Private So if I win, you buy me dinner right? (Duel)

[Darth Strosius]

"So all I have to do is pin you for a few seconds right? I win and then you get me some decent dinner yeah?"

Alisteri idly circled his friend Alina Tremiru as he spoke, keeping closer to the edge of the small area set aside for duels. He usually wouldn't be at the academy, but with most of his friends being there he inevitably wound up there more often these days. It was rather nice to be fair. A part of him almost felt remorseful that he had never been a proper student here, at the very least he would've had some form of room.

But that was all in the past, now he had dinner to win.

He cracked his knuckles as he stopped his circling, doing a couple of stretches as well to get prepped for their little sparring match. If the masked man was honest, there was no way that he could take his friend in a straight on fight. Be it with weapons or hand-to-hand, he was fairly certain that he would be on the back-foot regardless. Partially due to the fact that he had watched Alina work out once or twice by now, and both times he walked away in a cold sweat and lamenting his own weakness.

Still, he had a couple of advantages over her.

Like the fact that one of his hands was mechanical, and therefore it could take a bit more damage without him feeling it. It wasn't all that durable of course, but he just wouldn't be able to feel said damage to it. He was still getting used to that fact.

"Alright, we using weapons or fists? Oh, or is it anything goes?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Pin, knock me out, get me to admit defeat. The usual." Quite the cocky grin had taken shape on Alina's features as she circled with Darth Strosius . Never letting her fellow acolyte see her back This was a fight, after all. Even if it was a friendly spar. With dinner on the line. Truthfully she didn't have too much money herself, so depending on what her friend might like to eat she could be reduced to some instant meals with a loss. And yet, it was all in good fun.

It'd been.. Well. She never felt this excited with a friendly bout. Usually it was a hateful experience. Alina rolled her shoulders as she lowered into a more proper stance. Cara Dorniarn had only just started to teach her, but she was quick to look up just how Cara herself fought and tried to mimic it as best she could on her own time. She hadn't truly made it her own, but at least it looked intimidating as the young woman brought her hands up and spread her legs in the opening stance she found.

"You're welcome to use what you'd like. I need to work on my unarmed as it is."

 

[Darth Strosius]

A small sigh left him at the response and he rolled his own shoulders. "Not doing it the easy way then eh? Fair enough." Alisteri was tempted to pull out his sabre for duel, or even his small vibroblade, but ultimately he decided to forgo his weaponry as well. In his mind, he may as well work on his a bit as well. The last time he remembered having to resort to his fists was back on Rychel against a Vong Warrior.

He idly winced as he remembered the strong left-hook that Vong Warrior had.

"I'll take you hand-to-hand, I need to put this new thing through its paces anyway." He replied, curling his right hand into a fist as he spoke. The masked acolyte assumed a stance of his own, but it was clearly one learned through limited personal experience rather than proper training. It was times like these where he idly wished he had gotten to watch a couple of the brawls that his owner used to hold between slaves. At least then he'd have some sort of background knowledge.

He didn't wait for Alina Tremiru to make the first move however, knowing that she would have the advantage if she did. He planted his right foot firmly and quickly pulled his arm back for a wide swing at her with his left hand.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I've never been fond of things that'r too easy." She quipped. A brow raised as he mentioned putting a new thing through its paces? Her gaze flicked to his hand as he clenched a fist, suddenly warry of what he might end up doing. Before she had a chance to close in on Darth Strosius he moved first. Her grin widened. It wouldn't be any fun if he didn't at least try to get a punch in. She brought up her left arm and curled her head down, going to catch his punch in a simple block.

Then jab out for his chin with a swift right. "Remember! Keep your hands up!"

 

[Darth Strosius]

His eye narrowed as his punch was blocked, his right hand about to go in for an attempted jab at her gut when her own right hand connected with his jaw. "Ow! You-you...thanks for the reminder!" He smothered a small hiss of pain and instead went to try and grab her right wrist with his own right hand whilst his left went low for a strike in her side.

Unfortunately, Alina Tremiru had gotten the first strike; thankfully Alisteri wasn't that easy to put down however.

