World Tree MUSH

Raven was, once again, studying. She sat in the library, rummaging through ancient tomes. However, oddly today she was going through her own books. Or rather, tomes from Azaroth. Nothing too major, but she'd been reading an ancient book about a great wizard who sealed away a terrible dragon.

Now, it was PROBABLY fake, but... the 'spell' in it was something she felt she could imitate. And who knew? It might allow her to seal her father...

    The Mushroom Kingdom was...weird. REALLY weird, even for Dante's standards. He'd been hanging about, mostly to keep an eye on Raven. Despite his carefree demeanor, the devil hunter was rather concerned for Raven after their initial meeting. Peach had been a good influence for her, but Dante had his doubts if the Princess had any idea what she had on her hands. Thus, it was time for the son of Sparda to supervise.

    He peers over Raven's shoulder curiously, trying to see what she's reading. Hell if he can understand any of it.

Raven sighed, trying to ignore him. As the vein on her head slowly got bigger. And bigger. The book itself was in old Romanian. She flipped to the next page, which had an imaged of the great dragon enveloping kingdoms in its fire.

She read through. Though her frustration mounted and... finally. She SLAMMED the book closed and whipped around. "What do you WANT?! Can I HELP you?!" she snapped, rising up into the air a little bit. Just a teeeensy bit testy it seemed.

    Dante had a knack for pissing people off. Some would say he even got a kick out of it. This however was probably one of those few moments he wasn't exactly hoping for a flipout. He was knocked back, his chair sliding back a foot or so with a high pitched screech that had other folks at the library groaning at the pain to their ears. "Whoa, hey! Slow down, kiddo...I was just curious." He raised his hands defensively. "You're worse than before, kid. You know?"

Raven glared at him, her eyes narrowed on him. She took a long, slow breath, counted to ten.... and then sighed. "If you wish to read this book, can you even read Romanian?" she asked, before shaking her head. "And perhaps once I have finished reading it, you may. As it is, I am midway through it right now." Her third run through it.

It was a REALLY good book, okay?! She watched him suspiciously.

"You never struck me as much of a reader."

Holly had got word of place called the Pumpkin Zone that she certainly wanted to visit. This certainly wasn't the place though as she saw mushrooms everywhere. Maybe she could use them in her potions. She detected a high level of magic at the moment which got her interest. Maybe it was some of magical artiffact? The witch gets a few curious looks as she enters the castle but nothing out of the ordinary. As she heads towards the library, the magical presence seemed to grow stronger.

    Dante shrugs a shoulder. "Even I gotta research sometimes. Shame the stuff I *could* use some info on is impossible to find, so far." He remarks, crossing his arms. "Nothin' wrong with being a bookworm, kid. Long as you don't go seeking some dark secrets of power, that tends to be..." He winces. "Ugly, take it from me."

Raven blinked a few times and then... "You do realize I basically AM a dark secret of power, don't you?" she asked flatly, her voice a little cold. Not that she was stressed or moody today or anything. Not that she was all tense because she was a little panicky about her upcoming thanksgiving meal. Nope. NOPE. COMPLETELY FINE!

And the fact she was tapping her foot impatiently was just because he was annoying. Yup. That's it.... She did stop, though, and glanced towards the door. She didn't sense... Evil energy. Just magic. Enough to draw her attention, but not put her on edge.

    "Yeah? Join the club. My dad was a demon lord too." Dante says cooly. "Son of Sparda, Son of Sparda, Son of Sparda...that's what every demon I run into seems to call me. At least 'till I blow 'em to kingdom come. Then again, I doubt he was exactly popular at the Country Club of Dis or whatever." He waves a hand dismissively. "Dear Old Dad used to be one of Mundus's Generals. 'Legendary Dark Knight', they called him. He went soft, so the legend goes, got sweet for a witch. My mom Eva, specifically. He defected to fight for humanity's defense, until he sacrificed himself to seal away the demon world from Earth. It worked for a while...then my brother, me, some kid and her dad all went and screwed that up. Tch."

    The white-haired hunter sighs, looking forlorn. That bastard, Arkham, played everyone like a fiddle that night. He even managed to get -exactly- what he wanted...until it turned out he wasn't exactly the right material a vessel for Sparda's power needs to be. All Dante can really think about is what happened *after.* Despite fighting side by side one last time, brothers to the end and heirs to unimaginable skill and might...they wound up at one another's throats again. And Dante would end up losing Vergil once more.

    "It's why I've been going on this whole odyssey across the branches; My brother Vergil's somewhere out there...maybe in Hell itself. I gotta find him. I don't know where I'm gonna start, though."

