Fighting Aggression (Kendall's Training)

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

It had been two day's since the Arkanina Offshoot/ Echani mix had been left alone, yet again. He strutted down the main hall of the Ossus Temple with his shirt gripped tight in hand, having spent the morning sprinting through the woods. He just didn't feel like sticking to his routine of acrobatic drills today. Not today. A bit hot headed, the mix breed moved with intent. Rumors passed, and he had heard about his last master's emotions. The very thought of failing, falling to ones darkness, made him boil. He didn't understand it.

Though he had cooled off in the morning run, Kendall began to delve back into his grumblings. He had to control himself. He was about to meet his newest master, one of considerable note, and he couldn't allow himself to make first impression in such a state. He stopped dead in his tracks, causing a bit of traffic in the walkway, and took in a deep forced breath. Squeezing his eyes shut, he reopened them to move on. He recalled the first Jedi of his founding, Keir'je. Kendall had put on quite a show that day in his anger for justice, determined to make a man pay for his violence against a hungry child. Thinking of the quarrels of the Republic against the Hutts, Kendall had more than paid attention to current events. Sooner rather than later, he wished to join in the fight. To make a difference in the galaxy, that was his goal.

 

[Will]

Huang Karasu sat, meditating in the training arena. Today, another padawan would be taken under his tutelage. It had already ad other masters, others had left their mark on this slate. It would hinder him. But he would train this padawan. Mould him into a knight. This was the reason he was the premier trainer in the order. He could take any Jedi, no matter how problematic, and make them into exemplars of the order.

He allowed the thought that he would do the same here without fail into his mind. Quickly, he quashed it.

Arrogance is a winding path to darkness.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Jogging into the room, Kendall realized that his Master had already been there to meet him. ...Kinda wished he had stuck to his usual routine this morning, but he felt no worry. In fact, Kendall brightened up almost imediately; rising to his flip side of excitement and bubbly energetic self. He was an extreme character of back and forth, though sometimes going without his anger for several weeks straight. Meeting a new Master was pleasant and fueled Kendall as his steps grew in bounce, walking over to Master Huang Karasu.

"Master!" he blurted out most abruptly with a shout. He was not that intuitive, unaware of such a thing called an inside voice. Bowing thereafter, he bent over with a speed that would injure the aged, then snapped back up with two excited fists. "How are you today!?!"

 

[Will]

((Was going to reply last night, but I was druuuuunk.))

Huang opened his eyes. He rose, pulling on a black robe. ''Calm, padawan. You cannot learn in this... state.''

He paced the ring, sizing up the padawan. His force aura was erratic, a tempestuous sea.

''Sit. Reflect. Tell me what your other masters have taught you.''

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

((No worries! Don't want any slurred text up in here! :)))

A look of surprise dropped across Kendall's face, but he quickly assumed a seriousness to his Master's request. Flexing his woven fingers together, he cracked his knuckles and resorted to sit as calmly as possible; though still with a plop.

"Well, my first Master went over a bit of control - lifting orbs. Another in basic movement, and the last required I sense them in order to find them."

The Padawan was a basic in every sense, having only begun with each of his teachers; never truly reaching a starting point with any, being tossed to the next shortly after meeting the last.

 

[Will]

''I'll need to measure these then.'' Huang drew a velvet bag from a chest, the fabric rustling in the silent arena.

Inside were orbs of solid wood. He threw five at his padawan. ''Float them, make them orbit you, all in differing paths.''

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Taking a step back, Kendall's surprise warmed into engaging welcome. His hands shot out, fingers spread in coiling 'come hither'. His mouth opened in happy concentration, looking as the young so often do - unaware of their strange facial expressions in exertion.

Some spheres having more lift in their toss than others, Kendall slapped a hand through the air in catching motion of three orbs; swooping down and around him. His other hand twisting up in pushing motion as the other two lift into a tighter swirling orbit above.

Kendall laughed lightly as he employed the gravitational pull of the Force, without any thought at all. Though as time permitted, he felt thought's strain; struggling with the continued use of harmony, as one followed by the other began swooping out to be tossed away from rotation. Each causing the next to follow, Kendall lost control and all spheres arched away to the floor not after several rotations; but for one he dove for, catching it with a guilty smile.

 

[Will]

((It's good to see someone who doesn't get everything first time...:CHappy))

''Focus, padawan Kendall. Feel the flow force. Move with it, do not try and wrestle with it. This way, you will be able to work with it. You will be able to do anything with it.'' As Huang was speaking, another five orbs, seemingly of their own volition, for Huang didn't move, left the chest, flying at Kendall.

''Again.''

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

((more realistic, especially for Kendall ;)))

Kipping back onto his feet, Kendall swept both hands into an 'X' shape - then swirling his hands underneath to stretch out forwards identically.

As two spheres were slingshot around him by the first movements of his hands, the other three gradually joined. The first two spheres moved at a rate faster than the rest in crisscrossing motion, as the rest followed suit in horizontal rotation. Though he succeed, the three slowly rotating orbs descended at a decreasing rate. Kendall had achieved a higher state of calm and focus upon second attempt, and he could feel the difference. He compared it to the feeling of peace when pushing himself through aerobic workouts, focused in fluid motion as the currents of his mind.

Still, Kendall's personality shown through as he popped a curling smile out of the corner of his mouth. He felt good about this achievement, little as it was in the grand scheme, he wanted to jump in place as soon as he could allow it.

 

[Will]

''Good, padawan. Now.'' As Huang spoke, he took the wood spheres, replacing them with hollow orbs of glass. ''You will need greater control to hold these without smashing them.''

Huang threw them to the padawan.

''Go.''

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

"Tch!" Kendall smirked, thinking it was a joke. Glass would be easier no?

