Ask Ajan Kloss Care to Dance?

[Hannibal Grayza]

Here Hannibal was again, back on Ajan Kloss with another set of injuries. He'd been clawed pretty well by the Terentatek on Kashyyyk but he was healing well. By guiding the process he'd be able to prevent long term effects beyond some scarring. After all, Hannibal always kept his scars.

In the meantime, he had a date to keep. Of course he'd been keeping up his usual training routines during his relatively brief revisit to the primary Jedi temple, but the young Jedi had also agreed to show the Knight he'd met slaying the Terentatek a few moves with a lightsaber. Hannibal was usually happy to further the cause of combat-capable Jedi, personally believing any Jedi should be able to fight to defend themselves or others. The Force was an excellent tool and all, but excess use tended to make one overly reliant on space magic. A lightsaber, on the other hand, was usually quite reliable.

To that end he'd secured for himself a bit of the outside area of the temple for practice, dressed in the yellow variant of his robes while the others were replaced, and was going through saber forms while string and drum heavy music played in the background from his droid Ego's speakers. He was expecting Indy to show up eventually, and in the meantime there was always more practice.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

After the events on Kashyyyk, Indyana needed some time to recover and prepare for the next venture ahead, whatever that would be. In that time, she meditated, brushed up on historical texts and went over the images on the plinth and altar they found within the cave; all were left with minimal answers, but she could bide her time.

By the time Master Grayza requested her, she had been released from the recovery for well over a week, and had begun her usual sparring rounds once more, finding peace in the drills and the repetitive movements. She dressed simply, in black leggings beneath a grey Jedi tunic, foregoing her usual civilian clothes for something more in tune with her own lifestyle. Long violet hair was braided back and slung over one shoulder, her lightsaber clipped to her hip.

It would be a bit of a walk, but she was actually relieved it wasn't within Temple walls. She enjoyed the forests and jungles of Ajan Kloss; in many ways, it had become as much a home to her as Pantora had once been. Taking up a light jog, it didn't take her long to hone in on his location from Presence alone... though the sound didn't hurt either.

Standing at the edge of the sparring area, she watched with a mildly amused tilt to her lips, arms crossed beneath her bust and golden eyes glimmering thoughtfully, watching carefully his every move. For a Jedi, he certainly was... flamboyant.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Flamboyant was a fairly apt word for it, but plain brown really just didn't seem to fit the young Jedi. He'd always leaned towards flashy clothes, and just because he'd transitioned to somewhat more traditional attire over time didn't mean he was going to cut out all the colour. Where was the fun in that?

Midway through a form he sensed the approaching presence of another, someone still only vaguely familiar to him but certainly no stranger. Smoothly he transitioned into an end form and deactivated his lightsaber, a black and gold number with sleek lines, and placed it onto a magnetic belt clip next to his original. The balance was different than his first, but it was certainly well balanced and well made. Originally an assassin's weapon belonging to a Sith, it's purification had been something of a final step on Hannibal's journey to becoming a Master, and he'd taken to practicing with it along with the others. It wouldn't do to wield an unfamiliar weapon after all.

Hannibal turned to look at Indy, returning her amused expression with a grin of his own. "Yo!" he greeted, raising a hand and approaching her from where he'd been practicing. "Healing up well I hope, yeah?" he asked her, extending his right arm for a handshake and giving her a good look at the mix of colourful and intricate tattoos mixed with inked-in scars. He'd gathered quite a few of the latter since becoming a more active member of the Order when it came to dealing with the Sith, from the dynamic lightning marks up his right arm, the brilliant flames onto burns on his left, and the subtle black red-lined vines blooming into brilliant flowers on both mixed into the variety of other tattoos. Each had their own little story that he'd immortalized on his skin, something he'd done most of his life.

