Private Sparring with a Nun!

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Cerys had been the first Padawan that Lily had met on Jakku that was a similar age to her and potentially a good, albeit friendly, rival that Lily could make. Someone she could train with at a semi-regular basis and learn a different view on being a Jedi and what was important to demonstrate as being one. It was also a chance to see if she could gain a new friend, someone who she could talk with and potentially gossip with. Maybe find out what type of person that Cerys might be attracted to. Lily wasn't a massive gossip lover, but she had missed the romance dramas of noble life back on Eshan. Learning of secret loves, crushes and hopeful partnerships. Everything had been training focus and she hadn't gotten the chance to settle and talk about drama and who was attractive or not.

For now, Lily figured they could just bond over Jedi training and learn how one another fights, expresses themselves in fighting and find a friendship/healthy rivalry. She wasn't sure how competitive Cerys might be so didn't want to rule out that her fellow Padawan would want a fun rivalry to ensure they both got better while also enjoying one another's company. Lily had booked a session in one of the Enclave's training room and sent a message to Cerys to see if she wanted to join Lily and train together.

Lily was already in the training room, stretching her muscles and loosening her body up. Making sure she was limber, since if Cerys didn't turn up, she would have to resort to her intense solo training regime. She was determined to be as strong, fast and as capable as a fighter as she could be.

 

[Cerys Dyn]

A dress was not normal sparring attire. Not like the Jedi wore around here anyways. Among her own ilk, it was the normal. Propriety was of greater value than function, although the garments had adapted over the years to make form and function align more closely. Her intricate green blue attire was accented with copper coloured weave, and leather belts of a copper hue. It made for a look that was almost artistic.

Her long blonde hair was flowing freely, having spent significant time in meditation brushing it carefullly. She found the act calming and centering. It was not something she admitted to others. A few loose trusses dropped from her fringe, but aside from that she was keenly presented.

She stepped with confidence in the room she had been directed to visit. Apparently, a Jedi wished to spar. Someone named Lily. Cerys was fairly confident they had met in passing. Upon seeing the young white haired woman though, Cerys failed to prevent her mouth from dropping. She quickly regained composure, but not without having first expressed her shock.

Lily was wearing…no Cerys would not dwell on how improper it was. She would also not dwell on how it appeared that Lily could snap her like a twig if the white-haried young woman sneezed at the wrong time midst their spar.

“Greetings Decoria. I am Cerys Dyn. And I have been asked to spar with you on this day. How would you wish to go about this?”

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Lily noticed how Cerys looked at her with a dropped jaw, out of shock but Lily wasn't sure what about her was so shocking. Was it her appearance? Did Cerys not realise how strong Lily was? Was it the Old Republic styled Jedi attire she was wearing? Lily looked over to Cerys and gave her a warm smile, "hopefully you didn't have any trouble finding yourself here?"

She figured that Cerys might have some nerves or be unsure about sparring since they had not trained before and Lily was someone who was religious about her intense training regime. Taking her Lightsaber and placed the hilt on the table off to one side and picked two wooden sticks. She then threw one over to Cerys and moved several steps back.

"Well, we can spar till our bodies need to stop or first to 5 points wins and loser has to buy them a drink?" Lily suggested as she smirked widely and held a defensive stance. Breathing in deeply, Lily felt her body relax and sink into the combat meditation that focused her mind as well as allowing the Force to flow through her. "It's also a chance for us to understand one another better and potentially bond as friends, if that interests you." Lily mentioned as her gaze watched Cerys, curious if she would be one to attack first.

 

[Cerys Dyn]

The wooden practice saber landed in her hand with a dull thud. Her hand stung a little, but Cerys showed no signs of it. “No trouble at all. This Enclave is not that large.”

The wooden blade spun about in her grip a few times as Cerys watched it and adapted to its balance. She was not naturally a great duelist, but she desired to improve. Practicing with someone like Decoria, who seemed to live and breath the gym, was probably the best way to Improve. “I defer to your wisdom in the matter of how we go about this,” Cerys said. The small bow of her head showed a deference to the other Jedi’s knowledge.

