May Your Blade Chip and Shatter

[Jaron Lesan]

Jaron leaned into the kiss, his mouth hungry for more of Dianah even as she pulled away. This spar was doing more to increase the tension between them to a breaking point rather teach Dianah anything about surviving. It was only when he mentioned the fourth form that Jaron finally felt as though they were getting somewhere, though were they to forget it and tussle and tangle on the floor or wallnof the dojo, Jaron wouldn’t complain.

His hand patred the lock of hair Dianah placed in the folds of his robes and he smiled. The first though that came to his mind when she asked him to show her was the usual playful banter between them.

“Oh, I much too rigid and inflexible to do it justice. The form requires agility and flexibility.”

Jaron leaped over her slash, flipping of the blade and twisting his body so he still faced her.

“Exactly how flexible are you?”

His blade came humming across her waist. Would she move, block it, what?

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Once again he proved to be more agile than she realised. His entire body left over the saber in one swift movement. She blew a strand of hair from her eyes, partly because it was getting in her way and partly because she had missed him again.

At his next words Dianah gasped mockingly, making a pretence at being offended by them. A solitary eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch and came coupled with a sly smile.

The saber swung in a straight line for the middle of her waist. She took a measured step backward, far enough to shift the weight from one foot to the other, but not far enough to completely evade the blade. Fortunately for her, the benefits of being a shi'ido never seemed to end. Her flexible tendons and bone structure meant that she could shift, twist and bend into impossible shapes. In this case though, with her step backward, Dianah bend her torso down against her leg and brought the other straight up into the air. It flew high above the on coming blade, at shoulder height if Jaron were standing completely upright.

The standing split meant her dress now had a neat lightsaber shaped hole right through the middle, but she lived for the showman ship that came with being a shape shifter. It was a wild party trick and completely unnecessary, her step alone would have avoided the blade. But he had asked. Nothing else was injured but the blade had come close enough to cause a flush of heat against her inner thigh.

Her body spun elegantly, both avoiding the saber and bringing her round in a full circle. Dianah brought her raised leg down as she reached the end of her spin, which in turn flung her torso up from its resting place. The momentum of this strange evasion was put to good use. Her blade lash out at Jaron's partly turned back.

'Perhaps I'll show you more one day, if you're lucky enough.'

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"Impressive," Jaron said as his blade sliced through the flourish of her dress. The skirt was not torn through, but Dianah cleary did not care. She did need to be careful however, because too many more of hits like that and she would not have a dress to wear.

Jaron countered her attack by bringing his saber over his back shoulder. He could feel the heat of his own blade near his face, but his strength had managed to stop Dianah's momentum. The rest of this spar would be about helping her learn how to use the momentum of the fight to keep on the offensive rather than worry so much about defending herself. There was a chance he was teaching her a form that might get her killed, but that was fine. Dianah did not want it any other way.

His blade pushed hers up, and as it did, Jaron crouched, swinging his leg out and around, in attempt to sweep her off her feet. This was her chance to show him just how much she had been paying attention.

"Promises, promises, ner cyare... You either will or you won't, but keep in mind... I intend on finding out."

Jaron wasn't sure where the spar with their words stopped and the one with their weapons began. This was morphing into something else entirely. He was going to let it be what it was, and see it through to the end, but the more they engaged one another the more it felt like a test. Was she testing his worth as warrior, and was he testing hers as well? Was this an evaluation of just how close their future would make them, how invoved they would actually be. Jaron knew exactly what she had meant with her tease, and he knew she would understand his.

This dance was no longer about the spar, it was about them.

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Her blade was met with the disappointing resistance of Jaron's own.

A stream of red and pink flew up into the air once again as their blades parted. Physical strength was something that would come to Dianah in time but she was still frustrated by how easily he could flick her away. It didn't skip her attention that she was already getting better, she could hear a slither of pride in Jaron's tone, but the progress was slow. At least he was attempting to teach her something that came naturally, it just needed a little more refining.

