"My son said your name is Beatrice, right? You look young to join them, how old are you?"
"Im 17, sir. My mother started the process to get here when i was 10. She worked in the med bay, and i helped in the kitchen when i turned 16. I still work there.. or did.. I was the harvester. I would go out into the woods once or twice a week to gather fruits and herbs." Beatrice couldnt stop fiddling with her fingers, hesitant to look up at Jake and Norm.
"Neteyams that age, and we have plenty of Na'vi around your age too. So you know your way around fruits then, huh? Thatll be a huge help, if youre okay with that." Jake leaned forward a bit, popping his knuckles. "I dont mean to sound rough, but do you know any information on the military side? Anything that would benefit us?"
Beatrice nodded, finally looking up at Jake. "Youd be surprised about how much gossip runs through the cafeteria."
"Before we get into that, Beatrice, you look.. clammy. Can i check you over first? Get some blood samples?" Norm stepped in, a look of concern in his eyes. Beatrice nodded, letting out a deep breath. She turned when she heard the door open, seeing Neteyam walk in and grab a small mouth mask, clipping the battery onto his loincloth band. He finally looked up at everyone, and Beatrice noticed his ears fall flat and his tail twitch nervously, making a small smile form on her lips before she looked down.
"Sir, all of my siblings are with Grandmother while Mom helps some of the mothers. Can i...?" Neteyam asked timidly, Beatrices eyes moving to Jake. He glanced down at Beatrice, her giving him a small nod, before Jake looked back at his eldest. He gave Neteyam a nod, pulling up another chair while Norm got up to grab and needle, syringe, and tubes. Neteyam sat in between his dad and Beatrice, nodding at Beatrice before looking down at the table. Beatrice looked back at Jake, waiting for Norm to return with everything necessary.
"Theres something that youll find.. in the blood tests, i mean. You should know before you get scared that you have to break the news to me." Beatrice spoke, her eyes moving to the table as she took off her long sleeved button down, leaving her in a plain white tank top so it would be easier to take the blood. All of the men looked over at her confused at her words, making Beatrices' ears turn pink at all of the attention. "I have cancer. Glioblastoma. They told me i only have a couple months, a year at the most. Its what my mom died of." She placed her arm on the table, continuing to stare down. It felt like everyone stopped breathing at her confession, Jake and Norm looking at each other sadly. Neteyam looked around confused before trying to get Beatrice to look at him, to which she refused.
"Um.. what is 'canser'?" Beatrice couldnt help but smile at Neteyams accent, chuckling softly.
"Can-cer. Its a disease. I have a bad brain, basically. Its trying to kill me." Beatrice spoke softly, finally looking at Neteyam. His face fell, nodding slowly. Beatrice watched as Jake placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner before looking back at Beatrice. She focused her attention on Norm who had come back, pulling his chair up next to Beatrice and sterilizing her arm before grabbing the needle. Beatrice looked away, her free hand scrunching into a tight fist and she chewed on her lip.
Neteyam watched as Beatrice flinched at the needle, a feeling of protectiveness washing over. He fought the urge to reach for her hand, suddenly feeling very responsible for this human girl. He felt his dads hand tighten on his shoulder slightly, making him look up at him. Jake raised his eyebrows at his son slightly, making Neteyams ears flatten and his head shoot down in embarrassment. Beatrice breathed out slowly as she felt the needle leave her skin, grabbing onto the cotton ball that Norm placed on the site for the bead of blood. Norm looked at Jake, silently telling him that they needed to talk once the young adults were gone.
"So, the gossip. Most of the time, its just stupid, relationship type stuff. Cheating, whos the best in bed, whos pregnant, that kind of thing. But thats when you have to train your ears for the newbies. Theyre the ones with the most gossip because they get so excited over having special tasks. Theres a ship coming in six months, with a major team on it. Theyre calling it the 'Blue Team'. My guess is that theyre bringing avatars back." Beatrice finally looked up at Jake, watching as Jake slipped his hand off of Neteyams shoulder before leaning forward once more, taking in the information Beatrice just threw on the table.
"Did you hear any names that are supposed to be apart of the team?" Jake asked, rubbing his jaw.
"Only one that people are proud to admit." Beatrice fiddled with her fingers after Norm taped the cotton ball, looking Jake dead in the face. "Quaritch." She watched as Jakes face filled with confusion, shaking his head.
"Hes dead. Neytiri killed him."
"I dont know for sure, sir. Thats the name ive heard. Im assuming, if the gossip is right, itll be his entire team." Jake nodded at Beatrices assumption, trying to soak in this information. Norm started processing Beatrices blood, tapping nervously on the computer, as if it would make it run faster.
"Alright, im going to have to get the warriors together and prepare them. Neteyam, i need to talk to you outside." Jake got up, Neteyam immediately following after him as he stepped outside, breathing deeply.
"A lot of things are going to be changing, Teyam. I need you to protect your siblings." Neteyam nodded at his fathers words, his tail flicking nervously before speaking.
"Dad, ive been having dreams about Beatrice. For a year now. And now i find her, and she wanted to abandon the sky people. What does this mean? Why was Eywa giving me dreams about someone i didnt know yet?"
Jake took a step back at his sons words, trying to pick his words carefully so he didnt scare his son.
"It means you did good bringing her here. Eywa wanted her here, with us. With you."
"Then why is she dying, dad?" Neteyam couldnt stop his voice breaking slightly, looking down as his ears flattened.
