Tsu'tey is my dad

All pronouns, I just wanna succumb to the moss tbh (18)

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Masterlist

Licking Blood Off Knives (a.k.a. me pushing the dad Tsu’tey agenda except there’s a lot of unnecessary plot bc why not.)

[ 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9 ~ 10 ]

Jake is not the only avatar the Omaticaya decide to take a chance on. A failed government experiment must also prove themselves alongside him. Will this prove too much for an already overflowing cup? Will their insanity be cured? Or will they spiral further with Tsu'tey as the one assigned to teach them?

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A Demon for A Demon

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

They finally confront three things: one, that they've warmed up to Tsu'tey, two, that maybe thinking of death so often isn't so good, and three, the infamous iknimaya. (3.1k)

Soooooooo, another New Year's is nearing and I've only just revived this blog and myself. I have no excuses for the near three years it took to post this. Too lazy to edit the past stuff but dawg what even is that. Haven't seen the new movie yet. But yeah. Have whatever this is. Not proofread.

Soon, if they were successful, they would become one of the people. A true warrior. One who'd made the choice for themself instead of being forced into it by blood and threat of injury.

They were seated in the alcove shown to them a few days ago. On that day when they confessed to being sent to kill the people. They were ready to be yelled at. Pushed. To finally meet the fate they'd narrowly escaped over and over whether by gunfire or the edge of a knife or blood spilling too fast from their body. A fate they'd accepted long ago. They were ready.

Instead Tsu'tey didn't make a big deal of it. He told them he had nothing to forgive, as they had done nothing wrong. He smiled, even, looking perfectly settled in his decision as if it had been a simple deliberation.

They were ready for it to be a big deal. For him to banish them. Call them a traitor. Kill them. Have them killed. But instead he steered the conversation elsewhere with ease. Silently telling them it was okay.

And then they felt bad for an entirely different reason because why had they always thought he would kill them? Sure, he talked about it often enough in the first weeks of their mentorship but somewhere along the way — after they left for Site 26 and the world felt easier to breathe in, after the time they split their fingers open on the bow — those had turned into harmless jokes they hardly ever noticed. Somewhere along the way he had started to smile, to nudge, to hand them breakfast and actually talk to them during dinner, but never once had they stopped to re-evaluate how they saw him.

A mentor. Strict. Stubborn. And, while shivering in that alcove more from adrenaline than from cold, they allowed themself to see him as a friend. Because he had been. The jokes. The teasing. The little challenges he would give to help them train.

He had been a friend for all those months and yet they still viewed him as the one behind the bow, who would have driven an arrow right through their heart.

That would have to change. It did change.

They accepted that it would not be their fate to be killed. At least not by Tsu'tey's hand. Not as a traitor.

It didn't change like the sky turning green or gravity shifting, but like a final puzzle piece put in place with a satisfying click. Quiet. Fitting. An exhale after holding your breath for too long. The feeling of being without the terrifying thought of becoming unmade.

He was a friend as much as he was a mentor, and over the days they accepted that as he had accepted their origin, though the ease with which he did still confused them.

Their relationship suffered no strain from the new information. If anything, they felt as if he showed more care now. In his own way.

That still felt weird. All those years accepting that they were a mere weapon to be held by whoever could deal the most damage, pointed at whatever got in the way. Then being referred to as a child amidst it all, as if that absolved them from all sin. Then accepting that absolution.

It reminded them of Tommy. Of that night he found them after one of the RDA's training sessions, hugging them close muttering "you're just a kid" over and over. They hadn't understood it then, but it made sense now. Even if they were less a kid than they had been years ago.

Tsu'tey continued to train them vigorously for the upcoming iknimaya. Using their morning hunts to talk about the years previous. Where people failed. How others succeeded.

And now, it was time.

"I am surprised you are already awake." He sat beside them, nudging their knee with his. "Waking up earlier will not make you more ready."

"I know." The cool breeze ruffled their hair, caressing their skin as if Pandora itself was telling them that it would be alright. That everything would be fine. Not just the iknimaya but after. And for once, they didn't feel foolish placing hope that it would.

Eclipse began to end. The light from the forest dimming as the sky brightened. One light for another.

"I'm just nervous." They said, though it felt unnecessary to point out.

"Do not be." Tsu'tey looked at them with unwavering confidence, a hand reaching for their shoulder in a comforting gesture. "We must go, I have something to show you."

He led them to the base of hometree. The gathering area adorned with a huge skull from an animal slain long ago. Being there always felt like being at the center of something. Like the universe shifted around that one point and they could feel miniscule and infinite altogether. It felt like home, somehow. Like Tommy's apartment back on earth where they first discovered yogurt and music and sunlight.

"I am sure you have seen this before." He motioned to another skull on display, smaller but no less mighty. Fearsome even in its afterlife, with sharp teeth that seemed to glimmer in the shifting light, as if still tasting blood from its spoils.

"The skull of Toruk." They stand before it, this time only feeling small in comparison.

Tsu'tey nodded. "You will not encounter it. It does not reside in the nests."

Hometree is silent as the two talk. Allowing them privacy in the vast entrails lined with huts and fires.

"So why show me?"

"Because it has a relative. Distant, but related." He took a stick from the fire and moved away.

They followed him to where paint covered parts of the vast trunk. Lines carefully drawn ages ago and redrawn for ages to come. There are depictions of the first songs. Of ikrana maktoyu. Of solemn feasts and grand funerals. Stories of the people told since the stories began.

The light moved over them all and illuminated a flock of ikran. He pointed at the biggest one, a dark purple against the blues and greens.

"The demon ikran."

They almost snort, making the connection immediately. "You think it will choose me? A demon for a demon?"

"Something like that. It is strong. And it is unpredictable." He paused and pondered something, firelight flickering in his eyes as he nodded solemnly. "Should you be chosen, I will bury you somewhere myself."

"Very funny." Their hand hovered over the demon ikran's paint. "How many Na'vi have been chosen by it?"

"Not many. It seldom chooses Omatikaya. Far south they are more common but here they happen rarely. Second only to Toruk in rarity. And in size." He walked back, tossing the stick into the fire once more.

They both watch the flames flicker, sparks floating before dying out and fading. They think, for a moment, that if they fail they will be no more than another spark that failed to reach the heavens. Another stupid sky person way in over their head.

"So," they breathed deeply, filling their lungs with the scent of burning wood, "a little history lesson to take off the nerves?"

"To prepare."

"Why?" They turned to him. "Is the demon ikran there today?"

He only shrugged. "We cannot be sure."

•×•×ווו×וו

The climb is torturous. When not swinging off floating vines, they were climbing floating rocks. Sometimes entirely vertical in their ascent.

They find comfort only in the fact that Jake stayed a little ways behind them, struggling more than they are, having more weight to haul up the heights.

"I thought you'd be the first skyperson with an ikran, Jake?" They taunt, laughing when he yelled curses with what little breath he had.

The sun beat down relentlessly. Sweat making their grip falter on the already slippery slopes. Ground is far below. Far enough that greeting it would also be a goodbye in all senses of the word.

The younger Na'vi forge on. Nimble. Scaling the rocks as if walking along the ground. Laughing, even.

How they wished Tsu'tey trained them more in climbing rocks. They had gotten lax. Getting used to the vines and grooves of trees, not the sharp cutting edges of rock that dug into their palms. Not that the pain mattered. What mattered was reaching the nests, far above their head. What mattered was not dying before getting there.

Still, the rocks were foreign ground. They take a pause atop a smaller one, reaching down to wipe their palms against the grass even as the ground shifted with their weight.

"Giving up already?"

Tsu'tey grinned above them. They find that he did that often. As long as they are often suffering. His ikran is in the distance, to make the journey down easier, but despite his skills in climbing he somehow remained just close enough to yell taunts down at them.

"Not a chance."

A few more rocks scaled. More vines climbed. And soon they are reaching the top of their final vine, looking down to see Jake jump and grab hold of one of his own.

Water cascaded down the rocks, giving much reward in the cool air gathering around the mist. For the first time in this journey they are enveloped by shadow, the sudden shift in temperature as the nests obscure the sun turned the sweat cold against their skin.

The ground is solid under their feet when they finally stand, trying not to think of how stone only stretched so far and gave way to almost endless sky.

Tsu'tey nodded at them when their eyes met, conveying 'you survived, somehow' with a single look.

The others took time to drink after sweating away in the sun. They follow, taking a breath and letting the cold water wash over their hands. Jake appeared soon after, sweating and panting like a dying dog.

"You alright?"

He can barely manage a nod, turning to them only to get a handful of water thrown at his face. He blinked a few times at the assault before slapping his face and sending droplets flying. "Can you do that again, actually?"

They start to gather more water when someone cleared their throat. The two turn to Tsu'tey who motioned for them to come over.

"Gotta go." They slap the water against Jake's face and don't miss the playfully disapproving gaze in Tsu'tey's eyes when they approach.

"Will you go first?"

They hesitate. They'd win the bet with Norm, who only really bet on Jake to disagree with them. They look to the person in question who loudly guzzled water as if it would run out, reminding them again of a dog.

They decide then that it won't be their decision. "If you want me to."

Tsu'tey grinned, announcing it to the rest of their little troupe. They would go first.

"Relax. You have trained for this, you are ready." His words take some of the edge off but it slowly returned with each ikran that flew off. One after the other, screeching disdain at their presence.

None look them in the eye. Soon enough they reached the end of the two connected islands and looked over the edge. Maybe they would just jump and not face the shame of walking back unchosen. For some reason a voice whispered demon in their head, accompanied with a sliver of pain down their arm that they know isn't quite real. And another thought, that Jake would probably have no trouble at all getting chosen.

"Well," they muttered, more to themself than anything, "at least I don't have to fight a demon." They turned, shrugging.

Tsu'tey's emotions are unreadable from so far away but they can see him motion them closer. The other teachers are clearly saying something, one animatedly gesturing at them then at the empty islands. They can barely spot Jake in the distance but somehow he painted a clearer emotion of pity.

Defeated, they can't help the slight drag of their feet against the rock. Arms crossed, hand tapping at their elbow incessantly, trying to distract and keep tears from forming. Unchosen. Unwanted. Unable to know what it's like to fly.

The paint across their forehead now felt more like a sign of failure than a symbol of beginning.

They are so distracted that they don't hear the shouting. Only feel the island shift against a strong weight as they fall backward. And again the world tilted in slow motion.

Their first sight of the demon ikran is one they get upside down, eyes set on theirs as they slid rapidly towards its gaping maw.

There is no time for fear.

The ground bobbed unsteadily from the force of its landing. Shaking back and forth, rippling vines that connect the two islands. They have no time to look back and see if the shaking there is just as fierce.

They stand with great effort, swaying as they find their balance, facing the ikran. For a moment they want to falter. Maybe take a second to appreciate it's color. The dark purple spotted with yellow, blue and bright orange like a piece of the night sky.

Then it opened its great beak and screeched, moving forward at lightning speed. They roll forward and nearly go straight off the cliff, a vine keeping them from tumbling straight into the clouds and below. Pain. Electricity shooting up from their arm socket like it's trying to fry each muscle. Still, they move, reaching upward for a handhold and finding a second too late that they have their grip on one of the ikran's talons.

"Shit." They let go at the same time it raises it's clawed foot. Air rushed past them as the foot crashed down inches from their body, the force rattling their bones.

Then, staring at the underbelly of a demon trying its best to kill them, they have a revelation.

It cannot see them there. They dash for the tail, running between it's legs and hoping to get onto the back before it could realize they are no longer under it.

They run, scaling it's back easily and getting a hold of an antenna.

But it is smart.

When it feels their weight on it's back it kicks off from the ground, throwing them in the air from the force. Their grip on the antennae thankfully allowed them not to be thrown off the cliff side, instead arching over the ikran's head and hitting the ground with a sickening crack that has to be bone.

They cannot roll when they make contact with the ground. Pain isn't an issue but the island is too small. No assurance that they wouldn't roll right off a cliff. Again.

For a brief moment they think of Tsu'tey and the others, and the front row seats to their demise.

The ikran nearly bit off their arm but they dodge in time. There's a sharp snap as teeth clashed against teeth, the force of it audible.

A plan formed. No train of thought taken except perhaps one derailed long ago.

It lunged forward again, and again they dodge backward. But this time they throw their whole weight onto it before it can retreat. And wrap themselves around its beak.

A position they found themselves in a lot since first taking the avatar for a joyride. Its only luck that this time their head isn't in danger of a collision against the floor, but that soon failed to become a problem as the ikran blindly launched itself off the island.

Now that felt unfamiliar. They screamed. Someone above screamed as well.

The ikran tried to fly. Blind. Wings flapping but unable to stabilize with them clinging onto its jaws that still try to open and shut despite their hold.

They grapple for the antenna. Reaching around its neck to try and get a hold of it there. For a terrifying moment their hand hits flat skin. Nothing to hold onto. No antenna.

Wind whipped around them so quick it stung, the pain an afterthought as they reached and stretched their aching joints to find that damn antenna.

Then their fingers enclosed around it. They almost cried for joy when the ikran does the opposite, a muffled shriek of pure panic. Somehow it knows, they know, they are about to hit an island.

They reached for their braid and failed to make tsaheylu multiple times, screaming in frustration as the blood rushing to their brain muddled coordination. They would crash. They would crash and fall and die. Two demons together. Or perhaps it would feast on their corpse.

•°•

Up high, Tsu'tey stared at this. Or what he could see of it from them occasionally breaking the clouds. They flew blind, set on a course to hit an island. A mountain. He cannot help. It mattered not how much he wanted to, practice dictated that he could not. So he watched.

"They will be okay. They are ready." He said it out loud, but the words fall on his own deaf ears anyway.

No other young one in training stepped up to take on their own ikran yet. Even as the flying beasts start landing back on the island, not nearly shaking it as much as the demon had.

Instead they all watch. They all pray.

