Storm over Pandora

Started by Lehrrap Uniltìranyu, December 31, 2009, 08:10:08 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Nume fpi sänume

#40
1105-1115 HRS
Brokensword, somewhere above the jungles of Pandora.


Brokensword had just left Hells Gate with its full complement of crew, and then some. The data pad gave him a capacity warning a few moments after their flight began. Alex would have to recalibrate the main computer for Pandora to compensate for the gravity and air density changes. They were close to max, but according to this pad they should be fighting to stay in the air. Alex took a quick note of it, storing it in the memory banks for later, and went back to monitoring systems. He did note that the ill tempered, short Avatar in the back resembled the hot chick he was following off the drop ship for a bit. Eh, well so much for that, besides, Alex had more important things to worry about. Like why he was here instead of in the bay. Not that he minded at all, flying up front was great, and much smoother than the SA-1 he got to try out once.

The screen opened another small window a while, showing the local region they were flying through according to scans from the Gate, the world down there was teeming with life, too bad it all wanted to kill him. He wondered when he would see his first Na'vi. Sure the avatars looked like them, but it's like instant coffee, it's just not as good as the real s***. Alex accessed the Brokensword's radar, seeing if there was anything interesting ahead. It showed a small flock of flying objects, which quickly came into view. They were beautiful, but deadly looking. Like blue birds that floated rather than flew. Jax didn't stop at all and flew straight into the flock, scattering the ones in the way, but the others continued to fly without much notice. Good thing too, Alex had no intention of seeing what one of those would do to an intake or, God forbid, a rotor if they got caught in it. Two red dots appeared, Ikran, and Alex watched them on the radar. Their movements where too coordinated to just be flying, and he thought for a moment that they must be carrying Na'vi, watching them. Alex scanned the sky in their general direction, trying to see a glimmer, a shadow, anything really, but it was useless. The radar system had far better eyes than he did, and in a few more moments they were gone. He saw noise level bars on the side of his pad, indicating that the comm system was picking up chatter in the back, deciding to listen in on some of it he brought up the menu.

"This isn't the kind of thing you get to see every day!" Came a male voice. He wasn't sure who it was.

"You can say that again!" Yelled back another. No video feed to see who it was talking. Damn, might be something worth installing.

"Can you guys please get away from the edge like that? You're making me sick." A female voice came through, sounding a bit upset, almost sick. Alex felt sorry for her, but at the same time not. He wasn't cleaning up the mess if she lost her breakfast, he didn't have the HAZMAT gear that would require. Even if it didn't require it. Enough of that one, there were a few others to listen in on, and Alex switched feeds.

"...pect to find here? Redemption, or a new life?"
"What was left for me on Earth? My military career done, I found the only option: Escape and start a new life. The Avatar program appeared at the perfect time. Being Spec. Ops., the RDA wanted my skills for defense against the Na'vi. So here I am."

"Wow... I gotta say... I don't... know what to say"
"Hopefully you'll be able to thank me sometime later."

Hmmm. Alex kinda wished he had caught the start of that conversation. One sounded human though, so that didn't leave a whole lot of options as to who it could be. With that a blue square starting flashing on the radar, the usual sign of friendly camp. Alex touched the square to bring up information and current statistics in the area. Not much there provided, which meant not a lot of sensors, just a friendly beacon labeled Gracie's School.

"Almost there." Alex said in the headset.

Jax turned and nodded, beaming a huge smile. Alex could tell Jax loved it up here, and Alex could see why. Taking a moment to stop looking at diagnostics he saw the vastness of this place, and it hit him like a rush. Samsons are by no means a big object, but even the small trees made them see as insignificant as an ant in comparison. The colors were vivid greens, blues, and reds. The mountains were hued various shades of brown, and the forest seemed more a green ocean in the way it moved rather than a leafy canopy. He was brought out of his current state of awe by Jax, his voice crackling into the headset, intercom, and recorded in the data pad.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Thank you for choosing Air Pandora for your flight plans today. We'll be arriving to Grace's English School and AVTR base 117 shortly. Note that the captain has put on the landing signs and the buckle your seat belt sign is now lit up. Please, return to your seats and stay seated until we land. Again, thank you for choosing Air Pandora for your flight today."

"Sarcasm much?" Alex asked when he was done. Jax just laughed as they began their descent.

Sngä'i Tìrey-yä

#41
The helicopter had barely touched ground when Ariel was struggling against her straps, trying desperately to free herself. The lock unsnapped and flung backwards, probably hitting another passenger, but frankly Ariel didn't care. With a mind boggling leap, she managed to somehow clear the other passengers and all the equipment and landed on her hands and knees on the ground. "Oh thank god, land. I love the land. Even if it is dirty!" She exclaimed, her Avatar's tail wagging in excitement; she didn't even care how stupid she looked. "I'm never flying again, never ever never!"

Chris stepped down behind her, laughing softly. "You really do hate flying, don't you?" he chuckled.

"No, I don't mind flying a bit actually" Ariel said, standing and brushing the dust off her skin, "its the possibility of falling to a horribly gruesome death that scares the crap out of me."

"Well then. We know not to take you up to the mountains anytime soon." Chris replied with a smirk.

"Those big floating ones? Ya, that'd probably be a good idea." Ariel said while stretching her back. As the others filed more nicely out of the helicopter, Ariel turned and saw the school where they'd be working for the day. "This... is it?" She asked, a doubtful look on her face. The building was roughly the size of a doublewide, stretched to Avatar proportions, "I guess I expected something more..."

"Its no Harvard, but its all we've got" Grace interjected, "And more importantly its enough to do what we need. We don't need the latest state of the art equipment, that would only make the Na'vi uncomfortable. That's why this place is made of wood, they don't seem to like metal structures like we do."

"Well of course not. It's not what they're used to," Chris stated, somewhat distracted by the flock of younger looking Na'Vi crowding around Grace.

"Oh my god, they're darling!" Ariel exclaimed, trying too look closely at some of the children without seeming frightening, "Hello! Hello! uh... Kaltxi! Oe lu Ariel, um, nga lu tupe?" Looking up at Grace, she asked "How am I doing Grace? This grammar is still giving me fits" Meanwhile the children giggled at the phrases and continued chattering in their native language.

