Log:Terminal Velocity
Lira'una and L'orera practice the Form I velocity together..
OOC Date: April 25, 2023
Location: Tempes
Participants: Lira'una, L'orera, Yuun
[PASS ( +58)] Lira'una's Acrobatics @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +55)] Lira'una's Entertain: Dancing @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +42)] Lira'una's Melee: Primitive Weapons @ (100) diff. [PASS ( +66)] Lira'una's Melee: Primitive Weapons @ (115) diff.
This is one of those times that the Lightsaber Sparring Platform is blissfully empty. At least, it /was/ when Lira'una got there. She'd mentioned to Qutha that she was practicing with two stunsaber blades because it reminded her of fire dancing, and when she admitted that she was having a hard time meditating, he'd had a suggestion.
Use your dancing.
She hadn't really thought of that, before -- the way her mind just kind of /lets go/ and gives into the dance, sometimes, when she's not even really thinking about the moves. She's just moving with the music.
So Lira had waited until the platform was completely free, and then she'd ventured up, dropped her cloak off to the side, set a datapad up, pulled both of the stunsabers off of her belt, and pressed play on her music.
https://youtu.be/jM8dCGIm6yc?t=99
The heavy drum beat started, echoing a little in the otherwise tranquil cavern, and then there was the snap-hiss of two stun blades shooting out of their hits, covered in a white glow. One held in each hand, Lira spun them both at her sides, paced out to the middle, and then gave herself into the dance.
Spinning and flipping, the blades whipped around her in nothing that particularly resembled combat cadences. Especially nothing the Jedi taught. The moves were from a dance she'd learned years ago, and they were normally performed with two flaming swords, but today.. it was two lightsabers. The blades met with a crackle-sizzle of energy and then spun away from each other, Lira's lekku flying around her and yet somehow missing the blades each time.
L'orera needs a break. After the ... events on the prison ship, two things became clear to her. Firstly, she needs to become better at acting under pressure. Especially when lives are at stake. Secondly, she needs to swallow her distaste for violence and learn to defend herself. If she had been in that hulk alone... Well, she'd have a new amoeba friend. Suddenly, she's glad she didn't do her first impulse which was to try and look at the minds of the infected.
That was then, and this is now, though.
The Mirialan makes her way up the stairs to the platform, as if summoned by heavy drumbeats. The music is curious, but it all becomes clear when she crests the top and sees Lira dancing with the stunsabers. She stands silent, watching, almost envious of her friend's natural grace and skill. She glances at her own stunsaber hilt on her belt, and considers descending before she's noticed.
She doesn't, though. She marches the rest of the way up on quiet feet and stands off to the side, golden eyes following the routine. In fact, her gaze fixates on the whirling of the blades, letting her mind resonate with the drums.
Is she meditating while standing there!? Cheater!
Quiet steps announce the arrival of Saito. The young padawan looks around the platform, eyes falling on Lira. He watches her routine in stunned cilence, being carefull so as to not do a sound. The only thing thatt changes are his lips when he offers her a smile. He has two lightsabers at his hips. One is a stun saber, the other is a well-crafted weapon, thee result of months of hard work. His eyes go to the other female, hand raising to wave to her.
It doesn't take long for Lira to notice L'orera, either, because despite the fact that she was dancing, it wasn't like she was /actually/ meditating. Maybe she'd been too self-conscious about her voice of location. After all, she was taking up the /entire/ sparring area, and she wasn't exactly... sparring.
Just as Saito is waving to Rera, Lira is spinning to a halt, the blades of both of her sabers retreating back into their hilts. She faces both of them with a warm smile. "Hey!" she calls over the music.
Her hand comes up, a couple of fingers outstretched for the datapad.
It wobbles.
Lira sighs.
And then she walks the rest of the way over, bends down, and pushes the frakking button with her finger, instead.
"Hey Rera! Saito!"
Still hold both of those saber hilts, she over to offer L'orera a hug -- just a friendly, quick greeting between friends.
"Come to practice?"
Yuun was finally coming back from some of his own training outside of the Outpost. He looks around the Outpost watching Jedi move about, though he did know he had to help with some training. So he begins to make his way to the lightsaber sparring platform. He was happy that they were able to get that created, though as he makes his way he hears something....no felt something. Slowing his steps, and closing the force in around him to a point that he's not sensed, its something he's been working on a lot lately since been doing some work on Nar Shadda. Creeping up, he makes his way to the entrance of the training area and peeking in to watch.
Rera is silent, her expression distant and glassy as she almost accidentally taps into the Force to meditate. The world fades around her as she reaches out, tapping into another facet of reality, learning more and more about ever---
Then Lira hugs her.
