know the warning signs

// tell me i'm forgiven, say you'll always be mine //

“There are more where those came from.” Unsurprisingly, of course. The butcher is pretty much a walking dictionary for all the words he could utter from his lips (like he’d spent time studying them and what not). Anyway, the butcher flashes a sharp smile toward Danta and Moira with a nod, a hum of agreement that’s the equivalent of I know she can’t, even as she hops from his lover’s shoulder to land on his own. Her feathers mesh with the tips of his dark hair, as though she’s some kind of extension to his attire – stark against the sweater that is far less menacing than the man wearing it.

Departing from Danta with a smile, the butcher starts his rounds – scouting for any trouble makers, using the tip of the cane to push someone a smidge away before they get too handsy with a server, and flashing a group a shark tooth smile that has them thinking twice about growing more rowdy.

Rather than paperwork, however, the butcher slips by the entrance to check in with the man stationed out there – partially shifted and eager to report that there was nothing but snow out there – the butcher withdraws before his skin starts turning grey. Which leads him back around to the bar and the letters Danta’s perusing through, does he lean against it and hook the cane against the edge, tail flicking behind him contently. “Might the owner take pity on his security and give him a drink?” He hums, full of dramatics.

Astaroth

// say that everything is over, tell me i'm fine //

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Danta has made his way through a couple of letters - nothing interesting, just information really - and a small, secretive note that comes from The Grey Road which he tucks into his back pocket, and is reading something addressed to both he and Asta that smells like sweet coconut when all of a sudden, he seems to have summoned the butcher. Grinning as he glances up, he offers him a roguish little bow and pushes up the sleeves of his cardigan to comply.

"It would be my pleasure," he says, tail lashing cheerfully behind him. "While you wait, have a look at this? I would normally have considered it an automatic thanks but we can't, given how it's freezing cold and very dark and you've been on a diet of five naps per day, but maybe if you're feeling better...?" And as Danta goes to make a chocolate martini (of course) for his lover, he passes him the invitation to Torchline's Longnight beach party.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

// tell me i'm forgiven, say you'll always be mine //

A soft laugh leaves his lips as he leans against the bar top to see Danta’s roguish bow. He settles in to watch him work, until the Maverick is offering a different distraction in the form of a sweet smelling letter – one that he takes easily and peruses, pausing only to peer up at Danta occasionally to watch him perfect the chocolate martini he loves so much. “I am feeling better.. And after an entire season of essentially staying shut in? Why not.” He hums, smirking slightly before he shuts the letter and settles in, tail flicking behind him in smooth, slow motion.

Arms resting on the bar top, he pulls his attention away to glance around the Dusklight, ensuring everything is still fine – and with their arrival, everyone appears to be on their best behavior. “A little vacation somewhere warmer does not sound terrible.” He muses, as if he hasn’t already agreed. “Shall we get everything set up and leave tomorrow, darling?”

Astaroth

// say that everything is over, tell me i'm fine //

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"Why not indeed," Danta echoes, grinning over his shoulder as he shakes a bit (a lot) of sweetened cocoa powder over the top of Asta's martini and adds a marshmallow on a cocktail stick as a garnish. "Especially given that Flora was kind enough to give us a room in her beach house, and a key to the door as well." They could fly over and surprise her, and then get absolutely wasted in the tropics. What's not to love?

Turning back to the counter and setting Asta's drink before him, Danta nods his ready agreement. "You don't have to ask me twice. I'll make sure everything is set up here and that Kiada has what she needs." Not that she'll need much, given that between them the Dusklight - and therefore the region - runs like a well-oiled machine. "We'll have to make sure we cozy up real close on the ship, though." He grins. "Else we'll be stone before we get anywhere near Torchline."

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

// tell me i'm forgiven, say you'll always be mine //

“Some things just simply make sense, I would say.” The butcher hums with a huff of a warm laugh as Danta sets the drink before him. He takes a moment to admire it and all its chocolatey beauty, going so far as to pluck the marshmallow stick from the drink to plop it into his mouth to devour the sweet puffy portion before he leaves the stick there like a toothpick.

Nodding his horned head, the butcher flashes a brighter smile after, lifting the cocktail up to his lips to take a long slow sip. His tail wags of its own accord, the ashen tip weaving behind him as he sets it down and clears his throat. “You know I would never complain about such a thing.’ The butcher purrs, as if already missing it from the countertop that keeps them separated right this second. “I am very much looking forward to it, darling.”

Astaroth

// say that everything is over, tell me i'm fine //

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

"As am I," Danta purrs in return, smiling in satisfaction as the butcher accepts his drink and seems to enjoy it. Straightening back up, he huffs out a long sigh and glances over Asta's shoulder to the rest of the Dusklight, bustling and thriving and generally enjoying Longnight and whatever it might bring their way. "I suppose that means we should actually do our jobs for now though, mm?" he says with a sly roll of his eyes.

"I'll make sure everything is all set for us to go if you can keep things from bubbling over out here?" he suggests, waving a casual hand towards the letters he's been perusing. "When I'm done, we'll head up and start packing." Not that he thinks they'll need much when they get to Torchline, but the trip there is guaranteed to be a challenge in the cold and the dark.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //

// tell me i'm forgiven, say you'll always be mine //

More than content to remain draped against the bar across from his lover for the rest of the night, he’s full of dramatics when the mention of going back to work becomes more of a reality — sighing heavily and nodding slightly, as if it’s the last thing he wants to do. (Even if he hasn’t done it in so long). “Mm, I suppose we should.” He downs about half of the drink before drawing up to his full height, smoothing out the sweater and collecting his cane, his smile sharp as ever as he casts a long loving look self indulgently across the Maverick’s body.

Humming a little tune under his breath, he glances back across the crowd, hesitating so that he might be able to finish his drink, starting to relax a fraction more as the alcohol settles. “Come and find me when you are prepared, darling.” A wink is sent his way, downing the rest of the drink before the butcher and his grinning shadow slink away from the bar to ensure everyone behaves until Danta’s ready to squirrel him away to begin packing.

- FIN

Astaroth

// say that everything is over, tell me i'm fine //