Ask Mens Agitat Molem

[Alyse Ti'Varnus]

The wind seemed to have picked up, sweeping in over the peaks and troughs of the rugged mountainside terrain - turbulent eddies and gusts of wind spilling out in all directions as the currents of the air crashed into the hard cold stone that made up the northern most mountain ranges of Ruusan. The violent currents of air whipping through the ashen blonde locks of hair of the young female figure that was standing atop one of the many plateaus, a tern look of concentration plastered over her features as she focused her attention solely on the precarious pile of jagged shattered rock that had been stacked purposefully haphazardly, so that the crashing currents would send the stones flying piece by piece.

Slowing her breath down, the blond figure narrowed her gaze, as her hand stretched out. Reaching out into the force and channelling its energies through her. Whilst tightening up the grasp of a balled fist hanging to her side, as she felt the warm trickle of blood continuing to trickle from her lacerated palm, through her clenched fingers and dropping down onto the ground below. The previous gust had caught her off guard, something that she was not going to allow to happen twice.

With a thunderous howl a raging gust swept across the rugged terrain, barrelling towards the plateau. Her breath slowing down with each passing heart beat until there was nothing but silence and clarity, before with as sudden and abrupt as the sound of crashing rocks thundered out, the blonde figure opened her eyes - white pupil less orbs appearing in place of the usual chestnut hued irises.

With a sweeping motion of her hand, the initial barrage of stone projectiles were whisked off to the side, tumbling down the edge of the rocky ravine. Swiftly followed by the bloody fist rising up at opening out as a wave of Force energy projected outwards to intercept the oncoming shards of Rock, scattering them in all directions. Before being swiftly followed up by a swift motion of her unblooded hand, as if it were scooping something up. - catching the last of the rock projectiles mid air and holding it a mear foot away from her face. Slowly the figures eyes phased back to their normal state, as she looked down at the caught stone shard. "That one would have hurt" Alyse muttered to herself before tossing the stone to the side with a resigned groan. "Passion or Serenity. Power or Balance. Neither is much use if your reflexes aren't up to scratch" she added, voicing her own inner monologue as she looked down ad her bleeding palm with a sigh.

As powerful a tool her connection to the Force may be, she knew all to well that allowing it to become lethargic and un tested can lead to much more than a superficial cut resulting from a poorly timed defence. Such was the reason she had ventured to this remote region, to practice and hone her abilities. But for the time being the training would need to stop, so she could attend to dressing her wound, the last thing she needed was for her training partner to return to find her soaked in blood.

@wayvvardking

 

[Jido Mar]

A long morning of training meant a pining stomach and salivating gums, but more to the point was Jido’s impatience with the Force. Where Alyse seemed to succeed, he... well, Jido rarely claimed failure... Giving into his frustrations, he huffed his way off the plateau to hunt for live game, leaving perfect Miss Ti’Varnus in the wind alone with the exception of an echo of his low grumblings. Sure, there was sustenance enough on the ship, but his blood boiled to do something. Anything physical. Hunting had proven to be the salve to his wounded pride as he marched back towards the pair’s selected training site with a brace of color littered squat birds, plump enough to make a Wookie happy.

The planet’s sharp and sudden rocky formations weren’t quite akin to his home world, Nagi, but they shared the mountainous feeling. As he swiftly wended through the ground floor’s shadows between numerous stony obelisks, Jido’s sweat laden body felt the cool touch of strong winds snaking around the natural barriers to cross into the more open valleys behind him. With so much rock next to him, the Sith was close to the blonde; he wasn’t sure if he was ready for more punishment quite so soon, but he forced himself to push passed the broody mental weight and fashioned a look of determination to his face that he half believed. After climbing through minute pathways for a few minutes, Jido’s false mask broke into genuine glee.

"Pinch me I’m dreaming," he shouted robustly as he basically danced his way across the plateau to set the catch of the day down by gear they may have had. "She bleeds! Do my eyes deceive? Shall I wash them anew and once more witness divinity made flesh? No, I dare say that Alyse Ti’Varnus is but mortal like I!" Jido cackled, bearing a wild smile revealing all his teeth, and shoved his own blooded hands out to reveal far worse wounds than a simple laceration. Obviously, the Nagai had much further to go in the ways of the Force than the lady, but the satisfaction of seeing her less than perfection did leaps and bounds for his own pride.

