Akiva was not surprised at Raizel's accent.  It wasn't like her own statement came as a surprise to the other witch, though that begged to question why she would even really ask.  Probably just to underscore what was wrong with Akiva and the way she had survived up until this point.  Of course, it clearly needed to change.  God clearly had a sense of humor, pairing her up with Dreogan Eleor.  His life was far from what she was used to - even though on the surface it did not appear to be.

He was the most misleading man she had ever met, not that she would have it any other way.  But it definitely put her life on its head a lot, and certainly didn't make having a "normal" family any easier than it would have been had he just stayed with Near East Relations. 

But, the M.A.O was his passion, and she couldn't let that go.  Plus, from everything that Akiva knew about his past and the way his life had gotten him to this point, it wasn't only his recent work experience that creeped up to haunt him. 

Whatever the case, she finally put down her wand, not wanting to damage it in the process - it was only a year old, after all, and she didn't want to have to get another replacement... She wrung her hands, a little nervous, her bracelet hitting against her opposite hand.

Glancing at Fauna, she didn't know what to make her being the one to be demonstrated on, but it was probably better her than herself, unfortunately.  She had to think more about herself more recently, of course.  "What are we going to start with?" Akiva ask with hesitance clear in her voice... though a hint of curiosity too.  She would make the best of this... even if it was miserable.

"Not wandless. But... I think they plan on doing that soon."

"Good," Raizel said with a firm, approving nod.  Not that she really cared what the British Auror Office did or how it trained its trainees -- their success or failure was of no concern to her -- except she sort of did, a little.  She certainly felt more kindly toward them than she did the Near Eastern Ministry.  Relying solely on wands was a surefire apparation toward disaster.

Akiva had not raised nearly as many protests as Raizel had feared.  Even now, she was setting her wand aside as if she'd be participating in the exercise, even if she still seemed hesitant.  "What are we going to start with?"

Raizel didn't bother to sigh this time.  One day, Akiva Eleor would learn to listen.

"A demonstration."  She kept her eyes on Fauna, judging, evaluating, though she spoke to both of them.  "No wands.  Other than that, we will pretend it is like the other day.  You are out for a walk -- somewhere public," she added, waving a hand dismissively to show that the location didn't really matter, "and someone approaches you.  You react."

The whole idea of this -- demonstrating, teaching -- felt somewhat unnatural.  She wasn't used to holding back; when she'd been a teenager training in the IDF, there had usually been equipment and preparation.  Fauna Blake had had none of that and likely wasn't ready, but getting her too painfully on the ground wasn't going to make her point.  That meant restrained aggression.

Raizel met the girl's gaze, considering her with a quizzical tilt of her head, and then moved.

She closed the gap between them quickly, feinting with an open-handed strike to the girl's face.  If Blake flinched, all the better; the real key was the momentum to let her get in close.  Raizel knocked forcefully into her opponent's shoulder, hooking her foot around her leg and kicking her heel back as she attempted to drive her into the ground.

Fauna set her wand down by Akiva's, and took off her sweatshirt, revealing a lime green tanktop underneath.

She heard the nervousness in Akiva's voice, but focused on Raizel, not daring to glance away. She would try her best, though Fauna held no illusions that she was stronger than the cursebreaker or more knowledgeable about physical fighting.

Nodding at the scenario Raizel set up, Fauna flexed her fingers, her palms sweaty.

A hand flew at her face. Fauna flinched, throwing up her arms. But the hand never hit.

No, it had been a trick to grab her shoulder, and Fauna tried twisting, but was foiled by the foot around her leg, knocking her down as surely as a trip jinx.

"Oof!" With a whoosh the air went out of her, her chin grazed the carpet, and she felt a weight as Raizel pinned her arm to her back. Fauna struggled, testing the woman's grip, which held fast. A prickle of fear made her tense. For a second, she knew with certainty that sharp claws were going to gauge her back any moment now, and there'd be agony, and then numbness, and-

That didn't happen. The seconds continued to pass. Fauna swallowed.

"Uncle," she half-joked weakly, heart hammering.

Everything happened the way it was supposed to.  She feinted, Blake flinched, and then they collided; one practiced move later, and the Auror Trainee was on the ground.  Raizel waited silently, her knee to Blake's back as she held the young woman's arm behind her, and silently counted the seconds.  One, two, three...

"Uncle."

The Cursebreaker frowned at the weak interjection.  She glanced down at the girl underneath her, and then silently released her.  Fauna Blake was clearly a green recruit, far more green than any in the IDF.  She had barely responded.  But reflexes could be taught.  That was the point of this, after all.

Raizel rose easily to her feet, and then extended a hand to the girl on the ground to pull her up. 

