A Bond Unbroken

Author: Dreamwind

Gift For: Judith Weg

Fandom: Harry Potter, Avatar

Rating: NC-17/Explicit

Series: N/A

Pairing: Harry Potter/Tsu'tey

Additional Pairing: None

Characters: Harry Potter, Tsu'tey

Trope: Animal Transformation

Warnings: Animagus, Animal Transformation, Bonding, Alien Biology, Crossover Pairing, Post Deathly Hallows, Post Canon, Pre-Movie Canon

Author's Note: Part of my 24 hour Challenge. Prompt suggested by Judith on FB.

Summary: Harry bonds accidentally with Tsu'tey and thats when things start to get weird.

A Bond Unbroken

The war was long over. The Dark Lord long dead. But Harry was still there. Still uncomfortably alive and young. His friends had all grown old. Most had died. His children were all grown. His grandchildren were all grown and married. He had great-grandchildren, even a couple great-great-grandchildren. Time had passed slowly but surely as it always does. Except for Harry. Time stood still for him. Or, at least, it looked as if it did. He didn't look eighteen, thank Merlin, but he certainly didn't look like a man in his hundreds either.

No. Harry Potter, defeater of Voldemort, Knight of the Commonwealth, Golden Prince of Gryffindor, looked like a young man of twenty-three. He had aged, but slowly. For a while. But each year the aging had gotten slower by half, until he seemingly stopped aging. Now he didn't know for certain he had stopped aging. For all he knew he was simply aging a day for every passing year. Either way it left him feeling out of sync with the rest of the world.

Which brought him to this point.

Harry Potter was ready for that next great adventure. He wanted to move on and join his loved ones already long gone. He didn't want to hide behind more and more complex glamours every time he left his home. He wanted what he had always wanted. A normal life. A normal death. So, to that end, he had snuck out of his house, past all the watchful descendants, and made his way into the near silent Ministry of Magic. It was late and most had already gone home. But that perverse sense of humor that he must have inherited from Albus, had made him wait for this exact moment.

The Witching Hour.

Midnight.

The ending of one day, and the beginning of a new day.

He would end his "day" and step through The Veil to find the beginning of the new "day."

Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before slowly releasing it. As the last of the breath was exhaled, he opened his eyes and took an unhesitating step forward. One after another until there was nothing before him, and only The Veil fluttering silently behind him.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

Harry felt his leg twitch.

The suddenness of the movement waking him up. He tried to open his eyes but found them to heavy. He tried stretching his body only to find it twitch. Before he could wonder what had happened, he was drifting back to sleep.

He woke again sometime later. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep this time, but he did wonder why he had been asleep. He was sure he had walked into The Veil.

He stretched his body again, pleased to find it obeying him better. He felt strange though. His arms felt too long, and strangely heavy. His legs felt weird too. As if they were bending in the wrong places. He kicked them again, pausing when they connected with a hard surface mere inches from where his feet normally rested. Slower than before, Harry stretched one leg out, rubbing the tips of his toes against the curved surface of whatever he was trapped in. Because now that he knew it was there he could feel it all around him, pressing against the back of his head, his spine, the long arms, his legs, and his tail.

Wait, Harry thought.

Tail? When did he get a tail?

Harry tried to open his eyes, pleased when his eyelids lifted slightly. not more than a crack. Certainly not enough for a good view. But still enough to let him catch sight of the yellow-orange glow that surrounded him, and the strange, almost reptilian looking feet attached to his legs.

He spent a long while staring at his new appendages before he finally drifted back to sleep.

More time passed. Each time he woke, much like the time before. But little-by-little he was able to open his eyes further.

He was getting frustrated though. Each time he awoke the space he was in had gotten smaller and more uncomfortable. He knew it was an egg. What else could it be? But really he didn't want to question why he was in an egg. Or why he looked like he had turned into some kind of animal. Maybe a bird? He was sure the strangeness of his arms was because they had become wings. But he didn't see feathers. Did birds catch with feathers or without? He couldn't remember.

Grunting in frustration he kicked at the egg wall.

He jerked his foot back when he felt cool air hit the tip of his toe.

