milliways_bar | (no subject)

"Good evening, XII. It seems you were successful in whatever you were pursuing." Zexion states, going over when he sees her there.

Thank goodness, someone who makes sense.

"Yes, very." she admitted easily, pausing in her clean up to offer a hollow smile "Hello Zexion. Do you require anything from the worlds? I have been hunting between research bouts..."

"Not at this current point in time, however I may at some point in the near future."

He nodded in the direction of the door. "If I go back though there I am to assume I will go back to where I left off. I'm loathe to make the attempt until I have all the information I need to handle what is still to come in my time-line. So, I am effectively held here."

She followed his nod to the door, the smile sliding into emptiness. Yes, his decision to stay was the best one. At least until he was sure. "Given my account, is there any probable areas where information may have been left? The castle is in ruins I am told, but it should not be hard to comb the ruins..."

"Anything that might be of interest on the lower levels where I was last reported to be." Zexion stated. "I keep most of my information in my book, if not on my person. So if anything was left, it would have been there."

"Allow me a moment to clean up sir?" and then she'd be off to start looking. Why yes, Zexion's survival superseded Disney research any day off the week. Luckily, the lower levels were the least likely to be fully collapsed. There was a possibility she could succeed.

Zexion nodded. "Take your time, XII. I am in no hurry, and I would rather it get done right the first time than having to take the time to do it over."

He was seriously starting to regret leaving her with XI.

XII had to be one of the most useful of all subordinates he'd worked with.

"Yes sir." she did turn her head to have a few words with the Ninjas that always seemed to lurk nearby. One could almost claim they enjoyed each others company...

"We can at least start mapping out the sections that are still viable without having to shift debris." she noted as the pair she was speaking to slipped away. Existence was simple in her mind. Needed information was procured...in any way necessary.

...Yes. Most definitely regretting letting XI keep her.

Well if he showed up again, he was most certainly not getting her back. That much was certain.

Oops! This'll probably say bye-bye to Larxene's good mood.

Nash is not sure whether this is disturbing or possibly something else.

At Faye's recommendation, he's been on a vacation from Magic Guild matters and people. At least, once he finished his part of the inquiry.

Part of his vacation includes fiddling with small, battery-powered electric devices for fun. On his table are a radio, a flashlight, an electric toothbrush, a hand held game, and at least one clunky old cellular telephone. He's having fun getting them to work with his magic.

The head of the toothbrush flies off when he sees Larxene. He glares as if it was the toothbrush's fault and puts it down.

Well, might as well try....

"Larxene?"

She turned her head in his direction as he called, dried blood in no way impinging upon the small smile. Ah...the toy.

...and a flying toothbrush head. She speared it as a matter of course on one of her knives "Yes?"

He's trying and failing at not connecting Larxene to Royce.

But at the same time, Royce was never like this. She put on a front of being nice. Larxene, at least, is honest in what she does.

The toothbrush is put aside.

"Have you been traveling or did you just run into some unlucky opposition?"

Larxene was a poor liar, and really didn't see the point. After all, she didn't really have any memories of being a Somebody left to cling to.

She inspected the toothbrush head a moment before reducing the poor thing to melted plastic and ash. "Hmmm? Hunting, actually. Opposition would be giving them too much credit."

Aww, what did the toothbrush ever do to you? It was Nash's fault (sort of) that it flew to you in the first place.

"A successful one, no doubt," he says with sincere praise. Hey, just because he's good at kissing up doesn't mean he's lying. "And more skillful than I am with weaponry. Most I can manage without magic is a crossbow."

Then Nash could suffer the guilty pangs of it's demise.

"Obviously" she smiled, a cold, empty twist of lips. Failure had far different outcomes, and she'd not be in the bar had she done that. "I would not expect weapon skills out of you." she admitted as she claimed the nearby table, and it's napkin holder, for weapon cleaning.

"You seem ill-suited to it."

"It's a requirement of all Magic Guild students in case we exhaust our magic during battle. I can also handle a staff if need be, so I'm a bit ahead of the crowd."

His ego wasn't without reason. He really was the best of his age group during his school days.

"But you are right, my talent lies in my magic. That's why I'm such rubbish at science right now, even though I did manage to get interested in it."

"Sensible, but hardly adequate." she shrugged, then lifted a blade to eye level to check for traces. Satisfied that the first blade was well and truly clean, she let it fade away.

"Specialization is all well and good, but everything is interconnected. Over focusing to the point of excluding useful subjects early on gets you killed."

"You've made the point perfectly: science isn't considered useful in Vane, at least not by the majority. Say something about it and they'll tell you, 'Why are you wasting your time here when you'd rather be in Iluk?' And while magic is probably what I'm always going to be best at, I'm finally starting to understand that there are other subjects are just as useful."

This is a BIG improvement on his mentality.

She eyed him a moment, then chuckled softly, setting a knife aside so she could clap her hands languidly "And for your next trick in breaking the boundaries of a willfully ignorant society?"

He shrugs and says, "I'll try not to fuck it up? I have a bad habit of doing that."

He might be serious. He might just be going along with her perceived sarcasm.

"Let me get the hang of something more impressive than toasters first."

"And the likelihood of success?" she asked, the clapping paused after his words.

"And don't worry, for your level, toasters are impressive."

"Pretty good, actually," he says considering. "Most of my fuck-ups involve girls."

Then he looks mock hurt.

"Ouch. That's painful after what you said about toasters before."

"So my input on your previous toaster 'problem' will lead to your failure? How charming." way to go, Nash. Way to go.

