001 stared at it. The body of the avatar, her avatar, floating in its glass confinement, eyes closed. Looking more at peace than she'd ever felt in her life.

The trip to Pandora had been long. A journey that she'd begun amongst the stars, born on the ship by a machine and trained to do one thing. To partake in the RDA's Junoir Avatar Envoy Program. A program with the intent of sending human youths in avatar bodies to mingle, learn and grow among the Na'vi. Very few were born for this task, and even fewer were chosen to be shipped down to Pandora.

001 was one of them, along with two other boys. But they were being sent to two other tribes. 001's was the Tayrangi clan. If she was lucky, she would join the tribe of ikran flying warriors... If she was lucky.

001 swallowed as a scientist called her over. "It's time."

"You nervous?" A boy, 002, one of her fellow avatar riders, asked as they followed behind the scientist.

"Are you?" She asked.

He shrugged. "A little, I guess." She nodded in agreement. "Well," he said, clapping his hands together and giving her an overly confident grin, "see you on the other side."

"Yeah," she mumbled back, "see ya on the other side."

"Here's your stop," the pilot announced, landing his aircraft in the middle of the Pandoran jungle. 001 stared out as the door was swung open. She'd never seen so much green in one place before. So much life. The absence of machine and metal felt foreign to her... unnatural, as ironic as that was. "You getting out?" The pilot asked.

001 looked over her shoulder. The two other boys, 002 and 003, both in their avatar bodies, watching her. 002 gave her a thumbs up. She inhaled slowly, then jumped out, stumbling as her feet hit dirt and grass for the first time ever. It was softer than she'd imagined.

The blades of the aircraft whipped the wind around her and 001 stepped back as it rose once more in the air. "Try not to die!" 002 yelled down to her. "That avatar of yours costs a small fortune." And then they were gone.

001 looked around, stepping towards a small pool of water between two trees. They loomed above her, casting weird shadows. Everything was so big out here, but she guessed she was too now. Back at the base, she'd been looming over her own kind, standing at about 7'7. She looked at herself in the water and almost flinched at her own reflection. She looked like herself, but not.

For one, she was blue. Her hair was tied back into the long braid that fell down her back and protected her queue. Her ears were pointed, and her eyes were big and yellow. Her face was striped and dotted with white spots. Her nose was flat and she now sported a long black-tufted tail. But the shape of her face was the same, and so was the terrified look in her eyes.

A crack from behind made her spin around. Her tail lashed, touching her shoulder and making her flinch. When she realised what it was she sighed, rolling her eyes. This was going to take a bit of getting used to. But her thoughts were distracted by a low growl.

The forest behind her was suddenly filled with a flash of eyes. Small shadows darted in and out of the bushes. Small, black creatures, like wild dogs, bared their fangs at her.

001 stood very still. Perhaps if she showed no panic, they'd leave. One of the dogs crouched on its haunches, releasing a horrifying cackle before leaping towards her.

"Shit!" She cursed, spinning on her heel and dashing away. She'd received training on the spaceship, sure. But running through forest terrain was a lot different to running on solid ground. There were roots that tripped her up. Bushes that clawed at her arms. And all the while, the dog creatures, Viperwolves, as she remembered from her lessons, continued to cackle as they gave chase. From quick glances over her shoulder, 001 could count maybe 10- no, 20 of them. A whole frickin' pack! "Shit shit shit shit shit!" She gasped, stumbling over a rock.

As she ran, she reached what had to be the edge of the forest. She dug her feet into the ground, skidding to a stop inches away from the edge of the cliff. She stared over it. Nothing but rocks and water below. No way could she survive that fall.

The viperwolves emerged from the forest, their pace slowing to a quiet stalk They knew they had her cornered. There was no escape.

001 reached for her belt, pulling free an army knife she'd been given in case of an emergency. She just wished she knew how to use it well. She took in a deep breath, tasting the dirt and vegetation in the air, along with the salt of the sea behind her. As if it'd be the last time she ever smelt them. The wind howled around her.

And then came a much different noise. No, not a noise. A voice. From somewhere high above.

"Sivako!" The voice hollered, and 001 looked up to see a shadow sailing from the sea towards them. She ducked as an ikran flew overhead. "Aye!" The figure on its back cried, letting an arrow fly. It struck one of the viperwolves, who fell on its side. The other hissed and scurried back into the forest.

The ikran circled back as they fled, its rider's bow ready with another arrow, this time pointed at her. She watched, wide-eyed, as it swooped inches from the ground and its riders jumped off, landing steadily on his feet. 001's arms rose as a sign of peace, but the na'vi boy didn't seem to care as he hissed at her.

"Kem si ke rikx, ketuwong!" (Don't move, alien!)

