Wretch, a na'vi's story parts 6-10
Frozen in fear, Wretch looked towards the hall where the sky people slept.
"Run, my boy," cried Hajir, as he himself led the other children to the exit.
But he couldn't make his feet move, when his mind was already racing. The lab techs weren't going to stop because their play things went missing. They were never going to stop. They had to be stopped.
He had looked back down at the keycard in hand when the first guard had entered the hallway. Firing the hot stick with a loud ZAP, Wretch flinched to attention, he knew what they had felt like.
"You've got nowhere to go, you freak! Stand down," demanded the guard.
Instinctively, Wretch's eyes narrowed as he bore his teeth and hissed.
Challenged, the man lunged. Wretch had gotten a hand behind his shoulder and pushed him aside. Taking the opportunity, ge rushed to the nearest door and slid the card.
The door opened and green dots reflected within the dark room. Then, like flashing shadows, they darted out into the hallway. A pair of viperwolves sped straight to the vulnerable human.
More men and women with snapping prods came in. Wretch had been burned before he got to the next door. Another two emerged, and joined the pack to attack.
Wretch had began to strike as well, but the Pandorans were outnumbered, and began dropping one by one. He had turned in attempt to open another of the cells when he was struck in back of the knee. He rolled to his back to look at his assailant. Once their eyes met, they shoved the prod into his shoulder.
Wretch screamed in pain as the stick singed his skin. They had turned the power up on the poles, they weren't playing around. His muscles seized from the electricity, and he was in searing pain.
Nobody had noticed the thud thud thudding from a nearby cell until the prod was momentarily removed from Wretch's now severely burnt shoulder. Everyone's attention turned to the noise, and Wretch took his one and only opportunity. He picked the card back up to open one last door, hers.
The she thanator bursted through the door as the lock clicked open. She pounced on the very guard that had scorched a mark into Wretch's shoulder.
Tearing flesh beneath her claws and teeth, the ferocity had been restored to the aged beast.
Wretch had felt deep in his heart he had no reason to fear her. It was just like in his dreams and he now saw her. The remaining guards were regrouping, giving him a moment to breathe.
It had only been mere minutes since the sky people had noticed Hajir had taken the security card. Now there were dead on the ground, and one of Pandora's deadliest predators meters away, no barrier.
The last viperwolf was limping away as the guards prepared for a counter-strike.
Wretch looked towards the she-beast and their eyes locked, just for a second. She then ran straight towards the men, ready to kill. Her powerful muscles propelled her with incredible speed, even at her age.
Wretch saw this as his change to run. He made his way towards the exit, scanning the card on every door he could. Behind him was a loud mess of screaming, roaring, thuds, ripping. He didn't dare look back, just moved forward.
As he advanced through the corridors, towards the exit, he didn't see anyone else.
He had been separated from Hajir, and the other Na'vi children. They all escaped. Some leaving to join the resistance, others disappeared into the forest.
The entrance was already left wide open. It was night, and while there was no sun, it was bright. Plants and insects glittered across his vision. The air was fresh and full of life.
He looked around, but none of his companions could be seen. There were no obvious signs as to any one direction to go, he had to find his own path.
Wretch headed north and found a cliff that lead down to a river. Climbing down was harder than he anticipated and fell. Tumbling down the side, now feeling his previous injuries. The blisters on his burn had began to bleed.
After taking a moment to catch his breath and get his feet under himself, he went to the waters edge to rinse out his wounds. Wretch thought the first thing he should do is find shelter. He flicked the water off his hands and decided to walk a up-river, away from the lab.
Bugs flying around the water, little trees with pods growing on the sides, Wretch couldn't help but smile a little. Soon he came across a hollowed log, wedged between some boulders. Wretch climbed in, searching for signs of habitation but saw no such thing.
The snap of a branch outside, his ears whipped up. He peered out of the opening of the log, looking around. Then he saw her, a wild na'vi.
"I know you're there, you know? No need to hide." A Na'vi had seen him walking along, and called out. "You need not be alarmed friend," the Na'vi began to approach.
Wretch had not changed his defensive stance while the other na'vi had advanced. He was injured and scared of what this stranger may do. He covered his wounded shoulder with a hand and hissed.
The na'vi took pause then gave a slight chuckle. "I am not going to hurt you child. Where is your family? Nga soaia?"