The man never went anywhere without his Tehk’la blades, and today was no exception. Five sheathed daggers lined his hips—three on his right side and two on his left—and met his lightsaber. Jido rarely hid his Sith weapon, and more than a few times had he impersonated a Jedi without needing to ignite it. After all, he used the weapon of his homeland regularly, so no one needed to see the red blade and make ill-fated assumptions about him.

"Look! I brought us something," he said, losing his sarcastic tone he had only seconds ago. Jido withdrew one of his daggers and set it on the floor beside him as he folded his legs under himself. Taking one of the birds, he began to pluck the feathers carefully at first and then with more gusto as he got the hang of it. When the bird was bare, he held it up to her and rocked it enticingly back and forth. "Nothing like fresh fowl to fill a monstrous appetite, eh?" The young man’s grin returned as he set his eyes on the next bird.

@Topher

 

[Alyse Ti'Varnus]

A light scowl crossed the blonde's features as she looked up from her hand and over towards the older Sith as he approached, lauding over how the young woman was still capable of being wounded - swiftly followed by her eyes rolling as she shook her head in reponse. Her attention returning back to the opened cantine of water, and proceeding to irrigate her wound to flush out any spects of dirt that may had been trapped. "I'm supprised that you are so shocked" Alyse retorted coyly, as her gaze shifted to regard the man through the corner of her eyes, before dropping the empited cantined and reaching out summoning the waiting dressing out of its packet into her freed up hand with the Force. "Figured Legionaires would have all wisdom on how to wound all maners of creatures committed to memory" she added with a light grin as she proceeded to wrap her hand with the bandange.

Still if she was to be honest, she wasn't overly supprised by the sarcasm and the sensed frustration being displayed by the Legionaire over her command of the Force, it seemed to be a running trait within the ranks of the Sith's numbers, the Legionaires commanded a near unsurpassed trait for combat, whilst her guardian counterparts made up for their lack in fighting proficciency with their ability to weild the force. She had seen it before and well to a degree it was also refreshing to have someone from the other camp as it were speak their mind - rather than arcane riddles about the intricies of the Force.

A light chortle escaped her lips as the tone of both her thoughts and Jido's words changed towards the latest change of pace and revelation that the legionaire had sourced sustenance for the pair of them. "Oh certainly, and such plump wild game as well" Alyse spoke as she tied off the ends of the bandage, stepping over towards where Jido had sat himself down. Her chestnut hued eyes observing how he appeared to make short work of plucking and preparing the meat., before stepping off to the side to gather up some of the petrified wood that littered the plateu, before setting it down on the ground infront of Jido and proceeding to sit down on the opposite side infront of him.

Reaching into her pocket, the blonde retrieved a crumpled packet of tabbacc sticks drawing one out for herself and offering the packet over to her training partner with a light smile. With a sharp snap of her fingers a small spark of fire appeared at the tip of her fingers, enough to light the end of her cigarette, before her attention shifted over to the pile of wood. With a light sweep of her hand the flickering fire moved away from her flesh and onto the kindling, igniting the wood into a crackling fire. Leaning back slightly and taking a drag of tabbaco smoke, Alyse studied Jido for a moment processing how the last session of Force manipulation had faired, her lips pursing in thought as she contemplated whether a change in tact would be needed. "So what do you think went wrong?" Alyse inquired after a moment of contemplation, she was curious to the Legionaire's frustration with the Force and the cause of it? Figuring that perhaps if Jido could talk through the issues she could better help him rather than seemingly be here to just show off her abilities.

@wayvvardking

 

[Jido Mar]

The Legionnaire hadn't wiped the smirk off his face until he sat down with the birds, so when Alyse replied before that point, Jido's mouth had opened widely in faux shock while his free hand's five fingers jabbed at his heart in what would look like an emotional lamentation. "Now you wound me! We are not all creatures of darker torment. We Legionnaires can be benevolent, compassionate and kind." Whether this was a fib, a lie or general tomfoolery was left unknown, however, his crazed smirk returned when he finished and wasn't the least surprised to see the Guardian turn her own frown upside down--even if it was only slightly. Say what you want about Jido Mar, but he rarely misunderstood his audience. "And don't tell me that you Cultists know not the methods to break a man," his eyes touched hers for a moment of uncommon stillness for the Nagai, "or woman." The dark side was power; he knew this. Although, that power didn't resonate as body or mind. It was both, and at present, the pair sided on opposite sides of the spectrum.

