The day before they were to set off for the Tayrangi clan was filled with a seemingly endless list of things to do. Where the other trips had been carried out only by the trio and the Omaticaya leaders, this time they would be accompanied by a modest party of warriors to act as guards.
This was not necessarily because the Tayrangi were a particularly violent clan, though they did tend more towards violence in comparison with the other tribes, but because the Tayrangi respected strength and respect above all things. It wouldn't do well to show up vulnerable, bearing their throats as they had previously—doing so would act as an insult at best, a declaration of aggression at worst.
So, the day was spent in preparation, assembling a reliable group of warriors, and gathering the extra supplies the two day's journey would require for the larger group.
They were so busy running from one task to another, they'd barely had time to worry about the upcoming meeting.
When Jake and Tsu'tey finally retired for the night, it became clear, however, that there would have been no point in wasting their energy worrying, as they opened their eyes to the soft glow of the Tree of Souls, ropes of braided flowers wrapped around its trunk and a familiar figure sitting peacefully among its roots.
They knew, even as Tsu'tey's knees buckled beneath him, his long, strong body crumpling to the ground, that this was a warning—that this was a message that something would go wrong in the near future. As Jake stood frozen in place and silent sobs racked Tsu'tey's shoulders, they couldn't bring themselves to care.
How could they focus on the implications—on the foretold dangers ahead—when Artsut te Rongloa Te'ayite was opening her round golden eyes, eyes that looked so like Tsu'tey's, and fixing them with a wide smile.
"My son," she said in a soft voice that somehow filled and warmed the air all around them, "I have been waiting for you."
"M-Mother..." Tsu'teychoked out the word, anything else he may have wanted or intended to say dying on his lips.
"Stand, Tsu'tey," Artsut said with a small gesture of her hand, just a slight turn of her palm from where it had been resting on her knee, "stand so you may introduce me to your mate properly."
Her words seemed to break Jake from his catatonic state, allowing him to move once more to help Tsu'tey to his feet.
They walked, legs trembling, to where Artsut remained seated, staring up at them with gentle eyes.
"Mother," Tsu'tey's voice shook as he bowed his head, whether as a show of respect or to hide the tears threatening his eyes, who was to say, "I am so sorry."
Jake tore his eyes away from the woman before them, to stare at Tsu'tey, whose lips were curled back in agony, his hands lifting to grasp against his chest as though to tear it open, as though the pain was too great a burden to bear.
He wanted to pull the man against him, hold him and comfort him, but he couldn't—couldn't deny Tsu'tey the hurt he was feeling, the emotions Jake knew he had repressed and stamped down, hardened himself to during the years that Jake wasn't there to witness his pain.
"I am so sorry," Tsu'tey said the words again through clenched teeth, "I could not reach you in time... you and father and Arvok... I could not protect you."
"My son," Artsut rose to her feet, taking the few steps to close the distance between them, her hands reaching out to frame Tsu'tey's face, pulling it up to level with her.
It looked, for a moment, as though that touch alone was more than he could handle, the tears that had begun falling down into the dirt were now running burning tracks down his cheeks.
"You have nothing to apologize for, I am sorry we left you alone," hervoice was little more than a whisper, her thumbs brushing away the endless stream of tears, "you have let the world harden you, you let your grief consume you," she paused, her eyes searching Tsu'tey's face, studying it, before a small smile tugged at her lips, "but I can still see my child, behind the harshness of your features. I can still see the boy who was soft, who chased after atokirinas, who was frightened of the dark.
"Now, my beautiful Tsu'tey," She spoke with finality, bringing up the palms of her hands to wipe away the tears just beneath his eyes, as though willing them away, "no more tears, you must introduce me to this man you have brought. Introduce me as though I have no idea who he could possibly be."
At her words, Tsu'tey was able to calm his shuttering breathes, his tears tapering from their constant flow to just a few droplets escaping the corners of his eyes. Jake's heart ached at the sight; he had almost forgotten how adept this woman was at pulling Tsu'tey from sorrow.
"Mother," Tsu'tey's voice was steadier now as Artsut released her hold on his face in favor of turning to Jake, her eyes crinkled in a smile, "this is Jake-Sully, he is my mate, we are tì'i'avay krrä yawntu."
"I see," Artsut couldn't quite manage to keep the grin from spreading across her face, "now, forgive me if I am wrong... but I seem to remember you keeping me up many a nights to tell me about a boy named Jake-Sully," her grin widened, "I must be mistaken because this man looks nothing like how you described... I specifically recall mention of 'skin the color of sunlight and eyes that looked like the ocean at mid-morning'."
