Those That Seek..[Antares Training]

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla was positively delighted at @[member="Antares Windu"]'s unorthodox methodologies! The more strategic and unpredictable, the more likely he was to survive.
Speaking of surviving, it looked as if her Padawan wasn't keen on giving her as much mercy as she had intended on giving him. Her arm followed through the arc that had landed the first burn, and met his downward forced sabre. It was somewhat awkward, as her right arm was defending her left shoulder. This parry didn't last long, and her trained gaze tracked his movements.

He was fluid with his motions, and intent on a single objective: winning. He was suddenly casting his gravity downward, and she understood his intentions. Her breath hitched. It was a very dark methodology, one she'd certainly have to keep an eye on without being too hypocritical as she was a Master of Vaapad. Time was not on her side, and Kiskla cast her weight upward, following his maneuvers. Her weight landed on the heel of her palms as she kicked overhead to complete her kick, although his lightsaber nicked the back of her right heel.

Kiskla was used to pain, and only hissed slightly at the impact. The leather of her boots had absorbed most of the plasma blade, but there was still a burning sensation ripping against her skin. After this, Kiskla righted herself from her backward arc and twisted her lightsaber to beckon him forward again.

This was not a lesson where she would begin the attacks. Master Grayson had yet to see his type of aggression and his use of Sai tok was interesting to her and as an ever-curious individual, she wanted to see more.

 

[Antares]

When his lightsaber's plasma burnt through his Master's boot, he felt the pain through the Force, though it was only a faint sensation. But it was enough to slow him down, and just as his jaw lowered to ask if she was alright, the toe of her foot crashed into it, forcing it upwards and tearing into his tongue.

The attack had been so sudden, the blood in his mouth didn't slow him, and when he got back to his feet after being thrown backwards he brought his hand into a two-handed grip upon his lightsaber and he moved forwards to her, with a vengeance. She had returned his own strike, he would have to prove himself capable of fending for his own.

He leapt forwards, with the aide of the Force to propel him faster and his lightsaber were a flurry of focused attacks upon her torso. When he moved it seemed as if his feet never left even left the ground, but his steps were fast and barely even left it.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Her wrist snapped and twisted to meet his oncoming strikes once again. This time, there was nothing unorthodox in his approach.
At this point, traditionally she would have unleashed some sort of Force manipulation to her opponent. Once it had been a spray of glass, by manipulating the sand, other times electric judgement, it was varied depending on the subject.
Today, she told herself she would stick to basic telekinesis.

This dance of strike and deflect contributed for a few minutes. @[member="Antares Windu"] was unarguably talented, but she wondered how long his stamina would fare. Kiskla's scope of forms was extensive, but even stranger were her two forms of choice; Vaapad (sometimes Juyo) and Soresu. Parallels when it came to combat.

Perhaps be would notice that her deflections didn't extend far beyond her arms reach. While their lightsabers barked in collision for the umpteenth time, Kiskla spoke above the sizzle of the rain and humming ozone.

"How many forms do you know?"

 

[Antares]

He took a step back from her. His eyes seemed fierce for once. Though it was only training, he always put everything he had into combat. He was fighting his Master, who happened to be a Jedi Master and it was the only way he would be able to prove himself. His dark gaze found the length of his lightsaber, he saw the rain drop onto the plasma of the azure beam. He thought he saw steam but he said nothing and he looked up to her.

"All of them." Was his response. He did know all of the relevant and known lightsaber forms. But he knew that wasn't the question. "I only practice Soresu and Makashi however." He said, finally answering his question. The lightsaber's azure beam disappeared back within the elegantly made silver hilt. He wondered why the sudden question, would she help him guide him on his path of being a Guardian? Would she be willing to teach him anything else? The thought of Form Seven came to mind, the form that his ancestor perfected and completed. He almost asked, almost. "Why?"

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"Because I want to see every single one of them." The young master smirked, a devilish twinkle in her eyes beneath the loose strands of blonde.

