Two apprentices, one Master(Tal)

[Jazen]

Jazen was just about to comment that he meant she only had to show him how to properly hold and move with the longer weapon when a new presence filled the space behind him. Elys was quick to "spy" the newcomer, likely feeling the woman that now stood there approaching just before she had entered. Jazen had noticed her as well but, not knowing the woman like Elys appeared to be, he had shrugged her presence off as just another fellow Jedi wandering the temple. The mention of her name though, had Jazen suddenly beaming himself as well. She was apparently Master Me'ballan, the woman Elys had said she needed around in order to teach him how to use a staff. The smile that lined his face was there before his mind even realized it had formed.

Like a small bolt of lightning, Elys was suddenly from one end of the small room to the other, Jazen stepping slightly to the side to avoid the bundle of girl that tackled lightly into the woman stepping through the threshold. A Cerean, as her appearance gave away, this Master Me'ballan took Elys sudden reaction in stride. It had caught her off guard at seeing the girl but from the look of it, it was one she had become accustomed to. Jazen would have to remember that for later; if that was how Elys acted towards people she was familiar and friendly with, he'd have to be ready for the sudden tackles. If he managed to become a good enough person in her books to merit that.

At the mention of his name, he tipped his head lightly to the woman, remaining where he was a few feet away. A spot on the wall to the right became very interesting for the next few moments as he turned his face away from them, trying to hide the light flourish of red that colored his cheeks when Elys told the woman why they were here. It was nothing to be embarrassed about, it wasn't like it was uncommon. Still, the feeling was there and all he could do was choke it down as fast as he could before he looked like a fool. He managed to regain the normal color of his cheeks as Me'ballan moved past him, returning her smile and bowing his head once more, arms folded into his sleeves.

"The pleasure is all mine Master. And I'll keep those in mind....the latter part might be harder then the former however. And you needn't worry about us getting hurt; it'll likely me that wears the marks of battle at the end of today. And not because of her either."

His tone was light and joking, although he couldn't help but realize that it held some truth to it. He didn't have time to ponder it more then that though, his eyes turning back to face Elys. He bite back a laugh at the expression on her face, though parts of it managed to hiss through his teeth. Letting the laugh fade into his hand and mouth, he lifted one hand up to catch the wooden stave Elys tossed to him, using the Force to be sure it landed firmly in his grasp. He spun it once, twice in his hand, getting a feel for the weapon, then rested it on the floor in front of him...in the same way Elys had held her pike when she had entered the room he had been in.

"Well, let's get to work then. What's first "Master" Elys?" He smiled at her after that, hoping she didn't take that too seriously...both the good way and the bad.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

‘Master Elys’…well she scoffed at that.
There simply wasn’t any other reaction to be had, after all.

”Oh please…save the ‘master’ stuff for someone who deserves it…or at least is old enough.” Sticking her tongue out as if she were trying to prove a point, she’d giggle a little and shrug slightly. ”Okay, so first things first…” Moving closer to him, she’d face him fully, her feet shoulder width and holding her staff evenly with both hands, dividing the rattan pole into three sections that were (more or less) equal and letting it settle at a diagonal across her body. ”First part is holding the staff properly. This is how I first learned to hold it because this is where the basics, like beginning blocking, are learned. Also…you want it pointed up at a diagonal to your right, it makes everything so much easier in this stance…at least when you’re first learning.”

She’d give him a moment to take the stance before eying it critically and making any adjustments he might need. Satisfied that his stance was good enough, she’d stop in front of him again. ”Okay, some basic blocks…” Pushing out the top end of her staff (at her right shoulder, like she’d instructed him to do), she’d pause mid way between them. ”It’s really simple enough. This is One, two is to the other side and at the bottom.” Pulling back the upper block, she’d press out the lower part of her staff (near her left foot) out to where it was between them. ”We’ll start with those two first, okay?”

[Jazen]

A chuckle found its way from him when her response to being called Master was sticking out her tongue at him before giggling. At least she had taken it the right way, as a playful joke like he intended it to be. He passed the staff back and forth between both hands, leaning only the upper part of it back and forth as he waited for his lesson in staff combat to begin. He had a rough idea of how one was supposed to hold it but as Locke had taught him, it was always better to gain information from a reliable source. Since Elys used a staff normally, it was best to let her show him how it was done.

"Well, I associate master with teacher at times. So, since your teaching me, your a "master" in your own way. Anyway, I'll leave that be then; stick with just plain out Elys right?"

As she showed him the proper stance, Jazen did the only thing he could. He mirrored her actions and and followed her words to a tee. Seeing as she wanted it pointed up to this right shoulder, he gripped the staff in the way she showed him, his right hand being on the upper part, his left for the bottom. He had to guess the distance for his hands, but from a quick glance, the exposed areas were more or less equal. Shoulder width apart legs weren't hard either; who couldn't match their legs to their shoulders? Finally, he tilted the staff sideways to the diagonal, the upper end pointed towards his right shoulder as requested.

