Chapter 3 : Conversation at school

Two months later,

A young native, sitting in the shadows, watched the young Ludsey make her aerial round a little doubtful. Was it really Lutsey who won her heart? The face was so similar but the behavior was not the same.

With a sigh, Twilo stoods up. Her braided hair covered only the top of her head and covered only the nape of her neck. Patterns covered her shoulders as well as her forearms. A small brown armband adorned the top of her left forearm. A dagger was set in a dark green scabbard covering his chest while a brown cloth covered his attributes with a small decoration and another protected the top of his tail.

So he went away and went downstairs, his mind elsewhere. He thought of his older sister who had gone to a clan of Ikran riders because of a love and of Ludsey... At least, this person resembled her. But this calm...this control...was not the Lutsey who he knew in the clan. A voice interrupted him in his reflections.

Voice: My itan!

He turned his eyes and could see his mother coming towards him. The wrinkles on his skin were beginning to appear, reflecting his passage into the age of wisdom. Her long hair covered his entire back as she looked at him with wide-open eyes. What made her so happy? She had a brown cloth covering her chest and a light red loincloth. Her voice was a melody in the ears of those who listened to her, reaching to their hearts. It was not for nothing that she was one of the singers of the clan. The two words alone were enough to fill her son with her own joy.

Twilo : Ma Sa'nu !

She hugged him tenderly for a loving hug before she detached herself for a smile.

Mother: So?

Twilo, surprised: Nang! What?

Mother: Don't be ignorant! When are you going to show it to us?

Twilo was puzzled. How to explain to her that she was the daughter of their leaders without really being her?

Mother: Come on!!

Twilo: Mother....I..think it's too early yet ...

He really needed to be able to solve this confusing problem before showing it to his parents.

Mother visibly disappointed: Ok...Take as much time as you need but don't knock him up before then, eh?

Twilo went from blue to a pronounced red in a few seconds, under the laughter of limbs with ears a little too tense.

Twilo : Mummy !!!!

She was content to give him a little innocent laugh. Decidedly, her father was right. His mother's honesty about her thoughts was completely disarming. He didn't know what to say in the face of this. But something had to be said...

Twilo: Mother... I have... uh... something... to do. Forgive me...

With these words, he walked away with a smile on his mother's face.

Later on,

At the same time, at Grace Augustine's school

Neytiri and her sister were trying to read a book entrusted to them by their Sa'nok, but they had difficulty concentrating on the words. Indeed, their minds were focused on something else. Or rather, someone. This did not go unnoticed by their teacher.

Grace: Neytiri, Silwanin, is there a problem?

She took a moment out of the book and looked at it, without really seeing it.

Neytiri : Nothing ma Sa'nok. It is not important

Having no answer from the elder, she turned her eyes to the younger one who didn't even bother to turn to her. Grace sighed before sitting down in front of them.

Grace: I can see that something is wrong. You're not concentrating, as if something else is blocking your mind.

The two girls were silent for a moment before the younger girl answered.

Silwanin: This is our little sister, Ludsey.

Grace looked surprised when she heard the name. It was the first time they had told her about this family member.

Grace: Do you have another sister?

Neytiri: Silwanin, it was not necessary.

Silwanin : Maybe she could help us, my Neytiri! How can you know? We don't care what she thinks. You have to know!

She just sighed but did not answer.

Grace: Why doesn't she come with you?

Neytiri : She doesn't like Sawtute too much, ma Sa'nok. We tried to convince her, but she's really stubborn.

Silwanin: And not really the patient type as well. I don't think she would have liked school anyway. She prefers freedom rather than sitting and understanding another language.

The teacher folded her arms, a little preoccupied.

Grace: I can't believe you have such a dissipated sister.

Neytiri with a sigh: You have no idea. I love her but I would like her to grow up a little.

Grace: And what's the problem?

The two sisters looked at each other for a moment, discussing how to work together on the problem. Finally, after a long moment of looking at them, the elder sister spoke but muttered.

Neytiri: For some time now, our younger sister has been suffering from strange symptoms. Even Mother doesn't know the origin and remains rather circumspect.

Grace remained silent, listening attentively to each piece of data exposed so that her analytical brain could provide a possible solution.

Neytiri : She told us that she suffers from feelings that are foreign to her heart. And once, we noticed that she was holding her knee when no injury was present.

Grace: Your mother inspected it

The gaze of the two sisters let him envisage the answer.

Silwanin: No. No apparent physical injury, and that's what's strange.

Grace noticed that the other students had interrupted their activities to listen to the conversation. She was not surprised. They were from the same clan, so they were close, and a member suffering from an ailment would attract attention. Especially since it concerned the family of their leader. The scentist was reflecting in her head, mentally inspecting the information given. In view of the symptoms, she saw only one possibility and was not sure it was appropriate to say it in front of everyone. Fortunately, in front of the scientist's stern look, they returned to their previous activities.

Then she turned to the two girls, keeping her gaze as neutral as possible.

Grace: I have a theory. But we'll discuss it after class. Clear your head now and stay focused on the present time.

She said this with a maternal tone, showing her affection for the two girls who were among the students she considered a family.

The day passed normally and the scientist was pleased to see that her two best students had concentrated again. She couldn't help but be fascinated by the Na'vis' ease of learning English and much more.

Finally, the end of the courses arrived,

Everyone went back to Arbre Maison except for two young women who were waiting for their teacher. They waited for her to say goodbye to each member of the group, especially the children where she spent more time.

Silwanin: Ma Sa'nok, you said you knew about our sister's evil.

Grace: Oh, yeah, that's a hypothesis. Nothing is less certain. But are you sure you want to know?

This sudden question caught the two sisters unawares. Was it serious?

Neytiri: Please, ma Sa'nok. Even if it is painful, we must be aware of it.

Grace with a sigh: I understand.

She was hesitant to reveal it. This kind of phenomenon has never shown itself towards the na'vis. This could explain why they knew very little about it. But the fact that she was the sister of her two students, challenged her theory. Too bad, she had promised to tell them.

Grace: The symptoms you told me about are more like a shared bond between twins.

As she expected, surprise and confusion invaded Neytiri and Silwanin's faces.

Silwanin: Twins? But what are they?

Grace: We call twins when a mother, especially a human mother, gives birth to two children instead of one. The bonds between them are known to be particularly powerful, especially for the real ones. So much so that they can share each other's emotions such as pain and communicate in their own ways. But Ludsey was born alone, wasn't she?

Silwanin: As far as we know, yes.

As she thought, her theory seemed to be falling apart. The scientist would have liked to help more, but she did not seem to be able to do more.

Neytiri: Ma Sa'nok, you talked about identical twins. Why are there fakes and reals?

Grace: Fake twins are usually people from two different eggs, unlike real ones.

Neytiri : Is there a way to differentiate them?

Grace: Yes. Identical twins are distinguished by their physical similarities, unlike fakes, which have differences.

Silwanin: Thank you ma Sa'nok for your help.

Grace saw from their faces that she did not seem to bring any further clarity to their problem.

Grace: I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

Neytiri: Don't be my Sa'nok. You have done what you could.

With these words, they said goodbye to him before heading towards the House Tree, with a more troubled mind than before. Would their parents have kept things from them about their younger sister?