Private What Friends Are For [Naamino]

[Leshanna]

Takes Place Before the Trial of Ozzuk Thren


Leshanna was restless; she was supposed to be studying for an upcoming quiz that covered topics over the reconstituted Sith Empire, but she just couldn’t keep her mind focused on the information that she needed to know. Instead, she was bothered by something that had happened earlier on in her day, or more like…something that had been said to her.

While in a practice duel under the watchful eye of Darth Thaliax, her opponent had said that she ‘fought like a girl’, and was ‘only as strong as one’. She knew it to be an insult, meant to rankle her and get under her skin, and though she had tried so hard to not let it get to her…she had failed. She had not only lost her duel, but had been chastised by Darth Thaliax harshly in front of everyone. She really didn’t hold that against the Battlemaster; he was doing his job after all, but the situation still stuck with her and left a sour taste in her mouth.

She’d been mocked by her opponent, and others, and even now their mocking words floated through her mind - distracting her.

Sighing in her frustration, Leshanna snapped her study book shut and shoved it into her bag, alongside her notes. She stormed from the library, a dark scowl on her face that indicated that she was in no mood to talk. Most gave her space as she passed by them, though a few purposefully stood in her way - to which she shouldered past without concern or care. A couple tried to harass her but she flipped them the bird as she carried on her way.

Eventually she reached her dormitory and her personal chambers, where she threw her bag across the room and slammed the door shut behind her via manipulation of the Force. She paced in her small room, trying to decide what she was going to do about the situation.

If she ‘fought like a girl’...then maybe that meant she needed to have more lessons to help hone her fighting skills. And if she was ‘as strong as a girl’...then that must have meant that she wasn’t very strong at all. She was involved in vigorous physical exercises…but maybe it wasn’t enough. Clearly, such things got under her skin…because she believed them. And the stern comments passed to her by Thaliax hadn’t helped any - it only reinforced such beliefs and thoughts.

So what was she to do about it? She saw the problem, now she needed to find a way to fix it.

After a while of pacing and considering, Lesh came to a decision and she turned around and walked out of her room. Her pace was more casual this time, but she still carried a scowl on her face. She knew someone who just might be able to help her with, someone she trusted enough to help her in this and not make fun of her. And she had an idea on where she might find him.

It took some navigating, but she eventually found the gym. Surprisingly, very few people were within, but she did spy the one person she had hoped to find.

Naamino Zuukamano .

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside and quietly made her way towards him, suddenly feeling rather shy. The scowl still remained on her face, but it was softened now.

“Hey…Naamino? Umm..sorry to bother you. But I had-have…I have a question for you.” she started, stumbling over her words slightly, much to her embarrassment as her cheeks flushed pink slightly.

Off to a great start already. Nice Lesh.

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Pushing almost silently through his latest set, Naami had a slight sheen of sweat from the bench press he was currently moving at the highest weight he'd yet lifted without having a spotter or a droid on standby to help. The gym had droids stationed there for safety of course, but something about an unfamiliar droid really creeped him out. He didn't trust anything or anyone with an internal experience so inaccessible to his own understanding. So he made due without a spotter that day.

Nevertheless, the boy caught sight of his friend mid set and decided to rack the weights early. Naami sat up, eyeing his friend with curiosity but he had an unusually open expression on his face now he wasn't focused on not dying under the crushing weight of the bar. The zabrak was wearing a compression shirt as well as his customary tailored pants which fit snugly at waist and ankles, along with his trusty black boots. The blue hand wraps covering knuckles and forearms appeared slightly stained with sweat though the teen was not yet winded.

"Hey Lesh- not a bother. What's up?"

Compared to how Naami treated most peers, his tone was downright friendly. Even the intense blue of his eyes seemed more mellow in the controlled setting of a familiar gym with few others around.

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano
​

Leshanna flickered a cautious glance towards the few other individuals who were within the gym besides Naamino, before she turned her focus back on him. He seemed to have noticed her before she made her presence known, and he finished his set early and set the bar back before sitting up to watch her approach with curiosity in his bright blue eyes. He greeted her warmly when she announced that she had a question, and the friendliness in his tone of voice momentarily stunned her into silence. She was so used to him being gruff and grumpy, that this open and warm side of him mildly caught her off guard.

The girl blinked - before her eyes drifted over him in his slightly sweat dampened compression shirt and fitted black pants. An unconscious expression of appraisal drifted across her lightly freckled face. “Wow…Naami you’re looking really good!” She said softly, before she realized what she had said and heat flooded her cheeks and she lifted a hand to hide her face briefly.

