Private No Blades Present

[Shem Spinner]

No Blades Present
Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing​

Shem was quite poor when it came to blade work. His sparring matches hadn't gone to well, proving to be a low point of his training. There were, at least, other skills of his that he could hone. The Rishii fledgling was willing to bet good credit that when it came to bows, he was one of the best marksman at the Temple. That, he hoped, at least made up for how lacking his skill with a blade was. He couldn't rest easy and assume he was the best though. Most certainly not. That would go against the training rhetoric that had been given to him by his father, and of course Uncle Spinner would be greatly disappointed to see him in a lazy rut. He needed to train.

So, that's exactly what Shem did, taking his Goldwing out to one of the empty training rooms and setting up targets. Training droids mostly, all moving in a rotational pattern around the room at various heights. Then, once the training program began, the fledgling took flight with great speed, his trusty bow clutched in his talons. With the weapon on a lower power setting as to not damage any of the training droids, Shem got to work, knocking plasma arrows with his beak and spinning rapidly downward, letting arrows fly and pick off training droids in quick succession. By the time he hit the ground all but one remained hovering, which he quickly picked out of the air with a disappointed sigh.

That had surly brought his time down.

"Time?" he asked reluctantly.

"2 minutes," one of the training droids answered.

A wince came to his face. That was slower than his last run. It seemed that he was much further from being the best than he thought. He sighed, slinging his bow over his back and pulling out a carton of chocolate milk. The sugar was important when training, and Shem quite liked the stuff. His milk was, very quickly, gone, leaving behind only the empty container. As he readied his bow to start again, the patter of footsteps came into the range of his avian ears, giving him a moment of pause.

"Huh?" he reacted, turning to the source of the sound. "Hello?"

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

It was between her journeys that she decided to detour back around the Coruscant. Before she headed to Dathomir, she wanted to shave the rust off her energy bow skills. Especially since she hadn't really attempted to use them well in the past. Links of energy bows and her father were closely tied together, he had been a master of the craft when she was a child and seeing one now, it tended to bring back sad memories of him. After Kashyyyk though, and all the growth she had developed as a person, perhaps it was time to give the weapon a fair shot. It was the weapon commonly used by the Nightsisters of Dathomir and there was a reason for it, made sense to her to give it a true go.

Searching for a quiet place to train, while Dreidi was fairly skilled in combat training, usually one of the better trained fighters of her peer groups. It especially helped when she mixed her Magick into the fights as well. Now, though, now she was trekking into 15 years unused skills. Dreidi held the energy bow in her hands and sighed. Could she ever get as skilled with this weapon as her father was? Did she want to be skilled with one since it did not save her father's life?

Wandering into the room, Dreidi spotted someone was already training, scoring a time with the droids of two minutes. Didn't sound like a bad score to her at all. The first time she got this weapon, she came here and gave a single attempt, her score was around five minutes. Now she wasn't even sure she could score that well with just the bow and no other tricks. Hearing the Padawan call out, Dreidi stepped forward and gave a polite smile.

"Hi, Dreidi Xeraic. I'm a Jedi Knight, nice to meet you and good score there." Dreidi commented.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

"Oh, thanks," Shem replied at the compliment. It wasn't his best, but he at least appreciated the kind words. "It's not my fastest time unfortunately. I'm trying to shave it down to a minute, but..."

It was proving to be more difficult than he imagined. Repetition was only getting him so far.

"Oh yeah," he continued, "I'm Shem Spinner, Jedi Padawan." The Rishii puffed out his chest, putting his feathered hands on his hips. "Bow Master in the making... some day, anyways. I'm not as good as my dad yet."

The boy's eyes narrowed as he looked at the object that the Jedi Knight held in her hands, which immediately filled him with excitement. Shem knew bows pretty well. Who used them, how they were constructed, that sort of thing. He very quickly recognized where the energy bow was from, though he had only ever seen pictures of the weapon.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, "That's a Nightsister Energy Bow. Those things are supposed to be wicked strong. I bet the energy output is crazy!" Shem cocked his head, looking up at the Dreidi. "Where'd you get it?"

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Dreidi chuckled softly, "I understand the feeling of wanting to live up to your father's legacy. My own father was an expert archer. Was called the Silver Archer since he was part of the old Silver Jedi Order. Taught me a few things as a kid but never took it up after he passed." She held out her energy bow as Shem commented on the type of bow it was, seemed that he had a good idea for the details and could tell what style it was. She was impressed and didn't realise how much the different types of energy bow stood out.

"I was gifted it by a fellow Nightsister. She taught me how to use Magick to communicate with animals and gifted this bow to me in order to do Dathomir proud." She activated the bow, "I wouldn't know the details of how it operates personally, but it does a good job and I plan on using it well. Just got to train with it some more now." Dreidi chuckled softly.

