Listen to your mother - it's a scary world out there Who: Aetheria, Aurora, Diana, and familiars (NPC) Where: Diana’s house When: Late morning
The prior night was spent in tears for Aetheria and she had a good reason to do so - there was a demon in Ad Gustum. One that tormented her with those claws of hers that made Aetheria think of the time she had a knife held to her throat. And here she thought she got over that trauma, but now all she could think about was that someone was going to sneak into her bedroom at night and stab her while she was sleeping. Irrational, of course, and but not far fetched thinking for an air elemental. Aurora was appointed her teddy bear for that night, never letting go of her twin until morning came. There was only so much a sister could do for their twin and when it came down to it, only one thing helped in times like these - a mommy.
And thank god Diana didn’t live that far. Aethiera slipped on something simple before helping Aurora find something for herself to wear, and then they were out the door. The blonde was still silently weeping, tears trickling down her face now and then as she wait for the driver to take them to her mommy’s house. Aetheria loved working at Ad Gustum so much; she didn’t want to have to move strictly because there was a demon living there. Ok, maybe that was good enough reason, but everyone else there was nice to her! Before she knew it, they were there. She hopped on out of the car and extended a hand to Aurora to guide her to the house, her other arm squeezing the hell out of her stuffed animal hippo she brought along for comfort. It’s going to be ok, Ae, Kiana reminded the girl while perching on her head. Aetheria nodded a bit, liking to think that was true. And once at the door, she poked the doorbell a few times to wait.
Everything was wrong because of one person. Except not a person. It was a demon and they were not people. Demons were bad creatures that were the opposite of them and... and if Aurora had been able to form a completely negative opinion about anything then it was demons and the people who gave off vibes like them. They never liked her or her family and Aurora knew it was because they were good. Their opposites. The angel in their blood, that was what it was. And maybe that was why the demon had upset Aetheria so much. Aurora wished it had not happened and she had been more than willing to serve as something for her twin to cling too. There had been nothing comforting to say, but there was something that Aurora knew would help. So when it had been decided that they were going to go see their mother she had been delighted. Of course she was still upset over what had happened to Aetheria, but they were going to see mother! Which meant maybe father and Cheila and Dashiell too. Maybe especially Cheila. Aurora did not have a favorite sibling (Aetheria did not count because she was practically her) but if she did then it would be Cheila.
Neveah floated in on silent wings, landing in the tree next to the window while the twins waited at the door. ’While you’re doing that I’m going to take a nap,’ the owl informed Aurora as she tucked her head under her wing. Otherwise she was going to be distracted by seeing potential meals scamper around. Like the field mouse. The one she was not going to eat because sleep was going to happen instead. Meals were for night. “It’ll be okay, Ae,” Aurora assured her twin, squeezing Aetheria’s hand. Getting around was really so much easier when she was there to help her. Even if Aurora was sure that she could find her way around the Elias house all on her own now. While they waited she reached up and fiddled with her earrings. Aetheria always picked the best things out for her even if she was upset.
After meeting the vampire that was apparently Cheila’s friend (something that Diana was still not sure she was comfortable with nor particularly accepting of) Diana had needed to spend a good amount of time in the room she’d turned into something as similar as a temple as she could, praying to the various gods for wisdom and guidance to get her through this. When she’d emerged it had been to be informed that there were quite possibly angels in the world, and demons again. Diana hadn’t ever not believed in angels, because to do so would be to deny a part of herself, but she hadn’t thought that they’d come back to the world. Why they’d left at all was a mystery to her and if she came across one she hoped that she’d remember to ask them why. Surely they’d know. This morning she was thinking these things over after getting breakfast for Barnabas, seated next to an open window. Breeze made a remark from her perch about how someone was coming, a sentiment that was echoed on the wind. Looping her gauzy wrap over her elbows, Diana rose just before the doorbell and went to answer it.
When she saw the twins on the other side a radiant smile broke out on her face and she instantly reached out to embrace both of them. The first that she and Barnabas had found upon their arrival to Scarlet Oak and yet she hadn’t seen them the most because they wouldn’t come live at home as they should. A thought that was brushed away with a murmur of the wind because she didn’t want to lecture. Not while they were right here with her. “Aurora, Aetheria, I’m so glad to see both of you! Come in, come in, I have some tea set and there’s plenty of honey for you to use, Aurora.” She brushed back a piece of the blind twin’s hair with a gentle smile. Closing the door with a wave of her hand and a burst of air, Diana ushered the twins into the living room where the most comfortable furniture was.
