She swore under her breath, realizing that she'd have to actually make a hammock now. She shook her head again, glancing up at the blue fabric she chose earlier that night. Larxene made her way to the stage, bending down to open a hidden hatch door in one of the panels of the stage itself. She crouched down, taking hold of a somewhat heavy trunk and pulling it halfway towards her. She opened the trunk, closing her hands around the first color she'd seen. Maroon. Larxene slung the neatly coiled fabric over her shoulder and shifted around in one of it's corner pockets for spare carabiners, 'O' rings, and a spreader plate. She hummed to herself quietly. She hadn't gotten to make a hammock in a while. If it were any other circumstances, she'd be excited. Though she might as well get to work, she had a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do so. The blonde perched herself on the stage, making quick work of the carabiners and the plate. She liked the spreader plates the most; they reminded her of tiny paw prints. Still, she began by twisting one end of the fabric, holding the ring in her teeth for a moment to do so. She threaded the tail end of the fabric about a yard's length through the ring, crossing the tail end over the hammock itself, and looping it back through in a square not, similar to a shoelace. She tightened it up to the ring as best as she could, thankfully it wasn't for a show. She added another knot for good measure, making quick work of the other end of the fabric to mirror the first ring evenly. Larxene exhaled slowly, attaching the rings quickly to the Carabiners before making her way to the blue silk from earlier in the night. She held the carabiner for her hammock in her teeth and began to make her way up the silk, climbing it effortlessly, as if it were just a rope. She hung by a hand on the steel beam that ran across the ceiling to support the riggings for her show, and, with some effort, she unscrewed the carabiner holding the blue silk in place on the rigging plate, letting it land on the floor with a dull thud. She took the carabiner from her mouth, screwing that one into place quickly. What she was doing at this current second was entirely reckless, and she was quite glad nobody was there to witness it. After it'd been secured, she slid down the silk effortlessly, wriggling out of the hammock to land a few feet down onto the stage. "Now that that is finally done," She murmured, slipping off the stage, making a beeline for the exit. She needed to find someone. Someone good with secrets. Larxene straightened herself, trying to walk quickly between the tents, but not too quickly to avoid suspicion. She finally slowed to a stop. "Xigbar?" She murmured, trying to hardest not to sound panicked.
she shifted her weight from foot to foot. After a few minutes of silence, She turned her head, scanning the area to make sure she wasn't being watched before slipping inside the doorway. Straightening her posture, she called out to him again, this time, a little more confidently. Giving a half shrug at the looming silence in the room, she figured he'd probably be sleeping in the back somewhere. Larxene continued on, sneaking into the back room with a strange sense of fluidity. Now standing over his sleeping form, She drew a breath. "Xigbar." She said again, reaching up to undo the choker around her neck. "Wake up."
Waking up with a start, Xigbar opens his eye wide, and falls out of the hammock he was sleeping in. Rolling over on the ground, he gets to his feet with a groan. "Shit kid... what time is it?" He dusts his clothes off and looks at her skeptically, praying to god Xemnas didn't send her to tell him to do something. It happens more often than he'd like.
Larxene stepped backward, letting the man collect himself. "I….." Her chest heaved. Where was she supposed to begin? "Did….did you know you can choose who's souls to take?" She asked, closing her hand loosely around the pendant of her choker. "I….Xigbar, I think I fucked up, man." She murmured, finally making eye contact with him, straightening her posture. "I didn't know what else to do, she looks just like her, I couldn't…" She spoke quickly, putting the back of her hand over her mouth. Larxene took another step backward. "I don't know what to do." She shook her head, holding out the cracked trinket for him to see.
Xigbar reaches out to take the trinket, squinting at what she could possibly be talking about. It didn't take long at all to find the crack in the pendant. He shook his head and inspected it further. "They sure don't make these things like they used to..." He murmurs to himself before handing it back. "I-I'm guessin' ya spared a girl that looked like... her.. and ya did it by crackin' the damned thing?" He sighs and folds his arms. "Yer not kiddin', Larxene, ya really did fuck up." Shaking his head, he continues before she can say something in her defense. "Before you get all angry, lemme jus' say that I aint gonna tell anyone... But uh... where is she now?" He raises an eyebrow, his mind racing trying to think of how to possibly help her.
Larxene took the choker back, clasping her hand over the pendant. "I didn't know you could just…..decide not to take someone's soul like that, I….might've…panicked a little." She looked away for a moment, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. "Christ. I couldn't just let her leave, now could I? She's….okay she's asleep." She pointed in the direction of her tent. "I'm not the only one at fault here, though." Larxene kept her voice at a whisper, seriousness thick in her tone. "Roxas," She said his name with sarcasm. "Let her in late." She scrunched up her face. "There's…..something else, too…"
Xigbar lets out a short nervous sigh before leaning on a tall barrel, no doubt filled with ropes or other strange devices used in his shows. "Heh... Yeah... Breakin' the rules never gets any easier to be honest. But Roxas? Now that's interesting. I'm curious to know his reasoning fer lettin' her in late." Noticing her scrunched up face, he stiffens a little bracing himself for whatever this 'something else' could be. "What else? Please tell me it ain't anythin' worse.."
