Train hard, play harder

A heavy sigh escaped the teen as she trudged, grudgingly, down the hall toward the training rooms. Shoal had left…he’d actually gone on a mission WITHOUT her! That just hadn’t been right…nor had it seemed fair…especially when he’d instructed her to practice every day. She appreciated the sentiments, but really it just wasn’t the same without the loud Shistav growling at her every five seconds to get a move on or correct a stance or…Talau let the thought trail off there as she felt herself nearing an all too familiar presence.

Ryn!

Well finally something was going right today!

With a burst of speed from the force, the brunette darted down the corridor, weaving between the jedi who were walking to or from the various practice rooms. As she neared the room she felt Ryn in, she entered cautiously, folding her force signature down as much as she could. Shoal had started to teach her how to hide herself in the force, but he’d told her straight off that he wasn’t good at such things. That was another reason why she was to be tutored by Master Toth…if she could ever find him, that was. Though, to be perfectly honest…she hadn’t really LOOKED for him yet either. Shrugging off that thought, the padawan crept into the dark training room, blinking as she saw Ryn bounding around the room trying to fight an invisible enemy.

After a moment she couldn’t help but giggle a little bit, those multi colored eyes slowly shading themselves a playful green and a happy blue as she stepped into an area where he would be able to see her more clearly. With a little clearing of her throat, she put her hands behind her back and balanced on the platforms of her feet for a moment.

So…Ryn…um…what were you doing?

Those bright eyes seemed to glitter, even in the dim room, as she stood there, rocking back and forth on her feet as she waited just off the mats for his answer. She wouldn’t admit it, but…she sort of liked Ryn…more than she should have. He was good looking, and sweet, and funny, and…the list went on and on, but she cut it short as she brought her mind back to the present. At this age it was difficult for even the most stalwart padawans to not make eyes at the opposite sex at some point or other, and the young Rilan was no different. The difference was, she only made eyes at one boy…and it typically happened behind his back since they were such good friends. Latus and Remiel teased her about it constantly when Ryn wasn’t around, heck, they teased her about it when he WAS around…the worst part, it made her blush every time. She was sure that by now Ryn had to know she liked him and, for some reason, that worried her. The girl wasn’t sure just WHY she didn’t want Ryn to know she liked him, perhaps it was fear of rejection, or because of the jedi code, or maybe it was some other reason…maybe she was just afraid of what might happen if he actually liked her back…it didn’t REALLY matter though, all that mattered was that she didn’t want him to know.

So now, as she stood there almost feeling a little awkward, Talau fiddled with the back of her robes silently awaiting his reply.

The padawan bit back his pain as the malevolent man's blood red saber sliced across his arm, nicking the tricep. It left a quick divot of seared and carbonized flesh in its wake, not to mention a wave of searing heat that burned at the inside of his arm. But this didn't stop the boy from continuing his assault, no, pain was an ephemeral and fleeting beast... one that only left an absense of weakness in its wake. He looked over into the fearful orange eyes of the Sith's ward, the bruenette haired girl that Ryn had quickly come to adore. A lance of anger shot through his system at the thought of what the Sith intended for her.

Ryn thrust Sol's searing edge into a swirl of the midnight cloak of the Sith Lord, its plasmic blade easily skewering through both sides of his chest. It took one deft motion to flick his pale blue blade upwards, slicing through his flesh like a cutting torch would sear through paper. He was stopped him from completeing the maneuver, which involved cutting the Sith in half horizontally as well, by a voice. It was Talau.... the woman he was trying to save... but it didn't come from the tied up form to his right. No. The hot sands of the dune sea quickly melted away into the cold, dark, and sterile training room in the Jedi Temple. Ryn's eyes grew wide as his hands lost Sol's grip midswing, causing the lightsaber to deactivate and fly (past Tal) into a dark corner of the room. He left it there, not wanting to look any more idiotic.

"Uhh... nothing," he stammered, "just p-practicing an a-ataru kata I j-just learned." Ryn was, of course, lieing... but the thought of Tal knowing that he was playing with his own over-active imagination at such an old age made him want to die. A light pink flushed its way across his face as he looked at the beautiful girl who stood just off of the matts from him, fiddling around with her robes. She was so pretty. Yes, he may have been training to become a Jedi Guardian, but he was sixteen for crying out loud... his horomones were raging, his testosteroine was at a lifetime high, and he just cleared puberty. He noticed girls... well, not just girls. A girl. While, yes, some of the other ones were fairly good looking... they weren't Talau.

His first memory was playing blocks with the girl, and they had been friends ever since well before he could remember. There was nothing (save the fact that he still played pretend from time to time) that he couldn't tell this girl. The boy was about to speak again when the blue spheres in his eyes met with the multi-colored orbs in hers... that was the thing that captivated him: the eyes. No matter what color they were; grey, blue, green, or red.... they were pretty. After an eternity of simply gazing off into the woman's eyes he shook his head, shaking away what could never be from his mind.

