Private Learning how to Shii-Cho (Kyra/Yuroic)

[WelshGuy]

It had been an interesting time training Kyra in Shii-Cho, she was different from all the Padawans he had taught in the past, most were eager to learn the ways of the Jedi and push themselves. Kyra seemed uninterested in learning which had Yuroic interested in how past teachers engaged Kyra into training. There seemed to be a trend in teachers unable to convince Kyra the importance of studying and training in order to improve and become a capable Lightsaber wielder. This didn't perturb Yuroic, he had seen and had been a difficult Padawan, his start he trusted no one and often climbed through vents in order to discover the truth, or at least his suspicions that the Jedi were not truly as good as they portrayed.

Learning from his experiences, Yuroic figured that he would have to try a new approach with Kyra, that his harsh training might not yet be ideal for the girl. He watched as Kyra entered on time which was unusual, wearing new boots, his own combat boots were scuffed, weathered and dirty, it was interesting that Yuroic liked the way his boots looked. They were telling of how he fought, how he tried to always stand on the front lines of action. However, he was also too lazy to polish them daily like others would be. He leaned back and thought on the question posed by Kyra, it was a good question to ask. The chances of finding a crystal through travels were low but possible since the Force could lead a person to one.

"Then they get to construct their Lightsaber straight away since the Force has told them they are ready for one. At least that would be how I would judge it, one of my previous Padawans found a crystal on his own travels so we constructed his Lightsaber when he returned. Have you found a crystal or just curious?" He asked interested in what brought this question on.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra swallowed hard, a lump building in her throat. Master JJ had said the same thing to her. And hadn't she once pushed, even demanded, for the chance to make a saber of her own? But now..

The crystal weighed heavily in her pocket, the subtle pulse of its presence a constant reminder of the doubt that had erupted ever since she had found it. She fingered its rough edge from inside her robe, its presence still hidden from the master standing over her.

She shrugged off his question, ignoring it in favor of the one that had been burning its way through her for the better part of day now. "But can't the..." She started off, her voice tight and catching. She cleared her throat, forcing the words to work with her here. "Can't the Force be wrong? Sometimes. About people. I mean we get siths, don't we? They weren't ready, otherwise..." they wouldn't have used it wrong. Right?

She cast a fleeting glance up at him, before darting it back away. She was petrified he's see through her. Petrified he'd know.

"What if it's wrong. Like-- you know its wrong. That can happen, right?"

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic studied Kyra closely, she was hiding something, even without the Force he could make that guess. Yuroic leaned back and breathed out slowly, his views on the Sith differed to many Jedi, he believed they were two sides of the same coin, that balance and understanding meant they could live in peace. His example was their alliance with the CIS who were Sith. He sat and looked Kyra straight in the eye, "the Force doesn't make mistakes. It flows through everything as you know, we use it, guide it through us and we are the ones who determine whether it is for the good of others or to their detriment. Force doesn't make Sith, what they do, how they act, that is what makes them Sith. All the Force is, is a natural resource, a constant in our galaxy."

Looking at her pocket, even if it was reduced, he could tell that she had a Lightsaber crystal on her. "Ah. So, it called out to you and you found your crystal. This is a good first step in becoming a Jedi. Shows that you are on the right path that you are doing the right thing. However, having the crystal doesn't mean you are ready for the responsibility of being a Jedi with a Lightsaber. As much as I think you are going down the right path, there is still so much self-doubt in you, even now, you are questioning the Force as if you don't think it can be sentient." Yuroic stated, he wanted to be hopeful for the Padawan but he also had to inform her that there was major issues that were blocking her from her chances to succeed.

"Have faith that the Force guided you to this point in your life, that your crystal called to you because it knew you were be capable to wield it." Yuroic stated.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

--having the crystal doesn't mean you are ready for the responsibility of being a Jedi with a Lightsaber.

Kyra seemed to collapse into herself, growing smaller and smaller around the crystal as if it was a black hole slowly sucking her in. "Don't you think I know that?" Her voice was small, baring all the weight of her self-doubt he had so easily pointed out. "I'm not ready. I know I'm not ready." Yet her words, demands, and actions had proclaimed the exact opposite from the start. Still, it was one thing to demand a responsibility you expected to always be denied. It was another to have it placed in your lap, waiting for you to measure up.

