Xaldin paced the staged silently. He was dressed strangely…professional, considering his line of work. Having killed the house lights almost immediately, the tattoos on his arms, as well as the six blades in his hands glowered strangely in the blacklight that focused on the stage. Thought arcing all six blades relatively high in a fluidic fountain pattern, he seemed almost….bored. Xaldin never waited for his seats to fill before starting is performance. Never needed to, really. This'll be quick, thankfully… Demyx and his new friend still need a talking to. He eyed the crowd lazily, watching the patrons shuffle in. He never seemed to take notice of the crowd before him, either. That never hindered his ability to do his job. The performer preferred subtlety, rather than the obnoxious performances of his redheaded coworker. He blinked quizzically, his ears having picked up an…odd sound from outside. ….what in the world..? Surely his ears were playing tricks. He switched to a column pattern for a moment to contemplate this. ….Certainly not. Nobody would be screaming this late into showtime…
It took all of Luvia's will not to react to Pride's last statement. To think that they were once at least cordial to each other… She shook the thought and tentatively opened her eyes. She was alone. The night sky had finally stretched over the earth, and the air had a somewhat uncomfortable crispness to it. Biting her lip to try and stop herself from crying out in pain, she held her side and sat up, pulling herself to her knees. Everything hurt. At least the fools didn't stay long enough… 'I won't go down easy…' she thought. Feeling the ground in front of her in the darkness she searched for her discarded wing. Though there was no hope for it reattaching, she couldn't bring herself to part with it. Her fingers closed around the cold edges of her wing and she gagged a little. The thought of her precious limb no longer a part of her made her sick. But she had to keep going. Before anyone found her. If there was any hope of survival… she had to flee, quickly. Continuing to bite her lip, she tasted blood as she pulled herself to her feet, and hobbled off to the side of Xemnas' tent. Luvia spotted a tent in the distance, and knew that this one was the only one she could get to in time. Pressing on, dragging her wing along in one hand, while holding her side with her other, she used the last of her power to change her form. The last thing she needed was a pesky human screaming in terror. Her shape changed to mask the blood. Her hooves became feet with small black flats, and her wings disappeared as well as her one wing. Her skin paled a normal peach, unlike the bright pink it usually was. The wing she carried changed into a black purse, just in time as she stepped through the doorway. She could only manage this much, changing the rest of her clothes couldn't be done… but she didn't care. A crowd was inside the tent, all lined up on benches watching a large man on stage skillfully toss blades into the air and catch them again. Her vision was blurring, so Luvia couldn't make out much, but she made her way to a bench in the middle of the crowd and sat down, still clutching her side. She closed her eyes and tried her hardest to sit up straight and just focus on the sounds around her. Ears are ringing… Body swaying… No… I mustn't… I must stay… Awake…
Xaldin shook the thought, continuing his performance. His gaze lingered over the crowd for a moment as he spun the blades up his arms before tossing them into the air again into another fountain. Someone's late…? Roxas probably has a nice excuse for this one… He shrugged, it's strange, how eager people are to die. He'll have to give Roxas a stern talking-to, ontop of his conference with Demyx. The blades came down in a spiral as he caught them around his arms, guiding them to the tips of his fingers. The pendant around his neck began to glow as well, in the blacklight that lit the stage. The blades made their way behind his shoulders, seemingly running together in the strange light. A faint haze of purple hung over the crowd, drawing closer to the performer. Wind stirred around him as the strange haze inched closer in silence. It seemed a little more defined in color now. Xaldin smirked as he tossed all six blades high into the air. The haze began to bleed into the trinket around his neck. The performer sighed quietly, relaxing his shoulders a bit. It seemed a little strange how quickly they fade, yet somehow… intriguing. The patrons began to stand and shuffle their feet as the blades came down in a circle around him, each one standing neatly on point at his feet. He turned away from the crowd as they began to make their leave, thankful for the calm quiet that slowly began to fill the room.
