Now I live through you and you through me, enchanting

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𝔸𝕊 a few moments passed, the Na'vi clan gathered around, ready to partake in their evening meal. The son of the Olo'eyktan arrived, Arya trailing behind him in traditional Na'vi clothing, though she couldn't shake the feeling of unease, having never worn something so revealing. The conversations halted, and all eyes turned toward her, creating an awkward atmosphere.

"Good evening. Please don't get up," Arya politely addressed the clan. Negotiating through the seated Na'vi, she made her way toward the son, attempting not to step on anyone's tail. A slight mishap occurred, prompting a quick apology from Arya. The son guided her to a seat before heading off to procure food. "Hey, how you doing?" Arya tried to engaged in conversation with the Na'vi seated beside her. A child among them, sporting a smile, reached out towards Arya, but a male Na'vi intervened, preventing her to reach her. Arya couldn't help but smile at the child and let out a small chuckle.

Upon the son's return, he settled beside Arya, presenting her with a plate of food. "Thank you," she expressed with a grateful smile. The Tsahik, Olo'eyktan, and Tsu'tey briefly glanced at her before returning their attention to their meals.

"You know, I don't know your name," Arya commented to the son, who responded, "Neytan te Tskaha Etukan'itan," without looking at her, focused on his food. "Again, a whole lot slower, please," Arya requested. The son complied, simplifying it to "Neytan." She repeated after him, "Natan," prompting him to correct her pronunciation, "Neytan." After a bit of back-and-forth, they settled on the correct pronunciation.

"It's nice to meet you, Neytan. It's nice," Arya concluded with a friendly smile as they both returned to enjoying their meal.

Following the dinner, Neytan guided Arya to their sleeping quarters. They traversed the highest branches of the home tree, and upon reaching their destination, Neytan descended to a cocoon-like bed. Arya, gazing down at the significant height, took a deep breath, aware of the consequences of any misstep. She cautiously followed Neytan's action, making her way down and settling into a cocoon bed adjacent to his.

Arya cast a warm smile in Neytan's direction, but he merely glanced at her before closing the cocoon, immersing himself in the embrace of slumber. Arya let out a sigh, her gaze lingering on Neytan for a moment, before she, too, closed her cocoon. As she shut her eyes, the stillness of the sleeping area enveloped her, and Arya succumbed to the embrace of a peaceful slumber.

"Arya. Arya!" Grace's urgent voice pierced through as she flashed a flashlight into Arya's hazel eyes. "She's in alpha. She's coming out right now," Max informed, while Norm and Jake observed her closely. "Arya. Arya! Come on back, kid. Come on. That's it," Grace encouraged, tapping Arya's cheek to break her trance-like state. Arya blinked rapidly, regaining awareness as she looked around. Grace gently moved her head from side to side.

"There you go. There you go, there you go. You're okay, you're okay," Grace reassured, and Arya smiled, chuckling a bit. With the help of Grace, Max, and Norm, Arya was assisted into a sitting position. "Damn! You were dug in like a tick," Grace remarked, acknowledging Arya's deep immersion. Arya exhaled and groaned, feeling the strain in her neck and back from lying still for an extended period.

"Welcome to the land of the living," Jake greeted with a smile. Arya chuckled before Grace, looking at her, inquired, "Is the avatar safe?" Arya replied, "Yeah, Doc. And you are not gonna believe where I am." She looked at Grace, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

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"The last thing we see is this Marine's ass disappearing into the brush with this angry thanator coming after her," Grace recounted with a smirk, sharing a lively anecdote in the cafeteria while everyone around laughed at the story.

"Hey, it's not something you can teach," Arya remarked with a smile. Grace chimed in, "You know, for reasons I cannot fathom, the Omaticaya have chosen you." Jake added humorously, "With her and her terrible jokes, God help us all," glancing at Arya, who playfully stuck out her tongue and retorted, "You're just jealous of my skills." Jake chuckled, and Norm observed them, his gaze primarily fixed on Arya, a hint of jealousy in his expression.

