Hell would freeze over before the decrepit old (or not-so-young, as it were - he wasn't old just yet) man could best a physically fit young man in his prime, especially given how much he's smoked and drank over the past forty-plus years, but when he did land a hit he was expecting Julien to parry and felt his knuckles burn a little from the impact, he paused.

"Are you alright?" he asked between shallow breaths, and clearly the question and the concern written in the lines on Michael's face went beyond the physical.