I Feel You

Chapter 8

Amhul welcomed them back with a grin, eagerly looking over their haul before pulling Gene in with them and showing her they went about preserving the food for their stores. Nanti looked up briefly from where she was salting some meat and smoking it over the fire.

"I see you Nanti."

"I see you walker." She grumbled slightly but didn't protest when Gene sat next to her and began copying what she was doing.

"Sky people used to preserve food to survive the cold climate of earth. Does Pandora have something similar that you preserve food for?"

"We preserve food for the long twilight. We cannot hunt or gather as much because it is a time for Eywa's hunters to eat their fill."

"So it becomes more dangerous. In a way it is like the old winters of the earth, not that I would have experienced them."

"Then how do you know?"

"History. Written records about what happened in sky people villages. There was less food, longer nights and more danger. Many died if they were not careful and they made note of it so that future generations would know. Would remember until the sky people no longer followed their ways."

"Do you wish they did?" She finally asked after a moment, gaze flickering to her after watching the flames for a while.

Gene thought of that then, fingers stilling in their rubbing of salt. It was a spiraling thought, bringing in many unknowns. "To wish that would be to wish I did not exist. I do not think I could wish that. Though in a way I do. Things would have been better for their home and for your own." Nanti hummed noncommitly, holding her hand out for the next piece of meat Gene was working on. They did not talk about it anymore, choosing instead to exchange songs once more.

"What do you have planned for tomorrow?" Nanti finally asked after they'd finished the meat and were moving onto the fruit.

"I thought about practicing with the bow again since I haven't today. I don't know when Tsu'tey will next find me and teach me something so I may as well better what he already showed me."

"If you help me gather a few seeds tomorrow I'll help you in hand to hand." Gene looked up in surprise, not expecting the women to offer her any assistance outside of cooking. Nanti wasn't looking at her though, looking over the fruit Amhul had asked them to prepare.

"I'd like that. Will we be leaving early?"

"No. The seeds will be ready around mid-meal. You may practice your bow in the morning if you'd like."

"Then I will see you at mid-meal tomorrow." She joined the chefs once more at the evening meal, telling Amhul what Ikeyni had taught her when she spotted Jake. The other driver still looked out of place, haplessly following Neytiri around. She rarely saw him around, the male sleeping in and training outside hometree.

"Would you mind if I invited Jake over? I am curious how he is fairing in his understanding of your language."

"I do not mind provided he is not rude."

"Jake." He perked up at her call, head turning around before finally spotting her waving to him. He looked at Neytiri briefly before carefully making his way over the her, eyes watching his feet carefully less he step on another Na'vi's tail. She patted the ground next to her and held out a bowl for him as he made himself comfortable.

"I haven't see you in a while. How are you?"

"You can always ask me at the base."

"You seem tired after each time. I didn't want to intrude upon time you could be using to sleep." She grinned sheepishly. She'd considered it, after all she'd offered to help him in his language skills and had mostly done nothing outside of basic greetings. But each time she went to he looked exhausted and there wasn't much time between her inhabiting her avatar and then him for them to talk.