Dreamwalker

Chapter Six

Ted nuzzled deep into the crook of Rol'ei's neck. Shit, what had he done.

If Grace were still here, she'd have his blue hide tanned and stretched above her bed for potentially turning a society on its head; they'd never seen evidence of homosexual behavior within the Na'vi in their observations... at least not among the Omaticaya. Perhaps Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea were okay with it? Rol'ei certainly seemed more than okay with it. Ted hoped.

He swallowed hard and bit his lower lip. Damn. Impulsive. Horny. Behavior.

Just as a swamp of self-recriminations began to flood him, tender hands stroked his back. Ted leaned up on his elbows, twitching a little at the damp vinyl sound of their bodies separating.

"That was nice?"

Ted laughed at that lazy-ass grin on Rol'ei's face, the worries eating at him slipping away.

"Very nice," Ted replied, nibbling at Rol'ei's lovely jaw. "Rol'ei, I..." He shook his head, finding it hard to get out what he wanted to.

"Shh..." The finger Rol'ei placed on Ted's lips smelled of their mingled fun. "I need some time."

Ted nodded. That he could use more of himself.

"Come back with me, please. I don't... I don't want to be alone now."

Ted nodded. He didn't really want to get up yet, his usual habit after getting off that hard more along the lines of either a) cuddling until he could get it up again, or b) crashing and falling asleep for the rest of the night.

Rol'ei slid out from under him, offered him a hand up. Ted smiled at the tremors in his arms; nothing like holding your weight up and trying to jerk two dicks at the same time for a good workout. Ted surreptitiously slipped himself back into his pants. Rol'ei had an easier job with sliding his loincloth back in place.

They climbed down the tree; Ted felt a little better that the Singer looked a bit weak-kneed himself.

Ted picked up the messenger bag he'd been using to hold the sweet roots he'd been digging... almost like sweet potatoes; his favorite comfort food after a break-up. Guess he didn't need them now. Hopefully still won't. Rol'ei bent and picked up Ted's shirt before he could reach for it. The Singer rolled the shirt up and tucked it into the bag before Ted could protest. The straw hat he'd painstakingly wove also got rolled up. Ted tried to not make a face; that hat took forever to get right with these damn ears.

Rol'ei stood before Ted. He looked like he wanted to say something, something important the way he puffed up his chest like he was about to use his big orator's voice. Ted lifted his chin, ready for anything. He hoped.

The Singer touched Ted's forearm, his shoulder, then cupped his jaw hard between his two strong hands. His eyes big, wavering, uncertain. Ted hoped, and hoped, he felt his heart open and empty before him, ready to give all he had to bring that confident smile back, to feel that lovely sinuous blue body under his again. Ted mirrored Rol'ei's hands, holding him just as hard. They leaned closer, foreheads touching. Ted let his eyelids close and just allowed himself to breathe in Rol'ei's distinct scent.

Separating felt like they were leaving something behind. Rol'ei took the carbon reinforced pole, re-purposed as his digging stick, and used it to lean on as they walked deeper into the woods. Ted watched his gate carefully, worried a moment that he might've pressed his weight into that damaged thigh. What positions would be good to make that more comfortable...?

Ted shook his head. Perhaps a little early to be thinking that a second bit of play was in the works.

He offered Rol'ei his hand on an incline. He received a wry look. Ted walked next to him, trying not to notice the slower pace uphill, and stopped when he stopped at the top. Here, where he no longer needed the support, Rol'ei held his hand out. Ted took it.

Ted felt a bit like an idiot teenager, his stomach cold with drying semen, holding the hand of a new lover as they walked. He considered taking his shirt out again to wipe up the mess, but didn't really want to have to explain those stains later on. Rol'ei, thankfully, seemed to have a similar idea.

Ted smiled at the creek the Singer had led them too.

"Can you swim?"

"Minnesota-state champion in the breath-stroke and free-style for four years, life guard for two."

Rol'ei shook his head, the English meaning nothing to him. "I have experience," Ted said in Na'vi, more simply.

He took off the bag, felt his skin heat once again as Rol'ei watched him. He smiled to the na'vi, trying to feel more confident now, but that's always easier said than done, and a few moments of intimacy didn't necessarily mean instantly being comfortable naked. He considered simply jumping into the water with his pants on, but Rol'ei eyes flicking between his pants and his eyes stayed him. He sighed, giving up an argument that hadn't even happened. Ted gnawed on his lower lip, undoing button fly, and pealing down his khakis and boxers. He looked up in time to see Rol'ei's adam's apple bob a couple times. He kicked off his boots and the rest with a small smile.

