The wrong star

Trip back home

Once there I notice that we really don't have too much to pack, I suddenly start laughing.

"What?" Miles asks.

"We barely have anything... because we were never supposed to be here," First I was taken hostage to the base and then to the ship, then we ended up here.

Miles doesn't laugh.

"You're going back home," he says.

I don't want to make him feel bad I was just pointing out that, that's the truth. We came here not prepared and we'll go back to where we belong.

"We are going back home," I say turning to look at him.

Miles helps me pack our few things in a knoted net, clothes and dishes.

I put on my weapons belt and arrange my axes. Miles puts his old vest on too. There are still pockets of dozens of things that I don't know how to use.

Then I worry about something.

"How am I going back?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if your Ikran can hold us... at least not for so long," I start to worry too much. If I had Inet this wouldn't be happening and I can't go by Ilu because the way back home is not safe that way.

Miles purses his lips and thinks about it.

"Let's try it okay? We don't have too much stuff and it's just you and me and the baby,"

I don't respond as I think of my options and turn around. Now this place is empty. Really empty.

"Let's just get out please, I'll get sad if I stare at this for too long," I tell him.

I safely wrap Nakoa against me with a knoted blanket and help Miles carry a bag while he holds the other two.

Everyone is already here. My cousins stand next to their Ikrans, Tuk is next to Neytiri's.

"Neytiri, do you think Miles's Ikran can hold us all?" I ask with worry.

She turns to look at his Ikran, it is as big as hers and Jake's and a few years younger.

"I guess... I think it will. Maybe we just take some of your stuff so he only has to take you," she proposes.

I thank her and she gives Jake the bag I was holding, she takes the other one and Neteyam will take the last one.

I spot Ronal walking towards us and my eyes start to water.

"Sister," she says greeting me.

"Sister," I reply.

She opens her arms and I hug her.

"Remember, you and your family are always welcome here,"

"Thank you so much Ronal, you too," I give her one last squeeze before I let her go.

We say goodbye to all, the people, the creatures and the sea.

I do hope I come back one day, it would be nice to visit them again, but for now it's time to go home.

"Ready?" Miles asks placing his arm over my shoulder.

I take a deep breath in and wave goodbye to Ronal again before I nod.

He helps me up into his Ikran and he positions himself behind me.

I caress the animal's neck a little and ask him to please take us home and we're sorry to make him carry so much weight.

Miles gives it a little pat and orders it to fly.

Soon we are all flying and the Metkayina look like blurry points left behind.

I try to make myself happy thinking that I'll see my family again and Miles will get to be there.

Nakoa stirs a little in my arms and I just hope that he can handle the trip without much trouble.

"What's up with the little guy?" Miles asks in my ear, I try to turn a little to look at him.

"He's just waking up," I reply loudly.

Something I didn't think about was making us riding masks, we'll have to be very careful not to get hurt.

We're like halfway there when I really turn to look at Miles and notice that he does have a mask.

He notices me staring in awe at him and smirks.

"What?"

"When did you get that?" I wonder.

I can't turn to look at him for long because it hurts but he rests his chin on my shoulder to be close and talk.

"I made it. Jake thaught me how, surprisingly. Guess he was tired of me using sunglasses," he explains.

I shake my head a little and turn to look at him again.

His mask is beautiful, purple and blue with some details and in the center, there's the head of a little bird.

"You like it?" He asks.

"It's beautiful Miles," I say and he smiles.

The rest of the trip I have to feed the baby and help him sleep, halfway there we're caught in a storm and I worry about Nakoa, he's crying and I can't do anything to calm him down. 

Miles tries keeping us steady but the storm is strong.

"Can you tell Jake that we need to stop?!" I shout to Miles. I hope he can see better than I do because every time I want to open my eyes they get flooded by water.

"Sully! we need to stop, the baby is not taking the storm well, I don't think the Ikran either,!" I hear him.

I keep Nakoa close to me and it pains me to not be able to comfort him.

"I'll get us there, I don't fucking care. I'm not risking my family!" Miles shouts. I guess Jake told him not to stop.

"What happened?!"

"He says we can't stop here, that it will only be worse,!" 

I look around, there are mostly big mountains of stone and sea, and the storm. Nothing else.

"Ask him how much longer! we do need to stop soon!"

"We need to stop, soon!" He shouts into his microphone.

"He says maybe twenty minutes and there should be somewhere to rest!"

Nakoa keeps crying, I bite my lips as I think of the options and nod.

"Then let's keep moving!" I reply.

Maybe it's me or maybe the Ikran understood that we needed to go faster because this twenty minutes didn't feel as long. We finally make it out of the storm and it is late at night but as Jake said I see more places where we could rest.

I notice my aunt and uncle in the distance, my cousins too.

"Tell them that we really need to stop now," I tell Miles.

I hear him talk and I notice their Ikrans make a turn and start going down, where there are some trees.

We follow up soon.

We rest there for maybe an hour, I clean Nakoa and feed him. I think he's calmer here than in the air, my family uses this time to eat something. Jake says that if we keep flying we'll be at the High Camp early in the morning.

This time when we're up in the air I have to fight the urge to sleep, I'm really really tired but the fear of moving or getting Nakoa hurt makes me wake up again. Miles gives my head a kiss and whispers to me that we'll be there soon, helping me get calm.

We witness the sunrise and the sky turning blue and soon... the Hallelujah mountains are in front of us.

A big smile creeps onto my face and my heart goes faster, my eyes water at the fact that I'm here and all that it means, to be breathing the air of my home and seeing something so familiar again.

"Welcome back," Miles whispers into my ear.