In the Darkness (Open)

[.:Falcon:.]

Nirisi stood in the center of an empty practice room, her eyes shut as she sank into the Force, pulling it around her, her soul bathing in the darkness that enfolded it like a blanket. The darkness filled the temple, a dark pall of hate and anger that drummed at her mind with unceasing intensity. The hate and anger was not what made her stay, though it fed her own like emotions, making them ever stronger. It was the promise of power that bound her here. That quest that had consumed so much of her life would never be over, and especially not now that she stood on the cusp of gaining so much more.

And with what she was able to pick up from the classes and lectures held for the initiates, she was already beginning to see just how much the Sith could offer her. How far they could take her.

Hate, anger, fear, all of them directed and channeled, turned into a source of power. That was what they offered, but in so many magnified ways. A twisted beauty masked by ugliness, transformed into victory. She found her own balance, the place where she could comfortably rest as she called upon the Force, and her eyes popped open as her lightsaber snapped to life, both crimson blades lighting up the matte black of her clothing, red light casting a circle on the floor around her.

She had no practice partner at the moment; with Sith forces being called away to travel across the galaxy, there was little activity going on here. But she preferred it that way. It gave her more time to herself, more time to perfect things without other people in the way. Just the way she liked it. With a spin, one of her blades darted out at a practice dummy, severing its head and dropping it to the floor. Another spin, a movement of her feet, a jump, and another dummy 'died'.

In one way, living foes were far more useful.

[kreyopresny]

Terest wandered the Temple halls, bored and surprisingly lonely. She'd come to the Sith seeking power and freedom, the latter especially after having spent so much of her life as a slave. However, so far her experience had been a solitary one, having found little companionship amongst the other Sith. This was only magnified now that the temple was largely empty of Sith, the more experienced warriors running about the galaxy fighting the republic. She envied them greatly, wishing she could travel and explore like they did. Instead she found herself cooped up in the Temple or the dusty streets of Dreshdae.

Thus, she found herself wandering the Temple aimlessly lost in thought, her black booted feet carrying her down the winding halls at random. Turning a corner, she heard the hum of a lightsaber nearby. Awakened from her revery, she noticed she had come to the practice rooms. Led by curiosity and boredom, she followed the sound to the doorway of a dark room. Quietly entering, she stood silent in the doorway, entranced by Nirisi's twin red blades twirling in the darkness. She leaned against the wall near the doorway, studying the combat, trying in vain to make out the details of the sabers owner in the darkness, catching only glimpses of black clothing, dark hair, and dismembered dummies.

[.:Falcon:.]

Nirisi felt another presence approaching along the corridor, turning into the room she was using. With vague irritation, she reached out to sense the newcomer. A Sith Initiate like herself, it felt like, vaguely familiar. Perhaps they'd interacted during a class at some point. Beheading the last dummy, Nirisi stood in a battle stance for one last minute, her saber held horizontally in front of her. Then, standing upright, she deactivated it, the crimson blades disappearing.

She turned to face the newcomer, advancing across the dimly-lit practice room. There were many ways she could greet this newcomer, here in the temple of the Sith. The most common way to introduce oneself to someone who interrupted in such a manner was to attack them, letting their fighting speak for them. Nirisi considered that a silly habit. It reduced the fighting potential of a significant portion of the Order just from practice casualties alone. Some people were so blinded by the fear and hate they drew upon for power that they forgot about the power itself, and what it demanded of them.

So, she opted to halt about ten feet from the newcomer. It looked to be a woman, and Nirisi did remember her now, just from quick glimpses in classes and other, communal practice sessions. "Hello," she called across the intervening distance. She didn't add anything else, though she'd be willing to bet the irritated feeling of having been interrupted that was still flowing from her into the Force would be enough to clue the other woman into the fact that she was none too happy. You'd hope, at least.

[kreyopresny]

Terest didn't need the Force to sense the fellow students irritation present in the fellow students body language. This was fortunate, as the large Zabrak lacked strong sensing abilities, preferring to focus on her physical abilities.

Didn't mean to interrupt. That was quite impressive.

She stretched her arms up and behind her head, hands interlaced. Several joints limbered themselves with an audible crack, a process she repeated in her neck by shifting her head from side to side before continuing.

So dull around here lately what with everyone off fighting the republic. You mind some company? Sure I'd be more fun than slashing those mindless dummies.

