ʙᴀʀʀɪᴄᴀᴅᴇꜱ | Jake Sully X Reader (Book 1)

| Chapter 9 |

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Italics: (Na'vi language or Jake's inner thoughts or narration)

*Mature Content Warning*  (Very Mild)

Before starting, I want to give thanks to Phasergal999 for helping me develop the first few scenes of this chapter! Go check out her stories, because they deserve so much love!
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Y/n dipped her fingers into a special paint that is made for this occasion. You grabbed a bit with your hands and painted lines all over Jake's body. You were almost done with the lines of his face, and when you finished, you dragged your fingers from the groove between his lips and his nose, then down his chin.

While you did this process, Jake couldn't keep his eyes off of you. As you worked, he was completely entranced by your eyes and everything your beauty had to offer. He had been staring at your lips the entire time, but the moment you painted over his lips, he immediately locked his eyes onto your eyes. He didn't even blink, and he didn't want to, at least knowing that if he did, he would risk missing details about you that he loves so dearly.

The two of you have grown closer these last few months, and you cared about one another deeply. The doubts you had were simply if he liked you as much as you liked him, but for Jake, he doubted if he could be honest with you without breaking your heart in the process.

The Na'vi say that every person is born twice. The second time is when you earn your place among The People forever.

The first thing Jake needed to do before the ceremony is go through a ritual. Which is the one that Grace warned him about, saying that he wasn't strong enough to withstand it.

Jake was now walking down to a section of Hometree that was shaped like a spiral and every clan leader of the Omaticaya sat in a circle, waiting for Jake to arrive. There was music in the background and a drum beating at a slow pace to set the tone.

Mo'at, Eytukan, Tsu'Tey, and Neytiri were all sitting in the circle as Jake came closer and sat right in the middle of it. Y/n, who was trailing behind him, walked over to sit beside her sister. As the ritual began and Jake took a deep breath, Mo'at stood up and blew a special, almost translucent, powder into Jake's face.

"Oh wise worm, eater of the Sacred Tree. Bless this worthy hunter with a true vision" Mo'at chanted, holding a piece of wood. She then reached inside it and pulled out the worm as Jake opened his mouth to receive it. Once it was in his mouth and he swallowed the worm, the entire circle began to chant.

It was now Eytukan's turn to stand up, and he did so as he grabbed a scorpion from inside a traditional vase and brought it over to Jake. The Chief grabbed the scorpion by its tail and held it over Jake's shoulder, effectively making the insect bite the Avatar. At the sting, Jake hissed in pain as the chants continued.

Jake cried out and thrashed in pain, feeling like his body and brain were about to explode. His vision started to blur and distort. He endured it as best as he can while he received his vision. It was only a few more seconds until the ritual was over, and if he came out of it alive, he'd be considered part of The People at last.

What Jake saw in his vision baffled him. He saw Toruk, the same creature they were being chased by not too long ago. He also saw destruction, fire, wastelands, and other horrifying images that he had no idea where they came from. Eventually, his ritual was over and the visions stopped abruptly. It was only a few seconds later that Jake realized that he had made it through it and passed.

After it was over, Jake panted softly as he felt the pain slowly start to subside. He felt someone grab onto his arms gently to pull him up, but then looked up and realized it was you. He gave you a weak smile, while you reciprocated ut with a proud one. You helped him leave the spiral room to head out to where the rest of the tribe was at. As everyone saw Jake coming, the clan started to rise to their feet.