The clawed hands that were Na'vi yet weren't pushed out more and more as Liam stayed in place, his silver eyes almost glowing as he observed, heart hammering powerfully in his ribcage.
The fingers curled as their sharp end dug into the white bark then where the tip of the fingers touched the wood seemed to bend as if it was clay, and the forest beat of bioluminescence intensified.
Then with ease, the roots parted ways like the curtain of a theater revealing the creature within, a naked Na'vi female yet not, many physical differences were to be noticed.
An athletic body of perfect proportion from both human and Na'vi that was protected in almost its entirety by a cocoon of long flowing white hair a stark contrast to that of the usual dark hair commonly seen in Na'vi. But that was only the beginning.
Her queue whose shadow could still be seen behind the hair was disconnecting from the tree as many other filaments on her were disappearing in the roots.
Another shadow could be seen. It was a thin yet muscular tail longer than her body ending in a tuft of a similar white of her hair who was slowly waving in the water. Her feet ended in the same claws as her hands, obsidian in color and sheen.
The sharper and longer ear almost elfish yet remaining distinctively Na'vi poked out of the sides of her hair, her skin was of a healthy soft pale bluish purple that was cut through by elegant midnight purple stripes and constellations of bioluminescent spots.
Those spots followed what seemed to be the vascular system with its brightest points the heart and a few more above her cat-like nose and around her white eyelash in the form of natural tattoos mimicking the three more eyes and light present on her metaphysical appearance he was habituated to.
But what took his focus and breath away was her small smile showing sharper canine than usual and her enchanting eyes with pale pink irises that locked onto his ethereal silver ones as a smile of honest joy formed on his face as well.
The staring didn't stop as with a simple and minimal push of her feet she propelled herself through the crystalline water, her hair, and tail flowing suit.
This small action gave more movement than it should ever do as she glided effortlessly with grace toward him, it was as if she was gliding, she moved up the deepness of the cave as if an exterior force was acting behind what could be seen.
Then as the distance became so insignificant that both could touch the other finger, the first contact led to both smiles growing, and as it happened the filaments that were until now coiled around Liam shifted back into the roots at great speed, the deeper connection with the biological network severing it as it did so.
Yet this didn't affect him aside from giving him more room to feel his own emotions, he plunged his outstretched hand slightly deeper and both grasped the other hands.
His left hand held her outstretched right hand, four fingers and a thumb entrelacing three fingers and a thumb, his calloused skin, against her soft one without any blemish touching the other, feeling the others.
The hold never wavered as he stood up from his one-knee position hoisting her up with him to the surface in one fell swoop, the water slipping off her body and hair as if she were a hydrophobic object as such she was not in any way drenched due to her having been fully submerged.
Eywa didn't even have a foot on the ground when her other arm had snaked its way around his neck, the other slipping out of his hand and going on his back feeling the defined muscle on taut skin while her tail did the same around his left leg but that wasn't all.
Her eyes at the same level as his had only his as the world, and without so much of a warning aside from a burst of emotion in the empathetic bond she closed her eyes and immediately kissed him on the lips, his bushy yet soft beard tickling her skin pleasantly as she approached her body to his further.
Liam's reaction was instantaneous and without any ounce of hesitation, he reciprocated the kiss, his eyes closing on instinct as well and he placed her on the ground while his unused arm held her solidly and carefully.
He fully took in the feeling of her lips on his, that of his bare torso against her own just as bare, his burning emotions for her, and her reaction to his own.
And she was doing the exact same thing, one had dreamed of this impossible moment for nearly a decade and the other waiting for the same amount of time for it to happen as she knew it was but an inevitable fact about reality, an event set in time to happen, and none being able to tell her otherwise or deny it to her.
A fact that in all of her untold years of life, she had never experienced for herself, it was a new experience for her. And it was beating all of her expectations.
But good things weren't eternal and the kiss couldn't last forever, it needed to end, and if they didn't stop right now chances were they wouldn't be available for the next few hours if not more.
Liam didn't have as much sex drive as others but he had tested when the rare time he was in the mood and knew his limits were far beyond what was human and he was certain for Eywa it wouldn't be different.
