Chapter Text
From your spot high in the trees, you had the perfect view of the idiot below.
You had been climbing upwards for a vantage spot during your hunt when you heard the first bunch of twigs snapping. Ears twitching toward the noise, you slowed your ascent and straddled a thick branch. The creatures you hunted weren’t this disruptive. Bow drawn and breath held, you waited. He came stumbling out of the tree line, feet shuffling clumsily and chest heaving with effort.
Even if he hadn’t been clothed so ridiculously, you would have been able to tell he was one of the Sky People just from the way he carried himself. Na’vi were careful, lithe, calculated. The man below seemed to be making noise just to make noise. You were sure Neytiri would hear the small ruckus and make her way through the treetops back to you. For the time being, though, you were alone with the Sky Man.
You gently let down your bow.
You watched him for a few minutes, fascinated by his strangeness. When you were in your youth, you had been one of the few Na’vi that were allowed to attend language classes by a Sky Woman, but she had not been allowed back into your clan’s territory for years. The man below was the first Sky Person you had seen in a long, long time.
Night was approaching quickly, and he seemed to know it. He was loud and foolish, but resourceful, you determined after watching him create a torch. He wrapped shreds of his dressings around a fallen limb, coated it in a thick sap, and lit it aflame.
You had already noted the viperwolves that circled him, as did Neytiri. She had appeared in her deadly silence, bow drawn a few branches below. You called out in a soft whistle to coax her attention to you. Though she did not turn to face you, her ear flicked in your direction. You tried your best to convince her to lower her weapon, but her bow remained drawn. Just when you feared the worst for the five-fingered man below, you felt a tickle at your knee. A woodsprite danced along your skin before slowly drifting toward Neytiri. It landed on her arrow, and she looked at it in wonder before finally letting down the bow. The forest’s most deadly predator had withdrawn, but the man was still not safe.
From the pitch blackness of the trees, a viperwolf lunged toward the Sky man. He swung his lit torch toward the creature and sliced forward with his blade, narrowly missing it. Without thinking, you began swinging down towards him, slipping off vines and kicking off branches. Neytiri hissed as you lowered yourself, stopping you in your tracks. She whispered a sharp order, and your hands were involuntarily tied.
“Do not,” your sister growled. “Let it die.”
It. The man, not the viperwolf.
You had to bite your tongue to keep from lashing out. You were already on this trip with her as a punishment from your mother for being disrespectful. You didn’t want to push your luck.
The viperwolf circled the man in the darkness before leaping forward once more, jaws snapping narrowly. It dodged the man’s next swing but slashed its huge, sharp claws across his leg. You watched as his blood soaked his dressings and listened to his pained cry. It was cruel, having to sit here and watch helplessly as the viperwolf took bites at the man. Finally, his blade connected with the creature. It screamed, and your heart sank to your stomach.
The blood-curdling calls of more viperwolves filled the air. They crashed into the clearing, biting and snapping and drooling. Neytiri nocked her bow once more. With another pointed look towards you, your sister slipped down from the trees. One of the creatures fell to her arrow, and the others scrambled away when she landed in the clearing with a vicious hiss.
Had she not stopped you, the wolves would not have died in vain. Your stomach swirled with anger as you watched her threaten the man below. Neither party deserved this fate.
She put the final wolf out of its misery and called to Eywa to guide its soul. Flicking her tail, Neytiri called back to you with her own soft whistle. Taking the signal, you descended from the treetops to land in front of the man with agile precision.
His eyes widened and he jumped back, crunching another branch beneath heavy feet. So noisy.
“Oh, shit.”
-
Neytiri’s nostrils flared and eyes burned bright with the fire of rage as the Olo’eyktan and Tsahik gave her the order. She was leading the expedition with you, she brought the Sky man into your home, and she would be responsible for his teachings. Being the perfect older sister, she would never question the clan leaders. Especially because they were your parents, and even more so because the entire clan looked on with tense confusion. Nosy, all of them.
