Avatar: The Return of The Songbirds

Chapter Thirty-Six - I Love You

Once the group had settled into their new housing for the night, they quickly finished dinner and retired to bed, but Chris was unable to sleep. Every time he would close his eyes, an image of the general locating him would play against his eyelids. There was a feeling of danger that he couldn't shake away. "Dammit!" Chris hissed to himself. He lazily sat up, and rubbed his eyes aggressively before standing to his feet. Chris quietly made his way through his sleeping friends and began climbing to a branch that protruded a fairly long distance away from the rest of the group. He slowly made his way down to the end of it, making sure not to misplace his steps, for fear of falling out of the tree. Once he reached the end Chris took a seat and hung his legs over the side. He just sat there, lost in his thoughts for a while.

"Chris?" Vialo's voice came as a whisper in the wild that brought Chris out of his nerve induced stress.

"Vialo...what are you doing up?" Chris asked with a wide smile, as he reached his hand out to her so she wouldn't fall. Vialo simply chuckled, reciprocating Chris's gesture.

"I could not sleep." Vialo confessed. "This is the first time I've left my home in ten years." She continued, looking out into the night sky. "I feel nervous, but also very relieved." Vialo giggled, looking back at Chris. "I know you are worried." Vialo proclaimed, placing her hand on top of Chris's. "I know you fear that you will bring danger to us, but they cannot find you...not anymore." Vialo reassured him. "You are safe and so are we." Vialo smiled. "Truthfully, you three are, how did Nick put it?" Vialo laughed. "Guardian angel?" She asked, looking into Chris's eyes.

Chris couldn't help but stare at Vialo for a moment, unable to find any words. There was something about this moment. Maybe it was the way the night sky was shining down on her, or how the forest around then was perfectly reflected in her eyes. But it was almost as if the world had stopped spinning for only a second, and all Chris could see was how beautiful Vialo looked. "Ya...yes a guardian angel." Chris replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Vialo looked at Chris for a moment before letting out a light chuckle. "What is a guardian angel?" Vialo questioned, curiosity filling her voice.

"Well a guardian is a protector." Chris began as looked out at the bioluminescent forest in front of them.

"What about an angel?" Vialo continued eagerly.

Chris let out a content sigh, before looking over at Vialo. "Where I'm from we have something similar to Eywa, they are different in many ways, but they are also very similar." Chris began.

"Similar?" Vialo questioned, as her head tilted to the right ever so slightly. "I do not understand." Vialo confessed with a confused smile.

"We called him God." Chris stated with a grin. "God to us is Eywa to you." Chris chuckled.

"God?" Vialo giggled. "That is an interesting name." She exclaimed.

"It is, isn't it." Chris agreed.

"So, what does an angel mean to your god?" Vialo continued.

"An angel is a child of god. Someone who watches over his creations and keeps them safe. They are beautiful, kind and wise." Chris stated sweetly.

"I see, so a guardian angel is a child of...God that was sent to protect?" Vialo repeated, hoping she understood correctly.

"Yes, that's what a guardian angel is." Chris replied with a wild smile.

"I see, that is beautiful." Vialo smiled. Chris couldn't find anything else to say. He felt his heart begin to race in his chest, and it was getting harder and harder to control it. Vialo let out a happy sigh, and gently laid her head onto Chris's shoulder, which caused him to tense up a bit. She stayed still and quiet for a little while, taking in the moment, as she felt Chris relax little by little into her gesture. "Hey Chris, can I ask you something?" Vialo uttered softly.