Curate, connect, and discover
Ka'ani ran a hand across the hide of Mimikyu, the Ikran crooning beneath her touch, blinking yellow-orange eyes at her with pleasure. A soft smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she adusted the heavy saddle and armor she had crafted under the teachings of Tseke, making sure the straps weren't digging into her bondeds skin, reminiscing.
With the urgings of Nefika and Etuwa, Ka'ani had begun the climb to the Ikran Rookery with Eetu somehow managing to stay in front of her, though she had no idea how he could do so without flying an Ikran, especially since she was stumbling over rocks and nearly falling off the floating rocks, clinging to the vines in fear. But just meeting the gaze of Mimikyu made it all worth it.
A stunning Ikran, who had been well known to swoop on riders to chase them off, to keep them out of his territory - the Aranahe knowing him as Fe'tawng, Fear Diver, for his fast dives and the fear new warriors felt upon meeting him. Blue-black with cream-yellow, purple, and light blue markings along his back, a cream belly with soft purple streaks along his inner wings, with vibrant yellow kuru's and crest, all of it reminded her of one of the fiercest predators she'd learned about at T.A.P..
The Echo Stalker. A fierce pack hunter that lived in the dense Clouded Forest Region, a deadly predator even blind, capable of taking on Na'vi because of its pack mentality.
And the Na'vi name reminded her of the strange game Alma had spoken of once, showing tattered cards of odd animals that had never actually existed on Earth, created only for entertainment. Ka'ani specifically remembered the card with the strange creature hidden in a costume designed after a different creature - Mimikyu - so she named the fierce Ikran, after spending several hours climbing up the Rookery and chasing after him, before finally wrestling him to attach their Kuru.
Eetu had honestly expected her to die when he saw the way Mimikyu had focused upon her with killer intent, which he had admitted with abandon before shoving her off the rookery so her Ikran was forced to dive after and catch her. He later stated it was tradition within the Kinglor Forest, a way to strengthen a young bond and see just how powerful it would grow to be.
She hadn't believed him. He had looked far too happy to shove her off the cliff.
The feeling of flying had never gotten old, but none of it compared to that first time. That feeling of freedom, Mimikyu's memories and the glee he felt at having a rider, the way the wind felt whipping through her hair. It was everything to Ka'ani, to have someone, even an Ikran, that could see her for who she is and not judge her for her anger.
Mimikyu saw her anger - her anger at the death of her people, for the death of her sister, her mother, Zomey - and he saw it as justified when she went after the RDA. For an Ikran, revenge wasn't really a concept. If another hurt you, or your mate, or your flockmates, it was a call to battle. Ikran's were prideful and did not take slights well after all.
But none of the mattered right now. Not after what Alma had told her.
The others were alive, hidden away in a T.A.P. Facility in corner of the Spires, all pried from Alma's lips after Priya picked up on an odd signal. Not freely given. Never freely given.
Little Yefti - so sweet and shy, with so much curioisty when it came to the chemicals of Earth, to chemistry and so afraid of the Forest, just like Teylan.
Fierce and wild Telisí - always quick to back up Aha'ri, sharing that same spark of a flame that was waiting to be coaxed into a raging bonfire, and little interest in the ways of people but protective of Okni.
Sickly Okni - always stuck in the infirmary with a weak constitution that left her susceptable to human sickness, but so kind and eager, with a soft voice and even sweeter singing voice.
Yuayt, Hardings favorite. And how Ka'ani should have seen that happening, should have tried to keep Yuayt closer. But he had told on them - as if they had taken too much food, not been trying to escape. After Aha'ri's death, Yuayt had shyed away, Nor never allowing him to apologize even when the boy had tried. Mayhaps she should have told Nor to back off, to hear his apology, but how could she have known that they would be taken away? At the time, hearing an apology from him would have done nothing but made her angry.
Mimikyu, kuru connected, hissed, head shaking. Apologies didn't seem to be a thing in Ikran culture, rather submission or death were the closest things Ka'ani could find to it so she allowed him to search for more on the subject.
'Forgive too much. Fight more.' Ka'ani couldn't help but snort, easily recognizing what memories he had found.
"Teylan has apologized and has since done his best to earn our forgiveness, and Alma . . . She is the leader of the Restance. I cannot allow anger to cloud that. Without her we would be dead, Mimikyu."
The Ikran huffed, 'Owed life?'
"In a way, yes. Without her the humans would have slaughtered us, before we even had a chance to realize what was happening."
Mimikyu shook his head, flexing his teeth - an Ikran's way of changing the subject.
The memories of the Kinglor Forest, the Plain, and the Clouded Forest flashed behind Ka'ani's eyes, a question in the sights.
"We are returning to the Spires, the Tangled Peaks Region."
