An idle Walk

[Seras Rose]

It was a reasonably pleasant summer day on Ossus, Seras Rose had just finished her studies for the day and was stretching, walking down the Temple of Ossus's halls. She had been here for a rather long time and was familiar with the place from top to bottom. Idly as she walked, her long light brown hair hanging behind her in a braid, she twirled a pencil in thought between her fingers, before catching it and wondering to herself.

'...Nothing seems overly interesting right now to do...' She thought, pausing for a while, having an idea of something to do nagging at the back of her brain but it was eluding her. Frustrating really, and so she sat there in thought, rubbing the pencils eraser against her cheek. 'Going outside is a tempting idea but not what is on my mind... Hmm.'

And so for the moment, she stood in thought in the silent hallway.

 

[VlPER]

Viper had just left his hearing with the council a short time before. It was a rather turbulent affair, but he was relieved it was at least over. He had been thinking on all that was said between everyone as he walked till he nearly bumped intothe back of a padawan. Fortunately, he caught his near mistake in time and was able make it seem like nothing had happened.

It was then he realized that she hadn't noticed him either. She was just.....standing there? He raised an eyebrow wondering how long he could stand there before she realized she was being watched. Soon however, Viper thought better of the joke and decided instead to simply ask.

Clearing his throat in an attempt to capture her attention, he smiled. "Everything ok Padawan? You lost?" He asked genuinely.

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

"Nah everything is fine." She said in a light voice, walking forward and turning around, looking him over, her pencil still pushing slightly against her cheek, her age clearly young, around seventeen. She vaguely recognized him, though not quite instantly, and she looked him over again after a moment, tilting her head a bit to the side.

"Though if you don't mind me asking, are you lost yourself sir?" Seras asked with a curious tone of voice. A few moments after she asked, she believed she recognized who exactly he was and why he was familiar, but decided to not bring it up in case she was wrong.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

Viper raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "No not at all. I just came from a meeting with the council. I was....reflecting on what was said." Clearing his throat again, he pushed the meetings contents from his mind temporarily and smirked at the young woman. "And what are they teaching you padawans at this academy? This isn't the army. We don't go by sir."

His tone was good natured, and revealed he wasn't annoyed at all. "Besides. I've never really been one for titles. You can call me Viper.". He paused for a moment and then took a quick glance to actually pinpoint where he was. "I was actually about to take a walk of the grounds before leaving. How about you? Where were you heading Padawan ....?". His voice trailed off as he waited for her implied question requesting her name.

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

She raised an eyebrow at the military remark, straightening up her posture a bit and getting a serious look. "It has been drilled into me meticulously you see sir." She said, before relaxing and giggling slightly. "No. Just something i do." Seras said simply.

After hearing his name, Seras nodded. "Good to meet you Viper, i'm Seras Rose." She said with a light hearted tone of voice. "As for where i am headed... Nowhere really. Would you mind if i joined you on your walk?" She asked curiously, looking up at him.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Her slightly sarcastic sense of humor amused him. It was very similar to his own as it were. When she asked if she could join him on his walk however, he was less certain. After giving it a moments consideration he finally nodded and gestured toward the pathway ahead. "Not at all." Turning on his heels, he led the way out of the fine halls and into the refreshing greenways and park like settings arrayed round about the academy.

Her curiosity was of also interest to him. It seemed many people around her age liked to think they knew everything. It was always hard to fill a cup that was already full, as the saying went. She however, seemed to have more of an inquisitive mind though. Time would tell of course, if what he was sensing in her was accurate. But for now, he simply would enjoy the company of a young person who didn't seem to know of his recently troubled past or have a biased view against him.

"So, Seras. How long have you been here on Ossus? And who's your master?"

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

"Thanks" She said, putting her pencil up and following him through the greenways and park. When they got there she took a deep breath and sighed, enjoying the area and the fresh air. Seras has indeed a curious nature, with her own personal view on the 'full glass' idea. Though it was the opposite of most, quite literally.

"I have been here for... Eleven... Twelve years now since i came from my home planet." She said after a moment, and shrugged at the next question. "As for a master, i don't have a master yet." Seras said simply, the fact not really bothering her much. "Where are you headed if you dont mind me asking?" She asked curiously as they walked, looking around the area as they walked.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

While she spoke, Viper seemed intent on finding something once they had gone a fair distance away from the academy and into a denser part of the jungle. He gave her a backward glance when she said she still had no master. "Truly? No master yet?" He was rather surprised by this. Were there so few of us left that a padawan her age could still not attain a master, he half grumbles to himself.

