Strangers at the bar (Valiens Nantaris)

[Sinya'olan]

Sinya caught the blade and activated it, spinning it around a few times in her hands. It had been a while since she used a lightsaber in combat but the weight is something one never forgets.

"Practice blades, set to 'I wish I was dead due to this pain!' instead of actually dying," she joked, though she knew her skill was probably no match for the battle tested Jedi across the room from her so she was thankful her life would be spared!

She went over to the saber rack and grabbed a second, turning it on, "Maybe a mistake but I have been fighting with two blades for over ten years, though one has always been a short balde." She was more comfortable dual wielding.

She observed her now teacher, his stance reminded her of how her mother stood during combat practice, a defensive stance that she couldn't place the name of.

Sinya took a Ataru stance, slightly modified with two blades. The room wasn't massive so her movements would be limited to mostly her speed and footwork, though the ceiling looked high enough for jumps if needed.

Her previous training, though limited, did give her insights to a few of the maneuvers. She focused the Force to give her speed and darted in, starting off with a Hawk-Bat Swoop so she could evade out if needed and counter if she saw an opening.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
Nantaris simply nodded and gestured to the rack. In his experience only very rarely was someone really good with two blades. Using two independently of each other and somehow focussing still on the enemy was usually far too much. Still, it would be interesting.

As Sinya darted in, Nantaris stepped back and parried. The girl was not without skill, but he could tell she had mostly used physical weapons recently. Certainly his experiences with her on Nar Shaddaa confirmed this. Using a metal blade was very different to a lightsabre which had a weightless blade with no flat or edges.

Soresu was the skill for defence, and though it was not his most used or trained ability, he was proficient enough in it. Trading space for time, he parried each blow of hers in turn, but did not attempt to counter yet.

“Good!” he instead praised. “I can see why you did so well as a gladiator. You’re fast, and the Force is with you, even if I sense some of it is almost unconscious. Again,” he ordered, forming a ready stance once more.

 

[Sinya'olan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]
(OOC: Ill be out until sunday afternoon, 230 EST, have a nice weekend!)

She hopped back, eyeing her opponent. She could feel the toll of the Ataru form already, it had been awhile since she practiced it or tried to maintain increased speed for a long duration.

She had forgotten much about saber combat and she didn't know much to begin with. Her instinct was bladed weapons, one long one short, not two same length blades.

She considered all of this for a few moments, it wasn't like she was going to change into a master in a moments notice however, the journey of a thousand miles she thought.

She dashed back in, trading blows as her swings were parried away.

"You would have made a killing in the pits, no one would have stopped you unless they sent a group of Twi'leks at you," she joked, jumping back again.

She went in a third time, spinning nimbly on her feet and aiming the blades at different locations with each swing. Her saber skills were lacking, her movements not as fast or sure as they would have been with actual swords, still she figured if she could keep his blade busy maybe she wouldn't get stung by it too many times!

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
Nantaris laughed, but did not let his focus drop. “Business and pleasure I keep separate my dear.”
Again he stepped back and to the side, out of one blade’s range whilst he parried with the other.
“Good! The advantage you have is that I have to focus on two weapons. Your disadvantage is that you can only put half your strength into each cut.”

“Now, let’s see how you defend.”

Nantaris shifted his stance slightly into the more aggressive, more offensive Shien. He moved forward with purpose, blade blazing as he kept up a rain of blows on her, whilst moving to parry any ripostes she might make. He was not going full speed, this was just to judge her skills, not to actually hurt her.

 

[Sinya'olan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

"I never had the advantage in strength, two blades have let me make up for that like you said," she said as Nantaris took the offensive for the first time.

Sinya knew basics of the defensive Ataru, parrying one high attack and jumping over low attacks while keeping her blades low enough to counter quicker upswings. It wasn't the speed of the attacks, or the power, more the placement of the Jedi's swings that started to push her. No one she fought was overly pinpoint with attacks, making her defense more sloppy than her pride wanted to admit over the years.

She side-stepped swings and focused on parrying what she could, jumping or rolling when needed to avoid, relying on her footwork and speed to stay safe. She didn't want to get as much as nicked, not only because she had pride as a fighter but she didn't want to look like a completely new fighter even against a skilled Jedi.

On a few occasions she thought she could counter but she was either pushed to dodge or Nantaris knocked her blade away and continued his assault. Sinya was able to catch his blade when he swung high, stopping it between her blades, bringing them face to face. She grinnned slightly and pushed his blade up enough so she could jump back and reset herself.

