A Dance in the Meadows [Shii-Cho Training, Private]

[Vex Pendel]

A gust of wind picked up outside the Voss Academy, buffeting the meadows that were relatively nearby. The wind whistled through the leaves of the large tree that sat on top of the small hill there. A young man, a Jedi Padawan, sat against the tree fiddling with a small flower. The winds picked up his brown hair and blew it around. He hopped to his feet, tossing the flower into the grass with an exasperated sigh.

Vex had scheduled a little meet-up for a few Padawans to get together and practice their Shii-Cho skills with each other. He figured a 2 on 2 would be best, to get a little teamwork practice in there as well - something Vex didn't consider himself well-versed in. His master was supposed to show, but as usual they were absent. So Vex had scheduled another teacher to show up, who was well-versed in Form I and others in order to supervise them and teach them.

He had set up a small table nearby, with some practice sabers set up on it. No need to risk limb and life over a practice session. What was important here anyway was form, so the practice sabers would do just fine. Vex set himself up against the table and watched the grass wave in the wind as he waited for the first of his sparring partners or the master to come down the well-worn dirt path.

[member="Aria Vale"] [member="Undin Jaii Kryze"] [member="Ikki Ike"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

What did Jedi Guardians do in their off time?

They usually ran the gym at the Jedi Temple.

...nevermind that they were probably hanging out at the gym anyway. But, what better way to kill two birds with one stone? Zak could get in an extra set, take a water aerobics class, and get some Makashi practice in while performing his duties around the temple. Which, mostly involved making sure there were clean towels next to the free weights and being a safety monitor for the lightsaber practices that were scheduled around the temple.

A padawan named [member="Vex Pendel"] had reserved one of the outdoor areas for one such a lightsaber practice session.

The Nautolan teen was dressed in his aquatic robes. They were more comfortable, and he'd be changing into scrubs when he pulled a shift over at the Medcenter later. A coach's whistle and stopwatch hung around his neck, and the curved hilt of an archaic style dueling lightsaber was clipped to his belt.

"'Sup, brah?" the young Jedi Knight offered by way of greeting. A casual wave of hand demonstrating a gesture of salutation as the Nautolan seemed to have arrived before the padawan's practice mates.

 

[Vex Pendel]

Finally, as the winds began to die down a bit, the Jedi Knight who came to oversee the training session arrived. He walked up the dirt path to the hill. The knight seemed to be much younger than Vex and casually came up to him and said "'Sup, brah?" With a little shock on his face, Vex replied. "Oh, uh" He paused for a second. Even if he was much younger, there must be a reason he was a Jedi Knight. "Hey, Knight Dymo."

There was a moment of silence, then Vex spoke again. "So you've got a great understanding of Shii-Cho, right? How about the other forms?" It might be a little while before the other three Padawans showed up, so he figured a little bit of small talk couldn't hurt.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Undin Jaii Kryze]

Undin was sleeping in his chambers, when an alarm woke him up. Damn alarm, always waking him up too early. Or was it late? The boy remembered he had a training session scheduled with a new Padawan, and got up, still sleepy.

With two hand slips, he opened a drawer, where he got his lightsabers out of and put on his sunglasses. With a lightsaber in each opposite of his belt, he started walking towards the main door, as the two little camera droids followed him around. This time, it was allowed for him to leave the temple, as a supervised training lesson had been scheduled, but they didn't stop recording the scenes and steps of the Padawan anyway.

As he ran out of the Temple, he felt a mild breeze coming his way and giving him a chill and satisfying moment, as he continued towards the scheduled place.

When the boy arrived, he saw [member="Vex Pendel"] , and a familiar behind. He walked up to them, and greeted them both, "Hello, Vex. Hello Zak. Don't tell me I'm late?". He figured he wasn't as nobody else had arrived, but eh, who knew.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria had grown to like early mornings on Voss. The slight chill and pure, fresh air not only made her more awake and alert, but soothed her somehow, made her feel less on edge than a warm, sunny day. In other words, there was really no better time for a lesson.

Hence, Aria was meeting up that morning with several other Padawans for what she believed to be a sparring session focusing on Shii-Cho. The Determination form she knew to be the simplest, but it was irrefutably known that revising the basics could be more valuable than people would assume.

A cool breeze blew around her shoulders and caused her grey Jedi cloak to billow slightly as she made her way to the meadow. The others were already assembling - good, she wouldn't be waiting awkwardly for too long . Unfastening the cloak to reveal her usual combat gear, Aria took a practice saber from the table.

"Hey, uh, everyone," she said, spinning the saber in her hands as she greeted the group at large.

[member="Undin Jaii Kryze"] [member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Vex Pendel"] [member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Ikki Ike]

Ikki had signed up for a chance and standing there now while she looked around the room. She needed to look presentable while securing her hair up with the hair piece sliding it behind her ears as the tiny atrisian jedi pilot offered a small look in the mirror. Changing and dressing in the krayt dragon garments while she was walking down the hallway to go in and meet the others who were set to be within the class for herself. Her small skirt and boots while the leather outfit gleamed from the shine it had.

