deceive

Dante SHSL Masquerade "False face must hide what false heart doth know." - Shakespeare Doubt Academy 3.0 [Serious WIP Blog]

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oh ya im jason but thats all u really need to know tbh....... ayy lmao

why am i even doing this

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I'M GOING TO MISS DANTE'S POST ON MY DASHBOARD SCREAMS BACK AT YOU!!

LEAVE RIGHT NOW SHAI THERE IS NO ROOM FOR BROKEN PROMISES, LEAVE.

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thanks for the answer! another question though, which title was his real one? or were they both his? sorry for so many, i plan on editting the tvtropes for the last trial.

Again, no problem. Uhhh, it's a bit confusing to explain but as I wrote his app, I intended for both titles to pertain to him! But the important part was the fact that each one was more prominent at different time intervals. Two years prior, he was unrivaled in committing larceny, as he's already explained and while he did deter people away by putting on an act for a bigger purpose or simply being so skilled by implicating another person through acting, the masquerade title was much more potent in the last two years.

Without spoiling too much hopefully, I guess I can say he was referred to as 'Videl' for the last two years. Just a teaser.

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hey i just caught up on the trial but i'd like to clear something up that i didn't get! why exactly did dante murder? he seemed confusing when he explained it.

No problem! I figured as much since it was done on purpose. Since Dante didn't really explain what he would have asked for, I won't say it here either. Simply put though, Dante considered the motive to be worth the deaths of two because in his mind, he would've saved sixteen. Hope that helps!

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Green Room | Dante [re: everyone basically]

With the way things started, it seemed everyone went into this trial with what seemed like a decent head on their shoulders. Things started out with headway and people started laying out the obvious evidence from the beginning rather than leaving it to the end. People started suggesting a strip trial and he couldn’t help but exert another large exasperated sigh. With the way things went in their last few trials he could see why everyone was so desperate and on edge. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but give a slight nod in approval to their efforts as he took his position on his podium to listen in on the already engaging conversation before having something to say for himself.

Of course, that time never arrived as things started to sway in a different direction. One that started to light the fuse to even Dante’s own infuriation, which was a rarity all in itself. Everything that built up inside of him grew even more potent with the addition of the cries of those in attendance. His charming demeanor threatened to boil over his mind at any second, with every added second of these pathetic words that he had the misfortune to hear. From everyone.

And he slowly seethed in the overwhelming frustration of it all. Turning to listen to the claims of how Kosuke’s injuries came to be which were illogical and unreasonable all in itself, then to the sound of Eva’s monologue, and even on top of it all, the hypocritical words of the performer who ironically spoke of hypocrisy themselves. He wanted to address them all, but everything was already going back into direction. He tried to let himself settle down before speaking at all but some bitterness still lingered, if only briefly.

“Instead of showing your delicate sides for everyone to judge, perhaps it’s best that we don’t.” Addressing Kosuke first, “Love? Aozora-kun? You mentioned you were ready to die for him and yet you are so keen on finding this killer. What if it turned out to be him instead? With the victim being you? Your relationship is unhealthy in every sense of the word and it’s a wonder why you cannot see that for yourself, despite it not being your fault.”

He didn’t even want to face the opposite who he thought was at ‘fault’, lest his rage get the better of him and more injuries were to be present than already was. Nor did he respond to Eva’s outburst, despite knowing that it was about him. None of it suppressed his emotions and it only aided in fueling them further. He closed his eyes for a moment before finally looking like himself again. Even if ‘that’ wasn’t truly himself.

“I want you all to prove to me that we lie in capable hands, despite our previous mistrialings. Perhaps then I’ll be able to hold onto the hope that the rest of you will be able to escape this god-forsaken hole.

Now, onto the topic of stripping. Although I would be more than willing, should we not consider the fact that the culprit had thought of enough to begin with? It seems unlikely that someone willing to kill two people would fall victim to the most simplest methods. It did not even help our case in the second one, if only barely.”

Then he heard something peculiar which actually caused him to raise an eyebrow.

“A necklace? Do we know who it belongs to?”

