Questioning Motives [Marluxia]

[Shelke Rui]

A new world...

A world bathed in endless sunset. Never dipping into the darkness of night nor rising to the new dawn... The former Tsviet idly wondered how the residents of this world could live like this? There was no night so when did they know when to sleep? There was no morning, so when did they know when to rise? She assumed they made a timezone of sorts, to determine when they slept and awakened.

But such thoughts were pointless right now. She was here for a reason, her mission was to examine the old mansion that was said to be "haunted". No doubt there were Heartless or Nobody activity there, but she still wished to see it with her own eyes. And who knows- perhaps she would find something interesting in the bargain? However there was one problem...

She had no clue how to get there...

"Having trouble sweetie?" Came a young woman's voice, from a shop nearby. Quirking an eyebrow the childish warrior nodded as the brunette beckoned her over. "How can I help you? I can see your not from around here, judging by your clothing." She rambled much to Shelke's annoyance. "Are you a foreigner?" Blue eyes stared blankly as her mind processed what she meant. Of course! These people were unaware of the other worlds! They must think she is from a foreign land somewhere! Slowly the girl nodded as the woman clapped her hands together.

"Ah! We've seem to be getting quite a bit of those lately! So- how may I be of help?" Complimenting her options she thought how this woman could possibly help her. She was a local, meaning she probably knew where he mansion was... Though it's possible she DIDN'T know and she would just be back at square one...

"I'm searching for somewhere... a old mansion. Do you know where this may be?" The woman was quiet for a moment as though she was trying to process the tiny warrior's words before beaming. "Oh! You mean the old mansion in the woods! Yes, It's not far from here- keep on heading straight down this road and you will a hole in the wall- that leads to the forest that leads to the mansion!"

Shelke nodded and gave her thanks before turning towards the way the woman spoke of. "Oh!" The woman called out. "Before you go! Please try some seasalt ice cream! It's half off today and only five munny!" Frowning, but not wanting to be rude she pulled out five munny and paid for the single bar of light blue ice cream...

Well- she decided, might as well be on here way.

She was wasting time.

[Marluxia]

Wasting time had not been in Marluxia’s plans when he had stepped from the forest area and into town via the hole in the wall he had seen earlier before he had been distracted by the mansion and other things. So when he stepped out into the town forever held by the twilight sun, he had immediately took to playing the tourist to gather as much information about this place as possible; however…people would not let him be. Everywhere he turned, there was someone trying to talk to him or getting in his way. Now maybe if he was his old self he would’ve done something to scare the rather “annoying” chatterboxes away; however, he wasn’t as he used to be and in turn did not do anything to harm the townsfolk. Instead, he took to ignoring them.

It took a while for the curious town folk to leave him be and just let him move at his own pace. Freed of the annoyance, the Nobody scanned the section of the town he was in. Small shops and the busy life of town folks as they went from this booth to the next buying whatever they needed. Marluxia watched the townsfolk for a moment before moving towards a bench in the area and sitting down so he could people watch for a moment more as he thought for few minutes.

This place…was important to someone. Wasn’t it? Just like that mansion, but again the who escaped him; however, unlike last time he didn’t dismiss the question as useless. He pondered it instead. He had heard of a place like this before whispered through the Organization, but who did the whispers belong to? Vexen? Sure, he had sent the older Nobody here to clean up his own messes, a task the man had failed to do and lost his life for the failure. Yet why did it seem like…he had heard of this place before even then? He ponder this a bit more until his mind settled on a particular thing that happened in the past. Before he was Lord of Castle Oblivion, Marluxia was just like the rest of the Organization a pawn for Xemnas and while most members were” happy” with their lot in life, there were three in particular that were always together. Axel, Roxas, and that puppet of Vexen’s Xion. After every mission, those three would go somewhere for long hours before coming back. While Marluxia did not care where they went back then, now that he was sitting in this town, he began to wonder if this was the place they came to.

On top of this, hadn’t Namine drawn this place in a picture once? Now, why would she do that? Did she have a connection to this place to? Was that keyblader Nobody and the Memory Witch the reason this place seemed to be important or was there something underneath it all? What is your story? Marluxia demanded of the place in his head, but knew he would get no answer if he stayed where he was. Done thinking for the moment, Marluxia moved to stand up to leave the area; however, as he did, he stopped as he noticed something strange. It was a girl that wore clothing very different than the people here. She was standing by a stand with a light blue ice cream in her hand. What was this? A turn in his favor or just something else to annoy him? He guess he’d linger around the area and find out the answer.

