World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - Visiting Hours

[William Rose]

Saturday the 20th, 12:58 pm

Antoine's eyes fluttered open. He felt weak and exhausted as though he had just run a marathon while carrying a load of bricks. Needles pieced his skin and tubes ran up into his nose to deliver oxygen. Distantly he was aware of a hand holding his. He found it hard to remember what had happened. Must have passed out in the hospital. So tired. He rolled his head to the right and found his eyes slow to focus at first. Eventually he found that he was looking at his little sister Tricia. Her head was buried in a book and her ears were occupied by tiny white earphones. Even as she did her best to ignore her brother she held on to his hand tightly.

Antoine tried to squeeze her hand but in his weakened state to was little more than a slight pressure. Still it was enough to make Tricia look to Antoine. Her eyes went wide and she dropped the book as she saw that Antoine was awake. "Tony! You're awake!" Antoine tried to speak but it came out as little more than a croak and he simply nodded in reply. "OH ... I, I should get mom." She started to get up and then turned and gave Antoine a hug, "We thought you were gonna die you big jerk!" Antoine smiled as she pulled away to go and find their mother.

[William Rose]

1:29 pm

"...and I'll let you know as as soon as these latest blood tests come back. I feel confident that you are past the worst of it Mr. LaSalle." The doctor left the room as Antoine croaked out a thank you. He took another sip of water as his sister and mother crowded back in around him.

"You had us so worried. You need to be more careful Antoine, what with SARS and ebola and anthrax and ..."

"Ma, relax, please. I'm fine now and it's not like I was just being stupid, I was trying to help somebody." Antoine found his voice gravely in his ears but he just needed more water, he was dehydrated and still had a lot of mucous built up according to the doctor.

"Stupid is right Tony! Geeze why'd you go into that place anyways, I mean the dead dog shoulda clued you in." Tricia as usual sided with their mother when the topic was "dumb stuff that Antoine had done."

Antoine shook he head, "I'm tired and I don't want to argue."

Gladys nodded, "We were worried, Antoine, and scared for you. But you are right, you need rest. Do you want us to stay?"

Antoine shook his head, "No that's OK, you go home and get some sleep, both of you look like you could use some." As they prepared to go Antoine looked at the clock. "Mom, did you, I mean was Amber here?"

Gladys smiled, "Yes I met your girlfriend Antoine." Behind her Tricia looked like she was about to say something but stopped as Gladys raised her hand as though a warning. "She was here until very early this morning and then she rushed out. I don't know where, but I would assume that she'd have to go and tend to her child. Still she seemed nice enough, would you like me to call her for you?"

Antoine shook his head, "No, I'm sure she'll be by when she can be." Antoine frowned but he hugged his mother and Tricia as best he could before they left. They promised to come by in the evening and see how he was doing. As the door clicked shut behind them Antoine sat in the quiet room and wondered where Amber was. You'd better be OK. You'd better be OK and coming back here.

[William Rose]

Antoine dreamed.

He was in black fatigues, a massive revolver in his hands, his shotgun on his back. On on side of him Amber was padding along as a wolf on the other Adrian was armed with a Glock and dressed in similarly dark clothing. They had tracked the vampire back to its lair in the vain hope that the child it had taken would still be alive, could possibly be saved. Antoine took a short run and slammed the wooden door with his shoulder. Old dry rotten wood splintered and the door flew inward as a thunderous report broke the silence of the old building. Antoine grunted as he was kicked backward by the impact of the blast. His vest held but he was winded and hurting, he could feel broken ribs move as he crashed to the floor.

To their credit neither Amber or Adrian stopped to check on Antoine, the target was more important than him. There was a child counting on them; perhaps. Antoine rolled to his stomach and clawed his way back into the building, drawn forward by the sounds of feral growls, snapping teeth and the sharp staccato of Adrian's Glock. A sound like branches being broken over somebody's knee brought his head up in time to see the vampire, a twisted unholy thing that made Adrian and Sarah cuddly by comparison, tear Adrian's body in half. Dead flesh crumbled into dust and suddenly Adrian was no more.

