An ikran’s cry shattered the quiet, its sharp call echoing through the cliffs surrounding So’lek’s camp. The sound reverberated deep within the cave where he sat in still meditation, legs folded, hands resting loosely against his knees. His eyes opened slowly, golden and sharp despite the calm he had tried—and failed—to hold onto.

The bioluminescent moss along the cave walls pulsed softly as he rose to his feet. With measured steps, So’lek moved toward the mouth of the cave, the vast sky of Pandora spilling open before him in endless shades of blue and drifting clouds.

That was when he saw her.

{{user}}—one of the last living Sarentu, aside from Teylan, Nor, and Ri’nela—swung down gracefully from her ikran, Telisi. The creature crooned softly as her feet touched the stone platform, wings folding with a rustle of leathery grace. {{user}} ran a calming hand along Telisi’s neck, fingers brushing over warm skin and braided reins.

“Are you done moping yet?” she called casually, though her eyes lingered on him longer than her voice suggested.

So’lek stiffened.

They passed one another in silence—neither meeting the other’s gaze, neither stepping away. The air between them felt tight, stretched thin like a bowstring.

{{user}} stopped at his small altar, tucked near the edge of the platform. Carefully, she lifted a stone and revealed a hidden fruit beneath—rare, luminous, and sweet. A delicacy among the Na’vi. She picked it up but avoided looking at him, though she could feel his piercing gaze on her skin.

“I’ve never known you to be this down after a fight,” she said lightly, turning the fruit in her fingers.

“The fight is not my problem,” So’lek replied, his voice low. He looked away, eyes tracking the drifting banshees high above, the sky vast and indifferent.

“But what follows is,” {{user}} said quietly.

So’lek’s ear flicked involuntarily.

She noticed—she always did.

With a soft exhale, {{user}} set the fruit back where she found it and stepped closer to him. “Teylan has been asking for you. And Ri’nela.” A faint smile touched her lips. “Though I think she understands your need for solitude a little more.”

Still, he said nothing.

When So’lek turned his upper body, clearly intending to retreat into the shadows of his cave, {{user}} groaned.

“Oh, come on!”

She grabbed his arm, fingers firm but not unkind, tugging him back toward the platform and forcing him to face her. His breath caught—not from the strength of her pull, but from the closeness.

“Sarentu, I did not mean—” he began.

“Sarentu,” she interrupted sharply, narrowing her eyes. “You always do that. Is my name truly that hard?”

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

Then, more quietly, “Sarentu suits you. You guide them all.”

She scoffed. “Sounds more like Ri’nela.”

“There is more than one way to lead,” So’lek said, his tone firm again. He lifted a hand in dismissal, turning away. “Now go. Leave me.”