I see you, Tsu'tey

Chapter 2

TIme doesn't exist in space like it did on earth, time moves differently up here. In cryo-sleep you don't age no matter how long you sleep and you never dream. Not that you'll realise that, it's only after you wake up that you notice the dreamless state you used to be in. Awa would know, she herself had woken up from the cryo-sleep only hours ago with a loud gasp and erratic breathing. 5 years of sleep affected the body even if it didn't age, there's a lingering feeling of exhaustion and weakness days afterwards. Her first steps on Pandora soil were shaky and she remember her hands shaking despite not being scared or nervous. She was too excited to be nervous, it was like a dream come true.

She thinks back to her time in the Avatar program schooling, the countless hours she spent learning the customs, languages and traditions of the native people. She's always had an easy time learning languages but even this one proved some difficulty, she had the most struggles with the little clicks, similar to some African languages and the sounds similar to some european languages like german. It was easy enough once she learned some of the unfamiliar sounds and the general grammatical rules. She spoke fluent na'vi by the time she graduated. She held the record for most hours spent in a simulator, ever, even beating that of the legendary Grace Augustine. She spent most of her free time there, it got to a point that she skipped some of her other classes just so she could spend more time in her Avatar form. After a certain amount of time, she didn't know when, she started considering the Na'vi form her true form instead of the human body she was born into. Her psychologist insisted that she had to take a break from the simulation but Awa persisted, she didn't like being in her human form. All she could feel was like an itch that she couldn't scratch that only went away when she was in the simulator. She also had a bad record of getting into verbal fights with the RDA employes in and out of their classes. She disliked what they were preaching and showed it often untill she realised it was damaging her reputation and chances to graduate.

She was now sitting in the almost empty cafeteria, shoveling tasteless mush that she suspected was supposed to be mashed potatoes. 'It won't be the animals killing me, it will be this sad excuse for food', she thought to herself with a small happy grin. Not even the bad food could destroy her happy mood. She was on Pandora!

Just as she was putting a new spoonful of the mush a raspy voice spoke behind her. "Hello" It greeted, the voice sounded familiar to Awa but she couldn't put her finger on why. The rasp could only be caused by a smoking habit or age. The latter was not likely based on how the footsteps sounded.

She turned around, cheeks puffing out as she tried to swallow the food. "H-hello" She greeted back, stunned. It was Grace Augustine! Her idol was standing behind her, talking to her! She knew that the woman was on the base but she didn't expect to run into her any time soon. Especially not with a mouth full of gray mush. "It's so nice to meet you!" She sputtered out with wide eyes and a small blush on the apples of her cheeks.

"Oh please don't" Grace huffed out, not at all appreciating the fangirling from the younger woman. She was so over the praise and unconditional love that she received from so many, they didn't know her and therefore shouldn't sing her praises. She needed people with backbone or else they wouldn't survive the harsh planet that was Pandora. She hoped that this student, Awa, would prove to be different. She could see the potential Awa held, she just needed to make sure the girl came out of her shell. "I've heard so many great things about you"

Awa nodded, still stunned by the appearance of her idol. "I hope so, I've worked hard for this"

"I know" Grace responded, remembering the thick file that she had been given on the girl. The content had made her eyes widen, she had never seen a number that high on simulation and it wasn't often the students had as good grades as Awa did. It was truly impressive, but what really caught her eye was the incident reports on the young woman. At first she was sceptical if the girl before her was suitable but then she read on and saw that she had only been in fights with the RDA employes and she remember feeling a bit of pride in her chest. Awa would be a great addition, she thought to herself, and I bet the na'vi would love her. "I've read your files. How's your na'vi?"