What Was Lesson One Again?

[Rhetoric]

“Stop licking me!” Liv huffed and swatted the nose of the curious four-point buck that couldn’t seem to grasp the concept of keeping his tongue to himself. The whitetail deer had inched nervously out of the woods as she made her way toward the garage, and it kept pace as she walked, sniffing hungrily. His large black eyes regarded Liv carefully before he nuzzled her arm again, his tail flicking anxiously while he practically pranced at her side.

*You smell like food,* he told her timidly, lipping the sleeve of her Giants hoodie. *Honeysuckles.*

Liv paused on the dirt track and buried her nose in the hoodie. The subtle scent of her honeysuckle lotion clung to her clothes and her skin and she breathed it in, eyes closed a moment in contentment. The smell always reminded her of summer in the Pinelands and that small reminder of home brought a lazy smile to her lips. Thank God she’d been able to go back to her old room to gather her things, Sean going along with her incase Lorelai wanted to cause trouble. Thankfully Frostbite hadn’t even been in the room and Liv had collected her stuff as quickly as she could, even dragging her dead drum kit back to the new living space she shared with Willow, a huge grin on her face. Frostbite’s bathroom had looked like a blue bomb had gone off from the ring around the drain, to the foot prints on the tile, to the towels that had been strewn about. Liv had even gotten to see the results of her evil genius at dinner. While everyone else was watching Aideen’s ceremony, Liv had spotted Lorelai in all her smurfy glory.

She hadn’t had much of an appetite at dinner, despite her hard day with the horses. She was too distracted to eat and kept checking her watch, squirming in her seat, waiting for the moment she could to toss her tray and head for the garage. She didn’t know why she was so eager to get belittled and growled at, but Liv was grinning ear to ear as the trees opened up and she and her new friend approached the garage. “I said, quit it!” Liv felt a tug on one of the curly pigtails that tumbled down past her shoulders in curly chaos and she playfully caught hold of one antler, the velvet soft beneath her fingers. Laughing quietly she tapped him on the snout before rubbing the coarse fur behind the animal's soft ears. “You better knock it off before I learn how to box properly and we have a go, kid.” She let go of his antler and the deer chuckled nervously, nose twitching at her scent. “Well, I don’t see anyone… do you?”

[Glitch]

"You're late," Dante said stepping out from the shadows of the side of the garage and into the light that shined on the side, dark brown leather jacket zipped up and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. "What is this the set of Snow White? You gonna break into song while birds sing around you next?" He looked at the deer with disdain and back at the little Paragon that put him in a strange mood all day as he repaired the huge hole in the boathouse wall. "The only way that damn animal will help ya is if break off one of 'em horns and stab someone with it. Get it outta here or we're havin' venison for breakfast."

Walking up to her, Dante grabbed her chin and tilted it up toward the light, inspecting her lip. "Looks like lesson one stuck, you don't look like a god damn train wreck anymore," he said swiping his thumb over her lip, testing the tenderness. "Tonight after this, you're gonna clean that with listerine again, and if you don't got it, you're gonna find it. Then put the vaseline back on, and you'll be good for tomorrow." He let go over her chin and took a step back, taking another drag of his cigarette, surveying her for a moment, studying her from every angle. "You're kinda puny and you look frail, but that could work to your advantage. You got that vaseline on you? Put it on your face, it keeps you from getting scratched or cut easily."

Dante smirked and grabbed her chin again. "Wouldn't wanna hurt that pretty little face some more would ya?" He dropped his cigarette on the floor and stepped on it to put it out, letting go of her chin as he walked under the shining light, unzipping his old jacket and throwing it on the ground, moving to take off his shirt. "We're doing this skin on skin, and unfortunately it ain't gonna come with a tumble in the sheets." Dante threw her a smirk as tossed his shirt on the ground. "You gotta know where you hit someone and how, none of that pansy ass easing into it bullshit."

