Rogue Shadow

Chapter 27 - Respite

Chapter 27 – Respite

11:10 Sunday, 29th October 2017

With the weekend rolling in, Slade decided that only her physical training would continue on those days. Before and after lunch was more than enough. He wouldn't force the poor girl to do schoolwork on the weekend. Slade had checked on her twice since breakfast, both times finding the girl drawing or reading with music in her ears. She had seemed happy, and Slade was content to let the girl enjoy her downtime. Training had been gone well, and Tash continued to prove that she was a quick learner and show her raw talent when it came to combat.

Until that morning, where training had gone a little sideways. Slade had caught Tash beginning to spiral during their fight. It had been the strangest giveaway. Her eyes had changed colours: from a chocolate brown to a fiery amber as the fight's intensity rose. It was so strange that her eyes had been the first sign, how could their colour change so fluidly? One minute they were blue, the next green. Then from brown to orange and back again. It made no sense.

But Slade had recognised it as the same shade her eyes had been when Tash had lost control the last time. He was ready for it this time. He decreased his attacks, opting to dodge or deflect her attempts instead of retaliating. Slade only allowed the situation to continue so he could gauge whether or not she would regain control. However, when it became apparent that she wasn't going to come back on her own, he stepped in.

He had easily side-stepped Tash, knocking her feet out from under her as he did so. The kid had landed on her back and bumped her head slightly. She let out a soft groan and made to move, but Slade was kneeling over her body in a second, fist resting between her shoulder neck. Tash had quickly come to learn that the closed fist represented a weapon or strike. If that had been a dagger, she would have been killed.

"Dead," he told her flatly. Slade stood and backed away, unsure if that had snapped her out of it or not. The kid squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, then sat upright on the floor, but didn't move any further. Slade observed the kid leaning her head into her hands, catching a glimpse of dull grey eyes through bright red hair.

They had changed again. They kept doing that. He wondered if she ever realised.

"You gonna tell me what happened this time?" questioned Slade. He completely towered over the child, even more so because she was sitting on the ground. Slade bobbed down to get closer to her height. With his elbows resting on his knees, he simply waited for her to reply.

Her head slowly shook back and forth between her hands, her face hidden under fingers and hair.

"Kid."

She was frightened. Her hands were shaking slightly, and her breathing was uneven.

Crap.

She must have thought Slade was going to beat her or something. Why did she have to be so afraid? What had they done to her? Hadn't he shown her last time that it was okay to make mistakes? Hadn't he proven to Tash that he wouldn't hurt her? Sure, last time he had been harsh, but nothing else was getting through to her.

Slade reached forwards and clasped a single hand around both of Tash's wrists, pulling her hands away from her face. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were flushed from the adrenaline of the fight. Slade retracted his arm and the girl's hands fell limp into her lap. Her shoulders were slumped in defeat. Her head hanging low, she refused to meet his gaze.

Fear. Exhaustion. Confusion. The kid was hanging on by a thread.

"Mne zhal," the Russian apology passed her lips once again.