nine. when hell freezes over
THE SUN BROKE AGAINST THE SKIES OF PANDORA, LIGHTING UP THE FORESTS. Juniper's ears perched in her sleep and tilted to the side, where she heard a beeping noise. Groggily opening her eyes, the sound was distorted as if it weren't real, but Juniper's breathing became erratic as she returned to her senses from waking up. She clearly heard the beeping of machinery and the roars of engines. Before the Vespera girl knew it, the trees started to fall in front of her eyes.
Juniper gasped in fear at the sight of bulldozers travelling towards the girl. Quickly surveying the area, she ran to Jake's side, who was still unconscious. Juniper placed her hands against his shoulders and frantically shook the man, hoping he would wake up. She noticed her attempts were coming to no avail and Juniper firmly shouted, "Jake, wake up!" Her gaze continued to switch between the incoming bulldozers and over to Jake, "Please, Jake, wake up!"
As the Vespera girl started getting the idea that the man wasn't going to wake up in time before the bulldozers came, she began to pull the man away from the danger. The surrounding trees fell to the ground, causing the floor beneath them to shake. Jake was lifeless as Juniper struggled to pull him away, not having enough strength as she was smaller in comparison to the Sully man.
Juniper cried as she pulled Jake's body over one of the branches, becoming out of breathe—not only from the efficient amount of muscle she had to use to get Jake out of the way but also from her hyperventilating of the fear that coursed through her body. She watched with raw emotions tightening her chest as her home was being destroyed. One of the many sacred spots Pandora inhabited.
Despite the urgency of trying to get her and Jake out of the way, the bulldozers were ultimately getting closer than before. Juniper hit Jake against his chest as hard as she could, trying to get the man to wake up. When that didn't work, she went back to yelling, "Come on, Jake. Please. Ja ...—Dad, wake up!"
Barely any time to process what she said, Juniper glanced up at the sound of cracking. Juniper wailed as a tree was coming down on them. Not knowing what else to do, she dropped herself onto Jake as a shield. Her eyes were shut tight, waiting for the tree to come crashing down on the two. However, she didn't realise Jake had opened his eyes and felt his arms wrapped around her form.
As they spun out of the way, Juniper exhaled sharply, her eyes blurry with tears when she opened them again to reveal Jake hovering over her. They locked eyes, and Jake sighed in relief for a split second, asking, "are you okay? Juniper, are you hurt?" The girl couldn't speak. Like all the words and air was knocked out of her lungs. Instead, she shakily shook her head to the man.
With the reassurance that Juniper was okay, Jake quickly stood up and ordered Juniper to get out of the way as he stepped towards the machinery, wavering his hands as he jumped in the air to catch their attention, "hey!" He shouted as Juniper watched in the distance, refusing to leave him behind, "stop! Stop! Go back, stop!"
As it continued to advance towards Jake, Juniper yelled in warning, with fear seeping in her tone, "Jake! They're not going to stop, please!" Juniper went to repeat what she said when she noticed Jake still standing there, but before she could, the bulldozers abruptly stopped. Juniper's eyes enlarged, taking in the sight of the big machinery powering down.
Jake looked back to Juniper and kept an arm out in front of the 'dozer. When Juniper took a couple steps forward to reach the man's side, to their dismay, the machines growled back to life. The Sully man fell back as it progressed forward, shouting at it for it to stop. Juniper quickly pocketed her arms under Jake's, lifting him to his feet. Jake placed a hand on her lower back, guiding her through the forest, "go, go!"
Juniper leapt over the branches on the floor, occasionally gazing behind her to see if Jake was still following. But when Juniper didn't see Jake behind her, she became frantic. Tears burnt her eyes, her nose stinging from the sensation of the waterworks. She rubbed the pads of her fingers together in a way to get her to calm down. Juniper cried, "Jake! Jake, where are you?"
Juniper felt relief flood through her system when she heard Jake return her calls, "Juniper!" The Vespera girl wasted no time to locate the voice, coming to Jake's side. The man held his hand out for Juniper to take, which she did not hesitate at and kept a tight grip on as they managed deeper into the forest.
They stayed there for a while, hiding away from the sky people. Observing the damage that was made, Juniper's lips quivered as she brought her hands to her face and sobbed. Jake stood behind the girl, his hand propped against her shoulder as he rubbed in solace. The Sully man was beginning to understand how much the forest meant to the Na'vi, so seeing the damage they inflicted made his blood boil.
He continued to hold Juniper, whispering soothing phrases to the girl as she turned around and buried her head in the man's chest. Jake took a step back from the unexpected action to catch himself and pressed his hand against her head, feeling Juniper's braids between his fingers. He cooed to the girl until she calmed down enough to travel back to hometree.
