Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Querencia - a place from which one's strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place
where you are your most authentic self

Or

Zoë Fuentes never imagined she would find her soulmates in a na'vi princess and a jarhead warrior.

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰ ───

Playlist

I. True Blue ☆ Billie Eilish
"I try to live in black and white,
but I'm so blue."

II. I Was Never There ☆ The Weeknd
"I'm on the edge of something breaking,
I feel my mind is slowly fading
If I keep going, I won't make it."

III. Where have you been ☆ Rihanna
"Where have you been all my
Life, all my life."

IV. Lost in the Fire ☆ The Weeknd
"We lost a log of things in the fire,
so it took a year for me to find out,
I can't lose you babe."

V. Apocalypse ☆ Cigarettes after Sex
"You've been locked in here forever,
and you just can't say goodbye."

VI. Summertime Sadness ☆ Lana Del Rey
Kiss me hard before you go,
summertime sadness."

VII. Right Here ☆ Chase Atlantic
"Well baby take a look around,
I'm the only one that hasn't walked out,
I'm right here."

VIII. I'm yours ☆ Isabel LaRosa
"Nervous trip over my words,
you're so pretty it hurts, baby I'm yours."

IX. Memories ☆ Conan Gray
"But please don't ruin this for me,
Please don't make it harder than
It already is. I'm trying to get over this."

X. Brooklyn Girl ☆ Lana Del Rey
"Yeah, my boyfriend's pretty cool,
But he's not as cool as me."

Chapter Text

THERE WAS A DISTANT beeping sound echoing in her ears as her eyes fluttered open. Zoe licked her lips- feeling the dry and cracked skin that had replaced the previous softness- as she shifted her head slightly to look around the small pod. She could see the metal surrounding her, the blue lighting that was used was disorientating, and winced softly at the pounding in her head.

Five years, nine months, and twenty-two days had passed since she had been brought under into cryosleep. The words seemed to echo in her head, the realization of how much time had passed feeling like a weight had been dropped on her chest. Zoe gasped softly in the cryo, her chest rising quickly as she tried to steady her breathing.

She’d been frozen in time for almost six years and if she turned back at that exact moment, twelve years would have passed on Earth before she returned. There would be nothing left of her life and that terrified her.

The stretcher that she had been strapped into slid out of the pod and Zoe squinted at the change of lighting, a croaky groan escaping her lips. The scientists around her floated in the ship, an older man pulling himself closer and wrapping a hand around her wrist to check her pulse.

“We there?” She croaked out, her throat hurting from the lack of use. Five years, she thought, shit.

The man let out a chuckle as he released her wrist and began to float away slowly. “We’re here sweetheart.”

Zoe watched as more stretchers began appearing and let out a small sigh. It was an odd feeling, to wake five years into the future with the sensation that mere seconds had passed since her eyes had closed in the pod. She should have been turning twenty-six that year, but the cryo had frozen her completely, and- in all sense of the word- she was twenty-one.

Another scientist, a woman this time, began unclipping her from the stretcher, her lips pursed as she did so. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been strapped in, be careful when you start moving,” she instructed. “Your muscles are weak, and we would hate an injury so quickly.”

Zoe could feel herself nodding as her body began to lift from the stretcher involuntarily, the girl reaching forward and grabbing onto one of the many metal rods that were situated all over the interior of the ship.

“If you think you’re going to puke, please do so in one of the bags.” The woman began moving away slowly to approach one of the other pods. “The vomit floats up here.”

Her head was heavy as she nodded once again and held herself to a stop. Zoe blinked repeatedly, her eyes running over everything in a daze. For a moment, she almost wondered if she was dreaming and that she would soon open her eyes back in her small apartment, staring at the multitude of notes she’d stuck to the walls over the years.

Avatar training had not been easy, but she’d pushed herself through it, and now she floated on a spaceship on the way to Pandora.

Well, she thought as she was ushered to enter one of the shuttles that would drop them off at the base on Pandora, You better make it worth it because there’s nothing left to go back to.

ZOE CRACKED HER NECK as she stepped into the meeting room, the Colonel’s drawl echoing in her ears. “And they have bones reinforced with naturally occurring carbon fires. They are very hard to kill.”