Looking around, she didn't notice a Master with Shem to help him practice. "I might not be great, but do you want to train together?" She offered, having always preferred to train with a partner than doing things over and over on her own. Droids could only get her so far in terms of skill.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

Was called the Silver Archer since he was part of the old Silver Jedi Order.

"Woah..."

The Silver Archer? Now that was a title. Shem hoped that he'd be able to become that renowned with a bow, but he figured there was a lot of growing that he'd have to do in order to get there. It wasn't long before the knight was relaying the origins of her bow, how it was a gift from a Nightsister...

Oh, she was a witch. That was awesome. Shem had never met a witch before, or at least not that he was aware of. What was more exciting was that she asked if he'd be willing to let her join in on his training session. A chance to see the Nightsister Bow in action.

"Heck yeah!" Shem exclaimed. "That would be great! I've been needing to find a training partner."

He was one of the few Jedi around here that used a bow, so partners for training were difficult to come by.

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Nodding her head, she smiled warmly as her offer seemed to met with the strong enthusiasm that only a young Padawan could bring to life. It was the enthusiasm she always held when she was young and was learning new techniques in the Force, Magick and in her combat training. She always had to be learning and was excited to do so. Now there a different level of enthusiasm, a good level but some tiredness as well. Sleep seemed more important to her body currently, it was adjustments as she aged.

Looking around, "what is the training we should do then? This bow training is still fairly new for me, so happy to do whatever you want." Dreidi mentioned as she tested her drawstring and felt the weight of the bow in her hands. It felt like old times, while she knew her aim was not going to be great, it was already feeling similar to her times as a child. A time where she was pretty skilled with a bow.

Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be to take up the bow.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

"what is the training we should do then? This bow training is still fairly new for me, so happy to do whatever you want."

"Cool!" he nodded. "I do a few different things. Sometimes I run the basic moving target program to see how fast I can hit all of my shots, but I also run a live fire simulation too. It's good for practicing avoiding shots as much as taking them."

He just had to set the room back up. Shem made his way over to the main training probe, resetting the program to before start, which prompted the droids to take their place in the air once more. As he began to put in the specifications of the training, the Rishii fledgling turned back to Dreidi.

"Alright, which do you prefer?" Shem asked. "Also is there a speed setting you want? I usually run it pretty fast."

That might not be the best for someone who's a little rusty.

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Dreidi listened to the different options of the training. "Lets start with the moving targets. Live rounds might be a little too intense for a first time." Dreidi stated.

"Run it fast, I might be rusty but I got some tricks under my sleeve." Dreidi stated with a chuckle. She took a solid stance, she rubbed the back of her neck. "let's give it our all."

She waited for him to set him up challenge and breathed in deeply, attempting to calm her nerves, she had this and she could run things quickly. She had the Force, she had Magick, she was ready, she was skilled enough for this. Just had to remember the training that her father imbued her.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

"Okay!" Shem nodded enthusiastically.

He liked the cut of her jib. High speed worked for Shem, of course, but he always respected a willingness to throw one's self into straight into the fire. A high level of determination always got him pumped. The fledgling very often found that the confidence of others rubbed off on him.

With no more reason to wait, Shem started the simulation, prompting the training droids to spin rather quickly around them at varying heights.

Shem readied his bow, a grin on his face. The boy was very eager to see what it was that the knight was capable of.

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Breathing in deeply, Dreidi focused on the targets. Her mind wandered back to the words her father would tell her when he had attempted to train her in archery. Focus on your breathing, Dreidi. Relax your body and let the energy flow from you into the bow. Pay attention to your surroundings and don't aim for the first target you see, think about it. Be tactical. The words of her father lingered in her mind for the moment, she was remembering the lessons deep in her mind, long forgotten for a while but now she was recalling it all. Her fingers gripped the bow tighter, she felt the determination flow through her deeper.

The first target came into view but Dreidi didn't fire. It wasn't a threat she needed to handle yet, something told her to dodge left instead. A stun bolt hit the ground where her foot was, which caused her to smirk. This was all flowing back, in fact the speed and movements of these droids were nothing compared to the tests that her father would put her through, and even then, he was holding back on her since she would watch him practice on his own and how brutal his training sessions were on his own.

Firing her bow, the first arrow missed her target, this caused her growl in frustrations. She had wanted to do better. She wanted to hit that first target, but that didn't seem likely really. Instead, she focused on the next. Never lingering and keeping her body fluid and moving around, she fired again. This time, she hit the target square on. That was it, that was what she needed!

You got this Dreidi! Her father's voice echoed.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

Dreidi started off slow, but very quickly began picking up the pace. On miss, then she was hitting targets quite well. Rusty, but clearly skilled. That was enough to pump Shem up even more. The boy flapped up into the air, prepping his bow and knocking an arrow with his beak.

