To those of you who read my other story, don't worry, I haven't dropped it. In fact, the next chapter is partially finished. I had a bad case of writer's block and indecision on where I wanted the story to go, so I shifted my focus to this fandom for a short break.

[text] = spoken in Na'vi

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. All copyrights belong to its creator James Cameron. This story is fan made for entertainment purposes only and does not earn any money.

"Understanding is a two-way street."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

It's strange, how something so alien can look so…familiar. Almost like a case of déjàvu. But then, of course, to see that, one would have to have certain memories to compare the present sights with. I don't understand how Selfridge could call them blue monkeys and savages when the similarities between our species were so glaringly obvious. Sitting off to the side, I watched young Omatikaya children run through the grounds surrounding their new hometree while their mothers constantly yelled at them for getting in everyone's way. Weavers focused intensely on their quilts, hammocks, baskets, and anything else the clan used that required their particular brand of skill. Craftsmen busied themselves with fashioning new bows, knives and bolas for aspiring warriors and hunters. A group of women arrived back from foraging in the jungle, each of their backpack-like baskets filled to the brim with fruits and vegetables of every shape and color. At least, I think some of that stuff is vegetables. The alien fruits on Pandora were easy enough to identify as fruit. The vegetables, well…not so much.

Yes, if one were to live with the Omatikaya clan, it would be very much like taking a big step back in time in human history. For once upon a time, we were just like them, living in complete balance with the natural world. But precious few people, like me, bothered to learn that era of our history. Those who took interest in the endless supply of movies, documentaries, textbooks and stories leftover from the days of our great grandparents were mocked as "tree-hugging hippies" and "bleeding hearts" for questioning the ways of our high tech, money dominated environment. But I didn't care. My interest, no, obsession for learning about the world of my ancestors is what landed me here on Pandora. It is what drove me to study zoology in college. It's what kept me sane in the bleak rathole of a city I was born into. It's what continued to keep the memories of my great grandparents efforts alive in my family. All my life, I yearned to experience the Earth from the bedtime stories my father used to tell me. To see for myself just how beautiful and alive it once was using my own eyes, not through a monitor screen or on the pages of a book. Now, as I sit here watching the Na'vi go about their daily lives and look out into the thick jungle, I get the feeling it would have been something like this.

"Owww! Don't pull so hard, my scalp is very sensitive!" The sharp tug on a lock of my dark brown hair jolted me from my contemplation and sent me right back to the situation I was currently in. Apparently, my current look simply wouldn't do, and according to everyone else, I was in need of a makeover. Since the whole point of me being here was to make my contributions toward a more friendly relationship between humans and the Na'vi, I figured it would be wise of me to just shut up and go along with it.

Ninat gently rapped my shoulder. "If you do not move so much, it will not hurt. Keep still, I am almost finished."

The singer went back to humming a native song as her long fingers deftly worked my hair into many braids. When I arrived to the village two days ago, some of the adolescents tried to convince me to ditch my human clothing in favor of a loincloth and a necklace that vaguely resembled a halter top. I understand the need for function, but being nearly naked didn't quite sit well with me. However, I had taken to going barefoot like everyone else so I would fit in better. One step at a time and all that. Until now, I never realized how good it felt to be barefoot as my toes dug into the soft, cool soil. I breathed in deep only to disturb Ninat from her work with violent coughing. She patted my back with obvious concern.

"Do you need help, Isabel?"

My coughing cleared up, and I shook my head. "No, I'll be fine. My lungs are still adjusting."

To be perfectly honest, I was secretly smiling on the inside. Aside from hacking up a lung every now and then, the experiment I had volunteered for seemed to be a success. I could now breathe the Pandoran air without my avatar or an exopack. If the experiment was confirmed to be successful, it would prove to be a big breakthrough for the people back at the compound.

"How you holdin' up out there? Still with the living?" The voice that came out of my comlink seemed to come with almost psychic timing and I could hear the joking smile in it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm still trying to get used to breathing. I think I'll be looking at a couple weeks of coughing like an asthmatic, but other than that, things are looking good so far."

"Yes! That's great news. Just remember to keep your exopack with you at all times just in case, and check back in with me daily. We'll send a Samson out there at the end of the week to bring you back to base for some testing, but if you even think that something might be wrong, please don't hesitate to call for help."

"Thanks Max, I'll remember that."

"See you in a few days, Izzy."

I secured my exopack to my waist and briefly caught a glimpse of the small, spot-like scars that dotted my left arm. I knew that they would probably never fade and would serve as a constant reminder of the noble but insanely dangerous decision I made just a few months ago. But as I sat there against the trunk of the new Hometree and looked out into the forest, I knew it was a decision I would never regret.

A sense of unease suddenly came over me, and I realized that Ninat must have been staring at me.

"Ninat, if you have a question, then feel free to ask."

Her hands twitched a little in response to me recognizing her staring without having to turn around. I twisted my head around to see her looking curiously at me. "Why were you talking to yourself?"

It suddenly dawned on me that since my comlink works with an earpiece, Ninat would have only heard my half of the conversation with Max. "I wasn't. I was talking to Max. You know Max, right?"

"Yes. He is the strange looking one with hair on his face and those clear circles in front of his eyes."

"Yes, that's the one." I lifted my chin to point at my throat mic. "This device allows me to communicate with Max without him being here. He just wanted to know if my breathing was still normal."

"So you may speak with Maxpatel no matter where he is?"

"There is a limit to how far away he can be, but yes, as long as we both stay within that distance, Max and I can speak to each other."

The young woman looked as if she were going to say something else, her ears pricked forward and tail gently swaying back and forth in calm intrigue. But I guess she decided against it, and turned my head back to its original position to finish braiding my hair. Ninat was one of the few Na'vi who seemed to take an interest in humans, and I must say, she was a joy to be around. It was nice to not be stared at with malice or feel like a freak in a circus side show.

"You said Maxpatel wanted to know if you were still breathing."

"Yes."

I saw her narrow her eyes in wonder from the corner of my vision. "How are you breathing? You do not use your breathing machine like the other Sky People, yet you live. How is this?"