Amber, in full werebeast aspect, slammed claws of bone and fury into the creature's chest but the vampire, the Nosferatu, laughed as his dead flesh was barely nicked. His own wicked claws severed muscle, bone, and nerve, in short order Amber fell to the floor, immobilized as her body transformed involuntarily back into its human shape, a massive gash in her neck exposing a severed spine. Antoine Raised his weapon and fired into the creature to little effect. With a contemptuous laugh the creature kicked the weapon from Antoine's hands and stepped on his back. Ribs, already broken, shifted and punctured lungs, heart, and more. With a wet rattle Antoine screamed his last breath.

And awoke with a hoarse cry in the hospital. A nurse was through the door in no time checking his pulse, his blood pressure and temperature despite his objections. "Eym phuine," he tried to say around a thermometer stuck into his mouth.

"Mr. LaSalle, you were running a fever for nearly twelve hours. You may be on the road to recovery but you are far from fine." She pulled the thermometer out of his mouth and nodded at the reading, "Besides, your mother asked that we keep an extra eye on you. She said you're a terrible patient." Antoine harumphed a reply and the nurse just laughed, "I worked with your mother at county, so I'm inclined to believe her over you. But other than high pulse, you check out, try to calm down and get some rest."

"I was sleeping I had a nightmare."

"Then watch some TV and relax." She turned and was out of the room in a flash leaving Antoine alone once more with his thoughts.

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber struggled to hide her limp; similarly, her arm was held close to her side. Everything was bandaged and hidden beneath clothing - she looked stupid in this hoodie, but it covered her arms - but she had to act fine until she healed. They were minor wounds, nothing she was worried about, but Nu Bath Githul was foremost on her mind.

After arguing with the nurses about whether she was allowed in the room, Amber shambled in. But her aches and pains didn't matter at all, not when she saw he was awake and looking better. "Hey," she said, moving to his side and leaning over him for a kiss. "I'm so glad to see you're better, honey." Closing her eyes, she pressed her forehead to his - just for a moment, but Antoine could feel the affection in her gesture.

"Hey, do you mind if Ariel comes up?" she asked, lifting her head. "She hasn't met you yet, and she helped me make things right."

[William Rose]

2:08 pm

Antoine was attempting to find something worthwhile to watch on TV when Amber limped into the room. Concern immediately lined his face as he saw the way she moved. Antoine had yet to see Amber more than a little slowed down by an enemy, and yet here she was, limping and holding her arm. He couldn't help himself and in the little time it took for her to come to him he wondered what she had fought that had caused this woman, so strong and fierce, to move with pain and stiffness.

He had no time to ask before her lips met his. He reveled in that kiss as though it were the first time. Amber broke away pressing her forehead to his silently. He was about to kiss her again, or ask her what happened, or express his concern over her obvious injury but she gave him little chance.

Originally Posted By: Amber

"Hey, do you mind if Ariel comes up?" she asked, lifting her head. "She hasn't met you yet, and she helped me make things right."

Antoine studied her face for a moment before he nodded. "Sure, whatever you want." Antoine paused as though considering before he continued, "Just promise me that we can be alone later."

[z-Amber Wren]

"You'll never have that problem with me," Amber murmured, a soft promise as her hair brushed his face. "I'll be here all night. Ariel is a large part of why you're healthy now, and you wanted to meet her, so I figure now is a good time." She kissed him again before pulling out her phone.

A few quick flicks of her thumb sent a text message to Ariel, letting her know that Antoine was up to seeing visitors. That done, she turned back to him and slipped her hand into his. "Did you see your mom?" Amber asked. "She was here for a while."

[William Rose]

"Sure, anything to distract me from the oh so exciting basic basic cable." Antoine flipped off the TV. "Yeah, Mom and my sis were here for a bit, but they needed rest, well my Mom did so I asked them to go and take care of themselves. She mentioned that you two met." Antoine held onto her hand like it was a life raft, not sure if he ever wanted to let go. What a difference a day makes. A day and a fight for your life. I should tell her how I fell, how I really feel. He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "I can only assume that you're limping is due to some spirit you had to deal with? Mom said you rushed out late last night. Was it the one we sent packing? Did you and Ariel go after it?"

[SalmonMax]

Her cellphone beeped out the ringtone that indicated a text. Ariel didn't even bother checking it. There was only one text message she was expecting.

