Only a few weeks after the defeat of Loki at the Battle of New York, Clint Barton is sent on a mission to kill a young girl from an orphanage, without any real explanation. All Fury would say was that she was a powerful threat. But for the second ti...
It had been two weeks since Anala-Salila had shared the prophecy with the other Avengers at the tower. They, in turn, had shared it with Clint and Natasha, who had been gone on a mission. It was now the morning of Anala-Salila's thirteenth birthday.
Every night, Anala-Salila had been testing the limits of her powers, gritting her teeth against the pain it caused her. She couldn't use too much now, or she would weaken herself, but she had to learn to push past the pain, as Loki had told her. Only Thor knew of these late night trainings, but, though he wanted to, he did not interfere.
Anala-Salila got out of bed, and quickly changed into something comfortable. As soon as she opened her door, however, Natasha rushed her back in.
"Today's your birthday," the redhead stated. "You're not escaping just yet."
"What?" Anala-Salila asked, fear creeping into her eyes. She had hardly been able to speak to the woman before her.
The woman looked at her for a moment. "I'm not going to hurt you, Anala-Salila. I'm not as mean as I look. Besides, Stark's throwing you a party. Might as well get ready. You've slept till noon, already."
"I went to bed late. Besides, aren't parties usually at night?" Anala-Salila asked. "Why do I need to start getting ready now?"
"Well, I'm also supposed to keep you from seeing the decorations," Natasha admitted. "Anyways, first, we need to go dress shopping."
Anala-Salila looked worried.
"What's wrong?" Natasha asked.
"Um... I, uh...," Anala-Salila trailed off. Upon receiving a pointed look from Nat, however, she continued. "I have scars... that I would rather keep hidden."
"From the orphanage and that jerk from when you were little?" Nat asked.
Anala-Salila nodded, looking at her feet. "Glaurung. And, yes."
Natasha looked at her, then gave a small, warm smile. More care than she showed anyone other than Clint and his family. "I know a thing or two about hiding scars, but if it will make you feel better, it's too cold out for a short-sleeved dress, anyhow."
Anala-Salila smiled. "Thank you."
•~•~•
The dress:
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Under the dress, Anala-Salila wore light black hose with a pair of baby blue flats. Her black and red hair was curled, starting about halfway down, so it appeared to hang naturally. Natasha did the girl's makeup very light, as it was the first time Anala-Salila had ever worn any.
Nat wore a tight black dress, and had her hair curled as well. She wore a bit more makeup than Anala-Salila.
"Thank you, Ms. Romanoff," Anala-Salila said politely.