His leg came flying toward her feet the second their sabers were free. Something about trying to knock her off her feet in such an obvious way made her laugh. Dianah was the clumsy type and it seemed like he was testing her because of it. His jest made her laugh even harder, a bright smile lit up her face. It seemed the chase hadn't stopped. He really did want to stick around to find out what their future together held. When the laughter died down she looked at him square in the eyes, a sparkle of their spirited banter had returned.

'A Goddess makes no false promises. It's her loyal servants actions that dictates whether they will be kept or not.'

A soft grunt of concentration escaped her lips as she leapt over them, like a child playing jump rope. Though his leg aimed for just below her knee she looked graceful and poised. A sparkle of an idea came over her mind. Her fingers flicked out and sent a wave of force toward his outstretched leg. The force of it swung him round in rapid circles and her blade came chasing after his open torso.

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

Jaron simply smirked at her reply. The banter was too fun, as was trying to teach her Ataru. What was meant to get her to move turned into a plan gone wrong. She had done what he hoped. Leaping well above his leg was what he wanted her to understand, but the force push was not anything he had expected her to do. The desired result she had was not what occurred.

The spin came as she wanted, but with it came a loud crack, pop, and scream from Jaron. He fell onto his butt, and blocked the pink blade which came crashing down. Out of desperation to nurse his ankle, Jaron sent a devastating wave of force energy. It had the potential to send Dianah flying into the wall, but the reaction was not of a man thinking about a spar, but someone who was hurt.

“Frak!!!”

Jaron dropped his saber and reached for his ankle. Closing his eyes, Jaron pushed the force to the wound. This had been a trick his uncle had taught him. His mind pushed the pain out, the darkness which could come with it, and in a usually uncharacteristic manner, Jaron tapped into the light side of the force. Dianah would feel it likely, Jaron certainly did, but as his eyes remained closed the bone began to knit itself back together again.

He winced through it all, until it was fully healed. The energy it took from him though had him resting on his hands. They propped him up as he looked over to Dianah with an odd smile on his face.

“I think I don’t need to worry about you if you can think like that every time you fight an enemy.”

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Screams were like music to her ears. So why did this one sound so horrifying? It made her soul cringe and she almost lost the concentration behind her swing. It wouldn't have mattered either way though as Jaron's blade came to bite down on her own. The swing came from low to high, which was strange as she seemed to remember he was standing when she aimed at him.

The realization that the haunting scream had come from Jaron dawned on her a second too late. With her blade now free her mind was whirring to catch up with the events of the past few moments. It meant she was too distracted to do anything against his next move. A powerful wave of force slapped her dead in the center of her chest. Dianah's light frame flew violently back to smack against the rock solid wall behind her. There was a deafening crack as her head met stone.

For a few moments the world went black. A hot trickle of blood ran down the back of her neck, it brought the yellow glow the room back into the corners of her eyes one shade at a time. The rest of her vision followed suit but everything felt hazy and slow. Dianah reached for her head to feel out any injury. Her fingers were met with a gaping wound that covered her fingers in thick, sticky liquid. Jaron's curse made her snap her eyes up. Each passing moment the fog shifted from her mind and she finally realized what had happened.

She struggled to scramble up off the floor, in the end she managed it, using the wall as a hoist. The world spun dangerously for a few moments, that didn't stop her from wobbling forward to his sitting frame.

'Are you o-...'

Dianah was about to say something, about to ask if he was okay and beg for his forgiveness but a strange feeling stopped her dead in her tracks. The light side of the force was something completely unknown to her. It felt similar to the dark side, it set a warm spark alight in her body. This fire wasn't blazing though, it wasn't an inferno that brought a million emotions to the surface, it was a gentle heat. Like a warm hug or a heated blanket.

'What are you doing?'

Her voice sounded as thick as her head felt. Dianah flopped down heavily onto the ground beside Jaron, causing a puff of dust to encircle them both. She lent forward as best she could to catch his chin in her grasp. Her eyes caught his and searched for any sign of pain or something like it, but nothing of the sort came to her. A moment ago she had heard him make a blood curdling scream, a sound that would stay with her forever. But now he was smiling and joking on. Her curiosity got the better of her and completely overshadowed any concern she had for both their injuries.

