Hello fellow writers! Triz's here and back in action! I really do apologize for the really long wait time between chapters but I am a freshman in college and it's only been a month at school and it's stressful. But none the less, I have a little something for you, a new chapter! YEA! About time, right? Anyway, please excuse my delay, I will work on this story more and thank you so much for your patience and reviews! Enjoy this new chapter of Return to Pandora!

Jack

I was running, that's all I know. That's all I felt and knew. I couldn't stop but for some reason I didn't want to stop. I just kept…running. I wasn't sure where I was going or where I was but for the first time in the longest time, I felt so sure about myself and what I was doing. The trees seem to dodge me through I ran in a straight line. There was a lot of mist and the lights were low so my vision wasn't the best but I could make out shapes and shadows. I then saw a figure, tall and straight. My feet then slowed down and I was standing in front of this figure, her face emerged from the low light and mist, it was Charlie. She smiled at me the same way she did in the lab before I was tested. Then her eyes transformed into a look of scared and concern, then horror. Suddenly, everything seemed shorter, even Charlie. It wasn't until I looked down at myself when I realized why. The world wasn't shrinking, I was growing! I looked at my hands and saw them change color. They went from light pink to blue. I looked at my feet and the color changed as well. A tail wrapped around my arm and became aware the tail was mine! I focused again on Charlie and tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth. Charlie then walked away from me and ran away, afraid to see me. I started running again after her but every step I took, she gained two. I kept running after her but I finally lost her. I lost the one girl who was nice enough to make me feel better about being an outsider, just like the little girl from my memory. I was a monster, a freak, a result of a testing, and outsider. I stopped running and looked down, tears stinging my eyes.

The moon was so bright when my eyes opened. I saw the mesh-like pattern of the hammock and looked at my hands, they seemed white enough to be considered human skin tone. i rested on my back and looked up at the night sky, speckled with stars and the moon illuminating everything with a white lining, from the branches to each leaf on the tree to the hammock's exterior. My eyes wouldn't close to let me fall back to sleep so I figured I'd connect the stars mentally to create a shape.

"Can't sleep?" a voice whispered coming from my left side. I turned and faced my mentor. She was resting on her back and her face was turned towards me. I propped my head up to see her bright eyes and her face. She lifted herself up too and looked at me.

"Just had a bad dream." The hammocks uncurls themselves and we sit up, I rested my elbows and arms over my knee caps. She swings her legs over to the side and sits the side of her pelvis, facing me.

"Look", she started. "I'm sorry for being a jerk to you lately…"

'Was she really apologizing to me? No one has ever done that before…'

"It's okay, I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be", she whispered. She rested against the hammock again and placed her hands over her abdomen.

"Pale Blue…" she faced me and waited for me to continue. "Why are you here? You are clearly not a Na'vi but you don't act like a human. And even though you are one, you don't let that get you down. Why are you here?"

She paused for a moment and looked up at the moon. Her breathing was deep and soft.

"…I didn't like the way humans treated the Earth and…how they destroyed it… I wanted to do something about it but no one listened to me. I managed to find a way to get to Pandora, got on the ship, never looked back and haven't looked back since."

"Why did you stay with the Na'vi?"

"Jake, Grace, Max, and Norm were nice to me. They took me in, helped me grow up and be part of the Na'vi. Jake and Neytiri took me in as their daughter and taught me everything I know."

"And now you help others to grow up as you did?"

"Not exactly, you're my first human pupil", she turned to face me and looked into my eyes. I felt a slight twitch of pain over my body and mostly my rear end but it wasn't much. "We better get some sleep, it'll be a new day in the morning. Good night Jack."

"Good night Pale Blue", I answered, her back already facing me and the hammock curled around her. Lifting the side of the hammock to cover me, I rested on my back and drifted off to sleep.

Pale Blue

When the sun stroke its colors over the horizon, my eyes scanned the area. All my life, I have woken up to see this view and I never get tired of it. It's too beautiful to not love. Jack was still asleep when I opened my eyes. He then woke up and stood next to me on the branch.

"Morning Pale Blue", he greeted me.

"Morning Jack, sleep better?" I asked. It was random for me to ask him how he slept but I had to be nice to him, even if he was a human. His eyes were still gold and his hair seemed darker. "Jack, have you noticed your hair is getting darker?" 'Wait, was I checking him out?'

