Blinding lights, Eywa, please guide me through

Spider was strapped into a large machine for interrogation, at least that's what the butthole general said. He started pretty confident; he'd never give up his friends or High Camp. The fear settled in pretty quickly. The constant green lights and metal whirring sound in his head started to hurt. Suddenly, it felt like a knife had been stabbed through the back of his head. He thrashed as much as he could, the same questions over and over. ‘Where is Jake Sully?’ ‘Where is the resistance located?’ Both his verbal and mental answers evaded them all. He won’t give away their location. 

As the interrogation continues, the voices around him start to fade and his vision blurs. His eyes roll back like he's about to pass out. The last image he projects is of his mom’s picture, the one he keeps above his bunk bed at High Camp. His vision blurs further and then goes black. It feels like a part of his mind simply snapped. He feels the machine stop. The pain stops with it, but everything's still dark. Spider hears voices again; his hearing is still muffled. He can tell it's Quaritch; the beborn-demon’s low-accented voice is unmistakable, and the general's voice still grates on his eardrums. They're talking about him, he can tell, feels it in his numbed bones.

The restraints are removed, and he falls, his arms move on instinct to catch himself. He feels two large, strong arms catch and lift him. “Whoa there, tiger, can't have you crackin' your skull so soon, I just got you outta the thing.” Spider hears Qauritch speak, but can't focus on that; it's still so dark. Did the machine knock out the power? Big facilities like this are supposed to have emergency lights. “Come on, kid, let's get movin’.” He hits Spider on the back, almost causing him to topple over. Large footsteps heading away from him. Of course, the Navi abomination is fine in this darkness, but Spider definitely isn't. 

He hears people around him go about their business. How can they see where they’re going? His heart rate skyrockets. “Kid, I dont got all day, move your ass now!” Quaritch is getting angrier. He was moving closer now. Spider feels a strong, annoyed grip on his arm. Spider doesn't know what to do, so he speaks. “I… I can't see” the pressure on his arm softens and the movement around him stops. Spider tilts his head up, looking up at what he believes is the man's face. “I can't see anything.”

……….

All Miles could do was stare down at the boy. Two dull white eyes, that's all he saw. The kid wasn't looking at him but through him. His breathing slowed as the kids picked up. “Why can't I see? Why can't…WHY? WHY?” Spider was getting frantic, grabbing onto Miles like a lifeline, begging him for an answer. Miles had planned to do this differently. The kid would be taken back to his cell, and his “old man” would have a heart-to-heart with him. Offer to get him out of there, take him back to the forest as a guide. 

Plans changed, he grabbed the crying kid and hauled him up, carrying him out of the room. He grabbed a human mask while walking through the halls and placed it on Spider's face. He saw the sign ‘recom wing’ up ahead. Some part of him needed the kid to be somewhere he was safe. The door to their personal area slid open, and the group was ready to welcome their leader back. Any greeting died the moment they saw the kid practically strapped to their leader's chest. 

Miles gently set the kid down, or tried. The kid had a pretty strong death grip around his neck. Begging miles not to leave him, the kid sounded terrified. “Kid, listen, I need you to stay here, you'll be safe, I promise. But you’ve gotta let me go.” Miles could see Lyle heading towards them and lifted his hand, signalling the other man to stop. He trusted Lyle, but the man would only make things worse at the moment. There's a small back and forth, the kid crying while begging Miles to stay and Miles continually telling the kid he was okay. He calmed the kid down enough to get him to sit on the Navi-sized couch. He pulled his group over and gave them a brief explanation. Basically saying, “Kids blind now, I've gotta convince Ardmore to let us take him, keep him safe for me”. 

He left the room with one glance back to see the kid wrap his arms around his legs. With the kid blind now, it'd be harder to convince Ardmore he'd be a good guide, so he changed tactics. He entered the general's office, and she immediately gave her comments that ‘the brat’ was no longer useful as a guide. Miles simply grinned, stating that the fact that the boy was blind now made him a greater asset. At Ardmore’s questioning gaze, he continued his spiel. Being blind, the boy wouldn't run away and would be dependent on them. He still knew the language, so he could still translate, and having a ‘disability hire’, especially one that was ex-resistance, was great publicity. The last point stung miles; he was a veteran and knew how disabled veterans got treated. He also knew it was the perfect line to use. The military didn't run like a corporation, HR and all that, but even Ardmore understood the value of good publicity. Just as he predicted, Ardmore agreed—hook, line, and sinker. 

Miles walked back to his crew with a smile, a smile that faltered slightly as he thought of Spider. The kid wouldn't have lost his eyesight if Miles hadn't caught him. He shook his head. He couldn’t go back in time, but he could protect the kid now. He owed the kid that much. The walk back was fast, his long legs carrying him through the halls. He stood before the door that separated him from Spider, worried about what he might see.

The door slid open, and he saw the kid sitting on the couch. He had a large navi-sized blanket wrapped around him, and a half-empty bottle of water in front of him on the coffee table. He looked less scared, shaking slightly less than when Miles had last seen him. Then there was his crew, sitting on the couch and the floor, playing video games. Spider had a controller in his hands, but wasn't playing. Miles could see and hear the controller faintly vibrate as Ja crashed an in-game car. Spider lightly laughed as the group made fun of the private. 

Lyle noticed him then; walking over, the leader saw the strained smile on his face. “Corporal” Miles nodded his head towards the rest of the group. Lyle’s smile twitches slightly. “The kid wasn't doing too well when you left, sir. He was cold and had a massive headache.” Lyle paused for only a second. “We thought the game might distract him; he can't see it, but he can feel things with the controller. How’d the talk go?” “Kids with us now.” Miles placed a hand on Lyle’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “We keep him safe and out of trouble, got me?” Lyle nods. That kid is part of the crew now, and no one hurts their crew. The others finally notice their leader, standing up and greeting him, alerting Spider to his presence. The kid practically falls on his face when he tries to get the blanket off him and get off the couch at the same time. 

Ja catches him, helping Spider stand up. Miles heart almost shatters as he watches Spider desperately search for him. His hands are stretched out, and his head sways back and forth, trying to listen for him. Miles speed walks over to the kid, picking him up as soon as he's in range. Miles feels Spider wrap his arms around his neck again. The boy is shaking again. Miles gently rubs his back. The man knows hed fight hell for this kid. He might have to do it sooner than he thought. 

The group gets an alert. They're set to go into the forest tomorrow. Miles looks to his crew with a silent question, and they all nod. He knows ‘his’ kid will be safe. It doesn't take long for the kid to fall asleep. The machine had already taken all his energy, and the crying didn't help. Miles set the boy on his own bed and sat on the floor, watching over him as he slept.

……….

The ride to the forest is easy. Spider is strapped down, quieter than before he entered that machine. He can feel and hear the wind as they move. He hears the subtle changes as they pass by floating mountains and fly over tall trees—the sound of far-off ikran screeches and swarms of linghaw. The sounds change as they descend. He thinks they’re around 100 miles southwest of High Camp, based on wind direction and the sounds of waterfalls nearby. Once they landed, the direction of a river would tell him if he was right. The landing itself wasn't rough, but he heard a few yerik yelp in fear and run away. The sound of their distress made Spider hiss in annoyance. He feels Miles place a hand on his chest; the man probably thought the landing was scaring him. Spider had taken far too many rides in the old flyer the resistance had, to be scared. He knew what a failed landing should sound like. 

The Recom and Spider are unloaded, and as soon as the samson leaves, Spider is home. Not in visuals, never again in visuals. But in every other sense, he is home. The sound of leaves and curious wildlife nearby. The smell of filtered rainforest air in his mask and the feeling of freshly rain-covered mud under his feet. He sends Eywa a heartfelt thank-you. “Alright, ya’ll huddle up!” And now the immersion is gone. He turns his left ear towards Miles's voice behind him and hears the man go on some military spiel. And there's the famous ‘go RDA hoorah!’ nonsense. 

Spider would roll his eyes if he could. Apparently, the machine had messed with the muscles connected to his eyes so that he couldn't move them anymore. That had been the snapping sensation he felt. At least, that's what a doctor said. 

A quick walk over to the nearest river tells him he was basically right about his location estimate. It's a small river, so he takes the time to wash his hands. He contemplates washing his hair, but gets interrupted by Miles. “I know ya know this forest like the back of your hand, but you're blind now, I don't wantcha going too far and getting hurt.” Spider wants to argue, but he knows Miles is right. He just nods and lets Miles pull him towards the group. He feels multiple hands reach out and ruffle his hair as they pass to the front. He’d laugh if his body weren't on high alert right now. He learns that their objective is to get Ikran, something about ‘blending in’ and ‘getting into the minds of the natives’ as if Eywa would ever grant them the privilege. They walk slowly, Miles periodically picking him up and passing him to one of the group to get over something. Tedious, just like everything the RDA does.

Suddenly, Spider stops, and he feels Miles stop as well. The man is asking him something, but Spider can't focus. He feels something, not on his skin but in his mind. It's like a touch and a voice, but not? Like something calling and pushing him in a specific direction. A soft melody to his right and a gentle caress on his right cheek. Spider knows he's being talked to; Miles' voice sounds worried, the man moves his arm for a second, and Spider is off. He runs not away from the group but towards the call. He hears Miles yell and footsteps behind him as his feet meet a large root. The touch is on his forehead, and the melody is in front of him now. He follows it straight, left, then right. Eywa sends him a new feeling. The same one he feels when he jumps over roots, and he vaults, hand landing on a root and propelling him forward onto the first. The feelings continue as he runs through Eanfwopx and jumps over and under stray vines.

The feeling seems to press on his chest as he leaves the roots and touches stone, as if telling him to stop, and he does. He's high up now, about 100, maybe 150 miles above the forest floor. 

