Ask Dantooine I Wanna Be the Very Best...

[Ayomi Jakarta]

The crackling of an electroripper staff's energy ribbon buzzed through the air as it made contact with the low-powered training saber held by one of Ayomi's three training droids, the Sith pivoting to deliver a swift kick to the droid's midsection as it stumbled back. What better way to start the day than some weapon training? The sun had not fully risen yet as light filtered in through the wall-to-ceiling windows alongside one wall of the Tiefling's training room, part of a moderately sized house constructed in the mountains of their native Dantooine, away from the business of the cities as well as any prying eyes. It wouldn't do much good to be publicly known as a Sith in the galaxy right now. Ayomi continued their morning routine, deflecting the training droid's next strike down before removing the head from it's body. It was good that those things were easily repairable.

The Sith drew on the Force to levitate the droid's body over to a small repair station through a side door, allowing a couple autonomous robotic arms to begin welding it's head back on. The Tiefling left the room, closing the door as they wiped sweat from their brow and checked the time. Perfect, just after sunrise now. The two acolytes they'd taken on as apprentices should be arriving soon for a joint training session, the first the trio had done. Ayomi wasn't sure if the pair had even met each other yet, but if not it was better to get it over with; no doubt the two would immediately recognize each other as rivals. Inevitably, one would emerge stronger than the other, but in the mean time they would be useful tools for building up the champion's own power.

Dressed in a simple set of black pants and a black, cropped tank top, Ayomi strode outside their front door with hands clasped behind their back to wait for the apprentices to arrive. After arriving at the closest spaceport, the acolytes would find a droid-operated shuttle waiting to take them a short journey away to the Tiefling's house. They both wanted to be the best? It started now.

@LouJoVi @Hastur

 

[Feifi Candorus]

Ever since her fathers death, feifi has never been the same, what was once a brash, annoyingly brilliant girl, who always said what was in her mind, became a quiet, contemplative killer, she arrived at the agreed location almost like a ghost, a crescent shaped, fanged smile painted along her helmet, In similar fashion to her late father, she not only proudly bore his shame, she welcomed the reputation, no, the expectation that came with it, while she would be no traitor, there was no denying that the mad dragon was a demon in his own right, and that was something she wished to emulate, the terror, the skill.. the knowledge.. before her father went mad he was the foremost master of sith sorcerery.. and she would surpass him or die trying. She gives a silent bow to her master as soon as the ship takes them to the her location, ready to begin the lession.


Another positive thing from her fathers execution, feifi had nearly trippled her training regimen, pushing herself to the breaking point in a desire to grow stronger, whatever test that her master had planned, she was going to be ready..

@René @LouJoVi

 

[S’kenji]

S’kenji remained in silence while the transport flew to the place that his Master had chosen for their training session. While he was excited for it, the Fiani didn’t want to show it in front of the girl that was with him. If he wasn’t wrong, her name was Feifi and she was the adoptive daughter of a traitor of the Order.

The Acolyte already hated the fact that he needed to share his Master with someone else, but the feeling only got worse from the fact that the Fiani was going to learn with the daughter of a traitor. She could be as incompetent as her adoptive father. He would never allow himself to be compared with the Mandalorian moron.

While the transport landed, the Fiani plotted ways of disposing of Feifi. Someone that watched their father being killed would be passing through some hard moments. Perhaps he could use it for his own purpose. For now, he would be friendly with her.

Then, in the right moment, he would show to Ayomi that the girl was the spare.

@René @Hastur

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi watched through crimson eyes as the two apprentices arrived with little fanfare, neither saying anything to the other or otherwise interacting as the shuttle dropped them off. Still, they could sense there was no love lost between the pair; both apprentices were acutely aware of their position as rivals. Feifi was the first apprentice the Tiefling had taken, but she was the daughter of a disgraced Sith apostate the Dark Lord had ripped apart in front of her own eyes, and evidently wasn't so powerful that Ayomi wouldn't consider another apprentice. For S'kenji's part, he had still been the second pick despite any flaws apparent in the Mandalorian girl, and this was something the champion was sure he was looking to overcome. No apprentice wanted to share the knowledge to be gained from their master with another, and this was precisely how the Tiefling intended to play them off of one another.

"Welcome to Dantooine, my apprentices," Ayomi began with little emotion in their voice. "I trust you're both aware this is no social gathering. I intend to turn you both into Sith; or should you fail me, one of you into a great Sith." They walked closer to the pair, arms crossed as their gaze looked each acolyte up and down. "To that end, you will each venture out into the nearby forests, and you will use the Force to tame a creature, any creature of your choice. You have an hour. When you return, we will see how skilled you are. Other than that, there are no rules. Your time has begun."

