Hard Lessons (Darth Ferus)

[Kitty]

Sure Shien wasn't meant for one on one duels but it specialized in defense while maintaining opportunity for a counter. It didn't matter where her lightsaber was pushed out of the way. A flick of the wrist was all it took to bring it back around in an instant. While lacking power and not very effective for lightsaber dueling, verses everything else it was most deadly.

After her saber had been pushed out of the way her master threw a punch aimed at her cheek. Her natural reflexes and instincts kicked in. Due to her heritage her reflexes and speed tended to be far better than everyone else's. Kitty ducked to avoid the punch and simultaneously flicked her wrist to bring the lightsaber around to cut off the middle part of her masters forearm.
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

If Ferus hadn't been a master of the sword as he was, the shock of [member="Kitty"] 's reaction would of ended with him missing an arm. Again. But then again, it wouldn't have mattered. The arm he punched with, his mechanical limb, had a layer of cortosis ore right underneath the durasteel plating. And with this, Kitty 's saber would bite into his arm and eventually hit the ore to suddenly deactivate it.

Should this happen, Ferus wouldn't be able to speak, rather staring dumbly at his extended arm. She had surprised him, so much so that he couldn't exactly react.

"... Very good."

 

[Kitty]

Kitty's saber cut into the durasteel of her master's arm and then suddenly shorted out. His arm continued its trajectory and sailed over the top of Kitty's head. Kitty was equally shocked at her own reaction and even more so that her saber had shorted out and his arm was still in tact. She could only stare at her master dumbfounded as he complimented her. "I didn't mean to do that."
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"In sword play there is what is done, and what isn't." Ferus rather slowly pulled back his arm, still surprised by [member="Kitty"] 's actions. They were, in his opinion, good. Exactly what he had hoped would happen. As such, he would nod slowly. "Shien, as you said, isn't made for bladed combat. Come, we'll get you proper foes for the training, alright?"

 

[Kitty]

Kitty was rather confused by her masters response. She didn't really understand what he was trying to say. She was however very happy when he announced they would be moving on to something more appropriate for Shien. Which made her wonder if he had a reason behind having her attack him. She certainly was startled by her own reaction, maybe that had something to with it. "Alright" Kitty said following her master.
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Shien is about blocking and redirecting blaster fire towards an enemy. Hit the bolt back so to speak." The pair would enter a room that was empty with four walls and a ceiling. Odd domes lined the walls, and on closer inspection [member="Kitty"] would find a barrel of a blaster within each. Unknown to her, they were just stun rounds, but as the Zabrak spoke, he wanted to put in the fear of death.

"You will have one blast at a time, all from the same wall. They won't be from the same turret, and they will fire at random spots of your body. Goal is simple, knock the shots back at the turrets. When they get hit, they shut off. Think of this as.. Easy mode." Blue eyes turned to the girl for a moment before he nodded his head towards the far wall.

 

[Kitty]

[member="Darth Ferus"] brought Kitty to a strange room which she could only guess was a room meant for being shot at. Her master went on to explain what she was to do and something about the way he spoke made her think that these were actual real deadly shots. What was even more worrying is apparently this was easy mode. Then again she knew she could deflect the shots just fine.

Kitty's master nodded towards a wall and Kitty walked over to it. After she got there the projectiles started firing her way right away. Kitty deflected each and everyone with ease but she was having a very difficult time reflecting the shots back at the point of origin. It went on for awhile and she still couldn't seem to accomplish her goal of deflecting it back at just one. She got lucky a couple times though and the shot ended up hitting a different turret thingy that she hadn't intended to hit.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"It's difficult to figure out how to force a blast to go where you want, but when you do, it'll come a lot easier. Focus for now on getting the shots on the center of your blade and see where they go. Use that as a balance point to reflect, alright?" He hoped [member="Kitty"] would understand what it is he was saying, but part of him felt like he may have just been speaking gibberish. Blue eyes watched on though as she was able to defend the blasts themselves.

 

[Kitty]

What her master said actually made complete sense to her for once. It was becoming abundantly clear to Kitty that she was much better at using a lightsaber then she was at using the force. Kitty practiced deflecting the bolts from the center of her lightsaber and did find she had a bit more control. However it still wasn't easy to get the shots to land in the center and was even harder to get them to go where she wanted them to. At least now she was actually making progress though.

Time went on and while she got close a couple times she still wasn't quite hitting them. It was starting to really frustrate her. However then she finally hit one and she cried out in joy. "You can crank up the level master. I can keep them from hitting me just fine but I learn how to deflect them back faster if they are coming at me at a faster rate." Kitty said while continuing to defend herself.
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Very well." Level two as it were was a very large step. The shots went from one at a time to three, all in bursts to different parts of the body. It was still one wall at least, leaving [member="Kitty"] with only one side she would have to defend. More sides would come up as the level was increased however, until the room itself was alight with blaster fire. But it was at level two the task would remain.

 

[Kitty]

Now this was more like it. The blaster fire was coming at a greater pace and it wasn't as easy as it was before to deflect them. Still Kitty's speed and reflexes managed to keep up however this had the opposite intended effect and Kitty was having a harder time focusing on redirecting the blaster fire. She probably wouldn't be able to handle anything harder.

