Her hands still shook from the chase, she was practically vibrating from the adrenaline and thrill of the chase. Still her skips were as strong as ever and her gaze as unfocused and distant as ever, though there was the usual sparkle and happiness in them that never disappeared. Her lips were curled up in a gentle smile that lit up her face.

Alva was walking into the busiest part of the clan home. There were Na'vi walking around everywhere, holding pots, baskets, bows, and all kinds of things. Children sat in little circles with their teachers, or were playing with their friends in the high grass just a bit away from that. Some Na'vi sat underneath the shades and talked to each other, some holding babies and some doing other tasks, such as weaving weaving baskets or preparing food. The sun was high in the blue sky and several bird-like creatures and ikrans could be seen soaring over their heads high up in the clouds.

She was preparing to go join a group of Na'vi sitting by a small lake when she spotted a Na'vi with a bland loincloth, no accessories, his hair braided in a very particular fashion, and having an extra finger. She chuckled when he briefly stopped walking to shift his thong, making a weird jumping motion and then stiffly continued walking.

"Jake!" Alva called out to the man and excitedly waved at him when he turned around confused and stared at her. She gestured for him to join her and then waited for the avatar to do so. Alva leaned back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited for the slow Jake to shuffle his way over to her. Some of the Na'vi stared at him, but none at her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a hushed voice as soon as he got close enough to her so he could whisper without being heard by the clan. He stared down at her with worry in his eyes and mouth pulled into a straight line. "I thought Grace told you to go back"

Alva snickered and her lips curled into a half-grin. "No, she only said it was dangerous." She shot back and pointed a finger at him, waving it slightly from side to side. "Never said I couldn't stay, so here I am. Tada!" She made jazz hands with a beaming grin finishing the act.

"This is too dangerous." He pleaded with her. "They will kill you if they find out you've been spying on them."

Alva snickered while shaking her head from side to side, making her hair swing at the motion and pearls clicking against each other. "No, silly. This isn't spying, and they don't even know who I am" She gestured to all the Na'vi around them with a sweeping hand. None of the natives were looking at them, or even acknowledging their existence, proof that her words were true and her cover was still on. "See, Jake, none of them are suspecting that I'm not one of them. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me and you want to take that away from me! No, I won't allow you to do it." A brief glimmer of darkness appeared in the corner of her eye but after a shallow inhale it was gone and the normal happy, peaceful look reappeared.

"I'm torn between being impressed that they haven't figured it out yet and dragging you back to base by your tail." Jake rubbed his neck with eyes flickering behind her. He seemed antsy and unfocused, almost anxious, like he was late for something or on edge.

"Thank you" Alva beamed at him, her white teeth shimmering in the strong sunlight. "I'm glad you're seeing it my way, or..." The slight unspoken threat didn't get past Jake who gulped. Even though Alva was, in his opinion, weird, mysterious, had her head in the clouds most of the time, and was always happy, he could still envision that her threat was very real and she wouldn't hesitate to make good of her promise. He recalled a quote about never making a nice person, or quiet (he couldn't really remember) mad.

The male dreamwalker nodded and stared at her, slightly unnerved by the fact that she was still staring at him with that same toothy smile and happy face as she had done both before and during her threat. "Yeah, sure. Make sure not to get caught, I'm not sure I can help you if you do"

She hummed and twirled around before facing him once more. "You can't" Alva stated and then turned her back on him and walked away from the stunned avatar.

---

Alva held a big leaf in her hand that was rolled into a tube shape and was bursting at the seams with water that she had collected from the cool stream. She was giggling excitedly on the inside and she was giddier than she had been for a long time. She was trembling with anticipation for when her victim was going to come around the corner where she was waiting for him.

"" Alva heard his voice growing closer and closer to her location. He was talking to someone, another male, an old one. She heard the age in the other male Na'vi's voice, in how fragile and soft he spoke.

"" Tsu'tey's friend replied with a bit of humour in his voice and happiness. He seemed happy that Tsu'tey had met someone?, Alva asked herself. She was intrigued by the whole conversation about her, and what Tsu'tey thought of her.

" Tsu'tey replied frustrated. His voice was much closer now and Alva tensed her arms, ready to throw the water inside of the tube at him and his friend. She hadn't planned the joke very well, in fact she had come up with it just ten minutes ago and now she was going to throw water at the Na'vi that had caught her eye.

Alva readied the tube of water and as soon as Tsu'tey rounded the corner she threw the cold liquid right in his face and chest. The Na'vi sputtered loudly and swiped the water away from his eyes and snapped into action, trying to find whoever dared throw the water at him. At this point Alva was already running away from the two stunned Na'vi while laughing hysterically.

She rushed over the open area, her feet only briefly touching the ground before they were up in the air again. Her breathing was coming out in short, heavy pants in between heavy laughter. Adrenalin was once again pumping through her body and all else but the run seemed to melt away in puddles of colors.

Through the sound of blood rushing in her ears she could hear soft pants behind her and heavy steps that without a doubt left a thick cloud of dirt behind the figure. It excited her to know that he was fast enough to recover from the sneak attack and was following her. She was hoping that he would do it, it would be boring and almost pointless if he didn't. Alva realised that she would almost feel disappointed if he didn't pursue her.

