Embracing The Darkness

[RedRose4]

As he climbed up to another branch, Jesse took a deep breath and kept himself well paced. He had to make sure the strength in his body that he still had, wasn't wasted too quickly. There was about twenty branches at least, and so it would most likely take him nearly half an hour to get to the top if he just kept taking breaks and a breather or two, but to Jesse, if it meant doing what he was told, it was well worth it.

By the time he got to the fourth, Jesse sat back down and sighed, his eyes returning to Dante, still being able to see the large man just fine, even from where he was. A part of him felt slight relief, to hear that he wouldn't be replaced, even though he was slightly unsure if it was the honest truth, his heart tricked him into believing it.

Although what really 'struck a chord' within Jesse was when he heard Dante mention that he was now a Darkedge, and the importance he now had. Yet again, it was completely different for Jesse, to be worth something, to have a person think of him so highly, and best of all, he had the last name of someone as strong and breathtaking as Dante himself.
Smiling slightly, Jesse nodded his head in understanding, standing up from the branch he was on and looking back up. As he climbed just a little more, Jesse took another break halfway and saw what Dante had created. To know if he fell, he wouldn't hit the ground, the blonde smiled in relief and took a deep breath.

"Thanks Dante." Jesse said, rather quietly as he continued up.

Just as he thought, at least another twenty minutes or more had passed before he got to the top. He was careful, feeling that the wind was a bit stronger the higher he was, and so each movement he made was cautious. Making sure his gloves were on, Jesse looked for the leaves with the darkest of stems, picking them off and placing them in his holster resting against his hip. As he stored twenty away, he made his way down, this time not taking nearly as long, although still being a bit sloppy. He stumbled a bit, losing his footing but thankfully his hands kept a firm grasp on the branches whenever he had slipped.

Jesse got to the bottom, nearly falling off in the process. He got to his feet and carefully removed the leaves, presenting them to Dante with his body still glistening with sweat, and his breathing a little deep and shallow. "Here…I hope this will suffice to your requirements." Jesse sighed, not sure if the leaves were okay to handle without the gloves, so he wasn't sure if he should pass them to Dante or not. For the time being, he held them in his gloved hands and waited for further instructions before doing anything else.

[BlissfulEternity]

All Dante did in response to Jesse's thanks was simply nod back at the blonde teen. His eyes stayed locked on to that lithe body as it continued to climb the tall tree. It was taking a lot longer than he had originally planned, but the fact that Jesse still did not give up after all of this was all Dante could have asked from the teen. As his protege began his descent, Dante began to prepare for the next section of Jesse's training. Holding out both hands in front of him, the rugged male turned his palms upwards and began to slowly raise them. Bundles of roots began to sprout from the ground from four different points, twisting and turning around each other as they rose to make small columns. The roots then began to spread out to the nearest column, eventually creating a surprisingly flat surface. Now that the table was created, the tall lord turned his attention back to Jesse.

The boy's fatigue was starting to show even more as he began to slip a few times on a few of the branches. Each time Jesse faltered, Dante was ready to save the boy from what was sure to be a very harmful fall. Once Jesse was a safe distance from the ground, Dante walked over to the tree and grabbed a second pair of gloves from the box, slipping them onto his hands. As he turned around, he finally got a good close-up of just how sweaty his young protege was. The boy's slender body shimmered with sweat, and the effect was only raised as the sunlight beat off his body. It was more than enough to cause quite a stirring in Dante's loins.

Before Dante could grab the leaves, he found himself giving into temptation. He closed the gap between Jesse and himself, wrapping an arm around the teen's waist while pulling him closer so their bodies touched. Then, he leaned in and kissed Jesse, slipping his tongue into his protege's mouth as his hand squeezed that perfect, round ass. His broad tongue thoroughly explored Jesse's mouth, seeking to quench his desire for the effeminate male. His other hand soon found its way to Jesse' cheek, cupping it in his gloved palm while stroking it with his thumb. While his cock wanted him to push this even further, Dante knew he had to continue with his training. So, the rugged male pulled away from Jesse, staring into his eyes. "You've done well Jesse." He told the boy as he took the leaves from him.

With the leaves in hand, Dante walked over to the table and set them down. He then quickly conjured up a small bowl made out of wood and placed the leaves inside of it. "Here Jesse. I want you to watch." The rugged male grabbed one of the practice daggers Jesse was using and held it just above the hilt. Then, he began to pound the bottom of the hilt into the bowl, crushing the leaves quickly. Small bits of dark blue liquid would drip out of the stems and veins of the leaves. After a few moments, the leaves became a large clump of damp, deep blue gunk. He then quickly conjured up another small wooden bowl. Grabbing the bowl of mushed up leaves, Dante picked it up and gently tipped it towards the empty bowl. Very slowly, the dark blue liquid began to run into the small bowl.

In a few moments, the small bowl was half full of this mysterious, blue-black liquid. "The tree you climbed is called a Nayacea Tree. They produce a harmful substance that coats every leaf to protect the tree from being inhabited by animals. Touching the leaves can cause your skin to corrode, but its not enough to do much harm to humans. It's about equal to burning yourself on a hot oven." Dante explained. "However, if you extract the substance from the stems, you can make a very deadly poison." He pointed to the bowl of dark, blue liquid. "It is very potent when concentrated. Assassins often coat their arrowheads and the tips of their daggers with it. They call it the 'Crawling Poison'." Dante pulled off one of his gloves and slowly lowered the bottom into it. As soon as it made contact with the liquid, the fabric began to deteriorate. He dropped the glove onto the table as the glove continued to disintegrate, the fabric turning to ash as the blue poison quickly traveled up the glove to the tips of the fingers. In just moments, the glove had become dust. "Imagine what would happen if the poison entered through a wound." Dante added. He paused as he looked at Jesse, waiting to see how he was taking this all in.