Returning to his task, he suddenly drew his sabers and activated them. After slicing a few branches out of the way, and leveled several bushes, he entered a small clearing. Deactivating his sabers, he allowed a small smile to grace his face. "We're here." Viper said simply in response to her query on their destination.

The small pathway that he had carved out to this clearing years ago had obviously been retaken by nature. But the clearing itself was still there. He began to walk the perimeter of the grassy area, barely touching the tops of shrubs on the borders with an an outstretched hand. "And what planet do you call home?" He inquired as continued to look over his old secret training ground.

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

"Indeed, none." Seras said with a sigh, curiously looking around as they went deeper into the jungle, raising an eyebrow. As he turned on his lightsabers she nearly jumped, blinking a bit and then moving forward again as he started to clear a path, surprised by the sudden action. As he cut through the underbrush, she peered past him, curious what it was. As they walked insides the area she looked around in surprise, having never known the area was there.

"Home, huh?" She said, pausing for a moment. "Manaan." She said with a sad note, kneeling down and looking at a little flower at the side of the area. After a moment, she stood back up. "So... What is this place? Feels like a nice place to rest." Seras asked, looking around the area with a relaxed expression, seeing if she could tell what it was for.

 

[VlPER]

Viper's attention was caught instantly, and his head instantly snapped toward her direction. "Manaan...?" He questioned. But it was rhetorical. A couple seconds later, a saddened expression began to take over his face as his head and shoulders lowered a bit. Turning back to look at the ground, he continued. "I'm sorry for your loss." This Manaan business it would seem was going to haunt him for all eternity. He was at least thankful she didn't seem to know who he was. She'd probably think less of him if she were to realize that truth, like so many others of late had. He began to wonder if the padawans here were still allowed to watch the holonet at all. Hopefully his pardoning ceremony didn't make big news. Viper was not used to the spot light after all. He was perfectly happy doing what he could while remaining unknown to all but a few friends.

"As for this place..." He started while giving another glance around the circular clearing. "...This was my training ground when I was a padawan. I and only one other knew of its existence. And the only reason she knew of it was because she followed me one day." A small smile returned to his face as he recalled those good ol' days. "I would practice my saber techniques here in quiet. It was also were I came to calm down and meditate when something upset me. Was never really good as meditation though as Cor--- some would tell you." He said, finishing with a sort of laughing cough.

Viper quickly moved past the topic though, and went back to Seras. "So what is it that you are focusing on in training? Any particular force powers or saber techniques you are wanting to specialize in yet?"

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

"Yep." She said in a monotone voice, shrugging at his apolagy. "Its not your place to be sorry." Seras said simply, not saying anything else after that on the matter.

"Oh? Secret training ground eh?" She asked, her mood taking a 180, eyes curious and filled with various silly thoughts of adventure that quite clearly happened in the place. It was a place of secret training after all. "I have explored these jungles and never found this place..." Seras said, looking around before looking to him when he asked about training.

"Me? Lightsaber fighting. Me and the force don't work too well together... Something that always miffed my instructors. They wanted something done with the force but i would just do it without using it." She said, grinning at a few annoyed light scoldings she had gotten after repeatedly doing so. "Though on that note... I wouldn't mind trying to learn center of being. Seems practical to me. That and Ataru."

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

"Well it wouldn't be much of a secret if it was easy to find, he retorted with a chuckle. He raised a curious eyebrow at the woman. He was beginning to like her more and more. She was interesting, unlike many he dealt with this day and age. "You and the force don't work well together, hmm? Well that is definitely something we shall have to remedy. Especially if you have a desire to learn Ataru." He brought a hand up to his chin and regarded her for a moment, contemplating if he would dare teach her. He honestly saw much of himself in her. Though hopefully not to same degree for he knew he had a couple faults that always needed much effort to keep in check.

Viper spent a moment analyzing her words to see if he could teach her differently than her former instructors to help her reach her full potential. As he pondered her training and spoken failures, he decided simply doing would be the best teaching aid. It was how he learned best. Words were all well and good, but it was action that made words a reality.

Pulling off his outer robe, he cast it aside and withdrew his sabers once more. "Come. Draw you saber. Let's see what you got."

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

"True." Seras nodded, and resisting the urge to laugh at the remedying part. "It is... Though i think being able to solve problems without the force is good in its own way. But for something like this... Yeah, needed." She conceded the point. She knew that her lack of abilities there was a task to work at, and that she would need to do it sooner or later. So Seras didn't particularly mind starting on that whenever she had the opportunity to do so.

