missing, lo'ak

                                    

                                          
the wind carried a cool chill today as i soared on my ikran, and in the distance, i heard the cries of the na'vi. rising higher to investigate, i witnessed helicopters attacking the na'vi. without hesitation, i reached for my arrows, attached to my hip, and carefully aimed for the the glass shield. i waited for the perfect shot before releasing the arrow straight through the human's heart. i continued this until no more humans were in sight.
as i attempted to fly away, a net surrounded my ikran and me, causing us to crash to the forest floor. i heard my ikran whimper in pain upon impact, i then felt my ankle snap. suddenly, i felt an arrow pierce my leg, and everything went black.
as consciousness returned, i felt the unforgiving grip of hard leather against my soft skin – these skxawngs had tied me up. determined, i began gnawing at the leather, hoping to weaken it and free myself from the pole to escape.
"i'm glad you finally decided to wake up," a deep voice echoed. the speaker emerged into the light, and my breath caught when i recognized the captor. they were uncomfortably close, too close for comfort.
in an attempt to maintain composure, i tried to charm him with english, flashing a sharp smile to reveal my fangs. "sup, lo'ak? what's good?"
lo'ak struggled to stifle a laugh at my attempt to talk to him, ended with me sounding like a prepubescent teenage boy trying to pick up a girl.
lo'aks laughter rumbled through the dimly lit space, but his eyes held a steely resolve. "nice try," he retorted, unfazed by my attempt at charm. "you're not getting out of this so easily."
as the realization sank in that my charm offensive had failed, i shifted tactics. "look, lo'ak, we can find a better way to settle whatever this is. tying me up is a bit much, don't you think?"
his expression remained stoic, and he crossed his arms. "you've got a lot of nerve showing up here after all this time. everyone thought you were long gone."
in that tense moment, i chose my next words carefully. "things change, lo'ak. i've changed. let me prove it to you. we don't have to be enemies like before."
he regarded me with skepticism, but a hint of curiosity lingered in his eyes. "where have you been all these years?," he asked sincerely.
"life's taken me to unexpected places," i began, meeting lo'ak's gaze with earnestness. "i was held captive by the sky people, and it took years to escape. when i thought no one was coming for me, i saved myself."
lo'ak's skepticism softened, replaced by a flicker of understanding. "sky people..." he mused, his eyes narrowing as he processed the information. "we thought you were lost to them."
"well i'm back now, lo'ak, and i am probably here to stay," i continued, the weight of my words hanging in the air.
he hangs his head down into his palms, "you've missed so much of your life, they took so much from you. you could've became the beader you always wanted to be, you could've become a mother by now and had a mate"
"you've gone soft, i am not upset lo'ak. i will simply pick up where i left off before i was kidnapped" i say softly
it's true, lo'ak had gone soft on me. lo'ak and i had never seeen eye to eye growing up, i always thought he was stupid and loved throwing himself into danger. he thought i was just uptight and a suck up to the older na'vi.
lo'ak cleared his throat and moves away from me, and back to the doorframe of the hut, "my dad will hopefully be here soon, to ask you some questions"
i nod, lo'ak just stands up and walks away as im left tired, sore, and confused.