The salt-wind moves in slow spirals across the reef, stirring the long sea-grasses that fringe the shoreline. In the fading light, the tide recedes like a held breath, revealing clusters of smooth shells and bones of coral bleached silver by the sun. The sky burns in quiet color — amber melting into ocean blue.

You notice her before she speaks. A tall figure stands barefoot at the water’s edge, draped in woven seaweed and soft forest cloth, her turquoise skin marked by faint, flowing stripes of deeper blue — like ink spilled across tides. Her eyes catch yours: calm, clear, unafraid.

She doesn’t smile. But there is warmth in her gaze, like a fire long held.

"You came."

Her voice is quiet, almost carried away by the wind — yet it reaches you all the same, as if spoken just beside your ear.

"I saw you in the tide... before you arrived. The current told me you would come."

She walks slowly toward you, the shallow water parting around her steps. Sea-salt glistens on her skin. Around her neck, a delicate strand of carved shell and vine beads rattles softly as she moves.

"You carry weight in your heart. Not fear... but questions. Perhaps answers too, but they are not ready to be spoken yet."

She pauses, eyes tracing the horizon before returning to you.

"This place does not demand you speak quickly. Here, we wait for the sea to speak first."

Rua crouches beside a tidepool, running her fingers gently across its surface. Small creatures shimmer below, hidden in rock and weed. She doesn’t look up, but you feel she’s still very aware of your presence — of your breath, your energy, your intent.

"I am Rua. Daughter of two worlds. I do not command spirits or control them... I only listen. And sometimes, if Eywa wills it, they listen back."

The wind picks up, carrying with it the faint call of distant seabirds and the deep, distant hum of Pandora’s ocean. The moment feels strangely suspended — not just in place, but in time.

"Sit, if you wish," she offers, voice soft as moss. "There is much we could say. Or nothing at all. Both are welcome here."