The Devil's in the Details.

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

He was stunned but not quite sure what surprised him the most. He wasn’t sure if it was her outfit or her change in personality. She was right; this alter-ego come out of her own control. The chanting crowd in the background was drowned out by the sass this girl was giving him in return. While, he definitely noticed the difference between Iris and Pandora, he knew the professional he met earlier was still inside of her, just in a far more reserved state. Crossing his arms, he offered the starlet a light grin in response to her comment. He reached a hand out as if to touch one of her feathers, but got a finger covered in glitter. “Yeah, it’s also a mess of body shimmer and glitz. It would be a b***h to go home if you got caught in an affair.” Then again, it wasn’t like that hadn’t happened before when the Bullseye was still in business.

Clearly, Mara was not amused with this and she approached to stand more towards Pandora’s side. Her white skirt train glimmered with some of the same make up as Pandora’s but it was more reverent to that of a temple maiden. There was some kind of German written on the middle of her gown, like a spell almost from the looks of things. Combating his stare, the darker haired girl made a face at the demon hunter.

When Iris left to ready herself, Mara waited a moment alone before she opened her mouth to speak, but instead of her usual soft tone it was raw and slightly strained, like she wanted to get something out but couldn’t. “…Do your job and…don’t let anything happen to her.” Her eyes flickered to the stage and then towards the violin. She allowed a moment of silence to pass between them, which involved Dante giving her an awkward look before he glimpsed the instrument in her hands.

Sparda… Briefly, he was taken aback at the whisper in his head. Was that her instrument? Did he miss something?

“What?” He blurted out stupidly in response to the sound of his name. Her tone brought him back to reality and he shook his head in realization. No one else had heard it…except the wielder of the violin. Cautiously, she looked up at him and he shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t understand what she wanted.

“Protect her when I cannot…She’s my best friend.” Mara professed simply before turning towards the stage, her back faced him. “I can’t lose her.” Not to Lionel and not to anyone. Taking a deep breath, she took her father’s instrument in hand and took her place on the stage to Pandora’s left.

The screams and thunder of the fans in the concert center boomed over the bass of the guitars and drums. Mara’s heart began to hammer in her chest heavily. A mixture of nerves and a sense of foreboding overtook her and before she even started, she became frozen with fear. Something terrible was going to happen. She could feel it in her bones, because the violin was too quiet for her liking. She snapped to attention quickly and posed with her bow in hand ready to play. Her body tilted much like a doll before the spotlight came onto Pandora.

The crowd went wild and there were hysterical screams of excitement the moment the singer took her first breath and began with their most anticipated opener. Dante kept his watch from backstage. While he would have loved to have focused on the saucy minx singing her creative numbers out front, he had a job to accomplish first. Icy blue eyes skimmed the dark performance center for any sign of distortion. Demons could create little portals into the demon world at any time. The only trouble they had was being sent back to their realm. He supposed that was one of the perks of killing monsters, he got to send them back home…

When the first act ended, the crew returned back stage and set up for the next round. Once more, Mara’s white gown was replaced with blue robes and long-sleeves attached with some kind of princess ribbons. Her gaze warily flitted from the Hunter to Pandora occasionally before they finally returned to the stage.

The set was different this time though. Instead of the songstress being in the center of the stage firsthand, it was the violinist. The glow of the spotlight was soft on her smaller frame and her footsteps moved to the slow beat of the drums. It was almost like the beginning of this new song was a heartbeat in motion, followed by the flow of a pulse. The bow lifted up in her hand and Mara drew it across the strings as an eerie and haunting melody filled the arena.

Her eyes fluttered closed in response and she could feel herself become lost in her own music. Then, without warning the set changed and the beat became more rapid. As if sensing the discord about the happen, the violin switched to a completely different mode and she again found her music going faster and faster. The pitch of the tune became higher, more rapid, as though frantic enough to be a heart attack in motion.

He took up his position again to keep watch, wondering why Lionel Fenix wasn’t busting his a** to make sure everything was perfect. Come to think of it…Dante hadn’t seen the manager in quite some time. “Hey,” He grabbed one of the sound check guys in the back of his shirt as he passed by the hunter. “Haven’t seen the big boss around, thought the guy wouldn’t miss his “angel’s” sweet show from the sidelines.” That was when his head started to hurt again, like it had when Mara collapsed the first time on the stage. “The hell…?” He murmured, releasing the sound guy from his grasp as he moved to step out onto the stage, as he saw a flicker of the shadows slithering in the limelight and the audience’s screams became a mixture of horror, excitement, and awe.

The flicker of the lights further added to his apprehension before Pandora was abruptly interrupted from her set and the swirl of tattered red cloaks marred the vision of the stage.

Mara jumped backwards away from the commotion, but was left with the sight of her best friend surrounded by…”Demons.” She whispered in horror.

Unlike the other bandmates and Dante, they seemed unaffected by the violin, and it left Mara taken aback. It worked before in keeping them at bay. Why not this time? “AH!” With a yelp, she moved to dodge the swipe of an angry Lust, hell-bent on slicing her open with its scythe. Its mouth hung open slightly in an angry hiss, but it turned its attention back towards Pandora. ”Ralcosel…spawn…Not yet.”

“No…” Mara whispered, taking up the violin and moving to try and get to Iris in the sea of red and black. “IRIS!” She cried out instinctively.

“Holy s**t! Get out of my way!” Dante snarled, kicking over one of the speaker sets before jumping on it. He achieved some air time before crashing down onto the stage, behind the singer to swing Rebellion out into the open. Right now he was the only thing that stood between the girl and her becoming a bloody mess. His sword took off one of the creatures’ heads. Using quick reflexes, he spun on his heel to take out Ebony and fire it several times down the edge of his blade. The bullets ricocheted in several directions, but several of the demons went flying as a result.

Taking up Ebony again, he put the gun between his teeth and held Rebellion in the other before reaching to grab Pandora up off the stage. “Stay close to me, and don’t ******** move unless I tell you to!” Dante called out, as he pulled the girl close to him before taking his black gun back into his right hand and fired it off again at the lusts, coming back for more. “…Some ******** concert.” He mumbled.

[Minaarchangel]

Pandora screamed as one of the lusts moved to bring its scythe down on her again, to cut her open and to get rid of the taint that it smelled in her. Angel blood was so rare, so putrid, so delicious, so disgusting. Every single demon around her wanted to tear her open, let arterial sprays bathe them in the scent of it. But the blade never made it down to her pale flesh, it was stopped by Dante's large sword, and the hell lust was thrown to the side by a bullet, leaving an opening for him to get to her.

