A/N: Now we are about to really get into the story and the characters. Just so you guys know, In real life I'm an animal lover and all around know-it-all when it comes to anything nature related and I plan to integrate that into my story so for this story I will be creating several original Pandoran creatures, the first of which will appear in this chapter. Also, there will be some foreshadowing in this chapter and the sparks of new relationships as well as the embers of old ones.
As Jake and I recounted the tale of our run in with the Thanator, battle with the Viperwolves, our meeting the woodsprites and hesitant admission into the People, I could tell that everyone had mixed feelings about it all. Hell, both of us had weird feelings about it, at least to my knowledge. When we were done, we all looked at Grace, her face was screwed up in intense concentration as she took a drag from her cigarette and exhaled tiredly. "Well, on the positive side, your avatars are safe and won't be eaten in the middle of the night." "The negative side...?" Rylie asked, not entirely sure where she was going with her thought.
Grace was silent as she lightly shook her head. "Negative side is that now Quaritch and Selfridge are going to be all over you two to get information to use against the Na'vi." She spoke. I saw Jake turn his head and a guilty expression formed on his face, but I didn't think anything of it. "Well, they probably wouldn't have cured my avatar of the Viperwolf venom if Jake hadn't put on quite a little show. He looked like he honestly thought I would die for real if my avatar died." I said, to which my brother turned to me, a look of slight embarrassment on his face. "Ah, Céleste..! In all honesty, I actually forgot that the avatar wasn't your real body. It had been such a crazy day that the fact that you wouldn't have died just slipped right past me." I looked at Jake, an amused smile on my face before I sealed the deal on the conversation. "It's official, you are a skxawng."
Later that night we were at the cafeteria hoping to get something to eat, and while I knew the food here wasn't going to be any good, the thought of the food we had eaten earlier with the Na'vi made my mouth water. I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder and heard Rylie ask, "What were they like?" clearly hoping for something about the Na'vi that I had left out of the story from earlier.
"Well for starters, I'd happily fight five Thanators if it meant I got even a little more of their food instead of this slop." I said as we sat down at our table next to Jake. The food I was referring to (if you could even call it food) was a slight tint of green today. 'Yummy' I thought. "You know what I mean!" My best friend said.
I shrugged, "They were.. I don't know, they were what you'd expect after having put up with us 'Sky People' for so long. But they're... Reasonable. Kind. I'm surprised they took us in without much fuss." My brother looked at me, "'Not much fuss'? You call them debating on whether to kill us or not is 'not much fuss'?" I shrugged again, "Tsu'tey would've killed us on the spot if Neytiri hadn't convinced him to let us in. And even before then they could've killed us both while we were out in the forest." "They? Who's they?" Riley cut in, eyeing the both of us. "Neytiri, the princess, and Kanin, he's a warrior from the clan who was with Neytiri when they started tracking us." Nobody else caught the lift in my tone, nobody but Rylie of course. She looked at me, a raised brow and sly smirk on her face. "Kanin huh? What's the story on him?" I shrugged once more; my shoulders were getting tired.
"How the heck should I know? I just met the guy today." I took a sip of some water to avoid her gaze, she always had a way of pulling out information from me. It's her eyes, so expressive and so full of conviction, I couldn't ever escape from telling her what she wanted to hear. "Not with the way he was looking at you when we were at dinner." I whipped my head around; Jake's snickering grin was enough to make me sock him in the gut. But before I could protest Rylie was ready to run with whatever Jake told her. "Oh really? Tell me more." "Well-" I slapped a hand over his mouth. "One more word, and I will throw you out the airlock." He put his hands up in defense. "I just thought it was interesting to see how comfortable he looked with you in his arms-" I raised my arm to punch him, but it was too late.
Rylie gasped, her hands covering the widening grin on her face. "Céleste Siana Sully, you went and got a clan boyfriend on your first day out in the forest and you were gonna keep it from me?" She pretended to faint, leaning over on Norm who looked like he was in a particularly sour mood. "All our years of best friendship mean nothing to you, is that it?" I rolled my eyes, "No Carr, and you know that. But you know how you get whenever it comes to me and guys." "Because you've never been on a date! Never been kissed! Never been wooed, wined and dined! It's a travesty, I'd say it's cause you're gay, but no one peaks your interest-!"
I heaved a sigh as she went on.. And on.. And on.. Every time we get on the subject of my nonexistent dating life it's like it's a crime to not want to actively participate in the woes of young love. It's not like I never had the option, nor the means to engage with any human of either side of the sexual spectrum, or the will to do so.. I just was never interested. I had my brothers and family for company, and what friends I did have were friends of Tommy and Jake. All their friends knew not to mess with me though, my siblings were quite adept with the "protective brothers" thing, not that I cared, I was so focused on learning and passing high school.. The idea of being in love kinda passed me by. Did I mind? No, not at all actually. Like I said earlier, I felt I had my priorities in order.
