Chapter Seven: Sìltsan Aysrr
Knowing she was there, I finished my video log, wiping the tears from my cheeks as I turned to face her. She didn't say a word but came up and embraced me. She hugged me tighter then I could remember her ever doing before.
"I'm okay, Grace." I told her.
"I can see why you didn't want to talk about it last night." She replied. I just nodded at her. "Come on; let's get you something to eat."
Following her, I ate in silence, knowing that I needed to eat in order to keep my strength up. I needed to take care of both bodies.
"Has Jake come out yet?" I asked her as I ate the eggs she had made. "And what's with the special treat?"
"You like eggs." She smiled at me.
"Yeah, but we don't usually have such fancies out here." I replied.
"I got them for you." She told me.
"Thank you, Grace." I smiled at her. "I really do appreciate it. Even if I'm not showing it."
"It's okay." She said shaking her head. "And Jake came out long enough to grab a few hours of sleep before going back in. He didn't tell me anything. Said that it was your story to tell."
"Am I okay?" I asked her. "My avatar I mean."
"I'm not sure. Jake told me not to worry." She told me.
Nodding, I finished before standing. "I'm gonna grab a shower before I go back in."
"Okay." Grace smiled before I walked away.
I felt horrible about what happened. Not only that but I had been distant from Grace. She was like a mother to me and I'd been ignoring her. I'd been spending fifteen to twenty hours a day in my avatar. That doesn't leave much time for anything else when I'm back.
"You need to slow down." Grace told me as she helped me linkup.
"I know. As soon as I know he's okay, I'll take a couple days off to recoup." I told her.
She smiled at me, "No you won't."
"I'll try." I smiled back.
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
"I promise, Grace."
"I love you, you know that?" She said with a slight edge to her voice.
"I love you too." I said before she closed the link.
Taking a deep breath I shut my eyes, letting myself go. When I opened my eyes in my avatar, my body felt weak and sore. Looking around I realized that I was in Mo'at's hut. Furrowing my brows I turned and saw Tsanten lying next to me. A spark of fear went through me as I looked at him. Then I saw the rise and fall of his chest. Not being able to hold back the tears, I rolled to the side, groaning as pain shot through my body. I moved closer to him, resting on my elbow I put my hand on his face.
"Tsanten…" I said softly. He didn't stir. "Tsanten?" I said with a quiver in my voice. Gently rubbing his cheek with my thumb, my eyes moved over him. His wounds didn't look any better then they had to begin with. "Please, don't die." I whispered to him. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have done what you did."
"You would have died then."
I turned to see Mo'at stepping through the beaded door. Slowly getting to my feet, I faced her. "Will he be okay?" I asked her.
"I do not know." She told me. "He lost a lot of blood."
"I did the best I could." I told her on the verge of tears.
"You did wonderfully." She said moving to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "You did more than anyone could ask you for."
"But it wasn't enough." I stated weakly.
"You saved him. It's because of you that he's alive. It hasn't been long. We can't say if he'll make it or not." She told me matter-of-factly. "You were brave and have suffered your own injuries."
"I'll be fine." I told her.
"Yes you will." She said with a small smile. "Just give him time. Tsanten will pull through."
"Can I stay and watch over him?" I asked.
"For as long as you'd like." She said softly.
"Thank you." I told her as I took a deep breath.
She turned and left, leaving me to the silence, only my own and Tsanten's breathing could be heard. Sliding down the wall of the hut, I brought my knees up, resting my chin on top of them as I watched over him. I didn't know how long I sat there but soon I was being nudged awake.
"Hey." Jake smiled as he squatted next to me.
"Hey." I said and rubbed my eyes. "How long have I been out?"
"About seven hours." He said as his smile grew.
"Huh." I said looking at him. Then my eyes moved to Tsanten. He hadn't moved since I had returned. "I didn't return to my body." I frowned at him.
"No, you did. You were just so tired you didn't make it out of the link." He told me.
"And how did I wake up here again then?" I frowned deeper.
"You were still in the link. Grace made sure it stayed active; knowing you'd want to wake up here and not there." He explained.
"Okay." I said and moved forward, kneeling next to Tsanten. Putting my hand on his chest, I shut my eyes as I felt his chest rise and fall.
"You care about him, don't you?" Jake asked softly.
"Of course I do." I said turning to him. "He's my teacher…and my friend." He just nodded at me. "Are you telling me that you don't care for Neytiri?" I told him with a raised brow. He didn't say anything. "That's what I thought." Looking back at Tsanten I put my hand on his face. "Please get better." I whispered to him. It was then that Mo'at came in, followed by Grace. "Grace!" I said and stood, rushing to her.
"Sara." She said wrapping her arms around me. I couldn't help but cry into her as I took in her comfort. She ran her hand down my hair. "How's he doing?" She asked.
"He's doing the same." I replied and turned back to him; watching as Mo'at placed gel from the paywll onto his wounds. "Mo'at, is he getting any better?"
"His wounds are healing. Not as quickly as I'd like, but they are healing." She told me.
"Okay." I said and sat next to him once again.
"You need to leave. Wander the village." Mo'at told me gently.
"Eat something." Grace added.
Looking between them I thought a moment before looking down at Tsanten again. "No, I'm fine right here."
"Rutxe." Mo'at said even more gently.
"I'll watch over him." Grace told me sweetly.
"Rutxe." Mo'at repeated, putting her hand on my back.
Meeting her eyes, I finally nodded, standing as she led me from the hut. She stayed with me, putting her arm around me as we walked through the village. We started on the ground floor before walking through the other levels of Hometree. We finally settled on the third level, as Mo'at sat me down and handed me a leaf wrap to eat. I thanked her but kept my eyes on the Toruk skeleton nearby.
