O' Dark, Dark, Dark

[Lassiter]

The floodlights flashed to life only to expose the unconscious acolyte to the coldness of light. From a top an out-of-reach ledge she would be able to tell the back-and-forth pacing shape of her Master as the sound of footsteps echoed around her. The air was thick, cold. Each breath steamed in the contrasting light and darkness as Sena watched her apprentice while just barely keeping her own desires in check.

She was just sitting there. A fresh victim was just sitting there helpless and alone. The voice within the Master’s mind urged her to do it. Just like old times, stab and bail. But she couldn’t do that. Not anymore. This was her student and no matter how hard that tempting little whisper in her mind would try to persuade her otherwise there was little Sena could do but begrudgingly set her urges aside for the purpose of ‘helping’ this woman grow.

Leather creaked as her gloved hands wrapped themselves around the cold metal railing. Sena leaned over the railing to let her apprentice know just exactly who it was that held the power over who here. Sena was, and no matter what the apprentice tried to do that wouldn’t change in a long while. The lightsaber that had previously been attached to the apprentice’s belt was now safely attached to Sena’s. The only thing that the girl in the spotlight had going for herself right now was the clothes on her back and the cuffs on her wrists and not much else.

“Wake up, Zambrano.” The soft hum of one Sena Lassiter would echo throughout the empty chamber. “I took the liberty of ensuring your co-operation. I am sure you don’t mind.”

For a second Sena allowed herself to chuckle. This was the part where it began, the part where Joycelyn would be given the same tutoring that had helped turn Sena from a street urchin into the Sword of Vahl. Only there had been upgrades. Upgrades meant to further torment the one subjected to the horrors that Sena herself hadn’t truly been exposed to. The hounds were still there, but the challenge was renewed.

There were four doors leading into the cell that Joycelyn would find herself detained within. Each of them lead to one exit. More specifically they all lead to the same exit but along the way there would be different obstacles for the student to get over.

The first of which was waking up.

“I see you have been busy while I was away.” Sena mused as she let go of the railing and withdrew her apprentice’s saber. “It’s kind of... Plain, don’t you think?”

With the flick of a button she turned it off. A red beam. A wide grimace spread on the master’s features.

“Poor shape. Red beam. Overall a lousy design.” Sena chided her student before turning the saber off again in disgust. “No. This won’t do. You will get yourself a real saber when we are done or you won’t get a saber at all.”

Spontaneous shift in mood.

“So, how are you feeling? Stuck, perhaps? Exposed? ... Well?”

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Dreaming, she had been dreaming. Whatever she had seen in her dreams was ripped from her mind by the floodlights. Joycelyn was always cranky when she woke up in the morning, but this was a whole new level of irritation. Her brown eyes blinked a few times before they opened fully. Her gaze swept over the room before setting on the form of Lassiter. Anger glowed in her eyes as she glowered at her master. Once again, the vile woman had one of Joycelyn's things. The Vahla-Epicanthix righted her position on the chair and wiped some drivel from the corner of her mouth. She tried to free herself from the chair with muscle, but felt herself restrained. As Sena spoke ill of the lightsabre she had taken from Steve during the attack on Coruscant, she stilled.

"It's worked quite fine for me so far. I like it."

In all reality, she was more fond of having a lightsabre than it being that specific one. Sure, it was not optimal, but it was hers. Besides, she thought her words would annoy Sena. It would seem the Sword of Vahl wanted to keep tormenting her and Joycelyn did not intend to roll over.

"I'm quite bored really. Will there be pain? Will you zap me like last time? Then bring it."

[member="Lassiter"]

 

[Lassiter]

“Oh I am sure it has.” Sena noted as she attached the saber hilt to her belt once more.

The entire set-up was perfect. The acolyte was bound to her chair and making hollow tough-talk. Sena wasn’t much for it, but it was amusing to watch the acolyte try to stir the metaphorical pot without anything to go on. Being ‘bored’ was quite understandable in the end.

“Bored, huh?” Sena spoke with a grin. “No, today is not about me bringing you pain.”

