Na'dia was woken at false dawn by a rasping snore. She found that she was wedged between Ninat and Peyral – the origin of the jackhammer like snores. She slowly slid out from between the two women, and stood, seeing her blades leaning against a tree in their scabbards.
She had to get away. Now.
There was a flat open area by the river. That was where she should go. She needed space, to get away from people, and move.
The comfortably worn-in harness felt good across her shoulders, the scabbards slapping against her back until she shrugged it into place and fastened the buckles.
When she arrived by the river, Na'dia stood in the middle of the open space and shut her eyes, feeling the life around her. She took in a deep breath, unhurriedly releasing it until her lungs were empty, and drew her swords. Slowly, so very slowly, she moved through her katas, her eyes shut, striving for perfection of form as she emptied her mind in order to release her anguish.
If anyone had been watching, they would have seen a young Na'vi woman – no, a girl – drift across the clearing, hardly seeming to touch the ground, a picture of grace and calm as she danced through the stately measures of an alien martial art centuries old.
That was until she was almost bowled over by a small animal. Her eyes snapped open to see a mottled green animal, as large as a dog and shivering with fright, hiding behind her.
"What is it, little one?" she asked, bending down to stroke the six legged creature. Its skin was smoother than silk, the skin stretched tight over its muscles. What kind of beast was it, she wondered. And it was terrified of something, but what?
And then she heard them – the barking hyena-like cries of a nantang pack on the hunt. Running would be a mistake. They would not only kill the small animal hiding between her legs, but pull her down as well. It was not the way she wished to die.
So she waited, motionless, in the guard position, waiting for her self-declared enemy to come.
There were eleven...twelve...thirteen of them, circling her, barking as though they were discussing the best way to attack. So she waited – still, absolutely still.
Without even thinking, she moved and made one, two, three strokes with her blades, and returned smoothly to her guard position. Two nantang were writing on the ground, hamstrung, while another lay dead, its head almost entirely severed.
As one, the nantang looked in the direction that they had come, and then ran silently off, leaving the three members of the pack behind.
She stood over the two hamstrung nantang, and before striking the blow of grace, said softly, "Oeru txoa livu, ma oeyä tsmukan. Hu nawma sa'nok tivul ngeyä tirea."
Na'dia returned to the shivering animal, sheathed her blades, and sat down on the ground cross-legged. She thought it was young, whatever species it was. It crawled into her lap, making soft whimpering noises. "It's ok, little one. You're safe now," she told it, gently caressing it. Gradually, it started to relax, its shuddering ceasing, until it leapt out of her lap making joyous welcoming yips.
Na'dia looked up and froze. Towering over her was a palulukan, a thanator. The huge predator had crept up absolutely silently, glaring with hatred at her. It lifted one paw to strike her, about to end her life with a single blow of its savage claws, when the young beast growled threateningly. The palulukan's head swung sharply around as though in total astonishment. It lowered its paw and leaned forward, sniffing at Na'dia, before giving her a lick with its tongue – the texture was like sandpaper.
All through this, Na'dia did not move, her mind clear and calm. What else could she do?
The palulukan inspected the three nantang corpses, almost seeming to nod with approval, before it snapped each of them up, only taking two or three bites to crush each one into a suitable size for swallowing. It returned to Na'dia, and nudged her, clearly intending for her to get to her feet. Once she was standing, it nudged her again, pushing her in the direction across the river, away from the Omaticaya camp.
Na'dia began to walk, to receive another push, and so she began to run. And run. And run.
The palulukan, followed by her cub, urged Na'dia on, correcting her direction from time to time, running her to almost to exhaustion. She was sure she was about to collapse when she arrived in a small clearing.
There was another palulukan there, and two more cubs. When it saw the missing cub, the male – for that was what it seemed to be – blew out a great breath of air and seemed to sigh in relief. It walked over and gave the cub a gentle cuff with one paw, sending it tumbling, before it inspected Na'dia. It too sniffed at her, licked her thoroughly, and then ignored her.
She sank to the ground, and then was bowled over by all three cubs, all determined to roughhouse and wrestle with her, treating her as though she was a playmate. It was a bit like being mobbed by a litter of playful six-legged killer Labrador puppies.
It was well after dawn before the play session ended, and the three cubs curled up to sleep.
The female moved silently behind her, grabbed her queue and made tsahaylu with her. It was like plunging into a mountain stream. The palulukan's thoughts were crystal clear, its intelligence razor sharp - its focus upon her total.
"Cub naughty - left nest. Chased by running pack. Two legs save cub. Thank two legs. Not kill."
"It was the right thing to do," thought Na'dia.
"Cubs like two legs. Come back nest, play often cubs. Self mark two legs as belong self. Not kill. Other selfs know two legs belong self. Not kill."
This was surreal. A palulukan was making friends with her, and telling her to return to play with its cubs. "Yes," she thought. She would return.
"Two legs mind like self. Sharp, focus, savage, calm. How? Like self in two legs body?"
Na'dia cleared her mind, and then recalled the years of training she endured and loved under her father, and her dance teachers, teaching her to focus within herself, and feel her oneness with her blades and her body in the dance – until she was burnt by nuclear fire.
"Ah. Two legs sire teach two legs like self/mate teach cubs. Long time, many seasons. Two legs is self."
"Maybe," she thought in response. "You feel/taste/smell like my father."
"Go now. Two legs not tell other two legs come nest. Self/mate kill other two legs. Not kill two legs belong self. Return next day."
It was with regret that Na'dia broke tsahaylu with this huge predator. She gazed into its jet black eyes, gleaming with intelligence, and then turned to run. She did not look back.
She returned to the Omaticaya encampment at noon. It was in an uproar.
Peyral called out to her. "Na'dia, where have you been?"
"Out," she answered.
"We were worried about you," she said. "You don't know anything about the forest, and a palulukan made three kills by the river – nantang. It could have just as easily been you."
Prophetic words indeed, she thought. "Oh," she replied. It nearly had been her.
"Are you alright?" asked Peyral. "You look...different."
Na'dia felt different. She flexed her hands, and was surprised to not feel claws spring out from her fingertips. She felt clean.
Smiling, she gazed at Peyral, and felt a sudden rush of hot blood, like the anticipation before a kill. She growled softly and moved towards her new friend, rubbing herself against the large girl's body. "Want Peyral," she purred.
"Steady on," objected Peyral. "I've got things I have to do."
"Now!" snapped Na'dia, grabbing her hand and dragging her away into the undergrowth.
This was not like the gentle dalliance Na'dia had with Ninat yesterday. Na'dia attacked Peyral, ravishing the larger girl ruthlessly, bringing her to orgasm again and again, until Peyral returned the favour equally as many times.
Na'dia ended straddling Peyral's torso, gently nipping her neck and shoulders in teasing play.
Peyral's rippling laughter filled her ears. "Na'dia, if all dreamwalkers play like you, no wonder Ney'tiri is happy with her Zhake."
She smiled, kissed Peyral, and stood up. "Go now," she said, finding it difficult to talk. "Play more later."
The big girl moved to grab her, but Na'dia laughed merrily and slipped away, effortlessly evading her.
She found her way back to the clearing by the river, and began her katas again, this time watched in fascination by some of the tribe's children – at least until they were called away by worried parents. But Na'dia didn't care what they thought. Her soul felt clean for the first time in years.