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"Eh-? Is that proof it's safe? It just proves you didn't hurt me this time, doesn't it-!"

He points an accusatory sort of finger at her -- An action of jest, but these words aren't inaccurate, and his suspicions- despite the careless, silly aura right now - are thoroughly set.

Well, not necessarily on something 'evil' -- although the possibility doesn't slip past him. But what sort of power she has, what her potential could be -- His eyes are much keener than his current expression suggests.

"And anyway-- Your ice cream is going to cost me my rent this month-!"

Eh? does he even pay rent? who cares!

Looking at him, she has a sense that maybe he wants to say more to her. More serious than wanting to know how she pulls off her tricks. Whatever it is he wants to ask, she’ll never give him the answers anyhow.

“Welllllll, maybe not all your money. I think I deserve enough for ice cream, yes?” This was a lie. She only took what she needed to pull this trick off. For once. Maybe she should’ve taken some for herself. He looked like the type to have to catch on quickly if she did take his money though.

“Who says my magic is evil? You had fun, didn’t you? And you aren’t hurt, yes? Is that not proof it’s safe?” She playfully argued back.

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Really! Earning words like that, earning eyes like that, strokes his ego a bit too much. A sense of pride seeps into his grin, and he smothers a laugh -- trying to keep himself shaped as something a bit less ' crazy ' than the person before him. It seemed less and less true by the second, but he cared a bit too much for optics to let it be that obvious.

Well, to an outsider. To one lucky enough to listen in on this absurdist conversation, there wasn't much to be done to save face after answering that question.

He sets the tea aside too. It's becoming an automatic move ; nearly as thoughtless as his own body leaning forward in tandem with Izaya, which - in truth - he hadn't realized he'd done. He's too elated to think about things like that.

At any rate, his voice hushes a little, and his words fall out faster. Altogether with their poses, the aura is similar to children sharing delicious secrets, isn't it?

" 'How.' I wonder. I've seen things. Big, weird -- otherworldly things. I'm someone who likes to find good explanations for everything, but some are just a bit out of range, right?"

He glances to the side, taking note of the status of the next drink the poor waiter is set to deliver, and how much time he has to speak.

"Promise not to call me crazy, Orihara-san~ But you're from around here, right? ' Ikebukuro. ' I've heard similar things about this place. That's part of why I came here.

"If I'm being honest, some of the things I've seen -- I can't think of anything to explain them other than 'deities'. Ah, some hopeless kind of deity. Something that's undoubtedly real, but too pathetic to be worth believing in or praying to."

His own position among them is conveniently ignored.

How intriguing. His eyes glimmer with something bright and unsettling, intense. He leans forward a little further.

          “I like that idea! I like that idea very much. Oh, Seth, you know all the right things to say!”          He beams.

To know of a higher power but deny it anyway—how deliciously bold. If belief is the currency of the gods, then a refusal to engage is to take their power away. In turn, man becomes his own god. 

          “But how do you know ‘beyond a shadow of a doubt’?”

He’s so caught up in this line of thought that he barely registers that Seth has ignored the matcha, too. It hits him only as an afterthought as the next drink, Earl Grey tea, is delivered. 

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Wow... He chose a good place to hide right now.

And

Aw, you really do care?

These were the insufferable kinds of thoughts that drifted through his head as he stared at her, head swaying lightly to the side in a demure, innocent sort of way. Something by no accounts true in that moment, but his face was as soft and light as a child's anyway.

"Should I be? Ah, it's not that deep.. If I went to the hospital, my poor mother would hear about it. She'd be too upset, you know?"

He couldn't be bothered to deal with that sort of reaction right now. He much preferred Kathe's~

For a moment, there is complete silence. Kathe sits there, staring at Dri like he's grown a second head. She's trying to process the words. There's no way it was Endou-san—

"Stabbed?!" It's a good thing no one was passing by at that moment considering how loudly she had shouted. She might hate Dri with all of her might, but she's yet to reach a point where she wants to mortally wound him.

"Why aren't you at the hospital? Do you really have a death wish, Adriane?"

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@goldnepenthe "Dri-nii... why are you covering my eyes?" Cont.

He should have known from the first droplets of blood to meet his boots.

Was the unpleasant smell not enough? Where the whimpers strewn in the cracks of concrete not enough? The sight that was sure to rest in the alley was doubtlessly going to be morbid. These foreboding signs were easy summons for passers-by like them, who, in most cases, would react by either -- 1. Turning away ; or 2. Rushing in to offer aid.

Unless, of course, you were the 3rd type of person. The type whose eyes alight with curiosity, who follows the flow of blood to see what sort of river awaits, and measures by a coin-flip whether to wade it with a generous heart or a ghastly one; who sooner inspects the victim to decide if it was worth the breath to hold and save, or to instead do.. something else.

The type of person he was. The type of person he remembered her being, sometimes.

Ten years changes some things, doesn't it? He finally realized it when her eyes turned red.

" Don't waste it," He whispers in her ear. His tongue is sharper than intended, and laced with an idle bitterness.

It's an odd flavor. This moment, now, as a scornful eye surveyed over the bloodied, ruined, struggling and begging body discarded in the alley, in fact displayed his heart in one of its most tender states.

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literally who even asked you

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((My laptop's about to die and I have 2 hours of waiting left. Entertain me!

Another chatzy's up! once again: it's an IC online chatroom, and anyone's welcome to join :>

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did u miss me? be honest

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sentrymemes: Dri Protocol. all so Daisy can lay her lap at Dri's feet

...

...

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Ok, he doesn't really appreciate it being called that though.

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(( IC chat up again! We got Dri, Kathe and Faze so far! Anyone is welcome!!

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((Heads up! I'm going out of town next week, and then shooting to sort details with (potential)(likely!?) new boss right after that !

so activity will fluctuate a bit now, but it seems like another mostly-remote gig, so I'm sure I'll continue lurking here a normal and sane amount once I'm back in town

I've been so hyped getting to meet new people though. I'm trying to be more open, so if we're mutuals, feel free to reply to this post with 🤝 as a sort of discord call! Even if we haven't talked much yet, I'd like to get to know you guys better! I'll dm you and we can talk character bullshit <3

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