The practice weapon was spinning over Cerys’ hand when the subject of friendship came up, and se briefly lost control of the weapon. It clatter to the floor, hitting the top of her foot. The hoping that followed only lasted a moment, and the weapon was quickly to hand again as it levitated to her grasp. However, the redness of Cerys’ cheeks did not diminish as quickly as she would have liked.

”Friendship is unlikely,” she said, clearing her throat, “but respect is certainly on the table.”

She avoided outright saying the reality, that being that friendship would be impossible. It was better not to offend the other Jedi outright. After all, it was not Lily’s fault that she had been trained up in an inferior form of the Jedi Order.

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

"Good to know!" Lily beamed a pleased smile, while Cerys seemed to have a good sense of direction, Lily was fully aware that there would be others who would get lost even in an enclave this small.

Cerys deferred to Lily's judgement and she was tempted to see how far Cerys could go. How much pain and beating would her fellow Jedi Padawan take and give, but she steered to the sign of caution. Better that they have a friendly, less intense competition between them and perhaps further down the line they could explore a more intense sparring match.

"First to 5 it is then." Lily smirked as she twirled the wooden weapon her in hand and felt a little disappointed that Cerys did not think they could be friends. She hadn't met another Jedi that hadn't been interested in being friends. Some were clearly interested in more than friends, but friends was a minimum most had.

Tilting her head, "unlikely isn't a no. I like those odds." Lily giggled slightly and took another twirl in her hand before then shifting forward, starting with a simple approach to Djem So. Using the aggressive and offensive approach, attacking at Cerys firmly. Testing the defences that her fellow Padawan might have and curious to see what favoured stance that she might have.

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Cerys hid her annoyance at Lily’s insistence on familiarity, or at least treating it as a game or prize to be earned. She would not find this Jedi so easy to pull from her regimented attitude towards attachments.

The white haired Jedi advanced in an openly aggressive manner. Cerys responded by leaning back and holding her blade in one hand behind her head, her lead foot stretched before her. It was the classic opening stance for Soresu. Master Vaas had drilled into Cerys the importance of a good defence, and drawing the conflict out with the hopes of a resolution free of harm to either combatant.

She stepped into Lily’s attack, with two quick deflecting blows that sent the attack beyond her. Cerys spun about on her heels, the leather faulds about her waist spun up in the air with the force of her graceful pirouette.

“Aggressive…I take if you come from a background that favours ending the combat quickly?”

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

The defensive stance of Soresu, she had fought a few Jedi who favoured the defensive form and it made sense. Jedi were meant to be guardians of peace and jumping to fight was never something that appealed to many Jedi. Lily only used Djem So to test the preferred fighting style of Cerys, it was a good opening tactic that she could then adapt and change when she needed to, or when she wanted to. Lily might not want to reveal too much about her skills at least to begin with. Watching the graceful movements, Lily was impressed with the skills that Cerys was demonstrating and continued to keep a hard, aggressive attack.

She smirked, hearing Cerys, part of her wanted to keep silent. Try and speak to Cerys through their fighting, demonstrate her abilities and preferences through the movements that would be shared between them but she was acutely aware of the fact that Cerys was not Echani and it would seem rude to not answer. "I am Echani, fighting, sparring, that is my native tongue." Her Eshan accent becoming heavier as she continued to spar, "I could spar for hours, but if we fight like Jedi. Then ending the fight as quickly as possible. That saves lives."

Her movements and strikes mixed Djem So and Makashi together, the aggressive endless attacks with the duellist flairs of the second Form. Interested in seeing how Cerys would be able to handle the two Forms being thrown at her in the spar.

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Echani.

It was not surprising given her appearance, but the confirmation was actually quite insightful. She was not the first Echani that she had sparred with, and had picked up some interesting traits that they carried. Indeed, their life was spent communicating by their movements and stances in battle.