"Sai Kao is a strange method to choose." Kiskla replied, gesturing the tip of her blade toward her Padawan, indicating that he should reignite. They would go until he was exhausted.

Then she would push him some more.

"I want to know why that suits your preference." Kiskla had been trained by her first master to be a blades master initially. Her visions and association with Beyond Shadows had changed that, and had increased her self awareness of The Force; something her first master didn't have as strong a connection with. Nevertheless, she was more than qualified to assist Antares in his journey to be a recognized swordsman as it had been her inaugural pursuit too.

@[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

His lightsaber was reignited with a small flick of his wrist and he held it at his side, pointing to the ground still. "I use it because if I ignite my lightsaber, it will be used for what it was made for." He said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wasn't even going to say the words, he had no reason to. Killing. Was the word that travelled through his mind. And he was right, why else was the lightsaber created? Besides as a more advanced 'ceremonial' weapon for Jedi. He would wait for her to say it was time to continue the combat.

"I don't mean it in a...corrupted way, it is just how I view it."
@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"You're correct." Kiskla nodded "It's encouraged that Jedi use their lightsabers as a last resort."

She adjusted her footing. "Or, to create an entrance."
Enough chit chat.
"Let's go through all the forms. Of course, starting with Form I. I know this may be tedious, but better to be thorough than miss a step."

@[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

All he did was nod and fall into the stance of Shii-Cho. The first lightsaber form that was taught as a Jedi. The starting point to all other lightsaber forms. "Of course." He agreed and he took as many steps were needed to reach her, and swing.

Quick and easy. Perfect steps a sliding foot there. Grounding it in the mud and another, faster, strike at her lightsaber.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"Don't ever under value the first form." Kiskla commented, meeting his ham-handed attack with a simple flick of her wrist. "Although the most basic of forms, it's usually all you need, and is optimal for endurance." She advanced to the second form, curving her blade horizontally to stab at his stomach.

"You will meet many in the galaxy who boast complicated forms. But with complication comes confusion and exhaustion."


@[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

"I'm not under valuing it." He said and he stepped backwards when she stepped forwards. With her advance he switched to the makashi form and his lightsaber was already batting hers to the side before she had completed the arc. She was given no quarter in the counter-attack, and he brought it up as an over-headed strike, before letting the lightsaber falls downwards to his own midsection and then curl down to her stomach. An imitiation of her own previous attack.

"Form Two is what is needed." He said when he brought the lightsaber down low to her right shin, more of an attempt to throw her off if anything.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Blue barked against blue to ward off his attack, and she took a step forward to force his blade into an awkward position.
It was more a precautionary speech, than a scolding. Her attacks were half-hearted, of course, as she walked him through the dance of blades. She wanted to see his form when he had time, before putting him under pressure. But she found that to be boring; much like Makashi.
Makashi incorporated a lot of balancing movements, one that Kiskla had never adopted to. She knew of the form, but hadn't favoured it when it had been introduced to her, nor in her own duels.

If he demanded Makashi, and demonstrated it, she would meet it. She was already near to him, which made things cramped for both parties, but her blade was diagonal in front of her in her traditional reverse grip. She moved with his blade, twisting her right leg and keeping her left stationary to pivot. Her fingers flexed and the hilt rotated against her palm, righting itself in the same way @[member="Antares Windu"] and most duelists held their blades. Now in a normal position, her blade came across his right shoulder in a downward slash to end at his left hip.

Time for Form III should he put some space between them.

 

[Antares]

His feet carried him backwards away from the awkward positioning he had been in previously. He wasn't going to back down now, makashi was the Form to use. At least for now, he would change when there was no time to perform an elegant parry.

Since he held his lightsaber in his left hand, since it was his main-hand, he stepped to the right side, and brought his lightsaber up vertically, specifically over the right side of his body while turning his body to the side, all within the same step to provide her with a smaller target. If anything she was going to have to change forms first, he concluded when his lightsaber came from low, attempting to come from underneath her guard and then straight out cutting off her lightsaber hand.


