ꎇ꒒ꌩꀤꈤꁅ ꅏꀤ꓄ꃅ ꓄ꃅꍟ ꂦꂵꍏ꓄ꀤꀘꍏꌩꍏ (ꍏꃴꍏ꓄ꍏꋪ ꊼ ꂦꉓꌗ)

\\ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟘//

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Leaning over the central shaft of Hometree, looking at the rest of the villagers on the ground more than 80 meters down, Nate blinks as he pulls in a deep breath, thinking to himself that the rest of the clan looked like ants, small blue spots rummaging around. Nate tries to keep up with Ke'Kaya as she leaps up the core trunk like a lemur. He climbs the last section, arriving out of breath beside her. Ke'Kaya leads Nate through vines and leaves onto a larger, thicker branch. Through gaps in the foliage, Nate can see other great trees scattered across the landscape, like enormous umbrellas above the rainforest. Ke'Kaya strides out across the branch toward some kind of curtain of leaves, a web made of thick woven fiber. Dark shapes clinging to it stir with a leathery rustling sound. Ke'Kaya makes a series of high-pitched calls, and one of the shapes moves toward them, emerging into a shaft of sunlight. A huge dark purple mountain banshee hisses and cries out as it appears. Much larger than the forest banshees, this thing is taller than two Na'vi with a 10-meter wingspan.

A leathery fwoop of its strong wings sends a gust of wind over the two Na'vi, making Ke'Kaya's hair beads jingle and Nate's hair whip back. Fwoop! Like the crack of sails, the banshee flaps again as it settles on the branch right in front of Ke'Kaya.

"Holy shit!" Nate smiles, looking over the massive winged beast.

"This is Ikran, ~𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘶 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦~, or hunters mount," Ke'Kaya explained, raising her arms, palms up, beckoning the creature toward her.

The leathery creature tilted its head, brushing its forehead and cheek along her cheek, soft coos of content escaping its throat.

"Only once you've proven yourself, will you be able to choose your Ikran." Ke'Kaya finished, turning to look over her shoulder at her protege.

"How?" Nate questioned, furrowing his brow as he looked over his teacher and her majestic dragon.

"By listening and learning..." Ke'Kaya answered, pulling her right hand over her shoulders and running her fingers slowly over the back of her neck as she collected her long braid.

Nate stared as the she-Na'vi did this, his eyes leering at her smooth cyan-blue skin as she approached her Ikran. Said Banshee reared its head back up, stepping back and readjusting its stance as it looked down at its rider. Nate watched as it moved its bound antennas, offering one to Ke'Kaya.

"This is Tsaheylu," Ke'Kaya called back, stroking her Ikran's neck down to where her saddle sat on its chest.

"It is~" Ke'Kaya turned back to Nate, her nose scrunched slightly as her eyes narrowed in thought.

"~bond," She stated, having found the English word, her face softening as she looked over at Nate.

"Through this, we are one," The young Na'vi woman raised her queue and gently merged it with the moving tendrils of the Ikrans.

It shivers and stretches its wings as the neural connection is made, cooing again before closing its eyes.

"Ikran is not like horse. Once Tsaheylu is made, Ikran will fly with only one hunter in the whole life." Ke'Kaya lectured, making sure her saddle was fastened tightly before taking hold of the handle tied to the Ikran's antennas and jumping up, throwing her leg over and mounting the banshee.

The large creature let out a high-pitched roar, flapping its strong wings fiercely and flashing its sharp teeth as Ke'Kaya settled comfortably on its back.

"If you wish to become... one of the people... this is what you must do," Ke'Kaya looked over at Nate with stern eyes as her Ikran panted, tilting and twisting its head.

"When?" Nate inquired with a determined look.

"When you are ready," Ke'Kaya smiled a smug smile before pulling down the eye guard resting on her forehead and letting out a loud call.

Her Ikran stood on its hind legs, letting out another screech before jumping off the branch and diving through the air. Opening its large wings and flapping multiple times, the mighty creature flew straight up into the air, twirling like a drill before folding its wings and diving back down. Nate squatted on the large tree branch, his hands sliding on the squishy moss as he watched Ke'Kaya and her Ikran fly through the sky like they were clouds blown in the breeze. Nate smiled and chuckled to himself as he watched. He felt his heart beating faster in his chest at the sight. He couldn't wait till that was him and his own Ikran.

Completing the bank, Ke'Kaya directs the banshee into a swooping flyby, and Nate instinctively ducks so as to not get his head taken off his shoulders by the look-a-like dragon. Ke'Kaya smiled as she looked over her shoulder at Hometree, flying in perfect fusion with her winged mount, the rainforest rolling beneath her.

Once night had fallen again, and the Omatikaya people had retreated for the night once again. Nate sat up in his hammock, his amber eyes following what seemed to be a firefly buzzing silently in front of his face. Nate looked over to his side where Jake and Neytiri were laying fast asleep. He then turned his head to the left, his eyes running over Ke'Kaya. Her hands were clasped under her head and nestled under her chin as she slept. The thin threads and mini flowers and feathers that made up her shirt hung loosely over her chest. Nate's eyes followed the rise and fall of her ribs as her fit physique stared at him. Nate lowered his gaze slowly, running his gold eyes over her flat stomach and the brightly colored loincloth before they reached the leaf-weaved anklets on her feet. Nate sighed, shifting down into his hammock and closing his eyes.