I opened my mouth to answer and only sighed when I realized it would be very difficult to explain since the Na'vi have no knowledge of microbiology. Put simply, while studying the plants, Dr. Augustine found that two species of plants that looked very similar to succulents back on Earth contained small pockets of bacteria that live inside them. Further study of these bacteria and their plant hosts revealed that the plants could not breath the toxic air on their own, just like humans, and survived by forming a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria, which were found to filter out the toxic elements of Pandora's air by absorbing them, and then turning those elements into harmless gaseous waste products. All of this was contained in her notes that we found hidden away in the mobile link trailer. Though we were a bit disappointed at never being told about it, in hidsight, she made a very smart move. There is no telling what would have happened if Selfridge or anyone from Sec Ops got wind of her research.

Needless to say, all of us were ecstatic with the discovery. It meant there was a chance that we would no longer be slaves to those stupid exopacks anymore. We immediately collected sample specimens of the plants and extracted the bacteria for further investigation. With some genetic tweaking and many stressful and sleepless days, we had made a super strain that could reproduce and filter the air at rates that could sustain human life. But there remained the question of whether or not the new bacteria strain was compatible with human physiology. It was a question that could only be answered by testing it on a brave volunteer, aka, yours truly. So far it seemed to be working, but there was no telling what kind of consequences or side effects there could be.

"Uhhh. Well…my people have found out that some of the plants in the forest can't breathe the air, just like the Sky People. But they live because there are tiny creatures that are too small to see that live in those plants. Those tiny creatures help the plants breathe."

"These creatures…you use them to breathe also?"

"Yes. Those creatures live inside me and help me breathe the air." I said with relief that I wouldn't need to explain any further than that.

"Hmmmm." Ninat looked to be in deep thought as she finished my last braid and placed colorful beads on it. Her mouth twitched into a small smile. "Odd, but clever." She gave her work a once over and motioned for me to stand. "There, it is finished. You look pretty."

I made a mental note to find a body of water to look at my reflection since mirrors were unavailable. I stretched my limbs and gazed out into the forest longingly. That's it. I've been cooped up in that lab for far too long. My body was practically screaming at me to run, jump, climb, do something. But I also realized how dangerous it would be to traverse the thick brush by myself without my avatar.

I felt a large hand tap me on my shoulder and I looked up to see Ninat smiling down at me.

"Neytiri and I must go hunt for tonight's dinner. We will be back soon."

A grin spread across my mouth when I realized a golden opportunity. "May I come with you?"

Ninat lowered her ears and shot a worried glance first at the forest and then at Neytiri's approaching form. "I am not sure if that is wise. You are a very kind Sky Person, but kindness will not help you keep up with us. Neytiri is not as patient as I am."

If she was expecting me to be fazed by any of this, her expression didn't show it when I continued to grin. "Oh, you won't have to worry about me. I have my ways of keeping up." And what a wonderful skill it was too. It would be nice to get out and continue to hone my parkour and freerunning skills. Growing up, it was fun learning how to zip around the sprawling city with my friends like we were a bunch of human squirrels. The city provided endless obstacles and challenges that bettered our skills and when I came to Pandora, the avatar exercise area kept me sharp. Getting to test those skills in the dense forest however, would be very interesting.

[I see you, Isabel.] Neytiri said in the traditional Na'vi greeting.

I copied her gesture. [And I see you. Ninat tells me that you and her are going hunting.]

[Yes. But we will return in time for the evening meal. I am sure you can find something to do until then.]

Ninat stepped behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. [Isabel wishes to come with us, sister. She claims that she will not have trouble keeping up with us.]

Neytiri's eyes darted between me and Ninat. [You are aware of how dangerous that is?]

"Don't worry, I promise you won't have to babysit me or anything. I'll even stay high up in the tree branches to keep out of your way."

"But how…"

"You'll see. Besides, the whole reason for me being here is to understand your people. How can I understand if I don't know how you hunt?"

Neytiri looked to be at a loss for words and sighed in defeat. She finished strapping on her quiver as did Ninat, and Neytiri shot an annoyed glance at her clan mate. "[Bringing her was your idea and so you will be responsible for her safety. I will not be delayed in getting back home because of an unnecessary load.]"

"[I understand.]"

Without warning, Ninat lifted me into the air almost effortlessly and began carrying me like a child (much to my embarrassment) over to where the pa'li were peacefully sipping on nectar. I realized, with some discomfort, that we would be riding those things instead of going on foot. It's not that I'm afraid of horses- quite the opposite really. I was fond of the pa'li. But feeding them was very different from riding them, and from what I understood from Graces field notes, these animals could really book it despite their large size. Falling off would mean certain death for me.

I squirmed nervously in Ninat's arms as she mounted one of the pa'li and connected queues.

"Here, you will sit in front of me so I can hold on to you." As soon as she wrapped one arm and her tail around my midsection, I just knew Ninat could feel my rapid pulse. I know it's just a horse, but damn, these things are huge! In a moment of stupidity, I actually looked down and only made things worse for myself when I saw just how high up I was. This must be what it's like to ride on top of an elephant, except elephants can't run at 60 mph.

"If it will help calm you, hold on to these." Ninat's voice snapped me out of my panicked thoughts and she brought the pa'li's two antenna within reach, which I promptly grabbed. Without warning, the direhorse jolted forward and followed Neytiri and her mount into the forest at speeds that seemed impossible for creatures their size.

The colors of the forest blurred together as I endured the very bumpy ride. After a while, my nerves had calmed down some and my vision finally came back into focus. Huh, this isn't so bad. In fact, it's kind of…exhilarating. I almost feel like I'm flying.

"Hey, this is actually kind of fun."

"When you get your dreamwalker body back, I can teach you how to ride on your own if that is what you wish."

Me? Learn to ride a direhorse? Now there was a thought. It couldn't be that hard if Jake learned how, even if he was still a clutz at times.

The direhorses came to a stop and I squealed in surprise when I was almost thrown forward. Great. We haven't even started yet, and already I almost hurt myself. Ninat carefully lowered me to the ground before jumping off and disconnecting. Immediately, I looked around for a way to climb into the relative safety of the tree branches. I spotted two trees that were growing very close together that I could make excellent use of, and before I could take one step toward them, I felt a large hand hold me back.

"Stay silent and stay close. The hunter can become the hunted at any moment." Ninat said in warning. I turned away from her solemn expression and grinned at the two tree trunks.

"Don't worry about me. I've got this."

