Chapter 5: Destination

Viyume was sitting crouched near a small campfire, every now and then taking a bite out of a boiled fish given to her by her small host. It tasted absolutely terrible. She had to put effort into not spitting out what she was chewing.

The cooking pot, supported by three bony legs, was suspended above the fire, still steaming and smoking. It had been left unattended, since Vitra had momentarily disappeared inside her shelter. It was located nearby, and appeared to be a simple hole dug into the ground with the dug-up sand having been used to build some rudimentary walls. The roof consisted out of various large plant leaves. It was quite an unusual place to live in. Viyume wasn't used to seeing a Na'vi having disturbed the ground like that.

Several things were distracting Viyume from the poor taste of the fish. Firstly, there were the questions on her mind about a great number of things she didn't understand about this place. Mostly she wondered about what Vitra was doing here and where she had come from. She also wondered about the way her host would show her how to find Neteyam.

And then there was the ever present mysterious gnarly old tree in the foggy background. She had initially sat down with her back towards it, but somehow that had felt rude, as if she had been ignoring an actual person in this way.

That was why she was now sitting with her back towards the ocean, so that the tree wasn't excluded from the social circle around the campfire, even though it was quite a distance away. Viyume was growing concerned she might actually be going crazy for even thinking of perceiving something like that. Or perhaps it was simply this awful fish which was messing with her mind.

"Ah, that smells good, yes?" Vitra commented as she made her way back to the fire, carrying a variety of previously gathered plant ingredients.

"If you say so." Viyume answered reservedly, trying to restrain herself from becoming rude again.

Meanwhile, Vitra kneaded some of the leaves in her small hands and threw them into the pot, before stirring the contents again. To stir the relatively large pot properly, she had to stand up and hold the utensil firmly with two hands. It appeared to be taking quite some effort from her.

"Maybe you should put the fish on a stick or something and just roast it above the fire? So that it does not taste like absolute cr…" Viyume tried suggesting before she was interrupted, quite possibly on purpose.

"I was wondering, why are you carrying a Sky People weapon?" Vitra asked calmly, not breaking eye-contact with the pot.

Viyume shifted her posture slightly before replying as convincingly as possible: "I told you before, Eywa gave me a purpose. To save Neteyam."

"You also said Eywa does not like metal and Sky People tools in particular. So, which one of those is the truth?" Vitra swiftly pointed out.

Viyume remained quiet momentarily, realizing that what she had said before indeed did not make much sense. Nevertheless, she tried to rectify the situation.

"Look, all I know is that I had a dream where I could not save him because I had not brought this weapon with me." she said defensively. "How should I know exactly what Eywa wants from me? I am not a Tsahìk."

"And in this dream, this boy you keep talking about, Neteyam, did he offer you a choice?" Vitra continued, looking halfway across her shoulder, but not quite making eye-contact with Viyume.

"He…there was a tree branch; an elevated path in the forest. He had just shot a fish and he was very concerned about not causing it to suffer for too long. Then he told me we could do something like…follow the path or take a shortcut… I think…" she replied carefully, before realizing something else. "Wait… You asked me something similar, right? How…how did you…"

"Have you ever considered walking a different path than the one everybody keeps telling you to take?" the small Na'vi asked in return.

"Yes." Viyume answered bluntly, growing somewhat impatient with all the riddles. "Why do you think I am out here?"

"Have you ever considered that the three laws Eywa handed down to our people might not be all there is to say on the subject?" Vitra went on.

"I have. The Sky People do not follow the laws. And we live together with them. The father of Neteyam, our previous Olo'eyktan, he was once a Sky Person. And he never really let go of his old ways. So where does it all begin and end?" Viyume said, before remembering the words her mother had spoken to her when she had questioned the three laws. "I recently discussed this with my mother and she told me: those who fully and completely embrace Eywa, shall be guaranteed to receive her blessing. Those who do not have to pay for what they owe her."

"Yes…yes… that is what some of them will try; scaring you into following the rules…" Vitra acknowledged. "Have you ever considered the possibility to break away from all that… and be guided by… someone else?"

Viyume did not have an answer to this question; she had never thought of something like this before. What was Vitra implying? That Eywa wasn't the Great Mother, but rather just one possible mother? And that there were others?

When she remained silent, Vitra asked additional questions: "Do you think that there is Eywa's tree? And what makes you think it is even a tree?"