She laced her hands together again, this time settling them behind her head and resting it against them in a relaxed and casual pose. Her fingertips subconsciously grazed the lightsaber hilts attached to her wrist gauntlets as she did. She knew their was a chance the student might attack her, such rivalry was the way of the Sith, and helped to cull the weak from the herd. Terest wasn't worried though, sizing up her opponent physically she was confident she could take the smaller girl in a fight. Eventually she would learn to consider the non-physical aspects of facing fellow Force users, but for now she relied only on the mundane skills learned in the slave-gladiator arenas where she'd grown up.

Trying to appear casual, she sniffled loudly and averted her gaze up and slightly to the left, looking past Nirisi as if suddenly interested in anything else before continuing with

Name's Terest by the way.

[.:Falcon:.]

As Nirisi got a better look at the other woman, she realized just how unmatched they were physically. The other was easily six feet tall, towering over Nirisi. She couldn't say she'd ever seen a woman that tall, at least not a humanoid one. Maybe a Wookiee somewhere, but they hardly counted. They were like overgrown fur balls. This woman was simply tall. Nirisi acknowledged the compliment with a bow of her head, trying to quell the irritation she felt.

She could sense the woman's feelings--they ran close to the surface, as if she weren't interested in the sensing ability the Force would undoubtedly give her fellow Sith. Unwise, that, was Nirisi's thought. Giving others an edge on you was never wise, and leaving your feelings out for all to feel definitely counted as an edge. But the woman was talking again, and Nirisi was forced to turn her attention from the woman's inner life to her outer words. The offer of a sparring partner was a bit unexpected. It had been quite awhile since someone had so casually strolled in and offered to have a somewhat-friendly spar. It simply wasn't done here. Apparently, this woman had missed the memo.

"Sure," she said after a moment of contemplation. "What's your style?" she asked, hoping to get a better handle on her prospective sparring partner.

The woman introduced herself, and Nirisi gave a jerky nod. "Nirisi Jettin," she said in return. She had never been big on the introduction-and-pleasantries bit of interaction. Better to just get your business over with, with no dithering over who you were as opposed to who the other was. Sometimes, people were just downright thick, caring about so many things that didn't matter and never would matter.

[kreyopresny]

Terest cocked her head to the side, a gesture reminiscent of cocking an eyebrow, which the hairless Zabrak did not have. She seemed to have rattled this woman somehow, or at least done something unexpected. Terest guessed she'd done something socially awkward, as she seemed to find herself doing often. Things outside the slave pens were so strange to her mind. Society as a whole seemed to function on layers of pointless subterfuge... She made a mental to note to get a handle on this sooner rather than later. Finally, she responded

Why would I tell you my style? Don't think I'll go easy on you.

With this last statement she let a cruel smile twist her tattooed face.

I'm just looking for some sport.

Even as Nirisi was giving her name in response, Terest was moving away from the doorway and to the middle of the training room. She contorted her body in several directions, twisting and stretching various muscles and limbs with loud resounding pops and cracks. As she prepared her body for the fight, she also began preparing it with the Force. She tapped into her rage, infusing the dark side into each limb and muscle, feeling it fill her making her stronger and faster than her impressive frame already was.

Shall we start then?

She asked, dropping into a low fighting stance, hands in front of her open and hooked for grappling. She left her lightsabers firmly secured to her wrist gauntlets, itching for the rush of the fight and confident, possibly overconfident, in her combat abilities. However, she knew she had one definite advantage, she'd seen Nirisi training, she knew what to expect, while her opponent had never watched her fight. Filled with the dark rage that fueled her, Terest called out, eyes wild voice filled with frenzied anticipation bordering on madness,

Draw your weapon! Hurry, hurry! Come at me!

[Rugs]

The days rolled on and on, in and out, but one thing remained the same throughout: Nieraan was stuck in the Temple. As stuck as one could be when they were relatively free to leave as they wished. The Temple, however, was home to the Sith and the only real place Nieraan could get any true training in, and so for better or for worse, he was stuck at it. Besides, he had to tend to Cadyren's training now that he'd taken him as a student. Wasn't like the runt would train himself.

It wasn't all bad, really. Not all of the other Sith in the Temple grated on his nerves. Just most of them.

