Starting New

Thank you so much for the reviews. I really like reading them! It’s always a pleasure to come online and find that people like reading my story! I hope to see a few more in the future. So, there seemed to be a few questions regarding chapter 1. I went back and made a few changes. I hope that clears everything up for everybody. Here are the changes I made, in case you don’t feel like going back to read it again.

1.The war between the Na’vi and humans is over – Na’vi “won”. Humans were asked to leave and go back to earth.

2.Trudy is alive. She ejected herself from her helicopter before impact and suffered only some minor injuries.

3.Neytiri and Jake went back to the Omaticaya tribe after the war ended. Neytiri seemed to be in good health during the attacks, but began to show signs of internal bleeding a day later. Mo’at had tried to save her, but failed. Neytiri died 3 days later.

Chapter 5

I spent the following week getting to know Jake’s friends and trying to find a place among the people. One of his closest friends was Coalt. He was middle aged and seemed to have a big heart, but walked with a noticeable limp. When Jake introduced me, he shook my hand excitedly and gave me a big thump on the back of welcome.

“You will make a fine Na’vi,” He told me in their language.

“Thank you, Coalt.”

“Coalt’s Ikran managed to jump on him when he first became a warrior,” Jake said, pointing to his leg, “Of course he bonded with the animal, but will always walk with a limp.”

“This old thing won’t stop me!” He said with a laugh.

The three of us talked for a while. Coalt seemed to be very friendly and accepted both Jake and I. Jake introduced me to his family, his mate and son. His son, Gael, was one of the young warriors-in-training that would soon be getting an Ikran of his own and seemed youthfully excited about it.

“I’ve been practicing my swing hold for when I have to grab him,” Gael said, showing Jake his swing that would close the mouth of the Ikran.

“That’s good, but you have to be more prepared to make the bond than anything else. That’s the most important part. You can get his mouth closed and jump on top of him, but none of that matters without the bond. I was about thrown off the cliff my first time around,” Jake said and seemed happier than he had been in days.

“When I first met Jake he seemed so awkward. I didn’t think he could do it, but look at what he has accomplished now! You have tamed the wild air beast,” Coalt said and turned to me, “So will Normspellman be taming any Ikran?”

“Only if he chooses too,” Jake said and added, “When he was human he was a scientist and studied and plant life on Pandora. He could help heal-”

“Jake-” I warned him before he could go on and switched to English since it was easier, “I appreciate the sentiment, but really. I don’t know that much about it. You shouldn’t tell people that.”

“Oh lighten up, Norm,” Jake said, squeezing my shoulder, “You’re great at what you do. Admit it. You deserve to have a little recognition every once in a while. You don’t have to be humble all the time!”

Later that day I decided to approach Mo’at about the plants.

“How are you Normspellman?” She asked and I couldn’t help but smile at the people’s common usage of my whole name.

“I am well, thank you,” I replied bowing lightly and sitting across from her, “Life here is so different. I think it may take a while for me to get used to it.”

“This is normal,” She said simply, “Time will help you.”

“I keep thinking back to my human life. I can’t help it.”

“It is okay to think back, but not okay to want to go back.”

I nodded, agreeing and admired some of the beading she had been working on, “That is very beautiful.”

“Thank you. It is a gift for Tailina’s infant daughter,” Mo’at said, picking it up in her aging hands and began to pull the beads through to make a necklace, “I can show you how to make necklace some day. You have many skills too.”

“Yes, I wanted to talk with you about that actually,” I said, finding a good place to bring it up, “When I was on base I studied plant life. The plants on Pandora are so different from earth, where I come from. The species of plant life is so diverse. It is amazing to me how the ecosystem here works so well and can almost communicate with the other plants-”

“Eywa,” She interrupted, “It is Eywa.”

“Erm, yes,” I said and continued, “Would it be alright if I studied some of your plants. I would like to collect some for observation.”

She quirked a half smile and nodded, “Yes, on one condition. If you take plants, take only the required amount and thank Eywa for the gift. I know it will help many people.”

“I will. I will do that. Thank you, Mo’at,” I said, getting a little excited at doing some more research. It would help me feel more at home, “I’m going to go tell Jake.”

She smiled and had a little bit of twinkle in her eye. I gave another little half bow and left her quarter, eager to hunt down Jake and tell him the news. I walked around for several minutes, looking for the familiar red and orange colored necklace that labeled him as chief. I found him shortly after practicing hitting a stationary target with his bow and arrow. I watched him for a moment. He was the only one around. It just amazed me at how well he had blended into their lives. He was so skilled at so many different things. I watched him shoot and he hit almost dead center.

I interrupted his thoughts a moment later, “Jake! I talked to Mo’at. She has allowed me to collect some plant and tree samples around Hometree.”

“Really? That’s great. You were always so into that stuff,” He said, putting his arrow down and motioning me over, “I’m glad that you and Mo’at get along. I think it would be even more difficult if you didn’t.”

“This is hard Jake. I never thought that being accepted would be so hard. I look like them and speak their language, but I still can’t help but feel out of place. How do you do it?”

He faltered and rubbed at his slightly flattened blue nose before leaning up against a nearby tree, “It’s not easy for me. I’m glad it looks easy. I try to make it seem that way, but it’s incredibly hard.”

“What do you mean?”

He pulled his braid over his shoulder and messed with the bottom of it, “These things I did for the tribe, I didn’t think twice about doing. It just seemed like the right thing at the time. I didn’t ask to be Toruk Makato and I didn’t ask to be chief. It just sort of happened.”

“But it’s that every Na’vi’s dream?” I said, joining him and leaning against the same large tree.

