You won't. I have seen the way your family moves, and you know I am only human.
( it isn't a weakness, as far as damian is concerned. he isn't bothered by the size comment, either; he's used his diminutive stature to his advantage in battle before. just as dante will not come at him with all he has, multiple people have hesitated to fight him at their best - resulting in their downfall. many have underestimated him due to his being a human child, just as he feels dante is now. but it matters not. damian hasn't discovered a way to take down the sparda clan for certain just yet, outside of relying on kent and accelerator - and even that is just a guess.
but it isn't his intention to now, nor likely ever. there's no need to unless they prove themselves to be dangerous to everyone else.
he's just here because dante makes for an excellent thing to punch when he's in a mood.
damian does loosen up a little - pulls himself upright so he can reach into his utility belt and pulls out a pair of brass knuckles the same color as his gloves so he can slip them on over his fingers. )
And I won't, because if I show you everything, I will be out of surprises. Rules are unnecessary. I won't break you, and I assume you'll refuse to hit me hard enough to cause any lasting damage also.
[Dante listens to the kid explain himself with what would seem to be uncharacteristic stillness to anyone who knows him outside of combat. He watches as the brass knuckles come out, watches the way Robin squares up in readiness to get this fight started.
The kid certainly has his number on his intentions and he nods.]
You're right. I won't.
[And with that in mind, without a word or a sword in his hand and lacking none of the speed that makes a Stinger so effective, Dante rushes at his opponent with the deliberate intent of bringing himself in range of those brass knuckles.
Let's see if you really know how to use 'em, kid.]
( damian has plenty of projectiles he could use, but he really, really just wants to hit something, not stab into it. he knows dante is toying with him, knows he's just playing along for - damian doesn't know why, actually, because playing along with him doesn't make all that much sense, does it? dante is getting nothing out of this.
he supposes it's something to reevaluate later, when he isn't in the middle of fighting him.
fists clench tight in front of him when dante starts toward him, but damian doesn't react immediately.
instead, he waits until dante is close and ducks down into a roll, quickly pushing up onto his feet so he can slam his fist into dante's ribcage from behind rather than swinging straight forward for him on his approach. he's intentionally avoiding aiming for anything particularly damaging: the human body has several pressure points one could try and hit if they truly wanted to hurt someone, but this is less about harming dante, and more about just - hitting. )
[This is a game, Dante reminds himself, but one he's fully intending to play to get the kid off his back if that's what it takes, but he's curious too. Robin's an angry little snot who needs an attitude adjustment in his book, but he remembers being an angry little snot once too. Sometimes a kid just needs to let these things out, and judging by this one's martial skill set, there are worse people he could be blowing off steam with.
At least Dante recovers quickly from puncture wounds.
He watches as the kid rolls, but where he could easily duck out of the way he lets the blow land, taking the hit with a mild grunt as it impacts. There's a surprising amount of force in it for someone so small, and he'll remind himself to dish out the compliments later. Right now, there's fighting to be done. He turns sharply on his heel, hand coming up to block any follow up blows, and opens his palm to welcome the next.]
( robin is loud. robin gets sassy, he antagonizes his opponents to try and set them off, to push their buttons, to see just how hard he can shove before they topple over. it's a distraction technique, as he'd learned from richard grayson during his early tenure as robin. because robin is the bright light to batman's shadow.
but damian wayne isn't. and despite being in uniform, he isn't feeling up to being robin right now.
he lands a hit, but dante's quick to turn around block the following one. quick to catch his fist when damian raises it to slam it into his gut. it's irritating - he knew what he was stepping into the moment he decided to reach out to dante, yes, but damian is used to being able to catch even metahumans off-guard when he puts his mind to it. he snarls, but doesn't try to get his hand back. instead, he shifts his weight backwards onto while the other one raises to try and slam the back of his heel into dante's side.
if he opts to keep the hand hostage - that's fine. damian doesn't need that right now anyway. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
( it isn't a weakness, as far as damian is concerned. he isn't bothered by the size comment, either; he's used his diminutive stature to his advantage in battle before. just as dante will not come at him with all he has, multiple people have hesitated to fight him at their best - resulting in their downfall. many have underestimated him due to his being a human child, just as he feels dante is now. but it matters not. damian hasn't discovered a way to take down the sparda clan for certain just yet, outside of relying on kent and accelerator - and even that is just a guess.
but it isn't his intention to now, nor likely ever. there's no need to unless they prove themselves to be dangerous to everyone else.
he's just here because dante makes for an excellent thing to punch when he's in a mood.
damian does loosen up a little - pulls himself upright so he can reach into his utility belt and pulls out a pair of brass knuckles the same color as his gloves so he can slip them on over his fingers. )
And I won't, because if I show you everything, I will be out of surprises. Rules are unnecessary. I won't break you, and I assume you'll refuse to hit me hard enough to cause any lasting damage also.
no subject
The kid certainly has his number on his intentions and he nods.]
You're right. I won't.
[And with that in mind, without a word or a sword in his hand and lacking none of the speed that makes a Stinger so effective, Dante rushes at his opponent with the deliberate intent of bringing himself in range of those brass knuckles.
Let's see if you really know how to use 'em, kid.]
no subject
he supposes it's something to reevaluate later, when he isn't in the middle of fighting him.
fists clench tight in front of him when dante starts toward him, but damian doesn't react immediately.
instead, he waits until dante is close and ducks down into a roll, quickly pushing up onto his feet so he can slam his fist into dante's ribcage from behind rather than swinging straight forward for him on his approach. he's intentionally avoiding aiming for anything particularly damaging: the human body has several pressure points one could try and hit if they truly wanted to hurt someone, but this is less about harming dante, and more about just - hitting. )
no subject
At least Dante recovers quickly from puncture wounds.
He watches as the kid rolls, but where he could easily duck out of the way he lets the blow land, taking the hit with a mild grunt as it impacts. There's a surprising amount of force in it for someone so small, and he'll remind himself to dish out the compliments later. Right now, there's fighting to be done. He turns sharply on his heel, hand coming up to block any follow up blows, and opens his palm to welcome the next.]
That's a nice way to warm up. C'mon.
no subject
but damian wayne isn't. and despite being in uniform, he isn't feeling up to being robin right now.
he lands a hit, but dante's quick to turn around block the following one. quick to catch his fist when damian raises it to slam it into his gut. it's irritating - he knew what he was stepping into the moment he decided to reach out to dante, yes, but damian is used to being able to catch even metahumans off-guard when he puts his mind to it. he snarls, but doesn't try to get his hand back. instead, he shifts his weight backwards onto while the other one raises to try and slam the back of his heel into dante's side.
if he opts to keep the hand hostage - that's fine. damian doesn't need that right now anyway. )