Effervescent ||Tsu'tey||

Sleeping under the stars

Warm bodies piled together in mass around what Alva assumed to be Jake. They chattered amongst themselves, some of them perched on branches from the load-bearing pillars. On the walls hung sturmbeest bladders filled with glowing insects acting as lights – some of them fastened on sturdy posts –, and a large fire provided the room with warmth, along with a series of smaller ones illuminating a display of some sort. A shrine, she guessed, for she saw pale bones erected on a pole. In the middle rose the helical core; thick, curling trees acting as a spiral staircase which the Na'vi used to travel up to the different levels of the tree.

Alva navigated the crowd with ease, her muddied appearance gaining snickers and disappointed sighs. Some of the children giggled but fell quiet when a voice boomed across the hollow.

"This creature, why do you bring him here?"

The voice belonged to a tall Na'vi male donning a chestpiece of draping feathers and fabric. Around his neck hung a necklace of palulukan claws. Low on his forehead he carried some sort of oval bone attached to intricately woven bands snaking around his head and under his ears. His face was stern and his voice dripped with disapproval.

"I was going to kill him." The female Na'vi from before said. "But there was a sign from Eywa."

He glowered at her. "I have said no dreamwalkers will come here to offend our homes! His alien smell fills my nose."

Tsu'tey comes into view from behind the man, chuckling at the insult. At his side stood another tall Na'vi man, but he was lighter in color than the rest and he was of different build. He dressed similarly to Tsu'tey but was more decorated –of higher rank.

"Father, many atokirina came to this alien."

Jake and Neytiri spoke, and then Jake lurched forwards towards the tallest of the males with his hands outstretched. Immediately the Na'vi stopped him, pulling him back and away with spears and knives pointing at him, hissing and snarling. Tsu'tey positioned himself in front but stepped back as a female voice echoed from up the stairs.

"Step back!" She commanded. She wore colorful, flowing clothing in a shape reminiscent of a poncho. Her expression was as friendly as an executioner and her bearing haughty. "I will look at this alien."

The Matriarch – for it could be none other than her – walked down the stairs, the hollow deathly silent. Alva could hear the jingling of the na'vi woman's jewelry. The large braid meant for protecting the tswin was parted and rebraided on her front. She also wore a headpiece; fine twine falling down to her collarbone where it held up a ceremonial dagger and a decorative shell.

Jake's savior kneels on the floor when the Matriarch passes. She examines both his tail and the end of his tswin.

"What are you called?" She asked him in English with a thick accent.

"Jake Sully."

From the headpiece she pulled a thorn – not a dagger as Alva first thought – and swiped it against one of Jake's bleeding wounds. The matriarch then dragged the bloodied tip on her tongue, tasting his essence. She rubbed some of it between her fingers, not looking all that impressed by what she found.

"Why have you come to us?" She asked.

"To learn." Jake said.

"We have tried to teach other sky people. It is hard to fill a cup which is already full." She said, the thorn back in the scabbard.

Jake chuckled without humor. "My cup is empty, trust me. Just ask Doctor Augustine. I'm no scientist."

If the matriarch recognized the name she didn't let on. Head tilted to look Jake straight in the eyes. "What are you?"