Leverage, position, advantage…

[Darth Veles]

Their little dance started to repeat in circles, almost making Avreet worry the Acolyte failed to listen as his blade followed her, the entire body of the Mon Cal turning in accordance with the Acolyte’s position. Perhaps he should employ one of Grima’s methods? What would the wise Togruta do in such situation? Luckily, much to Avreet’s pleasant surprise, the whole process of circling around him and going for his chest in a stab now had a new element added to it; the Force. Melori used telekinesis to stay his hand as she attacked, to which Avreet responded by swiftly taking a step back while also moving to the side, removing his body out of the harm’s way.

Once done, the amphibious Sith Lord closed the distance between himself and the young woman again, thrusting the lightsaber forward in a jab, immediately retracting his hand before the attack had any chance of hitting, the feint meant only as a distraction. With a flick of his wrist, the Mon Cal brought his blade downwards in a vertical cut before immediately moving the weapon up again, pressing forward and going for the original strike, which was a stab for the Acolyte’s chest.

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"] [member="Darth Veles"]

Taeli saw it coming, and knew Melori wouldn't be able block such an attack. Veles had gone just a little bit too far, and now she had to intervene or watch her sister die. Not an option, the later one.

In the blink of an eye, Melori was flying backwards to land next to her sister, Veles's attack missing completely as Taeli stood up, glowering. The fact he had done such a thing, and she had almost watched her sister die was not improving Taeli's mood.

"As I'm sure you want to take the tough taskmaster approach, you will not stab my apprentice," she said quietly, her voice dripping with coldness. "She's just learning the blade and you use a more advanced technique of Makashi that could have killed her. Be very careful there, my friend. Remember, she is MY apprentice."

Calming down a little and seeing her sister was okay still, she added, "You can continue, just please don't make me intervene again, my friend. I couldn't be sure if the sabers were on training or not."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was now struggling to move, the pain in her leg now significant - and so had no answer to the Sith Lord’s attack. Despite the pain in her burnt hand, she was able to keep a hold on her saber but his pace, footwork and ease and blocking her few attempts to bring the Force into play were simply too great to overcome.

She was an Acolyte with one training session under her belt, her Master having taught her how to draw on the Dark-side of the Force. And she was facing a Sith Lord of considerable skill that had dealt with her two weapons with such ease that even if mobile - she would have nothing to counter him.

But then this was Sith training - nothing like the Jedi provide. She was used to being encouraged, shown moves and gradually developed. The Sith Lord was ruthless and was sparring at a quite different level but she couldn't fault him for it. There was no room for failure and as his blade speared towards her heart she firmly believed there was no room for her either. He’d clearly found her wanting and at least the end would be swift.

Was she afraid - oddly no. The only emotion was disappointment - frustrated at her own inability to keep the spar going for more than a matter of seconds. And disappointed that she’d failed her sister.

And then she was flying through the air. At first she wondered if she’d done it herself, but had no ability that could have achieved such a move, even if she’d wanted to. She landed on her backside and looked down at her chest. There was a smouldering hole where her tunic had been punctured and the pain suggested a cracked rib - maybe two.

She looked up at her sister, a thin smile on her face as she realised her Master had saved her life. She struggled to get to her feet, favouring her one good leg and took the stance again. The warm feeling on her chest was similarly as uncomfortable as her leg and she understood now the merits of the Form. No one cut would kill, but even the three wounds she’d received made her ability to fight minimal. But she was no quitter and had asked for no quarter and expected none.

But she was also a realist, she had no Force powers to use other than the ones he’d swatted away and his ability with the blade dwarfed hers. So she did the only thing she could - she just carried on and expected more of the same.

This time she swapped the blade to her right hand, the left was now hurting too much to grip the hilt and so with her off hand, she hobbled forward and attempted a stabbing motion at the Sith Lord’s saber hand. And still she said nothing and not once cried out in pain - at least she'd retained her dignity.

[member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

The young Acolyte was there, just in front of his blade closing to her chest… and then she vanished, torn away by invisible, yet powerful force that took her from the harm’s way. This wasn’t her work though. Melori’s pain and frustration made a powerful ally, enough to allow the girl to perform this saving manoeuvre on her own, yet Avreet felt nothing coming from the Acolyte, no Dark Side power, no tendrils of energy around her body. That left only one source that could have disturbed the training. Veles’ gaze shifted towards Lady Arcanix, simply looking at the woman, then went back to the apprentice on the ground, and finally gazed at the Sith Lady again, listening as she scolded him. Did Taeli really think he would kill her beloved sister? The Sith sister? This only showed she did not know him well enough, which disappointed him a bit. His training might have bee rough, brutal even; but to kill a promising Acolyte?! His lips curved into a polite, somewhat amused smile.