Viyume turned her head to look at the weathered brownish-grey thing with the pitch-black narrow opening in its base. That was a good question. Considering how it was making her feel, was it even a tree? What else could it be? She felt a chill running down her spine as she contemplated this.

"I cannot teach you any more than this. Not while you are chasing after this boy. If your mind is not focused on where you are and what you are doing, then you are not ready. So, we might as well get it over with." Vitra insisted matter-of-factly. "Have patience. Stay here. Have some more fish."

Viyume watched carefully as her small host determinedly walked off towards the thing that looked mostly like a tree. Vitra walked in a straight line towards the base of the trunk, and when she reached it, she disappeared inside, into the darkness.

In the meantime, Viyume took another bite from her fish, but could only start chewing once she saw Vitra reemerge. Now she was carrying a woven bag of some kind. It appeared to be quite heavy; she had swung it across her shoulder and had to readjust her grip several times along the way.

Once back at the campfire, she emptied the bag's contents onto the ground in front of Viyume. A large amount of small, crusty, black stones fell out. Vitra proceeded to use her hands as well as her feet to spread them out on the ground.

"Eat." she said to Viyume. "This is going to take a while."

She definitely wasn't lying. It did take a very long time as Vitra carefully examined the shape and position of each stone and rearranged it when it was in an apparent wrong location or orientation. It was not at all clear what the end result of this puzzle was even supposed to be, at least not to Viyume.

The latter decided to take it upon herself to cook what she considered to be a proper meal. She picked up one of the larger rocks that was lying nearby, not one from the bag, and placed it in the middle of the fire. Next, she used her hunting knife to cut open and gut one of Vitra's other fishes which had not yet been ruined in the boiling pot. She may have handled a fish for a meal once or twice before and figured she would probably be doing this more often the farther she headed out across the ocean. She knew it would be good to get some more experience.

Viyume berated herself in a low voice when she almost spilled its guts all over her arm as the fish slipped from her grip at one point. Naturally, Vitra burst once more into her typical cackling laughter.

When Viyume pouted in response, she quickly realized how that was making her look and subsequently wiped the expression from her own face before Vitra could notice it. Giving her small host any reason to make fish-related jokes was something she definitely wanted to avoid.

Eventually, Viyume placed several neat slices of fish onto the heated-up rock in the center of the fire and let them bake. Meanwhile, she stirred Vitra's boiling pot for her.

"What is this I smell? Burned fish?" Vitra said after some time. "Whilst I am arranging the sacred stones? That reminds me of a song…"

"Thanks, but I would like to hear the calming waves of the sea while I eat." Viyume interjected, thinking quickly and not wanting to have her hearing damaged. She now used her knife to push the baked fish pieces onto a leaf she was holding.

"You shall be hearing these sounds quite often, I expect. There, it is almost done." she replied, causing Viyume to look up from her meal to check out the progress of the stone puzzle.

As she watched Vitra rearranging the final stones, she took a few large bites from one of the slices. It tasted so much better already. She closed her eyes momentarily to savor the sensation. It was good to know that the cook had been the real problem. Viyume would have had a serious issue otherwise, if she couldn't have gotten used to eating this stuff.

"I believe this is where you need to go." Vitra said, pointing with a stick to a seemingly random stone right in the middle.

"What?" Viyume asked, somewhat surprised, with her mouth still full.

"Neteyam his father, the former Sky Person…if he was Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya, if he was Toruk Makto, then he will know Tonowari, Olo'eyktan of the Metkayina. So Awa'atlu is where you should start. Now, if they are not there, then there are several other villages to look for, although I would have to start guessing. I know the Metkayina, but I do not know them that well." she elaborated finally.

"Okay…did you need to spend all this time playing with stones just to tell me that…" Viyume said in suspicion, right after swallowing away the fish.

"Are you sure you are not some foolish girl who is used to everything being handed to her?" Vitra countered immediately, even sounding somewhat grumpy all of a sudden. "This is a map. Each stone represents an island. It is not for me. It is for you. How are you going to find Awa'atlu if you have never been there? If you do not have anyone to guide you? If you cannot even distinguish one island from another? You will have to memorize the shape and position of every stone I put down."

"No way! That is not possible!" Viyume yelled immediately, knowing there might be a hundred of them or more on the ground.

"You say that as if it is a fact carved into stone. How are you so certain it cannot be done? How was I even able to lay them down like this if I had not memorized the complete picture in the first place? And perhaps there was even something guiding me." Vitra said simply, calling her young visitor's whole assessment of the situation into question.