"A surprise indeed…", he said mirthfully as he parted his lips away after nearly five minutes of lips against lips with evident difficulty both not having difficulties breathing, a large smirk growing as he gazed on the visage of Eywa, or at least the body of flesh she crafted for her to inhabit and control.
"We are as pleased as you are, this body… It is something that We have done before but not in this way… And certainly not to be with my mate. A mate. My mate.", she said calmly, her crystalline voice echoing as she placed her forehead against his, a few seconds passed in silence as both of them profited from the moment to its fullest.
"Yeah, mate. We are mates…", he repeated after her softly. It felt beyond incredible there were no other words for it. This entire situation was quite frankly magical for both of them, it didn't matter how alien it was.
Parting their head away after a dozen more minutes Eywa smiled brightly and said through words with her mouth and emotions via their empathetic bond, {I see you.}
Looking at her he answered in kind, fully knowing what these short sentences in that context entailed and fully acknowledging those entailed details, {I see you.}
'I see you.' those three words can mean many things within different situations in Na'vi culture from a simple greeting between individuals of the same status, to a sign of great respect and also to express that you can see in the other, see their heart, understand them and what they truly are and that you accept them fully.
It was essentially an 'I love you.' but with a deeper meaning in a direct, spiritual, and philosophical way. And in Liam and Eywa's case it was factual, their very being connected through a bond beyond physicality that let each know what their significant other feels and experiences.
As both separated their bodies, her tail still in contact with his leg, Eywa lifted one hand from the ground as it glowed brightly thousands of hair-thin filaments originating from the Tree of Soul grew at her feet.
The filaments of the roots weaved themselves together into an immaculate white textile as they reached her pelvis and began forming a body-fitting dress of thin white rope, the filament growing more and more forming crossroad of tissue as they climbed up covering most of the chest ending at her neck as they formed a necklace like formation keeping the whole masterfully made dress in a few second set in place.
It was akin to the finest of 3D printing but purely biological and on someone that didn't even try to act the fact it was quite a sight for her other half.
"That's impressive… I suppose it makes sense that you have total control over what is but yourself.", Liam said honestly at the sight and she nodded almost lazily, Then he looked at her untidy hair and frowned slightly before he asked, "Would you need help with this? You will need to be presentable when your children arrive."
"We would appreciate the deed, We are excited about this as well indeed… Communicating to them in such a way that we did between us is an impossibility. They are simply unable to do so without me endangering them, they are too weak or lack in perception, and that is the way that it should be. I'm the balance, not their guide, for me their life is equal. But seeing them from their level could but prove to be an enlightening experience.", she said with melancholy as she grasped a strand of her hair that obstructed her left eye between her clawed fingers and sat on a stone nearby, her tail still not having left his leg.
Moving behind Liam began to work. He was no trained hairdresser but he had quite a lot of experience nonetheless, he took care of his hair himself after all and he worked with types of materials similar to hair. It wasn't rocket science either, not that it was remotely a complex subject for him either.
"This body that you have engineered… It is faster and stronger than any Na'vi I have met.", he spoke as he carefully worked on her hair, he didn't even need to put work on straightening it as they were unkempt yet flowing, and silky smooth in his finger letting him do as he please such as braiding several plaits to forms a bigger one that was going to be around the queue.
It's an organ at the back of her head full of nerves that for Na'vi let them connect to their environment and other creatures. It is a very sensitive and important body part almost a vital organ even, losing or damaging will drive the individual to shock, suicide, or worse.
"Hmmm…", she hummed pleasantly with his touch full of care over her scalp and answered, "It is correct, this body is an Avatar. It was created to be as close to yours as such We have taken inspiration from for example your muscle's internal structure, but as you can see We are neither the body of a Na'vi, human, nor that of a hybrid between the two. Or any lifeforms I have birthed."
"This body is unique, it is a catalyst, a focus point capable of bearing a fragment of my consciousness. An extension for me to interact with the world directly. It is something that breaks the cycle that We have built but as you have said, We must adapt and adapt We do and We will. For our survival and more.", she explained
"This like the Tree of Souls but in flesh and bones huh? Can't say I don't prefer you this way in more ways than ones.", Liam said with a bit of amusement then in front of his eyes from the roots a large ovoid metallic blue crystal came out of the ground.
