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Four winged shadows ghosted over the surface of the ocean, darkening with their decent. The waves crashed and slammed against the jagged rocks, applauding the six Na'vi riders on bringing their 3-week long journey to completion.
It was long and hard, days spent on the backs of the ikran, nights gone by with the waves as their lullaby. But they made it, they got where they needed to be; then they made their way back, saddened and happy all at the same time.
A cacophony of loud, prehistoric shrieks grated through the air, answered by a chorus of yelps and joyful ululations. They were coming home.
Lo'ak drew in a deep, relaxed breath, tasting the scent of the sea on his tongue. He'd missed it very much these past 3 weeks, missed its salty but comforting smell in his nostrils. Behind him, Spider pumped his fists in the air, whooping along with the rest of the Sullys as they celebrated this escapades end.
It had been an abrupt message that sent them piling onto the back of their ikran, a sudden call home where Jake's presence was urgently needed. Bridgehead had gone on lockdown. Complete radio silence; thick concrete barrier walls, even the top of the large metal city was shielded by a giant cement umbrella. This, of course, sparked unease within the forest tribes, who thought it to be a move to trick them into letting their guard down. His father had been called in to investigate the strangely dormant city of metal since he knew some of the RDA secrets and jargon.
If that was the only reason to up and fly away from Awa'atlu for three weeks he'd have stayed behind; but no, it wasn't. There was another reason, one much more heart wrenchingly tragic.
There was an accident. A lone talioang bull got too close to the tarpongu being attended to by the tsahik, the hunting party had apparently been trying to bring it down when it turned on them, enraged and crazed with pain. They were unable to make the mercy kill before it went on a rampage, trampling, stomping and ravaging the warriors as they tried to get away. It was a brutal scene, so much to that Mo'at had to fly in as moving the injured taronyul would be too much of a toll on their battered bodies.
That, unfortunately, put her within the crosshairs of the raging bull
She'd dodged and skirted around it bravely, refusing to leave her injured and dying clanmates behind. But one leap in the wrong direction resulted in a large, broad foot coming into contact with her, a crushing blow.
The situation had gotten so bad that Tarsem himself had to step in with another band of warriors to shoot the sturmbeast down.
Five clan member were lost on that hunt. A great loss to the people.
The clan initially thought thatMo'at too would join the list of fatalities, hence the frantic message sent across several villages until it reached the Metkayina. Neytiri had descended into hysterics, flying out of the marui and calling to her banshee before they had time to even pack the basic necessities needed to survive the trip.
They were all horrified when they heard what happened to grandma Mo'at, Kiri was nearly in tears, rushing out to hail her ride just as their mother had done. Jake had managed to calm them down enough to be able to scrape together a few belongings and set off the night after.
A collective breath of relief was released upon arrival when Tarsem announced that they hadn't come to stand by her deathbed after all; she would live, but with the outcomes of getting stepped on.
Despite her leg being crushed and broken at multiple angles, the determined gleam in her eyes never faded. She would be okay, just needed to stay off walking for about 3 months. But that didn't stop her daughter from feeling anxious, fluttering and fretting so much that poor Soral – bless her heart – didn't really have room to tend to her. Being too timid to tell off her predecessor, she'd kept quiet ad tried to manage around Neytiri.
The family was, ultimately, shooed out of the tent by the overwhelmed tsakarem, much to Neytiri's dismay. The old tsahik would, thankfully, be okay in time – and, while they were there, the family decided to take a look around their former home. Much had changed in the year and a half they'd been away, new clan members had been born, old ones had died, the faces of friends had aged and matured- no longer bearing the impish grins they did as younger teens.
Some friends suffered a sadder fate; Ayuluu, one of Lo'ak's close childhood playmates, had suffered a fatal fall down from the highest peaks of ayram alusing, breaking his neck on impact. The playful and witty young hunter had been buried months before the Sullys' visit. A sharp spike of grief hit him right in the chest when Ayuluu's bereaved sister informed him of his death, one of his best friends was now gone to Eywa.
But Lo'ak had little time to grieve; the very next day the Sullys set off back to Awa'atlu
Below the wings of the ikran, the spiky rock formation bracketing the shallow waters of the Metkayina village rolled into view. The rippling blue shallows shimmered and sparkled in the afternoon sunlight, like a jewels, polished and preened to perfection. The small dots that were fishermen began to grow and shape into Na'vi as the banshee flew lower and lower to the smooth surface.
A familiar horn blared out clear into the crisp sea air, signaling to the people that the Sullys were returning home.