He hears ikran, lots of them. It's the rookery! He crouches and moves towards a wall, the sound changing as he gets closer to it until he touches it. He hears huffing and puffing behind him as the rest finally catch up. “What took you so long?” Spider's smug, of course, he is, he beat them in a foot race while blind. He may have had help, but still. He hears them grumble about whether he's blind or not as Miles gently grabs him, turning him side to side to check him over. When Miles is done poking at him, the man sighs. “Kid, you're gonna kill me. How the hell’d you do that?” 

Spider isn't about to tell the man Eywa guided him, so he lies. “Dude, I grew up in this forest, I've been running around it since I was, what, 6 years old? That's ten years total. Part of hunter training is to know your location and how to get anywhere, even while blinded. Anything can happen out here; a random animal attack could blind you while hunting, so we learn how to go through the forest no matter what happens to us.” technically its not a complete lie, the navi are taught how to get through the forest while blind but only to get somewhere safe, not to run around at full speed like nothings wrong. Still, Miles didn't need to know the details. 

The man seemed to calm down. Since there really wasn't any other explanation for it. He let Spider go and started to look around. “Well, would ya look at that, you took us right to the banshees, good job, kid.” Miles ruffled his hair as he and the group walked toward the sound of Ikrans. He didn't plan to take them anywhere; it seems Eywa had her own plans. 

They'd gotten much closer to the ikran now; Spider could hear them screeching and playing with each other. Another piece of home spider had missed. Then he hears the sound of a gun being loaded and cocked. “Are you going to shoot one of them?!” he whispers, yelling towards the sound of the gun. Miles answers, “I ain't gonna shoot 'em. It's a tranq.” Miles says, as if that were a totally normal thing to do. It makes Spider snicker, which causes Miles to make an incredulous sound at him. “What a cowardly way to do it, you know Jake did it the normal way, yeah?” It's bait, one that Miles takes. He hears the man hand the gun away as Lyle makes some comment about safety. Man, he wishes he could watch this. Without his eyes, all he hears is hissing and screeching. There's the sound of skin colliding as an ikran screeches in pain and confusion. 

Then yelling from miles and the other Recoms. Spider moves first, following the sound of Miles' yell. He feels the same pressure on his chest as he stops just before the edge. Spider hears Lyle say something, but it's far away as he tries to listen for Miles. He feels tears threaten to leave his eyes. Why didn't he warn him to tie the Ikran’s mouth? He wanted this, right? Right? 

Then a shout of joy reached his ears. Miles came flying back up, whooping in triumph. The whole group was cheering. Spider, in absolute fear and relief, lets the tears fall and calls out, “DAD!” He shakes; the voices around him have stopped. He hears the Ikran land, then feels strong arms wrap around him. He lets himself be held and quietly sobs. As Miles (his father?) assures Spider, he's okay. The others get their Ikran much faster, now that they know how to be safe. No one talks about the kid almost getting Miles killed. They see it as payback for the loss of his eyesight. He's tired, another rough day of running and crying like most of his days in the forest. 

They set up camp with a small fire, and Spider tells them how to make it properly. He almost burns his hand while trying to make sure they did it right. Eywa and Miles stop him at the same time. Eywa sends him gentle feelings of calm and trust, and Miles reassures him that someone will be keeping watch at all times. It calms Spider enough that he lets Miles pull him over and be sat on something soft. It felt like a blanket, like the one he used at Bridgehead, navi-sized. Spider pulled the blanket over himself. 

He could smell something being cooked. After a bit, Miles brought him some food and placed it in his hand. Miles told him Mansk had made the food, so Spider asked the man to thank Mansk on his behalf. Spider chewed his food happily, munching on the flavourful dish. Mansk was a really good cook; if he took lessons from a navi, he would be the best. With his stomach full, Spider started to feel tired. His head nodded forward, up, then down and again. One last dip forward had him falling. Miles caught him and laid him down, wrapping him in the blanket. He felt Eywa caress his forehead as he drifted off.

……….

Miles and his crew had spent four or so months in the forest now. Last night, Miles had taken the midnight to morning watch, which allowed him to watch as the sun started to shine through the leaves. He’d never admit it, but the sight was a pretty one. One Spider would never see again. Thinking about the kid makes him look over to the bundled-up boy. The other Recom have already woken up and are moving around, packing up the campsite. They let Spider sleep in to gather energy, though today they're gonna be flying, so they won't have to worry about their stamina. 

Time passes; their banshees have their new gear, and all the Recoms items are packed onto them. Miles deems it time to wake the sleeping beauty. He walks over, gently shaking Spider awake. He watches the kid stretch out like a cat. Spider picks up his couple of items, and Miles folds the blanket and puts it in a pouch on Cupcake. He pulls Spider up to sit in front of him. 

They all take off. Miles enjoys the feeling of soaring through the air. The wind tickles his nose. His connection to cupcake is strange; it's him, but it's also her. He can feel his legs touching her skin, and vice versa. He looks down to see Spider smiling, head shifting left and right to listen for changes in the sound around them. “Havin fun, kid?!” he had to yell over the sound of the wind. Spider smiled wider, hand landing on Miles’s knee as the kid turned towards the recom. He moved his body and head, so his right ear was angled towards Miles. Something about it made Miles' chest feel warm; the kid wanted to hear what the man was saying. “Yeah, it's amazing!” like a kid getting a lollipop. The kid had a happy smile. Miles was going to say more, some joke about Spider's wide smile. 

Then his com went off. “Colonel Quaritch, this is Bridgehead. Respond.” The interruption annoyed Miles, but he couldn't let the crew see it. He placed his hand against the button on his neck and said, “Go for Quaritch.” “We've gotten a transmission from a rogue Samson. It was headed towards the sea. Sending coordinates now.” The mood changed immediately. He watched Spider turn his head forward and hunch his shoulders. “Roger that, deja blue will head there now.” Miles rallies the group, telling them they've got a lead on Sully. He hears cheering around him, then there's Spider, who looks like he's trying to shrink. Miles can't spend time worrying about it hes got a job to do.

Eventually, they make it to the sea and commandeer a sea dragon. The mission is simple: find whatever island Jake had crawled his way onto, drag him out and back to Bridgehead for execution, easy. Until he's staring down at his kid, gun in hand, the same one he'd used to threaten this random clan’s people and children. Spider stood in front of him, defiant, begging him not to kill anyone. Miles knew where the kid was coming from, but he had a job to do. A job that, if he didn’t complete it. 

His mind went back to his conversation with Ardmore when he had stopped the machine. She had said they should just give him to the lab coats, the same ones Miles knew had no issues ripping apart a kid to learn something new or make something new. Missions had to be completed; if they weren't, you lost things: the privilege to eat, your pride, or the right to your own body and soul. 

Miles remembers watching fellow Marines die, begging for food back on earth. Marines were stripped and tied up by fellow members when they failed a mission for the group. The various punishments for not being a good ‘dog’. Spider didn't know; he didn't know the depths of horror and depravity as Miles did. Even with this knowledge, he couldn't say no, couldn't fault the kid for wanting to protect others. Even as a memory of a fellow marine being gunned down along with the family he stood in front of, courses through his mind. So he doesn't kill them, he burns their homes. It's tactical, a message; he convinces himself it's enough. He pulls Spider away by the arm. He hears him say sorry in Navi over and over again as he's pulled away.

Spider doesn't talk to him, not unless he has to. A silent protest as they burn two more villages, no deaths. Ardmore wasn't happy. Miles tries to convince himself that the silence doesn't affect him; it's peaceful. He tries to ignore the pain in his heart. The pudgy man running the sea dragon makes a complaint. He's got a quota to meet. Miles talks with him and a man named Garvin about a tulkun, an intelligent whale creature with a head full of something the RDA wants. Spider seems interested in asking the marinebiologist for more info; it's the first time Spider has smiled since they entered the boat. Miles ignores the jealous feeling in his chest. They go hunting. A mother and calf, Miles pushes down the feeling of disgust, tries to convince himself that even though it's cowardly, it's necessary. It has to be. He is holding Spider on the smaller hunting boat. 

They enter the creature's body together as the calf outside whines. He tells himself it's fine, who cares about some stupid whales? He remembers just how intelligent they are as his body cringes and his tail swipes in agitation. He looks at Spider, the kid can't see what's happening, but he looks like he's gonna throw up. The rest is a blur, and then they're back on the sea dragon. He sees Spider stumble toward where Miles had shown him the bathrooms and follows him. 

When he enters, he hears the kid throwing up. He tries to comfort him, placing a hand on him, but Spider swats away with such anger that it genuinely surprises Miles. “WHY would they do that?! Why would they need that stuff anyway?!” Miles understands the kid’s anger, innocent people dying. “You heard 'em, kid, the RDA sells that stuff to rich shmucks.” A simple answer should be enough. It used to be for him, but now it sounds wrong in his own mouth. 

Spiders face scrunches in anger, “Killing just to gain something, killing those who haven’t hurt you. Based on what Mr.Garvin said, those who literally won't fight back?! How, how dare?!” Miles thinks of peaceful protesters being gunned down in the streets of America. Every word from spider stings, and he's not done. 

“What if it were me? Something about me that the RDA could use, or gain? Would you let them cut me open, rip me apart and drain me to find it?” Spider's voice is quiet, now uncertain. Like he's revealing something. For a second, Miles just looks at him. Staring at the boy, he desperately wants to call his son. Would he? If they told him to, could he? Could he drag Spider into Bridgehead, knowing full well the kid wouldn't survive? 

No, no, he couldn't, he’d fight tooth and nail for him. He places his arms around Spider, holding him close. He ain't good at talking, so he'll show it. Spider cries into his chest; it's an ugly, loud, terrified cry. It has the boy’s whole body shaking. Miles can tell the kid has needed this. When he's done, Miles helps him clean his face of snot and puke—gently wiping his eyes, mouth, and nose with a warm, damp cloth. 

