Faction Phantom Limb [NJO]

[Katherine Holt]

As Colette dodged her punch, an idea struck Katherine as she quickly attempted to raise her own defence. But her opponent was quicker, grabbing a hold of her wrist and yanking on it. Katherine was sent stumbling forwards, but she managed to maintain her footing and balance thanks to her wings.

Thank you Valery for helping me with that.

Katherine turned around to face Colette, who was grinning at her again. She had gone into a defensive stance, and the Padawan realised her opponent was trying to gauge her movements. Katherine smirked as she slipped into a more aggressive stance, giving off the idea that she was going to exactly what Colette wanted.

The winged Padawan dashed forwards, moving low as she delivered a couple punches to her stomach. A third was followed up shortly after, once more aimed towards Colette’s face. Only this time when she went to duck, Katherine moved behind and grabbed ahold of her opponent’s hair.

She yanked on the ponytail, forcing Colette to a stop. A brief tug of war occurred, before Katherine pulled her opponent towards her, bringing her knee up to Colette’s abdomen.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Katherine Holt

Okay, so three punches at the gut. It was manageable, but Katherine was clearly not putting her all into it, and why was that? A punch landed, yet given the relative softness it was delivered with it reeked of distraction, but for what? Another punch was thrown for her face and Colette still couldn't quite place it. What was—

"Ow!" The first word out of Colette's mouth for a good few minutes by now which were quickly followed by an "Oof!"

The kid fell to the floor and rolled over to get back on her feet. The hair, it was all for the hair. Of course, it made sense. It wasn't what one could call a 'fair' move, but given the screams she could hear from Cora and Shan's spar it would seem that 'fair' was as always an elusive thing in these kind of drills.

The hair had to go then. Colette cleared her throat for a moment to give Katherine the go ahead to re-engage. They began to circle for a moment until the most peculiar sight. Valery and Kahlil seemed awfully excited about this spar, and given who were squaring up against each other it made sense.

"They have a bet going." Colette whispered as she closed in on Katherine. "Now, way I see it is, if we quit now Kahlil will win with that hit you landed."

"And I don't know about you, but if it's my work they seek to make something out of, I'd rather neither of them have it." Colette continued to circle so that Katherine could see the two masters as well. "I am going to strike you as hard as I can in the stomach, but not too hard. That's a promise, after which you and I shake hands and declare a draw."

"If that sounds fair to you, take the hit. If not, just… Dodge or something."

And then the kid sprung to action with very little warning. Her hand reached out to place itself on Katherine's shoulder to pull her in to a quick jab straight in her stomach before Colette pulled back. She let out a few deep breaths and then slowly stepped out of stance and extended her hand.

"Call it a draw?" She spoke out loud, as if to make a point to… Someone. "No winner, no loser."

 

[Cailen Corso]

​

"I don't know how I'll get passed if I can barely see."

​

“You have us,” Cailen said with a smile, looking to Aliris Tremiru for some sign of support.

He didn’t know her, but he did see her giving Loomi a hand. She was a good friend, or had the potential to be if she wasn’t already.

“W-we can see for you! We can work together, and get by those droids!”

Just because they weren’t using the Force didn’t mean they weren’t still Jedi. They could do this, if they did it as a team.

---

Tags: Loomi | Aliris Tremiru | + OPEN​

 

[Loomi]

Myrkr
Tags: Aliris Tremiru , Cailen Corso

Loomi noted Aliris's shift behind her, giving a reassuring smile.

"It's okay," Loomi assured quietly. "He's my friend too."

Cailen was a very gentle individual. No doubt the boy had some rough experiences of his own. Needless to say Aliris had nothing to worry about from his presence.

".. Maybe we can't. By ourselves. But.. We can rely on other people, right? So.. I'll help you."

“W-we can see for you! We can work together, and get by those droids!”

Loomi paused for a moment, then her smile returned. She looked a little more confident now, even with the nerves. They just had to work together and they'd make it through, right? It was all they had without the force after all.

"Y-yeah," she nodded. "Okay. Thank you, guys..."

She'd take a moment to prepare herself, then whenever her friends were ready to run the course with her she'd be waiting with a second wind.