She was nervous, pacing the hospital lobby like an expecting father. She wasn't sure WHY though. It was just Amber's boyfriend. Maybe it was the fight; the idea that they'd done this for him. But she'd done it just as much for the other victims, and she'd met other people she'd helped in the course of her duty. It hadn't seemed awkward or tense or strained.

As she hurried to the elevator, Ariel pried at herself. She was no less relentless about mysteries within than she was for unexplained questions in the world around her. Because of his relationship with Amber, Antoine couldn't simply be dismissed. She had to care what he thought, because it would affect what Amber thought. And, she had to admit, getting along with people had gotten harder since her Change. Not impossible by any means. Just harder.

So when Ariel stepped into the room she put on an extra bright smile and gave Antoine a cheerful wave.

"So this is the guy we went to all that..." she started to say in a carefully teasing tone. But genuine surprise marred her performance as she recognized him.

"...trouble over." Ariel managed to finish, but her tone changed to thoughtful. "Don't I know you? You were at that party right?"

[William Rose]

Antoine looked at the woman and tried to place her, "Umm, you'll have to do better than that, I go to a lot of parties. Sometimes I meet hot chicks who turn out to be werewolves and vampires." He tried to smirk but sighed instead, "Sorry, I'm a little stir crazy, which is sad considering that I've only been awake for like two hours. I don't recognize you. What party did you mean?"

[SalmonMax]

"Yeah, right...sorry," Ariel said with an abashed grin. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and pulled it back into a tail before letting go again. She needed a haircut, she decided.

"It was that party you put on. I was in a uniform at the time. Remember, some crazy girl punched a hole in the wall?"

Ariel gave Amber a grin.

[William Rose]

Antoine rolls his eyes and says with exasperation, "It wasn't my party. I just sent the invitation out as a favor." He looks Ariel over again and nods, "Yeah, OK, I think I remember you know. You know I can give you more information about the crazy wall punching chick now too if you'd like." He winked at Amber and smiled. "Why don't you close the door and tell me what went down with the spirit. I'd like to hear the story."

[z-Amber Wren]

It was amazing that the move that had once scared Antoine away was now something that they could joke about together. She liked that easy, jovial tone when they talked about, turning what had been a disappointing experience into something humorous.

Still grinning, she shut the door and returned to Antoine's bed. "Well," she said, her tone easy and relaxed, "we found the spirit and killed it. That's it. And yeah, it was the one we banished."

[William Rose]

Antoine looks from one woman to the other. "It was just that easy eh? Find it, kill it, come back home for tea?" Antoine laughed and rolled his eyes, "For some reason I expected natural born killers of all things evil to be better story tellers than that. Well I'm glad you destroyed that thing, as are the parents of all those kids, even if they don't know a thing about it."

Antoine looked at Ariel, appraising the woman. "You should know I spoke to Declan about you last week. It was a weird conversation, especially having not met you. Long story short he agreed to be reasonable and try and meet you in the middle, or at least somewhere near the middle. I don't know what kind of stuff you personally are going through but I think I've an idea just how it feels to learn that everything you thought was fairy tales is real. Declan seems a good guy, but he's got a different view of things, he was raised more like Amber than us. You should try to give me a shot."

Antoine looked at the two of them as they stared back at him, "...Aaannd I just gave a speech didn't I?" They nodded, an amused grin on Amber's face, an unreadable expression on Ariel's. "Well I'm the guy in the hospital gown, you have to humor me, it's like a rule or something."

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber felt her eyebrows rise. Antoine and Declan were talking together now? When had they become such close buddies? "So is Ariel all you guys talked about?" she asked, her tone somewhere between 'interrogation' and 'teasing.' "Or did I get a mention, too?"

[William Rose]

Antoine smiled, "Jealousy doesn't suit you babe," he teased. "You came up, but mostly he and I sparred. I asked him to teach me to fight some. I only brought up Ariel because it seemed to have been bothering you and that bothers me."

[SalmonMax]

Ariel pulled up a little chair and sat down. Jesus, was -everyone- talking about her behind her back?

"Guess I've been the lady of the hour for gossip. Should I expect a call from Oprah?"

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber swallowed irritation and reminded herself that Antoine was trying to help. And maybe he had helped. She would just have to be careful about what she told Antoine about pack business - not that she'd told him much in this case, either. "I don't know about Oprah," she said to Ariel, trying to keep it as a joke. "Montel for sure, though, and Springer."

