Disclaimer: Anything from Avatar is not mine.
A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Four: Truce
It was getting harder and harder to not fall asleep. The moment I did I would wake up in my link. I didn't want that to happen just yet. Me and my stranger had yet to talk after our initial meeting. I wasn't sure what his problem was. He seemed embarrassed. I didn't mean to embarrass him. But he was supposed to have a knife. All Na'vi hunters got a knife. He looked impressive enough. Afraid of upsetting him further, I stayed silent. He was still probably my best bet of getting myself out of this. His knife had to be around here somewhere. But it would take daylight in order to find it. Even the spender of the jungles colors couldn't keep me awake. Finally needing to do something different, I looked at the Na'vi.
"So…what's your name?" I asked him.
"Tsanten." He replied quietly.
"I'm Sara." I replied. He just nodded at me. "I'm sorry." I finally told him. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"Isn't that what you people do?" He frowned at me.
His yellow eyes penetrated me as a chill ran through me. My ears fell at his words, my own yellow eyes wary of him. "Not all of us. Believe it or not we're not all out to get you. If anything, I'm here to help you."
"How?" He glared. "By tying me to a tree?"
"I'm tied to a tree too!" I shot at him leaning toward him. "I was tied first, so obviously I didn't do this to myself."
"Who else would be out this far?" He asked.
"I don't know. Anyone. They have people out here all the time." I replied.
"Why are you out here?" He asked.
"I'm a scientist. We were out here taking samples. A Thanator decided to ruin the party and we ended up being chased to the waterfall. The current took me; I didn't know where to go so I started walking. Then I got caught in this."
"Why were you following the nantang?" He asked.
"I was curious. I love the animals here. I just wanted to watch them. Then I got caught and the commotion caused them to come back. I hit my head and then there was you." I explained. "Why were you out here?"
"I was hunting." He replied.
"Alone?" I asked. He didn't say anything. Something seemed a bit off. "Can I ask why?"
"I needed to get away from Hometree for a while."
"Where's your bow?"
"You're asking a lot of questions." He glared at me.
"I know about the Na'vi. I've studied you and your people. I can walk and talk well enough to fit in. I helped write the book on you guys." I shot at him. "And it's not that I'm asking questions. It's because I'm asking the right questions."
"You know nothing about the Omaticaya." He practically growled at me. His feline features looking more animal-like then before.
"Says you." I replied, feeling the same expression come to my own face.
"Says my people." He retorted.
"Mine aren't all that bad, Tsanten. Some of us are good." I told him gently.
"Like you?" He growled.
"Yes." I growled back at him. "I am a good person. I love this place. This jungle and everything in it. I'm in love with your people and how they treat the world. Your connection to everything around you. Who wouldn't want that?"
"Is life on your world so bad?" He asked.
"Yes, it is." I replied.
For a moment he just looked at me. Then he told me "Perhaps you're right. You aren't all the same."
"I told you." I said and smiled. I thought I saw a small one on his face but it faded as soon as it had come if that's what it was.
We were quiet as we tried to wait out the night. "Sleep." He told me breaking the silence.
"No, I can't." I told him.
"Why not? I can't hurt you from here." He replied.
"It's when I sleep that I go back to my other body." I told him whether I should have or not.
"I'll watch over you." He said quietly.
"I don't know if I can trust you." I replied.
"And I can't trust you. But we'll never get out of this if we don't try and work together." He told me nicely.
"Okay." I said and slowly laid on the ground. I was so tired that as soon as my head hit the ground I was out.
It seemed to take forever for me to finally reconnect with myself again. Finally, Grace's voice caught my ears and I blinked her into view.
"Good God, Sara." She said pulling me up. "What the hell is going on?"
"Grace." I said and slowly stood up. "I'm sorry."
"What happened to you?" Jake said wheeling over to me.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm with the Omaticaya. Where are you?" He asked.
"Still in the jungle, tied to a frickin' tree." I replied.
"What?" He frowned.
"You didn't fill anyone in?" I asked Grace.
"I'm sorry. I was a little preoccupied with worry." She told me shortly.
"Sorry." I told her. "I'm not alone though. I should be safe for now."
"Not alone?" Max asked.
"Tsanten, a member of the Omaticaya, is with me. He's tied to a tree about a yard away from me or so." I explained.
"You two." Grace said shaking her head. "How did he get stuck with you?"
