Dreamwalker of the Eastern Sea

|"Tell your goons to lighten up and I'll tell you." |

English

Na'vi

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Jake heard it before he saw it. The commotion at the base of hometree sent him back several weeks ago to the disaster between his advisor and good friend. But now, as he hurried down the steps with Neytiri following close behind- it seemed far different than that day. Being dragged within the throngs of the clan by that days hunting party was a struggling body who hissed, cursed and flopped around like a fish out of water. Neytiri placed a hand on Jake's shoulder as both came to stop at the elevated platform at the bottom of the stairs, her eye's widening at the figure who was pushed to their knees just below them. The hunters relented none of the strength they possessed as they gripped the wide straps of the newcomers tank top in a strong hold.

"Jake-"

"I know." Looking down, the figure who was a woman on closer inspection glared openly towards the former marine. "Who are you?" Jake stepped closer to edge of the platform with a stern expression- one befitting of an Olo'eyktan. The woman looked up before bursting at the seams with laughter. The hunters holding her shifted their knives to lay threateningly against her neck. "I will not ask again- who are you and why are you here?"

"Tell your goons to lighten up and I'll tell you." Jake narrowed his eyes, as much as he would like to keep her restrained just like that- he needed answers and she was not willing to give them with two knives held at her throat. "Put away your weapons- she wants to speak." The hunters shared a wary glance before slowly withdrawing their knives. The woman rubbed at her neck with a grumble and Jake's patience wore thin. "They have backed off- now answer my-"

"Are you serious? It was only been, what- almost a month and you've already forgotten who I am? Or better yet, who risked their life to assist you in taking down the RDA!" Trudy threw her hands up, the hunters that stood behind her simultaneously reaching for their knives again. "To save the natives, to protect the natives, to help betray our own people for the likes of another!" Jake's eyes widened, and then did it click.

"Trudy?" She laughed.

"The one and only, baby."

"You died- in the crash. Your 'copter was burnt to complete ash with no trace of your body to be found."

"Oh it burned alright, same goes for most of my body. But I managed to crawl away in time before the engine exploded. From then on- I did everything in my power to survive." Trudy knew she shouldn't feel scorned for being deemed dead but the fact that the jarhead hadn't even looked to see if she had some slight chance of making it angered her. "That body-"

"Yeah, looks just like yours don't it? That's cause it is. You see, the RDA did some pretty fucked up shit in the shadows while you and the others frolicked around like Pocahontas outside of Hell's Gate." Trudy placed her hands on her hips with a sour frown. Jake couldn't believe it, but it was her. Her voice, her attitude, her sarcasm- Trudy was alive. "Come with me." The man turned just as Neytiri caught him by the bicep. "What does this mean? Think of the people- is she truly to be trusted?" Jake brought a hand to rest gently on her cheek, the pad of his thumb stroking the smooth skin earning a shy smile from his mate. "I will handle this- do not worry." But that was easier said than done as he gestured for the dream walker to follow him. The huntress watched as both disappeared up the stairs with Max in tow (after being motioned to come along by Jake).

"You are worried, my daughter." Neytiri reached out towards Mo'at who came to stand beside her child. "I am always worried when it comes to the sake of our people."

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Norm was frozen in place. The last thing he expected when him and his mentor came strolling into the hearth of hometree, laugher peeling past their lips was the sight and sound of his past lover. Even now from where he stood as the clan dispersed warily- he could not find himself strong enough to move. And that worried Velia. "Are you okay, Norm?" The former anthropologist turned his attention to his teacher who looked at him with a slight incline of her eyebrow ridges. Not even taking into account of how taboo this was especially between a student and teacher but Norm didn't care as he grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her along with him till they were out of kelutral and standing in the now deserted archery range. Velia peered down at their intertwined hands and found a very foreign flutter travel from her toes to her scalp.

Norm finally let go of her hand with a nervous cough and a rub to the back of his neck yet he still didn't speak or explain his sudden change in attitude. "What is it, Norm? What is troubling you?" Sighing, the man dropped his hand to his side. "Before I came here- my life before this one, I had met this woman. She was strong, fearless, and confident. She took nothing from no one and I found myself attracted to her- to her personality and the way she carried herself. Of course, she was nice on the eyes but I didn't care much for that. I had fallen for her- and hard. We- uh- we mated- became a pair..." Velia felt her stomach churn. What were these feelings, these stirrings that turned cold at the mention of his mate. She didn't want to listen anymore but he continued and she didn't have the heart to stop him. "At that time, it seemed everything was good. I had found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and nothing would change that. Well- at least that was what I had thought at the time. But everything changed one day and I knew when she was falling from the sky in heap of fire with her last words being, 'I am sorry Norm'- I knew that the life, the woman and the dream I had wanted was gone."

Norm had adverted his gaze from the dirt floor to the sunset sky before shifting it to fall upon Velia. Her usually wide eyes had fallen ever so slightly and he hated the look upon her face. The man didn't want to see his teacher saddened but rather smiling like she always did when she saw him. "The woman- was that her?" He didn't have to be told who she was referring to, merely nodding in confirmation. "Her name is Trudy. I once looked at her- looked at her the way I- " Norm heard it before he felt it, his heart pumping loudly within his ears. His eyes peered into the depths of the female warrior before him, looking past her beauty, past her very being and into her soul. The moment was there, where time seemed to stop and nothing mattered more than the sudden rush of uncontrollable adulation.

Until the blood curdling scream sounded around the forest- the moment was broken as well as the lives of the clan.

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Here with an early update, cause why not?

Ohoho, wonder what has happened. Do any of my wonderful readers have an inkling of who might come up deceased in the next chapter? The unlucky soul who has befallen to tragedy will change the course of several lives... I wonder who it could be?

Vote and comment to your hearts content ❤