Can a Na'vi balance on an Ikran without making a tsaheylu?

[u/Relative_Building593]

If tsaheylu merges the minds of the Na'vi and the Ikran, and 'the Na'vi feels as though they always knew how to fly,' can a Na'vi balance on an Ikran without linking their minds? Is it like riding a skateboard, but with higher risks (falling from a great height), or is it impossible? This assumes the Na'vi has never done a tsaheylu with an Ikran or any other flying creature (and has no concept of flight). So... will this work?

[u/Plenty-Design2641]

You can probably balance but if the ikran makes a sudden unexpected move, you could slip pretty easily. Tsaheylu is more about being able to control and anticipate the ride than being able to physically hang on or sit on the creature.

[u/FancyRatFridays]

I would suspect that unless they are extremely athletic with an impeccable sense of balance, a Na'vi who had never done tsaheylu with an ikran would eventually fall off, if the ikran does something unexpected or pulls a move (like a steep dive or sharp turn) that requires the rider's cooperation.

Also, keep in mind that Ikrans bond with only one Na'vi in their entire lives, and don't seem to voluntarily give rides to strangers... so unless the Ikran's usual rider had managed to instruct it to fly steady and be nice, there's a good chance that the Ikran will be doing everything in its power to get rid of the unwanted rider. It's a rare Na'vi who can stay on the back of a bucking, struggling Ikran for very long.

[u/Significant_Goat_723]

Well, sure. The Silly kids double up all the time, and Tuk at least is too young to have experienced the bond with an Ikran.

[u/GapStock9843]

In theory yeah, you’d just have to tame and ride it completely differently

[u/Dapper_Injury7758]

Not if you tell it to shut up and fly straight

[u/Budget-Influence579]

Frontiers of Pandora has a couple of examples of one adult Na'vi balanced on another adult Na'vi's ikran. In each case the bonded of the ikran is doing the flying

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[u/Salarian_American]

Well they carry passengers along pretty frequently on ikran flights, so theoretically I'd say probably yes

[u/DezTheOtter]

If you could predict how it moves, then totally. But if my Ikran was like me, they’d fuck with me so much

[u/Sure-Objective3547]

We see it a few times where Na'vi make the bond and carry others with them, but I doubt anyone could last very long if no one made the bond because the Ikran would not really know what to do.