Larxene's eye shot open, hearing that eerily familiar screech. It was Pooka. She sat up, heart pounding. This can't be right. Asha said that he'd come back only if he needed to. Did she really do the switch with the doll that fast? …did something happen? She stood and brought her hand to her mouth for a moment, slightly lightheaded. She needed to leave as soon as possible. The commotion outside didn't sound good at all. To hell with final admissions… Her eyes narrowed, digging through the disheveled cabinet of hers to find a spare change of clothes. She quickly wriggled out of the ones she wore and slipped into some clean shorts, hastily buttoning them. She tugged on a clean shirt and cleared her throat. The grounds were quiet, but she could hear clamoring in the distance. This wasn't good. Her fingers brushed against the cracked pendant around her neck, trying her hardest to ignore the dull pain in the pit of her chest. Larxene knew she would make her way back to Aqua, one way, or another.
Xaldin shook his head, turning on heel to make his way back to the Circus grounds. He couldn't be bothered with watching his coworker disappear over the horizon, he needed to think of something to tell the Ringmaster. The performer kept his head high as he made his way back to the circus grounds, ignoring the hushed whispers of the residents with their souls still intact. He supposed he couldn't blame them, he had his own questions about that creature. Lost in thought, he continued on his way weaving through crowds, barely managing to avoid colliding with someone. He muttered an apology before hearing a string of curse words. Having been brought back to reality, he took a step back and looked down, meeting Larxene's hostile stare. What was she on about? He needed to head back, shows were going to be starting soon. Shit. Shows. He opened his mouth to speak. What had gotten her so angry? Once she gets going there's really no stopping her… "What are you doing off of the grounds?" he regretted speaking just as the words left his mouth. His gaze lingered a little too long on the pendant around her neck. She noticed. Taking a step forward, Larxene glared up at him and spoke a single word. "Don't." She was upset at herself, first and foremost, for getting caught red-handed, especially by one of the ringmaster's go-to guys… but he definitely noticed what was around her neck. If she didn't have problems before, she'd certainly have them now. The way she spoke sent a sort of shiver down the man's spine, though he'd never admit that. He kept his expression neutral, despite her hostility. The way she spoke made it sound like a threat, rather than a warning. He sighed in resignation and stepped to the side. It'd be best for now to just erase that headache from his mind entirely. He continued through the crowds in silence, wind trailing after him.
Larxene exhaled slowly, thankful that the scene she made, more or less worked. That'd land her in a world of trouble. She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts and continued to the outer parts of the town. Shit. Where did that creature take them exactly? She thought hard, trying to recall anything significant from their encounter the day before. The most she could remember was, well…fur. The girl swore under her breath after losing her footing on a patch of uneven ground. "What…?" She murmured, looking down at her feet. That's an odd looking mark in the ground, why would…? Realization finally set in. "Dogs don't have hooves…" She continued onward, following the bounding footprints left by that creature. A grin tugged at her features. Lost? No. Not Larxene.
Aqua stopped cleaning the coconut shell bowls as soon as she heard someone clamber through the front door. Drying her hands on a towel, she turned to find Asha stumble into the room, her feet dragging as she held onto the furniture in the room. She looked so… pale… "Asha.. Are you alright? She hurried over to the woman and held her up as best she could. Pooka poked his head through the door and let out a worried whine. Without a word, the voodoo priestess struggled to pull off the mask on her face. Aqua reached up and gently helped her, though her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. Her face was horribly scarred with what looked like a serious burn. Aqua frowned, this couldn't have happened today…. but if it hadn't how come she had never noticed it before? Asha noticed the girl's confusion and shook her head, silently telling her not to say a word. Aqua understood, and watched as the woman slowly unscrewed the lid on the large jar she held in her hand. Inside the jar was a bright green orb, an orb that glowed so brightly it looked fake. This must be her soul. In that case… the mission was a success. She reached her hand inside the jar and held the soul as carefully as she could in her shaking hands. Lifting it up to her chest, she pressed the soul to her, and in a blinding green flash, it was gone. Aqua gasped as Asha took a deep breath inward, and color seemed to return to her skin. She turned to the young girl and smiled tiredly, moving her hair to cover her scar. "Y-You've seen quite a lot… haven't you…?" Asha got up and moved away from Aqua, taking the mask with her. She found her staff and leaned on it, waiting for Aqua to say something. "Yes… I have. So that was your soul. So thats it then… We won?" Asha chuckled to herself and shook her head. "We only won the battle, not the war. We cannot rest easy yet, young one…. Though I suppose we can have the night off." Waving her hand, and covering her face once again, she left to head for her room. "Asha will be in her room… do your best not to disturb… it has been one, interesting day."
