Private Fish out of water

[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

There weren’t many places that could refresh a heart and body like the silver rest. After the invasion, there was a incredible need born within him to take some time away from the battlefield. Not just for his hand, which was practically brand new after a few bacta treatments, but for his mind as well. Violence was not something that Nautolans were immune too. Living in the deeps meant that they saw plenty of creatures with more teeth than scales chomp on less fortunate fish, but there was something about slicing a man in half with a blade that could put quite a damper on one’s mood and mind. Matvec unfortunately was beginning to feel the effects, and a time back at the rest would do him better.

But he also wasn’t one to sit back and meditate all day. If he was going to ground himself, so to speak, for a few days, might as well give back and be productive. Spending all day in the meditation chamber or library didn’t seem quite like that would be very helpful for the greater community, so the only two options that really seemed viable was to work in the comms center, or to take a step back and teach some padawan classes. And since dark rooms and hologram blue lights did a number on his skin….teaching it was.

The Nautolan wasn’t much of teacher. That to say, he hadn’t exactly ever taken the time to teach a youngling or padawan class while he was becoming a knight, instead leading an expedition or two into Kashyyyk’s forests. Pretty different than taking the time to teach a class. Signing up to teach a class that he felt confident he had enough knowledge did take a moment, but when the opening came for a new Shii Cho form teacher for a few weeks, there wasn’t a moment hesitation for him to pencil his name in.

Actually being here, now, with a group of young younglings and padawans gathering in front of him, made the teaching seem all the more real. Guess he really was about to do this. Dark eyes made a point to catch the gaze of each of the students, flashing them a grin wide enough to break any ice. It seemed as though they were all, at least most of them, were in pretty good spirits. And how could they not be? Outside on a bright and sunny Kashyyyk day instead of a cramped up classroom with a teacher who didn’t seem like another stuck up old master? A padawans dream, if you had to ask Matvec.

“Alrighty everyone,” He called out, motioning for the young jedi to gather forward. “I’ve not yet had the chance to meet most of you. Which, assuming how wonderful you all must be, would definitely be considered a crime in quite a few star systems.” That Nautolan grin never seemed to leave his face, despite the joke landing flat for a couple of the younglings. The laughs he did get was quite enough for him. “My name is Matvec Triddol. I’ll be stepping in to teach this class for a little bit. Let’s get started, shall we?”

 

[Andromeda Malvern]

L O C A T I O N | Silver Rest, Training Courtyard​

O BJ E C T I V E | Be Taught​

W E A R I N G | [X]​

T A G S | Matvec Triddol ​

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Silver rest was the furthest place from home Andromeda had ever expected to be.

Most of her life up to now had been spent staring at the shadows and outlines of the furniture in her room on The King’s Collar. If not there, then some backwater criminal planet where the streets and people reeked of death and poverty. Kashyyyk, on the other hand, was a stark contrast. Andromeda had never seen the silhouettes of so many trees, not that she had known what they were when she first arrived. She had needed to work up the courage to ask someone to describe them to her properly, but it had been worth the anxiety.

She could not exactly picture them in her mind's eye, but she could feel them. The rough brown, whatever that was, bark that stretched from root to tip. The rubbery leaves that hung low from drooping branches. The smell of the earth as the roots buried themselves into fresh soil. Everything was fresh, new, filled with a life Andromeda had not thought possible. Yes, this was very different from what she was used to, and that was just the planet.

Silver Rest was impressive in its own right. Andromeda practically had to break her neck to see the top of the shimmering building. It dominated the vast expanse that was Andromeda’s sky. There was very little she could do to ignore it, so she did not. She relished in it. In all the differences, even the frightening ones. After all, she was here for a reason. For a better life than the one, she had known.

The best part about it all was the food. More accustomed to bland, tasteless, and often rotting meals that came hand in hand with the life of a pirate, in the beginning, it had been far too rich. She had gorged herself so much the first night that she had been confined to her bed the next day, for fear of it all making a sudden and messy reappearance, but as time ticked on her stomach grew hardy. It was during one of these later meals that she caught wind of a class being held later that day. Shii Cho. She did not recognize the word, but the padawans speaking from across the mess hall sounded more than excited about it, and they had mentioned lightsabres.