"Umm," he mentally cursed himself... she'd think him a fool for actually saying "umm", "is there something I can help you with?" Ryn's eyes once again grew wide when he realized something: he actually worked up a sweat. What came with sweat? An odor. What happened when you mixed odor, a boy, and a pretty girl? Nothing good. The boy quickly pressed his arms into his torso, trying desperately to squelch out any possible stench in from his armpit, as he looked back up at Talau with a wry smile on his face.

She moved ever so slightly as the saber flickered off and went flying past her.

At this range it hadn’t been difficult, at this range, to see what he’d seen…or flashes of it anyway. A light giggle escaped her as he stammered his reply, her blush echoing his as a hand covered her nervous smile. She finally removed that had from her face and stretched the adjoining arm in the direction Ryn’s saber had flown off to. With less than a thought the saber came flying to her hand, landing with a solid smack against her palm.

No you weren’t…you were imagining a Dark Jedi.

Talau’s words were simple enough, a statement of fact from what she’d seen, the tone light and airy as if she were stating that the sky on Corellia was blue or that Tatooine had two suns. She beamed at him as she walked over and held out his saber to him with one hand, allowing him to take the weapon back.

It’s okay…I do the same thing.

She leaned in conspiratorially, her voice lowering to just above a whisper.

Sometimes I pretend I’m fighting a whole legion of them…and there are other jedi in armor fighting with me against them to help save whole cities of people….but…don’t tell Rem or Lat about that…

The teen stepped back again and put her hands back behind her as she looked down at the mats and blushed.

…they’d laugh.

How could the padawan possibly know that her imaginings were memories? All she could possibly think was that she had quite the imagination, and that it helped immensely to alleviate the boredom that sometimes crept up during practice time. No matter what the case, right now she looked back up at the taller boy and smiled a bit more, happy that she wasn’t the only one that fought their own imagination.

Um…can I fight too? Sometimes I can see what you see and if we link our minds…

A light shuffle of one foot was given as she tucked her padawan braid back behind her ear as she asked, then realized just how completely stupid she must sound. Really…who ever heard of padawans THEIR age playing imagination games together, much less linking their minds to see the same enemy? A little, embarrassed chuckle escaped her.

Uh…I guess that’s kind of silly for me to ask, isn’t it?

The words were half mumbled as she brought her eyes to meet with his crystal blue eyes once again, taking in his face in the process. The prospective Guardian blushed again as she thought how nice looking he was…but his eyes…those crystal blue pools reflected all the dim light of the room. Even as he shifted about, trying to hide whatever smell he might have from his practicing, her nose caught it. While not much better than a regular human’s sense of smell, the Rilan olfactory system was, indeed, more keen that that of a human. He smelled good, even considering his slightly sweaty state…he smelled like…

Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to place the scent.

It was…like fresh spices…maybe…cloves?

The girl had come to like the smell of cloves during her time with Shoal, he tended to use them in his tea and she’d taken up the habit as well. The smell was refreshing to her…the scent of cloves that is…and the fact that Ryn smelled like them…

Her head tilted to the side almost imperceptibly as she wondered why she hadn’t noticed before. Heck, she’d spent the majority of her life around Ryn…as long as she could really remember, actually. He was one of her best friends after all. She still remembered playing with him and his blocks when they were with the care takers. She remembered all their games as younglings and the trouble they got into walking around with one person’s eyes closed trying to feel their way around the temple, or playing their version of hide and seek, or even studying in the archives. Sure, Latus was like her brother, and Rem was like the cool older kid at school who’d taken the group under his wing, but they weren’t like Ryn…so why hadn’t she noticed before?

Those eyes had shifted back to her natural color of golden brown with the purple, blue and green surrounding the iris as she mulled over all of this. The sixteen year old suddenly seemed to snap back to herself and she blushed once more as she shifted her robes around a bit mentally kicking herself. She’d been staring hadn’t she…or had she? Suddenly she wasn’t sure if she had even been looking at him as her mind had wandered off. Clearing her throat, she scratched the back of her neck a little.

Sorry…mind wandered off for a minute.

She shrugged a little, trying to play off her embarrassment as nothing.

I was just thinking about Master Shoal…

It wasn’t entirely a lie…she HAD thought of him…sort of…

So um…he…Master Shoal…told me to practice…maybe we could practice together or something?

It was an offer, but it was more than that…she really didn’t want to have Ryn leave just because she was around, and so she was looking for a reason to keep him around. She wanted the company…since her master had left she was feeling a bit bereft and the familiar presence of Ryn was strangely soothing, helping her miffed and anxious emotions settle down once more. Honestly, she didn’t want to go through katas…again…but that was the only idea she had besides the first one she’d suggested and, well, something told her that idea wouldn’t fly too far.