The Sky man stood in front of you, shoulders pushed back while your family judged his fate. You had your hands clasped behind you, awaiting further orders while Neytiri steamed next to your mother and father. You were already nearing the border of punishment for just being associated with Neytiri and the man – Jake, he had introduced himself as.
Your mother called your name and you braced for verbal impact.
“I see reason escaped you as well. You accompany him in training under your sister until further notice” she spoke in front of the clan. Your lips parted in an immediate dispute, but the Tsahik held up her decorated hand to silence you. “You continue to act like a novice, so you will be treated as such. You hold just as much responsibility for this as your sister.”
Her words were all but spat out, a half-snarl directed at Jake. He stiffened, and you hoped he would recognize his place, but that hope was quickly squashed as he took a step forward.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but your daughters saved me. They didn’t do anything wrong,” he began. He was stopped by a blade to the throat. Tsu’tey, your sister’s arranged mate, pressed the deadly edge closer when Jake swallowed nervously. The crowd surrounding you erupted into concerned chatter.
“Not another step,” Tsu’tey growled.
“Enough!” Your father bellowed, and the sudden burst of voices from the crowd halted. With a nod from him, Tsu’tey lowered his weapon. Your chest fell with your exhale. “You all have your orders,” he sent a pointed look in the direction of you and Neytiri before settling on the Sky man once more. “Bear in mind, we will not give second chances, Jake Sully.”
Jake nodded, and with a signal from your father, the gathering slowly disbanded.
“Not a bad first impression, huh?” Jake smiled as you stepped up beside him. Neytiri all but growled, and it took everything you had not to grin.
“Deal with him,” she spoke in Na’vi. Tsu’tey called for her, and his hand slipped to the small of her back as they walked off coldly.
Jake let out a low whistle and turned toward you, his shoulders relaxing slightly with less eyes on him. You raised your brows, and without speaking, made your way over the tree roots and through the dispersing crowd. He tripped once or twice, but followed you nonetheless. You found a tree at the edge of the gathering, light from a nearby fire dancing across the rippled bark. You sat. Clumsily, he followed suit. Your lips quirked up in an amused smile.
“What’s so funny?” His gaze fell on you, but you refused to turn your head. Had you known his presence would cause you psychological torture in the form of training with Neytiri for the indefinite future, perhaps you would have left him to the viperwolves.
“You lack grace,” you shook your head. “Noisy.”
“Go easy on me,” he nudged your knee with his and laughed. “I’m new to this.”
You pulled your knees up and away from him.
“You are weak.”
“Then help me be strong,” he stretched his fingers out as if testing to make sure they still worked. “And graceful. Help me be like you, teacher.”
“Neytiri will teach you, not me.”
“Then why did they leave me with you?”
“Because no one else wants anything to do with you,” you finally locked eyes with him. Though your words were harsh, there was no malice in your tone. Jake grinned.
“And you do?”
Your tail flicked in annoyance.
“I am equally as responsible for you being here,” you huffed. “And Neytiri is with her mate.”
“Her mate?” You watched as he moved to position himself across from you, shadows of flames dancing over the stripes on his cheeks. He pulled his knees up and crossed his arms over them, eyes locked on you.
“Arranged to be, at least.”
“And you don’t have one? A mate, I mean.”
“No,” you answered, leaves swishing beneath the agitated movement of your tail.
“No friends you should be with now?”
“You ask many questions, Jake Sully,” you narrowed your eyes, only to be met with a laugh. Something about it warmed you quicker than the fire ever would.
“I’m just trying to know more about you… here. All of this.” He gestured around without breaking the gaze lingering between you.
A few moments passed, and within them, whatever resolve you had withered.
“Ask away.”
His eyes brightened, and you spent the next several hours speaking with the man from the sky. He asked about the clan, your parents, your sister, you. He wanted to know about the creatures he fought in the woods, the sprites that landed on his skin and let him be spared from Neytiri’s hand. He wanted to know about your faith, your role in the clan, the way the Na’vi operate. The questions never ceased.