Andromeda had never pictured herself the fighting sort, but life was different now. She no longer had her father or brother or a horde of pirates to protect her. For all intents and purposes, she was alone. What harm could a lesson or two in defense do? Even if she never picked up a lightsabre again after this class, she could not see any logical reason behind not attending. So, when her plate was clean and the bell signaling the start of class rang, Andromeda followed the shuffle of ten padawans as they made their way through the marbled halls.

Akin to everything else she did at Silver Rest, Andromeda stuck to the back of the class. Where the shadow mostly covered her shocking blonde hair, where she was faced with the backs of heads and not piercing gazes, which she could feel regardless of the mask and lack of sight. It was where she felt comfortable. Most of the other padawans chattered noisily to one another as they waited for the teacher to appear, and Andromeda was more than content to simply sit and listen, but it wasn’t long before the shadowy apparition of their tutor for the day slunk into view.

Despite his form being more of a blur than a solid outline, Andromeda could tell he was not human, but his voice sounded pleasant enough. Cheery, even. This prompted the young Diathim to coerce her lips into a shy smile. She did her best to direct at the man she now knew as Matvec, but the interaction was brief. For as soon as she was certain he had seen it, she cast her eyeless gaze back to the moss-covered courtyard floor.
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[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

Well it seemed as though everyone was at ease enough. Perfect for Matvec. Unhappy people led to training that was unhappy and not worth it. You couldn’t learn well if your mind was tied up in how stressed out you were. That was one of his goals today, to make sure that everyone here walked away feeling that they not only learned something with blade, but felt refreshed and happy that they took the time to join his class. Getting them to laugh and ease some of the original tightness that might’ve been there with a substitute teacher was only step one.

“Alright!” His voice proclaimed, clapping his hands together to regather the attention of the younglings. Couldn’t get too far off track, at least not in the beginning. “As much as I would enjoy standing here and getting to know you all, I remember myself as a youngling wanting to continue to make connections with my classmates and never feeling like I have the time. So instead, I’ll respect your time.” Holding up a finger, his tone changed for just a moment to emphasize his point and make sure those around him understood that he was serious. Plenty of teachers had told him the same thing when he was being trained. Unlike them, he intended to follow through with his words. “We’re going to put in work together. Hard, clean, quick work with the blade, and then we shall cool down with meditation. I’ll have you done before dinner is even being served, yet you’ll feel as though you put in a full two hour class in. Sounds good?”

The general agreement to his words was plenty enough for him to nod, taking a few steps back. With a raised voice, spoken aloud while unclipping the hilt of his blade from his belt. “Good! Then grab a blade and form two lines of five. Far enough apart that you won’t hit each other. That’s…that’s an important point I learned super early on too.” Laughing, a wave of his free plan brought the box full of training sabers into view and within reach of all the younglings. Taking a few steps back, he watched as the sabers were quickly picked and the students swiftly organized themselves into the two lines. Seems as though respect for their time was a great motivator. Who knew.

With a snap and a hiss, his blue blade was ignited and brought forward, straight up and down his body. “Students, ready position. Er..” Not knowing how in depth how these students had gotten in their studies, it would probably benefit everyone to spell it out. Realizing this, he visibly shook his head to regather himself, took a deep breath, then continued once again. “Blade ignited and straight up and down. This is the place we’ll come back to after each set. Think of it as your…starting spot.”

 

[Andromeda Malvern]

L O C A T I O N | Silver Rest, Training Courtyard​

WE A R I N G | [X]​

O B J E C T I V E | Try Not to Burn Anything​

T A G S | Matvec Triddol ​

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He had a decent sense of humour, Andromeda thought as Matvec broke out into his small introductory speech. The group of padawans seemed all too eager to agree to Matvec’s promise. Andromeda was the only one that did not. She did not really connect with her classmates, and she could hardly do any of the ordinary things people did to pass the time. Reading was impossible, which in turn made studying impossible, which in turn made it difficult when it came to practical lessons.

She would have much rather spent a full two hours going through his instructions slowly, perfecting them while she had the chance for some hands-on action, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.

