Pandora's Hope

[MidnaPhobia]

The Na’vi stopped when Ethan put his hand on hers, causing the girl to stop her ascent. “It’s alright, you didn't have any way of knowing. I’m not upset or anything like that.” However she smiled as he thanked her. “Don’t worry about it, it was the right thing to do. But um... I suppose if you are offering I do have one request. When you begin to learn things can you just... not forget me please? I know you’ll probably say you won’t but the more you start to become like us the more you’ll probably start to outgrow me or something like that.”

She smiled at him slightly before she continued to climb more slowly. They reached about half way up the tree fairly quickly before she stopped to let Ethan rest for a few minutes. It was getting fairly late in the day, the sun was not setting yet but it was certainly starting to get darker and the temperature was starting to get colder.

[Draco_James]

"Well, right thing or not, not everyone would have helped me like you did," he noted, easily thinking of at least one Na'vi in particular who wouldn't have. "And I promise you, Nearae, I will not forget you. However busy I am, I plan on finding time to see you," he assured her, giving her a smile. He truly already thought of her as a friend, and the last thing he wanted was to cut ties with her. In fact, despite knowing it was rather unlikely, he hadn't given up hope completely that she'd be allowed to be the one to teach him. Maybe Kyuan would see that already he'd learned from her.

He tried not to think about it too much, though, because there wasn't anything he could do about it for the moment. "This trip seemed much shorter on the way down," he said with a joking smile when they paused, "I guess it'll take a while for me to get strong enough to do this as easily as you." He paused a moment, stretching a bit and testing how sore he was getting from all of this - the avatar body was kept reasonably strong through muscle stimulation over the course of the trip from Earth, but it wasn't enough to be fully prepared for all of this.

"I was wondering what life is like here... in general, I mean - on a daily basis. Like, how do you spend your time?" he asked, partially because he was just curious what the day to day would be like if he was ever fully accepted, but more at that point because he wanted to know more about her.

[MidnaPhobia]

“Oh, I doubt you’ll ever forget me.” The girl added with a somewhat sad little smirk. “I’m not the kind of person who Na’vi tend to forget very easily, I’m just worried that your... opinion of me will change once you have seen what life around here is like and what the other Na’vi are like you’ll decide, like a lot of the others have, that I’m no good and you’ll want to be with others beside me.” However the girl giggled softly when he said that the trip was easier on the way down.

“Well then, we better keep going, or else we’ll never reach the top.” The girl smiled as she continued to climb. However his question caused her to pause and think. “Um... that is quite a question.” The girl laughed slightly. “Well... I suppose... um... it’s not as easy as it may seem. Those days where I wasn't with you I was working. It all depends on what you seems to be good at I suppose. If you’re a good hunter, you will hunt to help the tribe. If you are a good gatherer you will gather, if you’re a parent you will take care of your children, things like that.”

“Myself, I’m a scout, I’m one of those people who goes out looking for places where resources will be right when we need them. I’m also supposed to keep an eye out for any invading forces, be it Na’vi or the likes. However it had been fairly peaceful recently, no lack of anything really so there isn’t much worry of any attacks right now.” The girl assured him confidently.

[Draco_James]

Ethan started to climb again perhaps a little more quickly than because so that the rest of the climb wouldn’t take as long as the start had. He paused with Nearae so that he didn’t get ahead of her, though he was certain she’d be able to catch up easily. He had figured that different clan members would have different functions, but the details escaped him – such as whether they might take on different jobs on different days. It made sense, though, that each Na’vi would do one thing for the tribe that they were good at, which would benefit the tribe the most.

“Well, that’s comforting to know,” he told her, smiling a little. “I guess scouting must give you a lot of chances to fly with Illarion? That was... something else, flying last night. The sky people... learned a long time ago how to create things to fly inside, but there are no creatures on our world that can carry us with them through the air. I’ve flown before a few times, but never like that – never feeling the wind and being able to look out in any direction and just see... everything.”

[MidnaPhobia]

Nearae smiled and nodded slightly when Ethan said she must get to fly with Illarion a lot. And hearing him say how amazing it had been to fly with her did give the Na’vi a small happy feeling. “It’s a good feeling, and you’ll be happy to know that it never diminishes and only gets better when you fly with your own ikran. You will get to fly with your own eventually one day you know?” The girl asked, picking up the pace very slightly as she got excited at the very thought of flying.