•°•

You can never understand the connection. It is not something to be conveyed with words and understood wholly. To be connected so intimately. To feel another. As if their life and body are molded with yours.

They understood that the first time they made tsaheylu with a direhorse. The intensity. The elation. The connection. And they understand it again in a whole new light, pushing past the clouds and yelling, triumphant. The first dreamwalker to complete iknimaya.

They spot Tsu'tey when they passed. Being pushed forward by one of the other teachers, all seemingly egging him on.

They arch around the sky, remembering that first flight seals the bond, and turning to go.

There is a sharp call behind them, one to call on ikrans. And as they bask in the newfound freedom that flying gave, a figure creeped up to their side, yelling a victory cry that nearly had them tumbling back down the sky.

"Tsu'tey!"

He is grinning again, and they find that this one looks much happier than any before.

The wind is calm enough that they can talk without straining their voices.

"It did come for you."

"A demon for a demon." They grin despite the bone in their arm they know is broken, and the pain that would soon make itself known when the adrenaline wore off. "You would make a good Tsahik with that precognition of yours."

He laughed warmly. "Very funny, little demon. Now, would you like to go where the wind is fiercer?"

"Of course, where else would the fun be?"

Tag list:

@hao-ming-8 @piston-cup @rebeccao03

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[jello-bbq]

Happy New Year's! A lot of y'all binged this and honestly wtf. I haven't written the next chapters at all lmao but it seems fun to get back into so I might and edit everything. Feel free to ask questions and stuff bc that might spark my interest again or smth lol.

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Recovery

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

They wake up to find they have nothing to recover from but are still constantly scolded for being reckless. Mo'at shares news that has them thinking of sharing their origins. (4.3 k)

Sorry this took so long I got sucked into another fandom for a bit. Also sorry that this prolly doesn't make sense bc it's 2 am rn and I fell asleep multiple times while writing this. Not proofread.

Nothing hurt. They realized that when they opened their eyes. No pain. No feeling. Nothing.

The hospital room looked bland.

"Tommy?" The name could only be whispered, and it sounded wrong as soon as it left their mouth.

No.

Slowly, they regained enough thought to realize.

They shook their head. Not Tommy.

Jake lay on a small portion of the bed, head resting on his hands. That's right. Jake. Not Tommy.

They tried to move again. This time they went slower, watching to see if Jake would wake up. He didn't. Even as their bare feet hit the tile and they made their way across the room.

But he did when the door slid open the barest inch, flinching awake. He called out their name, immediately realizing the situation. He called out again, panicked, turning to see their figure by the door.

"Are you- you're walking. You're alright?"

They could see the tiredness on his face. Lightening only slightly when they moved forward, watching them carefully as if trying to assess the damage they took.

"They said you'd be very disoriented when you wake up, you should sit down."

He guided them back to the bed. "They also said to press this button to call the doctors in-"

"Can we not?"

His finger hovers over the button.

"I mean, can I have a moment before all the doctors start rushing in and all."

"Of course, kid." A pause. He fiddles with the armrests of his wheelchair. "Do you remember what happened? The doctors said you might not since your uh... condition got activated. They said you went into combat mode."

"It's blurry," they admitted. The stillness of their thoughts concerned them. Mind awaiting a battlefield where the silence would allow them to process information quickly.

In the small hospital room, there was not enough information to process.

It felt silly. Like they were a toy. Combat mode. Condition. Illness. They felt so, formed. Like everything they were was carved from a blank slate and turned into a monstrosity. Each chunk removed. Each crack made. No thought behind each decision. None of it created by them. Just something directed. Something made. No choice but to lie back and take the beating. No choice but to live as what others have created.

Their thoughts falter when Jake begins to fill the silence. Talking about how Grace hovered over them and checked on them often, even fought multiple medical doctors. How Norm cried when he heard the news. How Tsu'tey didn't leave their side any longer than a few minutes.

And of their avatar.

"They brought it here to check the damage, Grace even said something about surgery. They got in a few scans before uh..." He watched them carefully as they nodded along. "Before Selfridge said no. Said you could handle a little poison and sent you back."

"He wasn't wrong I guess," they interrupted quietly, "but I'm surprised Grace went along with that."

"She wasn't gonna," he looked out the window, "but Mo'at said Eywa wanted you at hometree. Whatever that means."

Silence. Their head hurt from it.

"You've been taking your lessons?"

"Yeah. Nothing we could do but wait, try to learn."

They nodded. "You need to learn faster."

"What?"

They turned to him, taking in the slight confusion. He looked to be debating if the coma fucked up their brain further before they smiled. "I've had my first clean kill."

"You have not." He gaped.

They shrugged.

"That's awesome, kid! Look at you being the first ever avatar to get a clean kill." He ruffled their hair, pausing for a second. "I'll be the first to get an ikran."

They laughed. "In your dreams, white boy."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

They decided to just call the doctors tomorrow. Or have them find out when they come to check on them. Whichever came first. Jake had fallen asleep on the side of the bed again, and they decided to pull him up to rest on it since they'd had more than their fair share of sleep.

The door opened and closed as they left, leaving behind Jake on the hospital bed who once again dreamed of flying.

They didn't exactly know what they were doing. The hallways were abandoned and dark.

The building looked completely deserted. The cafeteria empty as they walked past. Where were they going?

Everything felt blurred again. Muddled. Like their feet barely touched the floor and if someone saw them right now, they would be see-through. But still, they continued on. Walking to a destination they didn't know.

The next thing they knew, they were opening their eyes again. When had they closed them?

It took time for their eyes to adjust due to the dim light, like in the hospital room. Except this light looked clearly different. It looked alive. Streaming in through the gaps between the floor and tarp, they could swear the light pulsed softly. Steadily. A heartbeat unheard.

Why were they in their avatar?

They checked their wounds, remembering the palulukans. The arrows. Their first kill. All that they told Jake in the hospital room, eventually lulling him to sleep.

Their body looked fine. Aside from bandages around their waist. Nothing hurt here either.

Someone called out their name.

They turned, body tensing, arms raising.

"You are awake?"

"Tsu'tey?"

A breath of relief. A prayer to Eywa. A hug.

They hugged back, the warmth momentarily overtaking their mind.

Tsu'tey broke the hug first. He pulled back and looked them in the eyes. "Idiot child."

"Wow, big thing to say to someone who saved your life, hey?"

He gently slapped their forehead. "If you do something as reckless that again, I will kill you myself."

They smiled. "You're welcome."

"I will get Zeyko."

They wanted to say no, like before with Jake. But this was different.

Their avatar actually sustained physical damage. A lot of it. So they watched Tsu'tey go, using the time to finish assessing their wounds.

The bandages wrapped all around their back. Healing paste still looked fresh on some flesh wounds around their wounds. Other than that they looked okay. At least those stupid experiments had some merit.

Tsu'tey returned quickly with Zeyko, who brought a basket of something.

"You are finally awake, you will be a formidable warrior."

They returned the hug when her arms wrapped around them, avoiding the bandages on their back.

"But I will take you down myself if you continue to be so reckless."

Zeyko insisted on checking the bandages to see if anything split when they got up. Tsu'tey left to give the two privacy.

Her hand brushed against their side, and even with their back facing her, they could see the look on her face. The same look she always has whenever they'd get hurt.

"You always heal so quickly", she pointed out, "is it because of the Skypeople blood in your veins?"

They shrugged, not really in the mood to get into the whole child experiment by a government agency thing.

Zeyko seemed to understand, putting more paste on their back before rewrapping it. "By tomorrow I will be able to take this off. Try not to get into worse trouble by then."

They said goodbye as she disappeared through the flap, Tsu'tey reappearing not a few seconds later.

Tsu'tey insisted that they rest 'even in your other form' he said, laying them slowly down on the bed. "Nothing hurts?"

They shook their head. "How about you? You hit your head pretty hard."

For a moment, they think they spot a flash of embarrassment. "I am fine."

"Those palulukans felt particularly fierce," they said, letting Tsu'tey drape the blanket over them. "Why were they near that spot anyway? It's pretty rare for them to go so far, right?"

He stopped patting down the blanket, taking a seat beside the bed. "Mo'at has declared it a sign. A warning." His eyes find theirs. "Of what, we are not sure."

Maybe it was presumptuous. To think that they would be enough for Eywa to send a warning to the people. But they think it anyway, only for a short moment as Tsu'tey stands.

"Now go, you should rest."

They nod, knowing they can't argue their way out. "Goodnight."

A reply is heard faintly when they close their eyes, traveling through the neural link, and opening them to the sight of the pod's padded insides.

No one is in the lab still. They make sure to turn off the pod from the control room, not even remembering how they turned it on in the first place.

Jake is still there on the bed when they return to the room. He seems to not have moved at all.

They watch him, studying the bags under his eyes. If they'd been asleep three days, they were sure he hardly slept at all. At least from how tired he looked.

The silence didn't bother them now, having been calmed down by friends. Enough for their mind to deem it safe and exit combat mode.

They find the stack of yogurt cups in the fridge, smiling to themselves. Jake could not have filled the tiny fridge by himself. Not with three days worth of food. Nine meals.

They counted the cups which were arranged in neat lines. Norm's doing, no doubt. 23 yogurt cups.

The sight reminds them of hunger and it is as if the thought triggers their body, their stomach rumbling.

The first doctor who opens the room early in the morning is met with a strange sight. A marine sleeping in the hospital cot. The patient sleeping in a wheelchair, resting their head on the bed. And multiple cups of yogurt stacked by the bedside.

Grace and Norm visit when the news spreads that they are awake.

"You had us scared for a second there kid," Grace says warmly, even while watching the nurse who is trying to stick a needle into their vein for a blood sample. Her piercing gaze making the poor guy tremble.

Jake had also glared when he saw the needle, but someone called him out. They heard something about Quaritch.

Norm speaks up, also glaring at the nurse. "I'm surprised you aren't still sick. How did you eat 23 cups of yogurt in one go?"

"I was hungry." They shrugged with one arm, trying to keep the other still. "And I like yogurt."

"Never doubted that second part."

"How was your little rendezvous yesterday?"

They look up at Grace, who smiled. "You don't think we have cameras in there? How else will I know if anyone spits in my coffee?"

They smile slightly. "It felt okay. The body's fine. I had a few wounds but I'm getting the bandages removed tomorrow." They left out Zeyko and Tsu'tey, and Tsu'tey's words about the palulukans being a warning.

The three nodded, listening intently.

"What else?" Norm asks when they don't continue.

"What?" A pause. "I have a scratch on my right arm- or left. Right, I think-"

"He means your other injuries."

Another pause. "What injuries?"

The two look at each other, and Norm decides to explain. "When we brought you here you were in really rough shape. You had deep gashes in your back. I thought I could see your spine."

"What else?"

Grace replies this time. "A broken left arm. Shattered your wrist almost completely. You had a linear fracture on your skull."

"Is that bad?"

"Not fatally, but you should have been closely monitored."

"I think I was," they said. "Zeyko said she checked on me often."

Grace nodded, looking thoughtful. "That's nice."

"But-" Norm intervened "you're saying you only have scratches now? How is that-" He paused, realizing they all knew how. "Is that possible? Physically?"

They all turn to the nurse who has finally finished drawing the blood. He seems to realize they are asking him. "It's- it could be. With a regular human, no. But since it's your avatar and it's..."

Not regular, they assumed.

"It's possible especially since the Na'vi have stronger bodies."

Norm nodded, which the nurse took as a cue to go, leaving quickly and almost dropping the blood vial.

Another doctor came in soon after, declaring the fit to leave. Their avatar had taken all the injuries anyway.

Grace lead the way to the lab and Max hugs them upon their entrance. "They didn't tell me they were saving their yogurt cups, I only found out yesterday so I could only get two."

They smile. "It's fine, thank you."

"It's not fine," Norm said, standing beside Max. He stage whispers, "they ate all the yogurt as soon as they woke up."

"I did not."

Norm raised a brow.

"It was a little after I woke up, technically."

Max only chuckled, patting their back and prepping the pod. "Doctor cleared you for this?"

"'Course she did." The familiar feeling of gel padding immediately relaxing them. "They think I'm indestructible."

They don't miss the concerned glint in his eyes when they say that.

"But I have a feeling if I ever start a pod unauthorized again Grace will put that to the test."

Max continued pressing more buttons, grinning. "And Selfridge would be furious if he found out. Guy's been extra insufferable lately."

"An asshole's gonna be an asshole."

He smiled as the lid closed, and then their eyes were opening again.

They get up, shaking their head lightly. The light is shining through the gaps again. Morning light.

It took longer to take the doctor's clearance than they thought. They spotted the bed beside them, empty. Perhaps Tsu'tey got tired of waiting for them to wake again.

When they open the tent flap, they gaze upon an unfamiliar part of hometree. Somewhere secluded. Of course, they thought. A sick skyperson can be nowhere near the people.

Even so, they take a step outside. The moss under their feet feels like home. The sunlight on their skin.

The animals way below, their calls making it to their ears, which twitched as they tried to pick out specific sounds.

The forest looked welcoming, but they settle for the branches, not wanting to stray too far.

They lay on one of the branches. Breathing in. Breathing out. Watching the light filter through the leaves.

Like that, they could forget the blur of memories they couldn't quite remember.

When they stayed still long enough, it felt like they could hear it. Feel it. The energy that connected everything. The power. Each breath borrowed. Each life tied to an end.

It felt nice to fill their head with such thoughts and feelings, instead of war or injury.

As if out of spite, a shot of pain rips through their leg. It makes them shoot up and grab at it. But it is gone as quickly as it appeared.

A reminder, they think.

"There you are."

They turn, seeing Mo'at approaching them. They stand, bowing and greeting her.

"Oel Nga'ti Kameie, Tsahik."

She returned the gesture. "You are walking so soon after your injuries, does it not hurt?"

"No."

"And yet I saw you hiss as if in pain just now."

Their eyes find the ground. They didn't lie but they had yet to explain anything about her condition to any Na'vi. Not Mo'at or Zeyko or Tsu'tey or Neytiri. No one.

