LOG-021.I sat upon a small (relative to everything else, anyway) root, stiff backed as gentle hands continued to sort my hair into braids, a soft humming filling the air every now and then.Staring down at the forest floor, and then at my hands, I remained silent.“Oh do go on, ask your questions.”Resisting the urge to flinch as fingers that felt exactly like the ones that had once tickled my tummy as a child briefly tugged at my ear, I waited until the digits retracted, before finally speaking the first thing that came to mind.“You swore.”The statement earned a pause in the braiding, and I felt the impression of a nod.“Yes, I did.”“But like…in English. We’ve been speaking in English this whole time.”“That we have.”Twisting in place, I glared up into the golden orbs that still watched me with an almost uncomfortable level of fondness, crossing my arms as I did so.“Tell me the truth. My…memories. You’ve seen them, then?”The thing masquerading as a Na’vi let out an amused breath of air at the question, closing her eyes and dipping her head in a nod.“I have. I know everything you know. Earth. The RDA. That silly little set of movies. It’s all so fascinating, really.”My lips trembled as I tried to bring forth the words I wanted to speak, only to still as Eywa leaned forward, gently cupping my cheek with a hand that brought to mind idle evenings with my mother, usually spent learning which plants did what.“I…I don’t know how your spirit came to be here, my dear. I’m so sorry.”Her eyes held nothing but sincerity, and I hated her for it.The slight blurring of my vision coincided with the sensation of tears trying to leak out of the corner of my eyes, and despite everything, I found myself falling forward into the embrace of the world itself, once more burying my face in between her neck and shoulder as I cried for what felt like hours.—I watched the fish passing through the river we had progressed to at some point, occasionally dipping a toe into the water and disturbing the little buggers.“So, the dual kuru. The glowing hair. The lighter skin.”Beside me, Eywa hummed from her position sat atop a particularly smooth rock, the supposed goddess looking for all the world like she was trying to sunbathe, even as she flashed me a wink.“All intentional. You were actually not too abnormal after exiting your birth mother’s womb. But when the Kyra'meta brought you to me…when we linked and I learned of what was to come, I found myself in need of a…representative, of sorts.”At my confused blink, the faux Na’vi shifted, now lounging on her side instead of her back, allowing her to look directly at me.“I am very large, Opal. It is difficult for me to focus on any one thing, just as it is difficult for you to notice a single hair upon your skin being cut. The herd I brought to your doorstep was the equivalent of a poke, you understand?”Nodding, I watched in curiosity as the planetary network shifted onto her back once more, watching what little of the sky within this mindscape was visible through the cracks in the trees.“Communication with the RDA, with humanity, would be a cumbersome thing, should I have attempted it directly. A severe problem, considering I do not want them to drop rocks on my head.” She smiled, a wonderful, beatific thing.“But with you, I had an agent. One born of their spirit, and molded within the flesh of my children, the Na’vi. So while I still had you, I…did my best to make your future trials easier. I ensured that your mind would function faster than that of your brothers and sisters. I gave you a greater connection to the network that every being upon my surface taps into.”A single golden eye turned back towards me, amusement fluttering about within its iris.“Ah, I also gave you a pretty face, and soft hips too.”Feeling the need to cover myself for whatever reason, I shot the goddess a glare, prompting a chuckle.“Oh don’t be like that. It served you well, didn’t it? And now you’re operating within the RDA’s ranks, directing them where you can, and lessening the damage they do. Far better than some goldhearted marine battling them within my forests as they continue to try and plunder my body.”I considered the statement for a few seconds, before huffing out a breath, deciding that, yes, I had absolutely exploited some of the…upgrades I had apparently been given.But that still left a rather big question…“...Why?”“Hm?”“If everything is going well, why do this? Why surround Hell’s Gate and call for me? Why am I here?”The question caused Eywa to go silent, the moon spanning consciousness still staring up at the sky.It was just as the temptation to try and ask something else came up that she spoke again, voice…distinctly tired.“I find myself with a conundrum, daughter of mine.”Blinking, I remained silent, waiting for her to continue, which she did a few seconds later, letting out a sigh as she did so.“Simply put…I rely on the stones in the ground, the ones that the RDA are so desperate for. I won’t try to overwhelm you with the exact science behind it, there will be plenty of time for that later, but the crux of the matter is that they partly serve as sections of my brain.”She hesitated, golden eyes looking at something I couldn’t see.“And every time some of them are harvested, even in the relatively small amounts your old species are extracting…”I knew for a fact I looked slightly paler than usual, my face pallid as I finished the sentence for her.“They’re killing you.”Eywa nodded, turning her head to look at me again.“Exactly. Thankfully, there are ways to go about fixing that. I can make more, but it’s a complicated process that requires time, and I can’t have those little apes running around digging at my thinking bits during that process, lest they disrupt things. That brings us back to why I called for you, of course.”Before I could say anything, the faux Na’vi reached out with a long hand, picked up a small pebble and-“Ow!”Shaking my head and bringing up my fingers to gently rub at the spot that was most definitely going to bruise after Eywa had fucking pelted me with a rock, I hissed, even as the goddess let out a snort.“That’s for never calling, you big bitch! I’ve been waiting for you to get back in contact for a while! And instead you were off riding some corporate nerd and selling my brain rocks!”Glaring at her from beneath the hand rubbing at my forehead, I growled.“Riding that corporate nerd got me stocks you overgrown fungus! Couldn’t you have sent a letter or something?!”“You try sending a letter to your gut’s bacteria, hussy! Even just speaking to you like this is the equivalent of trying to hold a conversation with an ant! The beast you’ve linked yourself to is actively dying beneath the weight of my full gaze!”“Don’t call me a hussy, fucker!”“Twat!”“Shithead!”“Bellend!”We both froze at the word that had slipped past Eywa’s lips, before promptly breaking down into giggles at the lunacy of it all.After another moment spent calming down, I finally shrugged my shoulders, gesturing around me and injecting an appropriate amount of questioning into my voice.“Alright, so what now then? What’s the plan?”The lunar intelligence’s grin was outright predatory in turn, even as she sat up from her stony bed at last.“Oh, it’s all rather simple, really. You’re going to relay a few messages for me, and then we’re going to give humanity a deal they couldn’t possibly resist.”…Well then. At least it was better than being devoured by some fucked up eldritch deity?“I heard that you know.”Oh hush.“Hmph! Such a rude and rebellious child that I’ve adopted!”