Presently, he was drifting through the halls rather aimlessly. The whelp had been given a training assignment to keep him occupied for a while, and Nieraan had grown weary with his time spent searching out what secrets might be hiding in the archives.

So, he found himself drifting toward the training wing, as he often did when he was bored and didn't have anything better to do with the time on his hands. Perhaps he'd spar a bit. Maybe find someone that could go toe-to-toe with him for a while. He wasn't getting his hopes up there; he knew he wasn't the strongest in the Temple by any means, but most of the Sith in it were weaker than he. Such was the curse of being fully-trained, he supposed.

Eventually, he wandered to a training area that was occupied. He stopped in one of the doorways, leaning against the frame as he studied the two beings within. One was a large Zabrak. The other looked to be human.

As they spoke to each other, Nieraan quietly reached out with his senses and felt around their presences in the Force. Neither seemed to be too terribly powerful; weaker than he, though he couldn't really tell which was the stronger of the two.

Looks like they're gonna fight anyway. One of his sharp canines showed as he folded his arms over his chest and smirked. Wonder what they've got.

So there he stayed, quietly waiting to see what happened, or if they even noticed that they were being watched.

[kreyopresny]

Her physical senses heightened by the Dark Side along with the rest of her body, Terest smelt the newcomer more than anything. The dank odor of old stains and stale sweat flooded her nostrils long before she noticed any sounds. However, since he had chosen to settle in the doorway, just as she had recently, Terest decided he was not a threat. Her lips curled to expose her teeth in a subconscious show of dominance, she snarled:

Lets put on a good show, it appears we have an audience.

Choosing to ignore the intruder for now, Terest flexed her hands into fists and then released them back into a grappling position, fingers curled but open. Her eyes seeing as much as possible, she made sure to hold back the Force Rage which magnified her power, but was difficult to control. Always good to keep an ace in the hole. Instead, her eyes focused specifically on the girls lightsaber. She knew it was a double blade, and her childhood fighting in the gladiator rings had taught her many valuable lessons about facing different types of weapons.

She knew the secret of a dual blade was it's exotic nature to most opponents, that while there were two blades on the weapon suggesting more options and versatility for attack, she really only needed to track one. Since the two blades were attached, knowing where one was told her the location of the second. Terest shuddered with anticipation, her mind rapidly playing through the numerous possible scenarios for her opponents first attack, and how she would respond, weighting the probability of each attack based on their likelihood, relying on the fact that most Sith apprentices were trained in Shii-Cho. A chill ran up her spine, and she had to restrain herself from pouncing on Nirisi right at that moment.

[.:Falcon:.]

A smile, as twisted as the Zabrak's, wormed across Nirisi's lips as the tall woman responded to her query. A smart one, then. Smart-ish, at least. She wasn't one of those who prattled on, telling you everything about herself. She may not have felt all that strong Force-wise, but she knew how to handle herself. The woman headed past her, aiming for the training mat. Turning and slowly following her, Nirisi watched her stretches, feeling with the Force to sense how the woman moved. She felt the rush of rage and Force-sense that suddenly flooded the woman, augmenting her already intimidating body.

Alright then. A fight it would be. The woman was impatient, not even drawing her lightsabers, but instead settling into a fighting stance that clearly said she meant to try and grab Nirisi, using her superior strength to bring down her opponent. Nirisi, examining her in the dim light, couldn't see her saber, but she'd be willing to bet it was in easy reach.

Nirisi stopped at the edge of the mat, holding her lightsaber at a slight angle and activating the blades. They snapped out in unison, filling the air with their gentle hum, that to her ears sounded ready for blood. It had been a long time since she'd allowed herself to really fight. Perhaps this Zabrak woman would prove a good partner. Just then, Nirisi felt yet another observer approaching. Inwardly sighing, she decided to just ignore it. No sense getting all irritated when a fight was in progress.

The Zabrak was shouting at her, wrathful impatience filling every tone. The thin ghost of a smile flitted over Nirisi's face. The Jedi were right in at least one thing: over-eagerness to fight would often result in your being beaten. Nirisi slowly began to pace, still staying right on the edge of the mat, safely out of the reach of the woman's long arms. She immersed herself in the Force, filling her mind and body with it, letting it be her eyes and ears, willing it to warn her of any shift in the Zabrak's intentions.