"It is different, I am well."

Her piercing eyes study theirs. "If you say so. Sit, we must talk."

Oh, they think as they follow her words and sit back down. She's here to talk about the warning.

Just as they think it, Mo'at confirms.

"Eywa has told me of your bravery in response to her warning. She has talked to you."

They don't remember anything like that, but somehow they know the answer is yes.

"The warning, she cannot say what of. It will impact our future too strongly if we know."

They nod along. Were they enough to have that big an impact?

"She has told me something else."

They look up at her, and she is watching them with a softer gaze. She says something that shocks them. Halting their thoughts. Like the information got stuck between the cogs of their brain.

She leaves with a smile. They don't know how long it is until they stand and make their way back to the tent. But her words ring in their mind.

"Unbelievable", they think aloud.

"What is?"

They look up. Tsu'tey stands in front of the tent, two bowls in his hands.

"Nothing. Is that for me?"

He nods, motioning them into the tent. There he tells them to sit down and hands them a bowl. Talioang meat. Their favorite.

"I've been told you haven't been hunting lately."

Another flash of embarrassment. Brief, but clearly there. "I did today."

They nodded, taking the carved husk and gratefully scarfing down its contents. Tsu'tey ate carefully in contrast.

Still, as soon as their mind wandered they were pulled again to those words. Mo'at had really surprised them. They went to tell Tsu'tey when he spoke first.

"I would like to show you something today, if that is fine."

What could he be planning to show them? They obviously hadn't seen everything the forest had to offer, but what was so new that he had to ask to show it to them?

"Sure, that'd be nice."

They ate in silence, Tsu'tey taking the bowls after. Just as he left, the flap was opened, and in came Jake, grinning. Sweat stuck to his skin and he breathed heavily. It was clear that he ran from one of Neytiri's lessons to check on them.

He kept his questions quick, looking like he kept a mental count of the seconds to know when he should head back. And he did after around two minutes, calling out a "just wait! I'll get my clean kill in no time!"

Zeyko arrived just a little after that, all soft smiles and lilting laughs. She carefully unbandaged them as if they were gravely ill, inspecting their back to make sure the wounds were healed. Then she excused herself, talking about a direhorse accident that needed to be attending to.

When she left, they exited the tent again, going back to the branch they'd previously laid on. Maybe they should've felt restless, having had three days of deep sleep. But all they felt was tired.

It scared them to sleep. Maybe they would go back into a coma if they did. Was that how those worked?

Even so, as they stared up at the leaves drifting with the wind, they found themselves falling asleep.

This time, Tsu'tey found them. Sleeping on a patch of moss bathed in sunlight. He almost didn't want to wake them. But they woke without him doing anything.

Eyes blinking open and brows furrowing in confusion when they see they are outside.

"You should not be sleeping here, you could fall." He extended a hand. "It is a long way down."

The two began the walk back to the tent in silence.

They brushed the sleep from their eyes, shaking their head as if rattling their thoughts back into place. After a while, they realized they would have already passed the tent, looking around and seeing that they were being led elsewhere.

Tall ferns brushed against their arms, getting thicker and thicker as they went.

Tsu'tey kept to a small track, woven through the plants with care, looking back every so often to check that they still followed.

It felt familiar. And they realized it was. They had taken this path once before, hadn't they?

They were about to ask when they nearly bumped into Tsu'tey's back.

"Sorry."

He said nothing and stepped aside to show a particularly large fern leaf, then he pulled it aside to reveal an alcove.

An indent in the tree. Wide and deep enough to lie down comfortably.

He guided them to it, and the two sat there in comfortable silence. After three days, they could finally continue their daily activity. Watching the eclipse take place.

Darkness slowly but surely enveloping the forest. Casting its shadow over everything.

There is a moment of true darkness. A short moment, before the world lit up again. A light of its own. Scattered colors shining and almost twinkling.

An entirely different world in just a few seconds. All from the comfort of the alcove, which shielded them from the cool night air.

They had a lot of questions but voiced none of them. Silence felt fitting. They didn't understand the significance of the alcove, but they felt like he had shown them something intimate. Like he had told them something that he had never told anyone else. And they wondered why he would do that.

Because they saved his life?

No that wasn't it. There was something else.

They don't know why. But something in them is reeling to talk. To finally tell someone what they are.

Maybe because of Mo'at's words and how, if they didn't tell anybody now, telling them later would be more of a betrayal. What were Mo'at's words? Prepare yourself, you wil soon have your iknimaya.

"Do you remember when Zeyko asked why I bleed so much?"

He glanced at them, confused by the sudden question, but nodded anyway. "You said people do not enjoy hearing why."

"They don't. It's not - it isn't something they understand easily."

This seemed to pique his interest.

They begin to wonder if they should say it. But if they didn't, and what Mo'at said would happen happened. Without anyone knowing that they were unnatural. Only shipped to Pandora for the barest chance of them being useful in keeping the Na'vi in line.

So they do say it. Starting from the beginning. From how they were made from DNA of fallen soldiers. To how they were raised in a bunker, exposed to experiments that burned information into their head. To how they were freed, only to end up in a larger cage.

How the RDA bought them like a piece of equipment. Right off the government's hands. Hoping to make use of their knowledge in the fight starting on Pandora.

How they built them an avatar and locked them in it for days to experiment on their human body, and vice versa.

All the horrors of their past.

How they all lead to them on Pandora to fight against the people, not learn from them as they had been doing.

When they finished, they went quiet. Allowing him time to process. Preparing themselves for the chance of him pushing them over the edge to get rid of another annoyance.

This was selfish of them after all. To share their sob story and tack in the addition of them being a possible weapon against the people.

"You should not have come to my aid."

They balk. What? It's as if he hears the question and continues.

"I am a warrior. A warrior should protect, not be protected."

They don't protest, too confused by his words.

"You said you are a warrior, you are not. A human child cannot be a warrior." The words come with a frost to them.

He stares ahead now as if he is still replaying the sunset and eclipse in his mind. Turning back time to that moment in the forest with his arrow against their chest. Maybe he imagines he lets go of the bowstring, and the pain is eradicated then and there.

"It is hard to believe. You are all smaller, softer, and yet violent and cowardly. Hiding away in metal contraptions." Oh. They understood now. "How can a skyperson, a child, risk their life for another? If it was that easy-"

His words were confused. Anger and confusion. Anger and sadness. It all led to this. The teaching. The begrudging acquaintanceship. Skypeople had taken too much from him. Too much. And yet they dared give him something in return. They dare save him.

"You lie and you steal and you cannot be taught. But a child-" He shakes his head slightly. "Why is a child a warrior? Why does a child risk their life?"

They dare let a child save him. A child, of all things. After all of it, they dare send a child to soften his heart.

And maybe he felt angry at himself, too. For needing to be saved. For being caught by surprise. And for letting their little ploy work. For feeling scared for the skyperson, as if their people hadn't killed his without mercy.

This is why he hated any sort of relationship. They always had to be complicated by love or hate or anything.

Granted, this surely presented itself as an outlier in its complexity. The next Na'vi to lead the people growing to care for the one the enemy with an inkling to destroy them.

The people he hated so much. The one he tried to treat like a sibling after many months of resistance, thinking that after those months they are different.

But they are not.

They are the same.

They are worse.

But in his moment of betrayal, he thinks of the night before.

When they woke up, he stayed to watch them go back to sleep before leaving. Walking to the tree of voices.

He talked to Sylwanin there. About the dreamwalker. About how he had grown to care for them and felt conflicted. Like he had betrayed the people.

She comforted him, but when he asked for advice she gave her usual words. That others wiser than her still lived. But she said something else.

"Children are children because they are growing. Grace Augustine told me that, it seemed so obvious." She laughed softly. "Perhaps your skyperson can grow to be one of the people. A child should not be blamed for what they were born to be, do you not think?"

He looks at the child beside him. A child. He had been thinking of them as a child the whole time, why did he suddenly think differently when they told him? As if they intentionally deceived him. And the People. The Tsahik. The Olo'eyktan.

"A child should not be blamed for what they were born to be," he says, repeating her words in the cool air, "or for what they have endured."

Tag list:

@rebeccao03 @eywas-heir

[jello-bbq]

Near Death, Again

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

Unwitting people find themselves sharing a fondness for the dreamwalker child. Mystery surrounds their injuries and the sleep from which they have not woken. (2.3k)

I am pulling this straight out of the garbage pile and making it all up. Does anyone actually like this. Also forget to mention that reader is like, 17-ish? To me at least, imagine them however you want. Blood and injury tw.

"I told you not to push too much, we could lose it! It could die!"

"What do you care!?"

"I spent millions of dollars on that little investment at least be fucking delicate!"

A small room, barely enough to sit in. The yelling reverberated over the concrete walls, unheard by the child who kept their hands over their ears. Even so, there could be no silence.

They felt as if every thought had a voice, and among the thousands that swarmed their head, each screamed at full volume. Suffocating. It felt suffocating.

The metal door creaked open, washing the small space with light and revealing the massacre. The source of the argument.

Blood spewed from the child's ears. From their mouth. From their eyes, unseeing as the red filled their vision.

"Look at it! It's bleeding everywhere, are you even sure it will survive the night?"

The child remained oblivious. Or maybe the thoughts just left no space for anything else to be recognized.

"Ma'am, I can assure you that it will survive. We've done a lot more brutal things-"

"Brutal! Do you think I swat a fly and call it brutality? I'm talking about it's survival, I have spent too much on this for it to fail. Don't push it."

"Well, fix it so it won't fail or don't push it? With all due respect, it's one or the other so just how much do you want this to succeed?"

The door shut again, enclosing the flood of crimson.

Barely a second is taken to consider the words. "Fine, fix it." Those final words rang through the air as the sound of footsteps fell away.

It would be hours before anyone would open the door again. Dragging the small, unconscious body, almost indiscernible with the blood wrapping it in different shades of red.

"How's it doing?"

"Still breathing, sir."

"Good, take it away."

After only a day of rest, they were taken again into the lab and ended up with the same fate. Bleeding onto the tiles with no space in their head to even feel hurt.

To that child, screams were not abnormal. In fact, more concern rose when there were no screams. How could there not be in a place so intent on practicing cruelty?

The sounds didn't bother them. That's all they were. Sounds. Ones they couldn't even connect to faces. The company took enough measures to ensure that but perhaps left the children in close enough quarters that the screams would serve to keep them in line. Who knows.

They certainly didn't. Why would they waste time thinking about such things when they could barely think for themselves?

Two sharp knocks on the door. The squeak of the metal flap. The slide of the tray against the tile. Those were the only sounds they cared for.

They stood from the cramped bed, which had barely been enough as a child. Even more so as they grew older. But that night, as they squeezed dry the plastic containing the same tasteless paste that had been served for years, the screaming suddenly sounded different.

It took a moment to realize why. These were not screams of children.

That night the sounds stopped. No knocks on the door. No tray of questionable food sliding in. No screams.

It didn't take long to realize what happened. They were abandoned. The screams that night had been of worry. And if they thought hard enough, they could remember some of the words.

'Found us', 'hide', 'leave those to die'.

Of course, 'those' pertained to them.

And to however many kids sat in locked cells in that long hallway.

Kids raised in the bunker alongside them. Bred in little tubes and nourished into willing war machines. Or they would have been, if the scientists could only get their experiments right.

They couldn't remember how long it took. How long they laid on that cold tile floor wishing that they were bleeding out instead of starving.

Then, the door creaked open.

They were pulled out of the cramped room that held their life. A gloved hand tugging at their arm harshly. Lights shining at their face. Blurred figures. The ever so present smell of blood. The ache of walking after being still for so long. The wish to be carried which couldn't be voiced.

Those were the things they could remember, nothing else. Not how they got to the RDA. Not how many children there were in the truck that brought them over. Not even how they ended up in a soft bed that didn't stink of blood.

The reason for it all?

The experiment program had been leaked. This resulted in the sudden abandonment. Someone in the bunker grew a conscience and spread it to the public, which caused outrage.

The rest ran before they could be caught. The whistleblower died for the crime of seeking justice. And the government had fucked up enough that they only found the bunker three days later.

Many of the younger children were dead by then.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

When they awoke, they didn't relish the soft bed. They instead felt the absence of blood, and it made theirs run cold.

The only explanation they could think of for the lack of the sharp smell was that it had yet to be introduced. And with them being the only one in the room, it could only be their blood that would end up spilt.

That thinking brought them to a situation. A knee on the back of a man's neck. His arms held tight in their shaking hands.

"Everything's okay, you're okay. You're fine." The man tried to be soothing, his voice sounding weird as half his face remained closely acquainted with the floor.

The tone only set off more alarms in their head, their knee coming down harsher. "Quiet."

The man didn't listen. "They're gone. Those scumbags that did all that to you and those kids, they're locked up. You're not in that bunker anymore."

"Quiet," they repeated.

The door slid open. They took advantage of the person's surprise and ran for it, not thinking of anything as they wove through the halls.

The experiments had come through, doing the work for them so they need not think for themselves.

But a failed test subject, barefoot and in a new environment, could only get so far.

They were back in the room in thirty minutes, proud at least of the injuries it took to get them back there.

The window wouldn't break. They tried it the moment the door shut. So they settled for hiding under the bed, a fallacy on their part as they couldn't run for the door fast enough when it opened.

"Kiddo?"

A man entered, the same one they pinned down the first time. They could only see the lower half of his legs, but they could tell he looked around the room before crouching.

They had half a mind to lunge at him then when he offered a smile. "Hey, no hard feelings about earlier. I get that you're scared and that's understandable." He only smiled brighter when they glared, furthering their confusion.

"I'll just-" he moved back, sitting against the wall opposite the bed. "I'll stay here if you don't mind."

They thought that was it, and went back to reviewing the building's blurry layout that they somehow pieced together from the brief stint outside.

"What's your name?"

No reply.

"How old are you?"

Silence.

