Chapter 2-The Hunters
I blinked a few times as I regained conscious. It took me a moment to discover that my hands were bound behind my back, and the fact that I was riding a pa'li, travelling back through the bioluminescent jungle. Four Na'vi men armed with bows and arrows, who looked at me occasionly with suspicious looks, surrounded me. They were discussing something in na'vi, I think about me as I heard the na'vi word for dreamwalker and demon.
I turned my attention back to my surroundings, looking over my shoulder I noticed another pa'li being led by another Na'vi hunter, carrying on its back a carcass of a yerik. That particular hunter met my gaze also with mistrust. Well I guess they had the right not to trust me, since I did just fall from the sky after all and they most likely witnessed what I was doing to the Keluxtrel.
I looked ahead again and saw another pa'li leading the pack about five metres in front of my own. This time being ridden by another male wearing a red neck collar. He must be the leader of the hunting party or something. I noticed the way he sat on his pa'li, the way he carried himself almost suggested that he had a streak of arrogance about him. It would not be a good trait to have, especially if he was like the next olo'eyktan of the tribe.
I sighed and took in the night view of the Pandoran jungle. I must say it was a beautiful sight, seeing the multi-coloured plants glowing in the darkness of the night, as our group passed them by. In comparison to the grey valley that evoked sadness inside me, this sight filled me with life once more. And riding the pa'li further heightened the feeling inside my body, I could feel the beat in the way it moved, the steady heart rate, pride in its stride, it was like I could almost touch its mind without forming a bond without it, like I had done with the Keluxtrel.
With that thought, I turned my thoughts back to how I stopped that palulukan using the same technique I used to communicate with plants. Maybe I could do the same with the pa'li. I focussed on the pa'li, and asked it if it could stop, and sure enough, it stopped dead at the command. At that insistence, the hunters tensed, one made a few hand signals and the others nodded. Three of them knocked arrows to their bows while the other one approached me.
He said "Ne kllte swirä!" and began to pull on my shoulder, causing a hiss to escape my mouth.
"Fine I'll get off." Spat at him and got off the pa'li. I ended up landing on my knees. It's very difficult to get to get off an animal without being able to use your hands. It caused the hunters around me to start laughing as I got back on to my feet. The laughter of the hunters caught the attention of the male wearing the red collar as he turned his pa'li and galloped back towards us.
He spoke sharply in na'vi and the hunter that was closest to me answered him. He probably was explaining what had happened. After he finished, the male wearing the red collar looked down at me, his displeasure was evident in his expression. I also noticed that his facial structure was somewhat different in comparison to the others, more defined as he had a broader nose and something else about its shape that suggested that his genetics weren't pure na'vi. It was kind of attractive, his face, I must say though.
My thoughts were interrupted when the hunter closest to me shoved me forward, causing me to produce another involuntary hiss. As I started to walk again, the hunter with the red collar urged his pa'li forward to take the lead once more.
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Meanwhile cruising through the Alpha Centauri star system was the ISV Sun-Chaser, on course towards the lush moon of Pandora. General Ozaki commander of the ISV Sun-Chaser, was impatiently tapping his fingers impatiently on the handle of his chair, located in the Sun-Chaser's bridge. He was sick of being aboard this tin can and was extremely eager to settle the score with the traitor, Jake Sully and those blue striped, monkey savages.
"Report captain" ordered General Ozaki "How long until we reach Pandora?"
"Approximately nine months sir" answered Captain William.
"Very good. I look forward to wiping out those salvages that have cost the RDA millions in lost profits…" General Ozaki began.
"General sir," interrupted a soldier from the doors that allowed entrance to the bridge.
"What soldier?" yelled General Ozaki spinning his chair around to face him.
"Dr Morgan wishes to speak to you about J01" said the soldier.
"Fine, let him in" replied General Ozaki flatly.
Dr Morgan came scurrying through the doors; his hazel eyes highlighted his nervousness as he approached General Ozaki.
