Starting New

Hey guys! Thank you for the reviews. Moira, you have some great ideas for the story! However, I actually have this whole fanfic written already. It will be 21 chapters with lots of plot/action/suprises! I'm not posting it all at once, because I have to go through and proof read the chapters. But, you have a lot of good ideas. Maybe you should post a fic of your own with some of them! I would definatly read it! And onto the story:



Chapter 12



I woke up, the smell of a fire tickling my nostrils. I was still alive. That was the best news I could have hoped for all night. I was stiff from lying on the ground, but alive nonetheless. I glanced over to my right where Jake was still fast asleep, one arm casually flung around my waist. His breathing was still deep and it was clear that he wouldn’t be waking too soon. I turned over slightly and heard the snapping of the fire. Han sat on the rock and poked at the quickly made fire.



“You hungry, Norm?” He asked.



I stood up, noting that only the two of us were awake. Dierdy still slept peacefully on the other side of the fire, close to Han.



“Starving.”



He nodded and gave me a wicker type of plate with some type of meat on it.



“What is this?” I asked, the thought of them trying to poison me running through my mind.



“You no want to know,” Han said with a loud laugh and then poking at the fire again, “Just taste.”



The meat didn’t smell bad, nor did it look bad. He was probably right. I probably didn’t want to know what it was. I pulled off a part of the side and chewed it in my mouth. It wasn’t exactly chicken and had a distinct salty flavor, but it was good. I sat down on the edge of the rock near him and watched Jake sleep. I couldn’t believe he was still asleep, but figured his injuries must have gotten the best of him.



“We leave soon,” He said, finishing his morning meal and looking around, “Must start early.”



I looked around and could see the light peeking over Pandora’s horizon. The birds chirped noisily in the distance and I could hear the rustling of the animals in the forest.



“Where will we go?” I asked, finishing the meat and handing the plate back to him.



“We go south. There is a tribe there,” He said and looked over at Dierdy, “We need find tribe soon. Too much running not good for Dierdy.”



I nodded, “How far along is she?”



“Five months,” He responded and got up to wake his mate, “You wake your Jake.”



I just nodded and leaned over Jake to wake him. I gently rubbed his shoulder and those bright eyes greeted me seconds later, “They’re ready to go.”



His eyebrows scrunched up together as he comprehended the situation. It was unusual for me to speak Omaticayan with him if we were alone. It was like all of yesterday’s memories came back to him in a swarm and he sat up quickly. Dierdy was sitting on the rock eating some meat and fruit. Han was standing close by, already putting out the fire. Jake stood up and looked at me.



“Ready to go?” Han asked me once again.



“They want to leave soon. They want us to come with them,” I told Jake.



Jake just nodded and accepted the plate of food that Han gave him. He gave Jake a little quirky smile and nodded, “You sleep late.”



“Guess I was tired,” Jake mumbled, eyeing him suspiciously and looking back at me.



I just shrugged and looked at Jake’s chest. The wound looked better than yesterday, but I would need to continue to put some ointment on it to keep the inflammation down. We gathered up our sparse belongings and I took a moment or two to put some medicine on Jake’s wounds. Moments later we were on our way, walking through the thick forest. Han and Dierdy were in the lead. I followed them closely and Jake brought up the back.



“What if…what if this is some kind of trap?” Jake asked after I stood and waited for him to catch up.



“What is its not, Jake? We can’t be suspicious of every Na’vi we meet,” I said.



“I know,” He said and sighed dejectedly, “I guess I’m just paranoid. I suppose betrayal is all I’ve learned to know from them.”



“Let’s think of it as a new start, alright?” I said hopefully, squeezing his hand momentarily and then following the two other Na’vi once again.



We crossed the hilly Pandoran terrain and waded through several shallow creeks. We stopped only briefly to relieve ourselves and to get a drink of water. The day was long and the temperature hot. It was amazing how cold it could get at night and how warm it could be during the day. The two other Na’vi seemed impartial to the temperatures and to the rougher terrain. They moved gracefully through it, but of course, they did it every day. It was harder for Jake and me to keep up—mostly because he was injured and because I just wasn’t used to it.



We walked for 3 days. By the end of those three days I was exhausted and could barely stand straight. Han just looked at us and laughed. He sure did laugh a lot. Yet, even Dierdy was starting to show signs of weakness. We stopped to make camp one night. Jake and I hardly had any time alone. We slept close together but made no further attempts to mate in front of these two strange Na’vi. Yet, they did no such thing and we could hear their moans of passion into the evenings.



I was embarrassed by it and I’m sure Jake was too. The first couple of nights Jake had held me and that was it, but later he tried kissing me, but I just wasn’t in the mood. I was tired, sweaty and sure wasn’t going to have sex in front of other people. He had to understand that.



The afternoon of the fourth day we were stopped by more Na’vi. They came out of the shadows. I held onto the knife Jake had given me. A female Na’vi strolled out of the woods and came up to Han. She spoke to him in a dialect I didn’t recognize. The words were so twisted I couldn’t catch any of them. Jake looked like he too was trying to understand, but couldn’t. They only talked for a few minutes before she waved her hand towards us invitingly.