At least the two acolytes were on fairly equal footing when it came to any potential Force abilities. Or so he hoped anyway, to his knowledge she didn't any tricks of that sort up her sleeves.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina flashed a wink as Darth Strosius recovered enough from the jab to speak, but she didn't reply verbally. Didn't have a chance to as she felt her wrist get snatched by something rather uncomfortable. Not a real hand. When'd this happen? It was a distracting thought that passed once she felt his fist slam into her side. She winced, yanking her wrist away to try and step back to catch her breath. Just for a moment.

It was pretty clear she wasn't entirely knowledgeable on the form she was mimicking, but she certainly did her best with it. Another quick jab of her right hand, followed by another, aiming at different parts of Alisteri's body. Trying to bait him into guarding his face where she could swing her left in a strong blow for his gut.

 

[Darth Strosius]

A small smirk settled on his face as he felt his fist connect, glancing over just in time to watch her wrist get out of his grip however. He took a small moment to idly flex his mechanical digits before he curled them back into a fist. The masked acolyte still hadn't quite gotten used to it yet, it was a mixture of too light and too exact; almost too perfect for a hand. He had mixed feelings about it.

It was good for one thing though; blocking hits.

His left hand went up to shield his face whilst he moved his right to block as many jabs as he could. A small grunt left him as one hit his arm, but said grunt turned into a gasp of air as Alina Tremiru suddenly knocked the breath out of him with a strong left hit. Alisteri stumbled back in surprise, his right hand now clutching his stomach as he tried to catch his breath again.

He fixed her with a small glare and went for a harsh jab with his left at her left shoulder.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina was all about pressing her advantage when she had it. She could strike and strike, overwhelm Darth Strosius in a quick movement. Only her hand hurt. A lot. The acolyte made space, shaking her right hand after it connected with the metal replacement her opponent had. Thankfully the new training she'd been doing to enhance her body kept her from breaking her hand, but it still stung quite a bit.

Not that she'd show it. A grin was ever present on the blonde's face, her attempt to hide any hint of weakness. Slowly she started to circle around Alisteri, bouncing on her feet again. "You sure you don't want to use something else? I'm not just going at it unarmed. The Matukai. I think I've figured out how to replicate what they do."

 

[Darth Strosius]

It took him a few more breaths to steady himself, but Alisteri was quick to try and get back in a proper stance. Well, as proper of one as he could manage anyway. He returned the slow circling movement, keeping his gaze on Alina Tremiru warily. "Oh? Well now you've got to show me what you can do. I'll stick with my fists though, can't always be guaranteed a weapon in vital moments right?"

In truth, he was curious to see what she could do.

Suddenly he sprung forward, a strong right hook heading straight towards her face whilst his left prepped to swing against her side again. He was leaving himself wide open if his hits didn't land, but he decided it was worth the risk. There was potentially free dinner on the line after all, and if he had only learned one thing, it was that dinner was very important.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You sure that's a good idea? These are weapons now." She lifted her fists, grinning wider still. Whether they were weapons or not was still up in the air, but there was a swell of power within her as Darth Strosius rushed forward. She was noticeably faster, almost inhuman as she weaved through his strikes to get close, then brought her right fist up to crack him under his chin. With much more force behind it than her earlier punches.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri wasn't sure what he expected from the Matukai techniques that Alina Tremiru had been practicing and learning, but it certainly wasn't her moving that fast. Nor was it the punch right to his jaw that made his eye see stars for a second or two. With the mixture of surprise and the sudden force that had rung his bell, the masked acolyte suddenly found himself lying on his rear at the feet of his sparring partner.

After a moment of groaning in pain, he sat up and rubbed his jaw as he did his best to stand up again. "Okay then...let's just say I believe that your hands are weapons now..." He did his best to recompose himself, and promptly pulled his sabre from his side and activated it.

"I am getting that free dinner."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina kept bouncing on her feet as she watched Darth Strosius fall back from her punch. It felt good. Having this kind of power. To feel strong instead of feeling like she had to claw her way forward just to keep up. It was the sort of high that was dangerous to a young Sith. The feeling of invincibility that lead to foolish pride and death. The young woman knew this, somewhere in the back of her mind. But as she watched her opponent get up to his feet and pull out his saber, she decided it was worth letting herself feel this.

Just once.

"I'm thinking steak. You feeling steak? Nothin too expensive, don't wanna clean you out." She winked again, then rushed forward. She wasn't completely foolish as to think she could compete with a saber when she had no ability to defend herself from it. In that blur of movement she pulled free her own vibrodagger. A shield of sorts, but not the real weapon. Alina couldn't sustain the speed for long, just long enough to get into his guard last time. This time to close the distance.

