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Great; his dog was telling her secrets. Honestly the smoke manipulator didn't know what to think about that. He wasn't quite sure the nature of her power, and Duke actually liked her. At the same time, he knew the dog had quite a few secrets on him, but he figured Duke loved him--obviously--so therefore wouldn't tell anything too revealing, right? Did dogs even have a code of decency? God this was confusing as hell.

Then came the obvious question. "Yeah. I probably should have mentioned that I can breathe smoke without any sort of repercussion, huh?" he said with a shrug. Honestly, he thought that part would be obvious, or at least easily inferred. But some things weren't that straightforward.

As they walked, he exhaled just a tiny ring of smoke, keeping the shape very tight, and letting it 'travel' with them as they walked, always the same distance away. The circle bent into a heart, a square, a five-point star, slowly and gradually transitioning shapes before going back to a circle, which he let float away, up into the air before finally turning to a cloud like smoke normally does, then fading into the air.

He took a breath, giving another light shrug. "It's mostly just for show, but it has its uses."

"That's true," he murmured, biting his lip a little as he pulled out two sheets; one to sketch on, and one for the final selection. "Oh sure, you can set them there, or over here by the desk if you want," he said, his pencil moving quickly yet meticulously across the sketch page.

He'd sketched out several Ankhs, some basic, some more complex and elaborate. Some had very sharp features, others were more rounded. They ranged from traditional to things that he'd only just now come up with. All in all, he may have sketched out ten or so of them, and one of them was exactly like the one in the sketchbook, so there was sure to be one she'd like.

And price wasn't an option; not that he planned on overcharging her. Hell, he'd thought about cutting his first few clients a deal, and then making his money off of the business they brought in. Also could help make return customers out of them, and this was one he had to admit he wouldn't complain if he saw again.

"Alright, here's a few you can pick from. The basic one is there, but I like to give the option of something with a more personal touch," he explained. Honestly, this part was something he had a love-hate relationship with. It all depended on the client, but she seemed nice enough, and with Dante, what you gave was what you got.

Once she decided, he'd drawn out the final one, making sure the measurements were exactly as specified. Then, once everything was situated, he grabbed his equipment and prepared to get started. Part of him wished he'd recommended somewhere else, but this would look really good where she'd said, and while he hated people in general, his customers were a different situation.

He slid into the desk as she sat across from him and flipped through one of his notebooks. "You do your own work, eh? Sounds interesting. Maybe one day soon the roles can be reversed," he said casually; sure, he'd need money to pay her, which meant it'd be after he was on more solid ground, financially, but he hadn't been here very long, and therefore had to start somewhere, right?

She'd found an Ankh he'd drawn; he really favored anything surreal, fantasy-based, or rooted in history or mythology. He inwardly gave a sigh of relief; if she'd wanted something like a portrait or something more realist he'd likely end up referring her to one of the other artists. Each one had their own distinct style, and he'd just so happened to have an area of expertise they were looking for. He listened to her request, visualizing the colors. "Hmmm...Goldish-green, with an aura of purple sounds like a good mix to me."

He smiled back at her, thinking. "So, how big were you thinking? And where would you like it?" he asked, propping his elbows on the desk and resting his head on his fists as he looked at her, already working on the rough idea in his head. He was also admiring the pretty face in front of him, but he was mostly working.

Dante was somewhat lost in his thoughts; it had been a boring day, after all. But as he was walking back towards the front of the building, he was stopped by a rather attractive redhead. Looking for a tattoo parlor. It seemed like his day was starting to turn around. And if he played his cards right, he'd get some business on the books.

"Oh, you aren't bothering me; technically my break's over," he said with a small shrug, his voice casual but showing a little more of a professional tone than was usual. "You're in the right place though. And I just so happen to be a tattoo artist, if you want to come inside," he said, his voice brightening a bit.

He held the door open for the lady, both being nice, and sort of checking her out as she walked in. "My name's Dante," he said after a moment, walking to his desk, where he had notebooks of his drawings and samples already out. "So, was there something in particular you had in mind, or do you just wanna look at my work and see if you like anything?"

The smoke-manipulator gave sort of a dry "Heh," at her comment. "Well, you got my attention, and Duke's affection. Which is still a hell of a feat; he hates most people..." The like me was merely implied, but since she didn't know him very well, it wasn't certain whether or not that bit would be picked up.

"Well, I was paying attention because I was afraid if you tasted as sweet as you seem, Duke would have had a little snack," he joked, his cynicism sort of bleeding through there. "Though getting our names from him did sort of help prove your point." He gave a light shrug, pulling a pack out of his pocket and removing a cigarette, lighting it and taking a drag from it. He exhaled the smoke away from Zoe, but then inhaled it back in through his nose. He gave a relaxed sigh, whistling for Duke, who hopped off of the bench and joined Dante by his side, where the mutant clipped a leash onto his collar.

"I think Duke needs a walk before we head home. You wanna come? I mean, since he's taken to you so well."

Sure, Dante 'talked' to Duke, but like most people talked to their dog. This chick was talking about a full conversation, it seemed. Great...she was a nut. Wait....

Dante was noticing a few things. One, she was petting Duke in his favorite spots--it took Dante forever to find how Duke liked to be pet, and she found it in a split second. Both of them. And then...she said his both of their names. Okay. Mutant, not a nut. That wasn't so bad, though it was still creepy as hell.

"Holy ****....you really can talk to him, can't you?" he murmured, shaking his head with a small smile. "So, you gonna tell us your name, since we can't cheat?" he teased, his voice sort of dry, but not rude. It was just one of those things that came with being more of a cynic.

What no bystander saw was how much effort it had taken for Dante not to beat the guy over the head with his guitar or something. But he was trying to make rent, and that was more important than giving some asshole what he deserved. Though the words that came out were going to come out no matter what, and behind the tone they were dripping with venom and hatred.

And then the crowd was beginning to disperse; Dante swore that if it wasn't for his sister, he'd have just gone to Minnesota or something. But he felt this would be a good way to get close to his family again, and that made it worth staying for. Since the crowd was gone, he removed the strap from off of his shoulder and picked up the money in his guitar case before putting his acoustic away.

It was then that he noticed the blonde woman still staring there, looking at Duke. Sure, Duke was a big old baby--to Dante. The list of people that Duke liked was about as short as the list of people Dante liked...they were cut from the same cloth like that. But the girl was stepping forward to the dog, asking could she pet.

"I wouldn't--" He'd tried to stop her. He'd earnestly tried to stop her; he was a cynic, sure, but he didn't necessarily harbor ill will towards humanity--well, maybe as a whole he did. But this certain member of humanity was pretty, and after the incident with the heckler, if one would call it that, he really didn't want to add Duke biting someone to this list of reasons why today sucked.

And yet...Duke liked her. The large black mass of muscle and fur looked up at the girl, tail wagging slightly. There was something different about this girl. Dante was his human. Saved him from an abusive home, and then did so again when he got Duke back from the evil female. But this female was different. Nice. And she spoke his language, which was pretty neat.

"Pet? Yeah. I don't think I'll bite you. I like it when Dante scratches right behind my ears. Or my ribs. Get my ribs." He rolled over on his side, now practically taking up the entire bench.

Dante looked back to see the girl hadn't left, and Duke was...a puddle of mush. "Well I'll be damned..." he murmured, letting out a low whistle, an amused grin on his face.