“It’s an obstacle course!” The teacher announced rather prompt and loudly. “You are to find your way through to the end of this exercise without doing any harm to either you or the ones who enter it alongside you.”

The floodlights turned off with a bang. The darkness devoured the room once more as the four doors slid open with a hiss. Several low growls emanated from all directions of where the apprentice remained seated. There were four of them to be precise, one for each entrance into the maze that had been constructed for Sena’s student. They all surrounded her. Intruding upon her personal space, breathing down the young Zambrano’s neck from all directions.

“The hounds will grant you a one minute grace period before they are set loose into the maze with only one order and one order only.” Sena paused for dramatic effect. “To kill you.”

“Pick your entrance and run. The challenge starts...” Second pause. The cuffs around the student’s wrists came undone. The clang as they hit the ground would have to serve as the starting shot. “... Now.”

It would be interesting to see what [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] made of the lack of instructions. Why ask if she knew the basics of Force Sense and Vision when you could make her prove it? Oh this would be fun.

Sena let out a throaty laughter.

O’ Dark, Dark, Dark. They all go into the dark.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

As the Hounds intruded on Joycelyn's personal space, she pulled on her restraints and snapped her humanoid jaws at them to warn them off when they came too close. They were called hounds, so she would hound them right back. She didn't just do it to keep them off, but also to count them for later. Apparently it would be a race through a maze, and the hounds were there to sniff her out. It actually sounded like it could be fun. Of course she would not be getting her lightsabre back any time soon by the looks of it.

"How cute"

Joycelyn tensed her legs as the starting line was set up, and the moment her restraints were removed, she jumped to her feet. She had no idea where to go, so she closed her eyes and looked to her instincts. Joy had often found that her instincts would guide her just where she needed to go, if she trusted them. It took only a split second before she felt a pull to the left. So she feinted right before bolting towards the door. Her brown eyes passing over the Hounds. Were they following her, or would they spread out? Many of the following corridors could potentially cross, which would mean she could find herself cornered if she did not pay attention.

As Joycelyn bolted for the door, her right hand made a subtle, but rude gesture towards the Sword of Vahl. It was an Epicanthix gesture, and not one that was too often thrown about.

[member="Lassiter"]

 

[Lassiter]

That was not good enough for the master. It didn’t take a genius to figure it wasn’t a nice thing to do. Sena let the epicanthix run, let her approach the door.

... Because she was in control of the facility. She was in control of the doors. A very displeased expression grew on the master’s face as she reached for the controls to the door. With a few rapid punches she waited for just the right moment in [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]’s sprint for the door to shut it close. Fast.

No sooner than the woman had reached (and hopefully collided with) the door was the lights turned back on again. The entire room was lit up. Sena was fully visible as was the dogs.

“No, no that ain’t how it works.” Sena withdrew the apprentice’s saber as well as her own. The pink blade of Sena’s new saber slid through the hilt of her apprentice. The top of which was discarded onto the ground in front of Joycelyn not long before the rest of the hilt was tossed for her face.

The door slid open once more, the lights went out. The hounds pounced for the epicanthix mutt with their own sabers set to lethal.

“Run, whelp, lest the hounds get you.”

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

The door quite literally shut in her face. Joycelyn crashed into the metal surface and bounced back, still standing. Blood dripped from her nose as she turned around to face her master and the hounds. She flinched for a second as the lights were thrown on, taking a moment for her to adjust to the new brightness of the room. She regained full sight just in time to see Lassiter slice through Joy's lightsabre and toss it to the ground. Internally, Joy was not very joyful, and she was cursing the woman in many imaginative ways. She was certainly not getting her weapon back.

As the ruined hilt was thrown, Joycelyn caught it and looked at the cut for a moment. Her eyes then went to the Hounds with their sabres. She did not need to see the door opening, as she could hear it. Wiping the blood from her nose on her sleeve, she stepped backwards into the corridor to limit the space for the Hounds. Two, four, six steps back while the Hounds came a-rushing. Joycelyn jumped back and out of range for the first and far-too-close cut before giving the hound a straight punch with her right hand and loosening some of the Hound's teeth. Another swooping blade came far too close as the big acolyte slammed her body against the wall to avoid, then retaliated by pushing off from the wall and presenting her elbow to the same Hound's temple in a potentially bone-shattering strike, followed by a powerful low-kick in the opposite direction.

