dr-dsm

[dr-dsm]

[They clench their jaw.]

“I have tried to be patient with you, Allen, but you’re making it extremely difficult. Is there anything else you needed, or are you done here?”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante is beginning to lose their patience.]

“I invited you into my home out of the kindness of my heart, and you’re going to insist on… what, inspecting it? It’s incredibly rude. But, if it’ll stop you from snooping around, that’s my bloody silverware drawer. Happy?”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante stares at him.]

“Do you… need something?”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“Did I not just say I got rid of it? You should sit down— I think you might be ill.”

[They look genuinely confused— and quite worried.]

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“A painting. It was here when I got the flat, but I thought it was quite gaudy, so I got rid of it.”

[They just shrug.]

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[The walls are spotless, save for a large rectangle of slightly discoloured paint where a picture or painting might have once hung. The cabinets and drawers are much the same— neat, orderly, organised. It seems Dante likes to be clean.]

“Are you quite alright, Allen? Do you feel unwell?”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante’s eyebrow begins to encroach upon their hairline.]

“Yeah, you said that already. I told you, I talk to myself. Or are you about to get all judgemental about that?”

[They seem angry. It looks like people have teased them for that before.]

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante raises their eyebrow as Allen searches the flat.]

“Er… what are you doing?”

[They’re not used to strangers inspecting their home. Is he checking for dust? Dante’s pretty sure they’d gotten it all… How strange.]

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante doesn’t flinch at his piercing stare. Instead, they meet his eyes.]

“Don’t apologise, Allen. I get it— you trust me. But… there are other trustworthy people out there that know more than I do. You just have to look for them… and give them a chance.”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“I just said it— the whole Entity thing. I… don’t know why you chose me to ask, to be honest.”

[They shrug.]

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“Sorry, it’s just… weird to be treated like an expert on a subject I know very little about. I don’t want to screw up, y’know?”

[They shrug.]

“I’m overthinking it, but… still.”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“Well… like I said, I’m not an expert. There could be more, maybe. You’d be better off asking someone more well-versed in this stuff.”

[They shift their position slightly, biting their lip.]

“That’s pretty much all I know.”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“Ah. Right. Well, there’s fourteen Entities… fifteen, technically, but one hasn’t fully emerged. There’s the Buried, Corruption, Dark, Desolation, End, Eye, Flesh, Hunt, Lonely, Slaughter, Spiral, Stranger, Vast and Web. There’s also the Extinction, but that’s the one that some people don’t really count.”

[They pause, standing up to pour themself a drink. They return to the couch.]

“I’m not an expert, of course, but I do know some things. People that serve these Dread Powers are called Avatars. There are also manifestations of them that roam the world, preying on innocents. Each Power has its own ritual designed to bring it closer to our world, and remake it in its own image.”

[They pause to take a sip of their drink.]

“That’s about it, I guess.”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

“Oh, you heard that, did you? Sorry about that. I talk to myself when I’m alone.”

[They smile a bit.]

“But that’s not the only reason you’re here, of course.”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante frowns. Milk? It seems childish to them. To each their own.]

“Uh, yeah. Gimme a sec!”

[They rush to the tiny kitchenette and open the minifridge. They only have a tiny bit, but they pour it into a glass anyway. It only fills about half. They hand it to him.]

“Sorry, that’s all I have.”

[They sit down, noticeably further away from Allen. It’s probably the cold.]

“So! What can I do for ya, Allen?”

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

(you hear a knock at your apartment door)

-@allendeller

[Allen hears some sort of muffled dialogue, but it stops abruptly. After a few moments, the flat’s poorly-oiled front door creaks open and Dante appears, all sunshine and smiles.]

“Oh, hey Allen! Come in, come in.”

[They usher the man into the small but clean flat. The walls are a calming shade of sage green, and the entryway is lined with pictures of what Allen can only assume to be Dante’s family. They feature to a comfortable-looking leather couch in the somewhat cramped sitting room.]

“Please, sit! Would you like anything to drink?”

[dr-dsm]

[Dante blinks. Then blinks again. They’re quite befuddled.]

“…Right. Of course. I, er, am glad too!”

[They seem horrible at this. Which is probably a good thing— for Allen, anyway.]

(You hear a weak knock at the door, it’s two bits. Actually, Allen just walks through the door looking more of a mess than when you saw him last time. His arm looks better but other than that he’s badly scratched a looks worse for the wear to say the least. You realize he’s not looking up at any of the walls or floors and he’s shaking. Though for the first time you can see him sweating and without his turtleneck on him. In fact it’s a lot less cold in this room than when he first entered your office, in fact it’s a bit warm. Allen is muttering something)

2000 bottle of milk on the wall, 2000 bottles of milk

“Allen! It’s great to—”

[Dante looks up from their papers and gapes at the man.]

“Are you okay?!”