habits | avatar

07

Valentine sat at the lunch table with the other scientists as Grace tells the group about Jake's stupid thinking that somehow landed him right into the palm of the Ometikaya. "It's not something you can teach," Jake quips at Grace, and Valentine rolls his eyes and abruptly gets up. Everyone watches him leave and Jake doesn't miss the look Grace gives him; it's almost a warning. A warning about what, though?

Jake had to know. 

That lead him straight to the taller male's room, one of which used to be shared but was now empty. He never found out why that was, either, but Grace told him not to ask so he never did. Valentine opened the door and looked down at him with a blank face, waiting for the other to speak. 

"Why're you so cross with me all the sudden? Did I do something?" Jake asks, head tilting as he watches Valentine's expression. It falters for a moment and then he's sighing, motioning for him to come inside. 

It's the first time he'd ever been inside Valentine's room, and he's surprised. One side of the room has been obviously decorated but barely touched, there were pictures on the walls and objects placed around the room. Valentine's side of the room looks much more lived in. It was obvious he'd been there for a while. 

Jake averts his eyes as Valentine clears his throat. "That was Aponi's side of the room." He said flatly, eyes gleaming with a look that showed that the topic was still a too-fresh wound. 

"Who's that?" Jake asked, shifting in his wheelchair. The name registered slightly, he'd heard Valentine and Grace mention it from time to time when they thought he wasn't listening. 

"She's my best friend," Valentine started, pulling a drawer open and picking up a stack of photos, handing it to Jake. "We met on the ship after we'd went through the cryogenic sleep." He explained as Jake went through the photos, stopping on a photo that contained Aponi's Avatar body next to Neytiri and Tsu'tey, surprised to see the man smiling. 

"You weren't the first person to be trained by the Omatikaya." Valentine spoke, interrupting Jake's thoughts. That got his attention quickly, and he rolled closer to Valentine with furrowed brows. "Neytiri had saw a... sign, of some sort. Or at least that's what Aponi had told me. She took her back to the Home Tree and was told that she would become a warrior; trained by Tsu'tey." He went on, smiling softly.  "Tsu'tey was like her brother, and she and Neytiri were stuck to each other at the hip." 

This interested Jake even more, especially after seeing the photo of the three together. "What happened to her?" He asked, and winced internally at the way Valentine's expression dropped. He'd struck a nerve. 

"There was an incident. Neytiri's sister had pissed off the RDA and in retaliation they shot up the school, and she died. Aponi nearly died, too, she was almost entirely covering Sylwanin and if she hadn't moved the rest inside, they would've died, too." Valentine said after a few moments of silence, shifting in his seat. His fingers tugged at a woven bracelet on his wrist, the beads on it clinking together quietly at the movement. Jake felt pity for the man. The way he spoke about the incident reminded him of his brother, Tommy. 

"They had to do a ritual that made Aponi's consciousness project into her Avatar body. Thankfully, it worked. But... the Tsahík didn't take lightly to what the RDA had did to her daughter, and cast Aponi out. She banned all humans from stepping foot on Na'vi territory again, and you know the rest." Valentine sighed, taking the photos from Jake's hand as he handed them back. 

"I had no idea. Neytiri didn't mention her." Jake said solemnly, watching Valentine with gentle eyes. 

The next words out of Valentine's mouth shocked Jake. "Of course she wouldn't. Aponi disappeared without a trace and never said goodbye. They were practically dating at that point." Jake hadn't realized Neytiri had feelings for women like that, but he shrugged it off. It wasn't any of his business, anyways. 

"Where is she now?" Jake asked, and startled slightly as Valentine got up and walked away. 

"She lives in the forest, with my mate, Ayeyma. We've been taking care of her for the past two years. If I can trust you, marine, I might just take you to meet her one day." Valentine said, shrugging on shoes and motioning for Jake to leave. "I have to go link up. They're both waiting for me." He said simply as Jake followed him, and he was left alone in the middle of the hallway as Valentine continued the trek to the link room.

He needed a drink. And maybe a bit of time to understand what was happening. 

The next day, when walking with Neytiri, he cleared his throat. She turned to look back at him with the same slightly annoyed expression she'd had since they met, the same one that made him a bit weak in the knees. "So..." He trailed off, speeding up a little to match her pace. "Who's Aponi?" He asked, and was startled at the practically murderous look Neytiri gave him.

"How do you know her name?" She hissed, pulling him off into the forest, away from prying eyes. Jake simply blinked, looking down at her. The grip on his forearm made him realize he hadn't replied. 

"Her friend, er, Valentine. He told me about her." He said quietly, watching a wounded expression flit across her face before she evened out, straightening her posture. 

"Come, we must train you." She said simply, turning away from him and walking back out of the forest to the training field, where two pa'li waited for her. Jake was fully invested in this mysterious Aponi person, and he figured Valentine would take him to meet her soon enough. 

In the meantime, he needed to focus on not busting his ass on the alien horse he was currently on top of. 

-

Neytiri lied awake in her hammock that night, replaying the question Jake had asked her over and over in her head. 

Having the past come back to haunt you in the way it was right now never sat well with her. She didn't know what to say, that skxawng was too curious for his own good. It didn't help that he was getting information from Valentine, either. 

Why was Valentine talking about Aponi now of all times? There had been radio silence on him since the day she found him and Jake in the forest, and even before that, his mate never mentioned anything about him or Aponi.

It was suspicious. Everything about the situation surrounding her disappearance, and now Jake's appearance, was suspicious. Neytiri's head swam with thoughts as she turned away from Jake, who had already fallen asleep. 

She knew she'd have to face her fears and accept the fact that Aponi was real, and not just a ghost, but she wanted this simple peace for a little longer. Jake helped mend the wound, however little that mending was. 

Her eyes closed and she dreamed of the river that her and Aponi once floated in, wet hands interlocked. In the corner of her vision, Jake was sitting on a rock, watching over the two with a fond smile. 

It was a scene she could get used to.