"You're basic pressure point is the edges of bones. Think you can handle a basic shin kick Princess? Or you gonna offend the woodland critters with actions not approved by Disney?" He smirked as he faced her, not wasting any time and getting right into it. He wanted her riled up, because he needed her guard lowered in order to surprise her with the unexpected for their 'second lesson.'

[Rhetoric]

Someone was just a freaking ray of goddamn sunshine. Liv waited until Dante was done sneering before she glanced at the deer that seemed to literally be frozen stiff with fear. “Easy, buddy,” she muttered softly, putting a hand on the buck’s nose. Her voice seemed to break the spell and the whitetail bolted, disappearing into the trees as fast as his spindly legs could carry him. Eyebrow raised, Liv watched the animal go and gently touched her mouth where Dante’s thumb had been. It had to be a talent, his ability to snarl and bark and still have a gentle touch.

Annoying.

Turning around to glare at him, Liv froze, her jaw dropping slightly as her whiskey eyes focused on the older Paragon. It was very nearly something other worldly. Dante was standing in the flood light… shirtless, the shadows blending seamlessly with his tattooed back. Liv could only stare. It was art, and the contrast of light on dark seemed oddly appropriate for Dante given Liv’s prior train of thought before said train was derailed, lit on fire, and nuked. “I’m sorry, did you say something?” Her voice was more stunned than snarky for a change, and her lazy smile was back in place. “Best lesson ever…”

Snapping out of her ridiculous moment, Liv plucked the small container of Vaseline out of her hoodie pocket before peeling the sweatshirt over her head and tossing it onto the ground with Dante’s jacket. She didn’t much care that she was left standing in only her soccer shorts and her sports bra. She’d played basketball with the guys at home often enough that she didn’t feel much shame in wearing so little. More like she felt like, well, like exactly what Dante said. Standing near him left Liv feeling puny and frail, despite the softly toned muscles that went along with over a decade of riding horses and throwing backhand springs. She quickly did as she was ordered and applied the Vaseline to her face before tossing that to the side as well.

Liv growled a bit, her annoyance flaring at yet another Disney joke. “Yeah, they’ll start boycotting my laundry if I don’t behave.” She was smirking, her stance relaxed but there was an edge to her tone, a slight clenching of her jaw. Liv was a naturally laid back person and getting her riled up took exceptional talent. Still Liv scowled up at her tall teammate and poked him in the chest, one pale slender finger held at his sternum. “And how many times do I have to tell you don’t freakin call me Princess!”

[Glitch]

"Aw whatsa matter Snow White, gettin' a little sensitive there? You gonna get your Prince to come and beat me up? Na, your gonna call your birdie firends to attack me huh?" Dante taunted her, pushing her shoulders back a bit. "Puny and frail is right, those damn rabbits that hang around you could probably take you down." His eyes slid over her form, a smirk coming on his face as he watched her for a reaction, needing her pissed off enough to go after him.

"What's wrong Princess, waiting for your Prince to ride up on a white horse and save you from the big bad hood?" He picked up her arm, ignoring the soft skin of her arm and he shook it as if it was a noodle, but not with enough force to hurt her. "Broads like you are only good for one thing Princess, and it's a demonstration I'd love to give you. Bet your a hell of a firecracker in the sheets huh? That's probably the only way you'd find yourself on top of a guy anyways."

His face stayed serious, though he brought a smirk on his face to fuel the fire, finding that he was getting entertained by the look on her face. "Couldn't even keep your own lip from being hit. Your arms are so damn puny you probably couldn't even lift them up to protect your own face." Dante forced a laugh as he studied her face. "Did I hurt your feelings there Princess? Why don't you be a good little princess and serve your loyal subjects, best place would probably be on your knees, don'tcha think?" He pushed her shoulder lightly a little bit to dig the knife in deeper. Come on Dolly, you ain't that immune to this.

[Rhetoric]

Was that… Did he… What the F*CK!

