The big animal, who now simply behaved like a huge cat, stood a mere ten feet away from me, while his huge black and yellow eyes looked at me with the attention that a dog would have towards its owner waiting for a snack to be tossed to him for being well-behaved.
"Oh god, this can't be happening, not now," I was about to graduate, a raise in salary, maybe a health insurance cover, everyone knew that a simple injection in the buttock cost more than a Starbucks, but those constant struggles were nothing compared to having a ten foot fucking feline acting like a simple dog in front of you.
"Aleyx!" The shout startled me, and the Palulukan didn't like it either, because his previous calm state vanished like smoke in his hands the moment he bared his huge teeth and was about to pounce on Luak.
"Hey, stop, please!" please? Hell, now I say please to killing machines, though it seemed to work, because the beast calmed down, "Aleyx, help me, I can't breathe right anymore." Oh, the little man.
Putting the whole insanity aspect that this was aside for the moment, I approached Luak, "Oh hey, stop, stay there!" I said to the Palulukan, who had started to follow me the moment I walked towards Luak. But it was better to keep him away for the moment.
"Come on buddy, I'll help you get out of here," Luak looked at me, his face denoted pain and effort, and he gasped for air, standing to the right side of him, I looked at the Pa'li's back and placed my hands on it.
"I'm going to push, I need you to help me with this, once I start pushing, you will lean on the ground hard to get you out from under him, ok?" once everything was explained, I started pushing, but it was well known saying that the corpse becomes heavier when it has someone to carry it, or who pushes it in this case.
Because the damn animal didn't move a bit. "Shit!" This wasn't going to work, and then, something clicked, the Palulukan, God, already at this point I don't know how many times I had mentioned it, but I hoped it would protect me in this, and that it would turn out well what I was about to do.
I looked, into those same eyes that were looking at me with fury before, and approached him, while taking my braid with my right hand, "well, here we go", carefully, I reached up to the left side of the Palulukan, and extending my left hand, without taking my eyes off the big beast, I took his left appendage and seeing that the Palulukan did not react aggressively, I made Tsaheylu.
"Woah," I couldn't help but react, the sheer amount of information that came into my head was enormous, from sensing the surroundings through its agile and keep body, to knowing the location of some Yerik grazing several kilometers away.
"Alright, here I go," I said, while once Tsaheylu was done, you bonded to the mount you rode, like with the Ikran or the Pa'li, with the Palulukan, this was different, it was something new to me, something huge.
But like many things before it, I had to postpone doing research, as my friend was choking. As if we were one, I guided the Palulukan to help me remove the Pa'li from Luak, and like fingers against plasticine, I could see and feel how the claws of the Palulukan's two front paws effortlessly entered the Pa'li's flesh and clung.
To then, without much effort, the Palulukan was made backwards, as it pulled the Pa'li like a rag doll. "Oaah!" Luak was able to breathe freely once the Pa'li was no longer pressing down on him.
"Well, that was something huh," I said, giving him a nervous laugh, Luak was still on the ground, leaning on his hands to keep his torso up, as he started laughing, then joining in. "Who knew you'd get to be a Palulukan Makto, and long before you finish your initiation, you don't even have an Ikran."
"Well, you have Eywa to thank for that," I said, a little nervous about everything that was related to this planet's sensory entity, the moon? I couldn't quite remember. Getting off the Palulukan, a long name, which made me think I would have to christen it. I approached Luak, offering him my hand and helping him to stop.
Now that all the altercation was over, I could observe with attention the Pandora jungle, and what a beauty it was, everything was shining, the serene coolness of the night was running freely through the place, waving with softness and extreme calmness the branches and grass, while these responded with luminous glows; "Come on, we must go to the tribe, I'm tired, and our parents must be worried".
We started walking. I had thought of going on Fang, as I had called the Palulukan, but Fang was aggressive at the idea of Luak riding on him, even if I was also present.
"I don't know how you managed to connect with the Palulukan," ''Fang'' I interrupted him, "his name is Fang."
