Take A Hi(n)t {Enoch Z}

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

PANATHA; ZAMBRANO ESTATES

Was she supposed to be here?... Maybe, maybe not. The Emperor had once been her boss, yes, but they had never actually talked in person. Or even met. It was fair to doubt the ghost's presence. That did not stop the woman, a shimmery figure, from wandering the grounds freely. So far she had avoided any guards, and had not been stopped yet. Perhaps she would have been ignored anyway. Many people had died on these grounds, far more had held ties to it. Other spirits lingered there, many taking it as a permanent home.

Drapeam Nyx didn't intend to waste her afterlife on simple things, no matter how 'traditional' such things were for the dead. She was here to visit old... friends. Once upon a time she had been a member of the Zambrano's Blackguard. Though her time in the elite unit had been brief, she had met a few individuals who caught her interest. At least two were still within the legion, one was dead, buried in the rubble on Dromand Kaas, and two more were now watchmen for the household, keeping an eye on all guests.

One of them, a lass named Alyssia, could often be found overseeing the training grounds, assisting the Zambrano children in their training. While the guard had no hold over the force, she was known for being able to take a hit and deliver one. Some years ago, back when Nyx had a true, physical form, Alyssia had nearly broken the Zorren's arms during a sparring session.

Despite that, the reunion was something the spirit looked forward to. And if she was given the opportunity to assist with training... well, it would be a satisfying bonus.

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​

 

[Enoch Zambrano]

"Oof!" Enoch's back slammed into the ground, and immediately, he jumped up to his feet. The training here was tough, but he would not be proven weak. Unlike his brothers and sisters, he wasn't born into the Zambrano family, he had to earn the name, and he intended on keeping it. If he gained his father's trust and respect, as well as rising through the ranks in the One Sith, that was a perk. The young man flourished his saber, returning the attack of his trainer. Some woman, he hadn't remembered his name. However, his attacks weren't with revenge in mind, no, they were thought out.

Enoch was far behind her skill, and she had easily been beating him all day, but the Zambrano was one of the patient ones. Practice would make him perfect, as he intended to be. As he fought her, he briefly sensed someone approaching. Yet, the signal was different than he was used to. Something was...off...

[member="Lady Medax"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

"Let's try that again," Alyssia said, her voice plain, as casual as if they had been practicing a simple math skill.

But they hadn't been doing so, and the slightest feeling of fatigue in her muscles was proof enough. The woman stood with a simple training blade in her hand, only a faint trace of interest showing in her eyes. Training the many Zambrano offspring wasn't usually a task she enjoyed. Many of them didn't seem to care about what they did. To many, in her mind. One always had to be prepared for a fight. Especially if one was part of an important, notable household. Those she worked with may be the children of a King... but they had the sense of responsibility of a common beggar.

Enoch, however, had drive. He wanted to be there, he wanted to train, to get better, and it showed. Out of all of Alyssia's students, he was proving to be the one she saw the most promise in. Of course, that hadn't changed her teaching methods whatsoever. Still the woman was tough, persistent, and a tad demanding. Perfection wasn't something she thought possible... but she wanted to get her students as close to it as she possibly could.

Sometimes that meant they'd be going home with bruises.

At the moment she had been keeping her stance neutral, intentionally leaving herself open for attack. Yet in each moment she saw Enoch move to strike she quickly flashed her sword, countering swiftly, and retaliating. Somewhere in the exercise there was a goal- something like 'find the weak spot' or 'learn to predict your opponent'. Maybe 'keep fighting until you can't anymore'. Hell, maybe Alyssia was just trying to see how much her newest trainee could take. Whatever her intentions were, they were soon abandoned, as she saw a familiar figure approaching...

"Change of plans. Enoch. Fight against the sparring droids for a bit," Alyssia said, not bothering to see if he'd do as asked. She was to focused on moving towards the ghost of her old friend. The spirit moved forward as well, her form standing out against the simple nature of the training grounds. Though her focus was mainly on the one she knew, Drapeam Nyx couldn't help but turn her gaze to the young man...

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​

 

[Enoch Zambrano]

Enoch stopped as Alyssia spoke to him, and shrugged at the figure moving their way. If she wanted to socialize, that was fine, but Enoch would not stop training. He turned to the sparring droids, raising his saber. Relatively speaking, the droids were quite easy for Enoch to take on, and decided to simply use them for practicing his form, rather than his speed and accuracy. Makashi was the style he chose to practice. In lightsaber training, and his studies of them, it seemed to be the one he enjoyed the most. Tactical, just like Enoch himself.

The young man would dance around the droids, occasionally his footing would slip, and he would try the same move again. Parry, stab, block, retreat. Enoch ran through various series of motions, standard Makashi techniques. One would be able to see that he was trying his best, yet his movements lacked a certain finesse and tactility to them.