"When I went back he was in front of me. He had protected me from the viperwolves. We got into a pissing contest and when he went to walk away he got caught in another trap."
"Wow." Jake said.
"I know." I replied. "But I'm exhausted and starving. Let's get me a bite to eat and then to bed. I'm only gonna take a few hours before I go back. I can't leave him alone out there for too long."
"Okay." Grace said and walked with me from the link room.
Feeling myself let go, I returned to my avatar. Opening my eyes, the jungle came into view, the sun just showing on the horizon. I sat up, quickly looking over at Tsanten. He looked back. His eyes looked heavy.
"Thank you." I told him quietly. He gave me a subtle nod. "Your turn."
"I am all right." He said clearing his throat.
"No, Tsanten, you're not. You're exhausted." I told him sternly. "Sleep. It's my turn to watch over you."
"I am all right." He repeated.
"It's okay." I told him as gently as I could. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
"Nga pänutìng?" He asked quietly.
"Yes, I promise."
"I don't know if I can trust you." He told me sadly.
"You can. I'll prove it to you." I said leaning toward him.
He gave me a subtle nod again before laying down. He glanced at me once before shutting his eyes. It seemed to take seconds before his steady breathing filled the air. The jungle was quiet at this time of the morning. But now that I had a small amount of light, I started to search for his knife. If must have fallen when he was protecting me last night. When he was grabbed by the ropes. Lying on my stomach, I reached across the trail, moving my hand into the brush to try and feel for it. I found nothing. Leaning back I tried to think of another option. Grabbing the stick from last night I used the jagged edge to try and cut through the rope around my ankle. It was tight, starting to burn my skin. Tossing the stick when it started to splinter, I sat against the tree and racked my brain. Only I was coming up with nothing. How the hell was I going to get us out of this? There had to be a way. I didn't want to be here if something was going to come find us. Whether it be Quaritch's men or an animal. We needed to get free.
It was several hours later that Tsanten finally woke up. The sun was nearly at it's height in the sky. I was bored and getting slightly tired again myself. But there would be no sleeping till we were free.
"Hi." I smiled at him.
"Hi." He replied sitting up.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him.
"Hungry." He said with a small smile.
"Mmm. You and me both." I smiled back. "A nice piece of well done talioang sounds amazing. With some seasoning and a side of rawp."
"Mmm. That sounds amazing." He said looking at me. A true smile on his face.
"It really does." I said looking him in his enchanting yellow eyes before I averted my gaze.
"I'll get us some when we get back." He told me.
"When we get back?" I asked him.
"I can not leave you out here alone and I am not going to where you are from." He stated.
"Okay." I told him.
"You aren't going to argue?" He frowned.
"No. I won't make it back on my own. That and I wouldn't mind seeing Mo'at again."
"You were with Grace, weren't you? The few who we let in and then allowed some of us to die." He said flatly.
"That was never supposed to happen and I had nothing to do with it." I shot at him. "I tried to protect them." I said leaning back, unconsciously covering my side with my hand. He noticed, watching me, his expression softening.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to judge." He told me.
"Yes you did." I frowned at him. "Don't try and deny it. I know we screwed up. I'm not going to say that we didn't. But we're not in charge. Dr. Augustine and myself might be in charge of the avatar program but we don't run the show. The ones who do are in charge of what happened. You have no idea, no idea, what it was like for us. Our last hope is for any harm to come to you or your people. Why do you think we're out here, looking like you? We tried everything to get you to trust us. So that we could cooperate with you to get what our bosses want. To do as we're told. They want the mineral beneath Hometree. They want it bad. We've already failed you. Maybe you can help me convince your people that we're only trying to protect you. But you won't let us."
"You killed us. How do you want us to react?" He replied but his tone wasn't as harsh as it could have been.
"I'm so sorry." I told him sadly. "I'm just…so sorry." I said lowering my eyes.
He didn't say anything. Pulling my knees up against me, I crossed my arms on top of them. Staring at the ground, my mind went through everything that had happened. Everything that could happen if Selfridge lost his patience and released Miles onto the Na'vi. It wouldn't be good. Hell would break loose and we all would lose people we cared about. I suddenly felt lonely for Grace. I wanted to close my eyes and return to my body. But I glanced at Tsanten and his sad, focused look, made me realize that I couldn't. Not yet. Resting my head on my arms I looked back at him. With our eyes locked we just looked at each other. Then our heads snapped up when a stick snapped close by.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Fnu." He told me.
