Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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The forest was nothing to imagine. The insects buzzing, animals calling echoing through and the wind brushing against the leaves of the giant trees.

Nothing seemed as it is.

The rivers that ran vastly across the Kinglor always brought an assortment of animals big or small.

Anything could happen. It was Eywa’s will and choice. It always was.

Looking through the small opening of the leaves that fan out lovely, green-yellow eyes held their gaze on a small herd of sturmbeests. Four at most, drinking water from the river and grazing along its side.

It was a hard time tracking, but she managed to do it. She held her bow in hand, ready for the perfect shot.

There was one that she was eyeing at. A full mature sturmbeest that was casually drinking the fresh water of the river among the small herd.

She slowly moved, weaving through the small vegetation as she carefully watched her footing. Her feet groveled at the feeling of the cool dirt, stretching her toes and curling up into the soil.

Every day she felt stronger, growing ever so much than she could ever be or ever thought.

Her fingers slowly grasped an arrow and hitched it on the string, pulling it back as she stared at the sturmbeest she has been hunting for.

Her eyes remained sharp, squinting at the very least as she aimed her bow. Her breathing was calm and small, never wanting her prey to hear her.

Right when she was about to let the arrow go, her ear flicked and she physically winced when her radio crackled. She let out a small hiss in response which alerted the sturmbeest and they high-tailed away.

“Dammit..” she sighs, being a bit grouchy and lowered her bow. She flickered her hand that held the bowstring, feeling her fingers ache.

“Hey! Didn’t want to alert you–well, I wouldn’t say alert.. um.. I-I don’t know what happening! It’s kinda chaotic over here!”

Priya’s voice was heard as she sounded like she was panicking.

“Priya, what is happening over there?” She asked, touching the radio in her arm and immediately turned to head to where her ikran was.

“Um well.. it’s a panic house over here. Everyone is running around like crazy. So’lek looks as if he got his tail in a knot! Even Alma has been very quiet–more quiet since.. ya know..”

Her ears flatten slightly as her run slowed into a stop when approaching the flying mount.

It’s been weeks since then. That was before gathering the clans together to fight against Mercer.

Her hand moved towards the head guard, feeling it’s woven hard material and went down to the ikran’s jaw.

“She’s been pacing around the map. She hasn’t slept. I-I don’t know what to do. Teylan and Ri’nela are confused too. Can you come back here and help?”

“I’m on my way Priya. Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” She reassured, her eyes staring into the dwells of the ikran as she pets the ravenous creature.

The ikran purrs, tilting her head against her palm while staring right back at her rider. The bond between rider and ikran was so strong. They will fly with one rider their whole life. They will protect said rider in many ways.

“Oh, thank goodness. I’ll see you when you get here! Thanks again, Runí.”

Her ear flinched when the radio cuts off and she sighed softly. Her eyes softening at the content purrs of her ikran, smiling gently.

“You like that, Amay?” She asked, smiling at the glazed look in the ikran’s eyes.

The said ikran purred some more, her eyes getting lowering to close.

Runí chuckled, moving her hand away and moved to get on the saddle. Her hand then grabbed her kuru and made the bond.

“Let’s get going.”

With large wings, they took off in the sky. Gliding up from the forest floor to the top of the trees were floating mountains could be seen.

A serene feeling throbbed in her chest as she took the sight to this gorgeous world. She couldn’t help but to grin, yipping for Amay to go faster.

She felt the adrenaline flowing through her veins as she flew in and over the crevices of the floating mountains. Doing aerial jumps and spins, she laughed.

“That’s it Amay! Whoo!!”

The ikran shrieked in response, flapping her mighty wings as they head towards the mountain that separates the Kinglor and the Clouded Forest.

She didn’t arrive back at the Residence HQ until late in the evening where it had begun to drizzle with rain.

Runí whispered a thanks to her ikran before jogging into the cave system, following the path until she gets to the opening where some Na’vi were hanging around with the humans.

They happened to notice her, smiling and nodding their heads at her which she did the same.

She made her way towards the airlock, stepping inside and listened to the familiar hissing of the air being sucked in until the other door opened automatically.

That’s when Runí understood what Priya meant.

Everyone was bustling around, nearly running and knocking into each other. There was barely any time to move or dodge. They didn’t even noticed Runí stepping out from the airlock.

She watched with confused, wide eyes and nearly got bumped into until a hand grabbed her and pulled her back.

“There you are!”

Runí turned her head to meet the green-yellow eyes of her beloved friends. They also had a concern look in their eyes.

“What’s happening? Why is everyone acting so strange?” She questioned, looking back at those running around like their heads got chopped off.

“We don’t know. Cortez mentioned something, but nothing else.” Ri’nela answered, nodding towards the direction of where their technology was kept.

Runí followed her gaze, staring at the winding way and sighed.

She then turn to look at Ri’nela, placing a hand on her shoulder that got her attention back to her. “I’ll go talk to her.”

She knew that Ri’nela had forgiven Alma for what has been done, but it was made known that they weren’t as close as they use to.

The past won’t scar their future. Allies will always be welcomed.

She didn’t even see Ri’nela nod as she walked away, practically bulldozing her way through the midst of chaos.

When she turned the corner, passing Raj’s table, she saw Alma pacing like a mad thanator. It was still strange to see her in her true body. So small like Priya or Anqa.

Runí watched her circle around the hologram map that floated in the middle of the ring. She could see the worry lines deepen on Alma’s face. Looks like she has seen better days.

Alma continued to pace around, having one arm around her torso and using it to balance her other arm as Runí could see she was biting her fingernails.

Runí slowly walked over to her, keeping her footing soft in order not to startle the human, but ended up doing it when Alma noticed her tall frame watching her.

“Jesus!” The human jumped and held her chest, closing her eyes to calm her heart.

Runí made a face and crouched down, being on the other side of the holo-desk (I don’t know what its name).

“I..I didn’t think I’d see you here.” Alma swallowed, opening her eyes to meet the soft and wide gaze of the young Na’vi girl.

“What is wrong, Alma?” Runí asked, tilting her head to the side.

Alma just stared silently at the girl. Her eyes were slightly filled with mist, half lidded with redness.

“Alma?” Runí’s voice sounded like a trance, going in and out.

The woman could see her mouth move, hearing her name go in and out like the waves in the sea.

The next thing that they both knew, Alma collapsed.

Runí gasped, using onto two steps to catch the woman before she hit her head on metal.

“Alma?” She stared down at the unconscious woman as she cradled her in her arms. “Alma..? Wake up.”

She lightly jostled the woman, but didn’t receive any sort of response.

Her instincts immediately kicked in. The only thing she was grateful about that she remembered after all these years.

She placed two fingers right where Alma’s pulse would be at on her neck, feeling the woman’s heartbeat and was slightly relieved to know she was alive still.

“Alex! Nalin! I need help!” She called out, removing her fingers and adjusted Alma in her arms before hoisting her up.

She then ran towards the medical bay where Nalin and Alexander were at.

Everyone that had been running frantic were now standing still, watching as Runí came running to a medical bed.

“What happened?” Alex asked, seeing the woman being laid down on the bed.

“I-I don’t know. She was pacing and talking one minute and then the next she fell!”

Runí stepped back to let Nalin in, watching the two began a work up on Alma.

“Damn, her stress levels are sky high. She must be having a relapse from being out of her Avatar for this long.” Alex murmured, looking at the tablet in his hands.

They had place little things on her temple that scanned her brain.

“It’s been weeks since she’s been out of her Avatar. How long has she been relapsing?” Runí asked, frowning softly.

She didn’t know humans could relapse after a period of time. Especially after an Avatar dies.

“This is her third one. She’s dehydrated, has not stopped working and has eaten very little. She is borderline in critical need.” Alex explained, sounding a bit frustrated.

He turned to face Runí, still holding the tablet in his hands. The lines on his forehead had become more prominent at each reading he sees.

“She needs to rest. If she wants to help out, she is one extreme bed rest.” Nalin added, looking over her shoulder to look at Runí.

The girl nodded slowly, deciding it was best to leave. Knowing that Alma is in good hands. With her kind .

She took one last look at Alma then looked at Alex and Nalin and walked back towards the holo-table.

She looked at the hologram of Pandora’s land, seeing every tree, every body of water and every crevice of a mountain.

“It is good to see you.”

A deep voice approached at Runí’s side. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and smiled a bit.

“Hey, So’lek…”

Her eyes then turn towards the hologram, seeing the small bodies of ikrans flying.

“You mustn’t worry about Alma. She is in good hands.”

Her ears flatten against her skull, one fluttered at the slightest touch of the feathers she had placed in her hair.

“What made her this way?”

She turned her head to look at the yellow eyes of So’lek’s. He had no worry for the human woman.

After these months of knowing the warrior, Runí liked to believe he was a mentor. A guide to show them what is the Na’vi way.

He stared at her, his eyes flickering across her face before looking down at the hologram and typed something.

The land disappeared and changed into graphs and a map. There was a line showing from point A to point B.

Runí could feel her face frown as she stared at the map and graphs. There was so many numbers that it made her brain spin. She read each number as best as she could before moving onto the map.

“This.. isn’t the western frontier.”

The map was in a different part of Pandora. Where another forest of green spread from all she could see meets the wide open sea. It was definitely not the Kinglor.

So’lek nods, bracing his arms on the control panel and stared at the hologram map.

“No. It is not. This is on the other side of Pandora. To the east. This is where the battle my clan fought in years ago happened.”

Her ears perked up and she stared at the map, looking at the direction of the line started. It centered in the forest, far from the sea then pointed straight to a series of small to large islands.

“The Battle of the Hallelujah Mountains?”

So’lek nodded. She knew that he didn’t like talking about it, but he has that honor in him.

She stared at how luscious the forest looked, reminding her much of the Kinglor. She reached her hand out, wanting to expand the hologram until a hand stopped her.

She turned her head and saw it was So’lek who had stopped her.

“We had gotten word back from them. After so long, they now interact.” He grumbled.

He did not look happy. His ears were flat, eyes slightly narrowed and his tail curled up.

“He is not there. He vanished like ash in the wind. A coward.” He hissed.

Runí stared at him confused. She had been reborn into this world a few months ago, and she had seen so much of her home.

“This,” he points at the line on the map. “.. is a rogue gunship. Not ours.”

Her eyes blinked slowly as they flickered to the line. She looked at its start and it’s ending point.

“Why would a rogue gunship travel miles to the east? What is over there?” She questioned, looking back at So’lek.

But she was met with cold eyes. Cold eyes she figured all to well.

“I do not know, but I do know who it could be.”

Was all he said before doing a very dramatic gesture with his hand and stormed away, leaving Runí by herself.

She watched him go and sighed to herself. She knew who So’lek was talking about, but didn’t know much about the guy.

Jake. JakeSully. Jake Sully. Jake Sully .

“–some Avatar driver by the name of Jake Sully went full native. Brought the Na’vi against us. That’s why you can’t trust them!”

Her breath hitched. A cold, chilling trill went up her spine at the voice. Her hands gripped at her sides, digging her nails into her palms.

That’s where she remembers the name most.

Her eyes stared at the map, looking at the marker of where this rogue gunship went. The ending point.

The gunship had to be on one of those islands. It had to have gone where he was at.

And she was going to find him whether he liked it or not.

“..Maybe he can help us.” She whispered to herself, feeling a bit conflicted.

“If I find him, I can convince him to come to the Resistance. Maybe he can spark something around here.”

With determination locking in her eyes, Runí nods to herself and walked away from the holo-table.

She was an envoy. A warrior.

She is Sarentu. A diplomat. And she wasn’t giving up just yet.

Will Jake rise to the challenge?

—

Chapter Text

—

There was one thing that Runí couldn’t believe was how big the sea is because all she could see was blue, blue and more blue.

And for some reason, she wasn’t getting tired of seeing it.

She had been flying for few days, and it started as if it was nothing as her flying around the Western Frontier. Boy, she was wrong.

She flew through at least two different storms. All having down-pouring rain mixed with lightning and thunder. It made the waves of the ocean crash against the tall rock walls she had flown pass, causing her to get even more wet.

All the rain had washed off her body paint. She no longer had the colors of red, purple with white accents. Just blue.

Going through storms was definitely not on her agenda, but it was something she ensured.

Her hand rubs the top of her ikran’s neck, soothing her as her eyes looked from side to side, hoping to see something and not the deep blue water.

Sadly, there wasn’t anything. Much to her disappointment.

“We’re almost there, Amay.” She said, patting against the said ikran’s neck.

“Just a bit longer.”

She knew flying for so long can tire out an ikran so they took several breaks at certain points where Runí figured it was safe. Some were to eat, to sleep and to stretch or gather things the girl found along the way.

She had found a beautiful stone when they were resting in a cave. She immediately thought about making a bead out of it for her songcord.

The sound of her ikran skilling made her blink rapidly as she woke from her daze.

Runí smiled gently, tilting her head back and closed her eyes as she breathed in the scent of wind with the ocean. It was a new scent that was growing on her.

The serenity of it was purely exhilarating for her.

She stretched her arms out, feeling the wind be cut in half by them and sighed out loud. She spread her fingers, wiggling them in order to get rid of the numbness.

She felt at ease in the breeze, cooling her skin as it made her hair fly behind her, letting her hear the slight clacks of beads she had in her hair.

Opening her eyes, she was met with the cloudless blue skies. There was not trees, no mist and definitely no pouring rain that could block it.

As she stared at the sky, she couldn’t help to think about those she had left to go on this voyage.

Her friends. Her family.

She blinked slowly, turning her body to look back in the direction they came from.

There was no land in sight. Not even at the horizon. It was the sky meeting water.

With sad eyes, she looked off at the horizon longingly before they trailed down to the two good size trunks that were strapped to the saddle just behind her.

They weren’t too big or too small. Just right for some equipment for her. With extra ammunition she finds tucked away somewhere in there. Her assault rifle and shotgun is in there as well.

Her hand reached back, grasping a strap and made sure they were still tight before turning back around to face front.

“There’s no point in turning around now. We’ve made it this far.” She muttered to herself, rolling her shoulders.

She didn’t know how much longer, but she hoped it would be soon as they had been flying for several hours in the day from their last checkpoint.

She had no directions, only relying on coordinates from what she had gathered. She was starting to think her intuition was intertwined with her gut because it was tightening.

She reached back into a woven bag that was strapped just behind her, feeling around for something. Her fingers touched something that was round.

It was what she was looking for.

Any type of egg was one of few favorite delicacies that the ikran loved.

Runí smiled, seeing how the egg was in good condition. She leaned forward in her saddle, stretching her arm out so the egg could be seen by the beast.

“Here you go, Amay!”

She let the ikran stare at egg, making sure she has the appetite for it then tossed it in the air.

The ikran roared, fanning her wings out in an abrupt halt before tucking them in and dove down which made Runí erupt into laughter.

She grinned widely as the ikran followed after the falling treat before catching it in her mouth.

“Good girl, Amay!” She praised, rubbing the leathery skin of the beast’s neck.

She could hear the egg shell being crushed, teeth munching it with the time before being swallowed into the ikran’s belly.

She figured that her ikran needed the energy boost as well as a snack, and she was right. Hopefully it was enough to get to their destination.

It wasn’t long until Runí noticed how the water changed from the deep blue to a lighter cyan where it was clear enough to see creatures swimming below her.

She was so in awe that she would’ve fallen off if it wasn’t for her ikran screeching and jostled her back into the saddle.

“Whoa! It’s okay!”

She moved her hand to reach to scratch the underside of the ikran’s jaw, having to maneuver the head gear.

Her eyes stared at the head gear before she saw it.

Up ahead was an island of large trees with roots as big as the trees in the Kinglor. She could see a village woven around the roots. Her chest filled with hope as her eyes then moved down at a barrier that was coming up.

The barrier looked like wood twisting over. Though, it looks more like rock than wood. She could see figures standing in little pools on the other side as she passed over.

The figures were Na’vi. They nearly blended in with the water and Runí watched them stare before jumping into the water.

She tilted her head while hearing the wings of her ikran flapped until her ears perked up at the sound of a horn being blown. She slowly stood in her saddle, bending her knees to look over at the village as it was growing closer by the second.

The horn echoed as she curved her ikran around the roots, watching in awe as the villagers were emerging to see what was happening.

She never thought there would be different other Na’vi.

She then looked around in search of a place to land, and saw a large area of sand then tipped for Amay to land.

The ikran roared as she descended, fanning her wings to slow herself until sand hits her claws. The feeling of it was very different than the ground in the Kinglor or the Upper Plains or the Clouded Forest.

Runí jumped off, removing her queue from the ikran’s kuru and gives a soothing rub against her neck. She kept a firm eye contact on the approaching crowd with wide, observing eyes.

She stepped forward, having her arms out to show them she means no harm. Showing them her palms.

She made herself a wall to stand between the strange Na’vi and her ikran. She could hear the sand fall from the wings as her ikran had reared up and fanned her wings out with a loud cry.

Runí was far less concerned about Amay, and was more concerned about the gathering crowd around her was giving her weird looks.

She noticed many differences as she stood there like a stranger.

Her azure skin was more pronounced amongst their lighter, more cyan skin tone. Her tail was far thinner than theirs. She noticed that many of the adults had dark markings on their face, chest, stomach and anywhere on their body.

It reminds her of the tattoo on Priya’s arm.

Her eyes scanned along the crowd, flickering from one to another and seeing how they all eyed her with mixed emotions.

Her tail lowered itself, flicking before calming down. Her ears picking up every sound around them. The sound of water splashing, the murmurs of the villagers surrounding her and mostly the incoming fast pace of footsteps in the crunching sand.

She watched the crowd in front of her started to part into a line where Runí saw a Na’vi walking towards her.

She tilted her head, observing how he walked, how the people bowed their head when he walks by them. She saw how he stood proudly with his shoulders squared back with his head held high.

He must be the Olo’eyktan.

“I see you, Olo’eyktan.” She greeted.

She lifted her fingers to her forehead then pushed them away from her face as she lowered her hand. A traditional Na’vi greeting gesture.

The Olo’eyktan does the same as it was curtesy. His eyes staring at her small form, taking noticed of how young she is.

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

Runí stared at him, eyeing how tall he was compared to her that she had to look up at him.

Runí shifted her feet, digging her toes into the sand and cleared her throat.

“My name is Runí. I have traveled far from the Western Frontier.” She announced.

She placed her hand on her chest, looking directly into the Olo’eyktan’s eyes.