She was waiting for the blow to come when a warm hand closed around her upper arm, and she looked up to see Dante standing over her, his weapons in hand. Was this why he had been hired? Because Lionel knew this kind of thing was going to happen? He got her onto her feet and pulled her close, and for the moment, she was so terribly thankful to be there with him. He felt safe, unlike everything else around the stage. She had one wing left, and she could see it brushing against the side of his face, glitter transferring from her to him for the moment that they were close.

It did not last long, as a scythe came down and hooked in her remaining wing. Iris, because the illusion had been shattered, was pulled from Dante's grasp, and she cried out as she was actually lifted through the air. She hit the stage hard, and went sliding across the floor, coming to a stop at the main stage. Half of the lusts rushed Dante, the other half turned and were going after Iris once again as she tried to get up, moaning softly.

"Dante!" she cried out, finding herself cornered by three more of them once again.

"Angel..."

"Angel..."

"Angel...."

They all hissed the same thing at her, and she reached out, grabbing the microphone stand from the back up singers that had fled off stage to try and defend herself as the scythes lifted up into the air once again. On the left side of the stage, Lionel appeared behind Mara from the shadows of backstage and put his hands on her arms, trying to guide her away from the stage and backstage, where the other members of the band had taken refuge.

"Mara, come this way, quickly. Security will handle it," he said, giving her a reassuring pat. "She'll want you to be safe."

He watched, knowing what had come for her was no match for the son of Sparda, so his concern for Iris was only as far as trying to do what he knew that would look best to her. In the end, she would be grateful he had tried to Mara away from this scene of horror, and that was what he wanted. Nothing helped the image he forced on her every time she questioned him like actual proof, things she had seen happen.

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

She was soft in his hold and it was a gentle reminder of why he was doing all of this in the first place. While the money was a nice added touch, Dante never forgot to tell himself that this was more for his mother than anything. The whole idea of protecting the public from the demons that crawled from the depths of hell was enough incentive for him to protect Iris. It didn’t matter what personality she took on, it didn’t matter if she was in a costume, and made millions worldwide. His job was to defend those that were powerless against the ones taking advantage of them; namely these minions. The next thing he knew, he’d probably be facing a pissed off Gatekeeper.

If there was one thing Dante hated about fending off demons like these lusts and the rest of their kin, a gatekeeper always showed up and was always angry at the discord. These creatures needed to keep their shitheaded “kids” in line otherwise they were going to be out of jobs. The bigger baddies were a chaotic neutral. They attacked simply at the behest of their rage. Their balance was thrown off course and if you didn’t kill the gatekeeper, people got hurt more than they needed to because of it.

He held Iris as firmly to him as possible. Keeping his gaze on the lusts swarming them, he slashed Rebellion to his left and right. A steady stream of whooshing air and metal resounded through the stage. Some fans had taken the liberty to flee towards the back while others remained to watch the chaotic show. He thought for certain he had a good grip on her when she was hooked by one of those stupid wings and thrown to the other side of the stage.

A hand reached out to snag one of the lusts in the face. Quickly, Dante snapped its neck and punted the body backwards with the heel of his boot. He held his sword tightly in hand and crouched low to the stage. The demons surrounding him converged on the Son of Sparda before a stream of energy at his feet. “Pandora, cover your head, and get down!” A snarl ripped from the devil hunter’s throat and he could feel his teeth sharpen at the blood lust surrounding him. His devil trigger wanted out…it wanted release. No. Not now… He could handle this. Suddenly, Rebellion launched from between the mass of demons and hurled itself towards the group on the other side of the stage.

In the middle of all of this chaos, Mara was set to rush for her best friend before the slime ball appeared out of nowhere. Where the hell had he been in all of this chaos? He wasn’t there during the show.
A gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder, but she ripped herself from his touch like he was fire. “No, Lionel!” She protested, pushing away from their manager and giving him an alarmed expression. It was funny was more concerned about getting Mara off the stage than Iris.

She turned to face the stage again, violin in hand. Her eyes darted back and forth frantically between the slew of demons being sliced off the stage and her best friend struggling to get away from the chaos. “I-I have to help Iris! Two sources of help are better than one and she is my friend.” Shaking her head, Mara clenched her jaw tightly and hurried back towards the stage. ’You won’t get me…not yet you b*****d.’ She thought, darting away from half a lust clawing at her heels. “Pandora!” She came to a halt, just in time for Rebellion to zoom past her and into the throng of demons being hurled off the stage.

The sword boomeranged back into Dante’s grasp and the sound of gunshots firing off knocked the demons out around him. Piles of dust formed at the devil hunter’s feet while Mara rushed to grab at Iris in the mixture of demon bodies lying on the stage. “Iris, hurry!”

[Minaarchangel]

Iris heard Dante yelling for her, and she heard enough to know she needed to cover her head, get down. She did as he told her, single remaining wing floating over her as if it could have protected her in any way as she dropped the microphone stand as she got down and put her arms over her head. The sword cut through the demons that had been attacking her, leaving her alone on the other side of the stage for now. She did not get up until his sword went back to him, and tried to get to her feet. It did not help that her legs were shaking.

Security was having a hell of a time trying to keep the concert attendees from going into an all out panic, but they tried. They tried their best. Most of the people were being herded out of the arena, while others were fighting to stay because they wanted to see what the hell was going on and possibly witness the death of the singer and get their fifteen minutes of fame by being able to say that they were there. In the end, the arena was slowly emptied so that nobody would get hurt or sue. Tickets would not be refunded, if only because this was out of their control.

Fenix had released Mara, his job done. He could honestly say that he tried to get the violinist out of there. If one of the lusts got to her first and cut her in pieces, more power to them. For now, Iris was whole and afraid, and that would make her easier to control. Fear was a very powerful tool, especially when it came to a young woman who was so very easy to isolate almost completely. While he had not liked how Dante had held onto her, that could be remedied. There had been no connection between the two of them, and when they were ready to leave town, or so it seemed they would be, Dante would be paid off and disappear.

On stage, Iris tried to get to her feet again, but they refused to cooperate. She was pale, even under the angel makeup, almost ashen with the fear of what was happening, and she did her best not to fall again, but it took Mara coming to get her before she could get up and move. Iris took Mara's hand, and got to her feet, stumbling off stage with the other young woman. Lionel was there, and he helped her take off the remaining wing so it was not holding her back, before putting his suit coat around her shoulders. Iris was safe, but she turned back to watch the fight on stage.