It was just like the first time. Villagers poured out of their maruis, gazes skyward, gathering by the sanded landing strip. Only this time, there was no confusion or dislike in the blues and greens of their eyes, only welcome and joy that their people were returning home. Some people floated to the shore on their ilu, waving and calling to them as they drew in closer. Lo'ak's gaze searched the tens of faces, flitting and flickering from Na'vi to Na'vi, looking for one familiar set of eyes.
He caught sight of one; Ao'nung. The curly headed boy sat astride his ilu, wearing a cheshire grin as he lifted his finned arm up in a playful wave to the Omatikaya boy. Lo'ak waved back, smiling. The two had formed a strange sort of friendship over the past year, any rivalries had fizzled out into a kind of tolerance for one another. Sure, the occasional jabs and digs were taken at each other, but it was nothing serious enough to warrant danger as it had in the past.
But he was not the one he searched for.
He leaned further over his saddle, peaking besides the great ikran's neck to better view the cerulean waters. Then his eyes met hers, and he swore for a moment he'd been stone cold sober.
The girl, gliding up beside her brother on her equally splotchy ilu, grinned and waved up at Lo'ak, crystalline gaze sparkling with the gleam of a thousand precious stones.
Tsireya. His heart let out a dreamy sigh at her. She was so agonizingly beautiful it almost hurt his eyes to look at her, but it was a good kind of pain. Her cyan skin smooth and soft to the touch, wavy dark hair framing her heart-melting face in an utmost flattering way, her eyes, so incredibly, mesmerizingly blue, shone with unconditional love and kindness for her clanmates (and hopefully him).
He was so lost in the sea of her gaze that his focus had shifted, and so did that of his ikran. He stifled a yelp as the banshee suddenly teetered to the left, nearly throwing him and his human passenger off into the waves.
"Bro, what are you doing?" The human/Na'vi boy half laughed, half sputtered, his arms locked firmly round Lo'ak's middle to steady himself.
With a sheepish smile thrown back over his shoulder, he apologized.
"Sorry, bro. Just got a little distracted…"
A barrel of chuckles sounded a few feet to their left; Kiri and Tuk giggled to one another at his poor attempt to hide what had actually happened. His face heated a little with shame and he ducked his head, choosing to zero in on the landing strip drifting just below them.
There was a great beating of wings, flapping up dusty grains of sand as the ikran took their landing on the little beachy outlet. His banshee let out a content little squall when he slid off of her back, tucking her dragon-like head into the crook of her wing. On immediate, the family was swarmed with Metkayina villagers, their welcoming smiles and joyful voices a stark contrast to the previous year. The Omatikaya teen had begun to make his way to the shore, but the sheer mass of bodies crowding and pressing in on his family was making it hard to get anywhere.
Rising up on the points of his toes, he craned his neck to see over the many taller heads of the Metkayina around him. Hoping to see one specific long curly head in the sea of bodies. He searched and searched, muttering hurried 'sorry' and 'excuse me's as he slipped through the great crowd. He caught sight of a familiar ruffled and tangled head, bobbing and swaying as it departed from the stuffy crowd.
Kiri, his eyes widened and he began to push through the crowd with a little more force, following the moon blue shape through the sea of teals. Maybe she knows where she is.
Following his sister had proved helpful as she was walking with Tsireya and Tuk, giggling as they scuttled away to the village. Now was his chance.
He broke into a trot, pounding lightly after her as the trio headed to the forest. If he could just catch up with them…
All of a sudden, Tsireya turned around, nearly colliding head on with Lo'ak as he skidded to an abrupt halt right in front of her. She gave a little huff of surprise as she narrowly avoided bashing into him, his pointy ears pressed to his head as embarrassment heated his cheeks, causing him to avert his eyes. The way she looked up at him through those beautiful wide eyes set a little kick of butterflies fluttering through his abdomen.
"Um… hi" he said shyly, working the toe of his foot into the sand.
She simply smiled up at him and replied with a perky "Hi"
Just that alone made his heart stutter in his chest and the blue of his cheeks tint purple. For all the bravado he flared up in front of her, he'd melt into a puddle of mush at the simplest of things she does. He couldn't keep the shy smile that curved the corners of his lips as he looked down at her, she looked downright adorable from this angle.
"Um, Tsireya- I" the words evaded him as he attempted to fling them from his tongue, clinging and sticking to his throat, making him choke on the failed lexicon that tripped out of his mouth.
"Would you- would you walk with me?" He finally managed after 5 seconds of stammering his tongue into a knot. He could feel the amused, knowing smirks of his sisters and their peaked gazes boring into him. The girl took a glance back over her shoulder at the two Sully sister and for a moment he was worried she'd say no in favor of going off with his sisters. But she turned back with a broad grin and nodded.