They were blue. Blue like…

“I am Tonowari, Olo’eyktan of the Metkayina. What brings you here?”

Runí felt as if she was being sucked into his eyes, imagining them as someone else. She blinked rapidly, shifting her eyes away and was met with a hard stare from another Na’vi.

This one was a woman. Beautiful and had so much grace in every step she took. The head piece had a shell on her forehead, letting Runí know what position she is in the clan.

The girl also took noticed of the roundness at her stomach. She was with child.

A striking chill with up her spine. There was no time to think of the past.

“I see you, Tsahìk of the Metkayina.”

She bowed her head, repeating her hand gesture once more. She felt a bit pressed to have two intimidating clan leaders standing before her.

It wasn’t nothing she can’t handle, but these were a different kind of Na’vi she wasn’t use to yet.

When lifting her head to watch the Tsahìk, she did not get a response, but a cold glare.

She swallowed, turning her attention back to Tonowari then glanced around the crowd.

“I am looking for Jake Sully. Toruk Makto.” She answered to his questioned, biting her inner cheek.

“I’ve received intel that he is somewhere here.”

Loud gasps and whispers echoed around them as both clan leaders looked at each other with wide eyes. Runí believed it was a weird way of letting them know her purpose on their turf, but it was the truth.

“Please, I just need to talk to him.” She added.

Tonowari looked towards her. His eyes were now slightly narrowed eyes, still having that curiosity as before and harboring caution.

“We are reef people. Wouldn’t Toruk Makto be in the forest with his people?”

Runí flattened her ears, looking between the two clan leaders until her eyes trained on the Tsahìk as the woman began to circle her.

She could feel the matriarch glare at her, at her body. The woman grabbed at her wrist, lifting it up and pressed her thumb against Runí’s palm to spread her three fingers before letting go of the girl’s wrist and moved on to the next thing.

“N-Not likely,” Runí flattened her lips, looking back at Tonowari then turned her head over her shoulder to watch the Tsahìk, “Where I from is nowhere close to Toruk Makto. My friends were told of his disappearance.”

Her tail was in the hands of the Tsahìk, being felt up by her cold hands. Her tail reacted, curling up and flicking the tip against the Tsahik’s palm.

It was definitely a feeling that Runí did not like.

Tonowari stayed silent, watching mate as she comes back to the front until she stops right in front of Runí.

“I am sorry to say, but there is no Toruk Makto here.” He said, waving his hand back to his village dismissively.

Or he tried to say.

Runí squinted her eyes at him before a hand came and grabbed onto her face. Thumb and finger pressing against her jaw firmly, making her move her head to the right.

“You have a mark.”

The Tsahìk was a fierce woman. Praised by the essence of Eywa, and Runí knew before not to fight.

Runí lowered her eyes to the sand, briefly glancing back at the stone face of the Tsahìk who was eyeing the sigil on the girl’s cheekbone.

“It is the mark of my people.”

The crack in the girl’s voice had gotten the firm grip to loosen. The Tsahìk then moved away, stepping back to her rightful spot beside Tonowari.

Runí immediately touched her jaw, wrinkling her nose as she rubbed it to ease the pain.

She gave the Tsahìk one more look before setting her gaze back on Tonowari, lowering her hand off her jaw.

“If you are harboring Jake Sully, all I want is a talk. That’s it. Please.”

She looked at him with soft, pleading eyes. Her green-yellow orbs clashing with his blue ones.

She could tell that she was overstepping her presence as a small snarl escaped from the Tsahìk.

“You must leave. Now .” Hissed the Tsahìk.

Runí tucked her chin down, flattening her ears. Her mind was now thinking that Jake wasn’t here, that the directions were wrong.

She was so lost in her thought that she didn’t noticed the two clan leaders hear something and turned their back towards her, now looking at something or someone.

Runí thought about her journey here. How she went through wind and rain to get to where she was now. How she had to left friends and the people she holds dear to her heart..

And for what? Finding a man that disappeared and comes back empty-handed?

Runí glared down at her feet, seeing how the sand almost covered them. Her tail flicked, arching up like a whip and her ears pinned themselves flat against her head.

No, this wasn’t it. She wasn’t wasting her time bickering about this.

She snapped her eyes to glare at Tonowari’s back and glanced at Tsahìk, seeing how she wasn’t facing anymore.

The frustration was building inside her. Who were they talking to? What could be more important than talking to her?

Though, in the back of her mind, a voice told her to remain calm. Always be the mediator. Reminding her of who she was.

She took a deep breath through her nose, fluttering her eyes shut to collect her thoughts.

She was Sarentu. They were diplomats, always being in the middle of conflict. They were peace-makers.

All the frustration and tension that had been building in her body slowly vanished. She was relaxing.

And she was grateful about that.

She exhaled from her mouth, opening her eyes. Her heart beats slow and steady like a water stilling after the waterfall.

For a moment, she thought to have see azure skin in between the two clan leaders.

She tilted her head, leaning to see if she could see who it was.

Green-yellows eyes met yellow eyes.

“… Runí?”

The look in his eyes told Runí the disbelief in her presence.

She blinked owlishly, her eyes widening more at her name bouncing off his tongue.

She was confused on how he knew her name, but that was a pressing matter for another time.

This man that stood not far, between the two clan leaders was the one she had been looking for. He looked Na’vi, but Runí could see he was an Avatar.

He had smaller eyes, with noticeable hair eyebrows like humans do and she could see the four fingers.

She felt relief wash across her body as her lips spread into a big grin, flashing her fangs.

“I found you,” she breathes.

“Jake Sully.”

The said man looked at her with wide eyes as the two clan leaders stared between them, having to look back and forth.

Jake stepped forward, his feet heavy in sand as he walked towards Runí.

That was until he was stopped by a spear being pressed against his chest.

Tonowari looked at Jake from the corner of his eyes then at Runí, who looked at the Olo’eyktan.

“Do you know her?”

Runí looked between Tonowari and Jake, her tail swaying and flicking with anxiousness. She was beginning to feel wary about the tendency of this.

Jake looked at Tonowari then at the Tsahìk, who remained cold to the eye, then to Runí.

He stared at her for what seems like forever before he looked at the Olo’eyktan.

“I do. But.. she’s just a kid. She’s our boys age.” He said quietly, nodding towards her.

Tonowari glanced at the girl, seeing how she was moving her feet in the sand like a child would.

“Look, trust me, she’s good I promise you. Let me talk to her.”

Jake looked between Tonowari and the Tsahìk with pleasing eyes. “You both have done wonders by taking me and my family in. Please..”

The mated pair looked at each other, talking with no words. Tonowari tilted his head, softening his eyes as the Tsahìk let out a sigh softly, closing her eyes and nodded.

That was the answer Jake hoped for.

The spear was lifted, allowing Jake to breathe smoothly now.

He thanked the pair quietly before motioning his hand to Runí.

“C’mon kid.”

She nodded, quickly walking over to him and bowed her head at the mated pair.

“Thank you, Olo’eyktan and Tsahìk, for having me in your village.” She said, feeling a large hand take place on her shoulder.

The two gave her a nod as she was being led from the crowd.

She couldn’t help, but to feel giddy.

As she walked towards the village, she turned her head slightly to the right to look at Jake.

This was the man she was looking for.

And she could only hope he will listen to her.

—

Chapter Text

—

The village was beautiful. It was an eye opening.

It was held by strong ropes around the many roots of the tall, mangrove trees that resided on the island. The homes were nicely woven, looking brand new and had reminded Runí of a tarsyu sapling.

The colors were vibrant like the dyes the Aranahe use. There were lots of colors. Mainly blues and purples. Anything that blends well in the water.

The path that connects all around the village was woven. It was firm yet bounced with each step she took. She had to regain her balance when she stepped on it as she followed behind Jake.

Those of the Metkayina who were still wandering the village had stopped and stared at her as she passed by. Though, Runí didn’t stray far from trailing behind Jake.

There were many questions in her head, zooming like ikrans at the rookery. Why would Jake, a forest Na’vi, be amongst reef people? Why was he not in forest? Why hadn’t he respond back to the Resistance when they needed him most?

She frowned softly, her eyes moving to look at his back. She glanced at each stripe.

Clicking came from beneath her with something splashing and alluring squeals. It was as if it was calling to her.

She slowed to a stop, blinking in confusion before leaning to look over the bridged path to see a creature wading at the waters surface. It was staring up at her, tilting its head to the side.

Her eyes widen at the sight of it and her mouth parted open in awe. She had never seen a creature like this before.

It looked quite friendly, not very aggressive looking unlike an ikran. From what she could see, it had no wings or claws. It had four fins, two on each side. The head looked like an ikran, but it was rounded out at the snout.

It’s skin looked smooth, and it was dark in color with a white underbelly. It reminded her of a Stormwing, just not aggressive at all.

“What are you?” She wondered.

The creature chattered, opening its mouth to show off its teeth. She saw how they weren’t razor sharp, but slightly curved to eat meat.

She smiled gently, lowering herself onto her knees and placed her hands at the edge of the woven path, bracing herself.

Her tail flicked in the air as she admired the creature, watching it do a corkscrew spin and rolled in the water. It even waved a fin at her making her beam brightly down at it.

“It’s an ilu.”

She quickly looked up to see Jake standing not far from her, watching her before lowering his gaze down to the playful ilu.

“Ilu? Huh, it is very playful.” She hummed, looking back down at the ilu.

“They are. The Metkayina use them to ride like how we use direhorses.”

Now, she understands the significance of the animal. So, the bond are only temporary with them like how the bond is with a direhorse. That makes sense.

The ilu chirped, making an echoing laughing sound before diving back into the water and swam off.

Runí watched it go, leaning some more until it was out of sight. She was captivated about this new region of Pandora with all its flora and fauna.

She was a bit sadden that the ilu went off, but it didn’t entirely ruin her excitement. She pushed herself up, standing back on her feet.

She turned her body to face Jake. Her eyes were bright and full of child-like wonder while she stared at him.

Jake had a somber look to him with his eyes filled with wary and tiredness. She could see him.

She searched for something, but never found it.

Jake nods his head, motioning her to follow him and started to walk again. His back now faced her as he walked further away from her.

Runí didn’t move just yet, watching him go. Her eyes flicked towards the water below, watching it slosh in small waves.

It was calming to watch, but now was not the time. She shook her head, flexing her fingers then had to double-time to catch up to Jake.

As much as she would love to follow him to wherever he was taking her, she had business with him.

“Jake, I need to speak. Please,” she started, having to dodge some other reef Na’vi while trying to keep up with his fast speed-walk.

She could tell by his ears flicking back towards her that he was listening.

“It is really an honor to be walking behind you. Wel, to be in your presence, but there is a huge matter on our hands and I believe it would be great if you–“

Cutting her off, two hands suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and two yellow eyes stared hard into hers, catching her by surprise.

He had to bend slightly to level his head to make their eyes aligned with each other.

“How did you find us” he asked, his voice sounding and cracked at the end.

Runí flattened her ears at his tone. She gazed at him, searching his eyes again before releasing a small breath.

“We picked up a rogue gunship heading in this direction. It was unclear which island, but it was strange how we picked it up when we are on the other side of Pandora.”

All of a sudden, Jake felt his heart drop into his stomach. The only gunship was the one Max and Norm came in. It sent a signal. It brought attention to where he was.

It even brought her here.

He dropped his head to breath a quiet sigh, closing his eyes as he still had his hands resting on her shoulders.

“Since you asked a question, I believe I get to ask one as well.” Her voice remained calm as she stared at him, sending his inner turmoil.

“How do you know my name?”

Jake nearly snapped his neck at how fast he raised his head up to meet her gaze again.

Runí flinched back, fluttering her eyes for a bit as there was confusion in both their eyes.

“From.. your logs.” He uttered, sounding even more confused.

Her confusion turned into a small frown on her face. She moved her head back, shrugging his hands off which she obviously did not care if they fell at his sides as her eyes widen and harden with bizarre.

“Wait, wait.. my logs? What do you mean?”

The two remained still and quiet, bewildered by each others reactions as they stood outside of a marui. The marui Jake and his family were living in.

The sound of the water beneath them hissed from sloshing with the wind.

Jake felt a heavy weight stood at his shoulder as he straightened his back. He stared at the girl before him, feeling lost like he was. That’s when he came to a conclusion.

Runí didn’t know how Jake knew her, nor did she ever knew about her logs being in Jake’s possession.

She doesn’t even know that Jake knew her story.

With his throat feeling like it was drying and closing at the same time, he looked around to see if anyone was nearby then looked inside of the marui to see that no one was inside.

Good, no one was home yet.

He sighed only, his eyes scanning around the marui before turning back to Runí, who was still eyeing Jake with narrowed eyes.

She was observing him. An impressive skill.

He stepped towards her, placing a hand on her back and ushered her inside.

As she stepped inside, Runí looked around the surprisingly wide space. She also saw many things against the woven walls. Some baskets were filled with food, some had materials in them, and hammocks rolled up that were set off to the side.

She did see a large green case the moment she walked in. It had a small woven cloth laid over it with some shallow bowls on top.

She guessed she was staring at it for so long that she didn’t even notice Jake had followed her in.

“You seriously don’t know anything about what Alma sent?” His voice caught her attention.

He had watched her look around, reminding him of a stray cat coming inside for the first time. Wary and very cautious of her new surroundings.

Runí spun around, her hair almost smacking her face and stared at him with a deepening frown.

“Alma? What does she have to do with this?” She asked, slightly tilting her head to the left.

Her ears were flattened, nearly disappearing in her hair and her tail lashed behind her.

Jake looked at her as if she had grown two heads. It wasn’t helping since she was getting a bit anxious and somewhat angered by the lack of response.

“Just.. uh hold on..”

He shook his head and hastily walked over, passing by her and grabbed a tablet. He turned it on, typed something in and pulled up the log page. His heart pounded against his chest, almost bursting when seeing all the logs weren’t there.

Mentally, he freaked out, but he remained calm outside. It wasn’t a second later that the logs popped in one by one, filling the page up and it relieved Jake.

They were all there. All twenty-five of them.

“Here. This is what I mean..” he turned around, looking at Runí and walked back to her with the tablet in hand.

She stood in the same spot she was, looking a bit impatient from how her left ear flicked occasionally. Her tail was curled up with the tip swaying back and forth slowly.

“Uh.. you might want to sit down for this.” He motioned his hand towards the green case.

Runí stared at his hand before following it to the green case. Her patience was running thin, but she figured she might as well listen to him.

She moved towards it, moving the bowls out of the way and sat on it. She then looked at Jake with a look of impatience.

Jake had followed her for a few steps, crouching down at her level and held out the tablet, giving her a soft look.

Her eyes moved between Jake and the tablet, unsure if she wanted to know, but ends up taking the tablet and was immediately alarmed.

Her eyes widened when seeing the logs, seeing that it was in fact her logs. The ones she thought were never to be seen by anyone.

She didn’t understand this. She immediately stood up, nearly knocking into Jake. Having the tablet in both of her hands, she began to pace.

“I-I don’t understand..” she stuttered, eyes looking frantically at each log. “These were promised to never be seen! No one was suppose to know! How did you get this?!”

She lifted up her head and met Jake’s gaze. Her eyes were wide and still frantic. Her tail thrashed hazily behind her, smacking against the back of her leg when it had the chance.

Jake could see the mixed emotions in her eyes and shook his head, still remaining eye contact with her. He held out his hands to try to calm her down.

“I don’t know, but that rogue gunship you mentioned was friends of mine who came here. They mentioned that Alma contacted them and your logs were in a hard-drive that loaded into the tablet.”

Runí was still looking at the logs, seeing her own face reflected back at her before her eyes moved to look pass the tablet then narrowed.

She was promised by Alex that they wouldn’t be known to anyone, but her. These logs were personal. Personal to her.

“Of course it was Alma..” she sneered, her face shifting from its glaring into a somber yet betrayed expression.

“It is always Alma.”

With ease, she turned back to the green case, setting the tablet down before she did something bad to it. She was practically seething as she went back to pacing.

Jake watched her with worried eyes, seeing how her lip would curl and she began to mutter to herself. Her tail started to look like razor wire, swiping around as if it was ready to cut into flesh.

“It makes so much sense now. No wonder she was pacing, looking like a ghost at the holotable.”

Runí bowed her head down, glaring down at her feet while her hands clenched into fists at her sides

“I figured she was done with this selfless hero act. Now she used something of mine to get word to help the resistance in hopes to get contact with you.” Her eyes snapped to Jake, ferocity blazing in her pupil like a wild fire.

But all she was met with were soft, sadden eyes filled with pity.

And it made her skin crawl. She seen pity through eyes of those in the Resistance after finding how what Alma had done. She didn’t like seeing them stare at her whenever she would walked by.

She shook her head, clenched her jaw and scoffed. She then looked out of the marui to see the setting sun that almost overlays at the open sea.

The way the sunlight glistened in the water, shimmering so brightly. It was so beautiful. She softened at the sight, unclenching her hands as her anger vanished slowly.

“I.. I assume it was something worth it since you know of me.” She sighs, lifting her hand up and pushed her fingers through her hair.

Beads lightly clacked together as she did that. Looking over her shoulder, she sees that Jake hadn’t move and her lips formed a line.

Her body took control and she slowly retreated back to the green case, sitting back down on it and sighed again.

Jake’s eyes followed her every movement until she was by his side on the case.

Her posture was slumped. She looked like his kids when they are upset or in trouble. He could see her eyes glancing over at him before going to her hands that were sitting in her lap.

The slight movement of the muscle belonging to her thumb could be seen. Jake guess she was playing with the beads in her songcord.

“Hey,” he looked up at her, waiting for her to look back at him. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Runí looked at his hand resting on her knee, seeing the four fingers then looking at her own fingers. She was indeed messing with her songcord.

Her songcord was precious to her as it would be to any Na’vi. Each of her beads were given by someone she had met on her path to freedom.

Inhaling through her nose deeply, she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them. She moved her head to meet Jake’s eyes.

She opened her mouth, just about to speak when both of their ears perked up at the sound of rushing footsteps getting louder towards them.

They both ended up standing, shoulders tensed. Jake had moved to be in front of Runí, placing a hand on her shoulder and added pressure to move her back behind him.

“MaJake!”

Jake felt his body relaxed when hearing the familiar voice of the woman he loved. Though, Runí hadn’t relaxed and had stayed behind Jake, peeking behind him like a child would.

A figure came to stand in front of the marui. Runí  leaned over, her eyes fluttering a bit when seeing that it was a woman and the woman hadn’t noticed her yet.

