What's a hotel stay between padawans?

[Varindar Asyt]

"Now that you have an idea of what your room for improvement is, perhaps you could try another length of the pool, and then on the next set you may attempt to introduce the Force"

Of course, she could sense that [member="Tanaski Yumi"] did, in fact, already have some foundation. Sure, on Dathomir there wasn't much of a swimming scene, and, in fact, on most non-oceanic planets, just that Tana might not realize that "hippodrome-style" swimming, as the Ta'jars ran the pool for, has one difference vs. open-water swimming: turns. For this reason it was easier to convert a long-distance "hippodrome swimmer" (like Varindar) into an open-water one than the other way around. But she must be mindful of not repeating what he already knew about using Art of Movement for bursts of speed, no more than she could talk about the physiological implications of using Art of Movement. Just that she realized that Tana just wanted to know how to convert Art of Movement from land to water, and that she held no illusions that he would be able to match her speed in the water today. Maybe with regular training he might be able to, but it was not to be happening yet. But she is conscious that there are limits as to what Art of Movement can actually do for someone's speed or agility.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Tanasuki gave a small nod to the woman, stretching his arms out a bit, breathing in a little as he prepared for the next lap, 'Alight here is go, don't over do it, last thing I want to do is smash my head against the wall'. Taking position the young boy once again pushed off the wall, gliding through the water, once again adopting the crawl style of swimming, but making his stroke longer as [member="Varindar Asyt"] hand instructed, already feeling the larger pushes making him faster. 'Okay now ease into it, no burst rush not major boot and wind up with a mouth full of water', tapping into the force his movement became more fluid, precise and at the fight moments faster, the boy seeming to almost double in speed with the added use of the hotel managers advice and force powers. Before her knew it the feeling of the end of the pool came near, hand touching against the cold surface, Tanasuki wasting no time flipping around and swimming back, reaching the other end a little faster then going forwards. At this point his heart racing, making the blood flow all around his body, a small smile on his face, starting to get a little hang of this newish skill. "Wow that was a rush... still now where as fast as you, but tell me how did it look on your end"? He was always looking for tips and tricks, anything to help improve his skills, no matter how small it may be.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Much better now"

That might be a bit much to integrate both the technique and the Force, but even I could sense that his blood circulation has changed for the better on the second try, she thought, while watching him for signs of improvement on [member="Tanaski Yumi"] in the Force. She has come to realize that perhaps she is better for the aerobic portion of Art of Movement than for the anaerobic portion (Force-jump is usually considered the anaerobic part) and hence her blood flow can get very fast for a while. However, she realizes that the oft-given advice for Art of Movement as applied to Force-jump works better for the anaerobic portion. Not that she didn't like him, just that there were other items on the agenda as it pertained to how he could convert Art of Movement from land to water. She knew that, just because he could use the Force for one stroke, doesn't mean he could do so for another stroke with similar results (although not completely identical because of stroke differences), so she would ask him to perform another lap, backstroke this time around. He was making good progress, she had to grant him that. But will he still remember the backstroke demo?

"Now we can return to backstroke"

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

"Thanks, that felt much faster then m first lap"

It would still make a while for him to master these new movement, retraining himself from using non enhancing powers, using force push would probably be considered cheating. What was that term again, aerobic, stuff to do with oxygen, he had heard it used for certain exercises, mainly fitness stuff, if he could only utilize force powers that worked around that, he'd be able to become a very powerful but still natural simmer, maybe one day as good as [member="Varindar Asyt"] herself.

