TAWNG! (Delta)

[Meerkat]

Eyes fluttered open slowly as the woman stretched in her bed. It wasn't a large bed, nor was it particularly soft. If anything, it was a bit hard on her back, but that was something she'd get used to. Miriam stretched, sighing contentedly, not because she had slept so well. In fact, she'd hardly slept at all. But who could blame her? She was going to get to drive her avatar today.

She'd been told the day before. That very same gray haired man had found her in the dining hall and let her know. He'd asked if she was ready and Miriam nearly knocked the man over as she launched herself at him for a hug. He'd left in a huff, telling her to be in the lab the next morning at 0900.

It was now 0700 and Miriam couldn't stay still any longer. She got up, gathered her bathroom things and ran off to take a quick shower. She didn't even bother to dry her hair, but instead tied it up in a messy pony tail. After getting ready, she made a quick stop by the dining hall to get something in her stomach before heading off to the lab.

When she arrived, the gray haired doctor kept his distance from her, but showed her towards her link-bed-thing. He didn't say much, and generally ignored Miriam's excited chatter as he worked on the computer terminal next to the bed. She was told to lay still and clear her mind. Then the lid was closed over her and Miriam was alone in the darkness.

Closing her eyes, Miriam tried to shut out her thoughts. It was much more difficult than her time logging hours in a simulator. She knew this was the real thing. That thought kept her excited. But she forced herself to focus on her breathing. In, then out, over and over, until her thoughts drifted away. When the light came, and the sensation of being pulled followed, she'd nearly lost her concentration, but it was too late by this point.

Eyes fluttered open slowly as the woman stretched on the bed. The room was very bright, and very white. Soon, a woman in a environmental suit leaned over Miriam with a small light to test her pupil reflexes.

Hi. Miriam said, surprised at how her voice sounded the same. She didn't know why, but she expected the body to feel different... like a glove over her consciousness. But it didn't. It felt like her body! The Lady had said hi back and then asked her to sit up. For the next several minutes, Miriam went through the standard tests to ensure that her link was fully functioning. She tried her best to listen and follow instructions, but she marveled at this new body that felt so natural.

Finally, Miriam was released out into the open air of Pandora. She moved around the compound, smiling and exchanging hello's with others in their avatar forms. She'd been given clothing for her avatar body. A simple cami top and shorts, and sandals, just as she'd requested. It was exquisite to feel the air against her skin, to breathe it in with big lung fulls. She'd tested her avatar body's abilities, running, jumping, balance, for a few hours. But the compound seemed so small, confining. She wanted to see the forest and all the legendary beauty it was said to hold.

Miriam found a group of biologists who were about to head out to collect some samples. One of them was a nice lady she'd had dinner with the other night. Miriam was able to convince the woman to let her come along. She'd carry a bag of samples and would stay completely silent, wouldn't touch anything. She just wanted to look. The woman finally agreed, handing Miriam a satchel and telling her to mind herself and be careful.

Minutes later, the small team was moving through the forest, Miriam's large yellow eyes were as wide as could be as she marveled at the forest around her. Several times she fell behind the group and had to be called to hurry up. But the stories about the forest didn't do the place justice. It was a wonder beyond anything she'd heard and Miriam couldn't help but pause in awe every now and then.

What Miriam didn't realize was that the scientists she was with were equally in awe, finding it hard to keep track of the one that wasn't even supposed to be there. Before Miriam knew it. She was alone. When the realization hit her, Miriam became quite frightened. She'd heard about the forest's beauty... and it's danger.

Frantically Miriam moved through the vegetation, calling out for the others, but hearing nothing in response. It was starting to get dark out, and Miriam knew that if she didn't find the others soon, she'd be in a world of trouble. She tried backtracking to where she thought the group had come from, but she was completely turned around... completely lost.

As the woman moved through the forest, another creature moved as well. It stalked, slowly, in the shadows, always keeping the blue skinned avatar in its sight. For this powerful creature, the hunt would be easy, the easiest kill of its life. But still, it moved slowly, taking its time as its prey panicked.

[Delta]

Yellow eyes gazed intently at the almost frantic female uniltirantokx as she moved frantically through the forest. It was pathetic, really, it was almost as if these creatures wanted a denizen of the forest to devour it. A heavy sigh forced its way past Rai's feline nostrils just as he stood up and began to follow the female uniltirantokx through the forest. This creature seemed to have its direction off, however, as each step brought her deeper and deeper into the forest rather than closer towards her Tawtute compound.

Raiko's day had started normal enough. Those large round yellow spheres set in his head fluttered open and catapulted him out of the realm of dreams to start a new day in the real one. His large body lay crumpled up in the relatively small hammock, just like the day previous, and the soft chirp of birds in his ear was among the first of the myriads of sounds to reach his mind. Indeed, there wasn't anything unusual about this day... up until he'd heard a frantic sounding foreign language. The large Na'vi had his massive bow drawn, and he was but a few thoughts away from launching a javelin-sized projectile towards a yerik when he'd first heard the cries.

