"It's nice to walk around in the forest like this." Grace Augustine told Alva as they walked in a section of the forest Alva had never been to before.

It had the same kind of tall trees with branches that stretches for miles, the same kind of flow of energy that Alva could feel in the air around her. The ground was covered with flowing, short grass and roots that could easily trip you up if you weren't used to them. Some animals could be seen peeking their heads around at them before scurrying off, and some of them following them curiously. This part was less colorful than her normal spots, barely having any of the vivid colored plants and mushrooms. Alva suspected this was one of the only spots that Grace could go to that wasn't "claimed" by the Na'vi, or rather guarded as heavily.

Alva whistled and beamed up at her taller companion. "It is, isn't it? It's therapeutic to be surrounded by nature like this. This is the place of dreams and nightmares, but all I see is life wherever I go. Even in death there is life, a celebration and the sweet caress of afterlife with Eywa." Her fingers danced around in the air as if touching the connections all around them. "You love Pandora and her children, don't you, Grace?" She asked, her eyes misty and smile dreamy.

"Yes." Grace nodded, throwing a quick glance at Alva before pulling up a branch to go under as it hung in her way.

"Then why do you want to kill her?" The younger dreamwalker asked curiously as she ducked under the same branch that Grace had forced up just seconds before.

Grace stopped and stared at Alva with surprise painted on her face. The scientist had evidently not expected that response. "I try my best to preserve the life, it's those morons back at base that try to destroy it. Listen, I've been dealing with them for years." She placed a hand on her hip as she stared down at Alva like so many others did, but Alva just kept on smiling even though a pang of annoyance hit her at the ignorant response. "All I do is telling them about the connections between everything here. They won't listen, especially not to anyone who's not on their payroll."

"It's not enough, Grace." Alva softly told her and placed a hand on her arm. "Your silence is violence. Pick a side and stick to it, even if it hurts to do so. The time to take a stand is about to come and I'd hate for you to pick the wrong side."

The older woman bristled and her fingers twitched as if reaching for a cigarette. "I've always been on the side of life, don't you dare doubt me." Grace glared at Alva but her glare wavered in strength.

"I'm not doubting you, Grace. I'm doubting the fight in you. You were brought here to be the link between Na'vi and RDA, the relationship between them has only worsened. People on both sides are angry and a war is coming. I can feel it in my bones." Alva took her hand off Grace and placed it on a tree. "Even Eywa won't stand for this, you must understand that. The humans will lose, and if you're not clear on your allegiances you will also lose. Be vocal, be strong, keep on fighting."

"There won't be a war." Grace denied stubbornly.

Alva sighed but then smiled coyly. "You always doubt me. Why do you doubt me, Grace?"

"I'm sorry for doubting you but I don't think a war is coming any time soon." The scientist apologized without looking the other woman in the eye. "Selfridge is too much of a coward to go into open war with the Na'vi."

"But Quaritch isn't." Alva reminded the woman with sparkling eyes. "Humans always doubt me, question me and call me insane for being the way I am, but with the Na'vi I'm at home. Never once have they doubted me because of the reasons you do, never once have they called me insane for sensing things that you can't see." Her eyes closed before she grinned happily. "You say you see, scientist, but even you are blinded by the human nature." Her yellow eyes opened and stared into Grace's conflicted ones.

The older woman didn't know how to respond and kept silent.

"Never mind that now, you still have time. I have someone to show you." Alva giggled and pulled Grace along with her while humming a song loudly.

Grace protested loudly and tore herself free of the hold so she could follow behind on her own terms. Alva shrugged and grinned teasingly at the head scientist, eyes lit with excitement and promises. Alva couldn't wait to show Grace Kida, knowing exactly how the woman would react when placed right in front of the ferocious beast.

They ducked under low branches, jumped over roots and rushed over branches. Rivers of water stopped them in their paths but they pushed through, finding different ways over the water that would be too time consuming to otherwise cross.

Alva grinned and whistles a high note that could be heard for a large distance around them. Already she could hear the almost silent running of her palulukan friend. The younger dreamwalker pulled herself over branches, almost like she was flying for such was the effortless way she moved in the forest. Never did her pace slow down or stop, not even when she noticed that Grace had fallen behind as the older woman struggled to get over the higher branches and roots. The scientist didn't get much time in the forest anymore, and even when she didn't she didn't spend a lot of time running around in it as she did on her knees studying plants.

"Come on, Grace!" Alva yelled back with laughter in her voice. "You're slower than my grandma and she's dead."

Alva heard soft panting coming from the black beast that joined her before giggling when Grace let out a gasp and heard her stop right in her tracks. The dreamwalker stopped too and turned around to face the other dreamwalker with a smug smirk on her face and hooded eyes.