"You need to eat." Mo'at told me as she sat down, her eyes on me.
"I'm sorry." I told her, looking at the wrap in my hands. "I'm just a little distracted."
"I know." She said softly. "Tsanten will pull through. He cares for you."
"I know." I told her. "I care for him as well. Perhaps too much."
"Has a match been made?" She asked me.
"Don't get carried away." I smiled at her. "He's my teacher and friend. But I do enjoy the time we spend together." I said as a frown set on my face. "I haven't told him that."
"You will get your chance." She told me.
"I hope so." I replied sadly.
She placed her hand on my back, heaving a sigh. "I am sorry for the way we treated you."
"You don't need to apologize." I told her, shaking my head. "We deserved it."
"But seeing you again, here, living with my people…" She said and paused. "It makes me realize that you are as different as you claim to be."
"I love your people, Mo'at. I'd do nothing to harm them…ever." I stated.
"I believe you." She told me seriously.
"Irayo." I smiled at her.
"Sara!" Jake yelled running up to me.
"Jake?" I said standing, the wrap falling from my hands as panic started to course through me. "What is it?"
"He's starting to come to. He's saying your name." He told me.
I was in a run a second later, making my way to Mo'at's hut. Racing through the door, Tsanten looked as peaceful as ever.
"Grace…" I said looking at her.
"He was just coming to." She replied and shrugged, shaking her head.
Kneeling at his side, I put my hand on his face. "Tsanten?" I said gently rubbing his cheek. "Wake up." Nothing happened. "Come on, you can do it." His brows furrowed slightly and his head slowly moved from side to side as he finally cracked open his eyes. "Hey there."
"Sara…" He said barely above a whisper.
"Tsanten." I replied smiling at him.
"Are you all right?" He asked grabbing my arms, pulling himself up slightly with the action.
"Hey, take it easy." I told him, pushing him back down. "I'm fine. It's you who's hurt the most."
"You were supposed to run." He scolded.
"I wasn't going to leave you." I frowned at him.
"You were supposed to run." He repeated.
"Shhh. You need to rest." I told him softly. He sighed and shut his eyes. "And I wasn't going to leave you." I whispered, laying my hand on his chest.
I didn't take my eyes from his as I heard everyone quietly leave the hut. Not moving, I stayed with him. Every time I shifted, he'd stir. He had woken up and he was healing. Given time he would be fine. I was grateful to this land for providing the means for a faster healing then natural. They really took care of each other.
Almost falling asleep, straining to keep my connection, I felt a hand cover mine. Jumping slightly I looked down as Tsanten looked back at me. Smiling, I covered his hand with my other, sighing with relief.
"Kaltxì." I smiled at him.
"Hello." He smiled back.
"How are you feeling?" I asked gently rubbing his chest. There were wounds only inches from where my hand lay.
"Better." He replied.
"Sìltsan." I said, my smile growing. He gripped my hand as his brows furrowed. "What is it?" I asked as my stomach fluttered.
"Help me up." He told me.
"No." I said putting pressure on his chest. "Just lay still." I demanded. "You're going to be okay, but you need to heal."
"I will be fine." He frowned at me.
"No." I said having to push him down again. "Rest." I told him more gently, putting my hand on his face.
"Sara." He frowned, using his authoritative voice.
"Don't even try it, Tsanten. You were hurt. Deal with it and just rest. You can punish me later with rigorous training to make up for time lost." I frowned back.
"I am fine." He insisted.
"Now you sound like me." I frowned harder at him. "I kept saying that when it was far from true."
"Is something wrong?" He asked putting his hand on my arm.
"No." I smiled shaking my head. "I'm fine. You saved me from being hurt too badly."
"Good." He said relaxing again.
"But you were hurt, Tsanten. You were hurt badly." I told him seriously. "You're better, yes, but you have a long ways to go before you're one hundred percent." He sighed heavily. "I know, but you need to rest." I answered his unspoken thoughts. "I'll stay with you."
"Why?" He asked.
"Why not?" I countered.
"Someone else can teach you while I recover." He answered.
"You're right, but I have my own healing to do; that and I enjoy your way of teaching." I replied. He gave a short laugh before he winced with pain. "Just rest, please." I told him. "I'll get Mo'at if you won't."
He sighed again and looked at me. "You look like you need to rest just as much as I do."
"I've been watching over you." I replied quietly.
"You have?" He asked curiously.
"Someone had to." I smiled at him.
"Thank you." He said squeezing my hand.
"You're welcome." I replied putting my hand on his arm.
"Lie down and rest." He told me.
I was going to argue but I was so tired that I couldn't. Smiling at him, I laid next to him, our arms nearly touching. His eyes met mine and held them. We were closer then I had thought and for a second I thought maybe Mo'at had been right. Either way, I was exhausted. I waited for his eyes to close and his breathing to even out. Closing my eyes I let myself travel back to my human body, at ease with the way things were.
Pushing the link open, I smiled as Trudy did the same. "Hey."
"Hey." She said and walked with me to the kitchen. "If you're back, Tsanten must be okay." She stated.
"He'll be okay. He's resting." I told her as I began to scarf what we had.
"You have an appetite." Trudy stated.
"That's good." Norm said appearing from the other room with a book in hand.
"Hey." I smiled at him, elongating the word in a giddy greeting.
"You're in a much better mood today." He stated hugging me tightly.
"I am. But I'm beat, so I gotta talk a quick log and then crash." I smiled and headed to the lab.
Once I was done I laid in my bunk. It felt so good to have a mattress underneath me with a nice fluffy pillow. My mind kept returning to the Na'vi that lay in the hut, but I knew that I'd see him again in just a matter of hours. He was all right and that's what mattered in the end.
