Larxene drew a breath, seeing Asha return. Shit. Not that she was known for being 'respectful' but, shit man she knew Xigbar for forever, it felt like. Who cares what gets said to him? Hopefully she didn't hear that. …judging from her face she did. well, this was a storm she started, might as well let it come. Larxene sat back a little, as if to get more comfortable. 'This is gonna take a while….' She thought. Her eyes widened a little at Aqua's reaction. Shit. Larxene put a hand up lazily as if to say 'nothing can be done now.', despite her slightly guilty expression. Whatever shred of guilt that was written on her face disintegrated as Xigbar stood the way he did. not bothering to stand, she sat in silence, keeping her expression neutral. 'oh cool. Yeah lets just… break everything, that's not childish.' A flicker of anger flashed in her eyes at his last comment. In an instant Larxene was ready to move to her feet. What happened next caught her so far off guard, she froze. Larxene remained seated, though tense. She fought to keep her breathing even until Aqua finished speaking. Her heart sank a little, as much as she didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to say things like this in front of her. Larxene looked to the floor. There's no way she'd be able to match her gaze now.
After a few minutes passed, Larxene cleared her throat. "Feel better, Xig?" Her eyes narrowed. "Now that all of…that was addressed…" She drew a breath, trying her best to quell the anger in her chest. "We're going to get your kid back. Alright?" Her eyes flicked to Asha for a few seconds before returning to Xigbar. There's no way she could stare at that woman while talking about this. It made her insides squirm. "…both of you, alright?" her tone was somewhat flat, though she continued. "What do you think we're all here for? Sure we've got some other stuff on the, er, 'agenda' now, but, come on. We got one, didn't we?" Larxene bit the side of her tongue and returned her gaze to the floor. Xigbar's words still rang in her ears. If she spoke any more on the subject, she wouldn't be able to keep whatever shreds of composure she had.
Xigbar muttered under his breath, "Yeah… we got one soul.. but I feel like if he truly wanted to stop Asha, he woulda done it himself…" That was a thought that had been bothering him for quite some time. Xemnas was a man with so many secrets, that and an otherworldly talent for thinking ahead. He'd be damn good at chess… He tried his best to ignore Larxene's sarcastic comments, but another part of him didn't even believe her word about saving Mags. When it came down to it, it really wasn't her concern. As long as Bluebird was safe, Sparky wouldn't give two shits… He was willing to bet the only reason Larxene even said that was because her girlfriend got upset. Curious how such a stubborn bitch could change so quickly. That's something Xigbar wouldn't easily forget. A good tool for the future maybe?
Aqua sighed and quieted down. She wanted Asha to continue what she was going to do, so that hopefully everyone would forget about what just happened for the moment. Asha took a step forward with the potion bottle and shook her head. "Asha appreciates the promise, but the most important ting is keeping Aqua's soul out of harms way… But for now, let us address the problem at hand." Asha snapped her fingers, fixing the chair her husband broke with a bit of magic. Though she was annoyed with the fact that it broke in the first place, she was more concerned with how easily it was destroyed. Sure, her furniture was old… but could that really be possible? With a stern swing of her staff, she forced Xigbar to sit once more, the chains swirled around the chair, keeping him more secure than the last time. "Girl. Pass the stone to Aqua, Asha feels it will be in better hands there. Seeing as you and my street rat have something out for each other…" She waited for Larxene to obey while swirling the mixture in the potion glass.
Larxene sat in silence, keeping her expression neutral. Sure, he had a point. There must be a reason he hasn't done anything with the other one either, right? Whatever. She watched Asha as she spoke, and cleaned the mess that larxene technically had a part in. Must be nice to break whatever you want with no repercussions. For some reason the thought of Aqua's apartment surfaced in her mind, making her stomach turn. What happened to that guy? Probably going to run into him again soon… Larxene was, thankfully, brought back to reality as the other woman continued. She was right though, who was she kidding? Aqua was far more important, but, since she's here, why not, right? She ran her tongue over her teeth as Asha's last comment sank in. 'something out for eachother' right… She eyed Xigbar now, with his 'improved' confinement. "Sure thing." She murmured, still not wanting to look Aqua in the face. She held her palm open to the other girl and waited for her to comply. Part of her wanted the process to speed up a little, what he had mentioned earlier about 'company' didn't sit right. The other part wanted to just get up and leave. Wbat good would that do? Instead she turned her attention to a rather interesting spot on the floor by her feet until Asha was ready to proceed.
