Starting New

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Chapter 16



“This could be just setting us up for more problems,” I told Jake after Telan had left, “What if Ala’kan knows already?”



“He made no inclination of knowing anything Norm. We just have to remember to only speak Omaticayan, even when we’re alone,” Jake said, pulling the bag off my arm and lying down on the cot, “We’ll be fine. You should relax.”



“Me, relax? You’re the one who was so worried about coming here,” I argued.



Jake put his hand on his head and rubbed his temples for a moment, “This feels right. Doesn’t this feel right to you?”



I sighed and looked around, still uncomfortable with the thought that our new dwelling place was on the cliff of an expansive mountain. One wrong step could send me or Jake tumbling down the mountain thousands of feet and end up dead in the sea.



“This feels…strange,” I replied, crouching in the corner and biting on my nails.



Jake turned sideways in the hammock and watched me, “What if this was meant to be?”



“What if none of this was meant to be? What if I’m still not cut out to be a shaman? You didn’t give me much choice, Jake. I haven’t had any formal training-”



He tsked and rolled out of the hammock, “No formal training? What was Mo’at then? She offered better training than any other shaman. I guarantee it. You need to just relax.”



“This is just all so strange to me, so alien. I don’t know if I could ever get used to being Na’vi,” I said honestly, frowning and looking down at the dirt ground.



“But you’ve been doing great so far,” He said softly, “How can you say you’re not doing well? What will it take for you to feel like you’re meant to be here—with the other Na’vi and with me?”



“I don’t know, Jake. I’m just telling you how I feel,” I admitted and stood up to face him.



“You’ll be fine,” He said softly, gently grasping my upper arm and pressing a kiss to my cheek, “We’ll be just fine. Now let’s go and eat. I think they’re expecting us.”



We walked back up to the camp. I tried to avoid looking down over the mountain. I still couldn’t get used to the heights. This could turn into a problem for me. Jake was in a really good mood. He seemed content just to be here with these people. I had expected to see only men, but there were occasionally women walking around. They would nod and smile. They all seemed so easygoing, kind of like their chief.



We went to the hut where the food was served. One of the warriors that had been with Telan in flight just waved at us and grinned. I nodded meekly and followed Jake into the building. The smell of a roast whiffed into my nostrils and I inhaled deeply. I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten since early that morning before we had even left the place with the Tree of Souls.



The people sat on the ground on huge woven mats. Food was in the center and they were all eating and helping themselves. They were laughing, talking, and generally seemed to be having a good time. I felt a hand on my arm and jumped slightly. It was Ala’kan. He smiled brightly at us and nodded.



“Hello friends. Good to have you here for dinner,” He said and patted our shoulders, “I will make an announcement to welcome your presence before we eat.”



Ala’kan stepped up on a small platform in the front of the dwelling. We watched him raise his right hand and the crowd quickly quieted to a dull whisper. We did not understand much of what he said, but he sure had their attention. The whole room of blue skinned, golden eyed Na’vi were watching him in wonder. He waved over at us and I heard our names in his speech. Telan stood to the side stoically, a rather sour expression on his face. He didn’t seem so happy to have us there. Ala’kan stepped down and dismissed them and they all went back to eating.



“Sit here, by us,” He said



He said and gestured towards an open area on the ground, “Help yourselves to the food. We’re having a feast tonight in your honor. It is not often that we have guests, let alone new clan members.”



I looked over at Jake and raised my eyebrow. New clan members? Was he already so accepting of us? Telan didn’t look very happy with our new titles. He sat down next to his mate, but ignored him. Ala’kan didn’t really seem to notice, or he chose to pay no attention to him.



“Thank you for inviting us into your home like this. The food looks delicious,” Jake said, gesturing towards the plate he was filling up, “I haven’t had vegetables in a long time.”



“You’re welcome. This is surprisingly good farming ground for vegetables. The temperature is more stable up here, compared to the high temperature during the day and the low during the night on the surface,” Ala’kan said.

They both continued to eat and Ala’kan spoke briefly with Telan, who was rather short with him. Ala’kan just stared at him for a moment and shook his head. We understood no part of their conversation.



“I will introduce you to my friends. Sitting across from you are Pelna and Ati’ca. They were the warriors who flew with you this morning. They are recently mated. We had the ceremony just last week,” Ala’kan said, nodding to them.



“Ceremony?”



“Yes, bonding ceremony, of course.”



We must have looked lost, because Ala’kan suddenly put down his eating utensil and nodded, “Oh, I almost forgot. The Omaticaya do not have a special ceremony for matings. That is different here. Here with the Leomatica people, we have special bonding ceremonies. We all gather together and witness the truth that Eywa has set before us. We have a celebration.”



It sounded to me like they had an awful lot of celebrations. It also sounded like they had such things similar to human weddings.



“So, I can assume that you two have mated, but have yet to have a ceremony?” Ala’kan asked inquisitively, leaning forward slightly to study us.



I shook my head, “The Omaticaya do not have ceremonies. They did not approve of our mating in the first place.”



“You will have ceremony here with us, then,” He said happily, clapping slightly and nodding at Jake, “That sound good to you?”



