Bayne's Respite Inn and Bar │◎│ (O/A) │◎│

[Minerva_Mortis]

𝓐𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓸 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓼𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓱

Aceso watched as he looked to his hands, listening to him speak she kept her gaze on his digits, observing how much more work would be needed in order to completely remove the ink. She was happy for Gale, but also worried when he spoke of being busy with cleaning. He did seem to be a little on the tired side, and Aceso wasn't about to assume it was solely from working.

As he set his hands on his lap she reached out to take the one closest to herself and brought it up to her eyes for a closer look, lacing her fingers through his to keep a firm and gentle hold on him. "I've been doing alright, trying to find other songs that I can sing. I've tried writing a few of my own, but I can't seem to get the knack of it." She admitted with a small laugh as her mismatched eyes peered at the markings on his hand, as if to gauge how many more treatments would be needed to completely remove the magic ink.

"I had noticed you've been busy cleaning, this place looks amazing now with your efforts." This she said with a glance to Gale's eyes, smiling with a modest blush she returned his hand to his lap. She had begun to miss being able to talk with him, passing glances and greetings were not satisfying her want to give him attention.

[Sir Zeta II]

▲▲"Face your fears, fight your own battles, and live life to your own agenda."
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Gale continued to fight off that blush as Aceso delicately took his hand, lacing her fingers through his. She was incredibly gentle, something that was probably a given to anyone else, but for Gale, it was more than he felt he deserved.

He relaxed his hand a little bit as she spoke about singing and writing songs. "Oh, come now," he said with a smile. "I'm sure you can write your own songs. You just need the right inspiration!" As she released his hand, he tried his best not to seem disappointed.

Then their eyes met again, and this time, he saw Aceso be the one to blush. He smiled softly. "Thank you...I've been doing my best. Mr. Bayne's been needing me to look after a few more things than usual. Hopefully things will die down for now..."

He ran a hand gently over his knuckles, then looked at Aceso. "I've really missed talking to you..." he said softly. And it was the truth. All of the hustle and bustle around here had been taxing on him, and he was glad to find the comfort of a friend among all of the work.

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"If you won't do it, no one else will."▼▼

[Minerva_Mortis]

𝓐𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓸 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓼𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓱

She smiled as he spoke of inspiration, he was right, it had been hard for her to find any with how busy things had been. Aceso wanted to write songs of her own so very much, yet her fleeting bursts of creativity never gave the girl much chance to get anything written down.

Their gaze met just as the words on her mind were spoken, and her cheeks became a darker hue of purple. "I've really missed you too. I had hoped to get to know you better since you're working here now, but Kuro has been keeping you busy." She admitted with a soft laugh. Every chance she got to speak with Gale had been thwarted by the young inn keeper. Aceso had grown quite irritated at this, but was pleased to have snagged a chance to at last talk to her new friend.

[Cooking Sherry]

Dante De Stephanoxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxMafia Bad a** with an Attitude

"No... No, no... Lasciami solo. Ho detto...! De-- NO! Solo lasciami in pace!" He was shaking. Everything seemed to be blurred around the few colors he could focus on. Red, white, blue, all parts of the human figured that passed by him in the street. He kept one foot going in front of the other, his stability waning with each passing second. His eyes would fly up to catch the sight of a woman as she passed, his hand only clutching his cellphone tighter the closer they came. "Addio, Violetta." His hand shook as he canceled the call and hastily shoved the device away in his pocket. Only moments later and it was already buzzing for attention again, his sister's called ringing in vain.

He felt terrible. He'd pissed her off, and that was all it took for her to turn the tables on him completely. She knew exactly how to scare him; no, not scare him. She knew just how to make him want to piss him pants and scream like a girl, and all she needed was a phone. He could take all of the deep breaths that he wanted, but it wouldn't begin to help him. It wasn't what he needed right now.