She swung her leg around, aiming to surprise Alisteri and knock him off his footing again.

 

[Darth Strosius]

A couple of breaths to steady himself, and Alisteri thought that he was ready to take on his friend. He had a weapon after all, what could a strong punch do against the mighty blade of a Sith? Well, it was time to find out wasn't it? Right as he was about to go back on the offensive, Alina Tremiru was suddenly right in front of him in a blur of speed.

Oh, and he also found himself on the ground again.

"I'm thinking more along the lines of pasta."

He was quick to roll away and get back to his feet, twirling his weapon around in his grip before he leapt at the other acolyte with a wide swing. The masked man had thought about admitting defeat, but that thought was quickly dismissed. He had to at least try to preserve some sort of honor and save some face.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

This time she didn't hold off on continuing. Darth Strosius would roll out of the way of another of her punches, her fist slamming into the ground. She visibly winced and backed off herself, flexing her fingers. It certainly stung, but the fact her hand wasn't broken said a lot about her training paying off. Her grip tightened on the vibro dagger as she brought it up to deflect the strike upwards.

"Pasta doesn't sound too bad." She brought her other hand around, aiming for a quick jab into his side.

 

[Darth Strosius]

A small grunt left him as his strike was repulsed, another one escaping as she managed to land the jab in his side. He grit his teeth and managed a small smirk as he deactivated his sabre and let go of the hilt, his hand now free to try and grab hers that held the vibro-dagger.

"Neither does steak."

His playful tone, accompanied by a clear smirk in his voice, heralded him rearing his head back and then rushing forward to try and headbutt his opponent. Alisteri then attempted to return the jab quickly with his other hand right before he pushed off his back foot and threw himself onto Alina Tremiru to try and tackle her to the ground.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Quite the surprised expression formed as Darth Strosius opted to drop his saber and snatch her wrist instead. It was good to hear how much her fellow acolyte was enjoying this, though she couldn't keep it for long once the mask slammed into her nose. The room spun as she staggered back. The next blow sent her realing, though she didn't fall to the ground from that.

His tackle is what had her down. She landed with a thud, still realing from the headbutt. A laugh bubbled up though as she tried to slam her fist into his side.

 

[Darth Strosius]

A triumphant grin spread across his face as he actually managed to bring Alina Tremiru to the ground. In terms of knocking each other down it was still 1-2 in her favor but at least he still got one in. Alisteri opened his mouth to make a remark when the breath was knocked out of him again, letting go of her wrist in surprise.

He almost rolled off of her from the force of her punch as well, but managed to barely keep his balance via one of his hands slamming into the ground to support himself. His other hand quickly pulled back, his lightsaber soon flying into its grasp. "Steak or pasta, you decide."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Definitely steak." She laughed out her words, grinning like a fool up to the expressionless mask Darth Strosius wore. With her wrist free she took it upon herself to take his wrist as he snatched back his saber with the Force. Last thing she needed was him swinging that around while she was stuck under him. Not that she would be for long if she had the choice. Alina braced her foot before pushing up off the ground in an attempt to roll them over. If she did, she'd bring another of those force enhanced punches for his helm and pin the hand that had his saber above his head.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Right as he was about to activate the sabre as a bit of show to try and end the fight, the wrist holding said sabre was grabbed and it stopped him for just a moment. That moment was evidently important, as the next thing he knew Alisteri was suddenly the one on the ground with Alina Tremiru hitting him hard enough to see stars again. He quickly ignited the lightsaber but it was little help as the hand holding was pinned above his head, his other hand stuck underneath himself during the roll over.

"Alright alright! Steak it is!"

He relented with a breathless sigh, wincing as his ears rang slightly from the punches. He made a mental note to check his mask for possible dents later, but he couldn't feel any as of now so it was probably fine.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Thank the Force." Alina let out a heavy sigh of relief as Darth Strosius surrendered. With a groan she rolled off of the man, sprawling out on the floor. She felt plenty exhausted, likely from using her power the way she did. She was in pain, but she couldn't feel better. Happier. This was good. She felt strong. A wide grin formed as she glanced over to her friend.

"You didn't use the Force much. Why not?"