Post by Adetokunbo on Jan 30, 2010 0:08:37 GMT -5
Name: Adetokunbo
Age: 17, nearly 18
Secret Word: PM Sent.
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Race: Na'vi
Tribe: Alehuai
Mount:
He has ridden the Pa'li since he was old enough climb upon their backs but his mount of choice, despite a rocky start, is his Ikran, Ta'kuk. Their union so rocky that, although the rite of passage that bonded them is called Iknimaya in the Na'vi Language and means "The path to heaven," Adetokunbo refers to the event as "the path to hell" instead. The trouble is that he isn't always joking.
Though it is true that the two of them have recently bonded and that their bond is as secure as any, the two do seem to butt heads. Both the Ikran and its rider seem to possess tempers and a stubborn streak that is only fueled by their competitive natures. Coupled with their joint penchant for recklessness, Adetokunbo has found himself tossed off the animal's back unceremoniously at times. Adetokunbo knows that others don't believe him, but he insists the Ikran finds such moments humorous.
This can occur at inopportune moments for the young Na'vi, so the elders have suggested to the heir that he come to some agreement with the beast in the interest of the tribe and his own personal safety. On the other hand, when rider and mount are united and working in unison they are virtually unmatched in the elegant, skillful way they handle the skies, often accomplishing daring feats others might shy away from. Unfortunately though, more often than not it still appears as if the Ikran would be more than happy to kill Adetobunko. Its a point of contention between the two and perhaps a sign that until he accepts himself, Ta'kuk will not accept the Na'vi who rides him.
Physical Description:
Standing at an impressive height and still growing, Adetokunbo has all the traits that seem pleasurable to the Na'vi. His body is finely formed, strong, toned yet not overtly muscular in an unnatural way. His skin tone lies firmly in the blue spectrum, its depth of color growing darker in the warmest months of the year when the orange sun's rays beat strongest. There are striations of color, similar to the stripes of a zebra that decorate his skin in a lighter shade of teal that more closely mirrors the ocean's blue green depths. His body is free of the tattoos that mark many older warrior's bodies either to mark time or the battles that just as surely indicate the rising tide of years and experience. The bioluminescence that dots his skin and mark his body at night run along his skin in long curving broken lines, though they are not as pronounced as some.
His eyes are keen and sharp in their focus, colored in a pale amber and rimmed very slightly in something closer to a bronze. His hair is dark like those of his people, often worn free of adornment beyond the small braided sections necessary to keep his hair out of his face. He isn't much for artifice or airs, preferring to let his actions speak for him versus flashy clothing or what he calls girlish beads or ribbons in his hair. He does wear a simply braided leather cord around his throat, this accented by a few small shells and pieces of luminescent coral. This signifies his rank and role as the equivalent of a prince among his clan and it is the only reason he agrees to the frivolity or jewelry. He wears gauntlets along his forearms and a band around his right bicep that are fashioned from the same leather as his loin cloth. This material has been tanned from the hide of a sea creature he killed during a previous season's hunt. This hide has a subtle scaled pattern and a slight blue green tinge.
His bow, arrows and a knife carved from an Ikran wing claw are almost always present on his body. The back of his knife blade is decorated with a ridge of coral that is both decorative and can be used to rip or tear and effectively gives his blade two sides. The coral lies near the handle and runs a third of the way up the blade, allowing him to hold the back of the blade in his mouth without cutting or injuring himself.
His body moves with a predatory grace. His form is somewhat feline like the rest of the Na'vi though it is most easy to see his connection to that of perhaps a panther than any other familiar beast. His battle armor, especially the head piece, resembles perhaps Pandora's most feared land predator, the Thanator with four flat discs of decorated shells spiked by teeth at their zeniths that rise up and encircle the crown of his head. He likes that this makes him look like his spirit animal, the Palulukan, and he likes to use this fact to intimidate.
