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[Kiyevanie]

As a certain botanist once had said: Clanlife started early. But when Txa’ren started his flight back to Hell’s Gate even the earliest gatherers hadn’t made it out of their hammocks yet. Driven by his need to check after his sister Txa’ren had woken up even before the first traces of dawn could be seen in the sky. He had told his parents good-bye, picked up Ni’ka’s and his own bundle, made a short detour to the healer’s nook to check if he was needed there and then rousted Taw’itan out of his sleep. The ikran hadn’t been too eager for this early flight, it was just after they had bonded that he felt his companion’s need and his slightly annoyed sqawking gave way to a soft cooing as they started into the still dark morning sky. 

After a night spent with his parents in their family hammock Txa’ren felt calmer than the day before. He still was worried, his spirit still sore from the things he had seen, but gliding through the fresh morning air he almost felt at peace with the world and ready to take on what the day would bring at the tawtute camp.

 

The first thing this day actually brought was Anna. When Txa’ren silently made his way up to the watchtower they had claimed home for now he spotted the young woman – tawtute version - sitting at the base of the ladder leading up to the tower. He wasn’t surprised about that change – Camille and later Anna had explained the concept of sharing and taking turns, so that each body got enough care and rest and Dreamwalker Anna’s turn had already been a long one when he had left for Hometree.

She had assorted things strewn around her Txa’ren couldn’t make much sense of and had nodded off, head leaned to the railing of the ladder. For a moment the young hunter hesitated to disturb her, but then decided that sleeping like that couldn’t be very comfortable – he was back now, could look after Ni’ka and give Anna the chance for some sleep in a more comfortable position.

He placed his two bundles at the ground, then squatted down to not tower over her and gently touched her shoulder. “I See you, Anna”, he greeted quietly, “and I See that you have guarded my sister all night.”

 

Anna had not been sleeping deeply – for one her position indeed wasn’t very comfortable and she also didn’t dare to completely drift off, in case Ni’ka needed her. Still Txa’ren had moved that quietly that she now almost jumped. “Wha-?”, she started, then regocnized the Na’vi in front of her. “I See you, Txa’ren”, she replied the formal greeting, then rubbed her head, trying to shake off sleep. “How did it go at Hometree?”

“I’ve delivered everything”, Txa’ren replied. “This blood stuff to Kamil and the news about Ni’ka to my parents. They were really happy that Ni’ka woke up, but they miss her.”

“I can imagine.” Anna sighed. “They have to be worried sick... well, at least you had good news for them. At least a little bit. And”, she looked at the two packages, “I see that you brought some of her things along. That will help too.”

“I hope...” Txa’ren looked up to the tower. “How was the night?”

Anna scratched her head. “Okay, I think. She had one or two nightmares, but didn’t really wake up. Some crying and whimpering... but no screaming. I went up then, held her hand and talked to her and that seemed to help and she calmed down again.” She looked up to Txa’ren. “I wish I could have done more...”

“Don’t worry.” Txa’ren smiled warmly at the tawtute girl, for a moment holding her gaze. “You’ve done a lot already. You’ve been there when Ni’ka woke up and she trusts you – I trust you and thank you for your help.” That was the moment he noticed the interesting fact that Anna was able to produce a third shade of red – it made the little reddish-brown tanhi-like dots on her skin (“Freckles” she had called them) stand out nicely, but kind of clashed with the coppery red of her hair. Obviously tawtute blushed quite differently than the People or Dreamwalkers... Txa’ren decided that it looked cute, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Instead he got up again, picking up his packages. “And now go get some sleep – I guess I had more of that than you tonight in my parent’s hammock.”

“Sleep - what a strange concept”, Anna joked weakly while gathering the tablets, notepads and pens. She had been working on some inventories and other lists during the night. That she was looking after Ni’ka didn’t mean she couldn’t do some paperwork for the little colony of stay-behind humans the same time. Actually it had been staring at one of those lists that finally had put her to sleep. “Alright - you go to your sister and I’ll see if I can get some shuteye – and maybe later a hot shower and a few liters of coffee.” She wearily got up and traipsed off to the human quarters, hoping that everyone else would still be asleep.