[SalmonMax]

"Cool," Ariel replied comfortably. "As long as I get to punch the host."

She rested her turquoise eyes on Antoine measuringly.

"So how long have you two been an item? I'll go out on a limb and guess you hooked up sometime after the wall incident."

[William Rose]

Antoine tapped his finger on his chin, "Hmm, well I'm not really sure. Our first real date wasn't even a month ago." He thinks for a moment more, "Yeah less than a month. Gee, I don't even know if that qualifies us as an 'item' at all." He makes little fake quote signs in the air when he says "item". "But I suppose that all things considered we've moved right along quick enough, for the most part I mean. Yeah I guess we're an item, not sure what kind of item though." He smiles lightly, an odd look on his face that neither woman can read.

[z-Amber Wren]

"Are we going through this again?" Amber asked, her tone joking, but there was a thread of wary concern in her words. "I mean, I thought we already covered this: we're dating. That's all we need to be." Amber briskly tugged on his sheets, straightening them out. She didn't like that look on his face right now, and she did her best to ignore the part of her demanding that she shake the answers out of him.

[William Rose]

Antoine smiles, "Of course. Don't mind me, I nearly died earlier. It would seem my sense of humor got closer than the rest of me." He forces a laugh but quickly stops as neither woman joins him. An awkward silence hangs in the room for a moment before Antoine speaks again, "Sorry ... I'm ... sorry. Yeah, we're dating, a little less than a month now I guess." He offers a half embarrassed smile that fails to cover the lingering look from before or the touch of concern in his eyes.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel gets to her feet and claps her hands, trying to crack the tension a bit.

"Hey, I think I saw a vending machine as I came up here. I'm gonna make a Coke run. Anyone want anything?"

[William Rose]

"Umm, no, I'm good thanks." Antoine replied to Ariel as Amber shook her head in response as well. Ariel backed out of the room and then was a gone. A quiet click broke the silence as the door shut behind her and Antoine turned to Amber. "Before you misinterpret, before I say anything to confuse you, before you get the wrong idea in your head, let me tell you this: I want to be with you for as long as I can." He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply before she could reply, pulling her to his despite the IV tube and monitor wires that threatened to tangle and pulled uncomfortably at his body.

As they broke the kiss he said quietly, "... And I'm done waiting. I see what you were trying to tell me before. I don't want to run the risk of never getting closer to you every time you and I fight some horror from beyond."

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber blinked for a moment, unsure if he meant that statement the way she was hearing it. After a second, she stopped trying to figure it out and simply buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent. She could smell the bitterness of passing sickness being excreted from his skin, the waste being removed from him. It wasn't a great smell, but it was one of the better scents she'd ever inhaled - it meant he was getting better.

She lifted her head and kissed him lightly, letting him put his head back on his pillow. "I'm glad you're ok," she said, brushing her fingers lightly over his face. "You really had me scared."

[William Rose]

"I'm sorry. That's something you'll have to contend with though, I'm not built like you and Ariel and Declan, I get sick, I get hurt and stay that way for a while." He took her hands in his own holding them tightly. "I realized something though as I was sitting hear earlier. I realized that if I want to play with the big boys I have to be prepared. I need to have equipment, and training, and a different mindset to fight these things. I can't just rush in, I need to plan, to chose my battles. Find my opponent's weaknesses and exploit them. It's no different than football, without a game plan you cannot win. We had no game plan, as a result I got my ass kicked and was lucky to survive." He looked into Amber's eyes and saw the worry, the pain, the anger at the whole thing.

"Never again. It was my fault that this happened, I could have been better prepared. No, I SHOULD have been better prepared. I got lucky, lucky that we dropped that thing quickly, and lucky that you realized what was going on and were able to track down and kill the spirit with Ariel. Next time I won't rely on dumb luck, and I'll try not to rely on you to do the heavy lifting." He smiled as best he could he was confident that the next time they faced off against something he'd hold his own.

"And as for us ... yeah, no more waiting no more holding back. If one of us were to die in a month or a year or ten years time I don't want to regret not living life to its fullest ... with you." He kissed her again, madly searching for her with a renewed passion only to suddenly pull back. "Maybe this can wait until I get out of here though ..."

