AN: Most of this chapter and the next 'present time' chapter is about Jake but the rest are about Awa, please enjoy! Constructive criticism is more than welcomed:)

It was a cold and rainy day when Jake got the call from the RDA, it was one of those days where everything went wrong, it was as if the bad weather was a sign of the storm to come. Jake had woken up with a bad feeling that morning, a sort of gnawing feeling in his stomach that warned him that something was going to happen. He ignored it, of course, since he came home from the war it was more common to feel that itching of repressed instincts than not. The first time they approached him was in a low budget bar full of people addicted to different substances and people with issues, he was one of those people. At first he thought they were the police and had come to pick him up after he had punched a guy in the head so hard that he passed out on the cold marble floor. The men came clad in matching black suits and dark sunglasses, it was as if they had copied how the FBI in movies used to look like. Maybe they thought he'd appreciate the irony, or maybe it was to intimidate him into leaving with them without a fight. Now he thought of the suits as signs of mourning, their suits were a soulless black but yet conveyed the strongest message. Their glasses hid their true feelings, a voice could be manipulated but eyes always told the truth. He didn't speak with them, only shook his head with a glare in his eyes and left. Those men came from the same organisation as his twin, a man he had had a falling out with just before leaving for the battlefield that would leave him crippled and broke.

Then the call came, that very same call that his old marine instincts warned him about. In the movies the one that delivered the news were soft-spoken, gentle and sympathetic, Jake didn't get that. Jake was greeted by a gruff, deep voice that barked to him that his twin was dead. He didn't get any build up to the devastating news that would come to change his whole life as he knew it, no, the delivery man just straight out spat it at him as soon as Jake lifted the outdated phone that his few military friends joked belongs in the museum. The words haunted him, taunted him even, they were ringing in his ears as he slammed the phone down on his kitchen table that was so full with scratches that the previously smooth and polished surface was a distant memory. Not only did they tell him that his brother was dead, that his twin was dead, but they demanded that he attend the 'funeral' they had so kindly arranged for him. They had a business proposal for him, that he 'couldn't resist'.

It didn't take them long before throwing the offer of a job at him, the body of his murdered twin hadn't even been burned before the wolves threw themselves upon him, urging him, no manipulating him into taking the offer. He had never been a science guy, never felt the interest to know things, he had always been Jake, Jake the military man. It was his twin that had been interested in science, it was his twin that worked hard to go to the deadly paradise in a body unlike the human one but yet so similar. Tom Sully, the overachiever and dreamer of worlds, the man that had been robbed off his dream by a man desperate for any money he could get his hands on, and was willing to kill for it. His brother had spent three grueling years in the program, he did all the work only to be robbed of it just before he was going to reap the benefits it would give him. Now Jake would take what his brother had started and finish it, he would take his brother's place and go to Pandora. As honorable as they made it seem, or how appealing the offer of a new life sounded to the veteran, he mostly took the offer because of the promise of a large sum of money. Of course some part of him did it because the idea of starting anew appealed to him, that and he thought living as a blue space monkey sounded cool.

Grace Augustine was a living legend that many only dreamt of meeting, Jake had no idea who she was until she stared him down with clear disappointment in her eyes. She didn't sugarcoat her dislike for him either, she was very vocal about it, particularly the bit where she wanted his brother and not him. Jake was used to being compared to his brother so he wasn't too bothered by her insensitive comment about his late twin, and responded with small sarcastic comment that brought out a little bit of amusement in the cold eyes of the scientist. After he woke up in his avatar body for the first time she had remarked that he had impressive motoric skills after only waking up, that sentence meant so much more from her because he knew that she without a doubt meant it. He shivers just thinking about it, the feeling of being able to walk again, to run again and to bury his feet in the ground. It was an euphoric feeling that he would do anything to keep on feeling for the rest of his life. And those actions brought him to where he was now, on a helicopter with Grace, Norm, their pilot and a few random soldiers he didn't know the names of. He was supposed to be their protection in Na'vi form, he was a trained marine but he hoped he didn't have to use those skills against anything just yet.

