Fluff

Chapter Forty-Three - Crisis of Personowlity

Athena, unlike her slightly-older and far more foolish bear of a sister, was terribly clever, at least, she certainly thought she was clever, and since she was the cleverest person she knew, that counted for something.

It’s why she waited a whole fifteen minutes after big sister Emily was gone before slipping out of the room. She even used a piece of paper and some tape to make sure the door didn’t lock up behind her. She didn’t even mess it up this time.

Sure, someone could now steal from big sister Emily’s room, but if anyone did that, they’d have to face her wrath; and also Teddy’s.

Athena made sure she was nice and presentable, looking like a proper young woman in her blouse and skirt with a nice sweater vest atop it all. It... felt like the right thing to wear?

She made her way to the elevator, then down to the first floor while thinking about it.

She was clever enough to know what was happening to her, why she couldn’t pick between one thing and another, and why sometimes she felt weird feelings when thinking about big sister Emily.

Athena was having a crisis of personality!

It was perfectly normal, at least according to the things she’d looked up on the internet. She was... sorta, at the age where she was supposed to feel rebellious and all that.

Not that she actually felt rebellious towards her big sister, of course.

No, it’s just that she had come to this world with a certain style of clothes that she felt didn’t represent her, not the way she wanted to.

It wasn’t just the clothes. It was everything.

Teddy was better off than her. The bear girl was... just that, a big bear girl who had things she liked and things she didn’t like. It was all nice and simple.

Athena didn’t have anything so clear cut to rely on.

That was obviously because she was an owl, and owls were far more intellectual than mere bears. But then... that also meant that with her superior intellect came a whole lot of uncertainty.

She stepped out, then hesitated for a bit before turning towards the deeper part of the city and starting her trek.

Athena would ask her big sister how she wanted her to act but... but that didn’t feel right either. Big sister Emily was the best, the greatest person ever, and no doubt a villain that would terrify the world over, but Athena... Athena wanted to make her proud for who she herself was.

So she’d find that out. She’d learn how to be the best Athena there was, and big sister Emily, who was the best, would accept her with open arms, and hugs, and pats on the head. Unless new-Athena wasn’t into that (which sounded highly doubtful).

Her current plan didn’t have much to do with finding herself though. No, big sister Emily had given her a mission! A sort of optional mission, if Athena was reading her correctly. She wanted Athena to be there when the heroes and such went out and about, as backup.

A bit of searching online had revealed that a bunch of people thought that maybe the heroes would be going around that afternoon, but then a leak came out that it would be tomorrow instead, so people were doubting it. Athena knew better though.

All she needed to do was get to the centre of the city, then follow after the heroes. There would probably be a crowd, and even if there wasn’t, she could just make everyone around her more suspicious than she was to the eyes of the heroes.

Simplicity itself.

A plan so simple couldn’t fail, of course. That’s why Athena grew increasingly confused as she kept walking through the city at a nice, brisk pace, without ever actually seeing the centre of the city.

In fact, the houses and shops she was passing looked increasingly dilapidated, and she was beginning to have the impression that she might, maybe, have perhaps gotten herself a tiny bit lost.

But that wasn’t possible. She was an owl! A mighty predator of the air! Able to hunt down even the smallest rat through feet of snow!

She swallowed and looked around. Her feet were getting a bit tired, and her legs were achey. There were some people on the street, but they looked rather intimidating to approach.

Athena didn’t want to give up, not so soon after leaving.

She considered going back, and then she came to a terrible realization.

She had no idea which way her home was.

Balling her hands into fists, Athena continued onward. Eventually, she reasoned, she’d find the middle of the city. All she had to do was keep moving. Maybe she could find a phone to call Emily with?

But then Emily would cancel all her plans, and she’d be really disappointed in Athena, and she’d think that Athena was dumb. That was not an option.

She turned a corner, then paused. There was a bar there, with a lot of big guys standing out front in leather jackets next to big motorcycles. Athena hesitated, but with a bit of shored up courage she crossed the street (looking both ways, because she was smarter than Teddy) and continued on her way.

There was a nice inviting alleyway there, one that would get her away from the biker people. She didn’t need to be nervous or anything, the darkness was the natural habitat for an owl like her.

“Hey girl, what’cha doing here?” The sleaziest voice Athena had ever heard said.

She felt her blood go cold for a moment as she looked up and towards a man dressed in what might have been a nice suit once. Now it had weird, wet stains down its front, and smelled so strong of alcohol and puke that she recoiled ever a dozen paces away.

“Ah, don-don’t be afraid,” he said as he wobbled closer. He had a baggie in one hand, something sloshing within it, and his voice was just on the wrong side of slurred. A drunkard?

“Go away,” Athena said.

“Aww, don’t, don’t be like that,” he said. “Cute thing like you.”

She was cute, but she didn’t want to hear it from this guy. She glared over at him, then started pushing her power towards him. Just a little, just enough to make him nervous.

The man blanked, glancing around uncertainty for a moment before he looked back at her. “Do you want to come with me?” he asked. “It’s, it’s not safe out here for a young lady.”

Athena took a long step back.

“Real not safe,” he said as he started to wobble towards her.

“Oi!”

Athena jumped and spun halfway around. There were three men in the entrance of the alley. Three big guys in black leather, with big beards and bigger scowls. “Look at you, drunk at this hour,” the biggest of the lot said. “Piss off, man.”

“I was, I was just being nice to the nice girl,” the guy in the suit said.

The bikers looked to each other, then, at some unknown signal, two of them stepped up and passed Athena while the big one moved towards her.

For a moment, she thought she was in big trouble.

Then he dropped to one knee. “Hey there kid. You alright?” he asked.

Athena didn’t know how to react right away. “I’m fine,” she said.

The man smiled through his big beard. “Yeah, you look like a brave girl,” he said.

Athena nodded. Of course she was. She hadn’t actually been afraid, merely... surprised. “I am,” she said.

“Are you lost?” he asked. “Because me and the boys, we wouldn’t mind bringing you home, or letting you use the phones over in the pub?”

“I’m... a little bit misplaced.”

The man roared with laughter. “I think we’ve all been there,” he said. “Come on, we’ll find someone to give you a ride back home, and maybe you can try the fish and chips, yeah?”

***