OoM: Grace's school

[hallelujahpilot]

[slightly place-holdery]

Trudy likes dealing with Dr Louise Donnelly. She's more street than academy, which Trudy appreciates. But Louise is working the Na'vi near the coast, so today Trudy is just dropping her off.

Trudy doesn't even touch the ground, just hovers above it as Louise jumps out and runs out of the way. She turns and gives Trudy a cheerful salute, and then adjusts her pack slightly as she heads off. Once Louise is clear, Trudy raises Maya and turns in the air, heading back over the jungle.

Comments

[donthidemycigs]

Her ears twitch forward.



"All right."

It's almost a challenge. Prove it.

"Just so long as we're clear, the children are my first priority here. Oh, and they're watching every move you make, starting three minutes ago."

[hallelujahpilot]

She allows herself a slight smile as she starts to walk after Grace.

"Only three minutes? I was assuming they'd be watching my chopper first."

[donthidemycigs]

"Different beast, marine."

[hallelujahpilot]

More seriously, "I know."

[donthidemycigs]

Trudy shouldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary while she scans the area. The forest is relatively quiet, and the Na'vi are exceptional at blending in.

It's not long before the growth parts to reveal the school. It's just a cabin, simple and rustic.

"Home sweet home."

[hallelujahpilot]

Simple. Rustic. Well-maintained and Trudy's lips twitch slightly as she notes all the pairs of golden eyes peering out from the windows and the door.

Speaking off the door, the first one out is a willowy adolescent girl, her face narrow and eyes sharp. Trudy notes the way she moves - oddly fluid and graceful, and entirely unlike the stride of a human or an Avatar - and the confidence in it.

Also, the knife at her hip. Yes, that gets noticed, too. Behind the first girl is a second - shorter, not as thin - and Trudy can't tell if she is younger or the same age.

"Graceaugustine," the first girl says. "I See you." The other girl nods, repeats the gesture, and both of them glance at Trudy.

"Fyape fko syaw ngar?" The first girl asks while the second glances at her, rolling her eyes slightly. Something in the expression screams 'sister' to Trudy.

"Oeru syaw Trudy Chacon." Beat. "Alameda'ite."

Well, hey. Formal is formal. And ranks would just get confusing, real fast.

[donthidemycigs]

"Oel ngati kameie, Sylwanin. Neytiri."

Grace lifts her head, glances briefly at Trudy, and holds up one hand.

"Poe mì tì'eylan za'u. It's all right."

The tallest girl glances sternly between Grace and Trudy. If the Skyperson's Na'vi has thrown her off, she doesn't let it show. The last few steps from the porch to the Avatar and her escort are taken purposefully, with almost a swaggering confidence. She cranes her neck in the direction of the metal ikran, ears pinned with suspicion.

"There are no more?"

"We are the only ones today," Grace says, grinning as more children start to appear. "Trudy Chacon is here to ensure my safety."

Sorry, Trudy; the sarcasm just slipped out.

"You are a warrior?" asks Sylwanin, ears perking. "Not karyu -- teacher? Tìftia kifkeyä..."

She looks to Grace for the English.

"Scientist. No, she's not a scientist."

[hallelujahpilot]

"Warrior," Trudy agrees. Her eyes flick from Sylwanin to her sister, to the other children. Some seem to be of age with Sylwanin and Neytiri, but most are younger. Some are even shorter than she is.

"And taronyu? Hunter?" Neytiri asks, following Sylwanin's gaze towards where Trudy left her Samson. "With the ikran?"

Ikran. Banshee. What- Oh

"No, not a hunter." Beat. "Warrior and pilot - I fly."

[donthidemycigs]

Sylwanin and Neytiri say nothing, staring at Trudy as if the explanation is senseless. They exchange looks.

"Sa'nok!"

Grace lowers herself to the level of some of the smaller Na'vi children, greeting each personally and warmly. They greet her with questions about the day's curriculum and last week's lessons -- as well as questions about the strange Skyperson, of course. Some have never seen one up close before.

"Why do you fly?" Neytiri eventually asks Trudy.

Sylwanin remains silent, pacing a proud circle around the marine.

[hallelujahpilot]

For the moment, Trudy filters out the children's chatter - she's still paying attention to the tone, but she doesn't understand enough to bother trying to pay attention to the words.

(she did, she'd be entertained about the queries regarding the rough curls in her ponytail)

More of her attention is on Sylwanin, and Trudy's sure that the tension running through her is visible to the young warrior. But other than that, she gives no sign that Sylwanin's pacing is making her on edge.

"Why?" She asks Neytiri, a little taken back.

"Yes. Why?"

"...do you?"

The girl nods, and her sudden smile lights up her face, turning her from severe and off-putting to recognizably young and happy. "I ride Seze."

"Okay," Trudy says. "Why?"

"Because I am hunter."

Trudy regards her for a moment, and then she suddenly smiles herself. "Yeah, but that's like me saying I fly because I am a flier. You ever just...fly, for the sheer hell of it? I mean." Beat. "For the...fun, or joy, of flying?"

Neytiri cocks her head, and Sylwanin pauses in her pacing, large yellow eyes flicking between her sister's face and the Skyperson's.

"Yes," Neytiri says. "It- feel free. And there is fun."

"Exactly," Trudy says quietly, her smile crooked and fierce, all at once. "That's why I fly."