Spoiler: OOC Encounter Rules

Roll 3 separate d20 to see which 3 native animals you encounter
1-5: pack of 10 Piket
6-10: Stalker Lizard
11-15: Kinrath
16-18: Kath Hound
19: Horned Kath Hound
20: Graul

@Hastur @LouJoVi

 

[Feifi Candorus]

The irony of being here on dantooine, the very planet her father went mad on, was not lost to feifi, but it matters little, her father was free now, it may hurt slightly, but he was joining the long march, he surely would be accepted into the manda, he was a warrior who followed his ideals and died with his head held high, if that wasn't worthy of marching beside mandalore the first, she didn't know what was, he died as he lived, he followed the honor code, she shakes the thoughts form her head, focusing on the here and now as her master begins to speak.. taming?.. HAH!.. this will not be necessarily a breeze, her people were known for taming war beasts for their uses, and the force was on feifi's side.. so she was at least somewhat confident in her abilities.

As for her new rival, feifi didn't care simply, to her, he was just a rival, sure, she wished to be better than them, this was a competition, but she personally had no ill feelings towards him, the sith were struggling already, no point in killing each other over petty "who gets to learn from who nonsense." If he was better than her for now, then that would simply drive feifi to improve, feifi was many things, but a bad sport? Hardly..

If the other acolyte has the honor to appreciate good competition, then let them engage in contest, she would stay out of his way as long as he stayed out of hers, but as she departs, she keeps her awareness in tune, she may had honor, but the other acolyte likely didn't, and master jakarta said there were no rules, so if he decides to make a move and try to remove her here and now, or sabotage her, he would find she was more than ready to punish him.

She departs first, using her signature speedy nature to begin the hunt, she kept her mind open to the force, moving into a tree for a good view, this forest offered much protection, but it went both ways, and there were plenty of predators on dantooine, besides her and the other acolyte.

Her eyes narrowed under her helmet, as she flicked on her helmets thermals, noticing a creature, she flicks it off, jackpot.. a horned kath hound, dangerous, valuable.. that would surely help her in this competition! She immediately started to form a plan, the hound seemed alone, a solo hunt.. perfect.. she now thought of which method in particular to break this beasts will and make it recognize her as it's alpha..

she waited to see what the creature does, before pouncing on it, driving it's horns into the ground, though not deep enough, while it was stuck for a few moments, feifi knew the awkward positioning wouldn't keep it for long, so Feifi would focus the force on the creature, its mind was wreak, primitive, even a acolyte of her skills should be able to dominate and tame it.. bend it to her will and by extension, her masters..

<"come... I am your master now..">
she mutters gently in mando'a, trying to both coax the creature, as well as bend its mind to perceive her as its new pack leader.

@LouJoVi @René

Spoiler: dice!

1, 19, 7. Rolled 7(slight failure) for keeping it's horns down.

Spoiler: Roll for horned hound type

11, normal horned hound

 

[S’kenji]

The Fiani listened to Ayomi’s explanation of what they were going to do. The task seemed to be simple enough for even the Mandalorian to fulfill it. He was sure that she would return there in one hour with the tamed creature. S’kenji would need to be faster than her.

The Tiefling had barely finished giving her instructions and S’kenji already ran toward the forest. Using the Force and his claws, the Acolyte decided to climb a tree. He would use the height to search for one of the animals. Moving through the branches, the Fiani would be able to approach them without being noticed.

He moved from branch to branch, with his keen hearing allowing him to hear even the slightest noise. S’kenji had been searching for a time when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps. With the agility of a predator stalking their prey, the Fiani rushed toward the origin of the sound. He discovered that it was a graul, one of the largest predators of Dantooine.

This one was still young, not having even half the size of an adult. However, S’kenji would still need to be careful if he wanted to tame it.

When the graul got distracted, S’kenji acted. He removed his belt and used the Force to jump at the back of the creature, immediately putting the belt in their neck while holding each side of it. The animal screamed and ran, trying to remove the passenger from him. While he tried to do it, the Acolyte started to pour the Dark Side on it, establishing a connection based on his feeling to dominate it.

After some time, the graul stopped fighting and its movements came back slow. S’kenji had successfully established the bound. The creature went in any direction that he ordered. Using the belt as reins, FIani walked with it back to where his Master was waiting for their return.

