"It is for Ree'ahn," Ka whispered. "He tells me he has seen the forest like Eywa sees it. He sees...Tsu'tey lingering here, without speaking!"
To Ree'ahn's and Ka's surprise, Mo'at laughed out loud.
Ree'ahn said hotly, "has a spirit entered you, old woman?! Explain what makes you so happy without warning!"
Mo'at finished her laugh, lit a wooden gourd of herbs, and whiffed its incense with a satisfied sigh.
Ree'ahn and Ka watched her curiously, Ree'ahn's tail whipping impatiently.
"You have no respect, young warrior," Mo'at sniggered. "But you do have seeing eyes. I have felt him, too," she said with a smile. "When we think of the dead, we attract them. You have been speaking to your mother, hoping she appears, but she never will like the other spirits."
"Never?" Ree'ahn said.
"No. She is at peace, son of Ree'ahn. She has no reason to be here."
Ree'ahn looked down at his lap, solving a mental puzzle by his look, and resigned. Ka moved her tail to touch his tail compassionately, and he let them connect.
After a short time, the incense permeated the air. Ree'ahn moved on. "Why is Tsu'tey still here?"
"Ask him," Mo'at said, returning to her meditating.
"He does not speak! I have repeated this to you!"
"Questions do not always have words with form," Mo'at said. "Take the aphrodisiac incense only if you both find the smell pleasant. Burn it only once a night, it will wear off the next day. Use it wisely, these ingredients are a days mountain climb to find. But you, young Ree'ahn, seem very hard to please."
Ka's heart dribbled between her ears as Ree'ahn's face froze.
They stood when Mo'at had long solidified into a slender, royal looking statue in a perfect resting pose in the forest.
"Why did you accept the incense?" Ree'ahn grumbled when he and Ka remet that night at the Kelutral ruins after agreeing to have one more last meal together.
Ka had invited Ree'ahn into her nivi's corner instead, where they could enjoy the breeze and watch the ikrans taking night flights by the stars.
"There is a root in there my ikran likes to eat," Ka offered sheepisly. "I do not want it to go to waste. Forget her incense, I believe it was only a joke for her revenge at your disrespect. You can be very rude to elders sometimes. That is one thing I do not like about you. And, Tshaik may be right about Tsu'tey."
"Skxawng (idiot)! The mother of Neytiri has no mind left after Eytukan has fallen in battle! Do not trust a word she has spoken," Ree'ahn huffed. "Give me that!" Ree'ahn cried, snatching the small bowl of foliage from Ka's lap to toss it to the forest below. Ka tussled with him until she finally yanked it back.
"Take your anger out on someone else! I grow weary of being the mud under your feet!" Ka cried with angry tears brimming. She couldn't help crying softly. "I just wanted to help you today, my deepest connection, Ree'ahn. I want you to finally be at peace on the inside! Your world is too dark and I am losing you in it!"
Ree'ahn watched her tremor with tears, feeling unsure. Then, he took two small bone daggers from his chest armory and the incense bowl. He lighted the herbs by sparking the daggers expertly as if he were making a meal fire for a group of hungry warriors.
"You do not need to make excuses, tsmuke," said Ree'ahn as sweet, flowery smoke filled ther noses and billowed into the air. "I know why you saved the incense. I am not sure why, but I hoped you would."
Ka, blushing and speechless, watched purple light dance over Ree'ahn's face as he looked down, talking to his feet.
"I know why you brought me to Mo'at. It did help. I will face Tsu'tey when I see him again and ask him what he wants, why he will not leave. It must be a warning, about a retur of the Skypeople. Will you come with me again? I feel I need a friend."
"Why not ask the men you fish with?"
Ree'ahn growled. "Do not make this so difficult, Ka!!" Ree'ahn gave up and forced out the rest of the words, looking away frm her. "I want you to come with me, only."
Ka grinned at her toes. Growing a little confidence, she grazed Ree'ahn's hand, then covered his three blue, slender fingers on his chest that were twinkling with the effects of the incense. His eyes looked hazy and smirky, embarrassed at having no defenses to hide the effects Mo'at's concoction had on him in front of Ka. She led them into her nivi, keeping quiet for the other sleeping Na'vi, leaving smoking bowl on a branch nearby, filling the dark around them with violet light and light smoke.
Ree'ahn waited for her to climb in after him, and she suddenly slipped from the branches onto his chest with a scream.
Ree'ahn laughed, a sound rare for them both, but painfully. "I am not surprised you failed your Ikinimaya rites twice," he said, steadying her weight and beholding her.
"I have not done this before, I have only heard stories from Neytiri," Ree'ahn admitted.
Ka didn't look so unforgettable when she grinned. Her worshipping gaze on his body lit Ree'ahn with a desire to impress her, made him want to make her spent because she would only want him to. Ree'ahn felt her shiver when his fingers traced her juvenile necklace close to her chest. "You truly do not know me. Only the women's rumors you hear in the village say I must know these things. I don't know what to do," Ree'an said.
"Then ask me, without speaking", Ka replied simply.
Ree'ahn eyes showed a glint of fear before she descended on him into a kiss.
"Please let Eywa forgive me for speaking this to you, ma'eyktan," Ka whispered, quaking with fear at letting her thoughts speak, melting under the focus of Ree'ahn's hazy, golden eyes. "I beg you to be inside of me."
A/N: I want to finish the story so I am back. It won't be as long as my other story but I want to have a nice ending. Thanks for the favorite!