 

[Resh]

Myrkr
Eloise Dinn​

The bite was quickly proving to be a lot more trouble than it was worth. If a bit of reprimanding and personal shame wasn't enough, Resh's fellow padawan seemed fully intent on pummeling him into the dirt for it. The pureblood raised his arms over his head to block the strikes, taking a string that were definitely going to be leaving some bruises when this was over. He remained frozen in passivity, until another hit that grazed his head made him angry.

Resh finally got the common sense to move, pulling his head to the side, and throwing a fist into Eloise's gut. With any luck, it would knock enough wind out of her for him to wriggle free.

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise was so intent on pummeling the boy with the fangs that she failed to react fast enough to block the punch. His fist hit her gut, not only knocking the wind from her but threatening to empty her stomach of its contents. She rolled off of him willingly, retching over the dirt.

Resh

 

[Katherine Holt]

Katherine did admittedly wince at her own move, knowing all too well it wasn’t pleasant to get your hair pulled like that. But this was meant to be a pseudo fight for survival, and when it came down to it, dirty tactics were a necessity.

Speaking of dirt, Katherine glanced over to where Shan and Cora were sparring. The latter of which had seemingly got some of the dirt and mud in her hair. She had to refrain from laughing at the sight of Cora freaking out, while flicking what mud she could get off, towards Shan.

Katherine shifted her full attention back to her own spar, watching as Colette closed the distance. But rather than go in for an immediate attack, she began talking. The Padawan’s eyes flickered over towards the Noble Masters as she came into view, and Katherine chuckled lightly.

“I believe we’re in agreement there, Colette.” Katherine made a show of shifting into a defensive stance, moments before her opponent dashed in for the attack. The Padawan braced herself, taking the hit to her stomach. It wasn’t too hard, as Colette had promised, but it was enough to make it look good.

Katherine stumbled backwards a bit, groaning in pain. She seemed to wobble on her feet a little, until suddenly straightening and stepping towards Colette.

“A draw sounds good to me.” She said, shaking her opponent’s hand.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Katherine Holt

"Excellent," Colette smiled and gave a firm shake. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

Maybe not in quite as violent of a fashion, but all things considered this had actually been rather fun. Colette nodded at Katherine as a means to say 'bye for now' as she confidently and rather happily grinned over at Valery who was undoubtedly not having as much fun with that particular outcome.

Well, no point in delaying any longer. Colette knelt down at the side of the ring to pick up her loose gear again. She reattached her belt and then got to work with fastening the knife holster on her thigh and then sat down.

Of course, not too long after that a sharp cling emanated from somewhere near Colette. It was the kid who quickly lifted her hair from her shoulders and with a very precise cut sliced her way through the hair above the base of her ponytail and let it fall again. It didn't look pretty, but that wasn't exactly something Colette cared much about. Although the shape of her hair now had a distinct shortness to it, there was also a weird unevenness to it.

What had once been a rather sizable ponytail was discarded at her side. She ran her hand through her hair with a shake that just made the uneven cuts all the more evident. For all intents and purposes, she had never looked quite this… Well, savage was probably the word Corazona would have used.

And then she looked at the rest of the spars with a content smile despite the pain that began to slowly throb across her entire body. She had learned something valuable today about hair. That was one of those things she wagered was better taught by a friend than an enemy after all.

 

[Valery Noble]

Myrkr

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble

"Colette."

Valery narrowed her eyes as their spar ended in an actual draw, and turned her gaze to Kahlil. She knew that only her Padawan was enough of a smug brat to pull a joke like this, and that grin Colette flashed her way said it all. They had deliberately ended this in a draw, expecting the Jedi Masters to have placed a bet of some kind.

But Valery wasn't going to let her plans be ruined.

"You were right, she is frustratingly me," Valery grumbled, "But since it's a draw, one week where we massage each other?" Valery proposed with some batting of her eye lashes, and puppy eyes to match the look. Colette wasn't going to outsmart here today, not with something this important on the line.

"Cora and Shan seem to still be going though, and Cora is... using my tactics." Throwing dirt at Kahlil had been effective, and it seemed his Padawan had no response ready for it either. Still, it wasn't going to be an easy win.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"That works for me."

