P.S - Another redo chapter!
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I woke up the next morning, gasping for air. My dream was still fresh in my mind. Things seem to hit me harder, like I lived in my Na'vi life before. And that's what scares me. I threw my covers off me and ran to the bathroom. I emptied everything that was in my stomach, or what was left anyway. I must admit that this was not what I wanted. I just wanted to work with my mom, be normal like I planned. But that seems even further away than I pictured.
"Celene? Are you in there?" My mom called through the door. I wiped my mouth off and flushed, opening the door to give my mom a smile.
"Just getting ready. We going to breakfast?" I asked.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She placed her hand on my forehead.
"I'm fine mom. Come on, like you said, village life starts early." I walked out, still in my pj's.
On our way there we met up with Norm and Jake. I had just finished my makeshift breakfast when we saw them. I waved at them and they waved back. Norm smiled that same smile as always but Jake gave me a questionable look.
"What?" I asked him.
"Celene Sully? You told me you would explain that part, remember?" Jake said and rolled down the hallway.
"Right…well, you see, my mom used to teach the Na'vi. As their teacher but an incident caused the Na'vi to…well, dislike my mother." I told him.
"What happened?"
"I don't know all the details but it seems that the RDA killed Mo'at's first daughter, Sylwanin. After that, they banned all humans from the Omaticaya clan. My mom is forced to study them in secret." I told him. "And if they knew they would send me out. I didn't want my mom to be blamed anymore." Jake placed a hand on my arm and I smiled.
"I always think of you as a sister. Can you answer one more question?" he asked. I nodded.
Jake looked around to see Norm talking to my mom before asking, "How exactly did you get your powers?" He asked. Knew that was coming…
"When I was little my grandmother saw that I had…begun to develop certain things. I gained the power to control plants or earth power as you see in movies or stories. Every time my mom went to work she would train me, to help me control what I have. The only abilities I know of are healing, talking with animals, and connecting with plant life. My grandmother said I might develop more but she said it was unlikely. My genetics are a bit on the rare side, the white hair and eyes. I'm one of only three cases and it seems my dad passed the genes to my mom who had me, so they showed up. Its random selection so don't ask if it skips generation." I told him. Jake chuckled and rolled over to my mom and Norm.
"Ready to go kiddies?" My mom asked.
"Yep." We answered.
"Before you two do….who is this." She held up a picture.
"Mo'at" I answered.
"Mo'at. Dragon lady." I shoved Jake as he chuckled. She held up another.
"Eytucan." Jake said.
"Eytukan." I corrected him. "He's the clan leader."
"But she's the spiritual leader." My mom said. "Like a shaman." She held up the next one.
"T'su'tey." I slapped my hands over my eyes. This boy was helpless.
"Tsu'tey!" I said and walked over to my link bed while Jake settled in his.
"He'll be the next clan leader." My mom held up the last one.
"Neytiri." Jake said.
"It figures you would get that one right." I chuckled as Jake shot a look at me.
"She'll be the next Tsahik. They become a mated pair." My mom told him.
"Well, that ruins your plans Jake." I called.
"And yours for Tsu'tey!" He shot back. Heat flashed on my cheeks while my mom gave me a look.
"Anyway, who's this Eywa?" Jake asked.
"Who's Eywa?" Norm asked him. Oh no, here we go...
"Only their deity. Their goddess, made up of all living things. Everything they know! You'd know this if you had any training whatsoever." Norm said.
"Who's got a date with the chief's daughter?" Jake shot at him.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" I shouted. Everyone in the room turned. I never raised my voice, no matter what the situation was. "It's not a pissing match you two. Jake, lay off. Norm, give him a break, he didn't have training like we had. Maybe he would know if we actually taught him anything. Now, if you excuse me, I have training to do with this worlds biggest asshole!" I closed the case and waited. Man, I hate when people fight.
oOo
Neytiri took us to the river after we woke up and ate. The sky was clear and the air smelled clean, unlike earth's fake air. Back on earth, it was gray all the time. Always covered by smog or pollution. Earth is the worst place to live but here, you can actually breathe in fresh air and not get sick. Bright colors everywhere, the large areas of lush green vibrant forests...it's so beautiful...
When we got the river, there were direhorses. Direhorses are vaguely horse-like in appearance, with very long necks and narrow heads. They are roughly the size of an elephant which means the Na'vi, are giants in appearance. Neytiri took one of the direhorses and brought it over to us.
"Easy, boy." Jake said.