He gave a little shrug, “I suppose, but sometimes I still have a hard time considering myself Na’vi. I guess I feel a little like you. I look like them, talk like them, and even can act like them, but there’s still a part of me that’s human. I might be just talking casually to somebody and might accidentally slip into some human slang or make a motion they don’t understand, like a thumbs up. I don’t even realize I’m doing it sometimes, but when I do, they notice right away and every time they are reminded of whom I used to be. That is the hardest part. I wish I could just stop thinking like a human and start thinking like a Na’vi.”

“But you have already.”

“I suppose. But, that’s why I’m glad you’re here. You understand me like they never will. Our lives are so similar now.”

“I’m glad you’re here too. Can you imagine how lost I would be surrounded with all the Na’vi and not knowing anyone?” I said with a little laugh.

“That would be me only a few months ago,” He replied and nodded.

He leaned over slightly and grasped my elbow, his thumb running over the skin, “I’m truly glad you’re here Norm. It’s good to have a friend, here.”

I paused and looked into his eyes. He smiled deeply and moved his hand from my elbow to my neck. I stiffened suddenly at the strange display of affection. He removed his hand right away, noting my uncertainty and looking a bit embarrassed himself.

“Well, I should probably be getting back,” I lied.

“Yeah…I should keep practicing,” He said, taking a few steps away and picking up his bow.

“I’ll see you later,” I said and hesitated before saying, “It was good to talk to you.”

I hurried back to the camp, as the sun was already beginning to set. The trees and ground turned darker, but there was always the day-glo coloring that glowed in the distance. I looked up, watching the unusual birds fly to their nests for the night. The sky was painted purple and blue with a tinge of pink to the south. Pandora was so beautiful at night. I ran back, my footfalls making the giant trees shimmer neon green.

I had to think about this conversation I had with Jake. The words we said were normal and actually quite helpful to my situation. I never knew Jake had harbored such feelings of unease. I always assumed he was so confident in his situation as the chief. I should have known better. But, when he touched me, his eyes told more. They spoke of things unsaid, his pain of losing Neytiri, his confusion of his new status, his thankfulness of me being in the picture. And maybe even a little more that I couldn’t yet comprehend.

It was such a beautiful night that I decided to stop and take a few samples along the way. I pulled off only a small amount of leaves from the trees I was interested in and put them in a small satchel tied to my waist. I said my blessings of thanks to Eywa for the gift and moved on to some other flowers. The plants were actually easier to identify by night because they seemed to glow in the reflection of the planet we revolved around.
I came back to camp later on. Jake was already there and seemed to be looking for me.

“Where were you?” He asked, clearly concerned.

“I was taking samples. Mo’at said it was fine-”

“Just don’t go into the forest alone at night. It’s not safe,” He said and held onto his bow, “I’ll come with you next time.”

“I don’t need your protection, Jake,” I argued.

“Would you like the company then?” He asked.

“Alright,” I agreed, a bit annoyed to be chastened by the chief of the clan.

Jake noticed the small bag at my hip and took an interest, “So, tell me. What did you find?”

“You wouldn’t be interested.”

He rolled his eyes, a very human gesture and raised an eyebrow, “I am interested. Come here, grab some food and show me what you found.”

I hesitated, but finally agreed. I was offered some Pandoran style fruit, similar to a cantaloupe, and some meat that had been stored from yesterday. One of the women made Jake and I a tea mix and I took it with me. I followed him to his chief’s quarters, which was actually smaller than Mo’at’s, and sat down on the floor. He left the curtain open a bit to let in some light and bit into his fruit.

I put my food aside and cautiously opened up my small brown bag. I sat back on my heels and leaned over, carefully pulling out each of the plant leaves and arranging them onto the dirt floor of the enclosure.

“This is from the Sandor plant. It is the one with the big pink flowers. The flowers are beautiful, but it’s the leaves that can actually be used to create a salve to put on wounds. And this…this is from it’s sister plant, the Haboro plant, which can be taken orally to help calm the stomach. And this thing with the tiny spikes-” I continued talking, showing Jake each and every one of the plants.

Jake listened politely and even asked a few questions. I looked up once and saw him smiling wryly.

“You’re in your element,” He said.

I shrugged modestly, “I’m just a plant guy.”

“You’re a plant guy in your element,” He said waving his hand over the plants and patting my shoulder, “You just love to talk about them, always have.”

“Well, it is what I love.”

“It’s good to see something that makes you happy.”

“It’s not that I’m unhappy, Jake. I don’t want you to think that. I’m glad to be here. The people are so interesting, but live such quaint lives. I think they’re fascinating.”

“Hmm,” He quipped his lip and smiled, “That must be the scientist in you.”

“I suppose,” I looked at him, still amazed at how we somehow managed to keep our human features in our human body, “Do you ever think you’ll find someone after Neytiri?”

He seemed put off by the sudden question, “I don’t know Norm. I don’t think about it too much. It’s just—too fresh.”

“I understand,” I said and patted his back awkwardly; “If you ever want to talk about it…I’m always here.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, I’m getting kinda tired. I think I’ll head in for the night,” I said, gathering up the leaves and carefully placing them back in the sachet.

“Oh, alright,” He said, standing up in the small space, “Well goodnight then.”

“’Night Jake.”

I was planning on leaving and at least pretending to go to sleep. But I just stood there dumbly staring at him. I felt like our conversation wasn’t over. We still had so much to talk about. I knew I had a long life ahead of me as Na’vi to talk about it, but there was still just so much to say. I nodded awkwardly, pulled the curtain open a bit and took a few steps outside. I turned back moments later and he stood looking rather dejected near the entranceway. I chewed on my lip, offered a half wave, and whispered “goodnight” into the wind.