AN: Doing things during breaks~
III
Quietly, Ava makes her to way to the living room of the Arrow residence, book in hand. The late mornings tend to be empty in their home—everyone is out doing their chores or taking a break from said chores. Odin and Olai left at dawn, to where she isn't sure. She had woken up around the same time, hearing their hushed voices through the door of the room she occupies. She lay there, simply listening to them before a knock on her door caused her to tense up.
"Ava?"
Her heart hammering in her chest, she got up to open the door, Odin standing in the hallway, "Yes?"
"S-Sorry to wake you, b-but could you do some stuff around the house while we're out?"
She instantly woke up, "Oh, like what?"
"L-Little things, nothing major," he replied, still in a whisper. He pulled out a scrap of paper and handed it to her.
She read it over, "This is all? Not a problem,"
He smiled, pleased, "Th-Thanks. I'd ask m-my sisters but they have o-other stuff to do today, too,"
She shook her head, "No, I'd be glad to help out,"
With that, he bid her goodbye and she couldn't fall asleep after that. So she washed her face, dressed, and spent the entirety of the morning cleaning up their home, drawing water from a makeshift well and generally doing handyman work. And she felt great for it. It was nice to feel useful, to be relied on.
Sighing with satisfaction, Ava settles on their couch: there's a stain on the lower-left corner, one cushion is too springy, and it's worn from years of constant use. Even so, she enjoys it, finding it a good place to read.
She hears Raven and Crow chattering in the hall, their voices growing louder as they come closer to the living room. Before she knows it, they jump on top of the couch, causing it to creak and her to bounce in place.
"Hey, wha'cha doin'?" Raven asks.
"Reading," she answers.
Crow tilts her head, peering at the cover, "Isn't that one of Odin's books?"
"Yes, he's letting me borrow it," she answers, stiffening a little. He had told her a while back if she wanted to read anything, she was welcome to what little he possessed.
They grin, mirroring expressions perfectly, portraits of devious thought. Ava realizes what Odin means: it can be a bit creepy.
She changes the subject, "Is there something you two needed?"
"No," they echo, "Just bored,"
"Your brother had gone out,"
"Olai?" Crow asks, "Yeah, he tends to leave for a while. Did the dunderhead go with him too?"
Ava nods, "I don't know why you're always putting him down,"
Raven hunches over her knees, sniffing in disdain, "He's pretty stupid,"
"I think he's nice,"
"Yeah, to you." Crow says, stretching out her arms, ridding the kinks in the muscles.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ah, c'mon, Ava," she replies, "You're a cute girl staying with us and you really think our brother doesn't notice?"
Flushing a harsh crimson, hot all over, Ava screeches, "What?"
Raven giggles, "She really didn't notice! That's adorable!"
"Your brother doesn't like me like that!"
"That's what you think," the two girls reply, standing up together, a single entity of mischief, "But we know,"
Huffing, irritated and embarrassed, Ava shakes her head, "I came down here to read, not be verbally assaulted by you two,"
"If you wanted us to leave, you could've just asked, Ava," Crow tells her, looking smug.
"We'll leave you to your book," Raven adds, she and her sister exiting at last, laughing to themselves.
"Unbelievable," mutters Ava, pulling her knees to her chest, propping the book on her knees. She gently fiddles with the pages. She then attempts to read, trying to get back into the story. To no avail, she closes it in defeat, stroking the binding—it's falling apart, parts of the pages turning a weathered yellow.
Putting her head against the back of the couch, she feels her eyes closing, realizing she's tired.
Ava smacks her face. She doesn't want to go sleep and deal with Wrathia either. The horror of not finding peace in her own mind anymore is unbearable during times like this.
