#omaticaya reader

Jake stumbled in the woods, looking around in wonder. But you just stared at him with annoyance as you slowly creoy back into the jungle ignoring him for now. You kept at a distance, looking at him, trying ti get a semblance of where he was.

Your eyes were intense as they stared at him.

He never realized it either, making it easier for you to hide. It was surprisingly he hadn't even noticed you yet, even if it was a bit annoying. Your mind drifted to Hometree again, wondering what your father would say if he found out if you were stalking a dreamwalker. Well you couldn't care right now. You just had to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Or you would end him.

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"Gah!" You hissed at the animals, making them flee. Then you noticed one on the floor. In pain and not dead. Your expression softened and you kneeled besides it, muttering under your breath softly. Then of course he spoke.

"Woah, I gotta hand it to you... That was pretty badass." You didn't speak to him. You continued muttering the prayer, thanking the animal for it's presence and returning it's spirit to Eywa. "Hey, I don't know if you can understand me," he shifted to get up and you glanced over your shoulder, eyes hard and tail shifting, "but I want to thank you for saving my life." You growled at him and he arched his eyebrow. How strange.

He looked so strange...

"Hey, no need for the anger, sweetheart." You didn't know what that word meant. But neither did you care. You got up, removing your knife from the carcass now and starting to walk away. What was his problem? He just came in barging, and he expected you to not be angry?-

You then felt a hand on your tail and you tensed immediately,reacting fast and turning around, tackling him to the ground. You hissed at him and his eyes were wide, hands up, "woah, woah, easy... Easy."

"... You do not thank for this." Your blade was at his throat, your hand besides his head. It would have been so satisfying to just cut... But you didn't. You remembered the sign form the Atokirina. Your shoulders were still tense. But you shifted off of him and he sat up. Looking at you like a cautious kid that accidentally taunted the cat.

"You a parasite in this forest. Leave. Now." You got up and heard him laugh, getting up as well. "Well, I can guarentee I won't be leaving you alone now! C'mon, can't I stay? I have no where to go." "You cannot stay," you started to cross a log that acted as a bridge, "no sky person can ever learn to see." He let out a sound of confusion and you clenched your fists tighter, almost breaking your knife in one hand.

You turned around slowly and he was grinning like an idiot. "Well teach me and maybe I can learn."

You were just about to hit him, until you saw a cluster of Atokirina coming. You let out a quiet gasoline, and Jake looked at you slightly confused. "Uh, what are..." He trailed off as they then started to get on them, and he swatted at one. You grabbed his hand and spoke quickly, "Kehe, rutxe-" he swatted again and you tugged at him, speaking through gritted teeth, "Atokirina!"... He took that as his queue to stop.

He stood still and you let out a shaky breath. "And what are, uhm... Akotirina." "Atokirina." You corrected firmly. "Your tone is horrible. They are spirits of the great tree... Sacred spirits..." you muttered in awe. Soon enough, they disappaited from Jake and you grabbed his hand.

You crouched down to embrace him properly, cheek pressed against cheek. A deep inhale as you retained your composure. Everything was far from over, there was no time to break down. Not yet. You could feel Spider’s breath on you, something you had never been able to experience before. You were free to kiss his cheek, his forehead, wipe his tears away. Kiri had granted Spider with the capability to breath the air on Pandora. You were not sure how she did it, you had no desire to know, you were just grateful to have your son back in your arms knowing he was unharmed.

You placed a quick peck to Spider’s cheek before rising, walking him over to the river, “Come, this paint is dry and I want to be clean.” Spider started playing around in the water, kicking it over at Amay who shrieked back and playfully snapped her jaws at Spider’s feet.

Despite you running on pure negative emotions, you were able to crack a small smile at the sight, Spider hadn’t changed at least. He was still your playful little boy, always happy. Your ear twitched as you heard raised whispers, your head turning to see Jake and Neytiri speaking to each other with worry etched all over their faces. You frowned but shrugged it off, knowing their struggles they had much to be concerned about still.

You crouched down to start splashing water up your forearms, the dark paint masking your blue skin into an almost black. You managed to get your hands clean when Neytiri’s voice caught your attention. “(Y/N), would you walk with me?”

With hesitation, you rose to your full height. You glanced a look at Spider then towards Jake but he wasn’t looking at you. Neytiri looked nervous, it was very out of character for her. You were worried but you nodded, following her as she walked some way down the river bed. She waited until the both of you were out of sight from the boys before turning to face you. Her hands shook and her eyes were glazed with unshed tears. “Neytiri? What troubles you, sister?”

She gasped, dropping to her knees to scrub her hands and face in the water. You frowned, slowly lowering into a squat position, “Neytiri?” You tried again but she gave no answer. Her hands scrubbed and scrubbed until the red paint from her face ran down her hands. A broken sob as she stared in horror at the sight. You snarled, grabbing the woman by the shoulders, “Enough, what is it?!”

Neytiri looked at you, guilt written all over her face. “He’s going to kill him..he’s going to kill Spider.”

