We've Come So Far (private)

[Shapeshifter99]

OOC: Gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't reply sooner, I was off on holiday!!!

IC: Suuji watched the first spar between Ze'kyre and Arai with a large amount of respect, easily appreciating the fluid and graceful movements of the two Jedi. There was a flourish of lightsabers and the typical sizzle as the two blades collided, but there was a fair amount of footwork involved as well. Seeing that their spar was clearly underway, the Knight moved back, her hand passing over Arkaron's back lightly to coax him to follow. She would join once they had finished. At Ze'kyre's final move that ended the battle, the impressed Knight clapped her hands lightly together. It was encouraging to see Arai also in high spirits; Suuji had known more than a few padawans to be discouraged after losing a battle, but the young man seemed perfectly pleased with the results.

At the two's suggestions to spar again, Suuji stepped forward, her hand reaching up to tug her black blindfold over her eyes. The instant she did so, her senses expanded and sharpened as she switched to Force sight. "If you don't mind, gentlemen." She said, taking a small step forward. "I'd be happy to also be included in this sparring session." She unclipped her saberstaff from her belt and stood in the Ataru opening stance.

She didn't move as Ze'kyre teased Arai and suddenly pounced forwards, content to have him make the first move. If anything, it would give her an easier opening. The Echani lunged forward and raised his arms to deliver what would obviously be a heavy-handed blow, and Suuji's fingers flexed on the handle of her sapphire-colored lightsaber. Although she doubted she was as strong as either of the two men- both of whom were taller than she- she was probably on par in terms of speed and agility with Ze'kyre, and had the added skill of being able to use acrobatics with the Force, as was the traditional style of Ataru.

Once Ze'kyre's blade had lowered, she darted around him, towards his back, her lightsaber already extended. Her actually attempt to touch him was far from what she could do, as she realized it would be a bit boring to simply land a blow by taking him off-guard while he was fighting Arai. But then again; he was a warrior. He would be able to defend himself easily. The other end of her double-bladed lightsaber was angled so that it would be easy to jerk it up a bit and block a returning blow from the echani; another of the advantages of the saberstaff.

 

[Kartikeyan]

Arai was happy to see that Ze’kyre was willing to keep going and ignited his blade once again. His only broke away from Echani as Suuji began to speak. She was now blind folded by a black piece of cloth over her eyes like a Miraluka. Another Knight to spar against only added to growing thrill boiling through his body. “By all means, feel free to.” Arai said with a courteous bow and friendly smile, then drew back to a serious expression and glanced back at Ze’kyre. He took a two handed grip on his lightsaber, taking up the jedi ready stance angled off to have both Knights in his view.

He had expected to Ze’kyre to come at him, but not like this. The Padawan was quiet taken by his ferocity. Arai didn’t bother to pay mind to the light trail of the Kinght’s shiny blue blade. He listened out for the hum of Ze’kyre’s lightsaber and kept his focus on his body movements. The Knight was faster, more agile and a better swordsman. Arai couldn’t match him, but he could keep up. He kept a firm grip on his lightsaber as he parried each strike as they came while pacing backwards as to not let Ze’kyre break through the defense he barely had time to form. A random Aurum sequence with heavy elements of Niman and Soresu moves.

Keeping his eyes directly into the depths of Ze’kyre’s pupils, Arai’s body was beginning to get use to his flow then all of a sudden the Echani had let out a grunt and brought his blue blade down to crush Arai. However, the Tythonian had realized that during the exchange that he had the strength to withstand his mighty blows despite the speed that they came in. He brought his lightsaber up from his left side, adding the momentum to his power to try to deflect Ze’kyre’s lightsaber inwards to use his own force against him to break his equilibrium. Arai then brought his left leg forward to place his foot parallel to Ze’kyre’s, pushed off to the side while rotating his body to bringing his right leg around to dash pass Ze’kyre.

