Private Size Matters Not.

[Sev Pitborn]

Peace Station
Training Room

​

The lightsaber swirled around the lone Jedi like an emerald cyclone. One of the training droids stepped forward, attempting to strike Sev with a thrust to his weak side. He turned and parried, driving the the droid's saber towards the mat and twisting his wrist to throw the blade off of center line. At that moment, the other training droid attempted an overhead slash from Sev's right. He released the blade of the initial droid, causing the automaton to stumble forward awkwardly, unable to hold absorb the momentum of the parry as Sev turned his attention instantly to the other droid. He side stepped the overhead slash and chopped at the droids arm, his powered down saber burning across the drone, causing it to deactivate to simulate it's destruction, though the saber, set to minimum power for practice, hadn't caused any actual damage. The other droid kept up its relentless assault, attempting an underhand slash toward Sev's groin after it recovered its balance. Sev caught the blade with his own, deflecting it to the side and making a quick, simple motion to connect his saber with the machine's thigh. Like the other droid, it immediately powered down, as if the saber had taken both it's legs off and rendered it harmless.

Sev deactivated his saber and paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. He walked over to the control console at the edge of the mat, and upped the number of opponents to three. The two previously incapacitated droids reactivated, training sabers ignited and at the ready, as a third marched onto the mat from the side line. Now Sev was to face all three of the droids this particular room was equipped with. He checked the settings for the robots. The previous two were still set to "Master" difficulty. Their form choice set to "Random". The newly activated droid was set to the default "Padawan" difficulty and it's from the the Default "Form I: Shii Cho". Sev upped the difficulty to "Master" and again set the form to "Random." He returned to main menu and released two more practice drones, small floating spheres equipped with several harmless, yet painful training lasers. That would add yet another layer to this trial, as Sev had to focus on deflecting projectiles whilst defending himself against three skilled, albeit artificial, opponents.

Since his arrival on Peace, Sev had found himself spending nearly all of his free time battling these training droids. The intensity of the training and the focus required were the only thing that seemed to quiet his mind, and setting the droids to maximum difficulty caused him to focus fully and give himself to The Force, quieting his ever screaming conscience. At first, had had started the droids on "Knight" difficulty, selecting forms he wished to study. This eventually proved too easy for The young swordsman, as the droids were unable to feel the Force and provide a real challenge to the seasoned gladiator. He eventually resorted to setting the droids to maximum difficulty and randomizing their forms, this at least provided more of a challenge and helped him solidify his knowledge of the different forms. He usually warmed up with one droid, scarcely a challenge to the former champion, then upped the number of opponents until he reached the peak of his workout; the current setting. Every training bot in the room was against him now; the only exercise that really made him feel alive and focused.

Sev pressed confirm and closed the terminal. The three training bots stood in the center of the tatami, each in a unique stance. The two drones floated off to the side, as if suspended from invisible stings, perfectly still in the humid air of the dojo. As soon as Sev set foot on the mat, one of the droids charged him in a full sprint, blade raised. Sev quickly activated his saber and took a deep breath. The droid feinted an over head slash, then spun it's golden blade fluidly into a thrust. Sev once again side stepped the thrust, allowing the charging droid to stumble slightly forward as the momentum of its sprint carried it to the edge of the mat. Sev raised his blade to finish it, but was interrupted by the tell tale sound of a blaster. He reached out with The Force and deflected the two bolts without looking. He returned his attention to the droid which had now recovered and stood in a defensive stance. Sev feinted a thrust, then rotated his wrist into a diagonal slash from the octave quadrant, slashing the droid up through it's whole torso. As it deactivated the other two were already upon him. They attacked simultaneously, one with a horizontal slash, the other with a vertical strike. Sev stepped inside the range of the nearest droid, grabbing it's metallic wrist and stepping around it, rotating it with it's own weight into the horizontal slash of the other droid whilst blocking a bolt with his saber. The droid deactivated as Sev threw it's motionless frame to the mat. The last droid entered a rapid combo of slashes and thrusts. Sev simply back stepped, letting the droid strike air, whilst deflecting bolts from the twin drones. After seeing the pattern of the droid, Sev waited for it to flourish as it repeated an earlier strike and use the opportunity to strike with a swift thrust to its head. The droid collapsed and the two drones returned to their idle state, recognizing the training module to be over.

