His lessons with Ateyo continued as usual. Their trips into the jungle became longer as he regained his strength and with each day that passed he came to know the Omaticaya's lands better, already intimately acquainted with the areas closest to the hometree.
These trips had a dual purpose, serving as a way for Ateyo to educate him on the plants and animals in the forests. The jungle was rich, its land fertile and green, the number of species beyond count - yet Ateyo made it his job to teach Isonali as much as he could about each one, pointing them out and explaining their uses and dangers, how to recognize them, harvest them, or treat the wounds they inflicted.
"The psiwll and tìhawnuwll can look similar, but one is poisonous to the touch - capable of killing - and the other's seeds are a valuable source of energy. Mistaking one for the other could be the last thing you do." Ateyo said, his fingers hovering just above the wide blue leaves of just one such plant, pointing out the slight sheen along the edge of the leaf that marked it out as poisonous. "So be sure to remember."
Isonali did his best to internalize the lesson, paying careful attention to the slight shimmering. It would be easier to tell at night, when the glow was brightest, but if the two plants were put side by side he'd be able to make a good guess at which was which. "And what do you do if you touch the tìhawnuwll?"
"Wash it out with water immediately." Ateyo said, pointing at a patch of gourd plants growing on the side of a tree, vase-shaped leaves pointed directly up to the sky - ready to catch any water that trickled down with the coming of the evening mists. "Then apply ground kiyal-iyt. If you act quick enough it will removed the toxins before they can enter the blood. Otherwise you must go to the healers and be bled - the longer it's in your body the more blood it poisons."
Isonali nodded. He glanced at the plant one last time, taking a cautious step backwards. Ateyo, content that he'd learned the lesson, moved on, deeper into the forest.
He didn't think he would enjoy his lessons with Ateyo as much as he did, but the more he learned the more he came to appreciate the forest. In this patch of forest alone there had to be hundred of species of plant - and even more of insects and animals, seen and unseen in the undergrowth, each one different and unique. For each new thing he learned, another ten took it's place, and he knew it would take him a lifetime to come to know the forest as Ateyo knew it - as all the Omaticaya knew it.
Isonali ripped his eyes away from the undergrowth and hurried after Ateyo, darting under the wide swinging fronds of a eyaye and around the trailing root of a nearby tree, its side home to a stack of violet fungi that grew to the length of his forearm and seemed to expand and contract with it's own breath.
With three light steps he darted through a patch of loreyu, not touching a single one and leaving their graceful orange spirals airing proudly in the fading afternoon light. Ateyo was watching him when he left them, last step taking him out of the loreyu, and Isonali thought he saw something like approval in your eye.
"Tomorrow we will bend your bow." Ateyo said, already walking on once more. "It is time you started learning how to wield it."
They started early the next morning, gathering buckets of water from the lake and carrying them through the hometree, dodging working weavers and children running here and there, to the clan's only large cauldron.
It was a massive thing, carved from stone and probably weighing more than an tonne. It must have taken years to carve and it sat, the inside hollowed out in a great bowl, on a dozen slender stone legs carved directly from the stone. To light the fire beneath it you had to crawl through the legs and light it from beneath, then feed wood through the legs all throughout the night to keep it lit. It was used only occasionally when making rich soups or curing large portions of meat in salt after a big hunt.
It took a good hour of hauling buckets to fill and even longer to bring to boil and it was well into the afternoon before the first wisps of steam began to rise from the top. Ateyo had enlisted some nearby Na'vi to help set up the sturdy wooden platform around the cauldron used to climb up and work on it. From there he set up another frame, long pieces of wood and rope settling into place.
He motioned for Isonali to hand over his bow. Still straight the wood was a meter in length, which to Isonali already seemed enormous but was barely a third of the size of some of the bows used in the clan. The largest he'd seen was the ceremonial bow carried by Eytukan, which measured a bit more than three meters in length and had been handed down from generation to generation before reaching Eytukan when he became Olo'ekytan.
