I glance around myself curiously, I'm not running this time, in fact I'm sitting calmly on the edge of the cliff I'd always jump off in my dreams, I slowly get to my feet and look around, the dream had never changed before.

A soft sound of footsteps comes from the forest behind me, turning around I can see the faintest of outlines moving toward me, I stiffen, unsure if it was an enemy .

"Hello...?" I call cautiously, the shadow pauses for a moment before everything goes dark...

--

The next thing I know is pain.

Pain radiating through me like I was burning from the inside, my whole body feeling both numb, and excruciatingly sensitive to any touch sensation.

But in what was only a few seconds, the pain disperses and my muscles relax, though the sensitivity was still there.

I open my eyes only to instantly close them again, bright white lights having blinded me again.

I rub my eyes before slowly sitting up, finding myself back in Hells gate, my heart sinking.

I climb out of bed, making my way to the door and pulling it open to find Jake and Max just down the hallway, talking.

Max sees me first and his eyes widen as he runs over "woah! Hey, you shouldn't be up!" He nearly yells, helping me back to the bed, sitting me down as Jake goes to get the doctor and Grace.

Max messes with a scanner beside the bed while I sit quietly, trying to remember what happened, my hands in my lap were shaking slightly, but soon Jake returns with the others.

Grace is the first inside and she comes over quickly, the doctor moving to hook me up to a few more machines quickly for monitoring.

"What the hell happened out there?" Grace demands, angry but it didn't seem to be at me, at least not most of it.

Though I can't help the wince I give at her tone "I...I don't know, I remember we were being led to the Na'vi's home tree, and I was looking around and up, then I think...I think I tripped on something...then there was just blinding pain" I explain in a murmur.

Jake rolls over to beside the bed, looking to me "the clans doctor said part of your queue was severed, your nervous system was going into overload so we had to remove you from the link, but you weren't waking up still, so we moved you here" he explains gently, I frown and nod, heart sinking.

"What about my...my avatar? Will I be able to use it anymore?" I ask solemnly, my hope already fading fast.

Jake looks to Grace then back to me sadly "It's...it may be unusable"

"But...if the queue wasn't fully severed, there's still hope, right?" I ask, looking to Grace, even knowing what I did about the avatars, I still didn't know much about the people they are based on.

"Losing the queue is a death sentence for any Na'vi. Sky-people or real" she explains gently "losing even a bit of your queue is dangerous at best. You won't be able to bond with creatures perfectly, we don't even know that much about the consequences because those who lose their queue don't live long. We assume you'll have a harder time hearing or sensing Eywa, and more. You'll most likely always be in pain from it, unless the Na'vi have a way around that" she continues.

I nod solemnly, heart sinking down to the pit of my stomach, shoulders slumping as I look to my hands in my lap.

"But there is some slightly good news" Jake says, so I look up to him, to see him smiling a little "the clan has agreed to allow me to learn from them, be taught their ways and live with them. And they have agreed to watch over and take care of you. If you want to give it a try, the healing I mean, it will take time" he explains, my eyes widen as I listen.

"They have made the condition that if they care for you, you will help the clan around home tree once you're healed enough to move around" Grace says.

I look to Jake, then to Grace again "this isn't a joke? This is real?" I ask in shock.

She smiles more and nods "Yup, you and the jarhead over there have been accepted into the clan"

My heart soars at that, bringing a bright smile to my face, though it sours a little as Grace continues.

"However, we are going to be keeping you out of the link for a little while, probably a few days, to let both of your bodies rest and heal. Then you can rejoin the clan" she then looks over one of the handheld monitors that Max had handed her.

"And by the looks of it, thats a good call. Your entire nervous system is going haywire. In these links both of your bodies are so deeply connected, that when your avatar body was injured this badly, it's caused your real body to react to something that isnt there for it"

After about an hour of talking with them, I'm giving some heavy sleep meds and put back to bed to rest.