'What was that?'

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

Jaron had no idea that his save of force entertainment had damaged Dianah so badly until he watched her hobble over to him. The smell of blood and dirt mixing assaulted his nose. She was hurt, bleeding, and concussed. A sigh left his lips as her hand held his jaw, looking into his eyes. Hers were glasses over.

He sighed again as his eyes closed. Reaching out with the force he loved onto the wound in her aura. It was a risk, but why tell her what he did when he could show her.

A wave of light side energy washe over Dianah once the wound was isolated, and with his mind, and what he could see in the force, Jaron knit the wound back together expertly as if nothing had happened. Dealing with the concussion left him drained, tired, and nearly exhausted, but he was no where near blacking out as he had been the time he pushed himself too far on Arbra.

“That’s what I did. You should feel better now? Sorry about the shack wave.”

Jaron was looking away, almost ashamed he had hurt her, and then hid the fact he still tapped into light side abilities on occasion. Here he had been teaching her what it was to be Sith, and he healed her, and himself. The spar wasn’t going to continue with them both injured, but this was more than that. Jaron did it because he wanted to. He wanted her better, and he didn’t want her to feel guilty over breaking his ankle.

“At least you bested me....”

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

The strange bubbling sensation of the light side came once again. The wound on the back of her head was being tugged, though not unpleasantly. Now she had more time to think about it she much preferred the fiery burn of the dark side. Yet, there was no denying there was power behind it. She had heard of force healing before but for Sith using it came at a price. Dianah wondered if it was beyond her own capabilities to do something like that. If she tried would it only be the dark side that came when she called, or would the light side come just as willingly?

'I do feel better...'

Her hand reached up to feel for the wound, but all she could make out was another slim silver scar to add to her collection. Her head felt clearer now and she managed to shoot him an impressed look, but his head was hung in shame.

One finger lifted his chin up so she could meet his gaze. There was pain in his eyes after all, but not the physical kind. He was hurting because he hurt her. It seemed silly considering she had done the same to him.

'I broke your ankle. I'd say we're pretty even.'

A lively smile danced across her lips. She lent forward to catch him in a tender kiss. Before she pulled away she nipped his lower lip playfully between her teeth.

'I didn't best you, you have weak ankles. Hardly a fair fight.'

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

“Weak ankles! A force push like that would snap anyone’s ankle...”

His tongue licked the bottom of his lip where Dianah had just nipped at it. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he stood to his feet and offered a hand to Dianah. His eyes looked down on the woman as he helped her up. Here was a playful glint in his eye that begged for something more than the playful banter and stolen kisses. She had a smell about her, the natural scent of her pheromones was intoxicating.

He breathed her in.

“You intoxicate me,” he said before his lips found her jaw. She was not the only one who could playfully bite as the kiss ended. A soft chuckle escaped his lips. Jaron pushed her away and reignited his saber.

“This dance is far from over...”

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

'Pfft, please. It was a baby push!'

Dianah took his had gratefully and pulled herself up to a stand. Half of her expected to feel the same woozy feeling the last time she had stood but of course, there was nothing. She flicked her hand up to the back of her head again and felt the smooth scar. All the curls back there were matted together with slowly drying blood. She made a mental note to wash it as quick as she could, otherwise she'd end up with dreadlocks to rival her brother and Father's.

Jaron's smooth line brought a sultry smirk to her face coupled with a flattered blush. Instinctively, she tilted her head to allow for his sweet kisses. The rumbling chuckle that came from his throat was like music to her ears. It made her want to spend a life time searching for things that would make him laugh.

The moment didn't last for too long though. She felt the weight of his hand and the force behind it which separated them by a few feet.

Her seductive smile was replaced with a wide grinning one. She took several steps away from Jaron till the space between them reached peak distance. The metal hilt of her blade spun in the center of her palm before bursting to life in a flurry of pink.

'Then let's dance.'

