&& Before the Fiasco [LW]

[Dante]

It was cold; frost hung in the air with every breath, the snow was like a white blanket on the earth. And for once, it was quiet in the park, though Dante could guess why. Typical of him, Dante was not wearing boots, and his feet were cold, though not soaked yet. It was too cold to soak anyone; how he hated the cold. Standing on top of the hill that overlooked the whole park, Dante looked down below him, red eyes hidden with sunglasses, the sun, as pale as it was, at his back. Compared with the pale light and the snow; it seemed as though Dante was paler then usual himself. Both he and his sister, he had given up trying to remember the half part, shared the same pale skin, but that was one of the few things in look that they shared, aside from hair, though Dante’s was streaked with red. Everything else was a throwback, he could only guess, for there wasn’t much in him that looked like D’Noir, aside from the same lean, but strong, body, and height. And as for Ren, well, Dante didn’t see any of her in himself, something he was pretty sure was because he was male; and which he was thankful for.

Sighing softly in the cold, Dante trudged back from the hill, leaning against one of the many trees, not know how dangerous it made him look. It didn’t matter though; there was nobody out here that he had seen yet, though they were probably somewhere, in the more populated area of the park. This place was beautiful, but very few made the hike up the many hills, being too lazy to really even attempt it aside from during the summer; in the winter they simply made up reasons why they wouldn’t go up there. Looking down at the distant forms in the children part of the part, Dante quietly scoffed to himself. It wasn’t even that difficult of a climb, he had done it in shoes that had seen better days without killing himself. Of course, he did have better reflexes then most people; and not just because of the cat curse that he bore. Although, as he looked over the park once more, Dante found himself unwilling to get into that train of mind, he hadn’t come here to listen to those thoughts, despite the fact that he had no clue really why he had come up here in the first place.

If he was to make a wager though, it was probably to get away from everyone, and everything. It was the eve of Christmas, Tohru was going nuts in the house, and everyone was simply playing along with her. Presents were appearing under the tree, and the mood had been so festive. For a while, Dante had been in the mist, not saying much but there all the same, hanging bits where other people couldn’t reach, but the atmosphere, it was almost as though it had been chocking him. Holidays, they tended to be a waste of time, though this was an important one he knew. But buying and exchanging gifts, having to worry about if it would fit the person, if they would like it; it was a waste of time in his opinion. Despite that, he had purchased some smaller things for the people that he shared Shigure’s house with, something for Haru and various other people, and something for Akito was well, but that was about it. It was the good thing about not knowing too many people; you didn’t have to spend a shocking amount to make everyone happy about their gifts. And, like all the other Sohmas, Dante had money, just not as much as he once did.

Looking over at the river, Dante was utterly alone in the park; but not unprotected. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t afraid of anyone hurting him that caused for him to always be alone, but if one even had a glimpse at Dante himself, they would know that being alone was nothing new for him. Keeping to himself, never really forming relationships with people, it was just an easy way to live, though the sibling bond kept him busy enough. To protect people, it had always been what Dante had done, protecting those who he cared for, no matter the cost to himself. It drove Akito insane that he was like that, but it wasn’t as though it was something he could change. Surrounded by darkness and bloodshed, he had to do all he could to keep himself from going under all the way, and if it meant saving people at his own risk, then fine. It wasn’t as though he would be horribly missed if he took a bullet for someone else; he had a method to his silence, to his distance. If he was distant, then nobody would get hurt if he was gone; eventually he would simply become a memory.

Snow was falling once more; and it looked as though it was going to be a very white Christmas for them. Under the cover of the trees, Dante could only watch as the snow fell; wondering how the roads were going to be getting to Shigure’s. Good thing he didn’t live too far from the park, if one was bold enough; it was actually within walking distance. Gaze tracking the people as they left, laughing at something, anything, and a soft sigh filtered through the air. There was no chance for normality with him; it was something that he had given up a long time ago. All of the cursed Sohmas had given up the hope of normality, they wouldn’t have a chance until their curse broke, which he knew was possible, it was up to Akito though really, aside from sparrow boy. Eyes narrowing slightly, Dante forced his thoughts off of that track; he hated sparrow boy as much as Shigure did, it would be wise if the two didn’t meet up in a dark alley, though he wouldn’t ever actually kill him, just mangle him up bit… Right.

Wiggling his toes in his shoes, Dante stepped back more, trying to keep his feet as dry as possible. He would have worn boots, but he couldn’t find his, and wasn’t going to wear someone else’s. He had though, grabbed his leather jacket, so at least the snow would brush off of that, not to mention it kept him warm in the cool air and wind. Other than that though, and his dark red eyes, anyone could mistake Dante for your typical teenager, with his jeans and tall but lean muscular form, though his face was clear of any acne or scars that tended to show up on boy’s face; maybe he was more of a man then anything else. But if they wanted to see scars, they only needed to look at his back and torso; he had quite the arrangement there, from a past that he couldn’t remember. At least he knew why now though; D’Noir must somehow be related to Hatori with the erasing memory bit, he had thought that Hatori had only been the one able to do that. How wrong he had been, but with time, the urge to know what was behind that wall had faded to just a curious buzz feeling; something easily ignored.