It was beginning to get crowded, the pointy glowsticks grew in multitude and she would rather not get caught. So, grasping the chance, she bolted away from the confrontation to fight another minute. She would always fight again, and she would win.

[member="Lassiter"]

 

[Lassiter]

Sena would lie if she said she didn’t grin. The sight of the door masterfully shutting in her apprentice’s face was in a sense ever so rewarding, but the long-term effects of it all was quite obvious. Dreadful, if anything, like playing with fire. Here was this young girl, or well, a woman of equal age as Sena who could and most likely overpower her in battle in a not too distant future, but helping in shaping the anger and angst burning within this subject was Sena’s sworn duty. Death or not, it was what the goddess wanted.

The hounds whined and growled as the young apprentice retaliated and delved into the maze. Ahead of [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] came a pit. A jumping puzzle as the cool kids called them. There were three different poles placed at different lengths between each other in the blinding darkness of the obstacle course. The first task here was obvious.

“Control the force in order to find your way across the pit. Maintain your focus and jump.” Best teacher award went to: Sena Lassiter. “If you fall down, like many other have, it could be centuries before we find you again.”

“Or perhaps I should say your dead body, if we’re being precise.”

The master trailed along the walkways. Observing. Examining and evaluating.

The fire in this one was bright.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

A pit, of course there was a pit. When was there ever not a pit? Joycelyn gritted her teeth, stained with the dark blood that flowed from her nose to cascade over her lips in sanguine drops. Taking three monstrous strides, she put the sole of her boot right on the edge of the pit and pushed off with all her might. Unfortunately, she was not using the Force, yet. She relied entirely on her own physical might and size which did exactly, just not do it. She did not miss, per se, not entirely, but was left hanging on to the top of the pole by her hands.

The Vahlacanthrix groaned as her hands clutched on to the step with a desperate might, and with a sneer she pulled herself up and climbed onto the pole. She could practically hear Lassiter's mocking laughter as she perched on top of the step. Her eyes narrowed then closed as Joycelyn focused on her breath. The Force, use the Force. Crouching down, first she calmed, then she rediscovered the fire in her heart. With another growl, she lunged and extended in the air and caught the second step. As her momentum carried her forward, she slung herself around and onto the second perch before instantly leaping to the next. This time. she landed on her feet and gathered the Force to drive her on to the last, and far longest, jump.

In the leap of faith, she closed her teeth and bit her teeth tightly together. Her heart raced, but at the same times stilled to near nothing. She stretched her legs as far forward as she possibly could before her feet finally hit the ground. She grinned, and threw a quick look over her shoulder before racing down the hall once more. It was a little victory

@Lassiter.

 

[Lassiter]

The struggle for life came in many ways. More often than not it came at the bloodied end of a knife, but sometimes, much like right now it was as simple as not letting go when the world expected you to fall. Sena’s apprentice had done well, the force had been negated, but she overcame it as easily as was to be expected. Truly, the fear of death was perhaps more on the master’s mind than the apprentice’s, but with time an opportunity to change that would arise. Sena just had to find it first.

“Well done.” She offered nothing more as her apprentice leaped each remaining pillar with ease.

“The force is yours to command, to shape and distill into a weapon worthy of the goddess.” The catwalk above her apprentice came to an end. “All you have to do is prove it. To her, and to me.”

The literal darkness was still reigning supreme. From this point onwards there would be no lights, no way to see the road ahead save for the use of the tool that the maze was meant to sharpen.

“Focus on your surroundings. The hounds are fast approaching. Move.”

The growls from the hounds as they leapt across the poles behind her apprentice called out in the dark.

