With the Defense room well lit and not decked out in candles, it seemed less foreboding to Vivi. She dropped her bag at the bottom of the stands and took a seat as she waited for her compatriot. It hadn't be that surprising to her that she would find someone in the school who was interested in defensive training. There were really quite a few career choices that required such training, and she knew many students were looking to improve their skills before graduation.

She had been surprised at who was interested in defensive training, though.

After only a brief time sitting, Vivi rose and paced a little. Sitting still, waiting for that matter, wasn't one of her strong suits. Maybe she'd just warm up a bit? Stretches, toe touching, and deep knee bends... that seemed just the thing to occupy her time while she waited for her sparring partner.

For all of Vickers' ability to remember Dark Arts spells and facts, practical defense-- and some would say the only part of the subject that really matters-- was something he has yet to really get a good grip on. Shield spells, no matter how strong he can conjure them, can only do so much during unforseen circumstances, like a street fight.

So when Vivi put up a notice of trying out some defense techniques the Ravenerd siezed the oppotunity to put theory into practice. And the first theory he'd like to test? If defense skills can be passed genetically from mother to daughter. Those hours spent organizing yearbooks and other Hogwarts related literature in the library have taught Vickers a good deal of the days when Cassanra Rae Branxton was not only Hogwarts Headmistress but also its distingished DADA instructor.

He turned into the corridor of the duelling arena and crossed the threshold where he found Vivi doing her stretches. For all his eagerness to learn there was a part of him that was a little nervous too, maybe not so much as hurting Vivi inadvertantly with his clumsiness but more so that he was about to make an embarassing spectacle of himself.

"Hello there Vivi."

Perhaps her eyes lit up a bit at the entrance of her sparring partner, but Vivi caught herself before any great emotional demonstrations... before making a complete fool of herself, really. Instead, she bowed low before giving him that crooked little grin.

"'Allo, Vincenzo. Comment ça va?? I wasn't sure you'd show up," Vivi turned on her heel and marched back to her bag, which was stuffed full of books. As per usual. She tugged out a nice selection she'd chosen from the library, books on self defense and martial arts and even one on rather nasty ways you could hurt someone using just the flat of your hand. She'd... just put that away until a later lesson.

"Don't dawdle. Come do research." Just as all good Ravenclaws should. She seated herself on the first row of the bleachers and stacked the books on the bench beside her. "I have an idea to name the dummies and then take turns beating them up."

Ok bowing low, using full first names....and greeting in French? A bit on the formal side are they? Was this the first step of practical defense? He found himself lowering his head from the neck for a short bow although he couldnt really follow through with another French greeting as he doesnt understand much less speak it. But what Vivi said-- he understood that a bit. Heard it before from Grandma "I'm doing good Vi-- I mean Mademoiselle Branxton." he added with a playful smirk of his own. Almost felt like a class "Of course I'd show up. Been wanting to improve my defense skills to something more than just Protego Maxima. Or maybe something thats more like.... for offense." Actually anything that entails moving forward and making the other fellow back up instead of him bracing himself and hoping the other guy quickly gets tired of beating him down.

Hey look books! Vivi didnt need to repeat her offer-- heck her words probably hasnt even completely left her lips yet when the Ravenerd strode quickly for the benches and started picking through the stack of books beside the blonde. He looks up distractedly for momentarily with the next thing Vivi said "Name the dummies?.... after certain people maybe?" he chuckled. There'd probably be a few people in his short life that he'd actually want to name the dummies after.

Viv scowled playfully at him as he joined her and her library books. It wasn't that she expected him to respond in French, but Mademoiselle Branxton? Too much formality. "Je m'appelle Genevieve, mon cher." And she stuck out her tongue at him. They were very mature.

At some point, she'd want to know what was motivating Vick to be here in the arena, not because it made a difference in what they learned but because they were friends and it made a difference to her. But since the tone was mostly playful (except for the extremely literal Vickers being all extremely literal), that could wait. Lots of things could wait.

She settled down to business. "I was thinking we ought to start with self-defense basics, and then we can move on to... basic fighting techniques. Against the dummies for the time being, because I'm not sure one or both of us won't get hurt since we really don't know what we're doing." Which wasn't meant to be a lack of confidence in how awesome they were... but just caution. Imagine that! Vivi was learning caution.