Blinking, Dante stepped out from the tree, trudging over to the top of the hill once more, before sitting down on one of the benches, just watching. With the snow, he didn’t fear leaving his back to the world as he usually did, if you wanted to call it a fear. With the audible crunch of shoes going through snow and ice, it was impossible to silent, even for him. Sitting back, snow falling lightly, Dante watched the world below him, looking as distant and closed off as ever. One would ask him, why he was out here all alone, and his reply would be simply because he felt like it, if he was in a bad mood. In a good mood, he might explain a bit, but it really depended upon who the person was, and how much they knew. Maybe someone who was cursed would have the best luck with him, for he wouldn’t feel as…careful maybe, when talking about what was going on, of course, if he chose to talk.

[Eh, I figured it would be easier if they met before BCB, lol.]

[/blockquote]

[L]

[That works. But now I have to summon a good response. D8 XD]

The bite of the air was cold, but not too much for someone that was bundled up to deal with. That Achima was. Her usual clothes were warm, well, when she wasn't wearing a dress or something like that. She didn't really pay much attention to the weather. The cold and the warmth, neither bothered her. Some might thing the dragon, or rather, seahorse, of the Zodiac wouldn't like the cold. Considering the facts. But it didn't seem to bother her, or Hatori for that matter. Not that she would notice much about the other Zodiac member. She could be rather blase about other people. Not noticing a lot of the things that made them twitch. And when she did pay attention to this, it just annoyed them. So she just went back to being ignorant. It was a better thing that way.

The black haired girl had her hair down today, not that she normally put it up. She was wearing her typical black trench coat. Though she found it better looking then a trench coat. Of course, she was also in her black boots, they kept her feet warm and dry. Which she liked. Oh, she wondered if you could get hypothermia from putting bare feet in the snow, how long would that take? On that note, she realized she was being rather morbid. Or would paranoid be a better word? Well, whichever. It would still be weird... Not that she would do it on purpose, or get herself into a situation that would force her to do it. Well, she wouldn't want to do that at least. Now that she was in that mindset she wondered if anyone would want to do that. Seemed like such a strange thing to want, freeze your feet and get hypothermia.

Moving on. She looked around with her big brown eyes. Nearly blinded by the white that was brought by fresh snow. Since it had started snowing people had started trickling out of the park. But she liked that, no one to run into or be run into by. Crowds, they were annoying. It wasn't that she didn't like people, or dislike them at least, she just didn't like a lot of them around. A few were enough to keep one busy. That is, if it was people whom you were comfortable with. Because when you had to be around someone you disliked, things were... Uncomfortable. There wasn't really much to be said beyond that.

Thinking of people, and members of the Zodiac, it was about now that she noticed Dante. He was one of the cats of the Zodiac. Of course, she hadn't really spoken with him. Though that may have something to do with the fact that he didn't live in the main house and the cat wasn't invited to the banquet, naturally. Maybe now was a good time to speak with him. See what he was like. Looking back off to the side she liked the white color of it. White was a pretty but simple color. As was black. Then gray, it was neutral. It was a color that seemed to accent the world. To say the world wasn't just black and white, there were the gray moments. The gray people. Not everyone was going to be strictly bad or strictly good. Now thinking of this, she was the sort of person to think that everyone was gray.

Now making her decision of her earlier thoughts she wondered over to the other teen. Maybe in her world it would be other Zodiac though.
"Hello, Dante. Right?" She greeted once a foot or so from where he sat.

[Fail. D8]

[Dante]

Even the few people who were left in the park seemed to be in good spirits, he noted. Everyone in the Zodiac had seemed rather happy as he had passed the main house; though he knew exactly why that was. The banquet, the great festival of the year, celebrating to the turn of a new zodiac, an important time…to anyone officially in the zodiac that is. Cats weren’t ever invited, within reason of course, but still, seeing everyone so cheery, it was sort of irksome, to anyone who cared. Kyo, he was probably going to either hang with Shade or Tohru, and he was going to do something, maybe go hunting for D’Noir, something to pass the night; if he could find the golden haired man, then maybe, just maybe, he could deal with the first half of his problems. Huffing slightly with a touch of amusement, Dante shook his head. The possibility of that happening was slim to none, for all his worth, Dante had never been able to find the man before unless D’Noir was prepared for him, why would banquet night be any different from any other night? Still, it would give him something to do, something to keep his mind off of life.

