"Sha'ni, let's go!" Syulang said, tugging gently on Shawn's ear. "You can work on it when we get back."
"I am almost finished," Shawn insisted.
"So? Why do you need to finish it now when you won't be here to enjoy it?"
"For Rai'uk," Shawn said, struggling with the smooth but stiff plant fibers of their sleeping platform. "Ninat is working also, you know."
"Rai'uk been perfectly content sleeping on the ground for half the season," Syulang said, rolling her eyes. "I think he can last another few days."
"She wants him to think of her while she's gone," Ninat explained, smiling down at her own project.
"And who is that for?" Shawn asked, looking pointedly at the armband Ninat was working on.
"Ah, yes. Well, at least some progress is being made," Syulang said. "I'm sure Ateyo will cradle it and sigh each of the whole eight nights we will be gone."
"You should make a token too," Shawn said.
"And whom, I ask, would I make a token for?" Syulang snorted, but her apparent derision was belied by the sudden glow of her freckles.
"I know who," Shawn said with a sly smile.
"You do?" Ninat asked, looking at Syulang interestedly. "Who?"
"No one," Syulang said firmly. "She's trying to change the subject. "
"Who, Sha'ni? Tell me," Ninat begged. "Ooh, Syulang, when I find out you will be sorry for teasing me about Ateyo."
"There is no one!" Syulang huffed.
"Not yet," Shawn agreed, smiling serenely. "Do not worry, Ninat. You will know soon."
"How do you know these things, Sha'ni?" Ninat wondered.
"She doesn't know anything," Syulang growled. "She's just trying to distract me."
"She knew that Herwiva had conceived before she told anyone and before her freckles shifted," Ninat argued. "She knew that Winyayo didn't really want to make Iknimaya yet, even though she seemed to be excited about it. How do you do it, Sha'ni?"
"I watch," Shawn said with a shrug. "And...sometimes I dream. But Mo'at says I must learn to See when I am awake, so I watch. A lot."
"It's more than that," Ninat said, nudging Shawn with her elbow. "You are Tsahik."
"Almost," Shawn said with a smile. "There is much to learn."
Since the dedication ceremony a week before, Shawn had spent several hours each day in lessons with Mo'at and the rest of the time in rather more informal lessons with her clan brothers and sisters. With them she learned the mundane but entirely necessary arts of cooking, weaving, embroidering, jewelery-making, diaper-changing, and anything else that came up in the course of a woman's day. Rai'uk still made certain that she didn't ignore the men of the tribe completely, but seemed to accept that most of her time was better spent with the women. He had pointed out, however, that most of her "good guesses" regarded women and suggested that she make more of an effort to get to know the males of the clan so that they too could benefit from her insights. She didn't disagree, but, with the exception of Iley and one or two others, she still found the men intimidating.
"I am finished," Shawn announced, and held up her handiwork.
"Well done, Sha'ni," Ninat said approvingly.
"Really?" Shawn asked anxiously. "The weave went wrong here...and here."
"Well, you won't fall through," Syulang said with a grin. "Probably."
"Really, Sha'ni," Ninat reassured her, giving Syulang a quelling look. "I'm sure I did not do as well my first time."
Shawn smiled happily and got to her feet. "I find Rai'uk and then we go."
"Hurry," Syulang urged. "Neytiri and Peyral will both be on ikran; they're probably there already."
"They know we won't be traveling as quickly," Ninat disagreed. "Relax, sister; another few minutes won't matter. Why don't you go and get the Pa'li ready?"
Syulang sighed and went in search of the pa'li while Shawn went in search of her mate. Her heart pounded and her stomach twisted with the bizarre mix of anticipation and anxiety that she had become familiar since her first kiss with Rai'uk. He had kissed her several times since then and Shawn was slowly losing her fear of intimacy. In fact, she found that she was eager for his occasional caresses and disappointed that their kisses since the first had been of a lighter, less intense quality. She harbored a small, secret hope that her departure would inspire an enthusiastic farewell.