Two quick steps where made in his direction. The first was to find her footing, the second was to dash her body forward using the force. When the distance between them had halved she pushed herself up from the ground. The speed of the run threw her body forward, closing the remaining gap. She was at least foot above his head now, pink blur in tow. The blade swept through their air down toward Jaron's shoulder.

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

Her quip drew out the smile even more. They were indeed going to dance, and while he enjoyed the banter, it was time for their blades to do the talking. They had tested each other, knew what the other was capable of, and it was time to decide once and for all who was going to be the dominant one today. Jaron had been told not to take it easy on her, not would he.

She came at him in a blur. Putting the force to good use as she demonstrated some of the skill needed to make the fourth form work. Jaron was pleased that his hunch had been correct. She moved with as much flair as she could, while forcing her to stick to the merciless objective he had given her.

Her leap was met by a force push from Jaron to slow her attack. His own legs pushed into the ground only to push off the dirt and meet her face to face in the air. His blade clashed with hers, sending the sparks showering to the ground below them. It seemed they hung in the air for a few moments, and as they came crashing down, Jaron took a step back as he grabbed Dianah with the force and slashed upward to meet her chest.

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

A gentle resistance in the form of his force slowed her speed significantly. She felt it dragging her back from her target inch by inch, but not before the black streak that was Jaron jumped up to meet her mid-air.

When their blades crashed the sparks that flew caused flashes of color to dance across her eyes. Through the rainbow lightning their blades made when they crossed, Dianah flashed him an amused smile. He was much smarter than she gave him credit for.

The ground came up quickly. Despite how slow the few moments in the air had seemed, she was still going at an incredible pace when she hit the ground. A storm of dust flew up around her and yellow colored silks billowed nosily, followed by the sound of Dianah skidding across the floor.

Just as she had recovered and was about to speed toward him ropes of power lashed around her. The blade and Jaron himself got closer and closer with each passing second. A smirk crossed her lips and just as the blade came swinging toward her chest she bent backward at the waist. Her own saber dis-ignited, normally she would have left it on but she didn't want to risk gutting him completely. Burning heat skimmed inches away from her skin but the second it began to cool she sprung back up to a stand.

She gave him no time to recover. Her body ducked low and one elegant leg sliced through the air to sweep him off his feet.

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

The scene played like that in a holofilm, but the two skilled duelists were not play actors. Each move was as precise as their ability would allow, and Dianah seemed to improve with every passing moment. His smile tugged at his cheeks as she ducked below his blade. It was a risky move, and had she not cut off her blade, Jaron would have adapted with a roll, but he did not need to.

There was no time for him to make some kind of comment, as Dianah brought her leg around to sweep at his legs. Rather than go abiver her, Jaron turned his blade off and did a back band spring two lengths back. The crimson of his blade came back to life when his feet were solid on the ground.

Jaron ran toward her, speed to his legs, as she came to her feet. His hope was to catch his blade, the heat of it just under her chin. His pride was not at stake here, and yet, he still wanted her to submit to his skill. Being around Dianah made him Hungary for power, to prove his ability and skill. This made him refuse to give in to her. Jaron would press until she gave in to him. This was the chase after all. He would win her, and capture her.

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Where there should have been Jaron's leg, there was nothing but air. A mental note was made in her head to follow through with the force next time instead, maybe then she'd be quick enough to catch him off guard. He followed with a graceful back flip that made her shake her head and tut loudly.

'For someone with such a stoic personality you sure like to show off.'

She had somehow managed to find the time to toss the quip in his direction, but it was laced with heavy breaths from the exertion. Her arm had just clipped the switch to bring the pink blade whirring into action again when Jaron shot toward her. The only warning she had was the zipping sound as he sliced through the air.

It was almost happening in slow motion, he was running toward her and his blade reached out for the underside of her chin. There was a keen temptation to let him have his victory, however short it might have been. She could also see the determination in his eyes, it was rivaled only by her own. In some strange way it was a fight for the future of their relationship. He was chasing her and she was running. His winning might not necessarily end the chase but it would bring him closer.

Dianah wasn't ready to let him win. Not just yet at least.