Kahlil chuckled, watching the two. It was a fierce fight, but for them to decide to end it in a draw because they knew their master's intentions was fairly intuitive. He gave Katherine a simple nod. Regardless of the agreed ending, she'd done well.

All that was left were the other two.

"When you don't have the Force, and even when you do, sometimes it's the willingness to live that matters most. Hopefully it's something Shan will learn."

Valery Noble

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Aliris frowned for a moment as she watched Cailen. She'd said the same thing, and now he was looking to her to try and garner support like it was his idea? .. No, no. She let out a breath. She was getting hostile for no reason again. Strangers always seemed to have a way to do that to her. And Loomi seemed to know him. Trust him even. If she could, then Aliris could be fine with it. Probably.

She really needed to work on that.

".. Okay, then, we should get moving? Together."

Cailen Corso | Loomi

 

[Irvelghrikk]

The Kashyyyk Viper
Myrkr
Tags: Gweneth Zarari

​

The duel went back and forth as the Master & Youthful Fighter traded blows, the fiery-haired girl going in for a flurry of blows with her staff as he utilized the Soresu Stance. She took his advice with ease, swinging her Staff forth in a whirlwind as Irvelghrikk went on the backpaddle, forcing her to advance whilst deflecting her blows and repositioning the tip of his blade to block the other end of her staff, wishing to drain her stamina and annoy her.

The more intriguing move was the ankle motion with her staff, to which he did a sliding motion with the targeted leg, but the young girl was smart as the other end of her staff was then moved to target his elbow; the staff tip making a popping sound as it hit his elbow slightly, Irvel attempting to straighten his arm to reduce the pop and whizzy feeling which came with elbow strikes.

Grunting in response as she was wearing his elbow down, the girl stopped now commenting - Irvel raising his eyebrow. <<"It is. But you're breaking through slowly, persistence is the best in this situation.">> He stated, taking note of the frustration in her face as the Master seemingly blocked everything she launched.

<<"Batter away defenses whilst conserving stamina, seep on your frustration and anger and propel it on your enemy - overwhelm them yet don't be too hastily to overwhelm as you'd fall prey to a counter and the smell of the Dark Side. Act as a siege weapon to a fortress, break the walls down over time and when the moment is right, launch a precise attack.">> Irvelghrikk exclaimed, his words quite unorthodox for a Jedi for he took a realist route on combat and philosophy in general whilst combining it with the Codex of the Order. Rubbing his elbow now as he twirled the Mace, still in Soresu as he wanted to see if she'd take his advice, give in, realize the situation for what it is and just go with the wind, and when he opportunity comes forth control said wind.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Tag: Braze ​

Being called a coward definitely irked the Kel Dor some. But he didn’t say anything, simply frowning under his mask. He watched as Braze advanced, thinking he had the younger padawan. Before they did they’re crescent step Ko raised his lightsaber up for a hanging guard in an attempt to bind Braze’s weapon. However, the instead younger padawan practically ran a circle (or half circle more so) around Ko. Causing him to reflexively try and put as much of his weapon between himself and his opponent.

But Ko was a bit slow after being caught off guard, through his mask the face Braze a brief puzzled look as they practically danced around him. It had quickly become clear to Ko that they were both being tricky with one another. Ko then decided to change his stance some.

Where Braze was like a flowing breeze or stream of water. Ko was much more rigid and deliberate like earth. The pale boy was one of the few people he could have a strength advantage over. So he would capitalize on it. Ko readied his saber with a high stance. Holding it in both arms over his head, the blade tilted back. He approached Braze with smooth yet cautious steps. This time clearly more on the offensive. Although Ko was not familiar with the principles and style of Djem So he was unknowingly employing it at the moment.

Through his goggles he stared down his opponent. Ready to attack early if Braze telegraphed an attack of their own. Either way once he was in reach of the younger padawan or their weapon Ko would strike with a heavy and determined strike to break through Braze’s one handed swordsmanship and leave them vulnerable to a quick follow up attack. His movement's weren't fancy and fluid like the Half-Echani. But they're was power behind them like a colliding bolder.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

​

Braze, stood with unwavering focus as he observed Ko. Being half Echani, Braze had inherited exceptional combat instincts, a heightened sense of awareness, and an affinity for martial arts. Despite his age, he displayed a dedication that set him apart from his peers his own age.