Sev took a few deep breaths and deactivated his lightsaber before hooking it to his belt. He walked over to the edge of the mat and unscrewed the top of his durasteel canteen before chugging down the cool liquid. Sev was shirtless, wearing simply a pair of fitted cotton pants common to The Jedi and perfect for training and a pair of dark brown boots. He wore his usual belt as well, merely to act as a home for his lightsaber between rounds. The mans body showcased his rough upbringing, scars of hundreds of battles telling a morbid tale all over his powerful, yet mutilated physique. Most were from his childhood in the fight pits. The crown jewel of this macabre collage being the fleshy lines that covered his back, from shoulder to hip. Long, knotted scars, evidence of many a lashing at the hands of his childhood slave drivers, a constant reminder of his dark past.

After his short break, Sev returned to console and reset the training program. The droids returned to the center of the arena and the drones to their perches on either side, ready for another round. As Sev once again dismantled these metallic foes, he heard the door of the dojo open, and felt a somewhat familiar, yet still unknown presence enter. Sev finished off the droids as quickly and efficiently as possible, before turning to meet this visitor...

​

 

[Ryv]

There was so much to do at every hour of every day and Ryv's free hours had recently shrunk again. He'd spent the entirety of the day cleaning the grand council chamber with a dozen younglings to prepare for an upcoming autopsy. Wyatt had managed to obtain a body to study and several other Jedi were interested. It would be a grand old time with plentiful amounts of learning and camaraderie for the lot of them. For Ryv and everyone else maintaining the temple, it meant they had yet another task put on their shoulders that had nothing to do with the station's expansion. Between planning the medical wing's cleaning, the youngling lunch rotation, and keeping the occupied portions of the temple clean, Ryv was exhausted. Neither of his mentors managed to squeeze time in to train the young kiffar, which meant it was up to him to handle it. With his eight hours of permitted free time per day, he fit in an hour on the mat, an hour of study, and an hour to clean up and get to rest. The five-hour sleep schedule sucked for the most part, but he had worse.

Ryv raced into the nearby locker room and slid his jacket off. He hid it, alongside all of his tech, in the locker before slamming it shut. He moved to depart the room but stopped as he passed by a mirror. He took the opportunity to examine himself. So much had changed in the last year. He'd given up death sticks, spice, and drinking. His body had grown stronger, though he still wasn't quite peaked. Lean, wiry muscles poked through his flesh, showing the progress he had made. No longer were there bruise-like bags beneath his amber gaze. He had some dark spots, sure, but that was from the shoddy sleep schedule and weeks of continued labor. There was always a little bad sprinkled in with the good. It was the way of things. He was so proud of his growth he nearly missed the infection that still latched onto his arm.

It hurt at all hours of the day, though he'd mostly gotten used to the pain. It was just a dull ache nowadays, though it looked far worse than it felt. His honey-colored flesh was black at the crook of his elbow and appeared to claw both midways up his forearm and bicep. It was cold to the touch and the pain flared up if he pressed against it. The kiffar couldn't help but be reminded of a tumor or some kind of parasitic entity, but none of the medical droids or the archives had any record of whatever it was that latched onto him. There was a layer of anxiety that formed over the young padawan as he considered all the possibilities. Nothing ever came of stressing what he couldn't fix, so Ryv did his best to shrug it off and he continued out the locker room in the direction of his preferred mat. With dinner being served to the many Jedi on Peace, he had yet to be disturbed in the room furthest down the hall. It allowed him enough peace of mind to even train without his jacket.

Unfortunately, Ryv's gamble finally caught up with him. He pushed open the door and tossed his towel and drink to the side of the mat before even realizing someone else was inside. He froze up, the only movement being the shift of his head to look upon Sev. Ryv had seen the Jedi Knight several times since the older Jedi made the move to Peace. He was one of the few Ryv didn't have to struggle to assign cleaning tasks and other bits of mind-numbing labor. The two never had the opportunity to introduce themselves given how busy life on the artificial moon was.

"Ah shit, this is awkward," Ryv shifted his body so the strangeness of his bad arm was kept behind his back and out of sight. "I, uh, usually come around here after work for the day. You know, to train," his good arm moved up to awkwardly scratch at the back of his head as he inched closer to his things on the floor. He collected them quickly before moving back to the door. "I can grab another room. My bad, dude."

Sev Pitborn​

 

[Sev Pitborn]

Sev deactivated his saber, hooking it back on to his belt. He looked at the newcomer, a little Kiffar. The teenager was short and of a slight build, standing like a deer in headlights, having interrupted Sev during his daily ritual of simulated slaughter.

