Sadira ran a hand through her thick hair, pulling it up and quickly wrapping it into a bun before snapping a hair tie over it to hold it in place.
They had been out here for hours, but the night had just started and she wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of her going home early. It was
his fault she was so tired anyway! He may not have believed in them, but her dreams were very real. What she saw today was very real. And it
was the reason he was a little sluggish too. Despite what the Elders said about rest during the day now that his responsibilities had expanded, Analu
had done something...more productive with his time.
She had been watching him since the stupid tribal meeting began and she could see then that the only place he really wanted to be in bed. And not just
because his girlfriend was there, probably sleeping like the princess they treated her like, but he was tired. And here they were now,
combing over the caves on patrol with Analu practically dead on his feet. He seriously couldn’t work like this, and the few times she’d opened her
mouth to tell him so he’d shut her up. Practically biting her head off when she so much as looked at him. It was going to be a hell of a long
night.
“You know if you didn’t want me to speak to you, you could have sent me out with another group-,” She knew why he kept her close. He didn’t
want her here at all and with the trouble she’d caused with the haloes she and some of the other members of the Pueo had caught on Kai
Pulehu the other night, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight. He was babying her and it was annoying. “I don’t need a babysitter, Analu.”
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
Fuck the waves. No, really. Analu literally cursed them as the sounds of the thrashing, midnight waters floated to the hollow cave opening where he
stood...or more like wavered on the spot. The sounds of the water crashing against the shore normally calmed him on the long nights. Walking through
the heavy sand, listening to the rhythm of the tide. It cleared his mind, made him more focused on the his duties. But tonight, it just made
him...sleepy and fucking irritated. Stifling a yawn, his steps slowed, his feet bringing him to the side of the darkened cave. Even in the
warm, Shore night air, the cave was probably cold, wet and drafty. But Analu couldn't think of anything else besides going inside, lying down and
drifting off to sleep. Okay, not extended sleep. Just a...few moments. A few minutes to just...close his eyes. Even at the thought, his eyelids
fluttered, threatening to shut permanently. Fuck, he'd been up twenty-four hours...straight. And normally, that wouldn't have been such a damn feat,
but...he'd "exerted" himself. He'd done exactly what the Elders warned against before night duty. But his Anela had been worth the fatigue
and the exhaustion. So much so that the one time in the backyard...wasn't enough. Their love had lasted the entire day, Analu literally rolling from
on top of her and into his patrol gear, the dusk meeting the sky when they were through. Sleep was coming for him and he was ready to give in. And he
would have...had it not been for his..."company".
"Quiet." He growled menacingly at her, not caring to even address her by her name, even though he'd known it...knew it well. Sadira. The
intruder, as the rest of the Pueo liked to call her. The Elders' sick joke to their cause, as she was the only woman allowed to run with the men when
the Shore sun set. And why? It was simple...but that didn't mean it wasn't stupid. Because the "needed" her. Needed her gifts...whatever that fucking
meant. And why it had to be her, Analu would never know. She was young. Stupid. Inexperienced and spoiled, the Elders giving her what she wanted
because they could not function without someone who "saw". What a fucking load of shit. That was what her "gift" meant to him. She supposedly had
visions and guided the tribe with those visions. Visions that no one, but her, saw or knew. Visions that gave her the freedom to manipulate the tribe
and the Elders. Yeah, she could get what she wanted out of them, but she'd never get it out of him. Because he saw her for what she was...
"I don't need to hear your voice...kamaiki." He spat the last word, turning towards her, his eyes piercing her through the dark. "For you to
tell me what you need and what you don't need is disrespectful. You already have too much say in something that doesn't even concern to you."
Fuck him! It wasn’t her fault he was all pissy. His little tantrums were already getting old and the night was just starting. Ugh. He wasn’t the
only that was tired. Her visions took a lot out of her, despite what some people liked to think. She couldn’t control them yet, so a lot of the time
they were...intense. The ones she’d had today were intense. And it was all his fucking fault! And here he was bitching her out
about how she was disrespectful and how she didn’t belong? Oh she could show him some fucking disrespect. Sadira hadn’t said anything to him
tonight outside of trying to help. He was being a fucking ass, as usual, and she wasn’t taking shit from him tonight. Not with what she knew.
“Pull the fucking stick out, Lu-,” her eyes narrowed at him through the dark as she leaned against the opposite wall of the cave. She could feel
his glare on her, but she didn’t give two shits about his little attitude. “You don’t know half of the things I could tell you about that
don’t concern me-,” her fingers made air quotes around the last words of her statement as a smirk came to her lips. She was going to fuck
with his head. He though her visions were bullshit? She could make him question that.
“Speaking of ‘things that don’t concern me’, I brought gifts-,” pulling the backpack she’d brought along tonight from her shoulder she
unzipped it and knelt down digging through the few contents. She made sure he was watching her before she tossed him a thermos, “Coffee-,” she
said attempting to suppress a giggle, “Because I know you didn’t sleep...or eat-,” she finished tossing him a brown paper bag. “Burger from
the diner.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the weirded out look on his face. It could have been because she was doing something nice for him, but he was
probably more curious as to how she knew he hadn’t taken care of himself at home. You know. What with her dreams being bullshit and all. “You
didn’t shower either, but we’ll just have to endure that one.”
