A skxawng in Kelutral

[Puvomun]

21. After the battle

Bringing the wounded back to the other people was hard work. Not so much physically as it was emotionally. Several did not survive the transport from the battle field, and for the ones who did there were hardly enough means to take care of them.

Tuke, Nusumea Tirea and many others worked hard as well, treated wounds, gathered more herbs, made food, found water.

Nusumea Tirea had returned by himself. Rìk had been hurt by one of the smaller flying machines, but the ikran would be fine. His rider did not want to stop working on the wounded, he said it was his duty to do what he could.

"Ma tsmukan," Puvomun said, "you have to rest and eat. You can not help when you faint and fall over one of the wounded, kefyak."

The healer-hunter stopped for a moment, trying to understand the words. The man was too tired.

"Amhul..." Puvomun said, and she was already there, guiding Nusumea Tirea away. The teacher-singer took over the work of his friend as well as he could.

More and more hunters and warriors returned. Suddenly there was a loud cry coming from above. Toruk Makto flew over the clearing, circling round a few times. Everyone saw the two people sitting on its back.

Quickly the people cleared a large area where the large animal could land.

Soon the words came, though, as the people around Neytiri heard and conveyed what had happened. The large flare of light that had made the giant neyn kunsyip fall to the ground had been started by Jakesully. He had flown Toruk over the machine and jumped from the animal onto the machine. An exploding kewong thing had made the fire in the machine.

Jakesully had fallen to the ground, breaking his fall using the trees and large leaves. Then he had fought with the leader of the aysawtute aysaronyu.

The most incredible thing Puvomun heard was that Neytiri had killed the tawtute after riding Palulukan to reach the place where they had gone to bring Dr. Grace to ayVitrayä Ramunong. Somehow she had known she should go there. Or was it Palulukan that had known?

The tawtute warrior, wearing the fngap tokx, had tried to destroyed the place where Jakesully's tawtute tokx was. Jakesully had almost died, but Neytiri had been in time to put a mask on his face so he could breathe.

Neytiri and Jakesully walked through the rows of people, talking, touching. When they reached Puvomun, the teacher-singer rose to his feet.

"Toruk Makto," he said. "Neytiri. Oel ngati kameie."

"Oel ngati kameie," Neytiri responded.

"It is over, ma Puvomun," Jakesully said. "We won."

"At a high price," Puvomun nodded, "but we won."

Amhul came running and hugged Neytiri. "I was so scared, ma tsmuke," she said, "I am so happy that you are back." She let go of Neytiri. "Where is Tsu'tey?"

The two warriors were silent for a moment.

"Tsu'tey was too badly hurt," Neytiri said, then she looked at her mate.

"He told me..." Jakesully clearly was troubled by what he was going to say, "he wanted me to be his Toruk. He was my brother, Amhul."

Puvomun took a deep breath and put an arm around Amhul. "Tsu'tey was a brave warrior."

"You must make a song about him. About the tsmukan of Toruk Makto," Neytiri told them, "so he will be remembered."

Puvomun and Amhul nodded. "We will make a good song for him."

"Irayo, ma oeyä eylan," Jakesully said. "Tawtewng and Korun are making sure Tsu'tey's body is brought here, so we can bury him near the tree."

"Srane, tsa'u lu sìltsan," Amhul nodded. "That is good," she added to make sure Jakesully understood her.

Then Puvomun and Amhul were called. Tuke, the herb woman, needed their help. They said goodbye to Neytiri and Jakesully.

Tuke asked them to find more herbs. "And we need more cloth for the bandages, but there is none. There are no looms, there is no material." The woman stared at the two. "Many Omatikaya will die if we can't help them."

Puvomun had a wild thought. "Ma oeyä Amhul. Take some of the eveng and try to find more herbs. I have an idea for cloth. I need to see Jakesully for that." He took his lover's hands and held them for a moment, then he quickly went after Jakesully, who had walked on with Neytiri.

"Toruk Makto!" the teacher-singer called out, "I have a question."

