36. Chapter 36 (1/2)

an: for those of you who read my other avatar books (isyt, hiraeth and insouciant, those will all be updated as soon as i have time!

after fixing up the smudged lines on her body it was time for the last part of the ceremony. it was where she was officially welcomed by the olo'eyktan and tsahik as part of the omatikaya and formerly had a place among them. the most important members would place their hands on her body first and then the people behind would place their hands on the person in front of them and so on and so forth until every clan member was part of the huge circle. alva had seen it happen once but since she wasn't part of the clan she had been hesitant to join in.

her hair had been fixed and her lips repainted after the many kisses she stole from tsu'tey. finally she got to wear all of her jewelry again and the familiar weight of the

acelets, rings, anklets and earrings calmed her down. without them she felt naked and exposed. for the occasion she had made herself a necklace- it was made out of a dark string that she had found laying around in the kelutral and hanging from it was a

ight red stone that grace had given her on her first day on pandora. the necklace, or more like choker, hung around her neck and the stone rested comfortably between her collarbones.

alva walked into the main hall of the kelutral, her eyes dancing over the toruk skull totem that stared directly at her. large, pointy teeth pointing out of a gigantic skull that used to put fright in all who roamed pandora, except for the legendary toruk makto, now it was used as decoration, in ceremonies and an artifact that helped them never forget the might of toruk makto, or the great times of sorrows in which the toruk makto appears. holes where piercing yellow eyes used to sit now stared hollowly at her.

she catched jake's eyes as her eyes danced over the many members of the big tribe that was waiting for her. when alva saw the proud look on his face a shiver ran through her body and her

eath got caught in her throat. when was the last time someone who wasn't a na'vi was proud of her?

alva walked up the last set of steps and slowly walked over to where the olo'eyktan stood in his normal clothing. his face was blank but there was a hint of pride in his stance and acceptance in his face.

"alva," his voice rumbled around the large hollow.

she took another shy step forward, her chin and eyes tilted to the floor, nervosity gripping her tight. eytukan stepped forward and placed his warm, rough hands on her fragile shoulders before

inging her eyes up to meet his.

"you are now a daughter of the omatikaya. you are part of the people." the leader of the tribe nodded his head and stared hard into her eyes, trying to show her that his words were genuine and that she was truly one of the people.

a tear slipped down her painted cheek and her lips wobbled as she suppressed cries of happiness. her hands shook and her knees felt weak, like they were threatening to give in at any moment. she had finally done it! finally she was a member, one of the people, one of them and not one of the humans. no longer would she be the shy, weird dreamwalker from hell's gate, no, now she would be alva, hunter and ikran makto of the omaticaya.

"thank you," she whispered and nodded slowly. tears rushed down her cheeks like rivers. "you've no idea how much this means to me," her words were thick with emotion.

the olo'eyktan nodded once more and put a bit more force into his hold. the tsahik, neytiri and tsu'tey's cousin were the first to join eytukan, but she felt their hands even more and through them she could feel their acceptance of her, the sense of belonging that was foreign to her and the feeling of finally being where she was supposed to be. it felt like home. tsu'tey was next and his hands were soft on her shoulders, warmer than the others and sent soft tingles and sparks down her shoulder. alva gave him a

ight, teary smile and he gave her a small grin that no one else could see.

the others of the tribe kept building on, each person placing their hands on the person in front of them and so on and so forth until they had created a big net with the tribe's members and the new one. hands were placed on hands, hands were on her shoulders, her sides, her back, her tswin. like a web she was being initiated into the family and one day she would be in a net just like this one, welcoming another into their big family, congratulating them on making it.

alva closed her eyes and exhaled. this was home.

alva

ushed off the skirt she had changed into as she stood up from the ground. the top section of her hair had been

aided into one single, thick

aid that hung over the rest of the hair on her back. people around her were singing, laughing and dancing the night away to the song or tune that the na'vi version of a band was playing. the cele

ation of her initiation to the clan was still going on, even after several hours, and even alva had grown tired after the first hour or so of frantic jumping.

"jake!" alva greeted the man walking up to her.

jake had his hair in the usual style and he wore a bittersweet smile on his face. "alva."

the now member of the omaticaya lurched forward and threw her arms around her friend. "did you see? i did it! i'm a part of the clan now!"

"i saw," he responded with a grimace, "i wanted to, uh, congratulate you."

alva squinted her eyes at the man with a smirk slowly growing on her lips, "are you jealous, jake? you shouldn't worry so much, eywa has a plan. she always does. i'm sure your time will come soon enough. when you're ready, of course."