AN: Long ass chapter, my bad. My last chapter was like a milestone of cringe so Ill try to keep it to a minimum here (I'm lying).
Within seconds of being on stage the crowd has quieted, their gazes all intently directed to my parents and I.
"As you all know, my son, my oldest child, and your soon to be cheif, is becoming a man today! The skimwing ritual will be tough, but remember that this is a celebration; so please, enjoy the feast, enjoy the music, and most importantly enjoy yourselves!" My father calls out to the people, his voice booming as always. The people cheer momentarily but soon return to their previous involvements. Before heading off stage my mother pats my back and whispers to me as we turn towards the stairs,
"Go have fun, this is your day. Just, be sure to be back here just as the first star is visible in the sky." With a smile, she goes her own way, my father in tow. As I take the opposite stairs down I'm met with Tsireya and the two Sully brothers.
"This is gonna be so much fun!" Tsireya squeals, clearly more excited for my birthday than I.
"Have you guys eaten yet?" I ask them, the emptiness in my stomach catching up with me.
"I have." Tsireya responds.
"I haven't." Neteyam says, his eyes directed straight at my own.
"Let's eat then, I'm starving!" I throw an arm around his shoulders and start towards the tables, not bothering to wait for Lo'aks response.
"You're usually and early bird, I'm surprised you haven't had breakfast by now." I look down at the boy, only speaking now that we're far enough from our siblings that they won't have the chance to interupt.
"Yeah there's been a lot on my mind." He breaks eye contact as he speaks, his voice sheepish and fading.
"Oh what's up with you?"
"Y'know just... Things." He mumbles, hands clasped and fidgeting awkwardly.
"If you say so." I grin down at him, I'll have to find out more later. "So what did happen at Lo'aks ceremony."
"Hey!" I hear the grunt call from behind.
"Shit, I said that too loud." I grit, Neteyam only raises his hand and laughs lightly at my remark combined with Lo'aks frustration.
When we reach the tables we sit next to eachother, Lo'ak and Tsireya sitting across from us. Almost everyone else has either eaten already or are carrying their plates rather than sitting, a few outliers take up the communal benches as well though. Neteyam takes a small plate from one of the stacks and loads up a few boiled bird eggs, a palm sized helping of white fish, and the fills the remainder of his plate with a salad consisting of fragrant flowers buds, greenery taken from around the forest, and small chunks of pink and yellow fruits. Lo'ak and Tsireya nibble on some fried grubs while I take a larger plate and fill it with a variety of the foods prepared.
"You weren't lying when you said you were starving." Neteyam smiles up at me.
"All of these people made this food in my honour, so of course I have to try it all!" I grin back at him and return to my plate.
"That is not something that should come out of your mouth." Lo'ak states with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"What do you mean ponytail?" I spit.
"You're never that thoughtful or considerate. Have you been possessed?" He questions, eyes still wide.
"I'm always this nice, halfling."
"You say that and yet you've insulted me every time we've spoken." He frowns.
"Well yeah, why would I be nice to you?"
"Because I'm like perfect, duh fishlips." He shines a shit eating grin.
"Keep telling yourself that."
"Hey guys!" A familiar voice calls, it's Roxto. He sits down opposite me and Teyam, beside Tsireya. "It's your big day bro!" He smiles, leaning over the table to shake my shoulder.
"Don't mess his paint up!" Tsireya yanks him back to his seat.
"Okay okay." Roxto raises his arms in defeat and grabs his own plate of food.
"So, are you ready to tame a skimwing!" Roxto asks excitedly.
"I better be, I've worked my ass off."
"A skimwing?" Neteyam asks, "isn't that what our dads have instead of ilus?"
"Yeah, your dad made it look easier than it is though. To be fair my dad was helping him and I won't have that advantage." As I face him I see how close we are, not touching but our shoulders risk bumping as we move. Close enough that I can see the gold and green flakes decorating his irises from this distance. The eye contact comes natural with him, not like with others where it's awkward to hold focus.
"So it's like when we take ikrans, I see." Neteyam directs his attention back to his food.
"Mhm," I hum, "I think."
"It shouldn't be too hard then, I tamed mine in one go." He responds nonchalantly.
"I think it will go well, but the skimwings are in breeding season right now so they'll be amped up, and heirs have to tame theirs in their feeding waters so it's always a bit harder than usual. They say it deepens the bond."
"So you're gonna tame a hungry and horny fish thing? Without taking it to dinner first?" Lo'ak jabs, Tsireya smacking him almost instantly in response.
"Y'know what- Neteyam come with me." I grab his arm and pull him towards a five between pods out of earshot from the group. Turning back to him he just looks confused.
"What's this about?" He questions bewildered.
"What happened on Lo'aks thirteenth birthday?" As I speak Neteyam breathes a sigh of relief and his shoulders relax.
"Oh that, well-" he tells me the story of Lo'aks failure of a birthday story, especially for the kid of Toruk makto, and when he's done we go back to the table.
"What was that all about?" Lo'ak asks as we sit down, a mischievous smile spread on my face.
"Tsireya, did Lo'ak ever tell you about his thirteenth birthday?"
"You told him!" Lo'ak bursts, slamming his hands on the table and shooting up. Neteyam raises his arms and laughs a little,
"I would never." He lies.
"You lying mother fucker! Backstabber! What happened to bro code?" Lo'ak whines.
"Wait I wanna hear what happened." Tsireya speaks up.
"You'll pay for this." Lo'ak half yells, standing up completely and grabbing Tsireyas arm to pull her away. She smiles at me, mouthing, 'tell me later' and follows him willingly.
"Did Tsireya do your hair?" Roxto asks.
"Oh shit," I remember that I had clipped my hair up when Tsireya left the pod and had forgotten to take it out, "she did but I wasn't supposed to clip it up, I hate letting my hair down."
"I've never seen you with you hair down." Neteyam glancees up at me, placing his fork back in his mouth as his eyes trail over my hair.
"I've never seen your hair unbraided. My hair just tangles too easily and I can't be bothered with it."
"I get that." He nods, eyes still on my hair.
