"Bit of formality really. I'm not particularly 'teacher' material by a long shot, Nathan. I think you should have noticed by now." Vincent gestures down to his right leg. Now his expression is sombre, his eyes serious and piercing. "What do you gain from learning to fight? And in return, what do you give up? I didn't give this much thought earlier when I made the offer, which sort of shows how screwed up I am, but I'm not going to sugar coat this for you."
"Once you learn to defend yourself and by extension others, you gain agency. That's terrifying. You can't throw your hands in the air and walk away from a situation saying 'I don't know how'. That excuse is dead the moment you learn to throw a punch. It might be too big for you or the odds too great, but now, it's up to you to assess those odds, make the decision, and live with the consequences - good or bad, rather than letting fate blow you along like a tumbleweed."
He reaches down and points to his bad leg.
"And that's the way the world works. there's always something bigger than you. Someone faster, someone stronger. Someone who is going to find a way to grind your face into the dirt the moment you wind up for the swing. It's not the world being unfair anymore. It's not his fault for being better. It's you not being good enough to defend yourself. It's yours for thinking that violence was the solution. You're responsible for what you do and how you do it. You're responsible for what you do and how you do it."
"I don't think you'll turn me down, Nathan. You wouldn't have asked if you didn't think it was necessary. But I wanted you to know what you were getting into before you asked again." He reaches out his hand in the offer of a handshake.
"Offer is still open. All you need to do is seize that agency and ask."
"Once you learn to defend yourself and by extension others, you gain agency. That's terrifying. You can't throw your hands in the air and walk away from a situation saying 'I don't know how'. That excuse is dead the moment you learn to throw a punch. It might be too big for you or the odds too great, but now, it's up to you to assess those odds, make the decision, and live with the consequences - good or bad, rather than letting fate blow you along like a tumbleweed."
He reaches down and points to his bad leg.
"And that's the way the world works. there's always something bigger than you. Someone faster, someone stronger. Someone who is going to find a way to grind your face into the dirt the moment you wind up for the swing. It's not the world being unfair anymore. It's not his fault for being better. It's you not being good enough to defend yourself. It's yours for thinking that violence was the solution. You're responsible for what you do and how you do it. You're responsible for what you do and how you do it."
"I don't think you'll turn me down, Nathan. You wouldn't have asked if you didn't think it was necessary. But I wanted you to know what you were getting into before you asked again." He reaches out his hand in the offer of a handshake.
"Offer is still open. All you need to do is seize that agency and ask."