The twin blue blades of Suuji’s double bladed lightsaber came glowing into his vision, hissing in his ears. Arai release his left hand and held his right arm straight out and pointed his lightsaber directly at the approaching Knight. “I hope you weren’t trying to sneak on my brother Suuji.” He said with a smirk, breathing lightly with some beads of sweat on his face. This was only a joke as he knew Ze’kyre could handle himself even against a double bladed lightsaber. But, the ground she covered in the last amount of time was threating, he had only taken his eyes off her for a second and yet here she was like lightning. Arai knew he was the one that was greatly outmatched here. ‘So be it.’

He brought bent his forearms to angle his blade in a cross guard, his free hand closer to his chest with his fingers half curved into loose fist. His brought his right foot forward and left foot out slightly to balance stabilize his weight. “Alright young Knights of the Jedi Order, let’s see what you two got.” Arai said to taunt them. This was a small chance for him to test his own style against two opponents at once. Though it would be more effective if he could use the force, it really wasn’t required for him to use Procyon.

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

As his blade was about to collide with Arai's, Ze'kyre loosed his wrist and allowed his lightsaber to be slapped aside without resistance. It was by this means of allowing the momentum of Arai's blade to pass through uninterrupted, that he had strategically made it difficult for the blade to reposition itself quick enough to avoid Ze'kyre's next attack. He saw, with his peripheral vision, Suuji begin to advance behind him, but in this particular fraction of the second, he could not worry. Arai's foot lifted, how convenient. The monk allowed his blade to continue on the inward path the Padawan had set it upon, his arm bending at the elbow so that the blade was kept close to his body, and at his chests height.

At the same time as Arai's left foot landed to be parallel to Ze'kyre's right, Ze'kyre's left was shuffling inward, his center of gravity rising by the nanosecond, and by the time Arai could lift his right off the ground, Ze'kyre's long left arm was shooting forward, ready and waiting like the tongue of a toad as the momentum of Arai's swing brought his left wrist right into position to be grabbed, with the blade angled outward to Arai's right for safety. Ze'kyre would firmly hold the wrist with his two middle fingers dug deep into a presssure point that would cause the strongest of men to lose their grip. With a sudden twist of the torso, a jerk of the wrist, and the same type of coordinated step that he had used earlier to keep himself behind Arai, he soon found himself on the opposite side of Arai that Suuji was on, and was making an attempt to throw the Padawan at the Knight through the leverage of the wrist-lock he had engineered, just before she had the chance to set up her strike. He had spun the same way Arai had intended to move on his own, effectively making use of the Padawan's own momentum.

If he had somehow missed Arai's wrist, then his footwork would still serve to interrupt Arai's own maneuver, as well as to dodge Suuji.

 

[Shapeshifter99]

Suuji felt a thrill of excitement as Arai smoothly batted aside Ze'kyre's blow and once again positioned himself in a defensive stance. At the same time, Ze'kyre somehow managed to dart away from her attack and lunge towards Arai at the same time. Within a heartbeat, the echani was behind Arai, leaving him to face Suuji. Marvelling at the skill of both her opponents, Suuji allowed the smallest of smiles to cross her face. Although attacking Arai seemed like the obvious option, it would be impossible to take him by surprise, and having Ze'kyre behind it would make it more difficult for her to put into practice her more tactical moves.

So, deciding what she was going to do in a split-second after Ze'kyre had slid to a stop behind Arai, she crouched, gathered the Force to her, and leapt. Being a skilled practitioner of Ataru, Suuji implemented a lot of acrobatics into her fighting style using the Force to be able to give out attack and defense moves with ease to suit the fierce lightsaber Form. Despite this, it was harder to fight in this form against more than one opponent, but the Miraluka/human was sure she could manage.

As she leapt, Suuji raised her saberstaff over her head in the intent of bringing it down over Ze'kyre. She knew that the echani would be fast enough to parry in time, but although he had massive strength on his side, the combination of the Force, her momentum and her own power should be enough to administer a temporary, albeit crushing, blow. If he parried fast enough, she could use his upwards force with his lightsaber as a springboard of sorts, and land behind. If he didn't, the echani would probably stagger backwards slightly.

If Suuji managed to create a larger distance between Arai and Ze'kyre, it would give her a tactical advantage, as she would be able to leap between them to deliver swift blows, than leap to the other to avoid any returning strikes.