“I…sorry, that kind of came out of nowhere.” She muttered, trying to compose herself and recall why she had come to find him in the first place. She didn’t really know why seeing him in his workout outfit made her suddenly feel all shy and flustered; was it because she rarely saw him like this? And clearly his workout sessions were working on him…he was filling out and that definitely caught her eye.

…why had she come here again?

Right. I was looking for him to help me.

She blinked again when she looked at him, before pulling herself together enough to respond back. “Uh…right. Umm. I was wondering if you could help me out with a couple of things…” She rubbed the back of her neck underneath her hair, clearly feeling a bit awkward.

What the heck was wrong with her??

She sighed heavily in frustration - mostly at herself. “I was in Darth Thaliax’s class today and had to do a duel against another first year. He said ‘I fought like a girl’…and that I was ‘as strong as one’. He…meant it as an insult and though I tried to not let it get to me, it did. I got in trouble, a bit - Thaliax scolded me and kinda drove the point home that…I’m not where I’m supposed to be. I’m kinda falling behind in the whole…being strong department. I spend too much time in the library instead of practicing my katas and working out…like you do.”

Lesh gave her friend a half-hearted smile, and it would be clear to him that she was rather embarrassed to even admit such a thing to him - but she trusted him enough to seek him out for help. “I guess…I wanted to ask if you would be willing to help me out? You’re doing really good in saber training I hear and…well…” She gestured to him and the weight rack there with him.

“...clearly this is all working for you.”

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Dark eyebrows raised and blue eyes widened at her next comments. For a long moment it seemed that neither of them knew what to do. His friend covered her face and stumbled over an unnecessary apology, while Naami felt warmth creeping into his face. The tips of his tapered ears and the bridge of his nose dusted pink as he attempted to reassure her during a pause in the conversation, despite being quite uncertain himself.

"That's- uhm thank you. It's ok- that's nice of you…"

Fidgeting with his hand wraps a bit, the zabrak's words trailed off and his friend continued. At first, his expression remained open and still somewhat confused but as her explanation continued on, his eyes seemed to grow stormy and his expression grew stern. He stood rather abruptly, then more slowly and with a small amount of hesitation because he didn't want to startle her or presume too much, placed one large palm on her shoulder. His voice was still calm despite whatever emotions had animated him so thoroughly.

"Lesh, 'course I'll help- we are in this together. And I could use a sparring partner more on my own level."

Which was true, because practice with Gavin was great and all but sometimes he needed to return to mastering the basics rather than constantly pushing the extremes of combat with a guy who was still outside his weight class by almost a hundred pounds. The boy managed a small smile for his friend which he hoped was reassuring, then his voice went cold and serious as he asked.

"Did you happen to get this guy's name? A description would do. He's a first year?"

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano
​

Naami seemed a bit taken by surprise by her words…just as much as she was surprised she had even said them.

"That's- uhm thank you. It's ok- that's nice of you…" Her zabrak friend said as his voice trailed off, clearly unsure of what to really say or think on the matter, and it only served to force more heat into her cheeks. Hey he said ‘Thank you’! And that it was nice of you! A more cheerful voice seemed to echo in Lesh’s mind.

Yeah he’s probably embarrassed as all heck because of that. Ugh I’m such an idiot. Think before you speak Lesh…

She moved forward on why she had originally sought him out, trying her best to pretend that little moment had never happened, but she couldn’t help but notice the faint pink that also dusted her friend’s face. Had he blushed at her comment?? She didn’t say anything on that matter, as she didn’t want to embarrass her friend any further than she already had.

The more she moved into the story of what had happened though, she noticed Naami’s friendly expression on his face and in his eyes shifted to one of stormy agitation. He stood up abruptly, causing Lesh to blink and unconsciously take a very small step back, as if to give him some space. He seemed to catch onto the fact that such movements might make her wary, and he forced himself to move a bit more slowly and deliberately, before placing a hand gently on her shoulder - something that served to relax her sudden spike of nerves, though another faint blush crept across her cheeks at the touch.

"Lesh, 'course I'll help- we are in this together. And I could use a sparring partner more on my own level." Naami said calmly to her, and she smiled at him as relief washed through her. Damn when did he get this tall??

