There Were So Many Orders! Kitra buried her face in her hands. How, how was it even possible?! She had left the tattoo shop and headed straight back to her apartment building and to her studio. Once there she discovered what should have been impossible. Eight hundred and twenty eight requests for her work. She let out a huge sigh and removed her face from her hands. Kitra didn't need the work, she did it because she liked drawing. Right now however, well, that was feeling was not so true. Her pacing began as rantings echoed in her studio. "How is it even possible to have 828 requests? I haven't even been back in America for a week. This is freaking ridiculous."

Mutterings still spewing from her mouth, her pacing become work pacing. Paper moved through the air, of all different sizes. Thankfully, the orders had been separated into categories and sub-categories. Orders for portraits went to one area, along with the supplies needed. Pet portraits to another, scenery to yet another area. Anime or gaming requests went to her desk. The, uh, not so tasteful requests were slipped into a folder with their needed supplies on top into a corner. The sorting went on for about forty-five minutes or so. Now, Kitra just needed to decide what to start on first. Her eyes went to her desk, the anime and gaming requests would be first.

Paper rustling around her, Kitra drew and drew. The requests were from everything you could imagine. Link from the Zelda franchise, Thrall from World of Warcraft, Kerragan from Starcraft, Tracer from Overwatch. "Wait, what the hell is Overwatch?" Her tone was purplexed and her face went red when she realized she was behind the times a bit and should have recognized the request. Kitra sighed, feeling somewhat annoyed with herself. She should have known that one, she had been staying in Japan for the past two years.


Time passed by quickly as she drew even more odd requests, and requests from much older franchises. Alucard from Hellsing was a favorite of hers, she of course took the time to actually color and shade that one. The rest she had just done the outlines of. Kitra's stomach let out a low growl as she stopped to stretch and move around a bit. She realized with a start it was somewhat later then she thought. And she had been glad she had plugged her phone in about an hour ago. Kitra was a bit startled when it rang and moved to answer it with a perplexed look on her face.

"Hey. I just got off. Need to feed and walk my dog right quick, but I'd be good for anything after that."

Kitra blinked, then blinked again as Dante's voice came through her phone. "Hello Dante, I hadn't realized it had gotten so late." She mentally facepalmed, she had completely forgotten about their date! Yesh, she was a space cadet. Of course, work can do that to a gal though. "How does meeting at Rivalry's sound? It has a pool hall, arcade, music and of course alcohol." One of the first things she had done when she arrived back was to find out where some of the safe havens were for fellow mutants. Can't be too careful when alcohol is involved.

While talking with Dante, Kitra had managed to lock up her studio, get down a few floors to her apartment and into it. She was already eyeballing some clothes and was just awaiting Dante's response so she could clean up and get dressed in out around town attire.

"Rivalry's. Got it. I understand losing track of time," he said into the phone as he rather briskly made his way home. More briskly than usual, actually. "I'll see you around eight, then," he said before hanging up, then walked into his apartment building and up the one flight of stairs to his apartment.

He still had boxes lying around, but he was just too lazy to unpack all at once. He just pulled things out of boxes as he needed them. Once inside, he went to the kitchen, filling Duke's bowls with food and water, petting him and playing with him a little before leashing him up and taking him for a walk. But this walk was different. He was....antsy? Dante was...actually looking forward to this. It wasn't like him to look forward to something, but he hadn't had a date since the divorce. Hell, he still wasn't sure he was ready, but a part of him knew he probably needed this. For better or worse.

Once the walk was done, he got Duke back to the apartment, then looked down at what he was wearing. Honestly, he figured it'd be okay. Besides, his good clothes were in a box, and therefore buried and wrinkled to high hell, and that surely wouldn't do. Besides, with Dante, what you saw was what you got. Then, he pulled out his phone, and looked up the address to the bar; good, it wasn't terribly far. He ran a brush through his hair, and just shaped up his little bit of facial hair a bit.

Then, the smoke manipulator left the apartment, and made his way down the street to meet his date, lighting up a cigarette as taking a few drags on it as he walked.

So eight pm was the date time. Thankfully Rivalry's wasn't that far and it didn't take her long to get ready. Kitra finished freshening up, took her hair half way out of its braid and retied it. She grabbed her smaller purse this time, it still had all the necessities, just less paper. Her shirt and skirt was now a reddish-purple. However, she kept to her same trench coat as it had many inside and outside pockets. The inside pockets had some extra paper in them. But her pockets where she would keep her hands warm now had a dagger in each of them.

Satisfied, Kitra grabbed her keys and exited the apartment building and made her way a few blocks down. Her smile was happy and sincere as she came upon Dante standing outside smoking. "Hey! I didn't make you wait too long did I?" Without skipping a beat she continued with a tiny smirk on her face. "Wasn't sure if you would be a big drinker so I figured having a pool hall and arcade here would be just as epic as well." Kitra leaned back slightly on her heels while waiting for Dante to be done smoking. She had switched to her half inch heels so she didn't overshadow Dante too much. Once he was done they could head inside and decide what they would want to do first.