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Congratulations! You now have ONE (1) NANOKA ERA running her hands over everything you own, and ONE (1) CHIEMI SHINOZAKI ... standing there, watching. (Kind of. Not really.) Nanoka takes particular interest in the... music box-shaped thing on the side table. (What were you expecting?) That cover's got about ten seconds to either open or be taken from Nanoka's grasp before she just tries to apply brute force. (Apparently it doesn't occur to her to ask, because she says nothing. Wow, rude.)

Even with him looking over their every move, it still took him a moment to notice Nanoka's hands practically groping his one most prized possession. The very sight of her made him lunge for the box to rip out of her grasp. He opened his mouth to scold her but refrained from it, instead opening it for her to listen to the tune.

"Here.."

Despite not being able to see anything, Dante was sure she'd be able to appreciate the music. He hoped.

"It's a music box. Satisfied?"

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Nanoka was not expecting sass from this man. "There's been a ... no, there've been /two/ passings-on. /Murders/. And someone among us has a key to every room in Gaia. If someone's used your room as a hiding spot, wouldn't you want to know?" Nanoka paused, and adjusted her headband, and began again. "Unless you want the evidence to go unfound, and for us to have another mistrial, and for you to... well. I suppose generation loss /is/ a type of knowledge, too... " (Great job being clear, Nanoka.)

Wow, this was the first time he'd ever actually interacted with this woman and he could see how aggressive she could be. Her points were reasonable but her logic was not. At least to Dante.

"I understand that, truly. If you'd like to search my room then by all means, I will remain until you feel as if you are satisfied.

But I do have my own personal belongings that I would rather remained untouched. You understand."

With those last words he cast behind him towards the side table but stepped aside to let her in.

"But by all means, come on in. Although I must say I'm feeling quite unappreciated considering my efforts for you. Even still, I'm glad you're alive."

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Well, here's an odd pair. It's Chiemi and Nanoka, both of whom look possessed... but by two completely different demons. Nanoka doesn't even wait for the person at the end of her cane to identify themselves before she starts: "You. If your room is on the top three floors, I want to borrow your room card. Also, any room cards of the deceased you have." It doesn't look like she's going to explain herself further. (And it doesn't look like Chiemi plans to speak at all.)

"As much as you are welcome inside my room at anytime, don't you think me giving you my entire room card might be a bit much?

The room card is also essentially my ID with maps and other accessible menus. Where would I sleep if it were to get lost?

But I suppose I can digress if you at least inform me of the reason."

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Fashionably Late | Dante | Reactions [All]

[Bunch of places > Motive > Murder] (BASICALLY I WAS INACTIVE RECENTLY SO HERE IS A BRIEF SUMMARY)

Over the past few days Dante had been growing more and more accustomed to making himself scarce, in both the investigations and out. Peace of mind was hard to find in when the bodies piled continuously on top of each other like dominoes. Maybe the weight of it all was finally getting to him. At first he was determined to escape this place but the reality of it all was slowing drifting onwards, like a butterfly outside the reach of his grasp.

Wandering through the earthen paths that seemed to haunt their very existence, Dante found solitude in a lot of places. Some of them obvious, some not. The first would have to be the theatre, spending a lot of his time there apart from the times when it was mandatory to sleep in his own dorm. He talked and acted to himself, to give him some repose.

And when they found the farm, he found himself spending time there even more so. Most notably by the apple orchard. The fruit had always given him mixed feelings; he either hated it or he loved it. And neither of the feelings were based on the taste that it had. It was like a symbol, of his past.

In between all of these moments of isolation were little detours here and there. He went to the cafe, the monobear machine, the park, and even the sports centre.

But the most prominent thought he had in his mind was the fact that their demise might come a lot closer than he wanted to realize. With the idea of knowing there were three mistrials, there was also a chance that one might be close to winning this game. If that were to happen, there would be no power in their hands that could be able to stop the inevitable slaughter. He shouldn’t fathom it, and he didn’t want to.

