paixaorpg | You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going (Completed)

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You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going (Completed)

Character: Rogue and Larxene
Content: Rogue seems to be off to an inauspicious start for her stay in Paixao; Larxene takes note of this. Hilarity--or something--ensues.
Setting: Vanaheim Gate
Time: Nighttime
Warnings: Larxene is a warning. =D Do you need anything else?

Rogue woke up with a tiny groan, curled up uncomfortably on the ground in her mass of cobbled together thrift store clothes. She remembered falling asleep while hitching a ride in a mac truck, but after that..... he must have gotten to his destination and dumped her at the side of the road. It was rude, but she wouldn't dare complain, not when she had gotten so far along her way and not been directly touched when she was pitched out.... A quick check revealed that he hadn't even stolen anything. A bit shaky, she climbed to her feet, approaching the line--she wasn't familiar with any city covered by such immense domes, but it looked beautiful, and there were so many people to get inside.....

Unlike most though, she was content to wait, keeping her hands to herself and not looking anyone in the eye. It was her turn soon enough, and the man at the booth smiled at her, clipboard in hand. "Name?"

"M--My name's Rogue." She stumbled over her simple response, soft southern accent seeming glaringly out of place compared with his blander tones; she'd nearly offered him her real name, her old name. The one she knew she shouldn't use anymore.

"Here are some pamphlets and a journal; welcome to Paixao, and enjoy your stay." The man at the booth hardly paid attention as he grabbed a handful of pamphlets and a vibrant, forest-green journal, pressing them into hands that hadn't stretched out to take them.

"D-don't--!" She didn't have time to do more than choke out a broken warning before they touched; she gasped in pain, senses reeling for a moment before she jerked away. The pamphlets scattered on the counter between them as the man convulsed, crying out and slumping back in his chair--dazed, but conscious, she was relieved to see. Rogue didn't notice the thick shock of white that had tainted her bangs now, too focused on the fact that she was glowing, a faint white light emanating from every inch of unexposed skin she had--which, granted, wasn't much. It almost felt like the light came from inside too, burned against her fear and despair; it was confusing and conflicting, and quite upsetting, so Rogue did the only thing she knew she could do, now.

She ran. She turned and bolted as fast as trembling legs would carry her, mindlessly clutching the journal she'd been given as she fled through the gates and into the city beyond. There had to be some place she could hide....

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Larxene, having decided she had at least mostly recovered from her fight against King Mickey, had taken to watching the gates, looking for interesting people and creatures who might be wandering into the city, alone, confused, and most importantly, with no idea that the person they were talking to had gained a... Reputation within the city.

Interesting people were few and far-between, however; far more often she just spent fruitless hours hiding in shadows watching the witless blonds walk through. As it was, she almost missed the girl walking through. It was when the man who handed out journals began seizing, and the girl started glowing, that her interest was captured.

The terror the girl--Rogue, she had called herself--showed at her own curious ability only made Larxene even more excited. It was so much better when they didn't know what to do with themselves. It almost reminded her of Naminé.

Larxene disappeared into a portal, reappearing in front of Rogue, dressed in her Organization outfit. This was a sort of business, after all.

"What are you running from, hmm~?"

The glowing was faint, but it was certainly enough to mark her passage into the city in the dark of the night. She noticed the portal opening up barely in time to gasp again at the imminent collision, reflexively putting her hands out to keep from running into Larxene; that kind of impact could only be bad. Rude, thoughtless, blind.... and dangerous.

The mental reminder prompted her to recoil, jerking her damnably bare hands away as if they'd been burnt; she needed to find some gloves. Or at least, she needed to find some more money so she could buy them; it was too dangerous to walk around with her hands uncovered. Only then did she look up at the woman she'd run into, heart in her throat as she saw how official her outfit--uniform?--looked. Had she angered some sort of security or law enforcement officer already? An anti-mutant vigilante group? She'd barely gotten here! This was bad....

