It took a disembodied hand flying past her head for Lavinia to snap out of it. Just a few hours ago, she'd concluded her first ever trial of Famiglia matters. Ever since she decided to walk this path, she'd heard of—and experienced—many a Famiglia's interference with the justices. Some around her had even gone missing by now. But she stayed her course. After all, she'd long prepared herself mentally. These troubles could not trounce her; in fact, the more they cropped up, the more she believed she had to change this status quo. —All until she finished her work for the day, and entered the alley where she had parked her vehicle. It was then that she thought she should drop in tomorrow to see the man who'd supported her taking this path, to tell him how she hadn't let him down. And on the other hand she thought, perhaps, that that would make her seem too much a pushover; maybe something sterner was called for. After all, should his own Famiglia fall afoul of a lawsuit themselves, she could only be impartial. If not for that familiar hand pulling her down, her head may well have been skewered by the bolt. She felt her own thoughts halt, leaving her staring blankly at the hand's owner—Bernardo stood in her way, taking out each figure that rushed her one by one. And only once she snapped out of it did she finally realize the gulf between what she'd heard and pictured, and experiencing it personally. A momentary silence descended on the alley, at which point Bernardo gave the underlings to his rear a nod, and they brought out a box half her size. Bernardo opened it, and within, there laid a metal gauntlet with a hammer shackled to it. Under the dusk streetlamps, their gold luster almost stung the eye, but what hurt most about them to see was the circle of thorns winding about the glove. 'I'm not going to protect you forever, Lavinia,' said Bernardo, as he took out the gauntlet and handed it to her. 'If you want to survive on this path, then you've got to learn to protect yourself, starting today.' She was silent for a spell, took the gauntlet, and with no regard for the pain its sharp thorns laced across her skin, she put it on. Then, she walked deeper into the alley depths. She and Bernardo had brushed with death. She knew though the night was deep as ever, Bernardo would not take the same path as her. She had to go it alone into the darkness, a black dyed in sanguine red. The first and only gift Bernardo would ever give her was stained by blood on its very first day.