As usual, Peyral didn't sleep well. Waking up far sooner then the other adult Na'vi has become normal to her and it wasn't long before she had left her hammock soon after waking. She didn't allow herself to glance as the two unused hammocks hanging desolately next to her own.
Silently striding towards the direhorse field, a low whislte left Peyrals lips and before long her beloved Suriya stood before her, leaving her herd behind her without a thought as she nuzzled into the arms of her spirit sister, Peyral. Peyral held no love for flying and preferred to keep her legs firmly on the group, finding a haven in the forest, where the soothing smells, undeniable beauty and peace that the forest held gave her a small slice of peace and tranquility that Peyral often pondered that allowed her to keep her mind straight. "Are you ready for another mission girl? We need to go, make sure they are there. My mind won't rest otherwise." Peyral whispered to Suriya, as she rested her cheek on her neck. A quiet snort was all the reply Peyral got, but that was all that she needed. She knew her spirit sister had her back, each and every day until they both returned to Eywa, and Peyral had hers. Swinging up onto Suriya, Peyral adjusted her weapons before focusing her gaze onto the forest, her eyes filled with cold determination and a small snarl left her lips, before horse and rider plunged into the forest and were lost from sight.
The pair moved swiftly in their journey, automatically knowing the twists and turns in the forest to take as they had taken this path more times then either could count. The air had been fresh and sweet at the start of the ride, the many blessings that Eywa had bestowed upon Peyral's beloved jungle was clear to sense; the many smells of countless species of plants and life made the air rich with potent scents and surrounded you in a blanket of warmth, swirling with life. But as Peyral and Suriya rode further and further, the tantalizing smells that were so sweet in the air soon turned rank and dark on the tongue. The forest around them transformed alongside the air; the vegetation also turned darker and lost the lusty green's, blue and purples that had been so prominent in the forest surrounding the Home Tree, and overall it seemed as if all life itself was slowly dying, the closer the pair journeyed to their destination. Eventually, Peyral halted Suriya in the midst of thick bushes and hopped off her back, crouching down like a cat as soon as she hit the forest floor before crawling as close to the ground as possible and scaling her way up the body of one of the biggest trees; if one was to observe Peyral in this moment, they would marvel as how confident she moved through the forest, the strength of her arms pulling up steadily up the tree before reaching the top and how her body effortlessly weaved through the topmost branches of that tree to the next, silently bounding from each tree to the next as a way to travel undetected. Only someone who knew Peyral very well would be able to notice her flared nostrils, hinting to the oncoming headache she was feeling as the stench in the air was becoming move overwhelming or the wideness of her eyes as the dark pupils within them constantly flicked about, as if expecting a monster to be lurking on each branch she landed on or especially how her tail lashed like a whip in the air : a surefire sign to look for in Peyral to see if she is experiencing any strong emotion.
Finally, light started to filter through the trees and with one final bound Peyral leapt onto a final tree branch, one smaller and more fragile then most, and crawled like a cat to the end of it, her hands fitting perfectly into the grooves she had left in it before due to her many many vists to this place. Raising her head, Peyral stared out through the leaves and her sharp gaze became fixed onto the ground below.
Demons.
Before her lay the endless gray monstrosity that was, Peyral theorized, the sky demons equivalent of their Home Tree. "As ugly as their hearts" Peyral thought sourly. The vast amount of demons she could see patrolling the grounds didn't help her ugly mood either. There were so, so many. How did they all have the audacity to enter their world, just because they had stupidly ruined their own? How could her people banish them, these countless demons, without risking the lives of their own people? How could Ewya allow this? Why would Ewya let this people invade? Why didn't Ewya do anything, anything, at all, to get rid of them? Baring her fangs at the sky demons before her, safely hidden from view, Peyral then dropped her gaze downwards and the bitter hatred on her face soon twisted into a melting pot of emotions; curiosity, disapproval, distaste but most of all: revulsion. Directly below her was the school of the sky demons where right now many of her own people, the children and young adults of her clan, sat in a wide circle around the female sky demon, who was wearing the fake skin of their own kind. Peyral had to fight the overwhelming urge, as she had many times before, to not swoop down onto this imposter and tear this vile and insulting farce of their own kind off the sky demons body. "How dare they pretend to be one of the people! How dare they pretend to be one of us?" Peyral couldn't contain the rage that made her hands shake, turning her knuckles white as she dug her fingers into the branch, and her fangs broke out from her lips again as her lips curled back into a silent screech. "They invade OUR home, want to study us and our home like it is some sort of toy, before murdering our people and using them as a way to get Na'vi DNA so they can parade around in our skin? These filth will never be one of the Great Mothers children and they have no right to pretend they do!" The fury in Peyrals eyes burned as they remained unmoving from the blue figures below her; so deep Peyral was in her anger that it clouded her senses and it wasn't until Peyral sensed a figure slithering up the branch behind her that she realised she had left herself vulnerable: a mistake.