"So are you gonna unclip it?" Roxto gushes, "I never get to see you with your hair down, and Tsireya is probably upset thinking you didn't like her work."
"Okay okay," I give in, "I'll let it down." Reaching back to remove the claw style clip made of shells and rocks I realize it's become entangled. "Shit."
"What's wrong?" Roxto asks.
"It's stuck."
"I can take it out." Neteyam offers.
"Okay." I agree, turning away from his to better access while holding the ends of my hair out of the way with one hand and pulling my queue over my shoulder. I feel as he gently tugs on some strands of hair, freeing them from the tangle. Occasionally his thin fingers brush the back of my neck and I have to suppress a shiver. Eventually, I feel the clip release and the tightness of my scalp is released momentarily as he and I hold my hair up. When we let go, my hair falls to my low back, and I feel as Neteyam runs his fingers through my hair gently, carefully removing any remaining tangles, unintentionally running his fingertips down the length of my back as he does so.
"All done." He mentions before turning back to the table.
"Thanks." I mutter and turn back to face Roxto as well, my hair now swishing as I move.
"It looks good bro." Roxto notes, "you'd have way more rizz if you wore your hair like this.
"I like it like this." Neteyam smiles lightly.
"Thanks-" I'm cut off once more, but this time by a more unfamiliar voice.
"Hi Nete!" A girl our age comes up to the table and waves enthusiastically. Her name is Aitua, which speaks for itself really, as she's known for being an asshole to other girls. A pick me I suppose.
"Hi." Neteyam responds, not paying her too much mind but also not being rude. In return she plops down right beside him.
"Thanks for helping me the other day!" She gleams at him.
"It's no big deal." He dismisses her, but all she does is scooch closer to him until their shoulders are touching.
"Come on, you know you didn't have to. It was really nice!" She smiles, inching in closer and moving her hands towards Neteyams knee. Dodging her, he moves closer to me, close enough that out thighs make full contact and I have to move my arm back to make room for his shoulder under mine.
"Yeah... Are you excited for the festival today?" Neteyam asks uncomfortably.
"Yeah! I don't know what it's about though." Neteyam just stared at her dumbfounded.
"I mean," he glances up at me and then back to her, "I'm surprised you wouldn't know."
"Whats it about Nete?" She asks.
"It's Ao'nungs birthday." Neteyam informs her, "today he'll take a skimwing."
"Oh yeah!" She remarks, looking up at me for the first time since she got here.
"You should remember next time, he's our heir" Roxto speaks up.
"Sorry, I don't tend to focus on stuff like that." Her demeanor shifts slightly as she speaks, when she looks at Neteyam she's bubbly but when she looks up at me she's cold. She reaches out her hands in another attempt to grab Neteyams, causing him to press harder into me and glance sideways at her. How clueless can she be? She's clearly making him uncomfortable. I raise an arm around Neteyams shoulder and that seems to give he the message on 'hands off.' He's so warm.
"Sorry I'm just not very touchy." Neteyam says in response to the frown that forms on her face as her hands return to her lap.
"If you say so." She says staring daggers into my arm.
"I think we're done here." I announce, seeing that Neteyam and I have cleared our plates, and Roxto has all but devoured the sandwich he had assembled.
"But I just got here." She frowns, but I've already grabbed our plates with one hand and hoisted Neteyam up with the other.
"C'mon Roxto! Let's go dance." I call him, with no real intention of dancing, and race away after swiftly placing the plates in the dirty bin.
"She smells like coconut oil." Roxto says out of the blue while we walk to no where in particular.
"She probably has to lather herself up in the shit to hide her scales since she's such a snake." I seethe.
"She's not that bad, she just doesn't understand boundaries very well." Neteyam shrugs.
"I wish it were just that. She's a backstabbing bitch who goes around treating other girls like trash. She's scum."
"Yeah! What she did to your sister was unacceptable!" Roxto adds.
"Can I ask what happened?" Neteyam questions, his brow raising as he looks up at me.
"Yeah, when she was thirteen and Tsireya was only eleven she tried to spread rumours around saying that she had slept with an old man and gotten crabs or some shit. Tsireya didn't even understand why people kept looking at her with such disgust, she was inconsolable for weeks. She just kept crying and asking why, it was terrible. I wanted to beat the shit out of her but Tsireya didn't want that. We had to get our mother to sort things out in the end, but because she was only thirteen she barely even got a slap on the wrist." I explain, stopping in my tracks on the warm sand, feeling each grain crunch beneath my feet.
"That fucker, Eywa must have something nasty in line for her if she acts like that." Neteyam spits, brow furrowed and nose scrunched. He does that a lot, scrunch his nose, it's cute.
"I hope so." Roxto sighs.
"If Eywa doesn't do something I will."
We move on and continue walking through the village, all of us feeling peeved because of the girl but cooling off as we walk. After a while of walking in silence with no destination in mind Neteyam speaks up,
"So what do you usually do during day long festivals? It's only, what, noon right now?"
"We typically have little competitions, some artsy others sporty, and dance and stuff. Just hang out really. When it gets dark out though we party." Roxto responds with a grin.
"Competitions?" Neteyam inquires.
"Yeah, like spear throwing, racing, weaving, obstacle courses, archery, and hunting. There's more but I can't think of them all." I reply.
"That sounds fun, I'm pretty good with a bow. They call me the mighty warrior back at home." He says with a chuckle.
"I'm sure they do." I laugh back.
"Let's go then!" Roxto suggests eagerly, grabbing an arm from each of us and jogging towards where the contests would be held. "There!" He exclaims as he sees a line of archers.
"The rules are simple! When the horn sounds, hit the target, the closer you get to a bullseye the higher the points! The higher the points, the better the prize!" An announcer calls from a platform. Infront of her is a set of markings in the sand perpendicular to her stand, all of which line up with several correlated targets. "Each participant will be assigned a colour, you will stand at the marking that has sand dyed your colour, and hit the targets with your colour."