While they walked, S’kenji heard the sound of struggle. Using the Force to command the graul to walk carefully toward it, he saw Feifi trying to bond with the animal that she found. She was having success with it. A diabolical smile appeared on his lips.

Using bushes to maintain he and the graul hidden, S’kenji compelled the animal to use its strength to knock down the trees. The broken plants weren’t going to crush the Mandalorian, but their fall would be enough to break their focus. Once the tree started to collapse, the Fiani and his new “pet” rushed away from there, leaving the girl to deal with the aftermath.

Ayomi said that there were no rules, right?

He would never be a good Sith if he tried to be nice with his rival.

@René @Hastur

Spoiler: Dice

8,4,20

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi had only just finished giving their instructions when both apprentices dashed away into the thick of the forest with unnatural speed, both apparently eager to complete the assignment. Good. They'd soon learn exactly what their master had in mind. Dominating animals was a simple enough task for most acolytes, but the beasts of Dantooine would provide their own challenges; and their own rewards. Not to mention, the Tiefling envisioned at least one of the pair to attempt to hinder the other.

Ayomi waited as the allotted time drew to a close. However the apprentice's attempts had panned out, they'd have to return with something soon. The champion stood waiting with arms crossed and their tail flicking back and forth in the clearing outside their house, crimson eyes scanning the treeline as the final few minutes began to tick away. Time for the apprentices to prove themselves; perhaps in more way than one.

@Hastur @LouJoVi

 

[Feifi Candorus]

feifi had been keeping an eye open for her rival, it was only a matter of time before they showed up, and on a grual no less! impressive! but not pragmatic for surprising someone.. such a loud creature, feifi heard that thing coming from quite the ways away, and would find that feifi was more than ready to react, having been breaking the creatures mind, her suddenly leaving put the kath hound in a daze.. but despite his efforts, the taming was successful. yet the beast the acolyte was riding was not at its peak yet though.. yet still nice and big... a evil smile formed underneath her helmet.. ohohohoh.. perfect! She would remind him just why she was the first pick.

feifi was her father's daughter, and people learned long ago to never turn there back on master candorus in battle, lest they find a saber in their back, why should this be different with her, in his hayday, people feared him, was it not her responsibility to encourage the same feelings with her, why would she just let the fox boy have his fun, not when she can make him pay a price..? as the acolyte moved to flee, this would give feifi the perfect opportunity, the acolyte would find a thrown katana shaped lightsaber thrown into the gruals leg, as feifi used her command of the force to pull it back in a sideways motion, rotating it, slicing the creatures leg near its leg muscles, crippling it and making it unable to run or walk effectively. her rival was a fool to not target her hound, and an even bigger fool to think she wouldn't target his animal, after all, this competition was not about them, but about the animals..

Having broken the creature's mind, she mounted the horned kath hound, an agile predator, using the smaller size of the kath hound to continue on her way, leaving the acolyte to deal with HER aftermath with a cruel laugh.

as she quickly rode off, leaving skenji to eat her dust, she conveyed a message without speaking, that she may be heir to her father's legacy, but she was not him, no, she was more, she was driven, more efficient, and most importantly, more clever.. that when he pricks her, she will STAB him, blood begets blood.

she would ride the hound like a horse, finding her master, presenting the dangerous predator she had captured, knowing that time was of the essence, time s'kenji no longer had thanks to her.

"a well balanced, yet valuable horned kath hound, broken, like how I intend to break any foe you and the sith order place before me, master."
she bows

@LouJoVi @René

Spoiler: dice

17/20 for reaction attack! 14/20 for escape!

 

[S’kenji]

Feifi could have thrown her katana shaped lightsaber at S’kenji’s graul, but she ignored the fact that he was a Fiani and his species had a very good hearing. He had heard her movement as soon as she had drawn the blade. The sound of the sparks coming out of the scabbard had helped it greatly, alerting him of what she had in mind.

While the weapon was half-way releasing its sparks, he had already turned to look at his fellow Acolyte. Simultaneously, he sent a command through their bond for the graul to grab two nearby large rocks.

When she threw the blade, the Fiani would quickly use the Force to stop the blade from hitting the graul's leg, while summoning it directly to his hand. “Thanks, darling! I loved the gift!” he smirked at the Mandalorian, holding it tightly and already shielding the weapon with the Force against her attempts to summon it back.