Hearing her twin’s words, she just nodded in response, then Kiana had to mentally nudge her about the fact that Aurora couldn’t see said nod, so she just squeezed her twin’s hand right back. It was the least she could do. Before she knew it, the door opened and Diana was there. Even if a few tears were swelling up in her eyes, Aetheria still smiled at the sight of their mother. And to think that a month or so ago, they weren’t able to have this luxury of stopping by to see her. She would make everything better. And tea sounded excellent, too. As Kiana flew in and sang away, Aetheria guided her sister on in, even if they were being ushered by their own mother. Typical air elementals, really. Once there, Aetheria took in a deep breath and savored the scent of the tea filling the room. This would help. It wouldn’t make the demon lady go away, but it was a start. After guiding Aurora to a comfy seat, she turned to look at Diana and nodded with a sad smile. “Thank you,” she barely uttered, then curled up next to her twin with her hippo plushie in tow.
Nothing in the world beat out getting pulled into a hug by Diana. Aurora’s face broke out in a grin and she hugged back as hard as she could. “It’s so good to be near you, mother,” Aurora declared before allowing herself to be seated. A long time ago she had rid herself of saying ‘see’ because people always asked her about that. No, she could not see them, but it meant the same sort of thing did it not? She thought that it did at least. “I’d love to have some tea.” With honey. Nice to see that her favorite things had not been forgotten despite all the time that she had spent away from home. Diana even remembered that it was her who really liked her honey, and honestly Aurora never blamed anyone in the family for forgetting which of them was which. Other than the blind thing when they had been home there had not been much different. “Aetheria met a demon who was mean to her,” the small blonde declared. That was why they were here after all, right? So that Diana could fix the problem or make her feel better.
It had only been a few weeks, but it still seemed to twist a little something inside of Diana every time that she saw that scar on Aetheria’s neck and heard her speak. A little whisper, a memory of what she’d been able to say before. And she’d had such a lovely voice. Who did Aurora sing with now? Sighing, Diana gathered the tea along with the honey pot and brought it into the living room. Setting it down she prepared three cups, making sure to add an extra bit of honey to Aurora’s. And proceeded to nearly drop her cup when Aurora declared that a demon had been mean to Aetheria. She’d met a demon. A demon had been near her daughters. Bad enough that they worked with vampires, but adding demons on top of it just wasn’t right. And it shouldn’t be allowed. It shouldn’t happen. She wouldn’t stand for it. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” Diana said as she sat on the edge of the couch, pulling the younger twin towards her. Immediately she began to check her over for any physical damage. “Tell me what happened and where the demon is and I’ll make sure it never bothers you again.” Could Diana do anything against a demon? She didn’t know but she was sure she’d figure it out.
The second that Diana was by her side, Aetheria instantly clung onto her. Several tears ran down her face as she recalled the meeting, wishing it was just a bad dream, but she couldn’t do that with every bad occurrence in life. When she did pull away, she rubbed those tears away and took out her notebook. This was too many words for her to speak and she hoped Diana wasn’t too impatient with her shaky handwriting: ‘It’s this woman that’s staying at the house we’re at,’ she began, taking a pause to sniffle some more. Had they even told Diana they were staying at a whore house essentially? Aetheria didn’t see anything wrong with that, except that the demon was there. ‘Her nails were like these sharp claws and they scared me. It made me think of the time-’ This part was hard for her to write, taking longer pauses to pat her eyes dry before continuing. ‘...the time when I was attacked and almost died. I thought she was going to hurt me, but she didn’t. But she was mean! And she made fun of me. And didn’t apologize. And she was mean’ Yup, she even went out of her way to underline the word to get the point across. Once that was done, she just slumped back and wibbled. Hopefully mommy would make the mean lady go away.
Mmmm, honeyed tea. Aurora smiled as she enjoyed her cup, though her smile was a little tainted when she realized that Diana was upset, and Aetheria too. Knowing her twin she was probably writing down what happened so there was nothing that Aurora could really do. Past sit there and enjoy her tea. ’Your sister is really upset by all of this.’ Well yeah, of course she was, there had been a demon being mean to her. That demon needed to have someone give them a serious talking to so that she knew that things like that just were not allowed. That demons did not operate on the same basic wavelength as everyone else, especially angelic people, did not really matter to her. “You’ll make everything better,” Aurora agreed with what Diana said, feeling out to find Aetheria’s hand and squeeze it. See? Mothers managed to make everything better.
