Had her mind been more settled after the commotion, she would've blushed furiously when Dante called her 'a sweet little miss', but there was still some panic polluting her thoughts. He was talking, at least. He was breathing. He was alive. That was the only thing that she needed to know right now. She never would have forgiven herself if she killed anyone, least of all him. Dante always made the usually quiet days interesting when he came in, sure. More than that though, he made her smile. He made her laugh. A quieter creature herself, it had taken a while to adjust to the unending snark of him. It had been a bit jarring at first, but now she was always hoping that he would come in.
Thank the gods he had today.
Once she was satisfied that he was just as fine as he had been when he'd strode in earlier, Bradley finally began to survey the damage. Shelves and cases had crumbled to the floor in shattered bits. There were trinkets strewn out in every direction. Some had survived. Most hadn't. Luckily, she didn't keep anything particularly valuable out on the floor. Luckier still, she didn't keep anything with any kind of real power out here either. That was too risky. It wasn't as though she was going to sell those things anyway. They were safest in her care.
So she waved a hand when he offered to have other people come handle the damage. "Don't worry about it. You saved my life and I...shot you. I think we're even. Besides, it's a delicate ecosystem in here." Even if the items out here weren't particularly significant, they still needed to be placed thoughtfully, which was why the disaster was so odd. Bradley never put anything in proximity of another object that would agitate it. She couldn't understand why there was a reliquary holding the teeth of a saint still standing next to where the shattered pieces of the demon's vessel were lying. That was a rookie move, and she wasn't a rookie. She made a mental note to check up on the poltergeist she kept bound to a puppet in the basement.
She reached for the reliquary before turning to look at Dante as he began explaining himself. "Don't worry, you're hardly the scariest thing within these walls. I'm not freaked out. Well, I'm not freaked out now." She certainly had been a few moments ago. That hadn't necessarily been his fault though. With a small sigh, she set the divine item back on the remains of a shelf. "No, I'm not hurt. I'm just... Do you know about me then?"
The look on her face was genuinely horrified that she actually pulled the trigger. He didn't see her as a type to do that, anyway, even to own a gun for that matter. It seemed like his words didn't register as she rushed to his side and looked at what was left now just a hole in his clothes and a few stains of blood on the white shirt underneath the coat. Evidently she was in shock, but once Bradley is able to take a breath, she'll realize it all herself.
"Just got my ego bruised a little that such a sweet miss like yourself shot me."Dante said with a half smirk and a chuckle. "I'm alright, Bradley. Just peachy - another demon has been put in a shithole it crawled out of. I'm sorry for the, uh... mess."he then hummed and pursed his lips as blue hues scanned her cute little shop. "I know people who know people who can take care of it. It'll be like I was never here, swear my heart and hope to die."he said a bit too dramatically with the hand over his left side of the chest.
Dante cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "So, assume I have some explaining to do. Hopefully I didn't freak you too much when I, you know, took onto that other form. I know it looks freaky, the wings, horns, all that shenanigans. But I need you to know I'm fully in control and it's still me - I don't always change like that but I had to, in order to protect you and react quickly."he elaborated before looking her over. "You're not hurt or anything, right?"
🐝 * ― 𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 / 𝒀𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.
