Awa let out a bird-like call as she swooped down over the trail of Na'vi mounted on pa'li, moving up the hallelujah mountains and towards the ikran nests. She grinned at her mate when he shot her an irritated glance and a huff before focusing back on what he was doing, steering a bit more aggressively and his back straightening.
Lilo crooned softly and shook her head, casting her rider hopeful looks. Awa chuckled and guided Lilo up in the air, feeling the wind flowing through her thin braids, caressing her cheeks and threatening to push her off Lilo if she made a wrong move. Strange how things so gentle and beautiful could also be so deadly, Pandora in a nutshell. They swooped up over one of the mountains and made a sharp turn to avoid the waterfall from the one above it.
The Na'vi woman whooped and pushed a clenched fist in the air, making some of the ikran resting on the sides of the mountains screech and fly away from the flying woman. Lilo dived under the flying rock and over the one coming next. Water fell on them but Awa laughed through it all.
"I can't believe this is happening. I thought for sure he'd die, not that he'd be going through his iknimaya at this moment." Awa whispered, patting her ikran on the side. "Isn't it crazy, Lilo?"
The animal hissed and Awa chuckled. She told her winged animal to fly down and the pair spiralled down at an alarming, but controlled, speed towards where the Na'vi group was climbing up some of the stones that were connected with strong vines and branches. The stones were connected to where they had left the pa'li and the top where they would later jump over to another mountain. After that the group had jumped they would need to do some more climbing until they reached the ikrans main hangout amongst the legendary floating mountains of Pandora.
She flew around the climbing hunters and students, smiling crookedly at her mate and nodding to Jake before doing a thumbs up to Tsu'tey's little brother who was looking nervous and on the verge of passing out. The born Na'vi flew up the strip of stones, moving agily like lemurs while Jake was falling behind and was significantly slower than the rest of the group. Awa had to give him props for not giving up, she knew what it was like, even if she did have more time to complete her training than Jake who was on a tight schedule.
"I'll meet you at the top!" Awa shouted to Tsu'tey who nodded at her and pressed a flat hand to his chest before nodding.
Awa nodded back before flying up again towards the part where they would meet up again. Lilo's powerful wings created small currents of air under them as she pushed them towards the top effortlessly. Awa could see that the rest of the group had caught up to her mate who was waiting for the stones they were standing on to align with the floating mountain with long vines hanging down the bottom of it. A pang of nostalgia hit her as she thought back to when she had to make that jump, and how impossible it seemed. Not to mention the fact that if she failed the jump then her avatar body would be dead and she'd be useless. She shuddered at the thought of not being able to live as a Na'vi and instead live out her employment time on Pandora in her human body, watching the Na'vi and have to constantly be reminded of the failure that cost her everything.
Another loud shriek filled the air and Awa looked over to see Neytiri and Seze flying around the top part. She was probably waiting for the the group as well, wanting to see her student take the final leap to becoming an adult in the Omaticaya clan and become a hunter. Awa had never teached someone, yet, but she imagined the pride of seeing your students pass the final test.
Awa grinned and urged Lilo to speed up so they could join their friend while they waited. It took only seconds before they had caught up with them and Lilo's powerful, fast strokes turned into peaceful soaring with the occasional strong pull of her wings to keep up some speed even while they glided.
"Neytiri."She panted and touched her forehead briefly. Neytiri repeated the gesture with an 'Awa' and a smile. "Are you proud?"
"Yes." Neytiri answered and nodded her head with the smile still present, it had dulled a bit with just a bit of a sad undertone to it. "Very proud. Jake was a great student and now he'll become a man, free to pick a mate."
Awa sighed and gave her a knowing look. "And you want him to pick you."
"No." Neytiri snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously and Seze snapped her teeth after Lilo, who screeched and dodged the attempt.
Awa laughed and threw her head back. "Of course you do. I've seen the looks you two give each other, the sparkle in your eye and the easy smiles. It's obvious, Neytiri, even my mate picked up on it."
"Tsu'tey knows?" The Na'vi woman asked, shocked and a bit scared.
The former dreamwalker steered her ikran closer and nodded. "Of course he does. We share almost everything. It's even more twisted than my love story with Tsu'tey, and I hate to admit it but I think you'd be good for each other." Awa grimaced and flinched, her ikran mimicking the movement before turning her head to look at her rider.
"We can never be together." Neytiri mused with a brief shimmer of sadness shining in her face before she let out a sharp hoot and flew up to the mountain the main act of the iknimaya was going to be held.
Awa stared after her for a second, stunned into silence, before she too, but with a gentle nudge, flew up to the mountain after her friend. A few seconds after she saw Neytiri land on the small gap in the hiding spot the group had chosen she gently landed on the available space. Awa disconnected their tsaheylu and jumped off Lilo in one fluid movement before walking over to where Tsu'tey stood watching the many ikran basking in the sun.
Ikran of different colors and sizes were perched all around the mountains, some hanging off the walls and some flying around in the air around them. Screeches and other ikran noises filled the air and Awa smiled as the memory of her doing this surfaced. She remembered the initial fear and nervousness before that shimmered away and turned into excitement and happiness.
"Do you remember my own iknimaya?" She whispered to her mate, her eyes flickering all around the place, finding what had changed and what was the same. "It seems like a lifetime ago."
He sharply nodded, eyes flickering from his nervous students to the ikrans they were going to try and tame. "I remember, Awa."
"Right away when I saw her I knew Lilo was the one for me. Gods she was tough, fighting my every move until I made tsaheylu with her." Awa replied and smiled as she thought back on their fight. It had been Na'vi against ikran. Dreamwalker against Pandora. She remember how she rolled around, trying to avoid being bitten or dragged down the mountain. She remembers how Atxa yelled at her, how her peers laughed but then turned quiet. She remembers how their first flight felt and how that unbreakable bond was finalized. A pa'li can have many riders, but an ikran can only ever have one.
