The Will of Two Worlds (Avatar Female OC)

24. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Bracing myself on Falrar's back and leaning with his movement, I listened attentively to Tsu'tey a little in front of me on his Pa'li, giving me a true full on lesson on Na'vi common phrases, the simpler parts of their culture, etc. I watched him as he spoke in a tense tone, as has become his normal tone with me, but at least I'm not a worried any longer about trying to get another teacher from Mo'at, now that Tsu'tey is actually teaching me, even if he doesn't like it.

I've just learn to ignore his typical... Tsu'tey-ness.

"-I See You be way Na'vi greet, it mean more than see. Not just see with eyes, it be I See, See You. In Na'vi it be Oel ngati kame." Tsu'tey explained, not looking at me at all as he gestured to thin air like he's gesturing to a person. I leaned with Falrar as his front set of hooves dug into a mud pit, frowning and struggling to understand Tsu'tey's wording here. Still, I did my best to commit the sound of the phrase to mind to study in the Na'vi dictionary Grace gave me.

Still, I had to ask a question, and thankfully Tsu'tey has gotten better at handling me asking questions. Just as I have gotten a better handle at being calm no matter what demeaning phrase he says, be it threats or insults. "Wait, wait, I'm confused. So you say 'I See You' as a sort of greeting, like Hello or How are you... But you say it means more than just, you know, seeing that person with your eyes?" I asked in utter confusion, tapping Falrar's neck with my hand, sensing him getting distracted by a ripe nectar flower full of the nectar they eat. Rain came down softly on the canopy above, the sky dull and gray, the air heavy with the rain and humidity, the air cooler. Currently we are riding Pa'li down one of the many trails Tsu'tey's led me on, the trail itself is muddy and full of puddles as it's been raining for two days, but I'm loving it.

Falrar snorted and shook his head, Tsu'tey's Pa'li didn't even look at the flower, knowing he can't drink right now and should focus on the trail. Falrar's a bit of a younger Pa'li though, he's yet to have learned the many lessons such as these. Mostly the Na'vi, to a point, share the Pa'li to go out and collect crops, get water from paywll leaves. However, in cases like Tsu'tey's Pa'li, that Pa'li is his and his alone. Something I didn't catch the full specifics of, but I knew it's sort of a family Pa'li. Tsu'tey didn't explain much, I mostly learned from Nai'la these facts when she began to sit near me at breakfast, answering any question I asked.

The way I was to understand it, Tsu'tey's Pa'li is sort of like old war horses back on Earth. His family bred the Pa'li to be strong, raised him, and trained the Pa'li to be a strong Pa'li. I guess that's why the saddle has some red tipped strings hanging off of it. I really am thankful for Nai'la, or else I would feel completely lost on all of this. Since Tsu'tey is set to be the next Olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya, I can only assume his family has some sort of hierarchy in the Omaticaya, though I am still trying to understand their culture as a whole.

But Falrar is a rather... interesting case. Apparently, though I wasn't there for this, Falrar's is refusing to let any other Na'vi ride him. At first the Na'vi were confused and called Mo'at. Mo'at didn't seem surprised... leading me to believe she somehow knew Falrar would 'choose' me. I was curious about how Tsu'tey didn't seem surprised either, though he did glare at Falrar a lot like the Pa'li is a traitor.

Rain dripped off of my soaked hair, joining into droplets across the clear waterproof surface of my resin coated feather leaning against my cheek. I wiped more water off of my forehead to avoid it getting into my eyes. Tsu'tey looked back with a glare, showing his displeasure for questions... still, like I expected, he looked forward and answered my question as Falrar jumped over a giant muddy puddle, putting him next to Tsu'tey's Pa'li.

"'I See You' mean more like look into, see you as who you be. Not surface, not face, I See You be more, not just greet, it also be respect, kind. It hold many meaning." Tsu'tey said in the same tense voice.