Towards Love

8.new body

Back with Lola's pov

Lola didn't sleep much that night. She stayed close to her avatar in the lab to make sure that everything was going good with her being pluged to a new safety machine. When the sun came out, she only had spelt for four hours. She was exhausted but at least, everything was good. The sun had been up for several hours when the lab door opened to let Neteaym in the room. He wasn't the first Lola would have expected to pay her a visit. "You don't look very good." Always with tact that one... "Thanks, haven't slept much." He sat beside her and put a bowl that she hadn't noticed before on her lap. "Here, you need to eat." That surprised her. "Huh ... thanks?"

"So, are you going to get her out of this thing today?"

"I would like to, yes. Norm is supposed to tell me if that's fine."

"Let's hope so. I'm in charge of teaching you how to be a Na'vi."

"What does that mean?" Lola knew exaclty what it meant. She was going to experience the daily life of the people she had always wanted to join. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't wait.

"That means ...I am going to be your teacher and you are going to be my student." Suddenly, a tension could be felt in the air. Neteyam was very close to Lola and they looked at each other like nothing else was arounf them. Neither of them understood what was happening but htey weirdly liked it.

The door of the lab opened again and Norm's voice was heard. "Hey guys. You're early!" Lola blushed looking away from Neteyam. "Hey Norm. I wanted to make sure that everything was okay with her." The man walked towards the capsule and observed the curves on the machine connected to the avatar. "Well, it's all good! You can take her out." Lola smile largely. "Wait outside young man. The body change can be disturbing at first." Neteyam nodded and stood up to leave.

Once it was only the two of them in th lab, Norm told Lola to help him empty the capsule and open it to place the avatar on a medical bed. He checked her again just to be sure before telling the young woman to lie down on the mat that could allow the transfer of mind from her human body to her avatar one. "Have you done this before" Norm was above Lola, preparing everything. "Twice. We didn't have many occasions at the base." the man pressed his lips together in disapproval. "Well, you could be disoriented at first. Keep lying down at first to let your brain adapt. Then we'll go slowly." She nodded. Norm started the machine and soon she was in complete dark. She felt her body getting numb like she was going away without it. Soon enough she blackout.

***

Machines sounds woke her up. They were very loud. Her hearing was sharper than usual. Her vision too. She could see small particules flying in the air. She felt something on her nose and when she went to touch it, she felt a mask on it. Of course, the air was not breathable for avatars in the lab. "Welcome back Lola." Norm was standing next to her smiling. "How are you feeling?" The young woman sit up. The ground was already way further than usual. She felt dizzy a little but nothing to be worried about. "Good I guess." Norm nodded. "Great! Now, try to stand up."

Lola observed her limbs. Her arms were long, her fingers thin. Her legs too. She was a Na'vi. She felt like crying out of joy. Standing up, She had to bend a little not to hit the ceiling. "Okay, now walk." She took a few steps. "Perfect! Now, go have fun." Norm was smiling at her. SHe smiled back and practically ran outside.

The sun dazzled her for a few seconds before she could spot Neteyam sitting on a rock a little further away from the lab. He hadn't seen her yet. She woalked gently towards him so he couldn't hear her. Positionning herself behind him, he jumped when she spoke. "So ... teacher. What are we starting with?" Her voice was deeper than her human one. She liked it. The boy turned around and looked at her, as if seeing her in her avatar form shocked him. He was detailing her face. "That's weird." Uncomfortable, the young woman cleared her throat. "Hmm. Neteyam? Shall we go?" Shaking his head, he got up quickly and mumbled. "Yes, of course. We are going to start by showing you the forest."

Now that she was under her avatar form, Lola was nearly as tall as the boy. Which felt kind of weird. She was used to looking at him from below. Now she could observe him closely. And he was beautiful. His face was harmonious, his lighter stripes making his yellow eyes stand out. His braided hair moved along when he walked. Lola liked that.

As they walked towards the edge of the village to go to the forest, Neteyam tried to make conversation. "How do you feel in your new body?" Lola smiled a bit. "Great actually. I like being your size. Makes more sense. It's like I been waiting for this my whole life." The boy smiled as well.

"To go to the forest, we're going to walk on the branches and get down as we go along alright? You need to keep your balance. Trust your instinct." Neteyam put a hand on Lola's heart to illustrate. They looked into each others eyes, the same strange feeling felt earlier invading them again. "Your feet know the ground, how they are supposed to move. You won't fall, your body is made for this." Smiling again, the young Na'vi jumped on the nearest branch and started to run. "Hey, wait up!" Lola took a deep breath and took her turn to keep up with the boy.

Author's note
Hold onto it, the next chapter will show a big Lola x Neteyam moment :)
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