REVENGE OF TARO'NYU THE QUEUE HUNTER
YOUNG HUNTER: (Text Edited)
The night had fell over Pandora and in every corner of the jungle was lightened by the shiny blue and purple lights of the flowers and other plants of the jungle and the gigantic neighbor planet Polyphemus lightened the night-blue sky above of Pandora.
The jungle was silent, except the humming sound of the Pandoran fauna and the shaking leaves of the Jungle's flora in the gentle night wind.
But there was some movement in the trees...
Young lone hunter from the clan of Omaticaya called Tiny'Tan was jumping from the tree branch to another branch.
Tiny'Tan jumped from the branch he was standing on, landing to the down bending branch, along which he slided down smoothly, keeping his balance throughout the sliding time down towards the ground.
The beam of light followed his every smooth down sliding along the branch.
When he slided towards the sharp bend, Tiny'Tan leaped off the branch and grabbed to the nearby hanging liana, on which he swung through the air space of this part of the jungle.
Before he reached to the end of the range of the swing, he let go of the liana, and after the small fall down, he landed on the gigantic leaves and landing to the lower ones one by one... he eventually reached to the ground.
But once he was on his feet on the ground, he immediately stood still.
Tiny'Tan had the perfect sense of hearing, along with his perfect night vision as all Na'vi has, and using it, Tiny'Tan sensed his surroundings carefully before moving.
He did not heard much, except the some usual sounds of the night like the faraway growling of the pack of Nantang on the hunt and faraway slightly the ground-shaking stomping of the pack of Angtsìk.
Tiny'Tan looked around of him, to make sure that the way was clear.
It would be the very bad for him if he accidentally crosses paths with the pack of hunting nantang like his clan current Olo'eyktan did a long ago with them on that night when he came to their clan for the first time...
...because he had the very important task to do.
Tiny'Tan knew well that the jungle is even more dangerous at night time for any lone hunter, and that he shouldn't be in here without his teacher but instead among of the rest of the clan.
But, however, the young soon-to-be Taronyo, meaning hunter, was excited about the upcoming traditional event of the day after tomorrow, when it was his time for him to make long travel to Banshee Rookery in the Hallelujah Mountains and make tsaheylu with Ikran and become both Ikran makto and true Taronyo at last, his excitement had got him to feel an irresistible desire to perform his first kill, and this time he was going to do it without his teacher's guidance and protection in order to surprise him with his first kill as the proof that he's good and well-trained hunter, capable to survive on his own in the jungle, and ready to make Tsaheylu with his Ikran.
And so, Tiny'Tan had sneaked away from the Omaticaya clan's current camp/territory on the edge of the cliff, thus the clan of Omaticaya not having yet found the fine tree as a new Hometree when the old one was burned down months ago.
But before leaving from Omaticaya's camp, Tiny'Tan had snatched from their camp's armory his finest hunting bow, some arrows and his hunting knife, before he had sneaked away to the jungle, easily passing in the jungle's shadows the guards guarding the borders of their temporary camp area.
But once he left, Tiny'Tan knew that from now on his only protection was the unquestioned guides of the Great Mother herself... as well as his own senses.
Once making sure that he was alone, Tiny'Tan squatted down and laid his arm to the ground.
And then, he picked some ground into his hand and lifted it up beneath of his nose and sniffed it.
Tiny'Tan had also perfect sense of smell... hardly trained ability, with which Tiny'Tan was able to recognize the source of the scent, which had walked from this some time ago or a while ago.
"Yerik." Tiny'Tan whispered quietly, after recognizing the source of the scent.
Tiny'Tan squatted even more to the ground and sniffed, trying to find the direction to where yerik he was hunting had gone.
It did not took a long for him to find more familiar scents from the ground.
When Tiny'Tan looked up and towards the direction from where he found the scents, and judging from the scent's fresh aroma he realized that Yerik he was hunting was heading towards the waterhole which was nearby... quite nearby.
