B E M - V I N D A VONTADE

"I… thank you." He bowed gratefully, the child in his arms making a small confused noise followed by a soft giggle. He straightened back up, his smile still on. "You are very kind. Again, I apologize for intruding… but you have both of our gratitude for allowing us to stay." His smile warmed, and he reached a finger to the child, who took it with both of her tiny hands and gurgled.

"My name is Yuu; this child is Shu-long." He again bowed, this time just with a nod of his head. He offered the woman a somewhat sheepish smile. "I.. also must apologize for getting your floor all wet. It is a bit of a downpour out there." 

But seeing as her company couldn't see, she wouldn't be able to convey much of anything through her actions.

However, as he introduced himself, she couldn't help bowing back-- and feeling a bit silly about it. Rolling her eyes at herself, she responded and introduced herself as well, "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Cicea. Shu-long is very cute, and I'm glad to see that you found shelter here. You poor things must've had quite the time out in this storm."

She'd nearly extended her hand for him to shake before she remembered he wouldn't have seen it. Her arm dropped back to her sides and she shook her head dismissively as she addressed his apology,"No, thats quite alright. It is raining rather fiercely so it's to be expected, so there's no reason to fret over it. I'd happily dry you off, however."

As the thunder rattled on in the distance, she paused, attention fixating on the child in Yuu's arms. Surprisingly, the child did not cry, though she was clearly still perturbed by the sharp clattering noise. A silent, amused laugh slipped past Cicea's lips. As the sound passed, she continued 'speaking'.

"Hello?" He called over somewhat uncertainly. "Is someone there? Forgive me for trespassing, I did not think this building was in use…" As he spoke, he stood, pulling the child close to his chest again and backing closer to the door. Even when he was calling out, his voice was soft, and his manner of speech polite. 

"I only wanted to find shelter for the little one…" He continued, now certain there was somebody there. "I shall leave if I am not welcome." His heart sunk at the idea. It was hard enough finding this little town, let alone a place that was.. supposedly empty. All he wanted to do was keep Shu-long out of the rain for the night. But humans… they would chase him out if they knew. And… well, he couldn’t tell if this person was human or not. He assumed they were, but he’s been long out of practice with sensing those sorts of things, so he.. really had no clue.

It appeared that he'd finally noticed her. As he stepped back toward the door while speaking, she took several quick paces forward, hand extended forward, reaching in a gesture for him to stop. It took a moment for her to remember that the man was blind and wouldn't be able to see it. Mentally knocking herself upside the head, she pulled her hand back and stopped moving to keep from spooking him and sending him off. His general demeanor and the softness and apprehension in his voice spoke volumes of the things the pair had been subjected to in their doubtlessly long journeys. It made her heart ache with empathy, and swiftly solved her indecision.

With no reason to hesitate any longer, she took a deep breath before speaking to the other demon telepathically, hoping that he wouldn't be too startled by it ( but who was she kidding, there's no way it wouldn't freak him out even a little bit. ).

"Don't be afraid," she began quickly-- a silly thing to start with, all things considered... But alas, it was the best she could think to say on such short notice. On the bright side, at least, she'd laced it with a bit of suggestion to help ease his nerves.

"It's fine, you're welcome here," she continued, voice much less urgent and more soothing, "You are free to take shelter and weather the storm with me, it's alright. I am the only other being here, and the sole inhabitant. You've done no harm and none shall come to you." Cicea began approaching him once more, with slow and deliberate steps. While not loud, it was enough to alert him of her approach. Her gaze shifted between him and the child in his arms, finding no apparent likeness between the two-- though it became clear to her that the baby wasn't human either from the horns sprouting out from the tufts of hair on her head. This elicited a raised brow from her.

'Curious,' she thought to herself, as an amused smile pulling at her lips, 'Birds of a feather, I suppose.'

Luckily, he finally did find an entrance. Relief washed over him, and just as he began to turn the handle, some thunder rolled across the sky above. The first thunder he’s heard that night. Unfortunately, it frightened the child in his arms, and she began to wail loudly. Yuu darted inside, closing the door behind him before sinking onto the ground and finally pulling the bundle in his arms away from his chest. 

