[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/cy97JwS/Dante-Title.jpg[/img] [i][color=D61E1E]Mentions: None | Theme: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu__TzWfpss]God's Gonna Cut You Down[/url] (Manson Cover)[/color] Location: Langston Forge > Silvermist Academy[/i][/center] "[color=bdbdbd]It doesn't have to go this way, Tomas,[/color]" Benedict warned, his voice ending with an upward inflection. The rotund young man stood just a bit taller than your average man, but he was significantly greater in terms of girth. There was barely evidence of hair atop his head as he liked to leave it close cropped and clean. His eyebrows, however, gave away his hair's nearly midnight black color. His face was as smooth as a baby's and his garb was ornate, vibrant and clean. The quality of his clothing was a testament to his financial status and the vast riches afforded to him by his particular line of work. "[color=bdbdbd]Give us what you owe, old man. We've kept this shit hole protected for nearly a year now. We've fulfilled our end of the bargain. When's the last time you've had to deal with any ruffians or hoodlums?[/color]" "[color=bdbdbd]Before now, you mean?[/color]" Tomas was curiously brave for a relatively poor blacksmith that currently found himself restrained to a metal chair of his own creation, the dry ropes digging into his anchored wrists and ankles. Coby, Benedict's younger and a bit more visually appealing brother couldn't contain the huff of laughter that escaped his lips at the audacity of the tied up man before him. Sharing his brother's sense of fashion and grooming, the two of them looked like a comparison of the same man, one before eating three massive turkeys in a row and one afterward. Benedict's face went sour. If facetiousness was the emotion dominating this man's mind, then Ben wasn't making progress. Tomas lacked fear. Ben would need to correct that. Being the underground prince to Robert The Barber, the elder son often just assumed he would inherit his father's infamous reputation. Every now and then something happened that reminded him that he would have to earn it. Baring his teeth and snarling, Benedict's arm raised up before introducing the back of his hand to the side of Tomas' face with a hard slap that induced a blink from everyone looking on. "[color=bdbdbd]Have you forgotten who the fuck I am?![/color]" Benedict shouted almost directly into the man's ear, spit spraying into his canal. Tomas, his face already beginning to show signs of bruising, winced at the acoustic assault. Without waiting for an answer, Benedict let his fist fly into the bridge of the man's nose, ending its journey with the sound of a sickening crack. "[color=bdbdbd]He's gonna kill him...[/color]" Coby whispered to Dante, quiet enough that Benedict didn't notice. Dante, dressed starkly different than his two cousins, grunted out an affirmation. Wrapped in clothing with a dark, earthy tone, Dante looked more like a common man than any sort of criminal royalty. Despite his uncle by marriage being the notorious Robert the Barber, Dante's father insisted on being humble and blending in. [i]When your job is to protect a man who everyone wants to see dead, then being able to become a shadow is invaluable[/i], he had explained to his son many years ago. If you ever got the opportunity to meet Luthor Stagnum, you'd likely laugh at his words. His body defied expectation. As you looked upon him, you would see a husky man in his twilight years. Were you to give him a poke, however, you'd quickly discover that the meat under his flesh was rock solid and that this bear of a man was still capable of breaking bones with ease. He was hardly someone you'd ever expect to be able to hide in shadow. As Robert and Luthor's hair went from dark to gray, they knew it was high time to start training up their predecessors; their sons. To that end, Benedict had become much more involved in the family business during his teenage years whereas Dante was being groomed as his enforcer. "[color=bdbdbd]L-look, it's not that I don't [i]want [/i]to pay, it's that I can't. I just don't have... I mean, business just isn't...[/color]" Tomas' defiant attitude appeared to have suddenly vanished, replaced with yellow, sniveling pleas. A quick glance at Benedict revealed his obvious satisfaction with the change in Tomas' tone. "[color=bdbdbd]I don't want to hear it, you steaming pile! If you want to do this on your own, that's fine by me. [i]You [/i]fend off the hard folk. [i]You [/i]keep the perverts and rapists away from your family. Go ahead! See how long you last without The Barber,[/color]" Benedict dared. He then pointed at Dante who stood off to the side, his arms crossed as he spectated. "[color=bdbdbd]You see him? You know who he is? What he can do? Who's going to keep the freaks away from you without The Barber's Blade?[/color]" Benedict then gave Dante a nod, a silent order that demanded a demonstration. Dante complied. The young mutant whipped his arm out as if he were about to throw a flying disc that didn't actually exist. Once the arm straightened, it elongated out of his sleeve. His joints and bones cracked while his musculature slurped as it's form quickly and nearly instantly changed. Suddenly, where once there was a wrist and hand now existed an organic sword that extended out of Dante's sleeve to a tip that rested just under Tomas' chin. Benedict grinned malevolently at the display while Coby scrunched his nose in disgust. Tomas appeared to share the disturbed young man's sentiments as his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell agape. "[color=bdbdbd]I'm telling the truth![/color]" the man shouted in a panic. "[color=bdbdbd]I just, I don't [i]have[/i] the money right now... I-[/color]" "[color=bdbdbd]I call horse shit![/color]" Benedict fired back. "[color=bdbdbd]You're a smithy for crying out loud! There has to be something around here worth our time.