【 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 】
AS much as Ruth was thankful that the Thanator she was now bonded to had not ripped her to shreds, she felt like an imposter even as she sat on it's back. Felt like an imposter despite being chosen.
How could she explain it? Explain that the apex predator had surrendered itself to her as if commanded by Eywa herself?
That seemed to be the only way despite every avenue of logical thinking the scientist tried taking. Because how else does an outsider do such a thing? The only explanation she could form was 'divine' intervention, if it were even real.
She should be dead now, not riding on the animals back. A beast she'd been so eager to study upon arriving to the moon, now her mount just as much as the ikran she had claimed.
Ruth wasn't Na'vi. She was an alien, a demon in false skin as the Tsahik Ikeyla had stated so adamantly earlier that day. A halfbreed with lingering human blood.
The only difference now was that Ruth had claimed the Anurai's totem animal as her own, by some miracle she still couldn't place, hope in her heart that the clan's reverence for it would sway the Tsahik's decision to join them in the impending battle against the RDA.
The expressions of Tsu'tey and the other Omaticaya warriors when she'd rode up the small hill on the back of the apex predator, their weapons bared in surprise, had struck a semblance of pride inside her. The way their looks had shifted from sudden fear to awe instead of indifference or disgust many Na'vi had shown her in the months before.
Somehow, she and Jake had managed to bond with two of the most dangerous animals on Pandora. A fact she felt sounded dumb if it were said out loud, but some part of her wondered if Eywa had sent the animal for some reason. She wasn't even sure she believed Eywa was real in the first place.
Perhaps it was for what they were currently doing, trying to win over the Anurai and their stubborn Tsahik once again. She only prayed her new mount garnered the trust of the clan in the way Jake had been able to with the Omaticaya.
Though, she teminded herself she was no Toruk Makto.
Upon arriving back to the Anurai's dwellings, those that were conversing at the mouth of the cave opening gaped when their eyes first landed on the predator, scrambling to their feet and retreating inside. Baskets and other items scattered with their retreat, their projects abandoned.
Ruth smirked as she focused her breathing, feeling the powerful legs that moved beneath her, carrying her with expert balance as she hardly swayed in her seat. One hand remained wrapped around her mount's kuru, the other hanging lazily at her side. She allowed the animal's strength to sharpen her zeal; something she would need for the impending interaction they were soon to have.
She had no plan if the clan were to attack them. All their hope relied on garnering their reverence instead of fear. Hopefully those that had ran inside would at least warn the others that a rogue Thanator wasn't casually wandering into their cave system to rip them all to shreds.
Tsu'tey followed alongside she and her thanator with a smug expression, the other warriors of their clan hanging close behind. He'd been apprehensive at first on her plan to return to the Anurai, his nerves likely still on edge after being forced within arms reach of the beast, but enough of her persuading convinced him that beseeching them one more time was worth a try.
They all knew every warrior counted and would make the difference between total annihilation and living. The RDA had already been provoked; there was no other alternatives.
They eventually stopped not too far within the cave mouth, the ever burning fire at the center just a stone's throw away. The commotion of the gathering clan had Ruth's heart pounding in her chest, in her ears. The people would soon have their leader coming. Hopefully with the Tsahik in tow.
The look of awe and admiration in Tsu'tey's eyes earlier had almost made her melt. The stoic, quiet warrior she'd once been minorly acquainted, turned into a man she was deeply in love with.
She still couldn't believe how much things had changed. If only her grandpa could see her now, a member of a rebel effort fighting for the greater good.
While they waited with the clan murmuring and watching, Ruth's stomach fluttered with the anticipation of Ikeyla seeing her mounted atop the beast of their totem. It would be changing her opinions on avatars soon enough, she hoped. Or perhaps be a big fuck you that Ruth would savor.
"Will this help change anything?" She asked Tsu'tey, looking down to where he stood a healthy distance from her mount's side.
He looked up, a corner of his lips tugging into a frown. "We can only prey Ikeyla won't ignore this sign from Eywa," He replied. He looked between her and the Thanator, gesturing. "A dream walker claiming their totem at the grace of Eywa. She would be a fool to not acknowledge that."
Ruth nodded, shrugging. Still keenly aware of the dozens upon dozens of eyes watching them. "Unless her grief and hatred is too deep to see reason. She might ignore the sign even if her entire clan doesn't."
He reached a hand up to her, which she took into her own for comfort. A low hiss and glare from her mount caused him to hesitate moving another inch, but he focused on her nontheless. Their intertwined hands rested on her thigh where it hung off the side of the animal.
