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Character(s): Marluxia and Urd
Content: Marluxia "checks in" on Urd
Setting: Random rooftop!
Time: Late night, week 37
Warnings: Marly

It had been purely by chance that Marluxia had come upon Urd that night. He had seen her flying through the painted skies, looking as though she were searching for something--or someone if the message board was anything to go by. He disappeared into a corridor of darkness and reappeared on top of a rooftop where he thought she would see him, keeping his cool gaze on her the entire time.

She seemed to be the only one willing to listen to him in this city, despite their early... disagreements. Marluxia was not one to let that kind of resource pass him by.

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As always, she felt him before she could see him -- that singular lack of presence she had to train herself to notice since coming to Paixao, that lack of heart that so defined a member of the Organization. Or, in this case, former member, if what he'd said was true.

Stopping in the middle of her flight, outlined by the light of the false moon glowing ever present on the domes of the city, Urd slowly descended, keeping her eyes locked on his. To say she trusted him would be a huge overstatement...but it wasn't a matter of trust anymore.

Hovering in the empty space in front of the building Marluxia perched on, she watched him with a blank expression...waiting.

"Looking for something?" Marluxia asked as she came to a stop before him. A smile seemed the more natural expression, but after a moment's thought, Marluxia chose something more neutral. If it was important enough that she would be searching so late at night, a smile might serve to make matters worse--something unacceptable at this point in time.

"Don't act stupid. It's not like you." Irritation written clearly on her face and in her voice, she moved smoothly through the air to perch on the edge of the roof, long legs crossed. Reaching behind her to flip her hair back, she refused to meet his gaze, knowing her raw emotional state was screaming out to him. She was a barely contained explosion ready to go off and if he mocked her now, it might tip her over the edge.

"Is the Organization behind this? Did they take her?" Not that she expected a straight answer, but she was desperate enough to ask anyway.

"I assure you, I only have the faintest idea what's going on. If it's that Yorda girl you are looking for, I don't believe the Organization's hands are in this, but if they chose to lock that information away, I would have no way of knowing either way," he replied. "All I know is that there was an individual posting on the message board asking someone to take the girl off his hands. If a deal was made, it was private."

She didn't respond immediately, instead letting his response sink in. At the very least, it meant Yorda was still alive and still here...somewhere. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them part-way, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

"And so? You were waiting for me. What is it?"

"No," Marluxia replied, not expecting for her to believe him. "I saw you flying above and decided now was as good a time as any for a visit. I promise not to keep you for too long." It was in both of their best interests not to. The sooner she was finished with her business, the sooner she could move on to things that were part of his.

"You really have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you," Urd muttered, turning away and frowning. "Your former friends have been quiet...I suppose these nightmares must be their doing. Too busy enjoying the aftermath to do anything else?" She looked back at Marluxia, watching his profile carefully for any sign of his thoughts.

He wished she would stop calling them his friends. Marluxia may have been cordial with them, but he hadn't been close enough with any of them for that word to apply in any other sense but the ironic. He hoped that was what she was going for. Still... her comments about the nightmares were intriguing. He hadn't thought the Organization was behind it, but he hadn't exactly thought on the nightmares much. He didn't have the heart to feel fear from something as pathetic as bad dreams.

"You keep assuming I know everything they do," Marluxia said, frowning. "Need I remind you that I am a traitor? There were no plans for nightmares made when I was still among their number."

As expected. She sighed, looking out over the shadows of the city. "I still don't understand why. Why does a man without a heart feel the need to betray what had to be a good thing? You're not capable of wanting anything." Urd turned and stared at him with penetrating purple eyes. "Or is that a simplification? What's driving you to this, after all this time?"

"You underestimate how memories can guide a person. They change wants and what a person would want, guiding feelings and leaving echoes of those feelings within. I remember well what I would want if I still had my heart." That was the power behind memories. A leash and a chain, but one that was necessary to live. Without memory only a malleable shell remained. And that was useful, but a fate Marluxia would avoid for himself.

"The fact of the matter is that Xemnas lied about his intentions. His want for Kingdom Hearts serves only himself. I intended to depose him the moment I learned that."

And what sort of man had Marluxia been before he became this Nobody, she wondered? She almost wanted to ask what he'd want if he still had a heart, but then...what would be the point? She'd long since given up on the idea that the Organization could be redeemed...hadn't she?

"You don't seem to be making any progress on that front," Urd said after a moment, ignoring the pang in her chest and focusing on the present. "It's no surprise, since you keep pissing people off before you get the chance to make them your allies."

Marluxia frowned and gave Urd a look. "It would be easier if my past was not what it is. As soon as the word 'Organization' comes into play, it seems any hope of trust falls apart, and their minds close to anything I have to say." And that fact was quite the double-edged sword: good to keep others from falling in with the Organization, and bad for him.

"Unfortunately, there is no way for me to get around that. Unless you have better ideas?"

"The excellent thing about the Organization is that their actions outweigh any indignation people might personally feel for you...usually," Urd added, smiling a grim, humorless smile. "In the wake of all the horrors Xemnas and his lackeys have put me and the others through..." She trailed off, rubbing her eyes at the flashes of memory at her capture.

"Well. Share a little more and that should be motivation enough. We have a few newer players under these domes with a lot of power and a lot of anger."

Marluxia went silent for a moment as he thought about her suggestion. He had attempted to do such things in the past only to meet with minimal success, but perhaps it was more the method rather than the information itself that was the problem. Troublesome as it might be for him in the future (the painting of yet another ring of a target on his back), it looked like a more... public display was the way to go.

"And just what is it that the unsettled masses are angry about?" he asked curiously. Marluxia already had an idea what to say first to gather their attention, but extra information to get into their hearts and minds could only aid him.

"Maybe kidnapping!?" Urd snapped, a flare of anger bursting out of her. Clenching her teeth, she had to remind herself that his distance and coldness were par for the course. "Experimenting on us like we're rats in a maze to start with," she continued after a moment, her voice low. "I don't think everyone's aware of just how far things have gone. Some of us...keep the experience to ourselves. The mental torture most of all."

"As I thought," he said, mostly to himself. "In that case I might have a couple things they would find... interesting." Marluxia only wished he had access to Xemnas's records now. It seemed as though the experiments were continuing, even if they were in a much smaller amount, and something a little more recent might have been even more useful.

"Great," she sighed, standing up. She looked down at him, her frown a mix of annoyance and regret. "Then we're done here? Just remember, if you fall into old habits and do something to any of these people, I'll make sure you regret it. I'm only working with you now because our goals are similar."

"Orders are an entirely different creature from habit," he corrected. "But I suppose we can be done for now. You seem eager to return to your previous pursuits."

He called up a dark corridor behind him with a gesture. "Thank you for the inspiration."

She stayed silent, fighting down the urge to take everything back. It was too late now anyway, right? She'd already done what he'd wanted. And this was only the beginning. Urd turned away, hugging herself as she felt a physical pull towards the dark corridor. That in itself had disturbing implications.

Shaking her head, the goddess stepped off the roof and into the quiet night, searching again for the girl that would help keep the darkness in her heart at bay.

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