She had been in the lands for a little bit now. A few nights of week she would meet up with Kaym and he would teach her more and more about the people, and about Eywa. She truly appreciated the help, because without it she would still be an outsider in her own mind.
Today, she could be found traveling away from Home Tree, back to the path that she had wandered on the first day she got to the lands. She remembered both Txur and Clerm saying about the different paths (the high and the low) and how the higher path was much quicker to get from point a to b. Ru had decided she would start learning the skills it took to be a climber, or else she would be stuck grounded.
Txur had mentioned that if you didn’t know how to climb, you might risk broken limbs. Ru was a little hesitant after that thought…How embarrassing would it be to break a leg the first try of climbing. A shake from her head had made her decided. She would start with the lower limbed paths, slowly making her way to each level. Once she was comfortable with her footing would she advanced.
So that’s what she did. She found what looked like a root system just a few feet off the ground, intermingling with other roots from different trees. “If I fall from here…at least it’s not a long drop,” she murmured to herself, as she jumped on to the rough root.
It was uneven, like some of the land that could be found in the roguelands. It only took a few moments of swaying from side to side before she finally began walking slowly her blue eyes stuck on her steps, making sure she wouldn’t accidently step off.
Quickly she had learned her balance on the lower pathway, and felt the need to actually jump to the next higher branch. It was here, she found that it wasn’t the easiest of tasks. Ru looked for an easy opening in which she would be able to just hop onto the next limb. She spotted one just a ways down. It took a few moments before she gained the courage to actually leave the lower root system, but finally she jumped, claws extended so they could grip the tree branch. Ru hadn’t expected the flimsiness of the branch; as soon as her paws hit the branch, it snapped, causing the lioness to fall to the ground.
She groaned as she lied on the ground, a small leaf falling right on her head as if laughing at her. She glared up quickly, scowering the land for another limb that would prove more stronger than the first. She sighed, spotting one; now it just meant she had to get up… Her side was a little achy from the fall, but she would not let that stop her. She looked at her bright pelt, small dirt scuffs marred the on her front paws. The white lioness made a note to clean herself up before meeting with Kaym later.
This time, she moved slowly on the tree limb. She would wait until she had a good footing before leaping to the branch above. Rukopa did not want another repeat of what just happened. She steadied herself, before leaping to the branch above. Her claws remained unsheathed, making it easier to grab for something in case she began to fall.
She lay on the branch, not wanting to stand up. Even though she was just a mere few feet off the ground, she could feel a slight wobbly feeling beginning to beckon in her joints. She looked up, frowning at the higher pathways up in the air. How she was going to manage to climb and walk up there was a total mystery to her. She sighed, looking ahead of her, before looking down.
…Ok, that was a bad idea. Her heart began to flutter at the sight of being just a bit off the ground. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply before shakily beginning her to lift herself up. The white lioness wasn’t even standing completely up before the branch began to shake with her nerves. “…maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…” she gulped, lowering herself back down to her stomach.
Her cornflower blue eyes looked around quickly; her stomach hugging the tree branch below her.
“How do I get down now…?” A Na’vi lion stuck in a tree…how ironic was that. “Guess I am not really one of the people yet…” She inched on her bell, successfully getting that dirty as well, to a place where she could reach the branch below her. She didn’t want to get up and jump down; her brain just wouldn’t allow it. “Now a sense of fear plays into part. Couldn’t have done that you know, before I jumped on this branch, eh?” She growled, wanting to kick herself for her mind’s trick.
A white paw stretched down to grab the limb below her. She grimaced, not looking down again as she felt blindly for the wood. “Come on…I know you are there…” she said, almost urgently.
“YES!” She shouted excitedly, her clawed foot touching the branch. Without even looking at it, she swung her body to it, once again hugging the tree as soon as she landed there. Her eyes should have looked before she leapt, because the branch she had managed to snag was cracking underneath the lioness’ weight. “…Oh no…” she gasped, clinging to the branch as she fell from the tree again.
The white lioness lay there, not moving. Her ears didn’t flicker, her tail did not flash. All she did was gaze before her, vision slightly askew from the impact. “…” Ru was speechless. She wanted to turn around and glare at the tree path’s above, but that required her to move. She was happy just lying her, on the ground, where it was safe!
A sigh reached her maw as she saw the sun slowly beginning to fade beyond the holes in the trees. Kaym’itan would be waiting for her, which meant she really did have to get up now. She rose slowly to her feet, not daring to move any faster. Looking at her pelt, she shook her head. “Maybe he won’t notice?” Adrenaline was still flowing through her veins, as she limped off.
“Note to self,” she started, “don’t tree climb by yourself. Very dangerous.”
[End | 1079 words]