So she adapted.

Each new attack was countered with another Soresu strike, but they just lightly off. Each carried the accent of another form, a little hope to speak to Ataru, another deflection to speak to Makashi and then she pushed forward quickly with a spread of rapid strikes not meant to hit but to suggest a hit - akin to Juyo. Her quickly fluctuating patterns and forms meant to confuse the readings of her more experienced opponent.

All the while, she sprinkled in her reply through breathless words. “Drawing out the…conflict…can lead…to talking down…your…opponent…”

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Seeing the adaptation of several different Forms in play, it was quite the performance. Lily wondered if Cerys had lessons in combat from an Echani, it would be interesting to see. Especially since it would be a reason for Lily to keep sparring with Cerys and try to learn more. She adapted switching from Djem So and Makashi, to Shii-Cho using the Form's dedication to disarming as a way to keep Cerys on the defensive as she adopted Ataru. Seeing Juyo, Lily's eyes flickered in surprise since she knew that was one of the more restricted Forms due to the susceptibility of users to fall to the Dark Side. But Lily countered and fed into the negative emotions of herself and her opponent using Vaapad.

This was the combat form that Lily was most skilled in and it was clearly demonstrated. She was skilled in the others but when she switched to Vaapad, there was an extra level of confidence, movement with certainty, grace of her fluid motions that were not there before. Lily was demonstrating her Echani combat skills blending perfectly with the Vaapad movements.

"Perhaps. One must assess. Adapt." Lily commented, "the Sith rarely listen. Hatred blinds them. Fuels their moves."

 

[Cerys Dyn]

The only issues with the technique Cerys was using was that she was not very good at it and it was mentally taxing. She found herself second guessing her next move at one point, and in that quick moment of hesitation, Lily’s weapon was through her defences and slapping against the top of left thigh.

Cerys let out a yelp and hopped back a few spaces. She grimaced in pain.

”Best to five you said?” She rubbed her leg, even as the Force washed over her and dulled the pain for her.

“You cannot adapt if your first instinct is to go for the win as quickly as possible,” she said, falling back into the Soresu opening stance.

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Successfully getting the first point, she had a good idea of the style of fighter that Cerys was. She took a few steps back and twirled the training weapon in her hands. "Best to five." She affirmed as she breathed in deeply and sensed the Force surrounding them in that moment, closing her eyes, she took in the moment to feel the connection and bounced a little on the spot.

"Ensuring you are the one to finish a duel does not mean you kill. Disarming, holding your opponent in a position where they cannot continue to fight and convincing them with words are all viable. As long as you can tell that they would work." Lily stated in a practical tone, "we are not here to kill those that we deem evil, but we must be prepared to defend our lives and sometimes that means being proactive."

Using Ataru, Lily danced around the area and moved closer to Cerys, once again testing the defences of her opponent with a more aggressive stance.

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Cerys settled into Soresu further, allowing for Lily to bring the attacks. The Oathkeeper used the space to her advantage, keeping her feet on solid ground, but manoeuvring well and redirecting the energy from Lily’s attacks. It was nothing flashy, just solid defence. Lily was persistent though, and good. Better than Cerys easily.

A couple of blows had come close to scoring hits, and Cerys had had to back peddle in order to give herself space. Gradually though, this lead her to being cornered. “There is a fine line between proactive and provocation.”

A blow was scored to her leg, and she hissed in annoyance, not at Lily but herself. “Well done. Well done indeed.”

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Nodding her head, "of course. No arguments there but only wisdom and experience helps prevent proactive responses into becoming provocative responses." Lily responded. When she saw that she had driven Cerys into a corner, it was then that she knew she had won the duel. It was difficult to defend yourself in such a tight spot, especially one on one with an experienced fighter.

When she got the strike, she pulled back and bowed respectfully to Cerys, giving her opponent the respect she deserved for putting up such a good defence.

