"What were you thinking, huh?" Grace barked fiercely at Alva once she walked into the cafeteria the next morning. Her face was pulled up into a face of pure annoyance and her eyes narrowed into fiery slits.

Alva rubbed her eyes before her features twisted up into a sleepy yawn. Her sock clad feet gently pitter-patter on the cold steel covered floor in the base kitchen. If it wasn't for the gentle clicking from her jewelry Grace wouldn't have heard her coming, the younger woman didn't make a lot of sounds except for the sound her jewelry made when she moved them, so it was easy for Alva to sneak around the base. "Adventure" Her throaty voice whispered with wide eyes that were still full of sleep. "I was thinking freedom from the cage, and I took it."

"Freedom? There is no cage, Alva!" Grace almost groaned out with a hand slapped onto her forehead. "Not to mention the face that you've had almost no training or experience of being outside of the fences. What you did was irresponsible and dangerous. You could have killed your Avatar!" The scientist continued heatedly, her hand wavering around in the air in exasperated circles.

Alva tutted gently in response to Grace's scolding, shifted her shirt slightly to cover more of her left shoulder and threw a calm grin to Grace as if everything was going to be alright. "There will come a day when you realise that it's a cage, and when that day comes I'll be the first one to welcome you out of it." Her eyes twinkling and sparkling with joy. "I was never in any danger. Eywa protected me, and so she shall keep doing until my energy and soul is brought back in her tender care"

The head scientist sighed and debated if it was worth commenting on her blind faith in the Na'vi deity. Sure, she believed Eywa existed but not to the extent that Alva did. "You need to be more careful or that day will come sooner than you think. You should be thanking me for not telling your brother"

Alva giggled, rose to the tips of her feet and then went back down again. She repeated the movement a few times, making a thick silence drape over the cafeteria that none seemed to escape. "No, silly. My avatar is safe, hidden and secure. I don't even have a bruise from yesterday, and I'm in the heart of Omaticaya territory." Her short, kinky hair bopped in tune with her head.

The avatar driver dragged her feet behind her as she walked over to the crowded table Grace, Norm, Jake and a few other drivers sat at. Her bracelets shook, making a soft clicking sound and then stopped after she plopped down on the bench with a beaming smile on her face. "Thank you for not telling my brother."

"You're with the clan too?" Jake asked stunned, his eyes confused and narrowed. He'd just endured the rest of the people at the table teasing him and that had been fine, but somehow it took away slightly from his accomplishments that she too was with the Na'vi. "I didn't see you, did you have your... thing after me?"

Alva burst out laughing as if what he just told her was ridiculous. Her whole face lit up but her eyes kept some of the mysterious, vacant look in them that gave him the impression that she wasn't all there and that her 'head was in the clouds'. "No, Jake. I sneaked in" She shrugged after her laughter died down and was instead replaced with a teasing grin that stretched her lips into a gentle curl. "I was there all along, hidden and protected by the shadows. Nice handshake" Alva elaborated in a manner that was almost aloof but still held that breathy and dreamy tone to it.

"Alva..." Grace's voice held a warning tone to it. "You sneaked into Omaticaya territory? What if they caught you, what if you had been seen?" Her words didn't hold the same bite as her previous lecture, these were more tired. Grace thought Alva couldn't do anything to top running away from her, but she was clearly wrong. Alva was treading on thin ice and at the smallest wrong step it would break and swallow her. Grace didn't even want to think about what the Na'vi would do to her if they caught her, especially after realising she had sneaked past their defenses AND witnessing Jake's hearing.

"It is what it is" Alva responded and dug into the food in front of her that a dreamwalker, Alex, had been kind enough to give her. She nodded her thanks to the boy, who blushed and averted his shy eyes to the metallic table before him. "You should be proud of me. How many people can say that they sneaked into a Na'vi hometree without being caught?"

"This is why we don't let you out" Grace muttered under her breath and swirled her spoon around the brown mush in her bowl that she had sprinkled some cinnamon on in an attempt to give it some flavor.

All the other people looked from Alva, to Jake, to Grace, and then back to Alva. The tension between the three was heavy and could be cut with a knife. Max cringed when he heard Grace's comment, he knew that would hurt Alva who valued her freedom above all else and had begged so much to be let out of her 'cage'.