Spider’s face is still puffy when they get back to the other Recom. Spider sleeps with them on the sea dragon deck. Miles stays awake to watch his mask battery. He counts the sparse freckles he can see across the boy's face; he looks so much like topaz. The only thing the kid got from his dad was the blonde hair. Topaz, a one-night stand he planned to marry after finding out she was pregnant. Paz would kill him herself right now if she found out what Miles had put their kid through; he wouldn't even fight her. His mind drifts as he thinks about the beautiful, kind, and strong mother of their child. 

He doesn't realize he's fallen asleep till he wakes up; it's still dark out. He turns over fast to check on Spider. The kid’s not there. Did he go inside? Then he hears the banshees; they're towards the end of the deck, huddled around something. His heart beats quickly, and he runs. As he gets closer, he sees pale skin. Panic has already set in by the time he gets past the ikrans and rolls Spider over. No mask, Spider isn't wearing his mask. He screams a raw, feral sound that rips from his throat. 

His crew are there in seconds. They see Miles cradling the boy's body, a mask with a dead battery nearby. No one talks, but they all think the same thing. Was Spider trying to reach the masks in the banshees' pouches? How long did he walk? Crawl? The thought makes them feel sick. There isn't anything they can do, so Miles finally does something the boy would want. 

They leave, telling the others they’re conducting a surveillance check. They find an island, going inland. 

The Recom start digging while Miles holds Spider in his arms, wrapped in his blanket. Miles can almost convince himself that Spider is still alive, just sleeping. It's harder without the mask on his face. He feels like he's crumbling. Complete the mission, that's what he tried to do for Spider. No, that's what he told himself, but if he had actually worried about the kid, he would have tried to keep him safe. The kid wouldn't be dead in his arms. As he wallows in his pity, he fails to see a wood sprite land on Spider or the countless others surrounding them. It isn't until Lyle calls to him that he sees them, lightly bobbing up and down around them; the Recoms stop to watch. Miles watches as some move to a spot on the ground. Miles isn't sure how, but he knows he has to follow their lead. 

He takes the blanket off Spider and places him on the ground as the woodsprites move out of the way. The other Recom feel a pull. They gather around Spider. One floats down onto spider lips before gently moving into his mouth and down his throat. Miles can only stare as the glow disappears. Then the world moves, and the grass sways toward Spider from all directions. It's like it’s breathing, a heartbeat, as the bioluminescence moves towards the boy in waves. The recom’s bodies start to sway towards Spider as if on instinct. A low hum rises through the air as small plants grow over Spider's body. They cover his hands, legs, and chest. They move over his face and into his nostrils and mouth. The humming grows louder; their bodies sway faster, arms entwined. They sway in circles, humming the same tune, never letting go. The sound builds as if the planet itself responds to them. Impossibly loud, over and over and over and. 

It stops so abruptly that the Recom almost fall over from the whiplash. Their hold on each other keeps them up. They settle, their breath slows as they untangle their arms. They watch Spider and see the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He coughs, then lifts his hand and pulls the plant from his mouth and nostrils. That’s when the Recoms get loud, screams and cheers of joy as Miles lifts his son. No words are said, they laugh together and dance around. Miles sways Spider in his arms. Grabs the boy's face and kisses his forehead so hard it leaves a mark. “Damn it, kid! The hell happened?!” Miles knew the kid would have an answer. 

“My mask battery died. I tried to get one, but I couldn't make it in time.” The Recom realized their fear that Spider had died while trying to get a new mask was right. Before Miles could scold Spider for not waking him, the boy had one more thing to add. “As my breathing slowed, Eywa told me it'd be fine, that I was just going to sleep and I would wake up soon.” Miles really wished she had told him that first, but honestly, it didn't matter now; his son was alive. He’d kiss the woman's hands and worship at her damn feet if she asked him. He was alive; now he just had to keep him safe. 

Lyle voiced the question Miles was dreading. “Sir, what do we do now? You know what the RDA will do if they find out about him.” Miles feels Spider curl inwards, seeking protection. He does know; he sees images of Spider strapped down to a table with the skin of his chest pulled open. The boy is kept awake and alive so they can watch how his body works, and he is crying. 

Miles doesn't know if it's just his paranoid imagination or a vision from this Eywa chick; either way, he has no intention of letting it happen. “I’m takin' the kid, and I'm runnin'. Y'all with me or not?” He pulled his gun out, ready to fight. He'd probably die, but he'd take at least a couple out first. He watches his crew look at each other, a silent conversation. Lyle speaks for the group. “Where to, Colonel?” Miles grins, puts away his gun and starts giving orders. 

They remove everything from themselves and their ikrans that carry trackers; they leave navi-sized backpacks and shoes. They take off their Ikrans camo gear, allowing them to move more comfortably. They check their guns using scanners and chuck the ones with trackers into the pile. They bury it in the grave they had made for Spider. They even check themselves for good measure and find nothing. Seems Ardmore trusted them not to go rogue, her first mistake. Then they get on their ikrans and leave. They find an island near the villages they attacked. Far enough away that the RDA is unlikely to find them, they slip into the mangroves.

Their outfits change. Not completely, but enough that a quick look makes them unrecognizable. Spider taught them how to dye their clothes. Long pants are torn into knee-length shorts. Spider showed them how to weave feathers onto their clothes. The kid even wove jewelry for each of them. It's a bit lopsided in places, but the recoms love them. Miles lightly plays with his bracelet. It has four lopsided green beads of different shades, carved by him himself. He looks over his teammates. Lyle got a red beaded upper armband. Mansk got a natural wood beaded anklet. Zdog got a blue beaded bracelet. Prager let the kid weave yellow beads into his headband.

Lopez got a necklace with orange beads, and the man almost felt offended until Spider tells him about the mighty Navi warriors who weave beautiful necklaces to wear while hunting. He wears it with honour after that. Ja gets a purple beaded waist belt, the kind you'd see on belly dancers in movies. That one confuses the group, and Ja gets some jabs for it. Spider simply says. “You dance, I've heard you dancing on the boat and in the forest. Dancers wear those to accentuate their movements.” Another answer that shuts them up. When Ja dances around the fire that night, he puts more movement in his hips, wanting to show off his gift. 

Spider teaches them how to make bows and arrows, how to hunt using them. How to hunt fish using spears by rivers, and how to gather. Mansk cooks the meals Spider suggests, mixing fish and fruit to achieve a sweet flavour. The fatty meat of a yerik mixed with eggs to get navi sausage and egg breakfast. They find clam-like creatures and scan them to find that both humans and Navi can eat them. Mansk cooks them the old-fashioned human way. Get the sand out of them, then boil them and add a pinch of rock salt for flavour. Miles watches Spider walk around the camp with confidence; he's much less clumsy than when they were on the boat. It's like when they were in the forest. The excuse of the kid knowing the area like the back of his hand doesn't work out here. So Miles asks. 

“When I touch the ground, the trees, or anything connected to Eywa. I feel her; she's in my heart and mind. She gives me warnings, she touches me gently to point me in the right direction.” The boy pauses with a sombre look in his eyes. “But when I was on that boat, I couldn't feel her, not until we went on the islands and entered that tulkun mother.” The reminder of the tulkun stings at Miles' chest. After everything that's happened, he can't explain the feeling away. It was wrong; what they did was wrong. “I didn't feel her again until I was about to die. One of the ikran had rubbed against me, and I could feel her again; it's how she told me I'd be fine.”Miles held the boy that night and thanked Eywa for keeping his son safe. 

Sleep always came easter surrounded by nature. Like they were meant to be out here, maybe they were. They had told themselves, after being woken up, that they wouldn’t fall as Sully did. They wouldn't fall for the native propaganda, but here Miles was, wrapped around his son. Covered in feathers and beads, torn military clothes with the badges ripped off so the RDA wouldn't recognize him. He'd do anything for this kid, keep him safe in his arms. 

When everything is calm, that's when things go wrong.

Miles had been out gathering more fruit for Spider, just in case Eywa didn't give the kid the ability to eat Navi-only food. It's peaceful, the leaves gently swaying with the breeze. Then a shout reaches his ears. Lyle calls for him so frantically that he thinks the RDA found them. Miles runs back, carreening through the forest. Their camp in sight as the other Recoms voices call for him. 

Then he sees Ja huddled over his son with his medic bag open. Miles' heart rate spikes as he kneels beside his son. The kid is breathing, it’s rough, and it sounds like he’s fighting against phlegm as he coughs. “What happened?” Ja answers, “he ate something he shouldn't have, sir.” It's an answer, but not one Miles likes. They separate the food that Spider can eat into a container with an open lid so he doesn't grab theirs by accident. How did he accidentally get into a closed and latched box? Apparently, he didn't; some flying bird thing did. It had gotten in, took some fruit and caused some to fall into Spider's pouch. The kid can't see, so he didn't know it wasn't for him till it was already in his mouth. He spat it out fast, but that didn't stop the effects. This kid was really trying to put Miles in an early grave. 

All they could do was wait as Ja tried to help the kid, but he just kept getting worse. His breath became more ragged. Miles hears Ja swear and turns around in time to watch the man throw his hat on the ground and swipe a hand over his face. Ja looks over to him, “I can't help him.” There's a tremble in the man's voice that matches the feeling in Mile’s heart. 

Miles knows what they need, a tsahik, but where are they gonna find one? Even if they find one, will they help? Miles has everything to lose now; either they help, or the kid dies anyway. Now, where to find a tsahik? Miles doesn't have the first clue where to look. They've gotta start somewhere, so Miles lifts Spider, wrapped in a blanket and walks to the shoreline. The Recom follow; they don't know the plan, but they've followed him so far, they don't plan to stop now. 

