Blood and Water | Neteyam

Waking Up to Old Friends ∼ 23

Norm and Max had taken up camp a little outside the village. They had flown their helicopter over to a patch of grass surrounded by trees, close enough to be visible to the beach, but not enough so that the Metkayina could see them unless they tried to. Tcelia thought this was a good idea. The Metkayina probably weren't very comfortable around any sort of human, no matter how nice they were.

As she neared the helicopter, Tcelia realized with a start that it wasn't the usual quick mission helicopter with open sides like she had thought it had been at first glance. It was a larger vehicle with an airlock door and sealed windows designed for human habitation.

She dragged her hand over the metal as she glanced inside the window. A link unit was propped against the wall on the opposite side of the window, a bunker cot had been squeezed in beside it and on the right, on the other side of a door that probably led to the control room, a small kitchen and seating area had been arranged.

Tcelia smiled to herself. Norm and Max were planning on staying a while then. She could vaguely hear voices on the other side of the vehicle, and she began to make her way towards them.

She stopped just before turning the corner when she heard Jake talking about Kiri. Tcelia squeezed her back against the helicopter so that the three men wouldn't notice her.

Jake's voice was full of concern as he spoke, "She said that she could feel Eywa, she could feel her heartbeat,"

Tcelia's stomach clenched. Kiri had briefly mentioned something like this to her on one of their morning walks, but Tcelia had brushed it off, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, in fear of Kiri feeling even more strange.

"That is classic frontal lobe epilepsy." Norm's voice explained.

"Epilepsy?" Jake asked, confusion and concern mixed in his voice.

"Yeah, you see visions and experience states of religious ecstasy like the kind she described." Tcelia swallowed. Could the cause of Kiri's problem truly be epilepsy? Tcelia had never heard of any other Na'vi suffering from the condition.

"Plugging into the spirit tree is some sort of a trigger. You definitely can't let her do that anymore." Norm continued. Tcelia pressed the back of her head into the cool metal behind her, squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Connecting to their spirit tree was sacred, it was a part of who the Na'vi were. If Kiri was banned, it would be like robbing a part of her soul, forbidding her to visit her ancestors, her mother.

"What - Ever?" Jake asked in disbelief.

Max spoke up, "Jake, if she seizes under water again, it could kill her."

There was a brief silence and Tcelia – who decided that she couldn't bear to listen to the conversation anymore – stepped out from behind the helicopter. She schooled her face into a neutral expression, not wanting to show them that she had heard their entire conversation, and cleared her throat, "Sorry to disturb, sir," Jake and the other two turned to look at her, "But Kiri is awake now."

Jake's eyes lit up in relief, his shoulders visibly relaxing. He excused himself to Norm and Max and walked over to Tcelia where he put a hand on her shoulder, smiling at her softly, "Thank you, Tcelia." Then he let go and started making his way towards the village.

Tcelia smiled at Norm and Max, stepping closer to them. "What's up, Tcelia?" Norm said, extending his hand towards her for a fist bump.

"Hey guys," Tcelia had always liked speaking with the two scientist, mostly because it was a good way to practice her English, but also because they were really nice people. She wasn't as good friends with them as Lo'ak or Spider were, but she had spent a fair amount of time with them when she hung out with Kiri in the lab with Grace. Tcelia's fist hit Norm's and he grinned at her, ruffling her hair, just like Neteyam usually did to Lo'ak's. A brotherly gesture.