xviii. her home too
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THERE wasn't much Odessa could do now.    Life would take its own path, and if the higher being, Eywa,  chose for her story to continue, than it shall.

"I need to find Jake, I'll be right back." Odessa smiled at Neytiri, placing a hand on her shoulder before she turned and left home tree.

Jake and Niave hadn't arrived back at home tre yet, which was odd. So Odessa left, and she had only a small amount of time before Tsu'tey arrived and informed everyone of what had happened.   She guessed she had about five to six minutes before chaos in home tree was about to brew.

"Jake! Niave!" Odessa yelled out, her hands cupped in front of her mouth to carry her voice further. She weaves through the trees, hoping that she'd see them. "Jacob! Niave!"

"Don't call me Jacob!" Jake yelled out. He and Niave emerged from the trees. "And can you help me?"

He eyed the woman in his arms. Wherever they had been, it seemed as if there had been destruction there too. Niave was unconscious, her chest moving slowly — almost too slowly.

Odessa stepped forward, reaching out and pulling the woman into her own arms. "What happened?"

"We — uh — a tree fell. She was trying to move me I think, and I wasn't linked yet. It hit her ..." Jack said slowly, eyeing the unconscious woman in his friends arms. He could feel her pain; he had mated with her, things were different now. "She needs help, Dessa."

Odessa nodded, picking up her pace as she walked with Niave in her arms. She didn't find her heavy, and she could see how visibly tired Jake had become.

"Let's go back to home tree, there has to be someone to help." Odessa spoke, waiting for Jake to catch up to her before she moved quicker. She couldn't just go slow, when she knew that Niave needed help that someone would be able to provide.

The two stepped into home tree just before Tsu'tey and the warriors he had been with did. They had a moment to hand Niave to the healer, and then they would be thrust into a conversation that would soon grow disastrous.

"Help!" Jake yelled out, his words coming out almost perfect in the Na'vi language.

Neytiri quickly made her way over, gazing at her cousin who looked hurt. "What happened? What did you do?"

Someone trained in traditional Na'vi medicine strolled forward, hoisting the woman into his arms and going to where he and many others would make sure she received the best care. Very often if one was injured, they would let nature takes it course, and that was the plan — only they would give her any herbs they could that could help the process.

Jake raised his hand in surrender when Neytiri glared at him. "Nothing, a tree fell. The RDA, they're — they hit the tree of voices. She wanted to show me last night, long after you two had left."

By now, Tsu'tey had informed Eytukan, Mo'at and the Omaticaya clan of the destruction the sky people had caused. To say they weren't happy wouldn't be an understatement, they were livid, fuelled with a rage they couldn't contain.    A war between the sky people and Omaticaya was to come.

"Tsu'tey will lead the war party!" Eytukan demanded, raising his bow in the air and everyone around him cheered, shouted war cries, yipped. Tsu'tey raised his own bow in the air, creating a bigger commotion from the people.

Grace ran forward through the people, diffusing the situation was the first thought she had. "Stop, please!" She had shouted, causing everyone to quiet down and look at her. "This will only make it worse."

"You do not speak here!" Tsu'tey whirled around, pointing the end of his bow at Grace. He raised his bow above his head again, causing everyone to shout out their war cries. "We will strike them in the heart!"

"Tsu'tey don't do this!" Jake called out to Tsu'tey, walking through the people and into an open space with Neytiri and Odessa by his side.

"You both!" Tsu'tey said loudly in anger. He handed his bow off to someone else, the action careless. He charged at Jake and Odessa, who were both quick in moving out of his way.

That had just further angered Tsu'tey, who was even quicker in moving and pushing both Jake and Odessa to the ground. The two landed with a thud, unprepared for what had just happened.

"Listen, brother." Jake stood, trying to calm him, but Tsu'tey shook his head and placed his hands on Jakes shoulders and roughly pushed him down to the ground once again.

He turned towards Odessa, who had now stood to her feet and gazed at Tsu'tey who glared at her. "You mated with this woman?!"

"Oh, shit." Grace gasped, eyeing Odessa and Neytiri. She knew that it would happens, she just didn't guess that it would have happened so soon. She was surprised. So with wide eyes, she took a step forward, only to be nudged back.

In the clans eyes — she, Odessa and Jake were still the enemy. Or they were now at least.

