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Neteyam felt as if he had been waiting for this moment his entire life.
Maybe he had.
The Floating Mountain before him was carved into intricate whorls of caves and rocky ledges. Ikran of all colours and sizes settled on their perches, hissing and spitting at the Na'vi who dared to venture so close to their home. Lo'ak watched the banshees with child-like wonder. Jake patted Neteyam on the shoulder, a gesture that meant he did not wish to be disappointed. Neytiri smiled encouragingly as her son crept closer to the ikran.
They took flight, diving off the edge of the mountain and soaring freely towards the horizon, or they snarled as he approached. One ikran, however, stayed still. She was a bright green with swirling patterns of black spilling over her skin like ink. Passively, she watched him with unblinking eyes as he edged nearer. Neteyam didn't even have to use the leather strap Jake had assured him he would need.
The pink rope-like tendrils of his queue bonded with one of her antennae and she snorted submissively. As Neytiri whooped, Lo'ak watched with unconcealed awe and Jake allowed a rare smile to faintly touch his lips, Neteyam hooked his three fingers around the banshee's neck and dove off the mountain.
The wind tugged at the raven-black strands of his hair and whipped his face, which stung from the cold of the altitude. He didn't mind; it only increased the adrenaline rushing through his veins.
For the first time, he felt free.
***
Lo'ak was not as lucky as his older brother.
He crept towards the ikran and they growled menacingly. He uncertainly backed away, but Jake gestured impatiently for him to advance. The banshees took flight in a whirling rainbow mass and he groaned. The leather strap hung uselessly from his hand.
A sky-blue ikran decorated with spirals of ink bleeding across her skin hissed as he approached. Without hesitating, Lo'ak threw the strap around her muzzle. She bucked and he swung his legs across her back, not as agilely as he had hoped. Lo'ak fought to keep his balance as she plummeted off the mountainside like an arrow.
Desperately, as the wind tried to tear him from the banshee's back, he shoved his queue into one of her antennae, making the promised bond: Tsaheylu.
When he landed back on the Floating Mountain, Jake scowled. Lo'ak braced himself for the expected lecture. It never came.
"Your father did the same when he was much, much older than you," Neytiri explained, a teasing smile tugging at her lips.
Jake's mouth flattened into a thin line. At last, with grudging pride, he said, "At least you didn't die, boy."
His son beamed. It was the only praise he could hope for.
"You skxwang!" Neteyam called his little brother affectionately, pulling him into a headlock and mussing his hair. "Who's the mighty warrior now?"
Lo'ak fought free with a growl. But he could never stay angry at Neteyam for too long and soon, they were laughing as Jake and Neytiri exchanged knowing looks.
***
Lips twitching into a small smile, Lo'ak felt at peace floating in the still waters of the ocean, connected to the Tree of Souls as it gave him one last piece of his brother to hold onto in his mind.
I miss you, bro, he thought with an ache that would never vanish.
And perhaps it was only a memory, but he could swear he heard Neteyam reply, I miss you too, skxwang.