~.* Bonded for Life *.~

.* 2 *.

Jake and I were completely exhausted at this point, slugging around with wary eyes. Jake had dirt and some blood from his small nosebleed stained on his top, and I was simply covered in grass-like stains from falling into the tree that saved me from danger.

 "We need to make a fire..." I turned to see the tall avatar holding a branch the size of an average human. He was scraping at the end to make the end sharp like a spear, and with that, he had began placing some waxy liquid on the end.

I knew that my mom would have been searching for us, but I knew the protocols. They wouldn't be allowed to stay out at night, especially since the human body needed to rest. Mom would likely be worried sick, demanding they have people search for me.

 "Jake, I don't think we really need one, it's not too cold, and..." before I was able to finish my sentence, he had already set it alight and was looking for the next thing to do. I walked up to him and let myself warm up against this weapon. It may not have been cold, but it wasn't warm either.

"They should be looking for us right?" Jake crouched to the ground, feeling the soreness from running on adrenaline.

 "I don't think so... strict protocols have it so no one is supposed to fly around after the sun goes down, and avatars aren't even supposed to be out here." I squat next to him, placing a hand gently on his arm. He looked at me with a lost expression. "We are going to have to survive the night."

He sighed, but not before his ears, along with mine, twitched to a sound around us. I immediately became defensive, while Jake held out his giant torch, ready to swing it at anything came up with a threat. I had to admit, for someone who didn't understand his environment, he was doing well.

Then we heard them, the sound that reminded me of hyenas laughing as they run around. I pulled Jake to my back so we could be each other's eyes.

"Jake... Viperwolves..." The nantang were very clever, could climb trees, and had dark shiny skin that was only visible thanks to Jake's make-shift torch. "Look up and down... they can climb trees... I've got your back." I say, pulling out a very pathetic knife that while could do some damage, was nothing compared to the marine's spear lit with a bright flame.

They crawled after us in one direction, all seemingly from Jake's line of vision. I kept a look of where we were going, and Jake had all of his attention on the small predators sneaking our way.

If I wasn't in danger yet again, I would have taken the time to appreciate what I was seeing today. The nantang had six legs, with opposable thumbs, this shiny skin that stopped right by the paws of the 'pandoran-hyena' and these bright green eyes that reflected green like the Na'vi did.

We quickened our pace to try and get more distance, but as expected, these creatures had very quick legs that were only heightened by being hexapodal. Our breath and voices showed that we were getting scared, but Jake still had an aggression in his eyes that burned with a determination to survive.

"I don't have all goddamn night..." The venom in his voice was intense, a rasp from the yelling he had done earlier when he taunted the 'angstìk. I began to act more frantic, while still preparing myself to attack the nantang that where almost multiplying as they came into the light of Jake's torch.

Then a nantang pounced. Jake swung with a force that sent the creature whimpering and many meters away, while I was using my legs and knife to swipe at anything that got too close. Jake was making progress as he was able to use his skills to keep them away, but I has started to lose the upper-hand as one pounced onto my side and knocked me.

"Y/n!" Jake yelled before we heard the swoosh of an arrow."

A Na'vi woman began to shoot at the creatures, with an elegance that me and Jake lacked. She let out war cries and even a simple tumble resulted with her gaining the upper hand. Her movements so fast that I didn't even catch a glimpse of her face or expression, but knowing the culture, we would be in trouble for causing such sadness in the balance of life.