After a few more minutes of walking did we eventually arrive at the Marui Pod, that would be our new home. It was smaller compared to my family's dwelling, but it seemed sufficient enough for the two of us. I mean, it wasn't supposed to house 6 people, so I wouldn't run off and complain about it. The surroundings were sparsely populated by other villagers, as only a few stalked around the perimeter. It should be promising a relatively peaceful atmosphere, exactly like Tonowari and Ronal wanted. Rare interactions to keep the commotions down. Perhaps having a peaceful place to unwind could make this situation a bit more tolerable as well. The cherry on top would have been to have my family close, but alas it was not possible to have everything, and I should be thankful for this, as it is better than having to spend my time back at High Camp with all the clan members who would gladly kill me without the looming presence of my father as Olo'eyktan. Stepping inside, with my personal bodyguard in tow, I took a moment to absorb the new environment. It was smaller, but the inside looked like a scaled down version of my family's home. The major difference being the bare walls and floor, this being because of the lack of scurrying residents who spread their belongings all over the place as soon as they arrived. I am definitely not referring to a certain new family, why would I do that?
"(This should work just fine.)" I declared with a nod, placing my things in the center of the woven home as a start. I looked around once more and saw two flat areas that were most likely meant to be used for sleeping. They were opposite of each other on both sides of the Marui. Now the question arose of which bed Ayoe wanted to take, I was nice enough to give her the choice for at least this, I'm sure she would appreciate one minor bit of control today. I am not counting the throwing of my humble self, that was just a moment where I was caught off guard, nothing more... anyways. I turned to the girl in question after standing up and gave her an expecting glance. "(Which bed do you want to take?)"
Ayoe hesitated for a moment, her eyes scanning the two sleeping areas. After a brief contemplation, she pointed to the bed on the left side of the Marui Pod. It seemed like a simple decision, yet her expression carried a weight of gratitude. It was a small gesture, but having control over something as trivial as a sleeping arrangement was meant as make up for my behavior, even if I feel like I did nothing wrong, but you know how women can be like. Or at least that is what I wanted it to display and mean. Regardless of my inner monologue I did start moving my belongings to the right side that was now my own. It didn't take long naturally, as it was only one lift, walk and drop. I removed my hair from before my visor covered eyes and turned back around to look at Ayoe who still stood in the entrance, but now spoke up.
"(I need to get my stuff as well.)" I nodded at her statement; it was logical after all. I put my hands on my hips and let the low background noises drown out the last echo of Ayoe's higher pitched one, before responding with an inquiry.
"(Should I come with you?)" Ayoe responded nonverbally with a glance of confusion. What was there to be confused about please? Her tail swished from one side to the other subconsciously.
"(Any why would you do that?)" she turned her head in a somewhat asking manner, whilst also crossing her arms in front of her flat chest, which was only covered by the normal skimpy necklace-bra thing. I mean, Na'vi generally had smaller chests compared to humans if you would scale according to height, so it's fine, I guess, not that I had any interest in this sort of thing. But coming back to her statement, it did throw me off and reminded me of Kiri and her dense, if you want to call it that, maybe clouded would fit better, questioning of our situation. I argued back with the, for me, obvious logic behind my prior question.
"(Uhm... to help you move? I can imagine that you won't only have two boxes to carry back here.)" Ayoe shook her head, which also sent rippling waves through her long black hair. She also dropped her arms and turned around in one motion, making it clear that she wanted to leave, which was interrupted by the human she now had to guard against her will, me, who added another sentence. "(Plus, I think Tonowari wouldn't enjoy you leaving me behind.)" She abruptly stopped and glared at me over her shoulder. Time to further push the boundaries, because I have no sense of self-preservation "(I mean, what if someone decided to attack me while you are gone that would-)" Now I was the one who was interrupted as Ayoe, after scoffing, barked out one command.
"(Shut up!)" It sure was effective, as neither of us spoke for maybe 10 seconds. "(If you want to so desperately spend time with me, then string along, but don't annoy me, you have done that enough already today.)" I nodded and stepped beside her as she began another walk.
Ayoe took brisk strides ahead, and I followed her. The silence between us felt heavy, a testament to the unease lingering in the air. It was apparent that my presence was an unwelcome addition to Ayoe's routine, but as reluctant as she was, circumstances dictated otherwise and she coped well so far, sometimes. Of course I would want her to be nice to me, but I can't expect anything from someone who had done a similar 180 in their life as me or anyone else from my family.
