Complicated homecoming...

[superstylishsquid]

It had been years since Alastor had last seen this town, bustling with humans and reeking of demons. It was almost comforting...if not for the fact that he knew his master was here. The master he'd abandoned without a word, who would be fully justified in striking him down for his insubordination. But it wasn't in Alastor's nature to run. He'd had his taste of freedom, now it was time to face the consequences. If he was lucky, maybe he could come out on top this time and be truly free.

But that would be once he entered Devil May Cry, something he would wait until daytime for. He didn't want to catch his master just returning from a demon hunt and ready to shoot anything that had fangs and claws. So in the darkness of the desert night, he stood atop a building across from the Devil Hunter's shop. His senses were attuned for any hint of magic approaching him, but he might not register an ordinary human right away.

Comments

[superstylishsquid]

His eyes flicker from her to the rest of the restaurant. He can smell at least two other demons in here...he doesn't want to turn his back to them, just in case they recognize him and take exception to his continued existence. You never knew who was a supporter of Mundus until it was too late. But there is one thing he could do.

The bottom of his ice cream class scrapes quietly along the table as he slides it to the side, soon following it in his seat to leave room to sit next to him.

"I'm not entirely comfortable facing a wall, but here. There's no reason we can't both have a decent view of the door. If you're willing to sit next to me, that is."

It's both an offer and a test. But many things are, with him. Directly questioning a person could only go so far. Actions, as they say, speak louder than words.

[patricided]

That wasn't how she expected her comment to play out. Considering so much of what she said seemed to set him off she was sort of expecting some sort of snarky short response. For a very long a moment she just stares at him dumbfounded.

Taking the offer would go a long way to making her feel at least a little more comfortable. Sort of. She's not entirely sure how comfortable she'd be sitting that close to him. And it's only slightly because he's a demon. At least he seemed to understand why she usually sat there.

Pressing her lips together it almost looks like she might turn him down. And then her ice cream dish is sliding across the table just before she slides out and comes around to the other side. She looks slightly more relaxed than she was if still a little tense around the shoulders as she twists the dish in her hands.

"Thanks."

[superstylishsquid]

He's half expecting her to turn him down, say she isn't comfortable sitting so close to someone like him. When she moves, he relaxes slightly but visibly and offers a faint smile.

"Don't worry about it. Not like I need much space, without my wings or tail."

[patricided]

"Guess not," she agrees leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. Once more her ice cream forgotten in favor of leaving it to melt in its dish as she lets her eyes scan the patrons. Two days hadn't been nearly enough time and here she was sharing a table and wasting a perfectly good cherry sundae to sulk into. Though usually sulking involved far less talk than what was currently going on.

[superstylishsquid]

"So..."

He taps his spoon idly against the rim of his ice cream dish.

"Did Dante tell you what the results of our little heart to heart boiled down to?"

[patricided]

"He was vague as always." And it was the most frustrating thing in the world that Dante did that. "Just said there'd be an extra pair of hands now."

She shifts, dropping her chin into her hand again. Her other hand twisting her sundae dish around between her thumb and index finger.

"Sorry to say I don't have much to offer right now."

[superstylishsquid]

"Well, it's true enough. I'm gonna be living there now, helping out with missions when I'm not away helping out my friends from Movieland."

He scoops up a bite of ice cream and puts it in his mouth, thinking as he lets it soften enough to swallow.

"Probably just as well there's not much going on right now, though. I could kinda use a break from excitement after that whole Evil King debacle."

[patricided]

And the idea that she might want to avoid the shop for a few days suddenly sounds extra appealing. It would at least allow her some time to think without being pestered with questions. Although she had to admit that some of them were actually really good questions and ones she may have been actively ignoring asking herself for a very long time there. "Mhm," she hums to at least somewhat be polite. She was listening just not as attentively as she probably should be so she almost misses the mention of an Evil King debacle. Her gaze shifting from the far windows and back to him with an eyebrow quirked up already. "The what?"

[superstylishsquid]

"Oh, right, the name isn't well known."

He wouldn't be surprised if only the Movieland heroes, and the handful of villains who had helped without actually reforming, knew the full details there.

"You remember that time the skies went dark over the entire planet and every movie screen in the world got hijacked to show a fight against a huge, black monster?"

[patricided]

She has to think about that a moment. Has to filter it against her other jobs and eventually she finds what she's looking for. She hadn't been in a movie at the time but she remembered the dark skies, hearing the whispers about movie screens showing the same thing no matter what the theater was supposed to be showing. "I heard about the monster. I wasn't in a movie theater at the time so I only actually remember the dark skies."

[superstylishsquid]

"That was caused by the Evil King. It was a devil that fed on despair and depression and was trying to manipulate Movieland to use cinema's influence over human emotions to spread them."

The disgust is evident in his voice, and the next bite of ice cream almost seems like he's washing a foul taste out of his mouth.

"I helped slow it down from inside Movieland, but eventually it got what it wanted. That was when it actually noticeably affected this world. In the end, it took a combined effort of heroes and villains to stop it."

[patricided]

She nods along, listening as she picks at her own sundae a bit. That did explain a lot of the weird things she'd heard afterward. And given that she was getting the details straight from someone who was there and lived it...and yes she is aware of how ridiculous it sounds that she's buying it so easily, but she's seen much weirder so it wasn't that much of a stretch.

"Sounds like it was an interesting day. Good job." Despite the phrasing she doesn't sound bored so much as unsure. Like she isn't entirely sure what she was supposed to say in response to the story.

[superstylishsquid]

"I don't think I'm really the one you should say that to. I pitched in, but I wasn't in any condition to help with the fighting there. It was my rival and close friend that was really responsible for that victory."

Though technically it wouldn't have been possible without Alastor, the same could be said for everyone who'd helped to get the White Film playing. It was a team effort...and even he'd had to realize that they were all important there, even if he had been the one to get the Film where it needed to be.

[patricided]

"I see." She scoops up another spoonful of ice cream to eat falling silent again as she places the clean spoon back in the dish as whipped cream goes sliding down the sides to fill in the holes she'd made.

And like that she lets the conversation taper off. Content oddly enough, given her companion and their less than stellar beginnings. But it's easier to relax when you know there's no way someone can sneak up behind you, and she's sure that was playing a part in her contentedness.

[superstylishsquid]

He spends a while just eating his own sundae, not sure what else to say. Normally, he might try to make small talk, but this is an awkward position. After all, the conversation has been more or less all business so far. But eventually, the silence gets to him more than his uncertainty.

"So, uh..."

But he still has no clue what to say. Great.

[patricided]

She turns her head, focusing on him over her shoulder, spoon hovering just over the top of her ice cream. She raises an eyebrow at him curious, but when nothing else comes she shrugs and pops the spoon in her mouth and then out again before scooping up one of the numerous cherries.

She's perfectly fine if they don't talk. It lets her think and puzzle out his questions from the other night. More specifically what that meant if she applied them to Dante and Trish, and how she felt about that. And silence was always best suited for that sort of deep thinking.

[superstylishsquid]

Silence might suit her, but it just makes him uncomfortable. It feels awkward, to be sitting next to someone else without anything to say. But his attempt to figure out a new topic failed spectacularly, so instead he just picks up the pace on his sundae with the intent of finishing quickly so he can leave.