That night.. I dreamt again... I woke up in the forest. The sun filtering through the treetops, noises of the animals and activity in the distance, peaceful, serene.. Silence.. An eerily empty silence.. And then smoke.. Flames.. Tendrils of fire licked up the trunks of trees and vines, bushes and flowers eaten away to ash. I went to get up and run, but I saw a direhorse on fire, galloping through the trees in slow motion. I could hear my heart beating in my chest, it was suffocatingly hot, the smoke made it hard to breathe, the fire closed in but I couldn't move- Céleste.. I heard a voice.. It sounded familiar.. Céleste..! I couldn't put my finger on it- "Céleste...! Wake up!" I gasped as I woke up, being shaken out of my sleep, the fog of my nightmare fading away as I came to, seeing Rylie's concerned and worried face brought all of me to reality. I was awake. In our room. Not burning alive.
I took several deep breaths, finally noticing the tears on my cheeks. Wiping them away, I couldn't help but cry a bit more. Rylie sat on my bed, pulled me in close and rubbed my back. I curled up and leaned on her, trying to calm down. "You wanna talk about it..?" I shook my head, sighing. "That'll be a story for another time." She nodded, and began slowly rocking back and forth. We haven't done this in some time, I haven't had a nightmare in a while. But soon I had calmed down, my nightmare filed away for later.
Suddenly I noticed the warm, yellow-ish orange light outside our room's window as the sun began to breach the horizon. I looked at the clock and saw it was 5:15. "Ow shit. I gotta go!" I said as I launched myself out of Rylie's arms and quickly got dressed. Since Jake's room was just down the hall and on the way to the link room I quickly pounded on his door to wake him up before cracking it open and yelling "Move your ass marine" to which I heard my brother fall out of his bed from the surprise.
A few minutes later I was in the bio-lab prepping a cup of coffee (another benefit to being in the science department) to get my mind going for my first day as a clan member in training. Grace was already there and had a tablet in her hands which was displaying pictures of some of the Na'vi clan members. Oddly she seemed to be lingering over one specific picture of a Na'vi male that I hadn't seen the previous night, and Grace looked at the picture with eyes that could only be described as... regretful. When she saw me walk in, she immediately erased the picture she was looking at and started quizzing me, making sure I knew the names of the certain clan members. A few minutes later Jake wheeled in, a look of bitterness on his face. "You know, when you're peacefully dreaming about memories of when my marine buddies and I used to play cards after lights out at boot camp, your voice sounds just like my old drill sergeant after we would get caught." He said as he himself started making a cup, to which I chuckled.
Grace also started giving the 'name to face' quiz to my brother a few minutes before Rylie and Norm walked in, followed shortly by some of the other techies who immediately started getting the link chambers set up. In a few minutes Max was calling for us from the link room saying our links were ready. As we walked into the link room Grace quizzed my brother and I one last time.
I was about to pull down the biometrics over my body when I heard Jake ask "...so who's this Eywa?" I mentally kicked myself for forgetting to explain it earlier, and I didn't get a chance to know because Norm suddenly broke out with a shocked voice. "Who's Eywa?! Only their deity. Their goddess, made up of all living things. Everything they know! You'd know this if you had any training whatsoever." "Which one of us has a date with the chief's daughter?" Jake said in retaliation, but that only upset Norm more. "Oh come. That's..." They both got cut off by the commanding voice of Grace who shooed Norm away as she told us to get going. I knew exactly why Norm was actually angry with Jake, but I didn't want to poke the bear anymore since my brother had already been prodding.
Right before my chamber's lid sealed shut, I heard Grace tell Jake "Don't do anything unusually stupid." And with that, my lid closed, I shut by eyes, cleared my mind, and I saw the flashing tunnel of light as my consciousness left one body and entered a new one miles away.
When I felt the sensation of the leaf around me, I opened my eyes a bit. I could see through the dark of the early morning, most had gotten up, some were still asleep. I looked over to find Kanin was gone. 'Must've gone down to get breakfast.' I unfurled my leaf cocoon and faced my first challenge. Getting out of this thing without dying. Yay. I got to my knees, slowly stood up, and grabbed a branch above me and swung myself up to the other side. I smiled with satisfaction, 'Dismount, 10 points.'
Going down the spiral stairway of Hometree, I couldn't help but marvel at such a natural wonder. The tree itself towered thousands of feet above the forest around us, the ginormous monster of a tree and the miles of smaller trees around us gave me the impression of a parent overlooking a lot of kids. 'Sounds torturous.' I made it to the bottom and spotted a few people at the fire pits, raking the coals and putting fruits and veggies into cooking pots. I sat down at the edge of one with a dying fire, hoping it wasn't rude to partake in keeping the fire ablaze. I blew on the coals gently, slowly adding twigs and sticks until I had coaxed the embers into a nice cooking fire.
