let me heal you is one of my fave fics ever!! could i request a dreamwalker!reader x tsuโtey where tsuโtey has to teach reader the ways of the people because if he teaches jake heโll rip his head off and he develops a major crush on the reader
Thank you for your request! This took me way too long to do for some reason.
Warnings: blood, violence, loss
Pandora. A planet full of new colours, knowledge and danger. Compared to Earth, it was heaven. Except, you canโt get there by dying. Instead, you must pledge your life force to science. Even then, only incredible luck got me here. Not as much luck as Jake Sully had, though.
The ex-marine, paralysed from the waist down, had a brother. I remember when Tom died. There was no funeral. No one hold funerals anymore. We spent years together, learning about Pandora and preparing to be launched into space. Tom was killed barely a month before we were due to leave. Six years in cyro canโt fix that pain.
Now, I watch Jake Sully, standing in Tomโs tall blue Avatar body, marvelling at the dirt between his toes. Human or not, he looks exactly like his brother.
Today was our first time linking to the artificial Naโvi vessels. The lack of a mask on my face feels strange, but strangely relieving. The Pandora atmosphere, containing curiously higher percentages of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and xenon, feels different to oxygen, somehow thicker as I breathe it in. Itโs almost an out of body experience. I can feel my body, and I know it is mine, but when I look, it feels as though it is someone elseโs. But that will go away in time. For now, I will enjoy the new freedoms and sensations that come with the Avatar.
The next morning, at 0600 on the dot, I am in my Avatar, and we are soaring above the Pandora jungle. I lean out over the edge of the helicopter beside Jake, who is also in his Avatar. We are zooming low over a huge body of water, accompanied by a flock of purple creatures, that squawk when we get too close.
The air craft rises again, over the trees, before descending onto the forest floor. Immediately, I jump down, ignoring how Jake waved his gun around like an idiot. He pushes ahead of me as the helicopter shuts off, tail whipping my leg. I hissed in annoyance, but followed behind without protesting.
We trepassed through the jungle, and despite the mind-blowing scenery, all I could think about was Pandoraโs humanoid inhabitants. The Naโvi. The people we were impersonating with our Avatars. I was fluent in Naโvi, but Doctor Grace liked to tell me that my pronunciation was off. I think she just likes to get on my nerves.
The Naโvi were hunters by nature, and dangerous creatures that could kill you without batting an eye. Or so everyone would have us believe. Doctor Grace says the Naโvi are intelligent, sympathetic creatures, no different from us. Either way, I am certain that they are watching us right now.
Green monkey-like creatures with 6 legs swing through the trees. Jake raises his gun, but I reach out to lower it.
โProlemuris.โ I tell him, watching as they cartwheel away from us. โThey are not aggressive.โ
โRelax, marine. Youโre making me nervous.โ Grace says loudly, rolling her eyes and pushing past.
Eventually, Jake keeps walking.
โSo,โ Norm speaks up after sometime. โHow will they know weโre here?โ
โIโm sure theyโre watching us right now.โ Grace replies nonchalantly, echoing my thoughts from earlier.
We emerge from the thick forest and into a clearing. In the centre is a small, rotting, wooden hut. Grace strides in confidently, and the rest of us follow, a little less certain. Inside is the remains of a school. Books, which used to rest neatly on shelves, are scattered across the floor. Most of the desks remain upright, with chairs tucked underneath, but some are upside down and have been strewn across the room.
I watch silently from the door as Doctor Grace trails her hand sadly across a desk. When moves to another part of the room to gather equipment, I approach where she previously stood. Squinting a little, I can make out the rough letters scratched into the desk. โSylwaninโ.
โWhat happened here?โ Jake questions, snapping me out of my thoughts. He stands next to an old black board, which is riddled with bullet holes.
Grace inhales sharply, and I watch as she fumbles for an answer. She finally settles on avoiding the question entirely. โAre you gonna help us here? Weโve got a lot to do.โ
As Doctor Grace and Norm collect samples from a tree root, I wander off into the jungle. I enter another clearing, this time filled with round, spiralling plants. My hand brushes one, and it shrinks back into a little bud on the floor.
โWhat are you doing?โ Jake demands, appearing from behind me.