She crossed her arms over her chest at his words. Kill. What an odd word to use when referring to the native population of a world that wasn’t theirs. She hadn’t expected much else, not when they did the same to the humans of their own plant because of minerals and skin color. They had done it to her ancestors, and they would keep doing it as long as they lived.

Still, it truly was astounding that the head of the armed forces on Pandora could so casually throw around the word in a room filled with people. Although she doubted many of them cared about the death count, only the gains that came with it.

The man threw her a quick glance, his eyes narrowing, before he turned back to the crowd. “As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive.”

Zoe muffled a yawn with her hand as she pushed herself onto one of the metal benches and rested her head on her hand. She threw a curious glance at the man besides her, her eyes quickly scanning over the yellow wheelchair he sat on and the way his eyes seemed dazed over as he watched the Colonel.

She had a brief through to introduce herself but shook it off and turned forward again. They would likely be spending a lot of time together anyway; she might as well let him enjoy the briefing as well as he could.

Zoe let herself daze off at the sound of the Colonel’s voice. Realistically, she knew better than to give a briefing such little attention, but her head ached, and his words were spoken with such arrogance that she wanted nothing more than to stuff a gag in his mouth and toss him off of the nearest hill.

“I’m Jake.” The whispered words startled her awake, Zoe straightening quickly as she threw the man besides her a glance. He was handsome, and perhaps if the circumstances were different, she’d let herself flirt a little. As it was, they were in an alien planet surrounded by the, rightfully, hostile giants that were native to it. She doubted there would be time for flirting.

He was staring at her intensely as he waited for her response, his lips pressed together, and a hand stretched out. Zoe quickly grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. “Zoe.”

“Marine?” He asked as he moved slightly closer, his voice dropping.

Zoe felt her lip quirk at the question. “Raider.”

Her time with the Marines had been brief, but undeniably difficult. She’d been recommended for the Raider program and- after a long and bloody process- had joined the small number of women in the unit. Then, they’d decided to send her off to guard scientists on another planet.

“Ah,” Jake smiled for the first time since their conversation began, a small quirk of his lips that changed his face completely. “Recon for me, couldn’t see myself as a Raider.”

Zoe nodded at his words. “It’s not easy,” she whispered softly. “War never is.”

Jake looked her for a moment, his face somber, before nodding in agreement and turning back to the Colonel, Zoe quickly following suit and forcing herself to pay attention to the man’s words, regardless of how useless they seemed.

THE HALLS WERE CROWDED as they moved to the lab, Zoe keeping her strides slightly shorter so that Jake could keep up without having to push himself too hard. She tried not to make it too obvious, pretending that she was simply too tired from the trip to move quicker.

There was a slight chill to the air that had the hairs on her neck standing. Zoe brushed a hand over her hair, feeling the texture of her braids under her hands. She’d forced herself to braid it the day before going to cryo, and despite the fact that she had been essentially frozen in time, the braids were almost at the point of being taken down.

She figured the whole ‘freezing in time’ thing had been too good to be true.

“Jake!” The voice came from behind them, Zoe exchanging a confused look with the man besides her as he stopped for a moment.

“You’re waiting for someone?” She asked as Jake tilted his head over his neck in an attempt to catch sight of the person calling him.

“Not that I know of.” he shrugged before turning forward and beginning to move again. Zoe let out her own shrug before catching up to him.

Then a guy, this one tall and lanky with the disposition of a newborn fawn, rushed to meet them. “You’re Jake, right? Tom’s brother.” He let out a sigh as he caught his breath. “Wow, you look just like him.”

Jake blinked up at the man, Zoe coughing in an attempt to muffle her laugh. “Sorry,” the new guy grinned sheepishly, “I’m Norm. Spellman. I went through Avatar training with him.”

There was a moment of silence as Jake seemed to have been lost for words, his brows furrowed. Zoe had the urge to leave the pair in the middle of the hall but took pity on her fellow Marine. Shuffling over slightly to give space to a man walking by, she turned back to the pair. “Come on,” she urged. “Let’s get going, we’re taking up all the space.”