Luvia felt the air change around her, and opened her eyes slowly out of curiosity. The man before her had stolen every soul in the crowd as they stood and shuffled out. The way he had finished his act… truly remarkable… Lord Xemnas was right; his mortals really are talented. Her side began to burn with an intensity that she had never felt before. It was nothing like the fires of hell that she was used to… If one could imagine something twice as hot, that would be it. Her body swayed even more as she could hold out no longer. Luvia dropped her guise, in a feeble attempt to save energy. Her human form dissipated, as she tumbled to the ground in front of her. The hard dirt ground came to meet her, as dust kicked up from the action. Despite the heat from her wounds, a cold sweat formed on her skin. Clutching tightly to the wound on her side, she let go of her wing in an instant, to cover the scratches on her face. D-don't scream…. D-don't make noise… they'll find you… That performer will find you too… and that can't be good. He'll turn you in…
Xaldin's spine stiffened a little, hearing the sudden sound. He turned on heel, ready to snap at the intruder. His coworkers knew full-well that he didn't like to be bothered after a show this late. He drew a breath to speak, only for it to get caught in his throat. What…? He was absolutely certain he'd completed his job… what on earth? He squinted his eyes. is….that a wing? He flicked on the house lights and stepped off of the stage in a gust of wind. Intruder or animal, it needed to be dealt with. He blinked a few times in an attempt to process what lay on the ground before him. A woman? …..no, no? He stepped forward, swearing under his breath. A tail…? S-surely it's fake… She was injured. Badly. There wasn't a good way to call for assistance. Was this just something….normal that happened if a soul isn't taken properly? Something in his gut told him 'no.' Wind flared up around him for a moment before reigning it in. Making a scene here wouldn't be ideal, what could he say in his defense? "Fucking hell." He murmured, kicking himself mentally. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. Sighing in defeat, he crouched down to pick her up. What if, whatever it was….decided to try to attack…? He shook the thought almost instantly. At this rate, what could be worse? Was this woman even human? He shifted her head upward slightly. Horns? Part of him hoped that he'd been hallucinating, at this point. Holding the side of her face with one hand, he pressed two fingers of his other to the side of her windpipe, feeling a faint sign of life. Now's not the time. Not here. He glanced over his shoulder while counting to himself, to make sure there weren't any other 'guests'. Clearing his throat, he drew a breath to speak. "I need to move you."
This human's voice… It broke her concentration. Opening her eyes widely in defense she stared at him intently, tears welling in her eyes from the pain. What did he say…? Using an extra boost of strength, she forced herself to sit up. Weakly she reached out to snatch her fallen wing from the ground and held it tightly to her chest. Did he say he'd take her away…? No. No… no not now.. "N-No.. You can't.. take me back to him… no.." Words were jumbling in her mind as sweat dripped down her forehead. Luvia's eyes rolled back in her head as her eyelids fell shut. Her body fell forward yet again, this time straight into the performer. For a few moments… her world went black.
He blinked, somewhat in shock when she spoke. So she did understand. Wings too, now? What in the world…? "Back to….who? What? You misunderstand…" He swore under his breath as her body collided into his. She was cold. Part of him was suddenly thankful for having a strong stomach. The wounds on her were….interesting to say the least… But, she understood him, so he wasn't just….speaking to himself. Though, if she could hear him at this point was another story. He sighed to himself as he took her into his arms, bracing himself in case she decided to protest. He had learned fairly quickly, how to repair certain wounds, thanks to his new line of work, but he couldn't shake the shadow of doubt that hung over this situation. Making his way back to his room, he muttered to himself, ignoring the blood that had to begun to seep into his shirt. Wind stirred at his feet, sweeping across the floor, taking the blanket from his bed with it. It landed on the ground haphazardly. His foot hooked under the small chair next to his makeshift 'desk', kicking it out to the side. Xaldin kept his breathing steady to remain focused on the tasks before him, now. Muttering a quick apology, he set her on the ground as gently as he could manage, easing her to her side a little to lean against the chair next to her. "Please stay there," He murmured, not bothering to stop and look at her to make sure she understood. Dropping to his knees now, he heaved a trunk from under the rickety bed frame he slept on. This was a nice shirt… He rummaged around the trunk's contents, removing whatever medical supplies he had. He silently thanked himself for never getting rid of them.