"Hey man, it's only awkward if you make it awkward. No need to apologize, you're welcome to join me if you'd like. This gym belongs to all of us after all." Sev wiped the beaded sweat from his face with his forearm as he approached the young Padawan and extended a hand.

"Pardon the sweat, name's Sev. You're Ryv right? I think we've worked around each other a few times but I don't think I ever introduced myself." He hadn't and he knew he hadn't. Since he arrived at Peace, Sev had scarcely spoken to anyone, save for Master Morga. He had used his short time on the station to try and find some stability after the sudden death of his mentor. Sev was perfectly happy to spend his days working and his evenings training as he awaited a more exciting assignment. Being no social butterfly in the first place, Sev had certainly not gone out of his way to make friends. He figured he should use this chance encounter to at least meet one of his comrades. However he had seen young Ryv on several occasions, scurrying around the station, always busy with something. He seemed like a hard working kid for the most part, a quality Sev always respected.

"So... what are you here to work on? I can let you have the droids if you need them, I've already done a few rounds." Though Sev was really just beginning his routine, he wanted to make a friendly impression on the young Kiffar. Part of Sev was mildly annoyed that his daily ritual had been intruded upon, but a much greater part was interested in meeting another Jedi, perhaps even making a friend. Since his Master had died, Sev had been all but alone in the Universe. Even though Peace was bustling with activity and packed with Jedi, Sev had thus far moved through the station like a ghost, doing his work and minding his own business, paying little attention to social pursuits.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

"Oh, true," Ryv chuckled a bit at Sev's opening statement, most of his tension disappearing almost immediately. The younger Jedi always kept a cool head about him, at times it just took a bit longer to kick back in. It also helped quite a bit the kiffar was rather talented with connecting to others. His inquisitive nature, coupled with his innate ability to utilize force empathy often led him through social encounters with relative ease. "Yeah, I guess you're right about the gym. I just understand the need to do your own thing and just chill," his gloved right hand came down to shake the older Jedi's. "I could join you I guess, yeah," Ryv's amber gaze dropped to the corrupted flesh covering his left elbow and sighed heavily. What to do? Of course, Ryv would greatly enjoy a training partner. Working alone was dull and it rarely gave him growth. His contemplation was momentarily broken, however, as Sev asked about the padawan's name.

"What? Oh yeah, dude, names Ryv," Ryv began absentmindedly fiddling with the lightsaber at his belt. "We've done a few jobs I think, yeah. I know you helped the other padawan and me with the mess. Not too many older Jedi gave us a hand," he unclipped the saber hilt and rolled it within his palm. It was a pain in the ass job that left him nursing sore arms for days. He and the other older Padawan handled the vast majority of heavy lifting and transportation of the mess hall's contents. A whole plethora of Zeffo artifacts and Jedi technology brought to the opposite point of the explored station, to the budding archives Ryv also was leading a project on. His shoulders slumped a bit, revealing how overwhelmed the kiffar felt.

His body turned fully at Sev's final question, revealing the warped flesh. "Look, man, if we're gonna train you gotta know about all this," Ryv's good hand motioned to the mess. "I really have no clue what it is. It's not like, contagious or anything. It's just gross looking and will flare up sometimes," the arm dropped away as Ryv moved past Sev into the room. "Assuming it isn't an issue, I was just going to run through some basics on Shii-Cho then Ataru. Easy stuff to do when you're alone," he began stretching, allowing his body to limber up before getting to work. "Unless you have something better in mind? I assume that be pretty boring for ye, boss."

 

[Sev Pitborn]

Sev smiled slightly as the younger Padawan relaxed his tone. He gave the Padawana firm, but friendly handshake and listened as he spoke, only interrupting when to say "Whoa easy, I'm not that old." when Ryv mentioned Sev's previous willingness to help. He couldn't blame The Padawan though. He knew his face carried lines that were very deep for someone in his mid twenties. A childhood spent chipping away at stone and fighting for your life will do that.

