Helping Hands

[Aria]

Ashavari had come in, she felt like she was conflicted. Elias probably shared what had happened after she'd left, Aria wanted to drown her feelings and everyone else's away now. Aria could hear the water filling in the tub and walked into the bathroom to turn it off. It wouldn't do to have a mess to clean up.

Aria came back out and looked at Ashavari, "Everything alright?"


Aria didn't really want more problems, but what she wanted more was to not be rude to someone she'd just met. It was penance, but it was also a good thing to do. Aria would help the woman before her with no desire for compensation. However if the woman refused her help there were things she could ask to have completed. "You can take the bed, we'll work out arrangement as time goes on. I doubt I'll sleep much anyway, one of us might as well get some good rest."
Aria smiled at Lucas, he really needed to go home and get some sleep. "You need to get some rest too."

[Lucas]

After Nox left Lucas helped put some glasses away. Aria was still running the bath. It was probably time for him to leave.

Ashavari came back looking tired and confused. The room was quiet after all the chaos that had filled this small space. The silence became deafening when the sound of the water in the tub suddenly shut off.

He looked at her and smiled weakly. She probably hadn't expected all this when she'd come. He knew from being with Aria that the emotions could be overwhelming to her, buffeting her this way and that. This girl probably felt the same way.

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened back there. These past two days have been crazy."
Talk about an understatement. "Aria will give you all the space you need. So will I."


Aria came back and tried to play the host. Then she turned to him. She was so tired. God, what a day for her. But she was right. More importantly, she needed rest. People out of her apartment.

He glanced at Ashavari- knowing that this would intrude on her- then decided. Aria needed to know, to feel his support after everything that had happened- what could have happened. Fear lanced through him for a moment and he shoved it down, calm returning. He took the few steps to Aria and hugged her tightly, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "You get some sleep if you can. No hunting okay?"
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he looked in her eyes. Another squeeze and he parted. He smiled softly at Ashavari. "I hope your evening is more peaceful. It was nice to meet you."


Another glance at Aria and he was out the door. He couldn't concentrate anymore. He needed sleep, to clear his head.

[Ashavari]

Her lips hitched up into a somewhat wry smile; Aria, after all, knew exactly what she felt. But she nodded anyway, whistling out a breathe that ended up heaving itself into a cleansing sigh. Only Lucas remained of the impromptu gathering, and he was mostly tuned to Aria. She recognised that relationship for the anchor it was, one of the basic foundation blocks for abilities like theirs. "It's okay. I've had worse days,"
she reassured him. The worry for Aria came off him in waves, tightened by a self-awareness for the emotional leakage. It must be taxing, trying to reign in the most natural thing in the world: to feel.

She hovered, not returning to the sofa or, yet, retrieving her coat. Elias's warning hummed in the back of her mind, but by now her own curiosity - her own demand for answers - was the stronger lure. "I'm used to sleeping in my car; a sofa is a luxury, and to be honest I'm grateful just for the roof. But it's up to you. I won't say no to the indulgence of a bed."
The smile she offered was a little tentative, but only really because she was so achingly aware of the strained fatigue in the room. Her day had been long and, admittedly, hadn't ended in the best way, but most of what she felt was not her own tiredness.

She kept her distance from the two's intimacy as they parted, though there was nothing she could really do to block it out. Her lashes fell over her eyes at least, and she drifted her attention to someplace else; a facsimile of privacy, if not privacy in truth. Once Lucas had gone, Asha perched on the edge of the sofa, and turned to Aria. "Elias says you're dangerous. I know that's true, but I also know that I trust you wouldn't hurt me. On purpose anyway."
That was all said matter-of-factly, plumbed directly from the depths of her extra senses. It was novel to speak so frankly, but liberating too. It also made her miss her uncle acutely.

"He gave me cash for a hotel, and I can use it for that if you want me to. If what Nox said is true... then it's a risk letting me stay here. You should know I have another choice now. But I'd rather stay here, if it were up to me. I'll be out of your way as soon as I can."

