decisions.

What she didn't know was that it only fueled his inner anger at being pushed into a role he wasn't ready for yet.

Miscommunication can be lethal to a relationship.

One between a mother who didn't know how to approach her child and said the wrong things. And a son who didn't want to upset his parents but also wanted to just be a kid without all the extra pressure.

If only they were able to open their eyes to the other's feelings just a little more.

She finished applying a soothing balm to the cut underneath his eye, "Don't let this happen again." 'I don't want to see you hurt.'

Her voice was stern and he nodded once more.

'I'm sorry for disappointing you.'

Her eyes narrowed on his figure. 'Promise me, you won't let this happen to yourself again.'

"Yes mother." 'I promise I won't fail you again.'

A silent conversation between the two.

Unfortunately, they both had their own interpretations of it.

She stood up to go check on her mates.

Before she left, she paused. "Son?"

He stared at the back of her head, "Yes?"

"Next time you start a fight, make sure to finish it."

♡

"I worry for him." She approached Ronal and Tonowari who were both sitting down. Ronal was leaning against his shoulder while he still rubbed circles onto her back.

They instantly noticed the way Nalani looked down and had a good idea why.

"I don't know how to reach him. Everything I say, it doesn't change anything."

Ronal waved her over and Lani approached them immediately.

She let her head rest on Ronal's lap and held Tonowari's free hand close to her chest. He could feel her strong heart beating at a slightly faster rate than usual.

Ronal could see the stress lines appear on her wife's face and it saddened her greatly.

"You are doing the best you can."

Lani nestled into her lap more but her eyes were far away. She kissed the top of Tonowari's hand and brought it to rest against her cheek.

They seemed to understand her better than anyone.

As a child she was often left to her own devices. Her parents were quick to leave her alone and she had no siblings which caused her to form a tough exterior. She wasn't able to connect to any children her age because she was forced to mature early.

Then as a teenager it only got harder. She had to navigate the new changes she developed, both mentally and physically, all by herself.

That's when she met them.

Tonowari noticed her because of her skills in fighting and Ronal was drawn to the way she never bowed her head to anyone.

Well almost anyone.

Nalani would get on both knees for her mates.

Ronal and Tonowari never made her feel alone. Without words, they knew what she needed to say even when she herself could not properly express it.

So hearing Ronal say she was doing her best made her wonder for a split moment.

Was her best truly enough?

♡

This time around, Nalani decided she would ride with Jake during training.

He was getting better for sure especially after learning not to rush the process.

They were standing in waist deep water and were about to call their perspective mounts.

"I'm sorry for the boys." He had just finished scolding his own sons and sent Lo'ak off to apologize. She in turn had offered another lesson as a way to silently show there were no bad feelings between them.

Lani turned to him with a shrug, "Boys will be boys. " She didn't want to discuss it anymore and he picked up on it.

She then proceeded to mount her equally wild skimwing who was thrilled to see her.

Jake followed after her and when he was settled, she wasted no time in diving into the water.

She was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly he rode underneath the currents but then the hard part came.

Jake saw her point a finger up and braced himself.

They rose out of the water in sync but Nalani was still ahead.

She felt a sense of euphoria as they hovered over the water. Riding her Tsurak always brought her a type of giddiness that made her tough character break.

When she looked slightly over her shoulder she saw Toruk Makto flying gracefully next to her with an arrogant smirk.

She rolled her eyes but he could see the smile pulling at her lips.

"You might want to focus!"

And he did.

The real test was being able to hold on while hitting the water at full speed.

She let her body flatten against the body of the marine creature. One hand held onto the top of the saddle and she briefly closed her eyes as they hit the water.

More than half of her expected to look back to see that Jake had fallen off.

Imagine her surprise when she saw the man cruising behind her.

Jake saw her surprised expression and had to remind himself that they were underwater so laughing wouldn't be the best option.

But then she grinned at him and he could tell she was genuinely proud of him.

Now he was the one that was surprised as he never thought she would smile that big at him personally.

♡

"You did it!" Nalani exclaimed as soon as they resurfaced. She flicked a piece of stray hair from her face but let the gorgeous smile stay.

Jake chuckled and it made her realize how childish she sounded.

She relaxed the happy expression she wore and cleared her throat in slight embarrassment.

"You did okay for first full ride." Her voice was now a lot calmer.

"That's all I get?"

She scoffed and splashed him with a little bit of water, "It was clearly my skills in teaching that allowed you to succeed. If anything you should be saying thank you."

He gaped at her in disbelief, "Thank you?" He questioned her as his ears drooped a little.

She smiled cheekily, "You're welcome."

The man blankly stared at her and she laughed quietly before taking back off into the water.

Being around her made Jake feel as if he had another sibling again. Like Tom or Tsu'tey. That's who Nalani reminded him of.

He would have to tell Neytiri to have more of an open mind towards the curly haired woman.

In Nalani's head, she couldn't stop the thoughts or feelings that she may have found her first real friend.

Someone other than her soulmates who didn't let her outward aura define the way they treated her.

That's when she came to the conclusion that maybe he wasn't all that bad.

Fate would soon prove that statement to be wrong.●