At last, the final few people trickled out of the gate, though there seemed to be one entering the park, rather than fleeing it, oddly enough. Soon enough though, the person was gone from sight, though now completely out of mind. It was always best to keep aware of your settings, though, looking at the desolate landscape before him, there was little possibility of an attack right now, even though they had been becoming more frequent at night. He may have to do something about that, in one form or another.
Or maybe I should just let the police do their jobs.
The thought whispered darkly across his mind, reminding him, that there were other people out there that he didn’t have to try to fix everything, though he knew that he would always try, though never for himself. The police had had weeks though, and found nothing but a picture of the man, a sketchy portrait drawn by someone right before the called the police, glory stars he would have bet, wanting to do anything to get something of theirs on TV, no matter the cost to someone else. Sadly enough, they were becoming more and more popular.

The sound of crunching ice alerted him before she actually spoke, voice familiar, though he had never met her in the past. He knew her name though, turning around on the bench, he pondered it for a moment, before like a flash of light, it came to him.
”Ah, yes. Hello…Achima I believe?”
Seahorse; or dragon if you wanted to call them the full name, there were a bit of them. Dominic, Hatori, Achima, and anyone else he couldn’t remember. He had seen her around the main house, before everything had happened, but at that time, hadn’t taken the time to speak with her. Not surprising, but with the waves of new zodiacs coming in with the months, it wasn’t surprising it had taken a moment for him to recognize her; she also went to the college, might be in a few of his classes, his classes in the morning until lunch were all at the college too; honors classes ironically enough. Not what the high school principal had expected, that was for sure, one of the students he had written off as a problem taking honors classes at the college his senior year. The classes were free for him, so why not, right? It was better than paying a bucket load for classes he could have already taken.

”You can sit if you want.” Dante offered, having only sat on one end of the bench, not the full thing. He was a scary person only when he wasn’t himself, or when he had to be, anytime other than that, he didn’t try to scare people. It just sort of happened that way; many wouldn’t even approach him when he was in a good mood. Maybe he really didn’t socialize enough; but then again, who wanted to deal with a whole bunch of people you may or may not like? And there were always the ones that you didn’t like, he had learned that there was never a time when you were in a crowd surrounded by only people you can tolerate. There always has to be someone to rain on the parade, it is only a matter of how fast you can throw out the person without totally offending one of the masses that they tended to hang out with, and hopefully not get into a fight; they were always such cheaters when they knew that they were going to lose.

He was getting himself off track though, but with a glance behind him once more, Dante decided to offer a way out, knowing that she might as well just be like nearly everyone else.
”Though, you are probably busy. Christmas Eve and all that stuff, not to mention you have the banquet to go to as well soon after.” There, now, it was time to see what piece she was going to move; how brave she was going to be. His…other side…was quiet, not seeing why such social interactions were needed to get through the day, but in all honestly, not caring either way at the moment about what Dante was doing. There was something else as well; but he wasn’t going to look into that, not with someone so close by, an innocent. Looking back over at the view of the park, Dante simply observed, though the remaining of the people were rushing to their cars; probably going to get sleds and whatnot; when they came back he would have to leave, this was a popular place for sledding once one got the nerve up to actually climb the hill.

[Haha. Faaiill. Oh well.]

[/blockquote]

[L]

[Stop saying fail about your posts, you make me feel bad about mine. D8]

Achima nodded slightly. She wondered what he looked like in his cat form. Since he had that black hair with red streaks. It may seem like an odd thing to wonder about, but natural enough for her. Of course, what was natural for her was awfully unnatural for others. Though why should what's natural matter to someone who turned into a seahorse when hugged by someone of the opposite gender? Even though she was supposed to be the dragon of the Zodiac. Honestly, it really sucked to be the dragon of the Zodiac. So easy for people to make fun of them and what not.

She nodded slightly as she was offered the seat. The girl walked over, shivering slightly as she sat on the cold bench. Taking her arms and crossing them over her chest. She shrugged as he went on. "Christmas is okay. But I've got a while before the banquet. Not really much to do till later." Achima replied. Despite the large family she wasn't much for the holidays. Considering she wasn't really close enough to anyone else to bother with gifts or anything. Though New Years was interesting. The dances were quite beautiful. Though she figured all the Zodiac enjoyed the celebration somehow, it came naturally for the spirits.

There it was. That word, natural again. She was really starting to dislike that word. It was similar to normal, and normal wasn't really a good word to describe anyone. Unless you wanted to say something about how that came natural to someone, or it was normal for them. That could work in some occasions. But it was annoying when it came to things like that's not natural or they're not normal. Who's to say what's normal and what's not? Or whether something is natural or unnatural? Didn't make much sense to her. People hardly knew what they thought they knew anymore. Just going for whatever they thought others would make them look cool.

