Refresher Course [Dragon School]

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh had been unable to teach Anora on the promised date, due to being abruptly called to Azure in order to participate in the war with the Mandalorian Empire. He had not wanted to skip out on it, but he had sent his sincerest of apologies and hoped she understood that while he had wanted to do what he could for her at the time, his duty had come calling and there were people that needed him out there.

Of course, even he couldn't have prepared for all that had happened. The Sith's involvement as the UCM's allies, creating a nuke-sized storm that nearly levelled the planet and would have killed millions of civilians and Silver soldiers and Jedi, had Josh not stepped in. Sacrificing himself to create a barrier to hold the storm at bay, he gave the others time to evacuate, and to stop the storm as well, but he quite nearly destroyed his body to do so, and nearly lost his life as well. He had been comatose for some time, had gone under the knife, and then had spent the weeks after on a walking stick, with his duties very slowly returning over time.

Now he had his mobility back. That was what he was waiting for before calling on Anora once more. He had told her as such, that he had a lesson in mind and refused to give her something half-arsed while he was still in that pitiful state. Now that he could move properly again, that time had come and he had called her into the training room to deliver on that promise. He hoped she could understand when it came to how late it was.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

If she was to be one hundred percent honest, the fact that being fit back into the folds of the Dragon School had been delayed hadn't bothered Anora at all. Not because she had some reservations about it or something, but because she understood what had happened, both during the war and after. She was also aware of the fact that Eenia had, had a hand in the fact that their Master was still alive and therefore still able to teach. She was also aware that little sister knew she was here, and yet the pair of them still had not come face to face for any given reason. While that of course bothered Anora, she wasn't about to go hunting for the blond Vahn and have a repeat of their last encounter.

So, she had bid her time keeping herself busy - and making sure her path didn't cross with Eenia's.

But one she had gotten word that a lesson was ready for her? She was on it. She had gotten a great many lessons in procrastination from Tyran during her time with him, and it had been beaten into her head that on time was late. As such, Nora made her way to the designated training room and strode inside without any sort of hesitation.

"Look who's back on just his feet!" she let out, of course referencing his lack of walking stick. "You look like you're doing better." she added, and with chatter or not, she took up her spot and stood. Seems the training was still embedded in there somewhere.


[member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"I'm alive" He responded cheekily with a slight shrug. "Suppose that'll have to do. That damned scar still hurts though" He remarked, before moving on. "My apologies for the wait. So let us begin. Your exercise for today is... We're going to have ourselves a little spar" He spoke up, as he held up a training lightsaber and tossed it to Anora.

"Today is going to be a bit of a refresher course" He admitted as his lightsaber flew from his belt into his hand. "Before you can build a lightsaber of your own... I need you to be confident that you can use one. So that's what we'll be doing today. Today..." He trailed off as he tossed his lightsaber into the air and caught it with a look. "We'll be going over the forms of lightsaber combat."

He motioned to the training saber in her hand as he adjusted his lightsaber down to low power so as not to accidentally maim Anora. "So yeah. Come at me when you're ready. Let's rumba."

Well, he wasn't wasting any time jumping back into combat. Of course, this was typical of him, as she probably knew by now.

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

Both of Anora's brows lofted when the response came, but really she didn't expect anything less. It was nice to see the witty banter was still on point, and that dynamic for such a thing was still there between them. However, when the training saber was tossed her way, Nora grinned and caught it with ease and activated it with a flick of her thumb. It hummed to life and her gaze shifted to Josh once again.

"Alright, refresher course is good with me. Although," she flipped the blade around in her hand a couple of times before shifting it to a useable hold. Her body then shifted stances, and while it was different from the way she held herself before she had left, it was still a clear indication that she was ready for business. "I'm not that out of practice." she informed him. She had said that she kept up physically, after all.

And then she moved. It had never been Anora's style to hesitate, and this was no different. She moved forward until she was close enough to swing, but rather than go for the obvious attack she feinted at the last moment, twisted to the left side, and brought the attack on from the side. She was still quick - probably quicker now really, though she was argue and say her speed still needed work, and her agility hadn't seemed to suffer at all in her time away.


[member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He was calm, tranquil. Like the wind before the coming storm. He didn't even activate his blade just yet. He had accommodated for the possibility of a feint, knowing it was a common tactic for the opening of a duel. It wasn't until her lightsaber came inches from his body that he activated his lightsaber, blue blade humming as he calmly flicked it with one hand to block the attack as he turned his head slowly to stare at her. His expression hadn't changed a bit, his complexion unwavering.

"Form 1. Shii-Cho. The most basic of the forms" He began to lecture. "Generally thought to be replaced with Form 2, Shii-Cho relies on tactics and strategy to work at it's best. Basic movements..." He trailed off as he suddenly fell to his side and attempted to sweep at her leg with his lightsaber without warning. "... But random and unpredictable" He finished as he kipped up and sprang to his feet the moment the attack either hit or missed. He was deceivingly fast for a large man, but that came with the training. "A Master can take even the most basic of forms and turn them into the most dangerous. With Shii-Cho, your objective is to disarm your opponent. You won't use it often, but it will be useful to you to keep as a form for non-lethal combat."

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

There would be no leg sweep - at least not in the sense that would take Anora off of her feet. She had been taught to watch the way people and things move. To anticipate, to be ever mindful, to calculate how a situation could go wrong in any given direction. She had been slow to learn these things of course, not understanding how someone's mind could calculate so many things so quickly, but the more she had worked on it, the easier it became for her to both understand and do. She had been a hunter, and had reached a point where she was going to be able to do jobs on her own, and then...well....