Moving his head about as best he could in the tight space, Harry looked to where his foot had been. A pleased smile tugged at lips that didn't seem to be formed for such an expression. There was a small hole in the shell of his egg. He could see light, brighter than before, coming through the hole. Sounds were coming now as well. No longer the strange muffled things he barely paid attention to.

There was something out there cooing at him, welcoming him, telling him it was time to come out.

Wiggling about he kicked again and again. He thrashed his head about and pressed his wings against the shell, doing everything he could to crack open the shell. It took hours and he felt exhausted, but he still wasn't out of the egg. Crying out, he pressed his nose to the small opening by his face, taking deep breathes of the fresh air outside the egg.

He dozed off for a while, waking once he felt a massive nose nudge his egg, calling to him again. Winning, he opened his eyes and struggled to get out of his egg at the creatures urging. It was a little easier now, the cracks he had made before were wider, and easier to spread open. With a great thrust of his limbs, Harry gave a mighty push. The shell gave way with a small 'CRACK' and left him tumbling out into a nest of flowers, leaves, and twigs.

He gave a pitiful cry of shock at how cold the air felt on his wet skin. Two voices cooed at him from above, blowing hot air at him as they did so.

Looking up he was startled to find the creatures looking down at him weren't birds. In fact they looked more like dragons than anything else. They had smooth, almost snakelike heads, with a thick boney fin on the chin that reminded Harry of the statues of Egyptian Pharaohs. And, he tilted his head to the side, they had one large eye with a smaller eye behind it. Well, that explained the strangely wide field of view he suddenly had. The larger of the two cooed at him again, nudging Harry with her nose.

Her.

He wasn't certain how he knew that this one was his "mother," but he was certain that was correct. He gave her a high pitched chirp and continued his inspection. She was larger and mostly a buttery yellow with white and black markings. The tops of her wings were mottled with bright blue, as was her tail, and her "beard" was the same bright blue as well. The male, his "father," was only slightly smaller and Harry thought he might also be younger. His "father" looked the same as his "mother" only with brighter colors. His father was mostly jade green, with purple all over his wings, spine, and "beard." His markings were black and reminded Harry of Polynesian tribal tattoos. All-in-all, they were both pretty cool looking. Though no where near as scary in appearance as the Horntail had been. But he might be a bit bias as all his instincts were now telling him these two were his family.

Looking around again he noticed dozens of others perched around them, cooing at newly hatched dragons like himself. He looked away from them after a moment of dizzying terror when he spotted one family perched near the edge of a cliff. He took several deep breaths and tried to look at himself, best he could. His primary coloring seemed to be a bright cobalt blue with his fathers purple coloration on the parts of his wing that he could see, the last half of his tail, and his feet. The tattoo like markings were black as well, though they appeared to be almost outlined in a bright golden-yellow color. He could only guess at the overall appearance he know had, but he was rather thrilled by the impression that he had. Several other females had turned to glance at him and Harry might have been imagining the jealous looks they gave his parents.

He preened under the attention, and despite the human part of his brain cringing, he gobbled up the raw meat his parents regurgitated for him.

Full of meat, Harry fell asleep, tucked safely under his mothers wing.

Weeks, months even, went by with Harry and the other hatchlings playing over the floating rocks, under the watchful eyes of their parents. One parent always remained behind to watch over him while the other went to hunt. He was reminded of a pride of lion, the way the adults all seemed to share the duty of watching out for the romping hatchlings. Though his parents were still the only ones to feed him. He couldn't understand at first why all the adults watched over the hatchlings. Surely they had to be the apex predators of this new planet?

He learned fast that he was wrong.

It only took one massive red dragon dropping out of the sky towards them to change his mind. This beast was almost twice the size of his parents, and it seemed like Harry and the others were on it's menu. The parents had flocked together attacking and trying to chase the beast off, but not before it had successfully snatched the little cream and green female hatchling two nests over form Harry. He had wanted to cover his ears at the sound of her panicked cries for help as it carried her off. Even worse was the mournful cries of her mother that seemed to echo around him all night long.