"Just in time!" Roxto pumps the air with his fist, "Go Neteyam!" He pushes the lean na'vi forwards. At first Neteyam seems unsure but the moment he sees the targets he takes in a determined expression, walking with confident strides towards the line of participants. Once there, he is handed a sort of tank top Jersey thing made of a yellow net and a simple bow.
"Competitors, take your positions!" The announcer calls. Neteyam heads to his spot as told. The targets are located varying distances, with each colour having five targets all of which are towards the sea to avoid hitting any people. The closest of the targets was maybe ten metres from the group, while the furthest seemed to be about 200 metres away and moving, seemingly hung up by a string in the breeze.
"Those of you who are just watching, please stay behind the nets to stay safe!" The woman continues. They don't let just anyone shoot, for safety children under twelve arent allowed and they ask you about your expirience before you can step up.
"They're about to start." Roxto said giddy.
"Sling your quivers and ready your bows!" The announcer calls enthusiasticly. Neteyam does as told and looks back to shoot Roxto and I a smile.
"You got this Neteyam!" Roxto and I cheer in unison, and Neteyam smile grows to where his canines could be seen. There are eight other competitors, all Metkayina of varying builds, ages, sexes and more, a few of which I recognize as cross bow weilders from our hunting trips.
"In three, two, one, shoot!" The announcer calls as the horn is sounded. Neteyam moves quickly, almost too fast to see, and strings his bow with efficiency, pulling back and realeasing the string with grace and ease. Each time he loads another arrow his back muscles tighten as he draws and relax as the arrow makes direct contact with the centre of each target, moving out further and further with each striped yellow circle of wood.
"Go Neteyam!" Roxto screams, but I'm too focused to speak. Momentarily glancing away I see a couple of the competitors hitting their second target, and a few still struggling to string their arrow. Even the best don't compare with Neteyam though, this must be one of the Ometicaya strengths. By the time I've looked back at him, not even seconds after looking away, his drawn his final arrow and is focusing in on the final target. His body is completely still and while his muscles are tense he looks relaxed, but focused like a viper readying to strike down it's prey. He exhales finally as his fingers realease the string, his upper body slightly pushed back with the force and his eyes slightly squinted, targetted on the arrow darting towards the target. It hits. A perfect bullseye.
"Neteyam that was amazing!" Roxto cheers, as yells of encouragement erruot from the crowd. Neteyam just blinks once, slowly, before turning towards the crowd, towards us, to smile and bow slightly. He placed his quiver and tsko a'eoio in the drop off area and slowly the other competitors start to follow, only after each has shot all of their arrows. Some congratulate him, patting him on the back, while others just glare. Surprisingly enough, he side eyes them right back.
"Did you see that!" The announcer shouts, "come here." She calls to Neteyam. With a slight grin on his face he approaches her, head lowered sheepishly.
"What's your name?" She asks him.
"Neteyam." He responds, knowing that everyone already knows his last name.
"Neteyam everyone! The best shot in the village!" She oats him on the back and more cheers come from the crowd. Now seems like the right time for me and Roxto to head over to the entrance to congratulate him.
"That was so cool!" Roxto encourages Neteyam as soon as we've cut through the ground to him.
"It was nothing really. You should see how my mother shoots." He smiles back at us.
"You should be proud!" I wrap my arm around his back quickly to smack his shoulder blade supportively before snaking my hand up his trap and over his shoulder, "I've never seen anyone shoot that well."
"Thankyou, but I still have much to learn." He responds, upbeat in tone.
"Don't go without your prize young man, it's your pick of the litter." The announcer smiles down at us, signalling to the array of hand crafted jewelry and stuffies.
"I should get something for Tuk." Neteyam says, his full concentration on the array.
"Take more than one young man, you've just outshined everyone here!" The announcer laughs.
"I shouldnt-" I cut Neteyam off.
"C'mon, you've earned it." I lift my hand to pay his back once more.
"Here," he grabs two stuffies, one a tulkun the size of Tsireya, and a small one of an animal I've only seen in photos that the odd human researcher has shown me, a cat. It's all black save for its blue par markings on the bottom of its feet and yellow eyes.
"Thankyou!" He smiles up at the announcer and they wave before he starts to lead Roxto and I away.
"For you." He shoves the cat plush into my chest making me hold it with my free arm, "happy birthday."
"What about me?" Roxto whines.
"It's not your birthday, loser." I blow rasberries at the pouring boy and let out a kuagh that's mirrored by Neteyam.
"What other contests are there?" The Sully boy asks, still struggling to carry the large Tulkun comfortably.
"Ooh ooh- I like mud wrestling!" Roxto gleams.
"He's pretty good at it too." I chime in.
"Hmm," Neteyam hums eyeing my attire, "is there anything all three of us could do?"
"We could go do some crafts, play darts, or just go hangout." Roxto suggests.
"I think crafting would be nice... Mind if I grab Kiri and Tuk?" Neteyam asks, shooting us each a genuine glance. Roxtos ears seem to perk up at this.
"Whatever." I shrug.
"They're just down by the ilu stalls I think, stay here while I go grab them." With that Neteyam runs off to get his sisters.
"How long do you think he'll be?" Roxto asks.
"Maybe ten minutes." I shrug at him.
"We should look around for some stuff we could put in out craft- like cool rocks or something- while we wait." He suggests.
"Sure." I respond. We're at an area close to both water and forest so there should be something good.
12 minutes later
"I'm back!" Neteyam yells to the other boys.
"Hi!" Roxto smiles to the approaching three, gaze shifting between Kiri and the ground.
"Hello!" Tuk cheers, Kiri waving at her side.
"Sorry I took so long, I wanted to drop off the stuffy before coming back." Neteyams says with an unsure smile, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"It was a huge stuffy." Roxto nods.
"Too big for you to handle I guess." I shrug at Neteyam.
"Very funny." He squints at me in response.
"Let's go! I wanna make some bracelets for my new friends!" Tuk jumps, hand still holding Kiri's.
"Right away." I salute a Tuk, she chuckles in response. The crafting station is a short walk away, Tuk standing between me and Teyam while chatting about the ilus and her new friends the whole way. Every time I glance forwards at Roxto and Kiri I see their tails swishing and clashing with one another's. Based on the looks we exchange, Neteyam seems to notice aswell.
