Ask Sernpidal Not Fair

[Natalie Hope]

Well, Natalie was now officially pissed. How long had Natalie been fighting the good fight against the tyranny that was cafeteria food in the temples? How long had she been saying the Jedi needed to invest in vending machines, or actual cooks that knew how to season food with something more than salt and pepper? The answer was too long! Entirely too long, only to find out that this remote area of Jedi space had ALL OF IT!? If Natalie's stomach wasn't so happy that she was scarfing down an actual meal, Natalie would tearing the classroom apart.

Which was another reason she was pissed. The Order wanted her to teach a class? She had just barely become a Knight! At least they let her choose which class she wanted to run. Lightsaber techniques seemed like the best one for her. Natalie could barely stay awake in regular classes, so it only made sense that she'd probably fall asleep teaching a regular class. At least with lightsaber techniques she could move around, have fun, and maybe even get to laugh at kids busting ass all over the training mat. You gotta take your entertainment when you can get.

Natalie's desk was the only desk in the room. At the center of the rectangular classroom, a circular sparring mat lay. On either side of the mat, obsidian painted training droids stood waiting for a command. Benches and bokken racks filled the remainder of the room. The classroom wasn't small by any means, but it was cozy enough for Natalie to settled in behind the desk and have some actual lunch. It was technically her office hours for the day, as the classes had already been taught. Despite everything running smooth, Natalie sincerely hoped she would not be on classroom duty again; she was starting to understand Mr. Jawlines aversion to all things lower ranked than a Knight.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

For the first time, Zessel wasn’t late for the class. He didn’t get distracted while crossing the halls, or forgot his things in his room. The half-Arkanian wasn’t even thinking about his favorite holonet series or about painting new stuff. The only thing that was filling the Padawan’s hyperactive thoughts was the fact that he was going to the lightsaber class.

The one that was his favorite!

He hated astronomy, mathematics and all this stuff that forced him to stay hours hearing a lecture. His mind couldn’t stay focused, always going to seek things more interesting to think about. Sometimes the teachers would notice it and they would complain about his mind traveling to another world.

It wasn’t his fault if they were teaching boring subjects. He said that to Knight Garthis one time, and she put him in detention.

Not everyone could deal with the truth.

When he arrived at the room, there was already a person here. If it wasn’t for her being seated at the table, Zessel would have thought that she was another Padawan. She was so young. “Hi!” he said, waving at her. The other Padawans were still arriving, forcing the boy to wait. He remained still in his place for some minutes, but soon the half-Arkanian was changing his weight from one leg to another, looking around and scratching his hair.

Would it really take a long time to begin?

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie's hazel eyes lifted to the boy. Qui-gon-fucking-jinn, this kid was pale. She bet he'd be brighter than the sun if she threw him into the air. Now, Natalie, throwing Padawans into the air for science is still evil and not what a Jedi would do. Uhg. Being a battle nun was always ruining her intrusive thoughts and their fun. It made it worse that he stood there just inside the doorway instead of sitting down at the benches like the other Padawans. She jerked her chin toward an empty bench for the kid, turning back to finishing her bowl of whatever the hell she was eating; she didn't care what it was- it was delicious.

"Alright," Natalie said, loud enough for the room the hear. The class was still loud, even as she stood from the desk. Her black leather jacket was draped over the chair, revealing her form fitting, black tank top, dark jeans, and the very real lightsaber clipped horizontally across the small of her back as she turned to a blackboard behind her and wrote her name across it. When she put the chalk down and turned to the class, they were still rowdy. A fist against the blackboard later, and they were quiet. A satisfied grin spreading across Natalie's lips.

"My name is Natalie Hope," she started. "I'm the Jedi Knight that will be teaching your lightsaber class for the day. Around you there's racks of wooden lightsabers around you, go ahead and pick one, then find a place on the floor where you won't hit anyone else if you swing it around a bit." Not that watching a bunch of kids smacking each other with wooden swords wouldnt' be absolutely hilarious.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Unfortunately for Nathalie, Zessel didn’t notice her gesture for him to take a seat. The Padawan's mind was too busy thinking about the details of the training room. When he saw the wooden sticks, the half-Arkanian immediately started to think about their utility, feeling anxious to grab one of them to do a close inspection. He started to fidget because of it.

Some of the other Padawans immediately snickered with the sight of the half-Arkanian at the door, with hands that couldn’t stop for a second. Zessel solemnly ignored them, not being even aware that the other children and teenagers were silently judging him. His only concern was deciphering the purpose of the wooden sticks.

