I have ways to get it back. [ There's a practical thought. Throw a book, accio it back. There's a beat, and then she gives the tome in her lap a gentle tap, almost as if promising I'd never throw you, don't worry. ]
Ah - well. [ She lifts her book enough for the title - in large, gaudy and gilded font - to be legible. ] I've decided to start small. You're a Rifter, too?
[ She gets up from the grass, abandoning all pretense of trying to wrap her knuckles now, in favour of holding the closed book in one hand and holding her right one out for a handshake. ]
(Squinting at the cover gets a scoff out of her but she doesn't elaborate, instead extending her arm for a shake. Feels good, feels normal. Her grip is solid but not painful or overpowering.) Abby Anderson. Yeah, I'm a Rifter too.
D'you want somebody to spar with? (It's time to make it known she has noticed the knuckle wraps.) It'd be easier than punching that thing and getting no feedback.
(Abby's warmed up already and, now, officially interested. Still leaning over the fence, but clearly ready to hop it if she needs to. Hermione is only gonna get so far with the reading; soon, she'll need actual practice.)
[ Earth, possibly - where and when are mysteries, for now, parked to the side in favour of answering the question about sparring.
Punch me. How am I supposed to help you learn to punch better if I don't know how bad you punch now? ]
Uhm - It's not a no, but I am currently trying to figure out how to properly wrap my knuckles so I don't bruise or break them? I kind of need the use of my hands, and -
[ She is rambling, and that's not really the reason she's saying not right now. ] When you say spar, you don't mean tell me to punch you to see how hard I can hit, right? Because I've been through that with Clarisse already and I think might've almost broken her nose. Do you know Clarisse?
(Abby opens her mouth and closes it again when Hermione barrels on — and her nose scrunches up in amusement. God, that is so Clarisse.) You hit her in the face? (She should probably defend her, right, except that it's really funny and she's obviously having trouble not laughing.) Wow. Guess she underestimated you.
[ Oh, she can tell - having been the perpetrator of similar amused looks and bitten back laughter before, she can tell that Abby is amused and that is endearing. +2 approval, there. ]
More like she told me to.
[ She doesn't bother to say I am not a violent person, because it'd be a lie. Several giant spider nests in Thedas and harpies from Akhuras could confirm that she very much is, and there is the fact that she joined Forces to stay on the front lines.
But Clarisse did order her to punch her, in Hermione's defense.
She looks desolately at her failed attempt to learn how to wrap her knuckles with a book, and then at Abby, nodding. ] Please and thank you. Can you teach me how to do it, also?
(Abby mutters,) Oh I bet she did, (but it may be lost underneath her hoisting herself over the fence with a grunt, coming over to Hermione properly. She actually hasn't wrapped her own knuckles in a while — punching infected back home is more of a last resort than a go-to strategy; here she has access to good weapons — so this will be good practice for her too.)
Sure. (She takes the roll of fabric from her, unwinding a section and laying it briefly across her own outstretched hand. When Abby is thinking it probably looks like she's pissed off, brow furrowed and jaw set.
Then she shrugs.)
You wanna make sure your wrist is straight out, don't curl your hand. (She demonstrates this, the wrong thing to do.) Honestly, getting the tension right is the hardest part. If the wrap is too tight it'll cut off your circulation, and if it's too loose you won't feel supported. Make sense?
[ The high definition of muscles is more pronounced up close, although Hermione is respectfully observing. What kind of training does it take for someone to get so fit?
It's funny, because she considered herself in rather good shape - and then joining Forces meant sometimes hoisting wooden beams, or rocks, or hammering nails. She thought they'd throw her at non-descript enemies, tell her to do with the magic thing, and get patted on the head for not dying.
Instead, here she is, trying to learn how to box at the tender (?) age of twenty-two. Or three. ]
Thank you for this.
[ She holds her wrist out straight, not paying much attention to her visible scar inches up from where Abby has laid down the strip of fabric. ]
Why do this? Out of curiosity. I imagine that in a real life situation, whoever has me that deserves a punch won't be inclined to wait so I wrap my knuckles.
