Chapter 2 - Six Months Later

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For the past 6 months Asset 6 has been trying to survive on Pandora and it isn't easy, almost every creature he has crossed upon has tried to kill him, to name a few are the viper wolves, wild dog like creatures.

They travel in packs to overwhelm bigger targets but though much weaker when they are alone they're still very dangerous, had a few run in with them but always managed to scare them away after killing a few of them. 

Then there are the Hammerhead Titanothere

Though they don't eat meat they are highly territorial and will attack anything that comes into their home, the one encounter with them was proof enough. 

Then there are the Direhorses. 

Another herbivore but this one doesn't attack at all, more of the running away type witch makes them a safer food option but a bit too much for him to eat alone and tends to attract unwanted attention. 

Then there are the Sturmbeest's. 

Much bigger than the Direhorses but another safe food option if you can watch out for the horn and and attracts even bigger attention. 

That is to name a few of them but he only knows this because of the Na'vi.

A... odd race of humanoid people, he has encountered them but never engaged with them, he watched them in the trees or shadows, watching how they hunted, how they moved, how they spoke which was very different from what his captors spoke and couldn't understand them at first but with time and patience he picked up a few things. 

But what confused him though was Eywa, some kind of god? Every time they killed something they always say to the creature that Eywa welcomes you into embrace? Why did they speak with so much love to this Eywa? It confused greatly but not as much as what they can do with the animals. 

The Na'vi are able to connect some tendrils attached to their hair with the animals tendrils and they then obey the Na'vi? This scared him so he had to check himself twice if he had and tendrils but he didn't much to his relief and then his fear turned to curiosity and awe. He then later learned it was a bond, nothing forced but more like a choice, they feel what they feel, smell what they smell, two minds combined into one. 

He is unsure what to think about the Na'vi and even more unsure how they would react to him. Then again they aren't exactly friendly with his captors, seeing as they destroy many of their lands which makes them fight back against them and since he too was against them perhaps he could use them as allies but for now he would continue to watch them in the shadows. 

Until today. 

Asset 6 was munching on some poor Viperwolf he had stumbled upon when he freezes. He could hear laughter and it was coming closer, so abandoning his meal he dashes up the closest tree and presses himself as close to it as he can and waited until he saw them. 

A Na'vi woman in her twenties wearing some sort of red poncho.

(Image Insert Here)

(Imagine she's in her twenties) 

When he first saw her he taken aback by her looks, she was beautiful, he watched how she grabbed some plants and cut them with a crafted knife and place them into a basket. He wasn't sure what she was going to use the plants for but he was interested in what she was doing here, then he heard the laughter again and looked over behind her. 

He saw two smaller female Na'vi behind her playing together, both seemed to be about seven or eight years old and both looked very similar to the adult Na'vi, most likely her children. She then calls them over and begins teaching them about the plants, at least that's what it looked like, he saw her point to some of them and spoke about what they could do. The two children looked very interested in what their mother had to say, as if their life depended upon it. 

Then when she was done teaching them the two children continued to play but they were headed straight for his unfinished food. The children spotted it and called for their mother, she came over quickly to see what was wrong then she too saw the half eaten Viperwolf corpse. She then approached it with her children and began to inspect it, as she inspected it she looked very confused, most likely she had never seen such wounds before. Then looked around her surroundings trying to see what did this but couldn't find him, although she was alert by the corpse she seemed very interested in what had caused it.

He watched how the children were disgusted by the corpse at first but that turned into curiosity when their mother was also curious about it. 

He continued to watch the family of three up in the tree and couldn't look away, despite telling himself to leave before he was found, he didn't care, he wanted to watch the beauty and her children.

Until he heard a small growl. 

His head snapped to where it came from and saw something very, very bad. 

A Thanator.

This was probably the most dangerous creature on Pandora, the size of a Direhorse, strong as a Hammerhead, but most of all it was fearless, it had managed to scare of a Hammerhead but had to back off due to it retreating back to its herd but it was clear, even the strongest here feared the Thanator. 

Still in the tree, he watched the Thanator approach quietly to the unsuspecting family, the Thanator was opposite of where the family was and he was on the other. The mothers ears perked up and looked behind her and saw the danger approaching her and her children. 