Speaking of witches; the door nearly comes off its hinges as Holly opens it excitedly. A few shushes fill the room as she steps into the room. "Oops..." She tries to close the door without damage it further. It didn't look like there were any magical artifacts but she's pretty certain some of the books were. Suddenly, the large source of magic comes into view. Holly approaches the pair, she's familar with Dante but not with the robed girl next to him.

Raven blinked a few times, her mouth falling open. Did... He didn't. Oh my gosh, he was. She stared at him, blinking helplessly as he went on. Sparda? Who? What? country club? Mundus? What in the world was a country club? Dark night, like her other friend? It was a whole flurry of things and just... So he was half witch, then? Wait, was witch a race? She was kind of a witch and... "O... kay then? Thank you for your life story?" she said, confusion filling her features.

Then suddenly the door slammed open and she cringed. Damaging it slightly. "Do you mind?" she hissed at the other woman. "Please do NOT break things in the library. Azarath, metrion, zinthos..." She said, as her magic enveloped and did a (minor) repair on the door. The parts too damaged would need an actual smith laters....

    "Knight." Dante corrects dryly. "You got zero chill, by the way." He says, before glancing to Holly with a little grin. "Hey you. Uh...don't mind her, just been keeping an eye on someone is all."

"Sorry, those doors are kind of delicate." At least Holly didn't crash through the wall this time. She looks down at the book that Raven was reading, "Romanian, I certainly wouldn't expect to find a book like that in a place like this. I don't know, she looks kind of cold to me. She's all pale...are you okay?" She's pretty sure people weren't normally that color.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "I have plenty of 'chill'. I was merely-- Wait. Keeping an EYE on someone?! Are you WATCHING me?" she snapped, then cringed as she was shushed. 

Her frustration mounted and she turned to Holly. "It is my book," she said coldly. "And I am NOT pale." Oh she was incredibly pale. There were snowmen who wished they could be as pale as her. She felt her frustration mounting and... There was the sounded of shattering glass, making her whip around. Had she...? Nope, someone just dropped a glass... eesh.

    "Sure." Dante scoffs. "C'mon, friends can't keep tabs on one another? Figured I'd stick about is all." He adds defensively.

"Oh are you from Romania?" Holly can't help but to be curious now, "I'm from Belgium myself! Is something going on?" She has a feeling that's she missing something going between Dante and Raven here, but she doesn't really know the details.

Raven blinked a few times and then sighed. Maybe she was being a little tense... She hugged her book to her chest and shook her head. "No. I am from Azaroth. I've... never been to Romania," she mumbled softly. "I... do not believe I've ever even been to the world that has a Romania." Interesting enough.

"And I am sorry, Dante. I've been... Tense. And I may have lashed out, unfairly." MAY?

    "Don't sweat it, kid. What's the issue, anyway?" Dante asks, cocking an eyebrow. Azaroth. That's gonna be something to remember. He turns to Holly, canting his head. "Eh, just a little moment. Don't worry, think we're cool. What's up, babe?"

"I've never of Azazroth before, what kind of place is it?" Holly can't help but to be curious. "I was trying to find the Pumpkin Zone, but this isn't it. We ran into three pipes but weren't sure which one to go down. Servis and Lavaux went into the other two." She explains the absence of the ghots.

Raven sighed again. "Planning. Learning. Just... Worried I bit off more than I could chew. Just... I'd rather not talk about it right now."

She then glanced to Holly. "It is a special dimension inhabited and protected by the Azarothian monks, who are opposed to all forms of evil and corruption," she said firmly. "It would be incredibly difficult to find, though. I wouldn't worry about it."

    "Oh yeah, that pipe system is super weird." Dante agrees. "I think you need to take a right off of Fungi Street in town." He notes, arms folded. "Feel like getting a sundae myself, if you don't mind company?" He offers, winking. "And Raven can come too. If she's got a library card and all."

"That does sound good! I'm sure we'll run into Servis and Lavaux eventually." The ghosts shouldn't have much trouble tracking Holly down. "Yes, it might be a good idea for her to eat something and sweets make me feel better!" She's having trouble keeping her voice down in the library and she gets shushed once gain.

Raven nodded. "Err. Please feel free to go without me, I would like to return to my reading. However, I would recommend the..." She sighed, as if what she was about to say was actually painful to her. "Sunshine sundae's. They have a make your own bar I imagine you would enjoy." They had even started carrying a few darker ingredients for her. They were nice like that.

    "Fair enough." Dante says with a shrug. Raven might need a little alone time anyways. "I'll bring ya whatever you want, kid." He promises Raven, winking before he tucks hand in his pocket as he offers Holly the other. "Shall we?"

A black gloved hand takes Dante's offered hand. "I really should come back and read some of the books here later!" Hopefully Raven could tolerate Holly at least because it sounds like she might be spending some more time here.