The Contention Form

[Darth Ophidia]

Saiah was meditating in one of the training halls of Malif Cove. Her eyes were closed, and her legs crossed in the lotus position. Her hands rested on her knees and in front of her on a pillow lay a lightsabre. It was not her own, but it was one she had chosen to borrow from the armoury. It fitted her, and she wished to become more familiar with the weapon now that she was to receive training in it. The lightsabre, crimson bladed and deadly, was the signature weapon of the Sith after all.

Saiah had taken a liking to this specific training room. It was weather-worn, and the writing and imagery on the stone walls was cracking and peeling. The room was also lit by a mass of candles that flickered and cast ominous, dancing shadows. Saiah loved the scent of the candles, the flames somehow soothed her, without sacrificing her connection to the Dark Side.

Opening her painted eyelids, Saiah's pale eyes pierced the shadows, and her right hand slipped from her knee to the pillow in front of her. Her fingers caressed the metallic cylinder ever so lightly and her legs tensed, preparing her to get up in a hurry. She was waiting for [member="Darth Ferus"], who was going to teach her in the art of lightsabre combat. Remembering her previous lessons, she had an inkling this could be dangerous.

 

[Darth Ferus]

And dangerous it was for [member="Saiah"] . As she stood there waiting, the red man stood within the shadows, watching ever on. His signature was practically non existent, shrunk down to an atomic level for the soul purpose of continuing to push the Rataki. And so, while she was holding her hand on her blade, he would spring out and forward, golden saber flashing to life as he charged forth.

Unforgivingly he would bring down the saber in a single hand, aiming to cut her in half if she did not act to protect herself. She thrived when her life was on the line, and that would not change any time soon.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The hum of a lightsabre, a sudden emergence of golden light, and the distinct feeling of being targeted all made Saiah dive into a sideways roll and escape her previous seat. She stood up from the roll in one single fluent motion and activated her lightsabre, pointing the emerging blade at where she had been seated. The blade bathing the room in a scarlet hue.

"Darth Ferus, you know just how to make an entrance."

Her voice was cool, dry, yet somehow flirtatous. She smiled a vicious smirk, amplified by the flickering lights, yet she would probably appear no more menacing than a particularly vicious puppy to a well trained and experienced Sith Lord. She stepped sideways and backwards, giving herself more distance against the Sith Lord. She kept the tip of her sabre pointed at him. Ferus was right to put her life on the line. Success or Death was the mantra she would live or die by.

[member="Darth Ferus"].

 

[Darth Ferus]

Slowly Ferus would spin his saber, keeping it aloft in his metallic hand. "Makashi. The duelist form. Footwork and bladework were to work in tandem. Your task is simple. Learn while I proceed to try to kill you. Defend yourself as best as you can. Once you've learned enough, we switch. You attack me with those moves, and I'll show you the defense. Then, we switch again, only I'm going much harder." And with that the Zabrak flung himself forward, thrusting his blade forward in a quick fashion. It was a simple move, but the speed behind the red mans attack was inhuman.

[member="Saiah"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Saiah grinned maniacally at the prospect of this training. Afraid? Perhaps a little, but it only fuelled her through a will to survive and grow in this hostile environment. She wanted it hostile. She thrived in the hostility. Saiah watched his movements closely, attempting to absorb every detail. Yet, she could not be too caught up in observation, she had to survive the lesson in order to make use of it.

"Sounds like a party to me."

Saiah drew on the Force to help her keep up, she was starting to adopt the speed quite naturally. When Ferus' thrust came at her, she danced to the side just in time. She continued to retreat, giving herself more space to observe again. If she had been able to counter attack, she would, but he was simply too fast. Impossibly fast.