At the start of Dante’s taunting Liv had glared right back at him, holding his burning blue gaze with her furious topaz. He was so damned determined to show her just how cold and daunting he was and though his words were scornful, Liv forced herself to remember that she had asked for this. She had sought Dante out, asked… begged for his help. Liv had put herself in this place, in this position, and so she pressed her lips into taunt line while her blood boiled in her veins.

Then he shoved her.

His words turned nasty, insinuating that she wasn’t good for anything more than a quick tumble and Liv felt heat flood her face, a furious blush burning her pale skin. She stood in front of him, practically shaking with anger, her relaxed stance gone as he continued to pick and dig at her with derision in his tone and his foul remarks. He even proved to her how much weaker she was, taking hold of her arm and wagging it like she wasn’t trying to flex and lock the joint. Liv dropped her gaze, unable to see that infuriating smirk for another damn second, and found herself staring at a dark, sworling, pattern on his chest, her large eyes narrowed as she dragged air in through her nose. Her chest heaved with each livid breath as she stared at his bare chest, wondering about her chances of punching her hand through his sternum and yanking out his stupid heart… if he had one.

For the second time since she’d arrived at the garage, Liv’s jaw dropped, a startled noise escaping past her lips as he mocked her, explaining exactly how she could be a ‘good little princess’ and get on her knees. Liv sucked her lower lip into her mouth, face knotted, eyes smoldering. F*ck Dante Sloan! She wasn’t weak, she wasn’t puny, and she wasn’t just some pushover that he could call a skank and treat like shit… With a wordless shriek of rage, Liv launched herself at Dante, much like she had Frostbite, just pouncing and swinging blindly.

[Glitch]

In a movement so quick, Dante's arm shot out and grabbed her, spinning her to the side and slamming her back against the wall. Not enough to do damage, but she sure as hell would feel it. He pinned her hands above her on the wall, using his thighs to pin her dangling legs against the wall. A loud *CLICK* rang through the air as he pressed the edge of the switchblade against her throat. Dante's eyes were cold as steel and his face was emotionless, applying more pressure on the blade against her throat until he saw the fear pass through her blazing amber eyes.

The only thing heard for a moment was both their heavy breathing. "When you attack someone, you better be damn sure you know you can take them. Especially know if they got a weapon on them. Cause if you don't..." The blade was pressing as hard as it could now without breaking the skin, the metal of the cold blade glinting against the dim light as he controlled his pressure. "You're gonna end up just like this Dolly. Lesson 2- Be aware of who you're fighting as much as you can." He kept the blade there for a moment before he moved his hand away from her throat.

Dante's eyes never left hers as he kept her pinned there for a moment, fervent turquoise eyes examining every inch of her face. "If someone else got you in this position, and you show fear, you just let 'em win right then and there Dolly," he said in a softer voice, searching her face carefully. "That right there is the Golden Rule, you never show anyone your fear. You show fear of someone or something, you give it that much more power." He dropped her hands and slowly set her back on her feet, making no effort to move away from her. His hand went up to her throat, thumb brushing against the red welt from the blade that went across her neck. "You got that Dolly?" Dante's eyes studied her face, waiting for her to calm down a bit before he stepped away from her.

[Rhetoric]

For a few horrifying moments, Liv froze, pressed to the wall by an armed man with cold, turquoise eyes. She didn’t say a word. Didn’t move. She didn’t think she could if she wanted to, her muscles clenched, throat tacked with fear. She was only aware of the skittering jackhammer that had replaced her heart as her temper tantrum landed her in a vulnerable position. Just like her little deer friend, Liv was paralyzed by Dante’s voice, pinned by the intensity of his gaze and the reality in his words. Panting, desperately trying to control her emotion, Liv just stared up at her teammate as he moved the knife from her neck and slowly put her back to ground. Much as she hated it, she could feel a slight wobble to her jaw, a small quiver in her lower lip that was immediately drawn between her teeth.

