[SE] i came back and brought the crown with me

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

"Aha," Danta croons as they pass yet another store, the Theocrat skidding to a halt in the icy lanes of The Last Whisper as if - finally - something has caught his attention that he'd quite like to buy. Not for himself (maybe for himself? maybe something additional for himself?) of course; he's leaning down in front of the window of a little jewellery boutique, red coat splayed behind him and his elbows on his knees to examine the wares on display.

Alright, so technically he and Kiada are meant to be out signing for and arranging the various stock for the Dusklight (Danta has proven not to be an idiot in these matters by ensuring he uses local stock wherever possible, thus pumping more trade into the Grounds), but so sue him, he's distractible as hell. "Let's go in this one," he decides, straightening up and offering a flash of white teeth to his Registrar. He does hold the door open for her, the bell above it jingling merrily as if to persuade her also to come inside.

Dantalion

KIADA

you haven't kissed anyone for a while now

Tucked into her own warm jacket, gloved hands stuffed into the pockets and the scarf over her face, Kiada watches as Danta skids to a stop and she tucks her head in to smirk where it’s hidden behind the scarf. Her gaze flits up to the wobbling sign, blown lightly by the cool breeze, before her iceberg attention flits back to the jewelry on display.

“Is the Dusklight going to start selling jewelry now?” She asks in amusement, trailing after Danta into the warm shop, lowering the scarf the second she’s positive her lips aren’t going to turn to stone, but it also makes for an easy and grateful smile to her Theocrat as she steps to the side to give him room. “Or is it for Asta?” She probes playfully, brows bouncing.

As it stands, the Harpy starts scanning the displays for anything that might stick out for her or her own beau.

to you, everything tastes like blood

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

"Of course it's for Asta," Danta drawls to Kiada, rolling his eyes at her with a playful smile and letting the door fall shut behind them, sealing in the warmth. "The Dusklight is a lot of things, but I think if it tries to be a jeweller on top of everything else we'll run the risk of not being called a brothel any more." Smirking and still seeming distracted by the display case, he peeps over the offerings with a keen eye.

"He recently let me pierce his ears," he tells her with a fanged grin. "So I thought it'd be nice if I could get him some jewellery of his own, rather than the borrowed pieces he's wearing right now." And already he's found something he thinks might suit - a delicate bloodstone stud in hues of twinkling, pale grey and deep crimson, as well as one shaped like a curved, silver fang intended to hug the earlobe.

Dantalion

KIADA

you haven't kissed anyone for a while now

Snorting lightly as she drifts further into the jewelry store, Kiada nods and gives him a playful look over her shoulder. “Probably not a good look, yeah.” She agrees, focusing on the display case she stands in front of, harboring a variety of necklaces and chains, at odds with where Danta looks.

“Oh?” She asks, looking over at the Maverick with a raise of her brow and a wolfish grin. “Does that mean he gets the pleasure of shoving you into those corsets now? I don’t think my elbow has ever been the same.” She makes a show of looking at her elbow and moving it to see if it’s got its full range of mobility, before her chimed laughter leaves her. “That’s sweet, though.” Drifting over to peer at what he’s looking at, she whistles her agreement. “Oh!! I think he’d love that one.” The bloodstone, of course. She hasn’t noticed the silver fang just yet.

to you, everything tastes like blood

With the Hollowed Grounds’ alterations in landscape, some of the animals have grown a bit wilder. A bit bolder.

So while it may surprise some, and others not at all, a crow swoops down, snatching at clothing and bags with sharp, irritating, and annoying talons. Maybe you just lost a piece of bread, or a valuable keepsake!

Whoops. Best go try to get it back!

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

"Why would me piercing his ears mean he gets to shove me into corsets?" Danta wants to know, throwing a suspicious glance over his shoulder at Kiada. "If you must know, though, he has already offered. And I bet his elbow will be just fine, because he isn't a monster." Which, given the fact that Asta is quite literally a monster, is saying something indeed.