Ohhh he understood that too "Alright Genevieve' he uttered, still trying to keep that serious face but his grin was betraying the humor he found in them fussing over their names.

He nodded his head when she spoke about doing the basics of self defense first. Makes sense.... but wait a sec "Well I wouldnt know what I'm doing, but how about you? Wouldnt you like.... know a bit more? I mean your mom is Cassandra Rae Branxton, wouldnt she have taught you some cool moves on how to take down a gang or something? Obviously the boy was mighty impressed with the literature over her mother. Fanboy? Uh yeah pretty much.

"Someday, maybe you'll have a daughter, and you will understand how my father feels about Fee and I learning to fight," Vivi shrugged. Her father was implacable about some things, just as he was rational about all things. "I'm an excellent dueler, though, so don't worry about me. I sincerely doubt I'll die the first day on the job."

Maybe the second or the third day, though.

Vivi reached again for her bag. "I'm not sure my mother fought him very hard. She hasn't said so, but I dunno that she likes the idea of me being an Auror."

A thoughtful pause fell on the Ravenerd. He could see how Vivi's statement rings true-- not about him having a daughter he's not even thinking that far into his future yet, but about having a young one learn physical combat. It was something his Grandmother severely frowned upon, and would probably explain why he was so lackluster with the physical aspect of this subject.

Nodding his head slowly he murmured "I think I understand why your dad feels that way.... my Grandma isnt big on the whole fighting with wands either." she believes the battle ground should be in the mind, which she was incredibly good at.

BUT Vivi did say that she was an excellent dueler and really her word was more than enough for Vickers to be fully convinced she knows what she's doing. Certainly a lot more than him even with an armful of books.

Whoah wait, did she say "Auror? You....want to be an Auror someday?" There was a sparkle in his eyes at the apparent clarity with how Vivi saw her life after Hogwarts. "See, you got it in you already, wanting to fight bad guys, all you need to do is to perfect your skills."

"If you can't fight with wands OR with fists... you better be one sharp cookie. I would hate to go into a fight unarmed in a battle of the wits," Vivi grinned at him. It was good he didn't push the issue with her mother letting her fight, because there'd been plenty of fighting about that in the Branxton house over the years. If it was a reason not to get accepted into YATI... she'd be so put out with her father.

"I've always wanted to be an Auror. We used to play Aurors and villains in the backyard when I was little. Mo was always the villain. I can't tell you how many times he ended up hanging from one of the trees in the orchard, tied up and upside down," Vivi paused in her search through her bag and quirked an eyebrow at Vickers. "What about you? It's seventh year... I bet your head is full of ideas about what to do when we graduate. I'm applying for YATI in the spring. What do you want to do with yourself?"

She finally tugged a box from her bag and set it in her lap. It was about the size of a paperback book and wrapped in silver-stripped paper. The photo from the summer they first met was taped to the center of the package, along with a sprig of pressed rose geranium as decoration. "So. Happy Christmas. I want you to keep the photo."

He chuckled when he heard about the battle of wits. "Exactly." he may not be particularly witty yet, but at least he can stand his ground about being sharp as tacks.

He shifted his gaze back to Vivi as she mentioned about her childhood games. She was the Auror? Well he was...... the side-henchman who always got shot down first. Or the victim the kids were supposed to find but somehow everybody always forgets. He kinda feels for Mo. Speaking of which "Who's Mo?"

Oh boy... his future plans. At this point Vickers looks away, trying not to appear too flustered about the question, and of course he is obviously failing at it "Actually I'm... uh..... I-I havent really decided yet." Gosh that sounded even more lame than hearing it in his head "I mean..... I'm thinking of taking a gap year after Hogwarts... just go out and see what its like in the world outside." he added as he peeked sheepishly at the Ravenclaw blonde. "I mean I have some idea of what to take up...." just so that he doesnt sound so bloody indecisive "... I just need to narrow it down some.... Hopefully the gap year would help me decide what I really want to do for coursework and where to take it" Yeah he hasnt even fully decided on the University. The irony of his predicament for someone who's lived nearly his entire life on a schedule.