@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Antares fought with convicted instinct, and with insight. He recognized the flawed cues she gave him and altered it to his advantage. A wonderful skill for any warrior to have, and one she taught to each of her students. Jedi and Guardians alike; although it seemed Antares came by it naturally.

Speaking of instinct, Kiskla's took over and she recoiled her hand, releasing her grip on her blade in order to leave nothing but a pop of empty space for her Padawan to slide through. Her blade, now unweilded, twisted at her command in a circular motion like a horizontal propeller, threatening the neck of her learner before it snapped back to her palm. She followed with a powerful blast from her free hand, uprooting bits of rubble from the ground and putting a distance between herself and her Padawan to allow for another form to take place.

Her body was pushed back on her command, against one of the curling structures overhead. For a moment, it offered her relief from the incessant patter of the rain, and she watched how @[member="Antares Windu"] fared. Then, like a cat, she pounced from her place against the stone. Her movements were nearly a blur as the Force imbued her every muscle and she dashed in a zig-zag pattern and once more closed the space between them.

When merely four meters away, her lightsaber once again left her palm with a twirl -- heading directly for Antares' exposed leg. Her aim was precisely for the tendons around his knees. Without missing a beat, a secondary blade also protected from the downpour as in her hand and she continued to rush at her Padawan; reaching out to snap her other lightsaber back to her hand once it's deed was done.

 

[Antares]

His Master was a Master for a reason, clearly. She reacted and returned every single attack that he sent her way, with two times the lethality.

Maybe four times in this case.

His arm flew up in front of his face to shield himself from the pebbles and mud. the rain soaked into his robes and dragged him down. She was gone from her last position. Underneath a structure instead, and before he could even formulate his thoughts to form a plan of attack, she was already zig-zagging across the distance towards him.

He was in the Soresu stance before she got to him, he didn't count on her lightsaber being thrown however, and when he swung the lightsaber down low to deal with it. And when he looked down, he almost stumbled.

Her lightsaber had left it's mark, a souvenir for him to carry for the rest of his life, though when his gaze snapped back up to his Master, he dragged the wounded leg behind his body, and swung his own lightsaber to meet hers.

Lightsabers were dangerous, they both knew that, they couldn't stop just because he was injured. If anything, it would just prevent him from moving more, and teach him to micromanage a lot more in duelling.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

As much as Kiskla cared for her students, she believed in 'No threat, no purpose'. Training sabers were discarded as soon as possible and she rarely used them. Besides, Antares was too skilled for play swords. Now with two blades in her hand, Kiskla had just become that much more deadly -- and that much closer to the encircling rumours of her skill.
Traditionally, Kiskla didn't unleash her blades unless provoked or The Son vyed for attention and her need to use Vaapad -- she was a warrior of The Force. For today however, her Padawan requested his talents be sharpened.

The scent of burnt flesh was strong, however, and his reaction time slowed. His pain showed in his posture when Kiskla met his downward attack with her blades crossed in an 'x'. Both of their soaked faces glowed with blue light, and Kiskla held his blade with her strength, passing on words of wisdom mid-lock.

"Just because you are fighting does not mean you have to suffer." The young Jedi spoke, taking a step forward to push him back and reinforce the sharp sting of pain that would race up his leg. "Focus on those untied connections within yourself, on the separation of your flesh and muscles; and like our blades locked now, imagine drawing those connections back together." Welcome to an impromptu self-healing lesson.

@[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

When his Master pushed him back, he felt as if she did it without any effort. His back leg was wounded, and because it was his back leg, he needed to take a quick step backwards with his good leg to even it out, and then ANOTHER with his back leg to retreat. All the while, his leg, specifically his knee was screaming out in pain.

He didn't step up his attack, yet. Instead he did as she told him, he focused upon the throbbing cauterized wound that was part of his knee. When he looked down to his leg, he saw there was no blood dripping out of the wound, only burnt fleshed, and charred skin. And a throbbing leg.