I sleep for nearly a day and a half straight before waking up, though I'm still rather tired and out of it, but I had decided I didn't want to wait so long, so I change into some clean clothes, eat a quick little meal in the cafe, hoping to not draw attention to myself.

I manage to persuade Max into letting me into the link room, then I sneak past Grace and hop into my link, I press the correct button to start it and close the top.

I take a deep breath before closing my eyes and going under.

The first thing I feel is pain, making me whimper softly, my whole body ached and I open my eyes, blinking a few times before siting up, only to yelp in pain as my braid, which had been resting in a large wooden bowl of hot water and oils and herbs, is pulled forcibly up and out of the soothing concoction.

The clans doctor comes in quickly having heard my shouts of pain, he starts talking quickly in Na'vi but I hadn't studied the language very much yet, so I barely understood what he was saying, so I raise my hand quickly in a gentle movement and motion to my ears, then my mouth, hoping he'd understand that I didn't understand.

He seems confused for a moment before nodding and stepping out of the room, then he comes back in after speaking with someone, and he makes me lay back down and very carefully moves my braid and queue back into the bowl, I hiss a little in pain but the heat soothes the pain again.

I'm thinking of how I could possibly help the healing process when I hear someone enter, so I look over to see Jake coming in, the woman that we had first met, following him in.

Jake looks pissed and a bit worried as he comes over "what the hell are you doing Rose? You're supposed to be in bed, back home" he says seriously.

I smile sheepishly at him before the woman comes over as well "Jake has told me what happened. I am sorry. You should be resting" she says softly.

I nod very slightly and smile to her gently before the doctor steps away to talk with her for a few moments.

Over the next hour the woman, I now know as Neytiri, helps the doctor explain that I'd be in a lot of pain for some time, and that I'd need to keep my queue wrapped in cloth and keep it moist and continuously add ointments and poultices to help with the healing and pain.

The doctor then helped and shows me how to add the ointments then carefully wrap it, keeping the braided hair inside the cloth as an extra precaution and protective layer.

After he's finished I look to Neytiri and ask "how do I say thank you?" She looks surprised but shows me so I look to the doctor with a soft smile and says "irayo" as I bow my head slightly in thanks.

He too seems a bit surprised but returns the nod and stands to leave.

Jake helps me to my feet carefully, I keep one hand gently wrapped around my braid, holding it close to make sure it didn't hit into anything or flop around much.

Jake leads me down a small root that acted as a ramp, back down to the ground under home tree, Neytiri following us quietly as Jake leads me over to a small dark corner of the area, away from others, where I find a small hammock made up.

I glance around to see many other Na'vi had followed us to see me, as it was so rare for such an injury to happen, and they knew it was very dangerous and painful to get.

They believe that to lose ones queue is to lose their connection to their people, their beasts, and to Eywa herself, so even an injury would often cause those to have it, to commit suicide, through grief and pain alone.

Jake sits me down in the hammock and tries to shoo away the onlookers but they don't move away much, Neytiri then motions for them to leave, and they reluctantly do so.

I watch the small crowd disperse and return to their normal lives before looking to the woman beside Jake "thank you, irayo Neytiri" I say, nodding my head slightly to her in thanks.

She smiles a little "Rest. Jake must come train with me for now"

I nod again softy, still holding onto my braid carefully, then I look to Jake "go train jarhead" I tease softly, making him smile a little "just don't forget about me back here" I joke.

He smirks a little "I won't. Don't leave this spot, you need to rest" he says seriously, I nod again and off they go.

I wait a few minutes, knowing Jake probably knew I wouldn't stay put, but I was just too curious to stay put.

Once I'm sure he isn't near, I slowly stand, glancing down to make sure my clothes were on properly this time, before I make my way out of the corner, keeping my wrapped braid held to my chest protectively.

I quietly sneak out and into the bright sunlight, blinking a few times to get used to it before I look up in awe at the beautiful tree above me, it's branches looked like it was touching the very edge of the sky.