Maybe he was just paranoid, which was definitely a possibility, or maybe he was just imagining it; also one very good possibility right now. Were people getting further away from him? His eyes glanced left and right watching as people stared at him before going on their way. What the Hell was this? What the Hell were they looking at, anyways!?

Paranoia really struck down again; was he breathing too hard? Did he smell like s**t? He hadn't killed anyone, otherwise he'd think there was blood on his collar or something. So what was it? His body and face burned up, ants crawling under his skin. He couldn't fight the urge, quickly rubbing the stubble along his jawline and over his mouth-- something wet? His had stung. Slowly he pulled it back, his eyes focusing on the shaking hand, stained red from a deep wound slit across several of his fingers. How?

His heart was racing, his mind blank, unable to dredge up any recollection of being hurt. It was when a sharp squeal of fright from a girl sounded that he was brought back to attention. Probably not the best way to pull him out of his daze. His eyes dragged up, shaking around the image of a woman, garbed in white, blood drenched down one side. The image imprinted itself in his mind a long time ago; it only came back when he was like this; a mess. A physical and mental wreck.

'Hey---' Someone's voice. 'HEY! Hey! Are you alright? Hey, buddy? Your hand's bleeding all over the place!' Whomever it was that felt like disturbing him snapped his fingers in front of his eyes to catch his attention. He could hear people all around him, mumbling, someone on the phone with an emergency line, and someone was touching him. "Liasciami-- leave me alone." He shook his head, his gaze following the person's hand. He didn't hesitate to yank himself away from whomever it was and start walking. 'Hey-- HEY! We've got the paramedics coming, don't just walk away! What are you, deaf!? Common!' A hand gripped his shoulder and in an instant Dante reacted, gripping the hand, successfully removing himself from the grip, and twisting the man's wrist. He turned around, twisting his arm next and quickly sending him down to his knees. If Dante thought this man was noisy before, he was certainly more so now. The crowd moved back in an instant, muttering a number of comments about his mental state. "Leave. Me. Alone." he couldn't have made himself any clearer.

[strawberry sapphic]

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xｆａｅ - ｉｒｉｓｈ - ｓｏｃｉａｂｌｅ

x♡ apparel : ❤
x♡ mood : worried
x♡ location : in the city
x♡ company : dante, crowd

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Huge, bustling cities weren't normally her thing, but even those who lived at the beach needed a change of scenery from time to time. So here she was, taking a mini vacation from her little seaside bar to visit a city farther inland, one that was cozily nestled in between mountains. The crowds were a bit thick, but the tall redheaded fae had little problem flitting through the numerous people- all the while careful to keep her pace matching the pace of everyone else in the area. She already stood out enough with her wings, she didn't need to show off anymore than that!

One street she turned down was a little more crowded than the others, as if some sort of altercation was happening, and though Saorla's hearing wasn't much more sensitive than a normal human's, it was easy to pick up the shocked, nervous whispers spreading around like wildfire.

"He just snapped!"

"Did you see the way he twisted that guy's arm?!"

"What language is that, anyways?"

That was her cue to head in the other direction. Whatever had happened, Saorla wanted no part of it. She could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, anyways... Better to leave the situation for the people better equipped to handle it.

At least until one voice in particular reached her ears. It had been a couple of years since she'd heard that voice, but it was familiar to her almost instantaneously. "Dante...?" Saorla wondered aloud, turning back around to gently weave her way through the crowd in the direction it had come from.

Sure enough, it was him. Same blonde hair, same blue eyes. A little older, perhaps, but not significantly so. What was significant was the state her old friend was in now- shaking, edgy, annoyed... And dripping blood from his hand. Ugh. Saorla felt her stomach turn the second her eyes landed on the red liquid, thankfully in the moment that she couldn't smell it.

Hopefully she wouldn't.