Finally turning his attention back to her, he spoke, making sure to keep his voice even and calm "That needs to stop, I….well. This may hurt you." What could he say? Honestly? Who knows what sort of pain tolerance she possessed.
She felt herself be placed down somewhere… Though Luvia had absolutely no idea what had happened to get her there. "N-no… my Lord… I-I… It's not my time yet… please… mercy…" Her grip loosened on her wing as it flopped to the ground next to her. She opened her eyes wide, but she found that she couldn't quite see anything, no matter how hard she looked. Gasping deeply a few times, she wriggled in her seat weakly, truly afraid that she had been taken back to the Ringmaster's tent. Shutting her eyes again she slurred, "I should… Have waited… And obeyed you… m-my… my Lord…" Her head rolled weakly from one side to the other.
She was responsive, that was good. Though….he really didn't understand what she was going on about in the slightest. 'my lord'? He shook his head in dismissal, tearing open whatever reserves of gauze he had. Whatever the damage, the bleeding needed to be stopped first. His expression turned sour for a moment as he muttered another apology. "This will hurt." He reminded, placing the gauze gently at her side at first, gradually adding more pressure. The performer cursed under his breath, adding more gauze to the wound. It was strange, he couldn't deny it. What could have inflicted such a thing…? Making quick work of the new dressings after sopping up most of the blood, he secured the new bandage in place. Xaldin reached up to her face and placed a hand on her cheek. He nudged her slightly to get her attention. "I need to….move you again." He cleared his throat, not particularly waiting for a response. Whatever sort of wound on her back was the worst of it, from what he could see. He shifted backward onto his heels, heaving the strange woman into his arms again. Muttering yet another apology, he placed her down on the bed. There's blood prettymuch everywhere else, why not, right? He sighed to himself, directing her mostly onto her stomach. His brow furrowed in confusion. "What is….?" The performer shook his head. Don't ask questions, just… He cleared his throat, pulling the small chair closer to the bedside. Taking a seat, he placed the gauze over the majority of the strange wound on her back. He glanced up at her, scanning her face for any sign of protest. Her body temperature continued to drop, causing him to curse under his breath again. "Such….strange attire…." He murmured to himself, letting out a groan after a few seconds of silence. There wasn't exactly a good way….around…this. Rolling his eyes, he reached down into his boot with his free hand, producing a spare blade. "Hey." He spoke, his tone slightly more firm than before. "Try not to move, this is really meant to….help…you." His voice faltered a little by the end of his sentence, slipping the blade under the top strap of the strange garment she wore, clearing the area of the wound. "What….happened to you..?" He mumbled to himself, applying more pressure, and more gauze to it. How much blood had she lost…? His free hand nabbed the corner of another blanket at the foot of the bed. Xaldin shook it a moment before laying it over her lower half. She needed to retain whatever body heat she had.
Luvia could help herself no longer, the pressure he applied to her wounds made her cry out in pain. She felt herself being placed on something soft… face down… Her hand gripped tightly to the sheets of the bed as she tried to even her breathing, though now her gasps only began to worsen. Luvia flicked her tail as she felt the performer work on the wound on her back. The wing that was left unfurled and twitched from the pain so close to it. She croaked holding back a scream, "B-Brother…Have you forgotten our code…? Demons….C-Cant kill…. our own…" Something began to appear on her back, just between the shoulder blades. It looked as if it was being painted by an invisible brush. It slowly appeared to become a black symbol that looked more like a rune than any letter of the alphabet most commonly used in the local areas. Luvia's breathing began to calm. The burning in her wounds subsiding gradually… though the ache was still there. Her eyes opened slowly, as she finally was able to focus on where she was. Face down on a rickety bed, in a place she had never seen before. She stared silently at the large man dressing her wounds for a while before finally whispering softly but sternly, "…Why…?"