A child like glee fills me as I move farther away a bit, wanting to get a better look at the whole tree, keeping my eyes up on the huge branches above, watching as the Banshees fly around between branches.

But I let out a soft "oof" as I had backed up into something, yelping as it jostled my braid around, I quickly turn, holding my braid closer as my eyes widen, it was the tall Na'vi hunter from before, the leader of that hunting party, now sat up on his horse once again.

The one that had taken us forcefully to the clan, I gulp nervously and back up a bit, stuttering out.

"I-I'm sorry...I wasn't watching where I was going" I say quickly, lowering my head in what I hope was seen as respect, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my head.

He huffs and drops down onto the ground "sky people should not be here, you will only cause trouble, and only get more injured" he spits.

I frown softly and look up to him now "I was only injured because your hunters were holding knives to our braids" I retort, anger beginning to bubble up in me.

He looks a bit shocked that I had spoken to him that way before he glares down at me angrily "sky people shouldn't have come so close to our home" he snaps.

I huff now and turn my back to him, moving to walk away "I just wanted to come and see your beautiful world. I never meant to get so close" I reply softly, unsure if he'd hear me, and not really caring either way.

I quietly walk to the right of the tree, following the sound of water, making me forget temporarily about the pain, reminding me how much I loved to swim.

I find a small river not far from the tree, so I sit down on the edge and take my boots off, I stick my feet into the cool water and let out a soft sigh.

The water felt perfect, cool and fast flowing.

I glance behind me toward home tree to make sure no one was looking before I carefully climb into the water, going to where it is up to my waist, one hand still holding my braid, the other wading around in the water.

I can't stop the warm smiling lighting up my face as I enjoy this perfect little piece of paradise I had found.

I splash some water onto my face gently before I look down and realize there is blood on my clothing and neck and back.

I glance around once more before unbuttoning and very carefully sliding my shirt off, I sink a little lowing in the water to hide a bit more as I very carefully lay my braid over my shoulder so I could use both hands.

Then I find a smooth palm sized stone, and laying my shirt out over a rock thats sticking out in the middle of the river, and using the stone, I begin to gently scrub at the stain on the shirt, my back now to home tree as an extra precaution.

I didn't realize I was being watched for a good few minutes until I hear something step behind me, I look up and gasp, quickly crouching further into the water, only to whimper as my braid hits the cold water, I reach up and carefully hold it up out of the water, my free arm covering my chest as I see the same hunter again, now standing near the rivers edge, just watching me, strangely.

"What the hell? How long have you been standing there...?" I ask nervously, heart raising and hands shaking from the pain.

He seems to look exasperated "I came to make sure you were not causing trouble" he snaps.

I glare a little "well I'm obviously staying out of trouble. You can leave now" I retort, agitated.

He seems to ignore what I said, in favor of his question "you sky people are strange. Jakesully is in our clothes, yet you still wear those odd things" he gestures to my shirt still on the rock.

I pause, surprised a bit by his questioning "because I've been asleep for days, and I don't know if I'd like wearing your clothing. It's...it shows a little too much for my liking" I reply honestly.

He laughs then at that "so you are a coward" he sneers.

I frown and shake my head, wincing at the movement "no! I'm just a decent person. I'd rather not show off my body like that, I wouldn't be comfortable. I have no issue with you wearing it, you're comfortable and used to it. I wouldn't be comfortable...though I know that is weird to you"

He smirks "you sky people are all cowards" he says again before walking away, as if he had won the argument.

I frown and splash a bit of water toward him, even if he was long gone.

I sigh softly and slowly stand back up, getting back to cleaning my shirt.

I manage to get most of the blood and dirt out, though the blood had left a few stains here and there, which was annoying, but I didn't have any real cleaning supplies out here.

I wring out the shirt and then pull it back on slowly and carefully as I step out of the water.

