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[ ...Hm. Of course Moriarty noticed. He's always been the sharpest person he knows, so it makes sense, right?
...
It makes sense.
He hears what the other is saying but, at this moment, Dante's tuning the other out as he tries to come up with a good enough lie that doesn't mean he has to admit he'd run here in a rush to make sure he wasn't subject to some awful prank by whatever magic ran this world.

That'd be pathetic.
And he couldn't dare look pathetic in front of Moriarty. Not now. Not right now, when the world had set them on this path. This second chance they may never have gotten were it not for fate and its funny whims. ]

The busses in this world are faster than the ones in Hell were. I overlooked getting a bus pass... and I didn't have small change to get on the bus, miss Lauma only gave me full bills.

[ this is halfway nonsensical. ]

But I made it here.
My new outfit is nice, but I got really cold today... do you know what warms you right up?

Heheh...

A good jog.

Just be careful not to slip on the ice...

[ nailed it. ]

[ Moriarty narrows his eyes slightly. Has Dante forgotten who, exactly, he's dealing with?

After all, that testimony is so full of flaws and contradictions it's frankly laughable. OBJECTION! ]

Why were you chasing a bus if you had neither a bus pass nor the fee to ride it at hand?

Not only that, but I have personally observed the buses of this city. They are most certainly NOT faster than the ones we used in Purgatory.

Furthermore, if you'd just received new clothes—which are, admittedly, much nicer than your usual ensemble—why would you immediately risk drenching them with sweat?

[ Just because it's cold out doesn't mean he won't start sweating after an extended period of physical exertion. Also yes, Servants do sweat, despite their bodies being made of magical energy. Don't question it. ]

Isn't it nice? She picked it out and was--can you imagine--embarrassed it wouldn't suit me?

Heheheh... I'll take good care of it so it lasts longer than my other coat...
...Which is being washed right now, I can't afford to just throw it out...

[ he doesn't have much clothing right now, so. unfortunately the terrible tights and ratty robe will return, please stay tuned.

he finally turns his head to look up at the other with a sort of accusatory glance in his eye, though, as the other keeps interrogating. Just like a lawyer... sheesh...

How to handle this... ]

...
We get to meet again after all these unlikely circumstances and twists of fate, and this is what you want to talk about?

Ah, has this world done something funny to you, that you'd be so worried about me?

...Moriarty, I'm ... touched...

[ His terrible tights that leave nothing to the imagination. As if Moriarty could ever forget. ]

What do you mean?!

I'm the same as I ever was!

[ Dante's plan was a shrewd one: Moriarty's strengths have always been logic and deduction, not emotion, and especially not sentimentality. However, he succeeds because of a reason he couldn't have possibly anticipated: Moriarty's Saint Graph has been altered since he arrived in Kaisou, and Moriarty is self-conscious of that fact.

Such is Dante's Rank A luck, it seems. ]

I haven't changed at all!!

Ah.

[ gotcha. Maybe by luck or by any other of his stats, he's managed to hook something here. Maybe it's not what he'd anticipated or what he was expecting, but Moriarty's insistence and sudden focus on the way Dante suggested he'd changed...

there's something exploitable, here.

Moriarty's not the only Lawyer in the room, after all. ]

...ah, thy protest so much. In triplicate...

Heheh...

[ He's getting up, pushing his hair back out of his face as his eyes take on a wild, playful, and focused temper. ]

Are you hiding something?

[ Moriarty takes a step backward, probably taking some damage on the psychic lawyer plane by the unexpected turnabout. The comical flinch would certainly suggest he did. ]

No! Of course not!

Why would I be hiding something?!?!

[ In a vacuum, there's nothing especially suspicious about his refusal of Dante's theory. But they've spent the last few months glued at the hip, and Dante has seen how Moriarty acts when he rejects blatant falsehoods: sharp, matter of fact, even somewhat vaguely exasperated.

Not loud, defensive, and vaguely flustered. ]

Because you're worried about how I might react...

Or... maybe you don't want to worry me...

[ he takes another step forward, that intense look getting stronger, his eyes focusing that much harder on the other as he taps his chin. ]

...

Heheh.

Or.

Maybe you're embarrassed about it.

[ This is absolutely the worst time possible for Dante Alighieri to suddenly lock the fuck in. Where was this kind of focus when they were arguing for humanity's right to fight for their future, huh!?

Moriarty takes another guilty step backward, then another, and another yet, each accurate assessment forcing him to retreat—until he bumps into his desk, backed into a metaphorical corner. The answer is, of course, "all of the above", damn you. ]

I'm absolutely none of those things.

Because nothing's wrong!

I'm perfectly fine.

[ HE'S LOCKED THE FUCK IN he needs to make sure Moriarty is okay, if he's not okay then they have a problem and Dante is nothing if not a problem solver, right?

What's the point in having your partner back if your partner is sick? or hurt? or cursed?

no.
even when Moriarty hits his desk, Dante isn't backing off. He's leaning in. ]

You won't even look me in the eye.

[ What the hell's gotten into him all of a sudden? He's gone from wet mop to righteous public defender and Moriarty frankly doesn't know how to handle it.