Jake was watching the green terrain bellow him with wide eyes full of fascination and awe, the beauty of Pandora was indescribable. The forests were bursting with colors, plants and trees of all sizes (though they were all much bigger than anything you could find back on Earth), he could faintly see the multitude of different animals roaming the ground. It was everything he ever imagined and more. Sometimes he swore he saw small flashes of blue gracefully moving from tree to tree but that could just be his imagination. He doubted it was the na'vi he could see since he's heard tales of their stealth and gracefulness. No human even came close to them in anything. He reluctantly tore his eyes of the glorious view and turned towards his two companions who were both staring at him with amusement in their eyes and face. "What?" He asked with a weirded out look on his face. "Have I got something on my face?"

"No, it's just -uh- . Your face, it's amazing" Norm commented with a large grin on his face, his tail swinging gently from side to side and ears flinging in all sorts of directions. Jake didn't know how long the other human had been staring at him and he wasn't sure he wanted the answer. He had caught Norm staring at him many times, often with a glint in his eyes that told him that all Norm saw was a ghost of Tom. "You are so awestruck"

Jake shrugged, trying to hide his embarrassment. "It's amazing." He retorted, trying to wave away his awe of the place before meeting Doctor Augustine's stern eyes. "So have you had any contact with these Na'vi?"

Grace looked at him unimpressed, she most likely knew exactly what he was doing. She knew Norm had been telling him stories and she knew that he had listened to the debrief. "Didn't you listen to the debrief? The reason why you and all the others are here is because we have no contact with them."

Jake stared back at her, a little hurt by her constant venom, not that he would ever admit that. No, he was supposed to be this strong, unmoving force that would protect them at any cost. That's why they brought him. Or at least that's why he thought they brought him. "No contact then, at all" He concluded and looked away, settling for watching his tail swing around in the open helicopter.

"There is one girl-" Norm started but is interrupted by Grace who glared at him with pure anger in her eyes. Jake never thought this would be the time he finally got to know who the girl was, the girl who was coated in mystery. Norm looked away from the angry woman but still continued, he wanted to prove himself capable of making his own decisions and this was one small step on that journey. "There is one girl, Awa, who's with the Na'vi right now. You can see her from time to time on base."

This catched Jake's attention, there's a girl living with the terrifying blue monkeys? That's what they were hiding? They were so desperate to hide the fact that one girl was successful in her task, why? And why was it such a big secrete when she was on base sometimes, wouldn't he eventually have run into her? "She's with the Na'vi? Then why hasn't she made sure to get you in there?"

Grace glared at Norm and then switched the heavy glare to Jake who stared right back at her with the same heated glare. "It doesn't work like that, they won't accept anyone else" Not after what happened she wanted to add. She shared a knowing look with Norm. Jake avert his eyes, thinking about what the scientist just said.

...

Jake was so stupid, so incredibly stupid. He had barked up the wrong tree and now he was lost in the forest, alone and tired. He still had some of the old instincts left but every movement he made in his new body felt unused. They had told him not to do it and he still went ahead and did it and now here he was. It was his own fault.

He was currently squatting in the cold mud next to a small pond he had found, he was waving around a branch he had lit on fire while trying to chase away the small wolf like creatures that were attacking him with extreme hunger. His mind was split in half, the rational half told him to keep it lit to chase away the animals but his military instincts screamed at him that the light was part of the problem. If he threw the branch in the water and ran away he would probably evade the animals without suffering any major injuries. The forest was quiet except for his heavy panting, the swishing sound of his branch coupled with the growls of the animals. It was eerily quiet and dark, if he wasn't in such a threatening position he would have been fascinated by the pretty lights that the forest had that illuminated different paths and plant life.

