Authore note: It's been pointed out to me that the talented Na'vi huntress isn't 'Beyral', but rather 'Peyral'. Thanks for the catch, and thanks for reading!

It was the smell that woke Jake up.

Perhaps he'd been sleeping more lightly than usual, or was half-roused by a dream. He didn't usually open his eyes until Grace nudged him on her way to make coffee. The biologist woke hours before anyone else, seeming almost resentful over being kept from her work by sleep.

He sat up and rubbed his thumb and forefinger at his eyes, breathing in slowly, trying to place the scent.

The memory arrived suddenly in a rush of green – Easter morning, a mild spring day, new growth on trees bare from winter. It was that smell – a fresh, clean smell that was now gone from much of Earth. He only even remembered it vaguely.

What time was it? Outside, the sky was the pale pink-gold of early morning. It didn't sound like Grace was up yet – even after only a short time in the small lab, he'd begun to pick out the sounds and rhythms of the others.

He wheeled himself through cool blue shadows, careful not to knock anything sitting on the tables. Outside, the sun hadn't escaped its low blanket of clouds, and the surrounding mountains were a feathered gray, smeared with pastel green. The smell was stronger outside, and he wheeled to the edge of their little plateau, beyond which was a sheer rock face dropping off into the fog. He found himself grinning at nothing, and, embarrassed, looked down and shook his head. Some war-hardened veteran he was.

He had been sitting alone for a few minutes before he heard the hiss of the airlock behind him. It was Grace, dressed in a tattered gray robe pulled tightly closed, feet bare beneath the hem of her light pants, exopack on.

"Were lucky the day and night cycle is similar to Earths.' She came to stand with him. "Otherwise we'd have a lot more trouble interacting with the Na'vi."

Jake nodded, looking out over the forest.

"Up a little early aren't you?" Grace pressed.

"Yeah, woke up and didn't feel like going back to sleep. How'd you hear me coming out?"

"There's a little buzzer near my bed that goes off when an airlock is opened, you know."

"Oh. Sorry about that." His voice was vacant as he looked down at the sprawling, primeval forest. He didn't notice Grace roll her eyes at his absent tone.

"You're not going to make a habit of this, are you?" she said.

"Of what? Oh, yeah. Look, can't you just turn the thing off?"

"Yes, I can shut it off. I meant you, though. You only got, what, six hours of sleep last night? You need more than that."

"Not like I wear myself out, doc, lying in a box all day. I'm good."

"I'm not talking about your body, I'm talking about your brain." She tapped a finger on the side of his head. "Or whatever you've got that passes for one. Your body lies there all day, but your brain is experiencing everything your avatar does. It'll get worn out, just like if you pulled a regular all nighter."

Jake shrugged, leaning back to balance his chair on the wheels in the soft dirt.

"So you're up," Grace said at last. "We might as well get you linked in, since there's not much else you can do but get in my way." She laughed as Jake wheeled quickly towards the airlock. "Whoa, okay, okay."

Jake waited impatiently for the pressure door to open. He wasn't embarrassed for his eagerness. Of all people, Grace would understand. The link unit didn't seal him away from the world, it opened it to him.

Neytiri wasn't in her hammock.

In the few days before the disastrous trip to the schoolhouse and everything that had followed, the two of them had established something of a schedule, where he would wake at a specific time, and she would be waiting for him. But today, he was a good three hours early.

Jake was feeling more comfortable every day, though, and now he felt almost natural as he made his way alone down the great spiraling path to the forest floor. The other Na'vi stared less, or else he was just becoming inured to their looks. Either way, when he reached the bottom, he felt mostly at ease. It wasn't home yet, but now he felt like it could eventually become that.

The Na'vi were early risers, and many were awake already – hunters slipping out into the forest, men and women feeding babies, adolescents tending the cooking fires – Grace had told him that the fires were never permitted to go out completely.

