Ask Dancing Lights

[Thor Wolfe]

Ithor was a calming sanctuary where even Rath could feel more at ease within these hallowed halls. Every step he made the temple felt like they were saturated by the Force energy. In truth, Rath had traveled to many places throughout the galaxy, but never had he encountered the Force being this strong in one place. It was thanks to this measure of calm that Rath managed to complete the construction of his lightsaber, and while he could've just handed the lightsaber that was loaned to him back to the Jedi Order. He decided to keep it more as a backup.

However, one of the questions that had been stuck to Rath for weeks was why not use both lightsabers at the same time? Well the main issue he saw was that the style involved with two lightsabers was taxing in physical labor. While the Padawan was focused in the Soresu and Ataru forms. He wasn't confident to attempt wielding two lightsabers in a live situation.

That being noted, Rath found himself outside of the exquisite temple within a courtyard. Two lightsabers in each hand, one with a blade of vibrant blue with a basic silvery hilt. The other sported a blade of white as the hilt was constructed with haysian smelt. Garbed in a simple sandy brown tunic with the usual utility belt and bantha leather boots. Rath wasn't doing anything that would exhaust him immediately. He merely was going through the motions one typically would do when it came to a new form. With a step to the side, Rath brought the blue blade for a vertical slash. Which was commonly referred to as the evading cut of Ataru. Following up as if he's being pressed by some invisible attacker, Rath twirled the blue lightsaber as he took a step back and with the blade of light slashed horizontally not so much of a manner as cutting. But more like to force the would-be attacker to back off and to which Rath allowed the momentum to carry him with a spin as the blue lightsaber twirled a couple of times behind him. A measure to control the space while defending against the attacker so to speak.

However, as much as Rath would like to admit, the motions were familiar yet weird given that he's having to use both lightsabers as if they were one. Impressive in theory, but as Rath went through the motions he realized it was quite a challenge as he had to mentally keep track of where his blades are and remind himself that he has the other lightsaber for offense and/or defense. This was expected of course, which was why Rath was out here training.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was on break in between his lessons at the temple. Between Jedi training and still doing distance learning with his private school, he was constantly overwhelmed and under pressure. His social life was taking a hit, and he had little opportunity to let off some steam. He was just finished with a meditation class that almost put him to sleep, making his way across the courtyard with his eyes glued to his Nalphone.

The part Sephi was almost all the way across when his sharp ears picked up the sounds of sabers. He almost reached for his saber right then, triggered by the noise. He had faced Sith before and he had been in several life threatening situations that always put him on guard. From the looks of it, however, the temple wasn’t under attack.

For a moment, Ezra simply stood there watching the padawan, wondering what exactly he was doing. He stepped closer, putting his Nalphone away and stuffing his hands into his pockets. He didn’t know this guy, and he was certainly easy on the eyes.

“You know there are training rooms for that, right?” He finally called out from where he stood, amusement dancing in his eyes, “You out here trying to impress someone?”

@AsenMahawa

 

[Thor Wolfe]

It was understandable that those who have been on the battlefield would be triggered merely by the sounds of a lightsaber. For that, Rath felt the throb of guilt as he didn't mean to remind people of those trying times. With the war efforts going on and the Sith becoming more active one after another. It wasn't surprising to find someone who had that particular trigger. And frankly through his focus in the Force and the motions. Rath began to feel… alert. Like he was anticipating a threat to come at any moment.

The sense of anxiety and stress cut through Rath's mind like a hot knife on butter. As it was the stark difference between calm and anxiety. It caused the Padawan to pause for a moment as he considered what he could be anxious about. That was until Rath ruled out that he wasn’t anxious, but where did the emotion come from?

As if to answer the very question in his thoughts, a voice spoke from the side just out of sight. Causing the dark haired teenager to look over to the source. The source being another wandering soul roughly around Rath’s age. With two clicks the lightsabers deactivated as Rath relaxed his posture.

”Training rooms are suitable, but sometimes a change of scenery is preferable.” He lost count of the number of times that he learned something from a different perspective. It was part of how Rath progressed through his studies so quickly, but that was neither here nor there. The teen raised a brow when the stranger questioned whether Rath was trying to impress anyone.

”I’d find it difficult to impress anyone with the basic motions. Now if it was a dance then it’ll be interesting.” Of course there was a difference from the socially accepted term and there’s the combative term of dance. Either way fighting was the equivalent of a dance whether it is a duel between each other or more than one. It could be viewed as a metaphor in relation to light versus dark when it came to dueling the Sith, or simply two good-natured people dueling.

Rath’s eyes glanced to the side as he took note of some other Padawans and scholars walking in the corridor through the temple. That’s when it dawned on him that the classes were switching.

”Classes can get overwhelming sometimes. I always end up being somewhere outside to clear my head.”

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra stared blankly at the guy as he talked. His formal manner of speaking suggested he was one of those super serious, bookish types. Then again, most Jedi he met were socially awkward or way too serious. When the guy talked about dancing, Ezra couldn’t help but scoff, “You don’t seem like you get to dancing very often..” He muttered dryly. Ezra Thorne wasn’t exactly known for being nice, and that didn’t change even when he met new people.

He followed the other teen’s gaze to the other students walking through the corridors. He couldn’t fault the guy for wanting a break from the stuffy training rooms that usually smelled of body odor from countless students practicing in them. Fresh air did wonders for a change of scenery.

Ezra tossed his bag aside and walked closer towards the teen, “I don’t have class for another hour, let’s see some of these unimpressive basic moves,” He said with a faint grin as he ignited his violet saber and set it to stun.

