Valor ↠ Prequel [0] ✓

04 | Hide and Seek

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VALOR
iv. HIDE AND SEEK

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   HUMANS ARE PREDICTABLE CREATURES. They're beings of habit, navigating their lives according to predetermined patterns without realizing it. When they're exposed to something new, they react in response to their quirks they've developed over time, like biting their nails or procrastinating. Though the universe is entirely perplexing beyond our understanding, the creatures inhabiting it are actually quite simpler than what meets the eye.

   Children are the most impressionable form of humans. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you've been through, children are all the same. They're ticking time bombs as they grow older, becoming adults and exploding with their personal truths that make them unique individuals.

   Riley O'Dair oftentimes forgot that she was just a child. She'd lived such an eventful life for someone who hadn't even really lived yet. To think that she'd singlehandedly changed her entire life at two-years-old tended to freak her out. Riley used to always wonder who she would have been had that accident never happened.

   Six months had soared by in the blink of an eye since Riley started training under Natasha. It hadn't been easy, and if Riley was being honest, she didn't think it ever would be. Still, every time Riley got knocked down, she always found a way to get back up. That was just the kind of person she was growing up to be. Natasha Romanoff was no exception to Riley's fierce determination to thrive.

   The craziest part about working under Natasha was that their training together was only meant to last one month. However, it'd been six months since it all started. The idea of it all blew Riley's mind. She originally didn't think she'd get through a week, never mind six months.

   Riley liked to think she was actually growing on Natasha, and that was why they'd decided to continue their training together. But then again, Riley was usually just getting ahead of herself. Whatever the reason was, Riley was just glad that she stayed strong throughout the journey.

   Clint Barton had been peacefully eating his lunch in the cafeteria when he felt the bench he'd been sitting on shift. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the keen man to notice. He turned to his left, surprised to find that no one was there. He paused. Clint was positive someone had sat down beside him...

   He jumped only slightly when Riley O'Dair turned herself visible. "I'm never gonna get used to that," grumbled the archer.

   Rather than addressing his surprise, Riley looked around the room frantically. Heavy breaths slipped in and out of her mouth. "Sucks... to suck," she managed to spit out. She dropped her head onto the table as she continued to catch her breath. "I just... I just need a... a minute..."