The woman had a look in her eyes that told Jake something happened.

It had to be with the boys.

His ears flattened, pinning against his head when he met her in the eye.

He nodded, pressing his lips together before swiftly turning around to face Runí.

“Stay here, okay?” He looked into her eyes, her looking confused and slightly concerned.

“I’ll be back and we can talk. I promise. Just stay here.”

His hands placed themselves on her shoulders, his thumbs nearly touching her collarbone.

Runí stared into his eyes, going to one than the other before slightly nodding. She didn’t know what was happening, but she figured it would be better if she followed his instructions.

“Good.” He nodded as well, moving a hand to touch the top of her head before pulling away from her.

He licked the bottom of his lip before following out with his mate, running off by following her.

Runí had followed him out of the marui, only stopping when she was outside and watched him run off with the woman.

She groans softly, tilting her head back and slumped her shoulders.

“Way to talk to him, Runí.” She grumbled, turning her body to go back inside, but before she did, she took on last glance to the setting sun.

The sky was turning into a beautiful orange with yellow blooming at the top, and the water reflected it with a soft shimmer. It was mesmerizing.

It reminded her of the Upper Plains. How the vast open land was free with beautiful colors. The blood leaf trees that always shed the color when the wind blows. How the Zeswa make paint to decorate the fur on the Zakru, gentle giants who remain awake or asleep.

Runí thought of Teylan and Ri’nela immediately. Remembering their smiles, and their warmth.

“They would’ve loved this.” She murmured to herself, blinking the moisture away before walking back inside the marui.

She walked around, eyeing everything on the floor and made her way towards the fire pit.

She might as well light a fire.

She knelt down beside it, leaning over and smelt the burnt embers. They could still be used.

She hummed to herself, looking down at herself as her hands went into a pouch she had on her hip, pulling out a flint.

She held the small rock in her hand, pushing it up between her fingers. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

She leaned back onto her heels as her free hand went to her other side, grabbing the handle of her knife and pulled it out.

Metal glinted in the light, nearly blinding her as she maneuvered it in her hand so the rough edge of the blade could hit the rock. She would rather it chip than it breaking in half.

She shuffled closer, leaning her hands to be inside the fire pit and began to scuff the knife on the rock.

She watched sparks flared out every time her knife would hit the rock at just the right angle. Her tail swayed behind her, curling and flicking over her heels.

More sparks would pop off and land on the burnt embers where a small flame began to charge. It flickered, dimming slightly until Runí blew into it gently.

It grew slowly and when Runí saw no change, she leaned back. She pushed the flint back into her pouch, searching through it once more and pulled out some small twigs.

“There.” She hummed, looking at the small flame and placed the small twigs into the pit where the flame eat it and grew bigger.

Runí watched as the flame danced, swaying side to side in a hypnotizing manner and sighed to herself.

Her eyes flickered towards the outside of the marui, seeing how the sun was continuing to set further.

She was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. She thought of a different outcome, but she didn’t think she’d be here.

Alone in the home of Toruk Makto.

It was never a dream come true for her, and it will possibly never happen as she remains alive.

—

Chapter Text

—

The sound of the water was the only thing she could hear. The fire crackling was barely noticeable.

She sat there, staring at the flames dancing like they were Na’vi parading around a bonfire. Celebrating something that wasn’t clear to her. They jumped and dance so happily that it was haunting her.

She was alone in a stranger’s home, one that she knew but wasn’t even close to being familiar with.

Her cheek was pressed against the top of her knee, having pulling her leg by the thigh up close to her chest. Her hands were clasped together as she hugged her leg.

She stared at the flames with boredom, blinking slowly.

She thought back of what her plan was. She was suppose to find Jake, tell him of her purpose and hoped he’d listen.

Did she do that? No, but she tried to. He brought up Alma and it had soured her mood. Then a woman, probably his mate, showed up and they both left her alone without a worry.

Her eyes shifted from the flames, looking at the cool metal blade that laid on her calf on the stretched leg. Its coolness soothed the skin from the heat of the fires blaze.

She remembered how she found the knife. She had ransacked an RDA base up in the Clouded Forest. It was abandoned, overgrown with green. She found it laying near some gear, Avatar gear.

She did personalize it. She weaved a sleeve over the handle of the knife. A mixture of fiber and moss. Soft yet firm and durable.

She stared at it for a bit longer before sighing heavily, blinking once again then rolled her head in hopes to relieve the stiffness from her neck.

It felt like forever since Jake has been gone, but judging by how the sun was sitting above the oceans horizon, minutes must have passed by. For that, Runí knew she had a choice.

Either she stays and waits for him, or she gets up and leaves with no talk.

And she was leaning towards the latter.

“This was a waste of time..” she grumbled, glaring softly at the knife.

Her gaze moved towards the outside of the marui and her glare intensified.

She lifted her head up, releasing her arms from hugging her thigh anymore and reached for the knife.

“A mistake.”

She hissed under her breath, wrapping her hand around the handle and gripped it hard. She rotated the knife, seeing the reflection of the blade.

Green-yellow eyes stared back at her. They were smaller, more wider as Runí could see the child in the reflection.

The child who use to hide behind her sister, holding her hand while the other clutched the only thing they had of their mother.

The child who would back away whenever the man came inside the classroom, glaring at him from afar, but never did anything. Too afraid of him.

The child who cried her heart out night after night, after losing two important things in her life. A child who wanted to be held by her sister, but was plagued by memories of her death.

Runí stared at the child, her glare softened as the child looked back at her. The look of fear molded itself in the eyes of the child. It was one of many that she knew all too well.

Something fell onto her thigh, cooling her skin which made her blink quickly and looked back at the blade. The child was gone.

She looked away from the knife, frowning softly and quickly puts it back into the sheath.

Her cheeks felt warm and cool at the same time as she breathed a bit heavier. She didn’t move to wipe away the tears that fell so slowly down her cheek.

Her mind was made, and she wasn’t one to back down.

She got up, her tail falling behind her and she looked around the marui. Scanning at what she was left with before shaking her head side to side.

As Runí stepped to leave the marui, she stopped when hearing the sound of rushed footsteps coming closer. She could also hear the gruffness of a familiar voice and she slowly stepped back, moving around the fire pit to be on the far side of the marui.

Jake came in and he didn’t look happy. He had a deep frown from what Runí could see as she crouched down, wanting to remain hidden from sight, and he had brought someone inside by the forearm.

It was a boy. Probably his son possibly. He looked a lot like Jake. He didn’t have the dreads that Jake had, but it was similar with just braids that were tied back into a low ponytail.

Though, Runí tilted her head in curiosity as she stared at the boy. She took noticed of the boy’s eyebrows, his smaller eyes and the extra digit on his hand.

She had never seen a young Avatar before. One that must be the same age as her.

Her observation was then disturbed by Jake’s almost yelling at the boy.

“What did I tell you, boy? You cannot talk back to the Olo’eyktan! Especially about their ways!” He yelled, looking at the boy.

Runí instinctively flinched at the tone in his voice, closing her eyes a bit and opened them back up to continue watching.

The boy just bowed his head, having to glance up at Jake and trailed his eyes off to the side.

“You’ve caused enough trouble to this family.”

Runí saw how the boy flatten his ears, looking down with his eyes and how his tail angled downward.

“Now go before I knot your tail.”

Her eyes snapped towards Jake as he was focused on the boy in front of him.

She stared at him with conflicted eyes then gazing back to the boy, but was only met with his back as the boy was leaving the marui.

Silence rang with the water until a heavy sigh exploited itself from Jake while he placed a hand over his forehead to rub his temples.

“Who was he?” She asked, slowly standing from her crouched form and slowly approached him.

Jake jumped slightly and turned his head, seeing her with his eyes then sighing roughly.

“Jesus, kid.” He bowed his head, placing his hands on his hips.

Runí eyed him up and down, tilting her head.

“That.. was my son, Lo’ak.” Jake answered, lifting his head.

“You have a child? I thought he was an Avatar. A young one at that.”

Her eyes widen a bit as she processed the information. She didn’t hear anything about him having a child.

Squinting his eyes, Jake watched her confused before slowly shaking his head.

“No.. I have four. Two sons and two daughters.” He stated.

Four. Two sons and two daughters.

“Lo’ak is my youngest son.” He added, lowering his hands off his hips. “And he isn’t an Avatar. He has my Avatar’s DNA, but he was born like any Na’vi child…”

Born like any child gifted by Eywa? Runí found it strange, but fascinating.

Runí frowned softly, shaking her head and waved her hand in protest.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” She grumbled.

Her tail arched up, showing off her mood as ears pinned back. Runí sighed softly and glanced up at Jake.

“You are very hard on him.”

Jake sighed, staring at her with a hard eye and placed his hands back on his hips.

“You don’t know him like I do. You have no reason to speak about how I discipline my own kid.”

Runí narrowed her eyes at him, her lips curling back as she moved to stand in front of him right where Lo’ak had stood.

“But you are! You scold him, look down on him and..” her eyes softened as she thought back to the somber look on Lo’ak.

“You do not see him.”

She waved her hand over her eyes then placed it on her chest, poking it with her finger.

Jake didn’t respond, but listened to her with hard eyes. He shook his head and looked away, seeming done with this conversation.

It made her angry.

She stomped her foot, leaning to get his attention back on her.

“You don’t see him for him . You see him for what he is. You think he is a troublemaker, a skxawng, lesser than you! You act like you are a soldier.” She hissed.

Her ears flattening, and she could feel heat blooming at her cheeks as she narrowed her eyes at Jake.

Her tail whipped behind her, moving like smooth coils.

She then pointed at him, her finger being stiff as it points at Jake’s face.

“You are acting like some commanding officer.”

Jake widened his eyes at her accusation. His mouth had dropped open in shock as he watched her seethed.

“You remind me of Mercer. Just.. not evil..” she sighs, tilting her head back and looked off to the side.

What was she doing? She didn’t know what she was doing, but she knew it would end in circles if she goes further.

Her shoulders slumped

“I-I came here in search of a great warrior.” Her voice stuttered as her emotions ran high.

“I thought I would find that great warrior and tell him about our ordeal in the Western Frontier, hoping that he will listen to me.” she continued, looking into his eyes with plead in hers.

“You are Toruk Makto!” She yelled, flattening her ears.

Jake cringed at the name, his eyes lowering in shame as he looked off to the side.

Runí stared at him, seeing how he had cringed and gritted her teeth. Her hand clenched tightly into fists again and her back muscles tensed.

“But all I see is a coward.” She growled.

Jake turned his head towards her, seeing her glare at him and he was slightly upset at her tone. A part of him was angry for being called a coward.

“I wasted my time coming here for a coward! Do not think that I didn’t see you flinch at the name. It is with you until you meet Eywa.”

Runí gave him a disgusted look, eyeing him up and down before turning her back to him and began to walk away.

Jake didn’t hesitate to follow after her.

“Where are you going?” He asked, sounding like a father scolding his rebel child.

“Home. I wasted enough time here.” She answered, not giving him a glance.

As Runí stepped out of the marui, she felt eyes to the right of her so she turned her head to see who was staring at.

Green-yellow met bright yellow.

It felt like time had slow for Runí as she stared aimlessly at the owner of these eyes.

It was another boy. She assumed he must be the other son of Jake. Yet, he didn’t look anything like Lo’ak. He had features like she did and found many differences between him and Lo’ak.

Larger eyes, no eyebrows and three fingers. He looked broader in the shoulders than Lo’ak did. His hair was braided, but hung below his shoulders. Beads were a pop of color in the dark braids.

She eyed him, fluttering her eyes as the boy looked at her.

Their eyes met again before Runí moved her attention to the woman who was beside the boy. She could sense the concern and ferocity bubbling in the woman.

Runí saw how burning her gaze was upon seeing her until the woman looked behind her, probably at Jake.

Runí glanced back at the boy then looked away to the blue sky, searching her ikran and called for her.

Luckily, her call was answered as her ikran soared through the sky.

Her ikran roared, drawing near and landed on an open netted dock. Runí hastily walked over, checking her saddle and her things. Her hands grabbed on the straps, pulling on them to keep them tight before walking towards her ikran, Amay, to pet her.

She could sense how everything was unsettling her.

“Runí, wait!” She heard Jake say and she glared towards him.

“No! You’ve done enough!” Her face made Jake stop and have a look of sorrow.

“You think I wanted to see you, a coward, when I was hoping to see the man that got Na’vi against the RDA? All I got was a man hiding amongst strangers.”

Her left hand chopped the air horizontally before lifting it up, closing it then opening it with her lips curling.

Jake didn’t say anything else, and she took that as a chance to get ready to hop onto the saddle.

All he did was watch as she was patting the neck of her ikran and double checking everything else. That was when he did the unthinkable.

“Aha’ri wouldn’t have wanted this.”

A cold, icy chill strucked her at the back of her skull. She froze, her hands tightening on the straps and she focused on the saddle.

The memories flooded in. Of her .

Her blue eyes shining at her, her smile was ever so bright and her fangs flashed at every cheeky grin she made. The scar on her forehead was something she never hid. Her pride and strength were one of the few things she proved herself.

But that’s all they were. Memories she keeps dear to her. And she wasn’t going to let a coward talk about her.

When seeing that Runí hadn’t move, Jake slowly stepped forward. He glanced at his mate and son, shaking his head before keeping his attention back on the girl.

“You know she wouldn’t want you to go. After so much effort you put into thi—“ he was cut off by something shiny flying towards him.

He was lucky enough to dodge it in time, and looked back to see what it was.

His heart dropped when seeing the sleek, jagged blade of a knife made by the RDA. His reflection stared back at him. The knife was stuck in the thick and sturdy wood of one of the many mangrove roots that held the woven cover above their heads.

Jake then spinner around to meet the fury in Runí’s eyes.

“You don’t get to speak her name!” She yelled as her ikran moved around to roar at Jake.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mate step forward, looking as if she was ready to fight the girl.

Jake stepped towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder and used the other to stop her from pulling out her knife.

Runí snarled, bending her knees as she looked between Jake and his mate. Her hands clenching and unclenching as her heart pounded in her chest.

“MaJake.” She heard his mate hissed, but Jake gave her a look which made her quiet.

She then bristled when he turned towards her, snarling again at him and flared her nostrils.

“Don’t ever mention her name or else I will slit your throat.” She threatened.

Jake nods slowly, lifting his hands up to show Runí that he was not the enemy while looking into her eyes.

“Okay, okay.. but I know you Runí. You didn’t come out here for nothing.” He tried to explain but she shook her head.

He could tell that her patience was wearing thin, and only bringing the name of her sister was the knife cutting the cake.

“Listen to me. You don’t have to leave just yet. Stay here and we can talk. Just you and me, okay?”

He took one step towards her, having his hands out like she was a wild animal.

Runí stared at him with uncertainty, glancing back towards his mate and son then back at Jake.

She kept tabs on him, eyeing how he favored one foot than the other. How human he talks when he speaks Na’vi. She sees him, but does not see him as Toruk Makto.

He got close enough that he had to physically move back to avoid the razor-sharp teeth that missed his arm.

Her ikran, Amay, roared at Jake. Her eyes staring at him as she moved her head side to side to look at him.

Runí moved over, reaching her hands up and gently fiddled with the straps of the head gear. Her hand brushed against her jaw and neck.

“Easy, Amay.”

She shushes the ikran as she slowly removed the head gear off to show the beautiful coloration pattern of the ikran. She dropped the head gear by her feet.

Her hands met the leathery skin of Amay as she maintained eye contact with the beast. She slowly began to sooth the ikran by rubbing along her forehead, letting Amay lean into her stomach.

“Runí, please..” Jake begged, watching the girl calm the ikran.

The soft croons and groans rumbled the ikran could be heard as Runí listened to him, having her eyes remain on Amay.

“You don’t know me.” She finally spoke, her voice soft, but hard with emotion.

Jake shook his head and stepped closer, only stopping when he saw her glance at him.

“I do know you.” He glanced over his shoulder and sighed, looking back towards her and took another step.

“I know that your favorite weapon is your heavy bow. You named it Black Wind. If it isn’t then it’s your sling staff.” He started, thinking back to the logs he watched days ago.

“You put others needs before your own. You make sure everyone is safe before checking yourself. You like gathering and crafting. You like to dip your toes in dirt and mud. It brings you closer to the world and its system.”

Her ears perked up, letting Jake know she was listening as he slowly kept stepping towards her while she was busy petting her ikran.

“You like to fly on your ikran, enjoying the sense of freedom. You also like to ride direhorses across the plains. It make you feel free.” He continued.

He was now standing beside her, right in front of her ikran. He stared down at her, watching how her hand rubbed back and forth at the crown of the ikran’s head.

“You’ve been through so much, and you prevailed by surviving.”

He reached out his hand, aiming it to land on her shoulder. When seeing that she didn’t move or indicate he shouldn’t, he gently set his hand on her shoulder.

His thumb slowly rubbed back and forth soothingly as he continued, “You carry your mothers songcord around as it’s the only thing connecting her and your sister to you physically.”

He felt her flinch under his hand, and he heard a small sniffle.

“You can stay here. It’s too dangerous if you leave now. I’m sure you are exhausted and hungry from your travels.”

Runí stared at the closed eyes of Amay, contemplating on what she should do.

If she stays, she might have to call and tell someone of what she found, but if she goes, who knows what kind of danger is out there.

Besides, she was feeling a bit peckish and slightly tired. She was also sure that Amay was far too tired for another days of travel.

Her ears flattened against her head as she released a heavy sigh that came from her chest, removing her hands from Amay which earned a small croon.

She looked up with her eyes, staring at Jake before shrugging his hand off her shoulder and stepped away from him.

“Fine. Only because Amay and I are tired.” She huffed, turning her back to him.

Jake was relieved as he watched her walked towards the saddle.

She then spun around to face Jake, her hand on a strap and she unclasped it to where the two cases fell off of Amay with a heavy thud.

As she did that, her eyes remained on Jake like a Hawk until she was done. Once everything was off, she grabbed an egg from her pouch and gave it to Amay as a treat.

“Here, let me…”

Jake stepped forward, taking the two cases and was surprised at how light they were. He then looked over his shoulder, and called out a name.

“Neteyam! Come help me.”

Neteyam was the boy’s name. She hummed under her breath.

Runí watched the boy come over, his hair sways dramatically with each step and their eyes met again. They stared at each other for far less than a minute until Runí turned her head, breaking eye contact.