"What is it this time Morgan?" commanded the General
"I wanted to discuss the retrieval of J01 with you," explained Dr Morgan wiping sweat from his brow.
"Why would I be concerned with your little pet, Morgan?" asked the General.
"You want super soldiers in Na'vi bodies to take back Pandora for the RDA don't you?" inquired Dr Morgan.
"Yes" the General replied flatly.
"Well J01 holds the secret in her DNA, and when the government closed down my project for humanitarian reasons, they took her before we were able to discover the reason of why her soul locked into that body. And we were also unable to learn what about her enables her to control plants," explained Dr Morgan.
By then General Ozaki looked really interested in this proposal. Capturing this girl and discovering her secrets, he could turn that darn jungle against those savages.
"Well then Dr Morgan, as soon as we land we'll seek out that girl and you can do what you want with her, as along as I get those enhanced avatar bodies." Said General Ozaki
"You have a deal General," agreed Dr Morgan.
---
I sighed as we continued to make our way- I'm guessing, towards the Omaticaya's hometree. And personally I'm sick of getting pushed around by these skxawngs. If that hunter closest to me does it once more I swear I'm going to tie him up in a tree. Seven times now, talk about impatience. I don't like being touched by males, ever since...
"Rikx uniltìranyu" said the hunter, pushing me again.
Okay that's it. I closed my eyes while I continued walk and called on the plants around me for help. With a flick of my hand the vines that bound my arms together fell. The hunter I was going to tie up noticed that I was no longer bound, and moved to restrain me. That's when we heard the distinctive roar of a palulukan. I turned around automatically and saw it running up behind the pa'li at the back, which had gotten away from its hunter, and was galloping at a high speed towards us, the yerik on its back shook to and fro as it moved, its hunter followed closely behind. The hunters around me on the other hand, had arrows knocked to their bows and were prepared to fire. Their leader rode up behind us. Just as the male with the red collar was about to signal to the hunters to let loose their arrows, I quickly flicked my hand, and shoots from the trees above wrapped themselves around the drawstring of the bows, not allowing them to fire. They turned their head and looked at me with ridicule as the palulukan continued to run towards us. I knew it was after me, for what ever reason, but it didn't need to die on account of me.
Then I noticed the pa'li that I had been riding before was nearby, so I quickly ran over to it and vaulted on to its back. I fused my queue with its antenna and urged it forward towards the palulukan. I was giving it a new target to chase, and as I thought it would, it began to chase my pa'li, leaving the hunters behind. We made a hard right before I disconnected my queue from the pa'li, giving its mind back to it. I focused and asked it to stop, which it did. I rapidly dismounted it and asked it to return to the group of hunters. It let out a dignified whinny before it retreated in to the jungle, leaving me alone. I could feel the palulukan hiding in the shrubs behind me.
"Come on out" I called to it, "You want me, so come and get me"
There was a roar in response and the large creature emerged for its hiding place with a powerful leap as I turned to face it. It walked slowly towards me, and when it was about ten metres away from me, it began to circle; I could feel it was the same once as earlier. I breathed in and closed my eyes, as I fixed my mind on the palulukan, I could feel her breath, the beat of her heart as she circled me. Stop I said to her aloud, and I could feel her movements cease. Still with my eyes closed, I walked towards her, feeling her presence with my entire being. I could feel her warm breath on my arm before I opened my eyes and found myself beside her. The palulukan stood passively as I reached up to grab her antenna. I was curious to see what had processed her to do what ever she was doing, which could only be seen through forming a bond with her, like I had done with the plant.
But before I could connect my queue with the antenna to find out, I heard a na'vi war cry. The hunter with the red collar on his pa'li, came rushing through the jungle toward the palulukan and I, bow drawn and ready to fire. I reached out to his pa'li and as I asked it, it stopped in mid flight. Sending its rider to the ground. Behind him I heard the war cries of the other hunters and saw them approaching through the vegetation. Further, the hunter with the red collar had his bow drawn again, ready to fire.