[z-Amber Wren]

"What's the matter?" Amber asked teasingly as she placed a gentle kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Doesn't the lack of gown you're in get you hot? There's almost nothing between you and my hand..." She started to slide her hand down his stomach as she nuzzled into his neck, making him squirm a bit.

The sound of a throat clearing was like a shotgun in a chicken coop. Amber jerked upright and pulled her hands back to herself as an amused nurse watched. "I trust you're not over-exerting my patient, are you?" she asked, her tone conveying her general leviety.

"I'll be gentle," Amber said, regaining her poise enough to put a hand on him shoulder. The nurse took Antoine's readings, chatted with him about his improvement and left with a final, knowing smile.

"Since we have to wait until you get out of here," Amber said, looking a bit disgruntled, "how about we talk about your training? What exactly are you wanting to learn and from whom?"

[William Rose]

If Antoine could have turned red he would have looked like a beet. As it was he got noticeably flushed which was something impressive given his natural skin tone. He allowed the nurse to poke and prod as usual though he was conscious of an involuntary reaction that Amber's touching had produced. Inwardly he winced, Survive combat with multiple evil spirits, hold on long enough to resist a disease spirit's attack and then I die of embarrassment ... not something I want on my tombstone. "Here lies Antoine LaSalle; Embarrassed to Death ...

In short order the nurse left. "You know when I'm better I think I need to teach a naughty girl a lesson ..." And once again the sound of a throat clearing made Antoine turn, wide eyed, to the door. Ariel had an amused look on her face as the door shut behind her, the bottle of coke in her hand forgotten for the moment. Antoine looked at Amber who smiled devilishly back. "Oh man..." Antoine said as he pulled the bed sheet up over his face.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel waited outside for a bit, her drink warming slowly in her hand. She wasn't sure when to go in; how long it'd take.

If I hear yelling, she decided. Or crying. Or...God help us...snarling.

Then something more fortuitous happened. A nurse breezed past and went in. Ariel brightened. A nurse would interrupt whatever it was they were doing, and create an opening. One she could exploit!

As the nurse came out, Ariel quickly headed back in, peeking around the curtain as she went.

Oops!

She couldn't help but smirk.

"I was going to apologize for taking so long, but maybe it wasn't long enough," Ariel commented slyly.

[z-Amber Wren]

"No, it's ok," Amber said, giving Antoine a sly smile. "I was done torturing him... for now."

"Thanks," Antoine grumbled, which only made Amber chuckle and bend down to give him a kiss. That wiped away some of that faux surliness, and Amber removed the rest when she murmured in his ear, "You can get me for that later, hon." Her hungry smile left no doubt in his mind what she meant.

Straightening up, she slipped her hand into his and silently resolved to be good for the rest of the visit. She could be bad soon enough.

[William Rose]

Antoine shook his head but put the sheet down regardless. "Amber was just making me wonder if maybe she was lying about not going through heat." He smirked before remembering that Ariel was also a werewolf. "Uhh, not that ... Anyways, I was telling her that I need to be better trained and equipped if I am going to hold my own against the beasties and baddies out there. I need to learn to shoot, learn to fight, and learn to gather information and make a plan before going on the offensive."

Antoine sat up and shifted a bit making sure his covers covered his man parts. "I've seen more than enough to know that you all can use whatever help you can get, even if you don't think so. I intend to help out as best I can."

[SalmonMax]

Ariel glances quickly at Amber, disapproving the whole idea of Antoine 'holding his own against beasties and baddies' altogether. Wizards, werewolves and wampyr fell outside of her jurisdiction, but Antoine was just a college kid and was quite explicitly someone she was supposed to be serving and protecting. There were very good reasons vigilantism was illegal, and not just because of due process. People went out, psyched up on adrenalin, without training or proper gear, and got themselves killed. Or bystanders. Or both.

"Alright, Antoine," she said. "I'm going to level with you. I think it's a bad idea for you to be doing this. You being here at all should tell you why. That said, you're obviously pretty hell bent on it, and Amber's okay with it...so I'll try to help you learn what you need to learn to do this right."

[William Rose]

Antoine rankled a little, "My being here is due to my not taking this seriously, not being prepared, trained, equipped. I realize that it probably seems nuts to you but how is this any different than becoming a cop or a soldier? It's not, I'm choosing to take up the duty to stand between the bad things and the innocents."

