DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Avatar"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, I know that I have been using some incorrect terminology in the past few chapters, and I apologize for that. But that won't happen anymore because I just bought "James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide" (reveals book with dramatic and flamboyantair while choir sings Hallelujah Chorus)! This book really is a big for help for anyone who is writing for Avatar, or who just wants to know specifics about Na'vi culture, Pandorian plants and animals, information about Pandora as a moon and it's planet, and even RDA stuff. Yeah, it rocks. So, anyway, enjoy!
P.S. BEWARE RANDOM CHANGES IN POV!!! I was slightly scatterbrained when I wrote this chapter, so the POV is gonna be all over the place.
CHAPTER 4
The Na'vi woman stood, low and hidden, on the limb of one of the tall, wide trees that looked out over the jungles of Pandora. The morning light caught her turquoise skin, blending her in perfectly with the thick vegetation that surrounded her. Her deadly, cat like red eyes were in concentrated slits as she watched the young Omaticaya princess pick up and inspect a lone, discarded bow. After only a few seconds in that spot, the Omaticaya female hurried off back the way she came; towards her Hometree. The female waited only a moment longer before she made her way through the dense canopy, leaping and jumping through the trees like a prolemuris.
Finally, she made it to the meeting spot that she had chosen with her companion. A companion who appeared to not even be there.
"Dhawal, where are you?" she said loudly, placing her hands stubbornly on her hips. Suddenly, a shadow moved along the tree, and a male Na'vi appeared. His skin was the same odd shade as that of the female, and they shared the same red eyes. But, the strangest thing about the pair was their pure white hair. Every strand of hair, even their queue, was white. No Na'vi had ever been known for bearing such a strange mark. This was believed due to the fact that they were twins, which was equally as rare. Also, they were both startlingly beautiful.
With expert quickness and skill, the female drew a short, thin sword with a long handle covered in animal hide from a sheath tied to her back, and faced the sudden intruder.
"Calm down, Dhanya. I am here." said the male, holding his hands up in mock surrender. The female called Dhanya groaned, sheathing her sword.
"By the gods! Why do you insist of scaring me like that?"
"Only because you are so easy to scare. So, what did you discover?" The female sighed, shrugging slightly.
"His body is gone, but his bow was there. A Blue Flute girl retrieved it, as if she knew exactly what she was looking for, and than took off through the jungle. I have a deeply annoying feeling that he survived." she said, sitting down on the tree limb. Dhawal "humphed" in the back of his throat.
"Please. He fell fifty miles! No one survives that."
"Well, you know our baby brother. Always doing things that were once impossible." Dhawal nodded, knowing that what she spoke was the truth.
"We should return home before we are missed. Mother's already in enough of an uproar. Where are the Ean Ikran?"
"Not far. Just call." Dhawal did such, and let out an eerie, beautiful sound that echoed through the forest. Within seconds, two Ikrans appeared before them, bursting through the trees. But these were not the Ikran native to Pandora. They were about the size of Ikranay, or forest banshees, but their wings were built more as flippers than wings. They were also both multiple shades of blue.
The twins climbed onto their mounts, connecting their queue with those of their Ean Ikrans. Without saying a word, the two instructed the creatures to take off into the sky. They were soon far away from the forests of Pandora.
-888-
Atraiu, for a moment, couldn't recall where he was. He remembered falling, falling, falling...than an endless stream of darkness. He would have panicked, had he not remembered Kana's face. He smiled slightly, taking a deep sigh, quickly remembering that he was in the Hometree of the Omaticaya. He opened his eyes for the first time that morning, and found himself face to face with about six young Omaticaya girls. They were ranging from ten to maybe twelve seasons in age. They just stared at him, almost as if their staring was keeping him in existence. Atraiu looked around for a moment, trying to signal for help, but found none his way. He smiled slightly at the young, awed girls.
"Um, good morning." he said hesitantly. Suddenly, the girls set off in a series of squeals and yelps, obviously excited. Atraiu was slightly frightened, and feared for his life for a moment, but was quickly calmed when he saw me making my way over to him.
