Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 10 - Crushing Dark

Athira opened her eyes in the same concrete shell of a room she'd fled to after leaving Indigo base, and almost immediately collapsed against the wall behind her.

She could still feel Rathe's sandpaper scales crushing her, could still feel her ribs cracking, still taste the blood on her tongue. The molten claws that had shredded her mind and scraped against the last, solid piece of her had left embers behind. They lingered, burning in her thoughts — like this time, Rathe's essence hadn't only sunk into the Below.

Mine.

The darkness pressed in around her. Athira grabbed her head with one hand, her amulet with the other, forcing herself to breathe, to focus on the light from her runes and the fact that she could see the outline of herself as her eyes adjusted, and just breathe.

She missed her cloak, the comfort it offered. She felt all too exposed without its familiar weight around her shoulders. The sleeves of her borrowed shirt were charred scraps on the floor. The concrete walls of the room were scorched. This place was nowhere important, and that was exactly the point. If something — if she or her Colour got out of control — a half-built, abandoned skyscraper at the edge of the restricted zone was one of the best places to be. There was nothing here except dust.

"Are you awake yet, little Owl?"

Athira's head snapped up, her eyes scanning the sprawling darkness around her.

"You'll have to forgive my intrusion," continued the voice she recognised. "It's just so rare to find one able to traverse their mindscape. It was fascinating to watch."

Athira stood slowly, bracing herself with one arm against the wall behind her as she lifted the other, using the Blue rune light to search the room. She stepped forward, Black coiled around her lowered arm.

"Of course, I'd expect nothing less from one such as yourself." In the far corner, a shadowy figure leaned against the wall, arms folded low across their abdomen. "To imagine the secrets you must know, the truths you've uncovered!" A sigh, a step forward — closer, too close. A hand reached towards her. "I must admit, I'm rather envious of —"

Athira snarled. The tendril coiled around her arm lashed out, slamming the figure back against the wall with an audible thud. They attempted to wriggle free, but her tendril held firm. Her lungs burned as she bit down on a breath, taking those last few steps to stand before her apparent stalker.

This close, the violet gleam in Reader's eyes looked far past sanity. "Was that really necessary, Athira?"

Athira clenched her fist, squeezing the tendril a little tighter in reply. He lifted his chin and remained silent, the Blue light of her runes glinting off his mask as she floated up to match his eye level.

It was his fault that Rathe had overpowered her.

His fault that she'd almost lost.

"I should kill you for what you did at Starpoint," hissed Athira. Her fist closed over her amulet, the metal scorching her palm. "And if you ever take my amulet again, you'll wish I had."

Reader cleared his throat. "Well, before you make any dramatic decisions, I might have something of interest to you."

"And what's that?"

"My source about the Surge locations," said Reader casually, like she couldn't just squeeze her hand and break him. "I brought him with me. If you'll be so kind as to let me down, I'd be happy to introduce you."

"You weren't exactly forthcoming at Starpoint. Why be helpful now?"

"I discovered that our interests align," said Reader, attempting a shrug inside the constraints of the Black pinning him to the wall. "We would both prefer it if these Surges were stopped, correct?"