But he had to. With the motives that seemed to be said one after another, he knew he had to attend the most recent, to get a close look on what the next trial would indicate.. The prize of which was knowledge. An answer to any question, with some restrictions of course. The value of this motive was, again, something he thought only he saw. But even still, what was he to do about it?

With everything clouding his mind, he received another unpleasant experience; woken up to the sound of Monobear’s announcement. A murder was, yet again, given to them. And with it, another murderer. Will everyone be able to find the killer this time? We’ll see.

And all of it, before the second murder was found apparently. 

¡Ay, caramba…

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(I finally finished my dorm page [kinda]! So on that note, if you'd like to see his room please engage Dante beforehand as the room is locked, with Dante outside. Feel free to send in asks if you choose to!)

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Behind Closed Doors | Motive | Dante [re:Saori]

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While they hadn’t actually had a formal interaction up until this point, the corners of the geiko’s lips quirked up at his greeting. Dante was… just as calming to be around as listening to him speak in trials, it seemed. Hearing him speak was enough to distract her from the motive (and what usually followed a motive).

After he’d finished speaking, tipping his head in the direction of the square and offering a hand, she let out a soft hum. Index and middle fingers tentatively hooking around his, then taking the rest of his hand in hers, Saori let him lead her towards their destination. 

Without turning her head, she gave him a side glance before replying to what he’d said earlier. 

"…I would argue with that—"

(Of course, of all the people she’d spoken to, Dante, the one person she was almost certain deserved the honorific merely on charm itself, was the first one to correct her.)

 ”—but if that is what you prefer, then simply Dante it is. And yes, Saori is fine…!” 

An odd duo they were, walking hand and hand towards the the labyrinth. Dante was surely sparkling, as he almost always did if you looked close enough. And her, one hand holding his and the other gathering the skirt of her kimono, merely floated across the earth. To any bystander it probably looked like they were about to attend a ball, a royal party— pretty much anything but digging in a dirty, health-hazardous tunnel. 

After gliding over an invisible red carpet up to the hole in the main square, Saori dropped her hold around his hand in order to collect the pickaxe Kozure had bought her a… a week ago? Something like that. Gathering it into her arms, she returned by his side, tipping her head up to let grey meet pale blue. 

"Do you have a direction in mind? Southwest, northwest… west… I am not sure where all the digging has been up until this point, but… I think it is fine just going in whatever direction?" 

Hopefully. This wasn’t her strong suit. 

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What a pleasant experience. It wasn't much of a surprise to know that spending time with the geiko would be an enjoyable moment but just the thought of there being someone brimming with innocence was enough to bring Dante joy. It was such a rarity to see someone so full of good that it could almost counteract all the bad he's ever seen or been. It gave him hope. If there was someone else he'd want to survive this ordeal, it was definitely this one.

But appearances were always full of deceit. He knew as much himself. It didn't stop him from feeling optimistic about the situation though. And so casting aside the stray thoughts, he thought about her question thoroughly after first retrieving his pickaxe that had been laying where he had left it. With some realization, he noticed that several others were missing too, although he figured there must already be some at work below. Maybe they'd come across the spelunkers. It was a nice thought.

"Hmm..."

With swift movements, he ungloved his fingers to give it a quick lick in an attempt to get it wet. After doing so, with confidence he raised his fingers in the air as if he knew what he was doing. The concentration he put forth was convincing enough, at least. Until finally at last, he seemed to have reached a breakthrough, he gloved himself once more and waved her in his desired direction.

"You know what they say; 'when in doubt, follow the breeze'. Let's go north, shall we?"

In truth, he had zero clue what he was talking about or what 'they say'. Hell, he just thought up the quote out of the top of his head without even knowing whether or not it was a legitimate phrase. The 'breeze' that he felt? It wouldn't even be surprising if it was the wind of his own breathe blowing across his fingers. Him leading was the worst decision they could have made, but he didn't let her know as he proceeded onward with pickaxe in tow.

He always had a bad sense of direction anyways.