Doing as he said, I remained quiet as he slowly got to his feet. I did the same and watched his movement as he listened to the jungle. I turned my eyes and ears toward the sound. Trying to figure it out. Watching him, he took a deep breath. Seeing his body tense, my heart skipped a beat.
"Tsanten…" I whispered. Just then, a thanator leapt in front of me.
"Kehe!" Tsanten yelled with his hand reached out to me.
"Stop!" I yelled back. "It's okay." I smiled looking at the thanator. "Sìltsan, Loki."
"Loki?" He frowned at me.
"We're saved, Tsanten." I grinned at him. "Meet my palulukan, Loki."
"He is yours?" Tsanten asked.
"Yes." I grinned, ear to ear. "Good boy." I said taking his head in my hands. "You're a very good boy."
"Sara…" He said worriedly as I moved in direct line of his mouth.
"You need to do something for me." I told my friend. "You need to bite through this." I said holding up the rope.
He opened his mouth and I slipped the rope inside of it. With a sharp jerk of his head the thick rope snapped. I laughed, patting him roughly, telling him what a good boy he was.
"Your turn." I smiled as I went to Tsanten.
"How?" He frowned at me.
"His mother and sibling were killed. I took him in, raised him up. He's a good friend." I replied stroking Loki's head.
"Is it all right if I admit that I'm afraid?" He said leaning away from the thanator.
Laughing I touched his shoulder. "More than all right." Telling Loki the same thing again, Tsanten was free. "See? Now we're free."
"I'm impressed." He smiled at me.
"Good." I smiled. "I told you that you could trust me." He didn't say anything but motioned for me to follow him. "Wait." I said and turned back to Loki. "Thank you so much." I said stroking him. "I must go with him but you can't come. You have to go back home. Take care of your babies." He gave a soft purr and licked my face before turning back into the jungle. "Thank you." I whispered after him
"Sara…come…" Tsanten said looking at me.
Nodding, he turned into the jungle with me right behind him. He moved at a steady pace, I kept up easily but my balance wasn't as good as his. You'd think I was more graceful then him, but I wasn't. We were out farther then I had thought. After a few hours he slowed his pace, glancing over his shoulder at me.
"Still here." I told him.
"Are you doing all right?" He asked.
"Don't worry about me." I replied. "I'll be fine."
He stopped and turned to me. We were moving across a fallen tree. It was lying across a river. He sat down, straddling the log. I sighed and sat cross-legged in front of him.
"I said I'd be fine." I told him annoyed.
"You are getting tired." He replied.
"I'm fine." I told him sternly.
We were quiet for a moment before he broke the silence. "How often do you come into the jungle?"
"As often as I can." I told him. "I spend hours upon hours in this jungle. I love it here."
"You are very different from the others I have met." He told me.
"How many have you met? Not many have been to the village. Yours or the others." I replied.
"Only one. She wasn't as nice as you." He said softly.
I smiled before there was a pause in the conversation. We watched the water and the fish moving inside of it. The plant life moving in their luminescent ways. I moved, and laid on my stomach, watching the water. I felt his eyes on me but I didn't let it bother me. I felt my tail flick with excitement as I took it all in. It was quiet but the company was nice. It had been a long time since I'd been this close to a member of the Omaticaya. It felt so good to have a connection again. To feel like there was hope that in the end we might be able to save them all. I lifted myself up onto my elbows and looked at him.
"How far is the village?" I asked him.
"Not far." He replied without looking at me.
"What do you think will happen once we get there?" I asked.
"I'll explain what happened to Eytukan. He'll see that you helped and he might let you stay." He told me.
"I hope so." I told him lying down again, resting my chin on my hands.
There was a short pause before he stood. "Come on." He said and started off again.
Jumping to my feet I followed him. Happy to be moving again. Concentrating on making sure I didn't trip or fall was much better then trying to make up things to talk about. I was thinking everything over in my head. What I was going to say to them. Who I might see. I wondered if Jake was still there. I knew that Eytukan hated the avatars. He didn't want them there. In the end I might be killed rather then welcomed. But as Hometree appeared in the distance, and I caught a glimpse of the village, all of my doubts went away. It was like coming home.