Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Kingdom Hearts, or any of its characters.
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If he were to describe her, he could conclude she was best summed up as oddly primal, yet innately poised, and dangerously so; if anything, seeing her stretched out upon 'her' couch at the Grey Area in languid repose evoked the powerful mental image of an indolent feline, all sly, cunning charm and supple grace. Despite the looseness of her limbs as she lounged upon her chosen seat, he knew all-too-well the speed at which she could leap into explosive, dynamic action, slender frame belying the lithe, sinewy strength which could be unleashed in the blink of an eye.
After all, she had been graced with the fitting appellation of the Savage Nymph, and, as he could readily testify, she lived up to her title with great aplomb.
This feline edge even extended to her interactions with the other Organisation members, as well as the dynamics of their own relationship, if it could even be called that. Despite her honeyed words, there was no mistaking the distinctive sneer of derision she masked within her light-hearted banter when addressing Vexen, or the conniving, suggestive purr she used whenever she spoke to himself or Marluxia. What discomfited Axel the most, though, was the fact that Larxene tended to act her friendliest towards him; her behaviour was simply at odds with the entire concept of being a Nobody, and this only brought more questions to his mind, though he suspected that if he ever voiced any of them, she would only smirk and coyly refuse to answer.
On the most part, he reflected sardonically, their relationship itself could be seen as distinctly cat-like. To an observer, they seemed like a pair of sharp-witted, sleek felines, achingly cordial to one another, despite the raw, almost feral animosity which bubbled vaguely beneath the surface, never quite rising to break the fine veneer of their emotionless state. Theirs was a relationship which apparently existed on the fragile plane of silkily-purred compliments and near-overbearing physical proximity, and the judiciously discreet testing of one another's mettle with carefully-sheathed claws, even as they grinned across at one another until it felt as though their faces would split into two.
If anything, this was even more obvious when one sat in on their sparring sessions. Demyx had been completely and utterly terrified by what he saw, and even Xigbar had expressed his surprise at their efficiency as a pair, in the form of an appreciative whistle and gruff, hearty laugh.
When he fought her, Axel's suspicions were reinforced: not only was she savage in name, but in action, as she leapt across at him with all the ferocity of a famished wildcat, knives clenched between her knuckles in an ironic reflection of claws. Even as she swung at him, tendrils of electricity sparking a warning as the points of her knives arced towards his face, he could not stop himself from making such a wry observation, and if it weren't for Demyx's warning shout, doubtless he would have ended up withdrawing early from the duel and retreating to his quarters to lick his metaphorical wounds. Even after that little near-fiasco, though, Axel found himself admiring the speed and lissom agility with which Larxene moved, as she held her body close to the ground, bridging the gap between them with surprising swiftness. The remainder of the spar passed quickly, in a fast and furious whirl of yellow and blue, red and silver, the arena periodically being lit up by burst of flame and flare of lightning alike.
By the time they were done, Demyx had fled, and Xigbar was hiding a smirk as he clapped spasmodically, before leaving the two of them to stare at one another in silence as he, too, made his leave. The smell of faintly-singed leather wafted through the air, and rising to his feet, Axel crossed over to where his opponent still sat gathering her breath. At first she only glared resentfully at the hand he proffered, before proceeding to drag him down, a glint of amusement in her eyes.
They sat in silence for several seconds, before he decided to break the silence. "Good match," he offered, casting her a lopsided grin.
She shrugged, stifling a short, humourless chuckle at his words. "No need to act nice to me," she spat from between gritted teeth, surveying him with suspicion; however, the faint smile playing along her lips betrayed the implied ferocity in her words, and he mirrored her expression, green eyes narrowing with restrained amusement.
"Well, well, Sparky," he drawled, running a black-gloved hand through flame-red spiked hair, "no offence or nothing, but I didn't think you would have it in you. As Xigbar says, the Organisation takes only the best of the best of Nobodies, the cream of the crop, and…" His voice dwindled, and silence hung between them, heavy and leaden.
Her smirk froze, and her eyes hardened; with a sharp crackle of static, summoned her weapons; four small, tapering knives jutted from between her fingers, aimed at his throat. "I dare you to repeat that." The Savage Nymph's voice lowered into a dangerous hiss, full of a ferocious challenge, conveying, in a simple, sibilant exhalation, the full extent of her anger; Axel smiled despite himself.
He held up his hands in a placating gesture, making no move to rise or defend himself. "Calm down now, Wildcat. You've sure got some moves in your repertoire. Impressive ones, I might add."
"You sound surprised," she shot back, dismissing her weapons; he snorted in response, and for several moments, they sat in a semi-companionable silence.
"So, how long's it been since you came here? Finding life in the Organisation interesting and up to your standards?" He recalled her vibrant vitality in her past life, her flighty and curious nature which made her both endearing and frustrating to be around. All that, perhaps, was gone now, replaced by only a semblance of the emotions she once felt.
Larxene shrugged, averting her eyes. "A few weeks, give or take. It's still boring," she complained, rolling her eyes theatrically as she spoke; he had to suppress a grin. Since her initiation into the ranks of Organisation XIII, he had not heard that familiar, faintly childish voice until now; it was a welcome memory, one that brought a faint smile to Axel's face. "I wish more interesting things would happen, and we had more to do than just go out on half-baked missions and listening to Xemnas serenade his nonexistent Kingdom Hearts." A curious expression, like some hybrid between a scowl and a pout, flickered across her lips. "Is this really what being a Nobody is like?"
"Hey, hey, don't let Xemnas hear you talking like that," he warned her in a low voice, marvelling at her still-intact ability to over-emphasise every second word in her sentences with all the petulance of a sulky child.
She merely hissed disdainfully from between her teeth in response, before rising to her feet, expression defiant; Axel recognised a rejection when he saw one. "You're all boring," she declared. "Someone needs to stir the peace around here more often. Someone needs to find out why we're doing these pointless things, because I sure as hell don't see any Kingdom Hearts in the sky."
He watched as Larxene summoned up a Dark Portal, vanishing from the arena and leaving him by his lonesome; pulling himself upright as well, he regarded the spot at which she had vanished, frowning slightly.
It was so typical of her to poke her nose where it was not wanted at all, and infuriate the higher-ups – not that she did not do enough of the latter, what with her taking great pleasure in antagonising Vexen. One of these days, Axel thought ruefully, as he summoned a portal of his own, she'll find out why they had that old adage: curiosity killed the cat.
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epilogue. Yes, I'm currently playing 358/2 days for the…fourth time. Revelling in the dialogue, as always, as well as the interactions between the members of the Organisation. This fic idea had been nestling in my mind (and hard drive) for quite a while now, and what with the fact that Larxel is probably my KH OTP, here's, well, this. Enjoy, people, and thanks for reading!