Doing as she was told; Andromeda followed the throng of slightly younger padawans toward the training sabres lined up neatly against the back wall. By the time the rest had grabbed their preferred choice Andromeda was left with a rather dented and well-used training blade, but it was better than nothing. She ran her slender hand along the length of the blade, trying to adjust to the feeling of the lightweight metal between her fingertips. By the time she had convinced herself she was going to give it a damn good go, the other padawans had already formed their line.

Her hazy vision scanned the pairs rapidly. She counted four shadowy outlines and their partners. Just four. Andromeda’s face fell. Had the teacher miscounted? Or had one of the students managed to disappear in the time it had taken to collect their sabres and line up? The reason did not really matter, what did matter was the fact that Andromeda could feel a scarlet blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Unfortunately, the realisation that her embarrassment would hold up the rest of the class came far too late for the Diathim. When she finally noticed that everyone was waiting for her the blush had progressed to a mortifying shade of crimson. Perhaps she could turn and run. Would anyone notice? Andromeda chanced another gaze at the line-up and immediately felt her stomach drop. Every single pair of eyes was on her. With her masked gaze cast directly down at the floor, she shuffled quickly and quietly to the only available place in the line-up.

Opposite Matvec.

Andromeda would have flashed him an apologetic look, but there was no point. He likely would not have been able to tell what she was trying to attempt anyway, so instead, she simply ignited her blade.

The sensation was strange. She had half expected the weapon to get heavier with the blade ablaze, but no. It remained as light as a feather. Almost as though she had somehow managed to grip onto a cloud. She glanced up to catch a glimpse of the way everyone was holding their sabres. They were, of course, blinding lights in Andromeda’s mostly dark vision, but she could make out their shapes well enough to attempt to copy the form. It was exceedingly difficult. More difficult than it looked. Her fingers were slightly longer than most of the padawans, who clutched the hilts as though they had been born with them glued to their palms.

If she were not surrounded by a mass of her fellow students, this would have been the point where Andromeda let out a frustrated sigh. Since there was no chance of that happening, she simply adapted her own form of the “starting spot”, hoping that it was just similar enough for Matvec not to notice.​

 

[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

If there was one thing that Matvec hated more than classes that rambled on and on without end, taking up all of the time with nothing of value, it was classes with odd numbers of students. Someone was always bound to be left out. He had been in that position much too many times, so when he saw the Miraluka being the one left out, he made sure to leave enough space that she’d know to come stand next to him. Perhaps working with the teacher would be just as embarrassing as working by yourself, but he would at least attempt to make it nice for her.

Something he noticed immediately about the padawan was her seeming unease handling the hilt of the blade, prompting him to tilt his head and study her grip for a moment, then flashing her a grin. Looking around to the rest of the group, he held his blade at that same spot, tight and straight, straining his muscle in an exaggerated motion. The rest of the padawans also started to copy his movements, obviously just as uncomfortable as Andromeda. “I want you all to notice something,” he started, allowing his blade to fall by his side. Many of the students followed him, while others looked around at whether they should or not.

“Your starting spot should be your own. It should be up and down, but its where you’ll return to after making a move. Now I’m sure you’ve had other teachers who have drilled the same motion over and over again, making you stay at the same spot. I believe this has some merit, but…” Bringing his blade up to the ready position again, he repeated the motion of exaggerating his discomfort. “I also believe in allowing you all to find your comfortable position. As long as I decide that it doesn’t pose a tactical threat to you, then you will be allowed to use it in my class. Do we understand?” To bring his point back to the front of their minds, Matvec relaxed his arms to where he felt comfortable. It was important to him that the students understand as well.

Eventually he returned his gaze back to the Miraluka, flashing her a grin and a nod. Hopefully his take on the class would give her the confidence to really jump headfirst into the class and enjoy herself doing so. “So,” he called aloud, after allowing all of the students to change how they stood and held their blades. “Are we ready to begin?”

 

[Andromeda Malvern]

L O C A T I O N | Silver Rest, Training Courtyard​

O B J E C T I V E | Try Not to Burn Anything​

W E A R I N G | [X]​

T A G S | Matvec Triddol ​

Matvec’s words rang in Andromeda’s mind like a bell.