Ateyo placed the bow in the frame and adjusted it until it lay above the water, immersing it in the steam. With carefully placed ropes they pulled the ends of the bow towards one side of the bowl, curving it around the semi-circular stone placed in the center for just that purpose. The steam made the wood more flexible and they held it in that position, keeping it there until Isonali's arms began to strain from the tension.
The wood doesn't bend slightly and this close to the boiling water the steam is everywhere, making the experience a hot and wet one. Isonali was sweating within minutes, the force of keeping the wood bent making his arms ache. He took deep breaths, aiming to endure. He'd spent far too long working on this bow to give up now just because his arms were a little tired.
It felt like an eternity before Ateyo signaled him to release the rope. Isonali half expected the wood to spring back straight pole as soon at he let go but it stayed in place, wrapped snugly around the gentle curve of the stone. With the help of watching Na'vi they removed the frame from the top of the cauldron, waiting for it to cool before Ateyo presented him his bow, now arched in an elegant curve.
"All it is missing is a string and some decorations. You have shaped it well." And indeed, compared to Ateyo and some of the other Na'vi's bow Isonali's was plain. Carving patterns into bows was a common custom and it wasn't amiss to see them painted or decorated with little hanging beads or feathers either. He'd seen it on both Tsu'tey's and Neytiri's bows - Tsu'tey favoring simple but extensive carved patterns while Neytiri had decorated her's with a string of tiny nantang teeth that hung from it's top.
Isonali looked at his, taking in the smooth lines of wood, and wondered what he should do for his. Nothing too fancy, of course, but... This was something he'd made, himself, as part of the clan. He wanted to decorate it in a way that showed his pride in it for all to see and let the clan see just how much he cherished all the things they'd given him.
"Come, you can think about that later. "Ateyo lead him away from the cauldron. Already people were starting to gather around it, bringing ingredients to start a soup to be shared out for dinner. Let it never be said the Omaticaya were wasteful - the cauldron might have been lit to bend a bow but they'd make use of it yet. "We need to visit the hunters. If we are lucky one will have come back with some guts we can use to make the string. If not we need to ask them to bring us some next time they get a good animal."
Isonali followed him, listening with rapt attention. Perhaps even a month ago the thought of using animal guts to make bow string would have disgusted him. Now it hardly signified. Animals were a part of Na'vi life that couldn't be avoided and he'd had to quickly became desensitized or risk being sick any time anyone did anything from making clothes to preparing dinner.
They were in luck. After talking to a couple of hunter they found one who'd brought back just what they were looking for and was happy enough to offer it to them when they asked. When Isonali asked what she wanted in return she just laughed, waving him away.
"It is good someone needs it. I did not have a use for it myself but I didn't want to waste it. Really, you do me a favor by taking it."
Cleaning and processing the guts would take a while, winding them into the string even moreso, so in the mean time Ateyo offered up one of his own bow strings, deftly stringing it to Isonali's bow .
"I can wait for the other one to be ready." He said, holding his bow tightly. "There's on need to use one of yours."
But Ateyo was firm. "To make a good and strong string it needs to soak for almost a week, and then dry for even longer. There's no point in leaving your training to wait when there's a good bowstring right here." When Isonali looked ready to continue protesting, Ateyo proposed a compromise. "I'll give you this one to keep, then take the new one as a replacement. Does that sound fair?"
Isonali nodded grudgingly, finally handing over his bow so Ateyo could how him how to string it. Ateyo led him to the training fields after that, showing him through the first rudimentary steps of how to grip and pull the string, tilting his elbow up higher when it listed and positioning him at the right angle whenever began to twist too far.
"The string hasn't been used before. It will be stiff for a while before it gets used to the stress." Ateyo said as he watched Isonali rub his sore fingers, throwing himself back into the exercise with a stubbornness that would have made Tsu'tey proud.
Throughout all these exercises his wound's didn't twinge a single time, giving no discomfort save for a slight stiffness in his ankle and tightness in the skin on his lower back where the Palulukan's claws had caught him. Mo'at still checked him over every once in awhile, but his visits to the healing chambers were growing far less frequent.