One step back was all it took to avoid the sting of his blade but she wasn't going to let him go far. Her force wrapped around him and brought him skidding backward in the dirt toward her. A sweeping motion from her saber hand brought the bright blade up toward his own outstretched arm.

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"I'm not showing off... You wanted to see how Ataru worked... I'm showing you."

His tongue would have come out, but he was afraid what he said might earn him a threat to have it sliced off. Jaron smiled though. She had caught on as to the nature of this part of their spar, and refused to give in.

Good. Jaron didn't want her to let him win. If he was going to have her, it was going to be because he was the best for her.

Again she was going for his arm. Dianah seemed determined to take his arm or make him slip up. Again his feet pushed off the ground as he used the momentum of the pull to flip over her. With a slight twist in the air Jaron turned to face her back, bringing his blade down with him. His motion would have cut her in half had this been mortal combat, but his aim was simply for the yellow silks. Jaron intended to split it in two down her back. He wanted to see more of her, and wanted to know what the yellow silk was hiding.

"You already tried that once..."

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

'Oh, suuuuuure.'

Her voice was filled with sarcasm and their playful banter as her blade bit into the empty air.

'You'll have to let me know of the last time you genuinely used a back flip to jump over a blade. Then I might believe you.'

Her back arched away from the blazing heat as it sliced clean through her silks. Before the saber went too far she turned around to bat his blade away with her own. The ruined ilks flapped behind her has she span, peeling away from her skin to reveal a glimpse of her naked flesh. The saber had managed to slice all the way down to her lower back.

Dianah couldn't help but shoot him an amused smile. He was being cheeky and pushing his luck and she loved every second of it. For a moment she craned her head to look back at the singed yellow material clinging to her back. At his words she let out a bubbling giggle.

'You're right. Show me something new.'

Deep brown eyes sparkled with amusement and excitement as she lowered her body into a defensive stance, waiting for him to make his move.

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

She was daring him to show off. It was cute and certainly played to Jaron's ego. Dianah certainly liked to feed it at any rate. HIs eyes were on her back however. As she spun away from the remainder of his attack he could not help but notice the exposed skin that peeked through the cut he had made. The sight gave him a wicked idea, one that he was likely going to get in trouble for later. Diana seemed to encourage his wicked ideas though, and as she challenged him further, the idea set in his eyes.

A devious expression washed across his face as he took a few steps aways from her.

"Something new," he teased with a nod.

Jaron did not close his eyes as he did not want her to know what was about to happen. This was a skill Jaron had learned as the first step in the elemental abilities in the force. Where there had been no wind, not even a breeze, around them, a shift took place. It was subtle at first, dust from the sparring grounds began to kick up in the air. As the force of the wind began to grow so did the amount of dust, until the visibility in the room was practically gone. Dianah nor Jaron would be able to see.

Jaron only had his ability to sense her, and see her through the foce. Once he found her a soft chuckle danced about the gust of wind he had created.

"Is this to your liking, cyare," he said as he moved about the room.

He would keep her guessing as to his location until a sudden slash of his blade came ever close to her shoulder. Another expert cut, if not deflected, would burn through the fabric of her sleeve, on of two pieces still holding the silks to her torso.

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dirt crunching underfoot made Dianah cast her gaze over Jaron curiously. He had an expression on that screamed trouble and it stirred up an all too familiar emotion that left her cheeks a burning red and her legs feeling twitchy. She couldn't help but raise a brow and cast him a coy smile.

'You should use that "up to no good" look more often. It suits you...'

Whatever he was about to do she had a feeling she wasn't prepared for it.

At first Dianah didn't notice, it was only a gentle breeze. It licked the edges of her skirts making what was left of them flutter around her legs in a maddening pattern that was too complicated to follow. Dust began to fly up into the air, it swirled around her and stung painfully at any exposed skin. The wind picked up, turning into violent gusts that covered every inch of the room in a storm of particles and debris.

There was nothing to do but wait. Even the violent hue of her blade wasn't providing much light, though if it had been she wouldn't have noticed. Her arm had come up to defend her eyes against dust.

