Private Do It For Her

[Alicio Organa]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT
​

Padding slowly up the massive steps of the Jedi Temple, Alicio couldn't help but feel like an outsider.

The prim Alderaanian senator was usually seen in drab dress clothes and capes, but today, he wore a simple black turtleneck, and breathable workout clothes underneath. His cane tapped gently along the tan stone steps of the temple the hilt concealing his lightsaber. In his other hand, he toted a parcel, wrapped in cloth. The Count definitely stood out among the browns, blues, and whites of the NJO.

Alicio had been inside the temple twice already. Once, at the gala not long ago, and before that, on his date with Amani Serys . Despite Amani's insistence to the contrary, the Count felt out of place in the complex. It was just so massive, and there was a culture here that he simply wasn't a part of. But he liked the Jedi (loved one, in particular), so he could stomach the mild alienation.

Alicio hesitated at the threshold to the temple, casting his eyes around. It was for Amani that he was here today. During their date, she'd revealed that she worried for his safety. Senators were in constant danger these days, not to mention Alicio's predilection for leaping into harm's way for others. They had gone through a few drills that day, and Alicio had promised that he would continue to learn how to better protect himself.

So he reached out to another friend among the Jedi, and she agreed to help. Iris' training saved his life on Empress Teta. And he'd noticed her having a hard time at the gala.

Hence the mysterious package held under an arm.

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Stress. Stress was constant these days. War looming around every corner, her dreams. Everything that happened with Ara Sheridan . Iris was in one of the refurbished training rooms, cross legged. Eyes closed. She was doing her best to meditate, but that wasn't something she could even do now. So many thoughts crossed her mind whenever she closed her eyes. Flashes of images.

Flashes of that damned nightmare.

The training equipment that had started to shake ceased as she let out a breath and opened her eyes. Her stress was even messing with objects around her, though she seemed none the wiser. Rather than dwell on her problems sleeping, though, she offered a tired smile to the door as it opened.

"Hey, Alicio."

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Stepping quietly into the training room, Alicio immediately picked up on Iris' fatigue.

Sure, he could sense it through the Force. He could taste the imbalance within her, as if something heavy were on her mind. But mostly, he could see it on her face. The strained lines. The dark spots under her eyes. The stress in her voice.

"Hello, Iris." Alicio smiled back at the young Jedi, leaning his cane against the wall as he entered the room, sitting cross-legged next to her. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought something for us."

The senator passed along the cloth-wrapped item. "I was trying out a new recipe for cinnamon bread. Got ingredients shipped from Alderaan for it and everything." Inside the parcel was a slightly misshapen loaf of rich, brown, swirl-patterned bread. It didn't look pretty, but the smell was divine, as if it had just come out of the oven. "I wanted to thank you. For helping me out back in New Aldera, and today."

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked in surprise at the package. The smell. Bread? Cinnamon. The Padawan smiled bright as she pretty much immediately took a bite. Ah, hunger. She'd been forgetting to eat as much as she should've with everything going on. Well, no. Not at all. Valery Noble put her on as strict of a diet as she put Silas Westgard . Even now it showed. Iris was stronger. More muscle, more definition.

"Ahhh. It's good!" She took another bite, humming her delight. Not even noticing his thanks until she swallowed the second bite a couple moments later. Then she blinked. And smiled.

"It's the least I can do as a Jedi. Let alone someone dating Amani. And y'know. We're friends."

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio couldn't help but grin a little proudly as Iris dug into his gift. He was no experienced gourmet, but baking was a new hobby he was starting. He enjoyed giving people things, and everyone enjoyed food, ergo...

"It's the least I can do as a Jedi. Let alone someone dating Amani. And y'know. We're friends."

"Of course," the Count returned, patting some wrinkles from his clothes. "But I can still be thankful, anyways."

Alicio leaned in conspiratorially. "And... between you and me, I want to make it for Amani, but I needed you to taste test it for me first. Just in case I turned out to be the worst baker ever, y'know?" Even just saying her name brought a full-faced smile to his features. It was obvious he'd fallen hard.

After having sufficiently softened up Iris with baked goods, Alicio's face grew a touch more compassionate, as he thought of the events of the gala. "How have you been, Iris?"

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

She was the test dummy? Iris raised a brow, even pouted. But the pout didn't really last too long as she ended up taking another bite right away. It was good, there was no denying that. And then the colors. She actually laughed. There was no hiding the affection either of them felt for each other, huh? "It's nice to see you two so in love." Yeah, she said it. Out right and without hesitation.

