Author's Note: Jesus, it's been like what, a month or so since I updated? wtf is wrong with me? I'm so sorry guys, but I had some relationship trouble that didn't let me think of anything else all day, but that came to a head about a week ago and now that I've systematically erased him from my life, I can continue with my own. But, that aside, it's nice to be back. And with Avatar Collector's Edition out, I've gotten inspired as well (I literally screamed when the commercial came on for it...) and here to bring u guys some Jaketey (Tsu'jake, Jaketsu, Teyjake?) lovin' :)
But, the 200-review mark is coming up! I fully intend to reach it by the next chapter :D and here's some statistics in celebration of the new chapter: 176 reviews, 261 story alerts, 187 faves, and 40,373 hits! This is epic :D
Story Note: This chapter is the longest ever! Woop! at about 3000 words. I figured I needed to make up for my absence a little bit. The next chapter will be longer as well. and just like the longest chapter before it, shizzle goes down in here too, and even MORE shizzle in the next chapter! muhahaha.
so review my awesome people :) i luv u
As the harsh and warm wind rushes past his body and hits Txur's wings, making an undulating bellowing noise, Jake bites his tongue in concentration and grips his new spear, the painted wood smooth beneath his fingers, his other hand tightening around one of his ikran's neural whips.
Tsu'tey whoops somewhere behind him, laughs as Duri'sen spins upside-down and does various other aerial acrobatics. The other four members of their little hunting party have their eyes on the ground, scanning for prey.
Hunting is one of Jake's favorite activities, even though he didn't do it often when he was human; in between joining the Marines early and losing his legs, Jake had never gotten much freetime to do what he enjoyed. Before joining the Avatar program, Jake had no idea what he enjoyed. His life had always been a duty to him, a schedule of motions.
The Na'vi have taught him that life is sacred, that it should be lived to the fullest. They had showed him fun, unity, and companionship. What matters.
Jake smiles and sits up straighter as he eyes the pack of fxetyons below, their dark blue hairless skin gliding like silk over their impressive muscles that bunch and extend with their feral but graceful stalking. Even from this distance, Jake can see the silver gleam from their long claws.
"Fxetyon meat is good, right?" Jake yells at Tsu'tey, who closes the distance between them to study the animals below as well. As he does this, Jake feels the vague pull in his chest dissipate.
"It is good. They are hard to skin, though, but is good meat overall."
"I can see that. I'm gonna try out my spear, all right?" Jake commands Txur to go lower, but not low enough for the animals to sense immediate danger. He bends lower over his ikran's neck to minimize the air resistance, and pulls back his right arm. The sun catches the bright paint nicely from this angle.
He squints one of his eyes to look down the length of the weapon, braces himself with a hand between Txur's big shoulderblades, and aims at one of the bigger fxetyons that is walking with a sauntering gait across the clearing below, its long sinuous tail waving casually behind it.
Jake waits until its head and neck are at a perfect angle for a killing shot and hisses through his teeth before letting his spear go with a bit of finesse he had learned from watching other hunters. Jake watches the spear spin neatly like a spiraling football as it closes the distance.
He inhales and watches in near disbelief as it embeds hard into the big fxetyon's throat, cutting through its airway and cutting of its breathing. A clean kill.
The other hunters as well as Tsu'tey yell in victory and pride above him as the animal falls, and the rest scatter every which way.
Txur caws loudly, sending feelings and scattered images of through their bond, his wings seeming to stretch further as he careens to the ground below and lets Jake off his back.
The Dreamwalker lets his feet hit the ground and smiles again, the thrill of a good hunt worming primality into his blood and pushing endorphins through his brain. He retrieves the spear from the dead fxetyon and absently wipes the greenish blood on the grass.
Tsu'tey lands behind him while the other hunters stay in the sky, circling high over them like vultures.
"Why is it that Dreamwalker like you can do better than my people who have learned how to hunt since Eywa gave them life?"
Jake smiles and turns to see Tsu'tey standing tall with his arms crossed, the lean muscles stretched under his blue skin and with a playful look on his sharp face.
"But Eywa did give me life, remember?" He picks up the dead animal and slings it over his shoulder, keeping it in place with an arm as he saunters with pride to tie it to Txur's back, not minding the blood leaking down his front.
