A skxawng in Kelutral

This is the first chapter of the first story I wrote as in an attempt to produce fanfiction. It plays on Pandora, the world of Avatar and the Na'vi people.

At the earliest morning light, Puvomun awoke. With eyes closed, he listened to the sounds. Most others were still sleeping, he heard, and the touch of the wind was gentle. With a slow movement he pushed against the side of his nivi, the hammock the people slept in. As it opened, he climbed up to the branch it hung from.

Overhead he saw the spot where the stranger, Jakesully slept, in the hammock next to Neytiri.

Puvomun shook his head, he did not understand why this uniltìranyu had been chosen to stay here. The Sky People had mostly brought pain and fear to the world.

Well, not all of them. Dr. Grace and her people had been nice. She meant well with her school, and her lessons had taught many Omatikaya to speak the Sky People  anguage.

Puvomun had been a friend of Dr. Grace, as he was teaching the children also. He taught them the Songs of the Clan, together with Ninat and Amhul and some of the other singers. Puvomun also made some of the New Songs, so the important things would not be forgotten.

Carefully he moved over the branch, passing the nivi of Lolet, Tskalepä and Ì'awn who were still sleeping. They had been dancing and singing until late.

From high above in Kelutral, Hometree, came the sound of a few ikran squabling. One of them had to be Tsu'tey's, that one was always making noise.

Puvomun went down to the ground. When his feet touched the solid soil, he stood still and let his senses move out, seeking Eywa. As usual, it did not work as this was plain soil, not Utral Aymokriyä, the Tree of Voices. He grinned at his ever failing attempts as he walked out into the open air.

The smell of the lake filled his nose. A few pa'li, direhorses, were walking around looking for water to drink. The pa'liwll were full after the night, so the animals would not go thirsty.

The skull of Toruk seemed to have invisible eyes that followed Puvomun around as he found a good place to sit and repeat the words of the new song he was trying to make. It had to speak of the memory of Ekte'ka who had saved the life of two children when a palulukan had charged at them as they had approached its young too closely. had been there also, taking the children, while Ekte'ka had distracted palulukan. Unfortunately, he had been too slow, so palulukan had sent him to Eywa.

"Be well, ma 'eylan," Puvomun said. Ekte'ka had been a good friend.

Then he thought of words to honour Ekte'ka's memory, until more people awoke.

The day went along. Puvomun, who was trying to teach some of the children together with Amhul, was about to give up. The children were wild again today, and did not want to stop talking about Jakesully.

"He is funny," one of the girls said.

"He is not," a young boy argued, "he says he is tsamsiyu, but Tsu'tey can beat him. And he smells wrong too!"

"And he stepped on my aunt's tail the other night," a third one pitched in. "They should stand on his kxetse too, so he knows what he does."

Amhul laughed. She told the children to sing some more, but also for her it was a lost cause. "Should we let them go?" she asked.

Puvomun nodded. "Yes, as long as they are not used to the skxawng, they won't listen."

They chased the children away and laughed as the group dispersed rapidly, screaming and shouting and laughing.

"What will you do today?" Amhul asked.

"I may go and catch some fish," said Puvomun. "I am also thinking of the new song."

"Oh. For Ekte'ka," Amhul nodded. "That is good. Maybe you can go with Tsu'tey today. He said he wants to see where the Sky People are now."

Puvomun thought about that. It would be good to keep an eye on the Sky People. They were spreading out very fast with their machines, and talking nor arrows had not stopped them so far. "I can, yes. If he wants to me to come."

"Ekte'ka would want you to go," Amhul said as she got up. "I am sure."

Tsu'tey agreed, when Puvomun asked him to go out with the other riders. "You can come. You have good ears and eyes, we need those. We will go to the south, the Sky People were there yesterday and they are coming close to Kelutral. Maybe we can scare them today. Bring your bow, Puvomun. We ride soon."

Puvomun fetched his bow. As he went to find a pa'li, Amhul waved at him and wished him good luck.

The horse trembled for a moment when tsaheylu started to flow. The singer-teacher breathed deeply as his mind and that of his animal connected, making them one. Then they rode to where Tsu'tey would be waiting, making a circle around the village. Children did not always know the strength of pa'li legs, and even when the rider was very careful, things could happen.

"We are still waiting for-" Tsu'tey started, when his face turned dark for a moment. "Oh. She is out with the skxawng again." It was clear to everyone that Tsu'tey was not a friend of Jakesully. Neytiri spent far too much time with the uniltìranyu. "Maktoko!"

Quickly the group rode out, leaving Hometree behind them.

They arrived at the shallow part of the lake where often children would play and swim. They watered the horses while in the distance they saw two figures with a horse.

Puvomun recognised Neytiri and Jakesully, as did the others.

"We go there," Tsu'tey commanded. He drove his pa'li splashing through the water.

Puvomun followed the group, and just before they reached the spot where Neytiri was, Jakesully had mounted pa'li. Puvomun saw how the animal suddenly jumped forwards, sending its rider toppling backwards. The man ended up in the mud.

The riders all laughed, seeing it happen. Tsu'tey spoke with Neytiri, making fun of Jakesully, calling him a 'skxawng' and as blind as a rock in the sand.

Puvomun watched Jakesully arguing with Tsu'tey as they both tried to become the winner of this verbal battle. In the end Neytiri sent the riders on their way, and as the group rode off, Puvomun could not help feeling that there was something about this man Jakesully.

The evening drew close. Puvomun sat on a low branch of a tree near Hometree, enjoying the silence and solitude, when a gentle tremor went through the wood. He turned and saw Amhul approaching.

"Kaltxì, ma Puvomun," she said. "Did you find the Sky People?"

"Tsu'tey did. He is a good hunter. I did not much. But I found the words for the song to honour Ekte'ka." He sang them to her. After a few tries, Amhul could sing the song with him.

"Amhul! Puvomun!"

They looked down and saw Ninat standing there, waving.

"Come down and sing with us!"

"We are coming!" Amhul said, beating Puvomun to it.

They went and joined the clan, singing the songs. Puvomun and Amhul sang the new song too, teaching it to the others as they went along. Even the children, calm now after a day of running around, sat and learnt the song.

Puvomun noticed Jakesully not trying to sing, which he understood. The man did not speak Na'vi at all. But the way the man stared at Neytiri all the time made the singer-teacher hope nothing bad would happen. After all, Tsu'tey could see it too...