The first of the forms (Shii-cho, Combat class, open to those that want to learn)

[Shaddi]

The kick wasn't expected to say the least and when it came at his knee, it buckled from the blow and he went down on one knee. The push afterwards was predictable at least to Erebos and he held his own against her despite being at such a disadvantage stance wise. He pushed up with the other knee and held her at bay with one hand while the other repaid her in kind for the kick, effectively a nerve strike towards the side of her abdomen. The strike was aimed to cause a very high level of discomfort and a short surge of pain.
[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] certainly was a quick study but it seemed to Erebos at least that what he saw before him now wasn't even close to her fullest potential, both as a duelist and as a sith in general.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Gritting her teeth, she was far too focused on the push to react to the kick. Joyce thought she had him on the ropes, pinned and voulerable. When his retaliation came, she was unable to react. Quite frankly, she thought she would be able to take it. Her abdomen was strong, she had taken straight to the sides before and stood, but this turned out to be different.

As the strike landed, her eyes widened in pain and confusion. She jumped back and rolled away, coming to a knee-stance with the lightsabre held out before her and her left hand on her side. Joyce's brown eyes focused intently on [member="Darth Erebos"] as she forced herself to stand once more. She would not let him pin her down, but she could feel that her left side was not as it should be. She could not rely on the muscles, and a nausea spread through her.

Coming quickly to her feet, she adopted the Shii-Cho stance once more, ready to resume the sparring.

 

[Shaddi]

Seeing [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] jump back so quickly after his hit landed on her side made him smirk a little under his mask, but it soon turned into a smile when he saw she was ready for more. "So you get hit retreat and then come back for more?" He said as he began to prod her with Dun möch to see just how her character was and how she'd hold up.
He moved into a juyo attack stance and then gathered the force into himself. "You are allowed everything at your disposal for the remainder of this match show me everything you have." He then said his tone almost a mocking one but not close enough to be thought of as purely mocking.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

"I'm not foolish enough to stand where you can strike me. Who knows where your hands have been."

She smirked, the Dun Möch would probably work better if she didn't have a comical reply to his taunts. She was quite confident that [member="Darth Erebos"] was capable of pulling some nasty manoeuvres she had yet to see, and his last strike had left her nauseous. She would have to do better than this if she was to prove herself.

"It will be my pleasure, sir."

She shifted from the Shii-Cho stance to a more neutral one, she tilted the blade forward and changed her footing. Then she charged and raised her sabre for another overhead. However, it was a feint. Instead of swinging forward, she brought it around to the side striking for Erebos' leg. If uninterrupted, she would move seamlessly over in an upward thrust for his abdomen.

 

[Shaddi]

Erebos chuckled a little at [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]'s comical reply and then turned the saber in his hand to point downwards and used that to block the side strike aimed at his leg, but his block was almost too late and as accomplished he was as a duelist he was far from refined. This annoyed him but as he kept his blade against hers, he began to step forwards as he pushed her back while holding his blade against hers with one hand, the force empowering his body beyond what it usually would be.
"Is this all you have Acolyte Joycelyn? It seems the reputation of you Zambrano's was overpraise." He mocked her in a final attempt at Dun möch as much as he saw the use in the technique it wasn't his greatest and he did require more training in it.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Once more, it was a battle of blade pressing upon blade. She could feel him pushing back, his strength disproportionate to his size and fitness. She was not aware of it, but the Force was pushing her strength as well. Her determination to earn respect fuelled her physical prowess. [member="Darth Erebos"]' words hit, but perhaps not quite with the effect he desired. He would need to grind her down far more if he were to crack her.

"Oh, I am just getting warmed up."

As he came towards her, she took half a step back. Releasing the pressure, she tried to draw Erebos' blade to the side and open him up. Her right hand left her lightsabre hilt and balled into a fist before she threw a punch for his abdomen. Again, she wanted to knock him off balance, take him off guard, and move the fight into territory she was more familiar with.

 

[Gorteko Graye]

Slight irritation, that was the feeling Gorteko was experiencing, the irritation of not accomplishing his task correctly. The feeling would fade however, he was aware that he needed to master Shii-cho so that he could master all of the forms, and grow in power. While he had little experience in dueling due to his personal style of combat, he would learn quickly through willpower alone if nothing else. Watching [member="Darth Erebos"] display the form, he took note of every movement, memorizing and learning as much as possible. By the time the sparring droid returned to him, he believed he was ready.