“But Lady Arcanix,” the amphibian started, “The thought of delivering a serious injury to your apprentice never crossed my mind. As you said, she is your apprentice, and I certainly don’t want to risk your fury. The lightsabers are powered down. No serious injuries. Only pain. Besides… that was on purpose, of course. We don’t want you to fall asleep out of boredom, do we?”

One friendly wink towards Taeli later, just to ensure she took the joke as it was meant to be, Avreet glared at the apprentice, slightly worried look on his face. Her refusal to surrender was admirable, but seeing the fight it was to simply stand up made him seriously concerned about the young Acolyte. She should have accepted the medpac earlier, now her ability to fight even worsened and one could not tell for how long she was going to be able to keep up. The pain must have been particularly great for her to forego using her dominant hand and switch the lightsaber to her right. Perhaps she had broken her left arm? Avreet could only hope the training was worth the pain, serving as a motivator for Melori that made the process of learning more effective.

Her hobble was honestly painful to watch, but he couldn’t force the Acolyte to take something to relieve her of the pain. Walking towards the young woman to make her way shorter, he stopped as the attack meant for his hand came. In that moment when the lightsaber of Melori went towards him, Avreet swung downwards, getting his hand out of his student’s range, immediately swinging back up to hit Melori’s blade from below in a vertical motion, keeping their blades together as he raised his arm, pushing the Acolyte’s weapon up as well. He waited for her next move.

[member="Melori Raaf"] [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was now fighting with the only tool she had left - her stubbornness. She refused to back down and knew he could end the fight at any time but she tried to focus on the basics she knew - leverage and position.

She forewent the jabs as too open and allowing the Sith Lord to counter too easily. And with her bad leg, she also ignored too much movement and focused all she had on simply travelling forwards and backwards - to close the gap and then to move away from danger.

So she saluted once more and performed a quick flourish, still using her less-favoured right hand before resuming the opening low guard position. Then she moved in and out as best she could - looking to hit with light cuts to the Sith's arms and legs and not risking any fancy or complicated manoeuvres.

And still she remained silent.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Ironically, the fact the girl had to try much harder now due to the extensive amount of injuries also made her stronger. She focused more, knew of her limited mobility and simply had to play with bad cards, which essentially forced the Acolyte to think move of her moves, use every bit of energy efficiently, not wasting anything. Avreet would have smiled at the Acolyte’s progress, but his face remained neutral, cold, showing nothing at all to not distract the young woman. Replying to her Makashi salute with his own, otherwise standing still, giving the young woman an opportunity to do whatever she pleased, employ whatever tactic she wished.

His elegant and precise moves contrasted the Acolyte’s pained strikes at his arms and legs, but one could tell the two of them used the same style of lightsaber combat. Then again, the one-handed style was quite a giveaway. The Sith Lord parried all of the Acolyte’s strikes with minimal effort, making no moves for an attack of his own; Veles wanted to avoid inflicting more injury upon the woman, no need to provoke her big sister even more than he already had, plus this provided the youngest Raaf with an opportunity to practice any move she wished.

“Very good,” he commented, encouraging Melori, “You have grasped the basics quickly. Keep it up.”

[member="Melori Raaf"] [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

There as a gulf between them – but that was only to be expected. But she was determined to keep going, even if he was able to deflect her blows easily. Using her off-hand was good practice if nothing else and even with limited mobility, she was able to reinforce the muscle memory in her legs and she travelled backwards and forwards.

And she was steadily improving her judgement of distances – able to strike at the first opportunity and get no closer than she had to. This meant her retreats could be shorter to get back out of range.

