Further than the Physical, First Steps into the Force (Open to a Teacher)

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]​

Teaching him to react naturally, she surprised him, he enjoyed this give and take, to handle what came at him and learn from it. It was obvious in the body language, and through the force as he acted.

Natural for someone to get out of the way from the glass, but there was a deeper nature inherent in what was in Kei's chest. Standing firm, ready, through the crystal's shards, a matrix of images and reflections, one common one came up, a Force Shield burst into being. Another technique once common place from one Raien Keth, now it was a distant memory. It crackled lightly, a bubble of translucent null force air between her and him, kinetically the stone pierced it easily and without effort, but the force behind it didn't, making stepping from that stone shattered by the force all the easier. The shield didn't want to hold, it was flickering, barely able to repeat what he knew should be possible, what this crystal inside his chest told him was possible. Shards of a past rebuilt here.

Stepping forward, a strain clearly on his face, Kei nodded, holding that shimmering translucent shield in place, and standing within it, a definite determination to hold it there no matter what. A deflection for force energies, but not physical objects, though some might have used it as such long ago, the images in the crystal never did. Maybe one day when he was much more powerful, or Kiskla focused him, as she seemed to have a way of doing.

Kei closed his eyes, sweating, the shimmering bubble still wasn't whole. A Epicanthx's natural desire to fight it as he was, to keep it in place, and control its outcome. Single minded that he had to fight it, not just go with it, the force shield faded to naught ahead of Kei, and the padawan slumped to one knee, breathing heavily.

"What the frell was that." Not so much a question, just a statement. He raised back up, obviously sweating, chest rising and falling again to take in air. "Master." Just one nod, Kei linked his wrists behind his back and stood ready once more, always ready for the next round.

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay. Playing a reduced version until he makes knight or master etc.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"You tell me." Kiskla replied smugly. Her action had revealed a lot more than his natural ability, it had revealed his nature between flight or fight. He didn't react aggressively, even after defending; a remarkable trait of control that Jedi so admired. He fought when demanded, and then returned back to his respect when no longer under fire.

Inspirational, really.

"Impressive Force manipulation." Kiskla complimented, crossing the distance between them to observe him closer. She had noticed the brilliance beneath his shirt at his exertion and it sparked her curiosity.

"What is that?" The young master inquired before signalling for @[member="Kei Amadis"] to follow her back inside. Many hours had passed since their first introduction and she was pleased at his progress. There was something rewarding about his growth, and Kiskla was beginning to like this Master thing. So much so, that she had a proposition. It was curious to her, that at his age he was still keen to learn. She had been assigned to her Master from the temple but she assumed now considering his circumstances that things would be different. She waited to hear his explanation while they walked toward a high-ceilinged area of the dojo. Along the walls lined armour of Jedi in the past, each lit to accent their interesting designs and intricate weavings.

"I want you to take a look at the armour." Kiskla commented, pointing to the suspended battle pieces lining the walls. "Observe them, and see if you can feel them in the way you felt the stone earlier. Look at the way their composed, and relate it to the shield you made earlier today." Kiskla adjusted the brace on her left wrist as she spoke, giving her skin more room to breathe. Darkness was beginning to fall outside, and Kiskla had agreed to continue teaching him, but she was afraid too much in one day would lead to forgetfulness. "And I mean really look at it. If you're here at six in the morning tomorrow, I'll know I can continue training you." He would make a most valuable Jedi Knight indeed. With that remark, Kiskla turned on her heels to leave Kei to his observations. A technique she had found useful in her Padawan days, considering she was a visual learner.

Spoiler

Feel free to skip to the next morning!

 

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]​

You tell me.

With just a grinning expression, Kei had no answer for her yet, maybe it didn't need an answer. His heart rate settled down as he got some breath back through the lungs, and the body, thinking on it. Accompanying Kiskla at her side while he did so.

