damned_institute | NIGHTSHIFT 28: M31-M40 HALLWAY

"It's not that bad. Nurses will fuss over pretty much anything, especially on kids." Of course, Farfarello's opinion on injuries was not necessarily the most reliable in the world.

Once the bottle of nailpolish was transferred from its current hiding place to a new one in the closet, Farfarello sighed softly in relief and zipped back up. "Finally."

That taken care of, Farfarello sprawled on his own bed comfortably. Hopefully having most of the room between them and Farfarello in an obviously casual and non-threatening (for him, anyway) pose would make things a little easier on Artemis. "Theory first. First thing I've gotta say is, one of your biggest problems is this idea you seem to have that book knowledge and fighting are mutually exclusive things. You're not thinking about how to apply stuff like biology and physics, because you're assuming you don't know anything about how to fight."

"But... I do know something about fighting...?" Artemis said carefully. He wasn't exactly sure where this was going. He thought for sure that he was getting a lesson about fighting and therefore, didn't know the first thing about it. "How would I apply biology and physics to fighting?"

"Biology and anatomy are key in fighting. Most fighters learn it the other way around--they learn anatomy by learning where to hit, what effect their strikes will have on what parts of the body. You've just got to go about it in reverse. For instance... name me three places on the human body where major veins are relatively unprotected." Farfarello figured this would go better if he let Artemis contribute, rather than just info-dumping him.

"Carotid artery," He placed two fingers on his neck, "Brachial and radial," Elbow bend and wrist, "And femoral," His thigh. He was beginning to understand what Farfarello was getting at. A person who was cut in any of these places would bleed out in a matter of minutes.

Farfarello really did smile, finally, and not even a particularly predatory sort of smile. He knew Artemis would get the idea. "Right. There's all sorts of vulnerable places on the body, and since you know your anatomy, you know where they are. Hamstrings, achilles tendon, kidneys, big veins and arteries. These are the things you need to focus on--quick, surgical strikes, not going toe-to-toe with an enemy twice your size.

"Let the more experienced and physically stronger members of your team keep the enemy busy, let them make openings for you to get in, do the damage, and get back out of reach. Hanging back until you get an opening isn't being useless, it isn't being a coward, it's using your resources efficiently."

Artemis nodded. That made perfect sense. Considering the only weapon he had was a tiny knife, he couldn't be expected to do much damage with that. Plus, it meant less injury from close-combat. He liked that part of it--quite a bit.

"But what do I do when my enemy has no discerning weak points?" He was thinking of the nurses in particular... it didn't look like a carotid cut would do one of those in.

"Do whatever you can to limit its movement, make things easier for your heavy-hitters. Get to the tendons, go for the eyes so it can't see as well, if it has eyes. Another thing that slows most creatures down, and this is why I strongly reccomend a sword with an edge in addition to a point, is disembowelment. Even if the thing doesn't feel pain, it's really hard to move quickly with your own guts getting in your way. Never try this alone, though. You need a partner keeping the thing occupied.

"If it's armoured, like a scorpion, go for the joints in the armour, the limbs. Get your heavy-hitters to try and flip it onto its back if they can. Anything with more than two legs, the best situation is to be able to get at the underbelly, because taking out one leg isn't going to help like it does with bipeds. Analyse your enemy, and do it fast, then take advantage of that knowledge."

Thinking of the birds outside, Farfarello added, "Flying enemies are the worst. Try to lure or herd them into smaller spaces, if you can. Go for the wings, or if they're small see if you can figure out a way to weigh them down. If you can slow down the movement of the enemy, you make it easier for the stronger fighters to get in a deathblow. You aren't a point man, you're not strong enough or skilled enough. Be the support for your key fighters, make their job easier."

He nodded again taking this all in. The part about smaller flying creatures, he already knew. "The first night I was here, I was attacked by a swarm of flying lizards. I sprayed them with the showerhead to weigh their wings down." Not like Farfarello would ever be in a bathroom with those things, but it was good information to pass along.

All of these points were starting to make sense. This whole time, he had been attempting to fight as a single entity, and now he could see why this didn't work. He was smart, that was true enough, but without the power to back it up he wasn't a complete fighter. Just part of one.

"Well, there you go. Using your head tends to work better, yeah?" Farfarello smiled again, then sighed and stretched. "But don't go thinking you're gonna be able to pull things off perfectly or go without getting hurt ever again. Doesn't work like that. But before we get to minimising the damage when you are hit, one more thing about working with a team I have to say.

"Communication is really important. So is not telling your enemy what you're going to do. Come up with some coded signals with your team, just simple stuff like 'go left', 'attack now' and so on. Verbal is probably better than visual, with it being so dark in the halls." Obviously Farfarello did not tend to have communication problems with Schuldig, though his partner not being able to speak directly into his mind here was a bit annoying. Still, they'd been working together long enough that it hardly mattered anymore--they knew each other's fighting styles too well.

"Right--that much I know. If you have two people performing the same task, it's inevitable that problems will arise. Though I think the Captain might believe that coming up with coded signals is either ridiculous or unnecessary." He could just imagine the look on Hitsugaya's face that would result from the suggestion, 'Let's come up with a coded set of directions. And while we're at it, I'm 007'.

Farfarello shrugged, not really interested in what the captain thought. "Well, if he wants to yell out exactly what the plan is for the monsters to hear and possibly understand, well, good luck with keeping the element of surprise. But obviously you know him better than I do. You figure out with him how to best communicate in a fight, I don't really care how you work it out."

