Wildflower

9

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The next day, Vezo is in the air again. Liza joins him, and they fly for a while, until Vezo lands and they talk. This becomes routine-- Liza goes for a "walk" at school, they fly, land, and do. Sometimes they talk, Vezo always centering the conversation around Liza, and sometimes they do something else. They play games, hunt, fish, swim. Swimming with Vezo is Liza's favorite. He has always been stunning, but the graceful way he moves in the water is mesmerizing. Sometimes, her thoughts drift in a direction they're not meant to go-- how graceful he must be at other things, for example. When her mind wanders into that territory, he always seems to sense it, relishing the opportunity to embarrass her-- and Liza would be embarrassed, except she can tell he thinks similarly about her. Slowly, they warm up to each other, and being with him becomes easier than being with herself.

She has refrained from mentioning that they met years ago, for many reasons. The first of which is that she's pretty sure he already remembers-- how else would he have known to call her Liza after he rescued her from the river? The second reason, though, is that he seems to be touchy about his past. Any time she tries to steer the conversation back to him, he clams up. She hasn't seen him around the village at all, and suspects he lives out here on his own, but she doesn't dare ask him about it. She figures that he'll tell her when he's ready.

They have, however, discussed the explosion. At length. Liza still has no idea what the RDA has planned, but that doesn't stop the pair from entertaining the possibilities. Making light of the situation with Vezo helps Liza to stomach the grim truth-- that Neytiri was definitely right about an upcoming conflict. Talking about it with Vezo, like talking about most things with him, made it feel a whole lot easier-- like maybe she could get through it.

But today, there was something new.

Something that told Liza that her time frame with Vezo would soon shrink.

"This is Famuk, Ka'nat, and Reyzu." Grace excitedly introduced Liza to three young Na'vi, who couldn't have been much older than nine. "They are our newest generation of students."

Liza's eyebrows raised. They must have been siblings, Famuk and Ka'nat boys, and Reyzu a girl. They all looked scared, even though Neytiri stood with them, holding Ka'nat's hand. "Hi, guys! Welcome!"

"Thanks." Reyzu said. Her serious little face scrunched up at Liza, staring boldly. Liza stiffened, feeling as if this little kid could find things wrong with her that she'd never even considered.

"We'll need you to be more... on hand, now." Grace said, almost apologetically. "You'll have to forgo your walks. Or at least shorten them, for now."

"What?" Liza asked, too immediately and a little shrill. She cleared her throat, shame burning as she noticed the kids take a step back.

"You're in high demand," Neytiri joked, but something in her tone made Liza pause. She looked at her best friend, for the first time realizing that she may feel abandoned. On top of that, she was pretty sure that her questions about Vezo had tipped her off as to what she may be doing on her "walks".

"Okay, I'll help." Liza said quickly. "Whatever you guys need."

"Thank you," said Grace. She smiled at the trio of Na'vi kids. "Let's go to the school!"

🌀🌀🌀

After a full day of teaching the English alphabet, Liza was finally released. She went to leave, but Neytiri caught up with her and grabbed her arm.