She stood there like a child as Jake and Neteyam take her things inside their marui with Jake’s mate following them inside. She rolled her head to the side and looked at Amay, who stopped loudly munching on her treat as if she got caught doing something illegal.

“What are we going to do, Amay?” She asked, expecting not to get a verbal answer as she wrapped her arms around the ikran’s neck.

She pressed her cheek against Amay’s long neck, feeling how she breathes and closed her eyes.

She pulled away, smiling slightly and opened her eyes to meet the gaze of Amay from her two eyes.

“Ah, don’t worry about me. Come on. Let’s get this gear off of you. There’s no RDA around here anyways.” She cooed.

A high pitched squawk came from Amay and she snickered, moving down to get rid of the gear off of the ikran.

As she did that, she did not even think about her knife. The one that was still lodged in the root behind her.

Maybe this will be good for her. The past is dead anyways.

Right?

—

Chapter Text

—

Night quickly had fell and Jake felt like he could breathe peacefully with no interruptions. The only thing from stopping that is he had to inform his family on what he was planning on doing.

He sat in the marui, having one leg stretched out and other bent up. He watched the fire flare, smacking the air then slowly glanced towards the two cases that laid idly. They belonged to Runí.

He noted that she didn’t bring much. Whatever is in the two cases and a medium woven bag that had a rolled up hammock and herbs. Not that he looked through, but he could smell it and it was logical to think of what’s inside.

He didn’t know where she would liked to have them so he set them near his techo stuff.

Her ikran gear was placed outside, hanging at some drying racks to air out and Runí was nowhere to be found.

She didn’t follow after him and Neteyam earlier. The second he set down her items, he looked where she had stood last to see neither her or her ikran were there.

He later had sent Neteyam to find his siblings for a family meeting. Once the boy left, he had to calm his wife down.

“She’s just here for however long she needs to be.” He tried to reason with Neytiri. “She is far from home. She came here for me.”

His eyes stared at the side of her face as she was concentrating on being passive aggressive while cooking the fillets Jake cut earlier. He could see the impending frown on her.

When receiving no response from her, he sighs and looked down. She was upset from the altercation earlier and he did have to agree that he shouldn’t have brought Runí’s sister into it like he did, but he knew that wasn’t the reason Neytiri was upset about.

It was still wrong of him.

“Come on. Family meeting.” Neteyam’s voice alerted Jake out of his daze.

He blinked, putting on a small smile and looked over to see his littlest one bounce over to him. Her eyes were bright and gleaming as she ran into his arms.

“Dad! Dad! Look what me and Kiri found!”

She was holding something in her small hands, raising it up to show her father in excitement. In the palms of her hands, it looked like a pearl. Iridescent in a mute pure color, but had the mosaic effect a pearl had. It was definitely beautiful.

“That’s beautiful, Tuk. Why don’t you go show mom, yeah?” He smiled, looking from the pearl to Tuk while rubbing her back affectionately.

She nodded, grinning widely and closed her hands over the pearl then blinding over to her mother to do the same thing.

Jake watched her go with a half smile before looking at his older kids who were brooding. He took the time to look at them one by one.

Neteyam always was in the middle, often glancing to his left where Lo’ak was at then looking to his right to check on Kiri.

His eldest and firstborn was always someone he could trust to keep an eye on the rest. Making sure they are okay when he or Neytiri aren’t around.

Jake then turned his eyes to Lo’ak.

The boy was crouched as well besides his brother. He wasn’t looking at him, but down like he didn’t want to be seen.

Jake could see a lot of himself in his youngest son. Maybe more than he’d like to admit, but he remembered Runí’s words echoing.

“You are very hard on him.”

“You do not see him.”

“You remind me of Mercer..”

He didn’t understand what she meant. He was doing what he has to as a father to make sure his kid stays alive.

He then looked to the far left to the last child, Kiri.

The daughter he took in as his own. She was sitting a bit far, confused on what was going on and often look at Neteyam for guidance.

She was always something. Just like her mothers.

Jake cleared his throat, blinking and shuffled onto his feet which brought him closer to the three.

“Alright,” he started, his voice as surprisingly soft. “We have a guest staying with us and I’m going to need you all to help make her feel comfortable.”

Four pair of eyes stared at him, reflecting the light emitting from behind Jake that lit up the marui. All his kids were confused, looking at each other then back at Jake, except Neteyam.

The boy knew what his father was talking about.

Jake scanned at them, watching how they react and luckily they hadn’t said anything. He then sighed through his nose.

“Show her around, make friends with her, teach her what you all have been learning these past few months we’ve been here. If she wants to learn, help her, but don’t force her, okay?”

He wanted Runí to feel comfortable amongst his family, but he didn’t know if she will adjust having to live with a family that she didn’t know well.

He looked at his kids, seeing them glance at him then at their mother before setting their eyes back on him and nodded.

He felt relief instantly wash over him.

Jake nods slowly, smiling a bit more at them before standing up. He then motioned his hand towards Neytiri, who had little Tuk-Tuk in her arms while finishing up dinner.

“Go on. Eat up.”

He then walked to them as they stood. Well, Neteyam and Lo’ak did.

He stared at them, seeing the difference between both his boys before placing a hand on the tops of their heads. He affectionately thumbed their scalps gently before his hands slid off their heads and onto their shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze then walked out of the marui.

When his feet touched the woven path, he turned to look back at his family as he was shield by the cover of darkness.

His kids were surrounding the fire pit, helping their mother and waiting for their meals like a patience litter of viperwolves. He could watch them forever if he could, but he needed one more person.

And he might know where she is.

Jake had walked all around the village, minding those who were sleeping until he was walking along the shoreline of the beach meeting the sea.

That’s where he found her.

Not far from where he stood, she was sitting in the sand. Her feet would be touched by the tide coming in and having layered wet sand on her skin. She looked to be at peace while her hands were messing with the sand.

She even had scooped up a hand full of it and let it fall in between her fingers while watching it in awe.

His feet trekked on the sand, crunching the small particles under his weight as he  came closer to her.

She didn’t seem bothered when he chose to sat down beside her. She hadn’t even looked at him yet, and the hand that was once had sand in it was now drawing in the shore.

“What’s wrong?” He asked quietly, looking at her.

Her hand paused itself in her drawing for a moment, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye then her hand continued move in the sand.

Jake lowered his gaze, watching her finger curved and straightened a line out. She lifted her hand, using now her thumb and other fingers to gently poke small little holes then slowly swiped her fingers in an arch that circled around it.

She proceeded to draw another line, making squiggly marks and adding another ray of dots that frays outward towards Jake. It was an intricate design.

It was an intricate design. One that Jake wasn’t familiar with. From what he can see, it looked more like a crescent moon with what looks like the sea pooling inside of it, but he could be wrong.

“What is it?” He questioned, his voice being soft and nurturing.

“I don’t know.” She suddenly whispered back, sounding small and sad.

She pulled her hand away from adding some final touches and stared at her drawing. The crescent moon with the sea in it now had small flying ikrans fraying around it.

She frowned softly, and used her tail to swipe it away from sight, letting it be back the way it was before. Nothing.

She then pushed her legs to slowly slide down until they were laid out straight. Her hands now rest in her lap as her back was hunched a bit. Her eyes were stilled on her hands.

Jake just sat there with her in the silence, having to listen to the soothing sound of the sea and the fauna in the background. It was just the two of them surrounded by the world.

He sighs, leaning back onto his hand and looked up towards the dark horizon, but the stars of the night sky caught his attention more. He could see the star of the planet he once called home. He never did wonder if it’s still alive or not, but he doubts it now with the RDA out and about in Pandora.

“I’ve only seen pictures of Earth.” Her voice cuts Jake from his thoughts, allowing him to turn his head to see she was also looking up at the sky as well.

She was looking directly at the star that was Earth.

“Only the geographic features that Alma showed us. She didn’t talk much about it. Only what we had to learn.” She finished, solemnly.

She stared at the star for what seemed like forever and soon let out a big sigh that was needed to be released. She slowly shifted her attention to Jake, meeting his gaze.

Her eyes were large and sad. The kind of eyes that he would get when his kids were younger around Tuk’s age when something happened that would get them in trouble.

Eyes of a child. The child that Jake wished she could have been. One to have grown up in the forest and not in a wall full of metal.

She looked conflicted, having to glance off to the side in anxiousness and glancing back to meet Jake’s eyes again. The slight movement of her jaw indicated that she might’ve been chewing on her inner cheek.

“I’m sorry about my outburst earlier. I-I shouldn’t have done that. I overstepped–“

Jake shook his head, reaching a hand out and placed it on her shoulder. Her mouth shut the instant she felt the warmth of his palm touching her bare shoulder.

“No, no… don’t apologize. It was my fault for bringing up your sister. I shouldn’t have done that in the first place.”

Her eyes met his, tears slowly began to fill her waterline and her lip began to quiver. Jake could see that she was trying to stay strong and keep a face of stone on, but he couldn’t tell how long she could hold it.

“She would’ve loved being out here.” She started, trying to be light-hearted and think what of could have been.

His eyes softened when knowing who she was talking about. His hand that rested on her shoulder gently moved to rub his thumb against the back of her neck.

She sniffled, her breathing stuttered when she inhaled.

“She always made sure to remind us of who we are, even if we barely remember the words of our clans songs. She would hum it to us when we needed comfort. She wanted us to remember our heritage as long as we could.”

Runí could feel a ball forming in the back of her throat, and she pressed her lips tightly to swallow the ball down. She blinked away the tears that blocked her vision.

She had to look up at the sky and breathed to not let any of the tears fall. She took deep breathes and stuttered when she exhaled.

Jake listened in, seeing how hard it was for Runí to speak about the sister she lost so young.

“I had a brother once.” Jake mentioned, deciding it was a moment to remember the past.

Runí slowly whipped her head with wide eyes and her ears perked up in interest.

“This was years before I ever came to Pandora. His name was Tom, but I always called him Tommy. We were twins. Identical twins. We looked alike and had the same DNA, but we were complete opposites.”

He cracked a small smile, looking down at his feet.

“I went into the military and came out paralyzed from the waist down. Tommy had a PHD and was training to be an Avatar driver. He was the smarter one out of the two of us. Too bad that he never made it out to be here..” he trailed off.

Runí kept opening and closing her mouth until she finally shuts it, staring at Jake’s side profile. She had so many questions, but the main one was what happened to this Tommy.

She drawn her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins and placed her chin on the top of her knee. Her eyes flicked to his arm that was stretched while feeling the warmth of his hand on her back that was soothing her.

“.. what happened to him?” She asked quietly, looking back to Jake.

She then saw how his shoulders slumped and how he now had a grave expression written on his face.

His eyes trailed to her, meeting her gaze and he sighs softly.

“A week before he was shipped to come to Pandora, he was shot for the money in his wallet.” He answered grimly.

A cold sinking feeling buried it’s way into her chest like a dagger inching deeper into flesh. A reminder of a core memory that she’ll never forget that she will always remember and that was safely kept in the depths of her subconscious.

A reminder of that night. The night a plan to escape happened. Escaping to go home. Escape to Pandora. One that was attempted and failed with a cost.

She could only turn her head back forward, bowing her head as her eyes stared at the sand. Her finger reached down to touch the grainy texture, hearing it slightly hiss as she pushed her finger deeper until she felt the coolness of the damp dirt beneath it.

“But.. if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have done what I did years ago.” Jake started, smiling a bit. “I wouldn’t have experienced the ways of the people, wouldn’t have fallen in love with the forest and wouldn’t have my family like I do now.”

Runí licked her chapped lips, blinking slowly and turned her head slightly.

“One life ends-“ “-Another begins.” Jake and Runí spoke simultaneously.

They both looked at each other in shock before Runí broke into a small grin and giggled softly which led to Jake smiling and shook his head affectionately.

Runí continued to grin and wiggled her toes in the sand, feeling it clump up.

“Is that why you’re here?” She suddenly asked, her grin slowly fading into a confused look.

Jake watched her and shook his head slowly again, forming a straight line in his lips.

“No.. something of my past had came back. My kids were involved and..” he sighs as he thought back when he saw the man had his kids under his knife.

“You made a choice. To run..” Runí finished it as she was now understanding.

“You left everything that you knew. What your children knew. You left everything to come here..”

Jake nods slowly as Runí kept staring between his eyes before closing hers and took a deep breath.

“You know hiding will only do so much. I understand now why you did it, but it can only be a fever dream and you know it won’t last long.”

He could hear the worry in her voice and he knew that hiding in the Metkayina was like a ticking time clock now. Before it was nice to be relaxing and enjoying the ways of the reef people.

He frowned softly, the lines on his forehead becoming more prominent as he thought of the worst.

“Of course I do, but it’s all I can do right now. Laying low is the best option for me and my family. Especially with you here.” He said, his tone in voice slightly hardened.

Runí could only listen. She silently just looked at his face, seeing the frown that was a common occurrence on Jake.

“So, I can’t go home?”

The heartbroken look on Runí overlooked Jake’s own problems. He looked at her gently and slowly sat up.

“Not anytime soon. You can stay with my family for now until the coast is clear. I can’t have you leaving and end up in their hands.” He stated, moving to knelt beside her.

“Not again.”

Her brows pulled together as her eyes darted around, unable to focus on one thing before focusing on Jake.

As much as she had to admit, Jake was right. If there was RDA around in the area, it would likely unwise for her to leave without being shot down. It wouldn’t pretty either if there was anything of Mercer’s plan was actually known among them which she doubted.

Runí squeezed her eyes shut, drawing a deep breath in while pressing her lips in a hard line.

“Okay..” she whispered, feeling like stones heaved her heart down to her stomach.

She might have to make a call to let the others know. Until then, she’d have to wait for now.

With his hand still resting on the back of her neck, Jake moved it back onto her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“C’mon, you need to eat something.” He reminded, earning a small eye roll from Runí.

Jake then slowly stood up, grunting at the strain in his lower back and placed his hands on his hips. He craned his head back, taking a deep breath and sighed.

He heard the sand shift beside him, and Runí stepped into the tide to wash the sand off her feet.

“I’m still sorry that I threw my knife at you.”

Jake raised a brow before humming softly, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry about it, kid.”

His hand placed itself at the back of her head as they walked side by side while they headed back to the village.

It felt weird and Runí didn’t know how to feel about it.

When was the last time she felt anything like this? It’s been so long that she can’t remember. More like it was clouded now that she thought about it.

Remembering had always been hard for her. It was harder to think what it was like before she was taken with the others. All she remembered was her mother smiling down at her, having placed a hand to cup the side of her to give a soothing rub on her chubby childlike cheek.

She always wondered what life was like around her birth. What was it like to be surrounded by a clan, enjoying walking Eywa’s ground.

The hand on the back of her head moved, causing her to blink out of her delusion and looked up at meet Jake’s gaze.

They both were back in the village. Right outside of Jake’s marui.

“You okay, kid?” He asked, scanning her as if he was making sure she was fine.

She was fine, but she was having a crisis. Runí crinkled her nose, her lips turning down as she was beginning to ring her fingers.

Why was she nervous? When was the last time she was doubting herself? It’s been a long time since she felt so small.

“Hey, hey..”

Jake’s voice was calming and she stiffened when feeling his hands take a hold of her wrist to stop herself from further harming herself.

“It’s going to be okay. Take some time if you like. Breathe and come in.”

Runí stared down at his large hands that held her smaller ones in the palm of his hands. She didn’t understand why he was being so nurturing and careful towards her.

She nodded softly, glancing up at him as she saw Jake relax a bit. He gently let her hands go, letting them fall back to her sides.

Jake gave her a once over then nodded firmly. He stepped back, going inside of the marui, leaving Runí outside in the darkness.

She could hear the cheerful chatter of a child and the different voices of his other children.

She looked at the entrance of the marui, eyeing the light of the fire flicker with some shadow as pinning against the woven walls.

She slowly turned her head to look out to the sea, seeing the beauty of Pandora she always loved.

The amount of blue heavily interfered her mind.

She sighs softly, turning towards the mangrove root that was near her and saw her knife still stuck in its bark.

She stare at it, eyeing how it wasn’t touched or shifted. She reached for it, grabbing it by its hilt and yanked it out.

She looked at herself in the reflection, wondering what she will see.

But all she saw was herself.

And that’s all she needed.

—

Chapter Text

—

Being wide awake in the middle of the night was often a common occurrence for Runí.

Staring at the high ceiling of the marui, eyeing how the walls woven in patterns like handmade baskets. It was dark, but she could see it.

She barely gotten a wink of sleep. She felt tired, draining even. Yet, her eyes never remain shut.

She laid in her hammock flat on her back, her hands folded on her stomach as she listens to all the noise surrounding her. The sounds of crashing waves in the distance, the soft breathes near her and the occasional loud snores coming from Jake.

It had startled her to even hear a snore like that come from him. Then again, he was once human.

Runí released a slow exhale, closing her eyes while pressing her lips in a thin line. She attempted to doze off.

Maybe she could dream about something, but the required the tranquility of the everlasting sleep.

Though, it never came.

With the slightest frustration, she scrunched her nose and opened her eyes to lightly glare at what was above her.

Why couldn’t she sleep?

She was surrounded by strangers, ones she never knew and sleeping around them was difficult. She had done it before and it was confusing her on why she couldn’t relax.

The only thing different was she would listen to the tales of her clan with those who knew them. It brought her ease to know more of her heritage, her people. It brought her close to those who no longer remain on the world she now walks.

Strangers, she thought bitterly. That’s all they were.

All she is a stranger among them. She came here, came into their home and is now resting under their roof.

Their safe haven.

Her hammock swung from the breeze sneaking in, but she didn’t mind.

Back when she was in the Kinglor, her hammock use to sway inside the small cave underneath the Resistance HQ.

Runí mentally shook her head, not wanting to bring that isolated feeling of being alone.

Maybe she couldn’t sleep because she was far from home. Away from the Western Frontier. Away from her family.

Her eyes softened at the thought of two familiar faces. Their joyful smiles made moisture soak her eyes. She wondered what they were doing.

She thought about Ri’nela, wondering if she had given thought of taking lessons from Anufi.

Her mind then wandered to the youngest of the group. Teylan has been through enough, and she was really happy to see him take interest in being Na’vi. She really hoped that So’lek was going easy on him.

It made her smile as she remembered meeting So’lek for the first time.

She could say that she was glad to have him as a guide or teacher. She couldn’t compare him to Alma.

