【 CHAPTER SEVEN 】

HOVERING above, with tendrils of vines and roots and other manner of wild Pandoran plant growth, the Halluelujah mountains seemed to patiently wait for the young hunters to make their ascension upward, toward the nests of ikran that awaited them within its holdings. Waterfalls tumbled off the sides of the floating formations, turning to mist and scattering rainbows of light before ever getting close to touching the forest below. Even from where the small groups of young hunters looked up from horseback, the tiny dots that were Ikran darting around the floating mountains could be seen.

Soon, Tsu'tey would lead them to climb higher in search of their own Ikran, another step toward becoming one of the people. Ruth had thought she'd been scared when hunting in the river deltas for the stampeding herd of Sturmbeast; this challenge was immediately more daunting for the scientist. The closest she'd ever come to such heights was via aircraft. 

Everything in her bones told her she was headed toward certain death all because of her major lack of experience. No— she thought to herself, her hands resting on the withers of her dire horse as she looked toward the mountains, amber eyes wide with awe. You have braved a hunt in a herd of stampeding Sturmbeast— how could you not handle a climb?

She wanted to be a hunter, to be one of the people. She would leave behind her less than good life and years of hard work in college back on earth if it meant she could never leave this behind. Everyday that she explored and learn from Tsu'tey she became more and more thankful for the marine that had given such an opportunity. Because of Jake, she was here. After today, she would truly be able to considered herself a hunter.

On her forehead, an orange V had been painted on her skin, a symbol worn by all young hunters during their Iknimaya. On her lithe waist, the rope she would soon be using waited for her, where she'd have to quickly seal the maw of her chosen Ikran before she was killed. 

Though the sealing was extremely intimidating alone, she feared the wrestling that would soon follow, a deadly business that could easily land her plummeting to her death were she to be thrown over the cliff's edge. Multiple she tried telling herself it was only three things she had to do: climb to the nests, seal the maw of a beast that wanted to shred her and connect her queue to form a bond. 

A little more simplistic way to look at it, it was the only thing keeping her from entirely falling apart in fear. Her success with with the Sturmbeast hunt was the only thing that had kept her confident enough to continue with their trek through the forest and high into the reaches of the grounded mountains.

Riding near the back of the line, Ruth had followed two other young hunters while Jake straggled in the back. When they had assembled in the common area of Hometree's base earlier that morning, Jake had looked more than excited for their day's ventures, a small thing that had convinced Ruth that showing her fear was not an option. If the marine could do it, she could. She could trust in his enthusiasm to keep her motivated.

As Ruth's daydreaming came to a halt, the trail of direhorses soon stopped at the command of Tsu'tey, where they'd reached the uppermost peak of the mountains before they could begin their climb. Ruth's ears perked as she looked ahead, to where Tsu'tey was smoothly dismounting and disconnecting his queue in one single movement. 

She looked back to Jake before following suit and said, "To think we're up there asleep somewhere in the mountains." Her avatar counterpart followed her gaze to look up, toward the vine and floating rock path they would soon take very high up.

Jake chuckled, his signature side smirk flashing one of his elongated canines. "Try not to slip while we're up there, doc," he teased, a brow raised as he followed her down to the ground from his mount. Ruth scoffed a laugh, tail thrashing annoyedly as she attached her animal's lead to its fiber-woven bridle. They secured the direhorses with the leads before making their way over to Tsu'tey, who looked every part of a leader as he stood ready to start their climb.

The future Olo'eyktan, ever a stoic character, made Ruth feel some shred of pride knowing that Tsu'tey chose to be kind to her, had chosen to teach her. He chose against every reason he should have to hate her, for what she was, to train her to have the privilege of becoming one of the people given she passed all of the tests required of her. Even if it were only the mutual connection with Silwanin that drove his kindness, she didn't care.

