A Siren's Plea

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

Still in her gown, Adonia wandered aimlessly away from the light of the party; across the dark grounds until she found herself in the temple, pitch-dark and eerily quiet in the moonlit night.

Her eyes came to rest on the bust of Hera in the temple. "Perhaps she changed her mind..." She mused, tiptoeing into Hera's temple. She approached the alter respectfully, lit a small stick of incense, and knelt down.

"Lady Hera. I know we discussed this when you invited me to compete... but I cannot continue this way. I've lived in fear of even speaking near men, lived alone to spare anyone the danger of hearing me, and given up the one thing I love.. to avoid..." She bit her lip nervously. "I want to sing again... I'll do anything for that... just let me sing... without fear o-of..." Again she broke off as a single tear escaped her eye.

Frustrated by her own weakness, she ripped off the her mask, tossed it aside, and swiped at the tear angrily. She sat back, wrapped her arms around her knees, and stared at the floor; her face blank once more, knowing her prayer would not be answered.

[Guest]

Calla had noticed her roommate heading into the temple, so she followed her to make sure she was all right. She stood outside the door and listened to Adonia's words, her eyes saddening. She took off her mask and looked around the corner at her, her heart almost breaking at seeing her friend's sadness. She kicked off her shoes and set her mask down with them before quietly entering the room. She dropped on her knees and hugged the Siren from behind.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have followed you, but I was a bit worried about you...," she said quietly. "But...I'm sure that Lady Hera will try to find some way to help you."

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

Adonia started slightly as she was hugged unexpectedly from behind. Upon hearing her roommate's voice though, she relaxed a bit.
"Oh... good evening Calla..." she replied taking another swipe at her eyes to make sure they were dry, embarrassed to be caught crying.
She sighed sadly before continuing "I don't think she'll do anything.. Her condition for helping me is for me to win the tournament... Which does not seem likely." She smiled sadly. "I guess its a fair trade though..."

[Guest]

Calla frowned. "That's just unfair," she said, her eyes showing how strongly she disliked the idea of the goddess not helping a warrior with something like this. Then again, she never really liked Hera anyway, so...

The Charis sighed and hugged her tighter. "I can't really say I understand what you're going through, but I'm here for you, okay? We're not just roommates to me, we're friends."

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

"Its not her fault my voice is... er... a bit too potent" Adonia said, grimacing. "I just hate that she's using it to force me to compete for her..."

Adonia turned to look at her. "Really?" she smiled returning Calla's hug. "Thank you. You're all so kind to me."

[Guest]

Somewhere sometime, someone had said that curiosity had killed the cat, Tahi mused, as she wandered the grounds the night after the ball. It was a good thing she wasn't a cat - she decided, because curiosity was something that she lived for.

At the ball, when she had offered to sing for Auntie Mnem, one of the Sirens, Adonia had gone practically white with fear. So Tahi had dropped it. But, snoop that she was, Tahi didn't like being in the dark about things. There was definitely a reason that Adonia had reacted the way she did, and Tahi wanted to know why. And so - here she was sticking her nose where it didn't belong for the umpteenth time.

As Tahi listened to the Siren's prayer, things made a lot more sense. The poor girl... for a siren not to be able to sing... It would be like Tahi not snooping.

Tahi sighed, and leaned up against the wall, hiding in the shadows as she heard footsteps approaching. It was Calla. That was probably for the best. Tahi wasn't the best advisor in the world. In fact most of the times, what she suggested turned out to be the wrong path to follow. But Calla - though maybe foolish for loving a God - had a good head on her shoulders, and was probably a better confidant right now. Quietly - she turned away.

Some secrets she kept. Some stories were not hers to tell. This was one of them. But maybe Tahi could use that knowledge to make Adonia's time a little easier.

[Guest]

Calla's frown deepened. "How is she using it to make you fight?" she asked, slightly concerned. It was just cruel and unfair in her eyes for a god or goddess to force someone to fight against their will in the Tournaments.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

"She wanted me to fight in the tournament because of my unusual aptitude water and fire magics, and my decent abilities with whips and scythes." She looked back at the floor using her magic to collect together some little water droplets into a sphere and then causing the sphere to evaporate with a quick burst of heat from her fire magic. "She said she would take away the power in my voice if I won. I would finally be able to sing without...." her voice trailed off, and she gave her head small shake, willing herself not to see the images from her past that her tales brought forth.