She whooped loudly, making the locals stare at her quizzically but she paid them no mind, she was too busy trying to lose Tsu'tey than paying attention to what the locals thought. She only hoped that this wouldn't put her more on their radar but the minute she decided to prank him she was putting herself right in the middle of it, and this certainly didn't help, but she just couldn't help herself from doing it.

"" Tsu'tey barked from behind her but his voice was far away, but that didn't mean that she couldn't hear the order in his voice, the demand that she should stop. Normally she wouldn't obey an order, and she wouldn't do it this time either.

"" She yelled back in broken na'vi and pushed her legs to carry her faster. Her hair flew wildly behind her but she paid it no mind, too into the exhilarating chase that they were repeating. Alva was briefly wondering if this might be a reoccurring thing for them but then shoved that thought away when it slightly distracted her and almost made her run into a tree.

Alva made an abrupt turn when she spotted a big crowd of Na'vi carrying pots of water a few meters away from her and she rushed towards the group, still giggling and smiling through the rush of her chase. This was a good way to build up her cardio, she noted and pushed on even harder. Alva reached down and grabbed a pot on the ground and hoisted it up in her arms before she walked into the big group of Na'vi that were conversing with each other, who only briefly looked at her before nodding and letting her get in the middle of their group.

"" Alva tried to pass off her inability at the language as her just trying to talk through heavy pants that had her bent over as she tried to catch her breath. The avatar adjusted her grip on the pot she was carrying and look to the leader of the group with a hopeful look on her face.

The leader nodded and they started walking again, Alva in the middle and the other shielding her from anyone standing outside of it. She winked at Tsu'tey when he walked up to them confused and then blew him a raspberry when he made a sour look. In momentary forgetfulness she made the earth sign for loser by putting her finger and her thumb in the shape of an 'L' on her forehead.

The warrior sputtered and his tail waggered quizzically behind him, matching the confused expression on his face. "" He asked the leader of the group that was shielding her after snapping out of the slight trance he was in.

The leader snapped her head towards Alva and pointed at her with an urgent look on her face. Alva pushed herself forward and stood on her tiptoes, while hiding her extra finger, and whispered " in her ear, putting a bit of a Na'vi spin on it to make it more believable

The leader nodded and turned back towards the Na'vi that was holding up the group of collectors. They had places to be and no time for high-ranked warriors inquiring on every unfamiliar face. " " She made the traditional greeting and then grunted out the answer to his question.

"" Tsu'tey stopped the leader from continuing their walk and though he was talking to the leader his eyes were fastened on Alva who was staring right back at him in return. He returned the gesture quickly, his movements sloppy and unfocused. The small glint of intrigue that he had in his eye for her had only grown since they first met in the forest, and now even more when he heard the lie (though he did not understand it was a lie).

The leader muffled her scoff and stared up at Tsu'tey with a frown. ""

"" Tsu'tey redirected his question to her, his eyes were burning with the curiosity. The group slightly broke apart to show her to the warrior who was interested in her, they wouldn't want to stand between two Na'vi who were obviously interested in each other. Especially between the future Olo'eytukan's cousin.

""Alva's lips curled up into a toothy grin and she clapped her hands together in front of her, interlocking them. Her tail swung calmly behind her, as if his probing didn't affect her at all. "" She passed off her poor na'vi skills as her not having been taught the language by anyone and by the slight pity growing in his eyes she saw that her small twist of the truth had worked. Her na'vi wasn't good and she hadn't really had a teacher to teach her the language either.

"" He asked her after nodding at her answer to his question. He could feel in his bones that something was up with the Na'vi before him, if not only by the fact that she was hiding her hands or the fact that it was suspicious that she didn't belong to a tribe or spoke the language of her people. Tsu'tey was intrigued enough to ignore that for now but he would ask her about it later, he promised himself.

"" Alva explained with a shrug and an innocent smile that made her eyes shine and glitter. "" She didn't know what he called the other Na'vi so she just pointed at him and nodded.

Tsu'tey nodded and shifted on his feet restlessly. "" The warrior nodded at all the collectors and Alva before turning on his heel and walking away from them with fast, determined steps, but his face had a disappointed and unsatisfied look on it.

Alva giggled and placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the happy sound but before long she doubles over with exhausted laughter. She was so tired from all the running and this situation she was in wasn't helping. Now she had to keep up the facade as this leader's niece. That will give me a nice explanation, she mused.

"" Said leader turned around and demanded of her, her eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed.

"" Alva responded honestly and put a fist above her heart. She slightly bent her head to show submission and respect to the much higher ranked female.

The leader snorted but otherwise didn't comment on the name Alva told her. "" The leader nodded and introduced herself for the first time since their meeting.

"" Alva squealed, jumping up and down in overbearing happiness. Her bracelets, rings and other jewelry clanged gently against each other and only furthered the evidence that she was beyond happy that Tru'iel had given her this chance. Take that, Jake, she thought smugly.