Teekan was sitting on the riverbank a short distance away from the new Hometree. He was almost completely hidden in a profusion of flowering plants. She would have liked it here, he thought to himself miserably.
He'd been coming to this spot on almost a daily basis for over a week. The Great War was over, the Sky People were gone, Toruk Makto was Olo'eyctan, the Omaticaya had a new Hometree – and he had a burning hole in his heart that would not stop hurting. Memories took over his mind.
Teekan had a younger brother whom he adored. Sat'key was as curious as a whole pack of nantang; when the female dreamwalker Graceaugustine had first offered to teach the Omaticaya how to speak the strange language that the Sky People spoke, Sat'key was one of the first ones to volunteer. Teekan had escorted his little brother to the strange wooden cave that she had called "schoolhouse" and insisted on checking the structure thoroughly, inside and out, before he'd let Sat'key anywhere near it.
He'd insisted on being present throughout the lesson, and had brought his brother safely home to their parents afterwards. The boy was entirely enthused, chattering away excitedly about what he had learned. Their parents were pleased and gave permission for him to continue going to the "schoolhouse" as long as his chores were done first.
Even now, in the midst of his pain, Teekan had to chuckle. Sat'key had always put as little effort into his chores as any young boy, dragging them out for as long as possible. As soon as attendance at Grace's school was made contingent on chores, Sat'key completed them thoroughly and in near-recordbreaking time, then pulled on his elder brother's hand so that they could go now.
It wasn't long before other parents started sending their children to Teekan. The jungle was far too dangerous for a youngster to travel alone. There was definitely safety in numbers, especially when one of those was an adult warrior. He got used to escorting the pack of little ones to the schoolhouse every day. The Omaticaya were pleased and relieved to know that he was there watching out for and guarding the children.
None of the minor predators of Pandora would come close to the schoolhouse; it was too strange, and the smell of the Sky People and their machines was all around the place. Teekan got used to being there as time went on, and started paying closer attention to Grace and the children almost out of boredom.
What he saw surprised him. Grace loved the children. When she saw that they were uncomfortable in the enclosed confines of the building, she brought them right outside to the sunny porch (he'd felt much better about that himself, though he never would have said anything.)
She told them stories from "books" that enthralled the children, who willingly sat for hours to listen and learn. When the children found out that she loved plants, they enthusiastically went out and brought back all kinds of them. Teekan was impressed when she asked them not to pick the plants, but to simply show her where they grew. This dreamwalker respects Eywa's gifts, he thought approvingly.
He had kept escorting children to the school for years – and was growing more and more fond of the dreamwalker – when the disaster struck. Sylwanin and a couple of her friends had stopped going to the school some time ago, upset by the destruction the Sky People were causing. They'd attacked and destroyed a bulldozer, and fled to Grace's school with RDA security in hot pursuit.
They'd all been sitting on the sunny porch reading as usual. Teekan had decided that he was finally going to speak to Grace after the day's lesson was over, Then Sylwanin and her friends appeared, running flat-out for the dreamwalker. Moments later, the ugly sound of gunfire erupted. The children started screaming. Grace commanded the children to get into the building. She and Teekan herded them inside. The warrior drew his knife and crouched, prepared to defend them to the death.
Grace shouted "No, Teekan!" She opened the rear door to the school. "Get them out, take them into the jungle, get them home now!"
His respect for her doubled. They got the children out the door; Teekan had to manhandle a very stunned Neytiri. He was just exiting when the front door slammed open and a burst of gunfire sounded. He heard bullets hitting flesh and started to turn, but Grace screamed in a pain-filled voice "Teekan, run! Get them out of here!" He obeyed.
The Omaticaya were furious that their children had been attacked. He tried to tell them of Grace's efforts, but they were too outraged to listen to one small voice of reason. The school had been closed, permanently. Teekan went back by himself to find out what had happened to Grace, and found nothing but bloodstains.
