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AVATAR:
LIFE GOES ON
(Part Three)

Kiri was at her wit's end with Spider. His aloofness ever since returning to the Family weeks ago had gone beyond ridiculous. She knew he was going through something overwhelming. But for as long as she could remember, they had both been there for each other. There was nothing that they didn't feel comfortable sharing with the other.

Well, almost nothing, Kiri thought. She had not old him about what she did during the battle. Never before had she used the bond with any creature to kill. But what was more disturbing than that act was that while she was doing it, she felt like she had been watching it happen, like a passenger riding with a master ikran rider, holding on for dear life. She had told her father that Eywa was just there, like a word waiting to be spoken. In that moment, when she connected to the anemone, that word was spoken with a shout. It terrified her. She would tell Spider about it. But first, she needed to help him get past whatever it was that had him so troubled. She had always held to the belief that one should not unload their own problems on someone who was already dealing with problems of their own.

Suddenly, clarity came to her. Perhaps if she could get Spider alone and could tell him about her experience and how it made him feel, he might open up and finally tell her what was bothering him so much. With determination, she set out into the reef village to find him, so that they both could put this whole awkward matter behind them.

One thing about the village was that it was far more open than her home in the forest had been. There were not too many places to go that were you couldn't see other people, or where they couldn't see you. The shade rooms clustered about the village center allowed some privacy, but they weren't the sort of place one went to if they wanted to be alone. For solitude, one would likely go into the thick wooded area behind the village, which could take quite a while to navigate on foot, for a human, even if he had spent all his life running through a forest and climbing trees. But for a Na'vi, whose body was built for great dexterity and speed in most environments, it was an easy trek.

Kiri made her way along a heavily traveled path into the woods, which was the most likely route Spider would have taken. Where he would go beyond that would be a mystery. Kiri sat down on a nearby rock and closed her eyes, opening herself up to nature around her. She had done this a few times before, when she needed to find one of her siblings who had been somewhere else in the forest back home. She still didn't know how it worked exactly, but it somehow felt like asking the trees and animals if they could see the person she was looking for, and then getting a response that felt like remembering seeing the person herself. It was yet another thing that made her feel like a freak compared to the others, but recently, especially after her parents had told her what Neteyam had told them about Eywa's message that she would get her answers, she began to feel a lot more secure.

There you are, she thought as the life around her revealed Spider's presence. The response came a lot quicker whenever it was Spider she was searching for. The fact that he was human made him shine like a beacon to nature. Something that didn't belong but was undeniably there. Kiri stood up and set out off the path into the deeper woods at a brisk pace.

Spider was sitting on a tree limb, gazing out at the horizon, like he had often been seen doing. "Hey Monkey-boy!" Kiri called up to him as she entered the small clearing next to the tree.

Spider was startled out of his troubled musings by the sudden shout from below. He hadn't heard anyone approaching, but then when a Na'vi didn't want to be heard, he or she was not heard. Seeing Kiri looking up at her with that beautiful smile, his heart fluttered. For a moment, his inner conflict wavered, but not enough for him to give in to the joy he wished he could express. "Hey, Kiri," he said emotionlessly.

Kiri felt her smile fade from her face. the feeling of insecurity and self-loathing she felt radiating from the human boy was overwhelming. Great Mother, what is he going through? "We need to talk," she said, her voice quavering with emotion.

The pain in Kiri's voice got Spider's attention. He could argue with himself and hate himself all he wanted to, but he would not be the cause of pain to Kiri. Besides, he had resolved days ago to talk to her about his trouble. But every time he thought he was going to go through with it, fear of losing her welled up, and he stayed closed off. "I know. Let me climb down."

"I could come up," She offered.

Spider smiled. "When I say what I want to say, you may want to throw me out of a tree, so it'd be safer for me to climb down"

Kiri chuckled. "Now that sounds like the Spider I know."

A few moments later, they stood facing each other.

"What's got your tail in a twist, monkey-boy," Kiri asked with a serious one.

Spider sighed. There was no backing down now. He was conflicted over what to say. There were two major issues. One was the fact that he had saved Quaritch's life, and the other was that he loved her. Both needed to be said, but he realized that the latter was more important than the former. What did it matter if she hated him for saving the life of her family's greatest enemy if she did not feel for him what he felt for her? Either way, he knew he was probably going to lose, but he had to know where he stood with Kiri in this moment. 'Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, he thought, remembering that line from an old poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson he had found in the RDA database. He couldn't think of a better statement concerning his situation.

