To Break Our Chains

[Cortan]

Azur watched the setting sun as it slowly sank beyond the horizon, admiring its soft, orange glow. The tails of his robes lightly fluttered in the breeze, dragging before him as the winds swept down the cliff before him. He was but a few feet from the edge, stood upon a plateau that, in ages past, had been thrust up by tectonic processes that now merely stirred. Perhaps another such event would occur, or perhaps the terrain would lay dormant forever, cut upon by only the wind and the ever rare rain. Whatever the case, the sun would still be there, radiating its light for ages to come upon the surface of Korriban, whatever may happen.
And what would happen today was likely to be sight that sun had overlooked thousands of times - a teacher training a student.
Specifically, the Crusader would be teaching one Lillieth Sunsinger, a relatively recent addition to the academy. Many of the students he sought out seemed to fall into the category, and he supposed he would prefer it that way. It was far easier to find comfort in being the teacher when you at least had a few years on your pupil.

He cast his eyes over his shoulder, looking towards the path that led from the Academy, to the plateau. It was a distance of many miles, and a journey that, even by speeder, would take an hour at least - likely more. He had considered using the Valley of Golg, but found that on this day, there would a patrol in the area, and he preferred not to risk an interruption. This location would have the same intended effect as was, in that it would demand his potential pupil to actually have at least some commitment towards her path, rather than a tolerance for walks out into the academy courtyard, or to a classroom. He needed a student that was willing to explore new horizons.
"...J, are the preparations complete?" He spoke into a commlink in his hands, getting back a series of whining noises from his astromech.
"...Roger that." He smiled, lowering the commlink, and now simply waited for young Miss Sunsinger...

 

[Asinine Soup]

She'd received her instructions. A small pack containing nothing other than the essentials - in fear of having never ventured this far into the wilds in her stay here upon Korriban - brought with her, clipped unto her back.
She sighs gently, peering out from the perimeter of the Academy grounds, the sun baking the landscape beheld before her...the road that only bent with the curve of the planet.

"Nothing ventured...nothing gained." Fingertips trail her jawline as loose threads of thin, crimson hair is tucked behind her ear. Not that it mattered. Heaving herself upon a speeder, she would be off, and the hair atop her head would flicker en masse of fire and flaming jitter. Twas quite the journey, as well, though a gaze of purpose and belonging would be etched upon the young woman's muse of a visage. In an hours time of fast-paced travel, she would finally be able to peer up toward the plateau. She felt...something, or someone, all the way at the top. The wind was stiff, but brisk, and as she idles the speeder and steps off, she blinks up.

A blue-skinned individual with a flickering robe that dances with the breeze stands upon the top. That's when she knew she was at the right place. A slight smirk of belonging travels along her cheek before she steps forward, fingertips grazing the long-hilted Lightsaber upon her hip. It calmed her - rather, the crystal within is what truly culled her anxiousness and rendered it null. Those reaching out to pique into her nature would find monotonous nothingness rather than stinging anticipation.
Leaps, clings, and climbing rendered her fifteen-minute venture to the top of the land mass relatively short. She was acrobatic and lands flat-footed upon the top in a small amount of time, exhaling softly as her hand rises to cling unto the arm of the backpack she wore.

"...Crusader Azur. An honor." she chants with a smile, posture bent in her introduction. Surely the tint of the man's skin was no mistake, and the exotic nature of it sent a feeling of...longing. From a woman whom never even quite knew what emotions were stirring within herself, she figured naming the result would be an excellent start within her elongated spiritual quests.

"I am Lillieth."

 

[Cortan]

Now this was... intriguing.

Azur looked down upon the acolyte, but not from the direction that he had been expecting. He had thought she would find the point where the plateau arose out of hills, and followed the path up from there. But instead, she had arrived at the base of the cliff, and with no other option presented to her, began the arduous climb upwards to meet him. Mildly impressed, Azur stepped back so that the acolyte would have room to land when she finally reached him, which she did several minutes later. As she landed, Lillieth would be met by a light clapping, the only sound to be heard for miles all around, a slight pang in the silence of the desert.
"I know your name, Sunsinger, as you clearly know mine. Though I would prefer Crusader Zaff, that you remembered the proper courtesy will be enough for now." He smiled to find that at least one student knew such without having to be reminded, and that the only thing he had to correct her on was formatting.

