AN: Chapter 11 has been edited so if you haven't already, go re-read it!
"No"
"No?" Tsu'tey echoed with a surprised look on his face, his mouth slightly open and eyes widening. "No?"
"No" Awa repeated with a firm look on her face, she was never going to gain a place in the clan if she wasn't willing to prove herself. This was just a test, she told herself, just another test to pass. "I won't walk away"
"Awa, walk away." Atxa tried to persuade her, knowing that this was a fight that she would never win. He felt disappointed with himself that he let this happen, he brought her in confidence that his clan would at least be passive aggressive, not openly challenging her to fights. Damn you, Tsu'tey, he thought to himself, damn you. "This isn't a test, this isn't something you can win. Walk away!"
"It's okay" She smiled at him but he could see the fear in her eyes, her crippling self-doubt coming back but her pride preventing her from backing down. "It'll be fine."
"You're not ready for this, he'll kill you" Atxa snarled back, his anxiety and fear turning into anger as he watched his student who he had grown fond of challenge the best fighter in the clan. Someone who would not hold back and would be running high on all that hate. "It's not too late to back down"
"This is something that I need to do and you know it. I need to prove myself" Awa shot back after she dropped down into a crouch, staring at her opponent with her head held high.
"There are other ways to prove yourself without possibly getting killed!" Atxa desperately yelled out, all thoughts of keeping his cool composure flying out the window. He saw the look in Tsu'tey's eyes when he stared down his noticeably much smaller opponent, this was not going to be pretty.
"The dreamwalker has made its decision, now step out of the circle" Tsu'tey grinned and shook his head from side to side, making his hair follow the motion. He laughed as if he couldn't believe it and like this was something that would be over within seconds.
Atxa reluctantly stepped out of the circle and crossed his arms over his chest after coming to a halt. He didn't like it but would respect her decision, besides even if he didn't and decided to force her to forfeit he would ruin any chance she had at ever gaining their respect and he would severely damage her honor. If you issued a challenge you had to follow through with it, he admired her for doing it and standing strong against an opponent so much more skilled and bigger than her.
Awa sighed and put her hands up in front of her face, trying to mimic the pose so many heroes and villains did in the old stories. She and Atxa hadn't gotten to the fighting part of her training yet so she would have to wing it. Tsu'tey laughed when he saw her small fists clenching and his friends laughed along with him. Her eyes narrowed and her ears flattened to a point where they almost touched her head. He was laughing at her.
She felt so humiliated and with each second of laughter from the natives surrounding her her shame grew and finally she snapped. The anger bubbled over and the shame turned to rage. She lunged at him, pushing away from the ground with her strong legs, making large indents in the dry soil. She flew towards him with her hands outstretched in front of her, tail deadly still and teeth bared in a silent snarl. She was going to get him for that.
He side-stepped her lunge without even looking at her and his laughter grew louder and higher in pitch when she fell to the ground with a light thud. She pulled herself to all fours and blew some hair out of her hair as she glared at the Na'vi. She pulled herself to her feet, already feeling the exhaustion creeping onto her. Tsu'tey turned around with a big smirk on his face, his face having a slight red undertone from laughing so much.
"You fight like a baby" He teased her and slightly shifted his necklace back in place that had moved when he avoided her jump. "I give you one last chance to walk away"
She growled in response, a sound vibrating in her chest and into the air. Awa repositioned herself, legs spread slightly to give herself extra balance and her hands in front of her face again. The male sighed as if she was a fly he didn't even want to bother swatting away from his face. Tsu'tey gave her a lazy smirk and a slight shake off his head before walking slowly towards her, his posture relaxed and slightly lazy. She would be lying if she said it didn't hurt her ego that he didn't even consider her the least bit a threat.
"If you wish to fight then let's fight" He told her before letting the amusement on his face melt away into a mask of indifference.
"Enough talking already!" She spat at him and lunged again, this time sprinting at him with her left shoulder pointing forward, hoping to bury it into his stomach.
