Avatar Rose: Justice

Ch.22: She and I

I feel her breath hot on my shoulder.

Rose...

But I can't answer that.

I don't say a word. My grip on her only tightens. I don't want to lose her. Not to war. Not to pride. Not to my carelessness. Not to my stupidness. I don't want to lose her to any of those things.

Especially not to herself. No, that's wrong. Especially not to her shadows.

Gwen's fallen to the ground too, probably fell unconscious to simply excitement. I bloodbend her body up and walk it over to Rowan, let him take care of her.

"Nathan?"

Wow, she's still awake?

"What is it, Rose?"

"I can really go for some food right now," she rambles. I wipe a string of saliva out of the corner of her mouth. Those drugs are really messing her up.

And without thinking, I laugh, just a little. And ruffle her hair. "You're a mess, Rosey Posey."

"And you're not?" She yawns.

"Ya got me."

To be honest, we're both slathered with scarlett blood that had since gone crusty like stale bread. Rose's elegant jet black cloak now glows a warm maroon. I'm drenched in water too, so my hair is black instead of it's usual dark brown. Bodies are strewn all about us, and some buildings are completely destroyed.

"Wait. Nathan, did you just call me Rosey Posey?"

"Sorry."

"Asshole."

I take her back to her room and lay her in bed. I take some water and silently heal her. Not that she needs healing, it's mainly for scrubbing off the blood from her skin. And I want to keep close to her. I want to be there for her. I feel like I failed that over this past year. Maybe it's my fault that she's unravelling like this.

Rose doesn't look at me, nor does she  talk. The drug's influence has worn off, faster than I expected. Her amber eyes dig into the ceiling. She says a sentence.

"One victory for our side. That outcome was obvious though."

I can never figure her out.

She's not saying anything, but I can tell that she's exhausted.

I sigh. "You need food?"

She pauses. "Sure. Get me something small." No other part of her body moves as she talks besides her lips. It sounds weird but it makes her look child-like.

I stiffle a chuckle. It's kinda cute, actually. "I'm gonna bring Xander over, he needs to take a look at your leg and arm. It's been forever since you last had a check-up, right?"

"Sure, yeah."

There it is again.

I grin, tying my cloak. "Wait for me, I'll be back in a minute."