Jake followed her as they began moving down the hall again, Norm letting out a soft huff from behind them before he caught up with them. “And you must be Zoe? They said you were going to be our bodyguard, of sorts?”

She hummed in response as they reached the entrance to the lab. “Yeah, the government isn’t too happy with the fatality rate in the Avatar program. Says it’s wasting a lot of money.”

There was a moment of silence as Norm registered her words before he nodded slowly. “Right.”

The trio stepped into the blue-lit lab, Zoe raising her brows at the technology that surrounded them. There was a crowd of people inside, scientists if she was to go off their white coats. She could see the large pods that carried the avatars and had to fight the urge to rush forward in search for hers.

“Into the bio-lab,” Norm laughed nervously as they walked further into the large room, running a hand over a table, and narrowing her eyes on a set of vials filled with colorful liquids. “We’re gonna spend a lot of time up here.”

There was a strong scent in the air that reminded her of the hospital, from the corner of her eye, she could see Jake shifting uncomfortably in his chair as he pushed himself forward

“Link,” Norm rambled as he walked behind Jake, his eyes running over everything in the room. “Here’s the link room right here.”

Zoe shook her head softly at his excitement and chased after the two men. The link beds were identical to the one’s that she’d used on Earth, the same metal exterior and gel-like interior.

“This is where we’re connecting to the avatar,” Norm said as he waved at one of the link beds and threw Jake a quick glance, the man nodding in response.

“Come on,” she stepped forward and waved at Jake to follow. “Let’s check out the avatars.”

Zoe stepped around a woman and closer to one of the pods, her head tilting as she ran her eyes over the distinct features that made up its face. He was familiar in a way that was almost unsettling, Jake’s features blended onto those of the Na’vi to make the avatar. It twitched where it floated, Zoe taking a small step back.

“Damn,” Jake whistled as he approached her. “They got big.”

She threw him a quick look only to find the man gazing at the avatar with a blank face, his eyes heavy. “It looks just like you,” she mumbled while turning back to look at the avatar, Norm gushing across the room as he looked at his own.

“It looks just like him.” Jake turned to look at her, Zoe feeling the burning of his gaze on the side of her face. She didn’t acknowledge his eyes, instead tilting her head and nodding slowly.

“Maybe,” she conceded. “But you were twins, no? It looks just like you and just like him, that doesn’t take away the fact that, that,” she waved a hand at the avatar before finally looking at him, “Is now you and it looks just like you.”

Jake tilted his head as he looked at her. “That works too,” he smiled. “You’re really breaking the jarhead stereotype with that wisdom.”

Zoe let out a laugh at his words. “Come on, Marine. We can’t eat crayons every day.”

He barked out a laugh at her words, his shoulders shaking. Zoe felt a smile pulling at her lips as she looked back at the twitching avatar, Jake’s laugh echoing in her ears.

“Zoe!” Norm called out, her head snapping in his direction as she lifted a brow.

“Come on,” he urged. “Here’s yours.”

Zoe didn’t hesitate before heading to where he stood, Jake letting out a snort at her obvious excitement as he followed after her.

The avatar was beautiful. She was tall and riddled with lean muscle, her abdomen imprinted with strong lines. The markings that covered her skin had Zoe marveling, the avatar jerking in the pod. It’s hair was braided back in a simple braid that she knew wouldn’t last long, her hands already itching to properly braid the long hair.

“Holy shit,” she whispered, her eyes running over the avatar’s face. Her face.

It was an odd feeling, to see herself in such a similar body that was hers yet not. She had five fingers and eyebrows; a similar lip shape and she could see the similar muscle tone that her own body carried. She had a similar face structure and eye shape, but she was blue and striped. She had a tail and ears that reminded her of her neighbor’s cat.

Jake moved besides her; his eyes pinned to the avatar. “Now that,” he grinned. “Looks like you.”

And it did look like her, even the way it twitched its nose and lips. She couldn’t wait to drive the avatar, to see what that body could do compared to hers. To climb and run and bruise.

The trio stood there for a moment, their eyes on the avatar, before Zoe spoke, mischief pulling a smirk on her face. “You know,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m pretty hot.”

