Okay, maybe that was a little bit too much food, I feel like my stomach could burst every second. Regardless of the pain I started making my way to my cabin to relax and sort out the events of the last few days, alongside my feelings. As I walked through the halls that made up the laboratory located in High Camp, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. My altercation with Jake earlier still weighed heavily on my mind, even though I didn't want to admit that, but the thought of facing him again filled me with dread. I needed to clear my head before I could face him again.
Finally, I arrived at my cabin and shut the door behind me. I collapsed onto my bed, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally. I needed to talk to someone about everything that had happened, but I didn't know who to turn to. Kiri was always there for me, but I didn't want to burden her any more than I already had. She had her own life to live and couldn't be around to babysit me all the time. She was beautiful and strong, with a strange connection to Eywa that I admired. But she was also off-limits. My human body was not that of a Na'vi, she was my stepsister, and any relationship between us would be forbidden and shamed. Wait... why was I thinking about this?
My left hand traveled across the gap between the bed and nightstand, hoping to find my communication device and check for anything I had missed. It was a habit I unintentionally built up over the years, even though I never quite had someone wanting something from me in particular. To my surprise was I bombarded with what felt like thousands of missed calls from a certain other female.
"What the fuck, Louise?" I spurted out into the empty room, before calling out her name through the transmitter. I waited for what felt like a minute before repeating myself.
"Louise? Are you there?" Another wait, which again didn't seem to bear fruit. I nearly gave up but took a deep breath before going for the third try. Even before I wasn't able to spit out a single sound as something interrupted me.
"Oh my god, Firin!" I physically jumped at the loud, sudden voice yelling its concern into my ear. "It's been like two days! Are you okay? What happened? I hope nothing bad happened because you ignored me the whole time! I am your girlfriend I deserve to know what is going on!" How could a person go from concerned to angry in five seconds? I was overwhelmed by her parade of unending questions, to say the least.
"Umm..." She immediately stopped talking, awaiting my statement like a party in court waiting for the judge's final decision on a long and fought-for case. The long case for her was being 'ignored'. "I am fine. I think that was your first question." She cleared her throat as if to rewind her whole breakout to start back from where she started, point one.
"That is good to hear, but what happened? I was worried sick!" She sounded exasperated and concerned. I nervously replied, shifting my position to sit up straight with my legs crossed.
"Yeah, sorry about that, really, but I was, umm, distracted." I nervously gulped.
"Is that a nice way of saying you were sleeping with someone else?" Her voice seethed with suppressed rage. My sentence did sound like that, however, that was not the case at all, hence my reaction.
"Goodness no!" Thoughts flooded into my head from that rainy night, sobering me to the point of no emotions. I cleared my throat in preparation for what I had to say next. "Listen, umm, can you promise not to laugh at me or anything? This is serious." A tense silence followed as she waited for me to explain further.
"Yeah, of course. What's going on?" Was her way of urging the conversation away from the aforementioned silence.
"You remember Spider, right?" I asked as she hummed in response.
"You talked about him before here or there... Why would you bring him up now?" I again gave myself time to think of how I would be able to put the next words into a working sentence.
"He, umm, he got abducted." I blandly pressed out. Even though she had not known him personally Louise knew what he meant to me.
"What?! Are you serious?! How is that even possible?" Shock and disbelief could be heard in her voice as she desperately tried to comprehend the news.
I started repeating the events that had plagued my mind when nothing was around to draw my attention. From being awoken by my sister to how we tracked through the jungle to eventually finding the dream walkers of the human settlement checking out my father's old linking shack to the fight, or rather escape from danger, that finished off the crescendo of it all, I poured out everything I had stashed away, even from my family, ending it all with a "Yeah, that, er, my past couple of days, what did you do?" an anticlimactic ending, I know, but the last question was a hopeful attempt to raise the mood and make the whole thing sound less depressing than I had originally laid it out, even though that was a pretty difficult challenge. Louise however took her time with responding, not breaking the awkward silence that ensued from my question. My shoulders slumped over the next silent minute, thinking I had now pushed away my only remaining human friend, who wasn't about 20 or more years older than me and a scientist in the same laboratory I was in. Wanting to sound better than I was, was probably the wrong move, for some reason I felt the need to apologize for sharing my story. "Sorry, I should have never told you all this. You probably don't really ca-" I was unable to finish my sentence, as was so often the case because someone else wanted to bring their opinion into the room.
"Firin?" My girlfriend's voice sounded in my ears. I hummed in response. "I am really proud of you for opening up to me."