He really needed a distraction. Oh look theres that photo he took of Vivi a couple of summers back, which felt like a long time ago, given how they were to each other then and how they are now. He looked up at her puzzled-- then flustered again as she uttered the holiday greeting "A gift?.... B-But Vivi I... havent gotten you anything--YET." Last save in the end there. He didnt want to come across as some kind of scrooge, he just never had much opportunities in his whole life to give gifts to anyone outside of family members. He took the package and paused as he stared at her photo. The calm candid moment before fists started flying in his direction "You sure Vivi? I-I have a copy of this....." Whoops, did he just admit his stalker tendencies again? "Besides, I always keep copies of anything I take with my camera..." truth, even if it sounded like lame reasoning "You can keep this... really." he murmured as he tried to pry it off the packaging.

"Mo. He's my little brother... the third Branxton child. He's twelve," Vivi shrugged a bit, but her posture was indicative that she was all about him opening the present. She'd spent ages working out this charm, and she was rather proud of herself. As much as she'd tried to imagine his reaction, the real thing would be much more satisfying.

His discomfort about not having a plan made Vivi feel absolute remorse for her own assurance, and she reached over to give his arm a squeeze. Loads of people didn't know what they wanted to do, and the fact that Vivi DID know didn't mean that she didn't understand. Sort of. People found their passions all the time, didn't they? It would help when he had time to go looking for it. "I think a gap year sounds brilliant, actually. Go off and see places without anyone telling you where to be or what to do? Where would you go? I think Italy would be nice. And Romania to see the dragons." Aurors got to travel, too, right? "I was thinking of taking uni classes once I got settled in training. We should take something completely ridiculous together when you get back from your year."

She bit back a grin as he finally turned his attention to the gift. And the grin faded as he stumbled out an excuse for not having got her anything in return. "D-don't be stupid. You don't give gifts just to get gifts." She tried to find that eager spark to see him open his gift, but it had deserted her. It was true she didn't require a gift in return, but the fact that the idea of giving and receiving gifts from her was so foreign a concept opened up her eyes to a stark truth.

They weren't really friends. This person, this boy that she'd been mentally cataloging as her closest Hogwarts friend didn't think of her that way at all. He didn't think of her. At all. Her chin wobbled just once, and then Vivi reached over and snatched the picture and the flowers tucked beneath from the top of Vickers' gift. The photo she dropped into her bag, and the flower... the flower she dropped on the floor.

"Thanks, then. I'll figure out something to do with it," she offered with a slightly-too-big smile. Vivi pushed to her feet and headed for the middle of the room. "I'm going to set up the dummies." More like... this dummy needed a moment.

"So you have a brother...." he murmured with a pensive smile. See that was another thing he really admired-- maybe envied?-- about Vivi and her family.... she had siblings. A twin and a little brother. Vickers wanted that. Heck he'd have been happy with a cousin about his age.

At the mention of Italy his eye brightened up "Thats a good idea...visit the birth country... although I havent been back there since...." and he trailed off. He hasnt been back there since his mother died there. "... a long time ago now--anyway I might be visiting Romania too, but likely during my coursework..." yep lets segue away from that which would likely get him all embarrassingly flustered. As archaic as it sounds, boys dont cry.... not in front of girls anyway.

Oh hey ridiculous? "Whatchu have in mind?" he smirked "Right now I'm not even thinking very far..... I mean from here." it would still be very far from NY, which is his intention "I'm thinking of just getting a part time job around London and just.... live alone for a while." Yep move out of the nest, spread his wings, all that good stuff. "You tell me when you're free and what you want to do because its sounding like you're gonna have a killer schedule, what with Auror Training and Uni classes."

He has managed to loosen the wrappings from its folds--no he wasnt tearing it out no matter how excited he was, a habit ingrained by Grandma-- when he heard her stammer. "I-its not that.... its more like, one good turn deserves anoth--" and then she snatched the photo, mumbled something and walked off.

Merlin what did he say???....

He stared at the half open package and the now blank spot where her picture was. Did he say something wrong? About having a copy of her photo? But it was the truth. But perhaps what was more truthful about not wanting to get that photo back was that he meant it for her, a token of his affections from months past. And seeing it returned to him, even as a form of a gift, kinda crushed his spirits.

Clearly they were in completely different wavelengths about gifts and photographs....

He spotted the flower that fell to the floor and stooped to pick it up. He stared at it for a while, turning it around at the stem between his fingers. He looked up at Vivi and watched her silently. He heard what she said.... but why is it he feels the need to apologize?