I canโt help but giggle like a schoolgirl. โWatch this.โ
When I poke another plant, Jake laughs too. I tough another, then another, and then they all shrink, leaving the clearing empty. My amusement fades away as Jake tenses beside me, and I spot a huge, armoured hammer-headed creature snorting at us from the trees. Jake yanks me behind him, and raises his gun. Fear spikes in my chest.
โDonโt shoot. Youโll only piss it off.โ Graceโs voice crackles through the intercom in my ear.
โI think itโs already pissed off.โ Jake responds, still pointing his gun at the creature.
โTrust me, Jake. That armour is too thick.โ The marine relents, lowering his gun. Grace continues. โItโs a territorial threat display. Donโt run, or heโll charge.โ
โThank what am I supposed to do, dance with it?โ
โJust hold your ground.โ
The animal huffs, pawing the ground, before letting out a roar and charging anyway.
โGraceโฆโ I mutter, frozen in fear.
With a scream of his own, Jake ran, headfirst, towards it. My heart skipped at least three beats before the creature skidded to a halt, the webbed fans behind its hammer head spreading in alarm. It slinked away into the forest and Jake whooped in victory.
โOh yeah! Whoโs bad?โ He shouted triumphantly. โThatโs right. Thatโs what Iโm talking about. Bitch.โ
I laughed in relief, turning away from Jake to catch my breath. It did not take long for my blood to turn to ice again.
โThatโs right, get your punk ass back to mommy.โ
โYeah, yeah you got nothing! You keep running.โ
โJake!โ I hissed, a little louder.
Finally, he turned around. โWhat?โ
The black, slick, panther-like thanator roared threateningly. It loomed above me on the tree, before leaping over us and growling at the pack of hammer heads. Jake raised his gun again in alarm.
โSo, uh, what about this one? Run, donโt run?โ
I grabbed his arm and pulled him in the other direction. โRun, definitely run!โ
Leaping over a tree root, I rushed into the forest, Jake following close behind. I weaved around a tree, then through bamboo looking plants, then under a tree root. Still the thanator roared and crashed behind me. Launching myself off a particularly high rock, I curled my hands around a vine, using the momentum to swing myself up into a tree. The creature raced past, instead favouring Jake, who had taken refuge in the roots of another tree. He fired his gun desperately, but it did nothing to slow his pursuer. I searched my surroundings frantically, looking for someway to help. My eyes landed on the crack in the branch I stood across from.
My hands grappled for another vine, and I swung at the branch, hard. I was rewarded with a sickening crack. Still, the thanator dug at the roots, claws dangerously close to Jake. I swung again, once, twice, three times, until, with particularly loud crack, the branch plummeted to the ground, landing on the thanatorโs tail. It screamed out, and Jake scrambled, running into the jungle. I grabbed another vine, sliding down and following after. The thanator kept screaming.
Jake ducked under a root ahead of me. Before I could make it through, the thanator soared over me, grabbing Jake by the backpack and swinging him through the air. He unclipped the back, and went tumbling to the ground. I rushed between the creatures legs as it shook the bag out of its jaws, and pulled him up with one hand. We kept running.
We hurtled through a break in the trees. The little control we had over our Avatar bodies was not enough to stop us as we realised we were fast heading off the edge of a cliff. I scream ripped out of my throat as the thanator snapped its jaws behind us. I crossed my arms over my chest and pushed my legs together. All I could do was hope that there was water beneath us.
My feet hit the rapids first, and the rest of my body followed. I did not have time to swim to the surface for air, because my head struck a rock, and I was rendered unconscious.
When I could think clearly again, the first thing I wondered was if I was dead. Then I realised that I certainly wasnโt, because why was my dead spirit being jostled around like a sack of potatoes? I pealed my eyes open, glad the light was not too bright. As it turns out, the person tossing me around was strangely familiar.
The person looked down at me and grinned. โYouโre awake.โ
It was Jake, still in Tomโs Avatar. He had one arm under my knees, and the other across my shoulders, carrying me through the jungle. My head throbbed, and when I reached up to touch my forehead, my fingers came back with flakes of dried blood on them.
โHow long have I been out?โ
โHours.โ Jake said worriedly. โI was beginning to think you wouldnโt wake up at all. But hey, look on the bright side.โ
He nodded ahead of us. A tall blue Naโvi woman carrying a bow stalked through the trees. She looked back occasionally, as if checking we were still there.
