It was a sunny and a bit windy morning. Soleuri was teaching Ryan how to handle a bow and also to shoot an arrow. Ryan puts an arrow on the bow and pulls the string back. Soleuri shakes her head left and right for a little.
"No, no, you need to stand up more straight, only if the bottom of your chest were stronger. Lift your elbow higher and calmly breathe." Soleuri instructed Ryan while moving her head left and right.
Soleuri went to Ryan and adjusted Ryan's hold to make sure his aim was right. Ryan felt a bit nervous, but let's Soleuri help him with the bow. Once Soleuri backed off, Ryan was going to lower bow, when the arrow slipped from in between his fingers and hits a wooden woven basket with fish inside it being carried on top of one of the Na'vi woman nearby knocking it off her head. The Na'vi woman makes a mad face at Ryan and Soleuri looks down and places her hand on her face.
"Sorry." Ryan apologizing to the Na'vi woman.
Soleuri turns to the woman, "Awnga ngay ngaytxoa, po lu mi nume. Awnga zamunge nì'ul payoang, rutxe txoa."(We're truly sorry, he is still learning. We'll bring more fish, please forgive.)
The Na'vi woman picks up the basket full of fish and removes the arrow, throwing it to the ground and continues her way with the others.
Soleuri and Ryan were back in the river to fish.
"To catch a fish, you have to be quick. You must stand still to not frighten them away."
As Ryan stood in the water watching as Soleuri was prepared to catch a fish, only moving her head to look for fishes close to her. Then in a flash, she threw her hand into the water and pulled out a fish.
"See, it's not hard, just concentrate. Focus on your goal."
She lets the fish go back into the water. Ryan walks up next to Soleuri and copies the way she did to catch the fish. He stands still for a moment keeping a look out for a fish. Then he quickly notices one and tries to grab it, but fails to.
"Dang it nearly had it."
He does the same thing, waits quietly for a fish, and fails again at grabbing it.
"You have to relax. Clear you mind."
She quickly grabs another fish out of the water unexpectedly.
"What? How did you do that?" Ryan said wondering.
"It takes time before you can get it right."
Ryan sees one in between him and Soleuri and makes a big splash diving into the water to get it wetting Soleuri completely. Soleuri rubs her eyes and laughs at Ryan since he was partially covered in mud and coughing a bit.
Ryan smiles and cleans himself off, "I almost had that one. I felt it in my right hand."
"Let me just get the fish and continue with teaching you."
After dropping off a few fishes, to where the Na'vi woman was living, they went back to the spot to practice more with the bow. But when they were practicing.
Moreku appeared, "Ryan, Jake wants to see you."
Ryan puts the bow around his torso like the Na'vi carries them, and follows Moreku back to the village.
Ryan walks into the giant tent to where Neytiri and Jake were.
"Ryan, the Captain wants to talk to you." Jake says handing Ryan the walky-talky.
"Hello sire."
"How's everything going on your end?"
"Fine, I still quite a long way to go still. It'll be some time before I can get back into the Russian base." Ryan replies.
"Keep me inform of your progress. Right now, I'll be doing my part by keeping an eye on the Russians. The files you collected were finally translated and revealed to some helpful information. They somewhat brought some new guns I've never seen before, they brought them here to test them, but the reason why remains unknown." The Captain said with a wondering look.
"Well, make sure they don't attack the Na'vi here during my training I guess it's what it is."
"Well, just get it done Ryan. We need to make sure no conflict starts. Some things from the files say they're not just here for the weapons, but it is incomplete what else it could be."
"I'll make sure I'll get the rest once I done here."
"Good. But while I help keep an eye on the Russians, you'll have to leave some kind of video log of your progress. We'll both be busy so it's best to leave a message sort of speak."
"Alright sire, luck in your mission."
Ryan turns off the screen and looks at Jake, "Well I should get back to Soleuri. I should get this all done as soon as possible."
"May Eywa aid you on your trials." Neytiri said.
"Who's Eywa? I've asked the question before, but never got an answer."
"She is the great mother, who watches over us. She is all around us and within."
"Oh, your deity. Well, hope she does help me. I will need all the help I can get."
Nine days pass and Ryan is given the walky-talky to inform Captain Mason of his progress. Ryan places the walky-talky on a rock carefully and started to record.
"Alright, so it has been nine days since our last conversation. I'm starting to get the hang of the Na'vi people's ways."