Viyume had a swift counterproposal: "I admit I do not know these islands. But would it not be faster for you to come with me and be my guide? Since you clearly know this place very well. My ikran can take two, no problem. And maybe you would like to go on an adventure?"

"Hmm, the shortcut, is it? With you it is always the shortcut." she replied, seemingly disapprovingly before adding on a more positive note: "Which I respect. A shortcut can have its advantages also. But remember this: it is not my journey; it is yours."

This answer was pretty clear to Viyume. Vitra wasn't coming with her. Maybe this was for the best? How would she even have explained Vitra's peculiar appearance and behavior to Neteyam? She did not want to think about it.

"Now, to help you out, this is where we currently are." Vitra said, pointing her stick once again to one of the rocks. However, this one was located far off to the side. Viyume had not even noticed it until now. "As you are flying at midday, you should keep the sun here, to this side. Then, if you fly in a straight line, and I have no doubt that an Omatikaya such as yourself is able to do this, you should first reach this group of islands. Next, you follow this path which will take you straight to Awa'atlu. Well, what are you waiting for? Start memorizing."

And with that, Vitra returned to stirring whatever she was concocting in her large cooking pot. Viyume sighed and sat down onto the sand. She figured that maybe she only needed to memorize the islands along the paths which had been indicated, instead of all of them? That would definitely be easier.

As she was studying, first taking in the shapes of the islands before even attempting to remember their location, something else popped into her head.

"I think some of these other islands might have Metkayina living on them too. If I just make it to this island group, I could simply ask them how to get to Awa'atlu." Viyume suggested, hoping for a positive response.

"You could take that risk." Vitra said, not completely dismissive of the idea at first. "But how do you know what their reaction will be to your presence? Have you been announced as a visitor? Do you know anyone in that area who could speak for you? Are you an envoy of your clan? Trust me, if the answers to those questions are all 'no', then they are just as likely to see you as some unwelcome vagrant, or worse: an intruder with possible hostile intentions."

"What is a 'vagrant'? Is that the same as a 'hermit'?" Viyume asked in return, trying to make herself sound curious in a lighthearted kind of way. She didn't know how else to react to this unfortunate answer which she really didn't like to hear.

"You truly have not seen much of the world, have you? Those are words to describe individuals who are no longer associated to any clan or family." Vitra said, turning around to face her whilst putting her hands on her hips. "Contrary to what you might think, it does happen."

"Sorry." Viyume said quickly, realizing she was being pretty stupid in multiple ways. It seemed Vitra was close to running out of patience with her. "I will be quiet..."

While studying the stones in the sand, Viyume couldn't stop herself from occasionally letting her thoughts wander from the task at hand. Surely the Metkayina would not be hostile towards her? She didn't really have anything to compare this situation with; she had never visited another clan after all. Perhaps it was best to trust in Vitra's judgement, even though she didn't really know her? She was already trusting her on this whole map thing, so would it not make sense to listen to these warnings as well?

Once noon was approaching, Viyume convinced herself that she had sufficiently fixated the necessary shapes and positions into her mind.

"I am ready." she finally said after a long silence.

"Good." Vitra responded. She immediately got up and with several swipes of her feet she completely destroyed the map, kicking the stones into a totally different layout, before adding skeptically: "Do I have to make you rebuild it? Or do you really have it?"

"It is in my head!" Viyume said, initially annoyed for having her concentration and learning skills questioned, before becoming more cordial: "Maybe…I am just a foolish girl, but at least now I know where to go. Before I leave, I want to thank you."

"There is no need to thank me. You made me remember why I am here. That is already enough." Vitra said sincerely. "And one more thing: fly as high as you can. Not only will it give you a better overview, but you will also not draw unwanted attention to yourself."

A short while later, after having made their way back up the steep hill and into the cave, Viyume nevertheless gave Vitra half of the fruits she had stored in her crate.

"These are from Omatikaya lands. Plant their seeds and let them grow. I think they could enrich your island. The seeds of this one might even spice up the flavor of your… good old boiled fish recipe." she explained, hoping her small host would get the hint.

Finally, with the crate fastened to Tskxe's back once more, Viyume leapt onto her ikran.

"I have something else." she added, before tossing a comparatively large animal fang into Vitra's small hands. "It is from a toruk. I hope it will bring you good luck."

"And I hope you will not forget what you have learned here. There is so much more to experience, so much more to see. On many paths. If you find this boy and if you ever grow tired of him, then there is a place for you here. The Sky People have a saying: What we know is a drop, what we do not know…is an ocean."

