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[@Ponn][@Majoraa][@ERode]

Dante’s ireful “welcome” wouldn’t go unnoticed. At least he wasn’t moving to get rid of them yet. It’d be poor for the business if patrons had to watch him murder the three of them, Finn guessed. The boy reeled himself back and opened his mouth to say something until he felt Ashley firmly grip his shoulders. No doubt she was holding him back from doing anything reckless. He glanced over his shoulder to look at her incredulously. Would a fib like that really work here? Dante already knew why they were there, why [i]he[/i] was there. But if they’re gonna keep things cordial, might as well. 

And then Estelle said something about them [i]leaving[/i]. Hell. No. Not that Finn didn’t trust where she was going with that idea, but nothing would stop the diner owner from being more prepared to fuck their shit up if they left and came back later. The other two agents may not understand his reasoning but to hell with it, it’s better to get this over with now before this gets any worse!

Finn shrugged out of Ashley’s grip and approached the counter. 

[color=7F2A3C][i]”Hell-o again.”[/i][/color]

Dante looked at each of the agents in turn. Ashley’s lie was obvious, but she had been able to pick up on the fact that Dante was not making any aggressive movements. Furthermore, he had a group of teenage girls at the back of the diner. Clearly he wasn’t turning them away because of their age. This was a covert conversation where both parties were required to extract truth from the lies they were telling each other. 

This made Estelle’s remark somewhat troublesome. She had mentioned coming back later, but also that she wouldn’t want to disrupt his business at peak hours. Was Dante supposed to interpret this as a threat from some monster murdering agents? Would his business get disrupted if he didn’t comply? 

And then there was Finn…

[b]”Didn’t you hear me?”[/b] Dante stepped up to the counter until his fat stomach seeped over the edge. [b]”We’ve already made arrangements to speak later, why have you come here now?”[/b] 

Aha. Finn shot him a knowing smile, before he glanced aside and lowered his voice enough for Dante to still hear. [color=7F2A3C][sub]”Unfortunately I’m supposed to be here on business. Keeping the fact I’ve been cordial with you guys hidden from the other agents hasn’t stopped them from coming here to investigate the source of my curse. I don’t really want things to end up in a bloodbath so, if you’re alright with me just asking a few questions, that’d be appreciated.”[/sub][/color]

[b]”And I suppose you did everything in your power to prevent them from finding out?”[/b] He growled. Unlike Finn, Dante wasn’t being so quiet anymore. [b]”I told you that we would get this taken care of. What else do you need to know?”[/b] 

[color=7F2A3C]”Whatever kee-”[/color]

[b]”Eyyyyyyy!”[/b] A cowboy by the counter pointed at Finn. [b]”This li’l bronco here given’ ya troubleeeeeeee?”[/b] He slurred his words.

[b]”Everything is under control.”[/b] Dante gave the drunk a sideways glance. [b]”Enjoy your drink and butt out of this!”[/b] 

[b]”Yeaaaaaaa, but I can woop ‘em good if ya need me to, I can give em an ol-””[/b] And then he swung his arm and splashed the Dryads sitting beside him. 

[b]”Gah!”[/b] One of the dryads, not looking too sober herself, swung the back of her hand at the cowboy’s head. With a crack, he stumbled backwards into a table seated by more cowboys, and spilled their beer all over the floor.

[b]”I see how it is.”[/b] The cowboys started to stand up one at a time and cracked their knuckles. [b]”The Dryad Biker gang thinks it can tussle with the Cowboy Biker gang, huh?”[/b]

[b]”Any day of the week, ‘greenhorn.’”[/b]

[b]”...The hell did you call me?!”[/b]

And just like that, a bar fight ensued. 

The cowboy gang might have greatly outnumbered everyone else, but they had also done most of the drinking and had a hard time differentiating between the dryads and everyone else. Fighting erupted all over the diner, and no one was safe. Even the schoolgirls who were minding their own business found themselves cornered by some of the cowboy thugs. And if they’d stoop so low as to attack some defenseless girls, they would certainly attack a babysitter and the two children she was looking after. The gemini agents were set upon on all sides, and Dante’s shouts of annoyance couldn’t rise above the sound. 

And neither could Finn’s tired sigh.

[color=7F2A3C]”Fucking knew it…”[/color] He mumbled, ducking down soon as all hell broke loose. He rummaged through his pockets for his grimoire to quickly transform.

[color=goldenrod]”Someone get those girls out of here before they get hurt!”[/color] He called out to his fellow agents, pointing over to the corner they were in. [color=goldenrod]”Minimize injuries if you can, but don’t let them overwhelm you!!”[/color] The Timekeeper snapped his head back towards Dante, silently giving him an apologetic look.