"What's up, Puvomun?"

Puvomun explained the problem Tuke had laid out to him and Amhul. "I think there are many things of cloth in the aysawtute place. If we could have some ikranä aymaktoyu fly there to bring some of it, we can save many lives."

The uniltìranyu looked at the singer for a few moments. "Now that's an idea. I'm not sure if they would welcome us there, though. Remember, we just kicked the s*** out of them."

That was something Puvomun had not thought about, but Neytiri had what could be a solution for that. As she detailed that, both men nodded. It sounded feasible.

"I will tell Mo'at and Tuke," Puvomun said, "and then I wait for you."

"Also tell Amhul, Puvomun. You have to, now," said Jakesully with his familiar grin.

Puvomun stared him in the face. "How do you know?"

Neytiri laughed for a moment. "People know, people talk, ma Puvomun. Now go. Kìyevame."

The teacher-rolyu finished what he was doing and then went to detail the plan to Mo'at, who looked sceptic, and Tuke who shrugged and hoped it would work. Then Puvomun ran to where Tuke pointed, where Amhul had gone with a few children.

He told her the plan too.

"Will you be safe?" Amhul worried.

"I will be. Toruk Makto is there."

"Makto zong, ma yawne," she said, touching his face. A few of the children who watched, giggled. Amhul looked back at them and they giggled even harder, making her look at the ground for a moment. "You should go now."

"Nga yawne lu oer," Puvomun told her and waited for her smile before he went back to the clearing. As he walked, he thought of the plan. Neytiri and Jakesully would be at the cabin now, where Jakesully's tawtute body lay in a machine, with a breathing mask. The small body would wake up and he would use the talking equipment to tell the aysawtute warriors that he would come with many ikran riders, to collect the cloth they needed. Many Na'vi aysaronyu would stay at the camp, to make sure the intruders would not try another attack.

As Neytiri and Jakesully were not back yet, Puvomun went round and talked to many ikran riders and asked them if they were able to come. Despite being tired, they all said they would fly with Toruk Makto.

When Neytiri and Jakesully returned, everyone was prepared to go again.

"They are awaiting us," Jakesully said. "The aysamsiyu have been disarmed by the other people, the scientists, so there should be no more danger."

"We will be careful anyway," Neytiri added, her face tired but determined.

"Let's ride! Kä makto!"

Puvomun saw Txonway wave and soon he was behind the young man, holding on, as the swarm of ayikran took to the sky, following the mighty Toruk.

The flight to the aysawtute camp was long. Longer than Puvomun had ever been on an ikran. He wondered how the riders could do this, despite their more comfortable position. At last, to his relief, the huge encampment came into view. It was a large area, everything on the ground was made grey. A high fence was around everything and the amount of kewonga machines was staggering. How could people live like that?

The ikrans followed Toruk as Jakesully made it land on the grey surface. From many buildings people came walking and even running. Puvomun understood that many of them had never seen the Na'vi people before, only the ayuniltìranyu they had made. And probably they were attracted to seeing ikrans. The aysawtute kept a distance, though.

Jakesully, his metal weapon still over his shoulder, walked to the group of people. The others followed him, many of them looking around curiously as they had never seen this place before.

"Do you have the soldiers locked away, Max?" Jakesully asked a tawtute. The man had black curly hair, a tanned round face and he wore a white garment, a coat.

"Yes, they're all confined," the man called Max replied. "And we have your bandages here. We've kept enough for ourselves." He pointed to a small contraption on wheels, loaded with white cloth.

"Great. Do you need some people to stay here, to make sure things remain safe?" Jakesully asked Max.

"That would be good," the man nodded. "There could still be some folks out there in the woods, and if your Na'vi could scout them out... the sooner, the better."

"They are not 'our' Na'vi," Neytiri said, "they are Na'vi."

"Easy, Neytiri," Jakesully said, looking at his mate. "We're all tired, no need to rip his head off."

Neytiri nodded. "Ngaytxoa," she said to Max. "I am sorry."