When Ryv turned to show him his arm, Sev gave no reaction. Internally, he wondered what sort of curse had afflicted the young man, but as long as it wasn't contagious, Sev wasn't deterred by it. He had certainly seen more grotesque ailments in the mines, where infections and amputations were routine. "Well that certainly looks painful, but if I won't catch and it won't stop you from training, then I wouldn't mind a sparring partner. Running through katas and playing with forms will only get you so far. In my experience, nothing beats live sparring. Don't worry, I'm not a bully." Sev said, hoping that the young Padawan wasn't intimidated by his superior experience and larger stature. Sev enjoyed friendly sparring and teaching others. He remembered teaching some of the younger slaves a thing or two to prepare them for their first fights back in the day. It always made him feel accomplished to see someone use his teachings to survive. However the feeling of watching a former student or sparring partner get torn to shreds by some grizzled pit fighter was... less rewarding.

"I'll be honest, I'm pretty tired of fighting these droids. They're better than nothing but... their lack of a Force connection makes them kind of trivial after a while. I think I might be able to show you a thing or two if you'd like, but none of my tricks will have anything to do with Shii Cho or Ataru. I'm more of a... freestyle kind of guy." Sev paused, looking the young Padawan up and down. Sev had about 80 pounds on him and a gross reach advantage, so he planned to go easy and help the kid out. Sev liked to keep his sparring fun and educational for the most part, saving aggression and competitive spirit for the real thing. Training is for learning, not winning. The voice of Sev's late Master echoed in his mind.

"No pressure though man. I can spare you a droid if you're scared." Sev joked at the young Padawan, giving a wry smile.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

"Not calling you old, brother. Just saying you're older than me," Ryv bounced up and down on the balls of his feet as he gently shook his arms. He was nearing the end of his simplified warm up. "You're right about the kata stuff. They are more relaxing than educational at this point. I've been looking to get a bit more demanding training in, maybe work on my style. I've had a bit of time, not enough though," he seemed prone to ranting, though he at least appeared to stay mostly on topic. He stepped up and began adjusting the lightsaber to ensure no harm could accidentally befall either of them on the mat. "My style has a base in ataru, but its a lot more free form. I use it for the built-in focus on mobility and the like. Big focus on misdirecting my opponents before getting in their space and laying down the pain."

Compared to a lot of the other Jed, Ryv was certainly a weirdo. He lacked any sense for tradition, wore a grin ninety percent of the time, and was always willing to lend a hand. Yet, there was something else to the kiffar. Though he was younger and lacked the poise of someone as skilled as Sev, Ryv seemed to at least know what he was talking about. There was a sense of a scrapper or street-side brawler to his mannerisms, perhaps adding to his insight. It likely wasn't a surprise when he took the opportunity to size up his training partner. Without his jacket or any of his usual tricks, Ryv was at quite the disadvantage. It just meant the butt-kicking he was assuredly going to receive would at least be insightful.

"I'm listening, Sev. What do you got for me?" Ryv turned fully to face Sev before falling into a traditional ataru opening his stance. The lightsaber was held in both hands before him, his front foot taking most of his weight as the back foot appeared prepared to follow up with an aggressive movement. Nothing about his movements broke the traditional take on ataru, which was a strange turn given the kiffar's earlier proclamation. Perhaps it had something to do with the hilt resting parallel to the ground attached to the back of his belt.

Sev Pitborn​

 

[Sev Pitborn]

Sev stepped back out to the middle of the tatami and drew his saber. The blade shot from the hilt with a crackling hiss, then hummed as it idled. Sev looked at his sparring partner, who had taken the traditional Ataru stance. Sev simply stood, slightly bladed towards Ryv, with his strong foot forward, otherwise relaxed. The saber hung almost carelessly at his side in his right hand and his demeanor was completely relaxed. His stance was neutral, as if he were simply standing, not holding any kind of traditional fighting stance.

"Look at the space between us." Sev motioned at the dead space between them with his viridescent blade. "That is your space. Fighting is a game of distance." Sev quickly stepped towards Ryv, raising his blade in a split second and sending a thrust towards the Kiffars face, fully extending his arm like a fencer, maximizing his range. Sev purposefully telegraphed the thrust slightly by shifting his hips before throwing the strike, both to avoid giving his training partner a nasty burn on his face and to test his observational skills and defensive abilities.

In a real battle, Sev would have concealed his intentions more, but against a Padawan training partner, it was important to leave openings to give the student a chance to play their game and react effectively. There is little to be gained from smashing a less skilled or physically gifted opponent. Though it may teach the victim humility and toughness, they would learn little else. After all, it's impossible to learn anything new if your teacher doesn't let you practice.

