The Perk, Monday Morning

[smilestopscars]

If anyone had spotted black fox running about yesterday, chasing gremlins and generally looking like it was having the time of his life, yep, that had been Ezra.

He was back to being a guy today. And he felt he had more than earned the hot chocolate monstrosity in front of him on this fine morning. As well as his pre-class lounging at a table at the Perk just in general. Also he thought of it as making himself available. So really, it was like a public service.

... Mostly he was distracting the barista with idle flirty glances.

[ooc: Open post, for your Ezra-bothering and other Perk needs!]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

For whatever measure of corruption you could really inflict on a kid like Dante...

He considered it, and gave a shrug. He could do worse things with his life than bug some hot ex-student with creepy eyes. He sank into his seat, immediately leaning back so the chair tipped onto its back legs, and pressed one foot lightly to the foot of the table to keep his balance.

"Got anything besides 'it's fucked up'?" he said. "Because I've heard about five versions of that one already.

[future_sandworm]

That pose was rather adorable, Leto thought to himself. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge it harshly. It might seem strange, but it is a wonderful place to make new friends." He added a slightly teasing look, just for the fun of it.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante snorted. "Yeah, it seems like a real hugging-it-out kind of place," he said. It was halfway sarcastic.

[future_sandworm]

"You clearly haven't given it enough time," Leto offered. "Perhaps there is something about your attitude?" Then again, even Arthur had managed to make friends. People here could be patient.

[rebelseekspizza]

"What, are you telling me I'm an asshole?" Dante said, batting his eyelashes. "That one's new."

Really.

No, not at all.

[future_sandworm]

That made Leto laugh, acknowledging that the boy had some understanding of himself. "Not at all, but you do come across as antagonistic. Now, I'm not offended by being called a demon, but others might be less patient. Or maybe you are the impatient one, jumping to conclusions quicker than necessary. Tell me, where would you prefer to be?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Somewhere I can smoke, drink, and get laid in peace," Dante said. He was ambitious like that.

[future_sandworm]

"The 'in peace' part might prove difficult," Leto replied, studying Dante while smiling to himself. "But the other things you should be able to find, I am sure. Will you tell me where you are from?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Limbo City. Just plain Earth," Dante said.

Well, maybe not 'just plain Earth', considering the whole 'controlled by demons who live on another plane' part, but he didn't know yet how far that did or didn't extend. "And yeah, the 'in peace' part lasted all of a week. Pretty bad."

He'd had worse.

[future_sandworm]

Leto had never heard of Limbo City, but that was not unusual in Fandom, of course.

"There was an invasion last week?" Yes, Leto had noticed the zombie gremlins, but they hadn't seemed like much of a threat, and there had been pizza and movies.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante eyed him. "What, you didn't notice the fucking gremlins?" he said. "Not that they were very tough."

[future_sandworm]

"I was distracted," Leto replied. "And gremlins are just annoying, not dangerous, so there was no need to worry."

He took another sip of his coffee.

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante rolled his eyes. "There were things shambling and biting," he said, "Didn't exactly stop to check the monsterpedia."

[future_sandworm]

"You will learn how to find peace in the midst of chaos, if you look for it." This was quite amusing. "Do you know what classes you are taking?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Art class, monster class, some other stuff," Dante said. "Why?"

[future_sandworm]

"The monster class sounds appropriate for you," Leto replied, ignoring the question. "So, no friends here yet?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Don't think that's any of your business," Dante said, with a pleasant grin.

Which is to say it tended even more towards the demonic.

[future_sandworm]

"It's not." Leto sounded cheerful. "I am just making conversation. Is there another topic you would prefer?"

He had lost some of his talent in making new acquaintances, hadn't he?

[rebelseekspizza]

"What was this place like when you were here?" Dante said, raising his chin at... the island in general.

[future_sandworm]

"Very much the same," Leto replied. "I was lost when I came here, although I didn't admit that to myself at the time. I made friends, met lovers, fought invading enemies and finally saw the path that my life must take. None of this is unusual, but you will no doubt find other people telling other stories about themselves. It seems to me that you are looking for something, and I doubt that you will find it, but other things will most certainly find you."

He drank deeply from his coffee and looked out through the window.

[rebelseekspizza]

"I'm not looking for anything," Dante said.

But he sounded more quiet and less confrontational than what he'd been going for.

(What the hell was he? Why had demons been trying to hurt him, kill him, since he was fucking seven years old? And how could he make them stop?)

"But hey. Nice you got things worked out."

[future_sandworm]

Leto was not easily lied to, and even if he hadn't been, Dante's claim didn't sound very believable. However, he ignored that.

"Nicely worked out, for the next four millennia," he said. "But sometimes a holiday is much appreciated, I have to admit."