The Sokovian Shadow

Chapter 11

TW: 
- Flashbacks
- Death
- The Reaper
- Fighting (just sparring, should that be a trigger warning?)
- Fire
------------------------------------------
I spread out my soul sense. There was confusion in Thor's soul, as well as a hint of red. But something told me the red wasn't Thor's own anger. My theory was confirmed when Captain America's soul was filled with the same pink confusion and traces of Wanda's red magic. I switched my attention to her soul and started tracking her. I felt her pass me as I hid in the shadows. I followed her watched her "hex" Black Widow. I'm not sure what she did, but it was efficient. I stepped out of the shadows slowly. She must have sensed me behind her because as soon as I was within her reach, she whipped around and let her magic stream into my mind. I gasped as Celes fought to keep the visions at bay.

'I'm on your team.' I whispered before running off. I didn't make it very far before the visions overpowered Celes and we both went under.

---

I jumped back as a fist almost connected with my head. I climbed up a nearby wall and took refuge in the rafters. Oris looked up at me from the ground, his arms crossed over his chest.

Oris Pyro was a Hybrid Wraith like me. He accidentally killed a horse when he was four, and where the Reaper saw agility and speed in me, he saw strength and durability in Oris. His name meant Earth Fire, which explained why he was pyrokinetic while I was haemokinetic.

'You can't just hide in the ceiling every time things get rough Aorta!' He called. I grinned.

'Why not? I'm half flacon and there are no rules in combat!' I called back. His poker face finally broke and he grinned, shaking his head. I rolled off the beam and tried to attack him from above while he was distracted, but he saw me coming and knocked me out of the air. I rolled to a stop next to a nearby wall but had to sit up quickly as his hooves came crashing down where my head had been a second ago.

My eyes widened in fake shock. 'Oris! You could have killed me!' Oris rolled his eyes and shook his head, then reared up onto his hind legs. He brought his front legs down in an earth-shaking crash, and I quickly took to the air. I wasn't fast enough, and my 6-year-old body crashed into the wall. I didn't move. My back was facing Oris, so I slowly unsheathed one of my daggers. We preferred to use fists, but we never outlawed weapons. After a few moments, Oris got worried and cantered over to me.

I waited until he was only a few paces away, then sprung to my feet and whirled, holding the knife to his throat. He looked shocked for a moment. Then chucked as he lowered my arm. I grinned as I sheathed my knife. We walked to the centre of the floor and I flicked my wings. We both got into fighting stances, but before we could begin, the door opened and a wave of cold swept into the room. In a single swift movement, I turned on my heel, folding my wings into my back as I dropped into a crouch. Oris had a little more difficulty since he had the form of the "Centaur" from mortal folklore, so he couldn't make himself look like a normal Wraith like I could.

He'd never held that against me though, and he was the one who helped me gain better control over my wings. He turned on the spot and dropped into a horse's equivalent of a bow. We both remained like that while we waited for the Grim Reaper to speak.

'Oris Pyro. How is your control over your fire?' I tensed but kept my face blank. Oris was slow to rise from his crouch. He left his hands hanging by his sides.

'I'm not sure I understand, Sir. Aorta and I haven't developed the powers Hybrid Wraiths are rumoured to possess.' Oris replied, feigning confusion. The only reason I knew he was lying was because I'd seen his fire magic up close. The Reaper turned to me.