paixaorpg | Pleasure To Meet You [Active]

Entry tags:

Pleasure To Meet You [Active]

Character(s): Axel, Lenne
Content: After a brief exchange on the communal journal, Axel decides to pay his new ~~playmate~~ friend a visit.
Setting: Vicinity of N3, somewhere near the Café Ersesat
Time: Near noon
Warnings: None.

Axel checked a few last things before he shut his journal. It made a sharp clicking sound as it snapped shut. He had just finished yet another welcoming chat with a new entrant. It went as usual along the lines of hello, you’re a stupid newcomer and I’m an experienced veteran; what can I do for you today? Such conversations were usually really entertaining. Amazing how far one could get when he played nicely with others.

He stood up from his perch on the roof of a building not too far from the Morem O Lisboa. He’d been hanging around the area ever since his encounter with that Chris woman. She had more than a little water magic to her name, so he’d cut out of there earlier. Let her have her fun with that creepy little girl and a hotel full of scared people. Axel had what he came for, anyway. He didn’t need to prove his battle skills to anyone.

And now he had a new target in mind. Tucking away the journal, Axel summoned a portal and stepped through. He was now just a handful of blocks away from the girl he’d talked to. He began walking the rest of the way towards her location. It was better to meet her on foot like a normal person than by showing off his abilities all at once. He’d made that mistake with Monkey Boy and almost fallen clear off the dome of the Ceu. Caution wasn’t his favorite trait, but now he’d use it more wisely.

As he walked, he grinned. He’d promised the girl, Lenne, some pretty extravagant things. He could make sure some pretty influential people of the city met her. And he could make sure she performed at the Ceu. Those were easy strings to pull. Like he’d said to Monkey Kid, he was a Paixao VIP. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do in this city.

And best yet, this Lenne probably had a lovely heart, too.

Now he was very close to the area she’d mentioned. Axel almost yelled out her name, but stopped. He realized she never directly told him her name, and so that would be really weird of him to just know that kind of thing out of hand. It’d give away too much! So he decided to be a wise ass and yell.

“HEY! Girl from the communal journal! I’m here! I’m your talent scout! You around here somewhere? I’m looking for you! We just had this really nice chat!” It took all his control to not burst out laughing. The citizens in the area gave him odd looks. It would really be quite easy to find this outsider. He’d seen her picture on the network, and she was really easy to pick out. He’d play it dumb, though. Dumb was always safe.

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Whether or not it had been a mistake to be so trusting of a complete stranger, Lenne didn't know, but the thought had occured to her as she looked through the message board again. Everyone - with the exception of the locals - seemed generally lost and, as her nameless acquaintance had noted, generally negative about things, too. Not that she could blame them. She personally wasn't happy about the situation, but he had made a few valid points.

The least that she could was try, right? And she would have to get a job to repay Lucrecia for her hospitality, anyway. Hadn't the woman also mentioned a lack of information? They needed help, so...

Lenne stopped humming upon hearing a rather...unique...something. She lifted her eyes, having seated herself upon a bench beneath a dead lamp post, a wide smile already having plastered itself upon her face. There was something about a dramatic red-head in a long, black garment making a scene in such a setting that made it very difficult not to laugh, let alone restrain oneself from smiling. Her talent scout certainly was spirited, that was for sure.

Somehow, she doubted it was just the hair.

"That was fast!" She exclaimed, quieting a few escaping giggles as she stood and approached the man. Her white robes had been discarded in favor of her songstress outfit, but the lengthy garment remained hung over her left shoulder for safe keeping. Losing it wouldn't do her any good. It was the only thing she had from her world. The contents of the garment had become her most valuable possessions overnight and she wasn't very fond of the idea of misplacing either.

Attempting to bypass the strange looks the two were receiving from the townsfolk, she tucked her journal under an arm and extended her hand in a mildly tamer attempt at amiability. "I'm Lenne."

[OOC: >_< GAWD how many times do I have to repost things? XD]

Just as he’d hoped, Lenne came out of the woodwork and right up to him. That was really easy! And it had worked just the way he wanted it to.

