The crawler looked easier to stop while it was switched off.
Six short legs held an ironwood shell above the practice floor. A blunt striking arm folded beneath it. Three thin Aether links connected the moving body to guide posts around the enclosure. The instructor explained which marks counted as a hit and which line we were not allowed to cross.
I looked at the striking arm again.
"Blunt seems like a generous description of what that would do to my knee."
"Then keep your knee away from it," Liora said.
Helpful advice. I was collecting a great deal of it.
I moved my boot back from the boundary anyway. The unit hadn't been activated, and the instructor had no reason to start it while we stood there talking. My knee appeared to prefer an extra precaution.
