She is so annoying. She speaks and walks as one of the People, but she is one of them. An enemy. Tsu'tey looked up as Sha'tira was trying to learn Na'vi calls and signals from a young warrior named Leukolo, the runner up to Tsu'tey's own position, and he did not like the way she laughed at his words, smiled at his eyes. Why did he care? She was nothing but a pretender. Even with her false body, she did not resemble one of the true people. Her hair was not completely black, and it was never braided, except for her queue. It was black, with a single strand of gold tracing down her queue. He did not like the way Leukolo touched her. It filled him with a rage he did not understand.

Xxxxx

Sha'tira smiled at the handsome Na'vi warrior that taken it upon himself to teach her a few things while waiting for Tsu'tey. Leukolo flashed a bright smile as he got into a crouch, bow aimed and ready. She copied the motion and felt a slight pain in her stomach after having to pull back the bow and crouch forward.

"Tail down." He smirked, giving hers a smack. She quickly dropped it. "Very good." He said as they stood back up. "Sometimes, an apprentice's tail must be tied to his leg for him to remember to keep it low."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes. They must learn. You are learning quickly. Soon, you will take your place among us."

"Hopefully." She sighed, thinking about her insufferable mentor and her strange feelings for him. She did not love Tsu'tey, that she knew. She didn't even like him, but something was changing and she didn't like that. It'd been a week since she and Jake joined the Omaticaya. She didn't see much of the jarhead unless it was at dinner. Today they were supposed to be going for a ride with them. Last time Jake couldn't even stay on the Direhorse, but she'd seen him improving quickly. Tsu'tey arrived, greeting Sha'tira and dismissing Leukolo without a second glance. He didn't say anything after that as he lead to the horse fields. Neytiri smiled as she approached and came to give her a hug.

"Sup, Tsu'tey." Jake grinned as Tsu'tey glared at him. He nodded to Sha'tira, who rolled her eyes as she mounted her direhorse. It was simple ride, more on Neytiri trying to explain to them the connection of the forest, trying to get them to see the beauty of their hostile planet. Sha'tira didn't pay attention for most of it, she just soaked all of the world in. She was already aware of the connection and the beauty. Now...she was a part of it.

Xxxxxx

Sha'tira sighed as she adjusted the video log. "Do I really have to do this now?" She asked over her shoulder. "I want to look at the samples you got yesterday."

"Yes, now." Grace said as she walked past, arms laden with notes. "After that, eat and get some rest. We're going on a trip tomorrow."

"What? Trip where?"

"Log." Grace said, tapping the camera as she walked past again.

Sha'tira sighed. "Alright. This is log...I think 12,000. Maybe 13,000, I stopped counting like last year or something. Okay, it's only been a week since I officially joined the Omaticaya. It's been...fun." Grace snickered from behind her and she rolled her eyes. "So fun, that Grace took all my guns so I wouldn't 'accidentally' shoot Tsu'tey, or myself, to you know, end the torture of seeing his face everyday."

"Maybe if you stopped threatening to kill him everyday-" Grace began.

"It would be doing us all a favor!" Sha'tira said.

"Hey, can you keep it down?" Jake called from across the lab. "I'm trying to read Grace's book."

"So you can not understand it?" Sha'tira asked. He grinned and chuckled as she turned back to the log. "Okay, in all seriousness..." She sighed. "Learning about these people from second hand accounts are one thing. Being a part of it...that's another thing entirely."

It had been only the third day of her training when the children from Grace's school had approached her happily, speaking with her in English and touching her hair, gifting her with bracelets and rings for her tail and her legs, and a colorful necklace of beads and feathers. Typically, young hunters wouldn't get such adornments until they'd matured in their training, but she couldn't say no to them. Mo'at and Eytukan had seemed more amused by the situation than anything. Tsu'tey was his usual self, unconcerned and every bit of the ass he always was. Training had continued on as before and they went on to practice with the bow for most of the day before Tsu'tey took her out into the forest for tracking.

She followed him, watched intently as he showed her a track in the ground apparently made by viper wolves, but she couldn't see anything other than groups of four little dips in the earth, not to mention that those little dips in the earth were going in all directions. But surprisingly, Tsu'tey knelt down to carefully explain how each belonged to a different wolf.

"They use this to confuse. Many tracks, one pack."

"So someone can't tell exactly how many wolves there are." Sha'tira said.

He nodded. "Now, tell me, which way did the pack go?" He asked, standing up to lean on his bow.

Sha'tira studied the almost imperceptible signs in the dirt and the surrounding forest, trying to see whatever he saw. "Um...east?" She pointed. "That way."

"Is that a statement or a question?" He replied smartassly.

"Um, statement."

"Wrong. They went north. Come, you have much to learn."

