"Time to go back…" Aqua uncorked the vial and let the rest of the dust hit the floor. The same cloud of smoke enveloped the both of them, and they found themselves outside of Asha's hut once more. Aqua hesitated as she eyed the curtain of the voodoo priestess' home. What would she even say when she entered? She was afraid. But something else bothered her as well. Aqua could hear voices behind that curtain. The voices were foreign to her, save for Asha's. Even more strange was the other voices… Aqua couldn't understand them. They seemed to be speaking the same language that she caught Asha muttering in from time to time. Aqua held her breath and turned to Larxene with a questioning look.
Larxene rubbed her nose in slight irritation. Did Asha have a …..different method of transportation that…didn't involve getting anything up your nose? Or in your eyes? or lungs? "Wh…What's wrong?" She eyed Aqua's face carefully. After a few seconds, she caught on. did….did they take too long? Larxene had to come up with something to tell Asha later. But where to begin? It's not like they suddenly wouldn't be….welcome, right? Larxene took a step forward and cursed under her breath. The glass. The performer shook the thought and continued past the curtain, unsure what to expect. Did she normally have visitors? Larxene cleared her throat a little louder than she normally would, hoping to get her attention. Hopefully this…new addition with Aqua wouldn't land them in some sort of trouble…
Asha turned to the sound of Larxene clearing her throat. An elderly woman dressed in intricate robes, yet faded in color, sat next to her. Whatever conversation they were having ended immediately. The woman put her hand on Asha's and nodded solemnly, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, much like Larxene and Aqua just came. Asha stood and forced a smile, trying to regain a sense of normalcy after her visitor had left… but she struggled. Her voice still shook no matter how much she tried. "So… How was your outing? Asha hopes the two of you have bonded at the very least." Asha looked past Larxene on tiptoe expecting to see Aqua enter behind her, but didn't. This worried her greatly. She looked back at Larxene quickly for some sort of explanation.
Larxene gave a half wave and a nod at Asha and her…company. What was this all about? Peculiar. Were they late? ….did they even have a time limit? She glanced over her shoulder. "Wh—bond? Uh…" What was she on about? "I-It was…well…I personally didn't expect…" She sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair. "Something…happened? …I guess?" oh great. That sounded wonderful! She put her hands up quickly, and continued. "Wait, that sounded bad..uh," Larxene glanced over her shoulder again before speaking. "What do you know about…wings?" Her eyes narrowed a little as she finished her sentence, after taking a step backward to put distance between the two of them. There wasn't much she could say to make her previous statement sound any better, so she'd have to bite the bullet and take whatever earful she was about to get.
Asha took a deep breath and bit her lip. 'Do not… Do not yell. Remember…. Patience when dealing with idiots. Just like you used to, Asha… Just like when your idiot still lived here…' This inner mantra didn't help. Her tone still came out angry. "Wing?! Asha knows not of any wing! Speak quickly, child… is Aqua safe?!" Aqua could hear the angry voice from outside of the cave. Oh no. She stepped through the curtain quickly, trying to save Larxene from any further trouble. After all, this was her burden to bear, not Larxene's. Asha took one look at Aqua and immediately stopped speaking. Her green eyes filled with confusion. What in the gods' name was going on?
Larxene's eyes widened, though she stood her ground. Is Aqua safe? What sort of question…? Larxene opened her mouth to respond, but Asha stopped speaking. Instead, she exhaled and vaguely gestured to Aqua, who came into view. "Of course she's safe…I wouldn't let…" Larxene bit her tongue. What could be said? 'I didn't let anything happen to her, ya know, it only took forever to break into the room and pry that man child off of her!' She shook the thought. Terra was something that she needed to bring to Asha's attention, but…not now, no way. The blonde backed away slowly and took a seat on the ground. "We thought…you may have some answers." She murmured, hoping for some sort of explanation. Judging from her expression, this wasn't some strange trick of hers. Larxene's stomach turned at the thought.
"A-Asha has no answers to this… this… what…" Asha stepped past several things in order to close the distance between her and Aqua. She grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her forward, not taking her eyes off of the wings for even a moment. Aqua mustered the courage to speak next. "I… have no idea how this happened. But, I have been having really bad pains in my back for days now, and when I took a shower…. this happened." Aqua needed to explain the story the way she wanted, leaving out the gruesome details. She didn't know what Larxene would tell Asha, but she didn't want her to know the truth at present. Asha gently touched the wings, as if to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Asha cannot believe this sort of ting is even possible. You… Yer sure yer human, child? Right? You'd best not be hiding anyting from Asha…" The woman looked the younger girl in the eyes, trying to read her as best she could. The poor girl had no idea what was going on, that much Asha could tell. Aqua swallowed hard before taking a seat next to Larxene. "H-Human? Of course. What else would I be? I-I mean… as far as I know… yes?" Asha shook her head and sat across from them, head in her hands, deep in thought.