At the moment she wasn't paying much attention to the people leaving, and the few coming back. Either to play around in the snow or because they had forgotten something. So long as she was unaffected by them they were none of her concern. Shifting slightly she looked back over at him. He had pale skin. It was strange against the white of the snow. Especially with his black and red hair.
"What about you?" She asked, referring to the question he'd asked her earlier.

[See? True fail. xD]

[Dante]

As she assessed him, Dante was pretty much doing the same thing. The dragon of the Zodiac, something that wasn’t exactly the most…desired; they were the ones most often picked on because of what they became when hugged by someone of the opposite gender. They weren’t weak though, despite what for some reason, a lot of people seemed to think. Dominic was insane, but he wasn’t weak. Well, if you wanted to call insanity a strength; due to the fact that Dante didn’t know how sane, or insane, he was, he counted it as a strength. It was what kept him from wondering if he needed to be locked up in a mental hospital, though without a doubt they would love to study him, provoke him. He hated hospitals more than most people, actually, people generally didn’t hate hospitals, and they were a place of healing. Maybe it was just because he had always taken care of himself that he hated them. Everyone who couldn’t take care of themselves went there. Relying on someone other than himself, having to trust someone with what he could deal with, it wasn’t something that came easily for Dante. The list of people he didn’t trust was long; but that didn’t mean he hated them. That was a special list, with only two names on it.

Watching as she sat down, Dante shrugged at her words. He wouldn’t know about the banquet, having never attended one, but he had heard the stories, he had heard that they were amazing. Maybe he would have gone if he had been anything else, but part of him thought that he wouldn’t go anyway; he had never been one for dances and stuff like that. Part of him wondered if he could dance, he had never tried before. Such a random thought wasn’t like him, but, then again, this wasn’t exactly his usual environment. It was though, a peaceful place to be, especially with the fleeing of people. He was searching for an answer of why he had come here; the best one he had found was to clear his mind. Peace of mind, it was a good thing, he decided. With no voices in his mind, no darkness uncurling, it must be like being normal felt like, something that he had always wondered about. Well, not exactly normal, but something at least similar to everyone else. Less insane, there we go, not normal, just less insane.

Blinking, and considering her question for a moment, Dante forced his mind to focus. It happened a lot these days, though he hadn’t been exactly unaware of what was around him, some part of him was always paying attention to something.
”Christmas I’ve got finished, though I can’t say I’m too pleased with everything. It is a time where people buy gifts for people in hopes of earning their favor; say for a boss from an employee, it is rarely a true spirit of giving that strikes people. And then having to be pleased with gifts that you don’t like, it isn’t too much fun really. And I’m not going to attend the banquet, so I’m not worried about that.” He said after a moment. True, he wasn’t worried about the banquet; he was concerned about what he was going to be doing during the banquet. He had gathered up every tool he had, but in the end, he knew that he would have to rely upon himself to live through the fight if he did indeed find the blonde man who had taunted him with his mocking calls. Besides, maybe he could stop the trouble before it started, that was his hope anyway.

[Beh. Whatever. xD Something needs to happen, I think. There isn’t too much going on here.]

[/blockquote]

[L]

Achima didn't mind the assessing much. Considering how she was doing the same. At least now she didn't have to wonder if she was rude by doing so. Where as her Zodiac was rather undesirable, his was most certainly so. The cat wasn't truly part of the Zodiac, yet it was cursed as though it was. It had to suck to be the cat. She was feeling she would rather have the seahorse of a dragon then the cat. Then again, if she was a cat she wouldn't have the same bonds would she? The bonds always confused her. How exactly did they work anyway? She didn't like wondering about them, but it was hard not to have your thoughts wonder to such things when you were part of it.

She shrugged as he answered her question. "I don't really celebrate Christmas. I don't see any point to it, or any other holiday around December for that matter. Of course, the banquet does matter. I suppose." The girl replied simply. Since she didn't have any people she really cared about, or cared to gain favor of for that matter, she had no need of giving gifts. Or even worrying about receiving any for that matter. Didn't make no difference to her.

As she let out a breath the warm air mixing with the cold, giving it a smokey effect as it normally does. She glanced down at the snow. It was interesting how all the snow flakes were all different. Like people. No one could, or was, exactly like another human. Also like zebras. None of them had the same pattern. All different, she wondered if tigers were the same way. Most likely, with all their stripes. She also found the way the snow sparkled rather pretty. Maybe that was irrelevant to anything in particular, but it was. She liked snow. Despite the cold it was beautiful. Kind of reminded her how beautiful people could be so cold and bitter. Snow was a lot like people. Strange because technically it was simply frozen water. Then again, weren't humans seventy percent water or something like that? She blinked rather surprised at her random realization.

Sometimes she wondered if she was just a little bit A.D.D..

[Dante]

[We must brainstorm!]