All she could hear as she rushed at him was the blood pumping in her ears and the harsh slapping of her feet on the forest floor. Everything outside of the circle melted away, the Na'vi turning into mere shadows.
At last second before she hit him she righted herself and threw a punch at his stomach that he easily avoided and grabbed her hand, spinning it around her back. Her back arched as he pressed her hand closer to her back, forcing her to the ground in one simple controlled movement. She tried to stand up, pushing her legs into the ground and letting out a loud groan but he pushed her down harder.
With sweat pouring down her forehead she swiped one of her legs at his, making her fall to the ground and him let go of her out of shock. She jumped to her feet, her breath coming out in heavy, labored pants. Tsu'tey aimed a light punch at her shoulder but she ducked from it and instead ran straight into his stomach and wrapped her arms around him, hoping to be able to throw him down to the ground. He didn't move an inch, he didn't even shake as she barreled into him.
"I knew humans were weak but not that they were this weak" He spat at her and flicked her head with a scowl on his face. "I've been playing nice but no more."
His words shook her, she thought he had tried and that's why she couldn't get in a hit but it turned out that he hadn't been putting in any effort at all. That's the moment she knew she fucked up.
Tsu'tey pushed the dreamwalker away from him, then swiped at her legs in one consecutive movement, making her fall to the forest ground again with wide open eyes filled with fear that he didn't care about. He didn't care that he would hurt her, he wouldn't even care if she died, she was just vermin, a human that came and infected his planet and in his eyes he would be doing everyone a favor if he killed her.
She scrambled to get away from him, her hands desperately grabbing anything on the ground she could reach to try and push herself away from the now angry Na'vi. He aimed a kick at her stomach that would without a doubt make her lose the air in her lungs and curl into a ball of pain. She rolled out of the way in the last second, feeling his foot coming down on her hair, only just missing her tswin. She pushed herself to her feet and aimed a pitful punch at his knee that and just as he touched him with her closed fist he pushed his knee forward and slammed into her fragile nose.
She fell back down with a loud cry of pain and scarlet blood rushing down her nose. Tears rushed down her face as she cradled her nose, not seeing the well placed kick he placed on her side, making her wail out loud as she hit the ground again. Her side was screaming at her, numbing her body with the pain it radiated.
Awa tried to push herself to her feet but went down again, this time with the side of her head aching and pulsing in pain after he punched her back down. Despite all the aching and mind numbing pain she felt she knew that he was still holding back. Tsu'tey pulled her to her feet roughly, making her sob from the pressure he put on her already aching body parts and then he released her. She swayed side to side as she tried to stay up, her head spinning and legs threatening to give up any second.
The woman took a step forward and gave him a weak push with her bloody hand, staining his chest with her handprints and blood. She raised her fists and starting banging them on his chest with angry groans of pains but then fell back down to the ground when he kicked the back of her knees.
This time she didn't push herself to her knees, not even when he kicked her in the side again, forcing a new wave of nauseating pain onto her. No, she was done. It was over.
He whooped loudly, laughing at his victory as he spun around to watch all of his clan members. All of them except for Atxa whooped with him as they yelled out their cries of victory. He spared the dreamwalker no glances as he paraded around the circle, letting out the occasional yell of victory.
"Enough!" A harsh voice rang out into the the small are they were in, silencing all the congratulations and other noises and stopping Tsu'tey right in his track. "She is our guest, brought by the honored teacher and warrior Atxa, is this how we treat our guests?"
"She is a dreamwalker, Ngeha" Tsu'tey snarled out, his fists and chest still painted with the unconscious dreamwalker. He saw nothing wrong with what he had done, she issued the challenge, he accepted and won. If she couldn't handle that then she didn't belong in the clan anyways.
"She is our guest, you don't know her soul, Tsu'tey. Now leave! All of you!" The female Na'vi barked when no one moved and went to treat her now patient. "You will regret this Tsu'tey, mark my words"