Life Lessons (Learned the Hard Way)

[Keira Priest]

Antecedent​

Abandoned Warehouse​

​

It had been awhile. The last time Keira had met with a student in such a formal fashion - not that their current locale was anything close to properly formal - had been when she was just over twenty years old, freshly Knighted and still altogether inexperienced. That apprentice hadn't lasted overly long, valuing his allegiances to the Sith above all else, and eventually they had cut ties. The decision had turned out to be better for her in the end, granting her the opportunity to learn for herself what it meant to hold a larger measure of power as her own before attempting to teach others how to access the same abilities they were capable of. She hadn't taken on another student until she obtained the rank of Master, and from there it seemed things had only picked up pace.

Now she had four apprentices and what seemed to be too little time on her hands, her life finally having taken off now that she had a family as well. And nothing was in danger of slowing down, as that newest student had requested to meet, and so she had obliged, responding with nothing more than coordinates and a designated time. As with those others she taught the exact transpiration of this convergence would ultimately be left up to the one that had come seeking knowledge in the first place. Everything would be at the speed of the learner, and she wouldn't hinder or push things along any more than necessary. However unorthodox a teacher she was, she knew what limits remained as well.

She had arrived no more than a few minutes early, dressed casually but nearly fully armed, lightsaber at her waist, leather jacket disguising the CW-77 on her left forearm and the combat knife on her right. That wasn't to say she was worried about just who this new arrival might be, but this was training, and she believed in her students being versatile, able to handle whatever might come their way. And maybe live weapons weren't the best way to achieve that, but insofar as she knew this one was a touch more experienced combatant than the others, meaning she at the very least knew what to expect and how to counter marginally well, not leaving herself open. That would serve well enough as anything for the beginning, and only time would tell where things would continue from there on out.

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

Adali had been waiting a long time to finish her training. It was the small price she'd had to pay for leaving the Order - she knew that once she found a mentor she could learn so much more than the Jedi ever could have taught her. She was certain [member="Keira Ticon"] could make the training be worth the wait.

She arrived armed with a lightsaber and a few throwing knives - combat gave her a thrill like no ther, and it was always best to come prepared. Her mentor seemed equally well equipped, perhaps more so, promising a fun and unpredictable battle. Unpredictable was her favourite kind.0

 

[Keira Priest]

Why this new apprentice insisted on opening things up with a sparring match was beyond her. It wasn't that Keira didn't respect her initiative, but there were more effective ways to go about everything rather than beginning with a fight. Then again, she had achieved Masterhood through the same means, though not of her own volition at first. It was better to learn first and perhaps proceed with some kind of violence later. But she would oblige the girl, if just so she was aware of just what she was getting into. But she wouldn't be the one making the first strike, nor would she instigate the fight in any other manner. If she was so hellbent on combat, she would have to get it herself. Something told her the game would be played a bit differently with this one.

"Tell me," Her stance shifted, squaring slightly in preparation for what was to follow, "Why begin like this?" Her head titled slightly to one side. "I can admire your ambition, but you're smart enough to know how this is going to end." It wasn't negativity, in her eyes, rather a statement of fact. Taking on a fully trained Master was no small task for most anyone, let alone an individual whose only formal training had been with the Jedi. She had learned that the hard way over a decade ago, and didn't wish the same for any of her students. But persistence was just that, not that she argued the point overly much in the first place. Some life lessons needed to be learned the hard way, or not at all, and this was simply one of those.

The fingers of her left hand - the cybernetic limb - flexed, and she nodded once, indicating for things to move on. "Very well, then. Begin."

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

"One learns through first-hand experience. And through failure." As well as she simply preferred it as a training method. She knew that [member="Keira Ticon"] was by no means an easy challenge, but that made it more fun. As a Jedi she'd not only lacked stimulation, but had always needed a deep and meaningful reason to do everything. Now that she had gone Rogue, she wanted to enjoy herself and this was how she would do so.

Switching her lightsaber on, she held the double-blade with one hand and with the other summoned up the Force and sent it flying towards her master.

 

[Keira Priest]

Telekinesis was a specialty all her own, so to have it utilized against her drew forth a crooked smile. It showcased initiative, the move perhaps intended to unbalance her or cause her to lose footing altogether. The strategy would have been more sound had it been followed up immediately with something more, but as it was things remained fairly stagnant. Her only immediate retaliation was to release a relatively harmless pulse of the Force that collided with the one sent out, more or less cancelling the momentum and leaving her to do nothing more than shift backwards enough to maintain her balance and stance. The only remaining indication of any deadly intent was the humming of the saberstaff across from her.