At first the random tawtute babble gave the big creature no pause, they could take care of themselves. No tawtute would save him if he'd been foolish enough to get in trouble, so why should he risk his own life to save one of theirs? Oddly enough, that was the very thought that swayed his mind into moving to help the obviously scared uniltirantokx. Why should he help one? Simple: Honor. That was what made the Na'vi better than the sky people. In the end, he was glad that he'd come to save the foolish sky person... simply because she was a female.

In his oddly honorable and chivalrous mind he believed that women, even sky people, were something that called for protection. They carried and birthed the next generation of both species, so at the very least they deserved to survive. "Eywa save me, I'm going to have to speak to her," Raiko half mumbled just as he realized the situation he was in. Much to his chagrin, there was no real way to get out of this situation without speaking to the woman, not without having tutee blood on his hands.

So, those yellow eyes simply gazed down at the creature as she moved through the forest haphazardly. The area that this ignorant child was romping about in was a young palulukan's territory, and she didn't take kindly to intruders. In fact, that young palulukan female happened to be watching the frantic uniltirantokx at that very moment... unknown to Raiko, and obviously to this woman, of course. If the massive Na'vi knew that the larger panther-esk female was so dangerously close he would have simply swooped down and picked the woman up.

Instead of simply jumping down on the woman as she passed by a patch of soft dirt, however, he simply jumped branch to branch past her. Rai slung his bow over his torso with the final leap towards the forest floor. Those striped azure na'vi feet hit the dirt with a thwump! and propelled his weight forwards into a roll, causing the length of the impact to expand exponentially. After the roll, the man stood up and stretched out to his impressive height, which was head and shoulders above most other Na'vi.

<<Be calm, dream walker. These woods are far more dangerous than you realize,>> he asked in a semi-cold voice. There were few sky people females that ever heard the chill that his voice could produce, and this female wasn't one of them. Yet. <<What's your name?>> The soft rustle of leaves not-too-far-away had the impressive Na'vi's eyes flickering about, trying to spot a phantom in the forest. Those massive ears attached to either side of his head angled themselves about quickly, trying to pick up any more malevolent sounds. He was in full-on warrior protection mode, despite the fact that this woman was but a uniltirantokx.

((Translations:
Uniltirantokx ~ Dreamwalker
Tawtute ~ Sky Person
Tutee ~ Female
Palulukan ~ Thanator))

[Meerkat]

The poor woman was on the verge of tears. She knew she'd have hell to pay when she got back to the compound.... if she got back to the compound. Oh, how could she be so stupid!? There was a reason why they didn't let avatar drivers out of the compound on their first day. Really, she had brought it all on herself. But now really wasn't the time to be beating herself up. There'd be others to do that for her when she got back. Yes. WHEN. She would get back. Her thoughts might have been brave, but her heart still pumped frantically.

Every sound was a cause to twitch or jump in fear. Wide eyes would dart about wildly, as feline ears twitched in every direction without conscious control of them. With each minute she could almost feel the forest getting darker. And she knew that it was at night that the forest truly became dangerous. She had to find her way out, somehow.

As Miriam tried to calm herself, she breathed, in and out, with eyes closed. It was difficult to do. Every tiny noise was a strong temptation to throw those lids open, but she willed herself to be still and to calm her heart and breathing. It was during this attempt at calm that the Na'vi man jumped down from his lofty perch in front of her. The sound was too close, too immediate for Miriam to not open her eyes.

The sight of the Na'vi, who was considerably taller than her, caused a high pitched "yip" of fear to escape the woman's mouth. She jumped in place as well, her hands flying to slap over her mouth immediately after the sound was made. Her already wide eyes increased to the size of dinner plates as they took in the sight of him. Definitely not an avatar of someone back at the compound, this was a true blue* Na'vi. Her hands moved from her mouth to her cheeks as her jaw slackened in awe.

Even though she'd signed up for this adventure, even though Miriam knew very well that she'd walk the ground of Pandora, the idea of meeting a Na'vi face to face had never really crossed her mind. Oh, she was fairly sure she'd see one, from a distance most likely. But she'd been warned that her place on this expedition was not out in the world of Pandora, but within the compound. She'd only been allowed to have an avatar because of her wish to study the Na'vi neural network. But here was a full blood, born and bread Na'vi, just an arm's length away from her. She couldn't believe it!

I... umm... my...... Oh! The woman flushed, realizing that she was stammering in English. She'd understood the question well enough. Her avatar training had hit her hard in Na'vi, but her natural knack for language had helped her absorb it quickly. But now, awe-struck, she was having trouble grasping for the correct words to say.

<<I am called Miriam.>> I... ummm... oh.... <<I am.... I am lost.>> She rolled her eyes at herself. Well that should be fairly obvious. Why else would I be out here alone. Definitely not out collecting fungi to study back in the lab. She let out a small laugh, something between a chuckle and a snort. then she realized that the Na'vi man was still looking at her... and that she'd been babbling. I'm sorry! Ah! I mean... <<I apologize.>>

Miriam bit her lip. She knew that the Na'vi tribe that lived closest to the compound were the most tolerant of humans, but that didn't mean they would be friendly, not to one who'd stepped way out of bounds. She lowered her head towards the man, hoping he understood that she meant nothing by her transgression, hoping that he would take pity on her stupidity and show her the way back.