[Guest]

Calla smiled sadly and hugged her roommate, burying her face in the girl's shoulder.
"It hurts to think that we may have to fight against the friends we make here...," she said quietly. "We all have reasons to fight to not have to go back to our times..."
The Charis started shaking slightly, remembering how lonely she was, her mother gone and no one that cared about her. She bit her lip and forced herself not to cry right now.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

"C-Calla?" Adonia couldn't believe it. Was Calla.... trembling? Calla always seemed so happy. "A-are you all right?" she stammered hugging the Charis around the shoulders. "What's wrong?"

[Guest]

Calla shook her head and smiled weakly at her roommate. "N-no! I'm fine! Don't worry about me! I can take care of myself..."
She trailed off, getting quieter and quieter as she looked down, her bangs covering her eyes.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

Adonia could tell there was something wrong. She had never seen Calla so nervous.. so sad.
"Calla," she said placing her hands on the Charis' shoulders. "Sometimes its best to just tell someone what's wrong. I won't make you tell me, but you might feel better if you did. I promise I won't tell anyone -- Roommate's Honor!" she said crossing her heart (only slightly theatrically), leaning over to peer under Calla's long bangs and give her a reassuring smile.

[Guest]

Calla looked up, her eyes filling up slightly with tears.
"It's cruel...," she whispered. "It's cruel that we all have to live together, make friends with one another, and then fight to save ourselves from going back home..."
Calla thought about all the friends she'd made, a few in her own year. How would she be able to raise her bow and arrow to them? Attack them? She just saw it as cruel.
"And...we all have reasons for not wanting to go back...you want freedom from your voice, others want to escape things happening or have yet to happen, and if I go back to my life...I'll be all alone again...," she said quietly, hugging her knees to herself.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

"yes.." Adonia said moving to sit next to Calla and putting her arms around her. "It is cruel...." she said looking up at the shrine of Hera before her with disdain. "These 'gods'" she said putting as much venom as she could into the word "do nothing but toy with the lives and minds of we mortals, forcing us to bend to their wills, baiting us with unreachable hopes...." She bit her lip to stop herself from continuing her rant.
Hearing her roommate's last comment, she felt her eyes grow misty once more. "Alone..." she whispered. "How do you mean?"

[Guest]

Calla buried her face in her knees and tried to stop herself from crying.
"I-if I lose...I'll have no one...I have no family waiting for me. My mother's dead, my father abandoned me, and my brother doesn't care for me at all...I just can't go back!" She then started crying quietly, her shoulders shaking. She rarely let others see her this way, but she trusted her roommate enough to let her guard down.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

Adonia felt as if her heart would break to see her room-mate so distraught. he never would have guessed the cheerful Charis had such sadness in her.
"I'm so sorry Calla." she said hugging her tightly and wishing she knew what else to do. She had always been alone, so the concept of family was foreign to her. She had always been suspicious of others after her encounters with human men, but her time in Athenaem was beginning to soften her fear. She just sat there and held her friend.

[Guest]

Calla cried into Adonia's shoulder, and soon settled after awhile. "I-I'm sorry...," she apologized quietly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "I shouldn't have gotten upset like that..."
She averted her gaze, her hair hiding her eyes.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

"No, it's alright" Adonia said with a sad smile. "Sometimes you just have to let it out... I know exactly how you feel...." She said hugging her friend again. "We'll just have to fin a way to change some things around here." she said with another steely look at the bust of Hera on the shrine.

[Guest]

Calla nodded and stood, brushing off her clothes. "We should head back to our room," she said quietly.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

"Yeah... I guess so" Adonia said standing up. She picked up her discarded mask, and looking at it a moment. "Funny isn't it?" she asked stroking the designs on the mask's surface. "We all hide behind masks all the time really. Not just tonight." She tossed the mask aside and began to stride out of the temple. "Its nice to have friends though." she said smiling at Calla. "Let's go back to the room. We'll see if I can actually sleep through the night for once."

[Guest]

Calla smiled sadly and her grip tightened on her mask. Her friend was right. People do hide behind their own masks, whatever reasons those may be. She followed after the Siren, the two of them leaving Hera's temple and headed back to their room.

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

(shall we continue here, in another thread, or stop it there?)

[Guest]

Um.......whichever you want. XD;

[Achlys Adonia Argyris]

Adonia sighed as they walked along. "Its a shame that we're not allowed out at night more often." she mused at they walked back towards the warrior's quarters. "Its so boring to have to just stay in the room all night when there are training grounds, forests, and a whole lake to explore."

[Guest]

Calla giggled. "Well, just think...how many people would possibly sneaking out just to hook up," she pointed out.

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