Nearly absently Keira palmed her own blade, orange saber crackling into existence with a snap-hiss, remaining loosely in her grasp. It was a thus far casual rebuttal to some kind of challenge that had been put forth in those recent moments, though she didn't make any move to counter all that had been done earlier. Instead she remained where she stood, obstinate as ever. "Come on. For real this time."

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

Adali smiled at the challenge and let go of her lightsaber, sending it rising upwards and gliding forwards. She'd been meaning to have a go at using a lightsaber from a distance. The glowing double-blade twirled around Keira in a crimson blur as she moved forwards her, anticipating a movement.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Orange flashed up to meet crimson, and with two minute turns of her own blade Keira batted the other away and out of the air, lest her temporary opponent do what she could to right her own weapon. Without so much as a shift of her hand she released another burst of the Force, this one meant to knock the girl back. Not nearly hard enough to break bone or inflict permanent injury, mind you, but it was firm enough that it would certainly be difficult to ignore if it connected. This must have been what it was like for her old mentor to spar with her, she reasoned, and the thought brought a slight smile to her face. It was funny, really, how much the tables had turned in the span of little more than a decade.

How times changed.

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

Sensing the wave of the Force flying towards her, Adali sent another to block it and in the same gesture - almost the same release - pulled her lightsaber back towards her. It did not have to fly far - she had taken advantage of its turns to close the distance between her and the woman opposite. Gripping the hilt comfortably, she lunged forwards with the blade of the lightsaber, taking advantage of the distraction to send another push in her mentor's direction - not half as powerful as it could have been, but still powerful. Doubtless she would sense it, but the lightsaber reaching towards her would effectively mean that she couldn't concentrate enough to repel it. She felt a rush of adrenaline as she sent the Force flying - the feeling of wielding her powers without being restrained, the wonder of operating without an agenda and without the need to avoid selfishness, that was the real reason she had gone rogue. Meeting Kir had certainly helped, but this, this was why she was no longer a Jedi.

[member="Keira Ticon"].

 

[Keira Priest]

Acrobatics were a muscle Keira hadn't flexed in a long, long while. They were a stunt intended for her younger self, not the warrior who was beginning to feel her age with a certainty she could no longer deny. And besides, this was supposed to be all in the spirit of a fair fight, whatever meaning that held at this point. Her saber raised in order to block the single strike, and she let herself be driven back by the pulse of the Force, doing little to stop it other than righting herself once it was all said and done. This was more akin to the fast-paced and nearly synchronized dance of combat she had adjusted to, but there was still a gap in skill that wouldn't be remedied until this new student's training was furthered.

This time no retaliation was made, and she merely nodded a single time, shifting her feet so she was standing with them shoulder-width apart, her stance altogether more definitive. Her blade spun once with a flick of her wrist, and she inclined her head just slightly as if in invitation. "Alright, better. You're actually trying. Now show me that you're actually making an effort. Go ahead and try to kill me. I'm used to it."

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

Well, now that she'd been asked to do so, Adali could hardly turn down the offer. Besides, she was all warmed up now and raring to go. Her saber spun faster and faster, the double blade twirling in a complicated pattern through the air, but this time it wasn't to show off, nor to distract. The Force guided her hand as the glowing red blades kept coming withing milimetres of its target. It was good, but her master was better and she would need more to beat her, so with her other hand she let the Force fly towards the woman with the intent of choking her.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

There were easy ways and hard ways to disrupt the telekinetic grip of one's opponent, and Keira had become well-versed in a number of them throughout the years. For the moment, however, she conceded herself to the choking grasp, retreating to someplace within herself in order to reduce the need for breathing altogether. With a twist of her wrist aa their blades collided she attempted to lock their sabers together, keeping a tight hold on hers with her cybernetic limb, reaching for a surprise with the other. This was an impromptu fight to the death, after all, even if no one would really fall. And she wanted her student to learn early that a fair fight was one already lost before it began.

A flexing of her right hand later and her combat knife fell down into her palm. Holding it in a reverse grip she pushed forward with a slash directed for the girl's head, though one that would miss should her reaction time not prove fast enough. After all, she wasn't that heartless.

