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[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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hey you're back!

[twelfthspark]

It's like they know.

[Apparently? He's giving it to her and he hasn't even taste tested it yet... She brushes past, shrugging off her coat as she goes. It gets carelessly tossed over an arm of the couch as she takes a seat. She looks to Dante before even touching the glass, instead lifting a finger to beckon him over.]

vaguely, winter's tough >_>

[darkinferno]

You know, if they're giving us whiskey back because they know you need to drink, I'll take it. Better that than nothing.

[It's not often that Dante will take direction, but this is one instance where he is. Once the door's shut, he follows her over to the couch as he speaks, settling himself right beside her.]

[twelfthspark]

[If Arlene were more of a snuggly person, this would be her moment]

[But she's not, and only leans into him for a moment to acknowledge him before she takes up the glass. She swirls it around a little, then holds it up to Dante.]

Cheers.

[darkinferno]

[Dante takes his glass up from the table too, clinking it against hers. And when the two of them drink, they'll find that the alcohol burns as it always does, but there is indeed a taste to it too! It's a pretty decent, smooth sip; Dante doesn't buy the cheap stuff (is that really any surprise?)

Lowering the glass to his lap, Dante lifts an eyebrow at Arlene.]

So do you want me to ask what happened? Or are you more interested in forgetting?

[twelfthspark]

[Hey, not bad. Arlene takes an extra sip before she sets it down.]

It was Retrospec bullshit.

[That's an excuse for what was going to happen anyway and you know it, Arlene. She leaves that there for Dante to seek elaboration or not--though really, if she wasn't okay with explaining (complaining) to him, she wouldn't be here.]

[darkinferno]

[He shrugs.]

I know the feeling.

[If Arlene wants to, she's more than welcome to complain to him, but Dante's not going to push any further than that. "Retrospec bullshit" had been the cause of him and Ari breaking up, too. Something like that doesn't really need the extra pain of having to dredge it back up again.]

[twelfthspark]

No, like... [Arlene, you want to get laid, you're going to drop any references to Ari right there]

He remembered some stuff he didn't like. I'm over here like, sure, but that's not you now, aaaaand... [fuck this, she's not gonna get drunk yet but she needs another sip] He took offense to that, I guess.

[darkinferno]

"It's not you, it's me?"

[Dante snorts, shaking his head.] His loss.

I warned you lmao

[twelfthspark]

Oh, it was me too.

[If her words suggest an acknowledgment of her part in this, her tone definitely doesn't. Never attribute to Arlene that kind of capacity for self-reflection, especially while her emotions are still so raw.

Wouldn't it be nice if she just didn't have them?]

Yeah. His loss.

me: COMPLETELY OK WITH THIS???? also how tf do people start shit why am i playing a playboy type....

[darkinferno]

[You know, sometimes Dante can understand that desire to not have any feelings. He certainly would've preferred it back in August, after Hell Manor. He would've preferred it when Ari left. But... you'd lose the good alongside the bad, and there's enough good emotions in this world that maybe it's worth suffering through the bad.

But those are philosophical thoughts for another day, one where he isn't both drinking and dealing with a hot, potentially dangerous woman who may or may not be here for something far beyond the meta. Dante takes another sip of his whiskey, half-turning in his seat so that he can lean sideways against the back of the couch, elbow resting on the top of it as he surveys her.]

So. [If the mood in the room before was casual, perhaps tinged with morose, Dante's recapturing it now. His eyes seem to darken slightly as a expression that might be familiar to Arlene comes to his face--challenging, expectant, almost daring her to commit to what comes next.] What was that about asking me to prove it?

[twelfthspark]

YEET