"But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name" - Pocahontas
pairing: naâvi!jake sully (tsyeyk te skaha) x reader
summary: when your twin dies and your sent to Pandora to fill in her spot in the Avatar Program, you never expect to fall in love with one of the natives, Tsyeyk te Tskaha Eytukanâitan aka Jake. You learn that the Omatikaya arenât savages and actually just people trying to protect their land.
warnings: check series masterlist
âJake taught me how to ride a paâleâpaâlee? Paâli! Jake taught me how to ride a paâli today, otherwise known as a dire horse.
You are tired, so tired. You got up at dawn by Grace because apparently thatâs what the Naâvi do too. You were annoyed and also confused because you only got two hours of sleep. Your brain is more empty than it normally was. Grace also taught you the names of the most important people in the clan. The oloâeyktan, the tsahikâyou were really trying to remember as Jake led you through the forest.
Jake entered a clearing and held a leaf for you to pass, much like humans holding doors open for each other. You mumbled a short âthanksâ and continued into the caring. The grass was flat here, and wet. There was a lake a few hundred feet away. But it wasnât the scenery surrounding you that interested you, it was the animals.Â
Horse-like creatures were all over the clearing, some leaving and entering. They had anteater snouts and you could see one slurping nectar from a flower with it. They had six legs instead of four. These were the creatures, you realized, that those warriors approached you on last night. Except none of them had saddles.
Jake approaches you, guiding one close to you. When had he left? You shake your head and focus on the now. Jake stops by you, petting the horse to calm it.Â
âThis is paâli.â He tells you, still looking at the horse and mumbling calm words to it. He looks at you and when you just stare at him he motions for you to get on the steed. You come up to the side of it.
âWow.â You mumble, petting the sides of the horse. âHeâs beautiful.â You tell Jake.
âPaâli is girl.â Jake corrects, then motions again for you to get on her.
You brace your hands on the back of her and pull yourself up with a grunt. You swing on leg over and situate yourself so youâre sat comfortably on top of her. You pet her neck lightly when she jostles, trying to calm her. Jake holds her antenna for you to connect to.
âThis is called tswin.â He starts, showing the tswin for you to see. âConnect yours to hers and that makes tsaheylu.â Jak tells you in a soft voice as to not startle the paâli under you. You nod and grab your tswin from behind you. When you connect yours to hers like Jake instructed your pupils dilate. You can feel everything. Itâs a weird feeling, being able to feel her along with yourself.Â
âGood,â Jake praises lightly, still petting her and you can feel it as if he was petting you. Which is a weird thought on its own. The horse chortles, seemingly laughing at you. âFeel her breath, feel her strong legs. And when you are ready, tell her when and where to go.â He instructs. You nod and close your eyes, focusing on her body. When you and her feel calm, you decide to tell her where to go.
âForward.â You say aloud and she darts forward. Too fast for your liking. Apparently you werenât squeezing your thighs hard enough because you fell off, right into the mud. You hear Jakeâs laughs from behind you, he snorts loudly as you pick yourself up. Youâre covered in mud, itâs on your hair, your mouth, everywhere. Jake keeps laughing, it's closer and heâs next to you, helping you up. âKeep laughing.â You grumble. He continues to laugh and an idea pops into your head.
âI donât think Iâm very good at it. But, Iâm trying.â
When the mud hits Jakeâs face he gasps in surprise, a look of confusion taking over his face before seeing your smug, muddy grin. He grabs a fistful of mud and chucks it at you, internally celebrating when your smile falls. You and Jake throw mud back and forth. The air around you is filled with yells and childish laughter. Jake doesnât know when he has had this much fun in the past few years.
The pounding of hooves against the ground is what stops you both. Youâre both covered in mud and on the floor, the aftershocks of your laughter is still shown from the grins on each of your faces. You and Jake look at each other, heaving breaths. You chuckle at his cheerful face. The hooves sound gets louder and you and Jake pick yourselves off of the floor.