Though that did not diminish her surprise when he took out his lightsabers, grinning a bit after a moment, and taking out her single blue training saber. "Sure"

Though Seras had never went against dual lightsabers before, that wasn't going to stop her. She stepped a few paces away before activating her blue training saber, waiting for him to do the same. Her positioning was tight and good for a Padawan, and her eyes kept a careful look on his movements. This is not to say her own form and positioning was perfect, far from it, but for a masterless Padawan, Seras was pretty sharp.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

Activating his twin sabers

Spoiler

he gave a quick flourish and then brought a single blade to just in front of his face. His customary old fashioned salute before starting a spar. Not wishing to go straight at her, he instead decided to slowly close the gap while walking in a wide circle around her.

"Oh absolutely. You should never be forced to rely on the force. However, it is still a powerful tool. But tools are only useful if you practice with them." Having finished speaking, he continued his circle.

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

She mentally whistled at the sight of his lightsaber. 'Now that i like...'Seras thought, before getting her head back 'in the game'. She returned the salute, not moving herself besides slowly turning with him. When he was just a bit outside of striking range, she deliberately took a step back, and then forward, doing a wide, deliberate slash at his left side.

The maneuver screamed Shii-Cho in her deliberate movement and attack, as well as posture and the close to clumsy look the attack had. And in her eyes there was an excited spark as she swung, and a hint of something more.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

Vipers eyes danced across her form as he took in her every move, from her foot work, to where her saber was, and how she seemed to react to training itself. From what he had been able to gather, she may have a harder time in a class room meditating or studying philosophy and technique. But out here, she seemed more in her element. Indeed, that twinkle in her eye revealed a fire inside her that getting out and actually doing something could ignite.

Now her skills would definitely need work. But if she thought he might go easy on her due to the fact she was a padawan, she would be mistaken. What she also didn't know was before Viper ever came to the academy, his family had taught him the way of the sword as a sort of family tradition. What with his ancestors having been Jedi and all. But as he trained with a vibrosword at that early age, he was very familiar with the shii-cho form.

Anticipating her move when she began to bob and weave back and forth, he'd show her why it was folly to attack with such a wide slow attack against someone with two blades. Using the force to speed up his movements, when she jumped forward, he mimicked her movement at the last second and came to with a single foot or so of her. His left saber came up to easily block her strike which would have little power this close. Simultaneously, he shoved his right saber into her stomach. Only at the last possible moment did he deactivate the blade so as not to actually harm her.

He let the tip of his saber sit there for a moment as he stared into her eyes. "You're dead." His tone was suddenly very icy. He wanted to portray the seriousness of what she was practicing right away. These were not toys. And if she had been facing an enemy, she would now be one with the force.

Pushing her back slightly with his deactivated blade, a smirk finally appeared. "Lesson one. When facing an opponent with two blades. Stick to a more defensive technique till you understand how your opponent fights at the very least. Your wild slow attack left you completely unable to defend against my second blade. In this case, Center of Being or Soresu is going to be your best form choice. Everyone wants to get in the first strike. Believe me, I understand this. But the first strike does not mean you will get the first hit."

"Now. My turn to attack." He said in a much more friendly and enthusiastic tone. He stepped further away from her and reactivated his second blade once more. Once about 15 feet away from her he gave her another quick salute. A signal the fight was about to begin. At this point his circling her had put her in between him and his robe. Time to play an old favorite trick of his.

Subtly reaching out with the force, he lifted up his robe into the air and guided it toward Seras. So as to try and keep her attention on him and not her surroundings, he flourished his sabers and then force jumped at her suddenly. Just before closing the last few feet. His robe would fall on her head, blocking her vision if she hadn't been aware of it enough to get out of the way. Rather than bringing her sabers down on her head, he used his now downward momentum to initiate a quick spin, throwing his leg out hoping to sweep her right off her feet....

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

The result from the first round was not unexpected to her, and even as he stared her in the eyes after catching her saber and his tip, what she expected to happen, roughly, happened. Not quite in the say way, she expected to probably be disarmed. But among the things she expected, she never expected to be gone easy on. And that was why, when he looked into her eyes and said 'you're dead', she was not disheartened, nor angered. A bit stunned for a moment perhaps, but after that, came excitement. And as he spoke, Seras listened intently to lesson one, and then, when he was done speaking, spoke.