That earned a feeling of excitement. Mimikyu had adored the Spires, with criss-crossing wind currents and floating mountains to cling to, the new Ikran Treats were just a bonus. Smiling, Ka'ani hopped up into his back, patting the side of his neck.
"Let's get going, Mimikyu. Unfortunately this is not a pleasant visit."
Hissing - seeing everything Ka'ani did and had - he was quick to take off, understanding the urgency to retrieve her lost Flock Members.
From the Resting Tree Lab - the closest Resistence Field Lab to the edge of the Spires - to the first campsite in the Spires (), to (), before continuing on to the closest camp to T.A.P. Con-2 to rest for the night. From there Ka'ani traveled only a short distance with Mimikyu - unwilling to risk her bondeds safety if Alma and Priya's projected RDA numbers were correct.
Approaching on foot, the building, built into the cliffs itself like the Recon Site, looked abandoned with heavy vines covering the front but the smell of oil, gunpowder, and metal was too strong and fresh. The look was probably to keep the Keawa from noticing, especially since they preffered to stay on the backs of their Ikran than to be on foot.
Searching she eventually found a vent - overrun with mushrooms and moss - that allowed her to slip inside without anyone the wiser. The further into the vent she moved, the cleaner it became, heavy with the sickly clean smell of the RDA Cleaning Bleach, making Ka'ani wrinkle her nose in disgust having long grown used to the scents of Pandora, of herself and the others she met.
Approaching the end, the quiet steps of human soldiers made it to her sensitive ears, but no chatter. And once she made it to the edge, she could see why.
The vent led to a massive hangar - 12 Helicoptors, and at least 15 cars of some kind - so the people patrolling were seperated by multiple vehicles with no way to talk without yelling or pausing their patrols.
Pulling her bow from her shoulder, Ka'ani easily slotted an arrow into place, aiming for the closest soldier - and releasing the arrow so it sank through his throat. In her near 3 years on Pandora, fighting against the RDA, she had realized that Humans were resiliant in that sometimes shooting them in the heart didn't kill them immediatley. And what a surprise that had been, hearing the soldier she had shit call out intruder after her arrow had found its mark in his chest.
So now, she aimed for the throat - for the face if she wasn't using stealth, since the glass shattering could be an obvious mark of a Na'vi having made it inside.
Slipping out the rest of the way, Ka'ani made her way through the hangar leaving behind bloody bodies after retrieving her arrows - all marked with the bone white fletching and singular purple streak to mark her as Sarentu - until she found another vent to climb through.
Well over two hours were spent making her way through the Facility, hiding away the dead bodies she left as she moved on, trying to find the rooms or maybe even a classroom, but this place wasn't like T.A.P. Con-1 or T.A.P., no obvious area for the Na'vi children.
Until the cold nitrous smell of the Cryochambers seeped into her nose. Cryosleep. Maybe the four had been put in Cryosleep when the RDA were forced away the first time - not by a savior, but by their captor - and maybe they hadn't been released yet. Mercer might have wanted to wait until she and the others were killed so no one got the idea to rescue them.
Following the hall signs she finally came upon the room, and shot the singular scientist before he even had a second to register she was there. And there were four Na'vi sized Cryochambers, frosted over.
Laughin in relief, Ka'ani wiped away the gathered frost from the first tank but her expression fell. It was Telisì, but . . .
She hardly looked to even be 13 in the chamber, face frozen in time. Ka'ani was horrified and quickly wiped the frost from all four of them to see if the same was true for the other three and it was.
Reaching up she pressed the comms, "Teylan, Ri'nela? Are you there?"
"We are here," Ri'nela said, calm as ever.
"Did you find them? Are they alright? Oh, I hope they're alright."
"It's . . . They're still children."
"What?"
"What do you mean 'still children'? How is that possible?"
"They must've been put in Cryosleep as soon as they were moved here, because none of them look any older than the day they left," Ka'ani answered, clamping down on the anger curling along her spine.
"How are you going to get them out?" Ri'nela asked.
"I do not know. Are either of you near the Spires?"
"I am. I will speak to Tsu'lo, have him send some warriors to you so you can escape without putting them in danger."
"Thank you, Ri'nela. Do hurry, I do not wish to be here longer than I must, not with them in danger."
The comms clicked off and Ka'ani went about freeing the four from sleep, starting with Telisí.
The girl woke with a gasp, immediately banging a fist on the glass when she realized she was stuck. With a hiss the door slid open, allowing the young girl to sit up . . . And finally catch sight of Ka'ani.
"Who are you? Where are we? What is happening?" Telisí demanded, climbing from the cryochamber on unsteady feet, tail whipping in anger.
"Do I not look familiar, Telisí? I was unaware I had changed so much since we last saw each other," Ka'ani answered, tilting her face so her mark was obvious. Telisí faltered, blue eyes going wide with shock.