[kreyopresny]

Terest watched with eager anticipation as her opponents lightsaber snapped to life. Her muscles tensed in anticipation of the first charge, only to see her pace at the edge of the mat, the minuscule changes taking hold of each step told her enough for the Zabrak to recognize that Nirisi was summoning the Force. She fought down the disappointment at the delay in action.

I should know to expect as much from these people...

She mentally admonished herself. She resisted the urge to charge in right away, instead directing that rage into another surge of Force power channeled into her body, the veins bulging and twitching against her muscles, each one coiled and ready to snap into action. She knew she had less Force training than most of her fellow Sith, but she had still learned patience. Learned to harness the wild frenzy rather than give into it. Instead, she begin to circle steadily towards her opponent, watching the reactions and waiting for the right moment. In her Force enhanced state, everything seemed to move just a fraction slower to her eyes, and she watched for any opening, or any sign of attack.

No major opening presented itself as the woman paced, not surprising, a combatant who couldn't keep a guard up when not being pressed wasn't likely to last very long. So instead Terest waited for a moment just between the opponents steps when her balance was the least stable and attacked, her enhanced muscles rocketing her across the mat. The distance closed, so she was only a few feet away, she anchored her weight onto her right leg and bent it completely, dropping low and lashing out her opponents ankles with the left. Her practiced balance allowed her to do this without aid of her hands, which she held poised in front of her, the base of the palms touching, fingers still coiled into the clawed grip of an esoteric Echani style she'd picked up in the gladiator pits of her youth.

[.:Falcon:.]

The Zabrak's impatience grew as Nirisi paced. Even without the Force, Nirisi could see the tremble of her muscles, the bulge of veins in her forehead as she kept herself in check. At least she had some self-control. Perhaps Nirisi had underestimated her.

She kept her lightsaber just barely off horizontal to the floor, her front blade almost skimming the mat at the end, creating a pool of angry red light underneath its glaring focus. She could feel the Zabrak deliberating, waiting for an opening, and Nirisi did her best to keep one out of the equation: except for a single little lapse here and there, just enough to provoke an attack. She felt the woman's resolve seconds before the expected attack came, saw the bunch of muscles, the excitement of release.

Danger sense flared down her spine, burning a path to her synapses and telling her to move or die. As the Zabrak came at her, swiping with a leg towards her ankles, Nirisi jumped and, with a Force-aided flair, spun in the air and came down behind her, the Zabrak still facing the place she'd been a moment before. Nirisi didn't pause, but jumped right back in, pressing the attack while the woman's back was turned. Her blades spun, and she darted towards the larger woman, aiming an attack towards the base of her neck.

[Rugs]

So they saw me. Nieraan smirked quietly from his viewpoint in the doorway. Perhaps they weren't both completely dumb. Perhaps. Better make it entertaining, girls, he thought, shifting his weight slightly against the side of the door frame. The trio of sabers at his belt clicked softly against each other at the motion. I'd hate to get bored here.

He doubted they thought much of him for the moment, though. Even though he was surely older than both of them, because of his heritage as a Firrerreo, his face was young; he looked like a young man, no older than nineteen or twenty. Just another whelp of an Initiate to the dumb and the stupid. It could be endlessly useful for amusement sometimes.

For now, he continued to watch, keeping a bit of a lid on his presence in the Force so that it was somewhat suppressed, and continued to feel out the two combatants in the middle of the room. The Human had ignited her weapon by now, but the Zabrak, curiously enough, had not. Suppose she intends to fight without it, he mused. She's either very good, or very stupid.

Already, he had a feeling he could guess which. As he observed the Zabrak, and saw the twitching and coiling of her muscles in preparation, he reached out deeper through the Force with his senses. He tapped more into her presence to get a better feel. Unsurprisingly, she was a twisted knot of excitement; very eager, and not too terribly good at hiding it.

Nieraan snorted a chuckle to himself and made a mental note of it. While there was no way he could tell how developed the Human's ability to feel through the Force was, for someone with senses as honed as his own, the Zabrak might as well have been an open book.

Another idiot without restraint. Shouldn't be surprised.

True to his observations, he felt his senses scream the attack was coming before the Zabrak even moved. As she darted ahead, Nieraan's gaze flicked to the Human girl. She'd been more reserved, keeping a steady touch on the Force as she presented little openings to try to goad an attack out of the Zabrak.