The man sighed. He moved, they assumed to get up and get out but he instead lay down on his side, catching their eye. "Hi. My name's Tommy."

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

"They're gonna get through this," Jake told no one in particular, eating dinner alone in the empty cafeteria. He repeated that over and over in his head.

Sometimes it felt like the only thing he could think. Even though his lessons with Neytiri continued, he always found his way back to that one thought.

It felt bad enough not knowing anything. But not having anything to say felt worse.

He had to keep telling Neytiri that he didn't know why they weren't waking up.

Nobody knew why. Not the medical doctors. Or the science doctors. Or anyone.

He didn't understand. Especially when he wheeled himself over to their room. They looked fine. Like he could shake them awake.

"You're gonna wake up, right kid?"

They didn't answer him except with more of the same, uniform breathing.

Jake hated it at first. It reminded him of his days in the VA. Unable to do anything but listen to patients beside him who had it much worse. But now he realized that it at least meant they were alive. And he would take that over nothing.

He took the yogurt cup from his otherwise empty tray, placing it in the fridge, beside the others he'd saved up with every meal.

"You have to wake up."

He fell asleep in that room just like he did the three nights before, sitting by their bedside holding their hand.

°•°••°•°••°•°

Tsu'tey did much of the same. Though he himself needed to rest, he insisted on watching over their body. He knew that should they wake, it would be in their other body first but he snuck off to their tent anyway just in case.

So much so that the healers placed his bed in their tent, if only to no longer deal with coaxing him back to his tent whenever he went to theirs. Which was often.

He no longer joined the morning hunt. Or hunted at all. Spending all his time beside them instead.

"No changes?"

Someone pulled back the tent flap, allowing him a brief view of the outside. When did night fall?

"Nothing."

Zeyko nodded and began unwrapping the bandages as she did every night, changing them out for new ones.

She worked carefully.

As each layer slowly unraveled, her touch grew softer. Almost feather-like near their skin, as if one wrong move and they would break.

He never talked to Zeyko before the accident. Nothing that would count as a conversation anyway. Nods of acknowledgement, gestures of greeting, a grunt or two whenever she'd have to patch him up.

They were too different, and so they held a silent agreement. To not step over the line, to fulfill separate duties, to act with the barest friendliness only if needed but to not be friends.

An agreement that Tsu'tey had with many as he kept all at arm's length.

But now the two held a new agreement. Nothing that asked anything of either of them. Just an agreement. Unspoken, perhaps even unheard.

Both cared for the dreamwalker.

°•°••°•°••°•°••°•°

The dreamwalker in question could not have had a more fitting name. They were stuck in dreams. Walking amongst figments of imagination. Talking with memories. Walking. Walking. Walking.

Time didn't exist wherever they were, at least not in the binding way it did elsewhere.

They walked and walked. Never feeling tired. Never in the same place. Through memories that weren't theirs. And pasts that had occurred long before them.

"Why are you here, child?"

They didn't understand. It felt exactly like when their head couldn't keep up. A fuzzy feeling, like mold growing in their brain. The words began to make sense separately, slowly, understanding forming in the back of their mind as they continued walking.

Each step wakened them. Like their consciousness had spilled all over and now it had begun to creep back into the crevices of their being.

Again, they were asked. "What are you here for?"

They couldn't answer. But the question had them realizing they were running now, and all at once their thoughts came rushing back.

"What?"

Nothing.

For a second they feared they had imagined it.

"So you have awoken, you were in quite the deep sleep."

"Yes," they murmured, looking around. A forest. "Yes, I suppose I was."

They blinked, and they were in the mountains, floating over the trees.

"Where am I?"

"You are with me. You are safe."

Even without asking, a name tugged at their mind. They were in the forest again.

"Why am I here?"

"To learn, perhaps. You are an interesting one." They blinked again, opening their eyes to a river. "The path you have chosen, it will be hard."

"I haven't chosen any path." Another mountaintop.

The faceless voice smiled, they knew this in the way one knows things in dreams. A feeling, more than a thought or deduction. "You have chosen, stepping into danger for one of mine. He would have been welcomed home otherwise."

The world began to crumble, flickering like a light. The voice kept going, strangely calming, even as they began to fall. "You and Jake Sully, yes I think we can find a use for you. I will help you."

They fell continuously, knowing this even while hearing and feeling nothing. They were falling through the inky black.

It felt nice. Like laying in the sand and letting waves lap at your body.

The feeling was strange. They knew it didn't belong. Not with them.

This thought tugged at them. A rope tied around their waist, guiding their fall somewhere. As it did, they began to feel more things tugging at them. More and more. Until they were shooting through the ink.

The dark began to lift gradually.

Their eyes blinked open. All memory of what just happened began to fade. Like a word you know but cannot remember.

They blinked again, taking in their surroundings. A hospital room. Nighttime. Something beeping. They tried to stand, limbs moving in slow motion. They didn't realize their hand slipping from someone else's. Though they felt the warmth, brows furrowing as they wiggled their fingers.

It felt strange. Like they were in that moment between dreaming and awake. Everything felt strange.

Another movement caught their eye. A movement they couldn't control.

"Tommy?"

[jello-bbq]

Accidents

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

<Unlikely friendships, unlikely opportunities, unlikely accidents.>

(2.6 k)

Injuries and near death experiences. Timeskip because I cannot write slowburn. Angst coming up next I think.

They had no idea what to do. What could they do?

Jake and Neytiri were having lessons somewhere in the tree. The only two people they could safely interact with. Technically, a third, awkward option presented itself.

After the healer's tent, he followed them out. And continued following them as they walked around to pass the time. Which they thought completely unnecessary. But still, they could understand the need to hover. To make sure they wouldn't cause trouble around the people.

People still steered their children away when they came close, so they tried their best to keep off the main pathways.

They looked back and surely, there he was, walking a few feet away.

They pressed the cloth to their nose again, finding that the blood had lessened considerably. They would have to thank Zeyko the next time they saw her, which would definitely be soon.

After a few minutes, Tsu'tey caught up with them, silently holding out a yellow fruit.

The two ate as they walked to no place in particular. At least to them. Tsu'tey began to steer them somewhere. They didn't question it, though a part of their mind rang alarm bells and yelled 'now he's gonna kill you!'

Having been wrong three times, they could give him the benefit of the doubt.

Neither spoke as they veered off the paths. The branches looked visibly less managed than the pathways, with tall ferns getting thicker and thicker as they went.

They had to admit, it would have been a good place to die.

He took the lead when the branches became too narrow for them to walk side by side. Every now and then he would glance back as if to confirm they were still there.

His glances were hardly noticed. The ferns kept their attention.

They kept looking around, marveling at the multi-colored plants and wondering how everything looked at night. They would find out soon, realizing that eclipse had begun.

They stopped, mesmerized, forgetting that Tsu'tey seemed to be leading them somewhere. He stopped, realizing they were no longer following.

They didn't even realize he had come back and sat down beside their legs until he spoke.

"It is beautiful."

Their brows furrowed. One unusual display of care after another. Nevertheless, they took a seat on the branch, a safe distance away.

"It is."

The two sat at the edge, feet dangling, watching the sky together. Blue gave way to orange. Orange caressed pink. The sun sank over the moon's horizon and the forest lit up, replacing one beauty for another.

Tommy would've loved this, they thought. He hadn't quite left their mind since morning.

A few minutes after dark Tsu'tey led them to dinner.

"What's with the bandages?" Jake sat next to them, keen on making small talk after spending the day apart.

They, who had been dissecting the Tsu'tey thing, thinking about Tommy, and whose brain had been on Na'vi mode the whole day, did not understand his question.

"What?"

He pointed to their fingers. "That. You hurt yourself?"

"On the bow, yeah." They answered. "Ripped my skin open." They stretched their fingers, letting Jake take their hand and examine it.

"Gotta be more careful with that, kid. Don't wanna be making too many trips to the healers."

"Says the guy who has bruises all over. I'm surprised you aren't wrapped in a giant band-aid."

"Nah, the healer said it'd cover my handsome face. Would hurt all the ladies." He didn't let go of their fingers, fiddling with the ends of the bandages.

"Oh please, white boy. She did not say that." They leaned against him, starting to feel the effects of the bow training and blood loss. "I'm sure Zeyko would have smacked you for having so many bruises."

"You know the healer's name?"

They shrugged. "She told me."

Jake chuckled, noting their sudden lethargy. "Look at you making friends so quickly."

"Haven't you noticed Tsu'tey and me? We're practically besties." They murmured, lacking that usual bite.

He didn't need to ask what was wrong. They hadn't held back on telling him much after they landed on Pandora. But he asked anyway. "You missing him?"

"Yeah, just-" They motioned vaguely.

"I know, kid." Jake sighed. "He would've loved it here."

"Would have had to drag him out of the forest by his tail."

The two laughed quietly.

Neytiri and Tsu'tey seemed to notice the sudden drop in mood and their empty bowls. Some people began to retire for the night, and they made to do the same.

They followed, talking with Jake in whispers. He immediately took the empty hammock beside Neytiri again, bidding them goodnight as they moved farther away to their usual spot and laid down.

To their surprise, someone moved into the hammock beside them. With the dim light of the moss, they could barely make out the person's features.

"Sleeping alone is not good for your health."

"Zeyko?"

"You have much to live for. I can feel it. Eywa wills it."

They laughed bitterly. "I'm surprised I'm not dead yet."

They waited for something else, something to clarify her words. But only light snoring came.

They resisted the urge to sigh. Eywa wills it. Had she willed for Tommy to die?

They laid back and closed their eyes, opening them again to be faced with the pod's gel-like inside. The lid opened. Grace greeted them with a smile and an unspoken question.

"I had bow training today." They lifted their hand to show the bandages, only to remember that they couldn't. They shook their head. "Ripped my fingers open."

"Geez, keep the bloodshed to a minimum. You're already bleeding too much as it is." She knelt down to pull the tampon from their nose.

"That was very uncomfortable." They scrunched and unscrunched their nose. "But better than choking on my own blood."

Grace laughed. "Dinner and then bed, kiddo."

"Yes mum," they joked quietly, standing up and making their way to the canteen.

Switching bodies always felt weird. Two bodies. Two wildly different environments. One consciousness. At least both bodies had the same amount of limbs, excluding the tail.

As they walked the halls they could almost feel it swishing behind them except of course it wasn't. The scientists had come up with a name for it. Phantom Tail Syndrome.

Only one person sat in the canteen, a tray opposite him.

They smiled. "Thought you would have talked to Neytiri for a while."

Jake smiled back at them, straightening up at their voice. "Thought you'd be earlier." He motioned to the tray. "Food's getting cold."

They took a spoon. "I'm taking your yogurt."

"I'm taking your jerky."

°•°••°•°••°•°••°•°

The days faded into weeks. Weeks passed into months.

Their days had a set routine now. Wake up, eat breakfast, get in the pod. Eat breakfast again. Go early hunting with Tsu'tey.

Archery lessons. Lunch. Direhorse riding. Practice for the upcoming possible iknimaya. Get back to hometree in time to watch the eclipse with Tsu'tey. Dinner. Sleep.

Wake up in the link pod, eat dinner again. Go to bed.

Jake had much of the same schedule. Though his early mornings held Na'vi lessons instead of hunting.

The people had slowly become less high-strung around them. A kid named Li'yek had begun looking for them before they slept, asking them questions about earth.

Zeyko still slept on the hammock beside them, never elaborating on her words but instead commenting on whatever new injury they'd acquired that day.

On one particular day, they thought it would follow the same routine.

"What's for breakfast today?" They caught the yellow fruit thrown their way. "Oh."

"Oh?" Tsu'tey mocked, going back to sharpening his arrows for the morning hunt.

"You have no originality." They referred to his mocking and to the yellow fruit which, while tasty they had been having for breakfast for weeks now.

He shook his head slightly, ever too refined to just roll his eyes. They took a seat beside him and bit into the fruit.

"There is some dried meat in my pouch." He nodded over to the leather satchel hanging from a branch.

They grinned, finishing off the last of the yellow fruit and getting up to fish the meat out of the pouch. "What are we hunting today?"

"We are not hunting today."

"What?" They offered him the net of dried meat. He took a piece and bit on it before going back to sharpening again. "Someone else is? When's the last time you weren't on morning hunting duty?"

"A while."

They ate half the meat before tucking it back into the pouch. "Can I go back to sleep then?"

"No, ready the direhorses."

"But," they paused, "I thought we weren't hunting today?"

"We are not." He held up an arrow, watching it glint in the light. They realized it had different markings than his usual arrows. "You are."

"But- huh?" That would mean taking a clean kill. And a clean kill meant the start of iknimaya. "Jake isn't getting a clean kill yet."

"Mo'at has decided it will be you who goes first." He looked at them and smiled softly. "You are ready. Now go get the direhorses."

They were ready. That's what they kept telling themselves as they walked through the branches without noise. A herd of hexapedes below them.

Tsu'tey stood beside them, holding his spear. Before the two reached the forest, they had asked him why he needed it.

"To protect you should something try to kill you. Or to kill you out of mercy should you manage to get the neurotoxin into your blood."

They had rolled their eyes at that, shoving him as he laughed.

He couldn't laugh now. He looked completely serious, letting them do it completely on their own.

They pulled the string all the way back, breathing evenly. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw him nod, approving of their stance. They took a breath, reminding themselves not to close one eye.

The hexapedes grazed, unknowing. Their gaze fell upon all of them, choosing the biggest one to feed the people. Another breath. They let go.

The arrow flew and hit true. The hexapedes scattered, leaving behind the dead.

They jumped down, whispering prayers as they pulled out the arrow.

They had done it.

A hand touched their shoulder. "You are truly ready."

They carried the hexapede with his help, strapping it onto their direhorse.

"Do you think you can climb the mountains? If you fall I will not catch you," he joked, getting onto his direhorse.

As they went to reply, they felt it more than heard it or saw it. Instinct, if you will.