He took the flower in his hand.... he was keeping that. It came with the gift anyway.
Sighing inwardly and wanting to give himself a roundhouse kick to the head for being awkward?... dense?.... he worked on loosening the entire package to reveal a wooden box.

A curious looking box, which to him didnt look like it had any sort of crack or seam that it appears to be some kind of decorative block of wood. A trick box perhaps? He ran his fingers along the sides and the corners trying to find a way to open it. He shook the box a little and held it close to his good ear. He didnt hear anything, which probably meant it was soft, or padded or... maybe it was just a block of wood and that was the message-- that he was a blockhead.

He looked up at the blond from across the Arena and called out "Thank you Vivi... its lovely." even if he hasnt really figured out a way to open it. Or should he keep trying to open it here? Attention goes back to the wooden conundrum. Hmm wait... is that tiny gap for the hinge?

As per usual, taking some time to do something physical, in this case dragging the dummies out into the room and positioning them, did wonders for Vivi's head space. She was still feeling a bit wounded and tender, but at least she could stop projecting her feelings. She was being unreasonable, and she was ruining what should be a lot of fun.

Once the dummies were in place, Vivi returned to the benches and seated herself beside Vickers again, a little apologetic smile curving her lips. "Don't open it yet. There's a charm in there, and you'll want to use it when you have some free time and nothing you have to get done. Do you want to know or do you want to be surprised?"

She brought up her legs and propped her chin on her knee, giving him a searching look. "I only returned the photo because I... didn't want to think you'd given up on me." She'd been such a beast to him when they first met, and she thought giving him the photo might be considered an act of reconciliation. It turned out he'd sort of felt the same way when he sent the photo to her the first time.

"Pottery. We'll take pottery. Now, come on. I've been exceptionally nice to you so you won't feel so bad when I kick your sorry bum." She nodded her head in the direction of the dummies. She hadn't been nice, and she wouldn't let him get hurt, but it was time to refocus on something other than her emo tendencies.

When Vivi returned to the benches there was this immense feeling of relief. If she was angry with him, it wasnt enough to have her walk out of the Arena. And coming back to sit with him with a small smile on her face did wonders in easing his anxiety at any blunder he had unwittingly committed.

But his attention draws back to the box just in time to hear her say NOT to open it yet. Fingers freezes just at the spot where an embedded latch would've sprung that lid open. "Oh?..." he murmured as he shifted his hands underneath the box, cradling it in his hands. A charm.... a curious grin spreads across his face. No wonder it wasnt as easy to open. He shifted his head towards the blonde at her offer of cluing him in on what was in it. Naturally he was incredibly curious at what kind of charm the box held, but the way she spoke of it got him to say "No.... I think I want to be surprised." he replied grinning. Better find a clear enough spot in that schedule to check out Vivi's gift.

Then she mentioned about the photograph. His gaze shifts back towards her bag with where a corner of the photograph stuck out. Give up on her? His eyes moves towards her face, her words echoing in his head. Finally he reaches out and gives a slight squeeze on her arm "Viv, I couldnt imagine anything you could do to make me give up on you." he quipped "....unless it was something incredibly asinine, then chances are you wouldnt hear the end from me haranguing you about it and making you fix it." he added with a smirk. Yeah she's stuck with this kind of friend. Heh.

Pottery? "Messy..... but hey so long as its clay and its got nothing to do with sand I'm game." he chuckled as he stood. So being nice to soften the blow on his ego? He turns with a hapless grin "I have no doubt you will wipe the floor with me." Then he goes back to look at those dummies, the grin melting away to be replaced by a slightly worried grimace "Just remember that compared to you, I'm probably just a level one... half."

"Surprises are good," Vivi agreed quietly, tilting her head so that her cheek rested against her knee instead of her chin. Most surprises were good, although many of the Hogwarts surprises this term were just stressful. The classes and the making friends and the way things seemed more difficult than necessary sometimes. But in general, she liked surprises.

He touched her arm, and Vivi rolled her forearm without thinking, letting her hand slide into his. Only for a moment, and then she slid her hand completely free of his and tried for her cockiest smile. There was something wrong and fluttery going on in her her stomach, but she managed a genuine grin. "I would be disappointed if you didn't give as good as you got, Monsieur. And I promise that I am a very good friend to have, if you can put up with my quirks. Except when bum kicking is in order."