"You did well to meet me here, though I shall confess that the climb you took was not intended - there is a path, roughly two miles south, that passes through the foothills and would have led to an easier ascent." He turned to point at the rough direction to which he was referring, where the plateau slowly began to slope, visible from here.
"Perhaps that is fitting however. The Sith path will not always lead you to the easiest way, and in truth, overcoming hardship will do far more to serve your advancement. I have spent ten years with the Sith - but it is within the last twelve months, where I was pushed to my limits, emotionally, and physically..." He pulled up one trouser leg, revealing the mechanical replacement for his right lower limb.
"That I then truly grew. Do you understand, Miss Sunsinger?" Azur turned, gesturing her away from the cliff edge.

"I would hope so. Because your little demonstration means I can move onto more interesting things."

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth nods gently, expression solidifying as the more serious nature of the discussion had become to unfold. Mention of the ailment - which, as Crusader Zaff had elaborated truly wasn't a disability, but an enlightening growing experience - caused the young woman's amber eyes to flicker downward. She makes note, an, "I understand completely, Crusader Zaff." correcting herself and elaborating the understanding of loss leading to greater avenue, granted the loss wasn't too grave.

While Lillieth was a bit immature at times, and other times spiteful, she could never be classified as dull or idiotic; she knew of the method of travel that was far less arduous than that of which she chose, but what could she say?
"My eagerness granted the best of me." was her only, if there was truly an applicable reason. This, of course, was stated as the man pointed toward the aforementioned path.

In such, she drops the bag upon her back unto the plateau's top, a gentle dust stirring up into the wind that danced between her hair as easily as it did Crusader Zaff's robing. She adorns something more humbling: a simple uniform mostly fit for acrobatics upon her homeworld.

Seemed it fit the melancholy setting here upon Korriban rather well.

"Your hopes would not be ill-placed." A gentle bow, and then a rise to re-straighten her posture. "I've always been a fan of melodrama."

She smiles. More interesting things.

 

[Cortan]

"...If that was a remark against me, tread carefully. Insulting one's teacher is never a wise path, even when its easy." ...The fact Azur had just taken a stab at himself may have been perplexing, but he simply smiled at his own witticism.
"Now then, acolyte, when you gaze out upon the surface of this planet, what do you see?" He asked, looking all around them, his question inviting much speculation, both in wording and in tone. He gestured, freely, for her to take in and answer however she so wished, and he would give her the time to do so. Short, elaborate, it didn't matter - he would give her answer consideration all the same, and the patience to let her finish.

But when she was done...

"Come along." He simply turned and walked away, seemingly not caring for whatever answer had been given at all. And were she to need any incentive, Azur would simply hold one hand out behind him, and focus for a moment. The bad that had been laid down would suddenly fly down the slope towards the Crusader, where he grabbed it, and began to peruse its contents, out of curiosity.
"Is the name Sunsinger your actual family name, or did you make it up when you came to this planet? It seems a bit... on the nose I'd say, unless it refers to something other than your red hair. Oh, perhaps your family sang at birthing ceremonies whenever a boy came along? Does that mean there's a Daughtersinger family out there somewhere, where you came from?" This was... probably not going to be what Lillieth hoped for at all, and it would only get worst as Azur began to toss aside the provisions left and right, deliberately opening things and leaving them to spill upon the dusty earth, and then tossing the bag back in the face of the acolyte.

He wondered, how much would she take...?

 

[Asinine Soup]

"I see..." she pauses, breathing in a moment. Would she tell the truth?...Or would her nature get the best of her, her intellect perusing to find what he would find as the most fitting answer. Her earlier statements held no insult, for she truly were a fan of the dramatic stylizations of the galaxy's greatest playwright: Life. For her to have come to the top of the world, in her mind, and the furthest of which she had ever been? It was breathable, and by-far more interesting than sparring brutes and giants in the sparring pits of the Academy.

Now...what did she see.
She decided to be frank. Everyone didn't quite like the childish, immature side of her demeanor, but this time around? Why not be frank. No other eyes were upon them.
"...dirt. I see sand, old ruins, and a marvelous sky painted by a melancholy sun. I see..." she pauses, squinting as the wind continues playing within her hair. "...death. I see lessons learned. I see progression. And I see that same progression snuffed out like a whisper to a flame." She would only state these seeing the ruins of Korriban for time and time again within history, the planet had been ransacked and taken over by those whom its inhabitants would rather it not have been; but as the girl's amber irises lift toward the horizon once more, the Academy far, yet still in sight, seemingly the focal point of the painting...

"...I see a playground." A smirk is cracked upon her face, the beauty of her expression seemingly remaining as her teeth sink into her bottom lip. She loved manipulating...as though it were her world. Sometimes, she even believed her own lies - was this simply another one?

