Hey all. I decided to take a small break from my story Pieces Made Whole to write this little thing. I really wanted to write something from Avatar and this is all I could think of, haha. Hopefully some of you will enjoy it. If I get a good response I might make a real story out of this and take it beyond a one shot. We'll see.

AVATAR © James Cameron

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A warm light slowly spread through the dense forests of Pandora. It trickled through the leaves and across the flourishing undergrowth. It reached into dark crevices and gently pulled creatures out of their slumber. Leaping from place to place it made its way into the Hallelujah Mountains, dancing and splashing its way to the Tree of Souls where the Omaticaya were beginning to stir. Finally it came to rest on a particular blue face that was determined to keep his eyes shut. Finally though, Jake Sully mumbled incoherently and sat up with a tremendous yawn.

He rubbed his eyes blearily, cracking them open and blinking rapidly in the brightness that highlighted his face. Slowly he looked around only to see his mate already fully awake and fixing the fletching on an arrow, a pile already building at her side. Without turning, she addressed him, "My Jake, you sleep like death."

Jake grinned lopsidedly, stretching his arms over his head, tail curling around itself. "I didn't mean to worry you so much." He said slowly, watching her from the corner of his eye.

Neytiri turned around with a stern expression. "I was not worried." She said stiffly, turning back to her work. "But you must wake sooner in the future."

"Good morning to you too." Jake chuckled. He sidled over to her and sat watching her work. Several moments passed and he lifted his eyes to look out over The People. Some were emerging from small caves in the rock face surrounding the Tree of Souls and others had simply lay out in the open under the stars for the night. A frown marred his face and a wrinkle appeared between his brows. "We need to find a new home." He said to himself, but he knew Neytiri could hear him.

"Yes. Scouts are being sent to find a new Hometree." Neytiri replied, examining her handiwork. After a moment she set the arrow down on her lap and continued to look down. Jake noticed her unease, his tail curling around hers in comfort. "It will not be the same. But it will be home to generations to come." She said quietly.

"I'm sure we'll find a Hometree that you can really call 'home' one day." Jake replied, his yellow eyes boring into her.

She looked up at him, her eyes looking into his so deeply Jake knew she really saw him. "Perhaps." was all she said. Then she too looked out over The People, taking in their much reduced numbers. "My Jake…are the SkyPeople truly gone?" she asked suddenly.

The question took Jake by surprise so that it was a moment before he found his tongue and another before he could think of how to use it. "For now…" he replied slowly. "It'll be a long trip back to their planet and a longer time before they could think of coming back. But for now, yes, they're gone."

"Will they really return?" she asked, looking up at Jake with wide eyes.

Jake knew Neytiri would only ever voice these fears in his company. It was so unlike her to worry about these things that Jake reached down with his five fingered hand and took her four fingered one in a tight hold.

"They might. The stone they were after, Unobtanium, is worth a lot back where I came from. There's always gonna be someone greedy enough to send another ship load of people here. The question is if they'll be allowed." Jake said, trying to rid Neytiri of her worries. They had at least twelve years before they had to start looking up at the sky with anxiety. He was never one for planning things ahead of time and these thoughts had been pushed to the back of his mind. Now his main worries were for finding a new Hometree, Neytiri, and the rest of The People.

Neytiri looked back over the Omaticaya going about their daily routines and did not answer. Jake had thought the conversation was over when she said, "It will be bad if they return. Bad for us and worse for them." Her tail curled tighter against his and her eyes became steely.

"Heh, yeah well, knock on wood." Jake said, tapping a root of the Tree of Souls next to him.

Neytiri turned back to him with a very confused expression, the coldness gone from her features. "Knock…on wood…?" she asked, her lips exaggerating the movements needed to form the words.

Jake chuckled at her expression. "It's something humans do. You know, a superstitious thing." He explained.

Neytiri's expression was still confused and now she looked as though she was questioning her mate's sanity. Not for the first time. "Super-stee-shee-us?" she said awkwardly.

"Uhh…" Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "Kind of like a belief in something…like, in something that might not exist." Jake looked at Neytiri and saw her confusion and impatience were growing. "Humans have all kinds of weird superstitions. No walking under ladders, tossing salt over our shoulders, black cats…Knock on wood is like warding off evil. By knocking on wood some people think they can stop whatever was said that made them knock on wood in the first place…" Now he was just confusing himself and he could see Neytiri's expression growing darker.

"Do you believe this?" she asked carefully, eyeing him shrewdly.

"No, not really. It's just habit. Like a joke kind of." He said hurriedly.

"Hmmm…." She turned away from him and took her hand from his to continue fletching arrows or rearranging feathers on some.

Jake sighed and hit his palm to his forehead, sliding his hand down his face in exasperation. There were some habits he believed would take a long time to break and some that should be forgotten soon. The Na'vi were not a superstitious people. They believed Eywa completely and unflinchingly. He just hoped he wouldn't say or do anything stupid where others less used to his idiocy could see.

After a few more moments of what Jake perceived as awkward silence he said, "How many scouts were sent out?"

Neytiri was silent before she said, "Many on horse and ten on ikran." Jake could feel her tail twitch sadly at the mention of ikran, the death of her beloved Tze'tzey still painful in her heart.

"Hopefully they won't encounter any problems." Jake remarked, looking up to the sky and thinking off handedly to Eywa to keep The People safe.

"Knock on wood." Neytiri said airily, tapping a root gently beside her with her knuckles. Her lips were turned up with suppressed mirth and Jake laughed openly.

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Well, what did you think? Good, bad, dumb? Haha, I can understand if you think it's dumb. Just a silly little thought that popped into my head. If you guys really like it I may think of turning this into a full blown story or making an array of other fun little one shots ranging in topics. Let me know what you think, please review!