I guess this chapter turned out a little longer. Mostly fluff and connecting to new friends or family.
Chapter 8
Jake tagged along when the chief's daughter Tsireya came to get his kids for their lessons. He was glad to see the wandering looks on all his children and Jake admitted that the reef and ocean were beautiful.
Tuk gasped when she spied some fish in the water, Kiri kneeling down to soo want the girl had found with a soft smile on her face. Neteyam had a hard time walking on the webbed floor and looked a little like a newborn foal, walking with ungrateful steps. Lo'ak had an entire different reason to stumble along the way, always looking at the pretty Metkayina girl. His kids were so cute and he relished the fact that he had the time to watch them.
When they reached the beach wished them all good luck, kissed his girls on the head and patted his sons shoulders before daring them all to find something cool, that they could show him later that day.
The enthusiasm in his kids was awkward at best but they all smiled at him and agreed, even if Kiri rolled her eyes to the sky. He had once told her to be careful so they would not get stuck this way.
With a chuckle he made his way back to the village in search of Tonowari. Neytiri had insisted on some time alone to organise their new home, so he agreed to look for the chief to ask him some simple questions.
He found him with his mate Ronal before their tent and the man greeted him kindly.
"Are you up for your own training Toruk Makto?" Asked the burly man with small smile. Jake mirrored his expression.
"I came to ask you about that." He turned to Ronal with a polite bow of his head.
"Your daughter was very kind to my children and mate. She is a credit to your family." The proud woman did not change her expression at all, but he could feel a preening aura.
"She is the best at teaching the young ones in our clan, she will be able to help yours." As much as she seemed to hate his family's presence in her clan, she was adamant to make them see how gracious they had been to accept them into their home. Jake could relate to the woman on some level, but he had fought in the war for the last years and had accepted refugees into his own clan without making them feel unwanted. There were too many people hurting, so he saw no reason to make it any more harder on anyone.
"Come now Toruk Makto, I'll teach you our ways." Said Tonowari who motioned him to follow him to another part of the beach.
"You are Olo'eyktan, please feel free to just call me Jake. I have had no chance to ride my Toruk for over a decade now, so It feels wrong for me to be called it's rider." The man made a curious face at Jake's comment but nodded his head.
"Very well Jake, you see we have not fought in the war but we still heard of the great Toruk Makto, who unified more than fifteen clans to fight the sky people. Even the stories of your flourishing clan and your offer of refuge to the other clans made their way over the ocean to us. Many of my people admire what you have done." He stopped when he was about to continue his sentence but decided against it in the last moment.
Jake was not that good at socialising, but he knew this reaction very well. To get through uncomfortable topic with the man he said: "Then there is the fact that I was once a sky person myself." He waved his five fingered hand.
"It is true that I was born and raised on earth and that my mentality differs from the true Na'vi to some point. But I guess that made me the perfect person to fight them, because I can understand them better than Na'vi ever could." Tonowari listened to him with interest sparkling in his eyes, event though it was very discreet.
"Why did you choose to fight them?" He asked. Jake stopped walking and Tonowari turned around to look at him.
"Earth, the planet of the sky people, was once a beautiful place. It was destroyed by the greed of a few Skypeople, though they call themselves humans. There were so many humans living a very horrible life at the hand of a couple strong ones, whose greed was not satisfied with just earth. The general public became heartless and apathetic to survive and they took everything I loved away from me. Before I came here, my family had abandoned me or died and I only came due to my last family members wish. Unexpectedly I found a new reason to live here on Pandora, I wanted to protect the clan that had taught me their ways and Eywa who had chosen me for that exact reason." Though Jake felt uncomfortable with sharing so much with an almost stranger, he kept talking to make this man understand that he was no threat.
"Pandora is my home now, and it's people are my people. I don't want to see them hurting, jet I cannot bare to see my family hurting the most. They are everything to me." Tonowari's sad expression showed his empathy to Jakes situation.
"It is understandable that you choose to look for safety when you have fought our fight for so long. I'm honoured to help, because I know that thanks to you my clan has known peace for a long time. Rest now, and see to your families happiness." He put his large hand on Jake's shoulder to emphasise his compassion. Jake let out a deep sigh, then rolled his shoulders and put on his excited grin.
"I'm really hyped to see what you will teach me Olo'eyktan. It has been a long time since I've been to the ocean and I have missed it dearly." Tonowari let out a laugh and clapped his back.
