Avatar Rose: Justice

Ch.08: The Follower

Nathan's POV

Rose pulls me out of the cell and walks a couple steps down a hallway before kicking out a window, watching a little amused as the glass tumbles down the side of the wall passing 5 floors, scratching at the metal exterior as it goes. She places a hand on the platinum jail bars and then heats her hand up. The metal droops , and then falls limp to the side.

"Well, that's one way to do it," I mumble.

She offers me a hand. "Tough critic," she remarks, pulling me through and over the windowsill. She softens our fall with airbending. She's full of energy, though her eyes remain almost blank, with a bored, no not bored. How can I say it? She has this lifeless look in her eyes. As if she's been through a lot and kept too many memories to herself.

"Are you sure we can do this?" I ask unsurely as we stand up. The field is wide, cluttered with a weed that looks like wheat. Rope-like vines crawl along the ground just waiting for people to trip while purple and yellow wildflowers polka-dot the grass. There's a single, tall tree in the corner, leaning up against a large fence about 70 metres away and it sways with the wind, creating a beautiful mover against the blue sky.

"I'm in control now," Rose says,with a little shrug. "If we want to go outside, we g-" she suddenly stops in the middle of her sentence, quickly clutching her left eye. She grits her teeth. Apprehensively, she takes her hands off and continues her sentence, "we go outside. No-one has the right to stop us. I'm powerful now." It's only for a second, but I see her eye flash purple for a tiny moment, before reverting to her regular red.

She's right. No guards come outside to stop us. For hours, we talk, we sleep, we spar. It's like the olden days, but now it feels more out of obligation for being reunited than for actual enjoyment. We eventually go back inside and eat, but it's plain military food- peas, potatoes, corn, bread and bean. It wasn't like peaches or ice cream. In the mess hall, people constantly look at us from the corner of their eyes, glancing down guiltily when we catch them. Aside of that, the room flows with chatter and laughter. The majority of the people here are teenagers. There's a couple of adults here and there who seem to keep to themselves, and in the corner, there's a young boy with pale eyes. He looks very, very young. 12 years old at the most. All of them wear grey uniforms- black shirts and light grey pants with a flowing cloak that stretches just above the ankles. Rose was wearing a black cloak- a little like the one she wore when we were in the Fire Nation, before Evan took us as prisoners. They probably tried to suit her up in a red cloak, and I can only imagine the tantrum she threw. Gwen always wore a pale blue cloak when she came to visit, so it must be fit to your bending element or your nation.  In any case, I'm still wearing the white clothes they gave me when they put me in isolation. They're still stained with blood smears from the interrogation. On that thought, it's no wonder everyone's looking at me oddly. I must look like a serial killer.

I stand up in the middle of the hall and clap my hands twice. "Hello everyone," I blabber casually "I'd just like to clear up the smelly gas and say straight up that I'm not a serial killer or anything, I just look like one. Thank you for attention! Carry on!" I sit right back down.

Rose looks at me like I have a ass for a head. "What the hell was that?"

"What?"

She groans. "I never want to be put in isolation, if this is the result."

"Nathan! Rose!"

I turn my head. "Liesel!"

She beams. "I've missed you both so much!" She runs over, gives me bear hug and then gives a quick squeeze to Rose, who lets out the tiniest of smiles. She's like a pillar of light. In the sea of grey uniforms, her yellow one serves like a marvellous beacon. Her red hair sits wavy on her shoulders. Xander wanders in a little after her. "Nathan! My man!"

"Xander."

He gives me the up and down. "You know," he finally says. "I know it's July and all, but I still think it's too early to be thinking of halloween costumes. And why a serial killer, of all things?"

His comment hits me like a slap.

"Be a polar bear- no wait- be aurora borealis! Y'know? You must've seen them all the time!"

"I spent most of my water time in the South, so nah. And I ain't thinking about hal-"

"Rowan!" Xander calls over his shoulder, paying no attention to my protests whatsoever. "Get on over here! Check out Nathan's halloween costume!"

Oh Raava.