SymphonianBookworm

Aria follows him, something proud in her smile.

“I…” Aria says, trailing off. “If that’s what you need to do… You should go. Always put yourself first.” She gives a reassuring smile and hugs him harder.

Aria's eyes widen. She drops to her knees and hugs him. She takes a steadying breath, hoping that he'll follow suit. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll get you the necklace back. It'll be okay."

Aria opened the door, finding...

Aria, somewhere, somehow, grinned very happily. “What? Len- but why?” Without waiting for a response, Aria dashed out of the room. If I were hurt and emotionally damaged, what would I do? I would… hide. So no one would see me in that state. And where would I hide? Aria ran to the inconspicuous closet.

Aria walked to the place where Jock was, only to find someone else entirely—the person who was talking with Jock when she first came. “Hey.” She offered a tired smile. “Have you… seen Jock?” @Canada Lover

Aria blinked. But… he told me to come here… Well, whatever. “Oh. Well. Thank you.” She made a motion as though she was going to try to hug him, then thought better of it, leaving. Perhaps it wasn’t the smartest decision, but she started to look for Jock. Something was wrong. Especially with the way Len had seemed when he came in.

Aria nodded, smiling. “Thank you. But I… I don’t think anything can hurt me now.” For a second, she looked surprised at herself. “Nevermind. Do you… mind if I leave the barracks now?”

Aria was silent for a moment. “Did Jock… do something? Before? And is that why you don’t like him?”

Aria (having changes out of her flight suit, finally) offered a small smile. “Thank you for… trying to stick up for me.” Her eyes flickered to Len’s clenched jaw, then back to his eyes. “Did… something happen?”

@Edema Rue, perhaps?

Aria entered the barracks, head spinning from… Well from whatever the heck just happened. She saw Junior. “Hey.“ @Lotus Blossom

Aria goes still at the touch, before straightening and blinking at Len. "Oh, I wasn't kissing Jock. Just so you know. We were just discussing the meaning of conformity. I think that it's a very important discussion to have with all people I spend time around. I have to study for my insults. That requires me to know people." Aria glanced back at Jock, gave the subtlest of winks, before turning back to Len, looking condescending. "I've collected enough information. Heading to the barracks! Yep. Barracks. Love the barracks. So... cozy. Boring. I mean, not boring. Most definitely not. It's just that the barracks don't have anyone interesting... and i'm very easily bored... and there was paint over here... so..."

"You just realized that?" Aria put a hand over her mouth. "I mean.... Yep, flightleader! I'm in your flight. Sorry. I haven't been insulting people for at least the past fifteen minutes. Force of habit. have to get the snarky-ness in. You know."

Aria pauses, almost as though she wants to turn back to Jock, before seeing Len and freezing. "Um. Hi?"

Aria sighs. "I'm not that kind of person." Her eyes are still. She is being honest. "But I do know now, and that's not going to change. So... I might be the only person who will be able to say this to you." She takes a breath. "Even if you're not special or the son of a first citizen, even if you're a street rat and a servant boy and an orphan and a liar, you will always be worth knowing. You will always have worth, because we all do. We all have our little melodies, hidden in the beat of our hearts. When you're lost, remember that. Remember the songs that you've created. They... they help you find your way. When you don't even know what direction is." She turns to go. "I'm sorry."

Aria's eyes widen for a brief moment, before realization sets in. She doesn't say anything for a second. "A liar? The only person you're lying to is yourself. By saying you are only those things." She takes a step forward. "Do you think that I haven't heard the voices in my head? That I'm stupid, insane, untalented, worthless, disgusting, ugly? But if you listen hard enough, it's not really your voice, is it? It's what everyone has told you to think. We all become the same people, in the end. When the media we consume, the sights we see, and the people we meet start blurring together... so do we. But stop. Stop and look. Stop and listen. You need to notice that when you dance, you are not the one making the music. When we sing, we sing off of a script. And when we call ourselves rats and servants and orphans and liars, it is because that is what everyone else has told us. It is not what we are. It is what they want us to be." She presses her lips together. "Is that who you want to be?"

“SHUT UP!” Aria screams back. “SHUT UP. STOP BEING SO ENTITLED. YOU CAN SAY THINGS LIKE THIS! YOU CAN SAY THINGS LIKE HOW YOU DONT LOVE YOURSELF BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEONE WHO DOES. YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU. No one wants you? THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE? IF THEY DIDNT WANT YOU HERE, THEY WOULDVE REMOVED YOU. BUT YOU’RE A FLIGHTLEADER AND A GOOD PILOT. YOU CANT SAY YOU HAVE NOTHING.” She takes a deep breath. ”At least you’re wanted in a place you can excel. At least someone wants you somewhere. At least someone wants you to exist.”

“No, I don’t,” Aria says, quiet once more. “But I would like to.”

Aria grabs his necklace and yanks his face down to her level. Her lips are pursed. She’s… angry. ”Idiots? Idiots? That’s how you think of me? That I’d be the kind of person who…” She glares at him, her eyes too close to his. Close enough that he can see himself reflected in them, clear as day. ”Who do I think I am? Well, that question doesn’t matter, does it? It’s who they think I am. Because whatever they think about me is right, no matter what I do or who I am.” She scoffs at him then, before releasing him from her grip. ”You’re not an idiot, but that’s only true if you choose to believe what they say is lies. But that’s hard, isn’t it? To face the lies?” She turns away, with—no, she could be crying… But then why are her eyes glistening? Her voice still remains unaffected by any emotion. ”Too hard for most people. Are you one of those?”

Aria’s voice, so quiet, seems to reverberate solely in the space between them. “Don’t leave just yet. Would you mind answering my questions?” Her eyes flicker with a strange sort of fire-light.

“A cavern?” Aria presses. Though her voice is light, there is something crushing in the weight of the subtext.