So’lek was there from the beginning. He was there to greet them when they all woke from cryo. Always acknowledging them for who they are, helping her on knowing her senses. He always been there, reminding each of them on their biology. What they strive to be.

He was stoic, a hard teacher, but once in a while, Runí would see a small glimpse of pride in a gleam of his eye or the quirk of the end of his mouth in a small smile.

So’lek was different compared to Alma.

Runí then frowned, lowering her gaze to her feet that laid on the opposite side of the hammock crossed over the other.

Alma kept lies from the beginning, but that was then and the past was dead. The things that happened back at Tap Con-1 will forever haunt her. There will always be invisible scars that will burn for the rest of her life.

She released a deep sigh, drifting her attention back at the ceiling then craned her head up.

She scanned at the filled hammocks around her, seeing the silhouettes lying in them. Her hammock was placed near the one of the two openings. Runí found it convenient if she needed to go out for air or an easy escape route.

She pressed her lips, slowly rising to sit up and shifted her body to hang her legs off the side of the hammock while trying to make as minimal sound as possible.

She would wince at any slight sound of creaking and sat as still as she could to listen for anyone waking, but never heard a single peep.

She sat in her hammock for a few more minutes, her eyes darting around before she lifted herself up and straightened her back, rolling the stiffness out of her shoulders and joints.

She even stretched her arms up above her head and curled her toes to graze against the woven floor, nails scraping on it.

Stifling a yawn, Runí covered her mouth with the back of her hand, squinting her eyes until they were blurry then observed the sleeping faces of those around her.

She stared at the face that slept closest to her.

The youngest and smallest of the Sully brood. The one that still was cherub in her eyes. The seven year old looked like she was in a deep sleep, laying on her side in her own hammock.

Runí lowered her hand, tilting her head to the side as she watched the little girl’s chest rise and lower with each breath her lungs took.

Due to the child laying on her side, her arm was currently dangling off the side of the hammock like a vine.

Runí wondered what the girl could be dreaming about. She could see how her eyes moved from being covered by the eyelid, twitching and going side to side.

She slowly lowered herself down into the crouch, reaching her hand to take the girl’s hand.

Though right before she could touch the little wrist, the young girl let out a heavy exhale and had abruptly moved onto her back, pulling the arm away from Runí’s incoming touch.

It made Runí stop completely, almost flinching at the sudden movement and she stayed there with her hand out to grasp nothing.

The emptiness her hand had ached and it wasn’t the pinching ache. No, it was deeper than that. Painful even. The ache bled within her chest, blooming like an opening blossom.

She had seen many children among the other clans she wandered in, but never got close to them like how she was with the Sully family.

She feared to look at them. She didn’t want to see the haunting of herself in the eyes of them. So, she always avoided them and was glad she busied herself controlling the RDA facilities around the Western Frontier.

The pain in her chest felt destructing. A pain that she knew all to well.

Runí frowned in confusion, glancing down at her chest and pulled back her hand to press it above her breasts to feel how fast her heart was beating.

She shook it off and decided to take another look at the young girl sleeping, but the pain that bloomed felt like lightning struck at the sight she saw.

Rather than lightning, she thought of it as the vibrating echo of a gunshot.

There wasn’t the young Sully child in front of her, sleeping soundly in her hammock. No, it wasn’t even as peaceful as she hoped.

It was something she feared too much.

In front of her was the body of another young girl. One that laid sprawled on the hard metal floor with no sign of life. One where her bioluminescent freckles once glowed beautifully, but were now dim to nonexistent.

Blood had started to pool at the center of the girl’s chest, soaking into the yellow shirt she had wore. The shirt didn’t have sleeves and was sewn by random string.

A prideful spirit that was deem dangerous to what evil wanted to create them to be was no longer alive.

It was nothing, but the harsh illusion of pain that Runí always tried to hide.

Her body felt like it drove into auto pilot. She staggered back on shaky legs, nearly tripping on her own feet and almost rammed into her hammock.

The ringing in her ears was growing and fading, pulsing like her veins. Her heart thundered like the sound of pounding hoofs of direhorses running across the open plains.

Her eyes were frantic as she looked around in a hurry before landing back to where the body laid, but it wasn’t there. The hammock that held the sleeping child with no aware of what is happening.

She needed to get out of here.

Her eyes stilled on the hammock as she slowly stumbled backwards out of the marui. Her muscles were tense with each step she took, subconsciously hearing the clicks of her bones hitting each other until she flinched at the sudden undertone of the wind pushing against her skin.

Runí couldn’t go back. No, not back there to that place.

She stared at the inside of the marui like it was a pit of dark despair that was waiting to eat her. She didn’t even see with the sleeping people inside anymore.

She was hyperventilating.

She needed to go now if she doesn’t want to pass out and fall into the water.

Almost as if she was going through tunnel vision, her eyes darted all over the place as she lurched through the village.

She would have admit that there were times where she believed that she did rolled her ankle too many times due to the elastic bounce on the path she walked.

That was until the soles of her feet met the satisfying hissing of sand that was cool against her bare skin.

The surf echoed behind her as she wandered into the mangrove forest, distancing herself from the village.

The farther she walked, the less sand is met with her. The foliage of a forest embraced her so comfortingly like a mother holding a child tightly while in a thunderstorm.

She had to keep moving. She had to. That’s all she could do.

Don’t look back, she told herself. Don’t look back.

She was literally tripping over small roots and plants that were deep into the soil. Runí didn’t bother looking on where she was going. was until her foot slipped itself on something slick.

Runí let out a shocked gasp as her equilibrium was beginning to tumble forward.

The next thing she knew, she fell face first into a small little stream, right into the mud.

The water felt cold, nearly numbing her skin as she laid in the stream. The small droplets that flew up and landed on her back were warming in small dots.

She lifted her head up, spatting what covered her mouth before slowly getting back up onto her feet.

Runí felt a stinging sensation on her arm. Frowning, she turned her arm over to see a nasty scrape near her elbow. She squinted a bit, hissing softly and lowered her arm down.

She continued on walking, pushing through the brush as she looked all around her.

The environment was different than the regions she ventured on ground or in the air. The mangrove roots were tall and large while there were other vegetation.

The sounds of ikran squawking echoed the forest. Their calls were far, but she could hear them clear as day. She could smell the faint scent of the ocean still wafting in the breeze.

Her ear flicked as she looked up at the canopy that revealed the brightening sky of the early morning sun.

Had she been awake all night and now just realized it was near dawn?

The fall of water was a constant noise that caught her attention. That was only if she listened closely. It sounded not far from where she was.

Curiosity filling her brain, she followed the sound. Her eyes still remained wide and filled with endless wonder. Her feet touched the ground, sometimes digging her toes before lifting to take the next step.

Runí soon came around a large tree, pushing back the massive leaf and her mouth dropped at the sight. Surrounded by thick vegetation sat a large mountain with the cliff facing her. There stood a waterfall that flowed in a zigzag pattern before falling straight down into a large, but decently deep pool.

It was a beautiful sight.

Runí stood there, stepping out to be amazed at the beauty.

The soft colors of dawn was brimming the canopy with ever loving light. How time flies.

She looked down at the pool, her eyes glimmering in awe as she saw a school of small fishes scatter at her reflection and swam further away from her.

“Woah..” she chuckled, smiling at how the fishes went their separate ways before rounding back up.

This is what Pandora gives to the wonder of knowing what the Great Mother holds. Everything that Runí sees was another sign of the Great Mother showing her love to all her children.

The Great Mother holds all her children in her heart, but she doesn’t chose sides. She keeps the balance of life in order. Yet, she took Jake’s side in the matter during the Battle of the Hallelujah Mountains.

Though, she never talked to the Great Mother for assistance during the last strike against the charge and Mercer, but she was glad she didn’t. The Great Mother was probably overjoyed to know that the children that were once lost are now walking the ground she granted for them to roam.

Crouching near the the waters edge, she decided to clean up. The water was cold at the touch, but it felt refreshing on her skin.

Runí winced when she would brush the mud away from the scrape, seeing that the skin abrasion was still fresh, and was lucky enough that it stopped bleeding.

She then used her hands to cup the water, bringing it up to her face and tried to scrub away the drying mud that smudged at her cheek, the bridge of her nose and forehead.

She also found out that there was mud on the set of feathers she decorated her hair with.

The ones she wear to commemorate her mother.

She stared at herself in the clear reflection of the pool, feeling solemn about it.

She then thought back to when she found out the truth of what happened to the Sarentu. When she found the blanket her child self would be wrapped in, and still finding the scent of the woman she had called Sa’nu .

When coming back to the new headquarters, she had asked Ri’nela something. She wanted to have something to remind her of her mother, something that she could look at and think of her when she needed to.

That was when Ri’nela asked if her mother wore anything eye catching, and Runí thought. The only thing Runí could see when she mentally visualized her mother were the feathers the woman had clasped in a small braid that laid in the front of her left ear.

Runí then remembered that Ri’nela also wears feathers in her hair to commemorate her own mother as she had wore feathers.

So now seeing the feathers she now wore, she could see her mother. It was always a good reminder to know that she was with her. Either by the feathers or the songcord Runí cherished.

The memories of her mother were sweet and loved. Her mother’s green eyes shined with affection, her smile could bring more in seconds. Her mother was beautiful, gorgeous to say the least.

Runí then wondered about her father. A faceless man that she barely remembers.

But she didn’t need him. Her mother was enough. Her love, her warmth, her everything was enough for Runí to thrive.

Even if she did want to think about her faceless father, it was already too late.

The Sarentu were gone, but they are slowly rebuilding their clan name. In time, the once lost clan will roam across Pandora with tales of their rebirth into this world.

It was something that Runí couldn’t wait for.

Lifting her hand, she touched the radio she had in her ear.

“Ri’nela..?” She called out, wanting to hear something or someone’s voice. “Teylan? So’lek..?”

There was only static. The cringe sound make her ear ache, but she pushed through.

“If.. if anyone can hear me,” she closed her eyes, grimacing at how emotional she probably sounds “I’m okay. I’m safe. I’m with good people, but I can’t come home yet.”

She let out a stuttered sigh, opening them again to look at the waterfall.

“I’ll be back soon. I promise. Runí, out.”

Runí let her hand fall onto her lap as she remained crouched. Her tail slowly swayed behind her, arching itself then lowering itself against the ground.

Her ears pinned themselves back as she watched how the water falls continuously without a fail.

There was no single thought to every drop that lands into the pool in front of her. It always keeps moving.

She was so lost.

She wished that she had her friends with her. They would surely love this environment as much as her.

Maybe they could enjoy the water. To play like children, but Runí knew that couldn’t happen. They were grown, acting more like an adult than their own age.

Yet, Runí could barely even remember her age, or that’s what she liked to think.

Fifteen years is a long time to be sleeping. Far too long for anyone to even come out alive.

It always didn’t settle right in her stomach to think that it took Alma that long to recover them. It still didn’t settle her stomach at the moment.

She frowned softly, turning her head away from the beautiful sight and looked down at her arm.

Her songcord had grown these last few months. Beads handcrafted by those she cared and ones she met along the way. She was proud to have one, but there was a part of her that wish it was longer.

“One day you will have a beautiful and long songcord that will tell your story!”

Those were the last words her mother said, smiling down at her as they played with her songcord back then.

Runí could still hear the echoing of her laughter ringing in her ear.

Back when happiness was simple.

Nothing was simple now. Not with the RDA terrorizing everything that screams the name Eywa.

Runí stared at her songcord before pulling her mother’s songcord off her wrist and held it in her hands.

Having it back in her hands comforted her more than ever.

“I know, mama.” She whispered, smiling gently. “I have it now.”

She knew her mother would be happy. Happy to know that one of her daughters was alive and safe. Happy to know that the other daughter was with her in Eywa.

Her smile grew as she closed her eyes to bask in her surroundings, holding her mother’s songcord against her chest.

Though, behind her, was a completely different story.

Hidden behind the thick brush of vegetation, careful on where they set themselves at as yellow eyes spied on her without Runí even knowing.

Haunting memories will always follow her no matter where she was.

A ghost of the past that will never go away. Not until everything was back to normal.

Back to where happiness was real.

—

Chapter Text

—

Yellow eyes peering from the brush, watching her remain crouched at the water’s edge.

One hand pressed itself on the hard bark of a tree while the only draped itself over a thigh. Ears perked and flicked at every sound surrounding them.

The morning rays were glowing from the canopy top, reminding him of the rainforest he grew up in.

Though, right now, he was observing Runí from afar. He remembered his father’s words to make sure she was comfortable and to welcome her, but he was curious on how she was.

He recalled back to the first time he saw her.

He had been walking back to his family’s marui with his mother guiding him by gently touched on his shoulder.

That was when he stopped right outside the main entrance right as two voices could be heard nearly yelling inside.

He recognized one of them as his father, but the second one was a mystery. It was feminine and he was sure it wasn’t either of his two sisters.

He turned his head to meet his mother’s gaze where he saw the same emotion he had, but there was also another one he saw.

He judged it as wariness when he saw how her shoulders tensed when the voices were getting closer.

They both turned their attention back toward the entrance right as the girl stepped out of the marui.

His eyes made contact with hers and he felt hypnotized.

Hers were like his, but green was overpowering the yellow. Her green-yellow shined brightly in the dusk light. He saw how her pupils shrunk when she first noticed him and his mother before her pupils dilated.

Her ears spread outward, angling a bit higher as she stared intently at him which he did back.

He didn’t know how long they stared at each other before he blinked. When setting his eyes back on her, he could feel his skin prickling when the girl began to eye him up and down.

He now understood why his brother was always getting shy when it came to the daughter of the Olo’eyktan and Tsahìk of the Metkayina.

When first arriving on the sand beach with his family, he did find the girl his brother was infatuated with very beautiful. But, seeing how his brother almost had goo-goo eyes for her, he stepped back.

He couldn’t do that when he had to keep an eye on his family.

Yet, seeing this new girl in front of him actually did something to him. He didn’t know what, but he couldn’t show it.

All he could do was raise his head a little higher and squared back his shoulders after feeling her gaze on his chest.

If she was going to eye how he looks, he might as well do the same.

Taking a slow once over, he concluded many things about this girl.

She was different compared to him.

Her skin looked to be a lighter shade of azure than his, but he could not tell from the glow orange of the setting sun.

Her clothing were very different than the ones he seen before. Her top and waist-cloth she wore were two distinguished styles. Vibrant in color and quite eye catching.

Her top looked like it was made of materials to make it look tough and sturdy. He honestly believed it was made out of small, handmade colored beads. The collar was slightly higher, and there was a shoulder plate on her left.

Her waist-cloth reminded him how the Omatikaya wore their clothing except the one she wore had beads that shine hanging on small loops hanging low on her hips.

Although, she wasn’t Omatikaya.

When he gotten a clear view of her face, the mark on her cheek said it all and he didn’t know what it meant, but it intrigued him.

It made him curious on who she was, where she came from and what clan she belonged to.

He did have to admit that their little eye contact was minimal since she was the one who broke it.

Since he was thinking about it, he didn’t understand why his father was involved with the girl. He had watched the quarrel exchanged between his father and the girl. His eyes had captured how the girl frowned, glaring at his father and bared her teeth at him.

Yet, here he was, watching the girl be enamored by the waterfall.

He blinked several times and looked back towards her to see she was now walking around the pool, stepping over the large flat stones.

The words of her and his father’s argument echoed in his ears, causing him to flick them as he began to move.

He carefully maneuvered himself, glancing at where he stepped before eyeing how Runí crouched back down, peering into the pool.

He lowered himself, tilting his head to side slightly as he watched her. The way how her smile continued to shine had him nearly almost falling forward.

He wasn’t going to do that. No, it would not end up well if she knew he was watching her.

Runí let out a sigh, leaning back onto her heels and tilted her head up to bask in the sunlight.

It was morning now and the boy figured his family was already up to get the day started. He was also sure that his family saw the two empty hammocks by now.

He could already imagine the stern talk he’d get later. The heavy weight on his shoulders seemed to get heavier.

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead in his palm. He lightly scratched his temple as he struggled to think for a moment.

The surrounding sounds soothed his troubles. He could remember in his early years of childhood playing in the small stream with his siblings.

Frolicking and splashing with childish shrieks and laughter with his siblings and Spider.

His nail scratched his skin a little harder at the thought of the human boy. The fact that his siblings were once held hostage back then made him have a face of disgust.

He didn’t like how he was treated like a child. He passed his clan’s coming of age trials. He succeeded in his dream hunt. He was a man by his clan’s ways, but residing with the Metkayina, he was just an ordinary boy.

He had to be the big brother. The warrior in him ached in the golden heart of his pride while the kid in him sighed.

The gentle sound of someone singing caught his attention, bringing him out of his thoughts.

He straightened his back out to see it was Runí. Her singing was elegant and soothing.

“Awnga lu Sarentu..” she sang, having her eyes closed shut.

Almost as if he was entranced by her singing, he crawl closer. His eyes peering through the leaves once again, remaining hidden as Runí continued to sing.

The words evolved into hums and vocal sounding. It was nearly hypnotizing as he never heard anything like it before.

He was use to hearing the Omatikaya singing, but hers was exotic.

He hadn’t realized it himself, but he was standing up and just merely pressed against a not so thick tree trunk.

Luckily for him, Runí didn’t notice it. She was busy singing. Singing helped her stay calm and remember those who she lost that she kept in her heart.

The boy slowly stepped out from behind the tree when his foot stepped on a twig, resulting in a loud snap.

He froze as the singing came to a halt.

His eyes looked towards where she was at to see she was now standing and staring at him with wide eyes.

Runí furrowed her brows at the sight of him, bending her knees with her tail whipping behind her.

She thought she was alone. Did he follow her..?

The boy slowly raised his hands to show he wasn’t a threat. It made her remember how Jake did.

She watched how he moved out of the shadows into the light. She remembered him now. She saw him when she and Jake had that argument.

Neteyam was his name, she recalled.

Runí softened her guard a bit, but didn’t relax any further.

She stayed where she was while glancing at him up and down, meeting his yellow eyes again.

“What are you doing here?” She asked firmly, turning her head to the side to side glance him.

Neteyam just stared, lowering his gaze for a moment before meeting her gaze.

Her tail flicked, curling before swatting down. Runí never understood boys or men in general. Being around Nor and Teylan was different because they all were brought up together. Now, actually being around kids her age was completely out of her zone.

She deadpanned at him for the lack of response and rolled her eyes, turning away and began to walk further into the forest to put distance between him.

