[ic inbox]

[darkinferno]

Dante Rantanen

"Hey, you've reached Dante. I'm not in right now--you know what to do."

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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Comments

[mercurio]

like how they'll happily help me disappear if that's what i want??

[darkinferno]

DO you want to disappear

[darkinferno]

that's a joke by the way you'd better not

but what sort of responses do you expect? if you ask someone a weird question with no context they're gonna mess with you when it comes to answering

[mercurio]

/i/ wouldn't give that kind of response to a person!
that's just creepy and weird and a little mean

[darkinferno]

dude i say this with complete sincerity you're also probably a better person than most of us on this network so keep that in mind

[originallutece]

Let's begin with Heartless.

[mercurio]

you are all just a bunch of cynics

[mercurio]

but thanks!

[twelfthspark]

Unfortunate, that's what it is

[come on, it even has balls]

But seriously I don't know. That's the only place I've seen it

[uncagedbird]

[Ari doesn't think of herself as anything special-- not in the slightest. But even she understands the position she's in. Perhaps moreso than anyone else in her family... If Ari had been born penniless, it wouldn't have changed a thing. She is always, always looking to better the world around her. She'll always channel her energy into other people, it's just what she does.

Whether that makes her a decent royal is yet to be seen, but she's certainly trying.]

Hmm... I'll keep that in mind for next time.

[He's trying to keep the mood light and she appreciates that. Kissing people is dangerous while driving though, so she settles for resting a hand on the back of his shoulder.]

[livingdeadgirl]

that's
kind of weird
so it's more like a power than an equip?

a day or so before the con; text;

[uncagedbird]

[She's halfway through packing and she just can't finish. Despite talking to Noah about it, she's still not okay. And she has to tell Dante... She can't run away from her problems anymore.

She doesn't think she can keep her voice straight for a phone call. So she reaches for something else that has meaning for both of them, and--]

†

[darkinferno]

no arguments here, i know i'm cynical

it's one of many reasons why our friendship will stymie scholars for decades to come

[darkinferno]

All right. [He takes a moment, mentally cataloging the information he's got so far.]

They come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. The ones I remember the most of are these little bulbous shadows with glowing yellow eyes and sharp claws. They're about knee height and have these antenna sticking out of their head. [Even though he knows she can't see him on the phone, Dante gestures, drawing the antennae out for her.] But there are these other ones called Behemoths, which are gigantic and mainly use the horn on their head to attack, or Darksides, which are like the shadows if they ever grew up. I don't know if I've remembered everything yet, but I know that they're supposedly "born of the darkness in people's hearts," whatever that's supposed to mean.

[darkinferno]

you're telling me

let me know if you see it again, it really makes me think of those emblems but i've got no idea what it is they all symbolize

[darkinferno]

[It's a gesture that makes him smile, and if she'll let him, he'll rest his free hand on her knee. Sure, he needs to shift from time to time, but it's another point of contact and he can gently rub his thumb over his knee as he presses:]

That wasn't the only thing you were worried about, was it?

[darkinferno]

i guess you could describe it like that, yeah

i never even received it, not really. it came to me the first time when we were small and fighting all those bugs and even then it just appeared in my hand when i needed it most

text → action

[darkinferno]

i can be there in five

[Dante isn't expecting Ari's text, but for once he doesn't have to reach to find an adventure worthy of taking her on. He knows exactly where he wants to take her, what he wants to show her.

Five minutes later, he's pulling up in front of her house (sorry Noct, Prompto, you two are walking home!), hopping out to walk up to the front door. Knock, knock!

If the door's unlocked as it sometimes is when she knows he's coming over, he'll even crack the door open.]

Ari?

[uncagedbird]

[Ari doesn't wait for him to find her. As soon as he calls her name, she just shoves herself into his arms. She doesn't say anything just yet-- she just wants to cling and cling and not be strong for a little while.]

[uncagedbird]

[Despite his pressing, she doesn't sink into herself or panic. She knows as much as he does that sometimes she needs a little bit of a nudge.]

No...

[She closes her eyes for a moment.]

I have a lot of questions. About why I was trying to go back, and about why I left in the first place... It obviously wasn't anything official, since I had to hide my identity and we didn't have any identification.

I have a bad feeling about all of it.

[darkinferno]

[He isn't expecting for her to push herself into his arms so readily--normally, even when Ari's excited to see him, there's the tiniest hesitance as she comes toward him, as though she's always giving him a choice as to whether or not to accept her hug. This is different. This is a hug that she needs.

And so he he envelops her within his arms, resting his cheek on her head and protecting her from the world. He'll hold her for as long as she needs, running one hand up and down her back, pressing kisses to the top of her head and resting his cheek upon her head in turn.]

Hey, Ari.

[She can start when she's ready. He's not going to push her.]

[originallutece]

[Behemoths? That's not the first time she's heard that word, and she frowns as she makes note of it.]

You haven't seen anyone else you recognize here in your memories, have you?

[darkinferno]

[WHY THIS ROSALIND LET HIM LIVE???? Dante scowls.]

Yeah, I have. And I don't really feel like talking about him. I'm trying to forget he exists.

Anything not involving him you wanna know?

text, 8/3

[twelfthspark]

What the fuck was that and where the fuck are you

[originallutece]

[WOW oh someday they are definitely coming back to that.]

You have yet to tell me about Dream Eaters.