Tskxe kicked off from the ground and launched himself and his rider out of the cave and into the sky. Viyume looked back at the island and at her small acquaintance. It was hard to summarize what she had learned exactly, except for the layout of the Metkayina islands; that last part was very clear. There was one thing she knew for certain, though: something more was out there, something nobody had shown her before, something she had never even dared to dream about.

Now that she was on her way again, she had a lot of time to think things over. But really, the only thing on her mind now was Neteyam. It had been so long since she had last seen him, spoken to him, touched him. Would he even remember her? That would be the pinnacle of awkwardness, if she would show up in the village after everything she had gone through, and he would ask her who she was…

Viyume decided to see how high up she could go. When she had first become an ikran rider, her father had warned her never to go up too high, and that if she ever started feeling light-headed or disoriented, she should descend immediately. As she mentally commanded Tskxe to keep ascending, she reached a certain point which looked to be higher than she had ever gone. From here the water down below was just a blue featureless mass. So far, she felt fine.

When she noticed she was drawing nearer to a cloud cover, she had Tskxe level out. She didn't know if it was a good idea to fly through clouds at this altitude, and in any case, she needed to keep the ocean in sight. She would probably end up lost otherwise.

From this altitude, she could eventually discern the first Metkayina islands. They were just like those stones on the ground funnily enough, but a lot more colorful. The shallow water around the white beaches had an especially breathtaking cyan color. It felt somewhat bizarre to her to finally see the islands and actually recognize most of the shapes.

Inevitably, she would soon reach Awa'atlu. She needed to have some kind of plan of approach. Was she just going to land in the middle of the village and announce that she was a friend of the Sully family? Strictly speaking this would not even be true.

She hoped she would just meet Neteyam up here somewhere, flying his trusty ikran. It just didn't seem very likely to happen, though.

Maybe she could land outside the village and watch from afar, until she figured out where the Sully family was? That sounded acceptable.

Once she recognized the shape of the correct island, the one that was home to Awa'atlu, she decided to dive down in an almost vertical path. She would go to the mountainous and forested section of the island.

After bracing herself and commanding her ikran, they soared down together. The lower she got, the more detail she could discern. Most activity appeared to be focused on the coast, on the beach. There were animals in the water. There were boats; there were people. But she was too far away to be able to recognize anybody.

She was now already flying so low that she was losing sight of the village. Leveling out just before reaching the first tree tops, she continued flying towards one side of the island, away from the village. Unless there were some aerial hunters out here, it was unlikely anyone had seen her descent. Now she just needed to find a good vantage point. It did feel a bit cowardly, sneaking around like this. Nevertheless, Viyume felt excited to finally be here.

Five children were making their way down a beach overhung with large tree roots. They were moving farther along the coast of the island while leaving the village behind. Four of them had the common turquoise skin color of oceanic Na'vi. The remaining one had the more familiar deeper blue skin of a jungle Na'vi.

"But Tuk, what is it like? Bonding with such a scary animal…" one of the Metkayina children, a girl, asked.

"She means bonding with an ikran. They are not scary; they are absolutely vicious. So, what is it like?" another one, a boy, added.

"Yeah, tell us, Tuk. How did you do that? Were you scared?" a second boy wondered.

"You are all being stupid. There is no way she would have been scared, right Tuk?" another girl assumed.

"I told you, I am not allowed to say…" Tuk answered evasively as she continued striding down the beach. The group had to increase their pace to keep up with her.

"Come on, you can tell us. We can keep a secret."

"Yeah, Tuk, you can whisper it to us."

"We will not tell it to anyone. You can trust us."

"I have… never… I just cannot tell you… because… it is… a sacred ritual…" Tuk said, struggling as she had to choose between telling the truth or making something up to save face. She looked to be desperately hoping that the Metkayina children would just let the topic rest.

When she couldn't bring herself to continue with the lie, she added quickly: "And I have never done it before, okay?"

At that instant she froze and looked like she just wanted to dive into the water and leave them all behind.

"Why not?" the first Metkayina girl asked, not sounding convinced.

"I am too young…" Tuk admitted, sounding quite disheartened.

"I do not believe you." the second boy said before turning to the group. "She is just making that up to tease us..."

"It cannot be that hard to do." the first boy then said. "I heard your sister Kiri bonded with an ikran when she was even younger than us!"