So she persevered, silently and tenaciously.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Get close enough to strike, attack, pull back immediately to gain some distance, repeat. A valid tactic the Acolyte employed, one widely used by Makashi practitioners. As the young woman undoubtedly saw by now, Makashi was just another style of lightsaber combat, it involved a battle of wits between her and her opponent. To outsmart him, trick him into doing what she wanted, and finally, to deliver one, devastating blow that lacked the brute and raw strength of other forms, but its true power lied in ruthless precision and efficiency. As Avreet once told his first apprentice; why to cut your enemy into five pieces when you can slay your opponent with one well-placed strike? Not only it saved energy, but it was also vastly more ethical. Surprisingly enough, the Sith Lord found the practice of bisecting people with superheated plasma blades to be distasteful, cruel, using stabs aimed at vital organs to kill his enemies without causing too much pain. He saw no point in prolonging the suffering of his enemies if he wanted to kill them.

Whether the Acolyte cared for such things or not mattered little; in the end, she’d learn the efficiency of Makashi’s elegant moves, the practical use simply being too great to be dismissed in favour of more violent, almost barbaric cleaves that were good for scaring away an opponent and showing off, but bad for actually killing the enemy without spending way too much energy. Melori’s footwork signed the girl understood the concept; each time she closed the distance to attack, the strike itself had to be well thought-out, each had to serve a purpose in the grand scheme of things. She simply couldn’t afford to waste her energy on wide arcs and brutal hacks, forcing her to go carefully about this, light cuts and jabs sent towards the Sith Lord before swiftly retreating to avoid retaliation after the Mon Cal parried her strikes. This was also meant to show her the great advantage of parrying over blocking; just like with more offensive moves, the defensive ones focused heavily on using the bare minimum of energy to stop the attack.

[member="Melori Raaf"] [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

And so she continued, showing no signs of stopping. Her face gave nothing away, she simply tracked forwards and backwards prodding and probing and never over-extending herself to the point where she might offer the chance of a significant counter.

It was difficult to gauge if she was progressing, as she was up against such a more experienced and proficient practitioner. But there was one variation she could throw in – not to best the Sith Lord – but for future duels. She switched the saber back to her good hand. If nothing else, it changed the angles of attack and for her opponent it could prove enough of a difference and distraction that they might make a mistake – leave a gap or over-reach with a counter to allow her an opening.

So she ignored the burn on her hand and simply repeated what she was doing on the other side. Focusing on the Sith Lord’s joints and vital organs, avoiding any pattern and instead focusing on a random pattern of attacks.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Avreet nodded in approval when the Acolyte changed her weapon hand, adjusting the tactic. As a Makashi user, he could do the same thing and essentially take away the momentary advantage of the Acolyte that came from this unexpected change of tactic possible only with the second form of lightsaber combat, but he didn’t, the curved hilt remaining in the Sith Lord’s left hand. Veles wanted the student to practice, do her best in an attempt to deliver a blow that would hit, or at least give her hope of having a chance of injuring him as some motivation to keep trying.

Continuing to parry the Acolyte’s strikes at his weak points, which of course trained the young woman to quickly retract her arm if necessary or retreat completely by taking a step back when needed to escape the Sith Lord’s reach and avoid being kissed by his blade again. This also prompted her to be faster with her strikes, swift and deadly lunges aimed at his exposed body, a step or two back, another lunge forwards to attack at another unprotected area. The blonde’s prowess almost made Avreet wish to take on another apprentice, someone competent… but there was nobody like that at the moment, or so the amphibious Assassin believed. Nobody worthy of carrying the legacy of Sith Assassins.

Their blades met again as the Mon Cal’s weapon rushed to greet Melori’s lightsaber, impacting it from above and pushing both weapons towards the ground where the tips of their blades licked the floor, leaving dark, scorched marks. The piercing gaze of Darth Veles locked with Melori’s eyes.

“You are doing quite well, Acolyte. How does Makashi feel?”

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori considered the question for a few seconds, her eyes on the blades, her irises returning to a gentle blue hue. "It's very different from the first Form. Not swinging the blade takes some getting used to and also generating limited kinetic energy for a strike is different for me."

"However the style suits my frame, speed and usual agility, so that's positive. My reach worries me, especially against a taller Mavashi user but hopefully my pace will offset that."

"And I would appreciate an honest appraisal of my progress to date." Her voice was calm and collected but there was an undercurrent of ambition, she didn't want praise, she wanted feedback to improve her performance.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

The blades remained firmly locked and away from the two combatants. Avreet noted yet another shift within Melori’s eyes, once again making his question her ability of self-control. Perhaps her personalities kept changing all the time? Must have been in the family, though Taeli was completely normal, showing no worrisome traits. Not that it surprised the Sith Lord, as his fellow Sith Lady was definitely the strongest willed of the trio of sisters. One could only hope for Melori to become just like that, powerful Sith Lady that refused to surrender to the Dark Side, becoming its master rather than a slave.