"Do you need help?" Ted asked the still Singer.

Rol'ei shook his head, the beads in his hair clacking loudly. He untied his loincloth quickly and made for the water.

Ted watched him move, feeling like at least this barrier was down, not that there wasn't practically as much skin to see before.

"Why are you smirking?" Rol'ei asked.

Ted chewed on his upper lip, trying to stop the smile.

"You have what the Sky People call a lovely 'bubble butt.'"

Rol'ei repeated the English phrase nearly perfectly. Ted cringed, wishing he hadn't said that. He grumbled.

"You said that before too, that 'O-el.' What does that mean?"

"'Oh hell,'" Ted repeated, slowly, wishing he hadn't mumbled it the second time. "It means... its just a phrase of frustration."

"And the other one, before that?"

Ted sighed, slipping into the water. "I don't know the translation," he said honestly. He scrubbed at his stomach and chest with his fingernails until the slimy feeling drifted off. Rol'ei dipped completely under and swam the length of the creek.

When he came up, his long hair clung to him attractively.

Ted grinned. "You're strokes are sure."

"So are yours."

Ted groaned and let himself fall into the water.

Rol'ei swam up to him quickly. Sure hands lifted him out of the water.

"Are you okay? I didn't-"

"No, I'm fine," Ted said, feeling like his skin might burst into flames. "I just hadn't intended that to be a..." damn. Why hadn't Grace figured out the words for sexual innuendo? Probably because she didn't think they were needed. "Come on, I haven't swam in ages."

Ted pushed off into a breath stroke. His lean body fell into the familiar pattern as though he'd been practicing with the nine-foot-frame all his life. Damn, if only he'd had this body when he was actively competing. He would have won the butterfly by half a mile.

He finally paused at a bend, where the water gathered in a deep pool before tumbling down a small waterfall and traveling on its way. If they wanted to continue in this direction, they'd have to get out and climb down.

Rol'ei's body undulated like a serpentine water creature as he darted past Ted with a splash.

"You kept up!"

Rol'ei laughed, spraying Ted with some water. "The Ikran Clan lives on the ocean my... friend. We all swim. I am surprised the dreamwalkers can swim so well."

"I don't know about the others, but I enjoy it. I should have been doing this every day."

Ted threw back his head to soak his hair through again.

A stillness overtook Rol'ei again, the stillness that told Ted he was heavy in thought. Ted tread water, but otherwise remained still, when Rol'ei reached behind him and gently untied the cord he'd been using to hold back his ponytail. Unlike the others, he'd never gotten around to doing all the little braids and decorating his hair. Sure, he had his queue braided up, but the rest he liked to be able to brush out and tie back in the simple ponytail he preferred as a human.

Rol'ei's fingers drew his wet hair forward, covering his face a moment, before sweeping it back again.

Ted took Rol'ei's hands in his, kissed each palm, then dove away. They played in the water, splashing back and forth until Ted finally gave up and headed back for where they'd first gotten in.

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Since this story is “in process” I figured I'd put up some in process art as well to go along with things. I'll change the link over to the finished piece once it's done.
http://indanthronecomics.deviantart.com/art/Skinny-Dipping-Sketch-190904897

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He sat on the edge of the water, his butt still a couple inches deep. He squeezed the excess water out of his hair as Rol'ei caught up with him.

"Tired?" the Singer asked.

Ted shrugged non-committaly.

Ted wished the Singer would swim up between his legs... he had enough space in this spot, if they were careful, he could show Rol'ei some more fun two men could do with each other. Water wasn't viscus enough to be a good lube, but oh nelly did Ted want to try tasting every inch of the Singer's skin.

Instead, the Na'vi pulled up beside him. He let his braids hang loose, miniature rivers poring down each individual one. While Ted's hands worked down his queue, Rol'ei's fingers tucked a bit of hair behind an ear.

"Why haven't you braided it?" He asked, his voice very quiet.

Ted shrugged. "I like it smooth."

Rol'ei shook his head, the beads once again clacking. He knelt in the water beside Ted, scooting up close enough he could feel the other's warmth. His fingers worked quickly and nimbly, gathering up the wispy bits along the left side of his face that grew a little less evenly than the rest in a tight braid. The way he kept tucking in more and more, it felt like a French braid of sorts, but he only added gathered hair on one side. Rol'ei curled it around behind the ear on that side, his fingers pausing momentarily to pull out a coiled bit of something from his own braids, before positioning it around the mastoid process area... if he was in his human body.

