Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei's tresses curled anxiously at the waves of anger coming off of Pipsqueak. "I do what you say, Pipsqueak," she said, slightly angry herself. "Was quick on my feet, and stuck out leg fluidly!"

The Nautolan crossed her arms. Honestly, what did he have to be angry for? He'd knocked her down plenty of times already; no reason for her to not get back at him. Besides, while part of it was revenge for being knocked down, the other part was her attempting to put his advice to good use.

Guess some dogs were too old for new tricks.

((See what I did there? ))

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro's lower jaw would simply hang open for a moment, as he listened to [member="Nei Laa"]'s explanation. Wow, she was worse at interpreting things than he was! Now gritting his teeth, still in annoyance, the young boy would begin to move towards the Nautolan, his face still a bit red from his collision. With his full speed, Tugoro would begin to move along the arena, hoping to close the distance between the two within a few seconds, for he was intent on teaching her another lesson.

As soon as Tugoro arrived in front of the mischievous Nautolan, his force energy would begin to expel itself from his body, mixing in with the living force that surrounded the duo. The young Padawan would attempt to form a grip around the female's, hoping to have a telekinetic tendril pull her off of her feet. He wanted to see her fall flat on her face, for it would amuse him greatly and ease his anger.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei watched the boy suspiciously as he closed the gap between them. She was picking up a strange anger, the kind that was both cold and explosive.

"Oi, Pipsqueak, what you be--" A sudden pressure began to wrap itself around her body, and the Nautolan understood. Oh, not again. Yes, she understood all right; the boy was trying to use the Force to...what? Make her bow to him?

Nope!

The Nautolan jerked forward, catching herself with her hands and knees. So that's how he wants to be, eh? Kid don't know what he's doing! Her head jerked up and her eyes stared deep into his, icily. With a snarl, Nei pushed up and leapt towards Pipsqueak, hoping to knock him down with all of her strength.

"Pathetic!" she roared.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Given their close proximity, there was little that Tugoro could do to dodge this attack. If he had not been focusing on the energy he had wrapped around the Nautolan's leg, the boy probably would have been able to move with the aid of force speed. Seeing as this was not the case, [member="Nei Laa"]'s tackle would once again be successful, slamming into the Jedi and forcing him to the ground. The two would fall, and Tugoro's arms would lift up to cover his face, in an attempt to protect his facial features from a beating.

The young Jedi could not help but smile, laughing quietly to himself as he peeked at the angry Nautolan from between his fingers. She was definitely more entertaining than most people he had run into, and even though his attempt had failed he still found his anger eased. Though, he was not sure if he could say the same for the female.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

This upstart! This heathen! As they collapsed on the ground -- again -- Nei hit him, not hard enough to cause any real damage, but enough to leave a bruise. "Stupid cheater!" she growled. In her mind it was okay to employ physical tricks (like her trip, though the tresses were still a no-no) but Force tricks? Only if the other person could use it, too.

As the boy peeked through his fingers, the Nautolan realized he was laughing at her. Laughing!

With a cry of frustration, Nei stood up and stepped back, seething. She hated when people laughed at her. Hated it. Unless she deliberately meant to be funny, of course. Which was rare. Crossing her arms, she continued to glare at him. "Stupid Pipsqueak," she spat. "Can't win without cheating." Her tresses coiled upon themselves, a testament to her own anger.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Her tackle had definitely left a bruise, thanks to the armor and violent behavior [member="Nei Laa"] possessed. If that wasn't enough, she hit him again! The young Jedi would fall onto his back, finding himself pinned and in the perfect position to be pummeled. Despite such an unfavorable situation, Tugoro still found himself smiling, while he watched the Nautolan suddenly get back to her feet? At least his face wasn't getting punched. Slowly but surely getting back onto his feet, the young boy would sense her anger through the force, figuring that he should stop messing around now.

Taking a few steps over to the angry female, Tugoro would wear his best innocent looking face, while looking down at the Nautolan. He had never actually tried to calm a female down before, and if he had he obviously had forgotten. Taking a brief moment to think and choose his words carefully, the boy would nod to himself confidently before speaking, "Calm down." That was it. Would definitely work. Standing relaxed and un-hostilely near the female, he would wait to see her reaction. Did she really even have much to be mad about? She had bit him!

