Kaskade

[Allyson Locke]

Pushing open the doors to a small dojo, Spencer reached over to the switches and turned on the lights. Lambs hung from the ceiling providing enough light for visitors to see the simplistic room. On the floor wood panels connected to each other and raised rope like structures created circles on the ground separating different ‘rings’. Slipping off her boots Spencer wiggled her toes, she sat next to a pile of white dust that resided in a box next to the start of the polished wood. Spencer lightly dusted her feet with the powder to dry them from any residue from her boots, then she reached into her robes and pulled out white tape. Running the tape along her ankles she strengthened them and then finished by wrapping the tape up her angle and around the arch of her feet. The pants she wore stopped at her knees clinging to them in a crumpled fashion.

After her ankles she bound her wrists and knuckles in the same fashion, then headed towards the ring as she removed and tossed aside the tunic she wore leaving her in a crop top which showed off the only scars she received from a certain red twilek. Spencer stood in the middle of the center ring and focused her mind, slightly hovering, she crossed her legs and begin to mediate while she awaited her student.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

Ashin had done her time with wraps and such, but her teachers had ascribed to the school of thought that said 'if you won't have handwraps in the street, don't train with them.' She'd had her share of training injuries as a result, at which point they'd healed her up and thrown her back in the ring. Today she went with them, and wraps for her right knee as well, because when one was a student one didn't get held up on one's previous ways of doing things. One went with the new teacher and the new way -- how else could one measure it?

Apart from the wraps, she wore what she'd worn at the Citadel of Dromund Kaas, the day she'd taken the Sith Empire: gi pants and a sleeveless shirt. Not the Jedi way, but then again, her only real concessions to the Jedi way were her voluntary Force severance, her simple lightsabre -- the same one she'd used to conquer twenty thousand worlds -- and the Padawan braid tucked behind her ear. She left the lightsabre on a small table by the door as she entered. They'd grappled and sparred many times before, but this was the first time she's come to Spencer as a student, at least for unarmed combat.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer quickly sensed Ashin, not because the woman was her student, but because of their constant companionship. Spencer had trained under the woman, helped be her right hand, loved her and now it was her turn to repay every ounce of Ashin’s loyalty. Unfolding her crossed legs, the woman touched down with grace against the polished wood of the training room. Stretching a bit she raised her arms up and continued upward till she felt the strain of her muscles. She stopped and smiled towards the woman.

“You ready? Never thought I’d see the day were I’m teaching you something that isn’t mental defense.” The smile faded for a moment as she took in a deep breath, she had to view Ashin as a student and not a teacher or her lover. Waving her hand she moved about the ring, “Echani combat was the only thing Kamon ever gave me. Like the training you gave me with Shii-cho, you have to center yourself.” Pausing, Spencer realized Ashin probably already knew all of this and she wondered if she was just talking to impress the woman. Brushing her blonde hair back from her face she waited for Ashin to move into the ring, Spencer would study the way the woman moved despite knowing already her former Master’s ailments.

“Echani Combat, relies on understanding and studying the way your opponent moves. Even if I didn’t know you, I would be able to know that your knee is something you’re going to over protect because it’s a weakness. When are you going to let me heal you?” With her hands now on her hips, Spencer gave Ashin an stern look.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

Ashin opened her mouth, closed it again, and at last the moment wrenched a nod out of her. "Whether it's been pride or penance that held me back, and your guess is as good as mine...go for it."

She took a seat across from her new and final Master. That wound had history: Darron Wraith, Josiah Denko, Triam Akovin, Anaya Fen, and a fall through a certain cave roof on Dagobah. It had been, she admitted, the mark of her guilt. Not that she could call herself absolved now, but even though she'd pledged her death to the Five, there was such a thing as practicality.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer had prepared an entire speech in hopes that it would convince the woman in front of her that healing the wound would only benefit her. Though it seemed Ashin knew this already and plopped down. Words didn't need to be expressed as Spencer moved forward and knelt down beside the injured leg. Adjusting her place, she moved her hands placing her fingertips lightly against her wife's leg. Like she did during battle meditation, her eyes closed and she focused on seeing through the force.

Using the Force, Spencer was able to map out where the injury was and knowing where to pinpoint everything she focused the healing energy through the force to repair and strengthen the woman's ligaments that were damaged within the knee. After some time, Spencer opened her eyes and sighed. “You did a number on your knee, should have let me heal it the first time. Might be a bit stiff so don't go to hard on yourself today.” Standing, Spencer held out her hand to help Ashin up. [member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]
There were few enough healers who could handle that kind of long-term, repeated damage. A reminder, if she needed it, that she'd never been as strong as Spencer. When the process was complete, she pushed herself to her feet with the gimer stick and took a few experimental steps, bending her wrapped knee deeply.