(Abby sees the scar but it doesn't seem to register to her as something out of place at all — and up close, Hermione will notice the several that are more visible to her by way of proximity, like the prominent slash across Abby's cheek or the notch on her chin.) It's okay.
This isn't for real-life situations, it's just for training. The wrapping supports your wrist and your hand while you're using it. You're right that nobody is gonna wait until you wrap anything — but if you learn how to throw a good punch, hopefully that's all you'll have to do. Throw one good punch, I mean.
(And, yeah, you'll have bruised knuckles afterwards and it'll feel tender and awful the entire time they're healing. Or you'll break your knuckles or your fist on their body. She's not gonna say that though, it's not exactly conducive to enthusiastic learning.)
I'm gonna start at your wrist. Hold this? (She's looped the end of the wrap around Hermione's thumb, indicating that she should hold it in place with her fingers for now.) Lemme know if you want me to repeat anything. I'll try and go slow.
[ She's not about to ask where all those scar come from, that's not her style - Abby is tall and strong and in Forces; she might be a Rifter but Hermione can tell Abby's been in Thedas a long time - scars get collected just as easily as coins, in their line of work. ]
I appreciate this, thank you. I do want to do that - if for no other reason than that it will get people to stop asking me what I can do when I don't have spellwork to aid me.
So you're a mage? (Huh. Never heard of a mage wanting to punch things before. She doesn't laugh or anything but her mouth does curl a little in the corners.
She's wrapping Hermione's wrist, taking her time.) Tell me if this feels too loose or too tight. (Hard to gauge the tension when you're doing it on somebody else... but if there are no objections, she'll finish up the wrist and bring the roll of fabric up, to start going around and between Hermione's fingers, one at a time.)
[ She shrugs with her free shoulder, keeping her hand quite still and her eyes on the way Abby wraps her wrist. ]
A witch, if you wanted to be technical about it. I'd like to claim some differentiation from the local mages, because I can't do the things they do with the Fade. I can't even tell how my magic works here, to be fair...
[ She wiggles her fingers lightly, to test them. ] Feels secured, but not cutting off any circulation?
Oh, okay. (This is really amusing to her but she's not about to use the wrong term of address for somebody who knows magic. Witch it is.) Where did you come here from?
(The answer about the circulation appears to be correct, because Abby keeps winding. Through the fingers, around the palm again, back down to the wrist. Secured, but not too tight.)
[ It's nice, she's learning by watching someone do it. Taking mental notes, deciding on the spot that she will ask Abby to watch and judge if she does the second hand well, by herself.
Still, undistracted: ] Scotland, actually. Originally, I mean, even though I have very clear, very vivid memories of spending close to three years in a strange other world, before the Fade rift spat me out here.
You're from Earth. (It's reassuring, actually, to learn this. A different Earth though, because of the magic... unless witches were always in Scotland and Abby never knew, on account of having never gone there before she fell through a hole in a dream. Who knows.
But this next thing—
She stops wrapping and looks up.) You did? What was it called?
(What had Glimmer called the place she and Ellie came here from...?)
(Wait, the place Glimmer and Ellie came from also started with A. Hold on. She's staring at Hermione's face until the bit of memory finally surfaces and she can relax again. New Amsterdam, not Akhuras. This must have happened... twice.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Ah - well. [ She lifts her book enough for the title - in large, gaudy and gilded font - to be legible. ] I've decided to start small. You're a Rifter, too?
[ She gets up from the grass, abandoning all pretense of trying to wrap her knuckles now, in favour of holding the closed book in one hand and holding her right one out for a handshake. ]
Hermione Granger.
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D'you want somebody to spar with? (It's time to make it known she has noticed the knuckle wraps.) It'd be easier than punching that thing and getting no feedback.
(Abby's warmed up already and, now, officially interested. Still leaning over the fence, but clearly ready to hop it if she needs to. Hermione is only gonna get so far with the reading; soon, she'll need actual practice.)