Aqua took the stone with some hesitation. Part of her thought it would hurt… she couldn't explain why. She held it firmly in her hand, and nodded to Asha. Asha stepped closer to Xigbar and commanded, "You are going to drink this… every last drop." Xigbar eyed the strange liquid inside the bottle with mild disgust. Lord only knew what she made that out of… most potions tasted awful too… She tried to feed him this concoction, but before she could, he spoke hastily, "Wait wait wait wait wait! Two things. What the hell is in that? And what's it gonna do to me? Ya can't jus' force-feed a potion to someone. Plus, we aint got time fer this shit anyway. Judgin' by my reaction to Sparky before, ya gotta know its me, right? Right? I mean come on… I came here to warn you guys is all… Xemnas summoned somethin' nasty… and-"
With a flick of Asha's wrist she pulled the chains tighter, making him stop talking. "Asha believes that you are what you are. What she doesn't believe… is that you are the only person with us in that body. Now stop talking." Asha's eyes narrowed as she forced him to drink the concoction, which made him sputter a bit, from not being in control of the actual act of drinking. The mixture burned a bit going down, a bit worse than any hard liquor, and it tasted like death. Shivering a bit, he closed his eyes tightly. When he opened his eyes, his vision was a tad blurred, at least from his perspective.
Shit… Aqua watched him carefully, not sure what was going to happen. When he looked back at them, his eye seemed to glow a bit brighter, and his posture changed. It was so strange. What was going on? "Well… that's not really the way I would have liked to be introduced to you all.. but here I am. Caught red handed, as they say. Nice home you have here, truly." He looked around and smiled, baring all his teeth. His tail flicked back and forth as Asha took a step back, she tried to think of a list of things to ask before the potion wore off.
Larxene wanted to roll her eyes at Xigbar's sudden protest, but she listened with a little more intent as he continued. Something nasty? What does that mean? Her eyes widened a little as Asha's words sank in. not the only one...in his body….? She watched Xigbar carefully, despite staying in the same spot. This was...weird. His acting isn't that good.. It seemed like an entirely different person! "H-hang on…" Larxene spoke, making sure to keep her tone as reigned in as she could.. "Excuse me for this here but uh.. Are we seriously talking about possessions now?" She couldn't deny how dumb that question made her feel. It's...not off the table, now is it? Just a week ago she was stealing souls for a living. It's not like she was having a hard time believing it. Better to have a straight 'yes' or 'no' answer than to go on an assumption, right?
"Bravo, blondie! I can really tell who the most intelligent one in the room is. Yes. You are dealing with a bona-fide possession here. Though, fortunately for you all, I might have failed to kill your friend here. So… against every code I have ever followed, and every fibre of my being screams in agony to say this word, I regrettably must share this vessel with this idiot you call Xigbar." Asha scowled at this demon's speech. Every word that left his mouth disgusted her. Demons are terrible creatures. Though she was not surprised that a demon had taken hold of him. Asha was relieved to know that Xigbar was in fact still there… but this whole idea was still repulsive. Demons are not to be trusted. None of them. And there was nothing in this world that would make her change her mind about that. "Who are you. State your name, and tell the truth… Asha won't hesitate to douse you in holy water, otherwise." He gave her a shocked look, an almost insulted look. "Well… you do not have to be such a boor. I am Greed. But knowing my name will not give you any advantage over me like any of those… lesser demons you are comparing me to. You are a clever witch for thinking of this though, I commend you for that."
