I did it. I ACTUALLY did it.

Despite not showing much facially, I was afraid of the worst case scenario. The Untiltaron rite isn't exactly safe. Not many die from it, but it can happen. I know that my body would be returned to Eywa, destined to be reused and brought back into the soil again. However, even with that knowledge, I was still afraid. Thankfully, I survived with minimal damage. After taking a moment to breathe, thanking Eywa for my survival, I began to tell the tsahìk of my poison-induced vision, recalling as many details I could. One of which was the vision of my spirit animal, a pa'li, my favorite animal. While I was still coming to terms with my near death, the sight of my favorite animal in my dream helped soothe me.

After that, it was time for the celebration. I'll have to reenact the vision, which I didn't like the idea of since it was so traumatic, but I'd do it anyway since it was tradition. A distasteful part of the tradition in my opinion, but still tradition nonetheless. Then, I could get to the good part: feasting. I wasn't much of a dancer, but I'd be a damn fool to decline some good food.

While I chatted with friends and snacked on a fruit, the taste reminiscent of an Earth banana with the tang of a mango, I spotted him. The second eldest of the Olo'eyktan, and the twin of the eldest. Was the thought of courting one of the children of the Olo'eyktan to be a bit of a sharp shot? Sure, but I was nothing if not determined. I was still nervous, though. What if he rejected me? What if he didn't like men? Something told me that he did, but you could never be too sure.

Suddenly, one of my friends, Prranga, snapped his fingers to get my attention. I realized that I had been staring at him for Eywa knows how long. But given the faces of my friends, I had a hunch that I had been staring for a while. That thought made my face hot with embarrassment, but I didn't show it, keeping a neutral facial expression and a calm tone.

"Sorry, I.. zoned out. I was just thinking," I said, turning my head so I could resume looking at him. I could faintly hear the sound of my friends snickering with each other, but I didn't care. My only thoughts were of him and what it would be like to be mated with him. I want that so bad, but I'm just.. so, SO nervous. And the fact that one of my other friends, Loreyu, began trying to push me to talk to him only made it worse. I felt like I couldn't. In my mind, he probably already has their eyes set on someone. It'd be rude to try and court them now.. right? But, then again, Loreyu persisted that I at least TRY since I don't actually know if he has a potential mate in mind or not. And then Loreyu made another good point, saying:

"You were brave enough to go through both your rites, so why are you acting like such a fnawe'tu (coward) now? Go and talk to him! Think of this as just another rite. Be brave, my brother. You can do it."

"He's definitely right," I thought. And with some more encouragement from my friends, I set off in his direction. I didn't exactly know what to say, but I'd figure it out. I can start it off as just a friendly conversation, maybe sneak in a question or two about mates.

"Hopefully this goes well," I murmured to myself, sighing. "Eywa guide me.."