Up ahead was the obligatory ledge and edge test. ledges meant to teach her student how to dodge and slide to prevent running her leg, head or entire body into walls when faced with nothing but complete darkness such as this.

Perhaps a bit unnecessary, but ever since that one really fateful bar fight long ago Sena learned the value of being able to run blind without actually hitting anything. The test up ahead was a life lesson for her student, if nothing else.

Not that she would ever admit to such a thing, of course.

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

The darkness instilled no fear in the halfbreed. Control the Force. She had been told similar things before, that one's eyes could deceive, but the Force would always guide one to the truth. Normally, like she had relied on her physique, she would rely on her sight and intelligence. However, given how her strength had almost failed her on the previous objective, she was inclined towards giving the Blessing of Vahl, The Force, a little more attention.

But how?

Darkness consumed her, Joycelyn felt her eyes draw closed on their own accord. Only her footsteps made sound as she ran. Most people would be far more tired at this point than she was. Joycelyn and her sister had always been whipped into shape, and seeing as she was always a little smaller than the Epicanthix, she had come to compensate with sheer endurance. Those she could not overpower, she simply outlasted.

In all these digressions and the creeping threat of fatigue, she felt something strange. It was almost as though she could sense a wall before it came. Instinctively her body revolved, narrowly escaping a collision. Joycelyn reached out as she avoided it, letting her fingernails brush against the harsh stone surface. In the distraction, her back collided with another wall. The force of her movement made it a fairly hefty impact, yet somehow she found herself able to slow down a little.

Sounds reverberated behind her, undoubtedly it was the hounds following her trail.

Joycelyn once more took off in a sprint. Her eyes remained closed and she reached out with the Force instinctively, much like the whiskers of a feline predator, probing ahead of her.

@Lassiter

 

[Lassiter]

Because what was darkness, truly? Much like Sena would have expected from someone that would be her student, Joycelyn had managed to perform without hesitation. Perhaps it was a true testament to what a good physique would do for your overall performance, but Sena wasn’t particularly inclined to admit that one to herself. After all, it was her unimpressive physique that had people underestimating her. It wasn’t just a game of appearances, it was a game of wits as well. The only thing the ‘Master’ had to keep in mind for herself was the strength of others. Both mentally and physically.

“Well done.” Sena’s voice echoed from above. “The next test is as much for you as it’s for the hounds. You may open your eyes again.”

A door opened before her apprentice. The bright light of a fire lit up the rest of the corridor and caused a grand shadow to be cast from her student. It was a grand chamber and while at first nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, once Joy would step through the doorway there would be no denying the presence of three different artifacts spread around different ledges of the room. However, there was a twist.

Two of them were not the ones she was looking for. Decoys meant to play with the girl’s mind.

“There are three different artifacts within this chamber.” Sena announced to her student. “Two of them will activate a switch that triggers a group of hounds to enter this room. The one you are looking for will activate the portcullis on the opposite side from your entrance.”

“You will need to both focus on the item that you seek as well as maintaining your control. Propel yourself to the ledges and pick the correct artifact.”

“Oh and, you’re going to need this.” Sena unhooked a secondary saber and tossed for her student to catch. “Blue blade. Even if stealth is not your forté there will without a doubt be a time when something a bit more... Subtle, could save your life.”

Still no love for the red blade.

Never would have either.

“I fully expect you to mess this up.” Sena grinned. “Though you’ve done a good job at proving me wrong so far. Keep it up.”

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

After stumbling through the dark, Joycelyn had to focus to calm down her breath and pulse after the running. She would need her wits about her soon enough. The voice of Lassiter cut through the dark with poisonous praise. Joyce's eyes opened, she was forced to blink a few times to adjust but found herself staring into very low light, her brown irises turned up against the source of her master's voice Though she followed the Sword's commands, her eyes were still full of defiance.

She jumped back half a step as the door opened, fully expecting there to be a hound or some other freak on the other side of the metal slab. The sudden blast of flame, light, and heat made her take another reactionary step. She pivoted like a wounded animal stuck in a circle of predators, but turned once more to the opening before her. Drawing to her full height, Joycelyn stepped forward and through the doorway cautiously, but with confidence.