He only turned his attention away from it when the Jedi Knight started to talk. His large grayish-blue eyes basically shone with excitement when Nathalie said that the wooden sticks were going to be used to train as if they were lightsabers. It made total sense, he was in a lightsaber class after all.

Zessel rushed toward one of the piles of wood, being the first to arrive on it. Some of the other Padawans complained about being nearly knocked down on his rush, but the fake lightsabers were the only thing in the half-Arkanian mind, with the complaints falling in deaf ears.

After finding one that he considered perfect, Zessel walked toward a spot in the floor and waited for the class to start. Meanwhile, his fingers were already playing with the wooden stick.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

It was like a light switch. One minute the pale kid was standing there and staring into who knows what, and the next he was barreling toward the practice swords, including nearly knocking down other Padawans. Natalie shook her head, raising her hand toward the desk. The wooden sword she had been using for previous classes flew across the front of the room and into her hand via the Force. She waited for everyone to take a position.

"Alright, this isn't your first class on lightsaber techniques. Everyone show me a good Shii-cho stance," she said. When the Padawans took their stances, she began walking through them slowly, smacking their wooden swords lightly with hers as she passed. "Combat with lightsabers can be scary. Sometimes you'll have blasters shooting at you." Smack! "Sometimes it'll be someone with a knife or polearm charging you." Smack! Smack! Finally she reached the pale Padawan. "Sometimes it'll be someone with a lightsaber themselves, or an abomination three times your size." She didn't smack his practice sword, but leaned forward a little to emphasize that she was talking to him specifically.

"It's important to be patient, and be cool. Think before you rush into things. One mistake is all it takes to take even a Jedi down," she said finally, pulling away and moving back to the front of the class. "The lightsaber forms are ancient, and each one has strengths and weaknesses like any other fighting technique. Each one is measured in calm and collected defenses and strikes." She stopped at the opposite end of the training mat and turned around to face the class. "You'll all eventually find your own styles and techniques that work for you, but everything is based on the fundementals of Shii-cho."

"Now enough talking, let's swing some imaginary glow-bats, shall we? Give me two horizontal strikes followed by a vertical," she ordered.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Nathalie's explanation about what they were going to do in the class became a distant murmur for Zessel. The white-haired boy had all his attention focused on the wooden stick in his hands. He used his fingers to spin it, then hold one of the tips and shook lightly, smiling when the moving wood seemed to be soft.

His attention was only turned away from it when Nathalie was talking next to him. He immediately averted her eyes and gave a step away, his pale skin red like a tomato. Zessel wasn’t doing it because he feared being punished for having been caught playing with the fake lightsaber. No, it was because she was too close to him. He hated when people did it without asking. Didn't they ever hear about personal space?

While leaving him uncomfortable, Nathalie's approach made his focus return to the class. Zessel immediately took the position that corresponded to Shii-cho. The Padawan could be easily distracted most of the time, but when it was something that he liked, the half-Arkanian would show a concentration beyond normal.

With a smile at his lips, Zessel reproduced the movements that Nathalie asked for. The two horizontal strikes came first, fast and with precision. The vertical was next, being made with the same efficiency. Once he finished, the Padawan turned to look at the Knight, waiting for her next instructions.

His fingers spinning the fake lightsaber showed his impatience.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"Good," Natalie said, watching the Padawans perform the three strikes. "Now defend against the same three imaginary strikes." She showed them how, moving her wooden sword across her body to the left with the blade vertical, then to the right, and then upwards, twisting her arm so that that the practice sword was horizontal. When she was done showing, she dropped her hands back to her sides, watching as the class performed their duty. It was easy peasy, but it was meant to be. If the Padawans could handle those simple movements, they would be ready to pair up.

"Awesome. Now pair up. Spread out so each pair has some room," she said. Due to a few missing Padawan, the class was odd numbered, so there would be one Padawan left over after everyone paired off. Natalie wasn't surprised to see the pale boy being the one left out. There was something... odd about him. Like his brain didn't register things in the same way. "If you don't have a partner, come up here; you'll be the teacher's pet for the day." Natalie knew she'd have to be careful not to actually harm the kid in their sparring, especially if he was neuro-divergent. She also couldn't help but feel a knot of frustration in her gut. Natalie was not prepared or trained to handle that sort of thing.

Regardless, Natalie looked back to the class. "You're going to spar with your partner. Using the fundementals, try to fnd ways to break your opponent's guard, or get around it. You'll have to play offense and defense at the same time in a real fight," she said, pausing for a moment. "Remember that you're not tyring to hurt your partner. These are practice lightsabers, a gentle touch is all it takes."

