Home Is Where the Heart Is

[Keira Priest]

Perfect was never a word that had been synonymous with Keira, even when it came to her potential death at the hands of this Sith. It seemed she tarnished expectations even then, never quite living up to all that was anticipated of her. Survival was and always would be her last and final defiance, her method of beating the odds once and for all. And so she wouldn't fall, somehow once again managing to evade her demise. Her saber was dashed from her grasp and she let it, instead bringing her focus to avoiding the blade intent on bisecting her. It was a technique she would have perhaps appreciated, had it not been utilized against her. He knew what he was doing, and to her that was an annoyance above all else.

Backwards was where she shifted, and quickly, not managing to avoid being struck entirely. The brush of that white hot fire across her side was still enough to cause her to see stars, and she stumbled slightly. Within the next few moments the hilt of her blade returned to her, ignited and alive in the next second. The next look she afforded him was less one of appraisal and more so an acknowledgement of his skill. For a second time his mettle had not been found lacking, and thereafter came the question of just how she would go about besting him. The playing field between them was level in far more ways than one, but she didn't entirely fancy determining what those other unknown facets were by rushing in blindly. And there was no time to play the long game.

Her primary attention shifted to the crimson blade he held, though to the untrained eye she would appear to be simply collecting herself after being struck by his saber. She projected her awareness forth to the inner workings of the weapon, the very machinations that allowed it to function as such a deadly thing in all of its simplicity. From the back of her mind she drew forth destruction, that which she wrought capable of causing the saber to explode violently within his grasp if the attack wasn't somehow thwarted. This was her first time actively accessing the ability, and the only attempt she would likely be able to muster given its newness to her. But the both of them knew well enough that once opportunity was sometimes all it took.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Never once did Ferus relent. As his blade carved across [member="Keira Ticon"] , the Sith let the lightning already stored within the blade rip out to burn into her form. If that wasn't enough, his assault continued. As her blade came back his struck down, aiming to slam into her blade just as her grip would form. All to knock it from her grasp once again. But her focus was on the blade in his right hand, something he didn't notice. Instead, his left hand came around. Force swelled in his knuckles, the hand would fly out in a quick punch for her throat.

That wasn't the bad side of this however. If connected, the Force he let swell would release in a sudden and powerful burst, meant to possibly crush her throat with it's impact. He wasn't holding back, and he wasn't going to simply let her get away. No, this gap he had closed would remain closed unless she did something about it.

 

[Keira Priest]

The lightning he threw was caught with her blade, and Keira allowed its energy to replenish some of her own, the thrill of the Dark Side humming across every nerve ending. Oh, she was close to relinquishing all self-control, demolishing the barriers that separated her from those like the Sith. But those were what made her human, and to give them up would be to surrender the last of her skewed morality. And she wasn't quite ready to do that yet. His blade would be met with a block, the added strength of her cybernetic arm the one thing that truly saved her. The punch was, well, it was different. And something all of her instincts screamed at her to avoid. The best she could manage was a telekinetic barrier that barely held up, the sheer force behind the punch driving her back more than a few feet.

Without wasting any momentum she turned and swung her blade in a downward slash, not attempting to make contact and instead releasing the last of the pent up energy from his lightning in that one cut, it not being as exceptionally powerful as his initial attack was due to her drawing her own power from it. Again her concentration narrowed to his blade, and she put that destructive twist into doing her best to cause the weapon to become useless in a shower of sparks, combusting seemingly without any outside influence. If all went well he would be left without any defense in the form of a bladed weapon, or so she liked to think. It was her own attempt at driving him back at least temporarily, forcing him to stand down so she could regain an upper hand. Stay down, damn you.

[member="Darth Ferus"]