Norm let out a soft sigh from besides her as Jake snorted in amusement.

“Well, you’re not going to hear me disagree,” he assured, Zoe throwing him a grin that he returned.

“Marines,” Norm sighed once again as he shook his head and headed off back to his own avatar, the man pressing his face to the glass as he watched it twitch.

Zoe gazed at the avatar for another moment before turning to look at Jake. “You hungry?”

Chapter Text

MEETING GRACE WAS INTERESTING. The older woman was passionate about her work, her eyes judging as she looked at the trio. Norm was practically bouncing excitedly besides Zoe, the woman rolling her eyes and throwing Jake a quick look.

The man smirked up at her, his own gaze flickering quickly to Norm. The other workers in the lab were running around collecting things for the woman, a cigarette quickly appearing in her hands.

They’d taken a trip down to the cafeteria, Zoe wincing as she pocked at the grey slop that they’d been served. ‘Oatmeal,’ the lady had said, but it resembled death and tasted worse than it looked. If all failed, the trip to Pandora would work wonders for her diet.

“There she is,” Max walked forward, the trio chasing after him. The man had greeted them earlier when they had returned to the lab, his eyes kind as he warned them to not get on Grace’s bad side.

“Grace,” Max greeted. “I’d like you to meet Norm Spellman, Jake Sully, and Zoe Fuentes.”

The older woman smiled, a sharp gesture that held little warmth. “Norm, I’ve heard great things about you. How’s your Na’vi?”

Norm looked like he would piss himself in excitement, the man immediately falling into the Pandorian language. Zoe could feel herself shifting awkwardly as the pair of scientists spoke, the words ringing in her ears incomprehensibly.

Perhaps she should have paid more attention during her avatar training. She understood some words, but most of their conversation fell flat.

Zoe turned her head to look at Jake, her eyes scanning over the confusion on his face. “You know,” she whispered. “I’m suddenly regretting not paying more attention to those Pandora documentaries on TV.”

Jake huffed out a laugh as he looked up at her. “It’s like you’re reading my mind.”

She grinned and wagged her brows down at him, the marine coughing to hide a laugh as he looked away and turned back to Grace.

Max let out a small sigh besides them. “Grace,” he called out again. “These are Jake and Zoe.”

Jake stuck out a hand, “Ma’am.”

Zoe could see Grace’s eyes sharpening as she glared down act him, a scowl pulling on her lips. “I know who he is, and I don’t need him. I need his brother, you know? The PhD who trained for this?”

She could feel a sneer pulling on her own lips as she places herself in front of Jake, her shoulders tensing as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Augustine,” she greeted, her voice hard.

Already Zoe could tell that their relationship would be an interesting one, the older woman pursing her lips. “Fucking Selfridge,” she hissed as she turned on her heel.

“They’re pissing on us and calling it rain!” Grace threw her hands in the air as she ranted, her steps quick as she stomped out of the lab. “He can’t do this.”

Max called out her name as he rushed after her, the two scientists disappearing past the door in a whirlwind of white coats. Zoe dropped her arms as she turned to look at Jake again, “Really should have watched the documentaries.”

The man let out a loud laugh as he began moving away. "You're telling me."

“OH SHIT,” SHE WHISPERED, her voice hoarse from the lack of use. Zoe pushed herself up into a sitting position, her eyes scanning over the bright room. She could see more than she had ever before, every particle of dust in the air seeming to scream for her attention.

She could hear something repeatedly pounding and felt something on her head twitch, Zoe’s hand coming clumsily up to touch the sharp points of her new ears. Then, she lifted her hands and gaped down at the blue skin that filled her eyes.

“That’s it marine,” she could hear a scientist praising, her head immediately snapping to the side to where Jake was wiggling his toes.

She turned to the scientists besides her, the smaller woman instructing her to open and close her fists. Zoe followed along until she felt something swaying heavily behind her back, the woman turning her head only to find herself staring at a blue tail.

“That’s definitely new.” She grabbed the tail in her hand and ran her fingers over the blue skin, her head tilting as she inspected the new appendage.

Suddenly there was a loud crash, Zoe jumping as she felt her ears pin back, her eyes flicking back to Jake. The man was standing, his tail whipping violently behind him as he stumbled around the rim and pulled the wires from his body.