[Aria]

With Nox gone Lucas was a bit more calm, not quite so protective, but still Aria knew he wanted to help, and really there wasn't much more he could do, other than go get some sleep. He asked her not to hunt. Aria nodded, she wouldn't go out hunting without someone again. So it was out of the question anyway, she had made a promise to him, even if he hadn't completely understood what the words had meant at the time.

He left and Aria was left alone with the only sane Sentient she'd had the privileged of meeting ever. There was an intense curiosity but she was too tired to delve into it really.

Aria waved off the comment about the couch and going somewhere else. "I don't sleep much at night anyway. You can have the bed."
Aria smiled softly. "Stay as long as you need, or feel comfortable. There is a key under the door mat wedged in the floor boards. It's a pain to get out but it's all I can offer."


Aria glanced in the direction of her cooling bath, it didn't matter the temperature, she wasn't in it for the warmth anyway. Aria pulled a chair from the table and sat it down in front of the couch. "Elias is right about me being dangerous. And you are right, I won't hurt you on purpose."
Aria smiled. "And I hope not on accident either, but my life is full of extraordinary people, some like Nox, some even worse than him. Lucas is just now getting a glimpse into the dangers of my life. My home should be safe for you, no one will consider you a threat as long as you keep your secret to yourself while near the Enlightened District. There are many eyes and ears of my brethren here, and I'd hate to see you come to danger because of you staying here."


A funny thought crept into Aria's mind. "I'm sure Nox would have offered you his place instead, if it had not been for Elias being there. Though his intentions then would probably have been less than honorable. He's changing slowly despite his obnoxious nature."
He had hit on Aria in a semi-sort way the first day they'd met. But not since.

Aria stood and put the chair back underneath the table. "I apologize for my temperament at the moment. I had a rough few days, and I don't expect to purge those memories soon. But I am going to go drown away the world and save what is left of sanity."
Aria walked to the front door and threw the deadbolt. "Make yourself at home, the fridge has a few things in it, but not much. Sleep in a bed. And we can talk about arrangements when we are both slightly more rested."

[Ashavari]

She looked at the woman properly for the first time; indulged her senses, now that they were alone, whilst trying not to be too intrusive. Was there etiquette? Asha didn't know. Beneath the words she felt the sincerity; more than enough of it to lull what was said with soft edges. For almost her entire life she had bounced from place to place, and they had not always stayed in hotels. She wasn't uncomfortable being in someone else's home, and she took the offer of the bed at face value without further argument.

As to her secret; she hadn't told anyone, ever. But Nox had guessed, and she didn't even know how, exactly, other than he must have identified her similarities to what he knew of Aria. Elias knew now too, and had made no promises of keeping it to himself, though she couldn't think of a reason why he'd tell anyone. In any case, she'd survived this long. More insistent was the question of why such a gift made her monstrous in the first place, but though the question pressed the sides of her brain with its urgency, it was not something to tackle tonight.

The idea of staying at Nox's place flushed her cheeks. Had she felt anything like that from him, she likely wouldn't have been so cavalier about going off with a stranger; she'd been brought up better than that. Or at least stricter. The embarrassment only deepened with the awareness that Aria could literally feel it radiating from her. She coughed, buried the feeling down, until Aria excused herself for her bath. She was pretty glad for the subject change.

"It's okay."
The forgiveness was obvious, as was the sense that she didn't deem the apology necessary. Gratitude. An echo of Aria's own fatigue, bouncing like sunlight between mirrors. That was the strangest thing, the little echoes. There was nothing else to be said, nothing that needed saying; she was instinctively aware of Aria's need for space without being told, and was glad to give it. Her stomach protested a little, but she shunned the fridge in favour of getting some rest. Her fingers itched to find her Wallet, document some of the evenings wonders, but she dissuaded herself from that too. Answers would come in the morning.