Larxene watched in silence. Anything she had to contribute would make the situation worse. Asha's words echoed in her ears. If she's not human, what would she be? Larxene smiled softly at Aqua before turning her attention back to Asha. "Is there a way to find out, then? I-I mean if this isn't…proof enough?" She gestured to Aqua's wings. "I mean…I certainly haven't heard of a human with wings…" Larxene bit the side of her tongue for a moment before continuing. "But, If demons… do exist, other …things have to too, right?" She glanced from Aqua back to Asha. Her eyes narrowed a little, not even wanting to finish her sentence. This felt…silly, to say. "like Angels?" the word felt strange coming out of her mouth. She suddenly got the urge to apologize for even suggesting it.
"PAH! An angel?!" Asha laughed louder than she meant to. Aqua jumped and nearly dropped the towel she held against her bare chest. Asha took a deep breath and sighed. "Child… Ya have a point…." Her calm didn't last long though. She looked Aqua dead in the eyes and asked, "If you really be an angel, then where were you all these years?! Where were ya and yer kind for the struggles of my people? For this?!" Asha waved her hand in front of her face, revealing her scar for a moment, before it returned to normal. Aqua gripped tightly to the towel and sat up straight, truly unsure of what to say. Asha bit her lip and shook her head. "No no no no… Aqua my child. Dunnut any of dat to heart, Asha… Asha is just a bitter woman is all…" She quickly crawled over to the young girl and gave her a tight hug, to which Aqua was even more confused, but grateful in a way. Asha let go, and turned her attention to Larxene's feet. "Let Asha get someting for those feet. Clumsy girl… Almost as bad as my idiot street rat…" She stood and hopped over to the corner of the room, searching for various herbs and things that could help in the healing process. Aqua, meanwhile was still trying to understand the depth of what just happened.
Larxene's eyes widened as the woman laughed the way she did. She opened her mouth to protest in Aqua's defense, but quickly closed and covered it at the sight of Asha's face. What the hell? She mumbled an apology. Larxene wasn't exactly sure where this conversation just went but it seemed a little personal. Too personal. Larxene flinched a little at the mention of her feet. How would she explain where the glass came from? Her spine stiffened. Did she hear that correctly? Clumsy? "Oho no, no, you've got that all wrong, Paintface, this only happened because—" Larxene realized what she begun to say and stopped herself. Shit. Please don't ask. She shivered at the thought. It wasn't her place to say what exactly happened earlier but, being compared to someone like Xigbar made her skin crawl in the worst way. "I'm fine." She finally murmured, bringing her feet closer to herself. Once Asha finds glass, she's bound to ask questions, right?
"Paint face…. Yes… I have not heard a name like that in many years either. The similarities are quite comical, child. Now hold still Asha will mend your feet." At this point Asha knew that what she was saying was rubbing Larxene the wrong way. But she truly enjoyed toying with her. Such a testy girl. She came back with a yellowish powder in a bowl and some clean water. Asha sat in front of Larxene and grabbed hold of one of her feet. She didn't ask about how it happened. Nor did she want to know. Aqua reached over and held Larxene's hand. It was almost like a reflex. She knew the removal of the glass would be painful so she wanted to comfort Larxene in some way. Aqua tried to make it seem as friendly as possible… but was still slightly worried it would make the performer uncomfortable.
Larxene wanted to recoil. 'similarities'? yeah right! She didn't put up much of a fight as Asha sat down, despite how much she wanted to. She braced herself for the incoming slew of questions, but they never came. Asha was actually…silent. This is strange. Did she know already? No. there's no way. Right? She shook the thought, feeling something on her hand, which caused her to flinch initially. After a few seconds, Larxene squeezed Aqua's hand just barely, as if to thank her. She could swear her heart skipped a beat. Was this just a normal feeling with hand-holding? The performer offered a smile to the other girl, doing her best to keep her composure. If this were actually hurting Larxene, there's no way she was about to show it.
