oox. the first lesson
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ODESSA knew that things wouldn't be easy. She knew that; even though Grave would tell her that it's all be fine if she doesn't do anything stupid, Jake always smiled and told her that she was doing great. And then Norm glared at her every time she stepped into a room and muttered things under his breath, it was clear he was jealous.

Her sister though, before she died, she was the one who told Odessa life would be hard. She's older than her by three minutes, which makes her the oldest out of the two. Tessa believed that because she was born first, she was much more experienced with the world they lived in. And in a way, she was. She made sure that she did everything before her sister could, so she could be honest and tell her that it wouldn't be easy. For Odessa, she liked that. She needed the honesty, so she could prepare herself for what would come.

Odessa knew that everything would be hard, her sister had bluntly told her. And she knew that learning everything Neytiri had to teach, wouldn't be easy too. Which was why she was so open to what Neytiri had to offer, because she was willing to learn.

"Easy, hey, it's okay." Odessa spoke calmly as she placed her hand on the body of the direhorse in front of her. That was her first lesson, learning the bond and being able to ride the direhorse that Neytiri had brought over to her.

"Pale." Pa'ley. Neytiri spoke the name of the direhorse, her voice soft and kind and she helped steady the horse stilly so Odessa could climb on.

Odessa made her way on, slowly moving her hands along the neck of the direhorse. "Hi, pretty thing." Odessa always loved animals.

"Your braid, you must join yours with hers." Neytiri looked up from the direhorse, flashing the smallest smile ever.

Odessa hummed, reaching behind her and pulling her braid forward. She bright the end of her braid to the end of the direhorses, connecting them together. Pales eyes widened as the bond formed, and so did Odessa's.

"That is Tsaheylu. The bond." Neytiri explained. "Feel her. Feel her heartbeat. Her breath. Feel her strong legs. You may tell her what to do. Inside." She pointed to her head. "For now, say where to go."

"Forward." Odessa said, fake confidence rolling off her tongue. She was nervous about how this would go. She grunted quickly as the direhorse lurched forward. The bond was quickly broken as Odessa fell off and down into the mud beneath her. "Shoot."

Neytiri chuckled and chased after the direhorse, leaving Odessa to herself in the mud. She grabbed her lead and patted her head and bright her back to where Odessa was slowly getting up from the mud.

Tsu'tey and his warriors came riding through the forests and across the small path of water towards where Neytiri now stood with Odessa who was still laying in the mud, relaxing in a way.

Odessa finally climbed up slowly, coaxed in mud and began wiping it off while she was stared down by Tsu'tey and his warriors.

"You should go away." Tsu'tey demanded rudely, a glare on his face.

"Why, I'm just starting to have fun." Odessa smirked up at him, flashing her teeth in a large smile afterwards. "I guessed it! You can speak English."

"This alien will learn nothing. A rock sees more. Look at her." Tsu'tey scoffed and Neytiri did look over towards Odessa, watching as she wiped her hands along her face, smearing the mud all over her cheeks and forehead.

"Go." Neytiri chuckled and tapped his direhorse's bottom. She then looked over towards Odessa, kindly smiling. "Again."

And Odessa went again. And again. And again. She went until the sky above them turned a dark purple, indicating that nighttime was close and that it was time to go back to home tree. Yet even then, as the sky turned purple and dark colours, Neytiri made Odessa continue to ride the direhorse until she wouldn't fall off.

When they returned, dinner was quick, and the clean up that Odessa did was even quicker. She wanted to sleep, to let her body slow down and lay still. That wouldn't happen yet, because Neytiri dragged Odessa to where she could wash off all the mud that had dried to her blue skin.

🌍.

"WE'RE getting close." Grace spoke, looking out of the helicopter windows to gaze towards the fog that would soon engulf them.

"Yeah, look at my instruments." Trudy, the person flying the helicopter, chuckled. They all moved forward or to the side so they could look at the electronics flicker.

"Yep. We're in the Flux Vortex." Grace nodded, sending a glance towards Trudy who looked over her shoulder and grinned.

"We're VFR from here on out." Trudy spoke, chewing on some gum that Odessa had kindly given her.

Norm turned in the front passenger seat towards Trudy. "What's VFR?"

"It means you gotta see where your going." Trudy explained briefly, smiling as she glanced over to where all she could see was clouds.

"You can't see anything." Norm pointed out, concern laced in his words, unsure how much he would enjoy the next few minutes.

"Exactly." Trudy laughed. "Ain't that a bitch?"

Trudy maneuvered everyone through the fog and clouds without incident. Odessa had leaned forward in her seat, looking out the front windshield at the clear sky. There was mountains that were literally just floating in the air, like Norm had told her. They were so beautiful and beyond magnificent. Some had waterfalls on them, others covered with green grass, and others had tall trees and vines that extended from them.

"Woah." Odessa muttered, jaw dropped and wide eyes.

"You should see your faces." Trudy laughed at everyone but Grace, the only other person ( besides herself ) who had ever seen the floating mountains this close.

After a short period of time, the helicopter landed in a field where two large metal containers were placed. That's where they would be staying, where they'd live out of.

"Thank you for flying Air Pandora."