"Come along." states the man as he turns, reaching through the Force for her belongings. He would find her canteen, an emblem with her family's namesake "Sunsinger" emblem pressed into both sides, a square hole within the center, the remaining pieces of her treasured vibroblade (micro-emitter included), and a comb - to her, the item was normal, but to those whom likely didn't live a life of elegance might see a jewel-encrusted item worth plenty of credits in the right hands. Among other things, as well.

The young woman's eyes flicker as her possessions would kiss the dirt, boarding documents, holocom, and a small journal being snooped within that held nothing but a few cryptic lines of chants, words and symbols of power, and references to places she still had yet to venture. She'd been a busy little Sith.
So his curiosity was on Lillieth-level, hm? She couldn't help but to continue that half-grin, half-lip-bite as he asks his questions. One thing those close or those testing her with was that, while she had the potential to become great Sith, she was, also, fluttering between the lines and was highly impressionable. As of now? She answers his questions, hands moving to relax upon her hips of which she leans proper weight upon.

"I was the exception. My eyes and my hair color are both recessive traits within my bloodline, and the last to have had said traits was my great-great grandfather. I met him, once." Don't get her started talking. "We embrace the void and cast light upon it; we encounter the unknown and shed rays akin to the sun as we 'enlighten'. My namesake is..." she pauses, chortling gently, voice echoing through the wilds.
"...nothing more than a multi-entendre. Coincidences that flow together."

No more than the coincidences that may have brought these two to meet.

A problem she'd never have to worry about...was being, as he explained it, a Sith out of control. The Dark Side taints her mind, attempts to seep into her skin, and yet she remains...

...effervescent. Be it a ruse?

 

[Cortan]

The answer the Sunsinger gave illuminated some things, but left others dim and uncertain. She talked of a bloodline, as if there were to be something of note. He would have to investigate the name 'Sunsinger', it seemed, and see how the affected his view of the young woman. Nobility? Inherited wealth? The questions were there, but would have to be addressed later.
"Coincidences that flow together mark the beginnings of history, acolyte." Azur held the journal he had extracted from Lillieth's bag in his hands, tempted to glance through its pages.
"It was mere 'coincidence' that my ancestors landed at a clearing next to a river, on my homeworld of Dentaal. But their control of fresh water, and open land, meant that many flocked to them for security and sustainability, as efforts were made to resettle Dentaal. It turned them from merely a man and woman, and into a duke and duchess - a line that has now run for centuries, leading to my father, and eventually, me." He tossed the journal back in the end, but towards Lillieth, not simply aside to the ground. Soon, they were halfway down the slope, increasingly gentle a climb, before Azur stopped.

"When you see such moments, you must be prepared to seize the opportunity they bring. Few plans survive the battlefield, and few true roads to power are those finely laid at one's feet." Now, he seemed to be continuing on the message he had established earlier, turning to look up at the acolyte.
"So it is good you are not easily irritated either. I'm fairly certain that myself a few years ago would have expressed far more frustration, finding someone going through my possessions, or making light of my opinion." He cast a curious glance to her lightsaber then, suspecting something about it. But what means she used did not matter, for now - only if they proved important at some other stage.
"Here though, we begin. Gather your things..." He paused, raising one hand. "Without stepping from your current place."

 

[Asinine Soup]

The young woman's expression flickers akin to a droid processing data as she's told to retrieve her belongings through use of the Force. The bigger objects would prove no hassle at all, but the smaller ones?...Stars help her.
"Thank you." she chimes, flashing a gentle smile as she catches the notebook with a single hand as though it held minimalist value. Such was the qualm of the greatest geniuses in history - an aside, have you - as even Beethoven had his songs ripped in front of his face...only to continue playing it:

It was not the paper that held the magic, rather, twas the mind. And such a beautiful mind it was.

So much time training using the Force to manipulate the mind and the sword to carve the legs of stowaways that she'd neglected the very basics of her kinetic capabilities. Thankfully, she chose the right avenue of remaining her true self, however, for it seemed that if she were to display herself as most Sith hopefuls attempted to, she wouldn't be progressing with the Sith Crusader's instruction...or interest.

No matter. She could harness the power, all that would be needed was to suppress it...for now. With a lift of her palm and a trickle of her fingers, she squints.
"I'm hopeful - Crusader Zaff - that I'll be able to learn more of your...ancestry." she states idly; when it came to lore and history, Lillieth was your gal. Period. Ancient artifacts and relics, troubled history and ruins, discouraging spirits and Dark entities and energies - they all had one thing in common:

Lillieth's extreme interest.