"A sith would turn me into dog meat-- I didn't even know the five forms of whatcha ma call it from [member="Romi Jade"] 's class! I don't deserve this crystal. I don't even want it." She let it roll out of her robe, the pure white form clunking across the ground at their knees.

While her words were self-deprecating, they were at least marginally more insightful than the stubborn cockiness she had been showing. Still, she had missed the main point in his advice. The crystal was a sign. She just didn't see it yet. Tears bubbled up, the emotions she had always been acting out upon finally coming to a head. "I want to go home."

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic studied the girl and shook his head, it was not healthy, she had swung too far in the other direction. Losing all confidence in her abilities and potential, still not realising that this was early in her training and being bad was part of the learning process that she just had to get through. Everyone started somewhere, doesn't matter how powerful they were now, everyone started like Kyra was. However, he could tell that she wasn't listening to his advice or lecture. "So, you attended Master Romi's class. That must have been a pleasant class, she is an impressive Jedi. I doubt she told you about five Forms. I believe her class was on Form V, which there are two versions of, Djem So an aggressive fighting style and Shien, a version used to protect against blasters. There is seven Lightsaber Forms, most only learn three or four Forms in their lives."

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "everyone learns Shii-Cho, then Djem So and Shien are also common to learn, then you pick a Form that fits your style of fighting. I like to be adaptive in combat, constantly changing my fighting style and approach, so I learnt Form VI, Niman. Some want to learn how to fight more defensively, so they learn Soresu." He was talking slow, letting her take it all in. "I understand not feeling ready, I never thought I was ready to become a Jedi Knight or a Jedi Master, I even questioned the Assembly when they promoted me because I thought it was too soon that I wasn't strong enough to become a Master. However, the fact is, you are a Jedi and you have to start trusting in your powers but accepting your limitations as well."

Eye catching the crystal tumbling out, he narrows as he looks at it then picks the crystal up in his hand. Looking at the crystal closely as he was interesting in seeing what type of crystal she had gotten. He blinked several times then shook his head and chuckled somewhat loudly. "Kyra, this isn't a crystal suitable for your Lightsaber. At least, this crystal isn't crucial in building a Lightsaber, it might be useful in another way but this isn't a Lightsaber crystal." He pointed out to her.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

She had so many questions to his earlier comments, but it got go lost to the final news he delivered once he had her crystal in hand.

Her head snapped up to him, her eyes sharpening on him. "What?" She demanded, her tone hardening. Panic broke out in her chest. She scrambled forward, reaching out on her hands and knees to take it back and look it over. "Are you sure? Did I break it? What'd I do wrong?"

Was this punishment for not believing in herself, she abruptly suspected it must be.

"But-But- it called out to me. Right out there, in the Shadowlands! I felt it. I heard it! I took it out! It's a crystal!"

 

[WelshGuy]

Shrugging his shoulders, he could tell that the girl was panicking but he needed to handle this carefully he guessed. "It isn't compatible with Lightsabers, however, this doesn't mean that it isn't attuned to the Force or attuned to your Force signature." Yuroic explained carefully as he placed a hand on her shoulder as he looked at her and the crystal that was now in her hand. "It isn't broken, it just isn't what you think this is. However, to find a crystal attuned to the Force is impressive, they can be powerful items that could be crucial in dire situations so don't think that you haven't found something important, it just isn't a Lightsaber crystal."

He leaned back a bit and looked over at her, "so what changed in you? Not too long ago you were eager to having a Lightsaber and skipping several steps, why don't you want to be moving forward Kyra?" He asked, curious about the change and hearing her views.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's shoulders slumped downward, the panic leaving the padawan in a numb rush. Was this a good or bad development? She... she wasn't sure... Her feelings conflicted and twisted up on themselves. Her pride clashed with her fear. Even her rational voice was having a rare moment of raising its quiet head, whispering small reassurances that this wasn't a bad thing... She wasn't ready...

But this had certainly never happened to her siblings. They were always ready.

For once the tears did not come up. She only sat there quietly, her hands cradling the crystal in her lap.

"So what changed in you? Not too long ago you were eager to having a Lightsaber and skipping several steps, why don't you want to be moving forward Kyra?"