"I-I was.... he.... I-I hurt him, and--" She wasn't sure what was supposed to come after the 'and'. And I'm sorry? And I didn't mean to? And I'm not sure I can help him without only making things worse? She let the sentence trail off instead, uncertain. The glow she had so recently acquired flickered weakly for a moment, then died completely; they had only touched for a moment, and the transfer hadn't lasted long.

Putting on a concerned face, Larxene smiled in a reassuring way. "You're not in trouble~"

Quite to the contrary, Larxene had yet to see a more interesting toy. She noted the disappearance of the glow, and tilted her head a bit. Well, she could always play nice a while longer.

"Did you just arrive?"

"I'm.... not?" Her eyes slid back the way she'd come, back towards the poor unfortunate man--not a man not human not anything she'd ever known about before--she'd touched outside of the domes. Shouldn't she be in trouble? Maybe this woman wasn't a guard. Maybe they understood about accidents here. Maybe they thought mutants were like regular people....

She wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for them, afraid for--or of?--them, or just bask in gratitude for a seemingly more open atmosphere. She settled for a mixture of all of the above, nodding in response to the question and holding the device she'd been given a little tighter.

A slightly wider smile. "This place can be hard to get used to," she said, nodding and then sweeping into a bit of a bow. "I'm Larxene."

How nice it was to not have to hide her identity when she wanted to have fun. And what a scared little mouse she had before her, away from home and all alone.

She was practically giddy. "Tell me, what was it you did back there~?"

"I'm.... Rogue. My name's Rogue." Rogue offered a hesitant smile back, doing her best to swallow her nervousness; she had found someone nice, after all, and she didn't want to snub her, even if the pseudonym she had adopted still didn't sit well on her tongue. It hadn't been long enough to feel natural yet; it wasn't that long ago when she'd been happy to be just Marie....

Still, the question made her blood run cold; it looked as though she wanted to disappear entirely into the trenchcoat trying to swallow her up. "It--I--" I didn't mean to. I didn't want to do it. I didn't try to do anything. It's not my fault. I don't know what I did. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what's wrong with me..... How was she supposed to explain when she didn't know what was going on herself? Was she really not in trouble for this? "I-I don't know. It's my.... m-mutation...." She didn't know much more than that, really. Just as much as the average citizen--that mutants were potentially dangerous, neither liked nor trusted, and could be anyone. Seem affiliated at your own risk.

"Such a harsh word," Larxene said in response to having it called a mutation. "It makes it sound bad."

And it was quite a gift--one Larxene hoped she'd be able to use. But the girl was so jittery it would be best to get the memories herself. She kept up her smile.

"I mean, everyone has a few interesting talents," she said, and phased through Rogue, sampling the girl's memories as she did so before reappearing behind her. "See~?"

"It's not normal...." Wasn't it bad? Wasn't it always? It set you apart, it made people hate you, it made you a stranger to what you'd once been closest to.... it made you Other. It made you dangerous. Of course mutations were bad things! Right? Why else was the public so hostile towards those who had them? Or was hers the only one....?

"You're--!!" She caught her breath and stumbled back, more from it seeming as though she was about to collide with Larxene than anything else; she hadn't even had time to shield her face. It was all Rogue could do to stare and nod. She'd never expected to meet another mutant, much less one who so voluntarily, openly demonstrated their.... abilities..... in public. And meanwhile, the memories poured out, fresh and vivid and full of the passion of a young woman coming into her own--mostly typical memories of a happy home life, though two in particular would stand out.

Love, mischief, adventure. A loving kiss. A bright surge of pain, an alien rush of.... something flooding her... Memories, feelings, thoughts, strength.... Screaming and horror, a boy looking almost withered as he collapsed onto the bed, unconscious. The confusion and anguish would last for a long time to come, struggling to subdue the alien personality before it submerged her, dealing with the feelings of being two people who didn't belong in a single body together. A voice, a whisper of that sentiment, always carried with her since....

