Naway's p.o.v I sat there as my mother painted my face for the ceremony and styled my hair. ''This will not be an official mating ceremony but it will be a ceremony of you saying goodbye, while also celebrating your betrothal'' my mother says as she takes my hair out of the braids that it was in. I nod my head slightly before staying still again so she can let my hair be free.
''You will make such a fine Tsahìk and story teller for the Omatikaya clan'' I can tell my mother is smiling a lot. ''Do you think he will be nice'' I ask softly as I play with my fingers. ''Of course he will, from how his father talks about him, he is a very fine young man and takes care of his family and his people very well'' my mother says as she grabs some string to tie two pieces of my hair back.
''Come let's get you dressed for the fire ceremony'' my mother sticks out her hand for me to grab. We make our way to my area and she helps me put on my clothing for the ceremony.
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As I am finished my mother looks at me with the biggest smile. My father walks in and he can't help but smile either. ''My daughter, I am so very proud of you'' he smiles brightly making me smile back. ''The women have set up the ceremony and every thing is ready'' he adds.
''Come on my daughter'' My mom smiles as she holds out her hand for me. We link arms and walk out, my father trailing behind us. Low music is playing. Even though this is not a mating ceremony this feels so surreal. How could this be happening? I really hope Eywa is looking out for me at this moment.
The singing of people break me out of my trance. Standing by a fire is Neteyam and Toruk Makto. Toruk has a smile on his face while Neteyam holds a somber look on his face. I feel my insides twisting and turning, if that's even possible. When I make it to the end the singing and the music stops abruptly. ''My people'' my father says in a strong tone. ''We are all here because we are celebrating the betrothal of my daughter Naway, to Toruk Makto's son Neteyam'' he says making the crowd cheer.
I put on a smile as I look next to me, Neteyam isn't smiling back though. ''We have the pleasure of joining our clan together with the Omatikaya clan'' he adds on with a big smile. I spot my brother in the crowd. He gives me a big smile so I smile back ar him.
''We will hold the fire ceremony dance between these two to make sure that Eywa agrees with this'' he adds on. ''And of she does then that means we will become stronger and that this is meant to happen'' he smiles making more cheers erupt. He looks down to me and Neteyam. ''It is time'' he says in an encouraging tone.
I nod my head okay and both Neteyam and I take our spots on each side of the fire facing eachother. The drums start to play and I start to feel myself lose control of my body as if Eywa her self has taken control. My body starts to roll as the sound of the flute adds into the mix. All I can do is look into the eyes of Neteyam as he does the same. Everyone is quite as they watch us dance in sync intensely.
I can just tell my mother and father are smiling from where they stand. I start to move around the fire and so does Neteyam. We both move in perfect sync and cannot stop looking at eachother. I give him a soft smile and for once he has a kind look in his eyes and a soft smile on his face.
We keep on dancing until the music stops and I am in his spot while he is in mine. We look at eachother one last time before looking to our family. ''It is decided, Eywa wants them together'' my father shouts while everyone cheers. The rest of the night is filled with dancing around the fire and singing. By the end of it I am to sit by Neteyam and sing him my song cord.
It is only him and I who are there along with my family and his dad. I inhale before i start at the top of my song cord. I sing with raw emotion the whole time as my fingers slide down the beads signifying my whole life's story. There was my first time dancing and singing, my first time bonding with my ikran, the loss of my older sister, my first hunt.
It brought so many emotions upon me but I didn't stop to cry or anything. I just kept on singing until i reached the end. When I looked up to Neteyam he gave a soft grin. Next I took a bead from my hair and gave it to him before he gave me one of his. We had to do so to signify the meeting of eachother so we could put it on our song cord.