Slowly, the bag would levitate into the air by a single strap, an opposite hand rising as she begins twiddling a few fingers, telepathically (in a way) tossing its previous belongings into the unzipped pouch. The coins, holocom, and other miscellaneous items and objects are all lifted, but the final piece - the journal - is allowed to be placed in on top by hand. The bag floats on her direction with a wave of her arm and a concentrated effort before being placed...and the bag, itself, zipped.
It falls to the ground with an upheaval of dust and dirt.

"And so." she asides mellifluously as though the next part of the unraveling story were to be presented, a smile sliding back upon her face and a few fingertips tucking loose, thin strands of glowing red behind her ear.

 

[Cortan]

"Perhaps if you pass this little test of mine, you shall know." Azur shrugged, simply content to lead the young woman on with whatever lure seemed appropriate for the situation. None had really asked of his ancestry before, so he did have a mild interest in being able to share some of the details. However, he also shouldn't fraternise with pupils too closely, so best that he keep it limited to some kind of reward, at least for now. Who knew how his association with the acolyte would go.
He watched then as, perhaps motivated by the offer, Lillieth slowly demonstrated just what she could do. Eyes darted to each small piece as it rose from its place on the ground, before slowly returning to the owner's bag. One by one they all came, before at last, everything was back in place, and the bag was dropped to the ground to punctuate the effort. Azur gave a small clap, as Lillieth straightened her appearance.

"And so, you succeed. But I also have seen... where you fail. Or would, in any context but this." The smile on his face fell, unhooking his lightsaber from his hilt. He tossed it aside, like he had any of the other items before it, letting it soar through the air till it fell several dozen metres away, and falling farther still away from him as it hit the incline of the slope. He left his hand extended as he spoke again.
"Had any of those not been trinkets cast from your bag, but instead, your lightsaber, knocked aside in combat..." He focused for but a moment, and within a second or two, the lightsaber was back in hand, and with a quick twirl, ignited. When it came to rest, it would held up a little under the acolyte's chin.
"Well, you wouldn't be learning much from anyone else, I tell you that much." He flicked the saber off, and pulled it back to his belt, where it rested once more.

"So then. Toss it away." Azur gestured, towards Lillieth's lightsaber.
"And call it back. Then toss it away again. Repeat, until you either get the hang of it, or my droid arrives." He then turned his head, and looked towards the horizon, though this time, in the direction of the slope.

 

[Asinine Soup]

A pair of amber eyes float about the stageplay, its leading role being an azure crusader. His claps resonate about the area, and as her posture relaxes, Lillieth listens to the words he had to say. Of course, with a slight eyebrow-lift of confusion as his weapon is sent out unto the ground, all she could do to the sudden surge of heat felt in front of her throat was to slowly lift her chin.
Her eyes down and jaw lined upward to avoid the sting of the weapon upon her skin, her stoic gaze would - once again - slowly morph into that of a peculiar visage of entertainment.

It was like the danger spoke to her, or maybe the situation in itself heightened her senses...or maybe she was crazy. Who knew?

As the Lightsaber shrinks in its dying hiss back within the hilt of its beholder, her chin falls and she clears her throat; the special tool upon her belt is finger-felt, though her hesitation would be self-noted. Perhaps she held too close a bond to the item...the tool used to slay and manipulate, to intimidate and bend those to her will whom lacked defense against one. Who held fear in the presence of one.
It was a sightly gift, and she wouldn't abuse it...until now.

She, as carelessly as she caught her journal before, tosses the lightsaber to hear its dull *thump* within the plateau's dirt. It would take a few moments for the weapon to begin rattling, her grip upon it within the Force still...wavery, at best; however, with a flick of her wrist, she pulls the item close, though it was simply far too fast for her to catch. She strikes its hilt with a wrist (internally hissing at the pain, lightly squealing at her fault and blooper) before catching it out of the air. That didn't go so well...so it would seem as though her teacher was correct. She would try again.
And as she does, instead of calling violently upon the Force as she did her opponents, she regresses as the item gently floats slowly back into her grasp.

The droid in question would have likely arrived as she had begun to get the hang of it, each attempt and each toss and each pull becoming faster and faster (save the one time she almost accidentally tossed the weapon off the side of the cliff. That would've sucked).
"I'm glad you've presented this aspect to me," she admits within her repetition, voice soft, " were this combat, I surely would be doomed, if I were too dull or slow to improvise." And it were true. Were she outnumbered or were she being shot at - or both - she likely would perish were this repetitive training had not occurred. Of course, she was fairly acrobatic and swift, so maybe it would have delayed the more-than-likely inevitability of impending doom.

