FAN FIC – AVATAR: The Skxawng and his Gaia are soon parted.
By Christopher Paul "Txur`itan" Nelson
*** learn Na'vi at learnnavi DOT ORG - Dictionary - mwf-data DOT clonk2c DOT ch SLASH dvi SLASH attach SLASH NaviDictionary DOT pdf
Chapter 2 – The broken Na'vi
I give my memories to Eywa so that these days can be lessons for the Na'vi people for generations to come.
-"Kaltxì, ngengaru luyu fpom srak?" ~ Hello, how are you?
-"Sìltsana tirea ngengahu luyu ma aysmuke sì aysmukan sì ayeylan." ~ Good Spirit be with you O brothers and sisters and friends.
-"Oheru luyu tstxo a Tomitxe te Tskaha Mo'at 'ite ta Omatikaya." ~ I am called "Tomitxe of the Tskaha family, daughter of Mo'at" of the Omatikaya clan.
-"Oheru neruyume ftu Tsahìk." ~ I learn from Tsahìk for the sake of becoming Tsahìk.
-"Oheyä yawna sa'nok sì oheyä yawna sempul usuyomum lìyevuyu fwa ohel mefoti koluyameie." ~ My beloved mother and father shall know that I saw their souls.
I have been learning very hard from Mo'at, she teaches me about plants, animals, and bones. Mo'at shoes me how to tsaheylu with atokirina' without touching them, to feel them move, to sense their flight, to know where to look when they are near. She teaches me to unlearn the sawtuteyä lì'u ~ sky peoples' words, so that I can speak sweya nìNa'vi ~ the best Na'vi way. But this makes my words strange when I speak to sawtute ~ sky people, I want to learn to say both the right way, but Mo'at says I only need to learn her way for speaking to "Na'viyä tute" ~ Na'vi people. These moments make me lrrtok lefpoma txe'lan ~ smile with a well heart.
"Ma Mo'at, kempe seykuyi ngenga?" ~ O Mo'at I humbly ask, what are you doing?
"Ma Neytiri'ite, eltu si fitseng, sìyevar wll'u, ke liyevu tìsraw, ulte sìyevar wll'u, ke liyevu tìspxin." ~ O daughter of Neytiri, pay attention this place, should you use this plant, should not be hurt, and should you use this plant, should not be sick.
She is showing me how to mix plants, roots, medicine for keeping our people lefpom, well. I spend much time learning this, try to understand, she has gathered so many plants pieces, I cannot remember them all, and it makes me worry that Mo'at will not ever let me become Tsahìk because I am not good at this.
Oeyä sempul and the newer sawtute, they work on something together every day now. Something my father was worried about but would not talk about. I am never able to watch, I spend most of my time outside, playing with the sawtute 'eveng ~ sky people children. The sky people children on the base play games like Na'vi children do, and we now play together. I will do this much or be in the forest gathering plants for my grandmothers mixtures. When my father and mother go there to talk to the sawtute, I am always outside or away from them. The sawtute caused the time of great sorrow my elder olo' aysmuk ~ clan siblings tell me, and the sky people here helped the sorrow leave us. They cannot explain the difference between the sky people who helped and the sky people who caused the sorrow, at least not so that I can understand; they just say they were ayvrrtep ~ deamons to make them seem different for what they did and not for what they are.
It has been the long night since the Iroquois man brought his people to hells gate. The humans do not like not having a sun in the sky for so long, they cannot see as well in the night as the Na'vi people. My father and the other humans always told me it was because Polyphimus was between us and the suns; they forget that they told me every time, but their worry makes them try to comfort me. They stay there to reinforce the air force they build, to fight the coming humans. They work on something new, something my father was worried about but would not talk about. I am never able to watch, I spend most of my time outside, playing with the human children on the base when my father and mother go there to talk to the humans.
The human playground is not very fun, it has no trees to climb, and the jungle is blocked by a fence. There are obstacles for adult uniltìrantokx, but not for young ones. There are some newer uniltìrantokx, young ones made for the humans at the base, they are going to become Na'vi, but they will be children, not grown to adult. Mo'at says this is better, they can learn the right way, they will be given sempul and sa'nok to raise them like Na'vi, and they must empty their cups my father would say.
Norman was once toktor ~ Doctor on Gaia'eveng ~ Earth, I do not know what he did with his old uniltìrantokx, but he helped make the young ones for the humans who stayed. He likes playing catch the Ikran in his young avatar, he speaks a strange version of Na'vi, but every one of my friends and cousins understands him. I was asked to teach him all of our games, so that he could learn to be a real hunter, he fell from the rocks every time, and the game does not work as well far from the Iknimaya. I decided to try out the game of pxasìk pll ~ basket ball, we asked them to lower the ring for us. This game was very fun, but the human players were very aggressive, Norman was knocked down five times during the game. He said it was all part of the game even though he did not like it.