Now she had one. How would she answer it?

The Zabrak lunged ahead and kicked out at the Human's legs. Idiot, Nieraan silently chided. But though the Zabrak might as well have been handing the Human victory on a platter, she either didn't see it or didn't take it.

Nieraan would have stabbed a saber into the ground before the kicking leg, and that would have been that. It was hard to fight with only one leg, after all; such was the danger of fighting someone with a lightsaber using only your bare hands. The Human instead leapt up and behind, choosing to try for a strike while the Zabrak's back was still turned. Perhaps it would land. Perhaps not.

Either way, Nieraan continued to watch and silently file away what he saw of them for later use.

[kreyopresny]

Terest followed the sound of Nirisi's landing, and expecting a counter attack used the coiled right leg to launch herself to the side dodging the first blade, before bending backwards to duck behind the follow-up of the second. Still, she had felt the heat of the blade near her neck.

She's quick. No, you're too slow.

Angry ar herself now, she let the Dark Side flow, charging her, willing herself to be faster, as fast as she needed to be. If she couldn't even get past the more cumbersome double saber, she had no chance against opponents using a single, and definitely no business here in the Sith Temple. Her opponents weapon still spinning, she reached back with her left hand to catch herself in the back bend and push upright, while the right struck Nirisi's wrist and followed it, the Echani style behind the blow expertly guiding the other girls lightsaber upward enough that Terest could right herself. She had spent enough years without weapons surviving against armed opponents, sometimes beaten and scarred certainly, but surviving, that this was second nature to her. Ideally the move could also have broken her grip and caused her to drop the weapon, but the wrong side of the wrist had been exposed, though Terest was now beginning to doubt Sith , or Jedi for that matter, opponents would be victim to such simple tricks.

Riding her own momentum forward, Terest barreled into a one handed round-off, landing a few feet away, once again facing her opponent. A frenzied smile contorted her already monstrous features, her facial tattoos a terrifying mask. This was a good fight. Certainly better than slaughtering civilians in allies as her sadistic egomaniac padawan of a "master" had taught her on Nar Shaddaa.

But I can't win like this, she's too fast, and that lightsaber can't be caught like some gladiators sword...

Her memory flashed momentarily to her old vibroblades, a trophy of her first kill in the arena. She shoved aside this sentimentality, just as she had when she discarded them in favor of her lightsabers, which she now grabbed from their place on her gauntlet clad wrists. Their pale purple blades cracked to life as she whipped them into the ready stance of Niman. Shouting happily,

Now we can start the real fun!

[.:Falcon:.]

The Zabrak was fast, and good. With skilled acrobatics, the tall woman ducked under Nirisi's blades, kicking out at her wrist. Nirisi dodged the blow, whirling out of the way, her saber hugging close to her body. The two faced off once more, and Nirisi sensed the Zabrak's whirl of emotions as she thought. Nirisi settled into a crouched pose, her lightsaber held in a loose grip, as she waited.

After just a few moments, two purple blades snapped into existence from the Zabrak's hands as she brought her lightsabers to her. Two sabers, separate from one another. She had a bit more maneuverability than Nirisi did, but not much more. She could still win this, could still find victory. They were evenly matched now, at least more so, and the Zabrak seemed to know it as she shouted towards Nirisi, her tone defiant and exultant all at once. Too exultant. She thought she had the upper hand.

She shifted into the readiness of Makashi, countering the other woman's clear Niman stance, ready for anything. Her blades hummed steadily, the sound blending with that coming from the blades the other held, forming a symphony that spoke of death and pain and battle. The most perfect, beautiful sound in the world. Nirisi watched her opponent, once again waiting for the strike that she knew would come. The other's impatience would not allow her to wait for long, and Nirisi would be ready for her.

[kreyopresny]

((OOC: I didn't know you could use Makashi with a double bladed saber ))

Terest eyed her opponent across the dueling ring. Her opponent was beginning to test her patience. Instead of pressing the attack, driving the rush of combat the former slave craved, she continued instead to wait for the Zabrak to strike first. Growling softly, she began to circle, spinning her lightsabers with a flourish. While the weapons were familiar to her now, her old instincts still balked at the strange gyro force that affected their motion.