Txur rumbles under his breath at him, and headbutts him after the fxetyon is secured, pride shining in the sets of dark green orbs that stare into his own. Jake straps his spear down as well and then leans back against the beast's body, between one bony wing and its flank and feels the massive ribs expand with breath and the powerful heart beat.
"Why do I feel like something important is going to happen today?" Jake asks casually as he looks across at Tsu'tey and observes his body language; arms crossed, the playful look faded, lips thinned, and his green eyes staring across the cliffside to the water below. Not to mention he's clad in what looks like every article of decoration and color the Na'vi possess and the sides of his head are newly shaved.
"The clans Laxoa and Omoru arrive today, to take refuge with us," the other male says, shifting his weight to one leg and uncrossing his arms. "It is olo'eyktan's duty to welcome them."
"So you're nervous?"
Tsu'tey's upper lip twitches in the beginning of what might have been a sneer. "No, of course not. But, both clans, they see olo'eyktan as...older. It is a matter of pride; for clans to respect each other, must respect chief first. If they do not, there is anger between them and no peace. But to be young olo'eyktan, they may see Omaticaya as children instead of warriors."
"Woah, wait, you're saying they won't respect you because you're not like, a million years old?"
"Na'vi do not live that long, but yes. In many clans it is said that elders are to be respected, while the younger are to be taught."
"But it's not your fault you got made chief early. Would that change how they feel?"
"It would not. Omaticaya's clan teachings different than most others. In many other clans, I would have to pass on the olo'eyktan necklace to one of the eldest of the clan until I was respected enough to wear it myself. And to be seen as mateless, no Tsahìk..." Tsu'tey shakes his head. "I will be nothing but a child in their eyes."
Jake does not let himself mull over his next words, "Then don't let them see you as that."
Tsu'tey raises a brow, and pauses in his scratching where the ornamental necklaces touch the skin of his neck, his green eyes flickering noticeably between Jake's own even with the distance between them, the ever-less-subtle bond twanging as if plucked.
"You cannot—"
Jake smirks, "Well, we are mates right? And it can't be too hard pretending to be a Tsahìk. If we play it right, they'll have no idea—"
"But that is...a lie." Tsu'tey looks perplexed. "We, the Na'vi, do not lie."
"We're not lying okay? It's just...we're not telling the whole truth, that's it. You want to be respected, don't you?"
"Yes," Tsu'tey says, and crosses his arms again, and Jake can't help but feel the other male is trying to block him off. "But what will the rest of the clan think of this?"
"Well, you're the chief. They won't doubt you, will they? And they won't doubt me because I've saved their asses enough to have a little bit of backpay coming, don't you think? And eventually I'm going to be a Tsahìk, right...?" Jake realizes that he's stumbled onto the thing between them, but even he's curious. "Right?"
Tsu'tey appears to cross his arms tighter. "Yes. It is the will of Eywa that the mate of the olo'eyktan is also Tsahìk. It has been that way since the times of the First Songs. But...there is training...and there must be a connection—"
"Fine, training then. I can be trained. The connection is already there; even though I can't hear Her in my head like you, She made us mates, so I have a connection by that, plus She's given me my body back, not to mention the—"
Tsu'tey, who looks like he's been thinking over everything for the past three minutes, holds up his hand and stops Jake. "I see." And then he's silent for a few more seconds, realizing the benefits of what Jake is suggesting. Not only would it win more respect from Laxoa and Omoru, but also from his own clan, seeing as being without a Tsahìk has caused some unrest and discontent among the Omaticaya.
A month and twenty days has gone by since the start of tìprrte'txepvi, and Tsu'tey has begun to feel not only the ceaseless pull between them, but the confusing feelings that keep him up at nights staring at the stalactites above, nearly unblinking and unable to push the thoughts of Jake from his mind. Each day he can't help but think about how the time is growing shorter and shorter, and each day he notices the feelings get gradually and minutely stronger.
It is obvious that Jake has been blessed multiple times by Eywa, and making he and Jake mates is for a reason only She knows. Even having talked to Her is an impossibly rare accomplishment, though he has not learned how to communicate on a mental level.