Their Ikrans land, ready to take them wherever they need to go. Miles looks across the water, looking for something, anything, some sign. He sees it as a path of orange glowing fish that leads from them to another island. An island they know has a village. The last of the ta’unai clan's villages, the only one they hadn't burned. It's their only option, so they fly. A horn sounds as they approach, not a frantic one, as they haven't been recognized yet. They land, and there are spears, yelling and anger. He doesn't blame them; he deserves all of it. He kneels, places Spider on the ground, and calls for help. “Ma’itan! Srung Ma’itan!” he knows he’s butchering the words, but he hopes they understand. Miles begs on his knees, bowing. His hands are empty; so are the other Recoms, as they all kneel.

Miles hears the crowd quiet down as someone passes by them and comes close to his son. He lifts his head to see the tsahik, the same one he threatened. He sees recognition cross her face as she looks at the boy. She looks towards Miles, and he begs one last time. “Rutxe,” his voice is a whisper. The trembling fear of a parent about to lose their child. She comes over to him, placing a hand on the feathers he weaved into the strap of his tank top. “Oe srung,” Miles sobs as he registers the words. He watches the woman pick up and carry his son off. They don't fight when they are bound and dragged to an empty home. 

……….

The Ta’unui clan’s tsahik knew someone would arrive soon. Eywa had warned her to be calm and listen to them; she would. She was tsahik; she would follow Eywa's words. But the Navi demons' faces made that difficult. There was an anger that rose in her, one that Eywa didn't condemn. Even so, her great mother asked her to listen. She watched the leader put a small bundle on the ground, no larger than a child. Watched him kneel and bow, begging them to help his son. A child? Could the demon’s healers not do this for them? A smug feeling rose in her as she considered how feeble the demon healers must be for them to come to her. She stops. A child requires care; now is not the time to gloat. 

She breaths and walks forward to the bundle, pulling it back, and sees the child. The same one who was forced to translate their words, a blind child who stood between them and weapons. The brave boy who apologized for the demon’s destruction. The child has no mask, yet still breathes raggedly. She looks into the demon leader's eyes as he whispers a soft plea. This is not the demon who burned their home, but a father, one who is terrified of watching his son die. 

She could deny them, call for their deaths and leave the child to his end. But she can't, she is alive because of the boy. So she agrees to help, carrying the boy to her marui. She calls for the Navi demons to be tied and placed in a pod, not killed, just watched.

She makes it to her marui, her mate behind her, ready to help. He had recognized the boy as well and wanted to aid in his recovery. They get to work pulling out baskets of herbs and salves. She reaches for one, then stops. Her hand is hovering as Eywa warns her not to use the item. She moves her hand over the spices and herbs till Eywa tells her to stop. She does this over and over until she has enough to start. These items should not work; the illness the boy has requires a whole different combination. At least it does for Navi, but not for humans. She now sees why Eywa sent them to a tsahik; she could understand the ailment, and Eywa would guide her to save the boy. She works, asking her mate for items, having him lift the boy and help her put the medicine in his mouth. She prays over the boy, calling out to his mind, hoping to wake the boy. 

It has been a full night, and by midday the next day, the child wakes. His pale, sunken features have filled, and a light pink dusts his cheeks. As if knowing where he is, he greets her. “I see you, Tsahik,” the boy says, ever respectful and kind, using the perfect sign as well. “I see you,” she returns the gesture, knowing the boy cannot see it. He smiles a bright, happy one. “Where is my father?” he turns his head, listening for the man. “We have the man and his followers tied up.” The boy turns frantically. She does not wish him to hurt himself, so she places a hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder. “Be calm, my dear, we have not harmed them. You have accepted them. I wish to know why.” 

This calms the boy enough to explain. He tells her everything about how he was captured, tortured, and how his father had taken him out of the machine and back to the forest. His connection to Eywa. The moments of fun before coming to the sea. How things changed, how his connection disappeared while on the boat. The way he could hear his father try to convince himself that burning villages was the right thing to do. The tulkun hunt, she flinched so hard she thought she would fall. The boy cried as he told her about it, the sound of the baby desperately crying out, the way his head throbbed as they entered her body. He told her about throwing up on the boat filled with rage for the dead mother, how his father stopped believing his own excuses. He tells her of dying, being brought back, and his father leaving the small demons behind to protect him.

While these moments explain a slow change in the boy's father, they don't tell her how it happened in the man's mind. She helps the boy up, taking him to his father. The man is overjoyed, and tears fall down his cheeks. He tries to hug the boy, but can only press his chin into the boy's head and wrap his tail around him. She calls for their restraints to be cut. The man's freed arms hold the boy tenderly; he repeats thank yous to the wind. As if thanking not just her but Eywa as well. She would like them to have time, but she is a leader; she must learn if this man means her people harm. 

They sit before each other, kneeling. The boy, whom she learns is named Spider, sits to the side between them. He translates as she asks to connect to the boy's father. She wonders if he will resist, but he does not; he pulls his kuru over his shoulder, holding it out to her unguarded. She follows him, and they connect.

The first thing she sees is a boy, a human boy, crying as he holds an older woman lying limply in his arms. It's the boy's mother, Eywa reveals this to her. The scene shifts, and the boy is taller, not by much. The boy stands before two dead teens, a girl and a boy, his siblings. The scene changes again, and a man, his father, is beating the boy. The man had killed the rest of his family. Scenes shift over and over. The boy kills his father. He was beaten outside a brightly colored building as a teen. He stands straight with a hand to his forehead, wearing a demon's uniform as an adult. He goes hungry and is beaten for failure. He watches others like him being shot and killed. He is told to shoot a child, but he does not. He is tied to a wall, his clothes are removed as hands touch him. She has to look away; she knows what happens next. As she turns back, she watches him kill thousands with a blank expression. The same words replay in his head, telling him he'll be hurt again if he doesn't do this. 

It shifts again, this time to a blue man, one she knows. He was born in war, given a task. He finds his son and immediately fails him, letting him be blinded. Connecting to his ikran and how he felt the world was beautiful. The burning of villages. His worry about what will happen to his son if he fails. The tulkun hunt, and the bial that rose in his chest as they entered the creature. The pain in his heart as he heard the child cry for its mother. His child, dead in his arms, tears falling. His joy when Eywa brought his son back. One last shift to a house, a human house. She hears sniffling from the corner and turns to find the boy, the one who held his mother. 

This is Miles, a terrified boy still desperately running from monsters. She surrounds the child in a hug. “You are safe now.” The effect is immediate; the boy’s shoulders shake, and he wraps his small arms around her neck. She feels him change and grow; he is taller than her now. Blue with a tail that wraps around her. He holds onto her like a child seeking comfort. She has accepted him. When they disconnect, the man is silently crying, and Spider gently holds his hand, humming. While they have been accepted, that does not mean they have proved themselves. There is much to do.

……….

Spider sits in the tsahiks murai, munching on fruit that she had cut for him. Her name is Yrr’wey, a beautiful name that she now demands he use. He had tried to deny her, saying he wasn't worthy to speak a tsahik's name. She simply told him that he had saved her life, which made him worthy. So he sat quietly eating sliced fruit, while Yrr’wey mixed herbs. Spider was getting what the Recom called ‘special treatment’ while they were out learning. Yrr’wey had told her people that the recoms crimes would not result in death, but work. They'd been put to work immediately, shown how to gather wood and weave. They were tasked with helping rebuild homes lost to flames. 

They were not trusted, and the ta’unui were definitely having fun watching them trip up now and then, but they always taught them how to do things right after they failed. The recoms had told him all about it. Coming back to their temporary home with sore muscles and splinters, and telling Spider about how the clan members would laugh as they tripped and fell in the ocean. Spider would laugh as they recounted their woes.

Yrr’wey had sent a messenger to the metkayina clan to warn them of the tulkun hunts as well as the new helpers who had been rebuilding murais for them. She doesn't tell them who those helpers are. Not yet. She receives a message back, the Olo'eyktan wishes to meet with them, and they decide to meet at the Ta’unai clan's home. 

Spider is told all of this. It seems she doesn't wish to leave him out. He's glad for it; he can't see his family fumble around and learn, can't watch the coming and going of messengers. He can still feel the bouncy pathways Eywa guides him over. He can still hear the gentle voices of warriors who remember his bravery, asking if he needs help. He can taste beautifully crafted seafood. He can touch the dried seaweed Yrr’wey gave him to weave. He makes her a bracelet, and she hugs him. He can smell the ocean air and the damp sand. 

His family continues to learn. He hears Mansk talk about learning to cook from a clan member. He hears Zdog make fun of Ja, who apparently had danced by the clan's fire one night and had multiple eyes on him. He hears some fishers talk about Zdog and Prager's ability to catch fish with spears and nets. listens as the oloeyktan praises Lopez’s strength while carrying supplies. He hears Lyle compliment his father on his improved breathing and his learning of Navi. His father punches the man in the shoulder, reminding him that he had ridden an Ilu correctly the first time. It's wonderful to listen to them speak. To hear them learn and grow in Eywa. Then the Metkayina leaders came, bringing Toruk Macto with them. 

They had been with the ta’unui for a little under a month now, and this day had been like most. Spider sat between his father's legs, eating cut fruit Mansk had placed in his hands. A horn blows, signifying an arrival. Spider and his family stayed put around the communal cookfire. Mansk was trying a new recipe, and the group was always excited to eat his cooking. Besides, they technically weren't part of the clan, unless they were called; it was better not to go wandering. 

Spider had been mid-bite when he heard it. A voice he could never forget, saying the one word he dreaded most. “DEMON!” Neytiri, he'd recognize her voice anywhere. Even without his eyes, he knew she had her bow drawn. He turned his head towards the sound of her voice, just as his father picked him up. He heard the Recoms shift to stand before him. 

Yelling melts together in his mind; he thinks he hears Jake at some point. Without his eyes, it's hard to pinpoint where the yelling starts and ends. “STOP THIS AT ONCE! THEY HAVE A CHILD! HOW DARE YOU RAISE A WEAPON TO THOSE I HAVE ALLOWED IN MY HOME!”  Yrr’wey, the strong, calm woman who has never raised her voice, yells with such rage it almost shakes the ground. All yelling stops at once. Spider hears Yrr’wey’s mate try to calm her, asking her to lower her spear. Had she pointed a spear at Neytiri?

