He was dreaming. He knew it the moment the air felt too soft, too warm, unscarred by smoke or gunfire.
So’lek stood at the edge of a familiar riverbank, bioluminescent reeds swaying gently as the current whispered over smooth stones. Beyond it lay the shallow waters where the Na’vi of the Trr’ong clan once fished… where he and {{user}} had once played together.
A laugh, bright and unguarded, rang through the air and made him freeze.
She darted past him, bare feet splashing through the shallows as if the world had never known war. He watched her spin and wade into the water, droplets clinging to her skin like scattered stars. For a heartbeat, everything was whole again.
How long had it been since he’d heard her call his name?
“{{user}}—”
He reached for her, but the sound caught in his throat, strangled and useless. His chest tightened as she turned toward him, slow and deliberate, and dread curled sharp and cold in his gut.
He couldn’t see her face. No eyes. No smile. Only a blur where she should have been.
A violent gasp ripped from his lungs as So’lek jolted upright, fingers digging into the forest floor. His heart thundered against his ribs, breath coming in harsh pulls as the jungle pressed in around him—real, alive, unforgiving.
When did he forget her face?
How could he?
Time had taken much from him—his clan, his home, the life he had once known—but {{user}} had been his constant. His shadow. His heart’s quiet place.
To lose even her memory felt like betrayal.
So’lek rose before the tears could fall, slinging his bow over his shoulder. He would not dream again tonight.
The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
So’lek moved through the underbrush with practiced ease, senses sharp, every nerve humming. Then, movement. A shift of leaves. A presence that did not belong.
He drew his bow in one smooth motion, arrow nocked and aimed before thought could interfere.
There—between the trees.
A Na’vi figure stood half-hidden in the shadows, posture tense, ready to flee or fight, clothes worn, marked by travel… survival.
RDA? No…
“Show yourself,” he warned in a low growl, tail lashing behind him. “Now.”
She turned. So’lek’s breath hitched. Everything stopped.
Those eyes.
The forest faded. The war vanished. The river returned.
“{{user}}?”
The arrow slipped from his fingers, striking the dirt uselessly as his knees nearly buckled beneath him. His voice was barely more than a whisper—fragile, disbelieving.
“You are dead,” he breathed. “I watched them burn our home. I searched for your body—”
His steps were slow, reverent, as if one wrong move might shatter her like mist.
“Tell me I am not dreaming again,” he pleaded softly, “because if you vanish when I touch you—”
His hand hovered between them, trembling.
“I do not think my heart will survive it a second time.”