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Punch me. How am I supposed to help you learn to punch better if I don't know how bad you punch now? ]
Uhm - It's not a no, but I am currently trying to figure out how to properly wrap my knuckles so I don't bruise or break them? I kind of need the use of my hands, and -
[ She is rambling, and that's not really the reason she's saying not right now. ] When you say spar, you don't mean tell me to punch you to see how hard I can hit, right? Because I've been through that with Clarisse already and I think might've almost broken her nose. Do you know Clarisse?
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(+1 approval.)
I know how to wrap knuckles. D'you want help?
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More like she told me to.
[ She doesn't bother to say I am not a violent person, because it'd be a lie. Several giant spider nests in Thedas and harpies from Akhuras could confirm that she very much is, and there is the fact that she joined Forces to stay on the front lines.
But Clarisse did order her to punch her, in Hermione's defense.
She looks desolately at her failed attempt to learn how to wrap her knuckles with a book, and then at Abby, nodding. ] Please and thank you. Can you teach me how to do it, also?
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Sure. (She takes the roll of fabric from her, unwinding a section and laying it briefly across her own outstretched hand. When Abby is thinking it probably looks like she's pissed off, brow furrowed and jaw set.
Then she shrugs.)
You wanna make sure your wrist is straight out, don't curl your hand. (She demonstrates this, the wrong thing to do.) Honestly, getting the tension right is the hardest part. If the wrap is too tight it'll cut off your circulation, and if it's too loose you won't feel supported. Make sense?
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It's funny, because she considered herself in rather good shape - and then joining Forces meant sometimes hoisting wooden beams, or rocks, or hammering nails. She thought they'd throw her at non-descript enemies, tell her to do with the magic thing, and get patted on the head for not dying.
Instead, here she is, trying to learn how to box at the tender (?) age of twenty-two. Or three. ]
Thank you for this.
[ She holds her wrist out straight, not paying much attention to her visible scar inches up from where Abby has laid down the strip of fabric. ]
Why do this? Out of curiosity. I imagine that in a real life situation, whoever has me that deserves a punch won't be inclined to wait so I wrap my knuckles.
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This isn't for real-life situations, it's just for training. The wrapping supports your wrist and your hand while you're using it. You're right that nobody is gonna wait until you wrap anything — but if you learn how to throw a good punch, hopefully that's all you'll have to do. Throw one good punch, I mean.
(And, yeah, you'll have bruised knuckles afterwards and it'll feel tender and awful the entire time they're healing. Or you'll break your knuckles or your fist on their body. She's not gonna say that though, it's not exactly conducive to enthusiastic learning.)
I'm gonna start at your wrist. Hold this? (She's looped the end of the wrap around Hermione's thumb, indicating that she should hold it in place with her fingers for now.) Lemme know if you want me to repeat anything. I'll try and go slow.
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I appreciate this, thank you. I do want to do that - if for no other reason than that it will get people to stop asking me what I can do when I don't have spellwork to aid me.
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She's wrapping Hermione's wrist, taking her time.) Tell me if this feels too loose or too tight. (Hard to gauge the tension when you're doing it on somebody else... but if there are no objections, she'll finish up the wrist and bring the roll of fabric up, to start going around and between Hermione's fingers, one at a time.)
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A witch, if you wanted to be technical about it. I'd like to claim some differentiation from the local mages, because I can't do the things they do with the Fade. I can't even tell how my magic works here, to be fair...
[ She wiggles her fingers lightly, to test them. ] Feels secured, but not cutting off any circulation?
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(The answer about the circulation appears to be correct, because Abby keeps winding. Through the fingers, around the palm again, back down to the wrist. Secured, but not too tight.)
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Still, undistracted: ] Scotland, actually. Originally, I mean, even though I have very clear, very vivid memories of spending close to three years in a strange other world, before the Fade rift spat me out here.
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But this next thing—
She stops wrapping and looks up.) You did? What was it called?
(What had Glimmer called the place she and Ellie came here from...?)
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Weird.)
How did you get to Akhuras?