I Took The Road

[Lina Renning]

"Um."

She hadn't talked, really talked, about Ossus, almost to anyone. Pushing it away from her mind was easier, kept her from dwelling on how badly everything had gone wrong.

But she didn't turn away from the question.

"Ossus had been evacuated, I shouldn't have been there." Words were slow, controlled, painfully precise. "Nobody was meant to be there except for Jedi guarding the temple and all the rest, but I crashed my ship on the way back to Voss. I think I hit my head. I got knocked out, anyway. And by the time I woke up . . ."

Lina sighed, forced a string of words together.
Words couldn't be more painful than silence.

"A pair of Jedi had found me, they were going to take me to the Temple, but the Sith got there first." Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. "She killed them both before I could do anything." You could've done something. Shush. "I tried to get away. That didn't work. So we fought." A one-sided fight in every sense. Lina didn't like to fight, and - more importantly - she couldn't.

"I lost."

The words were spilling out, layered with distress that she tried and failed to keep out.

"I don't know why she let me live. But she did. And here we are."

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

Definitely feeling guilty. She's feeling as though its on her head that the others died.

<A Jedi for sure, always taking on responsibility and guilt of actions that aren't hers.>

She's also young, I doubt she's seen that much of the galaxy to know.

<You're not going to let just walk from this, are you?>

No, Maiev certainly wasn't going to.

"You'll probably end up facing her again." She watched Lina's eyes flicker with fear and panic. Whoever had attacked her; the Sith, had certainly did a number on her. A first engagement with a Sith and completely unable to defend or fight back would do that to you.

"SIth don't show mercy, at least generally speaking. There have been times when they have, but it's usually for ulterior motives, mostly involving a desire to indoctrinate into their Code and beliefs." Maiev had met her fair share of them, especially during the earlier years. Several had tried to 'convert' her, only to find themselves bleeding out on the ground not long after. "They'll kill you for the simpliest thing, like getting in their way or simply because you were an annoying bug in their eyes."

But the fact Lina's attacker had spared her? That interested the witch. It could've been a matter that they had pitied the Silver as her life flashed before her eyes. But that was rare for a Sith, and Maiev wondered if something else had been at play. She'd have to find out, and an idea sprung to mind.

"Do you want to learn then?" They had stopped their walking now, and Maiev was standing before Lina. "I can teach you how to fight."

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

You'll probably end up facing her again.

Horror briefly painted her gaze. No part of her could muster the optimism that she might be allowed to live a second time.

What time she'd dared to let herself spend on dwelling over Ossus had certainly been spent wondering why she was still alive to dwell at all. Lina knew the Sith would not have hesitated for a moment. She was nearly killed that day several times. At first she'd escaped through sheer dumb luck but in the end she'd lived because Skai had let her and she knew it. But she didn't know why.

The possibility of conversion? It seemed utterly unlikely. Lina wasn't Sith material. She was barely Jedi material these days.

Pity? It sounded ludicrous in her ears. She had grown accustomed to dehumanising her enemies, to letting what the Jedi Masters told her of the Sith to shape her perception. And remorse wasn't part of that perception.

The only option she could settle on was the idea, yet again, of her weakness. She wasn't a threat. To the Dathomiri, she was nothing, not worth so much as the effort it would take to put a blade through her throat. That thought had been the one to hit home.

She wanted to prove her wrong. Her mind was determined that it was impossible.
But she wanted to anyway.
If not for herself (was it for herself? She couldn't decide. Lina knew she was a coward, after all) at least nobody else would die saving her.

Words rang through her ears and she had to doubletake to recognise their meaning. Maiev was offering to help her. To teach her to fight. So that maybe the next time she met the mystery Sith her survival would be on her own terms. So that maybe she could stop her from causing more damage.

"Would you?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice, but it was layered with bottomless thanks. "That - that would be wonderful. Thank you."

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

It was difficult to not smile, seeing the sudden enthusiasm that erupted in Lina. Despite the serious of the situation, the witch smiled and gave the young Silver a nod.

"Of course, after hearing what happened to you on Ossus. I'd be remiss if I didn't at least try and help you."

Whether Lina would come to still like her after this, well that was entirely different matter.

Maiev was not exactly an easy going teacher, especially when it came to fighting.