Oh well…katas and company was better than imagination alone.

The boy had a look of horror written about his face as Talau spoke, obviously seeing right through his attempt to save himself from embarrassment. He was sixteen for Force's sake! Pretending was for younglings... at best. They where the ones that were supposed to have the overactive imaginations, not a sixteen year old young man. She probably thought Ryn to be a fool, or at best to be childish.

Then Tal walked closer, moving to return his lost lightsaber to hi grasp... all that he could do was blush. He simply couldn't grasp the level of his failure, and all that he could do was stare at the woman...even as she outstretched the dark hilt of Sol towards him. It took his mind a few seconds to return to reality, and even then it took the minor wag of his head and a quick cough. A quizzical look flashed across his facial features at her words. She did the same thing? What? Then she leaned in, whispering to him about armored jedi and cities of people.

She was making fun of him.

Ryn's normally broad and tall shoulders slumped as the quizzacle look melted into one of pain and disbelief. She may as well have plunged her fingers into his chest and ripped out his very heart, setting it infront of him so that he could watch as it slowly stopped beating. They'd laugh? Well, laughing is far better than the cruel sarcastic jokes that she was putting him through. His pained expression only increased in magnitude as she continued on with her joke, probably laughing on the inside at the apparently immature padawan's pain.

He simply continued to look at the girl in obvious disbelief as she stared at him. So now she was crushing on him? That made no sense... she went from making fun of the bruenette boy to staring dreamily into his eyes. All barely within the same breath. He simply shook his head at her request to train with him... he didn't tend to enjoy being around those immature and cruel people that made fun of him. To be honest... it happened enough in his childhood, and he was through with it... and it was now the time to leave the situation.

Ryn looked at Tal with tear filled eyes as he fought back the lump that had popped into his throat, "sure, make fun of the me... see if I care." He quickly clipped the double bladed lightsaber to his belt and hurried off past Tal, fighting off the tears.

At the radiation of embarrassment and curiosity, followed by…hurt and…disbelief?...the young woman tilted her head to the side, confused. Wait…what had just happened? Something had just gone very wrong and she had no CLUE what it was. Grey and orange began to creep into her eyes as he looked at her like that, those normally kind blue eyes full of hurt and anger for some reason she didn’t understand. The shake of his head at her request had her backing up a step as her brow furrowed. He didn’t believe her? Why? She’d never lied to him before, why would she start now?

Talau could see the tears building in his eyes as he…wait…stop right there…he thought she was making FUN of him?!

A new shock of orange spread through her eyes in her surprise at his words and how he was leaving. No, no, no…he couldn’t just leave like that! She hadn’t been making fun of him! She hadn’t even lied to him before, never mind made fun of him, why the heck would she start now?! She LIKED him for force sake! He was her best friend, she’d never, EVER, make fun of him!

Wait! Ryn, wait! I wasn’t making fun, I was serious! I can even show you!

The young brunette tried to catch hold of his mind to show him she wasn’t lying…if she could just get a hold…but, unfortunately for the teenage girl, she was rattled by his accusation enough that even those attempts were easily foiled by him.

Ryn was crushed. How could the girl he liked, his best friend in the galaxy, be such an immature and cruel girl? In an odd way he was happy that he caught this display of cruelty and emotional malevolence before his crush developed into something further. Under normal circumstances he would have felt the negative emotions radiate from the girl's mind.

Her next statement only hurt him further, she really did think he was a blumbering idiot, didn't she? If he listened to her then she would likely end up making up a memory and sending it into his mind, easy work... even for Ryn. But Tal... she was a God at telepathy compared to him. "Tal... just stop," his voice croaked, "its not funny."

Then she tried to clamp down on his mind. Tried to keep him in the room, despite his obvious wanting to leave. The young padawan always had trouble with anger, Jaran knew this... and was working on him with techniques to curb it... but the hurt that he felt from Tal... it was just too much.

Those normally warm blue eyes were icy, and his glare shot daggers at the young bruenette as he spoke, "is this only adding to the humor? What's your purpose. You come in here, have fun at my expense, and then pretend like you have some sort of crush on me. What did you expect? I've been the butt of enough jokes, Talau, you know this better than anyone."

Perhaps that was what stung the most... his best friend doing something like this, "sure, show me your memory." He resigned with a sigh. He may as well see her prowess at fabricating memories and sending them via telepathy. He had to be good for something after all.

She was struck through the heart by his words and the arctic glare he gave her. Inwardly she recoiled. As off kilter as she was already because of Shoal leaving her behind at the temple, Talau was hardly prepared to lose her best friend like this…over something so childish. That hurt turned into frustration, anger, and back to hurt as she turned her back on him stubbornly and walked onto the mats, pulling off her own saber and bringing its setting down to a training level so as not to accidentally injure herself or anyone else.

