Happy Death Day [Mana/Ari]

Oh how Arianda loved the solitude and quiet of the mountains. There was still little shine compared to how things had been in Minatumi, or when Arianda was a Shadowfall royal; but the living situation she was in was the best for Ari. Why, she was able to keep to herself and not bother with any humans that would want to kill her just for existing. Such reasons were why Arianda gladly enjoyed the solitude that was provided to her by... by. Just the thought of Ari's daughter, Calypso, was enough to tinge her emotional state. She had been gone, gone for too long; long enough that everything was worrying Ari more than she would be willing to admit. The last time Ari had seen her in this house had been, well, a meeting that was far too melancholic overall. She was suffering, and now Ari had heard neither hide nor hair of the girl. Was she to get news soon? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Rain beat against the windows, against the roof, as Arianda stared at the storm outside, her eyes drawn heavily to the window that showed the weather all too well. She remained captured by it, as if she somehow knew the rain was trying to color her mood to something terrible to come. But why would that be? She had no reason for sadness or misery. Or did she? Frankly, Arianda had no honest clue. As far as she knew, there was nothing more to be sad about in the world than the reasons that had already existed before. Soon, the rapping of knuckles against a wooden door broke the spell that took hold of Ari.

She snapped out of her reprieve, her eyes, and head, snapping to the direction of the front door. Her awareness spread outwards, and the presence she felt... well, simply, it puzzled her; and it also excited her. It was Mana. She had missed the woman far more than Ari cold ever have admitted to anyone. Despite the past, despite everything, Mana was still held in a special place of Ari's heart. Which was why Mana had a very short wait at Ari's door before the demon had finally composed herself, and her attire, enough to accept the Queen of Demons into her home and hearth.

The door opened, perhaps a touch too fast, and a pair of arms, that nearly matched Mana's pale complexion, shot forward and pulled the woman into a rather loving bearhug; a hug engaged by none other than Arianda herself. In Ari's excitement, she had returned to her true form, carefully burying her face into Mana as she held the demon Queen. Mana would be able to tell how deeply Ari had missed the woman, even if her actions already partially betrayed as such. Moreover, she would likely be able to feel the worry that pulled at Arianda due to how a certain daughter of theirs was now missing. Of course, Arianda knew not the truth behind such a thing.

As Arianda carefully pulled Mana into her house, outside of the rain and cold, and into the warm house that likely felt too warm for what was about to be conveyed. Regardless, Arianda did not wish to let the embrace she had started end. Eventually, the demon loosened her grip, so that she was no longer giving Mana a bear hug, and looked up at the woman; giving her a warm, but gentle, smile. She knew not why Mana had visited, but she was glad to see the woman after so long. However, the color of Mana's emotions did give Ari some pause. What was wrong? What might have happened to color Mana's emotions in such a sad way? What happened?

Arianda found herself growing slightly apprehensive, but, she slowly moved an arm up to lower Mana's hood, if Mana had not already done so or if the hood had already been down, and she held that gentle smile for a bit longer before speaking.

"It is good to see you again, after so long, Mana. But, if I may, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

Arianda's blue eyes stared into those green gems of Mana's eyes; searching for an answer before the words were given. However, Arianda knew she had to wait; knew she had to wait for the moment where Mana revealed the reason why she had visited. That reason, unbeknownst to Ari, would bring the little demon a great deal of sorrow; but as long as Mana was there, perhaps the demon could take the news. Then again, who knew? Losing a child... it was unlike any other loss.

Of course Arianda was little Ms. Excited. Despite everything that Ari had been through with Mana, she still loved the demon with all her heart; even if the news Mana carried with her was less than pleasant, it wouldn’t break the bond they had. Regardless, the demon was still attentive to Mana’s overall mood. The swing in her voice was subdued, false. Hell, even how Mana carried herself was far from normal; for Mana at least. However, Arianda wasn’t soon to question Mana about the reasons for why she seemed so subdued. The demon simply followed Mana’s example and seated herself next to the demon queen. Perhaps Arianda was being a bit too cuddly, but, it was a bit of an occupational hazard. Loving hugs and physical affection meant that being with Ari would mean getting hugged. However, the demon restrained herself and simply sat close to Mana; allowing a bit of that manic energy to slowly die down and relax.

Afterwards, Ari’s mind returned to pondering the reasons why Mana could be here. Of course, the most obvious reason that popped into Ari’s mind was to “pay a visit”. However, Arianda knew enough about Mana to understand that her presence here wasn’t just to shoot the shit. Something was wrong, in some way, and whatever it was appeared to be urgent enough, or bad enough, to warrant Mana coming here personally.

However, Mana was quite right that relaxing would do Ari justice before Mana properly breached the reasons as to why she was visiting Ari’s abode. Arianda simply nodded in agreement, relaxing into the comfortable couch in quiet content.

It took a little bit, probably around 10-30 minutes of silence as Arianda calmly leaned into the couch, and against Mana slightly, before the demon finally broke the long, relaxing, silence.