As we traversed the village, I couldn't help but notice the wary glances from other Na'vi we encountered. It was evident that the dynamic between Ayoe and me raised eyebrows and sparked curiosity among the villagers. It must have spread around pretty quick that I now had Ayoe as a babysitter. Maybe the outlying Marui Pod was not that much of a curse if it meant that I had legitimate reasons to not have to be ogled by strangers all day long. The weight of their stares only intensified my awareness of the uneasy alliance Ayoe and I were forced into and as if mirroring this exact tension did Ayoe remark something on the side, probably aware of the looks just as much as me.
"(I don't like you, and you having to follow me like some kind of pet.)" she said in a quiet voice "(Especially if all the people around us watch like this is the most entertaining show they have ever seen.)" I felt the same, but I had the advantage of being used to it, as sad as it is. She was still walking ahead and cleared the way of anyone else going in the opposite direction to us, this was again enforced as she, with her presence and most likely annoyed facial expression, made a mother and her son take a loop around us. The boy eyed me like an exotic animal you would see in the zoos my dad talked about from his time back on earth.
"(Well, that sounds like a you-problem.)" I retorted smugly. "(Besides, not much you can change about it now; you are stuck with me the same way I am stuck with you.)" Ayoe scoffed again and shook her head in disapproval.
"(I have a sneaking suspicion you like this arrangement, perv.)" she said, and I exhaled in shock. I think she has something against boys with how she immediately draws these conclusions. Additionally, would I never do anything to her against her will, why should I?
"(You are kidding, right?)" I glared at her, but she ignored the stare and looked straight ahead, I am sure she felt it in the back of her head. "(Why the heck would I enjoy having to spend time with Miss Mood Swings who accuses me of shit I would never do?)" Her ears flicked, but she maintained an indifferent posture, continuing to walk with purpose.
"(You have no clue what you are talking about.)" I shook my head and looked around for a good moment. Overplaying my hand of social poker could still land me outside the casino, or in other words be assaulted by the one who is supposed to care for my safety.
"(And as if you have one, warrior girl.)" I retorted, and now the taller girl looked at the shorter boy, me, who now walked beside her. Her words were still confident, as if she was the wise old lady with hundreds of years of knowledge.
"(I would assume so.)" I shook my head, breaking the eye contact that had lasted only a few seconds in the end, so much for getting the recognition. I just gave up on arguing with this brick wall of a person and accepted my fate as I had done so often before.
"(Just lead the way.)" I could hear her chuckle lightly before responding in the same overconfident voice that screamed 'I am better than you'.
"(If you wish so, human.)" I closed my eyes, avoiding another heated and ultimately pointless argument with her. She could easily overpower me, and I'd just become the village laughingstock, or play that role even more than I was already doing. Calm, calm thoughts. Opening my eyes again, I took a final deep breath and swallowed my displeasure at the world. At least, she granted my wish, only stepping in the direction of her old home, with no comments made about me. Each step, we encountered more Na'vi, or at least, that's how it felt to me.
A sudden direction change to the side made me stop my autopilot of plotting plans to take over the world and idly following Ayoe and looking where she had gone. We arrived as it seemed, as she now stood inside another home, that looked almost identical to all its neighbors from the outside. We were close to the center and in turn the main Marui where the Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk still sat if my sense of direction was to be trusted and my suspicion of that being their base of operations.
"(Are you coming or just stand there like the dork you are?)" Ayoe brought me out of my thoughts, a too familiar occurrence, but normally Kiri did the disrupting and not the older warrior trainee.
"(Yeah, yeah, don't rush.)" I stepped inside as well and looked around the fourth new Marui pod today. Not much was different, only the décor varied slightly from the one inside Tonowari and Ronal's home, if it even was their home. Maybe they treated themselves to two properties as the leaders of the village. Another thing was the arrangement of living sectors, but that was fundamentally different for most dwellings anyways, so nothing to write home about.
"(Ayoe, why is the sky person here?)" I looked toward the source of the half hostile half unsure voice and my eyes landed on a Na'vi female, who seemed to be around the same age as my parents. Wait, was this Ayoe's mom? Ayoe looked up at her, away from the pile of clothes and other random belongings she was creating. Her mom switched from glaring at me to give a questioning look to her daughter, who stopped darting all over the place and now stood with her hands on her waist, still taking deeper breaths than usual from the sudden movement she had done moments earlier, darting around like that at super speeds.