The pain Kiri saw on Spider's face nearly broke her heart. She stepped forward and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. Whatever it is, I'm here for you."

Her tone and touch caused Spider to relax and gave him the resolve he so desperately needed. He looked up into her eyes and smiled weakly. "Do you like me, Kiri?"

Kiri smiled. "Of course I like you. We've been close for as long as I can remember."

"No," said Spider, smiling back. He had to do better. "I mean, do you like me?"

Kiri looked at him in confusion for a brief moment. Then her eyes widened as realization hit her. Her skin turned a deeper shade of blue. "Oh," she as she took an involuntary step back. She was not expecting this. He was driving himself crazy, and her with him, over whether or not she liked him? No, she thought. This is only part of it.

Spider sighed as he read Kiri's body language. The way she pulled her hand back and even backed away from him seemed clear. "You don't," he said, matter-of-factly.

Kiri was quick to recover. "No... I mean Yes... I mean..." Her voice trailed off. Truth be told, she had been struggling with her feelings for Spider for a long time. But there were so many other things that seemed to be so much bigger. Who her father was. What the Great Mother wanted from her. Why she was so different. And now, why she had so much power at the end of the battle. She had been carrying such a heavy emotional burden, and she needed to be able to share it. She realized in that moment that she needed Spider as more than just a friend. She needed to be able to bear her soul to him. In an instant, every good feeling she ever had while spending time with the young human invaded her mind like a flood. He needed to know how much he truly meant to her. "I mean, Yes. I do like you."

Spider's expression shifted from hurt to wonder. He swallowed hard. "You do?"

Kiri stepped forward again and placed a hand on both of his shoulders, looking into his eyes. "I see you," she said.

Spider couldn't help himself. He stepped forward and embraced Kiri, and he broke down in tears as he felt her return the embrace. He realized that she was crying, too.

They just held each other like that. Their emotional outburst relieving the emotional tension they had both been feeling for so long. Both feeling isolated and alone in their own way and now finally finding belonging with each other. After a little while, they sat down next to each other at the base of the tree Spider had been in.

Kiri told him about how scared she had been for him when he had been taken prisoner. How every day without him felt so empty. How seeing him again brought so much joy to her heart. All of it.

"I missed you, too." Spider said. "I didn't know if I would ever see you again. Any of you." He also told her of the atrocities he had witness as his father had dragged him along trying to track the Sullys down. The horror he felt when he stood there as the man held a knife at Kiri's throat. "I thought for sure I was going to have to watch him cut your throat. I know your mom would have killed me if he didn't let you go. And I was fine with that. If he had killed you, I would be dead inside, anyway."

"I was sure that he was going to kill me," said Kiri. "But he spared my life to save yours. That he was capable of mercy makes me regret begging Dad to kill him."

"You don't want him dead?" Spider was shocked.

Kiri thought for a moment. "He had caused our family so much pain. He had destroyed so many lives. And yet he showed compassion, which means that some small part of him was not corrupt. You are alive because he let me go. I saw the fire in Mom's eyes. She would have killed you if he had not let me go. I regret telling dad to kill him for your sake, Spider." She looked him in the eyes. "Yours. Not his."

Spider breathed a relieved sigh. "I saved his life, Kiri."

She took a step back. "What?"

Spider did not see anger in Kiri's expression. Just surprise at the news. "I was escaping from the ship. I saw him down there unconscious, but somehow still holding his breath. I wanted to leave him there, but I couldn't." He stepped forward, and when she did not step back again, he continued. "He had a knife to your throat. I was sure I was going to watch you die. And I knew that your mom would have killed me, and I wouldn't have cared." He paused, shaking his head. "I have no loyalty to him. But he spared your life, so I spared his. For your sake."

Kiri was conflicted. With her family's tormentor still alive, there would be more problems ahead. But that Spider gave the man his life because he had chosen not to kill her was too much like her own thoughts to fault him. But there was one thing she had to know. "Are you keeping any more secrets?"

"No," he said without hesitation.

Kiri saw no lie on his face. She knew that the fact that the demon man was still out there was a very serious matter, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. If he came at her and her family again, she would not hesitate to kill him if she could. As far as she was concerned, he had earned his continued existence by making a choice that allowed two people to continue living. That satisfied the balance of life Eywa demanded. But the debt, if it could even be called such, was now paid. "So, tell me. Which secret did you think I would throw you out of a tree over?"

