10. Lessons for teachers
It took the teachers some tries to get onto their ikrans.
"You'll learn to do that more easily," Lolet grinned as she saw the cumbersome stunts. "Don't worry about that now." She started giving some tips about how to guide an ikran in flight.
Rakan seemed to be affected by that and started to tell Puvomun while Lolet focussed on Amhul.
"Right, now if you sit stable, just relax and tell your ikran to spread its wings for a moment," the young hunter said. "But be careful, if the ikran feels pain, it has to stop. It will know that, of course, but you have to be aware of it."
Puvomun nodded and hoped he had understood. "Spread your wings, my friend, spread your wings."
"No, you don't say it," Rakan said, "you think it. As if they are your wings."
"Let Amhul try it," Lolet suggested, but Amhul was lost for a moment as well.
Puvomun closed his eyes and sensed what his ikran sensed. Then there was a sensation, a strange one. He opened his eyes and was just in time to see how the ikran retracted its wings.
It took Amhul a few tries, but then her ikran spread her wings also.
Amaya clapped her hands. "You are doing great!"
Ekirä came a bit closer now. "You will have to be careful when you fly, I think," she said as she looked up and around, "there is not much space here."
Rakan snorted. "That is easy. Just tell your ikran to fly and let it find its way. It is much better at that than we are."
Amaya looked at Rakan. "I think I have to faint now. You admit that there is something an ikran does better than you?"
Rakan was lost for words, and only when laughter was his share, he tried to defend himself, but all his attempts fell on deaf ears.
"Wait, wait, wait," Lolet shouted over the laughter. "There is something important you should know. When you reach Hometree, don't try to tell your ikran how to land on the branches at the top. Just tell it to land there, and let the ikran do the rest. It knows best." She looked at her mate. "Rakan is right."
Rakan looked less hurt after that.
"Usually it is easy to land, because then there is at least one experienced ikran maktoyu around to guide people, but we have no other way at the moment."
"Lolet, hold on," Rakan then said, "maybe we can do something. I can run back and fly out to come here. If they wait until you can see me, I can take them flying and help them get to Kelutral."
"You would do that?" Lolet asked.
"Of course. I am an experienced ikran rider, srak?" Pride was very present in Rakan, and here was his change to put it to good use.
"You are." Everyone agreed with that.
Rakan grinned and ran off.
Meanwhile the teachers were still on their ikrans, uncertain if they should sit there or not. Lolet advised them to stay where they were. "That way you are ready to try and fly when Rakan comes back."
"That boy surprises me time and again," said Amhul.
"Me too," Lolet shrugged, "but don't call him 'boy' when he can hear you. He doesn't like that."
Puvomun laughed. "We are koaka sute, old people, we can call him boy."
Lolet shook her head. "He still won't like it."
They talked a while longer, while Ekirä kept going around, as she was not familiar with this part of their new home yet. Suddenly there was a cry from above, and when they looked, Lolet recognised the shape and colours of Rakan's ikran.
"Hold on and think 'fly'," she reminded the teachers. "And not both at once!"
Her advice was sound as the opening towards the treetops was quite small, only one ikran would be able to go through it at a time.
Puvomun waited and looked at Amhul, but she was looking at him. He understood that she was going to wait for him, so he held on and thought the word.
For a moment his ikran did not seem to understand, but then a jolt of energy came from her. She spread her wings, jumped up. Somehow it did not work, but she jumped again and cried out, and then with powerful beatings of her wings, they were off the ground.
Occasionally Puvomun felt a slight strange pain, that was not his, but was his too. It flashed through his mind that he sensed the wounds of his ikran, but it did not seem to hold her back. He cried out and she cried along with him, and then they were over the trees. The teacher was in a rush after this experience, and it took him a while before he heard Rakan shouting that he should level out his flying.
Puvomun trembled as he told his ikran to fly close to Rakan's, and then he looked down, at the sea of trees below. And there was a shape coming up from a small opening.
"Amhul!"
Rakan laughed. "She can't hear you, she is too far away! Are you feeling well?" The young man came a bit closer so they did not have to shout so much.
"Yes, we are fine, but I can feel the wounds are still a problem!"
"Oe tsleram, ma Puvomun, I understand! We will wait for Amhul to join us and then go home!"
Amhul showed remarkable control of her ikran, she was with the two others very quickly, and so they sailed around for a little while. Rakan decided then that they would return.
"Look where you want to go!" he yelled, "and then in your mind move towards it! We are going that way!" He pointed to the left, where the teachers saw their home tree rising high over the canopy of the forest.
It took the singer teachers a while to get used to directing the movement of their ikran, but once they understood the trick, it proved quite easy. Puvomun compared it to floating in a river without really swimming. Just the occasional moving of a hand or foot to adjust course was all that was needed.
When they reached Hometree, Rakan started telling them to fly around the tree once, so the ikran could see how it was arranged, and then they should just tell it to land there. The animals had obviously no need for this explanation. As Rakan yelled something, sounding very disgruntled, the two dove straight for the tree and found themselves a good perch.
Puvomun had thrown his arms around the ikran's neck as it had gone into the dive, afraid to fall off, but as the landing happened so swift and fast, he was half convinced already that his ikran would have been careful enough.
"Puvomun! Puvomun!" he heard from behind him. "I'm here!"
