fandomhigh | Pointy End AWAY From You, Wednesday

Class met in the Danger Shop today, largely on Obi-Wan's insistence: he had no interest in seeing anyone hurt using weapons that might be unfamiliar to them.

Laid out on a table at the front of the shop were several smaller bladed weapons, knives primarily.

"Today, we'll begin with a fairly simple weapon," he said. "Many of you might have held a knife at least once in your life."

"And not just for cutting up nerf in a fancy restaurant," Anakin added. "Knives are versatile and easy to conceal. They can be used as a mid-range and a close range weapon, or as a boredom alleviation tool, if you get good at flipping it."

ANAKIN.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Do not start flipping knives," he said. "This man is also an expert in the realm of accidentally causing himself harm." COUGH. "Knives give you an edge in an encounter with a bare-handed fighter, but they are not toys. They are lethal weapons, and they can both harm and kill. Keep this in mind, both if you use one, or if you find yourself facing an opponent wielding one. Do not, for instance, attempt to grapple with a thusly-armed opponent, because you will be killed."

Anakin gave Obi-Wan a sour look because SOME OF THOSE harms had been on purpose from Obi-Wan. Jerk. (The fact that Anakin had been evil at the time was completely beside the point.) He then settled into a ready position. "We'll walk you through disarming a knife-wielding opponent, and how to win if you're both armed. If you're armed and they aren't...well, we don't really want to know why you're starting a fight."

"Before Anakin shows you the actual disarming technique," Obi-Wan said, picking up a knife and sliding into a ready position himself, "I should note that the absolute best way to avoid getting struck with a knife is simply to run away. There are very few situations in which running is not an option. That being said..."

He struck out at Anakin.

Anakin reached out, right hand at Obi-Wan's windpipe, almost faster than thought.

Obi-Wan's knife-hand kept going, but he was clearly slightly off-balance now.

Anakin moved to smack Obi-Wan in the forearm hard enough to make him drop the knife.

And the knife dropped.

"Don't think this is easy," Obi-Wan said, pulling his arm away. "It may look it, because we are used to it. But pulling off this maneuver is complicated, and reliant on some measure of luck. Again, run away, if you at all can."

Anakin nodded. "And be careful. I know what I'm doing, which is why Obi-Wan doesn't have a broken forearm or a slashed neck, but do this at half or quarter speed until you figure out the rhythm, okay?" He clapped his hands and a half-dozen knife-wielding holograms (that looked remarkably like Obi-Wan with a terrible mullet) appeared before the students. "We'll be walking around to correct your technique if you need it."

"And after that, we'll progress onward to actual knife-fighting techniques," Obi-Wan said lightly. "But we felt teaching you how to get out of a knife-fight was rather more important."

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"I'd like that!" Kathy agreed. "So, what do you like doing?"

Kathy's interests were running around, crimefighting, Tumblr, and various geeky pursuits. She tended to go along with what other people liked to do so no one was stuck doing stuff that she enjoyed that no one else would.

"Window shopping," Raven said. "Or going to the movies. Or -- well, I've had a lot of fun doing sparring stuff in class and with Hanna, but we're kind of already doing that."

"There's the newest superhero movie out," Kathy said, beaming. "I love the Revengers. Actually, have you seen any of those movies yet? We could do a night in the common room to catch you up!"

"I have, actually," Raven said. "But I wouldn't mind a review before seeing the new one."

"What're you doing Friday?" Kathy asked. "Pretty much...all day Friday, I guess?"

"Nothing," Raven said. "I have a five day weekend, this session."

Kathy whistled. "And I was impressed by my three day," she said. "Revengers movie marathon?"

And Raven only took one class a day.

"I'll bring the popcorn."

Kathy just didn't understand how you could do these things, Raven!

"I'll bring the soda." And, y'know, the movies. Obtained totally legally, of course. Superheroes didn't torrent! "Meet up after lunch and we'll go till...whenever we're done, I guess!"

She was bouncing a little again. It happened when she got excited.

Raven grinned. "It's a date." Then blinked. "Um. Not a date-date. But -- you know what I mean."

Kathy pouted at Raven. "I see how it is," she teased. "Just rub it in. Fine."

Raven blinked. "Rub what in?"

"That it's not a date-date," Kathy said.

"But you don't --" Raven said, suddenly flustered. "Do you want it to be?"

Kathy instantly felt guilty for teasing. "No, no, I'm just messing around," she assured Raven. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."

Besides, she didn't want to get in the way of the epic relationship that would be Raven and Jalian when they finally figured themselves out.

"I don't what?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "What were going to say? Can I ask?"

Raven shrugged, embarrassed. "You don't really seem like you're into girls," she said. "Not, you know, for dating."

"Oh," Kathy said, blushing a bit, too. "Sorry, no, I'm generally not?" Though pollen week was usually an exception, especially since the girls on the island were super hot. Much like the guys. Basically, this entire island was full of people who were unfairly attractive. "But I'm not the kind of person who freaks out at the idea of it, either. If it helps any, I would have said the same thing to, like, Anders if he'd assured me it wasn't a date-date."

"No! I didn't think you would be." Raven kind of assumed everyone in the future was totally fine with homosexuality, actually, but her perspective was pretty limited. "I just -- well, I totally wouldn't mind dating you, if you were into it. So you caught me by surprise."

Raven, honey, no. Kathy was going to hold you close and protect you from finding out how horrible the world was still.

"Oh!" Kathy couldn't help but smile at that anyway. What? It was always nice to hear that someone liked you enough to consider you dateable! Even the thing that she had going on with Ezra, she wasn't foolish enough to think that it was actually dating. "Well, thanks. That's really awesome of you to say. And--I hope it's not rude or stupid to say that if I liked girls, I'd probably be really into you, too?" It seemed like a cop out, almost, but hopefully Raven would understand she didn't mean it that way.

"Of course you would," Raven said. "I'm amazing."

"Heck yeah you are. Why do you think I wanted to be friends? You're really cool." Beat. "Even if you refuse to read an anatomy book so you can shift into even cooler animals."

"Anatomy books are boring!" Raven protested. "Can't I watch a bunch of nature documentaries instead?"

Kathy just grinned at her. "I'll get you to read one, somehow. You'll see."

And then her hologram opponent got back up and tried to knock her down, sending her into a controlled tumble.

"Friday, then?"

"Friday," Raven confirmed.

Pointy End AWAY From You, Wednesday

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