[SE] jingle around the clock

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

"Mmm, you do that," Danta says with a wink. "And if you don't think about that, you could always think about the... what was it you were going to arrange? A ball, or something?" Danta remembers booze and food and that's about it, honestly, but hey - it proves he pays some attention in his own council meetings, doesn't it?

And on the contrary - he finds what Maea has to say about Sunjata and his underground activities very, very interesting, though he does his best to direct those particular thoughts down into his glass of liquor. "Maybe worth a visit to the VlamVloed to make sure there aren't any lingering connections," he remarks. Maybe also worth a mention to Flora as part of his Thieves' Guild activities, or the man of the hour himself, in case Sunjata is interested in reopening that line of business.

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

She was impressed that he remembered her request, and flashed him a delighted grin in response. "Ah, yes! That little undertaking. I've started some preparations already. Once the ward is up I'll start sending out invitations. It's a... a nice feeling, honestly. Being able to make ideas become reality." Tracing the rim of her glass, her expression softened, the contented smirk fading into something more genuine. "I'm grateful, you know. For this job, and the free reins."

Unaware of the plans she had set in motion within the Maverick's unscrupulous mind, Maea was too distracted by sentimentality to notice anything. She simply nodded, easily accepting the logical step. "Might be a good idea. Even if the other regions aren't enemies anymore I don't like the thought of outsiders holding sway here." The only authority she was willing to place herself under was Danta's; anyone else could keep their eyes and ears to themselves and mind their own business.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

"A good idea - that shouldn't be too long now. I for one am looking forward to getting in an exorcist to cleanse my office," Danta drawls, casting a baleful glance over his shoulder at the Backrooms and the far-too-many void creatures inhabiting the space. "Where will you be hosting it?" he asks conversationally. The Temple, he imagines, given the space and the fact that it's so central.

As for Maea's gratitude, Danta takes an easy sip of his drink and flaps his hand at her as if to tell her not to think anything of it. "What kind of Ancient would I be if I tried to box you in with rules?" he says with a flash of fangs. "Just make sure the place is warm enough, else a lot of us will be moving around quite stiffly."

Crossing his long legs and tilting his glass with one finger as if to test how far he can balance it without it tipping over, he tilts his head curiously. "The regions might yet be enemies again, you know. If what that weird voice in people's heads is right about Stormbreak."

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Wrinkling her nose as she was reminded of his office, Maea huffed a laugh under her breath and nodded in fervent agreement. "If not exorcism, then purge by fire," she offered, only half in jest. "It'll be good to be done with those things. Do you have anything else you want to do, once the quest is over?"

He guessed right about her intended location for the ball. "I was thinking of the Temple," she replied enthusiastically. "It's so close to the bonfire, so if we open the doors it might be lovely to have it half inside, half outside and set up braziers to keep everyone warm. As for the meeting with the leaders, I can offer up my office in the Atheneum. That way you can choose for yourself who you allow here." And it would look a wee bit more official, as no one would have to go through the brothel. But she didn't say that out loud. Between arranging for food and music and decorating and getting invitations out, there was a lot to do - but it was clear that Maea enjoyed having her hands full.

Her expression fell somewhat as he pointed out the threat looming on the literal horizon however. Pushing her glass over by her fingertips to get it refilled, she slid her arms forward over the counter and rested her chin against them with a sigh. "I know. I try not to think too much about it. I don't... like our odds, to be honest." Tilting her head aside so she could see Danta, her wide arching horns clicked against the counter. "Do you ever spar? It might not be a bad idea to steal Remi's tournament and get a feel for what our own people can offer, should it be necessary."

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

A purge by fire is never a bad thing in Danta's books, and he's already quite looking forward to the potential sanctification of his space, in whatever means they feel are necessary. "Mm? Oh, yes. Next I'll be focusing on a way for us to get from here to The Climb and back quickly. I've been told the correct term to use is a portal, but I feel like it has some stigma here." Voice stuff, etc.