She gave a nearly indiscernible shrug, staring at the crystal for a long long moment. What happened? Images of Lizards, gun fire, sith, explosions, bodies, blood, slaves... they all flashed through her mind, rotating in an endless circle. The tears returned for a briefest moment, pinching at the corner of her tear ducts, before they melted away again.

"I don't want to die," she finally answered, her voice tight and high.

 

[WelshGuy]

She was nervous, scared and worried about her skills and in herself, Yuroic breathed out and looked at her with a concerned expression. Still her immediate thoughts went to how her siblings never seemed to struggle, something that he could not explain was not true, he had tried many times to try saying that she needed to focus on herself and the belief she needed in her own skills not on what others could and could not do. However, when he asked what happened, she explained that she didn't want to die, a real fear that many people were faced with. Something Yuroic had grown to know more since he had a family to lose.

"The risk of dying is always going to be higher for Jedi than other people, because by nature, we go to the fight. We stop dangerous people from hurting others and puts us at risk of being hurt. However, death isn't something we should fear, for we do become one with the Force after death however, it is also inevitable. If fighting others doesn't kill us then old age will. There is only one way to give yourself the best chance to lower the risk of dying in a fight though Kyra." Touches her shoulder, "learn to fight, practise hard and make sure you are the best you can be. The more you learn and the better you become, the more ready you will be." Yuroic explained with a reassuring presence.

 

[Kyra Perl]

"I'm trying," Kyra whispered, staring down at her hands. "I really am trying..."

She turned her palms up, picking at where callouses had slowly begun to form. She had been putting in more time and effort into her training than she ever had before-- real effort was slowly being applied to her position here as a padawan, a feat never shown in the other academies.

Well. In all accept the first one. But she didn't talk about that place.


She swallowed hard, her nails digging into her palms. "I'm doing some training with Master JJ now too... he had me run today. A lot. And he's gonna teach me how to talk with my mind. And do force stuff- and-I practice. In my room." He had to see the effort. She needed him to.

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic took her hand and studied the callouses, they were a good indicator of her hard work, he offered a pleased smile to her. It was good to see that Kyra had been working hard on her combat training, and wasn't just focused on that but working with her Force powers too. He nodded his head, "this is a good start Kyra, you will see your skills grow in time, however you need to remember that no one is perfect at these things from the start. I am sure your siblings struggled when they started, I know I had great difficulty in the Force training of being a Jedi when I first started. Now I can do things that I wouldn't have thought possible to do back when I was a Padawan."

He let go of her hand and smiled warmly to her in a teacher to student way, "Keep your head on, train hard and you will feel ready for a Lightsaber in no time." Yuroic explained to her as he stood to his feet. "Shall we start the training session for today now?" Yuroic asked her, letting her decided on the training, "I think you could be ready for the second Lightsaber form which is all about duelling someone else with a Lightsaber."

 

[Kyra Perl]

Her eyes snapped up to his, wide at his words. He.... thought she was ready to move forward? Like... She had the basics down for reals this time? She began to buzz in unexpressed excitement, her mood flipping back to bright almost instantaneously.

"O-ok," she chirped, nodding feverously. She stood, her fingers dragging through her usual waves to get them untangled and off her shoulders, when suddenly she stopped.

Her gut churned, a thought lingering inside of herself. She struggled with it for a moment. Then another moment, this time trying to find the words and her voice to express it. But given a moment, the padawan would find it in herself to express what was on her mind.

She always did.

Her fingers caught along a single rope of hair at the nape of her neck. She twirled it in place, biting her lips. "Master...? Are you... good at... a braid?"

 

[WelshGuy]

There was relief when Kyra returned to her excited self, knowing she had progressed seemed to have cheered her mood. It wasn't hard to get the basics down but it felt a good to move forward and not stagnant. He would recommend that Kyra never stop training so that she could master the Form as it would be the foundation of everything else she would be learning. Watching her, Kyra turned around and asked him to braid a lock of her hair to signify her Padawan status. It was a major step, sometimes Padawans didn't follow this tradition of late but Yuroic had when he was a Padawan and he always thought it made becoming a Jedi Knight all the more important.

