... If I said "surprise me", would that be a poor idea?
[ With a faint smile at Eryn, who clearly knows Dante well enough. Goddess, she can only imagine what people would think if this was considered a date. ]
[but he has a feeling that mercedes will just leave it up to him.]
Let's start you up with a cider. Hey! An apple cider and the usual for me.
The sun's still up—
[dante puts down a number of silver coins onto the counter, effectively shutting eryn up with a light laugh. the bartender goes off to get their orders sorted.]
[eryn sets down their drinks, a whiskey for dante in a round glass and an apple cider for mercedes in a tall glass. she actually gets a napkin. dante does not.]
Well, new experiences. [he picks his glass up.] Cheers to you.
[at least she's open to trying things out... in any case, dante isn't doing too good on the money area and he wants to keep eryn from calling him out, thus he will pace himself with his drink.]
[he takes another sip from his glass as he looks elsewhere with the intention of trying to figure out what would be a good enough trivia about himself.]
Might be easier if you ask me something specific.
[he is actually a boring guy, if you take away the devil hunting aspect...]
That's easy enough. [at least it isn't like, a personal question of something.] I was in hell weeding out some ugly tree's roots with my brother, having a good old time fighting demons.
[and whiskey down his throat]
Hm. Fellden smells a lot nicer than the bowels of the demon world. You can take my word for that.
Trees from hell are no joke, Mercie. They're ugly and nasty-looking, and the inside smells like hot garbage. It even had a bunch of insect-like demons crawling around and inside! A whole damn ecosystem!
[ok, fuck it, the whole drink goes down the hatch before he forces the glass down onto the table. eryn is already there with a light shake of his head, refilling the glass.]
[it's as if he sometimes forgets who he is dealing with here. mercedes has proven time and time again that there is truth in not judging a book by its cover; that her softer and gentle nature don't really show what she has experienced.]
I'm not too familiar with how a tree like that even gets cultivated. [he starts, as if he had not paused to warn her about it.] But the more blood it gets, the more it grows, with the sole purpose of producing one single fruit.
[the small amount of liquid left over in his glass swirls as he does circular motions with his hand, blue eyes caught in it.]
A fruit for power, for the next king of the demon world. Countless of lives sacrificed for that very selfish purpose.
[ It's probably for the best that her experiences don't leave her an open book of distrust and solitude, though she chooses not to think about that and focuses instead on Dante's explanation. ]
It... feeds on human blood in order to produce a single fruit that will grant power to the one who eats it?
… That's despicable. So many lives unwillingly sacrificed, for such a thing... like you said, that's very selfish.
[dante shrugs. seeing it from the very human perspective, it really is a tragedy and a crime against humanity as a whole. seeing it from a demon's perspective, it's nothing more than something to throw over his shoulder and not let guilt hound him until the end of his days.]
It's not really the happiest thing to retell.
[he eyes her a moment.] But there's nothing that can be done about it other than sealing the gate and keeping the demons at bay.
[ There's a faint smile, and Mercedes amiably returns to her glass. She can't chug like some people, but she can drain it quickly and politely enough. ]
I can't imagine that's what you had in mind for family bonding... but then again, I can't help but think that suits you.
[what's with that quiet acceptance of his character? dante is mildly touched, and it only shows on the lopsided smile painting his features.]
No better way for my brother and I, truth be told. [always fighting, their blades always clashing with the other; this intrinsic need of competition and to best the other.] But we've done better since coming here.
[their fights have been les, their talks more. like relearning how to be brothers all over again.]
—and how are things on your end? [he motions at the ribbon on her hand with a nod of his head. so maybe he's doing a follow-up on how she's handling the news about her brother.]
[ She's relieved to hear that, considers mentioning that she'd run into someone who really had resembled Dante at the party... in appearance more than mannerisms, but decides against it. ]
Ah... [ With a bittersweet smile, she reaches up to tap the ribbon. ] If I stay busy... it's easier. It still feels like a very raw, painful sore when I think about him, but I include him in my prayers. If nothing else, I hope he can find peace.