"First time I've walked without pain since my last day on the throne -- since Roche. Thank you for that, I mean it. I know you think it's been stupid of me to go this long. Glad you were here to ask the question when my reasons stopped being relevant." She hefted her gimer stick and tossed it back to clatter against the table where her lightsabre lay. Hands flat against the sides of her thighs, eyes up, she bowed from the waist as student to teacher, and assumed a natural, neutral stance. Feet shoulder width apart, parallel, fists before her hips, elbows and knees bent slightly. No stiffness in the joint, no threat of ache.

"Force does that feel good."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Returning the bow, Spencer watched as Ashin moved pain free for the first time in a long while. This of course changed Spencer’s game plan, originally she was going to focus on the weak point till she saw an opening, but now that wouldn’t work. Still, she wondered if the woman before he would favor protecting the knee. Deciding to test this theory, Spencer relaxed her frame and kept her stance a shoulder’s distance apart. Her knees had a slight bend while her small fists remained loose. Arms were bent at the elbow slightly and raised just high enough where she could protect her face along with her ribs.

Taking a step forward with her left foot, she swung her right leg to make contact with the knee. Spencer kept her balance, she needed to read Ashin through the combat and not use the Force. The attack was simple and she expected to get blocked, but she needed to test the waters.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

Spencer, despite her lean frame, was not weak nor slow, and a straightforward block wasn't in Ashin's best interests. Besides, she knew how to read Spencer from years of sparring, Force or no Force. Ashin's right foot slid back from natural stance into something more balanced, and Spencer's foot crashed through the space where her knee would have been. Force, it felt amazing to move her right leg this freely, and she didn't really need to fear reinjury, not around Spencer.

Her right foot pivoted, becoming her base and anchor, and she turned right as she leaned back. Her left leg came up in a snap kick, faster than one launched from the back foot. She preferred low kicks and stomps, suitable to her previous limitations, but there'd been a time when she had been considered downright acrobatic, and she still stretched religiously. Tendons twinged in her knee, thighs and groin as she launched that snapping roundhouse at Spencer's head, a kick higher than anything she'd tried in a couple of years. Tactically unsound, like all high kicks, but Spencer might not see it coming.

 

[Allyson Locke]

She missed which was something she had expected. Though the counter move to the attempt at the knee came with quite the vengeance. Spencer had seen Ashin briefly in her prime, though nothing like this and nothing like how the woman had been when she was Spencer's age. The girl wondered if she had bit off more than she could chew against the seasoned padawan.

Ashin would be the one to test her limitations right after Spencer told her to go easy. Frowning she let her weight carry her slightly as she missed. It was easy to know the woman was going to avoid it now that she could move. Planting her right foot, Spencer felt her eyes wide as she watched the on coming round kick to her face. Spencer really liked her face and she knew Ashin did as well. The attack was high which allowed Spencer to duck under the attack. Feeling the wind of the blow she sighed softly to herself then continued to let her weight carry her forward just slightly.

Standing up, she brought her right hand to punch Ashin in the ribs or if her weight carried her, the punch would be aimed towards the lower back near the kidneys.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

Spencer's fist slammed into Ashin's lowest ribs, shoved her off-balance. She'd seen it coming, but not quickly enough. Natural consequence of a high kick, but she'd wanted to try it anyway. This was, after all, for fun as much as it was a matter of training. She recovered with a hop back, losing ground until she regained her balance at the very edge of the rope circle. This time she went for a high, mobile stance, left foot forward, weight on the balls of her feet. She kept her left arm low to guard her midsection, right fist up by her chest and chin as if turning into a hook punch. This stance was loose, light, good for transitions, noncommittal. She tossed her wife a grin, and waited.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer felt bad about getting Ashin, but she also felt rather pleased with herself. It was rare occasion that Spencer bested Ashin at something that Ashin was known for. She kept her celebration quiet as she watched as the woman caught her balance. Spencer didn't press an attack right away, she waited till Ashin had settled herself. It was training after all. Seeing that the woman was ready, Spencer once again was straight forward, she moved quickly closing the small gap between them. Raising her fists she feigned a punch with her left fist, but instead used the moment to once more to strike a kick, this time aimed towards the woman's ankles attempting to trip her up.

The grin was returned.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

With part of her attention on the problem of not getting shoved back out of the ring, Ashin found herself going with instinct, with muscle memory. And muscle memory demanded that she tank.