Runí pushed aside leaves that were in her way, hopping up on roots and trotting on the dirt as fast as she could speed walk.

Much to her dismay, Neteyam followed after her.

“Wait!” He called out, hurdling over a stump she had previously jumped down from. “My father said to help you around, show you the village, to teach you what we learned.”

He was very much catching up to her fast pace, only trailing behind her as Runí firmly moved her jaw.

“Your father should worry about his own kin.” She retorted, crinkling her nose.

She glanced up the tree tops as she ducked under a tree with its roots blooming out of the ground, pressing her hand against the thickness of the bark.

Her ears flicked and fanned out, moving at all directions at the different sounds. There was one in particular.

She could see the shadow moving under the dark shade of the canopy. A tail zigzagging after the mass. Runí could only mentally sigh and shake her head.

Neteyam felt frustrated as he followed after her, widening his stride before reaching out to grasp her arm.

With small force, he pulled her arm which got her to be pulled back. Runí snapped her head towards him, meeting his frowned gaze and frowned back.

“Wait.”

She stared at Neteyam before yanking her arm back from his hand then pushed him away from her. Neteyam had stumbled back, rising his hands up to mid stomach.

Her tail whipped behind her as the two stared at each other in the eyes, neither moving from each other.

She raised a naked brow at him, eyeing him before stepping back.

“I am fine where I am. You-,” she points a finger at him, “-should go back before anyone finds out we are both out here.”

Runí eyed him as she lowered her hand, taking another step back.

“Go back.”

She gestured with her head, the beads in her hair bouncing with the motion.

When seeing he hadn’t moved, she took the chance to turn around and continued to walk into the forest.

Neteyam watched her go, glancing back in the direction they both came from. He clenched his jaw, shaking his head and followed after her.

Runí scaled up a fallen tree that was technically leaning by how securely it was being held by the multiple layers of vines. She climbed to the top, admiring the trees, brushing her knuckles against the bark as her eyes looked around the canopy.

Neteyam watched from the ground below, his eyes following how she moved up. He breathed heavily from his nose, scratching the back of his head and soon followed after her. He hoisted himself up, plopping his feet flat onto the log of the fallen tree, and was ready to move.

However, that didn’t go as planned as he stopped when hearing the sounds of leaves and branches being broken above him. His eyes snapped up at the direction of the sound right as a figure came bursting out into the open, revealing it was an ikran.

A female one at that.

The ikran shrieked, fanning her wings out as she landed in the space in front of Neteyam. She then cocked her head, having her eyes looked at him and snap her mighty jaws at him.

He couldn’t help, but to back away as he watched the ikran with caution. His heart pounded against his chest making his ears pulse.

The ikran crept closer then lunged at him, causing Neteyam to fall off the tree and landed on his back with a grunt.

The yellow eyes of the ikran flickered at him, her nostrils flaring loudly.

He didn’t know what to do as he had always made sure to stay clear from wild ikrans, but this one wasn’t wild.

Wild ikrans normally stayed away at the sight of anyone, always staying where they could be found at the rookery. Now, tamed ikrans was a different story. Tamed and ready to be claimed ikrans always put up a fight, especially ikrans ready to be claimed. Tamed ikrans are very protective of their riders and will do anything to protect them.

He and his family were the only ones with ikrans. With the addition...

His eyes flickered up to where Runí was at, only to see she wasn’t there anymore.

The flapping of wings drew his attention back to the ikran as she reared up, shrieking again.

“Amay! No!” A familiar voice called out from above.

Neteyam look up in haste as Runí jumped down from a branch, landing beside him. He saw the muscles in her calfs and thighs flex at the moment of when she hit the ground.

She stared at the ikran and slowly moved closer, stretching a hand out.

“Easy, girl.”

She glanced down at the boy then flicked her attention back on her beloved companion.

The ikran tilted her head, slowly lowering her wings down and croon at the sight of her rider.

A smile made its way on Runí when finally getting close to the flying mount. Her hand touching the side of her ikran’s head, rubbing up and down along the jaw.

Another croon vibrated from its throat as Amay leaned into her touch, still having her eyes on Neteyam.

Runí followed her gaze and watched Neteyam breathe heavily. His gaze transferred from the calming ikran to her.

She couldn’t up, but to smile at how wide eyed he looked. His eyes were wide with his pupils had shrunken and his mouth was parted open.

“For a son of a great warrior, you are quite slow.” She commented, feeling her head being lightly nudged by a snout.

Neteyam felt his face warm slightly as he watched Runí gently glide her hand across the jaw of her ikran and run down the long neck, being careful around the nostrils.

She then slowly moved the ikran’s head away while stepping back. Her eyes still remaining on his fallen form as her smile faded into the corner of her mouth quirked up.

“Come,” her foot moved and nudged his knee before proceeding to walk by him. “Unless you want to become ikran food.”

Neteyam followed her with his eyes then looking back at her ikran as it stared at him before hissing at him harshly, showing off those large fangs.

Runí paused to see if he was following her. She examined how he got up so quickly, her eyes catching his braids being swung around in the air as he was turning to face her.

Luckily, she faced away just in time so Neteyam didn’t notice her staring.

“Let’s go before your father skins our asses.” She grumbled.

She didn’t give Neteyam a chance to speak as her walk turned into a light jog, retracing their steps back towards the village.

Neteyam sighed under his breath, staring at her back as she kept moving. He didn’t know who she was, but she was right about one thing.

His father was definitely going to skin both their asses.

By the time he caught up with Runí, they were already standing in the sand that was warm on their toes.

Runí could see the village was growing lively with those already doing chores or doing their duties.

That and also a very bluer figure crossing a path right as the two began to make their journey towards the Sully marui.

That figure was Jake, and from what Runí could see, he was relieved at the sight of them but it then turned into a stern look.

If anything, Runí felt a heated conversation coming.

The way Jake narrowed his eyes at her then at his son that was standing beside her. His nose scrunched a bit as his forehead lines deepened and would probably become permanent if he continued.

“Do you have any idea on how worried your mother has been?” Jake’s tone in voice was hard and stern.

Yet, the question was directed to Neteyam who shifted his feet in the sand.

“Where were you two? Boy, what did I say?” Jake’s authoritative tone made Runí queasy.

She slowly tilted her head, taking a quick glance towards the boy and noticed how he had lowered his head to the point his chin was nearly touching his clavicle.

“Sir, I did what you asked. I went-“ Neteyam tried to explain, looking at his father.

“I wake up to find not one, but two empty beds and I didn’t know where either of you two were!” Jake interrupted, his tone becoming more hard.

Runí didn’t particularly like how none of this was pointing toward her. She was standing there as one was getting lectured. She happened to not be fond how the argument was mainly directed towards Neteyam.

It was her fault that she had him follow after her.

She moved to step closer to Neteyam, getting in line of sight of the father and son. The pads of her fingers brush against his shoulder as she looked up at Jake.

She must’ve looked disheveled when seeing Jake’s eyes scanning all parts of her face and hair.

“Don’t blame Neteyam for this.” Her face turning soft as Jake met her gaze.

“I left during the night and he followed me.” She added, “He was doing as you said.”

She was reluctant to see that Jake’s tensed shoulders slowly lowered as did his frown lines. It made the queasiness disappear from the pit of her stomach.

Jake placed his hands on his hips, looking between her and his son and moved his jaw. He then sighed, lowering his gaze.

He couldn’t be mad. Not to her.

Runí looked at Neteyam to meet his eyes before they both looked away from each other. She moved her hand away from his shoulder to rub her arm.

She then hissed quietly when she skimmed her fingers on the gash she had forgotten about. The blood had stopped oozing and crusted around the wound, but she knew she had to clean it to avoid risk of infection.

She thought she was quiet to avoid attention to her, but to her surprise, a large hand gently grabbed her arm to tilt it to the side, and revealed her gash.

“What happened?”

She flattened her ears and sighed, having an unfamiliar acquaintance with the worrying tone Jake had.

“It is nothing.” She tried to say, but when seeing the questioning look reflecting in the man’s eyes, she gave in.

“I slipped and fell in mud. It is literally nothing. I have had worse.”

It was true. The small lines that marked her skin were scars that healed nicely to show the many unimaginable memories of running from thanators, being hit by bouncing bullets and the occasional splinter and cut of a knife.

She has crafted remedies for all wounds she had acquired, but she usually let Ri’nela practice on her.

“I have remedies I brought. There is no need to worry.” She reassured, looking at Jake and offered him a gentle smile.

As much as he wanted to worry, Jake knew he had to take her word for it.

He looked around, giving tight smiles at the villagers who were watching before looking at the two teens.

“Come on.” Was all he said, switching his attention around and strode back the way he came from.

The two teens watched him go before looking at each other. Runí wiggled her nose before following after Jake, her tail moving with her hips.

Meanwhile, Neteyam stayed behind.

He looked down at his feet as there was a heavy weight in his chest. The heaviness in his shoulders had disappeared when he had saw his father calmed down.

He hadn’t seen his father relax with ease in a while.

“Are you coming?”

He looked up to see Runí was waiting for him. Her eyes blinked occasionally as the small smile she had was returned by his gentle one.

Maybe he was a skxawng, but he thinks he will enjoy seeing this new face around.

If it changes anything, he might grow to love it.

—

Chapter Text

—

There were times he thought about the forest daily. He could see it in his dreams. The greenery of the luscious rainforest tops with the floating mountains guarding from above to the abundance of life that roamed the forest below.

It was home. It was where he was raised and grew up around. Sure, he was born at Hell’s Gate which had been abandoned years ago and was raised until he was old enough to move around to stay out more.

It was where he would play with the Sully kids by the village, splashing in the little stream near or just exploring around like any child would.

But it wasn’t long until the science guys had to move out with the Omatikaya to hide within the Hallelujah Mountains when the humans returned.

He still called it home. He was loyal to them, to the clan and he will always be.

Now, it seemed like a fore-longing memory that was out of arms reach. He couldn’t even see it even if he wanted to.

He was now surrounded by walls made out of hard steel and the colors made it so bland that it makes him dizzy. It didn’t help that wherever he went, there was always the chilling of the air conditioning that bleeding through the many corridors.

He recalled to when he spent several days in a cell. He made sure he never moved or gave in to their brutality. In the beginning, he was feral while throwing himself against the blackened window and spitting curses at the camera that looked down on him.

He hated it. He loathed it. It didn’t help when he was taken to have the machine with the spinning green light thing above his head so they could try to see what image would pop on their screens to pinpoint Jake’s location.

He never did think about the Sully’s even if he wanted to. He couldn’t.

When he was finally permitted to explore base itself, he was to be bodyguard as they were peculiarly cautious.

Not that they wouldn’t be since he was being dragged around by the new and improved blue team.

Especially with one that was the reincarnation of his dead-beat father he no longer remembers, but he does know what he has done.

It took a lot of hard work to get the recom team to go full native. He had them take off their shoes to feel the dirt under their feet. He even made them scale across the twisted, moss covered branches to get a feel what it means to be Na’vi.

He even took them up to the rookery, and had them bonds with ikrans the real way.

Quaritch was even stupid to ask the most dumbest question he had ever heard.

“Sully did it the hard way?”

And his response was the best comeback he believed he ever said.

“What do you think?”

Sure, it was a little tense at times, but the restrictions on him as a prisoner had loosened just a tad. He really believed things were finally turning around.

Yet, he was debating if they really were at all.

He was now staring at the holograms that hover on the holotable, his eyes flickering to each of the images in front of him.

There was an uncomfortable twist in his stomach that grew the longer he stared at it.

They had just gotten word of a rogue gunship headed eastbound to the sea. His heart stopped when hearing it mid flight.

As of now, they were currently waiting for some kind of word to head out. That or from what Wainfleet described as “executing a plan”.

He leaned on the holotable, staring at it with boredom. They’ve been put in this room for more than thirty minutes already. The recoms around him were already showing signs of being bored as well.

They were either leaning against the wall, staring off at the fluorescent lights or they were standing stiffly around the holotable like Quaritch, who was hovering right beside him, having his arms crossed and getting irritated.

Everyone was getting frustrated at this point. However, their ears perked up at the sudden hissing of the automatic doors opening and closing.

The sound of heavy military boots thudding on the hard floor, coming slowly towards them until they stopped a foot away.

“Well I’ll be damned.” An unfamiliar voice hummed.

The voice was definitely one that Spider didn’t know, but it wasn’t like he knew every single soldier he comes across by their voice. He only paid attention to those who were important.

This one, however, was different. It was rough with hard and cold like ice. The feminine tone didn’t make much for it as it sounded like the General who put him in that torture machine.

Drained to be nothing but a clean killing machine with no infliction of life or emotion.

Spider felt the cold sweat form on his forehead as he slowly leaning over the holotable to peer his head to see around Quaritch, only to meet the cold hard stare of a woman.

The woman stood there like a lone viperwolf. Her presence was so much a threat that it made the hairs on his arms stand up.

She wore the standard pixelated camouflaged military uniform he sees around the base. Her hair was put back in a tight bun and whatever stray hairs left were slicked back, but it wasn’t all what caught his eye.

On her left forearm nearing her elbow, there was the awful sight of scarring that distorted the tint of her skin tone. Instead of it being chocolate, it was more of a reddish color. Spider could see the muscle move much more clear as the woman crossed her arms.

The scar was large and he wondered if it went all the way up her arm that was covered by the sleeve of her issued blouse from seeing that the left side of her neck also had the same kind of scarring.

They looked different than the scars he’d seen on the Omatikaya who would be in the healing tents when they’d come back from raids.

These scars on this woman only added to the frightening aura coming off of her.

The woman seemed to not spare a glance towards Spider’s direction as she had eyes for the much taller blue figures around him.

“I never thought I’d see the day I would see any of you as one of them blues.” She snorted, shaking her head as a smug smirk marked her face.

The amusement and undying distaste almost snarled in her tone.

Spider watched her with warding eyes, slightly moving back as red flags bounced around in his head. His brows narrowed

There was something about this woman he didn’t like. It was just her persona that didn’t fit the vibe with him.

The woman squared her shoulders back, moving weight onto one leg before pushing off to saunter deeper into the room. Her eyes were trained on the recoms with a sharp, curious but disgusted glint in them.

Spider decided to glance around to see if anyone else was feeling the same thing and from the looks of it, they were.

Some of the recoms like Z-Dog and Mansk leaning against the wall pushed themselves off to stand in alert while the others like Wainfleet had their ears back with their forehead wrinkled in a frown.

He even noticed the tension emitting from Quaritch.

The woman sure took her damn time as her eyes finally locked on the blue version of Colonel Miles Quaritch, giving him a dismissive up and down look.

“It’s been a long time, Colonel.” The woman spoke with a sense of feign warmth.

“Last time I saw you,” she pursed her lips as she rolled her eyes to the side while she dawdle around the other side of the holotable.

“.. was when you nearly got your head ripped off by that beast so many years ago..”

Her eyes slightly narrowed at Quaritch, tilting her head slowly as the lighting of the holograms overshadowed her face.

Spider eyed up at the reincarnated version of the man who was half the work of creating him.

Quaritch had his jaw clenched tight, nearly sucking on his teeth back as he analyzed the woman. His nose was slightly crunched up and his ears pressed back.

He was trying to recall who this woman was by staring directly into his memories before it hit him.

A crooked smirk spread across his lips as he moved his hands to clasp on the loops of his vest.

“I should be saying the same to you,” he said, his southern drawl clicking his tongue. “Sergeant.”

A brisk silence occurred as the woman brushed it off, her eye twitching when it hit a nerve in her.

“It’s Colonel now.” The woman corrected, shifting her stance.

She then placed her hands on the console of the holotable, leaning over it as she kept eye contact with Quaritch.

“You’ve been gone for quite some time. I ranked up when your-“ she made an unimpressed expression before looking at the holograms dismissively. “-bodies were growing in tubes.”

Everyone just stilled as air came with an electric shock that zapped through them, burning at the chest. A very uncomfortable and not pleasant feeling.

Spider glance between the two. First he was looking at Quaritch then turning his gaze to the strange woman, eerily finding their stare off weird.

It reminded him of two thanators ready to claw each other off for a piece of territory.

Quaritch’s nose flared out as his hand slowly grabbed the mask that dangle on his person, and slowly moved it to place over his nose to breathe a much needed intake of air.

The sound of the exo-pack was loud and clear in the most annoying way possible.

As he took in the large breath, he kept his eyes on the woman and hazardously dragged his tongue across his teeth before releasing the mask.

The woman watched him with her keen eyes before having her attention be drawn to the holograms, seeing each one of them.

“I overheard from Ardmore that you are searching for Sully.” The woman scoffed. “You had your chance and failed. Sounds like to me you are going to fail again.”

The tension was spiraling more and more like there was a dark shadow filtering in through every crack and crevices, filling the room with its toxicity.

A sudden air whooshing snapped Spider from his dazed look, cropping through like an arrow zipping cutting through the wind.

Quaritch sneered, curling his upper lip slightly to bare a fang at her.

“You got anything else to say, Colonel?”

The woman huffed, shaking her head in mockery before smirking up at his narrowed eyes.

“Hold on now, I didn’t come here to bruise your ego,” she shrugged, “or should I say, twist your tail in a knot?”

Her smirk didn’t last long as her demeanor quickly changed into a cold glare that chilled the room even more, sending shivers down Spider’s spine.

“Besides, I got bigger things to deal with.”

The woman then looked down at the console, typing into it as the holograms disappeared. The maps of where the rogue gunship vanish which some of the recoms were about to protest when new images appeared.

Spider frowned softly, gazing at the holograms. They were different.

The holograms consisted of multiple images of geographical locations that he didn’t find familiar. Terrain that was beyond him.

Open plains that were beautiful with tall vegetation and life that looked wondrous to explore.

The woman didn’t seem too bothered at the images of Pandora’s land. She had her eyes on Quaritch.

“You remember that project that came up about three decades ago?”

There was an official grit of vile thrumming her taste buds. Her hand turned into a fist as she clenched it tightly.

Spider eyeballed the holograms before peered up at Quaritch.

He was silent, casually observing the woman who raised a brow at him and crossed her arms.

“You know it. A man by the name of John Mercer came up with it.” She added, her face contouring in disgust.

A new images flashed up, and it was a picture of a man.

Hair was neatly turned over and combed nicely. Piercing blue eyes that didn’t settle the unease that was bubbling in Spider’s stomach. The crispness of his collared shirt could be seen without the man even moving.