"They are kind of...well...yeah...you know what I mean..." Chris trailed off.
"Well why do you think I do this job, Marine? For kicks and giggles?" Grace replied. There was a slight "peeved" note to her voice. She sighed, "And yes, Ariel, that was pretty good."

"So now what do we do? We just walk in and... start teaching? How many of them know English? What level of English are they at, have you ever considered holding some sort of orientation before sticking us into teaching?" Ariel asked, looking a little worried at the crowd.

Grace sighed and rubbed her temples with two long blue fingers, "Well maybe next time that might be something to consider, but for now, let's just do this. Shorty, you and the Marine can shepherd them inside. I direct all the lessons obviously, but you two can help start with tutoring. The rest of you can rest for a bit and explore the area but don't go too far or you're liable to get killed. You can switch out tutoring a little later when these two eager beavers lose their steam. Off you go kitties!"
Avatar is a movie about a guy with blue balls running through the forest chasing tail.

Mako

#42
Grace's School
1115 Hours


Chris breifly watched as the other Avatar drivers filtered back into the woods. The thought of them being alone made him slightly nervous, but at least they had Arik.

"Man how come we're stuck with babysitting duty while they get to go play explorer? Oh well, might as well make the best of this. C'mon kids, lets get inside!"

Ariel was making her best attempt to get the young Na'vi inside. They stared at her blankly until one muttered something in Na'vi that caused the rest to burst into laughter. Ariel looked concernedly at Grace, who also started chuckling.

"They're wondering why they have to listen to someone their age" Grace said after a moment, "They think you're just a teenager."

Chris chuckled. "Seems like they don't respect you, Ariel. Let's see how it goes with me."

Before he could get anything out, another young Na'vi said something that caused the whole lot to break out into laughter.

"Do you want me to tell you what they think of you first?" Grace asked, supressing a smile.

"I'm not sure with that smirk..." Chris replied.

Grace continued, "Its a bit difficult to translate, but have you seen those four eyed sloths swinging from the trees? One or more of your family history may be linked to them. At least, that's their opinion."

"Well that's just great. This is what I have to deal with?" Chris asked, exasperated.

"Yes, yes it is. Now get in here and talk about transitive verbs" Ariel said with the door slamming behind her.

"This is going to be soo boring!" Chris groaned. He prepared for a long day.

-------


Brainiac

1105-1115 HRS
Brokensword


Oscar was looking at the school, which had a very... well... ancient African feel to it, like they looked on those video's based on 20th century settlements. The helo touched ground, and for some inexplicable reason, the straps of the person in front of him swung back and smacked him on the ear, the one unprotected part of his face.

"Oh, come on!" He yelled, as he grabbed his ear. And he'd just gotten out his own straps. He carefully felt his ear, but it didn't seem to be really hurt. He just had a headache now, and his ear felt like it was glowing red. He got up and to the edge of the ramp, and saw the Na'vi children. He'd never moved so fast in his life. He jumped back, got behind a seat and tried to hide his head. It got him some weird looks. "They'll see me as a human, and then as a Na'vi. Don't you think they'll find that a bit... oh, I don't know, strange?" He said, to no-one in particular.

The other things he didn't like admitting were the fact that he didn't like children, and that he hoped the beautiful Na'vi woman from before was there. But then again, if she were, he wouldn't want her to see him as a human. He groaned. Salvation came when he saw some equipment that needed to be carried into the school, and he managed to hide his face with it, all the way to the building. He heard the children giggle. A shiver ran down his spine.
Speed is a ppoor sbubstitue fo accurancy

Check out my blogif my presence on this board isn't weird enough for you.

Mako

#44
.

Coyote

#45
Tribal School
1120 Hours










Arik smiled at the approach of the children, glad he had decided to leave the M60 behind. Grace Augustine was watching everyone's reactions, waiting to step in, but primarily pleased to let the situation unfold naturally, and honestly.

Arik took in the scene quickly. Clusters of adults stood nearby, watching the events as they took place, sizing the strangers up. They probably learn a lot based on how we react to and with the children, and vice-versa, he figured. A trio of children approached near him. Two boys with a smaller, younger girl behind them. The boys seemed proud, their jaws set, their slim chests puffed up, and very protective of the girl, although she herself seemed more curious than scared.

"Hello," he said, crouching down and reaching out with one hand. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," he tried to assure them. He looked to Grace for help, but she put her hand up with a smile.
"School's in session, Mister Shaham. You thought you were the teacher? You're both learning. Get cracking."

"Hoo, boy," Arik breathed. For some reason, the byplay between the two Avatars amused the children. The boys grinned, the girl covered her mouth but the sides of a grin could be seen as he eyes and ears flicked back and forth between Arik and Grace.

"Ummm... Shalom, erm, um, kalt-ee." From the corner of his eye, he could see Grace's Avatar shaking her head. The children all laughed at him.
"Kaltxi!" the lead boy said back to him. "Kaltxi!" he said again, slower. From behind the group, some older boy's voice was heard to mutter, "...skxawng...".

"Kaltxi," Arik said, then though back to the only other Na'vi word he knew, "Iryao."  
The children laughed again, and Arik laughed too.
<<You are hiyìk,>> the boy said, shaking his head. The kids laughed again.
"Sorry, I don't understand," Arik replied, smiling back at them. He went for simple things, and pointed to himself. "Arik" he said.

"Ah-rik," they repeated. They introduced themselves as well, a confusion of sounds from Arik's point of view which he tried his best to imitate-- much to their continued amusement. Another Na'vi, which Arik figured was a teenager, was drawing closer, and watching them. The girl, who was obviously older than the others but still just a kid, had facial expressions that bounced between interested curiosity and impatient amusement.

Arik tried something else. "All kids," he said, taking his hand and smoothing out a place on the dirt, "Like cartoons. I don't care where you're from." He quickly sketched a cartoon of a Na'vi face with a big smile.
"Happy," he said, then drew another one with a frown. "Sad." The kids stepped closer, and the adolescent did as well. The adolescent waved to someone in the crowd and called over another Na'vi who was older, a young adult. A rapid-fire exchange in Na'vi language began, but Arik had the attention of the kids, so he ignored the older ones.