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

The essence of combat was in learning the correct moves, knowing when to use them and how to pair them with this attack or that defense. The art was in sparring without needing to think about what was the best move to do next, because you knew everything that well. It was clear that the older woman had fighting down to a fine art and that was what made the fight interesting.

First she made an attempt to lock their lightsabers together. Adali spun the double-blade around several times to ease off her grip and through the crimson glow of her blade, she saw the silver flash of a combat knife headed straight for her skull. Twisting and stepping to the side so that the blade stabbed across the air behind her head, she brought her lightsaber up to meet the woman's forearm, expecting that if she jerked her arm backwards she could at least destroy the knife.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

The only thing Keira wholly registered was that everything happened fast. Really fast. Her saber was extinguished and on her hip before she even realized that the weapon had been disengaged, leaving her cybernetic limb free to do its job. That job, in this case, was reaching up to catch the blade of her student, seemingly with little care as to the consequences. Mostly because there weren't any, given that the limb was plated with phrik and therefore highly impervious to lightsabers. The only real indication that anything had happened was the slight sparking of plasma on metal. While the combat knife could have suffered the hit due to its blade being saber resistant, she wanted to save that trick for later.

She didn't make any move to correct the fact that a saber was currently caught in the palm of her left hand, nor did she attempt to wrench the blade from the girl's grasp or otherwise disarm her. No, she wanted to see how the other would react to what was likely an unexpected feat, and how she would respond now that she knew the elder was capable of something most thought impossible in its own right. In some ways this was another test all its own. A crooked smile turned up one corner of her mouth, the crimson glow of the saberstaff illuminating her face. "Surprise."

[member="Adali Renning"]

 

[NightSister]

There was a blur of movement, a flash of light crimson light, and then her Master had her lightsaber held firmly near her body, casting a very evil-looking glow upon her as she smiled at Adali. Well, two could play at this game. Letting irritation fill her expression, Adali lunged in the direction of her lightsaber but at the last minute shifted her finger to point the knives she was now controlling all flying towards the Master's face to distract her while she used the other hand to tug at her lightsaber, letting her powers pull her weapon back to her with all the strength she could spare.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Give and take. That was what combat was all about. The key was balance, flowing seamlessly between one and the other while consistently working things to one's favor. And Keira had spent the majority of her life honing such a skill into a very fine precision. So when [member="Adali Renning"] let the knives fly towards her she didn't hesitate to release her grip on the blade of the saber, instantaneously reaching out through the Force to halt the projectiles aimed for her face in midair. Rather than send them back towards the one responsible she simply let them fall once the momentum was lost, their purpose having worn itself out for the moment.

"Alright, it's time to at least pretend you're learning something more than how to kill another sentient. Don't let your emotion take complete control of you like that unless you're entirely prepared to handle the consequences. Because once you let go, a lot of times there isn't a such thing as going back. There's a careful game of give and take you have to learn to play, especially when it comes to the Dark Side. Once you give too much it's going to take what you handed over in equal measure. And that's how you lose your humanity." She knew better than anyone just how that route went. "Do you understand?"

 

[NightSister]

The duel came to a halt as [member="Keira Ticon"] let the flying knives fall to the floor and began to explain about humanity. Although it had frequently occurred to her that there might not be that much advantage in retaining hers, she understood the idea. It was hard not to wonder whether the Master was speaking from experience...if she was a Dark Jedi then it was at least a possibility.

All the same, maybe now was not the best time to voice those topics. Deep and meaningful conversations were something she preferred to avoid.
"I understand."

 

[Keira Priest]

Spoiler

Sorry for taking so long to post to this, work, school and everything have been crazy.

Her dark gaze lingered on the student for a long few moments, sensing something more beneath the surface but not wanting to prod just yet. The girl's response was oddly simple, and she didn't throw out any questions or retorts against the statements of her elder. Keira knew full well that when she was that age her attitude had been nothing short of near consistent defiance of every expectation placed upon her. That this one so readily complied didn't quite sit well with her, but just how long that lasted would remain to be seen. "Feel free to interject with your own opinion. I welcome it. Don't silence yourself on my account." If there was one thing she prized above all else, it was free will and the ability for one to speak their mind.

"Would you like to continue, or would you rather move on to something else? I'm perfectly fine continuing our sparring, but it's best to focus on what you believe you need."

[member="Adali Renning"]