Jakesully then asked for twelve volunteers to stay at the camp, a number that was easily found. Then the others collected the white cloth, which was packed in easy to carry pouches, and they returned to the waiting ikrans.

The flight back went smoothly. It would have been a fantastic time, had they not crossed the devastation that had been left by the digging machines of the Sky people and the fires and terror of the battle they had just been through.

Upon returning to the people, the cloth was quickly divided and applied to the wounds that needed covering so badly.

Amhul and the children had come back from the forest. They were working together with Tuke, cutting and grinding the herbs so they could be used.

"Ma Amhul," Puvomun said.

She got up and smiled. "You are back. Safe."

"Srane. Oe srayung si, srak?"

"Kehe," Tuke said to both their surprise. "You will not help. You both will eat and rest, like the others."

"But what about you?" Amhul asked. Tuke was old, she would need rest as well.

"I will rest later. The children will bring me food. Now go." The old woman waved her hand, dismissing the two.

"We will eat something," Amhul said, "and then go back to help her."

Puvomun agreed.

They found a good spot to sit after fetching some food. Puvomun wondered where the food came from, as there were so many mouths to feed. Amhul simply said: "Eywa will provide, don't question it."

They ate.

[Puvomun]

22. Finale

The singer-teachers woke up. Somehow they had fallen asleep with the last remains of their food still in their hands. Someone was talking to them as a few helpful hands were shaking them.

"What, what..." Puvomun said, trying to make the hands go away.

"We need you," said Ekirä.

"Uh? For what?"

Puvomun, and also Amhul, were still trying to come to their senses.

"Jakesully's body needs to be moved."

That woke both of them up. "What? Body? He's not dead, is he?!"

"No. But you and Amhul have most experience with moving hurting people on fa'li," Korun said, who was there as well. His had been the helping hands.

"And what has this to do with Jakesully?" Amhul wondered, pushing her braids back.

"His tawtute tokx is still in the small kelku lefngap, but it is in danger there. He is using their breathing masks to keep the uniltìrantokx going. Neytiri says that there are not many masks left."

"I understand," Puvomun nodded. He thought for a moment. "Are you sure we have to do this?"

Neytiri nodded. "Yes. Amhul si nga will take care of Jake when he wakes up. He knows you, you helped him a lot. His Omatikaya tokx will lie here until his  tawtute body is in the camp machines. I will stay here with him. Ekirä, Lolet and Rakan will come with you."

"And Nusumea Tirea?"

"Kehe, ma tsmukan. His knowledge is needed here," Neytiri said. "Ma oeyä sa'nok said so."

Puvomun understood that. Nusumea Tirea was a good healer. "Srane, mllte. We will need fa'li then."

"I'awn and Jake are already fetching them for you." Neytiri had things under control, obviously. "Lolet and Rakan know where the aysawtute kelku is, they will lead you."

At that point, Jakesully and I'awn came to the clearing, leading four fa'li.

"Be quick," Neytiri said. Then she turned and walked off, going after other things she had to take care of.

Amhul and Puvomun went over to the fa'li. Lolet and Rakan were there too, and they mounted.

"Toruk Makto," Puvomun said, "how will you know when we have arrived?"

"It's not that far to the shack," said Jakesully. "In a while I'll lay down here and get out of the link-unit. I'll be waiting for you."

It sounded strange, but then... so much had been strange since this man had arrived.

"Kìyevame, ma smukan," Jakesully said with a grin.

"Tsmukan," Amhul corrected him, out of habit, making the man grin even wider. Evidently he had done that on purpose.

"Kìyevame, ma Jakesully," Puvomun said, and then the four rode off, to the little place, to save the Sky people man.

Upon arrival, the singer-teachers were shocked. They entered the small cleared area where the silent body of Palulukan lay. Scattered everywhere were pieces of metal, and very dominantly there lay a fallen metal suit. Two arrows protruded from it, and when they passed it they saw the surprised face of a tawtute, his dead eyes staring into the forest but not seeing it.