She'd never really thought of having children before she'd lost the ability to have them. The realization was extremely painful for her and was akin to having giant rock-salts shoved into her wounds after the loss of her entire clan.

After a moment, she figured she should probably do something, considering they were trespassing. From the sounds of it, however, it seemed as though they were seeking shelter and it wouldn't be right to deny them that since there was a child involved, and a very young one at that. So, she pushed her blanket aside and stood up, dusting herself off and changing her appearance accordingly under the assumption that her unwitting visitors were human. She brushed her now chocolate hued locks out of her eyes, which remained their soft blue color, and threw her vaguely wavy hair back over her shoulders, as she'd undone her braids when she'd been reading. It reached down to her calves, quite a bit longer than how they usually appeared when she had it done up.

Once that was all done with, she straightened out her clothes, which had just been her navy dress shirt and black shorts, as she'd taken the rest off when she'd first returned 'home'. She cleared her throat and steeled herself to meet the man that had wandered into her library. Walking out of her aisle and into the spacious center aisle, she made her way towards the entrance, her foot falls muted against the rug. To be honest, she was actually rushing a little bit, because the thought of possibly being able to interact with the child made her almost embarrassingly giddy and excited.

After turning the corner around the last bookshelf before the door, she was quite surprised upon finding that her unexpected guest was also a demon. Though she couldn't express her shock vocally, her mouth hung open, and her feet halted abruptly-- nearly causing Cicea to trip over herself. It was enough to disrupt whatever vague attention she'd been paying to upholding her disguise, and her horns were once again sprouting from her head, and her hair shifted to a color not unlike that of her eyes. It had been a very long time since she'd last seen a fellow demon. This one didn't seem to be a celestial being like she was, however, and seemed to be of this world, if of another plane rather than the after life. He also seemed to be blind which gave her few options when it came to communications at this point, although it was nice not having to bring her disguise back up.

On the other hand, she was unsure if he'd noticed her presence yet, since he seemed rather preoccupied with comforting the crying child in his arms, and debated whether or not she should use her telepathic powers to say something. It would be rather rude of her and a little shocking, after all, to suddenly hear someone else's voice in your mind.

He takes everything in stride, as he always has. “My earlier offer will always stand, of course, but for now, as you’ve said, this arrangement is likely for the best.” 

It took her a moment to calm down, and she nodded again at his reminder and she gave a sincere smile as she found her voice, Thank you, Dino. I'll be sure to keep that offer in my back pocket, to consider again at a later date.

He laces their fingers together and smiles a bit, mildly amused now that he doesn’t have to worry anymore. “No, I’d have them hanged by their toes from the ceiling fan for such a thing.” 

He’s kidding. Sort of. “No, I could have your room close to mine, and only my most trusted man usually comes to that area of the estate. …And he never, ever handles the dirty parts of the job. …Well, not anymore, anyways.” 

He bit his lip before sighing again. He lifts his head and meets Cicea’s gaze before continuing in a low voice, so as to ward off any eavesdroppers. “…Ah… Ci… I, uh… inherited an organization that could be, uh… Construed as… Mafia.” 

Dino, really, stop beating around the bush and tell her that you’re a mob boss, because, really, she’s not going to get up and disappear on you. It’s not like she has the cleanest hands, either. 

Dino honestly seemed like the last person she could expect to be the head of a family of organized crime, but hey, guess she really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Not like it particularly phased her. It was unexpected, yes, but hey, she really had no right to judge what his profession was. She couldn't help but laugh a little.

That- That would work perfectly, actually. She smiled brightly before pausing, Tenants? Do you rent out rooms?

"Ah, figured I’d offer." He folded his arms on the table, keeping his demeanor light but still somehow looking like a kicked dog. "I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable." 

No, it's fine. I really appreciate it, and again, I'd love to. A pause, I really am happy you offered, though. I could, perhaps, stay a day or two until I leave again?

{{ happy late munday :’)

"Stay, then. I have plenty of room, if you would like to take of permanent residence."

It was unexpected, to say the least.

She almost thought he was joking for a second, and she had to double check just to make sure. But if she was reading the signs right, he wasn't, and she didn't quite know what to make of that. If there was one thing she could be certain about, it was that she wanted to say yes, but that would be opening up doors she wasn't sure she was ready to open yet.