Snapping round Peyral pulled her long daggers in one motion from her waist and braced herself, her ears pinned back and her canines bared to meet her attacker, but her body faltered and she felt her arms lower as she realised who was behind her. A tall figure that crounched behind her with a face that held the same disapproval that moments ago had been on hers when she watched upon the sky people; Tsu'tey. Peyral was too startled to speak but soon felt her mouth move before her brain could catch up with her "what are you doing here?" Peyral hissed quietly and Tsu'tey did not hold back on his quick response "me? It is not me who is somewhere that they know they should not be!" With a sharp turn on his heel, Tsu'tey crawled back along the tree branch and began his descent to the ground, but not before shooting a sharp look back at Peyral with a clear message in his eyes. Follow me. Peyral's ears were now completely flattened to her head and for several long moments she contemplated disobeying Tsu'tey. She had never been one to enjoy following orders and it was not like Tsu'tey was clan leader yet, plus Peyral couldn't deny the long-held attraction she held for him. She felt shameful and dirty enough as it is for harboring feelings for her close friends intended mate so to be around this said mate was even more difficult; it was hard to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and to stop herself from gazing at him when she felt no one was watching. With all this happening inside her, Peyral didn't enjoy being around him and tried to avoid his company as much as possible. However Peyral knew she couldn't avoid Tsu'tey forever. They had trained together for a long time and whilst they had never been close, mostly due to Peyral avoiding him as soon as she noticed her stupid crush on him, she knew Tsu'tey was sharp enough to notice that her constant absence from his hunting parties and clan gathering and meals was no coincidence. Her farce was up and she knew it. It was time to face her demons and admit her actions to Tsu'tey, alongside her reasonings to be so close to the demon camp.
When they were safely on the ground and Tsu'tey marched a reasonable distance away with Peyral behind him, her head held stubbornly high and her eyes fixed firmly on his back, refusing to show any sign of submission; Tsu'tey then spun round and lunged at Peyral, gripping her forearms tightly, his own ears this time pinned back and his lips snarling "what were you doing you fool? Why were you so close to the camp of those filthy demons? How could such a smart hunter become so stupid? Explain yourself immediately!" A heartbeat passed and Peyral and Tsu'tey stared down at each other, the former startled by the strong reaction of Tsu'tey, before her own stance morphed into a similar one that Tsu'tey had adopted; her body bristled with tension and she let out a throaty snarl, her tail snapping around her feet. "How dare you touch me like this? Future leader or not, you will not place your hands on me like this!" Upon the final word, Peyral ripped her arms out of Tsu'teys gripped and lunged towards him, using her hands to firmly shove him back. "You know why I am at camp, and I know you approve of it! You pretend to disapprove purely because the Tsahik does but you cannot lie to me Tsu'tey" Peyral drew herself up and stalked towards Tsu'tey, refusing to let her eyes leave his. She would not let him win this battle. "I am at this camp, watching over our people who choose to study at that stinking, disgusting dung heap they call a school. For Ewya's sake, I will never be able to understand why some of our people would lower themselves to learn those demon's vile language however that will not stop me from ever watching them in case they need protection. I would not trust those demons to be left alone with a rock, let alone the youth of our clan." Tsu'tey was standing still, watching Peyral steadily. Peyral nodded at him, raising a finger to point at him, her voice dropping "And I know you agree with my distrust of those demons. I will always serve my Tsahik. I would never betray him. But I am not comfortable with him allowing any of our clan to study at the demon school. I believe that he is trying to fool himself into believing those aliens are good. I believe his hope for a peaceful future and a good relationship with those aliens is blinding him, allowing him to put our people into a precarious situations. He is letting our people into that school unguarded! He believes that us sending our warriors into the school to protect our people while they study will show those demons that we don't trust them, and it won't allow us to build a bond with them!" Peyral spat out those words as if they were dirt in her mouth. Spinning around on her heel, Peyral paced away from Tsu'tey, before she spun around again and strode up to Tsu'tey; she came so close to Tsu'tey that they were face to face. So close Tsu'tey could see every detail on her face, the tension in her body, the pure fury radiating off her body, growing stronger and stronger with every word that came out of her snarling mouth next. He knew what Peyral was going to say next. It was something he both dreaded and longed to hear, to finally break open the ugly truth that had be clawing at him mind for weeks, begging to crawl its way out of its shell and fly into the heavy silence that had surronded his people for too long. It had been shoved to the corners of his mind as this thought disturbed him too much, and he knew it had crossed the mind of everyone in his clan too, expect the naive and young, as it was a truth too disturbing and twisted to say out loud, as if speaking on it would break the one defense that clan had to keep it at bay, that not acknowledging it would somehow prevent it from being the truth. Yet, watching the agigtated huntress before him with her narrowed eyes and bold mouth, he knew that this practised ignorance was finally be broken, and he admired her for being brave enough to speak the ugly truth and smash the illusion they were trying to live in.
