Author's Note: Hello my loves! I am so sorry about the long wait! I really like this chapter, so thank you for all your support thus far! I hope that you all continue to enjoy! Let me know what you think!
Warning: Graphic wounds and dismemberment.
Tsyeyk growls at the strangers. He can feel Tsu'tey gently rub at his flank, trying to sooth him. But Tsyeyk doesn't understand why. More strange beasts are here! What if they hurt Tsu'tey? He has no idea where they came from, though he suspects it was from the tree nearest to them, branches that are thick enough and hang over enough that they could have been there watching them for a while and Tsyeyk just never noticed. Tsu'tey can climb around in trees, why can't other beasts?
Still, it makes Tsyeyk mad, because these beasts could have hurt Tsu'tey and Tsyeyk had no idea that they were even there in the first place.
Tsyeyk presses the side of Tsu'tey's head and shoulders closer to his own chest and stomach to protect him, hissing as the strange beasts. Na'vi, like Tsu'tey.
Who were these strangers? What did they want? Tsu'tey is so gentle, so kind. Tsyeyk has to keep him safe. He is Mother's gift. Tsyeyk has to keep him safe so that they could be together forever. There was still so much that they had to see. Had to learn and experience together. Tsyeyk can't let them hurt Tsu'tey.
"Tsyeyk," Tsu'tey says softly, hands gently squeezing a Tsyeyk's waist, before sliding up to his ribs. "Tsyeyk, please."
"Pease?" Tsyeyk echoes, never having heard this word before. He looks down at Tsu'tey, distracted. "Pease? Pease?" Tsyeyk lowers to Tsu'tey's lap again, turning his head so that Tsu'tey was speaking right into his ear. "Pease?"
"Please," Tsu'tey says, hands gripping Tsyeyk's ribs. He says something else but Tsyeyk's not sure what he said, but his voice is soft and low in Tsyeyk's ear. Tsu'tey leans forward a bit, nuzzling just under Tsyeyk's ear, making the younger boy's tail wag a bit behind him.
Tsyeyk turns to look at Tsu'tey, his face so close as he tilts his head a bit. Tsu'tey's voice has a twinge of both begging and soothing that Tsyeyk doesn't understand. He blinks innocently at Tsu'tey wondering why he was speaking like that when he remembered the strangers. He tenses up, eyes darting up to look at the four unknowns when a twig snapping somewhere close by made his ears swivel.
Before he can attempt to locate the sound, Tsu'tey isa flurry of motion, turning toward the forest, stick in hand. He pulls off one of the sticks hanging off of it and pulls it back with some sort of bendy very thin twine-like thing twisting up onto his knees, now guarding Tsyeyk. Much to the other boy's confusion. What was Tsu'tey going to do with that stick?
Tsyeyk's ears swivel around, trying to locate the sound as he places a hand on Tsu'tey's shoulder. He wants to ask Tsu'tey what was going on, who those beasts were? What that sound was? Were they in danger? But he didn't know how yet how to say that. He didn't know enough words. He needed more time.
The four strangers move closer to Tsu'tey, putting Tsyeyk on edge. When Tsu'tey had jumped into his own protective position, he had knocked Tsyeyk to the hard stone, but Tsyeyk forgave him instantly when he put his body over Tsyeyk's to defend him. His sweet Tsu'tey was trying to protect him from what he was hearing and not from the real threat. Those Na'vi that came from nowhere, trying to catch them off guard. Tsyeyk's lips peel back in another hiss, moving to stand while leaning down to wrap his arms around Tsu'tey's shoulders and neck, face brushing against his braids.
His eye land on the bright red covering over one of the Na'vi. She approached them first. She was the leader of this pack. Tsyeyk has watched the nantang enough to know how pack dynamics work. Even with other beasts.
She was the one who did this. Who brought these strangers here to hurt Tsu'tey. Tsyeyk is never going to let that happen. He will protect his sweet Tsu'tey from anything that tries to harm him or bring danger to him. Even beasts that look like other Na'vi. Like Tsu'tey is.
As if thought into existence, nantang slowly appear out of the forest, chest and chin low to the ground, lips peeled back and snarling. And like Tsyeyk, their eyes are homed in on the red covered Na'vi. The other three with her, and Tsu'tey, seem to notice this too as they quickly encircle her, closing around her protectively, which Tsyeyk doesn't understand. As pack leader, she should be the one to defend her pack, not the other way around.