She raised her eyes ever so slightly, head still bowed toward the giant man, hoping to find the sympathy in his eyes that she so desperately wished for. But instead, something else caught her eyes. Smooth, black skin, just behind a cluster of bushes that were just behind the man. Then, the blink of an eye. It was a creature. But not just any creature... it was a big creature... with big teeth.

Look out! She'd shouted, not realizing that the warning had been delivered in a language the man would not understand. But even if he'd missed the meaning of her words, there was no mistaking the fear in her voice, and in her eyes as she pointed toward the creature. Discovered, the thanator let out a growl and the quills on it's head stood up on end in an impressive display as it prepared to pounce.



*HAHAHA! Get it!? True BLUE!!!! I swear I crack myself up!

[Delta]

Raiko blinked in confusion. How could such a simple question garner such a complex response? He'd heard Miriam's name well enough, and it was blatantly obvious that she was lost, and who knew what she was saying when that babbling gibberish flowed from her mouth. <<Calm yourself,>> Miriam, his words were simple and short, almost as if they were an order rather than words of comfort. He was there to help her afterall, not to speak.

His head tilted slightly as Miriam bowed her head away from him, and shifted those big yellow eyes away from his. It was something that one would do when dealing with a dangerous animal, and not a sentient being. That was his first thought, at least... after thinking about it, the man realized that this was probably the sky person form of begging. Until her eyes lifted up and flickered over to the space to his side... growing large shortly thereafter.

One could almost see the man sigh and mouth, "why me?," as he turned to track Miriam's gaze. A pang of fear struck at the man's heart as he saw the giant ten legged feline with its quills raised, causing its pace to quicken. During the brief amount of time that he had focused on this small tutee it seemed that the young Palulukan in the area had prowled ever closer to him and the Tawtute tutee.

Rai's vocal chords rumbled deeply in return to the massive creature's snarl, for he was angry. Today as supposed to be normal! He wasn't supposed to be mauled by a thanator! Quickly and swiftly did the man smash that mode of thought into the rocks of his mind. It was not the time to complain, it was the time to act. The large Na'vi almost instantly spun around on a heel, wrapping his big arms around the dreamwalker tightly. The tutee needed to be safe, no matter how ignorant and childish she was.

Tight muscles clenched and relaxed below the palulukan's deep black skin as it prepared itself for the pounce that would earn it a meal. Little did she know, she was dealing with one of the better warrior-hunters of the Aylukana tribe. Granted, Raiko had never actually fought off a thanator, but it couldn't have been any more dangerous than when that Toruk jumped Jai and him.

<<Now,>> he stated calmly, despite the situation, <<when she pounces, I'm going to jump us to the side. When you recover, run to those tree roots over there and be very quiet.>> Unfortunately, he didn't have time to make sure that the terrified woman understood before the creature launched its body at him. Just as planned, the man launched his own body (and Miriam) to the left, narrowly dodging the thanator's razor-sharp talons.

Without missing a single beat, the man pulled the longbow from his back and knocked a long arrow to the string. <<Run!>> Without necessarily aiming, the man let an arrow fly at the panther-like beast... though the result was hardly worth noting. The neurotoxin that laced his arrow wasn't meant for taking down massive beasts, but rather yerik sized and smaller.

With another growl, the man rolled around to his feet and pulled yet another arrow's knock into the string. This thing would go down, even if it meant that Raiko had to die to make it so.

[Meerkat]

Miriam's hands were shaking. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the terrifying sight of the thanator as it growled and prepared to pounce. She was captivated in terror. That is until the Na'vi man moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her. The touch startled Miriam out of her trance of fear, and her large eyes sought his.

She no longer cared that this man was a stranger to her, and perhaps even intent on doing her harm. All higher levels of processing in her brain were suspended. Miriam existed in her brain stem now, pure survival mode and nothing more. She was impulse and instinct. And her instinct told her that this man's movements were intended as protection.

His words took a moment to register in Miriam's mind. But they were simple, and so she would be able to obey the command. She closed her eyes tight, ducking her head into the man's protective embrace. When the time came to jump, Miriam didn't resist his movement, but she did let out another yip of fear, not knowing if the move would work or not.

But then they hit the ground with a thud. By the time she opened her eyes, the man had prepared his bow to fire and had yelled at her to run. He didn't need to tell her twice, that was for sure. Miriam was up and moving. She didn't have time to marvel at how quick this tall, lithe body was. She was focused on the roots of the tree ahead of her. The spaces between them might just be enough to squeeze through.

And they were. She'd had to wiggle her way through, but the she was able to. She scurried to the deepest place below the tree that she could, then turned around to peer through the spaces of the thick roots, back towards where the Na'vi man was preparing a second arrow to shoot at the beast. But he was looking down at the arrow and his bow, she couldn't tell if he was seeing the thanator about to pounce again.

She opened her mouth to warn him, but the word escaped her for a moment. Frantically, she wracked her brain for the correct Na'vi word. If she shouted in English, it might only distract him. he needed a word that he could understand. Then she remembered.

TAWNG!