AN: AN UPDATE! I know it may feel like I've died already but I assure you I haven't. THIS FIC WILL HAVE AN ENDING! WHOOT! Its just that I'm applying for a scholarship and I really need to work hard on my grades, so no time for this... But it's summer so I will update more often, maybe even DAILY IF THERE ARE ENOUGH REVIEWS. Anyhow, I apologise for the long wait.

THIS IS SLASH! DON'T LIKE DON'T READ. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.

Seven

It was one of those nights, the ones where every one of the occupants of the Hometree sat around a huge fire and traded stories or sang songs in weird high pitched noises. I sat next Tsu'tey and poked him on and on about why he wasn't singing but apparently, Na'vi males were too pompous to sing and only broke out in song when they fell in love or something.

"So, tomorrow then?" I asked him softly and Tsu'tey turned to face me, the fire light reflected strangely in his large cat-like eyes. "Tomorrow I get to choose a mount and fly, you know like Jake?"

"yes." He replied shortly and turned his face back to the fire, his face carefully blank. Jake was laughing and singing in English in front of a highly amused Neytiri. I graced tsytey with a sympathetic pat to the shoulder and stood up.

The night air was too warm and musty and I wanted to cool off, so instead of going to the hammocks, I wandered off. The sounds around me reminded me how strange and exotic Pandora really was. Smiling and humming to myself, I set off further down the sloping path I had taken. Large glowing insects launched themselves off the thick green leaves all around me and I closed my eyes, feeling strangely at peace.

Then the buzzing stopped. Everything sopped, even the wind.

Goosebumps rippled along my arms and I felt the hairs at the back of my neck rise. The glowing bugs were no where to be seen and everything was strangely dark. I crouched down instinctively and looked around cautiously.

There was no source of light except for a couple of oddly glowing golden orbs to my left and I frowned. Taking a few steps toward the light source, I was suddenly hit with a strong whiff of blood. There was no way I'd mistake that smell because I had grown up, surrounded by the scent of blood.

Then something horrible dawned on me. The few dozen glowing orbs weren't just some florescent fungi, they were eyes.

Fucking eyes. Glowing.

Screw trying to be a man and finding out what that thing was, I turned in the opposite direction and hightailed it out of there, heart leaping in my chest as I ran.

That night, even after breaking the link between my avatar and human form, I still couldn't sleep easy. Whatever that thing was, it was definitely not friendly.

"Today, you will be choosing your Ikran. This is the last step to becoming a hunter of our clan." Tsu'tey spoke slowly as he walked among us. I was standing between two other Na'vi while he told us of the procedures. I was feeling a bit sick to the stomach after he finished and whooped half-heartedly as the two other natives gave short shrieking cries of excitement. Just because I used to be in the Navy didn't mean I liked being there and this sounded a bit too dangerous for my liking.

"Pay attention, River." A short smack to the back of my head made me look up with a wounded expression and Tsu'tey gave a slightly exasperated hiss as he turned to the trees.

"Are all warriors supposed to have an Ikran?"

"Yes." Tsu'tey gave several sharp whistles and I winced when I realized I had voiced my question aloud. He turned around calmly and fixed me with a flat glare. "And they are destined to choose one another."

The journey to the 'Banshee's lair ' as Jake had called it, was nothing short of impossible. I was a brave soldier in my field days but I wasn't stupid and climbing onto thin ropes suspended over hundreds of feet up in the air was considered suicide to me. Tsu'tey spent a good quarter of an hour trying to pry my fingers off a tree trunk when I lied that they were glued to the bark. He had threatened to leave without me or personally shove me off the cliff before I reluctantly let go of the tree and followed him. The climb took almost hours and by the time we arrived at the end of the cave, my legs were threatening to give out and I was using the bow in my hand as a cane to support my trembling limbs. Tsu'tey flexed his shoulders unconsciously and I glowered at him. He didn't seem tired at all. I offered a forced smile when Tsu'tey's eyes landed on me and he hesitated.

"Just…just give me one…minute." I wheezed pathetically and took a few gulps of air. The Na'vi rolled his eyes and took the bow from the other native.

"Yak'su will go first. Observe, River." I followed him as he nimbly eased himself off the narrow cliff wall and followed carefully. My eyes widened at the sight of the hundreds and thousands of flying creatures currently perched on the rocks. Yak'su quickly found the one he was looking for and I remembered Jake's words when he had come back from his own journey.

You'll know that they chose you when they try to kill you.

I gulped and watched in awe as the Na'vi easily tamed the Ikran. Tsu'tey offered his congratulations and sent the rider and the Ikran off the cliff. I watched with rapt attention as the next Na'vi stepped forward.