Though my nightmare played in the back of my head, I couldn't help but stare into the orange and red colors, mesmerized by the flame's dangerous dance. I heard someone approach, "You are up early." I looked up and saw Mo'at, her stern face held no singular emotion, just passive. I shrugged to her, "I just wasn't able to sleep well.. But I'm rested enough for whatever come's my way today." I gave her a small smile and watched as she took the spot beside me. "I hope you are. We took great risk in allowing you and your brother to stay." "I'm aware, Tsahik , I hope we do not disappoint you."
She chuckled humorlessly to herself, sitting in silence for a moment before turning to me. "Tell me child, do you dream?" I nodded absentmindedly, "Don't we all?" "No, not all People dream like others dream." I looked at her again, her face was passive, but her voice gave the implication of something.. Like she was searching. "I.. I dream often." "Of what..?" I wasn't sure why she bothered, but I could see in her eyes that she was serious in her inquiry. I guessed I somehow had an answer for her. "Well.. Some dreams I have are from the past.. Some are predictions of things that will happen.. Some are me seeing through the eyes of someone else.. Some are of another's pain becoming my own, like my family, or my friends" I was going to say more, but I spotted Kanin walking in accompanied by another male hunter, heading to the staircase. I waved to him, catching his eye, and he smiled as he came over, leaving the other male.
I turned to Mo'at, but before I could speak she stood up, "I must get on with my duties. I will see you at dinner. Enjoy your first day, CélesteSiana-" "You can just call me Heaven." I cut her off, laughing a bit. Kanin had walked up at this point, not wanting to interrupt our conversation, waving me a small 'hello'. "Heaven?" Mo'at stopped, confused. I snapped to myself, the Na'vi don't have a word for heaven, they were a very religious based society, and even then they just don't have it in their vocabulary.
"It's the name of a place in Sky People religion. It's a paradise where one's soul or spirit goes when they die if they have followed the laws of God." I explained, but that only caused them to have more questions. "Sky People have a religion? And who is God?" "God is the name of the deity of the religion that most humans follow, though very few people still obey his laws. And, yes, in fact there are hundreds of different religions practiced by different groups of sky people. Sometimes that is what can cause wars amongst us." I finished, speaking in Na'vi to make it easier for them to understand what I was saying and describing.
"So why do people call you Heaven?" She asked. "Because my name translates to 'Heavenly' when translated from English to Spanish, another sky people language." Mo'at turned to my mentor, "She will not need much help with her language lessons from what I can see. I believe you will have the easier job out of you and Neytiri." They both laughed and I blushed with a grin. I could tell that Mo'at was about to ask more but someone called out to her from behind her. "My apologies. I must return to my duties. Dream well Heaven." "Irayo Tsahik." As Mo'at walked away she looked back at me for a second, and while her face still held a solid, zero emotion look, her eyes displayed a look of curiosity and... concern.
As Mo'at walked away I saw Kanin sit down next to me. Now in the light of day I could see just how muscular he really was compared to the average male Na'vi. While most Na'vi men had seemingly small upper body muscles (even thou they were still by comparison far stronger than the average human male) Kanin had muscles that far exceeded the size of any Na'vi I had ever seen. Grace had also told us that Avatars almost always had a larger build than the natives, to the point that even I had a build slightly more muscular than some of the men, but Kanin was more muscular than any avatar I had ever seen, even Jake.
However, his muscles weren't the only thing I could now see in the light of day. On his right shoulder and neck, I could see what looked like a scar from a Thanator, and another scar that looked less like a claw scar but more like a graze or scratch.
I was pulled from my thoughts when he pulled a big purple fruit from his bag. The purple skin gives the impression of a citrus, but you can eat it like an apple or a pear. "I don't know if you've eaten already, but I found this while out on my hunt. I thought you might like it." I smiled in delight, "We grow these on the base, I like them a lot. May I-?" I pointed at the knife strapped to his chest and he chuckled a bit, "You know how to use that?" I looked at him, his lighthearted face made me grin. "I actually happen to be quite adept with sharp tools thank you." I cut the fruit in 6 equal pieces, and its bright cyan colored flesh was just so pretty. "Do you know what this fruit is called?" "Uh... Zaxtrle?"
He nodded, taking a bite of it and the blue juices spilled down his chin. I smiled and did the same. We ate till I was full and for my first day he showed me what everything was, what everyone did, and the basic structure of the clan. From Olo'eyktan to Tsahik, to the hunters, taronyu, the parents and children and the elders. They had artisans working with clay and weavers and jewelry makers, and he noticed how excited I was to see them. We went about Hometree, him teaching me where everything was, and after we sat down to eat for lunch, Neytiri and Jake had come from the forest. Neytiri looked passive as ever, Jake looked ready to pass out.
"You alright big bro?" I asked him as he sat down, taking a bite out of some yerik that was brought in. He sat there and caught his breath for a moment before smiling, "Just peachy. My teacher's trying to turn me into a splat on the forest floor, but you know it's fine." I laughed and handed him some food. "You know, if it weren't for you, she wouldn't have to be stuck teaching a jarhead marine how to not be a jarhead marine." He chuckled, taking a bite. "Yeah, well now we're both stuck with each other." I rolled my eyes, Kanin laughed at our banter, "Be sure to stay on guard. Neytiri is not easily befriended, she might try to kill you before your training's over." I nodded, not doubting it. Jake just laughed again, I saw the glint in his eye, and I knew he was taking the challenge.