โHell yeah it is. Sheโs taking us back to their village.โ
โOh wow,โ I muttered, taking her in. โWhatโs her name?โ
โThatโs a good question. Iโll ask.โ
He did not get the chance, because his legs came out from under him, and we fell from the particularly high tree branch we had been walking across. I groaned loudly in pain when we hit the ground, unable to move as Jake frantically pulled on the rope around his ankles. As he tossed it away, more Naโvi on 6-legged, horse-like creatures emerged, wielding weapons.
Jake drew his knife, turning to see more Naโvi behind him. I struggled to stand, the pain in my head making me dizzy. I looked up, only to meet the eyes of a Naโvi. He aimed his arrow, no doubt laced with a neurotoxin, at my chest. I raised my hands in fear.
โCalm, people, calm.โ The woman that had been leading the forest shouted. Despite being fluent, it took me a moment to translate the words.
The Naโvi pointing the arrow at me lowered his weapon, dismounting his horse thing, and stalking toward the woman.
โWhat are the doing, Tsuโtey?โ The woman asked.
Tsuโtey. His name was Tsuโtey.
โThese demons are forbidden here.โ Tsuโtey replied.
โThere has been a sign.โ The woman insists. โThis is a matter for the Tsahรฌk.โ
I could not begin to comprehend what that meant, because my legs began to shake uncontrollably, and I fell to the ground again. Tsuโtey stared down at me, before grabbing me roughly under the arms and pulling me up on the horse thing with him, and laying me across his knees. I gasped, the sudden movement amplifying the dizziness in my head. I looked back to see Jake being dragged behind us by the Naโvi on foot.
When the jungle began to thin out, a huge tree came into sight. This was where the Omatikaya clan lived. The tree was at least three times bigger than the tallest tree in the jungle, and Naโvi flowed in and out of the trunk from a cave-sized hole at the base of it.
We rode straight into the hole, and the horse things began to slow down. Tsuโtey dismounted, pulling my down with him. My legs were still weak, but I managed to stand.
โThis is so cool,โ I whispered, gazing round at the curious eyes of the Naโvi around me.
Tsuโtey gave me a funny look, before ushering me forward through the crowd, that parted like a sea. I could count the four fingers pressing into the skin between my shoulder blades, although his touch was not rough like before. Some of the people whispered among themselves, and others reached out to touch me, darting away quickly, as though my five fingers were contagious. A little girl grabbed some of my hair, forcing me to stop. My hair went past my waist, since I had not had the chance to cut it. I smiled at her, and she giggle shyly, letting go. Tsuโtey pushed my forward.
We came to a stop, and soon Jake was pushed into position beside me. The woman stepped in front of us, talking to an older man with a huge belt across his shoulders. He approached, scanning us critically. I made the gesture the woman had made a few moments before. Three fingers to the forehead, then forward. I see you.
โWhy do you bring these demons here?โ He questions. The commanding tone, plus the decorations adorning his body. He is Olo'eyktan, the leader of the Omatikaya clan.
โI was going to kill them,โ The woman says. โBut there was a sign from Eywa.โ
Thatโs the second time sheโs mentioned a sign. What does that mean?
โI have said before, no dreamwalker will come here.โ The Olo'eyktan booms.
โWhatโs he saying?โ Jake whispers.
โThe alien smell fills my nose.โ
โYou smell bad.โ I whisper back, holding in a laugh at the confused expression on his face.
โMy father is deciding whether to kill you.โ The woman says.
Jake shifts uncomfortably. โYour father. Itโs nice to meet you, sir.โ
He steps forward, offering his hand, and the Naโvi behind him leap to restrain him. I step forward too, quickly shoving Jakeโs arm back to his side. The woman shoves him back, and Tsuโtey steps in front of the Olo'eyktan defensively.
โStep back!โ Someone calls. โI will look at the aliens.โ
A woman descends from a stairway above. She is decorated too, but not as much as the Olo'eyktan.
โThat is mother.โ The younger woman says. โShe is Tsahรฌk, the one who interprets the will of Eywa.โ
โWhose Eywa?โ Jake asks.