Without another word I ran forward past Neytiri and made a graceful leap that landed me on the side of the left trunk, and before gravity could have a chance to pull me back down, I began jumping back and forth between the two trunks. The funny looking purple moss that clung tightly to the bark made gripping that much easier as I pushed myself up and out with every jump, steadily sending me further up the trunks until I had reached the level of the lowest branches.

Once I had steadied myself, I looked down and was greeted by Neytiri and Ninat staring up at me in amazement. What the heck are they staring at? They could do this way better than I can.

"Uhh, are we going to start tracking some animals or what?"

Neytiri shook her head and focused her attention in another direction. "Yes, of course. This way."

I climbed the trunk since the higher branches were closer together, and then proceeded to randomly pick my way through the trees as I followed the blue figures that I could just see through the dense foliage. I totally have to do this again and soon! The larger scale of everything presented a unique challenge in that even with the lower gravity and the branches being closer together at this height, I still had to put everything I had into every jump, and even then, the numerous long vines hanging around quickly became my new best friend. But I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with new ways to get around on the fly. That purple moss wasn't the only thing growing embedded in the tree bark. All kinds of moss and creeper plants made their home on the bark and it was these plants combined with the lower gravity and their concrete like hold that enabled me to use them. Some were even long or thick enough to curl my toes around for better stability. I had tons of fun scurrying up tree trunks and along the side of and even underneath branches. This must be what it's like to be an insect or a gecko. It was refreshing to have my skills tested harder than ever before. In the city, parkour and freerunning gave me a sense of freedom, but it felt nothing like this. There was something euphoric about moving barefoot through a completely natural environment. This, I realized, was true freedom.

Neytiri's pace had quickened, but by then I could feel myself slipping into my "zone". Besides, she was still only moving at a brisk walk that I could tell was purely for my benefit. So much for not wanting to be slowed down. However much she pretended not to care, I noticed Neytiri had been watching me carefully the entire time, as had Ninat. I supposed it wasn't difficult to tell where I was. I probably made more noise than I should have. Still, considering I was in a completely new environment, I certainly could have been doing much worse. A gap too large to cross came up, and to continue my pace, I was forced to make a daring leap to a much lower branch that brought me just above Ninat's head. Fortunately, the thicker atmosphere slowed my fall. She was walking a little in front of me and kept glancing back every now and then. I waited for the next time she looked back to leap onto her for an impromptu piggyback ride so she wouldn't be surprised. Curse this dense atmosphere! Sure, it made falls less dangerous, but running through it was noticeably harder than running through Earth's atmosphere, and I felt frustrated with how it tired me out. But that wasn't the only reason I stopped swinging through the natural jungle gym of the trees. For some reason I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched…

After Ninat adjusted to the added weight, (wow, this woman is tolerant!) I softly cleared my throat and saw her pointed ears swivel around like a cat's to aim in my direction.

"What's with the staring?"

"It bothers you?"

"Well, yeah, sort of. Why were you and Neytiri staring at me?"

Neytiri chose that moment to fall into step with us and met my gaze with narrowed eyes and ears pricked forward. Oh crap. Here comes the 'You Sky People make too much noise!' lecture.

"Who taught you?"

"Huh?" Her question seemed to come from nowhere and caught me completely off guard.

"I saw how you move through the trees. You move with practiced step and…what is the word…technique?"

"Oh, uh, yeah that's the right word. I learned from my friends back on Earth. I grew up in what's called a city, which is a place that is kind of like your forest but much more noisy and is all concrete and metal. But like this place, it has many obstacles to maneuver and lots of danger to avoid. What you saw me doing is a skill that Sky People call parkour. I learned it because it made it easier to travel around the city and run away from danger."

Ninat turned her head a little, and I could see the corner of her mouth turned up in a pleased smirk. "We did not know Sky People had such a skill. Every Sky person I saw was clumsy. We honestly did not believe your kind was capable of graceful movement."

I would have argued that such a belief was completely unfounded until I remembered that the humans who had come here hadn't given them much reason to think anything different. Would I have come to a different conclusion if every time I saw a human, they were stomping loudly through the forest in heavy AMPs and big clunky boots and whose only response to any obstacle was to cut it down or bulldoze right through it?

"Yes, well, I suppose there is a lot you don't know about my people."

Neytiri slowly nodded her head once and faced forward. "So it seems. But you make far too much noise. If you wish to come on more hunting trips, then we must fix this problem."

Suddenly Neytiri stopped dead in her tracks and her ears went crazy, swiveling in every direction.

"What-"

Ninat's hand slapped over my mouth and nearly knocked me off her back in an attempt to silence my idiotic outburst. "Shhhhh! Listen. Do you hear it?"

Unable to answer verbally, I shook my head 'no'. Neytiri darted off in a seemly random direction. [Come. It is this way.]

Ninat followed her and I held on for dear life as the two Na'vi raced through the forest at amazing speed but with complete silence save for the sound of pa'li hooves somewhere behind. It was as though they were spirits, the way they seemed to flow around trees and over roots. I trusted that Neytiri knew what she was doing, but her movements seemed random to me. She and Ninat would run for a distance, stop, check something, change direction, run some more, stop again to look at something. I was about to ask what it was they were supposedly on the trail of when we suddenly came to a stop and Ninat and Neytiri crouched down behind some thick bushes. Guess we're here.

I slid off Ninat's back as quietly as I could and stood next to them. The bush was too tall for me to see over, so I crawled under the foliage on my belly to look beyond it, but was rewarded with nothing. "Umm, what are we supposed to be looking at?" I whispered, getting back to my feet and brushing the dirt off my clothing.

Neytiri glanced at me and then looked up into the trees above our position. "Wait up there and stay quiet. The trees will hide you from sight, but you will see the target."

I nimbly climbed up into the leafy branches she pointed to and once I was satisfied with my vantage point, I laid down as flat as possible to utilize the coverage better. The last thing I needed was to anger a seasoned hunter by blowing our cover.

I peered through the leaves but still saw nothing. Awww, don't tell me I have to w-

SNAP.

My eyes locked onto the direction that the sound came from and strained to see any sign of whatever had caused it. There! I could see a strange form- no, two forms- moving through the bushes. I analyzed the shape of the figures and my brain immediately began comparing them to all the animals that I knew about in an attempt to identify exactly what I was looking at. One creature in particular stood out from my memory, and the longer I thought, the more confident I was about my guess. One of the forms reared up and gave me a clear view.