After we had eaten, Kanin decided to teach me something a little more... more. He led me to a small clearing not far from Hometree. It was surrounded by a river on one side and encircled by tube-like flowers on the other three sides, probably to feed the herd of Direhorses that walked around within the clearing. Kanin made a quick pattern of bird-like chirping sounds which caused one of the Direhorses, or pa'li, as the natives called them, to come running towards him. It was slightly darker than your normal pa'li and was very friendly as it started nuzzling its head against Kanin's chest before it started doing the same to me.
"Hmm, Syna isn't normally very friendly to strangers!" My teacher said before he rigged a small rope around the animal's head. "I've just always had a way with animals." I said as I petted Syna before Kanin showed me how to mount the horse-like creature. 'Thank god for those horse riding lessons back home' I thought as I hoisted myself onto her back. Kanin then brought one of the animals' antennae up towards me, gesturing for me to take it into my hand. I then brought my own queue up to the creature's and watched with sheer wonder as the tendrils on the ends of both our queue's intertwined.
Suddenly my eyes dilated, and so did Syna's as our nervous systems bonded together into one. I could feel everything about her, her heart beating, her legs moving, her tail twitching, and when I closed my eyes, I could even see what she was seeing through her eyes, and even what she was thinking and feeling. At that moment she was thinking I was quite gentle for a first-time rider.
'That is tsaheylu. The bond." Kanin said with a hint of glee in his voice as he saw me smiling at the amazing feeling of sharing a mind with another animal. "You may tell her what to do, inside, but for now, tell her where to go." He instructed, to which I simply responded with "Forward" which in turn caused her to rocket forward so fast that I got knocked clean off, right into the mud. As I got up I heard Kanin laughing at my expense. "Don't worry, no one gets it right away." He said after he had suppressed his laughter enough for him to speak. After about a half hour of practicing I had finally gotten the hang of it and about an hour later I no longer had to give her verbal instructions to get her to move, I just had to think it.
Kanin had just suggested that we go for a ride through the forest as I was cleaning the mud off of me in the river when suddenly a sharp snapping sound erupted from the forest on the other side of the river, followed by the sound of a tree tumbling down to the forest floor. "What was that?" I asked, slight fear in my voice. I looked over at Kanin and he only had a look of excitement and happiness on his face that made my own fear melt away. "If that's what I think it is, then this is something that you must see." He said as he himself mounted a pa'li of his own and instructed me to follow him across the bridge that crossed the river and onto a trail in the direction of the snapping sound that kept reappearing every few minutes.
We rode until it sounded like we were less than 50 feet from the source of the sound, and we came to a stream that emptied into the main river a few hundred yards down, only thing was, the stream was full of leaves as they came from somewhere just upstream. "How silently can you walk?" Kanin whispered to me as we both dismounted and tied our Direhorses to some tree limbs. "I grew up with two older brothers. I know to sneak up on thinks." I said, forcing Kanin to hold back a chuckle as we started walking up stream, parallel to the river.
After a few minutes of walking, we heard another loud snap not 10 yards ahead of us, we quickly hid behind some large trees and carefully peaked our heads out to look. What I saw made my jaw hit the floor.
A giant centipede-like creature, with massive Jaws, a scorpion tail, and what looked like gills of some sort on the top of its head, was carrying a branch from a fallen tree into the river in its jaws. It must have been at least 20 feet long, with its tail adding another 10. Its legs moved in waves as it walked along the forest floor and into the water, where it seemed to walk on the bottom. "Wakana" Kanin said. It took me a few seconds to translate the creature's name. "Water Builder?" I questioned, causing a nod from my teacher. "They cut down trees and use them to partially block streams and raise the water level. It makes a pond for them to live in where they are safe from predators." He said as the Wakana emerged from the stream after placing the branch on the riverbed. It scurried back to the tree where it shot its tail into the branches and pulled it out a few seconds later with a fruit of some sort on the tip, which it quickly devoured.
After that the monster insect proceeded to lift its head and front of its body up to the fallen tree at the base of one of its branches where it snapped its massive jaws closed on the branch, severing it from the tree, and dragging it into the river to make it into its dam. "We used to have an animal on Earth that did the same thing, called a Beaver. When they would make they're ponds it would make a new habitat for all sorts of other animals and plants." I said. "Wakana ponds are the same. When this one's pond is built, it will make a great place for hunting when animals come to drink." Kanin responded. We watched the Wakana for a few more minutes before we noticed it starting to get dark, so we decided to head back to Hometree.
"I've never heard of an animal like that." I said to Kanin while riding back. "They are very rare, and incredibly shy. I'm surprised it wasn't being more careful to not be see. I think you might be the first sky person to have ever encountered a Wakana." The smile that formed on my face after he said that must have been a mile wide. I couldn't wait to tell Grace about this tonight.