She shook her head. "Yeah, I'd like to know, too. But, uh…" She scratched the back of her head. "She mentioned talking to a fortune teller." She stared at him blankly. "so that means, not only does Roxas know, You're roped into this now," She shot him an apologetic look. "But now Luxord knows about her too." Larxene shifted her weight from foot to foot. This new information was spreading too fast for her liking. "I'm in deep, now, I mean. She can't exactly stay hidden here forever, and I'm sure she'd notice something if she were to be sent home." She put her hands up in defeat. "If you happened to notice that the city were suddenly filled with hollow-eyed, slack-jawed Zombies, that'd, uh…..raise some suspicions, don't you think? She's already asked a handful of questions that I barely even answered." Her hands shook. "I should have just sucked it up, put my head down and done my job correctly." She sat on the ground, bringing her knees to her chest. " I wouldn't be able to live with myself, Xigbar. This is just…..fucking beautiful." Larxene's voice dropped, propping her elbows on her knees to rest her forehead on her palms. She stared in silence at the ground for a few minutes, before narrowing her eyes in confusion. "Oh. And," She looked up at him. "Has Demyx ever asked you for pillows?"
"Luxord wouldn't say much though..." He looks to the side, not really comfortable around her being so distressed. Moments pass and several times he turned to her and opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. He honestly couldn't find the right words to say... without raising suspicions of her own of course. Forget it... he couldn't stand seeing her so distressed, and kicking herself so much over this. "Look kiddo... we all have our secrets... and having one aint the end of the world. But yer gonna have to let her go eventually, and not look back. If you don't let her go... I don't know how long you'll be able to keep her here without anyone findin' out... I-er...I understand though about not bein' able to live with yerself... it makes sense. So don't feel so bad about that." Turning his head to the side, he smiles at the Demyx comment, trying to bring humor back into the situation. "And nah.. Demyx never asked fer pillows. Why would a fish-beast need pillows?"
Larxene exhaled slowly, trying to steady her nerves. "I understand. I hear you man, I really do. But she is dead set on coming back here. What then?" if it were a different situation, she might've pried the subject. She ungracefully stood, securing her choker around her neck once again, and tapped the pendant with her finger. "Did they ever tell you that it'd hurt?" She asked, her throat feeling dry. She needed to be back in her tent soon, hoping silently that, one, Aqua would be asleep and unmoved, and two, that there wouldn't be any uninvited guests. Though she was sure that by now, if there were, they'd both hear about it. "Really, though? never? Does….." She scrunched up her face, half in confusion, half in disgust. "Does Demyx use pillows? CAN he even do that?" She murmured, mostly talking to herself at that point. Her eyes narrowed a little at Xigbar's 'advice'. "how could…..how could you expect me to just let her go? Just like that?" She took a step toward him. Larxene didn't come here to start a fight, and she honestly hoped it wouldn't come to that. "If you were in this situation," She paused, trying to think of the best possible way to put this example. "Could you just let them go?" The girl didn't give him a chance to respond. "You DID have someone out there, right? You really tellin' me that if they came back to you, you'd just…..let them go?" She swore under her breath, not meaning to make it sound the way it did.
At this, Xigbar's breath caught in his throat. Though this time, he didn't miss a beat. A crooked smile crept across his face. "Well... if i were in yer situation, yea I would jus' let 'em go. Wouldn't want them to be stuck here fer an eternity, right?" He chuckles and balls up a rag that rested on the barrel he was leaning on. He tosses it directly onto a stack of old papers on a shoddy table in the corner, though the action was a tad odd. Before she can say anything more he adds, "But seriously... I'm not sayin' you have to let her go.. All I'm sayin' is that from here on out, it aint gonna be easy. You might have to tell her things that were meant to be a secret.." Xigbar sighs and shakes his head and murmurs, "This aint good, Silkworm... I hope this doesn't end too badly..." He pauses a moment before looking at her again, "But since I'm roped into this as well... I'll try my very best to help ya out with this... you have my word on that one. Aight?"
Larxene watched him carefully, her eyes trailed to the rag, and to where it landed. Her gaze lingered on the papers for a few seconds longer than she intended before finally straightening her posture. Where would she begin with that? Yeah, hey, I take souls for a living, wanna stick around? She shook her head at the thought. "W-Well, er… Thank you." Those words felt strange in her mouth. She turned on heel to leave. "I should probably apologize for dragging you in the middle of all of this." Larxene glanced over her shoulder. "And, you know, for waking you and all." She held up a hand, signaling her leave, not really giving the escape artist time to respond. After making her way to the entrance of his tent, she let out a sigh, closing the 'door' behind her. Reigning in her composure, she held her head high, walking with confidence. Larxene hoped that if she *looked* like she had a reason to be out on the grounds late, nobody would bother her. She stopped outside her tent, listening hard for any sounds of stirring, or voices.