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Thread: Versus

  1. #21
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    There was a cryptic expression on the Jedi's face - almost a smile, or at least a smile with eyes only.

    "Oh, I think a Jedi makes a poor epicurean. I will trust in the force and the cook to provide."

    Vymes gave a glance to his opponent, and the small audience.

    "If everyone is finished?"

  2. #22
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    Eager to begin, the Lupine shook out her right arm one last time, and in the process, the twin orange blades burst to life with a reverberating hum. It was a non-verbal answer, and rather than wait for the two girls to give their own, s'Il was eager to begin. When had it been, the last time she'd sparred? Her memories told her that it had been back before the Jedi had come to Ossus - when they were still traveling and flitting about from system to system. When it was simply The Wheel. Her last partner had been Sol Iman. Back before the terrible duel on Generis.

    A deep breath expanded her chest, and the ensuing exhale deflated it once more.

    She brought her arm up, the saber blades slicing through the air as she re-acquainted herself with the familiar motions. A quick slash up, down, then to the side as she felt her body fall back in to the familiar motions.

    She could almost feel Master Windu behind her, his presence reassuring and guiding hand swift in its' corrections of her form.

    Guard yourself, but do not shun the feelings. When you do that, they become insistent and angry. It is best to let them pass through you.

    Another long inhale, and s'Il allowed her body to relax into a lowered stance, her feet shifting as she faced Zem with her side. The blades came to rest behind her, pointed downward yet ready, as her free hand lifted, palm turned skyward.

  3. #23
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    Hearing of the contest of arms, Kaie left the infirmary behind for a bit knowing that her previous patient had endured a lot already. Though she came to admire the spirit that s'Il had, the health and well being of those the white witch had come to care for were paramount. Teagan's mother had endured enough torture, both mentally and physically, already. As she meandered through the small compound that now surrounded the new temple, Kaie knew that Teagan's training would need to get underway in earnest as well. Perhaps this small, private gathering would be another avenue to pass on some of the wisdom that the ex-Pachmari witch had gained over the years.

    Being a Jedi was not an easy life, after all.

    Soon, Master Zem's home came into view and the brunette soon heard the voices around back. Birdsong echoed through the trees bordering the island compound, large, barren and rugged mountains in the background painting quite the picture. One of the few selling points for building here, she mused.

    As she rounded the back corner of the modest home, Kaie's emerald eyes fell on the small gathering of four just as it appeared, the festivities were about to begin. Grinning at the comment made to the padawan, Kaie glanced between them, not wishing to interrupt the conversation. Though as she noticed s'Il and Zem ready to compete with one another, the healer cleared her throat. "You sure this is wise," she inquired, though wasn't about to step into the middle of the fight.

  4. #24
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    The open air of the practice rings was invigorating, and s'Il allowed herself to pull in the raw and pure air of the Order's sparring area.

    "It is wonderful," she smiled to Master Kaie, giving the other woman a respectful incline of her head while making sure that her eyes remained upon Zem.

  5. #25
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    Zem cut his eyes slightly to the latest member of the audience.

    "As years and wisdom increase hand in hand, certainty becomes more and more elusive."

    The Jedi Master's brow rose as he returned his attention to his wife.

    "It does not change the path."

    In contrast to Loklorien's metered test swings and careful posing, the old man did no such thing. He didn't even spark his blade. Instead, the right hand which held his lightsaber hilt met with the left, so that the sleeves of his tunic swallowed up both hands from view. Zem stood opposite his sparring partner in a deceptively-calm posture.

  6. #26
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    It felt as though they were once more on Pakuuni, and s'Il couldn't help the long, slow breath that escaped from her lungs. She let everyone and everything around her fade into the far background as she let her awareness settle on Zem. He was like a shining pillar of light, peaceful, calm, and unmoving. His blade remained quiet, unlit and just as patient as he was.

    And so she obliged, taking the initiative.

    Muscles bunching, the Lupine let her body flow forward like a fluid wave, yet her blades remained directed behind her, and her hand that had once been facing up shifted at the wrist, and with a flick she pushed below them, into the ground. A spray of dust sprang forth, and the rocky earth below answered her call, sending up small stepping pillars that she traversed, ascending on a stuttering path that ended abruptly ten feet from her opponent. It was on the last that she launched herself up and over, the orange blades now coming around to meet the older Jedi Master.

  7. #27
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    Concernedly, Kaie watched as the pair now began to spar and the more she watched the blonde who had been through so much, she began to admire the woman for her strength. Few would be this eager for competition so soon after recovering. Though her mother would say that some who lived in combat and survival most of their lives sometimes needed this sort of event to remind them that they were still alive. It wasn't how Kaie saw life, but the galaxy was full of a whole variety of unique and interesting people.

    Left arm crossing her chest, her right elbow perched upon her left hand, right thumb nail now between her teeth, she watched as they began...

  8. #28
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    The Jedi Master equalized his former pupil's advance, pushing through the space she had once been on the ground with a sprinting burst of speed. There was a glimpse of him that then obfuscated as the dust s'Ilancy drew up a moment before coalesced behind him unnaturally, leaving a silhouetted figure behind the shroud.

    The stalemate was maintained. Zem continued to measure the distance, now from the other side of the sparring space. The dust began to thin, and he could see the glint of her orange blades.

    "I see you still prefer to engage in a bombastic first move."

    A swipe of a hand and the remaining dust pushed aside. Zem again returned his hands to meet at his middle.

    "I could never cure you of it. Master Windu is a difficult act to follow."

  9. #29
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    She couldn't help the smile that his words brought to her face, and s'Il rolled her shoulders.

    "Well, one of us has to make the first move, and I know you've a preference to react," she started forward, her pace measured and even, "... I'm only making sure that we continue that tradition."