Indeed, Jake would make a better Tsahìk than many that have come before him. Most of the clan already respects him greatly, and he is a strong warrior and hunter just as Tsu'tey is, therefor in the eyes of the others they will compliment each other nicely.
Tsu'tey is struck with a sudden feeling that this has been planned, and directs his eyes above for a moment. It is the way is whispered in his mind, a far away murmur, the sound like rustling leaves. He tries to catch the voice but it fades with a faint tinkling sound.
Jake's voice brings him pack to present, "So, good idea? Should we do it?" Jake sounds excited, more excited than he should be to accept the enormous responsibility of being the clan's spiritual leader.
"A ritual must take place," Tsu'tey says. "Eywa must accept you with Her, before you can be called Tsahìk. But first the clan must know that you are my mate before they accept you." He takes a deep breath, "But Jake, being spirit guide is...many troubles, and it is not short."
"I think I can handle it," Jake says, reaching back to pat his ikran on its mighty head. Txur blinks at him as if he doesn't believe all this. "You're a very lucky ikran to have me, you know that? I bet all the ikrans wish they have a Tsahìk as their rider."
"Laxoa and Omoru arrive this night, and the ritual must begin soon if we are to have time to prepare," Tsu'tey turns to jump gracefully onto the purple and blue mottled back of Duri'sen, hints of indecision still written plainly on his sharp face as he connects their queues.
Jake nods and climbs onto his own ikran, careful not to get too much of the fxetyon's green blood on his hands as both of their mounts ascend off of the cliffside and into the air with a few gusts of their wings.
The network of caves is a lot busier than the days previous; various children carrying large bundles of wood for the fire, their small tails at an angle for balance as they peek their heads around the pieces to make sure they don't run into anyone, hunters bringing back kill after kill, and warriors cleaning their weapons. Others are scattered around braiding hair and shaving heads, or talking with their loved ones. All this in the anticipation of the arriving clans.
Jake gives the fxetyon to the clan and earns a few joyous whoops and smiles, as apparently they are some kind of delicacy. He wonders why that is as he wipes the thick green blood off his front in large goops, wrinkling his nose despite himself as he shakes his hands free of the gross stuff.
The "shocking announcement", as Jake likes to think of it, is in two hours. He imagines he'll spend the next hour eating kė'ongs and leftover Viperwolf meat to calm himself down, and then he'll let Tsu'tey decorate him with whatever male Tsahìks would wear before telling the tribe.
The ritual itself is an hour, so Jake figures, it being about four hours before evening, that they'll have just enough time to let everyone calm down enough to be natural when Laxoa and Omoru arrive.
Well that's his plan.
He's about to go find something to eat when he feels a sharp tug on his loincloth. He looks down just in time to catch the unhooked string of dark shells that were laced into the ends, preventing them from falling.
"Oh," a small voice says, and Jake notices the small male child standing in front of him. "Sorry."
Jake raises his eyebrow at the English as he carefully ties the delicate shells back to his loincloth before touching his fingers to his forehead and smiling, "I see you, 'evi. Not many children speak English." As Grace's school had been shut down before they were born.
"My parents taught me," the child says, smiling back widely, his large yellow eyes looking up like Jake is someone to be worshipped.
Jake kneels to his level, "What's your name?" His stomach growls at him but he ignores it.
"My name is Sko'teng. And yours is Jakesully." Sko'teng nods enthusiastically, his long braids swinging over his shoulder, the multicolored beads clinking as his small tapered ears perk up in excitement.
"Hmm, Sko'teng is a nice name. You're going to grow up to be a strong warrior, huh?" Jake looks at the small black caricature of an ikran painted along the kid's cheek, the long head eventually dissolving into the normal painted pink and blue stripes on his temple.
"Hmm-mm," the child hums, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet. He bares his small fangs for a second, "I will be the best warrior ever! All the Sky People will feel fear when they even hear my name!"
Jake chuckles. "Hopefully you won't have to worry about the Sky People when you get older, if me and Tsu'tey can help it."
Sko'teng pauses and drops his voice as he becomes sheepish, "You and Tsu'tey? Are you mated?" A giggle, "I won't tell."
