One of the people [ Jake Sully x Reader ]

-* Iknimaya *-

Chapter 8

The week had pretty much gone exactly as I had imagined. Mid-morning I was kicked awake the morning after Ftxozä flä by Zìr'iawat with nothing but a dry mouth and legs that ached whenever they were stood on, surprisingly Zìr'iawat had left Jake to sleep muttering something along the lines of

"Leave him to sleep" which was uncharacteristically nice for Zìr'iawat. I had hoped that her good spirits would extend to me, but I was a fool, every time I so much as yawned while lining up a shot with my borrowed bow or tried to hide beneath the golden spirals of the loreyu plant for just a SECOND of rest, Zìr'iawat would hiss and cuff me over the back of my head muttering crossly under her breath.

The strangest part of this week would have been the dinner the night after Ftxozä flä, Na'vi had stopped me in my tracks and asked me where I had learnt to dance, grabbing my hands and singing my praise, some even going as far as to tell me that I had been

'Given a gift by Eywa' I laughed it all off thanking them, grateful for the conversation, though one Na'vi woman, in particular, had stopped me with a hand to my shoulder and had picked up my hand holding it up to the light and turning it as she observed it, she spoke smoothly in Na'vi with a silvery voice

" Just as I thought, you have the hands of a crafter. Come to sna'o tseo tomorrow afternoon" And with that, she walked off leaving me in a state of confusion, Jake had only huffed in amusement when I turned to him

"Who was that? What is sna'o tseo?" I had asked nervously twisting the beads on one of my braids habitually

" That was Syenìm, and for sna'o tseo, I'll leave you to figure that one out," He said with a shit-eating grin his canines poking his bottom lip

"Vonvä'" I hissed in annoyance as a surprised bark of laughter escaped him.

So that was where I had ended up the day before my Iknimaya, Sat in a large circle of women and men on a beautiful circular woven mat that covered the hard dirt floor. To my surprise, as I had wandered over to the group (before they had sat down in the circle) Auntie Eyhìtew had cried out my name in surprise and lovingly grabbed me into one of her bone-crushing hugs, I had returned the hug with equal strength before she had pulled away to study me at arm's length and had begun to fuss over me

"Pah! You have lost too much weight! And look at your lips! You need to drink more water!" She continued to chide me until the Na'vi woman from the day before, Syenìm I recalled, walked over and freed me from Auntie Eyhìtew's grasp.

"Ah, y/n, I am glad you are here, please come sit next to me so I may teach you the ways of our mothers and fathers" She had said in that silvery voice of hers. Group Weaving. That was what sna'o tseo was. Syenìm had been patient in teaching me and observing my attempts with those clear gentle eyes that crinkled with joy as I began to gain confidence, she had me weaving bracelets to start off with,

"It will help me see your skill level" She had said softly handing me pieces of dried pxiut leaf dyed in varying colours. The first bracelet was wonky and uneven sticking out in odd places, yet my second was smooth and only had a couple of mistakes, by my third try I was doing it off by heart, and I sat quietly and focused on the gentle motion of weaving, it was so... Relaxing. I had woven a bracelet of sky blue, deep navy and soft lemon yellow for Zìr'iawat and then a bracelet of deep blue, teal and a brown so dark it was black, for Jake. The Na'vi in the circle had been cautious at the start of the sna'o tseo, watching me from the corner of their eyes as they spoke in hushed tones weaving mats and baskets, however, the more Syenìm guided my hands and the smoother my bracelets became the louder they began to talk, gossiping and laughing over stories they told one another, never addressing me specifically but not actively shunning me. I considered the whole thing a roaring success. Perhaps an hour or two after it had begun, it was over, the Na'vi standing up and stretching out their stiff limbs, as they said their goodbye's to each other, I could feel my heart swell every time one of them smiled in my direction as they left, a goofy grin plastered on my face. Syenìm pressed the bracelets I had woven into my hands and grinned