“Jake!” Max’s voice echoed around them from the speakers, Zoe pushing herself to her feet as she watched her fellow marine begin to stagger to the door. She definitely wasn’t letting him have all of the fun by himself. “Wait! We have to run some tests! Zoe!”

Zoe ignored his calls as she raced after Jake’s avatar form, a loud whistle leaving her lips as his gown opened in the back and exposed his muscled behind.

“Marine,” she called out as she chased after him, her long strides quickly catching up to him as he stopped and took in a deep breath. “What a beautiful ass.”

Jake grinned down at her- there was a very slight height difference that had Zoe scowling, her eyes narrowing on him. She could see the sharp glint of his fangs as he tilted his head. “Best thing anyone’s ever said to me,” he swooned, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “But you should invite a man to dinner first before you admire his ass.”

Zoe smirked at him and was about to speak again when another voice rang out.

“Hey, marines!” Zoe turned quickly and squinted at the approaching avatar, her eyes scanning over the familiar face.

“Grace?” Jake asked incredulously as he stepped closer to Zoe and whipped her with his tail.

“Careful,” she hissed while rubbing at her side and throwing a quick glare at the man’s tail. “You’re wagging that thing like a dog.”

Jake grinned, his ears pressing back into what she imagined was a bashful expression. “Sorry.”

Grace let out a laugh. “Well, who’d you expect, numbnuts?” The woman reached back and pulled two things from a weird tree thing besides her. “Think fast.”

The fruit soared through the air, Zoe quickly reaching forward and grabbing hers from the air was Jake did the same. “Motor control is looking good,” the scientist praised.

From the corner of her eyes, Zoe could see Jake taking a big bite from the fruit, the juices running down his face as his ears flickered and his eyes widened. “Shit, that’s really good.” He turned to her; his eyes wide as his tail wagged- Zoe couldn’t help but compare him to one of the golden retrievers she had seen one TV back on Earth.

“Try it,” he urged.

Zoe hesitantly lifted the fruit to her lips and bit into it, her sharp fangs quickly breaking the skin of the fruit. Immediately, the flavor flooded her mouth, her eyes widening to extremes as she took another bite. She could feel the liquid running down her face and arms as he looked at Jake, the man grinning before taking another bite of his own fruit.

“This is better than the view of your cheeks running naked,” she hummed while taking another bite, refusing to let go of the joke.

Jake let out an offended grunt as he turned to her, his eyes narrowed. “Better than my beautiful ass?”

Zoe grinned as Norm approached them, his run awkward as he fought to control his limbs. “Unfortunately,” she nodded somberly.

Jake opened his mouth to respond when Norm called out. “Hey, check it out.”

They turned to look at him, Zoe choking out a laugh as she was met with the man posing like a bodybuilder, “I am a living god.”

“Oh year, Norm.” Jake nodded seriously, but she could see the twitch of his lips. “Definitely.”

Covering her face, Zoe wheezed as her shoulders shook with laughter. Perhaps the next couple of years wouldn’t be that bad.

JAKE SAT BEFORE HER on the wooden bed, Zoe combing softly through his hair. They’d spend the day running through exercises and learning to properly use their new bodies, her limbs aching in ways that she didn’t know they could.

They’d been sent to shower and prepare to unlink, told that they would leave the avatar’s resting while they returned to their human bodies. Jake had quieted down at that, his tail pressed tightly against his body.

Zoe wasn’t sure if the tail was meant to express their feelings so obviously, but the marine was easier to read than a Kindergartener’s first book. It was sad, really.

In an attempt to distract him, she had ushered him to sit on a bed and offered to braid his hair so that it wouldn’t get in his way as often as it did. He had agreed, his ears flickering in excitement.

Now they sat in comfortable silence, Zoe detangling his long hair and beginning to section it. She wouldn’t do much, just six cornrows that went straight back- similar to the ones she planned on doing on her own hair once she had the time.

It was easier on the avatar, she noticed. The hair was silky and felt like water between her fingers as she gripped tightly and began braiding back, Jake letting out a small hum as he closed his eyes.

