Dancing with the Devil

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smiled.

"Ok Joza it is.....though you are a delightful little Morsel."

Vengeance smirked sticking his tongue out at her.

"I almost exclusively use Makashi." "It has served me well and if it's not broke then why fix it."

Vengeance turned and stepped in front of [member="Joza Perl"] giving her a soft smile.

"I can only teach you the basics Joza....frankly we come form different worlds and I overstayed my welcome long before we met."

He raised his saber up in a two handed grip the blade pointed at a 45 degree angle down towards the ground instead of perfectly horizontal.

"You can use an opponents strength against them." "Instead of trying to block the over hand strike........."

Vengeance side stepped as he did letting the tip of the blade drop lower until he was no longer in front of her. The he rotated his wrist bring it up and around in a circular motion until it started into a slash the blade stopping straight out.

"............parry and counter." "Let their blade slide down the length of yours and when it clears bring it around into a slash."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza rolled her eyes when he called her “Morsel” once more. Seemed as if he wanted to hang on to that name, nothing much she could do about it.

When he mentioned that he’d only be able to teach her the rudimentary forms of Makashi she shrugged and began to wonder what she expected from the Sith. She figured that if he didn’t kill her, he’d just leave her broken body where it lay and be on his way. After all, she wouldn’t blame him if he did. They were supposed to be enemies, right?

“Makes sense. So do you get off by beating people up, then?”

Her eyes were drawn to his saber once more as he raised the blade, taking in his saber movements as well as the way his body moved, the path his feet took, etc.

“Hm.” She tilted her head to the side in thought, now a bit more curious. Though she understood what he was talking about, she’d seen forms like this performed before. Actually practicing them was something she’d needed to do.

Raising her lightsaber, she established a standard stance as much as her aching body would allow for. “Care to show me up close?”

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smirked at the getting off comment.

"No I have a Fiancee for getting off."

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Joza people are stubborn and stuck in their ways." "Especially when they believe or have been taught to believe that someone is there enemy just because they don't follow the same code." "You reacted aggressively at my very presence with no regard for thinking that I may actually be here for a reason other than killing." "Even when I responded flirtatiously to you."

He chuckled.

"So the only way to reach you was to give you exactly what you wanted....or thought you wanted." "Hence why I let you attack first."

He stepped closer to her so that he could give her a proper demonstration.

"Now that you are thinking instead of reacting we find ourselves in a position to exchange knowledge." "Now over hand strike at half speed when you are ready and I will show you again." "Then I will let you try it."


[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Both of Joza’s brows arched at the mention of [member="Vengeance"] having a fiancée. Somehow she didn’t believe him, but it didn’t really matter.

“And how did you expect me to react? Invite you to tea?” She spoke dryly, using her free hand to brush just below her nose. Her eyes twitched as the lightest touch brought some of the pain back to life, but the flow of blood had ceased and begun to dry. “From my own experience, you dark siders tend not to react well to Jedi. Especially when on a Jedi controlled planet for maker knows what reason.” She shook her head, a little exasperated. “Sith are also full of surprises it seems.”

“I still don’t understand why you wanted to reach me in the first place. Or maybe you just like causing trouble.” She shrugged, rolling her shoulders before solidifying her stance. She’d been warned about facing Sith, and about falling to the Dark Side but was only just becoming to understand it herself. She could feel it begin to cloud her mind when she went into rage mode and found it unpleasant.

She gave her saber a twirl, swinging the blue blade over her head and brought it down toward Vengeance in a simple strike. There was enough power behind it to be redirected with a proper parry, but her injuries had drained a good amount of her strength.

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smiled.

"Well it would have worked out better for you if you had." "I happen to like jedi." "You guys have a fascinating theory on Justice and the concept of right and wrong." "And my reason for being here I came here seeking help form Corvus Raaf in locating my missing Fiancee who also happens to be her sister."

He smirked at her causing trouble comment.

"I'm a Sith..........I love causing trouble." "Frankly your Zeltron and you would stick out in a crowd even if you didn't have fiery red hair.......plus I like a challenge."

When she swung her saber Vengeance took a step forward and to the side raising his own saber like he had shown her earlier meeting her blade at about the center of hers.

"Now it should be a fluid motion......meet about the center of your saber." "Too close to the hilt and you risk not being able to clear the strike in time." "To close to the end of the blade and you risk the force of the strike pushing your own blade into you."

Vengeance slowly brought his left leg up to his right before again stepping around her with his right. As he did he slowly slid his blade out from under hers until hit cleared. As soon as it did he brought it up his elbows coming up to just below his eye line before swing it around similar to a two handed base ball swing stopping a few inches from her neck. He held it there for a brief minute before pulling it back and moving back directly in front of her.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“Corvus?” A thin red brow raised at the mention of the Galactic Republic Jedi Master. Hadn’t she disappeared a while back? She’d had the opportunity to meet the woman once, but it was brief. It was strange to hear that [member="Vengeance"] was engaged to her sister and it made her wonder what sort of circumstances lead to that.