 

[Kartikeyan]

In a flash, the Padawan realized his mistake a second too late. He had tried to slip pass Ze’kyre’s body zone completely while forgetting the Warrior’s Monk ability and experience to not just counter him, but successfully interrupt him and use it to his own advantage. The incredibly sharp pain to his left wrist sent a jolt of electricity up his arm, shoulder, and neck. It was better to naturally accept the pain than to try to suppress it through the force. He was smarter. Stronger willed than to let a little pain from a sparring match effect his mood. It was expected, and Arai did good to keep his now deactivated lightsaber in his fingers as he went flying to Suuji.

Arai had prepared for the most embarrassing and humiliating sparing moment of his life, but before he could collide into the other Knight, the woman was already leaping over him through the air with finesse even he could envy. However, Arai used his momentum and forced his body into a mid-air somersault then skidded against the ground on one knee. The scrap on his knee start throbbing immediately as he came to a halt and quickly stood up, not letting the minor injuries affect him. Jedi were trained to ignore the distractions of their physical pains, yet still, they would never compare to the emotional pains that used to torment him until he learned to let them go. And just like those, his scrapes and bruises would be gone soon enough.

Right now, he didn’t have time to worry about practice wounds. His red eyes were staring silent on Suuji and Ze’kyre, observing their movements down to the slightest flinch in their muscles. This was a perfect moment for him to analyze both Knight’s and while they were distracted, then the time was right, Arai was going to pounce on both of them when the opening presented itself. For now, he kept his lightsaber deactivated in one of his hands clasped behind his back, walking cautiously around the two knights in a semi-circle ten meters outside their physical reach, like a supervisor looking for the tiniest mistake to expose and use to his advantage.

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

No sooner did he release Arai's wrist did Ze'kyre set his foot. He was turned to face Suuji by his own momentum and watched as she leapt from her position over Arai, and into the air. His eyes narrowed as they found hers, the dueling passions burning in either eye. His indigo showed mirth and joy for the contest they shared, and his silver was cool and determined, calculating his next move. He quickly checked to see which hand was the overhead one((unspecified; I'm going to write as if it's the right blade over the left, but if not it would pretty well work out the same way on the other side)), took an even stance, and bent his knees. As she came downward upon him, Ze'kyre never took his eyes away from hers, nor did he blink, was his focus so intense.

The first blade would have scratched his forehead had he not stepped back with his right foot the moment before, and placed his weight on the foot - almost as if to turn and run. Her rear foot landed and the other was moving forward, coming down with all of her weight and then some upon the echani's lightsaber. He gripped the hilt with both of his hands, raised the blue blade over his head

And extinguished his lightsaber.

Calling upon all of his reflex, he pushed himself to the left, sidestepping her downward swing entirely and catching his center of gravity - with only a third, nimble step - immediately behind her. Keeping himself close was key, and due to her trajectory and lack of footing, it would prove hard for her to find room to counter this one. He did not want to clear one blade just for the other to come back up around her body, and placed his left hand on her elbow, using his forearm in a wide arc in order to catch it no matter which way it went. His right hand, holding his lightsaber, made to slip in under her arm. In case she had not yet noticed how Ze'kyre's sly use of trakata would have slain a Sith who attempted the same maneuvre, she could look down and see the white-haired monk's emitter pointing towards her abdomen.

 

[Shapeshifter99]

Suuji was, admittedly, caught off-guard when Ze'kyre darted out of the way, but was still tuned in to the Force enough to correct her mistake. She bent her knees as she landed and rolled forward onto her shoulder to get rid of her extra momentum which would have certainly injured her if she wasn't more careful, and to put some distance between herself and the echani warrior. She felt his body move behind her, and on instinct, she stepped forward once more and whirled around, her right blade raised above her shoulder and the left crossing her chest diagonally to block another blow. Ze'kyre still managed to grab her right elbow, but he had obviously been expecting her to still be facing away from him. He reached forward, his lightsaber still unlit to make an example of a killing blow had it been on.

She tensed, her hand lifted to push away the hilt. She probably would have been able to do it as well, but it seemed as if Ze'kyre was convinced the fight was over. Her hand dropped, and instead, she let a small smile twitch at her mouth. "Seems like you bested me." She remarked. "Unfortunately, there's still you friend to think about."