In a flash you were on your feet, sprinting back to where the Ikran’s were. Your heart raced when there was no sight of either of them. Red clouded your vision, bursting through the treeline. Rocks and mud flicked behind you as your feet pounded against the ground. Trees scraping against your skin didn’t even register to you as you ran, desperate to get to your son. You could hear him pleading. He was close. Oh Eywa, how you roared as you took in the sight of Jake holding the back of Spider’s neck, knife by his side. Hissing, you leapt forward, tackling Jake to the ground to release his hold on Spider.

You would kill him for this. You rolled off Jake just to pounce on him again, your arms swinging as you threw punch after punch to his chest, face, throat, anywhere you could reach. Your nails clawed at his arms, he brought them up to cover his face. You cried out, leaning back to slam your hands down against his stomach, making him raise his upper body off the floor enough to grab his kuru, yanking it hard to bring him onto his knees as you leapt onto your feet. Your other hand an iron grip on his throat. His hands came up to pull at your wrists.

“Stop! Stop! Mom!” Mom, your brain recognised Spider’s voice and hesitated. You looked over your shoulder to see Spider kneeling there, unharmed. Neytiri ran through the trees, panting as she knelt down by Spider. Tears fell down her cheeks as she cupped Spider’s face in her hands, “I..see you.”

You dropped Jake, stepping back, anger and hurt rising to the surface though they were already bubbling just beneath your skin. You bared your teeth as you snarled, “You see him now? After all he has done to prove himself to you? To the clan? You never saw him as one of us did you? I have always seen him! He is a part of me and you were ready to just discard him, kill him like an animal!” Neytiri let her tears fall as she turned away from you, the truth of your words hit like knives in her chest. You craned your neck to turn to Jake, “You may be my Olo’eyktan, but I would fight even the Great Mother herself should she let any harm befall him.”

Jake raised his hands in surrender, his breath heavy as he leaned back onto his heels. “If the sky people figured out how to breathe this air, it would be over for all Na’vi. I had to… I thought if I…” he turned to look at Spider, “but I couldn’t do it. He is one of us. Not them.”

You swallowed, from a logical point you might have been able to understand their side of things, but from where you stood, you were a mother who’d just found her son been pinned down and held for slaughter, an innocent boy who wanted nothing more than peace for your kind. Your eyes hardened, “You touch him again and I will make cloth from your skin.”

Jake nodded, perhaps it was the Mangkwan paint or maybe the undiluted rage in your eyes but you were terrifying right now. He knew his wife could be a whole new level of scary but you appeared utterly formidable. He let out a breath as he slowly rose onto his feet. You walked over to Spider, encasing him in your arms tightly, feeling him immediately tighten his own arms around you.

A feeling of uncertainty ran through you, could you even trust your own people now? They have proven that Spider would not be safe with them so long as the sky people reside here. Could you have faith in their word that they wouldn’t change their minds once again?

Tensions settled somewhat, an unspoken agreement to not speak about what just occurred. The four of you headed back to the river bed. You had too much weighing on you. If this whole situation wasn’t bad enough, you still hadn’t decided what to do with Quaritch. He’d gotten himself in deep with the Mangkwan clan. ‘He’s probably gotten himself deep in Varang too’ you thought, the idea causing your lips to twist into a scowl.

Something had changed with him, some kind of sickness was spreading fast inside him. He had grown more and more obsessed with wanting to bring Jake Sully down that he had teamed up with the Mangkwan tribe. Their Tsahik, Varang, had somehow managed to get him hooked around her finger. She was deranged, violent and impulsive. You took little comfort in the notion that she was practically a crazy version of you.

It had felt good to hear Neytiri was close to cutting her kuru off, you’d wished she had. And scalped her too, for good measure. You would leave it for Quaritch to find when he returned to the hut.

It bothered you that it bothered you. You couldn’t help but feel this irrational jealousy. He had whispered fairytales of a family into your mind only to tear them apart at the first chance. He had you, both of you, but his actions drove you away from him.

It just wasn’t fair. And it certainly didn’t help that Jake felt the need to brag about having a ‘date with the chief’s daughter’. He knew he shouldn’t question it, be grateful for the opportunities he was already granted but it was hard to feel fortunate when his wildest dream was handed to someone else right in front of his face.

He’d been on another routine excursion with Grace, Trudy and Max for samples when they’d brought up Jake. Grace was excited, he knew that she saw this as a way to get back in with the Omaticaya. She should count herself lucky that she had gotten the chance to be one with the people at all. Of course, Norm couldn’t hold anything against Grace, he knew what happened wasn’t her fault and yet the guilt ate her up every day. Jake filled her with so much hope she couldn’t help but bring it up at every opportunity. Like this afternoon.

Norm was a little embarrassed at how quickly he’d gotten upset. Well, more annoyed really, his jealousy had tipped over the edge when Grace brought the whole thing up again and he’d stormed off without thinking. Grace tried to call him back but he waved her off, shouting that he needed some space.

Frustrated and needing to calm down, he walked and walked, steps heavy as his anger was channelled through his every move. They grew softer after a while and at last he came to a stop, taking a deep breath in through his nose. Norma looked down at his watch. Oh shit. He’d been walking for an hour. He sat down on a large tree root next to him, resting his elbows on his knees to place his head in his hands. He would head back in a moment, he just needed to compose himself. He sighed and rolled his neck, unaware of the pair of yellow eyes on him.