"Arya, remember to report to the Colonel," Jake reminded her, prompting Arya to realize she had forgotten about her obligation. She sighed, looking down and nodding in acknowledgment.

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"Jarhead clan?" The Colonel inquired with a grin on his face as Arya and Jake found themselves in the control room. "Mmm-hmm," Arya nodded in conformation. "And it worked?" the Colonel asked. Jake spoke up, "Hey, she's practically family," accompanied by a smile and a chuckle. Arya explained, "They're gonna study me. I have to learn to be one of them."

"That's called taking the initiative, little lady. I wish I had 10 more like you," the Colonel praised with a smile. As the discussion continued, Parker interjected, expressing frustration about the Na'vi's reluctance to relocate despite attempts to offer them medicine, education, and roads.

Arya exchanged a glance at Parker before asking, "Well, who gets them to move?" She examined the map as the Colonel responded, "Guess." Arya chuckled, licking her lips, before questioning, "What if they won't go?" Jake intervened, calming her down, and Parker approached with a pragmatic solution.

"Okay, okay, okay, hey. Look. Killing the indigenous looks bad, but there's one thing that shareholders hate more than bad press, and that's a bad quarterly statement," Parker explained. He urged them to find a convincing incentive to persuade the Na'vi to relocate within three months before the 'dozers arrived.

Arya sighed, exchanging glances with Jake. "We're wasting time then," she asserted, prompting nods of agreement. The Colonel emphasized the urgency, giving them a tight deadline. Arya looked at the map, determination in her eyes, as Jake nodded in solidarity. Parker patted her shoulder, "I like this girl." Arya focused on the task at hand, contemplating about the task at hand.

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"Okay, let's run through them again," Grace instructed, showing Arya pictures on the screen as they entered the linking room. "Mo'at. Dragon lady," Arya remarked as Grace displayed another image. "Eytucan," Arya said before Grace corrected her, "Eytukan. He's the clan leader. But she's the spiritual leader. Like a shaman," Grace explained as they reached Arya's pod.

"T'su'tey," Arya identified as he sat on the pod. "Tsu'tey," Grace corrected her. "Tsu'tey," Arya repeated as she removed her leg. Grace continued, "He is the leader of the warriors in the clan," showing another picture. Arya took the screen and studied it before saying, "Neytan."

"He'll be the next Olo'eyktan. He and Tsu'tey have a strong brother bond. Don't get in the way," Grace warned. Arya nodded and looked at Grace, asking, "So who is Eywa again?" Norm spoke up, catching their attention, "Who's Eywa? Only their deity. Their goddess, made up of all living things. Everything they know! You'd know this if you had continued your training." Arya lifted the monitor and teased, "Who's got a date with the chief's son?" Jake chuckled, and Arya winked at him. Norm protested, "Oh come on. That's not a..." but was interrupted by Grace, who took the monitor from Arya, saying, "Knock it off. It's like kindergarten around here. Neytan was my best student. He and his sister, Sylwanin. Just amazing kids."

Jake smirked and remarked, "Looks like you got a date with Sylwanin too, Arya." Grace interjected, "She's dead," garnering sympathy from Arya. "Let's go. Village life starts early," Arya declared, lying down and putting on the chest piece. Grace cautioned, "Don't do anything unusually stupid." Arya smiled, chuckled, and closed the lid of the pod.

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Arya and Neytan stood in a forest clearing where direhorses grazed. "Easy, boy," Arya said soothingly before Neytan spoke, "Pale is female," as he gently calmed the direhorse. Arya glanced down at the creature before standing straight again. "Okay. Easy, girl," she said, preparing to mount. Despite some struggle, Arya managed to hoist herself onto the direhorse.