"Here, on the right." Roxto announces, directing us all with a nod of his head.
"Yay!" Tuk cheers. As we walk in a man wishes me a happy birthday and asks us how many Navi will be crafting. Upon hearing our answer he passes me a fairly large basket filled to the brim with all sorts of supplies. Some compartments of the wicker container are stuffed with all sorts of colourful threads, others with clay beads, and some with woods, fabrics, needles, and carving tools. We're then led to a low table with five kneeling odd situated around it. The hard wooden table is topped by a few other tools like hooks and chisels as well as a small lantern to better light the area. The large tent that the area is set up in is fairly dark save for a sky light in the middle, but given that our station is near the edge the lantern will be very helpful. Sitting down beside the wall I see that there is a sort of cut out to let in extra light, but it's covered by a curtain to preserve the calming mood. Sniffing the air reveals the burning earthy candles and insense situated in the middle of the room, adding to the ambiance. Beside me is Tuk, Kiri across from her, Neteyam across from me, and Roxto at the head of it opposite the wall. Looking up at Neteyam I see that he's already grabbed a chunk of purple tinted wood and some carving tools. Kiri and Roxto chat peacefully in the background, but my focus is directed to Neteyams slender fingers, widdeling away at the soft wood with a thick blade.
"I didn't know you were into carving."
"It was one of the things I picked up back when I was young, who knew the forest would have so much wood." He responds, eyes never leaving the object being formed in his hands.
"I suppose that would be true." I let out a breathy laugh.
Neteyam continues, "My grandmother liked to carve, when she was young she'd make gifts for my grandfather and carve bows for the clan when she wasn't busy practicing healing. I think I picked it up from her, we'd sometimes go back to the remains of our home tree and scavenge for useable wood to make bows."
"Remains?" I ask. I really don't know anything about him... I never bothered to ask.
"Yeah, when the sky people attacked my clan before I was born they burned the home tree, my father says that there was some expensive rock under it, or something like that. That's how my grandfather died, I'm just sad that I never got to meet him." His eyes remain unlifted from his work.
"Will you be able to visit your grandma?" I ask, not really thinking it through.
He pauses for a moment. "I hope so." His eyes grow blurry for just a moment, but he blinks it away and continues his craft.
"Ao'nung," Tuk whines, "how do you weave this stuff, I keep breaking it." She holds out a handful of dried sea grass.
"It helps if you pin it down and dampen it just enough to make it bendable. Here," I take the material from her hands as well as a cork block and a thin ivory pin, "what kind of pattern did you want?"
"I want it to look like that." She points to the band on my bicep, not one of the fancy ones but the one I wear almost every day, "but I want charms and pearls on it."
"Okay well-" I explain the technique to her and help her make the first few bracelets before leaving her to continue on her own. Redirecting my attention back to Neteyam I see that he's pulled the basket infront of his hands to hide what he's making. It's disappointing, not being able to see him work, but I'm able to distract myself by pulling out a soft wool material and weaving a few gifts. Once I'm content with my work I pull out two of the rocks I had collected earlier from my drawstring bag, each filled with bright red crystals, and braid them into leather bracelets. Once done, I retrieve the rest of the things I had collected and turn them into beads and charms, turning them into jewelry for Tsireya and my mother. An hour or two has gone by once I've finished these, but the others are all still content with their work. Grabbing some wicker Crow the basket I begin to weave with no goal in mind, just giving my hands something to do while my eyes wander back to Neteyam. His brow is pinched lightly and his mouth is pressed into a thin line from his deep focus. His shoulders lift and drop rythmicaly with the sound of metal chunking wood and scrapings falling gently to the hard table.
"All done!" Tuk snaps me out of it. Looking down to the wicker in my hands I see that I've made a simple bowl, the first thing I learned to make. It would make for a good gift for my father, it's simple, but I think I'll still decorate it lightly with teeth and pearls.
"Good job Tuk!" Roxto congratulates the girl, roughly twenty bracelets of different colours hanging from her hands, each one inconsistent but adorable in its own way.
"What did you make?" She asks him, I guess she's been too focused to chat.
"Just some hair beads from stuff I collected by the woods." He responds with a warm smile.
"But your hair is so short?" Tuk raises her brow in confusion.
"Yeah I don't really use hair beads, but your family does! Do you want any?"
"Of course!" Tuk cheers back at him, breaking the mostly quiet hum of the tent.
"Don't take the green ones though, they're for Kiri." He smiles at her, Kiti hiding her face behind her hand.
"What about you Kiri?" I ask, it's still kind of awkward talking to her though.
"I sewed a skirt." She picks up the green and teal fabric made to fit over a loin cloth, a small cutout in the back for her tail. It's decorated with thin metalic threads beaded with polished rocks of all sorts of colours, and a leather braid makes for a waist band.
"That's so pretty!" Tuk congratulates her.
"Very nice." Neteyam smiles. He kind of sounds like an old woman.
"What about you bro?" Roxto asks. In response I gather my creations into the bowl and lift it to show, my other hand displaying the weaved cover ups and blankets.
"Good Eywa you work fast." Kiri says eyes wide.
"How'd you learn that?" Neteyam asks, eyes drawn to the different creations.
"When I was young I used it as a way to de-stress from my training, I had to learn how to make nets really young so I just went from there. Tsireya always liked what I made so I'd make her lots of gifts, but as I've gotten older I've had less and less time so I guess I went overboard to make up for it... I'm glad I remember how to make this stuff." I reminece to the others.
"It's all really nice, you'll have to teach me." Kiri speaks.
"Me too!" Tuk adds, "I like how you make bracelets."
"You could be an art teacher." Neteyam smiles lightly.
"That'd be nice but being around that many children would make me never want any of my own. They're so... Sticky. Not you though Tuk." I respond.
"No she's also sticky, I just clean her." Kiri groans, Tuk throwing her a dirty look across the table.
"I am not sticky!" Tuk puffs.
"What about you Neteyam, what did you make?" I ask.