Axel accepted Lenne’s gesture and took her hand in a firm grip, giving it a quick shake. “Lenne,” he repeated. “It’s great to see the face behind the journal in person. The little images the network uses do you no justice.” He grinned. “My name’s Axel. Remember that.”

He let go of her hand and stepped back, looking her up and down as if appraising her. He put a hand to his chin. “And it looks like you’ve dressed to impress! That’s a pretty show-stopping outfit you have on, isn’t it?” Axel liked it. It was much more interesting than a black robe, that was for sure. “I’m glad you went for the extra effort. All right.” He nodded in approval. She would do just fine. And he’d find out if she had any hidden water powers before aggravating her.

“Here’s the lay of the land now. We can go find a quiet place. There you can either show me one of those wonderful videospheres you mentioned, or you can give me a sample of what you’re going to sing for the top brass at the Ceu de Mouraria. The Ceu itself is pretty far from here, though, if you want to see how well your voice carries there. It’s up to you, madam. I’ll let you decide.”

The videospheres had been the initial reason for the meeting, so dropping that particular item didn’t strike her as tasteful. Lenne didn’t exactly feel comfortable leaving the issue of the audition hanging, either. Axel was taking a huge leap of faith with her. The least she could do was give him some form of assurance that she wasn’t a joke, that she was serious about the opportunity he was giving her.

Location and time were the only deterrents. The map on the journal had indicated that the Ceu de Mouraria was a pit stop to the south on the way across town to Vanaheim, where Lucrecia was staying at the Actua Are. Dragging him all that way hardly seemed appropriate…especially since she didn’t know his schedule. He had indicated he was a pretty important person in Paixao, so keeping him under those circumstances seemed to border imposing. The last thing she wanted to do was impose, so…

She’d put the ball in his court again.

“Well,” Lenne paused, her smile recovering itself as she spoke, “we have to walk some distance no matter where we go, right? Videospheres aren’t so complex that you can’t watch them and walk at the same time.” She leaned forward slightly, a hand resting at her waist as she bit her lower lip, only slightly. “I would like to see the Ceu de Mouraria, but,” she leaned back, nodding casually, “if you think it’s too far…

“Anywhere will do, so long as there’s plenty of room.” The songstress smiled again and nodded. “It’s really your call. I am on borrowed time, after all.”

“Are you sure you’re not a diplomat?” Axel asked with a laugh. “You’ve come up with a way for us to do everything at once! I bet you’re just as good a singer as you are a problem solver.” He nodded once in approval. “All right, then. I’ll decide for us. To the Ceu it is. I’m sure your voice will sound best in a proper concert hall environment. And to get there, we’ll take a train instead of walking. The little maps in the journal makes the city look so much smaller than it really is. It’d take far too long to walk to the Ceu.”

Axel paused to open his journal and double-check the station’s position. “There’s a train station not too far from where we are now, actually. We can walk there, board, and get off along the Joutenheim route. Of course, there’s still a long walk from there to get to the Ceu, but I’m sure we’ll have plenty to talk about along the way.” Axel then pointed in the direction of the station. “This way!” He put away his journal and began walking.

He was actually glad that Lenne had let him decide what they’d be doing and where they’d be going. It put him in the position of power, and he could play up the busy, important V.I.P. role to its fullest extent.

Marluxia had told him to go investigate. Those were his exact orders. What he failed to do was mention when to investigate. This left Demyx with some time to at least see what everyone else was up to. And by everyone else he was not referring to Xigbar, Larxene, or Saix.

From what he knew, Roxas was still with Dib, that big-headed kid. The musician would have loved to ask him what he was up to but Roxas failed to acquire a journal, leaving both communication and discovering his location far to difficult to attempt. But Axel had one, didn't he?

Using the advice of Marluxia and Xigbar, Demyx quickly discovered Axel's location. "Muspelheim..." Demyx thought aloud. "...Right." With little grace, Demyx shoved the journal into the pocket of his cloak and opened a portal leading right to his destination.

Number Nine wasted no time once he arrived.

"Hey Axel!" The nobody yelled as he was stepping out of the portal. Demyx paused only until the darkness had dissipated before turning to the redhead, running and waving.