When we returned Kanin taught me some language and a little history of the People, we went to have dinner which was strangely lively that night. People were dancing and singing, just having a great time. "Is there a special occasion?" I asked Kanin as he sat down next to me, two cups in his hands. "Yes, one of the hunters has recovered from a battle with the Sky People. We were uncertain if he would make it." I looked over at the group, a tired but jubilant looking Na'vi man with a leaf bandage wrapped around his shoulder was clapping and smiling along with the people around him. "What happened to him..?" I asked, thanking Kanin as he passed me a cup.
"He was out hunting when he saw Sky People in their machines tearing up the forest. He tried to delay them, but he got hurt trying to escape." I looked down, saddened by the news. "I wish there was something we could do.." Kanin shook his head and looked at me, a small smile on his face. "At one time, I wished the Sky People had never come. But, I've come to see now that you are here for a reason. I am not sure what that reason would be, but I am... eager to see what comes from you being here." I smiled a little bit, elbowing him playfully. "If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't happy about Sky People coming to this planet either." He looked a bit surprised before he chuckled, "Enough of that. Drink."
I laughed and took a sip, and hummed at the sweetness, and yet the familiar burning sensation as I drank it made some interesting flashbacks pop up in my mind. "Is this alcohol?" He looked confused at the word, "A spirit? Yes. It's made from fermented ki'ong." I nodded taking another sip, ki'ong was a type of fruit that grew on Pandora, we haven't got an equivalent to it on Earth to my knowledge. We drank and ate fruit, and as the night went on I ended up leaning on him, giggling to my heart's content while trying to explain to him the meaning of my middle name. I can't remember how we got onto this topic.
Kanin's face seemed to be flushed, his grin was dazzling in the firelight, and he seemed to hang on to my every word. "So, you have another language back home? Other than 'Ìnglìsì?" I nodded, taking another deep drink. "On my home planet, Earth, there are over 6000 languages and dialects, as well as some languages that people don't know how to speak anymore. We call those dead languages, but there are people who study them so technically they're undead. Like a zombie!" I chuckled and continued, "My first name is from a language we have back home, it's called French-"
"Oh! Grace told me this once, it is a... Romantic language?" He finished uncertain, words slightly slurred. "That's right! It's called that not because it's a love language, although it is in our culture, it's called such because of the previous language it comes from. My name has two different meanings in two different languages, in Spanish it means 'Heavenly', in French it means 'the crown'. A crown is something a royal person wears, like how Olo'eyktan and Mo'at wear red jewelry and garments. Except people on Earth who were royal leaders wore crowns of precious metals and gems to show their status." He looked like he understood, looking at me with a smirk. "So that means you are royalty on your planet?" I laughed, "Far from it! Though, I suppose being a scholar has it's perks too. I really am a regular woman outside of that. Nothing royal about me in the slightest."
Kanin took another swig of his drink, seemingly finishing it and putting it to the side. "I disagree." When looking at my befuddled expression he grinned again and said, "A woman with eyes like yours could not possibly be a regular woman. No less than royalty in fact." If my cheeks weren't flushed from the drink already they sure were at that moment. I shook my head, trying to hide my smile and keep things... Amicable. "I'm glad you think so." Was all I could muster before I heard someone walk up next to us. "So, this is where you have been? Next to this outsider?" I looked up, seeing the male who had been walking with Kanin earlier this morning.
His bright green eyes were cold, sharp. He was handsome in a severe way, the scar on his cheek was prominent against his blue skin. He reminded me of Coffman. "Hello, Mevaüt. Come to spoil my evening have you?" I couldn't help but chuckle softly as I took my last sip, protesting a bit as Kanin took my cup from me, stacking them both and looking back up at this Mevaüt. "Why do you enjoy spending time with this demon? You know what their people did to us, to you!-" "And despite the past, I will have an open mind. And this one happens to be my student and friend. She is not like them." I looked at Kanin, his expression was calm, but his eyes seemed on fire.
I looked between the both of them, their gazes locked in an intense fight. I patted him on the chest, getting his attention, seeing the burning fire in his gaze soften as he caught my eyes, "Maybe I should head to bed. It seems like you have some things to discuss." He went to protest and I had already stood up, turning to his friend. "I know I will never truly be a part of the People. But I hope one day you can see I am not here to harm anyone. I am just here to learn and make friends." I bowed a bit with my hand to my heart and bid Kanin goodnight. Inwardly smirking with satisfaction at Mevaüt's uncomfortable expression. I walked away, heading past the Tree of Voices to a stream nearby. I had to rinse out my hair and redo it before bed, not wanting to waste time the next morning doing it.