No, I don’t see why I should now…you wouldn’t believe me anyway. I’ve never lied to you before, and I’ve never ever made fun of you, but you keep insisting that I am, so you might as well go with what the “force” is telling you, because obviously I’m lying.

She looked down at the black hilt in her hand and sighed heavily, letting that ice from her voice melt away with the warm breath of air. If she’d thought she hadn’t wanted to train before, she certainly didn’t want to train now. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, the girl sat down on the mat cross legged, back straight and palms upward as they rested on her knees. Talon was settled, resting comfortably in her half open palm, as she struggled to get her emotions in control once again. She couldn’t very well do anything feeling like she was.

Unbidden that memory came up in her mind as she tried to meditate. The glistening armor flashing before her mind’s eye, but she shook it away. That was less than helpful right now. Again she tried to settle herself into meditation, and again that memory came to her, the vivid hues of lightsabers clashing against each other as light and dark battered against each other before a backdrop of a glowing white stone temple unlike anything she’d ever remembered seeing. A frustrated growl, not unlike Shoals, escaped her throat and Talau opened her eyes, taking in the familiar scene of the practice room. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she studiously tried to ignore Ryn’s presence and go back to attempting to meditate. Maybe this time it would work?

It didn’t.

The warm feeling of the sun on her face and the wind in her hair…it was still the backdrop of that glistening alabaster temple, a strange silver symbol embedded at the top of it and along the top of the walls surrounding it. She turned to see the legion of armor clad warriors behind her…metal armor, leather armor, combinations of the two, all looking tired but determined as if they’d been through hell and back, but were still willing to go through more. She could feel the force flowing, radiating out from them, burning in their hearts as they braced themselves. Banners waved here and there among them, rippling in the winds that were picking up…and then the drums started. Those deep drums that made the heart want to cringe and the soul shrink away. As she looked back to what was in front of her, she caught sight of the armor she was wearing, leather and metal studded, easy to move in.

Talau struggled against the memory for a moment, wanting nothing more than to have it leave her alone, to let her meditate, but her struggling stopped, her heart racing in her chest as she caught sight of the crimson and gold banners appear in the distance, the numbers of the opposing army far outnumbering their own. As it came to a halt, and the drums silenced themselves, a deadly silence resounded around them, between them…she could see the reds, oranges, yellows….blacks….of the auras of those across from her. Lightsabers, whips, pikes, all sizzled to life in the garish colors dark jedi were so well known for.

She watched, stunned…horrified…she hadn’t ever seen this before.

The tension rose around the area as both drew in on the force, like the intake of breath before the creation of the universe. No words were uttered, not a sound made as the entire planet seemed to hold its collective breath…even the horse-like steeds were silent and still, barely flicking an ear as the opposing forces of light and dark attempted to stare each other down. She tested her grip on her sabers, one in each hand, solid, steady, calm.

--Not yet….--

The tides of the force began to shift around them.

--Not yet…--

She took a steadying breath, the material swaying along her back and over her shoulders snapping around her legs as she slowly, calmly, brought the force in to power her muscles for the long fight that awaited her.

--Almost…--

Had her child gotten away safely?...She hoped so…she didn’t have a good feeling about today.

Talau mentally shook herself….CHILD? What in force name WAS this?!

—Now.—

Those twin sabers flickered to life, purple and silver fires flaring to life as she heard the sound of dozens of their brothers sizzle to life behind her in a whirlwind of energy. The world blurred around her, and she was moving.

Within moments the two forces had clashed, bringing her back around to that fist flicker of this memory, the battlefield a cacophony of color and sound. The scene became more and more gruesome the longer it continued, and Talau attempted to pull herself from it, struggling against it once more. It was obvious which side was losing…and it wasn’t the darkness…not this time, not in this world…

Suddenly, it was over as Tal yelped in pain, the last thing she had seen being the malevolent face of a man she had somehow recognized as ‘brother’…and his red and gold dual toned saber sinking into her chest as he had gripped her armor and pulled her closer. She panted slightly and wondered just what that had been. It wasn’t the future…it didn’t feel the same as the future…and she’d seen bits of it before but…never THAT much…and never had she seen that last part. Startled, her eyes had opened in a shock of orange. One hand checked her chest to be sure that she’d not really been injured, and as soon as she’d reassured herself of that…

Well, let’s just say that Talau found her motivation to practice by that point, shall we?

The boy sighed at her reaction, perhaps she was telling the truth. In all of his vast memory with the girl she had never lied to him, and he had never known her to be cruel like this in any way, shape, or form. One might even say that no one knew Tal like he did, not Lat, and definitely not Rem. "Obviously not, if you thought that she was making fun of you. Idiot! She was telling the truth and you shunned her," that voice crept into his mind.

