Still Breathing

Chapter 8. Say Yes to Eywa

TW: Mentions of abuse and drug use

"If you go I'll stay, if you come back I'll be right here." ~ Lana Del Rey

Erica had been spending all of her time with her new family. She'd eat with them, her Avatar body would sleep with them, she spent all her free time with them. She couldn't believe she'd spent that last 18 years of her life without them.

Of course, things weren't always perfect. Erica argued with her siblings just like everyone else. Especially her and Lo'ak, mainly because the two of them were so similar. Neytiri was also fairly welcoming to Erica. She'd make sure that Erica ate, and would make sure she was comfortable before she slept.

Then there was Mo'at, the Tsahik of the Omatikaya people, and the grandmother of her siblings. When Mo'at first met Erica she was excited about having another grandchild (even though she wasn't biologically hers). Mo'at was very welcoming to Erica.

Erica finally had the family that she'd been wanting her whole life. And a part of her kept waiting for herself to wake up back in her room on Earth. But Pandora was her home now, and she never wanted to leave.

"Yo, Erica!" She whipped her head around to face Lo'ak who had come inside the bunker. Erica decided to take the day to give her human body a rest and take care of herself. She smiled up at her little brother who was currently towering over her.

"What's up baby bro." She'd grown to giving each of her siblings a nickname and that was Lo'ak's, much to his dismay.

"You know I could step on your right now." Lo'ak reminded Erica as he rolled his eyes at Erica's nickname. She just smiled before sticking her tongue out at him. She stood up from where she was sitting, looking up at Lo'ak.

"What's up?" She asked, wondering why Lo'ak was looking for her. Not that she minded, she loved spending time with her siblings. So much so that they got tired of her.

"Dad called a family meeting." He said with a shrug. Erica rolled her eyes and sighed. She loved her dad, she really did, but she swore that man called a family meeting over everything.

"Alright. Let me get in my Avatar and I'll be right out." Lo'ak nodded, making his way out of the bunker while Erica made her way towards her link.

"Hey, Norm." She waved to the man who smiled at her.

"Erica! I thought you were giving yourself a rest." Norm spoke, sounding confused as Erica began to set up her link. She made sure that the machine was calibrated before opening it and sitting down.

"Welp, dad called a family meeting." Erica said, grunting as she pulled the metal skeleton over her body. Norm made his way over to her link, pushing a few buttons.

"Well good luck." He pushed one final button as Erica's link closed. She shut her eyes and allowed herself transfer her consciousness into her Avatar body.

-

Erica blinked a few times, feeling twitching at the sides of her head as the noise slowly started to sink in. She sat up, yawning and stretching as she looked around, trying to get her bearings. Erica was about to step out of the tent and make her way over to where her family was sitting but she froze as she listened to them talking.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jake asked in a whisper, sounding genuinely concerned.

"We're just going to ask her, it's not like she has to say yes." Neytiri responded. Whatever the two of them were talking about, Jake seemed a little bit scared. And it had something to do with Erica, which made her nervous.