Liv had none of Dante’s control. She couldn’t put on an emotionless expression. She’d always been an open book, terrible at bluffing, and this time she didn’t even try to be nonchalant. She’d learned her second lesson well and it was leaving her a bit light headed. It wasn’t even the knife, though that had been terrifying in its own right. It was how easily Dante had stuck her to the wall, how completely in control he’d been. He was right… if it had been someone else…

Liv’s eyes fluttered shut when his hand moved to her throat. She was certain that she was about to get another ‘lesson’ but there was only a soft touch, gentle against the fragile skin where Dante had pressed the knife to her throat. Strange as it seemed, it was a comforting gesture for Liv and, coupled with the strong smell of cigarettes, Liv finally managed to steady herself. There was still a tremor going through her, adrenaline and relief flooding her system, but she was able to breathe without sounding like she’d just run the mile. The petite Paragon went slack, the tension in her muscles too much to maintain and she simply slumped a bit, head dropping so she wouldn’t have to look at Dante at all. In all truth she was ashamed that she’d needed that lesson at all. She knew better. What the hell was she thinking charging him like that? What was she going to do, bite his ankles? Pull his hair?

Shaking her head to clear it, Liv couldn’t help but breath in another lungful of the familiar scent of cigarette smoke, practically hearing her father’s voice in her head. He’d be furious with her if he knew what she was up to with Dante. After all this sort of violence was the very thing that he worked so hard to protect her from and she’d gone looking it. Her mother… Liv’s lip twitched, but the smile couldn’t stick just yet. She knew exactly what the untamed Scottish woman would have said. Yeh won’t be fergettin THAT lesson anytime soon, will yeh Olivia? No… Liv would sooner forget her own name than the feel of that blade pressed to her neck and the absolute helplessness that had gone with it.

Slowly her eyes made their way back upward, scanning the shadowed man in front of her until Liv’s whiskey lamps stalled upon reaching his eerie, intense gaze. “I… I got it.” She held his gaze a moment longer before absently rubbing her pale neck, feeling the slightly raised welt beneath her fingers. Finally, a shaky smile returned, hesitant and uncertain. “I’m warning you now, if lesson three is anything like lesson two, I’m going to need to run back to my room for another pair of shorts."

[Glitch]

A small smirk played on Dante's lips as he ran his thumb gently over the welt on her neck one more time. "You did good Dolly, I was half expecting tears to start, I shoulda known your stubborn ass wouldn't allow it," he said with a smirk, straighting up and stepping away from her. It was too damn close for longer than he should have with her and he needed to get a bit of distance if he wanted to keep his head. "Remember the Golden Rule Dolly, or at least that one. There're two of 'em."

He reached into his pocket and took out the switchblade, flipping it open and watching her face as he did it. "Relax, you made it through with the knife already, now I'm showing you something else." Dante hesitated for a second and carefully handed her the knife. The way she handled that whole thing impressed him, he had to say. She didn't put up a faux brave front like some of the dumber broads would have, cause then he would have had to at least leave a thin cut to get the point across.

"This ain't the set of 'Psycho' don't hold it like that. &^%$in' hell, you ever learn anything? Hold it like you would a flashlight, and not cop style." He directed her how to hold the knife, moving her fingers and hand around the handle until he was satisfied. "Alright, first off, if you gonna use a knife, better be damned sure the other person don't know none of them fancy tricks, and believe me there are a lot of 'em. Thing is, it's not that difficult to disarm someone that's coming at you with a knife." Dante stepped back and looked right at her. "Get a feel for that in your hand, and if you cut yourself that's your own stupid fault. When you feel okay, come at me with the knife." He rolled his eyes at the look on her face. "I ain't a frail like you, and you need to feel what it's like to be disarmed so you'll know what to do when someone does it to you. Relax, you don't even have to warn me when you come after me, how's that?" Dante smirked and watched her handle the knife, though he could tell right away it wouldn't be a weapon of choice for her.