Not when he's trying—failing, honestly—to protect such a stupid yet embarrassing secret. ]

If looking you in the eyes is what it will take to convince you I'm FINE, then I'll—

[ Oh no. The moment they lock eyes, something in his magical energy shifts. It's happening. God help him, it's happening again. ]

[ It's not Ascension, but rather a partial manifestation of his fae curse.

His human ears are promptly replaced by their ermine equivalent, and his ermine tail also makes an unwanted reappearance, pushing his pants askew on his lanky hips to accommodate its sudden presence. Really, it's these sorts of things no one warns you about being half-man, half-weasel.

This all happens with a comical little 'poof', to boot.

Moriarty freezes, wide-eyed. ]

[ .....Huh? ]

[ ..........Huh???

Oh my god.
Dante's expression goes from intense to... quiet. His hair almost comically settling as the energy he'd been outputting comes down from its intensity and his eyes lose that focus... just to stare. In wide-eyed wonder. ]

[ and then there comes the smile. No, the GRIN.

Ah, he was right.
Moriarty was cursed but...

...

Without a word, he's going to reach out to touch his ears, with both hands. ]

Oh, .... you...

...

...Hehehh....

Cute...

[ Yeah, no, that's the final straw. It's officially curtains for James Moriarty!

He's going to crawl into a tiny hole and die of embarrassment now, thank you very much!!

Dante gets a few moments to enjoy the deeply flustered expression on Moriarty's face before he suddenly disappears, taking the surprisingly soft and luxurious sensation of his furry ermine ears with him.

Rather than dematerializing, however, Moriarty has simply fully transformed, dropping to the office floor as a full-fledged ermine.

He immediately darts under his desk, his black-tipped tail flicking as he hides from Dante's view. ]

---!?

Moriarty!?

[ He...

Oh, his eyes are not fucking with him, right? HE JUST SAW THAT with his OWN EYES, Right?!

he's sort of stunned into silence before he remembers himself--quickly getting to his knees to try to find out where the--Moriarty? Ermine? Creature? went?! ]

--Hey, don't hide--come on, are--

Are you okay!?
...Why are you. So small, and cute?

YOU SAW NOTHING!!!

[ That's definitely James Moriarty's voice, albeit now coming out of a small white furry creature. Given that his coat is stark white, he's easy to see, even in the gloom under the desk, if Dante simply looks. ]

I'M NOT HERE RIGHT NOW! PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE BEEP!

[ Moriarty, that doesn't even make sense— ]

... [ oh he's EMBARRASSED about this. Dante's got a small smile on his face as he tries to look under the furniture to locate his partner--who's now an Ermine.
He can't seem to find him. He's gonna start following his voice.

...Aha. Blotch of white. Gotcha, there you are. ]

I ran all this way to see you...

Heheh.

And you're gonna' just turn me away because you somehow got a new skill to turn into a small and adorable little ... ...are you a weasel?

What I may or may not be is none of your business!!!

[ Yes, he is absolutely a weasel. More specifically, he's an ermine. ]

And stop calling me small and cute and adorable.

I am a grown man—who just so happens to be suffering from an unfortunate curse.

Don't you dare laugh.

I'm not laughing...

[ Moriarty HE'S ALWAYS LAUGHING, how is today any different from any other day.

But you can see it. you can see him choking down that little uneasy giggle he always does. a hand over his mouth and everything, painted nails so carefully pressed over his mouth. ]

But it's hard not to call something 'cute'... when it's cute.

It's like seeing a cat stretch...

You have to say 'ooh, big stretch'.... you know?

[ Dante likely can't see it due to their current respective positions—given that Moriarty is still under his own desk and all—but his little black-tipped tail begins lashing in annoyance. ]

OR YOU COULD KEEP YOUR UNWANTED COMMENTARY ENTIRELY TO YOURSELF.

[ For a creature so small, he's still surprisingly loud when he gets worked up about something. ]

Wow...

[ there's a genuine sound of delight and awe in his voice as he moves to cross his legs. Deciding to sit on the floor, waiting for Moriarty to come out and stop acting like a petulant brat. ]

For something so small, the set of lungs on you is truly amazing...

Heheh.

Here I was worried you might be in danger in this form...
But you could scare gods away with that voice...

[ He has never, not even once in his life, watched a cat stretch and then uttered the words "Ooh, big stretch" out loud. Ever. ]

Yes, well, I'm not exactly keen to get into a fight in this form.

Or in general, really.

[ Is it even possible for him to access his usual combat abilities in this form? Not that he really wants to risk conjuring flames while he's under an extremely wooden desk, but it's a thought to table for later. ]

Nevertheless, this shape is incredibly inconvenient for me—in more ways than one.

[ thats because you have no WHIMSY and you're in desperate need of it. ]

Ah, is this world a particularly peaceful one? Amazing. We get to be lawyers again and there won't be any fighting this time... what a dream come true...
[ these are Famous Last Words. ]

Hehehh...

So you've been in that form before.
That means you'll change back... right?

Of course I've been in this form before. Did you think your arrival just spontaneously coincided with me developing some kind of curse, right here and now, on the spot?

Unless that's what you were hoping for.

[ Has Dante been cursing his name in secret??? If Moriarty didn't know for a FACT whose fault this was, he might stop and wonder if Dante was the culprit. ]

Would you wish this upon me, Dante Alighieri!?

After everything I've done for you?!?!

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