Lightning Strikes

The torrent of rain was nothing to be concerned about, in her opinion, nor the way the wind whipped around her and threatened to throw her over the ledge she was sitting on. Her feet dangled idly as her eyes watched , clothed in boots and her soaked through uniform skirt and white button up top, rendering the top almost see through, not that she cared.

It was nice, really, the feeling of the rain pouring down upon her as the thunder shook the castle and the lightning threatened to strike her down. It was like flying in the middle of a lightning storm. Reckless. Dangerous. But at the same time empowering, knowing that it was her life on the line, no one else's.

The lightning struck the tower just beside her, but she didn't flinch. She knew it would not hit her, and if it did, she would simply redirect it. She was in no danger.

Unless she simply chose to let it hit her. To let the heat and electricity course through her entire person. Maybe then she'd be able to feel everything from her top of her head to the tips of her fingers and toes. Maybe then she wouldn't be able to feel anything from her emotions. Maybe her pain would-

Lightning struck again, closer, and she tilted her head upward, allowing the lightning to throw her scar into sharp relief for the briefest of moments. She closed her eyes and let the raindrops wash over her, drenching her hair and running down the contours of her face. It was nice when it rained like this, such a downpour was great for hiding - no one would be able to tell her tears from the rain drops, no one would be able to see her shiver and think it was from anything apart from the chill, and no one would see her completely drenched and think that she was more than physically out of it. They would see the set of her shoulders and think it was due to the weight of water on her body.

Here, in the rain, she could masquerade as someone normal.

Dead of winter, a torrent of freezing rain hammering the castle exterior, and Aria was wandering barefoot, a knee-length gown her only attire. Karma was not in the dorms, nor the library. That left the blonde with one other guess.

Of course, she was right.

For a moment, Aria simply stood in the entrance of the highest-most tower room and watched the other girl. Then, she moved forward on silent feet, though she doubted the half-vampire was ignorant of her presence.

"It's a good job vampires can't contract illnesses," Aria remarked. "Really, though, facing your fear of lightning doesn't mean you ought to sit around and wait for it to hit you. And rain - well, freezing or not, I've never been a fan, myself. Come out of it?"

"I fear lightning just like I fear death." She said, her voice a monotone, even as she tilted her head in the blond's direction. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at the other girl, something within her twisting and morphing into something so mutilated and different that it shone in her eyes and body language before she could stop it. "That is to say, I don't."

Her eyes closed, and she tilted her head back over again, ignoring the lightning that struck the tower beside her. "I like the rain." She observed. "I like the freezing rain and pouring rain and the way it doesn't hurt and hurts at the same time. I like the way it pours and washes over me and holds me close and pretends to love-" Her voice cut off, and she was silent, the thunder crashing around her once more.

"I like the rain." She repeated softly, tears disguised as simple raindrops. "I like the rain."

Aria crossed the remaining distance, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around Karma from behind. Then, she was being rained on too, her face pressed into the other girl's neck as freezing drops crystallized in her blond locks and soaked through the thing fabric which robed her.

"You are blind," Aria murmured admonishingly, "and you take in only that information which enables to think the worst of yourself. Why is it so hard for you to see?" Her tone became unmistakably hurt. "How can you not know that I love you?"

The feeling of the other girl's arms around her was- familiar. Comforting. All the things that should be expected of her sister's embrace. But there was something else there too. Something undefinable that made her unable to resist tensing, even as she leaned slightly into her sister's arms.

"I don't understand." She said softly, the wind nearly snatching away her words. "I don't understand why." She tilted her head back once more, resting it onto her sister's shoulder. Slowly, her fingers traced the other Slytherin's hands, taking a deep breath through her nose as she continued to try and breathe without settling back into the panic that had made her heartbeat begin to speed and her breath hitch. She tried to feel only the rain. She tried to feel only the wind. She tried to forget that the arms she was held in had once held someone else. Someone else.

Arsen.

"You were made for him, Ree." She said at last, her eyes remaining closed. "How am I supposed to compete with that?"

Aria pressed her lips against Karma's neck, the contact so light that it might have been accidental had she not repeated the action twice more. Her hold tightened.

"Why should you have to compete?" she replied. "None of us are human. Not really. Why should we live by human rules? I love you and I love Arsen. Why must it be either or? Can't I have both the people I love? Do you really not feel the same, Karma?"

"I am human." She snarled. "My half is the human half, the weak half, the scarred half, the half that's always forgotten. Kama's the one that makes me different, and if it wasn't for her, neither of you would have glanced twice at me. I don't care what I want, its what I know; you will both forget about me, even if you promise not to, and I will be alone again." Her voice was long past bitter, sixteen years past resigned. "It's what always happens. I am the last Black, it is just what will be. I will always be alone, even when completely surrounded on all sides." She twisted, coming precariously close to toppling over the edge before she wrapped her arms around her sister, telling herself that the shivers wracking her body after her kisses were only due to the rain. The wind and chill.