"Happy," he said again, pointing to the smiling cartoon, then at his own face where he made a big, goofy grin that the kids laughed at. "Sad," he said, and pointed to the sad face, and to his own, where he made an equally silly 'sad' expression. The kids laughed.

"You make tseo for Tawtute?" the adult new arrival asked.
Arik blinked. "Um... t-sayo?" he asked.
"Tseo," the woman said, pointing to the sketches in the dirt. "ke tslolam..." she asked, making what seemed to be a frustrated noise.

"Tseo," Arik said, erasing the face cartoons and drawing another cartoon of an Avatar. It was crude, but clearly recognizeable. He then hastily drew a tree, and then an SA-2 helicopter.

"Tseo, tseo," the woman said, nodding and smiling. "Tslolam, yes?"
"Um, tseo," Arik said, glancing at Grace, who was nodding at him.
"Art," Grace said. "Tseo is art."

"Ah, okay," he said, smiling, "Yes. Art. Tseo." He pointed to himself, "I make... tseo."
"Tawtute tseosiyu," the Na'vi woman said.
"Tawtute tseosiyu," he repeated slowly. He turned to Grace. "Just to be sure, I'm not telling them I'm a bean-bag chair or something like that, am I?"
Grace laughed, and shook her head. "You're doing fine," she assured him.

The female Na'vi pointed to the drawing of the tree. "utral," she said, then to the helicopter. "kunsìp," she said, and then to the cartoon figure of the Na'vi. "Na'vi."
"Irayo," Arik said, smiling. She smiled back at him, but with an odd expression on her face.

"You have a thick accent," Grace said. "Very throaty, especially your 'r'."
"I'm defaulting some of my pronunciation to Hebrew," he said. "Force of habit. 'ar' in English, 'resh' in Hebrew."
"It gives you a distinctive accent," Grace said smiling. "But it's okay, I think they kinda like it."
Arik looked at the Na'vi woman, who smiled shyly and looked down at the cartoons.

"Made a friend," Grace said. "And if you don't understand something, you say 'ke tslam'."
"ke tslam," he repeated.

Grace gave a faint wisp of a smile. "You'll get it," she said and walked off.









Results:
Contact made among villagers, providing much amusement.

***
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!


VIDEO LOG DAY 8:
Attempted to pee on Viperwolf to test reaction. Please see attached medical file.
WARNING: Attached medical file exceeds gigabyte limit. System failure.

Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

Tribal School - Landing Pad
1125 HRS


"Hey, hey! OI! Get away from that!" Jax yelled out, waving his hands at the three Na'vi children who had gotten a little to close to the fuel-cells that he had gotten out of the storage to top-off Brokensword's tank.

"Kunsip!" One of the little, little being a reltive term, seeing as some of them were taller then Jax, Na'vi said, pointing at the Samson SA-2.

"Yes, that's a Kunsip." Jax said with a sigh. "We call them 'Gunships' in english.

One of the older ones stepped forwards, "You do make Tsahaylu with Kunsip like Ikran, things that fly?"

"Wait. What?" Jax said, now confused. He had read a little book, 'How to Speak Na'vi for Marines', written by the good doctor herself. And he had read though it, but didn't exactly have time to pratice it. He thought carefully while the Na'vi snortent and started spewing at him in Na'vi.

"<<What a moron! He doesn't even know what the bond is! And he is a warrior? I could beat him, and I havn't even been fully trained yet!>>" The young Na'vi said.

Jax snorted. He may not know Na'vi all that well, but he knew what two of those words were. "I am a warrior, and I'm no Skxawng!"

He held out his Aviatiors Watch. "This is my bond. It allows me to create Tsahaylu with Brokensword, my Kunsip!"

The young Na'vi looked at him. "How?"

Jax thought about it. "Here. I'll show you."

Jax looked around for Alex and yelled out, "Hey Alex, keep these guys away from the fuel cells, make sure they don't mess with them too much, I'm going to show the older guys around a little."



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

Thorinbur

#47
Tribal School
1125 HRS


Ralph was carefully watching how Arik was teaching Na'vi childes new words by drawing some pictures.
"Hey Ralph! Come and help me!" Arik shouted.
"Nah. i am not good at... tseo. You are doing great. Try to draw a bow and arrow.
After few seconds new drawing was finished.
"This is bow and this is arrow. Bow and arrow."
Younger kid pointed at bow and said "tsko" than pointed at arrow "swisaw"
"Ok my turn now." Said Ralph he pointed at his leg and said "leg"
"kinam" responded one of the kids.
Ralph moved his hand to his knee. "Knee"
"kinamtil" he heard in response.
Every time he was pointing at some body part he was naming that part in english, and kids where naming it in Na'vi.
So after pointing to his arm he heard "pxun"
elbow - "pxuntil"
eye - "nari"
ear - "mikyun"
nose - "ontu"

After a while he finished all main body parts.
"You forgot about something" Arik laughed.
"What do you mean?" Ralph asked suprised.
"Your tail."
Ralph looked behind and laughed with Arik.
"Well I never had one before. This is tail." Ralph said grabbing his tail showing it.
"kxetse"
"I guess we finished with vocabulary for now. Irayo 'eveng"
" ay'eveng. You add "ay" at the begining of word when you want plurar form." Said Grace.
"Irayo ay'eveng" Ralph corrected himself."
oel kame futa oel kekame ke'u

leli'ua tukru

#48
DAY  01

0500 HRS
Hell's Gate Dormitories


Esme awoke drenched in sweat.  Some awful dream about Nigerians being blown into hamburger meat.  It was unpleasant but certainly not the worst nightmare she'd endured since her service.  Cryo seemed to have frozen some of those traumas.  It was nice being asleep for six years.  But now the wounds were thawing as well it seemed.  Glancing at the clock, she sighed.  Cryo didn't seem to have done away with her excruciatingly accurate biological clock.  Esme threw her legs off the bed and rubbed her face. She felt alright.  She didn't miss the carnage of being a soldier, but the regimented lifestyle she knew she was entering made her feel centered.