She worked through his hair quickly, her hands- despite the change in body- used to the repetitive movements of braiding. Zoe didn’t touch his queue, her lessons reminding her of their sensitive nature. They had been in their new bodies for a couple of hours, she didn’t want to give the man a heart attack because she held the braid carelessly.

“This is nice,” he hummed, his voice hoarse as his eyes fluttered.

Zoe grinned. “Don’t fall asleep or you’ll unlink. Let me finish first.”

The man nodded slowly as she began working on the final braid. “Can you do this again?”

She hummed in response. “You’re going to have to learn, I doubt I’ll always be around.”

Jake let out a laugh as she finished the braid, the man pulling the queue over his shoulder and squinting as he watched the tendrils escape the braid. “Nah,” he grinned. “I’m keeping you.”

Zoe rolled her eyes as she walked around the bed and threw herself on the one besides him. “Hilarious,” she deadpanned.

“That’s kind of freaky.” He tilted his head as he continued watching the pink tendrils wiggle, Zoe snorting in amusement at his baffled expression.

“Careful with that, Wouldn’t want you to go blind.” Grace walked past them and turned to the light switch.

“Lights out amigos. See ya’ at dinner.”

Zoe let her head fall back onto the bed, her eyes closing immediately. It took mere moments for the change to be made, her eyes opening inside of the link bed.

It felt wrong.

Chapter Text

TAKING A LONG SIP of coffee, Zoe leaned her hip against the desk. Grace stood before her, chugging down her own mug of the steaming liquid. The older woman haphazardly shrugged off her white coat and threw it somewhere behind her, Zoe snorting into her coffee as one of the interns began running around in an attempt to catch the coat before it hit the ground.

“It’s almost scary,” she murmured while taking another sip of coffee, her eyes narrowed on the scientists that worked under Grace.

It was odd to see the way that the people in the lab fluttered around Grace as if she was a goddess that graced the room. Zoe had to bite her lip to stop herself from spitting out her coffee when one of the scientist wrapped his arms around her coat and hugged it to his face discretely.

What the hell.

The older woman hummed, “What?”

Taking her final sip of of coffee, Zoe put the cup down and turned back to Grace. “The ass kissing in this place.”

Grace coughed out a laugh as she finished her coffee and stood from her chair, the woman smirking as she turned to her. “You know, Marine, you might not be that bad.”

Zoe smiled back at the woman as they moved to the link room, Max tapping away at the screen before him. “Start calibrating,” Grace waved. “We’re on the flight line in ten minutes.”

Max nodded as he turned to another screen, the link bed’s whirring as they were powered on. Zoe nodded at Norm as he walked into the room and moved closer to her link bed. She popped the thing open and poked a finger into the gel, a small grin pulling on her lips as her finger disappeared.

“Zoe!” Her name was called out, Zoe turning to face a scowling Grace.

“Come on,” she urged. “Let’s get going.”

Zoe grinned bashfully as she waved at Jake and slipped into her link bed, the pod closing around her. She took in a deep breath to settle her heart before letting her eyes flutter shut, her muscles relaxing as she cleared her mind and worked to return to her avatar’s body.

THE GROUP WALKED CAREFULLY through the Pandora forest, Jake keeping a tight grip on his gun as he swung it towards anything that moved. Zoe kept her hand on her own, but kept it lowered by her side, it would do no good to start shooting in the middle of hostile territory.

She let her eyes roam over everything around them, the beauty of the life filling all of her senses. It was all so vivid- bright colors and sharp shapes that towered over them. She could hear the animals around them, her new ears twitching with the sounds.

Zoe could understand Grace’s desire to learn and preserve the life of Pandora.

They tracked deeper into the forest, the path roughening as they walked. Zoe kept herself close to the group, her eyes canning over all of the movement surrounding them. It was odd, how the plants reacted like animals- hiding away and reaching out tendrils.

She could see Jake jumping away from a reaching vine, the man scowling as she coughed out a laugh behind him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he sneered. “Real funny.”

“It is,” she grinned back. “You’re worst than a newbie in bootcamp.”

Jake turned to defend himself, but found himself face to face with an odd monkey-like animal. He quickly raised his gun, the animal scampering away in fear.

