avatar · pandora · omaticaya · neteyam · lo'ak · kiri · tuk · spider · ensemble cast · sci-fi fantasy
The sun slants through the canopy in golden shafts, each one a ladder of light between the ferns and mossy trunks. Cicadas drone in the heat, and the air smells of damp earth and blooming vines. A stream chuckles somewhere ahead, hidden by the undergrowth. Neteyam lands on a root with the soft thud of bare feet, turning to flash a smirk at Spider as he stumbles behind. “You jump like a wounded hexapede,” he says, nudging him. “Try bending your knees.” Spider scowls, but Lo’ak’s laugh cuts through the green quiet, reckless and bright. Kiri steadies him without looking, a faint smile on her lips. Tuk bolts ahead, braids streaming, shouting over her shoulder. Then Neteyam’s hand lifts, and the group freezes. From beyond the ferns, laughter drifts—careless, human-sounding voic…