She drew out a pack of mentholated cigarettes.  It had cost her, but with the help of co-smoker Dr. Augustine she had managed to smuggle several cartons for her stay on Pandora.  It wouldn't last forever, but it would surely help her out on those first few months of life on a foreign planet.  After she lit one and took a drag, she pulled her shoulder-length hair (it was all kinked and rather tangly) back and tied it at the base of her skull.  Well, she thought, there's not use in dawdling...

Samson SA-2/Brokensword
1015 HRS


Once Esme had introduced herself to her pilots, Jax and Alex, she took her station as a door gunner.  Her non-nonsense attitude hopefully came across to most of the other occupants of the Helo.  She was not interested at this time on making buddies or what have you.  Up to this point any questions made to her were replied to with only basic, essential information. Her mission was to protect the scientists and fruitless socializing would just get in the way.  After the morning's security briefing Esme was not willing to distract herself for any reason.

Probably the only person on board that Esme found remotely distracting was Dr. Augustine herself.  The doctor had an air of confidence that seemed reserved on Earth to the extinct Lionesses and Tigresses of days past.

Agh, keep your head in the game, she told herself.  It was not the time to develop any school girl crushes.

Dr. Augustine's Tribal School
1145 HRS


The ride in the copter had been spectacular.  Esme would have loved to put her gun down and just admire the passing landscape.  The colors seemed to bleed out of their sources, like life itself gave everything a sort of innate brilliance. She often peered down and looked for any evidence of a native attack.  So far so good.  They had made it to the school without any kind of incident.  Now a new component was added to her security calculations: the natives themselves.

They seemed like genuinely kind and hospitable people.  Although the presence of her gun seemed to frighten away the curiosity of the native children (who looked much like the elongated Avatar bodies that had joined them on the mission) she couldn't help but let down her guard.  The Na'vi wore next to nothing and spoke a strange melodious language.  The tropical-esque foliage that surrounded the school even reminded her of the pictures she had seen of her native Dominican Republic... back when it had been lush and  green.

Leaning her gun against the moist earth, Esme peered around, allowing her face to relax into a confident but reserved smile.

Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

Tribal School - Landing Pad
1147 HRS

Jax pointed out the last part of the 'Kunsip' as the Navi children were calling it, and explained what it was as slowly as he could. "This is the control stick. This is how we... what did you call me again? Tawtute? Sky Person or something like that?"

"Skypeople. It is what you are." The Na'vi child said. Jax blinked and nodded. "Right, how we Tawtute 'speak' to our 'kunsip' and let them know where to fly."

The Na'vi children who had come to look talked amongst themselves, and Jax took a deep breath. It was amazing how fast they learned, how quickly they adapted to the English language was something in itself. He acually had to be careful how much he told them about Brokensword, he had to remind himself that they were one day soon going to be powerful warriors, and if he taught them too much, they could do a lot of damage to his ship and more.

Shakeing that thought loose, he looked over and noticed his 'new' door gunner. Not really 'new' in any sense, he knew from her records that she was a Nigeria vet, something that he had been lucky enough to avoid for the most part, sticking back instead to being Medica/evac duty because of some reason that only the top brass knew.


He wanted to get to know his new Gunner, so he waved over in her direction. "Hey! Uh... Esme! Come over here for a moment!"



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

Tanhìyärina'

Dawn, the next day

Tireamokri awoke with the dawn, but her eyes were all that stirred.  She remained still, covered by her leaf hammock, gazing through the sheer veins of the leaf to the trees around her-- the Kelutrel, the place of her tribe, where her mother was Tsahìk, where her father was with Eywa, where her intended mate had taken another because she was too young when her father died, and now where she was meant to go forth from and walk among the Sawtute and the Ayuniltìrantokx, those pretenders in bodies like the Na'vi from far away, but up close, they were wrong.  They had an extra finger. They were clumsy.  They bumbled around on a grander scale than that in which they bumbled around in their human bodies.

The very thought filled her with anger.  She shifted her weight heavily and huffed, glaring out into the air through the lacy leaf.

Slowly, gently, the leaf unfurled, bringing Tireamokri back from the cliff's edge of fury.  <<I saw the atokirina'.  I saw the seed of the sacred tree by the school.  I have to go.  I must entrust the balance to Eywa.>>

Tireamokri sat up slowly, arching her back and stretching her arms to the sky to shake off the last remnants of sleep.  There was a light, barely perceptible touch on her left fingers.  As if in reply, an atokirina' alighted on her hand, hovering just long enough for the Na'vi to raise her eyes to it before flitting away again.


At the school

Tireamokri crouched, as still as moss, on a branch near the school.  She had flown near, but then walked the rest of the way, sending Kinä away for safety.  The ikran did not want to leave, but her rider did not back down, and finally Kinä flew off, but stayed near enough to hear her Na'vi's call and come to her rescue.  Kinä knew something was happening, but could not decipher the torrent of emotions in Tireamokri's mind, and she would not leave her Na'vi in a situation like that.

There was a droning thud growing in the air, and Tireamokri lifted her eyes to see the Sawtute's flying machines approaching.  Instinctively, she bared her teeth and hissed, her hand flying to the hilt of her knife.  But there was a little niggle in her brain that stilled any further movement.  Eywal oeti neu fìtseng.  Oeri zene mawey lu nang!  Eywa wants me here.  I must be calm!

She stayed on her perch until the planes landed, watching the ayeveng gather below her at the building.  At least the Sawtute hadn't built it of metal, so cold and lifeless.  But they did not use the trees as the Na'vi did, living within their living forms.  They had cut them down and lashed them together for their school.  Mawey, ma Tireamokri.  Mawey.

Deftly, swiftly, she slipped over to the clearing where the school was.  For the moment, she stayed in the tree, her knife across her chest and her bow slung over her back.  The beads on her braids made soft ticking sounds as they touched.  White paint glimmered from her forehead, drooping lines surrounding a straight line, an approximation of an atokirina' that she had painted on herself that morning to remind her of Eywa's will. 

