"You move like one of the People," said an unfamiliar voice behind her, the Na'vi words sounding like the rippling of a forest stream.

It was the day after she had passed through the Eye of Eywa. Na'dia was in the midst of the Omaticaya encampment, and was feeling at something of a loss. She had always been driven by purpose, a core of self-belief from within. When she was a child, that purpose had been to strive to become a classical dancer. After the bomb, the purpose had been to survive. Once she had survived her injuries, the purpose had been to join the Avatar program, so that she could dance again, even though it would be on another world, and not in her own body – although that was not true any longer. The Avatar was now her only body, the body she would remain in for the rest of her life.

She had never been dependent on another person before, not as an adult - and now, the only person that she knew here, Txep'ean, had gone hunting, and had told her that he would return by sundown.

She turned to face the speaker, to see a smiling young Na'vi woman. Na'dia gestured and said, "I See you."

The woman returned the greeting, "I See you, Na'diakhudoshin."

"Please, call me Na'dia," she said. It seemed right to use the Na'vi pronunciation of her name rather than the human Nadia – her new purpose had to be to become a Na'vi. Not just on the outside, where it could be seen, but to be Na'vi from within her very core. "Na'diakhudoshin is my formal name, for use only in ceremonies. I am Na'dia to my friends."

Not that she had had any friends since the bomb, not until she met Txep'ean. And he was something more than just a friend.

"I am Ninat," said the Na'vi woman, her smile broadening. "I would be your friend, since you are the secret reason my brother returned late to Hometree for many weeks."

"Oh!" exclaimed Na'dia. "Txep'ean did not tell me he had a sister."

Ninat snorted derisively. "How like a man, never speaking of the important things. Instead, the talk is always of the hunt, or the agility of his ikran, or the fine arrow that he has just made. Men! Pah!"

Na'dia could not help herself. She laughed. She could not remember the last time that she had done so. It had been very difficult to laugh when every move she made had caused waves of agony to wash across her body. Even when she had been free of pain in her Avatar body, she had always been focused on her work – except for when she danced. There had never been any room for laughter, even then – only sadness for what she had lost.

"You do your brother an injustice," she said to Ninat. "He never spoke of any of these things."

"I suppose he never told you that you were pretty, either," said Ninat, her eyes twinkling.

"Well, the first time we met he told me that I was not unpleasing to the eye," replied Na'dia.

Ninat looked impressed. "He must really like you, Na'dia. He has never told any female that."

"He hasn't said anything else since then, though," confided Na'dia shyly. What was going on here? Na'dia was never like this. Was she turning into a bimbo? She was thirty-one, for goodness' sake, with a doctorate in cultural anthropology, not some giggling teenager.

Ninat huffed. "We'll have to do something about that." The Na'vi woman took hold of her by the elbow, and hustled her away to a secluded part of the encampment. "He can't have seen you in these horrible tawtute clothes. Don't you have anything nice to wear?"

Na'dia felt hot all over as she admitted, "He saw me dancing naked. I didn't think anyone was watching."

"You didn't?" exclaimed Ninat admiringly. "No wonder he liked you. You have a gorgeous body for such a small girl – even your hands are slim, in spite of the extra fingers."

It was true. She was petite for a Na'vi, just as she had been as a human.

Ninat chattered on in a stream of consciousness. "Perhaps I should try that, and accidentally let slip to some of my admirers where I might be dancing." She frowned slightly. "But I don't have your advantages. All the dreamwalker women I have seen are...quite well developed, and on you – I don't see how any of the men ever look you in the face."

"You mean when they say 'I See you' they aren't seeing my spirit?" asked Na'dia archly. She had noticed her Avatar was endowed beyond the norm for a Na'vi – but she had been impressed by the firmness and minimal jiggle of her breasts – which was pleasing from the perspective of a dancer, Perhaps the designer of the female Avatars had been a boob man. No doubt Pandora's lower gravity helped as well.

The two Na'vi girls laughed.

Ninat subjected Na'dia to a whirl of activity, elaborately braiding and beading her hair for hours, weaving colourful flowers into each braid until she looked like some exotic bird of paradise. Na'dia shrieked and giggled with faux embarrassment when she was forced to strip her clothes off to change – she didn't really mind. She liked being naked.

Her new friend was right, though. Na'vi dress drew the eyes to all the naughty bits, and it was very comfortable – especially in the heat and humidity of the forest.

"All done," announced Ninat, tugging her over to a clear pool of water. "Don't breathe on the surface, otherwise you won't be able to see yourself."

Na'dia gazed at her reflection, her braids hanging about her face. She wasn't just pretty, she was beautiful.

Ninat continued, "I don't see how my brother will ever resist you. You're gorgeous."

