Towards Love

19.mates

Neytiri had summoned almost all the members of the village to ask their opinion on Lola's desire to become a Na'vi for good. After having explained the situation and especially the vision that the young woman had of Eywa, the tribe agreed.

In the evening, to celebrate the good news, Neteyam decided to surprise Lola by taking her somewhere he knew she would be blown away by the beauty of nature. The young woman tried to guess but he didn't give in. "Neteyam I don't like surprises just tell me!" She made eyes at him while preparing Hapi for the ride. "I. Am. Not. Telling you." She frowned disappointed and said nothing more. "You'll love it I promise." He smiled reassuring her while attaching a bag full of food to his ikran.

They soon took off and Lola noticed that Neteyam took the direction of the Hallelujah mountains. She had never been in these areas except for the day she went to the ikran nest. They flew for about thirty minutes before Neteyam made his ikran pass between narrower mountains and entering a gap. They were in complete darkness for a few seconds before emerging to find themselves in front of a spectacle that Lola had never seen in her life.
They were in a crack and in front of them, other mountains were floating in a kind of circle. Waterfalls were falling from their cliffs, the water turning to steam as gravity pulled it down. The last rays of sunlight were reflecting in the water drops, illuminating the crack with rainbows.

As the ikrans landed, Lola was speechless. Moving towards the ledge, she couldn't take her eyes off the show of the elements. "It's beautiful..." The boy positioned himself next to her. "Right? I love this place."

"How did you find it?"

"When Lo'ak got his own ikran he always wanted to fly. My father gave me the responsibility to keep an eye on him. So we explored the forest and the Hallelujah mountains from top to bottom. One time he tried to leave alone but I followed him. He noticed so he tried to lose me and found this path. It's a good thing I spotted him because otherwise I think I would have been looking for him for days!"

"Well you can thank him for his stubbornness because this looks like paradise!" Neteyam smiled and took her hand in his. They stayed for a few minutes admiring nature dance before their eyes. Then, the boy turned around and went to his ikran who was lying down next to Hapi to rest. He took the bag of food and came back to Lola, crouching down to take everything out.

Turning towards him, Lola had a big smile on her face. "You really thought of everything."

"It's a day to celebrate! Soon you'll be living in this body for good and I won't loose you." His ears started to move in embarrassment. "Did I just say that out loud??" Lola crouched down next to him, arranging the fruits. "I was not going anywhere anyway."

They settled, siting close enough for their arms to brush against each other. The sun had gone down and the stars were the only source of light as well as their own freckles. "You know you could choose a Na'vi name." Neteyam had grabbed a fruit and was playing with it absent-mindedly. "Don't you like my current name?"

"No, no I do! It's just that if you want, you can pick one. My father did that when he became Toruk Makto."

"I don't know any Na'vi names besides yours. I don't want to copy anyone."

"How about I list some and you pick one that you like?" Lola nodded, liking this idea. "Okay. First one ... Zeawä'ite." Lola frowned. Seeing her face, Neteyam laughed. "Maybe not. Humm how about ... Mi'niri?"

"Don't you have simpler ones?" Lola didn't want to complicate things. Her name was simple and easy to pronounce, she wanted the same for her Na'vi one. Neteyam was being a little bit too creative on this one. "I want something special for you!"

"Me too but don't get too fancy." He laughed. "Got it. Well ... There are two that I like. Alarya or Tarya."

"Now we're talking!" Neteyam was relieved that she finally liked some of his suggestions. He actually had thought about finding her a Na'vi name for quite some time now and he was so happy to be basically the one chosing it for her. He felt special. "Which one do you think would suit me better?"

Neteyam thought about it for a while. "I feel like Tarya would be the best for you."

"Tarya." Lola tried to pronounce it. She actually liked how it sounded. Short and singing. "I think it's settled. Lola Tarya."

Neteyam couldn't hold his smile and his urge to feel her against him. The boy opened his arms and the young woman cuddled up with him. She could smell his scent reminding her of the forest just after the morning dew. With her fingers she followed his stripes tickling him slightly. He played with her braided hair.

"I can't wait for this final transfer. I am tired of changing bodies every day."

"I can't wait for you to be mine for good."

"Because I'm not yours already?" The boy did not know what to answer. He always thought that she would want to be fully with him once the final transfer would be made. He didn't think that she was thinking like that already. "I don't ... I don't know." Lola turned around to face him. "I have been yours since we kissed in front of Eywa." She got closer and when their lips met, their bellies turned into fireworks. Their hands were all over each other, they needed to feel the other.

Lola grabbed her queue and showed it to Neteyam. "I can even prove it." The boy widened his eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

"I haven't been so sure about something in a long time." The boy grabbed his and they watched their filaments dance next to each other for a few seconds. They locked eyes, their breaths quickening. "There's no turning back after that."

"I know." Neteyam didn't wait any longer and made the bond. They tried to maintain their gaze but the sensations were too strong making them close their eyes to experience it fully. They could actually feel the other. Their heartbeat, their breath, how they felt about each other.

They were now linked forever, no one could separate them. One of them would have to die for them not to be seen together again.

"You're my mate now. And I'm yours."

Author's note
The chapter I believe we all wanted :)
Hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to vote and comment!