❛ i can't stop thinking about you even when i try. ❜ ❛ every time i see you, it's like my heart skips a beat. ❜ ❛ i never realized how much i needed you until you weren't there. ❜ ❛ do you ever feel like there's something missing ... like a piece of your heart is somewhere else? ❜ ❛ i wish i had the courage to tell you how i feel. ❜ ❛ if only you knew how much you truly mean to me. ❜ ❛ do you ever wonder what it would be like if things were different between us? ❜ ❛ sometimes i wonder if you ever think about me the way i think about you. ❜ ❛ i had a lot of dreams about you recently. ❜ ❛ somehow, you're always on my mind. ❜ ❛ i think i've been in love with you since the day we met - scratch that, i know i've been in love with you since the day we met. ❜ ❛ my biggest wish is to hold you close and never let you go. ❜ ❛ all my life i've felt like a part of me was missing, but with you i've finally found it. ❜ ❛ you deserve better than who i am right now, but i'm gonna keep trying to become someone you do deserve. ❜ ❛ every time you smile at me, i get this flutter in my chest. ❜ ❛ do you think i'll ever be worthy of your love? ❜ ❛ i want to be the person to make you happy. the one person you can always come to with whatever you need. ❜ ❛ will we ever get another chance together? ❜ ❛ you were the best thing that's ever happened to me. ❜ ❛ my biggest regret is ever letting you go. ❜ ❛ i'm still in love with you ... and i honestly never stopped. ❜ ❛ when i wake up in the morning, you're the first person i want to see. ❜ ❛ every time i wake up, i check if you wrote me another message. ❜ ❛ i wish i could be as important to you as you are to me. ❜ ❛ it hurts when you don't talk to me like you used to. ❜ ❛ i miss everything about you, your touch, your laugh, your smile. i wish i could have that back. ❜ ❛ i want to fall asleep wrapped in your arms. ❜ ❛ hold me closer; i always feel safer when you're with me. ❜ ❛ there's so much i wish i was able to tell you. ❜ ❛ i know things aren't easy right now, but i want to remain a fixture in your life. after all, you're one in mine. ❜ ❛ i miss the way you always made me smile. ❜ ❛ you're the reason i keep holding on. ❜ ❛ maybe we're supposed so to remain a case of 'right person, wrong time' forever. ❜ ❛ if only you knew how i feel about you. ❜ ❛ i'm yearning to hold your hand in mine. ❜ ❛ i think you are the one for me, and i hope one day i'll be the one for you, too. ❜ ❛ do you think i'll ever become more than a friend to you? ❜ ❛ my heart belongs to you, always and forever. ❜ ❛ my first instinct is to protect you, no matter the cost. ❜ ❛ i've been thinking about us a lot lately. ❜
𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 , 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 . ݁˖ ❀ ⋆。˚ a series of romantic gesture prompts inspired by historical fiction, period dramas, classic fairytales, poetry, and more. will likely be updated in the future, so please do not add onto this.
[ HAND ] , sender kisses receiver's hand.
[ COURTESY ] , receiver kisses sender's hand.
[ KNUCKLES ] , sender kisses receiver's knuckles.
[ AFFECTION ] , receiver kisses sender's knuckles.
[ TENDER ] , sender kisses receiver's forehead/temple.
[ CARE ] , receiver kisses sender's forehead/temple.
[ LIPS ] , sender kisses receiver on the mouth.
[ SEALED ] , receiver kisses sender on the mouth.
[ HUG ] , sender hugs receiver close.
[ EMBRACE ] , receiver hugs sender close.
[ KNEEL ] , sender gets down on one knee.
[ REVERENCE ] , receiver gets down on one knee.
[ OFFER ] , sender offers their arm for receiver to join them somewhere.
[ JOIN ] , receiver offers their arm for sender to join them somewhere.
[ ENVELOPE ] , sender writes receiver a love letter.
[ LETTER ] , receiver writes sender a love letter.
[ FLOWERS ] , sender gifts receiver flowers.
[ BOUQUET ] , receiver gifts sender flowers.
[ DANCE ] , sender asks receiver to dance.
[ WALTZ ] , receiver asks sender to dance
[ SILENCE ] , sender and receiver enjoy a quiet moment together without conversation.
[ READ ] , sender reads to receiver.
[ STORY ] , receiver reads to sender.
[ CARRY ] , sender carries receiver in their arms.
[ LIFT ] , receiver carries sender in their arms.
[ HUG ] , sender hugs receiver close.
[ INTERLOCKED ] , sender holds receiver's hand.
[ INTERWOVEN ] , receiver holds sender's hand.
[ GENTLE ] , sender holds receiver's face in their hands.
[ CRADLE ] , receiver holds sender's face in their hands.
[ CONVERSE ] , sender has an intimate conversation with receiver.
[ SHARE ] , receiver has an intimate conversation with sender.
[ COOK ] , sender cooks a meal for receiver.
[ CHEF ] , receiver cooks a meal for sender.
[ POEM ] , sender writes a poem for receiver.
[ ODE ] , receiver writes a poem for sender.
