The Way of the Ysalamiri (Darth Ferus)

[Paige Argous]

The Galaxy had been quite busy as usual, Paige noted. While she had idled away her time, drinking and dancing away four months in Nar Shaddaa, significant events had transpired within the Galaxy. She had missed out on bits and pieces of what happened, but she had the basic idea. Coruscant and nearby systems were under Sith control, wrestled out of the Republic's grasp. Quite incredible, really. Although the old Sith Empire based on Korriban and Dromund Kaas, which had nurtured Paige since her youth, had been defeated by Republic forces some time ago, the Sith had come back quickly to reclaim its place of glory amongst the stars, in the form of the new Sith organization, the One Sith.

So after months of wasteful self-indulgence, Paige had decided that it was finally time for her to get back into the swing of things. Or at least try to do so. Hence, that particular evening, the blonde woman found herself in the Sith Temple on Coruscant. Sith Temple on Coruscant. A few years ago, her younger self would have laughed at such a notion. Nevertheless, there she was, swinging away with her crimson lightsaber within one of the chambers at the temple, trying to enhance her usage of the deadly weapon. With a quick, instinctive twirl, Paige struck forth with her blade, leaving scorched marks on the wall.

Hopefully the other trainees wouldn't mind.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

There was an unnatural love for Coruscant deep within the Zabrak. The tall towers, the beautiful lights. For a man bred and grown in a desert wasteland, he sure had an obsession with such niceties. The fact he didn't have to walk everywhere was the only thing he didn't actually like. Flying. He absolutely hated having to use the speeders to get across the city using such trips, but this day he had to.

[member="Paige Argous"] was her name, a Knight who had come to him for a much more advanced class on Makashi. The duelist form required much attention to small detail, and offered quite the offensive against a single opponent, yet at the same time wasn't very good against multiple. Shakily stepping off of the speeder to the Sith Temple, Ferus would let out a deep sigh. Solid ground once more, thank the Force. Yet he couldn't linger for long, and would quickly wander his way inside to find his new student.

It wouldn't take long, and with both hands behind his head he would watch the girl assault the wall within the training room, a slight smirk on his face. This was probably the first time he had seen blatant destruction of property such as a wall used for training. It wasn't a bad thing, just something he wasn't use to. The red man would call out after a moment though, stepping right on over.

"Yo! What are you up to?"

 

[Paige Argous]

"Yo! What are you up to?" Without turning around to face the speaker who had entered the room, Paige gave an apologetic shrug to the male voice behind her. "Oops, sorry about that bro. That was completely an accident. I'll, uh.." Fix it? Nope. Leave more scorched marks? Possibly. It was then that the blonde woman decided to whirl around to identify the speaker. She was expecting her new mentor to arrive a bit later, so who could it be?

She found herself looking at a red, male Zabrak with a powerful Force signature. That matched the exact description of her new mentor, [member="Darth Ferus"]. Her diamond eyes widening in realization, Paige lowered herself down onto the floor on one knee and brushed strands of her blonde hair aside while keeping her eyes trained on the floor. "My lord..." she began, not exactly sure of what to say. I haven't been an apprentice for years now, but I still can't keep away from screwing things up. she thought, scolding herself. The blonde was not exactly pleased with the first impression she'd given her new mentor.

"I was training on my own, I was expecting you a bit later." was all that she managed to say.

 

[Darth Ferus]

There was a surprised look on the red mans face as [member="Paige Argous"] got down to a knee. Unsure really what to do, he crouched with her, keeping eye level. As she began to speak, a single red finger would come out to poke her forehead. Ferus only expected his own apprentices to kneel, and even then all he wanted was a slight bow of the head, but this one was going full for it.

Blue eyes would remain on her before he himself stood up. He would lift his arms above his head, as if to stretch, and with a slight popping noise he would crack his neck. Seeming to ignore the fact that he poked her forehead or that she knelt, Ferus would get right to the lesson part of all of this. Both hands would be out in front of his body before he used the Force to send one of his sabers to his right hand. With a flick of a switch, the golden blade would come to life and with a slight twirl of the mechanical wrist he would bring it low and to the side, a neutral stance.

"I appreciate those who choose to practice rather than sit around and wait. So, let's begin without any more delay, alright?"

