I'll Always Come Back To You

Fighting our Demons

We flew through the forest, our Ikrans roaring, and the Pa'li called to one another while we shouted war cries.

The Sky People had been living on Pandora for about a year now. They decimated the forest and its creatures, killing several miles of land to build their own village.

Unlike ours, it was a dead village. Nothing grew there. The only sounds you heard were the clang of metal and the shouts of the Sky People.

Every day, while they murdered Ewya's creations in cold blood, they encroached on our territory in search of resources.

In retaliation, we stole those resources, destroyed their supply lines, and killed their own as they had killed so many of ours.

Today, we were intercepting another supply line, and I was excited. I got to be part of the action on the ground this time instead of being a lookout.

Both Neteyam and Lo'ak were lookouts on this mission, and I definitely knew Lo'ak was salty about it. I flashed them both a grin as Aretha flew by them.

We descended on the supply train as the ground team on the Pa'li blew up part of the track.

The train flew off the tracks and exploded into flames. The metal banshees the Sky People rode hovered around, worried.

Jake took out the first one, shooting several bullets into the cockpit, killing the rider, and even hitting the motors. The metal contraption plummeted to the ground and exploded. Our leader whooped in triumph.

Now, it was Neytiri's turn.

She took out the other metal banshee by shooting two of her favorite neurotoxin arrows at the Sky People inside. They didn't even stand a chance as they, too, fell to the ground and exploded.

I grinned and ululated as I descended to the ground, detaching the bond and jumping off Aretha, weapons in hand, joining the others in unloading the Sky People's things from the train compartments

Other Na'vi, like Ralutan, kept watch from higher points on the ground. Neteyam, Lo'ak, and a few others kept a lookout from above. Ralutan was the same age as Neteyam and I and had been one of my closest friends. We'd met during Ikran training after Home Tree burned down, and I discovered, like me, he had been orphaned in the previous war between the Na'vi and the SkyPeople. We've both just hung around the Sully's because neither of us had anywhere else to go. Both our parents were dead, and it was either hanging with a group or spending time in a large swaynivi with no one but yourself for company.

I heard Jake over the comms, "Let's go, people, two minutes." He said, his tone urgent.

I quickly handed off the weapons to the Na'vi woman behind me (her name was Aasira, one of our tribe's greatest generals) and turned around to get more.

I heard an Ikran close by and turned to see Lo'ak and Neteyam running over. Well, it was more of Lo'ak running and Neteyam chasing him. I quickly broke away from the line, tapping Aasira to take my place.

She barked orders at someone who immediately fell into the line to help.

I hurried over to both of them, making sure to give Lo'ak a hard thump on the head. He growled at me, moving to the nearest bin to examine its contents.

"What are you two doing here?" I yelled. "You're supposed to be up in the sky, AS LOOKOUTS!"

Lo'ak ignored me, picking up a gun from the bin he was looking at and loading it.

This time, it was Neteyam who hit him.

Lo'ak whirled around, hissing angrily, as one of the scouts hollered a warning.

"Gunships inbound!" He shouted. "Fall back!"

More cries and calls were heard as people called their Ikrans or Pa'lis.

I yanked the gun out of Lo'ak's hand, tossing it back in the bin, and shoving him towards his Ikran. Neteyam followed.

"Let's go!"

The ships sent missiles into the ground, causing debris and a few stray Na'vi tumbling.

I shoved Lo'ak harder, opening my mouth to call Aretha.

A shell exploded right beside us, sending me flying away from both Neteyam and Lo'ak.

I cried out as I fell, hard, my ears ringing. My eyes fluttered, and I could feel a trickle of blood.

I heard a few voices calling our names.

I felt a hand on my cheek, and my eyes snapped open.

I threw my arms up to defend myself from whatever enemy was there.

"Hey, easy, easy, Aneya!" I heard Ralutan yelp, avoiding my flailing arms. "It's okay!"

I lowered my hands. "Ralu?" I croaked.

"Yes, it's me," he sighed, relieved. "Now what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Napping," I remarked sarcastically, coughing at the dust in my lungs.

He laughed before slinging me over his back. "Well, you chose a poor napping spot."

I winced at the movement, feeling pain somewhere in my chest, and felt my eyes closing as Ralu walked away from the wreckage of the Sky People's machines.

"Up you go."

I felt him lift me over his Ikran and then slide on behind me.

"Don't drop me," I warned quietly.

"Me? Drop you? Never!" I felt his chest rumble as he laughed and I frowned in annoyance. Ralu had dropped me from his Ikran before. Several times in fact.

"Home-ho!" He shouted joyfully, and we soared up and into the sky, away from the burning wreckage and Sky People machines. I don't know where my Ikran was, but I hoped she'd flown away as soon as the gunships came close.

At least the raid was successful.

I leaned back into Ralu's chest, my head lolling as I fought to keep my eyes open.

"Go to sleep, Aneya," I heard Ralu murmur gently. "I won't drop you this time."

"You better not," I mumbled.

I didn't hear him as he whispered something else before I succumbed to the growing darkness and closed my eyes.