"I think I would be better at riding a pa'li." Norman was frustrated with something. He was testing out his new uniltìrontokx ~ AVTR and did not like it being young same as 'eveng ~a child.
"I do not know how to play this game. Let's read the human books." I found that Norman did not want to be a child again, I could sense it, but I wanted to see if I could understand why. For me being a child meant no responsibilities except to learn, who would not want that.
I know how hard it has been for my father and mother, they do not like to deal with the clashes of the clan within and without, they just wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life, like floating above Eywa on their Ikran, srew kip hufwe ~ dance within the wind.
For Norman it was different, it was hard to be a child, he told me what it was like to be weak, and to be tayaron ~ hunted like yerik at school by the stronger children. My father said that he usually was teraron ~ hunting the yerik when he was such an age.
For Norman, he learned how to fight, he learned how to become strong, but in the end all that mattered was a dream he had since those days, to come here and meet with my people. Norman said he had "a few minor issues with his reflexes", he was not able to become a tsamsiyu ~ warrior like my father did, so he went to the schools, and learned to use his eltu ~ brain. He learned our language; he learned about our bodies, our minds, our animals, our plants, he became what he could to become, so that he was certain to be sent here to our home.
It frustrates Norman that Jake was chosen and not him, even now all these years later he resents it, if only quietly. But he has spoken of it to Mo'at, and to me, and to oeyä sa'nok.
"fì'aw ma Norman!" ~ This one Norman! I had grabbed a random book of the shelf and opened it to a marked page.
"Tomo 'Ite, do you want to read about the tower of Babylon?" Norman spoke English when he did not know many words for a question or an answer in Na'vi. We did not have books in our language, they were a strange thing to many of my people, but I liked books, and I liked to read in the language of sawtute, because there are stories that I like to learn and know, beautiful and magical stories, he called some of them fairy tales.
"Yes. I think so. What is it about?"
"There is this king who decided that he wanted to have the tallest tower, tall enough to share heaven with God."
"Who is God?" He looked at me realizing that we had no concept of this being here, he felt embarrassed because he had not considered discussing the topic with anyone, especially a people who never read the books that have stories about it.
"God is a word for someone or something like Eywa to the people of Earth, but we have (ahem, had…) many beliefs on Earth, and not many of them are similar. There are many humans who would probably reject their beliefs to come and be close to Eywa."
"Why?"
"Because, Eywa talks back."
"Do you really think so?"
"There may not be much I know about physical games, or being a strong hunter, but you can be sure that I know people and the way that they think sometimes. I have known people to lose their faith over lesser things than what your people went through in the time of great sorrow."
"Why did you say 'phy-si-cal games' like that?"
"I am very good at videogames! You want me to show you?"
"Yes. I would like to see that!"
Mo'at and oeyä sa'nok would be angry with me if they knew I was not teaching like I promised. But I wanted to see the human things, learn about them, I was strong with my curiosity. Norman and I played videogames for hours; we watched the glowing box, watching the pictures move as we controlled them. Norman showed me the game tricks he learned in his college, he was very good at teaching me how to play. I did not notice my father walking up to the hut behind us. Oeyä sempul stood there for a minute quietly, and did not speak while we were playing. Later, when we left the hut father was waiting outside and called to Norman.
"Norm!"
"Hi Jake!"
"Don't you hi Jake me! We need to talk, Tomo 'ite you go play with the other kids for now."
"Pelun ma sempul?" ~ Why father?
"Kängä tsatseng set ma Tomitxe!" ~ Go there now Tomitxe!
He was angry with me, I did not know why, he grabbed at Norman harshly and took him into the hut and started yelling in half English half Na'vi, Norman would correct him, and my father would get angrier. I would go and play with the other children, and we would find a few games we liked to play. One of the human kids was always mischievous, his name was Dylan, and he said he can show me how to hear the hut from the basket ball game two months ago. I would ask him to remind me till I was good at it; I have been using his trick ever since then.
"… You have no idea how hard it is to go through this right now!"
"... I don't care about that; you still haven't answered my question! So, answer it or I will bust you up right now!"
"What do you want me to say, we played video games all day, I am sorry. I had no idea that that was worthy of being executed!"
"Do you know why we are doing this? You don't have time to screw around!"
"Hey! Hey! Now you just hang on there Jake! I helped you figure things out not that long ago, it should have been me in your shoes buddy!"
