Takai had been on Tatooine for quite some time now. The backwater... or rather backsandy planet was the perfect combination of isolated and irrelevant that she wasn't too worried about the Free Worlds Alliance coming after her for busting out of prison. Long swoop rides in the Dune Sea had given her a good understanding of the local terrain and she was beginning to feel more and more at home in the desert, away from all the prying eyes that seemed to burn at her un'beskar'gam'ed face. At first she had burned with shame whenever someone's eyes saw her face, but that feeling had slowly passed with time. Of course there were other parts of her that she would burn with shame at people seeing as well.
That's why she preferred to do her nude meditating slash combat training far out in the desert where absolutely nobody would see her. The first time she had felt the Manda whispering to her, guiding her fists and letting her feel the world around her without sight had been in a similar situation. Of course she had been locked in an isolated single wide cell on a FWA prison ship. No need to run out to the desert to dance in the nude there, isolation was her life after that first prison fight. Hours after hours spent training in that lonely cell had led to some sort of revelation, an enhanced sense of awareness that she had since only been able to feel in the heat of battle. A tad bit inconvenient that, only being able to get in touch with the battle spirit of her ancestors during a fight. It made sense though in its own way.
So here she was, hours into a Teras Kasi kata with the twin suns burning her skin trying to recreate that otherworldly sense of awareness. Her muscles ached as she flowed through sequence after sequence on the flat butte-top, eyes closed to the world, her mind focused inwards. She swore she could almost feel it, a sense of awareness within her. The breath of life flowing into and out of her lungs, energy flowing from there under her skin and through her muscles. It was so close, yet so far away. Always just beyond her grasp.
Or perhaps it was heatstroke.
Her mind wandered to the cantine of water on her swoop bike, parked not too far away but far enough that she wouldn't accidentally bump into it if she lost awareness of her surroundings. Stay focused. Forcing her mind back to the kata, the flow of movement. The flow of energy. Breathe. She forced herself to focus on her breathing as she followed through on a lunging strike that transferred into a kick. Breathe. It was getting harder to do after hours under the burning sun. Takai tried not to think of the sunburn she would have later.
@Sreeya
That's why she preferred to do her nude meditating slash combat training far out in the desert where absolutely nobody would see her. The first time she had felt the Manda whispering to her, guiding her fists and letting her feel the world around her without sight had been in a similar situation. Of course she had been locked in an isolated single wide cell on a FWA prison ship. No need to run out to the desert to dance in the nude there, isolation was her life after that first prison fight. Hours after hours spent training in that lonely cell had led to some sort of revelation, an enhanced sense of awareness that she had since only been able to feel in the heat of battle. A tad bit inconvenient that, only being able to get in touch with the battle spirit of her ancestors during a fight. It made sense though in its own way.
So here she was, hours into a Teras Kasi kata with the twin suns burning her skin trying to recreate that otherworldly sense of awareness. Her muscles ached as she flowed through sequence after sequence on the flat butte-top, eyes closed to the world, her mind focused inwards. She swore she could almost feel it, a sense of awareness within her. The breath of life flowing into and out of her lungs, energy flowing from there under her skin and through her muscles. It was so close, yet so far away. Always just beyond her grasp.
Or perhaps it was heatstroke.
Her mind wandered to the cantine of water on her swoop bike, parked not too far away but far enough that she wouldn't accidentally bump into it if she lost awareness of her surroundings. Stay focused. Forcing her mind back to the kata, the flow of movement. The flow of energy. Breathe. She forced herself to focus on her breathing as she followed through on a lunging strike that transferred into a kick. Breathe. It was getting harder to do after hours under the burning sun. Takai tried not to think of the sunburn she would have later.
@Sreeya