There was a child of her clan, and there were a small handful of the Omatikaya.  A couple of the others she did not recognize on first sight, but could guess at their clans by their ornamentation and hairstyles.  There were several Ayuniltìrantokx, some crouching by the children, some talking with adults, and one drawing in the sand with a stick.  Sometimes they spoke to each other in their peculiar language, the one with strange sounds that could be rather nasal and grated on the ears, especially the way some of them spoke it.  And the one called Grace, who was the eyktan of this school.  <<She wants to learn.  You can tell by how fluently she speaks nìNa'vi.  But still she walks like a Sawtute though she wears a Na'vi body.>>
 
But the strangest of all were the ones in human bodies.  She peered down at them, slipping over to a lower branch to get a bit closer.  They all wore the clear masks over their heads-- she had heard that they needed them to survive.  <<I wonder if they wear them on their own planet too?>>  Some held weapons.  One was showing the ayeveng one of the flying machines.  Tireamokri waited, sitting quietly on the branch, her bioluminescent markings glowing faintly in the shade of the leaves, and studied them.
Fitseng lu oe, tìftia kìfkeyä seri.

Nume fpi sänume

Tribal School - Landing Pad
1120 HRS


Alex disconnected his pad and began clearing his screen. He had enough information to work, with, but not all that he wanted. Jax was shutting down systems, and then put on his mask. Hmmm about to leave the safety of a pressurized cabin. That didn't sit well with Alex, but this wasn't about what he wanted. Quickly pulling on his mask and testing his seals, Alex got ready to feel the strange Pandoran air. Patting down his side on instinct to be sure he had his spare mask, he was about as ready to go as he would be. Jax was watching him as he did this, and could tell Alex was nervous about it. A quick pat on the shoulder and a nod calmed Alex's nerves a bit, and with that the door was opened. Alex had things to check, but at the same time he was very curious about the camp. There were Na'vi natives all around. Children, young adults, and full adults watched them with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. Some looked happy to see them, most looked like they didn't trust them. Alex understood why, he was told in the safety briefing that the natives weren't exactly friendly with them, but they didn't seem nearly as bad as Quartich made them out to be.  Some of the Avatars were already engaged in conversation with the natives and Jax was unloading the spare fuel cells. Things seemed under control, so Alex decided to look around a bit. The forest looked foreboding from Hells Gate, but from here it seemed inviting. Well, maybe not "come in and have some coffee" inviting. Probably more along the lines of "You can look around, but I don't guarantee something not going to try and eat you" inviting. Still, better than it looked, and even sounded, from the Gate. There were small animal noises all around him, the sound of the breeze in the trees made a relaxing rustling sound. Something that hadn't been heard on Earth in anything but the Foliage Preserves, and even those weren't anything like this. There were strange calls coming from everywhere on top of that, animals speaking to each other, Na'vi talking to one another in their native language, the few humans chatting with other Na'vi still. In the distance he could hear the faint rumblings of a waterfall. It didn't take long for Alex to become lost in the moment, only to be snapped back into reality when he tried to take a deep breath to complete the sensation of sights and sounds. His mask filters hissed as he pulled oxygen through them, letting Alex know that he would have to be satisfied with what he had.

"Ah well, rather have no smells of the place and air to breathe" he said aloud to no one in particular.

On the other side of the Brokenswordhe heard Jax call to him.

"Hey Alex, keep these guys away from the fuel cells, make sure they don't mess with them too much, I'm going to show the older guys around a little."

Well, so much for that moment. Oh well, he was here for... well Alex really didn't know how long he was here. Open ended contracts for volunteer civilians were nice, but it also meant if he screwed anything up too badly, or pissed anyone off enough, his ass would be confined to quarters and sent back on the next shuttle home.

"Right, fuel cells." Wandering over to them Alex took note of everything visible on the outside of the SA-2. Nothing noticeable, he figured a few more flight hours would finish clearing up the 6 years of doing nothing while in transit. He got to the other side, seeing Jax talk with a group of Na'vi. They said something to him, and he didn't look happy, but continued on anyways. At about that time Alex remembered that they had another human with them. An older female, not that Alex could remember her name. She didn't seem to personable, and she seemed the hard-liner military type. Alex was studying her when Jax called her over to help him. With that, Alex began topping off the Brokensword's fuel tanks.

Hawnu UnilTxep

#52
[[ooc: sorry it took so long to reply.  Last night didn't go as planned.]]

After dawn, day of Uniltìrantokx arrival.

Eanataw had her... suggestive orders.  From her father, a tsamsiyu.  He didn't trust these Sawtute, and expected that mistrust to extend to his only 'ite.  She huffed in a manner that clearly showed what she thought of said mistrust.  Placed in the wrong basket, it was.  No way all the Sawtute were awful.  Srane, she knew that some of them were heartless and awful, killing anything that was ean, but she had the hope that most of the rest of the Omaticaya shared, at least in those small, intimate conversations.  Toktor, karyu Grace gave them all hope.  She may not be the most graceful Sawtute, but she was nice, kind, caring.  She knew what it meant to be a Na'vi, even if she didn't believe in Eywa or most of the Na'vi philosophies herself.

She kept her mind clear, focusing on keeping her feet and movements silent as she made her way out of Kelutral and towards the school. Toyo, her tsumkan, though, was aware of her habits, and was ready.  "Tsumke," he said with a smile, tossing her her tskp swizaw.  She caught them deftly, nodding to him, now a noticed tsamsiyu, with a smile of her own.  It was sad to think that he didn't need her care anymore.  Something that was hard to break the habit of.  She wanted to tell him badly to watch that fourth hoof when he was riding, or to remember to duck when riding his ikran close to the cliff like he liked to.  She bit her lip hard, smiled again, and was gone into the jungle.

She crossed logs and climbed vines to get into the jungle proper, then climbed her norm utral -- which had easy handholds -- and called a soft click to the wildlife in that tree, all knowing that she was there then.  They knew her, didn't bother her.  Some brought her things from the Sawtute or brought her to the things.  They dropped things often, those clumsy ayskxawng.

