Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

  He always felt calm in the tank room under the blue glow of the synthetic amniotic fluid. The only sounds came from the steady heartbeats of the sleeping Na’vi and the idol chatter of his best friend Kiri as she talked to her comatose mother. Spider sat, staring up at his father floating peacefully in his pod. He placed his hand on the glass, as if his touch could make the man wake up. But he never would. He wasn’t allowed to wake up.

     “I went to the village today,” the seven year old said in a hush. “Me and my friends made bracelets! Until their sa’nu made me come back here. I don’t like here very much sempu. It’s….cold. But at least Kiri came back with me for a little bit. Until she has to go back home, to her family…..”

     The door burst open making both children jump. “Miles!” Spider shrank in fear as his foster father stormed up to him. Mr. McCosker grabbed Spider’s arm, yanking him to his feet so hard he thought his arm would rip from its socket. “Did you go to the village without permission again!” The little boy whimpered, trying to avoid the man screaming in his face. “Answer me!” Nash shook him.

       “Yes,” Spider cried.

       “How many times do I have to tell you! No one wants you there!”

       “I want him there,” Kiri yelled, “and so do my brothers!”

        Spider smiled despite the tears in his eyes. Nash growled, “well the adults don’t want him there. And you know better than to just run off…”

        “But you were busy,” Spider said timidly, “I just wanted to play…”

         Nash roughly pulled on his arm again making Spider yelp, “oh you just wanted to play,” his foster father mocked, “you can play by yourself! Do you have any idea the trouble you cause every time you do this!” Nash spun him around to face his sempu. “You're just like your father. A wicked little beast. Why they even bother keeping these things alive is beyond me. It’s a waste of time and resources. Just like you.” Spider’s bottom lip trembled but he didn’t shed a tear. He was used to Mr.McCosker’s angry rants. “Now come on! I hope you like your room because you're gonna be spending a lot of time in there thinking about what you did. And you can forget about dinner….” 

       Spider locked eyes with Kiri as he was dragged from the room. He waved, giving her a sad smile, mouthing bye. He knew she wanted to fight for him. They’d been through this all before and so she knew that Spider would rather she stay out of it. Still she smoldered with rage, fist clenched at her sides. Spider spared one last glance at his father’s tank before being completely taken from the room. Bye sempu. 

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       That night as Spider tried and failed to sleep with his painfully empty stomach an alarm sounded through all of Hell’s Gate having the entire base up and moving in moments. Spider covered his ears burying himself under his blankets as red lights flashed. This had never happened before. What is this? What should I do? He could faintly hear his foster parents through the noise, Mr.McCosker stomping through the apartment and out the door, Mrs. McCosker pacing the living room as she made a call. But Spider didn’t want to go to them. He didn’t want to be anywhere near them.

     He focused his attention through the small window above his bed. The floodlights were on outside as people ran back and forth. He knew deep down that something was seriously wrong. But it couldn’t be too bad if his foster parents hadn’t come to get him. They wouldn’t just leave him behind, right? Eywa help me, he silently prayed.

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     The first thing he was aware of was the heaviness of his own breathing. Then came the sound of his heart beating slow and steady. Next was the feeling of floating. Finally as his senses returned he opened his eyes to a mix of soft shimmering blue light and harsh flashing red. What in the fuck, Miles thought as he took it all in. He was in a tank. He raised his fist to beat on the glass, making him see his body for the first time.

       Ain’t this a bitch . He was na’vi now. Which only meant one thing. Focus he willed himself. First order of business was getting out of the tank. He’d deal with the rest later. Miles placed his hand on the glass, getting a scene of its thickness. Too thick to break. He looked towards his feet then above his head finding exactly what he’d hoped. An escape hatch. A few good twists was all it took for him to spill out of the container onto the linoleum floor of the labs.

      His eyes roved his surroundings. The computers blared a message of system failure. No doubt the reason he woke up. To his right was the exit. To his left a row of familiar faces all wide eyed and banging on their tanks for release. Miles stumbled as he rose on unsteady alien legs. He persevered making his way to the other tanks, freeing his team one by one. “What’s going on boss,” Lyle said.

      “Isn’t it obvious? We died. And now we're back.”

       Lyle rolled his eyes, “I get that but this…”

        “We weren’t supposed to wake up,” Z said, staring at the computer screen, “and if we’re only waking up because of a computer glitch….” She let the implication hang in the air as they all sprung into action, dressing in whatever clothes the avatars had left behind, making weapons from broken chair legs and glass shards, each looping a na’vi breathing mask around their neck.

       “Alright people,” Miles said when they were ready, “for our sins in our past life we have been brought back as the enemy. In enemy territory no less. We don’t know what things look like past those doors so be ready for anything. Head on a swivel,” his team nodded, “alright. Let’s move out.” They made their way down the red lit hall in formation, Miles leading them. Aside from the alarm it was eerily quiet. All the personnel must have been off somewhere dealing with the system failure.

         It only took a few quick glances for Miles to know exactly where he was. Hell’s Gate. Home sweet home . He knew this place like the back of his hand. He led his team not to the control center but to the living quarters. They’d surely be able to take some hostages there, grill them for more information. How long had it been? Who was in command? What happened to the R.D.A. His team's survival hinged on these answers.

        The hallway of apartments was deserted, doors left ajar from hasty exits. They searched the rooms one by one, not a soul in sight. “Maybe we should just run while we have the chance,” said Lyle, “we don’t need masks to breathe out there anymore. We can survive…”

        “I’m not runnin’ like a coward,” Miles growled. He needed to know what happened. Not only in the war but also to…

        They entered the final apartment on the right hand side of the hall. Just like all the others the place had been fled in a hurry, all the doors left open. Except for one. Miles raised his fist signaling, hold tight on me. Cautiously he opened the door to find a child’s room. The furniture was small, made for a toddler but the few articles of clothing strewn about the room suggested a child in the age range of six to eight. Miles’ eyes zeroed in on a form, too big for its little bed, curled up in its sheets. “Prager,” he called, “kill that alarm would y’a.” Prager nodded, expertly having the wires of the screaming red light out and severed in seconds plunging them into blissful silence. 

          Who could leave a child behind like this, Miles thought as the form shifted. Big brown eyes peaked out at him, wide and curious, not an ounce of fear. Miles dropped down to the kids level, “hi there,” he said gently reaching out to pull the cover back.

         “You're awake,” the child said in an awed hush.

          That made Miles still, “you know me?”

          The kid nodded under the covers, “they said you’d never wake up.”

          “Who said that?”

           “Jake, Norm, the McCoskers. Everyone. They said you were too bad to wake up. So if you're awake does that mean you're not bad anymore? Or was I bad enough to be put to sleep…”

          A chill went up Miles' spine, “why would they put you to sleep? You're just a kid.”

         “Because I’m bad. The McCosker’s tell me all the time. And Mrs.Sully says I’m a demon's son…

         Miles sucked in a breath. Mrs.Sully . Jake’s little na’vi girlfriend, the one that made him turn traitor. He knew exactly who would draw her hatred enough to damn a son for their father’s sins. A dangerous hope flaired to life but he fought to push it down. It’s not him. They would have sent him back to Earth. “Can you sit up please so I can get a look at you,” he coaxed the boy. 

        He complied, wrapping the sheets around his shoulders. The boy reached out a little hand touching Miles face, “your real. You really woke up sempu.”

      Miles hardly knew any na’vi but he knew that word for sure. He studied the boy in front of him knowing in his gut that he was his. He had his father’s brow and nose. His mother’s cheeks, her smile. Most importantly their son had the brown eyes of Miles’ lover, the woman he knew without a doubt was dead. She’d never leave her son behind like this. Wouldn’t let this little boy's long, dry, blond hair, start to mat in places. The kid's stomach rumbled. She wouldn’t let him go hungry. “ Miles?”

         He nodded, “yeah, but people only use that name when I’m bad. Most people call me Spider.”

        Miles hid his scowl, masking it with a huff of a laugh, “why do they call you that?”

        Spider perked up, giving him a sunny smile that melted his father’s heart, “because I like to climb!”  Miles chuckled for real at his son’s clear enthusiasm. It’s just a nickname, he reasoned with himself. It would be easier than having two Miles’.

        Spider’s smile slipped as his stomach growled again, making him wrap his arms around himself. Miles scowled. “Who’s closest to the kitchen,” he called.

        “Me,” Mansk answered.

         “Grab somethin’ for my boy to eat would y’a…”

         “But…The McCosker’s will get mad at me. I’m in trouble for leaving and if I…”

         “Who are the McCosker’s,” Miles asked with an undertone of malice. Who ever they were he already hated them.

         Spider averted his gaze, mumbling, “they’re my foster parents…”

         Miles lifted the boy’s little head looking him square in the eye, “well daddy’s back now. And I say you're gonna eat.” Mansk entered with a sandwich cut in half. “Come here.” Spider watched curiously as his father stood but clearly panicked when the man picked him up, sitting on the bed and settling Spider on his lap in one swift movement. Miles took note of his son’s clear distress. He was rigid in his arms, blank faced. The father bounced his son on his knee trying to calm him down. Mansk handed the sandwich to Miles who then offered a bite to Spider. Hesitantly he took it.

         “Good boy,” Miles said gently, rubbing his son’s back. Whether it was the praise or the touch Spider slightly relaxed. “Is it good?” Spider gave a small happy nod. Miles smiled back. “Good. Now what do you say to uncle Mansk?”

        Spider turned to the recom, “thank you.” 

        He sounded so sweet that the hardened soldiers in the room couldn’t help but melt. “You're welcome,” Mansk said. 

        “Spider,” Miles called, drawing his son’s attention, “how old are you now.”

        “Seven,” he answered absentmindedly, enjoying his meal.

          Seven. Making it roughly six years since the war. “A big boy,” Miles bounced his son again, eliciting a little giggle from the boy that made his father grin, his heart warming. “You know when you were little I was in charge around here. Do you know who’s in charge now?”

        “Jake,” Spider said without a care. The rest of the room quietly took in this information. If that traitor was running things now then they’d have to play their cards right if they wanted to get out of this one alive. 

        “He’s quite the fighter. I know we couldn’t take him, or his army,” Miles said keeping his tone light hearted for his son’s sake. His team was smart enough to catch on to what he really meant. Spider nodded his agreement. “Say, why’d Jake keep us asleep?” Miles said while tucking his son’s hair behind his ear so he wouldn’t accidentally eat it as he devoured his food.

       Spider shrugged, “I heard him say once that only a coward would kill a man in his sleep. That’s why I guess.”

       Miles could respect that. If Jake was honorable enough to not strike when they were most vulnerable, Miles was willing to bet that Jake would at least put them through some sort of trial before executing them. And that would open up a whole world of possibilities. “That was mighty kind of him. I’d sure like to thank him for keeping us all alive and thrivin’.”

      Spider’s eyes lit up, “you do?”

      Miles nodded, “sure I do!” His team displayed a mix of emotions as his real intentions set it. They were surrendering. 

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        Jake led the recoms like dogs on a leash, their hands bound and bodies tied together in a line, avatars keeping them on track with loaded guns. “Quite the trek gettin’ to your little village,” Miles said.

       Jake scowled, “don’t talk to me.”

       “What’s the matter Jake? We can’t have a nice conversation together?” Jake pointedly ignored him. “You all really let my boy walk all the way to the village by himself?”

       “He’s not your son,” Jake hissed.

        “I beg to differ. You can’t call him a demon’s son then turn around and say he doesn’t belong to me.” Jake smoldered with rage but stayed quiet. “Unless you're saying that I am not in fact Miles Quaritch, in which case me and my team can’t be held accountable for the actions of our genetic predecessors…”

      “Of course your Quaritch,” Jake snapped, “that body is nothing but a blank slate. It’d sleep forever without some kind of driver…”

     “So that means I’m Miles Quaritch, father of Miles “Spider” Socorro….” Jake growled, walking faster, harshly tugging on his leads to make the recoms do the same. The recoms all snickered. “I should thank you though Jake for not slandering me in front of my son. He knows I’m “bad” but doesn’t seem to know how bad…”

      “It wasn’t intentional. How the hell are you supposed to tell a kid his father is responsible for the deaths of hundreds.”

      “Fair.” They quieted as they approached the village. The Omatikaya lined the walkway screaming and hissing as the recoms were led to the heart of the village. Their tsahik Mo’at waited there with her daughter at her side, Neytiri’s teeth bared and snarling. Miles inclined his head to her as the recoms were lined up, “Mrs. Sully.”

      “Demon!” Neytiri lunged at him, knife in hand.

       “Daughter,” her mother held up her hand, placating Neytiri. She backed down but still stood ready to strike. Mo’at fixed them with a hard stare that even Miles felt uneasy under. She walked around them picking at their ears and tails, analyzing them coldly. Once she was satisfied she stood before them, the entire village waiting with bated breath for her verdict. To the shock of all, the tsahik laughed. “Ah, the great mother knows what she’s doing. You demons who so brutally destroyed our home and slaughtered our people. With no respect for the great balance! Eywa has made you one of us so you could connect and feel the devastation you brought among the people!” The villagers all screamed their agreements. “I can think of no greater punishment than to make you learn our ways. Make you understand and feel what you have done until you are so remorseful that you weep at the foot of the Tree of Souls and beg the great mother for forgiveness!” The village roared.

       Miles stood there in shock. He’d expected to have to plead his case. Argue that his team were clones of their predecessors. That they couldn’t be held accountable for what they’d done. “So…your not gonna execute us?”

       Mo’at looked at him in confusion, not understanding his words. Jake said, “Na’vi don’t do executions. They banish their criminals to the ash lands. But I’d tried to convince Mo’at to make an exception for you.”

      Miles grinned, “well it looks like you failed…” Mo’at rapped him with her walking stick right between his eyes making Miles stumble back. 

     “Do not think you are getting off easy! If you want to live then you will learn our ways. If you refuse I have no issue banishing you from this land. Then your fate will truly lie with Eywa.”

     “Yes ma’am.” Miles bowed his head to her, the other recoms following suit. 

     “You will come back here tomorrow and every day after until your insanity is cured,” they nodded their agreement, “good. Now away with you!” The clan jeered and hissed as Jake led them back towards Hell’s Gate.

      When they were well away from the village Miles spoke, “well, now that that’s settled, let’s talk about my boy…”

       Jake scowled, “no..”

       “I want back custody…”

        “Absolutely not!”

        “Tell me Jake, what happened last night?” Jake paused. Knowing exactly where this was going he stayed silent. “I know Hells Gate better than anyone. If anything goes haywire the systems automatically reroute power to keep the control room and the cafeteria powered and oxygenated. That’s what happened last night and those damn McCoskers left Spider behind to die! How long do you think it would’ve taken for the living quarters to run out of oxygen….”

       Jake sighed, “Where having a meeting with the McCoskers when we get back…”

       “And I want to be there..”

       “No.”

       “He’s my son! They sure as hell don’t want him! Do you want him Jake?” He shifted uncomfortably, choosing not to answer. “How about you? Do you want my kid,” Miles asked Norm. Norm also stayed quiet. “Is there a single person on that base that could give my son a lovin’ home…”

       “We’re going to work something out…”

        “Yeah you're gonna give me my kid.” Jake clenched his jaw, choosing to ignore Miles for the rest of the walk.

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         “We don’t want him anymore,” Nash said, “he’s too wild. We’re having our own baby soon…and now that his father’s back…”

         “Quaritch can’t have Spider,” Jake said.

          “Why not? We’re not executing him, we’re not really imprisoning him and he wants the kid. I say let him have his little bastard…”

          “Don’t call him that!” Jake yelled, fighting to maintain some level of calm.

           Norm gave his friend a sympathetic smile, “we can’t let Spider stay with Nash and Mary anymore. Not after last night…” Nash didn’t even seem guilty over leaving a child to die, “….and remember the last time we had to find a placement for Spider…” Jake most certainly did. No one had been willing to take the boy. They’d had to twist Nash’s arm just to accept Spider in the first place, which was now blowing up in their faces in spectacular fashion. 

          “I don’t want Quaritch to win here…”

          “It’s not about that Jake. It’s what’s best for Spider..”

          “How could that monster be what’s best for him!”

           “It’s better than nothing!” Jake scoffed, “We’ll watch Quaritch like a hawk. If anything happens to Spider we’ll take him away in a second…”

          “Oh come on now,” the man in question finally said, “i’m a lot of things but do you really think I’d hurt my own child!”

         “We wouldn’t be having this conversation otherwise,” Jake snapped.

          “You put Spider in the custody of two people who left him to die! Who let him starve! What else have they been doing right under your nose?” Jake had the decency to look guilty.

         Nash waved him off, “let him have his kid Jake. It’ll be enough punishment for him.” Jake had to stop Quaritch from lunging across the table to throttle Nash, the recom turning purple from how incensed he was.

       “Fine!” Jack shouted if only to stop Quaritch from committing murder, “you can take custody of Spider! But if you hurt him I swear…”

       “Pff..” Quaritch shook him off, “please. I couldn’t do any worse than you.”

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        The recoms were locked into the avatar quarters for the night. Not that they minded. It finally gave them a chance to speak openly after their first chaotic day in their new bodies. “So we’re really just gonna go along with all this boss,” Prager asked.

        Miles nodded, “the R.D.A is gone. For now at least. We hang tight, learn the savages way, worm our way into the rebels' operations. We’ll be sitting real pretty when the company makes their comeback.” Everyone grinned, a few cheering for their new found mission. Miles couldn’t help but smile back, “alright now get some shut eye. We got a long day tomorrow.” The others nodded agreements before settling into bed. Miles did the same. He smiled to himself thinking about tomorrow. First they’d have their silly ass lessons in the village. But then they’d start renovations on Miles' apartment from back in the day, getting it all ready for Spider to move in. A home for me and my son. He couldn’t wait. 

Chapter Text

      Miles felt weighted as he gathered items from his lover's apartment. The home he’d built for her and their son. That he’d hoped to one day share with them once he won the war. He tried to not dwell on those dashed dreams as he went through Paz’s belongings, taking everything she held dear, so he could pass it on to Spider. Her record player, music collection, books, family photos of her and Spider, and all the different journals she’d kept filled with notes on all her different hobbies and interests were all coming with him.

       He practically gutted Spider’s old bedroom. Back in the day Miles had carved all the furniture along with all of the hard toys, while Paz had lovingly made all the stuffed animals. Spider would no doubt adore them. Miles' heart twinged when he looked at the crib his son had barely been able to use, reminding him of just how much time he’d already lost. He left it there, taking everything else.

      There were a few other odds and ends he knew would be useful down the line. All the extra towels and bedding. Paint to add some color to his dull apartment. Board games and puzzles to keep Spider entertained. Paz’s hair care supplies for eventually taming Spider’s wild mane. Once he was done he took one last look around. It felt so wrong with all of Paz’s personal touches taken out. You're just moving things, he told himself. She’d want you to give Spider a nice home. It was such a shame that they couldn’t just live here. But the current residents of Hells Gate only ran power and air filtration to the main wing of the base to conserve resources. Paz’s apartment was far outside that. 

        “We good here boss,” Ja asked. The rest of his team was either loading up the last few boxes onto a cart, taking things to Miles' old apartment, or setting up said apartment. The help made the work fly by. They still needed to finish some renovations they were doing to his place. Six years ago his corridor had been completely deserted and after six years it was still empty, everyone choosing to live in the same close quarters over the isolated hallway. Miles was happy to capitalize on that decision, connecting all the separate rooms and raising the ceiling to have the perfect space for him and Spider. When everything was said and done he’d still need to have Norm, who had been appointed Spider’s social worker of sorts, inspect the home. Without his approval Spider would never be allowed to move in. 

        “Yeah, we’re good. Let’s head out.”

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      Miles stomped down the halls of the main living quarters eager to pick up his son for the day. Until their new home was finished Spider would be staying with the McCosker’s motivating his father to get everything ready as quickly as possible. He made sure to get him bright and early to minimize the amount of time Spider had to spend at his neglectful foster parents but it still never felt like enough. 

     He pounded on the front door of the McCosker’s apartment. Nash didn’t open it, instead yelling through the walls, “he’s already gone.”

     Miles' anger flared, “what do y’a mean he’s already gone!”

     “He ran off to the village before we even woke up!”

      “It’s five in the morning!”

      “And he woke up before us!”

      “How do y’a even know he went to village if y’a didn’t see him leave!”

      “Norm saw him go.”

       “And he didn’t stop him! He’s seven! Why the hell are you lettin’ a seven year old run off into the wilderness by himself!”

       “Take it up with him! It’s too early for this shit!” Nash was lucky there was a wall between them because if they were face to face Miles would have punched his lights out. 

        Miles didn’t bother seeking out the scientist. He had no doubt that his son had gone to the village. Quickly he made his way out of the base, into the bright, clear day. “Ready to go boss,” Z asked, as he sped past the waiting recoms. She then noticed that Spider was nowhere in sight. “Where’s the kid?”

      “Already gone,” Miles shouted from a good distance away. The recoms rushed to catch up with him. Miles smoldered with rage as he tore through the foliage. Letting a little boy lose in a jungle! He could get hurt! He could die! And his “guardians” just let him run wild! 

      Calm down, he willed himself, save it for the scientist. You're gonna scare Spider if you come up to him like this. He forced himself to take deep breaths as he approached the village. Jake and a group of warriors were there waiting for them. “Good you're early…”

      “Where’s Spider?”

      “Well good morning to you too.”

       “I’m not playing games here Sully,” Miles growled, “where’s my son!”

        Jake rolled his eyes, “he’s fine. He’s playing with my kids just over there…”

       “Show me.”

       “Oh no, you're not getting anywhere near my kids.”

       “I don’t care about your kids! I just want to see mine!”

        Jake sighed, “You're not going to cooperate until you do, are you?”

        “That’s right.”

         Jake sighed again, more bone weary than the last, “fine follow me.” Before they left Jake waved over one of the warriors, saying something in Na’vi that Miles couldn’t hope to understand. The warrior nodded, locking his gaze on the group of breathless recoms racing to catch up to their commander. 

       Miles followed Jake into the heart of the village, receiving glares and hisses from the Na’vi as he went. He ignored them, holding his head high. Then Miles finally caught sight of Spider playing a game of tag with his friends. Miles breathed a sigh of relief. “Spider!”

       Spider looked up, smiling when he saw him, “hi sempu!”

      “Spider, why don’t you come over here,” Jake called. Kiri, Neteyam and Lo’ak made a move to follow him. Jake held his hand up to stop them, “stay over there kids. Spider’s dad just wants to talk to him.” Jake moved to usher his children away, giving Miles and Spider some privacy. 

       Spider’s high spirits dimmed as he approached, either sensing that something was wrong or knowing from past experience that he was in trouble. Miles got down on his knees trying to be as close to eye level as he could get with his son. “Am I in trouble,” Spider asked, already looking guilty but trying not to show it.

       “Why would you be in trouble?” So this is a pattern, Miles instantly knew.

         Spider kicked the dirt, not looking his father in the eye, “because I ran off by myself.” Spider waited for Miles to reply but when he didn’t, Spider panicked blurting out, “are you mad at me!”

        Miles' gaze softened. “I’m mad. But not at you. I’m mad at every adult that let you leave on your own.”

        Spider bristled, “but I’m fine!”

        “But you could have been hurt!”

         “But I didn’t get hurt!”

         Miles sighed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Son you can walk those woods a thousand times and be fine but it only takes one bad day to change your life forever.” Spider’s anger dulled as he took in his father’s words. “When I was human, my first day on Pandora I went out into the forest by myself. I was cocky. I thought, I’m armed, I can handle anything. I got surrounded by a pack of viperwolves. One clawed me right in the face. I almost lost an eye.” Spider’s own eyes went wide. “It was by sheer luck that reinforcements came in and saved me. If it wasn’t for that I would’ve died.” Miles held up a finger. “One bad day. I don’t want anything like that happenin’ to you.”

      Spider nodded, hanging his head. “You sure you're not mad at me.”

      Miles' features softened, “I’m sure I’m not mad at you. I was just scared for you.” Spider didn’t say anything but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Miles ducked low trying to catch his son’s eye, “no more runnin’ off okay. I promise I’ll bring y’a to the village every day I can, just as long as y’a don’t try to go off by yourself.” Spider nodded like a bobble head. Miles smiled, patting his son’s shoulders, “good. Now turn around for me for a second.”

       Spider gave him a questioning look, “why?”

       Miles pulled one of Paz’s old scrunches from his pocket, holding it up as if that was enough of an answer. He’d deal with actually getting all of the mats out of Spider’s hair soon but for now he’d tie it back to try and prevent any further damage. When Spider didn’t turn, Miles sighed, spinning the boy away from him. He felt like a clumsy giant as he gathered his son’s long hair in his hand. “No!” Spider shrieked bucking like an animal. Miles was momentarily shocked by the reaction but managed to recover pulling Spider in before he could try and run off.

      “Hey, hey, hey, what’s this about,” Miles said as calmly as possible with his son squirming for freedom in his arms. 

       Spider grunted and snarled as he fought against Miles' arm. “You said you weren’t mad at me!”

       Miles felt as if he was just slapped in the face. This isn’t normal. “I’m not.” Spider said nothing in response, continuing his fight for release. “Sshhh…” Miles tried to sooth his son but it was little help. Keeping Spider secure with one arm he quickly used his other hand to tie up the boy’s hair in a sloppy excuse for a ponytail before releasing him. Spider was stunned for a moment, then shook his head like a cat forced to wear a cone around his neck. “I don’t like this.”

       “Try to deal with it for now. We’ll get your hair fixed up soon but for now I want you to wear it like this.”

       Spider’s eyes went wide in panic. “But nothing’s wrong with my hair!” 

       Miles sighed. Pick your battles. “Just try it for a little while okay.” Spider pouted but didn’t try to take the pony tail out. “Alright now, go play with your friends. I’ll be around if you need anythin’.” He watched Spider race off to rejoin the Sully children. Then Miles went to Jake who started to lead him across the village. “What in the hell was that about?”

      Jake shrugged, “kid doesn’t like it when people touch his hair.”

      Miles stared at him, bewildered. “That’s one hell of an understatement!”

      “I don’t know what else to say! He’s always been like that. Mary used to chase him through the halls just to brush his hair…”

      “Until she gave up on him,” Miles said bitterly.

       “Can you blame her with that kind of reaction?”

       “Yes!” 

        Jake sighed. He didn’t want to admit that his enemy had a point. “He didn’t used to be that bad. It only got worse after last year. Nash got mad at him and buzzed it all off. Wouldn’t come out of his room for days…” 

        I’m gonna kill that bastard, Miles thought as he fought to control his anger. He focused on making a list in his head of all the things he needed to finish around their new home to get Spider moved in as soon as possible. Build Spider’s bed, paint, put a tub in the bathroom….

       He stopped as they reached the place the other recoms were gathered. And they were dressed like the natives. “Aw no. You ain’t gettin’ me to wear one of those things.” Jake rolled his eyes.

      “They’re actually pretty comfy,” Ja said. Miles silenced him with a glare. 

        Jake shoved a loincloth into his hands, “you gonna learn our ways, you gotta dress like one of us.” Miles snarled. Jake rolled his eyes. “It’s to be closer to Eywa.”

        Miles scoffed at him, “how does being half naked get y’a closer to your silly god.”

        Jake looked like he was holding back the urge to hit him, “no barriers between you and nature. Now just put it on, would y’a.”

       Miles looked around at the other villagers. Some had more adornments then others, wearing bright jewelry, or expertly woven pieces. There were a few that wore something that looked very similar to pants underneath their loincloths. 

       “I want something like those,” Miles said, pointing to the closest Na’vi with the style. Said Na’vi hissed at him not understanding why he was being pointed at.

      Jake scoffed, “you want that huh? Those are just riding guards.”

      “And I want a pair.” 

      Jake was unamused. “Then you can make them yourself.”

     “Show me how right now then.”

      Jake actually laughed at him, “your first day of learning our ways and you want to sit with the weavers all day.”

       Miles bristled, “why not! I was a craftsman back in my day, and a damn good one at that! You should have seen all the things I made for Spider when he was baby! Not that any of you bothered to gather up his things for him…”

       Jake waved him off, “alright, alright. You want to learn how to craft the Na’vi way? You can learn to craft the Na’vi way.” Jake ushered the group over to a small circle of villagers, who were smiling and laughing as they worked but instantly stilled as the recoms approached. Jake had a quick conversation with them in Na’vi before turning back to Miles. “Alright, they'll teach you. Tarsem will stay with you to translate,” he motioned to the youngest of the warriors among Jake’s posie. Kid couldn’t have been older than mid teens, “I’ve gotta make the rounds around the village. If you even think about trying anything…”

        Miles waved him off, “we're not gonna try anythin’. Go be the village idiot or whatever.” Jake snarled, obviously itching to fight, his fists clenching at his sides. Instead he said something to his warriors before stalking off. 

     The recoms took a seat in the circle. One of the weavers roughly threw him some supplies. The yarn in his hand was unlike anything he’d ever felt, soft and supple like leather, but springy and fibrous like a plant. “This thread is spun from Rain Thistle,” Tarsem translated for the wizened weaver at the head of the circle, “it is abundant in our land. It forms the base of almost every woven object you see in the village.” 

      Miles nodded. He looked around, noting all the different colors of yarn all derived from the same plant. “Does this one little weed really come in this many colors?”

      Tarsem didn’t seem the least bit slighted by him calling this important plant a weed. “No. It’s naturally a light shade of brown. We make dyes from other plants.”

      Miles took this in, looking at the bright red yarn he’d been given. “Do these colors hold any significance?”

      Tarsem spoke with his elder then translated, “yes. Color, weaving technique, and adornments are all indicative of what family you're from.”

      Miles looked around again with this in mind. The elder weaver wore a stunningly intricate design of vibrant yellows, pinks and oranges. Two others in the circle wore something similar, one a middle aged woman, the other a teenage boy. Three generations, all instantly recognizable as family by their style of dress. Miles actually found the concept rather interesting. He continued looking around, quickly noticing one distinct omission from the villagers color palette. He couldn’t stop himself from chuckling ruefully. “What does red mean?”

      “Danger,” Tarsem answered with no hesitation. “Only warriors or outcasts wear red.”

       Miles smirked, “well luckily I’m both.” It didn’t take him long to get the basics of the process. After half an hour of steady practice it started feeling natural to him. No one was willing to teach him more advanced techniques. Those were apparently only for family members, passed down from generation to generation. Miles didn’t mind. He couldn’t weave as fluidly as the seasoned craftspeople in the circle, making his designs more harsh and geometric than the neat organic work around him. It fits me better. 

       Once he got the hang of things, he started on a small pair of riding guards, using it as practice before he went on to make himself a pair. He’d give them to Spider, proudly declaring to the whole village that he was his son. The other recoms went about making their own desired accessories, Lyle, Mansk, Fike and Prager following his lead and making riding guards, Z and Walker making nicer tops then what they were given by Jake, Ja and Zhang made bags, while Brown, Lopez, and Warren made arm bands just to be included.

       As Miles worked, he took an opportunity to mine information from their young translator. “You must be mighty capable to be one of Jake’s warriors at your age.” Tarsem stared him down with a calm impassive expression. “How old are y’a kid?”

      “Sixteen,” he answered his tone neutral.

      “Wow. You must be pretty impressive to be trusted to look after the likes of us.”

      Tarsem shrugged, “I don’t need to be that skilled to defend my people against someone as pathetic as you.” Miles out right laughed. I like this kid. His dismissal of the jab made Tarsem’s anger flare slightly, a crack in his otherwise stoic facade. “Cowards fight with the kind of weapons you do. Bombing us in your airships. Gunning us down, setting fire to our land. Never having to really see- to feel!- the devastation you have brought down on the people!”

     Miles smirk never slipped but he did start to feel a stirring within himself. Tarsem had a point. He knew perfectly well what it was like to watch a person’s life drain from their eyes from a wound you’d dealt them. It was something he’d never forget, that haunted his nightmares, that he had to work to ignore every day. He didn’t have that problem when it came to those he had bombed or gunned down in a fog of artillery fire. He knew he’d murdered those people just the same. But he didn’t have to see it. Part of him reasoned that the bombings weren’t cowardly, they were tactical. Obliterate the enemy before they could get you. That’s what logic told him. The stirring inside him sang a different tune. He snuffed it out, keeping up his own facade. “You seem mighty passionate about all that.” 

       “You killed my family,” Tarsem said, his cold bluntness like a slap to the face. “My parents, my sister, my grandparent all gone when hometree fell.”

       Miles took a deep breath to steady himself. “You must want me dead,” he still kept up his smirk but it felt so fake now.

       “I don’t want you dead,” the admission shocked Miles to his core, “I don’t even want you to suffer. Because the life you live, so disconnected from the world, so uncaring is suffering enough. You are so used to it that you don’t even understand how dead your soul is. It’s why you can do the things you do and not care. It’s why without your violence, you are simply nothing. I pity you.”

     Miles took it without another word. He wasn’t about to fight a teenager. And he certainly wasn’t about to grovel for understanding from some kid who didn’t know a damn thing. He didn’t know what it was like fighting a losing battle for a dying world, every day a struggle to survive. He probably couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around the hopelessness of knowing you had no future. Having a family? Why bother when you’ll all be dead in thirty years. Living your dreams? Who has the money to make them a reality? A comfortable home? That was downright laughable. No hope for a life. No hope for a future. You either roll over and die, survive until the inevitable end, or try with everything you have to fight for your last little shred of hope. Well Miles was a fighter till the end, everything else be damned. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

       Miles watched as his squad headed back to base after a long day. He was eager to go home, maybe watch a movie with Spider before he had to take him back to his foster parents. He just had to find him first. “Spider,” he called as he walked the village. As always people glared everywhere he went. “Spider!”

