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pandorafallz · 4 months

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Vampire AU | Negotations

Jake didn’t miss the tension between the Tsahìk or the Olo'eyktan after that and it seemed Mo’at had lost that battle given her more…frosty interactions with her mate were in the following hours. Her disagreement was strong but Jake couldn’t help but be on Eytukan’s side more; they didn’t need Vampires getting involved with the Omatikaya and with them, humans with them then that certainly would expose a lot that they weren’t willing to. Let alone to the Head of SciOps via N’deh. It was both an RDA issue and a vampire issue, simply. It triumphed over the spiritual healing of one man and one dead woman.

So, Jake knew better than to broach the topic with N’deh when he got home too less he’d wind up spilling about Augustine’s… availability. Although, the chances were N’deh had no idea what had happened to her; probably thought she was still alive, warm and waiting. Ugh. He still couldn’t see that. He’d try and pretend N’deh’s mate attempt was some…scientist so he didn’t feel so grossed out. N’deh was what? Thirty-five? Her? At least in her mid-forties! What an age gap!

Still, Jake remembered his Dreamwalker was about seventeen-eighteen in physical age. Neytiri was eighteen. He was twenty-three and the youngest of his camp. Only a five-year difference in technicalities. Augustine’s Dreamwalker was the same; in its mid-thirties. If the Dreamwalker was all he saw then…of course he fell for her.

Sooner or later, N’deh was going to find out. He’d rather not be the one to tell him that his mate was undead and had a vendetta against Eytukan on a personal level.

“Just…a quick question, do the Kungs know about Vampires?” Jake realised, leaning toward Kim as he spoke. He had been weaving new jewellery together with Kim in a quiet corner as the afternoon drew on. A new style that they were both unfamiliar with when they started but he found himself liking the new challenge. They had also made extra small beads which Jake was using especially.

“They do.”

“Good…” a pause. “How’d they take it?”

“Unsettlingly well. Kung took getting a UV light-over to see her bite marks to be fully convinced. Bree was… well she kinda wants to meet one? She’s got no bites on her which is a good thing and not surprising given her…situation” Kim winced.

Jake couldn’t help the disgusted look. “Why would she want to meet one? They’re monsters.”

Kim sighed, gently adding a soft twist to her knot to keep the bead in place. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Figured her mother would keep her interest in check by distracting her with other interesting things. There’s always something new for her to do.”

“Indeed.” Jake was rarely left with nothing to do after all. Especially nowadays with his training. “You know, she wants to make paper, I bet she’ll turn to wanting to make books. I was gonna see if you’d help her with that. Maybe talk to a few of the wood shapers about getting frames and tools ready with her.”

“Books?” Kim paused, “Why?”

Jake shrugged. “Humans used it for centuries and it makes her happy. Plus, I do like the idea of a homemade book; something more personal than something you can like…buy. I’ve never seen a book being made but I know it’s… a process.”

Kim’s tail flickered a little, the puffy end catching his elbow but she didn’t seem to notice. “if she wants Na’vi sized books…. She’ll need someone to help scale it up.”

“Scrolls?” Jake suggested. “Far easier to start off the Na’vi would be with scrolls of paper than a book. Less fiddley.”

Kim’s head tilted. “Parchment? There’s a lot of animal hide that could be used…”

Jake hummed, not having considered the most acceptable option. Paper was one thing but it wasn’t as familiar to the Na’vi; getting animal skins were more at ease with them. Both would work with both sides here but it seemed like a good starting point.

“Parchment could be good. But we should introduce it as an art method first rather than some writing tool for us. They’ll have an appreciation for it for new concepts of art. Like our small detailed works that they can’t achieve as well due to them being giants.” He pointed out, gesturing to her permanent avatar form that he had to look up to. His neck did hurt a little but he liked to think that Na’vi and Kim suffered a little with looking down all the time at them.

“Plus, there’ll be less waste and more sheets given the size and thickness of the hides. Na’vi have ways to slim hides down if they’re too thick.” Kim pointed out, ignoring his look. “N’deh’s not adept at leatherworking but I know a few tricks from him from the times he’s worked with them.”