His father had instructed him on the art of archery when he was very little. Shem had never spent much time on Rishi, as it was far too dangerous. That's what his dad had told him, anyways. Still, Yulon Spinner would always make time to come visit his son, with the assistance of the boy's Great Uncle Karos. When the two practiced archery together, the Rishii Chieftain would always remind his son of the most important thing.

"You are the wind," he'd say, "The wind is you. Let your body flow with it. When your bow becomes an extension of your body, your arrow will flow with the wind as well."

Highly metaphorical, of course. That was his father, but Shem lived by that principle. He was the wind. The wind was him. He flowed with the air around him, letting it guide his shots. Three arrows flew, one by one making their mark. A grin spread across the fledgling's beak.

"Alright!"

He may have been the wind, but he was not without a little pride.

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Shem was clearly more skilled at the archery side of this than Dreidi and she couldn't help but be impressed with how well he was doing. It was clearly a talent with the bow and something that Dreidi realised that she could gain as long as she kept up her training.

Dodging one droid's attack, she realised she had positioned herself for another to hit her. Not looking to fail, Dreidi felt the droid about to shoot her and disappeared into mist. Green smoke trails where she was before she reappeared behind the droid and fired an arrow straight into it. From there, she launched into several more swift and quick attacks, mixing some of her magic into her movements. It was good to see her mind adjust quickly and her body instinctively start knowing what to do.

This was definitely something she needed to master as part of her combat prowess. It was a bridge between her Jedi side and her Witch, a way to have both.

"How are we doing?" Dreidi called out to Shem, not keeping track of things too much herself.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

"Woah... awesome," Shem muttered as he watched Dreidi TELEPORT.

That was really impressive. No wonder witches were supposed to be crazy archers. Shem kept at it though, brief distraction aside, swerving through the area and picking off droids.

"How are we doing?"

"Just a sec," the fledgling responded.

The boy spun, three arrows flying out. Most notably, they seemed to curve a little in the air, slightly influenced by his use of the force. It was a trick his father had taught him, though Shem wasn't as good at it yet. Still, it got the job done. The last droids fell, and Shem landed and called out...

"Time?"

"One minute, thirty nine seconds." the central training droid answered.

Shem's eyes lit up with excitement, positively beaming.

"Groovy."

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Dreidi spotted that Shem had been able to fire multiple arrows and the same time. Dreidi was curious if her bow could do that since it seemed to be a handy feature that she would definitely have to try out. "Nice skills, you did great. Definitely got me interested in trying some new things out for when I train with this in the future." Dreidi confessed, she was not ashamed like she would before that there was still much she needed to learn. Especially since her skills were varied so she knew how much there was to learn.

"A new record or a solid time?" Dreidi asked curious on how good that time was since she had no comparisons.

She rocked her head around, easing the tension in her neck and relaxing her body once more as she breathed in deeply. Ready to go again if needed or just relax for a moment and share a chat with Shem, neither option was a bad one in Dreidi's mind, she was just enjoying the present moment of the adrenaline high without the anxiety of failing.

 

[Shem Spinner]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Dreidi Xeraic

Goldwing, Epo-1, R5-T399​

"Nice skills, you did great. Definitely got me interested in trying some new things out for when I train with this in the future."

"Awesome!" Shem beamed, pumping his fists with excitement.

He liked reinvigorating people's love for archery. It was an art, so he was glad to meet someone else who thought so highly of it. The complement of his skills was just the icing on top.

"It's faster than I've done before," the fledgling admitted, "But we're also more than one person, huh?"

The boy laughed a little. Of course two people were better than one. It was a no brainer. Now his curiosity was peaked though. Who was this witch lady who was here with the Jedi? Shem's imagination was practically spinning with ideas of what she got up to regularly. He simply had to know.

"What do you usually do?" the boy asked. "When you're out of the Temple, I mean."

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Nightsister Energy Bow
Tag: Shem Spinner

Nodding her head, "well at least we worked in sync and well together, that is what it shows. Getting a slower time than you did on your own would mean things were as smooth between us." Dreidi gave a light chuckle as she gave her views on the time.

She shrugged, "I float around the galaxy, doing things as a Jedi should. Assisting those in need, cleansing the Dark Side from places and attempting to understand the many people out there who aren't always heard or understood." She wasn't too sure how to simplify things but she held one example of the things she was aiming to do, "for example, I want to bridge the gap between witches of Dathomir and the Jedi."

"Many Jedi have the false assumption that witches are inherently evil or Dark Side based, but Magick is a spectrum and an emotionally charged connection. Emotions like hatred, anger and pain, they can fuel Magick and allow a witch to do a great amount of power, but love, hope, unity and joy, they can all be powerful enough to match it." Dreidi explained, "it is why I don't find conflict between using Magick, the Force and being a Jedi and a Witch, one can do both. It just isn't simple or an easy life to live." She laughed.

She looked over to Shem, "how about you? What do you aim to do as a Jedi?" Curious what the new Padawans were aiming for now.