"What's that?" Ted asked.

"Its just a bit of coral, I tied it in to hold the braid still." His hand smoothed the hair back. "I left the rest of it loose, so you can tie it the way you like." With that, he actually started finger-brushing Ted's hair back. It felt so good to have someone else's fingers working back there... it sent surprising little shivers down his spine. He shuddered and sighed when Rol'ei eventually stopped after tying it all down.

Rol'ei's lips on his made him blink in surprise. The touch was chaste and quick, a moment there, the next gone. Then he was up, out of the water, and putting his loincloth back on.

Ted blinked up at him. Was that... was that the first time he initiated?

"Come, or the dinner meal will be cold when we get there."

Rol'ei huffed dramatically when Ted laughingly complained he'd still need to put clothing back on. The Singer gave him precisely enough time to put on boxers and pants before he picked up the boots in frustration and started back into the forest.

Ted grabbed his bag and chased after him, suddenly wondering if the Singer were purposefully methodically stripping him of all clothing. The thought amused him the long silent way back to the temporary dwellings of the Omaticaya.

* * *

"Ah, the Great Singer returns! And he brings the Little Singer with him."

Ted wondered at the change in the older woman. And why she smacked his shoulder fondly. So different from last night's suspicious glances.

"Wait, 'Little Singer'?"

Rol'ei grinned. "You have a new name among the people, it seems."

"Might as well call me 'Great Singer's Shadow' for all it sounds like," Ted grumbled.

"Quiet, or they might very tell give you the title." Ted glared sideways at the Singer, once again jovial and boisterous among those who appreciated his humor. Before they to too far into conversations, Ted dragged him away just long enough to pull off his still damp bandaging and replace it for fresh gauze from one of the medics.

It seemed tonight would be more ceremony, more celebration. Ted didn't quite catch what the occasion was for but a few haunting notes playing on the wind made him think that the flute he'd found might very well be in use.

This time when the wine skin got passed to him, he sipped carefully, letting Rol'ei take the lead. Ted ate from platters passed around. Once the Singer's belly was satisfied, he motioned the "Little Singer" to follow him. Ted sighed and did as he was bid, happy to be a quiet shadow behind the Singer's friendly camaraderie.

"Come. You must meet Ratche. She is a great beast! Fierce. I have many a song of the battles she has won. None will best her! In fact, she has taken the heads of..."

Ted felt his eyebrows raise at the sight of a huge ikran, flipped over on her back, batting at what looked like a dead animal. A herd of small children ran screaming around her.

"Ratche!"

A happy trill and the "great, fierce beast" was on Rol'ei, chittering and purring over her master. The kids pouted and whined that their play-thing had been usurped.

"Hmm, it looks like you sing the praises of a terrifying beast indeed," Ted said. He tried, and failed, to keep from laughing.

"Alright! Enough!" Rol'ei laughed himself. "You've made fool of me enough. Come, Ted, give me your hand."

Ted felt a bit ridiculous, holding his hand out to be introduced to the ikran like a dog or a horse. Do they even get smells like that? He eyed the chest vents as they dilated and contracted eagerly. Perhaps...

The adults in the area looked stricken, but the children seemed intend on climbing on her back.

Ratche snuffled at his hand, before she pushed past their joined hands with her spade-shaped head so she could smell his chest. Guess a gentle scrubbing didn't do much to get that smell off. The chittering started up again, her double eyes and sharp, sharp teeth millimeters from his face.

A wing knocked him over as she flipped around, grabbing the dead thing again and offering it to him. Rol'ei laughed.

"She must have stolen that, bad beast." He pulled at the thing. The more Ted could see it was just the skin from an animal. Ted marveled. He might as well have been looking at a human playing tug with a Great Dane.... well, a Great Dane the size of an elephant.

“What does Ratche mean?” Ted asked as they played. “I've not heard the term before.”

Rol'ei laughed. “What does Ted mean? Sometimes a name is simply a sound, Little Singer. She made the sound that was her name, and I use it too.” He laughed again as she nearly pulled him over. “Some ikran see themselves as 'Cloud hunters' or 'The Greatest Fisher,' but my ikran is the greatest.”