Jake plays along, "Are you sure? You won't even tell the other children?"
Sko'teng shakes his head, "Nuh-uh, promise."
Jake makes him wait a moment longer and the child starts jumping up and down and chanting "please" over and over, so he holds out his hand and says, "Yes we are, and guess what? I'm going to tell you another secret."
Poor Sko'teng looks like he's filled to brim with suspense. "What?"
"I'm going to be the new Tsahìk for our clan," he murmurs softly, and then puts his finger over his lips. "Shhh. You can't tell anyone."
"Oh, Eywa! Tsahìk? When?" Sko'teng's voice cracks with happiness as his tail waves up over his shoulder a few times.
"Tonight..." Jake says softly, and suddenly it all seems too real.
"Tonight is so soon! Tewti! I never thought...A Dreamwalker would one day be a leader of our people...But I think, you, Jakesully, will be the best Tsahìk I've ever seen! Though I've only seen one so far..." He admits at the end, but pats Jake on the shoulder with his small four-fingered hand, his spots glowing brightly.
Jake smiles genuinely at him and claps him on the shoulder as well, "All right, Sko'teng, it was nice meeting you. Now go find your parents before they get worried, okay? I'm sure that they're thinking that their perfect son has gotten eaten by a Palulukan by now."
Sko'teng laughs and says a farewell in Na'vi that Jake isn't familiar with, and runs off towards the caves.
Jake sighs happily and stands up again, leaning backwards for a moment to stretch the tired muscles in his back. Without even realizing, he looks around for Tsu'tey for a few minutes before going back to his previous objective: food.
He grabs a large bright blue fruit with black dots from one of the nearby baskets and bites down into it. The taste is a surprisingly unpleasant mesh of vinegar and tomato. He spits the seeds out and then begins walking towards the caves as well, planning to help the tribe.
"Ugh...why is this so heavy?" Jake asks as he hefts two large pieces of wood into the fire and then puts the rest over by the side, to be used when needed.
"The trees of atxkxe ay Eywa are heavier than the trees you are used to," Asuy'ri explains as she ties a few bright and intricate yellow leaves into her wild braids and kicks a rock into the fire, the spots on her back glowing green from where the fire doesn't light her.
"Of course, that's obvious," he wipes the sweat from his chest and forehead and plops down next to her, watching the fire throw up random sparks every few moments. "All this for clans that probably won't even like us."
"It's a matter of honor, that the Na'vi respect each other no matter their opinion. But yes, Laxoa and Omoru will not think too much of us, as we are right now. It can't be helped though."
"Yes it can," Jake smirks at her and grabs one of the leaves that remain in her hand, reaching around to weave it into his own hair.
Asuy'ri stills and turns her head slowly towards him, her eyes wide, "If you are saying what I think you're saying, I hope Tsu'tey didn't force you into this."
The Dreamwalker snorts, letting his hands drop from his head, "No, I forced him into this. Difference. But he sees the advantages, so it's not really forcing, more like persuading."
Asuy'ri shakes her head, "To be a Tsahìk takes years of training, to train your soul and heart, to be ready. It is a big responsibility, Jake. If you start, there is no going back."
Jake meets her eyes, "Listen, I owe the Na'vi and Eywa everything, including my soul and heart and everything else. I want to give something back. And training, that's only a few years. I think I can spare a few years."
Asuy'ri finishes putting the final leaf in her hair and nods in concession. "But let's hope the humans are gone from here by the time you become a full shaman."
"They will be," Jake says, an earnest and determined look in his eyes even as his voice drops lower in anger. "Don't worry."
Glossary:
Fxetyon - a group of cougar-like animals that are native to atxkxe ay Eywa. Their skin is dark blue and like shiny silk so it almost looks like they're covered in moving water as they walk. Their fangs are long and hang over their bottom lip by a good few inches, and at the end of their tails are sets of barbed needles that they whip at enemies. A set of neural whips extend from the back of their shoulders that they use to connect with other fxetyons for mating and bonding purposes. They do not respond well to young foolish Na'vi trying to ride them however
'evi - child/kid
Sko'teng - name means something like "equal chance"
Tewti - wow!