"Grace, meet Kida, my palulukan." Alva stroked a hand down Kida's leathery head. "Don't be scared." She added after seeing how terrified Grace was, practically shaking and eyes threatening to bulge out of her eyes. "She won't hurt you, unless I ask her to." Alva finished with a bite of her lip and a wink.

Grace took a hesitant step forward.

"Trust me, Grace." Alva whispered, her eyes earnest and palm turned up. "If in nothing else, then in this."

The scientist walked slowly towards the pair. Her steps were shaky and unsure. "I'm sorry for how I treated you, Alva, and for not trusting you." Grace gulped as she got close enough to the pair that the palulukan would be able to bite her in less than one lunge. "I should have known that your... condition doesn't make you a child."

"Are you apologizing to me because you're scared? Do you honestly believe that I would make Kida attack you?" The younger woman scoffed and forced down the anger fighting to get to the surface. "Apologize to me when you mean it, not when you think I'm going to kill you." She inhaled deeply and placed a hand on Kida's neck. "A thanator is not a slave. I cannot make her do anything she does not wish to, nor can I stop her from doing what she wants. There's nothing to forgive, Grace. What you've done is human, and you are very much human." Alva smiled, though her smile was condescending- as if Grace being human was something to be sad about.

"Why did you take me here?" Grace asked, pinching her nose and shifting on her feet.

"Because you're my friend." She simply responded with an impish smile. "And I wanted you to meet my other friend." Alva knew Grace was avoiding continuing their conversation but she didn't blame her; she wasn't up for the emotional toll it would take for her to converse with the stubborn old woman who had her opinions set in unbreakable stone. Alva almost admired the sheer blindness that Grace demonstrated until she remembered that she would much rather see the whole ugly truth than only the fake, pretty reality- no matter how scary and uncomfortable it may be.

Kida growled and lowered herself, stomach almost touching the ground and backside high in the air. Alva kept her eyes on Grace and a hand on Kida, a hand in each world. The time to chose would be soon but Alva had made hers a long time ago. There was no doubt where her loyalties laid, even a blind person could see it like a glaringly bright sun in otherwise darkness.

"I heard you were training with Tsu'tey." Grace said after a while of tense silence that was only filled by Kida's odd noises and growls of displeasure.

"Indeed." Alva smoothly replied and a bright smile grew at the mention of his name. "He's a great teacher."

Grace nodded with a sceptical look on her face. "He's treating you good then?"

Alva giggled and looked at Kida. "Of course he is. Why wouldn't he?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, daring Grace to say whatever it is she was thinking. "Are you implying that Tsu'tey would be mean to me? Like little children?" A few strings of light, pearly laughter came from the younger dreamwalker. "No, he teaches me the way of the Na'vi and how to live in balance with life on Pandora, and with Eywa. No cages, no lies."

The older woman furrowed her eyebrows. "Jake's stories about him is... different."

"Jake is different." Alva responded brightly and bounded up to where Grace stood. "None of you know Tsu'tey like I do. Everyone is so judgemental nowadays. What happened to not judging a book by its cover, or actually getting to know someone before you spread rumours about them. I'm sure Tsu'tey would love to hear what you're saying about him, about how you portray his honor, his loyalty, his bravery, his pride, his ego." With each 'his' she took a step closer to Grace, and a shake of her wrist. "He's much better than anyone on Hell's Gate." Alva's eyes were lit with defiance as she stared up at Grace.

Grace struggled to form a sentence at first but then words fell. "What about Selfridge? The RDA still owns your body, what happens when they decide you're too rogue to control and take it back? Will Tsu'tey defend you? We have a mission, and I know how easy it is to lose yourself in all of this- in Pandora and the Na'vi, but we can't forget that we are here only because of a contract. Already your contacts back at base are dropping like flies, and all you have left is us; and none of the higher ups particularly like us." The scientist rambled, tugging a hand through her braids. " There is consequences for each action we take. Are you willing to pay for yours?"

"Yes."

"You don't know what you're dealing with here, Alva. Don't you think that I would've broken off from the RDA a long time ago if it was as easy as just leaving?"

"No, because you're a coward." Alva blinked lazily at the other woman and trailed a finger down one of the stripes on her arm. "I know what I'm doing. I'm being free, I'm breaking free off the cage that humans have forced me into! Don't stand in the way of my freedom unless you're prepared to go down with the others!" Her voice raised and eyes widened with just a hint of anger in them.

"I have tasted freedom, I have tasted true friendship, I have tasted what it feels like to belong and I'm not giving that up! Not for you, not for my brother, not for anyone!" Alva ranted, her eyes wild with passion. "I will never allow myself to be caged again." Her tailed flowed behind her, ears flat against her head, head lowered along with her body and mouth open in a snarl. Alva looked like a true Na'vi.

"I'm not saying give it all up, you moron!" Grace snarled back. "I'm telling you to knock this shit off and come back down to earth. Somehow being this free is worsening your condition."

