My eyes opened gently, as I felt my body was doing wonderful, something I always woke up thanking Eywa for. I wondered if other clans also had something similar to us regarding the sap of the Kelutral, because if not, then it was a pity.
The sap of the Kelutral felt alive in many ways, so much so that when I wanted to leave the interior of the vault, my body was pushed forward as if by a stream of water, gently pushing me until my body was outside.
Once outside, I noticed it wasn't yet dawn, though many were already doing their chores. So, without wanting to waste time, I went down to the common area; several women were already preparing breakfast, with some children helping them.
"Aleyx." We greeted each other warmly. While it was true that in the clan we were more than twenty thousand members, it was like a small town; we all knew each other, which also made it difficult for other Na'vi from other clans to sneak in, even if they used our clothes. In fact, something like that had happened a few years before Ro'a was born, and the fate of those invading Na'vi I preferred not to say.
The breakfast was complete: meat, milk, fruit, and edible leaves. The truth was that we ate very well, and considering that we were more than twenty thousand beings eating three times a day, it made me wonder how the Great Balance did its work there.
It would certainly take proof, which made me sigh, knowing that I no longer had time to do any of that. Since now I was a babysitter.
"Purrr," a growl, or rather a super loud purr, made me smile, and turning around, I found Fang. The big guy purred like a giant cat, while he rubbed me with his massive head. "Hey, look out!" I protested, feeling something cold on my arm.
"You know that's hard to wash," I told him, and although I tried to sound angry, my laughter gave me away. We were like that for several minutes, with me talking and him purring; at this point, it was already normal for us, so no one was surprised.
But Fang caught a scent; his nostrils flared and he showed his strong jaws, while growling at someone who was approaching us, although now she had stayed standing a certain distance away.
That person was Grace; apparently she had listened to me and had gotten up early. At least she was punctual, I thought, while I tried to hold back a laugh. "Mawey Fang," I said to my friend. Usually Fang was calm and quiet, but he wasn't used to Grace—a stranger and a newcomer from his perspective.
"I see you listened to me," I addressed Grace, noting that she was ready for today's journey. "Keep it up; that way you won't die on your first day." I didn't wait to see if she had heard me or not; instead, I climbed onto Fang and began to lead him toward the great lake inside the fjord, as I had called the great ring of floating mountains that surrounded the village.
But I had to stop. "What are you waiting for? Let's go." Grace had remained standing in the same place, and whether it was out of fear of Fang or something else, I didn't care. She had better lose her irrational fear of Fang, since he would be present in many of our learning sessions, and having Grace slow or distracted by having one eye on Fang all the time would not be recommended.
The village was divided into several sections; it was like having a mini compilation of biomes within the fjord. At the center itself was the Great Kelutral, but besides it, there was also a huge lake of crystal-clear water that glowed at night due to its fluorescent algae. There was a large meadow with streams where the Talioang grazed.
There was also dense foliage where the Angtsìk rested, and more than that, there was even a swamp. As for me and Grace, we headed to the great meadow, where our first session would be.
"Very well, sit down," I ordered her, pointing to a wide woven mat that was on the grass, which I had placed the night before. I used it when I researched my gift with Fang's help, but it would also serve for this.
"As the Tsahìk told you yesterday, it is up to me that you learn our way, and up to you to learn as much as you can. We are both immersed in this, so you better cooperate." I made things clear to her; I wasn't here with her by choice, but since I was in this, I might as well do it right.
"The Subaiya way is divided into several branches: Multiple, Gatherer, Rancher, Warrior, Hunter, and Risak Warrior." Seeing that she was keeping up with me, I continued: "A Multiple is someone who is in charge of making garments, preparing food, attending to the children, and keeping everyone's weapons in good condition. On the other hand, a Gatherer is the one who helps bring to the clan all the prey or food that the hunters manage to catch."
"A Rancher is one of the most dangerous paths. They are the ones in charge of looking after the care of the Pa'li, the Txumre, the Angtsìk, and the Talioang. In this path, one false move and you die trampled, poisoned, or impaled. You decide."
A brief paleness passed through Grace's face, and I knew immediately that she would not follow that path; apparently, I had scared her. "The Warrior is the one who dedicates most of their time to the protection of the clan; that is their only concern: looking out for the protection of the clan, even if their life depends on it." I tried to be as serious as possible when explaining this path to her, since it was undoubtedly among the three most important.
"The Hunter, I don't think I need to explain much. As for the last one, a Risak Warrior, this is undoubtedly the most dangerous, important, and sacred path of all." Stopping a bit to organize my words well and make it clear to her how important this was, I continued: "A Risak Warrior is one who follows the summit of our path. To do that, you must complete your first rite of initiation, in which you will bond with an Ikran for your entire life, become a warrior, and then scale up to hunter."
"Once you reach the hunter path, you must tame two or more Txumre; upon that depends whether you are ready to start your rite of elevation, which consists of being able to take a Palulukan. With that, you can be accepted by the Tsahìk and the Olo'eyktan, and with it, become a guardian of the Tree of Souls and the Tree of Voices, besides looking out for the protection of our leaders. Do you understand now why it is so dangerous?"
Grace nodded, with her brow furrowed and a lost gaze. "But don't worry; if you want to be a Multiple, there is no problem. Each path is important in its own way and very necessary. Mind you, even to be a Multiple, you must conquer the rite of initiation, so it's not that easy. But well, there is a long way to go for that; you will have time to think about it."
This seemed to calm Grace's state a bit, and in part, I felt guilty for making her feel that way, but it was necessary. She might be a researcher or a doctor, but that only applied to her base, where safety was guaranteed for her, and also in part within the Omaticaya territory. But here, things were different, and although I longed to think that I didn't worry about her, it wasn't true.
"Now that things are clear, let me introduce you to this little guy." She looked at me with a strange look. Yes, undoubtedly calling a creature more than two or three meters high, capable of splitting you in two in just a blink, a "little guy" was perhaps not the most accurate thing. But what does it matter? To me, he was a little guy. My little guy.
"This is Fang, a Palulukan—the apex land predator, or at least that's what they think. The truth is there are some more dangerous than them. Fang, she is Grace; she will be with us for a while." With the introductions made, Grace seemed to lose her fear a bit, although she still acted reluctant when making certain movements.
"The first thing you will learn is how to mount a Pa'li. First, we would go to show you and teach you all the clan territory so you can familiarize yourself with it, but on foot it's impossible—it would take us too much time. But for now, we will be here, so take the opportunity to ask anything you want."
That seemed to excite her; undoubtedly she was a researcher. "Well, I heard from the children of the Omaticaya clan that the Subaiya clan closed its borders. I would like to know why." Oh, of all the things, did she have to choose that one? At the very least, I expected her to ask about the species we had with us, our closeness to the Angtsìk, or something like that.
"Well, it's not a very pleasant story," I began, as I remembered everything I had been taught so as not to overlook anything important.