 

[Kartikeyan]

“Not checkmate brother, stalemate.” Arai said to himself out loud quietly, his lips twisted in smirk. Ze’kyre had effectively put Suuji in submission, it was a sly maneuver, practically cheating but he could not despise his brother for his ingenuity. He glanced up at Toph sitting up on a branch within the tree shade. The Hoojib looked stunned as ever, but his arms were frozen, the camera perfectly having view of the most the clearing. Good.

“Arkaron is very well behaved Suuji, good thing this really was a spar or I would have just watched the most tragic duel in history.” He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as he looked at Suuji. “Aye bro, he would have killed you the moment you tried to kill her.” Taking a few steps closer to them with his hands clasped in front of him in a harmless gesture. “So you might have bested her, but she would have been avenged by him.” He nodded his head towards the Anooba.

“Now, want to end the match there or should we move on to the next round?” Arai really did not mind which they chose to do, but this was proving to be a nice experience for a change. “If we continue I do have one suggestion. Since Ze’kyre has proving to be the greater warrior, I suggest me and Suuji work together to win round two. How about it?”

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

When Suuji bent her knees and rolled forward, Ze'kyre did not hesitate to shift himself. He had already caught her off-guard, having had an opportunity to cut her in half already. Allowing his intention to flow like water, Ze'kyre took the step to follow her, his right foot moving behind her quicker than most eyes would follow as his lightsaber re-ignited. With but a slight flourish, the newly glowing blade extended itself over her shoulder before she would have found her feet again. Of course, it only had its training crystal equipped, and would not so much as damage her robe. When she stood and turned to face Ze'kyre, his face was alight with a grin.

"You're quick, but if you rely on the Force to provide you with speed, Your reflexes will begin to fall behind." As usual, Ze'kyre had made a point of not tapping into the Force for the match. It helped, of course, to keep himself in his healthy state and practice his many disciplines, for he had seen non force sensitives do incredible things with their bodies, some even surpassing your average Jedi's level of Control. He made a practice of honing his body aside from the Force, which combined with his consistent meditation allowed for an even greater flow of the Great Dragon's Breath through his veins. Of course, he trained with the Force augmenting his capabilities as well, in order to sharpen the raw potential, but just earlier that morning, he had been smashing bricks of duracrete with those firm, unblemished hands, the Force but an active observer to the music within his focused and thought-free mind.

He gave a chuckle at the comment about the canine attacking. Ze'kyre decided not to mention that he had slain wilder beasts with his hands; no doubt imagery Arai would remember from when they were kids. Then, he perked at Arai's suggestion, his friendly - if a little unsettling - gaze sliding to the older padawan. "My, that does sound like fun," he admitted as he ignited his lightsaber yet again, and took two steps back. He kept a casual stance, his right foot slightly forward with the tip of his blade pointed at the ground before him. "Well, let's see what type of team you two make, shall we?"

 

[Shapeshifter99]

Suuji lifted her blindfold, still a little remorseful she'd been beaten. It was expected, though. It had been a while since Suuji had sparred with someone else, and Ze'kyre was obviously very competent. At Ze'kyre's remark on her reflexes, she let her mouth quirk upwards slightly in a smile. "Perhaps," She noted. "But any warrior knows how to use their strengths to their advantage." She didn't say anything else, trying to contain the small flare of irritation that had risen up in her. She appreciated the echani's advice; but he seemed a little too boastful and eager to show off his skill in combat for her liking. Despite everything, Suuji was a trained Jedi knight: The council wouldn't have knighted her if she was incapable of fighting against Sith, and yes, other Jedi. She was a pacifist by nature, but that didn't mean she liked it too much when people mistook it for weakness, or when they doubted her skills.

At Arai's remark, Arkaron's tail swished from side to side and he let out a low growl of assent. She sent the anooba an amused look, and tried not to laugh as she felt a wave of confidence emanate through the Force from Ze'kyre. Little did he know that Arkaron was as good a partner as a Jedi; and definitely more ruthless. Why else would she bring with her on missions? But the miraluka and human woman held her tongue, even though her eyes were sparkling with amusement. The echani might find out some other time just how ferocious her 'pet' could be.