I quickly undid my hair, stripped off my minimal clothing and tossed them to the side. I dove in the water and just swam for a while, needing a moment to clear my head. 'Kanin's been affected by us somehow. I wonder what happened.' I spotted a tree that Kanin had pointed out, the orange fruit of this plant had cleaning properties, like soap, shampoo and conditioner all in one. How's that men's health commercial for you? I grabbed 2 and squished them, their purple insides were sudsy, and I delighted in covering myself in the surprisingly big bubbles that came from them. 'And since he's been affected by us, in such a way that makes Mevaüt want him to leave me alone so bad.. Why does Kanin treat me so nicely?' I washed my hair, massaged my scalp for a good 5 minutes as I continued to ponder, and dove in again. I came up for air 2 minutes later and shook my hair out.
I climbed up the bank, got dressed and went to the Tree. It's long pink vine-like leaves caressed me as I sat down, the bright light it gave off was beautiful. I began sectioning my hair, braiding each section, gently humming a melody just to keep myself entertained. Music I hadn't heard in a long time passed through my mind aimlessly, bringing good memories to mind as I finished braiding. I just sat there though, still humming, still looking at this marvelous piece of nature with reverence, I didn't want to get up yet. I'm still.. Shocked. 'I'm really here. I'm really doing this, training with the People...' After I spent some time there, I went back to my hammock. Kanin wasn't in sight, I didn't see Jake or Neytiri on the way in but I assumed they had gone to bed as well. I was about to slide into my hammock when I felt the cool light of the night sky touching my face, drawing me to one of the holes in the trunk of the tree that opened at the base of a branch.
I sat on the branch, cross legged as I overlooked Pandora's landscape, the lights of the planets in the sky and the colors of the glowing forest beneath me entrancing me. Making me calmer than I had ever been. I don't know how long I sat there, but eventually my eyes locked onto a series of massive stone arches that partially hid amongst the mountains in the distance. I could only see them thanks to the glowing moss that covered much of their stone surface. Something within me was being called to the great structures, but I knew I couldn't get to them. Eventually I got up and went inside, I slid into my hammock and laid down, not wanting to leave yet, but knowing I needed rest. I let myself slip away, and felt the familiar hug of fluid gel around me.
As the lid lifted I was met by the face of Max as he quickly checked me to make sure I was alright. When I got up I almost tipped over as I tried to compensate for drunken tipsiness that wasn't there. When in my avatar I had become slightly drunk off of the fermented ki'ong and had been having to keep myself steady only seconds before but now that drunkenness was gone, it was quite a weird feeling.
A few moments later Jake came out of his link chamber and after he had gotten out it was only then that I noticed the two military men who had posted themselves just outside of the link room, undoubtedly waiting for Jake to leave so they could take him to the control tower to give Quaritch his daily dose of Na'vi intel. After the two 'guards' had escorted my brother to his meeting Grace came up behind me. "After dinner tell Rylie, Norm, and Jake to start packing anything they might want to bring on a long visit away from the base. You should do the same. And tell them to meet me here before sunrise tomorrow." That was all she said before she went over to Max and asked him to call Trudy and tell her the same thing she had just told me. I was curious as to where we were going but I figured I would find out soon enough and I went off to relay Grace's message to Rylie and Norm and I left a note on the door of Jakes room before heading off to bed, not feeling like eating any of the cafeteria food, and my pure exhaustion overpowering my hunger by a factor of 5.
I barged into Rylie and I's room, threw off the majority of my clothes, and flopped onto my bed, Kanin's voice and the image of his smile in the firelight played in the back of my head. 'It was nice of him to call me his friend.' I thought to myself, trying to forget the comment about my eyes making me more than what I was, 'no less than royalty'. But he said it with such conviction...
Rylie burst through our room door, "Céleste, your brother's trying to fight Coffman in the mess hall." I groaned and couldn't help but laugh as I sat up, Rylie's face showing her slight fear. Drunk me is not to be trifled with. I got up, grumbling to myself as I pulled on my onesie pajamas and my bunny slippers, not even caring. I walked out of the room, Rylie following me trying to explain what happened. "I'll hear it from that bonehead Coffman. He's picked the wrong night to fuck with my brother."
I heard the commotion before I entered the mess hall, and it was unbelievably chaotic. People were yelling, I thought I heard someone say, "I've got 5 bucks on Wheelie over there-" I could tell this was getting out of hand. I pushed through the crowd, "'Scuse me-coming through-get your dirty hands off the onesie aight?" I pushed to the center of this catastrophe and spotted Norm and Max sitting at the table behind Jake and Coffman. My brother was calmly talking to the angered man, but Liam looked like he was about ready to burst. His tanned skin had a bright tint of red to it like he had been outside without sunscreen on. I would've found it funny if I wasn't so tired that I felt like I had a hangover. "Just what in the blue fuck is going on here?"
The two men stopped and looked up, seeing me in my normally adorable and hilarious outfit, Jake went to laugh and so did Coffman, but one look in my eye said I meant business this time. I wasn't happy and someone was responsible for it. "Which one of you idiots decided to pick a fight with each other huh?" Jake pointed at Coffman immediately, "I was here calmly eating my sludge when he walked by talking about you." My arms crossed in front of me, I tapped her slipped feet as people cautiously eyed me, able to practically see the fumes coming off of me. Some people backed up to give her some room.