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
If it wasn't for his fatigue and the fact that he could barely stand up on his own two feet, he would've made Sadira eat her fucking words. And THAT
was the very reason that he couldn't tolerate her. Her disrespect. For her mouth to even form the words she'd just said to him, it proved
that she didn't know, nor did she have any concern for her place. Not that her position as a Seer made her any lower than him on the totem pole. No,
actually it made her almost his equal. They were both future Elders. When the time was right and their Ascension into leadership was at hand, they
would both join the kapuna elima and take their places as the next leaders for their tribe. But that time wasn’t now. She was still a woman
and by Mokukeiki tradition, that made her completely out of order. But what was he to expect for someone whose blood was tainted with “haole”?
Exactly what she was giving him now. Complete disdain for the ways of his people. Analu knew how blessed he was, everytime he looked at his
anela. His beautiful Leah. She was the true reflection of what it meant to be a Moku woman. Respectful, loving and cared for, the protection
of her promised enough for her. That protection that the men provided while the children and women slept seemed to not matter to Sadira. And just
looking in her eyes as she leaned on the opposite wall of the cave, Analu knew that she felt like she could do anything the men do, and in some cases,
do it better. Which was bullshit. And that attitude spat on everything that the men of his tribe believed. And she wondered why she insulted him. They
weren’t friends. And as far as he was concerned, they would never be friends. Analu didn’t “make nice” with pompous ass scam artists.
“Tell me to pull the fucking stick out again, Sadira.” With a glare that he knew she could see across the way from him, he spoke between gritted
teeth. "Please. Do me that favor so that I'll have a valid reason when the elders asked me why I laid into your ass." Pushing off of the wall, he made
his way into the cave, ducking as his head barely missed the low entrance. He needed to get away from her. Needed to get into a quiet space and
just...rest for a moment because if he expected to even survive the night with Sadira at his side, he need two seconds to rest. He couldn't let her
goad him, not like he had the last time. After a night full of her, they'd ended up tussling on the ground, his lip busted and a set of scratches
matching her nails on his left cheek. And her...well it wasn't good. The elders laid into him...hard. And he had to admit, he was out of order. But
that was the way she was with all the guys. She picked fights that she couldn't handle because the guys got at her about her place in the Pueo. And
that was the reason why he was stuck with her tonight. Her mouth, plus a group of rowdy haoles had equaled trouble. Lots of it.
Sighing heavily as he heard her enter behind him, opening her bookbag, he turned around and caught a thermos on reflex. Holding it up, his eyebrows
lifted, questioning her odd peace offering. Her answer came before he had to ask. Because she...knew. That shit again? He didn't eat? Yeah, she
probably knew that because of the growl his stomach had kept making on their trek to the caves. Lack of sleep? Obviously. His fucking eyebags had
bags. She was at it again, reading him the same way she read the elders, giving them exactly what they wanted to hear.
"Hey, fuck you. I don't smell..." Lifting his armpit to his nose, he knew it to be true. He smelled like home. Like her. Definitely like
Leah. Eyes warily watching Sadira, he crouched to the ground, his back still leaning against the hard, black stone wall of the cavern. His hands tore
into the bag, ripping at the paper so that he could get his teeth into the burger she'd brought him. Would he thank her? Fuck no. Thank her for what?
Assuming shit and just happening to be right? But...it was kind of odd that she WAS right.
"You know, "peeping" is just as illegal here as it is off the Shore. So maybe you want to think about that when you're staring in my window." With a
sour smirk, he bit into the burger again.
Puh-fucking-lease! If she could hear his thoughts, she would have told him to make her eat them. Damn him and his fucking respect! He hadn’t done
shit to earn it! He treated her like the rest of the fucking Mokukeiki. Outcast and inferior and she was anything but fucking inferior. She was soon
to be a fucking Elder, hell, she pretty much already was! Her junkie of a mother hadn’t been to one of these stupid little council meetings in
years. At least she was trying to do what she could for “her people”...not that she had much of a choice. As much as she hated her
mother, and respected her even less, she was an example. An example of the person she never wanted to be. A strung out meth-addict, that couldn’t
pull a vision out of her ass if she shoved one up there. The only reason Sadira hadn’t been sold for a fix yet, is because her mother needed her to
“see”. Right now, the tribe was pretty much supporting them in exchange for Sadira’s visions. Her mother was a lot of things, but stupid
wasn’t one of them...surprisingly. She knew better than to fuck up her hook-up. A hook up she shouldn’t have needed. Wasn’t she pure blood
Mokukeiki? Wasn’t she one of them? Weren’t they supposed to take care of their own? Oh, was that only when they were following the stupid laws and
begging the Gods forgiveness for their so-called sins? What about the innocent child that that a sinner’s mistakes led to?...
Yeah. Fuck Analu and his fucking respect. If anyone could understand why she didn’t give a damn about “her people”, it was him. His home life
was shit too before he moved in with his little princess. He would have understood...if he bothered to ask. But he didn’t. No one did. Did they
seriously think Sadira like spending her days taking shit off the kids at school and then coming here and taking shit off the Pueo at night?
Fuck no. But she would be damned if she stayed home with her mother while she fucked whoever was paying her that night. So yeah, she came out at
night, and yeah, she talked a little shit, but the way she saw it she was just trying to bond with “her people”.
Analu didn’t seem to be taking to her though. So what? She had already proven to him that she wasn’t afraid to fuck him up and if he wanted to
they could fucking go again. The Elders weren’t here to pull her off now. Sadira smirked as he threatened her through the dark, the moon
illuminating half of his face so the she caught his peeved expression about her off the cuff comment about the stick in his ass. He moved away from
her before she could tell him exactly what he’d told her not to and she decided to let it die. The response threatening to push through her lips had
to do with who he’d really laid into that day and she knew what that would get her. She would digress...And even offer an olive branch.
