I see you, Tsu'tey

Chapter 16

She sat in the same spot, bawling her eyes out in symphony with the other noises in the forest, before she finally dried the tears off her cheek, pulled herself together and left the scene of her shame. WIth a deep breathe she shoved all her feelings down into a small box and shoved it into a dark corner in her mind, she didn't have time to reflect on his words right now. Awa needed to go make sure her body was fine, or as fine as it could be after the beating it was given.

She stood on shaky legs, feeling the pins and needles travel through her feet and legs all the way up to the tips of her fingers. Before walking down the hill in front of her she shook her legs to get some of the feeling back to them. Tsu'tey had already seen her so there was no use in sneaking down into the hometree, him actually showing himself only confirmed her suspicions that they knew she was there, watching her. She was surprised that he recognised her in human form, she didn't think he would have paid that much attention to her facial features so that he could recognise them in human form.

"I only need to go down this hill, sneak past eventual Na'vi, and then rush to wherever they're keeping my body." She whispered to herself, trying to pep-talk herself enough so that she wouldn't freeze in fear. She had never actually been to the Hometree, she only made it to the outskirts before she stupidly challenged Tsu'tey.

"Oh fuck" She cursed and facepalmed. What was she going to do when she actually made it to her body? Just smile at whoever is there and say something like 'oh, who am ? I'm Atxa's student, who also happens to be human and you're um- you're taking care of my body over there'. No, she really hadn't thought this through. She really needed to start planning before she made more stupid decisions like this or the challenge. After she had made sure that her body was safe she was supposed to do what? Just walk back into Hell's Gate and get back in the link unit and then explain why she went through all that trouble. "I'm just going to wing it" She told herself with a sarcastic smile as she started her slow journey, all thoughts of planning flying with the wind in her hair.

It took maybe about 40 minutes to climb all the way down the steep hill, she fell only 3 times; one in the beginning because a bird of a flaming red color startled her and she stumbled on a rock, the second time because she was attempting to run down the hill, and the last time because she stumbled over her own two feet. She marvelled at the nature surrounding her, the fluorescent plant life, how big everything was compared to when she was in Na'vi form, and she marvelled at the feeling being here gave her. She had never felt more alive, more happy, or healthy than when she was in the forest. She never thought you could feel this way, she had always been sceptical about nature healing people but she didn't doubt it anymore. Atxa had introduced her and now it was up to her to continue that journey.

She had lost her shoes a kilometer or two ago, they were only distracting her and didn't really help with anything. The soles of her feet weren't used to the tough terrain but it was better than the shoes and she would welcome the pain after she was done with this adventure. Her mask still sat firm on her face, even after her clumsy reattachment of it after she dried her tears. Her heart raced just thinking about the dumb decision, she was so close to passing out and she knew that none of the Na'vi would help her even if they discovered her lying there dying.

The hometree grew larger and larger before her eyes as she continued her wandering journey towards it. She could see more of the flying Ikran now, in all sizes, colors and patterns. She dreamt often of having her own ikran, of being accepted into a clan and living amongst the Na'vi. She still couldn't see any Na'vi yet, which worried her. If they weren't there, then where were they?

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