Tsawke|Tsu'tey/Oc

13-Hapxì te Na'vi

The people say "every person is born twice", and the second time, you earn your place among the people.

Jake and I rose from the cave below Hometree to be greeted by the faces of the clan. Grace gave us shocked looks. She thought we had died. Rìni and Tsu'tey helped guide me to the totem of Toruk. Eytukan was there to meet us.

Eytukan looked us both in the eyes and focused on Jake.

"Ma Jakesully, ma Kohane, ngenga 'itan, 'ite Omatikayaä luyu set. Na'viyä luyu hapxì."(Jaksully, Kohane, you are now a son and daughter of the Omatikaya. You are part of the people.) He placed one hand on my shoulder and the other on Jake's. Neytiri touched Jake, Tsu'tey touched me, and mo'at touched us both with a proud smile on her face. It was like the world was singing, the morning was beautiful.
——————
Night fell quickly and I had been with Ra'u. He was teaching me how to make a more ornate and sturdy bow which would be mine until it broke or something. As I was going to turn in for the night, Tangek made an appearance in my vision. He was being overly confident in his strides and attitude. And he was heading my way.

"Kxohane, I need to be the first to ask you." He looked down at me, "men in the clan have been wanting to ask you the same, but I need to ask you first." He wasn't unsure of himself or joking in any particular way. Not his usual self.

"Will you be my mate?" It was a sudden question, far too sudden.

"This is all so sudden, Tangek, I can't."

"Why not? We are already in the same tribe, and it was one of your first questions for me, if I had a mate. You must feel something towards me like I do for you?" He had this puppy look that was soft but eager and nearly desperate.

"I'm sorry Tangek, I can't be that for you. I am not ready to be someone's mate. I feel something for you, but it's not romantic. I'm sorry." Fuck, I apologized twice.

He nodded in an understanding way, he gave a small smile. That desperate puppy look was gone and he looked like his normal self. I felt icky and weird, not that he did anything wrong, it just felt wrong that he'd ask me and now he's back to his normal self.

Regardless, I went to bed for the night and when I woke up I tried to get up, but I hid my head on the pod.

"Again?" Grace asked while opening my pod.

"Yeah... hey, something weird happened, can we talk about it?" I sat up on the link bed. Grace gave me a confused look and pulled a rolling stool over to sit parallel to me.

"Of course kid, I'm here for you. What's bothering you?" She thought maybe it was something in my head but it's what just happened.

"Tangek asked me to be his mate in a weird way, and then he flipped like a switch."

"Wait, how did you reply?"

"Well, I told him I didn't feel the same way."

Grace paused to think.

"I don't know kid. Maybe he's still off since his mom passed."

I flinched, Hahaw's passing was still a big deal for me.

"Maybe..."
———————
That morning, there was a commotion in Hometree. Tangek had started a fight with Tsu'tey over something. They hissed like animals at eachother as I made my way through the crowd.

"You will leave her alone!" Tangek hissed. Tsu'tey scrunched his nose in a deep snarl. I shouldn't want to watch this, they're fighting for Eywa's sake. But as I watch them size each other up, that human part of me finds this... oddly... attractive. But beyond that, I don't know what they're fighting about.