When the young hunters gathered to hear their leader's words, Tsu'tey's instructions had been quick and concise: move quickly but safely, do not second guess your movements unless necessary, and above all else, keep up, all of which Ruth made sure to translate to Jake as his Na'vi was far from fluent to understand on his own. With the pep-talk complete and nothing else needed to be explained, the small group began their climb up the vines and rocks.

Ruth's strength gained over the short time she'd been acclimating her body to its natural habitat and learning from Tsu'tey was coming in handy the longer they climbed, as her muscles burned and she felt a sheen of sweat building on her brow. Her feet, already accumulating a healthy amount of callouses, gripped to every surface possible along the boulders and stone. 

The amount of physical activity the avatar team did at any given time could never come close in comparison to what the Na'vi did just living their lives. At the rate she was training and living in her new body, she would soon see herself as an entirely different person. Part of her hoped that Tsu'tey's reasoning behind not seconding guessing was based on the fact her body should know what it's doing being so attuned to the moon.

Running along the behemoth of a vine structure that ran between two of the floating mountains was the first heart-stopping encounter for the woman as she tried to keep up with Tsu'tey and the other young hunter's years of honed skills in the Pandoran environment, all of her fears of heights being faced before they even reached the nest. She supposed she needed to get over it, as she would soon be airborne on the back of her new mount to soar through the sky even though every shred of her screamed for safety. 

Hopefully, given she didn't make a deadly mistake or movement. An incredible realization, she thought.

Unsure of how long the journey really took and the only thing that kept her sane was ignoring the heights and focusing on the hunger ahead, Ruth was relieved once they'd finally reached the end of a cave systems within one of the mountains, her muscles burning in almost a comforting way. The sound of their harsh padding along the misted rock had gone along with the anxious beat of her heart all the way up until they arrived at the beginning of the Ikran nests, which was just passed the narrow walkway behind a waterfall.

Daring to lean and look passed the waterfall, Ruth caught sight of their targets. Excitement and dread and anticipation immediately filled her all at the same time and she raised a hand to touch the area of her chest where her heart pounded just below. The Ikran were even more beautiful now that she could see them up close, a variety of colors and patterns that seemed innumerable. They screeched and flapped their canvas-like wings, hissing and baring black fangs.

Looking back to the others, she saw that Tsu'tey had been watching her as she'd looked ahead like an intrigued child. Embarrassment immediately washed over her. Her gaze immediately fell to the ground, ears pinned back. It seemed he felt the same, as he turned his attention to the others in an effort to move on from the momentary awkwardness they'd shared. 

In the open air just off the cliff to their right, a notably lighter blue-green Ikran let a cry before landing on the cliff edge, the harness on the beast a clear indicator it belonged to a rider. Neytiri smoothly dismounted from Seze, Ruth soon identified, greeting both she and Tsu'tey before looking to Jake who was standing nearby.

Once again, Ruth caught the glimmer in Jake's eye she'd been suspicious of particularly since the hunting festival. Yet, Ruth hadn't been very collected herself. At least from what she could remember after drinking the intoxicating Na'vi beverage that had sent her into a drunken stupor she'd only seen a handful of times back on earth and even then, she was in her avatar body. Nevertheless, Neytiri didn't try very hard to hide her own thoughts, a smirk on her lips as her Ikran rubbed its head into her.

"Jakesully will go first," Tsu'tey stated, drawing Ruth's attention from her internal commentary on the obvious. The smug grin on his lips was enough to make Ruth glance at Jake, who momentarily gave her side eye before sighing and making his way toward the narrow path behind the waterfall. 

Neytiri followed close by, likely giving him advice as any good mentor would in a situation like this. Ruth knew better though. It didn't seem their coalition was remaining strictly educational.

Following behind Tsu'tey, Ruth didn't realize she'd grown close to him until she'd gently bumped into his arm, all the thoughts of a deadly fall crossing her mind. His reaction was anything but upset.

"Will you go next?" He asked her over the roar of the waterfall. Will you, not you are.

