The next morning, the Sully family and Beatrice sat in a big circle, laughter filling the air as they ate together. They always made an effort to, but sometimes the war parties would leave before Tuk was awake, a promise of the next morning in the air.
Beatrice was damn near about to start a food fight with Lo'ak, deciding against it so she didnt have to face Neytiri. Instead, she moved behind Kiri, knowing Lo'ak would never aim at her. Kiri only laughed at Beatrices antics, rolling her eyes and continuing to eat her food.
Once everyone finished eating, Beatrice cleaned up with Neytiri, Neteyam hanging about like an obvious loiter while Jake went to the ledge to get the saddles ready for their ikrans. Neytiri eyed her son, Beatrice taking no notice as she continued to tidy up. Neteyam stared back at his mother, trying to look innocent and confused. The older Na'vi just squinted at him, her tail flicking behind her, causing Neteyam to swallow.
"Please be careful today." Beatrice voiced to the two of them, causing Neytiri to cease staring at her son and look at the young girl. Neteyam let out a breath he was holding, thinking he was going to get yelled at by his mother for not helping his father yet. Instead, Neytiri walked over to Beatrice and placed a kiss on the top of her head, tucking the lose hair behind her ear.
"I will make sure of it, daughter. When we get back, i braid your hair. Make easier to manage." Neytiri smiled at how happy Beatrice got, nodding her head feverishly. Neytiri made her way out of the tent, causing Neteyams heart to fill happily as he ran over to Beatrice. She looked at him confused before gasping as he kissed her, her eyes immediately closing as she kissed him back. Neteyam pulled away after a minute, a cheesy grin on his lips as he kissed her forehead before taking off after his mother. Beatrice just stood there, smiling to herself before she snapped out of it, exiting the tent herself. Her ears twitched as she heard the ikrans taking off, sending a silent prayer to Eywa to keep them safe before setting out to find where Neteyams siblings wandered off to.
After walking around for a few minutes, calling for Lo'ak and Kiri, she heard Lo'aks call making her roll her eyes. She quickly found them after that, looping her arm with Kiris as she watched Tuk complain to her brother, whining for her to go with.
"Cmon, skawng, just let her come with." Kiri spoke, rolling her eyes at the whole ordeal. Lo'ak just huffed, wrapping his bow around his shoulders. The kids checked to make sure they had their knives, Beatrice wearing one of Neteyams since she had not made her first kill yet to be able to make her own. Spider arrived, running up and jumping onto Lo'ak, causing a small fight to occur that was filled with laughs.
The group made their way to the ledge, Lo'ak and Kiri calling out for their ikrans. Lo'ak and Spider rode on his, while Kiris was able to handle the weight of Tuk, Kiri, and Beatrice in that order. The group flew around before coming to a dense area of the forest, the girls immediately starting to play with the plants as they followed after Lo'ak and Spider. Beatrice stayed at the back, wanting to make sure Tuk didn't accidentally get left behind each time she stopped to play with the tendrils of plants.
"Tuk! Keep up!" Lo'ak complained, causing Beatrice to roll her eyes and urge Tuk on, leaving the plant behind.
"Whyd you even bring her bro?" Beatrice heard Spider ask, causing Lo'ak to turn and walk backwards as he spoke, everyone walking slowly behind him.
"Shes such a crybaby! 'Im telling, youre not supposed to go to the battlefield! Ill tell mom if you dont let me come!'" Lo'ak mimiced his sister, Tuk poking out from behind Spider and sticking her tongue out at Lo'ak. Beatrice giggled softly while Kiri rolled her eyes, the group continuing on. Lo'ak and Spider took the lead once again, Beatrice and Kiri getting caught up by the forest. Beatrices new eyes could never get enough of the forest, finally able to notice things she wouldve never been able to notice as a human. The two girls played with the small creatures, laughing and twirling around with the fan lizards. Beatrice ended up losing Kiri, not too worried once she saw Spider go after her. Beatrice quickly caught up to Tuk and Lo'ak, crouching down with them as they played with the small bugs.