001 did as he said, staying still even as more ikran appeared and their riders dismounted, a few pulling out their weapons. They were all taller than the boy, and it struck her that he mustn't be much older than her. Perhaps just on the verge of 18.

One na'vi stood out from the rest. He wore the more elaborate clothing, adorned by those of royal rank. The rank of the Olo'eykte's son.

"Ewan tsmukan," he called out to the young na'vi boy, touching his fingers to his forehead as a quick sign of welcoming. "'Ewan tsmukan, peu fi'u? Lumpe fi'u ketuwong fitsenge?" (Little brother, what is this? Why is this alien here?)

The young warrior lowered his bow only for a second to welcome his older brother before pulling the string back once more. "Oe run tsal fewi'ila nantangs." (I found it being chased by viperwolves.)

"Pue tawtute fitxan lim ftu fngap atxkxe?" (What is a skyperson doing so far from the metal land?) One of the warriors, a female na'vi, hissed, hand on the knife at her hip.

The boy glared at 001, a curious look in his eyes as he inspected her from head to toe. "Oe tse'a sneya tawsip tswayon neto. Fo txing peya uo." (I saw its skyship fly away. They left it behind.)

"Lumpe?" (Why?) Another demanded. The female hissed, pulling her knife from its sheath and lunging her way, "Pesu txukxefu? Tung niyey tspang!" (Who cares? Let's just kill it!)

"No wait! Please!" 001 cried, stumbling back. "Kolan aynga kea kxu si!" (I mean you no harm!) The elder brother's hand rose to stop the warrior. All eyes shifted from him to the skyperson as he stepped towards her, unafraid.

He spoke, this time in English, his foreign accent thick on his words. "You speak our tongue, alien. How?"

001 straightened a little, tugging nervously at the hem of her shirt. This was it, the moment she'd been training for. These were Tayrangi warriors as they were the only na'vi tribe in these parts. And not only Tayrangi warriors, but two sons of the olo'eykte.

"I have come to learn," she said, heart still thumping in her throat. "I have come to learn your ways. I have come to be one of you."

Some of the na'vi scoffed, others just glared in silence. The elder brother didn't react, just stared at her. "We have heard of your kind, though we have yet to meet one of you in person. Skypeople, in the bodies of na'vi." He was now close enough to reach for her clothes, tugging on her explorer-designed clothes and then eventually grabbing her hand.

He held it up to the light, inspecting the five fingers that were unlike the na'vi's four. His actions held no hostility, only curiosity.

"Atayrun!" His little brother snapped behind him. "You cannot be considering-"

"It is not for me to decide," Atayrun cut in, looking her over once more before facing the others. "Ayoeng lu munge poe eo olo'eykte." (We will bring her before the olo'eykte.)

"Hiy! Hiy!" The na'vi shouted, running to their mounts. Only the younger brother waited, grabbing Atayrun's arm as he passed.

"Nga tsun'ke tung fi'u... zum, tsonta kelku si kip leNa'vi. Nga stawm vur te fnel." (You cannot allow this... thing, to live among the people. You've heard the stories of their kind.) He shot her a sharp look. Atayrun glanced between them, smirking.

"Zel nga sweylu sweyn pum mi'nari peya, ewan tsmukan . Poe tswayon hu nga." (Then you should keep an eye on her, little brother. She flies with you.)

The young warrior gave a sharp hiss, which his brother ignored. He looked to 001, and with much hatred and distaste in her voice, said, "Come." She followed him cautiously as he lead her to his ikran.

The beast was huge. 001 had only ever heard of them in her lesson but had never seen one up close.

The noy's ikran was a deep emerald green, with lighter green and yellow marks over its body. The boy climbed onto its back, looking down on her.

"Be rid of those," he snarled, pointing at her shoes. Bending down, she untied and kicked them off. He offered her a hand and pulled her up behind him as if she was weightless.

He instructed her to wrap one arm around his chest. Atayrun smiled in the distance, raising a fist and crying, "Tswayon!" to the wind. Their ikrans squawked, plummeting off the side of the cliff.

"Wait!" 001 protested, but it was too late.

Soon they were both plummeting in a steep nosedive towards the ocean, with 001 clinging on as hard as she could. The wind carried her screams away, but she could sense the boy's pleasure at her fear.

She squeezed her eyes tight as she felt them level out, pressing her face against the boy's back.

She heard him laugh to the others, "Tsal na fi'u skxawng kawkrr tswayon eo." (It's like this skxawng has never flown before.)

With her eyes still shut, 001 snapped, "Oe kem si ke." (I haven't.)

She felt his unease and guessed he must've forgotten she could understand him. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, and gasped...

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Hey Readers,

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Forgive me if I've got some na'vi language/culture wrong. It's a fantasy culture that's so rich I'm not sure I'll ever know everything about it.

- DawnTide