"It's a surprise." He smiles, holding up a drawstring bag that he got from the basket. We chat for a short while after that while packing up before heading out.
"It's still gonna be a few hours before you have your ceremony, what should we do in the meantime?" Neteyam asks, Tuk having already led Roxto and Kiri off to go see some obstacle course or something.
"We could go to the lake." I suggest, not sure of what else I can do without wrecking my clothes. Neteyam hesitates before responding,
"That'd be nice." He breaks eye contact, gaze darting straight to the direction of the lake. I begin to lead the way like I did the first time, unsure of if he even knows the directions. Upon reaching the clearing I sit in the grass, the leaves overhead creating a perfect shade to protect us from the glaring sun. The flowers stand stock still, -the stocky trees blocking the wind out- but the water still flows calmly like always, the occasional petal, branch, or creature drifting lazily with the soft current. The clean aroma of fresh water and damp leaves contrasts the usual smell of salt, and the shaded area allows only stray beams of sunlight and bioluminescent plants to light the tranquil scene; making for a relaxing environment. Even insomniacs could fall asleep here with ease, their mind drifting like the petals on the stream.
"I haven't come here since our lesson." I break the silence.
"I can't say the same." Neteyam sits beside me, slightly swaying from side to side.
"It is a good place to clear your head." I speak, ending my words with a deep inhale of the fresh air.
"Yeah, the beach is nice but I don't think it compete with the forest, at least for me." Neteyam sighs.
"I don't disagree," something come to my mind, "by the way, who's Shakira?"
"You haven't forgotten about that?" Neteyam giggles, remembering the odd nickname, "according to my dad she was an artist back on Earth many years ago. He says that she was known for her unique voice and, more relevant, her belly dancing."
"I don't see how that relates to the way I walk." I frown.
"Well belly dancing involves a lot of hip movement, and one of her favourite songs was about her hips, so the way you walk reminded me of it." He shrugs.
"Toruk Makto must tell you a lot about Earth."
"He doesn't so much anymore, but he did when my siblings and I were young. I don't think he missed it much, but he seemed to like reminiscing about his youth. It was something few others could offer." He explains.
"That makes sense..." I trail off, "how is the forest? Back where you live." His eyes light up and his ears perk at this.
"It's gorgeous." He smiles, his tail swishing energetically, "the trees are huge, some even ten times the size of these ones, and the creatures are amazing. I used to climb every day, sometimes up trees or vines, other times up floating rocks, and everytime I'd get to jump down onto the giant leaves; it was exhilarating. When I learned to fly my ikran I almost never came down, not even to hunt. It was freeing, flying with no need to come down. I still had my duties though, to provide, to prepare to become the olo'tekayan, and most importantly to protect my family." His demeanor shifts with the last few words, his shoulders dropping and tail stiffening.
"It sounds amazing." I smile, patting him on the back.
"It really is." He smiles lightly. "If I hadn't failed to protect my siblings from the sky people we would still be there."
"It's not your fault." I assure him.
"No, it was my responsibility."
"I know how you feel, Tsireya is too kind for her own good. But hey, your family is still together so I don't see how you did anything wrong."
"Spider, he's a human, he grew up with us. The sky people took him. That's how I messed up." He seethes.
"I'm sure you'll get him back." I comfort, unsure of what else to say. The mood doesn't clear though, so my mind struggles to think of something better.
"You should teach me how to fly." I say calmly.
"What do you mean?" He raises a brow.
"I mean what you did at the forest. You climbed, you jumped, and you flew. I want to try." I explain.
"Right now?" He asks.
"I mean, I don't know how much I can do in these clothes, but yes."
"Okay well, take off anything too restricting and follow me." He stands up and walks to a thick tree littered with sturdy branches. I take off my feathered neck piece, netted sleeves, and a few other particularly dainty pieces before following after him.
"Take my hand." He reaches down to me from the lowest branch, still placed a few feet above my head.
"You got up there fast." I grab his hand, feeling his warm skin meet the cold of mine. He pulls me up and this pattern continues up the tree.
"Holy fuck we're up high." I breathe, we're around half way up the tree. I know I'm not supposed to, but I can't help but look down at the ground, eyes widening at the distance.
"Don't." Neteyam grabs and pulls up my chin, causing my already unsteady footing to nearly slip but he steadies me with his other hand. "Looking down will only make you nervous, keep your eyes on me. Don't worry, we aren't too high." He asserts, golden eyes not leaving my own.
"Okay." I gulp, forcing my heart out of my throat and calming the tingling in my stomach. My heart is pounding, it must be this height getting to me.
We continue working our way up slowly, Neteyam now refusing to take his eyes or hand off of me.
"I'm not built for this." I groan, nearly at the top of the tree.
"It's okay, you're doing good for your first time."
"Only because you've basically pulled me up the whole way."
"I've only guided you skxawng, I may be pretty strong but even I'd have a hard time lugging your ass up this high."
"I don't know if I should be proud or offended."
"You should be quiet and get to the top, we're almost there." He teases, pulling me up one last time. The top of the tree is flat and wide enough for us to lay next to eachother and relax.
"This tree is built weird as hell." I mutter.
"It's probably an old nesting area for flying creatures, but it doesn't seem to be in use right now."
"Maybe. Wait... Teyam, how are we supposed to get down?" I look over to him and he only smirks. "Don't tell me we're gonna jump!" I shoot up to a sitting position, my hands supporting me.
"No, unless you want to." He smiles.
"I don't think I have the energy to climb down." I groan.
"Go stand on one of the bigger branches and hold on, okay?" Neteyam speaks.
"Okay..." I reply unsure. Once I'm situated Neteyam whistles, similar to how I call the ilus. "Don't tell me-" I'm cut off by a gust of wind and the sound of flapping wings almost instantly.
"I've missed you." Neteyam smiles at the huge creature as it lands. The banshee is giant, taking up pretty much all of the platform. It has yellow eyes and green skin, and very sharp teeth. It seems to squeal in response to Neteyams greeting.
"It's huge." I comment agast.
"She's pretty average for a banshee, nothing like Toruk." Teyam shrugs.
