The gym, Friday morning

[can_be_more]

Aeryn left 238 a little later than she'd planned, but still gets to the gym at a respectable time. Since she's got some time, she pulls on her gloves and starts working on the bag until Mel arrives.


[For cantjossme, but the gym is open for your gymly needs. Also, blah blah SP blah.]

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[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Mel mumbled as she stumbled into the gym with a cup of coffee in her hand.

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"Hi," Aeryn greets her, finishing off a punch before turning around to see her. "Not quite used to mornings?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Night person," Mel said with a yawn and then chugging a good portion of her coffee. "So. What's first?"

[can_be_more]

"First put the coffee down. After that, I want to see you throw a couple of punches at the bag, just to see what it looks like," she says.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Right." Mel put her coffee on the ground and grabbed a pair of gloves and started swinging at the bag. She then started swinging at the bag and while the punches were fast and strong it's pretty clear she's lacking in martial arts knowledge.

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"Try going a little slower," Aeryn says. "Really focus on where you're trying to hit them."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel slowed down and made more deliberate punches. "Isn't the point to knock 'em down fast?"

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"It can be. But knocking them down fast means they can get back up. It's easier to hit them so they just stop."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"So? A punch is a punch is a punch. Right?" Mel said giving the back a hefty smack each time she said the word.

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"Not really. There are punches you can deliver that will knock someone out cold and get them out of your way to do whatever you have to do," she says. "Unless you're really just in it to hit things."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel grimaced at that and stepped away from the bag. "All right so how is that kind of punch thrown?"

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"Hits to the face and head are the best bets," she says. "You just sometimes have to be careful that you don't kill someone you're not supposed to that way."

She moves closer to the bag, demonstrating one particular punch. "Done right but poorly, that will stun someone. Done right and well, it'll knock them out and it's one less person to worry about for a while."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Okay," Mel said stepping forward and attempting to do the same style of punch. "Something like that?"

[can_be_more]

"Like that," she confirms. "Coming in at that angle, it's hard for them to block. They never see it coming."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel continued to throw some punches at the bag keeping her form in mind.

"So... have you ever froze in a fight?" Mel asked trying to keep the question casual.

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"Not froze, exactly," she answers, thinking about it. "When I first started fighting for real, when it wasn't just practice, I'd spend too much time thinking about what I was going to do and hestitate. Is freezing a problem?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"I froze the other night," Mel said bitterly hitting the bag full strength. "Vamp bit me."

[can_be_more]

Her eyes immediately go to Mel's neck. "Here?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. The weekend everyone freaked out," Mel replied softly. "I went on patrol and the guy just... well I froze when he turned."

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"Do you know what it is that made you freeze?" she asks. "Specifically?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"He reminded me of someone."

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"Someone you wouldn't want to kill, or someone you were afraid of?" Because they're two very different things.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Little bit of both actually," Mel replied simply.

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"That kind of thinking got you bitten," Aeryn says simply. "You can't have that, unless next time you want to chance actually being killed."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Gee coach," Mel said giving the bag bonecrushing punch. "You make it sound so simple."

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"When you go around hunting things, it has to be that simple," she says, still watching her form. "One of my closest friends is a vampire. If he were to ever go bad again, and it came down to him dying versus some innocent person, a friend, myself, whoever, he'd be dead. Simple as that."

You know, Aeryn has too many people she can say that sort of thing about.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel thought about that for a while. "Right. For the better good huh?"

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"That, and to save your own skin," she says. "Fighting is messy, and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"By any means necessary?"

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Aeryn pauses briefly. "There are sometimes exceptions. But you have to operate under the assumption that one of those exceptions isn't going to pop up when you want it to."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Right. So how do you get in that kind of mindset," Mel asked.

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She's not the best with words, and explaining this is hard, so she asks, "Do you consider yourself a fighter?"

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"I thought I did," Mel replied. "I've killed dozens of lurks before."

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"You're learning," she says. "I think the most important thing factor in any sort of battle, one on one of an invasion, is that you're fighting because for one reason or another, you have to. If you're serious about it, it's like a duty, even if it's just for a Fandom crisis that lasts a weekend. You just do what you have to do."

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

"Right," Mel said clearly in thought. "So what's next after the punching?"

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"Want to try sparring?" she offers. She's got to admit, she's curious what it's like facing off against her.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel just smirks. "You sure you can handle me?"

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"Pretty sure," Aeryn says evenly, moving away from the mat to get into a starting position.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel shrugged and got into her starting position.

Which was really just her standing and waiting for Aeryn to attack her.

[can_be_more]

"Are you ready?" she asks, not sure.

[cantjossme.livejournal.com]

Mel smirked. "Bring it."