Heart & Soul - An Avatar Fanfiction

↞ Her ↠

"You know I've missed you, it's almost been two years."

Jake and Rune had finished their meals not long ago, having sat nervously idle, softly speaking to each other as they waited for Neytiri to finish her own meal and conversations. 
Eventually, the woman finished and turned to them, telling them to follow her.

By this time at night, most of the clan had left the communal area to return to their duties, or to go bed. There were few remaining there, the Tsa'hik and Olo'etykan staying to chat softly with Tsu'tey about business that slipped past Rune's ears.
Others huddled around the dying fires, some children leaning into their parents laps eagerly, listening to them tell stories or refusing to go to bed, despite the time of the evening.

"Come," Neytiri hissed at them, "I take you to the beds."

Rune obliged and slapped Jakes arm, indicating for him to follow after her. Jake got up, brushing the leaves off of his legs and followed Rune, before moving beside Neytiri.
The Na'vi spared a glance at them as they left, some discreetly, some rather obviously, before turning around to gossip about the new comers.
Rune continued to take mental notes in her head about everything she was seeing, tonight had been a total information overload.

"Hurry!" Neytiri grabbed Rune's arm, "Seriously, you are still a leave-behind after all these years, I am faster than you."

Rune laughed at her.
As she left, she turned around and gazed at Mo'at and Eytukan, before nodding at them respectfully, bringing two fingers to her forehead. I see you.
They looked at her for a moment, possibly in disdain, but they gave a small, barely noticeable nod back. It was something, it was progress. 
Maybe one day she'd earn their respect and trust back.
And that excited her.

She then quickly followed after Jake and Neytiri, tail flicking erratically, despite trying to hide it on her face.

---{--o--}---

Neytiri had lead them up a spiralling set of stairs in the centre of the tree, before it ended on a large platform. They then climbed up sets of branches, Rune grabbing Jakes wrists at several points to stop the unbalanced man from falling off. She, herself, managed to leap and pull herself onto the branches with some ease, not grace, but some ease, Neytiri having to grab her by the waist at one point as she almost careened over the front of a branch.
But they eventually got to the sleeping platform on the opposing side of the tree, it was full of bioluminescence. Beautiful.

"We sleep here," Neytiri said, spreading out an arm to indicate to the area, "Just across these branches."

Rune looked around in awe at the sleeping space of the Omatikaya. It only took up a small part of the colossus tree, and was able to fit the over one-thousand members of the clan. There were woven awnings surrounding the area, strung up at many places to provide shade from the morning sun for the sleeping clan. They were decorated beautifully, with brown and white fibre making contrasting patterns and images of Pandoran creatures and plants. Totems were placed near the entrance of the area, symbols and creatures carved expertly from wood and bone. Mesh hammocks of all shapes and sizes were suspended from the tree at different levels, some were big enough for two people, some were big enough for one, some carried whole families and were woven differently. Plant lights grew from the tree, and glowfly filled pitchers were strategically hung from vines.
The myriad of Na'vi below in the half-dark created a night sky of stars with their marks, meshing together as they moved around netting and branches, settling in for the night, laying with their loved ones or families. There was no status with where each Na'vi slept, no net was bigger or better than any other, only the family nets were bigger.
It was something that Rune noted in the whole clan.
No member was better off or higher than the other, only the leaders were, but even their positions were equal with their brothers and sisters. Everyone had what the needed, nothing more. The only greed amongst them were in children having pitiful fights over sharing toys or who got the most attention from their parents.
It was..... refreshing. Refreshing from the greed of humans back on Earth.