"Back stroke now, would I be able to get a demo on that, never really seen it used for races before"

Mainly as back stroke could have been done several different ways, his own rarely used style being more like a backward breast stroke of sorts, Tanasuki not really having a good idea on the best way to use this style of swimming. It would be interesting to once again see the Hotel manager put it to use, himself sitting up on the diving platforms awaiting the demonstration, 'just keep your eye's on the hands and mvoments Tana, not other places'.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"The one thing with backstroke is that it is best used when you need to keep an eye for what's happening above but when what happens from within the water is of no concern to you"

Now that [member="Tanaski Yumi"] was, in fact, asking for a demonstration of backstroke, once he successfully learned it, he would get a basic repertoire of strokes, to which breaststroke or butterfly would be gravy; she started by taking up a position at the starting block, almost fetal, which made it different from starting a race using the other three strokes. So, while the leg motion remained unchanged from run-of-the-mill crawl, the arm motion is, in fact, circular when above water, but much more like the above-water portion of the crawl as far as the underwater portion of the arm motion is concerned. Plus, it might have seemed daunting to someone new to racing backstroke in a competitive, hippodrome-style setting of swimming, especially if someone had a history of concussions and was hence afraid of hitting the head against the wall, but if someone could somersault (i.e. flip-turn), while the feet touched the wall, in a face-down stroke, only minor adjustments are required to perform the flip-turn in a backstroke context, and said adjustments boil down to the difference in swimming face-up vs. face-down. Yet Varindar showed him the backstroke flip-turn at the end of the lap anyway.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

The way she described the back stroke made he feel like it was developed via the military of some kind, for aquatic troops to keep observation on a target and be ready to engage at a moments notice. Though considering how long the art form had been around for he really doubted there would be anything still around on its origins. Watching [member="Varindar Asyt"] not much seemed to be different save for the arm strokes being in opposite forms to the crawl, it was interesting and simple to understand, but he knew it would take a while before getting the hang of it, in racing terms. As the woman reached the end she performed a small flip, planting her feet against the end of the pool before swimming back with the grace of a water species, in but a few seconds completing the lap, earning another small clap from the Padawan. "That was fun to watch, I got a very nice, and informative view of that, you make a good teacher you know", he remarked in a playful tune, slipping back into the water. "We go again like last time or do you have some pointers to make things a little easier"? If he could get these two forms down pat by today thing would be good, though in the distance the sun was slowly starting to set.

[member="Varindar Asyt"]

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"As I told Master Sunrider, I would take care of padawans in a very similar way to the way I take care of the hotel's guests. As for you swimming backstroke, try once without any Force augmentations at first"

Better not tell him about what I dislike about Morse just yet; only in an escalated issue with her would I tell others among the Order about it. She doesn't appreciate that I run a hotel, and she seems to be pretty stuck-up on one interpretation of the Code; stuck-up I am not, she thought. Meanwhile, she was having a taste of life on the other side of the training relationship: they said that teaching is a learning experience, just that she feels the learning the instructor makes is not the same learning the student does. And that, in fact, while she doesn't know any of those powers at a high level, in her mind, Morse only saw a tiny fraction of her. And yet, [member="Tanaski Yumi"] asked her to repeat the same exercise with backstroke the way she did it with crawl. And so Tana began to swim backstroke, once again without any real kick-related problems, nor above-water problems, just that he lacked thrust by rotating his arms underwater the same as he did above-water. A little more tiresome, a little harder on the joints perhaps, but well worth it if speed was the end goal.

"You seem to keep rotating your arms underwater the same as you do above-water; once your arms go underwater, push them forward as soon as they enter the water"

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

"Master Sunrider, well you seem to be handling the burden fairly well, and you get something out of it too, living in a 5 star restaurant and spending the nigh in one of the luxury room an decent pay back". That was not saying things where easy, no doubt [member="Varindar Asyt"] had t deal with her fair share of problems, late night and tiresome work day, but if she had time to teach him to swim and sleep with then things where not all that bad. Readying himself the boy gave a nod to the hotel manager, pushing off from the wall, gliding down the water ways. He tried to employ the same methods during the crawl but opposite as Asyt had instructed and shown, not using the force, just basic strength, reaching the wall in a slower time, pushing off after a flip, making his way back to the starting line, feeling a little winded then during the crawl. 'Must have been trying to hard, room to improve then', Once again he rose out of the waster looking to Asyt for critique. "Push forward under the water, okay, good to know I am doing everything else right, use the force on this run"? He queried, positing himself once again on the wall in the fetal position.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Now you my try once with the Force; it's going to be over after this"