As for the ball, at first the Maverick's nose scrunches at the idea of anything being half-outdoors given the season, but having it in the Temple and right next to the bonfire metaphorically thaws him out (as the environment will need to do quite literally when the occasion comes). "Alright, that sounds good," he says. He doesn't really care either way where the meeting between leaders takes place, but if Maea prefers the Atheneum, then so be it.

Reaching forward to get her a refill - and topping up his own drink while he's at it - Danta tilts his head and smirks. "That's a gloomy outlook," he teases, clearly liking their odds a lot better. "And I've sparred a couple of times since coming here. Not sure everyone will be up for another tournament too soon, but if you want to beat me up, I could be persuaded." He winks.

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

The Climb was largely an unknown place to her, but she did remember Danta saying he had spent most if not all of his early life there. It made sense, she supposed, to create an easy travel path to a place that meant so much to many of the Ancients that flocked to the region.
As for what to call it... she grimaced slightly, but then shrugged. "Call it a portal if you want. It might be time to reclaim the word and redefine the meaning of it. The Voice has been gone for years now... it's probably not a bad thing to move on." She smiled at him, clinking her glass against his before taking another sip. It was going to her head already; it felt good, slightly too much so. "Let me know if you need anything, I'm happy to help with any project you decide on."

With nothing much to add about the ball for now, Maea let the subject drop and poked her tongue at Danta when he teased her. "Pessimists are never let down," she said defensively, affecting a slight pout. "We're either right or pleasantly surprised." Sitting up a bit straighter, she looked the Maverick up and down in a rather straight forward way, trying to gauge his capabilities from what she could see. It didn't reveal much, of course; that he was taller than her she already knew, and from their accident with the arrow she recalled that he had an admirable ability to handle pain. Who would be faster, though? Was he strong too, and not just big? A glimmer of interest lit up her eyes.
"Could you now... and what might that pleasure cost me?" she wondered playfully.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

"Portal it is, then," Danta says, raising his glass in a toast and letting Maea's clink against his own. "You can reclaim the word, and I don't have to thumb through a thesaurus in the Atheneum. Win-win." Taking a sip - he's already well on his way to merry, but who's counting? - the Maverick offers her a fanged smile tinged with pride. "I will certainly do that," he tells her. "Luckily, a portal shouldn't involve any more of those void things."

As for pessimists and their apparently realistic view on the world, he can't help but scoff out a laugh. "Ah, but optimists have more fun," he says, the same way one might say about blondes. As the pale woman looks him up and down, Danta absolutely does the same in return, though it's absolutely not for training purposes.

"It would cost you nothing but your time," he purrs to her. "I fight dirty for free."

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

"Thank fuck," Maea said with feeling, sipping at her drink. The glass was emptying at a rapid rate, and she was feeling decidedly giddy. Lightweight, she supposed. Or whatever it was Danta poured her was stronger than the usual cider and wine she usually went for. It would have to be the last one, else she wouldn't get anything done for the rest of the day.

It was time to stop for other reasons too. It wasn't entirely the drink that caused heat to rise in her, drawing color to her cheeks. And while Danta's scrutiny would have made her shrink before, now she raised her chin just a little bit higher, emboldened enough to meet his gaze head on. Wasn't this why she had chosen the dress that she had? Wasn't it the whole point of her quest to change? Gods, she was tired of wilting and hesitating and turning away from every challenge that appeared before her.
"Lucky for you, I'm at your beck and call," she quipped back with a feline smile. "Simply let me know when and where, and I'll be there." Maybe she would let him explain more in detail all the ways in which optimism promoted fun.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

What Danta has poured for them is absolutely more liquor than anything Maea would normally have ordered, and whilst loose lips sink ships (or so the saying goes), they can work wonders everywhere else, he's found. "My beck and call," he repeats, smiling the words around his glass as he takes another drink before setting it down for a moment or so. "I'm still not used to that. But alright, you've got yourself a deal. I'll send a note when I'm feeling like some spontaneous violence, how about that?"

