Marek
The night was more alive than any other Marek had seen. The Na'vi warriors scrambled like ants beneath him. Some were conversing, others guarding the entrance to the den beneath home tree, and other were running to the other side of the war camp. Marek was crouched down on the branch of a tall tree in the rain forest that surrounded Home-tree. His tail flicked constantly, making minor readjustments to keep perfect balance despite the fact that the branch was wide and beyond sturdy for his figure. Marek had a problem with looking down from high above, he'd learned. It made him very nervous about the trip he and his brother would be making to the Hallelujah Mountains in the morning.
Things had changed in the past century. At least, that's what he'd been told by his father and Chief. The clan had changed much over the years after their true Home-tree fell. Warriors were trained hard, but now only the best were sent to achieve the title of Ikran Makto. There were only forty, out of a few hundred, warriors that have been sent to form a bond with a mountain banshee. Before dawn tomorrow, Marek, his brother, and two other warriors will be sent to attempt to bond with their own before seeking out the Sky People.
Marek took a moment to seek the easiest way down with his golden eyes before finally leaping from his crouch to free-fall. The air around him as he fell was warm and humid, a sign of the summer season. As he neared the ground, tree branches began to shrink thinner and become more frequents. Quickly memorizing the pattern of the branches as he fell, his hands found one quickly. For fear of ripping his arms out of socket for stopping at such a great speed, he instead used the branch to swing himself forward onto a plant with massive leaves, which he slid down easily before reaching the ground. Marek's breathing remained the same, and his heart skipped no beat. These kind of movements were natural to Marek, as long as he could analyze his surroundings before he made the jump.
As he walked through the lower entrance of Home-tree, the guards acknowledged him with a nod of the head. He politely nodded back. Truth be told, he didn't want to make any more battle plans or talk about warrior formations. It had been a long day of nothing but talk of war. Marek was tired, ready to rest for a while, even if that just meant sitting down for a minute. He climbed his way up to some of the highest points of the tree, the places were their beds of net were. After tonight, all tribal Na'vi that weren't fighting would be sleeping in beds of grass underground in the den. He hated the idea of so many people being placed underground; what if the cave collapsed? Only portions of it were made of stone, the rest were simply carved from the dirt. But nothing could be done to change it now. If home-tree fell again, he would just have to hope those underneath it were safe.
In one of the highest points of the tree, he found Tamya. He immediately felt more relaxed by just being in her presence, and his stressed face softened into a slight smile. Marek climbed into the plant net beside hers. He wondered how she was holding up. Their relationship was sometimes strained; she didn't agree with the idea of war, and Marek was being sent to lead one. He knew this caused her stress, but he didn't know how she had been coping with it lately. Marek hadn't been around much, especially within the past three days. "Have you been well?" He spoke in his native tongue. Marek only knew bits and pieces of the English sky-people language; just enough to communicate with them tomorrow. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you."
Leyri
"Is that all of the strength you hold in your arms?" Leyri shouted, a toothy grin appearing on her excited face. Leyri and her opponent both had each other by the upper arms. Their tails flickered intensely, signs of stress and determination. The Na'vi in front of her gave a shout, and using all of his might tried to take Leyri by her arms and twist her to the ground. This only excited her more, and she let go of his arms. She moved with him, putting her in a ducking position. Perfect. Leyri kicked out her leg and swung it across his, tripping him to the ground in the direction he held her in. He let go to try to catch himself, and she reacted by pinning her to the ground by her knee with a stone dagger at his throat.
"You end will be your inability to block out another's words, Ro," she told him. Ro was one of the youngest warriors. He was fifteen and the chief nor his sons wanted him to participate in the war. But Leyri and some of the other warriors saw his strength, and more importantly, his proficiency in weapons. "Stick to a bow and arrow for this fight. You'll do fine."
Leyri was one of many Na'vi in the clan that believed that tomorrow would start a war, no question about it. Some of the more peaceful ones believed that perhaps the sky-people had gained enough of the precious gem to leave, but Leyri knew otherwise. They were greedy. They were selfish. They wouldn't give it up. Everyone who had ever come into contact with what they call Avatars, aka fake sky-people, would know that humans cared only of what they want. Leyri had met one many years ago and knew that he had yet to learn anything of the balance of the life in their world. He was only about cutting and stealing to take samples back to their base. It had disgusted her, and left her with a bad taste in her mouth for the sky-people.
She stepped off of Ro, hearing rounds of clapping from those who had stood around in a circle to watch the sparring. Giving Ro her hand, she helped him up from the dirt and helped to wipe off the filth. "Go rest, that's an order. You'll need your sleep for tomorrow."
After he had walked away, she also turned to her fellow warriors. "Which of you are traveling to the mountains tomorrow?" A few raised their hands. "Good luck. Let me know if any of you would like a companion." Leyri had already formed her bond with a mountain banshee, but she always gained a thrill from watching others form theirs. A bit tired from the duel with Ro, she went to sit on a fallen tree outside of home-tree, next to a few other warriors who had yet to find sleep.