Chiss Chiss Bang Bang

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax Bane paced back and forth in a dark abandoned warehouse near his apartment in Nar Shaada's Entertainment District. He knew he was completely out of his element here, but he'd been messing around with some pretty nasty thugs and criminals lately and figured that the only way he'd ever keep his blue skin intact was to actually learn how to fight.

He had found an interested trainer from an obscure planet in Wildspace, someplace he'd never heard of called Crystalsong and another one who was more local. He sure hoped they'd be a little gentler on someone as inexperienced as he was, and not go all out nuclear on him, but he guessed this was going to be a "no pain, no gain" type of evening.

[member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

I love Nar Shadda, mostly. Only the pollution kept me from being totaly enraptured by the neon lights and plentiful bars. A guy had hired me to come here and teach him to fight. Hopefully, he'd be pretty receptive. I didn't want to end up training some stupid, obese, kid with a fifteen-second attention span. I stepped into an abandoned-looking warehouse, where a young Chiss was pacing like a caged wildcat.

"Yo. You that guy who called me? Cryax Whatever?"

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

"Hey! Yeah, that's me! You're Malachite right?" Cryax wrang his hands together and momentarily stared at the mammalian-looking alien. He was only about a foot taller than the Chiss so at least the foxlike man wasn't a Wookie or some other species who could rip his arms out of his sockets. At least he didn't think so. He then realized how rudely he was staring.

"Oh! I have some weapons in case you didn't bring your own!" He strode over to a corner of the warehouse and pulled a case out of a pile of debris where he had hidden it. He opened it for the Ruferalahuín and displayed a raggedy arrangement of blasters and knives, some dull and rusty and held together with duct tape. Cryax was no weapons expert so he hoped the few pieces he had got his hands on would suffice.

"Of course if you have any specific weapons you'd like to use today, by all means.."

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

From the sound of voices just inside the warehouse Kadrak already knew she was late, but supposed it didn't matter much that she was here now. It didn't strike her as odd that she'd been contacted for this sort of job, but she was rather surprised. Being a mechanic she'd expected to be hired to fix a ship or two, but definitely nothing like this. Training wasn't anything she had any kind of experience in, but if someone was willing to learn it was worth a good try, at least.
She stepped inside the building and walked forward, stopping within a respectful distance of the two and studying the blonde-haired man before looking the Chiss male up and down, offering a friendly smile by way of greeting, noting the container of weapons and casting her gaze over the ragged assortment inside. "[member="Cryax Bane"]?"

 

[Cryax Bane]

"Yeah, that's me. Um, hi!" He gave a slight nod back, trying not to seem overeager. Cryax hadn't considered the possiblity that an attractive woman might be one of his trainers so he gulped audibly as his Zabrak trainer introduced herself. The idea of physical contact alone was enough to make him nervous but the prospect of fighting with her? Hoo boy, between the Zabrak and the foxman this was going to be a good story to tell later at the slicer bar.

He was ready to put himselves at their mercy so he thought he'd lay out his expectations.

"So as you can see I'm not the most athletic guy. But that being said, what I'm looking for is basically stuff that's going to keep me alive here on this cesspool of a planet. Self-defense, street fighting, firing a pistol, disarming an attacker. You know, stuff like that. How should we get started?"

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"]
[member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

I took a quick glance at the array of garbage that the poor guy had probably scrounged from an alley somewhere, and shook my head. I unstrapped a long hunting knife from my belt, and tossed it to him in its sheathe.

"Try that on for size. It's really sharp, so try not to cut yourself too much."

I saw a rather pretty-looking Zabrak step into the warehouse, and I twitched my tail, just to surprise, and possibly disturb the woman slightly. I grinned broadly at her, and my coat billowed around me as I spun to face her.

"Hi, there. You here for training, too, or is the prospect of two good-looking guys trying to beat each other up too good of a prospect to miss?"

[member="Cryax Bane"]
[member='Kadrak Jalaan']

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Kadrak rolled her eyes and shook her head with a grin. "Not for training. I'll be one of two trainers, it seems. And I'm already taken, so you're out of luck in that department." Glancing to his tail as he twitched it she tilted her head curiously but otherwise ignored it. "Well, now that we've got all of your questions answered and out of the way..."
As the Chiss spoke she listened silently, nodding once he'd finished and briefly studying the blade the other man had passed across to him. "Street fighting and self-defense can be lumped into the same category. No one will be using any clean-cut tactics on this planet or any other, if you're running with the crowd I think you are. Shooting I can definitely help you with, and it seems our friend here has the blades covered. We should be able to work together on the rest of it. You'll be fighting like a pro in no time."

[member="Cryax Bane"], [member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax caught the knife and gingerly held it out in front of him with the business end pointing back towards him in what was probably the worst blade form in the galaxy. It was achingly obvious how little he knew about melee weapons, even less about what “clean cut” tactics were. He figured he’d just nod his head and play along. Jealousy flared in him when he noticed the fox quasi-flirting with the Zabrak. For a guy who had no game with women whatsoever he sure was a territorial bastard sometimes. He smiled at her a sweet, unChisslike smile.

“Well, Miss um, Kadrak.” He had to fumble around in his brain to remember the name. “I’m glad you have some confidence in me.”

At least someone here did he thought, casting a sidelong glance at Malachite.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

I rolled my eyes at the Chiss. He was of course pointing the blade at himself. Oh, boy. I drew a slightly shorter knife, this one blunted specifically for this sort of thing, and took a typical knife fighting stance.