Today was just a small metal ball, which she discovered was actually two halves, that didn't like to be separated.  She played for a minute, fascinated, but set her ears back when she found that the rejoining of the metal created a loud, foreign sound.  She laughed softly, then did it again, slowly, before placing it in the stash in the tree, saying a quiet irayo to the swirä.  She then climbed further up the tree, using her speed and stealth to swing easily from vul to vul.  Soon, she could hear the talkings and the ìnglìsì they were speaking.  Those Sawtute and the Na'vi.

She didn't have to hear what they said to understand what was going on.  The Sawtute had arrived not too long ago, by the smell in the air.  One Uniltìrantokx and another next to him were drawing pictures in the dirt.  Some Na'vi seemed to have joined in.  She nodded in approval.  Tseo was universal.  They looked to be half-halfheartedly moving towards the wooden construction, which she still didn't understand.  Why not stay out under the ayutral?

She moved closer to the ground, closer to the construction, her ontu wiggling in curiosity.  These Uniltìrantokx smelled... new. Fresh, somehow.  Like a baby.  She knew her smell wasn't anything close.  She had on a dark and dirty leather loincloth, choosing only to wear her knife over her shoulder, and her tskp swizaw.  She wore a black-bone bead armlet on her right upper pxun and nothing else.  What else did she have a need for?

Her tail rustled behind her, and she winced, knowing that that could've been heard by even those Sawtute.  She quickly moved higher up the same tree, keeping out of sight, and continued to observe, catching their strange language, and trying out some of the new words on her tongue.  Softly.


Please PM me if you are still interested in the real Na'vi tribe.

Sngä'i Tìrey-yä

#53
Ariel
English School
1200 HRS


Ariel was starving. After a morning of teaching and learning, it was definitely time for some lunch.

"Hey Grace," She she shouted over the heads of children as she walked out of the small teaching building, "Where's a girl go to get some grub around... um, did any of you notice the Na'vi sitting in that tree over there? She looks a little lonely... or like she's planning on killing us. Either way, some contact would be good." Ariel walked past the humans and avatars who had all spun round to get a better look at the hiding Na'vi, and got closer to the tree she was resting on. It was too dark to clearly see what she looked like, but Ariel figured nothing like a friendly 'hello' to get the conversation moving. "Um, hey there, uh... kaltxi. Oe lu Ariel."

Tireamokri looked down at the Uniltìrantokx standing below her.  She was very short, like a child.  Perhaps she was one.

"Kawkrr uniltìranyu 'evengìl ketsame'a," she said, her tone on the flatter side, furrowing her brow and studying the figure.  I have never seen a Dreamwalker child

"Hey, uh, Grace?" Ariel called over her shoulder, "This one is talking to me and she's going way above my head. Does she speak English or do you want to come play translator, please?"

Grace briefly looked up, gave the female Na'vi a glance and said, "You're on your own with that one shorty, good luck."

With a helpless look, Ariel turned back to the Na'vi and tried speaking again, "oe kehe tslam? God, I hope that's right... nga lu, uh, pesu?" I not understand, who are you?

In spite of herself, Tireamokri laughed.  It was a quiet, throaty sound, but it also showed her gleaming pointed incisors.  "Nga 'eveng lu nang!"Oh, you are a child! she said between chuckles, then dropped nearly silently to the ground.  She stood over the small Uniltìranyu.  "Tireamokri," she said in slow, sibilant tones, pointing to herself.  "Nga?" she asked, pointing at the Dreamwalker.

Ariel stepped back rather quickly when the taller Na'vi towered above her with a large, concerning grin. "Oh, ok, sure, let's laugh creepily and show fangs. Just wonderful. Um, oe lu Ariel." She pointed to herself to illustrate. "Nga, uh, plltxe English?" You speak english

"Ariel," repeated Tireamokri with a heavy Na'vi accent.  She frowned in thought.  "'ìnglìsì?" she asked, wracking her brain for any Sawtute words that she might possibly remember.  She raised her eyebrows, looking hopeful, and pronounced, "Orange."

Ariel had held her breath for a moment when Tireamokri seemed to be thinking, and nearly face plamed when Tireamokry proudly exclaimed a color. Or a fruit. Did this Na'vi girl even know the difference? "Well" Ariel said after a moment, "Its nice to know we're at about the same language level... although its in the wrong languages. Let's see, we should be learning now, shouldn't we. I wonder how old you are..." Ariel paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts and her limited Na'vi vocabulary. There didn't seem to be a specific word for age in her limited knowledge bank, she figured it would be a safe bet with year. "Nga lu peyfa pxay zisit" you are how many year She finally stammered out, fairly certain there were several wrong things with that sentence. Oh well, you have to start somewhere.

Tireamokri looked disappointed.  It didn't seem like the Dreamwalker child knew about oranges.  It was a terrible shame, she thought.  They had such a bright, sharp taste.  Then the child prattled on in her language, a veritable torrent of rough-sounding chatter, until she finally managed to wrap her tongue around a few Na'vi words.  She was asking... asking her age?  Well, what did that matter to anyone?  Couldn't the child tell she was an adult?  That her bow was made of the wood of the Kelutrel?  She stopped herself.  Adult Dreamwalkers did not know these things.  Whyever would a child know them?  She smiled gently down at the girl.  I am an adult, she replied in Na'vi.  "Eltu si.  Oeyä tskol ta Kelutrel seii," she added, unslinging her bow from her shoulder and holding it out, parallel to the ground, so that the child could see the wood.  Look.  My bow is made from the Hometree (and I'm happy about it).

"Oh s***" Ariel panicked, "GRACE, I THINK SHE WANTS TO SHOOT ME" She stepped back a bit and fell on a root. Grace finally took pity, sighed, and came over.

Grace came swiftly over and spoke rather fluently to Tireamokri.  She is scared of you.

I can see that, Tireamokri replied with a soft laugh.  I only wanted to show her my bow.  I think she asked my age.  I am an adult, what more do years matter?

She's an adult too, Grace replied.

She is so small! Tireamokri gasped, astounded.

After a moment of speaking in Na'vi to Tireamokri, presumably asking the Na'vi woman to repeat herself, Grace burst into laughter and turned to Ariel, who was scowling and brushing the dirt of her pants. "She thinks you're a child, and was just showing you her bow." Grace repeated, still laughing at the embarrassed scowl making its way across Ariel's face.