Jake could have stood there, staring at the blush creeping across Tsu'tey's cheeks forever, but instead, he gave the woman a small bow, "it is wonderful to finally meet you, ma'am."
"It is nice to finally put a face to the name, Jake-Sully," Artsut said, a soft laugh cutting through her voice, "even if it is not quite the right face."
Before Jake could reply, Artsut was turning from them, walking back to set herself down where she had been when they arrived, gesturing out with her arms to implore them to sit beside her. Once they obliged her, sitting on their knees with their sides pressed together, their fingers brushing, Artsut spoke again.
"I have been informed that much has changed since I have been gone, you two have been quite busy," her easy smile turned into something a bit more coy as she brought a hand up to her cheek, "oh, perhaps I should not have said that," there was an unmistakable twinkle in her eye before she continued as though she'd said nothing at all, "please, enlighten me on what I have missed."
Jake and Tsu'tey looked at each other for a moment, before silently agreeing there would be no point in pressuring her with questions. So, instead, Tsu'tey pressed closer to Jake's side, and began with, perhaps, the hardest part.
"The day after the fire," Tsu'tey's eyes shifted to stare down at his hands, unable to look his mother in the eyes at the mention of the day of her death, "was the day Jake left earth to come here."
"How long was the journey?" Artsut asked, but by the tone of her voice, the question left out of those words was undeniably 'how long have I been gone'.
"It took six cycles for Jake to arrive… You are correct in your judgement that I..." Tsu'tey seemed to curl in on himself a bit, shame lining his thick voice, "I allowed myself to be consumed by grief, over the loss of my family, but also at the loss of Jake. He was unconscious for those six cycles, so I was... I felt alone for the first time... without my family and without my visions of Jake, without knowing if he would survive the journey... I allowed myself to become bitter and angry."
"But" Artsut said with a sad smile as Jake shifted his hand beneath Tsu'tey's, lacing their fingers together, "he did survive, he made his way to you."
"Yes," Tsu'tey nodded, raising his face, and turning his head to stare into Jake's eyes, "yes, he did."
"I admit," Jake spoke after a moment, breaking his eye contact with Tsu'tey to look over at the woman, her smile warm despite its underlying sadness, "I too allowed myself to be consumed by anger. I was angry at the Skypeople for what they had done and what they were trying to do. I should have tried to blend in, instead I fought against everyone who I thought would keep me from getting here, anyone who I thought sought to wrong this planet and its people."
"How did you find your way to Tsu'tey?" Artsut leaned forward with the question. Even if she was somehow already aware of the story, as Jake and Tsu'tey had the sneaking suspicion that she did, she seemed eager to hear it from them.
"Jake was allowed near Omaticaya territory a few days after his arrival, to guard the scientist Dreamwalker, Grace, and a companion of hers as they gathered samples," Tsu'tey cut in, "he devised a plan to create a distraction and break away from his party. I knew he would be somewhere in the forest, so Neytiri and I spent the day scoping the area until Neytiri found him and informed me of his location."
"How did it feel to finally meet after so long?" Artsut asked, her eyes bright with poorly hidden excitement. She was the only person in the universe, besides Neytiri that had been aware of their bond up from the beginning, had watched her son pine after the far away boy it seemed he could never have—she deserved to know the softer details, the squishy feeling bits that normally would have made them blush and stutter to say aloud.
"I felt..." Jake spoke first, squeezing at Tsu'tey's hand, "I felt as though I could breathe for the first time in years."
Tsu'tey leaned down to brush his lips against Jake's temple before speaking, "I felt as though I would never be alone again, like I had found a home that would be with me always."
"How did Eytukan react?" Artsut's expression sobered slightly with the question.
"He was... not pleased," Tsu'tey cringed at the memory of a hand striking his face, "but once we revealed the nature of our bond, he could not deny Jake the opportunity to earn his place."
"Has he?" Artsut asked, smiling as she already knew the answer.
"My Jake has more than earned his place among our people," Tsu'tey's chest swelled with pride as he spoke, "he, along with Grace and several companions, left the Skypeople's base once it was clear it was too dangerous for them to remain there. They became aware of the Skypeople's plan to attack the Omaticaya territory, to chase us from our land, and Jake brought this knowledge to Eytukan and Mo'at. We have since begun recruiting the surrounding clans to aid us in the upcoming battle.
"He has not only proven himself a capable warrior, but also as a promising future leader of our clan. It was Jake who convinced the Tipani to join us, who stayed calm even as the Olgani's Olo'eyktan threatened his life, and during the recruitment of the Kekunan..." Tsu'tey paused to take a breath, his eyes wild with pride, matched only by Artsut, who was nearly glowing at the words, "Jake, my Jake, became the sixth Toruk Makto."