She made some noise, as if agreeing with him, though Ted was fairly certain that the ikran couldn't understand spoken word. Okay, probably not one hundred percent certain, but certainly seventy-five.

Flits of conversation from before came to mind... how Rol'ei would connect, do that halo thing, with Ratche... how he'd wanted to connect with the Tree of Spirits while Ted did the same so they could experience each other... Was Rol'ei trying to say he wanted to do that with him? Ted's only experience with it had been just before the ceremony and just that gentle touch had been near overwhelming. So many voices all at once.

Rol'ei met his eyes over Ratche's impressive head. Ted felt like his whole soul lay in waiting to be opened by those wide yellow eyes.

"Ratche is lonely," the Singer said, after his beast bounded back to play with the children.

"She doesn't look it."

Rol'ei smiled a little, shaking his head. "The others avoid her strangeness. She is big. She is friendly. The others wouldn't let children climb on them. She loves it. In my clan, often...."

"...Often?"

"When two of the ikran people mate, they mate for life. It is so with the ikran themselves. Often, when two of the people mate, their ikran will choose one another. The close feeling between the people can overwhelm the ikran's good senses."

"And if the hunter, say, chooses a mate without an ikran?"

"Then she could remain alone her whole life."

Is he saying he can't stay with me? That this is just a fling? Do Na'vi have flings? Ratche returned with her skin and offered it to her master. Rol'ei tugged halfheartedly. She snorted at him and turned to Ted. He pasted on a smile to hide his nervousness at playing "tug" against such a powerful set of jaws, but soon he found himself laughing and getting swung around like the children she'd been entertaining before.

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Again, a piece that's a work in progress.
http://indanthronecomics.deviantart.com/art/Tug-o-War-WIP-192243065

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Other ikran, the smaller, comparatively duller colored ones he recognized as Omaticaya Clan beasts, kept far away on the rocky ledges, occasionally snapping at a passing wing, tail, or a flap of the skin. Ted swore Ratche had a mischievous gleam in her eye; she occasionally pulled the skin completely from his grasp and flung it away, usually landing it smack on the back of one of the watching banshees. The resulting flurries of wings and snapping jaws as they resettled as far away from it as possible gave her the space to retrieve it and bring it back to play once again.

"There might be a reason she has no friends here," Ted said, laughing.

"This is a new game," Rol'ei said, his eyes dark.

Ted passed the end of the skin to the waiting hands of one of the kids, an older teenager this time, probably soon to get her own ikran. He watched the storm in Rol'ei's eyes as he watched his mount.

"Is it such a concern then, her being this friendly?"

"None in my clan are like her. They tolerate it better, and the ikran younglings will play with her-"

"Are you sure its not the other way around?"

The Singer sighed and whistled her closer. She stopped immediately, her body humming with readiness even Ted could sense. Rol'ei passed his hands over her neck, connecting his queue to her... tendril. Thing. Damn, he'd have to look up the words for everything once he got back to the computers. Ask him to name the twelve electric conducting pores within the smallest spore on this planet and he could rattle them off in reverse alphabetical order. In Na'vi. The animal stuff? Not as much.

Ted watched as the ikran's body language shut down, wings fluttering a little bit. Finally, the two disconnected. With a last pat, she bounded up to an apparently comfy spot on the rock and promptly fell asleep.

"Wow."

"Just a lullaby. She needs time to heal. Come, I need more to drink."

The rest of the evening, Ted found himself in the company of a positively morose Singer. A steadily drunker, morose Singer. The celebrating folks around seemed to take no notice.

For once, Ted felt obligated to fill some of the lapses in conversation. Childhood stories seemed the easiest to relate to; at least, those the Omaticaya found most humerus. Especially ones were Ted found himself in insanely stupid peril thanks to his own idiocy or clumsiness.

After one particularly painful tale, how he'd dislocated his knee halfway through a competition swim in open water by swimming into the rescue boat and toppling all those aboard, Rol'ei raised a hand.

"Enough. You've a lot to learn of the arts of telling a tale. That one was so ridiculous I could barely believe it."

"Well, ridiculous or not, it happened."

"Singer, tell us a tale of love," said the young woman who'd been playing with Ratche earlier. With a start, Ted suddenly remembered her from earlier. She'd had her arms around Rol'ei. He swallowed down a pang of jealousy.

The Singer shook his head, his eyes darkly turning on Ted. "No story I have in my heart to tell would be what you want this night. How about you, Little Singer. Can you think of a story of love to fill this one's ears? Perhaps the story of when you first learned of love."