"You should stand your ground," she informed her matter-of-factly.  "Don't let someone else's movement throw you off."  She sighed, her expression relenting as she gave Blake a tight, faint smile.  "But you can learn that.  It's just like dueling.  Once you start to practice, you'll get more comfortable with it."

"But that was not good," she added sternly, looking back at Akiva as she turned from the trainee.  "Why did you just stand there and not say anything?  That's the same mistake that you made in Diagon."

Akiva watched the whole thing like it was happening in slow motion.  She had no idea what to expect, as she had never even considered this a possibility before.  Raizel looked so much in control and then Fauna was on the ground in the blink of an eye.

Her jaw dropped and she blinked rapidly; poor Fauna!  She was going to move forward, but Raizel was already reacting. 

If there was one thing Akiva envied from her was the way she just... went.  Sudden surprises made Akiva freeze, she had to think - to process.  If she were Fauna, she would have been on the ground in a second.

Even her quick question threw Akiva off.  She stammered for a moment before clearing her throat - trying to process what she had seen, and figure out what, exactly, she was supposed to do. 

"I... thought you were demonstrating," Akiva said weakly.  She did not normally feel silly or foolish, but this was a circumstances in which she realized just how ridiculous that she sounded.  She had to look at the bigger picture, wasn't that what everyone was saying?  She needed to be more prepared.

So, she set her shoulders and let out a deep breath, walking forward.  "So," she looked at her, "How, exactly, did you do that?" she looked from Raizel to Fauna, giving the young woman an apologetic glance and a half-smile, apologizing before it even really started, but it was something she supposed she needed to do.

She looked at her hands for a moment, flexed them, and then looked down at her feet, glad she had on a sturdy pair of flats. 

Glancing away, Fauna took the offered hand and stood up, nodding when Raizel gave her feedback. She started to cross her arms, then let her arms fall to her sides.

She wiped her palms on her jeans once and then stood with her hands behind her back, attempting to hide the shakiness of her fingers. Her heart still raced, but she felt cold instead of warm, and there was a pounding in her head that she tried to ignore.

Raizel was telling Akiva that she should have done something, Akiva was apologizing, and it was only when Akiva flexed her fingers and glanced down at her feet that Fauna could react.

"Wait," she looked at Raizel. "You're not actually going to..." Fauna gestured at her friend. She was inarticulate in the best of times, and now, she really couldn't seem to find the words. "I mean," she gestured again. Pregnant women! You couldn't just throw them around!

"I... thought you were demonstrating."

Raizel snorted.  "Yes," she agreed.  At least Akiva Eleor had listened this time.  "And so were you."

She'd made her point, although it still didn't seem to have been communicated in entirely.  Akiva Eleor squared her shoulders and stepped forward, as if she'd be the next one to get wrestled to the ground.  Blake immediately started fluttering in protest, and Raizel gave a surprised laugh, her teeth flashing in a smile as she shot the librarian an approving look.

"You're not actually going to... I mean--"

"No, no, no, no," Raizel said, shaking her head emphatically.  "Not now.  But it is only a matter of practice," she said, waving a hand at Akiva.  That was a bit of an understatement. She had a lifetime of experience under her belt; Akiva Eleor with her slow reflexes was not likely to get to the point where she could throw anyone she liked across the room without a few miracles, but Raizel was not going to tell her that to her face.  The other witch seemed to spend enough time second guessing her abilities. 

"You could learn in time -- but after the baby is born," she said firmly.  "That way, your husband won't try to kill me for helping." She flashed a smile at that comment too -- not because the thought of Dreogan trying to murder her was funny, because she'd seen him angry, but at the irony of it all.  This was what she got for helping the Eleors.  "For now, there are other things that are just as important that you should learn first."

Raizel frowned as she studied the other woman, for the moment disregarding Blake.  "I told you," she began, in a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense tone, "that it would be like the other day.  You were out for a walk, except this time, someone approached your friend instead of you."  She crossed her arms, giving the librarian an inquisitive look.  "Why did you just stand there?  Did you think that Fauna Blake didn't need help?"

Fauna's concern was much appreciated.  She was a sweet girl, and had the best intentions, which was what recommended her toward a life of helping people.  Did Akiva necessarily imagine her taking down a criminal or killing in the heat of battle?  Not immediately, but that did not mean it was not possible - and it certainly did not mean with the right motivation and circumstance, she wouldn't.

Akiva applied this to herself in this particular circumstance.  Could she imagine herself doing what Raizel had just done?  Not ordinarily, but there were certainly extraordinary circumstances, and the likelihood that she would be as lucky as the first time was fairly slim.  So, she would learn. 

And she was ready to learn.  Putting pride and foolishness aside, the witch regarded her counterpart.  Raizel Cohen was a strong woman, but definitely pretty.  She was blonde and surprisingly feminine, considering.  If she were less rough around the edges, she might have reminded Akiva of her blonde self, before the pregnancy.