By this time, Jido's shoulders had already perked up at the ego boosting comment about his handy work and both birds were sans feathers. He quickly whittled a sharp point on one of the long petrified sticks his companion procured with his dagger and selected the first bird only to slap it none too carefully across his knees before jamming the rod through the meat. He repeated the process with the second plump bugger and flashed Alyse a smile accompanied by a show of wagging eyebrows. If it wasn’t clear already, Jido had been tirelessly storytelling his great capture of their meal while he prepared ‘their feast’, and it wasn’t until the lady offered the gentleman a smoke that he had stopped.

"Never will Jido Mar say that the lovely Alyse Ti’Varnus gave him nothing. Ha!" His pale skinned hand swiftly snatched a stick for himself. Unbothered by the dried blood on his hands, the man brought the tabbacc to his nose and breathed in the aroma as his eyes rolled back in delight. Even amongst Force users, pyrokinesis was rare, however, he wasn’t nonplused to learn that the talented blonde knew its secret—of course Jido had no such knowledge. Rather than verbally asking for help, he fitted the long cylinder between his lips and leaned a bit forward. She was a smart girl. She’d understand. Jido didn’t need to ask for help and Alyse got to blow her own horn—it was a win-win.

The raven-haired Legionnaire cocked his head to the side in response to her question after propping the skewer up at a cooking angle above the conjured fire. Jido watched as the flames nipped at the meat like a wolf to a heel before replying. After a moment he flicked his grey eyes towards her. "I think it’s because it’s not only about me," he said in all seriousness. The man was conceded and narcissistic to a level that competed with the slime-ball Hutts. He knew this and didn’t hide it—that would be contrary to his nature. "When I duel, the world slows down and it becomes a game of my will against theirs. I break my gorgeous back day in and day out to perfect my form, and it’s something I see the results of my efforts." He turned the birds slightly as the flames rose a bit, making sure the food wouldn’t taste like boot leather. "The Force is more than me." Jido smirked. It wasn’t like him to say anything was above him. "When something is not about this pale hide, it eludes me." That was as close to the truth that he would reveal at this time; pride was a hard thing.

@Topher

 

[Alyse Ti'Varnus]

Silently Alyse sat and listened, occasionally drawing upon the smoke of her cigarette watching and intently processing what Jido had to say regarding his stance towards the Force. Pushing her lips in though the blonde cultist mulled over what he had to say for the differences between fighting in armed combat and manipulating the Force. And how it all centered around the perception of it being the wider embodiment the galaxy. Resting her legs out to the side, the blonde contemplated over the offered explanation, whilst stretching out a hand to oblige the need to ignite the offered tabbac with sharp snap of her fingers.

Drawing once more in her own cigarette, Alyse pursed her lips in thought before exhaling a plume of smoke. Her hand moving slightly as she manipulated the Force, engulfing and trapping the smoke into a haze filled orb that swirled about briefly before starting to form and resemble the spiral arm of the Galaxy. "It is quite a daunting concept" she offered with a light smile, her eyes gesturing for Jido to follow and direct his gaze to the manipulated smoke. "The Force binds everything from the inner most point of the deep core to the remotest point of the unknown regions, it makes us seem insignificant in the wider scale of things, seems only right for it to elude you" she continued as her fingers subtly twitched, further manipulating the spiraling rendition of the galaxy.

