Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 3 - When Pasts Collide

Dedicated to Prisim (again!) This time for her NaNo story, 'Guardian of Calandria' - go check it out!

---

Chapter 3 - When Pasts Collide

---

Shift gripped the Owl’s wrist for all he was worth as she flew them to safety.

They were surrounded in a kind of shield, constructed entirely from black colour as far as he could tell. Looking through it, the world seemed drained of colour. Everything was black where the hues and shades should’ve been, defined only by a white outline that kept their forms split.

From what he could tell, the Owl was levitating and they’d just passed through the ceiling, or the floor of Starpoint tower’s ground level. He was also pretty sure they hadn’t been anywhere near Talia’s hole when they did it so he’d be damned if he was about to let go of this girl’s wrist and get himself stuck inside a slab of concrete.

Despite his fears, it was less than a minute before the Owl dropped the shield around them and deposited him on the ground. As soon as the contact between them dropped, the uncomfortable prickling sensation that’d spread throughout Shift’s body disappeared.

He rubbed his hands over the green-striped section suit and looked around.

Starpoint tower was completely destroyed. What had been the shell of a once-proud, state of the art colour facility was now little more than a pile of shattered glass, concrete and warped metal. Noting how little of the rubble remained visible on the surface, Shift wondered just how far that underground cavern actually stretched.

The Owl shook her arms, or Shift assumed she had. The things were still hidden, as was the rest of her body. She remained levitating, her boots tucked up behind her even while the edges of her cloak trailed along the ground. It created the illusion of a purple-cloaked spectre hovering a few feet away.

She glanced around uncertainly, eyes raking over the distance. “You okay?” she asked.

Shift nodded. “I think so.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “Uh... thanks, by the way.”

“Couldn’t let you die there after that idiot elemental brought the tower down around us,” she said. “Although Reader has her to thank for currently still being able to walk.”

“I don’t think any of us would have complained if he couldn’t.”

Shift caught the slight upward movement of her lips. “Reader would have done enough complaining for all of us to not wish it on him.”

Shift snorted and attempted to stand. His legs wobbled beneath him before the muscles kicked in completely. “Quite a kick your colour has there,” he said. “Never felt anything quite like it.”

“There’s a good reason for that, I assure you.”

He took a moment to observe her, unsure as to why she was still hanging around... literally.

If he focused on her face, he thought he could see her eyes flicking between her body and his but it was hard to be certain. The cloak made her figure and expressions uncertain.

“Why did you come back?” he asked. “I’m guessing Reader is long gone by now.”

The Owl’s shoulders moved.  “You looked rather pathetic, all given up like that.”

“I’m not sure whether to be insulted or grateful.” He held out his hand. “My name’s Shift, by the way.”

She looked at his hand, staring at it with longing. When he thought she wasn’t going to reply, her voice came out uncertain. “I don’t suppose you could--“