“Plus, they have that new radio we gave them, they can come around to our camp since they’re closets. We do have a lot of hide as well.” They didn’t use hide as extensively and they had a small stockpile; much like their bones as well. N’deh and Jerome were good at crafting but they were still gaining more than they were using them.

Morgan had a small collection of skulls hidden at the top of his shack under one of his tarps to not look like a creepy-skull hoarder. Jake suspected he was interested in the skulls in general, and wanted to make something out of them but was waiting for enough of them or for a variety of different skulls. He didn’t ask and didn’t really want to; they all had weird hobbies.

“Yes, I suppose, plus with the size differences, supplies will go a further as well.” Kim remarked, “You know I don’t know why we didn’t offer them a space at our camp. It would be easier.”

“I wanted more space from people.”

Jake almost dropped his needle and beads, his head whipping around to see Kung passing with a basket of gathered fibres on her back. Kung didn’t stop to elaborate or look behind either; just carried on towards the weaver’s side for the fibres to get cleaned and prepped for the weavers.

Jake snorted a little, taking a second to collect himself and carried on with the armband he was creating. It was a delicate woven piece with small beads interlaced into a soft, network-like pattern of purple beads that he set into a soft gradient of transparency and opaqueness to appear…like a pulse when the light hit it. He was…very much inspired by his first communion with Eywa but…this was a gift that he felt he should make and gift.

He was sure Neytiri would appreciate it given she was going to be Tsahìk one day. Purple was considered the colour of Eywa. Seemed very fitting. She had done so much for him and he needed to be more than just a jarhead. He was almost a hunter, but he could be a crafter too. He was more and he needed to show that. Be someone and... he needed to help carve a future for all those who leave the RDA.

Lilith eyed her roster with some level of disdain at how little time she’d talk to her sisters. They were spread out and she disliked the fact it was over a lot of unknown land. She couldn’t help but hate Augustine for this last-minute change-over; ruining all of their plans to escape and now they were over in a lot of unknown lands she knew fuck-all to be comfortable enough to drag her sisters into it. They’d have this roster for two weeks before it was revised so she hoped by then they’d have…some idea of adapting their plan.

They still had Amanda’s Scorpion so their get-away vehicle was set to get the avatar out. She wanted to get Grace or Thea out to an abandoned link shack to pilot her avatar first and meet her there if the scorpion was unviable. An avatar could carry a lot more stuff than a human could so they wanted to take advantage of that.

Frontier West wasn’t…ideal to escape from. But, she knew that they had to get the lay of the land first before they pulled the rip cord. The Kinglor Forest was different to the Omatikaya Forest but it was familiar enough it looked safest to get into. The Upper Plains, Lilith had no problems in not considering that as an option; too open and vast and…she heard enough of the Zeswa clan to be worried for her sister's safety there.

The clouded forest was the unknown, but its trees offered more shelter and guidance if its namesake was any indication. Humans would slip away far easier when fog was about and it was far from Frontier West. But...the unfamiliarity was what kept that option at arm’s length but she’d keep her sister's opinions close when they got around to discussing their options.

But still, for now, it was an adjustment; getting used to her fellow drivers in this new lab. It was sparse so they were very understaffed in the science department really. The science that…actually mattered. So Lilith right now was linked up and going through the roster and plans for this base’s avatar compound. Right now, they had pitched up a huge tent that was panelled off from the forest side as extra protection despite the huge concrete walls. At least the link room was inside still. It was odd being in something so make-shift.

“Dr Choi and Dr Everdeen,” their heads turned to see Dr Kamath, their lead scientist on this base stroll across the grass, still in SecOps gear which had always unsettled her to see.

This one woman was SciOps and yet held a huge part in SecOps; a lot of qualifications under her belt meaning she could flit very easily into other departments. Much like them but with less bodies which was why Kamath unsettled her a lot. It wasn’t too much of a surprise she took the mantle of leadership.

Her ears twitched a little as she looked down at the woman “Doctor Kamath, we’re still setting up the avatar’s lab but we should be done in an hour. Science wasn’t this base’s strength.”

“I am aware. You’ll have the time you need but I would like you and Doctor Choi to take Scout into the forest once you’re done before it gets dark. I know it’s not part of your schedule but we need the natives to get…acquainted with the concept of Avatars and for all of us to get to know the Kinglor Forest. Samples, of course.” Dr Kamath requested, her eyes mostly on Choi. “If you happen to come across Kinglor, feel free to let me know.”

