Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, especially in light of how long it's been since I've updated this. Given the new movie I've gone back and re-watched the original and am getting back to my outline of this, although it's obviously even more AU now than it was before. But for anyone reading, thank you and I hope you're enjoying it. And also hopefully I'll manage to get to the clan gathering before I get distracted this time, since that's where this story was supposed to end in the first place. :)

I did get one review with a comment about Jake's ikran being named Bob...unfortunately since they didn't tell us that until 2022 and this was started in 2010 (and I don't have the time or the patience to scrape every chapter), you should assume that the name Banshee is now also part of the AU.

"speech"—English

/speech/—Na'vi

Tsu'tey stared out across the dry lake bed and the ikran sunning there. With Toruk having moved on they all seemed more at ease to his eyes, but since he was looking at adding to their numbers, it was always good to know the state of things. Even when a leader had advisors to rely on it was important for him to have his own view, as Man'an had pointed out this morning, because while advisors could be experts in their particular areas, a clan leader had to be able to take the pieces and see the whole of the thing. He had been right, of course, and Tsu'tey would do his best to have that view more clearly in the future, but there was just so much to know.

Footsteps behind him alerted him to an approach well before Jake announced himself, and Tsu'tey was glad of the distraction even as he mentally shook his head at the noise. At this point Tsu'tey was fairly sure that Jake would just never be quiet in the woods, at least not if he wasn't focusing specifically on his footsteps.

"Hey, Tsu'tey. Eykir said that I should come find you," Jake greeted. "What's up?"

/Iknimaya./

"Huh?"

Tsu'tey turned far enough to give him an exasperated look—he'd learned that as long as he didn't speak overly quickly Jake could usually follow, and that was certainly a word that he should recognize—and Jake waved it off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what it is, but why are you thinking about it now? Mo'at was just talking to Neytiri about starting to gather appropriate woods for travel frames and blessings on the weaving and stuff like that for this clan gathering thing."

The fact that Jake could understand still didn't mean that he could respond anywhere near fluently without taking time to think about it first, and since Tsu'tey didn't have anything like the patience of Neytiri or Norm and there wasn't the presence of anyone else to consider, he didn't attempt to correct him. /We must begin preparations to leave for the clan gathering soon,/ he agreed instead. It had come upon them sooner than he'd expected, really. Another thing that he hadn't truly been prepared for. Oh, they still wouldn't actually need to leave for two or three more moons, but there were extensive preparations to make, protections to be laid upon the new Hometree to prevent all of their work from being decimated by local wildlife, all manner of details to be handled. Far too many details, more of which required his input than he'd have preferred given his inexperience. And as had been pointed out this morning, while he was right to take as much council as he could from Tsa'dran and Kalis and the others who'd been more involved the last time they'd traveled to a clan gathering, council was all they could give. It left him feeling lost, for lack of a better description, because Eytukan should be doing this. Tsu'tey should be listening respectfully and taking up only the duties that Eytukan wished to pass over...that he felt Tsu'tey was ready for.

"Brother?" Jake nudged his arm lightly. "You okay?"

Tsu'tey shook his head, dismissing the thought. What was, was. /I am fine. However, along with our travel preparations, we also have two youngsters who are ready for Iknimaya and two hunters who lost their ikran in battle who believe they are ready to bond again./

"Yeah, I heard something like that at dinner the other night. I don't think Neytiri's up for it yet."

She was not, based on what Tsu'tey had seen. Of the two who were, one had made Iknimaya at the same time as Jake and one only a season before. They'd certainly been sorrowed by their losses in the battle with the Sky People, but at the same time they weren't hurt to nearly the same extent as those who had been bonded for years. But two was enough anyway, considering that with the two youngsters they were nearly at the limits of what he expected the rookery to tolerate. /I had thought to ask them to wait until after we return to make the attempt,/ Tsu'tey admitted, /but there is still time enough before we go for both successful completion and for them to have time to bond without travel adding undue strain./

Jake nodded agreeably, and Tsu'tey hesitated. But regardless of how the challenge worked out, Jake would soon have as much need to understand the strength and capabilities of the ikran makto as he did.

/And as an added reason to go now, we lost enough of our scouts in the fight that I'd prefer to add to their numbers while we have the opportunity. The ability to view the terrain we must travel through from above and pass messages back and forth quickly is very valuable when the clan is moving./

That got a much sharper nod, but he already knew that Jake was very familiar with tactics and the concept of tactical advantage.