Spider was not expecting Kiri to joke with him at a time like this. But he suddenly felt a lot better. Perhaps the world wasn't coming to an end, after all. He couldn't help but laugh. "Both," he answered, and the smile she gave him warmed his heart. "Now I just have to hope that your parents don't kill me for either."

Kiri reached out and took his hand, and they walked that way back to the Reef Village. Her dad would likely be understanding when he sees that she has Spider's back. Her adoptive mother, on the other hand... She would be the hardest to deal with. She never had liked Spider very much. After this development, she would probably hate him. This could divide the family. Kiri didn't want that, of course. But if it came to it, and Spider was disowned, She would go with him. If her mother wanted to keep what remained of the family together, she would have to just accept things for what they were.

O O O

Jake had a splitting headache. It was something that he seldom experienced as a Na'vi, due to the innate resilience of the species, but occasionally, it happened. He had made the mistake of spending too much time out at sea at the hottest part of the day. He was determined to become as efficient as any other Metkayina, using the same stubborn Marine Cops logic he had applied to his training with Neytiri to learn to be a Na'vi at all. But among the Omatikaya, the thick forests provided more than ample shade, and there was always plenty of fresh water to be found. But here, in these islands, where the sea was the source of every resource needed to help the village thrive, there was no shade from the sun. And the clear ocean waters reflected and magnified the light.

Most of the native Metkayina returned to the village in the heat of the day, either to home where they would sleep for a few hours before going out again in the cooler evening. But Jake was determined to push himself. Enduring the heat was a challenge that needed to be overcome, and only by pushing himself would he be successful. The pain in his head was so bad that it made him nauseous. Get it together, Jake, he scolded himself. He shook off the urge to vomit only for a moment before it not only came back, but proceeded to kick him in the ass. He leaned over to the side, glad his hand was still securely tied to his tsurak, and projectile vomited into the water.

It was at that moment that Tonowari pulled up on the other side, riding his own tsurak.. "Are you alright, Jakesully?" he asked with a concerned tone.

Jake quickly pulled himself upright, turning to face the Olo'eyktan. "I'm fine. Just a really bad headache."

Tonowari looked up at the blazing sun directly overhead and then back at his friends face, his concern deepening as he noticed the purple splotches on his skin. "Great Mother," he said. "How long have you been out here, Jakesully?"

Jake resisted another wave of nausea. "Only since dawn."

"Only since..." Tonowari trailed off and his expression of concerned turned into what Jake could only imagine as the expression he himself wore if he needed to scold one of his children. "On a day like this, with not a cloud in the sky, staying out that long is a good way to cook your brain."

"Heat stroke?" Jake asked, using the English words for what Tonowari had described. "I hadn't thought about that." He was about to say something else, but quickly turned away and vomited again.

Tonowari rolled his eyes."Jakesully, I admire your determination to keep improving your endurance, but do you see anyone else insane enough to be out here at this time?"

"I see you," Jake said with a lopsided smile.

Tonowari blinked, looking confused for a moment before catching Jake's attempt at humor. In the context of his question, and the fact that he himself was out there at that time of day, the traditional Na'vi greeting also served as a valid answer. He chuckled. He really did like this man. While there was an air of naivete about him, he was a good person with a good sense of humor, and having been Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya, he understood the burden of leadership. "I see what you did there," he replied, finally having an opportunity to throw out a little human wordplay that he had been picking up on since the Sully family had come to live in his village. "But all joking aside, you really need to get home, and drink some fresh water and lay down."

Jake turned away and dry-heaved a couple of times. After composing himself, he looked over at his friend and nodded. "Not gonna argue with you," he said. At that moment, his Tsurak heaved out an underwater blast of its own vomit, and Jake realized that through the bond, the animal could feel exactly what he was feeling. "Sorry, boy," he said, reaching down to pat the creature. Take us home quickly but gently, he commanded through the bond, and the creature wasted no time in complying.

Tonowari smiled, shaking his head. He wondered if his friend would ever relax and just be or if he would spend the rest of his life not only doing things the hard way, but inventing ways to make them harder than they needed to be, just for the sake of a challenge. As far as Tonowari was concerned, life was already challenging enough. He willed his own tsurak to follow. Behind him, tiny sea creatures were already devouring the most recently deposited debris in the water, not caring where it had just come from.

It only took about five minutes to get back to the village. The waters were calm today, and the steady pace they set made excellent time. Tonowari helped Jake back to his hut, and quickly poured a cup of fresh water, which jake gulped down, gratefully as he reclined on the floor.

"I need to speak with you about another possible storm on the horizon," Tonowari said.