 

[Cortan]

Azur looked upon Lillieth as she first threw her saber. She reached to it, called it back to her... and almost immediately, even before the saber collided with her hand, Azur had winched, and then dropped his face into his palm. She had sought to imitate him from the moment she had thrown her saber, failing to realise that there had, perhaps, been a gap of experience between the two of them.
"Build up to it. Climbing a cliff may have been within your abilities, but the force is a beast that is not properly tamed by simply leaping atop and expecting it to heel." He advised, not answering anything directly, but hinting at how Lillieth should progress. And slowly, progress she did... with a few mishaps.

"I would be careful that your words do not verge on patronising, Sunsinger. At the very least, if repeating your teacher's words, make do to rephrase, perhaps better understand them. Have you never done essay writing?" Azur teased, noting to himself that the young woman may not have gone through higher education yet. But, regardless...
"The intent of the exercise was to make you familiar with one thing though - the delicate nature of telekinesis. In many situations, you will need to control a target with precision..." He watched as the lightsaber was thrown yet again, with Lillieth likely to return it to her side...
"Now, we shall see how well you handle power." Only for Azur's hand to rise, and draw upon the weapon first. The shimmering shaft slipped into his palm, where he held it tight, should Sunsinger try to recover it.

And in the distance, there came a cacophony of loud screeches, at the heart of a dust cloud, chasing an oncoming barge.

"Because currently coming towards us are half a dozen hulak wraids. Wicked creatures, will rip you apart if you give them the chance - easily agitated. And I've had my droid riling them up all afternoon..." The barge began up the slope now, still chased, as Azur stepped towards the top of the cliffs, likely to try and sidestep Lillieth if she went to stop him.
"You will have to send them back down."

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth responds to the gentle prodding and subtle insulting mildly, sneering as though she had something witty to retort but instead decides against it.
...uncharacteristically, at that. Those whom knew her knew she could debate and antagonize better than the next; it was how she operated, after all.

He would have been content seeing her ripped to pieces by the enraged pack quickly enclosing. A display of power?...Hm. Without...the weapon that she would intend to use as a clutch. Other than that? She had her agility, and her mind.
A peer back toward Crusader Zaff and a soft, "And how would you have me do that?", several methods coming to mind.

In truth, she was simply biding time for them to grow closer and nearer, given her proximity to her current instructor. "A weak minded human like me couldn't...possibly conjure a ploy," her meticulous gaze and monotonous tone (nowhere near the tone she held when interacting previously) studies the man for a moment before peering back to the field of beasts - aggressive, large, and native to more than just Korriban - lips parting to murmur, "...in response to such a fearful foe." She sighed softly.

"Half a mind to invade these simple-minded creatures' consciences and send them his direction." rings through her mind, a sinister grin arising - ...her Lightsaber. The crystal within culled the anger and caused it to subside when in her possession. Now? Well...she would have to showcase her 'power'. As the creatures gained ground, the Force is felt around the animals, and with her eyes - previously closed - suddenly snapping open, tinted irises and frowning eyebrows aflame, the rampaging beasts would find no peace within their droid-induced qualms. Few moments of concentration resulted in the large, bounding beast's supposed leader's gigantic arm being pulled from beneath him, sending its run to be nothing more than a toothy impact with the red dust beneath it. It groans, either unconscious or neck-snapped - either or - as its comrades bound around and over their fallen, albeit hesitantly.
It wouldn't stop Lillieth's immediate follow-up, the Pull of Force being instantly reversed as she'd directed Force flow within her earlier combat sessions and sends it pulsating outward.

Dust lifts as the trail indicates whom it struck, Lillieth more or less directing the pulse to crash into the middle of the mini-stampede. It works as the large, aggressive, non-deterred creature is struck in the middle of his air-filled bound, the Force negating all momentum it previously held and sent him rolling (unable to gain balance with those short feet and over-sized arms) nearly all the way back to his non-moving companion.

Perhaps clear, at this point, that Power was not what Lillieth lacked - she was able to conjure the Force in raw kinetic energy, though detailing its locale seemed to be where her struggle previously lay.