"Really?" I asked, the dimmed flame inside myself slowly gaining significance again.
"Yes. I know how hard it can be to open up about traumatic events." She chuckled to herself in her light ways, probably without even realizing it. This was one of the parts I liked about her, the small things people themselves never noticed. She continued with her speech "Listen, I think we should, umm, meet, yeah, meet." Another short pause. "So I can give you the closeness you need right now." Without thinking much I agreed.
"If you want to see some freak, who can't even protect his best friend." The slightly older girl didn't seem to agree with my accusations about myself.
"Tsk, Firin. Stop saying such dumb things." She really tried her best to lighten my mood. "You are not responsible for what happened. Look, we will meet tomorrow at around noon, okay? Now go to sleep, it's late anyways." Her last words made me glance out of the small window that framed the wall opposite the room's entrance. It had indeed turned dark outside, even though the torches and such would make you believe otherwise, with how many of them dimly lit up the entire camp. Returning my focus to the conversation that was slowly coming to a close.
"If you say so, mom." Her antics did remind me of my mother, well, partially at most. Neytiri would scold me more. Even the chuckle that left her lips was what one could expect from a mother speaking with her child, that had just said something funny. Images of Louise as my mother flashed through my mind. Her reading me a book, her tucking me into sleep. I quickly shook my head to get those thoughts out of it. I don't have a kink for mothers, I think. My girlfriend spoke up again, putting the nail in the coffin for the train of thoughts that had driven through the train station called my brain.
"You just rest now, I don't want to lose the person I hold most dear, just because they were reckless and didn't care about themselves enough, so go and sleep, babe." She made a kiss sound through the transmitter. "I love you, don't forget that." I lightly smiled to myself. She really was like a mother. Oh no, not those images again!
"I love you too, Louise." was the last thing I was able to say before the connection broke, leaving behind a brief echo of her name bouncing off my walls, having lost its target. She hung up. Just in time, as a huge yawn made its way across my face, together with the tiredness that could rival an overzealous office worker living on the 8th cup of coffee at 4 am. I laid down on my bed, just as the teenage brunette I was lucky enough to call my girlfriend had said, not bothering to change, drifting away from consciousness, awaiting the next in the hope of some time to spend with Louise. How did I even pull her in the first place? This was still a mystery to my mind every time I said goodbye to her. One hundred years ago they probably would have said something along the lines of 'W Rizz', but what do I know? My thoughts slowly came to a halt, turning into nothingness as sleep took over my body and mind to end the day.
BEEP BEEP BEEP CLICK
I groaned and pulled my arm away from my alarm. Since when did I have an alarm? No matter. I turned around and tried falling back to sleep. Minutes passed and I was about to lose my grasp on being awake, but I was ripped back to reality when a thought passed through my brain. I wanted to meet up with Louise. I grudgingly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Bright sunlight bouncing off the cave walls shone through my window and right into my face. I tossed the sheets to the wall side of the bed and sat on the other side, facing the rest of the small room. My feet connected with the cold metal floor, I shivered but stood up to head out and eat something. I stretched and yawned on my way to the cafeteria, nodding to some people already behind some holo-screens working on something that looked like a database of some sort. I moved my vision back to the path I was taking, not that I would get lost, but I had often before bumped into somebody or something, which led to something falling over or out of someone's hands, breaking something. That could and should be avoided.
I groggily made my way into the cafeteria, where only a few people were still eating their breakfast. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of clinking dishes filled the air. I joined the others at the buffet who piled food on their plates, my stomach grumbling in anticipation of eating something myself. Some of the scientists sat in groups, discussing their latest experiments and theories. I listened with one ear, catching snippets of conversations about DNA sequencing, ecological studies, and breakthroughs in Avatar program technology. I never really cared for the experiments they conducted; I was more of an outdoors guy and had something to do.
I moved along the counter, scanning the array of breakfast options. There were trays of fresh pastries and other types of bread, bowls of human edible fruits, and plates piled high with scrambled eggs and bacon. However, I opted for something more portable, something I could eat on the way to meet Louise. I settled on a still-warm, toasted bagel, spreading a generous amount of cream cheese on it to make it taste a little less bland.
With my breakfast in hand, I navigated through the laboratory, taking bites of my bagel here and there after swallowing the previous one. I stepped into the sector with the exit I intended to take. The glass door offered me glimpses of the outside. Rays of sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a golden glow on the floor as if beckoning me forward. Gulping down the little rest from my small breakfast I made my way toward the exit, my mind began to wander. Thoughts of Louise consumed my thoughts, and I couldn't help but replay our conversations in my mind. Her voice, filled with concern and affection, echoed in my ears. I yearned for the comfort and closeness she offered, a respite from the chaos of my current situation. However, just as I was about to step outside, a scientist intercepted me, holding out an exopack in his hand.