She found him surrounded by a gaggle of children and paused in surprise. He was showing them how to fashion a snare out of vines while they watched attentively. She studied the gentle expression on his face, so different from his usually fierce demeanor. She smiled, pleased to catch him in an unguarded moment. It wasn't a face that was totally unfamiliar to her, but it was rare enough that she wanted to savor the moment while it lasted. It wasn't long, of course, before Rai'uk glanced up and noticed her waiting. He unraveled the snare and handed it over, motioning for the children to have a go at it.
"Sha'ni," he greeted her as he rose. "Are you off to meet Neytiri and Peyral, then?"
Shawn nodded. "Yes. Syulang is very...she says to hurry."
"Syulang is very impatient," Rai'uk supplied. "But Syulang can wait. What have you got there?"
Shawn hesitated, then all but threw the bundled sleeping mat at him Rai'uk He caught it with a laugh and unraveled it. The wide smile that spread across his face made her stomach flutter pleasantly. She smiled back shyly, pleased to have her efforts met with such obvious approval. Rai'uk reached out and pulled her towards him, wrapping his free arm around her and pressing his cheek against hers.
"This is wonderful, yawne," he said. "I only regret that you won't be here to share it. Perhaps I will wait to hang it until you return?"
"No, no," Shawn protested, and blushed, shifting uncomfortably. Rai'uk lifted his eyebrows and squeezed her shoulders encouragingly. "I made it for you...for when I'm gone."
Rai'uk stared down at her for a moment, making her freckles glow even brighter, then threw his head back and laughed. Shawn stiffened and tried to draw back, but his arm tightened around her. He dropped the mat and held her tightly, stroking her freshly braided hair. Shawn tentatively put her arms around his waist, but didn't relax completely. He had become more open in his affection in the past week, but a full embrace was something new.
"Ah, Sha'ni," he said, still chuckling. "Thank you. It is a lovely gift, truly."
"It is not exactly a gift," she pointed out. "I will sleep in it also."
"The thought is the gift," Rai'uk said, squeezing her once more before letting her go. "I wish I had something similar for you."
"You do," Shawn said without thinking, then blushed so deeply she thought her freckles would throw sparks.
Rai'uk looked at her quizzically, then grinned. He took her in his arms once more and proceeded to kiss her so thoroughly that several clan members paused in their various pursuits to cheer and hoot teasingly. When it was over, Shawn stepped back and shook her head dazedly. Though she could hear the children giggling, she couldn't help the silly smile plastered on her face. She turned at Syulang's call.
"Greetings, Olo'eyktan," Syulang said as she approached, far more respectfully than Shawn was used to. "Sha'ni, the Pa'li are ready."
Rai'uk nodded pleasantly. "Hello, sister. You will travel by pa'li also?"
"Yes," Syulang said with a shrug. "It would be a lonely trip, otherwise."
"Indeed," Rai'uk agreed. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Be safe, all of you."
"We will," Shawn promised, and followed Syulang into the forest where Ninat waited with the pa'li.
Shawn approached the large animals warily. The few rides she had taken under Rai'uk's supervision couldn't be called complete disasters, but Shawn wasn't wholly comfortable with the direhorses, either. She was glad that she would be mounted behind Ninat and not in control herself. Her nervousness bewildered Syulang and amused Rai'uk. Even Ninat, although she would never say anything, seemed bemused. None of them could understand why riding a pa'li presented such an obstacle when she had mounted a palulukan without hesitation. Shawn had tried to explain that riding a palulukan—at least in her experience—was more about suggesting a course of action and then tagging along for the ride rather than controlling another creature's movements (something she found extremely unsettling). Perhaps she hadn't explained herself very well, however, because they all still seemed to think she was being ridiculous.
Ninat and Syulang vaulted effortlessly onto their mounts' backs, and Ninat bent down to help Shawn swing up behind her. Shawn settled herself as comfortably as she could, placing her arms firmly around Ninat's slender waist. Ninat urged the pa'li forward and chuckled as Shawn's arms tightened.
"Mawey, Sha'ni," she said. "You're making Lrr'tok nervous."