The redhead moved even closer, glancing worriedly to the taller Italian man. "Dante~" She hummed, wondering if he would calm down once the recognition settled in- even just a little. They needed to get that hand bandaged up, and soon... "What happened...?" Such a trivial question, one that Saorla doubted she would get an answer to considering his nervous state of mind, but maybe... Just maybe simple, normal questions would help him snap out of whatever had set him off.

She stepped a little closer, slowly, and started to reach out to grab his uninjured hand, though she stopped herself just before. He didn't like people touching him- especially woman- and if the whispers were right, he'd already defended himself against someone else who'd tried to help. Saorla decided it was better to wait and see how stable he was first, her pale eyes glancing up at his.

[Cooking Sherry]

Dante De Stephanoxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxMafia Bad a** with an Attitude

"Dante~"

The Italian's gaze rose from the helpless civilian under him. He visibly paused, his entire body still. He knew that voice. Like sweet cotton candy mixed with fluffy bunnies in a fortress of pillows-- that's what people related with everything good, right? Because that's what that woman was. Every bone in her body was good; nothing in her could actually ever bring her to even swat a fly. Slowly he relaxed, letting the b*****d go. Oh, did he run, right into the crowd, and stuck to them, watching from the back most part of it to watch curiously and secretly loath the person he had tried to assist.

Red locks came into view, and then that pale, freckled skin from Irish blood. This was improbable; what were the chances? He took a deep breath, then stood up suddenly, his gaze on the public. He was SICK of being stared at! ******** them! ******** all of them! What the ******** did they ever do for him!? ******** nothing, except STARE and get in his goddamned way! "Scram!!" His voice bellowed louder than he meant for it to. People jumped and stepped back more, and a good number of them rushed alone their way in an instant, which eventually only left the awkward few that followed suit soon after.

He took another heavy breath, his eyes dragging across the grey sidewalk and finally meeting the entrancing green hues that could only ever belong to one woman. "Saorla, the ******** are you doing it a dirty a** city like this?" His good hand reached into his pocket, pulling out a box of cigarettes and popping one up out of the carton. He caught it, then bit down on it before shoving the abused package away again. Smoking; he swore he wasn't this addicted to it until Violetta hit puberty. Girl had a lot of balls. "Dunno what the ******** happened to my hand; nosey a** sonsofabitches are touching me. ******** them." He didn't even light the cigarette, just started walking, teeth grinding into the filter nervously.

[strawberry sapphic]

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xｆａｅ - ｉｒｉｓｈ - ｓｏｃｉａｂｌｅ

x♡ apparel : ❤
x♡ mood : worried
x♡ location : in the city
x♡ company : dante, crowd

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Dante looked more surprised than happy to see her, which was just a little disappointing- alright, a lot- but at least he didn't seem angry with her. Not like he was with everyone else surrounding them. Angry was probably putting it lightly, really- Saorla blinked when he yelled for everyone to 'scram,' though she didn't flinch or back away like the others had. Loud as it had been, it was at least effective in getting everyone to stop crowding him. The small crowd dissipated hurriedly after a moment, leaving the two of them alone.

He hardly seemed worried about his injured hand. But that was all Saorla's mind was on. Did it need stitches? How had it even happened? His question about why she was here in this 'dirty a** city' went in one ear and out the air, but Saorla didn't miss the comment he made about not knowing when he'd gotten the gash on his hand. "Did you black out?" She asked, frowning lightly.

It was sort of irritating how he was more worried about that pack of cigarettes than getting his hand checked out, but at least he wasn't lighting it... Saorla kept quiet about it. She followed along after him, keeping his pace easy. "I know you won't go to the hospital..." At least she assumed so, given that he was mafia. "But maybe you'll let me talk you into finding a bar where we can borrow their first aid kit? Please?" The sight of red trailing down his hand was still nauseating, but Saorla stubbornly ignored it. As long as she didn't smell it- thank god for city smog, nasty as it was!- she knew that it would be bearable.

"It may get infected if you don't..."