Natalie turned to the pale boy who would no doubt be standing next to her at this point, squaring her body with his. "Alright Mister Impatient. Let's see what you got," she said, her hands still at her sides, and her volume much quieter as the class began to clash in tiny little epic battles of children and wood.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Zessel mimicked Nathalie’s movements, moving the wooden lightsaber according to her instructions. While he was still paying attention to what the Knight was saying, the white-haired boy was starting to think that the class would only be them moving these sticks around. If it was the case, his mind would start to seek more interesting things to think about.

Such as how all rooms of the Jedi Temple seemed to have the tiles of the floor with the same colorful patterns. Were the Jedi lucky for having found several of those? Or they had commissioned specifically this type?

He was so distracted formulating answers for these questions that he didn’t register Nathalie asking the Padawans to form duos and even less the fact that he was left alone. Zessel was only dragged out of his thoughts when the Knight talked directly to him. The half-Arkanian walked toward her, not even glancing at the other children, some were even discreetly laughing at him.

The half-Arkanian was close to Nathalie, but still maintained a distance between them. He heard half of the explanation that the Knight did, while his thoughts drifted away toward real battles. Would he be prepared to participate in one?

“I’m not impatient.” Zessel frowned, while looking at the floor. “I only have too many things going on in my mind all the time.” his grayish-blue eyes were now staring at her, with more focus than he had demonstrated during the entire class. He cautiously approached the Knight, using both his hands to hold the base of the fake lightsaber. Then, he struck with a horizontal movement aiming at her shoulder.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Too many things going through his mind all time? Ah, so he was neuro-divergent. That... made things a bit more difficult. Natalie had no idea how to handle people like the kid. As far as she knew, most ended up in the Agricultural Corps of the Jedi. If they couldn't focus, they wouldn't be very good diplomats, warriors, or sages. Natalie frowned. She was not expecting to have to deal with this sort of thing in a one-off class she was forced to teach. This was all just points on an imaginary board for her, but for him it was his life.

She didn't have time to address it before he struck. Natalie moved her practice blade across her body, taking control of it with her left hand near her center. The Padawan's blade would be stopped in it's tracks with a loud smack! Natalie was already moving before the collision, stepping in and behind the Padawan's leg and pushing him back with her free right hand. It was a similar move to what Ezra had done to her when they sparred. There wouldn't be much the Padawan could do. Moving backwards would only result in the same end of the kid falling onto his back.

Natalie didn't press it, returning to a relaxed stance at the kid's feet. "That may be the case, but perception is usually reality. Any other knight would have you standing up in front of the class apologizing for your fellow Padawan that you knocked over trying to get a practice saber. They would have seen you as impatient, and treated you as such," she said, her voice low and softer than usual. There was no reason for the other Padawan to hear what she was saying.

"How hard is it for you to focus, usually?" Under normal circumstances she would have accompanied knocking the Padawan on his ass with a spoken lesson, but Natalie felt it more important to understand how the kid's mind worked. The lesson she would have imparted could be inferred fairly easily: Lightsaber duels rarely ever followed script, and in many cases wouldn't be decided by a lightsaber at all.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Obviously, Zessel’s attack ended with him falling with his butt on the floor. Nathalie moved so fast that the white-haired boy didn’t have time to process what she was doing. However, he already expected this result when the Knight had said that he was going to spar with her. He could have difficulty paying attention, but he wasn’t dumb or delusional to believe that he would be able to fight her.

He remained seated on the floor while Nathalie talked, this time his mind was focused on what she was saying. “I didn’t notice it.” he said, while turning to look at the rest of the Padawans with wide eyes. “Who was they? I need to apologize later. That wasn't nice” Zessel disliked when his lack of attention made him hurt other people. Knocking someone on the floor could be very painful.

His rear could attest it.

Nathalie’s question made the white-haired boy stare at her with wide eyes. “No one ever asked it.” he rose from the floor, but maintained a space between them that his mind believed to be acceptable. “Nearly everyone is always saying that I should think like normal people, but it’s difficult. I have thousands of things going around my brain and I can’t avoid it. It’s worse during classes like astronomy and meditation, but I’m able to focus while working in biology and lightsabers.”

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume you've probably inadvertently done it to all of them, kid," Natalie said, her face shifting to an expression of empathy. While she had no idea what it was like to be neuro-divergent, she knew what it was like to not think like others, and to be ostracized for it. She also knew all too well what it was like to be reprimanded for doing something wrong. "That isn't the point right now, though. You can apologize to them after class."