"The stiffness will go away in time," she said when he'd asked, "Stretch the muscles regularly, gently, and it should fade in time."
"And my memory?" Isonali adds, unable to help himself. "Sometimes I feel like I'm about to remember something or there are words I know but can't explain - things and concepts I've never heard of before, but it's always gone again before I can get a good grip on it."
"There is no telling. What will come will come. It is not for us to say what Eywa decides."
Isonali sighed, sinking back against the cavern wall. " I know just- I can't help but wish."
"There is nothing wrong with that," Mo'at replied calmly. "It is a difficult situation. One that must cause much frustration."
Isonali laughed humorlessly. "Sometimes it feels like half of me is missing - whole parts of who I am simply gone without a trace. It been... better. Recently, I mean. Being with the clan helps, having Tsu'tey and Neytiri around, even Saheli and Tsamui and Ateyo, makes it a easier. Like it doesn't matter as much, because they accept me for who I am, whether or not I have my memories."
"That is what clan is for. There are many terrible things in this world but war and loneliness must surely be two of the worst. The first is harder to avoid, but the clan is here to ensure no one suffers the second. You may have been alone once but now you have a hundred brothers and sisters, a hundred mothers and fathers and elders to stand by your side. Any one of them would help if you ever needed it, just as the clan would help them in turn if the role were reversed."
Mo'at helped him to his feet, walking with him down to the evening meal. He sits himself down beside Tsu'tey at their customary fire on one of the upper levels of the hometree, Ateyo and the rest of Tsu'tey's family joining them for the meal like they did every day.
His talk with Mo'at had left him feeling relieved but slightly exhausted. He'd been lingering on those worries a while and it felt good to get them out in the open once and for all. Mo'at didn't judge, a calm and impartial witness to his emotional confession. But letting go of ingrained worries like that wasn't easy and it left him feeling wrung out and tired.
He blearily accepted the stick of roasted insects Tsu'tey pushed into his hand, chewing at it blandly until his teeth met nothing but empty wood. When Tsu'tey went to offer him another he shook his head, waving it away.
"You look tired," Tsu'tey said, taking a bite of the insects himself. "Long day?"
"Sort of." Isonali mumbled, trying to suppress a yawn. It didn't work, and the attempt made his jaw ache uncomfortably. "I had a lot of things to think about."
Tsu'tey hummed, letting the conversation fade away into comfortable silence. Isonali was too tired to much of anything and he appreciated the silence. He rested his head on his hand, bracing it against his knee swayed a little, fighting back another yawn. Sitting this close to the fire he could feel the heat of the flames against his face and it was making him feel relaxed and lazy.
"Perhaps you should go to bed." Tsu'tey suggested.
"Maybe." Isonali replied. "But I'm not sleepy yet, just tired."
Tsu'tey nodded. they sat there, listening to the crackle of the fire. A bowl of small flat grains was passed around, and Tsu'tey offered it to him in turn, but he shook his head. They tastes nice, but he couldn't be bothered with the tough chewing the grains required to get through the thick outer layer.
"How has you training been going?" Tsu'tey asked sometime later. "Father said he had just started teaching you archery."
Isonali nodded, turning his hands over to look at the blisters and bruises that had been forming on his hands. They were normal, Ateyo assured him, and once he was accustomed to the bow they found fade, not longer renewed. "We started the other day."
"You know you can always ask me for help. Or Neytiri." Tsu'tey said, glancing at him. "It would be nice to practice with someone once more."
"Still not talking to Neytiri then?" Isonali said. Tsu'tey looked away, back towards the fire. "It's been almost a month. Surely you can't still be mad at her."
"I'm not." Tsu'tey said, frowning to himself. "Not anymore at least."
"You just can't be the one to break first." Isonali concluded with a sigh. "Because that would be like admitting you were wrong. Which you weren't-" He added quickly when Tsu'tey shot him a stubborn look, ready to defend himself. "But you know she wasn't either, right? Not really."