<Sometimes you have too much of a good heart, Maiev.>

I'm not going to just leave her like this, with what's been having in Silver Space lately, I won't be surprised if there's more conflicts on the horizon.

The witch pulled her left sleeve back, revealing a wrist pad hidden beneath the robe. With a few quick inputs, the probe came flying back towards them - having burst through some bushes like an excitable pet.

"Change of plans for now, I need you to find us a clearing. A spacious one if possible." The probe let out an affirmative beep, floating downwards sharply as though it was nodding. And a second later, it was zipping off once more.

Maiev led the way, one eye on her wrist pad following her droid's path, while the other was watching Lina. She could see the different emotions that were now swirling within her now. One of them she recognized easily, and couldn't help chuckle quietly.

Apprehension

Which wasn't entirely surprising, Lina did after all just accept the help; the training of a literal stranger.

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

"Thank you," she repeated breathlessly, giddy with a sense of relief. She had barely realised the weight fear had set on her shoulders - her mind had been on guilt - but it was lifted now and the feeling verged on euphoric. "Really - if there's anything I can do to repay you, or - or anything - just say so."

In different circumstances, she would have been more cautious. She would have been very careful to accept the help of a stranger, more careful still to offer hers in return. But she had her priorities in order. And fear of meeting the Sith again unprepared far outweighed fear that Maiev was less trustworthy than she seemed.

At the very least, her leg was in one piece again. If she ran far enough, she'd surely get away.

Beep
Beeeeeeep

The probe drifted to a halt by a grassy clearing ringed by trees, floating good-naturedly above swaying green blades. Lina smiled.

A glance towards the witch.
Hesitance, excitement, apprehension.
It dawned on her how truly out of her depth she was.

"So, um . . . where do I start?"

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

<Oh, would you look at that. She's in your debt now Maiev, what ever will you do with that?"

I'll help her, and do so again if needed.

<Bah, you're no fun...>

Maiev walked into the clearing the probe had located, she led Lina to roughly the centre of it before stopping and turning to face her.

She began to assess the Silver Jedi, sizing her up both in terms of her psyche and her physical traits. Fairly tall with a slender build, most likely not capable of heavy attacks of be able to take many before going down.

"Well, to begin with. I'm going to guess in saying you don't have much - if any, experience in fighting?" It was at least the image that Maiev had built up in her head. Young, only recently joined the Order of the Silver Jedi. And from the sounds of things, was unable to really fight back against the Sith that had attacked her.

"The first lesson is a matter of approach, never rush into a battle. There are scenarios where it's useful; such as to take an enemy by surprise, but it's situational." Maiev shifted her posture, hands held behind her back as she looked at Lina. "An important factor to always keep in mind is watching how your opponent moves. Albeit, you can't let your entire focus be on that else you'll find yourself with a blade through your heart. It takes training to be able to see how the enemy moves, the placement of their feet or how they hold their weapon. So we will begin there." Maiev shifted, arms moving to her sides and resting by her belt. She wrapped one hand around a hilt and pulled the blade from its sheath.

"Specifically with your ability to evade."

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

"-not really, no."

She couldn't think of pretty words that might make her no seem less of one.

Lina was . . . she was light on her feet. A good runner. Occasionally she possessed good reflexes. But that was all there was to say about her ability in combat. She was an avoider in the purest sense, because conflict was not her element. Things were busy enough inside her head as it was.

Usually, she could rely on silvery calm words to resolve fights. Usually, she could rely on fast-moving footsteps to get away when the former failed her. Some part of her had tried to insist it was all that she would need (because the Jedi were not warriors - they were peacekeepers, healers, saviors. They never created the chaos, no matter how noble the intent was, because that wasn't how it should be. All conflict was harmful).

That part of her had been wrong.
Utterly, horribly wrong.

She knew better now.

"Don't rush, watch your opponent's movement, but don't place all your focus on it." She repeated Maiev's words, a thoughtful murmur, almost to herself. "Alright, that makes sense, I-"

Rapidly, bewilderedly, she moved backwards.

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

While Maiev had instructed Lina to not go rushing into battle, she had said nothing about the enemy doing it. Partially because she assumed the younger woman would know that already, and because well...she wasn't going to make this easy for her.

