𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗦 - 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗺

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗫𝗜𝗜 ⸺ 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

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★ ┊ ★
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★

            AMRAË HAD ALMOST managed to convince herself that the harder she stared at the chip, the faster it would decrypt. But no matter how intensely she looked at it, those wiya numbers refused to bulge, obstinately maintaining themselves at fifty-two percent. The decryption rate had passed the half two days ago, the thought making Amraë's head spin. She could not fathom that the Sullys and her had arrived an entire month ago. Time flew by so fast, and yet she felt the decryption was running slower and slower every day. She sometimes thought about the human boy, Spider, who had been away from his home for so long now, suffering unimaginable tortures at the hands of the Sky People. Kiri thought about it too, and Amraë knew it: her mood grew darker every day, and Amraë heard her argue with Jake about it more than once. But the truth was, they could not do anything to save him without endangering the whole Metkayina clan. The only way was for the Sky People to find them. And even though there had not been any sign of them so far, Amraë was not fooling herself: they were looking for them. And sooner or later, they would find them.

A groan of frustration jerked her out of her thoughts. Neytiri stood at the entrance of the hut, hands planted on her hips.

"Rah! Enough with this sulking, child. Go make yourself useful."

Amraë had learned quickly not to argue with Neytiri. She reluctantly put the decryption machine back in its place of hiding than dragged herself to the exit, Neytiri shooing her out with dismissive motions of the hands: "Out, out, out."

This day was a free day for the children, as the entire village was taking things slower after the recent festivities. Amraë headed for the outskirts of the villages, where trees, sand and water mixed on small islands, thinking of resuming her explorations with Säsì. She was absently passing through the trees towards the shore, mentally picturing which side of the reef she had not discovered yet, when a blue silhouette made her stop abruptly. A Na'vi was sitting on a rock, his back turned on her, focused on something in his hands. Amraë recognized Neyetam immediately and made to turn back without even thinking. In her precipitation, a twig snapped under her foot. She froze in place.

"Is someone there?"

She swallowed a curse and slowly turned back as Neyetam searched the tree line.

You can't avoid him forever.

"Just me," she sighed, coming out of her hideout. Neteyam straightened instantly, which she did not know how to interpret. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

The corners of his mouth quirked up. "You're not. I was only adding beads to my songchord."

Amraë drew closer, taking a seat beside him as he handed her the chord. It was beautiful. Neteyam smiled as she worded her thoughts.