Her stance solidified, settled lower as she twisted her hips counterclockwise, her left hand coming out a little to ward away what turned out to be a feint. Her toes gripped the floor as she planted her foot. Exactly the wrong move. The sweep impacted her unprotected leg -- no Force Weapon shielding, no phrik armor plate -- just above her ankle, and she grunted with the hit but kept her balance. She uncoiled right, then turned left again, using the compacting energy of her coiling motion to snap out a right fist to Spencer's solar plexus.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer felt her leg make contact with Ashin's ankle, but she knew it wasn't going to do much against the tank woman. Her wife outweighed her by a good forty pounds and had a about four inches of height against her. Moments like this Spencer realized how much smaller she was compared to Ashin, but they were built differently – but oh how they fit so nicely together.

Huttball huttball huttball, getting her head back on straight she didn't have much time, the distraction of her thought process only allowed Ashin the opening to her solar plexus. The fist made contact, but Spencer did her best to push it aside with her palm hoping to get hit in the ribs instead of the gut. The wind still was knocked out of her, but she recovered better by gripping the woman's wrist where she had pushed and pull her into the now raised left knee which was coming towards Ashin's own stomach.

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

The push-block shoved her fist out, but she bent low, dropping that elbow to meet the rising knee. It wasn't an elbow-point strike, which would have cracked her elbow and hurt Spencer's leg, just an impact on the meat of her forearm, the flat part of the elbow. The jolt drove her up again, and she'd unbalanced herself in bending forward to pull off the block, so she planted a kiss on Spencer's breastbone on her way up. Or tried to, anyway. Good way to get cracked upside the nose if it went south, but she wasn't in a mood to care. Besides, there was more than one way to unbalance an opponent, and with her leg fixed, she felt good. As if that had been the last piece in a ten-year puzzle.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer smirked seeing Ashin block with her forearm to her knee. The impact pushed the knee back down and Ashin upward. She was unbalanced and while Spencer's mind went to work adjusting herself for a counter to the block, but then there was a soft peck against her chest right at the point where her crop top began. She didn't expect it from Ashin especially in the middle of training. Switching her weight to her right leg she went to leg sweep Ashin while she was off balanced.

“You're terrible you know that” Spencer smirked as she did her best to not laugh. [member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]
Spencer's left leg swept the inside of Ashin's left, and Ashin rolled with it. She caught the floor with her palm, curled to contact the floor from right shoulder to left hip, and rose in a light back stance with her heel against the rope circle. As far from the center as before, but a quarter of the way around.

The maneuver took a couple of seconds, more than enough for Spencer to reorient -- there was no opening. Heck, Spencer probably had time to interfere when Ashin tried to roll to her feet and take up a stance. Who would have thought that mobility would be a thing for Ashin?

 

[Allyson Locke]

If only they could have used the Force, Spencer assumed the building would probably be nearly destroyed. Spencer caught her balance again and allowed Ashin to move along with her tumble. It was a sight to see the older woman move without pain of her knee and other ailments. They had been dancing against the edge of the ring for some time, seeing this as a moment to bring them back to the middle, Spencer reached back and somersaulted backwards towards the center of the ring. Landing, she ran her fingers tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.

Being on the offensive the entire time, she decided to see what Ashin was capable of. Limbs relaxed Spencer spread her stance to shoulder width and raised her arms up slightly, once again guarding her core. [member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

All things considered, when it came time to fight unarmed, Ashin knew herself to be a reactive fighter, willing to take the first hit in order to exploit the opening it created. That was her style, and her comfort zone, and Spencer would know that. Still, she opted to stay the course. Even when she got to striking range, hands loose before her chest in a noncommittal left-side-forward stance, she found herself trying to convince Spencer to make the first move. That communication took the form of a flirtation with the outer edges of combat range, using distance and timing and anticipation to see if Spencer would cross the last couple of inches to her.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer watched as Ashin moved closer, yet she didn't make the first move. It didn't surprise Spencer, Ashin was a tank and she was built to react to things. Spencer again didn't move, she remained where she was, determined to force Ashin into making the move. This was a chance to change, a chance to do something different and Spencer wanted Ashin to know this.

Possibly baiting the woman would work, but Spencer knew Ashin didn't fall for silly tricks like this either way if she kept dancing along the edge never taking the first step Spencer would have to react. Spencer lowered her guard for a moment to see and read the reaction from Ashin. Dropping her guard around her mind she sought to feel through her empathy to read the woman along with the words of combat. [member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

She took the opening and the lesson, right side forward at the moment. Her front leg rose, slashed out in a side kick, aiming to plant the edge of her heel against Spencer's leading leg, then descend into a foot stomp as she closed the range. The stomp carried her forward just a bit more, and her leading arm came into play. She assumed a gut strike; her elbow sank to guard her midsection, then snapped up a moment after the stomp, an inverted punch up at the underside of Spencer's chin. Quick three-move combo, body at a narrow cross-section.