“I hope there has been enough time to relax but… Mana, what have you come to tell me? Your dour mood concerns me. Please, tell me. I want to know.”

Arianda knew not of what she asked. However, her aptitude to sense emotional fluctuations at least gave her a general idea of the gravity. It was something… something sad. Something so deeply sad that Arianda could only grin and bare it, wait for it… and perhaps react accordingly. But the news Mana would present her with was something she was not, no one was really, prepared to receive. After all, how could anyone properly deal with losing a child?

Well, at least Arianda was quite right about why Mana was here, and about her rather dour mood. However, of course, the demon could only wait for the news that would likely soon come crashing down. Arianda could only wonder as she listened to Mana say how this was not something easy to say; nor was there an easy way to put it. However, Arianda listened with somewhat bated breath; at least until she took a very sudden inhale.

Wait... What did she say? Purging of her existence? And her grandchild?

Arianda couldn't move, she couldn't even breath. Ari's mind could only comprehend the ramifications of what Mana spoke. Her brain didn't want to accept it, not even in a slight Iota. Calypso was so tough... but, clearly that toughness had lead to the ultimate end. As if to try and confirm, or prove wrong, Arianda opened up that connection to the Asthavon's. Immediately, she felt Mana, and the honest sorrow that seemed to radiate from her. However, no matter how hard Arianda searched and searched through that connection that was shared between the Asthavon's and those favored by them... nothing.

The world came crashing down around Arianda as she leaned heavily into Mana, the words Mana spoke being registered, but not wholly heard. Indeed, Calypso was no longer of this world. Danava or no, what she was is now gone. No matter how you look at it, she was gone, gone from this world never to return. The demon could feel the immense sorrow crashing upon her like a freight train; Calypso was... was dead.

Immense anger filled the demon's being. But none of it was directed at Mana, no; all that anger was directed at Arianda herself. At being so helpless when it came to Calypso. She could never have done anything for her daughter, not even when she departed from this world. The demon looked up at Mana, the sorrow evident in her blue eyes as she leaned up to give the Queen of Demons a kiss on the cheek; gently extricating herself from the embrace.

"Gimme... Gimme a sec, Mana... I'll be right back."

Her voice was stiff, stiffer than the board her back had become; cracked and threatening to break from emotion. Soon, Arianda walked to the door, still stiff, and flung it open with obvious lack of restraint. There was little sound aside from the storm outside, the crack of thunder, and the stomping of feet that quickly faded. However, the loud cracking and snapping of a tree being felled in some way split the relative silence brought by Arianda's absence. It was a short time before Ari returned, her right hand broken and bloody despite how rapidly it was regenerating. She slammed the door with her tail, drying herself absentmindedly as she moved back over to Mana and flopped onto the demon Queen's lap.

Almost immediately after Arianda curled into a ball against Mana. All too quickly, Arianda broke into horrible, heart breaking sobs. It wasn't loud, no. She had no reason to keen or scream. But, her cries were evident that of a mother. A mother who had lost her child long before they should have been taken. She hiccupped and sobbed, burying her wettened face into Mana's bosom as she wrapped her still good hand, and arm, around Mana; given her right hand had not completely healed from her destroying it against a pine tree.

Eventually, the demon broke free of her sobs long enough to speak, sniffing a tiny bit as she dared not remove her face from the comfort it was in.

"If...If you will stay for as long as I need, then you might be-be here for a while, M-Mana... I dare not try and come to terms with this alone.. So please… stay for a while."

Arianda pressed herself rather hard against the Queen of Demons, against the woman she loved so greatly, and let herself cry herself into some form of 'calm'. She may not exactly be able to truly calm herself down, but Mana's presence was certainly welcoming during such terrible news. Luckily, the demon's emotions conveyed her desires better than her words. She wanted nothing more than to just simply spend time with Mana, and to help them both come to terms with the news that was currently rocking Arianda's world.

Sorrow was the only thing that could honestly flow from Arianda at the moment. Calypso, her darling daughter, was gone. Sure, she was old enough to make her own choices... but everything she was doing up to this point, up to the point where she died perhaps, was nothing for herself. Always about others, never about her own health or well being. Knowing such things honestly and truly caused Ari a great deal of regret and sadness, especially to know that there was nothing she could have done to prevent it; even if some facet of her being truly needed to think that there was something more she could have done, she knew such a thing was impossible. Caly was always, as far as Ari knew, too stubborn for her own good. So, the demon simply cried herself to silence as she laid in the embrace of Mana, her right hand slowly popping every joint and bone back into place; the only memory of Arianda felling a tree with her unprotected fist was naught more than the blood that covered it still. The little demon sniffled as she curled even further into a ball and pressed herself into Mana harder; refusing to let this moment end just yet. However, the demon also held the demon Queen tighter too. She loved Mana as much as Mana loved her, and knew that they both loved Caly beyond what words could describe. However, the demon soon breathed a shaky, halting, breath; trying to relax her body some from the ball it had curled so hard into.