At Arai's second suggestion of a team up, Suuji smiled. "Sounds like fun." She said warmly, nodding at the young padawan before pulling down her blindfold again and letting her senses expand through the Force. She tentatively focused more on Arai's mind; it would make it easier on the both of them if she could sense his intentions. Arkaron growled again, obviously not pleased by how much time she was spending her, but she sent a tendril of warm assurance towards the anooba, and he calmed down.

She readied herself in the opening Ataru stance. "You boys ready?" She said, eager to prove that she had much, much more hidden than what she had displayed earlier.

 

[Kartikeyan]

“Alright, let’s do it.” Arai said, taking hold of his lightsaber In his right hand and ignited the blade. That’s when Arai felt Suuji’s force aura flood the area. He could sense her reaching out to him, asking what he planned to do. That was a very good question. Arai took a few guarded steps forward, keepings his eyes on his brother while he thought to himself.

A moment later, Arai opened up mind up to Suuji just enough for her to know how he planned to approach and try to synchronize much as possible. He didn’t mind using the force for this purpose or see it as breaking their rules. His mind was only link to Suuji’s, nothing else. Even still, he kept most of his mind unreadable like a black void of nothing.

Arai got into his Aurum stance, and looked over at Suuji. ‘Support and defend each other when one attacks, we can’t let him go on the offensive,’ he told her through the force. ‘We can’t let him stay on the offensive for too long.’ Ze’kyre could be overwhelming when he wants to be and Arai suspected he wasn’t going to take them lightly this time. However, Arai was determined to best his brother this time.

‘I’ll provide you with an opening.’ Arai told her as he took two quick steps forward then broke off into a sprint. A second later when he was close enough, but still just outside a blade range, Arai leapt into the air, soaring over Ze’kyre’s strike zone while keeping his blade close to his somersaulting body to parry just encase he decide to attack him before he could land directly behind him still outside his blade range, once again in his Aurum stance. He didn’t need to use the force, knowing his natural skills would be all that would be needed in a spar.

In a heartbeat after he landed, Arai rushed forward. His blade trailing light through the air as he twirled it between each hand, swirling his body around in a savage low spin with his blade fanning around and then propelled himself a meter into the air. He glided slightly closer but not too closes into the Echani’s striking zone but still close enough for him to be in Arai’s. In his left hand cocked back behind him, Arai was in the middle of transitioning out of a reverse grip as he brought his arm around forward in a mighty jab of his blade. The angle, precise to make a mark of contact by only pierce through his tunic at the left shoulder should he be successful, but it didn’t matter, it was just a daring diversion to begin with.

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

Ze'kyre seemed very entertained, yet his smile faded when Arai began to charge. His knees bent ever so slightly in anticipation, and his wrist angled the tip of his lightsaber just a few degrees away from the ground. The fingers of his left hand were spread wide, and most muscles in Ze'kyre's corded body tightened in the instant that Arai leapt. He continued to face Suuji, bending at the knees and waist even more with a slightly widened stance. When he heard the thud of Arai landing, he whipped around quickly, turning clockwise with a single step and lashing his blade out in an upside down guard aimed to place him on the outside of the jab.

When he had spun, he attempted to place his right foot closer to the outside of Arai's right foot, but the padawan had only jabbed instead of lunging, forcing Ze'kyre to use his blade, instead of his free hand. He rotated his wrist while he stepped again with his left foot, the end of his blade aiming to slice Arai's hand off at the forearm - were his blade in its lethal mode - at the same time as he changed position and opened up his peripheral vision to where Suuji would commence her assault. All in the span of a split second, and the space of two steps.

 

[Shapeshifter99]

Suuji was soon acclimated to the presence of Arai's mind, and sent an emotion of assertion to tell him she could hear him loud and clear. She cleared her mind, keeping it a blank slate so she could focus on the session and tensed in preparation. She would show Ze'kyre and her partner what she was made of. As Arai lunged towards the echani and then leapt over him, keeping a graceful and protective form as he did so, she was off like lightning.