The leaves moved. They hit the direhorses, causing them to run off quickly. A palulukan pounced, aiming for where Tsu'tey had been mere milliseconds ago.

They reached for their bow only to have a chilling realization. It was on their horse.

The palulukan grunted, turning to growl at them as if accusing them of costing it its meal. And then it pounced again.

The force hit them like a truck. They were pinned between the palulukan and the ground. Stones dug into their back.

If they cried out, they wouldn't know. The pain coursed through them blindingly. They could almost hear bones snapping. For a second they thought they passed out.

The palulukan moved above them. When they looked up, its teeth were right above. It's jaw on their chest.

There was no time to think. They wrapped their arms and legs around its mouth, holding it shut. It did not like that, bucking and shaking, almost succeeding in throwing them off. Their face got dangerously close to the opening of its jaw and they leaned back, head hitting the ground.

A glint in the grass caught their eye. Their arms hurt. Their legs were conceding to the sheer power of the palulukan's jaw.

They reached out blindly, skin scraping on stones. Tears clouded their eyes. Warm breath pushed against their skin. Saliva dribbled down and loosened their hold.

Their hand hit more rocks. The palulukan jumped around wildly, realizing as well that their death was imminent.

They kept readjusting, trying not to fall. The saliva made it hard to get a grip. The breath made them want to barf.

This was it, they would die.

And then their hand hit solid wood, grasping for it blindly. The familiar carving had them crying even more.

They let their other hand slip, relying on their legs to keep its mouth closed. And then they drove the arrow into the middle of its jaw.

It cried out and faltered. Their grip slipped and they hit the forest floor with a force that drove the air from their lungs.

The pain had gone numb, at least. Another product of their experimentation.

The palulukan struggled, crying out. They watched as its movements became sluggish, whining in pain. They stood easily. As if they didn't have any injuries at all.

They took another arrow, trying to even their breathing as they approached it. "I'm sorry." The arrow plunged into its head and it went still.

A small spray of blood reached them, splattering across their front.

A prayer for its life floated into the air, uttered with the barest amount of shock.

When it fell they cried, body shaking, and the urge to lay down and wait for help grew strong. Something felt off to them, knowing that the experiments robbed them of feeling anything in the midst of such situations.

This didn't seem to be the case with them kneeling on the grass, shaking uncontrollably and throwing up fruit and meat until they heard a cry that wasn't their own.

Their body froze, every emotion finally slinking away as it had been trained to do.

They picked the remaining arrows off of the ground and ran.

The cry rang out again and they almost tripped upon the realization that it was Tsu'tey.

They saw a blur of black through the trees and their blood ran cold. Another palulukan. Why?

It jumped at a tree, and they could just barely make out Tsu'tey stabbing at it with his spear.

They ran forward to help.

The palulukan jumped higher, nearly grazing Tsu'tey, and when he stepped back nothing could support his weight but leaves.

They ran faster when he fell and it turned to pounce on him. They pounced first. Jumping onto its back, bunching all of the arrows together, and bringing them down.

Blood splattered on them again. Coating them almost wholly this time. But they had no time to care or cry. They stumbled over to Tsu'tey, muttering another prayer.

They examined him. He wasn't hurt, but he wasn't awake. His head had hit a log.

They cried out for the horses, only one appeared.

His weight didn't hurt. Even though they could hear their bones straining, it didn't hurt. It couldn't hurt. They hauled him up onto the direhorse, easily ignoring how their arms shook.

They followed behind him, climbing onto the horse and urging it forward. They could feel the horse's worry through the bond, no doubt heightened by whatever pain their body currently ignored.

The forest at that time of morning could be easily navigated and they would have thanked Eywa for it if they still had control over their thoughts.

Their brain started to shut down. The numbness intensified. Somehow, they spotted a guard in the trees and called out. Or at least they think they did.

The guard turned, and they had time to register the panic in his eyes before the world tilted.

[jello-bbq]

Near Death

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

< They end up getting hurt in the forest and have to meet the healer for the second time on their second day. (2.2k) >

Blood and injury warning? The story's getting wacky and incredibly slow. Can anyone please tell me where to go from here. Do I put them in a near death scenario for kicks or what. Part 5

Planning for your death isn't easy. Especially not if you figured it out on your own as you're being led into the woods to said death.

The arrows were there. They were sure because they looked away and back multiple times to check if they were hallucinating which wouldn't have been unusual. Some rational part of their brain tried to get some sense into them.

Tsu'tey would probably teach them to hunt. A rational thought.

He could be preparing for the worst-case scenario of them getting attacked while in the woods. Also rational.

He could be luring them out into the woods to kill them and dispose of the body easily. Definitely irrational.

And yet another annoying part of their brain argued otherwise. He hated them. That much was clear. And they covered him in mud the day before. He also kept quiet all throughout dinner, arriving late and leaving early.

Yeah, he definitely planned to kill them.

It didn't help that as soon as they saw the direhorse information on horse riding flooded their brain again. Or that Tsu'tey insisted on speaking solely in Na'vi now. Information swam around uselessly with their thoughts, nearly overwhelming. A reminder that human brains weren't built to hold so much.

Strangely though, the need for a plan slipped their mind, accepting death almost too easily.

"We stop here."

They snapped out of it, mentally trying to swat away bits of information.

Tsu'tey slid off his horse, taking the bow and arrows out of the pouch.

They hesitantly followed and dismounted. Target practice, their mind kept screaming. Something told them he wouldn't easily miss so unless he wanted them to suffer, they would at least die instantly.

Though they had no doubt he would want to make them suffer.

He motioned for them to follow, and to keep quiet.

Not to worry, they thought, corpses can't talk.

They went after him as quietly as they could. Mimicking his stance. Copying where he placed his feet.

Involuntarily, their mind began to wander again. What would they miss from life?

Yogurt, for sure. God, they hoped Norm would find their secret stash. At least he could benefit from the yogurt packs when they were dead.

Sunlight. After being kept in labs for so long, they'd always loved the feeling of sunlight on their skin.

Many other things, things their mind skipped over in their magnitude.

What would they get from dying?

Tommy. Their heart almost froze. They had forgotten about him. Had they chosen to? To forget him as if he hadn't been the first to ever treat them with human kindness? At least in death, they would be with him again.

"This is not the time for daydreaming." He whispered harshly.

They agreed but it just couldn't be controlled. People have tried, they thought bitterly.

He had stopped a few feet ahead, probably feeling their absence. It only took a few steps to get them back in their spot behind Tsu'tey. Following ever so silently.

"What are we doing?"

"It was suggested that I take you along to hunt before teaching you the bow."

Suggested by Mo'at probably. The Tsahik called him up during dinner, which is why he left early. At least they weren't going to die.

"I'm going to hunt?"

He scoffed. "Bad things are the only outcome of that. You would only manage to hurt yourself and be more of a burden."

They rolled their eyes. He could have just said no. They went to retort but Tsu'tey hissed at them to shut up. He drew his bow as they looked on, confused. They hadn't heard anything.

His arms were tense. Stance perfect. Breathing even. Everything about him screamed 'look at me! Mr. Perfect!'. They didn't know how to feel about that yet.

The forest echoed with sounds of animals. They saw Tsu'tey's ears twitch. He adjusted his aim just the slightest bit, then released the arrow.

Briefly, they recalled when they were on the other side of that arrow, and as they stepped past a few plants they saw what could have been their fate.

A yerik lay bleeding into the moss. The fans on its head retracted. Dead. A clean kill.

Tsu'tey bent over it, whispering thanks to Eywa and pulling out the arrow.

A neurotoxin. They remembered what Grace told them. The Na'vi coated their arrows with a toxin that killed their prey easily.

"They usually travel in herds." He said as he hauled the hexapede up and began walking back to the direhorses. "If you somehow manage to make a clean kill, you will be ready to complete your iknimaya."

He looked back at them and scoffed. "I do not see that happening in years. Sky people cannot learn."

For a moment, it felt like he was saying that to himself instead of to them, which was stupid of them to assume. He said it so bitterly.

They didn't blame him.

"I was told to teach you the bow but fresh kills are always brought back to hometree immediately." He strapped the hexapede to his horse, then handed them the bow and a few arrows. "I will show you the training area on the way. Do not hurt yourself before I am back."

They rode slowly through the forest until he stopped and pointed to a spot through the trees. They could barely make out the clearing and the mounted targets. "Go. There is food there if you get hungry."

And so they went, letting the direhorse graze as they stood in the small clearing. There were painted targets in the trees. Hanging off branches. Tucked beneath leaves. Sticking out of bushes.

Sky People cannot learn. They didn't know why that bothered them so much. They wanted to learn. This was all because they had been stupid enough to get captured and Jake bargained for their safety. They'd been going to the lessons because what else could they do?

But now, they wanted to learn. They wanted to learn and get a clean kill. Complete their iknimaya. Why? They thought of Tommy, but would deal with that question later.

The bow felt too large for them which made sense considering how tall Tsu'tey stood. They examined the arrows, which lacked the glowing sheen of neurotoxin on the tips.

They wanted to learn, so they would gamble. "Archery." The word gave that familiar itch in their brain but this time instead of fighting the information, they let it flow.

How to hold a bow. What different arrow tips were used for what. They let the information sink in for a long moment. Then, they wiped off the dripping blood and aimed.

The first shot missed. Knowledge was one thing. Application, another. They failed horribly at application. The second shot missed. And the third. The fourth at least grazed the target.

They tried not to let it deter them, walking through the undergrowth to retrieve the arrows. They rolled up a cloth to stuff in their nose, and they tried again. And again. And again. By the third round, all the arrows would hit the target. By the fifth, the arrows would hit inside the circle.

They decided to take a break then and move to the shade, sweating buckets from the sun.

They realized that Tsu'tey hadn't come back yet. He went off early in the morning and now the sun told them it had to be near noon.

"Where the hell is that guy?"

Something smelled nice. They looked around, spotting a net bag that they could swear hadn't been there before. It held some fruit and dried meat. They remembered Tsu'tey did say something about food, so they helped themself.

They wiped at more blood and decided to wait until he came back before continuing.

By noon he still hadn't come back.

So they shot some more arrows, getting closer and closer to the center.

Sometime after noon, they hit the arrow right at the center. Laughing in shock, they dropped the bow and ran to the target. Right at the center. "Holy shit."

They laughed again, almost considering going back to the lab to get a camera.

"That took you long enough."

They turned. Tsu'tey dropped from the trees. He examined the arrow, nodding ever so slightly and yanking it out.

"Do that again. Five times. And then we will go."

His tone left no room for argument but for once they had nothing to retort with anyway. They took the arrow back, picked up the bow, and shot it.

It hit right beside the center.

They nocked another arrow and pulled the string back.

"Hold your form."

He walked around them, examining how they stood. How they held the bow.

Briefly, he let his eyes wander to the blood-soaked cloth he'd seen them change five times. And then to their fingers which had all but torn open from the bow's string. The string itself looked stained red.

He nudged the back of their ankle. "Move that forward a little." He straightened their arms, assessing everything. He even stood in front of the arrow to look at their face, which had them raise their brows.

"What? Are you looking to get shot?"

He scoffed. They realized he did that a lot. "You close one eye when you aim, do not do that."

"You've been watching me the whole time and didn't think to tell me that?"

"It was you who took so long to hit the center." He moved to the side. "Aim and shoot."

They did, and hit it dead center."It was that easy the entire time?"

"It only seems easy because you have been doing it the whole morning." That almost sounded like praise, or a compliment, they thought. Almost. "Again. Four more times."

They nocked another arrow. Keeping his bits of information in mind, they didn't realize how calm their thoughts had become.

It didn't take long to get the four remaining center hits.

When they shot the final one, they found themselves grinning and turning to him. For praise? Affirmation? They didn't know.

But Tsu'tey smiled ever so slightly. So slight it felt like they imagined it. "Good. We are done for the day." He turned to walk into the forest, not saying anything even as they got on their direhorses and went back to Hometree.

Not knowing what to do after getting back, they went to wander off, only to get stopped by a hand on their shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

They looked around, confused. "I thought we were done for the day?"

Tsu'tey sighed. "You are injured. Injuries must be treated." With that, he dragged them to the healer's tent.

Someone sat in the tent getting a wound stitched so they waited by the entrance.

They figured Tsu'tey would leave after getting them to the tent, but he took the spot beside them and waited as well.

When the wound had been stitched, the warrior thanked the healer and bowed to Tsu'tey before leaving, murmuring a greeting.

They'd never really considered Tsu'tey's status before. Future Olo'eyktan. No wonder he was so uptight.

They were dragged over again to sit in front of the healer. "Another bleeding nose, have you been getting into fights?"

They felt surprised that the healer would talk to them. That first time, she had only talked to Tsu'tey. Then again, she probably didn't realize they knew Na'vi.

"No ma'am." They thought about how they could explain it.

"What is it then? Is the cause unknown? A sickness?" The shape of her brows furrowed.

"It's-" How could they explain? "It's kind of like- it's very hard to explain."

"Try."

They looked at the healer, who had begun grinding something into a paste, considering what to say. "It's normal, I bleed all the time."

The healer looked thoughtful. "That is not an explanation."

"No, it's not." They were very aware of Tsu'tey listening and wondered if they were ready to share it with two people so quickly. Especially one who hated them already. "It is not something people like hearing about."

The healer let them leave it at that. She gave them another bitter drink and cloth for the nosebleed.

When they took the cloth, she paused and took their hands in hers. "You have been learning the bow." She looked up. "You should also learn to take breaks."

They smiled slightly, avoiding her gaze. The healer had something about her that made them feel safe and looked after. Suppose that's what makes her a good healer, they thought. "Sorry."

She took a paste and began lathering it gently over their fingers.

It tickled vaguely, making their nose scrunch. The healer looked at them in question.

"It tickles." They smiled, missing the falter in her eyes.

She smiled back, wrapping the digits carefully in cloth. "Move them for me." She flexed her fingers and motioned for them to copy.

