Disclaimer: "Avatar" is not mine. This story is from my own imagination as are the few characters I have added. I have made every attempt to be true to the culture, creatures and people of the "Avatar" world, giving the world Cameron created the respect owed. A particularly challenging part for me is to write how Tsu'tey acts with a na'vi female because we only see him really interact with Neytiri in the movie and that was only really to insult Jake...so it was a pain to write :) Let me know how I did on that! Thank you for all comments and constructive criticisms! -Fallon.

"Where are we going?" Ma'tirea said as she ran after Tsu'tey, trying to keep up with her teacher and not disappoint him. She lept into the air, using the leaves to control her descent to the jungle floor. She could see Tsu'tey in front of her and tried to judge her surroundings to guess where he was taking her. Abruptly he stopped, only Ma'tirea did not. She gasped as she crashed right into him, thankfully not falling. His skin tingled at the sudden sensation of her skin against his and he thanked Eywa she always wore modest clothing.

"You're clumsy like a newborn!" He growled back at her, glaring at her as she regained her footing and stepped back to put more distance between them.

"I am s-sorry, where are we going Tsu'tey?" He watched her finger the fringe of her skirt as she spoke. He swallowed hard to deafen the growl in his throat and motioned for her to remain silent. She followed him closely, keeping low to the ground. He parted the plants, revealing an entire herd of yerik. He pointed to his eyes, telling her wordlessly to simply watch the skittish creatures. Ma'tirea nodded and payed close attention to the slim animals.

As a young na'vi, the yerik would be the first animal she would be permitted to kill. She watched as they grazed on the grass, their young close to the center of the group. Tsu'tey heard a twig snap and turned in the direction as he touched the hilt of his dagger. Ma'tirea noticed his hand go for the weapon and moved instinctively closer to Tsu'tey. He could feel her hands on his shoulder and her slow breathing as she peered over his shoulder. Her breath tickled his skin, urging his attention from the disturbance in the trees to it's dance against his battle-hardened skin. He exhaled at the strange sensation, forcing his attention to the trees.

From the brush sprang three viperwolves who tore off through the trees after the yerik. One of the wolves took down a young yerik, pouncing on it's back with astonishing and graceful skill. Ma'tirea sucked in air nervously, having never been so deep in the jungle to see Eywa's creations closely. Tsu'tey grabbed her hand and pulled her from the treeline deeper into the jungle. She stumbled on a root but his grip on her hand kept her from falling.

He stopped near a pond of clear water and sat down near the bank, setting his bow down beside him. Ma'tirea watched him silently before finally sitting down beside him, his bow between them. He said nothing, just sat watching the water. She let her gaze drop to his bow, carved from the wood of the hometree that was destroyed by the skypeople. Her finger tips gently touched the bow and when she glanced up Tsu'tey was looking at her. She bit her lip, expecting him to be angry but instead he just looked at her sadly.

"Balance. Eywa balances everything, do not forget female..." He turned back to watch the water and she tried to really think about what he had said.

"I-I saw you fighting the day the hometree fell..." Her soft voice was tentative as she was unsure if what she wanted to say would upset him. "I lost my mother and father that day...I wished I could have defended them then..."

"How did you escape?"

She was surprised he hadn't told her to be quiet, not wanting to speak about it at all. "A female clan member led me from the smoke that filled the tree, she was killed as soon as the air cleared...I ran and hid with a few others in a ditch near the treeline, praying to Eywa for the fire to stop falling from the sky."

He sighed but continued to look at her. "I have been training you for some time and I have a question." She nodded and he continued. "Why do you not wear the beads in your hair like the other na'vi females?"

"Why does it matter Tsu'tey?"

"Answer." His voice was calmer than usual and his facial features weren't so harsh, which caught her off guard momentarily. He noticed her touch the fringe of her skirt again.

She sighed, but consented. "I do not flaunt myself like the others, do not use beads or bangels because I am still mourning my father and mother."

"They are with Eywa, she provides for us all female."

"I know, however the pain remains." Her voice was weak, like she was fighting her desire to cry. He raised from the bank of the water and grabbed his bow. Ma'tirea followed silently as he ran through the trees. She tried to think about what had prompted his question. It was true he had been training her for some time now, had shown her how to track and ride the pa'li but he was rarely kind to her...

She growled in frustration and hoped he had not heard her from ahead. If all males' were this difficult to understand she wasn't sure how she would ever find a mate. He had been training her for a month now and he hadn't even said her name, she was always "female". And then suddenly the male who was always angry asked her a question like he did? She silently prayed to Eywa to send her a male who was not so confusing.

Bursting through the trees as they returned to the hometree she continued to follow the silent warrior. He quickly fetched bows that younglings had broken sat near the fire pit, watching her as she sat next to him slowly. He handed her a bow that had needed repair as he began to fix the one he held. She watched him mend the bow and then turned to her own. From the corner of his eye he saw her struggling and huffed in frustration as he reached to take the bow from her. In his rush to grab the bow he had grabbed her hand, making her drop the bow to the earth at her feet.

She didn't pull her hand away but looked from her hand to his face nervously. The blue skin of his hand wasn't as rough as she had expected of the hunter. He released her hand as suddenly as he had grabbed it and resumed showing her the correct way to mend the broken weaponry. She watched him carefully this time and fetched the fallen bow, fixing it and presenting it to Tsu'tey with a smile.

"See? I can't be the worst you're ever trained."

He huffed and grabbed another bow. "You are correct, I have trained some morons but you are the most annoying, female." She tried not to take it personally like Neytiri had advised but she was steadily growing tired of his constant disapproval. She breathed in deeply and calmed her anger, deciding to take another bow from the pile.

As night began to approach Tsu'tey sat on a high branch of the hometree and stared out over the jungle surrounding him. Since his youth he had been Neytiri's intended mate but she had fallen in love with Jake and had taken him as her mate. When he had seen them join the clan that morning, holding hands, he knew what they had done. He had been angry but not because he had loved her. In the end he guessed it was Eywa's way of preventing his and Neytiri's unhappy match and making a good pairing with Neytiri and Jake.

No, there was never any love between him and Neytiri, a respect for each others' skills but not love. And he had realized what had upset him more was his own continuing loneliness rather then Jake and Neytiri's pairing. Finding a mate was extremely important because it was a lifelong commitment, and could take years to find. Mo'at had told him to be patient, that Eywa would send him the one who would compliment him and he had made an effort to search for some sign from Eywa. He remembered the atokirina following her...

He growled and grabbed his weapons, heading for his hammock and hoping that things would be clearer in the morning.