LOG-025.“You cannot afford to be so flippant young one, not in the position you are now in. Wisdom, leadership, grace, these are all things you must carry now, at all times.”I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as water ran along my back, wizened old fingers, roughly scrubbing my hair and scalp while their owner continued to speak, the sights and sounds of the Omatikaya hometree surrounding us both.We’d long since discussed the situation regarding Eywa’s plans, the RDA’s desires, and what the clan would be doing in the meantime, namely avoiding any hostilities and generally staying put until the company figured out just what it was going to be doing in regards to the deposits sitting in Omatikaya land.Agreements had been made, a small party involving dancing, singing, and various substances that could probably be classified as soft drugs had been held, and now in the afterglow of what had admittedly been a good time, I sat atop a branch, legs swinging slightly and most of my clothes set to the side as Mo’at did what Mo’at tended to do whenever I was around.Namely, relentlessly mother me while also trying to maintain her clan's interests.“...We received the signs while in communion with the spirit tree. Never in my life, nor in any of the recorded lives of my elders, has Eywa proven to be so blatant in her favour. I…”Turning slightly, I stared at Mo’at out of the corner of my eye, even as I blinked slightly to avoid some of the makeshift soap from leaking where it shouldn’t.“Believe me when I say that the smart move is to cooperate, now? Even the trees fear rocks from the sky, Tsahìk.”My cheek earned me a light smack up the head from the old lady, though it didn’t stop me from smirking in triumph as the woman let out a sigh.“Yes, you capricious child. I believe you. As will many others, as they commune with their own spirit sites and are informed of your importance. Which leads me to what I’ve been meaning to speak about.”I remained silent in favour of responding, merely waiting for my counterpart to continue while I watched a pair of giggling children run across one of the larger branches below us.“You see her there, don’t you?”Focusing on the one I recognised, I nodded slowly.“Neytiri. What about her?”Moat let out something between a snort and a cough, even as she gently moved one of my kuru out of the way, scrubbing behind my ears.“Eytukan and I have discussed it, both as husband and wife, and as Olo’eyktan and Tsahìk. We believe that it is for the best that Neytiri be sent back with you, to learn amongst the…humans.”Turning sharply, I allowed the surprise on my face to do the talking, earning a bored look from Mo’at.“Oh, don’t give me that. You have proven, evidently, that the Na’vi have need of ambassadors who might treat with and influence the sky people. Neytiri is a smart girl, holds relevance within our ranks, and with Sylwanin set to marry Tsu’tey, she will be in the perfect position to act as a representative of the Omatikaya, and our wishes.”Her eyes grew soft as she stared down at where her daughter was playing some form of game with the other child, their hands slapping against each other as they sat on either side of a hanging leaf.“It has been discussed, and she is willing to leave and learn from under you for the good of the clan. And…it is not as if she will not be able to return to visit her family, yes?”At my quick nod, the woman seemingly grew reassured, the small bit of hesitation in her voice fading rapidly.“Exactly. It will serve us well to have one of your own acting as your companion. You associate yourself with the humans far too much anyway. Forests, you even smell like one sometimes. Even these bathing sessions can only do so much to fix it.”Blinking again, I processed that statement, before my expression contorted.“Hey-!”And then Mo’at dumped another massive leaf’s worth of water on my head, the old hag.—“Hi.”My somewhat awkward greeting went mostly unheard beneath the screeching of the Kyra’meta ikran pack and the general hustle and bustle of my guards getting ready to mount up, some of them carrying gifts from the Omatikaya and G’leem exchanging a suspiciously long goodbye with some local girl I didn’t recognise, but had spotted him interacting with on more than one occasion during our visit.Still, the child in front of me heard it, and smiled brightly in response.“Hello!”Tilting my head slightly at the perfectly pronounced English, I gestured towards Alfa, the animal in question turning to glance at us with all the energy of a barely domesticated bird, a light croon escaping the ikran as it realised it was being observed.“Have you ridden one before?”Watching Neytiri shake her head, I let out a small hum, bringing up a hand to rub at my chin before nodding to myself.“...Alright, I suppose the harness will come in handy for this. Have you said your goodbyes already?”At the girl’s quick nod, I turned and began to stride towards my ride.“Good, good. Come along then. It’ll be a bit of a trip, but not too long. We’re gonna stop by that fancy spirit tree of yours so I can get some important details from the big boss first though.”“Big boss, right!”Noting the sound of the light footsteps indicating that my…protege, I supposed, was following behind me, I grabbed hold of one of the handles jutting out from Alfa’s saddle, waiting for my younger counterpart to step close before planting a hand on the small of her back, helping her climb up and onto the beast on her own in favour of just picking her up.Once she was safely seated atop the overgrown lizard, I gave her a few light taps until she got the hint and wiggled forward a bit, before I hopped on myself, settling behind her and petting the ikran’s side as it let out a slight hiss.“Okay, give me a second to figure out a seatbelt for you, then we’ll head out.”“Okay!”Resisting the urge to sigh as I fiddled with a length of thick cord set in one of the saddle’s utility slots, I began the process of tying the slip of a girl up in such a way that she wouldn’t go falling to her death if I had to make any sudden manoeuvres.Hopefully, this would be the Omatikaya dealt with for the short term. But if what Mo’at had mentioned in regards to visions from Eywa during the latter half of the party was true…Well, I’d no doubt need to pack a lighter outfit if I was going to go scouting around a volcano of all things.…And I was going to need to pester Eywa to actually get myself a proper explanation that didn’t consist of drugged out hallucinations experienced by Mo’at and some of her old besties, of course.