They flexed their fingers until she was satisfied. Then, unexpectedly, she took their hand again. "My name is Zeyko, I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time together."

They introduced themselves as well, returning the smile Zeyko gave them. "I'll try not to get hurt too much."

Zeyko watched as they got up, bowing slightly before turning to walk away. She called out after them, "something tells me you cannot help it."

[jello-bbq]

Idiots

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

From the moment they woke up in home tree, they fucked up and nearly died, which is weirdly not an overdramatization at all. What more when Tsu'tey has them ride a direhorse with no practice?

(3.2k) Part 4

"Jarhead clan?"

Grace stood with her hands on her hips, eyeing the two who were fresh out of the link pods.

"It worked."

Norm quickly attended to them, whose body had apparently also been bleeding while their avatar did.

"Be grateful it did, Marine. What about them?"

"They didn't say anything about a clan, but I guess the Na'vi assumed we were warriors together."

"You ok kid?"

They glanced over as Norm shoved more cotton up their nose aggressively, making their voice sound weird. "I'm fine, just the usual."

"Yeah, their avatar's more banged up, you should see it." Jake laughed, recalling their look of 'freshly powdered baby' when covered in the healing paste.

They glared at him lightly. "Thanks for throwing me under the bus dipshit."

"Oh, I-" Jake tried to correct himself.

Grace took over, stepping in front of them and raising a brow. Asking a silent question.

"Well, I woke up in a tree-" They began to explain. "Had some minor bruises. Don't remember how I got there at all. But then I fell off a tree kind of-"

"You rolled off the tree?" Norm interrupted them.

"It was a different tree, and I jumped."

"You jumped?" He looked incredulous, stopping momentarily in his aggresive camapaign for cotton to start a society in their nostrils.

"I think this is very counterproductive, this whole, repeating my words back at me."

Norm went to retaliate again but Grace stopped him. "You jumped, why?"

"I was trying to stay in the trees so that I wouldn't unlock some biology stuff by accident on the ground and bleed out. Plus there were animals there and like, hell no. I tried to jump from one tree to another and fell."

"And after that? How did the Omaticaya approach you?"

Norm made them drink some pills, making the conversation halt. Afterwards, they continued. When it got to the part of them walking into the arrow, Jake whooped.

He pat their shoulder. "Badass move, love it."

"Reckless move." Grace countered. "You do know they dip their arrows in a neurotoxin? How is the avatar still alive?"

"There wasn't any neurotoxin on the arrow."

"And how would you know?"

"Because otherwise, I'd be dead. There wasn't any." They felt the need to explain further. "Maybe Tsu'tey ran out of them or something, I don't know Grace."

She made a motion telling them to go on with the story. The others awed when they got to the part with the atokirina, though Jake just looked confused.

When they finished their story, Jake told his. The palulukan had gone after him, which had them furrow their brows, thinking of how it felt like it went after them instead.

Atokirina came to him too, and he didn't understand what they were either.

"Alright off to dinner, then to sleep you two." Grace ushered them out of the lab. "Got a big day tomorrow."

•°••°••°••°•

The next day, Grace woke them up with a gentle shove and a warm bowl of soup. "So, Tsu'tey's gonna teach you, huh?"

"You know him?"

"I taught him at the school. Before-" she took a sharp breath. "Before things happened."

They ate the soup quietly, unsure of how to reply.

Grace gave them a smile and left, throwing out a "village life starts early, better get to the pod slowpoke," before she disappeared.

Outside, the eclipse hadn't let up yet. Thinking that Grace would have woken her up with plenty of time, they took a few moments to breathe and get their thoughts in order.

They would be learning the ways of the Omaticaya. Taught by a warrior who most definitely despised them. They already knew the language at least, just needing to deal with the nosebleeds that would come with speaking or hearing it. And the sluggishness that always came with using the knowledge stuffed in their head via dangerous experiments.

Their... infliction, as the scientists called it, had at least some semblance of order. Recorded on a file, always displayed by at least one screen in the lab.

Light subjects were easy skills mostly, like origami or proper swimming form. These would make them bleed for a few minutes at most.

Medium subjects included some sciences like botany, and biology, with some math and battle strategy mixed in which would warrant a ten minute bleed.

Heavy subjects like languages, abstract algebra, and the more complex sciences left them bleeding for more than fifteen minutes, sometimes reaching half an hour.

Those were by far not the only subjects that triggered a bleed, but the scientists did their best to add in the newly discovered ones. That is to say, if they said something and their nose started bleeding, it would be added to the list according to category.

Said record of their infliction meant that as they slipped into the pod, Norm handed them something.

"What is this?"

Norm flushed red. "It's a- it's a lady... thing."

They raised a brow, twirling the plastic pod in their fingers. They had never seen one before.

"Just- put it up your nose."

"Up my nose? But, it's plastic. What is it?"

"It's-"

"Give me that before you hurt yourself." Grace snatched the plastic from them. "A tampon? Seriously, Norm?"

"They have to be in the pod all day and when their nose bleeds-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Go wake Jake up."

"You're gonna put that up my nose?" They eyed the plastic warily.

"Unless you want to choke on your own blood and die."

They let Grace put the tampon up their nose. She smiled at them again before the pod closed.

They woke up back at hometree.

Itchy. Everything felt itchy. That being the first thing they thought as they tried climbing out of the hammock, failing horribly.

The day's first rays of sun still yet to reach the trees. They had to get out of the hammock.

Scratching at their skin, they sighed. "What in the fuck." They tried getting out again, succeeding only in faceplanting onto the hammock. Looking around, they realized a lot of people were still asleep and their volume would no doubt wake a few.

"Oh shit," they whispered, waiting a few seconds to see if they woke anyone up. No one moved.

They tried to get up again. This time their hand got caught in the net and they fell again, the force turning the net upside-down, with them still on it.

They resisted the urge to let out a scream, which took a great deal of self-control.

Especially as they were hanging upside-down and hugging the net like a lifeline. It was.

After a few moments of tense breathing their mind began to have thoughts outside of repeated expletives, calculations of the fall, and of how fucking itchy they felt. And after a few moments more, they had calmed enough to form a plan. Orange light began to creep in through the leaves. They needed to act fast.

Slowly, they began rocking the net side to side, building momentum. They felt lucky now that no one had slept beside them. Or else they would have had a rude awakening.

They swung hard to the right, finally flipping over.

More tense breathing followed as they kept hold of the now rolled-up hammock, laughing quietly. Only then did they realize there were feet on the branch in front of them.

Their brows furrowed. They looked up, still breathing heavily.

"Shit," they whispered.

Light filtered in more. Just enough to see how Tsu'tey stood there, unamused. Had he been there from the start?

"We train now." He grumbled, voice soft in consideration for the sleeping Na'vi, but definitely not for them. "Hurry." Then he walked off.

"Great. Just gotta figure out how to get off this first." They huffed. "Thanks for the helping hand. Wow, couldn't have done it without you." They added sarcastically while crawling forward.

Their tail swished around as the hammock did, making sure to keep them from tipping over again. Shuffling forward with absolutely no grace, they eventually reached the branch and clung to it.

Some people began to wake up. When they felt the first pair of eyes on them, they stood awkwardly and scratched at their neck, walking off in the general direction Tsu'tey went.

"If that is your hurry, you will get killed. Instantly."

They turned. He leaned against a branch, signature scowl on display.

"Sorry, I was busy trying not to fall to death." They wanted to add that he could have helped them, but decided against it. "Bet you'd have loved that though, one nuisance taken care of."

His ear flicked the slightest bit in annoyance. "How good is your Na'vi?"

Their brow furrowed. Had they ever said they knew Na'vi? No, they realized. Tsu'tey said that to test a hunch.

Not that it mattered, their knowledge of Na'vi would be of no use hidden.

"Good enough."

He nodded. It felt like he had something else to ask, but instead he turned. "Follow."

They passed by a few other morning people. Hunters making arrows. Crafters creating beaded tops. People gathering herbs. People tending to fires.

Each stared as they walked. Some tried not to make it obvious but others just outright stared. He couldn't blame them. They were a stranger. An anomaly. A dangerous anomaly. The Na'vi had suffered enough to know that much.

Tsu'tey did not seem to want to waste time. He power-walked the whole way down hometree, forcing them to keep up. Even as they hit the ground he didn't stop and strutted straight through the trees.

They followed, scratching at their arms as they did. In the light, they finally realized that the itch had been a result of the herbs on their scratches. They reached up to brush their fingers on their collarbone. Only dried herbs met their touch. No blood.

"Eyes open."

They walked into the forest with him, getting slapped in the face with a leaf. Tsu'tey walked a few feet in front of them, but still they felt like he had something to do with it.

Eclipse faded away, the pink hues in the sky dissolving into blue.

The forest felt just as exciting in the day.

They ran their hand between the ridges of a plant as they passed. It shrunk down with the same fun noise that had them laughing just yesterday. Strange how so much has changed since then, they thought.

Shaking their head, they followed Tsu'tey. Everything still felt itchy. The dark green paste did wonders for the small scratches that littered their body, and even for the relatively deep gash on their collarbone. But, the cells healed so quickly that they itched so much.

"Stop that," Tsu'tey grumbled. They had yet to hear him say something without grumbling.

The itch began to die down, but they continued to scratch at their arms, taking some form of pride in how his ears twitched at the sound. No doubt he still had that scowl on his face.

Just as they were about to ask where they were going, they broke through the trees. A clearing and a stream. The ground squelched under their feet which surprised them enough to stop.

When was the last time they'd felt mud? Actual mud, not city muck. It felt good to feel actual soil under their feet. They began to lightly stomp around, laughing silently.

"Weird sky person."

They frowned. He definitely said that for them to hear.

Before they could retaliate, he called out. A loud, sharp sound. Footsteps thundered in the forest.

Their ears twitched. The footsteps grew louder. Direhorses. Two emerged from the shrubbery with elegance and approached Tsu'tey.

He stroked one with a gentleness they didn't know he could have. "You need to first learn to ride if your insanity should be cured." He looked back to see if they were listening, a silent instruction to watch carefully.

In one quick motion, he made tsaheylu and jumped onto the horse. The horse kept almost perfectly still as he did so.

"Your turn."

They lifted their hands in front of them as they approached, trying to do so carefully.

A huff said that Tsu'tey did not enjoy waiting, but he didn't seem to enjoy anything.

They continued slowly, fully aware of him getting more and more impatient. When their hand brushed against the horse, it snorted. They didn't know anything about horse riding.

They froze. Fuck.

Images flooded their brain, information ranging from proper riding grip to the types of leather used in saddles centuries ago, when horses still existed.

Tsu'tey saw it. The freeze. Thinking that they were just afraid of the direhorse, he made to tell them to get over it when they unfroze.

Quick. A split-second of non-movement. And then their hand reached up to wipe at their nose. "Shit."

Without thinking, they made tsaheylu, intending to jump onto the horse after but the connection jolted them.

They took a breath. The horse took a breath. They stepped back. The horse stepped back.

Clarity. Slowly, but quicker than ever before, the thoughts subsided. And they didn't need them. Placing both hands flat on the horse's firm back. Pushing themself up. Swinging a leg over, and they were seated.

They blinked. It felt almost natural, which showed throughout the lesson.

Tsu'tey had them trot and gallop, through mud, water, and areas with plenty of roots for the horse to trip over. He looked pained every time they'd manage to get by.

They were proving him wrong. They could learn. They could do decently.

And then the horse bucked forward. Instead of falling off from the force, they somehow stayed on, shooting through the forest. Leaves hit them everywhere. Stray branches scratched at their skin.

They kept their eyes closed, trying to tell the horse to stop, to no avail. Until it did stop. So suddenly that they slipped forward, tipping to the right and falling.

At the last second something made contact with their leg. The force kept them from colliding with the ground but caused pain. A sharp jolt that coursed up their leg from the ankle.

"Ow." It took a second to get their bearings upside-down. But as soon as they spotted the second set of direhorse legs, they knew they were fucked.

"How reckless are you?" He wasn't yelling but his voice seemed to echo through the forest. He held onto the back of their ankle. Almost dangling them over the ground. "I have no time for your foolish games, take this seriously or leave."

"I am taking it seriously. We've been at this for hours and this is my first slip up." They huffed the best they could upside down, trying to get a hold of the direhorse to push themselves back up. The hold on his ankle loosened. "Don't drop me."

He dropped them.

They took a faceful of mud.

They were gonna kill him. Tsu'tey for letting go, or Jake for getting them into this? Both, preferably.

They wiped off the impromptu mud mask as best they could, sitting up on their knees and turning to glare at Tsu'tey.

"I thought you liked the mud."

Even with the pounding in their head from the fall, they could clearly see the smirk on his face. The only deviation from his scowl and it had to be caused by their pain. Of course, it had to.

An idea formed as they stood, gathering some mud in both hands. And then they shook the mud off like a wet dog, trying to aim the chaos in his general direction.

After a few good seconds, they stopped.

His expression. God, they wished they could take out a camera and snap a picture.

Flecks of mud stuck to him all over, including a particularly sizable glob on his cheek.

They had done it on a whim, and as soon as the elation had a dash of horror, as soon as the barest flicker of fury crossed his face, they mounted their horse and turned back the way they came.

This kind of thing happened often. A fleeting act of defiance that they would suffer for. On earth it had been isolation or more experimentation. They didn't want to know what price they would have to pay on Pandora.

When they reached the clearing, Neytiri looked to be helping Jake with direhorse riding as well. Only he hit the mud a lot sooner than they did.

They laughed, drawing the two's attention. "Sorry." They smiled.

"Why are you laughing, pipsqueak?" Jake smiled when he saw them. "We match!"

They got off their direhorse and walked to the stream. "I did not fall of my own accord."

"English?"

They took a second, the words moving slowly as if ther mind were filled with jelly. They shook their head. The haze cleared. "I said I didn't fall on my own."

"What's that mean?"

Tsu'tey entered the clearing, looking deep in thought. Jake stifled a laugh.