“Oh phew. For some reason I thought you might say no…” Her eyes narrowed at him for a moment. “More on your level?? What, is Gavin too much for you?” she teased lightly. She knew the two boys had a brotherly rivalry with one another and were always testing each other.

"Did you happen to get this guy's name? A description would do. He's a first year?"

His voice was cold, and the chill of it raised the hairs on the back of Leshanna’s neck. Oh he is not happy about what I told him… She swallowed hard and turned her eyes away from him briefly.

“He’s a first year, yeah. I think his name is Fenn. He has a scar across his forehead, usually has his head completely shaved. Thinks it makes him look tough I guess…” she murmured with a shrug as she looked back at Naamino, a stern glint to her own blue eyes now. “I wanted to see about training with you, so that I can later on beat the chit out of him and show him that yes, I can fight like a girl and I can still beat his stupid ass.” She huffed. “But, I’m just not there yet. Which is why I asked you for help.”

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

It was nice to see her smile, particularly after she'd come to him looking so... Well he didn't know quite what she seemed to be feeling before, but it was good that she seemed more herself as their conversation went on. His brow knit together when she shared that she worried he'd say no, but the tease about Gav made him relax again, rolling his eyes good-naturedly at her jab.

"Mm" he acknowledged noncommittally about the nerf herder that upset her.

Naami could sense maybe his own anger at the punk first year was making Lesh uncomfortable so he kept any plans of retribution to himself, instead showing support for her own.

"Well let's get you there then," he squeezed her shoulder once more then broke contact as he began to feel a bit unsure about it himself.

The zabrak wasted no time, quickly re-racking the weights he'd been using and growing more animated by the moment as he guided her to the open floor dojo section of the gym. Picking out two training sabers for them, Naami made sure they seemed to be some of the newer models and in good working order before deactivating both again and handing Lesh one.

"Right, you know the basic kata?"

He moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with her at first, naming off the kata in order as he moved slowly through the forms without activating the training saber yet. He chose to do his forms to mirror hers, demonstrating his ambidexterity as he kept an eye on her form. Once they walked through the basics a few times, Naami offered a few pointers for adjustment but otherwise flashed a rare smile. The dimpled grin accentuated by the patterns of his tattoos.

"Good- ok lets spar, and I won't go easy on ya but I'll stick strictly to basic forms and you can get creative. Really though, if you focus on your basics and mastering footwork, you'll find that the basics are the foundation of it all for a reason."

His eyes were bright with excitement though his tone remained even, and it was clear that saberplay as well as the artform therein was something he really enjoyed. The boy took a one handed ready stance while the other hand gestured her forward, devoid of all bravado and genuinely friendly in the beckoning.

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano​

Lesh felt warmth spread through her with the gentle squeeze on her shoulder, and it brought forth a small but genuine smile from her as he lowered his hand away. Naami wasn't one to do much of such physical touches, so the fact he did such a thing with her made her feel happy inside, and thought silently to herself just how much she really appreciated having him as a friend. She waited for him as he re-racked his weights before following him to the sparring area of the gym, taking the training saber he picked for her as he shifted to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.

"Right, you know the basic kata?"

“Yes, for the most part. I still struggle when switching up the various zones and doing combinations.” She replied, before moving through the nine step kata that was taught to all beginners: swings at both shoulders, mid-body, legs, up the center, down towards the head, then to parry an invisible strike to her core.

Naamino mirrored her, keeping a careful eye on her movements, her posture, and where she placed her feet - offering suggestions and pointers and corrections where he felt they were necessary. Then they repeated the cycle over again a few more times before he felt that she at least knew the basics enough to try sparring one another.

Lesh smirked as she saw the excitement in his eyes, even as he said he wouldn’t go easy on her. “Good to know, and I wouldn’t expect you to. Just…don’t leave bruises okay. I get enough of those in my other classes as it is already…”

They separated and took their respective places and ready stances, and Leshanna felt a sense of focus and courage come over her as Naami beckoned her forward to begin their spar, and the girl stepped in towards him with her ignited training saber to initiate her first strikes, aimed towards his shoulders - just like how she had practiced a few moments prior. Once she got into the flow then maybe she could start switching up combinations so she could work on areas where she was weaker.

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

His brow furrowed and his tapered ears pulled back just slightly, as if her casual words struck him far deeper than she intended. Anger coursed through him at the thought of someone bruising Lesh, the buried but still present rage at the boy who'd made her feel less than simply because she was a girl. Naami took a steadying breath and pull all that to the side for a moment but he felt very upset indeed at the thought of his peer being put down in that way. Particularly because she didn't like it.