It hurt him. It hurt him to know that he hurt her. WHY couldn't he feel her hurt through their bond until now? Sure, it was still fledgling compared to what it would be in the coming years... but still. He should have known. He should have felt. Instead, he acted like a complete horses arse and ignored his best... his only true friend. Other than Aeron of course, but the boy was constantly on missions with his master. Not unlike Tal, but he just seemed to see the bruenette woman more than his blond brother.

Rem, sure, the guy was was like the cool older kid that took the others under his wing... but it didn't mean that he could be trusted like Tal. Ryn always had this internal fear that the blonde would only poke fun at him if he acted normal infront of the man. So, he was always somewhat distant and withdrawn in his company.

Lat? The boy tended to be sarcastic... a quality that Ryn didn't particularly like all that much. That, and he seemed to simply love to tease Tal and Ryn... and Ryn wasn't one for being teased. It was mostly due to his early life, which involved being made fun of by the younglings due to his utter uselessness in the various areas of the Force. Save Telekinesis.

Ryn was the one laughing then.

He was about to delve into the reason why Tal was one of two people that he could fully trust when something... odd... hit him. It was Tal's "proof" in the form of a full memory, not just images. Ryn was surprised by the realism of it all. It was obvious to him that she wasn't just fabricating it on the spot. He sighed, yup... he screwed up.

Ryn sat next to Talau in the crosslegged position and looked over at her, a sad look written about his face. "Tal, I'm sorry... I just found it hard to believe that someone like you would pretend," he meant the 'someone like you bit with the utmost respect and positive connotation. She was a pretty girl, after all, "I'm sorry." The bruenette boy thought for a few long moments, biting the inside of his cheek... it was a habbit that he picked up as a child. "Training is kind of dull... do you want to spar?"

He hoped that she didn't want to end the friendship because of his stupidity. Twelve years of being close ruined because of one stupid moment would be... crushing.

She chewed on the inside of her lip slightly, eyes distant as Ryn sat down. What had all of that been? What did it all mean? Why had it been so real? Just who or what were those people? They’d had eyes like hers…just what WAS she?! That thought was interrupted by Ryn’s voice. Still orange eyes blinked over at him as she furrows her brow at his words.

I wouldn’t lie Ryn…and I don’t see why you couldn’t believe that I’d pretend like that…it’s certainly more interesting than katas for hours…

She sighed slightly and nodded to his apology.

Okay…I’ll accept your apology…but…only if you promise to remember that I wouldn’t lie to you. Not unless you were in serious danger. That’s the only reason I’d ever lie to you…if lying was the only way to keep you out of trouble…and I mean serious trouble.

At ‘his’ suggestion, she turned her eyes back to him, a hint of blue and green seeping in through the orange and grey.

I think I suggested that once, didn’t I? Why would I say no now?

A light smile touched her face as she looked over at him and stood up.

Ryn looked away from Talau at her first comment, his face flushed the color of a furious inferno in the woods. Oddly enough, his cheeks felt as if they were a dry field of wheat that Tal set ablaze with those few simple words. Why did he find it hard to believe that Tal played with her overactive imagination? Well, pretty girls rarely did that. At least as far as he knew. Especially the pretty and intelligent ones. His face flushed to an even deeper hue at the thought, "I thought that because you're pretty."

Then her second comment rang true in his ears. She wouldn't lie to him? Not unless it would keep him out of trouble? But... that implied that she wouldn't lie to him, unless the consequences were dire. Which, in effect, meant that he couldn't trust her to tell the truth when he needed it most... therefore what value did her word hold? He shook off those thoughts, he was over thinking again, "I'd never lie to you, Talau. And I'd expect that from you, even if lieing would 'keep me out of trouble.'"

At her final comment the boy grew playful... somewhat. He promptly unclipped Sol from his belt and turned it to a training setting. The training setting was simply a special power level that the power cell fed into the saber that controlled the heat that the blade held, instead of searing the flesh like a cutting torch it simply hit it enough to bruise. As plasma was, in fact, a tangible object that wouldn't float through someone.

Ryndark looked up at Talau with a little smirk as one end of his lightsaber lit up like a pale blue torch in the darkness. He stepped back, the scintillating blue beam crossing over his body in an obviously defensive form, as he readied himself to be attacked, "I'unno... thought you were scared to spar me or somethin'." He was, of course, playing... and his voice conveyed that... but teasing was always Ryn's forte.

At least to Tal... and never around anyone else. Time in her company was really the only time that the boy felt like he could reveal himself fully and openly without being laughed at. Quite ironic, considering their earlier situation.

Ryn’s first statement surprised her…so much so that she pulled her head back slightly and blinked at him, wide eyed. This, of course, happened before she turned five shades of red in her blushing. He thought she was pretty? Really?! Her heart raced just a little bit more at the concept that he might actually…no…of course he didn’t like her like that. That was silly! Just because he thought she was pretty didn’t mean anything more than that…he just…thought she was pretty.