Her immediate reaction was to start saying "I was surprised," cutting herself off at that point.  A flash of something registered in her head, and she nodded, wordlessly processing that in no circumstance would she not be surprised.  Her lips pursed and she shook her head, "That's silly of me to say," she amended, mulling her jaw just slightly.  She was a woman who did not normally command attention - if a situation called for it, she would slip into the crowd. 

She couldn't do that.  "In that situation," she started, taking a breath in through her nose, "the first thing to do would be make some kind of noise - attract attention."  It was a half-statement, half-question, "If I can't do anything physically," she motioned to her pregnant stomach, knowing it was an excuse enough, "I could get someone else to pay attention."

Her mind jumped to the next scenario, "But  - that won't always be helpful."  It was obviously too simple, there was more to think about than that - and if anything, Akiva had been trained very well to follow her thoughts where they led her.  "What if there's no one around? Or no one comes to help?"

This time, Akiva Eleor corrected herself immediately.  Raizel gave a brief approving nod.  Yes.  She should make noise.  Attract attention.  Even if no one came immediately to help, predators of any sort went for unassuming, easy targets.  Any kind of action, anything other than the frustrating passivity that Raizel had witnessed in her again and again, would turn the other woman from easy prey into someone that seemed more of a threat.

The fact that she was on the right path was promising, but then Akiva seemed to deviate, dissolving back into what-ifs and uncertainties that Raizel knew too well.  She could have rolled her eyes; obviously there were some traits that Akiva Eleor shared with her husband.

But this wasn't the time or place to worry about it.  The what-ifs could come later, variations on the theme of self defense once the witch had proven that she could deal with the basics.  Dealing with too many possibilities now meant debilitating inaction.

Raizel snorted, shaking her head exaggeratedly for effect.  "What if no one does come to help?" she echoed.  "So what!  Yiyeh beseder!  You worry about what you can help," she said sternly, "and not about what [/i]could[/i] happen."  She gestured grandly at the room around them.  "Maybe they'll come with enough men to break into your house and through your husband's defenses, and what can we do about that?  Nothing!  So why worry if we can't help it!"

She gave an exasperated huff, as if that settled the matter, and planted her hands on her hips, eyeing the pregnant woman as if she were sizing her up.

"Self defense -- knowing what to do when there is trouble -- that is only part of it," she told Akiva firmly.  "The rest is knowing how to stay out of bad situations.  So you don't go places where you might be caught alone, or you make sure your defenses are as strong as they can be.  If you are careful, and if you are smart," she said, emphasizing the word as if she doubted Akiva's proclivity for it, "then you will be safe.  Bad things happen to people who let them."

As the anxiety faded away, bits of the conversation began to sink in, and Fauna shot Raizel a startled look at her brusque exclamations. The cursebreaker was correct in that they couldn’t do much if a horde of criminals broke in, but the only way Akiva (and Fauna) would learn was if they asked. Scowling, Fauna rubbed at her forehead and stepped away, about to head into the kitchen and get some water now that she felt confident Raizel wouldn’t drop-kick anyone.
 
But Raizel’s next advice made Fauna sputter and snap.
 
“Bollocks!” She burst out, throwing her hands in the air.
 
"What you just said, is just... you can do all the right things, but people are still arseholes and can hurt you!”
 
Fauna put her hands on her hips, miming Raizel’s stance. Now both her heart and her head pounded, and a flicker of guilt cut through the anger, but only for a second. Raizel couldn’t say those things. Not to Akiva.
 
“She is careful and she is smart," Fauna glanced at Akiva. "Nothing that’s happened has been her fault. So just… shut up about things that you don’t understand!”

Akiva opened her mouth to say something, to point out that she had been in Diagon Alley, a typically safe location, when she was approached. She was going to the bookstore, and yes, as an adult woman, she felt it was alright to walk by herself.  It hadn't been intentional, as though she walked into Knockturn, announced she was a muggleborn and married to Dreogan Eleor.  If that were the case, Akiva was fairly certain she would have gotten everything she deserved - and the advice would be warranted. 

If Fauna hadn't sworn, Akiva might have said so too.  But, the sudden interjection by the young woman whom Akiva had never seen agitated in any way other than a slight mope.  This totally rocked her sensibilities about the young woman.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at her, jaw slackened as she stood up to Raizel - and on Akiva's behalf! She didn't know whether to be proud or horrified.  Licking her lips, Akiva walked up behind Fauna and put her hands softly on her heaving shoulders. "It's okay, Fauna," she smiled reassuringly, giving her a gentle squeeze. 