"I know." Tsu'tey agreed reluctantly. "You have said this already."
"And I'll say it again." Isonali countered. tsu'tey wasn't the only one who could be stubborn. "One of you is going to say something at some point, and you're both miserable as it is, so I don't see why you two are drawing it out."
Tsu'tey couldn't say anything to that. He knew Isonali war right, Isonali knew he did, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow his pride and be the one to make a first move. Unwilling to push further, Isonali changed topic. "How has Ienrra been? It's been awhile since I last saw him."
Since Tsu'tey had come back with his Ikran seeing to his welfare had become one of his daily tasks. Not that Ikran needed much taking care of. For the most part they would provide for themselves, competent hunters in their own right, but it was considered normal to visit them at least every couple of days and make sure they were not lacking anything - even just to visit them out of affection.
"Good. I've been bringing him gifts from when I go hunting, but the great beast always seems to want more. He will eat almost anything." Tsu'tey said, then added "Though he does not seem to care for fish."
"I don't know if they normally eat fish." Isonali said. "But from what I hear some of them like it. Perhaps it is just a matter of preference."
Isonali's lessons finished early the next day, stopping just a bit before noon. Ateyo had a patrol to go on that afternoon, just a standard tour around the borders of the Omaticaya lands, but important none the less, so he had given Isonali his apologies - Isonali waving them off just as quickly - and taken his leave.
Tsu'tey was still off somewhere training and Neytiri was nowhere to be seen, so Isonali put the extra hours to work making an quiver for his bow. Ateyo had already shown him the basics, and he was reasonably confident he would be able to figure it out, so he gathered up his materials and sat himself down near the warriors training grounds - those of them not currently sparring willing to after him tips and advice when he asked.
Sparring was perhaps one of the closest things Na'vi had to entertainment, singing excluded, and when two skilled warriors went up against each other the rest would gather round to watch, placing their bets with pieces of jewelry, materials, even carved beads and bone - whatever they had on hand. Isonali didn't take part in the betting himself, having nothing to give, but he enjoyed watching the matches none the less.
For the most part it was bare-handed, the warriors dancing around each other, catching each other in grips and throwing each other to the ground, though sometimes weapons were used - special dulled daggers that served well enough as a prop without any risk of serious injury. Once in awhile someone would even start an archery competition and the younger warriors would take turns comparing how much they'd improved until one of their seniors came along and put them all in their place - years of experience giving them an unmatched advantage in the competition.
"Pull that bit a little tighter." One woman said, pointing out bit of stitching on the side of the quiver. It was little more than a couple of carefully sewn straps with a touch leather pouch at the end, made to carry only a few arrows - Na'vi never used many, preferring to collect and reuse arrows until they broke or became too blunt. Few bothered to carry quivers at all, instead tucking them into their belt, while most Ikran and pa'li saddles had their own quivers built in.
Isonali had asked why he needed to build on if so few Na'vi even used them, and Ateyo had said it so that he knew how to make one if needed, even if he did not end up using one himself. An armguard would be a more useful tool - they were worn by almost every Na'vi - but Ateyo had not gotten around to teaching him how to build those yet.
The woman nodded approvingly as he tightened the stitching, even going so far as to lend him an arrow or two to test the quiver. It held them tightly, keeping them still and silent even if he jiggled it about, the string at the top holding them in place. If needed it could be opened in an instant, undone with a single tug, but until then it would remain in place. He returned her arrows to her with a thank you and she nodded, grinning as one of the men sparring was thrown by the woman he was sparring.
The fight was over brutally quick. As soon as the man was down she was upon him, twisting his arm behind his back even as he hissed and tried to lash out at her. A sharp twist of his arm and he was back flat on the ground, conceding the fight only a moment later. She grinned fiercely, releasing him and helping him to his feet.
