Eywa'itan

5 | Trust

Jake will swear on every deity known to man that he didn't jump out of his blue skin when Neyn'inan popped up from the thicket of bushes just shy of the training ground. The little nightmare no longer hid from his view, standing menacingly (for a five-year-old) 'looking' in his general direction.

"Neyn! Neyn Neyn Neyn," Neytiri cooed, kissing his forehead. He could see the child's tail sway, showing how gleeful he was with the attention. He was reminded of a puppy... when he wasn't hating his existence, that is. He watched as his ears twitched, honing in on his location.

His scowl was presented flawlessly, but at least it wasn't murderous this time, right? Progress.

"Hello!" His friend Kanu was with him, the little sunshine waving happily at Jake. By now, he understood the language enough to register the simple sentences she was saying, mentally translating them for himself. "We came to watch you!"

"I see..." So he was doing what he'd always done, just this time where he could see him. That wasn't intimidating at all. Nope. Grace's words were swirling around his mind, but he refused to give them any mind right then.

As long as he didn't majorly fuck up, he'd be fine.

"Oe. tìhawnu si. Sa'nu." Neyn'inan grumbled. "tskxekeng. srungsiyu."

"Oh?" Neytiri said, amused. "There has been a welcome change, Jakesully."

"Welcome what?" Jake asked, totally lost and a little put off by the hostile air the kid was emitting. "What did he say?"

"Starting today, he will be helping me train you," Neytiri stated, getting back into full focus after another reassuring pat was given to her son. "We start with pa'li today."

"Ah... shit." Welp, today was going to suck. He could even see the damn horse looking at him with disdain. As he proceeded to get on her, he whispered, "The feeling's mutual, trust me."

And thus, his teaching began.

.

.

Neyn'inan spent the first day doing nothing to him. He took his time sensing the dream walker, instead. He filed away his unique scent and heartbeat deep into his mind. He studied his heavy footfalls, his breathing. He gazed into his aura, monitoring every mistake he made with acute precision.

By the end of the day, he concluded. "He is a moron." The mistakes he made were similar to what an infant might do if they were given the reigns. The man was a walking disaster, not a dream. He had no clue how to do even simple, instinctual things properly.

Aliens had no true concept of Na'vi ways, and that needed to change if Jake was to live past the next few months. So after hearing Jake fall off the usually gentle animal for the nth time that evening, he decided to do things his way. Neyn finally had enough.

"Stupid man." He called, noticing the flinch in the air's vibration. He added "possibly blind" to his list of things to work on with the dumb male. This person had no awareness if he never realized he'd been there observing him the whole time. It wasn't like he was ever really hiding before, either. Jake was just so bad at sensing danger he could only barely notice.

He pitied his mother for having to deal with his idiot. "You are doing it wrong, moron."

"Huh?" There he went, speaking in that weird language of his. Sighing, he forwent his discomfort to show rather than speak. This moron was worse than him with the subject. While speaking was hard, he could understand just fine. Jake was like a baby through and through. How tedious.