Playing off the actions of the droid, Gorteko worked through the basic move sets. 'Unpredictable... Of course, the form isn't a series of moves, its a way of movement. Wild, unpredictable movements to take foes off guard. I can do that.' The man thought just before the droid attempted another horizontal slash at his upper torso. He lowered his body as he spun to his right. His right leg extended as the blade past just over his head; his heel would connect with the droids legs, a classic leg sweep. The droid began to fall and the man began to rise, in doing so he also turned toward his falling opponent. His blade, being held in his right hand, slashed vertically down across the droids torso, simultaneously his off hand reached for the other blade, grabbing the hilt and taking it from the droid just before it slammed into the ground with a fair amount of noise. Standing over the fallen droid he deactivated both weapons and caught his breath, he would then turn to see how [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] was fairing against their instructor.

 

[Shaddi]

As the back step from [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] came Erebos didn't take the bait but played along a little as the fist came towards his abdomen he grabbed it and pulled it forwards as he moved out of it's way. Following that he kicked at Joycelyn's legs to trip her down and then she'd find his saber hovering above her throat. "Excellent use of your own body acolyte, You show great promise but I believe it is time you spar with someone of your own level now." Erebos said as he deactivated his saber and rose, reaching out his hand to help Joycelyn up if she'd accept his hand.

"Rest for a moment and meditate to refresh yourself." He'd then say to her as he'd go to [member="Gorteko Graye"] and looked over the rising droid that gave a report in the ancient sith language to him. "You are inventive Acolyte Goreko, that is an excellent trait to have when it comes to Shii-cho." He said as he gestured for Gorteko to do the same as Joycenlyn had been asked to do.

"Before you both decide on the lightsaber form that suits you best I would like to mention that you can always mix and match them. Shii-cho is only required at a basic level to begin training in the other forms more effectively. If it is your wish to continue training then my door is always open if you wish for a private lesson on anything I can help you with." He then said as he allowed both to rest a little and used some outwards directed Curato Salva to refresh both of them to the same level without them noticing, hopefully.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

She would hit; she could feel it. Then, something stopped her fist. Joycelyn was barely able to register it before her feet vanished beneath her, the world blurred and she felt the ground beneath her back. Fortunately, her years of training in being tossed around had left her with good reflexes on breaking falls. She was about to bring her sabre about in order to cover herself, but she found [member="Darth Erebos"]' sabre already at her throat. Anger and disappointment rushed through her, but she accepted his hand. As she stood, looking down at the shorter figure, she reluctantly bowed her head in respect. He had beaten her, and she would remember it.

As Erebos left her, she dusted herself off, retreated closer to one of the walls and sat down. Joyce had a ritual for when she was defeated. It reminded her of her weaknesses so that she would never forget to pursue strength. Sitting cross-legged, she placed the practice-sabre in front of her and reached into a pouch of her belt. From it, she withdrew a small, folded knife, a cylindrical container, and a small, red sheet of cotton. With deft hands, she picked up the knife and flicked out the blade. The red cloth, she held in her left hand. Tilting her head to the left, she placed the blade of the knife on her neck and made a swift cut. The cut was not threatening, but the blade of the knife was made to leave scars. She re-folded the knife while pressing the red cloth against the wound. Her right hand opened the container and retrieved a pinch of black powder. As she removed the cloth from the wound, she smeared the powder into it. It would stop the bleeding and leave a dark line on her skin. Further up, one could see several such lines, horisontal on the side of her neck. Joycelyn made no sound of it, no theatrical display. Rather, there was a disturbingly mundane quality to her procedure, as it was completely normal to her.

She was finished with her ritual before Erebos made his final remark about the choosing of styles. Joycelyn turned to them, but remained off to the side. Her brown eyes watched him as she considered his words. Once more, she nodded her head in understanding

To rest, she closed her eyes and let her hands rest on her knees. Breathing slow, she listened to her own heartbeat. Slow, steady, waiting. She regained her energy far quicker than she had anticipated, but did not question it. Rather, she focused on what she had learned, and the sparring ahead.

[member="Gorteko Graye"]