Provide
Vun
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The improvement turned into perfection with practice. Simon was efficient and capable. He would be a great hunter. But Keru wanted to show him there was more than that. They began with foraging. She showed him right from wrong. Rawp = good, somtìlor = bad. He found only the medical knowledge useful and only really seemed interested int what could help him if he were stranded and wounded.

So they moved onto weaving and making things. He was poor at it. He ended up making a strange rhombus of thick uncomfortable fiber.

He didn't need to be an artist in the artisanal clan so long as he had perfected one thing. So, out to the valley of bones they went to make a kill.

Simon was a silent stalker, for someone so large, he was so silent with each step. He was stalking something that walked on six legs, no tail, front heavy. It was a yìre'o, flat-headed ram. They were more common here, and although they are rideable, they are ridiculously difficult to tame unlike pa'li.

When he found it, he didn't hesitate. He silently drew back his bow and released within the span of a second. The arrow hit the body with hollow sound. It cried out in surprise and in pain, but it was dead just after. Yäkeru began to recite the prayer, the one she taught him while they weaved the day prior.

"Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmuke. Oel seiyi irayo nga. Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì." I see you, sister. I thank you. Your spirit goes with Eywa. Your body stays behind to become part of the people. Simon joined. He didn't really think it. It was what she told him to do. But thinking about it, while doing it, he understood why they did it, what it meant. He wasn't sure that he believed it yet.

He made quick work of the kill, skinning it on sight, helping Yäkeru harvest whatever was useful. They left what they couldn't take for the nantangs(viperwolves). The bones would be clean in a week and then they could go back, grab it and use the bones for all sorts of crafts. Weapons, tools, decoration, the limit was imagination.

He could provide. And he did it artfully.

It was a clean kill, very fast and efficient. I'll admit it was unexpected. Yäkeru signed. She had just set down her bag of meat, skin and organs, she handed it to a cook who would clean and cure the meat or cook it then, the skin would go a tanner, the organs go to the weavers who will clean the most usable parts and see it into a lantern to collect hellfire wasps in.

"You doubted me?" He asked. He was almost smirking under his mask.

I barely know you. She chuckled. Your ceremony, it is in two parts. Emrepay is the first. You will swim into the lake and mount an Ilu. You will swim with me and the pod of Ilu for only a few minutes. You won't be able to come up for breath unless you have an Ilu. She said. The Ilu migrate between here and the islands in the ocean.

The risk is the lack of air, and the predators. The srakat aren't large and cannot to more than take a foot or a hand, but there is one other creature. I haven't seen it so I don't even know if it's real. Toratan. They say it has a crest on its head like Toruk, but it is large and lures in prey with a light display like stars. And when it hunts, it goes to the bay and open ocean to chase the Ilu across the ocean. She explained.

Simon gave her a skeptical look.

I will be with you, we will be watched by the clan. We have a day to prepare. She said.

The next ritual is Uniltaron. Dream hunt. You will be put into a trance and you will have a vision. I know you don't like to rest or think, but you will have to. She signed, grabbing his attention.

He sighed and walked with her to the lake's edge to wash their hands of blood.

"Let's practice the breathing. You may be down there for what feels like a long time. Breathe from here." She tapped his diaphragm lightly and they both took a deep breath in through their noses.

Out through the mouth and in through the mouth. And then hold as much air in as you can. She directed.

He focused on the water in front of him as he held in his breath. He held it and just stared at the water. Until his lungs screamed for release but he didn't budge. He held it for a little over a minute before he began to panic in his mind. Yäkeru was able to hold it for another minute and a half.

Good, you can hold your breath for long, it may be long enough. She said. He simply looked at her. This was going to be terrible.

•—————•—————•—————•—————•

Simon took in the world around him at dinner. It was like he was waking up from a haze. Suddenly aware. The children's laughter, the joy and merrymaking, people enjoying their food. The fruit of the clans labor. The singers sang their songs about the rhythm of the rain, the warmth of the sun.

And he was grateful and grounded. He owed his thanks to her, Keru. For teaching him how to survive, how to track animals and hunt, how to skin a six legged animal and harvest it for its meat and organs. How to get rid of his atrocious accent while speaking her language. She taught him how to live in the moment without thinking about the past or the future.

The only thoughts that lingered in his mind was how would he thank her, and why was she so kind to a complete stranger?