The morning air shimmered with mist, the forest alive with calls of unseen creatures.
I awoke beneath Hometree, the Na'vi still keeping a wary distance. Eyes followed me wherever I moved—fear, curiosity, suspicion. A giant among giants.
That was when a familiar voice cut through the quiet.
"You."
I turned. Neytiri stood with her bow slung across her back, her expression unreadable. Hunters gathered around her, bows and spears in hand.
"You say you are no enemy. Then prove it," she said, her tone sharp as flint. "Come with us. Hunt. Show us you can walk the path of the People."
The others murmured, some in disbelief, others nodding eagerly. A test. My trial.
I inclined my head. "Then I'll hunt."
We moved through the forest in silence, the hunters slipping from root to branch with effortless grace. Their movements were fluid, one with the world around them. I followed, my footsteps heavier, but quiet all the same.
Yet I felt their eyes on me. Watching. Waiting for me to fail.
Hours passed before the first prey revealed itself—a massive sturmbeest grazing in a clearing. Its armored hide glistened under the morning sun, tusks sharp enough to pierce stone.
Neytiri raised her hand. The hunters froze, bows at the ready.
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It must be swift. No waste. No suffering."
The hunters nodded, drawing their bows.
But before the first arrow could fly, the beast lifted its head, nostrils flaring. It snorted, sensing us.
With a deafening roar, it charged.
"Scatter!" Neytiri barked.
The Na'vi leapt aside as the ground quaked under its massive hooves. Arrows flew, but they bounced harmlessly off its armored hide. The beast thundered toward a young hunter, frozen in terror.
I moved.
In less than a heartbeat, I was there—between the hunter and the charging monster. My hand shot out, catching the sturmbeest by its horn.
The creature strained, its muscles rippling, earth shattering beneath its hooves. But I held firm, unmoving, my grip unyielding.
Gasps echoed through the trees.
With one effortless motion, I twisted, guiding the beast off its path. It stumbled, disoriented. My fist struck its side—not with full strength, but enough to topple it. The sturmbeest crashed to the ground, stunned but alive.
The forest went silent.
I knelt beside the beast, placing a hand gently against its heaving chest. My voice was low, steady. "Rest now."
The hunters stared, mouths agape.
Neytiri's eyes narrowed, unreadable. "You… stopped it. With your hands."
I met her gaze. "Killing it would've been easy. But unnecessary."
The younger hunter I'd saved stepped forward, bow trembling in his hands. He looked at me with awe, then lowered his head in respect.
"Za'u… protector."
The word spread among the hunters, whispered like a spark catching flame. Protector.
But Neytiri did not join them. Her gaze lingered on me, sharp, conflicted.
Finally, she turned away. "This trial is not over."
Her voice carried both warning… and something else.
As we made our way back to Hometree, the whispers followed me again. But this time, they were different.
Not demon.
Protector.
And I realized—step by step—I was beginning to carve my place in Pandora.