[member="Lady Medax"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

"Sending a student away so you can socialize?... Oh dear, Alyssia, do tell me you haven't grown soft?" The ghost joked, eyeing her old friend with a perked brow.

"To quote that chite book you used to read all the time 'let the death-walker speak to his kin, let him speak loud or softly, for it is known that he may die before he next draws breath'. Though I guess you're more of a 'death-walker' than I am now, eh?" The woman responded, tone flat. Only a hint of a smile on her face was there to show that she was actually happy to see an old friend.

"I didn't know you could read well enough to understand that book. Really, I thought you were only good on the battlefield," Nyx quipped, her kidding only partially apparent. "Though I did assume you'd also be good in the sack. Never did get to test that theory out... What a shame."

By then the two were only a meter or two apart, and only five or so meters from where Enoch was training. For a couple moments they simply stood in silence, watching the young Zambrano work. Things had been like this between them for as long as either of them could remember. Friendly banter and few words.

"Yeah, a shame."

"So, who's the kid?" Nyx inquired, watching him for any signs of promise.
"Another Zambrano child. One of Kaine's, of course. I'm helping prepare him for service of the Crown. I'm surprised you asked. Don't want to tell me about how one of the Empire's finest ended up dead?" It was safe to say that, even though she didn't show it, Alyssia was surprised to see the state her comrade was in.

"Usually you don't like people interrupting your training sessions. You were always a stickler, Alyssia. I wouldn't have guessed that time with Vornskr would change that. Now, if you don't mind, I'm curious to see how the spawn of the Devil himself does," the ghost replied, quietly floating closer to where Enoch was training.

Once more things got a little quiet, the only noise being that of the man's fight with the droids. Both of the women simply watched for minute, examining his form, looking for strengths, weaknesses, the like. Not to long later they exchanged knowing looks. The kid had real promise, unlike a lot of recruits they had seen in their times.

"Not bad. Not bad at all..."

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​

 

[Enoch Zambrano]

After Enoch's blade knocked another droid to the ground, he looked to the pair talking. The new comer look a little bit...odd...but the young man returned to hitting the droids. Another one rushed at him, swinging its vibroblade in a downward strike. Enoch side stepped, twirling as he did so. He leg kicked out at the droid's knees, adding a little bit of umph with it through the Force. The droid crumpled slightly as its legs buckled, and Enoch's blade slammed into its neck, knocking the head clean off.

As Enoch wiped sweat off of his brow, he turned to the pair of women, shutting his light saber off. As he walked over to them, it was clear he was physically tired, yet his face showed no sign of it. He had the usually smug, insane determination that he always had.

"Alyssia, who's this?"

[member="Lady Medax"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

The woman wasted no time in responding. Without even thinking about it she straightened up, as if about to boast about herself, and introduced the ghost.
"This is Drapeam Sahara Nyx, formerly of the Blackblade Guard. I served with her for many years before she switched units," Alyssia said, a faint smile crossing her lips. They had been on many 'gran adventures' together. "Though it goes without saying... I expect you to give her a proper amount of respect. She's live her whole life in service of the Empire."

"I think you forgot the part where I died and kept doing my job anyway, just for the hell of it," Nyx added 'casually'. Her dry tone almost seemed to indicate sarcasm... but from the looks of things, she really had kept working even after she had passed away. "And the part where I spent a year with the frakking Jedi because someone thought I'd make a great sleeper agent. Karking idiots..."

"And is that how you died? Running around with the bathrobe brigade? I thought you would have-"

"Actually I fought one of the Dark Lord's Hands, got thrown off a roof, punched said Hand in the face, and then got myself decapitated before the shebta could catch the clues I was dropping about my identity." For a moment it was quiet, the two seeming to be thinking over what had apparently occurred since they saw each other last. But then, at once, they remembered that there was another person present, and they turned to look at Enoch. "That answer your question, bub?"

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​

 

[Enoch Zambrano]

"Well, as much as I'd love to hear more about how a Hand ripped you to pieces, I'd really like to get back to training." Enoch smiled as he spoke, sarcasm dripping from his mouth. He slowly walked backwards, reactivating his lightsaber, and filling the training ground with a slight red glow. With a quick flourish, he returned to the stance Alyssia had taught him, looking at the woman.

"Alyssia? Shall we train, or are you two going to keep talking about how good a ghost is in bed?" He smiled once more, a twisted smile that let the two women know he had indeed over heard their conversation. Enoch quickly turned to one of the training droids that was moving to stand up, one of its arms missing and cords dangling from the socket. Enoch spun, slicing at the droid's head and slicing its head clean off. The spin brought him back to face the two women, his lightsaber held out to the side tauntingly, arms spread wide.