You had always been a curious thing. You couldn’t help it. Admittedly you know you were a little too far past clan territory but you were a grown woman, you were more than capable of taking care of yourself especially since you had your bow and arrows with you. Speaking of, you’d first aimed them towards the skyperson when you first locked eyes on him. But there was something about him that made you hesitate. Maybe it was his overwhelming emotions that he clearly wore on his sleeves. Perhaps his soft features or the way he gently moved around the nature surrounding him opposed to the way other sky people only knew to destroy and make their own path.

You’d tucked your weapon away, following him up in the trees. He was clearly upset about something and that curious itch of yours grew stronger. Your movements were silent and graceful, leaping from branch to branch to keep up with his long strides. You’d came to halt with him as he sat down, your head tilted to the side as you took in his disheartened form.

Your tail swished behind you with intrigue, so many questions ran through your mind and you were eager for the answers. Your friend Neytiri had found a warrior skyperson and brought him to the clan with claims of a sign from Eywa. He did seem different from most skypeople but he was arrogant and cocky even as he stumbled through the forest like a confused baby. This skyperson in front of you also seemed different, he had a gentleness to him. One you hadn’t seen in another his kind except from Grace when you took part in her school program until a few years ago.

Finally you could bear it no more, you needed a closer look. You jumped down off your branch to land in a crouched position in front of him with a soft thud. It was loud enough to gain his attention and you watched his head snap up to meet yours. Your tail whipped around behind you, your head tilting to the side making your black hair fall off your shoulders. The man quickly raised his hands in a sign of surrender, standing up onto his feet, “I…I come in peace.” Oh? He could speak your mother tongue? How pleasant.

Your eyes narrowed in suspicion and you remained silent as you slowly rose to your full height, walking around him to check for any weapons. You didn’t see anything to raise concern, but it was rather amusing to watch him dart his head side to side as he followed your movements. You could even hear his heart beat, it was so loud and fast. He was scared.

You reached your spot back in front of him, raising your hairless brow, “What are you doing in these parts?” The skyman stammered as he answered your question, his hands still raised in the air, “U-Uh, I came to gather herbs to study.” You hummed in thought taking a step closer to him. He was tall, taller than most of the clan males and his features seemed softer up close. His hair was unbraided and simply tied back with his kuru. Your eyes glanced to his hands that were still in the air. You reached out and grabbed one of his hands, pulling it closer to you to inspect it, curious over his extra fingers.

“What is your name?” You glanced at him from the side watching at his face flushed, a purple hue covering his cheeks and the bridge of his nose as he stared at your hands on one of his own. You wouldn’t admit it but you thought it was cute how flustered he seemed to be.

“My name is Norm. Uh Norm Spellman.” You hummed contently, removing one of your hands on his to slowly place against his chest where you felt the racing drum of heart beneath his skin, though it was dulled through the fabric of his strange clothing. “Calm yourself. I do not wish to harm you…yet.” Your mouth curved into a half smirk that showed your amusement at his panicked state.

He let out a soft laugh, slowly bringing his hands down. He mentally cursed as he felt his face warming but he couldn’t help it. You were so close, another step forward and you would be chest to chest. It didn’t help that he thought you were so pretty. He nervously swallowed before trying to speak, “May I ask your name?”

You started to walk around him again, closer this time. Your hands wandered over his form, his broad shoulders, his lean arms, even daring to wrap his swinging tail around your forearm before pulling it away. Your voice was light with amusement, “Ah, you speak with such formality. My name is (Y/N).”

“That’s..that’s a very pretty name.” You beamed under his praise, smiling at him as you came back into his view. His cheeks were still purple as he looked at you. You grinned, exposing your teeth and small fangs noticing the way his eyes glanced down at your mouth before meeting your eyes again.

“Do you flatter all the women you meet this way?” Your eyes were drawn to his throat watching it bob as he swallowed. You didn’t usually act so brazen but something about this man was pulling you in. He seemed so different than any of the clan males who had yet to interest you. Surely it wouldn’t be so bad just to find out more about this man.

Norm’s eyes widened, “No no! I don’t meet many women.” He cursed himself for how lame that made him sound as you covered your soft snort of laughter with your palm. “I meant to say, you are the first true Na’vi woman I have met.”

You tilted your head upwards, “I should be honoured then, to be your first impression of us. How am I doing so far?”

Norm felt dizzy, he kept having to turn around to keep eye contact as you walking around him. He hadn’t been lying, he didn’t get much female attention not even as a human. To have you, a beautiful Na’vi woman, giving him such intense contact was frying his brain. He couldn’t, or didn’t want to take his eyes off you. “Amazing. I..I mean you’re beautiful.” He switched to English at the last two words assuming you wouldn’t be able to understand him.

The way you fluttered your eyelashes at him made him suspect otherwise. You grinned up at him, “Thank you, Norm. I also think you are very handsome.” Now he was really blushing, the purple tint spreading down to his neck. You’d moved closer now, practically pressed up against his chest. He awkwardly stumbled back a few steps before his back found itself pressed against a tree. You took slow steps to follow him, removing the distance again.

He was so shy and embarrassed, you just wanted to see how much you would be able to push him before he exploded. You placed your hand on his chest again, feeling his thumping heart, “You are quite nervous. Do I make you uncomfortable?” Your ears pinned back and your eyes portrayed the sadness you felt at the idea of him agreeing with your statement.