"How am I expected to believe I will be equal to a man who denounces my ownership in the same breath he declares yours? How am I to know that when he decides I am not strong enough for his tastes he won't take you away from me? Its all happened before." She hid her face in the crook of her sister's neck, breath whispering across the other girls skin. "I can't lose anymore people I love, Ree." She admitted softly. "I do not want to be loved if it will only bring more pain."

She was not even sure if she was lying.

Aria's teeth gritted together audibly, a blanket of charred moss spreading along the edge on either side of them. "It was not Kama who was family to me, who made me feel wanted," she bit out. "You are not half and half. I don't get your and Arsen's obsession with your humanity. The only reason there is any split at all is because you insist on denying what you are. You are one being - you should embrace all of yourself!"

The blonde circled her arms around Karma's back, pulling her just a bit further from the ledge. She pressed a cheek to her temple, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Demons don't like being owned and vampires believe they must own all that is important to them. He will never think you own him and you will always think you do. It's just part of what each of you are. Besides," Aria gave a teasing smirk that could be heard in her tone, "the truth of the matter is that I own both of you."

"When have I ever lied? And how can I forget anything when I can remember everything with perfect clarity?" She pulled back to look Karma in the eyes. "You will not lose me. I came back for you just as much as I came for Arsen."

Aria rested her forehead against Karma's. "Besides, you always loved me best." She tilted her head so she could gently brush a kiss across the other girl's lips. "Come out of the rain, now. Let me warm both of us up."

"Even if I am not half and half anymore, I have never been whole." She murmured, meeting the other girl's eyes. "It is not something I think can be understood by those born complete, if I would try to explain-" She shook her head. "You would think me insane." She tapped herself on the forehead. "There is another in here with me. It has always been so. I know nothing else." There was a moment of change, her eyes darkened, her body language changed, and though brief, it was quite apparent that whoever was sitting there, hugging the blond, was not the same girl it had been just a second ago. Lightning flashed, her eyes lightened, and suddenly she was Karma again.

"That." She said, softly. "Was not what I meant." She gave a small snort of laughter, the edges of her mouth twitching upward slightly. "I am already owned by a demon or two, and maybe three, perhaps I should stop being claimed." She teased idly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Only seems to cause trouble. Mainly because it would seem no one likes to share."

Karma grinned, but it had a small hint of falseness in it, the slight downward slant of a smile not one hundred percent sure it should be there. The thought of someone caring for her as much as they cared for Arsen - for someone putting her before Hothead - it didn't make any sense to her. She supposed Ree was right on that account, though. Out of the two of them, Karma had to be the one that showed the most affection to her sister. Arsen barely knew what affection was.

Or if he did, he surely hadn't shown it to her.

Meeting Ree's eyes, Karma cocked her head to the side slightly, letting the softness of the other girl's lips against hers register before it was gone. A mental shake and shrug was all it took to keep moving. Besides, sisters kissed all the time, as did friends.

"Alright." She agreed at last, blinking the rain out of her eyes as she rose on slightly shaky feet. As she straightened her thigh spasmed, causing enough pain for her to have to grit her teeth to keep from calling out.

Aria gazed unflinchingly back, passively watching as the other came and went. It - she - had not escaped the blonde's notice. She still thought her existence unnecessary, just as so-called Pyro's existence was unnecessary. They were each coping mechanisms, allowed only because no one had taught Karma or Arsen how to live and cope in two worlds.

"Perhaps not," Aria replied, though she might as well have said 'I know.' "It is true, nonetheless."

The blonde was on her feet and gripping Karma's arm to support her with greater speed and strength than one might have attributed to the petite girl. She guided the brunette out of the freezing rain passing into the opening in the tower. Once upon dry ground, a blanket of flames swept over them both. They were not as hot as the flames which Arsen could command, not were they as high (merely rising an inch above their skin), but they were hot enough. Soon they were dry again, and as warm as a drafty stone tower in wintertime could afford.

"Are you alright?" Aria asked. "I wasn't sure if that would help your leg at all... haven't experimented much with using it to heal. Haven't had occasion. Did the heat help?"

Karma gave a soft laugh, the sound as far from sane as the girl could be on occasion. Letting her sister lead her out of the rain - though she immediately missed its touch - she sat beside her, still gazing at the rain until the first flickering of the flames distracted her. Light brown eyes widened in glee as she recognized the feeling, lifting her arms to gaze at the fire the blond had conjured. The adoration in her gaze was near palpable as she continued to move her hand through the flames, another giggle almost causing her to miss her sister's words.

"Healing?" She asked slowly, tearing her eyes away from the flames to look at the girl she'd just remembered was sitting beside her. "Heal what? I don't need any healing." She grinned. "Heat." She repeated. "Heat's nice. Thanks sis." The fire reflected in her eyes, glossing them in a flickering sheen of insanity as a grin grew lopsided.

"It looks like you have red eyes."

"You had a charley-horse," Aria stated. "Not quite healing, but it is still a malady that can be made better." The fire blinked out of existence, leaving them to the mercy of their drafty locality.