Analu’s distaste for her attitude did not carry over to the food she’d brought. And she wasn’t about to insult herself by waiting for any form
of gratitude. Arrogant brat probably though he was owed it, spoiled as he was. Instead of the thanks that should have been on his lips, she got a
‘fuck you very much’ instead.
“A ha ha hell, you don’t-,” she said with an eye roll. He knew he smelled of sweat and whatever other bodily fluids he and his beloved
exchanged. She sat, back against the cold cave wall, as she settled in. She figured that they would be here at least until he finished devouring that
burger like a fucking velociraptor...maybe sooner, if she got sick of having him call her a fraud again tonight.
“Fuck you, you ass. You’re not that fucking impressive. Nobody takes the time to peep through your fucking windows. You know how I know what I
know. Fucking embrace it before I fuck you with it. I know who you did this morning.” She rolled her eyes, looking out to the ocean beyond
the cave entrance. She could feel his eyes threatening to burn a hole in the side of her head but she didn’t give a shit. He didn’t know what she
went through with these damn dreams and visions. The headaches alone would bring him to his knees. She was not a fucking fraud.
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
Really, fuck her. Who gave two fucks if she was offended by him OR his smell? Sniffing his shoulder again, he glared at her through the darkness and
took another bite of the burger in his hands. He didn't stink. What the hell was he supposed to smell like? They were on duty! After tromping around
in the thick, heavy sand and walking on the beach, the spray from the high tide catching him even when he walked away from the shore, he doubted that
he was supposed to smell of "roses". And regardless what Sadira felt, he wasn't going out of his way to make her life or her sense of smell any easier
for her. She sure wasn't making shit easier for him. Alright, she did bring him something to eat and a bit of coffee to keep him from falling asleep
on duty. But she had to, just had to, bring up her god damned "gift" while she was doing it! Wasn't she tired of pretending? Because Analu
was tired. Tired of everyone, especially the Elders, acting like anything about her "gift" was real. It was just some stupid parlor trick that kept
everyone amused and the Elders happy. But like he said before, he wasn't falling for that shit. To many people in the tribe wrapped their minds around
what the "seer" said and what the "seer" dreamed. The "seer" could do no wrong. Whatever. Fuck the "seer". Because more than anyone, Analu knew just
how wrong a vision could be...
Smirking at her snipping, Analu laughed between chews. He wasn't that impressive? Wonderful. He was so pleased to know that she thought so. On the
other hand, maybe she should've kept her fucking pretend "visions" to herself. Yeah, he was grateful for the food. It was a nice touch. But he didn't
need the kindness of a "seer". He hadn't asked for her help and he wasn't about to start now. Balling up the wrapper of the burger he'd just
demolished, he cocked his hand back, ready to chuck it in Sadira's direction before he heard her last words. I know who you did this
morning.... Slowly, the hand holding the balled up wrapper dropped to his side as he stared at her. What had she just said? When
he thought about it, he didn't need to over react. It was probably too late for that though, as he'd been stuck in the "deer in headlights" position
for a couple of seconds, now. With a scoff, the corners of his mouth rose, a dangerous smirk playing there.
"What are you trying to say, Sadira?" He asked, his voice barely audible over the crash of the waves that reverberated through the hollow cave. His
eyes stayed on her, challenging her. "Making accusations isn't wise...especially when you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. You should be
careful."
Her eyes stayed on the ocean as he finished the burger. She tried to focus on watching him in her mind rather than looking directly at him but all she
could call up was some fat man in his kitchen eating straight from the fridge. That and the stupid headache that came with every vision. Fuck. She
closed her eyes to the pain, not wanting him to see it on her face and his voice forced her back to the present. This damn fraud shit again. God, it
got so fucking old so fucking fast. Everyone questioned her at first. Calling her a scam artist, comparing her to her mother. The Elders had done it,
the kids at school did it. She was forever having to prove herself for these damn people and it got to be fucking annoying! Why couldn’t they just
take her word for it? Who the hell would willingly confess to being a freak?
Well, she could easily prove her power to Analu. He had a deep, deep secret now didn’t he? The princess was knocked up and Lu was the father. It’d
be a shame if the Elders found out now wouldn’t it? Not that she would tell. She didn’t like the guy, but even she knew that was more trouble than
he deserved. Besides, he was her “leader”, that meant she had a certain loyalty to him right? She could keep a secret, hell, she kept the
tribe’s secrets...if he didn’t piss her off too much, he and princess’s secret was safe with her. Despite what he thought, Sadira wasn’t
interested in making his life any harder.
But just as he’d gotten her started this time, she couldn’t be responsible for what slipped out when he pissed her off. She knew as soon as she
said it that she’d over stepped. The only other person in the tribe that that “no sex” rule actually applied to was Analu. Timelines were
important to the Elders and if things didn’t go according to schedule it could mean “the end”. Everything was the fucking end with these guys.
Honestly, Sadira didn’t think it was such a big deal, but she wouldn't question the hand that feeds. She looked at him as he scoffed and that
devilish smirk pulled at his lips. He was on the verge of jumping her and her next words were very important...But his were still trying her fucking
patience. Uh oh...