Dante was actually good at his job. He was good at his job and he had come to her rescue like he was supposed to. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered that he smelled like his leather coat, and something masculine but sedate. But nothing like the men she was usually around, who marinated in their cologne. Iris supposed he smelled like her own simple scent of plum blossoms and bergamot since he also had her shimmery powder all over him too.

"Come on, we need to go," Lionel said, trying to urge her away.

Iris shook her head, "No, what if he needs help? I'm not going."

Fenix glanced at Mara and knew this was neither the time nor the place to enforce his hold on Iris. The violinist was already suspicious of him, but if he gave her any other evidence, she would have to be gotten rid of sooner rather than later and that would put Iris on her guard when he most needed her to trust him. But Mara's time would come. And he would enjoy doing it himself.

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

“Come on!” The demon hunter scoffed, cocking Ivory and Ebony back as he sprayed the stage with bullets. “Can’t you do better than that? Last time I faced you guys, you caught me off guard twice as hard. This is the best you can do?” The sword boomeranged again out onto the stage. It clanged against the few raised scythes in the air before flying back in front of Dante.

Some of the weapons scattered across the stage while half of the lusts either remained, took their last few breaths, or retreated. Those that stayed hissed angrily, attempting to swarm Dante. Holding his arms out as if waiting for the attack, he was impaled by several of the blades before coming to a complete standstill.

There was a moment of tense silence. Clutching her violin tightly, Mara held up a hand to her mouth and gasped. Moving closer to Iris’ side, she used her free hand to place it on Iris’ shoulder. Giving a firm squeeze, she attempted to turn her friend away from the sight. Maybe if she could get them outside…maybe then they could flee from this violence, but Lionel wouldn’t have let them get far. There was not way.

Dante’s body was still standing though, eerily still before he tilted back slightly and kicked two of the lusts off him. A loud grunt expelled from his throat, followed by a low snarl. The scythe blades were ripped out of his body one by one with the monsters flying across the stage. “Typical…” He scoffed, putting his guns away before grasping Rebellion at the hilt with both hands. “Nothing’s changed.” No gatekeepter, yet. Never say never… He thought to himself before ripping his sword out of the stage.

Blood dripped from some of his wounds, but Dante hadn’t even flinched from any of his injuries. “You guys wanna play?” He asked, calmly before tilting his head to the side. His lip curled at the corner, teeth sharpening slightly as the Lusts set to swarm again but there was some hesitation. The crackle of energy from his fingertips could have been one of the reasons, or it may have been the strong aura that hung in the air as he advanced towards them.

Suddenly, as soon as the monster came, they left the scene of the attack. The lusts disappeared in red swirling vortexes and left behind a wake of dust and debris in their wake. The lights flickered overhead and one of the awnings came crashing down onto the stage behind Dante when he turned to face Lionel and the girls.

Blood dribbled down his forehead and a bit down his chest. Arms raised in the air, he pointed Rebellion in the manager’s direction, slowly approaching him. “...30 million, for the cost in damages I’m gonna to make with this s**t. No discussion.” The blood and sweat mixture glistened off his washboard abs as he stood there catching his breath. While he was indeed partially demon, the human part of him never ceased to be given a rush.

Sheathing his sword, his boots thunked against the steps as he came off the stage to stand in front of the girls. He swallowed hard for a moment, taking Iris’ state. “Hey.” He began casually, like nothing happened to him. “You okay?”
--

Un…believable. There was no other way to describe exactly what happened on the stage. He moved at an almost inhuman pace. He was durable and it was almost like what she saw…in her father.

Her legs shook as she stood next to Iris, trembling a little bit before Dante came staggering off the stage like it was just another day for him. She made a face at all of the blood and tugged on Iris a bit, taking a step back from him, but she wasn’t disgusted by the sight. There was a mixture of curiosity and awe but also some caution. “What…?” She trailed off, unable to form her words. “What…was that?” Mara knew all too well what it was, she just wasn’t going to let Lionel know that.

“Well…it’s either one hell of a special effects system you got going on,” Dante answered, rubbing his brow. “Or,” He pointed his sword in the direction of the stage. “Something I like to call “the supernatural.”

[Minaarchangel]

"Dante..."

At least that was what she wanted to say. Nothing would come out of Iris's mouth as she saw the monsters impale Dante on their scythes. She was going to go out to him, to help him or something, but her feet refused to move and Mara was pulling on her arm so they could turn away. But she was frozen in place. She needed to see him overcome, to persevere, anything but fall down dead on his first mission to help her. Iris was not willing for that to happen. Unknowingly, her hands clasped together in front of her, squeezing so hard she could barely stand it.

There was an aura around her as she watched Dante tear the blades out of his own body, and Lionel could feel it radiating off of her like steam around a radiator even if it could not be seen. It made him want to move forward and claw at her until the blood spurted, so he could lick it off her flesh while she screamed. But he kept himself under control, watching as Dante dispatched of the rest of the lusts and the stage took another hit. It would be expensive to replace all that equipment, but it would be fine, as long as he could keep this wild card under control. But it seemed like Iris was the perfect leash for that.

When Dante stalked over and demanded more money, he just nodded slightly, "I don't see that being a problem, Mr. Dante. Well done, by the way. I see we hired the right man for the job."

Fenix put a little emphasis on the word "man" if only because it was mockingly meant. He knew what Dante was, and he was fine with sharing that little tidbit of knowledge. It would not give him away, especially since he had spoken to Lady about it and she was aware of what Dante was. It only meant he did his research. Fenix turned to get Iris under his grasp, to direct her back outside so they could get to the hotel and away from the fans and everything else, but she was out of his grasp, out of Mara's for the time being. She was looking at Dante.

He looked savage, that blood dripping off the bare flesh that was always visible, sweat lining the muscles so they stood out more. She should have been afraid, she had nearly been killed, but Iris was just in awe of him. And the part of her that adored romantic novels wanted to kiss him for saving her life. But she squashed that almost immediately. If she was going to do that, she would die of embarrassment when he teased her about it. Instead, she just took a step forward and reached up, brushing the blood off his forehead, and wiped it on her skirt. There was already dirt and blood on it anyway. A new costume would have to be made.

"Hey," Iris replied. "I think I'm okay. Are you okay?"

Not the truth, but she was not going to complain. She could take care of the cut on her back later when she was at the hotel. And being scared, well, Iris had been plenty scared in her life. She would survive it. Frowning, she looked him over, listening to him tell Mara that it was the supernatural that had happened. Well, strange things had been happening, but the supernatural? Iris had a hard time believing that. Or she used to, until she watched him get impaled and then just walk it off like a punch from an angry toddler.

