Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 26 - Wager

"Get something if you want," said Athira, handing them a shard of crystal Black after ordering a chocolate milkshake for herself. "It's safe. Chief's banned tampering with the food in any way, and we'll be here until our contact arrives."

Shift waved them away, and Athira shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Shift watched the server leave. "You ever notice how many scars the kids around here have?"

"Kids?" said Athira, tilting her head.

"The teenagers," said Shift, his eyes roving around the club, spotting at least half a dozen others acting as servers or messengers or whatever other menial jobs they had around this place. "They get most of their scars as kids and grow up stuck with the memory of receiving them. Makes them easier to control, especially once they realise they've got about three lifetimes worth of debt to pay off for their Underground sponsored 'upbringing'."

He could feel Athira watching him, even beneath her mask. "You sound like you know a lot about this."

"You learn a thing or two in our profession. This just irks me in particular."

She considered him for a moment. "You've got scars."

"We've all got scars," muttered Shift, forcing himself to shrug it off. Maybe the Black was getting to him, but he almost found himself hoping that someone would try something, if only so he had an excuse to punch them. "Some just more than others."

Athira's chocolate milkshake arrived, and not long after that, Crush made himself known.

Crush was Raph-levels of tall with a buzz-cut dyed an obnoxious shade of neon yellow. He wore what Shift could only describe as a gym rat tracksuit, and was tailed by three of his groupies, all dressed in a similar way.

He approached the table and slammed his ridiculously large palms onto it, the muscles in his neck bulging as he made an attempt at intimidation.

"Move," said Athira, still perfectly casual. "You're blocking the view."

"What's this I hear about you taking on an apprentice, Owl?" Crush swapped his glare to Shift. "What've you got that I don't, eh?"

Shift lifted a hand, allowing Black to coat his fingers. "This, for one thing."

"A brain, for another," muttered Athira, stirring her milkshake with the straw. "Can I help you with something, or are you just here to annoy me again?"

Crush straightened, folding his arms over his chest. "I heard Chief gave the silence order on those Sleepers you want to know about. I know one or two things about them you might find useful, and arena wagers can circumvent the silence order."

Athira took a long sip before replying. "So, what? I beat you in the arena for the third time and you tell me something that might be useful? Seems like a waste of thirty seconds."

"Not you," said Crush, staring down at Shift. "Him."

The straw froze in her hand. "Why on Thols would you want to fight my apprentice?"

"You turned me down over and over, saying I wasn't good enough to breathe the same air as you, let alone stand beside you," said Crush. "That I understood, because who is? I've seen you fight. You took down the Baiylar Twelve at the same time as if they were nothing."

Shift covered his mouth with a hand, trying to stifle his grin.

He recognised this attitude when he saw it.

Athira had a fanboy.

Whether she was aware of that or not, Shift couldn't tell as she stirred her straw again and said, "And?"