"(The Olo'eyktan wanted to give him a personal bodyguard.)" She waited for a few seconds and upon not receiving an answer from her mother continued. "(You have gotten that much from the others, right?") The older woman shook her head to which Ayoe sighed and stated the obvious in my eyes. Was this becoming a trend? Every female has one question with an in my eyes obvious answer? "(I'm the bodyguard.)" This time Ayoe got a bigger reaction than just a confused pair of eyes that looked at her.
"(What?!)" Her mother shot out of her sitting position "(But what about your path as a warrior?)" Ayoe shrugged and now her mom stepped toward me. "(You better have a good explanation for this, sky person.)" She hissed at me. Oh great, not only the daughter, but also the mother has a short temper. Why did it have to be me again? I raised my arms in hopes of stopping the taller woman.
"(Talueal, I mean you, nor you daughter harm.)" She made a sudden stop and seemed confused for a second, which soon faded into anger once again. This was all I was able to make out before the air supply that was supposed to be sent to my lungs was drastically reduced by the tight grip that now enclosed my throat. I gasped and grabbed at the attacker's arm as she had lifted me up with just that, one arm. Fuck the strength difference, it's not fair at all.
"(How do you know my name, demon!)" She again hissed, her ears were also flat, and she showed me her teeth in a sign of anger or hatred, predator mode or something. Rapid footsteps approached, as my lungs screamed to my brain to take a breath, which was quite hard with the way the current situation was laid out. Of course, I wasn't able to take a deep breath before this happened, that would make surviving to ease on this shithole of a planet.
"(Mom!)" I heard Ayoe yell, before everything turned slow around me. The movements stopped, the need to grasp for air disappeared all of a sudden and the light got dimmer and dimmer. Was this death? No, it couldn't be, I still had some breath left so why—I was interrupted in my rapid panicking thoughts by a voice I had nearly forgotten existed. It was almost a whisper, but I still heard it loud and clear over the pressing silence of cold darkness.
"...be patient..." With what? Being choked to death? Why did this voice have to never make sense? "...don't aggravate them..." Okay, I have learned that lesson a few times now, but why tell me that now? This was it however as nothing else came in the department of ever wise words and soon enough the light came back around, paired with the warmth of the air and the ability to act, rather than being stuck in time. I still found it creepy to get these sudden flashed of whatever supernatural this was. What also was weird was that I didn't find myself in the position before the voice in my head spoke, rather on the way down to the ground. My feet connected and immediately gave out under me and dropped the rest of my body to the same ground I fell on moments prior. The instinct to breath hit me like a truck. With all this time nonsense I had completely forgotten that that was a thing. One big gasp made my heart rate quicken as the air, filtered by the exo pack on my hip, filled my lungs in rapid speed. This seemed to trigger another itch as just after getting my first dose of oxygen I started coughing almost uncontrollably, wrenching my entire body to curl up with every cough that left my lips.
"(Get your hands off of him!)" That was Ayoe, with her bright, but very angry voice. Thank God she did her job and didn't join in like I could have expected her to with the way she treated me before. "(He is still of value to Tonowari and Ronal for some reason.)" Ah, can't have them concerned for the sake of myself, only the interests of others of course. I rolled on my back the last cough shaking my body and flexing the muscles in my abdomen forcibly. The lightheadedness washed away ever slowly. The images of the roof, woven in the same way as the floor, smoothly shifted back to non-reality bending ways, as they were distorted and spinning before.
"(How does he know my name?)" Talueal repeated her question, the venom still present, but not directed at me, but at her daughter. It seemed as if all Na'vi women had this perk of cold-hearted speaking. How lucky of me to be surrounded by them on a day-to-day basis.
"(I introduced myself to him formally on the request of our leader.)" The sight of a blue girl appeared in my vision. Leaning over me, quickly looking me over. Her braided hair hung down from her head, almost low enough to reach me. "(Are you okay?)" She asked turning my head with her hand, checking for something that I did not know. Her blue eyes darted around for a few seconds before they, together with the rest of the head, left my eyes and landed, from my guess at least, back on her mother. I wanted to give a response to her question, but was unable to, as her mother spoke again.