But it doesn't matter. Let the two packs collide without Tsyeyk and Tsu'tey. Mother's law demands all things be balanced. Every day something lives and dies. Just to exist means that one day they will stop.
The red Na'vi looks at Tsyeyk - at Tsu'tey - and the feral boy snarls, hissing in anger that she would dare. That even now, when she should be worrying about her own pack, she's still trying to get something from Tsu'tey. And the nantang seem to agree, snarling a spitting in anger. The female Na'vi just stares, now at Tsu'tey, her eyes blown wide, lips parted as the nantang inch closer, one of which, the alpha of this pack moving just under the tree that the strangers were standing next to before all of this started. Probably where they came from.
The nantang's circle closes more, but their eyes are on the woman, just like Tsyeyk's is.
She looks to them, then back at Tsyeyk, then back to the nantang before realization twists her features and she says something, breathless, in awe, while staring at a glaring Tsyeyk. She says the name of the beast encircling them, but that was the only word that Tsyeyk knew, but whatever she said, it made the three surrounding her glance over at him, and Tsu'tey to tense up under his hands.
A beat of hesitations, considering her words before Tsu'tey lowers his stick to the stone that they were standing on after releasing the tension he had on the twine, and grabbing out the curved claw he has resting on his side while turning slightly to Tsyeyk, glancing between his narrowed eyes at the woman and the nantang inching closer, also focused on her.
"Tsyeyk," Tsu'tey says softly, but there is a tension in his voice, a worry that Tsyeyk feels is misplaced being used against him as the Na'vi is turning more in his grip to use his free hand not holding onto the claw to gently caress his face. "Tsyeyk, please."
Tsyeyk's ears twitch at the sound of his voice. Gentle, soft, pleading. His golden eyes flicker down to Tsu'tey, trying to understand what the look he was giving him means. Taking all his focus off the center of his ire, Tsyeyk tilts his head, staring down at Tsu'tey. The red haze over his mind lessens enough for him to focus on the young man in front of him.
His sweet Tsu'tey's face is wide and open, staring intently at his own, pleading for something that Tsyeyk doesn't know how to give, but it warms his heart, filling his chest and he leans in close, nuzzling Tsu'tey face. Tsyeyk smiles at Tsu'tey's hot breath ghosting across his face, purring softly as the anger drains from him. Tsyeyk quickly scents Tsu'tey so that these strange Na'vi know that he belongs to Tsyeyk and that he'll protect him. Tsu'tey tenses for a second and Tsyeyk feared that he would deny his scenting, but he tilts his head a bit to reveal his neck so that Tsyeyk can run his cheek and neck against his, purring pleased before pulling away to see that the four Na'vi were looking between them and back to the nantang, the latter of which seem dazed. But then back to them.
Tsu'tey's pupils are blown wide, turning his irises into a thin gold band around the edges of his eyes, full lips parted as he stares at Tsyeyk. The wild boy smiles more, liking that look on Tsu'tey's face. He nuzzles him again pulling back to look over at four Na'vi, who are still looking between them and the dazed nantang. Tsu'tey rubs at his throat, reaching with the hand still on Tsyeyk's face to tenderly push long black strands of hair over Tsyeyk's shoulder, sighing softly, "Oh, Tsyeyk..."
Tsu'tey looks down at his lap, closing his eyes a moment before his spine straightens and he looks over at the Na'vi and nantang. Tsyeyk follows his gaze, straightening up to a full stand as his own spine hurts from bending over this whole time to see the nantang looking around, confused, before snarling and spitting again, but this time at all of them. Tsyeyk's ears flatten as Tsu'tey, still armed with the curved claw, picks up the stick again and places himself between Tsyeyk and the nantang alpha, which is now focused on them.
Now that the nantang seem to also be focusing on Tsu'tey and not just the strange Na'vi, Tsyeyk's ears flatten in worry. He hisses at them to get them to go away, like he's seen Father do many times. But Father is so much better at it. Most things run in terror before Father even has the time to growl, but maybe Tsyeyk isn't as convincing as Father is because he's standing behind Tsu'tey and he's got his hands gripping the top of Tsu'tey's ribs, just above the strange thing wrapped around Tsu'tey's narrow waist.