[ GIFT ] , sender gives receiver a gift ( specify ).
[ PRESENT ] , receiver gives receiver a gift ( specify ).
[ HOLD ] , sender and receiver cuddle together.
[ BACK ] , sender gives receiver a back rub.
[ MASSAGE ] , receiver gives sender a back rub.
[ ASSIST ] , sender helps receiver put on a piece of clothing or jewellery.
[ HELP ] , receiver helps sender put on a piece of clothing or jewellery.
[ RAINFALL ] , sender kisses and/or dances with receiver in the rain.
[ DOWNPOUR ] , receiver kisses and/or dances with sender in the rain.
[ BASKET ] , sender and receiver share a private picnic.
[ WORSHIP ] , sender kisses and/or touches receiver's body with reverence.
[ DEVOTION ] , receiver kisses and/or touches sender's body with reverence.
[ ALTAR ] , sender watches receiver walk down the aisle towards them.
[ AISLE ] , receiver watches sender as they walk down the aisle towards them.
"You'll be the first person I tell." She promised. And the only. It wasn't as if she really had anyone else to ask for help. Bradley didn't dislike her life. It had intrigue; it had purpose. There was always something new to learn. She liked that, but it was still a rather solitary life. Everything went into looking after the objects in her care. Most of them didn't require that much tending to. Some of them required too much to be left alone for long. Time to make connections didn't come easily or often. Centuries ago, there had been three more of her kind. Sisters that she'd never known. They were long gone, faded into nothing before she'd ever gotten a chance to know them. Her parents had made one last of them to fill in the gap and left her to figure it out. She'd done a pretty good job thus far. It certainly could've been worse.
She laughed once, glad for his humor now more than ever. It cut through the weight of what had just happened. "Maybe a little bit of both," she grinned back at him. Whether he was the scariest thing in here or not, he was definitely one of the more likeable things. It wasn't just poltergeists that she kept in check. There were evils older than time locked away beneath the foundation of her shop, monsters that her parents knew needed to be kept away from the world. She climbed upstairs to her little apartment on the second floor and slept above them every night after checking that all of her safeguards were still in place. Then she checked them again in the morning before doing anything else.
This time, she did blush just a little as Dante went on. It was silly, really, how simply hearing that he enjoyed her company was enough to dust her cheeks in pink. She busied herself then, making her way to the front of the shop to turn the sign on the door to closed and then beginning to pick up some of the more manageable pieces of debris. The questions that followed made her pause. Her hand hovered over the remains of an old medical textbook. She stood from where she'd been crouching to reach it and set the pieces on a precarious bookshelf. When she looked back to Dante, her eyes caught the motion of him rolling up his sleeves. They lingered there long enough to take in his corded forearms before she forced them up. "Nothing like this, no," she replied quietly. "I have other beings in here, but they always come to me contained. It's just on me to make sure they stay that way..." Bradley trailed off. Her brows pulled together. "Why? What are you thinking?"
Dante let out a sigh as she mentioned being even with him and it hardly felt like that, honestly, just by looking at the ruined stuff around the shop. His blue eyes looked at her closely and carefully as she glanced at one specific reliquary, often he wondered what was going on through her head, even more so now. "Still --- if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know, Bradley, alright?"he insisted.
At her bringing up how he isn't the scariest thing in here his brows rose up and he chuckled. "Should I be offended or flattered?"he asked with a little smug grin on his features, showing her he was just joking. Even though the demon was beat, his senses were on alert - the attack couldn't have happened out of no where, that demon was after something. And the more he backtracked, the more it seemed like the demon wasn't after him at all, the element of surprise with Dante being present making him kill it faster.
Once Bradley spoke again he snapped out of his thoughts and offered her another grin. "I do. I mean, it made sense who you are, with the whole business you have in your little shop. Kinda put the two and two together."he admitted with a shrug. "You've got a lot of things of interest kept here. Things that some might use for something bad. So I was kinda swinging by, got some reliquaries from you that helped me in my own agenda. And I grew to enjoy your company, you're one very interesting young lady."he chuckled and procedeed with putting his sword to the side so he could take off his coat, it was already damaged from the demon fight and the bullet hole wasn't as pretty. "Bradley, did you experience demon coming after you before? Have you ever had any sort of encounter similar to this?"he asked and began rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, while his trusted guns ebony and ivory rested on each side of his ribs.