As Ko shifted into a new position, Braze's eyes keenly followed the fluidity of his movements, analyzing and anticipating his next stance. With a calm intensity, Braze spotted a brief 'opening' and decided to make his move. He had to move faster and think faster than Ko if this was the route the elder would take.

With a burst of energy, he lunged forward, his young frame moving with surprising agility and grace. The move-through attack he executed came swiftly with precision. His practice blade cut through the air, aiming to take advantage of Ko's right side, which seemed momentarily exposed. Braze was swift and deliberate, his strikes displaying the foundations of Echani combat principles – precision, efficiency, and adaptability. The first cut, delivered horizontally, was aimed at Ko's ribs and midsection. Braze's focus didn't waver as he immediately transitioned into a second downward arch, targeting Ko's hind quarters, or the back of his leg. It was evident that he had been practicing tirelessly to hone his skills.

As Braze completed his pass of Ko, he seamlessly transformed the momentum of his attack into a diving roll. Popping up with agility, he turned back to face Ko, bringing his blade into check.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

While Shan was busy dancing around and trying to clear his vision, Cora continued to brush the muck from her outfit with disgust.

How terribly foolish they must have looked. Princesses do not play in the mud, but Cora had to remind herself that her royal title had likely died along with her husband. The Vizier hadn’t exactly made that clear enough when she'd been exiled.

That still didn't mean that she liked mud, aside from the highly curated type that was spread on the face to cleanse your pores.

"Oh, quit whining!" She called out to Shan, who'd taken a glob of moist earth to the face. "Do you know what people would pay for that type of treatment?"

With a sneer, she looked to the puddle of yuck that stretched between them, then to the Mirialian. She hesitated. She groaned. Then she charged, attempting to tackle Shan into the nearest tree.
Shan Pavond

 

[Ko Vuto]

Tag: Braze ​

Ko was anticipating Braze to make a move, so once the younger padawan did, Ko sprung into action. His own heightened reflexes helping him, even though his defense was rather awkward given the high stance of his weapon. But with a two handed grip against Braze’s one handed grip, and more momentum he managed to intercept the attack towards his ribs.

But Braze pressed on with their attack. Following up their strike with one towards Ko’s legs. Not something he expected from the pale boy but he still moved to avoid the hit. The memory of the echani 'warrior princess', Lily Decoria , constantly kicking him in the leg briefly flashing in his mind for an instant. With his own weapon out of the way to defend against it Ko instead pulled his leg back to narrowly avoid Braze’s lightsaber with a backwards crescent step.

The Kel Dor wanted to seize his opportunity as Braze made themselves vulnerable with a roll. As the younger boy attempted to dive past Ko, one of his hands let go of his lightsaber. His clawed hand snapping out and grabbing the back of Braze’s collar. Getting a good grip Ko yoinked up the smaller boy off the ground. Utilizing his hidden farmer muscles to do so. With them grabbed Ko simply tapped his opponent with his lightsaber, which was on a low power setting for safety. “Nice try there Little Marshmallow. But I’m not gonna have my first fight after Master Si’s training end in a defeat. Haha” Kel Dor said, finishing his sentence with a jovial chuckle. Even coming up with a silly nickname for the half echani.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

​

Braze hadn't expected what Ko did and just about choked as his own top was pulled taught against his throat. Braze just about flailed trying to find his footing— which he couldn't because the ground was far below him now. Braze was used to using the force to supplement his speed and strength so it made sense that he wasn't as fast as he thought he had been. The next few motions Ko elicited from the smaller were fast and sudden. He yelped at the saber touch and was quick to bat the blade away with a sharp parry before aiming his recoil towards Ko's arm that was holding him followed by a sharp and rather viscous slash towards Ko's neck. He tried to use his weight to leverage a kick towards Ko's midsection to try and dislodge himself from the elder boy's grasp.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Tag: Braze ​

Ko’s opponent didn’t seem to appreciate getting man handled like they were. After getting his hit in, Braze suddenly flailed and fought back. The Kel Dor winced in pain as Braze slashed at the arm holding him. Fortunately for Ko the cut to his neck was barely blocked by his own lightsaber. Not liking how they were trying to hit such a vulnerable spot.