Instead of reacting like Max anticipated her to she smiled, chuckled and tilted her head down so she could stare up at Grace. "Freedom for me is not a privilege, freedom is a given. Freedom means that you're free to make your own choices, to go where you want to go and do what you want to do. As long as you don't do it at the expense at someone else's freedom. Freedom for me is natural, I can't be caged. In a cage I will wilt like a dead flower, and only when I'm let free will I live again and bloom." Alva made a flowing motion with her hand and closer her eyes after finishing her little speech. She still had that same smile present on her lips and her eyes though passionate were cloudy and glassy. Her biggest fear and hatred was being caged, being on Pandora, in the forest, was freedom for her, and as soon as she tried to break free from that cage (that Grace insisted doesn't exist) she gets scolded.

"Just eat your porridge" Grace relented and ignored the victorious smile that now lit up Alva's face. "Village life starts early, make sure you wake up earlier"

"Of course, I'm an early riser" Alva responded with a light snicker that served to lift the tense atmosphere in the cafeteria and immediately people started talking to each other again, almost as if the tense lecturing hadn't occurred.

---

A loud whistling could be heard in the wide, vacant avatar compound as Alva, all by herself, spun around and danced in the empty basket court. It was still early enough that none of the Avatar drivers would be outside and training, but not too early for Alva to enjoy the little bit of freedom she could get inside the high fences. The mask on her face slightly dulled the otherwise melodic sound she made but it was all the same to her.

The wind ruffled the plants around her softly, almost in tune with her soft singing. Her arms were stretched out into the air and her steps were slow, small and gentle. Alva danced around the flowers, making sure not to step on any of the fragile plants. Her shirt flared around her slightly, much like the disk on a kenten's back as they flew away. With every gentle flowing motion of her arms came the sound of her bracelets and rings, it brought a soft clicking beat to the song and dance. Her voice rose an octave and then went back down again when she came out of the small spin.

Light was just barely starting to light up the Pandoran nature, the radiant light dulled and the vibrant earthy colors started to come forward again. She would need to link back to her avatar soon, else they actually find her sleeping in the tree. That would be bad, so bad that she doubted she would be able to talk her way out of it. She spun again, this time on one leg and the other stretched out to the side as far up as she could reach.

She came back down from the spin and burrowed her bare feet into the soft, warm ground beneath her, making sure not to dig her feet into any fragile roots. Alva sighed, her chest heaving and breaths coming out in heavy pants. It had been awhile since she had been able to sing and dance like that, all on her own with nature surrounding her.

A breathless giggle slipped out and before long she was bent over with heavy laughter bursting through her open mouth. A soft whine of pain reached her ears and her laughter immediately stopped and her eyes narrowed in concentration. Something was hurt.

Alva waited for the next whine to come, her body was tense and her face hard and focused. Her eyes closed, hiding the dark brown. She slowed down her breathing and focused harder. Alva's face screwed up before she relaxed it again after a deep exhale. It took only a few seconds before she heard the next low-pitched whining that reverberated through the air and to her, though the sound was dulled through the thick material of her breathing mask.

Her head snapped to the right when she heard a whimper, louder than the whine she heard before. This one was screaming with so much pain she could feel it shaking inside of her, turning her blood to ice and cold bursts of pain travel up her spine. Her feet moved without her making the decision, already leading her to the hurt animal that was screaming after her. Her steps were urgent and her unprotected feet slapped hard against the concrete ground which left scrapes and aching red wounds.

A particularly loud cry made her push herself to go faster, her urgent stride turned into a run and the run turned into a sprint. Her bracelets smacked against each other and her mask now sported a thin veil of white mist from her breath. Pearls of sweat formed on her forehead and gently ran down her face but her eyes remained focused and concerned. Alva hopped over the flowers and big plants that stuck up from the ground but kept her speed, the grass beneath her feet tickled her feet and made the wounds burn.