There was something about this man that was sinister. Just like there was an ugly side to this woman.

Quaritch raised a thick brow at the image, taking in of the man before looking past it to gaze at the woman.

“Yeah..? What about it?”

The woman moved her jaw, her nostrils flaring as she leaned back with her arms crossing over her chest.

“Mercer is dead.”

There was no remorse. Just a simple statement with no emotion.

Quaritch parted his mouth, looking at the woman before glancing off to the side to make eye contact with Wainfleet.

It was an awkward moment truly.

With a wave of a hand, Quaritch cleared his throat as he returned his attention back onto the woman.

“Uh.. my condolences-“

The woman interrupted him with a loud bang of her fist slamming down on the console, causing the holograms to flicker.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. That man lost too many of my damn soldiers to even care!”

Spider jumped at her booming voice, nearly tripping over his own heel.

“Mercer wanted TAP to thrive. To have those things to become assets for the RDA without losing any more human life as possible, but when that failed, all we got was bed wetters and hostiles.”

The woman had a flame kindling in her eye as she glared harshly at the image of the man that caused her so much stressed.

Spider felt the chilling of the air become harsh and prickling his skin like needles.

What was she even talking about? TAP? What does it mean?

The image of the man vanished as a new one emerged. This one was a logo.

The logo had the letters TAP in all caps and beside it looked like a backward S, but the longer Spider looked at it, the S wasn’t what he thought it was. It was two hands joining together.

The top hand was blue which meant it was representing the Na’vi and the bottom was yellow for humans.

Spider continued to frown so much that it was beginning to grow a headache in his forehead.

Quaritch had an unimpressed look, but he couldn’t help to be interested.

“Wasn’t it something like that Augustine nearly died for?” He questioned.

The woman scoffed, her glare becoming a permanent mark on her face. “Nearly, but not quite. We weren’t there making friends with hostiles. I never liked Augustine, but I’ll congratulate you for putting that old bitch down.”

Spider snapped his head up to stare at the woman only to meet her gaze and that nasty smirk.

Her words drew rage in Spider as he clenched his fist beside him. It made his blood curdle that this woman could say such a thing.

How dare she say such vile things about Kiri’s mother!

The smirk slipped off as the woman pursed her lips to the side. She then turned her gaze down and typed something in, pulling up what seemed to be old footage.

“The Western Frontier was a perfect place. Untouched land with an unimaginable amount of resources ready to be picked by us.”

There was an undeniable glimpse in the shadow of her eye until it left with a blink.

Sensing a question coming up to be asked, the woman cleared her throat.

“We did gather numerous resources as much as we could. It didn’t help when the blues came with their pathetic performance of weapons. Once they realized they were no match for us, they stopped.” She started, her tone was a void of emotion.

“We had outposts all across the frontier. Getting oil, drilling minerals..” she continued before her eyes narrowed into a scalding frown. “But it was all for nothing since it went up in smokes because of those damn blues.”

Despite being furious at the turn in conversation, Spider listened carefully. He still didn’t understand anything what this woman was saying, but his body tells him otherwise.

“It doesn’t help when those backstabbers are apart of it.” She finished, finally looking up at Quaritch.

The avatar stared back in silence as his ear flicked and his tail lowered down.

There was something that she was hiding and they both knew it.

“Are you saying we have another Na’vi insurgency?”

When the woman had his gaze under lock and key, her dark eyes were a force to be reckoned with.

“You got that damn right.”

The other recoms shifted as they were getting restless from the conversation.

“They are called the Resistance. They use to work for the RDA until they got their tails caught between their legs.“

A few dry, humored chuckles erupted until they were silenced once more by Quaritch raising a hand.

He was interested in what this woman had to say now.

“Go on, Colonel.” He advised, not moving his eyes from her.

The woman gave a brief nod and glanced at the others before speaking, “Their leader is an idiot woman. Alma Cortez. She was apart of the TAP project before I was brought in. She’ll justify anything to get over her own guilt.”

A image of another dark skinned woman apart on the holotable. Her tight yet slightly loose curls fell down her shoulders and had greyed at the roots.

Spider moved closer to get a good look at her. He could see that the photo showed how exhausted the woman looked.

It wasn’t long until another photo connected to it. This time it was of an avatar.

“She was an avatar driver and still is one.” The woman grumbled.

“It was going smooth with the runs since they couldn’t do anything.” She informed, taking a glance at the image of Alma.

The woman then began to slowly pace from one side of the holotable to the other. Her stride was eery. The thumping of her boots could be felt under the soles of Spider’s feet.

“That was until a few months ago, we had gotten a signal at TAP...”

The footage started to play and the audio switched on.

From the way it was angled, Spider believed it was a security camera in somewhere high up in whatever place it was filming.

The various numbers of voices echoed in anonymously as the frequent of clumping footsteps came in thudding lowly.

“You sure this is the place?”

“Yes.. now look around quickly!”

Spider watched as the second voice had completely hushed the ones around them.

The dark figures came into view as they scattered around, going and looking through anything that seemed of importance.

It looked to be they were in a large room, a surprisingly well lit one at that. The lights shown looked like they were falling from the ceiling as wire dangled.

A tall figure seemed to be rushing towards something, wiping their hand on the dust and gasped.

“You made it!”

The relief in the voice still even sounded new and fresh.

The familiar sound of a cryo-pod being opened sent chills down Spider’s spine as his eyes were trained on a blue figure being helped to sit up from the cryo-pod.

“I-I thought I lost you. All of you.”

She was an avatar, Spider realized as he watched the avatar looked around at the three other emerging figures while she still holding the hands of the one she helped.

“What..” the blue figure swallowed dryly, “what’s going on?”

Gentle words were said by the avatar as she gently bent her knees to look at the figure.

“Oel ngati kameie.”

A new figure came in, greeting as they looked at the avatar.

“Must you prod them like this? If they can walk, they can walk. The rest we have to leave.”

His accent was thick and heavy, but understandable. He was Na’vi, but there wasn’t much of him as he turned away to motion the other three who stood idly.

“But the RDA left, didn’t they? And you left us here.”

The childlike innocent question almost made everyone in the room around him cringe except for the woman.

“The Sky people have returned, Sarentu.” The Na’vi spoke, making his way back to the figure.

The other three behind him suddenly turned their heads towards him as a moment of pause came.

“Sarentu? No one has ever called me that..”

Spider looked up at the woman across from him as the footage went on. The woman seemed to be bored until she had enough and removed everything off the holotable before another word was spoke.

“During my time as head of security, I have gotten myself into the fair game of poaching.” She informed.

“I had buyers back from earth, wanting what they paid for, but that ended by one little bitch!”

The holotable put a photo of not just one child, but two Na’vi children.

“I’ve had rookies who caused problems, but never in my years had I have two little pricks in my size since day one.” She growled.

Spider suddenly felt a dread go through him as he looked at the two pictures side by side.

They were both female and their names were on the clothing they wore.

Aha’ri and Runí.

“They were brought in together. Sisters.” The woman said.

Aha’ri was the older one. She had bright blue eyes that would turn yellow depending on the light. She had a large scar on her forehead that her bangs could barely cover.

Runí was the youngest. Her large green-yellow eyes looked so frightened to Spider. She didn’t have much of scars, but that wasn’t chilling enough.

All he could think of is the smallest Sully. Little Tuk.

He stared into the eyes of Runí as he noticed they both have the same sigil on their cheek.

Sarentu. That must’ve been their clan.

“What did you do?” He growled.

All eyes turned to him, most were shocked he even spoke. The only one who didn’t seem to care was the woman.

“I didn’t do shit. You have to thank Mercer for putting one down years ago.“

His heart stopped as the image of Aha’ri slowly dimmed away and the picture of Runí remained before transitioning into an older version of her.

This one made his heart ache.

There was no childlike innocence in those eyes of hers. It was dead with no trace of it left.

“Though I wish I put a bullet in her head. That little bitch had destroyed all our outposts, bases and everything above.”

A twinge of glee warmed Spider when hearing it.

The woman scowled some more and shook it off. She stepped back away from the holotable, keeping an eye on the blue recom team.

“I suggest you think about your target quota again, Colonel.” Her tone was suspiciously blunt.

Everyone stared at her as the tension came back, coming stronger than it was before.

“We can’t afford for any of your recoms or you becoming the next Sully. You ain’t playing father of the year either.”

Spider glanced up at Quaritch to see he was gritting his teeth and nearly had his hand on his holster.

“If I were you, I’d give up this chase of cat and mouse. Mercer did that and look where it got him.” She spat with venom.

The woman then turned and began to walk towards the door. She stopped before even taking a step out of the room, turning her head to look over her shoulder.

“Burn with him if you wish.”

Spider watched as the doors shut behind her and silence rang through the room.

The uncomfortable silence resonated with them. Not one even moved.

Quaritch flexed his jaw before quickly snapping his head towards the crew.

“Let’s go get em.”

The Deja Blue team nodded stiffly as Spider slowly moved his gaze back onto the holotable, having a trouble time understanding what just happened.

He could only just bite his tongue until a large hand touched his shoulder which he shrugged off.

So much for building trust…

—

Chapter Text

—

Water sloshing against her stomach made her toes curled within the slush sand that oozed in between them.

The squeaky clicks and chirps of the aquatic creature at her side. The small fin lifted up above the water before slapping it down to make a splash.

“Do not worry,” a calm voice had spoken to her left. “They do not cause harm.”

Runí glanced up to meet the oceanic blue to her green-yellow ones.

The young daughter of the Olo’eyktan and Tsahìk. She would be the next tsahìk after her mother, a tsakarem.

The tsakarem seemed very nice. Quite kind and sweet even. She had a soft spirited look in her eyes.

“It’s not that I’m worried about.” She sighed softly, trailing her gaze on the smooth skin of the animal.

They were in waist deep water of the lagoon. Jake had pulled some strings with the Olo’eyktan to have one of his children teach Runí the ways of the Metkayina during her stay.

Though, Runí couldn’t voice her options like she wanted to. One look in Jake’s eye and the conversation was final.

The tsakarem only smiled, the crinkling of her eyes shined with the water that couldn’t help but made Runí felt almost.. shy.

The aquatic animal made a sharp whistle like chirp which Runí watched with careful eyes. It was nearly similar to an ikran, but to be able to ride such a creature like this, Runí would have to breathe underwater.

As if hearing the concerns of Runí’s thoughts, the tsakarem moved around the front of the creature to hold it steady.

“Here we go.” Runí sighed softly, her brow creasing with her ears lowering a bit.

Placing her hands on the crafted leather of the saddle that sits on the back of the creature to brace herself while she would lightly bounce to get the movement before using the momentum to hoist herself up.

Immediately when feeling herself nearly slipping, she hastily grabbed the two tendrils of the kuru to hold herself up.

“There,” the tsakarem smiled, her hand reaching up to grasp the kuru to her right which was Runí’s left.

She motioned it up, gesturing to Runí to make the bond.

Runí looked down at the kuru, seeing the light purple tendrils began to move.

The great mother always amazed her.

Flattening her lips, she drew her hand back to grasp the long braid from behind and pulled it over a shoulder.

She swallowed a pooling of saliva that filled her mouth as her own kuru emerged open when nearing the creatures. Tendrils flaying around like wiggling worms until they were intertwined when Runí made contact.

She could feel the connection bloom through her. Her pupils dilated, blinking quickly as she stared at nothing before tilting her head to meet the girl’s joyful gaze.

The bond felt different. She would ever so often feel her lungs be full which she had to sigh out.

“Now, tell them to go. Make sure you have a hard hand when you go under.” She made a motion with her hand to signify the diving.

Runí nods slowly, staring at the water beyond the creature’s head before taking a deep breath.

“Sounds easy enough.”

The tsakarem smiled more, stepping back away as Runí got herself situated.

“Forward.” She spoke, aloud with a nod.

The sheer power of the creature was very much something she underestimated.

Her eyes widen as she leaned forward to wrap an arm around its long neck with the creature took off. The quicken pace was something she never expected.

Sure, flying on ikran was the same but it wasn’t in way. However, first time riding an ilu? Forget ikran. Ilu was built differently.

The way that water splashed onto her face was exhilarating in so many ways.

She could feel the muscle in the creature move with each wave it crash in until she felt the momentum of it getting ready to dive. She took a deep breath, squinting her eyes shut when the ilu dove down under the water’s surface.

The current in water was very different than being above the surface.

Runí gritted her teeth together as she could feel herself sliding off the back of the ilu. Her arm slightly tightened around the neck. She was determined to hold on as long as she could.

The faster the ilu was going, the more she was slipping.

It wasn’t until the ilu had another burst of speed mixed with a sharp turn was when Runí had fully slipped from its back.

She floundered in the water, struggling to move and watched the ilu chirp away before feeling her chest constrict with the need for air.

She bit her tongue, tilting her head up and swam towards the surface. Popping her head out of the water, she gasped out for air and blinked away the lagoon’s water from her eyes.

The tsakarem swam over on top of an ilu herself with a beaming grin.

“That was a good first try.” She applauded as Runí panted softly.

She couldn’t help but feel giddy. She grinned back at the younger girl and licked her lips.

“Let’s do it again.”

The two smiled at each other before the tsakarem had Runí back on an ilu and the same thing happened several times.

She would last more than a minute one time then only lasting mere seconds. Various tried turned into multiple attempts of disappointment.

It was frustrating so much that Runí believed it was time to call it quits, but the determination in her heart conquered her stubbornness.

“Lo’ak and Neteyam took a while to get the hang of it. Kiri and Tuk seemed to get it very quickly.”

Runí nearly physically bristled. That was the thing. She wasn’t a Sully.

She was a daughter to the most beautiful woman in her eyes. They both shared the same eyes and smile.

There were fuzzy memories that prodded in her dreams of shadows dancing in daylight, the familiar singing and chiming of her mother echoed with the child-like laughter that followed.

Runí sat on the back of the ilu, staring subconsciously at the base of its neck before breathing deeply through her nose.

Her hands moved away from the kuru to glide up the sides of creatures neck, feeling its smooth, wet skin against her skin.

The tsakarem watched with a curious look as Runí smiled when the ilu tilted its head up to trill once her fingers scratched under its jaw right where it meets the neck.

“What’s their name?” She asked, wanting to know who this ilu is and what are they like.

“She is female. She has no name.”

The ilu trilled, chattering as if it was in cheer. Runí smiled at the interaction with kind eyes, chuckling and leaned back in the saddle.

“She is quite more calm, but knows when she needs to snap her jaws.”

“Seems like we have something in common.”

The two chuckle as the ilu clicked with spunk.

The tsakarem smiled and stepped back, lifting her arm to motion towards the outer part of the lagoon.

Runí sighed softly, her hands sliding down the neck of the ilu before placing one on the strap that wrapped around the base of the two kuru on the skull.

“Let’s get this done.”

Tightening her grip on the strap, she maneuvered herself in the way she was taught to have better grip and control through the water.

“Hiyah!”

The wind flying through her hair was gusting as the ilu propelled itself across the water with ease.

Runí squinted her eyes before gasping a deep breath, closing her eyes when the ilu easily dove under the waters surface.

She would never get enough of the scenery of the beauty of the reef.

Reopening her eyes to gaze at the twists and turns of the colorful coral of the reef. She gazed around as she was simply riding the back of the ilu.

Pandora was such a pure imagination that she could never get old of.

Life at TAP was dull and full of things Runí never wanted to see out with the children of Eywa. The sky people will feel her wrath for those she loves and cares for.

Gliding through the water never felt so surreal.

She couldn’t help but to grin as the ilu twirled in the water, holding on to the strap tighter before the creature rose towards the surface.

Pushing herself up with a gasp, she moved a hand to push the dripping strands of hair back from her forehead.

“You did it!”

She turned her head to see the tsakarem smiling at her as she too was riding an ilu towards her.

She had done it. She rode an ilu. Another thing she could not wait to tell Ri’nela and Teylan when she returns.

Runí smiled more, feeling good swelling in her chest.

“I did it.” She voiced to herself.

The wind never felt colder against her skin as she was drenched by the sea.

“Come,” the tsakarem gestured with a nod of her head. She gave Runí a smile before she disappeared under the water.

Runí watched the silhouette move further away from her and she smiled to herself. Maybe this was going to settle the churning feeling that never settled in her stomach.

Yet, that was the least of her worries now.

It wasn’t long until Runí clicked her tongue and soon the ilu followed after the tsakarem with her on her back.

She spent her time, swimming and galavanting in the water. Simply having the time of her life. It had gotten to her to think for something she never thought she would have once in her life.

Was she truly having fun?

There wasn’t any fun in her childhood. It was far from fun, but when she re-emerged back into Pandora, she had fun .

That is if you count her flying on her ikran through wind tunnels or riding across the plains on the back of direhorse.

This fun was different. It was youthful, filled with laughter and excitement that she would see in the young children of the clans she ventured through.

The Aranahe children playing at ikran landing with wooden toys, running to mimic the calls of the flying beasts.

Zeswa children flying kites as they parade themselves through the bouldering figures of zakru.

Kame’tire children playing in the dirt or listening to stories by the dim lighting of the fire inside the Hollows.

Though, she was forced to hold guns and taught English as a regulation.

She felt.. free.

She was free to do whatever she wanted, when she wanted.

Runí didn’t realize that time had ran so quickly. Day was quickly turning into eclipse. The blue of the lagoon darkened with the bioluminescence reef glowing with the tanhí sprinkled across her body bloomed.

“I didn’t think I could have so much fun..” she admitted as she and tsakarem rode their ilus to the village.

The lagoon had stilled with gentle waves that brushed up against her knees.

The tsakarem smiled gently and leaned over to catch Runí’s eye.

“You come from somewhere far, yes? I heard my father talking to Toruk Makto about where you came from.”

Great. Runí could only bear a tight smile. Her gaze dropped a bit before she turned away, looking towards the fire lit village.

“Yes. Where I am from is much more farther away than where the Sullys came from.” She paused a bit. “Where land meets forest, vast plains and mist blinding the trees.”

“It must be beautiful.” The tsakarem sounded enthusiastic.

Runí could only agree. “It is. I would find myself watching the sun rise on flights on my ikran.”

She turned her head to make eye contact with the tsakarem only for the both of them to bear small, sweet grins at each other.

For what seems like an eternity, the two had slipped off the back of the ilus and emerged on the shoreline.

The height difference between Runí and tsakarem was something she had noticed. Runí was practically a head taller than the girl yet they were the same age.

