Reborn - Pandora's Box (Book 2) AU

-.-Caught-.-

Dive!

Augustine responded to her command immediately - it seemed they still shared a bond even when she was not in her Na'vi body, which only made sense she supposed.

Everyone was so distracted by the bonding process occurring messily before them that it was almost perfect.

Almost.

Great Mother give me strength! And she prayed not only to the Great Mother, but to any and all gods anywhere that may be listening. Give me strength, oh please, please give me strength!

Spider was hovering at the back of the squad crowd, scanning the skies, pretending to watch all the Ikrans swirling about above them with wonder, but really just watching for one. Then he heard Nix's whistle, one he knew all too well, one just for her kids, which drew him instantly to the cliffside, right to the edge. There she and Augustine hovered. He jumped onto the majestic beast's back behind her and then, just like that, they were off.

Colonel Quaritch was watching his squad attempt the current task with amusement. Everyone was being about as graceful with it as he had been. But they were being successful, no matter how messy it was to get there, and that was the important part. That was the goal of the mission at hand, and like any other mission this squad had done together, they seized it with both hands and got right into it, refusing to let go.

Nearby, Cupcake was squawking away and it was really starting to get on his nerves. "Keep this up, I'll be back," he ordered Wainfleet, and approached his new beast - his new, loud beast. "Hey Cupcake, what is it, girl?"

She squawked some more. She seemed agitated, unsettled. A quick scan of the area told him that the kid was no longer in sight. That was too suspicious for his liking.

And not only that, but Nix's beast was no longer there either, and neither was Nix herself.

Too suspicious? Damn right.

He didn't know how to calm Cupcake down - and shut her up for that matter - and so he connected the bond, thinking maybe he could transfer some of his calmness to her - if that was even how this shit worked, he didn't know. It was pretty fascinating, whatever it was. Crazy, that was for damn sure, but fascinating too. Even he couldn't deny that.

When he did connect the bond his mind was suddenly filled with images - memories - right from Cupcake herself. Jesus, she was sharing them with him, showing him what she had seen.

What she had just seen, just witnessed, it soon became clear, and strikingly so.

Nix talking with Spider. Then Nix jumping on the back of her beast and flying away - how she was able to do all this and accomplish it without the long, freaky braid thing, he didn't know, because as far as he could tell from her lectures, the annoying appendage was essential for this kind of thing. But she was doing it all right. Then there was just Spider, lingering for a few moments before approaching the cliff's edge and jumping off - off and onto the back of Nix's beast with her.

No damn way - they were trying to escape. And so far were succeeding.

But not for long. Not if he had anything to do about it, which he damn well did.

He patted Cupcake's neck. "Good girl." Then he hopped up onto her back and together they dove off the mountain, not wasting another moment.

His Nix was smart - he could see her thought process. It was chaotic up here, the squad was distracted, the perfect cover.

Nice one, Sweetheart. Good try. But he would be damned if he would let her abandon him again like before, without a second thought. He wasn't letting her go, and certainly not that easily.

Meanwhile, Nix, Spider, and Augustine were making their way away from the nest - albeit slowly.

"This isn't working," Spider cried.

Yes, the lack of bond was indeed making it difficult. "We'll make it work! Just hang on!" She was determined.

Suddenly, their path was cut off by another Ikran. Nix almost slid right off Augustine's back in fright.

Cupcake floated in front of them, wings outstretched to their full span, a very pissed Q on her back peering at them. He said nothing, but he didn't need to - the scathing glare said it all.

Cupcake roared in Augustine's face, he roaring back. Then she dove again, Augustine following.

"No, no, no-" But without the bond, the true bond, queue and all, Nix couldn't direct him. All they could do was cling to Augustine as he followed Cupcake back to the heart of the nest. The squad noticed them right away.

"Colonel, what's going on?" questioned Wainfleet.

Q slid off Cupcake's back. "Nothing. All's been sorted."

What was he doing? Surely he wouldn't give up the opportunity to gloat.

But he said no more about it. "As you were," he ordered them. The squad hesitated. "I said, as you were!"

They scrambled back to what they had been doing, some mumbling a "Yes, Sir."

With that, he turned and fixed mother and son with a glare but said nothing. She pulled Spider closer and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, protective. Neither were going to let anything happen to the other, or let each other go.

As for Q, he just stood there, glaring at them. What was he doing? Not causing a huge stink about it like she had been expecting. But she couldn't tell yet if his more mild reaction was good or bad, better or worse. Only time would tell, it seemed.

It took the whole damn day, again, some with more close calls than others, but maybe not as close a call as her literally falling off the side of the cliff. It took a long time, but soon everyone had a Ikran of their own that they had bonded with. Oh, goody.

Nix walked over and grabbed Q's wrist to take a glance at his watch. "It'll be dark soon." Not that she couldn't tell due to the current location of the sun, but just because she wanted to annoy him.

He looked down at his watch too and confirmed the same.  "Yeah. Thank god this mess is over. Best wrap up and find a place for camp. Come on, you and the kid can ride with me." Again.

"Of course."

He fixed her with a look. "You think I'll be letting you out of my sight again, especially after that stunt you pulled? You have no idea."

(I've finally figured out the next little bit of this story! Whew, took me long enough! I've decided we'll be poking into Nix and Q's past some more in this book, which I'm very excited for, to say the least, so stay tuned! ;) Besides, I'd better get on it too, as December and 'Fire & Ash' aren't all that far away!

As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))