I groan in annoyance. Can he be anymore oblivious? The Tsahรฌk circles us, pulling on Jakeโs braid and tail, then running a hand through my hair and examining my fingers.
โWhat are you called?โ She asks, her Naโvi accent dripping over the English words.
โAnd you?โ She looks to me.
โMy name is (Name).โ I say in Naโvi, gesturing I see you to her as well.
The woman huffs a little, then withdraws a small pointy spike from her necklace. She reaches out suddenly, slicing it across both out faces in one fluid strike. I recoil in shock, then stead myself again. She licks it with her tongue, and her expression immediately changes to one of surprise.
โWhy did you come to us?โ She questions.
โWe came to learn.โ Jake replies confidently. I look at him out of the corner of my eye.
โWe have tried to teach other Sky People. It is hard to fill a cup that is already full.โ
โMy cup is empty, trust me.โ Jake insists. โJust ask Doctor Augustine, Iโm no scientist.โ
Jake is silent. โI was a marine-โ
โHe is a warrior.โ I cut in, thinking as quickly as I can with the pounding of my head. โOf the Jarhead clan.โ
โA warrior!โ Tsuโtey cries. โI could kill him easily.โ
โNo.โ The Olo'eyktan stops him. โThis is the first warrior of the Sky People we have seen. We need to learn more about him.โ
โMy daughter, you will teach him our way.โ The Tsahรฌk says.
โWhy me? Why not Tsuโtey?โ The other woman hisses.
Her motherโs lips twist a little. โThey will likely kill each other before the day is out. It is decided. My daughter will teach you our ways, Jakesully.โ She approaches me again.
โWhat about her?โ Jake asks, gesturing to me.
Yeah, what about me? Butterflies flap in my stomach. What if she kicks me out? Iโm not a warrior. I am a scientist.
โThat depends. Are you a warrior?โ
โNoโฆโ I say. โBut I can learn, too.โ
The Tsahรฌk cocks her head. โWhy should I believe you?โ
โShe is a warrior.โ Jake cut in. โJust a different kind.โ
โWhat are you doing?โ I whisper.
โSaving your ass.โ He mutters back. โShe came here to save her people down on Earth. She will learn, trust me.โ
It is silent, as the woman before me contemplates what to do. โTsuโtey, you will teach this one.โ
Tsuโtey growled. โBut-โ
โYou will learn, child, or you will leave. Now go.โ Tsahรฌk waved her hands. โYou must begin immediately.โ
With a hiss, Tsuโtey stalked toward me, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me through the crowd. I stumbled on my own feet, struggling to keep up with his pace.
โWhy are we in such a rush?โ I huffed in annoyance when we had ascended to a higher, less crowded level of the tree.
โWhat is rush?โ Tsuโtey asks, still leading me through the village.
โUm, to do something quickly, I guess.โ
We stop at large hut. As we go inside, I take in the three women sitting in the corner, and the piles of bowls containing brightly coloured pastes around them. The rest of the floor is covered with woven mats.
โThis is the healing hut.โ Tsuโtey says.
10 minutes later, we emerge again. The wound on my head is clean and covered with a patch. The healers had retrieved a few garments of Naโvi clothing. A cloth top winds around my back, across my chest and loops around my neck. A second, much smaller cloth dangles between my legs, held up by a strap that curves above my hips. It definitely covers the extremities, but not as much as Iโd like. I suppose this is a part of the learning.
Again, Tsuโtey grabs my arm, leading me further up and into a large communal level. In the centre is a bonfire, and Naโvi circle it, all crouched on their hunches. We walk right through the crowd and sit at the front. Tsuโtey hands me a rolled up leaf. Upon opening it, I pick up one of the contents. It is a beetle shaped thing. Tsuโtey crunches on his own, so I follow suit. Its hard on the outside, but soft and smooth in the middle. It kind of tastes like chicken soup, justโฆ solid.
Beside me, the woman from the forest pushes Jake down to sit.
โHey,โ He says to me.
โHi.โ I wave back, munching on a beetle thing.
Jake talks to the woman, who eventually introduces herself as Neytiri. Tsuโtey hasnโt said a word to me since we left the healers.
โSo, Tsuโtey, what is this stuff?โ
โTeylu. You callโฆโ Tsuโtey pauses to search for the words. โBeetle. Larvae.โ