“I had fun today, Tsireya.” She spoke gently, her fingers finding comfort fiddling with her songcord.

“Thank you for showing me your home and your ways.”

Tsireya smiled even more gently, feeling glad. Stepping forward, she grasps Runí’s hands.

“I am glad. No friend of mine shall go unnoticed.”

The word made Runí’s ears perk up. Friend. Were they already friends?

Yet, she liked the girl. Her mellowness was tender and sweet. It made her feel at home. Reminding her of Ri’nela.

“I am glad we are friends.”

Runí smiled back, gently squeezing Tsireya’s hands which the girl giggle.

The bond between two friends was like two ropes being tied together. It was bounded by trust and held one another for as long as that trust last.

Parting ways, Runí walked in solitude.

The sand crunched against her feet, making her sink as she journeyed to get on the pathways that hover across the water.

Her ears heard the sounds of soft laughter echoing as she passed marui after marui where families sat together.

Where mothers, fathers, sons and daughter sat around. There was no doubt infants laid in their mother’s arm, babbling against their bosom.

The shadows with the only light of torches guided her.

It didn’t settle the longing that coursed through her stomach.

She longed for a family. Well, she has a family. A family with Ri’nela and Teylan, but this longing was far more wrenching.

She longed for her family. A child wishing for her mother. Her Sa’nu . A girl still mourning the loss of her sister. Her Tsmuke.

Runí frowned as she stopped, her hand reaching up to caress the left side of her cheek. The pad of her finger grazing across the mark that laid on her skin.

What was it like to have parents again? To have siblings once more?

She could never know. Perhaps it would never be granted to her unless she had her own.

Runí felt her cheeks warmed at the thought of herself having her own family. Would she teach her children the ways of her people? She was sure that they would have the mark of her people once they emerge into the world.

“That’s a long time from now.” She murmured quietly, talking to herself at the moment.

She shook her head, swallowing her own breath before continuing her way along the path to her destination.

Seeing the light of the fire inside the marui she was heading for, she could hear the familiar voices talking and laughing.

Runí listened as she crept closer, placing her hand on the outer wall and stood still.

She could hear Jake’s voice, him laughing with his family. The many voices that she hadn’t come to learn.

She did know that she had yet to be introduced to his family.

She leaned her head to peak at the family. Her eye glinted in the fire light as she watched the family of six sat around the marui.

They all looked happy. They bared at least somewhat of contentment in their eyes.

Runí looked intrigued, having placed her hand on the hard frame of the entrance as she watched.

She was enamored by how gentle Jake could talk, helping to make sure his brood ate before him. Enamored by the smell of the feast that wafted in her nose.

Her stomach growled carnivorously as her mouth watered at the thought of it.

She turned her head away from the family, looking out into the dark lagoon illuminated by the bioluminescent in the coral.

“I figured you were out here.” A low, masculine voice had spoken when the slide of bare feet crept closer to her.

She snapped her head towards the voice to see it was Jake, standing in the middle of the entrance of the marui.

“You heard me.” She murmured, her voice low while she turned her head away. Still gazing at him out of the corner of her eye.

“I heard your stomach.” He corrected, eyeing her. The corner of his lips tweaked upwards.

Her ears flatten a bit as she pursed her lips in embarrassment. She didn’t think anyone would hear her stomach.

A calloused hand placed itself on her shoulder and warmed her cold skin. His fingers gently rubbed the back of her shoulder as if to cheer her up.

“Come in. You’re hungry and wet. You got to be at least exhausted.”

Runí tilted her head to meet his gaze. His eyes were soft and warm like the sun beaming down on her. A fatherly gaze, she confirmed.

The smell of freshly made, warm, homemade food made her stomach tingle and growl once again.

The silence from her was making Jake a little uneasy.

He glanced out from behind his shoulder to his family. He met the burning curious gaze of his beloved, mixed with the staring eyes of his eldest along with the various glances of his middle children.

His youngest was too busy rambling to even noticed, picking out of her siblings bowls while they were distracted.

A hand, similar in size to his eldest daughter, placed itself on his forearm. Three fingers lightly pressed its slight calloused skin against his, the cold cooling his warmth.

Jake looked back to see it was Runí, who had her hand on his forearm.

Her eyes were soft, but they weren’t there. Not with him. Not anywhere else.

They had this far out look. A look that he had seen before. He could sense the longing that glimmered like the many stars in the night sky.

“It’s okay, kiddo. I got you.” His voice spoke truth.

His hand moved from her shoulder to cup the back of her head, gently pulling to press her head against the taunt of his chest. His other rested at her back, rubbing it soothingly.

“I got you.” He repeated, flicking his eyes down and brushed his thumb at the crown of her head.

Runí’s hand shook slightly before stilling, limply falling from his forearm and hung at her side as she stood in the embrace of a legendary man.

The calmness of the lagoon waves couldn’t sooth her this time.

The bare fang of her teeth dug deep into her lip as her forehead rested on the sternum of Jake’s chest. Her eyes staring at the blue skin before shutting tightly.

A single tear fell, cascading down her cheek as she found comfort in Jake’s arms.

Something that she never thought she’d ever find.

A father’s comfort.

—

Chapter Text

—

The heat of the blazing flame brazed her cold skin, making her feel warm despite the weird tension that clouded around her.

Sitting back in her heels, Runí quietly stared at the shallow bowl she held in her hand. Her free hand played with small pieces of food before gathering it up and brought it to her mouth.

She chewed, savoring every bit of flavor. The food was delicious. Definitely better than her own cooking and a HUGE upgrade to the preservatives she finds and kept from her infiltrating into RDA bases.

She kept to herself, unable to shake the wary and curious eyes of the family members that burn holes into her existence. She could feel how some would vanish to only come back.

She knew she was different looking compared to them. She wasn’t forest Na’vi. She came from a clan of travelers, but that didn’t matter now.

Too caught up in her thoughts, a small voice broke the impending silence that made her ears ring.

Runí froze. Her tongue rolled over the clump of chewed mush before she turned her head to meet the wide-eyed gaze of the smallest of the Sully brood.

Those large, childish wonder eyes gaze right into her with such innocent curiosity. Runí could see that the child was more curious than she is shy.

The child’s name entered her brain. It was unknown. She didn’t know the kids name.

The little girl had crept closer than she previously was when Runí last saw her right as she was led inside by Jake.

Curiosity was always a child’s best friend.

“What?” She uttered, her voice muffled with food in it which got the girl to giggle.

“I said you are pretty!”

Runí couldn’t imagine how could she be pretty. Growing up, she felt dull and hallow inside and out. Being with Nor, Ri’nela and Teylan, it was different. They were family so obviously there would be times where they would call each other pretty to make the other feel better.

She parted her mouth before shutting it, immersed swallowing whatever food remained and let out a sigh.

“Th.. thank you.” She gave the child a half smile.

It felt awkward to the point her hands were getting clammy and her chest started to sink. How else was she supposed to respond?

She gave the child another brief smile before turning her attention away. Her eyes met the hollowness of the bowl.

Thinking back to being guided inside by Jake, she had met the gazes of his family. His wife who had smiled so brightly lowered it to a watchful stare. One that clashes the ferocious glare of a thanator.

Runí wondered if her mother stared like that during the events that ended with her death.

His eldest, Neteyam, who was in mid-chew, nearly choked at the sight of her entering. He looked like one of those wide eye fish. His other son, Lo’ak, gave a questioning glance at his brother before following his gaze. There was soon a mischievous glint that twinkled in his eye.

The two girls sat beside their brothers. The eldest whose name Runí did not know also stared with caution curiosity as did the little one.

Runí let out a slow exhale, closing her eyes for a moment to regain herself before opening them and thinned her lips. Her left ear remained perked, moving at the slightest sound while the right flattened itself against her skull.

It was second nature to her. Always listening to her surroundings. Always on guard. Never once letting it down.

Seeing how tense she was, Jake cleared his throat aloud. It drew the attention off of Runí.

He set down his bowls, soon straightening his back and gazed at Runí, who stared back from behind her lashes.

He gave a small smile and gave a nod before reaching out to place a hand on the broad shoulder of his eldest.

“You’ve met my son, Neteyam.” The hand on Neteyam’s shoulder began to jostle him which got the boy out of his trance.

Runí watched, her eyes following to meet the staring gaze of Neteyam. It was like staring into one of the many motionless posters, but this was different.

It felt like forever since they blinked. Luckily for the both of them, Neteyam blinked and she turned her attention back at Jake.

Jake was happy to see that Runí was listening. He then looked at his second son and motioned to him. “This is Lo’ak, my youngest son. You’ve met him briefly before.”

Runí followed his hand and looked at Lo’ak. She noticed the confused look the boy he had on his face.

Seeing Lo’ak in a much closer proximity with better lighting brought many things to her.

She gazed at the boy, seeing how he looked. Lo’ak looked a lot like Jake. From the facial structure to the avatar features that confused her to the way he slouched.

She never seen someone with avatar features so young. The only avatars she has ever seen were Alma and Jake so this was new.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, her head tilting as she analyzed Lo’ak. She could see how dark the hairs on his brows, how he had an extra finger and a toe.

“You haven’t met my daughters yet. Kiri and Tuk.” Jake’s voice cut her staring gaze from an uncomfortable Lo’ak to the girls who sat to her left.

Runí could tell that the oldest girl, who she assumed was Kiri, had avatar features much like Lo’ak. Her nose was sharper and more thin, almost human like. She noticed that Kiri’s hair wasn’t in tight small braids like her family. Instead it was short, straight with different choppy lengths with small tiny self done braids that added character.

Kiri and Lo’ak were born different, Runí concluded. How was it that they looked more avatar than their siblings and mother? Could it be from Jake’s genetic makeup of his avatar body?

She wished she had paid more attention to the biology classes years ago right now.

When seeing how Kiri had hugged herself, curling up to close herself up. Probably from noticing how Runí was staring at her “alien” features.

Runí gave an apologetic look to the girl before moving on to the child. Tuk is the name she finally learned. It was short and cute.

She then glanced back at Kiri once more.

There was something about her that Runí couldn’t put a finger on.

Tuk was small and adorable like any child her age. Her ears were large as were her eyes. She Runí could see that her hair was growing within the tight braids that fell to her cherub like cheeks.

Runí nods slowly, acknowledging their names as her hand was brought up to her forehead, brushing her fingers against the skin in greeting before licking her chapped lips.

“I-“ her voice cracked which she immediately felt the burning sensation on her cheeks. Her ears flattened and she swallowed deeply.

“My name is Runí.” She placed a hand on the bloom of her chest, tapping a finger where her heart pounding violently.

Her eyes flickered to every person. Going to Jake to Neteyam then to Tuk and Lo’ak and going to Kiri and Neytiri before lowering her gaze at the bowl she still held.

The tension had somewhat eased back. She thinks it might have to do with now that everyone has been introduced. It had calmed only slightly for her.

Runí even believed wholeheartedly that was the end of it. Thinking that she would be the odd one out, so silent enough to blend in the background to enjoy the family conversing with one another.

That was until the littlest Sully had gotten the courage to ask one thing that made the weird tension come zipping right back.

“Why do you talk weird?”

A question which sounds and seemed so innocent no one could think otherwise, but it felt like a knife stabbing itself into the middle of her back.

Runí froze. Not a sound, but the beating drum throbbed in her ears. Lifting her eyes away from the bowl that was held tightly in her hands to the family around her.

They weren’t looking at her, thankfully. Their hushed words were scolding Tuk who looked as confused and bummed out as any child would. The soft whines escaped from her as she slumped her shoulders with a pout.

She set her eyes on the little Sully, whose eyes were large and wet with disappointment from being scolded.

There was a dull pain that hurt her heart for some reason when seeing the pout of Tuk’s face that quivered.

It wasn’t her fault for being so curious. Runí knew that. It was just a simple question that the answer was far darker and much deeper than a child’s mind could comprehend.

There was only one way to make the pain go away.

She let out a gentle sigh, shifting her weight side to side in her crouched form. Runí could feel and see the gazes of the family as she stared at Tuk.

“I sound different because I talk with an accent?” She questioned, seeing out the little Sully perked up at her voice.

Tuk nodded, her disappointed look in her eyes instantly vanished as curiosity came back. She then nods quickly with a big grin.

Runí gave a small warm smile at her, “That’s because I was raised different.”

Tuk’s mouth made an “o” shape before she smiled once more and nodded. “You talk like daddy.”

Seeing how the answer made the little girl content, Runí could feel at ease for once. She couldn’t help but to snap her eyes towards Jake, who was silently watching from afar.

They held eye contact until she broke it to gaze back down on her bowl.

“I guess you are kinda right.” Tilting her head up, she flashed Tuk a quick smile.

She figured it would be the last and she return to slowly eat, but she briefly forgotten how one question will become an endless question trivia for a curious child.

There was a shuffle and when skin met hers, Runí looked to see it was Tuk who had moved to her side. Her small hands touched the fat of her thigh.

“Where are you from?” Another question. One that doesn’t make Runí feel cornered.

Runí stared aimlessly into those large eyes of Tuk’s before drifting off to imagine the wondrous terrain her own feet walked on.

From the Kinglor Forest with its luscious and dense forest to the Upper Plains and its majestic way of life, and then to the Clouded Forest with its mysterious beauty.

It was home. Her home.

“I come from a land that is far away.” She started, her lips spread into a genuine soft small. “Farther than your home.”

She lifted her hand, letting her finger point out and she lightly tapped Tuk on the nose. It made the younger’s eyes cross and giggle.

“The land is made up of three regions. Ones where I can fly on my ikran above a rainforest to riding direhorses across the plains, or simply I walk under the light rain and mist.”

The Western Frontier is nothing of what neither Jake nor his family knows. Runí knew it for sure. Yet, she only knew half of it herself.

“Where is this place?” A new voice asked.

Runí looked up to meet the curious gazes of the remaining members of the Sully family. Her eyes trailed to where the voice came from to see it was Kiri who asked.

Kiri looked to be in awe on how Runí described her home as did her family. Pursing her lips, Runí thinks back on where the Western Frontier was located on Pandora.

She then moved her gaze to Jake, humming quietly.

“It’s called the Western Frontier.” She spoke, shifting her body weight to actually sit down on the woven floor.

With her bum resting on the woven floor, she scratched her chin in thought on how she was going to explain it.

“If I remember correctly, Alma mentioned it is on the other side of the moon. Across from where the Omatikaya are.” She then began to look around for something to demonstrate. Seeing how she still had the bowl in hand, she held it up.

“Say this is the moon. Pandora.” She moved her free hand on one side of the bowl. “This is where the Omatikaya are, right?” She looked up to see how the family perked up at the clan name.

She gave them a smile before she moved her hand on the other side of the bowl. “And this is where the Western Frontier is. My home and to many others.”

Runí looked around the marui to see the Sully’s faces. She could see how all of them had a twinge of longing in their eyes.

They missed their home. Their old home back in the forest. She understood the feeling. She misses her home too.

A small hand reached up out of her peripheral vision and could feel skin touch her cheekbone.

“What’s this?” Tuk’s innocent voice asked as Runí felt her small fingers traced alongside the mark on her cheek.

Runí lets her touch the mark some more and closed her eyes, breathing gently.

“It is the mark of my clan.” She answered, glancing at the little girl who stared at the mark in awe.

“At birth, my friends and I were given this mark to show those my clans name and purpose. Who we are.”

She could remember the vocal singing of those of her clan back when she first went home . She sees her mother’s face, her smile, her warmth.

“Though, my clan were travelers,” her voice turned softer. “They stayed with other clans, merging as if they were one and viewing the perspective of being an outsider before going to the next. They could never stay still.”

It was meant to add a bit of humor which gain some smiles, but Runí knew Jake and Neytiri knew of what really happened to her clan.

“My people were storytellers, diplomats and song makers. The three clans that reside have told me countless of stories of my clan.” She added, smiling gently.

Runí then looked for her bag, seeing it not far on her right and reached for it. “The Aranahe live in the Kinglor Forest.” She spoke, moving the bag to settle into her lap and began to dig for something.

“The Kinglor is a large area of rainforest. From rainforest to tangled swamp lands and marshes. Filled with overlapping of rivers and waterfalls. It even has the overhanging of floating mountains.”

Her smile brightened as her hand touched the item she was looking for.

“If you just stand on one of those mountains, you can see the whole forest and right at the center of it all is Hometree. The home of the Aranahe.”

She lifted her head up, pulling back her arm to bring the item out of her bag. In her hand was a small gourd. Inside of it held the sweetness of the dye that the Aranahe use.

“They are masters at weaving. Even just standing outside the magnificent tree, you can smell the sweetness of the dye.” She sighed, popping open the gourd.

The immediate potent scent of sweetness wafted the marui, drawing the others in as Runí passed the gourd around.

She noted how they would bring the gourd up to their noses, breathing in the sweet smell of dye and sighing so whimsically in memory.

She wondered if it made them think of home. Back in the forest.

She watched in silence as the atmosphere grew warmer. She then glanced over the top of her shoulder to stare at the dark night to the lagoon that moved aimlessly where the bioluminescence glowed.

She then wondered if her friends, her family , missed her as much as she missed them. Have they tried to contact her? She didn’t know that answer as she took out the earpiece after countless times of contacting them without any luck.

She thinks of Ri’nela. How was she doing? Runí wondered if leading the resistance was exhausting, but seeing how well Ri’nela took over, Runí believed that her friend would be a fine leader.

She then thinks of Teylan. He’s come so far and she couldn’t be more proud of him. He still feels the backlash of them being all alone. She’s just glad he still has hope for the future.

They are so far away. She still couldn’t believe how far they came.

Yet, there was something else here though.

Runí turned to the Sullys, seeing how they smile and laugh after just smelling a single thing such as dye.

This felt like home.

Her chest ached which made her drop her gaze down.

The Sarentu were still finding their way into this world, learning more to be Na’vi, but Runí knew that one day they will return soon enough and proceed in their clan’s ways to commemorate their ancestors.

A home where they can grow and live for generations. Where their tales of triumph, victories and dreams could wander Pandora once again.

Home is where the heart is.

The Sully’s made their home open to her even if she is an outsider.

And that’s something she could never forget.

As Runí returned back, she smiled and continued to share details of the Western Frontier.

Little did she know, behind her, out across the reef. A storm was brewing. One where thunder boomed across the dark clouds hidden by the cover of night.

Not everything will last forever.

After all, happiness was simple.

Nothing lasts that long.

—