Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 23 - Nightmares

"They were supposed to last forever," she muttered. "The one thing I'd never have to worry about, and now — I just..." She took a shaky breath. "I don't know, Shift."

"Can I see?" asked Shift, sliding a little closer. Athira, albeit reluctantly, moved her hand out of the way as he looked them over. "Whoever scribed these knew what they were doing. They've spread the damage evenly while keeping it away from the core of the rune, so the runes themselves are still perfectly functional."

Athira glanced at him. "You can read runes?"

"Like a pro," said Shift, flashing her a quick smile. "Blue is one of my highest affinity Colours. I'm considered an Etcher when I shift it — I just hate doing it."

"Why do you hate it if you're that good at it?"

"Personal reasons," said Shift. He frowned as he studied the runes a little more. He'd assumed Athira's runes had to be something special since they withstood her Black, but this was something else entirely. "I could try to shift some Blue off Talia tomorrow and see if I can fix anything, but these look really complicated. It might take some research. Do you know the specifics of what they do?"

Athira's hands covered her arms once more. "Enough to know that if they come off, it's not going to be good."

Shift took the hint and dropped the issue. He sat beside her, leaning his back against the wall. "How'd you end up on the floor, anyway?"

Athira sighed, drawing her knees a little closer to her chest. "Rathe was... loud."

"Loud?"

She tensed, hugging her arms tight around her legs. "Usually he's settled by now, but when I destroyed the Sleeper, he went into overdrive. I was going through my routine to try and shut him up, and at some point, it all got too much and I ended up down here." She leaned her head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. "Talon's doing what he can, but it's just... it's just a lot right now."

Shift noted the dark circles beneath her thousand-yard stare. "When was the last time you slept?"

Athira lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted attempt at a shrug. "I've been getting an hour or two every night."

"That is a nap," said Shift. "Not a sleep."

"I can't sleep," she muttered. "Not when Rathe's like this." Her fingers threaded through her hair, pulling at it. "Every time I close my eyes, it's just one nightmare after another."

"Y'know, I used to get some pretty bad nightmares," said Shift. "It helped me to tell someone about them. Once they were out of my head, they felt a lot less believable."

"What," said Athira. "Were yours about your favourite noodle shop closing down? Or maybe a fan site got another embarrassing photo of you — I can't imagine the horror."

Shift elbowed her gently. "Excuse me, but if that noodle shop closes down, we're doomed to bland noodles forever unless we pay twice the delivery fee. What nightmare could possibly be worse than that?"

Athira didn't reply, continuing to stare into the shadows on the other side of the room.

"You don't have to tell me anything," said Shift. "If you want me to leave, just say the word, but if you want to talk..."

He trailed off, leaving the decision to her.

"They aren't... just nightmares," she said, hesitating. "They're Rathe's way of showing me exactly what he'll do to Zoe — to you." She pressed her face so hard into her hands that her arms shook, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "He couldn't threaten Zoe when I thought she was dead, but now — now it's worse than it ever was before." Her nails dug into her forehead, scraping against her skin. "It never stops, it's just— just—"