Phoenix Souls [Aina/Lethe]

Relaxed in the sun's glow, one can find their innermost peace surrounded by rows of lush grass, trees, and water. Wandering through the park, the plum eyes of Aina sucked in the visual sights as she felt the warmth of the sun flow against her milky skin. Even behind glasses, the rich gaze of the woman reflected a beautiful world. But unfortunately, the tranquility of the earth's natural sights was blind to the former creature of Algos. Even a view like this would be filled with eternal suffering for the former demon.

So, for now, Aina had only the quiet of her mind, and it felt off -- but right.

Aina knew it would take time to adjust to the way her new body functioned, but the psyche of a demon consumes all aspects when one craves power. And to live this life without it allowed her to slow down, reflect and ponder what course she should even take. There was a lingering fear in herself that the actions of her prior soul may catch up to her, but is it truly enough to have shed her demonic flesh and adorn this new life?

Taking a seat under a tree, the woman exhaled her breath and hugged her knees close to her chest. She was sitting in a more foregone expression as she gazed at the park before her. So many families were out, animals moved about, the light of the afternoon sun shun brightly, and it was all so -- peaceful. The serenity of this place made her even question if it was worth trying to invade this very place as a demonic invader in her previous life.

It was all fucked up, but she had her second chance now, and it was up to Aina to figure out what to do with it...

A strange sight would be seen today, as a woman danced through the park, wild springing jumps as she played a violin without much proficiency. Though, there was definitely an attempt to be proficient, enough that one would like to watch, more for her attempts than what she could do with it.

"Three One Three. Why did she like this again?" Lethe asked herself, looking at the Violin. Though the answer was obvious; because it was gentle and soft and burned her passion in something that could make others smile. For Ulv, there was never a gentle moment, not since the meeting of Neoveta and the decision to destroy herself in service to others. Ironic, considering she burned herself alive for the sake of those she could help, and then those she had helped pissed on her ashes. It really raised an eyebrow on what good and evil meant.

But then, after a bit more of a dance, she came across something...not quite familiar, but familiarly unfamiliar. The greatest sonnet in the world, played off-key. Looking over, there she was. Algos, or who she had become now. For a moment there was a burning feel, a flash of amber in her eyes and a spark of sharp and furious reiatsu. But it lasted over a second, and didn't go very far anyway, given Lethe's weak soul.

Slowly, with great trepidation and a desire to both flee and fight, she would approach.

"Hi" she croaked, wanting to say more but having completely lost everything she had been planning to say for months. Now she was here, nothing was coming out...

Aina was lost in her thoughts and sensations. Letting the winds of the calm summer's day blow over her skin felt lovely under the brimming sun. Perhaps things could stay like this forever, to stay in a state of contentment by finding pleasures in the mundane and natural. Yet, in this world, things were never stagnant for too long. So, while her spiritual senses weren't the sharpest, it didn't take the galaxy's most astute sensory user to see that a woman with ghostly skin was approaching Aina.

While gazing at this visage of the demon ahead of her, a sense of familiarity was seen before Aina as her plum eyes vividly recalled just who this woman was upon closer inspection. This woman was Lethe -- the one who inherited Ulv's soul. The memories of her demonic life burned into her mind at that point as a more pained expression washed over the blank soul's face before she shook it off, shaking her head and standing up.

Unlike Lethe, Aina cut straight to the chase and, without much hesitation, gave her a tight hug. Although this was something from her former life, it was one of the few good things she recalled while she was a demon. There wasn't any form of malice felt in the woman's intentions as she continued to embrace her before speaking.

"Looks like we both bit the bullet."

Trying to find some humor in the phoenix-like essence of their souls meeting in a place like this, Aina focused her gaze on Lethe before speaking.

"...I'm not sure how to put this, but I'd hope we can start over in this form. I did many terrible things as a demon in my previous life, but leaving you behind was one of my biggest regrets."

Well that was that. As much as she tried to play the girl that was not bothered by anything - a habit from having Ulv in her heart - she was bothered by quite a lot. So when Ania gave her a hug, Lethe just fell apart into tears, clutching the woman tightly through the pain of her heart.

"I waited! And, and, and, you didn't. It was so painful. My chest was hollowed out by a horrible gnawing and...and you still didn't. And then everything went numb and the world went black and I couldn't find my way anymore. And...and....you still didn't!"

Clutching tightly to Ania, Lethe would howl, her heart shredded with everything that she had gone through in such a short time. It was largely from the memories of Ulv, that after everything that happened she didn't even get one small favour back. But also that she herself had lingered for so long, knowing she had been abandoned and yet not knowing why or even by who.