"If she can do it, then Tuk most definitely can too!" the second girl yelled.

When she heard this, Tuk dropped her shoulders in misery and involuntarily lowered her ears against her head. It was one thing to be popular, but it was a wholly different thing to have to live up to unrealistic expectations. And how fair was it to be compared to Kiri of all people?

By now it was clear to Viyume that Tuktirey, the youngest daughter of Jake and Neytiri, was feeling quite overwhelmed by the pushy Metkayina children who did not appear as if they would be leaving her alone anytime soon. She might appreciate an ally in this situation.

At that instant, Viyume mentally commanded Tskxe to launch the both of them out into the open from behind a thick tree root. They landed with pride and elegance right in front of the group of children.

"Kiri!" Tuk initially called out in excited surprise, her demeanor completely shifting, before she tensed her muscles slightly and fell silent when she realized it wasn't her sister who had revealed herself.

"Like getting a lifelong friend. That is what it feels like to bond with an ikran." Viyume revealed to them, before Tskxe showed his fangs and let out a purposefully drawn-out shriek.

The Metkayina children weren't prepared for this and naturally fell back on their instincts. Some of them screamed and cried. All ran away as fast as they could, with several of them almost tripping over themselves. Tuk, of course, wasn't easily scared by any random ikran and stood her ground.

"You are not Kiri…" Tuk then said to her in an unsure voice.

Viyume knew she had to say something which would diffuse the tense situation. She dismounted, petted Tskxe's head to reassure him and then carefully strode forward. However, she didn't get the chance to think up a good reply.

"But you are my sister!" Tuk called out, before suddenly running towards her. Viyume had no choice but to catch her with her body. Next, she found herself being tightly squeezed by a pair of slender little arms.

"I am Omatikaya indeed. My name is Viyume." she said in confirmation, not sure if what she had done, scaring those children like that, was deserving of a hug.

"I knew it." Tuk said as she looked up from Viyume's chest to make eye-contact with her. "Are you a messenger, carrying secret news for my papa? I am Tuk, by the way…"

Viyume smiled slightly at this, contemplating momentarily whether to go with the suggestion or be more truthful. She answered: "I know who you are, Tuk. But I am not exactly a messenger. Your brother Neteyam, he…forgot something. Something he was supposed to take with him when your family left our home. And I am here to give it back to him."

Tuk beamed back at her, grabbed her hand and said: "I know where he is…probably. I can take you to him!"

Viyume was somewhat reluctant, though. She didn't move when Tuk pulled her arm, immediately signaling to her that something was going on.

"What is wrong?" Tuk asked, sounding genuinely worried about her wellbeing, even though they had only just met.

"What I need to give him…it is a secret. And I am not supposed to be here. I do not want to get you or your family into trouble. So, I think it is best if I hide somewhere in the nearby forest." Viyume improvised.

"But all the fun is in the water! It is where everyone always is! The forest here is not like the forest back home…" Tuk answered, not understanding Viyume's reluctance.

"You are probably right, but this is important. Can you help me? I need to meet Neteyam in secret." she persisted.

Tuk had to think a moment on that before she responded: "You helped me, so I should do something in return. But…this thing you need to give to my brother…is it dangerous?"

"Have no worries. It is not dangerous to him." Viyume replied as she crouched down and put a hand on Tuk's head. "I think I need to leave now. Maybe I should not have scared those children. I hope they do not bring their angry parents back here…"

"It is fine." Tuk said, not sounding very concerned. "They wanted to see something amazing and they got it. I just hope I do not have to explain to them how I apparently chased off an ikran all on my own and still did not bond with one…"

"One day soon, perhaps?" Viyume suggested positively.

"Maybe never." she answered in all honesty. She sounded somewhat conflicted as said this. "I might tame a tsurak instead… but not until I am older anyway."

Viyume did not want to sound like a skxawng by asking what a tsurak was and so she decided to change the subject: "I need to explore the nearby forest to find a suitable place to stay. Shall we meet here again? Maybe tomorrow, when the sun is at this point in the sky again?"

"Okay." Tuk said, as she squeezed Viyume's forearm momentarily with both her hands. "But it is going to be so hard to get his attention, and not get everyone else involved too…"

"Do not worry. There is no need to rush things." Viyume replied. "I need to… rest before I am ready to meet him in any case. We shall see where we are tomorrow. Now, please do not let me stop you from having a fun day."

Tuk smiled briefly at her, before she turned around and excitedly skipped back along the beach towards the village.