Petrichor

Prettiest Thing

Jake was fuuuuuucked. 

Those goddamn viperwolves had been following him for some time now, long enough that it had become dark. This body had better hearing than his human one, and he could hear their pants, their feet on the ground. 

He'd wrapped his jacket in some honey-like liquid and set it alight, allowing him to see so far. The other end was sharpened to a tip.

He briefly considered letting the viperwolves have him. But he banished the thought from his mind. This was his brother's body, not his. He'd just got here. He refused to let all the years Tommy had put into this go to waste. 

"I ain't got all goddamn night," Jake snarled. "Come on! Come on!"

The viperwolves made their move. Jake felt himself shift into fight mode, shutting off his brain and focusing on the threat in front of him. 

He was desperate, and the vipers knew that. They got him on the ground, nipping at him, and Jake knew that he was fighting a losing battle. 

One landed on top of him and he struggled to keep its snapping teeth away from his face. He brought his knee up to dig into its rear end and it yelped and faltered momentarily, giving him the opportunity to lift it up and slam it onto the ground, grabbing his knife from his pocket and ready to kill it. 

But what he saw made him falter instead.

A spear, seven foot long, was buried into the side of the viperwolf. 

A battle cry made him look up, and he saw that the Na'vi had come to the rescue. 

She had nothing except her hunting knife, and she was the prettiest thing Jake had ever seen. She killed another one, brandished her knife in one smooth motion to scare the wolves away. 

Jake didn't get a proper look at her face when she had arrived, but when she turned he saw who it was. 

The Na'vi who had approached them at the old building. 

She marched over and pulled her spear out of the viperwolf, set it down, and said something that sounded like a prayer. 

Jake had gotten to his feet by that point, and was holding his knife in case those animals decided to come back. 

While he took her in, she delicately picked up his spear and threw it into a nearby pool of water. 

"Hey!" Jake exclaimed. The Na'vi scoffed and moved to the next viperwolf body, beginning another prayer. 

Jake was careful to watch her as he fished his spear out of the water. His focus was momentarily distracted when the pool and the surrounding areas began to glow. 

It was incredible to witness. Parts of plants emitted light as clear as day, so much so that he was able to see the Na'vi woman stalk off into the night. 

"Hey, hey wait up a second!" 

Jake blundered after her, feeling so ungraceful compared to her. 

The woman never spared him a second glance as she made her way through the forest.

Jake hesitated for a second, and continued to follow her. He needed a safe space, even if it's just for a night until he can get back to base. 

She muttered something then in Na'vi. "Will you go away?!" 

"Look, I just wanted to say thank you-" he said, reaching for her arm. She turned around so quickly he had no time to react, and smacked him with her spear so hard he fell to the floor. "Damn!" 

"You don't thank for this," she hissed, prodding the end of her spear into his throat. "Go away." 

"I need your help," Jake said truthfully. "I need your help. I know you know Grace, and I just need your help." 

"You do not. Go back." 

She started to walk away, and Jake scrambled to his feet, catching up to her in seconds. 

"Can't we just talk? Did Dr Augustine teach you English?" 

Grace had said her name, but he couldn't remember it for the life of him. He thought it began with an I, but he couldn't be certain. 

She had brought him to a clearing, and it wasn't until he was on top of it that he realised it was long trees connecting the two lands. He stumbled, dropping his spear, and the Na'vi caught his arm, sounding like she was swearing in her native language. 

"Please," he pleaded. "I need your help."

She shoved his shoulder back. "No. Go back." 

***

Ilhia hardly ever swore, but this bitch was going to make her insane. 

He was standing there, rips in his alien shirt, his ears pinned back against his head, his palms facing her in submission. 

She admired his bravery, but thought he was a skxawng. She should push him into the ravine for good measure. 

"Please. Please," he repeated softly. 

"No way," she muttered. "Go back. You are not allowed to be here." 

"Who said that?" 

"Me. Eywa. Go back." 

"Who's Eywa?" 

Ilhia snarled in disgust and prodded his chest with her spear again. "Go back."

Atokirina appeared in swarms. They settled on Ilhia's spear, then floated along to the alien. He tried to slap them away but Ilhia nicked his chest in protest. 

"Atokirina! Atokirina," she whispered. She stood back, admiring the seeds of the sacred tree. 

"What are they?" Jake asked nervously. 

"Seeds of the sacred tree," Ilhia responded dreamily. "Very pure spirits." 

"Uh-huh," Jake chuckled. 

Ilhia crouched down, amazed. There was dozens of them surrounding his upper body and arms. 

This was a matter for the Tsahik. It was no longer up to Ilhia. 

The atokirina disappeared as quickly as they had come. Jake looked to Ilhia, but she was already running. "Come," she called over her shoulder. 

She heard his noisy footsteps behind her and continued. They were not far from Hometree now. 

"What's your name?" 

"Ilhia," she replied. 

She heard him repeat it under his breath and giggled a little bit.

She could hear the People murmuring, and as she got closer she called out a series of sounds that alerted them to her presence. 

She stopped abruptedly and in one smooth motion leapt around Jake, grabbing onto his tswin and pulling her knife to it. He jerked so hard she thought he might pass out. 

"Follow." 

"What? What?" he said in a panicked whisper. 

"Follow! Ma eyk? Do as I say!" she replied in an agitated tone. 

The People had started to swarm towards them, many of them calling out to Ilhia as she passed. 

Ilhia called out again, a sharp yip, and the person that she had wanted to come arrived. 

Her older sister did not seem pleased that she had brought a demon into Hometree. 

"What is this? Why have you brought a demon here?" Neytiri asked sharply as they walked to meet their father, Eytukan. 

"There has been a sign from Eywa," Ilhia responded kurtly. "I was going to kill him myself, trust me."