"Miso, miso, all of you!" I said, shooing them away. "Leave our guest alone. Don't you have chores to attend to?" The girls quickly scattered, still giggling from their short encounter with the handsome stranger.
"Sorry about that." I said as I sat down on the tree branch above his hammock, hanging one of my legs over the edge. "It seems you have acquired some what of a fan base." Atraiu smiled and shrugged.
"Ah, I don't mind."
"Really? When my friend Lock'tu became a warrior, all of the young girls of the clan were all over him constantly. He hated the attention." Atraiu nodded slowly. I could tell that there was something on his mind that he was just itching to say openly.
"So, this Lock'tu, the warrior I met last night. Are you and he...um...a mated couple, or...?" I quickly cut him off before he could continue to embarrass me.
"Oh no, of course not! He's my best friend, that's all. We've been friends since we were children." Atraiu nodded, but I could still tell that he didn't believe me.
"Yeah. Are you sure he knows that?" I stared at Atraiu for a moment, slightly shocked at his frankness. After a moment, I nodded my head vigorously.
"Yes, yes, I'm certain. What would make you think differently?" Atraiu shrugged, and looked down to study his fingers.
"I don't know. He just seemed very...protective of you. I just assumed that he was simply defending what was his." I crossed my arms, building up my own defensive barricade.
"We both defend each other. It's part of our relationship. I am just as protective of him as he is of me. What, do you assume that because I'm the female, I'm not permitted to be protective of a male?!"
Atraiu leaned back some, afraid and amazed all at once.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend. It's just...nothing, never mind. What's that you have?" he asked, changing the subject immediately. I didn't feel like arguing with him anymore, or answering his nosy questions, so I changed the subject with him.
"Oh, this is your bow. Or, at least, I think it is. It was very close to your body when I found you." I said, handing him the long, expertly crafted bow. He slowly took it in his hands, running his fingers over the beautiful carvings that ran throughout it. It certainly appeared ceremonial; the wings of some animal were used in its crafting, and the colors shone brightly when the sun caught it. The bark was strong and sturdy, yet light enough to carry easily. Atraiu looked at it, studying it, like he was holding a rare and beautiful flower.
"Do you recognize it?" I asked. Atraiu studied it for a moment more, than shook his head no.
"It doesn't set off any memories, if that's what you mean. But, it certainly feels right in my hands. Like I was born to carry it." We sat in silence for a moment more as I watched Atraiu reconnect with an old friend, but I soon grew bored.
"Come on, we can take a walk." I said, standing. He pulled himself up onto the branch of the tree, and followed me to the spiraling root that lead down.
We talked politely as we made our way to the base of Hometree. I asked him how he slept, and he said that he couldn't remember the last time he slept that well. We shared a small laugh at this, like two acquaintances who just happen to find themselves waiting in and incredibly long line for something together, and wish to fill the awkward silence between them. It was awkward chatter, and it made me very uncomfortable.
Finally, to my relief, we made it to the sun lit base of Hometree. I expected to see my parents gathered there, as usual, but a new face was among the crowd.
"Norm!" I squealed as I ran to embrace the human who had become an uncle to me. We had never greeted each other in the usual Na'vi fashion; our bond was much deeper than that. He came in the form of his Avatar body; tall and lanky, but beautiful all the same. Instead of wearing his human clothes like he usually did, he was donning the apparel of a Na'vi warrior.
Even though Eywa was yet to choose if he should live among the People or not, he was accepted into the Omaticaya with open arms. He trained in the way of the warrior, and was now a grand hunter, and could ride a direhorse like nobody's business. He even had chosen a mate named Naynat, who had actually taught him all he knew about hunting. She was expecting their first child at the time.
Norm embraced me soundly, squeezing me to his chest.
"Ah, my little princess, how you've grown! I swear, Jake, she gets more beautiful everyday." he said, grabbing at my tail. I giggled slightly, and swiped at his hand. He looked up for a moment, and noticed Atraiu standing a little ways behind me. Norm, like everyone else, had never seen a Na'vi such as Atraiu, so he was equally as shocked.