Txa’ren watched after her until she disappeared in the alien building, then turned around and finally made it up the stairs to Ni’ka, to find his sister still asleep. “Well”, he thought, “when everyone else is still sleeping – it's never too late for a nap.”

A few moments later found him curled up close to his sister, holding her hand and slightly dozing off.

 

***

[Kiyevanie]

It was a good while later, by now the suns were up and shining brightly when Anna finally made it to the mess hall in search for some coffee. She was still feeling the after effects of a night too short, but she had gotten at least a bit of undisturbed sleep and that and the shower she just had made her feel less like a zombie and more like a human being again. Some caffeine and she’d be as good as new. She absentmindedly poured herself a coffee and studied the choice of sandwiches available when she heard someone greeting here. “Anna? Do ya have a moment?”, a slightly hoarse voice came from behind her. 

She turned around and, recognizing she speaker, brought out the best bright smile she could muster at the moment. It was a man in his late forties, medium sized and with a few scars that spoke of some rough times. Andy had initially been hired as a mercenary but soon it had turned out that while he was good with a gun, he was much more valuable behind a hearth and a cooking pot, as he had the rare talent to make something edible out of nothing.

“Andy... good morning. And yes, shoot ahead.” Anna raised her coffee mug in some kind of toast to the cook. “I’ve been more than glad to hear that you stayed as well – we’d starve without you around.”

“Or be limited to ration bars.” Andy shuddered rather convincingly, but then turned serious. “But that’s actually why I wanted to talk to you.” He looked at the buffet line. “Currently we still got everything going, but in the long run we’ll run into problems. I know that there’s a shitload of other problems to be solve, but food is a serious issue.”

“Couldn’t agree more”, Anna nodded, eyeing the sandwich in her hand. “But I’m not sure what... oh.” She paused. “You think us eggheads might have a few ideas for additional food sources?”

“Yeah... or if you haven’t, maybe you could think about it? They found out that Tapirus ain’t toxic to us like twenty or thirty years ago and that a few fruits are okay too if you turn ‘em into booze, but is that really all?” He pointed out to where Pandora’s forest could be seen behind the fence. “There’s gotta be more out there, I hope. I mean, even if we find a way to hunt or breed enough of those critters to fill everyone’s stomach, sooner or later we’ll get even more sick of them than we are already.” He made a face. “I can roast ‘em, steam ‘em, make hashed meat out of ‘em, smoke ‘em, put ‘em in marinade, use a thousand different spices, but in the end they’re still the same old Pandora piggies...”

Anna bit her lip, thinking. “We’ve been a bit lazy in that department”, she agreed. “The toxins are mostly sitting in the roots of the flora – and then of course move to the animals that feed on them. And for some reason the Tapirus metabolism filters the bad stuff out.” She nodded towards Andy. “Alright, I’m gonna talk with a few people about it. John, for example – rivers and lakes can be a good food source, maybe there are a few edible fish out there. Or algae. Plus, he’s the one with the green thumb around here, maybe we’ll find a way to grow some good ol’ Earth stuff around here, without spoiling the exosystem.” She took a sip of her coffee. “And I’ll make a special project out of finding something that might replace coffee. Life without coffee might be possible...”

“...but it doesn’t make any sense at all”, Andy completed her line with a grin. “Great, seems I talked to the right person here.”

“Don’t think you’re out of it”, Anna grinned back. “As soon as we’ve found something that might not outright kill us you’ll be in on the team. Cause when it comes to turn the raw stuff into something appetizing we’ll be lost.”

[Kiyevanie]

Mabe fifteen minutes after this discussion Anna was entering the lab section, looking around for the tall, South-African limnologist she wanted to talk to. 

John had indeed not linked in yet but instead was checking something on his tablet. When Anna entered the room he looked up. “Hey Anna”, he greeted, “no babysitting our guests today?”