Neytan continued to soothe the creature as he lowered his Tsaheylu to Arya, who connected hers to the direhorse. Initially startled, the creature calmed as Neytan reassured, "That is Tsaheylu. The bond. Feel her." Speaking in a soft tone, Neytan guided Arya, "Feel her heartbeat. Her breath. Feel her strong legs. You may tell her what to do." Arya closed her eyes, immersing herself in the connection. "Inside," Neytan pointed to his head, instructing her to communicate mentally. Stepping back, he added, "For now, say where to go." Arya eagerly commanded, "Forward!" The direhorse moved, but Arya lost her grip and tumbled into the mud. Neytan laughed at her misfortune, hurrying to retrieve the direhorse.

As Arya tried to rise from the muddy ground, the sound of approaching hooves caught her attention. Tsu'tey and another Na'vi arrived. Arya sighed, fully standing as Tsu'tey addressed her, "You should go away." Arya teased, "No, you'd miss me," before adding, "I knew you could speak English." Neytan returned with the direhorse, and Tsu'tey chuckled, inspecting Arya, who was covered in mud.

"This alien will learn nothing... a rock sees more... look at her," Tsu'tey remarked as Arya attempted to clear mud from her tongue. Neytan smiled and chuckled, tapping the direhorse as they departed, leaving Arya and Neytan alone. He looked at her and spoke, "Again."

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"If you want to hit this thing, it's gonna be complicated. Your scan doesn't show the internal structure," Arya explained, standing in the control room with Jake as they examined the map. "There's an outer row of columns. Real heavy duty. There's a secondary ring here, and an inner ring. There's a core structure like a spiral. That's how they move up and down," she detailed.

The colonel interjected, "We're gonna need accurate scans on every column." Arya acknowledged, "Roger that," sighing as she stared at the depiction of the massive tree on the map. The colonel pressed for more information, asking, "What else can you tell us about the structure?" Unbeknownst to them, Max was discreetly eavesdropping by the stairs.

Arya rubbed her temple, gathering her thoughts before responding, "I'm guessing this secondary ring, that's also load-bearing."

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As Arya and Jake entered the lab with their packs, Jake inquired, "So where are we going?" Grace responded, "Getting out of Dodge," before approaching them. "I'm not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micromanage this thing. There's a mobile link up at Site 26 we can work out of, way up in the mountains," she explained, packing a microscope. Norm, excited, chimed in, "The Hallelujah Mountains?"

"That's right," Grace confirmed, turning to face him. "Are you serious?" Norm asked again, his enthusiasm palpable. Grace smiled and reassured, "Yeah." Arya shared a smile at his excitement before Norm turned to both of them, asking, "The legendary floating mountains of Pandora. Heard of them?" The tone of his question made Arya shoot him a less-than-appreciative look.

As everyone gathered their necessities, they boarded the airship destined for the Hallelujah Mountains. "We're getting close," Grace informed Arya and Jake. Trudy chimed in, "Yeah, look at my instrument," pointing to her instruments that were fuzzing up. "Yep. We're in the Flux Vortex," Grace explained, prompting Trudy to add, "We're VFR from here on." Curiosity piqued, Norm asked, "What's VFR?" Trudy clarified, "Means you gotta see where you're going." Fog enveloped them, reducing visibility. "You can't see anything," Norm commented. Trudy chuckled and replied, "Exactly. Ain't that a bitch?" As they navigated through the fog, the breathtaking sight of the Hallelujah Mountains emerged.

"Oh, my God," Norm exclaimed, captivated by the spectacle. Arya concurred, saying, "You can say that again," her gaze fixed on the majestic mountains. "You should see your faces," Trudy remarked with a chuckle as they continued flying.

Upon reaching their destination, Trudy shut down the engine, and they exited the ship after donning their air masks. Arya gazed above, marvelling at the mountains in sheer amazement, the awe evident on her face as she took in the breathtaking scenery.

So what does hold them up? Grace explained it to me. Some kind of maglev effect. Because unobtainium is a superconductor... or something.

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By: SIlverMist707

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