Heart & Soul - An Avatar Fanfiction

↞ Olo'Omatikaya ↠

"My father is deciding whether to kill you two."

Rune and Jake were roughly dragged along by the Na'vi Hunters and warriors, daggers firmly placed against their throats in case they thought about escaping. Not that they would, Jake and Rune weren't that stupid, also, the destination they were being dragged too was where they wanted to go. As they stumbled through shrubs, their captors tugging them sharply by their tswin or neural queue if they slowed down too much. Neytiri jogged besides Jake, sparing him a glance every so often, earning a bitter look from Tsu'tey who was leading up the front on his Pa'li. During this march through the dense jungle, Jake attempted to make conversation with the Na'vi surrounding him, cracking wry jokes and making jabs at the current situation. But they instead hissed at him and slapped him in the back of the head, telling him to shut up and move, thanks to Rune's helpful translation, resulting in her getting slapped for talking.

" 'Ak!" she hissed, going to rub the back of her head only to remember that her hands were bound, "Kelkin!"

"Fnu!" A Na'vi woman spoke back, pushing her forward, "Awnga lu fìtseng set."

And they certainly were there now.
Because right in front of the group was a sight that Rune had never seen before, and would feel blessed and privileged to ever lay eyes on till the day she died.
It was Hometree.
The fabled grounds of the Omatikayan clan. Their big family house. Their sacred tree.
Rune had heard the children and teens of Grace's school describe this place to her many a time, calling it all sorts of enchanting and marvellous things, but their words could truly never do it justice.
Hometree was a expansive tree, larger and taller than all the other trees on Pandora, ten-fold the size of old-Earths largest tree. Its trunk was thick, its diameter as wide as the length of two rugby fields. Grassy paddocks and shrubs surrounding its base.
The plant had vast roots that created a ginormous web-like structure at the base of the tree; like a lobby or foyer, before burrowing into the ground. A warm orange glow emanated from here, filtering through the cage of roots, evidently coming from fire. They reminded Rune of mangrove roots but gigantic.
The bark of the tree was a mottled hazel and grey colour, it was thick, rough, and strong, perfect for protecting the slightly softer wood inside.
The branches above were thick and interweaving, starting just over half-way up the tree, providing levels and communal places for all of the Omatikaya to eat, cook, or do whatever they wanted.
Bioluminescent vines spiralled up the sides of the tree, alien Birds nest ferns clung to the bark, bright creepers hung from the extending branches.
Pinks, blues, purples and greens, contrasted by black shadows.
The whooping and chatting of Na'vi could be heard from above, their silhouettes jumping gracefully from branch to branch were observed.
She could hear the chattering of Ikrans in the branches above, Tapirus or Fwampop slept in herds together watched over by shepherds.

Rune spun around as she took in the sight laid out before her.
In all her years of studying, investigating, putting in grueling hours of work to discover information about the civilisations of the ancient world, she'd never had the knowledge so easily handed to her.
What she was seeing right now was a xeno-anthropologists dream.
The culture was so rich here, the woman was speechless.

"This is their home." she thought to herself in awe, "It's.... magnificent. I wonder if any other clans in the jungle live like this?"

Tsu'tey called out to the Na'vi as the pack rode in, howling to them about their arrival. Horns wailed back in response, the iconic Blue Flute horns, the clans namesake.

The riders and Tsu'tey quickly dismounted and the group dragged Rune and Jake into the base of the tree, the room made out of a web of roots.
Rune rubbed her bleeding shoulder as she was shoved into the room, hoping that she'd be able to get some medical attention.
The room was brightly lit, flame bathing the room with orange light, but also green light was being produced from translucent bladders filled with some type of firefly.
As they filed into the area, Rune and Jake observed many a Na'vi flock towards the meeting space to see what the commotion was all about. Every age could be seen, from mothers and fathers holding babes against their chests, younger children hiding curiously behind their parents legs to see who these strangers were, to hunters and warriors yowling and hissing and bristling their bows at them as the pair were dragged in, closely guarded by the party. Even some senior Omatikayans stared at them with interest, a dozen milky amber and jade eyes meeting their gazes.