“No. You should have been more careful! Now you’ve got a problem you can’t fix!” she snapped. It came out before she thought about it
and she hadn’t meant to take it that far with him. She knew her limits and this was one. She sighed, “I mean...know what? Nevermind! I don’t
have to fucking explain myself to you Analu Ikaika!”
She stood up. She was willing to leave patrol early now, his satisfaction be damned. She was not about to have this conversation with him. It was
going to lead to her getting her face beat in and she didn’t have to be psychic to see that shit.
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
There was no way that Analu could begin to will himself into believing this shit. Somehow, Sadira knew. She knew about him and Leah. And she knew
about the child that would be born, produced out of their disobedience. He could see it in her eyes, those blue irises seemed to be glowing menacingly
at him in the moonlight that streamed into the darkened cave. He'd always hated looking into Sadira's eyes. Everything about those clear, ocean blue
eyes was so foreign to him. But then again, she'd never really been one of them, the Mokukeiki. She'd never looked like them and she sure as hell had
never behaved like them, her existence in the same cave as him, on the same patrol as him was witness to that. And even though her features made her
an outsider, she seemed to do everything in her power to not fit in even more. He wouldn't start to believe she wanted people to see her as one of the
tribe with the shit she did and said. But outside of that, outside of the fact that looking in her eyes said nothing about "home", Analu saw the
omniscience there. He knew that every time that he looked into her face, that she could see deeper into him than anyone in the tribe could. Even if he
didn't believe in her ability to see, her visions telling her all of the secrets that the tribesmen and even the Elders couldn't hide from her, he
knew that she saw something. Whether she knew the things, the subtle signs to watch for to tell her what she wanted to know or if she could really see
the soul, he didn't know. But he knew, beyond a doubt that somehow, some way, she knew that the next leader of the Ikaika tribe had been conceived.
But playing stupid would only do for so long as the expression she wore when he'd warned her about prying into people's business told him that her
patience was growing short, that she knew what she knew. He couldn't hold her glare for much longer as he looked away, his head jerking back up less
than a second later when her rebuttal came. Before he could stop it, a tremor of anger rolled through him so forceful that he stood, pushing himself
from the wall of the cave. A problem? A PROBLEM? His situation was a problem? His situation was a child. A child that he would never regret. And for
her to call the child that slept in his anela's womb a "problem" shook him as he knew, without a doubt, that the tribe would see their child
as just the same. A problem. A moment of disobedience. A violation of the will of the gods.
"Watch your fucking mouth." He spat at her, his chest rising and falling quickly. With that comment, he'd confirmed it. He and Leah were pregnant. He
couldn't take it back now. He could only stand there, his body nearly shaking from the anger that Sadira's words coursed through him. Looking away
from her, he rolled his neck to the side, willing himself to stay calm. But it wasn't working, everything thrashed violently inside of him. All of the
fear from the knowledge of he and Leah's indiscretions turning up before they'd planned, the anger from Sadira's words, his insult from her words
about the child that he already protected, but had yet to meet...it all melded together into a reaction he hadn't planned for. In less than three
steps, he moved across the cave and hovered over Sadira, his hands aching to take her by the neck.
"How much..." He hissed, grabbing her arms and pushing against the hard rock of the cave wall as she made an attempt to get away. "How much do you
know? And how MUCH have you told?" He had to defend his family. He had to protect them...and he would do so, by any means necessary. Sadira would NOT
control him...
She’d said entirely too much. She hadn’t meant to take it that far. When this had started she had only wanted to fuck with him, annoy him like
only she could, y’know? Push his buttons so he could be just as ticked as she was that he was babysitting her. But he had turned it around and
pushed hers! Her biggest pet peeve was being called a con and he had a knack for doing just that. She had told him time and time again that she
wasn’t a liar; proved it over and over to him, yet still he refused to believe that she saw. She wasn’t pulling things out of her ass and telling
the elders what they wanted to hear. She was real. Her power was real. Why couldn’t he get that through his thick ass skull?
All of this was his fault! She hadn’t meant to upset him like this, really she hadn’t...but he was so fucking...infuriating! God! She spoke before
she truly knew what she was saying and now that it was out, she couldn’t take it back. And there was no chance he hadn’t heard it as the snap of
his head looking to her was unmistakable, even in her peripheral, as she pulled on her backpack. Like lightening he was standing and before she had
fully turned around he was almost on top of her, his nostrils flared and his jaw set in anger. How much... “What?” she was going to
pretend all of this away. She was going to act like she’d said nothing and all of this would go away.
Or not... his hands came to grip her arms pushing her against the wall of the cave and making her happy she had gotten her bag on first to
cushion the blow. Did it matter how much she knew? She knew enough to get him into trouble and that should have been enough. Obviously it was if he
was in this much of a panic. She struggled against him, trying to get out of his grasp only to have it tighten the more she moved. There was one way
out.
“I didn’t fucking say anything, Analu! Let me go-,” she tried to push against him again only to have me slam her into the wall yet again. “I
didn’t! I didn’t tell! Now FUCK OFF ME!” she pushed harder this time and he stumbled back a bit. She wasn’t going to run, she wasn’t going
to fight. She was going to take the hits she had coming and let the chips fall where they may.
“I...I didn’t mean to say what I said...You made me mad...” she shrugged a little. She didn’t know why she cared that he was pissed with her,
but for some stupid reason she always did...