"How big is Toruk!" I demand, Neteyam laughing in response.
"Huge." He smiles. His dad is bad ass. Neteyam pets the ikran while walking around her before making the bond, "come here." He waves me over. Cautiously i step towards him, careful not to look down.
"Am I supposed to get on this thing?"
"Would you rather climb down?"
"No."
"Then hop on." He commands and I follow, arms Sri weak from the climb.
"Bro I don't think I can do it." My voice waivers, the unsteadiness of the banshee combined with my inexperience is terrifying at this height. "I'm gonna have a heart attack if we do this."
"Don't be a wuss." He teases, "I'll help." He begins to push me up, both of his warm hands holding me steady. Once I'm on he jumps up in one fluid motion. "Come forward." He gestured to me. I comply, scorching forwards slightly. "More than that, you have to hold me or you'll fall off."
"Alright alright." I move forward more, wrapping my arms around his thin waist.
"Hold on tight." He clicks his tongue and we begin to lift, the sudden movement causing me to tighten my hands around my own arms. "If you hold to loose when we start moving forwards you'll just pull the both of us off." He raises his voice over the sound of the wings. He jolts forwards a few feet to enforce his point and it works, I tighten my arms around him immediately and press my body against his.
"Holy fuck!" I yell, him laughing in response.
"You're kind of cold, like a fish." He shouts, but I only frown and close my eyes tight too scared to speak knowing I'll just scream. He starts to fly slowly but with every second I find myself pushing my chest further into his back.
"Open your eyes, I'm going slow. It's less scary that way." Neteyam tries to comfort me, his hand reaching back and patting my thigh reassuringly. "Take your own advice and try to lower your heartbeat, I can feel it through your chest."
"Okay." I squeak. That's embarassing.
"Relax. I wont let you fall." His voice seems to soothe my conscious, not enough to loosen my grip or slow my heart, but enough to open my eyes. The view is gorgeous but terrifying, were amidst the clouds by now.
"Good Eywa." I mutter.
"I miss coming up here."
"It's really pretty." I gauk.
"If your comfortable enough you can look down," he rubs my thigh up and down with his hand, "I won't let you fall."
"Okay." I nearly cough out. Glancing down I see just how small the islands are, the na'vi of my village barely even visible. Suddenly, Neteyam lifts his hand off of my and raises his arms, stretching. "Don't let go!"
"Relax, you're the one holding me." He looks back and smiles. "Here, her riding gear isn't on but let me just" he lifts his braid and swings his legs over to turn back to face me.
"Holy fuck don't fall." I hold his waist with my hands to keep him steady as he turns.
"Don't worry," he laughs, "I've done this a million times." He moves back until he's nearly at her head, wrapping his legs around the base of her neck. "You can use her foot holds now." He gestured down to the protrusions on her side. Scooching up I situate my feet on the holds and he hands me her... Ears? Horns? I'm not sure but they make for good holds, but I have to be careful not to pull the connection too far away from him, his queue already strong over my shoulder.
"How are you flying her? You can't even see!"
"I see through her, I could fly with my eyes closed." As he finishes speaking a devilish smile spreads across his face.
"What are you-" I'm cut off by him swinging to the side hard enough to fully rotate around her neck and hang upside down from his legs. "Holy shit!" I yell, my hand desperately smacking to try to reach him but too scared to really reach out. He only laughs maniacally at my struggle. "Fuck off!" I call down to him, only making him laugh harder. After a few moments he pulls up to wrap his arms around her neck, and his legs let go-
"Are you insane!" I yell.
"Stop worrying." He laughs, swinging his entire body back up to face forwards again.
"You're gonna give me a heartattack."
"But hey, you weren't scared to fall were you." He's right, I had almost forgotten that I was in a position where I could die if I so much as stood up.
"Well if you fell I would've been screwed up here." I complain, he only shrugs in response.
"When did you have to do your ceremony again?" He asks.
"Fuck!" I yell, "bring me back down!" He complies and within moments we're back in the clearing. I scramble to grab my gear and throw the pieces on. "I won't be able to walk back in time!" I worry, staring at the thick stretch of forest between us and the village. We must have been climbing for hours, eclipse will start in under an hour.
"We can fly." Neteyam suggests.
"I hate you." I groan, walking back up to his banshee. "Be careful, I don't want to loose any of this stuff." I gesture to the clothing I've thrown back on.
"I'll fly nice." He assure me, taking his seat on his banshees back. He offers me a hand and when I take it he pulls me up, putting me in the same position I first took on the banshee. Glancing down I see that the paint of me chest and arms has become a little smudged, it had been dried but the sweat between me and Teyam must have made it shift. In slight horror I look towards Neteyams back, his sides and back now covered in a nearly exact mirroring of my designs. Looking closer I see that even some of the paint on my more inner thighs had transferred to his hips.
"Teyam, we have an issue." I mutter.
"What?" He turns his head to look at my face. He tracks my gaze to my legs and then to his own, his eyes widening as he sees the yellow, orange, and pink paints now on his legs.
"It's all over your back too."
"We don't have time for this." He groans. "Just hold on, I'll wash it off later."
Within seconds we're above the trees again, and it takes only a couple of minutes to reach the village.
"Thanks!" I hop off of the ikran, my legs a little shaky. Only a few viagers were in the area where we landed, mostly elders looking for herbs by the forest edge, and all of them take on shocked expressions at the sight of their heir on a mountain banshee. Teyam hops down after me and pats his ikrans shoulder, signalling it's leave.
"Let's go!" He rushes me. It's still about a fifteen minute jog back to my family pod, we didn't want to land too close to the structures or crowd of people, so if we're quick we'll be back just in time. Along the way a few na'vi shoot us glances, but for the most part everyone is distracted by one festival attraction or another.
"You're early?" My mother greets me confusedly at the entrance to the pod. Looking up I see that there are no visible stars in the sky yet, but I know that there will be soon.
"There wasn't a whole lot I could do with all of this fancy clothing on." I explain mostly truthfully.
