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10

After being accepted back into the Omatikaya, Aponi was tasked with being trained by Tsu'tey yet again. They worked in training sessions between Tsu'tey training younger children and Aponi being joined at the hip with both Neytiri and Jake. 

Not that she was complaining, obviously. Tsu'tey soon realized that she was far better from the weak student she had once been all those years ago, and after no time she was on par with Jake's progress. 

He was watching her from the trees as she tracked a small animal, her footsteps silent as she came upon the animal. He watched her pull her bow string back and let go, hitting the animal directly in one of its breathing holes. It was dead by the time Aponi reached it, but she still whispered the prayer that allowed its spirit to pass to Eywa and wrenched her arrow out of its body.

Tsu'tey dropped next to her as she picked the animal up, watching as the woman turned to him. "You are ready." He spoke quietly, a small grin on his face as he spoke. The pride swelling in his chest wasn't unfamiliar to him, and he watched Aponi's face light up in happiness before she began to yip, running back towards Home Tree. 

It seemed a delightful coincidence that Jake, too, was ready to complete his Iknimaya. The two spoke about their kills with excitement as they took the animals they had hunted to the designated cooking area, Neytiri and Tsu'tey trailing behind them with fond expressions.

The next day was their Iknimaya. The two were not the only ones to be going on this journey, as two younger warriors were trailing behind them with hesitant expressions. Jake and Aponi were in their own little worlds, talking to each other the entire way up the Hallelujah Mountains despite Tsu'tey hushing them countless times. 

Aponi paused as she watched her teacher jump onto a vine, swinging through the air as though they were not thousands of feet from the ground. She gulped, watching the two other warriors follow after him. "Fuck me," She groaned, shifting slightly before running and jumping onto her own vine. Jake was right behind her, and soon the two were caught up next to Tsu'tey.

Aponi breathed out a gasp of amazement at seeing the Ikran nest, admiring the beauty that was the mountain. She would never get over the scenery, no matter how many times she sees it. Her ears moved around as she heard the cry of an Ikran, followed by Neytiri's own call as they both settled on the edge of the mountain. Aponi stood next to Jake as they watched her get off, the former nodding her head at Neytiri with a small smile and Jake returning her greeting with a smirk on his face. 

Tsu'tey stared at them both before shaking his head, motioning Jake forward. "Jake Sully will go first." He spoke into the air, ignoring Aponi's hiss of annoyance. Jake simply smiled at him, handing Aponi his bow before grasping the rope-like object that Neytiri had given him for this moment. The woman watched with bated breath as Neytiri took him to the side of the mountain, whispering something to him before letting Jake walk towards the Ikran.

Aponi moved lithely near Neytiri, watching Jake find his Ikran faster than she thought he would. Her tail lashed around in excitement as she heard him hiss at the animal, pacing around the other woman with a restless purr starting in her throat. 

Then, Jake attacked. 

It was like watching a fist fight; her hair stood on end as she yipped and hollered at Jake as he fought against the Ikran, crouching down next to Neytiri with a bright grin. "Tsaheylu, Jake. Tsaheylu!" She heard Neytiri call out, and jumped to stand up as the Ikran slammed its head back into Jake's face. She ran to the edge of the cliff as Jake tumbled off, not being able to get words out as she watched him struggle to climb back up the mountain.

After a few more painstaking minutes of him fighting the Ikran, they bonded, and Aponi let out a breath of relief she didn't realize she was holding. Her ears perked up as she heard Jake chuckle, "That's right," He panted, eyes dilated as he came back down from the overwhelming feeling of the bond. "You're mine." He finished, pulling the rope off of the Ikran's mouth.

Aponi wasn't going to admit that was hot, but damn. 

Neytiri quickly followed after Jake and guided him to begin flying with the animal. Aponi watched him struggle for a few moments and let out a loud cackle at seeing him and the animal slam into the wall of rocks, leaning into Neytiri as the woman smacked her stomach. After he struggled for a little, they leveled out, and then he was back on the mountain to watch Aponi find her Ikran next.

The woman dropped her bow to the ground and stepped into the main part of the nest, hissing at any Ikran that got too close to her and jumping at the animals before watching them dive down the side of the mountain. She did this for a few minutes before turning and seeing a cave in the wall of the mountain, tilting her heads as she saw a pair of electric yellow eyes staring back at her. 

With the grace of a cat the Ikran stepped out, roaring at Aponi who hissed back at it. They circled around each other as Tsu'tey yipped at her, and then suddenly the animal was lunging for her. She dived under its wings, rolling away before quickly getting up and jumping onto it. They wrestled around for a few moments, the process being a bit harder than usual because she didn't secure its mouth shut.

Neytiri and Jake watched with bated breath as Aponi let out a groan in pain, seeing the Ikran latch down on her arm. Tsu'tey yelled at Aponi to move, and she did, using her thigh muscles to clasp the Ikran's head between her thighs and bonding the two together with a yell. She shuddered, tail curling around her own arm before the animal stood up with a huff, and then Tsu'tey shoved the two off the mountain. 

Aponi let out a scream in exhilaration at the feeling of being weightless, repositioning her feet on her Ikran and ordering the animal to level out, coming back up the side of the mountain with a loud laugh and a screech from her Ikran. Neytiri yipped at her and grabbed Jake, the two jumping off the mountain with their Ikrans as they followed after Aponi.

When they finally caught up to her, they both watched in admiration as she stretched her arms out in front of her, a wide grin on her face that they had never seen before. It looked so pretty on her, and Neytiri felt her heart clench. Jake simply laughed and cheered, holding his own arms up and copying the woman.

They flew for quite a long time before Neytiri took them both back to Home Tree, Aponi needing a bit of coercing before leaving her animal and making their way down to the main level of the tree. A group of women took Aponi and a random male Na'vi took Jake, and suddenly they were being decorated and dressed up in fancy clothing.

 Aponi let the women take the braids out of her hair, loose braids being placed randomly in her hair with beads and feathers. Her face was painted with bright colors and the clothing Neytiri had gifted her was replaced with a top made of different kinds of bones, her regular loincloth replaced with a skirt that was tight to the skin and nearly see-through. After they deemed her ready, she was let out, and the celebration for the new warriors was quick to start.

Aponi didn't see Jake or Neytiri until a few hours into the party, content with dancing with random women and men and drinking to her hearts content. When she found them- rather, when they found her- she was in the middle of a dance circle, a shawl around her as she swung her hips around and yipped with the rest of the clan. 

Jake felt the saliva in his throat dry up at the sight of Aponi, and Neytiri was much the same. They had to admit that she looked in her element- head thrown back and body moving gracefully to the music. They only moved when Aponi was bounding towards them, seeing the same look of admiration on her face that they had on their own.

Neytiri was dressed in a traditional outfit, a shawl made out of feathers on her arms and her hair half up and fuck she was beautiful. Aponi greeted her before turning to Jake, looking him up and down the same way she had done the woman next to him. He had his hair braided back in a tangle of intricate plaits, the paint on his face highlighting his features prettily. Aponi stepped back before motioning them forward with a hand, giggling as she slipped out of the entrance of the Home Tree and towards the forest, Neytiri and Jake hot on her trail.