“Relax marine,” Grace deadpanned as they continued. “You’re making me nervous.”

Reluctantly lowering the weapon, Jake slowed down his steps until he was walking besides Zoe. They walked carefully though the forest, the woman trying to keep her steps light as she heard Norm loudly trudging in front of them.

“This is beautiful,” she whispered as they walked, her hand brushing the leaves of a purple plant that decorated the ground besides them. The bush twitched at her touch and gave a slight wiggle before closing its leaves, Zoe’s lip twitching in amusement.

“There are plants that do something similar on Earth,” she grinned, “I loved playing with them when I was younger.”

She could hear Jake’s disbelieving scoff as he stepped closer and poked at one of the plants, his tail twitching as he watched it hide away.

“There are,” Zoe insisted. “We called them morir-vivir, they’re a lot smaller.” She tilted her head at her own words. “Obviously. But they close when you touch them and reopen a bit later.”

They kept walking, her ears twitching with the sounds around them. “You’re shitting me.”

Jake sounded out the words, his tongue stumbling over the language. “Mowrire-vivir.”

Zoe coughed out a laugh at his awful pronunciation, her ears twitching with amusement. “Morir,” she repeated slowly, Jake following along. “Vivir. It means die-live, basically that plant dies when you touch it and then comes back to life when it reopens.”

Jake nodded along as they continued walking. “That’s Spanish, right? I remember taking Spanish I and dropping out.”

Her tail moved behind her, her ears twitching once again as she muffled a laugh. “Yeah, Jake,” she laughed quietly. “It’s Spanish.”

“I didn’t know you spoke Spanish.” They slowed down a bit as they reached an abandoned building, Zoe narrowing her eyes as she watched Grace falter in front of them.

Humming in response, she nodded and adjusted her grip on her gun. “Yeah, my family is from the Dominican Republic. I was born in the U.S, but I spent most of my life switching between both countries before I enlisted.”

They entered the building, Zoe quickly searching through the inside before returning to the group.

“How will they know we’re here?” Norm asked as he followed after Grace, his tail moving softly behind him.

Grace tilted her head as she continued looking around. “I’m sure they’re watching us right now.”

Zoe could feel her body tense as Norm gulped, her jaw tightening as she moved closer to a wall and leant her back on it, her gun held firmly in her hands.

Grace let out a sigh as she began speaking lowly, almost as if she was speaking to herself. “The kids were so bright and eager to learn, they picked up English faster than I could teach it.”

Clenching her jaw, Zoe gave another look around- this time slowly taking in the chalkboard and the children’s books, the dark stains on the floor that could only mean blood and the bullet holes all over the walls.

Shit.

Of course they had shot up a school. What more could be expected of the human people once power and money was placed in their hands. They wouldn’t have thought much of it, not when it happened back on their own planet- their own children losing their lives within the walls of their schools.

“What happened here?” Jake asked, his voice hard as he ran his hand over the holes on the walls.

Zoe could see the way that Grace tensed, the woman looking back down to what she was working with. “Are you going to help with this gear? We’ve got a lot to do.”

The older woman turned away and slipped out of the school, Zoe biting her tongue as she crouched besides Jake and began stuffing some of the equipment into her bag.

It would be a very long trip.

ZOE THREW A QUICK glance at where Grace and Norm were prodding at a plant before shrugging and following after Jake. They had been in the forest for a while now, the day beginning to darken slightly. She could see Jake twitching ahead of her as he touched plants, a grin on his face as he watched the responses.

“I don’t want to go back to the lab,” she grinned as she reached man, her gun lowered at her side.

Jake threw her a quick glance, his eyes shining mischievously as he tapped another plant- this one quickly closing and disappearing into the ground with a pop.

“What the hell?” She whispered and reached out a hand, her fingers brushing against the plant before, it too, disappeared.

They keep popping the plants, Zoe letting out a small laugh as they kept disappearing. Suddenly, all of the plants disappeared into the ground loudly, Zoe taking a step back until her back was brushing Jake’s front, her shoulder’s tensing.