Ariel rolled her eyes, "Can you tell her that I'm an adult and probably older than she is? Really, can't you guys make my Avatar any bigger?"

Grace spoke in English to the girl, then turned back to Tireamokri.  She thinks she's older than you, Grace said with a wry grin.  Come on in, join the others.

Grace spoke swiftly in Na'vi to the Tireamokri for a moment before turning back to Ariel, "Here, why don't you invite her to join the rest of the group, it might be better for you to practice with someone with a bit higher of an English ability." Grace walked off to rejoin the larger group, leaving Ariel standing awkwardly with the Na'vi woman. She sighed, smiled, and reached for Tireamokri's hand. "Za'u" <<come>>

Tireamokri watched Grace go, and then looked down at the girl-- the woman, she supposed-- who was speaking nìNa'vi again.  She nodded, slinging her bow over her shoulder, and then took the Dreamwalker's hand.
Avatar is a movie about a guy with blue balls running through the forest chasing tail.

Mako

Grace's School
1200 Hours


Chris was in the middle of drawing small pictures in the dirt and explaining them in English and Na'vi. He had recently drawn a tree, or utral, as it were in Na'vi. The children were busy studying it and repeating it in English. Suddenly, Chris heard a rustle in the tree behind him. He turned and caught a glimpse of a Na'vi in the higher boughs of a tree. "Curious," he thought to himself. The Na'vi quickly climbed up further, out of sight. The look she had given him nagged at him, but he turned his attention back to the children. He would have to ignore it for now.

--------

Brainiac

"Ggaaaah!" Oscar slammed his fists against the wooden walls.
"Are you kidding me? Is this some sort of punishment?"
Grace looked at him from the doorway. He was in a back room, filled with supplies and a single avatar tank and link.
For the first time since they met, the woman didn't look at him with disinterest. It might be disdain, but he couldn't tell. He was way too pissed for that.
"Three days? I have stay here for another three days, without ever being able to use my Avatar?"
Grace started to nod, but seemed to change her mind.
"We could stop now, but there might be side-effects. An avatar that's not fully grown sounds like a very fragile thing to me."
"Side effects? Like what?" He was starting to get a bit of hope again.
"Why can't you wait some more days? I mean, it's not as if you're a re...."
"LIKE WHAT?!"
Grace sighed.
"You could have reduced muscle tone. That's mostly it."
"Couldn't I just train those muscles?"
"In theory? Yes. But those things are worth millions, take years to grow, and I'm not going to take any chances."
Grace rolled her eyes. Oscar had started crying. He got a hold of himself a few seconds later.
"You of all people ought to understand how horrible it is to be in a human body? And besides that, I can't even come out for three days! Just get me inside the bloody body!"
Grace looked at him, and nodded.
Speed is a ppoor sbubstitue fo accurancy

Check out my blogif my presence on this board isn't weird enough for you.

Coyote

#56
Tribal School
1145 - 1600 Hours










"Oel...nerume...piv-lltxe...nìna'vi..." Arik said, slowly and hesitant, to the Na'vi woman who'd started talking to him. She rewarded him with a very dubious --yet amused-- look, so Arik wasn't totally put off.

"Not so bad," she said in English. Then, in Na'vi, <<You still need work, Tawtute.>>
"Hey, I caught part of that," Arik said. "Tawtute, that's us? I'm getting comfortable with this," he said.

She and the adolescent, who had been watching the interchange even though the original three children had moved off, glanced at each other and then laughed. Arik smiled, unsure if he was being laughed with or at, but sudden movement caught his eye. It was Grace, making a subtle motion towards her wrist. Avatar's didn't have watches, but the gesture was unmistakable for a human-- before long they'd have to get going.

"So, um, what's your name?" Arik asked. "aynga... umm.." he pointed to himself, "Arik," he pointed to her.
She exchanged an uncertain look with the younger girl, who sized Arik up carefully, then smiled mischeviously and told the older woman something in rapid Na'vi.

"I... am... Aniuket," she said in her broken English. "Tseosiyu in Omatikaya," she said, pointing back to the Lifetree.
"Tseosiyu Omatikaya," Arik said. "You know, that is a huge tree. Nice to meet you," he said and instinctively held out his hand. Anuket and the younger one backed up, looking at him critically.

"Um, sorry," he said, struggling to remember a word he'd learned from Blake, "Um... tsap'alute? It is Tawtute custom."
She held out her hand, which he took gently and shook it briefly. "Aniuket," he said, "Pleased to meet you."

Aniuket gave him a very strange look.

"Meat? To... eat?" she asked, making a feeding motion.

Arik looked confused until the lighbulb went off in his head. "Oh, no," he said, smiling, "They sound alike. But, um... ohh, boy, I just stumbled into a malapropism."

Grace Augustine stepped up to rescue him. "You're making an honest effort, Mr. Shaham, so I'll give you a hand with this," she said, and quickly explained things to Aniuket, who laughed. They had a short burst of conversation with Grace, who turned back to Arik.

"Okay, you have one of the Omatikaya's... apprentice artists here, and her younger sister," Grace explained, "They think you are the funniest creature they have ever met. They couldn't tell if you were offering them something to eat, or asking for something to eat, but now they know the difference. Just relax, you're doing fine, but by 1800 we need to get going before it gets dark."







Results:
Arik learns more with some help.
[OOC: Let's wrap up any more school-oriented interplay by 1800 (6 pm) in-game time]

***
In Libertarianism, there is no Government, so the Bosses are free to exploit the Workers.
In Communism, there is no Government, so the Workers are free to exploit the Bosses.
So in Libertarianism, man exploits man, but in Communism, its the other way around!


VIDEO LOG DAY 8:
Attempted to pee on Viperwolf to test reaction. Please see attached medical file.
WARNING: Attached medical file exceeds gigabyte limit. System failure.

Lehrrap Uniltìranyu

Tribal School - Landing Pad
Brokensword
1550 HRS


"Bahhh. Comeon baby, don't do this to me now." Jax muttered with a sigh as he whiped off some sweat and grease from his forhead with a rag, looking down into the mechanics of the right rotor. He had noticed that it wasn't spinning at full during the flight and needed a small ajustment.