Even though Kitty could keep up, this was a lot more taxing and she was beginning to wear out. Any hopes of redirecting the blaster fire back at the intended target were lost and as her fatigue grew it started to get more and more difficult to prevent from getting shot and it was beggining to scare her "I'm............starting to...........wear out...........can we call it a day?" Kitty asked.
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Unlike a real fight, I can stop this. But you are going to have to work on your endurance." Ferus spoke to [member="Kitty"] as he shut down the turrets, knowing that once someone hits a limit the next goal was to work at surpassing it. With a slow nod he would speak once more to the child.

"Tomorrow morning you are to run across the whole beach for an hour every day. You do not eat until you have done so. Bring up that endurance of yours, and you will be fine, alright?"

 

[Kitty]

"I've been at this for hours." Kitty protested. "And that shifting thing earlier was incredibly taxing in itself. Compared to that running for an hour is nothing? How is it suppose to help me." Kitty asked. She was very glad he agreed to give her a break though. Much longer and she might very well have been dead. [member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"You are to do as you are told, without question. I assure you, I have plans to make you stronger, so please, do not doubt me any further." With that the Sith would leave the room [member="Kitty"] and him were in. The training was done for the day, and he had learned quite a bit about her. Of course, there was still such a long way to go.

Outside of the shooting room the Darth would motion to a nearby shadow. This shadow, as it turned out, was none other than the great Bha'lir Bar'reth, a clone animal companion of Ferus's. Patting the beasts side, he would whisper something into it's ear. With a slight nod the beast would rush off, listening to the commands of it's master and friend.

Yes, Kitty would have a good run in the next morning.

 

[Kitty]

"Yes master." Kitty said before heading to her quarters. She was tired as heck and went to take another nap. This nap though turned into full blown sleep and Kitty didn't wake up till the next day. The feline was disappointed she had fallen asleep and didn't have any time to enjoy the scenery. At least she could do that on her run her master told her to do. Now she was looking forward to it.

Kitty left the temple and started running around the beach. Such a nice calm environment it smelled nice too. There was also another scent too. She had smelled it many time before but could never figure out what it was. All she knew is it was large and had fur. And it wasn't a canine. Those things didn't smell good.
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

[member="Kitty"] would find herself quickly sought after as she ran. This new scent she could smell was none other than the great Bha'lir, and the four legged tiger burst forward, from another of the shadows close by the girl herself. A roar filled the area as the beast went to chase down it's intended target. It was a massive beast, with large fangs and terrible claws.

And it was not friendly.

 

[Kitty]

Kitty quickly found out what the scent was as a very large cat burst from some nearby shadows with a roar. Kitty was absolutely terrified. In her cat form Kitty stood about as high is she did now on all fours and she weighed around 2,000 pounds. This cat had a similar build but was a few feet taller and probably weighed twice as much. Kitty knew all t0o well the destruction she could cause in her big cat form. It was quite frequent for her to have nightmares of that part of herself attacking the form she was now in which she considered her normal form. And this thing charging at her was even bigger.

Kitty ignited her lightsaber. They were both cat's so there was a connection there and Kitty knew how the thing behaved. Kitty leaped out of the way with the great speed that came naturally to her. It wasn't easy for such a large creature to stop after a charge like that, but cat's were better at it then others of the size. The large cat sailed past her but quickly got itself turned around. She doubted it would try the same tactic twice.

Already Kitty could feel her stress building up. Her life was in real danger. She could be killed in an instant, probably was going to be killed in an instant. She knew better than anyone else the killing power of a large cat and she knew there was no escape for her at least not in the form. For once in her life she gave into her stress and the rage that would follow if only to give her a chance at survival. Her cloths teared apart and in moments she was a very large cat though smaller than the one attacking her. The rage settled in and Kitty charged straight forward to try and end this with a killing blow to the neck.
[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

As [member="Kitty"] ran forward to attack the large beast Ferus would come from practically nowhere. For once he had his scent masked, and his presence all but gone. The Bha'lir remained where it was, and it was the Zabrak, fueled by the force, who took a hold of the massive cats paw who was his apprentice and went to lift her clean off the ground. Regardless of her weight, the Zabrak was using the force to lift her body and his own raw strength in an effort to slam her to the ground over his shoulder.

He was not holding back against her cat form, knowing full well the damage it could do. Blue eyes would narrow at her if he was successful, and he would wave Bar'reth over. Bar'reth, an animal in his own right, would stare down the other giant cat, almost as if he was trying to assert himself the alpha.

 

[Kitty]

[member="Darth Ferus"] came out of nowhere. Her reflexes may be lightning fast but momentum was not something easily stopped. Besides the small creature was of no concern of hers and she planned to just blow past him. However the red skinned wonder grabbed her paw and slung her over his shoulder. If he continued to hold on he'd be flung high into the air. Her momentum was still going and she slid right under the paw of the large cat she was trying to either kill or get away from.

The larger cat's paw was set right on her neck. Survival instincts demanded Kitty stay still. The rage was still there though and as soon as the paw would lift Kitty would spring into action. For now though she remained submissive.

 

[Darth Ferus]

The Bha'lir would keep it's paw there, pressing down lightly. But then something odd happened, something unique. Ferus had not just kept a pet, but altered the being to the core. A telepathic voice would sound off, firm yet still caring. Bar'reth, technically a Sithspawn in it's truest sense, was intelligent, but it could speak only through contact.

"Rage is a weapon cub. A weapon you use, not to be used by. Control yourself." The beast could very much feel the rage still within her, but it would slowly remove his paw from her throat.. He was a cautious cat, it's golden eyes never once moving from [member="Kitty"] 's form, but he hoped the girl was calmer.