Since joining the line Andromeda had flat out refused to look at the other students, but she did not need to look at them to know what had happened the moment Matvec spoke. Every student shifted. Either their feet a further few inches apart, or their wrists slightly more twisted. Either way, everyone adjusted their starting position somewhat.

Andromeda’s shoulders visibly relaxed as she settled into her own. She felt more comfortable now she wasn’t the only one sporting some slightly off version of Matvec’s demonstration. It was so much easier like this. Andromeda found herself wondering where in the galaxy Matvec had been for all her other classes. The other teachers had an uncanny ability to make her feel like she could not quite accomplish something. Not that she blamed them for it. She still knew exceedingly little about the jedi, but she did know you had to be good to be one of them.

Andromeda was very, very far from good, but at least now there was one class where she felt comfortable in. One class she could walk out of with a slightly proud feeling afterward.

She relaxed her grip somewhat, letting her fingers melt around the metal instead of trying to force them to settle in the right places. That felt more natural, more like she had hold of something tangible. Matvec spoke again, and when the rest of the students pipped up with their agreeance, Andromeda only nodded. Though this time her nod seemed to have a firmer resolution about it. A determination that was not there before.​

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[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

With everyone agreeing that they were ready to begin, and that everyone seemed much, much more relaxed, Matvec gave a nod to the group and brought his blade back up into the ready position. It was time to get the basics done and down. “Wonderful! Then it is time for us to begin.” Giving his blade a quick spin, he turned his body to face Andromeda once again, flashing her with the smile he was swiftly becoming known for. “To begin-!” He called out, gathering the attention of the group once again. “We shall work on a set of blocks from our form one ready position, and why we do them the way we do. Because I don’t know about y’all,” another pause, this time to flash a grin toward the group that seemed just a touch wider. “But I really dislike being told a lesson without getting the reasoning why behind it.”

Facing Andromeda again, the Nautolan took a deep breath to settle himself into the thought process needed to teach this sort of thing. His right hand settled above his left hand on the hilt, flexing lightly to keep a tight but flexible grip on it. “These blocks will be against slashes from the shoulder downward. To begin, we start with a right slash down toward my left hip.” Turning to the Miraluka, Matvec gave her a ‘come on’ motion, allowing her to do the attack he had laid out. When she did so, he turned the blade counter clockwise, meeting Andromeda’s in a flash of sparks for just a moment. With a nod, they disengaged, and he turned slightly to address the group.

“Facing that type of slash, it is more efficient to turn you blade to block from the same shoulder your opponent attacked from. As you saw, my opponent attacked from the rightside downward. I met her with a block that originated from the right side. But why is it more efficient? Well, if we did the opposite way…” Turning back to his opponent once again, he nodded toward her to begin once again. This time, when she attacked, he rotated his blade clockwise, having to bring the blade all the way around to meet Andomeda’s. While it was exaggerated slightly, it was obvious he had to make much more of a effort to do so.

Stepping back, the Miraluka earned herself a thumbs up and a grin, Matvec then turning to the group to explain once more. “As you can see, it not only took me more effort, but it twisted me up in a way that would make my next move hard to pull off. This works the exact same way when being attacked from the left side. Originate your block from the left.” Stepping back into position with Andromeda, his voice called out a final time to set the starting gun off for the class. “With your partner, get ten blocks in on either side. Once you do that, switch and allow your partner to do the same. This shouldn’t take more than ten minutes for us to knock out, so lets hop to it!” Grinning wide, matvec watched for a few moments as the class got started with their exercise. His eyes soon found Andromeda again though, giving her a little shrug as he did so.

“If you’re working with me, and were brave enough to do so, I believe you should be privileged enough to get more work in. Twenty blocks on either side. Lets do it!” There was barely a moments word before Matvec began the exercise, swinging his blade down from his right side toward Andromeda.