He looked up, the shape of his brows furrowing when he registered Jake and Neytiri.

Neytiri had a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, Jake was not so secretive. He grinned widely, glancing over at them and conveying with a look that he knew they'd done it.

They had to admit, Tsu'tey had good composure. His ears and face didn't even turn dark when his direhorse turned around and walked through a bush to go further downstream.

Jake, however, did not have any composure at all. He laughed even before he got out of earshot, stumbling back onto his knees and clutching his stomach.

They laughed with him. Even Neytiri joined in before she kicked Jake up and told him to go wash.

"He let you fall?"

"He dropped me in the mud."

They told him what happened, leaving out specific mentions of their infliction because though Neytiri stayed a respectful distance away they could see her ears twitch as she listened.

"And the-" he motioned to his face, unable to stop a smile at the memory. "What was that about?"

They shrugged. "Fuck if I understand what I do." They wiped at their face.

•°••°•°••°•°••°•

The next morning, Tsu'tey stood at the foot of their hammock again. He said nothing this time and just walked off. They walked down hometree, into the forest, past the clearing. He motioned for them to get onto one of the grazing direhorse.

They had been dreading the next lesson all throughout dinner. Maybe Tsu'tey would have them jump off a cliff to test their loyalty or something. Yell at them during dinner. Have them sacrifice themselves for Eywa.

They would admit that their imagination had run wild, but they didn't know him all that well. Who knew if he was as batshit crazy as their mind twisted him to be.

But now there he was. Leading them through the forest so silently it felt like they were alone. He didn't even glance back.

Their imagination tilted, like a cup placed precariously on a table's edge. He would leave them in the forest to die. Straight into a den of palulukans. Kick them off a cliff. Then they saw the glint of metal on his direhorse. Looking closer, he had a pouch of arrows and a bow.

Oh, they thought, and the cup fell, their thoughts spilling over. He's gonna use me for target practice.

[jello-bbq]

You Must Learn

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

It hasn't even fully set in yet that they have to learn the Omaticaya ways when they face their first challenge. Loincloths.

(1.5k) Reader wears a top. Interpret that how you will. Part 3

Tsu'tey had pulled them away from the crowd and up the tree. He didn't seem keen on speaking, which was fine because there were too many words in their head anyway. Instead, they took the time to marvel at hometree.

Thick spirals of roots forming a maze that Tsu'tey navigated with ease. The gathering area below, adorned with an enormous skull. Fires lit all over, making sure no corner had too much shadow.

That was another thing, the light. The moss. The plants. The vines. Everything seemed to glow.

They had seen it in the forest, but here it felt different somehow. Like if they focused hard enough, they could see the light follow an unheard beat.

Underneath their feet, the moss glowed. Each step a ripple of light. So enamored by it, they walked right into Tsu'tey, who had stopped and begun to say something.

"Look up when you walk," he grumbled. "This is the healers' tent."

The Tsahik had said nothing about a healer. But they followed anyway when he motioned for them.

In the tent, someone rushed over to put a paste on their wound and on the cuts that littered their body, looking them over quickly before allowing them to leave. However, when they turned around to do so, Tsu'tey pushed them back.

"What-"

"Their nose is also bleeding."

Of course he had to notice. They sighed and could only let the healer tilt their head back to examine the bleed. Thankfully, it only warranted a drink of something bitter and a cloth to wipe at the blood. Then they were cleared to go again.

"Thank you," they said before leaving, not noticing the shock on the healer's face.

After that, he led them higher. The base of the tree felt dizzyingly far away. And it was. If they'd fall, they would probably have time to recite a soliloquy on the way down. Maybe even two.

Once again, they walked into Tsu'tey's back. "Pay attention!" He growled.

"Sorry." They looked around him to see they had stopped in front of another tent. Only this one had no occupants.

He scoffed at the apology and stalked forward. They followed.

Clothes lined the inside of the tent. There were two lines of string that acted as display racks, each forming a semi-circle following the tent's shape. On the top string hung beaded tops, carefully crafted. On the lower string, some loincloths.

Their face scrunched at the thought of wearing a loincloth, but otherwise, they'd get kicked out. They had to learn, and this would be the first lesson.

When they reached for one of the tops, however, their hand got slapped away.

"You do not get to choose."

They raised their hands in surrender, leaving Tsu'tey to do the choosing. Hopefully, he had a sense of style.

"You would most likely choose one unbefitting of your status." He added coldly, loud enough that they were sure they were meant to hear.

They only rolled their eyes, moving to a mirror by the side and eyeing their clothes. Human clothes. How would they look in a loincloth? How would they move?

"Here. Change." Tsu'tey practically shoved the clothes at them and walked out, closing the flap behind him.

It felt exposing to undress in the tent. As if every bead on the clothes were eyeballs plucked out and watching them carefully.

When they tried on the top, it did very little to quell the exposed feeling. Beads covered theur chest, a string moving around their back and circling the neck held up the intricate work. They couldn't help but feel like the material wasn't enough.

How they wished to put the cotton shirt back on. The next time they'd see Jake, they would smack him upside the head. What was he thinking spouting all that nonsense about a Jarhead clan?

He was the reason they were here. Did they want to be here? They weren't sure. It didn't feel bad, but it would certainly take some getting used to.

The loincloth in their hands reminded them of that as they painfully noted the lack of a back piece of cloth. They still wore the brown pants supplied by the RDA which were dirtied and bloodied. Still a much better option, he thought.

Eventually, they convinced themself to remove the pants and put the loincloth on. They stared at themselves in the mirror, cringing at the utter lack of anything for the back part. Maybe if they stared enough the issue would fix itself.

"My fucking asscheeks are hanging out," they whispered, considering taking another loincloth to wrap around the back.

"Do you mean to finish by dinner?"

They hissed quietly. It can't get any better than this, they thought, taking one last look in the mirror before heading out.

They exited the tent slowly, holding the human clothes they so desperately wanted to put back on. "Did I put it on right?"

He glanced over her, only giving a brief nod before turning on his heels.

"Wait, what do I do with these?"

Without a word, Tsu'tey took the clothes and tossed them into a nearby fire. Great. At least they left their shoes inside, maybe they could sneak those back to base.

He turned again, motioning for them to follow. "Dinner will be ready soon."

They glanced back at their burning clothes, which sent an acrid smell through the air, then they follow him down to eat.

This time, the walk is much shorter than the others. Ironic considering they had covered the most ground. Halfway down, the drums sounded and Tsu'tey seemed adamant they eat immediately so he walked almost too quickly for them to follow.

The dining area buzzed with chatter, which thankfully doesn't halt as they walk in. They suppose that only happens in movies.

"Stay here. Do not mingle."

They dutifully obeyed, squatting down in the corner and waiting.

Some children watched them, staring curiously, especially at the cloth they pressed against their nose. They managed a small smile, hoping to at least not seem rude.

Parents pulled their children away anyway.

Sitting there felt incredibly awkward. Not only did they feel watched, they felt as if people had more to watch than usual. More of them to judge. They kept subtly adjusting their top, eventually giving up and just crossing their arms over their knees.

Finally, Tsu'tey returned with two bowls of meat. They half-expected him to turn away and go off with his friends, but he sat on a nearby root. As far as he could get while still letting the people know they were somewhat acquainted.

They felt bad, seeing him glance at the middle where the hunters were, laughing rambunctiously. And to the part of the eating area closest to hometree's center, to its heart. The Olo'eyktan and Tsahik sat there and they realized that Tsu'tey would have too, if only they weren't there.

Then again, he probably would have just sat there menacingly anyway. He didn't seem like the type to join in on the other hunters' fun or feel comfort in the people walking up to casually chat with the Omaticaya leaders.

They took a bite of the meat. Dry and tough but surprisingly flavorful. The taste reminded them of smoked meat.

"Sorry- sorry. Hey." They heard him before they saw him, realizing that the chatter had gone silent. They almost turned but felt him before he showed himself, courtesy of him stepping on their tail.

With a mouthful of meat, they couldn't hiss at him and so settled for glaring.

"Sorry," he smiled, taking a seat beside them.

"Dumbass." They slapped him with their tail and went back to eating.

The female Na'vi seemed amused at their actions, nodding slightly at them in greeting.

They nodded back.

"I will go get us food, you stay." She left, and they noticed Jake staring after her.

They nudged Jake. "What's her name?"

"No idea."

"Seriously?"

Jake raised his hands. "I've tried to ask, but she doesn't answer."

"Yeah," they rolled their eyes, "'cause you just fucked up all her free time." They nodded over to Tsu'tey. "And his free time. And my free time. You've ruined a lot."

"What, was I supposed to let them kill us?"

"I was fine getting my body dropped off a cliff." They sniffed. "I'm sure everyone prefered that option."

Silence. "But thanks anyways I guess."

Jake smiled. "You guess? I save your life and you guess?"

They shrugged, going back to their food, temporarily forgotten due to the conversation.

"You're bleeding." He pointed out, motioning to his face.

They swiped the cloth against their nose. The blood had lessened somewhat.

"It's nothing new."

Jake had seen them bleed before.

The scientists tried not to trigger the experiments which proved impossible considering no one had any idea of what all the triggers were. So they often had a cloth pressed against their nose because someone mentioned a science word or something about biology. Even because someone cursed in another language once.

"It's a little breezy in here, huh?" He made a show of hugging himself and readjusting the loincloth.

They smiled. "A bit. My ass cheeks have never been more exposed."

"You've got a nice..." he motioned to his chest area, "beads thing though, pretty beads."

"Yeah, kinda wish it had more coverage though." They bit into another piece of meat. "I'm not even saying I have much to cover up, I just think that if I move a little too suddenly I'll flash everybody."

"You got that right." Jake shifted in his loincloth again. "I feel like I'm in my undies, but less."

Dinner went smoothly. Neytiri (they had asked for her name) came back with two bowls of meat and one bowl of fruit, which she had them take out of.

Tsu'tey had mostly kept to the side, conversing quietly with Neytiri in Na'vi every once in a while.

After that, he and Neytiri led them up to the communal sleeping area. Jake immediately took the spot next to Neytiri, while they looked for a more secluded spot.

They tried to avoid looking at areas with Na'vi there already, as some had scrambled away when their gaze fell over them. Finally, they found a dark corner, close to the edges of the large canopy.

And then they woke up in the link pod.

[jello-bbq]

Oel Nga'ti Kameie

(Platonic! Tsu'tey x Avatar! Reader) (Platonic! Jake x Avatar! Reader)

Jake is not the only avatar the Omaticaya decide to take a chance on. A failed government experiment must also prove themselves alongside him. Will this prove too much for an already overflowing cup? Will their insanity be cured? Or will they spiral further with Tsu'tey as the one assigned by Mo'at to teach them?

Listen. I know the child as the government experiment with an obviously traumatic backstory who also has frequent nosebleeds is so overused but it had to be done.

Part 2

They had only meant to observe. To watch. To guard Grace and Norm as they took a few samples from the trees. And yet here they were, stuck on top of a tree. How had they gotten there?

Fuck if they know.

Jake had been playing with some plants, motioning them over when he'd seen them watching curiously.

Without hesitation, they followed, barely dipping their hand into the curved divots before the plant shrunk. It had brought out a laugh from both of them. "Fun, right?"

And then it wasn't. The plants reacted in chains, all plunging in a way that had them laugh again. Jake raised his gun, aiming behind them.

When they turned, a large creature stared right at them. They reached for their gun.

"Don't shoot!"

The creature did not break eye contact, and neither did they as Grace continued.

"Trust me marine, you cannot pierce that hide. You'll only piss it off. Don't run either, stand your ground."

They felt it more than heard it. The tension lowering every so slightly as Jake put the gun down. Or at least they hoped he did, because they could only take so much of knowing a gun was at their back.

The creature snorted, swinging its large head and smashing the nearby trees. Cracking sounds filled the air. Wood splintering to fine pieces.

Grace was still talking in a low voice, sharing facts that certainly did not help the threat of being crushed to mush. Or their spine splintering like the trees had.

As they stared they felt something in their gut. Instinct. A feeling telling them to act on it. And so they did, stepping forward and hissing at the large creature, hammerhead tita-something, Grace had said.

The 'angtsik stepped back ever so slightly, letting out an almost relenting snort. Iridescent fans flared out at each side of its large flat head and it bucked forward, showing that it would not give up so easily.

That seemed to spur Jake on. He ran out from behind them, waving his hands in the air and yelling as he did.

That made the 'angtsik halt, fans folding back. It bowed slightly and turned.

Jake laughed, unbelieving that it actually worked. "Yeah, that's right! Who's bad?" He whooped, yelling at the creatures retreating backs. "That's what I'm talking about, bitch!"

They shook their head, smiling. You'd almost believe there were two children on this mission.

The victory was short-lived.

As Jake went to shout more curse words, they felt a prickle at the back of their neck. They ducked. Just in time to catch a glimpse of something black flying over Jake's head.

"What about this one?" Jake rushed, raising his gun again. This time, they followed his lead and raised their own.

The new creature turned to them. This one was smaller, but something about it screamed that it was more dangerous. They say prey should know how to identify a predator. "Run, don't run? What?"

"Run! Definitely run."

And so they did. The palulukan fell behind them, choosing to go after Jake, but they didn't know that. No, every echoing footstep rattled behind them. It was close. It was gaining. Its teeth were just inches from their neck.

Maybe it was the new environment. Or the lab experiments fresh in their mind. Perhaps another defect to add to the list. But they fully believed the palulukan stayed right at their heels.

Instinct took over reason. Screaming that every sound in the forest was the palulukan after them.

Nothing made sense after that. And so, they woke up in a tree. How had they even fallen asleep? Where was the palulukan?

They felt too tired to ask. Cogs in their brain freezing together as their surroundings sunk in.

Pandora. At night.

A beauty they had never seen. Until now.

Bioluminescent moss clung to the branches. When they peered over the edge of the tree, the glow dotted the forest floor below. A constellation shining so brightly it drowned out the sky.