Giving up, Ava makes her way up the stairs, the fifth one making its signature creak, greeting her. At the top, she heads over to Odin's room, the air thick with his scent, and it's odd to think, but the room is comforting. When he's here, she doesn't dare to invade his privacy, or even visit him in his room. When he's out, though, she likes to be inside when seeking a reprieve. Not to stay for hours on end—that'd be creepy. Just a few minutes to collect her thoughts, since Odin's sisters don't find anything of interest in his room unless he's in there, and Olai keeps to his own place.
Ava heads over to his bookshelf, sliding her fingers down its craggy surface, having once been a strong shade of dark brown, now worn from years, the back of it faded to a softer hue from where patches of sun hit it. She really likes what he has in his room.
Placing his book back amongst the rest, she takes a look about, wondering if she forgot anything, seeing's how she cleaned in here a while ago, as well. Nope. Spotless. Good job, Ava!
Grinning to herself, the young girl leaves, deciding on the way down the steps that it'd be good to walk around.
Ava heads out of the Arrow home, the sunlight bright overhead. She heads into the woods, calm as she climbs up and over a fallen log, the earth rich in aroma. Gold filters through shifting green, dazzling her eyes, the veins translucent through the viridian.
She can't believe she's been here for that long. Winter flashed by, a whirl of white, and the next thing she knows the trees are growing out their leaves. Even so, it's still rather chilly. She should've brought a coat, but she feels alright at the moment, content. Content to be here. Among actual people, and not lonely.
Wrathia is not happy about it. It's taking too long.
Sighing, Ava wonders what she's going to have to do about this whole situation. Stopping in her tracks, she decides to not stall, as that's what she's been doing this whole time, in a way.
Rushing back, before she loses the nerve, Ava seeks out where Maggie has been staying. Entering the building, she looks around for assistance. Finding no one, Ava decides to wing it and look for her former friend on her own.
Upon discovering she's not there, Ava goes back out, trying to think of the likeliest places where Maggie could be at. The market? Maybe. The pub? No…she doesn't think so.
"Ugh, it's you,"
Ava turns around, believing herself lucky, "Maggie! There you are,"
Maggie's eyes narrow, raising a brow, "What do you want now?"
"I wanted to talk to you,"
"Nah," replies Maggie, brushing back her hair, yawning into one hand, the other holding a full bag.
"Did you go shopping?"
"Maybe, not that it's any of your business."
Ava's heart falters, "Maggie, um… could we talk though, really?"
"I finished my last job for today, and now all I wanna do is crash,"
"But I really—"
"No, I'm heading over to the crapshack I'm stuck in—"
"Will you shut up for once and just listen to me!?" Ava shouts, seething red, sclera flashing yellow.
Maggie stares at her, affronted. Ava almost puts her hand to her mouth, ashamed for the outburst and the demand. Maggie doesn't owe her anything.
The other girl continues to stare at her, crossing her arms before looking away, "You're sticking up for yourself. I used to tell you to do that…"
Ava blinks, surprised.
Maggie blows out air in exasperation, "Fine, I'll let you talk to me for a minute or whatever,"
"Thank you," says Ava, grateful.
"Well, shoot,"
"It's about…our demons,"
"What about 'em?"
"Well, I wanted to know if you'd help me with something."
"I got my own agenda with Tuls."
"I know, but it'll fit with yours."
Maggie purses her lips, blinking slowly, "I doubt that,"
"I know…that things aren't the same between us, but—"
Maggie steps forward, finger jabbing into Ava's shoulder, "You're damn right they're not the same, and they're not ever going to be."
"I know!" shouts Ava, "B-But the thing is— I— We… we need to work together for this,"
"Tuls and I are doing fine. What does your demon want to do with us?"
Biting her lip, Ava inhales one large breath, "We need you to take down TITAN."
Eyes wide, Maggie stares at Ava in disbelief, "Take down TITAN? Is your ghost-person-thing serious?"
"I know that it's hard to believe, but it'd be extremely helpful to have you—"
"There's no way I'm gonna help out with something like that! You're asking me to die?"
Ava's stomach drops, a cold stone weighing her down; Maggie's eyes glint with malice.
