I See You (N. Sully)

Chapter 3

When she woke up inside a damp cave, bones heavy from strain, her first thought was that she was finally dead. Eywa had finally claimed her. But it was not this that had her holding her breath. It was the unrecognisable Na'vi male stood watching her from a few metres away. She hadn't noticed him at first, her attention falling to the moss at her fingertips, and the stream of light, pouring in from her right. But after adjusting to her new surroundings, it was hard to ignore the weighted gaze. They did nothing but stare at each other for a few moments, assessing the way each other moved, and fit in with the world around them. To Ahurewa, this man was different, plain and timid compared to the men she interacted with at home. She supposed they were all dead now so it didn't matter.

"Sister, hello." His stance was non-threatening, and his voice more soothing than antagonising. Ahurewa thought that he was probable a good singer, something she had never really excelled at herself.

Before she even began to respond, she leapt into a defensive position, crouched down with her hand hovering over her leg, where she now realised held no blade. When she first woke up she hadn't heard the loud clanking of machinery or foreign yells. It was only now she had realised, that she found herself in the home of the sky people - her enemies. Franticly searching for a way to escape, her breathing became erratic, and the slightest sound had her snapping in that direction.

"Bro, what is going on?" A shorter boy, similar in appearance to the one that had been watching her had appeared beside him, watching the way the girl frantically hissed at anything nearing her. Her skittish behaviour had drawn some attention, something he hoped to have avoided.

"Shh! She is frightened. Go and fetch dad." Holding his hands out carefully, he dismissed the boy, slowly approached the girl, watching as she backed up against the cave wall. "I'm not going to hurt you." He swallowed, hoping that fear hadn't clouded her mind already. "What is your name?"

She was blocked in by the tent set up that was deeper into the cave, leaving her no room for escape unless she went through the stranger before her and through the sky people who were clearly armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry. "Let me out!"

The boy's head quirked to the side in confusion, hands still in front of him and taking steady steps. It didn't take long for a much older Na'vi to appear, familiar with the boy as he held and arm around his shoulders. "What's going on?" The older one held out his hands then.

That's when she saw it, the five fingers of the demons she had been warned about, dreamwalkers - sky people that had the ability to live inside a Na'vi body, the hands being the only indicator. Hissing again, she frantically scanned the ground around her with her hands, settling on a small rock as her defence. "Let me go!" She seethed between her teeth, shooting the dreamwalker a venomous look. "Demon!"

Understanding dawned on his face then, and lowering his hands he turned to the boy. "Show her your hands." When he did as instucted, remaining silent as the man spoke, she saw what he wanted her to see. "We are not sky people, we defeated them years ago." He gestured to the sky people wandering about, carrying large crates and reloading weapons. "These are the people who chose to stay in peace."

Ahurewa watched the people for a few moments, hopeful but not naïve enough to let her guard down. In a short burst of realisation, she carefully rose to her feet, not taking her eyes off anyone. "Toruk Makto."

"Yes," he sighed, a breath of relief, tapping his chest.

"Liar," she snapped, with a little less bite than before. "The sky people are still here." Before the man could say anything, she spoke again, spitting the words, "they attacked, they are not gone."

He frowned, the boy looking up at the man with concern in his eyes. "What happened?" The boy had spoken this time, curiosity getting the better of him.

"A great tremble shook our mountains." Her gaze shifted to the floor for a second, "I was too late." She shuddered at the memory. "When I arrived, they were all dead."

Neither male said anything; they didn't have to.

"Brother sent me down the mountain before he died, to find safety before it was too late."

The older man approached, causing her to step back in response. "What's your name?"

Assessing both of the men, looking them up and down with a critical gaze, she pulled apart their body language with her eyes, eventually drifting over to the sky people watching them interact with other Na'vi. "Ahurewa." Her head was tall and proud as she spoke, as if looking down on the two men who had been reduced down to associating with murderers.

"I am Jake, and this is Neteyam, my son. I am leader of the Omatikaya clan." Realisation had dawned on her. He really was Toruk Makto, and these really were Na'vi people.

Neteyam had noticed the shift in her body language, "I can show you around." He turned to his father, "I will keep her out of trouble, I promise." 

Jake stared at his son for a second, searching for something in his eyes. "Okay." He sighed, "just don't leave camp."

"Yes sir." Neteyam then regarded Ahurewa for the first time as a full Na'vi. Whilst her hair was still long and matted, her face had filled out with a brighter and healthier look to it, like being awake was the most invigorating thing. Her eyes glowed a pandora green, shining with newly awakened emotion. They were brighter than he had thought, and very different to the Omatikayan yellow he was used to seeing in his tribe. "Are you okay with this?"

"I would be okay with killing the sky people you have roaming around like little children." Ahurewa was more gentle than her people considered to be normal, but for Omatikayan standards she lived up to her clans expectations. She would not be gentle for the sky people; they would not see her as her family had done, they had to suffer.

Neteyam quirked an eyebrow, "well you cannot. They are friends and allies." Looking her up and down once again, cringing at how fragile her hands and feet seemed. "If you want to stay here, you must follow our rules."

"I didn't say I wanted to stay here." She scowled at the masked demon child who had ran over to Na'vi children. "Your ways are unnatural."

"You have no where else to go. Any other option you have is far enough away for you to die on the journey." He scoffed, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth, "you barely made it here in one piece."

"Show me," she started, walking forwards and turning back to face his firm yellow eyes. "But when I think the time is right, I will leave."

Nodding in agreement, Neteyam pulled the beads aside to another entrance deeper into the cave where she could hear the sound of soft giggles and quiet scuffling.