Let's Get Down to Business

[Zesiro]

Knowing she was still learning, when Sol came in to correct her errors, Zesiro listened to what he had to say. Like Mirax, she didn't know everything. A little more than the other woman, but not much more than the basics. Having gone through the first Form over the course of the morning, Zesiro looked up when their master approached with lunch for them.

Seeing the grin on Mirax's face, she couldn't help but smile a little. So far the day had gone well and neither one of the women wanted the other dead, hurt or put out of commission. Having learned a lesson on jealousy before, Zesiro wasn't going to repeat that mistake. A master could train as many as he or she wanted and probably knew how many they could handle.

Taking the food and drink thankfully from Sol, she took a seat on the ground and started eating.

"Thank you. Glad you remembered it was your turn, Master. Do you want us to continue this through the afternoon or is there something else planned?"

He had mentioned Force ​training and that was something she lacked at almost the same level as saber training.

[member="Mirax Eygan"] [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Settling back down on the rock he'd moved the edge of the training circle for that purpose Sol chews on his sandwich. One of these days he'd have students that remember the things he said. Maybe not today but one of these days. "So far as I saw Mirax only made it through the first four katas. Keep up with the saber training for the rest of the day until it's time for meditation. Like I said earlier tomorrow we will switch to Force training in the afternoon sabers in the morning, but it's important she learn the basics today or tomorrow so she can pick her form and I can teach her it." Or well, as much as he knew. He was only really a master of Soresu and to an extent Vapaad but mastering the latter was difficult and he would only generously say he had mastered it.

 

[Mirax Eygan]

There was something about intensive exercise that always stimulated hunger in people, Mirax thought as she finally took a respite from the katas that had been assigned to her for training. Zesiro was a good teacher whether she realized it or not; she had allowed the Lorrdian to proceed at her own pace but never once admonished her for anything, even though Mirax' moves were far from perfect. Still, it was only day one, the young woman reminded herself as she took a seat across from her blonde companion. She would get better with time and practice - and determination - which Mirax seemed to hone in wild abundance.

As for the day thus far, she had not accomplished everything she wanted, but the Lorrdian knew how to exercise patience. Without it, most things would end in futility or humiliation, or both. Taking some time to eat and replenish her energy, Mirax listened to Sol quietly and carefully, nodding once at the end, in acknowledgment of the man's words.

After lunch, she would resume the katas once more and then, finish off the session with meditation which she was already familiar with. Tomorrow, her Force training would resume - Mirax thought quietly and with muted excitement - and hopefully soon, she would start feeling more at home with the physical demands of the lightsaber practice, as well.

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[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Zesiro]

The question had been asked more out of hope than her forgetting his instructions, but he was a stick in the mud on the matter and the katas would continue through the afternoon. Zesiro wondered what Form the other woman would pick. Once that was decided, they would continue with the basics for practice and then maybe actually be able to spar a little.

What she would do when Sol was going further into the chosen Form, Zesiro didn't know. Time would tell on that.

Having to feed more than herself now, Zesiro had planned ahead a little and started dinner in the morning for herself and Mirax. Looking forward to the end of the day, she finished lunch and stood up. Dusting off the seat of her pants, she picked up her saber again and moved off to continue running through the Form katas when Mirax was ready.

As she had in the morning, she ran through the katas of the forms and corrected stance or hold. Nothing big and nothing done in irritation or anger. Her time in hiding here had changed her and she was certainly more adult than she had been when she got to Kesh.

[member="Mirax Eygan"] [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

By the end of the day, Mirax had the seven basic Katas down. Not perfected, but the essential movements memorized. Sol explained her responsibilities in regards to her training on her own time. Wake up early, exercise, practice the katas, and be at the training circle by the crack of dawn. It was a hard and intensive schedule but one that was necessary for improvement. While he didn't think the Jedi had everything right he did think discipline, especially self-discipline was important.

They would be getting into Force lessons today but the first step was morning saber training. He was of the opinion it was best to get the physical aspects of training done in the morning leaving the afternoon and evening to the less physically intensive Force training. Mostly because the meditation helped relax the body and speed up recovery for the following days physical training.

