"Oh, I didn't know you were a fencer, too!" Kryschenn said as Cole offered his left hand to shake hers, thus drawing a close to the near-argument. She could shake right- or left- handed with equal ease, but then she noticed Cole's slightly quizzical look at the comment. "Fencing lessons," she explained, referring to the formalized swordfighting lessons she'd taken many years ago. "Fencers shake hands before and after a bout, and they shake with their unarmed hand, because the foil or epee is directly wired to the electric score box by a cord that runs down the sleeve and out the gauntlet. Your hand is literally tied to your weapon, and since you can't let go to put it down, you shake with your unarmed hand, which means that anyone who's right-handed learns very quickly to shake with their left."
Kryschenn actually had a heck of a handshake. She was quite proud of her firm grip that was stronger than most women's; in fact, it was even firmer than a lot of men's. The handshake that often caught many male business associates completely by surprise could have crushed the light grip that the Mentalist used to shake her hand. But she wasn't trying to impress him, she was trying to make sure the near-argument between had been avoided. She adjusted her grip accordingly. And maybe, if tempers were no longer flaring, she might be able to convince him to tell her what was wrong.
"Okay, 'friends'," she said with a smile, releasing Cole's hand and letting her fingers slip gently past his palm. "You've pretty much been nothing but nice to me since we wound up in the Realm, my recent annoyance factor aside, so in return, consider this a promise that I won't get on your nerves with a barrage of annoying questions any more. And now that that's settled, let's go help save a kingdom!"