In truth he owes much of his aggressive, assertive posture and movement patterns to the Viperwolf pups he has grown up taunting and playing with at the edge of his Clan's territory. He can often be found sleeping in the branches of a tree after border patrol, more comfortable there than in the caves carved from stone. He feels a greater connection to Eywa there, just as he embraces the life energy he feels when flying or swimming, or fighting for that matter. He's not the type to lounge around all day. He's an action guy, always on the move. In fact, its almost as if he feels unsettled somehow, as if he has yet to find his place.
Personality: To put it lightly, Adetokunbo is a young Na'vi driven by passion. He is young and as a result he often speaks his mind and wears his emotions on his sleeve. He has a great deal of growing up to do despite his prowess as a fighter. If anything, he has yet to become a man worthy of being the warrior, the leader he could one day otherwise be. Though he has been trained and accepts his role as a warrior among his father's people, he is often rash and prone to what others might view as reckless behavior. He enjoys taking risks and though such behavior does offer its share of danger he believes that fortune favors the brave. At least where battle is concerned. To say he always follows his heart or his base instincts though is to deny a part of the young male that he tries desperately to hide.
He knows it is his duty to mate and to then eventually become Olo'eyktan for the Alehuai Clan, however he has yet to chose a mate. This due to the one aspect of his being that he simply cannot reconcile himself to, his sexuality. He feels that it is a flaw, a unforgivable weakness, even though he believes that Eywa has made him as he is. He prays to the All Mother to heal him, to make him as everyone else, to make him like his father. He doesn't yet understand that within him he may hold the key to understanding differences, the key to potentially bringing balance to his people. As of yet he is unwilling to even consider such a prospect, there is no option seen by him but to believe that his father's political position is the best and only path for himself and his people.
He works twice as hard as his peers to compensate as a result and wishes for no greater acclaim than that of his father and the tribe he cherishes and protects. He fears that his father and the other men will reject him as unworthy if his secret were to be discovered. He's worked too hard to earn his place to give it up because of something within himself he has failed to learn to control or obliterate. So he works harder than anyone, mastering the skills of a warrior his people have rarely seen prior, despite his youth, inexperience and immaturity.
He does possess a certain strength of character, a strength of will that powers him through life, enabling him to be who he thinks he must be daily to fulfill his goals. This is true even when such pursuits may be seen as misguided or deny him true peace and happiness. That will power can present itself in what can only be described at times by others as acts of stubbornness, or in the case when he proves himself right, instances of self proclaimed brilliance. He can be ruthless and has no trouble killing as he feels its his responsibility and duty to protect not only the Alehuai but the unenlightened Na'vi, Eywa and Pandora itself.
He's not all bad though, only flawed, he does possess honor and lives by that code as surely as he has devoted himself to the life he loves. When he feels comfortable he can be affable and even seems to possess a sense of humor, surprisingly enough. And some may even find him charming, that is if they can get past the arrogance and pride of race he uses as a shield to hide the most secret aspect of his being. Needless to say, he has allowed his parent's view of the Sky People to shape his opinion of them, though he honestly has never met any of them face to face. For him, the stories of the time of sorrows from his father are enough to shape his point of view.
Talents: He prides himself on being the most skilled warrior of his age and has yet to meet his match, for though such a warrior may exist he has yet to face him. He uses several weapons though his favorites are the x-shaped Banshee bow he uses for long or medium range and a long bladed knife he has carved from the same ancient coral that makes up the jagged reefs beneath the surface of the ocean just beyond his cliff side home. He has even gone so far as to name the blade, speaking to it as if it were a childhood friend from time to time. This, as if telling it to strike true means it will do so, whether swung, jabbed or thrown. He truly believes that the blade has life, that like everything else it is part of Eywa and the balance of life. Besides, its easier to suggest such a balance when he does occasionally miss.