We had tracked down a pair of hexapede that, for some reason, were fighting each other by rearing up and then striking each other with their front hooves. Interesting. The two animals were excellent specimens too. Grazing definitely did not miss them at all.

My attention was momentarily redirected to the two women crouching under me when I saw one of them move in my corner vision. Looking down I saw Ninat slowly knock an arrow and hold her bow at the ready, most likely waiting for an ideal shot. Neytiri did the same.

I turned back to the two battling hexapedes as they continued their fighting, blissfully unaware of the danger that lurked nearby. They stopped hitting each other and just slowly circled while staring each other down, one daring the other to give in. A few moments later, an arrow wizzed through the air, hitting its mark with deadly accuracy and brought down one of the unlucky deer-like animals. Its opponent looked up in terrified confusion in the direction the arrow had come from, and that one too soon found itself dead on the ground with a poisoned arrow lodged in its chest.

When I saw the huntresses emerge from their hiding place, I carefully climbed down from mine. It wasn't everyday that a human gets an up close look at some of the larger animal specimens without extreme risk. However, just as I reached the last branches of my decent, Neytiri held her bow out in front of me, a clear signal to halt, as she examined the hexapede that bore her arrow.

"Stay. This yerik is still alive and can cause you harm. Watch closely."

Neytiri shifted away from the animal's sharp hooves and withdrew her hunting knife from its sheath strapped to her chest. Murmuring some kind of final farewell to the animal in her language, she stabbed it in the heart, swiftly ending its pain and suffering. Ninat had already confirmed her kill to be dead, and beckoned me down from the tree.

"That," she said, pointing to Neytiri's kill, "is the hunter's prayer. Every hunter must thank an animal for giving its life so that we may eat. If their arrow does not kill the animal in one strike, then the hunter must finish it off and end its suffering. It is the only way to make a clean kill."

Amazing. Such a simple concept, and yet it's one that a good number of humans have yet to understand. Still, that isn't to say we can't. Hopefully, if we were lucky, and I mean extremely lucky, the Na'vi would grant the remaining humans permission to hunt on their grounds. Sure, we had a stock pile of food that would last us for decades, but most of the food that we have isn't of the best quality, and it tastes horrible. Some fresh food every now and then would certainly help, and if our current research proved correct, there may even be a small number of fruits and vegetables here on Pandora that either aren't poisonous to humans or that our bodies can develop a resistance to the poisons.

[I can hear the horses feeding nearby. Wait here and I will bring them back.]Neytiri said after binding her hexapede's legs together. She disappeared into the foliage, leaving me and Ninat by ourselves. That feeling of paranoia came back and I could practically feel the sharp gaze of someone or something watching us closely.

"Ninat, I think we are being watched."

Ninat went stock still, listening for even the slightest sound. She slowly surveyed the surrounding foliage and sighed. "I sense nothing. No sound, no strange smell, no sight of anything. Calm yourself before you do something foolish." She grumbled to herself when she tried to pull her arrow out of the dead animal and only succeeded in breaking the shaft, leaving the arrow head still buried in the hide.

"But I know something is here. I can feel it." I glanced around nervously, feeling more and more panicked by not having any idea of what I was looking for.

Ninat stopped her attempts to dislodge her arrow head and sighed again. "You sky people are so easily frightened. Go wait in the trees, I can hear Neytiri returning. We will leave soon, and then you will feel better."

I did as I was told, but I still didn't feel any better. Instead, the feeling got stronger, like it was begging me to listen. Even when Neytiri returned a few moments later with the pa'li, it lingered over me like a dark foreboding cloud. My intuition, as many called it. That "sixth sense" that some people ignored as paranoia, but those who were wiser took heed of. It had saved my hide many times back on Earth, and being out here on Pandora, it was still the most valuable sense any human could have. I sat at hyper attention, looking around the sun dappled forest, and taking in every minute detail. Wondering if Ninat and Neytiri sensed anything yet, I looked down to where they were, and they were still strapping the hexapede to the pa'li. However, Neytiri did seem tense. Her watchful gaze locked on a spot to my left and she held her gaze there and seemed to study it, but lost interest and looked away. Taking a hint, I too stared at the spot, and wave after nauseating wave of tension washed over me. It wasn't a feeling of doom and death, but still unnerving. I could feel my fight or flight response kicking in and I began looking for some kind of weapon I could use. When that little voice came back, it practically screamed at me. RUN!

Time seemed to slow down when I noticed something big tearing out of that spot I had been staring at and come barreling straight at me. It was the strangest thing. I felt myself bolting long before that thing fully emerged from the cover of the branches and leaves. I didn't even scream. It was as though my brain had a mind of its own and took complete control. My movements were very erratic and hard to predict as I cut through the jungle without a care as to how much noise I was making or even where I was going. I didn't even understand how my brain could process everything so quickly. I felt my body climbing up, dropping, flipping and zig-zagging through the trees at lightning speed, working of its own accord as it methodically used my skills to the extreme. I still didn't know what was chasing me, but it was hot on my heels.

Suddenly, I felt something wrap around the back of my shirt and forcefully jerk me backward. When I turned around, I found myself staring at something large and blue. My eyes locked on a large golden object and my hand balled up into a tight fist. A surge of adrenaline propelled my fist to hit its target dead on with a force I didn't know to be possible of myself, resulting in a wet smack sound followed by surprised yelling, yowling, and hissing. Wait. Yelling?

Yes, it was definitely yelling I was hearing. Yelling in Na'vi. But then that would mean…ohhh shit. I looked at who I had just punched and saw that it was in fact an adult Na'vi woman with her side facing me kneeling on the branch while holding her left eye and hissing in pain. The last thing I saw before taking off running though the trees again, was the Na'vi woman badly stumbling across the tree branch holding her head when she started after me. But I didn't have time to feel anything or think about the possible consequences of what I had just done. From what I could tell, my subconscious will to survive was still running the show, and it was telling me had to get as far away from that unknown Na'vi as possible.