Her gloves had the small carbon tips with the cortosis slicewire for catching and holding lightsaber blades in the webs she could spin. Her training blades ready in case there was anything she needed to work with and fight when she entered and saw the other ones. She was a dancer with heartbeat and recognized the one who had been hiring her for a job but this wasn't the job as she stayed there bowing to the others in the room. her small cybernetic fingers concealed in the gloves and the brown skin with hundreds of tiny white scars.

"hello."

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Did he understand Shii-cho?

Reaching across, the Nautolan teen unclipped the curved handle and casually passed tossed it up into the air. "Brah, Shii-cho is the basics for all the forms, brah," the young Guardian supplied, as he tossed the lightsaber behind his back.

All Jedi had to understand Shii-cho. It was the foundation on which all other forms were built.

Riptide came alive with a snap-hiss that resonated like a bass note. Powered by a shard of a Greater Krayt Dragon pearl, the boy's lightsaber was snow white. Juggling the illuminated weapon, the teen casually tossed it up into the air. "Makashi and Djem So are what I mainly study..."

He caught the lightsaber on the downward trajectory without even looking, casually spinning the weapon in his hands. "...but everything requires that you understand the basics."

Understand. Assimilate. Adapt. Master.

"Even Master Xantha still studies Shii-cho from time to time, and he's been Jedi'ing for eight hundred ba-jillion years, or somethin', brah," the teen noted, spinning the curved lightsaber in his hands as he passed it from his right hand to his left, then behind his back from his left to his right.

Heck, the most famous Nautolan Jedi of all time had been a master of Shii-cho, preferring it over all other forms. And Zak could understand why. The Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat were just a few examples of how Shii-cho could be adapted into widely different styles of combat. Or even used in combination, as in the case of Niman.

Glancing up as some more padawans started to arrive, the boy shut down his lightsaber and returned it to his belt. "Not late, brah," the boy remarked, answering Undin. With a sweep of his hand, the teen seemed to turn it over to [member="Vex Pendel"]. "I think you're just getting started."

It was their show. He was just there for safety, and to give advice.

Which, anyone receiving advice from Zak needed advice on who to take advice from.

[member="Ikki Ike"] | [member="Aria Vale"] | [member="Undin Jaii Kryze"]​

 

[Vex Pendel]

"Brah, Shii-cho is the basics for all the forms, brah," Vex nodded, watching with curiosity as the young knight juggled his saber. "Makashi and Djem So are what I mainly study but everything requires that you understand the basics." He grew more uncomfortable as Zak's saber ignited and he began juggling that around. "Even Master Xantha still studies Shii-cho from time to time, and he's been Jedi'ing for eight hundred ba-jillion years, or somethin', brah,"

​"Um yeah, basics are always important. Can't forget the basics." ​Vex watched as the other padawans arrived, first Undin, then Aria, and lastly Ikki. Undin approached and said "Hello, Vex. Hello Zak. Don't tell me I'm late?" ​Following what Knight Dymo said, Vex responded to Undin. "Hey, we're just about to get started." The others came soon after, with a short hello from Aria who had already grabbed a practice saber. Ikki showed up soon after, completing the group.

"Alright, looks like everyone is present." Vex pointed over to the nearby table he'd set up a while prior. "There's some practice sabers so if you haven't already," He nodded to Aria in acknowledgment. "Please go ahead and grab one." He walked over himself and picked up the nearest one, leaving two - one for Undin and one for Ikki. "After that, follow me down the hill a bit to where it's flat."

After the other two had grabbed their practice sabers and everyone was assembled down the hill, Vex addressed them again. "So the plan is to form teams of two each and have a four person sparring match. The focus here is on Form I, so lets keep the use of force powers down and focus on our skill on with the form." Pausing, he looked around at the group. "Okay, who wants to choose the teams? After that's out of the way we can get right into business." Waiting for one of the others to chose teams, Vex began stretching in preparation for the match.

[member="Zak Dymo"] [member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Aria Vale"] [member="Undin Jaii Kryze"]

 

[Undin Jaii Kryze]

The boy approached the table, and looked over at the lightsabers. He started by examining them one to one, and feeling them.

"Too big.", he said as he glanced over one of them. "Too curved.", he continued. "Too small.", the boy commented on one that was smaller than a shoto. Undin, turning his back on the table said towards the group "None of these seem to suit me. Can't I just use my regular lightsaber? I'll be carefull.", grabbing the right lightsaber and giving it a spin.

He wasn't really convinced of leaning lightsaber combat forms. He preffered to freestyle, but who knows, he could use some tactics in his own way.

[member="Vex Pendel"] [member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Aria Vale"] [member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria watched as everything got set up, rolling her eyes as she saw one in particular obsess over the detailing of his training saber. Even as somebody who appreciated weaponry, there was a time and a place - particularly if a Jedi known to be on house arrest wanted to use a real lightsaber in a Padawan training session.

"Oh, just take a saber," she said irritably as the group assembled. "Ikki, I could go with you and the boys can go together?"

[member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Undin Jaii Kryze"] [member="Vex Pendel"]