It was a long time before he found out that she was alive, but the hearts of the clan had been turned against all dreamwalkers and Sky People. Only Eywa would listen to his pain.
Finally, it seemed that She had heard him. A new dreamwalker had come. Miraculously, Eytukan gave permission, at Jakesully's request, to let Grace into the village. Hope soared in his heart.
Then, just as it seemed that Eywa had answered his prayers, disaster struck. The Great Sorrow came upon the people. Jakesully became Toruk Makto – and Grace died, struck down by the leader of the Sky People warriors, so badly injured that Eywa could not save her life.
Teekan had fought the Sky People forces like an insane man, his grief and rage driving him to attack the evil flying machines recklessly, seeking either their deaths or his own. Eywa decreed that it was not his time to die.
The battle had been won, the dreamwalker Jakesully made Olo'eyctan by Tsu'tey's decision – and Teekan was left with this burning hole in his heart and no way to heal it.
The memories receded; before he could get lost in the morass of pain again, he heard a noise coming from the river. His ears came up in alert. Whatever was coming walked on two legs, was coming from the direction of Hometree, but…. Eywa, is someone deliberately trying to announce their presence to every predator in the jungle? An eight year old isn't that clumsy! Curiosity overcame him and he stood up to see the Olo'eyctan's dreamwalker brother coming his way.
Norman saw Teekan and slowly approached the warrior. "Mo'at spoke to me," the dreamwalker said with what sounded like embarassment. "She's concerned about you, and asked me if there was anything I could do to help." He held out a piece of the Sky People's special leaf – paper, he remembered. Teekan reached out reflexively to take it as Norm said quietly, "I took this from the mobile lab to remember Grace by, but I think you need it more than I do."
Teekan looked down at the paper in his hand. It was not a piece of Sky People writing, it was what they called a picture. Grace was smiling up at him with her arms full of beaming Omaticaya children, Sat'key with his typical wide grin on his face.
Norm looked discreetly away when tears began quietly rolling down the warrior's face. "I should get back, I have a lot of work to do," he said softly, and started back the way he had come.
The clumsy sound of the dreamwalker's movements broke into Teekan's awareness. "Wait!" he called to his clanbrother. Norm stopped and turned as the warrior approached. "Let me show you how to walk quietly, so that you do not bring a pack of nantang upon us all – brother."
Norm smiled gently, "I'd appreciate that."
They started walking back towards New Hometree. After a minute, Teekan got enough control of his voice back to say "Norm'an – thank you."
Norman was not the only one to hear Teekan's gratitude.
"Damn, I didn't know," Grace said sadly.
"You were not supposed to know," Eytukan said reasonably.
"I realize that, but still…. Now I feel guilty as hell. I wish I could do something for him," the scientist fretted.
"You do not need to. Eywa will take care of him. She will heal his heart, in time" the former Olo'ectan spoke sagely.
Grace couldn't help but take a good natured verbal swipe at her companion, "Since when is a warrior-king a philosopher?"
Eytukan chuckled, "Since when is a Sky Person a tsahik?" he countered. He looked at his companion in friendly fashion. "You will make a good tsahik for the People, one day."
Grace blew it off, "I've still got a lot of work to do here first." She frowned to herself. "Why hasn't Jake found the new Tree of Voices yet? He knows how to."
The Olo'eyctan spoke wisely "Perhaps because he knows that it is best if he lets others find it?"
The xenobotanist gave her friend a stare that any erring lab tech would have found very familiar.
He explained, "The People need to find their confidence again. If Jake does too much for them they will become dependent on him and not be able to stand on their own. He is their Olo'eyctan and Toruk Makto. That is enough, for now."
Grace sighed, acknowledging the truth of the statement. "I still wish they'd find it soon."
Eytukan chuckled, "Eywa will see that they find it when they need it – and not before."
"You know, you can be very annoying when you want to be," Grace observed.