"Hmm? Oh, it's probably because I haven't showered…" he answered, his hand messing his hair up. I bit the inside of my lips to keep from smiling and I looked down. There was a flutter in my stomach and I knew what that meant. 'Keep it together, Blue. Use your brain, not your heart. Just think, don't feel…don't feel…' That managed to calm the sensation down a bit.

"Okay, more training today but first, His Majesty, Jake would like to speak to you", I commented. Guiding down the tree, we found ourselves almost bumping into Jake as he talked with the children.

Ever since he and Neytiri discovered she was with child, he's been fidgeting over and over about the simplest things, his main concern was not being a good enough father. He grew up without one back on Earth and he didn't and doesn't know how to treat a child.

"Jake, you'll be a great dad", I told him, patting his shoulder. He sat on the ground and I walked next to him, placing my hand over his arm..

"What if I'm not? I never had a father and I don't know the first about being a father", he answered, looking at the ground.

"Jake, I don't know how it is with parents but they just happen to know how to be parents. It come naturally and all you really got to do is go with the flow."

"Jake", I answered, bowing at him and smiling,

"Hello Pale Blue", he answered, slightly bowing at me. "Jack, are you okay?"

"I'm fine actually is there something wrong?" he asked. Jake and I looked at him and observed him. Then they didn't see anything.

"No, nothing", Jake answered. I looked at him and back at the Jake. We didn't say anything but I managed to smile at him.

"So what are your plans for today?" Jake asked us.

"Horseback riding", I answered.

"That's great", he answered. "Just keep out of trouble and don't go past the restricted area and keep far from the RDA."

"We got it", I answered. I bowed and smiled. "Come on Jack." He followed me and we rushed to the lake where most the direhorses/pa'li were feeding on the nectar of the flowers. One of them recognized me and came up to me.

"Hey there big guy", I rubbed the horse's neck and patted him gently. Of course it wa a bit difficult to do so since he was taller by a third compared to the largest horse on Earth and/or about the same size as an elephant. He knelt down and I was able to hug his neck. His "antennas" gently rubbed me, showing me affection. I smiled as my exo-pack mask was soon fogged by his breathe. Jack watched me nearby and quickly approached us. Pa'li saw him and automatically lifted himself up, luckily I embraced his neck and he lifted me off the ground. He shriek in fear. "Hey, woah, woah, easy big guy, it's okay, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you, I promise. Shh, shhh, shhh, it's okay buddy, I'm right here." Pa'li lowered his neck and allowed me a closer range between the ground and my feet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare him…" Jack answered.

"Direhorses are easily startled. Never approach them quickly, not even if he/she knows you just like he knows me", I explained.

"What's his name?" he asked me.

"Emza'u", I answered. Emza'u looked at me and trotted towards us.

"What does Emziu mean?" he asked. I shook my head as I patted Emza'u's shoulder.

"Emza'u means overcome in Na'vi. When he was born, he was too weak to survive and everyone thought he wouldn't make it but I did believe he could. I nursed him and helped him gain strength and look at him now. He proved everyone wrong; he proved to anyone you can overcome anything. When I started training, I picked him and he picked me and when the time came for me to be welcomed into the tribe, I was allowed to claim him as my own and give him a name. I asked Jake what was the Na'vi translation for survive. I loudly and proudly proclaimed him as Emza'u as my own and ever since then, we've been inseparable." Emza'u nudge my shoulder, as if he was telling me he was proud to be mine.

"So, where do I get my own?" he asked me.

"Go up to one, slowly and steady, and he or she will pick you", I answered.

"How do I know which one picks me?"

"He'll charge at you", I answered.

"Great…"

"Watch me first." Jack sat on the fallen tree nearby and watched my demonstration.

Jack

Pale Blue approached Emza'u gently. Her movements were slow and steady. Emza'u looked her and tried to charge but she quickly moved out the way. She tried again and she managed to get Emza'u to look at her not with fear but with trust. She placed her hand out and waited for him to move closer to her open hand. He gently walked towards her and placed his snout under her touch. She smiled and hugged him again.

"Okay, you'll practice on Emza'u", she proclaimed.

"But wouldn't he lose his respect to you?"

"No, Emza'u is too used to me and he would never choose another rider. It's a bond we formed even though I don't, or we don't, have a queue." She moved away from Emza'u and she stood far enough to watch the action.

"Okay Emza'u, don't go too easy", I told him.

"He doesn't listen to words", she spoke. I turned to her and saw her arms crossed over each other. I looked back at Emza'u and saw him ready to charge. I jumped out of the way but managed to get a bruised shoulder from his shoulder hitting me with a strong force and rolling on the ground. Dirt and sweat had covered me. I heard Pale Blue chuckled and saw her shake her head. I got up, shook off the dirt from my clothing, custom made Na'vi attire, and I tried again.

