Avatar Rose: Dusk

Ch.52: Nathan

I hated him at first, let me set that bar straight. But after a little while, I think I warmed up to Xander. He's complete opposite from me and Evan. He's closest to Rowan, but he offsets a different vibe. To be put straight, he's a hippy. He seems to see the good in everything, and he barely seems negative.

Maybe some of the peaceful airbending crap rubbed off of him.

I'm going to try to learn from my mistakes of hating every single person who might for the slightest chance have a crush on Rose, so until I get more hard evidence I'm not going to hate his guts. Evan has already started though. I can sense him purposely making the blood in Xander's brain swish more than usual. Combat-wise, blondie seems to be capable with a war hammer, I guess because it resembles most the hammers he tinkers with at home. I just hope he doesen't drag us down before we get on the battlefield. I think I'm gonna have him fight Gwen to test his abilities.

"NATHAN! NATHAN!" Gwen's voice snaps me out of my daydream. "I've captured a filthy bandit trying to rob the house. I've put him through the head-to-toe paralysis technique, so I just need to know what to do with him now!"

Shoot. Don't tell me...

"Where is he, let me see him," I say quickly.

Oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot oh-

SHIT

I reach in and grip his finger capillaries. Thank goodness, there's still blood circulating. "Unfreeze him, Gwen. Right now."

"Pardon me?"

"He's the newest addition to our team!"

Gwen frowns. "He's so weak," she says as she waves her hand, and the water falls to the floor. She locks it all in her satchel. "Once we get to the battlefield, he's dead meat. What kind of bender even is he?"

"None," I reply meekly. "He's a battle hammer guy and mechanic for Rose."

"Then at least he'll die in 15 seconds," Gwen remarks stiffly, "instead of .2 ."

As she walks away, I can picture Evan's face smirking at me with pride. "Bitch," he's saying. Ugh.

I set him down on the couch, run for a hot towels, and lay them on his chest and forehead. I personally have been victim to Gwen's brutal techniques. As kind as she looks, she's not one to show mercy in battle. I apply ointment to Xander's speared hands and feet. Head-to-toe paralysis involves sticking little icicle needles all over one's skin. The ones in the hands and feet graze the bone. The recovery process takes no time at all, but Xander passes out from the amount of pain. When trapped in that technique, it feels like one is on fire.

"Nathan!" I hear another voice call. It's higher, sounds lighter and more free than Gwen's or Rose's.

"Liesel!" I call. "I'm over here!"

Her head peeps into the living room a couple moments later, and then she covers her mouth with her hand as she sees her brother whose a pink colour from the cold, and very bloody due to the needles.

"ALEXANDER!" she gasps, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!?"

My eyes go wide. "Liesel, quiet down he's fine. A member of the group mistook him for an intruder, and this is the end result."

Liesel looks at me blankly.

I sigh. "I've all ready treated his wounds," I continue, "but know that no matter how horrible he looks he'll heal in 6 hours and it's not life-threatening."

After a bit, she seems to snap back into groove. Gwen made some raspberry lemonade earlier, I get her a drink of that and she sips it quietly, sitting poised on a bench like a squirrel ready to scamper off if any inch of danger reveals itself.

"I guess it's about time we get to details," Liesel finally remarks, tearing through the awkward silence. "What is our team's ability? What's our goal? And," she pauses, "if it's possible, I'd like to know what happened at Ganshan."

I stare at the ceiling, then look and make eye contact with Liesel. "Our team is practically invincible," I begin. "With you and Xander, we have 7 people. 1 earthbender, 3 waterbenders, 1 airbender, 1 battle hammer wielder, and one Avatar. To be frank, I'm not sure of the earthbender's abilities, but the waterbenders are practically elite. Gwen, the one who did that to your brother, is a waterbending prodigy capable of taking down anyone. Evan and I are bloodbenders who can operate in plain sunlight. Rose's strong elements are air and fire, but she's capable in all areas, but has only used the Avatar State once."

Liesel nods. "That sounds great. I can't wait to meet everyone," she murmurs. "What's your goal?"

"We have three," I say. "To end the war, kill the Firelord, and restore peace to the Fire Nation. We'll probably put Rose on the throne in the process."

"And what about Ganshen."

"Well... it's a long story, but in short, Rose and I were captured, I almost died on multiple occasions, and Rose was injected with this serum that made her do everything that the Fire Lord told her to do." I take a little pause. "Ganshan was no exception. They kept me hostage and dragged me along. Rose slipped into the Avatar State and killed a lot of people. I only barely got her out of it. We fled to the South Pole, and then Rose ran away and we found ourselves here."

Liesel stares at the ground. "I see what you mean about needing a spiritual expert. If Rose goes into that state again..." she drifts off. Shaking her head, she clicks her tongue. "Speaking of Rose, she's just meditating. She's a little fidgety, but she's really finding the hang of it I think," she adds cheerily.

I see another idea pass her eyes, and she opens her mouth a tiny bit as if to say something, but the movement almost goes unseen and she closes her mouth.

"I'm going to get Xander in the creek out back for a healing session," I say.

Liesel nods. "Rose is out there as well."

"Perfect," I say, "I'll get her some lemonade. She's been meditating for an hour now, so she must be getting tired." I add in a lower voice, "To be frank, I don't know how she's doing it."

"Great," Liesel chimes with a radiant smile. "I'll help you."

While I carry Xander to the small creek outside, Liesel carries the lemonade. I diced some oranges and put them in the glass, just how Rose likes it.

The creek is almost like a hot tub: it has warm water, and rock has been earthbended to be in bench-like formations inside the water. I can tell that Xander will return to consciousness soon, so I place him gently on the soft grass. "He'll wake up soon," I tell Liesel. "Could you just gently rouse him and talk to him? Gwen's technique is pretty painful. It'll be good for him to see a familiar face."

Liesel nods. "Okay, what should I do with this lemonade?"

I hold my hand out. "I'll give it to Rose."

She smiles, and then hands it over. She seems a little hesitant. Must be my imagination.

I walk to Rose, who's meditating peacefully on the other side of the backyard. Her golden hair, which is down and unbraided, seems to dance in the summer breeze. "Rose," I say softly. "Brought something for you..."

She doesn't respond.

I tap her on the shoulder. "Rose?"

No response.

"Rose, I have lemonade for you, just how you like it!"

Nope.

My hands gently shake her shoulders. "Rose?" I say nervously. My hands begin to sweat.

Nada.

"Rose, it's not funny!" I start to her upper body faster, and my brain, panicked, starts to run feverishly in little circles.

None.

Now freaked, my hand finds itself slapping cleanly across her face. "Rose! Answer me!"

Nothing.