Larxene bit her tongue, stopping herself from pressing the subject further. She was right, though. Sometimes faith alone is enough to change things, but, who would she be wanting to change? Terra? Or herself? She decided it was best not to ask. "Look, I'm sorry." She rubbed the back of her neck absentmindedly for a moment. "Were…." Larxene took a second to steady her voice. "Were you planning on stickin' around here tonight?" She asked, unsure of what her response may be. She didn't want to perform at all tonight. The thought alone made her want to just disappear entirely.
Aqua's face paled at the question. She didn't really know what she intended to do now. Yes she had packed her bag and went looking for the Circus... But now that she was living in the moment, she almost felt it would be rude to just impose on someone she has just met yesterday. After all, the circus was still running. Aqua looked down before putting her phone in her bag and standing up nervously. "I'm not sure what I was planning to be honest. But... I realize you have a show tonight, so maybe staying here would be too much. I'm sure I can find another place..."
She flinched a little. "N-No wait, I…" her voice broke off. If she were to stay another night, she certainly couldn't see her show again, let alone anyone else's. "You can stay here, if you want to but….I'm going to need you to stay here." She added emphasis to the last word of her sentence, making sure to gesture to the room they were in. God that sounded way too strange. She's going to ask questions now, she was sure of it. "I can explain, just…..not…here.." She narrowed her eyes a little, her voice trailed off. That sounded even more sketchy. How would she dig her way out of this now?
"S-stay here..? I was hoping to pay that boy back for the ticket last night, and then maybe attend another show. Is that alright? Or do you really mean here in this room?" Aqua didn't know what was going on and wanted to know why Larxene looked so worried about her staying in one place. "You wouldn't mind if I saw someone else's show would you?" Perhaps it was a matter of competition? It seemed strange though, usually circus performers tried to work together.
Larxene bit her tongue for a moment. "That'd put him in trouble, really. It'd probably be best if you didn't. not….not right now at least." She spoke carefully. "N-No it's….you'd have to stay here. In this room." Seeing the doubt written on the girl's face, she shook her head. "If you trust me, I will answer any possible questions you have, after my show tonight. Just promise me you will stay here. In this room." Larxene surprised herself with her own choice of words. Not a single bit of that sounded believable. She couldn't explain much at the moment, given the time of day, but she hoped that Aqua would comply.
Aqua frowned and started to play with the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She really wanted to know what was going on here, but the thing that scared her most was, she couldn't even begin to guess what it could be. Nodding to Larxene she says confidently. "I'll stay here then. And I promise I won't leave, as long as you keep your end of the bargain and tell me what is going on after your show?" Aqua smiled at the end of her sentence, trying to ease the tension growing in the air.
Larxene gave a short nod. " I will answer whatever questions you can come up with." She rose to her feet, walking somewhat briskly to the hidden door to her work-room. "Wanna watch me set up for the night?" She asked, returning a smile to the girl. One way or another she'd have to fill her quota for the night. Would it hurt as bad? would it be worse? Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she spoke again. "I'd also like to apologize that our first meeting involved me being entirely topless." Opening the door slightly, she spoke again. "I promise all of my shows aren't like that."
Aqua laughed at Larxene's comment about being topless. "I'd love to watch you set up! I find what you do fascinating..." Her face flushes without her knowing. "But um... It's ok about being topless I suppose... I'm sorry for staying so long after your show." Aqua placed her bag on the bed and walked over to stand next to Larxene.
Larxene shook her head. "Don't, uh…" She began, unsure of what she'd even tell her. "Don't worry about it," She murmured. After a few seconds of silence, she cleared her throat, leading the other girl through the narrow doorway. Bringing her finger to her lips for a moment, she spoke again. "Anyway, the setup isn't too difficult, actually." She stopped in front of the particular panel in the side of the stage. "Just a sec." pulling it to the side, the performer heaved another trunk outward with ease. "Here," She gestured to it, fidgeting with the locking mechanism for a moment before lifting it open. Silks were folded and coiled neatly inside, along with various rigging pieces. A smile tugged at her features before glancing to Aqua. "Pick a color."
Aqua turned to look at the chest, and stood on tiptoe to peer inside, not wanting to step any closer to the stage. She smiles and thinks for a moment before spotting a glimpse of pink amidst the mass of fabric. Pointing to it, Aqua suggests happily, "How about that nice pink color...?" She steps back, eager to see how things will be set up. "I must be pretty lucky... It's like seeing what happens here behind the scenes. So interesting..." Aqua thinks to herself, watching Larxene closely.
