Munxta Tsa'haylu
Authors Note: Okay guys so this is my first fanfic. Probably a oneshot but potentially a whole story. Reviews are always welcome as this is my first story.
Disc: I own nothing property of James Cameron yada yada so on and so forth.
It had been more than three month since the departure of the Sky People. As Jake incorporated himself into village life he had begun to lose track of habits from his human past, such as that of keeping exact dates, he was Na'vi now. Life among Omaticaya did not require detailed logs or scheduled check-ins or reports that his life as a marine and subsequent Avatar driver had required. Now he went through the days taking each it as it came, simply enjoying life, and doing what work there was to be done.
After forcing the Sky People to leave the tribes had returned to their homes. Turok makto was no longer needed and there was no longer a battle to be fought. Jake was well aware that the RDA might well return, but that wouldn't be for some time. If and when they did return, they would be ready. However for his clan, the Omaticaya, there was work to be done. Hometree was destroyed. It laid upon the ground and would lay there for centuries to come, a memorial to what had transpired and of the horrors that the faketuan had wrought. Thus Jake and his mate needed to find a new home for their clan.
Ah Neytiri, every time Jake thought of her sent tingles from his head to the tips of his tail. They had much work to do him and her. Part of that work might include him taking the position of olo'eyktan. Jake still thought on this subject and it was one matter that he cringed on making a decision. According to Mo'at and the rest of The People he had earned that responsibility when he bonded with Turok and since Tsu'tey had given his life in the battle against the sky people and was the mate of the next tsa'hik it was the natural place for him. They had a point and Jake felt that he had a responsibility to the clan to serve them as best he could. Maybe this was how he could best serve them. But who was he to lead them after all? He had only been Na'vi for so short a time and was in many ways responsible for the deaths wrought on the clan. He would continue to think on this but he would have to make a decision and soon.
Thinking on the past he turned his mind to the battle with the faketuan. They had been unable to find Tsu'tey's body which many still regretted. Neytiri mourned for her life long friend and Jake for his brother. As soon as Jake had been able to get back into his Na'vi body he had assisted in the search of wounded Na'vi that were scattered all around the battle site. Eventually they had come upon the wreckage of Truddy's Samson helicopter. Her body laid inside and Jake couldn't help but think grimly that she had become what she knew might happen, a martyr. Norm had been the most upset of her death as in the subsequent days following their escape from the base he and her had become very close. She had been given a warriors funeral along with the Na'vi who had died in battle. She was with Eywa now. Her body rested in the ground outside of the Tree of Souls along with all the other warriors who had given their lives for the Na'vi.
So there Jake sat high in the branches of a tree, his body weakened after a long day of work. They had finally found a tree worth living in that rivaled the majesty that Hometree had once held. It was a new beginning for not only him but his entire clan. But it would be many years yet until their new home would be completed. Such were Jake's thoughts as he stared at the setting sun as it glanced over the Pandoran landscape. So engrossed was he that he didn't even notice Neytiri until she was touching his shoulders gingerly
"Your mind is far away my Munxta, what troubles you?" she asked as she sat down next to Jake, their tails and hands intertwining as vines on a tree. Jake turned his head to look into her fiery gaze, always so full of passion. "I was just thinking of the people we lost so that we could find a new home, and of what work we still have to do." "You are worried. That we will not be able to rebuild our home? That you will not be a good leader? And that the Sky People will return" Neytiri asked as she cupped the face of her mate. Jake simply nodded while gazing into the setting sun always loving how she knew him so completely, inside and out, the human and the Na'vi inside him. "Yes Neytiri, I am very worried. I do not know if I can take such a responsibility. I do not want to fail our people. I do not want to fail you. If I become olo'eyktan I am afraid that I will." Neytiri turned the face of her mate to look in her eyes. "You are Turok makto. You made the Sky People flee. You were born to be part of Omaticaya. You will not fail us, I am sure, just as I will not fail you Jake." Jake smiled at his mate and kissed her gently upon her lips and marveled that he was blessed with such a beautiful deadly huntress.
