victormakesart | (no subject)

(no subject)

Vic's been spending time on the spa planet, not to do spa things, but to spend time barefoot with the birds people, to meditate, and try to be less miserable.

But everytime she sees one of the little feathered kids, with their round healthy bellies, she can't help thinking about a few nights ago, the rescue mission, what was on the floor.

She's been spending a lot of time helping them garden the greens and harvest the rocks that give them the calcium that they need. But she needs another perspective, needs to get out of her head.

So she invited a military man over, someone who might know what she's going through. She doesn't want to burden Cole, Clark's been through enough, and she's sure James wouldn't even know what to say to her.

Most of the swelling has gone out of her face, now there's just a purplish bluish blotch on her right cheek. She waits.

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He shrugs, and glances away for just a moment. "Could be Tom for all I know."

Her smile fades away into something thoughtful. "Could be."

"But yeah, palulukans," he says, shrugging it off. "They just wanna eat, like everything else. Neytiri even rode one once. She's the only one ever, and it's only because it let her."

"Wow! How'd she get it to go for it?"

"From what she says, she didn't. It was during the big showdown with Quaritch. Eywa decided to give our forces a boost and sent in all sorts'a critters. It offered, she accepted. Oh, that's kind of a thing as far as making partnerships like that go. You can't get an ikran unless the one you choose chooses you too. I only got toruk to accept me because he chose me first. Although choosing on their part usually means trying to eat you first."

"Ha, all this just confirms for me that if I ever have to relocate again, your world is not the place for me. I'd be scared out of my wits! How can you be so brave?"

"I was a Marine. It's what we do."

"You're amazing, is what you are."

"Some would call that stupidity."

"It's only stupidity if it turns out sour."

"The only problem with Pandora is that if you're stupid there, chances are you'll be dead before you can regret the mistake. Neytiri called me skxawng for basically my entire warrior training."

She figures that that means 'dummy' and files that word away. "Yeah, definitely. Same with my line of work. You've gotta have a handle on things."

"Don't run the risk of getting eaten, I hope."

"Nah, more the risk of gettin' shot, but I'm glad I don't have to worry about getting eaten. Usually."

"Gettin' shot's no fun either. I've done that more times than I care to count."

"Got shot through the calf once. Luckily, only once. I was a stupid kid. I wasn't gonna let this guy destroy my painting, so I stood in front of it and he had a gun. Really stupid. Massively stupid. Got shot after that, but those only got the vest."

"You got shot over a painting?" He sounds a bit incredulous about that.

"The guy was a jerk. We have history of him hurtin' me and me havin' to deal with it. I think it was, ah, mostly that I was emotionally invested in the idea of--of not losing another thing to him."

"Who the hell shoots someone for art?"

Her voice lowers a little, and when she talks, it's evenly. "The same kinda guy who carves up another person just for being friends with someone he hates."

"What a jackass."

"That's exactly what he is."

"What happened to him?"

"I just haven't seen him in a while. That's all."

Jake looks pissed off by that. "Tell me someone at least punished him."