"And what did he say Jake?" "He said.." He stopped and coughed, looking away a bit sheepishly. "He was commenting on your ass. And I thought it was rude and I told him to keep his mouth shut, and well here we are." I nodded, and rounded on Liam. "And do you think it's funny or cute to comment on an ass that's not yours?" He smiled that irritating smile, Céleste hated that smirk of his with all her being, she could see the arrogance and the unbelievable confidence radiating through the grin. "I was just saying how nice it would be to have your ass in my lap-" I don't know how I managed to control my reaction at that point since all I did was flick him in his forehead, catching him and everyone a bit off guard. A punch was likely, a kick to the nuts? Even more so. A flick? To the forehead?
It seemed to do well enough because Liam rubbed the spot, hissing a bit from the impact, "What the fuck Céleste-" "I've told you time, and time, and time again. I'm not yours, I will never be yours, and my body is not for you to fantasize about like the sick twisted puppy you are. You leave me and my brother alone or I promise you Coffman on everything I know and love, I'm gonna make you regret the day you ever breathed a word in my direction. Do I make myself clear?" At this point my voice got low and calm, but the promise of further pain was heavy in my tone. Jake smiled to himself in satisfaction and pride as he wheeled himself back to the table. Couldn't nobody fuck with his lil' sis.
At this point everyone had slowly trickled out, not wanting to be on the receiving end of my rage. Coffman and I had an intense stare down before he walked past me, making a brisk exit. I eyed the rest of the people still standing around, confused. "Alright! Show's over! Go act like you have better things to do." They scattered, I sighed, I was tired, my sleep drunkenness was getting worse and I was ready for bed.
"If you don't mind not starting a goddamn fight club while I go pass out, that'd be swell." I said, grinning a bit at my big brother. He grinned back, "I could've taken him." "And then you would've been court-martialed and Neytiri wouldn't have anyone to torture." He playfully grumbled some curses to himself, and I laughed. Bidding everyone goodnight, I walked back to my room with Rylie, and went to sleep off the day's events.
3rd POV:
After Céleste's departure from the intense stare off the two Na'vi men were having, Kanin stood, regarding his.. friend in a calm but irritated manner. They had talked about this the night Céleste and her brother came. He was getting tired of arguing with him. "What is it you are trying to say?" Mevaüt looked at him, bristling. "You need to leave her alone. She is a demon." "She is my apprentice. I thought you were there when Olo'eyktan said for me to teach her." Mevaüt rolled his eyes, his teeth bared in a hiss. "I was there. And I do not agree." "That is not for you to decide." They glared at each other, the air was thick with tension. "If you have such a problem with me teaching Heaven, maybe you should look the other way. Ha, go take it up with Olo'eyktan if you really want to." Mevaüt grumbled and wandered off, much to Kanin's delight.
However, Heaven had already disappeared, and while he wanted to see her again and had a feeling that she hadn't gone to sleep yet, he wasn't sure if he should disturb her. So he went up the tree, climbing to the topmost branch, calling for his ikran. A few moments later his banshee, a beautifully deep indigo colored animal, popped it's head out from the cover of the leaves. With a quiet chirp it landed on the branch in front of Kanin, nuzzling him and nipping his hand affectionately. "Yes yes, Leso'ha, I have a treat for you." His banshee gave a quiet but enthusiastic screech, eagerly munching on the bit of yerik his master and friend brought to him.
Kanin leaned over and gently caressed his ikran. He felt the need to talk to someone, but Tsu'tey was nowhere to be found, and even if he was Kanin wouldn't be too inclined to speak to him, as he knew Tsu'tey's opinion on his new friend and student and her brother. "Student and friend.. Ha! Can you believe I said that Leso'ha?.. Eywa help me.. I have only just met her.. I do not know her.. " 'But you want to.' He thought to himself, shaking his head, sighing. Despite the conundrum he seemed to be in, he laughed, a smile plastering his face. Céleste's laughter ran through his mind and her big, bright blue eyes shined like the night sky as he thought back to the celebration. He wasn't sure just what Eywa had planned for his meeting Céleste, but he really was excited for it.
1st POV:
The next day I woke up before the sun had even risen, just like Grace had said. I felt more alive than I had ever been, giving Coffman the 3rd degree the night before had made me sleep like a baby. None to my surprise I found Rylie already up and starting to pack when I woke, she had always been an early bird. She had even been kind enough to start packing some of my personal items that she knew I would have packed anyways so I would have a head start, which I was very grateful for.
The two of us met Grace, Norm, and Trudy in the link room, along with a few of the other techies, including Max. Everyone was running around the room, grabbing everything from sample tubes to rations, and putting them in bags and containers. I was about to ask where we were going when I was beaten to the question by Jake, who had managed to sneak in without me noticing amongst all the hustle and bustle. Grace walked over to Jake with a stern, determined expression. "I am not going to let Selfridge and Quaritch micro-manage this thing. There's a mobile link up at site 26 we can work out of, way up in the mountains." That didn't just peak my interest, seeing as both Norm and Rylie's faces lit up with excitement, my face probably held the same expression. "The Hallelujah Mountains?" Norm asked, voice almost jittery. "That's right" Grace replied pleasantly.