[member="Lady Medax"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

A rose colored blush spread upon her cheeks at the same time a tight-lipped scowl danced onto her lips.
"Enoch! What did I say about respecting-" Alyssia was quickly interrupted by the sound of her companion snickering.

"Snarky, ain't he? He's a son of Kaine, alright. No doubt about that," Nyx said, letting out another low chuckle. Apparently the 'verbal blow' about her defeat at the hands of Vrag didn't bother her, or she didn't consider it an insult. It even seemed to amuse her. Hearing the man make a joke about her previous attempts to bed the soldier also seemed to make the usually stone-hearted Zorren lighten up. What a sight! "You might just be one of the more tolerable Zambranos I've had the 'pleasure' of meeting."

For a moment she looked ready to say something else, or perhaps make some sort of move. But the guard behind her beat her to the punch. Aylssia grumbled a word or two while grabbing a datapad from a satchel that had sat off to the side for some time. While Nyx didn't know it, she was requesting that more training droids be sent to the training field. Along with someone to drag away what was left of the others, of course.

"You really shouldn't encourage him, Drapeam. He's not yet good enough to risk being arrogant or cocky. So either leave and talk to me later, or find some way to be useful," she said, still tapping away at her device. She didn't expect her old friend to offer to help. Assisting others had never seemed like the sniper-turned-ghost's thing. Sure, she only fought in the war to keep the Imperial citizens safe, but she had rarely seemed to lend a hand to others unless it was necessary. Even helping another Sith train wasn't something she anticipated Nyx to do.

But things, evidently, had changed. Because the ghost didn't back away.

"Alright. So, bub," the specter started, turning her attention back to Enoch, "tell me: How good is your reaction speed?" Maybe what came next was predictable, but maybe it was also very, very quick. The woman once known as the 'boomshot-queen' reached out with the force, latched onto a handful of thumbnail-sized rocks, and, well, launched them at him. What did she hope to 'help' him with? In that moment, she was simply testing his reflexes. In a moment she'd actually offer to help him with something- like, for example, force body or Makashi.

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​

 

[Enoch Zambrano]

"Karking...!" Enoch's blade flashed up as a rock sliced a small cut in his cheek. The motion was followed by a series of hisses, the pebbles burning instantly against the hot blade of a lightsaber, and lastly a dash to the side by the man. He shut the saber off, dropping his hands to his knees. While not dangerous, Enoch hadn't been expecting the attack, and now had to go through the chitty portion that was the drop of adrenaline. In the moment, he hadn't even thought about his reactions, but now that surge of energy made him fall off a metaphorical cliff. He looked up at the pair, a sort of, 'What the kark was that?' look on his face.

"Emperor's bones...now I see why you like her Alyssia." Enoch stood up, stretching momentarily. The ghost was feisty, a jerk yeah, but feisty. A small smile was spread across his face, and he simply shrugged. Enoch turned back to face the training ground over his shoulder, than looked back to the two women.

"So...erm...that's it? Got some rocks thrown at me...that how they train the Blackblades these days?"

[member="Lady Medax"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

Had the Zorren still been made of flesh and bone, she would have been smacked quite hard by her companion. Instead she simply felt Alyssia's glare upon the back of her head. Generally people would be unnerved by her steely gaze. But Nyx, who had spent quite some time in her company, actually enjoyed it. It made her feel like things were... normal. Or at least closer to how they once were, back before she got herself decapitated. The 'wonder years' of her life, so to speak.

Though she had little time to reminisce. There was still the matter of helping the boy in some way or another. As pleasant as frakking with him was, she did, truthfully, intend to assist him in his training. Evidently she simply didn't care for making that clear. He's figure it out soon enough. Or not. That was a distinct possibility. 'Twas not like she knew what his comprehension levels were, nor did she know how quickly he'd pick up on her personality traits.

"Never did say I liked her," Alyssia said, drawing Nyx back to the present moment. The ghost frowned slightly as her friend 'pushed' past her, reaching out to extend a hand to Enoch. "Though she is a hell of a sparring partner, I'll give her that. She never lets you know when the fight is actually over." Fond memories of the two of them tackling each other in the seemingly strangest of places intruded into her thoughts, and she stood back up fully, her arm dropping back to her side.

"Rule one of life: Never let your guard down. When you do, people end up dead," Nyx said, not making it clear who she was directing her words to. Part of her mind got lost within her memories- of warzones, of raging battlefields, of demise begotten by negligence. Yet in an instant she snapped back to attention, white eyes staring hard at Enoch. "You've got something that most karkers don't, though. You have the force. Which means that you can afford to be a little less careful than others- as long as you use your skills well."