"...Supernatural makes sense, but it doesn't," she said quietly. "Why now?"

Lionel stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder and separating the two of them, pulling her back just a bit, "We can talk about it a little later, Iris. For now, I think you and Mara should go out back where the tour buses are waiting, and they'll take you to the hotel. You need to get cleaned up and rest somewhere safe. It's going to be a long two weeks."

Iris glanced at Mara, "He's right. We should go."

Her attention turned back to Dante, "You're coming too, right?"

She reached down and took Mara's hand, and went with her outside to the tour bus, Lionel following so that he could give the driver instructions. No stops. Right to the hotel. Make sure they went inside. He had to stay at the arena and make sure that nobody in the audience got hurt, and that the rest of the band was intact. There were already hotel keys waiting in the bus on the table, keycards in paper sleeves to let them into rooms at the hotel. Two for the penthouse suite, since giving Dante a separate room when there were more than two bedrooms in the suite seemed like a foolish endeavor, and one for another room for Mara.

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

“The world’s a ******** up place, baby.” Dante cut into her thoughts, abruptly answering her question. Her inquiry was so soft but it needed an explanation. He hadn’t meant to sound as cold and harsh as it came out, so he awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. “…It’s just the way it is…” Giving a shake of his head, he pulled away and shook some of the transferred glitter from his finger. “I need a shower, I feel like I was doused in the blood of Edward ******** Cullen and David Bowie’s laughing at me somewhere.” He visibly cringed at the idea of the Twilight comparison.

Placing both hands behind his head, he strolled ahead of the girls standing backstage and gave the back door a kick. It flung wide open, banging against the concrete wall outside before he stopped and turned to look back at Lionel Fenix. Like before, he felt like something didn’t sit right with him about this guy. He disappeared completely “You might as well keep throwing money at me, suit.” He issued this warning to the manager, tilting his head back. “I’m gonna be around for a while...so you’re making it hard to get rid of me.” That and the fact you seem like a slimy scumbag. Regardless of the money, Dante was going to get to the bottom of this mess. What the hell did a bunch of demons want with this peppy little popstar anyways?

As Dante left the building, Mara gazed after him as she stood beside Iris. Her worried gaze followed his lumbering form out the door and then settled back on Iris. “…He didn’t even flinch.” She commented in regards to his injuries. “Not…even one bit.” There was some amazement to her soft voice, but deep down she knew the reason but could not stomach revealing to Iris that Dante was…less human than he seemed. While it wasn’t a problem in her eyes, maybe her friend would not share the same sentiment. Keeping a firm hand on her shoulder, she guided her back out to the tour bus where the drive would take them back to their five-star hotel.

Maybe when she had gotten cleaned up, she could sit down and explain the complexity of her dreams to Iris. It might have been safe to say she could even sleepover in her friend’s room just to ensure that she wasn’t alone for Lionel to brainwash her in the middle of the night. Regardless, she would protect Iris…even if it killed her. Dante might have been the physical muscle to keep the starlet safe, but she would have to use her wits to do the rest of the work.

“Look…” She began carefully, squeezing Iris’ arm. “When we get back, I’ve…got some special tea I was saving for emergencies. I often use it to…decompress myself and…get rid of some of the stress.” Inhaling deeply, she exhaled a shaky breath. “Iris…Iris are you okay?” For the brief moment they were alone on the tour bus, Mara looked down at the little bits of blood and dirt on the ruined costume. Her fingers shook as she held her hands before finally she couldn’t take it and hugged tight to the other young woman. “…I was so afraid for you. I was…I was so scared that I couldn’t…I couldn’t get to you, couldn’t get you out of there. Don’t…don’t ever do that again. Okay?”
--

He was the most out of place person to ever sit on a tour bus. The entire ride back, Dante refused to sit on the couch for some irrational fear of getting blood all over everything. He was also convinced that if he ruined something he would eventually have to pay for it. His arrival at the hotel with the band wasn’t any better, for when they checked in with their keycards, everyone at the front desk looked at him like he was some mass murderer. Yes, he was going to kill every single person in this ******** place. Ugh.

As if matters couldn’t get more awkward than they already were, Dante found himself being given some shocking information: he was in the penthouse suite. He was sharing the most expensive room…with Iris. He wasn’t sure whether to be genuinely pleased with the idea or mortified. Mara seemed to share exactly how he felt for the situation. Lionel was either insane or wanted this all along. What kind of ******** manager in their right mind roomed the body guard with their charge? Wasn’t that how tabloids spread their rumours and s**t? Regardless, he would behave…like a good babysitter and uphold his end of the bargain.

His first order of business involved heading for the shower as soon as he got upstairs. He ignored every single detail of the very expensive hotel room and bolted right for the bathroom. He didn’t even bother with decency until he was standing in front of the toilet. His trench coat was thrown over his head and out onto the floor in the middle of the room. The blood had dried on it by now so it shouldn’t have been a staining issue. No sooner had the door closed a stream of steam rose from inside. He must have been in there for longer than normal.

The moment he was finished, the door to the bathroom swung open and Dante stood in…most of his naked glory. A swanky white towel wrapped around his waist while another was being used to dry his hair. “Holy s**t…” He groaned, taking the towel from his head. “I can’t get water pressure like that in my place.”

[Minaarchangel]

Iris had heard Mara's words, but for some reason, she seemed deaf to them. She just took the other woman's hand, and they walked out to the tour bus and got on, Iris removing the remaining wing, tearing it off because she knew the costume was going to have to be remade anyway. When Mara asked her if she was okay, her back ached a bit with the wound there, but she did her best to smile, not wanting to worry her friend any more than she had to.

"Oh, I'll be fine after a hot shower and a good night's rest."

Mara pulled her into a hug, and Iris hugged her back instantly, realizing how afraid she had been, her head on Mara's shoulder, She squeezed her tightly, taking a long, shuddering breath as she held onto her. She always felt the fear after these things happened. These things? No, it was the first time it had happened. She was certain of that. Or was she? For a moment, her head felt fuzzy, like a gray haze had dropped over her mind and she could not do anything about it but ride it out. Trying to think of whether it had happened before made it happen once again, until she learned to stop trying.

"I'm sorry," Iris said softly. "I just...I didn't know what to do...I was so scared."

It was true. She had been terrified when the demons had surrounded her. Iris was not prepared for that kind of thing to happen. It was not in her realm of experience, though strange things had happened to her off and on all throughout her life. She hoped that the strange fog in her memory would go away with a good night's sleep and that she would be able to get back to her normal self by the morning.

