Do Your Worst (Keira Ticon)

[Sage Bane]

At Keira's question, he gave her an affirmative nod. "I did quite a bit of acrobatics when I was a boy," he explained. "When I fought..." he stopped, the memory clearly painful. "On Nal Hutta." Then he shrugged.

"It's been a while since I did those kinds of moves, but I think I could pick them up again easily. You saw a bit of it when we dueled before. That flying kick."

Sage did not enjoy having a pretty girl see him in his debilitated state. It wasn't so bad when he was on Ession with Rexus and his sister, but here, his vanity reared its ugly head. Giving Keira an embarrassed smirk, Sage turned away and took a few more moments to clear out his lungs. Then he took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and sprinted around the room. Again the room and everything in it slowed down around him as he sped up. He could plainly see the advantage of the power, how one could use it to dodge or attack right under the nose of one's opponent. It was an exhilarating feeling and he couldn't wait to try it in combat.

Winded again, he slowed his sprint to a walk and then doubled over, his face wincing in pain. Perhaps it was time for another trip to the Jedi healer.

"I think I have a handle on it now," the young man sputtered.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

The rate at which he'd picked up on the ability only showed her his willingness to learn, which would make all of this that much easier. The comments Keira could handle, as long as he kept up this pace. And even those were beginning to become more and more infrequent as their time together wore on. Either he was developing some kind of respect, or was too winded to worry about much else. It didn't much matter to her, because she would take it either way. "You're going to want to keep working on it. The only way to make sure you won't slip up when it's time to use it is to practice. I'm probably starting to sound like a broken holo, but it's true." She smirked. "Besides, last I checked you don't mind just standing there and listening to me talk."

Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she was impressed with the skill in acrobatics he'd shown earlier, even if it was just a kick. Most didn't have even that under their belt, and it was better than starting from nothing. That would make things easier, at least in theory, for him to grasp the finer concepts, including handling a lightsaber while in the air and using twists and flips to better maneuver around one's opponent, striking from unexpected angles. "What more do you know, besides the kick? We'll likely start with the basics, anyhow." The form focused heavily on use of the Force, so the fact that he'd taken so quickly to harnessing the energy within his body and expelling it in a controlled burst to augment his speed was a good thing.

Stepping to stand beside him she offered a hand, an unspoken kindness. They would need some kind of mutual respect, even if it was just the little things and no more. "Try and walk it off, instead of just stopping. I know it hurts, but it's going to hurt worse unless you pace yourself. And trust me, when it comes to Ataru, you're going to want to pace yourself." She flashed what could be called a friendly smile.

"And the flips don't make the form. You can jump around all you want with the aid of the Force, but it's that and connectivity of the attacks that truly make Ataru what it is. It's an aggressive style, but there's an elegancy there as well. Don't lose it with the brutality. This is an art just as much as anything else. It would be ideal if you were able to observe it in use against an opponent, but we don't quite have that luxury. So we'll have to work past it. I don't think you'll have a problem with a bit of improvisation."

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

Sage’s eyes regarded Keira suspiciously. She was being awfully nice to him. Too nice to him. It had to be some kind of trick. When she offered her hand, his hand first moved instinctively to the pommel of his training saber. Then when it seemed that no surprise attack was imminent, he put his hand in hers and left it there while he finished recovering his breath. Once he could breath without coughing, he lifted his head to look at her.

“I’ll show you some of the other things I know,” he said, with an amused glint in his eye, then quickly added. “And get your mind out of the gutter, Miss Ticon.”

Sage backed up a few paces, bent his knees, and using his leg muscles to get some height, performed a backflip kick. Anyone standing in the firing line of his kick would have been sent flying backwards. He stuck the landing and followed his kick with cartwheel forward, ending up right in front of Keira again.

“Not bad for a glit-biting funtihruo huh?”

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

It was obvious he distrusted her and wasn't hesitant to display it, something Keira couldn't fault him for. In the end it was always better to be overly cautious and survive than too naive and trusting and die an early death out of consequence. Given that her daily life was spent surrounded by criminals of every sort, many of them not belonging to the Ravens or any cohesive group, it was something she'd picked up on quickly. Hopefully he'd have the same versatility, or there would be a number of missteps in his future. But she couldn't imagine him suffering any pitfalls, given his already cynical attitude.

Little work would be necessary in that area, for the moment. It was a wonder whomever was training him hadn't already made the choice to begin some type of introduction into the form. With his natural ability it was the first logical step in her eyes. Now it fell to her to teach where the Jedi had apparently failed. "I don't think it's me that has to get my mind out of the gutter. If you'll recall, you were the one that wanted help holding your saber. Do you not get enough practice by yourself every night?" It really was too much fun, getting under his skin. But it wasn't exactly her fault, in her eyes, given how easy it was.

"Not too bad at all. You've already recognized that your entire body is a weapon, which puts you ahead of most. Never rely solely on your lightsaber or any other armament, because those are temporary." She was one to talk, given that her skills in hand-to-hand combat could use a bit of work. "But a few flips will only get you so far. You'll need to use those in conjunction with whatever weaponry on your person to deal the most damage. There are formal techniques that can be utilized, and we can move on to those next if you so wish. But improvisation is going to be your focus. Everyone can see a scripted attack coming."

Once more she palmed and ignited her saber, spinning the blade once. "Let's practice."

[member="Sage Bane"]