Fortunately, such raids became rarer as they got older. As soon as they were old enough to fly, their parents began pushing them off the cliffs, just as any bird would do to their offspring. It had been one of the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences of his life. His parents hadn't even had to throw him over the edge, he had seen the red dragon diving towards him and had left off without even thinking. The Red One seemed startled that he had gotten away, but had swiftly given chase. It had taken all his past skill as a Seeker to get away. He had dived head first towards the ground below, snapping open his wings at the last minute to dive into the trees, weaving through them for nearly two miles before managing to make a stumbling stop on the side of one of the largest trees he had ever seen. He could hear the Red One screaming at him from above the trees.

He hiss out through the two vents on his chest, his four eyes (and wasn't that a joke) locked onto the canopy above him.

Eventually the Red One flew off to find some other prey and he was able to relax. He flexed his fingers in the bark of the tree. He wasn't sure how to get back to the nest now. His wings and back muscles were throbbing in pain from the sudden use of them. He was fairly sure his first flight shouldn't have been quite so hair-raising or long distance as it was. My flying animals he had seen only made short flights for the first few times, working their muscles up to longer sustained flight. He had gone all Gryffindor on it though and now he was stuck with muscles that screamed at even the thought of flying back to the nesting rocks.

He wanted to curse but the only sound he could make was a growl. He thought about crawling down onto the ground but he wasn't sure what kind of predators there might be down there and he really didn't feel like being chased by another today. Looking at the tree he was in he tried to find a branch that looked sturdy enough to hold his weight. It took awhile, and he had to climb higher up the tree, in order to find one.

Tired and sore he allowed himself to sprawl out over the massive tree branch, his tail winding about it as best it could, and his claws digging into the wood as well. Eventually the sounds of the nighttime wildlife calmed him down so that he drifted off to sleep.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

Tsu'tey remained frozen in the tree branches, shocked and more than a little awed by what he had just seen. He had never seen an Ikran fly like that before, and most certainly not a yearling one at that! His heart had beat wildly in his chest as he had raced to follow it through the trees, safely away from the Toruk. He had watched it awkwardly clutch itself to the tree, freezing in place as the Toruk circled overhead. Tsu'tey had managed to get into the same tree, only two branches below the Ikran. He remained there, hidden in the leaves for hours, just watching.

The Ikran had eventually climbed up higher, finding a branch to settle on for an obviously, much needed nap. After it had been asleep for an hour, Tsu'tey had climbed up onto the branch with it. He had gotten close enough to feel it's warm breath on his skin. Much too close to a wild Ikran, and yet he was not afraid. He knew the hatchling was large enough to kill him if startled, he knew his father would be angry that he had gotten so close. But he could not turn away.

He had never seen an Ikran so beautiful as this one. He had never see one fly like this one had. He wanted this one for his partner!

Slowly he reached his hand out, setting it lightly on the top of the Ikran's nose. He held still for a moment, waiting for the Ikran to awaken.

It never did.

Letting out a breath of relief he leaned forward, placing his forehead against the Ikrans. "Wait for me, brother. I wish to fly with you."

He drew back slowly only to freeze in place when he caught sight of two golden eyes watching him. When he made no further move, the Ikran seemed to decide to ignore him, closing it's eyes and drifting back to sleep.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

Harry was startled awake the next morning by the heavy thud of his father's body landing against the massive tree trunk, in a more graceful imitation of what he had done early that day. He opened his eyes and stitched his neck out over the side of the branch, gazing down on his father, who was climbing up to trunk towards him. He relaxed and sat up, looking around to see if the blue cat-man he had seen earlier was still there. He wasn't. Harry was a little disappointed by that if he was being honest. He was a little curious about what the alien man was. For he had to be an alien since earth didn't have the large planets filling the sky that his new home did.

The cat-man had been pretty cool looking to Harry. There was something that reminded him of the pictures of African tribal people he found in old copies of National Geographic in his school library. But that face! That face reminded him of images of the Egyptian Goddess Bastet that he had seen in the museum (again because of school). He wanted to know what that was the man had said while Harry was drifting in a light sleep.