Aina herself was uncertain of what to do. She was still regaining her senses back to everything and trying to make sense of this new life, new body, and mindset. Yet, in her arms, a soul from another life was collapsing in her arms. The woman just started to pat her head and put her head closer to her bosom so that Lethe could have somewhere warm and safe to be. Well, safe was relative; Aina couldn't protect anyone in this state, but she could be there physically for them.

With her plum eyes locked on the visage of Lethe breaking down, it did pain her to see her so upset, but it was only right considering all the things that had happened and the disappearance of Algos herself. The demon had been through a lot, and she just calmly motioned for her to sit, rest her head on Aina's lap and breathe. She needed to go slow and process things from here on out as she started to ponder where to go from here.

"I've been out of this world for the past half-year, Lethe. Your pain is my mistake because I was so lost in my suffering that I neglected to tell you where I went and what I did. It was all spur of the moment, and by the time Ajora, Santa, or whatever the hell she is now had kept me in the Valley of Screams it was too late. I wanted a new start with life, and I didn't realize how complicated the affairs would be in that realm."

She then continued to hold on to the hand of Lethe as her own lament washed over her face in repeating these details. The pain that a demon goes through one disappears or dies is immense, so she knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fix, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. So, rather than make it about herself, Aina just asked:

"I'm here now, so tell me, is there anything I can do moving forward to help you? I doubt I'm the same person I was with this new body, but I can't leave you alone like this."

Aina was dumbfounded when the change took place. Her face turned a light shade of cherry before she stared Ifrit up and down as if she had seen a ghost. That CERTAINLY wasn't the woman Aina just saw. If anything, it was Ulv. However, there was no way that was indeed her, given that she WAS dead. Thankfully, the person before Aina clarified her existence as it turned out that whatever portion of Ulv this was had reincarnated itself into being an eternal partner. Something which was more than familiar with!

"You almost gave me a heart attack! At least give some warning next time, as my body isn't the same as when I was a demon."

Not knowing what else to do after having so many random events hit her on top of still adjusting to this new life and body, Aina pouted and then just pinched Ifrit's cheeks. It was nice to grip something physical when your whole internal insides are going through a turbulent storm. So, to that end, she relaxed and could understand where Lethe was coming from as if she were any weaker, she'd be following the demon's trip to la-la land.

"Yeah, I can understand. My brain was about to break seeing you come back to the flesh myself..."

An exhale of breath left Aina's mouth before she continued.

"So what are you now? Your existence, Santa's; Calpyos's; everyone's seems to have gotten more complex since I've been dead. I can hardly keep track of it, but it's nice to see you whatever the hell you are now."

With her little pout over, the woman just decided to seize the moment and kiss the cheek of Irfit as she sighed.

Aina felt somewhat silly with her request, so she just had her cheeks turn redder, as it was kind of dumb to ask that. There was no way to prepare either of them for this encounter. Though, with that thought passing, at least there was something left of Ulv that existed. Even if they weren't her, it was nice to meet them. And considering that without her demonic blood, she felt different as a person and that they may as well be meeting for the first time.

"Don't apologize for the form! It's fine. I guess we will have to figure out a way to get along as new people. I don't have my demonic powers anymore, so my whole mind and soul feel...blank. It's like someone took a core part of myself, crushed it, and left me with a few traits. So that life feels so distant that we may as well be meeting for the first time."

Aina rubbed her forehead before taking a more prolonged gaze at Ifrit. While she was thinking of things to say, she couldn't get over how closely she resembled Ulv. It would be hard to think of her as any different, but out of respect, her new mind could set that aside. As if she were still stuck in her demonic blood, she'd fixate on that to no end.

"Much like you, I don't think I'd be able to reflect the grandiose nature of my former self. So that lends me a question: where do we both go from here? We both are just fragments of people long since gone..."

Ifrit would ponder for a moment. This form was high profile, and a lot of people would react negatively to it, considering how it went in the end. She'd be totally unable to show her face in Vastime, and possibly Japan. But, cross that bridge when she came to it, so she just focused on Ania right now.

"From what she felt of it, I think it's a good job you are distant from that life. It wasn't a pleasant one, and while Ulv tried in the end, it was after a lifetime of horror. Even Ulv had some good times and quiet moments, but I don't think Algos ever had those until the end. You should have been what came of Neoveta, not Algos. But I guess that is just the nature of unpredictable reality-bending powers, huh? Never mess with a Monkey's Paw"

But then Ifrit would stand up, and lightly jab Lethe awake. The woman stirred groggily and wasn't quite sure what was going on, not being a morning person very much.

"Is there any reason we can't live as normal people live? Just because we have a legacy, is no reason to deny us a future" Ifrit exclaimed, nodding softly.
"So long as there is tea in the future" Lethe grumbled, rubbing her ears to get the dust out of them.