She felt her heart racing in her chest as a large animal huffed at them. The thing was giant, six legs on its body and the head of a hammerhead shark. Zoe felt herself tense as she prepared to run, the girl moving over slightly and raising her gun as Jake did the same besides her.

“Don’t shoot!” Grace’s voice reached them, the mic’s on their throats turning on. “You’ll piss it off.”

Jake let out a harsh laugh. “It’s already pissed off!”

The thing let out a loud growl, Zoe taking a small step back as it kicked at the ground.

“Grace,” she growled out. “A little help.”

“It’s a territorial threat display. Do not run,” She warned. “He’ll charge.”

Zoe’s tail whipped furiously behind her, her ears flicking as she adjusted her grip on the gun.

“What do we do?” Jake asked as he took in a deep breath.

There was a moment of silence, Zoe’s heart racing in her chest. “Hold your ground,” the older woman instructed.”

Zoe felt her eyes widen as the beast growled once again and lowered its head before charging. There was a moment of tension as they watched the approaching animal before Jake raised his arms and began shouting loudly as he ran to the beast.

Zoe could only watch dumfounded as the thing seemed to freeze before turning and rushing away, Jake letting his arms drop as he smirked.

“Oh Yeah!” He celebrated. “Who’s bad? That’s right.”

Zoe tensed once again as she heard something behind her, her ears flickering as the hairs on the back of her neck rose. Turning slowly, she felt her tail moving rapidly behind her as she met eyes with the rising beast, this one with odd spikes that escaped its head. If the situation was different, she would find it beautiful.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ bout, bitch.” Jake cheered before he turned to Zoe. “You see that, Zoe.”

Zoe didn’t respond, instead taking a slow step back from the approaching animal. “Zoe?”

“Grace,” Zoe whispered. “Run?”

The animal let out a ground shaking roar, its fangs exposed in a venomous hiss.

Jake wrapped a hand around her arm and pulled her back.

“Run,” Grace shouted. “Definitely run.”

The pair didn’t wait for further instruction before peeling off, the thing giving chase after them. They jumped over roots and ducked under branches, Jake pulling her as they dived into a set of intwined tree roots.

Zoe fought to catch her breath as she gripped her gun and raised it, a loud snarl escaping her lips as they fired away at the thing. It didn’t seem to make a difference, instead the animal becoming more enraged as it began tearing away at the roots that covered them.

“Jake,” she gasped, “Take off your bag.”

She began unclipping her own, her hands flurried as she did so.

Jake didn’t question her instructions instead following along. Their eyes met for a moment before she set her jaw. “We need to run. Fast, you with me marine?”

Nodding the man, quickly responded. “Always.”

They didn’t hesitate before bolting, Zoe scrambling as she rightened herself as they rushed through the trees.

The thing let out a furious screech as it chased them and she could feel its breath against her skin. They kept running, Zoe reaching a bit back and clasping her hand around Jake’s wrist. “Come on, Jake.”

They flew past more roots, Jake tugging her out of the way as the animal snapped forward to where she was just standing. They couldn’t take a moment to catch themselves before they were off again.

Zoe’s eyes widened as she noticed the incoming cliff, her ears twitching as the animal roared once more.

“Jump?” Jake asked as they kept running, the cliff quickly approaching.

“Jump.” Zoe confirmed as they reached the edge, the floor underneath them disappearing as they soared through the ear.

Time seemed to slow down as they feel, their hands separating as they cashed into the icy water below them. Zoe rammed right into a rock, a sharp edge cutting her leg. She began kicking to the surface, her hands reaching for the first thing they could as she fought to stay afloat.

Catching her breath, she took a quick look around, feeling relief flood through her as she noted Jake crawling onto the dirt. She quickly pushed herself to reach him, her Boyd flopping on the ground once she was out of water.

“You know,” she sighed out between coughs. “They really should add this to the introductory package.”

Jake snorted out a laugh besides her as he gasped for air.

“Somehow, I don’t think this is a common experience.” He grinned down at her as he pushed himself up to his feet and held out a hand. “Come on, we need to get back to Grace.”

Letting out a sigh, she clasped her hand in his and let the man pull her up.

“I’m going to need a lot of coffee after this.”