It looked almost cut such as how perfect it was for its natural state that didn't borough much of a reaction from him aside from curiosity at what she had just dug out.
The gemstone before his eyes then began to float and his mouth opened by a small amount in disbelief as Eywa flicked her clawed fingers nonchalantly. His mind filled with questions at the unreal sight he didn't anticipate.
The crystal then with another flex of a finger moved toward her the ropes that made her dress shift as she placed it in the middle of her stomach and thanks to the dress it stayed perfectly in place.
"Surprised? This action… What is the term in English for it?", she asked innocently amused by his reaction, it was cute, and this snapped him out of his daze at the surreal sight as well, his mind immediately going over dozens of hypotheses as to how this was possible.
"Telekinesis… The manipulation of matter with the mind. This is due to Psionic from you and the gemstone material?", he said pensively as he was back working on her hair waiting for an explanation and he didn't have to wait long for one.
"That is close I presume, but that is not exactly how it is done. This gem is made of the metal you call pandorium as you must realize, one that has been basked in my Psionic and that is this that I move, its resonance toward this same metal in this body amplifying the effect as I canalize them. It is close to your magnetic technology at least in shape.", Eywa said, he could feel her smile through the bond at those words.
"It correlates to what I have been observing with the Hallelujah mountains and other locations where Psionic is dense with pandorium, many of the objects are not magnetic or not enough yet they defy this moon's gravity. So it was truly Psionic you emit. Fascinating. And that means you are very powerful… Pandora with this body is yours to mold.", he added with a hint of pride at the added power his mate possessed.
"We are, and this statement is not incorrect but this Avatar is a point of focus and one that has set boundaries it cannot go past without risks of great wound and even demise. We are not all-powerful, and this power would not safeguard me, you, or anyone from what the RDA could potentially do if they so desired. Only you can and this is why you have my utmost support and assistance. If none is alive what is the point of staying neutral?", she corrected his overestimation of her capabilities with a faint smile, her tail curling tighter around his leg.
The coiffure had progressed to where he was working on building a thin yet complicated braided crown connected to that of her queue, what he was doing more many similarities to how his hair was currently put in as such very much inspired by Vicking's hairstyle. He loved the aesthetic as simple as that and there was no need for further reason to do it.
"Humans in their vast majority are not gifted enough to be affected by Psionic without direct connection to any great extent. They are blind, and deaf a curse for them and us yet a blessing for them at the same time.", she answered one of the other questions that popped into his mind without even him needing to ask.
The implication behind such a statement was cold and insinuated that the Homo sapiens species was lucky, very very lucky. She was Mother Nature here with all of her qualities, default, danger, boon, beauty, and ugly.
If she felt that her existence was threatened she would have lasses out and the damage would have been larger than any mortal could understand. Any being capable of playing with the mind was not to be trifled with, less so when it's one older than the dinosaurs themselves.
And it reminded him of the giant shredded piece of the spaceship he localized yet didn't begin to explore on the moon he had the Element Nexus facility on, but speaking of that was for another time.
He would ask when he took her to explore it after he built Tek Armor for the both of them with inbuilt teleporters, and he knew she knew but she played along so it meant it wasn't a danger or one as imminent as the RDA and the United Nation. He trusted her judgment.
"This makes perfect sense… It must be akin to the albedo and a body's capacity to absorb or reflect incident radiation. Human being close to the one of this scale and the tulkuns for example closer to zero?", he spoke, his words at various points not understood by the All-Mother but she didn't ask as the concept was one she was most familiar with.
Time passed as both spoke of great and many things, he made his tames present meet her all with extensively positive results, as it should then he walked her around his now their home.
This continued until Liam's scanners placed all around the perimeter of the island blared informing of the arrival of their guests from the sea but not only, a large flying creature was above in the sky and on its way to land close to where they were.
It was a Great Leanopteryx.
*
My P@treon if you want to give me money and have chapters I have finished in advance, between 18 to 20.
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Hello. Eywa in the flesh and carbon-reinforced bone!
Bye-bye!