"That's the last memory I have of the old spacer, Dad." It was a straight but strange answer, especially considering the dogtags which were pressed right against it. "A crystal. They can't get it out yet, the old crew's trying." Fyor specifically, Kei's old engineer working with the temple's healers. There was a lot more to this, much of it was over Kei's head, fragments of personality, and old crystal cult hunting him. "I've seen the medical records but it's all like trying to read Rodian to me. Someone really wants it back though." He shook his head happily, scratching the stubble against his cheek.

Kei had no idea that all people didn't see the force this way, through shards in his chest, the cracks in the crystal and the personality being rebuilt, rebuilt as he lived his life. "I get images from it, and connections, when you see how something should be." Like it was fixing itself, the cracks in the shard knitting together.

Stopping as she showed him the armor, the strength in its construction, how it could save your life just as well as a blaster. Holding it in one hand Kei gave it a knock, nodding to Kiskla. She might not know it but she was reading him more and more, now he had a tactile thing to hold in his hands, as well as the visual cue he learned from best.

"I'll be here." He turned back to the armor, a sense of pride that she'd taken him on. "I won't let you down Master." He said sincerely, meaning from now on what he did would reflect on her, he knew and respected that as a soldier, he'd do right by her. Studying each piece in detail, what a shield was and should be to a man, to rely on it but only in as far as he must. Kei was there for the whole night, and he didn't feel even the slightest bit tired come the morning, doing exactly what she instructed him to do.

Probably the second best night of his life, because he'd found a home, it felt like it.

Spoiler

Want to fade to black here, continue, or have another one? Was an excellent thread, thank you!

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Sleep came easily that night. It wasn't because the guest mattresses were particularly plush, but because she felt serene. Kiskla was used to helping people, but give a man a fish and he'll be fed for an hour. Teach a man to fish, and he'll feed himself forever. Kiskla was teaching someone how to fish, and it felt great.

When she woke, there was a bite of anxiousness to her steps. @[member="Kei Amadis"] had verbally assured her that he would be there this morning, but he could easily change his mind. Before she went to meet him, however, she had to snap herself to attention; otherwise she'd be haunted by a sleepy haze all day.
The pounding of her feet against the trails outside was part of her routine. Above her, the moon was battling with the sun to conquer the sky, and both were providing rays of light that caught her bouncing ponytail as she ran. While she ran, she considered what to teach Kei. He would finish his training for defence, and then she'd teach him some more offensive maneuvers. She'd get him to apply his learning in a spar, yes, that's what Antares often did. Applied learning was easier to remember.


After her run and shower, Kiskla dressed in fatigues to meet her Padawan in the armoury room. A relieved smile itched it's way across her features when she saw him, still thoughtfully hunched over some of the armour. What he had said yesterday, about his crystal, she had briefly looked into it on her personal datapad but it had turned out to be beyond her.


"Do you feel tired?" Kiskla inquired, breaking the silence. He didn't look like he'd gotten any sleep, and she genuinely wondered if he'd used the Force to sustain him through the night.

 

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]​

Not naive enough to think she meant work all night when she said it, but he wanted to make that gesture that he would work all night if asked, "I caught some shuteye but stayed here, as I promised." Nodding to a blanket on the floor nearby that was tucked out of sight, only a few hours but it had been enough. He was running on adrenaline, his endurance and a strength of will to always get back up. "When you tell me to do something, I'll do it." There was a serious respectful tone to his voice. That was why he'd stayed here, to show her that. Kei wasn't a complicated man, despite the fact life sometimes made things complicated.

Rolling his neck around again to get rid of the tension, "I'm good, the crew and I, we slept in worse," Kei grinned, wasn't that the truth. "We had two weeks when the statement's air conditioning blocked, straight out of space dock. Living in a tin can with no air flow and breathers for two weeks, not a pretty smell." The full grin was still there, showing a bit more stubble than the night before, he probably needed a shave.