She yelps in surprise, her mind rushing back to her body. "I saw ... I was..." She shakes her head. "Hi, Lira. Your ... practice was beautiful. I think I got lost in it and ... it felt like meditation."
She does return the hug though, because she is learning how to Friend! "I did, yes. After the ... incidents, I've realized I can't just neglect it. Even if I never want to use it. If I ... I have to learn."
Lira laughs softly when Rera jumps, that warm smile still lingering on her purple lips when she steps back. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," she muses, her voice full of warmth. "But I'm glad you liked it. I'm envious of your ability to just... slip into that state. I've tried sitting for five hours and staring at a frakking pond. I've tried dancing. I've tried running. I've tried /sleeping/ ."
The Twi'lek sighs.
"Turns out.. sleeping is /not/ meditating. But, /trying/ to meditate is a super effective way to put me to sleep."
She rolls one shoulder.
"So, I can tell you more about the story later, if you want to hear it.. but, before my sister was killed, I never even thought about touching a weapon. We were performers. And I was young. So was she. But then after, I was afraid to go outside. I didn't want to perform. I didn't want to play with my friends. I didn't want to... /be/ anymore, without her. I'm not any good with the Force, yet. I can't give you any advice that you haven't /already/ given me. But, learning this..."
She holds up a stunsaber hilt.
"It's not about wanting to use it. It's about wanting not to be afraid, anymore. Wanting to /know/ you can defend yourself.. defend your friends, your allies. To not have to be afraid just to go outside and play. I don't /want/ to fight. I want to stop it, if it happens, as quickly as possible so that, if /anyone/ has to get hurt, it's whoever started it and not some kid that was just trying to play."
Holy kriff. Was that /Lira/ talking? Maybe she legit had /one/ thing in her life she actually took seriously.
But then she's smiling again. "Come on. On your time, when you're ready. Just the Form I velocities -- same pattern for both of us, just mirrored. We start slow and gradually build speed. Nothing fancy."
She's already backing up, hooking one of the hilts onto her belt, and igniting the other as she moves towards the center of the sparring area.
Yuun smiles a little as he listens to the two padawans talk, taking in what they're saying, the Jedi Knight finally makes his presence known as he drops his bubble around him. He steps inside and moves off to the side so that he can get himself warm, as he was out in the cold taking his time and listening. He turns to look to both Lira and Rera, "Hello Padawans." he says to them and Yuun offers a bow to the two.
"Interesting thought processes both of you." he smiles. Yuun unclips his lightsaber from his belt and he walks towards the center of the sparring area and he sits down. He gestures for them to join him if they wanted. "Form 0 is the first form we all must become very well good at." he says to them. "Not all action requires the use of a lightsaber. When you draw your weapon, it's due to it's the final option you had." he says to them.
He looks to Rera for a long moment and nods his head to her. "We all need to know how to defend yourself, though not all of our missions will be diplomacy. I will honor and assist you in training you in the ways of hte lightsaber. Lira is correct about the Velocities." he says to her. "Lira did give some really good advice and words of wisdom. I do know when I ignite my weapon, my lightsaber is apart of me, and extension of me." he pauses. "I don't want to kill anyone but at the same time there are many people who need our help or one of our comrades need our help. Use your best judgement, once you begin combat, allow the force to guide you. Each person comes to lightsaber combat and combat in general in different mindsets." he says to Rera and Lira.
Rera is, well maybe not stunned into silence, but she is a little surprised at how serious Lira is. Then again, tragedy is a serious business. She is not exactly informed on tragedy. No siblings to lose, her parents are still alive. She was just locked in a basement. That's not tragic at all. Nope.
Still, her expression is one of absolute empathy and caring. This is, after all, what she does. She cares and feels. "If you're willing to tell it, I will absolutely listen." She pauses, a little hesitant. "If you ever need someone to listen, or a shoulder to cry on," she says, resting a slim green hand on Lira's shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze. "Do not hesitate to find me."
She withdraws her hand, tugging her stunsaber free with it. She looks at it again, clearly nervous about it, when Yuun shows up. She jumps a little, not feeling him approach. She bows to the Weapons Master politely, listening as he speaks. "I know you are correct, but...I am...afraid. What if I hesitate? What if...," she trails off, looking to Yuun, then to Lira and back. "What if I like it too much?"
Still, she steps into the platform, switching her weapon on and mirrors Lira's stance. She closes her eyes for a moment, taking deep calming breaths, but it doesn't seem to work. When her eyes open again, they still look anxious.