Soon, though, my ears picked up the sound of something running after me. I thought about glancing back to see, but my subconscious immediately crushed the idea and spurred me on, despite the ache I was beginning to feel in my arms and legs. I could hear yelling below me, but I refused to stop. As far as I was concerned, anything could be a threat. The yelling, however, seemed to be getting closer. I tried my best to move faster, but it seemed my body had reached its limits. Within moments, I was grabbed from behind once again, and as tired as I was, I still had some fight left in me. I lashed out, punching and kicking, but hit nothing. When the last of my strength was gone, I braced myself for the inevitable backlash. Several seconds passed, and when it didn't come, I opened my eyes to see the strange Na'vi woman standing in the tree and holding me away from herself at arm's length.

Her eye was bruised up pretty bad, but she didn't seem the least bit upset over it. In fact she had a wicked fang bearing smile plastered on her face. All I could do was hang there and stare in fear and amazement as I waited for something to happen. Instead of a beating, she set my trembling form down on the branch we were on. My legs were about as stable as wet paper and gave in under my own weight. The Na'vi woman still had that fierce grin and chuckled to herself as she crossed her arms and slowly shook her head.

Was this some kind of game to her? She chases me through a dangerous forest like a bat out of hell, leaving me feeling like I had just run a triathlon and then got hit by a bus. Seriously, my whole body is barely responding to any signals from my brain because it simply doesn't have the strength to do so. And she thinks this is funny. Worst of all, I can't even tell her how I really feel because a.) she probably doesn't speak English and b.) the Na'vi language doesn't possess the words that I need to rant properly.

"You were better than I expected, human. You even managed to bust up my eye. Then, when you were too tired to keep going, you were still willing to put up a fight against a full grown Na'vi. Even someone like me has to admit that's pretty badass." When I didn't say anything, she dropped into a sitting position and helped me lean against the tree. "Relax. I wasn't going to kill you. If that were my intension, you'd be dead by now."

I stared at her in frozen fear until I finally came to senses enough to speak. "I don't mean to be rude, but who the hell are you and why did you chase me?"

The stranger looked down at me and laughed. "I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Name's Peyral, and uh, sorry about the confusion back there. I saw you swinging through the trees earlier and, well, I've never seen a human do that before. I just wanted to see how good you really were."

"Peyral? Then…you're the Omatikaya's best hunter. You're practically a legend. I heard you took down a Thanator by yourself to protect your hunting group." She had two huge scars that traced a jagged diagonal line across her midsection and one more that ran down her back. When I looked at her necklace and saw that the obsidian teeth strung on it belonged to said animal, I knew that couldn't have been just a rumor. Now that I wasn't running for my life, I could get a better look at her. Peyral appeared to be around the same age as Ninat and Neytiri and even though it was obvious she was smaller than the average female Na'vi, the girl looked much more toned. And just how much time did she spend at Grace's school? She spoke English with no grammatical errors, seemed to be very familiar with human slang, and was well on her way to developing a near perfect American accent. If it weren't for the four digit hands and feet and slightly larger eyes, I would have thought I was speaking to an avatar driver.

Peyral's eyes lit up at my recognition of her name. "Oh? I see my reputation precedes me. And what would your name be?"

"Isabel. But everyone just calls me Izzy." I looked at the various rips and tears in my clothing and frowned. "Next time you want to know something, please ask."

Peyral was about to say something when she was interrupted by Ninat's concerned voice floating up from the ground somewhere calling for me. "Oh look, isn't that cute? The singing wonder wants her pet back. Guess we'll just continue this pleasant conversation on the ground." Peyral jumped down to a lower branch and looked back at me. "Oh. Right." While gripping the front of my shirt, I was roughly jostled around as Peyral descended the branches to the forest floor where Ninat almost bowled her over trying to see if I was still in one piece. Satisfied with what she saw, Ninat then shot a nasty glare at the Peyral.

[What were you thinking? She could have been hurt!]

Peyral scoffed at her. [Calm yourself. The sky person is safe. I would never place her in any real danger.]

"Excuse me! I hate to break up this lovely reunion, but as you can see I'm still dangling by my shirt in mid air!" I was gently set back on the ground and, thankfully, I didn't collapse where I stood, though my legs as well as the rest of me were still in a lot of pain.

Ninat huffed in annoyance after checking me over one last time. [If you are done playing foolish games, I must get back to-]

[Peyral! Have you finally lost what little sanity you have?] Neytiri appeared from the thick foliage on one of the missing direhorses with the other following close behind. Her ears were flat against her head and she was glaring holes through the huntress.

Peyral greeted her. [My apologies. I followed you and saw how Isabel moved through the trees, so I chased her to test her skill. I can assure you that no one was ever in any real danger.]

[You chase a fragile Sky Person through a forest filled with predators, poisons, and many places to fall, and claim that she was in no danger? What if something bad did happen? There is no certainty that you could have saved her. What would you expect me to say to the clan? To her own people? I think I will never understand how such an accomplished hunter can still choose to be so reckless.]

Peyral looked at her indignantly with a low growl. [I told you that I had everything-]

[Enough. Ninat, we must get back home, and Peyral,] Neytiri grimaced at her eye, which was beginning to swell. [Come with us. Your eye needs help.]

Without another word, Neytiri turned her mount around and started heading back the way she came. Ninat didn't have much to say either, and simply lifted me and herself onto the second pa'li and rode away at a slow trot so that Peyral could keep up with her now limited vision.

As night set in, I was a ball of pain and misery. My recent fiasco left me completely drained of all energy and my muscles were really letting me know how much they resented going from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds, even if it was to save my life. My head throbbed, and I prayed that Jake would come back with the painkillers I had requested. He was nice enough to fly out and get some medicine and bandages, and the sooner he got back, the better. Plenty of healers offered me some of their own medicine, but I had refused and Mo'at further advised them against it. We both knew that several Pandoran plants were toxic to humans, including many that were used in their droughts. The only food that was allowed to be given to me was what the Na'vi called teylu and some kind of orange berries that were the size of apples since they were the only things confirmed to not be poisonous to me. The grubs looked and tasted a lot like terran shrimp so it wasn't so bad, and the berries were pretty good too. The problem was keeping it down due to the nausea I felt from the severe headache. If adrenaline is like alcohol, this was definitely the hangover.