He is a natural born leader, its in his bloodline, his ancestry. Despite his youth, he has always enjoyed a certain amount of grace when it comes to his place and position, though he would argue he has worked for the respect he has gained. He is a highly capable rider, more accustomed to the Pa'li although he has recently become bonded with his Ikran. He's proven adept in this regard, though the personalities of mount and rider do clash from time to time, hindering his growth in this regard to some extent. He likes to sing, though he may not be as good as he thinks he is. He also loves to swim, despite the dangerous creatures that lurk beneath the surface of the waves near his home.
History:
Adetokunbo is not the first son of his father, but he is viewed as a gift from Eywa just the same. For he is the only living son and the only one to call himself heir to Olo'eyktan Kai'mana of the Alehuai. His father was already an elder by the time he was born, conceived long after his brother's death so many years before at the hands of the Tawtute(Sky People) and their war party in protection of the Tree of Souls. Kai'mana watched his only son die that day and was forced return to his Tsahik Moana and give her the news. For nearly twenty years Kai'mana allowed his bitterness and hatred of the Sky People to grow and fester without outlet. In time, as the world began to embrace peace and memories of that horrible time faded for most he was granted another son by Eywa. He named this son Adetokunbo.
He raised this son much like he had the first, with a clear sense of duty and in preparation of becoming a great warrior one day. Only this time there was not the innocence of a time before tragedy to balance such a heavy hand with levity. Kai'mana held a fear that the Sky People would return and when they did he wanted to be sure that this child would not fall as the first had. As a result, Adetokunbo grew up with a sense of purpose and duty that at times made the boy seem both older than his years and yet rash and prone to outbursts of anger he didn't quite understand.
In time he would learn that much of his own anger was the result of his father and mother's pain. The journey into adolescence was met with both the expected and the unexpected. He enjoyed growing stronger, learning, and rising to challenge after challenge. This was true even when he was forced to take a step back and master some new skill or another. He was not prepared for the untoward yearnings that began, as he began to notice his fellow warriors, the men from the other clans during tribal summits in addition to the females of his own people. He found these urges confusing and distasteful and he did his best to deny them and ignore them.
When it was time for him to undergo the rite of passage called the Uniltaron, or "Dream Hunt", ceremony and he placed his procured kali'weya into that stone jar he learned that his spirit was drawn to the Palulukan, or the Thanator as the Sky People call it. Like the creature Adetokunbo has become an adept predator, able to use his environment to full advantage, using his lithe, strong form to hug the ground, cling to tree limbs and lord over his Clan's territory, striking fear into their enemies. Though he prefers to hunt and attack alone, Adetokunbo will strategically take a leadership position by forming a pack of sorts with his contemporaries to make each concerted attack frighteningly efficient and deadly for his prey. It was around this time that he began to earn more respect for himself from the people. And more importantly to him, the trust of his father that he would gladly carry out his sire's wishes. His increasing learned skill as a warrior also giving a focus to his emotions, allowing his interpersonal relationships and interactions to benefit from the sort of high he gets from a successful hunt and the mellow, if not prideful, feeling that often follows.
His clan had always been territorial, as many were, and soon enough Adetokunbo earned his place among the raiders and scouting parties that swiftly dealt with interlopers. He enjoyed protecting the land and the people he felt would one day be his, all the while pushing himself to excel where others might fail in an effort to hide what he viewed as a devastating secret. He has managed to avoid choosing a mate though he has recently come of age. He likes to blame his less than smooth experience with his Ikran, though he has no idea how closely that really hits home. He knows he has time to overcome his weakness, his attraction to both sexes for he is young yet. He knows he must eventually accept his betrothal to the next Tsahik to insure his Clan's future. He also acknowledges that many men wait until their mid twenties to take a mate, he prays daily to Eywa to heal him, to show him the way, the path he must surely take.
RP Sample:
It was never truly dark on Pandora. The young Na'vi enjoyed the night though, it was peaceful, quiet and it reminded him of the sea. Only he could breath and he didn't have to avoid many of the life threatening situations that he often faced beneath the surface of the sea. He enjoyed that some thought him odd for enjoying swimming as he did, his best friend hated the water, for example. It was a running joke between the two of them that the slightly older Na-vi also smelt of Pa'li droppings because he didn't swim. And of course the come back was that every time Adetokunbo swam he washed away his personality and scent.