Norm felt his mouth go dry, was this a dream? There was surely no way this was happening to him. He looked down at your hand on his chest, swallowing his nerves. “N-not uncomfortable, I’m just not sure if I’m dreaming.”

You smiled again at him, leaning in on your tiptoes until your eyes bore into his own. You saw the way his pupils dilated, “Close your eyes and see if you wake up.” Your voice had dropped to a soft whisper and there was little enough distance between you that he could feel your breath against his lips. He froze for a couple moments before his eyes slowly closed, his hands tensing against the tree he was cornered against.

His mouth was parted as he took shallow breaths. Your eyes flickered up to check his eyes were closed before landing back to his mouth. You had to gather your own courage before closing the small gap between you two, placing your hands on his shoulders. Softly pressing your lips against his for a moment before he tilted his head forward to kiss you back. His hands traded rough bark for the soft blue skin of your waist. Your ears twitched when you heard rustling in front of you close by. You pulled back and whispered in his ear, “keep your eyes closed,” before letting go of him. You bit your lip to muffle the laugh you wanted to release watching him lean forward as if he was trying to chase your retreating body.

You silently walked backwards for a few steps before turning and making a run for it back towards the clan. You had to be back home in a hour or you’d get into trouble and that was without anyone figuring out what you had been up to.

Norm waited but as the seconds ticked by his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Norm? Norm?!” Grace’s voice was far away behind him but he could still make it out from the distance. His eyes shot open, you were nowhere to be seen. A dejected sigh left him as his head rolled back to hit against the tree behind him. Perhaps it was just a hallucination, did he touch the wrong kind of plant or something? He knew it was too good to be true, why would a stunning creature like yourself be interested in him? All the Na’vi women were probably fawning over Jake. Tch, Jake. He kicked a rock by his foot as he scowled to himself before turning around and walking towards Grace’s voice. Hopefully she wouldn’t question his length of absence or what he’d be doing because he wouldn’t really have an answer for her.

He turned to look over his shoulder, peering out into the distance but saw nothing. His head tilted down as he walked back to the others, relaying every detail about you in his head.

———

Norm felt like he was in a daze, it had been two weeks since he’d last seen you and you were all he could think about. You’d even taken over his dreams, leaving him waking up in a cold sweat as he reached out for someone who wasn’t there. He couldn’t mention this to Grace or Jake and it really boiled down to the fact that he simply didn’t want to. He wanted to keep you all to himself. Maybe you didn’t know Jake but he’d seen the way women just seem to fall for his charm on many occasions so perhaps it was selfish but to him it was justified.

He’d scheduled himself in for as many expeditions to the forest as he could but he’d yet to see you again. Every time he’d been clapped round the back of the neck from Grace, too distracted staring into the forest in the hopes of seeing you to focus on his work.

He was on another expedition now, deeper into the forest. Still a way away from clan territory but he was certain it was close to where he’d met you last time. His body drummed with nerves of excitement as he mumbled some excuse to Grace before running off into the forest. She would be fine, she had Trudy and had brought three of the other Avatar students with her.

Norm panted as he looked around him, neck straining as he tried to look in the trees above him. He groaned as he saw nothing, speed walking in another direction and then another and another. It had been almost an hour at this point and he knew he didn’t have much time left before he’d be getting his ass chewed out by Grace.

He placed a hand on a nearby tree to lean some of his weight off his feet as he used his other hand to go under his shirt to lift the fabric and wipe the sweat off his forehead. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he turned to head back. As he spun around, there you were in front of him.

His ears pinned back and eyes widened in surprise but the smile on his face told you he was happy to see you. You mirrored his smile, but you’d found yourself shocked when you watched Norm press the pads of his fingers against his forehead before lowering his hand down in a curved motion, “Oel ngati kameie, (Y/N).”

You visibly perked up, a sparkle in your eyes as he performed the Na’vi greeting. You grinned, lowering your head to repeat the motion. “Oel ngati kameie, Norm.” Your voice was light with surprise but the good kind.

“You know much for a skyperson. I am impressed.” Norm blushed again and you felt that same swell of giddiness in your chest at being the reason why. None of the clan men were like him. They were very serious and straight to the point, none of them reacted to you the way Norm did. Although you didn’t really act the same way towards them as you did with Norm, but you couldn’t resist it. Everything screamed at you to push his buttons, see how far you could spread his blush.

Norm rubbed the back of his neck, “There’s still a lot I don’t know. But I don’t think I’ll get the opportunity to be taught by the Na’vi people.”

“Ah! You mean like Jake Sully? He is a friend of yours?” Norm’s head snapped up to meet yours as you mentioned Jake. Of course you knew him. You watched as his ears drooped and an air of dejection overcame him. “Erm yeah. Yeah, I guess you could say we’re friends. We work together.”

“Hm,” you were intrigued. You spied a thick log out the corner of your eye and made way to sit down on it, straddling it. Norm followed you but chose to sit facing you with one leg tucked in as the other fell straight down by his side. “He says he is a warrior, come to learn our ways.”