That wasn't the whole story to his endurance, "I've always found it easy to keep going. Especially since, this." Kei tapped a hand flat against his chest. He stretched his arms up, limbering up, getting the wrists and the shoulders warmed back up. "Master, do you have someone who trains you?" It was a question on his mind, if the Master's here trained each other or how that worked.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

@[member="Kei Amadis"] had been a soldier before this, and yet he had the humility to subject himself to the lowest of Jedi ranks. That kind of humility was outstanding, and something Kiskla herself could learn from. Especially when he admitted that he was basically her puppet for instruction, and whatever command she bade he would dutifully obey.
Good thing she wasn't corrupt.

If he was going to respect her to that degree, she could impart some respect herself and answer his question honestly, something she usually didn't do. "Not in the sense that I'm going to train you, no. I used to though." She smiled softly at the memories of her training on Naboo "When I was a Padawan, I had a single master named Antares Marclonus. We separated before I was Knighted, and I was picked up by a second master, Destota Valentine. But now, if I have questions, or need help, I look for someone who has answers. Anybody, really. And if nobody knows, I tough it out and teach myself." Or, she somehow sometimes stumbled into the training of others and happened to learn Electric Judgment, just by chance. A happy coincidence.

"But you don't have to do that. I'd like to continue from yesterday, with the aid of the knowledge you gained overnight. How confident are you feeling about that. Think you can handle more than stones and dirt debris, or would you like to start from the ground" she smirked at her literal pun "and go up. We have all day and I'm all yours."

 

[Kei Amadis]

Spoiler

Might as well keep this going till the end as it's a great thread.

Tough it out herself, "I respect that." Kei did, probably more than both knew at this minute, but would eventually come to understand in time with where their lives would take them, "Life makes us what we are, in the force, it's the best teacher." He nodded, straightening himself up ready again, only now he'd begun to realise it was the force behind it that helped life have that lasting impact on more than just the individual.

All day, "glad I got that shuteye", Kei grinned in return. "I handle anything you can throw at me," he smiled, "what have you got?" Kei was joking with her, a very casual tone to his voice. Getting limber again now, he shook the body, just literally shaking the tension out of the muscles, one of the best ways to limber up he knew.

Then it stopped of course, the lighthearted attitude, placing his hands behind his back respectful of her as a Master, as well as more a growing friend now. "Master." He was hoping she'd push him a bit further out of his comfort zone, which would take a bit actually, maybe humble him in the process. Hoping for pushing himself, and a good work out. Kei was thankful she'd felt she could open up to him, and share a bit of her life, it made this easier having that comfort level. @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"Life makes us what we are, in the force, it's the best teacher."
"Is it? I find that offensive. I think I'm doing pretty well." She was joking completely, and the nuance of the room lifted at her stab at humour. His implication that he could handle whatever she could throw at him was, in a word, cute. There were Sith Knights and even the odd Master that couldn't handle what she threw at them; that was the point. If a Padawan, admirable and strong as he was, could handle what she hurled at him, then she was in trouble.

So she dismissed his commentary without a verbal reply, but instead a nod. He too, was joking.

"Come on, let's go find some boulders." Her eyes ignited with an intriguing fire, making that cerulean almost glow. "I hope your boots are good for hiking."

Like yesterday, Kiskla turned hotly on her heels with the assumption that @[member="Kei Amadis"] would follow.
This was a risky maneuver, but they were going to challenge Tython's mountainscape. In battle, Kei would be weary and would still need to defend.

What's a little rockslide here and there?

Many Hours Later
Beyond Edge Forest​

​

Even on her lips, there was a faint breath of a pant. Kiskla was in top physical condition, but trekking through the forests to reach the base of the mountain in the daytime, despite the temperate climate was toilsome on the body. Then, they'd begun their climb. Kiskla could feel Kei using the Force at times to fuel his muscles, as he had in the gym yesterday. She wondered if it was an unconscious regeneration, or he was aware of it now.

"How you holding up?" Kiskla asked, pausing on a rocky ledge and twisting to regard her Padawan, of which she was growing fond of. It took a lot to earn an appreciation from this particular Jedi Master, and Kei's endurance and willingness was beginning to wear on her compassionate side.