"But, to quote our lightsided kin. Everything we do is carried in the Force, every step and breath we make sends shock waves, even those deaf to the Force" the blonde sith commented as the centre of the smoke haze started to ripple outwards, the waves radiating to the edges and then seeming bounced back against the invisible walls, creating a turbulent storm of smoke before with a flick of her hand the smoke returned back to its lazy haze moving in the natural breeze around them. "But it is no different our current situation" Alyse spoke as she gestured towards the wild fowl propped up over the fire, with a light grin. "The wild game you hunted, is no different than the Force, they are part of a wider eco system, their own existence had untold effects on this mountain range, from feeding the natural predators that stalk this plateau, to allowing the flora to thrive, by spreading trapped pollon in their feathers and keeping the mites and parasites in check so bit to cause an infestation"

"you may not see it, but by claiming them for your own, you have affected the natural order of our surroundings and put into effect consequences that will last for years to come" She continued before pausing to take another drag of her Tabbac before stubbing it out on the cold stone beneath her. "The question is why? It's because you are hungry and need to feed to sustain yourself, it's as simple as that" Alyse reasoned as she propped herself back up, her posture giving indication that she was getting into the and even perhaps enjoying the topic a little too much. "That is how I see the Force, it is not an infinite expanse that surrounds me, it is merely the means that allows me to sustain my needs and desires" Alyse continued, offered a wide grin, as she surveyed the current state of the cooking meat, the grin curling into a wide smile as her mind focused in on an idea.

"There is some time left until the meat is cooked" Alyse declared as she started to muster the Force around and within her. "I think perhaps there is time for a quick lesson to help you see the Force in the same was I was given for my first lesson" she added, her features darkening slightly at the reflection of it being the first lesson that Locura had inflicted upon her, without any warning the air around the two sith became suddenly thin, the sensation of suffocation starting to make itself known to the pair of them. "Now think about your duels, and how the world around you slows down, and focus in on your will to fight and survive" the blonde spoke out seemingly unaffected by the sudden loss of breathable air. "You have no weapons to protect you from this. Only your connection to the Force, Focus on those energies around you and draw on them, make them yours, draw upon those energies to feed your body. You do not need to breath the air around you, just draw deeply on the Force and it will sustain you that is the nature of the Force, it exists so that you can thrive off of it" the blonde guardian instructed, placing a purposeful emphasis on each and every iteration of You that she spoke to further drive the point that whilst the Force may be bigger, it exists to serve those who have the strength of will.

 

[Jido Mar]

The moment the tabacc was lit, Jido inhaled deeply. For those used to the practice, they knew the power of the first draw; it seemed to set the world right as if there wasn't anything unaligned in their small corner of the galaxy. This was how the Nagai felt, but the moment didn't last as long as was normal because he knew that today would be an uphill struggle. Instead of exhaling through his mouth, the smoke exited through his nostrils and billowed around his chest before dissipating into the unknown--except it was the unknown. That was part of his problem. The ability to see passed himself was a more daunting task than he himself realized. How unfortunate for Jido that he'd soon catch a glimpse of the light-bulb only after the world went black. . . .

The lady's words rang truer than he'd like to admit to either himself or the blonde. It wasn't a simple thing to own up to another that he was weaker, although, 'weaker' might not be the appropriate word because truthfully, they each had their strengths and weaknesses. The dark-haired man took a bit of solace in that thought as a grin manipulated his lips, and doubly worse was the fact that he abandoned her paramount tuition for a fleeting moment of vanity. However, he did watch as a model of the galaxy fashioned before him. A parlor trick. And that could be true, but it didn't diminish the truth that Jido lacked the control to craft detailed images as she had managed... without breaking a sweat. There was a deeper level of understanding at work, and the man's ego was a Rathar between a parched man and the oasis.

Something did strike him as odd, though, and it came as an afterthought--mainly because he was paying little attention. Words were boring and the restlessness had began striking his feet, begging him to do something with them. "You mean the Jedi? What do they got to do with anything?" Jido never spent time learning from their 'light-sided' brethren. His own teacher dismissed their understandings as weakness and sacrilege to the true nature of the Force: power, passion, feeling and emotion to name a few. Once again, it appeared as though he had missed the point. Her explanation had little to do with the Jedi and triumphantly to do with the Force.

Jido wasn't a complete idiot, despite what his behavior had illuminated recently. No, the tangible lesson--the bringing the conversation back to the birds--resonated with him. The hunter understood that all beings had their place in the galaxy, and this didn't stop at the animal kingdom. "Like how the Sith stamp out weakness? We, at the top of the food chain," Jido held out his hand towards their campfire and made a sound that was similar to an 'eh' before continuing, "see other 'societies' as tools for our own means." He liked the ease of which she orated her matter-of-fact justification: 'The question is why? It's because you are hungry and need to feed to sustain yourself, it's as simple as that. That is how I see the Force, it is not an infinite expanse that surrounds me, it is merely the means that allows me to sustain my needs and desires.'