        “Sshhh,” the little boy popped out of a small opening in the exposed roots of a tree, a spot only he could have fit in.

        His father smiled, “you guys playing hide and seek?”

        Spider nodded, “you're gonna blow my cover.”

        “Fine by me. It’s time to go home.”

        Spider looked aghast, “but I don’t want to leave!”

       “Well too bad. It’s time to go.”

        The little boy groaned dramatically, “can we at least finish our game first?”

         Miles' features softened, “oh alright. But when you're done where goin’ straight home y’a got it?” Spider happily nodded. “Alright then.” Miles walked off to a place where he could watch the game without drawing attention to himself. 

        Soon enough Jake’s youngest son came wandering around looking confused. “Is anyone here,” Lo’ak called. Miles had to suppress his chuckle. The poor five year old was hopeless. 

        “Pst,” Miles sounded, drawing the boy’s attention to him. He pointed at the tree Spider was hiding in.

         Lo’ak innocently cocked his head to the side, going to where Miles directed. He circled the tree before finally getting to its opening. Lo’ak brightened, yelling, “I found you!” Spider grumbled as he pulled himself from his hiding place while Lo’ak cheered for himself. “Now you're it!”

         Spider smirked, “actually my sempu said I have to go home now so…not it!” Spider happily skipped to his father’s side while Lo’ak pouted. “Bye,” Spider waved to his friend as he let himself be led from the village. 

      “You're gonna be it tomorrow Spider!” Lo’ak called after him. The boy just laughed mischievously as he left. 

       Spider sped ahead of his father, nearly disappearing into the foliage. “Slow down,” Miles shouted. His son said nothing, continuing on at the same speed. “Did you hear me? I said, slow down!”

        “Yeah I heard you.” Miles growled, doing his damndest to not blow up over the blatant disrespect.

         “You stop right now young man,” Miles said firmly.

          Spider turned around but he still kept walking, “why?”

          Miles increased his speed closing the distance between him and his son, “did you forget our conversation from this morning?”

          “But you're right there!”

           Miles caught up to his boy using a hand to spin him forward, “I might be in your sights but if somethin’ were to jump out at you, you’d be hurt before I could step in. So I want you to stay close okay.” The boy scowled. Miles' jaw clenched. “I’d like an answer please.”

           “Okay,” Spider mumbled, not really meaning it. He stayed by his fathers side for just a moment before darting ahead again.

           “Spider! Come back here right now!” He slowed down allowing his father to catch up only to dash ahead again. “That’s it!” Miles raced to catch up blocking his son’s way. “Hold my hand.” Spider looked appalled. Miles shook his hand in the air, beckoning the boy to comply. “Come on now.” 

           Reluctantly Spider took his hand, pouting. “I’m not a baby,” he mumbled.

           Miles huffed a laugh repressing the urge to say yes you are . Instead he said, “I know that. You know these forests better than me. I need y’a to stay close to guide me back home.” 

          Spider brightened, his chest swelling with pride. He clutched Miles' pinky finger tighter, the only thing he could get his little hand around. “Okay sempu. I’ll help you back home.”

          Miles smiled, his frustration melting out of him, “thank you son.” They enjoyed a peaceful walk for a few minutes before Miles asked, “so what did you do today?”

         Spider was happy to be asked, “my friends and I played for awhile. Then when we had lunch one of the elders told all the kids in the village the story of the third Toruk Makto. It was really cool! Mrs.Sully made us all take a nap after that. She doesn’t let me sleep in her family hut so I found a patch of grass in the sun to sleep in. It was nice!” Miles' anger spiked. She can’t even let him nap in a safe place. And his poor boy didn’t seem to see a single problem with it. “After our nap we went and sang with some of the other villagers, and then we started playing again! What about you sempu?”

         “I made this,” he motioned to his new blood red riding guards worn under a pitch black leather loincloth cut and shaped into a perfectly symmetrical point. 

         Spider admired the outfit, “I like it.”

         “Good ‘cause I made y’a one too.”

          Spider’s eyes went wide, “you did?” The hope in his son’s voice made a pang go through Miles' heart.

          “I sure did. I’ll give it to you when we get home.”

          “Then let’s get home!” Spider jump stepped in his excitement, trying to pull his father along.

Miles laughed, “alright, alright. Come here.” He picked Spider up, setting his boy on his shoulders. Spider squealed, delighted to be up so high. “Hold on tight.” Spider did as told, while Miles held onto his son’s legs. With his child secure he tore off into the forest, sprinting back to base, Spider’s excited yells and whoops echoing for the whole world to hear.

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        “Boss, I think you need to go to bed,” Lyle urged. 

         Miles waved him off, his attention never wavering from his work. In a few more hours he’d be done constructing Spider’s new bed. “I got to get this done Lyle. My boy needs a real place to sleep, not that tiny cot the McCoskers got him on.”

        “But you’ll be up all night! And you stayed up all last night plastering walls. And the night before that, doing the electrics…”

        “Faster this gets done, faster I get to bring Spider home…”

        “I know that but we have our lessons in the morning…”

        “You think I don’t know that!”

        Lyle held his hands up trying to placate his boss, “I know you know! I’m just saying. You need to take care of yourself. You can’t keep this up forever.”

       “I’ll sleep after I bring my boy home.”

        Lyle sighed, “how can I help you then?”

        Miles smiled, “start sanding those pieces over there.”

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        “What’s your favorite color,” Miles asked his son, as he watched him eat his dinner.

         Spider deeply contemplated the simple question, “blue. No- green! Orange is really nice too….” he shrugged, “….I think I like them all.”

         His sempu chuckled. So much for picking a color to paint his room . Lopez and Zhang were artistic. Maybe they could paint some kind of mural of the forest. Spider loved being outside so much that his father had no doubt his son would go nuts. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

          His son’s sheer amount of energy never failed to amaze him. Especially first thing in the morning. He raced out of the airlock as soon as he’d strapped his mask to his face. “Spider,” Miles called  “you need to take your spare!”

         “I’ll be fine,” Spider shouted from the border of the forest, eagerly jumping in place waiting for his father to follow. He sighed knowing he wouldn’t be able to convince his wild child. He searched the room for some kind of backpack to carry an extra mask in but found none. Silly ass loincloth, Miles thought bitterly. If the damn things had pockets he could easily carry around his son’s necessities. He’d have to make himself one of those belt bags he’d seen a few Na’vi wearing. He put it on his mental to do list for the day. In the meantime he’d carry Spider’s spare mask.

         “Come on sempu,” Spider yelled, clearly getting antsy. “I want to get to the village! Kiri said the pottery makers are going to show us how to find clay.” Oh great, Miles thought as he walked forward, boy’ll be a muddy mess. “They said we could make whatever we wanted out of what we dig up.”

         Miles reached his son who immediately took his hand, dragging his father to the village. “Is that so? What are you planning on makin’?”

         Spider shrugged, “I don’t know.”

         Miles made a show of thinking about it. “You could make a nice vase.”

         Spider’s face scrunched up in disgust, “that’s boring.”

         His father chuckled, figuring that would be his son’s answer, “how about a figurine?” Spider thought about it. “You could do your name sake.”

        The boy shrugged, “I don’t know what a spider looks like. I just know they’re a bug on earth.”

        Unbelievable. He was going to have to have a serious talk with Spider’s guardians on what his education was like. “Well what about your favorite animal?”

        Spider deeply contemplated this question. His son liked to move when he needed to think hard about something. In this case he started using his father as a jungle gym, climbing up his back to hang upside down on Miles extended arm. “Ah…I don’t know. I think I like them all. What’s your favorite animal sempu?”

        “I always liked tigers. They went extinct before I was born so I only ever got to see them through videos but, my oh my, where they some gorgeous beasts.”

        Spider cocked his head questioningly, “what did they look like? And what does extinct mean?”

        Miles sighed. Finding out the nature of Spider’s education was now at the top of his to do list. “Extinct means a species has been wiped out. They’re no more of them.”

        Spider’s high spirit dimmed, “that’s really sad.”

        He nodded, “it is. They looked like big kitty cats. You ever seen a kitty cat?”

       “ ‘course I have. They’re really cute. I wish I could have one.”

       “Yeah well imagine a cute little kitty with orange fur and black stripes but they’re big and deadly like a viperwolf. That’s a tiger.”

       “Wow.” Miles couldn’t see his son - the boy was riding on his back with his arms wrapped around his father’s neck-  but he could hear in his voice that he was mystified.

       Miles chuckled, “I’ll show y’a some videos when we get home tonight.”

       Spider beamed. “Okay!”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

      Miles was taking a short break from his construction work. He had just finished plastering the expanded ceiling. Even with his size the room felt huge, like a featureless all white cave, echoing his every movement. In the stillness of the early morning it felt downright eerie. He sat in the middle of the empty living room, fighting to stay awake by paging through some of Paz’s old journals. She had once been his pilot but after they had become lovers he had reassigned her to flying for the science division, pushing her away to keep their affair from becoming known. Not that it stopped them from meeting in secret. 

     Paz had liked chauffeuring Dr.Augustine and her cohorts across Pandora. It had given her a freedom that she had lacked with him, allowing her to study and learn about the planet on her terms, with plenty of other inquisitive minds there to discuss with. Pouring through her writings, she had notes on which Pandoran delicacies were safe for human consumption. Different plants and their uses for humans. Na’vi crafting techniques she’d tried her hand at. I wish you were here, he thought as longing set in. She’d been dead for six years now but for him it was little more than a week. The relics she left behind were a small comfort but could never staunch his wounded heart. During the day he kept up a stoic face, pushing all thoughts of her from her mind. It was in quiet moments of solitude like this one that he felt free to really mourn her loss

     I won’t let you down darlin’. He rose from his spot forcing himself to get back to work despite his body screaming at him to sleep. I’ll build a new home for our son, one you’d approve of. I’ll make sure he’s happy and cared for. I’ll raise him into a man you’d be proud of. I swear to you. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    “So when do we get to do somethin’ interestin’? Like huntin’. Or riding one of those…,” Miles paused trying to remember the name but came up empty, “what do y’a call’em. Those flyin’ things?”

    “an ikran.” Jake said, incredibly annoyed.

    “Yeah! One of them!”

    “Never if I can help it.”

    Miles faked being hurt, “aw but I thought we were supposed to be learnin’ the culture…”

    Jake growled. “Not that part…”

    “Yet…” Jake hissed at him in frustration. Miles laughed, “down kitty cat.” Jake backed off in embarrassment while his fists clenched in anger ready to fight. Miles ignored him reaching into the yerik skin bag on his hip, pulling out a list written on a notepad. “I was thinkin’  we could go foragin’ today.”

    Jake raised an eyebrow, saying sarcastically “what the hell is that? Your grocery list?”

    “Actually yes,” Jake made a face, waiting for him to elaborate. Miles rolled his eyes. “I need shit for Spider okay.”

    Jake didn’t miss the note of defensiveness in his tone. His eyes lit with vindictive mirth, “like what?”

    Miles repressed the urge to growl, “my late lady had found some plants she liked to mix together for her hair to keep it hydrated or whatever. She wrote it all down in one of her journals. I’m gonna need that for Spider….”

    “I would pay to watch you try to take care of that kid's hair,” Jake was laughing at him, already picturing it in his head, “you're so bad at it.”

    Miles did growl at him for that. I’m not bad at it. Spider just fought him so much his attempts at styling his matted mane came out looking worse for wear. “I also want to find some of the food my lady said was safe to eat. I’m sure Spider already has some dishes he likes.”

    Jake raised an eyebrow in surprise, “you want to learn to cook?”

   “I can already cook,” Miles snapped, “what kinda moron can’t feed themself! I just need the recipes for whatever Na’vi meals Spider likes.”

    Jake smirked, “anything else you need Mr.Mom.”

    Miles resisted the urge to hit him, though he allowed his rage to be felt. “Lopez and Zhang are paintin’ the forest in Spider’s room for me. They think if they mix some plant sap in with the paint then it’ll glow at night..”

    “They’re right, it will.”

    “So I need some sap then…”

     Jake openly laughed at him. “You're really going all out aren’t you?”

     Miles was unfazed. “It’s like I told you. I take care of my own. And that goes quadruple for my only child.” Jake said nothing in response but an unconscious head nod signaled the approval he’d never admit to. 

    They made their way to the heart of the village where the rest of his squad was broken off into little groups, learning the language, history and customs of the people. It was nearing lunch time, the cook fires burning bright all around. The elders tended the flames while children chased each other all around, entertaining themselves with games while they waited to be fed. It was easy for Miles to spot his kid among the pleasant activities. The boy was playing a game of tag with Jake’s children. Spider was alway with Jake’s children. It seemed they were his only friends even with there being other Na’vi kids that he could mingle with. Just my luck, Miles thought bitterly.

    He stood over one of the cookfires watching an elder prepare the meal. He planned on mimicking the techniques to make lunch for Spider but that went out the window when out of the corner of his eye he saw his son trip over a tree root as he ran at top speed. He hit the ground hard, his head reverberating once before stilling. Miles ran to Spider’s side. The boy made no sound as he stood up, mentally unaffected by his injuries. He made to continue his games but stopped as his friends looked at him in horror. “What.” Spider asked, innocently cocking his head.

   “Doesn’t that hurt,” Kiri asked. Spider was a bloody mess from head to toe. One of his two front teeth had been knocked out in the fall, making blood stream from his mouth and down his chin, the dislodged tooth rattling around in the base of his mask. The mask itself was thankfully undamaged save for some scratches and dirt. There were scrapes all up and down Spider’s body, the worst of it on his knees and hands. Blood was pouring from those wounds mixing with the dirt making it near impossible to see how bad the damage actually was.

   Spider shrugged, “yeah.” Everyone stared at the uncaring injured boy with different levels of shock and panic. 

   “Alright,” Miles said, drawing his son’s attention. He scooped Spider up, much to the boy’s surprise. “I think I need to take this one home. Get him cleaned up…”

   “No!”  Spider screamed fighting for release. Miles tightened his hold, ignoring his son’s pleas.

   Jake nodded, “I think that’s a good idea.”

   “No!” Spider yelled even louder, angered by Jake’s betrayal. He reached towards his friends, yelling, “put me down! Put me down, sempu!” Not a soul was sympathetic to him, watching as he was carried from the village. 

   “You hush now,” Miles said sternly, firmly cradling his squirming child.

   “I don’t want to leave,” Spider moaned. He seemed ready to cry not from his injuries but from being parted from his friends.

    “Son, you're really hurt. We need to get you bandaged up.”

    “I’ve never had to get bandaged up before,” Spider snapped furiously.

    “Well you're gonna get bandaged up now,” Miles snapped back, his own annoyance seeping in. He wasn’t truly mad at his son for his behavior. As always he placed the blame squarely on the boy’s guardians for barely caring for him. Spider’s fire died at his father’s raised voice. He buried his face in his sempu’s shoulder, hiding from the man’s perceived wrath. Miles, taking this as obedience, changed his hold from restrictive to gentle, lovingly smiling down at his hurt boy, rubbing comforting circles into his back. 

    Unceremoniously Miles ripped open the door of Hell’s Gate’s airlock, taking off Spider’s mask as soon as it was safe, fishing out his missing tooth from its lining before hanging it up with the rest. “Oh my god,” Norm said when they entered the lab, “what happened?”

   Spider was quite now, shyly clinging to his father. Miles figured it was the pain from his injuries catching up to him after the shock had worn off. “He was playing with his friends, tripped and ate shit. Is there a place I can get him patched up?”

   "Yeah. The med bay. We don’t have a nurse or a doctor but everything you need to get him fixed up is there.” Norm turned his attention to Spider saying gently, “hey bud? How y’a feeling? That looks like it hurts.” Spider said nothing, hiding his face from Norm’s gaze. The man reared back in confusion but didn’t comment on it making way for father and son to pass. 

   As he walked Miles bounced his son saying softly, “it’s okay tiger. You're alright.” It didn’t help to bring back some of Spider’s spirit. Instead the boy was glassy eyed. Vacant. Once in the med bay Miles zeroed in on a large sink. He sat Spider on its rim letting his legs dangle in the basin. Miles made sure the water was a comfortable lukewarm before he started washing Spider’s wounds. If it stung, Spider didn’t show it, emotionlessly watching his father work. Once his son was clean, Miles rotated him on the counter, digging out all the necessary supplies. He carefully inspected the cuts for any lodged rocks or debris as he dabbed at them with cotton balls soaked in rubbing alcohol.

   He was so engrossed in his task that he jumped slightly when Spider asked in a timid voice, “are you mad at me?”

   Miles stilled, surprised at the question, “why on earth would I be mad at you?”

   Spider shrugged, “you sounded mad when we were coming home.”

   Miles stopped what he was doing, looking his son straight in the eye, “I am not mad at you. I was agitated because I don’t like seein’ you hurt. That’s all.”

   “Okay.” Miles thought that was the end of it. He was wrapping Spider’s knees in gauze when the boy said, “are you sure you're not mad at me?”

    Miles sighed. “Yes I’m sure I’m not mad at you.”

   “Promise?”

    The way Spider’s eyes lit up in desperate hope made Miles’ heart break. He held his pinky finger up, smiling encouragingly, “I pinky promise.” Spider brightened, doing his best to wrap his tiny pinky finger around Miles’. His father patted his cheek. “Let’s finish this up. We’ll grab some lunch in the mess. Maybe a little ice cream…” Spider sat up straighter, eager for his treat, “then I think we’d have the time to go back to the village for a little bit. I’m sure your friends will want to see that you're okay. Sound good.” Spider nodded, every bit his energetic self once again.

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    Miles walked the apartment, making a list of everything he had left to do. The rooms were all functional at the very least. Spider’s room was completely finished. He couldn’t wait until his son got to see it. Miles' own room was nothing but bare walls and scattered relics from his past. Building himself new furniture that he could actually use with his new size was at the very bottom of his list. He’d sleep on the floor for all he cared if it meant bringing Spider home sooner. The kitchen was nearly done, filled with repurposed appliances from abandoned lounge rooms on the far side of base. The cabinets just needed to be put in. The living room still needed some furniture. He had blueprints ready to go for a couch and chairs big enough for him to sit comfortably, with attached steps for Spider to easily join him. 

    The bathroom was what needed the most work. It’d be quite the task building a shower bath combo that would fit his size but also be accessible for Spider. Then came the question of a toilet. The best thing that he could think of was having two, one for a human, one for a hulking giant like him. Luckily even the Avatars couldn’t forgo the conveniences of indoor plumbing. He cominderd not only a latrine but a sink for himself as well. After busting out walls, completely rearranging the plumbing, and rewiring the electrical, the room was a mess of rubble and exposed pipes, desperately needing to be cleaned out, plastered, and tiled. 

   He sighed as he finished his list. So much left to do. He checked his watch. Midnight. Looks like I’m not sleepin’ tonight. He picked up his blueprints for the living room furniture. Better get to it. 

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    The hardest part of his day was always the end when he had to take Spider back to the McCoskers. He carried his son in his arms, his little head resting against his shoulder, eyelids heavy with exhaustion. When they reached his foster parents' apartment Spider tightened his arms wrapped around his sempu’s neck. “I don’t want to go! Why can’t I stay with you?”

   Guilt twisted Miles insides. All he wanted was to steal his son away and never let him see his terrible guardians ever again. But without a finished home where could he possibly take him? Miles was still sleeping outside with the rest of the recoms on the rare nights he got a few hours of rest. “I promise you, you’ll get to stay with me soon. Our new place is almost done. Another few days or so….”

   “No,” Spider cried, his voice heavy with fatigue. “I want to stay with you now! Don’t take me back there…”

    Miles' heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. He paused in front of the  McCosker’s apartment, hesitating to knock on the door, thinking on what to do. He was given little time to contemplate, the door swinging open with a bang. Nash stood in the archway. “About time! We don’t have all night to wait for him, you know!” Miles' blood boiled especially as Spider flinched, clinging harder to his father. “Well come on already….”

   “No!” Spider had tears shining in his eyes, his tiredness making him close to a melt down. Nash’s anger intensified at his foster son’s disobedience. He growled, ready to start yelling at the boy.

    Miles reared back, shielding his son. He held up a hand to stop Nash from coming closer. “Let’s all calm down now. Say, is that lounge room down the hall from the mess still operational?”

   “Yeah,” Nash said, voice dripping with attitude.

    Miles resisted the urge to punch him. “Well then, how ‘bout you grab me a blanket for Spider and him and I can sleep there tonight. He’ll be outta your hair and he can be happy. Sounds like a win win to me.”

    Nash shrugged, uncaring. “Fine, take him.” He disappeared for just a moment to grab a thin blue blanket from Spider’s bed, throwing it at him upon his return. Miles caught it effortlessly, turning on his heels in one swift motion, without a word to Nash as he left. Spider melted from sheer relief. I have got to get our apartment done. He couldn’t allow this to go on. Maybe I can lock the door and slip off to work while he’s sleepin’. If it went well then they could continue having Spider sleep in the lounge, while his father finished construction on their home. But can I risk things going south…

   Miles shouldered his way into the lounge. He tried to lay Spider down on the softest couch in the room but his boy held firm, whimpering his protest. Miles sighed, “alright, you win.” He flopped down on the couch, getting comfortable as his son settled on his chest. He wrapped the blanket around Spider as the boy shut his tired eyes.  Just until he falls asleep, Miles thought.

   He was drifting off himself when a voice spoke in his ear piece. “Boss, where are you,” Prager asked.

   Miles answered as quietly as he could, “I’m in the lounge just past the cafeteria with Spider. Poor kid just didn’t want me to leave him with those damn McCoskers.”

   “Heard. Do you still plan on working on the apartment tonight?”

    Miles hesitated. What if Spider wakes up? He’d be all alone in a locked room. He couldn’t do that to him. He wasn’t happy about losing a night of work but he had to do what was best for his son in the moment. “No Prager, I don’t think I will. It’s too far from here. If my boy woke up without me nearby…”

   “Say no more Cap. See you in the morning.”

   “ ‘Night.” He looked down at Spider’s peaceful little face as he slept soundly against his chest and smiled. One night off won’t kill me. He hugged his son tighter, settling into the most fitful night of sleep he’d had since his resurrection.

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    The next morning Miles was cutting up fruit into bite size pieces for Spider’s breakfast. His son sat across the table from him absentmindedly munching on buttered toast, his tiny bare feet swinging in the air under his seat. Out of the corner of Miles' eye he caught a few of the other recoms approaching. “Hey boss,” Lyle said, looking excited yet incredibly tired.

   “ ‘Morning.” He didn’t make eye contact, sliding the bowl of fruit to Spider who happily took it. “Say good morning Spider.”

    Spider turned to the recoms, his sunny smile never slipping, “Good morning.”

    All the recoms faces lit up. “Good morning,” they said, cooing over the child. 

   “Boss,” Lyle called again, sliding up to Miles' seat, “could we steal you for a second.”

   Miles gave him a questioning look, “why?”

   “Just- follow me.” Lyle nodded towards the exit. Miles didn’t make a single move, staring his subordinate down.

   Z sat down next to Spider, smiling down at him, “I can watch the kid. Just go. You’ll like it.”

   Miles nodded, trusting Z’s word. He turned his attention to Spider. “Alright son, looks like I’m needed for a minute. You be good for Auntie Z okay.”

  “Okay!” Miles smiled, reaching out a hand to wipe some crumbs from Spider’s cheek with his thumb before rising from his spot, following his squad out of the mess hall.

   “Now tell me what this is about,” he demanded as he followed his troop.

    “It’s a surprise,” Ja called from the head of the pack.

   “I hate surprises.”

   A few of the recoms snickered, “I think you’ll like this one.” They walked the familiar halls all the way to Miles' apartment. He held his breath as his surprise dawned him. They didn’t. Mansk opened the door for him. Miles walked in in awe. His team had finished it. All in one night.

   “Do you like it,” Prager asked. “We did our best to follow the plans you left in here…..”

   Miles nodded, feeling so grateful, “it’s perfect. Thank you all so much…”

   “You’d do the same for us boss,” Fike said.

   “Plus we know how much you needed to get the kid away from those McDicks,” said Lyle, “he deserves a good home. We can sacrifice a night of sleep for that.” Miles clapped Lyle’s shoulder at a loss for words. A home. He finally had a home for his son.

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   Nothing could make Miles intimidated by lanky little Norm Spellman. He could snap the man like a twig if he wanted to. But in this moment, Norm made him nervous. The scientists scrutinized every aspect of the apartment like a specimen under his microscope. If he found just one thing he found objectionable he could keep Spider from his custody. “You did all this in only two weeks,” Norm asked.

   Miles' chest swelled with pride, “I sure did. I was mighty determined.”

   Norm nodded, taking it all in, “it’s nice.” The kitchen was a mosaic of repurposed wood and tile from the unused corridors of Hells Gate. The counters and kitchen island were all sized for Miles making it near impossible for Spider to get his little hands on any dangerous cooking tools. The only thing Spider could access were the bar stools the Miles had built with ladder like rungs between its legs for easy climbing. He was sure his son would enjoy it though he might not like how they were bolted to the ground preventing the boy from moving the chairs and getting into things he shouldn’t. “That was a smart idea,” Norm said, “that kid would get into everything in this place if you gave him the chance” Miles fought to keep a straight face while on the inside he was buzzing. Score one. 

   They moved into the living room next. Large windows covered the far wall giving them a gorgeous view of the forest beyond. The room itself was painted a deep blue, the huge wrap around couch and chairs upholstered in warm burnt orange, the carpet plush and tawny brown. Paz’s record player sat on a short cabinet, lovingly decorated with pictures of her with Spider. Miles had taken the biggest t.v he could find on base and mounted it to the left hand wall. Him and his son would have some great movie nights in this room. Finding no issues Norm moved on to the bathroom.

  “Wow,” Norm said, glancing around the space, “it’s really impressive how you balanced Spider’s needs with your own.”

  “Thank you,” Miles was practically glowing with pride over his work.

  “I never thought someone like you could be this creative.”

  “Hey!”

  Continuing on, they made it to the bedrooms, Spider’s on the left, Miles’ on the right. Norm made to enter Miles’ but he held up a hand to stop him. “Do you really need to see my room?”

  Norm was undaunted, “do you really want Spider to live with you?” Miles held his hands up in surrender.

  His team had surprised him by finishing his room, something Miles hadn’t even planned on doing. It was a simple space, painted a dark green, with polished dark wood furniture. There was a picture of Spider and Paz on his nightstand along with a breathing machine for when he slept. His military accolades decorated the walls. Norm searched the drawers of the dresser. Finding nothing concerning he left the room and entered Spider’s, stopping short in the door, “holy cow,” Norm said, his jaw hanging open. “Spider is going to love it here.” Miles grinned. Success!

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   The McCoskers were eager to get rid of their foster son, already having Spider’s meager possessions packed into just three boxes, long before moving day arrived. No goodbyes were said. They left the boy and his things outside their door, like trash on the curb. Spider didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, sitting on top of the boxes, happily kicking his feet in the air, as he waited the few minutes for his father to arrive. He stood up when he saw his sempu’s towering blue form coming down the hall, running to him as fast as his legs would take him. Sempu crouched down, sweeping Spider into his arms. “You ready to go,” his father asked, moving the boy to his hip. 

  “Yep.” Spider was eager to leave for his new home. Sempu had told him he had built it himself. Spider imagined it was like the bungalows that Na’vi families lived in, high up in the trees, fresh air coursing through, the sounds of the wildlife a constant peaceful melody. 

  “I’ll take these,” Uncle Lyle said, effortlessly balancing the medium sized boxes. “Wait till you see this place Spidy. You're gonna love it.”  Spider grinned. He let his sempu carry him down the twisting halls of Hell’s Gate. He frowned when they passed the doorway that led to the airlock but didn’t comment on it. Finally they reached a corridor Spider was unfamiliar with. Maybe there’s another way outside. “Here we are,” Sempu said when they reached a plain wood door.

  Lyle set down Spider’s things, “well I’ll leave you two to get settled in. You gonna come to the village later or are you gonna take a day?”

  Sempu smiled, hoisting Spider up a little higher, “I don’t think this one would let me take a day even if I wanted to.” Both men laughed. “I’ll show Spider around the place, get him some breakfast, then we’ll meet y’a there. Sully knows it's moving day so he shouldn’t be too pissed at me for being late.”

  Lyle nodded at his captain then turned his attention to Spider. He ruffled the boy's hair saying, “don’t go too crazy when you see the place okay.” With that he left.

  Sempu opened the door, setting Spider down when they crossed the threshold. “What do you think?”

  “It’s not outside,” Spider said, his disappointment clear in his voice.

   Sempu chuckled but he was obviously hurt, “you can’t breath outside silly.” Spider just pouted. “Come here,” Sempu waved him towards the hallway, “we can’t live in the forest but I tried to give y’a the next best thing.” He opened another door, holding it for Spider to wander inside. His eyes went wide in amazement, mouth hanging open. 

  The wall across from him was painted to look like the Pandoran wilderness seemingly stretching on for forever. His bed was in the middle of it all, the frame looking like it was carved from fallen trees, woven blankets and fluffy pillows making a cozy nest inside. There were stuffed animals here and there. A viperwolf in his bed, a direhorse in a reading chair built for his sempu, an ikran perched high on a self. The left wall of his room was nothing but floor to ceiling windows, letting him see the world beyond. In the corner was a play area, a toy chest hugging the wall, some of the hand carved toys already out for his enjoyment. A wooden Samson like he knew his sa’nu used to fly. Blocks to build with. Little toy soldiers. He hoped there were some Na’vi figurines in the toy box so he could make scenes of them defeating the sky people. His father smiled as he watched him take it all in. “So, what do you think?”

  Spider turned colliding with his sempu’s legs in a fierce hug. “Thank you!”

  Sempu picked him up hugging him back just as tight. “Anything for you son.”

Chapter Text

       After taking a tour of their new home, father and son went to the village. Spider immediately ran off to tell his friends all about his new dwellings. Miles made his way over to Jake who was smiling in the direction of the children. “He looks happy.”

        Miles smiled in his son’s direction as well, “He is.” There was a beat of peaceful silence between them while they watched their kids play. Miles was the first to break it, “so, what’s on the docket today?”

        “We should focus on some practical skills. It’s gonna storm for the next week, so you and your team can stay on base. Norm has some programs for learning the language and history. You can study up while we're all trapped inside.” Miles simply nodded. He had no intention of doing any of that. Now that Spider was moved in he had a list of things he needed to do with him. This week off was the perfect opportunity to get it done.

         They were making their way to the heart of the village when Spider came running up to them shouting, “Sempu! Sempu! Look!” Miles turned, catching Spider when the boy failed to stop in time. “Look!” He grinned from ear to ear as he held up a four legged lump of clay painted to look like a tiger.

          Miles' eyes lit up, “that’s really nice son. You did a good job.”

          Spider glowed from the praise, “it’s for you!”

           Miles' heart felt warm as he accepted the gift, “thank you son. I know just the place for this when we get back home.” Spider happily rocked on his heels before darting off to his friends again.

           Jake watched the scene, smiling warmly. He had never seen Spider this content. This childlike . It made a pang of guilt shoot through him. “Come on,” he called solemnly to Miles, “we’re gonna prep for a hunt.”

           Miles smirked, “now you're speakin’ my language.”

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            Spider slept on his father’s shoulder as the man trudged back to Hells Gate, the other recoms whispering conversations around him so as to not wake the child. They hadn’t actually gotten to go on the hunt with the rest of the warriors. They simply helped get the weapons ready. Jake did have them connect to the direhorses though. The connection had felt strange. His human frame of reference could only imagine the physical connection one feels during sex, with all its dominance, intensity and primal need. This had been nothing like that. It was peaceful, almost meditative. He was hyper aware of the animal’s every micro movement to the point where they melded with his own, the sensations mixing together to the point where he couldn’t tell if it was him or the direhorse that was moving. And yet the beast responded to his thoughts. He was in control but felt equal to the animal. The easiest way he could think to describe it all was simply- strange. 

              At least they had been given a share of the hunt, enough to last them all week. Some of it was still raw, wrapped in leaves to be cooked tonight and tomorrow. The rest of it had been smoked and cured, making a tasty soft jerky that Miles and Spider really liked. With the meat they had fruits and vegetables that the recoms themselves had foraged. Miles would cook up a nice little feast for him and Spider to celebrate their first night in their new home. He thought about inviting the other recoms but decided against it. He’d have a little party to thank them for everything they’d done soon but for now he just wanted a quiet night with his son, his sleepy boy obviously needing that too. 

             They reached Hell’s Gate, the others going off to the Avatar quarters while Miles went inside. As always when not in his avatar Norm was in the lab engrossed in study. “I need a word,” Miles said quietly to not disturb his son yet the words resonated with authority. 

Norm shot to attention, fidgeting in his spot. “About?”

            “Education.” Miles adjusted his hold on Spider, cradling him against his chest. Without his mask on, the boy had been drooling on his shoulder. “What have you been teachin’ my son here.”

            Norm squirmed, “we made him up learning modules when he was four. You’ve got math, science, history and english all the way up until grade twelve. It’s all go at your own pace…”

            “A huh. So where is he at in all that? I’ve never seen anyone sit him down and make him do school work.”

             Norm looked like he wanted to disappear. “That’s because…no one..does….”

             The man was lucky Miles was holding his son or else he would have throttled him. He got on Norm’s level, growling in his face, “I want a computer, I want all his lesson plans and I want every resource y’a have that’ll help in his education. Got it?”