Adetokunbo, Bo to his best friend, was out on patrol tonight though his mind wasn't on it. It was a dangerous predicament to find oneself in, especially for a young man who had always found himself drawn to the thrill and mystery of the hunt, of exploration and discovery. It was why he swam, honestly. It was an attempt to try and discover the reasons behind things he couldn't see but knew where there. It was an attempt to see what could not be seen but felt. In many ways, when he swam beneath the surface of water it became an entirely different world.
Pandora had a high center of gravity. To get speed and maintain footing, the young Na'vi often that do curl his toes down into the dirt as he rant to gain speed and hone his ability to dodge and in turn fight. In the water some of the effect of that was lessened. It felt like you were floating within a sea of thick air, once speed was gained he had learned that he could speed through the depths with ease. It was like flying but without the hindrance of his pesky Ikran, Ta'kuk. He viewed his troubles with the mount as yet another sign that he had done something wrong to cause Eywa to disfavor him so.
And so he was praying now, his queue connected to the glowing branch of the tree that towered over even his own stature. Being here made him feel connected, like he was not so alone. Sure he was almost always surrounded by the people, but he knew now that he was different from them. It was a curse, one he was determined to free himself from. Not wanting to draw attention to his absence, Bo completed his simple prayer and opened his eyes, "Irayo, Eywa...I will be better, I promise this to you."*
He turned, long legs and still too large feet carrying him out of the sacred spot and into the nearby forest. All around him the water cascaded down in glowing life giving streams from the waterfalls as he ran quickly along the arching sweep of flora. Each footfall left the trail of momentarily disturbed plant life in his wake. Above him wood sprites, the Atokirina', drifted lazily on the breeze and typical of the self-centered, focused youth he was in too much of a hurry to notice.
* "irayo" means thank you.
Age: 17, nearly 18
Secret Word: PM Sent.
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Bisexual
Race: Na'vi
Tribe: Alehuai
Mount:
He has ridden the Pa'li since he was old enough climb upon their backs but his mount of choice, despite a rocky start, is his Ikran, Ta'kuk. Their union so rocky that, although the rite of passage that bonded them is called Iknimaya in the Na'vi Language and means "The path to heaven," Adetokunbo refers to the event as "the path to hell" instead. The trouble is that he isn't always joking.
Though it is true that the two of them have recently bonded and that their bond is as secure as any, the two do seem to butt heads. Both the Ikran and its rider seem to possess tempers and a stubborn streak that is only fueled by their competitive natures. Coupled with their joint penchant for recklessness, Adetokunbo has found himself tossed off the animal's back unceremoniously at times. Adetokunbo knows that others don't believe him, but he insists the Ikran finds such moments humorous.
This can occur at inopportune moments for the young Na'vi, so the elders have suggested to the heir that he come to some agreement with the beast in the interest of the tribe and his own personal safety. On the other hand, when rider and mount are united and working in unison they are virtually unmatched in the elegant, skillful way they handle the skies, often accomplishing daring feats others might shy away from. Unfortunately though, more often than not it still appears as if the Ikran would be more than happy to kill Adetobunko. Its a point of contention between the two and perhaps a sign that until he accepts himself, Ta'kuk will not accept the Na'vi who rides him.
Physical Description:
Standing at an impressive height and still growing, Adetokunbo has all the traits that seem pleasurable to the Na'vi. His body is finely formed, strong, toned yet not overtly muscular in an unnatural way. His skin tone lies firmly in the blue spectrum, its depth of color growing darker in the warmest months of the year when the orange sun's rays beat strongest. There are striations of color, similar to the stripes of a zebra that decorate his skin in a lighter shade of teal that more closely mirrors the ocean's blue green depths. His body is free of the tattoos that mark many older warrior's bodies either to mark time or the battles that just as surely indicate the rising tide of years and experience. The bioluminescence that dots his skin and mark his body at night run along his skin in long curving broken lines, though they are not as pronounced as some.