"I will, at some point," Lira answers after the mention of a shoulder to cry on, smiling warmly and touching her lavender hand briefly to Rera's. "But not about Selara. I miss her. I will always miss her. But..." She was gone.
The Twi'lek just lets that hang there with a nod of finality before she's moving away. She had just arrived into the center of the sparring ring with her stunsaber ignited when Yuun began walking out. She watched him sit down beside where they were about to begin sparring, and a grin twisted her purple lips.
"Hi, Yuun."
Lira always seemed to have this /energy/ about her that sort of radiated from her. It kept her weight shifted to her toes and her lekku always making little motions. She'd been known to sit and chat, but doing it in the middle of the sparring ring didn't seem like something she was about to attempt.
She listened to him quietly, but she didn't seem to have anything to add. And as L'orera asked her question, Lira'una rolled into a backwards, one handed cartwheel with her blade ignited. She laughed as she went, then stepped up and lifted her blade in front of her, into the Form I initial posture.
"What if you like sparring? Then I'll /always/ have someone to practice with," she answers, that smile on her lips beaming.
"What if you like /killing people/ too much?" She lifts an eyebrow. "Well, that's a different problem. I don't think it has anything at all to do with a lightsaber."
A pause, then, and a nod.
"Whenever you're ready, Rera."
Yuun sits there for a moment and he looks up at the two, he smiles at Lira, he almost use the force to cause her to stumble, but he did listen to them both and he stands up and looks to Rera. "Correct. There is much to combat and as a Jedi, we don't like to fight or hurt others, but we're always ready to defend." he says to her. Yuun looks to Lera and he bows his head, "Which is why training is very important, you will learn how to temper yourself. THough each Jedi has a style that they're more favorable too like myself and Lira, I know Rey fancies Form 1." eh says to her.
He moves out of the way so he can watch the two, "We will have one on one training, both of you and times when all three of us are together to grow yoru skill and confidence. I will even help teach you to fight without your lightsaber." he says. "I will like to start our training tomorrow."
the white blade springs up in her hand, and she stares at it. They're both right. If she finds she enjoys hurting people, that's a different problem. One can enjoy a martial art, the meditative and physical aspects of it, without enjoying -violence-. As sheltered as she is, it's something she needs to learn.
Besides, if she hurts someone who deserves it, that's just first aid practice, right?
She takes the weapon in both of her hands and lifts it to the ready. Drawing another deep breath, she moves forwards, trying to remember what she's learned. She begins the velocity, starting with a wide, sweeping horizontal slash at a slow speed.
"One."
Lira calls out the first move when Rera makes it, watching the blade and bringing hers up to parry.
"Two.. Three.. Four.. Five.. Six.."
Each subsequent strike is called out as well, until the whole pattern is complete, and then the role reverses.
"Bring it, Jedi Man," the Twi'lek girl calls over to Yuun, stealing a glance his direction right at the top of the pattern. She winks, and then she focuses.
To anyone that had just been watching Lira move, to say that she's holding back is an understatement. She's here to /help/ her friend, not beat her into the ground with a glorified stun baton.
"One.." she calls out again, going through the pattern. Slowly.
Rera is very methodical in her approach. She clearly knows the patterns, but she's almost hesitant. Still, she's precise and graceful in her motions, following the velocity exactly. When the series of six is done, she switches to the defensive, moving her stunsaber to intercept Lira's swings in the appropriate, almost textbook manner.
She spent nine years on the Enclave and this is all she can do?
She bites her lip in concentration, trying not to mess up. "Four...Five...Six." She looks up, stance shifting again. Taking another breath, she moves into the attack pattern, faster this time. It's clear she knows the velocity and could do it with her eyes closed. Still, her movements are hesitant. Unconfident.
Lira moves with Rera. There's no judgement in her eyes. No impatience. No amount of taunt. There wasn't even any encouragement. This was the dance, and they both knew the steps.
In as much as it was a dance, however, it was also a game. It got faster.. and faster.. and faster until either someone got hit or yielded by saying "Solah."
So, when Rera picks up the pace, so does Lira -- a perfect mirror of her speed. This was the dance. There was no mercy to be had. No pity. But there was also no taking advantage, either. That wasn't part of the dance. And for as much of a kriff-off as Lira was in most every other aspect of her life, Lira took the dance very seriously.
"One.. two... three..."
By the start of the third cycle, Rera has forgotten her nerves. Forgotten her anxiety over being not very good at this. There's just the hum of the weapons, the snapping clash, and the muscle memory of the velocity. Right now, the Force isn't even a concern. She can't spare the concentration.