 

[Andromeda Malvern]

L O C A T I O N | Silver Rest, Training Courtyard​

O B J E C T I V E | Go For It​

W E A R I N G | [X]​

T A G S | Matvec Triddol ​

Matvec seemed to be the nicest tutor Andromeda had come across in her short time at Silver Rest. He had an easy attitude about him. An “I don’t care all too much” attitude. Andromeda almost envied it. His confident tone, his simple humour, that charming smile. Even the way he moved seemed entirely effortless to him, something Andromeda sorely wished she could replicate.

It was not long after Matvec’s approval of the padawan’s starting stances that the real lesson began. Andromeda offered him a coy smile in return for his.

She listened intently. Andromeda had zero experience with a blade. In fact, this lesson was the first time she had ever truly gotten to see one, never mind hold one. Alongside her lack of sight, it was imperative that she paid attention. To every fluctuation in Matvec’s tone, to every shuffle his feet made, to the sound of his blade inching through the air. She heard it all. Her intense concentration was just one of the many reasons she missed Matvec’s first encouragement to attack him. It took another eager expression from the Nautolan to bring her focus back to where it needed to be.

A rush of adrenaline surged through her system.

Hit him?

She was not sure, and the hesitation was present in the way she swung the blade toward him slowly. A soft electric hum vibrated the air around her as the blade swung toward Matvec. As it drew nearer, Andromeda realised she was a fool to be concerned. The most danger she could possibly do with a blade-like this was to herself, and even then. It would not be a gaping wound or anything that required immediate medical attention. A harsh burn at the most. Matvec was far too good to allow that to happen.

He met her blade with ease, and though the attack had been slow, sparks flew from their centre of the connection. Bright, flashing sparks that even Andromeda could see against the blank background of Matvec’s outline. He nodded, and she let her blade fall. As expected, he slipped easily into conversation. The second time he asked her to attack him went a lot smoother than the first. Andromeda felt a little more confident, the blade came at a faster speed, and the angle had been planned carefully.

She took a brief moment to admire the way he spun to meet her blade. Even despite his protests that meeting an attack from the opposite side of the body was not a smart idea. Matvec somehow made it look easy. The way his movements made him look like a dancer skating across a frozen sea. The way every step seemed to flow into the other.

Her enamoured smile quickly faded into a scarlet blush when she realised Matvec’s attention was on her again. Only to momentarily flash her a thumbs up, but the action alone was enough. She cast her gaze down as he continued to speak, focusing instead on the outline of his shoes. When he assigned a task, Andromeda found herself wondering how she was going to complete it without a partner. Surely Matvec would want to watch the rest of the padawans as they attacked and blocked respectively?

How wrong she was.

The young Diathim could not help but titter at his comment, after which she found words forming on her lips. “I wouldn’t say I was brave.” She flashed another shy smile at him. “Or that I picked to be here.” Matvec would understand what she meant by that. Not many students actively picked to work with their tutor during group sessions. It was often more embarrassing than it was beneficial. Surely he had been in the same situation when he was in training.

Ten more than everyone else. Was it fair? Not in the slightest. It was not Andromeda’s fault that the class was short of one student. Nor was it her fault that everyone else partnered up before she got a chance to have her say. It was not fair in any sense of the word, but life was not fair. Andromeda’s life had not been fair. She had faced far more uncomfortable situations then ten extra reps. This was nothing.

So she steadied herself, drew her foot back to spread the weight of her body, and tightened her grip on the hilt of the blade. Just in time to watch Matvec’s blade slice through the air as though it were melted butter. Andromeda responded with a clumsy upswing to meet his blade from the right side of her body, just as he had told them to do. The sound the blades made as they met in the centre was exhilarating. So much so that Andromeda did not much mind pulling back to try again. Only this time, as her blade swung through the air, it was clear she was trying with a little more vigour.​

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[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

Oh, how the young ones did not understand the value of extra repetitions. And in honestly, neither did he at that age. But as he continued to slash down repeatedly at the Miraluka, working her through the extra work that they had agreed upon, his mind began to wander slightly back to when he was in her position. Not so far as to lose focus on the drill, but enough that he was cognizant of the memory that began to play.