@AsenMahawa

 

[Thor Wolfe]

The comment of not dancing a lot was a bit rude, but if Rath had skin no thicker than paper then he’d probably be easily offended. Fortunately for Ezra, growing up in the rough environment with mercenaries and other less savory people allowed Rath to simply grow used to it by this point. The young teen shrugged his shoulders as he nonchalantly retorted.

”Not often, no. But I reckon with how things are going within the galaxy that might change.” From the distant cries of pain and suffering to the sudden quiet void as one life after another was removed from the galactic board. In truth the Padawan was starting to wonder if controlling the sense aspect within the Force was a good thing. On one hand the visions show battles taking place, but on the other he was beginning to feel the connection with life itself albeit faint as it was. Naturally he wouldn’t feel a disturbance if it was just a skirmish happening half a galaxy away, but when it comes to major battlefields it was difficult to tune them out.

In truth it was part of why Rath came here, to help tune out those screams. To be able to focus on his own emotions. Yet the Force won’t let the young Padawan sit idle for long. Now that Rath constructed his own lightsaber, his connection to the Force had only grown stronger. The teen began to wonder what Ezra’s story was, how this young man ended up here of all places, and how their paths crossed. Yet when Rath reached out through the Force, he only sensed the stress that Ezra felt most likely from the studies. In truth, Rath probably could look to the Force to show him a vision of Ezra’s past, but the young man was neither strong enough nor willing to pry into the young man’s past without his knowledge.

After Ezra tossed a bag to the side and approached with a lightsaber in hand. There was a sense of calm, focus, as Ezra spoke for a display of what Rath learned so far. In truth, the Padawan was certain that the usage of two lightsabers was still a foreign power to him, but there was still merit to this. Even if Rath lost, he would learn from the failure. Perhaps his defeat would buffer Ezra’s pride, and replenish the confidence. It wasn’t just the Force that was telling Rath of these things. It was the Padawan’s own mind from reading the body language of Ezra.

”Alright then.” Rath ignites the silver blade in his right hand and the blue blade in his left hand. Naturally he sets them to stun as well before he assumes the typical stance one would expect of Ataru. Both blades were held at hip level by the sides as the blades never seem to stop. As Rath twirled the lightsabers in his hands almost in unison, Rath kept his eye on Ezra. Both as a measure of certainty that Ezra was ready, and as an analytic measure of how Ezra might approach. Whether he’s aggressive, conservative, or lacking in confidence. However, the Padawan got a sense that Ezra wasn’t going to foolishly attack without having some sort of plan.

Once Ezra basically looks ready, Rath will start it off by simply dashing to rapidly close the distance as the blurs of silver and blue streaked behind him. Ending the sprint with a diagonal slashing arc at Ezra’s left shoulder down to the lower right abdomen with his silver lightsaber. Simultaneously the blue lightsaber in Rath’s left hand will swing low at Ezra’s right knee. If anything, Rath was going to test Ezra’s defense against two lightsabers. If Rath must use two lightsabers, then he must act like each lightsaber is a Jedi fighting in unison. The Force only knows how well this plays out.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Two sabers? Ezra hadn’t faced two sabers before, but he had faced dual wielding weapons before. The mechanics were more or less the same, and he knew to appreciate the mobility of sabers. Ezra held his own saber in his right hand, his gaze quickly observing his opponent charge in with both blades. Ezra had fought enough enemies on missions to know how to parry and engage, but he had to make decisions quickly.

As the white saber came at his left shoulder, Ezra met the blade with his own. However, he did not engage by blocking the blade on its incoming trajectory. Instead, Ezra did a vertical clockwise motion coming in from under Rath’s saber to force the white blade towards Rath’s own center mass. Simultaneously, Ezra pivoted around Rath’s right flank to avoid the other blade coming for his knee. When it came to two sabers, he knew he had to stay outside of his opponent’s guard.

With his free hand, he then unleashed a Force push towards Rath’s right flank in an attempt to send the padawan flying. With Rath's arm raised, Ezra hoped to have access to the boy's torso.

@AsenMahawa

 

[Thor Wolfe]

It became clear that unlike most newly made Padawans, Ezra at least had some field experience when it came to fighting against Force Sensitives. At the very least, the counter slash by overpowering Rath's own saber with a vertical parry while swinging at Rath’s center. It wasn’t a matter of prediction through the Force, it was just a matter of observing his opponent to gauge them. It was one of the basics when it came to fighting. Whether it’s through conversation or through exchange of blows. One of the things that struck out to Rath was that Ezra was opportunistic.

Rath made use of the momentum from the deflect with a pivot of his right foot to twist and spin away from the violet blade to Ezra’s left. Between the shift of Ezra’s position and Rath’s spin the dark haired teen kept up with the knee strike via Rath’s blue lightsaber. Naturally this would miss given that Ezra moved outside of the arc. However Rath kept the blue lightsaber poised in position between himself and Ezra in a defensive position. This mattered little when Ezra projected a kinetic force in the form of a pulse as the invisible wall slammed against Rath.

In truth the Padawan could simply brace himself to reduce the impact, but there was another use for it. Rath skids back on his feet for a few feet before he flips back. Rather than regaining his footing so to speak. He would instead land on his feet in a crouching position. Redirecting the momentum into his favor, Rath leapt with increased velocity to rapidly close the distance. Where Rath will end with a diagonal slash at Ezra’s left shoulder with his silver blade. This attack will be swiftly followed up with another cut from the blue lightsaber at the same angle at the same spot. With Rath using his own weight, momentum, and striking force. It was sufficient to say that Rath was going for the heavy strikes.

@Sreeya