꧁꧂
♕jake and i had to walk sideways on the rock to not fall. jake looked over and saw all the banshees on this side of the mountain and he kinda froze. i grabbed his shoulder and tried to calm his nerves.
"now you choose your ikran." i tell him. "this you must feel inside." i add as i pat his chest.
"if he also chooses you, move quick like i showed, you will have one chance jake." "how will i know if he chooses me?" jake asks.
"he will try to kill you."
⍟"outstanding." jake says, and without hesitation he walks off onto the rock where all of them could see him. they start to screech and fly away. ♔i scan to find one of them trying to kill me. i remembered ak'tari told me i would feel this inside so i closed my eyes and took a deep breath, looking for the banshee that felt right. as i walked further all the other banshees proceeded to fly away again. there was one particular one that felt like mine. he didnt fly away and instead tried to attack me.
"Tsamsiyu! Txopu rä'ä si, tsamsiyu!" tsu'tey exclaims.
this was my ikran.
i tilted my head and hiss at it.
it immediately hisses back in defense.
"lets dance!" jake exclaims
"Tìyerkup skxawng." tsu'tey tells his students.
i wrap the rope around the banshees snout and hops on his back and it wiggles trying to get me and the rope off. i can't make the bond like this. i put all my strength on him and put him on the floor holding his mouth back and my other arm holding the other like a chokehold.
"make the bond!" i hear ak'tari yell.
i grab its queue and it instantly pummels me in the face knocking me off as i fall down the cliff.
♕oh my god no he couldn't have fallen.
"jake!!" ak'tari says running towards the cliff.
he has a strong heart. please great mother! i think to myself
tsu'tey starts to laugh and i scold him to knock it off.
jake didn't fall off completely though. he held hold of the branches on the mountains and climbed up again. this time his only goal was to make the bond.
♔i hop back onto its back into another chokehold.
"Txopu rä'ä si, tsamsiyu!!" one of tsu'teys students says to jake.
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♕i stand on the edge of the mountain now so that i would catch jake if he fell. "tsaheylu jake!" i yell again.
i repeat to him again and again. and then finally, jake controls the banshees mouth with his legs and grabs his queue.
instantly making the bond.
⍟jake and the ikran both process what happened and the ikran is calm now, feeling jakes strength and strong heart. jake as well feels the banshees strength as his own and feels his strong wings and body.
♕i put down the knife i held back into its case and lightly congratulated jake. he gets on top of him and looks him in the eye. "yeahh, thats right. your mine!" he lets out breathlessly.
he takes off the rope made out of bamboo and lets the ikran get up comfortably. i quickly ran up to him and the ikran and pet him.
"first flight seals the bond! you cannot wait, go!" i tell him quickly "think fly!" "fly?" jake says and his ikran plummets down the mountain very fast.
♔it was rough. we were spinning down the mountain and the banshee roared incredibly loud. "god damn!" i say "oh shit!" i move the banshee just as it scrapes the wall a bit. it banks down once more before i get ahold of myself. "oh shut up and fly straight!" the ikran levels out and i calm down. i adjust myself right and catch my breath feeling the wind in the air. "that's it! bank left." it banks left "level out!" i said as it tilted too much. i observe the trees on the floating mountains a bit more and took it in. i bet ak'taris so proud of me, i hope so.
༇༇༇
♕jake had gotten the hang of it as i could see. tsu'tey scolded his student as they cheered for jake and i laughed. i quickly called na'huk and followed right behind them until i was next to them. we made eye contact and i smiled at him in awe and my pupils dilating.
i choose jake sully.
so did his and he returned the same look. "hey! lets go" he yells as i speed up in front of him. for what felt like hours jake and i's ikrans danced in the sky around, under and all over each other and the environment. ⍟this felt amazing for ak'tari. she hadn't felt this happy in a while. "yeah baby i got this" jake exclaims but almost crashes into another rock. "you sure? skxawng!" i laugh.
♔i may not be much of a horse guy. but i was born to do this. jake thinks to himself.
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♕after we settle back onto the same mountain tsu'tey and his student were waiting for us and i told them they could go back to hometree. they left and i led jake to a spot to talk about our fly. "i came like this! this you." i say as i imitate our ikran in the air.
"i turn, i feel the wind i turn very strong-" "look. yeah see i banked so hard!" jake interrupts. i roll my eyes because he did but i'm happy to hear about how his first flight. i remember my joy when i first chose my ikran. i flew above our sacred tree of souls to show jake. as we pass by it and pass a few mountains we notice something very big was following us and quickly swoops in on jake. he yells at his ikran to dive and we start flying lower into the trees trying to get away. i lead the way since i knew the forest more than he did. i then realize it's toruk. what is toruk doing chasing us or rather, jake. i put two and two together but i don't believe it. did toruk choose jake? i think to myself. i get my mind out of my thoughts quickly and maneuver through the trees quicker trying to shoo him off. he snaps at jake with his sharp teeth and jake yells "follow me!"
i follow quickly behind him as he flies in between vines so the toruk wouldn't pass through. it roars at us once more before turning back and flying away. i land my ikran on a tree sideways with jake right next to me trying to calm na'huk.
i look at him in shock because i knew. i decided not to say anything and laugh with him as we catch our breath.
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this chapter was longer than usual 🤗
1153 words