While he talked, his animal would thrown the rocks, aiming them directly at the kath hound. If the animal escaped from one, the other coming right after would crush it. Meanwhile, he would continue holding the blade tightly in his grasp, using the Force to shield it from Feifi’s attempt to retrieve it and make his escape.

Then, he would dash with the creature through the forest, leaving a disarmed Mandalorian and a crushed kath hound. While they walked, the Fiani would have the pleasure of making his graul bring down any tree in their path, leaving several obstacles for the Mandalorian to traverse if by some luck her animal survived.

S’kenji would appear outside of the forest and then walk toward Ayomi. “Master, I present to you a graul worth of the Sith.” he said, before climbing down from the animal and kneeling before her.

@René @Hastur

 

[Feifi Candorus]

oh, the foolish fani, he had played right into her hands..

she didn't need to force pull it back, feifi had been training hard, and had almost became one with her saber, the fani would be a fool if he thought he could overpower her in manipulation of HER saber.. with a movement of her hand, she used the force not to pull it, but to ignite it and redirect it as it flies to his hands, spinning wildly like a buzzsaw, slicing up the beasts back and cuasing more damage and bisecting the beasts back, as it flew to his hand, insuring that it would require a damn miracle and extreme skill to succeed trying to catch it.

it was time for him to choose, was what was left of the grual worth his hand now?

if he manages to deflect this, feifi would simply redirect it back like a boomerang, not allowing him a second to focus, or to breathe for that matter, of course he could always leap off the beast, but that would expose it to attack..

as he made his catch 22 decision, feifi leaped close, conducting a two pronged assault with brutal grace, much faster than his grual, she used her left saber gauntlet to accomplish her goal with a trakata flash strike to its kneecap as she was leaping forward,

knowing full well the lag between him trying to catch the saber, and using the force to direct his grual to defend itself would give her all the time she needed, as well as him trying to sound smug and monologue, the fool..

If he used the beasts arms to attack or block, feifi would use her other hands gauntlet, and simply slice past it, and main the creature.

feifi would not be denied her prize, and if that wasn't bad enough for the fani, she used the Kath hounds extremely sharp horns to her advantage, gouging the gruals side as it leapt ahead of him, avoiding its attacks and attempts to crush it, and trapping him and his beast in a very rough position.

as this happened, feifi focused the force around herself, protecting herself from any tomfoolery concerning the force in turn, landing down ahead, she used both the distraction and the sheer speed of the hound to outmaneuver and outplay skenji.

of course, she made sure to do this where master jakarta could see them, making sure to not only demonstrate his carelessness, but also his incompetence before their master, how could he allow feifi time to react? hah, if he was smart, he would have targeted her instead, but he didn't, and now he was paying the price for his lack of vision.

no.. she was going to humiliate him today, bigger did not mean better, bigger meant slow, slow meant dead. Knowing full well that a prospect of a counter attack or interruption was possible, feifi charged ahead with the hound, moving away from the now most likely wounded grual.

as she lands, she spots a pack of 10 pickets, it was then feifi came up with an idea that was simply dubois, she knew how dangerous they could be in packs, even to a grual, and all she needed was a little push.. she smacks the alphas side, startling it and causing a stampede towards poor skenji.

she now shouted, asking her master a question.
"was this supposed to rival me!? my dear master, this overglorified neophyte can barely keep up!"
this was not a challenge, not a display of arrogance, no, no, master jakarta likely could see that she was incorporating don-moch against her rival.. she was using the power, of mental abuse.

she wills the horned hound heel before jakarta, both to protect the creature, and to demonstrate her control over it.

now focusing on the stampede, she focuses the force to drive the heard leader into a frenzy, and lets nature take its course.. haha..

Spoiler: Tldr

Feifi makes the lightsaber skenji attempted to pull activate and spin like a buzzsaw, then charges in a multi pronged attack that involves attacking with her left saber guantlet, defending with her right saber guantlet, and gouging the side of the beast as her mount leaps forward, feifi comes into view of Jakarta, setting off a heard of 10 (encounter dice) pickets, off in a stampede towards skenji. She delivers the hound before putting their beard leader into a frenzy to attack skenji

@René @LouJoVi

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

Ayomi's apprentices fought viciously in the forest, trading attacks in a flurry of movement. Feifi's buzzing lightsaber spun end-over-end it's trajectory pulled in separate directions by its owner and her Fiani opponent's own telekinetic guidance. Ultimately, the saber was flung uncontrollably off to the side by the opposing forces, unclaimed by S'kenji and grazing the face of his mount. Feifi followed up her attack by blitzing forward, only to be met by flying boulders that were left unanswered in her calculus of the situation. The first flew over her head and landed with a crash behind her kath hound, which had moved from it's position, but the second boulder flew with adjusted and enraged aim. It landed in front of the pair, the force of the collision knocking Feifi off her feet while the hound ran straight into it and breaking one of its horns.