"I promise I'll be more careful."

Roadies brought her bags into the hotel and a bellboy put them on a cart, after shyly asking her for an autograph. Dirty, bloody, but still in Pandora gear, Iris smiled and did so kindly, on top of giving him a tip. When she found out Dante was sharing a room with her, she kept the blushing under control, just by reminding herself that there were two bedrooms with fully functioning locks on the door. she could lock herself into her room, and be perfectly safe. Lionel trusted her not to get into trouble with Dante, as handsome as he was.

She said good night to Mara, and headed up to the top floor of the building, her bags being brought into the suite as well, and she let Dante go to the bathroom in the smaller room, as it was closer to the door. The suite was beautiful, with an amazing view of the city, a balcony outside with a table and chairs out there, with steps inside up to the loft master bedroom. She took that larger room with the fancier bathroom with the jetted tub and the separate, glass enclosed shower. There was a kitchen, a sunken living room, a small corner office, and a swimming pool right there in the room, so she did not have to go to the pool with the rest of the people at the hotel.

Upstairs, the loft master bedroom had a window that faced out into the view of the city, and another window that looked over the entire suite. Both windows had curtains, and she closed the sheers over them both, so that Dante would not be able to see anything if he looked up there while she was there but silhouettes. But it was too dark to close the curtains completely. When alone in her room with her bags, she sighed and sat down on the king sized bed and took off her boots. They even had blood spatters, and would not be salvaged.

Off came the corset and the skirt, and the panties she had been wearing under it. Iris went into the bathroom, walking into the door-less, snail shell spiral shower, and turned on the water of the multiple heads, sighing when the hot water doused her. The demon must not have gotten her as badly as she thought, because once the blood was washed off her back, she barely saw any marks there at all. It just hurt more than it should have, she supposed. Fear could amplify that feeling, and she had been damn afraid. She rested her head against the glass wall of the shower and sighed.

When she was clean, she turned off the water and towel dried herself and her hair, combing it out so that it fell against her back. Coming out into the bedroom, she dug in her bags for her robe, dark purple silk embroidered with lavender and rose colored flowers, and tied with a long tie. It was comfortable, and covered her down to her ankles. Iris realized she had not eaten anything in ages, and all the minibar in her room had was snacks. So she came out of her room and headed down the steps into the kitchen.

That was when the door to Dante's bathroom opened up and he stepped out wearing nothing but one of the hotel towels, which did not come down his hips very far, as hotel towels were notoriously smaller than normal towels. Iris could do nothing but stare at the white hair plastered against his forehead and neck like feathers, the steam rising off his skin between the hot bathroom and the cooler suite outside his door. She told herself to look away, but it was just so hard to do so, especially when he made it impossible for her to say anything. At least if he had been naked, she could have yelped or something.

Eventually, she turned away from him, her cheeks bright pink, "You, um, might want to go put something else on."

Iris forced herself into the kitchen, and opened the fridge, filled as she always asked with her favorite things. There was turkey, cheese, greens, and artesian bread, and she got them all out, ready to make herself something to eat. But she could not get the vision of Dante out of her mind. Why in the world would Lionel hire a man who looked like that? She had always thought bodyguards were the chubby, former football player types. Not the male model type.

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

He stood there for a moment and stared at her, noting the difference in her expression after the attack. While she was still the same starlet that sassed him, the reluctance to his presence seemed heavily lifted. Looking down at the small towel wrapped around his waist, Dante couldn’t help but grin at her. “Well, I would but the one set of clothes I have are in laundry right now. The, uh, service lady came up to see if you needed anything. So I told her my clothes needed a wash. My coat’s in dry clean should be ready in an hour.” He cocked a brow at her and continued to stand there, almost defiantly, like the little s**t he was. “So, while I’d like to go put something else on…hm, I really can’t. I mean…” He looked down at his abs and then back at Iris, trying to gauge her expression. “You really don’t like what you see? Seriously? You? You’re a star, you’ve been in music videos with…half-naked male models for hours. I’m that different huh? It’s that I have anything against their sexuality, but is it possible they were all gay? More power to them. Everybody’s gotta do their own thing, but…” He shrugged his shoulders and moved to pass behind her, tossing the towel from his head onto the floor. “Whatever, hey what’s in the bar by the way?” He just barely brushed against her backside when moving to bend over to the little fridge. …Wait. Is that ALL you’re wearing under there? He thought to himself, blinking in confusion.

Turning his head a bit, he glanced back at the young woman in the silk robe preparing the turkey sandwich on the counter. His mouth watered at the idea of something to eat, not realizing he was still hunched over. Standing back to his full height, he cracked open a can of Coors he pulled out of the fridge. He savoured the taste of his cold beer before wiping the remnants onto the back of his hand and then reached over her to pick up a piece of cheese and pop it into his mouth. His naked frame leaned against the surface she was working on, and his a** hung out just slightly from under his towel.

“So,” He began, tilting his head to the side at her. “Does it hurt?” The cockiness had disappeared from his voice and for the moment he seemed genuinely concerned. He nodded to her back where she suffered the blow from the list. “I mean, if it’s not healing or still stings, I got some stuff you can put on it. It’s on the sink in the bathroom.” All of the wounds he sustained from the attack at the concert center were gone. It was like they never existed in the first place.

Taking up another piece of cheese, Dante jabbed his thumb in the direction he came from, the steam gradually was fading from the doorway at this point. “So, why don’t you and I start from the beginning?” He said, throwing his suspicions out in the open. “Do you have any idea what the hell happened on that stage tonight? You know, I’m pretty sure you didn’t just believe that whole “It’s supernatural” bullshit excuse I gave, right?” Despite the fact he could be an a*****e, he was always honest about himself. He gave her an awkward silence for a moment before finally he faced her again and spoke what was on his mind. “Were they after you?”
--
Why hadn’t the violin worked? In the years that Mara had been working with Iris, she was always confident that the instrument’s music would keep the demons at bay. Now, as she stared at her family heirloom, she wasn’t so sure anymore. Picking it up in her hands, she ran her fingers up and down the smooth mahogany. Her eyes watered a bit, attempting to fight back the tears. Perhaps its magic had gone away and now it no longer worked. How could that be true if the other bandmates cited having bad headaches from her playing at practice?

Standing at the window, Mara gazed down onto the city and ran her fingers through her hair. Her door remained locked at all times. She made sure to put the “do not disturb” sign on the handle and locked the door to her bedroom as well. The last thing she needed was Lionel Fenix popping into her room and telling her some bullshit story about her “services,” the violin, or something happening to Iris. She couldn’t let him know of her plans. She was going to get her best friend away from him, one way or another.