While holding the shrinking cigarette between his thin lips, he reached out to rotate the birds so that they would cook evenly before retreating into his own thoughts about what Alyse had said. This was something Jido understood. As the third sibling after two golden children, one had to take and take to even get the scraps, but look at me now, Father! Look. At. Me. Now! More power than ever thought possible, and it was just in him. It raged inside him, augmented by his Nagai and Sith teachings of swordplay--

It was at this time, the air became what it should not: non-air. Eloquent, no, but even a bard like Jido who had a penchant for clever, albeit combative, speech lost his ability to do so as the one thing he held most precious seemingly vanished. He was choking. Choking! Reaching up to his throat he attempted in strife to relinquish the hold around his neck, although, it didn't quite feel like a noose. Instead, the torture felt more akin to the breath before an explosion, where the thing in question knew it was going to blow up but could do nothing about it. Everywhere pained him, but it was his lungs that burned the most. They screamed for relief, and the man frankly had no idea how to provide that sort of reprieve. Looking towards the blonde, who seemed to be completely fine at present, was still speaking, but the thumping in his ears drowned out her words. It was at that moment that he watched her lips. 'You' seemed to be popular, but his vision was going dark from the experience--one in which he had zero preparation or a full cavity of oxygen in his lungs.

Like a prodding iron for cattle, frustration poked at the corners of his mind. The dark epiphany stormed his mind; Jido was as powerless as a meager vessel deep at sea under a crashing storm. Anger began to mount and the man flailed in an attempt to resist the inevitable, but like many boats in the midst of raging tempests, he lost sight of the light. . . .

//Jido passes out.//

@Topher

 

[Alyse Ti'Varnus]

The blonde Sith's eyes narrowed as she observed Jido faulter under the effects of her manipulating the air around the pair, his eyes seemingly glazing and rolling over as his grasp on conciousness slipped. With a sigh, Alyse released her grasp over the Force, allowing for the maniupulated air to return back to it's normal state. "Perhaps even smaller steps are required" she murmoured to herself as she raised her hand out and pointed it towards Jido's body, her fingers twitching as she pulled at the man's unconcious form, changing his posture so that was laying down and angled into the recovery positio so that he could breath easier in his present state before leaning back slightly and propping herself up for a moment with her hands flat agaisnt the stone beneath her.

Lips pursing in thought as she contemplated just how so it would be best to tutor the older Legionaire, her mind lingering over the understanding that whether or not she was wrong in assuming that it would be an easy enough of an exercise to overcome - going from her own experiences under the cruel tutorledge of Locura as he made every effort to force her into yielding all control of her mind and emotions to the Darkside, seeking to exploit her abilities so that she was nothing more than an obedient tool for his will rather than the Sith she had since became.

Her chestnut hued gaze shifting over towards the crackling fire, watching as the meat started to seer and bubble away along the surface as the seeping fat caramelised on the skin, reaching over the blonde lifted the sticks the birds were squewered on and raised them further away from the fire, so that they could slowly roast - doubting that Jido would be best please to wake only to find that the dinner he had hunted had been burnt to a blackened crisp whilst he was unconcious. Once the cooking foul had been tended to, the blonde guardian slowly closed her eyes and started to reach out into the Force, taking the opportunity to read the currents as they flowed around her.

Her minds eye periodically reaching out towards the unconcious legionaire, checking in on his current state at each present time. Whilst the time passed in a relative lingering drag, it was perhaps not much longer than 10 or so minutes until she could sense Jido's body and mind stiring within the Force. Opening her eyes, Alyse surveyed Jido for a moment before checking in on the cooking foul, it seemed almost as if planned that by the point that the male was coming back to conciousness, that the food was ready to consume. "Welcome back" Alyse spoke out, as she rested back agaisnt the stone, unfolding her legs a little so she could sit in a less meditative posture. "You' better have both of the wild foul, you'll need to restore your energy before we try that again" she added whilst gesturing towards the cooked birds, and then reaching for her cantine of water.

@wayvvardking