The Path I've Chosen

03

The next morning, when they had a proper night's rest, they waited no time to jump into their pods, and set off actually exploring Pandora.

Casper couldn't hold his smile, full teeth and all. He, Jake, Norm and Grace were the only Avatar's flying in the small aircraft, two Human men flying with them. And then there was the pilot, Trudy. Casper met her before the flight, the two of them immediately hitting it off. Casper held tightly onto the railing as he leaned forward and peered at the planet, cheering once or twice as they flew through something spectacular. 

They flew through the massive tree's of Pandora, their bark all twisted in neat swirls leading up to the branches. They flew past some bull-like creatures, one of them roaring as they passed. And they flew past a waterfall, going so fast Jake cheered alongside Casper, making Trudy chuckle at them. 

Finally they found an even enough patch of ground they could land, and with that their air experience was over. But Casper was happy. He was happy he could see the planet from above, see it's beauty. Not even before Trudy landed the helicopter, Jake and another male soldier had already jumped, looking around. Casper rolled his eyes at the two of them, and jumped out of the helicopter just as it landed. He lifted his head, and just gawked at the greenery. The lush forest not yet destroyed by Human kind. He breathed in the fresh scent of Pandora, basking in the silence.

He then lowered his head to look twords the aircraft, Trudy having shut off the engine. Grace reminded Norm about his pack, the male jumping back into the aircraft to grab it. When Grace walked passed one of the soldier's she raised her hand "Stay with the ship. One idiot with a gun is enough"

Casper walked past Grace, snorting at her words as he walked in line with Jake, the older also smiling at Grace's comment. They moved further away from the aircraft and into the forest of Pandora. It was so peaceful, the only sound being some bird-like sounds echoing around. The colors varied from deep greens, to light pinks and purple's. It was truly a sight to behold.

Suddenly Jake jumped and pointed his gun up into the tree's, where monkey-lemur looking creatures swung along. One of them stopped to grab a fruit, looking at the group before swinging away. "Prolemuris. They're not aggressive" 

Casper saw that Jake's gun was still drawn, so he grabbed it and pushed it down to the ground. "Lower that thing before you shoot something you're not suppose to" his tone was just a bit aggravated, but he tried to hide it. Jake, being as thick in the head as he was, didn't catch his tone change, so he just moved after Casper and Grace, who had taken to walking in the front. 

After some time of walking in complete silence, Norm spoke up. "So, how will they know we're already here?" "I'm sure they're watching us right now" Grace simply stated. 

The four of them walked further from the tree line, and into a clearing where an old shack stood, having been taken over by nature. One by one they entered, making sure not to step on a rusted plank so they wouldn't fall thought.

"This was our school. Now it's just...storage. The kids were so bright. Eager to learn. They picked up English faster than I could teach it" Grace told them, almost absentmindedly. Then she continued listing off what they were taking, but Casper was no longer listening. He bent down, and picked up an old stuffed toy. It was in the shape of an Ikran, something the Na'vi bonded with to become true Hunter's. It was pretty big, about the size of his hand, which I guess make's it pretty small in Na'vi standards. It was caked in years of soil, and what seemed to be splashes of a maroon color. Blood perhaps?

Casper looked up just as Jake asked what happened in the place, but Grace seemed reluctant to answer, going to scold him on not helping out. Casper looked down at the Ikran once again, and then placed it down where he found it, standing back up to his full height.