[Rhetoric]

Liv looked down at the switchblade in her hand and then up at Dante. Then back at the knife… this went on for a few passes, her hand loose on the hilt, holding it well away from her body. She wasn’t a stranger to this sort of equipment, but gutting fish with a fillet knife or maintaining the horses with hoof knife was not the same as charging a giant with a flick that only moments ago had been at her neck. Liv’s expression as she looked up at Dante made it plain that she was out of her depth, but she saw that smirk and scowled at him, adjusting her grip the way he had shown her. With a flip of one of her pigtails, Liv squared herself off, unconsciously standing on her toes for height as her eyes ran over him, trying to decide what the hell she was going to jab at.

Oh, this is such a bad idea, she thought, worrying at her lower lip. It was a terrible habit Liv had when she was anxious, nipping at her lip as though she were trying to physically remove it from her person entirely, but at the moment she thought she had a rather good reason to be on edge. Liv turned her gaze from the knife in hand back to her ‘target’. She wasn’t foolish enough to think for one second that she’d actually land a hit on him, and Liv figure the minute she moved he’d put her right back on the wall or knock her ass on the ground.

*Go low!*

*Bite him!*

*No, don’t bite him, you don’t know where he’s been!* Liv glanced up at the garage, the voices momentarily distracting her from Dante. Three sets of glowing eyes were watching the pair from the garage roof, two opossums and a familiar, pudgy raccoon. Pooge had returned with friends in toe, his dark eyes glittering in the reflection of the floodlight. Liv glanced at Dante, guessing he wouldn’t be thrilled that she had attracted more critters. *You could always give up, Livi,* Pooge chittered, amused.

Liv bristled. “How’d you like to be a hat you fuzzy dumpster diver. GIT!” Liv stomped her foot, sending the trio scrambling out of sight, their nails tapping out their retreat against the roof. Liv’s eyes snapped back to Dante focused and smoldering. Give up? No freakin way. Steeling herself again, Liv shot Dante a wicked grin, prayed that she wouldn’t stab herself by mistake, and swung the knife inward, aiming for her teammate’s exposed side.

[Glitch]

Her amateur way of holding the knife and swinging it was exactly what he wanted from her, cause she copied a stance that most pinheads who thought that using a knife meant just holding tight and swinging. Dante reacted instantly, simultaneously bending over slightly, moving his belly and side away from the knife, moving his arms down hard in a scissor like motion, trapping her arm between his hands. It was the easiest defense attack to demonstrate, since it didn't require much accuracy or grace and it was very effective.

Now that he had her arm trapped, he used his left hand and grabbed her hand so his thumb ran down the back of her hand, his fingers quickly wrapped around the wrist joint on the inside of the arm. Dante quickly leaned back and pulled her arm toward him to straighten her arm as much as possible, whilst simultaneously uncrossing his arms and bringing his holding arm round in a semi-circle and turning it over so that the back of his hand was facing the floor. The movement had her in front of him with her elbow bent in a wrist lock. All he did was apply a moderate amount of pressure with his thumb on the pressure point on her inner wrist, causing her to send the knife clattering to the floor.

"Hope you took notes there Dolly, cause we're about to switch roles," Dante said after a moment, smirking down at her from behind. Still keeping her in that hold, he leaned down and said in a lower voice behind her. "Aw don't worry, you'd still be the Princess. I ain't puny enough and got too much ink to take that title." He chuckled in a teasing way before he brought his hand down to pat her hip before he let her go and bent down to pick up the knife. "Alright, get ready Princess, cause I ain't gonna give you much warning. I'll walk you through it the first time, but then you're on your own." Peering at her face, he grabbed her chin and made her look up at him. "Quit worrying, you ain't gonna get cut unless you do something stupid where it's you damn fault in the first place. Do what I say, you'll be fine."

After a moment, he let go of her chin and back up. "Make your stance casual... good. Alright Puny, let's roll." With that, Dante came after her, slowly the first time so she could try it herself as he walked her through it, but then without warning every other time, and he attacked her hard and didn't hold anything back. He was relentless, keeping at it until he felt that she learned as much as she could.

[Rhetoric]

“Ok… time out.”