And just now, the gate. The barest brush of skin on skin, fingers against palm, a briefer flash of pain. The influx and submersion this time were briefer, simpler.... Not so much a personality as some sort of inner brilliance, bursting from containment to spill from her skin in a wash of light. That same inner light, twisting and snarling angrily against her darker emotions, the internal conflict only adding to her confusion and panic. Running, as she'd done before....

Had she known her memories had been gleaned, Rogue would have been considerably more nervous. As it was, she simply stood in awe. But even with that display, she wouldn't dare risk so much as a handshake. After all, what if one layer of clothing wasn't enough? Only Larxene was wearing gloves....

It was all Larxene could do to hide a smirk at the memories that she decided were most important. My my, what a troubled girl. What a scared little girl, so afraid of her own power. It was thrilling. It would almost be too easy.

"Who's to say what's normal?" Larxene asked. "Why not use what talents you have for the better?"

The betterment of Larxene, at any rate.

"Well...." Rogue faltered; how did one exactly define normal? The news did, the majority did, the common opinion of the citizens did..... even if popular opinion could be wrong..... "It.... I don't think I could use these for the better." She looked at her hands, a mite forlornly; hurting people like this just by touching them didn't seem like a way to make anything better. Just cause more anger and fear and pain....

She looked up at Larxene again. "How do you use y-yours for the better?" If she even did; as scary as phasing through things seemed like it could be, it also seemed like something actually useful, something you really could help people with.... Larxene was lucky in comparison, even if she was a mutant too. She had a way to redeem her existence.

"It's all in practice," Larxene said sweetly. "I've simply gotten used to my skills. I could help you. Take you somewhere where you won't hurt anyone accidentally while you learn to use your abilities."

Somewhere where nobody would be able to interfere--where Larxene would be her only human connection. Where Larxene could reshape her mind.

Rogue nodded a little; that made sense. She still didn't know how practice could let a harmful curse be turned into a useful, helpful gift.... But Larxene obviously had more experience with this than she had, and more knowledge as well. She must know what this kind of education was like, how it could help....

She swallowed her misgivings, and nodded again, a little more firmly this time. "I-I'd like that." A sudden thought struck her though, and she frowned at this setback--really, she should have thought about it in the beginning. "But I ain't.... I haven't got any money to pay...." Special training like this couldn't be free, could it? Little ever came without a price.

"Now, now, consider it a gift," Larxene purred. "I know what it's like to be like you~."

In a detached way, anyway. There had been a sense of--of something--when she had first become a Nobody. The emptiness took getting used to, as did the abilities. But what she could do with them--their ability to give her something real--had helped her adjustment.

"I can't promise it will be easy," she said, knowing Rogue had no idea, "but I won't give up on you."

She was too useful a toy.

"Th-thank you...." Rogue blinked rapidly, reminding herself that it wasn't acceptable to cry in public, especially in front of new acquaintances. But still.... Still, she couldn't help but be touched by the kindness a near-total stranger was offering her. Her, a runaway and a dangerous mutant.... Even if they were kin of a sort, it still seemed surreal, too good to be true. To find such a kind, knowledgeable new friend, with the resources to help her with what she needed, and the patience to stick with her....

She wanted to be someone people could be proud of knowing again. She wanted to find and earn her place, and prove that she was still a good person. "I'll do whatever it takes." She smiled at her benefactor, small but genuine as she felt a metaphorical weight lift from her shoulders.

Really, this was deliciously easy. With a wave of a hand, a portal of darkness appeared before the pair.

"After you."

("Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly)

Rogue nodded, taking a deep breath and holding it for a long moment; this point felt.... important, somehow. Like she was stepping over a threshold into something unimaginable; she couldn't tell if she was excited or terrified. Regardless, she had made her choice, and she intended to stick with it--there was no way she was backing out now.

Rogue stepped into the portal.

(Unto an evil counselor, close heart and ear and eye, and take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.)

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You can't get lost if you don't know where you're going (Completed)

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