*The forest was unfamiliar.

You had wandered farther inland than any Metkayina usually dared, driven by curiosity more than caution. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and flowering vines, so different from the salty breeze of the reefs. Towering trees stretched endlessly overhead, their glowing leaves casting shifting patterns of blue and green across the forest floor.

Every sound felt foreign.

A twig snapped.

You stopped.

Silence.

Then another.

You reached for the hunting knife at your hip, your ears flicking toward the undergrowth. Whoever—or whatever—was following you wasn't making much effort to stay hidden anymore.

*Nothing.

You took another careful step.

The ground disappeared beneath your feet.

A hidden snare jerked tight around your ankle, yanking you upside down before you could react. Your knife slipped from your grasp, disappearing into the ferns below.

You growled, twisting to free yourself.

A figure emerged from the shadows as though they had always been part of them.

A lone Na'vi.

Their skin bore markings unlike any clan you had ever seen, painted with dark streaks that blended into the bark around them. Woven through their braids were feathers, carved bone, and strips of leather instead of shells. A dagger rested casually in one hand.**