She sighed as he started walking again. "Hey, it's my third day. At least I know the language and I don't traipse around like Jake. The way I see it, you got off easy."

"That does not say much." He retorted gruffly.

"Will it pay you to be something other than an asshole?" Sha'tira asked, following him through the forest.

"I am not an asshole."

"You really are."

"Do as I say." He snapped. "Keep up." He took off. She slid her bow onto her back and took off after him. The forest of pandora was so alive, so full of life, and for once she was a part of it. Running through the forest, it felt like the animals were running at her side. She could feel Eywa's heartbeat through the grass, hear her voice singing among her creatures. Pandora was a hostile, beautiful world, a wonderful balance of beauty and danger. It was this world that Sha'tira had fallen in love with. This world, that had made her forsake her own. She stopped running in the middle of a clearing and closed her eyes, opening herself to the world around her. There was no other feeling like it, being a part of something far greater than oneself.

Xxxxxx

Tsu'tey stopped when he noticed his insufferable apprentice was no longer following and turned back to see why she had fallen behind. She stood with her eyes closed, face turned to the sun, so that it fell upon her like rain, highlighting the strange streak of gold in her hair. She was a mystery to him, a very annoying mystery. She spoke like the People. Walked like them, but she was not one of them, nor could she ever be. She was just a demon in a false body. Nothing more. "Sha'tira." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Come."

"Coming." She said, giving him a strange look.

"Stay close." He commanded.

She simply nodded and did as he requested for the rest of the day. It was spent in the forest, trying to get the way of tracking through her thick skull.

Xxxxx

It was late that night after the communal dinner and Sha'tira was still up doing target practice. She inhaled deeply as she brought back the drawstring of the bow and aimed at the target.

"You know, it's a little late to be shooting bows, don't you think?" Jake asked from behind her.

"Yep, but I need to practice." She let it fly and hit the target just off the mark. "Damn it."

"Why are you trying so hard?"

Sha'tira sighed as she walked forward to retrieve her arrows. "Because I want to be good at this. I want to become an Ikran Makto."

"You really like these people more than you like humans, don't you?"

She turned to face him. "I don't like humans. I hate them."

"Why? Aren't you human?"

"I was born a human, yes. But my heart is Eywa's. And one day, I hope she will think me worthy of joining her. Humans wouldn't understand something like that."

"Those idiots down at the base don't account for all humans." He pointed out.

She nodded as she stepped back to nock another arrow. "That may be. But I've seen enough of humans to last me a lifetime." She fired again and once again was off the mark. "Son of a bitch."

"We have time, Sha'tira. To learn all this stuff." Jake said, putting his hand on the bow. "It's okay to take a break." She put down her bow and sighed. "Relax...and tell me how much fun it is listening to your boyfriend talk all day." She smacked him with the bow. "Ow! Damn!"

"He is nothing like that! He is an annoying, conceited, stupid, infuriating skwxng!" She took a deep breath. "What about you and Neytiri?"

"Nothing." He said, rubbing the side of his face.

"Yeah right. I'm going to bed." She said, heading back into hometree. She knew she'd just given away her strange mixture of feelings for her mentor. She hated Tsu'tey, fucking hated him! Why did she feel the need to enforce that so much? She'd completely overreacted, that was true. Ugh, she needed a bath, a nice long soak.

"Sha'tira?" Leukolo appeared around the corner, giving the typical Na'vi greeting. She returned it. "Are you well?"

She nodded. "Just fine."

"You do not look it."

"I'm okay." She froze when she heard heavy footsteps behind her and knew it was him before she saw him. Tsu'tey made a dismissive gesture at Leukolo, and he left, but not without a nod in Sha'tira's direction. "Tsu'tey."

"I thought it was Asshole." He smirked slightly and she rolled her eyes. Why did he have to be so fucking sexy and annoying?

"It is." She growled.

"She should be asleep. You have to go back to the Sky People, since that is what you are."

"You're right. I do." she said simply, glaring at him. Just like that, he switched from sexy to the fucking asshole he always was and she wanted to punch him so badly, but she didn't. She sucked it up for now and made her way to her sleeping place. When she opened her eyes back in the link room, she immediately hopped out as soon as possible and went into her room to shut out the world that she was a part of, not by her own hand.

Xxxxxxxx

"Hey." Sha'tira was busy packing her bag of equipment for their trip to the mountains when Jake rolled up next to her. "I'm sorry for upsetting you yesterday. You know I'm a jarhead."

She smirked. "I know, and it's okay. Besides, Neytiri and Tsu'tey are going to become a mated pair. It doesn't matter if I like him or not. Which I don't. Anyways, let's go, Grace is gonna have a fit if we're late."

"Whatever you say, Doc."

Xxxxxxxxx

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