"I would love too"
Relief and joy bloomed out into his chest, making the smile on his face spread wider and his yellow eyes spark with excitement. His tail waved and wagged behind his back, showing the level of his elation at her approval of their walk.
"Great! Let's go"
He locked his hands with hers, fingers intertwining as they began the stroll down the sand. At first it was silence, equally comfortable and nerve-wracking at the same time. The sand sifted between their toes and the calming voice of the sea was their background noise, an ever-present hum and crash in their ears. For a good while, no words passed between them, it was all silence, a pleasant one at that.
Then came the barrage of questions. It had started with one simple "How did your trip go?", the answer to that question setting of another and another. Soon the dam of inquiries was burst and they flowed at him full force. Her wide-eyed curiosity was just too endearing to him.
A lull rolled into the conversation a few minutes later, the flow of questions having been drained of any more ammo to shoot his way.
"I'd like to visit the forest one day" Tsireya sighed, a dreamy, faraway look coming into her water color eyes. She turned to him.
"Maybe you can show it to me someday?"
He cracked a smile at that, envisioning taking her back to his homeland made his heart flutter like it had just sprouted a set of lortsyal wings.
"Pinky promise" he affirmed, holding out his hand to her, fingers balled into a fist, pinky extended out. A look of confusion shadowed over her pretty face as she glanced at his outstretched hand then back at his face, the raised ridge of one of her hairless brows conveying the wordless question. Oops. He gave an embarrassed chuckle, withdrawing his hand to bashfully scratch the back of his neck.
"It's like a pact, y'know, panuting?" The muddled little frown on her face straightened out a little and she gave a slow nod, beginning to understand
"Friends use it, it's a vow that you'll come through with what was agreed on"
"So… you vow to show me the forest one day?"
He bobbed his head up and down in an eager nod, answering with a soft 'mmhm'. A smile bloomed onto her face and Lo'ak could've sworn his heart was beating fine a moment ago.
She stuck out her hand to him, palm fisted, little pinky perking out to his own.
"Pinky promise?"
He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped past his lips as reached forward and interlocked his pinky with hers.
"Pinky promise"
The spring breeze ghosted pleasant over the varying blues of their skin, riffling through the leafy locs of the trees. It carried with it a heady, flowery scent, sweet and favorable to his nostrils. His nose twitched at the smell, hers did too.
The peak of ziskrrmipaw brought along with it the sprouting growth of the sweet-smelling paysyul along the water's edge, adding a little pop of color over the blue blanket of the ocean. Their petals, like many reaching arms, unfurled to the wind and sunlight, as if welcoming this season of merriment.
The smell set of a memory in his brain and his ears perked up all of a sudden.
Speaking of flowers
"Oh, umm. Tsireya?"
The girl's gaze shifted to him, head tilting sideways a little as she replied with a faint 'hmm?'
He gathered in a breath, no verbal fumbling to trip over this time. A hand went down to his hip, tugging at the seal for the little pouch slung at his hip.
"I… got something for you"
Her gaze lit up with intrigue when the words left his lips, ears perking up and swiveling round to face him. Slowly, with utmost care and gentleness as if he were holding a newborn infant, he lifted it out. In the cup of his two palms, it sat, casting a faint glow onto the moon blue of his digits.
She breathed out a gasp as she looked down at it, gaze going wide with wonder.
In the basin of his hands, petals fanning out in a circle, sat a flower in all its glory. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Otherworldly. The soft pearling silver of its inner petals gave it a meek delicateness, while the deep, watery purple was almost pulsating with life as if it were to jump out at any moment. The ends of the furling petals curled downwards and inwards, tipped with a shade of teal so bright it could be considered neon.
The girl took it from him, cupping her hands around it and lifting it to her face with a such caution and care, one would've thought it would shatter like glass if handled otherwise. She gawped at it in wonder, almost cross-eyed with how close she'd brought it to her visage. Speechless, she was literally speechless with how amazingly pretty it looked. And the fact that he had been the one to gift it to her made her cheeks flush a light tint of pink.
He picked it from her hands, lifting it to tuck it snugly in the small rifts of her dark curly hair, making sure it would show, but not fall out or get damaged all the same. Perfect.
"Thank you, Lo'ak." she beamed, grinning up at him. "Thank you!"
Lo'ak never really thought he'd ever forget how to breathe. I mean, it's a crucial part of life, something just about everybody does without putting a thought to it. He could compare this feeling to his first deep-dive, or that situation with the pxazang, only those times it was painfully unpleasant. This, this was different.
