Finding out what?

[Yanti]

It was early in the morning and very quiet. She loved this time of day just before the world woke. When even the light was still quite dim, and you could listen to the creatures of the day waking and the nocturnal ones turning in for sleep. All these small sounds. Some rustling of of dry leaves and branches under quick moving feet. Some chirps and screams. The little moment of peace, she thought, and greeted the new morning in her mind. She felt content and happy.

Then she yawned, sleepily stretched her slender frame and slowly took another bite of her breakfast. Back home she would have turned over now and gone back to sleep for just a little while longer, but out here she always got up and enjoyed daybreak.
Eäni was somewhere nearby, hunting for her own meal. They had come down from the mountains some days ago to look for a special fibre that the women wanted for spinning the very fine, strong thread used for their sewing. Normally Yanti would have gone to one of the other places she knew, but for some reason this time she had chosen the area near the place where the sky people had settled. She could not say why, since the Rokure did not seek contact with the strangers, and she had not been that close to them before, but here she was now. She had not thought about it and did not question the motives that had guided her, but trusted that things were as they should be.

Off to her left some way, there was one of the strange buildings of these people. Before she had looked for her sleeping place, she had seen it and watched the area closely. It had made her feel somewhat uncomfortable to spend the night this close by. But the place had been quite deserted for some reason or other, and then it had already been quite late in the day. Her ears flickered lightly as she listened carefully for unusual sounds but the morning was calm. Unhurriedly she finished her food, got up and went to drink some water from a tiny pool nearby. She also washed her face and hands and then returned and tidied up her camping place, so as to leave no trace. This was not only a matter of protecting herself against the dangers around, but she would never insult Eywa by leaving a mess behind. It was quick work anyway.

With a last look around, Yanti shouldered the large bag she used for collecting plants, and hesitated for a moment. Should she go back to this building? Or rather get what she came for and be off before somebody even noticed her presence? But then, she might never get this close again to that place. And since she was already here, she could as well try to find out...
What? Find out what?
She grinned, amused about the quiet debate she just held with herself.
You are curious. Confess it.
Oh yes, she certainly was. And since she was here in the vicinity...
What harm is there in it?
True enough, she decided and turned in the direction of the sky peoples odd, cube-shaped building. She reached it soon enough. Seen at this close distance, it looked even stranger with some large, squarish patches that glittered. She wondered what they were for as she hesitated nervously. But curiosity overcame fear and cautiously Yanti moved even closer, looking and listening around for danger. When she reached one of these squares she found the shine gone and realized that they had only reflected the bright morning light. Up close they seemed dark rather and, she bent forward, yes, she could look right through and inside.

[• Aerys •]

Not many people could say that they had a life even remotely similar to that of Bryant Wolfe. He was, after all, an enthusiast of a concept that many had considered antiquated, pointless, and a waste of time. Science and logic and tangibility was all the rage—if you couldn’t produce hard evidence or back it up with tedious piles of research, it wasn’t valid. Religion had been a subject of great volatility even far before the hard industrialization of Earth, and yet, Wolfe saw these obstacles as little more than endless challenges for him.

Of course, this journey he had been assigned to could be classified as hard evidence, cause shit, he was standing on the damn planet and looking out across the miles of grass and woodland. He was breathing in the noxious fumes that poisoned the human lungs, listening to the distant alien screeches, feeling the hard earth beneath his feet. And yet the idea of another species coexisting with humans in the same universe wasn’t tangible, not to men like Bryant Wolfe. Science couldn’t explain their behavior and interaction with the deity Eywa, nor their intense devotion to a concept that remained something of a taboo on Earth. That was why Wolfe was here.

He did not go traipsing about the Pandoran wilderness to conduct his research, however, not like those dogmatic scientists shut up in their lab back in the compound. He had no interest in studying the plants and creatures that inhabited the planet, but the natives who tended to and lived amongst them. He couldn’t go hunt them down in the forest or stalk them across the plains, certainly, since that all but spelt a recipe for disaster. His job was to entice them, befriend them, and learn from them.

“How far do we have to go?” He had to yell above the roar of aircraft to even hear himself speak. It was still early in the morning—a little too early for Wolfe, the glorious crown of the sun just barely breaching the distant horizon. The pilot dipped the vessel several yards before answering. Wolfe really wished he had taken that second cup of coffee.

