AN: Kaltxì, ma readers, and welcome to yet another avatar book brought to you by yours truly.

Iza rushed through the forest with aching, tired legs and a heaving chest. Her eyes kept flickering from side to side, back to front. They were all around her. They surrounded her, overwhelming her senses and crowding her. Her legs were heavy and her head was spinning as she tried to come up with a plan to evade them.

The night was dark but the bioluminescent light from the plants and trees around them lit up a path for her to take. She could hear them all around, barking, growling, snarling and yipping. Harsh na'vi curses, threats and commands were thrown at her. The heavy stomps of their pa'lis shook the ground underneath her as she tried to force her legs to take her away.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins, her heart threatened to jump out of her chest every time she heard one of them come closer. The leader, Tsu'tey, was close on her heels at all times, never grabbing or touching but always letting her know he was there. It had always been like that. He was always there, watching over her, but now he was trying to catch her. Why? She didn't know.

She jumped over a branch when she heard a loud gruff from the Na'vi behind her and then something spun itself around her ankles. Iza fell to the ground with a tired cry of pain as she scraped her knees. A tear fell from her eye. A year she had avoided them, evaded them but now it had all come to and end.

Iza heard him dismount the horse-like animal and then walk towards her. She didn't have the will to look at him even as he was about to end her life. Was this how it was all supposed to end? Her begging on her knees to live another day? Or an execution. No one would remember her. Her name would be lost in the wind and she would remain just another name on the list of deceased. If she was to go this way she was glad it was him. Iza knew him, they had lounged in each other's company even if it was indirect. She was glad it was someone she knew that was to be her end, at least this way she knew it would be good. Maybe they would meet again in Eywa's comforting embrace.

She closed her eyes and smiled. Maybe now her pain would end. Iza nodded, yes that would be nice.

He walked closer and closer to her. Tsu'tey talked to his hunters in na'vi, a language she didn't get an opportunity to learn. Cold sweat formed on her forehead and her whole body shook as time dragged on. The suspension was killing her more than he was.

"Iza."

His voice surprised her. Never before had they spoken and never before had she heard his voice. It was low, husky and smooth, a voice that matched the rest of him. Her surprise showed on her face as she slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

"Sran?" Iza answered slowly, not even sure it was the right word. Her voice shook heavily and broke at the end.

He looked just like she remembered. Thin, muscled body with a narrow waist and strong, wide, muscled shoulders. His stomach was defined and flat, just like most Na'vi. His face was stern and serious with sharp angles, high cheekbones and intense, glaring golden eyes that looked almost green in the forest lightning. Tsu'tey was just as handsome as she remembered, maybe even more so now when she took all of him in.

"The Tsahìk called you. Come." He gruffed out at her, grabbing her bicep and dragging her towards his impatient pa'li that waited for them a short distance away.

"What?" She asked but he ignored her. The hunters all stared at her but none of them stared at her with anger like she had suspected. It looked more like interest and maybe even welcoming. Like they were glad for something. Were they happy that they had caught her?

Shame bubbled up inside of her when she thought of how easily she had managed to be caught by them. A year of solitude wasted. Like an animal she was called upon and retrieved.

Iza hissed at some of the hunters when they stared a bit too long at her. Her tail swung behind her swiftly in short, fast strokes. The urge to run away was building with the second. She wasn't used to that many people staring at her at once. Sure they used to stare at her in Hell's Gate but never in the number they were now, and it was different when members of your own kind stared at you than when others did. Just another reminder that she was a mistake, not meant to be.

"Where are we going?" Iza asked Tsu'tey once he had forced her up on his pa'li. She was far too tired and curious to even try to fight them. If her time had come then so be it, she might as well enjoy her last moments of living.

Tsu'tey looked back at her over his shoulder, giving her a sharp nod. "Home", he told her bluntly. His eyes tried to catch hers as she looked away from him. "You are going home, ma Iza." He tried again, this time forcing her to meet his gaze. He was looking at her expectantly with soft eyes.

He turned back around and before she could even form a reply to the male, the pa'li lurched forward and the whole group of hunters plus Iza bounded off into the forest. The steady feeling of the powerful animal under her slowly lulled Iza into a careful sleep, the events of the day exhausting her. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was if she had made the right decision to go with them. Only time would tell.