“Come,” She said in Omaticayan.



She was exceptionally beautiful for a female Na’vi. She was very petite, but had a strong presence. She was clad in an orange loincloth and several feathers lay around her neck. I figured she must be an important member of the tribe. We followed the strange Na’vi further into the woods where pa’li were waiting. I looked to Han for answers and he came over by us.



“Her name Ishael. She important here. She a seer. She say she see us coming,” He said, nodding his head her

direction, “They invite us to tribe as visitors.”



The warriors and tribespeople jumped on their pa’li and we struggled to keep up. Luckily, there village wasn’t far away. We were brought to another valley, but one that was full of life and people. They lived in small types of huts that resembled the teepees we saw back on earth. The people of the tribe were busy working. They seemed like a nice bunch I suppose.



Ishael led us to one of the teepees and asked us to sit down. She talked to Han and Dierdy for a moment and looked at us.



“Ishael no speak Omaticaya. She knows not enough words. I interpret,” Han said.



Ishael spoke loudly and talked with her hands. She asked Han a few more questions. He looked confused and looked at me.



“She say there no tribes where you were found. She say you must have come further than you think. She knows Ikran no fly there,” He said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.



Jake looked over at me and cleared his throat. I thought he was a good liar, but now his actions spoke of falsehoods. I wondered what he would say.



“You are right. No Ikran fly into valleys like the one we were at. I was afraid of what you would think. I was afraid you would think we were deceiving you,” Jake explained and looked at the inquisitive faces; “Norm and I didn’t come on Ikran. We fly on the Toruk.”



Han just shook his head and sneered, “Impossible.”



“Not impossible,” Jake said, “I was the Toruk Makto of the Omaticaya.”



Han looked shell shocked for a moment and turned to Dierdy. He told her quickly in his language what Jake had told him. Dierdy just shook her head and said something about a lie. Ishael questioned them again and they explained what had been said. The different languages were getting confusing. I hope everything was translating correctly.



Ishael talked to Han for a while and eventually Han turned towards us, “She say she want to see. She want you to show the Toruk.”



“Why?” Jake and I said at the same time.



“Because she saw in a vision,” He explained, “It a good thing.”



“Why do you want to see her? What will that prove?”



“That you tell truth,” Han said.



“What does she say about the tribe? Did you tell her about you and Dierdy? Did you tell her about me?” Jake asked quickly.



“I explain about Dierdy. I no tell her about you. Do you want me to?”



“Will she allow us to become part of this tribe?” I asked.



“I ask.”



The afternoon moved on slowly. We waited in that little teepee for what seemed like forever. A conversation of confusion moved around us. Ishael was interested in Han and Dierdy and seemed to emphasize with their situation. They would be allowed to stay because Dierdy was with child. Ishael was told about me and Jake. I wasn’t sure when, but it was probably the moment she looked over at us and studied us like it was the first time she saw us. She shook her head, but never was the conversation translated for us to understand.



“She say you no allowed to stay forever,” Han said softly, explaining, “She say she must see the Toruk. It is a sign for their people.”



Jake licked his lips and his golden gaze settled upon me. Quickly in English he said, “I don’t know if this is a good idea, Norm.”



I almost chasten him for using English, but figured it didn’t really matter anymore. Han seemed confused and tried to figure out what Jake had said. They should know by know that we keep more than one secret to protect ourselves.



“I will show you the Toruk, but I need your word that you will not harm her or us. She is very important to me and was also a sign of hope for our tribe. Your people may be afraid of her. She is very large, but she won’t hurt anyone,” Jake said, “I need your word.”



Han translated to Ishael and she nodded slowly. She said something to Han and he nodded, “You have her word.”



We went back out into the warm sun and Jake stood near a clearing past the teepees and huts. He made a high call in the back of his throat and stood back. It was several awkward minutes before she showed. Ishael , Han, and Dierdy seemed to lose hope, but there she was coming in the distance. Her large orange wings flapped loudly, making the trees sway in the wind. She landed in front of Jake and seemed exceptionally glad to see him.



“Hey girl,” He said in English, walking up close to her and rubbing her neck. He jumped on her and leaned down to me, “I’ll be right back. I have a feeling a show is what they had in mind.”



I nodded and he placed his hand on my cheek and cawed loudly. Shadow took off, flapping her winds loudly and taking off into the sky. I chewed on my lip, secretly hoping he wouldn’t actually leave me and also wondering what everyone else thought. I looked behind us, not at all surprised to see Na’vi standing outside of their teepees, their mouths agape at the amazing sight before them. Ishael said something to Han and he laughed slightly and nodded.



“She say she no see a Toruk so close. They very rare,” He said and smiled, “You surprise me Norm. You and Jake surprise me.”



“Well, Jake surprises me sometimes too.”



“You ride on this too, Norm?” He asked.



I nodded and he patted me roughly on the back, “Amazing!”