His eyes are keen and sharp in their focus, colored in a pale amber and rimmed very slightly in something closer to a bronze. His hair is dark like those of his people, often worn free of adornment beyond the small braided sections necessary to keep his hair out of his face. He isn't much for artifice or airs, preferring to let his actions speak for him versus flashy clothing or what he calls girlish beads or ribbons in his hair. He does wear a simply braided leather cord around his throat, this accented by a few small shells and pieces of luminescent coral. This signifies his rank and role as the equivalent of a prince among his clan and it is the only reason he agrees to the frivolity or jewelry. He wears gauntlets along his forearms and a band around his right bicep that are fashioned from the same leather as his loin cloth. This material has been tanned from the hide of a sea creature he killed during a previous season's hunt. This hide has a subtle scaled pattern and a slight blue green tinge.
His bow, arrows and a knife carved from an Ikran wing claw are almost always present on his body. The back of his knife blade is decorated with a ridge of coral that is both decorative and can be used to rip or tear and effectively gives his blade two sides. The coral lies near the handle and runs a third of the way up the blade, allowing him to hold the back of the blade in his mouth without cutting or injuring himself.
His body moves with a predatory grace. His form is somewhat feline like the rest of the Na'vi though it is most easy to see his connection to that of perhaps a panther than any other familiar beast. His battle armor, especially the head piece, resembles perhaps Pandora's most feared land predator, the Thanator with four flat discs of decorated shells spiked by teeth at their zeniths that rise up and encircle the crown of his head. He likes that this makes him look like his spirit animal, the Palulukan, and he likes to use this fact to intimidate.
In truth he owes much of his aggressive, assertive posture and movement patterns to the Viperwolf pups he has grown up taunting and playing with at the edge of his Clan's territory. He can often be found sleeping in the branches of a tree after border patrol, more comfortable there than in the caves carved from stone. He feels a greater connection to Eywa there, just as he embraces the life energy he feels when flying or swimming, or fighting for that matter. He's not the type to lounge around all day. He's an action guy, always on the move. In fact, its almost as if he feels unsettled somehow, as if he has yet to find his place.
Personality: To put it lightly, Adetokunbo is a young Na'vi driven by passion. He is young and as a result he often speaks his mind and wears his emotions on his sleeve. He has a great deal of growing up to do despite his prowess as a fighter. If anything, he has yet to become a man worthy of being the warrior, the leader he could one day otherwise be. Though he has been trained and accepts his role as a warrior among his father's people, he is often rash and prone to what others might view as reckless behavior. He enjoys taking risks and though such behavior does offer its share of danger he believes that fortune favors the brave. At least where battle is concerned. To say he always follows his heart or his base instincts though is to deny a part of the young male that he tries desperately to hide.
He knows it is his duty to mate and to then eventually become Olo'eyktan for the Alehuai Clan, however he has yet to chose a mate. This due to the one aspect of his being that he simply cannot reconcile himself to, his sexuality. He feels that it is a flaw, a unforgivable weakness, even though he believes that Eywa has made him as he is. He prays to the All Mother to heal him, to make him as everyone else, to make him like his father. He doesn't yet understand that within him he may hold the key to understanding differences, the key to potentially bringing balance to his people. As of yet he is unwilling to even consider such a prospect, there is no option seen by him but to believe that his father's political position is the best and only path for himself and his people.
He works twice as hard as his peers to compensate as a result and wishes for no greater acclaim than that of his father and the tribe he cherishes and protects. He fears that his father and the other men will reject him as unworthy if his secret were to be discovered. He's worked too hard to earn his place to give it up because of something within himself he has failed to learn to control or obliterate. So he works harder than anyone, mastering the skills of a warrior his people have rarely seen prior, despite his youth, inexperience and immaturity.