Tiny'Tan took his bow from his back and placed one of his arrows to it ready for the kill, and moving slowly, quietly and below the wind, Ti'Ny went to follow his upcoming catch.
But once he left from the area...
...he didn't realize that he was in fact secretly followed from the shadows.
Tiny'Tan followed the trail of the scent through of the jungle for a while...
...but it did not took long from him to get to the waterhole.
But once Tiny'Tan reached there, he did not immediately rush to the open area. But instead, he went hide among the glowing plants surrounding the entire area, because it was always possible that Nantang pack or the bigger predator like Palulukan was by the coincidence paying the visit on the waterhole for drink.
Tiny'Tan remembered well how his big brother, Toruy, used to talk big words about one day becoming Palulukan Makto and become the first Na'vi in Omaticaya than has ever managed to bond with Palulukan and rode with it. His dream was encouraged by his friend, Cle'ver, the female hunter from Anurai clan (one of the clans last few survivors after the blind massacre laid upon the clan by the Sky People) as her clan used to ride on the backs of Palulukan instead of pa'li.
And no wonder, because Palulukan happened to be her clan's totem animal.
Well, his dream never came true, because Toruy, along with Cle'ver, was among of those countless warriors of his people who had took part to the great War for the Tree of Souls months ago in the time of the Great Sorrow, fighting side by side with legendary Toruk Makto against the invading forces of Sky People.
He never came back.
Neither did their beloved father and mother.
And only one Na'vi in Omaticaya clan, who eventually became briefly Palulukan Makto instead of his brother, was their future Tsahik.
However, unlike his big brother, only Cle'ver returned alive from the war.
And before she parted with Omaticaya after the Great Sorrow was over, Cle'ver gave her in the bloody air battle against the Sky People fallen friend's bow to Ti'Ny as a memory of his fallen big brother.
Well, despite being close brothers with each other, Tiny'Tan did not have a very close relationship with him, probably because his brother had a bit arrogant dreams of bonding and riding in the pack of Palulukan and overly boasting tone about it, which caused always the arguments about the reality between of the brothers.
And because of that, Ti'Ny had recovered from his brother's death quickly.
But still, Tiny'Tan missed his older brother's brotherly side before he turned into the adulthood.
Currently both of his big brother's arrogant self and his brotherly side were now under The Great Mother's protection.
And to honor his sacrifice in the war for the better future for his people, all the clans and to the upcoming generations to be live after them, Tiny'Tan never left from their current camp/territory to jungle to learn to be hunter with his teacher without his brother's bow.
Snapping out of his memories and returning to his current mission...
Tiny'Tan eyed the area from among the glowing plants, but it seemed like ther was no one at the waterhole.
But still, sensing that his upcoming catch was still out there somewhere, he kept himself low, beneath of to his catch's direction going night wind, and hide in the leaves and plants.
Eyeing the area a bit more carefully...
Tiny'Tan eventually found his catch with his eyes.
The source of the scent he recognized as Yerik was only a small distance away from him.
His catch had stopped to the waterhole to drink tonight.
Yerik had not yet sensed him, and thus not yet noticed him. The animal only kept drinking suspecting nothing.
Because of the dense flora, the leaves bothered his eyes and focus to deliver the direct shot and kill, Ti'Ny decided to try his first kill from the above of his catch.
Slowly and quietly, Tiny'Tan moved behind of the nearby tree to prevent his scent being floating with the wind to the direction of his catch and getting it on the alert, when delivering the first kill would be the more difficult to perform. Ti'Ny knew that these animals were quick in their legs and would leave the scene as soon as they perceived the threat and interpreted it as a danger.
Once Tiny'Tan had made sure that the wind wasn't going towards his catch's direction, he placed his bow back to his back and then started to climb up to the tree using the vines around of it.
And once he was on one of the tree's branches, he settled into place and eyed his catch while he slowly and carefully took his brother's bow and one of his arrows and placed it again to his bow.
Suddenly, Ti'Ny noticed that Yerik's head jumped up as it sensed something nearby, Ti'Ny assumed that nearby was quite certainly small or large pack of nantang hunting tonight.