Once everyone is calmed down, they go to the ta’unai leaders murai. Spider is sitting on his father's lap. The man's tail wraps around him possessively. The other Recom are asked to wait outside. The air is thick with tension; he can feel Neytiri’s glare. He is unsure whether it's aimed at him or his father; he shrinks into himself. His father and Yrr’wey place a hand on him to keep him calm. She explains everything to the group. 

Spider protecting them, the recoms burning their homes and their reasons. How the group had diligently helped to rebuild the clan's homes. Spider couldn't tell how the conversation was going, but Eywa sent him feelings of calm and safety. Then it was time to talk about the tulkun. Since Spider and his father had experienced it firsthand, Yrr’wey asked them to speak. Spider heard Neytiri scoff, but didn't let it faze him. 

He told them everything he could about it, how it felt, the sounds, the baby's crying. “My father would be able to explain it better. He actually saw what happened.” he heard a sound of confusion from the other clans tsahik. “Did you not say that you entered her body? How did you not see it?” he doesn’t blame her for the question. It's not easy to tell he's blind unless you pay attention. “I apologize for not saying this before, but I am completely blind,” he says, bowing to show respect. then hears Jake. “What? Youre blind? How?” his voice is quiet, like he can't say the words properly. Spider hadn't considered that the man would care. 

He explains that the machine he had been placed in forced memories out of his mind. The metkayina fliched, forced Tsaheylu, one of the most deplorable acts. This same crime was committed on a child. His father speaks then, “Eywa herself’ll kill me when I die, and I'll deserve it for lettin him get hurt in that thing.” his pronunciation is horrid, and his formality is worse, but it gets the point across. His father talks about his experience with the tulkun hunt. 

Spider slowly starts to zone the conversation out as he settles, leaning against his dad's large chest. He wakes up when he feels himself being placed on a warm blanket. “Time for bed, tiger.” Spider feels his dad run his fingers through his undreaded hair that Yrr’wey helped remove. Spider sleeps soundly that night.

Morning comes with the sounds of clan members milling about and the smell of breakfast being made by cookfires. Spider walks across bouncy woven paths. He was heading to the tsahiks murai, again. Salty sea air in his lungs. Greetings from clan members as he passes by. It's peaceful, then he stops moving. A feeling crawls through his senses, something familiar tugs at him. He hears footsteps behind him, running towards him. He turns just in time to feel a body slam into him, and arms wrap around him. It's a child, a Navi child, one he knows well. 

Tuk tuk, his littlest sister. He wraps her in a hug, holding her as she sobs into his shoulder. His baby sister, how is she here? “Monkey boy!” Kiri! His other sister places her hand on his arm, and he grabs her. She asks him so many questions at once. Spider doesn't register them; he's too busy realizing Lo’ak has placed a hand on his back, the familiar five fingers splayed out. He smells neteyam as the boy places his head on Spider from behind. They're here; his siblings are here!

He learns that Jake and Neytiri are here as well when Kiri hisses at them. “What are you two doing over here? Don't you have something better to do?” Her voice is a quiet anger that would make Spider flinch if it were directed at him. “Kiri.” Jake tries to reason with the furious girl. Neytiri's answer is so much like herself that it makes Spider shrink back. “I will not leave my children alone with demons.” Spider can't tell if she means the Recom or him. He feels Kiri's muscles stiffen, then she turns away, out of Spider's grasp and towards her parents. “You mean the same ‘Demons’ who saved the boy you abandoned? The boy who was tortured to blindness while you ran? The only demons in this village are the ones who stand in front of me right now.” Quiet and deadly like a palulukan, Kiri strikes where she knows it will hurt. Neytiri hisses in shocked anger at being called a demon, the one thing she hates most.

Spider doesn't want a fight. He reaches his hand out to grab his sister, landing on her arm. He feels her muscles loosen. She turns around to place her hands on his cheeks. “We missed you so much, brother.” Spider melts into her hands. Another angry hiss from Neytiri tells Spider his father has arrived. Kiri shifts again, most likely glaring at her parents. His sibling moves as his father places a hand on his head. “Well, would you look at that, if it ain't the mini sullys.” His father's cadence is light, no anger in his tone. Spider hears several ‘hello sirs’ from his siblings, which his dad says there's no need for. “You kids hungry? You can hang out at our place while the grownups talk shop. Mansk’ll feed ya.” Kiri answers before Jake or Netiri can, with a ‘thanks’ and ‘will do’. She's dragging him away and yelling at her parents to get lost when they try to object. The walk to his murai is silent. 

When they arrive at the door, the Recoms greetings go silent as they see all the kids there. Mansk breaks the silence. “Want some food?” With the go-ahead, the group of kids pile in.

Kiri threatens to hurt them if they have harmed Spider. Spider warns them not to underestimate her. They promise not to hurt the boy, and all is well. Spider can slowly feel his siblings relax around his new family. To make it a bit easier, Spider introduces the group of Recom as his aunt and uncles. Naming them all, their favourite colours and favourite activities. Tuk bumbards Ja with questions when she learns they both like purple. Neteyam strikes up a conversation with Lopez. Loak tells Zdog and Prager about the fishing techniques he's learned. Kiri talks with Lyle about ilus while she holds Spider in her lap. Spider eats the pre-cut fruit Mansk put in his hand. 

He feels Kiri place her hands under his chin, tilting his head back towards her. She's looking at his eyes; he can feel it. “Youre really blind.” The conversations around them stop. “I am,” he hears her breath hitch. “Is it Quaritch’s fault?” Spider hears the Recom flinch and hiss out in apology. “A bit, yeah, but he's been good to me. Got me out of there and even left the RDA for me,” his head shifted towards his new family. “They all did.” The tension leaves with Kiri's final statement. “I'm gonna punch him.” Spider laughs. “He'd let you.” 

She does punch the man and kick his shin when they come back, telling him it's for hurting Spider. Spider hears Tuk cheer at the chaos. His dad tells her she can take a swing at him whenever she feels like it. Spider learns they'll be going to the Metkayina clan's village. With Ronal there to look over him and Toruk Makto to help come up with a plan to save the tulkun, they felt it was the best option. Spider learns that his father had scoffed when they suggested Spider would be safer around Jake. 

The packing takes less than an hour, and they're ready to go. Yrr’wey comes to see them off. She gives Spider a necklace with lots of tactile pieces he can feel and play with. She kisses his forehead, saying goodbye. He hears her do the same to his dad, who says he's not a baby while she kisses his cheeks like an unruly child. She tells them to visit they promise to do so. She's treating this moment like her children are leaving. Maybe it feels like it for her?

The flight over to the new village is quiet and peaceful. A horn sounds at their arrival. Spider hears the shock, the anger. The Oloeyktan tells his people to calm down, that the newcomers will stay with them. The same song and dance as always for ‘demons’. This time, however, is different. The group's month-long stay with the Ta’unui has taught them many things. They built a new murai by the water on the first day. They collect fish and scavenge shellfish the next. Lyle tames a Tsurak on the third. Ja dances by the fire at night, doing traditional moves he had been taught. Mansk makes beautifully crafted meals that make nearby clan members’ mouths water. Zdog has several female admirers. When she smiles at them, they giggle and turn away. Spider listens as clan members talk about their abilities in shock, or when his family gloats about achievements. Lyle gets a round of applause for taming a tsurak. The man promises to take Spider out for a ride. His father tames one the next day, after three attempts, so that he can take Spider out first. There is no better motivator for his father than jealousy. The same could be said for all parents.

Spider's relationship with Sully’s elders had always been strained, but that seemed to change as well. Not by anything he had done, no, that honour fell to Kiri. He hadn't been told the whole story just enough to know there had been a conversation. Well, more like a yelling match. One where Kiri had almost thrown an entire table across their home in rage, if her siblings didn't stop her. The argument was won simply. All Kiri did was point out the Recom ability to change and be kind while her parents stayed angry and rude to Spider. That seemed to do the trick. The two parents didn't suddenly love the recoms, but they stopped taking their anger out on Spider. Their goal had changed, and they now strived to be better parental figures than the boy's own dad. 

Neytiri scoffs at the woven jewelry Spider's father made for him and sends him home with a beautifully woven bracelet. His dad would growl in annoyance at the new piece of jewelry and style Spider's hair in one long braid. Neytiri would see his hair and demand to add more braids to it. She took two strands on either side of his face. She made two long, thin braids that tied behind his head, held together by leather and adorned with feathers she pulled from her own hair. This silent parental war swings back and forth, and then new challengers appear: Ronal and Tonowari. One day, as Ronal checks the boy over after he was burned by the sun, she learns he has no songcord. 

His father, Jake, and Neytiri kneel, heads bowed in shame, as Ronal yells at them. Spider tries desperately not to laugh. His mouth is a thin line, and his cheeks puff out as he strains to stay calm. He has a songcord by the end of the night. Lopsided wood beads from his father. Perfectly carved wood ornaments from Neytiri. Carved stones from Jake, and smooth textured shells from Ronal and Tonowari. His siblings and new friends bring him feathers and fish bones to add to it. He runs his fingers along the length of it. A lopsided bead for his birth and two side by side under it for his parents. A different feather for each of his siblings in order of their births. Three dry fish bones for his capture, torture and death. two lopsided beads for his resurrection and adoption by his new family. A clam shell for his time with the ta’unui. A smooth conch shell for joining the metkayina. A smooth wooden ornament for Neytiri and a carved stone for Jake and their involvement in his life as aunt and uncle. Spiralled choruses and beaded verses throughout. Spider cries as the adults teach his father how to sing his song. The Recom are taught how to make theirs the next day. 