"I know this is for learning but I like to see the end game. Can you come at me with more speed?" This wasn't confidence in being able to block or dodge, merely a desire to see how far she could progress, given the chance and training. Either way she readied herself for another assault.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
Nantaris looked at the girl quizzically. Clearly this was the part of the training montage where the Master went full out to show the student how much they had to learn. For once Nantaris was relieved to be on the other side of the equation.
“Well, alright, if that’s what you want.”

Now Nantaris came forward, and his blade blazed into a whirling lightshow. He was not holding back, and if he appeared a bit comical at times at this moment he was deadly serious in his focus. Lightsabre blade slashing, cutting, stabbing, he attacked with such fury that even a very strong defender would find themselves pushed. It was inevitable that under such an assault the Twi’lek would eventually let one cut through and get a nasty sting!

At which point Nantaris would stop and step back. “Are you alright?”

 

[Sinya'olan]

She counted ten parries before his blade caught her unprotected and sent her to a knee. His speed and power was in a different galaxy compared to her own, the fact that she parried ten attacks in the few moments it took Nantaris to launch them she simply chalked up to luck.

"Are you alright?"

She stood back up, gingerly testing her test with an open hand, "Oh I'm swell," she said wincing a bit, "I did ask for a full demo so thank you for letting loose."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
Nantaris instantly deactivated his weapon and offered his new Padawan a hand to stand up. He looked a little rueful.
“Yeah, well, not meaning to show off or anything. But you’ll get there, you’re pretty good, most people wouldn’t last even as long as you.”

He laid a hand gently on the spot he had zapped and closed his eyes. Healing was not something he was especially good at, but he was talented enough to at least ease her pain. He never let a lady suffer…unless she was trying to kill him, which happened a surprising amount of times.

“So, now I’ve seen that, let me see what you can do with the Force. Don’t try and show off, just do it naturally.”

He went to a cupboard and took out some wooden blocks and cast a half dozen onto the floor so he could assess her skills and focus.

 

[Sinya'olan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

His touch was something like cool water on the sting, she flexed to the side after he was done and hardly felt a thing.

"You only really wounded my pride, so nothing to important," she joked.

Now Nantaris asked for a Force demonstration. She looked over at some of the armor on the wall and reached her arm toward it, palm toward the ceiling. With a flick of her wrist upward the armor moved up, the down and all manner of other directions, depending on where she moved her arm.

Sinya pulled it toward them then gave it a rather strong push against the far wall. It wasn't full of power but a little dust kicked up.

"Excuse me for a moment..." she asked as she cloed her eyes, telepathy was a little difficult of the recipient wasn't ready or open to the idea.

Hey I'm in your head! Fear me! She opened her eyes back up and smiled.

"Breathing and speed I was using during our sparring, so I don't know what you want me to do to show using sight. I guess I can just show it." She closed her eyes again but when they opened this time they weren't the billiant golden but rather a greyish blue.

"I can make out shapes and such but I was never really taught the best way to use this."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
“Ah, you’re one of those people who change eye colours, eh? Always a good party trick,” Nantaris said with a laugh. He would have to withhold further comments about that just in case.

“I’m also pleased to see you’ve tapped into the telepathic universal communicator. Would you be amazed to know there are some people who can’t do that? Crazy, right? People like me…so I guess you’ve got one step up on me there.”

“Still, I’m very impressed with your skills. You’ve jumped over the boring parts of a Padawan’s training which involves tapping into the Force for the first time. No, you have all the basics – now we just have to hone them carefully.”

“I’m a person who’s not much into theory – I am more into action and doing things. So your training will be to come with me on crazy missions and keep alive. If you’re still with me by the time you’re ready I will grant you the rank you deserve. Sound fair?”

 

[Sinya'olan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

Sinya was pleased he was pleased and was happy she could get out and start using her abilities again.

"Crazy missions? Staying alive? sound like my kind of fun. Just point and I'll follow."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
“Excellent. What I want you to do is relax, eat up, get some sleep if you want. We’re going to head back to fleet base for a few days, check out the leads. When we’re ready I’ll show you what we’re doing and you can decide if you want to come. It’ll be dangerous, but if you want to be an active participant in the galaxy I think it’s the best place to start.”

He grinned. “Besides, I wouldn’t let a pretty red like you get hurt!” he added.

 

[Sinya'olan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]

OOC: I assume this thread is probably done? I not let me know, if so just let me know when the adventures begin!

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
Up to you, we can continue it here or start a new one. Your choice!

 

[Sinya'olan]

[member="Valiens Nantaris"]
This one is getting a little long, I say kick off a new one and see where that takes us!

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Sinya'olan"]
Will do!