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
What was his problem? Why couldn't he believe a single thing a seer said to him or the tribe? Because he knew. He knew the reality about the bullshit
that they spread, lies meant to be just true enough to get them what they wanted. His hate was personal. It wasn't birthed in some unfair disbelief of
their capabilities or a lack of the ability to stretch his mind. Analu had seen enough with the Pueo, in the hours during sleeping and before waking,
that gave him enough of a reason to believe in the impossible. His hate wasn't formed from the beliefs of others, either. He didn't have to hear the
rumors about seers to have doubts about their supposedly authentic "talents". He knew it for himself. Just how false they were and just how much
damage they were capable of doing when given the chance. And now was no different. Whatever way Sadira had known about the weight that fate had
dropped on he and Leah, she was doing what was expected. Dangling it in front of him, teasing him with what she knew. And she wanted him to respect
her and treat her like a person? How could he? Not when he knew the evil, squatting inside of her like a fucking toad.
A dangerous grimace crossed his features at her attempt to play stupid with him. No, it was too late for that. Everything that she'd said to him was
honest, completely true. And he wanted to know NOW how she knew what she knew. How did she find out about he and Leah? Although it would've been easy
to assume. They lived together. Had been for almost three years now. Even though they'd promised to wait until their union, there were so many that
distrusted their promise. Analu couldn't blame them, as he probably would have felt the same way had it been someone else in their situation. And
honestly, part of Analu had hoped that their moving in together would give them a way to tell people of their love, disguised as disobedience, so that
they wouldn't have to. Knowing the true nature of he and Leah's relationship was easy. But the baby...how could she have known about the baby? He
needed to know. He needed to know so much that he didn't care what he had to do to get her talking. And he never had less reservations about using
force than he had with Sadira at that moment.
"STOP bullshitting me..." He answered her, his hands squeezing tighter, pressing her firmly against the cave wall. His grasp was so vice-like that
even her attempts at wiggling free were pointless. And so was her denial. She didn't tell anyone? Yeah, that wasn't the song she was singing a minute
again. Again, he slammed her against the wall, her voice even louder, defending her innocence. She pushed against him, hard, his steps falling
backwards as he released her.
"Fuck your feelings and fuck your intentions. I want to know how you know about..." His voice faltered for a moment as he stood in front of her,
staring at her. "How did you know, Sadira?"
The evil? Oh, if she were a fucking mind reader. She was not fucking evil! She was the exact same as everybody else damn it!
Well...minus the visions and, if they were talking about the Moku people, her “tainted” blood. But she wasn’t evil at all! In fact, if you asked
her she was a fucking saint. She took care of her methed out mother, she did what the people that rejected her needed her to do without much of a fuss
and she kept all of these fucked up people’s secrets. He should be handing her a fucking medal, not pushing her into cave walls over his
mistakes...although she couldn’t deny that she’d brought his anger on herself...But it was his fault! He shoudn’t have pushed her buttons like
he had. Her mother, when she was coherent enough to talk to her, often hinted at knowing why Analu would have such a problem with her, seers in
general really. She had never told Sadira though. And the Elders had told her seers before her had been able to see the future and the past, but
Sadira sadly could not. She hadn’t gotten the guidance she’d needed in developing her gift so controlling it was near impossible, let alone
calling a vision of the past on demand. No, his issue with her was going to have to be one that he told her about himself...Although it was pretty
clear what the problem was now.
She knew about he and the princess sleeping together, worse than that she knew about the baby they were having. He was probably more upset that
she’d referred ot it as a problem, but wasn’t that what it was? Analu knew he was in deep shit with the Elders when they found out. His uncle
would probably personally beat the shit out of him. And princess...Who knew what they would do to her. The baby was Lu’s first so they probably
wouldn’t kill it...or her. Had to have an heir after all. No, she didn’t know what would happen to the two of them, but she knew the Elders would
find out eventually and...
His voice snapped her out of her thoughts as he told her to drop the stupid act. She knew what he was talking about and he knew that they were on the
same page. He’d confirmed it when he had told her to watch her mouth. Now it was her turn. She offered a half-assed apology, trying to defuse the
situation. He didn’t take it. How do you know...
“You know how I know, Analu. I saw-,” that same skeptical look he always gave covered his face as she heaved an aggravated sigh. “What the fuck
do I have to say to you? I fucking saw her tell you, Analu! I watched her leave your house this morning, I saw you come home and freak the
fuck out, I watched her struggle to tell you at fucking Surfside and I saw...the backyard...” she stopped, blushing a little at the thought
of exactly what she’d seen. She hated him, but she wasn’t going to lie, Analu could be...somewhat appealing. He always had been to her. Of course,
they were never going to happen. He had his perfect princess and she wasn’t allowed relationship because the Elders worried over every little thing
that might “denature her purity” and effect her dreams...That and he totally annoyed her! All the time!
“Your turn to stop playing stupid, Lu. I know. And you know how I found out.”
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
She saw. She fucking saw. Couldn't she just come off of it for one, solitary moment? All of the seer crap that she kept feeding him was getting more
annoying than she could imagine. Analu knew what he knew and nothing, nothing, would ever change his mind about what he believed. Seers
meddled with shit that had nothing to do with. Shit that, without them, would've probably gone so differently...like his father. Yeah, his own fucking
father. The angry, bitter man, confined to the wheelchair that had become his legs in the last stages of the disease that would lead to his slow
death. His mother had heard a prophecy from a seer, long ago. One that told her that her first born would become the leader to the Ikaikas. He would
rule with a firm hand and he would stand tall among the past leaders. What a fucking JOKE it was when his mother birthed twins and found out later
that the wrong child had been blessed by the seer. The seer that "saw all" had made a mistake. She'd been wrong. If she had known better, she
would've seen the sickness in Analu's father's future. She would've known that leadership was never his to have because he would be deemed as "weak"
by the Elders. And she would've...never lied in the first place. That lie had destroyed his father as a young man...destroyed Analu's entire family.
