It turned out longer that I had planned, but well. Enjoy.

Chapter 9

Ten days had passed since Grace fell asleep. Tom visited her daily and felt that she needed more time. Grown men and women who had attended her school years ago visited Grace, mourning her loss during the war. Tom was proud of his friend for being held in such high regard by the clan after such a long time. Although Mo'at did not share her suspicions, she seemed calm enough to not worry him.

Tom made sure Grace received water and nutrition daily. He moved her arms and legs to hinder stiffness and changed her sleeping posture several times a day, but there was not much more he could do.

As he finished moving Grace, Tanu'ley stormed into the tent, startling him.

"Fly with me, To'masuly," she said. Tom gave her a skeptical look.

"Will you drop me off and leave me in the wilderness?" She shook her head.

"Do you plan to bury me alive in a pit somewhere?" Her eyes grew wide in shock, but she still denied it.

"Do you plan on binding me to a tree and calling the wolves on me?" Her patience seemed to have run out.

"I wouldn't mind binding you to a tree, but I wouldn't leave you there. So come now, I want to show you something." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the tent. Tom noticed how he didn't mind her binding him to a tree, but he knew he had to get his head out of the gutter.

Tanu'ley was undoubtedly a beautiful woman. A little messed up in the head, but Tom couldn't judge.

Her Ikran, Somi, was sky blue with white markings, ideal for hiding in the sky. She was fast, ferocious, and crazy protective of her rider. It had taken days of Tom riding with Tanu'ley before the beast got used to him. Today, she seemed rather docile and even nudged her head into his torso for some pats. He had questioned Tanu'ley on it, but she denied her Ikran's change of behavior. Instead, she pulled him up on Somi's back, winding his arms around her waist.

"Hold on tight, we will go fast," she warned. And that was no joke on her side. Somi jumped into the air, gaining a lot of height with just a couple of wing beats, then set down to dive just above the forest. The wind slapped into Tom's face, and on reflex, he clung tight to the laughing woman in front of him.

They settled into a more moderate but still fast pace for nearly an hour. Sometimes Tom would point at things, and Tanu'ley would steer Somi near it to have a better look. She'd tell him stories of adventures she had experienced in those forests. Tom was a very good listener and let her go on and on about several topics that came to her mind. At the right moments, he would ask questions or hum and nod in agreement.

When the topic became painful for her, he'd gently squeeze her middle to acknowledge her sadness. It seemed she had not shared any of her stories with the other Omatikaya or anyone else, so Tom was glad to hear each one of them. It was her trust in him that he treasured.

Her stories were fascinating. She told him that on her two-year trip, she had visited another clan. The Pak'nuri lived far south with mostly plains and smaller forests surrounding them. Tanu'ley said they immediately noticed and welcomed her with food and a place to rest. The people there had famous healers, mainly famous because they healed through song. During her time with the Pak'nuri, she was allowed to learn several songs that could induce a healing stasis or reduce fever. Some were intended to calm a troubled mind or could even speed up the growth of plant life. At that point Tom was nearly begging her to teach him as well. She just smiled.

She recounted stories of various other clans, describing how they received her and what they taught her. Her knife-growing skills were apparently learned from a clan in the west, while she learned the art of completely melding with her surroundings from one of the desert clans. And last but not least, Tanu'ley learned how to bond with plants and roots to scan her surroundings.

In his mind, she was pretty overkill, yet all the more beautiful. Tom sensed that he had a thing for strong women, and Tanu'ley was probably able to pick him up like a daisy. He told himself that it was just a crush that would fade, but he did not realize how wrong he could be.

After two hours of flight, the ocean appeared and quickly drew closer. Tanu'ley steered Somi down to a cliff that stood high above the water.

"This is what I wanted you to see, Tomasuly," she said, pointing in a direction over the sea.

"Your brother went this way. There are islands in these waters far from here, and the people there do not know war as we do. To protect the people and his family, Toruk Makto has fled the forest." Her eyes and voice held next to no emotion as she stared over the sea. Tom was not sure what to make of her words.

"Tanu'ley, are you asking me to follow him?" he asked, uncertainly.

"I know you will. Kireysi will awaken, and you will leave," she replied, turning her head away from him.

After a long pause, Tom sensed that she had more to say. So he watched her gather her confidence before she turned back to him.

"When the time comes, I wish to follow you, Tomasuly," she said, her jaw set and her eyes practically burning into his. His jaw dropped open a little.

