I don't own any characters or anything but the story. As always apologizes for the long wait, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I hope all of you are well and safe during this time.

Ateyo watched with a small smirk on his face as Har'ii once again landed on his behind thanks to his son. They had been wrestling for a bit and while both young na'vi were becoming decent fighters, it was clear that Tsu'tey had an edge over Har'ii. Standing nearby watching the wrestling pair were a few other young warriors including the boys' friend Neytiri.

Ateyo had to admit that he had been a little surprised when Tsu'tey had first mentioned becoming friends with the Chief's second daughter because outside of both wanting to be warriors the two didn't seem to have that much in common. On top of that he had noticed that a big source of contention between the two of them was their difference in opinions on the skypeople.

However from what he had seen, Har'ii always managed to keep the discussion from escalating to much whenever the topic came up. Ateyo couldn't help but think that Har'ii was a lot like his father where he didn't hate the skypeople but also didn't approve of their actions.

In fact Har'ii and Tsu'tey together often reminded him of the relationship he had with Aktamu, though Har'ii tended to be little calmer than his father. However he a suspicion that there might be something more than friendship at least from his son end. He wasn't entirely sure, but he had noticed that sometimes Tsu'tey had an odd light in his eye when he looked at his best friend.

He hadn't yet noticed anything similar from Har'ii which is part of the reason he hadn't asked his son about it. The other part was that he wasn't sure Tsu'tey was even aware of it and if it was true so he was content for the time being to watch and see how things played out.

Har'ii let out a soft groan as he once again hit the ground though he didn't land very hard. Tsu'tey stood over him with grinning before offering him a hand to stand up. Har'ii took with a huff though he actually wasn't to annoyed about the repeated losses.

While Tsu'tey was definitely better at fighting hand-to-hand Har'ii had better aim, though neither was bad at either. As the two moved to the side to allow another pair to fight Tsu'tey grinned at Har'ii before in a teasing voice saying "You're getting better maybe in a few years you'll almost be as good as me." Har'ii scoffed before playfully shoving his best friend.

He then sighed and stretched his sore muscles, before looking at Tsu'tey and noticing the other boy was gazing at him oddly intensely. Before he could say anything Tsu'tey quickly turned away so Har'ii just shrugged and chose to examine the makeshift camp set up around them.

Both them and all of the young warriors/hunters around plus a lot of the adult ones had been camped out for about two days now waiting for the call for the start of the hunt. Most of them felt both extremely excited but also rather anxious because this was no ordinary hunt.

Is was in fact the next step that they needed to take on their journey to become prey they were after, Talioang only migrated through the Omaticaya land every now and then and taking one down was considered a rite of passage they needed to complete to advance to the next level of training.

The Talioang was one of the largest animals the Na'vi hunted and despite there infrequent appearance were very important in the survival of the clan as meat from just one would feed a large number of the clan and the hide and bones were incredibly useful for making tools and other equipment.

However taking one down was not an easy task because nearly the entire skin of the Talioang was covered by a thick armor that was impossible to pierce with either an arrow or a spear. The only vulnerable spots on them were the operculi air and softer underbelly. Neither of which was the easiest to hit especially while riding a pa'li or ikran.

Needless to say the upcoming challenge had a lot of them a little on edge. So most of the hunters and warriors their age were sparing or practicing their air with arrows or spears to both pass the time and get rid of excess energy.

Har'ii followed Tsu'tey over to get some water and they were soon joined by Neytiri, who they both greeted as she stopped near them. The three of them stood around chatting with each other about the upcoming hunt and playfully arguing with each other about who was going to take down the biggest Talioang.

Ever since Neytiri had chosen to be a warrior shortly after Tsu'tey and Har'ii , the three of them become rather close. They had already been friends before but their bonds had strengthened with all of them training to become warriors instead of just hunters.

The training for warriors and Hunter was actually not that different besides warriors learning things like hand-to-hand combat and certain skills like hitting a moving target being more refined. This was because during times of peace there was very little difference in the responsibility of the two, though the warriors were the ones that dealt with any threat to clan whether it be by a predator or perhaps the occasional conflict with another clan.

However during the rare times of war the two roles obviously became very different. When Tsu'tey had proposed the idea for him to become a warrior along side Har'ii had not been sure of what to think on the idea.

For one thing he had been really hoping that the tension between the skypeople and the Na'vi wouldn't get as bad Tsu'tey thought it was going to and after going through one war he was reluctant to get involved in another one. However he later realized that if war was going to happen the idea of sitting back and letting others defend the clan didn't sit well with him.

But what had really pushed him to decide was while helping his grief stricken friend through his mother's death, Tsu'tey had mentioned at one point that he was glad he and his father had been there for her final moments. This had caused Har'ii had horrible image Tsu'tey dying alone on a battlefield while Har'ii safely stayed with the rest of the clan.

The idea had caused his heart to constrict painfully and he realized that no matter what happened he wanted to be there by Tsu'tey's side and watching his back. His resolve to do so only got stronger as the time passed and the tension between the skypeople and the Na'vi got worse and worse.

The human continuous reckless destruction of the forest and disregard for the Na'vi culture, cause more and more of the Omaticaya people to become irritated that nothing was being to stop them. Even the scientist like Grace acted like they were on the Na'vi side had never tried to truly understand the Na'vi way of life. Har'ii couldn't help but wonder if the conflict would hold off long enough for the three of them to become warriors.

Har'ii pulled out of his thoughts to watch Tsu'tey and Neytiri converse with one another and couldn't help but reflect on how odd he found it that Neytiri wanted become a warrior. The girl was one of the biggest advocate for the skypeople, particularly Grace so it was a bit strange that she seemed okay with fighting them.

Suddenly Tsu'tey turned to look at him with a smile and Har'ii was confused when his heart missed beat because of it. Shaking it off the reaction he focused on what Tsu'tey was saying. "You know, it shouldn't be too much longer." He then gestured to where someone had a bowl of war paint and Har'ii understood.

It was customary to paint a stripe on one arm before the as an indication one intended to fell a Talioang that day. Har'ii nodded and the three of them headed over to the na'vi who greeted and gestured for them to help themselves.

Tsu'tey grabbed one of the brushes before reaching for Har'ii's arm while giving him a questioning look. Har'ii nodded again and his friend firmly grabbed his arm to hold it still as he carefully painted the stripe on. The action had heart beating a little unevenly and Har'ii barely stopped from frowning in confusion. Why was he suddenly having this reaction to his best friend?

Once Tsu'tey was done focused on painting a stripe on Tsu'tey own arm, glancing over at one point to see another person was doing one Neytiri. Just after they finished they heard the call that it was time to start the hunt. Suddenly every other thought was pushed from Har'ii's mind by the excitement and nervousness of the upcoming hunt as he and the other hunters and warriors headed to prepare for the next step in their journey.