âThis vrrtep will never learn.â Tsuâtey announces as the pa'li she is riding gets closer to you andJake. You have no clue what vrrtep means but you assume itâs bad. âYou should go away.â Tsuâtey tells you. You start wiping the mud off of your face. You smile mockingly at her.
âNah, youâd miss me too much.â You tell her, booking down at your body and scraping the mud away. A wicked grin grows on Tsu'tey's face.
âYou should kick her out.â Tsuâtey says to Jake is naâvi. You canât understand a thing she says so you continue wiping off the mud. Jake shakes his head, a light smile still on his face. âA rock sees more.â She gestures to you.Â
Jake shakes his head again, chuckling quietly at the comment. He slaps the back of Tsuâteâs paâli and mumbles a quiet âgoâ. He turns back to you, his smile softening when youâre looking down. Heâs growing to like you, he thinks. Silence encompasses you, save for the light sound of hooves throughout the clearing and the slosh of mud as you step away from it. Jae quickly grabs the paâli that tried to run away.
âTry again.â He says when he looks back up at you.Â
âJake had me trying and trying again all day. It reminded me of my strict military days.â
âThis lake is where many people come to wash themselves.â Jake says quietly. Itâs night now and if you thought it looked beautiful in the day, it looks breathtaking at night. Many of the fauna that surround you glow brightly in different purples, yellows, greens and blues. You never saw anything quite this amazing on Earth. âWe will wash the mud off and go back to Kelutral.â Jake tells you before stepping slowly into the water. You follow him.
âSo, how'd I do today?â You ask him as you cup water with your hands and wash the dried mud off of your skin. Thereâs different stages of dried mud on your skin because you fell many times. When you look over your shoulder you see Jake doing the same as you. The two small braids framing his face dripping water.
âYou were like child in beginning but you have madeâŠprogess.â Jake takes a moment to find the right words. He doesnât use English everyday and it still sounds heavily accented and different from how you speak it.Â
âHm.â You hum in acknowledgment but you donât offer any other words. The sounds of water fill the air as you bathe.
After, when you went back to Kelutralâwhich you now have learned is naâvi for home treeâJake said good night to you. Which is progress from the night before. You guys are steadily becoming friends, you think. Heâs strict but also kind in his own way.Â
Before youâre able to go to your hammock, a boy approaches you. Heâs young and you recognize him as the boy who was interested in you when you came last night. Jake is a few feet away from you, he was about to get in his hammock before he saw the boy.
âH-hello.â The boy stutters out, and oh, he is so adorable. His voice is so soft and innocent. You give him a soft smile. If you thought Jakeâs accent was heavy, he does not compete. âI make for you. You look up and see an elder behind him, maybe his grandma. She smiles at you warmly. â He holds up a bracelet.Â
âOh my.â You say, picking up the bracelet and inspecting it. The colors do not match and some of the string is popping out of the weaving. From what you can tell, this is amateur compared to others. âFor me?â You point to yourself. He nods enthusiastically, eagerly waiting for your response.
âThis is so kind of you, thank you.â You grin and hold out the bracelet for him to grab. âCan you help me put it on?â He nods again and you hold out your wrist. He ties the bracelet around it.Â
âThis looks really nice, whatâs your name?â You ask him.Â
âAyaw.â He mumbles quietly, looking down shyly.Â
âNice to meet you, Ayaw. My name is Y/N.â He waves at you and runs back to his grandma. You look back at Jake and see him smiling at you.Â
âThis little boy, Ayaw, approached me right as I was about to get in my hammock. He was adorable and the only other person who talked to me other than Tsuâtey and Jake. Everyone else either ignores me or makes comments in naâvi that I can just tell are rude. But, what can you do?â You shrug as you look at the camera, yawning. âAnyway, I think today was a pretty successful day. I learned some words and took a bath.â You smile at the blinking light of the camera. Youâre silent and you realize you have nothing else to say and youâre really tired.
 âIâm going to bed.â You click the button to turn the recording off.
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notes: Hello reader! Sorry this chapter took like a month. Next chapter may come out sometime tomorow! Have a good read and remember to leave comments/kudos!