Her eyes traveled to Raizel, swallowing a bit harder than she intended while she kneaded Fauna's shoulders - feeling a lot of tension there while she held Raizel's gaze.  "You make a good point, Raizel, and being smart is important, not that I ever anticipated a highly populated, public location to be dangerous, I guess the lesson is to never underestimate your location."  She was walking on eggshells between them, trying to negotiate peace. 

"I think though," Akiva cleared her throat, "it is important to consider what ifs.  If this," she motioned between them, "is really about preparation, then shouldn't it be for every situation?" Maybe it was just that Akiva wasn't the smartest person in the world, but she was having trouble with figuring out the situation.

Raizel started, her posture straightening and her shoulders squaring as she readied against the unexpected assault.  Eyes flashing, she whirled to face Fauna, but then Akiva Eleor stepped in. 

The Cursebreaker glared at the pair, her teeth clenched and her jaw set, but the words were enough to remove the edge.  Gradually, she released the breath she'd been holding, rolled her shoulders back to ease the tension, though she kept her eyes warily on the other two.  For a moment, she could almost imagine that she was hearing words that Dreogan Eleor might speak coming out of his wife's mouth.  Clearly, there was a reason why the mage had married the witch.

"But you can't be prepared for every situation," she retorted, the words sounding more bitter than she felt towards Akiva as she forced them out.  Scowling, Raizel tossed her hair and attempted to steady her tone.  "That is impossible.  And if you start thinking that you are, that is when things get dangerous.  You get overconfident.  It is better to know what you can and can't handle, and live with an edge."

That was true enough, but the words that the Auror trainee had fired off were still smoldering.  Raizel returned her gaze to the girl, her expression hard.  "I don't think that you understand," she said in a low voice.  "It is different, living here in England.  You don't have to --"

She broke off, and then clamped her mouth shut, eyeing Fauna.  "When you do things without thinking," the Cursebreaker said, speaking slowly to enunciate each word, "go places without considering the danger, then it is more likely that you will get into trouble.  Here," she said, gesturing widely at the room, "you don't have very much trouble, so you aren't used to being that careful."  She crossed her arms, a stubborn set to her jaw as if she were gearing up for a fight.  "But if she doesn't learn how to be more careful, then it is someone else who will get hurt."

Fauna glanced down, quiet for a long moment. She paid little attention to the 'being prepared' discussion, focusing on Raizel's other point. What Raizel was saying sounded similar to what she’d heard from Sasha and others, yet phrased in a way that was easier for her to take. It was the combination of Akiva’s calming influence and Raizel attempting to explain (albeit through gritted teeth) that caused some of her anger to fade.

'More' careful was a little better than assuming Akiva wasn't being careful at all. From the way she cut herself off, it seemed that Raizel had reason to be harsh. Still, Fauna couldn’t quite let it go.

"I just don't see how this attitude is helping," Fauna told her in a calmer voice, spreading out her hands. "I mean, she wants to learn, she's asking questions. She doesn't have to, but she is. So telling her every few seconds that if she isn't careful enough, someone's going to get hurt, and that bad things happen to people who let them," she trailed off, shaking her head. "I don't know what it's like elsewhere, but I know that whatever happens is always going to be the attacker's fault - doesn't matter if you're prepared or not, careful or not. You can't… put that blame on her shoulders. She's trying her best."

Cheeks flushed from all the emotion in the room, Fauna looked back at Akiva, realizing that Akiva didn’t seem nearly as upset about Raizel’s teaching methods as she was.

Akiva was very much a middle of the fence type of person.  She could listen to two arguments and understand them.  Then, she'd have trouble taking sides.  Usually, she'd sit perched in the middle, tugged each way until she either gripped on for dear life to the middle, or fell to one side, finally convinced.  Here, she felt like she might have to hold onto the middle with claws she did not have.

"Both of you," Akiva cut in - an edge to her voice, "can stop talking about me like I'm not here."  That was enough of that, she was an active participant in this - and it was for her, anyway.  She could speak for herself and didn't need either puffed up like peacocks trying to win the 'who has the best interest' contest.  "I can talk for myself." 

When she was able to move in the middle of them, Akiva sighed.  "The way I see it," she glanced between both of them, "Is that it's a mix of both.  Obviously, being careful," she was now trained on Raizel, "is going to alleviate some of the potential problems - as many as I can feasibly control, at least."

She put her hand on her stomach, feeling a little uneasy as the baby kicked just a little harder than usual.  She grimaced, shaking her head until the sensation passed, letting a deep breath out and turned her eyes to Fauna, "And I know it's never my fault, and I'm willing to learn, whatever it is I'm being taught." 

Finally, she quirked a soft smile, seeing the flush on her cheeks and the distress all over her features.  "But, that's enough," she glanced back at Raizel, "for today anyway.  The baby," she rubbed small circles, wishing Little Eleor would snap out of whatever fight he or she thought he or she was in.  "Okay?"