You Never Knew

[Caid Centurion]

The moment that Caid felt Decima's blade make contact with his own, he softened the force behind his attack. Though they were fighting with weapons designed out of energy, the contact between two blades did send a physical vibration into the hilt. It wasn't an unsettling sensation when one adapted, but Caid was fairly certain he possessed more raw strength in most of his attacks than most seemed to be accustomed to handling. For now though, the intent was to teach, not to injure.

Satisfied at Decima's quick reaction to his mostly superficial strike, Caid quickly found himself almost being forced onto the defensive. A thin smile threatened to play on his lips, but he kept the emotion in check, focusing his efforts on the task at hand. There were a number of options presented to him in that moment. Caid could have utilized his greater reach to step just out of Decima's strike zone and land a blow to her arm, or he could have stepped in to the attack slightly, blocking the strike long enough to send his left foot in a powerful kick to her exposed side. There was almost always an option, and it was a mere matter of experience and practice that honed instincts...instincts he could see Decima possessed innately.

Instead, he elected to demonstrate the lesson of creating distance. With his free hand, Caid erupted a strong wave of Force energy directly at the woman's body. If it worked and forced her backwards, Caid would immediately dart behind the rushing wave of energy to press home his attack, placing himself in optimum strike position while she worked to recover.

He would stop at that point, however, satisfied in the demonstration of a technique which he'd recently been speaking.

[member="Decima Fortan"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

As she struck forward, she was already somewhat off balance, putting so much of her weight and power into the attack that his counterattack with the Force threw her off-balance. Decima stumbled backwards, her eyes widening. For a split second, she was still, silent, totally in-tune with the force. She was falling, but she was falling slowly. He was moving, but slowly. A true connection to the Force -- deep, strong. She had time to consider the situation -- or the Force sped up her thought process. This was probably it, she reflected. Still, it gave her time to consider her moves, process what she was seeing and feeling, and formulate a course of action.

She didn't resist. She harnessed the motion caused by his blast, amplified it with the Force, and threw herself backwards into a handspring, effectively removing herself from striking range and continuing to step back, her blade held at the ready. Decima began to move to the side, as if to circle him, still backing up towards the edges of the mat, putting space between them. "That was clever," she said breathlessly, her lips twitching up at the edges into a mischievous smirk. She studied his movements, trying to decide whether to strike and how she would achieve it.

[member="Ciardha Ren"]