Analu's uncle was blessed instead and his father was damned to living what was left of his life in a wheelchair...and hardening shame.
"Again?" He interrupted Sadira's explanation about how she knew what she knew. Not again. He didn't want to hear that again! Turning away from her
before he could fill the want to reach out and strike her, he shook his head, scoffing sourly...until she began to explain everything that she'd seen.
The details of what she was telling him, they were...so familiar. So...correct. There was no way. No way that she could've known all of that. From his
arrival home, looking for his anela to their trip to Surfside where she dropped the news on him...to the...shit. To the backyard.
She'd seen everything. But how the fuck was that possible?!
"How..." Turning towards her voice, he saw the faint flush of her cheeks from what she'd described. "How are you telling me all of this? There's no
way you could've..." There was NO WAY she could've known...unless...shit.
"So, you're telling me..." With a quiet pause, he thought for a moment. "...that you saw all of that...in your head. While you slept." It was less of
a question and more of him repeating it to himself...just to make some kind of sense. "Why the hell would the gods show you that? Huh? Why? To give
you some sick, perverse peep show of...or do you just 'tune in' to whatever you want to watch? Is that it?" A sick feeling hit his stomach...sick and
uneasy. His mouth grimaced sourly as he looked at her, watching her expression as he walked towards her, anger thudding inside of him dully.
Fucking DUH. She saw. What the hell was he expecting her to say? She wasn’t a stalker and even if she had been, he wasn’t as awesome as he thought
he was. Maybe she had carried a little torch for him when she was young and stupid, what girl in the tribe didn’t? But now she knew him.
She knew what an asshole he was and the cute little leader title had lost it’s sparkle a long time ago for her. So yeah. She saw everything and she
hadn’t needed to be there to see it. She had spent the better part of the day completely out of body, watching the vision she’d been given and she
swore to herself then she wasn’t going to bring up the hot points. Sure, she’d planned on bringing him food and coffee to keep him awake, but she
was simply being nice...it was possible, contrary to what he thought. Actually, she was only mean to the people that pissed her off...Like he was
doing now.
Again? Yes, again! Again! Again because she didn’t have any other explanation; she was telling him the truth. Obviously, it wasn’t the
truth he wanted to hear for whatever reason, but it was all she had to offer him. So she gave him everything. She told him all the things she’d
seen, details only he and the princess could have known. He had turned away from her during her rant, but she didn’t have to see his face to know
that his expression had changed. He would turn and be wearing the same face everyone did when they finally decided to take her gift seriously. Of
course, she thought she’d see that face from him many times before this so maybe she was wrong. Maybe he turn to her with that same rigidly set jaw
and angry scowl...
Maybe not. Tonight was the night it seemed. He was finally going to acknowledge that she wasn’t scamming the tribe for anything. That she had been
telling the truth all along. He spoke, relaying the things that both she and the Elders had been trying to tell him for...the Gods knew how long now,
“Not always when I sleep...Sometimes I get visions while I’m awake, but they’re a bitch and a half. They usually put me under pretty quick-,”
was she explaining it to someone? That was a first...Usually she just let people think what they wanted to think; most of the people asking questions
really just wanted a good story anyway...but here she was explaining things to Analu...or trying to anyway. She wasn’t sure he was listening at all
as he continued on his tangent.
She winced as his words hit her. Was he trying to call her some kind of supernatural peeping-tom?! “Do I look like a fucking 50” plasma to you? I
don’t “tune in” to anything-,” she said creating air quotes over his absurdity. “They show me what they want me to tell the Elders. I
don’t have a say in anything.” Her feet had advanced with his and they now stood nose to nose. He was no longer the only one holding back his
punches because she had grown of this conversation. She already knew he had joined the consensus labeling her as some type of freak and despite what
she’d thought before, it didn’t feel any better than him thinking of her as a fraud.
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
Emotions welling in his chest was a complete understatement, compared to the absolute shit he felt. There was no way he could NOT believe what Sadira
was telling him. She'd broken it down, quite nicely. Even filled him in about his own relationship with his fiancee. There was no more time to ask the
question that had been beating at his lips to escape once again. How did she know?! He knew how she knew. The real question was when was he
going to start accepting how she knew. All his life, the seers had been crazy, manipulative, false...liars. People with a shit title who just
"happened" to know the truth and sell it for perks. Even when his Uncle instructed him to open his mind and realize the true gift of the Seer, he
refused. Sure, it was easy for his Uncle. It was easy for the brother that received the blessing he was due, now wasn't it? Uncle Malo had nothing to
fear from the seers. The gifted him with a life and privilege that would've never been his had it not been for sheer fucking luck. And even after
Analu had been named successor, he still could not appreciate the man and his idiotic belief in visions and dreams. Now, was he to believe that this
shit was...true? It had to be. There were no more excuses that he could use. Not anymore.