And Tsyeyk feels his hands shaking a bit in fear for Tsu'tey's life.
The nantang alpha moves up parallel to the tree trunk just before the opening to the pond they were in, mere feet from the rocks, where Tsyeyk is growing more certain is where those strange Na'vi came from. One of the male Na'vi says something sharply, looking at Tsu'tey, who's body tenses, his chin dipping a bit in a nod, ready to strike, when the alpha spits angerly, body coiling tightly before it leaps at Tsyeyk and Tsu'tey, jaws snapping, aiming for Tsu'tey's throat -
- and it stops.
For the first moment, there is silence, as the beast hovers mid-air. Tsu'tey's body tenses more under Tsyeyk's hands as the alpha's floating body twists slightly, unnaturally. Then it starts yelping in agony, struggling and pulling, screaming in a way that hurts Tsyeyk's ears as its body contorts more and more and more until - crack! Every one of the Na'vi and Tsyeyk jump, eyes wide, staring at the strange scene before them.
Blood starts to ooze from its mouth and eyes as it twists unnaturally, going limp. Another crack severs its head and one of its left legs falls to the ground with two loud sickening thuds. The rest of its body contorts and cracks, more bones breaking as blood gushes from magically appearing wounds, until Father's camouflage wears off and his body starts materializes from seemingly nothing, nails dug into the trunk of the tree that the nantang was next to. That the Na'vi just climbed down from.
The body of the nantang alpha contorting to fit down Father's throat as he swallows, his natural camouflage vanishing, taking the grotesque scene with it. His blending abilities are too good, in Tsyeyk's opinion. He didn't want to see that.
Father, elegantly and with a predator's grace, detaches himself from the bark of the tree and lowers down onto the forest floor before them, large, flat tail swaying behind him as blue eyes study those gathered before him. His eyes find Tsyeyk, scanning his body for injuries, face fan flapping a bit when he sees none.
Tsyeyk's ears perk up at the sight of Father, smile spreading in joy. Father chews up the pieces of the nantang that had dropped to the forest floor, its leg and head - a sickening crunch of its skull making the female Na'vi not wearing the red look sick as Father's ice blue eyes look around at the other nantang, the blood of their alpha dripping down his massive jaws. He swallows again before his lips peel back into angry snarl. His face fans spread out and he roars so loud that it feels like the forest is shaking around them, forcing the slowly retreating nantang to turn and run for their lives. Screaming in terror as they go, making Tsyeyk's ears hurt even more.
The younger male Na'vi stumbles backward, yelling out a word that Tsyeyk doesn't know, before the stick being pulled back by the longer stick soars through the air and hits Father in the shoulder, making him jolt slightly, letting out a small noise that Tsyeyk has never heard before.
Tsyeyk's heart drops, his face morphing into a look of fear as the other two Na'vi turn their sticks toward Father - and then so does Tsu'tey, to Tsyeyk's horror. Tsyeyk lets out a wail of terror and rushes to Father. Tsu'tey tries to grab at him, yelling something, but Tsyeyk wraps his arms around Father, sobbing in fear. He didn't like the thing sticking out of Father and was angry at male that made it get there.
Shot it, his brain tells him. The male that shot it there.
Father leans over to the stick hanging out of his shoulder, wrapping his mouth around it, then with a sharp yank, he pulled it out of his shoulder and clenched his teeth until it snapped in two, both ends falling to the forest floor at Tsyeyk's feet.
Tsyeyk sobs, covering as much of Father's body as he can, turning toward Tsu'tey with watery, pleading eyes. "No, Tu'tey! No!" Father won't like it if Tsu'tey shoots him with this stick, and Tsyeyk didn't want that. He didn't want Father or Tsu'tey to get hurt. Especially by each other.
He glares through tears streaming down his face at the four strange Na'vi, the red cloaked woman helping up the younger male, her golden eyes wide as they, including Tsu'tey, are staring at Father with slacked jaws. Tsu'tey looks between the two of them, trying to understand while Tsyeyk, lets out a low, weak hiss, ears pressing back, as he stares at the young male that dared to hurt Father. He feels Father press close to his back, leaning over him to protect him with his body, and lets out another mighty roar, his face fan spreading wide.
