caged lions — vennera & aria.

"I'm always smart about it," Aria protested, and Vennera raised an eyebrow in response. Her sister had nothing to prove to her. If anything, the four of them - Icarus and Isaac, included - barely knew enough about each other to want anything proven. They were strangers living under the same roof. Nothing Aria said could faze Vennera.

That was, until she said, "I'm pretty sure it's my worst trait", and Vennera found champagne sliding down her windpipe. She placed a napkin over her mouth and tried to conceal her spluttering well enough that her sister wouldn't think she was dying. Once she had composed herself, she folded her napkin and placed it under her flute, the residual alcohol and backwash within it no longer interesting to her.

"Aria, there's no way that being rational could be your worst trait," Vennera said in a raspy voice. She took a moment to clear her throat and then continue. "Aside from the good we can do with our minds, we're ultimately protecting ourselves. If no one used their brains, they'd be dead."

She finished her sentence on a somewhat angry note, although she could not pinpoint the source of her anger. No matter how her beliefs wavered, Vennera always proved herself right. She decided not to be open with her family, to walk away from her relationships, all because it was the logical thing to do. She put herself and her intellectual interests first. It was how they had been raised.

Vennera gave Aria a small smile, although her muscles felt taut in a way that told her Aria would know it was fake. "Sorry to be curt with you. But that's the truth."

She remembered how, just moments earlier, she had danced with Quest Hertz and actually enjoyed herself without giving much thought to anything, and wondered if it was the truth.

Of course it is, she thought. It was my decision to dance anyway.