“Five minutes. Don’t worry, it’s not like you’ll have a line.”

Jackass, he thought with a scowl, ears flicking back. Negotiations for allotting any of the trip’s funding to go to a potential school had been a sore spot for nearly a year prior to any green lighting. Some claimed it a waste of time given the nature of the expedition, others argued it was the perfect time to patch up what Grace had worked so hard to put together. Mending relations with the natives was important, really, and Wolfe didn’t understand why it had been such an ordeal getting the go ahead to open it back up. He had taught a few classes at his university after graduating, so he had little qualms with teaching the Na’vi, even if no one else would.

Nonetheless, it had been a rough few weeks for him since they had cleaned up and reopened the facility. Only a handful of Na’vi even dared to get within bowshot of the building, often too wary to approach it, and only two had come into the structure itself. They were receptive, certainly, but Wolfe didn’t think that the two gunmen lounging in the corners were helping matters much. He was, after all, an asset worth, in total, several million dollars. His knowledge certainly wasn’t worth half of that pretty bundle of cash. Tangibility, remember?

So it was with a slightly heavy heart that he hopped out of the Samson when it touched down and headed up to the schoolhouse. It had been constructed with naturalism in mind, as to make the Na’vi feel more comfortable with their surroundings, comprised of wood from the planet itself. It was kept under lock and key, however, to keep any too curious (or too angry) visitors from vandalizing it.

Wolfe fished the keys from his pocket and let himself in, crossing to the back of the building and depositing his bag onto the desk. He tidied pulled out ancient textbooks and an array of small hand-held computers, and was just putting his lunch down when he caught sight of movement outside of one of the windows. His ears perked, golden eyes flickering with interest. Had that been a native?

Before the guards could question his intentions, the boy hurried to the back of the building and ducked out of a smaller door, swinging around the side of the complex. Sure enough, a female stood peering tentatively into the window, the delicate trail of markings peppering her nervous system glittering with curiosity and wariness.

Wolfe kept his movement slow, as to not frighten her, his hands low and spread, face placid. Only when she noticed him did he stop and offer her a soft smile. “Greetings,” he said fluidly in Na’vi. “May the grace of Eywa shine upon our first meeting.”

[Yanti]

With gentle fingers she touched this clear and hard substance. It felt cool to the touch and smooth, very smooth. She tapped lightly at it. Somehow it reminded her a bit of the surface of a mountain lake frozen over in the harsh winter times, but then again not. She looked through once more. It was fairly dark inside the building and she could not see all that much. As she tried to take in the strange things, the sky people seemed to like all their objects very straight and with many corners it appeared, and work out what they might be used for, she thought she saw a shadow move. Quickly Yanti stepped back and sharply drew in her breath.

Of course stupid she scolded herself, if you can look in somebody can also look out. And see you.
To make sure whether she really had been spotted or not, she tentatively moved forward again, peering once more through and with some relief decided that she must have been mistaken. There was nobody.
Be more careful.
She had been so engrossed in this investigative excursion of hers, that she had ignored everything around her. There had been some strange noise only a little earlier, but as this had moved away again, she had quite forgotten about it. She had just walked onto these grounds without taking any care, had not even looked around carefully first, and watched for potential danger. Belatedly she did this now. And saw a figure come around the corner.

“Yawhp!”
With a small yelp she jumped backwards a step, eyes wide with a mixture of shock and frightened surprise. But then she checked herself. This took some effort. Her tail and ears flickered nervously and her markings glowed wildly and gave her certainly away. Her instinct told her to run.
He seemed quite alone though and he moved with such careful slowness. Nobody else to follow or, as she quickly scanned the area around, nobody behind her or coming from other corners to close in on her.

Even in her agitation she realised that he tried everything to be as little frightening as he could and since she was not given to hysterics easily, she managed to quietly stay where she was and wait for him to approach, her astonishment growing. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to take in and see as much she could in those few heat beats before he would reach her.
All the stories that were told at the evening fires of the Rokure spoke of the sky people as being rather small, and of Na'vi that were not Na'vi. This was obviously one of those. His colors were quite bright and strong and he was about as tall as she was. Just, since she had a good height.
Na'vi but not quite Na'vi had been a concept that had been somewhat beyond her. She had always wondered about it, and never got a satisfying explanation when she had asked, but now she began to understand. Now she saw what it meant. There were differences, though she could not decide yet what or how.