The armed Na'vi back up slowly, eyes wide, intimidated. The woman in red snaps something, holding out her hands, looking at them as Tsyeyk babbles, trying to figure out how to tell them not to hurt his father. He turns his eyes to Tsu'tey, pleading for him to understand. He babbles, tensely, raising his hands to cover as much of Father's body as he can.
This look crosses over Tsu'tey's face, as he tries to understand what he's looking at. His eyes glance over at the strangers, seeing their sticks pointed at Tsyeyk and Father, and his eyes widen in horror as he jumps in between them, holding his hands out toward them. He says something, and when they don't immediately look at him or acknowledge whatever it was that he said, he snaps again, ears pressing back in anger. He growls something, stepping closer to the older male until he backs down.
Father's head dips further over Tsyeyk's shoulder to protect his chest ready to tear into these strange Na'vi.
Tsu'tey can barely hear over the roaring of his blood in his ears. He's trying to make sense of everything that just happened. One moment, everything was fine - better then fine, actually. It was great! - and the next there is nantang going after them - Mo'at specifically, which the older woman had somehow rightfully deduced was Tsyeyk's doing.
"He's controlling the nantang," she had said, in awe, as if her life wasn't in danger. "He thinks I am his enemy."
It sounded crazy, like something out of stories that the elders of the clan would tell to the younger members about those blessed by the Great Mother and how they were able to do extraordinary things. But Tsu'tey had never heard of someone being able to control a pack of nantang before. But sure enough, when he looked at the anger on his sweet Tsyeyk's normally gentle and joyful face and saw that Mo'at was his sole focus - as was the same for the nantang - Tsu'tey had no choice but to believe his Tsahik and try to convince Tsyeyk that she was not a threat.
Tsyeyk didn't understand his plea, but he was distracted from his anger which seemed to break whatever hold he had on the nantang. The feral yet beautiful rage on Tsyeyk's face was replaced once more with naked curiosity and blatant affection - as Tsyeyk has always freely offered - and he did something that Tsu'tey was not ready for. The nuzzling he was used to, as Na'vi of the forest, at least, were extremely physically affectionate. But when Tsyeyk, sweet, gentle, innocent, Tsyeyk asserted his dominance over Tsu'tey by scenting him, he was stunned.
It's a part of them left over from the age of their baser instincts, something that isn't as common now-a-days but still could be found in parts of the clan. It's usually found in very possessive mates. The dominant mate will scent the more submissive one to scare away other potential mates, or to show others that while they may be with the submissive mate, that mate would always return to the dominant one. That was primarily used back in the age where the Na'vi had multiple mates. Where one female took on multiple male partners to keep the clan numbers up, before their evolution lost the female Na'vi their second womb and they gained the ability to simply control when they could get pregnant.
The even trade off. No longer could they carry two children to term with different fathers, but they could have greater control over their ability to get pregnant. And tsahaylu was a big part of it, thus making it sacred and something to be shared with a single mate.
Sex was fine amongst the clan once one was old enough to properly consent, and they were pretty open about it as it was just another way to show affection with those that they cared for, but mating was to only be shared with one other person and them only. Gone were the days that someone could form tsahaylu with multiple people. So gone were the days that a gaggle of children could only share a single parent.
Tsu'tey knew of this practice through old stories, but also because his own mother is extremely possessive of his father and so he had seen her scent him many times, which also didn't surprise him because his father acquiesced to everything his mother ever wanted, definitely making him the more submissive mate in their partnership. But most aren't like that, his parents were just strange.
And he honestly never saw that for himself. He never thought he would be possessive enough over another to want to mark them as a warning to others to stay away - but that was also under the impression that he was going to be mated to Sylwanin and while he cared for her, he wasn't sure he was ever going to fall in love with her in that way. Maybe in time he would come to love her as a mate should, but never to that level, he's pretty sure. But he also knew that Sylwanin would never be like that either. It wasn't in her nature.
Plus, Tsu'tey has always been assertive. Things usually went his way; he won't pretend that they don't. So, if such a thing could happen, he always figured it would have been him to do the marking.