"(That explains that.)" I shakily stood up to the best of my ability, trying not to stagger or fall back down. This day had been going great so far. "(But why are the two of you here?)"
"(Tonowari thought it was a good idea to separate me from the rest of the clan, because this--)" I sluggishly pointed at her. "(—was supposed to be avoided, which I can now really understand, unlike before.)" I stopped speaking, which was not enough explanation to Ayoe's mother.
"(And?)" she crossed her arms the same way Ayoe had done a few times already "(What does that have to do with the two of you being here?)" I think I know where Ayoe got her annoying side from. With a mother like that I could see why Ayoe was so quick to lash out like she did, rather unfortunate for any man that ever wanted to start something serious with her.
"(We live together further outside the village, alone.)" My babysitter said to her mother.
"(We?)" said woman poked further. Oh, please let her not have the same hatred for men like her daughter.
"(Me and him, for his protection.)" Ayoe ended my rather unfulfilling explanations. Talueal raised her eyebrows, seemingly not impressed, or confused, or both, or nothing of the two, or what am I saying, or is this confusing you the same as me writing this?
"(And you are okay with this? I know for a fact that you stray away from anything that has to do with the other gender.)" I smiled, silently praying to Eywa that she was on my side, at least for this topic.
"(Mom?!)" Ayoe exclaimed, not expecting that to be said. "(I had no choice, okay?!)" She sounded like a teenager around Kiri's age maybe, when she was embarrassed in front of her crush, though I am sure that I was far away from being exactly that. And in no way did I want to be close to anything in that department with today's treatment. Talueal's stern expression softened momentarily as Ayoe's embarrassed admission reached her ears. She eyed her daughter with a mix of concern and understanding, realizing that the circumstances were likely more complicated than they appeared. Taking a deep breath, she seemed to ease her stance, unfolding her arms, and gesturing for Ayoe to continue.
"(Explain, Ayoe. Why didn't you have a choice?)" Her voice carried a mixture of motherly concern and a hint of curiosity. "(I mean, you don't seem to like the decision.)" Ayoe hesitated, glancing briefly in my direction before addressing her mother.
"(Tonowari suggested that Firin and I should live separately to avoid conflicts with the rest of the clan, just like this one. It's complicated, and I didn't want to argue with the leaders' decision, especially of these is probably more to the situation than I have knowledge of.)" Talueal's eyes narrowed slightly as she processed the information. This is a pretty good summary of the entire situation. Maybe Ayoe should have started with this, then I could have avoided getting almost chocked to death. Her mother then turned her attention to me, sizing me up with a critical gaze, not that she needed to after lifting me up with one hand.
"(And you're okay with this, human?)" I exhaled lightly, thinking of a way to respond with the same level of clearness Ayoe had just displayed. The sound of the outside world still lingered around.
"(As long as I get to stay here, I am fine.)" Her eyebrows raised themselves subconsciously. Okay, this was the wrong start. "(I mean, going back to my old home is not really an option, but whatever. Besides, I appreciate the protection the Olo'eyktan is giving me.)" Talueal grunted, seemingly unsatisfied but understanding the gravity of the situation.
"(Very well. I trust Tonowari's judgment, even if I don't fully understand it.)" She shifted her focus back to Ayoe. "(Make sure you both stay out of trouble, and keep this human safe, Ayoe. You're still on the path to becoming a warrior and maybe you can learn something from this.)" Ayoe nodded respectfully.
"(I will, Mom. We'll be careful.)" Talueal smiled lightly at her daughter and turned back to me, immediately dropping it, switching it out for a glare that was seriously scary.
"(And you, don't you dare try to halter Ayoes progression in any way, and if you, not even she will be able to protect you.)" I gulped, as she continued. "(Have I made myself clear?)" I nodded, to which she exhaled through her nose and stopped her overly venomous stare. Just as a brief calm settled, a deep voice resonated from the entrance of the Marui Pod.
"(What's going on here?)"
Merry Christmas in advance! This chapter is about 3700 words, which is 1200 words over my normal amount. I hope you like this chapter and style of writing more in between. If you do, please let me know by voting and or writing a comment. Until the new year I will have holidays and should be able to give you all something after Silvester. Goodbye and relax after these stressful last few weeks, cheers!