"That.. that i dont know, Teyam. I really dont know." Neteyam only nodded at his fathers words, rolling his shoulders before looking back up at his dad.
"Im going to go check on my siblings. Ill see you later, dad." Jake nodded at his son, grabbing onto the back of his head lovingly as he walked away. Jake walked back into the lab, making sure to actually grab a mask this time, before making his way to Beatrice.
"Since its so late ill formally introduce you to the clan in the morning, if thats okay with you?" Beatrice nodded, starting to stand.
"Does that mean im dismissed?" She asked timidly, not wanting to insult Jake. Jake nodded his head before grabbing onto her shoulder, welcoming her to the clan and giving her a gentle smile. Beatrice gave a small smile back, nodding, before making her way to Norm to ask where she was going to sleep. Norm quickly gave her directions, letting her know that he'll send someone with clothes shortly. Beatrice waved at the men, heading down the hall following Norms instructions. Once she was out of earshot, Norm quickly motioned for Jake to look at the screen. Beatrices blood results came in, Jake having no idea what he was looking at so he looked towards Norm to explain.
"She wasnt lying about the cancer. But Jake.. her cells are dying, quickly. I don't think she has more than 6 months."
Jakes ears flattened against his head, his thoughts immediately going to Neteyam. Eywa sent Beatrice to Neteyam for a reason, why would she take her away so quickly after uniting them?
"Is there anything we can do?" Jake asked softly, looking back at the screen. Jake noticed that Beatrice had his old blood type, now having Na'vi blood run through his veins. He looked back at Norm, moving the random coincidence from his mind.
"I can try and build an avatar for her. But they take 6 years to grow. We can try different medications to see if they fight against the cancer, but Jake, i cant promise a single thing. I dont even think we have that much medication to be able to keep her alive that long. Maybe Mo'at would have some ideas?"
Jake nodded, sighing. He approved the avatar idea, Norm immediately grabbing the blood sample and running off to start the process of growing an avatar. Jake said his goodnight to Norm before leaving, placing the mask back on the rack before making his way to his family.
Beatrice looked around her new room before taking a deep breath, sitting on the bed against the wall. She looked around, watching as the small curtain over the small window fluttered from the fan that was blowing, causing her to peek through the edge. She looked around the clan slowly, her eyes finding Neteyam coming out of what she assumed was his family's tent, meeting his dad halfway. She pulled back from the window, her mind racing from the days adventure before a knock pulled her from her thoughts. She quickly got up, opening the door to find Norm holding a good amount of clothes.
"Thank you, sir."
"Just Norm is fine, kid. Youre very brave for all of this, by the way. Im sure your mother would be proud."
Beatrice smiled at him softly before taking the clothes, fidgeting with the material.
"If youre hungry, in that closest right there are some snacks that should hold you over. Im gonna start you on some medication tomorrow. Youll need to have a full stomach for them, so ill see you at breakfast. Itll be where we were talking earlier, okay?" Beatrice nodded, thanking Norm before he walked away. She softly closed the door before getting changed into a large baggy tshirt and shorts, enjoying the comfortable material more than her uniform. She was about to turn off her light before another knock rang on her door, making the girl scrunch her eyebrows in confusion. She slowly opened the door to be met with a slouching Neteyam breathing from the mouth mask. He quickly lowered the mask, nodding his head at Beatrice.
"I just want to check on you before i went to bed. I hope thats okay.." Beatrice gave Neteyam a soft smile, nodding before opening the door to let the Na'vi in. He sat on the floor in front of her bed, that being the only way he could straighten his back comfortably. Beatrice sat on her bed, crossing her legs before looking at Neteyam, playing with the hem of her shirt.
"Thank you, Neteyam. I didnt want to die in a place i hated." Beatrice confessed, making Neteyam frown slightly.
"I do not want you to die. I just met you." Beatrice smiled at the Na'vis words, shaking her head slightly. "Is that why you passed out today? The two times?"
"Yeah, if i overwork myself, the pain becomes unbearable and my body just shuts down, i guess. Im sorry you had to deal with it.."
"Im sorry you go through it, Bea. You do not deserve that. You do not deserve anything youve been through." Beatrice raised her eyebrows slighting, moving her bangs out of her face by slightly shaking her head.
"You dont know me, Neteyam."
"I feel like i do. I feel Eywa has made us meet for a reason." Neteyam scrunched his hairless eyebrows at the girl as he watched her shrug, taking a breath from his mask. "You do not think so?"
"I want to.. i want to believe that Eywa has a plan for me, but how will i figure it out before i die?"
Neteyam hissed quietly at her words, catching Beatrice off guard. He huffed, shaking his head at her. "Stop saying you will die."
Beatrice only nodded at him, lowering her head. Shes had months to accept her fate, it was brand new to Neteyam so she knew he still had to process it.
"Im glad you found me, Neteyam."
"I am too, Bea."
Beatrice smiled at Neteyam, her cheeks turning pink before she shook her head at him. "Out, out! We both need sleep."
Neteyam stood, taking another breath from his mask. "I will see you tomorrow. My dad wants us to go harvest fruit and herbs. I told him how you also made balms. I think you will like my grandmother." Beatrice smiled and nodded her head, climbing off the bed to walk him to the door. They said their final goodnights, Beatrice closing the door softly and turning off the light before walking to the pantry and quickly grabbing a snack. She ate it quickly before climbing into bed, her head instantly becoming empty once she laid her head on the pillow, sleep taking her immediately.