They almost made their way down, startled instead by some small animals huffing around in the undergrowth.

A bit too late, they noticed the lack of a gun. Nothing to defend themselves with but a knife tucked away in their boot. And so they decided not to push their luck. They stayed in the trees. Trying their best to weave through the forest on the branches, but their best clearly could not compare.

As they tried to gather the courage to jump from one branch to another, they didn't hear the rustling in the trees.

"Come on," they muttered, trying not to get distracted by their glowing surroundings. Or else they'd never make it out of the forest. That sounded agreeable still.

A figure in the shadows, cleverly hidden, draws its bow. A clear shot at one of the Sky People that dared to roam in fake forms. There is no hesitation, and his grip almost loosens before a different glow fills the air.

Startled, the figure stares at the atokirina. Seeds of Home Tree. Sacred to Eywa. It flits right over the blade of his arrow, still aimed for the killing shot. It moves up the carved wood and rests in the air in front of him as if making sure it would be seen and understood.

And he has no time to dwell on it as the seed flies away, accompanied by the sounds of what could only be a person falling to the ground.

They had fallen. Slipped on a patch of moss as they ran forward for a headstart. So much for staying off the forest floor. "Fucking hell," they grumbled, wiping a bit of shining moss from their face.

It isn't long before they notice. Figures surrounded them. In the haze, they can hardly tell, but they all hold something sharp-looking and shiny, pointed straight at them.

It is also instinct to raise their hands. A fleeting show of peace as they stand slowly, blinking fast to get the blur out of their sight. Were they crying because the fall hurt? "I'm-" they try, words catching in their throat as one of them moves forward.

Clearly the leader of what appeared to be a hunting party. He sits tall on the direhorse. Imposing. Demanding respect. Arrow drawn directly at their heart.

"Why do you venture into our lands?" He asks, and it shocks them for only a moment that they could understand the words.

"I didn't mean to, I got lost-"

The Na'vi scoffs. "Of course, you are lost." He leans in slightly, if only to dig the tip of the arrow against her collarbone. "You Sky People are in 𝘰𝘶𝘳 home."

They say nothing. For what can you say against the truth? Nothing. So they take a different route. They step forward.

The Na'vi on the direhorses shift, holding their bows tighter, pulling at the strings more. They see it even as they keep their eyes on the one in front of them.

The blade pierces skin and in the light the shade of red is beautiful. However, no one pays attention.

"Kill me then." The words aren't said lightly. They carry a weight that the leader almost reaches to understand. "I am one of the Sky People, shoot me."

Four fingers grip the string tighter. Golden eyes narrow, and again he finds himself nearly releasing the killing blow.

This time, he is not interrupted by one atokirina. This time, they flood into the small clearing.

Their eyes widen in awe. No idea of the situation's weight. Not knowing anything but whispers of prayer, a soft exclamation of wonder. They don't understand why breaths hitch when one touches their hand. Or why the bows drop to their sides when more start to find their way to them.

One hovers over the wound on their chest, still dribbling crimson. It hovers as if in disapproval, then moves to fly in front of the Na'vi whose arrow made the cut. Hugf

They stand painfully still, afraid to move and scare them away. Though they still did not know what they were. Or why they were here.

The moment is beautiful while it lasts, but eventually one starts on its way, and they all do. They leave behind nothing. Nothing but the memory of their feather-like touches.

Only then do they notice how much the air has changed. There is still the tension, now more of a background note as confusion takes the lead. "What?"

Something is said in Na'vi, a quick beat of words. An order.

The words prick at their brain. A feeling all too familiar. But they have no time to dwell on it as arms grasp them and they are hoisted up onto a direhorse.

It is instinct again that has them wrap their arms around the one in front of them, who they recognize immediately by the way he grunts.

When they deign to pull away and take their chances, the Na'vi speaks. "Do not move unless you want to fall off."

And with that, the direhorse is rushing through the trees.

Their hands tighten at the sudden movement, a leaf slapping them in the face. A slight rumble felt in their fingers has them sure that was intentional. Though there is no time to hold a grudge.

The forest whips past them, a blur of color that has their head spinning in the best way. It isn't long before the gallop slows to a casual trot and the blurs turn into figures. Plants, trees, large arches of roots. A soft stream here and there.

The beauty isn't lost on them, their head swiveling to try and take it all in. Hair flies everywhere. The Na'vi they cling onto grunts again and despite wanting to mouth off, they shut up and move slower.

They'd love it if the plants were the last things they would ever see, and they were sure they would be.

The hunters were taking them somewhere a body could be disposed of easily. And that body would be theirs.

Pain courses through their shoulder. A flash of color accompanies it, a moment of red. The feeling is so clear that they flinch, turning sharply.

"Stop that," commands the Na'vi in front of him, "𝘴𝘬𝘹𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘨." The last part is added under his breath.

Briefly, they wonder if the Na'vi had hit them. But their shoulder remains untouched. No sign of crimson, not even of the pain they'd felt just a moment before.

No, they knew what it was. The ever so present hauntings of her past.

To some people, the past haunts through unrelenting memories. You see something, anything, and are somehow reminded of the past.

To them, memories had nothing. The past haunted them with aches. By brushes of searing pain, echoing all that they had ever felt before. And their life had plenty of pain to portray.

A cry signals their arrival. Drums follow, welcoming the hunting party back. The sound brings them back, and the pain is almost completely forgotten as they stare.

Roots so tall they resembled mountains. Sheets of glowing moss coating everything in soft light.

Hometree, standing tall and proud. Crafted so beautifully by Eywa. The love of the people almost tangibly flowing through it. If there were words to describe the sheer awe in face of it, they had yet to learn to them.

The same people gather, sneering as they realize meat isn't the only thing the hunters have brought back. And the avatar is reminded it is not their place to be in awe.

"Demon," some of them hiss, making sure to say it in English.

They realize they still hold tight against the Na'vi, and releases their grip. The horse moves slowly enough that they do not fall off.

The crowd follows, even as they dismount and weave through them, pulled along to the Olo'eyktan.

When they reach the front they meet the eye of Jake, who mirrors the look of confusion. Jake is being pulled through the crowd as well, and the crowd reacts similarly.

"𝘖𝘦𝘭 𝘕𝘨𝘢'𝘵𝘪 𝘒𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘦, 𝘖𝘭𝘰'𝘦𝘺𝘬𝘵𝘢𝘯."

Their attention turns back to the conversation happening beside them. They know the greeting but hold off, thinking they would not take kindly to it seeing as they were a demon.

"𝘖𝘦𝘭 𝘕𝘨𝘢'𝘵𝘪 𝘒𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘦, 𝘛𝘴𝘶'𝘵𝘦𝘺."

The foreign language itches at their brain. They try to fight the feeling, knowing what is next, hoping that they can hold it off.

Jake is pushed alongside them as the greeting is returned. They spot the Na'vi who had been pulling him. For a moment the itch stops. She had moved to stand a bit farther away, which piqued their interest.

Especially as the other Na'vi, Tsu'tey, keeps his grip on their forearm firm. His other hand held a spear as if ready to plunge it into their chest at a moment's notice.

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴?"

The words are forcing their way in. Squirming as the itch intensifies. And their efforts at repression are futile. Their eyes clamp shut. Information floods the front of her mind. Phrases. Words. Infixes. Crowding their thoughts and drowning them out.

Only Jake seems to notice, trying to hide his concern. "You okay?"

It lasts a second but feels longer. Like time had slowed and each millisecond brought more pain. And then they understand, but the pain doesn't go away. Like needles piercing through bone.

They understand the previous words now, even with the fog of pain.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦." The words are solid, unmoving. Tsu'tey clearly thinks the same as he struggles to spit out words to say otherwise.

They were curious too. They had almost accepted that they were to be shot and thrown off a cliff far away. Instead, they were here. At the very heart of the Omaticaya.

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘌𝘺𝘸𝘢." It is the other Na'vi that speaks up.

"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦!"

Absentmindedly, they sniff the air. This does not go unnoticed by Tsu'tey, whose glare and grip become firmer.

"𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘴𝘶'𝘵𝘦𝘺."

"What's going on?"

For a moment, the English sounds foreign. Their brain falters, like it has been worked to overdrive and is sputtering to cool down. Which, they suppose, is exactly what it is.

The pain starts to subside, slowly, as if it doesn't want to leave. And they are reminded of what comes next. The blood. This time, they know they have to hide it. They sniff.

"My father is deciding whether to kill you."

The blood begins to drip.

"Your father?" Jake moves from their side. "Nice to meet you sir-" Instantly he is surrounded. Spears surround him, the hunters hissing as the blades glint.

Tsu'tey is among those that stepped forward to threaten his life.

They sniff again. The blood drips.

"𝘌𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!" A voice rings out. "𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴."

Everyone turns, and the distraction is enough for them to wipe at their nose, their hand coming back with a smudge of crimson. No one notices, hopefully.

The pain has dulled enough that they can look up and see the one approaching them. Her gaze is severe.

"That is Mother. She is Tsahik- the one who interprets the will of Eywa." The Na'vi speaks softly, bending down as if worshiping the ground to be walked on when the Tsahik draws near.

"Who's Eywa?"

They tap at Jake's hand, shaking their head lightly without looking at him. How was he so stupid?

The Tsahik stops in front of them, looking at them in disdain. "What are you called?"

"Jake Sully."

An expectant look is thrown their way and they almost ask why before Jake says their name for them.

"Do you not speak?" The following gase seems even harsher. Or do you not wish to?

She moves to them first, procuring a long thorn and noting the wound tracing just below their collarbone. They don't flinch as the thick edge of the thorn comes up to trace it. Quickly, harshly.

Their blood is tasted, and she moves on to Jake, striking his chest with a flourish. The sharp end is brought to her lips this time, and his blood is tasted as well.

He hopes Jake is smart enough not to comment.

"Why have you come to us?"

They decide to leave the talking to Jake. He was better at that. Besides, they were fighting the next drop of blood slowly making its way down their nostril.

"We came to learn."

"We have tried to teach other Skypeople. It is hard to fill a cup which is already full."

They almost react at that. Their captors had certainly tried. And succeeded, his mind reminded him.

"My cup is empty, trust me. Ask Dr. Augustine, hell, ask them. I'm no scientist."

"What are you?"

They brush a finger under their nose, hoping to play it off as natural.

"I don't know," he faltered. "I was a Marine- a uh, a warrior. Of the Jarhead clan."

That almost has them snort. Tsu'tey laughs outright. "𝘈 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳! 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺!"

"And you?" All reaction ceases as the Na'vi look to them.

"I was-" they clear their throat. "I am also a warrior." An oversimplification, sure. But they did not feel like baring all the nuances of what they were.

More reactions. Jeering. Laughing. "𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴!"

"𝘕𝘰!" That one word is enough to silence all reactions. The Olo'eyktan speaks again. "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. And the first child. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦."

"What's going on?"

"𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰."

She goes to retort but the Tsahik turns to Tsu'tey, effectively cutting her off.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸." She turns back to her daughter, conveying the same message.

They feel Tsu'tey would argue if he could. But instead, his gaze hardens, not even trying to plead like the other.

Finally, she turns to them. They almost don't notice, another drop of blood slowly creeping down. "You will be taught the ways of the people."

The sound fades momentarily, as if someone's turned down the volume. Thankfully, she is talking to Jake and when she speaks again, the words are clear. "Tsu'tey will teach you. Learn well. We will see if your insanity can be cured." She gives them both a final look before turning away.

Staring at her retreating back, they wipe at their nose again. More crimson.

[jello-bbq]

Battle

-Before the final stand against Soul Tree's destruction, an important question must be answered for one to fully trust the Great Toruk Makto.

A war. A battle. They didn't care much for the difference. They would be fighting in it either way.

Jake had given his rousing speech, which had taken some of the edge off. But no one ever tells you of that moment. That pause between the whole inspirational speech and moving to actually do what the inspiring told you to do.

They had never gone to battle before. Jake didn't even want them to go. But they'd finished their iknimaya together and were both warriors, so he had no reason to force them to stay.

They knew it was itching at him. The night before, he had looked for them and asked them to stay behind. They said no, of course. Though it almost broke them to.

Not because they didn't want to but because he cried when they did. He nodded, understanding, but he still cried.

It felt weird to see him cry. On one hand, he cared and that felt nice. But on the other, he looked so vulnerable. The same look he had on when hometree fell and he could do nothing, bound for his sins. They should know, they were bound alongside him.

A part of them realized that he cried because war had already taken so much from him and now it could take them too.

They stood by their ikran, waiting for the rest of their group and going over the plan in their head.

"Ready to kick some ass?"

They turned, smiling. "If the Great Toruk Makto leaves some for the rest of us."

"Toruk Makto." Jake laughed, quietly. Unusual for him. "Are you sure you want to fight?"

They raised a brow. Was he questioning their skill now? Did it seem like they would die so easily?

"I mean- of course you do, and you'll be alongside seasoned warriors, but what I'm asking is- uh." He sighed. "We'll be fighting together. And I've got your back, okay? You know that?"

"I guess?" They asked, smiling when Jake seemed a little less tense even if he rolled his eyes at them.

"I mean, it depends." They leaned against their ikran, watching as some scouts began to fly off.

"Depends?"

They looked back at him. "I've never fought in battle before, or in anything. I've never even had siblings to fight with."

His eyes softened, patting their shoulder in some form of pity.

"That doesn't matter though, I just want to know one thing about you before I trust you completely."

Jake nodded gravely, seeing their serious expression.

"You have to think carefully about your answer."

A few bated breaths. He watched them struggle to say it. Worry sprouted inside him, questions of what could possibly be so hard to say occupied his head. So much so that he didn't see the glint of mischief in their eyes.

"Is it pronounced gif or jif?"

Confusion. He tilted his head slightly as if the words would process easier that way. And then, realization. "You idiot."

They laughed. "It's usually you on the other end of those words."

He laughed as well, and they beamed at the sound. They'd gotten a laugh from him before the big battle. That would be enough.