His looked over the fires, skimmed over the groups of Na'vi huddled here and there around the great trunk of Hometree. He had been looking for Neytiri, but he saw first her father. He was hunkered near the fire, eating slowly from a bowl, and he suddenly raised his wrinkled face and motioned Jake over.

Jake hesitated before squatting down into the position the Na'vi favored over sitting. "Um, good morning," he said.

The older Na'vi grunted noncommittally, but he handed Jake the bowl he had been eating out of, motioning for jhim to take from it. Inside was a pile of what seemed to be a kind of brown root, with pulpy white ends where it had been cut down to smaller sizes. Jake took one, sniffed it, then chewed.

His eyes opened wide in pleased surprise when the root exuded a gush of cool, fresh juice. He chewed more confidently, nodding to himself. "Hey, that's really good," he said, swallowing.

Eytukan offered him the bowl again. "Neytiri is with Mo'at," he said, carefully forming the words. "Mo'at... teaches her in mornings."

"Oh," Jake said. Like a cat from Earth, his ears layed down a little.

Eytukan cleared his throat and rose easily to his feet. Jake followed suit, just to be on the polite side. He accepted the bowl when Eytukan handed it to him. "I must go," the tribal leader said. "Goodmorning, Jakesully."

He called out to a passing Na'vi man who looked even older than himself, and the two walked off in rapid conversation.

Jake regained his seat, shaking his head at the machine-gun speed of their fading speech. He could barely stumble through a few simple phrases yet. Thank god most of the higher ranking Na'vi spoke at least a little English. Some were completely fluent – Grace had told him a little bit about her school and the amazing speed at which the younger Na'vi had picked up the language.

He brought the bowl up to fish out another root, and jumped a little in surprise when a slim Na'vi hand reached over his shoulder to take the same piece he had been reaching for. It was Peyral, squatting next to him now, chewing happily.

"I was gonna eat that," Jake protested.

Peyral swallowed and showed her sharp fangs in a grin. "Next time you will eat faster." She looked over at Eytukan, who was standing now by the massive wall of the trunk, talking with a few elderly Na'vi. "He does not speak English often, even for Grace. But he is very grateful that you brought Neytiri back safely."

"So why do you speak it so well?" Jake asked. "Even your accent is a lot less thick than Neytiri's, or Tsu'tey's."

Peyral shrugged. "We all went to Grace's school, but Neytiri often had duties as Tsahik's daughter. Tsu'tey had obligations as well. I did not, and I spent more time there. I was glad when they let Grace back into the village." She gave him intense eyes, and he knew she gave him all the credit for that.

"You are looking for Neytiri?" Peyral went on. "She is with Mo'at. In the mornings they meditate, and Mo'at teaches her what she knows of Eywa."

"Eytukan mentioned it," Jake said. "Only now I guess I don't know what to do with myself – usually Neytiri is there when I wake up."

Peyral looked over her shoulder towards the massive columns of the tree. "Will you come with me" She locked eyes with him again. "In the mornings, I run in the forest. For strength."

Run? Jake hadn't considered going into the forest – it seemed that every time he left Hometree he or someone else nearly got killed. But the more he thought about it, the more he found the idea appealing. He still wasn't over the high he felt when he ran with his new legs. "That sounds real good," he said, "I liked running. Like it, I mean."

Peyral grinned and stood. They left the interior of Hometree without a word, making for the open forest. "I am glad you woke up early," Peyral added, looking over at him. "Few Na'vi will run just for the sake of it."

"I'm not like the others," Jake said. They began to jog, Peyral flowed lightly over and around roots and branches, Jake slightly more awkwardly. "So why do you do it?" he asked.

"So that I will be tired enough to sleep at night," she called over her shoulder, laughing. "Come!" With that the warmup was over, and Peyral put on a dazzling burst of speed, leaping a long, low puddle, one leg kicked out for a graceful landing. Jake laughed a little breathlessly and pounded through the same puddle in a spray of water. They didn't talk after that. Speech wasn't necessary. Jake caught up to her and they ran side by side into the endless green.