"That is the spirit, but call me Tonowari, Jake. In my eyes we are equals and even though I am chief here, I'll gladly rely on your counsel if you are willing to give it to me." Jake's grin widened.
"Whatever you need, I'm honoured to help as much as I can." The two men stepped into the water and started swimming while talking. It didn't take long for Jake to remember his old training as a marine, where swimming, diving and water combat had been his forte. He relaxed back into the motions and even told Tonowari about it. The man was sincerely curious about his training and wanted to see the differences to his own clans teachings.
Afterwards they bonded about being a father and joking about their kids. Tonowari had quite the rebellious son himself so they playfully betted on whose son would stir up trouble first.
They spent hours on swimming and diving and even trying to ride a Tsurak (Skimwing) for the first time. Tonowari had great fun to see Jake fail spectacularly at first but was honestly surprised when he got the hang of it quickly after that.
"You look very natural in the water Jake. I had not expected this when you first came." He praised when they climbed out of the water.
"Me neither, but I'm so glad it somehow worked." Jake replied, happy to have proven his competence a little.
"If you are up to it you can join the hunting party early tomorrow, there I can show you how we Metkayina hunt and fish." Tonowari offered with a smile. Jake gladly accepted but halted the man before they could renter the village.
"I have a question Tonowari, maybe even a favour to ask of you." Jake said in a more quiet voice.
"You know that I am happy to help. What is it Jake?"
"I want to help my family to feel comfortable here. They are mourning the loss of their home and I can feel their grief. There was once a person who helped me in such a situation. He made me feel at home with little gifts that bring joy, but are definitely part of the new home. Now I want to do the same for them, but I need your help, because I don't know my way around here jet." Jake explained and Tonowari listened with a smile.
"Do you have any ideas already?" He just asked and Jake nodded.
"Then tell me what it is and we will find a way." Tonowari said with an encouraging grin to his newest friend and advisor.
Neytiri returned to the pod with filled water bags and was surprised to see some changes in her new home. Three hanging pots with bioluminescent plants hung down from the three masts holding the tent together. They gave off the comforting smell of forest and their soft light reminded her of home. She loved them but was confused how they appeared so suddenly. She decided to change their positions a little when she noticed another difference in her new home.
Her fathers bow and her arrows hung proudly from finely designed hooks above her sleeping mat, just like her mates bow hung above his place. She felt love for her Jake well up when she realised that it must have been him who took care of her most prized possession.
She decided to be more open to this new environment. Her husband had gone to such lengths to make her feel welcomed, that she did not want to lessen his efforts by being unreasonable. She had agreed to move and that decision would not change for the time being. So she would make the best of the situation for her family's sake.
Tuk let out a happy squeal when she entered the pod and saw the new decorations. She squealed again when she found three pretty and brightly coloured shells on her sleeping mat. She immediately picked them up to show them to Neteyam, who entered the pod after her with wide eyes. Her brother smiled and studied the shells, then asked where she had found them. She told him that they were laying on her mat, probably a gift from someone.
He scrunched his brow and went to her place, but then found a stack of sharp triangular teeth and a couple long, straight and slim branches, ideal for arrows, resting on his own mat.
Lo'ak also called out in confusion, when there was a new moss pillow on his mat. He instantly tested it out and was hyped about how comfortable it was.
Kiri was still out in the water, though there was a new finely woven shawl on her place.
Neteyam guessed that one of his parents must have prepared the gifts and felt a deep gratitude at seeing the bright smiles on his siblings faces. He himself was happy about his gift, because preparing arrows had a calming effect on him. The material was exotic jet of high quality and he was excited to try to make them with his mother, who had taught him how to prepare arrows years ago.
Someone wanted them to feel more at home, and he found that the hanging plants and the gifts were doing a good job. Especially the smell of wet plant admits the salty sea was so comforting.
He felt hopeful that this new way of life could hold some charm for him if all of his family would find happiness and peace here. True he had to gave up his position as heir to the clan, but not his position as the oldest child. While he knew what honour it was to inherit his fathers legacy, his position had never defined him as much as being the eldest child of his parents.
He gripped the sticks in his hand more tightly and let the warm feeling in his chest linger. His family would be okay.
It was getting late, so Kiri returned to the beach to find her father waiting for her. Her good mood dropped when she anticipated another of his lections but instead of being angry Jake smiled at her.
"Found something cool?" He asked. Her surprise turned to excitement.
