Ceremonial curiosity

[heirtothearcane]

In the past few years the Nexus has become more of a home for Viatorus than his own world, despite its strange and changeable nature. So then perhaps it is not so odd that he finds himself feeling more comfortable here than there, able to talk to strangers with nary a stutter. Mostly. Though whatever nerves remain they're still a far cry from how he was when he first came here. Now he can sit and think, his head clear and undisturbed by the passers by.

He sits and watches the crowd flow through the streets, shuffling the ring on his ring finger in slow circles. For once he's without a book in hand, not even with a tea nearby. In fact, he looks quite composed for someone so easy to fluster. Perhaps it's the distraction of speculation, for he certainly sounds like he's been mulling over this a while.

"Do you think that ceremonies hold power? Do they influence anything or do you think they're purely symbolic? Are they an expression of hope, or a way of channelling power?"

Comments

[heirtothearcane]

Viatorus' eyes go wide in surprise and he pales a bit. He needs a minute before he clears his dry throat and says, "That... That seems a bit harsh, doesn't it? To become an adult you need to do something that might get you eaten?"

[jarheadclan]

"Kinda," he agrees with a shrug. "But Pandora's not a safe planet. Very 'law of the jungle, eat or be eaten' kinda place. And more often than not, you wanna be as high up as you can. Plenty of stuff on the ground that'll eat you too, if they can get you. The risk doesn't outweigh the reward, 'cuz going without if a hell of a lot worse."

[heirtothearcane]

Viatorus is quiet for a long moment before trying for a meek smile and saying, "I suppose that's quite fitting for a planet called Pandora… It doesn't sound very peaceful, though."

[jarheadclan]

"Not all the time, no. But it's not like every moment's a life-or-death struggle either." The military had been convinced Pandora was a death world, the scientists, a utopia for the Na'vi. Black and white. No wonder neither of them could see eye to eye, with each other or the natives, when the truth is more somewhere in the middle, in the shades of gray.

Jake shakes his head a little. "The forest is... it's something else. Trees that're hundreds of meters tall, birds and lizards and shit Earth hasn't had for decades, and everything glows in the dark. Even us," he adds with a laugh, gesturing at himself. "Actual fruit trees, meals that you gotta gather or hunt yourself, not reheat some rehydrated farm-grown algae slop. And if you leave 'em alone or know enough signs to avoid 'em, the local predators won't bother you most of the time either. It's a life you gotta work for, not just sit back and let someone else do all the heavy lifting. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it's way better for me than what I had back on Earth."

[heirtothearcane]

"It sounds beautiful," he admits. Only to quietly add, "And dangerous. I'm... not very good with danger. My sister would be. She'd probably love your planet. Give her a challenge and she'll overcome it no trouble."

After another thoughtful moment he continues slowly, "But then I suppose that makes it no different from Earth. For me, at least. My sister protects me from everything there too. So it only makes sense that it would be the same everywhere else... Do all the Na'vi end up as hunters?"

[jarheadclan]

Jake doesn't know who this guy's sister is, but she sounds like his kinda person, and he grins again. "Danger's my middle name," he says, delivering Earth's oldest and corniest macho man boast with all the irony it deserves. "I was a Marine, back on Earth. Career soldier. Can't say which one's harder, but they both've got their challenges."

Since he became clan leader, Jake's been doing a lot of explaining Na'vi culture to anyone who's interested, so he looks more than happy to answer as much as this guy wants to ask. "Sure, kinda. I mean everyone knows how, it's a basic part of life in the forest. Some people do more of the hunting than others though, on a daily basis kinda thing. But there's gotta be someone watching the kids, or doing the weaving and gathering and stuff, and some people're better at stuff than others, just like with humans."

[heirtothearcane]

It sounds like Jake is Isidor's kind of person, too. Something that becomes even more apparent when he reveals he was a marine. Isidor always has time for military people. She understands them better than he does.

Still, Jake reminds him a little of her, which gets a small smile. "Isidor's in security. You should meet her some day."

"So there aren't really pacifists or vegetarians or anything like that?" Perhaps that's a luxury for the modern world. "Do the Na'vi have technology?"

[jarheadclan]

That first question gets a surprised laugh out of Jake. "A pacifist on Pandora'd probably be dead in three days. Or less. And it'd be a hell of a waste not to eat what we gotta kill. Can't let the death be for nothing." He learned that his first day out in the jungle, and only after months of learning did he realize just how badly he fucked that one up from the Na'vi point of view. Sorry, little viperwolves. If Jake hadn't been crashing around in the underbrush like a moron, they never would've come after him.

'Do the Na'vi have tech' is a little more complicated, and he tilts his head, tail flicking to the side. "Depends on what you mean by technology. No spaceships or firearms, no metalworking at all that I've seen. But we've got handmade stuff, bows and arrows, that kinda thing."

[heirtothearcane]

The polite smile narrowly avoids becoming a grimace as Viatorus pulls a face at that thought. He's no vegetarian, but the thought of killing... "There's no one? At all like that?"

It's sometimes difficult for Viatorus to remember that not all technology has to be purely scientific, and that science isn't just 'not magic'. He's a little biased in an odd sort of way. "But you come here, to the Nexus. Don't you want to take technology from here to make life better on your world?"

[jarheadclan]

Jake's not gonna judge this guy for being squeamish or anything, it's just that the whole vegetarian idea is...very Earth. Not that Jake doesn't think like a human anymore because he does, but a couple years of immersion has done him wonders in terms of getting into the Na'vi mindset. "Nope. I don't think it's possible, the way the Na'vi live. We're part of the food chain, part of Eywa, not just visiting once in a while."

The tech question is something it took Jake a hell of a lot of time to wrap his brain around, too. "I mean, there's a couple things that ended up being kinda useful. Throat-mikes and grenades, mostly, but those aren't things we're gonna need again anytime soon. There ain't a lot that'd be useful, with where we're at right now. You thinking of something specific?"

[heirtothearcane]

"Oh." Looks like he isn't going to become part of Eywa in any scenario, it seems. Suddenly he feels very lucky he was born on Earth.

Everything this guy deals with is so violent... but then he was a soldier. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise. "I... I'm not sure. Phones. Or soap. Technology covers a lot. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't call someone when I need help."

[jarheadclan]

Oh, well if he's going that broad with his definition, then that explains a few things. "Oh, we've got soap, or something kinda like it. Some kinda root, you mash it up and it gets all frothy. Not havin' toothpaste took some getting used to though. Gotta chew on twigs instead." Yeah, it's not exactly glamorous, but Jake was used to roughing it before he ever got to Pandora in the first place.

"I mean yeah, there's some stuff that could change things us a bit, just not something that could be self-sufficient, you know? Like medicine. It'd save lives, probably, but what happens if the clan gets dependent on Sky People meds and then can't get more? Not like we can make 'em ourselves, and who knows if the way here'll be open forever." Jake shrugs, not dismissing it outright; he's clearly put some thought into this. "Anything I bring over, I gotta think about the long-term. My actions are gonna have consequences, and I gotta think about what it's gonna do to the clan down the road. Gotta do what's right, not what's easy." He learned that lesson the hard way.