"Pale is female Jake." I told him. The direhorse swatted Jake in the head with it's tail and I giggled. Neytiri calmed the direhorse when it began to shift with uneasy feeling of someone new.
"Okay. Easy, girl." Jake said and climbed on. I laughed at his attempt as he got on as Neytiri brought one of the neural whips over to him. Jake pulled his braid and connected with the direhorse. The pale was startled for a bit before she calmed.
"That is tsaheylu. The bond. Feel her. Feel her heartbeat. Her breath. Feel her strong legs. You may tell her what to do. Inside." She pointed to her head. "For now, say where to go."
"Forward." Jake commanded but the direhorse cried out and charged forward. Jake, not having a good grip, fell face first into the mud. Neytiri and I both laughed and went to help them. Neytiri went to get the direhorse as I helped Jake up just as, Tsu'tey rode up to us with a warrior on each side of him.
"Speak of the devil." I muttered to Jake as he got up.
"You should go away." Tsu'tey said. So he does know English.
"No, you'd miss me." Jake shot back at him. "I knew you could speak English." Then he started to wipe the mud off his body.
"These aliens will never learn. A rock sees more, look at him." Tsu'tey spoke.
"Then maybe, instead of being so hostile, you could help us Tsu'tey. If not, then leave us be." I spoke in their tongue. Tsu'tey's eyes widened. He forgot that I spoke their language did he? I looked at Tsu'tey's direhorse and an evil idea rose.
"Hello." I looked his direhorse in the eyes.
"I heard that someone could understand us. What do you want?" The direhorse huffed.
"Can you possibly do me a favor?" I asked.
"What is it that you want?"
"Kick your rider off."
"With pleasure." The direhorse jumped up and bucked, causing Tsu'tey to disconnect and fall into the mud.
"Told you Tsu'tey. Maybe it's a sign that you should help." I teased. Tsu'tey got up and did he look pissed. He jumped on again gave Neytiri a look. Neytiri said something I didn't catch but Tsu'tey and the other warriors took off.
"Again." She said to us. This time it was my turn. I climbed onto the direhorse and connected with it. When we connected…it felt different. I felt her heartbeat, her lungs breathing, everything. I was one with animal so to speak.
I ordered the direhorse forward but slowly. Moving on my order, the direhorse walked forward. I trotted around in a circle, jumping over a log before I returned to Neytiri. I must've caught my foot because the next thing I knew was that my butt and backside landed in the mud.
"Smooth Celene." Jake chuckled. He reached down and helped me up. I laughed and brushed off the mud as best as I could. This was going to be a long day.
For the rest of the day we fell off and rode the direhorses. Let me tell you, it's hard work and it's a pain in the ass. Once the sun had begun to set Neytiri led us to the bathing pools for clean up. Jake went first then I would. As I sat and waited I picked up a weed and started to fiddle with it. Then I got an idea….
I closed be eyes and imagined that the weed would turn into a rose from earth. I never could get a rose up close before. They were rare and only the rich could afford them. I allowed my body relax and allow my powers form on their own. My hands started to tingle and I felt the weed start to shift. Just as I opened my eyes to check I caught a person fleeing. I looked down and noticed that the weed had actually turned into a bright red rose.
"It's alright. You can come out." I called. Out from a corner stood a girl. She was bigger than a normal sized human, maybe a few inches taller. She had black hair, like the others that were in braids and had deep green eyes. She wore what looked looked like a dress but it only went to her knees. She looked so cute! "Hello there. What's your name?" I asked her.
"Mala." Her voice was small and soft.
"Mala. What a lovely name. Mine's Celene." I told her. She smiled but it was small and her eyes never left the rose I held in my hand. "Mala, do you know what this is?" I asked. She shook her head.
"No."
"It's called a rose. It's an earth flower. It's very rare now." I waved my hand and she came over. I slowly handed the flower to her. She took it in her small hands lightly touched the petals with her fingers; a smile coming alive on her face.
"It's pretty." She said.
"Would you like to have it?" I asked her. She looked up at me and her smile never faltered.
"Can I?" she asked.
"Sure you can. But, can you do me a favor Mala?"
"Sure."
"Can you teach me a few things like, how your people do things? Anything really. Just show me what you do every day. Can you do that?" I asked her. What better way to learn than learn from a child who is learning.
"Sure. My friends and I can even teach you how to play games!" She said excitedly.
