A Very Large Mistake (Open)

[Mawey'te]

Stubborn. That was what they called her.

Crouched in the tall summer grass so that only her furious golden eyes were visible, Mawey’te sulked. She hugged her knees, her tail flicking back and forth in sheer agitation, but there was something steady and thoughtful in her eyes as she sat there. Her eyes were focused into slits not on the group of simple huts only meters away, but on the large herd of grazing Pa’li.

How was it that they could not see that she was ready? That her aim with a bow was progressing, and that she could ride well with an adult at her back. Surely, the child though with a small sigh, the Queue link could only account for part of the reason that adults rode so well. Part of it had to be practice…and that part she had. Yet her father shook his head at her, telling her that she was not ready to take on a Pa’li of her own, and her mother agreed. Not fair, Mawey’te thought with another flick of her tail.

They were powerful, the Pa’li. She could see the bliss and glee on her tribe members’ faces when they rode, sharing the bond and moving along the plains as though they were flying. Mawey’te’s eyes roved over the sleek flanks of the Pa’li, memorizing their lines though she had had them memorized since she was a very small child. They were just as vital to the tribe as anyone and anything else, keeping the tribe mobile and always within reach of good food and resources.

Her eyes flickered towards the huts, where most of the tribe were settled in for the afternoon rest. In the hottest portion of the day, most tribe members retired to the shade of the huts, avoiding the energy-sapping heat and gaining much-needed energy for the remainder of the day. Now, only Mawey’te and a few other adults were outside; she glanced at them from the corner of her eye, gauging the level of their awareness. Would they stop her? This was the only time she could attempt such a feat…but they would gaze upon her in awe once she rode by, and decide that no, she was not too young to bond with a Pa’li, Queue link or not.

Moving so quickly that it was as though she were suddenly possessed, Mawey’te sprang to her feet and rushed towards the Pa’li as she had often seen her own parents and siblings do. It seemed to her a good sign that none of them flinched away, though several eyed her warily from their grazing. Taking heart, Mawey’te chose a particularly quiet stallion and hoisted herself up over his neck. And in that instant, as his head snapped up, she knew she had been mistaken.

There was no chance to even think about establishing a link, even if she could have; the stallion threw his head up and reared, straight back, and Mawey’te could only cling to his neck with both hands in an effort to hang on. As though sensing she would not be disengaged so easily, the stallion planted all four hooves into the ground and bucked upwards, determined to get this small Na’vi off his back. Mawey’te cried out in fear, tightening her grip.

[Yanti]

Yanti put her hands to her hips and arched her back as she straightened out. This eased the muscles that complained about her working bent over for quite a while now. She had been so intent on gathering that unusually tiny and rare plant that grew here so abundantly, but not in many other places, that she had not paid much attention to anything around her here. Especially not the direction in which she had been moving, following only one weed after the next and taking only a bit of each, so that none would die.

Now, as she looked around, slowly taking in her surroundings, she realised, that she had come nearer the place where the Itami lived at the moment, than she had meant to. Only a herd of peacefully grazing Pa’li were between her and the camp.
Well, that was not a problem in itself as there was no fighting between the clans, but the Rokure were quite aloof and did not go in so much for keeping regular contact. Also one certainly could not call the nomadic Itami close neighbours.

Maybe that is not such a good idea and maybe we actually should be more outgoing and friendly,
she mused idly, while she stood there, looking out over the plain.
There might be something gained from having more interaction with the other clans. At least some knowledge, about these strangers from the sky. About their reasons for being here, their motives. An whether they mean harm or not. But then we do not even know that other Na’vi clans are more informed…

There was nobody visible though and so she just shrugged it off. She turned round, ready to go back into the shrubs behind her to look for Eäni, when she heard a loud high-pitched scream.

Immediately Yanti spun back again to look for the source of the fearful wail. Quite near her one of the Pa’li was suddenly panicking. It reared up and then it planted its six feet solidly into the ground to buck wildly. And there on its back was the small blue figure of a child desperately clinging on to the animal.

”Oh Eywa! This was not how I meant it!”

She ran even as she mumbled these words through clenched teeth. There was no time for thinking about what she was going to do once there. So intuition took over and she just leapt up behind the little Na’vi, just as the Pa’li started.

”Let go little one! We jump and roll! Quick! We will be fine!”

Wishing her last words to be true, Yanti held on tightly to the child and folded herself around the small body to protect her in the fall. She could just hope that the youngster had heard and understood her and also did as she wanted, as she forcefully threw herself off the Pa’li prepared to hit the ground and roll out of harms way.