They've been on the island for about two weeks now, when his father catches a radio signal. They'd been hearing periodic conversations over the radio since they left. The humans figured out the Recoms had gone rogue, then set out to find them at Ardmore's order. The Recom had made fun of her as they listened in. Now the sea dragon crew have been told to conduct another tulkun hunt. If they were hoping to flush out the Recoms, they've succeeded. The humans talked about tracking a young, lone bull.

The Recom, Sully elders, and Metkayina warriors head out. The adults had been unaware that the teenagers were listening behind a murai. Spider could hear the worry in Lo’ak’s voice as he spoke about Payakan, his spirit brother. Spider can also hear Neteyam try to calm him down. The back and forth of ‘I'm going after him’ and ‘it's too dangerous’. Spider isn't surprised when he ends up on an Ilu with Kiri, already heading towards where they believe Payakan is. He isn't surprised, either, that helping Payakan puts them right in the RDA's path. 

Now he sits tied to the boat's railing with his friends; he can't feel Eywa here. He’s blind. He has been for a while, but here his mind is too quiet, and his body feels cold. He can hear yelling. Then the boat shifts, and he hears Lo’ak cheer as Payakan slams onto the deck of the ship. More yelling, Spider hears his dad.

He tries to turn his head towards the sound of his dad's voice, and suddenly he's in the air. He doesn't know where he’ll land, so he wraps his arms around his head. He lands in the water. He can feel Eywa again. He feels his body being pushed towards the ocean's surface by the water around him. Hands grab onto him, large with five fingers. Its Lyle, the man's voice is still muffled in Spider's ears, but he grabs onto the man. It's over, the sea dragon is destroyed. Spider's father holds him the moment they find eachother. He learns all his friends are safe. With the chaos finally over, the families fall asleep in their respective murais.

Spider sits on Payakans strong back, weaving the metkayina designs Tsireya had taught him. Kiri sits to his left; Neteyam to his right. Spider listens to the sound of Lo’ak bantering with Aonung, Roxto hums a light tune, and Tsireya giggles at her courting lover's antics. The RDA attack and her capture made the girl realize she couldn't just wait for Loak to start courting her. So she started courting him.

Spider remembers how Lo’ak had told him about her showing up to the sully’s murai with a woven chest knife strap, how she had gone up to Jake and Neytiri, bowing before them, asking to court the boy. Lo’ak accepted the first present, accepting to be courted. Tsireya had spent almost an entire day getting Lo’ak’s favourite fish for the second courting step. The third would have to wait till they both completed their iknimaya.

I am My Mother's Son

Neytiri had heard of the small human child found by Norm, heard them speak of the boy's curly blonde hair and blue eyes. She had yet to meet the boy; having a child and another on the way made her life busy. 

Then she learned who his father was, and anger boiled in her veins. She had demanded that the boy be sent back to earth. When Norm told her that it wasn't possible, she then, in her anger-clouded state, suggested the boy be put to death. She watched as Norm pulled the toddler into his arms, trying to shield him. Heard the boy cry in confusion and fear as the tension built. 

The anger snapped away as cold dread filled her. She could feel Jake place a gentle hand on her arm. 

Why had she said that? This was a child, one too weak to defend themself and she demanded their death? Her ears shifted low, she went to say something, anything to loosen the guarded look on her small human friend's face. She felt a hand on her shoulder, turning back to see her mother. “Enough, you have already said too much, leave.” The anger in her mother's voice would hurt if she didn't deserve it. 

She flew back home with Jake. He tried to talk to her. He wanted to help her. She could hear him make placating excuses, claiming her anger was justified, but not to show it in front of the scientists. She agreed that her anger wasn't a horrible thing to feel, but she had passed from simple anger to hate. Something no Navi should allow themselves to fall into. Especially towards a child.

She had to make this right.

She waited a week, not wanting to head back too early and cause the humans concern. Norm seemed to know she was coming. She saw him standing in his dreamwalker body, arms crossed, face tight with distrust. She knew she deserved it. She landed with Saata on the sky people's metal ground. She patted her recently bonded Ikran on the head. Taking a breath to slow her heart, she walked towards Norm. She didn't bring her weapons, no knife or bow. She was unarmed, she walked with arms down, palms pointed outward so Norm could see they were empty.

Norm stood before her, like a Navi warrior standing with a spear raised, ready to fight and protect. Though he had no spear, his glare was a weapon to Neytiri’s heart. She stopped a few feet in front of him. His stance shifted, body ready to protect the boy she had scorned. “What are you doing here?” his usual kind, nervous voice was replaced with a low protective edge.

She looked at him for a moment, then bowed; she could see him flinch as she lowered. She placed a hand over her heart. “I am here to apologize for my wrongdoing,” she heard Norm gasp. The man seemed to catch himself, shifting back to his protective stance. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” Norm's sharp tone lashed across her heart. She lifted herself to look at him, “I know, if you would allow me, I would like to apologize to the boy.” Norm looked conflicted, she could see he wanted to say no. 

Several thoughts seemed to pass through his mind as his facial expression changed. He wiped a hand down his face and welcomed her inside.

They walked through the metal building, several humans watching as they passed. She could tell by the expressions on their faces that they had learned of her comments. She would take their ire, a punishment for her words and thoughts.

Norm led her to a room filled with blankets and pillows. Children's toys were scattered about, and in the middle was the boy. Blonde curls sticking out in every direction. She was about to walk over when the boy looked up at them. She expected fear, but all she saw was a wide smile. She thought the boy was looking at Norm; he had to be. She was caught off guard as the boy ran to her, grabbing for her hand. When she gave it to him, he pulled her over to his toys. The boy handed her a small stuffed toy, which looked like a pa’li. She looks over at the boy, watching him grab a toy that looks like a Navi. In fact, it looks a lot like her. Neytiri looks over at Norm, who nods, confirming her thoughts. The boy also confirms, “It you!” he points from the doll to her, smiling and giggling. 

All these moments had made her forget her purpose in coming. She placed the pa’li toy down, holding the child's hands with her own. “I wish to apologize to you. What I said a week ago was harmful. I should never have spoken about you in such a horrible way.” Neytiri poured out her heart to the boy. She knew it wouldn't change how she had treated him. 

“It otey” this makes her look at the boy, his blue eyes shining with kindness. “I forgor any who.” She hears Norm let out a surprised laugh. All she could do was look in the boy's eyes. He forgot? Forgot those harmful words? She wants to say more, but the boy interrupts her. “Play now?” The innocence of children is truly strange. She smiles, picks the boy up, and walks over to a pile of blankets. She lies down, listening to the boy talk about his toys. The child falls asleep on her chest. 

Norm tells her that the boy demanded a Navi toy that looked like her after he was shown a picture of her and Jake.

Over the next few months, Neytiri would come and visit the boy. She brings him Navi-made toys, clothes, and food safe for humans. She introduces him to Neteyam and lets him touch her pregnant belly. 

Then the question of who will care for the boy arises. 

She's sitting on the floor, cross-legged, playing with Spider, a nickname the boy was given. She listens as they discuss letting the boy stay with a human family, and something in her breaks. 

She gathers the child in her arms, she hears Spider ask if she's okay, but she can't answer. It isn't until Jake comes over and places a hand on her back that she realizes she's crying. She looks into his eyes and sees confusion and worry. She breaks completely, “I can't allow it, they will not have him.” “Baby, he needs a fami-” “He is mine!” She holds the boy tightly, weeping, looking into her mate's wide eyes. She hears murmuring around them. “He is mine! You cannot ask me to give him away!” She curls around Spider, tears stream down her face. He is hers, her itan. Her beautiful golden child. 

She feels Jake place his hands on her shoulders. “Ours,” her eyes shoot up to his, searching for a lie she doesn't find. Jake kneels in front of her now, one hand on her cheek, the other on their new eldest son’s back. “Our son, together,” and he is theirs.  

He’s theirs when Neytiri gives birth to Lo'ak, and they adopt Kiri. He’s theirs when Tuk is born, who attaches herself to her brother. He’s theirs when Eywa allows him to breathe her air at ten. He's theirs when a kuru grows from his head, allowing him to connect to the spirit tree. He’s theirs, always theirs, but most importantly.

He's his mother's son.

………………………….

Spider sits cross-legged in his grandmother's Kelku. He's mixing pastes under her watchful eyes. He is tsakarem, the next in line for tsahik after his grandmother passes. This would normally go to the woman's daughter, his own mother, Neytiri. His mother was not one for sitting around healing others. She was a warrior, a hunter. She spent her time in the forest, as did he. However, Spider had the patience and desire to help that made him the right person to learn. Things are peaceful in High-camp, much more peaceful without his father and brothers here to be loud. 

Neteyam was the quieter one out of the group, but still had his moments. Spider had noticed his father, Jake, placing too much pressure on the boy. Spider had put his foot down, immediately calling his father out for treating them all like a military group. 

Jake rarely fought against Spider when the boy stood up to him. Spider wasn't unreasonable, and he was small. Jake was always worried he might accidentally harm the boy someday. He never has, but that doesn't stop him from worrying. So he almost always concedes to him, watching as the boy huffs and glares at him. He's so much like Neytiri that he knows he'd mistake the boy for her if he were Navi. His little hisses the way his eyebrows furrow, words sure, eyes never wavering. 

Spider would be terrifying if he weren't his son. However, he could be quite scary. He’d watched Spider’s siblings silently sit before the boy, pacing back and forth as he hissed at them. Smacking whoever had done wrong over the head. Not tuk though, never tuk. She got a stern talking to. Jake would watch as his three teenage troublemakers would shake in fear when Spider’s angry call reached their ears. 