“Ow!” Ko exclaimed as Braze harshly dislodged himself with a kick to the chest. Dropping him, Ko stepped back some and grabbed his chest. Frustrated with the younger boy’s scrappy aggression. They could’ve seriously hurt Ko with that neck slash. What if they missed and hit his mask instead? He could’ve loosened it and gotten Ko seriously hurt, neither of them would have the Force to help with it either. In a forest like this too. He might as well be stuck in a gas chamber.

A clawed hand tightened around his lightsaber’s hilt. Ko quickly stepped forwards and raised his weapon up ready to pummel the younger boy with it over their perceived recklessness. But just before he took a swing at Braze, Ko stopped himself. He couldn’t let his anger get the better of him as he stared down the pale boy. Even though he wasn’t Braze’s master he knew that as the elder he had to be more of a role model and know better. Letting out a sigh Ko stepped away and turned his back to his opponent. “Maybe that’s enough sparring for today…”

Although they were in a place that was severely dampened in The Force. Ko still felt the energy of the echo stone around his neck. But in that moment of negative emotion just now he briefly didn’t sense it. Although he didn’t utilize the talisman very much he still felt like the echo stone kept him mindful. Perhaps in these severed woods it was easy to lose track of that.​

 

[Shan Pavond]

In his little moment of freaking out, Shan finally managed to wipe the mud out of his eyes, watching his vision starting to clear up as he was trying to figure out what to do next. He needed to try and stay focused on trying to beat Cora...or at least not getting totally destroyed.

"I'm not one of those fancy smancy people who would care about using mud to look all prissy and pretty! That's just weird! You're weird!" Shan didn't mean it as an insult. It was more...he was trying to distract Cora long enough to try and come up with a plan.

As he saw Cora rushing over towards her, Shan dug his shoe into the mud and kicked a chunk of it up into Cora, with the goal to try and blind her, the way he had blinded her. If she liked mud on her face, she could be a big disgrace!

Though that wasn't his only plan as Shan tried to wade through the mud, sticking his leg out to try and trip Cora up. If she was going to charge at him, he was going to do his best to try and dodge, even if the mud was rather sticky and made it harder for him to wade through stuff. He just needed to focus on staying up. He could have tried to outcharge Cora but he didn't think it would work.

Corazona von Ascania

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

​

As Braze's feet touched the ground after the intense moment, he was elated with the exhilarating rush of combat still coursing through his veins. He was well accustomed to being fierce, and he felt his body settling into a state of readiness for an immediate charge back into the fray.

His eyes were fixed on Ko, who raised his blade high in preparation for another round. Braze's instincts kicked in, and he readied himself for an aggressive advance, anticipating the flurry of blows that would follow.

But then, something unexpected happened. Ko turned away from him, and Braze slid to a sudden halt, his heeled boots digging into the terrain to keep from colliding with his opponent's figure. Confusion washed over him as his training blade extinguished, leaving him standing there, perplexed and uncertain.

The words that followed only deepened his bewilderment.

“Maybe that’s enough sparring for today…”

The abrupt change caught Braze off guard, leaving him questioning the actions that had just transpired.

His heart raced, and he could hear his own breath, each inhale and exhale echoing in the sudden silence that enveloped them. Braze was well accustomed to pushing himself and playing rough during training, but this sudden disconnect left him feeling disoriented and uncertain. Running the recent events through his mind's eye, he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Had he pushed too hard? Did he hurt Ko in the midst of their exchange? Doubt gnawed at him as he searched for answers.

His natural competitiveness had sometimes led him to lose sight of the fine line between intense training and overstepping boundaries. However, Braze had to learn to gauge the pace and intensity of his training partners as well. As he stood there, grappling with his own thoughts, he felt a pang of concern for Ko. He didn't want to be the cause of any harm or discomfort to his friend and training partner.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied his thoughts and approached Ko tentatively thinking he had hurt him in their previous exchange. "I didn't mean to... I hope I didn't hurt you. Are you alright?"