With a growl and a particularly long lunge he drove away one of the smaller creatures but the others closed in on him with one of them striking at his exposed leg.

A few trees away were two members of the Omaticaya clan crouching on the large branches. They had been tracking the dreamwalkers since they had landed outside of the heavily guarded human area. They had abandoned the two other dreamwalkers, Grace and Norm, after the they saw Jake being chased by a Palulukan. Awa had almost laughed her ass off at his panicked face, he truly didn't know how to use his own body and it was hilarious. She could remember when she was at that stage but then again it wasn't long until the na'vi literally snatched her up and trained her.

"Do you know him, Awa?" One of the na'vi asked the other with a heavy scowl on her face as they watched the male struggle on the ground. She had tried to shoot him before but the atokirina had floated down on her bow. It was a sign from Eywa not to shoot the male.

"No, just another stupid dreamwalked" Awa replied with to her companion with a snarl on her face. If this dreamwalker didn't stop what he was doing she would hurt him, didn't he know anything? Had Grace not taught him anything, she asked herself, disappointed in her closest human friend. "Look at him, Neytiri. Do really think he would be behaving like that if I knew him?" They both knew he wouldn't.

The other Na'vi, Neytiri looked down on the struggling Jake with low hisses slipping out now and then when he hurt the little nantangs. She would stand for this no longer, she could sense his heart was pure and Eywa didn't want him dead, but he could not do this. "Go back to Tsu'tey, I'm sure he misses you"

Awa gleefully jumped off the branch and onto the illuminated ground before waving goodbye to her friend. She had missed him too. Neytiri looked at Awa's retreating back as the Na'vi made her way back to the hometree, and Tsu'tey. She sighed knowingly with a small grin on her lips before turning back to the struggling dreamwalker. When a high pitched whimper met her ears she jumped into action, this had gone on long enough.

She swept the closest of nantangs away from him and shot the ones further back, making sure to hit them right in the heart so that they suffer as little as possible. She would need to tell her clan of this so they could make use of all the animals and then send the poor energies back to Eywa. When the small hyena like animals come to close to her she throws her bow back on her back and instead brandished her knife, swinging it expertly around her as she fought the animals. Jake was still struggling, hitting the animals left and right but his attention lied with Neytiri and her graceful movements.

When all the animals were dead and she had prayed for them all she turned to the male that she had nothing but negative feelings for. How Awa and this male came from the same pace was beyond her, how Awa and any of the other sky people came from the same place was beyond her. None of them (except Grace) could see and yet Awa was able too see so much before they truly opened her eyes.

"Thank you" The male told Neytiri with a relieved smile and heaving breaths. It had exhausted him, she realised happily. Good, it was a small price to pay for the massacre he had made. "For killing those things"

"You do not thank for this, they did not need to die" She hissed out with her tail flaring angrily behind her and ears turned fully backwards. Her instincts were telling her to kill the dreamwalker before he killed her but she couldn't bring herself too. She wasn't like the sky people but all the things they had put them trough had soured her heart for them.

He looked at her, taken aback by the sudden aggression she showed. Just a minute ago she was saving him from certain death and now she was seething. "Well, thanks anyways"

Neytiri glare dat the male and turned her back to him not wanting to spend another minute with his ignorant, arrogant self. She didn't want to ever see him again and she would pray to Eywa that he would return home "You are like a child" She called back to him, not missing the opportunity to mock him.

Jake picked up his discarded stick that Neytiri had thrown into the water just moments before. He needed some kind of weapon if he wanted to defend himself, not that it would help him against the goddess before me, he thought to himself. "Well, if I'm like a child, then uh maybe you should teach me" He told her while running through the thick vegetation, chasing after the female Na'vi. He was extremely curious of what they would teach them.

"Sky people cannot learn, they do not see" She replied, still not looking back at Jake. She was jogging away faster than he could keep up. Her body gracefully flowing past all the nature around them, her body carrying her effortless whereas he stumbled around awkwardly.