Ted bit his lip, the first "love story" that came to mind of course Romeo and Juliet. Considering all of the sadness of late, the telling would be more torture than the listening, he was sure. Ah! No, he knew just the one. Even better, and easier to remember a shorter version.

"Actually, yes, Great Singer, I can think of a great tale. Everyone gather close, get more drink, this will take a while." Suddenly, a great swarm of children and elderly appeared, squatting expectantly for a Great Story from the Little Singer. Oh boy. No pressure. He took a deep breath. He didn't know all the words in Na'vi, and if he were only telling the story to the kids he bet they'd be able to understand him just fine in English, but he could work through it for the adults.

"A long time ago," In a galaxy far away... ha. "There was a great king, King Richard, a Olo'eyktan of the people. He was wise, and very mighty, but he had a soft place in his heart for his people, his family. If his people were in danger, he would seek it out whatever it was and slay it. All was peaceful in his kingdom because of his strength and fairness. One day, a messenger from the east came, telling him of a war clan readying for battle. He did not know if he could trust these rumors, so he left his crown, the symbol of his right to rule, with his brother, Prince John.

"Now Prince John was power hungry. He was glad that the Olo'ektan left, certainly to face his death at the point of his enemy's spear." A couple children clutched at the those around them. "Do not worry," Ted stage whispered. "King Richard is too mighty to be taken down by a hundred brave clans, let alone a single one.

"So, King Richard left with a handful of his best warriors, leaving Prince John to watch after the realm, and one beautiful maiden, a young woman named Maid Marian." Ted struggled to remember why Marian had been left... why was she with the King? A "ward," he remembered that part.

"Did King Richard love her?" "Why did he leave her?" "Was she not a mighty hunter too? Could she not ride her ikran to join him?" Older hands shushed impatient voices. Ted tried to not notice the crowd had grown.

"She was... as a daughter to King Richard. Almost a woman." Had she stolen a horse? Arg Getting off track. "King Richard chased after this wicked clan, going so far and so fast that his people heard nothing of him for years. Prince John placed his brother's crown upon his head and declared that he would be the Olo'ektan!" Ted stood up, thrusting his hand in the air, then suddenly feeling foolish for miming it at all. "But he was a bad king. He was wicked to the people." How to explain taxes and tithes? Bah, might as well simplify. Hard enough concepts to those who live with them. "Where the people gave his brother wondrous gifts, the best of the pa'li to be his mounts, the most beautiful stones to wear, the finest cuts of meat for his table, Prince John was given none of these. He sneered at the people, wanting what, he felt, was rightly his. First he took only a meal or two, then the hunter's favorite weapons, then he declared all that he could see was his.

"The people suffered under his cruelty. The children grew hungry. Any who tried to fight back were punished by Prince John's loyal hunters, a small group of strong, nasty warriors led by the Sheriff of Nottingham." The children booed. Ted grinned. "All wanted to fight, to bring back the peace and love that all had had when King Richard protected the land, but none would risk their loved ones to the anger of Nottingham."

"This doesn't sound like much of a love story," Rol'ei grumbled. His eyes glittered with interest, even though he had his arms crossed in front of him. Ted made a swishing gesture with his hands to dismiss him.

"It looked like there would never be hope again in the forest, when, one day, Nottingham and his men were set upon by a ratty bunch of young warriors." Some young men in the dark whooped. Ted laughed. Suddenly, space was made before the fire. The young warriors had painted their bodies in mud. Ted took up an old skin and held it over him to make his body look wide and massive. He stalked around the fire, the young hunters sneaking behind him. "Nottingham had under his cloak a feast he'd stolen only moment's before-" a package was shoved into his hands. It smelled delicious. He hid it, looking furtively about him. "He was a great, angry, ugly old beast-"

"We'd best have Rol'ei play the part then!"

Ted blushed at the shout, continuing as though he hadn't heard it. "And just when he and his men thought he would get away yet another night with a fine meal meant for all to share, the band pounced on him!"

He laughed as the group played their parts. He fought them halfheartedly, tickling where the man he mirrored would have stabbed them through. "Do we get to take back the food?" one whispered. "Yes."

"I have it!" He shouted, they all whooped in triumph, about to disappear once more into the crowd.