Without hesitation she grabs her children and place them behind her protecting them and try to back away from the approaching Thanator but they quickly run out of room and their backs hit the very tree he was hiding on. He knew they were going to die, to be ripped apart and then devoured by the aggressive creature. 

And the thought sickens him. 

He didn't know why but he wanted- no needed to protect them but if he revealed himself to them it could cause even bigger problems. 

Why did he care so much? 

(Moat POV) 

I placed the newly cut Dapophet into my basket and moved on to the next herb I could gather. While I'm searching I can hear Sylwanin and Neytiri playing and it brings a smile to my face hearing my daughters so happy and bonding so well. But they weren't here just to play, they were also here to learn a bit about what herbs they could use and what they couldn't. 

I then found some Ovumshroom and called my children over. 

"Yes mother?" They replied in unison. 

"Here look, can you tell me what this is?" I ask them showing the rooted plants. 

They both look at the plant seemingly try to figure it out but cannot. 

"It is a Ovumshroom" I tell them and they both looked displeased they couldn't get it but they continue to listen. 

"We gather the Ovumshroom because?" I ask them again and this time they are able to answer. 

"Because they are food when cooked" Sylwanin answers and Neytiri nods with this answer and I give them a proud smile. 

"Excellent, although you couldn't recognise them you still understood why we collect them" I half praise and half scold but more so of the former. 

"Now remember, one of you will be the Tsahik of our clan so you must mesmerise what safe and dangerous herbs to gather and how to gather them" I say as I cut the Ovumshroom carefully trying to get as much as I can while showing my children and they focus intently on what I do. 

I cut the plant and place it into my basket and turn to them. 

"Now you know how to gather Ovumshrooms and with that you may continue to play" They smile brightly to me before running off, chasing one another and move on to cutting out more Ovumshrooms. 

I had gathered a few more before I heard my children call out for me, stopping what I was doing I dashed to them to see they are alright but I find myself with a strange scene before me. My children are pointing to what appears to be a half eaten Viperwolf, my eyes dart around as I approach the body and inspect it with my children next to me. 

I find claw marks on its face and a large hole that has gone through the skull, the killing blow, and I look at its stomach where it has been eaten, I see big bite marks but also smaller ones. Was two animals feasting on it? Together? But what two animals worked together to hunt? Nothing I could think of. I inspect it some more and realise it was only just been eaten. 

I look around trying to spot the tracks of the one responsible of this attack but don't see any, nor do I see animal responsible. Perhaps it heard us and ran off? But I doubt it would be scared of us, so where is it? 

"Mother? What happened to him?" I look to Neytiri and I am unsure how to answer. 

"I do not know my daughter, I see wounds I am unfamiliar with and cannot see any tracks" I tell them and they seem to be in awe at the fact I am unsure about something. 

"I think I see two different bite marks on it and he was killed very recently too" Neytiri says as she placed a hand on it and give a very proud smile at my daughters inspection. 

"Correct Neytiri, it would seem two animals are working together to survive but I am unfamiliar with any animals working together and even more unfamiliar with the bites upon him" I tell them but then my ears perked up at something. 

A growl. 

I turn around and my body feels very cold at the sight before me. 

A Thanator. 

Grabbing the girls I place them behind me and try to back away from the great danger approaching us but quickly run out of room as our backs hit a tree. My daughters begin to cry as I try to figure out a way to save them.

But I can't it will kill us within seconds, all I can do is try to shield my children. 

I close my eyes and beg to Eywa. 

Someone. Anyone. Save my daughters.

Then there was an answer to my pleas. 

A small yet aggressive hissing could be heard and I open my eyes to see the Thanator had stopped it's approach and was looking above me. I heard my children gasp and look to see them staring wide eyed above us and finally looked up to see something I had never witnessed before. 

It black eyeless domed head looking at the Thanator, with its skeleton body clinging to the tree, and it's black tail in a position ready to strike. 

It hisses louder at the Thanator and the it roars back at the bony creature which causes it to screech back at him. 