             Norm was pale, “yes sir.”

            “I want that now,” Miles said with deadly calm. Norm rushed to get it together. “And Spellman,” he paused, holding his breath, “Sully said something about a program to help me and mine learn Na’vi. Why don’t y’a get that ready too.” Norm nodded, uploading all the requested materials to an unused laptop as fast as his finger could type.

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           Just as Jake had said, the next morning Miles awoke to a storm raging outside. The first thing he did was call his squad. He hated the thought of them outside in the rain, while he was snug inside the home they’d helped him build. “Anyone read me?”

           “Loud and clear boss,” Walker answered.

           “Where y’a guys at?”

           “We saw the storm clouds rolling in late last night and decided to take over the blocked off parts of Hell’s Gate.”

            Miles sighed in relief, “So you're all safe?”

            “Yeah we're good boss. We actually started talking about doing our own little home reno over here. Nothing fancy of course but it’ll beat the hell out of sleeping outside all the time.”

            Miles chuckled, “that sounds like a fine plan.”

           “Speaking of, what are we doing today colonel?”

           “Take the day off. I think we all deserve it. I got some things I need to get done around the house today but you all relax. Have a little fun.”

            He could feel Walker smiling over the comm, “Sir yes sir.”

            “Over and out.” He put down his comm with a sigh, mentally preparing himself for the chaos that was about to commence on this day. Enjoying the peace while he had it, Miles stridded into the kitchen to make breakfast. Spider came padding in when he was close to done, rubbing at sleep crusted eyes. His son found Hell’s Gate to be too cold compared to the humid jungle and so it took little convincing to get the boy to wear regular human clothes on base. He had slept in a t-shirt two sizes too big for him and a pair of shorts, his already unruly hair sticking out all around his head like a tumbleweed. Miles tried to not make a face at the sight. That is getting fixed today. 

           Originally he’d planned on simply cutting the mats out of Spider’s hair and salvaging what he could from the rest. That plan went out the window after hearing what McCosker had done to him. Now the plan was to try and comb the mats free, a process Miles knew would take hours, if it was even possible in the first place. He tried not to think about what was going to happen as him and Spider ate their meal, Spider the picture of blissful ignorance. “Can we go to the village today,” Spider asked, his words slightly lisping from his missing tooth.

          Lightning flashed, lighting up their entire living space. Miles stared at his boy in amazement, “Son it's storming outside.”

          Spider shrugged, “so?”

          Miles sighed. They would let him run off during a mess like this. “So we can’t leave today. Jake told me himself that we should stay on base.”

          Spider scowled at the answer, “it’s just raining,” he mumbled. As if Eywa herself was listening, thunder shook the whole building, another flash of lighting  nearly blinding them.

          Miles pointed at the windows. “That is not “just rain.” That is a storm. Do you want to get struck by lightning?”

          Spider shrank inward, “no.”

          His father nodded, “Then we have to stay here, where it’s safe.”

         Spider wasn’t happy about it but he also wasn’t as upset as before. “Okay.” Once he finished his breakfast he raced off back to his room to sit by his window while he played with his toys. 

         Miles slowly did the dishes trying to prolong the inevitable. Then he gathered up all the necessary supplies for the arduous task ahead, comb, one of the creams he’d made from Paz’s recipes, and a pair of scissors that he hid in his back pocket just in case worse came to worse. He’d preemptively locked the front door so his son couldn’t make a run for it. Now all he needed was.., “Spider, will you come here a minute.” His ears twitched as he heard his son put down his toys, his bare feet slapping against the floor as he walked into the kitchen. 

       “What sempu,” Spider asked, wide eyed and trusting. 

         Guilt hit the father like a car crash. I’m about to wreck his whole day. “I want to talk to you about something…” he turned, picking up the comb from the counter behind him. When he faced front again his son was gone. “Spider,” he called, absolutely bewildered that the boy had gotten away so quickly and quietly. “Son it’s okay. I know you don’t like gettin’ your hair brushed but daddy’s not gonna hurt y’a…” He trained his heightened hearing on the faintest sound of breathing, following it into Spider’s room. He closed the door as he entered then followed his ears to the pounding heartbeat coming from under the bed. Miles got down on the ground. Sure enough a pair of fearful brown eyes stared back at him, “Spider…”

         “What did I do!” His poor boy was near tears. “Are you embarrassed by me?”

        The father’s features softened while on the inside he was raging over every terrible thing his son had been put through, “Aw baby boy I could never be embarrassed by you. And you didn’t do anything wrong. You just need your hair brushed…”

       “No I don’t!”

        Miles took a deep breath trying to keep his patients. “And why’s that?”

        Spider seemed taken aback. “Because I have hair like Jake’s,” he mumbled.

        Miles gave his son a pitying look, “no sweetheart you don’t. Jake has dreadlocks. It’s a style. Someone put a lot of time and effort into making his hair look like that. Did anyone do that for you?” Slowly Spider shook his head. Miles smiled sadly, “your hair is matted. That’s what happens when no one at all takes care of it. That’s why I want to fix it. I want to take care of you.”

        Spider’s eyes shined as tears creeped in, “but it’ll hurt…”

        “Why do you think it’ll hurt?”

         “Because it always hurts.”

          “It hurts when Mrs.McCosker does it?” Spider nodded, “well I’m not Mrs. McCosker.” Spider said nothing but he appeared to be thinking deeply. “Look, I'll give you options. We’ll do whatever you want. I can cut the mats out. That won’t hurt at all…”

         “No!” Spider shrieked.

          “Alright, alright. Next option. We get comfy on the couch, and I’ll put on a movie for you to watch while I brush out all those knots. It’ll take a long time. I can’t promise it won’t hurt but I’ll be gentle and if it starts to hurt too much we'll stop. We might still have to cut some off but I won’t do that without your permission. Sound like a plan?”

        The boy contemplated his options for a few minutes before timidly saying in his watery little voice, “okay.” Slowly Spider crawled out from under the bed.

       Miles opened his arms wide, silently inviting his son in for a hug. Spider accepted wrapping little arms around his neck. Miles held him tighter as he stood, kissing Spider’s temple. “You're gonna be okay.” He rubbed the boys back as he returned to the kitchen. 

       Miles made popcorn and apple slices for his son to snack on during the long process ahead. It took Spider a while to finally pick a movie, settling on Disney’s The Incredibles . As the movie began Miles settled his son on his lap. Spider was incredibly ridge, still as stone and hardly blinking. Miles sighed. It was best to just get started and show his son he had nothing to fear. He separated out a very small section by Spider’s right ear, putting a small amount of product on to hydrate the dry brittle hair, then pinched it off half way down to minimize any tugging on his boy’s scalp as he worked his way up through the ends, picking and rocking the comb through every snag. The difference in their size made Miles feel the need to be extra careful, Spider feeling like a doll in his arms. 

         After a few moments Spider’s tension turned to confusion. “How y’a doin’,” Miles asked gently.

         “It doesn’t hurt,” Spider said, amazed. 

         Miles smiled softly, “see? What’d I tell y’a?” Spider smiled back, relaxing into his father’s hold as he fully turned his attention to his movie. By the end of the film Miles was covered in shed blond strands, with less than a fourth of Spider’s hair brushed out to show for it.

        Spider turned, craning his neck to look up at him, “I’m bored.”

        Miles sighed. “Let’s take a break.” His hands were cramping up and he was already tired thinking of the hours ahead. He tied up his progress to prevent it from tangling again. Then he surprised Spider by tackling him onto the couch. He wasn’t rough, terrified of accidentally hurting his small boy. Spider shrieked in delight, quickly wiggling his way out of his father’s arms before he pounced. The weight of the seven year old colliding with his chest felt like hardly anything but he made a show of being struck, sliding off the couch and flopping onto the floor. Spider giggled as he jumped on top of him. Miles caught him, throwing his son in the air, the boy howling with laughter. An hour or so of play fighting should tire him out, Miles thought as he wrestled with his son.

        Sure enough, midway through their next movie, Spider fell asleep. Miles was happy to capitalize, turning off the film to sit in peaceful silence as he continued his task. It was grueling work. He had to force his mind clear as his rage flared with every stubborn knot that took so long to unravel. One particular large mat was even starting to grow mold. He quickly snipped it out, thankful that Spider wasn’t awake to fight him on it. He also found a small stick and a few leaves buried deep within the mess. He knew the adults in his son’s life had been neglectful, but to let his boy run around like this? It was down right physical abuse. 

         Spider woke as Miles reached the halfway point. “Are we done yet,” he asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

         “Not even close.” Spider grumbled burying his face in his father’s chest. Miles chuckled, squeezing him tight. “How ‘bout we take a break. It’s past lunch time anyway.” Spider nodded. 

         Before his father could tie up his progress Spider reached up to feel the smooth side of his hair comparing it to the other. “It feels weird,” he concluded.

        Miles cocked his head, “a good weird or a bad weird?”

        Spider shrugged, “just weird.”

        Miles chuckled, “you’ll get used to it.”  He made a quick lunch of mac and cheese with a side of carrot sticks that Spider happily devoured. However after the meal when Miles tried to usher his son back into the living room, Spider stubbornly remained rooted to his spot. Miles resisted the urge to groan. “Come on tiger, the faster we get back to it the faster we’ll be done.”

        Spider scowled. “I don’t want to do this anymore!”

         You slept most of the time, Miles wanted to yell. If anyone should be wanting to quit it should be him . But the father took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Why is that Spider?”

        “This is boring! We’ve been doing the same thing all day! Can’t we go to the village?”

         “It’s raining outside…”

          “So!”

          “It’s dangerous…”

          “SO!”

          “SO, we can’t and that’s that!” Spider flinched ever so slightly when Miles raised his voice. The boy's body language stayed defiant but his eyes showed his fear. Miles sighed, steadying himself. “I just want to get this done okay. I know it’s no fun. It’s not fun for me either. But we’re already halfway there. We’ll be done before y’a know it.” Miles smiled in a way he hoped Spider found disarming.

         His son looked down at the ground, “are you mad at me,” he mumbled.

         “No. I’m not mad at you. I just want to get this done. So let’s finish up. I promise I’ll take you to the village to play with your friends whenever this storm stops.”

         “Okay.” Spider didn’t look up. Miles crouched down catching the boy’s eye. He smiled, holding his hand out for his son to take. Spider didn’t smile back but he did take his hand, letting himself be led back to the living room.

         Miles pulled his son onto his lap, giving him a warm hug and a kiss on the crown of his head. “It’s okay tiger. We’ll get through it.” He stroked the brushed side of Spider’s hair, something the boy clearly enjoyed from how he relaxed, leaning into the touch. Once Spider was content again, Miles got back to work. “How about y’a tell me a story,” Miles said, hoping that keeping his son’s mind busy would help him stay calm through the rest of the process.

          “Like what sempu?”

           Miles shrugged, “whatever you want. It could be your happiest memory, your favorite fairy tale. Make somethin’ up for all I care. Whatever you want to say I want to listen.”

           Spider thought about it for a moment. “One time my friend Kiri and I were playing in the forest when a viper wolf ran up to us,” he said it so nonchalantly that Miles knew this story was real. Despite knowing that his son would be fine he couldn’t help but suck in a breath as the phantom of the scares that once adorned his face throbbed. “Kiri held her hand out to it and asked if he wanted to be friends. He laid down and we got to pet him! We rubbed his belly and it made his back legs shake! It was really funny,” his son giggled. Miles stared down at him in surprise.

         “Is that….normal…for a viperwolf to do with a Na’vi?”

         “No,” Spider said simply, his voice chipper.

         “Okay…” Miles said, still reeling from his shock. Do the Na’vi not watch their children! 

          “Your turn sempu!” 

           Miles thought for a moment wondering what story he had that would be appropriate for his son. He probably shouldn’t tell him about his life back on Earth just yet. He knew hearing about those brutal conditions and the things he had to do just to survive would only upset his boy. Definitely couldn’t talk about the numerous wars he’d been a part of. Maybe… “y’a know your mama loved being out in the forest too.”

            Spider’s eyes shined, “she did!”

            “You bet. We don’t have anything like it back on earth anymore. She loved being out there. She once ran away from base and survived out in the woods for a few days. I found her though. I was about to bring her back when we were attacked by a thanator.” 

            Spider gasped, “how did you fight it off?”

            Miles chuckled, “your mama used to ride a motorcycle. She’d taken it with her when she left. We hopped on it and rode away as fast as we could. The thanator chased us the whole way. We lured it to a cliff. We had to turn just in time so we didn’t go flying over the edge but we made it. The thanator wasn’t as lucky.” 

            Spider’s eyes went wide, “did the thanator die?”

             Miles stilled for just a moment, giving his son a sideways look. He sounded so sad thinking of harm coming to the creature that nearly killed his parents. Miles quickly recovered, resuming his task. “I’m not sure but I think it survived.” Not entirely a lie. He truthfully didn’t know if the animal had really died but it was probably for the best if his son believed that it hadn’t.

          “Wow,” Spider gasped, “what else did you and mama do?”

           They spent the rest of the evening talking and trading stories. Finally after nearly thirteen hours, Miles could easily brush through all of Spider’s hair. It was unnaturally straight from all the damage, hanging just past his shoulders in a jagged wispy line. He tucked the strands behind his son’s ear. “Hey tiger. Remember this morning when I said you might still need a little trim…”

         "Nnnooooo…” Spider whined trying to slide off his lap and escape.

         His father held him tight, prepared for this reaction. “Hey, hey now. Calm down….”

         “I don’t want to!” Spider’s brow was furrowed, his little fist clenched ready for a fight.

          Miles sighed. “Spider, do you know what you do to a tree when it has a dead limb?”

          The strange question caught the boy off guard. “Yeah?”

          “So what do you do?”

          “You cut it off so the rest of the tree can grow healthy.”

          “A huh,” Miles fiddled with his son’s dead ends until the boy got the point. Spider’s  anger left him as he shrank into himself. Miles gave his boy a look of sympathy. “You like your hair long don’t y’a” Spider nodded, “and you want to grow it longer?” Another nod, more intense than the last. “Well then we have to take care of it. And that starts with cutting off the damage.”

         “How much is that,” Spider asked, a slight panic in his voice.

          His father inspected the ends, pinching off the worst of it and holding it up for his son to see. “This much. Think you can live with that.”

         Spider analyzed the few inches of hair thinking deeply. “I guess….”

         “Oh no, none of that. I told you I wouldn’t cut it without your permission. I want a firm yes or no.”

          Spider took this in, taking his time to process. “Okay,” he finally said.

          “Is that a yes?”

          He nodded, “yes.”

          Miles gave him a quick hug, “that’s my boy.” Spider actually managed a smile despite his clear nerves. His father picked him up, carrying him to the bathroom, setting Spider on the counter. Miles readied himself with a comb and scissors that were much too small for him to use comfortably but would get the job done nonetheless. “You good?” Spider nodded. His father made quick work of the dead ends, using the comb as his guide to cut an even line just above Spider’s shoulders. It amazed him how the simple act made his son’s hair look so much thicker and healthier. Miles was definitely happy with the change but it wasn’t really his opinion that mattered. “What do you think?”

         Spider felt it. Looked at himself in the mirror. Tilted his head side to side, swishing it around. “It’s not really that different,” he concluded, sounding relieved.

         Miles chuckled, “Good! Now how about we get you in the bath? Afterwards I’ll make us up some dinner with a big scoop of ice cream for dessert for being so good today. How’s that sound?” Spider eagerly shook his head yes. 

         The Na’vi sized tub was like a small pool for the boy who happily splashed around in the water. His father loved seeing him having so much fun after all the stresses of the day though it was hard to get Spider to sit still long enough for Miles to wash and condition his hair. Now that it was wet his natural curls started to show themselves again. Miles was happy to see it, proof of a job well done. Once Spider tired of swimming around in the tub his sempu got him dried off and into some cozy pajamas, leaving his locs to air dry.

          It was over dinner that Spider finally took notice of his change in hair texture. He startled feeling it, his tight ringlets taking his hair from nearly shoulder length to right at his chin. Panicked, he yelled, “what happened! What’d you do!”

         “Relax,” Miles reached out, pinching a curl between his fingers, straightening it out for Spider to see. Spider stared dumbfounded as his father released it, letting it spring back to join the rest. “Y’a see?”

         Spider calmed but still pouted, “it’s too short now.”

         Miles huffed a laugh, ruffling the curls his son resented, “it’s all in your head. Y’a just need to get used to it.” 

        “I liked it better before,” Spider said, sulking. While the comment frustrated Miles after all the work he’d put in he didn’t say anything about it. What’s done is done. He just needs to adjust. 

         After they ate Miles tried to get Spider to play for a little bit before he put him to sleep but the boy was too dejected. He sighed, he’s probably just tired. It’s been a long day. “You ready for bed?” Spider just nodded, holding out his hand so he could be led to his room. Miles tucked him in, grabbing his son’s viperwolf plushy and marching it up the covers, making it attack Spider’s neck. It elicited a sweet pearl of laughter from the boy that made his father feel relieved. Spider snuggled in with his toy as his father read him to sleep. The boy was on the cusp of consciousness when the book ended. Miles smiled looking at his peaceful face, his heart swelling with love. He smoothed his son’s soft curls from his forehead, giving him a kiss. “Goodnight. Love you.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

          Spider woke the next morning to the sound of the never ending storm. He groaned, burying his face in his pillow. Sempu’s going to keep me inside again. If today was anything like yesterday then he was sure he would hate it. He sat up, catching his faint reflection in the window. He looked so human now. He quickly looked away feeling ugly and small. A soft rapping on his door distracted him from his thoughts, his father softly calling out, “son? Are you awake in there?”

          “Yeah.”

           Sempu let himself in, smiling fondly the second he laid eyes on Spider. “Well good morning sunshine. I’ve got breakfast ready. How ‘bout you get up and come eat.” Spider felt warm inside under his father’s gaze but didn’t return any of the affection, nodding his head obediently with his eyes downcast. His father took this as him still being groggy from sleep, taking the little boy’s hand and leading him to the kitchen. He picked Spider up, setting him on his chair at the table where his breakfast already sat ready to be eaten. 

          As Spider tucked in, Sempu stood over him, that dreaded comb in his hand. Spider let his frustrations be known, groaning dramatically as he ducked away from his father. “Didn’t we do this enough yesterday!”

         Sempu looked down at him with his hands on his hips, dripping authority. “Son, we need to brush your hair every day . Otherwise it’ll get all tangled up again.”

        “Every day!” Spider couldn’t believe this. I never had to before! I was fine!

         “Yes Spider, every day. Now sit up straight.” Sempu put a hand on his back forcing Spider’s spine to stretch up. Spider grumbled, angrily stabbing at his breakfast with his fork as his sempu started running the comb through his hair, the curly strands tickling his cheeks. He hated it. Spider knew there was no point in fighting his father though. Sempu always got him to do as he was told one way or the other. “I know you're upset,” Sempu said as he worked, “this storm is still brewin’ and y’a know you're gonna be all cooped up again.” Some of Spider’s fury melted into dejection at his father’s understanding. “But I got an idea. We can’t go outside but there’s the gardens. We can go there for a while after y’a eat. How’s that sound?” 

         Sempu was smiling at him again with that look in his eyes. The plan was hardly a worthy consolation but his father seemed so happy with himself. Spider didn’t want to disappoint him. “That sounds good sempu,” Spider said, smiling weakly. After breakfast Spider dressed in his sky people clothes but still refused to wear his shoes. They felt too constricting. Then he followed his father out the door. 

          The gardens were a large greenhouse on base, where the humans grew all the food they could need. Spider had been there a few times when he was hungry, climbing trees to pick fruit, or digging in the dirt for vegetables. He liked it there. It was peaceful, but not in the same way as the forest. Outside teamed with wild, untamed life. The gardens were controlled, meticulously monitored and maintained. When they walked through the giant double doors into the greenhouse an uproar of sound startled Spider into jumping behind his sempu. His father’s entire team was there gawking at him. “Well don’t you clean up nice.”

          “I can’t believe you did it, cap.”

          “You look good kid.”

           “Aren’t you just the cutest,”  Walker and Z were crouched down at Spider’s level as they fawned over him, the others all towering overhead.

Spider’s cheeks flushed red, as he stomped his foot in agitation. “I am not cute!”

  The recoms all shared vindictive looks then descended on the boy there mocking shouts of, “aw baby Spider is the cutest. So adorable. Just the most precious thing you ever saw…” mingling together to form one voice, one body with multiple hands reaching out to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair.

           “Stop it!” They only laughed, teasing him harder. Spider was near tears.

            “Cut it out already,” Sempu yelled, plucking Spider from the fray into the safety of his arms. The recoms all immediately stilled. “Jesus, I asked you knuckle heads to meet us here because you're just as immature as children. I thought you could show Spider a good time! Does he look like he’s havin’ fun?”  They shook their heads, guilt plain on their faces. “Apologize.”

            A chorus of, “sorry Spider,” erupted from the group. Spider continued glaring at them.

           “Oh come on Spidy don’t be like that,” Lyle said stepping forward, “we shouldn’t have teased you but you do look good…”

            “I hate it,” Spider snapped. All the adults' sympathetic smiles fell.

             Sempu bounced him encouragingly with a sigh, “he just needs to get used to it.” Spider grumbled but didn’t fight him on it. 

             His father set him back down, Spider scowling at the ground. Lyle crouched to his level extending his open palm out to him. “You're still angry. Hit me.” 

             Spider looked up, his head cocking in confusion, anger momentarily forgotten. “What?”

             Lyle grinned, “you heard me. Come on. Right hook, right here.” He flexed his fingers inviting Spider to strike out. The boy hesitated for just a moment, wondering if this was somehow another joke at his expense. Tentatively he punched his fist into Lyle’s hand. “Come on, you can do better than that.”

            “Really let him have it son,” Sempu said

            “Yeah come on Spider,” all the recoms started encouraging him shouting, “kick his butt!” “You can do it!” A shy smile tugged at Spider’s lips. He didn’t want to disappoint. With all the strength he could muster he wound his fist back, colliding it with Lyle’s palm.

              Lyle jumped back, shaking off the hand Spider had hit. He dramatically blew out a breath, grinning from ear to ear. “Jeez kid. Remind me never to make fun of you again.” Spider grinned too, amazed at his own strength. “I don’t think I can take another hit like that. What about you guys? Do you think you can take on the tough guy here?”

             “Oh I’m sure I can,” Mansk said stepping forward, “you’ve always been soft Lyle. I bet Spidy can’t hit that hard.” He repeated Lyle’s stance. Once again Spider poured all of his strength into his punch, the dull thud of skin on skin sounding faintly in the room. Mansk jaw clenched as he hissed through his teeth, fanning his supposedly stinging hand. “Alright, I take it back. What are you feeding this kid cap? He’s ridiculously strong.” 

          Spider beamed up his father who was looking at him with equal pride. Then Spider turned his attention back to the recoms his features setting into a challenging smirk. “Who’s next.” 

         They all snickered at the challenge. Fike stepped up, smiling warmly. “Let me have it kid.”

         Each recom took their turn as Spider’s punching bag. Not one of them could stand more than one hit from Spider’s powerful blows, all of them putting on theatrical displays of their pain. Spider even knocked Prager over with a kick so strong the man wasn’t sure he’d be able to get up. Spider giggled as each adult ran off to lick their wounds. His anger was completely forgotten as the last of the bunch retreated from him. Sempu ruffled his hair, “that’s my boy. Put’em right in their place.”

         “Alright, alright. We surrender,” Lyle said, holding his hands up in the air. “So our mighty warrior Spider. What do you want to do today?”

          Spider thought about it, looking around the room. “We can play tag.”

          He heard his father, hiss in a breath, “I don’t know about that one tiger. These guys are clumsy on account of their new bodies. How about hide and seek? I think that’ll be safe for us all to play.”

          Spider’s face scrunched up, “you're all too big to hide anywhere in here!”

          “Well then how ‘bout you just hide really good, and we'll see how long it takes us trained marines to find y’a,” sempu said. Spider grinned, ready for the challenge. All the recoms turned away from him, closing their eyes. “One…” Spider darted off. He’d hid from Nash a few times in this room so he already knew how to not be found. In seconds, he scurried up a large apple tree, pulling himself onto the platform that housed that particular garden bed’s artificial lights. Spider flattened himself to the cool metal. With the bright lights facing outward the recoms would never be able to see him. But Spider could sure see them. They were all confident at first, checking bushes and trees, inside the tool shed, and storage cabinets. Their self assuredness drained out of them with every failure.

             Spider was trying not to laugh. “You don’t think he left, do you,” Prager asked.

             “How could he? We were all standing in front of the door,” said Walker.

             “He’s around here somewhere,” Sempu said. He was in deep thought, scanning his surroundings. 

              “Spider,” Lyle yelled, “come on kid! Make a noise or something!” Spider silently smirked. “Knock knock,” Lyle waited for a response that never came, save for the annoyed groans of his comrades. “Who’s there? Europe . Europe who? No you're a poo!” The other recoms grew even more exasperated with their friend. Spider couldn’t help but giggle, not at the lame joke but at the pain it inflicted on all who heard it. 

            All the adults' ears twitched towards him, “did you hear that,” Mansk asked.

            Lyle grinned, “see? The kid thinks I’m funny.”

            Knowing he was caught, Spider jumped up from his spot, shouting, “your joke sucked! Everyone else was funny!” 

           “Oooohhhhhhhh,” all but Spider’s father turned to jeer at Lyle. The man took it in good stride, smiling with slight embarrassment, hands held up in surrender. 

            Sempu walked towards Spider’s platform, holding his arms out to him. “Good job tiger. You won this round for sure.” Spider grinned from his victory. 

           After a few more rounds of hide and seek, Spider tired of the game. He decided he’d rather explore the many different garden beds, noting the plants he recognized. Eventually he came across a box full of herbs he’d never seen before. He gently felt their velvety leaves, observing their shape. He sniffed at them. Thought about eating them but stopped himself from that. Norm had drilled it into him to never eat something unless he knew for sure what it was. The plants were labeled with little faded signs but he couldn’t have even guessed at what they said. In the wood of the garden box a name was carved. Or at least he thought it was a name. It looked like all the other names he’d ever seen but really it could have said anything to Spider. He traced the letters with his finger without a clue of what they were. Sempu strolled up to him with a soft smile but a look in his eye that Spider could only describe as sad. “What’cha doin’ tiger,” he asked gently. Spider shrugged. His father nodded to the name, “do you know what that says?” Spider shook his head. Sempu took his hand guiding his finger across the letters. “P-A-Z S-O-C-O-R-R-O. That’s your mama’s name.”

        Spider’s eyes went wide in shock, “this was sa’nu’s?”

        Sempu chuckled, “it sure was. When I wouldn’t let her off base this is where she’d come. She liked it here.”

        Spider marveled at the healthy plants his mother once tended, “they’re still growing!”

        “They sure are.” Sempu hugged him from behind as Spider basked in the life of the plants his sa’nu had cultivated, feeling her connection through the energy she’d left behind. A deep sigh of contentment left Spider’s lips as he settled into the moment, soaking up pure peace.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

       Another day passed with the storm still raging. Spider was starting to fear that he’d never see the outside world again. He sat at the kitchen table, drawing a picture of the forest, visualizing every last detail of the place he was so desperate to be. Sempu walked into the room looking somber. “Hey tiger. I want to talk to y’a about somethin’.” Spider stilled, his crayon dropping from his hand. Last time sempu had said something like that he’d ended up spending the whole day getting his hair brushed. He was already on edge thinking about what it could be now. Sempu sighed when Spider’s only answer was to stare at him in blank horror. “It’s about schooling.”

          Spider’s head tilted to the side, questioning plain on his face, “schooling?”

          “Yeah. Reading, writing, math, all that jazz.”

           “Why would I need to know that stuff?”

           Sempu sighed, “because it’s important. Don’t you want to be able to read things? Like your mama’s name in the garden.” Spider thought about it. That did sound useful. “Or what about counting really fast…”

           “I know how to count!”

           “Okay. What’s three, plus three, plus three, plus three, plus three.” Spider started slowly counting it off on his fingers. He lost his place a few times and had to start over. Sempu waited patiently for his answer.

           “Thirteen,” Spider shrieked triumphantly.

            His father smiled fondly, “close but not quite. How about three times five.”

           “Now you're just saying words!” 

            Sempu chuckled, “it’s the same as adding up three five times. Which is fifteen. Which y’a would have known off the top of your head if you had some math lessons.”

            Spider pouted, “but I don’t want to.”

            His father ruffled his hair, “sorry tiger but you're not gettin’ a choice this time…” 

            Spider whimpered, his frustration mounting. “I didn’t have to before!” 

            Sempu’s jaw clenched, saying as calmly as possible, “well you're going to now.” 

           “But why! I never needed to know that stuff before!”

           “Well you're gonna know that stuff now. Every afternoon when we get back from the village you're gonna have your lessons…”

            “No I won’t!”

             Sempu’s eyes flashed as he did his best to keep his cool, “yes you will…”

            “You can’t make me!”

            “I can actually. I’m your father. I know what’s best for you….”

            “How! You’ve only ever made me do things I hate!”

            “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not good for you…”

            “How could something I hate be good for me? I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it…”

            “Enough!” Spider stilled all of his fury melting into nothing. “Go to your room right now and calm down! We’ll talk about this again later.” Spider didn’t have to be told twice racing off to the safety of his bedroom.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

             Miles gave himself and his son an hour to cool down. He’d had no idea what to expect from the conversation but it certainly hadn’t been that . What did Spider have against getting an education? The boy had never been to school before. Probably didn’t even have a concept of what it was like. So why was he so stubbornly hostile to the idea? Miles quietly made his way down the hall, placing his ear to Spider’s door. Everything was quiet inside. Softly, he knocked. “Son? Can I come in?” He didn’t get a response. “Please? I won’t come in without your say so. I just really want to talk.”

            He waited a few agonizingly weighted minutes before Spider’s small voice finally answered. “You can come in.”

            Miles didn’t see his boy at first. He was hidden in a cocoon of blankets, so tightly curled in on himself that he was hardly distinguishable from the pillows on the bed. Carefully, Miles pulled the covers back. Spider clutched it so tightly his knuckles were white. Miles sighed, giving up on completely unveiling his child. He sat on the bed next to him. Quick as a flash Spider darted away, taking a seat in a far corner of the room, wrapping his arms around his legs. Miles sighed more heavily than the last, “I’m not mad at you.”

            “Okay.” Spider didn’t look at him, focusing his attention on picking at one of his scabby knees. 

            Miles frowned, eyes soft with sympathy, “can you stop that please? You're gonna open the wound back up.” Spider growled, dropping his hand, laying his cheek on his thighs as he scowled at the wall. Miles took a deep breath. “What’s eatin’ y’a kiddo?” Spider shrugged. “Oh come on now. Talk to me. I can’t make it better if I don’t know what’s wrong.” After a beat of silence Spider mumbled something. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

          Spider rounded on him, furious. “Why do you have to change everything!” Miles took this in allowing his son to say his piece. “I can’t go to the village when I want and you make me hold your hand like I’m a baby, and you keep me inside all day just because it’s raining, and you made me look human and now you want me to learn the sky people ways and I don’t want to! I don’t like this!” Spider’s breath hitched like he was about to cry but the boy refused to let the tears flow. “I don’t like this. It’s too much. I don’t want this!”

          Miles wanted to wrap his son up in his arms but he was afraid the boy would run from him again. Instead he got low to the ground with plenty of space between them. Making his voice as gentle as possible he said, “a lot has changed in just a few weeks, hasn’t it.” Spider nodded. “And that’s been really overwhelmin’ for y’a.”

          Spider sniffled, voice watery. “Yeah.”

          “I’m sorry. I was just tryin’ to do what I thought was best for you. I didn’t stop to think about how quickly I was changin’ your life. I’m sure it’s been a mighty big adjustment for y’a.” Spider’s body started to relax, coming out of his tight ball. He faced his father inching slightly closer. 

         “I don’t like it.”

         The words hurt Miles to hear but he tried not to take it personally. “What don’t you like, son?

        “You don’t let me go to the village!”

         “I don’t let you go to the village by yourself or when it’s unsafe,” Miles amended. Spider said nothing, pouting. “Tell me son, do you think Jake would let his kids walk here by themselves?”

        “No. They’re too little.”

         Miles chuckled, “they’re bigger than you are.”

         Spider bristled, “but I’m older!”

         “By a year. That’s not really that much.”

         “Yes it is! They’re practically babies!”

         “Well if you're so old and they’re so little, why do you play with them all the time? Big kids don’t usually want to play with little kids.”

         The gears were turning in Spider’s head, the facts of the matter sinking in. “Because they’re my friends.”

         “Do you really think your friends are babies?”

          Spider started shrinking in on himself again, “no.”

         “So why do you think they’re not allowed to leave the village on their own.”

          Spider hesitated, then muttered, “because Jake and Mrs.Sully want them to be safe…”

         “Because?”

         “Because…they…love..them?”

         “That’s right. So why don’t I want you to run off by yourself.”

          Spider’s breath hitched, eyes shining with tears he refused to let fall. “Because….you love me.”

          Miles smiled, “that’s right. I love you very much. And I just want to keep you safe.” Spider’s bottom lip trembled as he absorbed his father’s words. Hearing his father’s explanation warmed his heart while at the same time it devastated him. He had never really been one to seek comfort from an adult but now he wanted it. Hesitantly Spider creeped forward. Miles caught the look of need in his eyes and closed the distance between them scooping him up and holding him tight. He expected his son to cry but he didn’t. Instead he held onto his father like a lifeline, clutching him so hard his nails dug into Miles shoulders. “Alright tiger, let’s break down the rest of your grievances. You said I made you look human. What do you mean by that?”