He thought back to a class much like this one, held instead at the monastery he grew up at during much of his childhood years back on his homeworld. The situation played much like Andromedas did. Matvec, being one of the last to arrive for the class was stuck training with the teacher. And like the Miraluka, he was also challenged to get double the work in that all his other classmates were. Matvec, being the immature young one, decided that this meant that he could go half speed throughout the whole class, and by the end, he had barely broken a sweat. The teacher, sensing a lesson could be learned, allowed him to do so, but pulled the Nautolan aside at the end of the class.

“Matvec, why do you think I had you put in more work than the other students?” Her voice was calm, which only heightened the fact that he knew he was in trouble. He could remember how happy he was to see that the other students and his friends had swum out of earshot, so however was about to be chewed out would not be heard.

Shyly, Matvec being far from the much more confident version of himself that he was now, he answered, unable to look up to meet the teacher. “Because I was late…and I was punished for doing so. I apologize teacher...” What happened next was not something he was expecting whatsoever. Instead of the chewing out that he expected to come, a warm hand found itself placed upon his shoulder, prompting him to look up at the teacher.

Much like him now, there was a very signature grin on her face. “No..it’s because I want you to learn that work is what you make of it. You took to the task looking at it as an obstacle. Because of that, you cannot say you got any better than your fellow students who did half amount of work you did. Instead, you must learn to look at any drill, any activity, as an opportunity to learn. You could’ve gotten twice as better as your fellow students today, but you didn’t. We cannot get that time back. Remember that, and this lesson, so that you never leave a day with regrets again.” It was not what he had been expecting at all. The weight of the words practically kept him in place, at least until he recognized that the teacher was beginning to swim away. Matvec, unable to find his voice beyond what was a tiny whisper, spoke to her leaving self.

“It will never happen again…Master Linge.”

A final strike to Andromeda’s side brought him back to the present. Despite the fact that had done double the amount of repetitions, the others were still finishing up. As he looked around, he found himself smiling lightly to himself. The defense by the padawans was good, as expected, because that is what they were focusing on. The strikes themselves, however, were either slow, inaccurate, or a combination of both. Unsatisfactory. But..not unexpected. Maybe Master Linge would help students once again.

“Students-!” He called out, gathering the attention of the group once again. They paused where they were, and attempted to manuever his voice into the same teaching tone as his teacher had all those years ago. “What kind of drill are we doing here?” There was a varied amount of mumblings and confused answers, until one student, a human, spoke up and answered him that they were completing a defensive drill. With a grin, Matvec nodded, then pressed on with his point. “That is correct. But is also an offensive drill. We are working on defending a certain attack, yes? That lends to mind that we are also attacking a certain defense.”

Smiling, he held up his blade, tilting his head to look around one side and then back to the other. “Every drill is an opportunity to get better. In some obvious ways, like what you are told to do, and some less obvious ways. Take every chance, every moment, every day, as a chance to get better. Instead of taking time off, approach your partner with swift, hard strikes, and make yourself better, and in turn, him as well, since he will see more realistic attacks. Opportunity. It is up to you to seize.” Lowering his blade, he stepped back into position across from Andromeda, calling out to the class a final time. “Same drill, take my words to your mind. It’ll be the last speech I give today, I promise.”

Dark eyes settled upon the Miraluka, breathing out for a moment, then raising his blade to attack her once more. “Let us increase our skill today. Begin.”

 

[Andromeda Malvern]

L O C A T I O N | Silver Rest, Training Courtyard​

O B J E C T I V E | Try Harder​

W E A R I N G | [X] ​

T A G S | Matvec Triddol ​

Today was the first day that Andromeda realised that her mask could grow incredibly hot. In her earlier years, before the Silver Rest, Andromeda had never done a hard day’s work in her life. Not through lack of trying. Her father and brother had always been protective of her, for reasons entirely unknown to Andromeda. She had never questioned it openly, but there were long nights on her bunk aboard The King’s Collar where she had wondered.

Perhaps she had been foolish to wonder, because as her repetitions came to a stop, Andromeda became uncomfortably aware of just how uncomfortable she was. The muscles in her arms screamed at her every time she moved. Her legs felt a little like jelly from having to move back to the starting position each time she came to block or attack Matvec’s blade. She must have looked beyond foolish. All the other padawans seemed to be doing fine. Fortunately for her, they were doing just fine slowly.