What a beautiful way of learning.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"The way of Makashi is a single line. You move towards or away from your opponent, never to either side. You are a straight line, constantly moving in with light attacks, and retreating with parries." Ferus's voice called out over his saber. With a grin, he watched her retreat, only to continue forward. This time, his blade came around for her neck, yet at the last second the trajectory changed, slashing straight down for her chest instead. "Use your bladework to confuse your opponents. Don't get predictable. Light slashes and thrusts are your best friends, as well as wrist rotation."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Single line, retreat with parries.

She tried to imitate the style described, and so instead of whirling away from the way for Ferus' attack she would try to parry. She brought the tip of her lightsabre up to intercept his strike for her neck, but as he changed his direction. She had to leap backwards, arching her body out of reach. She could feel the heat of his blade, but it did not touch her flesh. It was close, far too close.

Light and unpredictable.

Quickly, her own blade was brought close to her centre for better defence. She also changed her position slightly, putting weight on the balls of her feet and turning her shoulders and hips more sideways to provide a more narrow target.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Good, you learn fast." A smile formed over the Zabrak's features with this comment. But it was a passing thing, and without warning he would press forward once more. His blade snaked around from the left, going to slash across her chest in his single handed grip, but he did not stop there. No, he would continue to move with [member="Saiah"] , his golden saber a blur as he offered light cuts and thrusts to each part of her body. There seemed to be no pattern to his attacks, each wildly unpredictable as the Assassin chased his prey.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Saiah could come up with a thousand quips, but none of them were worth her life. She simply did not have the time. All her focus went to the form. Her opponent was relentless and far too proficient in this form for her to take a break. No visible pattern to exploit, no lingering gaps to penetrate or escape through.

Her scarlet blade flicked to meet and parry Ferus' incoming attacks attacks. Saiah noticed already that the corrections gave her much greater speed. As he kept pushing, she kept stepping back in a straight line, her feet moving lightly, and feeling their way so as to prevent her from getting stuck in a corner. She had to be very aware of the room, or it might end up her tomb.

As she had thought, she could soon feel the warmth of candles near her back as the straight line inevitably lead her up against a wall, she would have to find some way of changing their trajectory.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"And finally, don't be afraid to step into your opponents guard. Block, step, counter." With that, the Zabrak, seeing [member="Saiah"] near the wall, thrust out his blade for her chest, aiming to simply impale her with the single strike.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

When Ferus came with his final thrust, Saiah stepped in as he had suggested. She brought her own sabre into an upwards trajectory and parrying the tip of his sabre away, and ducked under his sword-arm. As she sped past him, she pivoted and brought her sabre around in a quick slash at the back of the Sith Lord's leg. It was aimed to sever the tendons in his knee, limiting Ferus' movements and giving Saiah better chances. Her skirts fluttered through the pivot, and her lightsabre hummed as it chased it's mark.

[member="Darth Ferus"].

 

[Darth Ferus]

The Zabrak didn't seem to move after his attack was parried. In fact, he didn't seem to make any sort of effort to stop her blade from coming towards his ankle. Instead, a grin formed on his lips as he let the burning blade cut into the mechanical limb. [member="Saiah"] would find out rather quickly why he didn't bother dodging.

There was a small cortosis ore layer underneath the durasteel plating that was his leg. When the saber would touch that, it would only find itself fizzle out and die. Ferus would turn then, eyeing the pale female with a slight smirk still there on his lips. "Very good. Had I not have this leg the way it is, I would of been forced against the wall myself. You truly are a quick learner."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Saiah retreated an extra step and looked at the standard lightsabre hilt in her hand, bemusement written on her face. Her eyes then flicked to his leg before connecting to Ferus' gaze. She was more intrigued by the way her lightsabre had shorted than in his praise.

"That is a very nice leg you have there, Lord Ferus. You sure are full of surprises."

A smirk spread across her lips as she eyed him right back. She twirled the deactivated lightsabre hilt in her hand, she would not activate her blade yet. Next it would be her turn to attack, and she had an idea to catch an opponent off-guard.

"I thank you. Shall we continue?"