She watched as Lina seemed to fall back on her thoughts again. The witch hoped it wasn't a habit the Jedi had in the middle of battle, it was not going do her any good.

As Maiev was about to demonstrate.

The moment Lina began to speak; reciting what Maiev had told her previously, the witch shifted her posture. If the Jedi had been watching more carefully, she would've noticed beforehand.

Maiev attacked without saying a word, bringing her blade up in an attempt to slash and stab at Lina. The young Silver immediately started backpedalling, shouting in surprise as she did her best to dodge the attacks. If she were to look at Maiev's face, she'd see a focused and fierce expression - it looked very much as though the witch was actually trying to wound her.

And in fact the blade got very close to doing so, just barely missing cutting through cloth and into skin. It was deliberate move on Maiev's part. The ones Lina couldn't dodge, the witch pulled back from the moment the weapon was about to cut. While this was happening, Kalax was noting each time it happened, searching for any specific weaknesses in Lina's movements.

Eventually the momentum got too much, Maiev kept pushing Lina back until the Jedi stumbled and fell backwards onto the grass. It was only then that Maiev finally relented and stopped her attack.

"Not bad, you've at least got some evasion under your belt, but I counted several moments where my blade would've either cut you or seriously wounded." Maiev stepped up to Lina, leaning down with a hand outstretched to help her up.

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

Grudgingly, she rose.

"I- what in the- did-"

A handful more sentences that seemed to stumble over each other and forget themselves halfway. But the words came to their own conclusion and then she decided that it could've been worse.

(It could have been an actual attack, after all. And then where would she be?)

A shock, but a relatively easy one to get over. Lina breathed in and breathed out and decided she wasn't, in fact, injured. Just caught off guard. She would pay closer watch next time - the alternative, after all, was that eventually she would run out of next times. Lina was a fast learner when there were lives at stake. Those lives weren't usually hers. But she supposed it was the principle of the thing.

"Right," she concluded, exhaling. Blue eyes threw a glance of bemusement at the Dathomiri, but there was the seriousness behind them of trying to understand. "And I keep moments like those from happening by - moving faster, paying closer attention, staying calm?"

​

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

"Correct, remaining calm is essential when you're in a fight. It's certainly not an easy thing to achieve, and you may quickly find yourself falling upon other emotions." Helping Lina back onto her feet, Maiev took a step back. "Such as anger, which will blind you and likely see you attacking far too aggressively when it's not needed. But then being to passive will mean you're equally likely to be killed."

Then at a moment's notice, Maiev lunged forwards, bring her blade towards Lina only for the young woman to shift back with a step, avoiding it.

Maiev grinned.

"Good. Paying attention is crucial, as can moving fast be, but that is a lot more situational. You will wear yourself out long before you opponent, you'll become a lot slower and make yourself a much easier target. A balance between the two must be found." Once more Maiev stepped back, but this time she kept her blade in sight. "Now, let's work on your evasion a bit. This time, I'll go a bit slower."

The next portion of time was dedicated to just that. The witch went through teaching Lina how to dodge and evade certain moves. Where possible she used her blade to demonstrate, but made a point to note that it would be different when facing against an opponent with a lightsaber, a longer blade; such as a sword, or even much larger weapons. All had their advantages and disadvantages, and ways to exploit them.

At one point Maiev had suddenly kicked her, much to the slight bewilderment of Lina.

"You have to expect your opponent will use whatever they can as a weapon, especially if their trained in some arts to utilize their legs."

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

"Anger will . . . not end up being a problem," she admitted. Lina wasn't good at being furious. Distressed, disappointed, filled with grief, but she lacked fire, lacked rage. Sometimes she wished she could find it in her to be angry instead of assigning herself blame, but really, she knew it was a good thing. "But being passive-"

Dodge.

That time, it was easier.

Slowly, it kept getting easier. Very slowly at first - Lina was not by any means clumsy or inagile, but it didn't translate to combat as well as it was surely meant to. Reflexes that could be fast simply weren't once it was against a blade. But ever so gradually, she started to ease up, lose her gun shy instincts until she could almost fall into step with the sleek dance Maiev led with her sword.

Maiev kicked.
Lina stumbled, nearly fell.
Almost.

"I'll- keep that in mind," she grunted. This time she found her bearings without the witch's help.

"But once I've evaded, what do I do if there's nowhere to go?"