Shawn took a deep breath and tried to imagine her body sinking into Lrr'tok's back as Rai'uk had taught her, reaching down and around with her legs. After a few minutes she relaxed at least enough for Ninat to move out of a walk. Nonetheless, she was more than happy to stop for a bite to eat and a chance to stretch her legs. She wondered if she would ever come to enjoy riding a pa'li. The sensation of another creature submitting so completely to her will unnerved her. Riding a palulukan was...not exactly a partnership, but certainly a collaboration. She found the second presence in her head comforting.
The young women spread out to gather food and then returned to the pa'li to share their spoils. Not for the first time, Shawn wondered at Pandora's plenty. When the People brought supplies such as dried meat or nikt'chey with them on an excursion, it was nearly always a matter of convenience rather than necessity. There was always food for the taking in the forest if you had some time to find it. Shawn was pleased with her haul: a net bag full of tubers and fruit as well as some nuts that she knew Ninat particularly enjoyed.
"I wonder if Peyral has bonded with Ngimkxetse yet," Syulang mused as they lounged at the base of a tree.
"I doubt it," Ninat replied with a grin. "She'll make him work for it."
"How does it happen normally?" Shawn asked curiously. "When a man chooses a woman?"
"What do you mean?" Syulang replied with a frown of puzzlement. "He chooses her, she accepts—or not—and they bond and mate...and that's that. Well, and the celebration afterward."
"There's more to it," Ninat disagreed. "If she agrees, they seek counsel from the Tsahik and their parents. The couple listens to their advice and then spend an eight-night apart and an eight-night alone with each other. After, if they decide to proceed, they arrange for a sleeping space separate from that of their parents. Then they find go away together to bond and when they come back the celebration is planned—if the mating was blessed, of course."
"Oh," Syulang said, surprised. "How do you know all that?"
Ninat shrugged. "How anyone knows it, I guess. My older sisters were both mated, and all their friends. Neytiri is the only one of my friends who has a mate, but hers was...different. More like yours, Sha'ni. Abrupt, to say the least."
"None of my Tipani friends were mated," Syulang said. "And my aunt never...well, we weren't that close. How does it happen for the Sky People, Sha'ni?"
"I am not sure," Shawn said. "I did not have many friends, and no family. But I do know there is a ceremony. The woman wears white and the man wears black and they promise to love each other and all their friends and family are there. Then there is a celebration with cake."
"Cake?" Ninat asked.
"A sweet food," Shawn explained. "Very, very sweet. You probably do not like it. But it looks pretty."
"Why do they wear white and black?" Syulang wanted to know. "Does it mean something?"
"I have no idea," Shawn said honestly.
"Do you miss it very much, Sha'ni?" Ninat asked hesitantly. "Where you come from? Do you wish you'd had a ceremony with cake?"
Shawn laughed. "I never thought about mating when I was on Earth. I did not want to think about it here, either."
"But you are not sorry," Syulang said, seeking confirmation. Shawn was touched to see she and Ninat both looked slightly worried.
"No," Shawn said with a smile. "I am happy here, with my sisters."
"And your mate," Syulang prompted.
"Yes," Shawn agreed, and blushed, remembering Rai'uk's farewell. "Let's go. Our other sisters wait."
They continued through the afternoon and stopped shortly after nightfall. Shawn realized with some surprise that she missed Rai'uk as she settled down to sleep. While they had not exactly cuddled since their initial bonding, they often shared tsaheylu and held hands while falling asleep. Sometimes she even leaned her head against his shoulder, or he rested a hand on the curve of her hip. Shawn enjoyed it, but hadn't expected the small ache she discovered in the absence of these small intimacies.
They made good time the next day and reached the agreed-upon meeting place, a system of caves, by dusk. As Syulang had predicted, Neytiri and Peyral were already there. As Ninat had predicted, the Omaticaya had accurately gauged their Anurai sisters' pace and hadn't been waiting long. As Shawn had (privately) predicted, there was an argument anyway. Her friends' bickering was all in fun, however, and she wasn't worried. She was just glad to have them all together once more.
After weeks of of near-constant instruction in her duties as Tsahik, the opportunity to do absolutely nothing but enjoy being with her friends was heaven. Shawn didn't even feel guilty about it, for Tsahik had sent her off with warm praise and firm instructions to relax. Ever obedient, Shawn intended to do just that. The five friends renewed their vows and lounged around the fire, telling stories and catching up. Shawn mostly let them talk while she observed silently. Neytiri in particular seemed different, though she couldn't tell how.
