Dancing In The Moonlight

8. Wife

this chapter contains talk of body image and spice

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Tsu'tey smiled faintly as he worked the paint over her shoulders and chest. She stood still, careful not to move, not wanting to mess his art work up. 

They were becoming part of the People. 

Neytiri was doing Jake's paint on her right. Jake's eyes had never left Tsu'tey's fingers on her skin. She'd refrained from rolling her eyes. Neytiri had worked her own paint all the way from his shoulders to the waist band of his loin cloth. He didn't have a leg to stand on. 

The dream hunt had been difficult. Weird. She'd never taken acid before, but that's how she imagined it would be. She'd been out of it for more than twelve hours. Jake had taken even longer than her. He said that he'd seen flashes of orange.

At least he'd actually seen something. All she'd saw was a kaleidoscope of colours, then black. 

"Sylwanin would be proud of you." Tsu'tey's voice was soft as he trailed two fingers down her nose and over her lips. "I am proud of you." 

Mairi smiled faintly, looking up to get rid of the tears that had appeared in her eyes. "Thank you, brother." 

She'd been spending more time in the link, more time with Tsu'tey and Neytiri long after Jake went to bed. There was no one to stop her. She was getting more and more engrossed. She'd lost more weight than she ever had done before in the week that she'd been at site twenty five by herself. 

Trudy had been up a couple of times, but never stayed long. Mairi understood. She didn't want her friend to get into shit just because she wanted company. 

"Come," Neytiri said softly, squeezing Tsu'tey's forearm before ascending up the spiral staircase. Tsu'tey followed her. Jake took a step towards it, away from her, then stopped and looked back, a small grin on his face. 

"Ready to do this, babygirl?" He held out his hand, and Mairi took it gratefully. They walked together to the stairs. 

"I'm scared," she blurted out as Jake set foot on the spiral. He stopped, confusion in his eyes. 

"Why?" 

"It's a different world. It's like a dream. What if we fuck it up?" 

Apprehension filled his features. He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. "We're not gonna fuck it up." 

"Are you sure?" 

She was anxious. Anxious about the whole fucking thing. This was a big fucking deal. She and Jake would be the first outsiders ever to become Omatikayan, to become one of the People. What if something happened? It would be blamed on them. Them and Grace. 

"I'm sure." 

She saw nothing but absolute certainty shining in his eyes. Mairi nodded once, feeling reassured, and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, careful to avoid the paint. "Let's go then." 

They went up the staircase hand in hand, Mairi's tail high in alert. The People had been waiting, and began to stand as they reached the very top. The two of them stopped, just looking around. Mairi felt her heart tug in her chest as she saw faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Jake pulled her hand slightly, and she followed him to the Olo'eyktan. The Na'vi people slowly drew closer. Neytiri appeared on her right, and Tsu'tey on Jake's left. 

"You are now a son and a daughter of the Omatikaya," Eytukan said proudly. Was that - was that the hint of a smile she could see on his face? "You are now part of the People."