Aria sighed as she took off her little black hat. It fit, sure, but it was tight and often felt like it was trying to squeeze her head off more than her choker ever had. Just another wonderful part about being in the Pizza Hut Team! Aria groaned at the very thought, and walked out of the restaurant.
How long had it been? How long since they'd lost their powers? She knew the answer, because she asked it of herself every time she went to work. Now she was up to one hundred and twenty. Well, at least I've made it for four months at this point. That counts for something, right?
The setting sun was all that responded to her question, with not even a wind coming through the back alley she walked.
With a grunt of annoyance, she threw her hood up to cover her face. At least that was one positive. While she could feel more than a dozen other dampening effects that losing her powers had come with, it hadn't actually changed her, so all of her old clothes still fit. Too bad they didn't seem to beat the cold out like she used to think they did.
After another long walk, since she had failed the interview to the one that was actually close, she finally got to the small, shitty hole in the ground she called home. It was a studio apartment, literally underground, and if it weren't for Aria's continued efforts, she bet the whole place would be filled with mold.
She pulled out her key, knowing what was to come, and took a breath in to brace herself. She then put it into the keyhole a-
-nd Sonata yanked it open. "Evening Aria!"
Aria forced herself not to smile, instead pretending to nurse her shoulder as she walked in and yanked her key out. "Careful. I don't mind you opening the door for me, but you could hurt someone with that strength of yours." Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her friend's shoulders slump, and hated that she couldn't tell Sonata that she was actually quite happy that she opened the door for her.
She had worked to hard to let something so small break her secret.
Sonata, always quick to recover, bounced after Aria, singing a little bit as she said, "It's Tuesday!"
Aria glanced over her shoulder, now meaning the murderous look as she made her way to the kitchen. "And?"
Sonata tried being cute, squatting so that she barely looked over the countertop. "Come on Aria, you know what we do every Tuesday. Don't make me say it."
Aria gripped the refrigerator door as hard as she could, her knuckles turning white. Just like last week. "We don't do that anymore."
Sonata jumped up, her hands on her hips as she now returned Aria's glare. "But Ar, we've always done Taco Tuesday! I can't remember a week when we haven't!"
And somehow that's the only thing you can remember. Aria let out a groan as she pulled out a few things to start making a salad for the two. If she were honest, Sonata could remember other things, when she really wanted to, but at times, she feared Sonata would forget her own name. "And we can't afford it. Get a job, and we'll talk about bringing it back."
Sonata narrowed her eyes further while puffing out her cheeks. "Adagio would never tell me to get a job."
Shink.
Adagio. Aria took in a deep, deep breath as she recomposed herself, happy that the knife was far from her other fingers, but instead had landed inside the lettuce head she'd been getting ready. She tried her best to change the stab she'd made into a more natural cut, grunting from the force she pushed on it.
Just control yourself Aria. She'll stop bringing her up soon enough. Of course, that brought up the question of why Sonata even brought her up in the first place, but she decided to ignore that. "Well, we're on a budget now, so-"
"Adagio wouldn't put us on a-"
The knife in Aria's hand shut Sonata up in an instant. Her eyes went wide in terror, before they slowly slipped to the side, and stared at the steel that vibrated in the wall. She took a step back, thinking Aria had accidentally missed. "A-Adagio!"
"Adagio left us, you fucking moron!" Aria slammed her fist against the head of lettuce, sending the cut portion of it flying as she seethed with rage. "She left us four months, because without our harmonies, we were worthless to her!"
Sonata cowered from Aria, her eyes wide with fear, and tears beginning to form at the edges of them. She began to stammer something out, but Aria wasn't listening to it. She didn't want to know how bad the day was for her. Instead, she slammed her fist against the counter again, and Sonata ran away.
This left Aria all by herself. Or, so she wished.
======+++++======
Aria stood on shaking legs. Around her was only stone and wind. It roared in her ears all the way up here, as a hurricane was to come. A glance at her hands showed her the reality of what happened, of what that stupid game had cost her. Had cost them.
"Ah, anyone's head hurt, because mine is killing me."
Aria turned her head, ignoring how the world swam around her. That voice... that stupid voice. She had spoken up, thinking she knew some stupid fucking riddle, and now, now Aria was... something else. She held up a hand, tears coming to her eyes as she focused her magic. One good blast, and that voice would know not to speak again.
And nothing came. She felt a surge of something at her neck, but that was it. Her magic wasn't there for her to command. It wasn't there for her to use. To defend with.
But as anger and despair flowed into her, she found that these weird ends to her arms might just be able to work.
Sonata looked to Aria as she heard her boots, and she took a step back, almost taking herself off the cliff. Before she could even truly react to that fact, Aria decided to 'help' Sonata in what she was doing.
Aria smirked as she pulled back her hand, and watched as Sonata's body crashed against the rocks some twenty feet below. The bitch deserved a good tumble after her fuck up. Not that something as simple as this could kill a siren. It was just to make Aria feel good.
Adagio soon got to her feet, and raced over to stand beside Aria and looked over the side. "Aria, what did you do?"
Aria glared at Adagio and crossed her arms. "What did I do? I did what you probably would've been too soft to do."
"Well we need to go help her still!"
"Oh, come one Adagio, she's fi-" She got cut off by the other siren turning her head towards the rocks below, and Aria's heart almost stopped.
======+++++======
The image of Sonata bleeding from her head had never left Aria. It had only gotten worse when they found out what the crash had caused. It wasn't a simple concussion. No, it had been so much worse.
That's why Adagio had been brought up tonight. She could never truly forget Adagio, as she was too important to Sonata, had been too large a part of her life. On the other hand, she could forget being abandoned, forget what would forever change their lives. They were too small a part of her life to remember.
All because of what Aria had done to one of her closest, and only friends.
She slowly opened the door to Sonata's room, and stepped in. The other girl squirmed away from the door, but continued to lay on her bed. Aria held up her hands to show she was unarmed. "I-I came to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted like I had."
Sonata fidgeted a bit in her bed, looking to the sheets for a few moments, before looking back at Aria. "W-well, I guess it's just this one time... but can I get some snuggles at least?"
Aria swallowed hard, remembering all the 'one times' she'd had, especially since they'd lost their powers. She tried to tell herself that the indulgence she now got, Sonata seeking her for comfort, had been earned by never braining the idiot, but it never quite worked.
You only had to hurt someone like that once to never deserve their trust again. At least Aria could let her tears run, just because Sonata could still turn away from her. It was all the comfort Aria could actually justify for herself.
But she still took it greedily each and every time, happy that it at least let Sonata feel safe, and like everything was normal. Just like they were in the good ol' days, before everything had ever gone wrong. Before Aria could never let go of her memories.