Aqua watched Asha leave truly wanting to know more about the scar on her face, but she knew better than to ask. That would just be rude. There was so much she didn't understand about all of this still… Picking the jar up off of the floor, she studied it with curiosity. Who would put a soul in a jar…? Asha had explained the power of a soul in more detail once Larxene had left the other night, but even still, all this magic talk felt like a dream. How could all this.. fantasy be going on in the world for so long, and nobody notice? She shook her head and placed the jar on the nearest surface that had some sort of space on it. It was harder to find than it should have been. Sitting down on a large pillow to her left, she decided she would close her eyes for a while, sleep did not come easily to her recently, and that is all Aqua wanted.
Larxene continued on in silence, unsure of what she'd say to Aqua once they were face to face. The sun began to set, making her quicken her pace out of instinct. She hadn't been out here alone before, who knows what lurks around at night. Would she be mad? ….probably, right? Larxene sighed in resignation, ready to accept whatever punishment or wrath was to come. She narrowed her eyes, thankful for the odd footprints that Pooka left behind. Familiarity finally struck her, recognizing the doorway to Asha's makeshift 'home'. Larxene blinked. She was here already? How long had she been walking? The performer shook her head and exhaled slowly to calm her nerves. What now, was she supposed to just walk in…? It's not exactly like this woman had a doorbell…or a door for that matter. Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way into the opening in the stone wall. She called out softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "A-Aqua…?"
From getting herself comfy earlier, Aqua had already fallen asleep in the pile of pillows. Though she was sitting up, she was in a deep sleep and hadn't heard Larxene's call. He head was slumped to the side as she peacefully slept, hands neatly folded in her lap. Asha however, did hear Larxene's voice, though she chose to do nothing about it. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she cursed herself for having company over without being able to mask her face with magic. She had hidden this scar from everyone for most of her life; only her family knew of it. Touching her face delicately, she fixed her hair, trying hard to find a style that would cover it. She knew that any magic she could perform to cover it would take several hours, and possibly overnight to take effect on her face. So trying right now was pointless. She might as well put the mask back on at this rate. Asha hated to be the absent host. After all, she had guests, and it was unlike her to be any less than hospitable.
Her eyes slowly adjusted in the dim lighting of the room she stood in. it was initially silent, save for the quiet, even breathing from the other girl. Shit. She's asleep. Larxene wanted to kick herself mentally for even saying anything out lout to begin with, but thankfully, her loud mouth didn't disturb Aqua at all. The performer looked around cautiously. Where could Asha be…? Larxene shook her head at the thought. What a stupid question! She's clearly asleep somewhere too, right? Larxene chewed her tongue for a moment, choosing to take a seat on the ground floor, making sure not to disturb Aqua any more that she may have. She crossed her feet out in front of herself and folded her arms across her chest. Did she jump the gun and just….assume the worst? Things look okay enough… and it is somewhat late… She sighed under her breath and ran her fingertips over the cracked pendant around her neck. All she could do now was wait. There was no way she'd wake the other girl, after all that Larxene had dragged her into.
Xigbar had finally finished the journey to Asha's home, but still had not thought of anything appropriate to say. What even would be appropriate to say to your wife whom you deserted for ten years? Deserted was too harsh of a word. Or was it? Who knows? Climbing up on a remote boulder outside of the cave, and making sure that he remained out of sight, he rested his head in his hands still going over lines in his head. "Glad to see you got yer soul back hon! I'm still workin' on gettin' our daughter's soul back!" Oh my god this was so terrible. Maybe start small? "Hey! You look great! Has it really been ten years?" That one would get himself a one way ticket to skeleton hell… She liked to summon the dead from the ground just to grab… things that shouldn't be grabbed. And Asha was always the one to scold him about abuse of powers? Huh, fancy that. Watching the sun set, Xigbar was finally beginning to realize he might just have to bite the bullet on this one. Suck it up and walk right in.
