Blood and Water | Neteyam

A Dream of Hunting ∼ 16

Tcelia made her way down to the beach. She wanted to get the braiding over with since it had been bothering her for so long. She had shut Neteyam and Kiri down when they had offered to keep her company – she needed to be alone for a while to process the entire week.

She placed herself at the water's edge and wetted her hair, then she started the long process by unbraiding each braid individually. She had done it so often now that she didn't even have to focus on it anymore.

She started by taking out the braids in which she wore her beads and stones. They were all gifts from friends, and they were very dear to her. She hummed to herself as she worked, carefully placing the beads in a large shell she had found that sat in the sand beside her. The warmth of the sun hit her back, warming her, and a content feeling settled over her.

She thought back to when she had woken up that morning. Neteyam and Jake had been whispering softly and when she had glanced over, she had seen Neteyam shoving away his cummerbund, under his mat.

She had realized with a start that it had been a while since he had worn it – it wasn't customary Metkayina clothing. She thought back to the day he had gotten it – the day he had truly become one of the people and would no longer be viewed as a child.

The Dream Hunt is no joke. Some Na'vi that go through it, don't come back the same, and some don't even come back. She remembered how worried she had been for him; she had barely slept the whole week leading up to the ceremony.

Before the ceremony he had asked her to paint his body. Her! It is customary for the Omatikaya to choose someone they cherish a lot, to help get them ready for the ritual. It is a great honor to be chosen and he had wanted her.

She remembered how she had dragged the white paint in long strokes over his body with trembling hands, "I hate that I cannot be there for you," She had sighed as she was finishing up his upper back. She moved to his front so that she could begin painting his chest.

"At least I get to be there for yours," Neteyam replied coyly. He had barely breathed as she swept her fingers over his chest.

"I guess," She frowned, "I just hate thinking of you in pain."

"I will be in pain either way," Neteyam stated bluntly but shut up quickly as Tcelia had sent him a deadly look. He had chuckled and continued watching her paint swirls on his body in the dim light.

After she had finished, everything had moved quickly. Suddenly she had found herself standing at the base of Hometree, Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk gathered around her, with no recollection of how she had gotten there.

They were speaking in low voices, but Tcelia had barely registered what was being said; she kept zoning out, thinking about Neteyam. She caught herself biting her nails multiple times out of worry and she had had to force herself to lean against a root, placing her hands behind her so that she would stop.

When Neteyam had finally appeared, she had let out a breath of relief and squeezed her eyes shut, thanking their Great Mother. When she saw him being swarmed by the clan, she had pushed Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk towards him and they had taken off, eager to congratulate him.

She had let them go before her – she wanted the family to have a moment together and she didn't want to intrude on something so precious. She had watched the family rejoicing from afar, leaning up against the tree root.

Soon they were completely blocked from her view, Na'vi forming to create the last part of the ritual. She had dislodged herself from the root and begun to make her way to the last row of Na'vi when 'Ukxo had come up to her side.

"Can you believe that that will be us soon?" he had murmured into her ear as he placed his hands on the Na'vi's shoulders in front of him.

She had shot him a grin, imitating his actions, holding on to the Na'vi in front of her, "Do not get ahead of yourself, skxawng," she nudged him with her hip, "We have not even claimed our ikran yet."