“Fine then. I’ll invite you to tea if you invite me to your wedding.” She teased back dryly, mildly amused. The throbbing of her head and the tightening of skin around her swollen eye reminded her of the situation at hand and erased all humor from her visage.

The comment about her appearance made her wonder. She wouldn’t lie, there was a certain part of her that liked attention. She was part Zeltron, after all. But sometimes it only seemed to get in the way. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she decided to focus on the task in front of her.

Her gaze flickered from their sabers to the way his body moved, trying to take it all in. He was surprisingly thorough in his explanation, a testament to his apparent skill in Makashi. Gripping onto her saber a little tighter, she felt the force behind his own blade as it took control of the clash and guided her own down and to the side, leaving her open to his counter in her current position.

She couldn’t help but tense up when his lightsaber came close to her neck, enough to cast a red glow on her skin. For a moment she felt as if he was going to behead her, but the death blow never came as he moved his saber away after holding it in position for a few moments. Even if it hadn’t hit her, she could feel the power behind his swing.

Nodding in understanding, she shifted her weight and brought her own saber up, slightly extending it in front of her. “Alright. I’m ready.”

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance sighed shaking his head.

"There isn't going to be a wedding.........she is missing and presumed dead." "I came here for Corvus' help only to find out she is missing too."

He nodded to [member="Joza Perl"] with a smile.

"Ok I will go half speed."

Just as if finished speaking he twirled his saber in his hand bringing it up over his head his free hand moving to join the other on the hilt before bring it down towards her left shoulder.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza mouthed an “oh” softly. Well, this was a little awkward. She didn’t know that he was looking for a possibly dead woman. Shaking her head gently, she returned her focus to the task at hand.

As always, she watched him with a hawk-like gaze. Not necessarily because she didn’t trust him—and she didn’t—but she wanted to be able to get this right. She’d seen and felt him perform the motions, so she would do her best to mimic them.

The Padawan took a step to the side, meeting his saber with her own in a mild clash. As instructed, she guided his blade down and to the side in a controlled motion while stepping toward his left side. Bringing her blade up quickly, she mimicked a horizontal slash at his neck, stopping before it would have hit him. Joza dropped her blade after a moment, rolling her shoulders to crack them. “Was that alright?”

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance paused for just a moment before he twirled his saber in his hand again bringing it over his head.

"Again............"

Just before he brought it down again in the same type of strike he had just down only this time a little bit faster. Doing it once was good but to get great at it took practice. So she would do it a second time and maybe a third time before moving on to something else.


[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Swallowing thickly, Joza’s eyes darkened a tad as she honed in on her opponent in front of her. He was moving faster now, but her guard was up and she was ready.

She met his blade in the middle with her own, redirecting it to the side in a swift parry. The movement felt easier now, more natural to her body. As she stepped to his side she kept her lightsaber low, arcing upwards suddenly making a path for his neck. As before, it stopped before it could come into contact with his flesh.

“You know, you’re not a terrible teacher.” She muttered, loud enough for him to hear. She held her saber at his neck for a few moments before bringing it away, still on guard.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smirked.

"Try not to fall in love little Morsel.........it will only go badly for you."

He winked at her before taking a step back and deactivating his own saber.

"Never be afraid to disengage instead of block. If you don't think you can track the attack, have the strength to block it, or just want to piss off your opponent."

He chuckled.

"On the flip side as you saw don't be afraid to jam an attack either." "You don't always need to be stronger or faster." "Some times all you need to be is smarter." "Then you can out maneuver your opponent."


[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza couldn’t help but roll her eyes in an exasperated motion at his comment. “But it’s so difficult not to with how charming you are.”

Her eyes drifted toward his saber as he deactivated it, but she made no move to turn her own off right now. Instead, she listened to him speak more about the ins and outs of dueling. Predictably, she’d always been able to perform better in sparring sessions than out in the wild, against actual opponents who wanted to defeat or destroy her. Her free hand idly brushed against the faint scar on her cheek she had received from her first battle against a Sith. She was absolutely petrified, fighting like a panicked animal to save her own skin. Thankfully she’d been able to loosen herself a bit more and focus in a fight, but not by much.

“How do you cope with the fact that you might die against an opponent?” The question was a bit sudden, and it seemed to come from nowhere. She eyed him carefully, wondering if he felt fear when faced with someone stronger than him and if he did, how he dealt with it.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smiled at her retort. It was the type of response he was looking for. He questions made him chuckle for a minute. Mostly it was the sudden outburst nature in which she posed it.

"What did your Masters teach you?" "How do Jedi cope with the idea of defeat?"

There was not a bit of sarcasm in his question. It seemed as if he genuinely wanted to know her point of view. He waited to hear her answer before he would provide his own answer.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

[member="Vengeance"]

Joza chewed at the inside of her cheek for a brief moment, trying to remember what she’d heard from the Jedi Knights and Masters in the Alliance.