Despite his loss he seemed to harbor no animosity, sharing a friendly smile with her and clasping hands with a promise to win next time they sparred. Isonali was about to turn away, back to his crafting, when he noticed the woman was coming right for them.
"Well met, sister." Said the woman who'd been helping him with his quiver, and the other nodded, wasting no time in sitting down beside them. Isonali scooted over to give her more room.
"Di'thi gets better with every fight." She said. "But he's still not enough to beat me. He still has things to learn."
"Good thing you are his teacher. You'll know exactly what he needs to fix." The other said with a sly smile. "One would almost think you enjoy beating the boy, the way you grind him into the dirt."
"One would think he would have learnt not to keep challenging me to spars after the first dozen times." She replied dryly. She glanced at him then, looking him over. "You are Ateyo's student. Isonali. The one they found in the forest."
He nodded. "I am."
"Word is that you learn quick. That is good. Keep it up and you shall have no lack of masters willing to train you when you choose your path. If you become a warrior I might even choose you myself."
"I'll keep it in mind." He said. "I haven't thought that much about what I'm going to do yet."
The woman shrugged. "You have a year or two left to think. I am Fi'layi and this is Ost'tsi, my sister." She motioned to the woman beside her, the one who'd helped Isonali with his quiver. "Remember my name if you choose this path."
The woman nodded and, satisfied she'd said her piece, returned to the sparring without sparing him another glance. The Na'vi were like that, he'd noticed. They didn't waste time on small talk saying what needed to be said and not a word more. Ost'tsi on the other hand, lingered a while longer, waiting until he'd putting the finishing touches to the quiver before leaving as well to take a turn sparring.
"Good health and fair aim, Isonali." She said, a final farewell. It was a less common phrase in the clan but not unusual amongst the warriors, and he returned it pleasantly. "Good health and fair aim."
Ateyo had not yet returned from his patrol the next morning and was not due back until tomorrow. A proper patrol along the clan lands by pa'li could take several days when properly done, more if there was something unusual they had to look into, so Isonali got a break from his lessons.
By chance Tsu'tey also had a day of rest from his training, allowing them to spend the day in company - something that had become more of a rare occurrence these days, with both of them so busy. They met early, Tsu'tey stopping by his hammock a little while before the morning meal to pry him out of bed, which Isonali eventually did, after a good bit or sleepy grumbling.
He was still yawning and half-lidded when they made it to the ground cavern, most of the clan already up and about, the meal well underway. Mo'at and Eytukan could be seen sitting together beneath the monument of the Toruk Makto, Neytiri and Sylwanin beside them, chatting idly as they ate the morning meal.
Neytiri spotted them, and when she smiled hesitantly instead of turning away immediately Isonali counted that as a success. He waved at her, grinning, then dragged Tsu'tey along to sit beside her, giving a respectful nod to Eytukan and Mo'at as they approached.
Tsu'tey was stiff and awkward by his side, and Isonali resisted the growing urge to elbow him in the side. Instead he just sighed. Tsu'tey would get over it eventually, even if Isonali had to drag him along kicking and screaming. And he would, if it came to that. He was tired of his friends fighting.
"Good morning, Neytiri," Isonali said, accepting the bowl she passed him with a smile. He picked out one of the tiny yellow berries, slathered in something that smelled faintly sour, and popped it in his mouth. Isonali was rather proud of how far he'd come with Na'vi foods since those first days in the healing chambers. He'd become used to the Na'vi cuisine, and now only the strangest of their foods managed to throw him off, though he still hesitated a little whenever he had to eat something that was still wriggling.
"Neytiri," Tsu'tey said stiffly, frowning like he disapproved of the whole affair. Isonali jabbed him roughly in the side with his elbow. Tsu'tey shot a glare at him, but his frown faded to something a little more neutral.
Neytiri watched their antics with amusement, her eyes bright and a small smile turning the corners of her lips, but when Tsu'tey didn't meet her eyes, still looking resolutely across the room, her expression becoming melancholic and rueful.