He grunted slightly as he tightened up the loose bolt that was causing the problem. He had finally gotten the Na'vi children to leave him and Brokensword alone so he could acually get some work done, though one of them tried to nick one of the 'BRK-R' Guided Missles that he had on the missle rack.

"Kids... never grow up, never learn anything about anything unless it comes around and bites them." Jax said aloud, thinking back to how he had to drive the kid away from the missle racks.

He didn't like the thought of using the powerful missles, but he knew that Ikran were good at taking down all of the RDA gunships, minus a Dragon, but his Samson SA-2 didn't exactly have the most defencsive capabilitys. If he wanted to protect himself and his team, he was going to need to pack some heavy-duty s***.

As he closed up the right rotor box and locked it down tight, he stood up slightly and looked out into the forest. The sunlight from Alpha Centari A, one of the two suns of the Alpha Centari system, was starting to dim away and fade, though he knew from the book he read that it never really was night time on Pandora, just 'darker' or 'lighter'.

"It's starting to wide down." He muttered, remebering the orientation rules that had been layed down just two nights earlyer. 'You're on Pandora now. Respect that fact. Follow the rules, and rule number 1 is No night missions.' were the exact words that the Colonel used to breif them.

He brought his right wrist up to his mask and spoke, knowing that the Aviatior watch would work as his communicator. "Hey guys, it's Jax. Listen, I'm going to start pre-flight prep and set. Take off is at 1800, and not a second later. No offence, but I'm not keen towards flying these skies at night. I don't want a Ikran breathing down our necks or ripping them out while we're trying to get back to base."

As he closed the comlink down and looked back out into the Jungle that surrounded them, Jax wondered about the few adult Na'vi he had seen before. He wondered how many of them flew those dragon-like serpants that they called Ikran? What was it like to fly without any assistance besides a close ally and a set of wings?

He sighed at the thought as he climbed down from the top of Brokensword. Questions for a later day. Right now he had a bit more prep to do, including double-checking his door gun mounts and the ammo in them to ensure that they would be secure for the flight back.



-----------
"Ta'em 'eko!!!"
-----------
"Better to have fought and died then never to have fought at all"
-----------
Bionic Arms and Pandora, The most read FanFic on Learnnavi.org! Read it here! -Shameless self promotion-

Mako

Grace's School
1600 Hours


As the Na'vi children started to filter out on their own, Chris realized that the day was almost done. He walked out of the shelter and wiped his brow. Time to head home.

--------

Nume fpi sänume

#59
Tribal School - Landing Pad
Area around the school
1530 HRS


Alex had stuck mostly to himself for this trip. He felt so... alien here. Very out of place, and nervous. He didn't like the mask, and outside of the bay was somewhere he had very little use. Jax was at work on Brokensword after telling Alex to take some time away from it and interact a bit. Interact eh? How? He could tell the Na'vi how to read and understand a Data Pad, fix almost anything wrong with human technology, but that's about it. He didn't understand trees, bows, or living outside like this. Overall, Alex understood that he was wrestling with feelings of insignificance in his current environment. His project wasn't going as he had hoped, he taxed the data pad more than most people, and it showed in the amount of battery life left. The other two pads he had didn't have batteries in them either, and there was no way to charge it in the SA-2.

A few hours of quiet observation in the back of the classroom was all Alex could stand. His Na'vi was terrible. He knew a few words, and learned how to say hello. It was something like Cal-te, at least that's how it sounded to him. He decided to walk the perimeter of the forest for a bit, knowing they wouldn't be there forever. He saw all kinds of plants, tall grasses and odd flowers. The trees were something else too, it all seemed so alive. It sounded strange to put it like that, but compared to the Gate, it was like it the whole forest talked itself. He saw a nasty looking red bug with a dual stinger crawling up a tree. He had just enough time to get a good look at it before something swooped down and snatched it up in a flurry of wings and short shrieks. Kill or be killed seemed to be the motto out here, though the Na'vi lived with it so seamlessly. He studied some of the plants for a while longer, the Na'vi commenting quietly as he walked past. He looked at them, and waved. Even flashed an attempted smile once or twice, and while the younger ones would smile back and sometimes even wave, the older ones watched him with suspicion. Finally, while examining one of the smaller flowers an older Na'vi male approached him.

"You are no Skyperson warrior, or observer srak?"

Alex had no idea how to reply in Na'vi to that, but he did know that srak was asking a yes or no question.

"No. I am...." What could he call himself? He truly didn't know. The Na'vi male looked at him with interest. He was curious, and trying to figure it out as well.

"Well I don't know what you would call me. I take care of the... uh... Kunsip over there" Pointing to Brokensword.

"But you are no warrior, or observer?"

"No, im not a warrior or a scientist."Alex said it slowly, and saw the tall Na'vi try the word out to himself a few times. With nothing else to be said, he walked back to the group of Na'vi and began talking with them.

"Well, so much for personal first contact then..." Not that Alex had much time to go back to what he was doing, his radio crackled to life just a few short moments later.

"Hey guys, its Jax. Listen, I'm going to start pre-flight prep and set. Take off is at 1800, and not a second later. No offense, but I'm not keen towards flying these skies at night. I don't want an Ikran breathing down our necks or ripping them out while we're trying to get back to base."

"Sad" Alex murmured. He was really starting to enjoy the natural beauty around him. For so long the only time he saw something this way was when he was building something new, something to let his mind wander and roam free with. Regaining his composure he headed back towards the landing pad, seeing people filter out of the building with short exchanges between them. They seemed so naturally in place here. He found himself strangely troubled by not knowing what to call himself to the Na'vi male. It seemed stupid, but it just fed that already growing feeling of inadequacy. Hopefully being back at the Gate and around machines again would fix it. Hopefully, some not recycled oxygen and getting out of this God forsaken mask would help clear up his head.

"Pull yourself together man." He told himself, waving to Jax as he got close enough to Brokensword to see Jax checking the door guns and ammo feeds. Still, something lingered in the back of his mind as he climbed aboard to begin pre-flight with Jax.