"So. What kinda style do ya favor, eh?" he asked her, mildly curious as to the answer. From what he'd gathered she wasn't the front liner type, more focused on the studious aspects of being a Jedi. He'd usually guess on his own, but the two Knights on Kashyyyk had favored usage of the Force against the Dark Side beast while Hannibal had sunk into his usual bladework.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

She smiled at his enthusiastic greeting, extending her own left hand to clasp his firmly, nodding once. Most Masters retained an aura of reservation and calm placidness; seeing him so openly friendly was a welcome surprise. "I'm alright," she replied simply, smile warming as she met his own eyes. He was a little more than a head taller than her, and yet he didn't loom over her. She wasn't exactly short as far as most of her kind met, but it wasn't unusual she had to tilt her head back slightly to meet eye-to-eye with most other residents of the galaxy.

Unlike him, she was not overly tattooed, but a few scars were marked along her arms. At his question of style, she chuckled, giving a slight, self-effacing shrug. "My Master taught me Makashi and Djem So, so I simply went with her preferences. I'm far handier with a blaster." There were multiple reasons for this, one of which to keep out of public scrutiny, and though she could fight if necessary, she far preferred keeping her opponents at a distance. She eyed him as well, other hand still resting on her hip. "How about you?"

Basic enough questions for now, but she looked forward to sparring with him. He could no doubt kick her ass, but it'd be an interesting sparring session no doubt.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

The young Jedi withdrew from his greeting and slipped back into his default smirking expression. Makashi and Djem So were certainly good styles for someone trying to actually win a duel. Hannibal's primary style was partly derivative of the two, although combining them on their own felt like it would result in more lax blast deflect training. The use of a blaster was something he himself championed, despite staunch traditionalists in the order looking down on the use of an 'uncivilized' weapon.

"I rely on Form X and Vogar. I chose them myself." Here he winked at the other and grinned. "Besides, the master I was with most of my time as a Padawan was a pacifist. Bladework wasn't one of his specialties." Unlike his former master, Hannibal was a little competitive and he did, indeed, like a challenge. The original reason he started learning Form X was because his teachers suggested he didn't because of its difficult. Vogar, on the other hand, was taught to him after he was a knight in order to expand his repertoire into the use of cross-bladed sabers and two handed use.

"I appreciate your use of a blaster. Not many Jedi using them these days. Can't fathom why. Sabers don't stun, y'know?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

The grin widened, a slightly teasing glitter touching her own golden eyes at his flirtatious wink, feeling a flush of blue touching her own cheeks subtly. "I see. Explains a lot then," she chuckled, lightly touching the hilt of her own lightsaber. A simple affair built from chromium alloy and brushed durasteel, it was obvious the hilt was pieced from small parts of a ship's hull and repurposed. Her reason for coming here was two-fold; not only to spar with the Master, and train with new forms, but to discuss about Byron.

At his last words, however, she grinned openly, arms crossing beneath her bust. "I noticed you weren't adverse to using them, either. Not very common to see a fellow Jedi who enjoys using such an 'inelegant weapon' these days." She took a step back, however, for as much as she would have enjoyed the back-and-forth with Hannibal, she equally didn't want to take up his time if he had anything else on his agenda for the day.

She took another light step back, her lightsaber humming to life in a brilliant emerald flash; it was already set to a nonlethal setting, and with his observation she seemed to favor one-handed sparring, blade in the left. Golden eyes glimmered with a sly glint, a grin still perched on her lips.

"So then, Master Grayza... shall we dance? I look forward to learning from you."

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

The young Jedi mirrored the Knight's backward movement, ensuring there was a good two meters or so distance between the two of them. His left hand reached down and gripped his original, green bladed lightsaber around the slim middle portion, disengaging the magnetic clip and raising it in front of his face. His thumb flicked over the training setting as he brought the hilt up in front of his face, then straightened it in front of him before igniting it tip forward. His stance was upright, left foot forward and right back, both approximately shoulder length apart, both knees bent just enough to not be locked tight while his right arm remained rather casually at his side.