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Since everyone's been doing it, I worked on my relationship page. I'M SUPER TIRED SO IDK IF I SKIPPED A LOT OR MADE MISTAKES. ill look at it tomorrow. it should be under the 'Characters' button or w/e. I don't even think it's done oh well

GOOD NIGHT

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Act 4: OH MY GOD | Dante [re: Nanoka and Party]

With the last break, Naori seemed to have broken through completely through the rubble. What a feat. And what a team they made. He kept the thought in the back of his head that they should go again together in the near distant future to find out the deeper secrets of this labyrinth.

As always, Dante felt inclined on taking the lead but there was nary a light to show them the way. At least, until there was. From behind the company approached Monomi with the lantern that made everything look so much more radiant. His eyes took a while to re-adjust but when they did he noticed something that almost sent him into a state of panic, and panic he did.

Glancing down, he spotted something white and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be someone’s hand. Just as he made that realization, that very same hand seemed to snake out and latch onto his feat as if they were desperate in the contact.

…

It took him a while to get his brain to notice that the hand was very much alive, and that the very same hand gripped onto his leg with enough force to make him scream.

"A-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

Backing away in surprise, he didn’t think far enough to know that the grasp on his legs would soon send him sprawling to the ground. Which is what he did. Falling backwards onto his butt with the hand still on his leg, Dante frantically and spontaneously brought up the pickaxe in his hand in preparation to strike down on this zombie.

And luckily a second later, he saw who that person was. It didn’t make his heart beat any slower, but it did make him hesitate long enough to postpone his strike enough to think clearly.

Upon her arrival, she explained what happened to her and he knew that she required immediate attention. It was obvious. She seemed relatively tame, considering she almost died. Once by the execution, and yet another time when Dante almost killed her himself.

Looking back at the others, he gave a nervous smile and thumbs up before gesturing towards the ground. To tell them that he needed help. With another attempt at proving his cool, when he clearly was scared out of his mind.

"All part of the plan."

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Act 4: NanokaQuest [Closed]

Upon everyone’s arrival, Dante proceeded ahead with the group towards the southwestern tunnels, meeting with a formidable wall at the end of the process. As excited as he was, he decided to take the initiative. He vaguely remembered that Monomi mentioned that there were only two blockades between them and their destination. Guess it was up to him to break the first.

"Stand back. Wouldn’t want any of you hurting yourselves."

Dante wasn’t the strongest of the group, obviously, but with the sprained leg that the strongest did have, he considered himself the most capable. After all, how hard could it be? The flimsy structure of these walls should be no match for the unbridled will of man. Or so he thought.

As confidence as he was, Dante gripped the pickaxe with only one hand, weighing the tool firmly to get what he thought was a decent grip. When he thought he was physically prepared enough after only a couple seconds of movement, he reared up and struck.

Only to have the pickaxe fly upwards out of his hand and spiral dangerously fast back down. He barely had time to move out of the way before the pickaxe could crush his feet. His voice was only one of the few things to leave him, aside from his dignity. The cry that came out was.. pathetic to say the least. Clearly rattled by what just happened, what shook him even more was the embarrassment of his actions. Clearing his throat, he straightened his posture and put his head down in a tint of shame.

"I uh… was just testing the durability of the tool was all. Glad to see that it could withstand one of my swings."

Fixing himself with a humble nod, he hastily picked the pickaxe back up and now gripped it with both hands. Which he should have done from the start. With a satisfying Crack! he smashed it back down and began chipping away at the rigid wall.

Maybe he needed a little help after all.

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Act 4: Labyrinth | NanokaQuest [Closed]

[shsl-acupuncturist]

Naori nodded to Dante and bent down to zip up Ryota’s bag, making sure to place her coin purse back in securely before pulling the strap over her head. The last thing she needed to do was lose the rest of her cash in the labyrinth. In all the smoke, dust, and dirt, it would be all too easy to drop something and never find it again.

Directing her attention back to Dante as he thanked her for the pickaxe, she waved a hand airily and shrugged off the purchase.