His father called to him, pulling Harry's attention back to him. Harry chipped back and stood up, shaking himself to loosen up stiff muscles. Looking at his father, Harry waited. He knew this was going to be a teaching moment. He could watch his father fly off the tree and if he paid proper attention then he would be able to copy the maneuver.

His father watched him for a moment longer before pushing off with his hind feet, twisting his body around and snapping out his wings. His tail streamed out behind him, swaying from side to side until he caught his balance and evened out. Impressed, Harry wiggled his back end and launched himself off his branch, dropping only a few feet before his wings caught the right rhythm to lift him up.

He flew closer to his father, relishing the gentle nuzzle he got as they carefully made their way out of the cover of the trees and into the open air. If he would have looked back he would have spotted his cat-man again, watching him form the cover of the large leaves.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

That day was hardly the last of Harry's learning experiences. It took most of a year to learn to hunt both grounded prey animals and flying prey animals. He was very good at it though, likely because he still had his human intelligence. He also had a lot of growing to do in that time as well. He had easily doubled in size and was now as large as his father was when he was born. As such his parents had kicked him out of the nest so that they could get on with making a new hatchling for the flock.

He wasn't hurt by it at all. It was the normal cycle of life after all and he was happy enough to find his own resting place among the floating mountain. He had found himself a nice spot at the edge where two large juts of rock met, forming a half cave. It was deep enough for him to fit under when it rained and still have a bit of room left open. Once he had marked it with his scent, he had spent the next two days flying around the forest collecting flowers, soft cotton-like plant fibers, and all manner of leaves to create soft bedding to lay on. It was harder than it looked to try and weave it all together so it wouldn't just blow away anytime one of the other members of the flock flew off. He had never appreciated the skill of birds who weaved nests until that moment. It was truly a taxing thing to do, both mentally and physically.

Pleased with the finished product he had decided to go for a long flight. He had seen a strange pink weeping willow the other day and he wanted to explore it further. Making his way through the crowd of other dragons, he reached the edge and dove off, letting himself glide away from the nesting site. It was a long flight to the pink willow, but he rather loved it. He passed over a lot of beautiful scenery and got to watch some of the larger herbivores graze and go about their day. He loved flying over the lake. That was quickly becoming his favorite part of any flight. And not just because he had figured out the eagle maneuver to snatch a swimming fish out of the water without landing.

He caught his snack as usual and as he was starting to fly away he caught sight of them. A small pride of those cat-men riding six-legged horse things. They seemed startled by the sight of him catching the massive fish and eating it on the fly. He didn't know why. Surely other dragons had figured out how to do that before him.

Harry rolled in the air, dropping the head back into the water as he did so. One of the massive hammer head-rhino things bugled a threat at him when his roll brought Harry too close to the beast for it's comfort and Harry cooed out an apology before flying off.

He gained altitude quickly, rising up above the clouds. For awhile he allowed himself the simple joy of playing hide-and-seek amongst the fluffy white masses. Darting in and out of them, and occasionally making long spiraling dives towards the ground as he once had on his Firebolt. He wondered if his blue cat-man had been one of the riders below and if he had recognized Harry. He wasn't sure why he was so taken with the being, but there had been something in the back of his mind that had seemed to hum in acknowledgement of the being the moment they made eye contact. Like Harry had been waiting for him and only had to wait for a little longer until they were both ready to face whatever was burning between them.

Harry rolled into another cloud, diving into a slow spiral as he spotted the pink willow below him. He giggled mentally as he tried to think up names for his cat-man as he got closer and closer to the tree. By the time he was back-winging into a landing, he had come to tentatively decide to refer to the cat-man as Chesire, because like the famous cat from Alice in Wonderland he was oddly colored, stripped, and had disappeared like smoke on the wind. Yes, Harry thought to himself. He liked the name Chesire.

He froze as the sound of feminine giggles reached him. His head rose up on his long neck, darting left and right in an effort to find who was laughing. He nosed at the long pink, almost tentacle like leaves, hoping he might push them aside to find one of the cat-men playing a trick on him. But no matter which way he looked, or how deep under the branches he went, he could find no one else in the vicinity.

/Hello, new life./

Harry spun about, his tail thumping painfully against the trunk of the massive tree. Still no one was near. He could not smell her or see her!

