Avatar: A New World
-Jake Sully
So, how does one life end and another begin? How does one feel the change so instantly and intensely it's as if the other life never happened? I don't know all the answers, but this I do know. What I am now, the life I have now is the one I was meant to have. I feel it with every fiber of my being, with every breath I take and every beat of my heart. I am Toruk Makto of the Omaticaya clan. I am home.
The light came through the trees hazy and warm as Jake and Neytiri walked casually hand in hand through the forest to their destination, the Tree of Souls. It was only days before that the transformation had taken place that removed Jake's spirit from his human body to his Na'vi avatar body.
Now, it was as if he had always been a Na'vi, born in this body to these people rather than a human one. The transformation had completed him like nothing he had ever experienced in his life to that point. He smiled at the thought of it, which caught the attention of Neytiri.
"Why do you smile?" she asked tilting her head toward him.
"I am thinking of this," he waved his hand around himself. "I am thinking of all that has happened."
"I think of it as well, but I know that it was the will of Eywa," she replied with a reassuring smile to him.
"I am also thinking that while I have great happiness, there is also great sadness mixed with it. We have lost too much."
"Jake," Neytiri stopped him. "I feel the loss, too, but we must go on. We must carry on with our lives so that those we have lost will carry on as well. Their spirit is not gone, but it stays with us, all around us."
"I know," he nodded.
Neytiri touched his face and smiled again. "We are here and we have each other."
"For life," he touched her hand against his face and brought it to his mouth, kissing the palm softly.
"Which brings me to why I have brought you here," she said, allowing her hand to remain in his. "We have mated but we have not bonded our lives together. Now, with all that has happened we may make that bond in the ceremony of the Nah-oli, or the coming together of our spirits."
"You mean a wedding?" Jake grinned.
"A wed-ding," Neytiri repeated the word.
"Yeah, when two people decide to spend their lives together, the get married and have a wedding."
Neytiri slowly nodded. "It is a ceremony then?"
"Yes, a ceremony with lots of flowers and vows."
Neytiri took this information in and nodded. "You will join your spirit with mine at the Nah-oli or wed-ding?"
"Yeah," he laughed and picked her up to twirl her around. "I will marry you, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite"
"I am yours, Jake" she gripped him tightly as they circled around. "I will always be yours."
Jake stopped and set her down in front of him, he cupped her face and softly pulled her to him. "And I will be yours, forever." He kissed her then, letting his feelings for her flow from himself to her. It was all Jake wanted, all he would ever want.
The Nah-oli took place the next day at the base of the Tree of Souls. Jake and Neytiri were kept separted until the moment Mo'at called to them and then they were carried out on the shoulders of The People. They were chanting soft and low as they carried Jake and Neytiri to the place where Mo'at stood tall and proud before them.
Jake was covered from head to toe in resplendent colors of white and orange that marked his blue skin, his torso was covered with a shield made with a colorful mix of beads that reached his thighs. On his head he wore a colorful crown of feathers that flowed down his back.
Neytiri, however, was covered in a shimmering pale gold fabric that flowed past her feet. Her face was painted white with orange dots under her eyes that expanded to her ears. Had Jake seen her through his human eyes only this would have seemed beyond strange, but as he saw her with his heart, now his Na'vi heart, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His heart welled with pride that this woman was his, his mate, his friend and his lover.
Mo'at took their hands as they were lifted to the platform where she stood. "Oh great Eywa!" she began. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky. "We come before you to offer these two hearts to become as one. Let their spirits join together before you and never be parted."
The Na'vi began to sing low and soft as Mo'at joined Jake and Neytiri's hands together. "Let their lives intertwine forever, let their hearts be bound to each other. Let their children be strong and carry on the love they share. Oh great Eywa, let it be so!"
Jake felt a stirring his blood when Mo'at spoke of children. He had never thought of it, but now he knew he wanted that as well. He couldn't help but smile when Mo'at lifted their hands and brought them together, nearly face to face.
Neytiri smiled back at Jake. "I see you," she spoke softly.
"I see you," he replied.
Mo'at held their hands in her own hands. "Jakesully, Toruk Matko of The People, you will protect this woman with your life and your soul."
"Yes," Jake answered Mo'at's call.
"Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite, you will protect this man with your life and your soul."
"Yes," Neytiri also responded to Mo'at's call.
"From this moment on you will be as one, no longer a separate entity but joined forever." Mo'at then separated their hands and placed them around the other's waist.
"As it is written on this day they are one. May Eywa's blessing be on you!"
A loud cheer went up from the Na'vi at this proclamation. Suddenly, Jake and Neytiri were lifted again and carried to a small opening in the brush which led to a glen completely surrounded by forest. Small specks of light could barely find their way in but it was beautiful nonetheless. Soft grass covered the ground and nearby was a bed of soft leaves covered with a soft, green mossy material.
After much congratulations and hugs, the Na'vi left one by one until finally no one was left but Jake and Neytiri. A soft rustling of the brush indicated they had been closed in. The glen was so quiet that the birds could hardly be heard above them. Jake and Neytiri stood before each other, smiling at the happiness they felt.
"I guess we're married now," Jake grinned reaching for her.
"Yes, we have completed the Nah-oli," she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Now we get to have the honeymoon," he kissed her playfully, running his hands up her back.
"Honeymoon?"
"I have so much to teach you," he kissed her again. "A honeymoon happens after the wedding, or Nah-oli. It's a..." he paused and looked down at her. "a ritual you could say. Basically, we mate."
"Ah, we mate," she smiled and kissed him back. "that is one thing I know we can do well."
"I love you, Neytiri."
"And I you, Jake."
The two lovers joined as only lovers can do. It was everything Jake hoped for and more. The love he had for Neytiri was strong and would carry him through this new life he had embarked upon. He didn't know what the future held for them, but for now being with her, loving her was enough for him. He was finally home.