Larxene realized after the words left her mouth that she probably shouldn't have asked her to choose a color. She wouldn't even be able to stick around for the show! She was sure that seemed rude on her part. Now the girl was even more set on performing correctly for her. She smiled sweetly and gave a nod at her choice, though. She'd never gotten a chance to use pink before, so she rummaged around for a few minutes for a figure-eight descender. She normally had these things put together already, but for the sake of showing her, she chose new ones. "See, first, you need this." She began, fighting for a few seconds to keep her voice steady. This felt a little foreign to her, having never explained the setup to another person that's actually shown interest in it. She's told Lexaeus and Xaldin, sure, but…this was a little different, wasn't it? She held a strangely shaped piece of metal, roughly the size of her hand. "Looks weird, right?" Her other hand held a matching silver swivel. "It's so everything doesn't get uh…twisty." She scrunched up her face slightly and gestured with her forearms before reaching back into the trunk. "Now these," Her eyebrows raised a little. She didn't really intend to turn this into some sort of weird lecture. She held two carabiners between her fingers, working somewhat quickly to lace one through the figure-eight and one end of the swivel. "The screw locks are important. " She guided the other end of the swivel to the second carabiner, securing both locks into place. "This is what keeps me up there." She pointed to the arc in the ceiling, where the fabric hung from the night before. She reached into the trunk a final time, holding the rigging setup in her other hand. "This one, right?" She asked, holding up the neatly folded pink fabric.
Aqua nodded from time to time, listening intently to Larxenes explanation. She studied the arch above carefully, wondering how they set up every time they move. The beams are so large, she could hardly believe that they could do any of this without machinery. "Yes. That's the one. I have a question though... How do you all set up the tents every time you move? Those beams are much too large for anyone to lift... And yet... I didn't see any machinery when you came to town?"
Larxene sat on the edge of the stage, working quickly on the setup for the fabric. She paused for a moment between tightening the tails, unsure of how to respond. If she took too long with a response, she'd know something was…off. "Well," she began, glancing up at the high-point in the tent. "It seems like it'd be difficult but, we've been doing it for so long, it really…isn't too much work." Larxene half-shrugged and smirked as she finished tightening the tails of the fabric. "Do other circuses use machines for setup?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and letting the carabiner fall into her lap.
Aqua looked around at the beams trying to remember a time when she saw a circus. Each one she remembered seeing had machines to do the work, and took several days to set up. "Truly? Your circus is marvelous. But yes... All the other traveling shows that come here take at least a few days if not a week to set up... But with your talents it's no wonder this Circus seemed to appear without any sort of warning." Aqua smiled trying to hide her concerned curiosity with flattery.
Larxene couldn't help but laugh a little. Was she serious? She rose to her feet. "I guess I've….never been to another circus." She shrugged again, looking down at the fabric for a moment before raising her head to meet Aqua's gaze. "Machines though, really?" She murmured, trying to imagine what sort of machine could set up something like this. Shaking the thought she turned on heel to the silk that hung from the previous night, and began to climb upward. "W-well I wouldn't say this place is Marvelous..." She mimicked her actions from the night before, hanging from the beam to swap out the carabiners. She tossed the hammock away from herself and Aqua so it wouldn't injure her. Larxene hoped the girl wasn't too freaked out at her actions. She secured the pink silk into place and slid down. When her toes touched the floor of the stage once more she moved a stray hair out of her face and spoke again. "It seems marvelous at first, sure. But work here long enough, it turns into a real drag, I swear."
Aqua walked over to take a seat in the audience as she watched Larxene set up. No matter how hard she paid attention, she knew she could never fully understand what she was doing with the silks. The mystery of it was what made it interesting to Aqua. She smiled, "Of course performing for such a long time would make it some sort of a 'drag'... but really, this Circus is so much more... magical than the others I have been to. And with the way this town has been lately... I know that we are all grateful for you coming to perform here." At this, Aqua's voice becomes quiet. Saying thank you for someone doing their job felt strange to her.
Larxene felt a strange sense of pain course through her chest at the innocence of Aqua's comment. If she were to know what really happened, would her opinion of the circus still stand? "Well, showtime is, uh, soon…ish. So I can try to answer some questions you might have, but I…" She stepped off of the stage. "If you'd rather wait until after the performance is done, that'd be alright too…" She trailed off, leaning against the side of the stage now, waiting for the other girl to respond.
"I think I will wait until after the show... I wouldn't want to throw you off before the show." Aqua responded, unsure of what questions she would even ask. "So where should I stay? Am I allowed to watch your show?" Aqua asked this with a tone of suspicion that she didn't intend to slip out.
"Alright, that'd be better, give yourself more time to think, you know?" She nodded in agreement. Aqua's last question rang in her ears. Larxene chewed her tongue for a moment to think. there's nothing she could really say that'd sound convincing at this point, there's no real use in sugar-coating things. "Well…" She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "You can stay in my uh….room." She pointed at the hidden doorway briefly. "But you….can't, no." Shaking her head, she continued. "and please, don't open that door once you go in there. For anything. Just….wait…for me." Her explanation slowed. She chose instead to change the subject. "I promise I will explain everything later."
Despite how strange this whole thing was to Aqua, she somehow trusted Larxene. After all... She would find out the truth soon enough. "Ok I will stay in your room. ... Good luck?" She smiled at Larxene before shyly walking over to her room. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see any shows tonight, but she quickly shook the thought. Anything was better than being back home, she should be thankful for that.
Larxene had already made her way back onto the stage, hanging from her hands just a few feet up, keeping the strands of fabric together. She let herself drop at Aqua's last comment. Luck? That was something they both needed. She held the silk with one hand as if she were steadying herself, and ran her fingers over the pendant of her choker with the other. She murmured a quick 'thank you' and fell silent again. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. Things were definitely going to get a lot harder from here.