"My condition?" Alva's voice grew frosty and she knew she had to leave soon before she succumbed to her negative emotions flowing through her. "I don't have a condition. I'm just not blind like you are."

Alva turned away from Grace, ignoring as the scientist called after her before making tsaheylu with Kida. Together the bonded pair took off in the opposite direction and away from the subject of Alva's frustrations. The wind flowing around Alva cooled down her body and her mind, allowing herself to fly off into the clouds of her sanctuary. The soft feeling of Kida under her was soothing and kept her partly grounded, the bumps never letting her stray too far before bringing her back down again.

"Thanks, Kida." She whispered airily. Her body felt tired and her head murky as she tried to sort out her thoughts and cast out the bad emotions Grace had forced upon her. She wondered if this wouldn't have happened if Grace didn't feel threatened by Kida, who Grace had mostly ignored since meeting her- something so out of character for the normally curious scientist who would throw herself over fascinating roots in the ground. The conflict was wearing them all down but you had to keep on fighting.

A few minutes later Alva told Kida to slow down before disconnecting their tswins. She slid off the big animal and patted her once on the head before skipping away from her and into the forest. A walk would clear her mind, and if it didn't she'd have to try and comfort herself in the warm embrace of Eywa.

The forest was a bright green and full of life, something she would never get tired of. The wind flew through the trees and water flowed in small rivers and lakes around her. Distant ikran screeches could be heard and the stomping of hooves echoing in the forest. Alva smiled and felt all of the tension from her almost fight with Grace flow away from her, the weight on her shoulders disappearing and her chest lightening with positivity.

She was about to turn around and walk towards the river when she felt herself walk into a hard tree and tumble to the ground. Alva let out an 'oof' before pulling herself up a bit. She looked down on the tree and a grin grew on her face when she realised what she had walked into.

"Hello, teacher." Alva tilted her head. "Why'd you walk into me?"

"I-I didn't walk into you, bug. You walked into me." The frowning Tsu'tey muttered and pushed himself up too. The two now had just the barest amount of space between them.

She giggled and placed a hand on his chest. "I was minding my own business and then bam, there you were. Were you following me, 'Sey?" Alva asked him.

"No." He denied and leaned back a bit, feeling the skin where she touched him warm up. His eyes were wide and his body tense. "Why would I follow demon? Demon follow me." Tsu'tey declared and scowled.

"Nah." Alva laughed and rubbed the skin she touched. "I don't follow people, I go with them. At least I got a comfortable landing when you made me fall." She looked down on his body she was still practically laying on before looking up at him again with hooded eyes full of mirth.

"You are heavy." He grumbled and tried to push him off her but she remained.

The dreamwalker sighed and placed her other hand on his chest too. "That's rude, my strong warrior." She patted the obvious muscle pointedly. "I'm not heavy, I'm Al'va." She leaned down closer to his face, pushing his boundaries.

Tsu'tey stared at her, eyes widening even more as she leaned towards him and mouth parting in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Me?" Alva asked huskily. "I'm not doing anything, what are you doing?"

She stopped leaning in, their faces mere centimeters apart, eyes connected. Alva grinned and trailed a hand up to his shoulder, repositioning herself above him. The two stared at each other, Alva with happiness, as usual, and Tsu'tey with conflict.

She chuckled and placed a hand on his cheek, caressing the soft skin there, silently cheering that he allowed her to touch him. Alva felt the world around them melt away, all noises being tuned out and mind turning clear- not a single hint of the usual heaviness or dream-like quality. She felt free, and grounded, she felt powerful. Tsu'tey relaxed slowly under her, his eyes slowly growing softer and the conflict in them ebbing away. Her whole body tingled, she could feel the shivers under her fingers as she touched him. The feeling he gave her was better than any other she knew, better than when she felt the most prominent feeling of Eywa, better than anything. Her eyes softened significantly as she looked down on him. Alva was surprised he had let her do it but then she realised that she had underestimated him, again, and that she didn't see through him as much as she thought.

It wasn't long until Alva noticed that Tsu'tey had started leaning in towards her, eyes slowly closing. She tightened her hold on his shoulder and a warm feeling bubbled up inside her. Alva felt him place his hands on his legs as he continued leaning in. For a second she imagined letting him do it, letting him take the step over the line they had drawn, but then she thought again.

Alva brushed her fingers over his cheek before she sighed mournfully. The dreamwalker let go off his shoulder, letting the hand fall and drag over his torso as she slowly stood up, her legs like jelly. Immediately as she took a step away from him she wanted back in, already she missed the feeling of him. He stared at her, shocked but before he could retreat into himself she leaned down and gave him a big, strong hug.

"Until later, my strong warrior." Alva purred, paying special attention to the word 'mine'. She blew him a kiss before skipping away from him and into the thick forest, heart threatening to jump out of her chest as her cheeks threatened to tear from the gigantic smile on her face.