DR. RUTH CARSON grew up hearing about Pandora as a kid, hearing of the alien moon that promised beauty and awe.
Coming from the lower class in the States, she fought tooth and nail to provide any opportunity to distance herself from the hard life s...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
HOVERING above, with tendrils of vines and roots and other manner of wild Pandoran plant growth, the Halluelujah mountains seemed to patiently wait for the young hunters to make their ascension upward, toward the nests of ikran that awaited them within its holdings. Waterfalls tumbled off the sides of the floating formations, turning to mist and scattering rainbows of light before ever getting close to touching the forest below. Even from where the small groups of young hunters looked up from horseback, the tiny dots that were Ikran darting around the floating mountains could be seen.
Soon, Tsu'tey would lead them to climb higher in search of their own Ikran, another step toward becoming one of the people. Ruth had thought she'd been scared when hunting in the river deltas for the stampeding herd of Sturmbeast; this challenge was immediately more daunting for the scientist. The closest she'd ever come to such heights was via aircraft. Everything in her bones told her she was headed toward certain death all because of her major lack of experience. No— she thought to herself, her hands resting on the withers of her direhorse as she looked toward the mountains, amber eyes wide with awe. You have braved a hunt in a herd of stampeding Sturmbeast— how could you not handle a climb?
She wanted to be a hunter, to be one of the people. She would leave behind her less than good life and years of hard work in college back on earth if it meant she could never leave this behind. Everyday that she explored and learn from Tsu'tey she became more and more thankful for the marine that had given such an opportunity. Because of Jake, she was here. After today, she would truly be able to considered herself a hunter.
On her forehead, an orange V had been painted on her skin, a symbol worn by all young hunters during their Iknimaya. On her lithe waist, the rope she would soon be using waited for her, where she'd have to quickly seal the maw of her chosen Ikran before she was killed. Though the sealing was extremely intimidating alone, she feared the wrestling that would soon follow, a deadly business that could easily land her plummeting to her death were she to be thrown over the cliff's edge. Multiple she tried telling herself it was only three things she had to do: climb to the nests, seal the maw of a beast that wanted to shred her, and connect her queue to form a bond. A little more simplistic way to look at it, it was the only thing keeping her from entirely falling apart in fear. Her success with with the Sturmbeast hunt was the only thing that had kept her confidant enough to continue with their trek through the forest and high into the reaches of the grounded mountains.
Riding near the back of the line, Ruth had followed two other young hunters while Jake straggled in the back. When they had assembled in the common area of Hometree's base earlier that morning, Jake had looked more than excited for their days ventures, a small thing that had convinced Ruth that showing her fear was not an option. If the marine could do it, she could. She could trust in his enthusiasm to keep her motivated.