Her eyebrows raised, as if she were mildly impressed. So 'sharing' isn't….ideal but it can technically happen, right? She weighed the thought of it in her head for a moment. Holy water? Larxene's expression perked up for the better for a brief moment. That'd be something to see! She took a second to picture what that might look like. She was shaken from these thoughts upon hearing the creature's 'name.' Did she hear him correctly? ''Greed'? As in, 'hey, this is my actual name that someone probably gave me at some point?' Her eyebrow arched. "Someone must like the whole 'seven deadly sins' thing for you to get roped with a 'name' like that." Larxene couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. Everyone knew about the 'seven deadly sins', sure. She didn't think that someone'd be named after any of them, though, that's for sure.
Greed rolled his eyes and sighed, staring Larxene down. "You certainly are a naive creature, aren't you? Though this is not my true form, I assure you that you are speaking to the Greed of the esteemed Seven Deadly. You would do well not to question that fact." Aqua's stomach turned at this last sentence. She held the stone tightly in her hand, and stepped a little closer to Larxene. Asha spoke this time, "Are you a spy? A spy for the Demon of Souls?"
Greed chuckled at the question. "As your lovely… husband? Would so eloquently put it, 'as if.' Lord Xemnas is actually more of a hindrance than you could imagine. I swear no loyalty to him. I just simply need to play the part until the time is right… you would understand that, right?" Asha frowned at this answer. Hurriedly, she returned to her room for a moment, without a word. This made Aqua nervous. What was she doing? Why would she leave them alone with this demon in the room?
Larxene's eyebrow arched. "Hey now, only asking a question. Better to ask than to assume, isn't that right?" No loyalty? Does that mean there are others too that 'aren't loyal'? Her eyes followed Asha as she left. This could be...bad, couldn't it? He hauled off and broke a chair last time they were unattended. Her eyes flicked to Aqua for a moment. ...maybe she should mind her tongue a little, for Aqua's sake, at least...Her heart sank a little at the thought. "Alright well, since you're pretty uh...comfortable," She stretched her legs out to the front of her and crossed them, getting a little more settled herself. "If you guys can possess humans, can angels do it to?" Larxene fought the urge to look at Aqua. instead she kept her gaze locked onto the creature before her. "Can.." She put her hands up in dismissal. "Don't get your feathers ruffled, alright? Now, can you demons…" She paused for a moment as if to think about how to word her next sentence. "Can you demons choose to leave your uh...human counterparts there, alive? O-or was that really accidental?" She gestured to Xigbar. If this demon were to get riled up again, Aqua had the stone now, she'd use it. Asha would have to come back soon, right? Who knows how long she'd be in there for. Might as well ask now, while she has the chance.
Greed laughed loudly at the first question. "Angels? Ha! Such simple creatures are bound by more codes than letters in the alphabet. No. Of course they cannot possess…" He gagged slightly at the mention of feathers. He tried to forget about that… "Please… don't mention the feathers… Thats the silly sod's fault. MY wings are much more… regal. Somehow I manages to corrupt an angel before it became an angel… Don't ask me how that works."
Squirming slightly in his uncomfortable confines he thought of how to properly answer her question. "Well.. traditionally speaking death is needed for a possession. But before you is living proof that it is possible. Unpleasant, but possible. So I suppose that this can be replicated on purpose…" He trailed off, thinking of how uncomfortable the position he was in really was. He needed to remedy that. Greed tried his hand at using the powers his vessel so often harnessed. To his pleasant surprise it worked nicely as he teleported to the table to the right of the chair, seated comfortably. The chains clattered against the empty chair as he stretched his wings. "Ahhh… much better. May I ask a question though? Why are you so curious about this possession process, human? Do you have a plan?" Greed smiled and chuckled to himself as he watched them both. Aqua had nervously tried to use the stone, but to no avail. Perhaps it needed to recharge?