/I have been waiting for you to come./

"Who are you," Harry cried out in a panicked shriek.

/I am the Mother./

"What do you want," Harry called out, his shoulders hunching in, head ducking down closer to his body.

/You're happiness./

"I don't understand."

The motherly voice seamed to almost smile, if a voice could smile. He shivered and jumped at the soft touch of a finger trailing over his wings, only to spin about and realize it was just one of the long vine-like leaves.

/You have suffered long, New Life. I wish to give you joy./

"That's…nice," Harry replied still confused, but feeling a lot less threatening.

She, Mother, chuckled again. /I gave you wings for we have no Firebolts./

"Thank you." Harry shifted until he found a comfortable position to lay down in. He folded his wings against his back and ignored the way the leaves moved to pet him, sliding over his back and shoulders.

Mother hummed pleasantly in his mind and for a while he simply enjoyed it. His new dragon mother had nuzzled him and spoke to him in the way of one animal to another, but this was different. This was like the walking into Hogwarts, being crushed in one of Mrs Weasley's bear hugs, and securely wrapped in his Weasley jumper all at once. He let out a long breath and allowed himself to relax further, slipping into a light doze as the leaves continued to caress him, stroking further and further up his spine until they tickled the funny pink things that extended out of his "pony tails." He wanted to jerk away and sink into the touch all at once.

There was a flood of voices whispering into his ears. Thousands of generations of lives sharing their knowledge and seeking his thoughts, his memories. He let himself sink into them, his mind wide open, memories pouring in and out and an endless loop.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

When Harry woke what felt like countless lifetimes later, the world felt very different. He felt…small.

Groaning he struggled onto his hands and knees, pushing his long dark hair out of his eyes as he tried to find the vine that was still connecting his mind to the whispering voices of the Mother tree. As they finally found the vine connected to the pink filaments amongst his hair, his hands froze before they could unlatch the vines. His eyes widened and he brought his hands out of his hair and into his line of sight.

A small fearful whine escaped him before he could stop it. His wings were gone. In their place was two delicate looking four-fingered hands in the same bright blue as the cat-man he met before. His breathing sped up and he raised shaking hands to his face. His cheeks felt smooth, his jaw strong, his lips a little fuller than he remembered, his cheekbones higher and wider, and his nose flatter and smoother.

"Wha…"

/You're people had two forms./

Harry jumped, swallowing back the curse that wanted to slip past his lips. "Some. Yeah."

/Do this displease you, New Life?/

Harry gazed down at his trembling hands again. "No…No, I," he licked his lips. "Thank you."

/It is good. You may change between like the Dog Star in your memories./ With that the voice seemed to go silent, though it did not feel as if it had withdrawn.

Harry stayed for hours practicing walking on two legs, and switching back and forth between the two forms. He only stopped when his new cat ears picked up the sounds of voices approaching. Worried about who might be approaching and how they would react upon finding him there, he stumbled back to his feet, and on still wobbly legs, darted for the forest in the opposite direction of the voices. He barely made it to cover by the time the voices approached and from the way the two males looked about the clearing, it was obvious they had know he was here.

Harry crouched lower in the foliage, grabbing his tail to try and still its movement so he wouldn't give himself away. In the clearing beneath the branches of Mother tree, was an older adult cat-man, his dark hair shave off the sides of his head leaving him with a mohawk that blended into the long braid down his back. The hair was carefully decorated with colorful feather and and beads. He was mostly naked, which was better than Harry's fully naked state, clothed only in a tan loin cloth and some kind of leather corset like brace around his ribs. The younger male was dressed much the same, though he had a full head of hair. Harry watched them for a while, unsure what they were saying the the strange language.

He inched forward a bit more, parting the leaves in front of him just a tad more as he watched the long tail of the younger male sway about, enticing Harry as he followed its length all the way up to the pert blue buttocks it led to. He licked his lips, heart beating wilding, heat pooling around his groin as he gazed longingly at the young cat-man.

/Na'vi,/ whispered Mother's voice in his mind.

