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WAR. It's the first word Nadia remembers learning in the lab. It's been surrounding her since before she was even thought of. It killed her parents, and it left her and her brother to become orphans. It's killed a lot more people than she could account for, and it continues to do so to this day. Her greatest fear has been her only upbringing. Even in the silence, Nadia swears she can hear screaming. Norm and Max were more than welcoming when it came to the two, even on the days they were insufferable. Spider was born first only by a handful of minutes, but he'll be damned if he ever lets her forget it. Max and Norm may have been good with lab work, but they never understood how the two of them got along. It was like raising an angel and a demon under the same roof; only the angel and the demon have a pact, this roof was a literal metal box keeping them alive, and it contained highly dangerous machinery.
"Is it on yet?" Nadia asks for what seems like the hundredth time.
"If you shut up, I could do it faster." Spider clicks on her mask, double-checking that it's tightly secured.
Spider secures his own before the two of them bolt out of the ship. It was their favorite part of the day. Getting outside and finally getting to go to the village. At first, Nadia wasn't sure the Na'vi would accept them, some still don't. Spider paid no mind to it, but Nadia noticed the constant stares they received from other Na'vi children, and even adults. To help them feel more adapted, Spider has grown his hair in Na'vi-style braids and even painted his body with Spartan fruit dye to mimic the Na'vi's body stripes. Nadia has a few markings of her own, but she wouldn't allow anyone to touch her hair, no matter how many times Kiri has asked.
"Guys, take your spare?!"
"We're just going to the village!" Spider calls back, having no intention of stopping now that he's already making his way.
"Be back by dinner!" Nadia shouts, making sure not to fog up the inside of her helmet in the process.
They follow their usual path, excited to greet their friends. The very few of the Na'vi that could stand being around them. Jake and Neytiri's children befriended them almost immediately; they were inseparable. Nadia places the soles of her feet against the tree bark, starting her climb up to the highest branch. She couldn't stop herself from being curious. Each branch gives her more of a view and more of a reason to climb higher. As she gets to the third branch, she watches Neteyam grab ahold of her brother's ankle, tugging him back into the water as a playful gesture of war. Kiri backs her brother, making sure to pick on the human boy.
Spider catches Lo'ak by surprise and grabs hold of his tail. Lo'ak feels the uncomfortable yank, eliciting a hiss from him. It takes another minute before Lo'ak notices a lack of people, causing him to tilt his head back and search for her in the trees. His ears twitched in various directions, trying to obtain her exact location. The search for her doesn't take long when he feels something hit him in the nose. A pinecone to be exact. His golden eyes flick to her blue ones as he growls from his chest. Amusement is written all over Nadia's face; her cheeks pull back and she allows her head fall back into her own laughter. Lo'ak continues to pout, jumping onto the tree and pulling himself up carelessly.
