Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 25 - Impact

Picture by the amazingly talented @MaliciousMoanna

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Chapter 25 - Impact

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"Finished staring?" said Athira.

Shift blinked a few times, trying to clear his head. He drew a deep breath, letting the cold air shake him out of it.

The anger he'd sensed simmering just beneath her mask of disinterest had finally surfaced. It was in the way she stood, the vibrations of her colour humming through her being. It was so riled up that Shift's own was racing faster with every one of her heartbeats.

He decided not to compliment her outfit. "Thira, we need to talk. You can't just--"

"Can't just what?" she snapped.

"Can't just block people out anymore!" said Shift, ignoring the bite in her words. At least she was listening. "The hell got into you? Just over two weeks ago, you kissed me, and now you're throwing me off a roof?"

She crossed her arms. "Two weeks ago isn't now. Go back inside."

Shift resisted the urge to sigh. "Why, Athira? Why is two weeks ago not now?" She looked to the stars but didn't answer him, so he pushed again. "Was it one of the villains we fought? Did you recognise them?" Still nothing. "Discord? Talia? Raph?"

"Drop it." Athira advanced on him and Shift became all too aware of how close he still was to the edge. "I have things to do, and you're wasting my time. Go back to bed, or I'll put you there myself."

Shift was too busy trying to work her out to point out the error in her threat.

"Didn't you hear me?" she tried again, grabbing his arm and trying to push him towards the door. Black flecks peeled off her skin. "Go back inside! I don't have enough time as it is, let alone time for this."

Perhaps it was the way she said it, but Shift suspected it was her bare touch and the shock of colour that came with it that made everything click into place.

"It's your colour, isn't it?" said Shift, stopping.

Athira's eyes went wide. Apparently she hadn't expected him to guess. "What?"

"Your colour," repeated Shift. "Is it Rathe? Or something else?"

Athira's left hand raised to her right before she hesitated and dropped it again.

She snorted derisively. "What do you even care?" she asked, turning to walk away from him. Her hands reached to her shoulders, looking for a cowl that wasn't there, the thing that cut her off from the rest of the world.

Not this time.

He followed her and stood behind her, waiting.

It took her about a minute to talk. "You going to tell me you haven't been avoiding me for the last week?" she said. There was an odd note in her voice. "Still paying plenty of attention to Zoe, Talia, the rest of your fan club." Her head dropped, fingers digging into her shoulders. "Just not me, even when I sought you out. Told me to just leave it alone and walked off."

Athira's face fell behind a veil of raven hair. "I don't care, Shift. Do what you want, just... don't..."

Shift took her wrist. Athira jerked at his touch, her legs lifting off the ground as her colour stole her from gravity. Shift took the opportunity to pull her closer. Without her boots anchored to the ground, there was no resistance as he pressed her back to his chest and wrapped his arms around hers. His hands found her shoulders easily, locking her folded arms against her own chest.