The unmistakeable lifesign of an adult Na'vi male was approaching. Na'dia did not need to guess who it was. She had committed this particular energy pattern to memory.

Na'dia signed to Ninat, "Your brother is coming."

Her lover nodded and replied, "I shall do as you requested." She walked towards the figure that appeared on the other side of the clearing. When she reached her brother, Ninat said, "Be gentle with her." She faded into the undergrowth, leaving Txep'ean standing alone, looking across the clearing at Na'dia, a confused expression on his face.

He made a decision, and came across to where Na'dia was standing. He said, "I did not expect to see you here."

She raised a brow at his statement, as though this was a question unworthy of an answer. The silence seemed to unsettle him.

"Can you speak?"

She shook her head. Na'dia had thought about this meeting for some time, and had decided that it would be unwise to use the speech functions of her pe'dehayu.

"Is it true what the Tsahik said? That you are possessed by the spirit of a palulukan?"

Na'dia nodded. When Txep'ean went to turn away, she grasped him by his arm, preventing him from leaving. Surprised, he did not attempt to release his arm from her firm hold, and allowed her to take his bow from his free hand. Na'dia then freed his arm, and went to hang the bow from a low branch of a nearby tree. She knew how important it was to keep the weapon away from damp – and how funny males were about their weapons. For that matter, so was Na'dia – she always made sure her swords were kept dry and clean.

He watched her bemused as she returned to stand in front of him. Na'dia settled with her two feet in a relaxed stance, breathed in as she lifted her arms to shoulder height, and then allowed them to fall, as she breathed out, totally emptying her lungs. When he stood there like a...well, a male, she repeated the movement, feeling the sense of well-being that always accompanied this movement.

Txep'ean stated, "You are intending to teach me, as I asked." His expression was guarded and wary, as though he did not trust her.

She made a gesture of assent, and repeated the relaxation movement a third time. Finally, he understood that he was to copy her movements, and did so.

That morning, she taught him some relaxation techniques, together with some of the basic stances and transitions. It turned out that he was not a bad student, and readily picked up what she wanted him to do – not only that, but his form was good as well. She hardly had to correct any of his movements.

When Na'dia thought he had had enough, she stopped the lesson, retrieved his bow and returned it to him, bowing politely. After he accepted it, he made a clumsy bow – this was not a normal gesture in the Na'vi vocabulary of movement, so she supposed that would have to do. In time he would get better at it.

Before he could leave, Na'dia pointed to the sun, drew an arc from east to west, pointed at him and then pointed at the ground.

"You want me to return here tomorrow?" he asked.

She repeated the gesture of assent she had used earlier.

Txep'ean nodded once, and left without further ceremony.

As soon as he departed the clearing, Ninat reappeared. Na'dia had felt her watching the entire lesson.

"You didn't offer him much encouragement, Na'dia," said Ninat. "I thought you would have jumped his bones by now."

Na'dia signed, "I don't want to rush him. It will be strange for him, getting used to me. Communication is one of the biggest parts of a relationship, and until he feels comfortable with me that just isn't going to happen."

Still, Na'dia was a little worried that he would not return the following day, so it was with much relief she felt his life energy returning to the clearing.

This set the pattern for the next few months. In the morning, Na'dia would train Txep'ean in the forms of taekkyon, then she would gather fruit with Ninat during the afternoons – although more often than not they would end up making love. Every few days she would make a point of meeting Peyral and Ney'tiri, to teach them both some sign. The interesting thing was that Txep'ean was picking up a large amount of sign just through her taekkyon lessons – faster than both her two sisters of the tsumuke'awsiteng – and she doubted he was aware that he was doing so.

And in the evenings, sometimes Ninat would stay with Na'dia, and other times she would sleep alone, while her lover slept at the Omaticaya camp.

Then, there was always Uniluke. A girl had to have some fun with her friends, after all.

She was surprised at how patient Txep'ean was. He didn't push her to start working on combat forms, just accepting her tuition and pacing, although of late he was looking twitchy, as though he wanted to try something a little more challenging than the basic forms she was teaching.

So the next morning, after the relaxation exercises, she stopped him from starting their normal routine.

Na'dia signed, "Strike me."

He hesitated, and said, "But you are a woman!"

Na'dia's vision flared red, and in less than two seconds, he was lying on the ground, struggling to breathe, after a receiving a series of solid blows, the last one of which struck the nerve complex below the ribs that was analogous to the human solar plexus. Na'dia offered him her arm, and hauled him to his feet.

She signed again, "Strike me. Hard."

Txep'ean made a half-assed effort, and ended up lying on the ground again, after she landed another blow under the ribs.

The next time he made an attempt to hit her, he was angry, but instead of hitting him under the ribs, she swept his legs out from underneath him. She didn't want to paralyse his diaphragm and have him suffocate, after all. She had much better things for him to do.

This time, Txep'ean got the message. He was unlikely to hurt her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Use what you know," she signed. Slowly she ran Txep'ean through what she had done in each case, and demonstrated how he could have blocked or countered each blow by using the moves she had taught him.

An expression of understanding spread across his face. He had wondered why she had been teaching all these moves that seemed more like a dance than anything else – he had been itching to find out when he was going to be taught how to fight, and now he realised everything she had shown him was with deadly purpose. It was all blocks, counters, recoveries and strikes, every single move.

It was just as well that Na'vi were tougher than humans. She hammered him hard, and often by the end of a lesson he would be left bruised and bleeding. Na'dia wondered what he was telling his friends in the clan, how he was explaining his battered appearance. After all, he couldn't use the excuse that 'I fell and hit my head on the doorknob' – no doors out here. But he kept on coming back for more, and he learned fast. She didn't give him any choice.

So she was surprised one day when he pulled a counter she had never seen before, and found herself spinning over his hip towards the ground. She twisted to break hold, but all Na'dia managed to achieve was to bring him down to the ground with her. Txep'ean had her pinned by each wrist, and was straddling her waist – she was pinned, and could not break from his hold. He was, after all, quite a lot stronger than she was.

After a couple of brief, futile struggles, she stopped and looked into his eyes. His look of triumph slowly shifted, darkening to something entirely different, when she felt her heart flutter. Her body softened and she bit her lip, wishing that he would kiss her.

Eywa granted her wish. Txep'ean leant down to kiss her gently. Her lips parted, inviting his tongue within, and soon she found that his hands were cradling her face and her arms were wrapped around him.

However, while she loved the sensation of the kiss, she had to ensure that the respect a student had for his sensei remained, so she twisted slightly and suddenly Txep'ean found that he was lying on his back, a heel strike hitting him in what seemed her favourite area to strike – just below the ribs. He gasped for breath, as she stood up and grinned at him.

Na'dia signed, "Never trust an enemy until she is completely within your control."

After Txep'ean got up, he nodded, and said, "That was a good lesson. I will remember that."

He bowed – much more gracefully than his first bow - and was about to leave when she signed, "From now, each time you better me, I will grant you a kiss. It may aid your progress to have some victory prize to strive for."

Txep'ean's skin darkened and he slowly smiled. "I will endeavour to learn even faster," he said. "Such a prize is worth winning."

"Bring your staff tomorrow," she signed.

Suddenly he coughed and spluttered. When Na'dia flicked up an eyebrow in question, he answered, "Ah, staff is often used as a nickname for...um...one's manhood."

Na'dia looked at him boldly as she gestured, "Is that the case? Perhaps you should bring them both."

She had never heard him laugh before.