She skirted around Ze'kyre, her touch with Arai's mind alerting her to what the padawan was planning. As Ze'kyre whirled around to attack Arai, she came in from the right and managed to see the echani warrior twisting his wrist just so in a way so that he would have been able to disable Arai. Using the Force to propel her forwards, she let the right side of her lightsaber come underneath the blade, not strong enough to block it, but enough to let Arai move back a little and recommence his attack. At the same moment, Ze'kyre turned to prepare himself against her attack.

'I'm going to use the Force to jump from place to place and keep him confused,' She told Arai. 'The infrequent blows will have him guessing, and will allow you to get in some hits.' She knew that Arai was more than capable of handling a fight at close quarters, and tensed for a heartbeat as she prepared to jump. She leapt over both Ze'kyre and Arai's heads, barely touching the ground for a second before she jumped again.

This move in particular wasn't something that was taught to Jedi who learned Ataru; Suuji had learned about it entirely on accident when she had been fenced in by a little less than a dozen guards, and seeing how useful it was, adopted the move. Since no one rarely saw anything like it, it was good when it came to the element of surprise, served as a good distraction, kept her from getting hurt, and was also effective against multiple opponents, something which was hard to do with Ataru. She leapt around once, twice, then jumped towards Ze'kyre, unbridled and flowing with the Force. She brought her blade down in a sideways cut using the right blade, and didn't stay long enough for Ze'kyre to attempt a counter-attack, leaping her way to safety once again.

 

[Kartikeyan]

In times like this, Arai’s mind became no mind. Instincts took over and his body reacted on its own memory. It knew what to do without the aid of the force. He released his hold on his lightsaber, using the tip of his fingers to lightly tap against the black and silver hilt before they completely departed. His arm drew back as his upper body twisted cloakwise to give him the acceleration needed to avoid losing his arm, but the edge of his blade did scratch against the very top skin of his middle finger. He then brought the rest of his body to turn completely around in mid-air. Ze’kyre had his focus on Suuji leaping around in a bizarre pattern. Good.

As he landed, his body snapped low to the ground before he pushed off his feet toward Ze’kyre in the blink of an eye. His right hand wrapped around his deactivated lightsaber as it came down into his open palm in the midst of closing the small gap. He shot his body up from the ground on Ze’kyre’s left side just as Suuji was making her strike, thrusting both his arms forward to bring his left hand slipping under his left armpit to clench his grip around his neck in a tight squeeze while the emitter of his lightsaber came up to the back of the back of the Echani’s skull. There wasn’t a need to worry about his lightsaber hand since as this point he would be too busy focusing on Suuji’s own lethal strike. He kept his left leg back two paces and his right leg behind Ze’kyre’s left, keeping his shin braced against his calf to keep his form solid yet ready to become flexible at a moment’s notice and to keep him out of her angle of attack.

“It would be wise to yield brother. There is nothing more you can do.” Arai said tauntingly in the Knight’s ear, his brow furrowed to reinforce his seriousness. Even if he couldn’t get successful in getting Ze’kyre into submission, he still had a few counter-measures to fall back on given his position and being connected to Suuji, he could coordinate an effective strategy. ‘As soon as he makes his move on me, come in and make sure your timing is exact. We are going to keep scoring points on him like this.’ Arai thought out to her through the force.

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

[[OOC: Just to be clear, my last post did not turn me around completely Karty, I can still see you ;). As well, It's quite evident that your attack comes in a space of time much sooner than Suuji's, where you jump out and then right back in, but she jumps around quite a few times. They may just be details, but they're all we have to work with.]]

