Private Couples Class

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis stood in the centre of the mess hall, the beeping and buzzing of terminals echoing through the underground base. He and Arla had moved the tables and chairs to create a makeshift training space, it would do until he could repurposed one of the other rooms into a dedicated practice area. For the moment, he had only one student, though he used that word loosely. Loreena Arenais-Valhoun was not just his student, she was his captain, his friend, his lover. They had been through much together, and after Mandalore, he knew that their adventures would be demanding. That's why he'd offered to teach her a few things.

He wasn't exactly sure how much she knew when it came to the Force. He'd seen her conjure a ball of light, but bar that, he got the sense that she didn't have a background in it. The question was what he taught her. He was a Sith, or at least a Dark Jedi, and he wasn't sure if she would be comfortable learning the Dark Side. He had been born to wield it, his core strength came from hatred, but she was a compassionate, thoughtful person. He would start with the basics, and see what she thought.

Twirling his swordstaff idly, he watched the doorway, a small metal ball resting just in front of his feet.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Training day. Not just any training though. It was Force training. Lori was excited, but maybe that was because Curtis Learchin was her teacher. She had seen him wield the Force before and he certainly had skills that she didn't. Lori had had a bit of training from her late Dad Veiere, but she couldn't stick woth the strict rules and regulations of Jedi Academy life. Perhaps her training with the Mandalorians only increased her stubborness and impulsive nature instead of bringing her discipline.

Regardless here she was, walking with an almost bounce in her step towards the mess hall, wearing her rebel armour that she had to get used to wearing and fighting in. She smiled as she saw Curtis already waiting for her.

"Nice job on the room. Should do the trick until we get your other one set up. So.....where do we begin?" Lori eyed the metallic ball at his feet curiously.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis smiled widely as Loreena Arenais-Valhoun walked in, she always had that effect on him. She was armoured, and looked willing to learn whatever he had to teach. That was always a good quality in a student, one that the Sith valued and hated in equal measure. He placed his staff on the floor beside the ball, before meeting Lori's gaze.

"We did what we could" He said, gesturing his arms fancifully, "We're gonna start off small, I want to gauge how much you know already... have you had much training?" He knew she had some skill from their time on Mandalore, but he had also assumed that her knowledge of The Force was minimal. However after meeting her brother he wasn't so sure. If Caedyn had been taught, than perhaps she had been too, and just hid it from others. That wouldn't be unusual, plenty of people in the galaxy were the same, but few of them were the face of a rebellion.

With everything that was happening at the moment, this could be a bonus to their cause.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori watched as Curtis Learchin placed his staff down, almost raising a brow, yet she refrained. Was it a chat he wanted first? That was fine for her. It allowed her to get a little closer and spend some quality time. The two were so busy with the Rebellion that they didn't have time for themselves. Even this training session was tied to their work, but it was something to be enjoyed, rather than trying to stay alive.

"I have blaster and hand-to-hand combat training with the Mandalorians. As for the Force...there's little that I know for combat. You've seen my ball of Light. I know that can be used against Sith. My Dad used it for that, I hear. And I can lift small objects. But that's about it. I...didn't stay at the Academy to continue the training my Dad had started. I didn't like the rules." If only he hadn't gotten so busy, then they'd of had one-to-one time and maybe he'd of still been alive. But then there was the chance that she could have died too.

Then she wouldn't of met Curtis...

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis paced slowly back and fourth, hearing Loreena Arenais-Valhoun ' words as they echoed through the hall. She knew a bit more than he had thought, but she still had things to learn. Maybe not everything he knew, but a few key things.

"Rules are the only constant when talking about The Force" He replied, smiling. "I want you to pull that metal ball towards you. Hold it just in front of you" As he spoke, he raised his hand, gripping his staff with the Force and gently lifting to his side. "Focus on the object, on the energy around it."

He had been taught in a much more violent way, but he wouldn't subject Lori to that sort of torture. It wasn't as effective as some in the Sith may want to believe.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori smirked a little. She was about to be a smart-butt and just pick the ball up with her hand as Curtis Learchin wasn't quite specific enough on his instructions. But then he clarified himself a little more. Her eyes dropped down to the ball and she stared at it hard. Like most inexperienced ones, Lori figured that staring hard would help her focus. But really instead it did the opposite.

So she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking instead on how she creates her balls of Force Light. There she can focus on the particles and move them in such a fashion to create the light. This shouldn't be any different. It's just a bigger molecule. So Lori just imagined the ball to be that big molecule, focusing on the energy around it and pushing it upwards. Gradually it lifted from the ground and rose up to chest level in front of her.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis smiled as Loreena Arenais-Valhoun grasped the metal ball with the Force. She was a natural, though that might have been on account of her previous training. He began walking towards Lori, positioning himself a few steps behind her.

"Very good my apprentice," He said jokingly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Along the opposite wall were several targets, hastily constructed "Now I want you to push that ball hard, aiming for the centre target. Focus on the ball like you did before, but this time, exert the force around it..." He stopped himself for a moment, knowing that what he was about to say would not be popular. "If you need to, tap into your emotions, use the strongest one to help guide your power".

Though he no longer counted himself amongst the Sith, Curtis still believed that emotions were not a weakness, that rage and hate could be used to empower oneself. But as well as that, he knew that love and hope were equally powerful, and those were what he hoped Lori would use. Maybe even her love for him...

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori snickered at Curtis Learchin as he joked with her, yet she nearly lost her concentration on the ball, which was evident as it began to fall. Yet Lori stopped it before it hit the ground, giving out a sigh of relief as she did so.

She looked up at Curtis, listening to his instructions. Only then did she even notice that the targets were even there. "That sounds kinda hard..." Lori knew that it wasn't for most Force Users, but then again she knew that she was overthinking it. And that wouldn't help her at all.