A racking sob came gargling out of Peyrals mouth before halfway it twisted itself into a snarl "we need to watch over our people Tsu'tey, I know you of all people would understand. They have invaded our home, they will hurt us, I know it! Just look at them! They are wearing our skin!" Peyral screamed, and her chest heaved for a breathe whilst she stared at Tsu'tey to gauge his reaction. "How do you think they got the DNA to create Na'vi, our people? To try and create our bodies? They would need our blood for our DNA wouldn't they? How would they get that? What do you think happened to the bodies of our first people that went to see them, the ones that never came back? My mother and father?" Peyrals voice was getting deeper, uglier and louder, each word emerging from her throat like a bullet. Tsu'tey knew what she was talking about. When the sky demon first invaded, a party of Na'vi went to investigate, yet they never returned. Of course, the sky people denied ever meeting them and without solid evidence the clan could do nothing to discredit this. Yet the message was clear. The missing party of Na'vi was obviously no accident and the sky people were a threat.
Tsu'tey and Peyral stared each other down. Peyral raised an eyebrow at him whilst she tried to still her heaving chest, making it clear she was waiting for his response. Tsu'tey licked his lips, considering his next words carefully before speaking "you have a strong heart and clear mind. You have seen what these demons have done to us and your heart breaks, rightfully so. I will stand next to you and together alongside the rest of our people we will not stop until these demons leave, until the very last stain of their being is gone from our world" Tsu'tey was glad to see the anger in Peyral was lowering, even if it was only slightly. It was clear to him she was glad to have him on her side. "However," Tsu'tey emphasized, "we cannout have lone warriors out here, however strong their reasons for doing so are. We will speak to the Tsahik and arrange for atleast a couple of warriors to watch over our children as long as they insist on studying at that disgusting demon school" A weighted pause filled the air and Tsu'tey narrowed his eyes at Peyral; now it was she who felt like prey. "Peyral," Her name on his lips soothed her soul, like cold water running down a parched throat "why did you not speak to me of this before?" Peyral straightened up and backed off, just a pace or two, as her mind whirred around to find the words to say that wouldn't embarrass or disgrace herself. Peyral despised dishonesty and she had no intention of lying to Tsu'tey nor to her friends anymore. It had already weighed heavy on her heart for weeks, ever since Tsu'tey and Swlywanin engagement had been announced and Peyral was determined to rid herself of this scourge forever, especially since now was the perfect opportunity to do so. Peyral was no fool; she knew honesty on her part would cause distance between herself and Tsu'stey as well as Swlywanin, probably Neytiri as well, but she knew it was the right thing. She would not hide the truth to her loved ones anymore.
"Because I have romantic feelings for you Tsu'tey" Peyral proclaimed boldly. Tsu'tey just stared back in shock. From his perspective, Peyral looked as bold as brass, her head held high, her shoulders back and her gaze nor her voice never wavered. "I understand we had never been close, but we have trained and fought and rode alongside each other since we were children. You are a strong warrior, with a deep love for his people and whose loyalty and heart runs as deep as the roots of our home tree. I had hoped to approach you, to let you know of my feelings. Before I could work up the courage however, the Tsahik announced his intent to wed Swylywanin to you, so the pair of you could lead our clan to everlasting greatness." At this Peyral bowed her head and swallowed, before lifting her head and looking up at Tsu'tey agin, and when she spoke again a tint of ferocity had entered her tone. "I would never tell you this in hopes you would break the engagment, not that you ever would or could, but because you deserve to know why I have been hiding from you, like a child. I will not do so anymore, now that you know the truth. I am not proud of it and I am sorry. I am sorry for not being honest, not just to you but to my friends as well. I will tell them tonight." With a curt nod of her head, Peyral went to move past Tsu'tey, glad there was no way he could feel the shaking of her heads in her balled up fist or how fast her heart was pumping, but a large hand grabbing her arm threatened to stop these troubles permanently. Tsu'tey and Peyral stood close, enough for Peyral to see every emotion on Tsu'tey's face: vulnerability, awe and slight fear, "I agree, we do not know each other very well but I know enough to know that you would never intentionally try to break the engagement. You are smarter then that. You are more loyal then that. I respect and appreciate honesty, especially in these alien times, so I will meet you honesty with my own...You are the only girl in the clan that had ever caught my eye. You and I are very similar I feel, and I had also intended to court you." Peyral couldn't hear, feel, or sense anything. It was like everything else in the world had dropped away. All she could focus on was the deep throaty rumble of words that dripped from Tsu'tey lips that she drank up, like a dying man, as they were everything she could of hoped to hear and more. "I see you every day. You are beautiful. You are the most valued huntress in the clan. You want to protect our people. Any male would be insane to not wish to court you and it hurts my heart every day to know that we cannot be." At those final words Peyral hung her head. She knew these words were the truth and had never expected anything else to be said. She turned to face Tsu'tey fully, and placed a hand on his heart. "I see you, Tsu'tey" Peyral didn't miss the shiver that ran over his skin as she whispered his name "I know you and Swlywanin will make a great couple and will make each other happy. I didn't expect my confession to bring about any other ending that this one, but thank you for your acceptance and honesty". Tsu'tey placed his hand on her heart and let a bitter smile spread over his lips; Peyral mirrored this smile too "perhaps in another life, Eywa will give us the gift of letting us live another life, together. As one...but not in this one"
Breaking away, Peyral dropped her hand and Tsu'tey his, before the pair looked at each other, both feeling the tension in the air, both wondering how to go about now. But once again Eywa made that decision for them, as bullets suddenly starting to rip through the air around them.