His free hand not holding the branches in front of him, strayed to his groin, pressing against the flat plain of flesh. Beneath his palm the skin was starting to flush and a slit he hadn't noticed earlier was swelling lightly as the organ beneath it began to push it's way out of his body. Sharp canine teeth drew blood from his lips as he bit down to keep from moaning.

The young man turned towards him as if he could hear the sounds that Harry didn't make, and Harry felt the alien penis swell out of the slit and into his palm as he realized the young Na'vi was the same one who had watched over him in the tree.

Realizing that if he stayed he would surely give himself away as his arousal grew, Harry forced himself to back away slowly and sink further back into the forest. He made it back several feet before his luck turned and his right foot pressed down on a twig, making a loud CRACK.

He froze eyes widening when the forest around him went silent.

Adrenaline from the sudden fear that gripped him, surged through his veins, killing off the heady arousal that had previously been filling his veins. His muscles tensed up as he struggled with his fight-or-flight instinct. Part of him wanted to shift and fly away and another wanted lunge forward, and face whatever might come.

With a sudden shock of noise, the choice was taken for him as four hands yanked on the foliage in front of him.

Suddenly exposed to two set of shocked golden eyes, Harry let out a panicked chirp for his dragon mother, shocking the two Na'vi enough for Harry to regain control and dart away into the forest, running blindly between plants as he searched for an open space that he could shift to take wing in. A familiar voice called out in the alien language of the Na'vi, but Harry paid it no mind. He twisted, zigged, and zagged through the forest, heart pounding as wildly as his footsteps. His chest ached as he struggled to breath past his panic, but ahead of him he could see open sky.

With a wild jump he shifted mid-leap, arms flapping before they even fully formed into wings.

On the ground below the foliage suddenly parted as his two pursuers broke out of the trees.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

The next few days passed in a blur for Tsu'tey. All he could think of was the last visit to the Tree of Voices with his father. They had gone so that Tsu'tey might seek guidance from his ancestors before he and his year mates went to find their Ikran and become full hunters of the clan. But before he could join with the Tree of Voices, they had noticed the strange tracks about the trees, as if an Ikran had been moving around and sleeping beneath the tree. They had studied the tracks for only a few moments before noticing the tracks of another Na'vi, close in size to Tsu'tey overlaying the tracks of the Ikran. They had both relaxed only to tense up at the sudden sharp crack of breaking wood coming from behind them.

Spinning about they had been in time just to see the plants sway and jerk from the rush of a body knocking into them.

Without waiting for his father, Tsu'tey had run into the forest just in time to catch sight of the naked backside of a young Na'vi. Tsu'tey had been only slightly startled to realize the body in front of him was completely unclothed and had dirt and pollen stuck to his legs, buttocks, and back, as if he had rolled about in the dirt. He lost sight of the other Na'vi several times as they made chase, and nearly tripped over his own two feet when the other boy looked over his shoulder and met Tsu'tey's gaze. Only his father's strong hand catching his arm kept him upright.

He had never seen a Na'vi with such piercing amber colored eyes, or such smooth, graceful features. They reminded him a little of the features of a Dreamwalker. Somehow less angular and narrow than a Na'vi's should be.

It should have angered him. A Dreamwalker in such a sacred space. But something about those eyes seemed familiar.

When at last they broke the cover of the forest, he was sure they would find the other boy. The space was wide open and he was a swift runner, one of the fastest in the clan, so he could surely reach the other before he got away. But when they got there all they could see was the dark outline of an Ikran against the sun.

He had gotten away.

= = = HARRY/TSU'TEY = = =

Tsu'tey was proudly excited. Today he would be recognized as a hunter. A man. Today he would find his partner, the Ikran who would be his wings. It was his greatest accomplishment so far and he delighted in knowing that his father was going to witness it, and that he would fly back to Hometree on the wings of an Ikran. Hopefully the lovely Ikran he had found in the forest the previous year. He had decided, though that wasn't the right way to do it, that he would have that Ikran as his partner and no other. For no other could match the skill and beauty he had seen in that Ikran's first flight.