Fortunate enough to have turned to the right already with his last strike move, he now had the two of them in his sights, and both in close quarters. Now this should be fun. Suuji managed to slip the tip of her blade in between Arai's and Ze'kyre's, but it was a hasty and clumsy move, her Saber-staff would never have the finesse of a single blade. Ze'kyre intended to show them what such a small detail could mean in such a short amount of time, and he would do it without using the Force to augment his natural speed. His eyes narrowed as they focused on Suuji's own. He could see in an instant that she was taking the time to form thoughts, and not ones of battle. The need to communicate through any means other than movement was something Ze'kyre had not known before coming to the Jedi, and it was why he was so good at what he did. Combat was the time for efficiency and practicality, not thought and hesitation. And so right after the tip of his blade grazed Arai's finger, right before she could even begin to form the thought about planning to jump around, before Arai could plan a balanced retreat, Ze'kyre was slapping both of their lightsabers aside, taking advantage of the fact that all of their blades were entangled to demonstrate his superior finesse and explosive power. Every muscle, from the toes he had placed in his last two steps, through his torquing waist, and down the back side of his right arm came together to throw them off balance as they both jumped away.

It was not an attack, but as the two of them drew back it would serve in creating a wider space in time for him to act. Even if only a fraction of a second each, this was still dangerous for the pair of them, since he had more than shown how each second is crucial, and must be divided with care when flowing through battle. His eyes remained on Suuji's as the second passed. She is still thinking. He decided to leave her to her devices, just as he saw Arai dart right back in towards him with his peripheral vision, this time with his blade retracting. Ze'kyre stepped his left foot backwards, always careful to keep his centre of balance even as it shifted while the lunging Arai appeared immediately in front of him. Suuji was preparing a jump over their heads. His long left arm rose, and his hand deftly searched out a place on Arai's back to help his momentum forward, as well as help Ze'kyre out of the way. The echani withdrew behind Arai with two steps, more so allowing the Padawan to run into his blade at the stomach than making any slicing motions. With his lightsaber already outstretched at head level, there was no defending with it. He kept Suuji in his view

His eyes remained on Suuji as she landed from a jump, forcing Ze'kyre to quickly take a step around Arai. She jumped once again, and then once more, this time setting a trajectory right for the echani. Not only did she think a lot, but she did not learn from past mistakes. When the blade came, Ze'kyre used his full flexibility to duck low to the ground, the muscles in his calf tight against the muscle of his hamstring, with his left hand placed before him for balance. The left blade would have been the one to attack with from the right side, for the right follows quickly behind, but when she attacked with the right, it left a big open space for Ze'kyre. Her feet were about to touch the ground, not even a half of a meter before Ze'kyre. Her blade flew harmlessly overhead, with the other all the way on the other side of her body. As he rose again he had ample time to draw his blade across her entire body, probably multiple times, but he chose not to, holding it instead against her arm incase she tried to bring either blade back around. Less than a flick of the wrist was all it would take to either behead or disarm her - if his blade were real. It mattered little to Ze'kyre if she jumped back away, for he believed she now understood the flaw of her technique.

 

[Shapeshifter99]

When Ze'kyre grabbed her arm, Suuji relaxed immediately. It had been worth a try, she supposed. Elegantly, she pulled away from Ze'kyre, and gave him a nod of acceptance to show that she had yielded. She seperated her mind from Arai's ruefully, hoping that the padawan would be okay with finishing the spar on his own. "Good fight," She said pleasantly, her mouth quirking upwards in a half-smile. "I see I'll have to keep working on my strategies."

Arkaron let out a low growl and padded up to Suuji. The miraluka/human ran a soothing hand through his fur. "I hope you'll excuse me, but I need to get to the Temple," She said regretfully. "By stopping to spar with you, I'm late enough as it is." Her other pet, a small climbing Tauntaun by the name of Ormon, would probably start wailing his head off if she didn't get back. "I hope I'll see the two of you again," She continued. "It'll be fun to fight some Sith by your sides!" Again, the corners of her mouth tilted up in a smile, and if they had been able to see her eyes, they would have seen the crinkles around her eyes that indicated that she was sincere. "I'll leave you to it, then." She finished after they had said their goodbyes before turning and walking into the forest, the hulking shadow of her anooba friend a constant presence at her side.

 

[Kartikeyan]

When Ze’kyre pushed him forward at the back while moving away to leave Arai at the mercy of his lightsaber, the sense of alarm chilled the core of his spine. Instinctively, Arai tapped into the Force to take advantage of the slight change he had to turn his body to the side and lean back at the waist to just barely miss the tip of his blade from striking flesh, but did burned the side of his tunic before he could leap back a few meters from his strike zone.