“Once who ever has trained you deems you ready you will get to scale the holy mountains and you’ll get to bond with an ikran just like Illarion. They’re a part of our life here, without them our way of life would be so much more difficult. They help us hunt, scout, I don’t think there are many jobs we do around here that don’t involve the ikran.” The pair were about two thirds of the way up the tree now and they had reached the part where other Na’vi were active around the place. Nearae stopped again and rested casually on a branch, looking around the tree at the environment. It was clear that she was fond of the place but, as she had said before, seemed to feel a little lost.

[Draco_James]

“I... hadn’t thought about that...” Ethan admitted when she mentioned getting to fly his own ikran some day. The thought was both thrilling and slightly frightening at the same time, and he paused for just a moment before picking up his pace to keep up. “I imagine that day is a ways off yet,” he noted, but smiled slightly, “But I think I’ll be looking forward to it.” He wondered what he’d end up doing – what role he’d fulfill within the clan when he finished being trained. Whatever he was best at, apparently, but there was really no way of telling what that would be yet.

When Nearae stopped, Ethan did too, and sat beside her. “I can’t help but be curious... what’s it like, bonding with an ikran? It seems like it must be so different from flying with someone else...”

[MidnaPhobia]

Nearase looked at Ethan curiously at his question. Yes, whilst she understood that he probably hadn’t bonded with an ikran yet surely he must have experienced the bond with... something? Her kind were not the best direhorse riders but they still knew how to, there had to be an alternative for those who failed their final trial and lived, though it was rare. “Um.. it’s... it’s strange at first, but any bond is. But it also just feels... right, like you and your ikran were meant to be together and you don’t feel like you would ever feel the same way about any other ikran.”

“Many people say that once you have made your bond with your ikran you will be partners for life, never again to find another partner again, there is only one perfect match out there for you. But when you fly... it’s not as if you are flying on your ikran, rather that their body is just an extension of your own, it is like their wings are yours, their eyes, their jaws, everything is just a part of yourself, just extended.”

[Draco_James]

Ethan cocked his head to the side a little when Nearae started to explain. He tried to wrap his head around what it would be like, bonding with a creature and feeling like it was an extension of his own body. He quickly decided that it must be something that had to be experienced to be understood. Experiencing that and doing something like flying, so clearly outside what his own body was intended to be capable of, seemed even more fantastical.

"It's... hard to imagine, flying though the air, feeling like that..." he said, "I guess I'll just have to do my best to learn and wait to find out for myself just how amazing it really is." He looked around at the other Na'vi that he could see, and then sighed. "I wonder who Kyuan will end up picking to teach me..." he added, and there was a hint of sadness in his tone, "Hopefully they're as kind and understanding as you've been with me."

[MidnaPhobia]

Nearae tilted her head slightly before she smiled again. “It’s alright, I know it’s hard to imagine sometimes, it still gets me a lot of the time. What we could try tomorrow maybe if you wanted is we could go try and get a direhorse and you could bond with that to see what it feels like. It’s the same... basic concept, kind of. It has the same basic feeling but a direhorse feels like you’re not exactly compatible, you’ll find that some direhorses will feel better to ride than others do where as a ikran feels like a perfect match to you every time.”

“As for who will teach you, don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be fine. Some Na’vi may get a little frustrated with you if you don’t get things quick enough but none of them are going to be cruel or anything and if they are you just tell me and I’ll make sure something gets done about it.” The girl clearly got a little defensive about the part where she mentioned someone being cruel to him. She may not mind too much if it was just herself but she did not like the idea of others being mean to her friend.

[Draco_James]

Ethan glanced up, nodding at the suggestion to go out the next day and find a direhorse for him to bond with to get an idea of what a bond was like. "That sounds like a good idea to me," he agreed, looking forward to it. When she said not to worry about who'd end up teaching him, he gave her a smile. He hadn't really expected whoever it was to be cruel to him or anything, but just not being cruel didn't mean they'd be patient or get along with him well.

"I'm sure you're right," he said, "But thank you, I'll keep it in mind, just in case." He was silent for a little while as he looked over at her, and then down from the branch they were perched on. "Do you mind if I ask how long ago your trial was - when you bonded with Illarion?" he inquired, still wanting to know more about her and her past, though clearly he hoped he could avoid bringing up any more unpleasant memories. That was always a risk when you asked someone about their past, though, he supposed.