Tsireya leaned forward, lips pulled into a bright smile, cheeks dusted a faint rosy shade. Then she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. He felt as if the air had been knocked from his lungs and his heart leaped and jumped. He hugged back, face shading purple, resting his chin atop her curly head.
They stayed like this for a while, probably about a minute, just soaking in each other's touch and warmth. It felt so natural, bodies slotted together like this- natural and warm and filling. His heart felt full.
The shadow of eclipse was beginning to wash over the landscape, casting the pair under a blanket of darkness. But he made no move to leave, he didn't want to.
Maybe just a little longer…
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Meanwhile…
Life's not fair.
Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, keep up or be trampled. Thus goes the rule of this island, thus goes the rule of everywhere, really. But this one had a ruthlessness to it, an underlying hostility to every little thing. From the scuttle of the insects, to the slap of the leaves against the wind. Even the little babes came forth from the womb like this, smushed faces contorted into an expression of such rage as they cried and cried till their mother's ears bled.
Such is the rule from birth till death.
And that got her thinking, bringing her to another stage of her reverie as she sulked upon the flat rock that overlooked the vast eastern sea.
Death is inevitable. An almighty force that chases down its prey with reckless abandon, one can only evade its clutches for so long.
Enter the Metkayina. Peace loving pansies, the lot of them. Shriveling up at the smallest smudge of blood on their person. It was a wonder how they participated in the war without passing out or descending into the throes of a fit.
Simple instructions. That's all they had to follow, a meager 5-word sentence that even an infant could understand. Don't. Come. Beyond. This. Boulder. Simple as that, basic rules to follow that could divert conflict. But no, the fish-brained pansies were apparently incapable of following even the most straightforward of regulations.
So, naturally, they had to pay the price.
What did they think, that she was going to just let it slide? No. of course not. She didn't take herself to be one of them. She had far too much self-respect for that.
The price of one served as a warning for the masses. One, a singular digit. No need to make such a fuss over it when there were so many of those sickly-blue beings. Now, she wasn't one to take one's life for granted, she valued the lives of her soldiers, of her people. But sometimes the energy put into that life becomes a waste when the way that life plays out goes awry.
Then, unfortunately, that energy would have to be returned to Eywa.
The pathetic wails and hoots of fear could be heard all the way over here- which wasn't much of a feat as her hearing was next to that of the palulukans that roamed her forest. They should be grateful that she energy of that man's spirit was being returned, maybe Eywa would find a better use for it than that sorry sack of bones.
Tonowari should really desensitize his people to pain. A little pain once in a while never hurt anybody.
She should know; her entire existence has been pain. Becoming a warrior was pain, living up to expectations was pain, becoming olo'eykte was pain, birthing her son was pain. Aysifla keluke tisraw - there is no success without pain, the sea people should know that by now.
But they didn't. Two more boneheads had crossed the border, the one that wakes specifically marked out by both clans. Two more men lost to their own stupidity and narrowmindedness.
Sorry, not sorry.
Rayku had learnt a lot over the years: about many things. The sea was unneeded, lava burned like hell, music heals the soul. She also learned a lot about herself.
She, like a volcano, would explode if too pent up. She'd be dormant for a good period of time, still a little snappy, but generally pretty passive. But when the pressure had built up too much in her body and her temper went tense, things could get ugly. Woe betide those who cross her in this state.
And as of late, she'd been feeling that pressure. The bubble of suppressed steam rising up in her belly, boiling and scalding at her the longer she kept it in. She needed an outlet.
Luckily, one had just walked into the palm of her hand. A sandy, beachy one, dotted all over with insufferably sensitive blue fish-heads.
She already had it planned out; the way the village would go up in flames, tongues of orange licking up the marui walls. The screams and shouts of terror and agony as a horde of flaming arrows rained down upon the foolish lot from a fleet of screeching ikran above their heads. It had been a while since she'd conquered in battle, she felt that familiar itch start to build up in the arch of her fingers. It made her hands twitch.
She leaned back, more relaxed now than when she'd first ventured out here to ponder.
Rest now, Tonowari, she thought to herself. For after this sleep shall not know you.
Na'vi Dictionary
Ikran – banshee / talioang – sturmbeast / tarpongu – hunting party / tsahik – matriarch, healer / taronyul – hunter(plural) / tsakarem – tsahik-in-training / ayram alusing – floating mountains / ilu – large plesiosaur-like sea creature / lortsyal – shimmyfly / panuting – promise / ziskrrmipaw – spring (the season) / paysyul – water lily / pxazang – (akula) shark-like Pandoran creature / palulukan – thanator /
Phrases
Aysifla keluke tisraw – there is no success without pain / tifla (aysifla – plural, genitive form) – success / ke – not / luke – without / tisraw – pain /