Isonali resisted the urge to scrub his hands over his face and sigh. Bloody hell. Taking a fortifying breath, Isonali smiled, making an effort to put the conversation back on track.
"What have you been doing recently, then?"
Neytiri perked up a little. "Mother's been teaching me more about the clan - teaching me the old histories about how the clan formed. Grace says-" She trailed off, uncertain.
Tsu'tey stiffened minutely beside him, frown returning at full force. Isonali ignored him. "What's she say?"
Neytiri flashed him a look of gratitude. "She says that the way we recount histories is really interesting. The histories are kept exactly accurate to how they were first described, memorized word for word by the singers of each generation. Mother knows them all, of course, but she says Hya'liyu knows them even better than her. He's looking for an apprentice in the new singers, someone to take his position after he passes away."
Isonali had never been formerly introduced to the song master but he'd seen him around once or twice. Even in his old age his voice was still clear as a bell, reciting songs with the delicate finesse that spoke of decades of practice.
"Does he know who he's going to pick?"
"Apparently a couple of the singers stand out, but my bet is on Ninat. She's still only an apprentice but her voice is beautiful, and she has a good memory. In a couple of years she's bound to be one of the best singers in the clan."
They talked a little more after that, just chatting about what had been happening recently. Isonali shared some of the gossip Tsamui and Saheli had told him, and though Neytiri seemed to know most of it already he did manage to catch her by surprise once or twice. Finally Neytiri asked about how his training's been going.
"Ateyo's just started me on archery. Mostly I'm still learning the forms and how to hold the bow, but he says we should get onto actually firing soon - though he'll have to show me how to make arrows first."
"That's good," She said, and the Mo'at was motioning her to come, ready to start the day's lessons. Neytiri shot them a smile, bidding them a warm farewell, though her smiles went somewhat muted when she it was Tsu'tey's turn
Isonali waved at her firmly, and Tsu'tey, finally overcoming some of his pride, even managed a somewhat friendly nod of the head. As Neytiri disappeared from view Isonali shot Tsu'tey a knowing look. Tsu'tey frowned at him, not meeting his eye. "I do not need to hear it again. I know that was terrible."
Isonali rolled his eyes but didn't say more. They quickly finished the last of their breakfast, eager to be off. Tsu'tey had promised to take him into the jungle, and with Ateyo not expected back until tomorrow afternoon they could perhaps even do an overnight trip.
"You're sure we don't need to take anything?" Isonali asked. It seemed odd to him to leave without any provisions especially when they could well miss the evening meal but Tsu'tey didn't seem concerned.
Tsu'tey nodded. "Many plants are fruiting at the moment. We will not lack for food if we get hungry."
"Should I bring my bow?" Isonali said. Most of the time the jungle was not dangerous if you knew what you were doing, knew what calls to listen for and how to rapidly scale the trees, but the memory of his last long trip in the jungle stayed with him, and he well remembered how dangerous it could be.
"I do not think it would help. You have just started learning." Tsu'tey replied, slinging his own bow over his shoulder, half a dozen arrows in the quiver across his back. he frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then untied his dagger form his belt, handing it to Isonali. "This should be some help if something were to happen."
"Are you sure?" Isonali asked. It was the one Ateyo had given him during his Unaltiron. He'd worn it every day since, keeping it faithfully by his side, and now he offered it to Isonali.
Tsu'tey nodded, holding it out further, and Isonali accepted it, tying it securely to his belt. He didn't have a dagger of his own yet but it had been one of the first things Ateyo had begun teaching him. He wasn't a master, but even the simplest moves would be of great effect if it came to a fight.
"Thank you." Isonali said. his hand rested on the sheath, feeling the patterns Ateyo have painstaking carved into the leather. Symbols of protection, endurance, and good luck. "I'll take good care of it."
They circled the lake, heading away from the hometree, and followed the river until it plunged deeper into the undergrowth, hurtling over a low cliff and down through the layers of the jungle. It sent up a fine mist, creating condensation on nearby leaves, and they dripped with it, droplets hitting patches of mosses that hugged the rocky face of the cliff.
