My Beloved | Neteyam

TEN. Nari te Eywa

Days passed and Rewonay was still not used to being stuck on land. It was an awful feeling. This sensation of being chained and locked in a prison. Seeing her siblings, parents, and friends swimming and free diving, while she was not even allowed near the tides, was horrible. Tsireya would try sometimes to cheer her up. She had offered to organize activities on the beach so they would all be together. But Rewonay refused. The Sully kids still had to improve their diving and breathing abilities until they became true Metkayinas. So if Rewonay couldn't assure it, Tsireya would.

It was a great bother not being able to swim and dive. And seeing the strange stares of her fellow villagers did not help. But her days were still full and busy which, to her greatest but limited satisfaction would get her mind focused on something else for a certain time. Not supervising the Sully kids allowed her to return to her former occupation: a combat teacher. She would teach every morning children and teenagers how to fight and wield weapons like true warriors. She was the best spear user so it was natural that she would share her knowledge with the younger one.

Not diving also freed more time for her training which therefore got longer. She would train longer with her father, strengthening her arms and legs and making her senses more acute to fighting. And she would also spend more time with her mother which would teach her more about the different ceremonies to perform. Eventually, Rewonay would accompany Ronal on her daily walk in the village to make sure everyone was alright and to intervene if anyone had fallen sick. Neytiri would be part of the walk as well. Rewonay thought the two women did not like each other though she was quite surprised to find out that, just as Tonowari was teaching Jake about Awa'atlu, Ronal was doing the same with Neytiri. And since the Omaticaya matriarch was a tsakarem as well, the two women had matters to talk about, and gradually, the animosity died down to mutual respect.

"You went to Vitraya Ramunong?!" Rewonay exclaimed eyes wide as she stared at Neytiri. They were accompanying Ronal around the village when Neytiri asked about the Metkayinas' Spirit Tree. Eventually, the conversation drifted to the Tree of Souls. "How is it? Is it like in the stories?"

"It is even better than in the stories," Neytiri smiled. There was wonder and marvel in her eyes as she remembered the Tree of Souls, the most sacred place in Pandora, and the location where the connection to Eywa was the strongest. "A giant tree, bigger than the Trees of Voices. And when you step in... you can feel Eywa. Everywhere,"

Neytiri spoke with such gentleness and love it was impossible to guess the true story behind her visit to the Tree of Souls. After the destruction of the Hometree, her home, the Omaticayas had nowhere else to go. Still, the simple thought of Vitraya Ramunong made her heart at peace.

"I wish I could go one day," Rewonay widely smiling. "The forest seems so beautiful. Neteyam talks a lot about it,"

Ronal glanced at her daughter while a smile reached Neytiri's lips. It had come to her that her son was spending quite some time with the sea princess.

"He said," Rewonay continued, unaware of the two women's stares at her. "That you can run on giant branches and jump on giant leaves,"

"What else did he tell you?" Neytiri asked, amused.

"Umm... Iknimaya is about taming an ikran. And it will try to kill you when you'll try to bond. He taught me the prayers before killing a prey too,"

"My son is a far better teacher than I expected," Neytiri chuckled. "One day, if you come to the forest, we will teach you our ways too,"

Too excited at the possibility of one day visiting the forest of Pandora, Rewonay failed to see the hidden meaning behind Neytiri's first sentence, which only amused the woman even more.