Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei wasn't happy.

This in of itself would not be much of a surprise to the few people who actually got to know her, and to the many people who only met her for a short period. Nei rarely if ever expressed any emotions aside from the usual anger, confusion, or bloodlust.

Today, however, Nei was angry only because, well, because she could be. That, and lately she hadn't been getting as many jobs as normal.

Visor up, blasters put away, the Nautolan woman stalked down the streets of Corellia, pretty much ready to jump on the case of anyone who happened to get in her line of fire.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Corellia wasn't visited as frequently as Nar Shaddaa was by Tugoro, however it was a close second for travel destinations for the youth. Not that he enjoyed the planets, for what he truly enjoyed was helping those in need, and taking bites out of crime. Corellia was not as developed in an urban sense compared to Nar Shaddaa, however it still had it's far share of misdeeds here and there. While walking the streets of Coronet city, Tugoro found his gaze wandering to the crowds that walked alongside him, not seeming to take notice of him. Why would they, for today he was dressed in his casual wear, which consisted of a brown leather flight jacket, beige pants, and brown leather boots. The young Padawan looked like any other spacer, albeit he was a bit young.

Upon sensing an aura of anger, Tugoro's head would crane to the side slightly, as he slammed into a peculiar looking female. Taking a step back immediately, the teen would begin to examine [member="Nei Laa"], who did not seem very happy. She was shorter than the boy, causing him to look down on her as he observed her eyes. Tugoro had never encountered a Nautolan before, and if he did he couldn't remember. This female hardly looked intimidating, though there was something about those black eyes that put the young Jedi off. If his firm balance had knocked her to the ground, Tugoro would immediately reach forward, offering Nei an opened hand. If not, he would simply look her in the eyes, smiling briefly. "You okay?" He questioned, hoping she was unhurt. He did not like hurting girls, though would if needed.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei, lost in her own grumpy thoughts, wasn't paying attention to where she was going -- that is, until someone slammed into her. Looking up, her eyes narrowed at the human boy who had gotten in her way. Target acquired.

The Nautolan briefly went over the reasons she had for chewing out this newcomer. Taller than me. Ran into me. Irritating teenager. Too nice to be real. And on top of that, she didn't like how he was staring at her eyes. Rude, too.

Head tresses thrashing angrily, she glared up at him with her hands on her hips. "I be fine," she snapped. "You, however, be hurt badly if you don't move it, pipsqueak." She continued her disapproving look, daring the youth to come at her.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Woah, what? The boy's face would become disgruntled, as he listened to the abrasiveness of [member="Nei Laa"]. Upon seeing her hands place themselves on her hips, the boy knew something was going down, for it was a defiant pose that he knew well. Even so, he had not expected a threat of bodily harm, especially not from the short female that stood in front of him. Tugoro was torn between making fun her skills in galactic basic, however he himself was not very good at speaking either. This usually prompted him to be straight to the point and bold, which was sometimes a good and bad thing.

"As if," the youth would blurt, his apologetic manner disappearing completely. His previously angered expression would turn into that of a smug smirk, as he looked down at the female. Was she really going to attack him? It didn't matter to the boy, for he was sure that she was just talking loud, or whatever that phrase was. "You couldn't hurt if you were a Vong torture device." The boy would retort, feeling offended by her insult. He wasn't sure what a pipsqueak was, though it sounded small and weak. Something that the boy did not see himself as. Even if his own insult had been a bit random, hopefully the point would get across to the Nautolan, as he continued to stare at her black eyes. So strange.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei bared her teeth at the upstart. It seemed he had accepted her challenge, at the Nautolan would not disappoint.

Besides, she didn't like the Vong, and she didn't like being compared to them.

The Nautolan took a couple steps back, put down her visor, and charged at the pipsqueak. "Jid rehilkan sei inu'a!" she roared. Pulling back her fist, she aimed at his gut and let one fly.

That outta wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Wow, she was actually attacking! The smirk upon Tugoro's face would only grow wider, as he watched her movements, his eyes locking onto her figure as she stepped back. The fact that she was putting down her visor alluded to the fact that she was about to attack, that and the almost malleable emotions of anger leaking off her. If that wasn't enough, the sudden battle cry she let pretty much guaranteed it.