He stroked a finger down her arm and grinned before schooling his features when they noticed Jake looking at them. "I will always remember all of our time spent together, the good and the bad." His deep voice whispered to her, eyes lit with happiness and only a small bit of them darkened with the pain of some of the memories. "Arvok is very nervous."
"He's a strong warrior, Tsu. He'll make it." Awa told him, rubbing his arm comforting while looking up at him. "Arv has trained for this all of his life. It's his last moments as your baby brother." She laughed and looked back at the small group of students that were going through the process today. "And one day our children will do the same and they will become mighty, strong and fierce warriors just like their ancestors."
He nodded before turning his body towards the students and with a challenging smirk and a wave of his head he spoke to Jake, "JakeSully will go first."
Awa gently hit him on the shoulder and gave him a pointed, but still amused look. Tsu'tey scowls when Neytiri guided Jake through the thin passage from the grotto they were in and towards the more crowded part of the ikran nest. They were talking to each other in soft, whispering voices but Awa could still almost hear them at the distance they were.
"Let's go." He barked at the remaining students and his brother before guiding Awa through the small passage with his hand holding hers firmly.
Awa saw Jake unfolding his banshee catcher and swung it around a couple of times as he hesitant in his steps stepped out of the safety of the waterfall and out onto the mountain side that was practically covered with colorful ikran waiting to be chosen. Most of them shuffle away from his and his stance grows more and more confident.
Neytiri, Tsu'tey, Awa and the remaining students walk just a bit outside of the waterfall before stopping and observing Jake's iknimaya. So far none of them looked impressed by his efforts, Awa and Tsu'tey openly showing their displeasure- Awa still hadn't been completely won over by Jake and Tsu'tey having never like the male.
Jake lunges at a few of them but they all flew away or moved away until he walked up to a blue and black male that shifted around to stare at Jake before shrieking loudly, declaring the challenge to the male dreamwalker. Tsu'tey gestured to him and made a few mocking comments and some advice to his students, the remarks making Awa crack a tense smile.
"Let's dance." He said after hissing at the animal.
Awa leaned forward and hissed lowly, getting caught up in the fight as if it was her own. Jake swung around the catcher again as the ikran glared at him.
"The idiot is going to get himself killed." Tsu'tey chuckled and gestured with his bow to Jake. Awa grinned and nodded, so far Jake wasn't doing so good.
The ikran lunged with wide open jaws and Jake jumped to the side at the last second before wrapping the catcher around the ikran's jaws and jumping on its back. They wrestled and the ikran even flew up a bit in the air before stumbling backwards. Awa was a bit impressed that Jake could hold on even through the frantic bucking of the stronger animal.
The pair was wandering close to the edge and Awa was afraid for a second that they were going to fall over but the winged beast swerved to the side as Jake forced it to bow its head. They get down on the ground.
"Make the bond!" Neytiri screamed out with a frown on her face as she stared at him struggling.
Jake reaches back to collect his tswin and just as he's bringing it forward the ikran headbutts him and his hold on the animal is lost. It bucks him off it and he rolls towards the end of the platform.
Awa gasps and lunges forward but Tsu'tey's hand on her arm stopped her from doing anything stupid. She hissed through her teeth but didn't try to lunge forward again to save him. He was to be a warrior and therefore he's on his own.
"Jake!" Neytiri screams out, panicked as he fumbles to get a grip. Tsu'tey laughs mockingly with a big smile.
Jake gets back up again and runs towards the animal before jumping on its back again. He wraps the catcher around the ikran's jaws again as they danced together once more.
"Tsaheylu, Jake, tsaheylu." Neytiri reminded him, crouched a distance away from him.
"Tsaheylu!" She told him again when the fighting pair went to the floor and Jake wrapped his legs around its massive head.
Jake reaches back and this time faster grabs his tswin and connects it with the ikran, forming the bond and calming down the ikran. "Stop." He ordered it and it limply raised its wing once before falling down.
Awa cheered and raised her fist in the air. "Good job, Jake!" She called out to him before entwining her fingers with Tsu'tey's.
The dreamwalker unwrapped his legs and moved away from his seat at its neck to stare into the ikran's eyes. "That's right. You're mine now." He told it and unwrapped the catcher from its mouth.
The now claimed ikran softly screeched as it got into a better position, Jake placing himself in the position he had seen the other Na'vi do other times. He's unbalanced and shaky but Awa knows that will pass as soon as the first flight has been made.
"First flight seals the bond. You cannot wait." HIs former teacher told him and pushed his ikran towards the edge of the platform. Her voice was soft but proud. "Think 'Fly'." She raised her voice as she walked away from him.
"Fly?" He said in an uncertain tone and then yelped when the ikran flew off the edge and soaring towards the ground.
Awa laughed and looked back at the other students as Neytiri rushed to Seze. "That's not how you do it." Tsu'tey nodded and gave his remaining students a warning look not to do what the dreamwalker did.
"Who wants to go first?" She asked the group and wiped her hands on the fabric covering parts of her pants. None of the students jumped to the chance and she shrugged before putting a hand over her eyes. "Then I will choose...You will go first." Awa had spun around once and then let her finger wander over the group before stopping on one and opening her eyes. It was the only female except for her and she gave her a kind, gentle smile. "Go on." Awa urged her and Tsu'tey put a hand on the soon-to-be grown woman.
"Eywa will guide you." Tsu'tey told her before nudging her shoulder and gesturing towards the still many ikrans waiting for them.