I grab my boots and quietly wander back toward the tree, holding my boots in my free hand, as I didn't like wearing the boots, and now was the perfect time to discard them when I found my way back to my little corner at some point.

I just enjoy the sounds of the forest and people around me as I wander, watching the children run around and play, some running past me as they play their own little games, I smile fondly after them before continuing on.

I try to keep to myself, not wanting to draw anyones attention, though I knew the clothes weren't helping at all.

I soon see a group of women giving each other piercings and other jewelry, I start to get excited and move a little closer to watch them curiously.

After a few minutes of watching them, they seem to notice me and I start to get nervous, looking away and moving to leave, not wanting to disturb them, but one of the younger girls cones up to me curiously.

I look down to her as she speaks to me, but soon she seems to realize I don't understand her, she speaks a little in broken English "come...ear...jewelry" she says excitedly.

I look up past her to the other women and they all look a bit nervous and cautious, so I decide against it.

Kneeling down to be on the girls eye level, I smile softly and set my boots down, pointing to myself "I can't. I'm not part of the clan, I could get in trouble" I try to explain softly.

She frowns and runs over to one of the women and grabs her hand, speaking in Na'vi and pointing to me.

I slowly stand, picking my boots up as I go, the women, most likely the girls mother, tells her no and then tells her off, explaining in Na'vi that I wasn't allowed to have any of their jewelry unless I earn it.

I smile gently to the mother and nod my head in respect before continuing on, not wanting to cause any more strife or trouble.

Though my smile turns sad as I return to my small hidden away corner and hammock, tired and still a little wet.

I glance around after dropping my boots at the foot of the hammock, seeing a small fire with a small group of people around it not far off, and me still being wet was beginning to make me uncomfortable, so after hesitating for a moment, I quietly walk over, sitting on the other side of the fire to them and keeping my head and eyes down, not wanting to scare them away or make them glare at me.

I stay for a little while, staying silent and just trying to dry off before I'd head back to bed, but it takes a while longer than I thought and soon the sun was starting to set outside, many of the Na'vi start to make their way up into the tree to have dinner where they always gather.

I frown a little but stay silent, keeping my head down, knowing I wasn't strong enough to climb with them, so I stay put next to the dying fire as the others leave.

I stand after a while and grab a bit more wood, stoking up the fire a little.

After most of the clan was gone upstairs, I look up hearing someone climbing down.

Jake comes into view with a bit of food for me, and he sighs seeing me away from the hammock, but he smiles a little as he comes over, crouching down next to me.

"Thought you could use some food" he says as he offers it to me, I take the leaf its on and nod, smiling softly.

"Thank's Jake, go ahead and head back up. You're trying to join the clan, so you need to bond with them more, show them we aren't all bad" I say softly.

He nods a little "I will, I just needed to make sure you had some food" he says and gently slaps my arm jokingly, giving me a warm smile.

I smile back and shake my head before he heads back up.

Unbeknownst to us, the hunter party leader had been watching us, and after Jake disappeared back up the tree, he approaches me.

"Why did Jakesully hit you?" He asks, sounding confused and almost angry.

I flinch and barely manage to contain my yelp of surprise as I look up quickly before rolling my eyes with a sigh.

"Because he was joking with me" I say and shrug a little, wincing at the movement as it shifted my braid more than I thought it would, I gently readjust it on my shoulder.

He seems skeptical as he watches me for a moment before shaking his head and heading up to eat.

I quietly eat my own food tiredly before I put out the fire, afraid it could light something else on fire if I left it.

Then I head to the hammock tiredly, climbing in carefully and curling up into the fetal position, as it was one of the ways I would normally sleep.

Its not long before I fall asleep, the sounds of the forest at night lulling me into the warm comfortable darkness of sleep.

Hope you all enjoyed :)

Sorry for the delay in posting! Been busy with other projects and life being shit lol.

Love you all!

~Ezra