/If the journey was to be made in two mornings, would you be well enough to accompany them?/

"I—yeah, of course, if you want. But why me? I mean, don't you normally do that? Or is your leg giving you trouble again?"

/My leg is as expected, but it is no longer my place./

Jake tilted his head, and Tsu'tey shook his head rather than answering directly. Leading Iknimaya was a task for the clan's second or the fighting leader of the ikran makto unless the circumstances were extraordinary, and while Eykir was willing, this would be the last time that he would be available to do so. At least for the Omaticaya. After the clan gathering the task would fall to either Jake or, if things did not work out as they hoped, likely Tsu'tey while Jake remained behind as the clan leader, and in either case Jake still needed to understand what was involved as more than just the participant that he had been the last time. /Eykir will lead this trip, but it is best if there are two with experience on the journey,/ he explained.

"Oh, like you and Neytiri both went before."

Neytiri had insisted on accompanying them on that occasion because it was just barely possible that Tsu'tey might not have been as helpful as he could have been towards Jake if it had only been himself and one of the other ikran makto, but he nodded anyway. /Yes. The two who are attempting again could perhaps be said to qualify in that place if there was no one else, but their attention will, as one might expect, be more focused on the task ahead of them than their immediate surroundings, and I would prefer to send another to support Eykir. Can you do this?/

"Yeah, sure."

/Can you do it in a reasonable language? Not all of the others will understand you if you don't speak properly./

/Yes,/ Jake repeated with a roll of his eyes. /I'm...getting better. Slow./

/Slowly./ He flicked his ears at Jake. "Or you are just slow, to which I will agree."

/Funny./ Jake shoved him lightly, and Tsu'tey returned it, but in this case he wasn't truly concerned. All four who would be attempting Iknimaya had attended Grace's school for at least some time and had a basic understanding of the Sky People's language if Jake somehow managed to be even less comprehensible than usual when speaking the language of the people. And while Eykir wasn't as fluent as Tsu'tey or Neytiri, he'd never had any issues understanding Jake, not even when Tsu'tey had started asking Jake to assist him with certain tasks.

/You say in two mornings?/ Jake asked.

/I said, yes. But let Eykir know that you have agreed to accompany them when you next see him./ Not that Tsu'tey expected Eykir to be surprised; given the timing he had to have guessed why Tsu'tey had been looking for Jake.

/Will./ He tilted his head and then his expression turned serious. "Are you okay? I wasn't sure at first, but week by week it seems like you keep getting quieter." A slight grin, although it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. "Well, maybe not so much when we're sparring, but the rest of the time…I don't know what it is, but something doesn't seem right."

He wasn't wrong, and Tsu'tey hesitated again. /There are many...responsibilities...to which I am only beginning to become accustomed,/ he admitted. There were burdens that he hadn't even realized that Eytukan had carried, although it was obvious in retrospect, and he had yet to figure out how to balance it all.

"Why do you think that I want you to keep the job?" Jake returned, although a smile and another light shove took the edge off his words. And then he was the one who tilted his head. "Do you have anything that you need to do right now?"

/Not immediately. Why?/

"Because we've got a race coming up before too long, and I wouldn't mind some practice." He whistled sharply, and Tsu'tey frowned as an ikran leapt in their direction. At least until he recognized him, and he couldn't help baring his teeth and calling for Denan. There were things he should do before the evening meal, but nothing that needed him right this moment. And an activity that he was skilled at would make him feel marginally better after this morning. He didn't believe that any of the elders had intended to make him feel so deficient, but….

Denan shrieked when she landed in front of him, and he pushed that thought aside and swung onto her back. No doubt it would return later, but for now this would be a good distraction. And Jake was right, there was a competition to come, and they must both be ready to represent themselves well.

Jake's greater weight worked against him on takeoff, especially since the ikran were starting from the lake bed rather than the upper branches, and Tsu'tey sent Denan winging into the low brush as Banshee put his effort into height rather than turning immediately into the trees himself.

They banked in unison away from the clan, and Tsu'tey traded some of his own speed for altitude and sent Denan up to cross Banshee's flight path. /Twice to the Thanator tree and back?/ he called. The site of their treeing had become something of a useful landmark to the clan, at least with regards to orienting hunts and such, even if he himself had some mixed feelings about it.

"Twice," Jake agreed, raising a hand in acknowledgment, and then they banked again and the race was on.