Dr Choi laughed a little. “You really want to study those things, don’t you?”

Lilith’s breath paused a little. “You…don’t want us to hurt one bringing it in? I heard they’re highly social with their own kind.” She knew if the forest was named after the insect, then it wasn’t a good idea to kill one and bring one back just for study. That would look really bad straight off with the Na’vi clans around them.

Dr Kamath hummed, noncommittal. “I know the Aranahe clan have a high regard for these insects. I wish to study them in their own environment, not the RDA’s facility. I can study the nest and their behaviours. Scans will provide all that I need of their anatomy.”

Lilith didn’t feel confident in that truth but she had really little to go on to believe otherwise. Still, if that was true, it was…kinda nice to have someone who still cared for the life around them than just the science of it. The fact she put in effort to know the clan’s name was a small…relief.

“We’ll keep an eye out, Ava.” Choi said brightly, “I can talk to you later but…we really gotta finish if you want us to do a sweep.”

Despite the laps in respect to how Choi addressed her, Dr Kamath nodded. “Carry on.” Her eyes slid to her for a long moment before she turned and walked back towards the door with a high head.

Lilith waited until the woman was far enough away before she rounded onto her colleague. “Did you forget your manners, Dr Choi?”

“Hm?” Choi looked at her inquisitively. “About what?”

“You called Dr Kamath by her first name. No one ever calls her that. Not even Doctor Augustine.” Lilith whispered, “Are you fucking her or something to slip up like that?”

Choi stared at her and then wrinkled his nose. “I know she bats for all teams but I’ve already got a girlfriend who doesn’t like sharing.” He said, rolling his eyes. “Me and Dr Kamath are…more acquainted than most so… let’s just leave this conversation right here.”

Sensing his dismissal, Lilith…decided not to poke but…she couldn’t help herself but wonder why he got that permission. Kamath could quite easily be intimidating if she really tried. They probably still fucking if they were that friendly, maybe his girlfriend joined in? Kamath did seem like someone who’d lead an orgy or a threesome very well.

Choi directed their conversation away to discuss some local fauna; her area of expertise was zoology so Lilith allowed herself to be pulled into it as they continued on to finish their set-up.

As predicted, it took about an hour to get everything set up before they were escorted out of the base and into the jungle with two soldiers. They were harder to ignore but Choi was leading the sweep.

Lilith couldn’t help herself but admire the lush greens that came from the fresh, untainted air. It…smelt a little different to the Omatikaya lands, now that she thought about it. Sweeter. More…flowers as well. Some she didn’t recognise. Would these be safe for humans?

“Let’s stop here. We shouldn’t get much deeper than this into Aranahe territory.” Choi announced as they reached a river’s bank that was overlooked by a high amount of trees and a massive tree-like trunk that looked to trail like a vine across the river and through the trees. She could already see mushrooms and plants galore covering it.

She’d definitely take samples of those; see if they’re edible.

“Now, Everdeen, why don’t you collect some samples? I am going to take a piss because I…really made a mistake in that second juice box before we left.” Choi sighed.

Lilith rolled her eyes but slunk her bag off and bent down to unpack, though she snorted a little as Choi ordered a soldier off who had begun to follow him.

“You wanna watch me piss? Really? Look, I can give you a grand show if you’re that worried but I’ll make it super awkward for the both of us. There will be unbroken eye contact for the entire event.” Choi remarked which was enough to get the soldier to turn back and returned a little flush to her cheeks.

The first soldier just smirked at her and Choi vanished back into the treeline for his business. What a way to put soldiers at a distance. She’d take that as a helpful hint if she needed to get her avatar away.

Lilith began to sort through the kit for sample containers; and how many they could take before they’d have to return. Her scanners, pH monitor….

Her ears tilted as she heard the first soldier sit close giving him a passing look but what pulled her attention was…how closely he was watching her; far too intently and with a considering look.

“What?” Lilith asked, not the sort to let this pass. “You wanna help?” She doubted that but she was keeping things light.

The second soldier nudged the first, “Talk before the other tailed doc gets back.”

Lilith’s yellow eyes narrowed, her tail rising. “What?”