The group was out for hours, passing midday as they continued to explore. Kiri and Spider reunited with the group not too long ago, Beatrice raising her eyebrows teasingly at Kiri, who only rolled her eyes back. It always made Beatrice laugh at how much Kiri rolled her eyes, the teenager being quite dramatic. She could feel Kiri start to grow anxious as they stayed out longer than they should have, causing Beatrice to keep Tuk close to the group. Beatrice watched as Lo'ak and Spider crouched down around something, a large footprint in the mud causing her own anxiety to rise. Her ears lowered as she looked around the forest, not really listening to what the boys were saying. Kiri complained, trying to get Lo'ak to call it for the day before Beatrice looked back and witnessed the two boys running off to follow the track. Beatrice and Kiri looked at each other annoyed, Beatrice urging Tuk on to follow the boys with the older girls staying close behind.
Beatrices mouth gaped slightly when they came across an airship stuck in a tree, the rest of the group wanting to go explore it. Beatrice could feel her anxiety growing worse, her head snapping to a direction where she heard movement. Lo'aks head also snapped in that direction, him and Spider following after the sound crouched down. Beatrice let out a hiss of frustration, collecting the girls and staying behind the boys as they slowly moved, coming across an old shack with adult avatars walking around. The group hid behind some dense bushes, Beatrices ears twitching like crazy as watched their backs. Her focus stayed on the sounds of the forest, barely hearing Kiris voice telling Lo'ak to call it in. She listened as Lo'ak called it in, watching as his ears flattened against his head, practically hearing in her mind Jakes disappointed tone.
"Uh.. we're at the old shack.." Lo'ak spoke into his mic, Beatrice watching Lo'ak carefully. "Me, Spider, Kiri, Bea... and Tuk.." Lo'ak spoke once again, Beatrice rubbing Tuks arm as Kiri held her to her body. Beatrice watched as Lo'ak nodded to himself, turning to everyone and urging them to go quietly. Beatrice stayed close to Tuk and Kiri, still trying to listen to the forest around her. She let out a soft hiss as Tuk ran in front of them, about to call out when suddenly an avatar jumped out from behind a tree, grabbing onto Tuk roughly.
All of the kids immediately jumped into action, pulling their knives out as they suddenly became surrounded. Each of them was grabbed, leaving Spider hissing and pointing his arrow at anyone who tried to get close.
"Drop it, kid." One of the avatars spoke, a few of them lifting their knives to Beatrice and Tuks throats. Beatrice felt her heart racing, panicked gasps escaping her lips as she kept her eyes on Tuk.
Beatrices attention was pulled away from the girl when another avatar entered the circle, her eyes widening slightly as she recognized Quaritch.
"What have we here?" Quaritchs deep voice spoke, causing fear to build in Beatrices chest. She looked over at each of the kids, swallowing deeply before looking back up at the man. She watched as he walked up to Lo'ak, asking where Jake was. She watched between the two, shooting her eyes over to Spider, Kiri, and Tuk quickly before looking back at Lo'ak.
"Sorry, i dont speak English.. to buttholes." Lo'ak responded in Na'vi, looking proud of himself. Beatrice lurched forward as the avatar holding onto Lo'aks queue tugs roughly, causing a painful hiss to leave his mouth. Quaritch asked his question once again, this time in Na'vi, causing Lo'ak to go silent.
Quaritch huffed loudly, taking a step back to look at the rest of the kids. Beatrice could see his eyebrows raise slightly, turning back to Lo'ak.
"Show me your fingers." Lo'ak slowly raised his hands to Quaritch, flipping him off. "Youre one of his.. arent you?" Beatrice felt sick at the smirk that grew on the avatars face, watching as Quaritch grabbed onto Lo'aks queue tightly, pulling his head back. Lo'ak let out a pained hiss, a whimper slipping out following it. Beatrice again lurched forward as Quaritch pulled out his knife, the other kids started to scream and shout. A bead of blood slipped down Beatrices neck, causing her to flinch as the knife on her neck became harsher. Quaritch turned to Spider, roughly letting go of Lo'ak before walking over to him and kneeling in front of him. Beatrices heart pounded in her ears, loosely listening as she watched Lo'ak, trying to see if he had any injuries. Lo'ak looked back at Beatrice as another avatar took his queue, shaking his head softly. Beatrice let out a breath, finally looking back over at Spider.
"Miles?" She heard Quaritch ask, causing her eyebrows to scrunch together at Spiders real name, clearly missing some of the conversation. As she listened, she put two and two together that Spider was human Quaritchs kid, her eyes going wide. She met Kiris eyes, Kiri looking to be on the verge of tears.