🐝 * ― 𝑭𝑬𝑨𝑹 / 𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑹 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.
❛ nothing's going to happen to us, right? ❜ ❛ i'm ... scared. ❜ ❛ i don't like where this is going. ❜ ❛ did i ever tell you i'm actually terrified of [the dark / heights / spiders / etc.]? ❜ ❛ you hear me? we're not going to die today! ❜ ❛ did you hear that? it sounded like screams. ❜ ❛ i really, really don't like this. ❜ ❛ we're completely alone here, nothing's going to happen to us. ❜ ❛ this place has been abandoned for centuries. ❜ ❛ whatever happens, keep the lights on. ❜ ❛ you're not scared, are you? ❜ ❛ this is like straight out of my worst nightmare. ❜ ❛ do you believe in ghosts? ❜ ❛ what are you afraid? ❜ ❛ what was that?! ❜ ❛ see, i told you there's nothing to be afraid of. ❜ ❛ go on, no one will hear your screams. ❜ ❛ it was a foolish idea to come here alone. ❜ ❛ no one is going to save you now. ❜ ❛ don't be afraid, i'm not going to hurt you. ❜ ❛ you really think you can run from me? ❜ ❛ it's a shame i'll have to kill you when we're done with this. ❜ ❛ want to make a deal with the devil? ❜ ❛ i'm not afraid of you. not anymore. ❜ ❛ there are figures hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike. ❜ ❛ this wasn't so bad now, was it? ❜ ❛ what could possibly go wrong - it's just an old abandoned meaning, it doesn't mean it's haunted, right? ❜ ❛ face it, we won't make it out of here alive. ❜ ❛ i'll even give you a choice - it's either you or them. who's going to die tonight? ❜ ❛ i will haunt you for the rest of your days. ❜ ❛ don't scream, it will only make this worse. ❜ ❛ you look so pretty when you're scared of me. ❜ ❛ i won't kill you ... yet. ❜ ❛ ghosts and monsters aren't real. ❜ ❛ i'm not afraid of anything! ❜ ❛ you! you're sick! you sent me here to die, didn't you? ❜ ❛ close your eyes. it'll make it easier if you don't see it coming. ❜ ❛ no matter where you hide, i'll always find you. so you better give up now. ❜ ❛ i promise i'm gonna be your worst nightmare. ❜ ❛ it's only over when i say it is. ❜
@thelcwless said: ❛ i never realized how much i needed you until you weren't there. ❜
from: pining/yearning starters (accepting)
Raven's words warmed that lonely little corner of his heart that so desperately longed to be needed. He filled it as often as he could by being everything for everyone. It helped to feel relied upon. There was something about hearing the words spoken so plainly though, that fulfilled him in a way that all of his good deeds never could. Especially after she'd run. She'd come back, and she needed him, and Malcolm swore that everything was right with the world in that moment.
He sighed at the sight of her, the sound heavy with relief. Once he welcomed someone in, they became a part of the pack. When Raven left after he'd done that, he'd cycled through the sting of loss, of rejection, of worry. Stopping himself from going after her, going after one of his own, had been a struggle, but chasing someone oftentimes only made them run faster and further. She was used to running, he knew. Setting her off would've been too easy. The choice to return was made sweeter by the fact that it had been hers.
The wolf smiled. He approached her without fear that he'd spook her now. "It's admirable that you've survived alone all this time." Malcolm commended her, reaching out to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "But I'm glad you've realized that you don't have to anymore. Welcome home, Raven."
ROB RACO as RICKY ; A HUNDRED LIES(2024)
as requested, click on the source link to be redirected to the gif page. all of these gifs were made by me from scratch, so i ask that you respect my work and don’t claim as your own. please like and reblog if you have found these useful. use them at your leisure for rp'ing. enjoy!
gif count: 598 content warning: kissing ; hugging ; hospital setting ; drinking ; eating ; nudity
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