The sky was completely clear in all directions today, so Jake assumed that this was another figurative storm that the Chief was referring to. Now that he was out of the sun in a much cooler environment, he was feeling a lot better. "I'm listening," he said.

"Last night, Aonung came to me," he informed Jake. "He told me that he had made his decision on how he would proceed in his future role in the clan. He has chosen to pick a woman from among us and once Ronal considers her to be ready to become a Tsahik, they will leave to start their own village on another island. I would have preferred that he marry the future Tsahik of another tribe to forge a new alliance, but our numbers here are growing, as he wisely pointed out. Too many in one place for too long can become unsustainable, so his decision will solve that problem before it happens, as some of the people will follow him."

Jake nodded. "Are you concerned that he will break with tradition and challenge Lo'ak after he becomes Olo'eyktan?"

Tonowari shook his head. "I had considered that, but after our children fought together in the battle, any notion of rivalry Aonung had towards Lo'ak has been replaced with respect. He intends to serve as First Warrior until the woman he has chosen comes of age for the union ceremony. The good of the tribe will be his focus. He will not undermine the order of things simply because the future Olo'eyktan started out here as an outsider. So that is not the storm I see on the horizon."

It may not be the storm, Jake thought, But it must be connected with it somehow. "So what is the storm?"

Tonowari fixed Jake with a level gaze. "The storm is the woman he intends to choose."

The headache that had been going away was suddenly back as he realized what Tonowari was suggesting. "Kiri," he stated.

Tonowari gave a single slow nod."

"Oh shit," Jake whispered. He knew that his adpotive daughter and Spider were more than just friends, though neither had admitted it to each other yet, as far as he knew. He did not want to complicate things that were already complicated enough for the two. But the solemn, no-nonsense way Tonowari was presenting this information made it clear that this was a matter of tribal politics, not just two fathers talking about the possibility of their children dating each other. He could not refuse the arrangement without offending Tonowari, as it would call Aonung's honor into question, and the boy had proven himself to be honorable. He also could not claim that Kiri was already spoken for, because he had not given his blessing to for anyone to court her. Of course, Kiri could refuse, and she probably would. "If Kiri is willing to also choose him, I have no objections."

"You are her father, Jakesully." Tonowari said. "You can insist that she accept my son."

Jake had not yet revealed the truth about Kiri's birth to Tonowari yet. But it was time. "Kiri is not our blood-born daughter," he said. "She was given birth to by the Avatar of a good friend who is with Eywa now."

Tonowari's eyes widened. "And her father is also with Eywa?"

Jake shrugged. "We never knew who the father was. Or is. Grace had never mentioned being in a relationship with any Na'vi, or anyone else in the Avatar program, while she was alive. And after her death, and her Avatar's pregnancy was discovered, nobody stepped up to claim responsibility. Neytiri and I agreed to take care of the child when she would be born. But because neither of us are her true parents, we cannot compel her to agree to an arranged union."

Tonowari nodded. This complicated things in terms of tradition and custom, but it also presented a solution. "So she is free to be with her human after all."

It was Jake's turn to widenn his eyes. He hadn't mentioned Kiri and Spider's relationship, unofficial as it was, to anyone outside of the family.

Tonowari laughed. "Don't act so surprised, Jakesully. Anyone with eyes to see can see that those two share something special. The way they held hands the night we laid your son to rest beneath the water..." he bowed his had and made a gesture of sorrow, "...was a clear sign. It is for that reason I had no objection to naming him a part of the tribe, even though he is human. Ronal did not like it, but when I told her that he and Kiri clearly shared a bond, that changed things. You have every right to bring anyone you choose into your family, Jakesully. You would not have brought this human in as you did unless you truly considered him worthy. And that is good enough for me."

Jake was satisfied with that statement. But there was an unspoken but at the end of it. "But," he prompted for Tonowari to continue.

"But a relationship between a human and a Na'vi cannot serve the needs of the people." the Chief said. "I know you were once human. But now you are Na'vi. Does this boy have that option?"

Jake though about what was just said. It was true. a human and a Na'vi were biologically incompatible with each other. It required advanced-level gene splicing to make the first Avatar body possible, and there had been several iterations since. Memory could be integrated, and higher brain-function autonomy was possible, as the return of Quaritch in Na'vi form attested to. And he knew that Eywa could move a soul from a human body to an Avatar. So technically Spider could become a Na'vi like he had. IF he had an Avatar body to be transferred into. The lab back at the Omatikaya high camp was not equipped to create an Avatar, even with genetic samples readily available. After the Battle of the Tree of Souls, they were hard-pressed to restore Norm Spellman's Avatar to health, after it had been almost fatally wounded by machine gun fire. "Not here on Pandora."