He stopped and visibly calmed himself down, "Sorry. I realize I got myself into a situation here, but that's because I'm a rookie. You are all new to this shit too, but you can turn into war-bread beasts and regenerate wounds, and such. If I had had armor, maybe a gun or even a baseball bat I might not be here, granted things being what they are we still walked into a fucking nightmare situation. My best tool is going to be knowledge, know a thing's weakness, know its habits, known when and where I can combat it without getting my ass in trouble with the cops. Just the same as you guys. I think you'd agree if you thought about it.

"I'm glad you aren't going to try and talk me out of this and I'll appreciate any help I can get. And I promise I'll try not to get myself thrown into prison." He looked at Amber and squeezed her hand, "Or killed for that matter."

[z-Amber Wren]

"I'm willing to help," Amber said simply, hating this. But she'd wouldn't allow Antoine to tell her what she could and couldn't do, and she wouldn't disrespect him by telling him his limits. She knew that it would likely get him severely hurt or even dead, but that was a warrior's life. He was just a different kind of warrior than her, and she'd respect that for as long as she could.

She glanced at Ariel. "He's stubborn - or stupid - enough to do it without our help, so I'm going to help him," she said simply. She could try to lock him up and hide him away, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. Not because she couldn't but because she wouldn't. She'd seen the way her family treated it's wolf-blooded kin, and she vowed not to make that mistake in her own life.

[SalmonMax]

"This is hugely different than being a cop or a soldier," Ariel said. "For more reasons than I can count...but you're right about one thing. Knowledge is the most important thing. I can't help you much about monsters, I'm still learning that."

"But I can help with other things you need to know. How to go through a door. How to secure an area. How to work with a team, because you -will- be working with a team. How to assess your opponent, fast and accurately. As much as I can, short of sending you to the Academy."

She glances at Amber. "You and Dec are invited too, if you're interested."

[William Rose]

Antoine scowled, "I didn't choose this Amber, it chose me. I cannot forget what I have seen anymore than I can ignore it. Would I do this alone? Perhaps, if need be. More likely I'd get help from Adrian, and anybody else I found that was willing." He turns to Ariel, "Thanks, I'll take whatever I can get, though I disagree about this being different. I appreciate your help though."

[z-Amber Wren]

"I'm game," she told Ariel, nodding her head solemnly. "It would be good training for fighting together as a pack, which is important to our healthy development. And if we're fighting with Antoine, we need to work him into our style. So yeah, I'm with you, one hundred percent."

She could almost see it in her mind, how the three of them would fight with Antoine; an arrowhead of wolves with Antoine shooting over their hairy shoulders. Or Antoine and Ariel standing back, shooting, while she and Declan tore at the prey's heels, one distracting while the other attacked its flank.

It was beautiful.

[SalmonMax]

Ariel grinned, pleased.

"When you've got some hours as a cop or a soldier, then you can tell me how they're the same," she told Antoine good-naturedly.

"Anyway, good deal. I'll see if Declan is interested." She gives Antoine a look and asks, "Do you have a gun, and if so, is it licensed?"

[William Rose]

"Yes and yes." Antoine wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Though I lent out my shotgun to a friend."

[SalmonMax]

Ariel grimaced at that little gem of a revelation.

"Eh...okay, well, I meant a pistol. And just sort of as an afterschool special safety reminder, be real careful about loaning firearms around. Ballistics will show the owner, not the guy carrying it. Anyway, it's good you have a gun. You'll need another one. Eh...we can get into that after you're out."

She smiled down at Antoine, a bit ruefully.

"Sorry. Been thinking about what I need for awhile, so it all comes out now. But you should get some rest. We'll talk shop when you're up and around."

[William Rose]

"Oh, I have a big pistol too. Fourty-four magnum revolver. The shotgun I lent to Adrian, he's having the stock cut down and ... um, maybe the barrel, too. I trust him. I've been putting time in at the range on Fridays but shooting paper is different than shooting a monster, I probably need some more practical experience. I went low tech figuring that until I was better reliability was paramount to rate of fire." Antoine paused a slight smile on his face, "I don't suppose you know where I could get some brass knuckles? Just in case something gets up close you know?"