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.