She recognises that look, that momentary gleam of excitement. She's felt it herself, plenty of times - pretty much the only times she ever feels good, when the fighting's hard enough that she doesn't have to hold back even a little bit.
(Although she does still hold back, most of the time. Partly because murder is something they actually investigate, and if she's locked up, she'll lose what's left of her mind. Mostly because, along with cage-fighting and wrestling, one of the things her dad taught her that's really stuck with her is that there are some crimes you can't come back from.)
Either way, she's a little gratified by his response, and a lot gratified by seeing him double over. Not so tough, then, after all. She stumbles back a couple of steps, but he's more breathless than she is, and if she was in a real fight, this is where she'd push the advantage - keep him moving, keep him breathless, maybe get behind him and try to choke him out.
But this isn't a real fight, and the aim isn't to incapacitate him as quickly as possible. It's to make it last at least ten, fifteen minutes, and then she can take herself off the leash, and get paid.
He's slower this time, and it's easier to roll with the blow than to dodge it. She turns enough that his elbow glances back, towards her shoulder, rather than into her throat - but that's all, and she's grabbing for his arm at the same time, aiming to catch hold of him and use his own weight against him, as leverage when she swings her whole body-weight up at his kneecap.
happy new year! enjoy a feral asshole.
(Although she does still hold back, most of the time. Partly because murder is something they actually investigate, and if she's locked up, she'll lose what's left of her mind. Mostly because, along with cage-fighting and wrestling, one of the things her dad taught her that's really stuck with her is that there are some crimes you can't come back from.)
Either way, she's a little gratified by his response, and a lot gratified by seeing him double over. Not so tough, then, after all. She stumbles back a couple of steps, but he's more breathless than she is, and if she was in a real fight, this is where she'd push the advantage - keep him moving, keep him breathless, maybe get behind him and try to choke him out.
But this isn't a real fight, and the aim isn't to incapacitate him as quickly as possible. It's to make it last at least ten, fifteen minutes, and then she can take herself off the leash, and get paid.
He's slower this time, and it's easier to roll with the blow than to dodge it. She turns enough that his elbow glances back, towards her shoulder, rather than into her throat - but that's all, and she's grabbing for his arm at the same time, aiming to catch hold of him and use his own weight against him, as leverage when she swings her whole body-weight up at his kneecap.