"Is this true?" Mo'at stepped forward and asked sternly, her eyes narrowed. She wasn't happy at this new found information.

"We are mated before Eywa. It is done." Neytiri stated, standing tall and tilting her head upwards. She turned, locking eyes with Tsu'tey, who breathed out a shakey breath. She frowned ever so slightly.

"Brother, please. Do not attack the sky people," Jake stepped forward, hands by his side as he straighten out his body. By the way that Tsu'tey breathed and walked, he realized that he was more than angry now. "Many Omaticaya will die if you do."

"You are not my brother!" Tsu'tey yelled out, pulling his dagger out of its holster and charging at Jake.

Odessa didn't think twice before pushing him out of the way. She regained her balance, pulling out her own dagger that she had made. "I am one of you! I passed all the tests. I proved that I belong. I am not your enemy! And neither is JakeSully!" She threw her dagger to the ground, the weapons skidding against the dirt.

Jake stepped closer to Odessa and Tsu'tey. Tossing his one dagger to the ground beneath his feet. "The enemy is out there, and they are very powerful! I can talk to them." Jake tried to explain. He racked his brain of something he could say, something that would help him in this situation.

Oh how Jake was right. Chaos, pain, death, fire — the worst had yet to come. Time would take it's time, and they could only hope they were ready for what was next.

"No more talk!" Tsu'tey let out a yell and charged at Jake and Odessa once again. Only this time his blade dragged across Odessa's shoulder. He pushed her to the ground, the woman tumbling.

Neytiri fought against her parents hold as Odessa gasped in shock and slight pain. "Tsu'tey!"

Jake yelled out, charging at Tsu'tey and pushing him to the ground besides Odessa who got up and avoided the dagger that Tsu'tey violently and blindly sliced the air with.  Jake grabbed Tsu'teys arms, kneeing him in the abdomen swiftly and punching him across the face. The action had sent Tsu'teys dagger to the ground and away from everyone.

Tsu'tey grunted, wiping away the smallest amount of blood that leaked from his nose and trickled down his chin.

"I am Omaticaya. I am one of you." Jake breathed out heavily, pointing to  Odessa who stood only a foot away from him. "She is Omaticaya, she is one of you too."

Neytiri moved away from her family, stepping towards Odessa and placing her hand on the open wound. "You will be okay."

"I have the right to speak! I have something to say. To all of you." Jake closed his eyes and took a deep breath."The words are like stones in my heart."

Odessa looked at Jake with pure confusion sketched across her face. Jake wasn't very poetic, so his words that most definitely sounded like they had been pulled from a book full of poems, they were definitely a small shock.

🌍.

INSIDE the camp where Odessa, Grace, Norm and Jake were, a large gush of air was felt before an alarm started to beep. Colonel Quaritch marched into the room, making his way through the area and pushing Norm out of the way.

"Sir, I'm sorry. No, no, no. Hold on!" Norm said desperately, trying to keep the man in power from turning off the pods and stopping the links. He couldn't let him do that. "You can't interrupt a link in progress!"

Quaritch slammed his hand against the red button that stoped Graces link.

🌍.

GRACE collapsed to the ground, Odessa quickly taking a step towards the woman.  "Grace!"

Neytiri ran towards the woman laying on the ground. She still had a pulse, which was a good sign. Yet it wasn't at the same time. Something bad was about to happen.

"Oh, no." Jake gasped, turning toward Odessa who looked at him with wide eyes. "No."

"Okay, look." Jake said nervously yet with urgency in his voice. The big red button to his own pod had been pressed. "I was sent here too..."

"Jake!" Odessa reached for Jake, slowly placing him on the ground and looking towards Neytiri. "Be safe, okay? Make sure everyone is safe."

And then the big red button connected to Odessa's pod was pressed.  Her eyes rolled back and her body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

🌍.

ODESSA gasped, her body slamming against the metal that held her against the soft material that lined the bottom of the pod.

It opened up, revealing Colonel Quaritch and other soldiers that stood around him.  "You and Jake here crossed a line." He smirked before punching Odessa in the face, making her collapse once again, blacked out.

🌍 🌍.
╰ authors note

hi everyone! i'm debating changing the title to paradise. i feel as if it fits better, now that it's more focused on neytiri — who is odessas paradise.
thoughts?!