Th-thank you…

The stammered reply was given with lowered eyes and pink cheeks as she tried to hide her embarrassment. A little giggle struggled to find its way out of her, but she stubbornly refused it passage. That would just be the topper, and he’d really think she was a loon afterward. Really, she’d never felt so…so…well what DID she feel besides embarrassment? And why was she embarrassed in the first place? People weren’t supposed to be embarrassed by compliments, were they? His words were lost on her during this line of thinking, and perhaps it was better that way, as she might have said something stupid in reply to his expectations of her.

They had both stood, and she watched as he turned his blade down to a practice setting. Hers had already been changed since she’d come here specifically for that reason and she didn’t ever practice with it on the full setting…just in case. Talon’s purple blade thrummed to life in her hands as she watched him look up from his own hilt with a smirk. Playful green eyes narrowed, that purple beam reflected in them as she gave him that challenging look. She watched him shift backward into his defensive position. What? He expected HER to attack first? He should know her better than that by now. Talau also settled herself backward, Talon coming around to defend. As he teased her, taunted her playfully, she gave a wicked little grin.

Bah…scared…of you? You’re a big ol’ softy. I’ll beat you easy and in no time flat. Bring it on.

Just to taunt him further, Tal stuck the tip of her tongue out at him before swiftly retracting it and stifling a giggle. Of course she was going to tease him back…what else could he expect? Besides, that was the way of their age, teasing each other as a means of flirtation…Talau was no different, and whether she admitted to it or not, she certainly was flirting with her sparring partner.

Ryn's face swiftly formed into a smirk at her teasing, "a big ol' softy? Oh 'comon now! Look at these arms! Its like trying to pinch concrete," the smirk turned into a grin as he moved his free hand and his fingers tried to clench together on his bicep. It was, indeed, like trying to pinch concrete. That grin went bigger as Sol's position rose up towards the middle of his side, emitter pointing towards the woman. His free hand slipped over towards his lightsaber's grip

"And you aren't scared of me? Well, I beg to differ," he paused only to shift his position forward, "you wouldn't be trembling in your purty little boots if you weren't scared." With that Ryn tore off towards Tal, lightsaber held in the same position. The boy didn't have speed. Nor did he have agility or intelligence on the girl that he fought against. What did he have? He has crazy amounts of strength. Especially when he amplified it with the Force.

At the very last moment the boy tucked his torso into his legs and rolled, thrusting the pale blue blade towards Tal's side, right below her ribs. He followed up the attack by hastily activating the other end of his lightsaber, utilizing the momentum of his thrust into a quick slash at her rear.

Ryn recovered from the roll nearly as fast as he initiated it. Again, he prepared for the attack... knowing that Tal's nature practually barred her from being the aggressor.

“A big ol’ softy? Oh ‘comon now! Look at these arms! It’s like trying to pinch concrete.”

She hadn’t been talking about his arms, but rather his heart…though, now that he brought her attention to his bicep…

Blue eyes laced with green for a moment…before she caught herself looking at the well defined muscle a bit more than she should have been. An embarrassed and startled pale orange swiftly replaced that green and she blushed brightly, bringing Talon up before her, letting the light cover some of the coloring in her cheeks. She shouldn’t have been looking at his muscles like that, Shoal would have pitched a fit if he’d seen her do that…but…Ryn was just so…

No! She wasn’t about to go thinking like that…thinking like that was dangerous…it made complications. All the masters said so…so it had to be true…right? …Right?

She perked up a bit more at his next words. Trembling in her boots? Talau pulled her head back a bit and gave him an incredulous look. He was on her then, his blue saber searing past her side as she swayed away from the blow, before flipping back over his second strike, Talon flickering out and throwing them into further darkness, only Sol’s light keeping the room bathed in light as she slipped back into the darkness and tried to compact her signature like Shoal had been teaching her.

It was easy for the young Rilan to see Ryn, however. The darkness did wonders for her, what with his ocean tide colored aura flaring so brightly around him, those multi-colored threads linking the two of them giving her eyes something to follow him with. Like a horse on a lead rope, she could watch his movements, feel him stretch it tight and then let it slacken as he moved. With a subtle smirk she withdrew into the deeper shadows, feeling those bonds stretch ever more tightly until…there it was…the perfect length, the distance that would allow her to execute the movement to the best of her ability.

A sudden snap-hiss.
A flare of purple energy.
A swirl of material.

Talau was there, suddenly, Talon coming in fast to sheer off one of his arms as the girl swept past him in a blur of color, air, and force speed, not staying still long enough to give him a good chance to strike back at her. He was far too strong for her to take on like that. If and when he did strike again, she would vault over it to keep herself out of danger before deactivating Talon once more and seeping back into the darkness of the room.