"Anyways, come in, I don't know what you two were doing but I should fix up your paint. Neteyam go entertain yourself we'll be awhile." She shoos him off.
"Can I take this stuff off now?" I ask as I walk in.
"Yes, change into this and out your old clothing in the bin." She hands me a basket and gestures towards the room Tsireya had gotten me read in. Heading in I strip off the clothing and place it back in the bin it came from. Looking into the basket I see a simple pair of black shorts, not something I wear often but loin clothes can get in the way when trying to ride a skimwing. The shirts have a tight underlayer that only covers my upperthighs and a looser outer layer made of a grippy material that reaches just past my finger tips. There's also a tooth waist chain made up from some of my own catches, and black leather straps that I can use to hold on to the beast. Not much clothing can be worn when swimming as it restricts our breathing and covers our fins, making me all the more vulnerable to bites from the creature. Necklaces and arm bands risk getting caught and weapons are forbidden when taming skimwings to ensure we fight in our natural state. Gloves made of the same material as the shirts would be helpful but they'd restrict my fins so the straps will have to do. I wrap the two straps loosley around my wrists, just tight enough to keep them from falling off but loose enough to avoid restrictions. When I'm done I walk out to my mother where she's already begun burning insense and preparing needles and ink. First she takes out the small braids I have in at the front of my hair and rebreads all of my hair into one single braid that she ties to my queue. Then, she takes the black ink and dips an ivory needle into it before bringing it to my face. Before she begins tattooing Tsireya enters, watching and helping so that she may learn the art. Mother begins to draw the simple design on only one half of my face, the other side will be completed after I've successfully tamed the creature. She bangs the mallet onto the needle over and over, driving the sut based ink into my skin over and over. My eyes prick with the pain but the design is minimalistic as I'm still young so it only lasts for roughly half an hour. When she's done with the unique pattern on my face, the pattern I'm not to see until the other side is complete, she moves down to my chest. Because I'm taming a skimwing within the village she makes sure the bulk of the tattoo is close to my heart. Glancing down I can see that the design is a loose set of thick lines and curves made to represent a skimwing, although the resemblance isn't striking by any means. The piece is completely unique, to replicate another's tattoo would be disrespectful to the strongest degree, and good lord it hurts. Tsireya joins in at some point, they're using several needles at a time now to speed up the process as we have less than an hour before it gets dark and the ritual begins. When they're done I have little time to catch a break, the stinging feeling like a sunburn on steroids, before I'm lifted and lead back to the platform from earlier, now lit by standing torches. Infront of me stands the crowd, separated in the middle by a path outlined by more of the torches, that if whish leads directly to the breeding pool of the skimwings.
"My son Ao'nung has returned, and his transformation has begun. As your cheif to be he will now tame a beast of his own directly in their breeding grounds to show that he is worthy to lead you, and if he is not, he will wear the shame of an incomplete tattoo marking his skin forever." Tonowari speaks loudly to the silent crowd. Now's my time to say the short speech, but do I remember- I spot Neteyam at the front of the stage, he's shooting my a reassuring look and appears to be mouthing the speech.
"I, as your soon to be olo'tekayan, promise to protect, serve, and lead all of you as a compitent and proud cheif. I acknowledge the weight of this role, especially with the recent stress all Na'vi have dealt with in face of the sky people, and I swear that I will give my life to keep this clan safe and functioning. Today marks an age where I am no longer a child but instead a man, and more importantly, a warrior to this clan. To prove my undying loyalty I will face the pit of beasts and tame the one that tries it's hardest to kill me, and when I am done we will feast and drink, not to me, but to this clan that works so hard to stay alive, and to this land that provides us with all of the resources we could ever need. Today you will all see that I have what it takes to lead you, and you will remember this day with warm hearts and full bellies. Put your faith in me as you have my father, and I can assure you that I will lead you just as well as my bloodline has for hundreds of years!" I strain my vocal chords towards the crowd, Teyam smiling up at me as the crowd cheers reassuringly. After the crowd has quieted down my father passes me a handheld torch and I lead the way through the path of torches, my arm raised with the passed on flame, down to the pit. This can't be worse than flying on an ikran, surely?
"Good Eywa." I hear my mother whisper beside me, now standing atop the rocky surroundings of the large pit I see at least twelve skimwings of different sizes writhing, hungry. Luckily, none of them actively mate in the pit, they just come here to lay eggs, but that doesn't mean that they aren't active. Each one thrashes it's huge body against the rocks, sending the waves crashing in all different directions. I don't have time to think though, everyone is watching. I place the torch into one of the many holders lining the pit, filling the last spot of darkness with warm light. Then I jump, directly into the pit of hungry, thirty foot long, carnivores.
I land into the cold water hands first, pulling up immediately to make sure I'm not sucked under. Panic rises in my chest but I have too keep it at bay or I won't be able to hold my breath. Breaking the water tension I rise to the surface, having to use all of my power just to tred in the sporadic waves. Large tails smack the water around me, each one getting dangerously close to knocking me under. Looking around I see that the creatures are thrashing but they aren't headed towards me,they're trying to swim away. Shit, if none pick me I'm screwed. Pushing forwards I'm met by failure after failure, each wave threatening to pull me under. My breathing is uneven, I have to calm myself or I'll drown. I submerge again, praying that the currents won't drag me down, and look around for signs of an attack. Nothing. The water is too dark to see anything not directly illuminated by the torches, I can barely see my hands infront of my face.
