Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter two of "Gone in the Dark." This chapter introduces Spider and Kiri. I am very fond of their brother/sister relationship. They had so much in common, including being orphans. Stay tuned for chapter four.
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Chapter 3: Brother and Sister Talk
Kiri was sitting on the pier outside the Sully mauri. She had her feet in the water and her hands at her sides. She observed three black-backed dolphins doing bows in the distance. The dolphins were dark gray. Their backs were black starting from behind their blowholes and ending close to their tails. They had an extra set of flippers near their genital slits. The flippers happened to be less than half the size of the main ones. Neural whips extended from behind their eyes. Their beaks were short.
The dolphins reentered the water while letting out two clicks. They did front flips. They hit the water on their stomachs. Two big splashes result from each one. They did three bows before disappearing underwater. All of a sudden, they shot upward with very delightful squeals. They performed three spins in midair. They landed on the backs, two huge splashes coming from each of them.
Kiri couldn't help but smile. She recalled the first time she, Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Tuktiery interacted with dolphins. It happened to be after they learned to ride ilus. They were fascinated with how friendly the creatures were. They weren't too surprised to learn the Metkayina considered them to be their most sacred animal after the tulkun. It was considered a crime to deliberately harm a dolphin, and punishment was exile from the clan.
Her thoughts drifted to her family. She was happy Jake and Lo'ak's relationship had improved so much. The same went for Neytiri and Spider. She understood Neytiri's fear of Spider getting kidnapped and being used as a hostage by the Green Spears. She reassured her he would not do anything rash that would put himself in such a situation. She encouraged Lo'ak to continue checking on Payakan with warriors as backup while warning him to be careful.
She started thinking about the Metkayina royal family. She felt grateful to have see the births of Kiki and Kipling. She saw Tonowari and Ronal as some of the best parents she had ever gotten to know. She loved how devoted they were to their children, especially Aonung and Tsireya. She was glad that she and Aonung were friends now. She liked to tease him over his interest in a girl named Riri occasionally.
Kiri snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps. She looked over her shoulder to see Spider coming her way. He came to her side and seated himself. He observed her kicking up water. She smiled at him as he laid his hands in his lap. He clasped them together and twirled his thumbs around. She swiveled her ears before emitting a soft snort.
"Hey, Monkey Boy," she greeted.
"Hey yourself, Kiri," he responded with a chuckle.
"What brings you here?" Kiri wondered, her eyes showing much curiosity.
"I thought I'd come see you. Grandma is busy tending to Nia's leg wound. I just finished helping Norm patch up that gash on Fkeu's head," Spider explained.
"That gash was nasty when we first saw it," Kiri mumbled, shuddering with disgust. She wrapped her arms around herself. "It looked like someone split his forehead open with a meat cleaver."
"Dad said he saw worse injuries during his time in the military," Spider said and emitted a soft snort. "He has not forgotten the spinal injury he suffered in Venezuela."
"I am sure he thought he would die when he got shot in the back and lost consciousness," Kiri commented.
"I honestly believed he thought that," Spider admitted while rubbing the back of his neck. "He said he joined the military to fight for a cause. That was all he ever wanted in his life."
"He found that cause. It was fighting to protect the Na'vi and Pandora from human expansion," Kiri pointed out truthfully.
"I can never blame him for turning against the RDA. They were causing so much destruction and death. First, it was cutting down the rainforest to mine for unobtanium. Next, it was killing tulkuns to harvest amrita to stop human aging," Spider muttered bitterly.
"Poaching for just horns and tusks was what drove the rhino and elephant to extinction," Kiri said, anger showing in her voice. "The tulkun could've suffered the same fate."
"The tulkun are no longer being hunted for just amrita. They are being harvested for their meat, as are other animals. A hunting party spotted them doing this a couple of months after the skirmish at Three Brothers," Spider explained. "I still feel bad for the critters, even if they are not being wasted. This is especially true for the tulkun."
"I can never understand the human obsession with looking young forever," Kiri mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief. She opened and closed her hands to flex her fingers. "The Na'vi are fine with getting old."
