Meditation Through Combat (OPEN)

[Josh Dragovalor]

His eyes opened and he took a moment to adjust to the light again after how long his eyes had been closed, an exhale leaving him at that. He listened as she described what she had seen from his aura, his battling, his reactions to everything. "Thank you" He spoke softly. He hadn't thought his ideals, his commitment to Shmi anything but normal in the past. It was how someone who loved someone else should be, right? Wanting nothing more then to be with them... And thinking of nobody else in the same light that they are placed in. So he didn't understand fully just why it was meant pointing out, but he supposed perhaps not everyone was like that.

He had to consider for a moment what he'd learned of her. His eyes closed for a gentle moment before he took a breath and opened them again.

"Eager to learn. Eager to prove. And while you don't show it as openly as I tend to, by the looks of it, you certainly do care for those you love. And you clearly have skill in combat, especially hand to hand." He would answer. "... Although you don't seem to have any qualms about playing dirty" He teased with a playful smile.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Your welcome Joshua. He now knew why this, combat was central to Echani culture. It showed more about ourselves and others than any other time. His evaluation of me was very accurate as well. His comment about my not having qualms about resorting to fighting dirty made me laugh.

"Master, I was trained by two groups. Several different instructors a Miraluka who taught Echani fighting as well as a Mandalorian woman named Arja Prudii. Echani are fluid in combat to us it's one of the purest forms of self-expression it's life to us. Mandalorians they make warfare an art and they have absolutely no problems fighting dirty if it means survival or victory. We place honor and family in the highest place of respect we can. I'm a child of both cultures Master but I'll always choose to be Jedi at the end of the day."

"I'm glad you understand now though Master. Hopefully I've eliminated and dispelled the thought of Echani dueling as some way of getting barely clothed wrestling going from your mind. It's an art form the same as sabers, meditation, painting, or anything else."

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"You know, I knew a Miraluka warrior once. Cute one, at that" He joked back casually with a small smile. Well, okay, that was an understatement, but he would then nod his head in understanding to what she was talking about. "I first learned the Echani style myself in a Sith prison a matter of years ago. One of my cellmates was trying to stage an escape and we didn't have any weapons. Since they took most of our clothing anyway, it was kind of easy to train" Josh would explain. He'd sort of surprised her by having Echani training to begin with unannounced, so he figured he at least owed her an explanation. "I've kept training up since, even after escaping. But I don't do it specialized as much as you do, clearly. I try to keep a variety of styles in mind and use them to my advantage in the case that I need to fight unarmed. A lightsaber is a part of a Jedi, sure, but sometimes a glowy sword that can cut people in half easily... Isn't exactly the best tool for every job" He would add with a light chuckle.

"No worries though" He remarked with a shrug. "I know full well your reasonings, I didn't doubt you. Well, at least until you tried to play dirty" He joked at the end, smiling faintly. "But it's not like I haven't done any weird things myself. Actually..." He began, thinking over if it was a good idea for a moment, but inevitably just shrugging his shoulders as though it wasn't a big deal. "When I was on the Jedi Council for the Republic's Jedi Order, and a single Jedi Master at that, one of my co-workers dragged me to a mud wrestling ring. I'm not joking. I thought Rianna was kidding, but she wasn't. She really wasn't."

Straight face. He was serious. He was dead serious.

"I figured it just another joke, like the cracks we made about our shrewd, cold-as-balls Grandmaster who had no qualities of personality that stood out as positive - calling her the Grandbooty."

His words were a stark reminder that he'd regarded her throughout this as a friend and not as a Padawan. She was a co-worker, yes, but he found that Jedi tended to get along better and work together better if you treated them like human beings.

[member="Celiana"]

 

[Celiana]

Taking a seat I listened to Joshua talk before asking, "What was it like? The Sith Prison I mean. I've not had any personal encounters with them though I'm curious to learn what I can about them."

I didn't want to sound too eager about Dark-side or Sith knowledge but I was intrigued by the idea of studying their philosophies of Saber combat and their weapon designs. Especially the Alchemy, I'd studied the idea behind it but I figured their must be a counterpart to the Sith Gauntlets.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Never go there. Worst vacation ever."

But it was his eyes. It was his eyes that told the story behind his joking nature. His eyes were so piercing all of a sudden, like it was a memory he wanted to shut out but just couldn't. He wanted to forget, he really did, but he could not. It was forever ingrained in his mind. It was something he never wanted to repeat.

 

[Celiana]

Looking into Josh's eyes I saw the pain there even with the joking about it being the worst vacation ever. Meeting his gaze I said, "Ah, I'm sorry Master for bringing a painful memory back to the surface." I felt perhaps that I'd overstepped a tad too far. In any case I felt that this training session had reached its conclusion and turning back to Joshua I said, "Master thank you, for listening to my story and offering your guidance rather than condemnation. Also thank you for the saber sparring and honoring me with a traditional Echani duel. I hope to train with you again Master."

Inclining my head in a slight bow I gathered my belongings up and walked back out of the training chambers...

*Exit Thread*

OOC: I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to this I thought I'd been the last one to post my bad...