She knew she should've waited, that she should be patient and let the fight come to her, but with each moment of inaction she could feel her adrenaline waning and the Force draining from her muscles. She continued to push it, to flood her muscles with the Dark Side, but without surge that came in the heat of battle she knew the effort would drain her endurance much faster than her opponent.

Something to work on... That's why I'm here after all. Then, so be it... It's time for all or nothing.

Pushing the Force far beyond her own usual limits, she released a bestial roar and flooded all her remaining power into her muscles, which ached at the strain of being pushed so far beyond their usual limits. Instantly, the purple haze which she had colored her lightsabers after clouded her vision and the world slipped into slow motion as the frenzy of Force Rage overtook her. Her body was forgotten, suddenly feeling Already she was rushing Nirisi, both lightsabers poised for a powerful downward chop. Focusing her will, Terest forced her mind to rise above the wave of the frenzy and take back control, as she had practiced for the last five years. She succeeded just before reaching her opponent, and shifted the saber in her left hand to a reverse grip, and striking only with her right arm. While the Frenzy focused only on attack and dominance, Terest knew the value of defense, and had no illusions about the skill of her opponent. Even with her strength and speed now a pure vessel of Dark Side power, she'd need all her skill and wits about her to face off against a Force user, especially against those as wily and cunning as the Sith.

[.:Falcon:.]

((I don't know if they can or not. XD Nisi employs a rather blended form that she's made herself, that utilizes her saber and her body to the best. Yesh.))

The other woman's impatience was taking hold of her, transporting her beyond what was safe to maintain control. Nirisi didn't let her satisfaction show on the outside. On the one hand, a person driven to extreme rage by impatience and anger was likely to be more ferocious in combat. On the other hand, they were easier to defeat when their opponent was still in command of their wits. It was a dangerous balance, a gamble Nirisi would have been reluctant to make under ordinary circumstances. She was growing lax, her own impatience to fight making her more likely to slip and make mistakes.

Drawing on the Force, she tried to calm her own mind, filling her body with the calm she could still command, willing herself to await the attack that would surely come. Reaching out, Nirisi could sense the mounting tension in the Zabrak, rage overwhelming her reason. Such a dangerous place to be in, Force rage. This woman apparently thought brute force could overcome cunning and skill. Well, let her think so. Nirisi would be more than happy to disillusion her.

Her attack was laughably apparent. She gave a bestial roar, launching herself at Nirisi with the force of a trained fighter. Her lightsabers were held up above her head, and Nirisi whirled her saber to meet her stomach with one of the extended blades. The woman seemed to regain control as she dashed nearer, switching her lightsabers about and aiming a well-done attack towards Nirisi's body with her right.

With all the speed she could summon, augmented by the Force, Nirisi's other blade came around, the one she'd already extended skimming towards Terest's stomach, the second blade batting aside Terest's right saber. Nirisi bent low, spinning under the woman's right arm and once again coming to her full height a bit behind Terest, her saber held in a vertical block.

But she was done with waiting for an attack to come. She stepped towards the Zabrak woman, her lightsaber spinning, her left blade going out towards the woman's face in a quick feint, then her right blade spinning about, her saber reversing itself as Nirisi's real attack folded out, a stabbing, sliding cut towards her abdomen.

[kreyopresny]

Terest watched through the angry haze as she battered against Nirisi's defenses. Already she could see the woman was moving behind her.

You're getting predictable Sith, can't sneak behind me every time I attack.

Having expected as much, Terest's left hand, with the reverse grip hold of her lightsaber struck towards Nirisi, stabbing like an icepick towards her center of mass to meet the spin that had brought the smaller woman behind Terest. The Zabrak followed this attack, steeping to her left while spinning her body around to continue her assault. The right blade followed through from it's first miss, ending low, then was pulled along the spin, and set to strike in an upward diagonal aimed for her opponents thighs, following just behind the left hands stab. The frenetic rush of battle driving to strike, and press the attack, without letting up. As she had just come around in her spin enough to spot her opponent from the corner of her eye she felt the rush of air where Nirisi's lightsaber stabbed through the space where Terest had just been.

[.:Falcon:.]

The Zabrak easily caught her attack, aiming her own attack at Nirisi's stomach. Luckily, Nirisi's thrust caught it, propelling the humming purple blade away as the two sabers clashed, a shower of sparks dancing into the darkness. The Zabrak spun, her attack unrelenting, and Nirisi managed to bring her saber around to catch Terest's right blade, spinning it around.