Soleuri and Ryan are walking in the forest quietly. It is still dark, but an hour away from sun rise. Soleuri is teaching Ryan how to hunt. Soleuri crouches on the ground and Ryan too crouches to see what Soleuri sees.
"See this here? A Krya'mok is not far." Soleuri said pointing at the ground.
Soleuri looks around to see what direction it ran off too.
She looks between to plants, "It went that way."
"How can you tell?"
"The ground has been moved. There is still bit of its sent and one foot print."
Soleuri gets up and walks fast to the direction she pointed earlier indicating where the Krya'mok went. Soon enough they caught up to it. Before they go near and hide, Soleuri stops behind a fallen tree.
Soleuri starts speaking in a low voice to not scare the Krya'mok away, "Beyond this tree, is the Krya'mok. You must do your best to be silent."
Ryan nods his head in agreement. Soleuri gets behind another tree and Ryan behind another one next to it.
Soleuri then speaking in a much lower voice, "Now watch and learn what I do."
Soleuri takes arrow and places it on her bow. She starts to pull the string back slowly and gets next to the tree taking aim. She launched the arrow hitting Krya'mok on its left side where its heart is, making it tipping it on its right side. Soleuri runs up to it taking her dagger out, with Ryan following behind.
She says the traditional words, "Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi ireiyo." She stabs her dagger into the beast, "Ngari hu Eywa saleu tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì."(I See you, Brother, and thank you. Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind to become part of the People)
"Wow, great hunt."
"This be one of your tasks, which will me if you are ready." Soleuri said.
In a dark evening, ten days after the first report, Ryan does the second one outside the tent.
"Each day all that Soleuri's been teaching me about the forest and talks about how we're connected to everything around us. My body has gotten more and more strength, course meaning my avatar body, but I also have been working in my normal body and my hand has fully recuperated. On the fourth day, Soleuri and I started to climb the trees and run on their branches without losing balance, I get better at it each day. We did that for a week, she also taught me how to land after jumping off high trees. First it was frightful, but hey, I'm a dare devil and fast learner, "Ryan laughs a bit, "I also have gotten along with the natives in the village. Soleuri's attitude has improved during the coming days."
In a sunny afternoon, Soleuri was teaching Ryan how to speak the Na'vi's language at the plaza. Soleuri was testing Ryan on translating to insure he knows how to speak the language, but Ryan was having difficulties.
"Say this sentence: The sky is blue."
Ryan then speaks in Na'vi, "Tskxe lu kerusey."
Soleuri started to laughs out loud.
"What? What did I say?"
Soleuri holds her laughs for a bit, "You said the rock is dead."
She continues to laugh for a bit.
"Sky in Na'vi is Taw and blue is Ean." Soleuri said.
Ryan smiles at her, "Well I'll get it right next time they are put in a sentence."
A month later in the evening, Ryan is anxious to send another report to Captain Mason. He decided to record it near the same spot from the second message.
"I must say sire, this past month was quite a month indeed. I didn't understand what the teacher back on earth meant when he said the Na'vi bond with some of the creatures on Pandora and are able to control them themselves. At first I thought that meant the domestication of the animals, but instead it was literal."
Soleuri brings a Dire Horse from a group of them in a corral, "The time has come for you to learn how to ride a horse. Climb onto his back."
"Ok, I'll see if I can without a saddle."
Ryan laughs. He jumps and slowly climbs on the back of the Dire Horse and sits up.
"To what do I hang onto and tell the horse to move? Can I hang on to the antennas on its head?"
"You must make tsaheylu with it first."
"And what is that?" Ryan was confused.
Soleuri goes up to the horse by Ryan's right side and grabs his long pony tail. She then grabs the Dire Horse's right antennae revealing its neural queues and brings them together and they attach. Ryan and the horse freak out for a little, but call down. Soleuri explains to Ryan what tsaheylu is and how to control the Dire Horse. He runs around a bit, almost falling off the horse, but manages to stay on.
Ryan is walking around holding the walky-talky still recording, "Luckily now sire, there is but one thing left to do. During the month, I had been practicing with the bow. Each day, with Soleuri's help and a friend of hers, I have improved. Now all that is left is to hunt. Tomorrow, I go on a hunt and finally complete the teachings. So I'll end this here, better get some sleep so I don't mess up on the hunt. It's the last thing for me to do for Soleuri to say I'm ready."
Ryan stops recording and turns the walky-talky off. After he gave it back to Jake, he heads to the tree where his avatar has been sleeping at.