He couldn't believe that he was taking what he was hearing seriously. Visions. She got visions. So things just came to her in the middle of...this was
bullshit. With an exasperated sigh, he stared at her...and listened to her. They hurt? Pretty badly, it seemed. Now that, he didn't know. He
just...assumed that they were...you know, Sleeping Beauty type dreams. Maybe she went to sleep and woke up, fluttery eyes and all, with a new vision
for everyone to chew on. Apparently that wasn't the case. Looking at her face carefully, he looked for any sign of lying in her eyes, the place where
he hated to look. And there wasn't anything there but what he was afraid of...truth.
"You know what I meant Sad..." His voice cut through her defensive rant, explaining to him how it's impossible for her to know what the Gods would
attempt to show her and instead of silencing her, she continued on, clearly offended. So the fuck what. He didn't give a shit if she was upset. His
time in the backyard with Leah had been broadcast to her, in fucking HD, it seemed! Did she see all of it? Or maybe just snippets? Or...was it
like...she was there? He stood there, listening to her tell him WHY she had visions. They were for the purpose, the sole purpose of informing the
elders. Informing the elders... She had those visions so the Elders would always know. Fuck...
"So..." He said staring down at her, watching her feet advance her towards him. He ground his teeth as he watched her, their noses nearly touching.
"You see so you can tattle, hmm?" His question spoken between his closed teeth. Even though his face was neutral, anger pushing at his features to
change at any moment, he felt so much fear beneath the surface that he knew it would show at any moment.
"You gonna tattle on me...on us, Sadira?" Pushing his chest into hers, he backed her into the side of the cave wall again, his hand coming to the cave
wall behind her head.
She didn’t care what he meant. How had he put it? He didn’t give a shit about her intentions? Well fucking ditto! She did know what he meant and
that only made things worse. He gave himself entirely too much credit. Like she flipped through all the visions she got looking for just him. Fuck
him. Leah had brainwashed him into thinking it, but he was not the Gods’ gift to all fucking women, thanks very much! Besides, why would she ever
want to watch him have sex with Maleah? Ugh. She should have never brought that part up. Her proof would have been just as effective without her
telling him she’d seen the two of them go at it. If he was this upset over her having seen the backyard action, he’d hate to know she hadn’t
snapped out of it until long after they’d made it to their bedroom. Ugh.
But she had been upset, and she still was. How he managed to talk with his foot in his mouth was beyond her. It probably shouldn’t have been with
what she’d just told him. She saw so that she could keep the elders informed. It was an obvious assignment, but she was sure he wouldn’t have
reached that conclusion without her offering it. Shit. Now that she had he was on the defensive again. They stood nose to nose as his eyes met hers, a
slow ‘So’ leaving his lips. Would she tell?
He didn’t say it but she knew what was coming. Of course not. She had no intention of getting him into that much trouble. Besides, she was sure his
orders to Leah extended to all that knew of the news. She could respect him wanting to be the one to tell the Elders of his indiscretion. That and she
wasn’t big on the Elders and their stupid rules on...well anything. The punishment for non-followers was too severe. If anyone knew that to be true
it was Sadira and her mother. You were cut off unless they needed you...
His moving brought her out of her thoughts, his chest pressed to hers as she took a few steps back into the cave wall. She didn’t like this. His
closeness was making her uncomfortable, her breathing hitching as his hand rested on the wall behind her, his lean figure towering over her. He was
trying to intimidate her...but she was feeling something else.
“I didn’t plan on it-,” she said slowly, her eyes connecting to his, making her even more uncomfortable, and if she had to be completely honest,
a little angry...He smelled like her. “Can I get some personal space please?”
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
Smirking at Sadira's request for space, Analu's body was hesitant to pull away. Sure, he heard her ask him to back up, but he wasn't quite ready to do
so. Instead, he looked down at her, into those eyes that he felt could see right into him. But he wouldn't back down and turn away from them like he
usually did. Perhaps he should have, though. As much as he wanted to see her as the threat of the century, she wasn't. She'd told him with her own
mouth, she wasn't going to tell on he and Leah, even though by all rights, that should've been the first thing that she did. She was the unofficial
seer for the tribe, the Elder's only connection to...the Gods' desires and voices. Anything that came to her, that she received, she was by tribal law
bound to telling the Elders. But she was defying law? For him and Leah...and their child? Curiously, he looked her over, even though she'd asked for
his distance. What made her so ready to protect them? She should have been so ready to give Analu up. The asshole of a future leader, in a jam. Yeah,
he knew how she felt about him...he knew how majority of the tribe felt. Smiles on their faces, hate in their heart. Well, at least she didn't fake a
smile. Oddly enough, he appreciated that. But...he still didn't trust. Not her...not any seer.
"You didn't plan on it?" Repeating her question, he fell quiet again, still staring into her. Even if it hadn't been for her asking him to back away
from her, he would've still seen the discomfort in her face. She looked as though she wanted to be anywhere but THAT close to him. He didn't blame
her...he felt the same way. Of course he did. He hated Sadira, more than he could verbalize. And enjoying her closeness? Yeah, right. He had all he
needed at home in Leah. She was all he thought about...all he wanted. She was enough. So...why wasn't he backing up? He was close. Too close. Even for
intimidation.
"Sadira..." He said, pulling away from her now, his arms crossing over his chest. He still held his gaze on her, hoping that the intensity of his eyes
would tell her just how serious this all was. This was not a game. It was his life, Leah's life. His unborn child's life. "I need your word." And what
was a seers word? Worth shit. But he had no other alternative. FUCK, why did it have to be her, Sadira? Why did she have to hold the fate of his life
in her hands? And why, even though he didn't trust her at all, did he want to give her the chance to keep a secret that meant so much?