He was almost in front of her, but she could not detect anything threatening. She still eyed him cautiously, as he spoke. The voice was friendly and the words polite. His smile drew an answering one from her.

”The blessing of Eywa on you, and may you have a good day,” she replied. Slowly her curiosity overcame her fear again.

”What is this solid water? Why do you need a cave made from dead tree?”

She looked half at the building while she asked, half at him, as she still did not trust this at all. Then it occurred to her, that this was maybe not a polite way to start a conversation. And she did want to get some information about things, since she had embarked on this thoughtless adventure. So she quickly added:

”Excuse me, my people call me Yanti. What is your name?”.

[• Aerys •]

Wolfe could not deny the relief that settled in his chest when the Na'vi elected to remain. He had been expecting her to bolt, as most did when avatars approached them, or on the rare occasion attack; seldom had Wolfe seen it escalate to this, but one of the first rules that had been impressed upon the scientists was to never let your guard down around the natives. They may not have spoken fluent English and donned terran clothes, but they were not fools.

Still, intrinsically, the boy felt a sincerity with this female. Her genuine curiosity pervaded whatever misgivings he had, and despite the small voice in the back of his head, he decided to let them go. Footsteps slow, gaze flickering between the Na'vi and the window, he approached her until he could press a hand to the cool surface of the item in question.

“It's called glass,” he murmured slowly, breaking from her tongue and enunciating the latter word in English. He rubbed his hand against it, encouraging her. As he continued, he slipped back into fluent Na'vi. “It blocks the rain and wind from entering this.” His hand traveled from the glass to the wood. “Wooden cave in my language is building. It is where I live, sometimes.”

Bryant knew it would be a difficult task to undertake, teaching the natives concepts that were barely relatable to them, but he took to his challenge with earnest. Establishing a common bond through a universal language was bringing him a step closer to unveiling the mysteries of Pandoran culture. To learn what drove these people on a fundamental, spiritual level was of utmost importance to him, so as long as the idiots back in the lab kept to themselves and didn't interfere with his studies, he had no qualms with heading the school.

As it were, Wolfe kept his mind from straying too far. Baby steps, he thought, giving his head a brief shake. He smiled at Yanti and drew a hand over his heart. “I am called Wolfe. It is a pleasure to meet you, Yanti.” He gestured back towards the building and lifted a brow. “What brought you here? I have seen other Na'vi come visit my home, but I have not seen you around before.”

[Yanti]

When he came closer she once more had to suppress the wild urge to run, but she did take a slow step backwards as he laid his hand on the strange surface.

"Gluzz", she repeated after him. It sounded so strange to her. Harsh somehow and she felt a little uncomfortable with that. Which made her look at him in surprise. He spoke her language, she realised suddenly, and that quite well.

Then she got really distracted by his fingers, that ran over this glass thing. He had five, not four like the Na'vi. She came nearer again and held up her hand beside his to compare, while giving him a, what she hoped he recognized as such, friendly smile. It seemed to work as he carried on explaining. As she lowered her hand again, she listened attentively but her gaze went automatically down to his feet. To her disappointment he did not go barefoot so she could not make out whether he also had too many toes.

"But why make a wooden cave and not use a real one? It is not necessary to cut trees for shelter. There are many good caves..."

Her voice trailed off uncertainly. She was not sure, she wanted him to know where exactly the Rokure lived. No, not at all. Not while she did not know what these strangers were doing in her world. She knew the old stories and they were sad and full of loss and suffering. This Wolfe, as he called himself, seemed eager to be friendly but she was far from trusting him, so his question came at the right time. It was easy and simple to answer without betraying to much of her feelings. She hoped that her markings and her tail, that still flicked occasionally in agitation, did not give her away too much.

"I came to collect fibres for spinning thread. The plants grow here very well, so I can easily get enough for a while. There is a large patch of them right over there. And since I was here..."

she waved her hand in the direction she had come from and then turned back to him smiling apologetically,

"I thought I could look at your beeldeeng. I have not seen sky people stuff before...and not people like you either...you are dream walker? But what does it mean? Is it a name for your kind? Why? But I am sorry I do not mean to insult, I just do not understand your strange ways and I wish to learn a little about it before I return home."