          “My hair…” Spider whimpered.

          Miles started stroking his son’s curls. They were so nice and it made his father sad that Spider hated them. “I know you don’t like it. But why? You look so good.”

          Spider made a face at the complement. “No I don’t.”

          Miles sighed, “because you look more human now.” Spider nodded into his father’s shoulder. It hurt Miles to hear. “Alright come here.” He stood, carrying Spider into the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror with Spider balanced on his hip. “What don’t you like about the way you look right now?” Spider shrugged but still hid his face from his reflection. “Come on now it’s okay. You don’t like your hair. How can we fix it?” 

          “It’s too short.” By Miles’ standards it was actually way too long for a boy but he guessed compared to the Na’vi’s styles it wasn’t. 

          “It’s still longer than all your friends,” Miles said, hoping the comparison would put the boy’s mind at ease.

          “But they have braids.”

          “Do you want braids?” Spider nodded his head. I get it now. Spider had seen his matted hair as a Na’vi style. Miles had taken that away. Now he just needed to give it back in some form. “Then we can find a way to put some braids in. I don’t know how to do it but I’m sure I can figure it out.”

           “Really?” Spider looked at him, eyes full of hope.

            Miles didn’t like that Spider seemed to resent his humanity. Part of him wanted to keep his son just like this, the image of a perfect little earth boy. But how could he ever say no to that face. “Really. Let me practice on my braid for a little bit. Once I get good we’ll see what I can do.” He wasn’t sure his giant alien hands could manage something as small as plaiting his son’s hair but he’d give it a go all the same. Spider was absolutely ecstatic over the prospect. “Alright, anything else…”

          “Stripes!” 

          “Stripes?” Spider nodded, all smiles and excited energy now. “Why do you want stripes?”

           “Everyone has stripes,” Spider answered simply, as if it should be obvious.

           “Not everyone…..” Miles trailed off before he could say humans don’t have stripes. 

           “You have stripes, Sempu.” 

             I wish I didn’t. Miles nodded, “can’t argue that.” Spider was so happy now. Miles was happy that his son was happy but also couldn’t shake the squirming in his gut over his son’s distaste for his own race. “Spider?” His son faced him. “Would you….would you rather be Na’vi? If you could?”

           Spider’s eyes went wide like a kid on Christmas morning, “like having my own avatar?”

           His wistful tone was all the answer he needed. “Yeah. Just like that.”

           “Of course! Who wouldn’t want to be Na’vi?”

            The twisting in his gut intensified as he looked at himself in the mirror. “I don’t want to be Na’vi.” He couldn’t help the heaviness in his voice when he said it.

            Spider was incredibly perplexed by this, “why not?”

             He thought on how to best answer, looking at himself long and hard. Because I feel so ridiculously huge. While the advantages of being Na’vi were great , he couldn’t help but feel dangerously big when with his son. Always in the back of his mind was the fear of accidentally hurting him. Because I hate looking the same as the people I had killed. His hair was starting to grow out from the flat top he’d favored, the ghost of the curls he hated starting to show on the tips of the top section, while the sides raced to catch up. His blue eyes had been replaced with gold. It was clear the soul was still the same behind them but the lineage that showed in his every feature was nearly erased, replaced with the cat like nose of the Na’vi, the pointed ears, the blue skin. Because I don’t feel like myself anymore in this body. He looked at Spider, seeing traces of the man he used to be in his son’s face. Because I want to look like I’m your father. His heart twisted again knowing that his son would destroy those features if given the chance. “Because you're human,” he answered at last.

            Spider shrugged him off, “I’d rather be Na’vi.”

            Miles huffed a laugh, hoisting Spider up a little higher, “well aren’t we quite the pair.” Spider giggled. They returned to Spider’s bedroom, Miles getting comfortable in the reading chair, holding Spider on his lap. “So you’d rather be Na’vi than human. Is that why you don’t want to get an education?”

            Spider nodded, “I don’t want to learn the sky people ways! Plus my friends don’t have to do any of that stuff! The elders tell us all the stories so I don’t need to read, and I don’t need to write and I already know how to count so I don’t need more math….”

            “Alright I hear the point you're tryin’ to make. But why limit yourself like that? Humans aren’t all bad…” just we were. The thought came out of nowhere, slapping Miles in the face. He shook it off, shoving the feeling down, “…..they’ve made great stories, and beautiful art, and lived amazin’ lives. I just want to share that with you.” 

            Spider took this in, his father’s sincerity moving him, spiking his curiosity. “If I don’t like it can we stop?”

              Absolutely not, Miles wanted to say. Instead he settled on, “if your not likin’ it we’ll talk and figure out what the problem is.”

            This seemed to satisfy his son, “okay. I’ll try it. For a little bit.”

           Miles hugged Spider close, kissing his temple. “That’s my boy.” Spider glowed at the praise snuggling in closer, perfectly content now that he felt understood.

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          Miles layed in bed, his racing mind making sleep impossible. How will this work when the R.D.A comes back. He could imagine his son, wearing a company t-shirt, his long ringlet clipped short, standing at attention like the perfect little soldier. Just like he’d imagined when his son had been born. Back then he’d dreamed of the boy being feisty and impulsive just like his mama. His pride and joy. The next leader of humans on Pandora. He’d been happy in those visions. Now when he pictured that future, all he could see was a miserable little boy, stripped of everything he held dear. 

          He’s only seven . Spider was impressionable. He imitated the Na’vi because that was all he knew. Once he got a taste of the human way of doing things he’d rush to abandon the savage’s ways. But what if he doesn’t. There was no way the next commanding officer would allow Spider to behave like that. Miles would be forced to correct it. He could see it all, like a horror movie in his head. Spider’s look of devastation as Miles burned all of his Na’vi belongings. His son sobbing as his locs were shorn off. Keeping him locked on base like a prisoner. All the distrust, fury, hatred and anguish in his eyes every time he’d look at his father. Miles imagined these things so vividly he could feel them, his stomach becoming painful as if he were being disemboweled, shivers running up his spine while liquid fire rushed through his veins like a damn bursting, drowning all in its wake. I can’t. I can’t do that to him. 

        They’re probably in route right now, he knew . It wouldn’t take long for the R.D.A to regroup. He had no doubt that when they came back it’d be with more firepower than ever. That made them the safest side to be on and yet if Spider didn’t change…. He closed his eyes tight, willing the thoughts to stop. I got about seven more years to figure this out. 

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           Finally the rain had stopped. Spider excitedly woke him that morning by jumping onto his bed. Miles blinked open bleary eyes seeing his son already dressed in his loincloth, wearing the blood red riding guards his father had made him underneath. Spider bounced on the bed patting Miles’ face. “Wake up! The storm stopped! Wake up sempu!” By nature Miles was a light sleeper. He was wide awake now but yawned dramatically, snatching Spider up as he turned on his side. “Sempu!” 

           “Five more minutes,” he said, snuggling his son closer.

            Spider growled, pushing against him. “No! Get up! We can finally go to the village!”

            “Are you sure? I bet it’s awfully muddy outside. Maybe we need to wait another day….”

            “No!” 

            Miles chuckled. “Alright alright. I’m gettin’ up.” 

            Twenty minutes later found Spider riding on his father’s shoulder as they made their way to the village, the other recoms following on all sides. Spider was ecstatic just to feel the sun on his face, the fresh, cool post rain wind blowing through his hair. As soon as they came to the Omatikaya’s lands Spider squirmed for release. Miles chuckled, plucking his son from his shoulders so he could rush ahead. Jake and his kids were waiting for them. The three childrens’ faces all lit up as their friend raced into their arms. “Spider,” Kiri shrieked, grinning from ear to ear. Then she noticed his hair, her eyes going wide in awe. She reached out, taking one of Spider’s curls in hand, stretching it out to its full length. “Wow. It’s really pretty.”

          Spider sucked in a breath. “You think so?”

          Kiri nodded emphatically. Spider looked as if a burden had been lifted from him, his face lighting up. Miles watched, smiling at the scene. Jake was amazed as he took in Spider. “How did you do it?”

          “Patience,” Miles said simply, brimming with superiority. The kids ran off to play. “So what are we doin’ today?”

           Jake smirked. “We’ve got a lot of work to do after the storm. Clearing debris, fixing huts, that kind of thing. Usually the whole village bands together and we knock it out in an afternoon. I told them to save all the work for you.”

          Miles smiled ruthfully, “how kind of you.”

         It wasn’t hard work by any means, just tedious, the recoms being led around the village collecting sticks and branches to be used for the cook fire, making repairs on drying racks, hammock, and bungalows. The tribe bustled around them, singing songs, crafting, telling stories. Miles had no thoughts as he worked but a natural contentment washed through him without him noticing. Next to him Ja caught the tune of the songs being sung and began to hum along. After two hours of work Miles perked up to calls of, “Sempu! Sempu look!” Miles raised his head to see Spider running towards him. His hair stuck out around his face like coils of light, little beaded braids here and there hanging long past where his curls ended. Someone - most likely his friends- had painted the boy with bright blue stripes. What struck Miles the most was his gap toothed smile. Happy could never be enough to describe how absolutely elated his son was.

          It never failed to amaze Miles how his love could continue growing for this little boy. Seeing Spider looking so proud of himself, so confident, made boundless affection fill his entire being. His grin matched his son’s as he crouched to his level. Miles placed a hand on Spider’s masked cheek, eyes soft. “Well well well, don’t you look good.” Somehow Spider glowed even brighter from the praise. I can never take this away from him, Miles knew. And because he could never take this away from his son there was no way he could ever go back to the R.D.A. Not without giving up his boy. That wasn’t worth a second of thought. He would never leave Spider. So he had no hope of ever going back to his old life.

Chapter Text

    That morning Jake and Mrs. Sully had sat their kids down to tell them the good news - they were having another baby. Spider was of course happy for his friends. They were incredibly excited, musing about their future sibling at every opportunity. He wanted to join their conversations but found that he sadly couldn’t. He thought of and loved his friends like his brothers and sister but that didn’t mean he felt he could lay claim to their new sibling as also his sibling. And with the new baby being all his friends could talk about that left Spider to silently trail after them, dragging his feet in the dirt as he listened. 

        “Do you think mommy and daddy will let us help make the new baby’s song cord,” Neteyam asked his siblings. Another topic that stung for Spider. He longed for a song cord of his own. He had considered making one for himself a number of times but could never bring himself to do it. Every time he tried he nearly broke down sobbing. He hoped now that his sempu was alive again he’d finally get his song cord but he wasn’t sure his father even knew what it was. Maybe sempu needs a song cord of his own , Spider thought, I can make him one. 

         “Probably,” Kiri said, snapping Spider from his thoughts, “I think our baby sister should get a bead for each one of her older siblings….

          “Who says it’s a girl,” Lo’ak said, cutting her off.

          “It’s a girl,” Kiri said definitively, leaving no room for argument and yet, her younger brother chose to continue.

           “You don’t know that!”

            Kiri was unfazed. “Yes I do.”

            “How?”

             She shrugged, “I can feel it.”

             Lo’ak was ready to fight when the voice of their mother called out to them, “children. Come have the mid day meal.” Their argument was instantly forgotten as Neteyam, Kiri, and Lo’ak all rushed to their family bungalow. Spider hung back, watching his friends go. He caught sight of Neytiri waiting outside her home’s entrance for her kids. Neteyam happily hugged his mother before going inside, his siblings following after him. A familiar feeling of longing bubbled up inside Spider as he watched his friends with their mother. It intensified as Neytiri softly smiled at them, pure love in her eyes. When his friends were out of his sight, Neytiri’s gaze fell on him for just a moment, turning as cold and hard as stone as she looked down her nose at him. “Away with you demon’s son.” Her words weren’t overly hostile. More like she was shooing a pet. Spider hung his head, dying inside as he turned away. 

           Then just off in the distance he heard, “Spider! Where are y’a son? I’ve got lunch ready so come eat.” The boy froze as his father came into view. Sempu noticed him without seeing the danger just behind his son. He smiled when he spotted Spider, drawing closer. “There y’a are. Come on tiger, let's eat.” He held his hand out for Spider to take. The boy remained frozen as he felt more then saw Neytiri crouching defensively in front of her home. Sempu looked up, finally noticing the woman as she bared her teeth and hissed at him. Sempu shot her a ruthless smirk. “Well hello to you too Mrs. Sully.”

            “Leave my home at once demon,” Neytiri said with deadly calm, “and take your spawn with you!” Spider could see his friends' scared faces, pecking out from behind their mother, only adding to his humiliation. 

              Sempu held his hands up in surrender, “alright don’t get your tail in a twist. We’re going.” He grabbed Spider by the arm dragging him away. The boy watched his friends disappear from sight, their gazes never leaving him.A storm of emotions brewed within Spider. It was so overwhelming that it rendered him numb, incapable of doing anything but quietly trail after his father. The urge to cry pricked at his eyes, that dreaded feeling soon sinking down until it was nothing. Once the Sully’s bungalow was far from his sights, Spider took a deep watery breath before ripping his arm free of his father’s hold. Sempu turned to him, clearly confused. “Come on now son. Let’s get movin’ before lunch gets cold….”

            “No!” Spider stomped his foot to punctuate his refusal. “I don’t want to! I’m not hungry.”

             Sempu raised an eyebrow, his hands on his hips. He took a second to think before crouching down to Spider’s level. The boy stayed defiant even as his father reached out to tuck his hair behind his ears, eyes soft with an understanding. “Y’a look mighty tired. That why you’re all grumpy.”

             His gentle tone made Spider’s anger flare once again, “I’m not grumpy!”

             To his surprise Sempu chuckled. “Oh yes you are. Come here sunshine…” he was swept up into his father’s arms where he immediately started flailing for release. Sempu was unfazed, clutching him tightly “…..we’ll get some food in y’a and put y’a down for a nap. You’ll feel right as rain after that.”

             “Put me down!” Spider pushed against Sempu’s chest with all his strength. His father didn’t even seem bothered. “Put me down!” Furious, Spider lifted his mask just enough to bite Sempu’s arm.

            “Hey!”  Sempu’s hand came up to fit Spider’s mask back over his face. Then to the boy’s shock he was lifted up into the air, held at arm's length over his father’s head. “That wasn’t very nice. Good boy’s don’t bite.”

             Spider flailed helplessly in the air. “Put me down!”

              Sempu shook his head, “not without an apology.”

             “No!”

             “Come on now, say it.”

             “No!”

             “Say, daddy I'm sorry for biting you.”

              “But I’m not!”

               Sempu remained stoic. “Well then enjoy the weather up there.”

              “No!” Spider kicked and beat the air with his fist but the motion made him more scared than anything. Sempu had a firm grip on the sides of his torso but still, he felt the weight of gravity pulling him towards a nasty fall if he caused his father to drop him. “Sempu…”

              “You’re okay I’ve got y’a,” he said gently. “Just say it….”

                Spider flailed in the air a moment longer before he felt himself giving in. Even when Spider had been mean his father had still spoken to him without a shred of anger in his voice. It made Spider feel more terrible than he already did. “Daddy….”

                “Yes…”

                “I’m sorry.”

                “Why are y’a sorry son?”

                “Because I bit you.”

                “And why do you need to apologize for that?”

                “Because it wasn’t nice?”

                 Sempu lowered him, cradling Spider against his chest. The boy couldn’t bring himself to fight anymore, slumping into the hold. “That’s right. It wasn’t very nice. But thank you for sayin’ sorry. I forgive y’a.” Spider didn’t say a word as he was carried off. Sempu ran his fingers through Spider’s hair in an attempt to comfort him. It did help the boy to feel a little less awful inside but it didn’t stop him from looking perfectly miserable. “Oh come on now tiger. You're okay. I’m not mad at y’a.” Spider didn’t respond. “Oh don’t be like that. Let’s turn that frown upside down,” Sempu tickled him under his chin. Spider spasmed, giggling uncontrollably. “Does that feel funny?” His son’s shriek of laughter was the only answer he needed as he moved his hands to Spider’s even more sensitive sides. He grinned from ear to ear seeing his son’s smile after being so upset. 

                “Stop,” Spider gasped out through his laughs, another high pitched shriek ripping from his lungs.

                “What was that? Don’t stop?” Sempu went for the soles of Spider’s little feet. The boy yelped, giggling as he tried to kick. It turned into a game of Spider trying to keep his feet away while Sempu tried to catch them. Father and son were so enraptured by their fun that they didn’t even notice the villagers that glared and hissed at them as they passed.

                 When they reached the cook fire Spider was red faced from laughing so hard. The recoms all grinned at the happy boy. Sempu took a seat, settling his son on his lap. He bounced the boy on his knee to help get some of his energy out while Lyle passed him a plate of roasted fish and wild vegetables. Once Spider caught his breath he was handed his meal. He picked up a large piece, ready to quickly shove it in his mouth as he held his breath. Sempu gave him a stern look, “take small bites. Y’a don’t wanna choke.”

                   “But it’s annoying!” It was so tedious having to take on and off his mask with every mouthful of food. 

                   “We can go home then if that’s what y’a want.”

                    “No!”

                     Sempu held out a little morsel of fish to him, “then small bites, please.” Spider pouted but did as he was told, lifting up his mask just enough to snatch the food right out of his father’s hand with his teeth. The man did not seem pleased with his son’s animalistic behavior but he let it go. He then moved to take his son’s mask so the boy didn’t have to fumble with it while he ate. While Spider chewed his father would gently press the mask back onto his face, removing it when he was ready for more. The help made Spider feel content in a way he never had while having a meal outside. It had been drilled into him long before he’d been allowed to go out that if he took his mask off it’d only take moments for him to suffocate and die. That fear was ever present in the back of his mind especially during the balancing act that was eating. But with his father there all that worry melted away. 

                    Once lunch was finished Spider could feel all the activity of the morning catch up to him. Sempu had his arms around him, gently rocking back and forth. Spider swayed with the movement, eyelids growing heavy. The weight of fatigue slowly spread throughout his whole body as he found peace in the quiet chatter of the recoms, the warmth of the cook fire, and the soft breeze. In his last few embers of consciousness he registered the feeling of falling, his head landing on Sempu’s belly. His father’s chuckle reverberated through the both of them, the sound instantly making Spider even more content. Sempu clutched him closer and started stroking his hair as he slipped off to sleep. 

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                  “Alright now, what sound does B make,” Miles asked his son. Spider’s reading lessons were displayed on their living room t.v, Miles standing off to the side of it with a pointing stick in hand, playing teacher. His son sat on the couch, looking hilariously small on the oversized furniture. Spider was wrapped up in a blanket, clutching it close as if to shield from the schooling, the pout on his face a permanent fixture since the lesson began. 

                  “Bah,” Spider spat out.

                   Miles sighed. “You know for a kid that’s right y’a look mighty miserable.”

                   “This is stupid!”

                    Miles pinched the bridge of his nose, “well son if y’a had passed this portion on your aptitude test then we wouldn’t be doin’ this. But y’a didn’t because y’a couldn’t even read the questions. So it’s not stupid. Knowin’ what sounds all the letters make will help y’a sound out words when we get to readin’. Y’a listen to the sounds, y’a figure out the words and just like that y’a can read.” 

                 Spider defensively crossed his arms, glaring at the floor, still obviously unimpressed. “It doesn’t matter,” the boy mumbled, the words barely decipherable by his father, “I’m a moron anyway…”

               “What did you just say,” Miles' anger was rising, hoping that he’d actually misheard his son.

              Spider cast off his blanket, leaning forward on the couch, “I said I’m a moron!”

              “Don’t you dare say that about yourself,” Miles shouted, wagging a finger at the boy. Spider shrank inward at the yelling but Miles' fury was too high for him to stop, “who told you that! That damn McCosker!”

                Spider curled into a little ball, “yeah.”

                Miles took a deep breath, trying to quell his rage. You can’t yell at him, he reminded himself, you're scaring him. He crossed the room, kneeling to his son’s level, laying his hands on the boy’s shoulders. In a much more gentle tone he said, “I’m sorry for yelling. I was just mad on your behalf. You are not a moron. Don’t you ever say something like that about yourself ever again y’a hear me.” Spider nodded. “Now tell me what happened when McCosker insulted you.”

                Spider was quiet until he found the words, “we tried school a while ago. I couldn’t sit still and that made him angry and when I didn’t get the lessons he got more angry and started yelling and calling me a moron and an idiot and stupid….”

                Miles had to stop himself from completely flying off the handle and going straight to  McCosker’s apartment to beat the shit out of him. “How old were you?” Spider answered by holding up a hand all five of his fingers splayed. It felt like a knife to the heart for Miles. His poor boy had already been through so much and Miles could have prevented all of it if he had just made better choices. He took his son’s little hand in his own, looking him directly in the eye with a soft encouraging gaze. “Now you listen up. Sometimes when people are mean, like that mean ol’ Nash McCosker, it’s really because they’re unhappy with themselves. They gotta tear everyone else down just to feel good inside. Once you know that, those people can never hurt y’a again. They are sad and pathetic. You are kind and resourceful and strong. And you are most definitely a smart boy. Y’a couldn’t win at hide and seek, or safely make your way through the jungle all by yourself or speak two languages or take care of yourself for as long as y’a did if y’a weren’t incredibly smart.” Spider’s cheeks turned pink, a bashful smile on his face. Miles cupped his face in his hand. “Do y’a believe me now?” Spider nodded. “Good. Now can we try your lessons again?”

                  Spider’s face scrunched up in distaste, “they’re really boring Sempu.”

                  Miles chuckled, “well school typically isn’t fun tiger.”

                 “But I can’t get it through my head if it’s boring.”

                  For some reason Spider’s statement sent up an alarm bell in the father’s head but he couldn’t place why. School wasn’t supposed to be entertaining. His son was probably just so used to running around and playing all day that he had no idea how to simply sit down and concentrate on something. He’d get the hang of it after a while. But for today he had to find a way to engage Spider in the lesson and help reinforce the fact that he was smart. “Give me one minute,” Miles said. All of his teaching materials were on the tablet in his room. He quickly searched for reading games, finding one he was sure Spider would love. Out of his dresser Miles took a bag of holo marbles then returned to the living room where he dumped them all on the floor. After pushing some buttons on his tablet all the marbles started projecting a single letter of the alphabet. Spider looked mesmerized. “Here’s what we’re gonna do,” Miles said, “I’m gonna say a letter sound. When you hear it, grab the letter as fast as y’a can. Got it?”

                Spider jumped off the couch all smiles and ready to play. “Got it!”

                “Alright first one. Sssss.” Spider leapt at the letter S. The image went from blue to green at his touch. He grinned at his right answer. “Pa, pa,” He raced to touch the letter P. “I, I.” Spider’s smile only grew when the letter I lit up green. “Da,” another correct answer. “Eh…Rr,” Spider was breathless as he stood at the ready for more. Instead Miles tapped a few more buttons on his tablet, making the marble zip towards each other, assembling into a word. “Great job son! Now you try sounding them all out.”

                 He hesitated, unsure of himself. “Sssss…ppaa…ii…ddaa…eeeh…rr.” As he listened to himself it dawned on him, “spa..i….der. Spider…it says my name! That’s my name! I read my name!” The boy was jumping in his spot, he was so excited.

                Miles was grinning ear to ear his heart full with love and pride just watching his boy. “That’s right son you did! And y’a did it in just one lesson! Because you’re super smart right?” Spider nodded too busy doing his happy dance to speak. 

                When he calmed down he looked up at his father still buzzing with excitement. “Let’s play again, Sempu!” Miles was happy to oblige.

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             Spider pulled his father along eager to get to the village and see his friends. In his other hand he was holding the first book he’d ever read, Frog and Toad are Friends . The previous night he had sat on Sempu’s lap as they read it together, his father helping him sound out most of the words. But Spider had still read it! Now he wanted to read it to his friends all by himself. Spider’s excitement only grew as the village came into view. As always Jake was waiting for them, Kiri and Lo’ak holding his hands with Neteyam standing at attention just in front of them. “Hi,” Spider yelled as he ran towards them, Sempu barely increasing his speed to keep up. 

            “Hi,” his friends greeted with far less enthusiasm. Sempu dropped Spider’s hand letting the boy race ahead. He held out his book ready to show it off when Lo’ak said, “Sempu is taking us fishing today.”

            Spider’s smile instantly fell. “Oh,” was all he could say, his body slumping. 

            “Well I can take y’a fishin’,” Sempu said while clapping his shoulder. 

             “Sure you can,” Jake said, “but not today. I’ve got a full day planned for you. History lessons with the elders. Language lessons, music…”

              Miles looked disgusted, “that’s all we ever do. When can we do the real shi…” he looked to the children, quickly correcting his language, “…stuff. When can we do the real stuff? Like huntin’. Or learning to ride those flyin’ lizard things.”

              Jake groaned. “You mean an ikran! Jesus, how many times do I have to tell you! You want to learn to ride when you can’t even remember what it’s called?” Jake shook his head, “maybe show us the respect of actually trying and then we’ll see.”

              Sempu scowled then looked down to his dejected son. “Can y’a at least take Spider with y’a? What’s the poor kid supposed to do all day by himself ?”

              Jake sighed, “I was wanting to spend the day with my kids today. Na’vi parents typically keep their kids close to teach them the ways of the people but being the village leader I don’t always get as much time as I’d like. But I do have the time today so I’m taking it.”

             The news made Spider somehow look even sadder. Sempu gave him a pitying look. “Well I guess I’m parenting the Na’vi way today then.”

             Jake scoffed, “Spider can teach you more than you can teach him.”

             Miles glared, “well then we’ll have quite the informative day won’t we son.” Spider didn’t respond sadly staring at the ground, his book barely staying clutched in his limp hand. His father’s eyes softened with sympathy.

              Jake began to lead his children away, the boys waving goodbye. Kiri dropped her father’s hand, running to pull her friend into a hug using every ounce of strength in her little body. Spider hugged her back with equal intensity. “Bye Spider.”

              “Bye Kiri.” They parted, Kiri sadly trailing back to her family while Spider stayed rooted in place, watching them all go. 

               Once they were gone the recoms all got down to Spider’s level, attempting to cheer him up. “It’s okay Spidy.” “We’ll still have a fun day!” “Yeah! You won’t even notice that your friends left you!” Someone got elbowed in the ribs for that but Spider wasn’t paying attention to them, his eyes fixed back on the ground. 

               Sempu shooed them away. “Alright alright, give the kid some space. Go head over to story time with the elders or whatever. We’ll meet y’a there.” As the others all left Miles knelt by his son’s side, laying a hand on his masked cheek. “Oh it’s okay tiger. I know y’a wanted to show your friends your book but you can still do that tomorrow. And in the meantime we get to spend the whole day together.”

              Miles was smiling over the idea. Spider pouted even more. “We spend every day together.”

              Miles' ears pinned back as he tried to keep up his encouraging facade. “Well not the whole day.”

              Spider shrugged, “most of it.”

              Seeing his son’s sad face felt like a punch to the gut, “is that a bad thing?”

              “No,” Spider rushed to say, a bit of his typical fire returning, “it’s just…..I like playing with my friends….”

              Miles' features softened, “you want to hang out with someone your own age.”

              Spider nodded. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then said words that shocked the father so much he nearly fell over, “can I have a sibling.”

              Miles sputtered for breath. “Why do you want a sibling all of a sudden?”

              Spider shrugged. “My friends are going to have a new sibling soon,” Miles eyebrows raised as he quietly filed this information away, “and if I have a little brother or sister I’ll always have a friend to play with.”

               Miles' heart warmed. He really would be a great big brother. “Aw I’m sorry son. It doesn’t quite work that way….”

               “How does it work then?”

               Miles bristled, Spider looking up at him in wide eyed curiosity. No way in hell he was about to have that conversation with his seven year old. “Well…I….I’d need your mama to give you a little brother or sister…”

               “Well you came back. Can’t mama come back too?”

                All effort to save face drained out of him as his heart cleaved in two. “No sweetheart she can’t. Mama is gone for good. Nothin’ is bringin’ her back.”

               “Oh,” was all Spider could say, returning to staring at the ground in dejection. His father didn’t know what to say and so silently scooped his son up, holding him close. Gently he took the book from Spider’s hand, tucking it into his waist bag. Spider rested his head against his father’s shoulder while he rubbed circles into the boy’s back, making his way over to his squad. They were seated in a semicircle around an impressively adorned elder. A significantly younger Na’vi was by his side, no doubt their translator. One other villager was present, a pair of drums nestled between her legs. Miles fought the urge to not roll his eyes. Why do they always gotta sing everything?

             The villagers glared as they approached but Miles paid it no mind. He found a seat in between Mansk and Prager, settling Spider onto his lap. The elder began his song to the beat of the drums, pausing between verses for the translator to say instead of sing, “in the time before song the first peoples were disconnected from Eywa.” The song resumed. Spider noticeably perked up, his attention rapt. “They had never felt her love, had never tried to connect…..”

            “Until the first clan leader had a dream,” Spider blurted, jumping in seat from excitement. Miles chuckled at his son’s exuberants, smiling down at him as he bounced the boy on his knee. The outburst earned both father and son three glares that they were absolutely oblivious to.

              The elder ignored Spider, continuing on with the song. The younger Na’vi translated, “in the dream, she saw visions of a spirit tree. Visions of Eywa.” The song continued then, “She sprang from her sleep rushing to connect…”

               “And when she did the Great Mother warned her of a coming earthquake!” Spider was all smiles when he said it. The elder hissed at him making the boy recoil. Miles shielded his son from the angry Na’vi, a hiss of his own tearing from his lips of its own accord. The drum player stopped, a heavy silence falling on the group. Miles, the elder and the young Na’vi were all taking up defensive positions.

               Ja sprang from his seat holding out his hands to both parties. “Let’s not fight boss,” he said looking straight at Miles. Then he turned to the villagers, “Nimwey. Poan niyey a ‘evi.”

              Miles’ eyebrows raised in surprise over how good his subordinate had gotten at speaking the language. The villagers seemed equally surprised. The elder said something that was translated to, “take your spawn and go.” Miles wanted to hit him. To beat them all into a grave for speaking so harshly to his son. He looked down at Spider, his face buried in his father’s torso, hiding from the world. His hands were digging into Miles' skin, nails making half moon imprints. The father was sure if he could see the boy’s eyes they’d be watery. 

            He stood, cradling his son close, “we’re going,” some of his squad made to follow but Miles stopped them with a hand, “ya’ll stay here. We’ll be fine.” With that he stormed away. He started making his way to the edge of the village. Miles silently stroked Spider’s hair, allowing his boy to calm down in his own time.

           “I’m sorry,” Spider mumbled quietly into his father’s shoulder. 

            Miles squeezed him tight. “You have nothing to apologize for. You were just excited about the story. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Spider looked up at him vacantly then laid his masked cheek back onto Miles shoulder. “We’ll head home. You’ll feel better when we’re outta this heat. You can go swimmin’ in the tub, or we can play with your toys or watch a movie…”

             “I ruined it. I ruin everything.” Spider’s soulless tone startled his father. No child should ever sound that dead inside. 

             “Now you hush with that kinda nonsense. You didn’t ruin a thing. I thought you were a much better storyteller than that old windbag.”

              Spider looked up at him again, hope shining in his eyes, “really?”

              Miles' features softed. He tried to keep up an encouraging face but on the inside his heart was breaking for his son. “Yeah tiger, really. You know I’d love to hear how the story ends. Can you tell it to me.”

               Spider jolted in his arms, instantly excited. “Of course I can Sempu!” Miles chuckled as his son happily babbled away.           

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               Miles hadn’t had a good night's sleep in weeks. All he could think was what am going to do . Seeing his son be scorned by the people he held up on a pedestal made his blood boil. All he wanted was to hide his boy away. Protect him from all the glares, hisses and jeers. But for some reason that Miles couldn’t fathom, Spider would be miserable if he was taken from it all. 

                 He’s still so young , Miles constantly told himself. He might be upset in the beginning but he could adjust. Miles could find a way to move them to a different defunct R.D.A facility. They could live happily with the rest of the squad, far from the Omatikaya with their traditions and their god. It’d be what was best for everyone. Except for Spider . He’d be devastated without his friends.

              Trying to get back to Earth was a non-starter. Paz would roll in her grave if Miles took their son back to that hopeless dying planet. And in his new body Miles would be a freak. A science experiment owned by the company. He’d have no rights, no freedom. It was likely they’d take his son away from him, train him to be a super soldier or worse experiment on him as the first human born and raised on Pandora. Miles would die before letting any of that happen. But they are coming. Whether on Earth or Pandora there was no escaping the R.D.A. A war was inevitable and for the sake of his son’s life he wanted to be on the winning side.

               I can’t go back to the R.D.A without destroying everything Spider loves. I want to move away from here but can’t without taking my son away from the people he loves. I can’t protect him from the villagers that hate him. I can’t protect him from the R.D.A. I can’t protect him from war. I can’t protect him. I can’t protect him. I can’t protect him. I can’t protect him……

            Miles ripped his mask off and sprang out of bed, unable to stand being alone with his thoughts anymore. He crossed the hall, quietly creeping into Spider’s room. The boy was sound asleep, the light of the bioluminescence foliage outside his window turning his blond curls a pale blue, his stripes standing out in stark relief against his glowing skin. His lips were parted slightly, a thin line of drool running down his chin. Miles smiled, the sight of his peaceful little boy putting him instantly at ease. He adjusted the blanket around Spider, taking the viperwolf plushie that had been discarded in sleep and tucking it in with the boy. Then he sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed and just watched his son. It’s a miracle I can even do this . He still wished to be human again. To have won the war. To give his son the real life he deserved. But he knew dwelling on all that was pointless. He’d been given a second chance. He needed to be grateful for what he did have and make the most of it.