Instead of backing up a lot, Tugoro would simply take a single step back, with a single foot. His legs would bend at the knees, lowering his body to the ground only slightly, given him a better center of gravity. Tracing her movements, the young boy would extend his arms, allowing his palms to slide along her attack, applying only a slight amount of pressure against the limb she had used to throw her punch.

Leaning to the side briefly, the young Jedi would redirect her attack, pivoting on his heel to watch her stumble right past him. After practicing with an Echani battlemaster, he had picked up a few fighting techniques that the Echani employed. He wondered what else he would be able to practice against this Nautolan. "Come now." He would taunt, as if he were unsatisfied with her display thus far. The youth wanted to see what else she was capable of, as well as if she were capable of coming to her senses. Maybe she would think his maneuver had been a fluke, or perhaps she would continue to attack.
[member="Nei Laa"]

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Fluke, shmook. This kid clearly thought he was better than she was, giving Nei a new objective: teach this pipsqueak a lesson.

Drawing herself together after that disgraceful tumble (which only served to enrage her further), Nei came at him again, this time switching it up a bit.

Like last time, the Nautolan went to catch him with her right fist. However, as soon as that was released, she planned on kneeing him in the gut before bopping him upside the head with her left fist.

If the first manoeuvre succeeded, that is.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Upon watching the Nautolon recover, the youth could not help but smile, taking a single step backwards once again. The smug smirk he wore had developed into a genuine grin, for he was enjoying the workout, however one sided it may have been. Yes, he loved persistence, for it was a trait that he himself wore proudly too. Instead of getting into his stance immediately, Tugoro would wait for [member="Nei Laa"] to advance only moving as she entered striking distance. The boy's robotic hand would shoot out as her own did once again, hoping to plant a successful punch this time. Once again, the Jedi would redirect her moment, by placing just the slightest amount of pressure on her aim, causing it's trajectory to be off.

Ah, she was a tricky one though! The feisty Nautolan had employed a knee in her assault as well, it catching Tugoro off guard for a moment. Lifting his own leg, the boy would pivot slightly on his heel, swinging his own knee into Nei's to stop it directly. Definitely not an Echani maneuver, though it had worked nonetheless. She wasn't weak either, her short and pretty frame had led the boy to believe she couldn't even provide pain if she wanted to. Why were the pretty ones always defiant? After stopping her kick, the Jedi's leg would slip between her own two feet, planting it's foot firmly on the ground once more.

As this was done, his arms would go to work, quickly lifting as he noticed the movements in his attacker's torso. His hands would reach out once again, hoping to find their way along the Nautolon's arm, before pulling it slightly in the direction it was headed. Hopefully she would be pulled off of her feet, and subsequently tripped due to the positioning of his own.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Why, that stupid little upstart!

Despite her failed attack, the Nautolan woman still managed to land gracefully, pulling a duck-and-roll manoeuvre. Whirling around, Nei ran at him again. This time, though, she had a plan. Again.

Making as though she was going to hit him, Nei instead put her visor up and threw herself at the boy as if to embrace him. Her intent, however, was less than cuddly. Baring her teeth, the Nautolan hung on for dear life as she clamped her teeth down on the human's shoulder.

Let's see how the young pipsqueak blocks that!

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The youth would nod approvingly, admiring her graceful management of throw he had employed. Sure, he had succeeded in getting her away from him, but she had more or less absorbed the damage that would have been taken from the fall. As he watched [member="Nei Laa"] turn around and charge once more, Tugoro would once again take a single step backwards, before furrowing his brow in surprise.

She was... Jumping at him? Upon closer inspection, it looked as if she was actually trying to hug him, except her enraged visage blew the chance of her warming up to him out the window. And boy was she mad, for the Jedi had never forced someone to bite him! The Nautolan's full weight would slam into him, forcing him onto his back as he fell to the duracrete ground.

