Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 42 - Coping Mechanisms

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Chapter 42 - Coping Mechanisms

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Portal.

The word hit Athira harder than it should have. 

She dropped Shift's hand and stepped back, arms pressed to her chest as she held herself together. 

A portal. That's all she was. When the Titan's language examined her essence and stripped her down to a word, she was nothing more than that. The thing that would bring Rathe to Thols and let the reign of his Kingdom begin. A tunnel of channeled destruction. 

Her hands were trembling against her. With every vibration, Athira's hatred of the black colour lining her veins grew more than ever. It didn't seem to care what she thought of it, continuing to flicker lazily out past her skin on its own volition. 

With the knuckles of her other hand, she scraped them across her palm, trying to bury the colour out of sight but it didn't work. It never worked. Especially not now that everything was coming loose, breaking down any semblance of control she'd ever achieved to sweep her away on a tide of destruction. 

Athira threw her hands away from her, eyes to the ceiling to avoid looking at them. Even out of sight, she wanted them away, pushing them as far to the ground as she could without actually dislocating her joints. 

Something else, Thira, said Talon. Deep breaths. Look at something else. 

She tried to follow his advice, her eyes naturally gravitating to Shift. 

He still hadn't moved, more distraught than she'd ever seen him though nothing leaked past his marred features. She kept glancing at him, half expecting, half hoping that he'd look up and smile.  Tell her it didn't mean anything, that they'd find a way around it, keep trying no matter what, just like he had in the shower at the hospital, like he had after being told by Raph she might be the Herald. He'd somehow convinced her there was hope in a place everyone else said there was none. 

The silence continued, and somehow, it was worse than any prophecy or book she'd ever found. 

He believes it, she realised. These runes are unchangeable. 

Athira lowered herself down to the floor, having curled her legs under her at some point trying to evade her colour. She wanted to drop to the ground, meditate and fall into her mindscape to demand answers from Rathe itself. 

She was on the verge of doing just that when she closed her eyes, unable to find the will to keep them open any longer. What's the point? 

The point is that there's no reason to give up, said Talon. It's one word. We've had worse than that against us this whole time and this is the stone that crumbles the tower? 

It wasn't much to go on. This was just validating every other scrap of dooming information. 

One word that marks destiny, she said. One permanent word. 

That has no context, no meaning, said Talon. The confidence in his voice was undermined by his feelings, and he knew it. She could feel him grasping at any thread of logic he could create. You're assuming a lot from one word, is all I'm saying.

Reader was still casually leaning against the wall, working his fingers over the blisters on his hand as he periodically glanced between Athira and Shift. 

"Interesting, isn't it?" he said. "Most other people, you'd expect some form of denial. Anger, maybe. Athira, though? Acceptance." 

Shift looked up. "I think it'd be pretty interesting to see your reaction to your own marking, Reader." Athira watched Shift's eyes study Reader's chest, a small smirk lifting the corners of his mouth as he blinked and snorted in laughter. "Interesting indeed."