Not that they should actually be hurting each other seriously, he knows that much from seeing the soldiers at the Barracks. Which, in his opinion, knocks half the fun out of things. But once again, this is not The Climb, and there are different expectations even for theocrats. "Oh, shit," he says suddenly, tripping clambering off his bar stool. "We didn't light the incense."

No point setting it out if it's not going to do anything, right?

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

"Sounds good to me," Maea assured with a cheshire grin. "If it makes you feel better, I'm not used to it either. This is the first time I've had a leader worth following anywhere." Certainly the first she had chosen for herself.

Pleased with the turn their conversation had taken, she was startled out of her thoughts by Danta's sudden jolt off the stool. Maea meant to leap off her own to follow, but the moment her feet touched the floor the room lurched around her and she grappled for Danta to steady herself.
"Whoops! Sorry - uh, right, fire –" Fire flared up at her fingertips, eliciting a happy thrill; beaming with pride she held it out to show him. "Look, look! I've never been able to do that before!"

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

"It's the first time I've had people willing to follow me anywhere, so it'll be a learning curve for us both," Danta quips, busy vaulting back over the bar to land beside Maea, only to have her suddenly hanging onto him. It's a miracle they don't both go down, honestly, but one way or another they're able to keep steady, and he straightens up just in time to not have his sleeve set alight by her fingertips.

Blinking his confusion only to realise belatedly what's happened, it's with a crooked smile that he reaches out and steals some of her flames using his own magic, teasing it through the air with him to go and light the incense. "I am very proud of you," he drawls, letting the fire wind around his fingertips as he works. "As long as you don't use your new found power to set the Dusklight on fire."

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

Learning curves meant adventures and chaos, and in that moment Maea was perfectly happy to embark on both as long as it meant having company. Cheerfully allowing him take her fire after saving them both from sprawling headlong on the floor, Maea wobbled out among the tables, humming sweetly some half remembered melody while Danta went to light the incense. She made ember butterflies flutter in her wake, feeling far too good to waste it on standing around or being careful.

But she stilled and watched the Maverick's back as he moved from booth to table. Breathing in the scent of spice, unsure whether he was simply jesting. "Really? You mean that?" Not the caution against setting the brothel on fire; the bit about being proud. It was probably silly of her to let it get to her... but it did, all the same. A feeling that was a little soft, and plenty fragile, and probably not at all wise to give voice to where he could hear it... Ah well, too late for that.

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!

Dantalion

innocence died screaming
honey, ask me, I should know

Having been leaning over a table - precariously, but it's Danta so who is honestly surprised - to light some incense with tendrils of fire weaving around him - the Maverick glances over his shoulder and promptly loses his balance. Landing with a whoomph! against the booth cushions (and the fire promptly winks out around him, thankfully), he pops back up and runs his fingers through his fair hair, diamond horns casting rainbows in the candelight.

"Well, yeah," he says easily, spaded tail flicking contently at his side. "I used to be able to make fire, but... well, centuries asleep makes you a little rusty, you know? So if this is your first time being able to do that... good for you." With a sunny smile he rolls back to his feet, content with their work so far. "I think we're appropriately festive now, don't you?"

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Table base by Skylark

Maea

I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear

The number of people who had expressed any kind of pride over her could be counted on one hand. It was not something she had expected to get from Danta of all people, but it was... nice. One by one the fiery moths winked out around her while Maea rubbed at the back of her neck, trying and failing to suppress a sheepish little smile. "I see. I guess... thank you. I hope yours come back soon, too."

Taking a look around as Danta regained his footing, Maea had to admit that it did look good. Cozy, for lack of a better word, which might be the last thing she'd ever thought to associate with a brothel. "Yes, I like it," she nodded. "Do you want to go grab something to eat before business picks up? My treat."

Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!