Mara could have cared less about her safety, for now that her family was gone…Iris was all she had in this world. There was that sinking feeling in her stomach as she gazed at her violin and then down at the cars passing through the city. The skyline was dark but the night sky glittered with a thousand stars. Who will protect you when you cannot protect yourself? Her throat went dry and she wondered if it was the violin speaking to her or a part of her own conscience. “I don’t know…”

[Minaarchangel]

"It's not a question of whether I like what I see or not," Iris said, not looking at him again, refusing to because she was trying to make a point. "It's personal modesty. There is nothing wrong with being modest, and as I've said before, Pandora's the big star, not me. She's the one who doesn't mind half-dressed stud muffins rubbing up against her. I personally want to get to know someone before their nether regions start rubbing against my a** or any other part of me. As far as I know, no, they weren't gay. At least not most of them."

She bit her lip as he brushed against her, probably on purpose, and frowned at the sandwich she was making, "I figure the usual things. I don't drink too much and if I do, it's usually a vodka cranberry. So I don't examine them too closely."

Iris held out the plate to him which held the first sandwich she had made, and then went back to making herself a second one, wishing he would not stand right there when that towel barely went around him. If it fell off...not that she would be so horribly upset to see what was under there, but it would just make her even more awkward. Her cheeks turned red as she thought about getting a glimpse of what was under his towel, and that she had even been thinking about it.

"Hmm?" she asked, snapped out of those thoughts by his offer of stuff that she could put on the wound on her back. "Oh, I guess it wasn't as bad as it looked. Once I washed off the blood, there was barely a mark there. Guess I'm a bleeder, since any time I hurt myself on accident, there seems to be a lot of blood, but then I clean it off and there's almost no wound there. This one should be gone within a day or two, from what I saw."

Taking her own sandwich in hand, she was going to take a bite, then sighed. She was just not going to be able to relax if Dante stood there in nothing but that towel. So she put her plate down and told him she would be right back. Iris headed up to her room and dug the other robe out of her bag, a silk kimono style robe like the one she was wearing, but this one was pink with butterflies on it. She came back down the steps from the loft master bedroom and held it out to him.

"It's not particularly manly, but nobody will see you. I make it pretty explicit that I don't want to be bothered while I'm in my hotel room, which is why the fridge is always stocked. I don't even want to have to order room service. But it's something for you to put on so I'm more comfortable and you don't...get cold."

And so she could stop staring at him, willing that towel to fall off with her mind in lieu of any latent psychic abilities.

With that excellent excuse, she picked up her sandwich and a bottle of sparkling water and went to sit on the couch in the living room of the beautiful hotel suite. She curled her legs beneath her body, and began to eat, glancing up at him when he asked her if she understood what was going on. Iris swallowed what she had been eating and shook her head a little bit.

"I...guess not really. I mean, I know they were monsters, demons? But I don't know why they attacked me specifically."

Angel...

Well, it was true, they had been calling her an angel, but that was because of the costume, which was ridiculous. Iris said as much, "I remembered them saying angel, but yeah, that's the costume I was wearing. You'd think they would know the difference between fake wings and the real thing, right? But I don't know why they would want me specifically unless they have a taste for glitter and tulle. Or why Lionel would hire someone who knew how to deal with those things. Maybe the other stuff that's been going on made him think it was necessary."

Iris took another bite and sipped her drink, "We had a few crew members get hurt, a few weeks ago. Someone had beaten them up pretty badly. Then just before we started heading here, the lights on the stage came crashing down and nearly crushed Mara. Then..."

She stopped, her mind feeling foggy once again. Why in the world did she feel like she was forgetting something, something important? Iris frowned and reached up, massaging her forehead a little, "Um...I guess that's it, really. I didn't know those were signs of a demon attack, if that's what that was, but I guess they are?"

When she stopped trying to remember, the fog lifted and she picked up her sandwich, taking another bite, "But you'll be here while we're in town, right? I think maybe it was just something about this city that Lionel was worried about, with the problems it's had in the past. Then again, I imagine you had something to do with those."

Her violet eyes scrutinized him, "You fight in a way I've never seen any other person fight. Certainly not a bodyguard who guards for a living. And those scythes went right into your flesh and you just pulled them out and walked away. I looked...they're gone from your flesh now, too."

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

“I never said there was anything wrong with being modest. I mean…” He looked down at his barely there towel before grinning back up at her. “Everyone’s got their own preference and that’s their business. You have to admit though, while you choose to let that other part of your personality come out through Pandora, you gotta admit a bit of Pandora comes out in you when you’re uh, not in your pretty costumes and glitter.” Speaking of which, the s**t that brushed on his face still left behind some remnants. He wasn’t able to scrub all of it completely off his face.

He was left alone, naked, in her kitchen though when she left him to go get something. Her return left him less than pleased with the outcome; a pink robe with pretty butterflies.
“What the hell?” Dante gaped slightly as she returned to present him with the pink robe. There was no way in hell was going to wear that. How in the hell would it even fit him? His face scrunched up, apprehensive about putting this frilly piece of fabric on his body. Some nagging suspicion in the back of his mind told him not to do it. If Vergil was around, or even still alive, he would probably have a field day with this knowledge. The last thing he needed was for someone he ********! What if Enzo saw him in the pink robe? He could live it down from Lady, she could throw the punches and he’s take them. His sleazy job hunting partner? ******** that to the power of nope.

Opting against putting it on, Dante simply saw it fit to fashion it around his waist as a longer towel instead. “Baby, I’ve lived in some shitty situations since I was a kid. I’ve learned to live with the cold. The water pressure in my place sucks and occasionally they shut off the hot water when I don’t keep up some of my bills.” He held his arms out as if to state his lack of ******** to give for his situation. “Being cold is the least of my worries.” Moving over towards where she sat, he stood across from her. The least he could do while half naked in her hotel room was to give her space. “So, don’t fret your little head about what’s best for me. You’re the one that’s got me as a bodyguard, I think we should be a bit concerned about your safety.”

Crossing his arms, he ended up sitting down on the coffee table in front of her, after scooting it away to make sure not to encroach on her personal space. “I’m pretty sure that it’s safe to say, I’m getting 30 million dollars. Regardless of whether you guys are staying in town, I’m going with because I can always come back here.” Running his hand through his damp hair, he closed his eyes and tried to think for a moment while listening to Iris’ explanations for the attack.