His expression softening to hear that his decision is a sweet one, while once Danta would have balked at such a thing, these days he's more accepting of it when it comes to the butcher. Opening his mouth to respond only to find something slamming into the window of the shop, the Maverick jumps and glances around to see a rather stunned crow flapping away. "Am I like... a crow whisperer or something," he asks flatly.

Blessedly distracted away by Kiada joining him to look at the wares, Danta clears his throat and nods his agreement. "I thought so too," he says, before gesturing at the silver fang as well. "I'll also get this, maybe. He's got a small hoop in his ear right now, so that might be a good replacement. What'd you think?"

Dantalion

KIADA

you haven't kissed anyone for a while now

Her laughter chimes out of her as she listens to Danta, rolling her eyes playfully before she’s shaking her head. “Oh, I dunno. Seems like it might’ve been a similar struggle.” She teases him, before she pokes her tongue out at him. “Ouch. My feelings.” Comes the flat toned yet still somehow dramatic in spite of it as she settles and focused on what he’s looking at.

It’s super sweet, all things considered, and as she peers at the bloodstone, she also jumps with an immediate edge about her that probably does aptly describe her also being a monster. Her stance is sharp and her tail wags in angry sharp jerky movements and she’s already stealing fire from the oil lamp nearby when she notices it’s a crow.

Immediately softening, because oooof Kia, overreaction much? The Harpy straightens her jacket and scarf and dispels the fire to puff out a sigh. “Does that happen often?” She asks with her nose wrinkling, before the silver fang is pointed out. Immediately replacing any awkwardness of her overreaction for joy, Kiada beams a smile over at him in the best case of whiplash one could handle. “Ooh! Reminds me of his teeth a bit.” Her head tilts as she looks at it, tucking a couple of stray locks behind her ears. “I think he’ll love that too!”

She nods her confirmation before she’s stepping away to the necklace case again, finding a particularly beautiful silver and thick chain with a gem in the center. One that was long enough to be worn under clothing and with a unique kind of clasp that would ensure if it ever caught on anything (given Fox’s line of work), it would snap before it choked him. The gem itself is a gorgeous mix of green, orange, and red. A subtle yet lovely pop of color she’s drawn to immediately.

to you, everything tastes like blood

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

"Actually, compared to pouring me into a corset, Asta sat very well given that I was on him with a needle," Danta says with a grin, shrugging his shoulders. "Then again I doubt we ought to be surprised, given that his pain threshold is about as high as the Cordillera." With that in mind, though, his beau also has his share of phobias, such that what Kiada sees as an overreaction in herself is considered rather tame in the Maverick's mind. He, of course, barely reacts at all beyond the initial surprise, merely scrunching his nose at the departing crow.

"Near constantly, it feels like. I even caught one of them once as revenge - now her name is Moira and she lives in my office," Danta says with a slow shake of his head. Much preferring to look at jewellery over considering himself a new corvid deity, he blinks back down at the earrings and nods as well. "That's what I thought," he chimes. "That settles it, then."

Satisfied, he calls over the shopkeep to point out the pieces he'd like to purchase, leaving him to package them up and take them to the counter so Danta might drift over to where Kia is looking at necklaces. "Oooh, are we getting something for your nearest and dearest too?" he purrs.

Dantalion

KIADA

you haven't kissed anyone for a while now

Snorting a soft huff of laughter, Kiada rolls her shoulder in agreement. “Yeaaaah,” puffing out her cheeks a little with an echo of her previous laugh. “What I’m hearing is that his elbows can handle it.” She teases again.

Of course, until the crow occurs, and at odds from reacting how the butcher might, the harpy instead is on pure offense, out for blood. She calms in a matter of seconds, tongue clicking as she makes the dawning realization. “Oh! I’ve seen her. I didn’t know if I should let her in or not, sorry.” She admits with an apologetic smile. “I used to have a vulture companion. Wayyyy back.” She hums, shrugging lightly before she lets Danta direct the shopkeep and she drifts away to make her own choice.