So, Tiny'Tan had to do this quickly, because he knew that Nantang were quite stubborn predators and they can tirelessly follow their prey many travels. They do not easily give up once they had caught their prey with their eyes.
Tiny'Tan remembered how his father once crossed paths with Nantang pack and it nearly cost him to lose his right foot.
So, Tiny'Tan straightened and aimed his arrow toward his very first catch... And breathing calmly and with concentration to delivering his first kill... Tiny'Tan stretched his bow's string to tight and prepared to release it and send his arrow fatally to his nothing suspecting prey.
Suddenly...
Out of nowhere flew the arrow, which hit to the tree trunk next of him... in front of his faces.
Tiny'Tan let out the cry of pain, because out of nowhere suddenly flied arrow, which had narrowly missed his faces and flew pass of them, had managed to scratch his straightened arm, and the same arrow managed to snap his own arrow in half in the process, before he managed to deliver his kill.
The arrow head scratching his arm sent the wave of pain through of his straightened arm, that he by reflexes released his grip from his brother's bow's handle and dropped it to the ground.
And because of his cry in pain, Yerik left from the scene.
But instead thinking and lamenting the losing his catch, Tiny'Tan turned his eyes to the direction from where the arrow had came from.
And after doing so, Tiny'Tan saw that among of in the night gloving flowers, leaves and other jungle plants was moving the group of ten Na'vi-like figures...
..who, instead of greeting him, were shouting the common hunting cries of Na'vi, as they were charging towards him along the other tree's branches.
And much to Tiny'Tan's shock, these hunters were releasing with their bows the arrows and threw their spears at his direction, explaining the reason for that first out of nowhere at him fied arrow.
Tiny'Tan quickly forget the stinging pain in his arm's scratch and jumped off the branch as the several arrows flew around and past of him.
But because his left leg lost its grip from the tree branch, which happened to be slippy from the recent days raining, Tiny'Tan landed quite roughly on his stomach to the ground, though he survived from it with the brief groan in pain, before he hurriedly climbed on his feet, picked up his brother's bow from the ground and ran into the jungle.
"What is this?! Why they are hunting me?!" Tiny'Tan asked in Na'vi from himself as he rushed through of the flora of the jungle, in order to get away from these grazed Na'vi hunters.
And as Tiny'Tan tried to escape from these crazed Na'vi, who had gave chase to him and were right on his heels, yet having spread all around behind of him and ept firing the arrows at his direction, which Tiny'Tan was narrowly able to dodge, the young hunter then called with the hunters calling sounds his half wilde Pa'li mount, which he called with the name Níwin, from the jungle to his aid.
And not long after Tiny'Tan had sent a few calling sounds into the jungle's air space, a large female Pa'li, presumably Níwin, emerged out from the jungle to his side.
Because there was no time for Tiny'Tan to stop his mount, due to these crazed Na'vi being right behind of him, and that there was luckily to him in the arch from the ground towering root in front of him, Tiny'Tan quickly bounced up from the ground on the root, from which he then bounced from it towards his still in the high speed galloping mount, landing successfully onto his mount's back and proceed by making Tsaheylu with the horse-like creature.
And once the bond was made and his master safely on his back, Níwin galloped into the jungle.
As Tiny'Tan had perfectly settled on the back of his mount, he peeked over his shoulders to see that were his pursuers left behind.
However, even though they were off-seen thanks to the dense flora of the jungle all around, Tiny'Tan was capable to hear through of the flora rushing sounds and shaking plants, meaning that those grazed Na'vi had mounted to their own mounts - though running sounds didn't sound lie Pa'li's galloping pace - and continued their aggressive pursuit and kept threateningly approaching at him.
And from her master's urge, Níwin added even more speed to her legs and galloped through the jungle to take Omaticaya hunter on his back to the safety, as the hunting cries shouting crazed Na'vi urged their own off-seen mount to run faster, while they still ept firing the arrows towards Tiny'Tan and Níwin.
TO BE CONTINUED...