“Your reach is still superior to that of most practitioners of other forms, Acolyte, as you will most likely discover when training with Lady Arcanix,” Avreet commented on what Melori said, stealing a glance at Taeli before his burning amber orbs demanded the youngest sister’s attention, “I believe Makashi suits you very well, indeed. The understanding of the basics is definitely there. You are no match for Sith Lords, but other Acolytes and perhaps fresh Knights won’t be an obstacle that cannot be overcome. I’d advise you to practice dodging more, just as quick jabs sent towards vital organs and weaknesses. You need to be sure of your strike, always prepared to quickly get out of the harm’s way, parry what you cannot dodge.”

The Sith’s head then turned to search for something on the floor, and upon finding it, the amphibious assassin retrieved it with telekinesis that pulled the object into his free hand; the medpac from earlier. Extending it towards the Acolyte in a silent offer, Veles waited for her to either take it or continue fighting. It was her choice, like everything, but some choices were better than others.

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori listened. She took all of the advice on-board and made mental notes to continue doing what she seemed to be doing well and improve her dodging which the Sith Lord noted needed work as did her jabbing – which she was aware that to date made her too exposed to a counter. And she reflected on his counsel not to attack for attack’s sake but to be sure of a strike before committing. And dodge first parry second seemed to be something of a mantra to remember.

He handed her a medpac and clearly wanted to continue the spar. She had a choice, continue through the pain – which was good practice for real life or accept the healing and use it to improve her ability to train now. If she wanted to learn, she had but one choice.

She nodded an acceptance of the bacta and applied some to her chest, thigh and the back of her left hand. The healing properties gave her pain relief, which in turn lessened the distraction and in the case of her leg, gave her better mobility.

Confident she’d applied the bacta correctly, she pulled her practice saber towards her and checking it over quickly for damage, took up a position to continue the lesson. She then saluted once more and performed a quick flourish, using her left hand again before resuming the opening low guard position. “I am ready.”

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Releasing her blade from the lock in an upwards swing once the Acolyte accepted the medpac, the Sith Lord took a step back and prepared for more training, pushing the young woman further in order to shape her into a deadly tool of the Sith, turn Melori into a living weapon destined to carry Taeli’s message. Hopefully the soothing bacta relief took nothing away from the Acolyte’s awareness she had displayed earlier, as it would come in handy now; no longer would Avreet remain as passive, serving as nothing more than an immobile target for the Acolyte to practice her moves on. From now on, the blonde had to combine both her defensive and offensive capabilities. Of course, after the last experience, Avreet’s moves were slower when necessary, giving the woman enough time to avoid being hit or to parry his attack.

One Makashi salute of the Acolyte was followed by his own before one powerful stride carried him closer to the student, his lightsaber trained at her torso as he approached. Slightly retracting his extended arm to allow for a stab and reversing the motion immediately after, the amphibious Sith Lord jabbed at Melori’s uninjured knee, restraining his own movement speed to be slower than normally, giving the woman a chance to practice either dodging or parrying.

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was a little surprised that the Sith Lord was now on the offensive, but shouldn’t have been. Fortunately instinct kicked in and she immediately moved backwards, forcing him to either stretch, continue his advance or chose not to attack.

He pressed his attack and whereas his blade was aimed at her torso, she saw him bend his arm before stabbing at her. She dodged to her left and allowed the blade to pass by her but he immediately jabbed it at her right knee and this time she had to parry the blow away from her body. For a split second she saw an opening but knew she’d allow him a more telling blow as her body would be wide open, so she simply move clockwise to face his right side. Expecting him to turn to face her, she Force Pushed his feet, hoping to catch him mid-step and therefore less well balanced – but she did not strike – but rather waited to see if he’d be affected by her use of the Force.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

A sly smirk spread over his face when the Acolyte skilfully parried the blow going for her knee. A very nice display of skill and overall progress in her training. Taeli should be proud of her apprentice, as the youngest of the Raafs had plenty of potential. One day, Melori will undoubtedly make an excellent Sith if she survives the training, becoming both wiser and more powerful than now. That wasn’t Veles’ concern though – the task of turning this stubborn woman into a proper Sith belonged to Lady Arcanix. The only thing the amphibious Sith had to do was teaching the blonde Acolyte how to be a competent duellist, add more elegance and grace into her moves.

