Jake was enjoying a rare hour to himself. The first training session of the day was over, and it wasn't yet time for the midday meal. A light rain was falling and he was just sitting in a tree with his eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the cool drops of water landing on his skin. The wonderful sound of the rain pattering on forest leaves filled his ears. Despite being busier than any two men should be, he was profoundly happy in a way he had never expected.
There was a single reason why: the challenge. He had always thrived on it. He remembered his reason for accepting the RDA's offer of the job on Pandora in the first place, I always told myself that I could pass any test that a man could pass. Being a paraplegic and coming here was an irresistable challenge compared to the nothingness life of a disabled vet in civilian Earth society. He couldn't count how many times he'd fervently thanked Tom this past year for the incredible opportunity his deceased brother had provided him with, and he prayed that Tom could See how grateful he was for it.
Being a Marine had fit Jake like a glove. Surviving as a marine had demanded everything he had, all his wits, all his strength – and demanded that he constantly push his limits further if he intended to live, to succeed.
Just living on Pandora day to day was even more challenging than being in the Marines. There was no stocked mess hall to come to when you came off duty here. If you (or someone in the clan) didn't hunt, you didn't eat. If you were a lousy hunter, you didn't eat (in fact, you were damn lucky if you didn't end up as something else's dinner.) There was no PX where you could pick up supplies, no armory where you could get more ammo. You made it yourself or did without. Marines quickly learned that your life depended on your squad mates. On Pandora, that was true in spades. Your life depended on everyone in the clan doing their part.
Challenge was why he'd been willing to take on the Na'vi's tests of manhood – not to prove it to them, but to prove it to himself. I told myself that if they could do it, I could, he remembered with a smile.
Being Olo'eyctan was certainly a challenge, too. Jake had never wanted to be an officer in the Marines. Corporal was as high as he cared to go. Dealing with the military b.s. that went along with higher ranks was a pain, not a challenge as far as he was concerned. Now he had not just a squad, but the care of over a thousand people in his hands. Whatever Tsu'tey's problems with him had been, he would never forget that the Na'vi had put them aside when he'd passed the clan leadership to Jake, and Jake would always respect him for that strength of character.
And don't forget, those thousand people are just as Olo'eyctan! He sighed ruefully. As Toruk Makto, all Na'vi everywhere on Pandora looked to him to protect them from the Sky Peoples' return. That was the most frightening challenge of all. How the hell am I going to pull that one off? He didn't know if he could do it, But I'm the best candidate for the job they have, Jake thought, and I'm damned well going to give it everything I've got. I owe them that.
And God, Neytiri was at once his greatest challenge and his greatest joy. When they'd first met, he'd seen a woman who made no allowance for fools, or for someone who wouldn't pull his own weight. Life on Pandora was too difficult for anyone to 'carry' someone who was physically capable. It simply wasn't done.
She couldn't have known that challenging him to stand on his own, on Pandoran terms, was the absolute best thing she could have done to make herself attractive to him. Making tsahaylu with her, laying his heart and soul absolutely bare for her to see every imperfection, every scar and dark spot in his mind and heart exposed, had been an ultimate challenge of a type he'd never imagined.
Neytiri demanded nothing of him, but he demanded everything of himself – for her sake. She was to be Tsahik, and gave herself completely to that role. Could he allow himself to do anything less, as Olo'eyctan? Not and still be a man in his own eyes. She deserved – and would get – everything he had, and not incidentally, so would the clan. And my god, the rewards! he thought fervently.
Nothing he had ever experienced in the past came close to the exhiliration of riding his ikran. Swizaw was a pure joy to ride, and the animal's temperament was a match for his own. His flying friend had been electrified by the streamer-catching game that Jake had seen at the gathering, and was constantly begging him to play it, even practicing by himself with the other ikran when Jake had duties elsewhere. And he's damned good at it, too! the Olo'eyctan grinned to himself. Swizaw kept pushing his limits as a flyer, just as Jake pushed his own as a man.
And Neytiri. Oh Eywa, my Neytiri. If I live a hundred years, I will never stop thanking you for bringing her into my life. Neytiri was everything to him, and always would be. He let himself joyfully dwell on his thoughts of her for several long minutes.
Then there was the challenge he'd never dreamed of facing, that of being a father to a Na'vi child. He wanted to wrap his mate in his arms and protect her and the precious new life she carried inside, every moment of every day. With his eyes still closed, Jake smiled on his tree branch. Neytiri sensed that feeling inside him every time they made tsahaylu, and it tickled her every time. Just the thought of anyone or anything threatening her or their child brought a ferocious snarl to his lips.
Jake might enjoy challenges but he wasn't stupid, as some Marines he had known had been. He recognized when something was beyond his abilities and had no problem pulling in whatever resources were needed to accomplish the task at hand. Knowing where his own limits were was a part of every challenge, after all. But he had to know those limits, had to constantly push to see if he could expand them, to see if he could do more, be more.
It was exactly what was needed for life on Pandora. It provided him with abundant opportunities to test himself, so that he could find out how much of a man he was, how much of a man he could make himself become. Jake couldn't think of anywhere else he'd rather be, of anything else he'd rather be doing. He said another silent, fervent thanks to Eywa for the gift that this life was.
He stretched and opened his eyes. There was just enough time to get back to New Hometree before the midday meal. Then there would be the daily meeting with Norm, the afternoon training, visiting with the leatherworkers….
The Olo'eyctan smiled to himself and contentedly headed back home to face the challenges of the day.