"Well done yourself, it is not easy to maintain a solid defence. In future, if you are going to focus on blocking, do not allow yourself to be cornered, it restricts movement and try to push back, even if not trying to strike a blow, push back and make them feel pressured." Lily advised, while she was not a Jedi Knight or Master, she figured her experience with fighting was enough that she could confidently give advice to someone else who was a Padawan.

"Again?"

 

[Cerys Dyn]

"Not cornered...noted," Cerys said, avoiding the more acerbic retort she thought up. She did not need to lash out just because she was frustrated with her own performance.

As opposed to the previous implementation of Soresu, Cerys reposted in the Shin-Cho opening stance. When the duel restarted, she advanced quickly. Her style was classical, well honed and practiced, if a little unimaginative. Each attacking strike was precisely as the droid tutors would have demanded. Her blade struck at all the areas that would normally score her high marks in an examination. It was clear that she did not have much real world experience with this form.

You have to start somewhere.

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

She could see the frustration in the muscles of Cerys and Lily understood that frustration all too well. When she was growing up and fighting her family, her trainers, she would feel frustrated and defeated when she couldn't surpass them. Being confronted with her inability to fight better, to face the fact she was not her best self yet. It was a hard truth to deal with.

When the duel restarted, Cerys took the Shii-Cho approach, one focused on disarming and striking the limbs. It was a good form in Lily's mind, and she could understand why Cerys would select it from the conversation they shared. It was never meant that to strike at her core or anywhere considered lethal and Cerys was utilising the form to perfection.

Almost robotic perfection. Which Lily considered a weakness in of itself. Being able to defend from the strikes was too easy, she could block several strikes well in advance since she could see where the strike was going to be coming from. Lily decided to demonstrate some flair in her countering, utilising Makashi with some unorthodox Echani manoeuvres.

Curious to see how Cerys handled the non-traditional approach that Lily was taking.

 

[Cerys Dyn]

She felt her blood pressure rising with each strike she attempted on Lily. Her opponent was clearly the superior blade wielder. She seemed to have several moments to catch a breath and get into position before having to block Cerys' next strike. The frustration this caused was only intensifying.

Then Lily counter attacked. Her style was unlike anything that Cerys had experienced before. The first block was only just in time. Cerys found the next a little faster, but it had opened her up for a faster secondary attack. Of course, this secondary attack came. Cerys knew she could not get her blade back in time, so she stepped backwards. The Force flowed through her, the muscles in her legs tingling with the energy. She was able to move with superhuman speed backwards, missing the attack, but not missing the nearby corner of the train mat which was curled up slightly.

Cerys fell backward, tumbling ungracefully to the ground. Her lightsaber disengaged briefly. She was able to recover her poise slightly, spinning into a crouch and igniting her blade again. She pushed off from the ground, launching into the air and into a downward strike on her opponent.

Lily Decoria

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Jakku Enclave
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Crossguard Lightsaber
Tag: Cerys Dyn

The superhuman speed that Cerys moved demonstrated she was tapping into the Force to ensure she could keep up with Lily. The Echani had not been using the Force, just allowing her experience in sparring and natural skills as a fighter be on display. But she understood why Cerys might have needed to delve into the Force. Lily watched as the other Padawan stepped backwards and tripped on the mat, she wanted to reach out and make sure that Cerys was doing okay. A hard fall backwards could be a very painful experience, she knew that all too well.

However, Cerys seemed to be quick on her feet and didn't let the fall keep her down. The Padawan turned it into a move to strike at Lily. Using both hands to grip the training weapon, she blocked the attack fully. Holding it in place but impressed with the quick thinking and turning an accident into an opportunity.

It was creative and out of the box thinking, something she wasn't sure that Cerys could do with how move perfect she had been before. "Nice move, creative and more natural." Lily complimented, attempting a gentle nudge to Cerys to be more experimental with her attacks. Harder to predict someone when they were move for move perfectly robotic. Which Lily demonstrated when she went for a hard front kick straight for the centre of Cerys's torso.