Truth Be Told...{Dom}

There was Ace, making his speedy way towards Dom with no thought for tactics. The young leopard was just rushing in head first with a triumphant grin on his face like he had already won. Dom would have to teach him a lesson and as the young man stretched out a hand to tag Dom, the clouded leopard merely stepped to the side. As Ace passed him, Dom dropped one of the sticks on to his back, pushing the youth further forwards in to a stumble. Dom hadn't done much, merely using Ace's own force against him to put him off balance and escape being tagged.

Ace had been one of the ones giving Ruby trouble as far as he could gather and this would be a good way to teach him a lesson. Nobody bullied Ruby because of what she was or who she was. Dom wouldn't allow it and whilst he may not have been the Raj, he was high enough in the Pard to have a say in the members behaviour.

Ace had regained his balance and looked angry. Smirking to himself, Dom widened his arms and beckoned to Ace. It was a challenge and the young leopard took it eagerly, once more charging at Dom. Had this kid no sense? He was Jon's body guard for a reason and as Ace got closer, the clouded leopard moved in a blur, striking at Ace's arms and legs with the sticks. The younger leopard was taken to the ground without Dom touching him, the sticks touched him and it was well within the rules. Snorting, Dom threw the sticks to the ground and wandered off towards the trees once more as Ace lay face down and dejected. Turning slightly Dom threw a parting shot over his shoulder at the boy.

"Don't pick on Ruby."

Taking up his station in his tree once more, Dom watched as Ace slowly got to his feet and headed after Maddy, determined to at least win something from the game.

The panwere had no idea what to expect as Ace began to close in on Dom. The appearance was that the younger leopard was going to become the chased. However, that was an illusion. As Ace charged, Dominic moved out of the way and dropped a stick on the younger boy's back. Ruby was a tad curious at his actions and continued to watch, hoping that everything would explain itself soon enough. Her eyes were glued to the action and she waited silently. Hearing a noise, her eyes glanced away for a moment to take notice that a few others had come to see what was going on.

She watched as Ace crashed to the ground and strained her ears a little to hear the words her leopard spoke. When they came through loud and clear, she smiled softly. She was completely safe with him. She was now beginning to understand why both leopard and tiger relaxed around him. They had known from the start that he would teach anyone a lesson that dared to mess with her. They had known what would happen from the start and she'd been too blind to notice it. With eyes wide open now, she could see the same things that they did.

Ruby moved back to her place on the house where she could see Dominic. She gave him a smile that spoke volumes while below them the chase continued. He had certainly made one hell of an impression these last couple days.

Spotting Ruby from his perch in his tree, Dominic smiled back at her before switching his attention back to the games. Jon and Adam would be back soon so they would have to play as much as possible. With a grin he noticed that Maddy had been tagged, she was the chaser now and as much as he loved her, he knew she would leave him alone. He was too advanced for her, they had different jobs and different strengths. It was only the younger Pard members that tried their luck with him.

Deciding he had time to kill, the clouded leopard picked his way across the trees until he coud jump and reach Ruby. Judging the distance carefully, he launched himself from his tree and scrabbled at the roof until he got his footing. Finally satisfied that he wasn't going to fall off the roof, the short male made his way to Ruby and sat down carefully.

"What do you think of Ace? He's getting better, don't you think?"

Ruby's eyes shifted from looking to Dominic back to the game below. She could hear the laughter that emanated from the leopards and it brought a smile to her face. She was glad that they could enjoy such simple things when they no doubt felt like their lives had been taken. At least, she knew that was how the younger shifters felt. Hell, she'd felt the same way. Even more so after she gained her second strain. Immediately, she shoved that thought from her mind and gave a soft sigh, watching as Ace got ahold of Maddy.

Her attention was focused below and she didn't notice Dom's movements until she heard something connect with the roof. Her head turned to the side and smiled as she saw Dom gain his footing. As he sat beside her, she turned her eyes back to the game, watching as it progressed. Hearing his question, she nodded a little bit before turning her attention back to him.

"He has gotten better, no doubt there. He'll get better as time goes on," she said. Her smile grew a little bit before she added more to that statement. "And so will I."

Dom had to say he was impressed with Ruby's answer. It looked like she was finally going to show the pard what she was made of and Dom couldn't wait to see the looks on the other members faces when they did. Letting himself smile he nodded in agreement with his girlfriend and then turned as a familiar scent hit his nose. Jon was back and so was Adam, it was time to pack up and go inside for dinner.

Sticking two fingers in his mouth, the bodyguard blew sharply causing a loud whistle to ring out. Immediately the pard members looked up at him and he pointed to the parked car. Getting the message they started moving inside and Dom held his hand out to Ruby.

"Shall we?"

Her gaze turned to Dominic and returned his smile. She was slowly finding her confidence and the panwere had to think that it was because she now had the clouded leopard at her side. While they hadn't been together until today, Ruby found that just being around Dom made things a little more managable as both her cats relaxed completely around him.

The whistle caused her hands to lift to her ears, not exactly enjoying the volume. After it went quiet, she rubbed the ear closest to her leopard. As he pointed, her gaze followed his finger to see Adam and Jon. As everyone began to move back inside, she took the hand offered to her with a smile.

"I suppose we should."