Ask Ajan Kloss Crouching Tiger, Hidden Padawan

[Nashyr Ris]

With recent events, Nashyr felt... at odds, with all of it.

There being real Jedi.
The dangers of Lothal.
The way she felt after the Light Ceremony.
Everything to do with her Master, Maxims, and Ezekiel.
Oren's arrest.

All of it kept piling up and up, until the Cathar Padawan grew tired of thinking about it all. There's only one sure way to get things off your chest , she thought bemusedly, snagging up her gym bag and stalking out of her small, meager new quarters. Spar it out with someone else.

For many years on Nar Shaddaa, the sparring ring was the only place Nashyr knew how to unwind; at first on her parents' ship, squabbling with her siblings over trashy wrestling holovids, then on her brief stay on Corellia, professionally trained in many things. Unarmed combat was one... a useful trick in a dirty galaxy. Something nobody ever asked her about... and she never told.

A fellow Padawan said to meet her there, and Nash was looking forward to the diversion, and the new training. Who knew, it may just be the thing she needed to clear her head before the inevitable visit to Coruscant.

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Nakira Sinvala]

Nakira was nervous. Extremely nervous. She was fairly new to the Jedi Order, having arrived on Ajan Kloss just a few months ago. While her training was slowly coming along, she still felt very insecure. Almost all the Padawans her age were much more capable than she was. They had far more control over their Force abilities, were more experienced with the lightsaber and possessed far more knowledge about the mystic power than she did. While she desperately tried to catch up with her peers, it seemed like an impossible task. That was why she spent most of her time in solitude; reading, learning and practicing.

Nakira descended the stone stairs that led to the flagstone covered training grounds at the outskirts of the Temple domain. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest. In her short time here, she had barely made any friends. It came as quite a surprise when a fellow Padawan reached out to her, inviting her for a sparring session. She didn't know much a thing about the woman in question, only having seen her once or twice around the temple.

A soft breeze moved the wide sleeves of her robe, as Nakira stood still for a moment, scanning the grounds for her sparring partner. Once her gaze fell upon the tall Cathar, the Padawan took a deep breath. While she enjoyed interacting with strangers, it was still quite scary, for these people were meant to be her new 'family' after all. Not wanting to leave a bad impression, Nakira approached her with a warm smile.

"Can't say I expected someone to invite me to a sparring match." she stated honestly, a slight spark of joy visible in her eyes. "Nakira Sinvala. Thank you for this opportunity." she stretched out her hand, expecting the Cathar to introduce herself.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

"Hey, kiddo," she commented lightly, giving the younger Padawan a grin and stretching out her hand in return, giving it a firm shake. "Nashyr Ris." She examined the girl kindly, wondering at the tinge of nervousness that permeated about the younger woman, using her other hand to give the girl an affirming pat to the shoulder.

"How familiar are you with unarmed combat?" she asked her, releasing the girl's hand to cross her arms beneath her bust. She would speak casually for now; unlike most of the Order, she couldn't really stand on formality. It felt too... subservient, for her tastes.

Much to her Master's mild despair, that was compounded with a need to joke, flirt, and tease to alleviate the atmosphere; if anyone was going to create a mood, it was her.

"If not, that's fine. We'll start with warm-ups."

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Nakira Sinvala]

Nashyr Ris. A beautiful name that fitted the Cathar perfectly, or so Nakira thought. She seemed to notice her nervosity, although she made no mention of it. Unlike herself, Nashyr was relaxed and at ease. That was to be expected, given how she had invited a stranger for sparring. It made her wonder if the Cathar had ran out of sparring partners; with her size and muscles, she would easily take down most Padawans she had met so far. But not her.

Her loose fitting yet fancy robes combined with the fragrance of rosemary were just a masquerade. An attempt to hide her own, quite toned and muscular body under a feminine appearance. It was a second topic she felt insecure about. Hapans were famous for their beautiful women, and she felt a need to uphold that reputation. Revealing her true identity as a former military officer and operative with a reasonably high body count was therefore not something that stood high on her to-do list.