"Ah, but this hero has a greater purpose than his own empty belly. A small child appeared," one of the little ones obliged, tugging on the elder kid's tail. "His eyes BIG with hunger, for he and his nine siblings have not eaten in a week!"

"Nine? What a busy mother!" The young warriors laugh, gladly handing over their prize before settling down again.

"This hungry little child soon spread the word-" He found the child in his lap. He laughed and whispered "There is a great hero in the forest! He will save us from Prince John!"

"He spread this good news! Go on, go on." In a voice bigger than Ted'd expected, she shouted out word for word what he'd told her to. "Perfect my dear. Now, who would this great new hero be?"

"Was it King Richard?" "Was it Torukmakto?"

"No, it was an unknown outlaw... a man who lived apart from any clan... named Robin Hood. At first, he sought merely to steal a meal for him and his band, his Merry Men, but when he saw how King Richard's people suffered, he remained.

"He was not great, not a big strong warrior with strong men at his side or a wild ikran to ride, so he had to use his strong mind instead. Not only did he begin to steal back as much as the food as he could under cover of darkness, but he started laying traps to make Prince John and Nottingham look foolish. He would... untie the saddles from the pa'li, so the warriors would fall when they rode out on the hunt. They covered the inside of their armor with paint so that when the warriors returned they were streaked black and orange. They even captured small animals of the forest and hid them in Prince John's belongings so they made great, stinking messes.

"Prince John promised Nottingham any one thing he owned to make Robin Hood go away. Nottingham turned his fiendish eye upon the beautiful Maid Marian. She sobbed to think that she would be mated to such an ugly old monster." Ted's attempts to be Nottingham this time, with his pathetic eyebrow wiggles to make him look enticing, only served to get everyone laughing.

"'You will join with him!' Prince John said, 'The moment Nottingham brings that young warrior's head to me on a platter!'" That quieted everyone down... maybe with too gruesome a mental image. "Marian fled the castle... tree. Hometree. Not only would she not join with him, but she needed to warn Robin Hood that the hunters planned to kill all of them."

Ted cast a glance Rol'ei's way. Maybe Romeo and Juliet would have been better after all. One of the listeners passed him a skin, which he thankfully drank from.

"She traveled deep into the forest. She'd left even her..." He turned to Rol'ei again, gesturing a knife and getting the word quickly. "She'd left her knife and had no way to protect herself. It was dark, she was frightened. The snap of a twig in the forest sent her running as fast as she could."

Many of the older folks snickered at this, obviously seeing the stupidity in running. Ted shrugged his apology, trying to rewrite as he went took more creativity than he had resources. "All of a sudden, she found herself in the middle of a herd of sturmbeests, their angry bellows pushing her feet faster. She had no doubt that she would walk with Eywa that night.

"But, just as her strength could carry her no farther, Robin Hood appeared. He ran right into the middle of the herd, careless of his own safety, and used his bow to shoot an arrow straight..." he waved vaguely, realizing he had no idea where one shoots those rhinos on steroids. "He shot but one arrow, and the leader of the herd fell before Maid Marian's feet."

One of the boys made a rude noise. "That's impossible."

"No, it's possible, if one were very good."

"Robin Hood was very good. He had the keenest eye, the keenest nose, of any who ever had, or ever would live. He pulled back another arrow and shot another sturmbeest down before it could run into Maid Marian's back. With a whoop, he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her to the safety of the wood, letting the living beasts pass unharmed, unwilling to kill any more needlessly. Even if it was to protect the most beautiful women his eyes had ever seen.

"It was then that Maid Marian, chest hurting and held tight against a tree, knew she would do anything to protect this amazing warrior. She could see his destiny twinned with hers like..." Ted felt his fingers touching the braid that Rol'ei had fixed earlier. Others around him noticed and smiled knowingly. He blushed. "She knew they were for one another, that she could never live another day without seeing him, or sleep another night without dreaming of him, even if Robin Hood didn't know it yet. They worked quickly, butchering the animals and bringing the meat to the starving people.

"Just as the light of a new day dawned, she remembered the warning. 'Robin, you must be careful! Prince John and Nottingham are going to trap you, you must remain safe and hidden.' With that she kissed him before running back into Hometree, freeing back into the arms of the enemy so they would not suspect that Robin Hood knew of their plans."

Before Ted raised his voice in the next verse, Mo'at had pushed herself to the front of the crowd. She eyed all gathered. Ted suddenly felt very small and very vulnerable. The weight of all those eyes on him, peering out of the darkness, didn't help.