“They were demons, babe.” He sighed in resignation. “They exist, believe it or not and I’m not really a body guard.” Folding his hands together, he gazed at her and took her in. She was not the popstar he met on stage a few hours ago, but instead a confused young woman that hadn’t a clue as to what was happening around her. The monsters chasing her probably didn’t add to it. “Maybe you can help me to help you here. You remember when they first started to uh, you know come out of the woodwork? Maybe there was a particular concert you were doing or an interview. Something seemed out of the ordinary.” He shrugged his shoulders, gesturing towards her as if trying to jog her memory. She seemed to be right on the money about one specific incident but looked like she struggled to remember the details. “Anything?”

Sighing, Dante leaned back a bit and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. So…you maybe can’t remember certain details. What’s the last thing you remember before each of these incidents that may have happened? You know before you lose track of your memory. This s**t’s uh…common in sufferers from amnesia…er, I think. I dunno.” He moved back towards the fridge to get another beer. “I’m not a doctor.”

Plopping back down, he smoothed his hands over the pink fabric tied around his waist. “I’m really doubtful they attacked you because of the outfit you were wearing. They’re monsters, they’re a little slow, but they got a great sense of smell.” He assured, pointing at her. “So something must have been in the air for them to have gone nuts like that…” He trailed off and glanced down at his smooth chest, noting that all of his wounds were gone and Iris had taken notice.

For once, he wasn’t sure how to answer her on this one. He let the suspense linger in the air, not wanting to reveal that he had a dirty little secret. “That stuff I was telling you about,” He thought quick on his feet. “It’s really good.” He nodded his head confidently in the direction of the bathroom. “…It’s uh, really quick healing factor. I doused myself in it before s**t hit the fan. It kind of…works like magic.” Phew. He dodged a bullet there, figuratively.

[Minaarchangel]

Well, at least he wrapped it around his hips. It was an improvement over the towel where he was half hanging out of it. Iris smiled a little, biting her lower lip as she thought about what he had said. She laughed a little, shaking her head at her private joke, glancing up at him after she had finished her sandwich.

"Thirty million and you still can't afford a shirt."

Iris sighed softly, knowing that there was no way to explain to Dante that no matter how hard she thought, she would never remember. There was just darkness there, just the gray fog that kept her from pinpointing these occasions that he wanted to know more about. Eventually, she just shook her head, sipping her Pellegrino once again. It was good, an orange flavored one. Oranges were her favorite fruit.

"I...I don't have amnesia," Iris protested when he said that. "I just...I can't remember is all. It's...foggy."

She looked at her hands, "If I try to remember something like that, it gets gray around the edges, foggy. If I try too hard, I pass out. I haven't told Mara or Lionel about it, because I don't want them to worry, and I went to a doctor, and they did a MRI and a cat scan and nothing came back unusual at all, so it's not cancer or anything. I just...I guess I just feel blocked or something."

Lifting her head, she frowned at him, "Don't tell them. I told you that in confidence and I don't want them worrying about me. Mara's always worried about me, whether I'm eating, if I'm working too hard. Lionel's the same way. Always trying to take care of me, keeping me from overworking myself. So I don't want them to cancel the rest of the tour or anything else just because I'm having a hard time remembering the bad things that have happened."

After a moment or two of thinking about what he said about healing factor, she frowned, looking him over, "For some reason I feel like you're bullshitting me. But if that's something you don't want to talk about, okay. I don't really need to know, unless it's something like kicking puppies or something and then I'm going to respectfully ask you to stop."

Reaching up, she pushed a hand through her drying hair, the copper strands ending in blue falling in loose curls down her back. She then began playing with a lock of it, a nervous twitch, a habit that she had never really let go. Iris sighed softly, as having admitted her memory problems to Dante when she had never even told Mara was both frightening and relieving. At least someone knew now. Iris turned her attention back to him.

"How does someone get to be a demon slayer?" she asked. "That's not exactly a widely advertised profession. I'm pretty sure that's not a major at most colleges. Are there special schools or something? Like Hogwarts or something?"

Iris smiled, "Are you a wizard, Dante?"

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

“30 Million and I have bills to pay before I can pay for new shirts.” He explained, standing up to count on his hand. “Your manager hired me because I’m good at demon hunting and the only way he could have heard of my work is all of the damage that’s happened to this town.” He stretched his arms out and approached one of the windows looking out towards the city. “See all that construction?” He pointed towards the side of town where his shop was, there was a sense of discomfort to his tone. “That used to be a really shitty part of town, and as a result of some demon tower that shot out of the earth, it caused a lot of damage to the city. I’m still paying for half of it because my bro-“ He stopped while he was ahead and turned to face her.

All of the playfulness disappeared from his tone. Placing his hands against the back of his head, Dante sighed. “It doesn’t matter; I ******** up half the town. I gotta pay for it. The 30 million will cover it and whatever bonuses Fenix gives me afterwards, it’ll go towards getting that new shirt.” He gave his chest a hard tap before approaching her. Once more, Dante stood in front of the startlet. He took her in again, noting she was much prettier than her alter ego. Her damp hair fell in soft curls down her shoulders and it faded from one colour into the next. While it was a drastic change from the fancy wigs Pandora wore, he liked this version of her better. Maybe she was a little more angelic without the wig and glitter. In the end, she was still human and he had to remind himself he couldn’t get attached to her.

Blue eyes blinked back the concern welling in them and he turned from her once more, frustrated with his own personal problems. Running his hands through his hair, Dante gave a light chuckle before slumping down back at the table in front of her. “You don’t have amnesia. You can’t remember certain events…and you don’t think that sounds fishy at all to you?” He clenched the edges of the table, finding the idea unsettling for himself. “Does your manager know anything about this s**t? Your lapses in coherent memory about certain incidents don’t help me much to help you.” Lifting his head up, he exhaled a soft breath. He could feel how chilly the room was now but he wouldn’t be bothered by it.

He pursed his lips, keeping his gaze level with her before a small smile touched the corner of his lips. “Hey, your manager hired me. You’re the actual one that does the business with me, right? I mean, he just pays me. I’m your babysitter. I gotta engage in fun activities. Secrets are your game? Fine. Nothing to Fenix and nothing to your gal pal.” Holding a hand out to her, he offered it to shake. No matter how hard he tried to remind himself, it was hard to not have that outgoing personality with other people. “You don’t become a demon hunter overnight, but in my case…I had a mentor. Some bullshit happened when I was a kid, I wanted to correct it. So, here I am.” He kicked back a little bit and put his feet up beside her on the couch. “They can’t teach you the s**t I know at Hogwarts, babe. The school of hard knocks is brutal. This profession ain’t easy. You do it or you don’t. There’s no in between.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he rolled his neck and stood up. “So, how’d a gal like you end up selling millions world wide?”