They took to the trees after that, Tsu'tey picking out an easy path up a nearby tree that took them out right above the chasm then doubled back, coiling around towards another tree. There was a slight jump to get to the next branch but it gave them no trouble. Plenty of vines hung freely from the branches above, well within reach if he needed a sudden handhold.
The first layer of branches was almost a forest floor in itself, thick deposits of soil and decaying leaves along the branches playing home to a new level of growth. Ferns grew abundantly, and wherever place they were absent there was moss to take their place, carpeting the branches in a springy layer.
The rushing waterfall was soon gone from sight, lost amongst the dense undergrowth, only the distant tinkle of water and the faint dampness on his skin left to remind them of its presence. Soon even that was gone, the path back to the hometree disappearing entirely.
"You're not worried we'll get lost?" Isonali asked, glancing backwards. If they had not left the waterfall behind mere minutes ago he would have had no clue in which direction it lay, and even now he was starting to question himself. The jungle was busy, bustling with greenery and growing things in every direction, tangled in a maze that stretched in every direction further than the eye could see. Look away for a moment and it was impossible to find what you'd been first been looking at.
"We are still in Omaticaya land." Tsu'tey reassured him, then added: "The hometree is to the west of us. So long as we are awake when the sun rises in the south we will have no trouble finding our way back."
"Alright then." Isonali said. So long as they were heading in the right direction they'd be able to spot the hometree. It towered over the forest, a giant even amongst the colossal trees of the jungle. they'd been wandering for several hours already but he wouldn't be surprised if he'd be able to see it even now, if he climbed above the canopy.
There was a sort of round plant a couple of feet away from them, with bright bulbous heads at the end of long stems, each one covered in a fine layer of thin hairs. The blubs seemed to expand and contract slowly, almost doubling in size when at their largest. Isonali inspected it curiously. He'd never seen this one before.
"Don't touch that." Tsu'tey warned. Isonali had slowly been creeping closer to the plant, his curious getting the better of him. He froze, regarding it cautiously.
"Why?"
"It'll explode if you touch it." Tsu'tey said, tone all matter of fact. He didn't even seemed phased by the idea. "The hairs are poisonous. If they touch your skin they'll make you sick, swollen, and you won't be able to move for days."
Isonali scuttled away from the plant, returning quickly to Tsu'tey's side. He didn't know if Tsu'tey was having him on but he was absolutely willing to believe him. He'd seen first hand just how dangerous jungle plants could be. "Half the time it seems everything in the jungle is trying to kill us."
"They want to live." Tsu'tey replied. "Just as much as you or I. For a predator that means hunting, for a plant defending itself - it is no different than what we do everyday."
Isonali looks back at the plant. It's expanding and contracting had grown more shallow, settling down again now that he'd move away. A warning, he realized. It had been giving him one last chance to back off before it attacked. That other tree, the thorny one that had scratched him up and down the arms, had done the same, he remembered. Everything in the jungle had to be tough in order to survive, plants included. When he looking at it in that light it was almost kind of the plants to give a warning before attacking. The Palulukan certainly hadn't extended the same courtesy.
The deeper they went into the forest the more the light faded, so much so that even then, so close to noon, faint stirrings of bioluminescence could be seen from the deepest shadows. Every now and then a wind would blow far above, rustling the canopy, and the light would shift, peeking through - banishing the ghostly light as if it had never been.
They ate lunch high in the treetops, sitting at the fork of a large branch, nibbling on fruit as they watched a herd of yerik moving far below. They darted through the undergrowth on dainty feet, slender necks rising and heads turning at the smallest sounds, the fans on the side of their heads flaring cautiously. Something must have startled them, because the next moment they were bounding away, fleet footed and quick, gone from sight in seconds.
Just in time, it seemed, because not a moment later a pack of nantang came slinking out of the ferns. They didn't usually hunt during the day, but the gloom must have put them in the mood because they scented the air, yipping to each other before taking off in the same direction as the yerik.
