"Miss Rita! Could you read that story to us today?"
"Please do! We won't ask again!"
"If you wouldn't mind…"
A woman then laughed as she grabbed a book from a shelf behind her, wiping it off before opening it up. Her mouth held a cigarette, and she pursed her lips tightly as she looked at some of the words on the page. She looked back at the kids and asked them a question.
"You kids have heard this story a bunch of times. Why not just read it yourselves?" Rita said, tapping the page. The kids whined that it didn't feel the same unless she read it due to her "exaggeration" of the readings. The children gathered around to see her read at the Tavern's bar. It wasn't opening time yet, so the kids would always come around to bother Rita before people began to trickle in. She didn't mind, of course.
She cleared her throat and held the book up to show the picture of the title. It showed a photo of an illustrated man who donned a wing and clawed hand, as the other side of him was utterly human. He looked different than your typical story's main character, but that was the charm of the kids as she began to read.
"There once was a man born of scales and a wing, confused about his origin or where he'd come from. He knew he wasn't the same as the others he'd seen. As they cowered away and ridiculed him for his looks, he ran away before eventually becoming outcasted by society. A man filled with anger from such remarks and actions towards him, he began to seek revenge against those who wronged him! By terrorizing those same people who shooed him away, he was granted the name Noel! The bringer of chaos!"
"That's not even close to what happened, ma'am."
A voice sounded off from behind a barstool. The kids looked over and frowned as they began to yell at them, clearly not taking kindly to their words of ridicule. They then surrounded the figure and spouted their own feelings toward them.
"Oh, shut it! The way Miss Rita tells the story is the best!"
"Yeah! No one asked you, Dan-turd!"
"Y-yeah, T-turd!"
"Turd!? I'll turn you all into turds when I get my hands on you!" they yelled as they chased the kids around the bar; the kids jeered and laughed as they were hunted. Rita then closed the book and sighed with a smile; seeing the kids all play made her heart warm. She allowed it until promptly stopping the chaser as the kids ran out of the bar. She grabbed him by the shoulder, sat him down on one of the chairs, and let out a puff of smoke.
"You know the kids love the story; I don't like making it so dreadful. You can understand that, right Dante?"
The boy looked up at her as she told him these words of understanding. He looked away and sighed as his ears lowered. Judging his looks, she looked him up and down; his ears were shaped sharply, and his charcoal black hair was wild and had clearly not been kept. His broad shoulders were rough and rigid, as it seemed scale-like patterns had begun to grow ever so slightly. His eyes were a piercing emerald green, and his teeth were as sharp as a wild animal. Sure enough, he matched the main character's description from the story she'd often read to the kids, minus the wings and claws.
"Even so…that story isn't even that good. It's just about someone who wasn't treated fairly," Dante said as he placed his hands on the chair beneath him. She looked at him with a caring look and hugged him tightly from behind, clearly taking him aback as he struggled to get out of her grasp.
"Let go of me! You smell like smoke, ma'am!"
"Aw! My little dove is in his feelings about a small story! Tell Mama all about it!"
"Why are you like this! You reek!"
"Hey! You're talking about a fair maiden now, boy; watch your tone!"
"More like an old hag! You still reek!"
Rita's laugh and smile turned sour instantly as she grabbed Dante by his shirt and picked him up, lifting his body off the ground. He struggled as her grip was too firm, and she spouted off at him.
"That's not how you're supposed to speak to a maiden! I oughta teach you a lesson for speaking out of term like that Dove."
Dante gulped as he profusely apologized for his words, realizing it'd only worsen if he continued. She eventually let him go as he landed on his backside before she took another puff of her cigarette. Seemingly thinking about something before turning back to the bar. Dante rubbed fixed himself before Rita began to speak to him once more.
"So what's the deal with ya? You never show your face at the Tavern unless I ask you specifically to help open up."
Dante looked away from Rita, not meeting her eyes once more. Clearly, he had something he wanted to ask, as today was a special day for him. Though it seemed troubling to say what he wanted to her, he began to speak.
"Y-y'know…I was…uh…"