"Sure. That's sounds fun!" I told her. Just then Jake came out all clean. I said good-bye to Mala then went to take my bath. The baths were simple holes that had heated water coming from underground and the bioluminescence glowed a vibrant aqua and purple colors. It's amazing how much they use of this planet and how well they live among the other creatures. I never expected anything like this while I was in class.
"Celene are you done in there?" Jake called. I groaned at his interruption and got out. I dressed in my clothes and walked out. "Took you long enough."
"I'm a girl Jake, we need time to ourselves you know." I told him as we walked to dinner. Music was playing again, only they didn't stop when we entered.
"Celene!" I turned to see Mala waving at me. I smiled and maneuvered over to her and her friends.
"Hello Mala. Are these your friends?" I asked.
"Yep. Do you want to eat with us?" she asked. I nodded and sat down beside her. We began to talk about what they do and they asked about earth. I told them all about it and how it was. They all agreed that they didn't want to go to earth.
Ever.
"Celene, you sang last time. Can you sing now?" asked Mala's friend Dus'ky. Dus'ky was the same height as Mala and had the same color hair but her eyes were golden. Dus'ky wore a wrap and a loin cloth like I was but it was a blue color.
"I don't know Dus'ky. You'd have to ask. I don't want to interrupt anything." I said rubbing the back of my head.
"NEYTIRI! CAN CELENE SING?" both Mala and Dus'ky called. I tried to hush them but the room became dead silent. Shit…..
"Will you sing Celenesully?" Mo'at asked.
"I…uhh….why not." I said and cleared my throat….
As I sang, I noticed that I didn't mind it so much when I sang for the children. They watched me in awe and wonder at I made my fingers dance to the song, playing it out for them with sweet harmony and rhythm. They giggle and smile at me as I neared the end of the song. They swayed to the melody as if memorized but the tune.
When I was done singing, I sat back down, their applause making my face turn red but I smiled at them anyways.
I could get used to this….
oOo
"Video recording 3. Date, May 21, 2154. Location, Bio-lab. It's been three days since I got here and already I'm starting to a feel a connection. This place is…wow, I can't even find any words for it. Pandora is like a better Earth. If only Selfridge and the others didn't care so much about money. Can't they see that this place shouldn't be touched like that? I agree with my mom on this. Pandora and its inhabitants should be only for those with good or scientific purpose. And besides, this place changes people. The Na'vi are a mystery to me and yet I feel like I've been here before. It really does change something in you."
"Celene, I need to get something from command. Wanna come with?" Max called.
"Hold on!" I turned back to my log. "Got to go. Until next time!" I clicked it off and jogged over to Max.
"Ready?"
"As ever."I told him. Max left and we walked out of the Bio-lab. On our way there I told Max about everything that has happened, including my dreams. Max was quiet for a moment before I said that I should listen to Sylwanin and Eywa. What ever they wanted me to do must be important. I nodded and continued to climb the steps to command.
"What else can you us about the structure?" That was Colonel Quaritch's voice. Max and I stopped to see Jake talking to him and Selfridge about the Home Tree.
"I'm guessing that this secondary ring, that's also load-bearing." Jake said, showing them on the hologram.
"What is Jake doing." I hissed at Max.
"Come on. You mom needs to hear about this." Max grabbed my arm and dragged me away. If he didn't have such a strong grip on my arm then I would've marched right in there and kicked Jake's ass.
I watched as Max talked with my mom. She looked down right pissed. I wanted to speak up but I guess I was still trying to wrap my mind around Jake giving information to RDA. How could he? Didn't he feel a connection to this place? He has too. There was no way a person can come here and notice that this place was different than the rest. How could he?
"Tomorrow we'll pack up and head into the mountains. There I can do my work in peace and Jake can hopefully understand Pandora without Parker on his back." My mom said to Max.
"But what if he doesn't?" I got to my feet. "What if he doesn't understand Pandora like we can. Why does it always have to be about money and power? Why doesn't it have to do with life? Why can't they understand that they're doing the exact same thing they did on earth?" my voice rose and I looked at the two people I cared most for in my life.
"Celene, I know this is hard but you have to trust me. Jake will come around, you'll see. Why don't you head back to our room, get some rest. You've had a long day." My mom said. I sighed and nodded. Maybe rest was what I really needed. But still, if Jake couldn't see why Pandora is so special, then I'll make him see. I will. I will not allow this place to end up like earth. Cold, bare, lifeless….
No, I will not allow it. I swear I will protect this place with my life if I have too….
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