Snippet #1757003

Tamya

Tamya had spent the past day worrying. Worrying about everything- the safety of her people, the safety of Marek, the fate of Hometree, the fact that war could be on the horizon and more. No matter how hard she tried to quiet such thoughts, they refused to remain unheard and swirled around in her head. Spending an entire day doing nothing more productive than simply walking through the forest, enjoying the feel of the ferns and grasses beneath her feet, and the scents and sounds of the animals around them had not worked, as it had in the past. Two hours of communing with the ancestors had not given her any guidance either, their thoughts and voices jumbled and indistinguishable. She knew that this was not unusual, sometimes they were better able to speak than others, but Tamya could not help but feel that it was a bad omen of things to come this time. 

Her worries had robbed her of much of her appetite and she had eaten much less than she normally would, though truth be told this was not a large amount in the first place. Not knowing what to do with herself she had gone to the very top of Hometree and sat on a branch there since nightfall, gazing up at the stars and wondering which one of them belonged to the sky-people. If they had their own world then why did they come here to take what was not theirs? Did their Great Mother not provide enough for them? Just for once she wished that her people and the sky-people could talk things over, and settle it without war. Tamya did not know much about them, but surely they could be reasoned with? There must be some aspect of their nature that could be appealed to in order to make them stop hurting Eywa, digging around beneath her skin.

Many such lines of thought had travelled the pathways of her mind over the hours as she watched those twinkling points of light in the sky. She was just beginning to feel more settled, and had climbed into a plant net to sleep, when a couple of minutes later Marek turned up and got into the net beside her. Suddenly they all came rushing back. She had hardly seen him in three days, catching little more than brief glimpses as he prepared for the coming delegation. She refused to call it a war party. 

"Have you been well?" He asked "I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you."
She grinned when she saw him, and Tamya's immediate reaction was to confide everything to him, to tell him exactly how she felt and how worried she was for him. But she restrained herself- Marek did not need this right now. What he needed was her support. She could not say nothing though, so she gave him part of the matter.
"I do not want to sleep in a cave." she stated bluntly "It is not right for the Omaticaya. We were meant to sleep beneath the heavens, not the ground."
Quickly realising she had neither greeted him nor answered his question, she added softly "It is understandable that you haven't been to see me, these are busy times. I would have visited you but  I will not enter the 'war tent'." she spat the last two words. He knew her feelings about conflict well enough. 
"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" she asked with genuine concern in her voice. She knew he was not keen on the trip to the Hallelujah mountains, though he climbed so well she could not fathom why. She supposed it was just brotherly competition. No matter how many times Marek assured her of his placidity, she found Kuvax intimidating to be around and could only imagine how he must have felt. 


Kuvax

Two arenas across from Leyri, Kuvax was involved in a sparring match of his own. Except that he was fighting three people at once. The first assailant, the oldest of the three but still relatively young, made the opening move. Roaring, he lunged for the chief's son aiming to knock him to the ground. Kuvax simply sidestepped, allowing the warrior to crash to the ground in an undignified heap and causing several of the onlookers to snigger. 

As he picked himself up the second warrior advanced more cautiously, the third close behind him. Kuvax turned to face them both, hissing his own challenge. He did not wait for them to come to him, bounding forward four paces to swing a fist at the second warrior, who tried to catch the blow but mis-timed the grab, his efforts merely shifting it into the meat of his shoulder and staggering him backwards. 

The first warrior, having recovered from his tumble, leapt onto Kuvax' back, locking his arms around his neck as the third warrior slipped an elbow past his guard and into his stomach, eliciting a snarl of pain and winding him. The first warrior was calling for him to yield and tightening the grip on his neck, but that was something Kuvax had never done. Even as a child he would not admit defeat. He caught the warrior off guard by simply allowing himself to fall backwards, crushing him by turning him into a cushion for the fall and loosening his grip. He knew he was heavier than most Na'vi, but he turned it to his strength.

He stood to find that the second warrior had excused himself from the fight, a large bruise forming around muscles that may be needed in the coming days, and Kuvax did not think less of him for it. For many long seconds he and the third, and now final warrior (for the first had been knocked unconscious by the earlier manoeuvre, it was discovered) circled each other. Then, as one, they bared their teeth and charged. The young one was brave, but Kuvax hit like an Angtsik and easily bowled the warrior over, pinning his arms and kneeling on his chest.

"Do you yield?" he asked triumphantly
"Yes." replied the warrior sullenly.
Instantly Kuvax stood, and offered the warrior a hand which was gratefully taken.
"What is your name?"
"Toma."
"May Eywa guide you Toma, you fight well." he grinned, walking away.
Noticing that Leyri was in a match he joined the crowd whilst recovering from his own, grinning as she easily won the bout. He had had something of a crush on her ever since he was little, but he dared not say anything to her. He respected her immensely, understanding how much harder it was for her to prove herself because of being female, even though he didn't think it should be a barrier. 

Seeing her move off for a break he followed and carefully eased himself down next to her, The tree creaking slightly as it accommodated his form. Though he knew his father looked favourably upon his strength, he often wished he was as nimble as Marek. There were so many places his brother could reach that he simply could not because of his figure, and it troubled him immensely for the trip into the mountains tomorrow. He turned to her, his eyes blazing like torches as they often did. 

"Good evening, sister." he said, unsure how to voice his question due to not being used to asking for help. He knew his discomfort showed and after a few moments of awkward silence he simply added "I would be honoured if you would accompany me into the mountains tomorrow."
Normally he would have turned down any offer for support, preferring to stand on his own two feet, but he really was nervous about the trip. If he and his brother did not form the bond successfully it could prove bad for morale, and if his brother was to someday lead the Omaticaya then they would have to believe in him. Failure this time was not optional and so he was reaching out for aid, though only to those he knew and trusted.