Hearing those words, those non-alien words, his chest felt heavy. The words sounded sweet. Wretch dropped his guard enough for the stranger to approach.
She introduced herself as a Kame'tire healer named Pu'virä. Still standing a few steps away, she pulled something out of her side pouch. It looked like the pods from those little trees.
"Dapophet, they will help heal your wounds little one," she said to him softly. Pu'virä held a pod out for him to take.
Wretch grabbed the little fruit and sniffed at it. Much like everything else around him, it looked strange and unfamiliar.
"You eat it, child. Has your sa'nok taught you nothing?"
He bit into the pod as he was told. Pu'virä pulled more from her pouch, something that looked like a small pot. She scooped a salve out of it onto her fingers and went to apply it to his wound. Wretch flinched before loosening and allowing her to apply it. The salve felt cool, and had helped lessen the pain.
Pu'virä could tell from the start something wasn't right with the boy. Until she could give him a proper examination though, she would have no idea what she was truly dealing with.
It had been a few days since Pu'virä had met this strange boy. He spoke no na'vi, never left his back open. He seemingly had no parents or clan and wouldn't even tell her a name. She could tell this child had been through a lot, but what she did not know.
He had been staying in the log where she had found him, and he comes to the entrance for treatment when called. He hadn't allowed he to do a full examination on him, so she wasn't sure if she wasn't even treating all his injuries. Pu'virä was mostly attending to the burn on his shoulder and the scrapes on his hands and feet, which had seemed so tender. As though he had never ran across the forest floor.
Carrying a basket of supplies to the log's entrance, she could smell the boy was still in there. Two clicks and a low whistle and the boy had peaked out.
"Hello, ma'kalin, how are you feeling today?", she greeted him warmly and slowly.
Wretch shuffled forward, always keeping his back to her. "I'm good, Virä", he answered quietly.
Pu'virä smiled and began to unpack what she had brought that day. "You would heal better if I had a better look, you know I dont want to hurt you. I want to help you."
He shifted uncomfortably where he had sat. Wretch kept his tail nub behind him and his hair down on his back, hiding his differences from the na'vi woman. After having seen how truly different he was, he was scared of showing his true self. He hadn't even told her his name, knowing what it means.
Pu'virä began to rub the salve on his burn again. Wretch didnt like hidding from her and it was getting harder with her insistence to help. It had taken some time, but he had mustered the courage to ask about her braid. If she had seen a na'vi without one.
Pu'virä's tail swished, the question was an upsetting one. "Why would you ask such sad things? One without kuru is one without Eywa." There was a weight in what she said that even the boy could feel, but then he had to ask.
She felt her heart drop at the question. He didn't know the language, didn't have a family, it all made sense. She gently grabbed him by the shoulder to turn him around.
What she saw would haunt her. A kuru severed, nearly at the base. His tail cut down to less than half. She had seen the scars on his arms legs and face, but they followed along his back. Burns, bites and claws.
"Fe'ranvi, you poor boy, who did this to you?" she asked as she gently stroked his scars.
"RDA," he answered flatly. "I was little, dont remember much."
She cooked him a special dinner that night. He happily ate anything, but Virä knew hot meals were always best for a healing body. It was a night noisy with viperwolves and the boy had asked her not to leave.
Wretch fell asleep in her arms. Something he had not done with another na'vi since the lab.
The skin around Wretch's burn had regrown as the weeks went on. Pu'virä had continued to see to the boy, and tend to him. She couldn't tell his exact age, but it was clear he didn't have any survival skills, and struggled with basic tasks. She had thought if taking him to the herbery, a na'vi camp not far from where he stayed. The Kame'tire rejected outsiders staunchly, especially the acting leader, Mokasa. Not that the boy would have wanted to go, he was wary of others.
Wretch did not fear Pu'virä, but he always watched. Eyes darting whenever she moved. His ears flicked, to hear her every move, every sound. He liked her na'vi words, thinking they were pretty.
Wretch would still refuse to tell Virä what the lab techs would call him, but he would respond to whatever she called him. He was however particularly fond of fe'ranvi. Her na'vi words were sweet and warm, what he thought a mother would be like. She in return, began to see him as a son.
It wasn't a steady progression of growth. Wretch was a child of trauma, and acted as such. He would become triggered and lash out. All Pu'virä could do was comfort him, and show patience.