[Shelke Rui]

Dark blues eyes stared blankly ahead at the road ahead. Giving the faintest of sighs the tiny Tsviet stared at the ice cream in her hands. Curious she took a small nibble out of it. Only to be bombarded with the taste of salt. "..." Making a face she felt the saltiness fade before melting into sweetness.

Blinking slowly, she couldn't help but be surprised at the taste of the odd cold confection. Turning around the childish warrior turned to the sight of a man sitting away's from her on a bench. Blue eyes narrowed for a fraction, finding the man standing out much like she was... He wasn't from this world either.

The man wasn't important though, she had a mission and she would find this mansion no matter what. Though... she had a nagging feeling in the back of her head about the tall nobody... Deciding to test her theory she stared at him with piercing blue eyes, as though beckoning him to follow her, as she turned away and headed down the street. If she was correct in her assumption than the otherworlder would follow her...

[Marluxia]

Marluxia remained sitting and watching the strange girl for a second more before seeming to lose interest. A yellow butterfly flew around the area before resting lightly on the Nobody’s gloved hand. The Nobody raised his eyebrows slightly at this before carefully moving his hand so as not too scare away the small and frail creature. It was quite a pretty little creature almost perfect yellow, but its yellow was tarnished by the black spots on its wings displayed in such a way that it made it look like paint had been dripped on the creature.

Pretty and tainted…a reflection of himself in nature? Perhaps, but now was not the time to admire nature or reflect on his state of being, he had information gathering to do. As if reading his mind, the small butterfly flapped its wings and began its journey once more through the town. Around the same time, the butterfly left, Marluxia stood up planning to leave the area to explore some more. Before he left, he happened to look back to where that strange girl had been…and found her watching him back. For a moment, they simply watched each other from a distance communicating in a silent fashion and then just like that the girl broke eye contact and began walking away.

Now a normal person might’ve ignored the stare and went about his or her own business; however, the Graceful Assassin had caught the invite hidden behind the stare, so when the girl began to walk away he followed the strange being. Who knew maybe this outsider would prove to be of more use to him than the information hidden in this town.

[Shelke Rui]

Walking towards a more private location the Tsviet felt the pink haired man follow her. Stopping at the edge of the Market Street, she glanced around quickly noticing no one was around. Good. It would be problematic if some passerby walked by if the two were to suddenly get in a fight... Turning towards the following Graceful Assassin she looked at him before crossing her arms, her face serious though looking at the same time emotionless. The former Tsviet then spoke.

"Why are you here?" She asked simply before speaking once more. "It's obvious you are not from this world as am I, what is your purpose?" She asked wanting to know if this man would be an ally or foe... Hopefully however the man would be insightful and help her on her mission... However if not, then she would do all in her power to dispose of him...

[Marluxia]

Marluxia followed the strange girl until they were away from the busy activity of the market and in a more secluded area away from eager ears. The pink haired Nobody could sense they were out of range and even if they weren’t, a few well placed words could easily convince the ignorant population that he and this girl were nothing more than two people trading ideas for a story or speaking about theories. After all, outside of a handful of people, no one else knew about other worlds…unless they were displaced like this child before him. It would not be unusual for thinkers to think outside of the box, so the small lie would save them from trouble. Regardless of what a small threat the residents of this place were, the strange girl was as cautious as ever. Looking around, she checked for anyone who may have saw them or perhaps had came closer to try and easy drop, but there was no need for such precautions. The residents remained oblivious of the meeting for now; however, that could change…should this encounter turn hostile.

While the girl did not seem like much, he could sense her tension and seriousness. Underneath that small frame and innocent looking face rested a warrior. Like himself, she was deceiving, but he had to wonder just how useful she was. He had no way of testing her skills without causing many complications both within the town and between himself and this potential ally. He didn’t want to reveal what he could do and he didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble, so for now he’d remain non-hostile unless the girl made the wrong move. As it stood, he still saw her as a source of information and not yet worth the trouble of eliminating. Out of his own need for allies more so than for the girl’s life did the Nobody hope this encounter would remained trouble free.

In any case, after the quick look around the girl sized him up in her own way before folding her arms and giving him a serious yet emotionless look that told him, she was far older than she appeared; however, the look did not phase the Nobody. He met her glance with a equally if not more empty stare of his own. As she spoke, he leaned against the wall and folded his arms watching her carefully, showing that he was not going to harm her, but at the same would have no problem pouncing on her the moment she made an error. Still despite the tension between the pair, the Nobody heard the words and in due time he answered her in his monotone voice.

“Information. That is what I came here for and you? Why have you come to such a lazy little town?” he asked no emotion attached to the words as he watched her as a tiger does its prey.