He blinked slowly, somewhat thankful for a reaction out of her, despite apologizing again. Brother? ….what? "I am no kin to you." He spoke, eyes narrowing at her other wing. Demons? Was she delusional...? He shook the thought. "Listen now, you need to relax, and—" His voice faltered as he took notice of the strange mark surfacing between her shoulder blades. what was this now? He eyed it carefully as he placed another clean bandage over the wound he had been working on. Xaldin could feel her body relax under his fingers. "Hn?" he drew his attention back to the woman as she spoke. "why *what?* " he asked, drawing his attention back to his work. "Please sit still, I'm not intending to harm you." He felt a little strange, speaking to the woman this way. After securing the bandage in place, He glanced back up at her while sweeping her hair to the side. His palms seemed stiff as he did so, grazing over the strange tattoo. "You really need to be still, so these don't….open again." A sharp, sudden pain coursed through his hand. He ground his teeth and stayed silent, despite the burning pain in his palm. Alright. Of course. This was fair, right? He swore under his breath, rising to his feet. Xaldin turned away from her, unbuttoning his now ruined dress-shirt with slightly shaky hands. Wriggling out of it, he tore at the sleeve with his teeth, tearing the fabric quite easily. Not bothering to rinse his hands, he wrapped the fabric around his palm and tied it into place. Some of the blood from earlier had seeped through to his undershirt and suspenders as well. Why stop at one, might as well wreck the whole outfit. Xaldin eyed the woman carefully, waiting for some form of response.
Something strange happened. That was for sure. Her pain was rapidly subsiding… what…?! Ignoring his orders entirely, she pushed her self up off the bed to a sitting position, not caring what happened to her cut top. If it fell, so be it. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she spoke sternly, "What….What have you done…?!" Stiffly, she reached up to touch her back, but thought better of it. The thought of her wing missing still made her feel so sick. "Y-You… Why did you help me, human..? Humans don't help us… Or at least they shouldn't..?" Luvia watched the strange man carefully, pulling the blanket closer around her legs. Why had he torn his clothes? Was this a human custom? No. Something was wrong.
Her words echoed in his ears. 'what have you done' as if….this was bad? 'human'? 'us' ? Xaldin's eyes narrowed, pulling the small chair a few feet away from the bed. He sat down, an odd sense of exhaustion crept up on him. She talks so strangely… "Where are you from? What happened to you?" She was left half dead in his tent! What else was he supposed to do? "Keep…" He cleared his throat. "Keep your voice down, if you please." He flexed his hand carefully, the pain still lingered.
"I'm….Not from around here…" She spoke softly as directed, her gaze not leaving his face. Chewing her tongue, she tried as best as she could to think of how to answer his questions. After all, it was against demonic code to tell a mortal about the affairs of hell and anything that may entail… But at this point, all of the rules are being broken by her siblings, so why not break a few on her own? After all, this man did save her life. "My…" Her words caught in her throat. She didn't want to speak of what had happened…but she wanted to say something. Perhaps if she spoke about it… the events would hurt less. "My brothers were given…. the… o-order to kill me. Those bastards left me to die. I fled here. It was the closest shelter. I did not expect to be saved…." Her voice trailed off at the end, as her gaze lowered to her savior's hand. She could tell he was in some sort of pain, and she wanted to know why. "Show me your hand."