That wasn't what I meant to do—
"No! No, that's not it at all!"
"This conversation is over. That's a suicide mission and you can forget it, you're fucking crazy, demon or no,"
"Maggie wait—"
The other girl is already running in the other direction, moving as quick as she can. Defeat TITAN—that's insane! She knew Ava was nuts but… no way.
Under great duress, Ava falls to her knees, not paying attention to the patrons who walk past, completely deflated of any hope that Maggie might agree to accompany her. And it's not as if she could blame her. Maggie is under no obligation to help her—not like the times before, where Maggie would do anything to protect her, because they were friends and their friendship had been the most important relationship in their lives.
Until Wrathia.
Until… Ava, herself, got in the way.
Choking back tears, morose, dejected, Ava stands, making her way back to the home of the Arrows. The sun is already low on the horizon, harsh golds and the bloodiest of reds marring the surface of the earth. She doesn't look. Upon entering the house, she hears Olai's voice talking to his sisters. He walks out of their kitchen space, pausing when he sees her.
"Hey there,"
"Hello,"
"We have food if you want some,"
She shakes her head, "I'm not really hungry, but thank you,"
Olai steps forward, crossing the distance between them, "You okay, kid? You look pretty pale,"
"I'm just feeling a bit sick, I think. It's nothing to be worried about,"
"Alright, well, go and get some rest then."
"Thanks," she says, nodding to him, "I appreciate all you've done for me, really,"
"Sure, no problem. Just take it easy,"
Ava heads up to her room, plopping on top of the bed, too tired to even remove her shoes. Wearily, she rotates, grabbing the pillow and burying her face into the fabric. She shouldn't cry.
But she can't help it.
It's lonely.
She's becoming her own black hole, extinguishing her own light, because that's all she's good at.
Being nothing and doing nothing.
A knock on the door disturbs her thoughts.
"Ava?"
It's morning.
Blankly, she turns to look outside. No. It's dark outside.
Rising groggily, wiping her eyes, she slowly opens the door, Odin in the hallway. Is she sure it isn't morning? A chance to repeat the day?
"Hey," she greets, voice hoarse.
Odin tilts his head, "Y-You okay?"
She takes a deep breath, "Not really. And… I kind of want to be alone right now."
"Yeah, I g-get that. Just came to bring you th-these,"
She notices the pills faintly glinting in the dim light, a glass of water in the other, "Medicine?"
"O-Olai said you weren't feeling w-well. So I b-brought you this,"
Ava's stomach twists, "I couldn't. You don't have enough to spare."
"T-Take it; its fine,"
She keeps her hands to herself. Sighing, he reaches out, pushing the glass toward her, causing her to have no choice except to stop it from dropping; with that, he begins prying open her other hand, placing them into her palm and curling them around the objects. She flushes, illuminating the dark further, and his eyes gleam across from her.
"Don't be so st-stubborn,"
"I'm not stubborn," she hisses.
"Sure, y-you're not," he agrees, rubbing the back of his neck before yawning, "Well, I'm b-beat. I'll see you t-tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah…"
He begins to walk along to his room, two doors from hers. Ava's hand closes tighter around the pills.
"Odin?"
"Hmm?" he glances over his shoulder.
"Thanks,"
Inclining his head, he smiles a little before continuing on, shutting the door behind him. She stands in place a little more.
He didn't even question her need for space.
Ava returns to her bed, licking her lips. She drops the pills into her mouth, downing them with water. She didn't realize how thirsty she was, so she finished the glass, setting it on the dresser. Pulling back the covers, she finally removes the shoes, deciding to forgo changing into more appropriate sleep attire.
He's…considerate, when he wants to be.
"Yeah, to you."
Slumber arrives fast.
She opens her eyes, her body splayed on a drawer, magma spilling from one corner.
She misses actually sleeping.
"Ava!" a harsh voice shrilly cries out.
She misses being alone.