She feels the Maverick’s approach and she twists a little to point out the necklace. “I think he’d like it. I just got his ring made, too.” She boasts a little proudly, flashing Danta a bright smile. “But the gemstone in this one reminds me of his eyes.” She murmurs softly, shrugging her shoulders. “Is that.. too much? Should I pick a different color?” It’s perhaps the first time Danta would find the Harpy not certain in her choices, her iceberg gaze pulling away from it to look over at him with her question.

to you, everything tastes like blood

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

"I doubt he would need to be so barbaric as to resort to his elbows or knees, Kiada," Danta says dryly, his smirk one of mischief and chaos - he'd seen the way she'd responded with sleek and instinctive violence to the crow hitting the window, after all. Barbaric is a fair descriptor, he thinks. (And almost a compliment when it comes from the Maverick).

Waving off her apology, Danta rests his hands easily in his coat pockets. "Maybe I'll decorate her with a ribbon or something, so you know she isn't just a regular crow. She won't hold it against you, I don't think." He's wrong and Moira will, but Kiada can find that out the next time she runs into the corvid. "A vulture, though? That sounds fun." Not asking why she doesn't have it any longer (it's because she's technically died, Danta has to remind himself) he instead turns his attention to the necklace.

"Oho - have we finally set a date then?" he drawls as she confesses about having the hunter's ring made, Danta giving her a playful nudge. One that's needed, apparently, given her sudden uncertainty; very out of character for everything he knows about the harpy. "Why would it be too much? You like it and you think it'll look good on him. Get it," he urges.

Dantalion

KIADA

you haven't kissed anyone for a while now

Kiada just shrugs and flashes a sunny, fanged smile. “You’re bigger than me. What was I supposed to do?” As if that was a perfect end to the comment he’d made. As for Moira and Kiada’s now realization that the crow that had wanted to get in so desperately wasn’t just a typical corvid, she nods and settles with the information. “Hopefully not. And yeah, his name was Khairi. I’d had him since I was really young. We kind of… fused I think when I fell into Caido. It was my first shift when I was attuned.” She frowns lightly with the memory before she shrugs it off to inspect the choices she has.

Choices she’s uncharacteristically worried about now as she looks to Danta for his approval. “Flowerbirth.” She offers in terms of a date, letting the smile flicker on her face briefly with the nudge before she tilts her head and puffs out her cheeks in a sigh and a chimed laugh. “Yeah, you’re right.” She says after a moment, shaking her head and getting the shopkeeper’s attention to purchase the gemstone necklace.

Turning back to Danta, she nudges him back for earlier now that her worries have slipped away. “So, where else are we heading to today?” Yknow, for their actual reasoning for being out and about.

to you, everything tastes like blood

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

Danta clearly doesn't think that comment merits a reply, given the silent and incredulous look he gives her in response. Either way, given that he can rely upon the butcher to lace him into any further torture devices corsets (apparently Asta has been able to do it all this time, and Danta fully suspects he'd allowed Kiada to manhandle him on purpose if this is the case), he doesn't have to fear for the future under her ministrations.

"Khairi," he repeats, a soft frown on his face as he considers that, whether fusing or not, she'd have lost the companion tumbling into Caido. And where Danta might not have cared previously, now that he's got that ribbon of a bond between himself and Moira, he gets it more than he'd like to say. "Sorry to hear that," he murmurs after a few moments of thought

On to more positive things, though.

Flowerbirth has his eyes lighting up rather wickedly, and as she goes about purchasing the necklace, he flits around her waiting for further gossip he knows will only come when she's good and ready. "Hm? Oh, Kiada. If you don't know that, how in sweet Dygra's name am I supposed to?" Beaming - how dare she assume Danta made a plan coming out here - he swans out of the jewellers in search of whatever supplier they come upon first.

~FIN

Dantalion