"It’s really no big — "

"…"

It took her a moment to process what he had asked, but even after she put the words together in her mind it did nothing but baffle her. Did he just ask if she had peed on her own handkerchief? Where did that come from? Naori almost considered answering seriously, but quickly decided against it, and instead gave Dante a shrug and a small, concealed smirk.

"Don’t be silly. I just mopped up the tears of all the people who were crying their eyes out during the trial. Trust me, there was more than enough to wet a few hankies."

She was about to suggest that they stop standing around chatting before Shay panicked at being left alone in the tunnel when two more showed up — Saori and Kozure. With that, they’d reached a full party of five people.

"Ah, hey. You’re just in time to dig up some rocks — lucky you!"

It didn’t seem as though Saori had any equipment either, which probably didn’t matter much with this many of them at work, but still, she turned to Kozure.

"Kozure-kun, could you hook her up with a pickaxe? I’m gonna go down and tell Shay we’re on our way. See you guys at the bottom!"

With that, Naori made her way over to the hole, slid down the rope and was gone.

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Even after he seemingly tried to brush off his spontaneous question, she answered. What he received was nothing like he would have expected. Or maybe he should have, considering the one that said it. It was amusing how brutally honest this one could be and truthfully, he found it admirable in a way. Another person to add onto the list of those who can keep their head on straight in the worst kind of scenarios. 

Looking back to see who she was referring to, he wasn't sure what his emotions were when he saw who it was that was coming. Next to someone small, that of which he recognized as... Saori (??), the man's incredible arms was next to none and easily distinguishable. Hell, he wouldn't even be surprised if his biceps doubled the size of the girl's head. He didn't forget what happened in the trial, and he was sure that the man didn't either, judging from the way they avoided eye-contact.

He shouldn't let any tension remain between them, or at least he should try to amend it. Whether or not the tension still remained was up to Fierro. Since they were going to spend an adequate amount of time down there together, he might as well try to clear things up. In his own way.

"ᒥI know what I did, Fierro. I will not beg for your forgiveness or even your acknowledgement. I, however, hope you understand.

There is someone's life I needed to protect even at the cost of another. It is not because I was against you personally. You can judge me in any which way you see fit but I will not apologize. I do not even regret. If given another chance, I would make the very same decision again.

But I do hope you can look past it to work together with me, at least for today. Even if it means finding someone who would much more likely condemn you to death. I do not want to make an enemy out of you, Fierro, but if it is what you wish, cast away those thoughts for just this moment. Please.ᒧ"

Then turning to the shorter company, he smiled at her behind a concealed face. She seemed determined, and size wasn't the only thing that ever mattered. He, unfortunately, didn't have any currency to aid her himself but he hoped the Fierro would have the courtesy to. Just another thing he owed him.

"Well met.. Saori? Let's work together, shall we? 

I'll meet both of you inside."

Slinging the pickaxe over his shoulder, he gripped onto the rope and let himself slide into the abyss below, eager to meet with the dangers that lied below. Let's get digging.

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Act 4: Labyrinth | Dante [Open]

[shsl-acupuncturist]

With that, the pitchman disappeared down the hole, and Naori prepared herself to join him, readjusting her makeshift gasmask. As she did so, she caught sight of someone loitering in the vicinity of the labyrinth, and approached them with one hand raised in greeting. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a familiar face — one she recalled from the second trial. He seemed to be eyeing the mining marketplace, though he made no move to buy anything.

"Hey! Dante, right?"

"Shay and I were just about to go in and look for Nanoka-chan. If you’re thinking of going in too, how ‘bout we join up? Three pickaxes are better than one!"

Naori paused, and glanced down at his empty hands. Right.

"Ahh, d’you not have tools yet?"

She seemed to briefly consider something, and then shrugged Ryota’s bag off of her shoulders before opening it up and pulling out a small pouch. Unzipping it, she shook out a few coins and turned to the counter before exchanging the money for something helpfully labeled in scrawled script as a ‘sturdy pickaxe’.

"Here, take it. It’s a lot better to use one of these babies than scrape away at rock with your hands, trust me!"