"Anyway. This brings us to what you do when getting hit is inevitable. That'd be where physics is very important--remebering that bit about objects in motion? Very helpful. If someone is throwing a punch at you, the instinct is usually to throw your hands up and try to stop it. This is a bad idea, for someone your size. To stop a strike dead you need to be able to overcome your opponent's mass, the force put into the strike, and the velocity of the strike. If you threw a punch at me, I could stop it. If I threw a punch at you? No chance."

"Well of course," Artemis said, eyebrow raised. "My face is currently proof of that concept. Granted I didn't try to stop Mr. Horner, but I doubt I could have stopped him, great lummox that he is."

He thought for a moment, "So the best options would be getting out of the way, targeting ignored weak points, or using the attacker's motion to my advantage, correct?"

"Right. Momentum can really fuck you up if you try to fight it, so use it instead. Don't think 'block', think 'deflect'. It's the same principle with throws--you let your opponent's own momentum do a lot of the work for you." Farfarello fell silent for a moment, thinking. Without Schuldig to help and with his patience as low as it was, physical demonstrations were not going to happen tonight.

"This is the part where practice comes into play, but I'm not the best person for that. Your other people can help you with getting the actual moves down. What I really wanted most, tonight, was to get things in terms that make sense to you, which I don't think they would have done. If you can think of it as science, which it is, the idea of fighting might not seem as confusing and overwhelming as you've been finding it."

Artemis nodded emphatically, smiling. "It makes much more sense now, thank you." Part of him was a little nervous that he wasn't getting any practical practice tonight, but then again, he was escaping the part that he'd been dreading all day.

Whether or not this was a lucky break was yet to been seen. If he messed up again tonight, the Captain would most assuredly lose his patience with Artemis and forcibly eject him from the Arts and Crafts division. But who could he go to? Renji had been injured, Hitsugaya was preoccupied, Edward had turned him down under the pretense of him being a poor teacher, he had no idea where Obi-Wan was...

The boy had run out of options at this point. But it couldn't be helped at this point. He'd essentially sabotaged himself by upsetting Farfarello, so he'd have to take what he could get.

"So... we're finished?"

"Yeah." Farfarello frowned, though, remembering how the captain had run out in such a hurry. "If no one's available to teach you, just help out where you can without getting into fights. There's the clinic just up the hall from here, M35, right? Everything's pretty chaotic tonight, so no one's gonna blame you for plans getting shifted around."

"Right, M35..." He seemed uncomfortable. "I... think I'll just move towards where the Captain and I are meeting. I won't be in the way there, and I'll be in a room so I'll be safe there."

Another shrug from Farfarello--why Artemis was uncomfortable was of no concern to him, as long as the kid stayed somewhere relatively safe until he got some practical lessons in fighting. "Whatever. Just stick around the rooms for now. It's a weird night, so be careful."

"I will!" Artemis said emphatically. He sounded like he was telling his mother that he would stay in the front yard and wear a sweater.

He really did intend to play it safe tonight. Artemis just didn't want public knowledge of his magic seeping out--otherwise who knew how many people would come to him for help. It would get very annoying, very fast.

"You be careful as well," the boy replied tentatively. "I think that things are only going to get worse tonight."

Farfarello was probably the last person who needed to be told this, but Artemis had suddenly developed what he called 'fluff feelings' for his teacher. He felt as though if he heard that something had happened to Farfarello, he'd be very upset.

He cleared his throat, looking down in embarrassment, "Not as though you are unable to handle yourself or inattentive." What was wrong with him lately?

Farfarello chuckled, but instead of replying to Artemis' babbling he just said, "Tonight's different since we're split up, but most of the time if you desperately need help, give a mental yell and Schuldig'll hear, let me know. Don't abuse the priviledge, though. We're talking seriously dire straits, okay? Imminent death or mauling. I show up and find you with a scraped knee, I'm gonna be real annoyed at being called out." And an annoyed Farfarello was generally a bad thing for innocent bystanders.

He smirked, "If I had a scraped knee, it would be gone before you were halfway to me. But I won't abuse it. I doubt Mr. Schuldig would like it very much if I used his abilities for ridiculous things like bruises and scrapes."

Artemis blinked, realizing that Farfarello hadn't responded to anything he'd said. Well, not like he was going to push the issue. "Why are you split up tonight?"

"Opportunities that Schuldig and Crawford could not ignore presented themselves. And yeah, Schuldig isn't a freakin' messenger service. Emergencies only." Farfarello hoped that Artemis was smart enough to not inquire further about just what Schuldig and Crawford were up to.

'Opportunities' could mean anything, so Artemis decided that since Farfarello hadn't specified, he shouldn't ask. Probably nothing he wanted to know about. Maybe they were taking the opportunity to search for things while the monsters outside were busy, but he doubted it. There was bound to be something in the institute even with the nurses and orderlies outside. Maybe the Head Doctor? Unlikely--probably something a little less upstanding. Well, his stuff was safe at least.

"Question:" Artemis raised his hand as though he were in a classroom--for effect. "Circumstantial but... if I feel I am losing consciousness, should I call for help?"

Subject change.

"Depends on the situation. If the rest of your team is doing okay, don't. If they're going down, too, yeah. Go ahead and call." Farfarello had no intention of babysitting Artemis constantly--that'd drive him up the wall in no time. Both of them, possibly. He expected the do-gooders to mostly take care of their own.

He nodded. "I had to ask," He said with a shrug. Now he had a better idea of what constituted 'life and limb'.

"Well, I won't take up any more of your time. I suspect you have things to do that are far more mentally engaging," He smiled and stood up to go avoid the clinic.

(To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/256880.html))

NIGHTSHIFT 28: M31-M40 HALLWAY

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