But then I supposed my situation could have been worse, like Peyral for instance. She scurried away to the safety of her hammock to escape all the curious onlookers. When asked how she came to such an injury, the huntress gave them a vague explanation that she had an unlucky encounter with a creature she was tracking, which is the truth, but I had to laugh at how embarrassed she looked. Besides, when the healers got around to inspecting my injuries, I told them what happened, and that's when things got really interesting. Because apparently, while the Omatikaya are by no means nearly as gossipy as humans, they still like to gossip, and news of their best hunter getting her eye punched out by a human spread like wild fire. Several Na'vi children giggled when Peyral passed by on her way to get some food, and when she disbursed a group of snickering young hunters with a look that said "don't fuck with me," she seemed to catch on that the cat was finally out of the bag.

"Hey Izzy, I got all the stuff you needed." I gently lifted my head from the pile of blankets and hides the healers had me lying on to see Jake's tall blue form kneeling in front of me. He had an old duffle bag with him that was stuffed to the brim and was rifling through it.

"I got your meds, bandages, some of last night's dinner and…oh! Everyone made you a get well card. They signed it and everything."

Jake handed me a sheet of paper that was covered in signatures and had a picture of a smiling puppy with the message get well soon on it. I personally thought it was very sweet of my friends and colleagues to do this for me. Jake, however, thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Aww, is there any baby formula in there?" He said with a mocking grin as he pulled out some bottles of pain killers.

"Shut up and hand me the aspirin."

Jake handed me the little white bottle and I gulped down a couple pills with some water from a bowl that the healers left sitting next to me. I dug around in the duffle bag and pulled out the antiseptic and gauze and set to work cleaning and bandaging my raw feet. I grit my teeth against the stinging pain so as not to give jake any reason to believe that puppy drawing was age appropriate.

"So…" Jake looked at the where the rest of the clan were gathered for dinner around the fire. "I heard you decked Peyral pretty good. How'd you manage that? She's not exactly a light weight when it comes to fighting."

"Luck mostly. I caught her off guard. Of course, at the time I didn't even know what I was attacking. I just sort of swung out and was lucky enough to hit my target. The adrenaline boosted strength wasn't too shabby either."

"You're not worried you might have to watch your step from now on?"

"I doubt it." Neytiri walked up behind Jake in the typical silent Na'vi way and sat down next to him with two leaves covered in food and gave one to Jake. "Her intent was curiosity, not to harm and she has had far worse injures in the past." Peyral's irritated hiss followed by a healer chastising her could be heard from somewhere in the back of the gathering and many of the hunters laughed among themselves. Neytiri took a bite of one of her fruits. "I hope she did not harm you too badly."

"Fortunately, no. Can't really say the same about the forest though."

"You know, you should really go without shoes more often. It'll make your feet tougher and you won't have to worry about problems like this." Jake raised my bandaged foot for emphasis, and I jerked it back with a yelp when his actions caused sharp pain to bounce around the afflicted body part. I gave him a look that read 'Are out of your mind?' and he chuckled to himself as I moved on to clean and bandage my other foot. "Hey, it's not gonna be much fun, trust me, I know. When I first started my training, I dreaded linking up with my avatar for a while because my feet would practically get shredded every time Neytiri made me run with her. It gets better."

"For now, you should rest." Neytiri said. Her ear flicked and she turned her head to see Peyral coming from the direction of the healers. Her left eye had some kind of plant bandage patch over it and she looked kind of funny trying to glare at Neytiri, who was biting her lower lip with suppressed laughter.

"Not a single word."

Low, ambient conversations filled my ears as I woke up from an almost death like sleep. I certainly still felt like death. Despite being in a giant tree, I was surprised at how much sunlight reached through the thick leaf "roof" to the ground level.

[Ah, you are awake. You must be hungry.]

The voice was that of an older woman, and I sat up to see Mo'at changing the bandages on my feet, and I was unsettled to see she was using a homemade salve to treat the still very red skin. She pushed a bowl filled with the same orange berries I was fed last night, and noticed the panic in my expression.

[There is no need to worry. I use this same medicine on babies so there are no poisons in it, but that means it cannot ease your pain. It will only cleanse the wounds. Eat, your body needs strength to heal correctly.]

[Thank you.]

"Izzy. Isabel, you there?" A familiar voice crackled from the ear piece that lay on the ground next to me. "Izzy, pick up. It's Norm, do you read me?"

I grabbed the ear piece and put it on. "Yeah Norm, I'm here. What's up?"

"Just checking up on you. Man, you have no idea how worried we all were when Jake came here wanting medical supplies for you. Did you like your card? It was short notice so the picture wasn't all that great and the message could have a little more creative-"

"No, Norm I loved it. That was very thoughtful of all of you, but there really isn't much to worry about. Right now, I'm just very worn out. My feet got shredded by the loving nursery that is Pandora, but Jake says they'll be fine in a few days. So, what's going on in the lab?"

"Research as usual. I sent your holopad with Jake. It's been updated with some info and theories that I think you'd be very interested in. There's even some stuff in there about the exobacteria."

"Exobacteria?"

"Yeah, that's the temporary name for the strain. Anyway, glad to hear you're well. Are you sure you don't want to cut your stay short? I can understand for wanting to be safe."

"It was just a minor incident that won't be happening again. Really, everything will be fine."

"If you think so. Talk to you later."

The communicator went dead and I immediately reached for the duffle bag and began to rummage through it.

"Jake has offered to move your possessions close to his sleeping place for safe keeping." Mo'at said, drawing my attention away from searching. She chuckled low to herself. "The children are fascinated by Sky Person things, but they are not always careful with them."

The aging tsahik finished with her work and collected the bowls of medicine before disappearing into her alcove. My fingers finally found the holopad under the sea of supplies in the duffle bag and pulled it out to turn it on. Several icons appeared in midair along with the background picture that would always bring a smile to my face no matter how many times I saw it.

"What is that?"

I nearly dropped the holopad and automatically turned around to see Neytiri's large yellow eyes staring with interest at the screen. I have a lot of respect for the Na'vi, and I understand the need for stealth, but damn, was it really necessary to do that 24/7? I mean, how hard is it to announce your presence to someone ahead of time? And I don't know if its a cultural thing, but Neytiri was committing a major violation of my personal space.

"What? This?" I asked holding up the holopad. I hope she wasn't offended by me scooting away from her.

"I would like to know what that is as well, but I was talking about this." She pointed at the picture on the holoscreen. "They look like nantang."