He propped up against the outside of the building, puffing on his cigarette, and taking a few drags, inhaling the smoke as the smoke came out. He smiled when he saw Kitra approaching; that trench coat was unmistakable. Not to mention that red hair. He shook his head. "Nah, not even long enough to finish this," he said with a shrug, smirking ever so slightly.

"Oh, I can put away a few drinks," he said with a wink. "But that other stuff sounds fun too." With that, he stamped out his cigarette and flicked the remains in a nearby trash can. She was still a good bit taller than him, but not as much as she was when she had the boots on earlier. Meanwhile, he'd worn the exactly the same thing she'd seen him earlier.

"Ready?" he asked, offering his arm to lead her inside. She was his date for the evening, after all.

"Oh, I can put away a few drinks, but that other stuff sounds fun too."

Was that a wink? Kitra couldn't help but grin and take Dante's arm and they headed inside. Once inside they headed down one flight of stairs and into the pool hall/arcade room. There was alcohol allowed here, but food and games seemed more needed and fun then anything else at the moment. " So any particular food tickle your fancy?" Her stomach let out a low growl and she continued sheepishly. "I sorta forgot to eat after I left the tattoo shop. I was working in my studio and lost track of time."

Kitra made her way to a table towards the back where there wasn't anyone and flagged down one of the staff. The waitress smiled and handed her and Dante a menu apiece. After looking at it briefly, Kitra looked up. "I'll have a cherry Dr. Pepper, a basket of zucchini fries and a cheeseburger please."[/color] The waitress nodded and looked to Dante for his order. Once she took it she left to go get their drinks and put their orders in. Since they would be waiting a bit for their food, Kitra decided to get to know her date a bit better. "So, do you normally go out with chicks that show off their first time meeting you?" Her voice was coy and teasing.

By this time Kitra had removed her trench coat and hung it on her chair. The waitress, Julie was her name, Kitra had finally spotted her name tag, had brought their drinks. Taking a sip, she sighed with relief as the cool liquid slid down her throat and wet her dry mouth. It wasn't like her to be nervous, but things had changed a lot since she had been gone from America for nearly five years. She had no idea if any of her friends were still around, or her enemies for that matter. Ah, no matter, it's best to be in the present and not the past. At least for now, especially since she had a hot guy in front of her. A tiny thought entered her mind but she dismissed, she would ask his age later.

Dante was in rare form tonight; maybe it was the fact that he'd been out of the dating game for so long, but he had been in a relationship for several years, and the divorce had finally been made official several months ago. In fact, he hadn't even planned on going out, but when a woman like Kitra wanted a date, then you took her on a date.

"Heh, I haven't actually eaten anything after work either. I mean, I made sure Duke was fed and taken care of, but I figured we'd grab something here," he said with a shrug. Honestly, he kinda missed what it was like, having a woman on his arm. They sat at a table towards the back, and he slid into his seat across from her. "I'll have a Coke, a bacon cheeseburger, and an order of onion rings," he told the waitress as she showed up.

"Most of 'em never ask," he said coyly, a sly smirk plastered across his face. But then, he became a little more sincere. "Nah; I actually haven't dated in quite some time," he said earnestly, giving another of his signature shrugs. He took a sip of his soda, then slipped his jacket off, revealing a black sleeveless shirt that also showed off his heavily tattooed arms. He wasn't overly athletic, but he was pretty well defined nonetheless.

"So what about you?" he asked. "You always ask out your tattoo artist, or am I just special?"

Kitra chuckled, "Normally I do not. However, you caught my eye in more ways then one." She removed her over shirt to reveal her short sleeved, reddish purple shirt. More of a low cut blouse with short sleeves really, it fit her figure quite well. It also showed that she was well defined in the muscle department, which tended to put some men off. It certainly wasn't overbearing, but still. Kitra looked at his tattoos with interest, she hadn't really looked while she was at the tattoo shop, so she did so now. Her inspection was cut short by Julie bringing them their food.

"So." Kitra was happily munching on her fries as her eyes moved up to Dante's. "Is smoking without a cigarette with you a normal thing?" She kept her tone light and took a bite of her cheeseburger, she truly wanted to know. Sometimes though, curiosity killed the cat, but it could also bring it back. Kitra continued to eat her cheeseburger while waiting for Dante's reply. She just hoped it wouldn't be him up and leaving.

Heh. So this was something neither of them did often. Interesting. "It was the smoke-trick, wasn't it?" he asked with a smirk. And then, not long after he'd removed his jacket, she was taking off her over-shirt. How many shirts did she have on? More importantly, how many of them would she be taking off throughout the course of the night? She was well built, and her choice of outfit complimented her figure quite well.

He chuckled at her question. "Well, normal for me. Though I do have to have smoke stored for me to be able to do it," He took a bite of his burger after answering her question, and took another drink of his soda. "While I'd normally be okay with risking getting thrown out of a joint for quote-unquote 'smoking,' this is one I'd like to come back to one day," he said with a mischievous grin. "Though I'd be happy to show you later."

He sat back in his chair, taking in the view of the woman across from him while he ate. The food really was good, better than he expected, though he usually had low expectations. Couldn't be disappointed that way, after all.