    He stood there, waiting for her, and the Lupine obliged his silent invitation. With a last swing of her blades, she brought them around in a textbook side strike that she knew he would easily swat away.

  10. #30
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    Zem deflected, pivoting along the approach of attack so that he resisted Lok's blade with minimal force. She did not over-extend into the strike, and did not present an opening he wished to exploit. Vymes appraised his former student's form holistically. There were few opportunities to assign fault.

    "I have always found that whoever is hasty to commit has made the mistake in their engagement."

    He kept her honest, cutting upward as he took a half step in against s'Ilancy's perimeter. They again locked, and Zem declined to force the matter, melting away to a more amenable range once more.

    "A lesser opponent sees this as weakness. It emboldens them and invites arrogance. That won't work on you, so it simply matters from a perspective of tactics."

  11. #31
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    She felt loose and free, her muscles and tendons limber and relaxed. Their locked blades had crackled for only moments before both pulled away, and the Lupine felt her body respond as it always did.

    There was an ease with which she settled into the motions, as though they were an old friend and a comfort. And for her, they were.

    Her blades tested his boundaries, and he likewise did the same. It was a dance that both knew well. For a moment she held back, shifting outside of his reach as her gaze searched, eye wandering the immediate space surrounding him.

    Seconds later the Lupine pushed in, the twin orange blades of her gauntlet sweeping up in a controlled strike before twisting around in a tight curve and on a trajectory to his left side, catching his saber and holding it away from their bodies. It was a move that brought the two close, and her offhand came up to grasp at the front of his tunic as she pushed against him.

    It was a playful advance, as she drew on the Force to give her strength enough to dislodge his footing, and the two shuffled back, his boots and her bare feet swirling up the dust of the sparring ring's usually hard-packed dirt.

  12. #32
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    He offered token resistance, then fell back, allowing her momentum to wash over him. Zem fell into a controlled backwards roll, mindful to keep blade-to-blade contact to ward away any incidental strike. As s'Ilancy rolled over, Zem brought his knees up to aid in accelerating her momentum, breaking contact between the two contestants as Zem quickly rolled up to his feet again. He probed with a reaching thrust as Lok also was on her way to her feet, and the two returned to a standoff.

  13. #33
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    His little testing stab was swatted away as she twisted away, angling her body to the side while still keeping her forward motion. Her path veered inward yet again, and the Lupine allowed her blades to move almost of their own accord. The hum was more of a song in her ears at this point, and her eyes closed as her thoughts reached out to wash over everyone and everything around her. It was a strange sight that she used now, and her entire body became a fluid thing as each motion flowed into the next.

    Orange danced upon blue, and rather than attempt at gaining the upper hand, she found far more satisfaction in the act of maintaining. Of being a partner in this strange dance. Each strike was measured, each parry was precise.

    Everything was simply... as it should be.

  14. #34
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    One without the insight of the force might have seen dichotomy, but those who understood better could feel harmony in the engagement. Power to serenity, strength to poise, violence to peace. They checked and pressed in rapid progression, but always a flow of energy - as it flowed through all things. This was, at its root, a demonstration of the force. At last they clashed blades into hard lock again. Zem opted to leverage s'Il's blade towards the breaking point of her grip. She repulsed him by chopping her own blade upwards, again separating the combatants. Zem drew three paces back, hoisting his blade overhead and forward with his left hand while his right drew forward with two fingers extended.

    "It's good to see you haven't forgotten your training."

  15. #35
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    Now came the show, the pose. And in that moment she was reminded that even he was bound by the same training as she was; the same old habits. There was vigor in his posture, and smiling energy and light dancing in his eyes. It was wonderful to see. A wild lock of hair that hadn't been trimmed flopped halfway across one of his eyes, and she could make out the barest sheen of sweat forming on his brow.

    For her part, her chest heaved with their recent exertions, and she allowed herself a loose gait that seemed more lazy than anything else. She paced around him, then reached up with her free hand to pull slightly at the shoulder hem of the roughspun tunic she wore.

    "Some things refuse to leave our memories untouched."

  16. #36
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    He quickened his feet, taking the initiative with a succession of fast hit and fade strikes. Zem's momentum remained brisk, but he didn't press in close to contest power against power, but instead patiently moved to flank to gauge his former student's response.

    "I hope you've retained more through the years than how to adopt and respond to Soresu."

  17. #37
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    It was a question that needed no answer, as her motions and movements moved in concert with his own. All of this... it was a dance. It was not so much a test of skill, rather it was a show of compatibility. She did not wish to best him, and her intentions were plain in the parrying swipes and leveled holds that she met him with. There was strength and power behind her blades, but it was something held back with a sort of comforting knowledge that he too did the same. She had engaged him before, in a test of will and strength that had ended so nearly in death; such was not her intention now. Rather, she hoped to simply dance with him. To hear the crashing of blades and the hum of their crystals... it was as music to her ears.

    The question that needed no answer was answered, regardless.

    "I've learned how to make it sing," she whispered, her voice a pitch that only the two of them could hear.

    And in the next moment she moved in an almost blinding fashion, her body twisting past his blade. He let it, and she knew that he would. For there was no intent to harm in her sudden shift inward. Her offhand held his down and to the side, as her twin orange sabers held themselves a scant hair's breadth from his own blade, to the opposite side. They stood chest to chest, each unwilling to give ground, yet begging the other to take.

    Both stood immobile, her head upturned as she stared up to lock eyes with him.

    They were like a single entity in this moment, standing in the middle of the sparring ring.

    She released a long breath, the joy of released energy evident in her gaze.

    "It is a beautiful song," she whispered.

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