"Follow me? Why?" he asked, embarrassed and surprised.

"Yes, follow you, so you don't get yourself killed like a Skxwang," she replied firmly, not asking for permission. Tom's heart rate went up, and his face flushed a little.

"Well, I wouldn't mind the company," he said, trying to hide his joy.

"There is still way too much you have to teach me. It would be inconvenient for me if you wouldn't come along." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked to the side.

"Tomasuly, I am not asking to come along as your teacher or your protector," Tanu'ley said, her eyes boring into his. He sensed that she wanted him to understand something behind her words, but he had no more brain space to use on what she could mean.

"Then why do you want to come?" he asked. Her sigh sounded a little exasperated before she smiled at him.

Had he mentioned how much he loved her smile?

Instead of giving him a straightforward answer, she pulled his head down and kissed the corner of his mouth. Tom froze for a moment at the intimate contact, and suddenly he realized that his crush, which had only started a week ago, wouldn't go anywhere.

He decided to be brave and slung his arms around her waist, pulling her close. With a mischievous smile, he said, "I'm not sure if I understood this right. Would you mind explaining this to me again?" Tanu'ley gently hit his chest with an embarrassed hiss, but when she took some time to look into his eyes, she relented.

Her movements were a little more hesitant this time, but she still pulled his head down. Slowly, she closed her eyes and placed her lips on his. Tom sighed in happiness and pressed their mouths together with a little more force. They stayed like this for some time, gently kissing and embracing.

Tanu'ley let out a small whine when he pulled back and nuzzled her nose to his chin. He breathed out a chuckle and ducked his face to her neck. The storm of butterflies in his gut had calmed down a little, but it was soon replaced by a warm feeling of contentment in his chest.

In just two short months of his new life, Tom Sully had learned to love. There was so much to love on Pandora - his brother and his family, the Omatikaya, and now this incredible woman in his arms. He had no earlier experience he could compare this to, but falling for someone in just a few days was probably pretty fast. But to Tom, it felt right. Tanu'ley had spent so much time with him over the past few days, in a clan that she had isolated herself from. She had offered him so much trust by telling him her stories, while he had trusted his life to her.

They had bonded over the feeling of being fundamentally different and messed up, though Tom was better at hiding his form of madness behind a well-crafted mask. The Na'vi and so Tanu'ley, seemed to be much more open with their emotions than humans on Earth. No one on Earth had really cared for Tom except for Jake, so he had hidden his true self away.

If Tanu'ley wanted him, he'd would gladly give them a chance. He couldn't deny his attraction to her, but it was more than that. He felt calm in her presence, and nothing she did annoyed him. In fact, it amused him. While the clan saw isolation and sadness in Tanu'ley, he saw her desire for adventure, curiosity, and excitement to learn new things. It was true that she was more of a loner, and Tom himself wasn't much of a people person.

"To clear up any confusion, does that mean you want to come with me because you want to be with me?" he asked.

"It means that I will make you my mate in the future," she replied, assertively.

"Did you decide that on your own?" he asked with amusement in his eyes.

"You will not object to it," she responded confidently.

"I still could, though."

"You won't," she replied with a look that suggested he was being ridiculous to think otherwise.

"You're right, I won't," he said with a smile, and Tanu'ley rewarded him with another soft kiss.

"Do you have plans for when you want to take me as your mate?" he asked out of curiosity.

"You are not ready yet. To choose a mate, you must become a hunter, a man. Right now, you are just a child in my eyes," she said, giving him a grin.

"True. I also think that I should get more used to this body, and we should spend more time getting to know each other. I wouldn't want you to change your mind afterward," he explained when she took his face in her slim hands.

Turning his head to face her, she stared at him intently. "I will not change my mind," she said with determination.

"How are you so sure? You haven't known me for long," he countered, although he didn't really intend to change her mind.

"Because I know To'masuly. I know in my heart who you are, and you are mine. That won't change with time," she said with absolute certainty. Tom, being the critic that he was, was surprised that he didn't doubt her words at all. He knew she was right because he felt the same. It wasn't something he understood logically with his head; instead, it was a certainty that came from both his stomach and heart. There were no words to describe the faith he had in her, in them, but he felt it all the same.

"You know you can call me Tom if you want. It's a little weird to be called by both my first and last name," he said, and she laughed and agreed.