"A dance, eh? How intimate. The pleasure is mine, natch," he replied impishly, grin firmly in place and bright green eyes glittering with mischief. In contrast to his behavior, his stance wasn't particularly flashy. More than one sparring partner had expected something more like Ataru or Juyo as a result of his smart mouth and general demeanor, not a refined subset of Niman. The positioning was even and still, balanced, with a fluid guard and many possible angles of attack. The business end of the lightsaber was pointed towards Indy's face, one of the details of his style that some considered aggressive. But there was a reason for it. Arranged as it was, Hannibal's range was effectively disguised, the blade and wielding arm a flat line leading to Indy's eyes.

"Whenever you're ready, dear. Or shall I take the lead?" he asked her, eyes focused on Indy's center mass to observe her guard stance. The whole point of this was technically instruction, after all. Although the barely subtle flirtation was sort of a part of it. Beyond the actual bladework, Hannibal favoured a personalized variant of Dun Moch. He tried to get under his opponent's skin and unbalance them one way or another in order to break their focus. Even as he mocked, flirted, sang, or joked around, internally he was calm and focused. At the very least, the disparity often caught others off guard, and it was mostly practiced against other Jedi out of sheer necessity.

Plus it was kinda fun.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Similar to Hannibal, she had crouched slightly, evenly distributing the weight in her legs, torso centered evenly. She seemed unfazed by his pointing the lightsaber right in her face, instead keeping her own held center-guard, midline to her torso, right leg slightly ahead of her left. How many had made assumptions of the Master before her, she wondered briefly. It wasn't like one would just become master for no good reason; she was sure there were many reasons, beyond his words and even his demeanor in the midst of combat.

This Hannibal held more than one secret up her sleeve, and she was more than intrigued. But rather than lunging for attack first, she waited, giving him a patient smile.

"By all means, Hans. I believe you make for a better lead than a follow." Golden eyes sparkled with amusement, but also held interest. She was patient, waiting for cues or perhaps a surprise lashing out in the Force, keeping herself moderately open and seemingly at ease to the Master before her.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal's eyes swept briefly over Indy's positioning, noting the front-face off handed defensive stance in contrast to his aggressive looking side-face. The last person he remembered seriously sparring with was Talak, a man who favoured the same form as Hannibal, and he had chosen to strike first. The young Jedi generally preferred to take the counter action, but he was no slouch when it came to offense. He took a half step closer, maintaining his stance and guard.

"You know, in some languages, dancing is a euphemism of sorts." he commented at the same moment of a second half-step angled to Indy's right side, breaking off the 'line' as he made his attack, cheery grin fully in place. His blade arm twisted, elbow dropping slightly downward, wrist flicking quickly to direct the very last centimetres of his blade toward her right shoulder from Indy's right, the most awkward direction to block strongly from given her stance. Not that the strike had an excess of force behind it, though, being a one-handed cut with a plasma blade.

The Force came to Hannibal as it always did when he was fighting, the focus and pure calm allowing the Light Side to flow through his body and swirl around him like a gentle breeze. His right arm, previously at his side, came up and across his chest palm out as he began his offense. Nothing yet was done with the energy being gathered, but the threat of sorts was mostly implied. Besides, Hannibal tended to prefer using the Force to defend against the attacks of others and rely on his blade work to win.

Contrary to his dislike of killing and general avoidance of combat unless it was needed, Hannibal actually enjoyed fighting in his own way. He sunk into it, cool focus edging out outside distractions and edging out some of the darker emotions that could come about when competing or fighting for one's life. Many Jedi centered themselves to engage in a duel, but for him, dueling brought centering with it similar to his preference for moving meditation.