Artsut's entire face spasmed at that, her eyes growing wide, her mouth opening and closing as though she could not articulate a reaction to those words. This was information she had obviously not known, where before, she had been nodding along, as though expecting each development in the story. However she had known all the rest, this had come as a complete shock.
"He is... he is the Toruk Makto?" If she'd had eyebrows, Jake suspected they might've been lost in her hairline with how high her brow was raised.
Tsu'tey nodded, positively beaming, and the sight alone was almost enough to make Jake forget about the embarrassment burning hot in his cheeks at the attention.
Artsut recovered from her shock after a moment, her features slipping into a wide smile, "of course he is, I must say, Jake-Sully, when you promised me you would protect my son... I did not expect you to go quite that far."
"You..." it was Jake's turn to be surprised, having nearly forgotten the events of his soul transference—his desperate promise that he would look after Tsu'tey, "you really heard all that?"
Artsut's head tossed back with a laugh, her long braids brushing against the ground behind her, "you are an interesting man, Jake-Sully, so very earnest. I can think of no better a match for my Tsu'tey than you, Eywa chose well."
Jake's face burned at the praise, but she continued on before either man had the chance to say anything in reply.
"Now, enough with this serious business for the moment," she said with a clap of her hands, "I have it on good authority that you two have been getting into some adventures, even a bit of trouble," her eyes sparkled as they met Jake's, "I can believe that from you, Jake-Sully, whose impulsive bravery worried my son into hysterics so many times... but I must hear all about how your presence alone seems to have turned my quiet, disciplined child into such a rebel."
What could they do, even as Tsu'tey's cheeks burned and Jake's shoulders shook with laughter, other than indulge such a simple request.
If Artsut wanted stories, they had plenty to tell. They told her about the Na'vi Tsu'tey had laid prone on the ground after he insulted Jake, about Jake's fight with Grace that lead to their blossoming friendship, the fights with Norm, the ceremony accepting him into the clan, and Jake's impressive taming of his first íkran. They told her about Tsu'tey's trip to visit Jake in his human form and the relationship between Neytiri and Trudy that bloomed as a result.
They told her about the less pleasant things—Tsu'tey's jealousy over the young warriors' fascination with Jake, about the misunderstanding that followed, about their fight leading up to the soul transference.
They told her small moments as well, the mornings spent in Grace's class, Neytiri's endless teasing, the hunting trips, their new shared dreams.
They told her about their first dream with Jake's mother, and about all the difficultly and dangers that dream had been warning them about.
By the time they stopped, both men were nearly breathless, but it was worth it to see the wonder on Artsut's features.
"You have both been through so much," she said, her voice far away with thought, "I am so... so happy you found each other. I wish I was there to see it all myself."
"As do I, mother," Tsu'tey's eyes fell to his and Jake's clasped hands.
"I cannot imagine the pressure you two are under, but you have done so well, have come so far," for the first time since they had arrived, Artsut cast her eyes away from the two men, looking out into the glow of the tendrils of the tree, "I mourned every day thinking you two would live your lives apart, that Tsu'tey would be forced to go through with the arrangement with Neytiri, and that Jake-Sully would have to spend the rest of his days on a dying planet that he did not truly belong on.
"I remember, so many years ago now, the stories Tsu'tey would tell me. He was so enraptured with you, with his human boy he loved so much, but you were so lonely, always on your own, trying so desperately to chase after a life you could not reach. I never should have doubted that you would find your way here," she breathed out then, before bringing her gaze back to the two men, her face now deadly serious, "you two already know what these dreams mean… there is a trial ahead of you. As you face it, you must remain strong together, you have already been through so much, I have no doubt you will make it through this as well."
They waited a beat to see if she would say more, but she remained silent, her mouth drawn in a tight line.
"Mother," Tsu'tey said with a hint of desperation in his voice, "can you not tell us any more than that?"
They were unsurprised when she shook her head in a solemn gesture, "I am sorry, my child, these are things you must meet yourselves. I am not permitted to give you details; I cannot aid you in what is to come."
They could only nod at that. It was clear that these dreams were not meant to give them answers, would not serve to provide them a leg up in the difficulties they would face. They knew, as they had always known, that Eywa acted only to keep the balance of the world. It was all they could do to quell their frustration and be grateful that the balance she kept included gifting them with these moments in exchange for the trouble she saw fit to place in their way.
I just made up Tsu'tey's mom's full name, don't me, the lore doesn't go that deep lol