"Well, normal for me. Though I do have to have smoke stored for me to be able to do it. While I'd normally be okay with risking getting thrown out of a joint for quote-unquote 'smoking,' this is one I'd like to come back to one day. Though I'd be happy to show you later."

Kitra blinked and blinked again, extremely amused. Flirting again was fun, yes fun. It made one have to think and react with wit and sultriness. Which she was currently failing at. Best to step her game! "Perhaps I will see it later. Who knows yet?" Kitra grinned and finished the rest of her cheeseburger and zucchini fries quickly.

Let's see how he was at the old arcade games, or pool. She'd let him choose. "So, pool or arcade games?" Kitra asked while grinning coyly. "While you decide, I'm going to go wash my hands." This would give Dante a few minutes to decide. Once she came back though, let the games began!

"Only time will tell," he said as he took another sip of his coke, a little gleam in his eye as he spoke. He hadn't flirted in quite some time; hell, flirting wasn't really his thing, but at the moment he was just feeding off of whatever she was giving him. If she wanted to be flirty, then he could play that game too.

Speaking of games, he was just given a choice: pool or arcade. And then she left him to decide, and of course he watched her as she left. That left him with a predicament. He was far better at videogames, and he hadn't played pool in a long time. But the situation was far more complex than just that.

Did he want to win, and possibly impress her? Or did he want to play pool, which offered far more chances to check out his date? Decisions, decisions, decisions. He finished his food, and waited for her to get back. He stood up and went to clean up a little himself. When done, he straightened his hair in the bathroom mirror, then stood outside, waiting for her. He was pretty sure he'd made his choice too, so he'd see how this worked.

Kitra was happily humming to herself as she freshened up in the ladies room. This date was coming along quite nicely and Dante seemed interesting enough. Hopefully he wasn't too young. She certainly didn't want to be robbing the craddle so to speak! A smoke manipulator though, that was very interesting indeed. He had been vague about it but then again why wouldn't he be? They had just met earlier today. Kitra was surprised that he hadn't asked her what she could do. Her moving her card through the air could be construed for just about anything. Ah, well, best to leave that alone unless it comes up.

Since she had finished freshening up and was only staring at the mirror, she smiled and turned and opened the door to exit. Upon exiting she noted with a smile that Dante was there waiting for her. "So, did you decide what you wanted to do yet?" Her tone was borderline sultry and her smile had a slight quirk to it. It was his move now.

He leaned against the wall, his jacket slung over his shoulder as he surveyed the room. It was fairly busy, plenty of people milling about, drinking, playing....exactly what you'd expect. Lately when he went to these kinds of places, he went alone, but it was nice to be able to say that he was waiting on his date. Not that anyone would ask what he was doing outside the bathrooms. This was New York; nobody really cared what you were doing as long as you weren't bothering them.

After a few moments, Kitra returned and asked had he decided yet. He noted the tone of her voice, and that pretty much solidified his decision. "Yep. I decided on pool," he said simply. Sure, he was bound to lose, but he was certain to get an even better view of her while playing, so it all worked out for the best.

Kitra grinned, "Pool it is then." She made her way to an open pool table after snagging her trenchcoat and dropping $40 on the table for their food and a tip for Julie. Kitra always tipped well. Waitressing was hard work and didn't always reward well.

The pool tables were free to play surprisingly. She shrugged and placed her coat on a nearby hook since they were near the back by the wall. Kitra had made sure before leaving her apartments that her daggers were well placed and wouldn't move unless she needed them. No need for her to advertise her abilities if she got into a fight.

Once Kitra had set up the balls, she then tested a few que sticks for their weight and to make sure it wasn't too short or long. Once she was satisfied with her pick, she looked towards Dante. "Do you prefer solids or stripes for yourself?" Kitra preferred solids herself but it had been a few years since she had played. Who knows how badly she was going to suck. Guess time would tell.

Dante could get used to that grin. Well, he was probably going to see more of it, since he was going to do some more work on her. He followed her back to the table, where she promptly took care of the check and tip. That was unexpected, but welcome. He wasn't about to argue with it, anyway. He did make note of the generosity he was seeing though. First him, then the waitress. There was a shortage of that in the world; part of why he hated most people.

When they made it to the pool tables, he hung his jacket next to hers then spent a few minutes picking out his own cue.
"I think I'll take stripes," he said after thinking a few moments. Everybody seemed to like solids, but he was different.

"Cool, I'm fine with solids." Kitra stretched and rolled her shoulders a bit. Thankfully Dante didn't seem to be put off by her being well toned. She was aware of too many ***holes that passed judgement too quickly. She ate pretty much what she liked, but she exercised regularly. Usually one to three hours a day. Various martial arts, stretches, running, etc.

Kitra also rolled her neck a bit, giving it a good stretch too. Satisfied she was finally loosened up, Kitra looked to Dante admiring again what she saw. He was a fine specimen of the male variety. A bit rugged looking but it suited him just fine.

A smile graced her lips again as she asked with a laugh in her voice, "Shall you break or I?"