I looked at where she was pointing, and noticed she was referring to the two dogs, Shadow and Bandit, that were sitting in front of me and my three friends in the photo. I could practically feel Neytiri staring at me as I grinned at the memory of the day. My friends and I had completed our first day of high school and we all decided to take a picture to celebrate Reggie, who was now one of my colleagues here on Pandora, not getting paddled by one of the seniors. The dogs had saved him from that fate by running up and stealing the paddle right out of the senior's hands and running away with it. Bandit even still had the contraband in his mouth in the picture.

"Those are called dogs, and yes, they are very much like the nantang, except they are a lot nicer to be around. On Earth, Sky People and dogs live together as companions."

Neytiri seemed to brighten at the sight of the dogs and pointed to each of the people in the picture. "And who are they? Your friends?"

"Well, that girl there is me, and the other three are my best friends. We did everything together."

"These dogs, they look like friends as well."

"More than friends. Those dogs were family to us. Grace never showed you dogs or cats or anything like this?"

Neytiri shook her head, causing the multicolored beads to clink in an almost musical way. "No. She taught your language most of the time. We did ask her questions about your world, but all she told us was that it was a sad place that was dying. We saw how much it pained her to think about her world, so we stopped asking. I asked Jake once, and he said he did not want to think about the Sky World either."

I could practically feel Neytiri's burning curiosity as I cleared away the icons so the picture could be seen better and handed her the holopad. How could Grace run a school for ten years and not mention anything about Earth beyond the sprawling cities? Grace had always told me how much she loved Pandora's flora, and being a botanist, one would think she loved Earth's flora enough to at least share that with the Na'vi, but apparently not. Her avoidance of the subject, while understandable, still seemed unfair to me. The Na'vi had gladly shared their world with her, but she, or any human for that matter, had yet to share our natural world with them, even if it did mean discussing something that no longer existed as it once did.

"We have horses too." I grabbed the holopad back and pulled up my personal photo album. "They aren't as big as your pa'li, but they're just the right size for my people. Here is one."

It was a picture of a Clydesdale horse known to my friends and I as Goliath, and he certainly lived up to his name. Only the very rich could afford to keep and ride horses anymore, but that didn't stop us from sneaking into the indoor stables on occasion and spending time with the gentle giant. Goliath was our favorite, and he enjoyed the little treats we would bring to him.

"He is a beautiful animal, very colorful." Neytiri smiled wide, flashing her sharp canines. "Do you ride them?"

"Yes, they make very good mounts." I chuckled to myself. "We called this horse Goliath, and if no one had taken him out for a ride, he would pester us for a ride if we had time to visit him." I flipped to another picture that showed Goliath enjoying a specially formulated horse treat while I petted his muzzle.

"He looks like he loves you a lot."

"Yeah, he did. On Earth, there are many different kinds of horses, you know. Goliath is a Clydesdale, and as you can see, they are very big, strong horses. They helped pull and carry loads that were too heavy for sky people."

Neytiri cocked her head to the side as she studied the picture. "The pa'li have a place to bond, but this horse has no such thing. Neither do your dogs. How do these animals do what you want with no tsahaylu? How do they know they can trust you?"

"It isn't easy. We spend time with them, care for their every need. Somewhere along the way, the animal comes to trust their special human and I guess you could say a kind of bond is formed. It takes time and hard work, but once that connection is made, it lasts a lifetime. Sadly, fewer and fewer sky people have any desire to know the joy of that connection. Many can force the animal to do what they want because the animal is afraid of them. My dogs do as I say because they trust my judgment as their leader, not because they feel they have to."

Neytiri frowned in confusion at the idea. "I…did not know this. A bond without tsaheylu seems…not possible. How is this real?"

"I'm not so sure myself, but when the bond is formed, there is no doubt that it exists. Everyone can see it."

I flipped through some more photos of my friends and I riding and grooming Goliath as well as a few other horses before closing the digital album. I could see Neytiri's tail whipping around excitedly behind her.

"What other kinds of animals are there?"

"Lots more, and while I would love to show you, right now I have some things I need to work on. I can do it later though."

My heart broke a little at the sight of the sad disappointment that flashed across Neytiri's cyan features. "But…you will tell me if I ask, yes? Grace is no longer with us, Jake will not tell me. He hides his memories from me for some reason. I think he is ashamed, but I do not understand why because he hides from my questions." She sighed and her ears drooped. "He knows of my world, my life, and the life of my people. It hurts that I know almost nothing of his."

Trouble in paradise I presume? From what I heard about Na'vi couples, the bond shared between them is a strong one, where there are no secrets. It's strange to hear that Jake would do something like that, but then of course, changing the outside doesn't automatically change the inside. I'm not one to get involved in the relationships of others, and I'm sure Jake has his reasons, but Neytiri deserves to know the place where her mate came from. "Well, I can't tell you about Jake's life, since I don't know anything about it and it isn't my place to tell. You're on your own with that. But, I can tell you about the world he comes from."

Her ears perked right back up at the invitation. "You will answer anything I ask? About the animals, your people?"

"Anything. There is one thing you might not like though."

"What is it?"

"Everything I would need is back at the compound. You'll have to go there if you want to learn anything."

Neytiri looked understandably apprehensive about trekking around a giant unnatural structure with walls that would close her off from the outside. But I knew Neytiri to be a stubborn one, and if she really had her heart set on something, she usually plowed though any road blocks to get what she wanted.

"I will come, but only if I may bring Ninat as well. I have seen her interest in the Sky People, and having each other will help us not feel nervous."

"We can start in a few days. That's when I have to go back to the base so the medical staff can check me over."

"I will go ask Ninat. I am sure Mother will allow it."

I watched Neytiri's retreating form as she dashed out of the giant hometree. Strangely, I felt like I had just promised something I really shouldn't have. On the surface, it seemed like a fun idea. Tell her about the wilds of Earth, about all the strange and wonderful life that once inhabited it. Show the way humans used to live with nature, not against it. But that would inevitably bring up questions that no one wants to answer, reopen old wounds that never really healed properly. But it was something that, for some reason, I felt would be benificial to more people than just Neytiri and Ninat. Who knows? Maybe this is what everyone needs.

Sunlight trickled down through the branches of hometree as I packed my things away into the duffle bag and made my way to the ground floor. My feet had finally healed and today was the day that I had promised Neytiri I would take her and Ninat to the base and show them what Earth was like. The journey down was slow and very humbling. Here I am, a grown woman, stumbling and tripping every few seconds while children as young as three zipped up and down the massive spiral like it was an ordinary stair case. The little rugrats almost knocked me over with their horseplay and it was only dumb luck that I was able to stabilize myself before the weight of my bag sent me plummeting to my demise. Soon as I reached the bottom, I ran out into the open before anything else could happen.