The sound of his voice rose above the wailing wind. She was tempted to turn to it but she knew better than that. Instead she listened, straining her ears against the din for anything out of the ordinary. Despite her efforts the hum of the blade sounded out before she could get her bearings. The yellow silk of her sleeve was freed from the stitching that held it in place. When she moved her arm to inspect it it slid away from her caramel skin and fluttered to the ground.

'Now you're just taking liberties. You're very lucky these robes weren't expensive.'

Her tone was playful. At least she had a vague idea of where he was now. The red streak of his blade gave him away. It seemed like a good chance to practice her force sight so, partly for concentration and partly because of the dust storm that was still raging, she let her brown eyes flutter to a close. Feeling him out was easy, almost a second nature, he was so familiar to her now.

She took a step forward, wrapping the force around her muscles. It sprung her from the ground and she flipped gracefully over what she hoped was Jaron. When she landed she cast her saber aside. It went skidding across the empty space beside them, the sound of it hissing and cracking against the ground could be heard even over the aggressive wind. Dianah didn't doubt Jaron would get the message. Her slender leg kicked out through the air impressively high, aiming for the side of his head.

He was raised a Mandalorian as was she. Hand to hand was a critical skill.

Testing him on it only seemed right.

[member=Jaron Lesan]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

Even with the wind and the dust flying about, Jaron still heard the silks fall to the floor. The garment was not that secure on her to begi with, so he wasn’t surprised that it took little to rid her of what held it in place. The only thing keeping him from seeing what was under the robe was the dust.

A sharp clang and thud pulled him away from his thoughts. She tossed her lightsaber. Jaron grinned. The Mando’ad in her knew she had been bested with a blade, so now she resorted to what any Mandalorian would fall on. Hand to hand skill was not just a tool, but it was a way of life. Both would have been trained from the moment they could walk, and Jaron had a few years head start on Dianah.

“I only take what my goddess allows,” cake his reply as he let go of his control of the wind

The dirt and deer began to fall, revealing that Jaron was standing across from her. His left foot was forward, right foot back, and his hands were balled into fists and held close to he chest. There were many fighting techniques a force user could learn, and Judah had trained Jaron in a couple. Still, there was nothing like a good old brawl.

Her foot cake toward the side of his head, and with a step backward he reached to catch her ankle, then sweep low and kick out the one leg she was standing on. Dianah was aggressive, and Jaron loved it. No other woman had dared challenge him like this, and she seemed determined to test him through and through.

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that if you’re gonna hit me.”

Jaron took up a typical fighting stance. His left foot was forward, right foot back, and his hands balled into fists near his chest.

“C’mon, hit me!”

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

The wind died down slowly around them, settling the dust and debris back onto the ground. A soft chortle filled the quiet air.

'Perhaps I should stop making such allowances then. Tighten your leash, so to speak.'

Her voice was strained slightly from the force she put behind her swing but it was as exuberant as ever.

She ripped her ankle out of his grasp, just in time to fling it over his oncoming leg. The other one followed suit till she was safety on the other side. His words made her grin. He was egging her on, his words were turning the spark of determination into a blazing fire of persistence. If there was one thing she wasn't going to let him best her at, it was this.

For the longest of times the only people she had to train with were Ivum and Metus, both strong and brutal in their own right. Hand to hand was something Dianah had to figure out how to adapt to herself, they took no mercy on her then and they took no mercy on her now. She had learnt how to hit like a rancor, so even her feeble fists could make a dent in their muscular chests. She had learnt how to avoid the swings that came with a ton of force behind arms as thick as tree trunks. Dianah had learnt all of this on her own and despite having little to no chances to show her hand to hand combat off she was particularly proud of it.

A delicate spin on the tip of her toes brought her weight swinging round to Jaron. Her fist was balled up and brought up to her shoulder, but that wasn't what she was aiming at him. At the height of her turn, just as Jaron came creeping into the edge of her vision, her sharp elbow came rushing toward his ribs.

[member=Jaron Lesan]