The zabrak was indifferent about bruises and strain, the idea that training or his ascension to Sithhood would mar his flesh was just a fact of life. He'd grown up in a utilitarian community and had done hard labor since he could walk so for him this wasn't much different. But for Leshanna to ask him? For the request to be put out there and asked of his specifically as her friend and trainer was something special indeed.

Naami blocked her with general ease, parrying one strike to his shoulder while he spun and struck back in response as he doged her other blow. It was tricky for him to make such precise strikes— generally speaking he would give the swing his all. But because he would not bruise her, he had the rather unique challenge of attempting to strike at her non-dominant arm with a grazing blow.

"Good! Your strikes are solid, you just need to be more precise in your footwork."

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano
​

Leshanna was too focused on the task at hand to notice that her comment about him not adding to her other bruises had actually upset him, but as their spar practice began in earnest she noticed that he did his very best not to directly hit her with the training saber. She hadn’t made her comment with the hopes that he would go easy on her - more that she just wanted a spar session where she didn’t have to anticipate the pain that came with being struck, again and again. Of course, it was a learning experience, and pain was a good teacher and that was the point, but it didn’t mean she wanted to feel it during what she would consider an extracurricular activity that bordered on being fun.

Naamino blocked and parried her initial strike, the momentum of which she used to do her follow up strike that he dodged with a spin, striking back at her which she met with her own block. He followed up with a strike towards her non-dominant side, which she blocked before aiming a swipe towards one of his legs in return, their sabers crackling with each strike against the other’s blade.

"Good! Your strikes are solid, you just need to be more precise in your footwork." Naamino said to her after they had traded blows a few times, and Leshanna disengaged to step back and gain some distance as she nodded, trying to be more aware of where her feet were while dueling.

"I suppose the best way for me to work on where my feet are going is if I'm on the defensive. Forward motion is alright but I get tripped up when I'm going backwards." she admitted as she repositioned herself into a ready stance, one foot slightly back to brace herself and her saber directly in front of her in the classic and easiest stance that could be taught. "And hey, if you do end up whacking me it's no big deal, okay?" She added, before she beckoned him forward to begin their next round.

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Demonstrating what was perhaps surprising acrobatic skill, Naami leapt over the swing at his legs. He'd promised to only use basic strikes but hadn't limited his evasive abilities. They kept up their trade of blows and blocks until Leshanna disengaged to take a moment of space. Naami nodded in approval, sparring was meant to allow for reset as many times as necessary in order to build muscle memory. He gave her a bright half smile when she laid out her logic for him, but it faded into contemplative seriousness when she insisted she could handle a hit. Naami reset his own pose into the neutral "ready" stance as he responded softly.

"Yeah, getting hit is part of training- but Lesh? I don't wanna hurt you and since you asked, it's my goal not to bruise you."

He almost said more, almost added that he never wanted to hurt her. In fact, he wanted to do unspeakable things to people stupid enough to hurt her. Naami held that back though, didn't want to come across like she needed his protection because honestly Naami had a huge amount of respect for his fierce peer. She just had a lot to learn, and honestly so did he. That said, he nodded and it was the only warning her gave before he pressed the offense aggressively. True to his word, he didn't hold back his speed or ferocity. He did however make his strikes in such a way that showed his efforts to exert precise control over the power of his hits. When he was truly swinging to attempt contact, he'd pull the hit short at the very end to ensure it wasn't a full force blow. His onslaught would surely put her backward footwork to the test and he would only relent when one of them scored a hit or she called for a reset.

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano
​

Leshanna marveled at just how acrobatic Naamino was, leaping over her strike towards his leg. She was fairly acrobatic herself, shifting and moving between swings and strikes and blocks and parries, but she was always surprised to see just how easily he could move considering he was taller and more muscle bound than she was. When she stepped back to regroup and breathe, Naami nodded his approval and smiled brightly at her, though it returned to a more serious expression as he heard what she said.

A touch of pink colored her cheeks as Leshanna heard him agree that yeah, getting hit was a part of training, but he didn’t want to hurt her - and so he had made it a goal not to not bruise her at all during their training session.

“I’ll accept that.” She replied back, before offering him one of her more devious smirks. “But I won’t be holding myself back against you. You can handle a whack or two, I’m sure.”