[member="Tanaski Yumi"] feeling a little winded is just normal for someone that is not used to water. She knew it would do him no good to continue training at that level of fatigue if technique was the aim, but endurance was another matter altogether. Speaking of endurance, she had enough endurance to swim all of sixty 25m laps nonstop, having done so on multiple occasions in that very pool, and that was the low estimate of her physical endurance, including, but not limited to, cardiovascular endurance, which she knew was a key ingredient to keep using Art of Movement for prolonged periods, on land and in the water. But she was happy with the progress Tana is making, knowing that none of that progress would even be possible without her tonight. He might probably be grateful for that king bed tonight, she thought, as the sun was setting over the property's premises. Varindar would then get out of the pool once Tana was done swimming this round of backstroke, ready to head to the dressing room, just that courtesy demanded that she wait for him before she would actually go to the dressing room and, from there, return to the Yoshinaka Suite.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Finish this lap off and then rest off, id take a while to get his endurance for this up, though being a vampire helped it did not make him the galaxies greatest athlete. "sounds like a plan, I will make sure to do this properly", perhaps there was more to see around the hotel, or maybe use the hot tub again, after all it was common practice to wash after using a public pool. Not always the cleanest and all, though this being 5 stars and all the pool was most likely kept in tip top condition. Pushing off the wall his motions where much more fluid and to what [member="Varindar Asyt"] had recommended, using the force once again and art of movement to project his body faster through the water, reaching the end in not time, performing the front flip, pushing back once again, procceding to complete another full lap.

Reaching the end he pulled himself out of the water to the waiting hotel owner, giving a small stretch, of his worked out arms. "Well, that was a nice work out I must say, fun two, thank you for the lessons, so anything else to check out or shall we get changed shower and then call it a night"? There was no real rush to check out all the places around, he would be here for the next 3 days anyways, plenty of time to relax and test out what the place had on offer.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"I think we should call a night"

Poor [member="Tanaski Yumi"]. He was visibly exhausted by his using Art of Movement in the water; in the meantime, she had more memories of her swimming those races in that pool, and, while showering in an attempt to remove that chloride from her body, she tried as hard as she could to conjure memories from the specific 200m backstroke race that guest wagered on, but she just couldn't place him. However, she did conjure memories of her winning a 200m backstroke race, despite not caring about standings at the time, and she was in lane #4, edging out a local high schooler attending a school for freedmen, Elianne, by a few hundredths of a second. Wow: these Ta'jars made me race in a two-piece and Elianne had one of those swimsuits that I regularly see on hippodrome swimming magazines, in fact, Elianne even posed for one - she must be good enough to swim for some college team somewhere later down the road, if she doesn't already. Maybe at some point I could feature in one of those magazines, she thought, while getting her shower finalized, getting dressed back and then waiting for Tana so that she could return to the suite.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Rising out of the water Tanasuki let his hair out, the long blue/black strand falling away, making him look a bit like his sister, well without the prominent scar and well female part, but overall the two almost looking identical.

"I wonder if the Jedi will start hosting swimming competition back at the temple, sure a lot of water around that can be used, the beach also seems to be growing in popularity, if not new force lesson for swimming, I could very much see other use for this outside just racing".

Would mean if a water planet like Mon Cal ever came under thread regular non-aquatic Jedi could help, instead of having to rely on other species or clunky swimming flippers and such. Following [member="Varindar Asyt"] the two entered the locker rooms, himself promptly getting showers, washing any impurities that may have been carried over from the pool, using some shampoo and scented body wash to come out all crisp and clean in smell and looks. Getting dressed back into some more casual attire, simple sailor suit like shirt and pants, joining Asyt outside once again to return to the suite

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"More like submarine warfare would become a thing then. For this reason I feel the Silver Jedi Council would be tempted to groom me for that sort of stuff, to maneuver submarines around in a planet's oceans, with the understanding that submarine warfare won't be as common as dogfighting and that I would be asked to serve in that capacity only if we were fighting over an oceanic planet" she spoke about the comment [member="Tanaski Yumi"] made, once back at the suite.

