Thinking about an aocorro AU where Spider is completely blind to just about every hint Ao’nung sends him. The boy’s getting courted by him, and despite that, he’s not familiar enough with Metkayinan standards of courting, nor is he hopeful enough to even think a Na’vi would court a Sky Person like him. He’s made peace with the fact. Doesn’t really bother him. Well, it kind of does, considering how he’ll most likely never have a romance with any teenager that’s human like him or around his age, or find love. But he’s made peace with it.
Courting rituals would be insanely specific, I believe, as are all rituals in cultures. Spider knows that, with how similar certain traditions are towards each other, even the slightest change in order or decision could perhaps mean the complete opposite. Just like how Na’vi was a complicated language with its own naming system, clicking system, with how differently they rolled their R’s, hell, they don’t even have a written system. And besides. It’s not like he’s known Omatikayan courting tradition either, as he’s never been courted before, and every adult he’s met has danced around the topic like it was a party.
So when the Chieftain's son hands him a piece of net woven as if a blanket, with tiny little patterns and colors and beads sewn in, he thanks the boy and pretends he can't feel the burn at his nape from across the beach when making a shell necklace with Tuk. He tries not to involve himself with the Tsakarem and the eyktan'itan after Lo’ak had warned him about how he had left him past the reefs when the Sully’s had first integrated into the clan because of his blood. And considering how they did that to Lo'ak— which objectively was more Na'vi than him— he'd rather not risk his life. Even if Lo'ak said that he had changed and gotten past their grudge for each other.
Spider takes that with a grain of salt. Literally.
The next gift he is given is a small bag of ground and crunched pink salt, feeling coarse even with the fabric as an extra layer, and even more coarse against his skin. Ao'nung had said with his eyes drawn away from him that it was harvested near the cliffs behind the groves and the village — for exfoliation purposes, apparently. Spider tried not take that as a jab to his skin. And apparently, to help with digestion for the Tsahik's patients. Which was… a bit odd, but maybe Ao'nung thinks the food may be too hard on his stomach? Whatever, he's not well-versed in Metkayinan rituals, nor judgmental based on the first glance.
He assumes that this is some kind of… test? To view whether he's Na'vi enough, or safe enough to have in the village. Or some kind of odd game to play with, like he's some entertaining fabric puppet they have at festivals and ceremonies, a mind-game, Norm would say. And Spider says: fuck that. He's not some straw-doll, and sure as hell not some entertainment.
And sure as hell not interesting enough to be stalked. But he is. He is being stalked for some reason.
Flashes of bright blue and pretty seashell necklaces swoosh in the periphery of his vision in short intervals at any place. Whether he be by himself at the dunes or swimming through the mangrove roots in simple boredom, he would always have this sense in him, an instinct buried deep in his mind, skin turned prickly and unsettled as the feeling of being watched washed over him. He would turn and see a swish of black, a clatter, a small sound.
Sometimes, he's even successfully spotted them. Ie. Right now.
It takes a few moments for the winds to settle, to pretend that there aren't two people hiding behind the trees behind him whilst he draws on the sand with a stick, knowing that they'll probably try to decipher what he wrote once he takes his leave. With the hiss of his mask, he snaps his head backwards, and he sees two heads. Both hide behind the tree with several curses and hisses at the other, before the greenery ruffles and settles. Spider's seen their faces around the Sully's enough to know that, surprisingly, the Tsakarem, and her friend Rotxo have been… spies? (although he's not so sure about that either.)
It's a bit creepy. So he spends most of his time helping Norm out with gathering crates and medicine, and militia for Jake. They tend to be spooked off by anything Sky People and avoid the usual path to the small communications box near the dunes.
Just as he is now. Just not militia. The Tsahik of the village needed some herbs in the mangroves stuck between the roots that no one else could reach with their big fingers, nor pull out, so he had been nominated. He tried not notice the long stare she had given him when Jake suggested his name, before darting to Tonowari, seemingly in a silent discussion, before Tonowari nodded.
Caressing the strongly taut dried leaves woven into a basket, he placed it onto the stem of the mangrove, fishing himself out as he felt the water settle down, falling like a blanket from his body. He took a moment to rest his muscles from the deep dive before swimming back out of the forest.
The island was odd, in a way. Just as Eywa'eveng is in all her glory, some parts were forests submerged in water, while others were simply roots and things that resembled palm trees staying on the ground. Then, surrounding the island were the dunes and sand.
The sand stuck to his wet skin as he walked back into the direction of the village, before feeling the stretch of the ground beneath his weight, and then as he walked into the Tsahiks marui, kneeling to set the basket down.
Something blocked the warm sun on his back, casting a shadow, and then only one name dripped into Spider's mind—
Twisting his body, hand on the dagger looped around a string on his hip, before recognizing the boy in front of him, looming over him even more with the difference in position.
Ao'nung. How did he know he was here?
Ao'nung lifted his hands in alarm, or in calming him, a tiny twitch at the edge of his lips as his tail thrashed behind him. "Relax, tiny warrior."
Spider stared at him. Ao'nung held it before his lips drew to a thin line, and he took a deep breath. His eyes darted away, looking at anything that wasn't Spider.
The beads clicked and clattered as Ronal strutted inside the murui, glancing at both of them before turning her face and settling down. Tonowari follows shortly, eyes falling onto Ao'nung and then Spider, before returning to Ao'nung as he squats beside Ronal. He's quite sure the man is smiling, even with his back turned. Spider turns to leave, walking down the path to the Sully's murui, before he is stopped by a strong hand at his bicep.
"Spider."
He turns around. "… Ao'nung."
"We should… Tomorrow— Lo'ak and I are planning to hunt together. Would you like to join?"
It takes a moment for it to settle. And it brings spiders suspicion of Ao'nung to full throttle. Hunt? What if he brings me out to the reef, like Lo'ak? But refusing may be rude. He thinks of this like one of those stratagem games Norm or one of the other scientist's spin at him, a deck of Uno or chess. If he refuses— possible alienation. If he accepts— possible abandonment or injury.
"— If… It won't have to be by the reef. We can hunt for fish by the trees. In the water."
Spider stared at the way Ao'nungs thumb caresses his skin. "… Okay."
Ao'nung opens his mouth for a moment, as if he had expected him to refuse before his ears perk up, tail thrashing so wildly it looks like it's wagging. His hand slides off impossibly slow before walking back to the murui.
———
Eyktan'itan= son of the leader (I had to make this up using words from Learn Navi LOL)
Tsakarem= tsahìk-in-training
AOCORROS send me asks please i would die for this ship