She made a mental note to look into making the two sides of her saber detachable, and to learn Jar'Kai so she could more effectively combat foes such as this. But for now, the Zabrak was trying her hardest to kill the smaller Sith, and Nirisi skittered backwards, keeping out of the reach of her sabers, giving ground as she waited for an opening.

The woman had spun around, and Nirisi noted the location of her sabers, the reverse hold she firmly had one in. Very well. Only seconds had passed and, with that, Nirisi waded back into the fray, launching a frontal assault. With a dexterous spin of her sabers, she held the two blades nearly at right angles to the floor, batting the first towards Terest's head, then launching the other blade in a spin that intended to shear off the woman's legs at her kneecaps.

[Rugs]

Nieraan continued to watch with arms folded over his chest as the two Initiates battled it out. The Zabrak had managed to survive the strike to the back of the neck, which could have proven fatal if they were fighting for true--he assumed their sabers were turned down for a sparring session, anyway.

After that, nothing that really stood out happen. The fighting had grown quick and frantic, but as the situation presently stood, it seemed the two combatants had found themselves in a stalemate of sorts.

She has a lot of raw power, he though, following the tall Zabrak. It wasn't much of a surprise, looking at the way she was built or looking back on the intense desire to fight he'd felt earlier. Everything about her, her presence, and the way she carried herself pointed to someone who would be inclined toward brute power. Nieraan quietly noted it away in his mind. Though he did wonder how far her control could stretch. She'd nearly lost it once already. That could be manipulated, if things ever came to it.

The Human girl, though, she was different. She must have known she couldn't win a battle of pure strength, not against the Zabrak, anyway. He supposed she'd held up well enough, though, always evading and trying to strike and blind spot. Only problem was that she was getting repetitive, and repetition in a battle either be a brilliant set up or an extremely fatal error.

As the fight moved on, Nieraan continued to keep himself open to the Force, feeling it blow and swirl as they battled, feeling their intents form before they even began to make their strikes. Any other observer would likely call all that he could see and feel a beautiful thing.

Nieraan, though, was getting a little bored. True, one of them would likely take the upper hand eventually, but things could be made so much more interesting now.

'Sides, he thought with the ghost of a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, what kind of role model would I be if I didn't keep the whelps on their toes?

The only question, really, was how. They were focused on each other, and he intended to keep things that way for now. Charging in with weapons lit would be a thrill, but far too conspicuous. At least for a starting move. Something else would have to do.

I know what I'll do.

Two of his fingers lifted from laying on top of one of his muscular forearms. He subtly motioned with them and drew on the Force, splitting his focus on the two women fighting before him. Invisible hands of the Force reached out, and at his will, tugged. A bit of a tug at one of the Human's arms, a light jerk directed to one of the Zabrak's legs. Just enough to try throwing them off balance.

Now all that remained was to see what kind of effect his interference created.

[kreyopresny]

Terest faced off against her opponent, still not sure how the smaller, slower woman continued to evade her attacks. Terest easily batted away the first strike to her head, and was moving to trap her opponents striking blade between her own two, when a sudden tug on her leg pulled her to the side, throwing her balance. She immediately dropped to that knee, her opposite hand instinctively following her opponents weapon, even though it seemed to have flown wide off course as well. The trip hadn't come from her opponent that much she was certain of, and the crashing frenzy of the Force Rage immediately turned to seek the new aggressor. The tide unexpectedly turned, Terest lost her direction of the frenzy and began to charge towards the doorway, still ignited sabers scorching the floor as she pushed herself off the ground. She was already several bounding strides outside the practice mat, when she forcibly cut the connection to the Force, ending the Force Rage before she did something unfortunate.

Shooting a dirty look at Nieraan, she wheeled about and skidded to a halt facing Nirisi again, and cautiously approached the practice mat, panting slightly, her movement noticably slower now that she did not have the aid of the Force Rage behind her. She flourished her sabers and fell back into a careful Niman stance. Pushing another surge of Dark Side power into her body, she felt her endurance waning, the Force Rage having taking it's toll, while being of little use. So instead, she decided to adopt her opponents tactics of defense and waiting, the smoldering rage at the interruption negating her need for adrenaline and combat.

You're stronger, faster, and have a lifetime of combat experience... You can do this...