The main problem would be outfitting NFUs: they would still need scuba diving equipment if they were deployed like regular infantry in underwater combat, she thought. But she knew next to nothing about submarine warfare at this stage, other than her current Force-skillset was well-adapted to underwater theaters. And yet, to take her mind off these stories of submarine warfare in an aquatic context, she decided to read past issues of those hippodrome swimming magazines, including the very issue of that magazine that featured the runner-up of that 200m backstroke race she won. Elianne. Man does she look so... good in one of those tech suits! That's another talented swimmer; these magazines tend to have a talent requirement to pose for them, so perhaps my turn will arrive soon, she thought, while being in an article about how a teenage swimmer turned to swimming to stay in school. And how she became so good as a swimmer that she went from a freedwoman with very limited academic motivation to someone that has turned her life around, with the sport as a basis.

"In fact, I did win a 200m backstroke race, and I can't just have one bikini swimsuit, especially given how often I go for swims. Maybe one of those form-fitting swimsuits would look good on me, especially at my level of skill"

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

"Submarine warfare, that would require a naval branch separate from the space fighting forces, would be interesting to see where things go with that, but my point still kind of stands for if there was fighting in the water and small skirmishes, never hurts to increase one’s skill test". "As for advising manoeuvres and how to pilot them, well I think perhaps we would be able to get people from Mon Cal for that, but I could see them trying to goad you and maybe me if this swimming stuff goes well to learn from them", he replied, still drying hair off.

The walk back to the suite was rather quite [member="Varindar Asyt"] looking through some magazine of sort, seemed to be interesting, what was it about? Leaning over he took quickly read through the articles, not surprised to see them about swimming, but one with some woman that appeared to be at the same hotel? Wait was it an old issue when gambling races where still held? how long ago was it? still much Tanasuki did not know about the place, though it had to be at least a few months old considering when the move took place from Voss. His readying though would be interrupted by Asyt voice once more, talking about the past race and.... swim suits, seemed appropriate but also quite out of the blue?

"Well having a decent wardrobe, it good, always nice having more than one set of clothing, speaking from experience", having quite the array of suits back at the Atrisan royal palace. "While I do admit you look rather nice in a bikini a skin-tight outfit would work lovely as well, someone of your talent deserves it", another aspect of Jin culture where one would be awarded for services and skill in combat and other areas.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Elianne, the girl posing in a form-fitting swimsuit in that magazine article, is another girl at my talent level, and she was my main opponent in the closest 200m backstroke race I won in that pool. Today's local trends in form-fitting swimsuits is that they don't cover the shoulders, nor neck, and they extend just above the knees, a kneeskin as they call it in stores that sell swimming equipment. As for me even wanting to own a variety of swimsuits, it's because I can only swim so long in any given suit before it needs washing"

To be sure, hippodrome swimming rules change a lot from a planet to another, but the Ta'jars held races clean because they thought that introducing drugs or other mechanisms to fix races of varying effectiveness levels would threaten the viability of their moneylaundering plan. Usually kneeskins were permitted pretty much universally, so long as they were made of open-mesh materials that aren't impervious. They might constrict the wearers' bodies, perhaps, but only within certain limits. Yet, that very 200m backstroke race was plain ridiculous beyond Elianne vs. her: the other six entrants were of varying ages, and equally variable skills. Just that the suggestion [member="Tanaski Yumi"] made was more about open-water swimming which, to an extent, she could get behind. Especially given where swimming fitted in the plan. Varindar would probably be willing to offer a few lessons provided there were enough people that requested those, but that's not accounting for one Tyluko Dubykee. Yet, in her mind, it was either Tyluko or her when it came to Jedi that could provide swimming lessons.

