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

[Darth Strosius]

"Trustworthy?" Alisteri paused to examine the Autarch before slipping it into one of his pockets. He thought about his other friend for a moment before nodding, a small chuckle escaping him. "I would say that he is yes. Not too bad in a fight as well, he had my back on Panatha. He is a very...friendly fellow for sure, but he is a good fighter and a great person." Another pause as he inspected his mechanical hand again for any more thing clogging up the works, glancing back at Alina Tremiru before he spoke again.

"I'd go so far as to say that he's probably my second best friend behind you even."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"That's a pretty high standard. I certainly need to meet him at some point." It did make Alina feel.. Something. Darth Strosius saying she was his best friend. Was he hers? ".. Thanks. For being my friend. And coming along. I know you weren't too into the drinking bit, but it's never fun to drink alone. So.. Yeah." There was an awkward pause after she slipped on her shirt before turning her gaze to Alisteri again. "Right, so. Not sure where we're gonna go next or anything. Why don't you tell me what you can do? With the Force n all."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri merely nodded in reply, finally feeling satisfied with his investigations over his hand. Thankfully nothing else was stuck in it, that he could see or feel anyway. He raised an eyebrow at that remark and idly glanced back at Alina Tremiru after she was dressed. "Oh. I mean, you started the friendship to be fair, it would be rude of me to just let you go off alone all the time. What're friends for eh?"

He blinked in surprise at the question, turning to face her fully as he responded. "Ah, not too much I'm afraid. The Force hasn't blessed me with natural talents like other, unfortunately." As he continued, he idly began counting on his fingers. "I can levitate small objects, I have some ability to sense people and things with the Force but that one is fuzzy, and I know how to bleed crystals."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"When you put it like that it couldn't be any more selfless of you to drink with me." The laughter and smiles were back for a moment, though his admission brought quite the surprise to her face. Alina stepped over to him, reaching out to grasp Darth Strosius 's shoulder. "It's not a blessing. It's a puzzle. You just need to figure out what you're best at. I mean, I couldn't even lift a grain of sand. Well. I still can't, technically. Cause any time I try to reach out with the Force, well."

To prove a point she lifted her hand and reached out. Immediately the force muted. Disrupted. It only stayed for a moment before she cut it off. "The Matukai way. That let me do something more."

 

[Darth Strosius]

At first he scoffed at that first remark, but he did join her in laughter for a moment. He blinked in surprise as she grasped his shoulder, tilting his head curiously as he listened to her. "Ah right, I remember that you are...uniquely gifted." Unique was indeed a term for Alina Tremiru 's Force muting ability. Oddly enough, he did noticeable wince when she demonstrated said ability. Only for a brief moment though.

"That it did. Certainly a good compromise, what's the point of lifting rocks when you can smash them with your bare hands right?" He offered her a small smirk, but he did understand what she meant. What I'm best at... As humiliating as it sounded, he was drawing a blank at the moment.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"Huh." She paused for a moment to look at her hands, flexing her fingers. "I wonder if that's something I can actually do. I'll have to try that out some time." Slowly her fingers curled into a fist as a soft smile formed on her lips. Who needed to lift rubble with their mind when they could shatter it with a fist. Her gaze flicked back to Darth Strosius after a moment, and she gently punched his shoulder. "You're drawing a blank then? Why don't we head to the archives. Read up on some obscure stuff and see if any of it reaches out to ya. Or, on the flip side, we could put you in incredible danger and get you mad and see what the result is."

 

[Darth Strosius]

For a brief moment, Alisteri considered that he shouldn't have given her that idea. But then again, if she could do that, then it would be something to watch. Note to self, never get into a drunken brawl with Alina Tremiru if you value your body. He idly winced at that thought. "Well when you put it like that..." His mind wandered back to Jedha, to when he had lost his hand and then nearly lost himself in a rage. Before he knew it, he was clasping the wrist of his right hand protectively. As if it wasn't already mechanical.

"...I think that researching in the archives will benefit me much more."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

Her eyes softened as @Alisteri visibly seemed to have some kind of flash back. And about his lost hand no less. There was a story there to learn about, but it wasn't the time to ask about that. Instead she nodded. "Archives it is. Though, if you have any inclination on what you might be good at by the thoughts you just had, it'd help narrow our search." Alina slipped on some shoes before heading to the door of her room. "Let's head off then."

 

[Darth Strosius]

After the sparring match and the partying yesterday, a nice session in the archives sounded wonderful right about now. Perhaps he could even get the chance to brush up on his Ur'kittat while they were there. "I'll see what I can think up I suppose." He had his doubts that it would help, but Alisteri was open to new ideas. He was quick to hop to his feet and follow Alina Tremiru out the door, eager for a good study session. "So is that how you found out about the Matukai and their ways? The archives?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"Something like that." It wasn't an easy thing to talk about, how she learned the ways of the Matukai (as the thread is technically ongoing), so she didn't linger long on the subject. Sides, they were heading to the archive to help Darth Strosius get stronger. A bright smile took over her features again as she turned her attention to her friend. Seeing the cybernetics he'd got, the wounds that caused the need, she'd need to help him if she didn't want him to end up dead. The last thing she needed was for her friend to die.