The knife clattered to the ground for what felt like the millionth time and Liv stomped on the hilt, trapping it under her Con to prevent Dante from retrieving it yet again. He seemed like he was having entirely too much fun trying to stab her, his movements smooth and clean while Liv scrambled to keep up with him and not do something to get herself cut or berated. She was mostly successful in the first part, only receiving a swift strike to her exposed ribcage because she was too busy staring at Dante to pay attention to what he was doing. Of course he was in control of his movements the entire time and Liv didn’t suffer more than a glancing blow, but it was still enough for Liv to consider the small mishap another lesson.

Pay the f*ck attention to the dude with the knife.

Lesson learned, the small Paragon didn’t let herself get tagged again, but she was immensely frustrated. She was fast and she was agile, and dodging the knife like he’d shown her wasn’t the hard part. It was disarming him that had her cursing a blue streak and wanting to just kick him in the back of the knees. He walked her through it, not hesitating to tell her what she was doing wrong, correcting her stance, her grip, her pressure… but it wasn’t as easy as he made it look and Liv was breathing hard and aggravated by the time she called for a halt.

Wandering over to the grass where they had tossed their jackets and shirts Liv allowed herself to fall to the ground with a relieved groan. It was wonderfully cool against her back after getting so heated and Liv glanced over at her ‘tutor’ a small smirk on her face while she stretched her arms up toward the sky in an attempt to wake up her exhausted muscles. She was still panting a bit, a combination of nerves and exhilaration kicking her heart rate up and leaving a small, satisfied smile on her face. She hadn’t done terribly. Near the end there she had managed to get the knife away almost every time, though it lacked the effortless efficiency that Dante displayed when their roles were reversed. He wouldn’t be giving her a gold star or anything but she hoped he was at least somewhat pleased that she had kept up. Sorta. Almost. Well, she hadn’t accidentally dropped the knife on him so that had to count for something.

There was a faint popping of vertebra as Liv sat up. “Ugh, you broke me. I’m suing,” she said lightly. A few stray curls had spilled into her face and Liv brushed them absently aside. “You make it look so easy…” Her words faded off as she watched Dante carefully through wide, puzzled eyes. She’d been up close to him long enough to get a good look at some of the tattoos that he so proudly displayed on his body, and she could certainly pick out a fair few that matched the pictures tucked away in her father’s office. It was easy to be mesmerized by the designs that painted their way across his body and Liv had to force herself not to stare. Her gaze moved back up to his face, head tilted curiously, but she bit back the question on her tongue, opting for one less invasive.

“So what do ya think? Am I ready for the Danger Room?”

[Glitch]

"You won't be unless you get that cut taken care of. C'mere," Dante already had gauze and gauze tape in his hand along with a metal flask in a leather encasing. "You're gonna be useless as shit wanderin' around the danger room with an infected cut cause you were too damn tired to take care of it. Like I said I ain't no babysitter." Despite everything, he had to say he was pretty impressed by her progress. She was no ninja, that was for certain, but she was scrappy and quick and with that alone he could see her being one hellcat of a fighter. "The Danger Room is the last place you wanna end up useless. The shit that they throw at us may seem likes its from a video game, but it ain't anything to joke about Princess."

Dante used his teeth to open up the flask and poured the smooth bourbon right over the side of the stomach, keeping a hand on her arm as the stinging liquid seeped into the light wound, cleaning it and purifying it. The Danger Room was still a strange experience that had yet to fully settle as a form of reality in his mind. It was like he was playing a part in a Sci-fi movie where they spent extra time on the monsters. The 'Brood' or whatever those called had to have inspired hundreds of horror monster movies, but none quite captured what he saw, when he stuck his head out there to be a lookout. Though he knew they weren't technically real, the way they looked alone was enough to make him want to shudder.

"You weren't horrible Dolly. Not as much as a pain in the ass like I thought you would be," he said placing the gauze over the thin cut and taping it in place. "Take that off by tomorrow, it should scab over by then. You're gonna need to start gettin' in the habit of taking care of your injuries right away, I ain't no one's nurse maid." Dante's hand smoothed over the now covered cut and he smirked when he let his hand rest on her belly button. "Of course I'd be more than happy to keep ya from becoming a walkin' talkin' infection with a price. And I don't mean the kind that come in song and jewels Princess." His thumb smoothed over her belly button and his smirk widened. He was having a damn good time seeing her flustered, and it was refreshing to not see a look of terror and apprehension in her eyes.