His explanation of how his mind worked didn't surprise Natalie. She was ill-equipped to deal with such a Padawan, sure, but it didn't surprise her. Most Jedi would just tell them to either think normal or join the Agriculture Corps. There would be no investigation into why the Padawan or Initial thought the way they did, and no reprise after a decision was made about that person's fate. As good and tied to the light as the Jedi Order was, it could be brutal sometimes.

"Well, focusing on lightsabers and biology is fine," Natalie said. "But what happens when you're in a fight with your fellow Jedi and you need to think outside of lightsabers and biology? What happens if you're fighting for your life with a lightsaber and you need to think of a solution to a problem that can't be solved with a lightsaber?" The question was rhetorical, and to prove a point. "After class I'm going to recommend you to some healers. They're better suited to know what you need and don't need, but for now, we can focus on lightsabers. What's your name?"

Natalie lifted the practice saber in front of her, dropping into a combat stance that didn't fit with any of the lightsaber forms. "A lightsaber is a tool. The weapon is the person behind it. Don't focus so much on the tool, focus on the person."

Natalie sprang forward with a quick strike of the practice saber vertically toward the kid's shoulder. The moment he would block, her left hand would shoot forward with her left foot, aiming an open palm strike to the kid's chest. If he focused on Natalie, and not the lightsaber, it would be easily dodged. If not, he would find himself on his ass again.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Zessel looked down, listening to what Nathalie was saying. His enthusiasm had completely disappeared. He felt bad for having nearly knocked down the other Padawans, with the worst part being that it wasn’t the first time that it happened. He always ended up being too excited to think about the others. The half-Arkanian needed to be more careful, but it was so difficult.

The more she talked, the more uncomfortable Zessel became. It wasn’t difficult for him to not think about something in specific, including the fact that he knew very well that if he could become a Jedi Knight on time, the Order would send him away to some farm. “I don’t want to be a washout.” he said, fidgeting nervously.

Most Padawans called the initiates that were sent to the Agricorps with this derogatory name. They were the waste, the refuse that the Order discarded. “I’m Zessel. Do you think that the healers can fix me?” the half-Arkanian stared at her with his eyes full of hope. “Or at least help me discover how to work like someone normal?” since most of the other children called him anormal since he could remember, he ended up referring to himself this way.

He thought that they weren’t wrong.

His mood got a bit better when she said that they were going to continue with the training. Zessel took position and waited for Nathalie to make the first move. This time, he had paid attention to her explanation and focused solely on the fight, more precisely in the Knight. Due to that, he was able to dodge her palm strike.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Good, the kid could learn! Natalie stepped back, letting the kid recover. "You learn quickly when you're focused; I doubt you'll wash out, kid," she said with a reassuring smile. "Well Zessel, I can't promise what the healers can or can't do. I can only recommend you go to them and ask what they think. There's nothing wrong with you, your brain's just wired in a way that makes it hard to focus on things that aren't interesting to you. I would know, I slept through most of my classes."

With that revelation she lunged forward, thrusting the practice sword lightly toward Zessel's chest. It was an easy dodge if he was focusing on her. Whether he dodged or not, she would recover the same way she had the previous two times. "In a fight, you'll have to play offense and defense. The time when I attack, I want you to dodge or block the attack and then make one of your own." Combat was a back and forth. Strike, defense, counter-strike, rinse, repeat.

Natalie spun the practice blade in front of her, stopping the spin with the sword held vertically in a high stance. With two hands she brought it down toward Zessel's shoulder. The spin was to make sure he was focusing on her and not the blade, the attack was relatively simple.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

“You are fun!” Zessel laughed, impressed with Nathalie’s sense of humor. She was the first Jedi that admitted having slept during classes. He never heard someone else of the Order talking about it. They always were so serious and talked with grandeur, being exactly because of it that the half-Arkanian had more problems focusing on what they said.

Even a single word coming from their mouth was boring.

Still focusing on her advice from early, Zessel watched her movements. He noticed her thrusting the wood stick against his chest and immediately dodged, moving to the left. However, this time he didn’t try to counter-attack, preferring to simply focus on his defensive abilities.

He didn’t want to end up with his ass on the floor again.

“Okay. I’ll be prepared.” he got in a defensive position, holding the stick with both hands and maintaining it upright in front of his body. Once again he followed her movements, struggling a bit to focus when she spun the stick, with it attracting his attention. Focusing in two things at the same time were a problem for him. However, he was able to put his fake lightsaber in a horizontal position, blocking her attack.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

When her practice saber smacked against his, she waited for a second for the Zessel to counter-attack. When he didn't she stepped forward, her left hand shooting out to grab his arm. Locking his main sword arm in place, she pulled her practice saber away from his, spinning it backwards into a reverse grip. She crouched, bringing the wooden blade gently across Zessel's stomach. Then as suddenly as she had countered his block, she let go of him and stepped back.