It had been so sudden and...Unorthodox, that Tugoro really hadn't had a chance to fight back. Upon feeling her teeth bite down into his clothing, the boy would wince in pain, still shocked by the fact she had resorted to such tactics. Seeing as she had bound herself around him, Tugoro opt to do the same thing, though in a different manner. Instead of wrapping his arms around her body, the youth's hands would guide themselves to her head tresses, allowing his palms to lay upon them gently at first. They were pretty soft, he sort of felt bad for what he was about to do. At least, if his hunch was correct.

Taking one of the tentacle like things in each of his hands, the Jedi would begin to squeeze down, easing the pressure he applied with his robotic limb, while his flesh hand squeezed down immediately. Perhaps this would help relieve the pain in his shoulder.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

If Nei wouldn't have been seeing red, she most certainly would have found the current situation awkward.

The Nautolan was surprised that this attack had actually succeeded, even as the two opponents went down. Despite falling, though, Nei remained attached to the pipsqueak.

She felt hands on her head tresses, and she was about to wonder what the kid was going to do when suddenly pressure was applied to them.

Boy, did that hurt. Letting out a muffled scream, the Nautolan clamped down harder, digging her fingers into the boy's flesh. But when the pressure moved on to encompass her injured head tress, the pain became near-unbearable.

Fingers clenched, Nei released her bite on the boy in order to let loose with a feral cry of pain. She began to wriggle in an attempt to cause the human to release his grip.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Feeling her pain and anger through the force, Tugoro could not help but frown, not taking any amusement in causing her harm. As her muffled screams became apparent, the firm grip he had created over her tresses would let up immediately, starting with the robotic grasp.

The young boy's hands would run down her tentacles gently, before finding their place at the Nautolan's shoulders in a not so gentle manner. Time to put an end to this game. Leaning to the side, the Jedi would begin to shift his weight, beginning to roll himself over with [member="Nei Laa"] on top of him.

Of course, this would place her against the ground, now hopefully restrained by the boy who still pressed her shoulders to the ground as the rest of his weight attempted to hold her still. Looking back on his actions, Tugoro could not help but conclude that this entire situation was bit silly, thus prompting him to help the female. The young Padawan would begin to exude an aura of light side energy, one that would make itself present to Nei despite her lack of force sensitivity. It would wash over her being, easing any pain and anger she possessed slowly but surely, just enough to hopefully bring her from that blind rage. "Again. You okay?" Tugoro would question.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Pinned to the ground, Nei attempted to knock the impudent boy off but was unsuccessful due to the lack of elbow room. This however, didn't last very long as the boy got up of his own accord. Deliberately ignoring his offer of assistance, the Nautolan woman leaped up, nursing her injured tress which was now throbbing somewhat painfully.

Though she glared at the boy, Nei wasn't feeling as angry as she knew she should have been, considering she lost to some pipsqueak that was almost half her age. Nonetheless, she was still angry enough to be rude to the human."No," she snapped. "You play dirty. Why you care? Go away."

Most of the bravado, however, was cover for Nei's grudging respect for the boy's fighting ability, if not for the boy himself. This, however, she kept to herself.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

After getting up, the boy would take a step away from the Nautolan, grinning sheepishly as he rubbed his shoulder. He still couldn't believe she had actually bit him. There was a part of the boy that wanted to burst out into laughter, the expression that was stifling his amusement being more than enough proof of such.

Managing to control himself, Tugoro would take a step closer to the female, looking at her as she nursed her injures tress. Had he truly hurt her? Guilt would shoot through the boy, as his grin disappeared, beginning to wonder how he could make up for this. Still projecting his light sided aura, the young Padawan would reach out, hoping to grab her head tentacle thing gently. The force energy he was exuding would begin to flow along his arm as he closed his eyes briefly, concentrating to give it healing properties.

While he dulled the pain, Tugoro would turn to look at [member="Nei Laa"], a sudden question surfacing to his mouth. Even so, he would hold it back, as he answered her own. "Because I can help," he began, obviously referring to his force healing. It was a slow process, though it definitely helped ease her suffering. Having answered the Nautolan's question, the boy would retort with his own, "What did you yell at me?" He inquired, looking curiously to the female. He wanted to know what she had roared at him.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei scowled as the pheromones she was detecting told her that the human boy found it to be amusing. Still petting the tress that had been injured during a previous invasion, the Nautolan shoved his hand away; he had manhandled her tresses more than enough, thank you. Even so, she noticed some of the pain disappearing, though she simply chalked it up to...something. She'd have to think of an excuse later. "Can't help," she fired back. "Old injury. Stupid pipsqueak."