Much like now, a raid on an RDA base went awry, leaving Neteyam injured. Spider was there, hissing at his brothers before Jake could get a word in. He called them morons, pointing to the healing pod. Jake goes to stop the boys, feeling the need to scold them, but feels Spider grab his arm. “Stop, you are angry now. All you will do is yell and cause issues. Leave, I will heal them. Come back when you can control yourself.” Jake wants to argue, but Spider doesn't let him. “You are being useless! Leave now!” he points towards Bob, telling Jake to fly until he is calm.

Spider walks into the healing pod. After a thorough scolding, he puts healing pastes and bandages on his brothers. They ask about their father, and Spider clicks his tongue. “He is out, he will not speak with you til he has properly calmed down. I will not allow it.” When Jake comes back, he is calmer, telling the boys he was worried. That he thought they had died. A light scolding and some hugs, and all is well. “You know you don't have to play goaly, right?” Spider turns towards Kiri. “I know, I also know I'm the only one he’ll actually listen to on these matters.” “That’s cause your like mom, and he's afraid of her.” “I know that too, and I use it to my advantage.” This causes them to snicker. Things are peaceful again, though sometimes loud with his family back. 

Things stay peaceful till a call comes from Lo’ak. He, Kiri, and Tuk had gone out to the old Hallielujah mountain base—the same one they weren't allowed to see alone. Spider is already heading in that direction as he hears Loak talk about strange Avatars. He gets to them before Jake and Neytiri. He's positioned in a tree above his siblings and the avatars. Bow and arrows ready, laced with a paralytic venom. His small size had always been a concern. He carried a small pouch with him that held a paralyzing liquid that could take down a palulukan in seconds. It was meant only for emergencies; he considered this moment one. 

He heard his mother give her call, and he gave one back. He notched the arrow on his bow and pulled back, waiting for his mother's signal. It came as he watched a female avatar fall forward, an arrow striking her in the head. He let his loose towards a male who hit the ground, stiffening under the effect of the paralytic. A second to the head killed the man. Spider heard the leader speak to his mother as she killed another. Spider surprised the man by killing a fourth from a different direction. His father killed a fifth. They all managed to get back to High Camp. 

Spider listened as his parents argued. They would all have to leave for the ‘safety’ of high camp. Spider disagreed with his father, but this was the one moment Spider would not insert himself in the conversation. 

The trip to Awa’atlu had been uneventful. Spider sat on Topaz—a blue Ikran with orange and black stripes. The ikran had been smaller than most. Norm told Spider she had dwarfism. He’d named her after his birth mother. She was strong and sassy. Spider loved her. 

Meeting the Metkayina was its own ordeal. Spider had mostly tuned the conversation out. He tuned back in when Ronal called his brother a demon. He had no issue being called a demon himself; his family loved him, and that is all that mattered. No one got to hurt his siblings. He positioned himself protectively in front of Lo’ak. “I was unaware a tsahik was allowed to belittle children? Where in Eywas teaching does it say you can act this way?” Ronal’s mouth pulls back in a snarl. “How dare you speak to me in such a way, Demon?!” The woman's anger does not faze him. He hisses with just as much fury. “How dare you treat children with such disrespect?! In all my time training as tsakarem with grandmother Moat, I have never been told to act as you do now!” his father moves in front of him, showing his five fingers, and Spider holds his siblings protectively. Uturu is granted. Spider's parents don't scold him for protecting his siblings.

The Metkayina’s distrust of Spider vanishes when he demonstrates his abilities. He can hold his breath for long periods, from his time wearing masks to breathe. He picked up weaving techniques quickly, learned how to fish and ride ilus. Spider had always had a way of learning everything he was taught. His siblings, however, had struggled. This, along with their features, led to bullying. 

Spider had been walking across the sandy beaches. Today was his day off. He had no goal in mind and just wished to take a calm stroll. That was until he saw his two brothers fighting with some Metkayina boys. One quick yell of their names had the two scrambling over to Kiri, placing themselves behind her. Spider hissed and pointed at them while he paced. He pointed towards their murai. Turning, the reef boys' ring leader spoke up. “Yeah, that's right! Go back to your mom!” Spider eyed the boys as they laughed, “That’s funny coming from a boy who hides behind his position as future leader. I suggest you all head home before I decide to tell everyone how the leader's son harmed those granted uturu. Or I could tell my mother.” At the mention of Neytiri, most of them had the common sense to look scared. One scoffed, quickly shutting up when Spider glared at him. 

Things became quiet for a moment, then Lo’ak came back late one night. They had gone past the reef something tonowari had scolded his son for, opinions changed as Lo’ak admitted to asking to go there. Spider could tell he was lying. He was trying to cover for Aonung. Something easy to see if you paid attention, it would seem his father didn't. Spider watched Jake go to grab Lo’ak, and Spider moved in front of him. He wouldn’t allow their father to scold his brother in anger, even if the boy may deserve it at times. One of Spider's signature glares stopped his father's rage. “How many times must I remind you not to scold them while angry? You always say things you regret later.” Spider gave his usual line of ‘leave until you calm down,’ then turned to Lo’ak. He avoided eye contact with Spider. 

Spider crossed his arms, looking straight into Lo’ak’s eyes. “You’re lying.” Lo’ak turns to him. “I-.” “Sit.” Spider points to the ground, Lo’ak looks like he wants to argue, but one glare and he's sitting. He points to Aonung, then to the spot beside Lo’ak, and the taller boy joins Spider's brother, sitting in the sand. “I understand you want to lessen the scolding he gets, but taking the blame does not fix the issue. It only changes the target of punishment. Loak, you didn't ask to go out; Aonung brought you out. He brought you out there because he wanted to scare you. I don't believe he wished to cause you harm.” One look at Aonung's guilty expression confirms it.

“Even still, he knew the risk and did it anyway. I will not let you take the blame for the actions of another.” Lo’ak looks down with a small smile on his face. He knows Spider loves him. Spider turns to Aonung and watches the boy flinch. “You have done something wrong, something that could have killed my brother. Thank Eywa it did not, or I would kill you myself.” Everyone around knows that's a promise, not a threat. “Now, this does not mean you can't do better. And while the action you did is your own, the thoughts that led you there came from those meant to teach you kindness.” 

He turns to Ronal, “You are at fault for the thoughts that led this boy to harm another. Your actions upon our first arrival here prove that. If you punish him, then you must punish yourself for teaching him that this anger was okay.” Spider leaves, grabbing Lo’ak’s hand and walking back to the murai. Later, when Jake asked how Spider knew his sibling was lying. Spider simply said that he paid attention to his family. Was it a jab? Yes, one he believed his father deserved. 

Until he realized he had done the one thing he got angry at Jake for, speaking out of anger. Spider found his father sitting on the pathway outside their door. He sat beside his dad and hugged him, apologizing for being a hypocrite. “I understand why you get angry in those moments. I know you wouldn't hurt us on purpose, but I can't let you fall into hate, as mom did all those years ago.” There it was, the thing Spider fears most: losing his family to hatred. The same hatred that led his mother to demand his death as a toddler. They'd talked about it when he got older, after he revealed he never actually forgot what happened that day. Jake and Neytiri had spent every day since, reminding him he was loved. Jake lightly strokes Spider's hair, telling the boy he would never hate any of them. He tells all his children the same thing that night.

Life continued, with the added presence of Tsireya, Aonung and Rotxo. All of which had been showing up in the Sully Murai. Spider grew used to the murai being full. He gave food to his siblings and their three new friends. 

Neteyam watched Aonung blush as Spider passed him a bowl. The boy's blush grows more when he realizes Neteyam saw him. The forest boy simply smirks. The whole family was protective of Spider. The human may be the oldest sibling, but he will be the smallest once Tuk grows. Neteyam remembers when Spider had completed his iknimaya. The number of courting gifts and offers was staggering, making Spider's obliviousness even funnier. Spider had always acted like an older sibling to the Omaticaya children, even to those a few years his senior. So he never saw any as potential partners, or rather, he never seemed to think of having a mate at all. 

It wasn't surprising to Neteyam that Spider thought the necklace Aonung gave him was just a gift. The human boy had the same reaction to the knife, the seashell-covered top, and the anklet he received. 

Though all of these gifts had led Spider to a conclusion, the wrong one, he thought Aonung wanted to court one of his siblings, and was giving Spider these items to lower his defences! Spider wouldn't let that happen! Not on his watch! 

A quick talk with his siblings tells him how wrong he is. They laugh at him for quite a while before explaining Aonung's intentions. He's almost more confused. Him? After he had belittled the guy. Spider thought about his dad and mom and realized it might be more common than he thought. He’d found aonung the next day, asking him if aonung was trying to court him. He confirmed, which caused Spider to sigh and sit down. “Do you not want me to court you?” Spider looked up into Aonung's hopeful but accepting eyes. A small blush appeared on Spider's face. “I’m okay with it,” so it continued. Aonung sat before Jake and Neytiri, asking for permission to properly court Spider. After asking Spider for his opinion, they said the boy could. 

With the first gifts already accepted, Aonung moved on to the second step, getting Spider's favourite food. Flat Skate Fish and Shelter Fruit from leopard palms in the nearby forest. It takes him a full day just to catch three fish, and ten minutes to get the fruit. He brings them to Spider and watches the boy light up at the food. Just one more step. One that has to wait until he passes Iknimaya. Until then, Spider and Aonung hang out, going on dates, that's what Jake called them. Aonung's mother admired Spider’s quick wit and his willingness to stand up for what he believed in. Tonowari admired Spider's ability and desire to learn.

Things were going well until Kiri seized at the cove of ancestors. Jake calls Norm and Max, something Spider and Neytiri both internally scoff at. Spider doesn’t hate the scientists. In fact, he is deeply grateful for their care when he was a baby. Even so, he knows the scientists won't consider Eywa and her influence in their search to help Kiri. Their immediate conclusion of ‘epilepsy’ confirms Spider's thoughts. Then Ronal brought his sister back from her coma. He may not have liked the woman at the start, but now he's grateful for her presence. Norm telling Kiri she can't connect to Eywa nearly leads Spider to scratch the man's eyes out. Then the scentists leave, and it's as close to peaceful as it can be. 