“Not yet”, Anna replied. “It was really late last night – or better, rather this morning – and Annette and me needed some shuteye. So when Txa’ren came back from his clan’s hometree I took the chance to get some rest. I’ll link in and see how things are in a few.”

“Girl’s got it really bad, huh?”, John asked sympathetically. “I’ve seen her at Angelo’s bbq and later yesterday and she looked like someone who’s been through some tough stuff.”

“She has.” Anna’s eyes grew sad. “We don’t know yet what happened as she ain’t able to talk about it yet. But it must have been pure hell the way she had drawn back into herself. This war... too bad Quaritch and his minions are already dead, I’d like to hang them at some body parts that really hurt.” A sudden grim fierceness crept into her usually gentle voice. “Ya know, it ain’t just Ni’ka... it’s all of them The young boy, Tali... lost almost his whole clan and family. And even Txa’ren, looks so strong on the outside, but I can feel that his soul is wounded too, even though he’s trying to hide it, for his sister’s sake.” She sighed. “Still – Ni'ka’s a strong one, I really hope she’s strong enough that she’ll make it through this all.”

John looked at her. “You really care for them, do you? Not as in ‘they’re our responsibility’ but as people, right?”

“Yes, I do.” Anna simply nodded. “The reason why they’re here sucks – but I’m really glad I got to know them. Txa’ren already feels like a friend although I know him for just one day and most of that time was spent with caring for his sister, and Ni’ka... so far I’ve just seen a faint shadow of the girl she was before all that terror and trauma, but... well, let’s say – I think I would have liked the Ni’ka from before and I’ll do anything I can to help her recover.” 

For a moment there was silence in the room, then Anna rolled her shoulders and changed the subject. “Actually that ain’t why I was looking for you. Interested in a new project?”

“Project? Now of all times?” John looked slightly confused. “I didn’t think this is the time for projects – we need to make this colony fly...”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” And then Anna informed John about everything she had talked about with Andy and the ideas that had come out of it.

“Ooooh!” John’s dark brown eyes lightened up. “Nice thinking. Yeah, there might indeed be a few fish on the list. We’ll just need to find out if we can breed them in a way that won’t hurt them. And about Earth plants on Pandoran soil – I've been ahead of you here.” He pointed on his tablet. “That’s a layout for a few experimental setups. We need to find one that doesn’t let out any Terran DNA into this world and on the other hand the plants mustn’t absorb any of the toxins in the ground - and still get enough natural sunlight. That’s gonna take a few approaches here...” 

He frowned. “I think we need to include somebody else in this group – I'm talking about Spaz. Sure, he’s a paleontologist and that doesn’t have much to do with food, but he’s got this shiny spectrometer in his lab.”

“So we can check any samples for the toxins”, Anna realized. “I like that!” She looked around. “Any idea where he is?”

“Probably still out of it”, John replied. “You know his weird day-and-night cycle, and I think he went to bed just a short while ago. Tell you something: you go link in and check for your Na’vi friends and I’ll try a few things here and have a look for our hard rock expert. Gonna page you as soon as we got something to talk about.”

[Kiyevanie]

Out in the improvised Na’vi camp in the watchtower Txa’ren had been napping only for a short while before he woke up when Ni’ka - as Anna had told him - started whimpering again in her sleep. He rolled out of his hammock and scooted over, holding his sister’s hand tighter, gently stroking her face and talking to her quietly until she calmed down again. Not quite sure if she was sleeping again or slowly waking up he sat there for a while longer, watching Ni’ka’s face, almost peaceful now, and then the place that would be something like their home for a while longer. Even made out of wood, with the blue light Kamil had given them and the hammocks it was clearly a Dreamwalker space. Made to fit into this world, but still kind of alien.