             He looked at Spider again. He’s more Na’vi than human. There was no denying that. No changing that. We can’t go back to the R.D.A. We can’t go back to Earth. I can’t take him away from his friends. Miles sighed knowing what his only other option was. The one he hated the most. 

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           Miles had just set breakfast on the table when he heard the slapping of Spider’s bare feet on the floor as he entered the room. The father chuckled. His son was still wearing the oversized t-shirt and shorts he wore to bed, rubbing at sleep crushed eyes with one hand, his viperwolf plushie dangling in the other, hair sticking out in all directions. “Siltsan rewind, ‘itan.”

          Spider’s head tilted to the side in confusion at his father’s sudden use of Na’vi but he greeted back, “Siltsan rewind, Sempu.” 

          Miles crossed the room, scooping up his son. “I thought we could start using a little more Na’vi around the house. I need to learn it and you’re already so good at speakin’ it. So what do y’a say? Want to help sempu?” Spider’s eyes brightened with excitement, eagerly nodding yes. Miles grinned at him as he deposited the boy at the kitchen table. Spider set his viperwolf by his bowl, babbling to his toy as he pretended to feed the stuffed animal his oatmeal before every bite. Like every morning Miles stood behind him and brushed his hair, styling it into a ponytail. His son didn’t protest anymore. Some days he even seemed to enjoy it. The progress made the father so happy to see. Every day Spider was a little less defensive and scared and a little more of the happy, unburdened child he always should have been.  

             Once they were dressed in their village clothes they were out the door, meeting the rest of the squad outside to walk together. It was all perfectly routine now. The morning air was comfortable but with the promise of being oppressively hot by the afternoon. There was a nice breeze, the soft mummers of his squads conversations mingling with the chatters of the wild life. Spider road on his shoulders, his little feet happily swinging in his father’s hold. It was peaceful. A content smile pulled at Miles lips without him even noticing. We’re gonna have a good day, Miles told himself, I’m gonna work hard and earn my boy a place among these people. 

          As always Jake was waiting for them at the entrance of the village, flanked by his warriors. His children were nowhere in sight however. Once they drew closer Miles could tell from their somber faces that something was wrong. “There’s been a death,” Jake said simply, “I wasn’t for it but my mother in law thinks you should witness our last rights. You’re gonna hang in the back, out of sight y’a hear me. I don’t want you upsetting an already grieving family.”

          Miles held his hands up in surrender. “Heard.”

           Jake raised a surprised eyebrow, obviously expecting some biting remark. He nodded, “Okay then. Follow me.” Funeral preparations were already well underway. Some people were gathered around the cook fire, preparing a feast. Others were decorating a walkway with flowers for when they carried out the deceased. Down the path Miles could see a young man digging a grave at the base of a tree. All around them the villagers were singing. Miles didn’t understand their words but it didn’t seem mournful, instead sounding reverently uplifting.

           “Who’s the deceased,” Miles asked.

             If Jake was surprised by Miles' interest he didn’t show it, “his name was Ro’awn. He was the village's expert potter but in recent years his hands had become arthritic. He had mainly been teaching the next generation up until now. His granddaughter was one of his best students,” Jake smiled sadly, “the Na’vi believe that all energy is borrowed and that one day you have to give it back. Ro’awn lived a good long life, surrounded by family and friends. Getting up every day to do what he loved. And now he’s with Eywa. We’re not mourning his death today but celebrating his life. Knowing all that though….” Jake paused taking a deep breath, “I guess I just can’t completely shake my human feelings you know? For us death is just the end. It's supposed to be sad and scary but for them,” he waved a hand at the villagers, all serenely going about their task, “it’s just the next cycle of life.”

             Miles dwelled on that as they continued to walk, leaving Jake without an answer. It sounded almost nice. A relief to know exactly where you were going when you shoved off the mortal coil. Without the fear of death Miles figured a person would feel free to really live. He couldn’t admit to the feeling but deep down he envied that kind of freedom. 

            They reached the edge of the village. “You’ll stay here. You can leave after we bury him.”

            Spider pouted down at Jake from his perch on his father’s shoulders, “we can’t stay for the party?”

            Jake’s features softened, “you can stay if you want. I just figured your dad wouldn’t want to.”

           Spider leaned over the top of his father’s head, looking at him upside down, “can we stay Sempu?”

           Miles chuckled, “of course we can,” then he turned to Jake, saying pointedly, “we need to learn the culture.” 

            Jake raised an eyebrow, “yes you do.” With that he turned and left, his warriors trailing behind him. It didn’t take long for the rest of the village to start assembling along the funeral path. They stayed well away from Miles’ group, forming an invisible bubble around them. Not a soul even dared to acknowledge their presence even as Spider waved and shouted greetings at people he knew. Once everyone was gathered the singing began. Miles took it in stoically, shoving down his baser instinct to roll his eyes at yet another sing-a-long. Spider happily swayed to the beat, singing in tune with the rest. Then the procession started. The deceased was on a pallet adorned with flowers. The body had been lovingly prepared by his family, some of whom were carrying him to his grave. Miles searched their faces expecting to find them all calm and emotionless. After all, from Jake’s description of things, they shouldn’t care about their dead. 

             Would it make it easier for you if they didn’t. The sudden thought rocked Miles to his core. He chose to ignore it, refocusing on the funeral and the grief stricken faces of the family. The little granddaughter that Jake had mentioned looked near tears. She was clutching something in her hand though from the distance Miles couldn’t tell what. Maybe a clay sculpture she had made to send off with her grandfather. Maybe the last object they had ever created together, kept close to her now so she could feel his presence just a little more strongly. The display was all so human, drumming up empathy that Miles never thought he could have for the Na’vi.

            When the procession reached Ro’awn’s grave they stopped. Jake said some opening words that Miles couldn’t even hope to understand. Then the entire village touched their first two fingers to their forehead extending their hand towards the deceased. His son and surprisingly Ja did the same. Miles looked up at Spider, “what was that?”

            “Oel ngati kameie,” Spider answered with a sunny smile.

             Miles tried not to sigh in frustration, “okay but what does that mean?” 

             “I see you!”

              “Well I can see you too but why is it important?”

             “It’s one of their highest forms of respect,” Ja said, “from what I understand it’s like saying, “I see your soul,” or “I see you for who you are.” Miles nodded but didn’t respond. He tested out the hand gesture a few times, quietly practicing his new vocabulary as he did. 

               Ro’awn was carefully lowered into the ground by presumably two of his sons. The flowers from the pallet were scattered around the body. Then to Miles' surprise one of the sons unfurled a long beaded cord, pinched the first bead between his thumb and pointer finger and began to sing. He sang a handful of verses, sliding his fingers up the chain with each one then passed it off to his brother to continue where he left off. “What is that,” Miles whispered to his son.

              Spider stiffened, “it’s… it’s a song cord,” he mumbled. 

              Miles was taken aback by the boy’s sudden shyness but he pressed on, “what’s a song cord?”

              “It’s….” Spider nervously fidgeting with his hands, “it’s the story of your life. You’re….you’re parents are supposed to start it for you when you’re born….” Spider said it so softly, like he was embarrassed. Miles could instantly tell how much the boy longed for a song cord of his own and knew that he had to start one as soon as possible. “….then you add a bead or an object for special events in your life. Like meeting your best friend or iknimaya, or finding your mate….”

               “I get it, tiger,” Miles said gently. Spider’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you so much for sharing that,” Miles raced to say, “you’re such a good teacher.” Spider brightened, happy to have helped. “Will you please translate the rest of the funeral for us son?”

               Spider grinned, “of course Sempu!” The song continued, passed down a long line of family and friends. Ro’awn had lived a good life full of happiness it seemed. Until they started to reach the end. There was a bead for the destruction of home tree intertwined with a bead for the death of his mate. Miles' group shifted awkwardly in their spots, the furious aura of the closest villagers palpable. Spider thankfully seemed oblivious, calmly keeping up with the translation until the very end when the song cord was passed to the granddaughter. She unfurled her hand revealing a little clay totem that she attached to the end of the cord then sang. “Your body stays behind but your soul now walks with Eywa,” Spider said, “until we meet again grandfather.” The entire village bowed their heads in respect as the soil was tossed into the grave. 

               It was so eerily quiet the Miles jumped when Spider whispered, “Sempu. What happens to humans when they die?”

                Nothing , Miles automatically thought. He had always been an atheist but to even dare share his beliefs with his son now seemed so incredibly wrong it made him feel sick. The poor boy would be devastated. He plucked Spider from his shoulders to cradle against his chest. “Now why would y’a worry about a thing like that?”

               Spider looked away, “because I can’t connect to Eywa so I’ll never be able to walk with her….” Miles could see how incredibly upsetting this was for his son to say. He clutched the boy a little closer and started stroking his hair. “So where do human souls go? Is it nice?”

               Miles smiled softly while on the inside he felt as if he were being destroyed. “Don’t you worry about it right now. You are a healthy little boy who’s not dyin’ anytime soon. You’ll waste your life thinkin’ too much about death y’a get me.” Spider nodded, clearly disappointed in the non answer. He laid his head on his father’s shoulder, Miles wrapping him up in his arms as if to shield the boy from his morbid thoughts. Don’t think about it, Miles willed himself. He turned his attention back to the funeral, to all those mournful faces missing the person they loved. It was all so… Don’t think about it. Don’t think about any of it. 

Chapter Text

         The music pounded through the jungle, the villagers dancing to the beat around roaring fires. The savory scents of roasting meat wafted through the air making Spider’s mouth water. He wanted to race to the feast table to get his fill but he hung back. He knew he’d only be hissed at if he took his portion before the rest of the village. Instead he sat on the sidelines watching the celebration of life, feeling an emptiness in his chest. “Spider,” Kiri screeched, running up to him, Lo’ak and Neteyam trailing after her. In her hands were two plates piled high with food. She plopped down beside Spider and handed him one. Kiri grinned at him, “this party’s fun isn’t it.”

          “Yeah,” Spider half heartedly agreed. It looked fun for sure. 

           “Where’s your Sempu,” Neteyam asked, taking a seat.

            “Over there,” Spider pointed to his father and his team awkwardly standing on the edge of the festivities. Sempu stoically watched. A few of his friends moved to the music as if they were embarrassed to actually dance. “Jake said if they tried to join the party then one of Ro’awn’s sons might pull a knife on them. Sempu said I could go have fun but everyone seemed angry with me…”

          “They just have sticks up their butts!”

          “Kiri,” Neteyam huffed, shocked at his sister. Lo’ak giggled.

           “Well they do! Spider is the funest person I know. If they won’t let you join the party then we’ll have a party right here!”

           “Yeah!” Lo’ak cheered.

           Spider smiled, the emptiness he’d felt only moments before, being replaced by warmth. “So what are we going to do first,” Spider asked, turning to Kiri.

           “First we feast!” Kiri held her cup high in the air, “and then we dance!” The boys all held their cup up, then they all drank as one. After enjoying their meal they danced themselves silly, spinning in circles until they were dizzy, jumping to the rhythm, racing around each other. After hours the children finally tired, collapsing to the ground, sweating, breathless, and ecstatic. They laid next to each other, catching their breath.

            “What’s this,” Lo’ak asked.

             Spider turned to him, immediately dying a little inside. In his hand Lo’ak held the cord Spider had been weaving for his Sempu. It was made from any fibers that Spider could get his hands on making it much more colorful than his Sempu would like but it was the best he could do. It must have fallen out of the small hip bag he used to carry the battery for his mask. “That’s mine!” He quickly snatched it from his friend, shoving back into his pouch.

              Lo’ak was clearly confused by the hostility. “What is it?”

              Spider blushed, mumbling, “it’s a song cord…..for my Sempu.”

              Lo’ak giggled, “he’s supposed to make you a song cord. Not the other way around.”

              He shrugged, feeling his defenses rise, “well he doesn’t have one! And he doesn’t have any other family but me so who else is going to make him one!”

               Kiri grabbed his hand instantly quelling his anger. “You're right. Can I see it again?” Hesitantly Spider brought the cord back out. Kiri gently took it, “it’s really pretty. I’m sure your Sempu will love it.” Spider glowed from the complement.

                Lo’ak and Neteyam crowded in to see the cord as well. “What are you going to put on it,” Neteyam asked.

                “I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s special to him.”

                 “Well you know one thing,” said Kiri. When Spider just gave her a questioning look she rolled her eyes, “you silly!”

                 “Ooh our Sempu has our blood on his song cord,” said Lo’ak eagerly.

                  “It’s encased in amber,” Neteyam added.

                  “How do we make it,” said Spider.

                    Lo’ak jumped up from his seat, “I’ll show you!” Then he turned, running off into the forest.

                  “Skxawng! Get back here!” Neteyam shot up, racing after his little brother. Kiri and Spider shared a look then busted out laughing before following after them.

                   Lo’ak hadn’t gone far, holding his arms out wide to display a sap covered tree, “here! Amber!”

                  Neteyam -looking far too exhausted for a six year old- said, “all you have to do is put a drop of blood in the sap, roll it into a ball and let it get hard.”

                  Spider nodded, “how do we get the blood?”

                  The kids all thought, searching their surroundings for anything sharp enough to cut. “There,” Kiri exclaimed, pointing to a jagged piece of wood on the same tree as the sap. Spider wasted no time, climbing a short distance up before reaching out and slicing the tip of his pointer finger on the wood. When he hopped back down Kiri was waiting with a small flat round of sap. Spider squeezed a few drops of blood into it. Then he took the sap from Kiri, carefully forming it into a ball. Once it was perfectly smooth he held it up to the light seeing the beautiful swirls of bright red in gold. He bounced on his toes, ecstatic over his creation.

                  “How long does it take to dry,” Spider asked as they made their way back.

                  “Not long,” answered Neteyam, “if we go by the fire it’ll dry even faster.”

                  “Let’s go then!” Spider picked up the pace eager to finish the first bead on his father’s song cord. 

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                 Miles watched his son and his friends crouch down by the fire, warming their hands. They were talking and giggling with each other, making him smile. He was so focused on watching his child that the rest of the noise and glares from the villagers faded away, filling his chest with warmth. “Enjoying yourself?” Miles whipped his head around, coming nearly noise to noise with the dragon lady herself. 

                The woman in front him radiated a dignified wisdom and power that was simply unnerving. He looked directly into her eyes, hoping to seem more sure of himself then he felt. “Not particularly.”

                Slowly Mo’at started to circle him, “and why is that?”

                Miles turned so he could keep her eye in his sights, “well it’s hard to have fun at a party you're not welcome at.”

                Mo’at nodded, “and how did you feel during the burial?”

                “Why are y’a asking?”

                Mo’at stopped her circling, saying sternly, “humor me.”

                Somehow Miles felt as if he were backed into a corner despite his wide open surroundings. “I didn’t feel anything.”

                 Mo’at looked into his eyes, analyzing him so deeply he felt his insides shrivel. “You are a liar,” she said calmly, as if it was a simple fact. Mo’at smiled ruthfully, “bile may spew from your mouth but your soul has started screaming.”

                “What the hell does that even mean?” Her crypticness annoyed him to no end. 

                 She waved him off. “You will understand when you are ready. But even though you won’t admit it, I can see - progress is being made.”  Miles rolled his eyes. Mo’at nodded. Done with the conversation she turned away.

                  “Wait,” Miles called after her. He felt ridiculous even asking but he had to. Swallowing his pride he said, “my son. He doesn’t have a song cord. I need to make him one.”

                  “Well then make him one,” Mo’at said, continuing to walk away.

                  “I…” he was embarrassed to even say it, “I don’t know how. Where do I even start? What do I need? How do I….”

                   “You are overthinking it,” Miles’ ears pinned back at the scolding. “Practically, you need to weave a chain and make a few beads. That is all. But, it is not the craftsmanship of the song cord that is truly important. Weave your love for your son into every fiber. When you make the first bead remember the day he was born. All of the boundless joy you felt as you watched him take his first breath. The way your heart swelled when you held him for the first time. Remember that day. And put it all into that first bead. Then let that raw emotion burst out of you in song. Sing to the whole world, to Eywa herself, the love you have for your child. That is a song cord.”

                   Miles was stunned. He couldn’t imagine himself being so emotional that he’d burst out in song. It felt ridiculous to even think about. “Ah, okay,” he felt like a moron but couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

                  Mo’at smiled wickedly, “I look forward to seeing what you create.” Her words felt more like an accusation than a compliment. He watched her leave, standing there quietly for just a moment before his natural rage kicked in.

                 “I’m over this shit,” he announced to his squad, “come on! Let’s head back to mine. I owe you all a party for helping me with my home. Today feels like a good day for it.” The recoms all cheered. Miles smiled feeling sure of himself again. “Spider!” His son looked up from across the way. “Come on son! We’re gonna head home!” The boy pouted, reluctantly saying goodbye to his friends before running up to him. Miles took his hand, ready to start walking back, when he noticed dried blood running from Spider’s fingertip and down his wrist. He crouched to his son’s level, “now what happened here,” he asked as he gently inspected the wound.

               There was panic in Spider’s eyes but he kept up a good face, “I was climbing a tree. There was a sharp piece of bark and I got cut.”

               “Is that right,” Miles was skeptical of the story but didn’t feel like making a mountain over a small cut.

                “Yep,” Spider said, nodding like a bobble head.

                 Miles scooped the boy up and started carrying him away, “welp we’ll just get that cleaned up when we get home. And then we’ve got another party to get ready for!”

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                  I got to give the natives credit. They make some mighty fine booze. Miles was starting to feel tipsy as he downed more of the yovo fruit moonshine he’d taken from the village. It was the smoothest drink he’d ever had, lacking any alcohol burn and tasted sweet, but not overly so with a pleasant acidity on the backend. The moonshine was so easy to drink that they all knocked it back like water. All the emotions of the morning faded away, replaced by the numb happiness only intoxication can bring. Music played from the t.v mingling with the many different conversations of the recoms and the sounds of Mansk cooking up a feast of their own in the kitchen. 

             “I don’t get why they even wanted us at that stupid funeral,” said Lyle a little too loudly, “all they did was hiss and glare at us the whole time…”

            “I don’t know Lyle,” said Ja, “I thought it was kinda…beautiful. Their burial traditions aren’t that different from ours but the way the entire village came together, singing his entire life story, it was….”

             Fike plucked Ja’s drink from his hand, “okay I think you're cut off.” Everyone laughed. Ja’s ears pinned back in shame, his tail swishing wildly behind him.

             Meanwhile Spider moved between them all looking for some form of entertainment or attention but finding none among the drunk adults. He contemplated simply going to his room to play with his toys but decided against it. Closing himself off when he was ignored reminded him too much of living with the McCosker’s. Instead he marched up to his father, stomped his foot and shouted, “Sempu!” 

             Miles was about to make a comment at Ja’s expense but stopped at his son’s shout, confusion written all over his face, “what’s the matter with you?” 

             “This party sucks! Parties are supposed to be fun! With singing and dancing! You're all just standing around talking!”

                “Well son that’s just how adults have a party.”

                “Na uh, the adults in the village were all singing and dancing today.”

                 Miles felt his frustration start to mount, “well then this is how adults from Earth have a party.”

                Spider looked disgusted, “Earth celebrations must really suck then.” The group laughed at the bluntness of the seven year old. His father on the other hand was not pleased.

                “Oh Spidy Earth parties are great,” said Lyle, “this is just your dad’s idea of fun.” Lyle made a face as if he were dying of boredom. Spider giggled. Miles scowled. “You’d love all the holidays we have back on Earth! We have Independence Day where we all shoot fireworks into the sky…”

                “What’s a firework?”

                “Oh my god! Someone pull up a video! They’re these huge glittering balls of fire that light up the sky with tons of different colors….”

                 Spider’s eyes went wide as he imagined it, “wow.”

                 “Wow is right! And there’s Easter. That’s where a bunny hides a bunch of eggs for you to find and when you're done you get a basket full of candy!”

                   The boy hung off of every word, “really!”

                   “Ah huh. And then there’s the best time of the year! For three months - October, November, and December- we have nothing but holidays. First there’s Halloween where everyone dresses up and gets candy. Then there’s Thanksgiving - a day of non stop feasting. And then, the best holiday of them all, Christmas where if you’ve been good all year you get a mountain of presents!”

                  Spider bounced on the tips of his toes he was so excited, “can we do those!”

                   Miles brightened at his son’s enthusiasm for Earth customs. “Sure we can!” Then he brought his watch close to his lips and asked the programed assistant, “what day is it on Earth?”

                   The bot answered in its dead robotic voice, “the current day on Earth is October seventeenth, twenty one sixty one.”

                   “It’s almost Halloween,” Lyle cheered.

                    Still bouncing in place, Spider turned to his father, “can we do it Sempu!”

                    Miles grinned, scooping up his excited son, “well of course we can!”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                   The next day Spider raced off to meet his friends the moment they reached the village, screeching, “guys! Guys! I have so much to tell you about! We’re all gonna get candy!”

                  Jake gave Miles a confused look. “What is he talking about?”

                  “We’re gonna do Halloween.”

                   “Oh,” was all Jake managed to say, clearly not excited over the idea, “well I hope you two have fun with that.” Miles stayed quiet. He figured this would be Jake’s response but he was still disappointed on his son’s behalf. Spider really wanted to share the holiday with his friends. “I’ve got something important for us to do today. Just us. The others will all stay here.”

                 “Aw Jake y’a want to spend the day with me? I’m touched. Really, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside…”

                Jake scowled, shoulder checking Miles as he stormed past him. Miles chackled. “Come on! I don’t have all day.”

                “Alright don’t get your tail in a twist, I’m coming.”  Before following after Jake, Miles turned to his son, “looks like I’m headed out for the day. You be good.”

                 “Okay Sempu.” Spider was barely paying attention to him though, more focused on his friends.

                 “Okay bye. Have a good day.”

                 “Bye,”  Spider said with a wave and sunny smile. Miles grinned, holding onto that wonderful feeling in his chest as he chased after Jake, into the jungle.

                   When he caught up Miles asked, “so what are we actually doin’? I know we’re not out here because y’a enjoy my company.”

                   “We’re gonna go see our final battle.” 

                   Miles was shocked, all bravado leaving him. “Why?”

                   Jake shrugged, “I’m not really sure. It was my mother-in-law’s idea.” That made Miles’ stomach drop. He chose to push his feelings down and clear his mind, calmly continuing forward. He wasn’t particularly nervous to see the corpse of his past self. But if the dragon lady thought seeing his death would be good medicine for him, then he wasn’t eager to find what the experience would drum up. 

                    The battle ground was a little over an hour's walk from the village. The old research shack was the first thing that came into view. Miles of course had no knowledge of the fight so he only had the aftermath to piece together what happened. From the twisted metal and broken windows of the shack he had torn into it with his mech suit, most likely to kill Jake’s sleeping human body. As they drew closer a Thanator skeleton lay pinned under a tree. There was no hope of him figuring out how that fit into the narrative. But the mech suit laying crumpled in the center of it all told him everything he needed to know. The glass panel had been ejected off at some point in the fight. It easily exposed the skeleton laying inside with two arrows pierced right through the chest. Miles slowly approached the corpse, Jake standing on the sidelines, watching him. Miles hovered his hand over the fletching of the arrows, barely grazing the withered yellow feathers. “You didn’t kill me,” he said in a hush.

                    “No. My wife did.” Miles responded with a nod. Oddly he didn’t feel resentful towards Neytiri. How could he when he was trying to kill her and destroy her home. It was simply kill or be killed. 

                    He ripped the arrows from their target, then just stared at his old self. Almost every identifying feature had rotted away. All that remained were the viperwolf claw marks that were etched into the skull. This isn’t me anymore. He plucked the dog tags that hung around the skeleton’s neck, running his thumb over the print. I’m still Miles Quaritch. Turning back to the body, he grabbed the skull, plucking it from the spinal cord. He cocked his head to the side, trying to form some kind of attachment to the thing in his grasp. But I’m not this Miles Quaritch anymore. With ease he crushed the bone in his hand. 

                  “Dramatic much,” Jake asked.

                   Miles scowled as he pocketed the dog tags and a few shards of bone. “Oh hush up. Let a man look at his own corpse in peace.” Jake held his hands up in surrender. Miles lingered for only a moment longer before announcing, “I’m done here.” He walked past Jake, uncaring if he followed him.

                 They started the trek back, an odd tension between them. It wasn’t hostile. More heavy with words neither was willing to say to each other. Finally, when they were halfway home Miles broke the silence. “What was it like for you? Looking at your dead body?”

                 Jake sighed, staying quiet for a while as he thought. “It was…a lot. We had a whole ceremony like the one you saw yesterday. It’s….something else, seeing your own funeral. It was easier thinking of it as my brother Tommy’s….”

                 “You never had a funeral for your brother?”

                  Jake shook his head, “all we had was each other. Our parents died when we were teenagers. And….” Jake looked so ashamed of himself, “I didn’t have the money for a funeral. Not even for a pine box and a ditch. So the government had him cremated. I don’t know if that’s what he would have wanted. But it was all I could do.”

                 Miles felt incredibly awkward. His enemy was opening up to him. If they were friends he would comfort him. Now he wasn’t sure what to do. “I’m sure your brother would have understood.” Jake nodded, sniffing slightly.

                  “How’d you feel? Seeing your body.” Jake seemed reluctant to even ask.

                  “I….” Miles didn’t think he could put it into words, “I don’t know.”

                   Jake snorted, “course not y’a jarhead.”

                   The insult filled Miles with relief, “now that’s just rude. We’re having a moment and you have to go and ruin it.”

                    “Not my fault you're a moron.”

                    “I’m hurt. Really Jake you're breaking my heart,” Jake actually laughed at Miles' monotone words. “You know how you can make it up to me?”

                     “How,” Jake deadpanned.

                      “Let your kids come trick or treating.”

                     “You know my wife will never let them be alone with you.”

                      “So come with. You know they’ll all love it. Mansk has already started figuring out what fruits he can turn into candy. I’m gonna help Spider make his costume. I haven’t talked to’em yet but I’m sure I can convince the scientist to hand out candy for a night….”

                     “You mean bully them.”

                      “Yeah well they deserve it for how they treated my boy.”

                      Jake sighed, “I’ll think about it.”

                       Miles grinned at his victory, “thank you Jake.” Jake smiled at the heartfelt thanks feeling the regular hostility between them start to fade ever so slightly.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                     Upon their return it didn’t take long for Spider to run up to his dad, grabbing his hand, “Sempu! Sempu! I figured out what I want to be for Halloween!” He started to drag him away, Jake and his children following after them.

                    “And it’s here?” Spider nodded. Miles was led across the village to the giant skeleton head of the last shadow. He raised a confused eyebrow. “You want to be this thing?”

                    Jake smiled at Spider, “he wants to be Toruk.”

                    This did not help Miles, “aren’t you Toruk?”

                     Jake rolled his eyes, “I’m Toruk Makto. The rider of Toruk.”

                     Miles was actually impressed as he took in the beast, “you rode this thing.”

                     “Well not this specific one.”

                     “So where did yours go?”

                     Jake shrugged awkwardly, “I let him go. I’m not Toruk Makto anymore. Just my village's leader.”

                     Miles made a face, “the two things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

                     Jake was about to give a harsh retort but Spider beat him to it, tugging on his father’s clothes for his attention. “Can I be Toruk or not!”

                     Miles laid on hand on Spider’s head to calm him, “of course you can. Let’s see. I can carve you a headband for this big fin on its head. And we’ll make you some wings and an outfit with whatever markings this thing has…..”

                     Jake’s children all turned on him, shouting as one, “sempu I want to do Halloween!” “Sempu I want to be an ikran!” “Sempu I want candy!” “Sempu, can we do it? Can we, can we, please!!”

                    “Alright!” Jake raised his voice to be heard over all the noise. When they all settled, Jake sighed, his eyes meeting Miles, silently damning him for starting this. “I’ll talk to your mother.” The kids, including Spider, all cheered. Miles gave Jake a superior smirk. Jake glared at him. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                When you make the first bead remember the day he was born. All of the boundless joy you felt as you watched him take his first breath. The way your heart swelled when you held him for the first time. Remember that day. And put it all into that first bead. Miles sat at the kitchen table, contemplating the shard of bone he was about to carve. It was the middle of the night. His son was sound asleep, cozy in his bed, the closed door blocking off any noise Miles would make while he worked. He took a deep breath from his oxygen mask. Focus. Remember that day.

             He hadn’t been there when Paz had delivered their son. He couldn’t be. If anyone found out he had broken the rules and fathered a child with his subordinate then there was a good chance he would be sent back to Earth. Miles would rather watch his lover and son from afar then never see them at all. And so he didn’t get to hear his son’s first breath. He didn’t get to cut the cord or hold him. Miles didn’t even know of his son’s arrival until a whole day after it had happened, hearing the news upon his return from a mission. 

           He waited until nightfall to sneak into Paz’s hospital room. She was sound asleep, looking lovely in the bioluminescent light streaming from the window. He moved to her bedside, gently smoothed back her hair and kissed her forehead, silently thanking her for the gift she had given him. Their son’s cradle was on the opposite side of the bed. Miles tiptoed over to see his child for the first time. He didn’t know much about babies but he could tell that his was big for a newborn, easily ten pounds if not more. He already had some wispy blond hair on his head. The little boy’s eyes were open, wide and curious. They were a newborn blue but he hoped they would change to Paz’s brown. 

          Miles couldn’t describe the absolute love that filled him up, mixing with a primal need to protect. Never in his life had he felt like this. This was what made men move mountains. What made them wage war and murder in the hopes of creating a better future. Miles had believed in his fight before this moment but now it had purpose. He’d deliver the entire world to the little bundle cradled in his arms. 

          He stroked the newborn’s soft cheek with his finger, looking lovingly into his eyes, “Hi,” he whispered, “I’m your papa. That’s right. You're my son. I’m not gonna be able to be around much. But I promise, I’m working hard to give you the life you deserve. You're never gonna live in fear of the world ending. You're never gonna feel hopeless about the future. I’m gonna give you everything. I promise you that.”

        Miles could have stood there forever, just staring in awe of the new life he’d helped create. He rocked him gently, unwilling to leave but knowing he had to before he was caught. Reluctantly he gave him a kiss goodbye before settling his son back into the crib. His eyes lingered for some time before he forced himself to start moving. But as he pulled away he took note of the documents attached to the crib. Paz had already chosen their son’s name. Miles Socorro. Miles Sr’s heart leapt into his throat. He gazed at Paz one last time before leaving the room. Thank you. Thank you for everything. 

         Miles absentmindedly hummed to himself as he carved the bone shard into a diamond shape with beveled edges. He smiled softly as he lost himself to his memory, the emotions of that day washing over him. There was no question that it was the best day of his life. He’d rarely see Spider after that, a fact that tore him up inside every time he was lucky enough to glimpse Paz walking Hells Gate with their baby. He’d been hopeful that after the war, the higher ups would be so happy with him that they’d look the other way. Let him openly claim his son. In retrospect he could see what a coward he had been. He should have fought from the moment Paz announced her pregnancy. She had definitely fought hard to keep their child. But he was too afraid of losing his job to do the same.

             Carving his son’s first bead felt cathartic in that sense. He was proudly claiming to the whole world that Spider was his son. The little diamond shaped bone shard had a subtle geometric pattern etched into. As a finishing touch Miles pricked the tip of his finger on his knife. He rubbed the blood all over the bead, then wiped its surface, making the design stand out in sharp red relief. 

           Miles admired his work, giving himself a moment to self indulge before fastening it to a soft leather cord. The cobalt blue of the cord made the bead stand out dramatically. It was absolutely perfect for his fiery little boy. He pocketed the song cord, his humming never ceasing as he cleaned up his space. Once all traces of his work were erased, he made his way down the hall. Miles couldn’t help but peek in at his son after his night of reminiscing. He stood in the doorway, smiling as he gazed upon Spider, his unconscious humming rising and falling in harmony with his son’s even breathing and the soft melodies of Pandora’s wildlife just outside the window.  

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

             Spider fidgeted in his seat, bored out of his skull. He wanted to move. To do something. Anything. But it was school time. Nash used to yell at him if he started moving too much during school time and although his father had never done the same he wasn’t eager to possibly provoke him. 

          Miles though could read his son like a book. The boy’s attention span was fading fast and basic math was surely speeding up the process. “Spider, how about we switch it up?”

           Spider gave him a confused, hopeful look. “Like we’re done with school for the day?”

           Miles chuckled, “oh no. Your not gettin’ away that easy mister. I mean how about we make a deal?”

           “A deal?”

            “Yep. If you can get through your lessons today, I’ll make you mac and cheese for dinner and we can eat it in the living room while we watch Halloween movies. How does that sound?”

            Spider thought about it. He wasn’t sure what a Halloween movie would be like but the thought of mac and cheese was tempting. “Okay. But can we play one of those games again? These lessons are really boring.”

              Miles smiled, laughing a little at his extremely blunt child. Having sit down lessons seemed like a more studious form of schooling to him but he was quickly realizing that approach would never work for his son. “Yeah we can play some games.” Spider cheered, jumping from his seat, ready to go.

              After an hour of math games, an interactive hologram history lesson, and a science lesson that had Spider building a simple machine, the boy was exhausted but happy. “That was really fun Sempu,” he said as he watched his father make dinner.

               Miles smiled, “oh really. Would y’a say you actually like school now?”

               Spider’s enthusiasm dimmed slightly. “Maybe,” he answered, not wanting to admit the truth.