"I do not know either of those yet... But i know the basics of something else." She said, shifting her stance. Makashi. She stepped back as well as he did, Seras looking at him. And as he started to hover his robe, Seras didn't notice it at first, but after a moment, she did. Just a few moments before it was too late, catching it out of the corner of her eye. Seras did a fast side step, being rather agile and able to maneuver well. He would land in time to sweep her off her feet as well right after she landed, though it didn't go quite as expected perhaps. Seras went with the momentum created by being tripped, rolling back and as she got on her feet, she brought her lightsaber up to parry and thrust if he still charged forward at her after landing. Though even with that said, it was a hasty maneuver, her footing in the moment was not the best, an instant stiff offense would most certainly cause her guard to break down. And she knew that. The fact only excited her more, the spark from earlier still there, grown perhaps.

It wasn't quite like an enjoyment of the fight. It was more... Refined. Though how it was hard to tell.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

Coming out of his spin, he did indeed jump a step forward to follow her tumble. Meanwhile his sabers came slamming into her party move from the side. Even though Viper could probably have disarmed her if he kept the pressure on just a bit more, that wasn't the objective or lesson. In this case. The sabers all hissed in protest and they sat there being forced again each other.

Viper however, smirked this time and gave a quick nod before finally withdrawing his sabers. "Good." He said before falling back a couple steps. "Lesson two. Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them. Always be mindful of your surroundings. Stretch out with your feelings. A couple more seconds, and I would have had you completely." He tilted his head to the aide slightly as he regarded for for a moment more his own words. "Still, your tumble and subsequent defensive party when nearly knocked off your feet was a good response. Which brings us to the third and final lesson for the day."

As he was finishing he again took several paces back to give him some space. Closing his eyes, green veigns of electricity began to course up and down along his arms. When he opened his eyes again, the were a striking yellow! He didn't give her more than a moment to process what had just happened. Instead, he immediately hurled both his sabers away at the same time.

Viper had to concentrate for this move as it required a lot of focus and effort. Picking up speed, the sabers spun faster and faster as the flew in wide arcs around the perimeter of the clearing, quickly closing in on Seras right and left flank simultaneously. The electric judgment visibly flowing across his arms now shot out toward the padawan. What would she do now, he wondered.

[member="Seras Rose"]

 

[Seras Rose]

Seras winced slightly at the protest of the sabers being locked against each other, trying to keep up the pressure in the moment until he dis-engaged, letting out a held breath as he did. "Indeed..." She said, nodding and stepping back a few steps herself to better footing. listening carefully as she spoke. Seras had only sense the danger a moment before it was to late, but better nearly late the too late she supposed.

Seras nodded as he gave lesson two, knowing she needed to work on that area more, thus her interest in center of being. As he mentioned lesson three, she looked up curiously, and then yelped in surprised at the events that followed. Adrenaline starting pumping on her end at this point, more so then earlier. Her mind had just a bit more time to react, though whether it would be enough was the question. Though the look in her eyes said she would find a way to -make- it be enough. Around the time the lightsabers were halfway around the clearing, she started to react.

Using the force, she pulled up his cloak from earlier, and threw it at his arms. It was haphazard and fast, but she figured it would at least throw off his aim. After that, the lightsabers were close to her, and she opted to try and throw herself down under them, and then roll away. Assuming she didn't get hit by any electric judgement. Though it was still quite possible that she would take a hit from the spinning lightasbers even as she hit the ground and tried to roll away.

[member="VlPER"]

 

[VlPER]

Viper did not let up. Not for a second! He wanted her to experience fear, confusion, and shock and see what she did with it. So far she was performing admirably, but he wasn't done with her. As the robe flew into his hands, his attack of green lightning subsided. Though most of his attack went astray, a few streams of energy licked at her leg a bit. Above her head the two sabers clashes violently, but harmlessly into one another and fell to the floor.

The moment she finished her roll and managed to get a look again toward Viper, she would see him already in mid air bearing down on her position. His sabers were in the middle of being recalled to his hands. A second later, they reignited and he brought them down hard on her head, using all the momentum and force he could muster. Obviously he would disengage if she was going to fail her defense, but till he sensed that moment approaching, he'd go at her with all the ferocity of a real fight.

The straight forward attack was a ruse, however. Again at the last moment, he withdrew one saber and aimed it straight for her chest as a thrust attack while the other maintained its overhead slash attack, though now with less power.

[member="Seras Rose"]