Not a Soldier Yet |Ao'nung x Neteyam|

31. The Horn Blows

Neteyam was working on beading the bracelet he wanted to gift Kiri; he was lost in his thoughts when his mother walked up next to him and sat down in the sand by his side. Neteyam side-eyed her. He could feel it in his bones that something embarrassing was about to happen.
"Neteyam," Neytiri began, tilting her head slightly as she looked at his face, ears twitching gently. She was never embarrassed by anything, not like her son. "I wanted to speak with you about Ao'nung."

Neteyam paused the gentle motions of his hands, a tiny shell held tightly between two fingers. He could not believe what he was hearing. Ever since his parents found out about his relationship with Ao'nung, one of them was always felt the need to try and educate him about the ways of his body.
Neteyam cleared his throat and straightened his back. "Yes?"

Neytiri placed a hand on his knee, reassuring. "I want to know, is he the reason you are happier now?"

Neteyam paused, almost feeling shame for assuming his mother had wanted to amuse herself by giving him yet another talk about reproduction. If he did end up mating Ao'nung though, then nobody really had to worry about an accidental baby or two. Neteyam knew about the circumstances of his existence coming to be. He was haunted by the mental images.

Neteyam smiled, cheeks flushing. "He is, mom."

Neytiri nodded, satisfied. "You are going to try taming a tsurak today," she began, lifting something from her small hip pouch. "I made you this necklace to bring you luck in this journey. It is made of my old friend's, Seze's tooth."

Neteyam felt his throat tighten painfully with sympathy. He has heard tales about his mother's previous ikran, who died fighting alongside her before he was born.

He took the gift from his mother's hands gratefully and tided around his neck. He hadn't been wearing any jewellery that day. His mother looked at him with so much pride in her eyes that his heart fluttered happily. Neytiri wrapped her arms around his shoulders and placed a hand on the back of his head, she caressed his let down hair and ran her fingers through the soft locks gently.
"I have no doubt that you will succeed. You have always been my little warrior."

"Thank you," he whispered gently and hugged his mother back tightly, burying his face in her hair.

They let their embrace fall slowly. Neytiri got a strange playful twinkle in her eye suddenly. Neteyam paled slightly.
"There is more that I want to know about your relationship with Ao'nung."

"Mother, please don't do this to me." Neteyam covered his face with both hands, still grasping the bracelet he only put aside to put his new necklace on. "Dad has already been bothering me enough about this."

"He does not know how these things work," Neytiri laughed lightly as she watched her son twitching in embarrassment. "I know he has talked to you. Just know that he means well. However, he does not know a thing."

"But mom, how would you know? You are a woman." Neteyam grumbled and showed his leftover shells into his pouch with a little more force than necessary.

"My son, I know exactly what your role is going to be." Neytiri patted him on the shoulder gently. "I am not blind and I know you well."

"What are you trying to say?" Neteyam felt like he was going to burst out crying from the mortification in that moment. He pulled away from his mother's touch and stirred up the sand next to himself.

Neytiri only continued smiling; she was as gentle now as she always was, but he really wished that sometimes she also got too nervous to talk about such things so openly. It would have saved him from this extremely embarrassing conversation right before a very important challenge in his life.

"My son, I am only trying to say, there are somethings that you are going to need that your father probably did not think about because he does not even know they exist." Neytiri looked out into the horizon, smiling faintly, as if seeing a memory dancing above the waves.

Neteyam pursed his lips. "What kind of things?"

"Things that will make everything easier." Neytiri ran her slender fingers through the sand. "For you, mating might be painful at first because you are not a woman, but you will be in the place of one."

Neteyam rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself. If he had fangs - right now - he was sure he would be baring them. "Okay, what kind of things are these and what do they do?"

Neytiri tilted her head and turned to face her son again. "If you are to succeed today, I know what you will be doing once night falls. I have prepared everything for you inside our home."

"Mom!" Neteyam whined, mortified at what his mother has just implied. "I know you know but you don't have to say it out loud."

"Why not? My mother had explained these things to me once I was of age as well. There is no shame in this, it is the way of life and it is beautiful."

Neteyam took a shaky breath. "Okay."

"The most important thing that you are going to need is an oil." His mother was watching his face carefully, looking for any sign that she should stop. When she did not see anything beyond the usual embarrassment of youth, she continued explaining things to her son.

Neteyam's brows furrowed in confusion as he blinked up at his mother. "You are right. Dad definitely did not mention anything about an oil."

"I am aware of that. Your father is like a baby," Neytiri said, drawing a laugh from her oldest son. "He only knows of what has been taught him."

Once their conversation had ended, Neteyam was beginning to doubt that he even wanted to go through with the mating ceremony right now. He felt like you needed to wait some more. He needed to remember everything that he was told by his mother, and he wanted to make sure he did not feel pain. Neytiri had said it was possible.

The horn sounded. It was time for the ceremony preparations to begin. Neteyam knew that the reef people put on face paint for this occasion if they did not have tattoos. He wanted to paint his face according to his own culture and not the one he was about to join. He allowed his mother to prepare him. She braided his hair, adding beads, each meaning something significant. Neteyam collected his weapons.
During the ceremony, if he managed to tame the beast, his next job would be to go hunting on his own. Riding a tsurak was not the only thing a warrior, an adult could do.