You will fall (Neteyam x Oc)

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10
THE DAY BEFORE

The next day it was back to normal. Sao'Nae resumed being the star-like daughter of Ronal, sharpening her blades on the beach, turning a piece of driftwood into a fine spear fit for only her, and obeying her parents every whim. Even as she saw Neteyam walk by with his siblings, she could only smile, diverting her eyes to the ground and remembering the night they shared as friends. Maybe it was naive of her to think of him...Maybe it was selfish. She never knew herself to be selfish.

Quietly she gathered what she'd need around the village, and for the first time in many months she had her hair braided, something she preferred to only do when hunting. Not exactly fun having hair float in front of your face when about to make a kill-strike.........

Ao'nung never let her live that down...

The brash girl quickly moved onto trivial tasks such as working out. Going for long swims up and down the coast, swimming deep into the watery depths, holding her breath for minutes at a time, and even practicing what would happen if she did happen to break her oxygen-hold. Turns out after initially releasing her breath while underwater, she had about a minute before the world started to go black. Good to know.

She could feel the villages gaze on her every moment of the day, watching her train, watching to see if the young lady would return from her hunt. Betting if she'd survive. It was easy to tell, the way the men whispered to one another and how the women's eyes tailed her like protective mother's. Ronal stood at the deck of her Marui, debating, thinking, and calculating finate plans for her child---evident by the way she fiddled her fingers and stared. The only reason Sao'Nae knew was because she did the same thing when deep in thought.

Eventually Sao'Nae rose from the water, pushing her newly done braids behind her ears before grabbing two bags and filling them with sand. To anyone passing by she may have looked like a psycho, lacing two ten pound sacks to her wrists and walking into the ocean, but sacrifice requires the bravest of minds. Though sometimes her parents weren't sure if she was brave or stupid...

As soon as she stepped off the continental slope, she began sinking deeper, slowly thanks to the wave of her tail. She knew better than to descend quickly, not wanting to bust her eardrums a literal day before the most important hunt of her life, and simply held her breath. Before she knew it she was sat on the bottom, a place in the water long before being recognized as a trench. The weight of the bags was helpful in reminding her not to panic.

Just trust yourself, Sao'Nae thought, closing her eyes and existing as one with the water. She felt the current running across her back, feeling the chilling breath of Eywa on her neck. The way of water is calm. The way of water is peace. Its not scary. I know no fear.

In her minds eye she imagined the world around her, thinking about the beauty that is the ocean of Awa'atlu. The creatures of kindness like the nìwok'rimpin or better know to the humans as the Loudly Yellow, and better yet of the hì'i kxetse---Small tailed fish. The could see them in front of her without ever opening her eyes. She could feel their presence without using touch. Being one with nothing was the purest form of spirituality.

A Tsahìk feels everything and nothing all at the same time. Sao'Nae reminded herself, thinking back to her lessons as a little girl, the first lesson Ronal said this to her. A Tsahìk must do everything to protect her people, and sometimes that means you mustn't feel a thing. Not even peace.

Sao'Nae could feel her heart beat slow like the beat of a chieftain's drum, going soft in her chest thump....thump....thump thump. The rythem sounded in her ears, she could feel it in her bones, and in her mind. Everything about her mind and body was connected. Figuratively she ran through her body, discounting any muscle fatigue she felt, relaxing her shoulders and allowing herself to further rest.

I am with Eywa and Eywa is with me.

She sat silent. She sat still. She sat perfect.

Eywa wasn't just a spiritual being, she was everything. She was the sun that shone on the people, and the waves that tore through storms. She was birth of a newborn and the death of a loved one. She was life and she was death. The great mother was the first and in time, she will be the last.

Being Tsahìk didn't mean just interrupting Eywa. It was being one with her.

Anyone can interpret what they think a deity would want. But only few can feel what one has felt. The people like Ronal, the people like Mo'at from the forest, they were the guiders and interrupters of Eywa. And soon, Sao'Nae would do the same.

But first she must hunt. She must grow. And then, she must ascend to her rightful place in the village.

Ewya bless me. Let me and my hunt go smooth. Let me return to the people of Awa'atlu as a mighty warrior. Make me mighty. She begged inwardly, her exterior as calm as the morning sky, but inside raging more than a lustful gaze.

Make me mighty. Make me mighty. Make me mighty.

The words sounded loud in her head. She wasn't sure why, but it played on repeat.