She raised her lightsabre hilt to chin-height then swiped it to the side as she stepped into the position she had adopted earlier. She stood with her right side to him, giving Ferus minimal targeting area. While her sabre was pointed diagonally down and deactivated, it was there as a threatening element.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

A nod came from the lord as he moved towards the center of the room, eyeing [member="Saiah"] as he went. He brought up his blade, holding the golden saber aloft in a loose grip as he simply waited. His form was small, similar to her own, but his saber was still on, burning in the room.

"Come."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

She kept her eyes on him as he moved, and shifted her stance and position accordingly. Saiah stayed within a certain distance of Ferus, so as if their sabres were extended horizontally there would still be a few centimetres between them.

Saiah didn't waste a single moment, before his word was fully uttered she advanced upon the Sith Lord; her scarlet lightsabre springing back to life with a ferocious hiss. While the blade emitted, she cut upwards; a move many would consider difficult to predict exactly, considering the simultaneous motions of the extending blade and the subtle motion of her elbow and wrist performing the rising cut.

And she was not done yet, following the rising cut she would unleash a volley of aggressive thrusts and cuts. She was still adapting to the form, but she was grasping it with a cruel enthusiasm and a razor sharp focus.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

A rising slash was indeed something most wouldn't be able to see coming. There were many movements too subtle for the normal eye to see, but Ferus did not have a normal eye. With the blade coming up, his own blade snaked right down, the tip of his blade going to hit the mid section of her own and send it off to his right. His goal, to get the blade to pass harmlessly by his body.

Here, in the middle of the room, the Zabrak had a free range of motion. With one arm behind his back, he would go to the defensive, his feet casually carrying him back as he knocked the girls blade away. She was under trained, yes, but [member="Saiah"] 's raw skill with a blade was very apparent. This wasn't a casual defense, but a fully focused and determined one. A single slip up might cause him with at best a new scar, at worst dead.

There was no grin on the Zabrak's face now, no tell tail sign of his enjoyment anywhere. Even deep within his mind he seemed to have blocked his emotions, now just a bot for her to try to best.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As Ferus blew her blade to the side, Saiah had flicked it around so as to continue her attack with a thrust. She noted that turning the sabre around in that manner demanded good control of the weightless blade's trajectory. In the speed of her movement, she almost took her own ear off, but she got away with the warning sensation of the scarlet blade passing just over her flesh.

In her attacks, the Rattataki had started keeping her left hand as a counterbalance to her right, allowing her better balance in her footwork. She was adapting quickly because the penalty for growing stale was death, and death was awfully final when the Galaxy carried such opportunity. She was focused, all of her mental and physical faculties were working for the cause of internalising the form in practice. And yet, her face was alight with morbid delight.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Good, good. You've adapted nicely. But, as ever, there is more for you to learn. Such as Makashi's defense against the Force." Once more knocking the females blade away with his own, he brought about his free hand, and unleashed a blast of the Force meant to push [member="Saiah"] back. Turning himself once more and sliding back, the red man would shut off his saber, holstering it back on his side.

"Let's see how well you do on this aspect."

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Makashi defence against The Force? Saiah was blown backwards and landed on her back, but turned the momentum into a roll bringing her back to her feet. She brought her lightsabre up to a guard so as to prevent him from pressing the advantage. She sneered at Ferus and called the Force to her to bolster her. How could she top a Force attack with a lightsabre form, by preventing him from focusing? That could work. Or would she have to draw on the Force as a shield from behind which she could retaliate? In any case she made a controlled charge with a thrust, trying to keep him from mustering up the Force.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

[member="Saiah"] would quickly learn how little effort it took the Zabrak to use the Force. With his fists up, he began punching outwards, as if to shadow box, but as his arms fully extended, a blast of the Force itself would shoot out to smack her in the chest, head, shoulders. It was as if he was directly in front of her, punching with his flesh against hers.

"Makashi gives you the option of a free hand, and foot work. Use your hand to deflect the blasts, and your feet to dance around them. Pay attention to where the strikes go!"