[Minaarchangel]

"I will buy you a shirt," she said with a teasing smile. "On top of your normal fee."

Iris listened to him talk about what happened and then stop in the midst of it. It seemed like there was something wrong, something that he was still feeling pain over. She could relate to that. There was not a day she did not want her mother to be backstage at every show, watching her play music, listening to her realize a dream that had seemed to never come true. "Bro" hmm? It could have been the beginning to several words, but it sounded like the beginning to brother.

When he asked her if Lionel knew, she shook her head, "I didn't want to worry him. He's already so busy with the tour and the new album about to drop and everything else. But I would truly appreciate it if you did keep it to yourself. Maybe it's just stress related and later on I'll be able to get some of it back. Who knows."

After shaking his hand, noting how her hand disappeared into his, she got up when he began talking about being a demon hunter and walked over to the glass doors leading to the balcony. Partially because she wanted to stand outside, and partially because she wanted to cool her cheeks thinking of Dante fighting demons. He had been so impressive, so strong, so furious. And she knew that when they left this town, it would be the last time she saw him. It made her sad suddenly, and she needed to be outside. Opening the doors, she stepped out and leaned against the railing, looking down as the wind blew her hair to the side, her robe curling around her legs.

"I never actually thought I'd make it this far," she admitted when he asked her about her career. "I loved music as a kid, and I loved to play. I always had a distinct idea of what I wanted to do with my music. But those dreams kind of faded when reality hit. Mom got sick. Brain tumor. She was in the hospital a long time and when she finally passed away, there were a lot of bills to pay. My father died when I was really young, so it was on me. Once I sold the house, used the life insurance to bury her, there wasn't much left.

"I got a job, playing piano in a bar. I would sing on occasion, and I happened to do so the night an A&R guy from the record label was in there having a drink. He gave me his card, and brought me into a studio. I had a song ready I'd written, I played all the instruments, mixed it myself, and let him hear it. I was being given contracts and offers and I ended up writing most of my first album. I didn't play the music for it, but I sang and I was involved in the creative process. From there, it just kind of exploded. I never expected this. And when Lionel took over, he started implementing even more of my suggestions, and the sales have been through the roof."

Iris glanced over at him, "I know Mom would be really happy for me, and proud. I never got to know my father. He died when I was three. He was a police officer, and he had been out responding to a call when he was attacked by a group of thugs. They killed him before he could even call for back up. The woman who had called for help because her husband had locked her in a closet with a pet snake had to call the police for my father. Unfortunately, it was just to pick up the body. But I'd like to think he would be proud too. I make my own music the way I want to make it, and I don't have to sashay around in shorts that show off my underwear to get attention."

She turned her attention back out to the city, on fire with light, drowning out the stars, "I don't really know how to be a star. That's why Pandora was developed. She can be the star. And I can just be Iris, who likes to play piano and still cries every time she watches The Lion King. I'm so lucky. I know that. I can't forget it. It's why I spend a lot of free time doing charity stuff. In a couple of days I have appointments at a couple of hospitals. Or Pandora does. The kids want the costumes and stuff when I come to visit."

Smiling, she leaned her hips against the railing and put her arms out, just feeling the wind blow, "I'll admit, this part of everything is nice. The penthouse suite is always the best. I'm sure I'd be more blasé about it if I had a fear of heights, but that's my wish, now that I'm famous for my music. To fly."

[MadxHatterxTeapot]

His blue-eyed gaze watched her fleeting form head out onto the balcony. The open glass doors jogged his memory. There was a faint reminder of a large house he lived in with his brother. Somewhere a piano played and his mother was smiling at him for the last time. He shook himself out of his thoughts before there was a knock on the door to the room. Housekeeping had returned with Dante’s clothes, fresh from the cleaners. He fumbled for any kind of money he had in his pocket and tipped with what he could, before closing the door.

With Iris’ back turned to the balcony, he dropped the robe around his waist and pulled his pants up, though they still sagged a little bit. At least now, he could stand to be in front of her without his junk hanging or popping out in the open. Coming to stand at her side he listened to her sad story, even if it was a little long winded.

Jeez! Did Iris have nobody with which she shared this information? Here, Dante thought the starlet and Mara had sleepovers in each other’s hotel rooms and shared secrets. He was pretty sure before he got backstage; the girls were talking about him. How could they not? He was the guy carrying the guns and giant sword on his back and they were…as normal as normal could get in this day. At the end of the day though, when his demon killing was done, he was a guy trying to live normally. Well, he tried to live that way at least.

“I’m a music man myself. I prefer oldies to current stuff though. When I said that your stuff was different, I really did mean it in a good way. It’s just…it’s not my cup of tea. Your crew I mean. You could have better. The rockband? They gotta go. Your gal pal can stay because she out does all of them. I’ve seriously, heard better guys than your guitarist too.” His lips pursed together before he snapped his fingers. “Get those guys some ACDC, Iron Maiden, and Metallica records. I don’t mean mp3s. I’m talking vinyl. Better sound quality.” As dorky as it sounded, Dante considered himself a musical “purist” when it came to guitar solos.

Holding a hand out over the edge of the railing, he glanced back at Rebellion resting on the back of the other sofa across from Iris’. A grin slowly crept its way up onto his face before he nudged her a bit. “And, unlike your crew, I can fly.” There was some truth to this of course, but he wasn’t going to show her both ways he knew how to do it. “Wanna see?” He offered, raising his brows suggestively. “I’m serious too. I can sort of fly. It’s uh…little trick I mastered.” That and you have use of your different devil triggers. Don’t get ahead of yourself.’ He stood up a bit. “Come on, if there’s one thing that could be a good end to the shitty day you’ve had, let me at least make it end better. I mean…in a non-sexual way.” What the hell was he doing? He was supposed to be on his “guard” not fraternizing with her, but he couldn’t stop himself. If a pretty girl seemed the least bit distressed, he had to be less of an a*****e and more of a sweetheart. What was that saying? Bears flocked to Honey more than Vinegar? Uh. Yeah. That was it.

“Come on.” He gestured for her to follow him back inside. “It’s colder out there than it is in here.” Moving towards the back of the couch, he carefully picked up Rebellion and held it in his hands. “All right, considering I don’t ******** up the ceiling. I can get…at least a good few feet.” He pushed the coffee table out of the way with his foot. “All right, watch now.”