"It's easier for someone at my level of talent to accept their bodies as they are, so I just want to make it look as good as it possibly can, while acknowledging that my body, and its inner workings, is central to the talent I have"

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

"Ah your opponent, did you have some sort of friendly rival relationship? Also, since you won that race would it not make sense for you to be in the article? Or where the newspaper people trying to model this new kneeskin swimsuit? As for you wanting more than one swim suit, again I totally understand, heck with my connection to the Atrisian royal family I can pretty much by any sort of clothing in the galaxy, in other words go for it".

He would not be surprised if the hotel got some sort of add renew from doing so, being as they were trying to scrounge up as much money as possible. It also seemed a rather practical design when looking at it, the free and bare shoulders allowed for better arm movement while swimming and probably was easier to put on and take off, not having the same restrictive feeling of a wet suit while still being tight fitting over the bottom. In addition, the variety of colours it came in made the suit look fashionable, more so with the addition patterns and golden looking trim around the waist area, making it rather prominent, just by looking at the pictures he could tell such an outfit would look nice on [member="Varindar Asyt"].

"Well you have a nice figure Asyt, fit and athletic but with the womanly charm and slender appeal, thanks to all this swimming and exercise you do, and making yourself wanting to look good is an agreeable goal, though such is made much more appealing but what goes on in the mind". Looks where all good, but not matter how attractive someone was if they had a bad personality it was a no go in Tanasuki's mind.

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"Then again, I should probably appear at some point, maybe even the very next one, which is due to be released in a day or two, even though this specific magazine seemed to be more interested in the athletes' backstories than in the athletes' athletic evolution, or specific races. As for my athletic relationship with Elianne? She seemed to be more of a breaststroke and butterfly kind of girl to me being more of a freestyle and backstroke girl; it seemed that the city's, and to a lesser extent the region's swimming fans supported either the school's team or the hotel's team back then, mostly along slavery lines: the anti-slavery camp supported the school, while the pro-slavery supported the hotel. Elianne and I were the crowd favorites, and for good reason" she answered [member="Tanaski Yumi"]'s question about Elianne.

Back then, both teams had rather shoestring rosters, they had about eight swimmers each. Four males, four females. While Ithuvask mistreated me at the front desk, in the pool, I was the star among the hotel's personnel at the time. Whereas Elianne could actually defeat me in the breaststroke and in the butterfly, the reverse was true of crawl and backstroke, and we were the fan favorites on either side. However, I never got to know her very much outside of the pool. And yet, why am I so confident that I would appear in that magazine? she thought, while hearing rumors that the local school district was to request money for building an outdoor 25m pool, built like the hippodrome-styled pool in place at the hotel. That, even though the school district may well be forced to themselves play host to bookmaking to pay for the pool's construction and upkeep. Meanwhile, what Tana had to say about what goes on in the mind resonated with her, even though she knew, in her heart of hearts, that it took longer to get a hold of a person's personality, to say nothing of one's mind.

"I have been nice to you, much as I am nice to guests. Personality does matter, I'm not denying that. But to some people, perhaps out of frustration, they'd find both tail ends of intellect unattractive, and not just the low end. That, even though I've always had the impression that intellect vs. attractiveness was more of a diminishing-return kind of thing but that doesn't turn into a negative return"

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

"Oh, the magazine is still running, may make for an interesting read, would like to see you in it, besides you have a rather interesting back story no? I am sure some people would like to read up on it". "Other than that, I could have used the magazine to pick some new swim suits out for myself if this becomes a regular practice, besides my swimming trunk I do not really have anything for water sports".

