<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/4/42/BreeDanielsFace.JPG)<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Fiona Fontaine - Hunter</div><div class="spoiler_body"><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>Faint:</td><td>☐</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Serious:</td><td>☐</td><td>☐</td></tr><tr><td>Critical:</td><td>☐</td><td>☐</td></tr></tbody></table><br/>Advancement:<br/><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>Mortalis:</td><td>X</td><td>Night:</td><td>☐</td></tr><tr><td>Power:</td><td>☐</td><td>Wild:</td><td>☐</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>Corruption:</td><td>☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><br/><br/>Driving back gave Fiona plenty of time to talk, so even if she wasn't explaining moves, she could give various perspectives on fighting.  "You already know that a lot of what we see in the movies doesn't work in the real world," she said.  "A lot of boys want to see a good fight the same way a lot of girls just want a sappy romance, so they write stories to turn out that way, and in the same way that that man in the romcom that the protagonist hates will just happen to keep showing up in her life, an accommodating stuntman can appear to get knocked over by a woman half his size.  In reality, mass and size are so important in a fight that boxers get categorized by weight in order to make matches reasonably fair.  Therefore, what often happens is that women who want to learn self-defense find out how difficult it actually is, get discouraged, and quit."<br/><br/>Fiona couldn't make much eye contact while driving, but she tossed a glance while at a stop sign.  "Your best bet is some of the soft martial arts, such as judo, where you use the force of the enemy against them.  You're not going to take out a ten foot werewolf with a flying kick, but you have a much lower center of gravity and can put one on the ground if they're off balance because they just attacked.  That's not easy either, but it's doable."<br/><br/>She considered a bit before adding, "You've probably heard of S.I.N.G., Solar Plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin.  On the one hand, fighting dirty is viable enough.  If you absolutely have to take someone down, there's no honor on the streets, but a man's not going to drop just because you kicked him in the jewels.  In my experience, it's just going to make him angry enough to start fighting dirty as well, and then he's going to grab your long hair and other shit you don't want."<br/><br/>Memories flashed through Fiona's eyes as she did her best to transmit decades of experience into simple explanation.  "Ideally, and I know this is counterintuitive, your best bet is to make a show of showing restraint during a fight.  When you can tell someone is doing their absolute best to kill you, you know they can't do any worse.  You may have seen movies where a gunfighter has his gun in the holster, keeps quick-drawing it, and then putting it away, letting the enemy know he can outdraw them any time he wants if they actually go for the gun, so that he can keep punching them.  If you beat up a guy, it's not a big deal, but if you kill Bob the Vampire, all the other vampires will know that you killed Bob, even if you were doing it in self-defense."<br/><br/>At a red light, she looked over to Danielle.  "If I were to give a suggestion, I'd see what your visions tell you about a particular individual.  Maybe you know that they have a mom, a sister, a girlfriend, or whatever, and her name.  You can't just threaten that person, or they'll just go after you all the more to protect a loved one, but there's plenty you can say to take the fight out of someone.  'Marsha has been begging you to quit this life of crime.'  You understand your powers better than I do, but if you can get them to feel remorse, guilt, or something other than anger, it'll do a lot more to stopping a fight than throwing a punch.  'I thought you didn't want to be like your father.'"<br/><br/>Raising a hand for a moment before the light turned green and she focused attention on the road and both hands on the wheel, she said, "Really, though, if you want a means of self-defense, I'd either recommend garlic-laced pepper spray or a gun.  People counter that a weapon can be taken away from you and used against you, but that means knowing to keep your distance from an assailant, and that's assuming they didn't bring their own and aren't using their own claws or fangs anyway.  A concealed carry weapons permit for Nevada means going through an approved course in firearms safety; I'm not sure on the specifics, but I imagine Evan will help with any other bureaucracy if you decide you want one."  Her tone made clear that she didn't expect a decision any time soon, but figured that Danielle may appreciate giving it consideration.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Fiona gave a nod and took a seat if one was available, but at the question of being up to the task, she offered, "If you want to make sure to have a plan B ready in case I die, it won't hurt my feelings.  True preparation means having plans ready for any possible eventuality."  The words might have sounded like a devil-may-care attitude or a dismissive joke from others, but Fiona didn't sound like she was joking, and wasn't known for having much of a sense of humor.  If she did fail, she wanted to make sure the mission would ultimately succeed despite her loss.