The rest of the afternoon passed leisurely. They rested when they wanted to, feasting on sweet berries plucked straight from the plant only moments before, and spent the rest of their time exploring the jungle, climbing through the labyrinth of trees until they reached the highest branches, and then going even further. The foliage was thick and the leaves tickles the skin when they parted, twigs scraping a warning against their skin, but they didn't let it stop them, rising until they could see the sky once more, the jungle stretched out around them for miles, tangled green as far as they eye could see, rising and falling over mountains and ravines made entirely of wood and leaf.
They followed the course of streams to their end, pooling deep in the dim jungle, so clear and cold it felt like ice against the skin and drank their fill, feeling the cold touch of the fresh water right down to their bones. There were recent tracks at the edge of one of the pools and for a time they followed them, growing more and more curious, before they lost them once more - the tracks vanishing without a trace.
Isonali considered looking around for more but gave it up soon enough, the feeling of something hidden in the undergrowth watching them warning him off. Instead they raced back into the treetops, scrambling up vines and clambering up branches as quickly as they could. Tsu'tey beat him by a long shot, seeming to find a hand-hold wherever he looked, and Isonali took revenge by flicking him with a wet piece of leaf when he started looking too smug.
At one point they heard the deep howl of something nearby, something large, something on the hunt, and they both went silent, retreating higher into the trees with a share glance, Tsu'tey's hand going to his bow and Isonali reaching for the dagger. They waited there in silence for minutes, hours, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest, but they heard no more from it. Whatever it was it had passed without incident, finding more prolific prey elsewhere.
Night came before he knew it, the long hours of the afternoon vanishing impossibly fast until, suddenly, the forest was growing even dimmer, orange streaks of sunlight fading through the leaves. Soon the night glow began in earnest, moss lighting up with every step they took.
Isonali lay back, watching as the plant lit up one by one, the glow spreading through the jungle as the dusky night came into full swing. It was never truly dark, not really. Even during the deepest part of the night it remained something near twilight, the planets in the sky reflecting a pale light down on them, no where near as vigorous as the sun's rays, but enough to keep it from ever being pitch black. Every day a full moon, only a hundred times as large.
"Did you think this was what you would be doing, all those months ago?" Tsu'tey asked. He was lying beside him, his bow at his side, in reach but out of mind. Isonali tilted his head, looking at him. Tsu'tey's eyes shone in the darkness, reflecting light like a cat, and Eywa's patterns glowed on his skin, pinpricks like star in a close sky. "One of the clan, training to take your place amongst us."
"Not really." Isonali said, leaning back to look up at the canopy once more. "When I first woke up in the jungle I thought I was going to die."
"And after that? At the hometree?"
"I don't know. I wasn't sure was I was going to do. I thought about maybe going to visit some of the other clans - maybe try and find out who I was - but that was before Mo'at and Eytukan offered me a place." He wouldn't have last more than two days in the jungle, he knew now. If the predators hadn't got him the plants would have. There were too many of them, all dangerous in too many nasty ways for him not to have met the wrong side of one at some point.
"I am glad you did not leave." Tsu'tey said after a long moment's silence. Then: "I think it would have been dull without you."
"You have other friends." Isonali said, rolling his eyes. "If you ever get round to talking to them again."
Tsu'tey chucked. "Certainly none of them are as annoying as you are." Isonali huffed, but Tsu'tey wasn't done. "Or as stubborn, quarrelsome, clumsy, messy haired-"
"Better than prideful." Isonali interrupted. "Smug, bull-headed, stubborn, stupidly serious-"
"Being serious is not a fault." Tsu'tey said, sitting up. "A good man should always be serious."
"A rock should also always be serious." Isonali countered, rolling over onto his stomach. His tail flicked playfully behind him. "But you don't see me trying to imitate that."
Tsu'tey laughed, dropping back down onto the branch. "I do not see how stone could have emotions, but perhaps you are correct."