Asha splashed the water into the bowl and mixed it with her finger. Taking some of the yellow paste onto her fingers she smeared it onto larxene's feet with a fluidity of motion that hinted at the many years of practice she had at mending wounds. She cleaned her hands off with the bottom of her skirt and stood before Larxene and Aqua. "Asha will leave you two be… after all, Asha must see if she can find any… knowledge of these wings of yours." She smiled and stepped away from the two of them and made her way to her room. "You two be good. Or not, Asha does not mind." And with that, she laughed heartily and closed the door to her room behind her. Aqua blushed visibly at the older woman's comment, but didn't release her hand from Larxene's. Instead she just turned her gaze away from the performer next to her, though she knew it was hopeless to hide her face at this point.
Larxene tensed for a moment, expecting an oncoming surge of pain. Her body relaxed after a few seconds, thankful for the relief, despite it being so strange. She muttered a quick 'thank you' as Asha stood, though unsure if that was directed more to Asha, or Aqua. She ran her thumb absentmindedly against the side of Aqua's hand as she held it. The taller woman's words began to sink in. 'be good or not'? what was that supposed to mean? "Wh…What're you implying?" Larxene wanted to go to her own defense but, what could she say? Is 'matchmaker' another….job of hers? Her eyes flicked to Aqua for a moment, feeling the unfortunate familiar heat rise in her cheeks. Silence set in after a few moments. Shit. This was bad. The performer tried her hardest to keep the blush across her face at bay. She finally stopped doing what she was doing to the side of the girl's hand. It was probably starting to weird her out. "I'm sorry for today." She murmured. This was the worst subject to talk about. Larxene wasn't sure why she had such an urge to apologize about the mess that happened at Aqua's apartment, but she couldn't stop herself.
"Hey…." Aqua said softly, not really thinking about what she was saying. She held the towel to her chest tightly, as the events of the day finally started to set in. She was tired… "It's alright, Larxene… I… I thank you for what you did for me…" Aqua let a deep breath go, trying to relax her muscles after such strain. Her wings lowered and opened slightly, brushing the ground behind them both.
She had a handful of things that she wanted to tell her, and things that she wanted to ask, but thankfully she decided against it. Aqua's words seemed to echo in her ears. Larxene was glad she had been there with her, despite how awful it was. Who knows what would've happened if she wasn't. but still, did that really warrant a 'thank you'? She shook her head. "You don't need to…thank me," Her brow furrowed slightly, making an effort to choose her words carefully. "I'm sorry I couldn't open the door sooner, I…I'm a little rusty with lock picking." Her voice trailed off into a murmur. The performer stared blankly at the makeshift fire pit in the middle of the room. The pendant on her choker flickered weakly. She hadn't gone this long without collecting souls before. Surely someone's noticed her absence, right? She shook the thought after a few seconds. "H-Here, why don't you try to rest?" She suggested, hoping the other girl would comply.
Aqua nodded, truly feeling tired from all the events of the day. No doubt these wings added to it… She tried with some effort to secure the towel around her chest, so that if she fell asleep, she wouldn't wake up…. nude. Laying down, in the corner of the room where the pillows and blankets were, she tried her best to get comfy with her newfound.. appendages. "Will you rest too…? N-Not sleep, but… never mind …" Aqua just didn't want to be alone. But she wouldn't say so.
Larxene sighed quietly in relief, thankful that Aqua didn't protest to the idea. She made a point to avert her eyes as the other girl fidgeted with the towel. Shirts would definitely be...an adjustment, now. The performer chewed the side of her tongue for a moment. old Paint-face in there must have some experience with altering clothes... Larxene's eyebrows rose at the thought. Who knows what she was doing in that room of hers. She certainly wouldn't be the one to knock on that door now. She was brought back to reality as Aqua spoke. 'nevermind'? Larxene gave a small nod. After what happened today, she probably wouldn't get a fair amount of sleep to beginwith, but, hell, Larxene wouldn't want to be alone either. "I-It's alright, I..." She shrugged. "I'll be here." what is it with the near-constant urge to apologize? "Let's get some sleep, then, alright? I-I'm sure we can figure something out with...your...clothes..."
"That would… be a good idea. I already miss my shirts.." Pulling the blanket up to her chin, she tried to close her eyes and sleep, or at least nap. Her back felt even more strange when she laid down… Aqua hoped it would get better with time.
Larxene's stomach turned. what else was going to happen to this girl? who knows... her brow furrowed slightly as she claimed the spot in the makeshift bed next to Aqua. She made a point to put a little more distance between the two of them. "I will stay here this time, I swear." Larxene gestured to the spot she was laying in for a moment before resigning to silence. Hopefully she'd keep her hands to herself, this time. that's always so awkward to explain... She stared blankly at the ceiling of Asha's home, trying to will herself to sleep.