"Oh my God." he mumbled. "Um, a friend of yours, K?" he asked, even though he kept his eyes on Atraiu. Even though I had almost forgotten him, I practically sprinted to Atraiu, grabbing his arm, and pulled him back over to join us.
"Norm, this is Atraiu. I found him yesterday, unconscious, on the forest floor. He can't remember a bit of his past before the fall. Including where he is from." Norm studied Atraiu for a bit longer, taking in everything about him. Finally, he nodded his head soundly.
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, young Atraiu." said Norm, motioning with his hand in the traditional Na'vi way. Atraiu responded in the same fashion.
"Hey, Atraiu!" sounded a hi pitched, lively voice. We all immediately recognized that to be Sayla. She came running towards us, her long, braided hair bouncing as she did.
"Hi Uncle Norm!" she said when she was close enough to notice him. Norm smiled in her direction, but he didn't have enough time to say something in return before Sayla started talking again.
"Anyway, Atraiu, I think I have figured out a way I can help you piece your memory back together. We'll have to start immediatly, though." Atraiu nodded, and looked up at me, as if I had any reason to disagree with her proposition. I shrugged, and motioned towards Sayla.
"Sure, go ahead. I can show you around later. Besides, I need to find Lock'tu. He seemed so...strange yesterday. I'll see you later, Norm. Mother. Father." I nodded to all of them in turn, than went off in search of Lock'tu. Sayla took Atraiu's hand, and lead him off to some secret, spiritual place where their session would be undisturbed. Mother, father, and Norm were then left alone.
"So, Jake, it seems Kana and this Atraiu boy..." commented Norm with a smirk. Jake rolled his eyes, massaging his temples with his hand.
"Uh, don't remind me. I like the kid, but I never really thought about them becoming friends or something more. It's different when you weren't there when the boy was born, and you have the divine right to intimidate him endlessly. Atraiu is a stranger to me."
"Do you have any idea where he is from, Norm?" asked my mother of Norm. The Dreamwalker reached his hand behind his head, stretching, and shrugged.
"I can't say I do, Neytiri. I've never seen, or even heard of anything like him. An entirely new breed of Na'vi. Grace would flip over something like this." he said solemnly. All of the adults stood there in respectful silence for a moment, remembering the human who fought the hardest to rid Pandora of the poison that the RDA was slowly leaking in.
"So," said Norm, breaking the silence "I'm going to go see if Naynat has woken yet. She's been in the foulest mood lately, and if I'm not there when she wakes up, she'll have my head. Ngahu." Neytiri and Jake nodded at Norm as he proceeded towards the spiral that lead up and into Hometree. The couple stood there for a moment together, when, suddenly, Neytiri looked up at Jake, her brow slightly wrinkled in thought.
"Jake, I wasn't that cross when I was bearing our children, was I?" she asked, an expression of curiosity and worry on her face that my father just found adorable. He reached down, putting two of his fingers under her chin, and lifted her face up slightly while he leaned down to kiss her. He knew that such an open show of affection was not highly favored in Na'vi culture, but he still had some Earthly habits to shake. Not that he minded this at all. Infact, he wished he could do it more than he did already. He felt his love smile against his lips as he pulled back.
"Of course not, my love. You were a picturesque of motherly love." he said with a large smile. Neytiri beamed, obviously pleased with his answer. Jake bowed slightly, before turning his back to her as he walked away. He really didn't have anywhere he needed to be, but he would live longer if she didn't see him shake his head and mouth "hell no".
AN: Slightly pointless chapter, yes, I know, but I wanted to introduce Norm into the story early. The old RDA crew that stayed pn Pandora will make appearances very often, so don't be surprised when they show up. I hope you all enjoyed it! R&R pleassssssssse!
Ean Ikran: Blue Banshee (my own creation, but with a Na'vi name. They would have been called Water Banshees, but I couldn't find the Na'vi word for water. By the way, does anyone know what the Na'vi word for water is?)
Miso: away
Ngahu: Good bye (I think?)