They returned nearly two hours later, both covered with a sheen of sweat, though Peyral was barely breathing hard. Jake got the feeling she had gone a little easy on him. Either way, he was glad they had run along the soft forest floor – his feet weren't as tough yet as they needed to be to run along the tree branches for too long.

Hometree was more active now that the sun was rising in full strength. There were more Na'vi at the cook fires now, possibly preparing already for the evening meal. Some sat on the ground in circles, talking and laughing, weaving, making arrows – he saw one Na'vi woman who appeared to be skinning a drum. Without thinking, Jake found himself eagerly scanning the groups of Na'vi, looking for the white bandages that would identify Neytiri,and was disappointed when he saw nothing.

"There is a spring I bathe in, after I run," Peyral said, capturing his attention. "It cools the skin. Would you like to come with me?"

Bathe with her? Jake raised his eyebrows, taken off guard. On Earth it would have been considered a proposition. But the Na'vi weren't human, and he couldn't judge them by human standards.

Peyral was watching him expectantly, but he was saved the awkwardness of a decision when he finally spotted Neytiri, coming around the spiral path that ran around the trunk of Hometree. Her bandages looked fresh and new, making Jake wonder if Grace had linked in to check on her. Neytiri, too, was searching among the roaming Na'vi.

Jake shook his head at Peyral. "I think Neytiri is looking for me," he said, "Raincheck," he added automatically.

Peyral raised her own eyebrows. "Rain check?"

"It's – nevermind. Not important."

"You say strange things," Peyral said. "Even for a Dreamwalker." She grinned at him. She smiled more than any Na'vi he'd met yet. "I run most mornings if there is no hunt the night before. You should join me again. " Then she made a strange, high-pitched sound, like a monkey combined with a chirping bird.

Neytiri immediately looked over from across the way, gaze flicking from Peyral to Jake. And was it his imagination, or did her eyes narrow a little? Hard to tell.

When they were close enough, the two women greeted each other in Na'vi, Peyral going so far as to make the traditional formal gesture Norm had taught him about.

"I will leave you with Neytiri," Peyral said. "Goodbye, Jakesully." She glanced at Neytiri before turning to walk away. The other woman watched Peyral leave, face unreadable.

Jake took opportunity to examine her.. Her color was better – Na'vi had blue skin, but they could still look pale, in their own way. Even wrapped in a mile of bandages, Neytiri looked healthier here, among her people, than she had in some time.

"You are covered in sweat," Neytiri said, her nose twitching. "And Peyral. What were you two doing?"

Jake managed to turn his laugh into choked cough, feeling his face heat up. He knew better than to think she was implying something, but it was still funny. "We were running," he said. "I woke up early and you were gone with Mo'at."

Neytiri searched his face for a moment, frowning slightly. "We will ride horses this morning," she said after a moment. "You must learn how to properly use the bond. It is important for later."

Jake started to ask what she meant, but she was already walking - fairly stalking - away. He followed her as she headed out of Hometree and for the forest, for the clearing they had used the first time he'd tried to ride.

"It is not important now," she said over her shoulder, as if sensing his confusion. "It is best that we focus on one thing at a time."

They walked most of the way in silence. Jake would have liked to talk – he had a dozen questions that had sprung up just since the morning – but he got the feeling she wasn't in the mood for it. He had been hoping the whole near-death experience might have brought them closer together, and in some ways it definitely had, but figuring Neytiri out was just as complex as ever. He wondered if him spending time with Peyral was what had annoyed her, but dismissed the idea – this wasn't high school.

Neytiri had told him to focus first on learning how to bond with his horse, and they worked on it for over an hour. He made steady progress, wondering if it was it because he was feeling more comfortable with his avatar, or with his situation among the Na'vi in general.

Neytiri's mood steadily improved as well as the day progressed, and she laughed and teased him and helped him to his feet when the direhorse tossed him off.. Soon, they were both laughing and covered in mud.

He cursed loudly when he was again tossed to the ground. And if he had known what the next days would bring, he would have focused more closely then on Neytiri's bright laugh.