               “Well then maybe, we can do this all again tomorrow.”

               “Really!” Spider bounced in his chair, he was so excited.

               “Really,” Miles said as he plated their meal. He easily held the bowls in one hand and scooped up his son in the other. The boy giggled as he was plopped onto the couch, his father sitting down heavily beside him to make him bounce on the cushions. When Spider was calm he was handed his meal, happily digging in while Miles brought up all the family friendly Halloween movies the t.v’s library had to offer. “You want to pick one out.”

                 Spider glanced at the screen, still unable to read any of the titles. The movie pictures didn’t give him much to go off of either. He had absolutely no concept of witches, ghosts, vampires and werewolves. But one movie poster did catch his eye. On it was a little cartoon white and black puppy dog laying on top of a pumpkin. Spider pointed to the screen, “that one.”

                Miles grinned. A perfect choice to really introduce his son to the holiday. “That’s a great pick, son. An absolute classic.” He hit play on It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown . Spider snuggled into his side. Miles sighed, perfectly content to watch his son watch the movie, his little face lighting up with every scene.          

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

               The group of recoms wandered the forest, Jake and his warriors supervising them. Jake had said that they were simply exploring but Miles had a sneaking suspicion that it was all a test. Most likely to gauge whether they’d been studying the flora and fauna on their own. Miles silently followed along. He had nothing to prove, confident that he had a good knowledge of the subject. He had to for his son’s sake. Looking at his comrades he could tell that Ja, Z, Walker, Zhang and Prager had a quiet confidence about them that signaled to Miles that they had been studying. Warren and Brown were looking about their surroundings with a calm curiosity. The others were behaving like children.

                 “What is this,” Lyle asked to no one, curiously reaching his hand out to touch the tentacled plant at his feet.

                 “Don’t touch that,” Miles said sternly, as if he was scolding his son. “It’s like a venus fly trap. You won't automatically lose a finger but you’ll get some nasty burns from what’s basically it’s stomach acid.” Lyle reared back in horror. A few paces away Jack and his entourage were cackling. 

               Ahead of them Mansk and Lopez were racing to climb a tree. Miles stared at them in bewilderment. These were highly trained, disciplined marines. And they were competing like his seven year old would with his friends. 

                Mansk whooped as he reached the top first, the other immature recoms watching from the ground, cheering for him. He proudly surveyed his surroundings before something caught his eye. Mansk pondered the unseen object for a moment then plucked it from the tree. “Hey! Anyone know what this is!”

                 Ja hurried to the tree, eager to get a look at it. From his facial expressions he had no clue what the giant brown pod in Mansk’s hand was. He pulled out a small holopad from his hip pouch and scanned it. Jake beat him to the punch, “that’s a pod fruit.”

                “So I can eat this,” Mansk asked.

                 “No shit.”

                 “Can humans eat this?”

                 “That I don’t know.”

                  Mansk pulled out his pocket knife and cut the rind of the fruit, scooping out a piece of its flesh and eating it. “It’s really good. Sweet. Almost a little mapley. I could probably make some kind of caramel candy with this. Or maybe a chocolate? The texture kinda reminds me of a cocoa bean…..” Mansk’s words trailed off as he started to quietly talk to himself.

                  “What does it matter if Spider can’t eat it,” Z shouted up at him.

                  “Oh right!” Mansk collected the rest of the fruit before jumping down from the tree. “The science guys can analyze these right?”

                    Prager rolled his eyes, “of course they can dumb ass.”

                    Mansk stored the fruits in his backpack, completely unaffected by the insult. “Great! I’ll have them take a look when we get back then. Are there any fruits around here that are safe for humans to eat? From what I read I know push fruits are safe but also really hard to find…”

                   “There’s some yovo and dawn fruits around here,” answered Jake, “you’ll just have to find them.”

                   Mansk actually seemed eager for the challenge, “oohhh, Ja! Pull those up on the holopad so I can see what I’m looking for! What do they taste like? Wait! Don’t tell me! I want to find out when I eat one. If I can make chocolates out of the pod fruit, then I’ll have that for the kids and there’s plenty of sugar in dry storage for me to make caramels and then maybe with these fruits I can make some kind of hard candy or some sour gummies or….”

                 “Mansk you're not even looking at the screen,” Ja shouted.

                  Miles moved to Jake’s side, both of them chuckling at the display. “You know I kinda hope he fails,” Jake said.

                  “Why is that,” Miles asked.

                  “Can you imagine our kids on sugar? And once they have it you know they’ll just want more.”

                   Miles sighed. “We’re never gonna know peace again.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                    Spider, Kiri, Neteyam and Lo’ak were scattered around one of the lounge rooms of Hells Gate, art supplies strewn everywhere. Miles sat on one side of the room, carving the fin headband for his son’s costume. Jake was on the couch helping his kids with theirs. “What are you gonna be Lo’ak,” Spider asked.

                    “A fan lizard!” The five year old was smearing a plant based dye all over a circular piece of fabric.

                    “What about you ‘teyam?”

                   “I’m going to be Bob!” Jake chuckled as he helped his eldest make wings that looked like his beloved ikran. 

                    “And what about you Kiri?”

                    “I’m gonna be a slinger,” the little girl said with a sadistic kind of mirth that made Miles eyebrows raise.

                     “A what,” Miles asked.

                       Jake cringed, “it’s a predator. It ah….it’s kinda two creatures in one. It’s got this dart like head that’s also it’s ah….baby? That can detach from its body. Which is also its parent. When it hunts, the head/offspring will detach to attack its prey then fly back to the body to eat it.” 

                    Miles was silently horrified. Kiri grinned holding up the paper mache slinger head she was painting. “I’m gonna put it on a string so it can fly around!” Miles' abhorrence only grew at her enthusiasm. Jake looked defeated. 

                     The door flew open with a bang. Z had kicked it open, her arms full of bundles of fabric, “special delivery!” She unceremoniously dumped the pile of old clothes by the children. “I raided an old storage room. Plenty of old jumpsuits that can be repurposed into costumes.”

                  Spider pulled out a bright yellow custodian’s uniform and rushed over to his father. “Sempu this is perfect!”

                  Miles inspected it. The color was just right but the outfit was sized for an adult. “Z how do y’a think I’m gonna get this to fit him?”

                   Z smirked, “with a sewing machine. Dah.”

                  Miles was horrified all over again. “I don’t know the first thing about any of that!”

                  “Well you better to get learning! This might be the first piece of clothing you need to make for Spider but it won’t be the last!” With that Z walked out, cackling to herself.

                   Jake was equally malevolent, “you heard the lady.”

                   Miles glared at him. Spider’s smile slipped, “Sempu? We can still make my costume right?”

                  Miles' heart twisted. His little boy sounded so close to giving up. He couldn’t stand for that. “Of course we can!” Spider’s eyes lit up. “Here I’m done with this. Go paint it.” He handed his son the headband, Spider happily skipping off. With his boy’s back turned Miles scowled. He pulled out his holopad and searched, sewing tutorials. Jake’s gaze was on him, silently mocking. Miles stared him down, cursing the man in his mind as he hit play.

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

               It was a week before Halloween. They were coming back from their typical lessons, Spider half asleep on his father’s shoulder ready for his mid day nap. When the group passed through the airlock Miles took off his son’s mask then handed him off to Lyle. The little boy groaned his protest. Miles smiled gently, petting his hair, “shhh, it’s okay.” Then he turned to his right hand man, “can you take him home for me. Just lay him on the couch. I won’t be long. I just need to have a talk with the science wizzes here.”

              All the scientists present stiffened. Lyle nodded, grinning wickedly at the surrounding humans, “you got it boss.” The recoms all filed out. 

              Miles turned to the rest of the room clapping his hands to gain their attention despite the fact that he already commanded the space. “You all listen up. You might not be keeping up with earth time but it’s almost Halloween. My boy wants to celebrate by dressing up and going trick or treatin’. But to do that he needs homes to go to. That’s where you come in. My man Mansk has made up heaps of candy. On Halloween day he’ll bring some to all of y’a. All you have to do is wait in your apartments for Spider and his friends to get there. Sound good?”

               Despite their fear the scientists all grinned. “I’d love to put on Halloween for Spider,” Norm said.

              “Oh I bet he’s so excited,” said Max, “I can’t wait to see his face when he gets all that candy! What’s he going as?”

              For once a scientist looked at him without fear. Miles grinned, pleasantly surprised at the enthusiasm. “Toruk. And Sully’s kids are coming too.” 

               The room started buzzing. “We should decorate.” “Oh we could have a movie night in the cafeteria.” “Yeah! We could have a make your own caramel apple station!” Someone actually giggled, “I can’t believe we’ve never done this! I always loved Halloween! Let’s break for the day and start right now…”

              “Well I for one think this is ridiculous,” Nash McCosker reared his ugly head. “We’re all supposed to give up our time just so your little boy can have his day.”

               “Nash we want too…” a female scientist said timidly.

                With herculean effort Miles controlled the boundless rage that erupted inside him at the very sight of the piece of garbage in front of him. With deadly calm he said, “You are the only one I don’t want to participate. Mark my words McCosker. If you ruin this for my son and anyone else here who wants to celebrate, then you better pray to whatever god you believe in because it’ll take an almighty power to stop me from comin’ after you. That’s not a threat. It’s a promise.” 

              Nash backed down, like a dog with its tail between its legs. “My wife and I will stay in our apartment.”

              “You better.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                 The sun was starting to set but it was still too slow for the excited boy. Spider bounced in place on the bathroom counter as his father painted his face. His Sempu sighed, “you have to sit still. I can’t finish this if you don’t sit still.”

                 Spider’s spirits dampened slightly, his movements stilling as he went stiff, “I’m sorry Sempu.”

                 His father smiled gently. “Don’t apologize. I know you're just excited. But we can’t head out until night time.”

                 “But why?”

                 “Because it’s spookier,” Miles said, wiggling his fingers like spider legs before attacking his son’s ticklish sides. Spider shrieked, nearly falling off the counter from how hard he was laughing.

                When the face paint was done Miles placed Spider’s fin headband on top of his curls, finishing off the costume. Miles had managed to make a sloppy yet functional pant and shirt set out of the yellow jumpsuit Z had found. Spider had had a ball painting the outfit with Toruk’s markings. With the remaining fabric and some wire from a utility closet they’d made big wings to strap to the boys back. Spider jumped down from the counter, holding out his wings, “am I scary?”

             “Terrifying.”

              Spider attempted to inmate the creature he was dressed as but sounded more like an angry kitten, “I am the last shadow! King of the skies!”

               Miles laughed, “yes you're very mighty.” 

               Father and son made their way through the living room and out the door. Spider ran ahead but kept having to double back to pull his father along, “come on Sempu! Go faster!”

               “Oh calm down. We’ll get there.”

                “But I want to get there now.”

                 Miles had to stop himself from openly cackling at his son’s pouting. “Come here.” He scooped Spider up, placing him on his shoulders. Miles didn’t run but he did pick up the pace to a brisk walk. Spider giggles, his wings flapping behind him. 

                 They entered the cafeteria. The scientists had decked out the space with tons of hand made decorations - paper bats hanging from the ceiling, vampire, werewolf, and Frankenstein decals on the walls, and carved pumpkins everywhere. A big movie screen was set up on the far wall. The food station was covered with snacks - buttery popcorn, pretzels, and a caramel fountain with plenty of apples ready to be dipped. Spider gasped, eyes going wide. Miles set him down. He expected his son to start running around but instead he looked around the space in wonder.

               “Spider!” Kiri came running in followed by her brothers and then her father. She went to hug her best friend but the wildly swinging head of her slinger costume got in her way, making her stop short. She frowned but then quickly shifted back to excitement, bouncing on her toes. “You look so good.”

                Spider glowed at the compliment, “thank you! So do you! And you guys too!”

                Neteyam and Lo’ak grinned, both equally buzzing with energy. Lo’ak turned to his father, “let’s go Sempu!”

                 Jake sighed, placing his hand on the top of his youngest son’s head, “relax. We’re gonna head out. We just need…” Miles silently handed him three large pillow cases. Jake reluctantly took them, “….okay. Let’s go.” The kids all cheered running for the exit. “Wait! You need your bags first!” Jake raced after them. Miles laughed to himself, shaking his head as he calmly followed. 

                  When he caught up the kids were already at their first door. “So we just knock on the door and they give us candy,” Lo’ak asked.

                   Spider shook his head. “You knock on the door, then you say trick or treat.”

                   “Trick or treat?” Lo’ak was clearly confused.

                   “We have to trick them if they don’t give us candy,” Kiri seemed very ready to prank everyone in Hells Gate.

                   “No. No you don’t.” Jake said as he shoved bags into the children’s hands. Kiri glared, sticking her tongue out.

                   “Ready,” Spider asked. His friends all nodded. As one they all shouted, “trick or treat!”

                    A scientist immediately opened the door. She was grinning ear to ear, looking at the kids with soft eyes. She crouched down to their level, extending out the candy bowl. “You all look so cute!”

                   The kids were in a frenzy grabbing as much candy as they could. “That’s enough Spider,” Miles said gently, “there’s plenty more where that came from. Now say thank you to the nice lady.”

                   Spider did as told, “thank you!”

                   The other three all took their cue to do the same, “thank you!”

                  “You're welcome! Happy Halloween!” With that she closed the door. 

                   The kids were in awe as they looked inside their bags. Spider held his bag wide open to show his father. “Sempu look!”

                   Miles grinned, “just you wait. That bag’ll be full of candy by the end of the night.” Spider’s eyes went huge. He couldn’t even imagine that much candy.

                   “Come on come on come on,” Lo’ak yelled, trying to move everyone along.

                    “Lo’ak,” Jake scolded. Lo’ak scowled then darted ahead. “Lo’ak!” Jake raced after him. The other kids ran after them.

                     Lo’ak knocked on the next apartment door. It opened before the others caught up. “Trick or treat,” Lo’ak shouted.

                      “Trick or treat,” the others screamed as they stumbled into the doorway.

                      Norm laughed, “aw you kids look great. Do you have a joke for me?”

                       The kids all looked at each other in confusion, “we need a joke,” Neteyam asked innocently, “we didn’t need a joke at the last apartment.”

                       Norm’s smile started to slip. Jake was equally confused. Miles sighed, “it’s a midwest thing.”

                       “What,” Norm looked as if he’d been slapped, “they don’t tell jokes when they trick or treat where you're from.”

                        “No,” Jake and Miles said in tandem. Miles continued, “they don’t do that anywhere. Only where you're from.”

                        Norm stared into the mid distance in shock, as if his entire life had been destroyed. The kids were unmoved, “can we have candy now,” Lo’ak asked. Neteyam elbowed his brother, “please.”

                      “Ah yeah. Yeah here. Happy Halloween.”

                      The group continued on, going door to door. All the adults were thrilled to see the children’s excited little faces, the way their eyes lit up with every piece of candy they were given. Every scientist had huge smiles on their faces as they watched them, smiles that only grew wider when the kids sweetly said, “trick or treat!” And, “thank you!” Miles thought the night was going really well. His son was happy. His son’s friends were happy and Miles and Jake were at least civil with each other. They were nearing the end of the living quarters and thus the end of their trick or treating when Spider stopped in his tracks, all the energy draining out of him. The other kids went ahead oblivious to their friend’s distress. 

                      “Spider? What’s wrong?” Miles placed a hand on the back of his son’s head and started petting his hair. Spider’s bottom lip trembled. Then he turned, clinging to his father’s leg and burying his face into it. Miles looked around, trying to find the source of the boy’s distress.

                        The other kids were ready to knock on the next door but stopped short. “Sempu? What is that,” Neteyam asked, pointing up to a sign taped to the door.

                         It clicked for Miles then. “That says, do not disturb,” Jake said to his son, “it means they’re not taking part in Halloween.”

                      The kids started to grumble, “why not…” but Miles tuned them all out. They were in front of the McCosker’s apartment. And his poor boy was terrified.

                      “Come here,” Miles said softly, scooping up Spider. His son was dispodent, numbly sinking into his father’s hold. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. You're safe…” he kept whispering encouraging words into his son’s ear, rocking him gently. As he did Miles accidentally caught Jake staring. His eyes were full of shock and guilt.

                       “These guys are lame,” Lo’ak huffed, “let’s just go to the next one. Come on guys. Sempu let’s go! Spider!” Finally he took note of his friend, “Spider? What’s the matter?”

                        Spider shook his head, hiding his face in his father’s shoulder. Miles continued stroking his hair to try and comfort him. “He’s just getting tired.”

                         The boys were satisfied with this answer but Kiri was not. She looked around the hall and at her friend. Then it dawned on her. She surprised all of them by banging her fists on the McCoskers’ door. “You jerks! Ass holes! You hurt Spider! You were so mean to him! Penis faces! Mother fu…” 

                    Jake quickly lifted up his daughter and covered her mouth. “Okay, okay, they hear you! Now can we finish trick or treating? We only have a couple apartments left.” Kiri scowled but calmed down. The Sullys moved along.

                   “Do you want to keep going,” Miles gently asked Spider. He weakly nodded yes. Miles walked to the next door where the Sully kids were already calling, “trick or treat,” though with less enthusiasm than before.

                    Max’s warm smile greeted them, “hi kids! Happy Halloween.”

                    “Happy Halloween.”

                     Max let the Sullys take their fill. When he stood up, he took notice of Spider. Max looked at him in concern, “hey buddy. What’s the matter?” Spider shook his head no, not wanting to talk about it. Max smiled sympathetically. “Here. Can I see your candy bag please?” Spider passed it to him. Max opened it wide, tipping the contents of his candy bowl into it. Spider stared at him in awe as Max handed back his bag. Max patted Spider’s hand, an encouraging grin on his face. “Happy Halloween Spider.”

                     Spider smiled, “happy Halloween Uncle Max.”

                     After one last apartment their trick or treating was over. Miles asked, “can you all come to the cafeteria? The scientists are gonna put on a movie. The kids can start eating their candy. They’ll have fun.”

                    The Sully kids immediately started begging, “please Sempu please!”

                    Jake sighed, meeting Miles’ eye, “Neytiri won’t be happy.”

                    “I’m sorry,” Spider mumbled, still huddled in his father’s arms. 

                    Jake seemed as if he were being stabbed in the heart. “Okay kids. Let’s go watch a movie.”

                     “Yay!” The Sully kids cheered and ran ahead.

                      Miles bounced his son, “do you want to run after your friends.”

                     “Yeah,” Spider said, no longer as distressed as before. Miles set him down and watched him scurry ahead.

                      Once the kids were out of earshot Miles turned, “thank you Jake.”

                      Jake waved him off, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s no big deal. Neytiri won't be happy with me but I’m sure when the kids come home talking non stop about what a good time they had she’ll forgive me.”

                       Miles nodded, “well I appreciate it all the same.” 

                       When they entered the cafeteria the kids were playing tag. Some adults watched them with grins on their faces. Norm was on the other side of the room getting the movie ready. Miles caught his son as he ran past lifting Spider high. Spider shrieked in delight. “It’s the mighty Toruk,” Miles said as he made Spider “fly”. Spider tried making Toruk noises again but he was laughing too hard.

                      A camera light flashed, “that’s a keeper,” Lyle said as he and the other recoms entered the room. Jake tensed ready to tell them to go away but Lyle beat him to the punch holding his hands up in surrender. “We come in peace! We’ll get some treats, hang out in the back and go nowhere near your kids. We just want in on the fun too.”

                   “We did put a lot of this together,” Z added, “like finding supplies for the kids' costumes…” 

                    “And making all the candy,” Mansk said.

                     Jake rolled his eyes, “fine. Stay.” Then Jake stole the camera out of Lyle’s hands. “Hey kids! Group up. I want to get a picture of all of you.” They were happy to oblige, all four of them grinning up at the camera.

                     “Oh that’s a keeper,” Miles said.

                     “We’ll make copies,” said Jake

                      “Movie’s ready,” Norm called, “everyone get your snacks and let’s start this thing!”

                       The kids ran to get front row seats. Once they were settled they finally started going through their candy. The fathers sat down with their kids as the movie began. They were watching Hocus Pocus. Spider cuddled into Miles' side. “This was really fun Sempu.”

                      Miles squeezed him tight, planting a kiss on the top of his head, “good. I’m glad you had fun.” They settled in. Next to them Jake had all three of his children snuggled together on his lap. Both fathers sighed, completely content, all other stresses and worries leaving them as they lost themselves to the moment. 

Chapter Text

       Spider sat in the dirt, the little charms he’d made for his Sempu’s songcord spread out in front of him. He wasn’t really sure what his father would want past a bead for Spider’s birth but that didn’t stop him from finding options. A pretty rock with swirls of color. A soft, vibrant feather. A dried flower. Spider was happy with his little collection but knew he still needed more. His Sempu was old. He probably needed about a hundred different beads for his songcord. Maybe there’s some nice shells by the river. Or maybe I can find an animal claw if I walk around the forest….

           “Spider,” Sempu called from the distance. The boy hurried to put all his trinkets into his hip bag. The bushes rustled behind him, his father stepping into the small clearing. He stood over him, hands on his hips. “What are you doing?”

             Spider jumped to his feet, clutching his bag close. “Nothing!”

             Sempu raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him. “Well you’re definitely up to somethin’. You know better than to wander off by yourself.”

             “But Mrs. Sully called my friends back home for lunch and nap time!”

              “So you come back to me. You don’t go off into the forest without a word.” Spider pouted, hanging his head. Sempu held out his hand to him. “Come on now. I think you're due for lunch and a nap.”

             Spider stomped his foot in protest. “But I’m not hungry and I’m not sleepy!”

             Sempu just laughed at him, too used to this song and dance to be affected. “Okay sunshine. Whatever you say.” Without warning Sempu snatched him up, balancing Spider on his hip. Spider yelped in surprise but didn’t fight it, also used to this. “My lessons are done for the day. Let’s head home…”

             “Nnnooooo!”

              “Yessssss! It’ll be easier for you to eat at home. And wouldn’t you rather sleep in your own bed…..”

              “No!” Miles rolled his eyes, choosing not to argue with his seven year old. He knew perfectly well that his boy would cheer up once he ate, then happily snuggle up in bed with his viperwolf plushie. 

              As they crossed back into the village, the father held his head high. The very second a villager caught sight of them the hissing, jeers and glares began. Gently, Miles guided his son’s face into his shoulder. He cradled his boy’s little head, softly pressing his palm into Spider’s ear. As he walked he ignored all the people throwing venom his way, keeping a swift but seemingly unbothered pace. Spider was obviously to it all, though he was annoyed and irritated by his father’s firm hold. “Sempu!”

             His father’s fingers pet his hair but his palm refused to budge. “Shhh. It’s okay.” 

             Spider started squirming. “Sempu! Let me down!”

             “Just hold on a minute,” Miles said patiently as he quickened his step. Surrounding him was nothing but a sea of hateful faces.

              “Sempu!”

              “It’s okay.” A villager acted as if they were going to attack, lunging at him, only to rear back and laugh as Miles went on the defensive, clutching his son tighter. The father glared but didn’t stop.

              “Let me down!” Spider beat his fists into his father’s sides. Miles ignored him to focus on getting out. Mercifully the gateway to the village came into his view. Without any more incidents they crossed its threshold. Spider was still fighting for release but his Sempu refused. He did however move his hand away from Spider's head, giving him room to turn and look around. “Sempu!”

              His little boy was red faced and raging. “I know, I know, you weren’t a fan of that.”

              “So why’d you do it!”

              Miles sighed. There was no way he’d be able to explain it in a way that wouldn’t upset Spider. Instead he brushed the question off, “oh I just wanna hold y’a is all. One day you’ll be as tall as me! I’m not gonna be able to pick y’a up or carry y’a or…”

               Spider giggled, “you’re silly Sempu! I’m never gonna be as big as you!”

               Miles grinned. He moved Spider from his hip to hold in the air, lightly throwing the boy upwards. His son shrieked with laughter. “Not with that attitude! If y’a eat all your vegetables, get a good night's sleep, and take a nice long nap every day then I know you’ll be as tall as me!”

              “Really!” Spider’s eyes were shining.

               “Really.”

              “Sempu, can I have one of those salad things for lunch?”

              “Oh, y’a mean the thing you refuse to eat every night because you say it’s icky even though y’a never try it.”

               “Yeah that! Can I have one of those!”

                 Internally Miles was cackling over his stroke of brilliance. “Of course y’a can! And after that you can take a nap.”

            Spider radiated excitement saying with a big bright smile, “okay!”

            As soon as they reached their apartment Spider dashed off to his room to change. After the heat of the jungle the poor boy was nearly shaking from how cold the base felt in comparison. Miles busied himself with making lunch, preparing a salad of mixed greens, shredded carrots, chopped tomatoes, and a sprinkling of cheese all tossed in a light dressing. Then he threw together a turkey sandwich to serve on the side, setting the meal in Spider’s spot at the table with a glass of water. Perfectly timed, Spider came trotting into the room, snuggled in a light blue fleece hoodie and loose sweatpants, his viperwolf plushie clutched close.

             “Wolfie gonna eat with us,” Miles asked, as Spider climbed into his chair. The boy happily nodded. “Okay then.” Miles grabbed a small bowl out of the cupboard, setting it on the table for Wolfie to “eat” out of. It was much easier giving the stuffed animal imaginary food, then to try and pry Spider’s prized toy away to wash after the boy smeared his food all over it in an attempt to “feed” it. Spider walked his plushy to the bowl, making little animal noises as Wolfie “ate.” When he was satisfied that his toy was full he placed it beside him then dug into his own meal. Miles smiled down at him, petting Spider’s hair a few times before taking a seat to quietly watch his son.

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           After his nap Spider was a ball of unstoppable energy, bouncing on the couch and running around in a bid to avoid his schooling. Miles was already exasperated, “come on now, settle down. Faster we get through your lessons, the faster we can play.”

           Spider did not stop jumping as he said, “Uncle Lyle told me I get a winter break for Christmas!”

           Miles sighed. He was going to smack Lyle upside the head next time he saw him. “Well kiddo, Christmas is still a few weeks away….”

          “Will it be like Halloween? Do we get to dress up and get candy again?”

           Miles couldn’t help but smile. “Even better. You get presents.” Spider’s eyes went wide in awe. “But only if you're good. Bad kids get coal.” 

          “What’s coal?”

           “A dirty rock.”

            Spider was horrified. “So I’m gonna get coal!”

Miles' stomach dropped. “No! No of course not! You're a good boy. You’re gonna get a mountain of presents! I promise.”

            “But you said bad kids….”

             “And you're not a bad kid.” Spider curled into a protective ball. Quaritch frowned. “Oh come on. What bad things have y’a done?” Spider shrugged. “That’s right. Nothin’.” He said it so definitively that Spider smiled shyly. “Now can we start class?”

              “But what about winter break!”  

              Miles sighed. He pushed a few buttons on his tablet pulling up a calendar, the screen mirroring on the tv for Spider. Miles pointed to the current date. “We’re on this day. Christmas is all the way down here.” 

               “So that’s how long winter break is.”

                Miles had to resist the urge to groan. “No. You can have a break closer to Christmas.”

                Spider pouted. “What’s Christmas even like Sempu?”

                Miles got the feeling his son was trying to put off his lessons by asking so many questions but decided to indulge him. He pulled up some short videos filled with holiday iconography. Spider gasped at all the twinkling lights, sparkling white snow, and presents piled around a fir tree by a cozy fireplace. “Pretty,” he gasped.

                  Miles smiled softly. “It is. We’ll make decorations. You’ll get presents and treats. And we’ll have a big feast. Sound fun?” Spider eagerly nodded yes. “Good. Now can we start school? Because good boys get all their school work done….”

                 Spider noticeably panicked. “Yeah! I want to get started!” Miles chuckled as he pulled up the day's reading lesson. 

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                Miles was caught completely off guard when Jake asked to speak with him one on one. He had no clue what they could possibly talk about. Things had been going as well as they could but had stagnated. He had a basic understanding of the language, though according to his son he still sounded “like a baby.” But he could at least keep up with a conversation now, even if his speech was slow and disjointed. He had an overview of the clan's history and culture. His knowledge could certainly use more depth but it was a good foundation to build off of. Things were fine. But without any sort of trust Miles would never progress any further than making crafts and singing songs around a fire. 

              He met Jake on the far edge of the village. “What’s this about,” Miles asked, cutting to the chase.

             Jake clenched his jaw looking agitated, like he didn’t want to be having this conversation. “Are you…. are you actually trying? To be better?”

             Miles was instantly annoyed. “Does it seem like I’m not?”

             “No. I can actually see that you're trying. Half your squad actually seems like they’re trying.”

             “So what’s the problem? Are you mad that we’re provin’ y’a wrong?”

             “I just didn’t expect this! From you, from them. You seem to actually be taking this seriously. My mother in law wants me to start moving you forward….” Miles' ears pinned back in surprise. Moving forward . That meant hunting. That meant getting an ikran. “…..but I can’t shake the feeling that you're playing me. That one day the R.D.A will come back and you’ll turn on all of us.”

            Miles took a sharp breath through his nose. “That was my original plan,” Jake was unfazed by the admission. “I’m not a traitor like you. I wanted to see my mission through. To avenge my former self, the men and women who died in the war and to help save Earth. But the R.D.A isn’t here right now. Earth is light years away. And the men and women who died are already dust and bones. But my son is here. He’s my soul priority now. Probably should have alway been. It took me dying at war to see that. I’ve been given a second chance to be here for him. He loves this village even though they hate him. He loves this planet. And I love him. He’d never look at me the same way if I betrayed him by goin’ back to my old ways. I don’t care about your village, your culture, your god . But my boy does. And so for him I’m trying. I’m trying to give him the life he deserves.”  

           Jake contemplated this a moment. Slowly he unsheathed his knife, holding out the handle for Miles to take. When he did, Jake stepped back, his arms held out wide. Miles growled, tossing the knife down. “What kind of craven bastard do you take me for! I’m not about to kill an unarmed man!”

            “But you want to, don’t you?”

            “For what you did in the war, hell yes I want you dead! But what would killin’ you get me now! Another arrow through the chest from your wife. My son orphaned again. My squad without a leader. I sure as hell want to kill y’a. But it’s not worth what I’d lose.”

            Jake nodded stoically. He picked up his knife then said, “we’ll loan you a bow. Then you’ll learn to ride a direhorse….”

            Miles grinned, “and then we hunt.”

            “And then you hunt.”

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             It was just past dawn. The recoms were all assembled at the top of a cliff, half awake and glazed eyed. Jake stood before them. “To survive in the jungle you have to be able to adapt quickly. To look around and use your surroundings to live another day.” Miles rolled his eyes at the lecture. Jake raised an eyebrow, “oh what? Do y’a think I’m joking?”

             “Nah. I just don’t need the first day shake down.”

              Jake shrugged, “fine. Keep up then.” With that Jake jumped over the cliff. The recoms eyes all went wide as they raced to the edge. They saw Jake falling through the trees, using the giant leaves to slow his fall. He looked down right graceful as he descended. His feet softly hit the ground. He glanced back at them with a smirk, “well? What are you waiting for!”

             Miles snarled. Unwilling to be shown up he ran and jumped over the edge, coping Jake’s movements. His fall was much less skilled but he managed to grab onto the leaves until he could land without injury. Ja happily followed, looking just as practiced as Jake. Lyle was next. He caught his first leaf but failed to catch another, crashing down to the ground, hard branches slowing his fall. Some laughed at him. Lyle growled saying under his breath, “I hate this fucking bullshit.”

            Ja chuckled, “don’t be a hater just because you ate shit.”

            “The fuck did you just say to me!”

            “Lyle,” Miles called, ending the fight before it could really start, “relax. You’ll get it next time. Just think of the “bullshit” as basic training all over again. Y’a got through that. It was hard at first but y’a got better. Y’a did all that once, you can do it again.” Lyle scowled but nodded, slinking away while shooting a glare at Ja. Miles sighs, “alright who’s next!”

            The other’s all jumped one by one. When the last recom lept from the cliff, Jake turned tail without a word, racing into the jungle. “Hey,” Miles shouts, chasing after him. Jake never slowed down for them. He led them through the jungle, hopping through vines, leaping from branch to branch, swinging through foliage all while avoiding danger. Miles did just fine keeping up. It was difficult and frustrating but he managed. The others weren’t as lucky. Prager fell multiple times. Lyle swung into a tree. Walker got stung by something. Zhang tripped over his own two feet and hit his head, momentarily stunning himself. For their commander it was humiliating to watch. He’s thankful when they finally reach the village. They were all completely breathless, many of them collapsing to the ground.

             Jake was catching his breath but was nowhere near as affected as the rest of them. He smirked, “so…..”

            “Yeah, yeah I get it,” Miles panted, waving him away.

              Jake laughed. “Go grab some water. Take a break. We’ll get back into it in thirty.”

              The recoms dragged themselves into the village, making their way to the water reserves for a drink. As Miles walked, Spider raced past him, playing a game of tag with his friends. “Hi Sempu,” he screamed. Miles sighs, exhausted by his son’s enthusiasm. 

           Then Kiri came running up ready to tag Spider. The boy jolted into action, grabbing onto his father and climbing onto his shoulders. Miles growled his frustration. Kiri pouted, jumping at Miles to get at Spider. “No fair!”

            Spider smirked down at her, sticking out his tongue, “you never said I couldn’t!”

           “Alright enough,” Miles said calmly. “Little girl you better back up.” Kiri glaired but gave him space. “And you,” he looked up at his son.

            Spider was laughing, oblivious to his father’s discomfort. “Keep me away!”