"One." The stunsaber swings in a quicker horizontal arc. "Two." The white blade flickers as it's drawn up into a right-down diagonal. "Three, four, five, six."
Unlike her friend and training partner, Rera does not have the grace of a dancer. She lacks the fluidity that Lira has in every motion. She is precise and steady, her hands unwavering the further into the exercise they get. She has the hands of a surgeon.
This is the singular area in which Lira excels. She can't heal anyone. She can fly a ship without killing anyone onboard, but she's never seen anything close to combat and wouldn't want to. Her ability to tap into the Force is sporadic at best. And when it came down to it, even though she hadn't had to put those skills to the test, she wasn't even a very good negotiator.
She was a dancer. An acrobat. A martial artist. That's what she was before the Jedi found her, and given that she's been a Jedi for a whopping..... month? Less?... that's all she still is. The fact that the stun baton in her hand is marginally fancier than the one she learned on has very little to do with her Jedi-ness.
And so Lira continues to move, picking up the pace, and noticeably focusing a little more on Rera's defenses. If Rera did miss one, she wasn't about to clobber her with it. In fact, the Sevintie cadence called for practicing on a human target, stopping your blade a hand's width from their body. And if she /did/ make it through, that's exactly what she herself was intending to try to do.
Once more, the cycle speeds up. This is where it's tricky for her. Precision matters less than flow does at the higher speeds. Lira has the flow, Rera does not. She manages to keep up through two, then three of the swings, but her hands just aren't fast enough.
The stunsaber swings through, skittering just on the underside of the Mirialan's weapon, striking her in the ribs. She yelps in pain, staggering a couple steps, clutching her side. She grits her teeth, waffling until she just deflates with a sigh.
"Solah."
She shuts her stunsaber off and looks away.
As much as she tried to focus, to make sure she stopped her blade before it actually made contact with Rera, she just wasn't /quite/ quick enough. These were only stun sabers, but it could have been worse. Thankfully it was already a pulled punch. Still, when the green-skin woman yelps and staggers, it doesn't keep Lira's heart from lurching a little in her chest.
Lira's silvery blade retreats back into its hilt and she steps forward, her hand raising, tentatively touching Rera's shoulder when she slows next to her.
"Hey, you good?"
And maybe oddly, much like the rest of Lira's weird form of professionalism surrounding dueling, the question is asked like one duelist checking on another. It's up beat, not mothering and patronizing. The 'expected answer' is, /Yep! Let's go again./ Because that's what had been expected of her, when she was training. Hit the mat, and get up again. Over. And over. And over. And over.
"For what it's worth, you did great." She didn't even have to wait. She brought up her hilt and pointed a finger at the other girl. "And don't give me that nonsense you're about to give me. I don't wanna hear it. I've spent /ten years/ doing this. Ten. Not /using the Force/ . Not meditating." She even puts a little mystical finger-wiggle in here. "Beating the drek out of my instructors with sticks." She grins. "And.. well.. getting the drek beat out of me, too. So, I'm not patronizing you. We're friends, yeah? I wouldn't do that. We were going fast. I couldn't even stop it in time."
Rera looks up as Lira comes close. Her face is unreadable, save for the lingering pain of the sting. "Yes. I'm fine, it's just pain." She shakes her head. "I wasn't fast enough. I'm too worried about ... placement. Precision. I just need to get faster is all."
And Lira is right, she spent ten years doing sword dances, and Rera was stuck in the enclave learning ... how to be a person. She doesn't argue, just nods. "I'll do better next time," she says with a pained smile. "These things hurt."
"Meanwhile... buy you a mystery protein patty and some plant sticks at the vomiteria?"
It wasn't that bad. Lira was just trying to get a chuckle, and her eyes lift hopefully as she clips the stunsaber back onto her belt. She left Rera's side to go back over and collect the black robe she'd folded and set on the floor with the datapad that had been playing the music. She slips the robe back over her shoulders and the datapad back into her pocket.
With the robe on, she looked /almost/ Jedi-ish. Except for the perpetual grin on her lips.
"If it helps, I think they have something chocolate adjacent for dessert."
Rera clips her stunsaber back to her belt, and that's when she realizes something. "I ... forgot to take the robe off. No wonder I felt sluggish." Her head droops and she shakes her head.
But she laughs. So that's a positive change. She's not beating herself up about it this time!
"I ... I kinda like the patties," she says, making ready to head down the stairs for a well earned lunch. "And chocolate is always welcome."
The porg, who has been in Rera's robe pocket this WHOLE TIME pokes their head out and peeps, looking dizzy and dazed before it slips back into the hidey hole.