As Nashyr made a remark about unarmed combat, Nakira flashed her another smile. "I'm quite familiar with unarmed combat, although I haven't really looked into the Jedi-side of things. Apparently you can enhance your own physical attributes with the Force?" Now felt like a good moment to ask someone more experienced about that. Apart from the basic 'push your senses outwards and feel', she had received little to no training. Perhaps she could lift a decently sized boulder if she was lucky, but that was about it. "What kind of warm-ups did you have in mind?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She grinned, pleased. "Good. There's no shame in not, but I'm pleased to not have to show basics." She ran a hand through her hair, then tilted her head, gazing at the ring. She had plenty of experience street-fighting, and training... beyond working on Nar Shaddaa, her only real solace besides books was sparring and constantly pushing for self-improvement. If people were going to stare at her, she didn't want it to be only because of her height.

Yes, she was all too aware she was tall. Yes, she was all too aware she was a Cathar, with stripes. But to be strong... that took dedication.

She prided herself on her ability to maintain that dedication for well over two decades.

She nodded along with Nakira, then hummed.

"Our warm-ups today will deal with channeling the Force, yes," she replied, pacing over towards where a box of things was set up. She bent over, rummaging until she found what she was looking for.

A thin disc of some carbon material, flecked with mica. It sparkled in the light as she hefted it, grinning.

"Lifting this, and pushing it across the dojo first... but with the Force. Have you learned how to manipulate and move things around?" she asked, eyes of gold-green gazing at the younger woman kindly.

"If not, this is a good practice." She set down the first one before Nakira, then another in front of her. "We'll work up to races next, but show me your best shot."

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Nakira Sinvala]

Nakira tilted her head slightly ajar when the Cathar mentioned channeling the Force as part of their training. It was not something she had expected, but she wouldn't refuse this opportunity to learn. After all, she would need a lot of training before she would be able to utilize some of the more advanced techniques. Even the basics still posed a challenge to her, although she was getting the hang of it. She just needed one thing, really. And that was time.

The padawan eyed the carbon discs warily. Nashyr was grinning, and Nakira initially didn't understand why. But as she attentively listened to the explanation of the exercise, she understood her senior's excitement. This may just be a simple exercise based on one's control over the telekinetic aspect of the Force, but Nashyr proposed to turn this into a race. Perhaps she had a competitive nature, which would explain her excitement.

"I'll give it a shot... literally." A hint of amusement was visible in her hazel colored eyes. It was a silly joke, but she couldn't let a chance to make one slide. Nakira took a step forward, staring at the disc in front of her. With elegant movement, Nakira stretched out her arms and summoned the Living Force, like she had practiced during the last couple of months. The Padawan focused on her rhythmic breathing, as she patiently transferred the image she had in mind to the Force. She refused to close her eyes, like many other Jedi preferred to do when they tried to focus. At first, the disc moved only a little, scraping over the ground as Nakira doubled her efforts. After a few seconds of tension, the disc began to float. "There we go.." she muttered, her attention still on the disc as she readied for the next step.

The Hapan woman held her breath, performing a pushing motion in an attempt to launch the disc through the air. It accelerated slowly, but reached a satisfactory speed as Nakira launched the disc through the dojo. "How was that for a first attempt?" She asked, having no idea as to what the average 'disc throw' looked like.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She listened as Nakira spoke, nodding along and grinning when the younger woman joked around. "Excellent," she chuckled, and decided to hold off until the young woman practiced for herself. Watching her adapt and focus caused Nash to narrow her eyes slightly, watching with keen interest.

She adapted quickly, it seemed. A good adversary in sparring seemed to be in the making, and she could hardly wait. "Good work!" she encouraged, giving the woman a wink. "Over time, this will become nothing at all... And then you'll be running laps around this old girl." Amusement glittered in her eyes, as she too focused on her disc. Though it didn't take as long, it still took quite some focus, and hers was slower moving, but steady. When it finally landed, she tried to make it land as gently as possible, nodding in satisfaction when it did.

"Now the real fun begins," she grinned, arching her brow. "First one for their disc to reach the ceiling wins. Ready?"

She waited until the woman would show some sign she would, then crouch, focusing on her own disc.

"3...2...1... go!"

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Nakira Sinvala]

Nakira beamed with pride, as her senior complimented her on her first attempt. It had taken her more effort than she wanted to admit, but the result was satisfactory. The Padawan watched in awe as Nashyr moved her own disc. It moved slower than hers, but her senior demonstrated a much higher level of precision and control. The very qualities she had to master, before she dared to actively rely on her mastery of Force techniques.