She unfolded from the bench and stood beside him, gauging the worry in his expression before she gently propelled him forward with one hand to his shoulder. They were both learning, and the dummies couldn't hurt them back. He didn't need to worry. Part of being a friend of Vivi's was knowing she wouldn't let anything bad happen. "Tell me about why you don't like sand."

And she continued to propel him towards the dummies.

As Befelda entered the Dueling Room, every ounce of anxiousness was starting to fill her. She really loves to learn how to Duel but at the same time, scared of being hurt and being in an actual situation of dueling evil creatures at her young age. But this was what she wanted, to learn to duel and learn the spells well.

She walked the isle and was glared by the light coming from the window. Took a seat in the bench and put down her bag. She scanned the whole arena, she felt comfort and happiness. She can see other students who were also waiting for the class to start.

The way she slipped her hand onto his-- even if it was the briefest of moments-- was... different. Something stirred deep down, something from the past, but that stirring faded as soon as Vivi broke contact.

Hmm interesting....

And soon he felt himself being pushed forward towards the dummies, his feet doing a poor job at resisting. Maybe he should tell her he's more effective at a distance?

Oh but she had to ask about sand. *cringe*shudder*cringe* "I-I dont know.... I just dont like it... I mean its small and tiny and grain-like and getsintoeverything..." *spazzes*

Breathe man breathe. He was starting to sound like a basket-case ...

"....besides sand has little bugs in there that can burrow into your skin." That may or may not be actually true but hey all the more reason why his phobia was justifiable right?

And gosh, they are pretty close to the dummies now.... "Did you ever know I'm far-sighted?" Which means he should be far faaaaarr away from said dummies.

chicken

So bringing up the sand had been a monumentally bad judgement call on Vivi's part, and she regretted it. What had been intended to distract him from the upcoming training had sent him into a nervous tailspin. "But the sun isn't so bad. The sound of the wave as it hits the shore. Those little coconut drinks with umbrellas in them. It's a good trade-off... temporary discomfort for temporary paradise."

She gave Vick's hand another pat before stepping around him toward the dummies. They could dawdle all day trying to work up the nerve to get started, but Vivi had never been keen on waiting for things. "You're telling me that I should only make faces at you when we're close together so you won't be able to tell?" There was no way she was letting him off the hook, coward or not.

"I named your dummy Tom, and mine is called Gellert. Now you kick the stuffing out of Tom. Practice hitting him like you would if a big bully wizard came out of the dark and attacked you, for pure self defense. We can add in other stuff once we get that basic down." And she had the books on the bench if he wanted to look anything up.

"I... burn." so it wasnt just the sand he would worry about, as pool side parties would still leave him with something to worry over worrywart "...but yeah, tropical paradises are awesome. I love the sea breeze." See, he's not completely useless in a cruise.

Now that got him laughing out loud "No I mean, I can hit better at a distance..." he chuckles, then suddenly falls silent, casting a dejected side-glance at the blonde "You were not actually making funny faces at me were you?"

So, big bully wizard... out of the dark.... attacking him. Thats pretty much his life story pre-Hogwarts. There was even someone named Tom. So he's an old hand on this scenario. Quickly he flicked his wand up and uttered "Protego!"

Well Vivi did say self-defense. Couldnt help it if his first reaction is to keep his own stuffing from getting kicked.

"... I pine, I perish," Vivi murmured the rest of the line, albeit one that he hadn't knowingly started. How... unintentionally appropriate. "Sunscreen potion. Anti-sand impervious charms. You're a wizard, Vincenzo. We need not ever have any physical discomfort," Vivi put on her bossiest tone and cocked her hand on her hip at him.

"You should visit every ocean in the world on your gap year. See if any of them please you. And if you think for a moment that I would mock you behind your back, you must think very little of me." He got a light jab to the ribs with one pointy little fingertip, and then Vivi retreated to her own dummy.

Up went her fists, and she settled back into a defensive stance. What were the weak spots again? Solar plexus, instep, nose... She rammed one hand out to catch the dummy in the middle of the chest, and the other into the dummy's face. And, oh MERLIN, did Vick just pull out his wand on the immobile dummy?

"It isn't really attacking you!" she peeked around at Vickers. "But... erm... good instincts. Maybe try something without your wand this time?"

His head shifted momentarily to Vivi as she murmured a quote.... Shakespeare. He remembered reading that, because not too long ago, it applied to him too...