The others are dispatched, and the final that comes bounding the closest - five meters too close - the red-head groans as the final usage of her utility would be to summon the Force she held...allowing the beast to bound dangerously near.
The beast leaps quickly, but Lillieth was quicker, and for a moment, it would daftly, subconsciously, and wordlessly wonder if the blue humanoid would have been easier 'prey' than this smaller one. She leaped right along its side, a brisk landing chained with a mighty Push that sends the final aggressor roaring, hissing - albeit interrupted as its bones break upon impact with the rock - to its doom that lay in the form of the mighty plateau's base.

Exhaling lightly, breath rate having sped, her eyes cut to her instructor who may or may not have been attempting to kill her. Her contempt was, perhaps, expressed in a grin pasted upon her face. Her gloved fingertip strings away a few strands of fire.

"My Lightsaber, please." she says in between breaths. "Perhaps I'll construct a Thesis on how daft your tests are." She teased in response to his previous crack at her assumed lack of education - an education that she'd held from the best educators upon her planet. She didn't take the Crusader for the type to allow her joking without attempting punishment, but that was Lillieth Sunsinger.

Quite literally described as one of her weaknesses...and guilty pleasures.

 

[Cortan]

"I would have you figure it out what was already established." Azur answered bluntly, before rolling his eyes as the young woman talked down her own species. Did she really think she would appeal to him through such a fashion, or did she think it part of the Sith fashion? Perhaps she thought it to be some matter of imitating him?
But in any case, Lillieth's defense against the creatures that came against her. The barge had already gotten behind her as she began, with the small repulsor ship turning so that the astromech at the helm - J, as Azur called it - could get in a look.

The display that followed was curious, to be certain, and quite dramatic for sure. The first wraid was made to fall over itself, face faulting into the hard, angled ground beneath it. Several more, leaping above and around it, were knocked back by a kinetic push, letting gravity do the rest of the work. Of course, she made greater use of gravity's cruel power on the sixth and final of the creatures, blasting it right off the cliff and down to the ground, hundreds of metres below. One could tell just by the great big splat and crunch, what the damage done was.
And so, by the end of it, it seemed that Sunsinger had cleared her task with ease, and now demanded back that which was hers, and not without making a remark in response to an earlier*retort by the Crusader.

"Oh?"

He too, could grin, and just as manic as she. The setting sun cast a long shadow from the blue skinned man, who raised one finger, and pointed to Lillieth... no, pointed past her.
"I take it you have not faced a wraid before. Certainly not one native to Korriban." The creatures that had not been thrown from high off the plateau were rising to their feet, even the one that had fallen face first into the dirt.
"A front loaded creature like that is prone to painful tripping, and quite capable of getting back up on its feet afterward." Securing their stances, the beasts roared up at the Sith that looked down upon them, Crusader and Acolyte both.
"And that's likely all they believe to happened. That they tripped. So they're going to keep coming..." Indeed, they began to charge...
"Until you either put them down..." Faster and faster with each second, clawing harder at the ground...
"Or prove to be more than a misplaced pebble, and an unfavourable wind. Neither of which may hold them as the force might." And as they came closer, Azur conceded one hint.

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth peered to the man's lips as he spoke, following his finger to gaze over her shoulder.
Oh. That was a thing. That was...most certainly a thing. "It would be easier with a Lightsaber." she comments, peering back over her shoulder, batting her eyelashes as though requesting the item back, tone slightly gentler.

It was mostly jest, however, for she knew she would fail to receive it.
"Or maybe you could show me how it's done, Crusader Zaff? My limited knowledge of the indigenous creatures needs...brushing-up on."

It was no doubt that, at this point, she had felt she sprinted an entire mile, her stamina level alone dictating how well she controlled her increased breath rate. She holds out a hand and tilts her hand, eyeing between her lightsaber and the man who borrowed it. "Sharing is caring." she coos.

Even as the sound of the limping thumping, hissing, and screeching, she seemed to persist. They were drawing near but - as though she held another trick up her sleeve (sadly, she didn't - not one effective enough) - she would remain there as if she had a chance of manipulating the situation to suit her needs.

 

[Cortan]

"It would, wouldn't it? Why do you think I took it then?" Azur answered the request with a smirk and a slight tease, as he held up the lightsaber, as if to consider returning it, but denying the thought just yet. He watched as the acolyte then asked, though not yet quite begged, for possible assistance in the matter. Where she had been so confident, and still held up rather well, he'd say, it was becoming clear that simple charisma did not override one's limits, at least not yet. He wondered, briefly, if faced with the denial of assistance, the acolyte would make some blunt effort to defend herself against the oncoming threat...
Or perhaps, she knew, at least in some part, what kind of man Azur was at heart.
"Well then..." He tossed Lillieth her saber, freeing up his hands. Truthfully, he needed the practice and training as well, for his own abilities, so this would serve a suitable test for them. He closed his eyes, and pulled his hands to his sides, focusing...