Crack
A searing pain shocks through my ribs as a large creature slams into me. I can't breath and the force knocked the air out of my lungs but I can't drown now, now is my chance. Whipping around to see my attacker I'm met face on by a set of large, sharp teeth mere feet away from my face. This time when it charges though I'm able to swim below it, but as it passes over me I see that it's at least forty feet long. Fuck, just my luck. I need to breathe now though, my fresh injury not settling even with the adrenaline rush. I rise to the violent surface just long enough to catch my breath when I feel myself being dragged down once more. Fuck- I wasn't prepared and I inhaled some water, my eyes and lungs sting and I can't help but cough, only stopping when it causes me to inhale more water. Looking down I see the beast clamped around my calve, it's teeth ripping the skin open causing escaping blood to spread into the water. Reaching down, my leg still in its mouth, I grab onto it and try to make the bond, failing as it rapidly pulls us out of the water and flies double my height into the air. I use this opportunity to catch a breath as I hear gasps filling the crowd. When we smack back to the water I feel one of the leather straps unravel from my wrist and fall to the bottom of the pit. The thing still hasn't let go of my leg and I can't get a good grip. Coming up with a plan I bring my head close to it's skin and bite down, hard. It screeches in response and let's go of my leg, the feeling of teeth ripping out of my flesh instantly making me lightheaded. Snapping back into it, I swing my legs over onto it's back and begin wrapping my remaining strap around my hand and it's skin, the pressure so intense my fingers start to go numb. Once secured I reach for its queue to make the bond but it jumps again, making me lose my balance and dangle off of the edge of the thing midair. It's tail smacks violently as we fall back to the surface, whipping me with razor sharp pain as we're still mid air. I can't stay here, but I can't pull myself over. I have to let go. Reluctantly, I undo the strap and drop, not wanting to be dragged down with the beast when it does decide to resubmerge. My feet break the water tension and Im surrounded again by the cold of the water, no longer able to smell the metallic air. My calve is bleeding rapidly and I still feel like I can't breathe when I'm above water, I'm embarassing myself. I have to make the crowd know I have this under control. Before the skimwing has time to dive back down to me I bite the bullet and use wrap my remaining strap tightly around my injured leg just for now, it should help with the lightheadedness. The pain is almost unbearable but the adrenaline has started to cover it, and it's not like stopping is a choice. Sharp teeth split through the water right infront of me as I'm narrowly able to dodge the dive attack, the skimwing not bothering to turn back around while still within my range of sight. The water goes still for a moment, most of the skimwings having fled or calmed, and I'm left treading in the middle of the cold, dark water with no sign of the beast. It won't catch me off guard this time, I surveil every ounce of water I possibly can, but not with my eyes, with my skin. Ignoring the burning sensation in my throat, the numbness in my foot, and the sharp pains littering my torso I focus, staring down at the spot I know the beast will emerge from. Silence...
There.
It emerges from the deep headed straight for me, but I stand my ground and bare my teeth, unable to threaten it with any form of weapon. My eyes squint involuntarily as every instinct in my body begs me to flee, but I don't waiver, I'll never be able to tame it if I'm the one in fear. Closer, maybe ten feet from my face. Closer, now would be my last chance to move. Closer, it opens its jaw to bite. It dodges.
With no time to spare I reach once more to grab on to the animal, but I have no strap to secure myself this time. As it pulls up to fly again my grip nearly falters, I'm slipping and I need to make the bond. I reach for its connection but I can't make myself extend enough, I know I'll fall with this poor a hold. My hair tie. Mid air I reach with my free hand to the tie and pull the bow undone and tuck my healthy foot up beside the hand I'm holding myself up with. Quickly, I hook my foot under the hold and tie them together tightly.
"Eywa, please don't let this hair tie snap." I whisper and let go with my hands, pushing down with my planted foot to launch myself towards its queue. I grab it successfully just as the skimwing dives back down. I can feel my hair come undone as strands begin to block my vision, I have to move fast. The animal launches back up above ground as I grab my own queue, praying that it's long enough to reach the connection point even as I dangle from my foot. The people need to know I'm worthy. With this thought in mind I pause what I'm doing and look to the crowd, in the sun light the first things I make out are glowing yellow eyes surrounded by white yellow freckles. With my hands taken, I shoot the figure a wink and smile, and the crowd seems to notice this as sighs of relief and some cheers erruot from the people, even some begin to laugh. The skimwing isn't waiting for me though so I refocus on it and pull my hands together, successfully making the bond. Anger, fear, and confusion rush through me as our minds connect, all as I struggle to pull myself back up into a proper seat. My drenched hair smacks my back as I reach the spot where my foot is tied and undo the knots, immediately tying my hand in its place. I can't have a successful first swim if my skimwing is consumed by hate, I need to make it comfortable, but it's emotions are stronger than my own. I need to calm my thoughts, everyone is watching me. My father wouldn't have struggled this much, he would've handled it with ease. My mother even tamed her skimwing while pregnant with me. Why can't I just make this thing swim! It thrashes stronger, fighting to throw me off of its back and back into the water. Neteyams banshee was so smooth in flight, and he's the same age as me! He was able to tame it at only thirteen and yet I can't manage to do the same three years later? Mine can't even throw me off of a cliff or anything as dangerous as a banshee, so what's the hold up? Gritting my teeth I think of the way Neteyam flies, he's always so effortlessly calm, it's like he's one with his ikran. The way he sits so comfortably on her neck, and smiles even when he's hundreds of feet in the air, and the way his back flexes just before she speeds up. The skimwing doesn't seem to be thrashing as hard, is it because I'm thinking of Neteyams technique? I can't even tame this stupid thing on my own! It bucks and nearly throws me off at the thought. Shit I need to focus! How did Neteyam do it. How did he glide so easily with her? He would lean into her when performing complex maneuvers, and lean back into me when just gliding. His skin was so warm. The skimwing calms again, now's my chance! Think- I have to lean into it like Neteyam did to guide it's movements, not control them. I just need to do a few laps around the pit, so how did Neteyam make his ikran turn? He'd use his whole body as if he was the one flying, so I just need to act like I'm the one swimming. Bending to the left I feel the skimwing follow my lead, slowing and turning with me. Raising my body up the skimwing jumps, gliding high above the water and even higher than the crowd. Looking down I see those same golden eyes, the ones belonging to the na'vi that just helped me tame this thing. Dropping back into the water I feel the skimwing sway with my every move, as if we were one joint entity. I feel it's emotions meld into my own, but I can't out my finger on what exactly we're feeling. But that's not important, what's important is the cheers radiating from the crowd.
I did it!
A/N: There's not a chance in hell I'm reading allat so if you lovelies see any errors like spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make sense please let me know :) Thanks for reading!