Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

395 - Quiet Desperation

“How much longer is this going to take?” groaned Aria.

Lex didn’t answer her, simply continuing to stare off into space. Of course, that wasn’t surprising; she’d asked that question two or three dozen times now, and he had yet to respond. Giving a sigh of frustration at how long she’d been ignored, Aria again entertained the notion of walking up to Lex and making him pay attention to her. It would be easy, she mused to herself. All it would take would be a few well-placed amorous touches to start getting a reaction out of him, she felt sure. Or maybe something rougher was in order… Like shoving him off the edge of the platform, she groused to herself, her playful impulse turning sour in the face of her boredom.

But she knew better than to seriously entertain any of those ideas, instead lying on her back and staring upward listlessly. Lex would get angry at her if she interrupted him, she knew, whether she made it enjoyable for him or not. And while she felt sure that he wouldn’t do something awful like take away her voice again, she didn’t want to push him. Not when things had been going so well.

That kiss…

If Aria had still possessed toes, they would have curled at the memory of how Lex had kissed her before. Even though they’d gotten it on a few hours ago, and then made out heatedly just before those kids had arrived, that kiss had been different. It hadn’t been the lusty, “call me daddy” type of kiss that he’d given her every other time they’d locked lips. Instead, it had been something much more intense, as though Lex had been caught in the grip of feelings so strong that mere words couldn’t express them.

Feelings for her.

They’d enjoyed each other’s bodies earlier, and he’d told her that he loved her after that. But as wonderful as those had been, neither could compare to what Aria had felt in that moment. Because in that single instant, she’d experienced what it was like for Lex Legis to adore her, and she wanted more.

That yearning had kept Aria out here with him after he’d pulled away from her and said that he was going to start working on a summoning spell. Or ritual. Whatever. The mere chance that he’d kiss her like that again was enough that she couldn’t bring herself to go back to sleep. So while Lex had simply turned and begun staring out into the night, apparently able to invent the spell he needed completely in his head, she had sat down to wait for him to finish.

And waited.

And waited…

“How much longer is this going to-”

“It’s done.”

Lex’s voice made Aria jump, a flutter of excitement running through her chest. “Great!” A second later she came back to herself, forcing herself to adopt a scowl and she stood up. “I mean, it’s about time! It’s been, what, a couple of hours at least?”

“I told you before that if you were bored, you could go back to sleep,” countered Lex, his usual irritated look back in place.

“Yeah, yeah,” huffed Aria. “So what do we do now?”

Lex paused, and Aria watched as an uncomfortable look flickered across his face. The sight made her eyes narrow, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Her new boyfriend might be an intellectual and magical powerhouse, but he was terrible at hiding his feelings. In this case, he’d heard her say “we,” indicating that she wasn’t going anywhere, and he wasn’t happy about it.

That wasn’t surprising, since Lex had been unusually cagey when she’d asked him what was going on before. While he hadn’t looked like he’d been lying about wanting to hold a ceremony in the Night Mare’s honor, Aria felt sure that there was more that he wasn’t telling her. Even if he didn’t have a terrible poker face, the very idea that Lex would throw some sort of party to thank that goddess of his struck her as odd to begin with. This entire time, he’d been so focused on keeping everyone safe and fed that his doing anything else, let alone something as…impractical as a ceremony was unusual. That he apparently felt like it needed to happen immediately, to the point of preparing for it in the middle of the night despite how tired he looked, was downright suspicious. And the fact that he wasn’t happy about her being there while he went looking for the proper way to hold that ceremony only clinched it further for Aria: there was more going on here than Lex was telling her.

It bothered her that he apparently didn’t trust her enough to tell her what was really going on, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel a little excited. She’d helped him out once already and he’d been so overjoyed that he’d given her the sort of kiss that songs were written about. If she could keep the help coming, then maybe he’d give her some more!

It was with that thought in mind that she smirked at him, silently daring him to try and send her away. Maybe you could have done it when I was in my Siren form and you had that power over me, she chuckled inwardly. But not anymore!

Lex seemed to come to the same conclusion, because he let out a slow breath. “My saddlebags are still inside,” he nodded toward the station. “Bring them to me.”

Aria raised a brow, instantly suspicious. “And what’ll you be doing in the meantime?”

“Waiting for you to retrieve them!” snapped Lex. “Now go!”