And then, he extended his grip.
Through the ether of the universe that they called the force, his will was spread, unseen hands of immense power forming, and clutching, around the great beasts that bounded towards them. Slowly, the beasts found, their top heavy frame falling forward, but not towards the ground. Into the air, where realisation only slowly began to work in their primitive, animal minds. There was panic; desperation to escape that which they could not see or comprehend, but could utterly feel the effects of. The wraids reached for each other, and where they could, fought for freedom, either unintentionally striking one another, or deliberately clawing at each other's flesh, struggling over each other to try and reach the ground. But where they came close to succeeding, Azur only raised them higher still, and the panic increased.
"Where you do not... possess the strength..." Azur showed signs of struggle now, which made sense, with the weight he was working against. Each of the monstrosities had to weight a tonne each by minimum, and he wouldn't be surprised if they'd had the sense to eat just before all this, just to spite him with the extra pounds.

"You must decide... how to handle things efficiently. Decisively. Why seek to bring down a building... when one out of place pillar... lets gravity do the rest?" He let four of the five drop now, the fat on their bodies shaking from the impact. Uncertain, the creatures stood, and almost immediately, their eyes fell upon the fifth, who still floated them, unable to do a thing. It gave some cry - possibly for help, possibly for blood - and the others looked among themselves, before turning away to flee. A small whine escaped the final wraid, as Azur pulled in his hands, and brought the creature floating towards Lillieth.
"I should give you this at least."

 

[Asinine Soup]

Lillieth has a smile that exceeds the brightness of Tatooine's twin suns, the weapon landing into her hands as the Crusader delivered the item and began his demonstration. She watches, holding her tongue as he concentrates, but as he brings the final, ugly creature on close, she blinks back to Zaff.

"I knew I made you out to be a gentleman, Crusader Zaff." she comments, holding back a laugh but not failing to let her smile escape her. With a flip of her wrist, the weapon within her grasp hisses its orchestrated tune into the air filled with beast's groans and cries. He used fear, yet it couldn't be considered cliche...for the method that he pursued the emotion was very creative indeed. Simple minded beasts...-- now that she thinks about it, she needed the -blood- of this animal for...

"With pleasure." she states, the crimson of her Lightsaber glowing upon her rather worn clothing. It strikes through the air as she slips in and out of a practiced Form I positioning, applying a disarming method to the head. Typically a lightsaber ran so hot that it would seal the blood before it was able to be spilled. Fortunately, she only carves into both sides of the nearly non-existent neck, then reaches out within the force to rip the remaining flesh away. Her canteen - empty, previously - floats on up to the mess in the making, filling as Crusader Zaff demonstrated his gentleman's elegance in holding the beast up for her.

"I was in need of this," she explains gently, "so it seems I have yet another thing to thank you for, Crusader."

 

[Cortan]

Azur managed a small smirk, this time taking the compliment - however patronising it may have been - in stride. Part of it was also likely not wishing to show too much of the strain in exerting himself like this. Though he thought he might be able to drop the beast as soon as Lillieth swung her saber, she demonstrated a... requirement of the creature, though for what, he could not say with certainty. If he might imagine, perhaps some inquisitor or sorcerer keen to show her the strange, vile workings of Sith alchemy - and as he imagined, his thoughts soured. He could appreciate in some capacity what the art was capable of, but it disgusted him thoroughly. Anything he'd ever found pertaining to it, he had simply handed straight to the Chambers of Heresies. True, all of the ancient arts should go to them, but it was with alchemy that Azur showed a willingness to comply.

"So then..." At last, he dropped the beast, his hands lowering as the wraid corpse flopped on the floor. Straightening himself out somewhat, Azur stepped forth towards the acolyte, gazing over her. She was likely to recover well enough - basic strain and exhaustion, given what the force demanded of both mind and body.
"The mind is a powerful asset, Sunsinger, but must be used well with each situation you may face. Whether to handle small objects of great use, or to tackle great beasts who serve only to hinder you. Some in this order would try to have you focus on purely the ephemeral aspects of the force's power - if you gain anything from this lesson, whatever your distaste for my method, it should be an understanding of the value of a physical solution." He paused after finishing his sentence, seeming to consider something briefly in his mind... and then seeming to think better of it.
"You may go, should you wish. Or stay, if you feel you need to solidify an understanding of what I have said. I can teach you in closer detail, if need be."