The Hapan folded her arms. "I see a Jedi Master in the making here, I don't think I'll be surpassing you anytime soon." she stated with a light chuckle. Perhaps she didn't fully understand what it meant to be a Jedi yet, but she could tell that the Cathar had great potential.

"I'm ready." she replied, as Nashyr proposed to do a race. The Padawan had a strategy for this, but it all depended on her level of control. Control of the disc, and her own abilities. Nakira stretched both her arms, palms open and facing the disc in front of her.

When Nashyr finished the countdown, Nakira summoned the Force to her aid. Like last time, she focused on her breathing to stay tranquil. It worked to a certain extent; she couldn't bring herself to focus entirely on the disk, despite completely surrendering to the Force. With her telekinetic grip, she managed to lift the disc off the ground. It took an awful lot of time, but she wasn't in a hurry. As soon as she managed to lift the disc Nakira rotated her hands, palms now facing the ceiling. It almost looked like she carried an invisible object, which helped her get a better grip on the disc. She raised her arms, releasing a pulse of telekinetic energy that carried the disc to the ceiling with remarkable speed. The disc shook, her grip on the object unstable as she tried to control the pulse. It couldn't be compared to the elegance and control of her senior, but she could have done much worse.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She chuckled at Nakira's statement, shaking her head. "I have a long way to go, but thank you kindly," she replied, having focused on her disc at least long enough to bring it to her.

She focused on it rising; her palms reached forwards, arms stretched out, as though to cup, and then slowly lift.

She took deep, cleansing breaths, and slowly but surely it rose, then shortly after Nakira's own burst up and hit, hers gently nudged. Her arms strained, and she could feel her jaw clench in focus as she slowly brought it back down, then bowed low at the other woman, grinning.

"Well done, Nakira, that was very strong!" she encouraged, giving the other woman a pat on the back.

"We'll be using those very concepts, but in the heat of battle. Feel it flow through you, and the Force will never let you down, kiddo." She knew some people thought her calling them such a title was a down-put, but in her mind... she felt old, but seeing these younger folks just made her hard, little heart warm. She could hardly help it, in a world of informalities 'kiddo' was just one good term for a younger acquaintance.

Maybe... this was how you made loyal friends, after all. She grinned... then chuckled.

"Now, time for practice; use it on me. Push or pull, feel it and let it guide and supplement your actions." She backed away, knees bent slightly and torso slightly angled, palms facing towards her opponent.

"Go."

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Nakira Sinvala]

Nakira let out a relieved sigh once her disc landed before her feet. Getting it to touch the ceiling was one thing, but gently getting it down again was also an art in itself.

Nashyr was the first to break the silence, praised her on her telekinetic control over the disc. Well, it wasn't really 'control'. She had the raw power and ability befitting of a Force wielder, but she still had to shape it in order to learn more delicate in advanced skills. And this was a good training to achieve that level of control over her powers.

"Thank you." she replied politely. "But how do you focus on wielding the Force like this in the middle of combat? I've done it once before, but I collapsed shortly after." All she had been able to utilize, was a simple push. But using the Force for something delicate, such as holding onto something with the Force? That seemed like an impossible task for her right now. Of course, the answer was likely going to be 'practice', but she wondered if there was perhaps another way.

The next exercise was, in her opinion, a lot easier. It required more 'feel', and less control. Nakira delved deep into the flow of the Living Force, beckoning it to pull at the Nash her center of mass. Nakira reached out with her hand and jerked it back quickly, as the Force did her bidding. It was not a pull meant to sent Nash flying, but to subtly unbalance her.

After her attempt, Nakira would relax again. "I assume it's your turn now?" she asked, already bracing herself a little.

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

"Don't think about it," she answered simply, stumbling at the push to her core... and giving a satisfied nod. "Very good, kiddo. But don't be afraid to knock me flat. React!"

The moment she got back into balance, she lashed her palms out, to Force Push Nakira's own shoulders back and hopefully make her stumble. It was a quick, hard gesture, something she learned from Max during one of their sparring rounds.

Never let them react first; strike hard, strike fast, and most importantly, she had to keep moving. Whether or not her attack was successful or not, she would continue to move forward, to close the distance between herself and her fellow Padawan.

@Powerfullhorus