"...Okay, I don't know how you managed to connect with Fang, there is supposed to be no Palulukan near another Palulukan's territory, and we know that with seven in the clan controlling much of the nearby territory, this Palulukan must have come from far away, not to mention that you haven't even completed your initiation."
All that got me thinking, that something that would cause a Palulukan to flee his territory and wander into the territory of another Palulukan was cause for concern. As for the subject of my initiation, it would certainly be a topic of conversation with my parents; once word got out that I was a Palulukan rider, my initiation rite would be moved up.
Fang became aggressive from one moment to the next, as its barbs extended upward, looking quite terrifying. Determined to find out what it was, I made Tsaheylu with him, and thanks to the connection, I could see three Pa'li riders approaching us from the front, with two Txumre' accompanying them.
They reached us in no time, emerging from the brush with a distinguished elegance and bearing of the clan's warriors. The two clan members saw us and I could see them relax, perhaps they were looking for us, watching the sky, I guessed we had been missing for hours, and no doubt the clan was looking for the son of their Olo'eyktan.
"Aleyx, Luak, we have been looking for you for some time, for Eywa, a Palulukan," one of the two men confirmed what I assumed, as he stood amazed at Fang's presence, "he is my Palulukan, we are now one, I made Tsaheylu with him."
"The Olo'eyktan will be happy, let's go, it is already very late, we must warn that we find you", without further ado Luak climbed on one of the Pa'li, while I climbed over Fang. With that, we started the journey to the clan.
I didn't remember being so far from the clan at first, but it was clear how far away we were, since even after ten minutes of riding without stopping, the clan was nowhere in sight.
But after a few more minutes, I could begin to see the familiar space of my memories, recognizable sites, marked trees, and trails used by clan members, and from one moment to the next, the clan showed itself in all its glory.
In my memories I knew the place, but that was like seeing it through a screen, now, I saw my clan's home with total clarity, and I could not help but be surprised, in front of me was a line of floating rocks that stretched for miles on both sides, which made a circle, which served as protection for the clan.
The rocks, of all sizes, fit perfectly together, while floating from time to time, something only seen in the Hallelujah Mountains, but which could also be appreciated here, with a height of more than forty meters, formed an ideal rocky protection to keep away the wildlife of the jungle, while undoubtedly creating greater protection and greater efficiency when defending our home, since there was only one entrance by land.
The entrance was a huge archway in the stone circle large enough to allow three 'angtsìk to pass side by side, the place was guarded by at least a dozen warriors, along with half a dozen Txumre'.
They stood attentively watching Fang, who was riding, with the occasional Palulukan Makto listening in.
The entrance to the clan was a rocky tunnel that illuminated the passage, and upon exiting it, I saw first hand the great Kelutral, a giant tree, easily over three hundred meters tall, sixty meters thick and its branches and leaves stretching for miles into the air, providing shade.
The tree was over thirty thousand years old, if he remembered correctly, and had served as home and protection to the clan for hundreds of generations. And with luck, it would continue to do so for hundreds more.
The Subaiya clan, to which I belonged, had over twenty thousand members, a substantial number for a Na'vi clan, a number that frightened me, since that would be the number of souls I would have to guide.
When I arrived at the Kelutral, there were thousands gathered, apparently they had not had much rest due to our disappearance, though fortunately I had returned.
I was greeted with surprised, stunned looks, seeing me arrive on a Palulukan, but I did not let that torment me, I even lifted my chin a little higher and reached the center, where my father and mother were already waiting for me.
"Masano, ma sempul," I greeted my parents, getting off Fang and cutting the Tsaheylu, walking towards them, "Eywa has spoken to me, and Fang is now mine, as I am his."
My mother scanned me with her gaze, looking for wounds or injuries, while my father watched Fang intently behind me, then, after what seemed like eternal minutes, nodded in my direction, then raised his right arm with which he wielded his hunting bow, and exclaimed to the clan.
"Palulukan Makto!"
A series of choruses followed, shouting the same. As I watched it all with a smile on my face, "I'm proud of you, son." Well, maybe here wasn't so bad.
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