"The fact that it may bring instability, outrage, and anger to a world like yours does not negate the fact that it is an incredibly simple machine. Most histories are full of lynchings an mobs over the smallest innovations."

"That's not what I meant at all," he says, clearly aware that this is one of those fuck-ups involving girls that he was talking about.

"What you said has nothing to do with any problem whatsoever. I only meant that I have a lot of catching up to do."

"I'm sure"

She was back to cleaning her knives. It was just so much more interesting to focus on the blades and blood than Nash at the moment. "It's hardly 'catching up' if in your own world the toys you're ogling are beyond the capabilities of manufactories. You have a lot of playing to do; but no actual work."

He opens his mouth to say something but quickly closes it.

"Right."

Man, why does this ALWAYS happen when he's talking to a girl he likes?

"....want a name to curse?" he offers up weakly. At this point, he wouldn't blame her if she wants to electrocute him.

Hopefully in effigy.

"I already have a list of favorites." Walt Disney. Mickey Mouse.

"Thank you for the offer, though." her smile was far less pleasant than the statement as she glanced up from her knife. Yes, she'd promised to behave in Milliways. Politeness certainly counted as behaving.

Aw man! He can't even be one of her vexations?! That's rough.

At this point, he's not sure if Xaldin's death threat to him if he bothered Larxene too much would really be a punishment.

"Thanks for tolerating my shit? I really don't mean to be giving you trouble."

He'd have to matter a great deal more to 'vex' her.

"You said my name, toy." she pointed out easily, another blade fading away. "What ever you intended was intended for me. I have given my word not to harm anyone in this place; I"ll hold to it."

Toy?

Okay, that kind of stings.

"I intended something better. It just comes out wrong. And I don't even know how it keeps coming out wrong."

She usually didn't bother with names when descriptives were so much more fun.

"You are young and socially inept." she shrugged "If you survive to adulthood, no doubt you may learn enough to be slightly less so."

Well, he has no doubt that he could do that. After Ghaleon, what can't he survive?

"For future reference, any pointers on what to say? Then maybe something will come out of my mouth other than excrement."

Any pointers would have to wait until later, because coming through the bar at breakneck speed and knocking into various furniture ("Sorry! Sorry! Pardon me! Coming through!") was a blur of black and blonde, instantly attaching itself to Larxene's arm as soon as he got close enough.

"LARXENE THANK GOODNESS I FOUND YOU!" He declared, breathless as if that actually meant anything. "Larxene, Larxene, this is so important this is an emergency!"

Larxene didn't look like she would have answered anyway, Nash was going to get nothing but that cool smile...

...until Demyx was there. She had enough time to disperse the rest of her knives in a sizzle of electric before he was attached, but that was all. One last glance at Nash and then the boy was simply dismissed from her attention entirely. One gloved hand (no longer bloody. Good gloves, those) reached out to tilt Demyx's head up gently "What's wrong?"

Jawdrop.

Well this sucks.

This just sucks.

He doesn't even say anything, just lets them go on.

Demyx blinked for a moment, confused at the gentleness from Larxene. She was more touchy than the others, but this was a distinct shade different.

Only for a moment, though. He bit his lip after that, back to the same dire emote that he'd done before.

"Larxene - I found candy." This is so very very important. He reaches back, gently wiping away some of the blood on her face with his own damp glove. "Are you okay?" This was a big DUH since Nobodies don't bleed, but hey.

He can pick up the signals.

Yay teamwork!

She tilted her head as he wiped blood away, the cold smile warming a few shades "Of course, just hunting." she assured. "Did I get splashed that bad?" no one had mentioned it...

Then, she let the smile grow wider "The site we've been looking for? It's been years, and now you find it?!"

Not paying attention.

Not at all.

..................except for the part where he totally looked.

Demyx reached behind him to grab more napkins from the table, using them to ever-so-gently (and pretty intimately considering Nobodies don't do 'touch') cleaning the blood from Larxene's face.

"Yes! Candy mountain, Larxene! We need to stop by bar to get supplies, but then we need to go!" It was about THEN he noticed Nash, blinking over at the other guy. "Oh! Sorry to cut in like this, but it's really important."

She continued smiling as Demyx cleaned her face. After all, she didn't have a mirror, so help was a bonus. "Hmmm, yes. Supplies." from Bar? The chunk of wood with a heart? Well, the day was certainly just getting better and better.

She stood on tiptoe to peer over Demyx's shoulder at Nash "Oh, don't worry, I couldn't answer his questions. He'd have been fed up with me in another minute or two..."

"Now hold on," he says, but the defeated tone says he knows they're not going to hold on.

"Thanks man! I'll catch you later!" Demyx says, completely overriding any protests by Nash and giving him a good-natured pat on the shoulder. With that, he was completely dismissed, Demyx standing and letting go of Larxene save her hand so he could drag her in the direction of the bar.

"It's candy mountain, so we're going to need TOOTHBRUSHES. You know Bar can make like anything, right? Did the superiors tell you that yet...?"

Duty called, Nash. Duty called.

"No, they neglected to mention that..." she admitted with the barest hints of laughter in her tone. It wasn't hard to keep up with Demyx's dragging, in fact, she skipped to stay by his side.

"Toothbrushes, floss, maybe a bag or two...and a map would be nice. Can the Bar procure that?"

And Nash is all alone with his electronics again.

After a while, he says to nobody (and not Nobody), "I wouldn't mind being fed up a little..."