The parry successfully changed the direction of Avreet’s attack, the Sith Lord’s crimson blade missing its target. This time, Melori waited for nothing and started to circle around the Mon Calamari Sith, who did the same, two Makashi users trying to get into each other’s back or side, find an opening, see the opportunity to strike, yet prevent the other from doing the same, always keeping their opponent in front of them. The large eyes of the amphibian cautiously observed Melori’s moves, the delicate work of her feet as she moved around, just as the movement of her empty hand, the slight motion of her fingers that indicated an incoming Force attack aimed at him. Probably something of telekinetic nature, as Veles doubted the Acolyte to be good at advanced Force powers that could do much more than to push and pull objects. Telekinesis was also probably the most commonly used power in lightsaber duels, giving the Sith Lord an idea of what to expect.

The push did not catch him off guard, but it still very much broke the chain of flawless footwork. The Sith Lord was forced to plant his foot on the ground sooner than he would have wanted to regain his lost balance and avoid stumbling. His face showed no sign of irritation or anger due to the bold attack; he simply continued to watchfully gaze over the woman opposite of him, yet no attack came despite the opportunity his sudden loss of balance presented.

“Good move,” Avreet commented and swiftly lunged forwards, his blade raised in a straight jab-like feint aimed at the Acolyte’s right shoulder, one that became a real attack with one flick of his wrist, changing into a playful cut seeking to lick Melori’s wrist of the hand holding her weapon.

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori learned best by doing and even when she made mistakes, she added it to her knowledge base.

It was like when she learned to drive a speeder around a race-track back on Corellia. It was a thirteenth birthday present from her parents. They knew she loved speed and she’d been so excited to go.

Her instructor was dismayed as she did her first few solo laps far too fast and crashed at every corner initially. She ignored the calls to come in and by the time her allotted lesson was concluded, she was lapping at a most respectable time for someone who’d never driven before, let alone raced.

The instructors tore her off a strip and then, finally asked her why the approach. Her response was simple, honest and logical. She had a finite time available and the standard approach was to take each corner faster and faster until she found a speed that was too quick. But that took time, gradually adding pace lap on lap. And time was the commodity she lacked. It was quicker, she countered, to go too fast and then peg her speed back. Being fearless helped as her more likely arrogance never considered the possibility she might die or even hurt herself. The instructors scratched their heads and grudgingly concluded she’d been successful – but she was not welcome to return to their training school. She laughed when she told them that her lap times meant she didn’t need to use it any more anyway!

She’d got herself into her current physical position by going too fast. And only then she’d started to exercise some caution. The burns and cuts she saw as occupational hazards. The price of success really.

Had she missed a golden opportunity before? To strike perhaps, but she was sure she’d pay the price. Plus she’d unsettle a lesser opponent with the same move and go for the strike. It wasn’t all about the Sith Lord in front of her. In facing such a strong opponent she was at risk of overstating the abilities of Padawans or Acolytes at her level of development. There was a tournament coming up and despite her raw novice talent, she intended to participate.

She saw the move to her right shoulder and swayed backwards, presenting a side on body-position to her opponent who had clearly feinted as his blade changed direction with a flick of the wrist and although she moved her own left hand quickly the Mon Cal’s blade kissed it. It stung slightly, but nothing like the other injuries had.

So she put a few steps between them and swung the saber in her hand. The curve of the hilt allowed her to move its direction with just her wrist – something she was aware was not possible with the sabers she’d used back on Corellia – which were often wielded two-handed. So she decided to practice as she circled and got more comfortable with the movement and control.

Suddenly she closed the gap – as gracefully as she could. Her attempt was something of a counter-bluff. Having been exposed to a feint and the use of his wrist, he will have seen her practice using her wrist and be hopefully be expecting her to reciprocate. Instead she simply looked to jab his saber hand and then dance back. If he thought it was going to be a feint, she might actually be successful with her intended strike.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Once again, Melori displayed quick reflexes when she moved out of the way of the feint; her movement seemingly automatic. Unfortunately, the faked attack once again caused her to make a small mistake. A gentle hit followed, a playful tap more than anything else as Avreet’s blade nudged the Acolyte’s hand, sending more burning pain through her body, but not cutting through the flesh; his lightsaber remained in the low-power mode suitable for training, bringing no serious harm to the blonde Acolyte except for a few burns that could be healed easily. The wonders of modern medicine never ceased to amaze the Mon Cal, the state-of-art healthcare within the One Sith space once again doing much better job than the Republic ever could. It was good to live on Sith planet – unless the Republic and their barbaric allies showed up and did their thing, as always.