Finally he decided that Ni’ka was sleeping now, let go of her hand and turned to the bundles he had brought along, opening the first one, the one his sa’nok had packed for Ni’ka. There were her spare loincloths, some of her favourite jewelry, a little bag with beads and pearls, but also some decorations. The wind chime that had always hung close to the family hammock and that Ni’ka loved so much. Carefully polished bowls for food. All wrapped up in colourful woven rags and it were these he now took out to tie them to the walls of the tower in a try to make them look homier, more familiar. 

When he finally fixed the chimes to the entrance he heard a small voice from behind. “Txa’ren?”

He quickly turned around, finding Ni’ka awake, eyes wide open and a look of desorientation on her face. He dropped the wind chimes and went over to Ni’ka’s hammock. “Hey... good morning, sleepyhead”, he greeted her with a smile.

Ni’ka faintly smiled back, but still looked confused. “Where are we?”, she asked. “I can’t....”

“Don’t you remember?”, Txa’ren asked quietly. “This is the Dreamwalker place I brought you to. Where they have the warm rain coming out of a wall. Where we met healer Kamil and Anna.”

Ni’ka closed her eyes again, trying to make sense out of those words, then opened them again, as her memory slowly came back. “I remember”, she said, voice small, looking around now and taking in the new things her brother had brought along. “You had to fly to hometree.” Her voice broke at the last word.

“Yes, an I’ve brought a few things back.” Txa’ren pointed at the rags and Ni’ka’s other belongings, then hunkered down, gently cupping her face with his hands. “How are you feeling, ma’tsmuke?”

“I... I don’t know”, Ni’ka admitted. “Tired. Lost. My spirit hurts. And then I think I feel nothing at all.” She leaned in to her brother, burying her head at his chest. “Why does it hurt so much?”

“Because we have seen awful, horrible things”, Txa’ren replied, stroking Ni’ka’s back. “They are like a dagger through the spirit and every wound hurts, no matter if body or spirit.”

“Will it heal?” Ni’ka’s voice was even smaller now.

“Yes, it will!” In Txa’ren’s voice was steely resolve. “It will take time, but your spirit will heal and I’ll be here all the time it takes.” He was pretty sure that Ni’ka wouldn't come out at the end of this process the same she had been before the Sky War, they all had changed, but she would heal.

After a while of silence Ni’ka calmed down again, sat back in her hammock and wiped her eyes. “I hate being like that”, she admitted. “But...”

“But you can’t change it now, and you don’t have to.” That much Txa’ren had learned from Kamil, Angelo and Anna. “Come, I’ll fix the chimes and then... how about some breakfast? We can take some fruit from the Dreamwalker’s garden again.” He scratched his head. “Guess I need to do some hunting and foraging later, we can’t live off our hosts ressources all the time. And I want to get some wood so we can make us cheys for our stuff.” 

And while they were climbing down the ladder Txa’ren’s heart was heavy – because Ni’ka just had nodded to his words, as if they didn’t have anything to do with her. One day, he fervently hoped, there’d be that shining in her eyes again and she’d poke him to come along as she had done before when he had just come out of his trials and she’d been a lanky young girl, just through her first years of training.
 

[Kiyevanie]

In the longhouse Anna’s mind and soul arrived in Annette’s body. Anna had no idea if the feeling of expectation and excitement that went along with linking in today was her own or if Annette’s instincts too had picked up on yesterday’s events and now added to the mix. Fact was, that instead of taking her time as usual she was up quickly, stepping out of the longhouse with her hair still wet from the shower and on the way to go looking for Txa’ren and Ni’ka, chewing on one of her latest tries in producing her own ration bars. They didn’t have the quality of Angelo’s, but were still lightyears ahead of what was called “Little Grey Packs” (and generally discarded as not fit for consumption) in Avatar circles. Today wasn't the first day Anna wondered who had ever come up with this name for the Avatar standard ration bars; simple, descriptive and while sounding totally harmless, almost like something a child could come up with, it totally matched with the consistency and non-existent taste of those sorry excuses for food. No wonder it had stuck.

