Running From Myself

No.22 - Lost and Found

Aria's POV

I walked out into the woods, inhaling deeply. Maybe I could catch a scent of her and follow that. I walked on, while in my head continuously repeating the phrase: if I was upset where would I go? Where would I hide?

After about an hour of aimless wondering, I had an idea. I casted a silent spell and shifted into a great white falcon. Maybe I could catch a glimpse of her from above.

After a while of flying over a sea of green and an ocean of trees, I stumbled across an excessively large looking tree. It's long thick branches were entwined in itself and it quite was high up. No one would be able to see you on the ground. Perfect hiding place. While landing, I shifted back into my human form and walked along the think branches to the center of the tree. The trees infrastructure made it look like it was a treehouse rather than a natural phenomenon. It was beautiful, but I had no time to marvel at it, for there she was. Ether. She looked up at me. In her eyes I saw tiredness but also restlessness. Pain and relief. Sorrow and joy. She looked confused. Haunted. Torn. Her eyes were a rich emerald green colour, and filled with tears. She was half-shifted.

'Leave me alone Aria.' She snapped, her eyes glowing like poison, ready to be spilled.

'No.' I replied nonchalantly, completely unaffected by her anger.

'Just go away.' She whispered menacingly, probably trying to intimidate me. Lol.

'Nah, I'm good.' I replied as I got comfortable on a branch of the tree.

'Just leave me alone.' She stated, now turning her back on me in an attempt to stay calm.

'Why?' I asked, now fed up of her stubbornness.

'Because I want you to. Go away.' She shouted spinning around to face me. Her fangs and claws were making an appearance, which alerted me to tread carefully.

'Give me one good reason. One good reason to leave. And it better be good, because I can think of a million reasons to stay.' I whispered, trying to ease the tension building, which was making her want to shift.

'Your ideas are twisted. And I'm sick and tired of acting like everything is okay! I can't live my life lying and pretending.' She cried, her claws and fangs growing longer.

'That's not what I asked you to do.' I chocked out, taken aback by her. What's wrong with her? Has she been sniffing wolfsbane or something?

'But that's what it's come to. We have had to lie and pretend to get our way. We're lying that our parents died naturally, because both of us know that, that wasn't the case.' She said, so coldly it froze my blood, rendering me immobile. What?

'We're pretending to the Janoskians, who don't even know that they died. We're using them for our own benefit and they don't deserve it. We're just like the others. Leeches, sucking the life out of everyone and everything, just so that we can live to fight another day. 

And it's all because of you!' She screamed at me. Where is this coming from? Why now?

'Oh, stop it. Just stop Ether. You make it look like it's just you going through this, but it's not. We all are. Not just you! You're being selfish. I know we are using the Janoskians for our own benefit and I know they don't deserve it but I don't see another option. If you have another idea please, do share!' I screeched back in her face, now fed up with her constantly throwing that in mine. I felt my purple flames begin to heat up my body, and my irises burned bright.