"In human culture, youth is desirable," Spider said with an irritated scoff. "The young can be exploited for labor. When old workers can no longer do the tasks that they could do in their younger years, they are tossed aside like trash for new young workers."
Spider and Kiri looked toward the ocean. They watched two white-spotted dolphins leap into the air. The dolphins were dark gray all the upper part of their bodies. The lower part was light gray. White spots decorated every inch of them with the exception of their beaks and the base of their tails. Their beaks were long.
The dolphins went back into the water. They did leaps upward and landed on their stomachs. This created two big splashes for each of them. They dove deep underwater. Suddenly, they leapt into the air. They turned on their sides, hitting the water. They created two huge splashes each. Spider and Kiri laughed in much delight while swinging their legs back and forth.
"Those dolphins are having so much fun," Spider said.
"I remember when you petted one for the first time. It got so eager to be touched that it accidentally bit you on the hand," Kiri replied, glancing at him. "Talk about ouch."
"No shit. Dad gave me stitches. My hand hurt for a little while. Mom told me I needed to be careful," Spider grumbled annoyingly. "I am glad we are close now, but she can be overbearing sometimes."
"She is only looking out for you," Kiri assured. "You are still human. You are fragile."
He rolled his eyes. "I can take care of myself. I am nineteen years old now."
"Lo'ak and I are seventeen. Tuk is ten," Kiri pointed and chuckled to herself. "No matter what our ages, we will always be children to Mom."
"The same can be said for any child in regards to its mother," Spider whispered as he drew a circle in midair with his finger.
"When Lo'ak flipped Quaritch the bird on both hands, it reminded me of the time Dad told us about watching South Park as a teen. A boy named Craig had a habit of flipping others off. So did his parents and sister," Kiri commented.
"Dad told us everyone would ask Craig if he flipped them off, but he always denied it," Spider said, giving a shrug.
She coughed twice. "Dad seemed to have a fun childhood and adolescence, even if Earth was dying."
Spider bit his lip. He could never imagine living on Earth in its state. He would not be able to tolerate the pollution filling the air and the giant crowds of people going everywhere. He was glad he did not have to wear an exopack anymore. He recalled wincing when Norm poked him in his arm to inject the breathing serum. He hoped the RDA would never find out about it.
"It sucks we got pulled into another war while we are dealing with the RDA," Spider mumbled with a heavy sigh.
"I know," Kiri agreed, looking up at the sky. "I honestly believe our conflict with those vicious bastards reignited the rivalry between the Metkayina and the Green Spears." She lowered her ears, tears filling her eyes. "Some Green Spears say Jake is to blame for so much death and destruction."
"Even if humans never came here, who's to say this rivalry between the Metkayina and Green Spears would not have reignited? The Omaticaya and Red Arrows were involved in a brutal civil war many generations ago. Clans in other areas clash over resources and territory occasionally," Spider explained, swallowing hard.
"The Na'vi have never been perfect. They are capable of making mistakes and doing idiotic stuff," Kiri said honestly.
"Just like humans," Spider murmured. "I am not ashamed of my species. I feel I am more Na'vi than human at heart. I do wish I could take the appearance of a Na'vi sometimes. That would be totally cool."
Kiri laid a hand on Spider's back. She liked him the way he was, though she understood what he was saying. She was grateful to Aonung, Roxto, and their friends for never bullying him. She enjoyed assisting him in playing funny yet harmless pranks on them.
"Tuk has kept her mind off this war by playing with the young kids. She is so fond of Kiki and Kipling. We were really surprised Tonowari and Ronal decided to name their son after the author of The Jungle Book," Kiri said in amazement.
"They thought Mowgli's story was very interesting. They even said I was a lot like him. I have to agree," Spider said and took a deep breath. "I hope Mom and Dad can find Kuai and her hunting party."
She cleared her throat. "Me too. What do you say we go see how Lo'ak and Tsireya are doing with the Green Spears who were recently brought here for medical care?"
He furrowed his brow. "I say we do it."
Spider and Kiri stood up and walked off. They proceeded to sing nonsense as the dolphins headed out toward the horizon.