Well that was true. Nobody around here looks like that… his expression softened a little, hearing her voice change the way it did. She's hesitating…? "Well," He spoke slowly, unsure of what to say. "I can assure you, I didn't expect to…..save anyone." The words felt foreign on his tongue. "You have siblings?" He arched an eyebrow at the thought. Were they still here? "The ringmaster will need to know." He murmured to himself, folding his arms across his chest. "Why?" He asked, leaning back in the chair a little to get more comfortable. He ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to choose his words carefully. "What do you mean, 'orders to kill you'? Why?" He asked, adding emphasis to the last word he spoke. He flexed his hand again in response, hesitant to respond. So she did do something! He really wasn't imagining it…
Luvia's stomach flipped. She really needed to know what had happened to his hand. But perhaps he wouldn't answer her questions unless she answered his first. Groaning softly, she shifted her weight in his bed and hung her feet over the edge. Something inside her was telling her to run while she still could. "M-my... No. Y-your... Ringmaster... Wants me dead." She lifted her hand to cover the scratches on her face yet again. It hurt to talk... Her jaw felt bruised. Luvia watched the man before her carefully. She was prepared to run if he showed any signs of hostility to her last statement.
A handful of questions raced through his mind. What was she? Where exactly did she come from? Is that seriously a tail? He sincerely hoped those were just strange shoes she wore. Xaldin watched her closely. "Try not to move…" His voice faltered as she did so anyway. Her face…what was she hiding? He probably should have taken the time to take care of the minor injuries too… He swore under his breath. The performer shifted a little in his seat and looked away from her. She seems tense. This wasn't good. She was in no condition to run. He silently hoped that she'd stay put. Chasing her down would be easy, but, not only would that attract unwanted attention, all of the work he did would've been for nothing. He was brought back to reality when she spoke. What did she just say? …Why? That's…peculiar. Were they thinking of the same person? "Will you let me see your face?" He asked, knowing full well that his question sounded strange. …but maybe changing the subject would help her relax a little? If what she said were true, and it really was Xemnas that wanted her, well, dead, then… His stomach turned at the thought.
She frowned at him. Her face?! Why? Did he have some sort of wound fetish? Seeing a girls face all scarred was enjoyable somehow? No... That wasn't it... Well... She couldn't be sure. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't read the man before her. She had never gone to the surface in this specific life cycle, but she knew she could read a humans desires like a book. But him... All the pages were blank. Her breath quickened. What is going on? Have... Have my powers faded? Well... She was very weak at the moment. Perhaps she could read him once her strength returned. Luvia hated being in the dark about this. She moved her hand away and chose to say nothing about it, watching him carefully. "I... Guess I should thank you. F-for helping me, human..." Her tail swung back and forth off of the edge of the bed as she still struggled to figure him out.
Xaldin arched an eyebrow and rose to his feet. He still had that basin of water on his desk, now that he sorted out that mess with Axel and the fish-boy. Thinking about it now, he should have cleaned his hands before tending to her wounds. Sighing in resignation, the man placed a clean scrap of fabric in the water, wringing it out after a few seconds, thankful that most of the blood on his fingertips had dried. He listened in silence as she reluctantly spoke. What? The words sounded foreign in his ears. He shook his head in dismissal, unsure of how to respond. She was thanking him? Didn't she say she didn't expect to be saved? "Here," He finally said, stepping closer to her carefully. Bending down slightly, Xaldin reached out to touch the side of her face. "I apologize if this hurts, I'm not intending to harm you further…" He dabbed at the wounds on her face with the damp cloth. Would it be better for her to do it herself? He wanted to know what could've made these markings. It certainly couldn't have been Xemnas. right? He shook the thought, choosing to speak up again in an attempt to ease the tension hanging in the air. "What is your name?" He asked, keeping his voice down. His eyes narrowed, examining the strange marks on her cheek further. The performer glanced up to her eyes for a moment, waiting for a response.
Her name…? The answer she wanted to give was conflicting in her mind. She couldn't come right out and say that her name was Lust to a human… or at least not yet anyway. Not when her powers waned in such a way. Instead she chose the common name she had given herself. "My name is Luvia… and what might your name be? I expect something kinda fancy from a someone who acts so gentlemanly~" Perhaps… if she played her cards right, she could feed off of him and be on her merry way. But first she needed to find out what was on his hand. She smiled at him sweetly, looking into his eyes hoping that this gesture would distract him from her reaching up to touch his wrapped hand.