But this sweet, devastatingly beautiful feral boy scented him in the most innocent way possible and all that Tsu'tey wanted in that moment was to throw him to rocks and sink his teeth into that gland on his neck and claim him. He wanted nothing more than to push inside of that beautiful boy and knot them together for the rest of their lives. With his mouth watering, the heat pooling his belly and a stirring between his legs it was almost enough to make him forget all about the danger that they were in just so that he could have this boy that he had spent the whole day pretending he could ever leave behind.
A foolish thought for a foolish boy.
And that pleased smile on his beautiful Tsyeyk's face almost ended him. That breath-taking glittering in his golden eyes made Tsu'tey's heart pound and had it not been for the innocent, loving nuzzle that reminded him of just how naive his sweet Tsyeyk was, no doubt not realizing the dark yearning he was drawing from Tsu'tey, the Omatikaya might have lost all rational and did whatever it took to be inside that beautiful, feral boy. To hold him tightly to him. To protect that beauty and innocence with every once of his strength for the rest of their lives.
But that sweet, innocent touch was enough to remind him that Tsyeyk probably doesn't fully understand and in doing anything like what his body desired would be cruel to this beautiful being, so he buried the thoughts, pushed down the feelings, and willed his sweet Tsyeyk to be unable to understand the heavy scent of arousal that came from him. Despite the expanding of Tsyeyk's own pupil, he didn't otherwise react.
Reaffirming Tsu'tey's belief that even though his act was claiming, Tsyeyk is operating on instincts. He can't be held accountable for how he makes Tsu'tey feel. Tsu'tey will teach him everything so that he understands, and if he still wants Tsu'tey, then they will be together. No matter what.
Tsu'tey looked down at his loincloth to make sure that other than his scent, his arousal wasn't apparent - thank the Great Mother it wasn't! - before he looks over at the nantang and the hunters. He doesn't want to know what any of them are thinking, or if any of them managed to pick up his scent in this still, windless day. If Tsyeyk is going to stay in his life - and Tsu'tey's not sure how he won't, at this point - then people are going to realize very quickly what his beautiful Tsyeyk does to him. There probably won't be any helping that.
Now, Tsu'tey is going to have to do everything in his power to make this feral beauty fall in love with him.
But he can't focus on that now. Clearing his mind, Tsu'tey grabbed his bow and moved back to his feet. He joined the Tsahik and the other hunters as they watched in horror as the largest of the nantang was swallowed by a massive white palulukan. A literal towering beast that was hanging off of the tree closest to their backs, watching them for only the Great Mother knows how long!
Tsu'tey had never seen a white palulukan like that before. Most are black with shades of purple and hints of yellow on their face fans with yellow eyes. This one is all white, even his face fans and wintery blue eyes. Oh, and it has the ability to blend so well into its environment that it can change the images across its own skin of the beast that it is eating. Tsu'tey couldn't believe what he was seeing.
And when Tsyeyk ran to it, Tsu'tey feared the worst. He thought for sure that he was about to watch his mate die. In those moments, Tsu'tey was ready to throw himself at the beast to both protect Tsyeyk and to die alongside him - the following thought was him recognizing the former and being terrified of it. Thinking about it has left him even more chilled.
But the palulukan seemed to be something familiar to Tsyeyk. And it broke Tsu'tey's heart to watch the beautiful boy sob mournfully as if feeling the pain that the arrow struck into the palulukan caused. But Tsu'tey could see that arrow barely punctured the beast's thick hide. There was no mark, or anything left behind. It probably didn't even fully pierce his skin. Not enough that even if any poison got into his system, it wouldn't affect him. A normal palulukan can take dozens of arrows before they start slowing down from the poison. And this one is so much larger; it won't feel a thing.
And when those large, pleading, watery eyes turned to Tsu'tey, begging for his help, Tsu'tey couldn't deny him. Not when he looked so scared. So worried. He doesn't understand what's going on. He doesn't know Mo'at and the hunters that accompanied her. None of them could have suspected that this was going to happen. This is a dramatic escalation to what happened when it was just Tsu'tey both times Tsyeyk had hissed at him. Tsu'tey doesn't really know what the difference was, but it very well could have been him here all alone in this situation.
Standing before a massive palulukan staring through him with eyes sharp enough to cut and his feral beauty, sobbing his own pretty eyes out.
The older male hunter didn't want to back down when Tsu'tey ordered it the first time, but he sharpened his voice and commanded it again, stepping more into his space until he did.