He went into himself, as he did when he meditated, he found the opening into his body, the opening hat gave him pain every single time a drop of the rain slid into his wound. He felt for the broken bonds, the burnt ones. And when he found them, he wasted no time in summoning the Force to him, and trying to latch onto those bonds that had been burnt.

In his mind, he imagined it as a bridge that was collapsed. And while it was being mended through the Force, he pictured the bridge's collapsed portions slowing rising back up into position. He wasted no more time after that, he pushed the thoughts to a secondary position, and he dragged his foot through the mud again.

His wounded leg found it's way to the front of the two, and he turned his body to the side again. He beckoned her forward with the blue lightsaber, and stayed in the Soresu stance. It was going to be a lot more painful than it should have been.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla looked across at her Padawan through the rain. Her hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead, and in the time he took to right himself, she'd wiped her face with her elbow. The smell of ozone surrounded her and she could feel Antares' focusing on his wound. With time, he would learn to heal while he wounded. It wasn't an easy thing to do when one was so green to the idea.

When he beckoned her, Kiskla looked like she didn't even flinch. She looked at him pointedly, as if assessing him. But she'd weighed him long ago; keeping record of his zones, of his strikes and the way he leveraged his weight. It was important to do this because every warrior on the field used their bodies differently. Kiskla's body was a weapon. She allowed the dark side of the planet to creep around her, and mould to her will as she took the first step of Vaapad. Tendrils of the tomb twisted from her ankle up and she maintained eye contact with her Padawan through the rain.

Then, in an instant, she was upon him. There was little warning for her speed and rapidness; and there was little ability to track her blades. Traditionally, a user of Vaapad could look like they were wielding more than one blade. When Kiskla was already using two sabres, she looked like a weave of blue light and lost her human appearance beneath the swirls. Out of nowhere, a hamming overhead strike came down at her Padawan, while the force enhanced the strength of her legs to hook behind his knees to unbalance him; and prey on his physical weakness in the moment.

@[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

His steps were always bringing him backwards, he couldn't resist her relentless attacks. He barely blocked and avoided some of them, he knew he had received another burn upon his forearm, but it didn't stop him from moving. And then there was one strike that was moving over his head to come crashing down upon his elevated lightsaber.

The lightsaber was above his head, though it was facing horizontally to better balance @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]'s lightsaber, though from the Force of that, of the foot that was behind his own legs, he couldn't resist, he couldn't stop it, and he fell backwards into the mud and wet grass. His lightsaber sizzling every now and then from the rain landing on the blue plasma blade.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Her hilts slurped up the plasma rods and she stepped toward him with her weapons disengaged. The rain was pounding harder now, and her clothes were beginning to press against her uncomfortably. A drip of rain hung suspended on the tip of her nose as she looked down at Antares and clipped her lightsabers to their positions.
She dropped to a knee, and reached out with her palm to press against his blade firmly with a bare hand. There was a slight smell of burning flesh as the plasma interacted with the oils on her hand. Eventually, she pushed the blade right back to the hilt with a slight smile. That was one of her favourite party tricks.

“Practice makes perfect.” As she rose, she offered her student her hand to hoist him up.

Overhead, a thunderous clap echoed through the culminating clouds and Kiskla ran her hands over her face to push back stray blonde strands that were clinging to her skin.

“Come on.” She nodded back toward the jungle they had emerged from. “Let’s head back to the transports.”


@[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

The blue beam disappeared into the hilt. It was impossible, but it happened. And then it occurred to him that his Master was a practitioner of Tutaminis. That was impressive then...It was something he wanted to do, though he doubted he would use it to put a plasma beam back into it's hilt.

"Yes, Master." He said dutifully, and he stood up as best as he could when his hand clasped her own. When she hoisted him up, he inclined his head to her with a silent exchange of thanks.

"Let's go." He said in agreement and followed after her to get to the their ships.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]