Norm’s jaw clenched, this was one of the last things he wanted to talk about with you, but of course, he was overlooked again. His hands started tracing the lines on the wood of the log, “Uh yeah, he’s an ex-marine soldier. There was three of us, me, Grace and him. He ventured out and got chased by a Palulukan which led him deeper into the forest where Neytiri rescued him from a pack of Nantangs. Eywa must have sent her to him.”

Your eyes were wide as you listened intently, you hadn’t known this before but it made sense. Neytiri was a strong fighter and her prejudice towards the sky people was strong albeit justified. It hadn’t made much sense for her to just pick up strays as Tsu’tey had phrased it. You shuffled closer, “I hear a tone in your voice. Are you jealous of Jake Sully? Norm?” Said man’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for water. He couldn’t think of an excuse, not while you were staring at him with your big round eyes, thick eyelashes fluttering at him. He was silent for a moment before sighing, “I..I am.” He lowered his head, embarrassed by his confession.

Your lips twisted down into a frown at his slumped shoulders and lowered head. You couldn’t bring him to the clan, not without great cause, you would get into big trouble. There was plenty you could show him out here though, it would help cure the boredom you’d been experiencing ever since you met him. You’d also been stuck with thoughts of Norm in your time apart. He’d been a big distraction to you already so you were sure this wouldn’t be a big deal.

You placed your hand under his chin, gently lifting his head to look at you. “I can be a patient teacher for the right student.” You hoped the smile you gave him was enough to drive your words home. Norm felt like his heart stopped. Your brow furrowed in confusion as you watched him pinch his own arm. He laughed, “Sorry, I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming again.”

You grinned, leaning forward, “Do you often dream about me?” Amusement tickled through you as you watched him blush and get all flustered once again. You turned your head to the left, you could hear a woman’s voice faintly in the distance. “Your first lesson shall be tomorrow. Find a way to meet me here.” Norm could only nod, not trusting his voice as you got up off the log to head back to Hometree. You paused then turned around to face Norm. You leaned down, “I almost forgot, close your eyes.”

Norm’s breath caught in his throat at your words. He swallowed, his tongue swiping over his lips that felt instantly too dry before closing his eyes. You smiled even though he could not see you, leaning down to press your full lips against his own. Your hands cradled his jaw as you kissed him, but you pulled away before he could touch you himself. With a giggle, you pressed a soft kiss to his cheek then turned to run out of sight, leaping through the dense trees. Norm waited a few moments before opening his eyes, and again he was disappointed with the empty view.

But he didn’t have to be for long, he would have the pleasure of seeing you tomorrow. He got up with a newfound enthusiasm, heading back to where Grace and the others were to catch up with them. Grace chewed him out for leaving again, all the while giving him a strange look. He thought he’d managed to play off his behaviour but when they’d put the avatars away for the night and come out of the link pods, he’d found himself cornered. He’d gotten up and stretched, a content smile on his face. Grace had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into her private office. “Who is it?”

Norm stammered, holding his hands up and scoffed, “I-I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about!”

“Cut the crap rookie. You’ve ditched the group twice in the same place for over an hour, you tell me what you’re doing or you’re off the team.” Grace folded her arms over her chest and pierced him with her firm glare. Norm sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead as he told her everything. Well, almost everything, he kept the kisses to himself.

Grace groaned, holding her head in her hands, “For God’s sake Norm, what the hell am I supposed to do with you. You’re supposed to be the smart one but you’re following in that Jarhead’s footsteps.” It had been easy to convince Grace to allow him the time to see you, promising her intel and samples and he’d even said he could try to convince you to convince the others to grant her permission to visit. And with that, he’d escaped to his room, eager to await the following morning when he could see you again.

You instinctively stood onto your feet, pushing yourself between Quaritch and Spider, your hand coming up to push against Quaritch’s chest. He barely budged, “You do not threaten him.”

Quaritch only scoffed out a laugh, lowering his head so that there was only a couple inches between you two. “If you want to take his place for a spanking, I’d be more than okay with that.”

Your snarl was barely audible over the sound of the aircraft landing, “You will never lay your hands on me.” Your tail whipped around behind you, furious. Quaritch stood back up straight, “We’ll see,” he turned to face his squad, “Let’s roll out!” You jumped out the side of the aircraft, turning back to hold your hands out for Spider, who gratefully accepted your help onto the forest floor. Quaritch adjusted the weight of his gun that was strapped across his chest before looking down at Spider, “What’s first on the agenda?”

Spider’s nervous disposition unsettled you. He turned to glance up at you briefly before turning his attention to Quaritch, “If you want the Na’vi to trust you, you’re gonna have to look and sound like them.” Quaritch frowned, rolling his shoulders, “Alright, I suppose you and your ‘mom’ can help with that, huh?” At the mention of you, your head snapped to look at Quaritch, glaring once again. You frowned before an idea came into mind. A glance down at your son to hopefully have him catch onto your plan,

“You want to look like one of us? You need an Ikran.” The journey was at least three days from here and half these idiots would be mauled to death before they could make the bond. Thus lowering the ratio of skypeople to make an attack. Spider scratched the back of his head, trying to look doubtful, “I’m not sure they could do that Mom, I know Jake did it but these guys? Hmm..” At the mention of Jake, Quaritch gritted his teeth.