He was just...staring at her. Staring at her with those questioning eyes. She could see the wheels in his head turning with all the possible ways this
could go. What was he going to do? Sadira knew something that could get him into a lot of trouble. If she were to let it slip that he and Maleah were
pregnant, the consequences could be devastating. She wasn’t sure if anything like this had ever happened before, but if it had no one had bothered
to pass along the consequence for a future Elder getting his girlfriend pregnant. Analu was in a tight spot and he really had no reason to trust
Sadira to keep his secret until he figured out what he wanted to do. But he couldn’t exactly hurt her now could he? The Elders would ask why and
then what would he say? He would only be digging himself in deeper if he tried anything other than trusting her...
He repeated her response like a question. No, she hadn’t planned on telling anyone. Was that so hard to understand? He should have been pleased
about it! His secret would remain just that and he could take the next nine months to figure out how he wanted to break the news to everyone. “No. I
didn’t-,” she paused. He was still very close to her, basically on top of her as he kept searching for signs of dishonesty. “So are we going to
kiss now or can I have my face back?” She was being a little more defensive than she had to but she just wanted him to back up.
And he finally did. Her name leaving his lips as he did so. He needed her to swear. Swear that she wouldn’t tell the Elders about his kid and the
princess...swear that she wouldn’t snitch on him. I have to be the one...She sighed. “Whatever. Like I said, you’re not that
impressive. I’m sure there are plenty of things I could tell them that don’t have to do with you...” That wasn’t true. At all. But she could
do him this favor. In some strange way, she felt in her heart that she was obligated to.
“You have my word.”
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
Grimacing at her stupid, childish comment sounding as he drew away from her, he thought about the young hands that he was leaving he and Maleah's
secret in. Sadira was what, sixteen? Fifteen? Yet, a weight that was heavier than anything most people twice her age had faced was on her shoulders.
He couldn't believe that fate had forced his future into her hands. Such clumsy hands...so incredibly young. Then again, what was he? He and Leah had
just made twenty, yet she was becoming a mother and soon a wife. And he...he was on his way to being one of the leaders of over one hundred tribesmen.
If there was anything that Analu was beginning to learn, it was that there was no age limit on this thing called "fate". It moved how it chose to move
and when it chose to move. There were no boundaries that controlled it. He saw that now. And as he looked at Sadira, he knew that same fate had driven
her right into he and Leah's pathway. The only question was how she would impact them. Would she help them or would she send the fatal blow to end
them?
That was why he needed her word, needed her promise to him that she wouldn't interfere in anyway. She had done what she was supposed to do. Analu knew
it, almost as if he'd had some crazy moment of clarity. She was supposed to tell him that she knew so that he would know to act soon. He couldn't wait
until Maleah was laying in their bed, a crying infant in their arms, to tell the Elders. The time was soon. Very nigh. And the warning that the Gods
sent to him through Sadira only proved that point.
"I don't care Sadira. I don't care what you think of me. Do I have your word?" He interrupted her rant about how unimportant Analu was in the grand
scheme of things. How it really didn't matter if the Elder's didn't know because there were so many important things that they needed to know. But he
knew that was only half way true. He carried the tribe's future in his hand. All of the future Elders did...even her. He didn't dare believe, even in
the small amount of lingering doubt about her, that she wasn't important to the tribe. They all had a purpose and fate had drawn them in so
intricately that there was no doubt that each of them was where they were meant to be.
You have my word. With a nod, he backed completely away from her. His whole body felt light...weak. All of the adrenalin was leaving him,
draining from him. The tiredness that he'd felt when the fight began had amplified now, his tall body slumped a bit as he went to lean on the other
wall of the cave again. His boots squeaked against the wet floor of the cave as he slid there, sitting with his knees bent and his back against the
wall.
"Thank you..." He whispered, his eyes still watching her as they drooped.
She could do him this solid. It wasn’t as big a deal as he was making it out to be...Well, yeah, the baby part of it was a big deal...and maybe the
fact that she was bound by law was kind of important...okay so maybe it was about as big as he was making it out to be. Anyone in their right mind
would tell. Keeping his secret didn’t leave just Analu and the princess’ ass on the line. She was putting herself on the block too. Who was going
to believe that the seer didn’t know the leader of her tribe was having a baby? No one. That was who...
So yeah. She’d keep his secret, but he had to tell someone soon. The longer he waited the worse things were going to get...for all of them. Sadira
could understand wanting to protect his family but she would be damned if another Moku asshole hung her out to dry again. He had to do it soon...but
she would give him his time. Time to prepare, to get his words together, to...think...He’d come up with something right? Analu was worried about
putting his trust in someone he obviously had no respect for, but Sadira had to trust him too. Could she trust him to come up with something that
didn’t end up getting her into trouble when the elders found out she knew?
She didn’t ask. She wanted to, but something told her she didn’t have to worry. So she didn’t ask. She just gave him her word that their secret
was safe with her...And that was that. He nodded backing off completely as her eyes followed him back to his side of the cave. The fatigue in his
stance returned as the excitement exited his body. He was more tired now than when this whole argument began...
She though about giving a smart-ass reply to his first ever bit of gratitude, but as she looked at him, him eyes drooping near closing she decided to
say nothing. He was going to fall asleep and she was going to let him. Yet another favor for the tribe’s golden boy.
She sees you when she's sleeping.
Ha. See what I did there?
![[*]](images/davis/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
