Towards Love

3.saved?

Lola got down from her tree after making sure that no animal was to be seen around. She didn't want to make a bad encounter. This was clearly not the time.
Walking through the forest, she tried to recognize something she could eat. Yes she had a cereal bar but she wanted to keep it in case of emergency. Yes, t he young woman was hungry but she thought that she could hold on to what she had eaten the day before for a bit longer. And she had a little bit of water left.

Lola was not going to be picky, any fruit or berries would be amazing. Stopping at a small watering hole, she saw a bush covered with black berries. "Could they be blueberries?" She walked over to get a closer look at them. Could she try to eat them? On Earth, her parents had always told her on walks in the mountains, not to eat if she wasn't 100% sure what it was. But now she was on a different planet. How could she be 100% sure that what she had in her hands was edible?

"Shit, I'm fucking hungry."

She picked one and as she was going to put it in her mouth, a cracking of a branch was heard. She froze. It could be anything. Or anyone. Lola didn't want to turn around. Maybe if she didn't move, it would not see her. Maybe it was not after her and it was only an animal passing by. "Please be an animal passing by."

She turned around slowly. Only to come face to face with a blue creature staring at her. A Na'vi. Although she looked young, she was about Lola's size. Her hair was done up in a multitude of braids swinging on her head. Her large yellow eyes stared at her curiously. "You shouldn't eat this, it is poisonous." She had spoken a perfect English, as if it was her mother tongue.
Lola was in shock. It was the first time that she got to see a real Na'vi. Yes, she had her own avatar and she spent time with those of her colleagues but it wasn't the same. This little girl was the reason why she came to Pandora. She had dreamed about meeting them. Talking to them. And here she was, face to face with her. The girl not even afraid of her after all the horrible things humans did to her people.

"Did you hear me?" she asked again as the young woman was still not moving, the berry still in her hand. Regaining her composure, Lola let go of the berrie realizing that she could have had a very bad experience eating it. "You... speak English?" she asked to the girl still in shock. She was certain that only a few Na'vi spoke her language. And definitely not the smaller ones. Surprised by this question, the young Na'vi burst into a childish laugh. "Of course I speak English!" As she continued to laugh, a male voice was heard coming from the foliage behind the girl.

"Tuk! Who are you talking t... What the fuck Tuk get back!"

A much bigger Na'vi (although he looked like he could be Loala's age) had come out behind the girl. Deep blue like her, his hair was also in braids, but longer. They both had slim and trim figures. Lola asked herself if they were siblings.

A look of fear could be read on his face as soon as he laid eyes on Lola. He pulled the little Na'vi behind him, grabbed the bow on his back and pointed an arrow at the young woman. Lola widdened her eyes, fear rushing through her body. She couldn't move. He seemed ready to shoot at the slightest movement she might make, anger replacing the fear he could have felt before. "I..." Lola couldn't seem to be able to talk either. Was it the way she was going to die? From the hands of someone she had been so eager to meet for so long so afraid of her that he wasn't going to wait for an explaination?

"Neteyam no!" Tuk was trying to stop him as he was ready to let the arrow pierce the body of the human. "Tuk stay behind, sky people are no good and you know that. How many of you are there?" His voice was strong, authoritarian, as if he was used to be listened to. The tension was palpable between them. Him waiting for and answer and her trying to calm down in order to speak. "How. Many." He was loosing patience, Lola knew it. Breathing deeply, she concentrated on words. "I ... I am alone. I promise." His body tensed even more. "Liar!" He was clearly getting angrier. "No, no I swear! I am alone. I ... I left the base." Lola had her hands over her head as a sign of surrender. She didn't want him interpreting her moves wrong.

"She looked like she was hungry. She was going to try the berries."
"Thank you Tuk."

"Why would she be hungry? Sky people have plenty of food."

"As, I said, I left. I ... escaped?" Lola wasn't sure about the word but it pretty much felt like the right one at the moment.

"You escaped?" Neteyam tilted his head aside not sure to understand, although he kept his arrow pointed at her.

"I wasn't feeling align with the goal of my people regarding this planet."
"What the fuck am I saying??"

After a moment of silence, not expecting this answer apparently, Neteyam burst out laughing. This wasn't supposed to be funny. And apparently Tuk thought the same because she was giving the Na'vi an annoyed look.

"Why are you laughing?" Lola felt offended.

"If you're here, you must be pretty much aware of the intentions of the sky people regarding us and our planet."

"Well maybe the sold us a completely different story back on Earth."

Thinking about this possibility, the boy lowered a tad bit his bow. "What did they tell you then, soldier." Soldier? Why soldier? Lola was the furthest thing that existed from a soldier. She studied the civilizations, kept their memories alive, learned their customs. The soldiers, at least those on Pandora, followed orders that led this civilization to its extermination. "I'm not ... I'm not a soldier. I am an anthropologist. I am here because I want to get to know you and your planet. I don't use weapons against you. They told us that we would be part of a mission to find a refuge planet. Our planet, the planet Earth, is dying. We had to come here to learn to live with you, to adapt and maybe create a colony one day. A peaceful colony. I was supposed to stay at the base not knowing what they are actually doing. This is why I left. I ... I don't want to harm you. I don't have any weapons. Like Tuk said, I am hungry. I left without anything."

Neteyam was clearly thinking about whether or not he could believe her. This story felt like this girl was living in a fantasy world were everyone was nice and happy. What did she think? Everything is the same whatever the planet. People want power over others and will use anything in their favor to do so. "Why would I trust you?" He found it difficult to trust the sky people. Especially since the last time he had dealt with them at the Metkayina's. They had spread nothing but violence, pain and destruction.

"Listen" Lola felt suddenly very exhausted. "You can search me if you want, I don't have anything on me. No tracker, no communication device, no weapon. I am just lost and hungry. If you could just help me find something to eat I will go my own way and you will never see me ag..." The young woman wasn't able to finish her sentence. She suddenly started to feel dizzy. Her vision was blurry and her legs could't support her. "What the fuck is happening?" She wouldn't have time to look for an answer as everything became dark.

Author's note
Tuk to the rescue :) what do you think about her? Vote and comment to let me know!