-.-Into the Woods-.-

"Please Jake?" Phoenix begged.

"Yes, I can introduce you."

"Yay!" Now that he had made a connection with the Omaticaya clan - practically celebrities to any of the scientists at base - Phoenix was desperate to meet them and learn all about their ways from the best source: the Clan themselves.

"But aren't you still supposed to be on bed rest?"

"Yes, but I'm dying in here! It's boring me to tears!" She flopped onto her bed.

He chuckled at her dramatics. "Is there anything I can do to help make it not so boring?"

"Yes actually-" She popped back up into a seated position. "-Could you go to the lab and get me my notebook and a breathing mask? And a pen. Please and thank you!"

He was perplexed, but didn't question it, and went to retrieve her requested items.

Later, when she was scribbling away in her book, Miles came by to check up on her.

"Ah, Mr. Head of Security, just the man I wanted to see! This is an idea that's been tickling the back of my mind since I got here: look, a more sleek and easily-transportable breathing mask." She grinned proudly. "My new friends in the lab have been helping me with the technicalities but, according to them, it sounds doable. You see, it's really just a headband with clips above your ears and the screen covers your face - it's barely there!"

"Shouldn't you be resting and not working?"

"I have been resting! It's so boring! Besides, I had to get this idea out on to paper."

"You're doing okay then?"

"Better than okay! I'm dying to get back to it!'

Knock! Knock!

"That'd better not be the Doc this time," grumbled Miles as he stepped away from her again.

"Come in!"

It was not Grace, it was one of the nurses.

"Ms. Vallencourt, good news: you're clear to return to work."

"Oh, thank the goddess!" she cheered, wasting no time in leaping off the bed. She turned to Miles. "Don't worry, Colonel, I won't put in a complaint to the Head of Security." She winked - making sure the nurse couldn't see - and headed out.

"Boy am I glad to see you!" she said as soon as she entered the lab, addressing everyone and everything within.

"Hey, good to have you back, kid," Grace said while bustling around along with everyone else. "How you feeling?"

"I'm back and better than ever!"

"Great and just in time." More bustling around.

"You lot seem busy."

"We are. We're moving out."

"Oh - that's a plot twist."

"I'm not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micro-manage this thing." Grace looked at Jake when she said this. "There's a mobile link up at Site 26 we can work out of, way up in the mountains."

"The Hallelujah Mountains?" gasped Norm.

"That's right."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Yes!" he cheered.

"The what?" asked Jake.

"The Hallelujah Mountains, the legendary floating mountains of Pandora, heard of them?" Norm shot back.

Phoenix leapt up in a cheer. "Oh baby! Here we come!"

"Pack your bags, we leave in the morning," Grace ordered.

"Aye-aye Doc!"

After gathering everything from her quarters and the lab, she headed to Miles's quarters. "I don't believe I left anything here, but I just want to check just in case. However, it's only a few months, so I can probably live without it."

"I don't think you should go."

Her head shot up. "Beg pardon?"

"I don't think you should be venturing so far from base. Especially after what happened last time."

"That was because one of your soldiers mucked around with a gun, none of us are going to do that."

"I don't think you're taking this seriously enough-"

"-And I think you're overthinking it all."

"It would do well to have someone looking out for you."

"And what are Grace, Norm, Trudy and Jake? I don't need my boyfriend babysitting me, no thank you. Even if you are the special Head of Security." She grumbled the last bit. "You want to put a baby monitor on me while you're at it? This is what I came here for. And again, it's only a few months." There it was, that tension between them again. She really didn't want to leave with it so tense between them. "We'll be gone for three months - not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. How about I come back every week? I'll visit and send you my video logs. One of the pilots can take me. Hell, Trudy will be with us the whole time."

Miles stood staring at her, arms crossed, for a long beat of silence. Then he walked over to a set of drawers, opened one, and withdrew something: one of her bracelets.

"Oh, thanks, I thought I lost this."

"Go on, get out of here. See you in a week. And don't have too much fun without me."

She grinned and called over her shoulder, "yeah right - don't have any fun without me!"

"I got special orders from the Colonel to look out for you," Jake told her.

"Colonel Quaritch?"

"Yeah, Quaritch. He asked me to keep and eye on you. Doesn't want the civilian getting into any more trouble. You're our civilian specialist - gotta keep you safe."

"Right..." Screw that. "Well, don't think I'm gonna make it easy for you, Corporal."

"No, Ma'am."

Hmm, so much for her having thought she'd fixed the issue.

And there they were, those ill feelings - again. She pushed - or tried to push - them away for now. They were going on an adventure.

"Hey Nix, you wanna be my co-pilot for the journey?" Trudy asked her as they approached the ship, gear in-hand.

"Hell yeah I do!" She jumped into the co-pilot's seat and put on her headset.

"That's one hell of a fog," she remarked once they reached a certain altitude.

"No kidding," Trudy agreed. "Keep your eyes sharp."

And suddenly, there they were, rising high behind the fog: the Hallelujah Mountains, the legendary floating mountains of Pandora. Legendary indeed.

"Oh my God..." Norm looked about ready to pass out.

"Brilliant!" Nix agreed.

Trudy chuckled around her gum. "You should see the looks on your faces."

"Wait, we're going to be working up here?" Nix asked, swiveling in her seat to look back at Grace.

"I sure hope so, now that we've come all this way. Now eyes on the sky, co-pilot."

"Site 26 mobile link right ahead!" Trudy announced. They touched down. "Thank you for flying Air Pandora."

Grace started showing them around once they were inside. "Welcome to Camp. These link beds are the least glitchy. Workspace over there - kid, you'll be back here."

"Thanks Doc. Oh yeah, this'll be great!" She threw down her pack. "Home sweet home."

Norm was in a bitter mood and had been ever since Jake had told the tale of his being accepted by the Omaticaya Clan. Phoenix was bummed out too, especially seeing as she and Norm were the most qualified and interested of the three. But she was excited for Jake nonetheless. And, of course, he had promised to introduce her.

On the chosen day she was out in the Avatar body, exploring at her leisure. Once again she slipped off her boots and tied them together to carry around her shoulders. She ran through the trees, delighting in her long strides, unlike anything she had ever experienced. She hopped up on a fallen log to cross a stream.

SPLASH!

Unbalanced, she felt herself tipping, then falling, then the cold shock of hitting the water.

She broke the surface, spluttering and laughing, tossing handfuls of the water into the hot, humid forest air.

Finally, it came to the time Jake had arranged. She hurried to the selected meeting spot.

The woman Jake was with became defensive as soon as she saw Nix.

"Wait, wait, this is her, my friend," Jake told her. "What happened to you?" he asked, noting Nix's wet clothes.

"Took an unexpected swim."

Jake turned back to the Na'vi woman. "Neytiri, this is my friend Phoenix. Nix, this is Neytiri, my teacher."

"Hello Neytiri, it's an honour to meet you. I see you." She spoke to the woman and touched her forehead in the correct respectful gesture.

Neytiri seemed pleasantly surprised. She quirked a smile. "Your friend is knowledgeable and respectful. Jake tells me you wish to learn as well."

"Yes please! As much as I can!"

Neytiri's smile grew. "Come, I will show you our village." Phoenix eagerly followed her, a spring in her step, Jake shaking his head and chuckling as he followed behind the two women.

I'm so excited I've already started writing the next book, set in 'The Way of Water'! ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)