"Then teach me how to see" He tried again, desperately. Grace would never let him live it down if he let her run away from him. He suspected this was the closest they had gotten to the natives since Awa. Someone he was eager to meet.

"No one can teach you how to see" Neytiri told the male chasing her while skillfully running on the thick branch that lead her closer to hometree. This was also when it started to get really dangerous for Jake, they were closing in on the inner circles of Omaticaya territory and she knew that they would soon run into hunters. They would probably run into Tsu'tey, the one that she was the least excited to see if Jake followed her. Not only are dreamwalkers forbidden on near the hometree but he would get protective and defensive of Awa who Neytiri hoped to Eywa he had not brought. The smallest things would set him off if he had her with him. Jake wouldn't stand a chance if Tsu'tey set his eyes on him.

Jake was having a more difficult time trying to follow her, not really used to being able to walk he more like stumbled along after Neytiri. "But come on, can't we talk?" He asked Neytiri who was adamnent in ignoring the man. "Where did you learn how to speak english, Doctor Augustine's school?"

Jake stumbled again and this time almost fell off of the thick base they were running on but Neytiri catched his arm in a deadly tight grip and steadied him. "You are like a baby" She told him before cursing him out in her native language. The burning feeling of sorrow coursed through her body when he mentioned the school, she had hoped that it would never be mentioned again but the past always caught up with them.

Seeing that Neytiri had stopped and he had her attention he looked at her seriously, he would not screw this up. "Look, I need your help"

She stared at him and said yet another thing in her native language and if Jake wonders what his brother would do, he always knew what to do, what to say. She stared at him in silence, seemingly not acknowledging his words until she spoke in her native language. Jake wondered what his brother would do, his brother knew fluent Na'vi and would have no problem communicating with the beautiful female. He wondered how Tom would handle the situation and if he was proud of him, wherever he was.

"Do you know who Awa is?"

"Awa, I do not know this Awa" She told him but by the small widening of her eyes when he mentioned her name Jake knew that Neytiri was lying to him.

"I know you're lying to me." He told her with a frown on his face. They really weren't off to a good start. "Please, I need to know"

"You are not allowed to be here, go back" She snarled out when he attempted to follow her after she turned her back on him. It wouldn't do any of them any good if he followed her and they were caught even though she had sensed and seen that Eywa didn't want the male hurt.

"Take me with you" He insisted, trying to persuade her into bringing him wherever they where going. He needed to present his progress to the general and bring back something to show Grace that he isn't completely useless.

"No!" She snarled out, her patience was seriously weaning and if he didn't watch it he would be tossed down the abyss. "Go back" Neytiri turned back around and started moving forward again when he rushed after her and attempted to grab her.

"No" He simply uttered before Neytiri pushed him back with her hand on his clothed chest. She was getting more antsy as seconds ticked by, Tsu'tey was gonna be here soon and he would not be happy. Eywa would not be happy if something happened to Jake.

She said something in her native language again and Jake regarded her with a confused look on his face. She pointed the end of her long bow at him and with downwards pointing ears she told him to go back.

The two looked up at the sky when they noticed all the atokirinas that floated over them. They were swaying gently in the breeze as they made their way somewhere, somewhere Jake was not sure of. Neytiri gasped when they came closer, a true sign from Eywa.

Jake attempted to swat one away and was then grabbed by Neytiri who snarled something at him. He wasn't used to these creatures and they were freaking him out. He didn't like it. He attempted to swat them away from him once again when they came even closer to the pair but Neytiri quickly pulled his arm away and through her teeth said "Atokirina" like he would know what that meant.

She repeated the word again when the atokirina all landed on him, making her release his arm and walk back stunned. She had never seen them react like that to anybody before. Eywa must have big plans for this dreamwalker, she concluded. I best get him to mother.

"What are they?" He asked, trying his best not to flick them off him.