A few minutes, and some Norm happy dancing later, we were out the airlock on the tarmac where they kept the Sampson choppers scheduled for launch, which included Trudy's bird. Grace, Norm, and Rylie's avatars had already been strapped in, and now all we had to do was load up the supplies and our personal items. While my hands were busy loading the supplies, my ears were focused in on a conversation happening not 20 feet away between Quaritch and some other grunts who had just brought in a damaged scorpion helicopter.
"What's the extent of the damage?" The chief of security asked. "Weapon systems are still operational, but the rotary systems been completely ripped out. We think some wild banshees did it when the pilot flew too close to their nest." One of the grunts reported, resulting in a sigh from Quaritch. "That makes 3 Sampsons, 5 Scorpions, and a Dragon that we have no way of getting back in the air, but the weapons systems still work on most of them... Say, didn't one of the smaller dump trucks from the mine brake a few weeks ago?" Quaritch asked the soldier, who responded with a nod. "Yes sir. The hydraulics' for the dump bucket broke. Engineers are still trying to see if they can find some other use for it." "Tell them to bring it here, along with all of the scrap metal they can find. And start taking all the working weapons off of the disabled aircraft we have. I think we just found ourselves a new assault vehicle."
I shuddered slightly at the thought of what they were talking about trying to build.
A few minutes later we were in the air, though the area in the airtight part of the chopper was a bit cramped with Grace, Jake, Norm, Trudy, Rylie, and me all in the ship. Trudy had given the co-pilot's seat to Norm and was even letting him fly the ship to an extent, though it was obvious that they were somewhat flirting with each other. Opposites attract I guess. Though it didn't last long once we came to a wall of dense fog.
"We're getting close." "Yeah, look at my instruments!" Trudy exclaimed, referring to her electronic map which was now glitching and sputtering. "Yep. We're in the flux vortex" Grace said. "We're VFR from here on." Trudy stated. "What's VFR?" Norm asked. "Means you gotta see where you're going." "You can't see anything." "Exactly. Ain't that a bitch" Trudy laughed.
Suddenly Norm, Jake, Rylie, and I all leaned forward towards the windows as we realized that Trudy just flew under a mountain! The next moment we emerged from the fog and were greeted by a scene of indescribable beauty. An entire floating mountain range surrounded us on all sides, creating a maze of rocks both big and small. Plants covered much of the floating islands, whether it be forest covering the top or vines draping off the bottom. Waterfalls fell from some of the great structures, the water becoming vaper well before it had the chance to hit the ground. "You should see your faces" Trudy laughed again, probably referring to the look on all of our faces but I didn't take the time to look since I was locked on the sight laid out before me.
A minute or two later Trudy flew us to a particularly large mountain with a small plateau on its south end which had two connected mobile research laboratory shacks set up on it. This was going to be our base of operations for the next few months and Trudy would be staying with us here too.
Once we landed Grace told us to start unpacking equipment while she went inside to get the camp ready. After she got the power started, we all crammed into the airlock door and came inside. Grace started assigning us two our beds when I realized there were only two link chambers. I didn't want to be rude by asking but Grace must have seen it in my eyes since she said "Don't worry Céleste, Trudy is going to go get a second link chamber shack and connect it to this one so we will have a total of four link chambers." She said as she placed her gear on her self-assigned bed.
I felt a bit peckish so I headed to the fridge only to find my brother staring at some pictures from the school that were taped to the door of the fridge. One picture in particular caught my eye, it showed Avatar Grace sitting on the step of the school with her arm around the shoulders of a Na'vi male about the same age as avatar Grace. He also had one of his arms on Grace's shoulders, and the two looked very comfortable with each other, more comfortable than I had ever seen Grace. I swore I had seen the Na'vi man before but I just couldn't place him.
Grace rounded the corner into the kitchen and must have saw me staring at the pictures since she pretended to wipe a mark off the fridge door when actually she swiped the picture of her and the man away. She thought she had been slick but I saw her, and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw her staring at the photo again with a look of regret, causing me to remember where I had seen the Na'vi man. It was the same man from the picture on Grace's tablet that she had tried to hide yesterday morning.
"You two need to get linked up, you're already late. Hell the villagers might be digging graves for you right now thinking your avatars are dead." Grace told me and Jake a few minutes later. As I got linked up one thought rushed through my mind. "How am I going to explain being late on the second day to Kanin?"
N/A: If you've made it this far and haven't commented then please do, even if it's something negative, I still would appreciate the feedback from you guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you will enjoy the many chapters to come.
I'm so sorry for not posting in SOOOOOOOOO long but real life has just been so crazy for me lately that I haven't been able to get around to it in a long time. I regret to inform you that I can't see myself posting on a regular basis at any time for the foreseeable future.