Okay Guys. Another one up. I'm on a Roll! Some of you may notice that I use the actual Na'vi names in the translated parts. That's on purpose :) Also, the whole Botany thing going on, is completely made up. The wiki doesn't have much to do with that area. Sorry if anyone seems a little OOC, I get the jist of their personalities from the Wiki, as well as my own assumptions.
If you have any thoughts, or Ideas, or even problems you've found with this, PLEASE do not hesitate to comment. I want this to be as correct as possible, since it is my favorite movie and world.
Darkness. It's become my enemy. I am not as graceful in this body, as I am in my Avatar. I cannot run, or climb. I cannot see, or help. I am, in this body, essentially useless.
So while Jake and Grace soak up the laughs from their storytelling, I am waiting for their permission to go to the link pod. I cannot do it alone.
Norm is upset with us, though I don't know why. He will not talk to me or Jake, and only adds snarky remarks in the story. Perhaps I should ask if him and Grace could come to Home Tree one day, maybe that will make him happy.
"Come on Kita, let's get you introduced to the Omaticaya." Grace states, putting her hand on my back to guide me. Even with my walking cane, I still have yet to learn the way from the cafeteria to the Link room.
"Now, Mo'At is the healer, the psychic for this clan. She will be at your side when you awake. Eytukan is the chief, and their daughter Neytiri is who brought you there, along with the next Chief in line, Tsu'tey. They are a mated pair." Grace pauses, and I can feel her staring at me. "Whatever you do, prove to them that you are as smart and strong as I know you are."
I wrap my arms around her in a quick hug. Her words mean alot to me, since they are the first I've heard them since I became blind. "I will."
She opens the link pod, and smacks the gel. "Good, now let's get you in."
I know I'm connected when my arm begins to hurt. But when I open my eyes, I'm once again met with darkness, sending me into a panic.
"Calm down. You are fine. I will remove the cloth." A woman tells me.
Doing what she claimed, light finally finds it's way to me, revealing the woman. "Thank you for helping me." I tell her, taking in her features. She is an elder in Omaticaya standards, her expression friendly, yet fierce.
She smiles and removes the bandage on my arm to reveal a small scab. "Anyone blessed by Eywa deserves our help."
"What will happen to Jake?"
"Jakesully will be taught by my daughter to see as the people sees." Mo'At states, switching to English.
"What an honor." She gestures for me to sit up, and starts moving my arm around to see if any muscles are damaged.
"Yes, and Tsu'Tey will be teaching you." My gaze flashes to hers, eyes wide in astonishment.
"I- I don't know what to say. I'm nobody special like Jake. I study trees and plants. I'm no warrior."
She raises her hand to silence me. "That is why we need you. With the skypeople tearing down our trees, we need someone like you to help us regrow them, to heal them. Tsu'Tey will teach you what we know of them."
Handing me the proper attire, she stands to give me some privacy. "How do you know that I can do this?"
"Eywa would not have sent you if you could not do what is needed for her survival. You will begin as soon as you are dressed. Tsu'Tey will be outside this room. May Eywa be with you."
"May she shine upon all of us." I reply as she walks out. Struggling with the garments at first, I finally manage to secure the flimsy material upon my body. My arm still a little sore, I cautiously walk outside the room, only to see my savior standing with his back to me. As silently as I can, I manage to walk up beside him. "I see you Tsu'Tey." I greet, hoping that he is not as angered as he was the night before.
"Come." He still is. Wonderful. I wonder if Jake is having a better time.
Tsu'tey leads me to a grouping of direhorses, with Jake and Neytiri. "Kita! Are you joining us today?" Jake asks. I shake my head softly, not wanting to irritate Tsu'tey more.
"This alien will learn nothing… a rock sees more… look at him." I chuckle slightly at my teacher's words.
"He can hardly even walk." I add. Yeah, Jake and I might be in Avatar's, but I paid attention to Grace's teachings.
"Do you know how to make shahaylu?" He asks me.
"Kind of. Grace didn't go into that topic much."
With an eyeroll, he lifts me onto one of the Direhorses. "This is Txur. He is very strong. Make the shahaylu. You and he will become one in mind." He pulls the reins, or antennae of the direhorse towards me, then grabs the end of my braid. "Connect the two. Stay calm."
Taking a deep breath, I do as he says. Instantly, I feel every muscle of the direhorse, every breath he takes. It's as if I am the horse. I gently rub my hand along his dark purple skin, completely excited for this. "Now what?" I ask Tsu'tey, only to see him riding off ahead of me. This man has no patience. "Follow Tsu'tey." I say aloud, and hold on tightly with my legs as Txur bounds forwards to catch up.
The trees and plants fly by me as we leave the Home Tree, Tsu'tey seeing some invisible path that is leading us where we need to go. We come to a stop at a bunch of trees that look like weeping willows. "Utral Aymokriyä. Make the shahaylu with them, and we can hear our ancestors. I show you them, because we fear to lose our past." Curious, I hop off Txur, severing the bond.