Partly as a result of this, n this instant he was looking forward to his exchange with Indy. One of the lessons he'd learned from his mother was the simple fact that beyond that, fighting someone could tell you quite a lot about them. Hannibal certainly wouldn't mind getting to know the Knight a little better.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

His first attack was not a brutal lunge like he seemed to likely favor, and what she was most used to. Her bulk of training came from aggressive frontwards strikes and counter-strikes, fancy footwork and hard-hitting up close and personal. At his statement of dancing being a euphemism for something brought a chuckle from her lips. She also moved with him, with the half-step came a half-step back, allowing his side-approach. This was a learning practice, after all, and she was here to learn.

That didn't mean she would be passive. His flick to her shoulder was met with lower-guard catching midblade, angling her body by twisting slightly, knees still bent. She too began to focus on the flow of the Force, feeling its' assuring warmth and gentle touch familiar on her senses. She retaliated with a flick of her off-hand to his knee to attempt to pull it out of alignment, following the movement with a flick of her wrist as well to get closer, pressing inwards.

"Is that a suggestion, Hannibal?" she retaliated, giving him an answering smile with golden eyes and lips curled in a genuine smile.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal's quick cut was met with a close block, keeping in line with Indy's defensive stance. With her movement back to mirror his own, the tip of his blade would strike her block instead of her shoulder. A cautious block, but one that could be taken advantage of. As the tip of Hannibal's cut made contact with Indy's lightsaber he relaxed his wrist, allowing it to bend and dragging the tip across the block instead of meeting it head on while he retracted his arm. This would result in the attack sliding across the blade, the tip now on the opposite side of her intended twisting guard, weapon arm coiled like a spring. Ordinarily this would be the moment he utilized his weapon's ability to extend rapidly in a faux-thrust to take down an opponent, but there wasn't much learning value in that and he wanted to save that trick for later.

Sensing an offensive intent in the Force, Hannibal utilized the energy flowing through him to meet Indy's, his right hand flicking in response to negate the maneuver with equal force in order to cancel it out. It was good to see he wasn't the only one who liked to target joints with telekinesis. At the same time, his coiled left arm twisted clockwise to angle slightly out to his left to meet Indy's advancing blade while he made a full advance of his own, right foot crossing past his left in a rightwards movement as Indy stepped forward. His advancing right foot aimed to land on top of Indy's planted left foot to bind it in place, though landing nearby would work just fine for the rest of his maneuver.

He was transitioning into close combat, lowering his stance and using his own blade to check Indy's guard awkwardly out to her right with her weapon arm crossed over her body. If it worked, his guard would be inside her own, his weapon arm much closer to his body than his earlier guard, while his right hand darted out in an attempt to grip the exposed limb near the wrist. The end result, unless their distance changed rapidly, would be the two of them being very close together and being unable to swing or thrust properly with a pair of magnetically locked together plasma blades.

He'd switched smoothly from a Form X maneuver to one more akin to Vogar, a blade bind technique that did technically work best with a crossguard but was easily enough adjusted for use with forced angles and a saberlock. His tactics were versatile and flexible, designed to catch his opponent off guard by moving the line of battle and controlling distance while maximizing his counter offensive. Admittedly he was being less vicious about it than he could be, but Indy wasn't a Sith and Hannibal wasn't prepared to try cracking her across the face with an elbow or start delivering kicks to the knee. Both of his saber styles were designed as killing arts derived from a mix of Light and Dark Side users, so he did tend to tone it down in friendly sparring.

"Nothing so subtle. I'd be happy to learn how your golden eyes glitter in candlelight," was his verbal riposte, bold and blatant in it's flirtatiousness as his brilliant green eyes looked into shining gold from what was quite possibly about a foot away, outright attempting to fluster the other Jedi into losing focus even if it was only for a fraction of a second.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Instead of pulling through the maneauver to a full forward step and body cross to follow through with his own blade to her inside guard, she shifted her weight from left to right as his own foot attempted to pin her own, then flicking the blade in a sudden, sharp snap into his own rapier-style counterpoint, keeping him outside her guard and changing. Though this meant her own blade was extended further than she liked, she continued, using the awkward block into a counterstrike.