She’d already made investments in digging equipment for Shay and Kozure, among others. It couldn’t possibly hurt to throw a little extra into the pot — especially if she was serious about making it through the tunnels.

[shsl-masquerade-blog]

Slowly, he felt his ego and determination withering away in the gritty breeze. If anyone took their time to pay close attention, it almost looked like he wanted to cry. Several ideas crossed through his mind, the most prominent one was one where it involved him seducing Monomi for the equipment. How attracted the bunny was to any sort of advance was beyond him, he would just have to find out. And just as he was getting ready to get shot down brutally, looking at the marketplace with a face that could be pitied, a blessing seemed to come out of nowhere. A goddess, one of two students seemed to notice him and greeted him in kindness.

He recognized her as Naori, most notably the one who helped him in the trial before this one. And before he could even consider thanking her for her divinity and mercy, with a hint of over exaggeration, she already went ahead of herself to get him one of the few items he looked at the most. Was this real life, or was it fantasy? Either way, he was ecstatic and he tried his best to hold his excitement in. It was like a kid who'd just gotten a huge chocolate bar for Halloween. Funny, for someone who took care of one all on his own.

Turning to Ladron, he untied the scarf off his neck and quickly shooed him away, fearing that the tunnels might harm the ferret.

"Go back to Eva. I'll give you a treat later."

And with that he turned to address Naori once more.

"And thank you, I cannot begin to express my grat-.."

But not before taking notice to the wet fabric on her face. Smart, he thought, as the dust would prove to be a nuisance. What came out of his mouth was spontaneous, as he said whatever came to mind first.

"You wouldn't happen to have urinated in that... would you?"

Before she could even answer, as he was afraid his question could be off-putting and her answer even more so. He took the scarf and doused it in Ladron's temporary drinking water before putting it on. He wouldn't want her to get any funny ideas, like say, soaking it for him. Not that he would judge. Not too hard.

"Nevermind that, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

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Resolution | Dante [re: Shay, Chiemi, Eva]

Watching the spectacle with extreme interest, Dante pre-occupied himself self-consciously by untying the ribbon around Ladron’s neck and replaced it with the red. It looked so much better on him anyways.

Just as it was reaching its pinnacle, he heard just slightly the exclamation of what seemed to be a betting station. He usually wasn’t one to participate too heavily into gambling but the situation was just too amusing not to. Plus, the caster was very good at what he did, not surprising Dante at all if his talent happened to relate to something along of show host. He did happen to have two of those coins on him, not used for any purpose yet. But just as he decided that he would participate, the show was at an end. Unfortunately?

"A missed opportunity, it seems. Maybe next time, right?"

What filled him however, wasn’t disappointment but rather pride in what his acquaintance did. She owned up to what she did, and that was a first that he saw. Of course, she didn’t have to make him look like a douchebag in the process. Hearing her relay her side of the story was painful in the least but now wasn’t the time to reveal his secrets. If there ever would be a time.

Wading his way over to them both as they made up, trying to seem subtle in his approach, he clasped a hand on both of their shoulders and gave them a warm appreciative smile.

"Well then, it looks like you two have had your fun."

Shifting his head to Eva, he addressed her first.

"It seems you were right. You did mature. Doesn’t look like you need me to baby you anymore. You needed those two years alone.”

And then turning to Chiemi.

"And as for you, thank you. You know, I would’ve lost my respect for you if you had fought back but I’m glad you didn’t.

Both of you maintained your composure as performers in the end. Such is good when in the presence of an audience; and what an audience we have gathered here.”

With a brief motion of his hands he gracefully referred to everyone in the trial, a majority of which had their attention to the two of them. He agreed, to an extent. Being a performer had its work and to achieve, there was always fall. His fall, he wouldn’t reveal to them, or more specifically her. There was a reason he made that decision those years ago and he didn’t regret it even now.

"Now, if you two are done with your cat fight I think we have other things to worry about."

And with a sudden transition in expression, he turned from gentle to a strict look of serious as he stood up and spoke loud enough for the others to hear as well.

"Most notably the fact that someone is likely to get hurt."