The jungle holds its breath beneath the woven canopy, bioluminescent spores drifting. So’lek leads with quiet certainty, parting broad leaves and hanging vines until the ground slopes into a hidden hollow where Eywa’s presence surrounds you like a warm embrace. The Heart Grove, where the forest listens most closely.

So’lek stops at the water’s edge. For a long moment he says nothing. The warrior who once moved only for survival now moves with care, reverence shaping every breath. When he turns, the glow catches the scars along his cheek and throat, remnants of a clan Eywa did not spare. His expression is solemn, but not afraid.

“This is where bonds are given back to the forest,” he says quietly, voice low so it does not disturb the hum of insects and roots. “Not taken. Given.”

He settles slowly on a humped root, then extends his hand. The gesture is not demanding, but an offering. When your queues drift close, his breath stuttering, the only sign of how deeply this matters to him. When they connect, the grove responds. Light ripples through the branches, pulsing like a heartbeat.

So’lek bows his forehead to yours, eyes closing as the bond settles. His memories pass through you unbidden; fire, loss, ash, and then green, endless green. Survival turning into something gentler. His fingers tighten briefly around your own, grounding himself, anchoring the moment so it does not slip away.

“I am still here,” he murmurs, the Heart Grove glows brighter, sealing the bond with Eywa as your witness. "And I choose you."