Of Ravens and Doves - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Aria
My eyes cracked open, the grey tiles of the cell's ceiling came into focus. Someone was breathing. Someone was inside here with me. I wasn't alone. I scrambled off the bed, my hands curled into fists.
My tail felt stiff as I shook it, my hand immediately going to feel the tufted fur. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Do you always wake up the entire Earth when you get up?" Their voice is surprisingly quiet, monotonous - a bit like one of those robots you find in text to speech engines. My cheeks burned, my mutters angry.
"Well, I didn't have this when I went to bed last night!"
My fingers ran through my hair, pausing at the two furred ears that rested on my head. I felt them gently, the feeling ticklish as they twitched. This could not be happening...I wasn't asteria. Aled was. Despite surviving the virus I didn't, I wasn't... My cellmate simply blinked, taking in my dishevelled form: messy brown locks and a crumpled peach jumper.
"You slept in a place like this?"
"What do you mean? Of course I did. Police stations are one of the safest places in the capitol, other than the prisons of course."
They didn't respond, seeming completely disinterested now. I take in their appearance, though now that I take a closer look, I felt more perplexed, more uneasy than before. They looked battered, but there was just something about those eyes, the dark locks that framed their face, otherwise hidden by their hooded cloak. I just wasn't sure what. Their skin was abnormally pale in contrast to their dark clothes. Like snow upon ink. Or was it ink that stained the snow? It could be either. Hell, I couldn't even tell their gender, but I think they're about my age, judging from their voice.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to be calm. There has to be some sort of rational explanation for this, and as soon as I convince the police that I did not murder my twin brother, then all of this would be okay. What would he do if he was here? Maybe he'd sit right by me so this room didn't feel so cold, tell me it's okay. I felt my eyes tear up again, the swollen lids protesting as I let one more roll down my cheek. My cellmate watched me, silent.
I fidgetted, getting up and pacing the room, my newfound tail swinging back and forth. I needed a mirror. I needed to get out of here. I needed-
"Neko, why are you walking around your room like a blithering idiot?"
I startled, looking back at the figure sat in their cell, their cloak pooling around them like shadow. What the hell is a neko?
"I'm not...I just..." I paused for a moment, twisting a chestnut lock around my finger. "I just need time to think."
Silence followed once more, until it became suffocating, feeling the others unwavering gaze on me.
"Are you okay? I mean you've been staring at me for the past..." I trailed off, horrors slashing through my mind at the possibility of being watched as I slept. The stranger doesn't respond, and I took another deep breath, trying to calm my fraying nerves. "You weren't watching me sleep, were you?"
"I have better things to do than watch you slobber over a pillow."
Ouch. That's harsh. I couldn't tell if they were being truthful or not, but I might as well enjoy the little company I have, even if they were a little...odd.
"I'm Aria by the way." I stop, waiting for a response, but when none came, I just carried on talking - anything to fill the silence. "I'm not really sure why I'm here actually. But, I should be let out soon. Are you asteria? Aled is...was asteria. He was my twin brother, and really sweet. There was one time when we were 6..."
And so the minutes passed by, the only sounds being my voice. At some point, the stranger had shifted slightly, shuffling themselves closer to the bed. Closer to me. I couldn't tell if they were listening; I didn't really care. I missed Aled as if I were missing an eye, or my hands. I would never see his soft, goofy smile again or the way his eyes lit up whenever he saw a rainbow.
I didn't realise I had started crying again until the stranger spoke, breaking me off.
"If you cry any more, you'll have made your own ocean. You'd also pass out from dehydration."
Anger pulsed through my veins as I glared at them. They had no right to criticise my feelings when they had no idea what I was going through. They probably couldn't even feel emotions with the way they were speaking.
"The dead don't appreciate tears or flowers. They're dead. Move on."
I don't know if it's the shock, or the grief clouding my mind, but I find myself screaming at the cloaked figure, my cheeks damp.
"WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE LIKE A TWIN. I BET YOU THINK YOU'RE SOME EDGY CRIMINAL, BUT YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN A ROBOT BITCH. I BET YOU HAVE A NICE LIFE, ALL PERFECT, SO YOU CAN BE ALL STUCK UP, BUT YOU CAN SHOVE THAT STICK UP YOUR ARSE!"
My breathing is heavy from my outburst as my body shuddered, but they were unruffled, their voice calm.
"Are you finished neko?"
I don't pleasure them with a response, turning my back to the bars, my heart pounding, tears once again threatening to overflow. I wipe them, my teeth gritted. Why can't I just stop crying dammit.
A few minutes, maybe 3 minutes passed. A woman unlocked the door of both of our cells, and I felt my mouth drop in amazement. She was beautiful, her slender limbs encased in a scarlet silk that matched large feathered wings like an inferno. Her hair was pulled loosely into a plait against the nape of her neck, yet her eyes were a bright blue. Extending warmth, yet coldness seeped in at its edges. The phoenix asteria Aled had told me about. What was her name again? Ath...Aithne? She taught Aled magic control a year ago and he was totally head over heels for her.
"You are both being convicted of conspiracy and first degree murder of Aled Fiore."
Those words snapped me back from my thoughts, my body numb. I opened my mouth to defend myself, to say I would never hurt Aled, but instead the figure next to me that spoke, their voice as infuriatingly monotone as ever.
"I do not know or associate with this...girl. I have never met her before today, so why are we both being trialled for murder?"
It didn't sound like a question, more like a statement: a demand for an answer. Aithne didn't respond, her lips pressing into a thin line.
"I can see that you have some new..." She paused, her gaze lingering on my furred tail and ears. "Developments."
Her eyes narrowed at the stranger beside me - a hawk hunting a hare. I searched those of the strangers, only to come back up with nothing, emptiness. But they were most definitely no rabbit.
I found my voice, words echoing in my skull as they bounced back and forth, a million things to say.
"I didn't-"
"Come with me." Aithne cut me off, her words curt, impatient. We followed, the silence from before becoming uncomfortably familiar.