"I- I'm okay. Tired, mostly. But I'm okay."

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Iris' reaction to being his confectionary test subject brought a sly grin to Alicio's face. Obviously, he wouldn't have brought the bread if it was a disaster. But her face at his joke was amusing enough.

Though Alicio was quickly taken aback by Iris' blatant evaluation of his feelings. He hadn't even told Amani he loved her yet, nor she him. It seemed like an important step, one that, vocally, at least, they hadn't taken. Though his surprise shifted quickly to muted contentment. "It's nice to be in love, I suppose," he noted, lacing his fingers together as he shared a private smile with himself.

Alicio shifted the topic to Iris herself, and her answer told him all he needed to know. He knew the 'I'm tired' deflection strategy like the back of his hand- it was the excuse he made when he was stressed and overwhelmed. The Count peered at the padawan, contemplative.

"Well, whatever it is that's making you tired, you have plenty of people who you can talk to about it. Myself among them." His grey eyes shined like riverstones. "If you want a non-Jedi perspective. Or... another loaf of bread. I can make at least one more kind."

He smiled softly. "Two, if you're brave."

"So... Is there anything I can help with, or should we just get started?"

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Ah yeah that was an excuse he probably used before, huh? Iris let out a nervous laugh as he pretty clearly caught on. But.. To tell him? She only barely told Ara what was going on, and her friend already had her own problems that.. No. Iris couldn't burden anyone else. Not with how joyful he seemed to be. ".. Two loaves. That sounds good."

She nodded. Yeah. Bread, she could focus on that.

"I can't think of anything, so why don't we start?"

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio stared at Iris for a moment longer, wishing he had her level of perception. But his taste couldn't sense the feelings of others as well as her sight could. He knew there was something behind her mask, but he couldn't peer deep enough to see what it was.

As her friend, though, it wasn't his job to pry. It was his job to be there, if she decided to open up.

"Alright then," he said, standing smoothly, and discarding his turtleneck to the side. The Count acquired his cane, quickly producing his lightsaber from it's confines.

"I've got a trick I've been trying to develop, that I wanted your opinion on. Figure the best way to explain is to show you." Alicio lit his lightsaber, finding a razor-thin smile.

It was time to see how far he'd come since last dueling the Artist.

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris nodded once. Sometimes it was just best to show, than tell. She pulled out her own blade, igniting the silent, nonlethal edge. And a second saber. Unlike the first, this one was just a simple training saber. She hadn't had the chance to craft her second blade, but given this was training, well. She flicked both blades up in an x before holding them down y her sides. Classic Makashi, as always.

"Show me, then."

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio nodded, adjusting the dial on his lightsaber to a non-lethal setting as well, before flicking Iris his own Makashi Salute. The second blade was new- obviously, he wasn't the only one training hard these days.

She asked him to show her. He only nodded once, setting his stance.

This time, it was Alicio who was the aggressor, Taking a series of stutter-steps forward, the Count launched into a pretty basic Form II pattern, consisting of short cuts and stabs, trying to set the tempo of the duel. Since their first meeting, he had definitely improved; thanks to his dilligent training, his attacks were faster, his guard better. But that wasn't the trick.

This was.

Alicio slashed sideways with Introspect, uncharacteristic of his usually-tight fighting style. But before the strike could be met by Iris' lightsaber, he focused on the Force. On the connection, between his crystal and him.

And he used telekinesis to barely shunt the blade up by a few inches. Keeping all it's momentum, but hopefully landing on an awkward part of the padawan's lightsaber, somewhere she wasn't ready to block.

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris was quick to flick her blade up, ready to parry. Strike his blade to knock it off course so she could slip her other blade right for in in the same moment. And yet, the moment her blade struck his, she realized something was off. The colors shifted and changed. Rather than strike back against Alicio, her second blade caught the back of her first to give it some strength in a block instead of a parry.

She grinned all the same. It was small and subtle, but the shift in his blade was enough to throw her completely out of whack.

Iris slipped back, sliding away from Alicio to make room to recover. Reset.

".. Clever. I'll keep that in mind, huh."

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio managed to catch the shorter duelist off-guard with his strike. A flash of success burnt across his body, as Iris was forced to back off and regroup.

"I don't know if it's practical in a fight, it takes a bit of concentration..." Maybe if he continued to develop it, the style would get easier. Until then, he'd just keep working on his trick. "Using the Force in a duel is... trickier than I thought it'd be."

Content with sharing his new attack, Alicio settled back into the classic Form III stance, blade held high overhead, offhand beckoning Iris forward, as if to say 'come at me'. He promised to work on his defense, after all. But not before shooting one last question at the Jedi.