Naamino nodded at her beckoning, and it was the only warning she had before he was lunging at her with a ferocious offensive that forced her immediately on the defensive. Damn this boy has been training! She thought to herself as she had to dig deep in order to block or parry his lightning fast strikes, and those she couldn’t block she had to avoid by either spinning, leaping, or ducking out of the way.

A stern look of concentration came over the girl’s freckled face, and her blue eyes became fierce as she felt her muscles limber up further and she began to move with more speed and accuracy herself. She found that if she focused on her strikes and her opponent, then she wasn’t so worried about where to put her feet next. Of course, it was learning-in-progress, and eventually some of his strikes did slip through her guard, their light zapping touch enough to bring a grimace to her face, but not enough to harm her.

At least the sabers didn’t paralyze her like the damn pelko swords did…

Panting from the exertion, Leshanna disengaged once more from their fierce bout and wiped some beaded sweat from her forehead.

“Hot damn Naami…Did I even score a hit on you?!” She said, slightly breathlessly. “You been training with Gav or what!? Holy bantha chit…” she cussed lightly with a chuckle, exhilaration from the spar shining in her eyes. Though he had scored the hit on her, she wasn’t perturbed in the slightest.

“That was fun!”

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Breathing hard, feeling thrilled with the challenge of sparring and controlling the strength of his strikes more precisely, Naami was bright eyed and smiling by the end of their match. Despite her uncertainty, she absolutely had scored a few hits on him in turn. They were both glancing blows, a stinging scrape to the knuckles during a failed block and a faint nick to the shoulder.

Naami deactivated his training saber and rolled his shoulders, more animated than usual because of his elevated heart rate and seeing that Lesh really did have a great foundation for martial combat already building.

"You're fast! But honestly I think your fluidity is gonna be your greatest strength— the moment you start flowing it's hard to defend against ya."

The zabrak shared his thoughts eagerly, and only then did her earlier words seem to register. The smile he wore grew suddenly shy but he puffed up a bit in contrast, voice dipping a bit lower when he confirmed how hard he and Gav had been training.

"Huh, yeah Gav and I have been workin' hard that's for sure. Thanks— uhm, appreciate that. But yeah, you did hit me! Like I said, when you find your flow it's killer."

A heavy breath whooshed from him as he sighed, one hand coming up to rub the back of his neck with a bit of shy or perhaps self conscious energy. His eyes focused on the saber hilt in his hand rather than on her.

"Glad you had fun, I did too— glad you asked to spar."

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano
​

The girl disengaged her saber when her friend did, noticing that he seemed to be breathing just as heavily as she was. Was I really decent enough to make him winded?? She thought to herself, smiling when she saw his own smile; they both seemed to have enjoyed that spar.

"You're fast! But honestly I think your fluidity is gonna be your greatest strength— the moment you start flowing it's hard to defend against ya."

Lesh couldn’t stop the blush that flooded her face and the shy smile that pulled at her cheeks. To hear someone, especially Naamino, say that to her meant a lot. It helped rebuild some of her fragile self confidence that had been lost when teased and battered in her dueling class.

“Ah shucks Naami…really? You think so?” she asked him, a momentary glimmer of vulnerability shining through before she reined it in. “I suppose I was just…getting inside my own head too much in class. The more I thought about how bad I was doing, the worse I actually did. This…I felt more confident sparring with you. Maybe that’s what I need…more confidence in myself.”

To her comment on whether or not he’d been sparring with Gavin, the Zabrak boy puffed a bit and confirmed that yes, he had in fact been practicing with the larger and more ferocious Sith acolyte. A flicker of surprise came over her face though when she heard she had hit Naami.

“Really?! I must not have noticed in the heat of the moment! Are you okay??”

Lesh watched the boy rub the back of his neck, and he seemed to become a bit shy for a moment. She couldn’t help the small half smirk that tugged at her lips. He sure is cute when he’s shy…

The thought sent yet another flush of pink into her cheeks, and she quickly turned away to return the training saber to its rightful place.

"Glad you had fun, I did too— glad you asked to spar."

Leshanna turned back to look at him. “Yeah! M-me too! I mean, I’m glad you were okay with sparring with me. I uh…would love to do it again sometime! That is if you’d be alright with it…”

…Why did she suddenly feel so shy around him? An almost angry frown creased her brow, as a huff of frustration escaped her chest. Pull yourself together, Lesh. You’re being dumb again!

“Well, uh…” She glanced at her timepiece, and saw she had less than half an hour left before her next class. “You got another class soon, Naami? I’m due for Sith history here in a bit myself.”

