The Hunter

Ash

Lo'ak's point of view:

I ran through the forest, brushing the falling ash from my eyes. The ground was covered with a grey and white substance, making the forest slick to move about in. I stumbled when running across the familiar environment and nearly ran into my clan mates, still trying to make it to the Tree of Souls. After making sure the human box was safely stored in the crater of the Tree of Souls, I left to find my family. Neteyam had commanded me to wait, and Dad had told us to stay put when we arrived at the tree, but I chose not to listen.

Occasionally, I would call out to my sisters, mother, and father. All of which I had not seen since the attack. I had climbed up higher into the treetops to get a vantage point, but I barely saw anything more than smoke and a home tree. The home tree, my home for many years, was burning. The tree stood firmly upright as there weren't enough missiles fired to cause it to collapse. However, I could see the fire that the explosions had caused. The tree was burning. The orange and red flames consumed the tree's limbs and trunk. As I got closer to the hometree, I watched as burning limbs fell to the ground. Many of my people screamed in fear at the impact.

From a distance, I had seen the toruk fall from the sky. I saw approximately where it landed, which was my goal as I leaped over logs and climbed through the trees to find it. I heard Na'vi voice as I approached the clearing. I followed the sound before I saw where the trees had branches that had been torn. If I were to guess, the destruction was from Toruks landing. I easily cleared the fallen branches and trunks before I came upon toruk.

The fallen animal was barely moving as it lay flat on the ground. Its wings were clearly shot, and it groaned in pain as it breathed. I yelled loudly throughout the forest, "Dad! Where are you!" At first, I didn't hear a response, but I heard movement and ran into the clearing. I dropped my bow onto the ground as I searched around toruk. The creature's only movement was its shallow breaths. I looked along the creatures back and around the trees before hearing a noise.

I turned to see my father standing, barely harmed, as he looked around. He seemed a bit disorientated, but he gripped his gun like he usually would when he went to battle. He turned, seeing me for probably the first time, and his voice questioningly asked, "Lo'ak?" I nodded and crossed to him. My father stood stiffly as I stood tall in front of him.

My father held out his hand, and for a second, I wasn't confident about what he was doing until he placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him tightly for a moment before pulling away as my father asked, "Are you hurt?" I shook my head, but he insisted on looking around me as if I was lying.

I heard a high-pitched call then, and my father and I looked up. My mother's bright green and blue ikran were descending. I was glad to see my mother relatively unharmed. She landed near before calling out, "My Jake. My son." She crossed the ground to us swiftly with her bow in hand. She grabbed me into a strong hug before letting me go. She pressed her forehead against my father's before checking him over for injuries as she asked, "What happened?"

My father blinked for a second as if he was a little stunned to see her before I said, "Toruk fell from the sky. He was shot down, I think." Dad shook his head but turned, seeming to realize I was correct, and he kneeled by Toruk. The large black beak opened to give a weak call before my father pressed his forehead against his head. I saw a look pass between them before my father said, "I'm sorry." Those beady black eyes watched my father closely before using their last bit of strength to nudge him. My father smiled and said to him, "Go into Eywa, my friend. There you will find peace."

My mother stepped around me to place a hand on my father's shoulder as the Toruk died in front of him. The shuttering breathing stopped, the eyes dimmed, and the mouth hung open ominously. I had never seen such a great beast destroyed before. Its form was larger than life, the great hunter of pandora skies. Now, it was a fallen flame onto the soil of pandora. My father, getting a chance to compose himself, stood.