The talk about her and the other woman, Elianne relationship was also interesting, kind of reminded him of his own relationship with Sukai, wear as he was more outing, flirty fun and friendly as well as being an ad hearer to the light side. His sister, was calm confident and quite smart, more reclusive and unknowing about relationships, but also a user of dark force power, but over all a nice person to know. What did seem rather, triggering was the talk on slavery and how each supported different team, and if memory served correctly [member="Varindar Asyt"] was on the hotel team, must not have been a fun concept, to race for those supporting such a thing.

"Well besides that it must have been nice as the crowd favourite, small time swimming stars and all, and look now, you run the hotel and can-do competition in a more legal base, and in time may get multiple racing teams". With the hotel looking to expand and thus more customers it would not come as a surprise if swimming competitions became more popular, with and increase flow of viewers as well as participants. Soon though as the two reached the suite entrance Asyt changed to subject what people find attractive, mainly with intelligence and smarts.

"Yes, there are those that find over brainy people to be undesirable, I think it has something to do with the whole 'to nerdy to have fun with' or other more personal things, you know the whole stereotype that smart people are not interest in dating and such". There was also a bit more to it than that, geniuses and scientist often being more interested in other thing then their romantic partner, or being inept on social customs that other woman would have knowledge about. "I myself do not mind someone with a good number of smarts, means they are able to help in places I myself may have trouble with, and vice verse, myself being quite the historian and metal worker". "Before that two people would need to spend time together, get a feel, see if there is a spark, but on another note, thank you for being such a nice hostess, I had a great time today".

 

[Varindar Asyt]

"I apologize for going off tangent. It's just that Elianne and I both represented essentially the same thing to our respective fans: athleticism, charisma. On Trandosha, swimming had an exotic charm to its athletes; for some reason, swimmer bodies tend to be idolized on an aesthetic level to some extent, even in athletes that may not necessarily be that great, so long as they can swim decently, to say nothing of those with the actual talent"

Oh boy. Hosting a swimming meet, even a local one, would require advance notice to the guests, with a timed-finals meet requiring the least sacrifice to the guests. With the hotel no longer fielding a team, only time will tell what will actually replace the local swimming dynamic, but on Dathomir swimming was mostly a recreational thing, she thought, while realizing that [member="Tanaski Yumi"]'s explanation was culture-dependent. Also, perhaps given its aquatic nature, the appeal of swimming as a sport was that it was widely considered to be a niche sport. But that was perhaps because of the Trandoshan obsession with displays of strength or athleticism that it might work on that planet but not necessarily on another planet that isn't an oceanic one, while acknowledging that it may even be a symbol of status on some non-oceanic planets. So, in that sense, it could limit the fame she could achieve via that route, yet lucky for even achieving it in the first place. She also realizes that cherishing her moments of stardom, its joys, and its pains is one thing, but clinging on to them may be unhealthy.

"I'm going to sleep soon"

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

"No no it is okay, rather nice to talk about something new for a change, with my master it is usually clothes related stuff and with others more hobbies, but this, I enjoy it, a new novelty to dive into and explore". "As for athletes bodies, well you have to see that you are going around in a bikini and showing off quite a bit of skin to random people, that is going to raise a few head, king of like mine during the beach party a few days ago".

There was a bit more to it then that, his time together [member="Varindar Asyt"] being probably the longest he has ever interacted with another woman besides his sister and mother, not only having a nice body but goals and a clear career in mind, something again which he could respect. Tanasuki himself wanting to master sword fighting, hoping to one day open up a dojo and pass on his skills to others, as well as the values of Jin culture. Such a life aspiration would carry on for a long time considering he would life for at least 2000 more years, unless being killed of course. Opening the door the young Jin stepped in, stretching his arms out, giving small yawn, ready to try out this 5 class star bed that came with the suite, briefly turning to Asyt at her mention of retiring for the night.

"Want to do anything before bed? or just get an early night, surely there is much to do tomorrow, maybe another hot tub session is in order, really enjoyed it today". Though still early in the night he knew that the hotel owner may be a little sleeping, and was willing to call things a night no, be up early the next day and sort things out.