Though the lesson about distance and range may seem elementary, it was a core fundamental of dueling that must be constantly focused on. Sev knew nothing of the Padawan's abilities, and chose to start with the basics. Should the Padawan prove competent, he had a much deeper back of tricks to show him.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Ryv's attention flickered down, measuring the distance between the two Jedi. Sev had a range advantage on top of being the more skilled of them. While the kiffar was never schooled on the importance of spacing an in a fight, he managed to pick up on it over the years he spent between Nar Shaddaa an Nal Hutta. So, it didn't surprise him when the older Jedi moved forward with a well-placed thrust of the saber. It closed the distance while also being a relatively safe attack, given most Jedi and Sith alike did not enjoy being near a lightsaber. Ryv, following the early trend, wasn't like most Jedi. He didn't seem to take any note of his opponent's movements and reacted entirely on instinct.

No lightsaber shot up to parry the strike or ward away an offensive. Instead, Ryv stepped to the side of the saber while simultaneously moving forward. The distance shrunk between them quickly as the kiffar slid into Sev's personal space. His lightsaber was held defensively as to keep his foe from flicking to the side for an easy hit. With his verdant blade busy, Ryv pivoted on his left foot, chambered his right leg, and immediately spun to slam his knee directly into Sev's hip. With a thin layer of flesh and muscle between the bone and annihilation by Ryv's knee, it was his best opportunity to pull Sev down to his level. If he couldn't outperform or outmaneuver the stronger Jedi, he could only break down the pillars that held him over the younger Ryv.

Sev Pitborn​

 

[Sev Pitborn]

The young Kiffar sidestepped Sev's thrust and aggressively closed the distance. Sev was somewhat surprised, as most novice duelists favored a more defensive style, preferring to maintain distance and stay on the defensive, such an aggressive move told Sev a lot about his young opponent. It was clear from the aggressive movement, that he had fought before.

The Kiffar pivoted on his left foot and quickly threw his right knee towards Sev's hip. Sev reacted as nearly two decades of hand to hand combat experience had conditioned him. The standard response to a knee was to raise the lead leg to check the strike, but in this case, it would expose his leg to the Padawans saber. On top of that, the young Jedi had moved in too close for a standard block to be effective. Another more traditional alternative would simply be to extend the free arm, and throw a body shot to push the attacker out of range. While Sev certainly had the size and reach advantage required to pull that counter off in a fist fight, it was an excellent way to lose an arm in a saber duel. Instead, Sev drew upon a more advanced technique.

Sev moved back slightly, matching the Padawans rate of advancement, while simultaneously stepping to the Pawadans outside. Sev tilted his wrist, making contact with the young Padawans raised saber with his own to neutralize it while he parried the knee. As he stepped back and to the outside, his left hand hand behind the crook of the young Jedi's raised knee, directing the strike away from and past him. As the same time, Sev pushed his saber strongly into that of his opponent, pushing from the top, and pulling from the bottom in an attempt to compromise his opponents balance. Had Sev wanted to press his advantage, he would have thrown an axe kick at the Padawans trail leg to put him on the ground, or turned the parry into a modified knee pick take down; but in this situation Sev was impressed by the young man's aggression and creativity, eager to see his next move.

Though Sev's defense of this attack may have seemed effortless, Sev was very impressed by the surprise knee and willingness to close the distance displayed by the young Kiffar.

"Excellent, way to close the distance. Good." Sev said as he performed the counter. The Padawans behavior showed Sev that he had a base level of competence and aggression. He could certainly work with this kid.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

There was a brief second Ryv thought he might've caught Sev off guard, only for it to crash around him. As his knee raced to impact against his opponent, Ryv was caught entirely off guard by the defense. The backstep followed by a redirection of his leg already sent him moving in a direction he wasn't prepared for. His body reacted as one would expect, with his chambered leg lowering to the floor to stop his momentum. While his foot made contact with the mat beneath him, his balance was once again stolen away as Sev pushed against his upper body and pulled at his leg. Ryv stumbled backward and opted to throw himself down onto his side to avoid giving up his back or taking an uncomfortable strike somewhere across the body.

Upon making contact with the floor, Ryv's foot shot up to ward away any advancement by the larger Jedi with a kick aimed to just push against the hip once again. He scrambled away afterward and jumped back up to his feet. Rather than break his momentum, he sent a series of quick slashes only designed to keep Sev pushed back while he thought up an answer. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't much success in finding an opening or weakness in the defenses of his foe. So, Ryv tossed out a swift thrust aimed for Sev's face. The maneuver was a farce meant only to draw the pit fighter's attention to the flashy weapon and away from Ryv's shift in weight.

