Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 22 - Far Too Familiar

"Shift, we're going to get ahead of it, see if we can't hit this slug from both sides. Zoe, Talia — stay behind, keep separating anything it leaves behind."

There was a hesitancy to the way the Red now stood that hadn't been there earlier. "You cut through my Red?"

No, it wasn't hesitation — it was more like curiosity.

"Like a knife through warm butter." Athira's gaze flicked to the tall Blue and the potential Purple, who'd somehow freed themselves from the binders and now stood on the sidelines, watching. She jerked her head towards them. "What about you two? Usually this is the part where the bad guys either try to run away or gang up on me."

"We're simply observing," said the tall Blue.

"What, like you were observing Zoe?" said Athira, coiling the Black around her arm. "Why are you interested in her?"

"That does not concern you."

"Oh, but it does," said Athira, offering them a thin smile — the kind that had often made the Underground reconsider their words. "Because if you touch her, you deal with me."

The Red circled behind her. "And who are you, exactly?"

"Her little sister."

This time, it was Athira that attacked first.

She launched herself at Red, slicing Black through the shield he shaped and breaking it open with her knee. He grabbed her leg, attempting to slam her against the wall and receiving the shock of his life when she instead pushed off it and used the momentum to drive her fist into his throat. Her strike missed, catching his shoulder instead, and as Athira's boots touched the floor, she found herself engaged in an all too familiar dance.

How many times had she sparred with Trian and the others exactly like this, snow swirling around her, freezing her throat until every breath felt like a knife? It hadn't taken her long to learn their moves, to anticipate their strikes. Failure had meant pain — both in blood and bruises that would haunt her for days every time she moved.

She'd been so desperate to avoid that pain then.

If only she'd known how much of it waited for her.

Athira could almost taste the snow as she and Red ducked and wove around each other's blows in the underground shopping mall, both managing to land a few glancing hits on the other. She'd known then how her opponents would move, just as she knew how Red would move now.

They both attempted to knock the other off balance with their Colour — he with his shaped Red, her with the tendrils of Black — with minimal success. They both knew the rhythm of this dance, and annoyingly enough, Athira had to admit he was good — which was why she decided to break the routine using something she'd learned from Zoe.

The next time Red's fist came for her, Athira stepped back. She reached out a hand, shooting a tendril forward that Red easily sidestepped.

"You missed," he said, closing the distance to take the 'opening' she'd left.

"Did I?" replied Athira, right as her tendril returned and smashed the melon it'd acquired from the store behind them directly over Red's head.

The melon exploded with a gloriously wet-sounding splat that sent bits of orange, juicy flesh flying in every direction. Red, for his part, somehow stayed on his feet, but the melon had done its job, dazing him for the few, vital seconds Athira needed to rip off his mask.

The person beneath the mask didn't look much older than she was. He was clean-shaven, with dark hair cropped close to his head and eyes that looked as empty as Athira often felt when she occasionally caught her reflection on a window.