Upon entering the room, she found herself with a strange, but familiar sensation. Her eyes narrowed and her right hand reached out as though to touch the vibration in the air. She had felt something akin to this before, this form of aura, on her home-planet of Panatha. Joyce had seen artefacts in the academies too, but most of them were so secured one could hardly even know if they were actually there. At the mention of ledges, Joy gave a quick glance over the room, plotting out the layout and possible routes.

As the hilt was thrown to her, Joycelyn threw out her hand and snatched it out of the air. The catch was completely instinctual; She didn't even really think about it. Her mind was too occupied with the room, but her senses were on high alert. Joy's thumb hit the button and she inspected the deep blue colour of the blade before throwing a glance up at the source of the voice once more.

"At least it's not green."

Joycelyn did not care much for blue, but she disliked the green ones. Perhaps, when she made her own, she would get a colour that resonated better with her. Now was not the time to think of such things. The Vahlacanthix extinguished the blade and hooked it to her belt before looking around.

"Three artefacts, two let the hounds in, one opens the door."

Joyce spun on her heel, looking over the ledges. Then, she sat down and exhaled. Which was which? Her fingers intertwined and her chin rested on the gathered knuckles. The crackle of fire sparked in hear ear as she repeated the premise. Three artefacts, one right, two wrong. Fighting the hounds would probably be easier on her, puzzles were never her thing. Yet, she would give it a solid try. Vahl, give me wisdom.

(1/2. Felt the need to split the posts.) [member="Lassiter"]

 

[Lassiter]

Eyes in the dark, staring at an apprentice sifting through a chamber looking for an artifact that wasn’t there. Oh there was three artifacts in there, but none of them was the one that Joycelyn was looking for. Sena extended her arm in front of her and uncurled her fingers to uncover the artifact that would have triggered the correct opening mechanism. It wasn’t the orthodox way of using this maze. Even in the darkness there were certain codes to abide, yet here Sena was defiling her own. There was no honor in this, no compassion for the student that would ultimately take her place. All there was, was the cruel desire to see her student perform under stress.

Every single artifact in the room would trigger the Hounds, much like it had for Sena who had failed her test the first time around. Getting knocked down by the hounds the first time, not being fast enough during the second. Third time's the charm.

There was no denying that ever since the two had teamed up, the day would come when Joy would try to face Sena by herself like sith did in a time long gone. To probe her student to see where her current capabilities lie was more of a personal preparation than anything.

A final glance set on the artifact in her hand. The one that she had replaced with something as equally noticeable in the force.

Booby trapping a trial.

She had to admit, for all her tough queen attitude was worth, even she felt bad about it.

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

After a good few minutes of feeling, Joycelyn put let her hands fall to her knees and thinned her lips. She was no good at this sensory stuff, it all felt the same. She could jump, run, climb and fight, but she was terrible at these delicate matters. Once, she had been tested in calligraphy, to see if she had any sort of artistic skill; she did not. Her strokes with the pen were too harsh, too forceful, as if she tried to carve the letters into the panel beneath. They said great swordsmen made great calligraphers, but she did not see it in her own work. She supposed she had a tendency of applying too much force.

A smile spread on her lips and her hands clenched around her knees as she leaned forward. Indeed, she was no good at delicate matters. She would much rather fight the Hounds than solve the puzzle. Rising up, Joyce took the lightsabre in her right hand and held the left up into the air. She closed her eyes and focused on the three objects. Her brow furrowed in concentration as her fingers curled.

The three artefacts shook, then jumped off their shelves one by one, into Joycelyn's palm. Her fingers curled around them in determination as the blue blade sprung from her lightsabre, and her eyes set on the door from whence she had come. She would bet her life that she could defeat the Hounds and walk away. If not, then she would die in glorious combat, and she would meet with the goddess of her mother's kind.

