Intangible

7: Pa'liyä Maktoyu

I held onto my new friend and asked him to do what he thought best. He began walking over to the flowers nearby to eat. 

"Hungry?"

"Sorry."  He apologized and began walking around and running just being generally playfull. 

"Now let's try running around that mean guy." 

He began circling Tsu'tey and increasing speed until we were running. 

"Stop." I said outloud. He stopped a little too fast but I held on.

"Not bad but you must always do better. It is the way." He motioned for me to follow him, "Come, I have yet to teach my students the same." I felt accomplished. I followed behind him on my new friend and watched him teach the same thing to Saeyla and Ka'ani

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They mounted their Pa'li and we rode around hometree. Jake came into view and we stopped when he fell off his pa'li.

"You should go away." Tsu'tey barked.

"Nah. You'd miss me." Jake began wiping the mud off of himself, "I knew you could speak English."

Tsu'tey scooffed, "Fìketuwongìl ke nayume ke'ut. Nì'ul kame tskxe. Poru tìng nari.[This alien will learn nothing. A rock sees more, look at him.]" He motioned toward Jake who was still cleaning off the mud.

"That's an insult to a rock." I chuckled. He didn't indulge in the laughter but Ka'ani did. 

"Ka.[go]" Neytiri ordered with a smile. She spooked the pa'li with a tap and we were on our way.

We returned to hometree and my new friend decided to stick close. Tsu'tey turned to find my friend trying to hide behind me to stay close.

"All of his Pa'li friends will laugh at him for staying with a foolish alien." He scoffed.

"Well, I think it's nice to have different friends sometimes." I patted my friend's head, "You can stay, I'll make you a saddle and everything." He seemed happy to hear that.

"Just stay close to hometree and I will make sure to know it's you."  He went off to go feed and eventually sleep and I watched Tsu'tey stare at me curiously, "What is it?"

"I have not seen a Pa'li bonded to their rider like that since my own Pa'li. It is strange he'd choose an alien." He walked off with a confused look on his face. I saw Saeyla give me a look of jealousy and rage. Ka'ani didn't say anything but sheepishly followed behind.

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I unlinked and found Jake getting pulled away again. I saw Max follow him and I assumed nothing of it. But now it looks like we're moving to site twenty-six. 

I packed things earlier and said goodbye to James. He's a good friend and I know we'll keep in touch, but we've been friends for two years now. It's not going to feel the same without him over my shoulder while I record my logs. I forgot to say that I found that the oversized ring I had brought with me, fit on my avatar's middle finger, so I decided if this body can't wear it, my other body will. 

"So where are we going?" Jake blurted out. Max was staring at him while walking away.

"Getting out of Dodge. I'm not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micromanage this thing." Grace picked up a thing and packed it away, "There's a mobile link up at Site 26 we can work out of, way up in the mountains." She emphasized the amount of distance.

"The hallelujah mountains?" Norm asked.

"That's right."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Yes!" He got excited. Jake looked confused.

"The legendary floating mountains of Pandora. Heard of them?" He made fun of Jake's lack of knowledge of Pandora.

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We got into Trudy's helicopter and began our journey to Site twenty-six. 

It was like something out of a fairy tale. I had lived here for two years and never seen any of this?

The green topped blobs of rock and vines drifted where the wind pushed them until the vines and roots stopped it from going further. They were every where.

"We're getting close." Grace told Jake.

"Yeah, look at my instruments." Trudy grinned.

"Yep. We're in the flux vortex." Grace concluded.

"We're VFR from here on out." Trudy warned.

"What's VFR?" Norm asked Trudy. It took her a second to rationalize an answer.

"Means you gotta see where you're going." 

"But I can't see anything." Norm peered out into the misty expanse.

"Exactly. Ain't that a bitch." Trudy snickered. 

I leaned forward as the clouds cleared to get a better look. And my eyes were graced by the heavenly glow of the sun being eclipsed by the floating mountains. Some had some water falls which build up daily from the clouds pouring in. And others where attached to bigger mountains by a thread. It's gorgeous. 

We came to land on the edge of one of the mountains. Grace and I went in ahead and I claimed a top bunk immediately. 

"This is mine!" I plopped down on it. Norm chuckled and chose the bunk in the corner. Grace got top bunk on Norms and Jake was put under mine. Trudy got her own cot. Luxurious. The unfamiliar scent of the company detergent stung my nose, I rolled around on the bed until the smell slowly faded into familiarity. 

"Much better." 

"Eyo, You get the link bed at the far end closest to the emergency exit okay?" Grace called from the link room.

"Okay!" I said enthusiastically. 

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"Come, today I will show you something and then we will resume lessons." Tsu'tey headed up the spiral and I followed. It was a long and excrutiating climb to the Ikran[banshee] rookery. 

He made a call to his Ikran which it responded to immediately. 

"Good boy Fayna'rì." He fed his Ikran. His ikran had tan and blue markings, some looked gold. The most striking was his eye-

"Do not look in his eyes." Tsu'tey warned, "He will think it is a challenge. An Ikran is not a Pa'li. They bond for life. One hunter in their whole life. When you are ready, you must go to Iknimaya[stairway to heaven, a coming of age ceremony for warriors] and bond with an Ikran."

"When?" He made Tsaheylu with Fayna'rì.

"When I decide you are ready, Ean." He cawed and took off. I watched in awe as he weaved around the vines and branches, swooping up to twist around and fly over me. A wide grin was on his face. It's been so long since I last saw him smile. I haven't been called Ean since the school closed. He does remember.