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Even though Alex knew Aria was back at the cabin and asleep one floor down, he slept fitfully the night of the raid. Alex couldn't recall the last time he'd been as nervous as he'd been when they realized Aria was missing while there was a raid. He tried not to think of the state of her when she'd gotten back or the way she took control of three people at once without even trying. He tried even harder not to think of what she described of the raid.
Alex turned his face into his pillow and hoped sleep would take him soon. Instead he thought about the calculating look in Eli's eye earlier and the exhausted set of Klaus' shoulders.
If it was up to Alex, he would choose to never think again.
He didn't remember falling asleep, but he did eventually. When he woke, he found Eli at the table, glaring at her phone like it had personally offended her.
"How many Elites were caught in the raids yesterday?" he asked.
"Seven," Eli said. "It wouldn't be a terrible number if there weren't so few of us to begin with. They're going to come down harder on you for recruitment."
"Fuck," he grouched, sinking into a chair beside her. He didn't want to think too hard about it. Their numbers were dropping. They'd been dropping. Singing the tune he'd been taught to lure them in wasn't enough.
"The Siren could be useful with that," she said.
Alex considered it. It wouldn't be truthful to say he never liked his job. There was a time where he felt useful, like he was doing something that meant something. That bringing Enhanced into the Elites was helping them. He still did, in a way, but it was difficult to sell hope when you were starting to lose it. People were growing more reluctant to join as it was. He was losing more Enhanced than he was recruiting.
If Aria was able to use her voice on three people with a few words without full control of her abilities, she could likely help convince people to join.
"I'll talk to her," he decided.
Eli nodded and pocketed her cheap phone. "Knox needs me at headquarters. I'll see you later."
Alex had a few hours to kill after he washed up. It was his day to clean, so he started on that, keeping himself occupied until Aria woke. She wasn't a late riser, but oddly enough, Alex didn't want to ask her while Klaus was still in the cabin. When Klaus was gone, he found Aria outside, pulling this and that from the garden. He couldn't make any sense of what she was trying to do and he figured he wouldn't completely get it even if he asked. He asked anyway.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to try to brew tea with this."
"What for?"
"Sleep," she said.
Alex was reminded of the fairytales he used to hear as a child. Tales about witches and sorcerers brewing potions and healing heroes. He remembered a woman reading them to him in a low voice after urging home remedies into him when he was sick and tucked away under blankets.