Again Lori thought of Bakura and what happened there. She was able to conjure up her ball of light and explode it quickly and easily. And why? Because she was highly motivated through fear, anger, and a drive to save whomever she could from a horrible fate.

This was a different scenario.

This was training. That didn't make it any less fake, but the intensity of needing to do what was asked of her was different. Yet still Lori wanted to make him proud. She loved him, felt really close to him and the last thing that she wanted was to be a disappointment.

"Okay, here goes.." Lori focused on the ball and the air molecules behind it, in between her and it. She pictured the molecules almost forming into a fist and pushed it in an 'air punch' at the ball, hoping that it'd have enough force to at least hit near one of the targets.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

The ball flew across the room, falling short of the target by a few inches. Curtis smiled nonetheless though, Loreena Arenais-Valhoun had shown she was capable enough, her skill just needed to be honed.

"That was good for your first try" He said, outstretching his hand and bring the metal ball back to them "You just have to focus on the momentum behind the push. Forget the ball is there, just the object of your power..." He paused for a second, realising that he'd have to demonstrate, which meant pulling up some dark memories. "Whenever I have to use the Force aggressively, I focus on what happened to my family on Dathomir, on what the Sith did to them. That anger, that sadness, drives my attack".

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the metal ball flying into one of the targets, hitting it with surprising force. The ball bounced and rolled across the floor a few feet. Curtis looked back at Lori, smiling.

"Now bring the ball back to you, and send it to the target again. Remember what I said before."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori certainly had the motivation. There was much tragedy in her life right now. If it wasn't for Curtis Learchin to offer his company and comfort, she didn't know what she'd do. Probably go headfirst into danger and get herself killed trying to avenge her loved ones.

Even Arla probably couldn't stop her.

Lori was about to pick up the ball with her hand, but then stopped herself. With a sheepish grin she then took a breath and then focused on the Force, using it to lift the ball up into the air in front of her. She then closed her eyes, thinking of Bakura, thinking of her Dad, her Mom, and of Munto City; all of them either severely damaged or gone completely. That brought about a lot of pain and hurt that she had held inside. Lori brought it up to the forefront and sent it like an intense shockwave towards the ball, releasing the hurt and the pain, hoping to make it all go away.

But it didn't. It merely brought her to tears, which she brushed aside in an attempt to quash it all deep inside again. She needed to focus on the lessons, not on herself.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

The ball hit the target hard, its outer layer cracking slightly as it rolled across the floor. Curtis moved to Loreena Arenais-Valhoun ' side, wrapping his arms around her when he noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks. He'd pushed her too far, just like the instructors on Bastion had done to him. She deserved better training than that, better than being told that emotional baggage was the key.

"It's alright, using your fears and anger can be difficult, it can bring back painful memories" He spoke softly, reaching out with the Force and bring the ball back to them. "We can take a break if you'd like".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori leaned into his arms as he held her, yet she didn't fully give into crying. She didn't want to be some weak little girl. She had a goal to accomplish now and childish tears weren't going to help matters. Yet the tears were brought on all the same. She hadn't allowed herself to grieve over the loss of her Dad for fear that it might make her seek revenge on Darth Prazutis . Right now she was nowhere near ready for that.

"I'm okay...I'm okay. Let's keep going." Lori siezed control of the ball from Curtis Learchin , narrowing her focus more, determined to get this right. Then she sent another volley of Force energy at the ball to propel it at the target on the wall.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

When the ball struck the target, the metal shell cracked further, chips of metal falling to the ground like raindrops as the sphere rolled across the floor. Curtis could feel Loreena Arenais-Valhoun ' energy ebbing and flowing off of her. It was dark, the same as his own power. He was almost proud, but equally he was worried. What if she lost herself in that anger? He had to teach her moderation.

"You've definitely got a handle of throwing the ball around" Curtis said, patting her on the back, "But you need to be able to control that emotion after you've unleashed it. If you let yourself get lost in anger, you'll never pull yourself out of it."

He knew he sounded like a Jedi now, but it was a lesson he wished he had been taught at the Sith Academy on Bastion.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori just watched the ball as it rolled on the floor, then looked up to the wall itself, noticing a mark where the ball had struck it. She stepped over to the wall and placed her hand on it, silent for a moment as she furrowed her brows in thought. The words of Curtis Learchin were heard and taken in. They were what she was thinking about.

After the moment had passed, Lori turned around to face him. "How do I do that? You know me. I'm....impulsive." She didn't always think before she acted. More often than not, she reacted to things and events around her.

 

[Curtis Learchin]

Curtis thought for a moment before answering Loreena Arenais-Valhoun ' question. It had always been second nature to him, not to lose who he was when using the dark side. But for someone untrained, it was like trying to hold back the tide.

"Think of it as a tap. When you're getting a drink, you don't overfill the glass, you use enough to fill the glass and then turn the tap off. The same applies here" He knew that this would be something she'd have to practice, but moderating how much power she let loose would help her a lot more in the long run. "Reacting to things around you is fine, I do the same. But you have to know when to stop the flow".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded a little as she listened to Curtis Learchin try to explain one way in which she could control her emotions. Having something to visualize made it easier. She did so during her first sparring match with K Kaine Australis where she visualized a wall to stop him from hitting her. It worked...to an extent. She still hurt her nose though.

"So what you're saying is...not to overdo it? That may be a bit difficult." She chewed the inside of her cheek as she pondered on how to practice such a thing. "I know! We'll have to go outside. We could use rocks and lines in the dirt at various distances for me to reach. Almost like target practice. Only I won't be allowed to go past the line that I'm targetting. What do you think?"