The first one looked to the other then to the trees then to her again. “We know you and your Quad are thinking of defecting into the forest.” He stated bluntly, “before you… deny it, I’ve spent twelve years on this planet; I know the signs of people planning something and I ain’t gonna just ignore the possibilities.”

Lilith’s ears were up and alert, just as her tail swished and her heart thumped anxiously in her chest; they knew. They waited for this chance. She couldn’t bolt; not with her human body in the link chamber; they’d get her out of the link bed faster than she could find a place to hide it.

But, his wording was off.

“Possibilities?” Lilith questioned slowly. “You blackmailing me?”

“No, blackmail’s a strong word and… well I have a proposition that benefits is all. I think you’ll like it. When you bail, you’ll have access to local fruit and flora and…god knows what other goodies. I ain’t interested in living in the woods unless I have to. The RDA pay too well for that.” The first said, waving off the concern. “We had a few science guys here that…brought us some flora samples often that…helped us relax. Since they’re gone, we don’t have any of those supplies left.”

Lilith could see what they were putting down, making her relax a little. “You…want a trading system?” she could…see why they’d resort to making a deal rather than cashing her and her sisters out to the RDA; they got something out of it. Good. She could work with that; she was sure they’d need some stuff sooner or later.

“Yep. You get things you can’t get out there and vice versa. We can negotiate on what each other can get once we’re both in the position to trade. If we get stiff us, you’re cut off. Simple?”

Lilith considered his words but her eyes flickered as Choi seemed to make his appearance nd looked far more relaxed about his pee break. “We can talk later with the Quad to go over the details. Names?”

“Corporal Moriah Dyer, Private Eden Castell.” The second solider introduced properly. “We’re off the clock at twenty-hundred hours. You can meet us in the boiler room. One of your SecOps sisters knows where that is. We can…help you out.”

“Alright.” She’d take it up for sure.

“You know, I always forget the pure relief of peeing after you’ve been holding it in for a while,” Choi announced loudly, coming over to join them but as he reached for a sample kit Lilith shoved a wet wipe from their containment cleaner into his hands.

“Wipe your hands after touching your dick.” She said, unimpressed. “I don’t want contaminated samples.”

“This is a bad idea.” Grace muttered anxiously, “What if we’re walking into a trap?”

Thea sighed loudly, “I checked the feed along the corridor; only Dyer and Castell are there. Some couple ducked into a side room close by.”

“We should exercise some caution but I do think this can work out for us.” Lilith said, “I think they’re the sort to turn a blind eye when it favours them but they have friends who may do the same.”

“True, the SecOps likes to have an off-the-book trade. Favours and small deals are made for things. Sexual favours are more common but the base doesn’t get enough supplies of condoms or pills.” Amanda remarked dryly, “I bet what they’re looking for are contraceptive herbs for the staff to go raw without risk.” Amanda knew too well and had partaken herself to get things she needed or wanted at short notice. She knew everyone was screened for STDs and all so that wasn’t the concern when pregnancy wasn’t something soldiers wanted unexpectedly.

“Lovely.” Grace wrinkled her nose.

Amanda chuckled a little at her sister and took the lead into the boiler room and down to see the space lit up well; showing off that it was well used. Banged-up tables and repurposed things had been crafted into chairs. There was a vent out, but there was still the lingering smell of cigarette smoke. There was a door off to the side and a bin with crushed beer cans inside. Amanda was sure she heard soft…thumping against the door—very good soundproofing—but focused on the two soldiers that were seated. One with a datapad and one with a paper pad and both looked at them as they came in.

Out of their gear and helmets, they could see the two properly.

Eden was tall and thin but had a decent amount of muscle to his frame, he had dark skin with a small goatee and a very nice jawline and his hair was buzz cut right down to his skin, he was probably in his early to mid-forties.

Moriah was a slim athletic Asian woman, bear arms showing a few tattoos and dark reddish hair that was most likely dyed and she had a scar from hairline to jaw on the right side of her face. She appeared to be late thirties.

“Okay, all four at once.” Moriah remarked, sitting up straight as her brown eyes took each of them in. “Never seen all four at once. I do not like that…”

Amanda smiled a little, the ever enjoyment of watching the confusion or those who were a little creeped out by her shared appearance with her siblings. It never got old.

