Sorry it's taken me so long to update, my dog was diagnosed with cancer, so things have been really crazy around here, and I'm not sure when I'll get around to my next chapter, we'll see. So here it is, the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. Please Review.
Chapter 6: Pa'li
The sun was barely past the understory of the forest, casting an orange glow over the canopy of the trees, when the Omaticaya were already up and about, doing their daily chores. Jake came up to the hammocks where Danny and JJ were sleeping.
"Guys, wake up! Rise and shine, sleeping beauties!" Danny sat up slowly, groggily rubbing his eyes before climbing out of the hammock. JJ opened his eyes, saw light before quickly closing them.
"Dude! Way too early! It can't be past 6 o'clock!" He pulled the hammock around himself.
"Nope, it's time to get up," said Jake, reach down into the hammock and pulling JJ up by his biceps.
"Dude, not cool!" JJ yelled as Jake handed him his crutches.
"Come on, guys, breakfast time then we need to start training in the ways of the Omaticaya," said Jake as he started down the spiral core of HomeTree.
"Awesome!" said Danny excitingly.
"Great," said JJ unenthusiastically.
They quickly ate breakfast, JJ being challenged into eating a stingbat stomach by Suk'tan. Suk'tan seemed to be feel threatened and intimidated by Danny and JJ.
"Why does that guy hate us so much?" Danny asked Neytiri quietly.
"He is Head Hunter, he needs to learn from Olo'eyktan. He feels like you and JJ are interfering with that." After breakfast, Jake led Danny and JJ down to a clearing near a large stream full of bioluminescent anemones.
"I thought fishing was with long rods, and strings, and bait," said Danny as him and JJ hesitantly took their spears.
"On Earth, here on Pandora we fish with spears," said Jake. And he began instructing them on Na'vi fishing. They had to wade into the water and wait for the fish to come with their spear tips just below the surface of the water, and when the fish were there, they strike. There was many, many misses. But JJ managed to spear a tiny little Kotwan fish. Out of the corner of his eye, JJ noticed an extremely beautiful Na'vi girl with muscular shoulders and nubile breasts, shooting her bow and arrow into a mound of dirt.
"JJ! JJ!" Jake came up next to him to see what he was looking at." Oh man, she is so out of your league."JJ turned to look at him.
"Why? Who is she?"
"That's Ralu, she's supposed to be the next Head Singer, but it's well known she doesn't want to." JJ looked confused for a moment before looking over at Danny.
"Head Singer: historian, the Na'vi tell their history through songs and stories, so they have a singer to pass on those stories to the little ones, "he explained.
"Oh, why doesn't she want to be Head Singer?"
"She doesn't like it," said Jake. "She wants to be a warrior, a hunter. And, let me tell you, she's good at it."
"Dude, I gotta say, real nice score," said Danny as they watched her.
"You boys need to stop staring at her," said Neytiri from behind them. They turned and smiled at her guiltily. "Jake, Mother needs to speak with us."
"Alright," said Jake, then he faced Danny and JJ." You guys stay here and practice while I talk to Mo'at. And no ogling." Then he and Neytiri walked back towards the commons of HomeTree. As they walked away, Suk'tan rode up to them on a giant gray striped horse like animal, his queue attached to one of the antennas coming from either side of its head.
"Do not think it, she is mine," he said.
"Says who?" JJ asked harshly.
"Says I," responded Suk'tan in kind. "I am Head Hunter, I may choose any female I want. I choose her."
"She's not a prize, you know," Danny said in disgust.
"Yeah, she's a person," said JJ.
"You are not worth her," said Suk'tan smugly. JJ started toward Suk'tan only to have Danny stop him.
"JJ, it's not worth it." JJ looked over to where Ralu was walking away, then back at Danny.
"I beg to differ."
"Suk'tan! Kä!" came Jake from behind them. Suk'tan and JJ sent each other one last glare before Suk'tan took off in the opposite direction on his horse.
"You're going to go after Ralu just to piss Suk'tan off, aren't you?" asked Danny.
"You bet I am," said JJ with a grin. "What was that thing he was riding anyway?"
"A pa'li," said Jake. A blank look crossed JJ's face before he looked over at Danny.
"A direhorse."
"Direhorses are used for hunting and in battle," explained Jake," The antenna attaches to a Navi's queue," he points to his braid," and the Navi can control the animal, tell him where to go."
"I wanna ride one," said JJ immediately without hesitation, looking at one of the animals longingly. Jake looked hesitant.
"I don't think you can, JJ, you don't have a queue."
"Oh, no," said Danny, putting a hand over his face. "You just told him he can't do something."
"I honestly don't care if I have a damn queue or not, or whether you give me permission or not," said JJ defiantly," I'm still go to ride one."
"Or die trying," said Jake.
"You betcha," he responded.
"Alright, let me just grab one," he said, walking away to get a horse. He soon returned with a huge gray striped horse.
"I'll let you take the reins on this one, kiddo. You can figure out how to get on him and how you're going to control him."JJ looked around him, looking for a way to get up on the animal. He spotted a big log, took hold of the Direhorse's lead and led him over to the log. By hopping up on the log, he was able climb up onto the direhorse's back, manually lifting his right leg over the back. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms, crutches dangling, around the Direhorse's antennas, which caused the direhorse to squeal. He moved his left arm down a few inches so his crutch nudged the direhorse's side which caused the horse to take off at full gallop. Within 3 seconds, JJ was face down in the mud, everyone in the clearing, including Ralu, staring at him. Danny was laughing his ass off, Jake was holding back a small smile as he walked over to JJ to help him up.
"Don't worry about it, I fell off so much when I was learning to ride."
"He did," said Neytiri coming over to them." What are you boys doing?"
"JJ wants to ride a Pa'li," answered Danny.
"Ah…" she said, then leaned into Jake," I do not think that is possible."
"He's going to try anyway," responded Jake as JJ climbed back up onto the Direhorse and grabbed hold of the antennas. Throughout the rest of the day, time and time again, JJ fell off the horse. He gradually got better, but he still fell off. He was creating quite a crowd of Na'vi who just surprised he was managing to control the Direhorse at all. As night began to fall and the bioluminescence started to appear, JJ was still getting thrown off the direhorse. Danny walked over to where a very dirty JJ was laying in the mud after just getting thrown off.
"JJ, I think it's time we give the Direhorse a break."
"No! I can do this!"
"I'm not saying you can't, but I'm doing this for the Direhorse's sake. You're going to murder him if you keep it up much longer," Danny said.
"One more shot," muttered JJ, getting up and climbing up onto the Direhorse, grabbing hold of the antennas. Danny jumped back in surprise as the Direhorse squealed, charging off toward HomeTree. JJ managed to stay on for a total of 30 seconds before falling off into the mud and who knows what else. The Direhorse continued on its course, charging right through the Commons, and tramping right through dinner, crushing everything and causing mass chaos. As the direhorse ran away through the woods, its loud footsteps disappearing in the distance, all the Omaticaya turned and looked right at Danny and JJ. JJ and Danny looked at each other then back at the Omaticaya. They were livid.
"It was Danny!" JJ yelled pointing at him, before limping off in the other direction. The Omaticaya's livid eyes shifted onto Danny's shocked face.
"Hi, yeah, real sorry about that," Danny said nervously," Totally an accident." He started to back up in the direction JJ had took off in before bolting that way.
"JJ! I'm going to kick your atrophied ass!"