InsaneJournal

If there was anything that Aetheria loved almost as much as she loved her family, it was sweets. Ice cream, candy, pastries -- anything that had sugar in it was considered the perfect treat. She had spent the better part of the day rummaging through the kitchen in search of anything that might satisfy the cravings she was having. Unfortunately, the Elias household was severely lacking in tasty delights. A day ago she might have gone to find Aurora to pout about the lack of sweets in the house, but after their trip yesterday, Aetheria knew of a solution. Bouncing over to the phone, like she had done the day before, she picked up the receiver and dialed 411. It was only after the second ring that she remembered her inability to speak. A woman's voice answered and asked what she needed. "Taxi, please." Aetheria tried to whisper.

"Excuse me?"

"Taxi!" Her voice sounded ragged as she strained it to its loudest volume. The pain of it caused her to bring a hand up to massage her throat in an attempt to soothe it. She hated being unable to talk when she needed to and how, even after all this time, the fact sometimes slipped her mind. That was as far as her thoughts ever went into the negative. There was no need to dwell on the events of the past; life was better now, and that was all that mattered.

"Mam, if you're having trouble with the mouthpiece of your phone, please spell it out on the keypad." Her brow furrowed in confusion, Aetheria pulled the phone away to look at the numbers. Above them were tiny little letters and she assumed that was what the woman was referring to. She must have done exactly what was needed because when she brought the phone back to her ear she was connected to a taxi service. Then it was same struggle all over again. She was lucky that she managed to arrange a taxi for herself -- which was a task in itself -- before the phone decided it had had enough being cooperative and promptly shrieked a series of horrible sounds in her ear before shocking her.

Aetheria had not invited Aurora out with her because she had wanted to surprise her twin, but as she sat in the back of the taxi, rubbing her hurt ear, she began to reconsider the decision. Sometimes she took for granted how much easier everything was when the two of them were together; Aetheria made mental note to buy Aurora a little something extra, not that she wouldn't have done so anyway. Thankfully, she had had enough forethought to grab a small notebook and pen to take with her or the excursion would have been even less fun than when it had started. The moment her eyes caught sought of the sweet shop as the car pulled to a stop in front of it, Aetheria completely forgot all the struggle it had taken to get here. Her mouth hung open in a silent "Wow" as she mindlessly paid the driver and stepped out. It never failed to amaze her every time she laid eyes on Snow White Sweets. Opening the door to the shop, she silently giggled when she realized that her mouth was watering. As though pulled by a force outside herself, Aetheria made a straight path over to the gummy bears -- they were her favorite! She caught sight of a brunette girl, obviously attempting to pick one of the many delicious choices.

'Everything looks so good doesn't it!' Aetheria scribbled the note down on one of the pages of her notebook before politely tapping the girl on the shoulder and showing her what she had written with a bright smile.

There was always so much to look at inside the sweet shop. Aetheria had a hard time keeping her attention completely devoted to the brunette she had just tapped on the shoulder. Her eyes darted back and forth between the other girl and the candy stacked to the ceiling. Absolutely everything looked so delicious and Aetheria knew that when it came time to making a decision as to what exactly to buy she was going to be stuck here for hours -- decision making and air elementals rarely made for a good mix. At the brunette's words, she turned wide eyes back to her. One of everything? It was an idea that she had never considered before and she gave a scan around the room imagining taking a sample of every candy in the store home with her. 'Would they really let you buy that much?' She scribbled the words with a questioning look on her face. Having only been to the shop once or twice before for something specific, Aetheria had never considered the idea that she could buy as much as she wanted to. What if there was an unspoken limit and she would be told to put all her selections back if she chose to many!

It wasn't often that people asked Aetheria about her voice. Those few times when she was alone, people mostly just watched her with a degree of curiosity -- not that she actually noticed. Any other time she would be with Aurora and, with her twin speaking for the both of them, no one ever thought to wonder about her lack of voice. Despite the fact that the question caught her off guard, it didn't anger Aetheria; if the two of them had been in opposite shoes she would have wondered the exact same thing. 'Yes, I lost my voice in an accident.' No need to bring up the attack; no need to think of it at all. Aetheria kept her face bright and cheery. 'My name is Aetheria.' When she finished writing the words, she showed her notebook to Gabby. "Aetheria," her voice came out as a whisper as she spoke her name so that the other girl would know how to pronounce it. She looked at the outstretched hand and her smile brightened; she knew what to do with it now! Aetheria took Gabby's hand and gave it a full shake, probably a bit more enthusiastically than what was traditionally accepted. She nodded her head to answer 'yes', though she didn't exactly understand the phrase. Ruin your girlish figure? Aetheria had never given thought to her appearance. She was naturally beautiful and there was little she did to enhance or detract from that fact, aside from the makeup she put on to cover her scars. Even if she had been born more plain, Aetheria had been raised to believe that she was wonderful the way she was and that was how she would always see herself.

'Did you say you were a dancer? I love to dance. It's so much fun!' Aetheria loved any kind of dance, be it the natural motion her body made when she listened to her sister sing or the dancing she did for her former clients; each made her happy. She wondered what kind of dancing it was that Gabby did. Maybe she can teach me something new!