"Wait until the last second to move, he's a big guy and he can't turn on a dime", Pale Blue advised me. I got up and I was ready this time. He charged again but I still moved a second too quick, again landing on the ground. I spit out a mouthful of dirt and it turned into mud. I rushed to the river and rinsed my mouth, coughing and hacking the living daylights out of me as I tried to clean my mouth from the dirt. I turned on my back and Pale Blue's head covered the sun.

"That was better", she answered, taking her hand out and helping me up. I stood up too quickly and I was overwhelmed by dizziness. I leaned against her and our heads were close, too close.

She was too beautiful, her strength and her courage was displayed in her face. Her dark eyes, her oval face with high cheekbones, her straight small nose, and her lips were so full and perfect. No one is perfect but she was. Her black hair veiled behind her head and her back in waves. There was a beating in my stomach and my heart was beating at a hummingbird's wing speed. She let my arm go and pushed me back a bit to get me on my feet.

"Here, chew on this", she offered a leaf and I gladly chewed on it. It was a burst of fresh mint and it relief the taste of dirt.

"Thanks", he answered.

"Again", I told him. His eyes were golden and they were reflecting me. His dark hair came down to his eyebrows and it was darker than it was when I first met him.

Jack

When we finished training, we headed back to the tribe.

"Pale Blue, do you know where I can take a shower?"

"Yes, follow me", she answered. She took off and I followed her. We walked/ran into a part of the forest I didn't know existed.

"Here, you can shower in here. I'll shower in here", she answered, handing me a towel, pointing at where I had to go. She grabbed another towel and waited for me to enter the restroom.

The cool water trickled down my body. 'Oh God, this is relief…' I savored this moment, scrubbing every part of me well to clean up the dirt, sweat, and dead cells from my skin. When I finished, I covered my lower body with a long towel.

Someone gasped as I walked out of the restroom. There, in front of me, stood Pale Blue, wearing nothing more than a towel over her body. She had placed her mask over her, the blue paint covering her face.

"Um, I'll just get…um…uh go, I'll just go…" she stuttered. She hit against my shoulder on accident and continued on her way. There was a weird sensation in my stomach and my heart. I didn't know what it was but it was something I had felt before.

"Why are you here?" she asked him. He looked at her as she sat next to the tree.

"I came to see you" I answered. She stood up, her dark hair crowing her shoulders.

"Why?" she asked, taking a step forward.

"Because I think I love you", I answered. I had no idea what I said. Just then I realized what I said. My cheeks turned red. Hers were red too. She hid her face from me, looking down.

"You can't possibly love me. You don't know me", she answered. "And you don't think about love, you feel it."

"Well I feel it, in here", I pointed at my chest. She was now a foot from me and her body leaned into me. I gently took her hand and placed it over my chest, over my heart. "Do you feel it? Do you feel that?"

"I do feel your heart", she answered, looking up. Then I pecked her cheek and she looked at me. Her cheeks turned redder and mine were burning.

'God, I have to shake that feeling off. I really like Charlie, she's more human than Pale Blue and we were one in the same.'

Pale Blue

'God what is wrong with me? I can't believe it! Oh, Eywa, help me please! I can't fall for Jack. He's a human, I know I am one too but I can't… my job is to protect you and Pandora, Eywa, just like you did for me'. I looked down and saw the pale blue marking on my upper thigh glow, a cooling sensation lingering afterwards. Taking off my mask, I brushed my hair and repainted the cover on the exo-pack in pale blue. Looking at the mirror, I forgot how much I've changed since I became part of Jake's tribe.

Placing my mask on, I meet Jack outside, fully dressed and waiting for me. Readjusting the hem of my black top under the shorts, I leaded him back to the tribe.

"Pale Blue…" he started. I turned to face him. "Why don't you tell me a bit about you?"

"Why do you want to know about me?"

"Because I want to know about you", he replied, leaning against a tree.

"You can learn more about someone by simply looking what is left unsaid. Good night Jack", I answered, climbing up the tree and into my hammock. Suddenly, my mark glowed under my shorts. The night's darkness didn't really help much to hide it.

"Why is your leg glowing?" he asked.

"There was an accident, Eywa saved me. Now I forever have this as a memory of that day and the promise I made to Eywa", I answered, continuing to climb. "Come on, tomorrow's a new day."