A few minutes later, Tsu'tey and I were the only ones still on the cliff. He turned to me and took my bow from me. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The banshees scattered around me and dove off the cliff without even looking at me. I had taken almost twenty steps and still none of them showed any interest in me. Whichever one I looked at turned and fled from the cliff. I was at the end of the cliff when the last Ikran jumped off with a loud piercing shriek.

"This…this is normal isn't it?" I tried to drown out the nasty thumping of my heart and turned to stare at Tsu'tey. The rocky cliff was bare except for the two of us. Something akin to pity flashed in his eyes and I felt my blood boil.

It wasn't fair.

The moment I had seen Jake come back hand in hand with Neytiri, Ikrans at their backs, I felt it. The need to prove myself. I was Jake's equal so why couldn't I make Tsu'tey proud of me? Just like Neytiri was proud of Jake. In the past few days, I had trained harder than any of them, proved myself in all fields and finally, grudgingly, Tsu'tey had accepted me, at least allowed me to follow his steps.

"River…" Tsu'tey's words were soft, not his usual sarcastic tone. I clinched my fists and turned, forcing a smile on to my face.

"There…there must be another rock, you know…somewhere else I can find one. There…" I took a deep breath and Tsu'tey sighed.

"The warriors are destined to find their mounts here." he finally said.

"Fuck destiny!" I kicked at a rock and winced as tears welled in my eyes, blurring the world into a mess of colors. I ducked my head. "I don't belong on earth, I can't fucking find a place here…why?"

I looked up at the tall Na'vi. Tsu'tey was the first to look away. I laughed sarcastically.

"You never believed me did you?" he remained silent but I went on. I needed to vent out some of this frustration. "You're always so prejudiced toward me. You people think I' so thickheaded as to not understand the looks sent my way but how blind do you fucking think I am?"

Tsu'tey didn't look angry, instead the shamed expression was far worse and I felt like someone had taken a hot iron and pressed it against my exposed heart. I took an unsteady step back when he moved forward and the rock beneath my foot just took that moment to crumble and give way. I didn't even try to regain my balance, letting gravity take me into her arms. Well, I was about to fly, wasn't I?

"NO!" Tsu'tey roar made my eyes snap back to his face and I blinked as he launched himself toward me, taking a large leap and giving a shrill whistle as he plunged off the cliff after me. Strong arms encircled my shoulders and then we were both falling. I buried my face against the crook of his neck and let myself go limp.

There was an answering whistle and I heard the flapping of wings around me. Then something hard collided with our falling bodies and there was a sickening feeling in my stomach as we suddenly stopped falling. Tsu'tey still had his one arm tight around my shoulder, the other reached out to pat his mount, making clicking noises with his mouth.

I buried myself further against his neck, keeping my face hidden as the other two new warriors flew close to us. They seemed curious why I was missing my mount, but the angry hiss from Tsu'tey had them falling back and putting some distance between us. I knew that he knew that I was crying. Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. I'm a crybaby.

But he didn't say a word and we kept flying until all I could hear were the sounds of the wind against my ears and his slow but strong pulse beating beneath his blue skin. There was a sharp turn and we landed rather roughly. Tsu'tey didn't make me let go of him, nor did he say anything. He just jumped off the mount with me latched to his chest like a freaky pair of Siamese twins. Then he perched himself on a nearby rock and we just sat there for what seemed like eternity, with the wind running through my blond hair and the sound of a distant waterfall drumming on my ears.

My manliness decided to kick in after a few minutes and I shoved myself away from him, wiping angrily at my face with two fists. He grabbed my wrists and after I was sure I couldn't break free of his hold, I went still, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Gently tipping my face up to look at him, he gave a half smile and started whispering things in his native language while stroking his thumbs across my cheeks and wiping the moisture away. I didn't really understand anything he was saying and gave up after a few syllables. Learning languages just wasn't my thing. But whatever he was saying sort of calmed me down and I sat there, letting him stroke my cheeks and closed my eyes, the wind dancing on my skin.

"You are a warrior in my heart." He suddenly said in English and my eyes snapped open.

"Come again?" I said after a seconds pause, my almost drunken brain didn't seem to believe what I just heard.

He just rolled his eyes and gave me that familiar exasperated look and took his hands off my face after a painful pinch to both cheeks. I watched Tsu'tey pull his hair back and untie the necklace around his throat. He smiled as he looked down upon the string of blue and white rocks strung with a milky string. Then turning to me, he beckoned me close and gently wrapped it around my neck before tying it. His fingers brushing my skin made me shiver slightly and the stones were still warm with his heat.

"My warrior." He said and I smiled as he pressed our foreheads together, ignoring the flutter in my chest.

AN: Review? LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL!