The Hunter

Humans

Hunter's point of view: 

I was soaked by the time I had caught a single Hexapede. The water stuck to my skin, and I was shaking with cold. The water and wind together were a horrible combination. Without hometree's protection, the wind whipped at me, and the thunder echoed and shook the ground. It also was so dark with the storm clouds that it seemed almost nighttime and the plants were glowing, but not as brightly as when it was night, so it was still nearly pitch black.

Kiri was riding on her direhorse while I rode my thanator. My thanator and I both didn't appreciate the cold, and he wanted to get back to his cave to sleep in the warmth. We traveled deeper into the rainforest for food. When the large boom sounded. My thanator crouched and growled deeply while Kiri's direhorse reared. Kiri was clinging desperately to the direhorses neck before settling it enough that its agitation was only shown by pawing at the ground. I looked at Kiri, concerned by the sound, before I asked, "What was that?" Kiri shrugged, but her eyes showed worry. Like me, I could tell that the last warning from the humans was in her ears. I moved towards a small clearing I knew to get a better view, but before I could get to a vantage point, a large white ship flew through the sky towards the old military base.

Kiri, who had seen the ship and caught up to me, looked down my sight line before she gasped. Her voice was high with worry as she whispered, "That's where Spider and Norm are. You don't think the humans would return to Hell's Gate. Would they?" I shook my head, not knowing but fearing the worst for Spider and Norm. Kiri looked at me and said, "We should go warn the clan." I looked at the descending ship and said, "They already know." Kiri looked back at the ship, and her horse pawed at the ground, agitated, before she said, "We can't go investigate. My father will end us and then ground us for good measure." I waved my hand in dismissal, and my thanator and I crept closer to Hell's Gate. Kiri tried to keep up before she said, "Hunter. We must go back." 

I looked back at her before I said, "And what about Spider? You just want to leave him here without any help?" Kiri floundered, but when I turned to continue, she followed me without further argument. When me and Kiri got near the compound, we stayed back in the forest and watched the area. I hadn't realized there were two ships, but there was another large white ship coming slowly to rest on the ground. There was a loud noise, and the engines roared while creating fast enough winds that the trees in the area were shaking. Kiri and I slowly crept around to the other side of the building and watched. My thanator was very cautious of them seeing humans again, so we stuck to the forest.

     When the ship landed, the doors slowly opened, and I watched as several soldiers came out into the open with their guns raised and they looked around. They were wearing green and brown clothing, along with masks covering their faces. Their weapons were raised as they grouped down by the bottom of the ramp before they set their sights on the military base.

As they approached, I heard a sound away from the ship and turned quickly, fearing an attack. However, instead of soldiers coming out the back door of the military base, it was the scientists. The allies of the Na'vi were holding a lot of supplies and were running out the door. A tall and skinny man led them out of Hell's Gate, followed by Spider. The boys were followed by a woman with blonde hair and another man with a darker skin tone than the other three, who were right about the same size. Their faces were covered in a mask, and with some sort of machine on their backs that looked to help them all breathe.

Kiri looked over and saw them before she smiled and whispered, "Monkey Boy." I knew of her affection for Spider and was glad he was safe from harm. I nodded to where they were fleeing to in the forest and she nodded. We quietly led our animals over toward them. I cleared my throat when we neared them and the humans looked up from running, saw us, and looked happily at Kiri. She dropped off her horse and knelt to be at eye level with the man before hugging him. The man smiled before I said, "As glad as I am to see you, we have to go, quickly. We need your father's help to retake our supplies and Avatar bodies." Kiri looked at the others and nodded in understanding. She climbed on the back of her direhorse before offering her hand. The man she hugged took it, and she pulled him up behind her along with Spider.

I looked at the humans with kindness as Kiri trusted them, so I did. My thanator was not too pleased with the humans getting close to him, but I encouraged him to be nice as I pulled the woman and boy up behind me. Kiri and I looked up when the soldier's voices got closer, and I turned. The soldiers were approaching the forest, as some had already gone inside the base. Kiri had the humans grab on tight before she started running. With the direhorse's heavy running footsteps, the human's attention was caught and they turned quickly to me and the quick shots of a gun fired.

I quickly dodged behind a tree as I started to follow after her, the gunfire following me. Kiri had gained ground as she began to before me, but my Thanator can get to speeds of 70 to 80 miles while the direhorse could maybe do 60 miles. I caught up to her quickly before I heard the sound of more hooves. Kiri heard it and slowed before we saw direhorses come up next to us. It was Ahurewa and Neteyam.

     After we stopped, I hopped down on the ground and helped the humans down. My thanator was relieved to have them off his back and quickly shook his hide before backing away from them. Neteyam smiled and jumped down before hugging the tall male. He smiled and said, "It's good to see you, Norm."

    I blinked and looked at the man, recognizing the name. He wasn't very strong looking, but the bond between him and the family was strong, so it must have been a friendship. Ahurewa even looked comfortable with the pair. As they talked I noticed Spider was walking towards me, clearly with something on his mind. He gave me a grin and said, "Long time no see." I felt myself smile at the familiar voice before saying, "Lo'ak will be upset he couldn't be the one to save you." Spider shook his head with amusement before he said, "And because of that, I'm eternally grateful you were the one to find us." I laughed but winced when my shoulders moved too much from my laughter. Spider looked over me momentarily before he said slightly alarmed, "You're injured!" I shrugged not wanting to make a fuss and said, "It's just a scratch Spider." The worry in his eyes didn't dim before I said, "It's an occupational hazard. I'll be back to normal tomorrow." 

     Kiri who had been speaking with the other scientists looked over at me and said, "We have to return to camp quickly." I nodded and when Spider went to say something i said, "Come on monkey boy, before the soldiers decided to catch up with us." Spider knew this was my way to distract him but didn't argue as I helped him up into the saddle with me and we followed the others back towards Hometree.