"Th-Thank you, Mana... Truly. This is no news either of us should have to bear, but it is better to know than to forever question. We both need each other right now, more than ever."

Arianda looked up at Mana, her face stained with the remnants of tears, a few fresh tears trailing down her cheeks as she leaned up to deposit another kiss on Mana's cheek; a gentle nonverbal thanks as she slowly relaxed her legs to be straight, no longer held to her chest with such desperation. It was a slow, slow process, but Arianda eventually ceased her crying, resulting to gentle shaking every so often. The demon shook her head gently, paying careful attention to her thorns so she didn't smack Mana with them on accident, and leaned into Mana in an effort to relax more.

At the moment, Arianda's head was honestly too confused with the sudden news to have true coherent thought. She could have a few thoughts here and there, about the current situation. Otherwise, however, Arianda's brain was simply muddled and confused more than anything. As Calypso was a Danava, she wasn't honestly gone; but Calypso as she was would never be again. This new Danava, made from the death of Caly, was not their daughter; assuming there even was another Danava born from Calypso's... departure from this world.

In an effort to turn her mind away from the issue at hand, at least temporarily, the demon rose her head a tiny bit and looked at Mana curiously. A thought occurred to her. Most of Mana's potential heirs for Queen were gone in some way. Of course, the next Queen of demons need not be an Asthavon, but it made the most sense that one of Mana's children would take up the throne when they were ready, but now...? Arianda let out a gentle sigh, gripping Mana's hand tightly with her no longer broken right hand, giving the woman a warm, tight embrace to remind her that she was here for her.

"Life truly is a cruel mistress, my dear. Brilliant stars should not be allowed to be snuffed before their time, and yet, here we are... What are we to do, Mana? I do not wish to lose any more than I already have; you especially. Yet, all things must have an end, no matter how much I hate the thought. But again, I ask... what are we to do, my dear Mana?"

Arianda was honestly glad for Mana's company. Indeed, Mana loved Ari. But, that love also meant that Mana was very ready to be quite honest about everything she told the slightly smaller demon. She spoke of refusing to be defeated by life, accepted the pain caused by it, and told Ari that quite honestly. Not to mention, the demon Queen was very assuring to Ari, who had been balling her eyes out like a newborn babe; just a lot less noisy. Arianda was glad for that as well. Not only was it a welcome change to what Mana was like back when Arianda was still part of Shadowfall, but it comforted Arianda in a way that could not be described with words very well. In essence, It was like the warmest, most loving, hug to exist.

As Arianda listened to Mana speak, her gaze still pointed up at the woman, Arianda couldn't help but allow her eyes to squint a tiny bit as Mana wiped away her tears; likely getting a bit close to her eyes as well. After all, that is what would be needed to clear away the tears, and residue, that temporarily marred Ari's features. Soon, Arianda listened once again to Mana. She spoke of living until life improved, until they either died or the improvement made everything better. Not to mention, Mana calling Ari her "beloved" did garner a slightly rosy blush on the demon woman's face. However, Mana soon cupped Ari's chin, smiling at the blue-eyed demon and asked her a question; the question made Ari grin slightly despite her potent sadness.

"If I haven't died yet from all the shite I've been through, I ain't gonna fuckin' die now, Mana. I'll find a way to punch life in the dick some day~ So, don't you go dying on me either, beloved Mana~ You may be much older than I, but you are still too young to depart from this life, as far as I am concerned."

Arianda smiled at Mana, feeling a tiny bit of joy in her being, even if it was being eclipsed by the rather large bowling ball of sadness that hung to her. In that moment, Arianda felt an immense urge to kiss the Queen, to haul off and makeout with the mother of her child. But, the demon held herself back. Unless Mana too wished it, she would not engage so carelessly. Otherwise, the demon did lean a bit closer to Mana, humming pleasantly as she rest her chin in Mana's cupped hand.

"When things to improve, Mana, trying to think positive here, what will we do? I do not want to stand idly by and lose more, but I do not exactly know what I could do. You could say I've been lost for a while now. I can't say I exactly know what to do with myself... I suspect we both may have run into such a wall at recent. However, I could be wrong and I apologize if I was simply assuming. But I can't help but wonder... what awaits us in life, Mana? What can we do to make it better? I'm afraid my grief has left me with more questions than I would like. You need not answer if you'd rather not, I'm just rambling I think..."

Arianda let out a soft sigh, once more ignoring multiple urges that always sprang up when she was around Mana. She especially ignored a particular desire. Essentially, giving Mana another child would not fix the problem. It was a non-starter, and a completely immature thing to do. Right now, they needed to come to terms with the death of their daughter; together. Overall, however, Arianda was deeply happy that she was with Mana, sharing an embrace with the demon queen like she never thought possible. In all, it likely left Arianda's decision making processes a bit muddled, but she cared not at the moment. She just wished to enjoy what little her sorrow allowed her.

"However, if there are any alternatives to just waiting for life to improve, I suggest we find ways to make it improve~"