pandora (jake sully x reader)

learning

inside the science pods up in the mountains. 

Jake has just switched on the camera. He looks tired. "Do I have to do this? I need some rack"

grace walks up behind him, she looks up from her microscope, scowling. "No -- now, when it's fresh."

"Yeah, yeah." jake grumbles looking at the camera "The days are starting to blur together. The language is a bitch, but I figure it's like field-stripping a weapon. Repetition."

jake and reze kneel together inside Hometree, up on reze's platform. reze touches her lips with her fingertips

"Seyri." jake speaks as reze touches her nose, her ears, her eyes in quick sequence. 

"Ontu, mikyun, nari."

reze nods, looking at jake, her eyes flicker out to the village, she can see her sister and Tsu'tey talking to each other. 

jake follows her gaze. 

"that your boyfriend or something" he asks. hoping that she says no. 

"he was supposed to be" reze hums, picking at the bracelets around her wrists, jake's heart sinks slightly. 

"but i didn't want that, i was supposed to take my mothers role of tsahik, but im not cut out for that" 

"then what do you do?" jake asks, Reze's eyes widen slightly. 

"im a warrior, i fight, and hunt" reze explains. "i find that im better at fighting, than caring for people, my sister is better at looking after the people" 

-----------

reze stands next to him, correcting his position as he draws a longbow. snapping commands, she smacks him on the shoulder, then the elbow, repositioning him roughly. 

"reze thinks I'm some kind of retard. but im growing on her, i can tell by her eyes" 

jake  runs over rocks, leaping onto a thick root, running on across the rough bark, following behind reze. she glances over her shoulder and turns back, grabbing onto a vine she uses it to swing over to another branch. 

jake stops and stares at her, she looks at him, "come on forest boy!" 

"My feet are getting tougher. I can run farther every day" 

reze leads him along a massive root, and soon they are running 30 meters above the ground. jake sprints with her through the trees, trying to keep up. She climbs and jumps with ease.

"I have to trust my body to know what to do. With reze it's learn fast or die." 

reze leaps off into the darkness below, falling, falling until -- She catches an enormous palm leaf and, gripping it, allows its droop to slow her fall. She lets go, plummeting, and catches another. 

jake follows in a leap of faith. from leaf to leaf, down and down in a dizzying kinetic rush. He drops down from the last leaf, landing next to reze on a game trail. 

He is exhilarated to still be alive. reze is also surprised that he followed and that he lived. reze lets out a small laugh and pokes his arm. "you survived" she speaks, jake nods and smiles, "i did!"

---------

"me and reze sweet-talked Mo'at into giving Norm and Grace a hall pass. Now Grace even makes me coffee before link every morning. "

reze stands next to jake, and one of his friends. 

"hi, im norm" the man speaks, he acts out the greeting, reze looks between jake and norm, before repeating the action.