"Come" Neytiri said as she ran towards the central trunk of the tree and climbed up the branches to where the Ikran were. Jake followed her wondering what it was she had planned. She soon reached the top branches and called out to her new ikran with a loud "Oooh Wah." Jake soon reciprocated the action and they both mounted their ikran's. Within moments Jake was flying with her as they soared over the Pandoran landscape. Jake flew in close to Neytiri and called out to her about to ask her where they were going but she silenced him with a playful hiss.
After flying long enough for the sun to have completely set Neytiri finally started descending into the forest below with Jake in pursuit. After landing and dismounting their ikran's Neytiri took Jake's hand leading him through the forest silent as a viperwolf. "I have never shown anyone this place before, I come here when I seek to be alone" Neytiri said to Jake as she pushed her way past a final barrier of brush and what Jake caught him by surprise.
Nestled at this part of the forest was a narrow waterfall, no more than 20 feet across, that fell down a good three hundred feet. Surrounding the cliff where the waterfall began was a clearing covered in lush green grass and flowers of many kinds that spread 30 feet in every direction from the river that fed the waterfall in a sort of semi-circle surrounding where the water fell to the river below. The brush that formed the border of the semi-circle was high and thick, almost completely obstructing the view of the outside of the forest to look-in, and vice versa. However, the trees surrounding the clearing here were tall and thick and their branches were all intertwined in such a way that the leaves formed a natural roof preventing anyone from the sky above to look in.
Jake smiled widely at his mate intertwining his tail with hers. "This place is beautiful. How did you find it?" Neytiri walked towards the edge of the cliff and set down near its edge pulling her mate along with her. Looking into the distance her eyes glazed over as she looked into the memory. "One time when I had just become a hunter I lost my way from our hunting party. I could not find my way back home. I heard a pack of nantangs in the distance and was afraid if they caught me it would mean death. By the grace of Eywa, I stumbled into this place. It offered me safety until I was found." Jake smiled as he put his arm around his mate's shoulders, her head resting on his chest. "Eywa provides" he proclaimed silently thanking the Mother for giving her safety for that night long ago.
Without shifting their position Jake asked "Why have you brought me here? What is on your mind?" Neytiri then let out a long breath and looked to her mate. "Our mating was not complete" she stated simply her eyes seeking his. Confused, Jake cocked his head asking his question with the movement. "After the mating, the two Na'vi are to form a tsa'haylu with each other. We never did this. It is called the muntxa tsa'haylu. The mated bond" Jake eyes glittered slightly in curiosity. He had wondered what it would be like to form a bond with another Na'vi but had never asked. It seemed now that it was saved only for mated pairs. "Why are you just now telling me?" he asked. Did she not trust him with it? Did she regret mating with him? Neytiri threw her head back and laughed before looking back at him and said playfully. "We were woken violently the morning after our mating schxang." Then in a more serious tone she added almost timidly "And we have been so busy after the battle rebuilding that I wanted to wait, until it was the right time." Jake scolded himself internally for having doubted her even for a second. She loved every part of him and he knew it, the human and the Na'vi.
Running a hand down her hair and across her braid Jake asked inquisitively "So how do we do this then? What will happen?" Neytiri turned her body so she was facing him the moonlight (or rather the planet light since Pandora was a moon Jake thought in some back part of his mind) she took both her hands and spoke to him in a serious tone. "Imagine the bond you share with your ikran. He is bonded to you only; no one else can do it. It is the same when two Na'vi bond. But far greater…" Neytiri looked deep into Jake's eyes her hands entwined with his as their tails were, her tone very serious. "When I bond to you and you bond to me you will know me as well as I know myself. On a deeper level than anyone else can. I will see you in every way. After the bonding, it is said that the two Na'vi always have each other in their minds, a constant presence, even if they are distant from one another." Neytiri looked deep into Jake's eyes searching for how he felt about forming the muntxa tsa'haylu.