 

[Asinine Soup]

"My, my, Crusader..." Lillieth Sunsinger murmurs, the crimson-drenched canteen returning into the bag with little regard for its contents within. "Have I been so drab of a guest you'd wish to see me depart so soon?"
A soft chuckle escapes with her sarcastic phrase, cryptic in the fact that she truly understood where she lacked and desired to stay and improve. She was agile, acrobatic...but in the end, these were her only physical attributes. Physical strength? It was a need to be developed.

"My apologies, that's...Lillieth's way of saying if you truly don't mind sparing the time, it would be an absolute honor to study with closer detail..."
She pauses, shrugging the bag over her shoulder, squinting toward the Academy in the distance...its peak seeming to kiss the sun.
"...if need be."

Although she lacked experience, she held all the more drive in her pursuit of knowledge and power. For whose purpose? To what extent? Time would tell - a circlet of clay awaiting to be molded.

 

[Cortan]

"I had a point to make, and I have made it. I assure you, what follows will be a touch less exciting." And less of a torment, truthfully. But such was part of what seemed to be the style that Azur was developing - make an impression, then work on the finer details, though there would no doubt be exceptions as he went.
"But, as you have made clear your choice to stay... let us begin. J, provisions." Azur commanded of his droid, snapping his fingers once. Eliciting a series of beeps from the astromech, he waited as the droid first lowered the barge and and its ramp both, before then opening up a storage container as the wroonian stepped aboard. Small, robotic hands lifted up a pair of rations, both of which Azur took, and then one was in turn tossed to Sunsinger.

"Eat that. Has minor amounts of meminto, an herb from my homeworld of Dentaal. Kicks up your metabolism and the adrenaline flow - good for stamina recovery, but more importantly, will keep you warm. Planets like Korriban get cold in the night, but this should give us at least an extra hour before we need to either make back, or set up camp." The Crusader explained, before opening up his pack and taking a few bites. He was slowly starting to peer into the records of some of Dentaal's more interesting exports, seeing what he could gather, given his connections. Soon consuming the entire bar within seconds, Azur wiped the sides of his mouth with his cloak, before pulling from the container several shots - of the shot put definition - and tossing them to the ground between him and the acolyte. Each landed with a dull thud, sounding as if they weighed a few kilograms each.

"If I were to command you to lift these with the force, how would you do so?" He began, though there was a clear intent to follow the question.
"One at a time? All at once? Lift one, drop, lift another? How do you approach the task?"

 

[Asinine Soup]

A gentle nod - as typical of the woman's distinct list of reactions - would lead one to assume that Lillieth fully understood what was told to her. The minor detail of the lack of 'excitement' didn't seem to deter her willingness to learn in the least bit at all. In fact, all the azure Crusader managed to do was drive her thirst for knowledge even more.

And so, a gentle pat echoes atop the natural ramp leading up the side of the land mass as "Sunsinger" - quaint, hearing her surname called as such once again... - catches the ration bar out of the air.
"Meminto?" she asks softly, though is immediately answered with a responding "Kicks up your metabolism and the adrenaline flow", the rest of her question naturally being answered within that aspect. She mimics the elder Crusader in opening the pack and partaking, first a petite nibble to gather a taste.
It wasn't...amazing, but it was far better than the pitiful excuses for "food" they served at the Academy. Half tukata-steak, maybe korr-slug soup...whatever the hell they fed clearly wasn't edible to a non-native. Maybe it was a tactic to harvest hatred or experiment or...whatever these half-psychotic Sith did.

At any rate, the spherical weights were dropped within the dirt with a dull thump, gentle dust floating about as the sun only continued to set behind Crusader Zaff, casting an aura of sunlight about his figure not unlike a halo, of sorts.
She peers between him and the shots, eyebrow lifting at the query as she takes another few nibbles at the ration. A few fingertips rise as she chews, however, habit to remain polite as she spoke. Her response? It held little space to think as she seemed to lock in her answer right away:

"Excuse me - " as she swallows some nutrition, " - for the sake of your previously taught lesson, I would likely...further inquire why I'm lifting them to best deduce how." She shrugs lightly, finally dropping her frail fingertips. "Then again, I could be looking too far into it," she elaborates, quirking a smile and chuckling mildly, "...so I'd possibly combine two of your answers: lift them multiple at a time, but also drop them before picking up the remaining ones (also multiple) as to be as efficient as possible, but also to not overly concentrate on the task at hand."

Learning to be focused on more than one thing happened upon the bulk of most of her experiences here...it had been the downfall of many great Sith. She wouldn't be one of them.