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CHAPTER 6

       Watching Jake giving up his position as Olo'eyktan had been hard for the entire family - and Erìhe. Neytiri and Tuk had watched with tears in their eyes as the new leader cut Jake, signifying the change of leadership.

As they walked past the people, Erìhe could hear Neytiri crying silently as she walked in front of her. It was a sad sight to see. The people watched as they left - probably wondering why they'd abandon them. They understood why they had to leave - but it still must have felt pretty horrible to be left behind by their chief who was meant to protect them.

Erìhe had said goodbye to Aok and Nupxa the previous night. The two had cried and clung to her - begging for her to stay. Their tears moved Erìhe, but not enough that she would consider staying. She was set on going with the Sullys.

"I thought that we were a family," Aok had said as she hugged her when Erìhe broke the news, "Just the three of us."

"You're leaving us to stay with them," Nupxa had wailed.

Erìhe felt bad. She truly did. But all the guilt tripping and begging would never work on her. She was warm and welcoming until it came to something she felt strongly about. She would never budge once she set her mind onto something. It was something that Neteyam often called on. He called it a major flaw of hers.

But then again he called just about anything she did a flaw, so Erìhe did not let it bother her.

The journey had been long and tiring. Erìhe knew that Jake and Neytiri had discussed where they'd be going, but the teenagers and Tuk did not have a single clue.

Or maybe they did - and it was just Erìhe who had been left out.

During the trip she often found herself wondering what the arrangement was going to be. Would she stay with them in the same home like one of their children - or would she get her own space and just be a nuisance?

Whichever it was, Erìhe decided she would be happy with it. She was allowed to go with them after all.

They had traveled over water, over forests, over mountains and through storms. The journey had felt much longer than it had actually been. They had arrived after one day of flying, but Erìhe was relieved to finally see land again. For the longest time they had just been flying over the bright blue ocean.

As they neared a village, they could see all kinds of marine life in the shallow waters beneath them. While stretching her neck to look over her ikran's head at the water, Erìhe had lost her attention and caused the animal to move to the right abruptly.

"Watch where you're going, skxawng!" Neteyam yelled as he quickly moved so as to not be crashed into.

Erìhe looked back at him with a mocking smile as she willed her ikran to fly straight once more. Neytiri had glanced back at her son, "Don't speak like that to her," she had told him. This had caused Erìhe to snort and have to resort to biting her lip so that she would not laugh out loud.

Neteyam had looked at her accusingly.

The village was beautiful. Their reef was set apart from the ocean by massive seawall terraces, which would protect them from predators and larger waves. The shallow water was bright and clear - showcasing the plants and animals that lived there peacefully. Behind the many houses of the village, Erìhe could see a mountain rising out of the water. It was majestic.

Erìhe watched as the waves crashed against the terraces as they flew over them. They could see the villagers hanging out, sitting in the sun or bathing in the shallow pools created by the rocks. It seemed like they had a great time living there.

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