[/color]" Ben then moved his attention to his own surroundings within the workshop, his brow beading with sweat from the heat of the forge. Nothing immediately stood out. There was a lot of iron tools, but if Robert wanted to keep siphoning this well, it would be foolish to take the man's ability to generate coin. Once his cousin had distracted himself with the scavenger hunt, Dante retracted his organic blade, reassembling his veiny hand to it's previous state. His face was stone. He took no pleasure in these sort of errands, nor this side of the business in general. Stealing is one thing. Intimidating, torturing, killing, threatening... that part continued to make him uncomfortable no matter how much exposure he had to it. Benedict's frustration rose exponentially with each passing second that he couldn't find a suitable tribute. There was no way he could go back to his father empty handed with nothing to show for the effort. That's when his eyes fell on the blazing forge itself. A devious, sickening thought crossed his mind and the monster of a young man embraced it whole heartedly. On his way to the flames, moving to Tomas' backside, Benedict picked up a dirty towel from a work bench and grabbed an iron poker by the handle before shoving the pointed tip into the inferno, holding it there as the heat became acquainted with the metal. "[color=bdbdbd]I'll tell you what,[/color]" he began slyly, speaking to the back of Tomas' head. "[color=bdbdbd]I'll exercise a little compassion. Business has been rough. I get it. Do you think you could have what you owe to us by tomorrow?[/color]" His voice had gone from sharp as glass to smooth as silk in mere seconds. Coby and Dante looked on, knowing what was coming next. Poor Tomas, though... he had no idea. "[color=bdbdbd]Abso- Yes! Yes, I absolutely will. That's all I really need. Just another day and I'm sure things will pick up![/color]" The sincere relief in his words made Dante's stomach turn. Coby appeared to be suffering from affects even more severe as his hand nervously began to elevate to his mouth, covering it up as he watched. "[color=bdbdbd]Not a problem, Tomas,[/color]" Ben assured him. "[color=bdbdbd]I just want to make sure you don't forget,[/color]" he explained calmly. "[color=bdbdbd]Oh, no. No, sir, I most certainly won't [i]ever[/i] forget.[/color]" "[color=bdbdbd]That's good. It really is.[/color]" Slowly Benedict turned the poker in the flame, the black iron now glowing red hot. "[color=bdbdbd]All the same, though, I would really prefer to leave you with a surefire reminder. Dante. Hold his head and open his mouth.[/color]" Coby and Tomas both immediately looked to Dante as if he were a haunting specter. The intense and utter fear projecting from them both ironically steeled Dante's reserve. If Dante refused, it was obvious now that Coby would not acquiesce in his stead, which would just lead to more problems for the both of them later on. The Barber was not a fan of insubordination. And so, Dante obliged. Moving behind their captives' chair, he took a good grip of his forehead and chin and moved them apart from one another, displaying Tomas' pearly yellows and flailing tongue as the man moaned out in panic. "[color=bdbdbd]I'm going to be sick,[/color]" Coby announced, the once rosy color of his cheeks now looking like porcelain and perhaps even a shade of green. Quickly and dramatically, the youngest cousin fled the scene, stopping just outside where their trio of horses were hitched as he leaned over, staring at his own feet, gagging at the thought of what was about to happen in there. Benedict made his way to the front of Tomas, pointing the business end of the hot poker just a finger's length away from the forced opening of his mouth. The hairs in Tomas' nose began to curl at the heat emanating from the red hod rod. "[color=bdbdbd]Ha, I bet you don't forget for a loooong time,[/color]" Benedict declared with a maniacal laugh. And then, he shoved the rod forward. The sounds that escaped that workshop were not ones that Coby had ever heard in his sixteen years. Immediately his breakfast forced itself up his esophagus and made its new home in the snow below. Shortly after, Dante and Benedict emerged, the two of them strolling to the horses as well before stopping to witness Coby's shame. "[color=bdbdbd]Methinks you should exchange your tunic for a dress, Coby,[/color]" Benedict stated harshly. "[color=bdbdbd]I can't believe you're my brother. Mother must've slept around. Perhaps she cheated on father with a shit collector and now here we are with you years later.[/color]" He spit toward his sibling before looking to Dante. "[color=bdbdbd]You should have been my brother, Dante. You were unflinching. A real man. One who will serve at my side and help me rule these peasants, aye?[/color]" Dante forced a smirk while a dirty look from Coby did not escape his peripheral vision. "[color=bdbdbd]Until then, 'O Barber's Blade, I suppose it's off with you back to the 'Mist. You keep sharpening that mind and those arms. I need my Second at the top of his game.[/color]" Looking at Benedict's smile, you never would have guessed he had just, moments before, mutilated a man beyond repair. There was always something terrifyingly sinister behind his eyes, no matter what emotion the rest of his face telegraphed. "[color=f7976a]Right,[/color]" Dante said finally before mounting his steed. Without so much as a proper farewell or even a wave, Dante rhythmically bounced upon the horses back as the snow gave way under the its feet, sounding like a sort of unique drumline as they continued on the trail back toward home. Dante soon would have to slip back into the grounds as quickly and quietly as possible. He liked to keep this part of his life locked away. For the past six years, he had done a relatively good job at keeping it under wraps. As he and his cousin were preparing to replace the previous generation in this twisted family business, he knew it was only a matter of time before word got out of his darker deeds. He would deal with that day when it came. For now, all he wanted was to be along in his room in his bed thinking of literally anything else other than what had just transpired.