"You're fighting with two? Since when?"

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

"It's difficult to focus on, but once you realize it's as much of a part of you as your arm, it'll be no more difficult than swinging it." Iris recentered herself as she spoke, lifting her two blades. One overhead, almost like Alicio's own. The other in front of her. A more classical Jar'kai stance. ".. Since Master Noble said it might be something worth learning. Makashi lends itself well to using two blades, I've seen."

Then she took off. Rushing forward in a burst of speed, just like before. The first time. She was going to push him, she determined that much the moment he arrived. If he wanted to survive, he needed to be better than her. Less he end up just as scarred. With her eyes narrowed in focus she struck out. One blade after the other. Light, quick cuts aimed for different parts of the body, alternating the weapons. Getting into a rhythm of slashes.

To get him comfortable. The moment he seemed to follow along she switched it up, immediately cutting with both blades at the same time. One low, the other high.

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio shot the shorter padawan a 'fair enough' expression, before returning to his opening stance. Manifesting the Force physically was still difficult for him. But at least it didn't press across his body, squeezing his heart with every application anymore. He was getting stronger. Slowly but surely.

Taking off like a rocket, the Count found himself fighting to keep up with Iris' tempo. He struggled to keep track of both blades, swinging Introspect in wide arcs to catch them. Peeking into the immediate future didn't help much when his muscles had difficulty keeping up.

Just as he was getting into the flow, Iris switched it up, striking two places at once. Alicio, with not enough time to dodge, and only one lightsaber of his own, couldn't stop Iris' cold-energy blade from passing through his calf, shooting pins and needles up his leg. The senator fell to a knee, his clever footwork rendered useless in one fell swoop.

"How do... you even... block that...?" Alicio kept up his guard, as he got back to his feet, determined to continue the bout.

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris slipped back, bringing her blades up again in a similar posture as before. Watching, waiting. Letting Alicio get back on his feet on his own time. She knew what the crystal could do, how long it might last. Then, she shrugged.

"Don't. Find a way to dodge, or counter."

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

As he clambered back to his feet, Alicio tested his leg. Slowly, but surely, feeling returned to the appendage, pins and needles returning to flesh and bone.

Alicio narrowed his eyes in thought at Iris' response. He'd been trying to use Form III. Keeping his feet solid on the ground. But maybe he had to play to his strengths a little more. Keep up the dance.

"I see," he conceded, returning to a neutral stance, before slowly stepping towards Iris. He returned to a more tight, conservative style, bobbing and weaving and spinning through attacks more than blocking them. He launched into a series of precise stabs, aiming for any stray limbs Iris failed to defend, leaning once more on his excellent footwork.

If he managed to outlast the Jedi, maybe he could find something to exploit.

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Parry, strike.

That was the core of what Iris wanted to accomplish with her two blades. Putting that in action was still something difficult. The fast series of stabs had her more deflecting than anything else. Alternating between blades to knock his stab off to the side. And when she went to strike out with the opposite, he was already there, stabbing for her again. Her eyes narrowed further in focus. At least like this she could defend herself.

But it'd just be an endless trade, neither gaining any ground.

So she took a chance. When the stab came, she brought her blade out. Knocking his aside in a swift parry while the other stabbed out. Not bothering for a continued defense in a hopes her second blade was quicker.

Alicio Organa

 

[Alicio Organa]

The back and forth was certainly more impressive than their first.

Alicio managed to force Iris on defense this time, not able to break through her doubled guard, but leaving her unable to attack back. His jaw set in determination; this time, it was a difficult balance, trying to keep up the pressure, while also making sure he didn't overextend. Either she whittled him down, piece by piece, or one of them tripped up.

Which, thankfully, she was the first to do.

Alicio grinned as the future played out behind his eyes. He was ready for when Iris batted away his stab, and riposted with a stab of her own. Using the momentum of her block, the Count spun to the side, narrowly dodging her second lightsaber, and placing him to Iris' now-exposed back.

Which he attempted to lightly rap with the tip of his blade.

- Iris Arani -

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked. She moved, turning to try and keep up. She hadn't expected him to just move past her. Too much of a split focus. She ended up just stopping completely as she felt the tap on her back. And frowned. ".. You've gotten better, at least." She lowered her blades, letting out a sigh. Alright, trying to split her focus between her blades and his was complicated.

Too complicated, maybe?

She slid back, lifting her blades as she faced him once more.

"Again."

Alicio Organa