Larxene looked down at her hand, as if she were inspecting her nails as he spoke. "Easy there, tooth-fairy, as far as i'm concerned, Angel's wings are far better looking than….that mess." She gestured from Aqua to greed. Codes, huh? "If they didn't go by 'codes', could they then?" Interesting. It can be done? Larxene thought for a moment. There's no way she'd voice the shreds of ideas that were surfacing in her head. But hey, Xigbar did it. Hearing the chains clatter to the floor, her eyes widened a little, being brought back to reality. Her relaxed demeanor faltered a little, as one of her hands inched closer to Aqua.'The fucking rock isn't working? Great. Great! Way to go, Larxene.' If she could kick herself, she certainly would. " Do i have a plan? Right… do you? I mean, you came here didn't you? Sh'yeah right, questions are questions." Larxene took extra caution to word her sentences carefully, to bide time until Asha came back from whatever she was doing. It'd be best to keep this creature calm, now that he's sitting so freely. This wasn't a really good time to just...up and leave on Asha's part, but, here they were. What'd Xemnas summon though? Her stomach twisted a little.
Toothfairy… Nice. Greed smiled wider at that comment. Quaint. This whole experience was lovely without the human getting in the way of his thoughts and actions. It felt like he was finally free. Greed wondered how long it would last. "I really do not know much about the powers of Angels… But to my knowledge they cannot possess. Or just simply will not." Part of Greed was disappointed that he was stuck in this vessel. Though he had managed to catch the two girls off guard for a moment, they both lacked a sense of fear that humans usually had when he was in their presence. He supposed that the familiar form of their friend was much less threatening than what he really looked like. "Me? A plan? Not quite. Xigbar was the one who decided to come here. He insisted that I have no say in it. He's not very good at sharing which really should be something that I have trouble with. But… he beat me to it this time." Hopping off the table he paced around the room, inspecting each object with curiosity, awaiting the next set of suspicious questions.
Larxene eyed him carefully as he paced the room. Anytime, Asha...seriously… she was beginning to run out of questions to even ask. But...something had to be done to buy time, right? She cleared her throat as she placed her hand over aqua's again. "S-so," She began. "Trouble sharing? Does this mean the other six 'fancy' demons," she added a little emphasis on the word 'fancy', as she continued, "live up to their names too?" She asked, her mind immediately went to 'Lust.' Larxene blinked a few times in an attempt to shoo away the images that came from the thought. There were more important questions to be asked, yes, but she felt that Asha should be the one to ask, or at least, she should be here to hear it.
Greed could sense their unease. It made him smile. He returned to the table and thought about her question. "Well.. yes the rest of us live up to our names. The lesser demons think of it as a curse. But really, we have known no other life, than the ones we lead." At that, he shrugged.
Asha returned to the room swiftly, with a satchel full of powder. She glared at Greed and stepped forward. Without hesitation she blew the powder in his face, causing him to cough and sputter. "What… what in hell was that for?" Asha backed away for a moment, as Xigbar's frame froze. A blue glow trailed from his heart, and into the air. What materialized, was a ghost like image of Greed. What he truly looked like. Blue skinned, purple haired, covered in golden jewelry. The image floated in midair, and crossly folded his arms. "That was rude, you know. Funny how you thought you could expel me from my new home with some dust. …simpleton."
A curse? Why would it be a curse? Weird… Larxene sighed quietly, somewhat in relief as Asha returned. It's about time! What was she doing that was so important? Larxene could have agreed, it was sort of rude. Her eyes widened a little at the demon's 'true' self. Larxene spoke without thinking. "Shit, toothfairy, talk about a face only a mother could love, huh?." She couldn't hide the smirk on her face, despite somewhat regretting that. 'Here, he's talking shit about angels and he's lookin' pretty busted….as far as I'm concerned, he has no room to talk.' Larxene was having a hard time minding her mouth but hopefully Aqua would understand. Speaking this way always made her feel…better somehow. Though no matter what she currently said, she couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Greed laughed loudly, this girl truly was something. She's got some gall… "Thank you, thank you, human. Truly a wonderful compliment if I have ever heard one. But of course, from what I can see with you and your girl here, you have had a taste of angels that few in existence ever have. Am I wrong? Wonder if you beat Lust to a piece of angel bedding…" His last sentence he muttered softer, chuckling to himself.