Her pummeling steps came to a halt when she saw the animal that was trapped in a piece of the fencing, this part of the fence had been without power lately and the leaders were too lazy to fix it. It had tried to push itself through the hole that was in the fence that was big enough for human sized Alva to crouch through, but not big enough for the animal to push itself through. It was big, very big, and very strong. It had dug a hole underneath it but apparently not deep enough. The animal's muscles tensed, flexed and moved underneath the black and purple skin. When it saw her coming it stopped trashing, froze and then growled at her. The growl was deep and shook her to the core but she refused to show it and instead smiled gently but without teeth. Alva made sure not to make any fast movements or come on too fast to the hurt animal. It snarled at her and then snapped after her with its powerful jaws.

A sudden bang resounded in the fence that shook from the heavy blow the animal landed on it with its armored tail. A pained grunt followed the sudden movement and Alva winced at the pain laced within it, her heart ached for the trapped animal and her hand twitched with the want to comfort it. Most of its upper body was through the fence but the other half was stuck on the other side. She could see how the sharp pieces of the broken fence dug into the skin of the animal where it was stuck, making red flow down. Two of the six legs were free and they were constantly shifting and twitching, more so when Alva came closer.

"Shh" She whispered gently, the tone low and comforting but the animal paid her no mind and attempted to swipe one of the clawed paws at her. The sensory quills on its head flared and it tensed again, preparing to ward her off if she came too close. "It's okay" Alva whispered and raised a hand, keeping it steady even when the animal attempted to bite her.

She crouched down but not low enough that it would be considered submissive but not high enough to appear threateningly. She was dancing on a thin line but she had done it so many times it was basically second nature to her. She hushed the magnificent animal again and ignored it when it peeled back its upper lip to display the big, sharp teeth that could rip through her easier than a hot knife through butter. "It's okay" She tried to soothe it, trying to use her voice to lull it into a feeling of safety so she could get close enough to it to help it. She raised her eyes and saw that the magnificent beast was already staring at her, the pupils were fastened on her figure with an intensity she had never seen before.

Alva moved her hand closer and only slightly flinched when the great beast growled at it from deep within its throat. She knew that words weren't going to help her win the trust of the animal and instead turned to what always comforted her, singing. A soft melody with a few words of comfort weaved through the air, filling it with a blanket of comfort and safety. It whined sharply when she took a few crouched steps forward making her crouching only a meter or two away from the animal, and well within killing range if it so wished.

The song deepened and flowed more guttural through the air which the animal responded well to, almost standing still at this point and allowed her to reach even closer to its flinching head. She raised her voice again, making high-pitched sounds that flowed through the air once more, her words speaking of the safety of family. Her hand reached out the last bit, confident and without a single shake she placed her warm hand on the tough hide of the now whimpering animal.

She weaved in some clicks of her tongue, that made the animal turn its intelligent eyes to her again, in the song that was now without words. Alva stroked a hand down the head and brought the other hand up to meet it. Now both her hands were on the huge animal, stroking the head it and singing softly in tunes she had never let anyone hear before. She could hear Eywa singing along with her, adding softer notes and chorus.

Her hands travelled past the head, down the strong shoulders, past the muscled back and landed near the bleeding wounds. She stopped any movements of her hands and sung louder, hitting the light notes as best as she could without losing the melody. The animal whimpered and then growled angrily when she touched one of the scratches that the broken fence had left on its touch skin, but Alva stood steady and let her melody soothe the animal once more.

She mustered all the strength she had in her hands and pushed the strong animal down and then backwards, trying to coerce it into backing out the same way it came. Some tears formed in her eyes at the pained whimpers and whines it let out but she stood strong. Alva's voice wavered slightly after one particularly strong push she gave it that actually made the animal back up a fair bit. Now the back legs were completely out of the hole it had dug and it could finally breathe normally again.

"Shh" The human hushed the animal again and clicked her tongue in between her humming, mimicking some of the sounds she had heard the Na'vi use. The animal snarled but kept backing up until it had moved completely out of the hole it used to be stuck in. She had stroked the forehead of the massive animal before it completely broke loose.

Her humming died down and she giggled when the animal shook and then stilled. It stared at her with those intelligent eyes right into hers. Alva nodded at the animal and a big, beaming smile formed on her face. It turned around and left but turned its head around to look at her one last time before completely vanishing into the forest. This was the start of a great day, she giggled to herself.

AN: Anyone have any guesses on what kind of animal she saved?