"Thank you, Ninat," said Na'dia. "You've been wonderful." She reached up and kissed her new friend on the lips. It was only meant to be a gentle brush of the lips, but before she knew it her arms were around Ninat's neck and they were kissing passionately, Ninat's gentle hands stroking up and down her back, making Na'dia shiver with delight.

When they broke their kiss, Ninat's eyes were gleaming like those of a palulukan at the kill. "Na'dia, would you like to...play?"

The former Avatar was positive that Ninat was not talking about a game of knucklebones. The anthropological texts on Na'vi society had said nothing about this, but Na'dia didn't care. All she could feel was the demands of her body, all reason blown to the winds. She purred, "I want you, Ninat."

Ninat drew Na'dia down to the soft ground, and they spent several hours quietly pleasuring their bodies. They did not notice any of the passers-by smile and shake their heads at the soft moans and groans, and carefully circle around the little hollow the two young women were occupying.

Afterwards, Ninat was gazing down at Na'dia's face, playfully caressing her jawline with a flower. "My brother is going to be a very lucky man," she whispered.

"He won't mind that we did this?" asked Na'dia softly.

"Oh, no," said Ninat. "All the girls play with their friends. It's just for fun, after all."

The anthropologist in her head clicked on. "Is this how the tsumuke'awsiteng are made?" She was referring to the 'circle of sisters' that Na'vi women used in adulthood for mutual support, as it was the dominant element in almost every aspect of tribal life – childrearing, status hierarchies, male hunting groups – it governed the whole functioning of the tribe. The standard text had noted that Na'vi women had refused to say how the members of each circle were selected, saying that it was secret women's business. The text did note that all the members of a particular circle appeared to be of similar ages, and suggested that each group derived from childhood or adolescent play groups.

"Of course, silly," said Ninat. "You don't know anything, do you?" She giggled again, adding, "We are going to have so much fun telling you everything!"

It seemed that the original researchers were right, at least part of the way – but not on what type of play was involved.

"Who is in your circle?" asked Na'dia curiously.

"Why do you want to know, darling?" asked Ninat evilly. "Do you want to play with all of them?"

Na'dia purred, "I really like you, Ninat, but what happens if you are hunting, and I get lonely? You would hate that to happen, wouldn't you? And I don't want to make you upset by playing with someone who isn't your friend. I really need to know."

"Oh, you wicked creature," scolded Ninat. "Anyone would think you had been born a Na'vi, instead of being some dumb tawtute dreamwalker who cannot See the hand in front of her face."

"Please," begged Na'dia. "I don't want to be on the outside." She was well aware that it was vastly different between studying a society, and actually living within it. If she stayed as an outsider, it could very well mean the difference between life and death, both for her, and for any children that she may have.

"Oh, alright," she conceded. "There's me, Peyral, and Ney'tiri." She looked sad when she added, "Seze'nang died in the fall of Hometree."

"I'm sorry," said Na'dia. Her eyes moistened in distress at causing pain to her new friend.

"It's alright, Na'dia," replied Ninat, kissing her on the forehead. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't there."

Na'dia was on the point of bursting into tears. What was wrong with her? She was an absolute mess of emotions, and couldn't think why this was happening. She stammered out, "B-but I am t-tawtute. Everyone will hate me."

"No they won't," said Ninat. "You are one of us, now. Everyone will love you – especially the men."

"Are you sure?" asked Na'dia shakily.

"Of course," replied Ninat.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" asked Na'dia. "I don't deserve it."

A calculating look appeared in her friend's eye as she admitted, "Well, my brother really likes you, and from what I heard he intends to make the bond with you, if he ever gets around to asking. Besides, there has to be four in the tsumuke'awsiteng, like fingers on a hand, and none of us really like the other possibilities. I think you will fit right in, just like an arrow on a bowstring."

"Oh, you devious minx," said Na'dia teasingly. "You have been testing me all this time."

Ninat's eyes widened, her hand touching her breast. "Who me?"

"Yes, you," accused Na'dia.

They both burst into peals of laughter.

Ninat stood up, and pulled Na'dia to her feet. "Come on, Na'dia. You have to meet Peyral, and Ney'tiri too, if we can ever get her away from mooning over her new mate, the gorgeous hunk that he is."

From her reading of the literature on the Omaticaya clan, she knew that Ney'tiri was the daughter of the Tsahik and the Olo'eyktan. She was to be mated to the next clan leader, and become the next Tsahik. It looked as though she was on the straight path to the heights of Na'vi society, at least amongst the Omaticaya.

Na'dia asked, "Who is her mate?"

"It's the Toruk Makto, silly," said Ninat. "Zhake'soolly. Everyone knows that."

God, she thought. A human? Wheelchair guy was Ney'tiri's mate? What the hell had been happening while she was out on site thirty-one? Toruk Makto? The crazy jarhead rode a great leonopteryx? She had to find out what had been happening, fast.