Authors note: I do not own anything but Naomi in this. And even that's iffy. Read Enjoy and Review! Thank you!
"What do you mean 'I'm dead?" she screamed through the glass. Her large hand beat on the glass in the examination room while tears streaked her face. tried, in vain, to calm her.
"Your body is dead. Something went wrong during the process of the neural interface linkup with your human body and, I'm assuming out of self preservation, your consciousness completely transferred," Said the man in the lab coat looking at brain signals and vitals on a little board. He looked truly concerned, but still had an air of fascination as he scanned his little electronic chart. He whispered, "this has never happened before…"
"Have you at least tried resuscitation?"
"Of course we have, Naomi." He said, placing his hand on the glass opposite hers. She noted how his hand used to engulf hers, now she is…well, huge. Oh, and blue, don't forget blue.
"great… fucking great," she mumbled, sitting down. She had to watch out for her new tail, so as not to sit on it. She grabbed her braid and started to play with it out of nervousness, trying to think on what to do now. It was something she was used to doing in her human body but she had never felt her hair before. As in her hair had feeling. She lifted the end and small pink tendrils wriggled out. "That looks so cool and so wrong at the same time." Naomi smoothed the hair back over the queue. After a few deep breaths she looks out of the small window in the door to the outside. "you know, my physical examination is done, Max, can I go take a walk or something?"
"Sure, let me get someone to get you some clothes."
"Thanks."
The doctor turned and was walking and nearly crashed into Grace. "Watch where you're going, Patel! I- wait, what's wrong?" she asked putting a hand on his shoulder. His eyes darted to the floor.
"Follow me." He said, briskly walking through the lab. he got to Naomi's link bed and opened it for her. Grace leaned down to examine just what was so wrong. She then saw no eye movement… or breathing for that matter.
"Good lord." She gasped. Her hand flashed Naomi's cold neck to check for a pulse. "Nothing. Where is her avatar? What the hell happened?"
On a slower walk back to the windowed examination room max explained all of it. Grace put her hand on the cold pane and looked in on Naomi's curled up form on the gurney. For a moment she feared Naomi really wasn't there until her tail twitched as she stirred. "This had to happen to the world's youngest avatar pilot. She's only 18 for god's sake!"
She rose off the gurney onto her elbows, "do you have my clothes yet ?"
Grace snatched the mic strait off of the man's head and said, "I'll be right there with them, be right back." She shoved the headset into max's chest and spat, "I'm going in."
A few minutes later Naomi heard the hiss of the airlock and felt the warm air of the outside. Grace walked in with a bundle of clothes. "Hey. Come with me, let's get you changed, hm?"
"Alright," she replied with a warm smile. She was still a little wobbly on her new feet so grace braced her on the way. the air outside was warm and sweet, and smelled of some odd flower. They passed an obstacle course where other avatars trained and played. She decided that she could walk by herself then, and she really could. Grace noted on her progress. "thank you for helping me, ."
"well, you're going to need it living this way so I'm glad to," she said a little sooner than Naomi would have liked.
She got to the cabin and got changed into the green tank top and blue jean shorts. They even had a hole cut in the back to accompany her new tail, which she thought was pretty cool. Then she decided to go for a walk in the garden, grace accompanied her. They past the flowering plants and ferns which made the air sweet and at the end of the rows, standing as tall as her chest was a baby tree of souls, which was big, around 7 ½ feet. She reached out to touch one of the many tendrils. Then a man, awkward in stature popped his head from behind the sapling. Defensively he asked, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm sorry." She replied, dropping the pink strand. "I didn't know it was yours."
"Well you can't exactly own Eywa, but it is my research project. Can you pick that up again? The readings jumped when you did." He said, nose down into his scanner. "by the way, my name is norm Spellman. You?"
She sat on the ground playing with the tree and, knowing the reaction she was going to get said, "Naomi Quaritch."
The chart landed on the ground with a thunk, "you mean the granddaughter of Miles Quaritch, The youngest avatar pilot ever?"
"Hehe, yeah."
"Oh! I- uh- well…" he stammered, picking up his chart with shaking hands. He continued babbling incoherently.
"Norm…Norm. Noooorm?" She said, getting slightly annoyed with his stuttering. "Mawey!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry."
"It's alright; you want to help me with your research? I have an idea."
"Really? Well yes! Go ahead."
"Has anyone preyed yet?"
"Through this, no. Not yet. Do you want to?"
"Sure."
"Here," he said, giving Grace one of the monitors to watch me. I sat down cross-legged and, queue in hand, made tsaheylu.
'Hello…Eywa. I guess you know what happened to me, being god and all. That and you're connected to my brain. Anyway, I think I'll need help here. Some friends would be nice, and protection in this dangerous world. Not that there is anything wrong with it! Thank you for listening Eywa.'
She meditated in the peace she felt being connected to the tree. It was nice. She felt the planet beneath her in an all new way. Then she felt a tickle on the back of her hand. She peaked out of one eye, partially expecting some bug, most likely poisonous, on her right hand ready to kill the mood.
"Atokirina," gasped Grace.
"Dude I am so jealous right now," said norm, transfixed on the quarter sized creature. As if the sprite heard him it floated up and landed on the corner of his monitor and then to his shoulder. After enjoying the spirit he tried to scan it, without much success in the awkward position, he nearly fell on grace, leaning as far as he did.