Although that was quite clearly a command, Aria nevertheless lingered, wondering whether he really needed his bags or if this was another attempt to get rid of her. He can barely walk, and I’ll only be gone for a few seconds, she knew. But if he turns into a shadow or casts a teleportation spell or something else, that would be all the time he needs to make a getaway. But if he really did need his bags, then this was her chance to make herself useful again…

“I’ll be right back,” she said at last. “And if you’re not here when I do, I swear I’ll wake up this entire camp and have them start looking for you.” Not waiting for him to respond, she turned and trotted toward the station, smirking to herself. You’re not the only one who can come up with brilliant plans, lover boy.

Slipping inside the station, Aria paused, taking a second to confirm that Nosey and Sonata were still fast asleep. Getting out of here as quickly as she could was still a priority, but she’d seen enough movies to know that rushing right now would cause her to make a stupid mistake that would wake those other two up, and that was the last thing she wanted right now. She’d shared Lex with both of them earlier; right now he was all hers!

Once she’d confirmed that neither mare had moved, she began inching her way toward Lex’s saddlebags. It took longer than she would have liked, thanks to the near-total lack of light and her making certain to walk softly, but it still took her less than a minute to locate them. Slinging the bags over her back, she turned and made her way back toward the door, holding her breath as her tension mounted. This was the part where something would go wrong, she knew. Either she’d trip over something and wake up one of those two idiots, or Lex would be nowhere to be found when she opened the door, or something else would happen that would ruin things…

But no disasters struck as she reached the door, and when Aria opened it a second later, Lex was still sitting in the exact spot that she’d left him in.

Sighing in relief, Aria stepped outside and shut the door quietly behind her. “Here.” She tossed the saddlebags at his hooves, or at least she meant to, but he caught it with his telekinesis before it hit the ground. “What’s in there that’s so important, anyway?”

Lex gave her an irritated look, probably because of her threat from a minute ago, but turned his attention to the bags a second later. “These.” His remark was punctuated as he opened one of the bags, telekinetically lifting over a dozen small gemstones of various shapes and colors out of it.

Aria tilted her head, not sure what to make of that. “A bunch of jewels? Wait, let me guess. Those are more of those things that circle your head and enhance your powers, right? Or are those the kind where you put a spell in them so you can cast it later?”

“Neither.” Not bothering to look at her as he spoke, Lex began examining each jewel in turn, looking them over with a critical eye. “These gems are completely non-magical. They were unearthed while the mass grave for the ghouls was being dug.” He frowned again, but this time not at her. “They don’t have much potential for storing magical energies, either.”

He was doing it again, giving her an answer without actually telling her what she wanted to know. “Okay, let me try this again. Why did you want those right now?”

His eyes darted over to her, just for a moment, and then back to the jewels. “I’m planning on summoning a denizen of the Night Mare’s realm in order to acquire the information I need. If they’re anything like the Night Mare herself, they won’t give something for nothing. These should be sufficient payment for what I want to know.”

Aria’s brow furrowed, not liking the sound of that. “And if they’re not?”

He didn’t bother looking at her this time. “The knowledge I want isn’t anything particularly esoteric. In the event that whatever creature I summon finds these to be insufficient, then I’ll simply dismiss them and try again with a different creature. One of them will be willing to trade information for profit.”

Aria opened her mouth, but Lex must have anticipated what she was going to say, because he kept speaking. “And in the unlikely event that worse comes to worst and none of the entities I summon find these gems to be satisfactory compensation, then I’ll offer one of the magical gemstones instead, though I’d prefer not to.” He telekinetically put the jewels back in his saddlebag, placing it on his back as he slowly stood up. “And don’t ask what will happen if that should prove to be inadequate payment. The magic imbued in even one of those gems is far and away greater than what all of their mundane counterparts together could hold. Someone will be willing to make a deal.”

Nodding mutely, Aria tried to fight down the sudden wave of nervousness flowing through her. Everything Lex was saying made sense, but it was what he wasn’t saying that made a shudder roll down her spine. She knew he was still trying to keep things from her, feeding her tidbits of information while leaving the important parts out, but this time she’d gotten a glimpse of what he was hiding.

He’s desperate.

It felt wrong to think of Lex Legis that way, but there was no other conclusion that made sense. Whatever information Lex wanted, it was something that he had to have, and soon. Far more than just pushing himself when he was tired, or working on a new spell for hours in the middle of the night, for him to be so adamant that he’d find a way to make a deal was telling. He needed this to happen, to the point where he was willing to trade away even one of his magic items to make sure he found whatever it was he was looking for.

Lex’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “Now, I’m going to head outside of camp to perform the summoning ritual. I want you to stay here-”

“No way.” Aria’s response was immediate. “Uh-uh. I’m going with you.”