He knew that if he could make that Ikran his partner then Neytiri, her father, and her mother would know that he would be a worthy mate, father, and leader. He had been chosen for that role and he wanted to prove himself worthy of it, even if his thoughts of late had been circling around the handsome Na'vi male he had caught sight of at the Tree of Voices only a couple days previous. He knew he shouldn't let his thoughts linger of the young male. He was promised to Neytiri and he would not betray her for a pair of pretty eyes.

Shaking the thoughts away he focused on following his father and the others up the last stretch of the vines connecting the floating mountains to the ground below. A part of him still cringed at the height they were ascending. It was higher than he had ever gone before without the knowledge that his father and his Ikran were there to catch him if he fell. But it was only a small part and he would not let fear rule him. He had to be worthy on 'Omswizaw.

Perhaps it was premature having decided on the name of his Ikran before he knew if he could capture and bond with him. But he felt as if having the name meant he he was guaranteed to get the lovely one for his own.

As they finally reached the top and came out of the small cavern into the open Tsu'tey pushed his way towards the front, looking for 'Omswizaw. He rapidly scanned through the crowd of Ikran, noting as several dived off the mountain and flew away. His eyes paused here and there as they caught on some Ikrans who had a similar coloration, but he couldn't spot 'Omswizaw.

Scowling he let the others go one-by-one to meet their Ikran.

"You need not fear, my son," his father said from his side.

"I don't," scowled Tsu'tey. "I am waiting for 'Omswizaw."

"Who?"

"My Ikran."

His father gained with good humor at him. "You do not have an Ikran yet, my son, and you've already named it?"

Tsu'tey blushed but kept looking into for the stunning blue and purple Ikran. "I saw his first flight father. He got away from a Toruk using moves I have never seen an Ikran use before!"

"Do you see your 'Omswizaw?"

Tsu'tey scowled. "No."

His father sighed. "We cannot wait all day, my son. Your year mates have already made their bonds and are on their first flight."

Tsu'tey scowled and looked away towards the open sky. As he did so his eyes widened as they caught sight of a figure dropping out of the sky.

His father grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back into the shadows of the mouth of the cavern they had enter the Ikran nesting grounds through. They both remained still as the Ikran settled itself, looking around the the numerous empty nests. It gave a call, looking around when it didn't get the expected reply.

Tsu'tey smiled and quietly inched closer, his bolo whirling. He recognized those colors. The bright blue body with the purple coloration on the tops of the wings, tail, and feet. He took a step closer and 'Omswizaw spun about, catching sight of him. For a moment the world stilled around them, almost holding it's breath.

With a mighty roar 'Omswizaw tried to chase Tsu'tey back to his father's side. Challenging him to be worthy.

Tsu'tey roared back and flung his bolo.

'Omswizaw jerked back, rising up on his hind feet. Tsu'tey scowled realizing his bolo would miss the Ikran mouth.

Growling he charged, bouncing off the various outcroppings of rocks, slipping under the Ikran's belly as he moved to drop back to all fours. Grabbing the edge of the Ikran's wing, Tsu'tey flipped himself back onto his feet and immediately jumped up onto the 'Omswizaw's back. The Ikran shrieked and spun about wildly, hopping about and trying to throw Tsu'tey off. He had a strong hold of the very organ he needed though and before he could be thrown off he managed to join their queues.

'Omswizaw froze, chest heavy as their minds met, the edges brushing, tangling, and swirling into each other until neither knew where one began and the other ended. For a moment they were lost in each other, in thoughts and sense not their own. Tsu'tey was barely able to pull his mind away from the image of a castle, a sky with a single moon, and a Sky Person turning into a four legged furry nantang, enough to direct them to leap off the mountain to share their first flight.

They flew for miles before coming to a landing by the lake nearest Hometree. As they came to touch the ground, Tsu'tey stumbled off 'Omswizaw, they queues separating with ease. He stumbled and fell onto his back blinking up at his bonded Ikran just in time to see 'Omswizaw transform into the stunning Na'vi he had seen at the Tree of Voices.

His legs gave out and 'Omswizaw collapses half on top of Tsu'tey, their queues finding and connecting once more, stealing their words away.

The End

Harry's Ikran name: 'Om (purple) swizaw (arrow)