Over the next few moments, Elys proceeded to correct any imperfections she saw in his stance. Some light moving of his arms to a better position, a couple of jabs here and there to get him to straighten instead of slack and a light shifting of how far he tilted the staff later, she retook her own stance, obviously satisfied that he had a decent enough stance now. "Learning to block first sounds good. Maybe I might avoid getting thwacked later on then."

After she showed him the two basic blocks, which he was sure even a youngling could understand, he gave them several practice runs. First the upper block, pushing the part of the staff near his right shoulder forward and back. Then the lower part out, careful both times not to hit himself with the opposite end of the staff. When the pace quickened, he had no doubt he would end up doing that once or twice if he didn't get the idea down now. A few more quick tests later, alternating from one into the other as well, he resumed the basic stance and nodded. "Right, got it. Let's give this a try eh?" He grinned at her lightly, then readied himself for what was to come.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

He wasn’t too shabby, truth be told, but they’d see what happened when they got into more blocks.

“Right, got it., Let’s give this a try eh?”

She shook her head slightly. ”Nope. Now you need to learn the next two blocks.” Tilting her staff so that the diagonal of it was opposite of what it had been, she repeated the same sort of blocks as the first time: top left, and bottom right (as opposed to top left and bottom right). ”Those are three and four. Last one is a simple overhead block,” she stated, lifting her staff in both hands above her head and out slightly, as if fending off a swing from above. ”It doesn’t seem difficult, but you get a lot of bruises.”

Shrugging, she stepped into range of him. ”Time to really learn.” Since he had the idea for the first two blocks, the last three should have been easy for him to grasp…it wasn’t like there was much of a difference, anyway. So, with a grin, she started teaching him the way she’d learned…

”ONE!”

…Ready or not, here came her staff in the direction of the first block position she’d taught him.

[Jazen]

Instead of a shocked or surprised expression, Jazen's was one of delight at Elys's words. But of course there was more to it then two simple blocks; how could he have thought they'd get right into a mock battle? Just like with his saber, there were many steps he would likely have to learn and practice on his own before she would even consider throwing moves his way so he could test his skill. The wide grin slid across his face and he laughed lightly, making sure he was still in the first stance she showed him.

"Oh, right. Would be pretty sad if I didn't learn all the basics first right?"

He watched her move into the next three forms of block, mirroring her actions with his own. The first two were as simple as the others, their polar opposites in terms of direction. Upper right block. Lower left block. And then came the overhead block, gripping the staff firmly above and out over his head. As he continued speaking, he went through the three blocks again, as well as the first two before he nodded in understanding.

"Well, bruises I expect to get. Better to get bruises then real wounds right? Oh....but Master Me'ballan won't be pleased. Guess I'd better be really careful."

He was about to say something more when she suddenly smiled. Jazen knew that smile. Tylan had given it. Locke had given it. It was a grin that said something was coming....but what could.....

"ONE!"

Like a blur, Elys suddenly swung her staff towards his upper right shoulder. If he hadn't been in the stance already, he might have received his first bruise of the day. Lucky for him he was. The staff in his hand went out, the upper part of the staff moving out to catch the incoming attack while he made sure to avoid whacking himself in the leg with the lower part of the staff as it swung back. A clack echoed the small room as the two staffs met and held. After the shock passed quickly, Jazen couldn't help but chuckle as he waited for the next blow.

"Oh I see how it's gonna be. The hard way of training it is.....let's rock."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

le-suck post...but not much to do

---

Good, he’d blocked…but that had been the easy one. Of course, as soon as he thought it was safe he’d started gabbing. Silly thing to do really…you didn’t just start gabbing in the middle of any other fight did you? No, of course not…that was just plain ridiculous!

“Oh I see how it’s gonna…”

”TWO!”

And her staff came sweeping for his shin. Blocked or not she didn’t wait…”Three!”…that staff moving to come down on his shoulder now, before launching another attack at his opposite shin. Hopping back a step, she’d shift her hands just slightly as she called out a ‘Five!’ to him as she brought that staff down over his head. Of course, she was careful to watch and make sure that if he didn’t block it she could stop soon enough that she wasn’t going to bring the full brain-rattling effect down on him. She didn’t want to knock him out, after all.

[Jazen]

Funny thing is..>_> its still better then what my first posts with Rugs looked like xD

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Note to self; when training a new skill with someone you just met, keep the chatter down unless they appear to want to talk. Otherwise, keep your mouth closed and your focus forward...unless you wanted a new bruise or two because you let your attention wane. Though he had done it before, while fighting a dark jedi on several occasions...something he picked up from "both" his Masters.

But that was different. He wasn't trying to put Elys off balance like he'd been doing then. Instead, it only put him off balance, especially when she made the move while he was flapping his mouth. "Oh, woah! was all that managed to slip from him as his mistake became clear. He was already repositioned to take the next strike, so that was a good thing at least. It covered for his blunder...almost. Like she'd shown him, he brought the staff into the path of hers, hearing the clack of the two coming into contact with one another inches from where his shin rested.