The padawan's saber was suddenly pulled back before his hips turned about and he slid his back foot forward. His saber flashed back out, instead aimed to crack against the larger man's knee. As much as he wanted to fall into a more reactionary style against the stronger Sev, Ryv knew he had to find some way to close the gap.

Sev Pitborn​

 

[Sev Pitborn]

Sev's counter proved successful against the smaller Jedi, causing him to roll onto his side. Sev took a step towards the downed opponent, who threw a kick from the ground to deter him. The kick made light contact with Sev's hip, causing him to pause and retreat slightly. Sev wasn't looking to turn this sparring session from a saber duel to a grappling match, so he allowed the Kiffar to scramble and make some distance, rather than looking for an agile guard pass and finish.

As the Padawan returned to his feet, he launched a flurry of slashes and thrusts at Sev. His combos proved rather routine and Sev managed to counter them easily. The Knight chose to remain defensive rather than exploit openings in his training partners defense for the sake of the round.

Suddenly the Padawan sent a swift thrust at Sev's face. Sev dodged the attack and stepped back as The Kiffar rotated and threw a low strike towards his knee. It was clever of the teenage Jedi to attack low, using his smaller stature to his advantage. Sev managed to shoot his legs and hips back and out while striking the incoming saber with a downward slash, deflecting it towards the mat with a crash. Sev was once again impressed by the creativity and tenacity of his new sparring partner.

"Excellent!" Sev commented, keeping his guard up and throwing a few standard strikes to keep the duel flowing, none of which intended to do more than keep the Padawan focused. The Padawan defended them well, and their duel flowed for a moment. "You've impressed me so far Ryv." Sev commented as he broke contact with the Padawan and created some space.

He returned to his original stance, weapon lowered, body relaxed. In contrast to most lightsaber forms where the saber was held at the ready, Sev often preferred to keep his somewhat lowered, to give the illusion of defenselessness or apathy. In reality, Sev maintained a laser like focus on his opponent, and used his relaxed and open stance as a psychological trick to manipulate his opponents. When fighting, there is a strong tendency to imitate your opponent, and by adopting a seemingly open stance, many less skilled opponents would lower their guard as well without even realizing. Sev had spent years fighting from this open, unorthodox stance, so he was a master at defending and attacking from it, whereas his opponents rarely would have used it, meaning if they imitated him, they were putting themselves at a severe disadvantage without knowing. He wondered if the Padawan would take the bait... Though he was impressed so far, Sev continued to test the Ryv, the true lesson had yet to even begin.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Once more, Ryv's attacks were read and pushed back. He took a quick step back and sized up Sev's form before the Jedi Knight could speak. There was neither resentment or frustration in the padawan's eyes, merely a fierce determination to overcome the wall before him. Time and time again, the little kiffar found himself before this wall. At times, it was simply physical. He was neither strong or healthy enough to do what he must. Other times, it was mental. His fractured connection to the force not yet strong enough after years of misuse and mistreatment. And each time, he overcame the wall. He had to. It was not a matter of hoping for the force to guide him, but instead, an inconquerable will befitting even the greatest of Jedi masters.

"Hey man, I appreciate it," the kiffar sent a thankful nod in Sev's direction as he watched the stance change. It was far too open for one as practiced as the Knight. Ryv was not above bluffs and faints in a fight, which meant he had grown used to seeing them. There was an advantage there, one he could press. "I'm glad we could do this, man. I needed to blow off some steam," he spoke through baited breaths, taking a second to catch them and allow his body to regain some energy. What was to come next would be explosive. "Alright chief," Ryv gently waved his saber. "I'm coming in hot!"

A wide smile broke the jovial kiffar's contemplative face as he charged towards the Knight. He moved swiftly, clearing the gap with sharp, purposeful steps. A strike was once more sent out, though it appeared to fall directly into Sev's trap, launched at the side not visibly protected by his saber. Though, Ryv's angle of attack swiftly changed as he called the force to his aid. With a leap, the kiffar launched himself in the air up and over the Jedi Knight. Without even thinking about it, Ryv dropped his saber and drew forth the shoto with his left hand. As he'd land, he'd drop further assuming a strike would come wide at him. His body would then shoot upward as if to drive his shoulder into the knight's stomach, the shoto following behind it.