She conveniently ignored his words about him not seeing her here before. For the time being this was enough.

[Mineya]

Mineya silently jumped from tree to tree, she had been following Yanti for some time. She had never seen this female before, and was curious. After all Mineya was a young Na'vi woman and with youth came curiosity. She watched silently as Yanti ate. She was a very pretty female, clearly taller than Mineya. Yanti began to leave, and off Mineya went to follow the strange female. What tribe was she from?

The small beautiful Aylukana female came to a complete stop. Her golden eyes locked onto the strange building, and almost instantly she notice, that Yanti's attention was caught by it also. As Yanti ventured out toward it, Mineya dared not to move. She stayed perched on the tree's branch. A safe distance from the sky people's structure. She knew not to trust them, and their fake Na'vi robots.

Mineya pulled off her bow, and arrow. Aiming it at the building ready for anything. Her ears pricked forward, and her tail twitched. She remember clearly all those stories her people told around the fire, about the sky people. How they tried to wipe the Na'vi race out. Mineya inhaled sharply as she saw it. A Na'vi robot. He walked toward The strange female. Mineya watched as he drew closer, and closer. She could tell the other female was nervous.

Mineya watched as they talked. Her pupils became slits. She couldn't hold back any longer. She shot out from the cover of the forest's trees. Coming up just behind the other female, her arrow pointed at the male. Her ears lay flat against her head. She growled at him, her sharp white teeth bared at him. "Your not welcome here!" She spat out in her thick Na'vi accent. Her voice was a mixture of sweet honey, and bitter poison.

Mineya's tail twitched, she was agitated, the bands on her tail jingled. Her long flowing black hair cascaded down her back. Her eyes were wide, filled with hate. "Leave now, you have no right to be here. You sky people broke our trust!" she hissed at him. Her eyes were locked with his.

[• Aerys •]

Sothisis why they told me to never go anywhere without a security escort.

Wolfe had his hands raised, amber eyes wide, apprehension and fear undulating through the marks across his body. He had faced skeptics, disbelievers, and a number of Na'vi who simply did not want the humans present on their planet, but he had never been held at bow-point before.

The female was foreign to him, but a quick once over of her garb and skin coloration marked her a member of the Aylukana. She was shorter than Yanti, but Wolfe knew better than to judge the natives by their size. That was a mistake only a fool could make.

Hands still raised, Wolfe slowly backed away from the pair, gaze oscillating between the poisonous arrow and the female's face. "I do not mean you any harm," he said softly in Na'vi. Behind him he could hear the two guards bursting out of the building and the distinct click of their tranqs as they took aim at the natives.

"Stop!" he snarled in English with a brusque wave of his hand. The men cast him a wary glance, but obeyed in tense silence, their weapons lowering ever so slightly. "Don't shoot her. You have no idea what's watching us in the forest." Naturally, he then heard them shift, undoubtedly scanning the tree line for an ambush.

Morons, he muttered to himself, agitation flickering across his markings briefly. He took a deep breath and spread his hands wide. "I am here in peace, Na'vi," he murmured again in her tongue, his ears swiveling forward in a gesture of hopefulness. "Do not be afraid."

[Yanti]

Yanti had had the vague feeling of eyes following her, and had been alert at least for some of the time, but it had not bothered her that much so far. She had seen no reason for that.
An animal would either have gone its way or attacked. It was not that likely, but then she would have been ready. Now since she was talking to this Wolfe creature she was also not too worried that sky people would kill her immediately. And Eäni was around and she could call her and flee in an instant.
If it was another Na'vi he or she would show himself or herself eventually. There were no wars between the clans so she was in no danger from being in, or at least at the borders, of the Aylukana territory.

Such a display as she watched now though she had never expected. It all happened in just a few heart beats. Slowly, very slowly the tall woman turned round and took in the scene. Wolfe seemed frightened but she was relieved to find he did not panic. Instead he shouted something to the sky people who came rushing to his aid. She did not understand a word of what he said in his harsh tongue but the gestures he made she could interpret well enough. From their reaction she gathered that he commanded them and that they thought other clan people might be nearby. So, quickly she too scanned the foliage around them. No, that Na'vi was alone. She did nothing to betray her thoughts in any way though.