“I can do anything that traitor did. Where do we get these ‘Ick-rans’?” The butchering of the Na’vi language almost made you recoil, the sound of it similar to grating metal in your ears. You huffed, head jerking in front of you, “Three days north from here. Up high in the mountains. You cannot use your aircraft, it will scare away all the ikrans.” That wasn’t exactly true, but it was advantageous to remove them from their electronics. Quaritch pursed his lips, glancing at the forest ahead back to you, “Fine. Lead the way. Any funny business and I’ll have to put a bullet between those big (e/c) eyes of yours.”

You glanced down at the gun strapped across Quaritch’s chest before walking to the front of the group. You weren’t allowed to walk too far ahead, you might run away. You ended up with Quaritch on your right, Spider on your left and the bald headed demon, who you’d heard be referred to as Lyle, behind you on your left. You wouldn’t waste your own energy killing them, not when the ikrans would hopefully do that for you.

It didn’t feel right, walking amongst your homeland with these demons surrounding you. You held your hand up to stop the group. Thankfully, you gained enough trust as a native to have them rely on your instincts. You could hear the rustling behind you as the soldiers twisted and turned, looking around to see what you heard. You took a small step backwards, ending up side by side with Quaritch. “What is it?” He asked in a soft whisper, strange to hear in his voice. You pointed up to the right where a small group of Prolemuris swung into view.

Immediately Quaritch grabbed his gun, clicking the safety off to aim at the one closest to him. Your hand pushed down the weapon, lowering it. “No! Mawey!” He frowned, raising it once again. You growled, “Down. They are not dangerous.”

“Well they look pretty freaky to me.” You huffed, making a soft animal call to the blue and yellow coloured creatures. Two yellow eyes blinked at you before carrying on their journey across the forest, the rest of them following. Once they left, Quaritch finally lowered his gun. You shook your head, “You cause trouble, waving that thing around here.”

Quaritch scoffed, tucking his left hand into the side of his vest, “This ‘thing’ is what’s keeping us safe, cupcake.” Your arms folded over your chest, tail coming around to whip at his thigh. You were slightly satisfied at his small grunt of pain. “You’re like a baby, don’t know what to do. You should listen to me. Put that away.”

“Now you listen to me, and listen well. I’m in charge here and I’ll use this gun as much as I goddamn please.” To prove his point, he raised the gun into the air, firing a round into the trees. You covered your ears from the loud noise. The trees rustled as many animals were disturbed by the unfamiliar sound. You bared your teeth in a snarl, hand coming up to clip the side of Quaritch’s head.

“Skxawng! You are not the most dangerous creature in this forest, but by Eywa are you the most foolish!” Spider came in front of you, placing a hand against your stomach to try and push you back as you hissed at the stupid man in front of you. Quaritch clenched his jaw, glaring back just as hard. The other recoms shared an uncomfortable look, it wasn’t often someone squared up to their boss like this. Lyle took a step closer, intent on separating the two of you, when there was a low growling behind the group.

Spider’s tensing and the sound of the guns being aimed had you tearing your eyes away from Quaritch to follow their eyes. You furrowed your brow as you tried to make out what was hiding. A flash of bright green eyes and shiny black skin struck fear into your heart. You gasped, grabbing onto Spider’s hand as you turned, breaking into a sprint.

“RUN!” Your shout had the Palulukan pouncing out from behind the bushes, knowing it had been spotted. It immediately tore into a recom soldier you hadn’t bothered to learn their name. His screams didn’t last long, Palulukan was a swift killer. The others tried to shoot at it, but only succeeded in angering it more, its skin impenetrable to their bullets. Quaritch was brainless enough to keep trying though. He had followed you when you ran, but turned back, getting the creature’s attention as he shot at its head and shoulders. He seemed to have a knack for pissing off the natives. The Palulukan abandoned the chase of the other soldiers, choosing to follow the three of you.

Panic set in as Spider’s hand started slipping from your grip. You cried out, stopping to reach for Spider. You would have to carry him, his human legs would not be able to keep up. Quaritch got to him first, a strong arm wrapping around his midsection. “I’ve got him! Now how do we get rid of that?!”

“Well if you hadn’t shot that thing, it wouldn’t-“

“Oh yeah? Well if you wouldn’t run your mouth-“

“Can you guys please do this another time!” Spider had your head twisting back to see him and just had enough time to bend yourself backwards, lowering your body as the Palulukan jumped over you, claws extended. A second later and you would have been sliced through like a piece of fruit on your knife.

You pressed your lips together as you saw the ditch behind Quaritch. Without much thought behind it, you ran at the tall man, turning to shoulder barge him backwards. With his hands around Spider, he wasn’t able to use his arms to balance himself out. His feet slipped and he groaned as he fell onto his ass. You crouched and hissed towards the creature now stalking you. You had to lure it away. Make Spider safe. That was all that mattered to you. The Palulukan stood on its hind legs, the frills at the back of its head flaring out as it roared, the vibrations shaking the ground.

You ran. You heard the shouts coming from Spider, which meant the Palulukan also did too, but it was focused on you now. You’d dared to challenge it and it was time to prove your worth.

