"Damn him. Damn him and all his friends." She swore angrily as she stomped her way away from where she had left the ignorant males. Awa was fuming, she was livid at the way they treated her. At first she didn't mind their teasing but then the teasing became truthful wishes; one that Tsu'tey scolded his friend for but probably shared.

Awa stared at the ground for a few seconds before lifting her head high and jutting her nose up in the air. They could laugh and belittle her all they wanted but her head would remain high and she would walk with pride for their opinion would soon be forgotten. Though it had only been a month or more since she started living with the Na'vi she had grown, her confidence that had been already high in Na'vi form had become more resilient and continued to do so with every insult, obstacle and injury. She had started to dissociate her two forms: the human one and the Na'vi one, if only to protect her mind from the acts Quaritch forced upon her and the various punishments he delivered to her whenever he saw fit.

The dreamwalker groaned and stared up at the sky as if the blue held all the answers. Her heart felt heavy in her chest but it was a comforting weight, it proved to her that her being there and learning affected them-that her presence affected Tsu'tey enough that he would go out of his way to acknowledge her, however mean and ill-intended as it is. Her muscles ached from the harsh training Atxa was putting her through even though it had been at least two days since they last did anything that physically draining.

"Awa" A sweet and commanding voice called for her attention and she turned towards it with a surprised widening of her golden eyes.

The voice came from a young Na'vi woman with a pearly necklace around her throat that glimmered and shone a radiant pink in the sunlight. The woman also bore clothing of high ranking such as the soft fabric that made up her blue loincloth and the intricate chest covering made out of branches and twists of darker blue fabric. The way she held herself also suggested her social standing: strong, confident and effortless- the posture of a born leader.

"Princess" She greeted and bowed her head as she timidly walked closer, all confidence flown out of the window as soon as she caught the attention of the daughter of the Omaticayan Olo'eyktan, Neytiri. Though her title was not often used as a greeting by those among her, such formalities were usually reserved to the Tsahìk, Olo'eyktan and a few other exceptions, she still felt a need to greet her properly to avoid embarrassing herself. It was known that at least in among the Omaticaya the princesses and princes, though there was only one princess at the moment, with their names and most of the time the Tsahìk was also known by her name; Mo'at.

"Neytiri" The princess corrected with a smile and a hint of an eye roll.

Awa straightened up and nodded. "Neytiri, what can I do for you?"

Neytiri cleared her throat and waved a hand towards the small group of four that stood slightly behind her and all had their toned limbs crossed over their chests as they gave Awa suspicious stares. "This is Lu'o," She gestured to the one standing almost directly behind her; a young girl that barely reached Neytiri's shoulders and unlike most of the Na'vi Awa had seen she bore a pink dress that draped down to just under her scraped knees. Her face was thin and full of sharp angles and harsh shadowing. "And this is Kaa," This girl had a hint of a bump on her defined stomach that was only noticeable when she shifted her weight from one foot or the other. She wore a loincloth that was purple and was a bit shorter than that of Neytiri but longer than Awa's, it had a slight decoration on the upper seam of it that hinted on a higher status in the hierarchy but nowhere close to a chief's daughter.

"Ngethaw," This one was taller than Neytiri and had strong, muscled shoulders that she squared at Awa. Her face was heartshaped and softer than Kaa with only a soft shadowing from her barely-seen cheekbones. Awa winced as the woman clenched her fists. Neytiri slapped her friend on her shoulder and sent Awa a tense smile. "And finally Srrua" The princess rolled the r's. Srrua was a bit shorter than Awa but not by much and made up for it with the way she held herself. Her hair was let loose but shaved on the sides, and she had a intimidating necklace around her slim neck with a long, pearly white tooth that laid firm against her chest.

"I see you" Awa made the movement and made eye contact with each and every one of Neytiri's friends who didn't return the gesture. "So, what can I help you with?"

Neytiri shook her head and playing with her fingers. "I wanted to meet the tawtute that Atxa speaks so highly of, and you do not disappoint. You're just as beautiful and strong as he described." Awa smiled with a blush creeping up her neck. "Is it true that he threw you off a tree?"

"Yes" Awa let out peals of laughter. "And then I climbed up so he could do it again."

"I always wondered what training with Atxa was like. He stopped taking students before I was born, you must be special" The Na'vi woman placed a hand on her shoulder and closed her eyes. "The Tsahìk, my mother, said that she could feel the soul of a person if she placed her hands on them and-" Her eyes snapped open. She gave Awa a sheepish smile. "I forgot what it was she did next. I'll have to ask her and then come back and try again"

Awa opened her mouth and then closed it again, stunned by Neytiri's words. "My-my soul?"

"All beings have a soul, even humans like you. It's all connected to Eywa and I'm going to be the next Tsahìk- I must practice my link to Eywa and how to use it. My sister was supposed to be but she-she-"

"That sounds 'cool'" Awa commented, interrupting Neytiri when she noticed the crestfallen look in her eyes and stepped back, making Neytiri's hand fall from her shoulder and fall to her side. The dreamwalker wasn't sure if she wanted the Na'vi woman to read her soul, what if it was bad?

Neytiri hummed and scratched her chin in thought. "Atxa mentioned your gift, I'll ask mother for you"

Awa didn't think she could be even more surprised by Neytiri but she was wrong. She was almost ashamed to admit that she was about to jump at the opportunity to procrastinate meeting the infamous Tsahìk of the blue flute clan. "Really?" She gushed out before she could compose herself, her heart skipped a beat. "I would really like that."

"Could you give this to Tsu'tey? I was going to give it to him but you always seem to find each other" Neytiri took the leather pouch she had attached to her loincloth and handed it over to Awa who, with shaky, sweaty hands, grabbed it.