[Sir Zeta II]

▲▲"Face your fears, fight your own battles, and live life to your own agenda."
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Gale watched as Aceso's face became a darker shade of violet. It was interesting to watch, but it he knew that it was a blush nonetheless, and he smiled a little, finding the whole of it rather adorable.

"Heh...well, at least tonight Kuro doesn't have me doing anything. So I've got a lot of time now. It feels kind of weird. I'm sure I'll be back to the old grind tomorrow, but until then, I'm going to enjoy myself."

He turned more to the fire before looking over at Aceso. He looked down at his hands a little bit. "You know...I think the treatment you did on them is really helping. It's giving me a lot more confidence." He smiled at her. "I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am." She had no obligations towards him, and yet she took it upon herself to help heal his curse. Just the thought of it made him so thankful.

"Is there anything I can do to repay you? Just name it," he said, suddenly intent on repaying her for her kindness. He hadn't the chance before, but now he did.

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"If you won't do it, no one else will."▼▼

[Minerva_Mortis]

𝓐𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓸 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓼𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓱

Her gaze followed his when Gale looked to the fire, though her's remained upon the flames as he spoke about the treatment she administered. Aceso was happy that it was giving him back his confidence, but when he spoke of repaying her she turned her gaze upon him curiously.

"Well, there is something I'd like to ask of you." She said with a bashful smile, fidgetting with her hands upon lap she shifted about on her seat before continuing. "Would you do me the kindness of joining me for dinner sometime?" Aceso bit on the edge of her lip, hoping that she didn't come off as being odd.

[Cooking Sherry]

Dante De Stephanoxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxMafia Bad a** with an Attitude

She was relentless. Dante stayed quiet, his gaze ahead, completely clouded, and his judgement a bit off. He wasn't feeling up to anything right now. Well, there was Saorla here, but really... as much as he'd be upset if he left him now, it still didn't mean he wanted to express his joy of her company. He just sort of wanted to have it. It was kind of like a crutch.

He scratched the dried blood that he'd accidentally smeared across his jaw earlier, flakes falling away and leaving the area slightly cleaner than before. "No--... I was on the phone. Then people started ******** staring at me. Then bam, blood. Can't get any more sudden than that." He huffed,shimmying just a bit closer to Saorla if it meant not running into some bitches on their phones going forty miles an hour in their 'heels-of-certain-doom.'

He frowned when she went on about fixing him on. A bar? that meant drinking and possibly meeting someone he didn't want to. But then... his eyes went to Saorla's again. She really was begging. He didn't want to; he really didn't want to. Dammit-- "Yeah." She'd probably cry if he didn't. "Yeah, sure. Let's." He laid a hand on Saorla's shoulder, looking up ahead at the establishments down the street. "Barnes? Baroes? i can't ******** read that sign. What's it?"

[Sir Zeta II]

▲▲"Face your fears, fight your own battles, and live life to your own agenda."
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Gale blinked, his face growing steadily more red as she asked him if he would join her for dinner. "I...I'd love to," he said, a smile lighting up his face. She almost didn't even have to ask!

But then he became nervous. "Do you mean like...out of the inn and in town? I'm afraid I don't know my way...so, would you mind picking the place?" He laughed in embarrassment before scratching the back of his head. He noticed her biting her lip in an adorable manner, and he couldn't help but think that she was as nervous as him.

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"If you won't do it, no one else will."▼▼

[strawberry sapphic]

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xｆａｅ - ｉｒｉｓｈ - ｓｏｃｉａｂｌｅ

x♡ apparel : ❤
x♡ mood : appeased
x♡ location : bayne's inn
x♡ company : dante

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[[I hope I get this right!]]


"Bayne's~" She stated, barely able to hold back the triumphant smile that flickered on her lips. It was a small victory, sure, but Saorla wasn't going to take no for an answer on this one and she was glad that Dante had relented that easily. "We don't even have to stay that long. Go in, ask if we can borrow the first aid kit for a few minutes, and then we can leave after we get you patched up. If you'd like." She really hoped it wouldn't be too crowded in this bar, especially after he'd been so overwhelmed with people just moments ago.