‘That was too close…’ Arai thought to himself while he kept his eyes trained on the two knights. He couldn’t help but smirk in witnessing their performance until Suuji got caught by Ze’kyre. When he felt her connection disappear, he knew she was finished and relaxed his composer. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt, noticing the burnt out gapping slit at the side of his tunic. “I need to focus more on my training, think I been slacking lately.”

“My apologies for holding you up and making you late Knight Bakumara, just wanted to have some fun.” Arai said to Suuji with a courteous bow at the waist, remembering how she had just arrived and probably did have other things to attend at the temple. “Also, I am sure you’ll be seeing us around if you stay on the pleasant and wonderful world of Arbra, where any Sith that steps foot on its soil is at the mercy of the Jedi and the Hoojibs.” Arai said while gesturing Toph to him. The furry Hoojib quickly made its way down the tree and scurried over to Arai, crawling up the side of his body and resting onto his shoulder. He took his Transparipad from Toph and stored it away in his pocket.

“Take care you two, and try not to get lost!” Arai waved Suuji and her Anooba off as they left then turned his attention back to Ze’kyre.

“Well look at what you did to my robe bro and these were my good cream robe too!” He joked with a small grin and laugh. “I’m going to get cleaned up and a change of clothes but perhaps in the meantime brother you could help me out. I’m looking to get my hand on some songsteel to craft a sword. I don’t want to rely on my lightsaber all the time in a struggle.”

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

Extinguishing his blue blade, the echani replaced the ivory hilt of his lightsaber upon his hip. "Farewell Suuji, and you as well Arkaron," the silver-aired monk said with a bow of his head. He watched as the two walked off in the direction of the Temple, and returned his attention to Arai. "That will wash out," he said with a smile in regards to Arai's tunic. "Just be happy I didn't have the real blade on," he added with a wink. He lead Arai casually back to the Temple, but where as they were in no rush, it was unlikely that they would catch up to Suuji. "What is on your mind?"

He listened as Arai explained that he wished to craft himself a sword out of songsteel, and seemed somewhat excited by the idea. "You don't say? Not many young Jedi seek out knowledge of any weapon other than the lightsaber, but I believe it is good to know variety." His own sword was back in his quarters at the enclave. "I am unfamiliar with Songsteel, however. It does sound very interesting however. I'm guessing it's lightsaber resistant?" He was intrigued by the name of the alloy, for his own sword was known to sing, and he was curious if a sword made of such a metal would do likewise.

 

[Kartikeyan]

“So the archives say,” He replied to Ze’kyre, thinking back on the information he learned about the metal. “Not just lightsaber resistance, but also durable to blasters and slug throwers. Given your Songstress and all.”

Arai unclipped his lightsaber and held it in his hand, examining the craft of his weapon. “A lightsaber is a symbolic weapon to the Jedi and can identify us as such. It is an elegant weapon, but it has its limitations, its weaknesses, and it can’t help me solve everything. In these times where we are being hunted draws too much attention. So over the years I have been thinking of ways to be a Jedi without being a Jedi.”

“Plus, I’ve always wanted to forge my own sword. Seems like far more of a challenge than constructing a lightsaber if you ask me.” He said while clipping the hilt back to his belt. “A sword that can function close to a lightsaber can sometimes have better advantages than a glowing blade of energy.”

 

[Resolute\\.ZEN]

"Very true," Ze'kyre replied as they continued on patiently. "The weightlessness of a lightsaber makes it nearly useless when trying to block or deflect weighted blows. No matter how strong one's lightsaber hand is, a strong overhanded strike from a sword will always shatter your defense." It was a truth not enough Jedi recognized. The speed did little to make up for the lack of momentum, and a skilled enough swordsman would always be able to poke holes in a lightsaber's defensive patterns.

"I encourage you try, but it takes a skilled weaponsmith to forge a worthy blade. Perhaps you should practice with a more common alloy." Ze'kyre shrugged his shoulders. "In any case, I do enjoy the practice of the lightsaber, but no weapon will ever be a part of me as much as my Songstress."