"Y-yes I do that, I mean I have to..." as much out of necessity as it was out of habit. "Although sometimes I wish I can just ignore these things that bother me you know? Mind over matter and all that." The disadvantage of being persnickety.

Visit every ocean...."You mean like a cruise?..." he murmured "Actually I'd much rather take to the skies on a hot air balloon." Not the point they were making but if he was to see all the world's oceans he'd rather enjoy it from a bird's eye view.

Or maybe as a bird. Who knows.

He gave a sly grin at Vivi and totally failed!dodge those finger-to the-ribs "I had to ask..." he chuckled. A strange output of his defense mechanism maybe, where he would painfully ignore the mockery flung at him from years past.

Oh did she mean deal with the dummy with his fists? He holstered his wand and raised his arms, trying to mimic Vivi but feeling and looking incredibly awkward. Its clear he hasnt positioned his arms in such a manner before. "Right, ok, I can do that." he nodded as he turned towards his dummy, although his attention still darted towards Vivi and how she's dealing the blows on her dummy. Shouldnt he be embarrassed for himself that she has moves like that? Head turns back to Tom and limp arms goes up, fists clench. Aim for the chest, thats a good chap...

He drives his fist towards the dummy's chest. But instead of hitting it squarely at the center, his fist grazes against the edge of the dummy's chin before pathetically thumping against the lower part of its collar bone.


*hisss*"Yeowch..."*grips hand pathetically*

Walk it off walk it off....

"Have you tried to ignore them?" Not that she felt the need to fix him or anything, but Vickers seemed generally distraught about being so easily bothered... had he tried to move past those things and be in the moment?

"Cruise. Hot air balloon. Beachcomber. Just... what if there's a beach out there you could really love? You have to visit all of them to find out," she offered gamely. "Hot air balloon would be interesting, wouldn't it? You could experience the ocean by floating out in the middle of it." And for some reason, she imagined that might be really terrifying. If all you could see was blue for miles around you... no land in sight.

She nodded as he brought up his arms, especially now that it seemed like he was getting into the spirit of hand-to-hand combat. No wands allowed in that sort of thing. Vivi raised her own hands again, and she spun around to grind her heel into the dummy's instep. With her back to the dummy, she was once again facing Vickers, watching him awkwardly try to take on his own dummy.

She almost called out a word of advice on how to hold his arms, but, in a moment of rare insight, she had the feeling she'd already offered too much help and that her help would be taken badly. His swing was a bit wide and wild, and it was no surprise when his hand thumped the dummy painfully. Her eyes went wide at his expression of pain, and she couldn't stop herself from taking a few steps toward him.

So much for her not getting him hurt, hmm? "Are you... do you want me to look at it?"

He was shaking his hand just to lessen that sting.... and now Vivi was getting all worried "I--- nah, I'm fine, its just a little scratch." he replied looking down at the back of his hand. There was a nice pink gash, and his knuckles was the kind of red just before bleeding.

He looked at Vivi then turned his attention back to the dummy. There was no way he was gonna walk away from this looking like a twerp weeping over a little scratch "Lets try that again huh?..." he chuckled awkwardly as he lifted his arms into that sparring position again, lunged forward and aimed for the chest....

This time his fist smacked soundly against the dummy's chest, causing its torso to shift backwards a bit. It also sent a jolt of pain right through that fist of his, and he hissed as he pulled his arm back. "Hey not bad huh?" he grinned at the other Claw and subtly nursed his fist. Does hitting someone supposed to hurt that bad? Why is it that some people cant seem to get enough of it?

Liar. He was being all stoic and Gryffindor about the wound, and Vivi was fool enough to let him. She gave him a long blink before turning back to her own dummy. There was something to be said for pride, and time enough to fuss over the wound if it was really a wound.

"Very impressive, sir. I sort of wonder if we ought to learn how to hit with a punching bag before we take on big bully dummies. I'm sure I did that all wrong. My knuckles..." Was this hitting home at all, or did he think she was just trying to protect him?

Maybe she was. A bit.

She punched her dummy again, her blond ponytail a flurry. "I think we're doing well, actually, although I know I'm fussing at you. I'll behave. Now... hit the dummy in the nose. Use the base of your palm and strike upward like you want him to sniff his own brain. It hurts like the dickens."