You grunted as you jumped over tree roots, spun around trees to confuse it. You’d tried to climb but it was just as fast in the trees as it was on the ground. The sound of falling water refuelled your adrenaline. There was your plan. You knew you couldn’t spare the second to take a look behind you. The air around your ankles told you it was very close to you. Your eyes quickly scanned the area looking for a thick vine that would hold your weight. The creature took advantage of your distraction, closing the distance to swipe your legs out from under you.

You were quick to roll to the side, just as it dug its claws into the mud where you would have been lying. It growled at you, already trying to get you again. Finally, you saw a vine hanging down. It would have to be a gamble. You weren’t completely sure this was going to work, but it was the only plan you had. Your hand wrapped around the vine, a short test of its sturdiness. You cried out when a heavy paw slammed into your back, forcing you to the ground. The landing winded you, but you had to carry on. Sucking in broken breaths, you rolled over, using the momentum of the movement to slam your leg into its side. It moved but didn’t make a noise. It came back and you kicked it again, this time bringing your leg further up to its head.

Whining, it flinched back, giving you enough time to scramble onto your feet. Your heart beat accelerated with each step closer to the edge of the waterfall in view. Two more steps to the edge. The snapping of teeth told you it was close again. One more step. You screamed as you jumped, the vine pulling against the cliff face and turning you to the side. The Palulukan tried to stop in time, scraping its paws against the dirt but it was too late. It swiped its paws at you, crying as it fell past you and down into the water.

It was painful how your chest heaved, catching your breath now that the adrenaline of survival was no longer needed. You gripped into the vine so tight the skin around your fingers was turning a pale blue colour. Closing your mouth, you took deep breaths through your nose before trying to pull yourself up. Your hand reached over the cliff top, digging your nails into the ground for purchase. It was then you heard the soft shuffling of feet. Too light for Na’vi, it must be, “Mom!!” Ah yes, you blew out all the air you were holding in relief, Spider hadn’t been hurt. You groaned as you pushed against the ground, managing to get as far as lifting your head and shoulder above the cliff but you just couldn’t reach anything with your feet to use as leverage. Spider grabbed onto your arm to try and pull you up but you were a lot heavier than him. You knew your son was strong for a skyperson his size, but it still wasn’t enough. You gasped as your hand slipped, quickly grabbing back onto the vine before you fell to your most likely death.

“Stuck are we?”

You mumbled a curse under your breath, wishing the Palulukan had taken you over the edge with it. Your head peeked over the edge as you looked up, taking in the sight of Quaritch and the smug smile on his face as he put his hands on his hips. He grinned, crouching down to get closer, “Need a hand darlin?”

As you needed both your hands to keep yourself from falling, you settled for bringing your tail up to swat at his hand, “I do not need your help, demon!” Quaritch only chuckled, twisting his wrist around your tail, grabbing onto your arm with his other hand and lifted you with ease. You frowned, brushing the dirt off your body and your arms over your chest.

Spider wrapped himself tight around your stomach, “You looked so badass fighting that thing mom, I really thought you weren’t going to make it when I saw you go over the edge though.”

You gasped playfully at his words, placing your hand over your chest. “You wound me, my son, to have such little faith in me.” Spider laughed before catching Quaritch glancing at you with that strange look again, your son cleared his throat, pulling your hand to walk away from the cliff edge. Quaritch had nothing to say as he followed the two of you back to where you had been separated from. The remaining recom soldiers were there. They raised their guns at the sight of you, only lowering once their leader came into view.

“Relax, I’m still kicking. Alright, seems we need to make up for lost time now. Everyone head out.”

“Time we would not have lost if you just listened to me.” You took pleasure in the sound of Quaritch’s annoyed sigh. Getting under his skin was obviously not something easy to do so you had an almost sense of pride when you got his stoic mask to shift.

But he did not react the way you expected, merely shaking his head with a small chuckle and said, “I guess so cupcake.”

You frowned slightly, thrown off by his agreement. You had nothing more to say after that, but you could hear Quaritch asking Spider how to say things in Na’vi. “Don’t you think my mom is more qualified for that?”

“Maybe, but she don’t seem to like me too much. Don’t wanna have to fish her nails out my eyeballs if I get something wrong.” The corner of your mouth twitched upwards when you heard that, amused at the mental image his words provided.

You continued to walk until the night was fully settled in. The forest life around you glowed brightly as your fingers gently stroked each flower, petal or leaf you brushed against as you walked past. The forest called to you, as it always had. You were at peace, basking in the tranquility of the nature around you.

“We should rest for the night.” And there went your peace. You shook your head, “We should keep going,” you called over your shoulder.

The forest was just as dangerous as it was beautiful at night. There were many things that waited in the shadows. Creatures to prey on those who did not know the ways of the forest. A firm hand grabbed your elbow, halting your movements. You stopped but yanked your arm out of Quaritch’s grip. “We’re stopping.” His tone told you there was no room for argument. You would’ve liked to beg to differ, though when your eyes landed on your son you changed your mind. His shoulders were slouched, hands on his hips as he took deeper breaths than usual and he had to keep blinking to fight off sleep. You frowned, walking to Spider. “Fine.”

Quaritch huffed, watching you herd Spider over to a large tree root that was covered in some moss-like stuff. You sat with your back leaning against the tree as Spider lay down next to you, using your thigh as a pillow. Your hand absentmindedly stroked his hair. The recom soldiers shuffled around, taking off their heavy vests and patting the ground with their boots to test its comfort level. Your ears strained to hear the words between Quaritch and his second in command.