Sev Pitborn​

 

[Sev Pitborn]

Young Ryv thanked Sev for his praise, then charged him recklessly. The Kiffar faked a strike at Sev's open side, before launching himself into the air. Sev noticed that the Padawan actually dropped his saber, drawing a shoto with his off-hand. Ryv landed and ducked down, before launching himself up, driving his shoulder hard into Sev's chest, the shoto following close behind.

Sev ate the shoulder strike to his chest, feeling the unpleasant pressure of the strike on his sternum pushing a bit of air from his lungs, but not taking his breath completely. The Strike was painful, but pain meant little to Sev anymore. Like anything else, the sensation of pain lost its luster after decades of constant presentation. The dull sting of this teenager's shoulder driving into his chest was nothing compared to the harsh whip of the overseer, or the constant burn of his blistered and broken hands in the mines. Pain could be ignored, an injury could not and Sev was not injured.

Sev ate the strike, then managed to catch the Kiffars shoto with his own blade. Sev deflected the saber away from him, while wrapping his free arm under the Padawans armpit, shooting his leg between the legs of his opponent. Sev the drove up with his hips, lifting the now helpless Kiffar over his shoulders and slamming him, hard, into the mat. He heard the wind rush from Ryv's lungs as he hit the ground, and Sev pointed his saber down at him, whilst force pulling Ryv's discarded saber into his other hand, activating it and menacing him with both weapons.

"Nice try kid." Sev said, once again impressed by the Padawan's creative style and reckless aggression, even more so by the fact he actually landed a somewhat effective strike. "A word of advice though, never drop your lightsaber. That was a clever move, but look now." Sev said, as he deactivated Ryv's lightsaber and extended it to the Padawan, who still lay flat on his back. The Padawan took a grip on the open part of the hilt, and Sev used it to yank the Kiffar up to his feet, before releasing the weapon to Ryv's protection. "You're aggressive and you have good instincts. You're creative, but you're also reckless. Slow down. Use your head. The fighter with the lower heart rate usually wins, so slow it down and focus. Thinking too much is a deadly mistake, but not thinking at all is even worse." Sev offered this advice based on what little he had seen of the Padawan's style.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Ryv grinned excitedly as his shoulder connected, though confusion struck as the shoto was guided away from his intended target. To make matters worse, the larger fighter took full control of the smaller kiffar. He knew his mistake as Sev's grip snaked around his armpit and shot out his leg. The world went end over end as Ryv's body went up and over the Jedi Knight before colliding with a heavy thud against the mat. He kept his wits about him enough to brace himself, slap down with one arm to break the momentum, but it all happened so fast his breathing fell out of thought. He struggled to breathe, gasping for air and even panicking for a few seconds before he relaxed enough to take a much-needed breath. Ryv only held up his hands in surrender, opting to not take a superheated bop anywhere on his body.

He took hold of the hilt and was pulled to his feet without putting much effort into it.

"Yeah, I know it's pretty dumb. There wasn't much else I could do in that instant," Ryv scratched at the back of his head as he thought about the match. "I wanted to get you down to my level first. It wasn't working, so I thought a hard enough strike to the chest might put you off balance long enough to land something rough," he breathed heavily, the physical exertion noticeably harder than it should've been on the boy. "I try to think as much as I can without freezing up. I'm not strong enough yet on just my skill alone, so I try to work the brain into it," the lightsaber was returned to its place at his side before Ryv shrugged. "I saw a lot of pretty cool stuff today though, might be able to piece it into my style."

Before either of them could get another word out, a holodevice tucked into Ryv's pants started beeping furiously. He dug it out quickly and activated it. What appeared to be a fully armored man appeared before them. His form was imposing. If Sev were knowledgable of galactic current events, he'd likely recognize the Imperator of the Grayson Imperium.

"Padawan, I require your assistance. Imperium intelligence has identified a growing dark side presence on Coruscant. I will await you at my hangar."

The communication ended just as abruptly as it began, leaving Ryv groaning out his frustration.

"Well, I've got to run, man. Duty calls and all that," he began collecting his belongings before offering Siv an enclosed hand for a fist bump. "Keep in touch, yeah? We might be able to do this a few times a week if you're down."

And with that, the padawan departed with a bit more of a spring to his step.

Sev Pitborn​