“From what I can gather, defeat gives you reason to become stronger.” She hesitated for a moment, at this point not having received much one-on-one guidance, especially in battle. “I do not fear defeat as it stands. What I fear is death.” She shrugged, unsure of how else to phrase it. It was a primal, human fear.

“But I don’t want to fight fueled by fear for my life alone. I don’t know if there’s a way for me to be completely calm, though. I can’t imagine I’d have reason to.”

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smiled at [member="Joza Perl"] with a nod.

"There in lies the problem doesn't it." "Your Masters seem like all Jedi to either dance around or completely ignore such concepts." "They don't want you to think of such things." "For no other reason than the fear that in doing so will make you like me."

He chuckled.

"Now let me answer your question." "I don't fear death so there is no need to learn how to cope with it." "I go into every fight, every battle with one goal in mind." "To win at any cost." "It is the Sith way." "From the first day Sith are tempered and taught strength above all else." "To show fear, to show hesitation, to fail is met with extreme prejudice, and extreme violence."

Vengeance shrugged.

"By the end of that first year I had been beaten withing an inch of my life so many times I lost track." "And that was................."

He thought for a minute how long he had been living this life.

"..................fourteen years ago."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza watched [member="Vengeance"] as he spoke, taking in his words. She was unsurprised that the Sith used such a tactic, which would explain why she could feel hostility, arrogance and confidence radiating from them when engaged in combat. She briefly reminded herself of the Acolyte she had dueled with on Karfeddion, the other woman radiating fear and desperation. She’d heard of young Sith being killed by their own training, and Vengeance’s own experiences seemed to solidify that in her mind.

“So you block it out.” She idly cracked her neck, wincing as moving that way caused the soreness in her chest to flare for a few moments. “I’ve rarely seen a Sith who fears death. At least, not that I could tell.” It made sense that with how long he’d been doing this, he would have lost a person’s natural fear of danger.

“I don’t think that’s the path I’d want to take.” She shrugged, rolling her shoulders it an attempt to loosen her muscles. “You do have a point though. Maybe it would do me some good to figure out how to face it on my own. I don’t want to become completely numb to the idea of death, but it’s not good to let it distract me as much as it does.” It seemed as if she were speaking the last part to herself, eyes glazing over slightly in thought.

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance smiled.

"We rarely chose our own path." "Most of the time it is chosen for us." "Watching my father get murdered is what set me on mine."

He took a step forward and if permitted lightly put a hand on her shoulder.

"The idea is not to become numb to emotion Joza." "The idea is to use them to turn what could be a hindrance into the upper hand."

He smirked as he knew what he was about to say would be odd to her.

"I have always found extended periods of meditation to be useful especially in the minutes up to a battle to calm the nerves and clear the mind."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Sensing no hostility from him in the moment, Joza allowed his hand to be placed on her shoulder, thought she did tense at the movement. Glancing from his hand back to his face, she contemplated what he’d said for a moment. Squashing her emotion would have been easier she figured, instead of feeding off of it like a Sith. She couldn’t properly control them to take advantage of them, not at this point in time.

“You certainly are an odd Sith.” Both brows arched as she shrugged his hand from her shoulder. “If you understand all this, then why do you remain a servant of the Dark Side?” She wasn’t going to try and convince him of anything, but was actually fairly curious as to why he led his life the way he did.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

"Vengeance"

It was all he said for a few moments. In truth it was the answer to her question. He figured she may not understand what he meant.

"It is not just the name I go by Joza, it is my purpose." "This galaxy is not going to right the wrongs for you little Morsel." "There are no good guys, there are no bad guys." "All you have to do is pay attention to the News holovids and you will know it to be true."

He chuckled.

"Nobody is going to fight for you." "You are going to have to fight for yourself." "Take care of yourself kid."

He smiled and turned heading back towards the shuttle port. He was glad he had gotten the chance to meet the Zeltron girl and he really did wish the best for her. Even if they believed two entirely different things.



[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“…”

She didn’t entirely agree with him, but [member="Vengeance"] had given her food for thought. Different things lead people down similar paths, as she’d heard stories from some of the more experienced Jedi. There was a lot she didn’t understand about how the world worked, and she’d gotten several harsh doses of reality since leaving Zeltros. It didn’t feel like it to her, but she was learning.

For a moment she wondered what else Vengeance had experienced in his life to this point. Who and what had influenced him, besides the loss of his father. Certainly something like that could drive one to seek revenge. Vaguely she wondered what she would do if she lost a loved one to someone else, but brushed the thought from her mind for the time being.

“You too.” She found her voice a few moments after he began to depart. Her emerald gaze lingered on his retreating for a few moments before she turned her focus back towards the city and exhaled. Time to get some medical treatment.

[Exit]