A demon being mean to her Aetheria. Diana read what the silent twin wrote, fuming silently all of the while. How dare a demon even set foot into the same house as her twins! Any of her children for that matter, but she’d have stopped one that came near this house as she was certain that Caelia would’ve in her home so really it was just the twins and how are it?! It, not she, even though Aetheria’d clearly called her a woman with ‘sharp claws’. Diana didn’t care if she’d called it a dancing dog rolling around on a ball, it was a demon all the same and it’d frightened her. “Shhhhh, darling, it’s alright now,” Diana soothed, nudging Aurora over a bit so that she could slide onto the couch between both of them. She reached her arm around Aetheria’s shoulders and squeezed her tightly, brushing back her hair and kissing her forehead. “Aurora’s right, I’ll make everything better.” Now exactly how she intended on doing that was a completely different matter, but oh well, she’d get to that. Currently what mattered was calming Aetheria down and making sure that she felt every bit as safe as she deserved to. Nothing would ever harm her here. “Have some tea, love, you’ll feel better.”
Aurora was right - mommy would make everything better. Nodding her head while sniffling, Aetheria managed to smile in her mother’s direction while grabbing a cup of tea to sip on. Delicious! And it smelled just as wonderful. She knew back home that Diana would make damn sure of it that no one touched or hurt her children. That one time with the vampires didn’t count, seeing she was nowhere near them. She would have zapped them with lightning if she was. But now Diana was back, so she’d make sure this demon never touched her again. After another sip on her tea, she rubbed the tears away and looked up to Diana and whispered, “Thank you, mommy.” She snuggled into Diana’s side and clung onto her, wanting nothing more than a mother’s love at that point. The blonde had missed that after five years of loneliness. Had her twin not been there, she surely would have broke.
Happy to be shifted since it meant that Diana was joining them on the couch, Aurora shifted her tea to one hand and snuggled into Diana’s other side. See? She had been right when she declared that their mommy was going to make it all better. Because she was. That was what Diana did when anything was wrong with her children. Five years of being forcibly separated had clearly not changed that one bit. Just look at the fact that she was here! Once upon a time Aurora could not have imagined her mother ever leaving their temple, much less Greece, but now it was obvious that she was capable of it. For them. Because she had loved and missed them and wanted them safe. ’Which we all know you and Aetheria are not.’ Shhh, Neveah. “Sing something for us,” Aurora encouraged as she leaned her cheek against Diana’s shoulder. Her mother’s voice was beautiful and she had missed hearing it so very much. She would even attempt to behave and not sing along as well or else the wind would come and play. “I’ve missed listening to you, mom.”
This right here was one of those seemingly little things that Diana hadn’t ever been able to forget. Cuddling with the twins on a couch while they sipped at tea. True, it’d usually end with them singing or telling her a story of something that they’d gotten up to but that wasn’t the case now. Because Aetheria couldn’t sing. Just the knowledge that her youngest daughter - hey look, she remembered Dashiell was a boy! - wasn’t able to talk or sing like she’d been able to before made her chest tighten. At least in Aurora’s case she’d always been blind. Aetheria had always been able to talk and she’d had the sweetest voice. Sighing at the memory, Diana allowed it to carry away with a little breath of air, smoothing her hands over the twin’s hair. Even now it still felt the same - silky and smooth, the color and texture of one identical to that of the other. They all had similar hair, her girls, but the twin’s was exactly alike of course. A visiting doctor had declared that they weren’t identical twins, but very nearly all the way there. “You want me to sing?” Diana repeated with a fond smile, kissing Aurora and then Aetheria’s forehead. Hmmm, what should she sing? Ah yes, something from her very favorite musical that Barnabas had actually taken her to see in hopes that it would lift her spirits for a time. It hadn’t but she remembered all the same. “I’ll sing for you,” she confirmed, releasing her hold on Aurora so that she could take a sip from her tea before beginning to sing. A little sad, yes, but it was a song that made her think of her children so very much.
When Aurora asked for Diana to sing, that perked her right up. Aetheria loved it when their mom sang for them! Something about it just made Aetheria feel protected and loved, regardless what she sang about. Curling up closer while clinging to her plushie, her blue eyes went wide while listening to Diana spout out a beautiful melody. Aetheria missed the day when she could sing. She and her twin would sing until night fell over the mountains and they had to go home. Singing meant they could play with the wind whenever they wanted to. Aetheria might not have been able to sing along, but she still appreciated the beautiful melody. It would always bring back warm, pleasant memories with her family and make her forget about such horrible things, such as the demon. Air elementals could be quite forgetful and right now she appreciated that. Smiling sweetly, she watched her mother continue to sing and soothe them, sipping on tea now and then. This was absolutely perfect and Aetheria couldn’t ask for anything more. Diana was the best mommy ever.