By the time she had Matvec came to a stop, the other padawans were only halfway through. It gave Andromeda a not so well-deserved chance to catch her breath. Which she struggled to do so silently to prevent the others, or worse Matvec, from hearing her exhaustion.

When the other students wrapped up Matvec spoke again. There was not a single thing he had said thus far that did not make sense to Andromeda. The sentiment was that, if you were defending an attack, there was a point where you would have to attack yourself. It was strange that she had not come up with the thought herself, but there it was. The motivational speech that followed hit close to home for Andromeda. Opportunity had been something she sorely lacked in her life.

Now, faced with the same opportunity she so craved back at home; she was shying away? For what? Sore muscles? Aching legs? A distaste for combat? They were all petty excuses. Excuse that the old Andromeda, the one trapped in that rusted bucket of bolts, would have happily snatched with both hands. The remainder of what she had once been, and what she had once strived for, was a huge realisation to Andromeda. She could be the person she had dreamed of becoming. She could put to good use the quiet determination she had been building up over the years. Only, it did not need to be quiet anymore.

When Matvec instructed the padawans to begin, Andromeda did so with much more vigour. The screaming muscles that protested with every move were cast aside. With the promise that they would grow stronger the more they accomplished this, Andromeda almost imagined the pain melting away entirely. Her blows were surer of themselves. Her aim was still off, but it was true to where she placed it. She even took the risk of attacking again before she thought Matvec was completely ready.

It was a foolish notion that she could cause any damage to him anyway. Along with the realisation of her confidence, Andromeda had noted that Matvec was most assuredly taking it easy on Andromeda. Now she was aware of herself and determined to test her abilities, she didn’t want him to hold back.​

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[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

With the rest of the padawans now fully invigorated and ready to go, Matvec’s attention then began to shift onto the youngling in front of him. Andromeda had seemingly took on what his speech had entailed with as much vigor as anyone, swinging her blade to meet his attacks with a swiftness that was not there before, and her following attacks came with a bite that he was honestly not expecting.

She was not trained, or at least, had not been training very long from what he could tell. Her strikes were loose, inaccurate, and the blocks didn’t have the backing that was needed to truly keep one from pressing through it to slice into her arms. The Miraluka was a piece of work, one that would need a lot of shaping and time to be made into something truly special. And maybe there would be some that would give up on her because of that.

But as they continued to swing swiftly, hard at each other, Matvec would only begin to find himself smiling more and more. Despite all of that, there was something buried within herself that could be seen even by him. She had a drive, one that seemingly awakened with the opportunity to put in work to better herself. There would be masters who would tell her to tone it down, that chasing such a feeling would be a step toward the dark side. A quest for more power, so to speak. Matvec believed differently. There was a difference in his mind between lusting for power and wishing to sharpen your own skills to better yourself.

Maybe she just needed someone to help point her in the right direction. And as her teacher, in this moment, he wanted to make sure that this class would be a step on the path toward a sharpened mind, body, and connection to the force.

Their sparring quickly came to and end, and Matvec, a grin on his face and a light sheen of sweat on his brow looked around to look at the rest of the class, who was in a similar state of sweat and high spirits. It was good to see, but now it was time to swiftly move on. “Very good, but you probably know, sparring is an act of one move, then a counter. Can you attack quicker, and can you counter more accurately than your opponent. Each move you learn today will feature both, I’ll be sure of that.”

His eyes turned back to Andromeda, giving her a nod, then motioning her to get back in the blocking position they had attempted earlier. While other students were getting a slight break, it seemed like she would be the example once again. “For our first counter,” Matvec swung his blade in the same attack that they had been practicing and continued. “We will swiftly change our blocks to block an attack from the other side.” The moment his words fell from his mouth, the Nautolan swung his blade to attack the Miraluka’s other side, knowing that she would meet it with a corresponding block. And when she did, he would hold the attack for just a moment with a smile before stepping back.

“As the attacker, your focus should be on how quickly you can change your elbows to swing your attack, and as the defender, moving your wrists in a manor that gets your blade to the other side as quickly as possible. Begin!” The padawans launched right into their attacks which he watched, nodding as he did so for just a moment. His gaze came back to Andromeda, bringing his blade up to attack once again. “Are you ready to begin? Or do you need a moment to recover?”