"Hey! What's going on?" He grinned, pleased that he had found more suiting company. Then he turned and noticed the woman with Axel. Demyx examined her for but a few seconds before curiosity took hold and he bluntly asked, "Who is this?"

Lenne had offered the red head a quaint smile in reply, content to follow his lead rather than foolishly run ahead. It wasn't that she was afraid she would lose him in the crowd. His flame-colored tresses were sure to make it difficult to lose track of him for any length of time. It was the principle of the matter. After all, he knew the city better than she did, including the train station. Getting lost was something she desperately wanted to avoid at all costs.

The songstress paused upon hearing her talent agent's name called, turning just in time to see a young man running to catch up to them. She tilted her head slightly at him, something of a smile appearing upon her face as she got a closer look at the man. He probably wasn't too much older than her from the looks of him. His hair style was definitely unique, but he certainly seemed pleasant enough.

She turned her dark eyes to Axel. "A friend of yours? You didn't mention we'd have company, Axel..."

Lenne then turned to the stranger and extended a hand. Her smile was evident, displeasure absent from her mind and, consequently, her expression. She was sure Axel would elaborate, but amiability never hurt anyone. "I'm Lenne."

Before their little adventure even began, someone came bounding in to interrupt it. The sound of the portal was enough to set Axel on edge. After all, it could be anyone. Xigbar to cuss him out til his ears bled, Xaldin to put him to sleep, Saix to drone on and roleplay as the Superior, but luckily for Axel, it was none of the above. Instead, it was actually someone worth interacting with. It was Demyx, and he entered as delicately as ever. Maybe someday he’d master the art of quietly waltzing up to someone and striking a conversation.

Axel turned to see Demyx approach, and smiled. It was good to see someone else in the uniform, after all. And how conveniently he’d arrived! He was in need of someone with a musical ear. “Ah, Demyx! Right on time, I see.” Make it look like this was a planned event, and the interruption would be overlooked.

He presented Lenne with dramatic open arms. “Demyx, this is Lenne. Lenne, meet my associate, Demyx.” He put his arms down after a few moments, folding them behind his back, and sent a grin to Demyx. “Lenne happens to be a vocalist. I was going to take her to the Ceu de Mouraria so she could perform for the owners. You know, so she could audition to be the next big thing. Do you want to come along? You have a much better ear than I do, after all. Lenne, I should mention that Demyx is a musician as well! It’s fortunate you two could meet.”

There might actually be a reason for Demyx’s sudden appearance. Maybe something was amiss in the Organization’s ranks? Better ask about it delicately. “Unless there are other matters that I should see to. How are things elsewhere?” Axel’s tone was light, but his eyes conveyed the seriousness of the matter.

If Demyx ever had a lucky day, this was it. First, here was Axel, one of the few guys who didn't pick on him in the Organization! Well, that was a slight lie. Since when did Axel not make fun of him? But he definitely was not Larxene or Xigbar. He wasn't out to put Demyx down by all means. This situation proved it! Here Axel was introducing him to this woman. What was it...?

"Lenne?" Demyx inquired, examining the woman a moment longer before letting Axel's words truly register. "Wait... Ceu de Mouraria? Have you heard her sing?"

Most people would assume that Demyx lacked the brain capacity to do little more than follow orders and bumble along the way. The Nobody liked to believe differently. If he had a talent, it was definitely for music. It was his "forte", if you will. But if this woman, Lenne, was good, Demyx would have to see for himself. It was rare to find a fellow musician but even more so to find one that met Demyx's high ~~though childish~~ expectations.

But of course it was Axel that dragged him back from his world of staffs, notes, and pitches. Things elsewhere... that was just a pain to think about.

The musician shrugged. "There isn't a lot, really. I spoke to Marluxia and Xigbar," the latter of the two's name mentioned with a particular tone of loathing, "But as far as I know, things are looking pretty good! But what was this about an audition?"

If there was anything that could have made Lenne happier at that moment, it was meeting a fellow musician——someone else who could speak the universal language. Treble, base, staff, the notes——it was her language, and this? This was a more than pleasant surprise! Not only was Axel going through the trouble of setting her up with people high on the ladder at the Ceu de Mouraria, but he had gone through the trouble of arranging a cordial meeting in a more casual setting beforehand!