Ayomi watched from in front of their house as S'kenji returned first, kneeling before her with a young graul next to him. The Sith made no visible reaction, but his "catch" was impressive. Graul were fairly rare and difficult to manage, even as juveniles. They didn't have to wait long for Feifi to arrive, a pickett stampede in front of her and running straight towards S'kenji and his beast. The Tiefling's mouth raised in a slight smirk; they had said no rules, and the Mandalorian girl wasn't giving up. There would be time for the two to settle their score later.

Ayomi reached out with the Force and pushed aside Feifi's command from the pickett alpha's mind, steering it and the other 9 creatures following it in a 90 degree turn towards the forest. They motioned for the girl to take her place next to S'kenji, eyes glancing over the horned kath hound that followed her. Horned ones were more aggressive, and thus harder to control... yet this one seemed to be freshly missing the tip of its right horn. Whether that was the girl's doing or the Fiani's didn't matter for now, as the champion addressed her apprentices.

"You have both done well, and neither of you are dead yet. For now, I'm giving you 5 days to train and bond with the creatures you've subjugated to your will. During this time, you will not interfere with one another. If I see you doing so, I'll personally see to the situation. And no, this does not excuse either of you from lightsaber training before sunrise."

Ayomi turned, allowing the pair the rest of the day and the following ones to practice with their beasts.

@LouJoVi @Hastur

 

[Feifi Candorus]

feifi nodded, letting her anger simmer, no point in pressing further, but boy oh boy was shit going to get real when sabers were drawn, she strolled out back into the field, keeping her kath hound, which she has promptly named primm, yes, primm, reclaiming her saber and sheathing it back into its flick action hilt, deactivating it properly.

she ran her hand along the broken horn of primm, bah.. a measurable loss, a setback, but one she could learn from.

she would now walk back ready to both bond with primm and scheme for her next goal..

@René @LouJoVi

 

[S’kenji]

The blade passed near the face of the grual, which roared in pain. S’kenji was forced to strengthen his grip on the animal’s back or he would fall from there and crash on the floor. At least that the boulders that were thrown at Feifi had hit its target, leaving an opening for them to flee.

Like the Mandalorian, the Fiani nodded when his Master gave their orders. He stared at the grual, now having a scar at the side of its face. Scar, he thought that it could be a good name for his animal. It would be interesting to have the opportunity of training it.

Without anything else to do, S’kenji walked away with his grual. He would start Scar’s training immediately after attending to the animal’s wound, although it had stopped whining about it.

@René @Hastur

 

[Ayomi Jakarta]

The next several days were long, with the two apprentices waking early in the mornings to work out and train, then spending the day bonding and training with their chosen Dantooinian beasts. Both received at least a few new lightsaber scars on their bodies, courtesy of Ayomi's blade finding their stances weak or their forms inadequate. As to how they trained with their animals, the champion didn't care. Each apprentice was free to focus on the bond itself, specific attacks and movements, or to completely subjugate the creature as they saw fit. Time would tell whose approach was better anyways.

With a day left for the two apprentices to complete their task, Ayomi informed them both that they'd be gone until the next day. "I'm leaving for Umbara on an unrelated personal matter. The parameters of your assignment still apply. No interference. I'll return tomorrow." The Tiefling had their own demons to address, and they need to get away from the comfort of Dantooine to do so. To reflect. Luckily, the opportunity was ripe for a lesson in stealth, deception, and timing, should either of the apprentices find an opening to successfully derail the other's progress. The champion knew they'd taken advantage of the lack of rules before, but they wanted to see how each apprentice addressed the opportunity to break some. Would they recklessly do so just because their master wasn't around, would they keep to themselves as instructed by their superior, or would they seize on an advantageous opening if one presented itself?

Regardless, Ayomi departed on their business early on the fourth day they'd given S'kenji and Feifi, before sending messages to their respective coms to meet them in the clearing where the two had returned from their forest trips at the beginning of the week. The Tiefling stood there waiting, new bandages wrapped around their left hand and forearm while the deep hateful yellow color of their irises contrasted with the scarlet of their sclera. They stood with arms crossed, waiting for the two apprentices and their beasts to approach.

@Hastur @LouJoVi