The sun blinding, Ruth shielded her eyes as they stepped out from the shadows of the cave. Immediately, she spotted the Ikran of various sizes and colors she'd been gazing at before. Blues, yellows, cyan, orange, pink, purple, the colors seemed to never find an end. As the small group neared the nests as close as they could, Ruth's gaze darted around as she tried to assess the hundreds of beasts that nested in rocks.

"I will," she told him as she looked in the direction Jake and Neytiri had gone, even though everything in her wanted to turn tail and descend down the mountain.

When she looked back at him, his expression was softened. Perhaps understanding how nervous she was to be doing this. "You will do fine," he assured her. He cocked his head, the slightest hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "You are hunter of talioang. On Pa'li, too." His smile was reassuring, she had to admit.

He was right. She'd downed a Sturmbeast on the back of dire horse, nothing but a borrowed bow and a few weeks of practice to fulfill her kill. She could do this. Part of her had been terrified when she'd gone into a cryo-chamber years ago to make her journey to Pandora. The thought of space travel had been terrifying to her but in this moment when she felt the same, she would prevail. She would not give into fear.

Nodding, her lips thinned as she followed him the rest of the way passed the waterfall. By the time they'd found a spot atop a rocky ledge that faced the nests, Ruth saw that Jake was already weaving his way through the flying beasts, sending some fleeing with a cry, some hissing territorially but moving all the same. Watching intently, Ruth saw that Jake seemed to find his Ikran fairly quickly as they soon fell into a dance of his rope swinging and the beast flicking its' tail in a challenge.

In a flurry of movement, Jake had managed to seal the maw of the cyan and lavender animal, its head swinging every which way as Jake launched himself onto its back. Noting his effort to try and control its head with his legs, Ruth felt dread as she watched the Ikran swat over and over at him with its curved, hook-like claw.

Just as Ruth thought Jake was going to make the connection with his queue and the animals', he was sent over its head and toward the ledge of the cliff. Her stomach dropped immediately as she gasped and Neytiri let out a frightened cry as she ran to the edge. Much to Ruth's relief, Jake hauled himself over the cliff's edge a few moments later and returned to the same position he'd been in on the Ikran's back. Legs wrapped around its head and his hand guiding his braid toward the animal's queue, the struggling seemed to take a thousand years as Ruth's anxious anticipation was finally sated as the bond was sealed.

Leaning forward over the Ikran's back, Jake pulled away the rope and grinned, saying, "That's right. You're mine."

Neytiri was quick to run over, goading him to take flight. She grabbed his wrist, pulling him to guide his mount toward the cliff's edge. "The first flight seals the bond, you must fly," she stated quickly.

"How?" He blubbered, that of which Neytiri replied with, "Think— fly!"

Almost immediately, Jake's Ikran launched forward, the marine yelping as he carried with it. Neytiri braced as the animal's wings flew over her and soon Jake's yells were audible as he likely tumbled through the sky. 

Ruth watched intently over the cliff's edge, all the rages of fear filling her stomach as she watched Jake flop, yelp, and cling for dear life as his mount toppled through the air. Tsu'tey, who was at her side looking over the cliff's edge as well, shot her glance.

"Don't do what jakesully did," Tsu'tey half muttered as they watched. Luckily, Jake managed to gain control down there as his flight became normal. Unsure of what he meant, Ruth tried to swallow her fear as she turned to face the nests once more, to face her turn that she'd been dreading.

Neytiri, rushing toward them and likely heading toward Seze, stopped next to Ruth before running off to disappear behind the waterfall. "You will do well," she assured the scientist, offering a warm smirk as Neytiri placed a comforting hand on her forearm. "I will see you in the sky."

Just as Neytiri took off to meet Jake on her Seze, Ruth looked to Tsu'tey. It was her turn now and there was no going back, no matter how terrified she was. Ears pinned back and fear written all over her features, Ruth took her training bow from her back and handed it to Tsu'tey. She pulled the rope from her waist, the weight of it like a boulder in her hand.