"He tried to kill Jakesully," Lolet told them.

"Hah, he should've tried that with me," Rakan boasted, "I'd have taken him out of that fgnap suit and punched him-"

"Yeah, sure, you're still the big hero, as usual," a small voice sounded. It came from one of the openings in the cabin. "I'm in here, guys, there's enough room for one of you to come and get me out of here."

Puvomun and Amhul unmounted. Puvomun then went into the strange house, bent over as it was so low.

Jakesully was lying in a strange box. "Puvomun," he said, smiling behind the mask. "Glad you didn't waste any time, I'm almost on the last mask here. Time to leave, ma tsmukan."

Puvomun lifted the tiny shape from the box. Before they left the place, Jakesully picked another mask from somewhere and asked the teacher to also bring the 'wheelchair'.

Once outside, the teacher handed the small man to Amhul, and took him again when he sat on his pa'li. "I have to hold on to you, Jakesully," he said. It was hard to call this tiny person 'Toruk Makto', and yet he knew that this man had the spirit.

"That's okay, Puvomun. Just don't drop me, because now this pa'li looks a whole lot higher than before."

For some reason Rakan did not make any of his boisterous remarks. The group then left the small cabin and rode off towards the camp.

As they were riding for a long time, they heard a person shouting overhead. They looked.

"Kalin Kato!" Lolet called out, recognising her friend.

"I will tell the people you are coming!" Kalin Kato called down at them as her ikran made a swoop as low as possible towards the ground. Then they pulled up and quickly were out of sight.

The group rode the remaining stretch as fast as possible, taking care that Jakesully was not getting too tired.

When they arrived, Kalin Kato was waiting for them, as were many of the people that had stayed there to keep an eye on everything. The aysawtute took the 'wheelchair' and put it on the ground. Tawtewng then helped Jakesully down from the pa'li and put him in the strange cart.

The man called Max said that there was something to eat waiting for Jakesully.

"And you should have a shower and some sleep, Jake. You look like you were found in some trashcan," Norm Spellman said. He was there as well.

"Yeah, and he smells like that too," a woman said, which made everyone laugh.

Jakesully looked up at the Na'vi that were standing around the group. "Thanks for bringing me here, guys. I think you should sleep here, it's getting dark soon and you had quite a day behind you too. Kalin Kato, can you go back to the clan and tell Neytiri and the others not to worry? I'll be awake again in the morning."

"Tam, ma Jakesully," Kalin Kato said. "Kìyevame, ma smuk." She turned and ran off to her ikran. The people watched them fly off.

The aysawtute then went into the buildings. The Na'vi that did not have a duty for the night went outside the camp and found a few trees they could sleep in.

-=-=-

The next morning, Puvomun and Amhul woke up feeling strange. This area was not familiar. The sounds were strange, the smells were wrong, and the lack of forest where the aysawtute had made their encampment was unnerving.

Lolet and Rakan were awake and on the ground already, tending to the fa'li.

"You are teachers," Rakan remarked, somewhat puzzling at first. "One day of riding and you have to sleep more, like children."

Lolet threw him an angry glance but refrained from commenting. She clearly did not feel comfortable her either. "Do we go back now, or do we first go to... there?" She pointed at the group of buildings behind the fence.

Rakan was in favour of leaving immediately. Puvomun wanted to visit their friends at the camp for a moment, to make sure everything there was in order.

"What do you think that brings?" Rakan asked. "There is nothing you can do."

Lolet agreed, and Amhul remained silent.

"We should let them know that we are going back," Puvomun said. "I will do that. I'll be back soon."

When he returned, the others mounted their horses and then they started on the way back to their families and friends. The ride back went fast, as this time they did not have to be careful with a delicated passenger.

They were almost halfway when loud sounds came from overhead. The riders grinned, as they recognised it. At a spot where the forest was thinner, they saw Toruk. Two shapes were flying on its back, and there were several ikran with their riders with it.