Then the Tu’anui Clan survivors come. They speak of Navi demons attacking and killing the clan members. Their tsahik is dead. Most who arrive are injured. Spider spends all his time in the healing murai. He doesn't sleep for two days and wakes up in his murai after collapsing. Ronal tells him never to do it again. That he must survive long enough to become her son-in-law. Things are no longer peaceful.

Then Ronal's spirit sister is killed, war breaks out, and his siblings set off to help a lone young bull, Payakan, whom Lo’ak had bonded with. Much like the moment in the forest, Spider is already on his siblings' tails, flying above the water on Topaz. He learns that they and Tsireya have been captured aboard a demon ship. Spider sits on Topaz flying beside his mother, waiting for his father's signal. 

It comes as Payakan launches himself up out of the water and onto the boat. Spider and his mother shoot at the demons on the ship, both the Navi and human ones. Some of their own die as well. Spider promises to mourn them when the fighting ends—chaos, fighting, and fire. 

He's on the ship now, arrow trained on the Navi demon leader’s head. He hides behind metal, watching as the man holds a knife to Kiri’s neck. He has to be precise; if he isn't, the paralyzing venom on his arrows will cause the man's seizing movements to hurt his sister. The moment arrives as his mother comes out from behind a wall, arrow notched, pointed at the man. The man pauses for only a second, knife moving just far enough away from Kiri’s neck. Spider's arrow hits the back of the man's head as his mother hits the front. He is dead.

-) Miles, for his part, notices immediately and adapts accordingly. If he sees her silhouette through a glass partition, he adjusts his route. If he hears her voice drifting down a corridor, he slips into a side lab under the pretense of inventory checks. He has already calculated the danger of proximity. He knows what happened in another lifetime when he got too close. He knows how fiercely he once loved her and her entire family, how much of himself he gave without pause. That version of him had died, gasping for air as blood pooled around his body. This version intends to survive.

-) But Kiri, however, is not easily discouraged. The more he evades her, the more certain she becomes that the distance is intentional rather than incidental. There is something in the way he refuses eye contact too quickly, something in the careful neutrality of his tone, that feels constructed. Kiri begins timing her visits to coincide with his known work hours. She asks Norm where “Assistant Socorro” has been assigned that day. She waits in common areas long after Lo’ak has grown bored and wandered off.

-) After a while, Kiri manages to corner him, trapping him in his own web. She catches Miles bent over a workstation, examining a holographic projection of fungal growth patterns when she steps into his peripheral vision and simply asks, “What are you working on?” It is such an ordinary question that it slips past his defenses before he can fortify them. He explains, carefully at first, then with growing animation, something about chemical signals, transmission speed, etc. He gestures unconsciously as he speaks. His voice warms. For several uninterrupted minutes, he forgets to keep himself small.

And they click.

-) Their conversation flows with surprising ease. She counters his scientific observations with intuitive insights, and he challenges her gently with follow-up questions and observations. She smiles, delighted, and leans closer to the projection, her tail brushing against his side. For a brief, fragile span of time, the distance collapses. They are simply two kids meeting in the middle, curiosity and friendliness sparking between them. Anyone watching might assume this is the beginning of an easy friendship.

But Spider remembers too much to let it become that.

-) The moment he realizes he is enjoying himself, really enjoying himself, he retreats. His posture straightens. His tone cools. He thanks her for her input as though she were a visitor rather than a friend. When she suggests continuing the discussion outside, he declines with a polite explanation about pending reports. The shift is subtle yet devastating. She feels it immediately: the door closing, the warmth evaporating like mist.

-) Her frustration surfaces in small flashes. Her tail flicks sharply. Her voice tightens when she tells him he doesn't have to be rude. She accuses him, not angrily, but with hurt, of acting as though she is wasting his time. He does not deny it. He simply says he has responsibilities. That word again. Responsibilities. As though connection is a liability he cannot afford.

-) The distance wounds her more deeply than outright rejection. If he were cruel, she could argue. If he were indifferent, she could dismiss his logic. But he is neither. He is attentive and distant at once, engaged yet guarded, as though standing on the other side of an invisible wall. It makes her angry in a way she does not fully understand. It makes her determined in equal measure.

-) Because beneath the restraint, she has sensed a spark. She has heard the warmth in his voice when he forgets to suppress it. And she refuses to believe that someone who responds so vividly to her presence truly wants nothing to do with her.

So she does not give up.

-) Kiri continues visiting. Continues asking questions. Continues positioning herself in his orbit, no matter how carefully he keeps her at arm's length. She does not know what exactly Miles is protecting himself from. She does not know that in another life, he loved her with reckless devotion and protected her family as best as he could. What she knows is simpler and, in its way, more powerful: he is trying very hard not to need her.

-) Early adolescence finds him integrated with the scientists rather than orbiting the Sully family. He assists researchers with sampling, cataloguing, and maintenance, earning quiet respect through maturity, diligence, and composure. The scientists see a bright, disciplined thirteen-year-old boy with unusual maturity. He is boring, normal, and human. Nothing unique about him at all. In another life, his uniqueness justified a blade at his throat. In this one, he avoids uniqueness altogether.

-) He refuses to visit the village with Norm and Max whenever they are invited for dinner with the Sullys. He declines invitations that would entangle him with the Na’vi. His distance from Jake is polite but absolute. Norm tries to encourage him to talk to other children his age, tries to encourage him to go outside, and take some pictures of the wildlife, but Miles is like stone and does not budge. For as long as Norm has known him, Miles has never set foot out of the labs, and it concerns him greatly. Children should be playing outside...right? He tries bringing up his concerns to his colleagues, but they merely shrugged them off. Miles was Quaritch's son, not theirs. He was agreeable enough, but bad blood doesn't change. Better he remain indoors than running around outside underfoot and traumatizing the Na'vi in High Camp. Just five years...and he'll be shipped to Earth once he turns eighteen.

-) By the time Kiri and Lo'ak are old enough to visit Hell’s Gate with less supervision, the rumors about Miles have already reached them. There is a human boy their age who lives inside the base. He has never been outside. He does not come to the village. He does not run wild in the forest. And why should he? In this life, Miles does not attempt, as Spider once did in another life, to blur the boundary between worlds. The scientists speak of him with admiration: bright, well-mannered, unusually mature. They mention his intellect, his precision, the way he seems to understand instructions. What they do not say, but what Kiri senses immediately, is that something about him is different.

-) The first time they glimpse him, it is nothing more than a flash of movement at the end of a corridor: a small figure turning a corner, the quick halo of short, curly blond hair catching the artificial light. He disappears before they can call out. Lo'ak, ever direct, laughs it off at first. “Maybe he’s shy,” he suggests, eagerly peering around equipment crates as though the boy might be hiding behind them. But Kiri does not laugh. She stands very still, head tilted, as if listening for something beneath the mechanical hum of the base. There is a strange pull in her chest, not recognition exactly, but absence. As though a thread that should connect has been deliberately cut...and must be re-attached. Fixed.

-) When they finally encounter him face-to-face, the interaction is brief and borderline cold. Miles, dressed in jeans, a sweater, and an oversized labcoat, is standing beside a workstation, hands folded neatly behind his back, listening as one of the scientists explains a data projection. He looks younger than the rumors suggested, small, slight, impeccably clean... Pretty (at least, Kiri thinks so) with his doe brown eyes, slight features, curls, and cherubic softness clinging stubbornly to his cheeks. When Lo'ak bounds forward with an open grin and an invitation to explore outside, to come play with him and his sister, the boy turns toward them with polite composure. His eyes are steady. His voice, when he speaks, is soft but articulate. “Thank you,” he says evenly, “but I have responsibilities here.” In perfect English. Kiri watches his face for any flicker of emotion, any crack in the armor of civility. There is none. He steps aside to let them pass, already withdrawing. Lo'ak huffs and whines, but ultimately leaves him be...but Kiri stayed behind a little longer, staring at him intensely, tail moving back and forth behind her until Lo'ak dragged her away to go look at Grace Augustine's tank. Miles can feel her eyes burning into the back of his skull and shivers.

-) Their attempts do not stop there. Lo'ak tries teasing, lighthearted jabs meant to provoke a reaction. He challenges him to races down the corridor, dares him to sneak outside for just a few minutes. Each invitation is met with a small, courteous smile and a reasoned explanation. Miles never appears irritated. He never appears tempted. It is this composure that unsettles them most. Children their age are supposed to be impulsive, competitive, and energetic. He is none of those things. He moves through Hell’s Gate like an adult rather than a boy. Lo'ak’s frustration fades into confusion...than anger. Kiri’s confusion deepens into fixation. "What is wrong with you?" Lo'ak demanded. Miles is cleaning the tools, paying them no mind until Lo'ak grabs him impulsively by the arm, causing Miles to accidentally knock over a canister of bleach. "Get out!" Miles hissed, teeth bared, and Lo'ak stumbled back in shock at the sight (in a certain light, Miles looks more Na'vi than human with that expression.) "Get out of this lab and do not come back until you can behave yourselves!"

-) For Kiri, the fixation becomes obsession. She begins requesting more visits to Hell’s Gate under the guise of wanting to see her birth mother more often. She lingers near lab entrances, listening for the cadence of Miles' voice. Kiri notices how he keeps his hair carefully trimmed and his clothes immaculate, how he avoids direct sunlight streaming through reinforced windows. She notices that he rarely speaks Na’vi, even when addressed in it (Norm says he doesn't know how to speak the language, but Kiri doesn't believe him). Most of all, she notices the way Miles studies her right back, not with curiosity, but with caution. As if proximity to her represents a risk he has already calculated. That calculation troubles her in ways she cannot understand. There is no hostility in him. No cruelty. Only distance so deliberate it feels wrong.