[RedRose4]

Jesse's aqua eyes widened at the sight before him, seeing the vines and roots, thinking of just how incredible it all was. Dante was amazing, especially with his magic, and when it came to inspirations, that was his number one source. Jesse wanted to be good at magic someday, of course he never expects to surpass Dante, but he wanted to learn a good, significant amount throughout his future with the man.

With his arms out slightly, and his lips parted as he breathed quickly, Jesse was startled, yet welcomed to the sensation of Dante pulling him to his body and kissing his lips. He welcomed the larger males tongue into his mouth the second it brushed past his lips, feeling as it overwhelmed his ability to think straight as Jesse moaned softly, especially at the sensation of his sore ass being grabbed by such large hands. The blondes small body ached, not only because of the physical labour, but because of Dante. Everything about him made his body weaken even more.

Jesse gasped for a breath when the kiss ended, almost leaving him even more breathless than before. As Dante told him he had done a good job, the young man nodded and bowed his head. "Thank you." He managed to speak, his voice a little shaky. After catching his breath, Jesse walked over, listening to Dante telling him to watch, and as he stood beside the large man, that's what he did.

Looking down at the bowl, Jesse felt himself starring as he crushed the leaves, curious as to what had come from them. Although only moments later Dante began to explain. As he looked at the liquid, and saw what it did to the glove, Jesse almost felt like he was scared of it. It was so deadly, and such a small amount sounded like it could cause a lethal, painful death. Glancing up at Dante, Jesse pursed his lower lip and looked back at the bowl, his hands at his sides, having no plans on touching it unless he was told to.

"I'm guessing there's no way to…cure this?" Jesse asked, seeing it worked quickly, so he highly doubted it. "And now what will we do with it?" he had wondered, finding it incredibly intimidating, but also really quite interesting. A part of him felt nervous that he was excited, as though he was fascinated by something that was so deadly. That itself was worrying in Jesse's mind. He hadn't imagined himself to appreciate something such as poison.

[BlissfulEternity]

The rugged male stared at the lethal bowl of poison, the deep shade of blue liquid somehow staring ominously back at the two of them. "No. There is no known antidote for it. Some of my brightest minds are working to find one, but the task is proving impossible." He said as he raised his palm upwards once more. The bowl started to creak as wood began to grow upwards from the edges, curving at the very top until the bowl had become a sphere. "I wanted you to see this Jesse because poison will become one of your most lethal weapons. Lace your arrowheads or daggers with it, and it'll make every wound even more deadly." Dante waved his hand quickly, sending the sphere of poison rocketing towards the tree. The sphere exploded and the poison splashed against the tree and the ground. "Even though the Nayacean poison is extremely lethal to humans and anything with flesh, it has no effect on the natural world." He explained as the blue poison slowly began to seep back into the earth.

Dante turned around to face his young, beautiful protege, noticing the sweat on his face and body even more so than before. He had not completed everything he wanted to do with Jesse today, but the sun was starting to set and the boy was getting tired. It was best to wrap up the day's training. "We're done for the day. Tonight I will give you some time to rest. I know this is a lot for you to comprehend in a day." The tall, muscular male said as he placed a large, firm hand on the young teen's cheek. "It's only going to get tougher from here, so I want you to get as much rest as you can before tomorrow." His thumb gently stroked the boy's cheek, feeling the blonde's sweat under his finger, making his soft skin feel slick. "There should be a bath drawn for you when we get back." The tyrant said as he placed another hand on the boy's hip, caressing it slowly.

Suddenly, a smirk spread across Dante's face as he pulled Jesse closer to him. "Jesse Darkedge...my assassin-in-training." The tyrant whispered as his hands began to get a bit more bold, running across the young male's pert rump. "Are you excited to live this new life Jesse?" He asked. The entire day had been him showing and telling Jesse what he was going to do. Right now, he wanted to hear what the boy's thoughts were about everything. His fears, his anxieties, his excitements. All of it.

[RedRose4]

Knowing that there was no antidote only made it even more interesting. The lethality of it was pretty remarkable, and Jesse had wondered what it would do to a person…
The moment Jesse thought that, he widened his eyes, shaking his head and sighing. No he didn't want to know that, he'd hate it, it would disgust him. Focusing back on Dante, Jesse looked up at the man, listening to his words and nodding his head slowly.

Watching the bowl turn into a sphere, and hearing what was being said, Jesse glanced over at the tree and found himself captivated. How amazing…that what had created the poison was incapable of being damaged by it. Smiling softly, Jesse yet again felt that interest in him peak, being completely entranced with whatever Dante was teaching him.

And then, Jesse felt his heart beating in his chest, listening to Dante tell him that he needed rest, that strong hand along his cheek, and those words, all made him smile. "That would be nice." Jesse whispered when a bath was mentioned, knowing his muscles and body would appreciate it. Although when Dante grasped his hip and pulled him closer, Jesse felt a chill run down his spine, his small body pressed up against Dante's.

With his hand trailing down the males ass, Jesse's back lightly arched and he sighed shakily, nodding his head as his eyes rested on Dante's. "Yes…I'm excited. I'm curious to know what else I have in store, but I will admit it's a lot to take in. A little scary, but also exhilarating. " Jesse licked his lips and smiled softly, his shirtless body feeling nice up against Dante's muscular body. "I'm excited to wake up in the morning, and continue this life. With you."Jesse whispered softly as his eyes fixated on the ground beneath them.