In all honest, Ryn wasn't terribly surprised that the woman dodged both strikes... she was always naturally faster than him. He was about to charge towards her in an almost haphazard fashion when she suddenly flicked her purple saber off and backed away into the darkness. He smirked. The boy never did bother to tell her about his acute sense of smell compared to other people, he never figured that it was terribly important. His diaphragm expanded outwards, allowing the gust of air to carry her scent to his nose. For he was not a creature of sight, or sound, or taste... he needed none of those to operate. Never really did. He was a creature of scent.

Ryn closed his eyes, no longer allowing his eyes to command the majority of his brain. The light aroma of a crisp autumn morning dominated his ol factory receptors, and only grew stronger as she approached. A long inhale puffed his shoulders up as he felt the rush of the Force entering his mucles, imbueing them with a strength and speed that was well beyond the natural range for the body. The bottom of the two stars of his lightsaber slowly rescinded back into Sol's metallic hilt. The man brought his saber up in a high guard, holding a semi tight grip on the hilt and the scintillating star out from his body.

The smell grew stronger.

And stronger.

There!

The snap-hiss of Talon igniting barely had ripped at his ears before Tal sent a furious swipe at his arm. His Force enhanced awareness had already warned him of the quick footsteps towards his position, and the position of the blade according to the blow. Ryn was already twisting his torso around to block the blow, and he did, slashing his blade at hers with as much power as his force augmented muscles could muster. But she was smart, instead of fighting him toe-to-toe she was fighting him with hit and run tactics.

He sighed. Nothing is ever easy, is it? As she retreated he sent out an impulse in the Force towards her, a sharp change in air pressure that would cause a concussion... one that would throw the strongest of men off of their feet. And he threw it towards her legs. Oh the wonders of Force Push. He was on her last position in an instant, using his vastly superior sense of smell to figure out just where she was.

Ryn's saber was a storm of swipes and sweeps as he swung the pale blue blade at his 'foe,' hoping to turn her into sushi. He swung his first furious sweep in the flurry at her chest, bringing the blade around in a horizontal fashion from the left to the right so it would connect with her chest. Then, in an unnatural action, he allowed the other blade to spring out from its hilt... then brought it back towards her legs. Then he activated his dual-phase. The blades sprang out even further from their hilt, and he swung the first one at her arm... aiming to sear it off. Then his second attack was one that opposed the first, swinging another horozontal strike at her opposite arm.

He'd win... he knew it.

The beauty of her talents in sense was…she was amazingly adept at perceiving actions before they happened…even more so when she was connected to the person. Ryn was no exception to this rule. If anything, he was easier to read simply because she knew his talents and the ways he was beginning to work. With a smile she dove to the side, the tail end of that blast catching her as she rolled and upsetting the motion. At least she’d been rolling and hadn’t been caught completely flat footed. Because of this, Talau recovered swiftly…hopping up and flipping away from him easily, that flurry of blue hitting nothing but air as she did.

Half cartwheeling to a standing position, she activated that purple saber swiftly, taking up a strict Makashi defensive position, the blade down as she blocked that final blow. Her entire body was a whole new set of lines and curves, all control and concentration, one foot angled behind the other. In an instant she was moving again, swift jabs and slices aimed to get in between his defenses and the gaps Djem So created with its large sweeping motions. She changed her style now, keeping her defense and offence close to herself as she brought another series of short jabs and swift slices at his torso and arms.

She wasn’t about to let him win this easily…oh no.

Talau was ready, in this form, to defend in an instant, and its movements allowed her to focus on other things…like her mental abilities, which she was now slamming against him to stun the boy into inaction…or at least slow him down.

Djem So. It was designed for lightsaber to lightsaber combat, calling for a series of blocks and parries followed by swift and brutal counterattacks. It seemed that Ryn had abandoned its tenets in his near relentless assault on Talau, something that he was now paying for. His sweeping, yet powerful strikes left huge gaps in his defense, gaps that Tal exploited with a series of quick jabs and slices to his chest and arms. Under normal circumstances he would have simply activated the second end of his lightsaber in his defense, but that mental hellstorm that Talau unleashed on his mind managed to slow him down enough so that it wouldn't have mattered. The tall boy hissed at the searing pain that the training saber left on his massive arms, then the dull pain of forming bruises on his torso.

Ryn found it hard to focus with Tal constantly beating at his mind like a drum, yet he managed to recover and begin to parry her attacks... though just barely. Counterattacking at this point was out of the question... save one move. He needed distance. Just as the woman was about to try a swipe at his arm he whipped around, curling and crouching down with a single leg extended outwards. The Jedi's goal was to whip around and lash a leg out at hers, hoping to sweep her off of her feet. He would follow this up with a near instant Force Push, the impulse in air pressure seeking to at least throw her off balance.

