Gym, Saturday, Mid-Morning

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn was stretching out in the gym, trying not to be nervous as she waited for Professor Winchester to show up. She considered working out with the weights or running on the treadmill or practicing with the practice weapons, but she didn't know exactly what they were doing and didn't want to tire herself out.

Once she felt sufficiently limber, she reached up and started braiding her hair back, so it wouldn't get in the way while they were working, making sure to fasten it securely at the bottom. Her sturdy black shoes, jeans, and sweatshirt weren't the most stylish outfit she'd ever worn, but they were what she'd be wearing most often when she got attacked got kidnapped was working with Buffy or Mel, so they seemed most appropriate.

So now all she had to do was fidget and try really hard not to think about all the doubts Sam had had about this plan.


[ooc: Open for all, but thread with demons_death is locked to them, please.]

Comments

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John headed to the school gym and smiled when he saw Dawn already there. It was nice to have someone who really wanted to learn.

"Morning," he greeted her.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Morning," Dawn smiled cautiously at him. Despite what Sam said, he didn't seem mean.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John nodded approvingly at her clothes. "Good practical choice for what to wear when you might get in a fight."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," she blushed under the praise, "I almost tucked my hair up, but I never wear it that way, so it seemed to make more sense to get used to training the way I'll be normally. Even if it gives somebody a direct handle to my head in a fight."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John's smiled widened a little. "And you just took the wind out of the sails of my next comment. It's good to learn how to fight under what will be normal circumstances for you, but I still think you might want to do something about the hair. I'm not advocating a buzz cut or anything -- in spite of what Sammy might have told you -- but a hat or just wearing your hair close to your head when you're going to be out in a potentially dangerous situation could end up being the difference between you kicking butt and getting your ass handed to you."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"I do like my butt unkicked," Dawn tied her braid into a knot at the base of her head, but asked, "and I get that, if I'm going out on purpose to fight or patrol, but what about when I'm just, y'know, out?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"How fast can you put your hair up like that?" John asked watching her.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"A couple of minutes for the braid, a couple of seconds for the knot," she shrugged.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Try to come up with something you can do in a couple of seconds," John advised, "and then practise doing it on the fly until you don't even have to think about it. That way if you do get attacked when you're just y'know out, you can quickly minimise that liability."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn considered that for a few minutes, then nodded. That made a lot more sense than cutting her hair off at the ears or always wearing it up. "Okay."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"So let's see what you know," John said with a small wolfish grin as he stepped out onto the mats.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Um...okay..." Dawn hesitantly stepped onto the mats across from Professor Winchester and took a defensive position, with her hands raised in fists. She thought about asking for pads, but she wouldn't have them when she fought for real...

She nodded once. She could do this without being a whiny baby.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John watched her stance for a moment, taking in what was good and what could use improvement. Then he came at Dawn, arms wide, not bothering with much finesse.

There would be time for more complicated attacks earlier. Right now this was about establishing the basics.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn saw him approaching with his arms wide and chest exposed, and did what she'd been trained to do--she tried to stake him.

Since she didn't have a stake, though, it meant that she attempted to hit him in the chest with the side of her right hand and had already shifted her weight to her back foot so she could be ready for the next attack.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John easily blocked her strike at his chest. "Good reflexes," he said. "And excellent recovery. But that probably wasn't the most useful attack you could have made."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"No, probably not," she admitted, "but I'm still mostly used to fighting vampires. People are new."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Vampire or not, there's a few certain targets you can aim for that will stop most things short," John said. "And then you can stake them. You got any idea where you should be aiming?"

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds. "Um, knees and throat?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Throat's a good choice on most things," John acknowledged. "Knees can be if you hit them just right. What else?"

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Um, genitals if it's a male," Dawn tried not to blush, "and then I'm out of ideas."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

John raised a hand and pointed it towards his eyes. "I don't think I've encountered anything with eyes that can't at least been slowed down by a finger in them. Or whatever is handy."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn nodded, drinking in the information. "What if I'm too short to reach?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Could you reach Sam's eyes if you had to?" John asked.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"Sure," she nodded.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"That's probably a fairly safe baseline of if you're too short or not," John said with a faint smile.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"What if what I'm fighting has more than two eyes?" Dawn decided it was nice to have someone she could ask these questions of without him looking at her like she was stoned. "Or I can't find its knees?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"More than two eyes just means more targets," John pointed out. "If you can't find something, look for something else."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"And then I what?" She asked, then explained, "I'm still in the run away stage a lot of the time, since most of the people I fight with are older or stronger."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"There's nothing wrong with a strategic retreat," John told her. "If you can't be stronger, you can at least be smarter."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

She might have pouted a little. "I'm tired of running away."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Part of being smarter is making contingency plans ahead of time. So you're not running away so much as running to something that'll slow down or take out your opponent."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Now that sounded intriguing. "Like what?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Like having salt lines preset if you're going after a demon, or, for example. There was a time a few years ago when we were fighting a banesidhe and the boys hid in the rafters of this old barn with balloons filled with holy water. I let it 'chase' me right under them and then it was all over but the splashing and the melting."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

A few years...she chewed on her lip, "You took them with you when they were that little? Wasn't that dangerous?" Although, considering they were water balloons, Sam and Dean probably had a blast.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Dean was fourteen at the time, and Sammy was a very precocious though occasionally sulky ten," John explained with a faint smile. "They were well hidden and out of reach with orders not to come out until I gave the all clear."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

Dawn smiled, picturing them both in their head. In her imagination, wee!Sam could barely see through his bangs. "So, I can see that planning ahead works if you're looking for something. But what if it just surprises you while you're out for a walk?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Then you have to make the very fast decision whether it would be better to fight or to get away and take it down when you're more prepared."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

See, now this was something that Dawn wasn't sure had ever gotten through to her sister. "How do I know? And what if I'm wrong? No, that second part was stupid. I know what happens if I'm wrong."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"Listen to your instincts, your gut. We all tend to know more at a subconscious, instinctive level than we give ourselves credit for. If in doubt, it's best to err on the flight side of the fight or flight response," John told her. "Easier to recover from.

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"This would be the big difference from being trained by slayers," Dawn mused, "they're big on the fighty side of things. Maybe because they have mystical instincts and super-strength and heal extra quickly."

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

"I can see how that could make someone less cautious. Us merely human have to weigh the odds more carefully."

[lilpunkinbelly.livejournal.com]

"So. I'm here and want to learn how to weigh the odds with the rest of the mortals." She smirked at him. "I'm ready to be taught, Ted Bologna."