Having come this far in her observations she took two slow steps toward the other female, consciously bringing herself somewhat in the way between the arrow and Wolfe, and out of the dream walkers reach at the same time. Since she was more than half turned away from him now, and had her attention on the Na'vi girl rather, she could only listen to what he did next, and she did not wish to get caught by him. All her senses were stretched and her tail flickered excitedly.

What she felt was not fear though. She was normally of a placid and calm nature, but now she was infuriated and this wave of hot anger washed over her. The Aylukana girl was smallish and quite a bit younger than she herself, she noticed but not so young as to act so unbelievably foolish. She had brought them both into mortal danger without thinking it seemed. There was no excuse for that in her eyes. Also Yanti had been about to get some answers to her questions and now this girl barging in here so stupidly had ruined her chances. It was frustrating, really, truly frustrating.

”I see you little sister, though considering your abominable manners I would rather not. I am ashamed for the elders of your clan.”

She consciously spoke very slowly and as angry as she was, her tone was scalding, her voice ice, grating over the rocks. Her fingers clenched to fists and it took some effort to flex them again, which was now about the only movement Yanti made. She bit back whatever other words she would have said, as she had no intention to quarrel with this Aylukana, especially not with the sky people and the dream walker watching. They were both Na'vi after all, and might still have to stick together against the strangers if things turned bad. She made no attempt at all to introduce herself. It was up to the other to make up now, since she had brought on this utterly embarrassing scene. So she just waited, hearing, but ignoring Wolfes words.

[Sah'leen]

ooc: Hope you guys don't mind me joining...?

Saleen was finally starting to get the hang of this avatar lark. She could move, she could walk, and she could catch. In fact she was pretty at home in her body. What she did not like was the academia and learning that came with being an avatar driver. That was the real pain. It was for that reason that she had never yet ventured far from the compound, or into the trees, and had not in fact met a single Na'vi since arriving on Pandora. She had decided, however, that it was time to try.

Leaving the Pen in her avatar body, Saleen started out at a steady jog that she increased as she became, once again, familiar with every bone and sinew. It was wonderful to run at such a pace and height, feel the wind tug at her braids and feel no pain in the soles of her feet. They hadn't hardened like native Na'vi yet but Saleen felt sure that running in this terrain as a human with bare feet would hurt far more than it did now.

Normally, Saleen wore heavy black boots while in her avatar form but today she was all for new experiences and had left them behind in the Pen.

She wasn't about to go wondering far into the forest- not with as little knowledge as she had managed to cram into her head. But she would venture a little further than normal.

Breaking into the thicket and foliage of the forest Saleen had taken only a few steps before gasping aloud and staring about at the plants and colors. She had lived in a city all her life on Earth and never seen woodland on her home planet let alone the wonders of Pandora.

Turning in circles as she walked forward, Saleen attempted to take it all in, her large ocher eyes widening still further. This place is amazing...

Moving further inward, Saleen deliberately headed toward the school she knew lay a little further into the forest. She was nearly there when she heard through her newly sharp senses the sound of voices. Two people were speaking in Na'vi and English in turn.

Saleen hurried forward, eager to know what was going on.

It was when a third voice entered in the conversation in harsh and angry tones that Saleen sped up the pace. Upon arriving at the small structure that was the school Saleen moved around the corner of the building and found three people, two Na'vi, one Avatar standing with a group of men, their guns half raised.

What the-?

Saleen moved forward carefully and calmly so as to make her presence clear and not seem like some kind of attack or ambush.

The Na'vi were stood near to each other a few meters from the Avatar who, Saleen noticed, was Bryant Wolfe, a man she could recognize and knew of but had never really talked to specifically. She hadn't actually talked to a lot of people on the Avatar program, being assigned late and having not previously trained for it. She found she was, in some ways, an outsider to them.

Saleen nodded to the Na'vi politely.