He does possess a certain strength of character, a strength of will that powers him through life, enabling him to be who he thinks he must be daily to fulfill his goals. This is true even when such pursuits may be seen as misguided or deny him true peace and happiness. That will power can present itself in what can only be described at times by others as acts of stubbornness, or in the case when he proves himself right, instances of self proclaimed brilliance. He can be ruthless and has no trouble killing as he feels its his responsibility and duty to protect not only the Alehuai but the unenlightened Na'vi, Eywa and Pandora itself.
He's not all bad though, only flawed, he does possess honor and lives by that code as surely as he has devoted himself to the life he loves. When he feels comfortable he can be affable and even seems to possess a sense of humor, surprisingly enough. And some may even find him charming, that is if they can get past the arrogance and pride of race he uses as a shield to hide the most secret aspect of his being. Needless to say, he has allowed his parent's view of the Sky People to shape his opinion of them, though he honestly has never met any of them face to face. For him, the stories of the time of sorrows from his father are enough to shape his point of view.
Talents: He prides himself on being the most skilled warrior of his age and has yet to meet his match, for though such a warrior may exist he has yet to face him. He uses several weapons though his favorites are the x-shaped Banshee bow he uses for long or medium range and a long bladed knife he has carved from the same ancient coral that makes up the jagged reefs beneath the surface of the ocean just beyond his cliff side home. He has even gone so far as to name the blade, speaking to it as if it were a childhood friend from time to time. This, as if telling it to strike true means it will do so, whether swung, jabbed or thrown. He truly believes that the blade has life, that like everything else it is part of Eywa and the balance of life. Besides, its easier to suggest such a balance when he does occasionally miss.
He is a natural born leader, its in his bloodline, his ancestry. Despite his youth, he has always enjoyed a certain amount of grace when it comes to his place and position, though he would argue he has worked for the respect he has gained. He is a highly capable rider, more accustomed to the Pa'li although he has recently become bonded with his Ikran. He's proven adept in this regard, though the personalities of mount and rider do clash from time to time, hindering his growth in this regard to some extent. He likes to sing, though he may not be as good as he thinks he is. He also loves to swim, despite the dangerous creatures that lurk beneath the surface of the waves near his home.
History:
Adetokunbo is not the first son of his father, but he is viewed as a gift from Eywa just the same. For he is the only living son and the only one to call himself heir to Olo'eyktan Kai'mana of the Alehuai. His father was already an elder by the time he was born, conceived long after his brother's death so many years before at the hands of the Tawtute(Sky People) and their war party in protection of the Tree of Souls. Kai'mana watched his only son die that day and was forced return to his Tsahik Moana and give her the news. For nearly twenty years Kai'mana allowed his bitterness and hatred of the Sky People to grow and fester without outlet. In time, as the world began to embrace peace and memories of that horrible time faded for most he was granted another son by Eywa. He named this son Adetokunbo.
He raised this son much like he had the first, with a clear sense of duty and in preparation of becoming a great warrior one day. Only this time there was not the innocence of a time before tragedy to balance such a heavy hand with levity. Kai'mana held a fear that the Sky People would return and when they did he wanted to be sure that this child would not fall as the first had. As a result, Adetokunbo grew up with a sense of purpose and duty that at times made the boy seem both older than his years and yet rash and prone to outbursts of anger he didn't quite understand.
In time he would learn that much of his own anger was the result of his father and mother's pain. The journey into adolescence was met with both the expected and the unexpected. He enjoyed growing stronger, learning, and rising to challenge after challenge. This was true even when he was forced to take a step back and master some new skill or another. He was not prepared for the untoward yearnings that began, as he began to notice his fellow warriors, the men from the other clans during tribal summits in addition to the females of his own people. He found these urges confusing and distasteful and he did his best to deny them and ignore them.