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei kept up her angry glare as the Pipsqueak got up and walked over to her. Despite her pummel, the boy was acting relaxed, as if nothing had happened. At his words, though, her glare turned into a blank look. Yeesh, this kid be worse at calming people down than I am, she thought, incredulous -- Nei was notorious for using a "tough love" approach to others, when she bothered at all. But him? Yeesh.

The Nautolan shook her head slowly. "You be worse with people skills than me Pipsqueak. And that be saying something." Placing her hands on her hips, Nei still have him a stink eye. "But I calm down when you stop cheating, Pipsqueak!" Even though the boy's humorous attempt at calming her had some success, she was still mad enough to not be above swinging a fist at him again.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Watching [member="Nei Laa"] carefully, the young boy could not help but laugh a bit more as her glare disappeared, her face now looking rather blank. Tugoro was happy that he had cheered her up, even if it was just a little bit. Still standing next to the Nautolan, the youth would stretch out his arms, before rubbing his face one last time. "Okay, no cheating," he spoke, pausing briefly before continuing, "goes for you too," Tugoro would retort with a smirk.

He didn't think much of his bad people skills, for they usually ended up making people like him most of the time. His seclusion and isolation from the majority of the galaxy at a young age had left him rather clueless, and innocent. Times were changing however, and so was Tugoro, for he had experienced much in the many battles throughout the war. Despite that, he still managed to keep cheerful somehow. "So, shall we continue?" he questioned, hoping to fight a bit more.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei scoffed. "How can I cheat if I not be Force User? Stupid Pipsqueak." At this point in time, the insult "stupid" was becoming less and less like a proper insult.

When he asked if they should continue, she nodded, her hands still on her hips. "Yeah, let's go. I want to keep learning how to beat you in a fight." Using her fingers to list them off, she said, "So, be fluid, be fast. What next?" Nei tilted her head at the boy. "Oh, and what be your name? Unless you like 'Stupid Pipsqueak', anyway."

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The playful smirk would return to the boy's face, as his feet began to spread apart, lowering his body closer to the ground while his legs bent at the knees. Having regained his previous balance, Tugoro's arms would begin to raise one extending forward and pointing down at an angle, while the other was held up high, ready to strike downwards. "Hm," the youth began, pretending to think, "how about no biting?" He replied, shaking his head slightly at her comment. He definitely considered biting cheating.

"Yes, move fast, use throws, joint locks, basically grappling," the young Jedi would shrug, as he explained what to do. The boy's vision would narrow slightly as he began to focus, watching the Nautolan's frame and movements carefully. Pushing off of the ground and towards the female, the Jedi would begin with two strikes, moving at a speedy pace that was completely natural. Tugoro's metallic hand would swing upwards from below, it's open hand attempting to jab with it's fingers at the vulnerable areas of Nei's armor. After this was done, the Padawan's arm that he had held high would come swinging down swiftly, hoping to catch her off guard and swipe right across her face.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei huffed, though it was more of a mock huff than anything else. Her anger had dissipated a bit with every passing minute. "Fine. You don't taste good, anyway. Too sweaty."

The boy -- who pretty much ignored her second question -- then assumed a funny-looking position. The Nautolan's tresses twitched in anticipation. She knew what was coming next. And he was gonna be denied, big-time.

As Pipsqueak rushed forward, Nei hurriedly scooted backwards from his hand, narrowly avoiding the jabs and the following swipe. She kept moving, in fact, until she was several steps away from her starting position. Alert for any more attacks, the woman wagged a finger at him. "Nuh-uh. Name first. Then, any curses be delivered more accurately."

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro could not help but laugh quietly as he watched [member="Nei Laa"], who had begun to evade his attacks. Despite the Nautolan's stubborn behavior, the young boy had managed to teach her and that made him happy. He loved to interact with new people, for only then was he truly able to test his Jedi people skills. With his fingers still pointed forward, the Padawan would continue to attack, keeping up with her movements as his hands trusted forth. He was not attacking with his full power, thus giving the two an opportunity to exercise and learn. Smiling at her comments, Tugoro's head would nod before he spoke, "Padawan Taidarious is what you can call me," he said, not really sure about how much he would tell this female. Taking a quick step backwards, the young Jedi would create some space as he pivoted on the ball of his foot, before lifting the other to send a roundhouse kick at his opponent.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

"I call you Teddy, then."

