It turned out Fingers had a small skull fracture.
Tsa'peen, former CMO at Hell's Gate and now healer of the Ikran People dropped in to see him. "You must have hit your head damn hard," she commented, idly scanning an image of his head on a data tablet. "Na'vi skeletal structures are reinforced with carbon fibre. It's just as well you managed to retain consciousness long enough to get under cover."
"Why's that?" asked Fingers curiously.
"Na'vi are susceptible to hypothermia," was her blunt reply. "More so than humans. They don't have fat reserves as protection. A couple of days of unconsciousness in the rain in those damn mountains could easily have killed you."
Fingers shivered. He hadn't realised he had been in that much trouble. All he remembered was being warm and comfortable.
"You'll need to take it quietly for about two or three months," she continued. "Broken bones take longer to heal for the Na'vi – the carbon fibre lattices are slow to repair. I'm afraid your wandering woodchopper gig will have to go on hold for a while."
She scanned the image more closely. It was amazing, really. Tsa'peen would have expected some inflammation and swelling of the brain from an injury like Fingers'. Well, there was some, but it was minor. He really had been lucky.
Her study of traditional healing practices told her these types of injuries could be treated by tsahaylu. Apparently, if one was mated, making the bond reduced swelling and inflammation of the brain. Tsa'peen had seen a similar case with a young Ikran woman who had fallen awkwardly from her pa'li. Forming tsahaylu with her husband had brought her around remarkably quickly.
She reflected sadly this wasn't the case with Fingers. Se'ayl had been a lovely young woman. He was damned lucky the injury was not as bad as it could have been, as there were few other therapies available to control brain swelling for a Na'vi.
"Ok," agreed Fingers. "I could do with a holiday."
Tsa'peen asked, "What about your hunt for the mysterious Nantangte?"
Fingers half-smiled. "Uluta is fine."
"Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked with a smile.
He shrugged. "I bumped into her after leaving the Rongloa. Nothing to tell, really. We didn't get on."
The expression on his face told Tsa'peen there was definitely something he wasn't telling her. She wanted to pry, to weasel out what really happened in their encounter. The problem was her professionalism as a medico interfered, as he still looked damned tired.
"Get some rest," she ordered brusquely. "I'll drop in for a look at you in a few weeks.
"Ok," he agreed sleepily, and started to nod off.
As it was, Fingers was more or less confined to base for the next four months. The fracture took longer to heal than even the worst estimate from the medical staff, and Fingers was left to mooch about Hell's Gate with little to do.
He did spend some time plotting sightings of Uluta, or rather Nantangte. Even the former humans called her that now.
Her legend was growing into some Na'vi combination of the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. What really amazed him was how quickly she moved around, and the extent of her range.
Fingers spent a lot of time perched up on the roof of the control tower, looking out into the forest. He wasn't unhappy. It was that a sense of longing and need to be out there amongst the green had stricken his soul.
When he was finally given the all-clear, Fingers didn't waste any time. He struck out for his original destination at the first opportunity.
Galina Stefanova Uluta woke screaming.
The two viperwolves alongside her stirred, Kizlun getting to her feet and climbing into her lap. Galina clasped her sister in her arms and wept.
She remembered everything.
Galina was the woman the Na'vi children called Nantangte, she was the human soldier, and she was the abused child who was beaten and raped by her foster-father. She was the murderess, and worst of all she was the woman who had betrayed and raped the blue one named Ayzekwä.
She knew herself, and she was evil.
Only one thing stopped her from drawing her knife and slicing open the veins in her arms, spilling her blood on the soil of the forest – the stirring of the new life inside her swelling belly.
The greeting Fingers received at the home of the Ikran People was as warm and welcoming as always. He was ushered to the workshop of the Tsahik, for all the clan knew and understood he was her friend and comrade.
"Ayzekwä," she said with genuine pleasure, "Oe ngati kameie."
He acknowledged the greeting with a gesture, and said pointedly, "Na'vi, Sharon? What happened to most foul-mouthed English speaker ever to live?"
Sharon laughed and embraced him. "I'm out of practice," she admitted shame-facedly. "I haven't spoken 'Ìnglìsì in months."
Fingers laughed with her. "You're still speaking Na'vi," he observed drily.
"So I am," she replied. "Let's have a look at the recovering invalid." Sharon held him at arm's length to examine his face, a shadow passing briefly over her face. If Fingers had blinked, he would have missed it.
"Are you ok?" he asked, suddenly concerned.
"I'm fine," she said, her tone saying anything but. Cautiously, she asked, "Did anything happen between you and Galina?"
Fingers immediately looked shamefaced. For a latecomer to the whole Tsahik deal, Sharon was fucking uncanny how deeply she could see into a guy's soul. "We fought, after I left the Rongloa Hometree. I kissed her, and she ran off. I didn't mean to – it just happened." He sighed, adding, "I haven't seen Galina since – I wanted to apologise."
Sharon bit her lip, but did not respond.
"What's wrong?" demanded Fingers. Now she was bloody worrying him.
"Ayzekwä," she said slowly, her voice lowering subtly, underlining the importance of what she was about to say. Sharon repeated, "Ayzekwä, you show every sign of being recently mated. Have you made tsahaylu with a woman?"
English words exploded from Fingers' mouth. "You've got to be kidding!"
A deadly silence deepened between them. The seriousness of Sharon's face showed her to be doing anything other than kidding him.
"The bitch," whispered Fingers. He felt unclean, violated. The Uluta cunt had raped him, raped him while he was helpless. "I'll kill her."
As he spun to leave Sharon's steely grip clamped on his forearm. "Wait," she ordered softly. "There are facts you need to know."
His words were as cold as interstellar space. "I'm waiting."
Sharon hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Galina Stefanova Uluta has no reason to trust any male," she said quietly. "She was abused by her foster-father for eleven years."
No other words could have had the same impact.
The Tsahik of the Ikran People – for now she truly was Tsahik, and not his friend – released his arm. She said, "When Galina was seventeen, she was charged with his murder. She escaped conviction, and was released on the grounds of justifiable homicide." Sharon sighed. "There's more. On remand, she was beaten and raped by two guards. They escaped punishment for their crime – unless if you count their deaths in the ruin of 'Rrta as justice."
Almost, he forgave her, but then Fingers' heart hardened. "That's no excuse."
"No, it isn't," agreed Sharon. "Humanity was sick. No Na'vi would do such a thing – it is not even physically possible."
"She raped me," he stated, his voice flat and cold.
"I only have two things to add," said the Tsahik. "The first is that by mating with you, Galina probably saved your life. Tsahaylu increases blood flow to the queue, providing a relief valve for excessive pressure on the brain. It also decreases blood pressure in the rest of the body, except in one or two obvious areas. Tsa'peen told me that over the time it was left untreated, swelling of the brain from your skull fracture should have killed you. She couldn't explain your survival otherwise."
"What is the second?" A tiny sliver of doubt crept into his voice.
"One question that only you can answer," said Sharon. "Are you sure it was rape?"