“Let’s get down to business, shall we?” Amanda directed, taking the lead seat in front of them. “I don’t deny our plans. Lilith told me of your…proposition.” Purposely gesturing to Thea as she said this who nodded her ’confirmation’. “We can’t leave straight off; we need to where we’re going first and what life we have to live with. I can’t risk my siblings without getting a plan in order.”

“What’s your plan so far?”

“Two weeks data gathering. We need a link-shack to move and map of the RDA ship patrol routes over Kinglor forest.” Grace said first behind Amanda.

“We can establish a meet-up point with supplies. A dead drop if we can’t meet up in person but we can set up a radio link for negotiation of trades.” Thea carried on on her left. “The meetup point can hold a list of what’s viable for trades and for what’s off the books.”

“No weapons,” Eden said, his brown eyes flickering between the four of them. “If you get buddies with the Na’vi, we’re not helping them with giving our weapons over.”

“Agreed.” Amanda said, “I have no interest in weapons trade. That won’t end well. However, blades and metal tools should be on the table for practical uses for both our forms.”

Moriah pursed her lips. “I suppose. We have buddies in the Manufacture rig that can help us.”

“It will take time to get settled. A month. We can settle, get familiar and start getting supplies located. That will be the time consumer more than anything. If the Na’vi don’t kill us on sight, then we can ask them to help find what we want.”

“A month?” Moriah echoed, her eyebrows raising, “That’s a lot of time.”

“We don’t have the luxury of knowing the forest.” Thea snapped lightly.

Grace carried on just as sharply, “If we were in the Omatikaya territory, we could have had maybe one or two weeks to settle.”

“But we don’t.” Lilith finished.

Eden stared at all four of them for a long moment. “Alright.” He decided to agree. “We can give you a phone; you talk to either me or Moriah on trades. We have data on what we want out there any way from our last supply drop.”

“What are they?” Thea asked, “Look, I don’t mind getting you shit but…if you’re getting hooked on stuff that like cocaine or heroin, or possibly natural sedatives, then we have to draw our line of what’s acceptable.”

Moriah smirked a little. “Fair. The main herb we want is something we can add to our drinks. It’s a natural contraceptive for both males and females. Preventing ovulation in women and in men, it stops those producing viable sperm, and as long as both parties drink it every other day there are no worries about how many rounds without a condom. We know it’s much more potent in human bodies, so I’ve been told.” Moriah explained. “Another is like Viagra; it enhances sexual experiences. Safe to mix with our contraceptives.”

Amanda nodded, as predicted then. Sex was always going to be a high priority for everyone. It was a good start and simple. Shame they didn’t have access to weed; that would certainly help get the RDA … open for more. Still, she was sure they could find other things that would work similarly. If they could make Pandoran alcohol, then that’d surely help. Humans loved drugs, sex and alcohol and as long as it was supplied, they had a solid hook to get what they wanted back.

Amanda wasn’t stupid to think aid out was without payment; they’d have to settle enough herbs and stuff quickly to squash any ideas about this trade opportunity falling through while they settled. If she could get… some form of fast travel; a willing Direhorse would certainly help with supplies and general living.

Lilith moved around and took the offered datapad. “Would you be able to access anything from Hell’s Gate and bring it to us?”

“We do have a reach there, providing that there’s enough to go that far between our suppliers and pilots and to us. More than just herbs though. Meat is a good trade given how crap RDA rations are.”

Amanda spared her sister a curious look but Lilith gave no indication of her interest in what was at Hell’s Gate.

“Alight.” She said, clearly mulling on her options.

Thea tilted her head as well but moved to start going into details of potential dead drops and to set guidelines for both of their sides that she began to negotiate with Moriah about (and also how to handle if any of them got broken; like no trades for a month) as Eden began to discuss RDA routes and possible conflicts and how to avoid the typical RDA patrols.

Amanda though felt more confident that this was a good idea to have in the works. Freedom and still have access to good shit; works out in all their favour for sure.

Masterlist

#avatar #avatar au #avatar james cameron #avatar the way of water #grace augustine #jake sully #mo'at #neytiri #avatar rda #neytiri te tskaha mo'at'ite #vampire au #vampire #vampire grace #kim greene #eytukan

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