When it was time for him to undergo the rite of passage called the Uniltaron, or "Dream Hunt", ceremony and he placed his procured kali'weya into that stone jar he learned that his spirit was drawn to the Palulukan, or the Thanator as the Sky People call it. Like the creature Adetokunbo has become an adept predator, able to use his environment to full advantage, using his lithe, strong form to hug the ground, cling to tree limbs and lord over his Clan's territory, striking fear into their enemies. Though he prefers to hunt and attack alone, Adetokunbo will strategically take a leadership position by forming a pack of sorts with his contemporaries to make each concerted attack frighteningly efficient and deadly for his prey. It was around this time that he began to earn more respect for himself from the people. And more importantly to him, the trust of his father that he would gladly carry out his sire's wishes. His increasing learned skill as a warrior also giving a focus to his emotions, allowing his interpersonal relationships and interactions to benefit from the sort of high he gets from a successful hunt and the mellow, if not prideful, feeling that often follows.
His clan had always been territorial, as many were, and soon enough Adetokunbo earned his place among the raiders and scouting parties that swiftly dealt with interlopers. He enjoyed protecting the land and the people he felt would one day be his, all the while pushing himself to excel where others might fail in an effort to hide what he viewed as a devastating secret. He has managed to avoid choosing a mate though he has recently come of age. He likes to blame his less than smooth experience with his Ikran, though he has no idea how closely that really hits home. He knows he has time to overcome his weakness, his attraction to both sexes for he is young yet. He knows he must eventually accept his betrothal to the next Tsahik to insure his Clan's future. He also acknowledges that many men wait until their mid twenties to take a mate, he prays daily to Eywa to heal him, to show him the way, the path he must surely take.
RP Sample:
It was never truly dark on Pandora. The young Na'vi enjoyed the night though, it was peaceful, quiet and it reminded him of the sea. Only he could breath and he didn't have to avoid many of the life threatening situations that he often faced beneath the surface of the sea. He enjoyed that some thought him odd for enjoying swimming as he did, his best friend hated the water, for example. It was a running joke between the two of them that the slightly older Na-vi also smelt of Pa'li droppings because he didn't swim. And of course the come back was that every time Adetokunbo swam he washed away his personality and scent.
Adetokunbo, Bo to his best friend, was out on patrol tonight though his mind wasn't on it. It was a dangerous predicament to find oneself in, especially for a young man who had always found himself drawn to the thrill and mystery of the hunt, of exploration and discovery. It was why he swam, honestly. It was an attempt to try and discover the reasons behind things he couldn't see but knew where there. It was an attempt to see what could not be seen but felt. In many ways, when he swam beneath the surface of water it became an entirely different world.
Pandora had a high center of gravity. To get speed and maintain footing, the young Na'vi often that do curl his toes down into the dirt as he rant to gain speed and hone his ability to dodge and in turn fight. In the water some of the effect of that was lessened. It felt like you were floating within a sea of thick air, once speed was gained he had learned that he could speed through the depths with ease. It was like flying but without the hindrance of his pesky Ikran, Ta'kuk. He viewed his troubles with the mount as yet another sign that he had done something wrong to cause Eywa to disfavor him so.
And so he was praying now, his queue connected to the glowing branch of the tree that towered over even his own stature. Being here made him feel connected, like he was not so alone. Sure he was almost always surrounded by the people, but he knew now that he was different from them. It was a curse, one he was determined to free himself from. Not wanting to draw attention to his absence, Bo completed his simple prayer and opened his eyes, "Irayo, Eywa...I will be better, I promise this to you."*
He turned, long legs and still too large feet carrying him out of the sacred spot and into the nearby forest. All around him the water cascaded down in glowing life giving streams from the waterfalls as he ran quickly along the arching sweep of flora. Each footfall left the trail of momentarily disturbed plant life in his wake. Above him wood sprites, the Atokirina', drifted lazily on the breeze and typical of the self-centered, focused youth he was in too much of a hurry to notice.
* "irayo" means thank you.
