"All I ever wanted was a single thing worth fighting for."
"You don't choose your Avatar... your Avatar chooses you."
"Just relax and let your mind go blank"
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They were on the third level of the home tree, just sitting on the large branch. It was silent. "So...I thought you were better." Jake started. Nyami sighed.
Being a private in the marines or being anyone where your everyday life is on the battlefield, takes a toll on one's mind. Sometimes, if Nyami was feeling angry or scared at a high intensity, she'd revert back to how she acted in battle. Nyami was one of the worst humans on plain Earth. She could only imagine how horrible she was on Pandora. She was an excellent soldier. She just could never get back to normal life. Just like Jake had PTSD, Nyami had damn near another personality.
"I thought I was too. I just got angry. Unreasonably angry. I wanted to kill him. Tsu'tey is not even that bad. He probably thought I was trying to skip training. I wasn't, I just happened to get carried away with my new friend. Well, she's probably not my friend anymore." Nyami shrugged. Jake wrapped an arm around her. "You don't need her when you have the bestest friend in the world." Jake joked. "Do I? I don't remember meeting one." Nyami teased. They laughed. "I should probably talk to Tsu'tey." Her ear flickered as she heard footsteps approaching them. She pushed Jake off and stood while turning to the person. Conveniently enough, it was Tsu'tey. "Bye Jakey." She ruffled his hair while walking to Tsu'tey.
It was a silent walk. They walked outside of the home tree and to a clearing, full of direhorses. He motions Nyami to stay where she is as he approaches his own direhorse. Nyami watches Tsu'tey cantering toward her on a Direhorse. He leads a second horse, an old sway-backed mare. Nyami nervously grips the surcingle of the mare. Tsu'tey holds its nose-ring while Nyami carefully mounts it. Nyami bends one of its antennae down to the tip of her queue. She hesitantly touches them together and the tendrils interweave. Her pupils dilate and her mouth drops open. The horse's eyes also go wide and it honks nervously. Tsu'tey touches her fingertips to the neural interface. "This is shahaylu, the bond. Feel her heartbeat, her breath. Feel her strong legs." Tsu'tey explained.
Nyami closes her eyes, nodding. One with the horse. She gently complimented the direhorse in her mind. You're a beauty, aren't you? The direhorse huffed. Nyami smiled. You're my first bond. My first direhorse. Take it easy on me okay? I'll make you a flower crown. Nyami opened her eyes and stroked the direhorse. I'll name you Omleki. Take one step please Omleki. The direhorse, now named Omleki, listened to her command. Nyami commanded another step, a couple more, eventually leading into a small trot. She sped up, galloping in circles on Omleki. She laughed and stood up with her feet still on the reins. Her hair whipped in the wind. She slowed Omleki back to Tsu'tey. Tsu'tey looked at her with some type of approval. Nyami undid the bond by getting off Omleki. She faced the direhorse and stroked her neck. "Good girl." Nyami complimented. Omleki honked at her in appreciation. "Well done." Tsu'tey said. "I thought it'd go worse than that." Nyami only caught a couple words. Tsu'tey obviously felt more comfortable speaking in his language. She'd have to learn more. "Why didn't you ask about what happened Tsu'tey?" She looked at him, dead in the eye. It turned into a staring contest. Tsu'tey sighed and blinked first and turned away. "There is time, where hunters are no more here." Tsu'tey pointed to his head. "They see things that not there. They hear things we can't. You said you are warrior, one thing same between our people is the losing of the mind from battle." Nyami nodded. Mental illness isn't subjective to one species. Even Na'vi can experience it.