He slowly turned, the rush of the flight still coursing through his body, and saw Amhul, waving. He laughed as he saw her shining face and watched how easily she slipped off her ikran. He dropped himself to the wide branch also, while from a little bit further the sound of another ikran arriving rustled towards him.
By the time the teacher had broken tsaheylu, Rakan was with him.
"Irayo si Eywaru," the young man said, "thanks be Eywa. You scared me just now, who taught you that?" He really looked scared and concerned, something not many people were allowed to witness.
"We didn't, really," Puvomun said as Amhul crossed the short distance to them.
"Our ikrans were hurting," she simply said, "and they wanted to sit down as quickly as they could. When the others are back, I will ask Amaya to see if there is more she can do for them."
"Oh. I see. Yes. Of course." Rakan seemed to stumble over his words.
Puvomun then asked the young man if they had to do something for the animals so they could find food.
"No, they'll be fine. They'll find food enough here. We'd best go down then. And I'll ask Nusumea Tirea if he can make eye-protection for you."
"That is very considerate of you, Rakan," Amhul grinned at the man's back. "Thank you."
The teachers agreed that covering their eyes was necessary when flying an ikran. Then they laughed as Rakan make a snorting sound.
As they reached the forest floor, Rakan loudly exclaimed that he was relieved that the two beginners had not fallen off their ikrans and that they were lucky they had not missed the tree. Before either of the teachers could comment, he was out of earshot already, and they just laughed at the way Rakan was protecting his image.
They did not lack for attention though. Rakan's loud exit had made everyone notice their return, and quickly the two were surrounded by people asking about their ikrans, and if they could see them, and about the flight, and so much more.
"We first want Nusumea or Amaya to check the ikrans," Puvomun said, "so you will have to wait."
The sounds of disappointment were only few, mostly from the children. And they were promised they could see the ikrans soon. After all, teachers with ikrans was something entirely new.
Na'vi - English.
Atokirina - seeds of the Sacred Tree
Ayewan - young ones
Ayfo lu tstunwi - They are kind
Ayfo makto nìwin - They ride too fast
Ayikran - plural of ikran
Aynivi - plural of nivi
Ayoeyä atxkxe - our land
Aysa'nok - mothers
Aysaronyu - plural of taronyu (also 'saronyu')
Aysawtute/sawtute - Sky people, the humans
Aysko / sko - bows
Ayuniltìranyu - plural of uniltìranyu, dreamwalkers
'Eveng - a child
Eveng - children
'Ewantu - young one
'Ewll - plant
'Eylan - friend
Eylan - plural of 'eylan
Eywa - the Goddess, nature, Gaia
Eywa ayoehu - Eywa be with us
Eywa ngahu - Eywa be with you
Fa'li/ayfa'li - plural of pa'li - horses
Fngap - metal
Fngapä ta'leng - metal skin, AMP suits
Hetuwong - plural of ketuwong - aliens
Heyn - to sit
Hì'i - small
Ikran - mountain banshee
Ikran makto - ikran rider
Irayo - thank you
'Ite - daughter
Kaltxì - hello
Karyu - teacher
Kava - alcoholic drink
Ke nìltsan - not well
Kefyak? - right?
Kehe - no
Kelutral - Hometree, where the Na'vi clan lives
Kelku lefngap - house of metal
Ketuwong - alien
Kìyevame - May we see each other again
Kxam - middle
Kxawm - maybe, perhaps
Kxetse - tail
Lu - is, to be
Ma yawne - (my) love
Makto zong - travel safely
Mawey - calm down
Mesawtute - two Sky people
Meveng - two children
Mllte - to agree
Nantang - six-legged direwolf
Nga - you
Nga yawne lu oer - You are my beloved
Nìltsan - well
Nìprrte - you're welcome
Ngeyä - your (ngeyä sa'nok - your mother)
Nivi - hammock
Numeyu - Student
Oe 'efu pa'li - I feel the horse
Oe irayo si Eywaru - My thanks to Eywa
Oe ke lu - I am not
Oel omum - I know
Oeyä koaka 'eylan - my old friend
Olo'eyktan - clan leader
Pa'li - six-legged direhorse
Palulukan - giant six-legged feline predator
Po lu - he is
Pxasìk - very bad curse-word
Rewon lefpom - good morning (lit. morning good)
Riti - stingbat
Rolyu - singer
'Rrta - Earth
Sa'nok - mother
Saronyu - hunters
Sempul - father
Set - now
Sì - and (used in listing things)
Sìltsan - good
Skxawng - moron, idiot
Sran, srane - yes
Srung - help (n)
Srung si - to help
Swizaw - arrow
Tam - Good, okay
Taronyu - hunter
Tawtute - Sky person, one human
Tokx - body
Tsa'u lu sìltsan - that is good
Tsaheylu - a mental bond, made by tendrils in a Na'vi braid to other living organisms on Pandora
Tsahik - spiritual leader, shaman
Tsamsiyu - warrior
Tsko - bow
Tsmuk - sibling
Tsmukan - brother
Tsmuke - sister
Tswin - queue, braid
Tokx - body
Txon lefpom - good night (lit. night good)
Ulte - and (used to combine sentences)
Uniltìrantokx - Avatar (dreamwalker) body
Uniltìranyu - Dreamwalker, a human in an Avatar body
Utral Aymokriyä - the Tree of Voices
Vitra - soul
Vitrautral - the Tree of Souls
Yerik - six-legged kind of deer