Private A Vision of Now: The Training of Isla Reingard

[Ala Quin]

They had long since fallen into a rhythm of life. Ala had been concerned that he relationship with Lorn would have put a strain on her and Isla's connection, but it seemed only to strengthen it. For Ala, this confirmed that Isla craved stability and surety above all else. Which is why she had brought her to the lakes today, and asked her to practice her katas on slippery rocks. There was no better way to test someone's balance, than to put them on a surface that was unsure.

Ala stood on a dry rock. "I am not the one in training," she had said, when Isla started to protest. Again, it was a test of the girl, more than an attempt at ease on Ala's behalf.

Ala held a holo-emitting saber in each hand, they which recorded Isla's saber placement for each of her basic Shii-cho drills.

"Good..." She said, looking at the recent round of slices and parries. Each motion was recorded in a three dimensional 'slice' across the projection's range. "...you are doing better."

The emitters turned off, and the sabers clinked together as Ala came to hold them in one hand. Her free hand reached towards the shore. Isla had previously noted it, mentioned she knew what Ala was going to do. Ala's eyes sparkled, knowing that Isla had seen this coming.

"Now...try it again with the helmet and blast shield."

Isla Reingard

| Outfit: xxx | Tag: xxx | Equipment: xxx |​

 

[Isla Reingard]

Isla's boot slipped the moment she shifted her weight. She windmilled, swore under her breath, then steadied herself with stubborn focus. Of course Ala picked the most treacherous stretch of rock. Of course she stayed dry. Isla's jaw tightened as she lifted her saber again. This had to be a lesson. Everything with Ala was a lesson. Or a punishment dressed up as wisdom.

"This is not practical," Isla called out, breath sharp as she reset her stance. "No one fights on lakes." She slashed anyway, careful, measured, feeling the pull in her calves as the rock betrayed her again. The Force whispered possibilities, flashes of falling, bruised ribs, Ala's disapproving silence. She ignored them. Seeing it didn't mean accepting it.

Her foot slid. She compensated, turning the stumble into a spin, blade humming as she finished the form. Water splashed. She wobbled, then held. A laugh burst out of her before she could stop it, half relief, half defiance.

When she finished the last sequence, Isla exhaled hard and bowed, quick and sharp. She straightened with a smug tilt to her mouth, chin lifted toward Ala as if to say see, I lived. The satisfaction warmed her chest. She'd earned that look.

Then Ala gestured toward the shore. The helmet. The blast shield.

Isla stared at it, then tipped her head back and groaned loudly. "You have got to be kidding me." She scrubbed a hand through her damp hair, already knowing the answer. There was no future where Ala relented. No vision worth arguing over.

Fine.

She reached for the helmet, muttering, "When I fall in, I'm splashing you," and stepped back onto the rocks anyway.

---

Isla crept across the stone floor, barefoot and quiet, holding her breath like that ever worked. Ala sat ahead of her, cross-legged, curls loose, calm radiating off her in that infuriating way. Meditating. Of course. Isla slowed anyway, heart thudding. This was either brilliant or catastrophically stupid. Probably both.

She focused, reaching for the Force the way the holocron had described. Not pushing. Not pulling. Just… tilting. Turning someone's sense of balance inside itself. Easy. Elegant. Harmless. Isla bit back a grin. If this worked, Ala would spend the morning convinced something was very wrong with her body. Morning sickness perhaps... Her father would lose his mind. Totally worth it.

She extended her awareness toward Ala and tried to twist. Nothing. Isla frowned and tried again, harder. A flicker of sensation brushed her mind, like static. She leaned into it, tongue between her teeth, imagining dizziness, nausea, that awful rolling feeling she hated on transports. Come on, cooperate.

Ala's head snapped around.

Isla yelped, stumbled forward, and nearly tripped over her own feet. "I wasn't doing anything," she blurted out immediately, which was deeply unconvincing. Her face burned. Why did Ala always know?

Isla waved her hands, words tumbling out. "I mean, I was reading. About a Force technique. I just wanted to see if I could feel it, not actually use it, and also hypothetically it would have been kind of funny."

She winced, shoulders creeping up. Great. Nailed that explanation. Internally, she groaned. Why did she think sneaking up on a fully trained Jedi Master was a good idea. She had to work on her impulse control.

She sighed and added quietly, "I thought it might make you feel sick. Just a little."

Ala Quin​

 

[Ala Quin]

Ala rose without a rush. She smoothed her robes once, fingers precise, then turned fully toward Isla. The height difference was not in Ala's favour. It did not feel that way.

Her gaze traveled slowly up Isla’s posture, over the guilty hands, the flush in her cheeks. Silence gathered like a noose. Ala let it.

One brow lifted. For a heartbeat, disappointment seemed poised to descend. Instead, the corner of her mouth curved.

"If you are going to attempt neurological disruption," she said calmly, "you must anchor the vestibular illusion to something specific."

She stepped closer. Body relaxing.

"You cannot simply imagine nausea and hope I will oblige. You must introduce asymmetry. A subtle misalignment between expectation and balance. A delay in how the body understands gravity. Layer it in, gently....so gently that I question myself before I question you."

Her eyes sharpened, though the amusement remained. "You pushed too hard. You announced yourself. You may as well have rung a bell and shouted your intentions."

Her eyes narrowed, but it seemed more mischief than annoyance. "Again." She turned away before Isla could process that.

"If you are going to do it properly, we will not practice on me." Ala began walking toward the corridor. "Let us try Master Vodet."

A small glance over her shoulder. "He has a much greater centre mass. If you can topple him, you can topple anyone."

---

Later, in the training hall, Ala stood barefoot on the mats. She held no saber, not staff, just a smirk.

She beckoned. "Hands only."

While Isla advanced, Ala did not.

The first strike came quick. Ala shifted half a step, guiding Isla’s momentum past her with two fingers at the wrist. Minimal effort. Yet maximum consequence. Isla stumbled.

"You lose control when embarrassed," Ala observed, as if commenting on weather.

Isla tried again. Ala allowed her closer. She invited her in closer. Then invaded her space in return. Close enough that Isla would have to think about breath, about space, about the fact that her Master was smaller and utterly unafraid.

There was a feint. Then a pivot. Isla found herself on her back staring at the ceiling.

Ala stood over her.

"And you get embarrassed easily," she said quietly. "You saw that I noticed you checking that padawan out, and since then...you have been off-balance."

She extended a hand to help her up. "Again."

| Tag: Isla Reingard fyi, Vodet |​