“I’ll take the first watch, then it’s you and Z.” The bald one, Lyle you remembered, nodded like the perfect obedient dog he was.

It didn’t take long for Spider’s body to go limp against you, he must have been more tired than he let on. Sometimes you often wondered if he pushed himself too hard because he was scared to acknowledge it. That if he made it obvious he was slower, shorter, weaker, that the Na’vi would look down on him. You wished to tell him that wasn’t the case, not for you.

“Even without the scary monsters, you’re still frowning. Don’t you ever smile?” You closed your eyes to try and will some patience to not reach over and attack Quaritch. Why must he always be such a disturbance.

“I still see one.” Your eyes opened to meet his. Your insult only provoked a grin, not the offence you wanted from him. He chuckled as he sat down near you, he had enough sense not to push his luck by sitting too close.

“You’re one tough cookie ain’t ya?”

You weren’t sure how to respond to his question, if it was even a question at all. Scowling, you turned your attention back to the sleeping boy sprawled over your leg. Spider shifted, turning to be more on his back, but still had his shoulders and head propped against you. You weren’t the only one who was watching him.

“He seems comfortable with you.” A scoff left your throat before you could stop it. “Of course he is, he is my son.”

“That’s not what I mean. He trusts you. I know he can’t have had an easy life being so different.” You frowned at the implication that Spider was unhappy with his upbringing. “He has many friends and family. He is Na’vi in here.” Your fingers pinched together to point against your chest where your heart beat beneath the surface. You continued, “He is kind and patient. He has a love for our way of life I have never thought capable from one of your kind. The people see that. They respect him.”

Quaritch went silent for a while, a tension rising between you two, so thick you could use your knife to cut it. He shifted, as if going to say something but stopped himself. You raised a curious brow at his anxious disposition. He sighed. “I can tell how much he looks up to you. You…You’re not the mother I expected for my son, but I’m glad he has you.”

Your mind was reeling as your face remained still, not giving away your spiralling thoughts. At your silence, Quaritch moved to stand up, heading to begin a small patrol around the area. You turned your head in his direction before he was too far to hear your voice. “Thank you… demon.” The word held little malice compared to at the beginning of your day.

Quaritch’s back was turned so you weren’t able to see his amused grin, but you noticed the way he stopped and twitched his ears to hear you. He said nothing as he kept walking to leave you with your thoughts. You scowled, what was the matter with you? Demons like him had no softness to them, no sense of remorse for their destruction. They knew nothing of mercy, forgiveness, or compassion. Right?

You eyes glanced down to your sleeping son. Spider was a true Na’vi spirit stuck in the wrong body. He was all those things you said and more. Jake Sully, your own Olo’eyktan, had learned to see as a Na’vi as well. That scientist man, Norm, he too was not like many other sky people. Were they all capable of such change? Was Quaritch?

Your eyes drooped as your exhaustion caught up with you. You blinked, trying to fight off sleep but your body needed rest despite feeling unsafe in your surroundings. How you wished you and Spider were back in your hut right now, cradled in your hammocks. The sounds of Spider breathing combined with the low hum of the forest lulled you into slumber, your back slumping against the tree. Your head rolled to the side exposing your long neck. Your hand still held onto Spider’s chest, an unconscious need to keep him safe, close to you.

Quaritch only meant to take a quick look at you, wanting to check if you were still awake. After spying your closed eyes he let himself explore. Yellow eyes trailed over your black hair, the patterns of darker blue over your face. Your long eyelashes laid against your prominent cheekbones forcing his gaze lower to look at your full lips. Your head moved, turning to the other side exposing more of your neck to your observer. He briefly looked at your Na’vi clothing, if you could call it that, it was the human equivalent of lingerie to him. And yet, you carried yourself as if you were wearing the most impenetrable armour. That was what drew him in the most, your fiery attitude.

You defied him at every chance, it was exhilarating. The crunching of dry leaves had Quaritch’s focus turning onto Spider who was turning in his sleep again to cuddle into your side. Even in your sleep you were the ever doting mother, your other arm coming around to lay across his waist. He turned his head away, the scene feeling too intimate to watch any longer. In all honestly, he hadn’t thought about his son until he’d came across him in the forest. He was too hellbent on bringing Sully to justice to think of such trivial matters.

But he saw a lot of himself in Spider. It had only been a couple days but he was fond of the boy, he was his flesh and blood in a manner of speaking. It was surely natural to have a paternal instinct for him. Of course, Spider hated his guts. Sully had gotten into the mind of his son, filling his head with crap about how goddamn trees had thoughts and feelings or whatever. Quaritch couldn’t help but feel jealous of the bond you and Spider had. You were a warrior just like him, a strong fighter. You could be just as vicious, he saw the fire in your eyes that reflected his own. If you could get Spider to love you, then perhaps he had a shot at this whole ‘father’ thing after all.

He frowned, walking away to do another patrol of the area before he was due to wake up Lyle and Z for their watch. He needed some space to stop the thoughts of you and Spider clouding his mind.

~ Taglist ~

(I just put everyone who commented on part 1 as I don’t usually do tag lists)