Bring on the Third

[Caid Centurion]

Centurion Estate Ruins
Lake Country, Naboo

Caid stood motionless in the tall, wild grass. The environment had mostly overrun the ruins of the sweeping estate which belonged to his father centuries ago. Caid liked the planet of Naboo, it was mostly unmolested by the several battles that had been fought on its surface. At least, that assumed you stayed away from the larger cities.

To Caid, the ruins of the former sweeping edifice spoke to the coming and going of the ages. Then again, few people knew that Cameron enacted an estate on Naboo simply because it was the nicest planet he could find far away from his Empire. Here he brought the likes of Kari Pujas and seduced Lisa Antares. His father accomplished so much but failed to put any last legacy in place...relying on his plethora of spawn to carry forward his name. Even though...the only ones carrying on his name to this day other than Caid were Caid's half-sisters, Cosette and Gemma. The former Caid had never met, and the latter sequestered on Leritor with the rest of the Cavataio side of his family.

The approach of a presence scratched at the back of his mind. Turning from the scene before him, silver-green eyes looked to the horizon. The Sith Lord had asked his newest apprentice to convey these coordinates to her brother. When the man arrived, it would round out the number of Lechners to whom Caid had offered training.

"Little wolf is lucky I like her..." The more accurate word was probably respect.

[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Naboo Lake Country was a world of its own. Gerwald could have wished for more forest, though there was still plenty of it that his wolf would be content. An offer had come for training from a source that seemed unlikely at the start. It seemed Alwine had been under the guidance of this man, and she had arranged training for her brothers as well. It had not been until after meeting the man that Gerwald finally agreed to meeting the Sith Lord. It wasn’t that Gerwald had been disinterested, he just had remained secluded for the most part since he had made a massive mess of things.

The scenery provided something of an object lesson for the Lupine. Even something broken could be beautiful. He knew it was time to pull his head out the self pitty and move on.

Gerwald didn’t know what to expect, so he was dressed in rather loose clothing. Track pants and an unzipped hoodie were all he had, and of course the minute his feet had hit the grass they were bare. There was nothing like cool grass between the toes. His shoes were carried in had in case they would be needed, and likely would be. Gerwald had some training, enough to know that the basics of telekenisis were not a thing they needed to work on. Scherezade had already helped him with some things.

“She is her own person, and has a way of getting what she wants.”

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid offered little more than a snort of derision in response to the man's statement. Like most males of his family, Caid refused to believe he could be swayed by any female. Also like most males of his family, Caid was typically wrong. His father had been that way because he always had an ulterior motive. That motive generally resulted in the birth of numerous children, children that were almost always eventually killed for failure to perform. Caid's particular complex was a desire to develop bonds of friendship or cooperative respect. In short, he felt that doing favors for others would yield favors for himself in the long run. This outlook was probably, no definitely, a bit naive, but it was an invariably a lesson that Caid would have to learn the hard way.

As for Caid's other living male relatives, he didn't know them, but they suffered from a general disbelief in the capability of most women and the other a simple lack of familiarity. Certainly, to whom each personality belonged would become clear inside of five seconds of interaction.

"She has a way of overstepping and ending up in a Bacta Tank for a half day, as well," came the immediate retort to Gerwald's statement. There was neither malice nor judgment in Caid's words, just a simple statement of fact. "It is good to see you again, Gerwald. I'm sure your time is as precious as my own. So..."

With a motion of his left hand, he sent a stick that had been on the ground, mostly masked in the relatively tall grass, straight towards Gerwald's body. The motion of the stick was not overly fast, but it certainly wasn't a casual toss. At the same time, a second stick rocketed straight up into Caid's right hand. Holding the would-be weapon casually by his side, Caid motioned with his left hand for Gerwald to advance and attack. "...let's see where you're currently at."

[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald nodded.

"She is free from a backwater culture and mother that suppressed her. There was also that incident where she set fire to things after I left. I'm not surprised she over steps. She is fierce though, and has the true heart of a warrior."

Caid seemed to be wasting no amount of time in assessing where Gerwald was at. The man tossed a stick to him, which he slowed with the force, and reached out to take it from the air. If he wanted to see what Gerwald already knew, then he was going to have to give the man a taste of what Scherezade taught him. She was the only one thus far that had invested any training in him aside from his years as a warrior for Stewjon.

The motion was given for Gerwald to advance and attack. He hated these exercises because the first person to move was always the one to be humiliated usually. However, they were a necessity. Gerwald advanced, holding the stick in both hands as he would the large broadsword he was used to carrying. With a massive amount of strength and force, Gerwald brought the blade crossing from Caid's left shoulder to his right hip. He anticipated the attack being stopped, but he would follow through regardless. Hesitation meant death.

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

There was no response from the Sith with regard to Gerwald's sister. Naturally, the man knew his sister well enough and did not need any further input from Caid. Similarly, Caid preferred to focus on the task at hand. Alwine was a very promising student, and she learned at a rate that Caid, truthfully, never seemed to expect or anticipate. As such, he would do the woman this favor.

As Gerwald pressed home his attack, the Sith Lord remained largely motionless. It wasn't necessarily the first to strike that ended up embarrassed. That was not the point of this lesson, the same lesson he had taught Alwine first. Rather than raise his stick into any sort of a defensive position, Caid kept it harmlessly hanging by his side.

Rather than rely on any amount of strength or martial prowess, Caid allowed the Force to flow through him. His mind and eyes absorbed the energy and allowed it to whisper and show him images of events just before they happened. The result was, as always, the appearance of highly tuned reflexes. Gerwald's strike would find nothing but empty air. Since he followed through with all of his strength, the Lupine would probably stumble.

"Brute strength is good but nothing when compared with the strength of the Force." Caid paused for only a moment. "Allow it to work through you, to speak to you. Strike where I will be, not where I am." It was much easier said than done, but Caid purposefully muted his own speed to give the man a chance to learn. The information would become useful when Caid moved onto the offensive.

[member="Gerwald Lechner"]