the chief's daughter was beautiful

that'd been lo'ak's first thought when he and his family had requested shelter in the metkayina village

still was, actually

although he felt more out of place than ever, the times where he hung out with you were the only moments of the day where he could just be... lo'ak

not the rebel, not the outsider, not the disgrace for his family, just lo'ak

in the past few weeks he'd grown really fond of the small secluded square of beach further away from the village; you'd showed it to him when you had showed him how to dive up things from the ocean floor

the first thing he'd managed to dive back up was a seashell, the color of a ripe peach and the size of a human ear

he hadn't thought much of it at first, all he did was hand it to you, thinking you'd simply return it to the sea once the lesson was done

but when he'd sat at the shore with his siblings the next day, attempting to learn the breathing techniques you were showing them, he'd noticed the exact same shell on a thin leather band around your neck

he'd been giddy, to say the least

his feet were submerged in the water, watching the small, luminescent fish glow in the clear water as they chased each other around

tomorrow would be the first time his father and the chief would take him hunting with the rest of the men, and he had been nervous the entirety of the day, leaving him sleepless even now

what if he did something wrong? what if he messed up and, once again, was the laughingstock of the others?

the fading light of the eclipse painted the white sand around him a soft orange, contrasting against the blue of the water

he was distracted by the scenery, only noticing you as you silently sat down next to him

"hi," he mumbled and smiled faintly at you as he tore his gaze away from the view and looked over at an even better one, "can't sleep?"