When he lashed out to grip her own wrist she whipped her palm forward to Push against his right shoulder, attempting to gain some distance to enable striking again. He was also adept at using close quarters to affect the other opponent, but she was highly amused at his flirtation as she attempted to draw back herself.

Being flirted with was new.

"Cute. Then ask me on a date first," she replied in an equally flirty tone, a smile curling the corner of her mouth. He was definitely more skilled than her, more fluid with the blade, but she wasn't here to show off. She was learning some already, but it was difficult to maintain space without resorting to aggressive tactics right off the bat. She was trying to keep on the defensive, when all her instincts screamed offensive.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal let out a short, joyous laugh in response to Indy's countermove. It was good she paid attention to her footwork, her Djem So training not leaving her awkwardly planted. He leaned right and twisted his hips, his guard intentionally collapsing inwards into a very close vertical block, saber arm coiled like a tightly wound spring. Indy's saber-flick impacted harmlessly against his guard as his right hand extended outwards, but Indy did seem to be keeping up with his mixed offensive.

The Force pushed out from her toward his right shoulder and Hannibal focused his own efforts on maintaining his balance more than preventing himself from being pushed back. So back he went, allowing his feet to leave the ground and his right side to spin back, setting himself back to left-side-face midway.

Utilizing the momentum and his coiled stance he struck out mid 'flight', thumb flicking over the dual-phase controls of his lightsaber at he went. His close guard rapidly unfurled into a sharp, diagonal wrist-led cut coming from underneath her overextended guard directed at her saber-wielding forearm. Although Hannibal's blade had extended to double the standard length at the speed of a saber ignition, the distance he was pushed meant the attack only threatened Indy's arm with the latter few inches. It was relying on an unexpected attack angle, reach, and speed to achieve success while remaining out of her own strike range.

Regardless of whether it hit or not, Hannibal's blade would retract back to standard length as the cut ended and a simple rotation of the arm left him back in his standard guard well outside of engagement range as a result of Indy's distancing maneuver. He grinned widely, both in response to her returned flirtation and the fact she wasn't getting caught up in his physical or verbal unbalancing tactics so far.

With another laugh and and a snap of his fingers he responded. "Done. Why don't you come a little closer so I can ask properly?" he teased, lazily waving her forward with his right hand. Today was turning out to be a fairly good day. "All I want to get is a little bit closer~" he sang in a smooth baritone, slowly walking his way forward, his antics coming along with a focusing of the Force, the Light Side rushing through him. He was clearly preparing for something, but what it was wouldn't be obvious.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

She had to chuckle at his cheeky attitude, but noted his stance, exactly how he had reacted to the Force Push. The saber flick from his own extension had hit, so she switched hands, now holding the saber in her right hand and preparing with a lowered guard, still midline stance but body tilting rightways, opposition of mirroring his own movements.

She was beginning to learn. But his use of words, to not only dissipate a tense atmosphere, but also to unbalance her. The Light Side also focused intensely within, prepared to arm or defend, but she didn't move at first to his teasing words, merely smiled at him, knees bent.

So when she charged forwards, she was aided by the Force, its' power and grace guiding her as she pulled up her blade to meet his own in a hard left to right sweep and slam, almost as soon as she was within range. Regardless if it impacted or not she would backtrack slightly to disengage, and then sweep again, this time with a two-handed grip to his left shoulder, two short, aggressive movements. Once more, she was stepping dangerously close to his own fighting sphere, a huge risk to her own defense.

"You got your wish," she replied, a full smile on her lips in between strikes, preparing to strike again should he not pose any defense. But it was likely he already had something planned up his sleeve. She just hoped to be braced enough for it.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Cocksure grin firmly in place, Hannibal braced himself, right arm crossing casually over his stomach in a neutral posture. As Indy surged forward he remained unmoving until her swing came in directed at his lightsaber. He took a step back and rotated his elbow, wrist, and lightsaber in a short, rapid circle. This serviced to move it away from the strong strike and enable a potential counter while retaining his guard, though Indy's disengagement prevented such a strike and he'd already shown her the extending blade trick.