As Mo'at stares between Tsyeyk and the palulukan, the former of the two saying something over and over again through globs of tears sliding down his cheeks, coughing at how upset he is, with only the word "Tsu'tey" clear within his sobbing, Tsu'tey felt helpless. He wanted to go to his mate - er, not mate, but well, who he hopes he can convince to be his mate - and make sure that he's okay, but the palulukan's protective posture around Tsyeyk leaves little room for interpretation. They know each other well enough to want to protect one another.
As Tsu'tey struggles to figure out what to do, how to defuse this situation, Mo'at looks at the hunters and says, "Bow to him." She doesn't wait to see their confused looks as she turns towards a sobbing Tsyeyk, tipping her head low and saying, confidently, "Oel Ngati Kameie, Tsyeyk."
Tsu'tey looks over his shoulder at Tsyeyk, watching as his big golden eyes blink through thick tears, staring at the woman in confusion. Tsyeyk's eyes find Tsu'tey's blinking, but Tsu'tey follows his Tsahik's instructions, trusting her instincts over his own right now. He knows he'll get chewed up and spit out if he gets too close to the beast, yet he still feels like his skin is splitting in two trying to get to his sobbing mate. To hold him. To comfort him.
The three hunters all follow suit, waving their hands from bowed foreheads, echoing her respectful greeting despite the younger male's shaky voice.
Tsyeyk stares at them, his head tilted cutely in confusion, sniffling loudly. Tsu'tey lowers to his knee, dropping his chin to his chest, but before he can go any further, Tsyeyk wraps his arms around him, making a frantic noise. Tsyeyk sinks into his lap, wrapping around Tsu'tey tightly, seeking comfort. Tsu'tey sighs, feeling a tension in his stomach loosen a bit as he hugs Tsyeyk back.
Tsu'tey shifts a bit so that he can hold Tsyeyk, breathing him in before pulling back to look at his big watery eyes.
"Tu'tey," Tsyeyk says softly, voice wobbly. He babbles something similar to what he was saying earlier. He looks over his shoulder at the massive palulukan, saying something to him, more babbling. Tsyeyk presses his wet cheek to Tsu'tey, sniffling as they both look at the palulukan, who stares back at them with sharp blue eyes, studying them.
"Your friend..?" Tsu'tey asks softly, looking at the palulukan wearily. They know each other, they trust each other, but Tsu'tey can't figure out how all of this happened. But Tsu'tey is trying to calm the racing of his heart at just how close they are to danger.
Tsyeyk looks between them, blinking innocently back to Tsu'tey, saying a word and tilting his head. The word is... hard to hear, hard to string together outside of unnatural sounds. But Mo'at, carefully, tries to repeat it, "Sushishal?"
Tsyeyk twists in Tsu'tey's lap, staring at her mistrustfully. He wraps his arms tighter around Tsu'tey's neck, and staring at her, not completely aggressive anymore but definitely uncertain. Carefully, he says, "Shishishal?"
Mo'at glances at the palulukan, who was still standing there, watching all of them before nodding a bit towards the albino beast and saying, "Shishishal?"
Tsyeyk glances over at the palulukan before looking back at her, pressing his cheek to Tsu'tey's again, sniffling. Tsu'tey has since put his bow back down and put his knife back into its sheath. His hands now gently run up and down the length of Tsyeyk's back, trying to keep him soothed and calm. Both because he just needs to assure himself that Tsyeyk is okay and because he suspects that the palulukan might not attack if his master is not threatened.
Tsu'tey knew there were clans in the forest that attempt to tame palulukan as rites of passage. Clans like the Anurai that hold great respect for the mighty beasts. Tsu'tey just can't begin to imagine how this sweet boy managed to tame a palulukan to begin with, let alone a massive one like this. Especially, on top of that, this palulukan was male. The only ones that Tsu'tey had ever heard of being tamed were female, as they weren't as territorial without cubs. Males were highly territorial and never stuck around to care for their young.
But this palulukan is different somehow, Tsu'tey can't place it. Palulukan are naturally intelligent creatures, it's part of what makes them so dangerous, but there is just something about this one that just screams greater danger. Higher intelligence.