He turned away for a moment for gauze. He had hoped that the injuries on her face weren't as bad as he thought but, here they are. He returned his attention to her cheek, eyes narrowing in concentration again. It…almost looked like nail markings. He couldn't understand who could've caused it. He glanced up at her again as she spoke. Something in her tone had changed slightly. He blinked a few times to process what she'd said. Clearing his throat, he looked back to her cheek and murmured. "…Xaldin." 'Gentlemanly'? His eyes flicked back to hers for a moment. She's smiling now. That was a good sign, at least. He offered a small smile in return, thankful that he wouldn't have to deal with a dead woman in his room. He withdrew his hand after a few moments and looked down at it. Why did she want to know so badly?
No! Take the bait, dammit! Luvia pouted as she lunged for his hand. The sudden motion made what was left of her loose top slide off of her and down her arms. She took no notice as she gripped his wrist with both hands. "Xaldin… You need to let me see y-your… h-hand…" A wave of fatigue hit her like a ton of bricks, as her body began to sway again. Perhaps it was the sudden movement that had strained her. But there were things in demonic code that needed to be addressed. She wasn't used to this tiredness. Demons did not need sleep… but… it sounded good to her at the moment.
His eyes widened a little at her sudden movement. Unfortunately, he took notice of the ripped garment that'd fallen off of her. Heat rose in his cheeks that he chose to ignore. "That, uh." He looked away for a moment. "That was my fault, I apologi—" he swore under his breath, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to steady her. This woman clearly wasn't on death's doorstep anymore but rest was necessary. "L-Listen," He began, making sure to keep his voice calm, despite how far this situation had spiraled. "You've lost quite a bit of blood, you know." He reminded, putting his own tiredness on the backburner. Xaldin never intended to have guests…but where else could she go? She knew his name, now. And with the way she looked, he was already in deep. "You need to rest. Save your strength." He removed her hands from his wrist easily, making sure to be as gentle as he could be. Flexing his palm again, he shook his head. "Why…do you want to see it so badly? You need to focus on recovering from….whatever….this is." Truthfully, he didn't want see his hand, either. He had hoped nobody would disturb him in the morning. There'd be no way to brush this under the rug.
She laid herself back down on the bed slowly, pulling her legs up to her chest, and tucking her wing around herself. Luvia felt bad for taking the human's bed, but she really couldn't bring herself to move anywhere else. Her eyes began to flutter shut as she spoke to him softly, "I-I'm going… to… sleep here… Sorry for taking your bed… I-I'll find… some way to repay you… in the morning….?" And with that, her tail went limp and her breathing slowed. Luvia had fallen asleep, much to her reluctance.
Xaldin nodded slowly. Good. At least she's not protesting. "The less she moves, the better." He mumbled to himself. Sleep was beginning to sound…very good. He shook the thought and straightened his posture before stretching silently. Granted, he wasn't used to someone else taking over his bed, but it's not like he got much use out of it. After placing the blanket carefully over her sleeping form, he turned on heel and made his way to his showroom. He needed to cover the bloodstains on the off-chance someone were to find them. He'd rather avoid unnecessary questions if he could help it. Thankfully, the stains on the ground weren't as bad as he first thought, scraping dirt around with his boot. After a few minutes, a strange sense of dizziness washed over him. How….how long had it been since he'd slept…? He rubbed his eyes with his covered hand, making his way back to his sleeping quarters. Taking a seat on the small chair by his desk, Xaldin leaned back a little, getting about as comfortable as he could. Stifling a yawn, he outstretched his legs and crossed his feet lazily. His eyelids felt heavy. Being this exhausted so suddenly was a little strange, but there wasn't anything he could really do to prevent it. Folding his arms across his chest, his eyes finally fell closed as he reluctantly drifted off to sleep.