"Alright Mirax, which style do you want to focus on?"

Sol asks when the two women arrive at the training circle. Presumably already sweaty and warm from their early morning jog and kata practice. At least, they better be unless they wanted to face Sol's scowling disapproval. Which was just his normal expression but more judgemental.

[member="Mirax Eygan"] | [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Mirax Eygan]

It was not easy, Mirax thought, trying to narrow down her focus. Sol wanted her to make an important decision and it was quite ridiculous, that she should have second, third, even fourth thoughts about the thing! Or . . . was it? Lightsaber combat. She had just barely scraped the surface and now - Sol was asking her to make a decision regardin what style she should want to focus on?

Why do you ask me this, Sol? When you know very well that I am not ready--

"Shien."

The words fell from her lips as if they were waiting to be uttered, all this time.

"Teach me ... Shien."

The Perseverance form. The Way of the Krayt Dragon.

Mirax felt the sweat and heat ebb away from her as she met Sol Damerin's eyes head on.She would not back off in her decision, even if the man thought he was not the right teacher for the job.

"Safety is a flexible concept. I wish to make it more . . . durable."

Tenacious gaze focused upon his, lingering. Tenacious.

"Please."


​---------------------------------
[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Zesiro]

When they got home the night before, dinner was served and conversation of the day happened. Questions were asked and answered from both of them. Mirax would learn from Zesiro that even she has her own learning to do both as a fighter and a Force user. The evening passed stress free and more relaxed than the first. Waking up before dawn that morning, she work her roommate up to run through the katas and lead her to the practice area.

Her turn to bring lunch so she lugged along enough to feed the three of them and still got dinner set up to be ready when they got home.

Arriving, she set the basket down and listened to Sol as he asked which Form Mirax wanted to learn the most. The answer came on its own apparently and she nodded. With Mirax learning it, she would as well, she hoped and incorporate all of it together.

"As time passes, we can learn more. I'm sure."

[member="Mirax Eygan"] [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

If Mirax was expecting Sol to challenge or berate her for her choice she would be disappointed. He just nods and shrugs. "Solid choice." Is his only comment, Shien was an excellent style as it combined defense and offense well. Not perfect but certainly effective. So he spends the morning first having them run through the basic form katas again. Then he turns Zes loose to practice the advanced Ateru katas alone. While she is doing that Sol spends the morning demonstrating and teaching Mirax the advanced Shien katas that he knows.

Once lunchtime rolls around he calls for a break to eat and then finally it is time for more Force training. For Mirax Sol has settled on the classic training to hone Force sense, since that is the best place to start. So she gets a helmet with a site blocking visor and he pulls out a freshly purchased training droid. "What you want to do is similar to what you do when you meditate." He explains to her as she straps the helmet on. "Reach out with your senses feel the droids presence, feel the danger, react to it. Trust in The Force and it will guide you."

For Zes the training isn't as nice. She still needed to learn how to create a Force shield to defend herself against other Force users during a fight. Which meant he was going to be using the Force to throw her around until she figured out how to stop him. "Reach out to The Force, let it wrap around you. When you feel my influence on The Force pressing against yours resist it." He explains as he steals her lightsaber with The Force, combining sparring with the training. While his main focus seemed to be on Zes at first glance, he wasn't neglecting Mirax since he regularly called out advice to her, apparently, he was perfectly capable of paying attention to both of them.

[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Mirax Eygan"]

 

[Mirax Eygan]

Mirax did not expect Sol to be either berate or challenge her choice; she merely watched the man's face for any type of grimace or slightest twitch to see if her answer pleased him. As usual,he responded with the minimum body language, his acceptance solidified in two words. The young woman smiled, happy enough with that. And then she dove straight into the katas as he showed them to be. As she cast a quick sideways glance to her blonde companion, Mirax saw that Zesiro too, was practicing with a lightsaber - but the katas were different - the movements far swifter and more agile than her own.

Must be a different fighting style, Mirax thought - and turned her attention back to her exercises.

Sol Damerin seemed tireless in his tutelage and for a man his age, his stamina was rather admirable. He shows no signs of slowing down or even having to catch his breath, the young woman thought. I wonder if I will develop a similar strength and vigor, if I keep training the way he does . . .