"Ka'ani? Is that you? You look . . . Older. How?"
"You've been in Cryosleep, Telisí, and based on the records it's been 23 years since you were all put in."
Telisí was horrified, head snapping to the side to see the other three Cryochambers, "23? No, no, no. That's-that can't . . . Why would Mercer do that?"
"I don't know. And we never will. Telisí, Mercer and Harding are dead."
"Really? Please say you are not pulling my tail, it would be a dick move, Ka'ani."
"I would never lie about this, Telisí."
"The others, you have to free them—" Telisí stared her down "—you have to free all of them, even Yuayt. He didn't know."
"I am going to free him. I would not leave him behind."
"You don't understand, he cried, Ka'ani, he tried to attack Harding when we got here. They almost– They almost killed him for it."
Ka'ani contiued working on releasing the next chamber, Yefti, then Okni's and finally Yuayt's.
All three had similiar reactions to seeing Ka'ani grown up, with Yuayt throwing himself into her to hug her, apologizing over and over even as Ka'ani held his shoulders.
"I know, Yuayt, I know. But we have to be ready to flee. The Keawa Kame'tire are coming to help us make it out, but I need you to do exactly as I say. If I tell you to hide, do it, run, do it. Anything, everything I say, do it."
The four nodded, quickly understanding what was happening, especially with the array of weapons adorning Ka'ani - from her shortbow, to the shotgun, to the knives at her hips. If they wanted to be free, they had to trust her to get them out.
Hardly a half hour passed before Ri'nela was reaching back out.
"Ka'ani, Tsu'lo has sent Emeray, Tseke, and Ku'malo with So'lek and I. Get ready to run, we will be arriving soon."
"We await your arrival," Ka'ani stated, cutting off the comms as the four watched her. "Help is on the way. Get ready to run, and run quickly. I will lead, Telisí, will be last. Okni if you begin to fall behind say something, I will pause if I can but you have to let me know. If you see one another begin to fall behind, speak. We have to work together to get out."
"We understand," Yefti murmured, holding her tail in her hands as Okni clung to her arm.
"We'll stay close," Yuayt confirmed, holding himself tall even with dried tears along his skin.
"Let's go."
Ka'ani was quick to move forward, retracing the path she had took to get inside, luckily no one was there, none having seen the hidden bodies stuffed in the shadows. Okni could not hide the startled whine when she saw the bodies, quickly pushed forward by Telisí.
"Did you—?" Okni began, eyes wide with shock.
"I did. A lot has changed Okni. If I hadn't then they would have lived on to kill other Na'vi."
Telisí spoke up, "I'm glad you did. It means we're safe, right?"
"As long as the RDA are here, no, but in this scenario, yes you are safe."
Ka'ani paused at a intersection, holding out a hand to keep them fron moving forward. The grating chatter of soldiers was coming from the other direction and she reached for her shortbow, knocking it.
"Ka'ani?" Yefti questioned, anxious.
"Stay here."
In one motion, Ka'ani moved into the hall, firing an arrow right into the throat of a soldier, charging forward to bash the second soldiers head in, snapping his spine. There was no point in hiding the bodies so she called them to follow her.
"Ka'ani! We're here!" Ri'nela called into the comms, shots echoing in the background. "Run!"
Alarms began blaring as the four instinctively huddled closer.
"Run!" Ka'ani ordered, picking up the pace. Any RDA they came across, she shot, leaving their bodies to rot. The four stumbled but she got them to the vent, and pushed them through firdt. "Ri'nela, they're coming out through a grate on the east side, outside the hangar area."
"We'll be there."
"Hurry!" Ka'ani ordered, slipping behind them and ushering them out into the world of Pandora. Yuayt, who had been first, stared out into the area with awe and glee, the others having sinilar looks. "I know this is a shock, but we need to go."
Shrieks announced the arrival of the Ikrans, with Mimikyu following.
"Ri'nela?" Telisí asked, amazed to see her on a stunning yellow and green Ikran. "Is that you?"
"Telisì? Oh, Telisí-"
Explosions rocked the facility, cutting her off, "We need to leave, now!" So'lek called.
"Okni, with Ri'nela, Telisì with me, Yuayt with So'lek, Yefti with Tseke," Ka'ani commanded, pointing out the strangers to the kids. Telisí scrambled to follow Ka'ani towards Mimikyu, who lowered his wing to allow Telisí a foothold, before he pudhed off.
Ka'ani had Telisí pressed to her chest, urging Mimikyu to flee towards the floating islands so he could dodge the pursuing helicopters until Emeray and Ku'malo were able to shoot them down with their mounted crossbows.
"Thank you, Ka'ani," Telisí whispered, leaning back against her as they glided through the skies.
"Always, Telisí. I will always protect you."