Having spent several years braiding his own hair and perfecting the technique with braiding his daughter's hair when she wanted a braid, Yuroic was well versed in braiding hair. He moved in closer and started braiding her hair into the tradition Jedi Padawan braid. "I remember having one of these, it was not a good look for me, luckily, I think this will look good for you." Yuroic was curious to see if one day he would be doing this for his daughter or any other children that he might have with Jairdain in the future.

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Everything looks good on me." A small sense of confidence returned to the girl, a grin growing across her face. He would have never seen her stand as still as she did when he worked on the braid. When he finished she busted into a wave of energy, the girl buzzing with pride as she stroked the plaits.

"Thanks," she beamed. And without thought or considering, she tossed herself into his chest, hugging him hard.

 

[WelshGuy]

Kyra seemed pleased with the braid so that was a big relief to him. He smiled down to her then was slightly taken aback when she hugged him tight, she had been slightly cold in classes due to his strictness so it was nice to see her relax and having fun. Hugging her back for a moment he was glad that she liked the braid and felt more at ease. "Glad that you like it. Hopefully, you feel more at home here now." Yuroic wanted Kyra to feel more the Jedi he knew she could be.

Breaking the hug at the appropriate moment and he looked at her. "Shall we start training Form 2?"

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra pulled away, bouncing on her toes as she nodded in sync with her energetic squirms.

By all means she shouldn't have so much energy. Sleep had not come easily lately. She had spent the better part of the night before face deep in a cartoon of ice cream watching tv. Bags were started to show under her eyes. JJ had not taken it any easier on her. Still, her energy level didn't waver. Perhaps she simply ran off air.

In that case, she'd out match him for sure! She yanked a training stick into her palm with a force assisted tug, grinning as she playfully slashed at him.

"So what IS Form 2?" Slash slash. "...Come to think of it, whatisshiicho." She was ready to listen.

 

[WelshGuy]

Watching Kyra work on her energy levels, whisking excite off the air, it was impressive but he knew that it was possible at that age to live off nothing and still be full of energy. However, he was going to have to make Kyra eat regularly and sleep properly, his training was harsh but it would be good discipline for Kyra moving forward. Chuckling he heard Kyra asking him about what the Forms were. "Lets start with Shii-Cho, it was the first formal Lightsaber Form by the Jedi. It is focused on disarming and removing your opponents weapon." Yuroic explained, "Makashi which is the second form, this is focused on duelling, dealing with an opponent with melee weapon."

It was these simple Forms that would lead into more complex and critical approach towards fighting and outmanoeuvring one's opponent. "After this two Forms, it is best to learn Djem So and Shien. Those are the most common fighting techniques, so it is good to have a solid understanding of this Form to know how to counter and put the opponent on the back foot." Yuroic demonstrated several moves of Makashi, "see this is focused on short jabs, precise motions that require focus and understanding. This is likely one of the harder forms to learn because of the precision that is needed to perfect it." Yuroic explained to Kyra.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra yelped and scrambled back, quickly put on her back foot as she tried to block and disarm his weapon. It would be good too see the Shii Cho sticking with her. Clearly her foot had gone out the window in the meantime. And he wasn't even trying to do more than a demonstration.

"So I actually get to attack now?" She echoed, excitement in her tone. She tried to mirror his jabs with two attempts of her own, the padawan taking two thoughtless steps forward as she did so, pushing an advantage.

 

[WelshGuy]

He watched as Kyra attempted to block and return an attack, Yuroic hadn't intended to strike at her but he blocked with sharp precision as he showed off Makashi. He was clean sharp and precise in attacks and defence. Moving to the side, he showed Kyra a few more moves. "Attacking is part of this Form. However, remember as Jedi, we don't go looking for conflict. The aim is to end the conflict before it even starts." Yuroic informs her, trying to make sure she sticks to the right path.

"Now follow me, we can do this together." Yuroic stated reassuringly as he moved forward, moving his saber in several movements as he showed her more and more of the second form.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra tried to emulate. And it had to be noticed that the exchange at least was going a lot smother than that day of their first class. No tears. No whining. Every move he made towards her wasn't met by a noise of complaint or a flair of attitude. She was open to him. Open to the class, open to listening.

Her skills, however, still needed their refinement. It was a wonder she had been learning for so long, she barely looked past the 6th month mark moving with him.

"But what if they don't want to end the conflict. What if they come at you wanting to kill?" She challenged, her voice perking with youthful curiosity.