Even if she was a bit naive, Dante liked her enough to tolerate her smart mouth and hell, her scrappy and frustrated side amused him. Yea he knew that she lucked out, cause he wasn't taking advantage of how naive she was and didn't see himself being the one to make her see him different, but there were others out there that wouldn't hesitate. Hopefully he'd knock that out of her before her mouth got her in trouble.

[Rhetoric]

Liv tensed, a deep blush burning up the back of her neck as she stared at Dante’s hand splayed on her stomach. God, he had a serious set on him. Of course he does, Liv thought, eyes glued to the same tattoo on the back of his hand that she had noticed yesterday. She knew enough to know Dante hadn’t been branded like that for making daisy chains or helping little old ladies across the street. She was perfectly still, refusing to shy away from his touch. Lesson two, don’t show fear. Liv looked up into his face and her head tilted to the side at the sight of his smirk. He was forever smirking at her, and Liv rankled. Dante had been making insinuations and comments all day and she had brushed them off as him just being a dick. He thought what? He could talk to her like that and she was going to swoon? Or throw herself at him? Or maybe he thought that she’d start stuttering and babbling like a nervous squirrel. She swiped again at the curtain of dark curls that were forever falling in her face and snorted at her teammate, smirking right back in his face holding his gaze. She wasn’t new on the planet, after all. She’d grown up in a small town but guys were the same no matter where they came from and one cocky jerk was the same as the next.

Chuckling, Liv shook her head. “Like it’s that easy,” she said cheekily. “What the hell would you do if I said yes?” She raised her eyebrow, accenting her question and making it clear that she wasn’t worried about him. The man had held a knife to her throat without hurting her so Liv was pretty sure she was past the stage of being intimidated by Dante Sloan, if she had ever truly been frightened of him in the first place. Frightened by what he knew, or by what he was capable of, sure… that still sent a little shudder through her, but Dante as a person…

“Kitten,” she teased, drawing his hand off her stomach. She didn’t let go of it, though. Instead, Liv drew it up into the light coming off the garage, looking down at the dark ink that stained his skin. Her whiskey eyes flicked up to his face, gauging his expression before she ran a tentative finger over the marks. They weren’t anything like a regular tattoo. Far too grainy and raised from the skin they were little more than scars. Brow knotted, her face drawn in consternation, Liv’s pale hand followed the length of it up to his elbow. She let out a heavy sigh, letting go his hand and leaning back on her hands. “Don’t worry, Tough Stuff, I won’t tell anyone you’re actually a good guy.” She beamed at him, winking, pressing his buttons as surely as he had been pressing hers.

[Glitch]

His eyes were trained on her hands as it traced his tattoos, an unreadable expression coming on his face. No one ever dared touched his tattoos, and the fact that the puny little bird in front of him had the balls to do it really screwed with his mind. Dante glanced over at her, looking down at her carefully, scrutinizing her carefully for a moment. The smirk gone from his face when he looked at her face. "Good guys don't think what I'm thinking right now Dolly," he said in a low voice, hand moving back to her stomach and over to her waist, skimming his fingers on the side of the soft bare skin. They stopped just under the material of her sports bra, his thumb brushing the edge of it, his face not giving anything away.

His hand paused while he stared at her, gauging her reaction carefully. "Maybe you're right Princess." He took his hand away and brushed a curl out of her face. "Maybe I ain't as bad as most people think," Dante said in a lower voice, staring at her for a second before he straightened up and pulled his shirt back on, reaching for his jacket to take out his cigarettes to light one up. He didn't like how he couldn't get a solid read on her. It bothered him that she recognized his tattoos, yet the puny frail had a good idea what they meant despite her naivety. How the hell would she have come in contact with those kind of markings? And to top it off, she really wasn't scared of him, and half of him liked it while the other half hated it to the core.