They decided to travel back but released Somi to fly off when they still had a couple more miles to walk back to the clan. Hand in hand, they made their way through the lush forest, talking about anything and everything. Tanu'ley asked him to tell her about Earth, so he did, mostly about the fundamentally different mindsets they had compared to the Na'vi.

He was about to tell her about Jake's and his own childhood when they stumbled upon a rather curious sight. Several Atokirina floated lazily inside a circle of trees. All of the trees were overgrown with a bluish mushroom, and inside that circle grew a pretty white flower that reminded him of the lily of The Valley flower from earth history. That plant had gone extinct years before he was even born.

"Careful Tom, this flower is dangerous," Tanu'ley said as she pulled him back a little.

"If you inhale too much of its scent, you can go mad. Some of my people have become very afraid and sick after breathing this scent," she explained. It should have disturbed Tom a little more, but instead, a dangerous idea was forming in his head.

"Why are all those Atokirina here?" he asked, following her a few steps back.

"Only Eywa can heal this madness. The clanspeople have to spend several hours connected to the tree of voices to heal. But once they healed, they have never been able to get close to the painful mind again."

She led him away from the sight, but his mind lingered there for much longer.

Tom continued his apprenticeship under Mo'at, but also began to train with Tanu'ley to become a hunter. The elderly Tsahik approved of his decision and even offered to let him stay with the clan after Grace woke up. Tom suspected that Mo'at had talked to Eywa or missed Neytiri and Jake, and Tom served as a decent reminder.

He gladly accepted Tanu'ley's help in moving his few belongings to her part of the cave system, and while they had not announced their intention to mate to Mo'at, Tom was sure she already knew.

For another week, Tom trained with both women. Tanu'ley would wake him up early to stretch and sing, followed by knife sparring and bathing in a nearby stream. They would then gather fruit and herbs before he went to train with Mo'at until the early afternoon. Tom also joined a small group of hunters to learn to read tracks and hunt.

On days when it was only Tanu'ley and him, she would teach him a ritual to connect with the earth or roots to find prey. They were distracted by each other a few times but never went beyond a few chaste kisses. In the evenings, Tanu'ley would help prepare the food, and Tom would work on his own projects. Before sleeping, they would talk as long as they could in their corner of the cave.

Tom loved this routine and every moment spent with Tanu'ley felt like an adventure. Their bond grew stronger with each passing day, and Tom found himself thinking in overly dramatic descriptions, almost cringing at himself.

Tanu'ley was an enigma, with a captivating presence that left him wanting more. Her private and introverted nature only added to the intrigue, and he found himself endlessly curious about her. Her travels to remote places on the planet fascinated him, and he was hooked every time she shared another anecdote. She was strong in both body and mind, bluntly honest to the point of rudeness, possessed a sharp sense of humor, and a poker face that allowed her to discuss absurd theories without an eye twitch or to mock others with a single cutting comment.

Despite all of this, Tanu'ley remained reserved and tight-lipped in public, barely acknowledging the presence of others. Tom cherished the rare moments when he earned her smile, considering them to be precious gifts that she only gave to him.

As a teacher, she demanded nothing short of perfection and was ruthless in her pursuit of excellence. Tom, however, was more than up to the challenge. His near-genius IQ allowed him to absorb her teachings at a ridiculous rate, even though she dished them out at an even faster pace. He knew that there was still so much more to learn and explore. The morning songs helped him calm down and concentrate on his packed day ahead.

On the seventeenth day of her sleep, Grace awoke. To everyone's surprise, she was absolutely fine after waking up from her coma. She claimed that there was a lot of information to process, and Eywa had granted her all her memories back. However, she only vaguely remembered her time spent with Eywa, which disappointed Mo'at. Grace's students welcomed her back with open arms and insisted on giving her a tour of their home.

They told her about Kiri, which almost made her cry with joy. Despite the questions about who the father might be, she insisted on learning as much as possible about the last seventeen years she had missed. Although she sometimes cursed Jake for being an idiot, she was mostly grateful to him for taking care of her daughter. Tom preened with pride for his twin.

Tom also introduced Tanu'ley to Grace, who was intrigued by Grace's reaction to her. Grace was nearly lying on the floor laughing, calling Tom just as bad as Jake when it came to falling in love. After she calmed down, they sat down to talk, and Tom summarised that the two would get along just fine.

I would love to hear your thoughts.