And she wasn't done there. The third strike came in quick even as she said the word "three" aloud, bringing the staff down to strike at his shoulder. He was quicker for this one, managing to catch it before it was anywhere near his body, then brought the bottom out again to catch the shot at his other shin. So far so good.....but he couldn't let his guard down unless she made an indication to stop. The hop back had him wondering if that was it....but his sense in the Force and experience told him otherwise.

As she brought the staff down towards his head, Jazen stepped back himself, then brought the middle of the staff up to catch the blow....before tilting the staff sideways a little to let it slide off to his right. He kept his guard there in case she tried something else and whether she did or did not, he would reset himself so he could be ready for the next set. This time he didn't speak, not with words anyway. But he tapped her with the Force, nodded with his head, a sign to keep coming. He was ready.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Oh, woah!”

Well, that’s what he got for not paying attention, right? Even her old master had taught her that, not to mention Me’ballan. He did better after that, however…catching the fourth movement in the X pattern decently enough. She caught the half moment of hesitation as she hopped back and brought her staff down at his head. He made it in time, though, and she let her motion follow through without pulling it so as not to hurt him. She didn’t need to at that point.

Removing her staff from its position, she smiled a little bit and nodded. ”Decent for a start, but you gotta not talk so much. If you’re dealing with a staff or pike, you’ve got too many angles of attack you have to worry about…too many possibilities of being pseudo-attacked with one side, then, with a slight jerk of the muscles, actually being attacked with the other end. If you’re chatting it up you might miss the signals…”she chuckled a little, ”even if they’re being shouted at you.” Shrugging a little bit she’d rest her staff in the bend of her elbow as she pulled her hair back and up, tying it off with a band she pulled from her wrist.

”Besides, because you’re new to it you have to think to get your muscles to react properly instead of just acting on training. That’s how I kept getting caught when I started off…having to think about what I was doing.” With her short hair tied up and out of the way, she settled one hand on her staff and the other on her hip, grinning. ”Ready to go again? Good.” She hadn’t even given him a choice…much less the time to say anything one way or the other. ”We’ll go through the pattern one or two more times then stop again and see how comfortable you feel with it before we continue, alright?” She gave him just enough time to answer, this time, before doing exactly as she said she would…going through the X pattern and the upper block twice more, calling off the counts the first time, then staying silent the next to see how he fared. At the end of those two, she would step back again and push some of the stray strands of her hair back behind her ears.

”So…?”

[Jazen]

Seeing Elys take a more casual stance, Jazen finally relaxed his muscles and put the staff to his side, one end tapped against the floor. He hadn't noticed how tight his muscles had been till now, the adrenaline and his focus had been towards deflecting Elys's attacks and listening for her cues. Now, if a moment to collect himself...well his body was telling him he needed to loosen up instead of get wound up like a ball of yarn.

Silently, he listened to her speak, taking deeper and longer breaths in order to make sure he was ready for the next part. For a moment, he felt as if he was being lectured by a teacher...but Elys spoke kindly enough, not criticizing but pointing out where he needed work. It was the way Locke had taught him, the way Tylan had taught him. Though, both of them had taught him something else....that clashed with what Elys was telling him. Then again...it was a different style, a different form of combat. Maybe the rules were different.

"Yea...I can see your point. My Master....masters....have both taught me that talking in a battle is not a crime though. Heck, my current master does it plenty unless he needs to be absolutely serious. But I got it...mouth shut, mind focused, avoid getting smacked on the head."

Straightening up, he whipped the little beads of sweat from his brow, then flexed his body a couple of times to release the tension in his muscles. She was right on that account as well; he could perform almost half the moves he knew with a saber without a second thought. Almost by instinct. But with the staff, if he hadn't remembered which cue was which, what block was what...he'd likely have a bruise or two to show for it. He smiled lightly and dared to chuckle when she admitted it had been her fault.

"Amen to that. Let's hope I can avoid suffering the same painful fate."

She took her stance again, a signal in its own right to let him know that it was time to continue. Retaking the stance himself, he calmly relaxed his muscles first, then let them harden just a little so that they weren't all flab. When she told him what the plan was, Jazen was given just enough time to give a quick "sounds good" before she started into the sequence. The first set was like before, with her calling out the cues for the attack, Jazen following through with the appropriate block. He made the transitions easily enough, one of the blows almost caught him when he slipped up a bit. Then she did it again, only this time, only the move came with no words to signal which move it was. She still followed the pattern though and this time he made sure to avoid the near blunder he'd done the first time. After their staff's clacked together for the final block, both Elys and himself stepped back, Jazen letting out a long breath he'd been holding back.

"So....I think you must have had a very good teacher. I think I'm getting the hang of this....you've been doing a very good job of making sure I don't blunder the steps." Grinning, he tapped the staff lightly on the floor and made a nod with his head. "I think I'm ready to move along to the next step you have in mind...and the possible pain its going to bring."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]