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

"You fight," she replied. Maiev's tone bordering on 'matter of fact'. The look that got from Lina was a cross between disagreeing and agreeing at the same time. The witch imagined her recent encounter on Ossus had brought the latter more to the surface. "You cannot evade forever, perhaps you can and manage to run away. Maybe your opponent decides you're not worth it, and lets you flee. You'll still be leaving your back open to further attacks - if you haven't already been killed at that point."

Maiev began to walk around Lina, circling her as she looked upon the Silver Jedi.

She was reminded of her earlier observations. That Lina didn't strike her was the type that would go in strong when fighting. Instead, she was much more suited for a more agile type of fighting style.

At least in Maiev's mind anyway, noting it would draw a benefit from the young woman's natural ability to evade.

"That is what I'm going to teach you next." Maiev moved to the second sheathed blade. With a swift flick of her hand it was pulled from it's place and was being held out; handle first to Lina.

"Take it, you'll need to learn how to actually hold a weapon, and use it for this part."

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

Force, she hated the idea of fighting.

To begin with, it went against her idea of self-preservation. Fighting meant blood spilled and injuries wielded; it meant injury, sometimes death. Lina had run into the aftermath of wars enough to know just how awful it looked.

But more than that, it went against her attempts to call herself Jedi. She was a creature of peace, the one sent to stop the blood from being shed and to help where nothing could be prevented. Not a warrior. A peacekeeper. Fighting was drawing the wounds that she was training to know how to heal. Fighting was hurting the people she wanted to help.

Odd as the words felt in her head, though, not fighting was as liable to kill her as fighting was.
Force, she hated how these things turned out.

Tentatively, she clutched the sword. It was heavier than what she'd expected - Maiev had made it look easy. But Lina shifted its weight into her grip all the same, turned it over to catch rays of sunlight as she studied the blade.

More shifting. It was easier to hold now.
"I'm holding it wrong, aren't I?"

[member="Maiev"]​

 

[Maiev]

Maiev let out a soft chuckle.

"Yes, you are. Here, let me correct you." The witch walked up to around Lina, standing just behind the Silver. With a gentle grace, she reached over and grabbed the younger woman's forearms and moved them. Now Lina was holding the blade out more accurately, poised to strike but keeping the sword close enough to defend.

Then Maiev's leg was suddenly between Lina's, and before she could even respond the witch used it to push the Silver's legs apart.

"Footwork is essential, you don't want to be standing in a fight with your legs still together." Maiev stepped away from Lina and to her left side instead, quickly slipping into the exact same stance she had placed her in. "Now place your feet where I have mine, can you feel how much more stable you are on your feet?" She peered over at Lina, watching as she looked down at her own feet to make sure she had gotten the placements right. "With this you have room to move, whether it's to attack, defend or evade."

To demonstrate what she meant, Maiev moved with each word. Stepping forwards with a slash of the blade, then returning back to the stance. Then did the same with defending; bringing the sword closer to her chest. Followed by make a side step to the left as though someone was about to attack.

"Let's start with these, I will teach you some simple moves and actions you can do."

[member="Lina Renning"]​

 

[Lina Renning]

Lina stumbled, but she stayed within her balance. Somehow.

Her feet shuffled through blades of grass until they mirrored Maiev's. Blue eyes studied the Dathomiri's posture and she adjusted with a regimented precision, shifting fluidly until her positioning evened into something more natural, something better suited to fight. Bent knees, patiently prepared stance, face angled forwards. Waiting. Ready.

"Like this?" She moved a fraction more until she had the witch's confirmation, then she nodded. "Yeah, that's much - much more balanced."

Her hands still marveled at the sword's weight as they carefully maintained the grip Maiev had showed her. Hands here. Arms like this. It felt odd. But Lina felt as though she could get used to it.

The witch demonstrated; attack, defend, evade. A slash forward, a shield, a step aside. Lina closed her eyes for a heartbeat, trying to reconjure how each move looked, trying to imagine how it looked performed instead of watched. She stepped forwards, and her blade sliced the air gracelessly. Defense was easier, evasion easiest. But they all three felt unnatural in her limbs, looked unnatural when she moved.

She looked back to the witch.

"Sounds perfect. Shoot."

[member="Maiev"]​