Nei continued to dodge and evade, though there were a couple close calls. As she moved, something that the boy said caught her attention, finally. "Wait, Padawan? You be a Jedi?"

The kick deployed at her almost caught her unawares; she just barely managed to block. Though Nei managed to grab Teddy's foot, he still had enough momentum going to knock her off balance. Still gripping the leg, the Nautolan let out a grunt and dropped to the ground. At the very least, she hoped to maybe knock her opponent off balance, too.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

First it was the foot work, and now the grappling. It seemed that [member="Nei Laa"] was really getting the hang of the Echani martial art. It was a great fighting style for those not very strong, so Tugoro employed it often. It was true that his body was trained to it's peak, however he was only sixteen. The young boy would shrug briefly as he heard the nickname, simply glad that she hadn't chosen something weird like Tuggy. So many females took it upon themselves to use the name, and he hated it.

"If you insist-- and yeah I'm Je-" the Padawan had begun to say, after his leg slammed firmly into the Nautolan's block. The teen found himself robbed of balance, suddenly on one foot as Nei brought herself along with Tugoro to the ground. That looked painful. Sighing inwardly at the female's fast learning, Tugoro's arms would begin to extend towards the ground, allowing both of his palms to impact loudly with the surface. From there, the Jedi's free leg would point upwards before curving back down, hoping to form a bind on her own arm with his two legs.

"Test of endurance now, huh?" the teen would question playfully, as the powerful muscles in his legs began to squeeze down.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

Nei let out a squawk and began to struggle against the grip Teddy had on her arm. It seemed liked if it wasn't so rib that broke, it was someone pinching her arm with their leg.

Hitting his legs with her free hand, Nei grunted, "Got...plenty of...that!" She also kicked out with her legs, hoping to make contact with something.

Hey, no one ever accused Nei of having form.

As she continued to struggle, the Nautolan swiped her tongue across her teeth. If worst comes to worst, I can-- Midthought, she remembered agreeing to no biting. Bah! Puffing out her cheeks, she continued to think of new ways to break free of Teddy's grip.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro continued to apply pressure to [member="Nei Laa"]'s arm, his legs squeezing tightly around it. As he did so, the boy would grin, watching the Nautolan punch his leg while she spoke and obviously thought of her next move. The more she struggled, the more the youth's grip loosened, and as her legs lashed out, the Jedi would let go, as her foot collided with his face. Still grinning, Tugoro's legs would lift into the air as he kicked, propelling his torso upwards into an upright position. Once more on his feet, the young Padawan would start to hop back and forth on one foot, wiping a thin stream of blood from his lip.

With his mind, Tugoro could sense the moment of desperation Nei had experienced, and the will power she had demonstrated to fight it off. Now standing still, the Padawan would drop all hostile behavior, as his arms lowered to relax at his side. Now smiling genuinely, Tugoro would drop his smug front, as he nodded approvingly of Nei's combat prowess thus far. "Learned a lot, yeah?" He asked, almost sure of it.

 

[Nei Laa]

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

[SIZE=12pt]As soon as she was released, Nei rolled onto her side and leapt up, rubbing her arm grudgingly. Both relief and smugness showed up when her foot had made contact with Teddy’s face. The smugness was due in part to the Nautolan being certain she’d put a dent in the kid’s ego. Well, what she perceived to be his ego. The relief was because the continuous pressure had made her arm start to feel tingly. No doubt, in a few minutes her arm would begin to prickle with pins and needles. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]It also looked like her fists hadn’t left him unscathed, either. Honestly, it was almost comical to see him hopping around like that, and as a result a few of Nei’s tresses curled in snarky amusement. But, that soon left as the kid looked and smiled at her. She didn’t like it when people smiled at her, especially during or after a fight, and for a moment the Nautolan almost forgot she’d asked him to help her – only the question posed stopped the female from going at the kid with fists a’swinging. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“I learned it not be fun to fight without biting,” she grumbled antagonistically. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Of course, now the pins and needles began to set in, so with a deeper scowl Nei began to rub her arm again. [/SIZE]