Juniper stood off to the side of the people of Omaticaya, holding her arm by her side. Grace stood close to the girl and shrugged an arm around her shoulder. Jake had wandered off to retrieve Neytiri after Juniper reassured the man that she would be okay alone for the time being.
Before Juniper could share the news about the sky people's invasion, Tsu'tey had beat her to it. The Olo'teykan stood in front of his people that hollered their battle cries. Juniper would participate, but she was still shaken up by the situation. The Vespera girl was glad to have Grace by her side, softly holding on to her, "Tsu'tey will lead the war party," Etyukan spoke up, gazing back at Tsu'tey.
The said Na'vi held up his bow, increasing the battle cries around the place. Grace tore her grip off Juniper and went to walk forward. The Vespera girl, despite being hesitant, trailed behind the woman as she yelled out to the Na'vi, "stop, please! This will only make it worse."
Tsu'tey warningly pointed his weapon towards Grace from where he stood further away, speaking in broken English, "you do not speak here! We will strike them in the heart," Juniper knew the risks that were involved with going to war with the sky people, but she didn't want it any other way. They damaged their home, took their people—scarred the teenager for life. Revenge was needed to be served.
Jake's voice exclaimed through the people's hollers, which knocked Juniper out of her thoughts. Her chest felt lighter when the girl saw Neytiri and Jake walk in, hand-in-hand, and remembered Jake admitting to them being mated. Though, she couldn't dwell on that right now as Tsu'tey angrily advanced to the man, "you!" He spat out in anger.
The Sully man took a step forward to the angry Na'vi, his hands out in the open, "listen, brother," In return, Jake received a hard shove, making his back meet with the floor. Juniper rushed forward towards the group, standing at Neytiri's side, who held Tsu'tey back.
Recognition filled the man's face as he glanced at Neytiri and then back to Jake, who was still lying on the floor, "you mated with this woman?" He asked. Gasps and shocked expressions filled the tense silence of the place. Mo'at stepped towards her daughter, inspecting the woman's face as she asked if it were true.
Neytiri held her head up high when she saw the encouraging nod from Juniper, "we are mated before Eywa. It is done," It wouldn't take a genius to see the hurt plastered on Tsu'tey's face. Jake pushed himself off the floor, calling Tsu'tey again and warning him of the death that would occur if they were to attack.
This only made the said man more enraged than he was before. Unexpectedly, Tsu'tey grabbed the blade from his lower back, facing the man, "you are not my brother!" Tsu'tey charged at Jake whilst Neytiri and Juniper protested. Jake gripped Tsu'tey's arm, throwing him from behind, which caused him to collapse on the ground.
Tsu'tey was quick to recollect himself and face Jake as he pulled the same knife strapped against his chest. Neytiri was rushed to safety by her parents, gripping Juniper's arm as Jake shouted, "And I am not your enemy!" Jake threw his blade away, adding, "the enemy is out there, and they are very powerful! I can talk to them."
"No more talk," Tsu'tey stated, rushing towards Jake for the second time. The Sully man dodged his attack but missed Tsu'tey's quick turn, cutting Jake's chest slightly. When the angered man hurdled towards Jake, the Sully man gripped the hand where Tsu'tey tightly held his weapon, landing a punch on the man's face. Jake kneed Tsu'tey in the gut, quickly followed by another blow to the face.
Tsu'tey fell to the blood with blood dripping from his nose as Jake stayed standing, "I am Omaticaya. I am one of you. And I have the right to speak," Juniper raised her brows at Jake's sudden change of language to Na'vi, "I have something to say ... to all of you," His gaze dropped to Neytiri, who stood protectively in front of Juniper, peering behind her shoulder. Both of them frowned at Jake's next words, "the words are like stones in my heart."
Before Jake could continue, Juniper inhaled when she watched Grace abruptly fall lifeless to the ground. Juniper crouched over Grace, calling for the woman, gazing back up at Jake and saw the expression of fear laced on his face. Jake was in the middle of his sentence before he, too, fell to the ground. Tsu'tey leapt forward, grabbing the man by his braid to display his face as he held his blade dangerously close to Jake's throat, "you see? It is a demon in a false body."
Before Tsu'tey was about to drag his knife against Jake's throat, without any hesitation, Neytiri pounced and tackled the man off her mate. Kicking Tsu'tey away, she unravelled her blade and hovered over Jake's body, hissing at the man. Tsu'tey grunted in front of Neytiri's face before storming off, and Juniper's eyes trailed his leaving figure.
Now that everything calmed down, the people became aware that Neytiri had mated with the newcomer instead of Tsu'tey—the man that she had been arranged for. Juniper sighed deeply, gazing between Grace and Jake's unconscious body, thinking to herself: what the hell was going to happen now?