I heard a loud thud, and then crying, and then a loud smashing of furniture, and then some cursing in English.
"Hey! Just one god damned minute Jake! My helping you made it possible for you to live a normal life here. I sacrificed my chance at the same thing believing in you every step of the way, supporting everything you did. It should have been me in your shoes buddy, not the other way around! You didn't want this life, it chose you, you stumbled into it through random chance, or divine providence, or even divine intervention if you still believe Eywa made this all happen! I wanted to be here, and so did your brother Tommy, you didn't! So for the rest of my life, don't take your shit pile of stacked up frustrations out on me, and I will do you the same god damned favor, comprendo!"
"Pxasìk, skxawngìri nangtanhu amuntxa! You son of a bitch!"
SLAM, Crumble, lumber, crumble… The sound of many small but heavy thing falling in a scattered mess on the wooden floor boards of the uniltìranyu hut.
"Ngaru lu Skxawng ma Jake! Ngal ngawngti muntxa seyki!"
I saw Norman running toward the base, he had a cut on his cheek, and some blood, and he was a bit bruised.
"Are you alright Norm?"
"Yes, I'll live… This time…" He was letting his tears fall, but he closed his mouth looked at the hut.
"Why did you bring up Tommy?"
"Because I am a dumbass." I could sense in him all of the frustration of being small, and helpless he was angry and sad, and now he had upset his best friend. But, my father hurt him, and even though it was uniltìrantokx the body was that of a child, and the thought of oeyä sempul hitting him made everyone uncomfortable. Now he was the one getting the bad stares, the yelling voices now, and he was holding his head low when he thought about what he had done.
"You two were arguing, and now Norman, tìsraw livu ~ is hurt! What were you thinking?"
"Tsap'alute, oeyä tsmukan a "Tommy", oeru 'efu'ia seyki. Oeru txoa lievuyu." ~ Apologies my brother about Tommy, I lost myself in the feelings of his death, can you forgive me? "Ma Norman?"
"Srane, ma Neytiri ko?" ~ Yes, Neytiri, can you forgive him?
Oeyä sa'nok was looking at Jake with severe disappointment.
"Tsakemìri a poanil tarmakuk ngaru srak?" ~ As for this action, he hit you?
Norman touching his face looks at Jake with a sad expression.
"Kehe, fì'uti ta'em lolu." ~ No, this thing from above me.
My mother had decided it was important to use tsaheyl si with Norm and my father, she then knew the truth. Even though it was as Norman said, she was angry with Jake for throwing the chair.
Oeyä sa'nok told oeyä sempul to stay at the base with sawtute for a short while. Oeyä sempul was down faced, and ground eyes until we left.
If I could see into the mind of my father now, I think I would feel the rage of a hundred seasons whipping through him like a violent storm. He was thinking about the death of his brother, the possibility that Eywa had tricked him, and was resenting everyone he loves. I wish I could help my father to see once again, but the Iroquois man, and the news he brings us, makes things bad, makes things hard, and is changing us every day from what we once were. I was beginning to be angry with the Iroquois man, for taking oeyä sempul from awngayä ~ my father away from us. Oeyä sempul 'efu'ia leykolu ~ my father has lost his spirit, this is sad, very sad only.
Norman told me that my father threw a chair, but it knocked over a shelf and the whole mess of our book shelf landed on Norm. Everyone first thought that my father laid his fist upon Norman. No one saw anything and none of the humans were able to be sure of anything. My mother had used the bond with them, she then knew the truth. Even though it was as Norman had said, she was angry with oeyä sempul for throwing the chair.
I think Mo'at believed Ngämekelutral ~ Your Second Hometree, was a good, simple and accurate name; I think she was trying to tell a joke, the clan was not husangham ~ laughing at it yet, maybe I should learn a Takuk, Takuk joke to make them hangham, they would be able to understand the humor of Mo'at. I wonder what other Jokes Mo'at has told us that we do not understand yet.
Norman's unlitìrontok was taken with me by my mother back to home tree, Ngämekelutral is the name of our new home tree. The three of us, with Norman and I being small, fit on mother's Ikran, and the flight was smooth and peaceful. I often would imagine days where I would fly my own Ikran, and hunt with my parents and friends. I see the trees flash by leaves everywhere, the flying Riti. I felt the wind carry the light of Eywa through me, and make oeyä txe'lan 'ekong nìwin ~ my heart rhythm fast, it was pounding through me as the drums often do. 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong, 'ekong…
Norman's eyes were wide open, and he was smiling, for the first time in as long as I have known him, he was very excited to experience tìtswusayon ~ flying…