It was strange, Anna realized, to see the place like that. Before there had been a lot of people everywhere. Avatars on the obstacle course, others preparing for or coming back from some field trip and of course lots of humans, everyone busy and working. Today the place was much more silent, with everyone being occupied with more important things than science for science’s sake or tending to the more prosaic work of mining and refining. Today it was all about surviving and the tasks that went with that. Still there were a few noises around she noticed, ears swiveling to take in everything – people calling out to each other, but almost out of earshot; probably someone working either in the barracks or the fabrication plant. And there were familiar voices closer by, although they were far from shouting, instead talking quietly. 

Anna walked over to those voices, to the meadow besides the kitchen garden, finding her two guests sitting there, nibbling on the last few bites of their breakfast and enjoying the sun. The driver smiled at the two, holding out her hands in greeting. “Kaltxi, good morning.”

“Kaltxi again”, Txa’ren replied. "Do you feel more rested now?”

“Yes.” Anna nodded, hunkering down to the two Na’vi. “It’s amazing what a few hours of sleep can do...” She turned to Ni’ka, who at first had flinched a bit but now recognized Anna and silently nibbled the last fibers from her fruit, burying the seed in the dirt when she was finished. “I won’t pester you and ask how you’re feeling, but I hope you too got a bit of rest tonight.”

Ni’ka nodded. “Did sleep a bit”, she confirmed, her face slightly troubled. “But I’m still tired...”

“Don’t worry. Healing of the soul is exhausting...” Anna gently touched Ni’ka’s hand. “Just as much as healing of the body.” 

For a while they sat silent, Anna wondering what the day might bring. A lot of work probably... and hopefully some more information about how things were with Nate and Norm. She hadn’t seen Camille since the blood drive last night and guessed that she was probably still resting too. Camille could run on fumes for a long while if necessary, but sooner or later even she needed to recover.

All of a sudden the wind turned a bit, bringing along the noises of people repairing whatever in one of the more technical sections of basis, along with a whiff of grease and metal. Ni’ka flinched at the sound, her ears twisting uncomfortably and there was a tension in her that hadn’t been there just a moment before. “Txa’?”, she asked, her voice sounding small and disturbed.

“Yes, ma’tsmuke?” Txa’ren could feel the change in his sister the moment it happened and it didn’t take much to guess that it had to do with the sudden change in the air. 

“Can...” Ni’ka hesitated, “can we...” Her eyes wandered towards the fence and beyond, where the forest began. Although she knew that she was here to heal her spirit suddenly chafed at the all-too-civilised surrounding and the tawtute traces everywhere.

“Do you want to get out of here for a bit?”, Anna asked, fully understanding that being cooped in like that might make the Na’vi girl stir crazy. Heck, even she started to feel a little bit restless. Yesterday she had been sitting around too long and this body wanted to run and climb. 

Ni’ka nodded.

“Well, I said that I wanted to do some hunting and foraging today anyway”, Txa’ren stated. “There’s no reason we can’t all go.” It would be helpful anyway – with the Pa’li at Hometree the amount of what he could carry on his own was limited and it wouldn’t hurt to have a few additional hands. And it would help Ni’ka to get out a bit, and that was the most important thing of all.

Anna hesitated for a moment. There were just so many things to do around here – but on the other hand, currently caring for Ni’ka was her main responsibility. And, what more, she might even learn a few things more that could help the colony of humans and Avatars and their food situation. And if something urgent came up, well, that was what her radio was for. “Sounds like a plan”, she said. “Just give me a moment to pick up my backpack and the key.”

A few minutes later the three of them stepped out of what was called “Hell’s Backdoor” by the drivers, a second entrance only used by them to leave the compound without having to make the way across the landing field. There hadn’t been a door like that in the initial setup of Hell’s Gate, but as Anna had learned a few years back there had been a few drivers who needed a more direct access to the forest around and after a few agitated and spirited discussions with the RDA officials the door had been built. Usually it was locked, but Anna – like all drivers – had a key. They crossed the cleared area around the outer fence and soon entered the brushes and underwood of the surrounding jungle, on their way to spend a few hours away from the confines of the Avatar compound.