The light of Pandora's star shone down green through the canopy, casting odd dancing shadows as the wind made the leaves move. The past few days had been paradise for Ray. His dreams were untroubled, and he walked with the air of a man who has put down a weight after many years of carrying it. His wounds were coming along even better than the healers had predicted and he was back in the village, doing a little bit of everything.
"Alright now come at me with the knife overhand."
The young hunter, his face paint a little smudged swung with the wooden practice blade. Ray grabbed his wrist and paused, speaking to a small contingent of other would-be warriors, all standing back from the two in a semi circle.
"Don't fear the blade, influence it, make it your weapon. First you stop the advance by controlling the wrist. Grab the beast behind he jaws so it can't bite you."
Ray placed his right foot behind his pupil's knee joint and placed his elbow on his neck, slowly bending and pushing to the ground.
"Get his center of balance, and force him onto the ground, then twist the wrist to disarm."
Ray bent the males arm slightly and pushed the homemade dagger from his hands.
"Same with underhand, or across. Just control, unbalance and disarm."
The students grinned at one another, a little in awe of the veteran. Ray bent to pick up the dagger and a bolt of pain shot through his side.
"Agh!"
He clutched at the bandages and almost lost his footing on the smooth grass. He snatched up the blade and tucked it behind his ear, looking up to see the village healer walking towards him.
"That's it for today guys, I have to take a break."
The group quickly dispersed and the healer helped him change his bandage, scolding him all the while.
"If you keep exerting yourself it will take weeks until you can run again! I don't even know why I try at this if you just go off and split your dressings wide open again, Eywa knows its enough to make an old woman go mad!"
Ray put on a suitably apologetic expression and waited for her to finish. Afterwards he retired to his small hammock to do something that was less likely to end in being chewed out. Since he had been largely bed ridden, an ever active Pamtseo'Ite had journeyed back to the decaying human base camp and brought back all the books she could find. Ray picked out his bookmark fern frond and opened All Quiet On The Western Front, an absolutely ancient earth novel that had been required reading. Actually, when there wasn't a seven page research paper due the next day on it, it was a pretty good book. He didn't get far however, because at that moment Pamtseo'Ite slid into the hammock next to him.
"Hello there, what have you been up to?"
"Gah, nothing, I am so bored, is there anyway you can get better any faster?"
Ray laughed.
"Not if you ask the healers around here."
"What are you reading?"
"Oh, a rather depressing sky-people book. You wouldn't like it."
This of course was not any way to go about discouraging a curiosity as deep as Pamtseo'Ite's and she put a long finger on one of the words.
"Stahnaysssla-"
"Stanislaus"
"What does it mean?"
"Nothing, it's a name."
She giggled
"Oh, and how about this one?"
"Mother, it means sa'nok"
"What is that little dot there?"
"It's a period. It means the end of a sentence in our language."
Ray put his hand over hers and led it gently over the lines, reading the English words to her in her native tongue.
" The wisest were just the poor and simple people. They knew the war to be a misfortune, whereas those who were better off, and should have been able to see more clearly what the consequences would be, were beside themselves with joy. Katczinsky said that was a result of their upbringing. It made them stupid. And what Kat said, he had thought about."
As he read he felt the young Na'vi lay her head on his shoulder to better read the words. A slight blush crept into his cheeks but he kept reading. After a few hours Ray began to tire and he looked over. Pamtseo'Ite had gone to sleep, her hand slack in his, breath softly dampening his neck. Ray laid down the book next to them and set his head back, closing his eyes. This was better than heaven.
***
Ray woke in the wee hours of the next morning. Slowly he opened his eyes. Pamtseo'Ite was still there, though she had shifted slightly. He extricated himself carefully and sat on the branch next to her, looking out over the sleeping village, still quiet in the grey early light. A small lizard scampered over the tree limbs and stopped to snap up a small insect. It chomped its slightly glowing mouth happily, and Ray watched it for a time. He felt a gust next to him and turned to see Pamtseo'Ite sitting next to him on the branch, her extra weight bending it ever so slightly. They did not speak for a long time, simply letting the wonderful silky silence float between them. She broke the calm first.
"You should stay in bed today, the manhood ceremony is in a few days time and it would not do to still be hurt by then."
Ray nodded and rolled back into the hammock behind them.
"Want to read anymore of the book?"
She giggled quietly into her hand at the forced innocence in his smile.
"No, sorry Ray, but you see unlike you I have duties to attend to today."
Ray put on a mock sad face and she giggled even harder, pushing him playfully before turning to start her climb down. He reached back and pulled open the book, carefully finding his place.