Ruth mentally noted that she would need to work on their bond in order for the beast to understand who Tsu'tey was and that he wasn't a threat to her. The protectiveness of the animal was much like that of Denver's, but was rawer and more intense dancing along the bond. As if the Thanator would shred anyone and anything with a simple nod of her head.
She strangely loved it.
"We will do everything we can, ma'Ruth," he assured her, rubbing his thumb over her hand in comforting circles. "If we do not succeed, we will meet with the other clan's. We do not have the time to waste if they will not honor the call of Toruk Makto."
Ruth frowned, head cocking. They still hadn't even gotten the chance to discuss anything related to Jake or the 'infidelity' of Neytiri by mating with him. It had indeed solved many of their own problems, but there was still much that needed addressed.
"Is it not wrong for a clan to deny the call of him?" She asked. She assumed it had to at least be taboo, ignoring the call of such an honored figure within Na'vi culture.
Tsu'tey nodded. "Na'vi of any clan know his call. They know it is rare and usually dire. If they deny it, they may be shunned." He looked deeper into the cave, where the clan leader could be seen making his way toward them, the Tsahik stalking not far behind. "They will have Ikeyla to thank for that."
Ruth frowned as their hands let loose, Tsu'tey turning to face whatever was to come as his own clan's leader. Ruth steeled herself for whatever harsh words the Tsahik might throw her way. She could handle being called a demon. But any insinuation that Tsu'tey was an outcast for involving himself with her would ignite her fury, something she wasn't sure she'd be able to rein in.
Hai'uk finally met them, his expression nearly unreadable as he stopped in front of them. The Olo'eyktan didn't acknowledge Tsu'tey, instead his attention focused on who sat upon the Thanator. His yellowish-green eyes narrowed as he stepped back, his mate assuming his place between the Thanator and the curiously watching clan behind she and her mate.
"Demon," the Tsahik hissed, her tail lashing behind her, no fear of the thanator standing before her or its rider. The beads and bone of her headdress clinked with her movements, her teeth bared. "You take our totem as your mount? Sully our traditions?"
"He chose me," Ruth hissed in reply, fangs bared. She would not back down to such a bully, no matter whether her behavior truly made sense to Ruth.
"It is a sign from Eywa. The beast was sent to her," Tsu'tey uttered to the Tsahik, all semblance of his gentleness towards Ruth vanished. Steely and stoic. He didn't seem to care for proper reverence to the spiritual leader before him.
"Eywa would never make a demon Palulukan makto," the woman seethed. She glared to Ruth, seemingly primed to lunge. "Did you strike the beast with one of your glowing contraptions to gain it's favor? Alter its mind? Just so you might return so soon after you were sent away, rejected?"
She must have meant the dual function trackers that held a form of tranquilizer the RDA sometimes used, Ruth realized. They tended to stay stuck in the animals that managed to flee, continuing to emit noises as they remained buried in the skin.
"His kuru was offered to me," Ruth growled. Disconnecting their bond, she slung a leg over the animal and slid down to the ground. She stepped to stand at it's head, the Thanator gently bumping his head into her side whilst emitting a low grumble. Feline glare never leaving the Tsahik.
Ikeyla eyed her wearily with no fear of the thanator, nose crinkled in disgust. The truth stood before the woman, yet she couldn't accept that an avatar was worthy enough of Eywa for such a sign?
"Ma'Ikeyla," Hai'uk said gently to his mate, daring to wrap a hand on her forearm. "Perhaps we should listen to this sign. Eywa has allowed a demon to claim our totem. The great mother would not allow such a thing were it not her will. It is a sign that we are meant to heed Toruk Makto's call."
Ikeyla seemed as if she might lunge at her own mate for his percieved insolence, but her posture straightened instead. As if she were conceding to the blantant truth standing right in front of her, fighting instinct in favor of logic.
"I may be human," Ruth said, her eyes scanning the gathered crowd before landing back to the disgruntled Tsahik. "But I am here fighting for this world. I have forsaken my own kind. And I will die if I must to protect everything within Eywa."
Ikeyla still held a sneer, but she did not argue. "Eywa has made a strange decision in making a demon a rider of Palulukan. But so be it," She looked to her mate, turning as if to leave. "If Eywa bids we come to Toruk Makto's call at the behest of this sign," she sighed, frowning. "The Anurai will come."
Ruth's shoulders slumped in relief as she glanced momentarily to Tsu'tey, who appeared just as relieved at their gaining of the Anurai.
As much as her reluctant compliance meant, it appeared they may have luck in defeating the RDA in the impending battle.