Avatar: Feathers and Flowers

A Great And Unknown Destiny

In'at and her hunting party had fetched hexapede, 'yerik' in the Na'vi language. Swaylu and Alejandro fell in the line leading to the cooking pit. He leaned to the side, catching sight of five Omatikayans crouched around a sunken earthen pit. Rocks were arranged around it and inside the ring of stones, seething hot coals were being tended to by one of the clan members. Red pieces of raw meat the size of a human leg steamed and crackled over a roaring fire and two Na'vi men were sprinkling herbs and spices over them. Off to the side, a woman was preparing a sauce in a stone bowl the size of a rice cooker, and a teenage boy was setting pieces of cooked yerik on leaf plates and drizzling them with the sauce.

Swaylu went first, the boy handing him his fill of yerik. His eyes were full of admiration seeing the Olo'eykte's eldest son and he bowed. Swaylu smiled, whispering, "Oel ngati kameie." However, when he stepped to the side to let Alejandro get his meal, the boy's look darkened and he didn't say anything. After sloppily drizzling on meat and handing the colonel his plate, Alejandro followed Swaylu to a place at the end of the circle. It was a secluded place, away from most of the clan members. He copied the feather and flower-woven Na'vi as the other crouched, sitting with his legs crossed.

Now that he took a closer look at the sauce, he could tell it was different. It looked like paskalin, but with red flakes scattered about. Alejandro tilted his head and asked, "Swaylu, what's this sauce called?"

"It is paskalin, but with som, a...plant we harvest now and then. It has a bit of a kick to it. You will see." Swaylu replied.

Alejandro picked up the meat, handling it as if it was something revolting, but in truth, he just wanted to avoid the sticky paskalin. He held it up and lowered it into his mouth, and bit down on it. It was tough and stubborn, the paskalin dripping into his mouth, and while the honey was sweet, the som kicked him in the face. He used his canines to rip a shred off and as he chewed, Alejandro coughed. He had a great spice tolerance, but this was different. Swaylu laughed as he hissed through his teeth. "Goddamn, what is in this?"

"Som. I forgot to mention it was a spicy plant." Seeing the look on his face and the way his ears perked up, Swaylu snickered. "Tell me, what is the food like back on your planet?"

"You know, we used to live like you."

Swaylu tilted his head to the side. "Really?"

"Mmm-hmmm. There was a period when we hunted animals as the Na'vi did. We used bows and arrows, although I don't remember ever using poison on our weapons, we could've." Alejandro shrugged. "We lived out in the wild, worshipped a unique deity, or deities, and we were in tune with nature. It was such a peaceful time, even though I wasn't born in it."

"Deity? Is your goddess like the Great Mother?"

"Some of them are. We also have male gods. I read in some mythology books my brother and I used to read about Gaia, this goddess that represented Earth. I think She's like Eywa. Would you like to hear about Her?" Swaylu hummed in response, his mouth occupied with biting off a piece from his slab of yerik. "I know her story by heart. She used to be my brother's favorite goddess. So, Gaia was born at the beginning of time, which the Greeks called 'the dawn of creation.' The Greeks and the Romans painted pictures of Her and in each of them, She's this beautiful woman with features they thought she had. Like, for example, the Greeks painted her to have Greek features. Mortal creatures were born from Her earthly flesh, so She's mentioned as 'the Great Mother of all Creation."

Swaylu's eyes brightened. "You are right, this...Gaia is like Eywa. Is there any more?"

Alejandro chuckled at the eagerness in the other's voice. "There's Coatlicue, the Earth Mother Goddess. She is both the creator and destroyer of life. Unlike Gaia, Her face consists of two fanged serpents, and Her skirt is made of snakes. Serpents are symbols of fertility in the ancient Aztec culture. My favorite god in Aztec culture, Quetzalcoatl."