Taking a long drag of the cigarette, he looked anywhere but at her for minute before taking his hand and patting her thigh. "We'll take this up again tomorrow. You ever call me Kitten again, I'm paralyzing you and dumping you in Pepe's room. Dig it Princess?" Smirk was back on his face and he squeezed her thigh again to make his point. Dante took a sip of the flask, the burning liquid scratching his throat as he took a long swallow that he desperately needed at that point to clear his head. "Here, you earned it," he said passing it over to her and taking another drag of his cigarette, still in disbelief she actually touched his ink.

[Rhetoric]

"I dig."

Her voice was amused, but Liv accepted the flask with somewhat shaky hands. For a moment she just held it, knees drawn up under her chin, her fingers brushing lightly over the leather as she counted in her head. One two three, breathe in. One two three, breathe out… She had very nearly tapped out that time, her insides squirming though she remained perfectly still under Dante's large hand, her startled eyes not leaving his face for an instant. She had known that Dante wouldn’t do anything out of line, she trusted him, but it was one thing to tell herself she trusted his intentions and another thing entirely to prove it. The feel of his hand put a shiver in Liv that had nothing to do with fear and a small sigh of relief ghosted past her lips when he did nothing more than brush a curl away from her face and sit back. As gruff and as hard as the older Paragon seemed, there was a certain amount of gentleness to him. Not while he had been training her. No, then Dante had been relentless, not giving her an inch, and his ‘lessons’ were brutal. But his hands were always careful while he tended whatever small injury that cropped up, from her lip, to her arm, to the tag on her ribs. She took a small swallow of the bourbon, pulling a face as the burn of the alcohol moved down into her chest. She’d never get used to American Whiskey. Her mother’s tastes ran in her blood and nothing distilled in the states would be as smooth as the good stuff her Granda sent over from Glen Ord.

With a tired sound, Liv handed Dante back his flask and followed his lead, gathering up her sweatshirt and pulling it on before sprawling in the grass, her hands behind her head. For a moment she was silent, listening to the soft sounds of the woods behind them, taking in the scent of his cigarettes, and the feel of her new surroundings. This place… it was too sterile an environment to feel like home, but after her day in the barn and laying out on the grass, Liv could almost pretend she was back in the Barrens. She was content to just lay quietly, listening to the hidden inhabitants of the dark woods scuttle about. Somewhere there was a barn owl, bitching about the state of his talons while a family of field mice scurried through the grass peeping to ‘hold onto your tails and run’. She couldn’t help but giggle as a pair of bats flew overhead, bickering about what direction they were going. She let out a contented sigh. It wasn't home but it was what she had at the moment.

“You know, if there were a dog drooling in my face and a thirteen year old cursing at a truck in the garage this would almost feel like home,” she said absently, a relaxed smile on her face. “Nothing as peaceful as the woods…” Her eyes fluttered shut as she snuggled into her hoodie, loosing her thoughts in the smell of the fabric and the slightly more prominent smell of Dante’s Kools. She opened her mouth to say more but hesitated, rolling to her side and propping herself up on an elbow she looked over at Dante. “I don’t really know what to think about this place, yet. Ian was real enthusiastic about life here, but he kinda seems like he’d be enthusiastic about socks if he thought it would make you feel better. I just can't quite get a feel for it yet. It sort of seems like there’s a trap around every corner and if you step wrong,” there was a half hearted gesture toward her face before her hand fell limply across her abdomen, only her finger tips peeping out of the overlarge sleeve. She stopped speaking, realizing she might have been annoying him. Dante didn’t seem the type to favor small talk, but Liv couldn't really help it. Besides if he wanted her to shut up she knew he would have no qualms telling her so. “Don't take this the wrong way,” she said quietly, a playful smile turning up the corners of her mouth as she reached over and nudged him. “I usually just talk to my dog, but… you’ll have to do.”