"Stop" I yelled at them as they all aimed for the palulukan's head. They did not grant my request.
"Go" I whispered to the palulukan. She roared in response and disappeared into the jungle once more.
I turned around, and found the hunters still had there bows drawn. Awe and trepidation lined the four hunter's faces behind the one with the red collar. The other looked as if he had locked his facial features into a mask, as he displayed no emotion on his face. Then unexpectedly, they all moved towards me. Skxawngs I muttered, as called to the plants around me, and at the last second before they reached me, I moved my arms and vines above them wrapped themselves around the four hunter's torsos, and legs, they fell to the ground with a thud. Unfortunately, I'd missed the one with the red collar, as I watched him use his knife to slice at the vines that were trying to tie him up. I must say he put up a hell of a fight as he flipped, dived and jumped over the vines. Finally, I released my hold on the vines, and they retracted away from him. He looked at me funny.
"I don't let the plants and animals fight all my battles for me," I said to him, looking at him in the eye with a challenge. "Enough damage has been caused tonight."
He dropped his knife and bow as I readied myself, feet apart and fists clenched.
"Let's see how good you are dreamwalker." He directed at me, as he stood ready.
So he can speak English, I thought to myself.
"The name is Jessica, and I'm not a dreamwalker."I cried at him. Okay, I know that I have little chance of beating this guy, but if I can hit him where it hurts, I could turn maybe the odds in my favour. I need to start to prove myself if I'm going to get anywhere close joining a clan, so I might as well start now.
"Well, as the sky people say, bring it on" he said.
"Oh, you're on" I muttered to myself as I rushed at him.
We met at halfway, I aimed a punch at his stomach, and unfortunately, he had quick reflexes and managed to grab my arm, sending me to ground. Before he knelt above me, holding my arms behind me and using his body weight to keep me down
"Give up" he asked in a conceited tone.
I hissed at him and tried to kick him, it was useless effort, as I knew it was over.
He grabbed my arms from behind and forced me to my feet.
"Unbind them," he ordered me, glancing over at the hunters still tied up in the vines.
"I need my arms back then" I told him.
"Only if you don't do anything else and come with us quietly," he told me sternly.
"Fine, only if you don't hurt me or threaten me again," I answered him.
He released his hold on me and I allowed the vines to return to the treetops, with a wave of my arms, thus liberating the other hunters from their entrapment.
"Thankyou" he said as he helped his hunters to their feet.
"I'm going to ask you two things," I said to him.
"What is it?" he replied sharply looking back at me after helping the last hunter to his feet.
"What do you want from me?" I asked simply.
"My father wanted me to seek out the person who was driving the sky people vessel that we saw from hometree and take them back for questioning." He answered, picking up his weapons and sliding he knife back into its scarab. "Next?"
"How did you knock me out?" I continued.
"We used a blowpipe and shot a barb coated in a sleeping potion into your back. Enough questions" he said as he called his pa'li over. "You ride with me" he said as he connected his queue with the pa'li's antenna and gestured to the pa'li's back.
I stood my ground.
"Unless you'd like to be dragged to hometree" he suggested.
I grumbled as I walked over to his pa'li and mounted it.
"Thought so," he said as he climbed on to the pa'li behind me and I felt his fingers brush my waist
"I wouldn't want to be responsible for injuring anymore plants tonight. Oh, and there is no need to hang on to me, I can ride bareback" I told him and felt him retract his hold on me.
He urged the pa'li into a gallop back towards where the hunters had disappeared into the depths of the glowing plants. Will this night ever end I thought to myself.
ne kllte swirä-get down creature
Rikx uniltìranyu- move dreamwalker
Well there's the chapter. To answer that question of how Jess got her powers, she was born with them.
Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed this story and I hope you will continue to do so. It motivates me to write faster to know that people like this story.
So until the next chapter, which will posted soon!