"Sha'ni?" Peyral asked after some time, looking at her quizzically. "Are you alright?"
"Hm?" Shawn grunted, startled out of her reverie. "Oh, yes. Is Neytiri going to have a baby?"
Everyone gaped at her, then burst out laughing.
"Sha'ni! What a thing to say!" Ninat cried.
"Where did that come from?" Syulang cackled.
Neytiri, however, said nothing but tried to hide her glowing freckles behind her hands.
"Neytiri?" Peyral asked, shocked. "You're not pregnant, are you?"
"I don't think so," Neytiri said. "Not yet. But my body is ready for a baby. The change came on me a week ago. Sha'ni, how on earth could you tell?"
"I do not know," Shawn admitted. "You just look different."
"She's been doing this for weeks now," Syulang informed the others. "It's spooky."
"She is Tsahik," Neytri said, smiling proudly at Shawn. "You have quite a gift, sister."
"You probably do it too," Shawn demurred.
"Yes, but it took long years of training, and I think you're still better at it than I am," Neytiri told her. "You're a natural."
Shawn waved a hand dismissively. "Let us sleep. It was a long day."
"Maybe for you three," Peyral said with a grin. "Tiri and I lazed about all morning."
"How kind of you to take the first watch," Ninat said sweetly. "Thank you, sister."
Everyone laughed as they put out the fire with dirt and settled down for sleep. Once again, Shawn felt a pang of loneliness—or was it longing? Whatever it was, the feeling was eased somewhat by her friends' presence. She thought about Neytiri's body being "ready" for a baby, whatever that meant. She searched her memory for facts about Na'vi reproduction. Beyond the fact that they gave birth, she really didn't know much at all. Shawn wondered idly why Mo'at had never talked about it in her lessons. She probably didn't want to scare off her young charge, Shawn reflected with an internal roll of the eyes. And with good reason—before Shawn could even begin to contemplate a baby of her own and (what making one would entail), her mind screeched to a smoking halt. Shawn sighed. She was such a prude, she thought, even by human standards. She drifted off to sleep wondering how she might address that particular character flaw. Syulang would undoubtedly have an idea—or five.
Shawn came awake with a start, unsure of what had disturbed her sleep. Was it her turn for the watch? No. Syulang, Neytiri, and Peyral were all fast asleep; it was Ninat's turn. But where was Ninat? She looked around warily. There was no reason for her uneasiness—Ninat could very well be off somewhere having a pee—but Shawn couldn't shake the sense that something was not quite right. Two months ago, she would have shrugged it off. Now she knew better.
Shawn scented the air delicately, identifying the direction her friend had taken. She took a few steps into the forest, and then hesitated. She couldn't be completely sure there wasn't some innocent reason for Ninat's absence, but if something really was wrong, wandering into the situation by herself would be unhelpful at best and downright stupid at worst. Shawn returned and crouched next to Neytiri, shaking her gently. Neytiri would understand, and she wouldn't tease Shawn too much if it turned out there was nothing sinister afoot.
"Sha'ni?" Neytiri murmured sleepily as she sat up. "What's wrong?"
"I am not sure," Shawn said softly. "Ninat is gone, and I...I do not know. Something feels wrong."
"Let's find her, then," Neytiri said firmly, and rose smoothly to her feet. As she strung her bow, she asked, "Do you have her trail?"
"I think that way," Shawn said uncertainly. Her tracking skills were not anywhere near as honed as Neytiri's.
"You were right," Neytiri assured her after a moment's investigation. "Come on."
They slipped silently into the forest, moving cautiously with every sense alert. They saw nothing to indicate Ninat was in any kind of trouble, but the tightness in Shawn's stomach only grew stronger. She increased her pace until the two were moving so quickly that Neytiri barely avoided colliding with Ninat when she appeared in their path. Shawn ran into Neytiri's back and rubbed her nose where it hit.
"What's wrong?" Ninat asked, clearly surprised.
