[The kneejerk reaction to stab him in the throat with said knife rises and immediately falls. A different situation with different faces and he's been with Liam long enough to have a handle on his attitude. The name wasn't used in mocking, nor revenance. It's meant exactly in the spirit of the name - speaking to a supposed political heir(ess).

Fine. He's played the game before, much as he loathes it. The reflex is natural, if a bit embarrassed. the game is old but explaining the moves is new, the shame of peeling off layers in front of strangers-] I'm not stupid. I'm 'fragile'. Even if I did know how to fight, I'm useless against other humans, let alone leeches or batteries or mutts. My best method is stopping problems before they start with underhanded means. Usually using others as a trigger, as you've experienced personally.

In addition, you all have some stilted honor code or you're fond of fist fights. They always come with knives or fists, with monologues and delusions. And then I shoot them in the head until they stop moving.

[Pragmatic and extremely dirty, but admittedly a successful method. There's something dumb in that sentence anyway and it comes out with a sigh.] If you want to teach me to stab things, fine, but you don't owe me a life debt and I'm going to suck at it, so why bother?