Stepping away into a single spin, the cocky Kendall swirled his hands about as he easily spun the orbs around; but to be interrupted by the clashing of breaking glass.

His eyes opened, shocked. He kept all other spheres orbiting, but looked to where two had fallen after shattering against each other. Control was not one of Kendall's strongest aspects. Though he was making progress, keeping the others going. He wondered how hard his Master would take his carelessness, grimacing to prepare for the worst.

 

[Will]

''Do not worry, padawan. No one does this first time. Again.''

Huang threw more spheres to the boy. They hummed as they flew through the air, the air rushing over their hollow surfaces.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Kendall swirled his hands out, around, and down before his chest; breathing out a flow of calm, as he attempted yet again.

Two glass spheres followed his immediate gesture, arcing out then in overhead. Closely they came to cross paths, but just missed each other as they flew past into tight coexisting orbit.

Upon fingers stretching out, two other orbs followed the wide arc - but to stay along that route as they circled Kendall wide about his waist, in an equatorial crossing rotation.

The last sphere sailed straight up and back, sinking down to the right as it began looping low on either side - swooping a half circle to cross upwards in front of him, then following the pattern to swoop back to the other side.

Keeping all he had previously attempted in a halo that circled round above it all. Kendall bent into an easy stance of comfort as he felt the flow of the Force.

 

[Will]

He was tiring. But that's not what Huang wanted. Huang wanted exhaustion. He needed to see how the boy performed at the extremes of his stamina.

''These as well.''

This time, orbs of paper-thin porcelain were drew from the chest, resting on special cradles before they were flung into the air at Kendall.

''These are more delicate. You will have to hold different orbs at different strengths.''

Without training, even a few minutes of this task would exhaust the boy.

Then training could begin.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Gripping at the additional orbs, Kendall felt an enormous strain. It was laughable that he could even attempt this exercise. His usual light and smiling face winced in hopelessness, though he managed to keep the spheres afloat. All rotation slowed as the different types of orbs hovered about him, moving awkwardly yet continuously. Kendall's tongue poked out the side as he strained with a tilt, his eyes reopening to focus on a particularly thin orb as he carefully managed the rotation of its delicacy. Blowing out three quick puffs of breath, Kendall fought to keep all movement in dimensional difference.

Glistening with a moist layer upon his skin, the mix breed flexed in his shoulder-blades to press his hands towards his center. Picking back up a bit of momentum, he managed some rotation until he could no longer hold his breath in concentration. Loosing his cool, his arms flinched - sending most orbs in crisscrossing shots at the walls in either direction. His frame collapsing, still standing but shielding his face from the static destruction of little orbs all over the room; or at least what he expected to be so.

 

[Will]

Huang threw away the shattered remnants of the orbs, where they collected in a small depression at the edge. He could see the strain the padawan had even standing. Excellent. Now he was ready to learn.

''You need to be able to use the force even when exhaustion claims your body. I want you to leap, and grab that bar.''

As Huang motioned up, a horizontal bar descended, hanging ten feet from the floor.

''Gather the force in your legs, and jump, drawing on it instantly as you do.''

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Kendall rolled his head with a childish sigh, almost keeling over with the propping of his hands about his knees. Shuffling his feet underneath himself, Kendall looked up to regain himself as he remembered that physical feats were his focus. He was tired though, and his stare began to take over in lack of thought; though thought rarely accumulated in this one's brain anyway.

He began softly swinging his arms to ready himself for the jump. And with a heave of breath in physical strain, Kendall bent into a sinking swell that powered his jump; assisted by his concentration. Reaching up he clung to the bar, his sweaty fingers squeaking as they tightened, his wrist tendons shook in the unique workout; unique to Kendall. He was quiet, and that was rare, as he hung there having leaped through the force just enough to find his grip here now.

 

[Will]

''I want you to do it again. Pull the bar. It is set into the stone, the laws of momentum will mean you will move.'' Huang paced the arena as he spoke.

''The force is our ally. We do not control it. We work with it. We do not control the air we breath, in the same way we do not control the force. Our dark bretheren have missed this belief, and twist the force. If you master this, padawan, you will be able to use the force no matter what. You will be able to push past pain and exhaustion.''

Huang turned to the boy.

''Feel the force.''

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Dropping down almost before Huang's words could finish, Kendall would do it again. His landing was heavy, as normally he might have flipped over the bar just for fun before releasing down; but at this time he would be tested.

Kendall breathed heavily, listening to his Master; tensing his abs as he froze, feeling guilty at the very action of breathing upon Huang's comparison between air and the Force. Kendall's normally very flavorful hair was saturated down with the heavy musk that surrounded his sweaty being. He would not jump this time, but slingshot himself through the air... or so he imagined it. Outstretching his hands at the end command of his Master's words: Kendall closed his eyes, saw the bar there still, saw his hands there aimed at them, and saw them overlap the bar in such a perspective of optical illusion. And with like the quick inhaling sniff of air that sucked into his nostrils, so too was he sucked up at the bar; almost passing it entirely, Kendall's shock opened his eyes to find the bar again as he flew over it. Reaching down he reclaimed his grip from before and settled down with a single leg bent up onto it at his hip.

Kendall looked down with adrenaline's push, with an exhilarated smile in exclamation upon his face.

 

[Will]

''Excellent, padawan. You have learned much. But I must test you when you are energised. Go. Rest. Return tomorrow, and I will begin sabre instruction.''

Huang left, seemingly blowing away with the wind as he walked off.

He returned to his small room behind the tapestry, sitting at his small workbench, a lathe set out. He was in the process of machining a grip. Small, for a shoto lightsabre. At its side, a guard for the hand to be attached.