The four looked at the immense animal until Jakesully made it fly off, to the aysawtute camp where the riders had just come from.

"A greeting," Amhul said. "And appreciation, I think."

Lolet agreed. "Amazing to see."

"I want to go back there, to see what happens," Rakan pitched in. "Maybe he is going to slap some of the aysawtute around!"

Before someone could hold him back, the impetuous one turned and raced off on the pa'li.

Lolet looked at the teacher-singers. "I should go after him and make sure he doesn't go crazy." She set off after her mate.

"He is a handful," Amhul sighed. "We should go back, ma Puvomun."

At as comfortable a fast pace as they could manage, they returned.

-=-=-

Day and night passed a few times. Occasionally a warrior or hunter would come to the people, to tell the things that were happening. The aysawtute had used their equipment to tell their companions in space that their stay on this world was over. Many thundering machines had come to collect all the Sky people.

The aysawtute encampment was almost empty. Only a few of them were chosen to remain on the planet. They were the ones that had fought from the inside, to help the Na'vi.

A small group of people had gone out and found a new Hometree. Others had started to build new looms, new tools, to make new racks for people to put up their belongings. Once they had belongings again.

"We won't be needing arrows soon, I hope," Puvomun said to Nusumea Tirea, as they finished one of the racks and put it in place.

"Except for the hunters," his friend agreed.

"Srane. Aysaronyu will need them."

Nusumea Tirea looked up, when a sudden noise from outside the new Kelutral reached their ears. Puvomun saw him walk off. When the healer-hunter returned, he said: "We have to go back now."

The men joined several others and walked back to the clearing where still many of the people were.

On the rocky platform to the end of the clearing, stood Jakesully and Neytiri, with Toruk. Jakesully's tswin was connected to Toruk, their tsaheylu flowing. The man held his hands on the huge head, and Puvomun understood that he was witnessing something special.

"Irayo, Toruk," Jakesully slowly said. "You helped us to become free again, and win the battle. You are now free to go again. Kìyevame."

Slowly he disconnected his queue from the large animal and stepped back, holding Neytiri's hand.

Toruk reared up and screamed loudly. Then it jumped away from the ground, flapping its wings. Everyone watched it fly off, understanding the importance of the moment.

Jakesully then looked at the people. "The Omatikaya are free again," he said. "We have fought for our land, and we threw the Sky people back to where they came from." The man looked at Neytiri for a moment.

"I have asked Mo'at to do a ceremony for me. For that I also need to ask your help. Some of you have seen my tawtute body, and how broken it is. I want to become an Omatikaya who does not need the help of a machine. So I ask you, all Na'vi, all my friends. Do you want to give me your strength? Do you want to support me, to ask the help of Eywa?"

After a moment all the people cheered and yelled. Puvomun and Amhul looked at each other as they screamed. This was a good thing, they both knew it.

Preparations were then made. Riders were sent out to collect Jakesully, after his Na'vi body had laid itself down under the Sacred Tree.

Everyone waited in anticipation, and finally the riders returned. It was Neytiri who carried the small man to the tree, laying him down near the body that would become Jakesully.

All the people had sat themselves down around the low platform, their ayswin connecting to the ground, to Eywa, and they all moved their bodies, to summon the energy, to call to Eywa.

Mo'at stood over the two bodies, chanting, and Neytiri sat at her feet, close to the small body. Small fibres had come up from the ground, attaching to the broken body, as well as to the queue of the uniltìrantokx that was supposed to become the man.

Energy pulsated everywhere, light coming from every living thing in the area, as the people asked for the help of Eywa, to make the change happen.

Puvomun lost touch with his environment as the energy flowed, became more powerful. Suddenly there was a rush and then slowly the energy ebbed away. He opened his eyes. He felt Amhul's hand in his again, and turned his head to look at her.

Amhul's eyes were fixed on the low platform.

Puvomun looked at it as well. He saw how Neytiri kissed the eyes of the small body. She moved to the body that was supposed to harbour Jakesully's spirit now.

Everyone waited with baited breath...