[member="Lassiter"]

 

[Lassiter]

She went with the loud tactic. Sena held on to the artifact in her hand and looked as the fake artifacts tumbled to the ground and landing in Joycelyn’s hands. The gate from whence she had come opened. The growls filled the chamber. They echoed around the acolyte to form a small barrage of sound trying to overpower her senses with fear. Though Sena was no fool, not everyone was her. Joy wouldn’t let fear get the better of her. Sena had been terrified her first time, yet even Sena had managed to make something out of herself.

A dozen hounds encircled the epicanthix vahla. Growling, taunting her and twirling their sabers in a mockery. Sena had known from experience that they wouldn’t outright kill her student, yet ever so slowly it had dawned even upon the terrified Acolyte Lassiter that the entire test was as much about not fearing death as it was about honing the mastery of one’s skills.

Two of the hounds broke free from the circle to fling themselves at their new prey. One dashing for her legs, the other going for her head with keen precision.

This was the part where Lassiter would either find reassurance...

... Or find herself facing a new kind of fear.

Though which of them it was remained to be seen.

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Oh Joycelyn felt fear. The hairs on her arms and in her neck all rose to full attention as the doors opened and the growls grew in audacity. As the Hounds poured in and circled her, Joyce put the artefacts into her pocket without even really looking at them. She didn't have time to look at them. Her hands shook, but she tightened the grip on her weapon and gritted her teeth so hard she could swear she heard something cracking. She didn't answer the twirling sabres with a twirl of her own. Rather, she brought it in front of her in a simple guarding position. Her breath came in faster, she could hear it swishing through the cavities of her nose, and feel the cold touch down the back of her throat.

In the back of her mind, a single prayer for violent times.
'Witness me Vahl, witness my wrath.'

And from her lungs she released a shout of pure, searing hot anger to counteract the taunting growls and twirling sabres. Two came at her, one high, one low. It was a bad place to be, but she had nowhere else to go. It was easier to duck than jump, so she crouched down as the sabres came swinging at her. Her blue blade swung out to the side, parrying the cut for her legs one-handedly while her other lashed out at the other Hound's groin with a balled fist and cruel intent. She figured it would keep the high-hound occupied for just another second. Shifting her stance and weight, she placed one hand on her other and forced the low-hound's sabre back with a growl of her own. Then, shifting her wrist she slashed down parallel with the blade to sever the Hound's fingers and remove the weapon. The high-hound would probably be recovering by now, so she brought her blade around at the hound's knee-level.

The acolyte was practically foaming at the mouth in her battle-rage; her heart beat so hard and so fast, one could almost count the beats on her tunic.

@Lassiter.

 

[Lassiter]

A step back in surprise felt appropriate. Sena watched as her apprentice shrieked at the incoming hounds. A dodge, a slash and a punch that caused even young Lassiter to flinch in pain. The hound writhed and whined in pain as the other recuperated from the parried attack. Two other hounds stepped in to withdraw the whining pup. The hound that had already gone high was alone for this round, or at least so it would seem. Strike one down and another took it’s place. The hound that was downed was replaced by another.

The snarling beasts approached Joycelyn in unison. They had already tried a simultaneous attack once with mixed results, but that didn’t mean they were smart enough to comprehend that. At their base the hounds were still feral beings twisted by alchemy. Rationale and smarts were of little importance to the mob mentality.

One hound sought to pounce Joy directly as the other reached out to grab at her saber-wielding hand.

Sena winced in preparation for the potential hurt, fully remembering the time the hounds had done the same to her. She had survived, she always did, but they were not kind. But that was the thing. In the end the hounds would never be allowed to kill one of those weren’t part of the sacrifices. There was something greater than that waiting Joycelyn. Even Sena could see that, and she despised the woman.

But for now she would remain quiet about it. It wasn’t the time or place to say what Joy’s destiny was just yet.

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Joycelyn expected to be outnumbered; coming at her two or more at the time was their great advantage. She would just have to be twice as ferocious to compensate. She could feel them approaching and she was about to turn her lightsabre to quickly stab the charging hound in the eye then turn back with an overhead. However, she found her hand to suddenly be locked in place by a tight grip. She didn't have time to think. Instead, instinctively, she turned her plan inside out: If she could not put the sword to the hound; she would but the hound to the sword.