"It is common trait among those born of fire," the blonde responded.

Aria gazed at the brunette a long moment, contemplating, noting her actions and responses. A small frown pulled at her lips. "Am I really just a sister to you?" she asked.

Karma shivered as the flames disappeared, wrapping her arms around herself as the tremors got worse. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a shuddering breath before the shivers stilled. Slowly, she fluttered her eyes open, gazing out at the storm before looking back over at Ree.

"Those born of fire." She murmured, her eyes going to the stone floor they sat upon. "Right."

Her body went rigid, her eyes sliding to gaze at the girl from the corner of her eye. "I- what do you mean by that?" She asked, her eyes returning to the stone as she began tracing a symbol on the surface with her finger. "We are sisters a-aren't we? I mean- that is to say-" Her lips trembled as she realized she was no longer sure of that, of anything. Even something that had once seemed so simple. One thought kept running around her mind, flashing between the front of her mind and the back. Somewhere, it would seem that Kama was laughing at her, but she couldn't focus on that. The thought was all powerful, all commanding.

What in hell is a sister?

"We've never-" Her tongue flicked out to wet her suddenly dry lips, her eyes flashing from the ground to the girl beside her and back. "We haven't ever- been anything else, h-have we?" She continued to keep her focus on the tracing finger. "I-I mean unless- I've m-missed-"

Aria tilted her head, waiting patiently for a moment as Karma stammered. When it appeared there would be no end, however, the blonde gave a small amused smile. She moved closer, hands lifting to caress the sides of Karma's face.

"Allow me to put it simply," she murmured. Then, Aria pressed her lips to Karma once more, the contact gentle at first, and then insistent. Her tongue ran the length of Karma's bottom lip, requesting entrance, persistent in its quest.

If she had ever been vague before, her actions spoke with crystal clarity now.

Falling silent, the young half vampire gazed over at her sister, lips parted in indecision before she found her lips being otherwise... occupied. The shock of it had her frozen, a jolt of something ripping through her as the blond's tongue-

It took a moment, but slowly Karma began to respond, moving her lips against the other girl's as she hesitantly allowed access into her mouth. The movement was almost timid as she laced her fingers through blond hair, cupping the base of the other Slytherin's skull to tilt it back slightly, allowing her tongue to explore.

She pulled away slowly, her eyes fluttering open to see the blond before her, a rosy red blush spreading across her cheeks as she left them nose to nose, allowing the other girl to make the next move.

Aria made a pleased little sound in the back of her throat as Karma kissed back, her own tongue matching hers stroke for stroke. Wrapping an arm around the brunette's neck, she pulled herself closer, thrilling in the proximity.

She nuzzled her nose against Karma's playfully, a smile gracing her lips. "You're pretty when you blush," Aria murmured. The blonde ran her fingers through Karma's hair.

"I feel the need to ask again," she remarked, eyes shining impishly, starting a trail of small kisses along Karma's jawline as she spoke, "'Am I really... just... a sister to you?"

Karma smirked, her blush deepening as their noses brushed. "Am I?" She asked breathlessly, a grin tugging at her lips before the smirk was back, something about it not completely decent.

"What's a sister, exactly?" She teased, trying and failing to suppress the shiver that came after her sis- her Aria's touch. Her eyes fluttered shut, and some sound - suspiciously like a whimper, almost like a groan - tried to escape her throat. "Depends." She decided finally, her voice dropping as she tried and failed to sound unaffected.

Aria smirked back, her own gaze less than innocent. She turned her attention to using her lips to explore the flesh at Karma's throat, daringly adding in the occasional nip of her teeth. Her hands trailed deliberately down the curves of the brunettes body, nimble fingers hooking beneath the waistband of her skirt.

"Depends?" Aria echoed, breath soft against Karma's skin, her tone low and pitched to conjure indecent thoughts. "Depends on what?"

Her own fingers had jumped to life, feeling along the sides of Aria's nightgown, caressing the skin through the fabric there even as she smirked against the sounds trying to free themselves from her throat. Her fangs lengthened as the blond bit down, a jolt shivering its way through her body.

"Y-you said that we belong to you." The slight falter in her voice was quickly spoken over, almost as if it hadn't happened at all, even as her fingers continued their exploration. Though it sounded true, Karma let the disbelief she felt into her voice, letting it exaggerate. "Prove it." She moved quickly, distancing her neck from Aria's mouth by switching places, moving her own lips against the blond's throat. "Stake your claim, Ree." She murmured, biting down soft enough to not break skin, sucking to leave a mark. "Or it isn't a claim at all."

Aria's own hands had found their way under the hem of Karma's blouse, slender fingers moving lightly across smooth flesh. She smiled widely at the brunette, crimson gaze never leaving warm brown.

"Okay," she agreed, leaning closer to brush her lips against Karma's again. "But not here. It's cold and drafty, and just anyone could walk in. Tonight," Aria's tone dropped into a sultry murmur, "I want you all to myself. Just you and me. What do you say, Karma?"