Thankfully, it wasn't. Saorla pushed the door open and stepped inside, the scent of sandalwood greeting her. It smelled as lovely as it looked- she just hoped it would overpower the smell of blood, too. "Hello~?" The fae called out, wandering farther into the building. Maybe this bar didn't start to liven up until the evening hours... That was typically how it went, after all.

There were two people in the room she'd stumbled into, though- a purple-skinned woman was speaking with a blonde haired man in glasses. Saorla waited for a lull in conversation before interrupting, putting on a hopeful smile. "Would either of you know where I might possibly find a first aid kit? We're sort of in desperate need..." Saorla was making it a point not to look if she could help it, but she just hoped that the gash on Dante's hand wasn't gushing as much blood as it had been earlier...

[Sir Zeta II]

▲▲"Face your fears, fight your own battles, and live life to your own agenda."
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Before Aceso could answer, Gale heard someone addressing them, and he turned to see a woman asking for a first aid kit, and a man who looked a little worse for the wear. He was bleeding from his hand. Oh s**t, not good!

"Here, keep that up," he said, standing up and pointing to the man. "I'll get the kit." He looked apologetically to Aceso before leaping the couch next to him and running into the bar room. It only took him two seconds before he ran back, first aid kit in hand. "Here." He held a towel up to the woman for her to take. "Clean his wound up and we'll see about getting it bandaged." It looked bad, but it was still fixable. He'd seen wounds this bad before, and they needed immediate care before they opened up further.

((You're fine!))

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"If you won't do it, no one else will."▼▼

[Cooking Sherry]

Dante De Stephanoxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxMafia Bad a** with an Attitude

She just looked so damned happy that she'd won this one. His jaw slackened, his muscles relaxing just a bit. What the Hell? Why the Hell did she care so much? He wasn't worth all of this care; seriously. He was an a*****e. He murdered people for a living. He thrived in the wrong side of town-- usually. This was what he was used to, not her. Yet here she was, for whatever reason having taken a stroll and finding him before things could get real bad. What the Hell, Saorla?

They were walking into the bar or whatever it was within a few minutes. He didn't even bother to nurse his hand, barely looking as if he gave a s**t about it; which he didn't. His thought was if he lifted his hand up, he'd dirty a perfectly good suit for nothing. Yeah, there was blood, but it's not as if he'd been shot. Saorla seriously needed to chill.

He nibbled on the filter of his cigarette, watching the blond boy go running off the minute Saorla finally piped up to him. Dante scoffed, his eyes glancing around the room as he meandered a bit. At least moving helped him calm down, but in all honesty the entire reason why he was in a peaceful wort of mindset was because of the red head. "No need to rush..." he muttered.

Finally he came up around Saorla, watching the guy rush out as if this were a God Damned emergency room. He'd tossed the towel to Saorla, but Dante was the one to grab it, wiping his own hand off, then wrapping it around his fingers and squeezing to keep the blood back and slow the flow. He knew she didn't like the sight of this s**t; he could take care of himself. "See if there's a liquid stitch and alcohol in there." He needed a God damned sink.

Well, he went ahead and expected himself to be entitled enough to do just that. He walked around the bar, slipping right into the back kitchen and making use of the sink. Some hot water over his hand and the red was quickly being replaced with the calloused skin it had been covering up.

[Minerva_Mortis]

𝓐𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓸 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓼𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓱

Aceso snapped out of the small daze she'd fallen into when Gale got up to fetch the first aid kit. Looking to the pair whom came in, the man was bleeding and she could smell the rich copper that announced the presence of blood. "Oh my..." Rather than get involved and find herself in the way, she decided it would be better if she stayed put.

{Sorry for taking so long, being dragged into a convo afk.}