Jake looked like he would start choking on his food. I patted his back slightly. His eyes met mine and he looked completely shocked. We just stared at each other for a few moments, trying to decide how to answer. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, neither to Jake nor to our new chief. Even Telan seemed shock at his mate’s sudden admission of the idea.



“You don’t like the idea?” Ala’kan asked with a frown.



“It’s not that it’s just that…well we just arrived here. We don’t know anybody. We don’t know you. And Norm…well, I need to speak to him about this,” Jake said, pushing his food aside and taking a deep breath.



“You will get to know us. We will be good friends. Ishael says so. And, you know Ishael is always right,” He said cocking his head to the side and grinning at us.



He sounded so sure. I continued to eat slowly. Even the unusual invitation for a mating ceremony couldn’t stop my hunger. Jake just looked confused. Ala’kan talked to the warriors across the way. They laughed and joked. They looked our way a few times, but their laughing didn’t seem insulting, to my relief. Ala’kan shook his head several times and even Telan had a smile on his face. If only we could understand their language.



I felt a poke against my arm and Ala’kan leaned my way, “They want me to sing.”



“Sing?” I asked.



“Oh yes.”



They all clapped as he got up. I wasn’t sure if this was some kind of joke or something. I looked over at Jake who just shrugged and started eating his meal again. Ala’kan asked the crowd a question and a few “whoops” and laughter ensued. He just grinned and nodded, pointing over at someone in the back with a drum.



A low drum beat began and Ala’kan stood up straight. He began humming a few lines and then started singing. Of course, I didn’t understand the words, but his voice was so soothing and magical. He was a borderline tenor with a flexible pitch. His words seemed to float through the air and the crowd watched in awe. He stopped singing and made a gesture with his hand. It was apparently one of invitation because he smiled at Telan. Telan managed to look at a bit bashful and just shook his head. Ala’kan said something in invitation again and the crowd began jeering him to join his mate on stage.

Telan eventually sighed and ended up on stage. Telan joined in singing a few lines. He was no singer, but Ala’kan didn’t seem to care much. Eventually the rest of the Na’vi joined in the song. I looked nervously over at Jake, feeling very out of place. He raised both eyebrows at me and smiled wryly. When the song ended the people seemed breathless, happy. Ala’kan and Telan joined us back at the circle once again. Telan seemed to be complaining to him and grumbled a bit. Ala’kan just smiled and patted him on the back.



“I will teach you the language. Telan and I are the only ones who speak Omaticayan. You will need to learn Leomatican very soon. You will need to learn how to communicate,” Ala’kan said to me.



I just nodded.



Later Jake and I went back to our small dwelling. I hung onto Jake’s arm as we climbed partly down the mountain to get to the small hut. Jake looked back at me in the dark, his golden eyes full of mirth.



“It’s not that bad, Norm.”



“You’re the one that rides the Toruk. Not me. I just can’t get used to the heights,” I said, my hand still tight around his own, as we crawled down the rocks, “Plus it’s dark and I can’t see much and we’re so far up.”



“I guess I’ll have to build you a handrail,” He said with a little chuckle.



I almost immediately shut down the idea, but then thought about it a bit more. Perhaps that would calm my nerves to know I wouldn’t be sailing down the side of the mountain any time soon. Once inside the dwelling I felt immediately better. I lay down in the hammock and Jake shewed me over a bit and jumped in beside me, practically squishing me.



He pulled himself over me and kissed me once, his mouth eager and hot against my own. I raised an eyebrow and kissed him back and settled my arms around his neck. I hadn’t even realized he had my braid until I felt the connection zap to live. He didn’t anything to me, but through the bond he sent me images. They were images of happiness and love. They were images of us at some kind of ceremony. His eyes spoke the rest and he had a small smile on the corner of his mouth.



“This is what you want?” I whispered, looking into those vivid golden eyes.



“Yes,” He said softly, moving to press a kiss to my neck and then his lips wrapped around one of my nipples. I arched into his touch and exhaled, “This feels right. I see the other couples' happiness. I see their love for each other. We could have that too.”



“If that’s what you want, Jake, then that’s what I want too,” I said.



I moaned at the feather light touches and pulled his hips closer to mine. I grinded against him, feeling his manhood become stiff. He groaned into my ear and rubbed his fingers against their tips. My ears were a particularly sensitive spot. Suddenly his hand was between us and he cupped my arousal. He helped me pull my loincloth off and we giggled like schoolchildren when the hammock began to sway. His was off soon after. He had prepared me like always and pulled my legs around his waist.



“Come for me, my beautiful blue man,” He whispered.



“Your fiancé,” I said softly, panting as he entered me.



He grinned and nodded, pressing deeper into my entrance. We rocked against each other, clearly out of breath and not having a care in the world—except for each other. He sent me more images through our tsuhaylu, mostly of the extreme ecstasy he was experiencing. It sent me climaxing over the edge and I dug my fingers into his shoulders. We cried out together, both in English and Omaticayan. I was glad to know that our home was far enough away from the others so no one else could hear. Although, I was sure that the majority of them were probably doing the exact same thing.