Then he jumps off the tree and pounces at the Thanator, landing on it back and begins clawing at it. The Thanator roars in pain and try's to bite the creature but is unable to and so it collides with a tree which throws it of his back. It rolls on the ground but recovers quickly and charges at the Thanator again, it brings up its bony tail and slashes at him leaving large wounds and slashes on him. The Thanator swings one of it paws at the creature but it jumps back and and pounces at him again and wraps it arms around his neck and bites into it, he roars in pain again and claws at the creature but it lets go of the neck causing him to strike his own neck. The creature rears it's head back then spits at the Thanator, he tries to dodge but it hits one of his front legs and begins to burn and melt causing him to fall to the ground and roar in pain. The creature then runs up to him and jumps on him again and grabs his head, then hissing at the Thanator it opens his mouth then a smaller mouth comes out and bites into the Thanator's skull. 

Then it falls still. 

The creature breaths heavily while looking at the now dead Thanator then looks up and screeches into the sky. 

Throughout this whole fight me and my children were still at the base of the tree watching. 

We looked at the creature in confusion, curiosity, fear and awe. 

This unknown... animal though much smaller compared to the Thanator it had challenged it and defeated one of the most aggressive and most dangerous animals Eywa had created, and it did it with little to no wounds. I breathed out a sigh of relief that my children were now safe from the Thanator but that relief washed away immediately when I looked at the creature again. 

It was looking right at us. 

And it began to approach us. 

It crawled on all fours then halfway it lifted itself to its back legs and walked over to us, I pulled my children closer behind me. If this thing managed to kill a Thanator with such ease what would it do to us? 

It had reached us and it's face was inches away from mine as it looked into my eyes. Though I could not see them I new it had eyes with the way it was looking at me. It's face got closer and seemed to take a sniff at me then it... 

It chirped? 

I don't know why but I began to relax under its intense gaze as well as my children as Sylwanin had moved slightly to get a better look at the creature. Then it looks down at her and I instinctively pulled Sylwanin closer as it brings its face closer to her and like with me it sniffed and chirped and the same with Neytiri. 

Sylwanin, moving in front of me now, stood before the creature as it looked down at her, she raised her hand up to it and it leaned down to her and rubbed it head against her hand which brings a big bright smile to her face and beckons Neytiri over and she to puts her hand on its head and she to smiled as it chirped. 

The sight had made a smile on my face and then realisation struck me. 

It saved us. Protected me and my daughters. And I would forever be in its debt. 

I moved towards it and it raised its head to me and tilted it to the side, I bring my hand to it and it rubs against it. 

"Thank you. Thank you so much for saving me and my daughters" I said with tears in my eyes, it chirped and brought its face to mine and opened its mouth, and to my confusion, it reveals a black tongue and licks the side of my face. I was worried my face would burn but it didn't much to my relief, and then licked the girls as well, much to their disgust and joy. 

Then I heard voices calling out and our heads turn to the direction and see some Na'vi hunters lead by my mate Eytukan.

(Image Insert Here)

(He is also in his twenties) 

They see us and freeze at the the sight of the dead Thanator but mostly at the bony unknown creature in front of us, sensing a threat our warriors raise their bows but I jump in front of the creature with my hands raised. 

"Wait!" They all stop and look at me in confusion before turn around and look at the creature who looks at me, head cocked to one side then licks my face once more and chirped before it turns around and runs into the trees. When it's gone my mate Eytukan runs up to me and holds my face. 

"Ma Mo'at are you harmed?" He asks as he searches me for any wounds before searching the children. 

"No we are alright" He breaths out a sigh of relief before all eyes turn to the dead Thanator then to the spot where the creature disappeared to. 

"What was that creature?" My mate asks to anyone but no one could give a reply except me, Sylwanin and Neytiri. 

"Our saviour" Sylwanin answers. 

"Our protector" Neytiri answers next. 

"He is the Shadow of Eywa" I answer while holding my children as I give our rescuer a name. 

(Asset 6 POV) 

I held onto the branch a top the tree I climbed and watched the Na'vi group leave with the girls and couldn't stop the grin on my face. I managed to save them from the Thanator and when I approached them they had relaxed, even letting me rub my head against their soft and gentle hands and then they protected me from their fellow Na'vi people but best part of all this encounter... 

I got a name now. 

The Shadow of Eywa. 

Shadow.

I quite like that name.