"There's a nifty skill that can help you take more hits, deal out more strikes, and generally last longer than any son-of-a-blaster should be able to. Interested?"

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​

 

[Enoch Zambrano]

Karker. Enoch brushed a hand across his cheek as Alyssia spoke to him. Pulling back left a long, but dull, stretch of blood on the back of his hand. Odd; he couldn't even feel the cut. Well, maybe he could, somewhere deep in there. With a nod and a roll of his eyes he made it clear he understood what Nyx stood about letting his guard down. Maybe the sight of two pretty women had done it, he didn't know, but he'd be damn sure it wouldn't happen again. Then she said something about taking more hits. Sounded like something he'd be down for.

With a quick motion of his saber, he beckoned Alyssia to him. She was the only other one there would could physically fight Enoch.

"Alright. So, Alyssia pounds on me and you tell me what to do, yeah?"

[member="Lady Medax"]

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

As soon as the boy made it clear he was interested, Nyx ran a quick training plan through her head. The physical actions would be easy- thanks to Alyssia. It was the verbal explanation that she was slightly concerned about. When she had first used the power in question (force body), the action had been instinctual, involuntary. Repeating the process on purpose had taken some practice. After her death, well... it hadn't been something she had needed to do. But she was an agent. Remembering things, keeping track of memories and thoughts, those were skills she needed for her job. If she hadn't been confident in her abilities she wouldn't have offered to assist.

"Alyssia will be dealing out the hits. You'll be fighting like you normally would for the most part, kid. But you'll be adding in some chite to your routine. This skill is called force body. It's a pretty fracking stupid name if you ask me, but it's a good little ability. Kept that schutta Vrag from completely curb-stomping me," Nyx said, once more recalling how she had been unceremoniously blown off of a roof. Hitting the ground had only been tolerable due to the power she was now telling Enoch about- though the tree that slowed her descent down did help. "Force body, as I said earlier, if you were listening, is something that lets you last a lot longer in a fight. The thing is, this sheb ain't going to make you invincible. It's not about stopping the incoming damage."

"It's about ignoring it."

"Force body lets an individual push themselves far past their limits. You can run for hours, push past the pain of broken bones, and fight long after any other would have passed out from exhaustion," Nyx continued to explain, starting to use less profanity as she shifted into 'teacher mode'. Around most people she was a scathing woman, someone who burned more bridges than she built. With friends, such as Alyssia, she was calmer, more jesting in her insults, though still rather... salty. There were only two times that she would be focused and kinder: When she was around those she truly loved, and when she was instructing someone she believed in. The fact that her language was 'losing its color' meant that she saw at least some promise in the boy in front of her.

"Will you get to the bloody point already, Drapeam?" Alyssia muttered, her sword still in hand, her stance perfect. There was a hint of boredom in her eyes, alongside a slight bit of irritation. Enoch wasn't the only Zambrano she had to help train- nor did she have all day to do so. But she understood that the force was something beyond her expertise, hence her only partial frustration. A moment of silence passed before Nyx nodded, seemingly understanding her concerns. Just a single glance between them was enough for the duo to communicate.

"All right. Well, Enoch, the idea is oddly simple: You must take your will to survive, your urge to outlast every other schutta and karker out there, and harness it with the force. Do not focus your energy in one single place, but instead let it flow throughout your entire body," the Zorren said, remembering what she had told herself while falling off of the roof. Finding the right words to explain it took her a moment, but she felt like she managed to do so well enough. "Your muscles will want to cry out. Don't listen to those frakkers- push past it. Keep your head steady. Remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing. Get angry if you have to. Use whatever emotions you have and focus on allowing them to push away the pain. Focus on that will to live, and all the exhaustion in the world won't be able to bring you down."

With that said she turned to Alyssia, who was standing ready.

"Start off easy. Just hit like a queen. Enoch, try to block as much as you can, but don't strike back just yet. You're going to be pushing past whatever aches you may have. Nothing serious yet. If you can't manage this, then, well, I'll just have to go waste my time on some other sheb-head," Nyx said, allowing a thin smirk to form on her lips. Before she could signal the pair to start, however, her old friend spoke.

"Oh, hit like a queen? Kind of like you did when we first fought?" Surprisingly, the ghost chuckled at the statement.

"Yes, Alyssia, like I did when we first sparred. Though if you need a more personal reference, go for about as hard as you could hit after your third month of training," she shot back, as serious as she was joking. Her retort didn't seem to bother the other woman, who, just as Nyx had been a moment earlier, seemed quite amused. Their banter was an odd sort of thing. Especially because of how quickly they moved on from insulting each other. "Well, if you're ready, let's begin!" With that said, the Blackguard would lash out towards the young Zambrano, her blade swinging for his side.

[member="Enoch Zambrano"]​