War Paint

27

Quaritch was in the arms of Tu'sky when he was awakened. The clone looked up, angered that he was awakened. Norm looked at him, his eyes calm along with his face. He looked at both of them. Tu'sky had her arms draped around his frame, and Ma'ki was curled around his sister, his tail intertwined with hers. Quaritch slightly shifted, making sure not to disturb the sleeping Na'vi next to him. It was early morning. Light barely peaked above the floating mountains and rays of light filtered the sky.

"I guess she does care for you," Norm whispered.

Quaritch smirked. "Yep," he said, placing a hand on her arm. "She does care for me."

Norm shot a glare at the clone, and then sighed. "Yes, so I see," he said in a low voice. "You know I won't tolerate you hurting—"

"Stop your fussing," Quaritch said, stroking Tu'sky's arm. "She's a big girl—she can care for herself. And plus, I will not hurt her."

"But you two cannot be together. You are not part of the People."

Quaritch blinked, a scowl on his features.

"And you are not Na'vi," Norm then pointed out. "It can never work. I mean, you don't have a Tsahaylu as well. You can never share that bond. And notably the size difference. She stands three feet higher than you. It could never work."

"Hey, I've seen a Great Dane and a Chiwawa have puppies, don't tell me I can't mate with her," Quaritch sneered.

Norm blinked rapidly, trying to picture a huge dog with a little one, and tried his hardest to picture them mating. "How does that even work?" Norm asked, his tail twitching, and he scratched his head in thought.

"The Dane was female," Quaritch drawled. "It's not rocket science."

Norm shook his head, wanting to forget the image. "Okay, whatever," he grumbled, reaching over to poke at Tu'sky. "Wake up, Tu'sky."

The female Na'vi twitched in her sleep. Quaritch sighed, gently moving her shoulders. "C'mon, babe, get up," he urged.

Tu'sky slowly opened her eyes, looking at her mate-to-be. She smiled at him, and then looked to Norm. "G'morning," she whispered, sitting up, yawning. She then paused. "Time for war?"

Quaritch nodded his head. "Yeah, babe," he growled.

Tu'sky sighed, jabbing at her brother's side. "Wake up, Ma'ki," she whispered.

The little boy turned on his back, looking at his sister with large gold eyes. "Hey, tsmuke," he whispered, reaching out his arms.

Tu'sky sadly smiled, picking up her baby brother. "Okay," she breathed, hugging her brother. She turned to Norm. "NormSpellman, take Ma'ki back to tribe."

He took the offered child, glancing at Quaritch, then got up and walked off. Ma'ki waved to his sister and Quaritch, and the clone returned it with a smile. The boy nuzzled against Norm's shoulder. Tu'sky touched her mate-to-be. "Miles, come with me," she breathed, standing up.

Tu'sky walked towards the village, Quaritch following submissively. The Na'vi adults were all crouching on the ground, having their faces and bodies painted. The clone heard beeping, and glanced at his air pack. Tu'sky was startled by the sound, quickly glancing around.

"What that?" she demanded.

Quaritch reached into his pant pocket, looking at his cell phone, and turned it off. He glanced up at the female Na'vi. "Oh, the sound was this." He held up his cell phone to show her. She was interested, but soon that faded away.

Tu'sky nodded, touching the top of Quaritch's hair. "Come, come with me," she said.

She took him to a sitting area, making the lone sit. Tu'sky took a bowl of red paint, sitting down on the grass. Jake was currently painting his mate's face, and he just happened to glance over. The smaller Na'vi female patted the grass in front of her. "Sit," she stated.

The clone did so, looking at her. "And what?" he inquired.

Tu'sky dipped his fingers into the paint, and Quaritch took in a breath from his mask, and removed it. The female Na'vi then began to paint his face. The red lines went across one cheek, over the nose, and on the other cheek. His lip twitched slightly, and she began to make little dots on his face. He then took his mask, taking in air, and then removed it. Tu'sky took green paint, and began to make other lines under the red ones. After she had finished, Quaritch placed his mask back on.

"Take shirt off," she ordered.

"You like that, wouldn't ya?" he asked deviously, his eyes twinkling slightly.

She rolled her eyes playfully at him, and watched as he removed his military jacket, and saw his white sleeve-less T-shirt. His chest had hair to Tu'sky's surprise. The Na'vi only had hair on their tail tips and head. No where else. His dog tags jingled as they hit each other. Tu'sky reached over, taking the tiny metal objects into her large hand. "What this?" she asked.

"Dog-tags," he answered, and she dropped the metal identification tags, and they clanked with the necklace she gave him. "They identify who I am to other people."

She nodded, unsure of what to think. The Sky People have odd culture, she thought as he removed his white shirt, placing it on the ground next to him. His mask had been taken off only moments ago. She looked at his scarred skin. He felt so real, it was hard to think that he was a fake person. A copy off someone else. She dipped her whole hand into the red paint, and placed her hand over his beating heart. She repeated the process with the green paint. Quaritch then took the bowls full of paint.

"My turn," he said, dipping his hand into the bowl of red paint.

Tu'sky pulled back her hair, and he placed his hand on her collarbone, and used the rest to paint her face. He then used the green paint, placing little dots on her shoulders and a handprint on her stomach. She trembled under his touch, and he smirked. But as he finished up the paintings on her body, he glanced up at her. Her eyes were sad, and she blankly looked to the ground.

"Tu'sky?" he called.

She snapped up her head. "What?" she inquired.

"Are you still worried?" he asked, smearing paint under her eye.

"Yes, I am," Tu'sky answered. "I want to keep saying your name. I still want to say NormSpellman's name, and Ma'ki's . . . I don't want more death."

Quaritch looked up at her. He smeared paint on the other side under her eye. "I will make sure that we will win," he said.

Tu'sky nodded, and then glanced over his shoulder. She saw Ma'ki and several other children start to paint the AMP. "Ma'ki!" she called.

The boy glanced over to his older sister, pain covering his hands. "Yeah, Sister?" he said.

"What you do?" she demanded, standing up, and Quaritch glanced over at the Na'vi children.

"Painting Miles moving shield," Ma'ki answered, placing a handprint on the arm of the AMP.

Quaritch smirked, standing up, grabbing his white T-shirt, and his military jacket. He slipped on his military jacket, not bothering to button it up. It draped loosely on his body. Quaritch gripped his T-shirt, and walked over to the children. He smirk grew as he looked at the large machine. He playfully patted the boy's shoulder.

"I like it," he said.

Ma'ki and the other Na'vi children beamed, and continued their painting. Just then, Quaritch's cell phone rang. Jake's ears perked up, and watched as the clone fumbled with his cell, placing it to his ear. Neytiri looked at her mate, her hands hovering over his collarbone. "What is it?" she demanded softly.

He kissed her nose, and then retreated over to the smaller being. Quaritch nodded, and then said: "Thank you, Rajian." He turned off his cell phone, and turned to Jake. "Blackwood is coming."

Um, I know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone who has a Great Dane/Chiwawa mix. xD I've seen photos!