Petrichor

Atokirina

Bold is Na'vi :)

The one with the weapon was too busy looking at the holes in the wood of the wall to notice Ilhia had appeared. Dr Augustine was collecting books, and the other one was doing the same. Ilhia watched with interest, her tail flicking over her arm where she held her spear. 

Her sister Neytiri favoured a bow, but she preferred the spear. She preferred hand to hand combat if possible, and the spear was a close range weapon. Blood roared in her ears as she thought of the possibility, and she scolded herself. Dr Augustine had been a friend. She'd give her mercy. 

"You should not be here."

The Na'vi rolled from her tongue. She knew that Dr Augustine would understand her.

All three startled. The one with the weapon was quick to have it aiming at her.

"Grace?" he said uncertainly, at the same time her old teacher muttered, "Jesus Christ."

Weapon guy shifted nervously, his alien fingers gripping his weapon. Perspiration ran down the side of his face. 

"Grace?" he said again. Ilhia bared her teeth. 

"Stand down, Jake," Dr Augustine finally said. Her eyes had not left Ilhia's face. When there was no movement, no sound, she looked back at 'Jake'. "Stand down!" she said sharply. 

Jake eyed Ilhia for a split, before releasing his weapon with one hand and laying it on the rotting table nearby. "If you say so, Grace." 

Her fingers tightened involuntarily on her spear. 

"Hello, Ilhia," Dr Augustine said slowly. "I didn't expect to see you here. How have you been?"

"This is sacred ground," Ilhia snapped, her eyes at last leaving the warrior to look at Dr Augustine. "You should not be here. You should not have brought outsiders to this place. Or have you forgotten so easily?" 

Dr Augustine gaped at her for a couple of seconds, hurt flashing across her face. "Of course not. I haven't forgotten about any of you." 

"Then leave!" Ilhia barked. She pointed at the door with her spear. "This is your one exception. The next time I see you, I'll kill you myself." 

The words shocked even Ilhia, but she had already lost her sister. She refused to lose anyone else. 

Dr Augustine finished packing her bag, zipping it up. Ilhia had gone back to glaring at 'Jake', who had picked his weapon up and was holding it loosely, so to show that he wasn't going to use it. 

The other demon had just been frozen in fear. Ilhia had saw understanding in his eyes, assumed that he also spoke the language. He didn't seem like one for a fight. 

This Jake on the other hand, she knew he was going to be a problem. 

***

"What the fuck was that all about?" Jake demanded as the trio jogged away from the derelict building. He dared to look back and saw the Na'vi woman standing tall in the doorway, her deadly looking spear in her right hand as she glared at them retreating.

Grace sighed as they slowed to a stop, out of the sight of the Na'vi woman. "Ilhia had a sister," she said simply. Jake stared at her. 

"What? What does that mean?" 

Norm knew better than to question Grace, his superior. But he couldn't help but ask. 

"What did she mean by sacred ground?" 

"The Omatikaya learned all that they needed to know about us."

Grace started walking again. Ilhia may be older now, and may now be a warrior like she claimed she was going to be when she was young, but Grace knew she didn't have the heart to kill her. So she led the two men away from the old school and into more neutral territory. She and Norm still had work to do, after all. 

***

If she had a bow, she'd have killed them all by now. 

She would be able to take the two scientists, she knew she would. But 'Jake' carried himself like a warrior, albeit an arrogant one. She had speed, yes, but he had a weapon that was faster than her. 

'Grace' had not left like Ilhia told her to. She travelled north instead, and began working with the scientist. Jake had wandered even further than them. She had lost him when he agitated the 'angtsìk, and then the palulukan, but she was certain she'd find him again. She was just as much a tracker as she was a hunter. It was a mixture of curiousity and burning anger that fuelled her step. 

How dare they step foot back to that land. 

Her father would not like her interference, and neither would Neytiri, but she couldn't stand to think of those aliens stomping around carelessly on the ground that a dozen Na'vi died. 

She was going to kill him, if the palulukan hadn't already. 

When she came across him, he had lost his weapon. He held a makeshift spear instead, which was pitiful compared to hers. She swung from  tree to tree, finally settling on a leaning trunk like earlier. She watched as he turned slowly in a circle, stepping carefully, and when he was facing the other way she brought herself soundlessly to a crouching position. She'd practiced this so many times, and could throw her spear quite a distance. 

She lifted it above her head, ready to strike. It would kill him instantly, she was sure of it. Straight through the heart. 

Soundlessly, as though she had summoned it, an atokirina landed on the tip of her spear. Ilhia cocked her head to the side, ready to listen to Eywa. The seed of the sacred tree floated above the spear tip for a couple of seconds. Don't kill him. 

Ilhia lowered the spear and the atokirina disappeared.

One thing was certain. 

This Jake shouldn't die just yet.