After his little foot sweep force push was complete the Jedi shot up, dragging Sol's blade with him towards the sky. If this were a real duel he'd be sushi strewn about the floor. He seriously doubted that Talau was the only force user to fight in her style...

... He was taking notes.

It wasn’t difficult to feel the tip of her saber connect time and again with his body, and it was even less difficult to feel the strikes he brought crashing down upon her. The wonderful thing about Shoal’s teachings, however, was the fact that the way he taught her Ataru…it used her own physical abilities first. He refused to allow her to use the force to complete the katas unless absolutely necessary. Why was this so useful? Simple really…it allowed her to move in extraordinary fashions while using a different form all together…utilizing nothing but her force speed. This was how she kept out of danger with most of his attacks.

The girl knew that she had no chance against that tide of blows he brought down upon her, so she didn’t ever stay still long. A shunt to one blow so she could flip away from the next, giving her time to prepare for her next attack and yet another shunt, simply so she could roll and perform the task again. It was difficult to keep up her various assaults on him as she did this, but it was possible…and by the way Ryn was acting it seemed like it was working to some degree. Eventually she was forced on the defensive and she was allowed to continue make him sushi, wondering how long it would take until he gave up or tried something different.

Uh oh…seemed that ‘something different’ was coming up fast.

She watched those threads tremor between them, warning her of movement, though she had no clue what kind. That draw of force into him, and she deactivated talon, allowing his last blow to sweep past her unhindered as she leaned to the side. It was a good thing she had. He dropped down and tried to knock her feet from under her, but in that darkness she could see his movements more easily and leaning the way she was…Talau simply cartwheeled over his attempted attack as she decided to end this once and for all, giving up the assault on his mind and wrapping her mind around his saber as she went.

This didn’t help her, however, to avoid that push that he sent her direction.

With a yelp she was sent tumbling backward, curling up to control the motion as much as she could before flipping one leg out to stop the motion, her hair swinging around her face as she flipped it back over her head and looked up from her position on her hands and knees. In a moment she was up, her mind running swiftly through her options. She already had a grip on his saber so….it was an odd idea she’d had, but it was worth a try.

Talon was on her belt again and both hands up before her, one extended in the ‘pull’ position and the other held up in the ‘push’ as she allowed the tides of the force to wrap around her, using her arms as conduits for its power. She was no where near as good as Ryn with this, but she was creative…so it might just catch him off guard. She felt the force wrap around her calling hand, dragging at that saber he carried…she felt it sweep through her shoulders and wrap down her other arm as she pushed it back out again through her palm, hoping to at least slow him with the constant push against his body.

She REALLY wanted this to work…

That want, that desire for this unusual technique to work, helped fuel the power behind it, making it stronger…but only time would tell if it really worked to the degree needed or not.

A small smirk of satisfaction stretched the boy's large lips as he saw Talau cartwheel over his outstretched leg, only to be thrown backwards by the air impulse that had erupted out of his hand. The large padawan managed to stand himself up and key his lightsaber's activation button. A single scintillating star threw itself out of Sol's metallic hilt with the all too familiar snap-hiss! of a lightsaber igniting. Ryn, of course, didn't hesitate in charging the girl like an angry bull in a china shop.

But he was hit with something, a constant shifting of the air. A push from one of Tal's open hands, and a pull from the other. He had done this before, to her, blasted girl learned quick. He held fast against this whirlwind of the Force, not allowing his body to be twisted by its influence. The boy's lightsaber, however, was not. It flew out of his hand like a toy in a tornado, much to his chagrin. His heart skipped a few beats at this development, losing his lightsaber to her would mean insta-defeat. And, while yes, it was out of his hand... that did not mean that it was out of his influence.

Ryn threw his hand out, the Force curling around his outstretched limb in tendrils of pure power. So much power, in fact, that it distorted the air around him... making it look like the shimmer of heat coming off of a road in the desert. The explosion of energy and air that erupted out of his palm sent the lightsaber flying even faster towards Tal, or wherever it was flying. She couldn't get ahold of the thing... he wouldn't let her.

Unfortunately Ryn couldn't allow himself to stop there, though. His grip on the mid-air lightsaber was still one of iron, and with the deft flick of his wrist he sent the metallic hilt flying up towards her forehead. He wouldn't allow her to be hurt terribly bad by the flying hunk of durasteel. Just before impact, if it hit her, he would slow it down enough just so that it threw her off balance.

With that, he released the grip of his lightsaber and gripped onto Tal's. He threw out his hands once more, the air rippling about his arms, and forced the air inbetween them to blast outwards. This blast was like a mountain of water descending on a lone tree in the valley, but its intent was not to throw her backwards. His left hand would yank at her lightsaber the very instant that the directed wave of air reached her, hopefully wrenching it from her grasp.