"Remember, swing your body to the side as you wrap," Tsu'tey instructed her. For the love of god, Ruth Carson was terrified. Tsu'tey's hand rested on her shoulder, his warm touch all that she wanted at that moment. She nodded, bracing herself.

Stepping forward on the sun-warmed rock, Ruth gazed around as the horde of Ikran became aware of her presence. Their tails swatted, teeth bared and many eyes watched her every movement. Some fled, letting out cries as they took off into the sky. Others crawled over the nests, avoiding her. As she walked, she pulled her braid to fall over her chest, ready and waiting.

Ears still pinned back and her own tail thrashing, Ruth watched every direction she could, yellow eyes darting as she was careful to watch her back as well. Watching Jake had been enough to ease some reassurance into her but the woman was still shaken to her core.

While the other Ikran avoided her or fled, one to her right, nearest to the cliff, remained defiant. It was all the shades of an angry sunrise, vermillion, indigo, chartreuse, onyx, and gold. Its eyes, akin to that of what Ruth would consider molten gold, stared her down with a challenge she felt called to answer. Its maw opened, teeth baring as it let out a snake-like hiss. 

Some part of her felt something click inside, some desire to fight back against this challenge the Ikran presented. She'd spent so much of her life trying to fight back in instances where she never stood a chance. Here? She could and would claim this Ikran for herself. She would soar the skies of Pandora and be happy.

Lips pulling back and mouth opening, Ruth let out a primal hiss to the beast as she gripped the rope. Almost as if understanding and approving of her defiant reply, the Ikran tilted its head, tail thrashing harder.

As if her body knew what to do, how to move, Ruth launched forward with the spinning rope. The weighted portion landed precisely as Jake's had, wrapping the Ikran's maw instantly before it could dodge her. As much as she'd been terrified to see Jake jump on the back of his mount and wrap his legs around its head, it was the best tactic Ruth had at her disposal. So she did it.

Vaulting over the wing of the struggling animal, Ruth was swift to snatch the queue of the struggling Ikran while her legs wrapped around its head. Leaning her own back against its' back, Ruth avoided the swatting of its claws, that which Jake had narrowly escaped. Her grip on his head didn't stop it from flapping its wings and turning, which had her head facing downward over the cliff edge. The only thing keeping her from plummeting to her death was the iron grip of her legs on the Ikran's head, which kept it from doing any effective movements to dismount her.

Beginning to fully buck, the Ikran made it extremely difficult for Ruth to make the bond. She fought, fangs bared and ears pinned as she growled, fighting with everything she had. Just as she was inches from making the bond, the tendrils of her queue reaching for the Ikran's, she was suddenly airborne with the Ikran.

Somewhere in the background of her awareness, Ruth thought she heard Tsu'tey yell. Perhaps something of fear for the swift death she could possibly face in mere moments.

Legs still gripping around the head of the Ikran as it hovered in place, Ruth held on for dear life. Now, she was fighting gravity to lean forward as she gritted her teeth and worked forward, all while the Ikran was flapping and fighting her. With all the strength she had left, Ruth leaned all the way up and closed the distance between their queues, connecting them.

As if instantly aware of what Ruth wanted, the Ikran lowered itself to the rock surface and maneuvered closer to safety all while its maw was still bound. Her heart pounding, Ruth slumped forward to rest her hands on the leathery neck of her new mount, her adrenaline still coursing wildly. 

Tsu'tey was instantly at her side, checking on her and pulling away the rope from her mounts' maw. His expression was mostly pleased to see her success, but a hint of fear and uneasiness was still in his eyes.

"Fly," he told her quickly, his fangs flashing in the slight smile he showed her. "You must fly. Seal the bond."

Still exhilarated by everything that had just happened, Ruth couldn't form words but instead nodded quickly. Thoughts of taking off the cliff and becoming airborne crossed her mind, which her mount must have immediately understood. It turned obediently, facing the cliff. She shared one more look with Tsu'tey before rider and mount launched off the cliff.