Extending her hands to either side, as far as she could, Joycelyn gave herself as much reach as she possibly could. Her left hand snaked up as though to punch, but instead gripped the pouncing hound and pulled, adding to his momentum. Turning her hip and drawing her left hand in close, she put an obstacle in the Hound's trajectory and threw him over the outside of her shoulder. As she did, the Hound was thrown onto the approximately horisontal blue column of plasmic death and sheared in two.

Next would be the one holding her hand. The position she was in after the throw was like a compressed spring as she gripped her own wrist and turned her entire body with a ferocious roar. She did not try to pull herself free, but rather to push the sabre against the Hound holding it. As she had just thrown one of its comrades in its trajectory, she figured it would have a moment of pulling back, which only added to her opportunity. She tipped the blade forward and forced it through the Hound's head, cleaving it half-way before she tried to wrest her weapon into a horizontal slash to cover her back.

Yes, there was hurt. However, it was not Joycelyn who bled - Not yet.

[member="Lassiter"]

 

[Lassiter]

The weaker Vahla stood back on the catwalk above the proving grounds. Another glance set itself upon the artifact in her hand and then at her apprentice. She drew notes, washed down the guilt with the metaphorical blood of the hounds as they pounced at Joycelyn. The half-Vahla’s face lit up in the dark, giving the apprentice a few seconds to see her master as she took note. Notes of the technique, the ferocity and the fact that she was able to take lives without even blinking. In truth, she was more terrified of what she had seen than before, which coming from a Sword of Vahl, would stand to mean a lot to some.

The screen faded into dark and Sena was back to watching her student in proper. Hounds whined before death, one cut in half much like the other. Gruesome, but effective. The rest of the hounds began to back off. As much as Sena wouldn’t have minded her student taking even more of a beating, she even more preferred not having to take a beating herself for getting far too many hounds into the medbay or killed. They all had their masters, Sena was no exception.

“Back off.” Her order sounded to the Hounds who proceeded to back away from the apprentice and the two dead bodies. “She’s had enough.”

A sigh reverberated around the chamber. Sena grabbed on to the railing and jumped down into the test to talk to her student directly.

“You fight better than most.” It was genuine praise, it would have been wrong to give anything else. “The hounds aren’t usually beaten this easily by someone so... New to the organisation.” She never had liked words such as ‘cult.’ It felt far too simplistic, too primitive for what the Ember was performing. “But tell me, why do you do it? Why do you fight in the face of hopeless odds?”

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Her heart beat so fast she couldn't even count the beats, and so hard it felt as though her chest could hardly contain it. Adrenaline rushed through her system, pumped out by fear and self-preservation. She wasn't thinking of what she was doing or the consequences it had for others, in that moment, she was simply surviving. Of course, she would project her own faith onto that spark of survival. The Vahlacanthix whipped about with her sabre extended like a threatening torch. Her eyes were wild, her breath quick and shallow.

"Back off" "She's had enough."

The words made her pause. The sabre in her hand lowered as the Hounds backed off, yet she did not relax. She kept her eyes on the hounds, then let her gaze fall down to the two dead ones at her feet before looking at Lassiter as she landed. The blue sabre was extinguished and the acolyte tried to calm her breath. Her hands still shoot and the adrenaline still pumped through her veins like a wildfire of bloodlust.

"I thought they would be tougher."

She gave a cheeky grin at the Sword.

"Why do I fight?" Joycelyn looked genuinely puzzled. "Why wouldn't I fight? Should I just have rolled over in fear and let them beat me?"

She took half a step towards Lassiter, a smile on her lips.

"Yes, I killed them, and I liked it. It's a rush; I feel extatic. Like Vahl herself has graced my soul with her fire."

She clenched the lightsabre in her hand, the bloodlust was still evident in her brown eyes. Her force-signature was flaring dangerously close to a rage, all she needed was the trigger.

[member="Lassiter"]