[Espy]

AUGH. The surprise nearly made Dante collapse, and he awkwardly scrambled to his feet, then threw out a helping hand as an afterthought. The smirk was a bit harder to force off his face.

"Well, it got the job done, didn't it? Actually..." He let his arm drop. "You should probably rest for a while. You're about as solid as a dancing candle flame right now. Here..."

He hooked an arm under her knees and hefted her up easily, took a quick step away from Lev and the newcomer, and stopped.

"Um...where to, now?"