She heard very heavy, very familiar boot steps approaching. Naomi, out of repetition and slight panic broke her link with the tree, spun around and onto her feet, and stood at attention.
"That's a good little soldier." He condescendingly said, then realizing her new 8 ½ foot stature followed with, "well I guess I can't call you that in this body can i? At ease, soldier." Her body relaxed… slightly. A sick smirk spread across his face, "how's your father, Naomi?"
"Still dead, sir." She replied, not letting the emotion get to her too much, at least not physically. That would give him too much satisfaction. She heard norms shock and had an idea, "sir!"
"Yes, soldier?"
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
He raised an eyebrow, "granted…"
She spun 180 on her heels to face a slack-jawed Norm. She turned quite fast so her tail not only hit her grandfathers shoulder, it knocked him off balance so the macho marine had to try to keep balance. Looking at Norm, jaw practically touching his chest, she said, "Sir, you look like a dead fish." Not that it mattered to her, though grace was now clutching her gut laughing. Naomi turned once more, "oh I'm sorry, did I hit you? I'm not really in control of this body yet."
"I see," he said, getting as close to her face as possible with the height difference, "I heard about what happened to you."
'Crap,' she thought
"It's too bad. I'm sorry you had to become one of those savages."
She froze. That's what he used to call her Cherokee mother to Naomi's face during training. Her mother that was of shaman lineage that taught Naomi everything she knew to try and keep the old traditions alive, before she died out in the field. She was the kindest woman in the world, hardly befitting the title of savage.
"Sir!"
"Yes?" he replied with a sneer, knowing he had gotten to her.
"Permission to leave hells gate?"
"Your reason?"
"it calms me sir. The forest here calms me."
He paused for a moment, "fine, just get back here before sundown. This place will eat you alive."
"Yes sir."
She turned 90 degrees and marched strait to the gate. The Colonel followed her and let her out, "I don't know what you see in this place but have a nice time in hell."
After walking until she was out of sight of her bastard of a grandfather, she ran.
She collapsed and wept once she got far enough away. Why did this have to happen? She looked down at her blue form. Her grandfather's words rung in her ears, "I'm sorry you had to become one of those savages." She promptly punched the tree next to her, "I…am NOT… a goddamned… SAVAGE! And if I ever hear that maggot say those words he will regret it. And what grounds does he have to keep reminding me that my father is dead? I know he's dead! I watched him die, for fucks sake!" screamed. She heard something behind her.
Footsteps, footsteps and a little chatter. She turned expecting a search party, but got a hunting party of native Na'vi, five of them. The two older ones looked angry while the other three, the same age as Naomi, looked more curious. She heard a few words spoken by the elders and the others faces turned to hate as well. She caught the word 'vrrtep' or demon. Something the sky people were always called. In response to try to make nice with them she said "kaltxi, Oel ngati kameie. (Hello, I see you)." She felt the air move and heard as the arrow buzzed past her ear. Her legs gave out from fear and she fell back on the tree.
They all drew their bows, and aimed at her head. She couldn't move. That is, until she saw their faces contort into fear, then she was just confused. Until she saw the talon-like claws of the thanator wrap around the root next to her head. She looked up at the snarling teeth and nearly screamed. He leapt at the group and sent them scattering up the trees and into the woods. While the great beast was busy something came to her, almost to tell her it's alright. A wood sprite landed on her knee.
She remembered her prayer to Eywa just today. She asked for help, friends and protection. She scooped the little sprite and whispered to it "thank you Eywa." She had an inkling of what to do.
"Hey! Leave them alone!"She called to it. His head snapped from the tree where two of them fled. She stopped and thought, maybe not a good idea to do that. It walked with dumbfounding grace. it got close enough to her, still sitting on the ground, to count the teeth in its mouth it sniffed her and nuzzled her. Apparently it was trying to get her up. She put her hand on its mussel and said, "Tam tam." The beast then offered his queue to her.
"Tsaheylu?" she whispered and took her braid in her hand. She lifted the ends and the pink tendrils twisted together. A rush of sensation overwhelmed her. It felt as if she was that feeling stopped she got up, slightly bewildered now that she can feel two bodies. She patted his muzzle again. He seemed to like that.
she heard the footsteps again, the both the thanator and Naomi tenced,"Hunt. Seal the bond, you must hunt," Said a deep voice. an elder , now, wants to help her instead of kill her. He walked out of the woods. It was the same elder that took the first shot. He still didn't look pleased but he assisted her anyway. "Palulukan makto, take my knife and hunt."
"Uh, thank you." She said. She was still wary of this man but he actually did undo the hilt and give her his knife.
"I saw the Atokirina. This bond is the will of Eywa. Now go!" he said, helping the girl on.
"Thank you," she said. Thinking about hunting triggered the touchy thanator to bolt into the woods.
The elder looked to the youngest, but most promising of the learning hunters. He was the most skilled on his dire-horse and Elder knew it. "Follow the sky girl." He said(sternly in Na'vi), "do not let her out of your sight. The rest of you come with me, I must speak with Mo'at."
"Yes. And if she and the Palulukan should find me?"
"if they decide to fight, flee. You have no chance against palulukan. If she speaks, learn about her. See why she is here and why Eywa has spoken with her."
With that the elder left and the young hunter, named T'aronyu, to his mission.