Eywa's Will (Tsu'tey x OC)

Chapter 23 - Home

Jake POV

We rode out to the furthest edges of the continent, to the reef people of the sea, to the marsh clans of the swamps. Each clan had seen its own signs of the destruction of Eywa through the well of souls. Each clan was prepared to risk their lives in hopes of saving her. When Toruk Makto called, they came.

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Awa'iti

As we finally neared the Kaolía Tei, I watched as our surroundings steadily shifted from the forested area we knew, to a foggy marsh plain. It was a stunningly beautiful land with many colorful creatures I was not familiar with. These foothill marshes stood at the base of the Ta'antasi Region, which as Tsu'tey put it, was a crazily large cluster of floating rocks. That along with the fog means that anyone who flies through here is one mistake away from meeting Eywa.

We flew through the marshlands quickly but safely, and found ourselves on the outskirts of the Ta'antasi floating mountains.

Tsu'tey gestured for us to land, and we started downward.

"Why are we stopping?" I asked through heavy breaths. Something about the air up in these mountains made it harder for me to breath, was I just not used to being so high up? It may have been my imagination but the lullaby of Eywa in my head seemed to grow louder.

"It is dangerous to fly in these parts." He said with a grim look on his face.

"What? Why?"

"Like I said, no one goes through these parts unless they have a death wish. Na'vi know to stay away from these mountains. The flocks of birds are known to attack anyone who gets too close, and the floating rocks are too unsteady. It is safer to travel on ground."

I looked up at the sky of the Ta'antasi mountains with a new perspective. It was obvious that something was trying to keep people out, the well of souls... just how close of a connection to Eywa is it? The ringing in my ears began to sound more like a heartbeat as I stared at the mountain range.

I nodded my head. "Okay, we travel by land."

Tsu'tey grunted in approval. "Esnä should be meeting us very soon with the troops he has gathered, then we will be able to wait at the entrance there." He said while pointing to a cluster of rocks about two miles away.

I shifted uncomfortably as we walked, it was still odd talking in the subject of Esnä. Both me and Tsu'tey became aware of the seriousness of the situation after we learned that the legend of the song was true. Neither of us had the heart to say it, but that brought up the question as to why Eywa resurrected Tsu'tey, and what that curse would do to her because of it.

It became increasingly obvious that me and Tsu'tey's connections to Eywa were also a connection to eachother, but no matter how much I think about it, I cannot understand why? Out of all of the people that were killed unfairly, why did she choose to bring back Tsu'tey? And what does this all have to do with me...
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"It is getting dark" I said as me and Tsu'tey camped at the entrance of the mountain pass. "Should we make a fire?"

Tsu'tey shook his head. "Fire will not light this high up."

"Oh..." I looked down at the ground, an eerie feeling filled my stomach. I was scared, no matter what happened at the end of this battle, I knew that the resolution would change the makeup of this world forever. I grabbed Tsu'tey's arm with my trembling hands, he looked up at me with curious eyes.

"What is wrong?" He whispered softly as he too my hands in his. His eyes glowed faintly in the night air, and his skin sparkled like constellations in the night sky.

"I feel... odd. These mountains make me feel heavy, I am scared of what I will find when we reach the well of souls. I am scared that, for some reason... I may never return."

Tsu'tey's soft gaze turned stern instantly. He straightened up and tightened the grip on my hands. "What do you mean by this?"

"Ever since we entered these lands, the constant humming in my head keeps getting louder. It is like my connection to Eywa gets stronger the closer I am to the Well... I can feel her calling to me. Like the heart of a beating drum, it never stops. It never ceases."

"What is it that she wants with you?" Tsu'tey said to no one in particular.

I shook my head in defeat. No matter how many times I asked the voice for answers, it never gave me a thing. "All I know is that I must go to her... I must be the one to unlock the well."

"Are you certain of this?"

I nodded my head. "Yes, this may be the only thing I am certain of, you have to trust me."

Tsu'tey looked deep into my eyes to find any hint of doubt, from what I could tell of his expression, he found none. He bowed his head in approval and cupped my face with his palm. His hand was warm and smelt like the mossy green forests that I had learned to love throughout my time on the surface. I closed my eyes and thought of home... not the caves underground where I had grown up, and not my family and tribe. When I thought of home, I saw Tsu'tey. I saw his fierce golden eyes, and his long black hair. I saw the passion within his stare, and the stars that adorned his skin. I saw the meadows and the trees where he first taught me to hunt, and I felt the moss and the leaves as we ran through the front. And I realized that my search for Eywa, and finding some reason or will to live, began to mean less and less to me. I did not find the meaning of life at the end of my journey through Eywa's Will, I found my answer along the way. I found my Tsu'tey.