 

[Andromeda Malvern]

L O C A T I O N | Silver Rest, Training Courtyard​

O B J E C T I V E | Attack ​

W E A R I N G | [X] ​

T A G S | Matvec Triddol ​

Matvec was getting a little more complicated, and Andromeda was here for it. After doing an extra twenty reps more than everyone else, she found what Matvec was asking was coming rather naturally anyway. It was common sense that drove her blade upward sometimes, instead of down, or left to right instead of right to left. Even though she knew Matvec posed her no threat, it was almost as though her body wanted to switch from defence to attack, as if it knew her mind was wrong.

As the breath finally began to fill her lungs properly again, Andromeda stood herself a little straighter. “I’m ready.” She replied in response to Matvec’s question. She knew she was not, not quite yet, but she didn’t want everyone else to think Matvec was taking it easy on her. He was not, of course, largely in thanks to the extra reps she had completed, but still. Children could be cruel, subtly and obviously. Andromeda had already experienced the latter kind, and she did not fancy tumbling with the first kind.

She nodded again, as if for her own benefit as opposed to Matvec’s. “I’m ready.”

Bringing her training saber up Andromeda shuffled her feet back into the starting position Matvec had approved earlier. She waited for his blade to come down on her, which it did almost as soon as she was comfortable. That part was easy. Andromeda’s blade swung up to meet it, while it still was not perfect, she was certainly improving.

What happened next was somewhat of a surprise to the diathim, and likely to Matvec as well. It was almost as though her body knew what came next. Like it had always know, and it had only taken someone saying so to bring it forth. It twisted gracefully, as only an angel could manage. Her wrist moved easily into a place where her saber could exact an equal blow back to Matvec. Before she even realised what was fully happening, she came in for a clean attack toward Matvec’s torso.​

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[Matvec Triddol]

THE FORCE IS WITH ME​

Location: Silver Rest – Courtyard training area
Objective: Teach
Equipment: Lightsaber, Robes
Tags: | Andromeda Malvern |

The moment that the pair of words fell from Andromeda’s lips, the pair began to go at each other once again. If a passerby were the glance on the class, they would see a group of younglings working through their strikes, as if they were thinking about each and every movement that they were making. In contrast, there would be a pair at the front of the class, a Miraluka and a Nautolan, swinging away at each other as if they were a pair dancing with their deadly blades. Each movement was mirrored by the other, swings and ebbs creating a brilliant movement of light.

Matvec even began to allow himself be lost in the dance. His mind no longer wandered to the class and how they might be doing. Focusing now on the attacks and blocks on his partner completely, his grin could be seen becoming a much more focused grimace. That blue blade swung harder, grew crisper on it’s blocks, and as he continued to be lost in the wonderful dance, he also began to much more enjoy the little dual, if a single move back and forth could be called as such, quite a lot.

And it was quite lucky that his focus had began to come down on Andromeda, because when the blind woman rotated her wrist just right, he found himself having to pivot away from a perfectly placed strike that just managed to nick against his robes. The strike elected a sigh of relief from the Nautolan, his eyes focusing on Andromeda with a wide grin coming to his face. “Oh, I knew I liked you.” There was no rebuke, no glare, no anger. Just an immediate congratulations for thinking outside of the box.

Taking this as a moment to look toward the class once more, raising his voice to gain their attention even as some groups were finishing up. “Well done, now let us move onto the next set of moves..” And move on they did. This process repeated multiple times throughout the rest of the hour, bouncing between the attacks and their counters.

And by the end, even Matvec found himself sweating from the workout that he had put the class through, and, in turn, Andromeda had put him through. The rest of the class seemed just as exhausted, and he was happy to release them to go meditate or move onto a new class, whatever they might please. The red alien did, however, keep the young Miraluka behind to speak to her.

“How’d you like the class? Please, spare me any…extra kindness you might give another master. This was my first time teaching one of these things, after all.” Giving a little bit of laugh, the man rubbed the back of his neck, eyeing the youngling with a playful glint in his eye.