Xigbar was still outside on the boulder trying his best to come up with a script. "How about something like this… Honey! I'm home! Wanna pick up where we left off ten fuckin' years ago? Yeah no… these keep gettin' worse and worse…" Movement snapped him out of his thoughts. Peering from his vantage point, he caught a glimpse of that unmistakable yellow hair. Larxene. Heh… so Larxene is here too now? "Well…. I guess that's it then. I'm out. That settles it." He whispers to himself before standing up and getting ready to head back. "They never said I had to go in there anyway…" Just as he finished talking, he heard a deep sniffing sound behind his right shoulder. Whirling around, he found himself face to face with the devil dog himself. Pooka's skeletal face opened to reveal that long pink tongue as he proceeded to lick the performer face. Shuddering, Xigbar had absolutely no time to step away as a thick fuzzy arm hoisted him up by the waist and made its way over to the cave's entrance. "HEY HEY HEY! P-PEPPER! PICKLES… WHATEVER YER NAME IS PUT ME DOWN!" Struggling to get free from the large creatures grasp… resistance was pretty much pointless. Pooka let out an excited screech before tossing his friend through the entrance to the cave with such a force that Xigbar let out a fearful cry. Tumbling through the doorway and directly into a shelf lined with pots; no doubt filled with strange substances, his back collided with the wall, knocking the delicate ceramics to the floor with a loud crash. The last pot teetered for a bit on the edge of the shelf before crashing directly on his head, glass marbles spilling out onto the floor. Letting out an annoyed groan, Xigbar didn't want to open his eyes. So much for the subtle entrance. Pooka was quite proud of himself though. His head poked through the doorway, and he seemed to be smiling. Aqua had woken up at the sudden loud noise, but was struggling to wipe the sleep away from her eyes to make out just what had happened. Xigbar cringed even more as a loud voice came from the other room, "WHAT IN THE GODS' NAME IS HAPPENING OUT THERE? DOES ASHA HAVE TO BREAK SOMEONE'S NECK?!"
Larxene's eyes opened slowly, recognizing the voice that had rose outside. Oh no. Of course he'd be out there! God, he sure knows how to pick a good time. She squinted, trying to listen to whatever it was he was saying. He sounded more urgent now. Panicked, maybe? His tone was getting a little louder. ….what? "Did he just…..say pickles?" She murmured, hoping she didn't hear him correctly. She jumped, hearing the creature screech outside. He really was out there! He didn't seem to mind when she showed up. Larxene couldn't help but smirk at the thought. However, that little grin faded fast as she watched her coworker very ungracefully tumble into view. She stared on with a deadpan expression at the unfortunate sight infront of her. It was a little incredible, really. He looked like he stepped out of a cartoon. Larxene raised her eyebrows, the smile returning to her face for a few brief seconds as the marbles scattered across the floor. What an idiot. He always was one for 'grand entrances' though, wasn't he? She glanced to Aqua. Feeling a sudden pang of guilt, she looked away. Larxene would pull Xigbar aside and smack him one for waking her, but it seemed that he did enough damage to himself for now. Her blood ran cold, hearing Asha's voice from the other room. The anger in her tone made her breath hitch.
Slowly and carefully Xigbar brushed the debris off of him and managed to stand up stiffly. He stood as quietly as possible, looking like a guilty dog in the direction of Asha's room. This is perfect. So not only did he have to apologize for being absent for ten years…but he also had to apologize for breaking all of her pottery. Aqua watched in silence as well, wondering what would come of this meeting. She suddenly did not want to be here. She looked to Larxene, but noticed that she was looking away, so she decided to not bother her too much. In the other room, Asha sighed angrily and shook her head. Stepping out of her room, forgetting about her face for the moment she started chastising, "Asha invites others into her home, and this is what she gets in return?! Asha did not ask you to break everything in sight! You two are grown women, you shouldn't be destroying such beautiful… artifacts…." Her scolding slowed to a stop as she caught sight of Xigbar sheepishly standing in the middle of the mess. Asha's expression changed to a completely neutral tone as she gripped tightly to her staff; so neutral that neither Aqua nor Xigbar knew what the woman was thinking. Nothing could be heard in the room save for everyone's breathing and the peeping of crickets outside.