“Absolutely not.” Lex glared at her. “I need to be able to perform this ritual with no interruptions-”

But again Aria didn’t let him finish. “Then I better come along and make sure that there aren’t any.”

Lex glared at her, his eyes glowing green and purple now. But Aria didn’t flinch, staring right back at him. “Let me make this clear,” growled Lex, his voice brimming with anger. “I don’t want you there.”

That hurt, but Aria refused to let it show. “Yeah, well, I want you to come clean about whatever it is you’re hiding. So I guess we’re both going to be disappointed.”

Black crystals began to grow around her as Lex’s eyes flared brighter. Punching upward with notable force, several of them only missed her by inches. But although Aria could feel her heart pounding in her chest, along with the sensation of sweat running down the back of her neck, she kept her eyes locked on Lex. She felt confident that he wouldn’t do anything to her, not after the moments they’d shared.

But at the same time, she’d never thought that he’d take away her voice the way he had, either…

Lex began to approach her then, and Aria found her courage failing. Maybe I could just pretend to give in. I could follow him at a distance, and-

She didn’t have a chance to complete that thought as Lex’s eyes suddenly changed back to normal, the black crystals crumbling into dust. “Have it your way,” he said coldly, moving past her as he walked toward the far edge of the platform.

Aria wanted to make a snide remark, but her mouth was too dry to get anything out. Even so, she felt certain that this was for the best. There was no way that Lex would be giving her those swoon-worthy kisses anytime soon, she knew, but now more than ever she was convinced that he was in some sort of trouble.

And if it was as bad as she was starting to think, then he might not have a chance to kiss her ever again.

Author's Note:

Realizing that Lex is in trouble, Aria refuses to leave his side!

Will she be a help with what's to come, or a hindrance?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Possesive Aria is possessive but at least she's willing to share so far.

Seeing things from Aria's perspective was interesting to say the least and if it wasn't for how limited her ambitions are, she could have been a pretty decent leader for the Sirens...well, as decent as a trio of beings that feed on negative emotions could be at least.

And I also find it amusing how easily she reads Lex compared to the average Equestrian. Though I do worry about her own worries of losing Lex.

[Booster Spice]

Lex said he didnt need healing because there wasnt any expected combat, while preparing to go through multiple summonings against Nightmare forces, even if for information?

Theyre going to laugh at his ragdoll state.

[Alzrius]

9835466 Two things to keep in mind: first, Lex said that before Aria gave him the idea of summoning someone for information.

And second...what makes you think he hasn't taken that into account when designing his summoning ritual?

[Alzrius]

9835329 To be fair, the average Equestrian is too off-put by Lex's attitude, or simply too intimidated by him, to really try and get a read on him. Even the Night Mare's Knights are largely blinded by what a larger-than-life figure he is. Aria, while still finding Lex's anger to be frightful, isn't nervous to simply be around him, and since she's not as dumb as Sonata, she can get a fairly good read on him...or at least tell when something's up. I suspect that once Nosey acclimates to their new relationship, she'll be able to do the same (and likely even better, given her cutie mark).

I'm glad to hear you say that Aria came across as having limited ambition, though! I've said for a little while now that I see her as a follower who wishes she was a leader – though now I wonder if "acts like" might be a better term than "wishes" – and I tried to keep that in mind when writing her here. She can be pushy, and even aggressive, but lacks the strength of will to manifest those qualities for anything but satisfying her own desires. Even then, she'll usually knuckle under if she's confronted by someone with a strong will (at least, one she can't break with her magic). Ironically, she pushed her limits somewhat here, though I doubt she knows why.

At the risk of sounding cliche, it's because she's in love, though I don't think she fully realizes that. It's not coincidental that the closest she's come to admitting her feelings openly – saying that she "fell for him" – was when she got drunk back in Chapter 355.

[howard035]

For the first time in this story Aria's narcissism encourages her to be attentive and perceptive of another person's thoughts and feelings. Lex is not happy about this. Aria can be fairly insightful when she can be bothered to be, and now she is motivated to.

[Alzrius]

9836161 Aria's following the same trajectory as Sonata, going from "me me me" to "us us us." The difference is that, unlike her sister, Aria had to go through a much harder road to get there. Fortunately, she had people who were invested in helping her make it, and she's finally starting to come around to the point where she's invested in them the way they are in her. Of course, for Lex, this is happening at the worst possible moment. No good deed goes unpunished, after all.