            “Alright. But you better sit still.”

            “Okay!” Miles walked away with Spider on his shoulders, leaving Kiri fuming as she ran off to catch her brothers. 

              At the watering hole Miles finally managed to take a sip of the cool refreshing drink when Jake came around, clapping his hands to get their attention. “Time's up! Let’s hit it!”  Miles sighed. So it’s gonna be one of those days.   

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              Miles patted the side of the direhorse, observing the powerful animal. He had always wanted to ride a horse like the cowboys he used to see in movies as a kid. On Earth that was near impossible. He was too poor and horses were a near extinct luxury. But now he was about to live out that little childhood dream. His features remained neutral but on the inside he was buzzing. 

             He readied both his and the animals neural whip, the glowing tendrils reaching out, intertwining. Miles pupils went wide. It wasn’t his first time experiencing this but he still needed to get used to the feeling. He steadied himself with a deep breath. The direhorse seemingly did the same. It’s okay, Miles feels more than hears the words in his head. It’s okay. We’re going to go on a nice ride. 

             Bewildered by the connection but trying to push past it Miles mounts the direhorse. Jake had said that all they needed to do was think directions and the animal would obey. Miles felt foolish thinking, let’s go straight ahead. Just a few steps so I can get a feel for this. But then to his amazement the direhorse did just that. Miles smiled. Good. You're doing so good. The direhorse whinnied its thanks at the complement.

             The pair trailed a lazy path through the clearing. The other recoms were similarly training with mixed success. Ja was a natural. Z and Prager were unsure of themselves but getting by. Lyle kept getting thrown off. “Stupid fucking horse,” he grumbled as he brushed mud off his body. 

              “You just need to be nicer to her,” Ja said.

              “I didn’t ask and I don’t care.” Ja shrugged then galloped away. 

               Miles tuned them out. Let’s go down stream. Would you like that?”

              I’d love that. They moved away from the others, the noise of the group growing faint, replaced by the calming sound of water rushing down river and the soft hum of wildlife. Miles sighed, content. The view in front of him was nothing but lush jungle. The sky was clear and blue. It was all so beautiful. Peace settled over him as he leisurely rode along. His feelings traveled to his direhorse, amplified, then came back to him. To Miles it was so profound and calming, like his soul opening up to shine light on everything it touched. 

           They walked along for some time, drawing closer to the village. As they neared, Miles' ears swiveled, catching on to the sounds of children giggling and splashing in the stream. He wasn’t surprised to find his own child, running through the shallow water as he playfully pulled his friends' tails. It was heartwarming to watch but at the same time, “why are you so far from the village?”

         Spider stilled but his high spirits never dimmed. His eyes went wide at the sight of the direhorse, “wow Sempu. You look so cool!”

         Miles grinned, “well thank you son. But that’s not an answer to my question.”

         Spider shrugged, “we wanted to play in the water. It’s hot!” 

         “That’s true. But you still can’t run off without an adult. You know better.” Spider pouted quietly

          Kiri stuck her tongue out at him. “Spider isn’t a baby! The village is right over there! Our mommy and daddy let us go this far! Why can’t Spider!”

           Because he’s smaller and more vulnerable than you. Miles couldn’t say that though. He’d humiliate Spider in front of his friends. So instead he said, “just because something is okay by your parents doesn’t mean all parents think it’s okay. Now I expect my son to do what I say. Not what your parents say. Spider knows better.” 

         “But I’m fine! Kiri’s right! I’m not a baby! Stop…” 

         Miles silenced him with a simple raise of his eyebrow. Then he beckoned him forward with a finger. Reluctantly Spider approached. “You kids better head home,” he commanded the Sully children. The three of them glaired. Kiri even hissed. But they still did as told. When they were gone Miles said to Spider, “raise your arms up for me.” Spider gave him a confused look before slowly obeying. Miles grabbed his little hands, pulling his son onto the back of the direhorse. Spider gasped, absolutely delighted. Let’s turn back, Miles thought to his steed , but go slow. I want us to enjoy the ride.               

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

          Spider laid upside down over the seat of the couch, watching his father give his daily lessons with glazed eyes. Earth history was just so boring. He didn’t care about the presidents of the United States or the country's many wars or the principles it was founded on. In Spider’s opinion it was all overly complicated, savage and stupid.

           Sempu paused in his lecture. “Is the blood rushin’ to your head helpin’ yeah concentrate.”

           “Yep,” Spider answered, monotone and uncaring. 

            “Then what was the last thing I said?”

             “Said.”

             “I meant in the lesson, wise guy.”

              Spider shrugged, “I don’t know. And I don’t really care.” 

              Miles sighed. Taming a thanator was probably easier than keeping his son’s attention. “Let's put a pin in American history for now. You wanna watch another documentary?”

             Spider scowled. “Last time you picked it was super lame.”

             “The American Revolution isn’t lame. But I’m thinkin’ you can pick. I’ll just pull up history docs and we’ll watch whatever y’a want.” Miles wasn’t thrilled with the idea but he figured his son learning something about Earth history was better than nothing. 

             Spider was not enthusiastic over the plan. “When do I get winter break?”

              Miles sighed, “in two weeks. Now sit up and let’s pick something to watch. Remember, good boys do all their school work and get lots of presents for Christmas because of it.”

             Spider scowled. He was getting really tired of hearing that. But he did as told, flipping around and scooting over to make room for his father. Sempu scrolled through the surprisingly vast library of documentaries. “That one,” Spider yelled, pointing at the screen.

            “Dinosaurs again?” Spider nodded. “Can’t y’a pick something else? I’m pretty sure we’ve watched this one already.”

            “You said I could pick. I pick this.”

             “Well, pick something new. You're not learning anything by watching the same thing over and over.” Spider grumbled, refusing to choose anything else. “Oh come on. How about we learn about ancient Egypt. Or the Roman Empire. You’d love the Roman Empire.”

             “You love the Roman Empire,” Spider said bitterly. Miles sighed. He tried to think of any time period that could break through his son’s complete disinterest in Earth but came up empty. “Can we be done?”

              “No. You’re gettin’ a history lesson whether you like it or not.” Spider groaned dramatically, slumping so low that he nearly slid off the couch. God, Miles thought, kid’s gonna be a nightmare when he’s a teenager. 

              The father scrolled through the documentaries hoping that something would catch his son’s attention. “How about we learn about the Aztecs?”

             “No.”

             “The ancient Greeks?”

             “No.”

             “The Renaissance?”

             “No.”

             “The French Revolution?”

             “No.”

             “World War II?”

             “No.”

              Miles threw his arms up in the air. “Come on! Work with me here kid. How about the space race? Don’t y’a want to learn how we got to Pandora?”

              “No.”

               Miles sighed. He was at the end of his rope but he wasn’t about to cave to his seven year old. He stopped making suggestions, continuing his search through the video library. After passing through every major time period they reached the more niche topics. Periods in art history. Specific historical figures. Major war battles. And then, The History of Christmas.  “How ‘bout this Spider? Christmas is right around the corner. Don’t y’a want to learn more about it?”

               The resolve in Spider’s eyes softened slightly. “Maybe….”

               That was enough for his father who quickly hit play, “alright let’s watch.”

               Spider tried to remain stoic. Uncaring. But he quickly crumbled to the images of quaint snow covered European villages, succulent feasts and shining fir trees. He was quietly enraptured by it all, absorbing every fact like a sponge. Miles smiled at his win, pulling his son into his side. Midway through the film Spider looked around the room, frowning. “Sempu. How come we haven’t put up a Christmas tree yet? And where are our lights? Or the stockings over the fireplace?”

               “We don’t even have a fireplace.” Spider stared him down. Miles truthfully didn’t like the clutter and wasn’t planning on decorating until a few days before the holiday but under the intensity of those eyes he couldn’t help but cave. “I’ll get us some decorations.”

             Spider jumped in his seat, “ yay! Let’s go now!”

             “No,” Miles pulled Spider back by the shoulder. “We gotta finish the movie first. And y’a still got science to get through…..” Spider groaned so loud you’d swear there was a Hammerhead Titanothere in the room.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

           The recoms returned to the village after a few rounds of target practice. While Miles had done well he had still struggled to use the bow he had been lent. It was slightly too small for him, the wood too light. He couldn’t wait to make his own. Already he was planning the materials he’d use and the designs he’d carve into it. His bow was going to be gorgeous.

          “Sempu,” Spider yelled, racing up to him, “did you go hunting? Can you take me next time? Can you teach me how to shoot a bow? My friends go bow fishing and have target practice with their Sempu and Sa’nu all the time. Can we go? Can we, can we, pleassseeeee….”

          Miles laughed, placing a hand on his son’s head to calm him, “of course I’ll take y’a out.” 

          Spider lit up, vibrating with excitement. “Can we go now?”

          “Do y’a have a bow?”

           All of Spider’s enthusiasm drained out of him instantly. “No.”

           The admission made Miles giddy. He couldn’t make his own bow until he completed Iknimaya but he sure could make one for Spider. Logically he should have saved the gift until Christmas but he was too eager to wait. “Well let’s change that! Come on. We’ll get some supplies.”

           Spider was awestruck, “really!”

           “What? Did I stutter? Come on. Let’s go.” Spider raced to take his hand. They didn’t go far, walking the perimeter of the village for a good fallen branch. 

           “Look at this one Sempu!” Spider climbed on top of a full tree limb, the leaves shaking with his movements.

           Miles chuckled. “Don’t y’a think that’s a little big for you?”

           “Can’t we share it?”

           “Boy I think the whole village could share it. Come on. Let’s keep looking.”

           A few minutes later Spider grabbed onto another huge piece of wood. It was too big for him to lift so instead he excitedly hopped next to it shouting, “look! Look! This one’s good.”

           Miles inspected it. The wood was hollow and rotting. “Nope. This can’t be carved.” Spider scowled but moved along. “Try finding something you can actually pick up.”

          “But I want a big bow! I want it to be the best in the whole village!”

          “Well what will any of that matter if y’a can’t use it?” That quieted the boy, sending him into deep contemplation.

           After more walking, Spider spotted his perfect piece of wood, dashing ahead to claim it. It was almost too thick for him to grasp in one hand, taller than him but still light enough for him to pick up with some effort. “Will this work Sempu?”

          The wood was strong and healthy, “I think it’s perfect.” Spider bounced in place, he was so happy. 

          Once back at the village Miles got right to work, cutting the wood down to size and roughly shaping it. Spider watched him the entire time. “Can I help?”

          Miles grinned, “well of course y’a can. Come here.” He positioned the knife in Spider’s hand, keeping his hold on the boy to guide his movements across the wood. “You want to go at a nice, even pace. You don’t want to go too fast and accidentally hurt yourself or hack up the wood.” Spider was in deep concentration as he worked, his eyes incredibly focused, the tip of his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth. Miles chuckled, smiling warmly. He wished he had a camera to capture this moment.  

           The bow was ready before they knew it. Spider admired his new weapon, pulling back the string to test the feeling. He was instantly in love. “Can we go hunting now Sempu?”

            “How ‘bout target practice first?” Spider eagerly nodded yes. 

            Miles swiped a little paint from the craftsman before the pair made their way to a secluded area just outside the village. He drew a bright white target onto a tree then made his way back to Spider. “Alright you wanna stand like this,” Miles positioned him accordingly, “then you wanna hold the bow like this,” he moved Spider’s hands.

             “But everyone holds it like this,” Spider switched his hold to mimic the Na’vi.

             Miles knew it was useless to correct the grip. “Okay well, let’s just see if you can shoot like that.”

              Spider readied his arrow. Pulled back the string with laser focus. Then let it go. Miles' eyes went wide in amazement. He got a bullseye on the first shot! He laughed and cheered, he was so happy. “That’s my boy! God, look at y’a! A perfect hit on the first try! Aw I’m so proud of y’a son.”

            “Really?” Spider’s eyes were shining. 

            “Well of course. I’m always proud of y’a.”

             Spider radiated pure joy. “I bet I can get another one!”

             “I bet you can hit a bullseye with every arrow in this quiver.”

             “I can! I’ll show you!” Spider repositioned himself. Then just like that he fired another perfect shot. Then another. And another. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

              Just like with Halloween all of Hell’s Gate was buzzing to celebrate the winter holidays. Miles and the rest of the recoms went to a storage room in the sealed off part of the base where a small collection of decorations were housed. Celebrating the holidays had always been a good morale boost. A reminder of what they were fighting for. They would put a lazily decorated fake tree in the cafeteria, play some holiday music, and have some specialty meals cooked up for the eight nights of Hanukkah, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That same lackluster approach was completely out the window this year. Miles was going to go big.  

            A handful of people were preparing for Hanukkah. They decorated the doors of their apartments with handmade stars, and metallic blue and silver streamers. They carved dreidels and made their own candles for the nights ahead. Of all the items in the storage unit there was only one menorah but for the small group that would be enough. They would hold their celebrations in the cafeteria with anyone welcome to join.

           The rest of Hell’s Gate readied for Christmas. There were eight fake trees on hand, with Miles laying claim to the biggest one. Anyone else who wanted one had to fight for it. Miles took the best of everything while still leaving enough to decorate the hallways with lights, garland, and glittering snowflakes. Spider’s jaw dropped seeing the tree alone. He tore into the boxes of decor with no idea where to start. “These lights are so pretty. And what’s this stuff Sempu?” Spider held up a string of golden tinsel, “it’s pretty too. And what are these? They’re…”

         “Pretty?” Miles was holding back his laughter, grinning ear to ear. “Those are the ornaments. We’ll put those on last. And maybe one day you and your friends can make a few more.”

        “We can!”

        “You sure can. In fact I want y’a to. Now let’s start with the lights…” 

         The t.v showed a crackling fireplace, holiday music playing in the background. When Spider caught the melody he would start to hum along. Miles would absentmindedly start singing under his breath until he’d catch himself with a start. Damn natives are rubbin’ off on me. 

         Miles wanted to take his time decorating and savor the moment. Spider was too excited for that. He raced around the tree with strings of lights or tinsel in hand. He loaded up his fingers with as many ornaments as he could fit, making a game of placing them as quickly as possible. He had an absolute blast. Until it was over. Spider stepped away from the tree, staring at it in awe. But then he calmed down and the realization hit that they were done. “It’s there anything else we can do Sempu?”

           Miles glanced down at the still half full plastic tubs. There was a lot they could do. But their home would be so cluttered. He looked over to his son. His poor boy looked so disappointed, a far cry from the happiness he’d exuded moments ago. The father sighed. “There’s actually plenty we can still do,” he said in a chipper tone that he did not feel. “We can put this garland over the mantel and hang ornaments from it. And look here. These little statues would look nice on the kitchen table. And here’s some Christmas flowers. I bet your mama would be happy to have these on her shrine….”

           “And lights!”

           “And lights,” another object caught Miles' eye. Battery powered candles. “Well would y’a look at this. Mama would like these too. Maybe we leave these on there all year round… .”

           Spider lit up brighter than the tree, “we can keep this all up forever!”

           Miles blanched, “well I don’t know about that. It wouldn’t be special if we never took it down.”

           Spider shrugged, “the forest lights up every night and I still think that’s special.” 

           Miles died a little inside. Just let it go for now. Enjoy the moment. “Come on now, what are we standin’ around and talkin’ for? I thought y’a wanted to keep decorating?”

            “Yeah!” Spider tore off with handfuls of decor without a clue as to what he would do with them. Miles trailed after him hoping that he could bring some form of order to the chaos.      

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

             Miles steadied his breathing, readying his bow. He’d hunted before. Mostly people during the many wars he’d fought in. Never before had he taken down something as big and fast as a hexapeid. The herd was grazing lazily through the foliage but the twisting of their ears and twitching of their tails signaled that their defenses were still up. As quietly as a whisper in the still of night Miles crept closer. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears. Even his barely perceptible breathing sounded too loud. Surely he’d spook his prey.

             Once he was in range he took aim. He was still a fair distance from his target but he didn’t want to run the risk of scarring the beasts away. Scanning the herd for his best shot Miles spotted an older hexapeid that also looked to be the biggest out of all of them. Miles pulled back the string of his bow then let the arrow fly. The hexapeid instantly went down, a yellow fletched arrow protruding right in the middle of its forehead. Miles grinned. I passed first hunt. Now I get to…”

             “Yeah colonel,” Lyle cheered, “that’s how you do it!” A few hexapeids had fled when Miles' kill went down but others had been oblivious. Those were for the other recoms to hunt. At Lyle’s shout they all shattered. The entire group groaned.

             “Way to go moron,” said Z

             “Come on man, how could you be so stupid,” said Fike

             “I was really hoping to get this done today,” said Ja.

              Lyle turned on him in a rage, “oh boo hoo for you. You’ve got this shit on lock anyway. You stay up all night reading Augustine’s old books and watching her video logs and studying the language. Admit it already! You love this savage shit…”

              “Hey,” Miles yelled, silencing his right hand man, “Ja is doin’ exactly what he’s supposed to be. Maybe if y’a took this a little more seriously you’d be doin’ just a well as him.”

               Lyle’s face went purple in rage. Too disciplined to argue with his commanding officer he turned around and walked away grunting, “I’m out of here.” Everyone let him go.

              Jake awkwardly approached Miles, “there’s still one thing you have to do.”

             “I know. Let’s get it done.” The two made there way over to the slaughtered hexapeid, out of earshot of the others.

              “So, seems not everyone is on board,” said Jake.

              Miles waved him off. “Lyle will come around. He’s more of a doer than a thinker. He just needs more time.”

           Jake was unconvinced.  “A huh. Anyone else you think needs “more time” to “come around?”

           Miles looked back at his squad, guilt slowly seeping in as he realized, I don’t know. He really hadn’t been spending time with his friends outside of their lessons. Being a father just took up too much of his time. “I’ll find out,” he answered. Jake didn’t reply.

          They reached the downed hexapeid. Miles crouched beside it saying in perfect Na’vi as he removed his arrow, “your soul goes to Eywa. Your body stays behind to become one with the people. Thank you.”               

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

         Spider happily skipped along, his bow and quiver strapped to his back. His Sempu held his hand, leading him to a small stream. “So you're really gonna tame an ikran Sempu?”

          “Yep. Once the rest of the squad passes first hunt.”

          “Well they need to hurry up!”

           Miles chucked, “they’re out there right now.”

           “But you already passed!”

           “Well I went first.”

            Spider accepted this, shifting from angry to enthusiastic once again. “Will you take me for a ride on your ikran?”

             “Of course I will. As soon as I tame one the first thing I’ll do is take you flying.” Spider hopped in place, already so excited. “We’re here.” Miles positioned his son in front of the stream. Spider readied his bow. “Alright now. You need to be calm. Take a deep breath,” Spider did as instructed but didn’t exhale. Miles laughed, “y’a gotta breath out too,” Spider did with relief. “Now watch the fish for a minute. See how they move, where they go. You need to be able to predict their movements.”

             Spider focused hard, quietly analyzing the fishes’ movements. After a few long minutes Spider whispered, “I think I see my target.”

             “Alright then. Take aim.” Spider zeroed in and fired before Miles could tell him to shoot. The arrow went straight through the fish, its tail flapping uselessly before it went still. “That’s my boy,” Miles cheered

             Spider raced to grab his prize, holding it up like a trophy. “Look Sempu! It’s huge!”

               Huge for you , Miles chuckled. For him it was actually fairly small. But his son could easily eat off of it for at least four days. “You’re right! I’ve never seen a fish so big!”

              “Can we eat it tonight?”

              “Well of course!”

              “Can I help you cook it?”

              “You sure can!”

              “Can I catch some more!”

              “If y’a get out of the water and stop scaring away the fish!” Spider trudged back to shore, ready to shoot a full fish feast for himself and his Sempu.      

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

              Christmas Eve found all of Hell’s Gate in the cafeteria. The room was decorated in glittering lights, golden tinsel, snowflakes hung from the ceiling and a beautiful Christmas tree in the heart of the space. The same screen and projector from Halloween was brought back out to show a marathon of holiday movies. Some were in the kitchen cooking and baking an absolute feast, the rich aromas wafting through the service window. The kids were all sat at a table near the film screen, crafting supplies strewn all around. Neteyam and Lo’ak were working together on a construction paper chain, using whatever colors their hearts desired. Kiri and Spider were making ornaments. Spider stuck with drawing designs on paper and making shapes out of popsicle sticks. Kiri was going hard on the glitter, getting the stuff everywhere . Miles cringed at the sight. His son was sitting in the blast zone of Kiri’s glitter bombs, getting noticeably speckled in silver and gold. Even if he dunked Spider in a bath the moment they got home Miles knew that cursed crafting supply would spread to everything like a plague.

              From the look on his face Jake shared his dread, “baby girl I think that’s enough….”

              “No it’s not,” Kiri said nonchalantly. “Everything is supposed to be sparkly. So we need more!”

             “Yes but,” you could see the gears turning in Jake’s head as he rushed to think of any excuse that could make his daughter stop, “but…we…only have so much! If you use it all up tonight you won’t have any more ever again!” Kiri’s eyes went wide in horror. After that she made a concerted effort to ration the glitter. 

                Lo’ak halted in his crafting with a sudden thought, turning towards his father. “Sempu?”

               “Yes son.”

               “What are we getting for Christmas?”

                Jake laughed at his youngest. “Well I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise!”

                Lo’ak pouted. “Lame,” he grumbled, turning back to his craft. Jake sighed, already looking so tired on a night that had barely begun.  

                “Dinner’s ready,” Mansk called. He was grinning ear to ear as he carried in a massive roast made from the hexapeid he’d shot in first hunt. Ja, Z and Max followed behind with side dishes. As the table was set a few of the other recoms stood off to the side, looking unhappy. Miles noticed this and decided to confront it. “What’s up,” he asked Lyle.

               Lyle shrugged, “nothing much.”

               “Y’all gonna come sit and eat or just stand in the corner mean muggin’ everybody,” Miles asked lightheartedly with a slight chuckle.

                Lyle’s jaw clenched, his anger palpable. “Y’a know what. I’m done.” He turned to leave, his half of their team moving to follow.

                “Wait,” Miles stopped him with a hand, “I know you’ll haven’t enjoyed all this. But we’re all just trying to do our best. So can’t we make the best of this? It’s Christmas. Let’s have a good time.”

               Lyle thought about it for a moment, his eyes traveling between Miles, the happy kids, then to Ja and Jake. He shook his head. “I don’t think I can boss. I don’t want to ruin this for Spidy. So I’m gonna go.” With that he left, his followers trailing after him. Miles sighed, trying not to show how sad he felt.

              Spider looked confused as his father returned to the table. “How come they’re leaving?

              Miles forced a soft smile, reaching out to run his hand down the length of his son’s hair, “they just aren’t feelin’ good. They’ll rest up and feel better soon.”

              “Oh. Then can we bring them some food later? I don’t want them to miss the feast.”

             Miles' heart warmed. “Of course sweetheart. We’ll box up the leftovers and take it to them before we head home. Now tuck in and let’s eat.” 

             The feast was absolute perfection. The delicious food helped everyone forget the elephant in the room, worries and discomfort melting away as the adults made pleasant conversation and the kids happily yelled at each other from across the table. Once the plates were cleared and the leftovers boxed up, trays of cookies were brought out with icing and sprinkles to decorate them with. The kids all cheered at the sight, bouncing in their spots. All four children were fairly apt at using a knife so had no issue frosting the surface of the cookies but they were clumsy with the piping bags, accidently shooting ribbons of icing all across the table, themselves and each other. They laughed at the mess. Kiri, Lo’ak and Spider took aim at each other, ready to blast one another with frosting before their fathers stepped in, confiscating the bags.

           After that Miles set Spider on his lap and helped him decorate his cookies. Jake did the same, balancing Kiri on one knee and Lo’ak on the other. This made Neteyam feel left out. He pouted for a little bit before silently deciding to slip between his siblings, worming his way onto his father’s lap. Jake didn’t stop him but had to adjust in a hurry as Kiri and Lo’ak nearly slipped off the sides of their seats. His arms tightly wrapped around all three of his kids, securing them towards his chest. The siblings were completely oblivious to their father’s stress. Miles laughed at Jake, bouncing his one and only child on his knee without a care in the world. “So Jake. You excited for baby number four?”

             Jake growled at him but hugged his children tighter. “Of course I’m excited. I can’t wait to meet my second daughter.”

             “It’s a boy,” Lo’ak yelled, scowling.

             “No it’s a girl,” Kiri yelled back, “I told you! I can feel it!”

              “Nah uh! Lier!”

              “Dick head!”

              “Kids,” Jake raised his voice to be heard over them, “keep it up and you’ll be watching Neteyam and Spider open your presents.” That shut them both right up. The rest of their activity continued without issue. Once they were done the kids went around offering their creations to everyone in the room. The adults all politely took one so there would be plenty left for the children to gorge themselves on. Miles had Spider count the cookies out and evenly distribute them between his friends before the kids tore into their treats like a pack of starving dogs. Then it was time for presents.

              It wasn’t a large pile. Spider would get the vast majority of his gifts on Christmas morning. This was more so his friends could feel included. The Sully kids didn’t want for much though. The handful of gifts for each child were all basically the same. Wooden toys of their favorite animals. Arrows for their bows. Beads for their hair. The kids weren’t too impressed by their new accessories but they loved their toys and babbled about how they’d all go hunting together with their new arrows. 

             Once all the presents were opened and pictures taken, the adults left the kids to play until they dropped, while everyone else settled in with some drinks to watch a few movies. Miles didn’t realize that he was smiling throughout the whole film. Despite half his team - half of his family - walking out on them, this night had been the greatest Christmas he had ever had. And the best was still to come.   

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

         “Sempu! Sempu wake up! Spider lightly slapped his father’s face as he bounced up and down on the bed.

           Miles groaned. He turned his head to see his alarm clock. Three fifteen a.m . Not insanely early for him but a disruption in his sleep nonetheless. He sat up, stilling his son with his hands. “Hold your horses. Your presents aren’t goin’ anywhere.”

           Spider pouted. “But there’s so many of them, Sempu!”

           Miles huffed a laugh. “You already went and peeked huh?  Spider nodded with an energetic smile. “Alright I’m gettin’ up. Let’s go.” Spider ran from the room cheering. Miles lumbered his way to the couch, plopping down with his camera at the ready to capture the chaos that was about to ensue. 

          Spider wasted no time in jumping in, ripping off the binding of his first fabric parcel. Inside was a hand carved Angtsìk toy. It was some of Miles' best work. The toy had moveable limbs and was painted beautifully. “Wow,” Spider gasped as he went straight into playing with his gift. 

          Miles chuckled, “well don’t stop now! Y’a got plenty more where that came from.

           Spider was in awe. He really only had one thing he wanted as a present. And while he had yet to find it, everything else was amazing. More toys than he had ever had in his life. A kids knife made of resin with a vibrant woven sheath to store it. Books that he wasn’t particularly interested in but knew he’d be reading for school. Art supplies. A blue flute, a hand carved guitar and the promise from his father that he had new lesson modules for him to learn how to play.

          But as the pile began to shrink, Spider grew disappointed. By his last gift his high hopes came completely crashing down. “Aw what’s the matter son? You sad there’s no more presents?” Spider weakly nodded, not wanting to admit his crushing disappointment. “Well why would y’a think that’s your last one?” Spider immediately perked up. Miles smiled at him. He tapped a few settings on his camera, making the device hover out of his hand, fly into the center of the room and turn to face them both. 

          Miles patted the seat next to him. Spider scurried to meet him, looking up with so much hope in his eyes it was painful. Miles cringed a little inside. I really hope he likes it . From out of his pajama pant pocket he pulled out a small parcel, wrapped in yellow fabric with a beaded twine. 

        Spider carefully undid it, his breathing completely stopping. It was like everything moved in slow motion as Spider watched it fall away. But then it was just there right in the palm of his hand. My songcord. Reverently Spider inspected the cord. There was an absolutely beautiful white and red bead at the very beginning. He traced the line down to two shiny little black beads bound together. Then a small fluffy white feather. A train of bright stones one purple, one green, and one orange. The last charm was a small square of blue tree resin woven into the chain. When it caught the light it looked like it was glowing. “This is you right, Sempu? For when you came back.”

         Miles smiled, “you’re so smart.” Spider grinned. “Can y’a guess the other ones?”

          Spider ran his hand over the cord, deep in thought. “This is when you and Sanu died.” He touched the two black beads.  Miles nodded. “This is me being alone.” He ran a hand over the feather. Again Miles nodded. His son’s time as an orphan wasn’t something Miles had wanted to memorialize but it was part of Spider’s history. “And this is Kiri,” his fingers danced over the purple stone, “ ‘tyam,”  the green stone, “and Lo’ak,” the orange stone.

         Miles clapped his hands together once to congratulate himself on nailing his son’s songcord. “Anything I missed?”

         “Nope,” Spider said. Miles silently cheered. “Now I have a present for you Sempu!”

          Miles stilled in surprise, “you do?” Spider nodded then ran off to his room. He quickly came back with a long woven chain in one hand and a plain brown bag in the other. Spider shoved them towards his father.

           “You made me a songcord too?” Spider smiled shyly. Miles gasped from his shock. His almost insultingly long cord was decorated with just one bead at the very end - a small black geoid, its crystals swirling with purples and greens. After that nothing. 

           “I didn’t know what you’d want on your songcord, so I found you things that were neat so you would have lots to choose from.” Miles felt the little bag in his hand. It rustled with the sounds of many different materials clanking against each other. “Except for these.” Spider pulled from his pocket a bright magenta feather with yellow, white, and black patterning and an amber sphere with a star burst of red in the center. “This is for Sanu,” Spider handed him the feather, “and this is for me.”  

             Miles melted. “They’re beautiful son. Thank you.” Spider was beaming from the praise. He snuggled into his father's side while still admiring his song cord.

             “Will you sing it for me, Sempu?”

              Miles was prepared for this but still felt incredibly awkward as he started humming the tune. He had practiced the words in Na’vi to an exhausting level yet he didn’t feel very confident as he sang what he hoped translated too, “ my unexpected gift. My greatest joy. My Spider. Born into a world of hardship. Losing his parents early on. Orphaned by a brutal war. And yet he stayed kind. He made friends - Kiri, Neteyam and Lo’ak, who showed him companionship when others turned their backs. He lived among the people, a shining light to what humanity could be. Even if not everyone could see it yet. And then, miraculously his father returned to him. The son deserved love and care. Death itself couldn’t stop the father from delivering that onto his sweet child. They built a home together. The son taught the father just as much as the father taught the son. And they were happy. There was peace.”

               Spider sighed, a soft dreamy smile on his face, “that’s really pretty Sempu.”

              Miles hugged him close, “you happy?”

              “The happiest I’ve ever been in my whole life.”

Chapter Text

         Despite the ever growing rift between the recoms, today they were all united in their excitement. They were all smiles and jokes as they made their way to the village. While everyone of them was eager to finally tame an ikran, no one was more energized than Spider. He was skipping ahead of them all, his father barely keeping up. “Can I come watch Sempu?”

            “I don’t think so son. It’s a hard trip up to the nest. I can’t risk you fallin’. But maybe after I tame my ikran I can fly y’a up there.” That was enough to satisfy the boy. He was already promised a flight later that day. He was practically vibrating with excitement just thinking about it.

           Jake met them at the village entrance. Even he seemed to be in high spirits. Maybe he’s hopin’ we all die, Miles thought. Jake commanded their attention, “alright. I know you’re all ready to get a move on. But there’s a little ceremony we have to do first.”

         “Pfff,” multiple recoms sounded. Miles had his back to his squad but he could still feel half of them rolling their eyes.

         Jake noticed the descent and made his annoyance clear, “you can stay behind if you don’t want to play by our rules,” that shut everyone right up, “good. Now follow me.”  He led them to the heart of the village where they circled around a deserted cook fire. From the ground Jake snatched up a small clay jar, filled with bright yellow pigment. “There are markings sacred to this right of passage.” Without warning Jake snatched a stunned Ja from the crowd and began to paint a V shape over his eyes and nose. “Flying an ikran is as important as a child taking its first steps. Despite everything you’ve done to get here, today marks your first steps towards being one with the people.”

           Jake was looking directly into Ja’s eyes as he said this, not because he was actually speaking straight to him, but because he was laser focused on getting the markings right despite his lack of artistic abilities. Still it deeply moved Ja. His eyes welled up with tears. Slowly his knees gave out. He grabbed onto Jake to stay up right but it was no use as the weight of his guilt drug him down. “I’m not worthy,” Ja openly sobbed, “I’m not worthy. Of being one with the people. Of Eywa. Not after the things I’ve done. I’m a murderer. I slaughtered innocent villagers. I destroyed the land. And I was so blinded by all the violence, greed and apathy that’s so commonplace on Earth that I couldn’t even feel sorry for it. I….” He stopped to collect his words. The majority of the village was watching but Ja was oblivious to it. “I don’t think I even had a soul before now. I felt myself come alive for the first time in my miserable existence here, in the jungle feeling Eywa’s presence, in this culture and in this community. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve experienced! And I destroyed that! How could I ever atone…..”

          Jake and Miles were both shocked still by the heartfelt confession. Half of the recoms were teary eyed, Ja’s speech clearly resonating with them. The other half silently smoldered in rage. “Yes!” They all jumped as Mo’at made her appearance. She walked to Ja, extending a hand to him, “You have done it. You can finally see. Feel. And while it may seem like torment, Eywa has blessed you with clarity. Don’t waste it with tears. Stand. Finish iknimaya. And we will accept you with open arms.”

           Ja dried his eyes as he stood, a new determination blazing in his eyes. “I won’t fail.” Mo’at nodded her approval then coolly walked away. 