The cold rain would remind him of the forced cold showers. The sight of lightning brought back flashes of prods. Pu'virä had stayed in the log with him on nights the viperwolves were particularly active. Because of that, she was sometimes present for his night terrors.
Screaming and kicking, there had been a few times he had hit or scratched her. Pu'virä was good about not taking it personally, but the boy always felt guilty after an episode.
The nights without her were worse, though he would never tell her. His evenings were often cold and sleepless. Other nights he could rest between sobs.
Despite the hard work, Virä cared deeply for Wretch. Spending so much time together gave her time to teach him the basic survival skills he was lacking. Identifying and gathering, starting a fire, using his senses. Pu'virä wasn't much of a crafter, but she traded for the things they needed.
Virä had traded some nice materials she had been saving for a basic, but sturdy short bow. She thought it perfect to teach her boy to shoot with, and it was perfect weather for fishing.
Seeing from his left eye, especially during the day, was difficult. The sparkling water even hurt a little when it shined in his face. It had taken Wretch a couple of tries, but he had managed to shoot a bouyfish with Virä's guidance. They had fish soup that evening for supper with some radar mushrooms north of the logs opening.
After listening for viperwolves, she left for the night. Ensuring he would get a peaceful night.
Pandora changed Wretch the longer he was embraced by her. His once pale skin began to deepen in hue. His hair grew long enough for Virä to braid the back, almost like a short kuru.
Nearly a year into his freedom, Wretch had heard scorpions flying overhead. Not an uncommon thing. What was strange was where they were going, the old lab. He hadn't seen activity there for a year, other than the animals coming and going. He decided he'd scout, and find out what they were up to.
Wretch had arrived to see three armed soldiers coming exiting the scorpion. They were busy unloading, giving him time to conceal himself and listen.
"Listen up, all we need to do is see if there is any salvageble data in the lab. In and out while the battle is going," said the first.
"At least we're cleared for fire arms. The sorry bastards that died here had glorified cattle prods," replied a second.
"They shoulda never gave those tree huggin' scientists avatars, no wonder they started a war," whined a third. "Now we gotta pick up their trash because we might have to retreat?"
Wretch had heard and avoided RDA before. Amps and scorpions, soldier's needless fire. After all that they were leaving Pandora? He continued to listen.
"You don't think the blues can win do you?" the whiner asked the first, who seemed to be the leader of their squad.
"Doubt it, but they want us prepared. All bases covered. Worst case scenario, planet wide evacuation."
The sky people did lose the battle and would leave after that day. Toruk Makto lead the clans to victory and the RDA lost the battle in the Hallelujah Mountains, forced to retreat. That was also the day the other Sarentu children were frozen, for the next fifteen years. Wretch had heard of their existence in the lab, but wouldn't learn what happened to them until after they awoke.
It was twilight when Wretch made it home to Pu'virä. She was with him almost everyday, and helped turn his hollowed log into a home. They had hung hammocks, and there were baskets for storing food and such.
Wretch liked to explore around the stealth river, mostly around dawn and dusk, when it was easiest to see. His vision was poor on the left side due to his childhood injury, and was sensitive to light.
He never traveled far, worried he'd run into one of the feral animals he had set loose. There was the herbery north west, but he stayed weary of other wild na'vi as well. He never ventured closer than the edge of a nearby camp, just to listen. Songs, stories, laughter.
He had grown quiet and careful, though still clumsy at times. Feeling the life around him helped, but his shortened tail somewhat hindered his balance. And no matter how naturally he lived, he felt the disconnect.
Pu'virä made several attempts to make her Fe'ranvi more comfortable with nature, understanding his inabilities. On a few occasions she even called her ikran, Rangal. She was a sweet and tender soul, much like Virä. Seeing her reminded Wretch of Hajir and what he would say. How the ikran were vital to the Na'vi way, like they were tools. Rangal was no tool. She was a powerful, gentle, living thing.
Although Wretch never attempted contact with Rangal, it gave Pu'virä hope. Hope maybe one day they could find a way to fly together. She truly loved him like a son.
It had been a year to the day when Pu'virä had found the boy, she brought him a special surprise. Wrapped carefully in a scrap of fabric, the beginnings of a songcord, with all the milestones they had gone through together. A long, mostly bare, strand with a few beads and trinkets. A moon to symbolize their meeting, a fish scale from his first fishing lesson.
Pu'virä added a new bead for her soncord as well, to symbolize her true recognition of him as her son.
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