"Do you know this story, Great Singer? Is this something you have taught to your Little Singer?"

"No, it is new even to me."

"Hmph." She settled down to a honored place in front of Ted, the best view. "Please, continue. I could not hear back there."

Any attempt at remembering, and adapting Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow were completely lost now. He stammered through perhaps a paragraph more before Rol'ei's heavy hand on his shoulder ended the embarrassment.

"It looks like my Little Singer has once again drunk more than his share." The knowing laughter made Ted blush. Was he really that bad last night? "And it is quite late for the younglings. Let us continue the story tomorrow."

The groans of annoyance were well natured. Ted gratefully accepted the thanks and praise for the story, so far. He wasn't sure an additional day to practice would make his next performance better or worse, but he was grateful for the pause.

Rol'ei steered him away from the group, who had split off between those who wanted to sleep and those who wished to stay up, repeating more bawdy stories that Ted couldn't quite believe were coming out of na'vi lips.

"You do have a gift," Rol'ei said, offering him a skin. Ted took it, grateful it was only water to wet his lips. He drank greedily. "Your voice was getting rough."

"I don't do that often. Ever."

"Perhaps I'm rubbing off."

Ted looked at him side-long, wondering at the English turn of phrase coming from him. "I heard it from one of the other dreamwalkers."

"You learn very fast."

"I memorize fast," Rol'ei corrected. "Sometimes I only hear a story once before I must repeat it. You hadn't heard that story once."

Ted smiled and wiped his mouth. "No. I grew up with stories of Robin Hood. That one ends with Prince John holding an archery contest. Robin disguises himself as one of their clan and wins it, only to send a message later that he'd defeated all their best hunters, got into their home and out again safely without anyone being the wiser, just to humiliate them."

"And Maid Marian?"

"Their love blooms over many stories."

"Then why not tell of the fruition of their love, of deciding to mate and becoming one." Ted glowed form the heat radiating off of Rol'ei's body.

"I wanted to tell of first love, of first meetings. Of how, sometimes, just in that first instant of knowing one another the soul can become wrenched in such a way that it would never be the same again without its other half." So much easier to say such frivolous stuff when talking about a fictional character.

"This story feels closer to your heart than the earlier one."

"The one with the knee? Yeah. I'll admit, that one I did lie. I actually sunk the boat that was supposed to be rescuing any bad swimmers."

Rol'ei caught his hands together, held them tight between them. "Shh."

Ted sighed. After this afternoon, he wanted to do, to say more, but felt completely out of his element with the na'vi.

Hell, he was lying to himself. He felt out of his element with every boyfriend he'd had. Just for different reasons. None of them had lasted. There was a reason he'd signed up for this "science cruise from hell."

And maybe, that reason stood before him.

Ted cupped Rol'ei's shoulder with his hand. Rol'ei looked up into his eyes. Again, they wavered with uncertainty.

"It's getting late. I should-"

"Sleep here. My pallet is unused... and wider than yours."

Ted nodded his thanks. His stomach knotted as Rol'ei led him off into the dark. Would he? Would he want to try any more?

But no. Rol'ei did not even try to hold hands as they went off to the pallet he'd made. Ratche had settled herself beside it at some point in the night, giving up her roosting spot above to sleep on the ground. A strange ikran indeed. She greeted them, nuzzling them both, before going back to sleep.

"She likes you," Rol'ei said quietly.

"She likes everyone," Ted replied.

He stretched out on the layer of leaves and leather that'd been made to cushion the Great Singer's spot. Rol'ei sat next to him.

Ted bit his lower lip a moment before blurting. "I haven't really explained my sleeping completely to you...and you were really hung over this morning. When this body sleeps, I am in my other one, the body of the Sky People. I can't hear you, so, if you tried to wake me up in the middle of the night to... talk, or anything, I wouldn't be able to until I returned."

Rol'ei nodded. "I thought as much."

"So... if there is anything you want to talk about..."

Rol'ei shook his head. Without another word, he lied down nest to him, curled up on his side, back to Ted. Far enough away that not an inch of skin touched.

Ted sighed and wrapped an arm around the Singer's mid-drift. He pulled him back gently, until they touched chest to knee. He tucked the "bitch arm" under Rol'ei's neck.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered in English. The Na'vi didn't respond. He slowed his breathing, but remained in this body, just enjoying the feel of Rol'ei's form against his, until he couldn't fight unconsciousness any longer.