Tsu'tey turns his blunt nails to Tsyeyk's skin, making his body shiver at the feeling and he presses closer to the Omatikayan, but his eyes are still on Mo'at, growing more curious of her by the moment rather than threatened, to Tsu'tey's relief. He tries not to think about his fingers sliding between the ribs on Tsyeyk's back or hear the rumble of his hungry stomach.
"Shishishal," Tsyeyk says again, blinking long wet lashes. Tsu'tey catches Mo'at skin pimple up at his words. He frowns in confusion but doesn't speak just yet, curious as to what she was trying to figure out. "Shishishal?"
Mo'at hesitates for a second, as if trying to figure out how to do this. She points to herself. "Mo'at," she says, making Tsyeyk blink. She then points at Tsyeyk, making him tense up a bit, but Tsu'tey keeps running his blunt nails down the smooth skin of his back to try and sooth him. "Tsyeyk," she says, then points to Tsu'tey, "Tsu'tey."
Tsyeyk's body loosens up a bit, blinking innocently back at her, trying to understand what she's saying. "Tsyeyk," he says, voice still wobbly. "Tu'tey."
Mo'at smiles faintly, making Tsyeyk's ears twitch in interest. "Mo'at," she says, pointing to herself.
"Mo...Mo..."
"Mo'at..." The Tsahik says softly, patiently.
A hesitation, then very quietly, as if shy, "Mo...at?"
Mo'at smiles again, broader than before and Tsyeyk's tail slides against the stone, a soft whisper of a scrape. The palulukan watches silently, his breathing low and slow. She looks at the palulukan again, trying to figure out where to go next. How to get the information she was looking for from someone who doesn't understand how to communicate with them.
She gestures to her body, scooting a bit closer, and Tsyeyk allows it, watching her curiously, his own tense body relaxing again under Tsu'tey's hands. She gestures again, making sure that Tsyeyk is watching before saying, "Na'vi." Then pointing to her chest. "Mo'at." Gestures to Tsu'tey, "Na'vi. Tsu'tey."
Tsyeyk watches her motions over and over again, creases between his eyes as he just mindlessly repeats her words, not understanding.
Mo'at looks down, the beads in her hair clacking at the movement, making Tsyeyk's ears perk a bit, his eyes widening, as if starting to take in her appearance before a thought occurs to her and she looks back up at Tsyeyk, pointing to herself. "Mo'at."
"Mo'at," Tsyeyk repeats, his eyes running over her body, looking at all of the adornments hanging off of her as his interest in repeating the same words is starting to fade. She points to herself again and waits for a moment, as if sensing that she was losing him. She says, evenly, "Tsyeyk." He looks back at her, ears perked again, but he frowns at her still pointing at herself.
She isn't Tsyeyk. He's Tsyeyk. Tsu'tey can see it written on his face. A small, indignant pout.
"No," he says, frowning more. "No." He points to himself. "Tsyeyk." Mo'at smiles at him again and points to Tsu'tey. "Tu'tey." Herself. "Mo'at." Him. "Tsyeyk." Then she points over his shoulder at the palulukan. Tsyeyk follows her finger before looking back at her. "Shishishal."
"Na'vi," she says, pointing to herself. Then to Tsu'tey. "Na'vi."
She points to herself again, and still confused, Tsyeyk repeats, "Na'vi." Then to Tsu'tey. "Na'vi." Then she points to the palulukan, and Tsyeyk doesn't respond. He just blinks in confusion. The hunters, looking between the two with Tsu'tey trying to decipher what was going on.
She points to herself again. "Na'vi, Mo'at." Then she points to Tsu'tey, and by now, Tsyeyk understands.
"Na'vi, Tu'tey."
Mo'at smiles more, pleased and Tsyeyk's tail slides against the stone, harder this time. She points to the palulukan once more.
Tsyeyk hesitates, unsure. He looks back over at the majestic beast, his ice blue eyes watching the scene in silence. Muscles rippling across his chest and torso as his weight shifts slightly back and forth.
Finally, realizing he had to say something, Tsyeyk says, "No. Shishishal." His ears wilt, spine folding a bit in disappointment at not being able to say whatever it was she wanted from him, but Mo'at smiles even more, her skin rising once more at whatever he was saying, which makes his drooping ears perk a bit.
"I get it now," she says softly, eyes shining. "Shishishal is not his word for palulukan. It is his word for Father."