CHAPTER II:

( the first dive )

      "SO WE JUST JUMP IN? NO PREPARATIONS OR ANYTHING?" Neteyam asked Su'leio. The children of Toruk Makto had all been standing at the edge of a platform used for easy access to the reef. It was the day after they had arrived and so Rotxo, Su'leio, Tsireya, and Aonung had been set to introduce the ocean to those who were one with the forest.

      Aonung rolled his eyes at the newcomer's hesitance and Su'leio hit her hip against his for him to stop his antics. "It's the best way to get you aquatinted with the sea," she said. The warrior shared a look with Tsireya before running off the edge and diving straight into the water. Su'leio wished it was possible for her to laugh beneath the bubbles because if she could she would let out a stream of giggles every time she experienced that fresh dive feeling.

Soon after the two best friends had come Aonung and Rotxo, the two of them joining the girls in waiting for the Sullys. Next came the brothers, Neteyam and the other of which she hadn't learned the name of. They had ungracefully jumped into the water, grins on their faces at the sights of what had been beneath their noses that whole time. Lastly came the younger girls and that had been when Aonung had been ready to continue their swim.

Su'leio had taken a moment before beginning to swim so the newer swimmers would not be left alone. She nodded acknowledging Neteyam's existence as he uncoordinatedly swam beside his brother, then she gave a smile at the youngest not hesitating for it to reach her eyes. The young girl seemed to have a bit of an issue directing herself in the water to go at a decent pace to keep up with her older siblings and Su'leio's friends, to assist, the latter got hold of the girl's attention and motioned her arms and hands in a circular motion and making it a point that she saw her fingers pressed together to cup at the water to move through it.

      When the girl attempted to swim with the new tips, she had moved even smoother through the water than before, not perfectly, but well enough. The warrior beside her grinned at this and nodded her head validating the girl's attempts.

      Continuing to swim, Leio gained some speed on the younger girl to be ahead of her slightly but behind her brothers to see that they had gone to the surface of the water. She brought her attention to her friends that had been farther into the reef than she had and they had sent Leio a confused expression as if asking what had happened but she only shrugged looking back up and waiting for them.

      The three teens submerged themselves once more and began swimming back to the divers to continue their aquatic adventure.

      "Are you okay?" Su'leio signed to Neteyam who was the closest to her. The boy squinted at her confused. She had gone to sign her question again but it had dawned on her that being in the forest must have meant they did not need to use their hands to communicate with each other as the Metkayin people did. Leio waved him off in a way telling him to forget it and began to swim again.

Their swim had been cut short once more because one-minute Neteyam had been swimming slightly behind Su'leio, and the next he was swimming at the surface of the water with his siblings again.

The four Metkayina members followed the Sullys to the surface to be met with all three of them huffing for extra air.

      "Are you alright?" Tsireya asked before Su'leio could.

      "You're too fast! Wait for us," the youngest cried while rubbing the water from her eyes.

      "Just breathe," Tsireya reassured.

      Aonung was the last to resurface. "You are not good divers, maybe good at swinging in the trees..." Tsireya hit him on the side of the head and Su'leio splashed him.

      "It is their first time," Leio reasoned. "Surely you have not gone diving in the forest before?" She asked the three of them and simultaneously they shook their heads side to side. "See? They are new, so leave them room to learn."

      "We don't speak this finger talk, you guys, we don't know what you're saying," Neteyam stated.

      "We will teach you," Tsireya promised motioning between herself and Su'leio who gave her a confused look. Surely they would have a conversation about it later.

      "Where's Kiri?" Rotxo finally spoke.

      Leio looked through their group not knowing who exactly he was talking about. "Who?"

      "Kiri, where is she?" he tried again.

      "She is the one who jumped in with you, yes?" Su'leio asked the youngest of the group who nodded. "I can find her, you all can go back," she said before submerging herself without waiting for a response.

      The sea had been a vast environment for anyone to get lost in so the girl wouldn't dare blame Kiri. In fact, she found it a little humorous seeing as she had been right with her younger sister when she had jumped into the water but somehow was the only one to get lost.

Only a minute after diving down into the reef did Su'leio feel a hand on her shoulder causing a flinch to propel itself from her. Quickly turning around, the ocean had revealed the boy who could be seen with a bubble of air within his cheeks. The Metkayin girl took a moment to put her hand over her heart to calm herself as Neteyam put his hand up clearly apologizing for startling her.

Squinting through the waves, the eldest Sully had spotted a familiar shade of blue that matched his own on his skin. He pointed in the direction, clearly short on air, just so Su'leio could begin to head in the direction while he resurfaced for oxygen.

Going back into the water, Neteyam watched the graceful and precise movements of the soon-to-be Awa'atlu defense leader and felt a molecule of envy within the large bubble in his mouth at how easy she found it to hold her breath for so long.

As if feeling the stare he held on her, Su'leio had turned around to see the boy slowly making his way over to her. She debated it for a moment but then reached a hand out to him to which he clasped and she had easily pulled him farther down into the reef. They went around a large spiraling statement of coral just to be astounded by the sight of Kiri.

She had remained below the surface during their entire diving lesson and managed to familiarize herself with the reef by following a school of bioluminescent fish.

Su'leio had turned to Kiri's brother with the same grin that reached her eyes that he had seen at dinner the previous night and couldn't help but smile back despite the burning sensation within his chest. He looked in the space between the two to then realize how close they had been, hips nearly brushing up against each other. And the only thing tethering them together had been the fact that neither of them had released the other's hand.

Leio must have realized this too because a second later, she was guiding him back up to the surface where they then let go of each other and led themselves to part ways—Neteyam staying near the platform they had jumped off of, and Su'leio robbing him of stolen glances as she had left him behind.