"Firin, wait!" he called out. "I have something for you." I furrowed my brow in confusion but stopped to see what the older man had to say. I took the exopack from his hand, recognizing it as the one I had accidentally broken yesterday. "Max wanted me to give this to you," he explained, a warm smile on his face. "He fixed it up for you. Said you might need it." I smiled, not expecting Max to be done so soon with repairs. He normally took a few days to do something like this.
"Thank you," were the words that left my mouth. "I appreciate it." The scientist nodded and wished me a nice day before returning to his work. Now that I was equipped with a functioning exopack and didn't need to grab a new one from the wall next to the exit, stepped out of the laboratory and into High Camp, where I observed my clan going about their daily activities. Na'vi children raced through the paths made of the floating caves floor, their laughter filling the air as they passed me. Some warriors who were not out on a mission trained in the distance. The Omatikaya clan was a beacon of unity and strength, and I found solace in their presence, which is something I would say if they weren't stuck up about me being human, shutting me out. I shook my head. Maybe I would never find my place here, but that didn't matter right now. With a deep breath, I set off towards meeting Louise at our rendezvous point, my heart filled with hope and determination that at least she was someone I could trust. I however wasn't able to go far on my path toward my ikran, as a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks and made me turn around to look for the source.
"(Where are you going, moron?)"
"(Good morning to you too, Kiri.)" I nodded toward my little sister and tried to back around in hopes of continuing. Contrary to my plans did the teenage na'vi girl grab my shoulder and spun me back.
"(I really hope that you aren't going where I think you are.)" I tilted my head in confusion. What did she think to know about my plans?
"(And that would be...)" I asked awaiting her answer, which came in the form of her letting go of my arm and then resting hers on my head, leaning into me, signaling her apparent superiority because of her height. As I scoffed and yanked her arm away she continued whilst now smiling.
"(To go and fly on Lu'un.)" I raised my eyebrows.
"(Anyone could have guessed that. You aren't special.)" I said as Kiri grinned in victory.
"(But you know what would be?)" I glared at her, why was she acting so weird?
"(What?)" I asked, now hooked on her words.
"(Me telling mom and dad about that human girl.)" My heart missed a beat as my eyes turned big. I wanted to scream at her, but all I could do was not move a singular muscle due to shock. I opened my mouth, but soon closed it again, not finding any words fit for the situation. As if Kiri had prepared this for quite some time now, she spoke her next sentence. "(Do you think they would approve, hmm?)" I glanced around as if everyone was suddenly focussing on us, even though that was not the case. I whispered my next words.
"(H-How did you find out? How long have you known?)" Kiri put her hands on her waist, as her tail swished from side to side.
"(A bit.)" I stayed silent, eager for her next words. "(Pretty much from the beginning, where you killed those few people.)" My eyes widened again.
"(So that's why you were so mad.)" My step-sister nodded.
"(Pretty much.)" she answered, as she put her left index finger on my chest before continuing. "(But I'm telling you, she is up to something.)" I furrowed my eyebrows, getting offended by the insult against my girlfriend.
"(And what do you know?)" She sighed whispering something to herself along the lines of 'I knew he wouldn't believe me.'
"(Listen, just trust me. Just this one, okay?)" I nodded for her to continue. "(That girl doesn't want to be together with you.)" I scoffed.
"(Are you fucking dumb?)" Her smile dropped, getting annoyed at the attitude I was giving her.
"(Listen here, idiot.)" I interrupted her.
"(No, you are.)" I was pretty mad now. "(First you don't tell me that you know of Louise and now you want to tell me that the only person that I can trust right now is up to something when you don't even know her?)" I shook my head and started walking away. "(Fucking hypocrite.)" Kiri continued as if I never even said the last part and started walking away.
"(What if she got orders to capture you, just like they did Spider?)" I stopped, letting the words go through my head. That did seem smart. I thought to myself as the blue-skinned girl stepped to my side. "(Just think about it. That would seem logical, right?)" I nodded, still not looking at her.
"(You are still full of shit.)" My younger sister sighed.
That will do for now. Sorry for not writing for so long, I wasn't able to find the motivation to finish this chapter for a bit. Anyways, I hope you liked it, if so, feel free to vote on this chapter, maybe even leave a comment with your thoughts. Until next time.