The Sokovian Shadow

Chapter 14

TW:
- Fighting (Still sparring)
- FLUFF (Enjoy :D)
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There was a moment's stillness before Natasha lunged for me. I waited until the last possible second the rolled under her attack. I rose to my feet and blocked her next attack, jumping back as she aimed a swipe at my stomach. I dropped to the ground and swiped her feet out from underneath her. She rolled away and jumped to her feet. We were back where we started. This time I made the first move, feigning towards her right and aiming a punch at her left. She grabbed my arm before I landed the blow and rather than struggle free, I twisted into her hold, elbowed her hard, then twisted free.

I turned and slowly stepped backward as she caught her breath. She straightened as I took a step forward and I froze. She did too, and we both waited for the other to make the first move. We stayed like that for several minutes. Natasha shifted her weight onto her right foot and I quickly lunged forward, appearing to swipe out her right leg. She fell for it, shifting her weight back onto her left leg. She realized her mistake too late, and I knocked her left leg out from underneath her. She landed on the ground and I had a fist to her throat in an instant, holding an imaginary knife.

She smirked, scissoring her legs around my neck she threw me off her, and I rolled to my feet, but before I could turn back around, she landed a solid punch between my shoulder blades. I fell to the ground as my wings ripped themselves free. Whenever I was hit there, it forced my wings to free themselves to defend me. I could feel Celes firmly preventing my soul fire from coating and "freezing" around each individual feather, turning my wings into dagger-coated shields. The best part about that was that I could still fly.

I fought to get my wings back under my control and forced them back into my back, flinching at the ache in my shoulder blades that was always present whenever my wings forced themselves free. I slowly rose to my feet and turned on the spot to look at Natasha. She had one hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide. She slowly lowered her hand, and her mouth was open.

'You have... wings?' I just nodded. 'Do all Wraiths have wings?' I shook my head.

'I'm what's known as a Hybrid Wraith. It means that my first kill was an animal instead of a human. Mine was the falcon that I found with the arrow through her stomach, Celes. I have a twenty-foot wingspan, falcon eyes, a third eyelid and I can shift into a falcon.' I explained. 'We're usually seen as freaks because we're different. I had a friend who was a horse hybrid. He had the form of the "Centaur" from mortal folklore.' I finished. She nodded.

'So basically, you made a mistake, showed some compassion by putting a creature out of its misery when it asked you to, and you were looked down on for it.' She summarised.

'That... sounds about right.' I confirmed. She made a disgusted sound and shook her head.

'And I thought the red room was bad. How many scars did you get?' She asked.

'No more than the average Wraith. I was obedient, so the most severe scarring was psychological.' I claimed. She nodded. We were silent for a few minutes before I realized that the sun was almost setting. 'Natasha?' she looked up at me. 'We should probably be heading back.' I gestured with my head in the direction of the setting sun. she followed my gaze and nodded, leading the way out of the forest.

'Aorta?' I hummed when I heard my name. 'Call me Nat.' I looked at her shocked, then smiled.

'Alright, Nat. Race you back to the house?' I challenged.

'You're on.' She smirked.

I caught up to her, then we both shot into the trees. I almost immediately took refuge in the tree-tops, jumping from branch to branch with ease. There wasn't even any need to use my wings. After a few minutes, we both arrived at the edge of the clearing. Nat was slightly out of breath, and I probably would have been too if I needed to breathe. I forced myself to seem out of breath. Nat was laughing despite still catching her breath, and I was too.

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I left the room when the Avengers started discussing a battle plan with Nick Fury, telling Nat that I was going upstairs so she wouldn't have to make a show of translating for me. Laura showed me where I would be staying, and I thanked her in heavily accented English. I was currently sitting at the small desk along the right wall writing a note.

Hi Laura.

You probably won't find this until morning. I'm sorry you find out like this, and I don't want you to worry. I'm not who you think I am, and I can take care of myself. Please tell Lila and Cooper I said goodbye because I'm not coming back. I'm very sorry, and I hope someday you forgive me. Thank you for everything, and I hope someday I can make it up to you.

The Sokovian Shadow.

I folded up the slip of paper, then opened the window. I had to wait for about an hour before the Quinjet left and Laura came back inside. I heard her footsteps come up the stairs and quickly ran over to the desk. I hid the note in the draw and got out a fresh piece of paper. I started writing down what Wanda made me see in Russian. I stopped writing when the door opened, and Laura poked her head inside.

She saw me at the desk and came over to me. She was holding a cup in her hand and she gave it to me. I tilted my head at the creamy brown liquid and the two melting white lumps in it. I tilted my head at Laura and she chuckled.

'Hot chocolate.' I lifted the cup to my mouth and took a sip. I was grateful I could eat and drink then more than ever because the drink was amazing. My eyes lit up and Laura laughed. I took another sip and put the cup on my desk, returning my attention to the sheet of paper. She followed my gaze and smiled at me warmly. She rubbed a hand on my shoulder and went to leave the room.

'Goodnight Laura.' I said in my heavy accent. She turned at the door and smiled at me. It was contagious and I started smiling as well.

'Goodnight Arina.' She replied as she closed the door. I frowned as she left the room, turning my gaze to the steaming hot chocolate on my desk. I picked up the cup and blew on it, taking a bigger drink this time. I looked back to the paper that had my memory of Oris' death in perfect Russian, then at the door. Laura was so nice to me and I had lied to her. I was really sad to leave, but I had no choice. The Avengers were going to hurt the twins, and I couldn't allow that.

I finished the drink slowly, trying to savour the warmth. It was rare that Wraiths ever felt warm because we couldn't regulate our own body heat. I finished the drink within a few minutes and looked forlornly into the cup, wishing for more. The white lumps had been particularly delicious, though Laura hadn't told me what they were called.

I placed the cup on the desk and opened the draw, selecting my goodbye note from inside. I picked the pen back up and added one more line.

P.S: Thank you for the hot chocolate.

I replaced the Russian sheet with the English one and placed the cup on the corner. Then I turned off the light, climbed onto the windowsill, and with a beat of my wings, I was gone. 

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I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.