"Hey human!"

"Sonava…!" I spun around and almost collided with Peyral, who was hanging upside down from a vine that dangled from one of new hometree's massive branches. She shamelessly laughed at me and righted herself in one smooth motion. Her eye was still bruised but the swelling was completely gone and she could see out of it again. "Dammit Peyral, what's your deal with scaring the shit out of people?"

"Maybe you should be more aware of your surroundings, like you were when we first met.

"I bet you were Grace's most troublesome student." I shifted my bag and turned to start looking for Neytiri and Ninat. "Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be." I managed to take only a few steps when I felt something tugging on the strap of my bag. Peyral darted in front of me, effectively blocking my path.

"Yeah, about that… I overheard Neytiri asking tsahik if she would allow her and Ninat to come with you to the human base. She mentioned that you promised to show her things about your world and…are enrollments still open?"

Hmm. A fully grown Na'vi with a knack for cruel jokes walking around a high tech building with narrow halls, low ceilings, and easily frightened scientists. "You? Want to come to the base? Hmm, let me think…uh, no."

"Oh come on! Please? Earth has always been a mystery to me."

"Forget it. You would probably make a game of scaring the life out of everyone there."

"No I wouldn't. Besides, I'll make it worth your while. I know you're here to learn about us, which will include learning our hunting and gathering methods. For that, one of the hunters will be chosen to teach you, and let's face the facts: not too many of my people like you. I'm sure they won't waste a single opportunity to make the experience for you a living nightmare. That is, unless you get someone more…understanding and friendly. Someone like me."

Under any other circumstances, I would have immediately refused. It was obvious Peyral was the joker of the clan, and bringing her would be asking for trouble. However, I couldn't ignore that she was right. This way, I was guaranteed to get a teacher who wouldn't "accidentally" kill me during a lesson. And Peyral seemed a lot more laid back than everyone else.

"Ok, ok, you can come too. Just don't cause any trouble."

Peyral smiled and leaped into the air with a whooping sound. "I promise it'll be like I'm not even there."

"AHHHHHHH!"

The blood curdling screams of Sam, one of the botanists, echoed across the tarmac at the base as he ran for dear life to keep away from Peyral's ikran, who was showing more interest in the poor man than he felt was safe. To the trained eye, it was actually quite funny to see the huge lizard shuffling across the ground to investigate the strange little creature and screeching every time Sam screamed. Fortunately, it was the only one we had to worry about. Ninat was still connected to hers and I could tell she was trying to convince it to not attack any of the humans, though that didn't stop it from staring them down like they would make a tasty snack. Neytiri did not have an ikran as hers had been shot down by the RDA soldiers, so she rode a pa'li.

"Get this thing away from me!"

Peyral merely rolled her eyes at the scene, something she must have picked up from Grace, and calmly sauntered over to her mount to make it stop following Sam around. [Calm, Spirit, calm. Stay.] She turned to Sam, who was now shivering behind Norm's avatar. "Tirea won't do anything to you. Your screaming made him confused because you sound like his kind yet you look nothing like an ikran. Now quit cowering over there like a punk and come say hello."

Silence filled the air as every human and avatar eye settled on Peyral. Her eyes narrowed and shifted around as tried to figure out what everyone's problem was. "What?"

Norm cleared his throat. "Nice English." He leaned down to me once the Samson had flown away to the hangar and whispered. "Izzy, why did these Na'vi come back with you? I know Neytiri , but who are the other two?"

[I see you, Normspellman] Neytiri said with the traditional hand gesture which he promptly returned. She gave Sam gentle push. "Go. He will not harm you. Ikran look scary, but those who are tame are like big babies."

As poor Sam slowly inched his way forward from behind Norm at Neytiri's encouragement, I introduced the other two surprise guests.

"Neytiri wanted to know more about Earth's natural state, so I promised her she could come to the base with me. The other two also wanted to come. That one over there with the scars is Peyral. Do me a favor, and help keep a close eye on her. She's the crazy friend that every parent hopes their child never meets."

Peyral snapped her head up and sent a fake glare. "Hey, I can hear that!"

"Nobody cares! So anyway, that's Peyral, and that one over there is Ninat."

Norm swiveled his head in the direction I was pointing and his expression went blank. Ninat smiled briefly at him before turning her attention back to Max, who was obsessing over her ikran.

"So Norm, I was thinking, you know after my physical, if you could set up that projector in the cafeteria. I have this idea that if…Norm? Hellooo, Earth to Norm."

To the anthropologist, it was like I wasn't even there. I tugged on his large blue hand to get his attention and when that didn't work, I grumbled to myself and looked to see what was so interesting to him. As it turned out, his eyes were locked on Ninat as she sent her ikran away, much to Max's disappointment. So that's it. I'd really hate to break it to him, but the poor guy was way out of his league.

A sharp pull of his tail finally snapped Norm out of his love struck daze with a yelp he glared down at me. "What was that for?"

One knowing smirk was all it took for him to back up. "Setting your sights a little high, don't you think?"

"Uh…I…well it isn't…"

"Oh, don't even try it. You were totally crushing on her."

"Who is getting crushed?" Ninat asked. I doubled over in laughter when Norm tripped backward in surprise. The little glowy freckles on his face started shining bright like stars even though it was broad daylight out. He looked up at her with a sheepish grin.

"Crushed? No one is getting crushed. It's just…er…a human expression. Nothing that needs any extra attention."

Ninat scrunched her nose in confusion. "I am happy that no is hurt, but then what does it mean?"

"It means that Norm really-hey!"

I suddenly found myself swinging through the air and dumped unceremoniously over someone's shoulder, and that someone just so happened to be Norm. "Heeeyyy, Izzy, shouldn't we getting inside? You do need to get that physical done, so ladies if you would follow me please."

Norm immediately began taking long strides across the tarmac as I was very uncomfortably bumped around on his shoulder. I looked up to see the others following us and noticed that Ninat was closely studying Norm's retreating form.

"I must say, you have good taste."

"Shut up."

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please leave a review if you think this story should be continued. It would be very musch appreciated. Thank you