           Awkwardness settled over them now that Ja’s display was finished. Slowly and silently they shuffled off in pairs, claiming jars of pigment to paint the ceremonial markings on each other. “Sempu,” Spider called, tugging on his father’s clothes, “can I paint your face for you?”

           Miles smiled, relieved to have anything else to focus his attention on. Scooping his son up he said, “why of course y’a can.” 

            Spider chose bright red for the markings, then they found a shaded spot off to the side. Miles sat crisscrossed on the ground, while Spider scurried up a large log so that he could be eye leave with his Sempu. As Spider worked, Miles resisted the urge to laugh. His son’s face was scrunched up in deep contemplation, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth. His tiny finger tips moved down Miles’ brow with such slow precision that he knew he would have the best face paint of them all.

            “All done,” Spider bounced with excitement.

              Miles stood, “thank you son. I’m sure they’re absolutely perfect.”

             “Since I did such a good job, can I go up with you now?” 

              Miles chuckled, reaching out to ruffle his son’s hair, “nice try tiger.” Spider pouted. 

              Jake clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Alright. Looks like everyone’s done. Let’s move out.”

              The gravity of the situation hit Miles full force. People die doin’ this. Come on! If a moron like Sully can do this you sure as hell can. But still. Shit happens. He looked over to his son. He could become an orphan again today. Well not if you get your shit together. He took a deep breath to steady himself. Then he gently cupped the back of Spider’s neck, guiding him in for a kiss on the top of the head. “That’s for good luck.”

              “Good luck?”

              “Yep.” He gave his son another kiss on the crown of head, making the boy giggle. “I love you Spider,” his voice held a weight that was sensed by his son, “I’ll see y’a when I get back.”

              Spider hugged him around the neck, “bye Sempu.”

               With one last pat on the cheek Miles parted from his son, then raced to join his rapidly departing squad. Spider sat on his log, watching forlorn as his father’s silhouette shrank into the distance. “You look sad,” Kiri said, emerging from the foliage.

              “I wanna go see my Sempu tame his ikran.”

              “He wouldn’t let you go with him.”

               “No. He said it would be too dangerous.”

               “Pfff. That’s dumb. Ikrans are nice. You just have to ask to be their friend.”

               “He wasn’t scared of the ikrans. He said it’d be hard for him to carry me.”

                “But you're a better climber than him!” Spider shrugged it off. Kiri fumed on her friends behalf, “I’ll take you up there! We can ride Tanhi!”

                 Spider’s eyes lit up. He had had the idea to ask Kiri to fly him up to the roost but hadn’t wanted to ask her in fear that he’d get her in trouble. But if she was offering…., “yes! Let’s go!”

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                 The caws of the ikrans echoed through the air as the recoms reached the roost, huffing and puffing after the difficult climb. Jake however seemed unbothered. “So. Who’s going first?”

                There was an awkward silence, the recoms all looking between each other to see who would volunteer. Miles sighed, “I’ll go.” Jake nodded in response, clearing the path for Miles to approach.

                As he stepped forward he readied his banshee catcher to tie the mouth shut of whichever unlucky ikran decided to try and kill him. At first a handful of ikrans simply flew out of his way. Then an ear piercing screech filled the air before a blur of dark blue descended on him. Miles' scenes were instantly overwhelmed. He struggled just to find the beast’s back. At some point in the chaos his banshee catcher slipped from his hand, leaving the ikran completely free to snap its red maw at him. Miles just barely dodged the razor sharp fangs as he found his perch on the ikran's back. He rushed to connect their kurus but the banshee wasn’t done putting up a fight. It bucked, frantically trying to toss him off. The tendrils of their kurus reached desperately towards each other only for the sharp movements to knock them off course. Then in a last ditch effort to rid itself of its potential rider, the ikran dove over the edge of the cliff.

              A crushing silence filled the air. None was more shocked than Spider. He and Kiri stood in a bush, well hidden from the adults. Watching his father taming an ikran had been thrilling right up to this point. Now he stood frozen in horror. Seconds stretched on for centuries as the boy’s thoughts went wild. Is going to come back. He wouldn’t fail. He can’t die. I can’t go back, I can’t go back, I can’t go back…. Spider didn’t breath. He didn’t blink. There was a ringing in his ear. His vision started to blur. Reality itself felt like it was crashing down on him.  

               The flap of wings sounded in the air. Cheers erupted. Miles pumped his fist in the air, yelling, “yeah! That’s right!” He and his ikran flew in a graceful spiral just to show off. “Who’s next!” 

              Before a soul could step forward Spider burst into tears, startling the entire group. A thrill of panic shot threw every adult, none among them knowing what to do. Miles caught the faint sound of sobbing on the wind and turned his ikran towards it. He couldn’t see his son from his vantage point but knew logically that it could only be him. Because of course his boy would find a way to defy his orders. The father raced to land.

            “Sempu! Sempu! Daddy! Sempu! Daddy!” Spider was so distraught that his two languages fussed together in his mind to convey his singular desperate need. 

             Miles sprinted over to his son, collapsing into the dirt the second he approached. He pulled Spider in close. The boy clung to him so hard his nails dug into his father’s shoulders. “Daddy! Sempu!”

           “I’m right here. Shhhh. Shhh.” He rocked his son back and forth in a failed attempt at soothing him

            “Kiri,” Jake hissed in the background. His daughter appeared, looking incredibly guilty. “Get here now! Why would you think bringing Spider here was okay! Does anyone know you're gone! What were you thinking!” 

            The reprimand fell into nothing but background chatter to Miles as he tried desperately to calm his son. He had never seen Spider like this. The boy had gotten watery eyed once or twice but he’d never so much as shed a teary, let alone this. This was nothing short of a full blown melt down. Miles repositioned himself to sitting cross legged under the shade of a tree. He maneuvered Spider so he was cradled against his chest, whispering words of comfort as he swayed gently side to side. “Shhhh. I’m right here. Daddy’s here. I know that must’ve been scary. But I’m right here. Everythin’ is okay…”

              Spider sobbed harder, making his body spasm painfully. He was nearly purple in the face from lack of oxygen. Miles couldn’t take it. “I need to get him home,” he announced as he stood. No one protested but Miles could still feel it. The disappointment that their leader would miss yet another major milestone. Miles ignored his shred of guilt, placing his focus solely on getting to his ikran.

           “No! No!” Spider shrieked as they neared the banshee. He’s terrified of her now, Miles knew. How could his son not be after seeing him almost die. There’s no other way to get down. He wrapped his arm around his son as tight as he dared while mounting his ikran. Spider screamed incoherently. Miles payed it no mind.

           Fly! But be careful. His banshee instantly took to the skies, soaring off with speed and grace. Miles white knuckle gripped his ikran with one hand, crushing Spider to him with the other. Spider gripped onto his father with equal force, screaming himself horse for the entire ten minute flight. 

           They had barely landed when Miles jumped off of his mount. He rushed inside Hell’s Gate, carefully taking off Spider’s mask once safely in the airlock. The scientist at work all leapt to attention at Spider’s cries. “What happened,” Norm said, rushing up to them. Spider shrieked, flinching away.   

            Miles shielded his son from the other concerned adults. “He’s fine. He just got spooked. Now get out of my way so I can get him home.” Norm held his hands up in surrender, making way for father and son.

            Miles practically ran through the halls, desperate to get Spider home. He dodged confused passersby, who all swerved to clear a path, shielding their ears from the distraught boy’s cries. “Watch where you're going,” none other than Nash McCosker shouted at him.

           “No! No! No!” Spider frantically clawed his way up Miles shoulder wanting nothing more than to get away from the voice that haunted his nightmare. Miles seethed with rage but stowed it for now. McCosker is gonna get his for what he’s done to my boy. He snarled and glared at McCosker as he passed but said nothing. 

           Miles breathed a sigh of relief when he finally crossed the threshold into his home. “Alright. Alright. Hush now. Everythin’ is okay. We’re home. We’re safe.” Spider’s sobs quieted slightly but were a long way from completely stopping. Miles went to the kitchen to wet a dish towel and started wiping at his son’s puffy, red, tear stained checks. The cool water felt nice on Spider’s hot skin, helping to calm him just a little bit more. “There now. See? Everythin’ is alright. Let’s get y’a cleaned up and into some comfy clothes. Sound good?” Spider didn’t respond. 

          It was a struggle getting Spider into a bath. His son simply did not want to be put down, his screams and cries intensifying all over again. It took a whole hour of Miles coaxing to finally calm the boy enough to get him in the tub and even then, if he so much as took his hand off of Spider’s back for longer than a split second his breath would hitch loudly. 

        Once Spider was clean, Miles dressed him in fleece lined footie pajamas. He handed the boy his favorite plushie before carrying him back to the kitchen. “Y’a hungry?” Spider, limp and glassy eyed, gave a small shake of his head no. Miles didn’t want to stress his son out again by pushing him on it. “Okay. But y’a gotta be thirsty after all that.” Spider gave no response. Miles sighed. He made up a glass of ice water and held it out for Spider to take but he refused. “Come on now. Can’t y’a take a sip?” Spider didn’t move. Miles sighed again, taking a metal straw from a drawer, hoping the aid would encourage his son to drink. “Here. Y’a don’t even have to hold it. Just take a sip for daddy.” Tentatively, Spider took a small sip. The frigid water felt amazing on his sore throat making him want more. Miles smiled as he watched Spider drain the cup dry. “Good boy,” he said, rubbing Spider’s back.

          Miles brought his son into the living room to cuddle with him on the couch. He threw on one of Spider’s favorite movies but it was nothing but background noise to the traumatized little boy. Miles tucked him under his chin, holding him close. He stroked his hair, rubbed circles into his back, gave him kisses on the top of his head, anything to try to help Spider feel calm and safe. Nothing seemed to help put the life back into his son. He simply stared off into the distance, a husk of the energetic boy he’d been only hours before.

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         Miles woke the next morning with Spider curled into his side. His son had absolutely refused to sleep alone, whimpering when Miles tried to place him in his bed. Miles wanted to get up to start the day but he didn’t dare, fearing the melt down that would ensue if Spider woke up alone. So he waited for a few hours until Spider began to stir on his own. Miles ran his fingers through Spider’s hair, coaxing him awake, “mornin’ sunshine.”

         Spider sighed in relief, snuggling closer, “good morning.”

         Miles smiled warmly, “you ready to get up? I’ll make breakfast then we can head to the village.”

         Spider suddenly looked as if he’d been struck. His bottom lip quivered as he shook his head no. “I don’t feel good.”

         Miles raised a concerned eye brow, “how so?”

         Spider put a hand on his stomach, saying miserably, “my tummy hurts.”

         Miles pushed Spider’s hair back to get a good look at his face. He does look pale. But his forehead didn’t feel feverish. “Do y’a feel like you’re gonna throw up?” Spider eagerly nodded yes. “Alright. Let’s get up. I gotta make a call to let everyone know we’ll be stayin’ in today.” Spider grinned. When his father rose from the bed, he held his arms up in a bid to be held. Miles' worry grew at the strange behavior but unwilling to do anything that might upset his son, he picked him up, carrying Spider into the kitchen. 

        He balanced Spider on his hip as he called his squad. “What’s up boss,” Prager answered.

        “Tell Sully I can’t come to the village today. Spider’s sick.”

        “Oh. Poor guy. Yesterday was rough for him.”

         “Yeah it was. I think he just needs some time to feel like himself again.”

          “Roger that. I’ll let everyone know. Do you need anything?”

          “No, I think we’re good. But thank you.”

          “No problem boss.” With that he hung up.

           Miles turned his attention to his son, “y’a think you can stomach some breakfast?” Spider thought about it, then slowly shook his head yes. Miles made him a fruit salad and two pieces of buttered toast. He placed Spider in his seat at the table, setting the meal in front of him. Then he grabbed Spider’s brush and a scrunchie to pull his hair back into a ponytail, just in case his son actually did vomit. When he finished doing the simple hairstyle, Spider still hadn’t touched his food. 

         His son looked up at him expectantly. “What’s the matter?” Spider shrugged. “Aren’t y’a hungery?” Another shrug for an answer. Miles sighed, picking up a piece of toast and holding it out to his boy. “Come on. You’ve barely eaten in a whole day.” Miles waved the toast in the air, trying to get Spider to take it. To his surprise, Spider took a bite out of it. Miles' worry started rising again. Does he want me to feed him? His son hated the few times he’d tried to help him eat when he had to wear his mask. He couldn’t possibly want that now.

            Miles slowly held the toast out to Spider again. The boy took another bite with a sunny smile. Alarm bells were sounding in the father’s head. This isn’t normal…..

             He continued to feed Spider until every last bite was gone. Spider looked so pleased with himself. Miles felt nothing but crushing dread. Spider held up his arms, making grabby hands at his father. Miles cringed. “Did your legs stop workin’,” he tried to joke. 

            Spider’s arms instantly fell, his face crumbling. The sniffles and heavy breathing started, his eyes sparkling with tears. “You don’t want me…”

            Miles' heart cleaved in two. He snatched his son right up, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t you ever even think that. I love you so much. More than anything in the whole world!”

          Spider wrapped his arms around his father’s neck like a vice. Miles rubbed his back, the weight of his concern settling in his stomach like a boulder. What do I do? How do I fix this? This behavior was so out of his depth that it completely overwhelmed him. He paced around the kitchen, bouncing Spider as he walked, trying but failing to think of something, anything that could help his son. The more he came up empty the more his brain started shutting down, until nothing remained in his mind. All he could do was focus on the here and now. Feeling empty inside, he walked into the living room, settled on the couch and held Spider close. Spider smiled in relief, snuggling in.

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          “Do y’a wanna play?” Spider shook his head. “We could watch a movie.” No. “Y’a wanna do a puzzle?” No. “How about color?” No. Miles sighed. He could have never imagined his high energy kid would ever want to sit in silence and snuggle all day but that was all Spider was willing to do. Miles couldn’t even grab his tablet to research what was wrong with his son. When he had tried, Spider started whimpering from not having his fathers undivided attention.  “Come on baby boy. Talk to me. I know yesterday scared you…”

           “I thought you died,” Spider mumbled.

           “But I didn’t. I’m right here.” Spider shrugged. Miles sighed. “If something had happened to me you wouldn’t have gone back to the McCoskers….” At the mention of his former foster parents Spider’s eyes welled up with tears. He buried his face in his father’s chest, clearly done with this conversation. 

            It was noon when a knock sounded on the door. “It’s unlocked. Come on in.” Jake appeared in the doorway, flanked by all three of his children.

            “How’s Spider,” Jake asked.

            Miles looked down at his son. “He’s still not feelin’ good.”

            Jake came closer, crouching down to be on Spider’s level, “hey buddy. How y’a doing?” Spider flinched, hiding his face in his father’s torso. Jake frowned, backing away. Then he waved his children over. “Kiri…”

            Kiri pouted. “I’m sorry mister Spider’s dad for taking Spider up to the nest after you told him no.”

           Miles’ eyebrows rose in surprise. “What’s done is done.”

           Kiri took the acceptance of her apology without a care in the world. She walked closer, placing her hands on Miles’ knee in an attempt to climb closer to her friend. “Spider! What’s the matter!”

           “I’m sick,” he mumbled pathetically.

            “Well why didn’t you come to the village! Grandmother could help you…..”

            Spider shook his head, “I wanna stay here.”

            That made Kiri cock her head to the side in confusion, “why?” Spider shrugged. “Well we’re here now. Can we play?”

            Kiri’s eyes were shining with hope. Spider didn’t react. Miles shifted his son so he was facing his friends, bouncing him on his knee to encourage him, “that sounds nice doesn’t it Spider? Why don’t you go show your friends your room?” Spider looked up at him in betrayal, eyes glittering with tears, nose sniffling. “I’m not goin’ anywhere. I’ll be right here.” 

           Spider whimpered as Miles set him down. He seemed lost without the protection of his father’s arms. The boy slowly reached out to be held again but his hand was intercepted by Kiri. “Come on Spider! I want to see your room!” 

           She pulled him along, her brothers trailing after them. Spider looked back at Miles desperately. “You're okay. I’m right here.” Spider was clearly panicked but hand in hand with his best friend his sobs didn’t restart. 

            With the children out of the room Jake rounded on Miles to ask in a frantic hush, “what the hell was that?”

            Miles threw his arms up in the air. “I don’t know! Kid’s been clingy ever since yesterday…”

             “That is not “being clingy.””

             “You think I don’t know that! I can’t even take a piss with the door closed without him throwin’ a fit!”

              Jake exhaled sharply, “Jesus…” Miles gave him a look that screamed, no shit. “What do you plan to do about it?”

              Miles groaned. “I don’t know! I don’t even understand what’s wrong with him! He thought I died for a few seconds when my ikran took me over the cliff. But I didn’t die. I understand that he’d want some comfort right after the fact. But this…”

             Jake shook his head, “maybe it’s just a phase…”

             “Maybe. Or maybe those god damned McCoskeres traumatized my kid! We ran into that fuckin’ Nash when we were comin’ home yesterday and he freaked the fuck out!”

               Jake held his hands up to calm Miles, “okay I hear you….”

              “Do you? You let them take him!”

              “Well no one else was willing to!”

              “They abused him!” Jake was at a loss for words. “Did you know!” 

              “I never saw any marks on him…”

              “But you knew how cruel they were…”

               Jake was completely devastated, “we didn’t know what to do with him…”

               “Anything would have been better than what you did do.”

               Jake nodded, feeling his failure. “I’ll make this right. I’ll talk with the scientist. We’ll find a way to help.”

                “You better.”

                There was an awkward silence between them. Miles peaked down the hall at his sad little boy. Spider caught his eye and made to move towards him but was stopped by Lo’ak who wanted to see his toys. Jake sighed, turning Miles' attention back to him. “I didn’t come by just to have Kiri apologize to you. I wanted to talk to you about dream hunt.” Miles nodded for him to continue. He knew about dream hunt. It was the very last rite of passage before he’d be fully accepted into the clan. It seemed simple enough to him. He’d trip balls in the forest for a night then be welcomed into the fold. “We only do one or two dream hunts a night so with the size of your squad you’ve got some time to figure things out with Spider. Wainfleet offered to go first. We plan to start in a few days.” 

                Miles nodded. “I’ll go last. In the meantime I’ll be here until Spider wants to leave.”

                While the adults were talking the Sully kids stared in awe at Spider’s room. “It’s just like home,” Neteyam said in amazement.

                “I want my own room,” Lo’ak pouted.

                “I want you to have your own room too,” Neteyam said. Lo’ak scowled at him, then initiated a play fight with his brother.

                Kiri ran her hands over everything, the blankets, the furniture, the mural on the walls. “So pretty.” Spider stayed rooted to his spot as he watched his friends explore. He clutched his viperwolf plushie close, feeling his heart start to hammer in his chest. Is daddy still here? Did he leave me behind? Does he just want to get rid of me? His mind raced. His breathing completely stopped. He turned to look down the hall, relief flooding threw him as his eyes met his father’s. Spider started walking towards him, only to be snatched up by Lo’ak.

                “Look at all these toys! If you put together the toys of every kid in the village I don’t think it’d come close to how many toys you have Spider,” Lo’ak said. His friend pulled him down to his play mats. Kiri and Neteyam joined them. Spider’s toy chest was tipped over, scattering his figurines across the floor. The Sully children dove in, instantly coming up with a narrative for their play. Spider sat back and watched, growing more despondent with every passing moment. I can’t hear daddy. Did he leave? Is he here? He was still here when I looked down the hall. Just like he said. But what if he changed his mind? What if he left me. What if he hates me now and wants to get rid of me? What if he wants to send me back to…

                 Spider shot up from his seat and raced down the hall, colliding with his father’s legs. “Daddy…” he called pathetically as his sobs began anew.  

                 Jake looked at father and son in alarm. Miles, already too used to this behavior, scooped Spider up, guiding his son’s head to rest on his shoulder. “Shhhh. I’m here. I’m right here. You're okay. I’m still here.” 

              The Sully children all carefully made their way into the room, moving towards their father for assuredness in this uncomfortable situation. “Come on kids,” Jake said, ushering them out the door, “Spider’s still sick. We need to give him some space and time to recover.”

              The kids all pouted. “Bye Spider. Feel better,” they said in unison.

              With their visitors gone, Miles reassumed his position on the couch. He rubbed Spider’s back, whispering sweet words of comfort that fell on deaf ears.

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            Miles had his son sitting on his knee, facing him. He held Spider’s hands to keep him up right, bouncing him. For the first time since the incident, Spider was smiling and giggling. Quick as a flash Miles leaned in, peppering his son’s cheek in kisses. Spider shrieked happily. There’s my boy, Miles thought. If his son wouldn’t play of his own accord then Miles was going to make him. It was the only way he could think of that would put some life back into his son. 

            He tilted over so that Spider nearly slipped off his lap, only being held up by his father’s grip on his hands. Then Miles scooped Spider up to “fly” him over his head. His son howled in delight. They played like that for a while until Spider was completely breathless from how hard he was giggling. Miles smiled softly as he settled his hysterical son on his lap. “We’re gettin’ close to bedtime. Y’a want me to read you a story?” Spider’s eyes lit up, eagerly nodding yes. Miles chuckled. “Alright. Let’s go pick somethin’ out.” Miles carried Spider into his room. He didn’t even put him down as Spider picked a book off the shelf, silently handing it to his father. Miles couldn’t help but grin at his son’s absolutely perfect pick. Where the Wild Things Are.

            Miles settled into his rocking chair, Spider snuggling into his side. As he read he rocked them both gently, trying to lull his son to sleep. He was halfway through the book when he looked down at his boy to see if he was close to slipping off to dreamland. Instead Miles startled. Spider’s eye were half closed and glazed with sleep, his prized stuffed viperwolf clutched close. But what concerned the father was seeing his son sucking his thumb. Miles played it off like nothing, continuing to read. On the inside though his worries were spiking. Isn't he too old for that? He’s never done that before. Why would he start now?

           Miles finished the book, setting it back on the shelf. Spider seemed sound asleep but Miles knew better. If he even attempted to put his son in his own bed for the night, his boy would surely snap right back to life and riot. Instead he made his way to his room. He gently placed Spider on the bed, tucking him in. Despite the ever growing anxiety over his child Miles couldn’t help but melt a little inside over how cute Spider looked in his sleep. He settled in beside him but did not immediately go to bed. He grabbed his tablet, texting Ja, I think something is seriously wrong with Spider. Will you come by tomorrow?

             He sat in silence for a full two hours before receiving a reply. Of course boss. What are his symptoms?

            I don’t think he’s physically sick. He told me his stomach hurt but he’s eating fine and hasn’t thrown up. But he’s clingy as hell. And I think he wants me to baby him. You know how out of character that is for him.

           It took a few moments for Ja to respond as he carefully thought out his response. Sounds like he’s developed separation anxiety to cope with the trauma of seeing you nearly die. But I’m no child psychologist. I’ll come by tomorrow and talk to him to get a proper diagnosis. Just text me when you're ready for me.

          Thank you Ja.

          Anytime boss.

         Miles sighed deeply as he set aside his tablet. He looked down at his peaceful little boy, who was snuggled with his plushie, a thin line of drool coming out the side of his mouth. Miles couldn’t help smiling at how adorable his son looked. He gently ran his knuckle over Spider’s soft cheek. Separation anxiety. He couldn’t believe his extremely independent boy could ever have such fears but he also couldn’t deny that it made sense with his recent behavior. It’s not a diagnosis. Just relax until tomorrow. 

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           Father and son went through their typical morning routine before Miles messaged Ja. With Spider still refusing to be left alone, Miles readied a pair of noise cancelling headphones so that the adults could speak privately without Spider freaking out. When Ja arrived Miles was sitting on the floor of the living room, his back against the couch. Spider was between his legs, as they played dolls with each other. “Hey boss,” Ja called.

         Spider froze at the entrance of their visitor, his smile slipping. “Hey Ja,” Miles said. “Come sit down.” Ja made his way to the couch. Spider scurried up his father’s torso to tightly wrap his arms around the man’s neck, hiding his face in his shoulder. Miles cringed at the vice grip of a hold. His hand came up to gently rub circles into his son’s back in an attempt to get him to loosen up. Ja’s brow furrowed in concern at the display. Miles sighed, grabbing for the headphone. “Sweetheart, I need to talk to Ja for a bit. And I know our conversation will just be borin’ to y’a. So how ‘bout I slip this on y’a and you listen to some music while we talk.”

          Spider’s eyes widened in fear. “I don’t have to go away do I?”

          Miles petted his hair to reassure him, “no of course not. You can stay right here with me. Just listen to some music while we talk, okay?” Spider nodded. Miles tucked Spider’s hair behind his ears then gingerly slid the headphones on. Miles didn’t want his already on edge son to get overstimulated with anything too loud so he put on some soothing classical, cradling Spider against his chest as the music began. Spider sighed, a soft smile gracing his face. “Testing,” Miles said, “Spider? Can you hear me?” His son gave no indication that he could.

           Ja’s jaw clenched, “you weren’t kidding boss. I barely recognize that poor kid.”

           “I know what y’a mean. I never could’a imagined my boy actin’ like this.”

          Ja nodded. “Let’s talk through this. I’ll remind you that I’m no child physiologist nor am I a pediatrician. But I read through the medical archives last night and I have some ideas. Seeing your near death experience was definitely the trigger. Tell me about any other concerning behavior from the last few days. Big or small. Every little bit of information helps.”  Miles went through it all, the melt downs, the odd behavior, the neediness. Ja listened thoughtfully. When Miles was finished Ja took his time to digest the information. “What do you know about how the McCoskers treated him?”

             “Well it obviously wasn’t good. Jake said they never physically abused him, to his knowledge. But you saw how he was when we first came back. Boy was wild….”

             “Hyper-independ. He was hyper-independ from mental and emotional neglect and abuse. And that must have been normal to him until you took him back.”

             “Yeah. Bein’ with me was a big adjustment for him.”

             “But one he clearly likes.”

              “And the fear of losin’ that again shook him up.”

               “I think there’s more to it than that,” Ja said, “he had to grow up too fast with the McCoskers. But after what happened it seems to me he’s regressing. Maybe it’s for the attention he never got from them. Maybe he’s just making up for lost time on some subconscious level. But it’s all linked to his anxiety.”

               Miles nodded, cold dread washing through him. “So how can I help bring him back?” 

               Ja tapped the screen of his tablet for a moment before turning it towards Miles, “I know you already have a routine down so keep that up. The certainty will help him feel safe. Then you have to talk to him. Get him to open up. Reassure him that everything will be okay. Once he starts to calm down we can try having you spend a little time away from him so he can see that you’ll always come back.” Miles nodded, listening while reading the material given to him. 

             Spider started squirming, clearly done with not having his father’s attention. He swiped his headphones off, then patted Miles’s face, “Daddy….”

             Miles sighed, adjusting his hold, “what, sunshine?”

             Spider laid his head on his father’s shoulder. “I don’t feel good.”

             “Your stomach again?” Spider nodded pathetically. “Well we have a doctor right here. How ‘bout he takes a look at y’a?” Spider cringed, hiding his face in his father’s neck. Miles gave another bone weary sigh. He placed his hand over his son’s ear, gently pressing the other one onto his shoulder.

              “He’s just anxious,” Ja said quietly. “I should probably go so he can calm down.”

               Ja rose to leave but Miles still had one more thing to say. “Before y’a go I wanted to ask, how are y’a doin’? Y’a know, after what happened….”  

               Ja smiled sadly. “I’m not bad. It felt good to finally release everything I’d been holding in for months now. Mo’at and I talked after I tamed my ikran. She offered to teach me the medical practices of the Na’vi. We’re going to start after dream hunt…..”

              “So why don’t y’a seem happy?”

               Ja shrugged. “It’s bitter sweet. Leaving my old life completely behind. Half the squad basically excommunicated me…..”

               “Led by Lyle?”

               Ja nodded. “Yeah. I’m not welcome in our barracks anymore. But I’m still not welcome in the village either. I’ve been living in the old avatar bungalow.”

               Miles solemnly took this is. “Dispite the bad, are you happy with your choice?”

               Ja gave a legitimate soft smile. “I am. I had nothing on Earth. No family. No real friends. I joined the military because it was either that or put a bullet in my brain. I never wanted to hurt anyone though. That’s why I became a medic. But…..” tears started sparkling in his eyes, “I’ve killed a lot of people Cap. Innocent people. And for what? So the R.D.A could make more money? I was numb to all the violence by the time I got here. But not anymore. I want to help the people I’ve hurt. I want to actually do something good with my life.”

             Miles couldn’t help his own sad smile from forming. “If that’s how y’a feel then that’s how y’a feel. Nothing wrong with it.”

              Ja looked relieved, “thanks Cap.”

              Spider began to squirm again, “Daddy,” he screamed, clearly nearing a tantrum if he didn’t start receiving the attention he craved.

              “I’m gonna head out,” Ja said, “I’m a phone call away if you need anything.”

              “Thank you Ja.” With a final smile and wave Ja left. 

               Miles pried his son off his shoulder, holding him out at arms length. “Spider,” he said sternly. Spider’s bottom lip quivered. “That was very naughty young man. Ja and I needed to talk. You were right here with me the whole time. Why couldn’t you just sit quietly for a minute?”

              Tears started shimmering in Spider’s eyes, his breath hitching. “Don’t be mad at me!”

              “I’m not mad at you. I’m worried about y’a. You’ve never acted like this before.”

              “I don’t feel good,” Spider whimpered pathetically.

              “But how? Because I know you're not sick.”

               Spider burst into tears. “But my tummy hurts and my heart’s beating really fast and I feel like I can’t breathe! I don’t feel good! I don’t feel good Daddy!”

               Miles’ heart cleaved in two as he took in the image of his distraught child. His stripes had almost completely faded. He looked pale, tears and snot running down his face. His shiny ringlets hung loose and wild around his shoulders. He looked so small and vulnerable. How could anyone ever even think of hurting him this bad.  “Shh…” Miles coaxed gently as he pulled Spider back in. “You're safe with me. Just take deep breaths.” Miles wiped Spider’s face clean. “Come on now. Copy me. In….” He inhaled deeply, “….out,” his exhale was long and drawn out. Spider mimicked him. They kept it up until Spider was calm again. “There y’a go. That’s my boy.”

            Spider slumped against him. “I don’t like this Daddy.”

            Miles petted his hair, tucking his son under his chin. “I know y’a don’t. But I’m gonna help y’a feel better. Just rest right now. When y’a feel a little bit better we’ll talk, okay?”

            “Okay,” Spider mumbled miserably, snuggling closer.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

              The stress of the morning had Spider taking his mid day nap at only eleven in the morning. Miles was thankful for it. He placed Spider on a heated blanket and pulled up the sound of a heart beat on his tablet in the hopes that he could trick Spider into thinking he was still being held. It gave him a brief reprieve to get their lives in order. He took a quick shower, then set to work tidying up the house before he prepped some meals for the next few days. During some down time in his cooking he checked his emails, more out of boredom than anything. To his surprise he had a message from Norm Spellman. It read, we started an investigation on the McCoskers. Message me when you're free so we can discuss in person.

             Miles wasted no time typing back, Spider is asleep. Come right now but be quiet. The door will be unlocked. Ten minutes later Norm was standing in his doorway. Miles quickly pushed him back into the hallway then shut the door. “Talk fast because Spider won’t be asleep for much longer.”

           “We’re going to be hooking Nash up to a lie detector and question him on how he raised Spider.”

          “What about his wife?”

          “She’s about to have her baby any day now. It wouldn’t be right to cause her stress by interrogating her.”

           “No, abusing a child isn’t right!”

            Norm held his hands up to placate him. “I know. But it’s going to be hard enough to get Nash to compile with us. We need to give him something….”

            Miles waved him off, “alright I get it. And when y’a find him guilty what will the punishment be?”

            Norm cringed, “we haven’t quite figured that out yet….”

           The reaction made Miles instantly enraged, “because you won’t punish him.”

           “Now hold on….”

           “What could you do? Arrest them? Put ‘em in jail? Send’em back to Earth? Or hell you could take their kid away but then who would raise it? Cause people sure as hell didn’t want my kid!”

          “I know you want justice for Spider. But if we can’t give you that at least we can give you the knowledge of what happened. That way Spider can work through it and heal….”

          On the other side of the door the sounds of sobbing erupted like an explosion. Miles rushed back inside, “shh, shh, shh, I’m here. I’m right here. I just stepped outside for a minute.”

          “No, no, no,” Spider moaned miserably. Miles scooped him up, holding him tight against his chest. Norm stood in the doorway, seemingly shellshocked by the display. Spider’s cries dimmed slightly as his father rocked him gently, whispering words of comfort into his ear. And then he looked up, his eyes falling on Norm. His breath completely stopped for a moment before his face crumbled, his sobs and screaming beginning anew with doubled intensity. “No! No! No! I don’t wanna go! I don’t wanna go back! No! No! No!” 

           Norm felt his heart sink. He loved Spider. Thought of the boy like a nephew. He’d chased him around the labs as a toddler. Made sure he always left with a mask. Patiently answered every curious question the kid had ever bombarded him with. And at the end of the day when Spider would start a game of “hide and seek”, or would stubbornly refuse to come inside, or asked to get one more hour of play time all to avoid going back the McCoskers, Norm would brush it off as Spider being a willful, playful child, pick him up and drag him back to his foster parents. The innocent acts now made bile rise to his throat. 

          Miles turned to glare at Norm, “just get out! You’re makin’ him worse!”

          Norm jolted, rushing to compile, “I’ll keep you updated!”

          “You better!”