"Your counter-attack needs to be immediate. You blocked, but you didn't press the fact that I left myself open," Natalie said. His lost concentration when she had spun her practice saber before the attack wasn't lost on her. Now it was time to see if he could self-reflect when he lost. "What happened? You said you would be prepared."

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Unfortunately, Zessel ended up not doing the counter-attack. Not only that, but he left his guard open to Natalie to exploit it. In a matter of seconds, he felt the point of the wooden stick jabbing against his stomach. If it was a real fight, the Padawan would have been totally dead.

Her question made the half-Arkanian frown. Zessel really thought that he would be able to counter it, but his mind had failed him once again. “I think that I focused too much on defending myself and trying to use the lightsaber that I forgot that I could use my hands to attack too.” he needed to force himself to process when several things were happening around him and found ways of answering them. It would need a lot of focus.

Now was a good moment to start with it.

“I want to try again.” he said, getting in the same defensive position from early. “I’m prepared, and this time I’m being serious!” Zessel would wait for her movement, and he would be more focused than early.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

The kid seemed to be flustered, which he should be. Natalie had given him an easy win, and yet he couldn't focus long enough to secure it. Or he was focused on something else. If a spinning blade was all it took to throw the Padawan off his game, Ataru form was going to mess the kid up every time. Start throwing in flips, spins, and a few Force powers and it practically wouldn't even be a fight.

"In a fight, anything and everything is a weapon," Natalie said. "And don't hyper-fixate on one weapon or the other. If one isn't viable, find a new weapon. No one is going to pull any punches out there." His affirmation that he was serious this time tugged at the corner of her lips, forcing a smirk. If the kid couldn't focus, at least he had heart.

Natalie spun her practice saber again, this time moving it across her body to the left only to flow it into a horizontal slash back to the right at Zessel's midsection.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

This class was one of the rare moments that Zessel was paying attention to explanations of an older Jedi. Under normal circumstances, the Padawan would be daydreaming about anything that his mind would conjure at the moment. However, it needed a herculean effort from the half-Arkanian part to do it.

“Okay, everything is a weapon.” the Padawan muttered, while frowning. He wasn’t sure anymore of his ability to focus on several things at the same time, but Zessel was going to try. The half-Arkanian wasn’t going to give up.

Ending his days in an agricultural world would make him die with boredom.

Zessel followed Natalie’s movements, being able to notice how she had redirected the fake lightsaber in a horizontal way. This time, the Padawan stopped it by moving his stick in the path, before her attack could reach his body. While he blocked and held it with his right hand, the half-Arkanian moved his left hand as fast as he could with an open palm, seeking to make it collide against her chest.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Good he blocked. Even better, the kid had a counter-attack ready to rock as soon as he had blocked the main attack. The chest was an interesting place to aim. Her right arm was across her body, and open to all sorts of attacks that could render it useless- aiming for her chest gave Natalie extra time to move out of the counter-attack's reach.

She spun to her left, holding Zessel's blade with hers. Her body bent over, left leg kicking out behind her. The kid's open palm attack would fly over her back, while her extended leg would sweep the Padawan's legs out from beneath him. Whether the sweep was successful or not, Natalie would complete the spin while pulling away from the kid, creating enough distance to be safe from attack.

"Do you play any board games? Maybe video games?" Natalie asked. Traditional teaching wasn't going to help much with the kid, but maybe likening it to something he enjoyed would.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Zessel believed that this time he had done right. His counterattack was going to collide against her chest and he would show that he didn’t have the attention span of a puppy. Well, at least most of the time. His problems with focus were still real, but he was doing a good effort to show that he was capable.

And he got distracted with this line of thought, giving time for Natalie to evade his movement and sweep his legs. His focus returned when the attack missed, but was already self-conscious of the situation before he started to fall and immediately used his now flailing free hand to send a Force push against the Knight while she was still with her leg doing the sweep.

It was only strong enough to make her lose balance and fall on her rear. If she didn’t protect herself, of course. Meanwhile, Zessel fell for the third time on his butt. He was already getting annoyed by these falls.

Once again seated on the floor, Zessel’s face was red with annoyance, but Nathalie’s question distracted him from it. “I like to play both, but it’s rare to have someone playing board games with me.” nearly everyone couldn’t stand his lack of patience. “So I prefer to play solo video games. Why?”

@TheDudeMike