After a few minutes, the avatars started pulling Beatrice and the kids up by their queues, everyone letting out painful whimpers. They all got handcuffed and placed into a line, Beatrice looking over everyone to check on them. She listened as Quaritch called in for a ride, letting them know he had some prisoners, causing nausea to build in her stomach.
As it got darker, eclipse setting in, the rain started. Beatrice usually loved the rain, but at this point in time, she found it a bad omen. She continuously checked on the others, listening as Kiri prayed out loud for Eywa. She flinched as the avatar holding Kiri yanked on her queue, Kiri let out a cry. Beatrice ducked her head, fighting tears as she felt so useless. She raised her head back up, eyes closed, focusing on feeling the rain on her face.
Her ears twitched as she heard a familiar call, opening her eyes slowly and looking over at the others. She fought the smile that was begging to grow on her face, watching as Lo'ak gave a subtle nod to Spider. She turned as she heard the arrow flying in the air, hitting the avatar that held Kiri square in the chest. She turned, biting onto the avatars arm that held her captive, hearing Neytiri yell out Lo'aks name, him and Tuk following Beatrices actions. Spider elbowed the avatar holding onto him, chaos ensuing as the avatars aimed to where Neytiri shot from, shooting their guns with no remorse. Beatrice went for Kiri and Tuk, grabbing onto their arms and urging them to run, a yell escaping her lips as an avatar grabbed ahold of her queue once again. She fought crazily, kicking and trying to scratch at the man. She froze as she felt another knife to her skin, whimpering as she became a body shield for the avatar. She heard another arrow go flying somewhere, an avatar next to her dropping dead. She jumped as she heard gunfire go off in the direction the arrow came from, looking over and recognizing the feather on the arrow as Neteyams. Another cry left Beatrices mouth, causing the avatar holding onto her to dig the knife into her neck, causing more blood to leak.
Beatrice watched as Spider fell from high up, becoming unconscious on the forest floor while Quaritch ran up to his body, picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder. Beatrice fought as the avatar started pulling her backwards, screams leaving her lips as she started kicking again. Multiple calls echoed through the forest, falling deaf onto her ears as the avatar tried to pick her up, Beatrice preferring to die than be taken back to the sky people base. She fought back, the avatars arm falling in her face and her immediately taking the opportunity to bite again, this time yanking her head back and ripping a chunk of flesh off his arm. The avatar screamed in her ear, waving his knife around and slicing her chest, causing a hiss to escape her lips. She somehow managed to turn, grabbing onto the avatars shirt and pulling him forward, her teeth finding his throat and biting with no mercy. Beatrice yanked back, stepping back as the avatars throat fell from her mouth, stumbling backwards as she realized what she had done. The rain made quick work to start erasing the blood from her skin, Beatrice staring at her work in fear. She didnt even watch as the other avatars rose up to their ship, falling to her knees as she gasped loudly.
Beatrices ears twitched as she heard her name being screamed, her head finally looking up at the feet off the avatars rising to their ships. She started screaming Spiders name frantically, climbing onto her feet and taking a few steps forward. Her head turned, following her name being screamed before looking back up at the ship sadly, her feet kicking the avatars body.
"Beatrice!" She heard right behind her, turning swiftly and finding Neteyam. As soon as she saw him she broke down, falling to her knees and sobbing as the events set in. He rushed forwards, taking her into his arms, tucking her head under his neck as he comforted her. The rest of the family came running, Neytiri being the next to take the two in her arms, Tuk following as she landed in Beatrices lap. Beatrice hugged her as best she could, her hands still in the avatars handcuffs. The rest of the family surrounded her, all crying themselves. Jake gently cut her handcuffs, allowing her to hug Tuk with one arm and grab onto Kiri, checking her over before pulling her into her chest. Beatrice then grabbed ahold of Lo'ak, grabbing his head and bringing it to her shoulder, his own face stained with tears. She looked up at Neteyam and Neytiri, Jake searching around for their weapons that had fallen.
"I am so sorry i could not protect them. I am so sorry." Beatrice stuttered, sobs still racking her body. Neytiri let out a soft cry, kissing the top of Beatrices head before taking all of her kids in her arms. Neteyam hushed Beatrice softly, kissing her temple as he fought his own tears, his own heart racing from watching his love almost be taken from him.