"We were hoping to find out," Neytiri replied. "Sha'ni had a feeling."
Ninat frowned. "I thought I heard something off and went to check. I was just coming back to get one of you."
"We should wake the others," Neytiri said with a frown. "I don't like this."
Ninat nodded. "Let's go."
Shawn, whose attention had been on the forest, seized Ninat's arm and hauled her forward just as an arrow whizzed by. Neytiri spun and loosed an arrow of her own.
"Run," she shouted in English, and jerked her head to the right. "That way—there's a river."
"Come on," Ninat cried, scrambling to her feet, and the two bolted away from Neytiri.
"Neytiri needs help," Shawn panted. "We get others."
"She knows what she's doing," Ninat said breathlessly. "Just run."
They ran as fast as they could without losing their footing, but soon they could hear rapid footsteps and the sounds of something moving through the vegetation without regard for stealth. They exchanged a frightened glance and sped forward with renewed strength. No matter how hard they pushed themselves, however, the footsteps continued to grow louder. Whoever was chasing them was clearly faster than they were. They needed some kind of advantage; no doubt that was why Neytiri had mentioned the river. But how much farther was it?
"Up ahead," Ninat gasped, clearly thinking along the same lines. "Ridge—drop through leaves. Trust yourself."
Shawn felt sick. She knew of the maneuver whereby one could drop long distances to ground by using leaves to slow the descent, but she had never actually done it. Theory and practice, she felt, could not be further apart. Alas, theory was all she had to go on and no choice but to put it into practice. Eywa help me, she thought. And God, too.
"Watch me," Ninat ordered, and with a burst of speed put herself ahead of Shawn, throwing herself off the ridge.
Shawn, only a few steps behind, gathered herself to leap—and was jerked viciously backward by her queue. With a cry of pain, she rolled to her feet and faced her attacker. It was a woman, one she recognized—barely—from the clan. It was one of the huntresses, a slightly older woman who was often away from camp.
"Why do you do this, sister?" Shawn asked angrily.
"You are not my sister," the other hissed. "You are not of the People. You are tawtute. A demon. You know nothing. You See nothing."
"I See plenty," Shawn retorted, for once not bothering with humility. "You doubt the
wisdom of the Tsahiks?"
"Demon," the woman spat. "You tricked them!"
"You think they are so stupid?" Shawn demanded. "You think you know better than all the Tsahiks of all the clans?"
"Not all," the woman insisted. "Teyanari could not be deceived. She is not old and frail and tired of war. She sent us to cleanse the clans of your evil. Your presence upsets the balance so that she cannot heal my Kinke'u."
The angry Tsahik, Shawn thought grimly. Of course.
"She is wrong," Shawn said firmly. "It is her own hate and anger that upsets the balance."
"No," the woman said softly, her eyes flashing. "I will kill you and Tsahik will heal my son."
The woman drew a long-bladed knife and advanced. Shawn backed up, at a complete loss. Should she try to reason with her? That hadn't done any good. Could she run? No—she already knew the woman was taller and faster. Would she die a martyr and thereby bring the avatars and the clans together? No. Aside from being an all-around unsavory prospect, her death at this point would pass more or less unremarked by all but her friends and her mate. She needed to be alive to do her work. The wind shifted and her nostrils flared. What she scented on the breeze made her smile. She knew what to do.
"Die," the woman snarled, and raised her knife.
Shawn bared her teeth and let out a scream like the roar of a mountain lion. She hadn't known she was capable of making such a sound. The older woman twitched in surprise, giving Shawn the opening she needed to knock the knife out of the woman's hand and kick it over the edge of the ridge. An answering roar sounded in the distance. It seemed her friend the palulukan had shifted her territory when Shawn changed hers.
"I am Tsahik," Shawn growled. "I am Eywa's chosen and bond-sister to palulukan. I do not want to kill you...but I will if I must."
"Unnatural," the woman sputtered. "Unholy-"
"Demon," Shawn finished. "Yes, I know."
Shawn could hear her bond-sister approaching. The woman clearly could as well, for she stepped back and dropped into an anxious crouch, her ears twitching to and fro.
"Run," Shawn advised, and the palulukan burst into sight.