She ended up here again instead.

That didn't change the way her brain worked or how her body reacted. She had jumped back out of the way before her legs could get swept out from under her, but she didn't stay back. Anora moved forward again, saber in hand still, ready for more. But, she was listening. "I don't forsee many instances where disarming an opponent is going to be priority." she stated. "I can only think of one right off hand, really." And that of course made her wonder if all of this was preparation for in case Eenia came at her again.

Though that though gave her pause too - mentally, not physically. "That's not to say I think that we should slaughter everyone, just to be clear." she made sure to clarify. "I just meant that in most cases, outside of training and spars, most opponents want you dead."


[member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

The Jedi let out a sigh. "Nora, Nora, Nora... So close, yet so far. Passed... Yet failed" He lamented as he watched her come forward. He had started walking at a brisk pace, calmly watching her movements, calmly watching her saber. So many Jedi fell for this trap of "How important can disarming and non-lethal be?" these days. She was just another statistic in that number, and another for him to correct.

If she moved, he would move to match. But if she did not move, then he would begin circling her, taking stabs and swipes at her as he walked, trying to wear her down by forcing her to go on the defensive.

"For the scared villagers mistaking you for a Sith Lord" He remarked with one swing aimed at her lightsaber's handle. "For the slaves ordered to either attack you or die by their masters" Sounded with another swing. "For the civilian militia commanded by their leaders to cooperate with a manipulating Sith" Came with the next. "For the civilians controlled by them and forced to attack" Came with another.

"For the misguided opponent that feels he is doing the right thing."

"For the opponent that, wanted you dead or not, has not been underhanded in your battle and thus deserves the honour of at least possibly retaining their life upon defeat."

"For the opponent that you might suddenly recall has a family of their own, even if they are on the side opposite to yours."

"For the helpless non-force user that you defeated with ease, who stands helpless before you, and will remain helpless but also unharmed if you disarm them of their weapon."

"For the man mad with grief that you failed to save his loved one."

"For the people that will charge you blindly, blaming you for their losses."

"For the people that will call you devil and shoot at you, for they have been conditioned that Jedi do nothing but cause pain."

"For the lad conditioned and forced to fight, who deserves a second chance at life to make something of himself."

"For the child that saw his father cut down under your watch, while you could do nothing. A child unable to understand, unable to comprehend, unable to know that you would have saved him if you had been able to."

"For the petty criminal that grows scared at the sight of you and attacks. Do you kill him, for being a criminal? Or for trying to kill you? Or do you disarm him and encourage him to live a better life?"

Each strike came with it's own message. Each strike came with not just a reason why disarming was important... But with scenarios that Anora would potentially have to deal with. And each strike was harder and more forceful than the last. It was a reminder that being a Jedi was never easy. It would weigh on you, an increasingly heavy weight that would only grow heavier with time. Just as each strike grew heavier and heavier.

This wasn't just a lecture on her folly. This was a glimpse at the future she would have to live with. The question posed with each strike was... When these situations come at you, what will you do?

[member="Anora Vahn"]

 

[Anora Vahn]

At first she had moved, taking the lecture for what it was, and keeping in step while she was being corrected. But the more Josh went on, the more Anora's movements had slowed until she was standing still and merely using the saber in her hand to block and deflect the blows that were aimed for her. Hey, to be fair she had said flat out that she didn't believe they needed to slaughter everyone they came across, but when she was speaking about not disarming an opponent, she had been speaking more lethal terms.

Which is why she didn't argue, or put up a fuss about it, because she hadn't considered the non-lethal opponent in that moment. Of course she knew there would be instances where she would come across people and situations where disarming the attacker was more prudent than taking them out. But again, she didn't argue the fact because she hadn't said as such, and knew that was the problem.

"I get it," she was quick to state after blocking another blow sent her way. And it wasn't said in a snooty or pissy tone either. She understood, she was clearly aware of what she had said and where she had gone wrong in saying it. Admittedly it was a little hard to pull herself out of the 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality she had gained. Not impossible, obviously, but it was definitely going to have to be worked on to ease her back into assessing a situation with people attacking as thoroughly as possible before judgement was passed.

Strange how a couple years of bounty hunting training was harder to let go of than Force training had been.


[member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He nodded his head when she spoke up. When she said she got it, he knew she meant it. He stopped and withdrew his blade for the time being, deciding to give her a small breather. But he stared into her eyes at that moment, gaze piercing into hers, as he gave one final lesson on the matter. Some parting advice on the topic.

"When you kill someone, you never forget them."

That was his last word on the subject of lethality unless she spoke further on it. While what he said next was somewhat related, it didn't apply to just lethality either. "Being a Jedi isn't just about taking down bad guys and saving people. I wish it were that easy, but..." He trailed off with a casual shrug. "You become a public figure. Everything you do is scrutinized and put under a microscope. One mistake and the very people I referred to prior can come banging on your doorstep. It makes our job a lot harder than it should be, but... The fact is, someone's gotta do it.

And if you're aware of the incident that rendered me in the state you referenced earlier, and what I sacrificed to prevent it from taking anymore lives... Then you know exactly why someone's gotta do it. Even when it gets hard. Even when things get heavy and it feels like the world is against you. And trust me... That's something you're going to feel, a lot. It happens to all of us. No good deed goes unpunished. So to handle it... Knowing the forms and what they do, and why they are learned, is important. As is much of the skills and lessons you will learn."

With that, he brandished his blade again. "Do you have any questions before we continue?"

[member="Anora Vahn"]