"Dad you can't imagine how beautiful the reef is! There are so many beautiful fishes and corals. The feeling of diving down there is so crazy. It's like a whole new world!" She gushed out, waving her arms to emphasise her words. Jake uncrossed his arms and let out a chuckle.
"I kinda think I can relate, but you have to show me some time. Today was a little busy for me, so I barely got the chance to just look around the reef." He put his arms around wet shoulders and kissed her head.
"Was it like this when you came to Pandora?" She asked an he nodded.
"Come now, your mother made some crazy food and she says that it is good." He gently pulled her along and Kiri started to tell him about her findings in detail. His eldest daughter seldomly just shared her excitement though he had wanted to hear about it more. She reminded him so much of her biological mother in those times that it felt like seeing a part of his old friend alive in Kiri.
Kiri on the other hand noticed a little confused how many different people of the Metkayina greeted her father with a nod or a happy grin. He greeted them back by name and a wave.
When they got back to the pod, they both gasped in surprise, taking in the plants and other changes. The rest of the family sat around a small fire in the middle, laughing at something Lo'ak had said.
"Ey Kiri, Dad, come look at this! Someone left all this stuff here and it is amazing. The plants are like a lamp but not as annoying when we were in the labs. And then…" He made no effort to hide his smile at his son's antics and instead went over to Neytiri, who gave him a knowing smile as Kiri got her shawl from an excited Tuk. He had not fooled her with his act of surprise and he was glad he didn't. As much as he loved to surprise her, he could never keep secrets around her and was relieved that he could be so honest with her.
He kissed her full on the lips despite his children's cries of disgust and made her smile even wider, golden eyes full of laughter.
He loved her smile so much.
Kiri shot her father a calculating look when he put out their fire for them to turn in for the night. She was sure he was the one to prepare all the gifts, because how else would there be so many people greeting him in the village. He must have tried to keep it as a secret and she was sure her siblings had not made the connection jet.
Her father really was doing his best. She had seen him during the day, when he trained with the chief and how terribly he had failed to ride a Tsurak. He had tried again and again until he got it right with no shame in his failings.
Now, knowing what he had spent all his time with, she was inspired to help him out.
The next morning she found him missing already but then made her way to Tsireya's pod. She found the girl alone witch relieved her immensely. The Tsahik had been so unfriendly the first day that she did not want to repeat that encounter.
"Hey Tsireya, could I ask you something?" The girl jumped around in surprise but smiled when she recognised Kiri.
"You are so silent while walking, I'm sorry I did not greet you earlier." She walked over to the other girl.
"You must be Kiri! We did not introduce us yesterday but you already know my name. How can I help?" The Metkayina girl was so friendly that Kiri had to smile.
"I wanted to ask you if you could show me how to prepare gifts for my family. I assumed you would know some Ideas." Tsireya beamed at her, grabbed her hand and pulled her along out of the pod.
"Of course I can help, let me show where we find the best materials. Do you have something special in mind?" Kiri was startled by her enthusiasm but followed along without protest.
"Maybe some bracelets for my siblings and a necklace for my mother?"
"That is a great Idea. Honestly your Mom is so beautiful, I was really intimidated when I first saw her. You should do the necklace last, so you can practise on the bracelets, those are far easier." Tsireya gushed in excitement similar to Kiri, just the day earlier. Kiri was glad to have asked the kind girl. She would make sure to craft something to make her family happy just like her father had done.
Tsireya introduced her to a group of older women and then her closest friends. Most of the Metkayina were careful at fist but started doting on Kiri when she told them of her plans. A couple of little kids came up to her and told her that she looked pretty in a weir way and that her eyes were cool. She loved the innocent honesty of the kids and the sincere kindness of the women.
They thought her a lot and she was allowed to stay when Tsireya went out to the beach to teach her siblings. She made good work and finished the three shell bracelets for her siblings and started on her mothers neckpiece. When she asked Miran, one of the younger mothers at the weaving house, what she could gift her father she was a little embarrassed to notice how many of her companions whispered about Jakes good looks. They told her how he ran around the village with the Olo'eyktan yesterday, greeting a lot people and asking them for help on a project. He had been so polite and kind that he had left a positive impression on most villagers.
As embarrassing as it was at first, she was proud of being her fathers daughter right now.
The next chapters will take a little longer (many every three day's) to update. I hope you will continue to read and as always I'd love to hear your opinion.