"O-okay" Awa stuttered out, not at all wanting to see, much less talk to Tsu'tey but couldn't find it in her to say no to the Na'vi in front of her that stared at her with a commanding look befitting a ruler and a sly grin that betrayed the otherwise stern face. "If I see him I'll give it to him" She emphasized the 'if' to mark the fact that she and Tsu'tey did not spend as much time together as she was hinting to.

"I wish you luck, may Eywa guide your path and bring you wisdom until our next meeting" The formality of the sentence was not lost on Awa but she didn't comment on it.

"Same to you, Neytiri. Until next time" Awa nodded her head to Neytiri's friends who had been silent during the whole interaction and they didn't answer her nor nodded back. They kept their firm stares on her that Awa could feel burning holes in her back as she started walking away from them.

She turned the pouch over in her hand, fumbling with it as she tried to figure out what could be inside of it. It had something hard inside of it that had a sharp edge on it that could just barely be felt through the thick leather it was protected inside. Awa was so focused on the pouch that she didn't see where she was going and as a result felt the wind get knocked out of her as she fell to the floor after bumping into a hard wall. Only it wasn't a wall but a strong, hard back that she had walked right into and pushed herself to the ground.

"You are a very clumsy bug" A voice gruffed at her, sounding way closer than she had expected. "Watch where you're going"

Awa scoffed and averted her eyes from where she had been staring. "I wouldn't have to if you didn't walk straight into me" She pushed herself to her feet and then bent over to get the pouch that she had dropped a bit away from her. It didn't sound broken when she shook it but she couldn't be sure until Tsu'tey received it, god knows what he would do to her if she broke his... whatever was in the pouch.

Tsu'tey snickered and brushed himself off as if her walking into him had made him dirty. She glared at the gesture and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "You're blind" He shot back. "You walked into me, demon"

"I don't think so"

"Then you're wrong" He leered down at her, his body tense and his usual scowl present on his face. "Stupid and blind."

"Whatever, I don't want to deal with you now. Go bother someone else" She spat at him with a twisted frown on her face. Awa was one hundred percent fed up with Tsu'tey and was convinced that she would hit him right in the face if she didn't walk away. "And take this with you. It's from Neytiri" Awa told him and threw the pouch at him, which he effortlessly caught in the air and brought closer to his face.

Tsu'tey didn't answer her, only looking down on her with his jaw clenched and chin held high. "I pity Atxa. I would never teach a demon, especially one like you. Arrogant, full of yourself, blind and stupid. Skxawng."

"Then it's a good thing you're not my teacher. I doubt you could do it half as good as him" She snarled at him, her blood boiling as he disrespected her and doubting her every capability. His words had less effect on her this time, she was ready for his onslaught, that she as considering if it was him trying to protect himself because surely it must be exhausting to hate on her all the time like he did. Awa couldn't resist throwing in her own jab at him, a kind of revenge on him, but any satisfaction from it went away when she saw that it didn't affect him in the slightest- not even a twitch of his eye or lip.

Tsu'tey chuckled. "I have never been one for taking on students out of pity but Atxa seems to have made an exception" He looked her up and down and then snickered. "It's pointless to try and teach your kind, you cannot see. Just look at you, weak"

"I told you not to call me that"

"Why do you want lies whispered in your ears? If you can't take it then leave. .weak." Tsu'tey pushed her shoulder, lightly, and hissed at her when she couldn't stand against the weak force behind it. Her shoulder were easily manipulated at the force and she had to take a few steps back so as to not fall again. He stared at her with disappointment in his eyes, as if he had expected her to try and prove him wrong. "Are you even trying?"

Awa scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Now you care? Of course I'm trying! I'm constantly training, and if I'm not doing that I'm learning the songs, the history of your people. I'm always trying my best, nothing less is good enough."

"Then why do you let us walk all over you? Are you a coward? Cowards have no place amongst the people"

"I let you walk all over me? I try to stand my ground but you and your group of bullies run me over every single time!" Awa sighed and pinched her nose. "Would a coward agree to a fight that she knew she had no chance of winning just so she could prove that she wanted this? Would a coward constantly fight back against those much stronger and able than her just to earn their acceptance? No, I don't think so"

He shook his head at her. "You're the first to be allowed to train with us since before-, ever, and yet you complain at every little thing we do. Have you ever considered that maybe you're not as great as you've fooled yourself to be? That you, a human, decided that you are owed a spot with us, without proving anything? Think a little, use that bug brain of yours" Tsu'tey spat at her feet. "You skypeople are all the same- arrogant and stupid. You are no different from them"

She opened her mouth to reply to him with tears burning her eyes but he walked away before she could. His words shook her to the core in ways she hadn't expected them to. Was it possible that he was right? Had she expected them to give it to her so much that she had given up on trying with them? That maybe she hadn't been as open minded as she needed to be and that she in her mind had made this fantasy picture where she felt like she deserved to be with them. Or was he speaking out of anger like so many times before? Awa wasn't sure anymore, alls he felt was confusion. Atxa and Ngeha said one thing but Tsu'tey said another, and Tsu'tey had never lied to her before. Maybe there was some truth to what he said, and that she should make more of an effort to actually learn with the people instead of holding on to what she had learnt in her classes.

But Awa wasn't like the others of her kind, if only because of the gift she had gotten from Eywa that had only given her pain and suffering so far, but also because of her feeling more like a Na'vi than human. She wasn't human anymore, but she also wasn't Na'vi, and soon she would have to make her final decision on what she was and cut ties with the other. She couldn't be both, Tsu'tey had said enough to make her realise that her confliction was the problem.