"Kaltxì..." She attempted. Licking her lips she had another go at the language she wasn't entirely fluid in. "May Eywa... grace... meeting you..." Wait, that didn't sound quite right. She swallowed a little nervously. Saleen could understand the language enough to work out what people said but speaking it herself was a little difficult despite the last month's worth of intense learning.

"Um... Tsap'alute..." She had learned to apologize quickly figuring she'd need it. "ohe omum ke... ralpeng... er... plltxe." I know not the interpret speak? Well it wasn't exactly fluid but it got her point across at least.

Saleen smiled a little uncomfortably in an effort to seem non-threatening. She had thought there would be no angry Na'vi here: only those wishing to learn or teach but apparently not. This was a great first day out...



stats
words: 788
music: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind music.
mood: Bored.
notes: Any italicized speech whether typed in English or Na'vi is spoken in Na'vi.

[• Aerys •]

Well, this certainly isn't what I had expected, Wolfe thought irritably, his amber gaze flickering between the two Na'vi and the avatar. What he had hoped would be an intimate conversation with the female to his right had evolved into a series of unexpected visitations and resulting awkward confrontations. Now all he was hoping for was to get out of this unscathed, and without upsetting the Na'vi any further.

"I mean you no harm," he murmured to the shorter Na'vi, sincerity shimmering across his markings. "My purpose here is to share with you knowledge, not exchange animosity." With his arm still in the air, Wolfe gestured to the men behind him to stand down. Guns, even tranquilizers, would do nothing but complicate the situation further, especially if the natives decided to take action. Word of violence would spread like wildfire among the tribes and the years of tedious negotiation would be lost in a matter of moments, all because of a trigger-happy human.

His gaze then flicked to Saleen, a young woman he had only heard of by name. A roster of all avatar drivers was handed out upon touching down on Pandora and even though the list was relatively short, given the size of the expedition, Bryant was afraid to say that he knew little more than half of the crew milling about the compound. His days spent in the school prevented him from socializing with the others during the working hours, since most of his time was then spent sleeping or brushing up on his research.

"Yanti here was just asking about the school," he said smoothly in English, nodding to Saleen. Golden eyes skipped back to the Na'vi in question, and he smiled softly. "Hopefully a newcomer."


----


OOC: I'd say Mineya needs to go next. Yanti, feel free to, if you'd like.

[Yanti]

As she heard yet another voice, Yanti sighed and slowly, and with one last angry glance at the Aylukana woman, turned around to face the newcomer. What had started off as a tentative and seemingly friendly meeting had quickly become some sort of jumbled and a bit confused melee. She sighed again, in sheer frustration. What could she not have learnt speaking to Wolfe. But maybe not all was lost.
Wearily she eyed this she, and it was clearly a she-dreamwalker, who now stumbled through some well meant greeting phrases in very broken Na'vi language. This made Yanti realise once again how well the mans' command of her tongue was.

It made her smile in the gentle way she unconsciously had, not mockingly, but with understanding for the awkwardness the other probably felt. That certainly was something she knew about. She took a cautious step towards those two listening to his words that she did not understand. It really was a strange language.
But he was, it appeared, explaining something to his friend. She had also noticed that the sky people were still lurking around, and that he tried to keep them calm. Gratefully the Rokure nodded her appreciation of this at him. She did not need the situation to escalate. She did not want to have clan feuds and fights between her peoples and the sky people on her hands just because she had come here out of sheer curiosity.
She decided to ignore the Aylukana clan woman hoping that she might come to her senses and get her behaviour together when she realised there was no imminent danger, but the one she herself was creating. Yanti thought that in her case she would have just walked off and felt ashamed, but of course, everybody acted differently. And no, she thought, she would not have done so, as she would not have gotten in such a muddle in the first place.

Slowly and carefully, as not to upset anything even further now, she stepped even closer to the two dreamwalkers and turned to the woman.

”May the blessing of Eywa be on our meeting. I am Yanti from the Rokure clan and came to this place to collect some plants, when I met your friend here and he told me about your wooden cave with the gluzz patches in it. I have not seen such a thing before and I was curious and truly intrigued about it...but you do have too many toes...”

By chance she had looked down and had noticed the bare feet of the woman, and the exclamation had come spontaneously. Now she laughed a little embarrassed.

”Forgive me. My mouth overtakes my thinking and my manners sometimes. It was not meant to insult you.”