When Indy moved in again with a solid two-handed blow, a sharp classic slash of Djem So to gain the advantage, his grin shifted slightly upwards. Impish glee glinted in his green eyes as he moved to parry, moving his right foot right to end up front-face with Indy and solidly planted while his saber arm and waist rotated left so as to take the blow on the strong lower third of his blade. In the same moment his right hand, previously placed over his stomach, reached down and unclipped his second lightsaber and began to swing, brilliantly silver blade igniting as it came off Hannibal's belt. It was short and sharp, a simple horizontal slash directed across Indy's unprotected stomach, his arm and blade simply traveling left to right. An ordinarily debilitating blow and an old fashioned counter strike simply used at the most opportune time, though of course Hannibal's secondary lightsaber was also set to training mode.

The young Jedi kept his tip in control after finishing his cut, whether or not it made good contact, and followed the lower counter cut with a quick and aggressive thrusting jab toward Indy's sternum. His left saber aimed as before to keep her lightsaber locked awkwardly off to her left to make defending awkward while Hannibal pressed his offensive, pushing against it to assist in maintaining the magnetic lock.

"So, how about going to dinner with me, then? Seeing as we already have dancing covered," he asked with a mischievous air midway through his counter even as it was clear he intended to follow up in some fashion. The Force still gathered in and around him, but for what had yet to be made clear. Perhaps it was just a feint to psyche Indy out, or perhaps he was preparing for something specific in just the right moment?

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Both strikes hit, of course, disallowing her to follow through a defensive counter to both the strike to her midriff and sternum, so instead she went for another counter offensive. The blade was switched off, her left foot sliding forward even more into his personal space.

If this were lethal combat, this would have been deadly, and he knew it. But the name of the training had been forgotten. Time to see if he was all play or there was something of substance to his words.

"Why Hannibal," she grinned, perking a violet brow. "Never thought you'd ask. But that begs the question..." She leaned up, lips quirked as she gazed up.

"Where and when?"

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

It seemed Hannibal's underhanded cuts struck true. He hadn't really swung hard or anything, being training and all, but the point of it was a reminder to remember an opponent's other weapons. Indy certainly seemed to pick up on things quick and was sure she got the idea. She'd also turned off her lightsaber afterward, perhaps considering it a loss. And she got closer. How interesting.

Hannibal's eyes flashed briefly behind his cheery expression, set firmly into place as he deactivated his lightsabers. He leaned forward a little and grinned right back down at her. The man wasn't exactly shy. If anything, Indy's countermove was encouraging him. Somewhere in the back of his head Hannibal was pretty sure the council wouldn't approve of flirting with people during sparring, but they seemed like the kind of people who wouldn't approve of seasoned food either, so whatever.

"A week from today. Theed, Naboo. I'll have what I need by then." He did need to acquire a thing or two before what he'd thought up would be viable, but a week wasn't exactly a long time. The plans to get the stuff had already been set up, though for reasons other than a date with a pretty pantoran, but even so.

"Does that work for you?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Naboo. A place she had never been before... she felt a sinking feeling that this required fancier dress than her paygrade, but she'd pull together her best outfit if she even could. He stepped closer; golden eyes glimmering in the light, she chuckled.

"Shall I have to dress up?" she queried sweetly, giving an innocent expression to the Master before her. "How mysterious.. sure. Sounds like a date."

She had gotten what she needed for now. That being said...

There was a slight temptation there.

Leaning up, she closed the space all that slight more, just a breath away.

Her voice a low ghost of a breath between them.

"Until then... goodnight, Hannibal."

She wouldn't wait for his retaliation; she pulled away, walking back towards the temple. She had a week to prepare, after all. No point in wasting time.

//Exit Thread

@Mr. Teatime