Her scowl deepened when the upstart asked she had yelled. "I told you to stop looking at my eyes," she retorted. "You be rude. Didn't anyone teach you not to stare?"

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The dim glow that had enveloped the youth's hand would disappear, as [member="Nei Laa"]'s hand slapped harshly into it. The boy was still torn between laughing and taking pity on the female, finding it foolish that she denied his assistance, while still understanding why she might do so.

The funniest thing was that Tugoro still felt somewhat in the wrong. He just didn't see it as funny. Perhaps he shouldn't have mouthed off to the rude Nautolan, for in a sense he was just bringing himself down to her level. Even if his healing power had been refused, his light side aura still worked it's magic, allowing some guilt to be lifted from his conscience.

"You know," he began, pausing to think of the right words to use. He wasn't very good at galactic basic himself, though he usually managed to get by with his limited vocabulary, "even shyriiwook would have been better," he concluded, still rubbing his shoulder while his wide grin returned. He wondered why she had decided to yell at him in her own language. On top of that, what was so wrong with looking at her eyes? They were just so strangely unique to the boy, though not in a bad way. "Look at my eyes if you want." the youth would suggest, shrugging in a clueless manner. He had no clue what she in wanted recompense, if anything at all.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

The scowl on Nei's face never changed, especially when she had the niggling sense that he was the one who was making her goody-goody. Naturally, her thoughts immediately turned to the sorcery many knew as the Force.

"Don't wanna look at your eyes," she spat. "They be stupid. And what the kriff is shyriiwook?" Honestly, this kid was not doing so good in the Nautolan's eyes. Not only had he defeated her and manhandled her head tresses, but he'd also started throwing out weird words, too. Not that Nei was any better, but she deliberately overlooked that.

"Who be you?"

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"Just a boy with pride," the youth would retort, as his eyes inched to the edge of his vision, looking away from [member="Nei Laa"]. Of he hadn't said it outright, however it was fairly obvious he was alluding to the fact that the female had little to no sense of honor. A strange chill would run up the youth's spine, alerting him to impending danger apparently. Seriously though, she had bitten him!

Lowering his hand from the teeth marks embedded into his clothing and skin, Tugoro would begin to concentrate and focus more, using the force to reach out with his mind. Through his sensing abilities, the Jedi was able to feel her anger, and the fact that it had been directed at something besides him previously. He was tempted to ask why she was angry, though he figured that it would only earn him another bite.

"I'm from Kashyyyk, shyriiwook is wookie language." The boy would conclude, having answered both of her questions. His eyes weren't that stupid, were they?

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei dropped her scowl, though she did keep glaring a bit. "Pride's a weakness," she warned. And she would know. Half the fights Nei got into were because of that.

She noticed the boy still holding his shoulder, though he still hadn't shown much evidence that it hurt. The Nautolan begrudgingly gave him another respect point. But it was small. No need to overdo it. "So you be Wookiee boy, then?" She asked.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Reflecting on events that had occurred in the past, Tugoro could not help but agree with [member="Nei Laa"]. Pride was definitely a weakness, however that would not stop the boy and his bloated ego. A lot of other Jedi back at the temple had always warned the youth of his pride, for Tugoro had a tendency to be rather smug. "Hm," he hummed, not sure what to say.

It was something he tried to repress more often, though he still found himself slipping here and there. Just like today. The youth's emerald gaze would rise from his shoulder as he lifted his hand, having checked to see how bad the bite wound was. It wouldn't slow him down, however it was an annoyance.

"For... Nine years?" Tugoro would reply to her comment, taking a moment to think. It was hard to keep track of things that he didn't pay attention to. The boy would begin to think about Kashyyyk, and the village he had grown up in. "Been to the shadowlands?" Tugoro would question, furrowing his brow as he did so. As a young child, he had endured a week in it's depths, struggling to prove his worth among the Wookiees.