"You really have nothing in mind? What about your master? What did she train you in?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Surprisingly, that question made the masked acolyte chuckle. "Mostly how to navigate strange canyons. I suppose you could call them a Force nexus? I'm not sure, but they were definitely influenced heavily by the Force anyhow." Alisteri idly wondered if Alina Tremiru had been sent odd places by her master often. He wasn't sure if that was too common a practice or not.

"Seriously though, I didn't get all that much training before she disappeared. She taught me the basics of the Sith, how to bleed crystals, and how to give very vague instructions." A small chuckle did escape him at that last one. "I did get some training in lightsaber combat, but that was from one of her colleagues after she disappeared."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"You haven't had much training to begin with? No wonder you've no idea what you can do." She scoffed, a little disappointed that Darth Strosius 's master disappeared on him before teaching him how to use the Force properly. Hell, Alina knew how to channel the Force, even if she herself couldn't. All the different methods were locked in her mind after repetitive failures to produce results and power. Ironically that might actually help her train people one day.

Oh wait.

"Hey! Actually! I could train you."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri scratched the back of his head sheepishly, merely offering her a shrug in response. To be fair, he had gotten plenty of actual battlefield experience rather than proper training. That meant something even if it was only bettering what he did know. At least he was getting better instead of worse, he supposed. "Huh?"

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze focused on Alina Tremiru once more after her offer. He did consider it for a moment, but there was one question that nagged at him. "...but I thought you couldn't use the Force like most people can."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"I can't. But I certainly tried. I got every trick or method folks were taught over the years to learn how to use the Force in my head." She tapped the side of her head, the smile only growing. There was a way she could actually help Darth Strosius after all. That alone brightened her day and lessened the throbbing hangover she was still suffering through. But, they wouldn't be able to do that in the archives. She changed direction and headed towards the training rooms.

"Let's get started then, yeah?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Ah...I see." Alisteri had forgotten that such things were probably taught at the academy, among other things of course. It was at moments like these where he idly wished that he had enrolled in one of those back in the day. Oh well, too late now. He was quick to follow after Alina Tremiru as she switched directions, glancing back down towards the archive directions for a moment before continuing.

He had no doubt that she knew what she was doing. "Do tell me that you're far gentler in your teaching methods than you are in your fighting."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"I've never taught anyone before, so I suppose this'll be just as much as a learning experience for me as it is for you." She went right into one of the rooms, glaring at the other students who were in there. They quickly left. Alina had made something of a name for herself among her fellow acolytes. Enough that people knew not to mess with her. Once the room was clear she'd turn her gaze back to Darth Strosius , offering a brief smile. "So, how do you use the Force now? How do you channel it?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"You make a good point." At first Alisteri was more than content to wait for the other students to leave on their own accord, or maybe even just going to find another room that was empty. Thankfully he didn't have to. As the other students left, he couldn't help but laugh as he looked back at Alina Tremiru . "I see your reputation proceeds you."

He supposed that to some people she would seem a bit intimidating, and with good reason of course. "Channel it? Well...I suppose it's a lot of focusing." For a moment he hesitated, trying to string the right words together to make sense before he spoke again. "It's always there of course, but I have to set my mind on what I want to do or else it won't work. Even with just the telekinesis, I've only just gotten to where I can do that relatively easily."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

"Survive a couple wars and people get to know you. I'm sure you have your own reputation, though it's probably better than my own." She hadn't actually done much in the original wars, though being one of three surviving acolytes from the collapse of the Crystal Cavern's on Dantooine brought their own rumors among her fellows. The kind that angered her. Hence why no one stayed in the room. A couple broken bones only added to the rumors after all.

"So you have to force the Force. Hmm.. Try lifting something now. Anything. Pull it over here."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri scoffed at the idea of him having a reputation, waving his hand dismissively at the thought. He had done his best to stay relatively under the radar, both inside and outside of the various battles that he had been in. He hadn't done much during them either, his proudest achievement probably being riding upon a flying beast courtesy of Lord Aagenti.

That had been an interesting time.

"Uh...alright." A couple of glances around the room later, and he had spotted one of the spare practice vibroblades. He held out his hand and pulled the object to him, idly twirling the weapon once he had it in his grip. He looked back at Alina Tremiru and shrugged playfully. "I know I know, it's impressive."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

​

To Alina, it was actually impressive. She'd never actually just watched someone do this kind of thing, even as simple as it was. There was an almost childlike wonderment, like when she was really young watching her father try to teach her how to do the same. She never could. The wonderment soured after a moment as her gaze fell to the weapon. No, it wasn't time for that kind of memory. Darth Strosius was what she should focused on. She took a breath, then nodded to the weapon.

"Okay, so that seemed easy. Uh. What about lightning?"