"Can you really hear them?" I ask, my hands gliding across the soft pink tendrils.
"Try it to find out." My hand finds the way to my braid, and slowly moves down it to reach the neural fringes at the end. With no hesitation, I connect the fringes to the tree, and gasp as voices of all kinds and ages fill my mind.
I hear children calling for their mother, playing word games with others. Siblings fighting, elders telling stories. All at once I hear it, and I learn it. An elder telling stories of the trees, how to grow them, how to save them.
I must have been listening for ages before Tsu'tey breaks the bond for me. It's only then that I feel the tears running down my face. "Are you okay?" He asks, slightly concerned at my reaction.
I wipe the tears from my cheeks, and nod. "Yes. I just wish we had something like this back home. It's beautiful. You must come here all the time."
"Only those who have lost venture here often. Others are too busy keeping the people fed and clothed." He walks back towards the direhorses, but veers off track a little. "Come."
Following, I soon notice that he is leading me towards the younger trees, one's with blossoms. "Do they seed often?" I ask, curious as to why only one or two have blossoms, instead of the whole lot.
"Once every 40 years. We have collected the seeds, but cannot manage to grow them. Not in the best soil, in the best light. The seeds never change."
I check the habitat around me, notice the lack of light, and the harsh soil with lots of low brush. "You give it the best, when it does not need it. Have you tried matching the conditions found here?" He looks at me oddly, before shaking his head. "Then that is your problem. It seems as though this area was meant for these trees, and they will grow nowhere else."
"Come, let me take you elsewhere. There is another we must know how to grow." With a nod, we both mount the direhorses as he leads me to another area.
It was midday when we left the Tree of Voices, and now it is Nightfall when we reach the new destination. It takes everything in me to not gasp out loud. Tsu'tey has led me to the Tree of Souls.
"Tsu'tey, you trust me enough to bring me here?" I ask, shocked. "But, I am not one of the people, I don't deserve this Honor."
Without a look thrown my way at all, his eyes focused on the tree, he states, "Eywa needs you. We need you. Jakesully is a moron. I knew with your reaction to the Utral Aymokriyä that you would not harm us. The skypeople only hurt us. We must know that our one connection to Eywa is safe, no matter what happens." I look over at him, tearing my gaze away from the great tree.
Tsu'tey cares so much about his people, that to outsiders, he appears mean, vicious. But seeing him now, with him laying this out to me, shows him in a new light. "I will do all I can Tsu'tey. But I make no promises."
"We will focus on this tree tomorrow. We must head back, or you will miss dining with us once again." With a smile on my face, and the Tree of Souls in my mind, I follow him all the way back to Home Tree, still trying to figure out the puzzle that is Tsu'tey.
Back at Home Tree, I notice Jake and Neytiri sitting close to one another by the fire. I go to sit near him, but I'm pulled away by Tsu'tey. He brings me to a spot next to Mo'at, and gestures for me to sit. "Thank you Tsu'tey." I say, sending him a smile. Ignoring me, he wanders off to find someone else.
Mo'at turns to me, a calculating look gracing her face. "Did you learn much?"
I nod, not focusing on eating. "Yes. But not enough. I wish the days were longer, and I did not have to return to my useless skyperson body at night." I tell her, being honest. It was no use lying to a seasoned mother of everyone here, and a psychic at that.
"You are never useless, not in the eyes of Eywa."
"I am when I cannot see."
"You see more than you know. You see more than Jakesully."
With a sigh, I turn to Mo'at, facing her completely. "In my alien body, I am blind. My eyes do not work for me. Not for six years."
She nods, understanding. "But Eywa gave you vision, so you could do her bidding. You are never useless. In time, you will see this too. Just as you see as one of the people."
"Hey Kita!" Jake shouts, stealing my attention. My eyes narrow as I glare at him. He has no manners at all.
"Yes Jake?"
"Let me show you to your hammock."
Turning back to Mo'at, I smile. "I will speak to you tomorrow. Thank you for having faith in me. May Eywa be with you, always." She bows her head as I stand, being careful to not step on any tails as I make my way towards Jake who is now at the exit to the dining area. "Get some manners Jake, you could use them."
"I'll get manners when you learn to fight. C'mon."
Running up roots that have been shaped into stairs, Jake leads me to these levels of Hammocks, each one connected to the tree, as if it were made of vines. "How do you sleep in these?" I ask, curious and slightly terrified.
"Watch." He jumps down into one, lays down, and uses his hands to fold the vines over, cocooning him.
"That's incredible. I'll see you on the other side then." He nods and closes his eyes as I leap into my own hammock. Before I close my eyes though, I think back to all I have learned today. Just like Grace said, everything on this planet is connected in some way. Somehow, these people have managed to integrate themselves into the planet.
I only wish that I could be fully like them, and not forced to live two different lives.
