“Yep,” Karen agrees when he instructs her to start slow. There’s a look of serious concentration on her face as she adjusts her stance. She won’t have time to center her balance in a real serious situation, but at least she can take it steady, one step at a time while they practice. “You know I don’t usually get choked from the front,” she informs him, a half-hearted attempt at levity. Her mouth quirks in a half smile as she looks up at him.

Her hands trace up over his forearms, keeping one hand there as she maneuvers the other to take his fingers the way he demonstrated. It’s a near enough thing as she goes to pull them off, but not – quite there. She stops halfway through, shaking her head as she releases his hand. “No, not quite. Put your hand back.”

When he complies, she moves her hand back into place to try the move again, gripping carefully as she pulls his arm down and away. Her face lights up with a grin. “There we go!”