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Surprised to see a flush across her cheeks, Naamino couldn't foolishly attribute the change to her appearance to something like too much sunlight or too much exertion. Finally, he saw it for what it really was but was still at a total loss about what to do in that moment. Did he look that way when he was feeling strangely warm and his hearts were beating unusually fast for no apparent reason? Naami pushed the revelation and new questions away for further contemplation another time.

She went on to show a more open side of herself, one he hadn't really seen since a lot of their time spent together so far had been strictly task oriented. Naami enjoyed working with her toward their goals, that was important to him and they both benefited from it... But it was as if he was just now realizing that it would really help her if he showed more interest in her outside of their schoolwork too. And her reaction to him sharing how glad he was they'd just spent this time together further solidified that.

Leshanna turned back to look at him. “Yeah! M-me too! I mean, I’m glad you were okay with sparring with me. I uh…would love to do it again sometime! That is if you’d be alright with it…”

His dimpled grin was about to return as he very nearly interjected, when suddenly her mind seemed to be elsewhere and she frowned. Naami dropped back into habitual stoicism, cutting himself off from offering to meet up for sparring twice a week.

“Well, uh…” She glanced at her timepiece, and saw she had less than half an hour left before her next class. “You got another class soon, Naami? I’m due for Sith history here in a bit myself.”

The zabrak blinked, jaw clenching as he tried to clear the confusing tangle of competing thoughts from his mind. He nodded and trotted to re-rack the training sabers to buy himself a little time. By the time he reached her, Naami had at least gotten his thoughts more orderly. In truth, he normally used this time after his workout to shower before his next class but this was a special circumstance and he didn't want to foolishly miss it just in favor of keeping routine.

"I have a bit of time. Could I walk you to where you're going? I just... My stuff is in the locker room but I'll be right back."

Before she had a chance to answer he jogged around the corner to collect his belongings quickly. The zabrak was true to his word, back in no time and wearing a sleek black coat atop his workout clothes. The item looked new, sent by Diarch Reign and his wife no doubt. He gave a small half smile and fell into step with her, striding ahead to open the door out of the gym for her. Eventually he finally did manage to muster the courage to ask her if she'd start sparing with him twice a week.

 

[Leshanna]

Tag: Naamino Zuukamano
​

A myriad of emotions clashed within Leshanna as she stood there with her best friend, feeling vulnerable and shy with him all at the same time, especially as for the briefest of moments it almost felt like he was going to respond to her sudden show of shyness. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way, but it was something she was beginning to feel more…strongly. The tension in the air between them, although brief, was awkward - but not in a bad way. More in the way between two young souls that truly cared for each other, but didn’t really know how to express it. Leshanna really wanted to tell the Zabrak boy how she really felt - but she just couldn’t bring herself to do so, at least not right now.

Once Lesh had pulled herself together and turned to face the boy again, she noticed that his usual stoic self had returned. He seemed to be wrestling with something within his mind, before he moved to return the training saber to its rack. When he returned, he seemed more cool and collected.

"I have a bit of time. Could I walk you to where you're going? I just... My stuff is in the locker room but I'll be right back."

Before she could respond, Naamino trotted away once more and disappeared around a corner. Lesh waited patiently for only a few moments, before her friend returned with his gear and wearing what appeared to be a new and sleek black jacket. Lesh couldn’t help the look of appraisal she gave the boy.

“Wow! That looks good on you!” She exclaimed, before she realized exactly what she had said and she didn’t hide the flush that filled her face again. “Did you get that from your Sponsor?” she asked, hoping to deflect the fact that she had complimented Naami again. “And uh, yeah! I’d love for you to walk me to class!”

Naami trotted ahead of her and opened up the gym door for her, and the gesture made her feel thankfully shy all over again. She wasn’t used to having boys open doors for her.

They walked together for a little bit in awkward silence, before Naami finally seemed to gather his courage and asked her if she was open to sparring with him twice a week. A happy smile split her face, and her sapphire eyes glimmered with excited glee; it appeared that, yes, he was open and happy to spar with her more and help her get better at fighting. “Oh that would be awesome, Naami! I think that would really help me improve!”

She hesitated then, the thing she wanted to say on the very tip of her tongue…and in the end she decided to just say it and see how it fell. “Besides…I really like hanging out with you. Today was really fun and we don’t get to hang out as much as I’d like. I’d like to change that.”