He nodded softly, knowing full well that fate, or whatever it was, often had different ideas from moment to moment. Some people got good hands, some people got average hands, some people got such poor hands that it was just painful. And those hands changed, frequently. “Maybe it’s time to hit up one of those magic shops for some good luck charms…” Rabbit’s feet? That… was probably a generalization that actual magic practitioners would frown upon. Like the pointy hats and the warts. He knew a thing or two about harmful generalizations. Although, yes, tamales were a staple during Christmas. And he was thankful for that, because they were good. “Couldn’t hurt, right?” He paused. “Or maybe it could. Plenty of people and things to bump into…” Dilemma.
“Maybe I’m just really, really good at covering up my flaws?” Dante asked. And… in some ways, that might have been true. He shook his head, visually signifying that he was writing off his own comment. “No, that’s not true. I have my moments where I can go off, sure… but who doesn’t? Especially right now…” Dante didn’t want to give any more detail than that. The implication was right there for the taking, though. The world that they lived in was so rife with tension, but in terms of race and species. Even in the moments where he was having a casual conversation with a stranger, it was readily apparent how easily that particular sore point could come poking around the corner. Although, really, he was the one who brought it up… so if anyone was to blame for the hint of the topic, it was him. “I try my best to remain even tempered, and most of the time I succeed.” Yay, him.
Los Angeles was a busy place, with more to do than most people could reasonably hope to accomplish in any reasonable amount of time. Between work, spending time with his family, attending protests and making it a point to actually do some recreational activities that he actually enjoyed, Dante’s home was basically a place where he slept, showered and occasionally ate. Made him wonder why he even bothered to pay the monthly rent for a place that he seemed to spend very little time at. Oh, right, the privacy.
“If it makes you feel any better, Marcus, I’ve been here for a little over a year and I still haven’t met every person.” Obviously, since it was their first encounter, but Marcus wasn’t the only one. “Still, most of the people who I have met are nice enough.” A few of them were easily people that Dante wouldn’t regularly associate himself with, like the lady who almost always seemed to be throwing away bottles of vodka whenever he saw her around the garbage. “Plus, some people don’t actually want to be neighborly. There’s someone a few doors down from me that I wouldn’t think existed if I didn’t hear them come out of their place every now and then.” Odd vibes there, but that could have been his own preconceptions. Dante was a social creature by nature, it made sense that he might think that people who didn’t share that particular inkling would strike him as off-kilter. That, Dante realized, was an unfair and hasty judgment, so he tried not to let that shape his view of anyone.
“Your sister sounds wise. This place, the city, is huge. It’s better to have a few people who you can depend on.” He took note of Marcus mentioning a sibling. It was something that Dante did instinctively with pretty much everyone. Obviously, it had something to do with the fact that he didn’t have any siblings of his own. Sure, he had his cousins, who, in many ways, functioned as siblings, but a true sibling was something that he did not have… unless Nathan managed to have another kid somewhere else. Of course, he’d have no way of knowing. And even if he did, would they feel like siblings?
He couldn’t help but laugh, softly, at the comment about figuring out the city. “26 years, and I’m still trying to do the same thing. Honestly, I think I like that L.A. can’t be fully figured out. Keeps it exciting. That being said… I’d appreciate if they figured out the traffic situation somehow. You’d think someone would get used to it, living around it their entire life… but no. It sucks as much now as it did when I was a kid.” Truth, and nothing but. “If you don’t mind my asking, where did you come from before you ended up here?”