"Oh, I have faith in you. You just have to prove me right by not stabbing yourself. Then we can get all warm and fuzzy."

I gestured to the knife he was now holding, with the scabbard off.

"First lesson: blocking. I don't care what you're fighting, the easiest thing to do is block, and block, and block. Also, hold the sharp edge away from you... It's not fun to get your own knife stuck in your chest. Trust me."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Kadrak shrugged. "Anyone can fight well, given enough time. That is, if they're willing to put the time and effort into things required to get there. And you wouldn't have contacted us if you weren't willing to at least give it a good try. Wanting to give it a shot is enough for me." She stepped back to give them their room in what would certainly be an interesting sparring match. For his sake she hoped Cryax was a fast learner, at least with blocking. Otherwise he might be the receiver of more than a few decent bruises. But as odds were, he would be anyway.
An amused smile quirked up the corners of her mouth. At least one of them was still intent on flirting with her, and it looked to be the Chiss. Well, things wouldn't be as interesting without one wrench thrown in the figurative gears. "Might as well get this show on the road, huh? The only way to get better is by practicing. And, no offense meant, but it looks like you could benefit from some, Cryax."

[member="Malachite Avachei"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

"None taken," he smiled to the Zabrak with that lopsided grin again, unsuccessfully trying to hide his disappointment that she wouldn’t be the first to spar with him.

Mirroring Malachite's stance, the Chiss held the knife out as instructed and gave the Ruferalahuín a determined glare, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Well, I suppose it’s you and me then...Mano a Foxo”

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

"Got that right, Cryax."

Without warning, I leapt over his head, slashing the blunted knife downward toward his shoulder. It wouldn't do anything really bad, but it would hurt like hell.

"I love training. Been twenty years since I had a good fight."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

One minute the fox was swishing his tail playfully and the next thing Cryax knew he had struck. The Chiss yelped as the blow connected with his bony shoulder. "Kteh!" he cursed softly in his race's tongue. He rubbed his shoulder and grimaced, casting a glance at the lady Zabrak to see if any points were lost. As if a girl like her would ever give a guy like him the time of day anyway.

"Now how do I kriffing block something like that?" Eyeing the fox carefully he stood again in the same stance as before, hoping that he wouldn't have to scrap all this fighting business and hire a personal security droid instead.

[member="Malachite Avachei"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

"You just put the blade in the way. I would've thought you'd developed some instinctual sense of when to block by now... I guess not."

I held my blade up again, this time in a more defensive stance. I nodded at Cryax, and gestured with my free hand.

"Try to hit me."

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Avery Rose Garter]

Kadrak just smiled and shook her head as she watched them, flashing an encouraging grin to Cryax as he looked to her. "If you don't mind my intervening, try not to focus on what you think he's going to do, because ninety-nine percent of the time you'll be wrong. As cliche as it sounds, try to let instinct take over. Your gut feeling is right more often than you think, and it might save you some bruises in the future. But otherwise, keep it up. This is your first sparring match. No one's been fantastic the first time around."
She glanced to the other with another smile and a nod. "Not bad. We might have to spar ourselves sometime. It would be worthwhile, I think."

[member="Malachite Avachei"], [member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Trying to ignore the obvious chemistry between the Zabrak and the Fox, he listened carefully to what Kadrak said about instincts. It resonated with him. He definitely felt he had some animal instincts lurking under his blue skin but the introverted Chiss was hardly in touch with them. He thought back to an earlier time, to physical and mental abuse at the hands of quasi-employers who were more akin to captors. He had wasted too much of his young life being their punching bag.

The lanky Chiss channelled that red-hot boiling rage as leapt forward. He lunged the blade towards Malachite, attempting to connect it...well, anywhere.

[member="Kadrak Jalaan"] [member="Malachite Avachei"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

So, Cryax did know a little about fighting. He got himself all revved up to try and stab me. and I was glad he could do so. But his shots never connected, as I leapt out of the way of the first, blocked the second, and sent the third skittering off the blunted side of my blade.

"That is how you block, Cryax. When an angry enemy is coming at you with a knife, you have the control to dodge, and then attack back. Total control."

[member="Cryax Bane"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

He whistled, highly impressed at the Fox's reflexes and coordination. The guy moved like a wild slitherette and wasn't even breaking a sweat. Taking his stance again, he grinned, the adrenaline pumping now. This was actually kind of fun. Maybe it was the just unfamiliar endorphins flooding his brain, but Cryax was allowing himself to come unwound and it felt good.

He again flashed a crooked grin towards the Zabrak, his red eyes boldly moving over her curves for a split second, and then started intently at the golden-coated Ruferalahuín.

"Ok, Foxy. I'm ready to try dodging again. Come at me."

[member="Malachite Avachei"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

I grinned again, and my eyes turned gold. I didn't actually project any flames, just covered my body in a small layer of fire that made it look cool. Cause, I mean, why not?

"Okay, Cryax, you better learn to duck today."

I flipped across the room again, this time aiming for the Chiss' right arm. I swept past him, and struck from behind.

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

If there was one thing the jumpy Chiss was good at it was hitting the deck. The lanky slicer almost ducked the attack, but still got clipped in the arm by the taller Ruferalahuín who was now apparently on fire. Show-off.

This time he let out a string of Cheunh curse words, whirled, and using more athleticism than he had in quite some time launched a surprise counter-attack on the foxlike alien, a rough energetic lunge at his trainer's torso.

[member="Malachite Avachei"] [member="Kadrak Jalaan"]