Asha watched the creature before her with a hatred in her eyes. She thought the dust would expel the demon for good… though his spirit was still tied to Xigbar's soul. Unfortunately… there was little she could do with what she had available to her. Calling on the Elder Gypsies would get her nowhere as well. They would refuse to help her… for they had already aided her once.
Taste in angels? "What're you gettin' at?" She asked, eyes narrowing slightly. Larxene wanted to protest but she couldn't ignore the feeling in her stomach anymore. ""You know what, don't answer that." She put her hands up in dismissal. "What'd the ringmaster 'summon'?" She asked, using air quotations. Part of her didn't want to know the answer. "What'd Xigbar mean about being 'followed'? Friends of yours?" This situation could get a lot worse, depending on his answer. And it made Larxene more uncomfortable by the second. It wasn't exactly 'easy' to grasp, even for her. She couldn't even imagine what was going through Aqua's head…
Aqua was grateful for Larxene to ask these questions. Hopefully the answer would calm her nerves a little. Greed rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "Since paint-face over here stopped the sod from answering these questions, I shall be kind and do so myself. Xemnas has summoned his Basilisks. Since you three are human, and stupid, I shall explain further. They are gigantic snakes made of a substance hotter than any fire this earth can make. He sent them after you…" Greed pointed at Asha and then Aqua.
Asha lunged forward and snapped her fingers with a flick of her wrist, sending Greed's image swirling back into Xigbar's heart. She caught the performer as he groggily fell forward. She knew she had used quite a lot of magic against the man, so he would be in and out of consciousness for a while. Her voice broke with fear as she spoke to the two girls. "Th-that is enough of that, right? Yes. Asha must retire… Y-You two get some rest. Asha will ensure that the demon does not escape…. Do not worry… Do not worry… worry not…" She spoke hurriedly as she led the barely awake man into her room and shut the door tightly.
Aqua finally stopped holding her breath. Something was very wrong. She turned the faintly glowing stone over in her hand a few times. Asha seemed very off… This worried her even more. Now, she wished the demon never answered the question.
An odd feeling of dread washed over Larxene. Normally she would have made a snarky remark at that but she couldn't bring herself to. "What, you think some weird hot-snakes are going to scare us? After what I do for a living? Please." She wasn't sure if she said that in an attempt to reassure Aqua and Asha, or herself. It didn't seem threatening but judging from Asha's reaction it had to be serious. "I…okay but wh…" She spoke a little louder in at attempt to stop the older woman for a moment. "What does this mean though? what're we supposed to—" Her voice lowered into a murmur as Asha's door close. "…do." Larxene sighed. That woman was strange. If this really was a serious situation, sleeping certainly wouldn't be the right thing to do…right? She let out a sigh, trying her best to remain neutral for Aqua's sake. The sight of these 'basilisks' wasn't what was bothering her. The fact that Aqua was it's target. She knew full well what that creature of a 'Ringmaster' can do. Something told her that this time, Larxene wouldn't be able to take her place. She took a moment to calm her nerves. "Listen," She began, speaking softly. "Y-You don't believe much of that, do you? I'd take it with a grain of salt, you know? I mean, with that big faceless thing outside, and that painted lady in there, n-nothing's going to actually happen to you." She offered a smile in an attempt to ease the situation.
"Y-you… don't have to say that…. I know things will work out in the end. I'm just… worried for her.." Aqua's voice gave out at the end of her sentence. Something caught in her throat as her eyes started to water. Gripping the stone tightly, she walked over to the bed where she and Larxene had slept the past few nights and pulled the blanket around her shoulders and sat. She tried to reign in the tears as much as she could, hoping the performer would not ask why she was crying. For if she did, she wouldn't know what to say…