His voice seemed kind, not the normal staple of a Sith. But this Sith had had enough of rudeness or commanding for the day and was more than willing to keep this all peaceful. At least, for now. The training itself would be anything but peaceful.

 

[Paige Argous]

Paige blinked in confusion at the unexpected poke on the forehead by the red-faced Sith. It looked as though that the Sith Lord was perhaps surprised at her form of greeting, which was interesting. In the course of her training from the time she was a Sith apprentice, Paige had accumulated quite an experience dealing with greeting Sith mentors. There were ones who liked to randomly Force Push her across a training room if she didn't properly 'behave' herself. There was even that one Sith Lord on Dromund Kaas who decided to mentally torture her for 'not showing enough respect'. Hence, she had adopted a better safe than sorry policy towards greeting her superior Sith. Still, a poke on the forehead was something quite new.

Upon hearing [member="Darth Ferus"] ignite his blade, the blonde stood up as well from her lowered position. "I appreciate those who choose to practice rather than sit around and wait. So, let's begin without any more delay, alright?" With a short nod, Paige summoned her weapon from her belt, igniting it to life at once. As her crimson blade sprang to life and hummed vibrantly, she assumed a neutral stance not unlike that of her instructor's.

"I am ready, my lord." she said, holding her lightsaber with her right hand, vertical to the floor.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Good, now. Do you know how to dance?" A light smirk formed on his lips as he spoke. [member="Paige Argous"] seemed a bit off from his initial reactions to her, but that's where he liked it. Unpredictable. Keeping people guessing. It's what made him, him. However, he would continue speaking. Slowly now he would begin to pace back and forth, never once letting his blue eyes fall from her form.

"Makashi involves intricate foot work, to the level of dancer. It needs precision and timing, and if that doesn't sound like you you may find this form difficult, possibly even impossible to learn. In which case we'll be leaving it at this, so I don't waste any time. Understand?"

 

[Paige Argous]

Paige also kept her green eyes trained on the Sith Lord as they began to pace around. In response to what [member="Darth Ferus"] said, the blonde offered back a nod in acknowledgement of the difficulties ahead in learning the new form. She understood what she had signed up for. Makashi wouldn't simply be a walk in the park, it would take practice, practice, then some more practice. That she fully understood.

Intricate foot work, precision, and timing. Those were some things Paige had experience in, as she had actually worked temporarily as a dancer in the lower levels of Coruscant before she returned to the Sith order. "I understand, my lord." she stated with a determined tone. In her eyes gleamed the eager anticipation to learn, not unlike that of an apprentice who is about to learn the most primary basics of Shii-Cho. She was still very much a learner, Paige realized.

 

[Darth Ferus]

The smirk would turn into a full blow smile as [member="Paige Argous"] spoke. He loved it when people were determined. A swift nod, and he would continue the lesson without any delay. Lifting up his blade, he would hold it parallel with the ground in a single grip, pointing it towards the female. He would quickly thrust it for her form, not to harm her of course, but to simply demonstrate a simple thrust.

"Makashi's offensive consists of light cuts, thrusts, and feints. You're to push your opponent into a corner, and overwhelm them with a single, precise attack when the opportunity arises. Footwork is what will keep you ahead of your opponent. You must constantly be thinking on your next move, planning ahead. Out of all the forms, this one is the only one that needs a smart head to work.

For defense, you should never take an attack full on. Either redirect the attacks away from your form, or knock them back with your own swing. Understand?"

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Darth Ferus"]

Paige nodded once, giving the Sith Lord acknowledgement of understanding what she had just heard. The blonde Sith Knight did not flinch as her instructor demonstrated a thrust. She merely blinked, observing the blade which had become positioned dangerously close to her body. She smirked slightly when her mentor mentioned the need for intelligence in order to properly utilize Makashi.

"Footwork. Precision." she repeated, as she held her lightsaber in a way to match the form of the Sith Lord. As she did so, Paige wondered if the instructor would entertain a practice duel with her. There was nothing better than practice, after all.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Good, now. Attack me. Use what you've learned through words and try to apply them to action. I'll give what pointers I can as I notice them." The man would slip back now, bringing his blade up close to his face then a simple wave downwards. A Makashi salute. The grip on his blade would be light, loose as he watched and waited. She would be beginning this duel, and he would be sure to show her a thing or two on the defense of Makashi.

"And, strike to kill. Otherwise, don't trike at all."