As Jake looked into the eyes of his mate his mouth slightly open he had trouble forming words. He was deeply touched that she trusted him on that level, to be that intimate with him. If possible, his heart felt like it had grown tenfold. He saw the anxiety in Neytiri's eyes. She was worried he wouldn't accept. That HE didn't trust HER. Oh but he did. He trusted her more than he trusted himself sometimes. Caressing her face with his hand he kissed her lovingly pouring all the emotion he felt at that moment into it. She responded by moving her body closer to his and wrapping her tail around his waist reciprocating just as passionately as he was. He finally ended the kiss but kept their forheads in contact his drilling tunnels into hers. "I love you my Neytiri, my munxta, my love. I will do this with you" he said as he observed her beauty in the light of the night. At his words Neytiri's eyes filled with mirth and she smiled that beautiful smile of hers, the white fangs a sharp contrast to her blue skin. She then stood up and walked over to an area that was covered with soft leaves and ferns that made a natural bed.
Looking at Jake she beckoned him over, her mouth slightly open as he walked towards her. Sitting down on the soft leaves she criss-crossed her long legs telling Jake to do the same. Together they intertwined their left hands, and taking their braids they touched the ends to each other, forming the tsa'haylu. At that moment Jake felt like a thousand suns exploded in his mind. Bonding with a dire horse was extraordinary, with an ikran, even more so. When he bonded with turok it was pure power and the knowledge that he was the king of the skies. But none of that compared with bonding to this woman. Every fiber of his being felt like the hottest of fires and the coldest of ice at the same moment. The fire moved from his braid to his mind and throughout his body. Eventually it had burned its way all the way through his mind and it felt as though his entire consciousness was being rewoven.
Soon the fire died down, but it didn't go completely out. The experience had not been an unpleasant one simply a strange one. He soon became aware of another presence within his mind and it seemed to fit perfectly with his, like two halves of a greater whole. In his mind he heard Neytiri speak, her voice more beautiful than all of Pandora. "I See you, my Jake." Speaking only in his mind through the tsa'haylu he replied. "And I See you, my Neytiri." At this Jake sensed Neytiri's delight. He could sense her emotions as well as he could his own. Reaching out to the presence in his mind, Jake heard Neytiri and he could not tell if it was in his mind or through his ears. "Come to me my Jake, see through my eyes." At that moment, Jake felt himself immersed in the very core of who and what Neytiri was. He could feel her arms as she felt them, feel the cool mist that came waterfall as it splashed upon her face. He felt a bit like he had the first time he stepped into his Avatar, but many times more intimate. "Do you wish to see my life Jake? I can show it to you." Jake knew she felt his jubilation at the thought of this. "And I can show you mine my Neytiri."
Sitting together, bonded by the munxta tsa'haylu they shared their lives with each other in the most intimate way possible, neither of them moving. He now understood why Na'vi couples stayed together for life. After knowing each other on this deep a level there was no one that Jake could want apart from her ever again. When Jake finally opened his eyes and withdrew his braid from her, the sun had already risen. He became aware that even though they were no longer linked, he was no longer completely alone in his mind. He could almost reach out to it and touch the mind inside of him, even if it was only a small part of the whole. It was as though he now carried a part of Neytiri inside of him like she had left an imprint of herself in his mind as he had in hers. Looking at her she pressed his forehead to hers and wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her with his body. Neytiri nuzzled her face into the neck of her mate wrapping her tail around his. No words were necessary for the moment, just the quiet presence of their each other. They had shared so much in that amount of time and there was still more to share. Jake knew then that he was made for her, as Neytiri knew she was made for him; in a way more pure than the seeds of the Tree of Souls. Together they lay down on the grass looking each other deep in the eyes wrapped in each other as much as possible, their bodies seemed to be molded for each other. It was with this final thought in both their minds that they eventually both closed their eyes and let the oblivion of sleep take them.
Olo'eyktan – clan leader/patriarch
Tsa'hik – Spirtual Leader/Shaman/matriarch
Faketuan – Alien/Human/Non-na'vi
Munxta – mated/mate