Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite] - Chapter 15 - Red Flags - Page 4 (2024)

 
"Why the 'hopefully'?" she asked. 
Raph ran a hand through his hair, pushing the strands off his face for a few steps. "Because Discord is notorious for making everything difficult." He glanced at her. "Feeling okay today?" 
She managed a one-shouldered shrug. "Better than usual." 
It was part of the code they'd worked out last night to keep Rathe's name to a minimum. 'Better than usual' meant there was no sign of Rathe. 'About the same' implied Rathe had returned but was manageable. 'Worse' would tell them she was struggling, and a flat-out 'No' was the answer they were all dreading to hear. 
"Just wanted to make sure," said Raph, keeping his voice quiet as they stepped into an elevator and ascended. "You remember everything we went over?" 
Athira nodded. Kione had dredged up any mention of the Owl in the Elite's databases and compiled a list of the Owl's suspected abilities. Aside from flight — a common enough ability — there hadn't been much. She'd had limited encounters with Keepers or Elites first-hand, so Raph had concluded there'd only be two things that linked her to the Owl: trapping people in crystal Black, and Colour nullification. 
"Good," said Raph. The elevator door opened some twenty floors up and they continued walking. "Just stick to what they ask, and you'll be okay. Background check aside, with your pigment count, you'll qualify for a Keeper team easily. The only risk is that they'll try to abduct you for Elite training." 
"Wouldn't that be something," muttered Athira. "Who knows, maybe I could replace Discord as Indigo's commanding Elite and do you all a favour." 
Raph smirked. "Don't give me hope." 
They reached a set of double doors tucked into a small alcove, which was where Raph stopped them. 
"Here we are," he said. "It shouldn't be too long before someone comes out to get us. I'll be in there with you the whole time. Just keep in mind that insulting Discord, no matter how cathartic, is probably not the best option. Any last-minute questions?" 
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Athira tugged the edge of her sleeve, checking yet again that the fabric was thick enough to hide the glow of her runes. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Raph?" 
"Not entirely, no," he said. "But I had a one-on-one chat with everyone last night, and the short version is that they've all agreed to help you, whether you want it or not." 
The guilt sank heavy in her stomach. "And what about you?" 
Raph stepped closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his side. "You're still my sister, Thira, even if you are a little psycho sometimes." 
Someone else wandered into the conversation. "Ah, such brotherly love." 
Raph dropped his arm from Athira. She stepped away, turning her attention to the man — maybe fifty or so years old — that sauntered towards them. His greying hair was cut lopsided, with a beard that looked like he'd got halfway through shaving and given up. 
"It's something this social media business just doesn't capture the same way," said the man with a contented sigh, holding a phone up close to his face as he awkwardly squinted at, then tapped the screen. "Such a focus on the individual, never on the links between them — unless, of course, it's drama related, in which case nothing is left unturned. It's quite fascinating, really. For example, have you seen the trending hashtags today? 'Hashtag Shift Me' is always popular, but today, Team Amber has the spotlight because two of their members —" 
Athira did a double-take as the man's ramble continued with no end in sight. Either this man was an Elite, or he'd somehow managed to steal the blue suit that identified him as one. 
"I'm sorry," said Raph, interrupting the man. "I don't recognise you, Elite. I'm Raphael, lead Keeper of team Indigo." He held out his hand, clearly expecting the Elite to take it. When the Elite continued to scroll on his phone held directly in front of his face, Raph cleared his throat. "And... you are?" 
The Elite glanced over at Raph. "Oh. Yes. Pyha." His gaze returned to the screen for a second, then flicked to Athira. "Hmm." He smiled. "You sing to me like people rarely do nowadays. A glimpse of that lost to the void, I suppose, but it does explain why my feet took me here." 
Athira just blinked in reply. 
Raph appeared to be working out how to respond to this kind of crazy from a superior when the doors to the interview room opened and saved them. 
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A Red Elite exited the room, nodding her head in greetings towards Raph and Athira. 
"Sorry for the delay," said the Red Elite. "We're still waiting on — Pyha? What are you doing here?" 
"Nothing of particular importance that I'm consciously aware of," said Pyha, his attention back on his phone. "I was simply wandering, and my wanderings drew me here. Curious, is it not?" 
"...Indeed," said the Red Elite with a carefully measured amount of respect. "You'll have to excuse us, we're needed —" 
"Of course, of course," said Pyha, waving a hand. "Schedules to stick to, goals to achieve. Such intangible things, yet I suppose we are all bound by the intangible, whether we can see it or not." He sighed, his gaze growing distant for a long, awkward moment before his phone flashed and drew his attention back. "Oooh, an update. 'Hashtag ayce-of-hearts'. How clever! I do wonder if —" 
Pyha ambled away down the corridor, still talking to himself with his phone lifted above his head. 
When he was out of earshot, the Red Elite gave Raph and Athira an apologetic smile. 
"I'm sorry if he was bothering you," she said with a lowered voice. "He's supposed to be a brilliant Etcher, but I can't say I've ever seen him actually use his Blue." She glanced back at the room. "We're still waiting on someone before we begin, but if you'd like to wait inside, we can —" 
The elevator behind them dinged, and from it stepped a woman with dark hair, dressed in a Blue Elite suit. 
"You have my apologies for my tardiness," said the Blue Elite as she strode towards them. "There was a small-scale riot at the monorail station." 
"That might've been our fault," said Raph. "Shift tends to have that effect." 
"So I've heard," said the Blue Elite, stopping directly in front of Athira. 
Athira glanced over the woman — and hesitated. 
The Elite's visible skin was tattooed with a faintly glowing Blue. It wasn't uncommon to see a civilian with a small, temporary Blue tattoo, but the long, elegant lines on this Elite suggested that the tattoo continued far beneath her suit. It was something Athira had only seen twice before — and both times, the tattooed individuals had felt like they'd known. 
About Rathe. About her Colour — and what lurked beneath her skin. 
The Blue Elite held out her hand towards Athira. "My name is Elite Karma." 
For Raph's sake, Athira reached out and shook it. "Athira." 
The Elite smiled down at her. 
It wasn't like Zoe's smile. It wasn't even like Talia's, whose taunting smirks roughly translated to I dare you to try something. 
This woman's smile was cold. Clinical. Calculating — and Athira knew as she dropped the Elite's hand that whatever happened in this interview, she could not give this woman an inch. 
"Well then, Athira," said the Elite, almost like she was testing her name. "Shall we begin?" 
*+*+*+*
A/N - I present the monorail chapter ✨
Bonus points if anyone can come up with any more appropriately cringe hashtags, and/or volunteer to write that Raphift fanfic ok thank you