“Don’t get mad at me,” he prefaced one of his next questions. “But, if you’re the daughter of the clan leaders, why are you alone here?”
You cast a warning look at the man. “What do you mean? They are all avoiding you.”
“Not because of me,” he started, nodding in the distant direction of your sister. Neytiri was surrounded by her friends, sharing stories and eating over the fire. Tsu’tey watched her, keeping guard over her while she socialized. “She seems busy. I figured you’d be the same.”
You looked over your shoulder at your sister for a beat longer than necessary. It was just long enough for a ball of envy to form inside your chest.
“Neytiri is…” Perfect. She was perfect. The best hunter. The best weaver. She could even sing. She was the perfect daughter, amazing in every way you seemed to lack. She never talked back. She followed the rules. She was to be the next Tsahik, mated to the next clan leader. You would have to live in that shadow for the rest of your life, and your incompetence compared to her was not unnoticed by your parents. “She and I are not alike.”
You had already explained to him your family’s nature and the circumstances that built your future, but you hadn’t been open with Jake about the extent of your jealousy. Perhaps your face had exposed your emotions, or maybe your voice faltered. Regardless, the man’s expression softened. Jake bumped his leg against yours once again, and this time, you didn’t move away.
“It’s not such a bad thing,” he gave you a cocky grin. “You’re not a raging bitch.”
Before you could stop yourself, a bark of laughter slipped out of you. A few glances from your clan were shot in your direction, and you coughed to conceal your embarrassment. Jake broke out in that warm laugh, and you smacked at his arm.
“Watch your tongue. That is my sister.”
“I didn’t hear you disagree.”
Giving him a quick shake of your head, you looked at him pointedly.
“Don’t let her hear that or you and I both will be suffering the consequences,” you spoke as you lifted yourself from the ground with a slow stretch. The way his eyes wandered over your legs didn’t escape you. “Come now, you reek of Sky People. We need to fix that.”
Jake scoffed but followed nonetheless.
-
You waited ever so patiently on a rock near the bathing pools while Jake cleaned himself up. He had still been in the dressings from the Sky People, and it was not going to help him make any friends. You had gathered a Na’vi male covering and told him not to come out until he had scrubbed so hard the blue faded from his skin. He had rolled his eyes.
That attitude would land you both in a world of trouble, you were sure.
Your head whipped around as soon as you heard approaching footsteps. You stood to greet him, but when your eyes finally fell on the man, your words failed you.
You had never found intimacy in the bare nature of your people, but with Jake standing in front of you in traditional clothing, you couldn’t help but to stare. He was taller than most of the males in your clan, with broad shoulders and strong arms. He was strong. If he trained hard, he would have a good chance at being a respected warrior.
Jake’s brow lifted at your silence and you ignored it completely.
“I will show you to the Hometree. You will not embarrass me,” you gave him a warning growl.
“Yes ma’am.”
Most of the clan had already retreated to their beds for the night. The gathering to decide Jake’s fate had been hours ago. You would have to sneak past Neytiri and hope she did not find you bringing the man in so far past what she deemed a respectable curfew.
Your hometree was a living god in its own right. A sprawling, beautiful being that housed your entire clan. Families bedded in huge hollows with more than enough room for all Omatikaya. You led Jake up the tree, wincing at his ever-heavy footsteps and noisy demeanor. Finally, you made it to the space you called home. Several woven nivi hung from the walls, creating beds in the air. You motioned for him to choose his own empty hammock and climbed into your respective one. Jake cursed as he stepped into his, the nivi threatening to buckle under his imbalanced form. He fell into it with a grunt and you covered your mouth to keep from laughing. A few feet away, Neytiri stirred in her sleep. You looked to her and back to Jake, your grin matching his. He mouthed a “goodnight,” and you turned your back to him before you could do anything stupid like stay up the rest of the night talking to the arrogant Sky Man with broad shoulders and a pretty laugh.
It took you much longer than usual to sleep that night, and you knew you would pay for it. Extensive training with Neytiri started at sunrise.