When the morning was over, her training exercises had changed. Sol wanted her to practice with a training remote, dodging and blocking its stun coils as it hovered about Mirax in a frenzy of seemingly unpredictable movements. She did her best, but unlike the katas, where there was no opponent and therefore no way to take damage - Mirax quickly found out that she needed to be faster and far more attuned to the Force to prevent getting zapped by a feisty training droid. Amidst her mutterings and muted exclamations, the Lorrdian did finally manage to block several shots in a row - but they did come at a price. Because she was not able to concentrate on the Force at the very beginning of the exercise - Mirax was already tingling and numb in several places on her body when her mind finally melded with the Force which in turn had allowed her to anticipate incoming attacks more easily.

"Really, this helmet is a nuisance. Couldn't we have started without it, and then progressed me toward total blindness, like . . . gradually, maybe?"

The complaint came across loud and clear, and as soon as she had uttered the words, Mirax saw herself as a spoiled child, not getting her way. She hung her head immediately and bowed, "Apologies, master. I am just not used to doing so much, so fast."


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[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Zesiro]

The morning was rather boring, but she did what she was supposed to do and ran through her own katas. What she really wanted to do was learn alongside Mirax and combine the Forms. More knowledge was desired by her, but Zesiro knew she should master her Form first before looking at the others.

When lunch was called, she passed out the food and drink she had brought along.

"Anything you want to eat when it's our turn to bring lunch again, Mirax?"

In an attempt to make a ​small amount of conversation while eating, it was a simple question.

After lunch, they got back to their exercises again and she dreaded what was going to happen to her. Not the same training that had happened with the saber forms and the sparring they had done when he was teaching her, he now started basically pushing her around. Sol's first move was to take her saber away and in reality that just brought a shrug from her. She didn't need it for this training.

Landing a few times on her rear end, Zesiro was finally able to remain standing upright, even if she was getting buffeted around slightly. When she lost her focus, she again found herself on her rear end and dirty look shot in his direction. No heat or anger involved though.

It was basically the reverse of the stasis she first learned under her second master. She needed to hold herself instead of the other person.

[member="Mirax Eygan"] [member="Sol Damerin"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

"So fast?"

Sol asks Mirax as he repeatedly pummels Zes's shield with The Force. His attacks constantly varied in intensity and direction, always searching for weaknesses and cracks within her shield. For the moment his goal was simply having her able to maintain a shield with focus. Once she got that down he'd have her start running obstacle courses or sparring so she could learn hot to maintain it all the time.

"I had you practicing your meditation for the week it took us to travel here. Learning how to apply those techniques to defend yourself is the next step."

Lashing out with The Force he barrels Zes over, once again sending her onto her butt. At this point, it should be fairly apparent to both his students that he knew what he was talking about. His ability to multitask, and to know when they were slacking off even without looking, could only be chalked up to an increased awareness thanks to The Force. So they had at least chosen someone competent to teach them. It also helped that he never got upset, or impatient, he could seemingly explain the same things or go through the same motions a thousand times without ever getting annoyed. Maybe that was just due to his natural stony disposition.

[member="Mirax Eygan"] | [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Mirax Eygan]

Looking to Zesiro, Mirax grinned broadly. "I was thinking maybe some fruit and a seafood salad, perhaps? That is, if fish is easily obtained here. I would prefer not to catch it ourselves as that would take time and may cause us to go hungry as..." she blushed furiously just then: "I don't know how to fish." In truth, she had never done it.

And then Sol's response came.

"So fast?"

She watched him pummel Zesiros' shield with the Force, his attacks varying in intensity and direction. Did the man ever show a crack of weakness, even with his padawans? Not likely. Mirax's face fell.

"So I'm not even close to what you imagined, am I, master Damerin?"

She watched him barrel Zesiro over and did not care to force her face to become inanimate - in face, it did become a bewitching smile, in the end. "If you wish, I will keep up with Shii-Cho, for as long as you desire!" she exclaimed with a brief wink in Sol's direction - and if anyone knew better, they would recognize the girl's attachment to the man, right there.



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[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Sol Damerin"]