26 Grace III

Several minutes later, Trudy's voice came over the hull loudspeaker, informing Grace that they were arriving at their destination.

Grace, anxious about what might await her on her way to the jungle, watched out the window as the ship descended, while the wildlife was driven away by the rotor noise.

When the ship was fully landed, Grace grabbed her rucksack and strapped it to her back, then climbed out of the ship.

Trudy, who had not turned off the ship's engine, shouted out the window next to her to Grace.

"You better get your blue ass in a safe place, so you can get out of the coffin you're sleeping in, and explain to Quaritch why I brought you into this area without authorization!"

"Don't worry, I'll take all the blame, besides, what would I do, lock myself in my room?" replied Grace, then waved goodbye to Trudy and walked off into the jungle.

With her eyes straight ahead, Grace kept walking, while listening to the ship take off in the distance.

Once the rotor noise was no longer heard, peace returned to the jungle, the branches and leaves of the large trees once again swayed in the wind, just as the sound of insects and rodents could be heard again.

This was what Grace loved, this peace, a forgotten term for where she came from, here, in the heart of Pandora's jungle, far from all human activity, she felt free again, pity she woke up later in the genesis chamber and discovered she had to remain human.

But it was no time to be distracted, so Grace began to monitor her perimeter, although the console she was using was being interfered with by the magnetic field, it was still able to sense sources of heat and movement.

With that, Grace was able to move forward knowing that so far there would be no animal stalking her, or a Na'Vi.

With that reassurance, Grace walked confidently through the jungle, occasionally bending down to look at a flower or two, and then spotting an insect.

It was so curious about a Shimmifly, a butterfly-like creature, that Grace forgot for a moment to check her console again.

It was only when she looked up, that she saw that in front of her, a large creature was watching her.

A large beast, resembling a cobra, only perhaps 20 meters in length, was watching her.

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The... snake, black, with brown and green spots, was well camouflaged under the water of a river, with the upper half of its body out of the water, on its head was a shield protecting it, while three pairs of large eyes watched it.

Grace, without the fear or dread she should feel when confronted with such a creature, was rather anxious, and how could she not be if such a specimen had never been discovered before?

Of course, many animals on Pandora were still being discovered every day, but the fact that one similar to the snakes on Earth, only on a much larger scale, was living only three hours from the base, excited Grace greatly.

Still, common sense won out over Grace's impulse to approach the specimen to investigate it, and instead, she decided to move away from it.

The giant snake, perhaps not feeling threatened, once again laid its huge head back against the ground, then closed its eyes, but occasionally letting two long tongues out of its mouth, which it wiggled in and out again.

Grace, from her slightly distant place, continued to watch the snake, while taking pictures with her console.

"Two long tongues"

"Three pairs of eyes"

"Three pairs of neural tails."

From time to time, Grace thought aloud, as she continued to look at the snake's features, especially being in awe of the three pairs of neural tails it had. Since so far, the maximum number of limbs was two, besides the fact that the snake could flatten its neural tails on its body, making them go unnoticed, this opened up a new scientific avenue for her.

Having cataloged enough, Grace set out on her way, as it was getting dark, and she had to find a safe place to sleep.

But just then, she saw them.

Two forms, in the distance, were feline, like two cats, only about three feet tall and perhaps three feet long. Grace, forgetting her target, moved no further, but continued to watch the two creatures.

The big cat-like animals, much like mountain lions, were playing with each other as they leaped over the roots of the trees.

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The felines were of a unique design, as they had six limbs, which was not uncommon on Pandora, thanks to the low gravity, the animals had evolved, resulting in many having more than four legs, as they were better able to move around in the low gravity environment.

What was strange, however, were the two tentacle-like limbs on their backs, which ended in two boils filled with long, sharp spikes.

If that wasn't enough, the color of their bodies was black, with blue speckles, and yellow eyes, which seemed to glow.

In addition, they gave off a kind of black, mist-like afterglow when they moved. Something that dismayed Grace quite a bit.

At that moment, a branch snapped under Grace's foot, alerting the strange felines, who immediately turned to look in the direction of the noise.

Just then, the two felines changed their physique, as if they had transformed, their once bluish fur color changed to black with green, while their eyes turned red, and I would even bet Grace that they grew at least a meter.

Grace, knowing that the change in the two beasts did not bode well, began to run, being followed by the two strange creatures, which were leaving a black trail in their wake.