<span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ff9999">More trouble than she was worth. Right? There was a reason why she hadn’t wanted to see him. The shame and mixed emotions were too great, destroying whatever confidence she’d had previously for going through his belongings. Still, ever the one to glean interest in powerful things, she could not help her appreciation for the collection he had accrued through the years. And yet at the same time, panic crawled up her throat and stuck there. Since she had arrived, she was very well aware that she was covered by nothing but one of his shirts. Her face flamed up and she dragged her attention away from the relics, the items, the stolen artifacts of his own doing with her eyes sparking gold and her cheeks turned rosy. Something mixed with anger, trepidation, and her own mortification settled into her features and lingered there as she dragged her lower lips between her teeth and chewed it hard.<br/>
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“Did you look for me or did you just assume the worst and call me a bitch that ran off on you?” She snapped at him suddenly before she could control the volatile nature of her tongue. Heavy tension fell around her until she whipped her head around and pivoted on her feet to lurch past him and out of the vault now that he had shown off what he wanted. Her hands were shaking at her sides and clenched into a pair of fists once they were back out in his living area. She turned again, eyes flashing with the dark power of her kind. Trouble she might have been, but she could tell from the moment she caught sight of him again that the blame was all on her for what happened.<br/>
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“Maybe it should stay that way, Dante,” she grated out, sharper than the weapon he had cradled so preciously. “You have your new life, no? Free of someone like me, who just causes you trouble, and causes you grief, and is just a damn pain in your fucking ass. No? You don’t need to know my sob story - not another one - not ever again.” Or the secrets she had carried with her for those three years gone. She flashed teeth at him, viciously, with her eyes still sparking with a hidden flame. Though before she could make another rash decision, she couldn’t help but mouth off once more. “Did you care so little about me that you didn’t wonder why I disappeared without a word?” The words were hollow, filling her mouth with ash. She whipped away from facing him once more before he could see the tears filling her eyes or take note of the shallow shudder that trailed through her, forcing her to swallow hard or else lose it.<br/>
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She did need to find what she was looking for. Though if he was good on his word, he might very well have thrown it away. Though…. Dante had proven himself to be just as hungry for the unknown as she was. It took her a moment of steadying her breathing, of throwing her arm up to swipe the tears from her eyes, before she could speak in a steady enough voice. “There was a fetish.. A talisman. Something you just don’t throw away. Are you sure it’s not in your collection down there? It’s a thing of power, shaped like a Celtic star. Metal. Dark iron. It was bound with a leather strap. I need that if I’m going to be on my way, thank you.” The thank you made her grit her teeth and swallow the next wave of tears, though she did remain facing away from him.</span></span>