As the Acolyte put some distance between them, getting out of Avreet’s reach, the Mon Calamari Sith Lord aimed his weapon at her again, daring her to come at him, come up with a solid strike good enough to pass through his defences, though if that happened, it would be mostly a matter of luck and good will on his part rather than Melori besting the Sith Lord right after being trained in the ways of Makashi. The amphibian’s gaze never left the woman as he moved with her, both combatants trying to circle each other, neither achieving what they desired, the Acolyte’s hand gently swinging her lightsaber through the air with a soft hum. Then came the sudden move of the Acolyte as she launched herself forward, closing the gap, obviously going for a strike, possibly the hand holding his lightsaber.

In response, the Sith Lord jogged back, the blade of his lightsaber moving ever so slightly to meet Melori’s weapon again, gently nudging her blade from the side and stealing the woman’s momentum from her attack as he pushed the blades to the side, then withdrew his own and backed further away, his wrist moving and with it the blade, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down… just to distract the Acolyte, of course, show her a way she could use herself in the future. For now, it would most likely be another painful lesson, making it easier to remember. The short, rhythmical swings of his lightsabers were supposed to make her focus on that movement, turn her gaze in that direction, steal her awareness from the young woman. Then came another lunge forward, just as the Sith Lord’s wrist brought the blade a bit down… but instead of repeating the pattern, the Mon Cal’s hand and arm guided the blade further downwards in a vertical fashion to deliver a light cut (or, rather, a burn) on Melori’s left thigh.

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

As Melori advanced so the Sith Lord moved backwards. In many ways this was a frustrating experience, facing a foe of so many years of experience and undoubted expertise – but she could measure her progress on how few times he hit her, how forcefully he hit her and finally how close she got to hitting him.

He chose to clash blades, even though he didn’t need to. This disrupted Melori’s concentration as she didn’t expect it. So she filed it away for later use. Then he started a steady rhythm with his crimson blade – up and down, it was almost hypnotic and she felt herself predicting the next short rhythmical swing due to its repetitiveness.

And when he should have been going up, he went down. She realised her mistake late – but not too late. Next to the hole in her left thigh there was a light burn. In Melori’s eyes at least that was a measure of progress. Earlier in the lesson she would have had a second hole to show for her mistake. It was a hit, she couldn’t deny it, but it was less significant.

And now she simply circled, seeing what other tactics he would use to open up her defences, so that she might copy him.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Another hit. More pain, but that would eventually disappear, unlike the experience and knowledge that was to remain burned within Melori’s mind forever. Whether the Acolyte was strong-willed or stubborn, she still carried on, circling around Avreet again to get into his side or back. While many teachers looked upon such attitude favourably, it could very well get her killed had this been real combat. One had to know when to retreat, the loss of precise footwork due to the injuries on Melori’s legs being one of the signs for a Makashi user to either finish the duel as soon as possible by any means necessary, or retreat. Thinking of that actually brought something up in Avreet’s mind and for split second, the Sith Acolyte might have spotted a hint of a smirk forming on the amphibian’s face. Just as quickly as it appeared it was gone, replaced by the emotionless expression usually seen on the Mon Cal Sith.

This time, it wouldn’t be Melori to pay for her mistake. The Acolyte would be tested if she can use her own head and come up with something. Partially because the idea of doing the terrible sin of lightsaber combat most likely hasn’t formed within the blonde woman’s mind, partially because her injuries did not allow for an effective demonstration. It was time for the teacher to be the test dummy now, time for the Acolyte to exploit Avreet’s mistake of making a terrible decision.

Without saying a word, giving no warning, Avreet grasped the hilt in both of his webbed hands and massed the Force in his legs before launching himself up in the air with the intention of landing behind Melori’s back, turning around and slashing her from behind. A fairly common strike one could encounter, but also one very… stupid, if the opponent realized the great weakness of such attack.

[member="Melori Raaf"]