Ah, and there came those cheerful little butterflies to invade her stomach. They always did, just before a performance...

"I thought we were just going to see how my voice carried," Lenne said with a lighter smile, finding it somewhat difficult to be nearly as formal as she thought she should be, "but I think I could handle the audition now. After last night's concert..." Her smile widened, her next few steps resulting in a graceful spin after a simple few dance steps.

The songstress offered a strong nod and managed to retain her self-control. Letting go would've been much easier. She had felt her hand go for her microphone, but kept herself in check.

Axel knew he had done well in introducing those two to one another. They both seemed rather thrilled. Excellent, then.

“Well, Demyx, if everything elsewhere is butterflies and roses, we should get going and get Lenne auditioned,” Axel said. Coming from Demyx, everything being fine elsewhere meant that several things were going wrong. And if Demyx wasn’t picking up the slack, that meant the blame (and the punishment) would filter to the next responsible person, and that just happened to be him. Wonderful. Sometimes the ranking system could stand to be done away with entirely.

“No time like the present to liven up the roster at the Ceu, huh?” Axel said with a grin. “I would rather get her auditioned today, or as soon as possible. Haven’t you seen how the attendance at that venue has dropped lately? We need to give people a cause to return, and I think I’m looking at that cause right now.” He nodded to Lenne. “So if you two are done with your introductions, let’s get on a train now.” To hurry things along, Axel took the first few steps away from the group, going towards the station. “During the trip, I think Lenne could show us some of those legendary video-things, right?”

An eyebrow quirked as the Nobody watched Lenne twirl along in front of them. She seemed a little odd but nice all the same. "Y'know... you aren't required to dance unless you want to..." Demyx suggested. He wasn't the type to exactly dance. Those were the water clones. But if Lenne wanted to who was he to stop her?

Dancing or not, Demyx was happy to find something to distract him. He was not excited about these new plans of the Organization XIII. Music would be the perfect opportunity to relax his mind, even if it were just a little while. Hey, it would be fun too! Who else would he talk to about this? Axel would only listen for so long before he got bored and the others didn't really pay him much attention anyway.

With a nod, Demyx replied, "I know, right? A new performer would be great!" He turned to Lenne before catching up to Axel. "What experience have you had before? You said something earlier..."

Wait. What did Axel say?

"Legendary video-things? What are those?"

It certainly was exciting. Lenne caught up to the two and had been about to answer Demyx's first question when he asked another. Smiling, she pushed a loose strand from her eyes as she looked between the two.

"Videospheres," she nodded upon deciding on a definition, "are spheres that can be used to record things. Different spheres have different origins, though, so some have recordings from--"

The songstress paused, "You two don't know what pyreflies are, do you? I'll explain on the train."

[OOC: *stabs LJ notifications for not WORKING*]

Axel’s attention was already wandering. It was really fortunate that Demyx had stumbled across them. If worse came to worst, he could dump this Lenne girl off on him and take off on his own. The tailed wonder hadn’t come through for him yet, so it would take some scouting of his own to locate the target. If he delayed any more, one of his comrades in the Organization would come across Roxas first, and that meeting wouldn’t end well. The rest of them didn’t understand just what they had in their thirteenth. Demyx did, sort of, but Axel wouldn’t trust something like that to him. There was too much incompetence in his history, too much distraction in him to even be considered.

All right, then. First get Lenne and Demyx on the train. Engage them in some idle conversation. See those videospheres and talk about pyreflies, whatever. Then when they got to the station, he’d excuse himself. Something had come up, he’d say, and make up an apology on the spot. Then Demyx could audition her or whatever he felt like. And the search would continue.

Axel turned back to face the others, walking backwards. “Yes, on the train. That’ll be fine. Come on, you two. We have a schedule to keep.” He pointed to his wrist as if he had a watch on, and then turned to walk properly. If those two slacked any more, he’d leave them behind with no problems. Axel could work the ‘mysterious disappearance’ angle easily.

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Pleasure To Meet You [Active]

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