If that's the only thing I can do for him as his sister, I would do anything to assure that.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ With a faint smile at Eryn, who clearly knows Dante well enough. Goddess, she can only imagine what people would think if this was considered a date. ]
no subject
[but he has a feeling that mercedes will just leave it up to him.]
Let's start you up with a cider. Hey! An apple cider and the usual for me.
The sun's still up—
[dante puts down a number of silver coins onto the counter, effectively shutting eryn up with a light laugh. the bartender goes off to get their orders sorted.]
This isn't your usual scene, is it?
no subject
And I think if the people here are all fond of you, then all the more reason to visit more often.
no subject
[don't baffle him, mercie]
[eryn sets down their drinks, a whiskey for dante in a round glass and an apple cider for mercedes in a tall glass. she actually gets a napkin. dante does not.]
Well, new experiences. [he picks his glass up.] Cheers to you.
no subject
To new experiences!
no subject
Is it any good?
[the apple cider...]
So, you want a memory from my world, was it?
no subject
I like learning more about you, after all.
no subject
[he takes another sip from his glass as he looks elsewhere with the intention of trying to figure out what would be a good enough trivia about himself.]
Might be easier if you ask me something specific.
[he is actually a boring guy, if you take away the devil hunting aspect...]
no subject
[ Or is that opening a can of worms... ]
no subject
[and whiskey down his throat]
Hm. Fellden smells a lot nicer than the bowels of the demon world. You can take my word for that.
no subject
I didn't know trees grew... down there?
no subject
no subject
[ Wait, can trees even do that. ]
no subject
[ok, fuck it, the whole drink goes down the hatch before he forces the glass down onto the table. eryn is already there with a light shake of his head, refilling the glass.]
Probably for the best that they aren't common.
no subject
[ It sounds kind of awful. ]
no subject
You familiar with 'curiosity killed the cat'? [he snorts] If you really want to know, I'll tell you. It's not a pretty story though.
no subject
[ Her own, while not as dramatic, wasn't pretty either. ]
no subject
I'm not too familiar with how a tree like that even gets cultivated. [he starts, as if he had not paused to warn her about it.] But the more blood it gets, the more it grows, with the sole purpose of producing one single fruit.
[the small amount of liquid left over in his glass swirls as he does circular motions with his hand, blue eyes caught in it.]
A fruit for power, for the next king of the demon world. Countless of lives sacrificed for that very selfish purpose.
no subject
It... feeds on human blood in order to produce a single fruit that will grant power to the one who eats it?
… That's despicable. So many lives unwillingly sacrificed, for such a thing... like you said, that's very selfish.
no subject
It's not really the happiest thing to retell.
[he eyes her a moment.] But there's nothing that can be done about it other than sealing the gate and keeping the demons at bay.
no subject
[ Well, she tells herself, surely not. He would have said so otherwise. ]
no subject
[he points at her forgotten glass of apple cider.] Don't worry. Like I said, my brother and I got it all sorted out.
no subject
I can't imagine that's what you had in mind for family bonding... but then again, I can't help but think that suits you.
no subject
No better way for my brother and I, truth be told. [always fighting, their blades always clashing with the other; this intrinsic need of competition and to best the other.] But we've done better since coming here.
[their fights have been les, their talks more. like relearning how to be brothers all over again.]
—and how are things on your end? [he motions at the ribbon on her hand with a nod of his head. so maybe he's doing a follow-up on how she's handling the news about her brother.]
no subject
Ah... [ With a bittersweet smile, she reaches up to tap the ribbon. ] If I stay busy... it's easier. It still feels like a very raw, painful sore when I think about him, but I include him in my prayers. If nothing else, I hope he can find peace.
If that's the only thing I can do for him as his sister, I would do anything to assure that.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)