Avatar - Me and the Devil.

XIV

We rode out to the four winds. To the horse clans of the plain, to the ikran people of the mountains. When Toruk Makto called them, they came.

With a whoosh and the crack of mighty wings, Jake returns. Jake and Neytiri alight from his legendary mount. Around them hundreds of banshees are landing. A gathering of eagles.

From above we can see hundreds of Na'vi streaming down into the Well of Souls and many hundreds more camped in the forest above it. Direhorse riders are arriving along many trails. Banshee riders circle and swoop, darkening the sky above the grotto.

Jake, standing next to the Leonopteryx, watches his army gathering.

#

We gathered so many in just a few short days, it was fast and efficient. Jake convinced most of them. Others were convinced by Tsu'tey.

I take his hand and pull him away from his people for a moment, they didn't need him and if they did, they could just go to Neytiri or Jake. He looks at me with soft eyes humming to see what I whisked him away for,

"You need to relax," I softly coo, pushing him down by his shoulders forcing him to sit by the sacred tree off to the side where no one could see us. I sat behind him, my tail intertwining with his as I rub his arms from his biceps to where his shoulder met his neck.

He let out a breath of relief as he rolled his head back onto my shoulder, his tense body melting like putty in my fingertips. I press a kiss to his temple as he let himself release his high guard.

"Nga yawne lu oer." He mumbles out for the first time since our first mated night. I felt my heart squeeze with joy as I place my hands on his chest, feeling his heart race.

"I love you too," I whisper into his ear, making his ear twitch as he shivered. I pressed a soft kiss just below his earlobe. He turned his head towards me and lightly turned my head with his fingers.

He presses a kiss to my lips for the first time. He turns his body around his lips still attached to mine as he lifted me up by my hips, he sat back where I had been and pulled my body flush against his.

His tail wrapped around my waist as he pulled away from my lips looking up into my eyes with the soft gaze, I love oh so much.

"Beautiful." He mutters as he brushes his fingers against my cheekbones and down to my jawline, I give him a smile as my eyes squint with it. His thumb runs over my bottom lip as he smiles back at me.

"Why did you choose me?" I couldn't keep the question to myself any longer, the vast change from the first moment we met to that night. How loving he was, how soft he held me, how gentle he held my face. I wanted to know why me.

"You are strong, smart." He taps my temple with his finger,

"You do not give up. You have strong heart." His four fingered hand presses against my chest where my heart laid.

"You held love for our home, before it was yours. It was in your eyes, in your soul." He presses a finger into the middle of my chest gently before cupping my face again.

"You are beautiful, Nasrine."

I smile as I withhold my own tears, I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. His arms wrap around my waist holding me that way for a while.

#

"Jake it's crazy here. It's full mobilization. They're rigging the shuttle as a bomber. They've got these huge pallets of mine explosives. It's for some kind of shock-and-awe campaign." Max explains to us. I look at Jake chewing on my nail.

"Fucking daisycutters." Trudy mutters under her breath,

"Quaritch has taken over. He's rolling and theres no stopping him."

"When?" Jake asks,

"O' six hundred tomorrow. Max! Max! I gotta go." Max says as a woman started calling out his name, he covered the camera with his hand before hanging up.

I look at the signal lost screen before Norm shut it off.

"We're screwed." He declared slumping, Trudy laughed.

"And I was hoping for some sort of tactical plan that didn't involve martyrdom. We're going up against gunships with bows and arrows." Trudy sighs, setting her gun down on her lap.

"I have 15 clans out there. That's over 2000 warriors. Now, we know these mountains. We fly them, you fly them. They don't. Their instruments won't work up here. Missile track won't work. They'll have to fire line of sight. If they bring the fight to us, we have the home field advantage." Jake explains confidently.

"You know he's gonna commit that bomber straight into the well of souls."

"Yeah, I know."

I shake my head and sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "If they get to the well of souls Jake."

He looks up at me and nods, "I know."

"That's their direct like to Eywa, their ancestors—It'll destroy 'em." Norm explains, dryly shrugging,

"Then I guess we'd better stop him."

#

I approach Tsu'tey having trouble with my top piece. His eyes land on my struggling and he walks over, his fingers quickly untangle the vine like wiring.

I look up at him and smile. "Thanks."

He gives a nod and looks over to his group of warriors. "Is Jakesully ready?"

I nod and look over to the Tree of Souls. "Almost,"

He hums and places a hand on my back walking us forward out of sight from seeing Jake.

Hundreds of hunters from many clans prepare their weapons.Hunters paint the wings of their banshees like war ponies. Direhorses are painted and ornamented with totemic streamers.

The Na'vi paint and pierce themselves. Dance. Bathe in the smoke of cleansing herbs – Ritual Purification. Huge drums are beaten. A dark primeval energy. They're psyching themselves up for battle.

#

Squadrons of banshees darken the sky in waves, led by a single great leonopteryx. Jake sits astride his mount, flanked by Neytiri, Tsu'tey and I on our banshees.

He looks to Tsu'tey who raises his bow at Jake, He looks over to Neytiri and they nod. We bank left and hide on the walls waiting for them to fall into our trap.

I lift a hand and press it to my neck, clicking the radio.

"Almost there." I tell Jake when I see a fighter pilot. I hold up my gun as I keep a firm grasp on Lavender with my legs.

"Brother I'm gonna punch a hole. Will you follow me through?" Jake asks over his radio, Tsu'tey looks at him and agrees to follow in Na'vi.

I break away from Tsu'tey and go flying above Jake as I crouch on Lavender's back, bow slung over my shoulder as I grasp my gun tightly.

Jake rushes straight down, screaming a war cry as he leads the charge and scores of banshees' slam into the gunships and Samsons like falcons hitting fat turkeys. The air battle is joined.

Jake's great leonopteryx flares into its signature crimson X shape just before it knocks a Scorpion tumbling. It coils around the gunship, slashing furiously as they spin together. Jake can barely hang onto the gyrating creature.

The pilot of the Scorpion sees nothing but jaws slamming into his canopy. Jake releases the gunship, and it careens into a Cliff, tearing off one rotor -- then plummets into the trees.

There is a satisfying Fireball.

Scorpions fall out of formation to pursue individual banshee riders, firing cannons and rockets.