Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 39 - Two in One

Dedicated to strawberryxoxo123 for amazing detective work.

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Chapter 39 - Two in One

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Athira squeezed her fingers inside the cuffs. 

Spectrum? Me? 

She pressed her lips together. Stop it. Your colour has always been black, idiot, even before the merge. Rathe's always been there. That's what Trian told you. That's why he had your colour bound, because you couldn't control it. The merge didn't do anything except almost get everyone near you killed so stop turning it into an excuse. 

The door slid open once more. Athira was too caught up in her thoughts to care who it was. 

You're not a light. You're a shadow lurking at their edges. 

Karma stood and moved to greet the newcomer. "Pyha, what is it?" 

The name caught Athira's interest and she spared them a glance.  

The older male Elite that'd been with Karma and Discord at Indigo base stood in the doorway. He handed Karma a glowing aqua rune in silence. Karma closed her fist over it, squeezing blue light through her fingers that when opened again a second later, were revealed empty. 

"Ah," she said, rubbing the residues of colour from her fingers. "I see. This makes things infinitely more interesting."

"You could say that," said Pyha indifferently. "I'm still fascinated with this whole situation to be honest. Even the rainbow stalking can't keep my attention from it."

With that, he walked away, door closing smoothly after him. 

Karma returned to Athira. She moved behind her chair, elegant fingers caressing the back of its metal frame. 

She stood there so long, doing nothing but studying Athira's face with an expression she couldn't read that Athira felt inclined to give her a nudge. 

"Care to share?" she asked.

"Care to share indeed," said Karma, pursing her lips. She regarded Athira like she'd just sprouted a horn. "The words from your mantra, may I ask where they're from?" 

Red flags went up at the tone in her voice. 

"I don't remember," lied Athira. 

Karma leaned forward. "I think you do." She paused for a second and Athira's heart stopped with her. "I seem to recall you telling your friends as much not too long ago, if I'm correct? And before that, how you've already spent your entire life dedicated to preventing him breaking through, anointed yourself a guardian one could say?" Karma tilted her head. "So, what do you know about him, exactly?" 

"Why the hell would I know anything about Rathe?" said Athira. "Aren't the Wardens supposed to know everything about him already?" 

The Warden folded her arms, one corner of her lips raising above the other. "I don't believe I've said his name once, Athira. Why indeed would you know anything about Rathe?"

Athira froze. "I--"

"Care to share," said Karma slowly, "how you came by such information so early in your life? You seem to know a lot more than we ever suspected about this situation."

Athira went on the defensive. She was already caught with her leg in the jaws of a bear trap, it was time to convince the bear she wasn't worth the effort. "Rather not, to be honest." 

Karma sighed. "This can be easy, or it can be difficult, Athira."

"I'm good at being difficult. You can see it several times in your video, like when your Edges needed gas to take me seven on one."