"I will not forbid the relationship," Tonowari said. "But before it is allowed to go too far, they must understand that they will never have the connection that a Na'vi is meant to experience. The boy may get fulfillment, but Kiri never will."

The bond, Jake thought. They will never be able to share the bond like Neytiri and I experienced. As a human, he had been with women before, but even in the closest relationship he had ever enjoyed, he had never experienced anything that could come close to what the bond allowed them both to feel. He could feel everything Neytiri's body was feeling as well as what his own felt. And he could feel her feeling everything he felt, including that. There was no human concept for the level of intimacy that the bond allowed. On top of the physical experience, the emotional experience was shared as well. Navi mates became one in every way. He tried to imagine his life without that, now that he had experienced it."I certainly could not imagine my relationship with Neytiri without the bond," he admitted. "But if Kiri never experiences the bond, then they will have the same frame of reference as any human couple. And many humans have a life-long relationship whether or not the have children. Some adopt. Others are content without children."

Tonowari shook his head. "Your world truly is uncivilized. But I will take your word for it. I still do believe that Kiri should understand what her choices can lead her to, or away from."

"That's fair." Jake said. "But we are looking at a few years before she will be ready to make that choice. I won't oppose a union between your son and Kiri, if she chooses him. Neytiri and I will talk to her about it when we feel that the time is right. But Aonung needs to understand that for now, Kiri and Spider are strongly connected, and he will do himself no favors if he attempts to come between them. Kiri's love of Eywa is very strong, and she will do what she feels that the Great Mother wants."

Tonowari sighed. "This is reasonable. I will advise him to start by becoming as close a friend to both of them as he possibly can. He won't like it, but I will present it to him as a challenge. He doesn't trust your Spider."

"Trust is difficult to earn," said Jake. "And easy to lose." He still remembered how Neytiri had reacted when she first learned the real purpose behind him coming to the People. He had to become Toruk Makto to regain her trust. "But I believe that Spider will earn all the trust he needs."

"We are in agreement, then," said Tonowari. "We shall let things be as they are, and progress how they will, and leave it up to the young ones to do what is right in time." He extended his hand towards Jake.

This was the best outcome Jake could hope for. He had not offended Tonowari, and he had bought time for Kiri and Spider to figure out their relationship while Aonung would understand the need to keep his distance, romantically. He knew there were bound to be rough waters ahead, but for now it would be smooth sailing. "We are in agreement," he said as he clasped arms with Tonowari.

"I shall take my leave, then," Tonowari said, standing. "Get some rest, Jakesully. And don't stay out all day in the sun, tomorrow."

And that was Part Three.

I know that there were fewer scenes in this one, but the two I wrote were a lot longer thanthe ones in the first two parts. I'm probably going to write one or two scenes in each part going forward, but I want to put some real substance into them.. I also want to keep them varied enough that no single character gets more scenes than the others, which means I will write for Lo'ak, Tsireya, Tuc and Ronal before I cycle back to Kiri, Spider, Jake and Tonowari. Not indicating an order I'll be writing for them in. Just that I want to cover everyone as evenly as possible. One thing that I DO want to write is a Kiri/Ronal scene where they talk about the proverbial elephant in the room: Kiri's powers. In The Way of Water, we saw Ronal watching Kiri control sea creatures, and she seemed amazed by it. So I want to put those two together.

I've got a Tuc scene coming up that's just meant to be just cute fun as she finally gets to go it solo with her ilu after she had to spend a week quarantined because of her reefblight. And I want to give Lo'ak a scene with Payakan that really gives him a sense of love and wonder for the sea.

I know some of you are probably wondering whether or not I'm going to write any scenes for Quaritch. The answer is "Yes." Quaritch has a lot of personal reflecting to do. I don't think he is unchanged by his recent experience, and he's going to have to figure out what that means for him. But I don't want to dive into that pool until at least after Spider tells the family that the man is still alive.

I am also open to scene ideas from you guys. If you'd like to see one of the characters do something or talk to someone about something, feel free to message me. If your idea can be worked into the story in a way that makes sense, I'll be glad to include it in a future part.

Well, I think that gives a little preview of what's on the horizon. Again, I do not have a timeframe for when the next part will be posted. But I'm committed to this series and seeing where my muse takes me with it. Thank you for reading.

Until next time, be blessed.