Late Night Lessons (Jess)

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"Ooooo... so the little boy doesn't get what he wants, and now he's going to throw a tantrum over it." Her hand shifted slightly, to a position where she would be able to call for her saber on a moment's notice. But she did not draw. Instead, she motioned with her other hand, and the door to the room slid open.

He was right of course, in that she would be unable to defeat most Jedi in pure saber combat. But who said anything about fighting only with sabers? True, she was trying to improve in that area, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to use whatever arms at her disposal in a real fight.

"If I don't do as you say," she asked as her foot crossed the edge of the door frame, "are you going to cry? Like you did when you first arrived?"

[Dutch]

Jessoin grinned, his teeth shining red from the glow of his lightsaber. He shrugged and chuckled lightly.

"And the little girl is afraid she'll lose again and become even more scarred."

His laugh turned wicked, a flourish of his lightsaber given in impatience.

If I don't do as you say, are you going to cry? Like you did when you first arrived?

Jess would sneer. "No, I am going to cut off your other arm. And then I will laugh and laugh. Only a few bits of meat separate you from a droid, my little flower..." He began to step closer, lightsaber spun idly by his wrist.

"Shall we see how much meat should be carved until you aren't considered alive anymore?"

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She took another step, crossing the plane of the door frame. "It appears that I have left the room and am still standing," she said quietly.

Her face appeared outwardly calm, but inside the anger was starting to bubble. A little voice in the back of her head urged her to not lose her cool, that Zarander was full of hot air. But the louder voice said something different. Goad him into attacking you. He's almost there. And when he does, smash his face into the ground, where it belongs. She felt her teeth clenching as she slowly reached out to tap into the dark side of the force. We'll see who's alive then.

"So are we done, or do you have any more empty threats to make?" She didn't wait for a response. She simply flicked her wrist, activating a button on the door control panel, and the door slid shut behind her. Come on. Attack.

[Dutch]

The instant the door slid closed, Jessoin snarled and tossed tendrils of the Force outwards. They clung to the door as he jerked his hand back, wrenching it from the wall before tossing it side. Without hesitation he stalked forward, lightsaber held at his side. Despite his aggressive stance, his smile remained puckish and his eyes glinted.

"Like I said, Z. I'm not done with you yet. Draw your weapon or be cut down~"

With his superior reach, Jess lunged forward with a couple well aimed stabs with his lightsaber. His laughter was soft, superior, and knowing. It was time for Zarene to feel fear.

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As the door was tossed to the left, Zarene quickly dodged to the right. His first thrust came quickly, his blade moving with surprising speed at her neck, singeing the tip of her ponytail as she spun away.

She came to a stop about fifteen feet down the length of the hallway from the room entrance where Jessoin now stood. Close... too close. And most infuriating was the fact that he still had that same impish grin.

I want to smash that stupid smile off his stupid face.

She didn't draw her saber.  Not yet.  It would be foolish to try to match a skill where she was weak to on where he was strong.  But she had her own strengths as well.  Her right arm whipped forward, sending a powerful telekinetic blast at her opponent to knock him off his feet.  At the same time, she motioned slightly upwards with the fingers of her left hand before jerking her arm back, as the crumpled discarded door rose from where it lay, becoming a deadly projectile, ready to split his back open from behind with its edge.

[Dutch]

Jessoin laughed as he stalked out into the hall. Brighter than inside the room, the glow of his lightsaber was more subtle in this light. He leered at Zarene and stepped forward to ready another attack when a burst of the Force caught him off guard. The Zelosian caught himself with the Force and kicked his legs out to catch the ground again. He snarled and whipped his lightsaber back. Shards of the door flew past him harmlessly, and Jessoin grinned back at Zarene.

"Well played Z..."

His pace began to quicken as he moved forward. The tip of his lightsaber dragged across the wall next to it as he ran. Long legs propelled him forward as he spun and leaped in a sudden Ataru maneuver to swipe his blade towards her. Without hesitation Jessoin rolled with the spin to launch a vicious backhand towards Zarene with his free hand.

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Jessoin recovered quickly and leaped at her, blade flashing. As he went up, Zarene went down, rolling underneath his saber slash and subsequent backhand. Their positions now reversed, she quickly flipped back up to a low crouching position, facing him again.

Two pieces of the metal door still lay on the ground, edges still glowing from where Jessoin's saber had cleaved through them. With a flick of her wrist, the first piece rose up and flew over her head. The air seemed to hum as it began to spin, quickly gaining speed.

It was soon followed by the second piece. Two horizontal spinning blades, one for his waist, the other his chest.

[Dutch]

Jess narrowed his eyes as Zarene began to prepare her attack. His smile never faltered, instead it grew as a soft laugh came from him. With a cant of his head Jessoin held up his hand palm outwards and projected a barrier in front of him. His eyebrows raised as the pieces of metal slammed ineptly against the barrier in the Force.

"You can't harm me with mere projectiles Z. Why don't you show me more with your hands..."

He barked a laugh and launched forward again, lightsaber leading the Zelosian as he lanced forward. Slashes at the knees were accompanied by laughter the entire time.

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Barriers. She had to admit that he was quite skilled in that area. But with enough force in a precise area, they could be shattered and broken. She could do it, but he was closing in too quickly.

She sidestepped his first low slash, towards the wall of the narrow hallway. Her saber flew into her hand to intercept the second slash. Red and blue blades collided once. Twice. Three times. Suddenly his saber dipped beneath hers, the blade biting into her thigh. She grunted at the jolt of pain in her leg, nearly losing her balance.

She gritted her teeth. He hadn't won yet. This wasn't over. But without her speed, unless she did something soon, it would be.

Not soon. Now.

His saber came in for another attack, and hers rose to meet it. Putting her strength behind the block, she pushed her saber to the side, driving both blades into the wall. Sparks filled the air, and a trickle of molten metal began to form where the red blade cut into the wall, pinned down by the wall.

Without giving him time to extricate his blade, Zarene pushed off on her good leg. Her head swung forward as she clenched her teeth, her forehead slamming into his nose.

She fell to one knee. "Stay down," she growled, while preparing a series of telekinetic weaves.

[Dutch]

A growl of victory was given by Jessoin as his blade tasted Zarene's flesh. He lunged his blade in for what he assumed to be another disabling blow when she suddenly pushed to lock his blade between hers and the wall. Jess barely had time to curse before the woman launched her attack.

Pain exploded across his face, making his eyes water as he stumbled away from her. He cursed again as his free hand moved up to clutch his nose. Something hot and sticky cascaded over his hands and lower half of his face. The hand was pulled away to reveal a smearing of green blood. However he noticed Zarene on one knee before him.

"Stay down"

Jessoin laughed, the back of his free hand brought up to help stem the flow of his nosebleed. He stepped closer despite Zarene's words. With a tilted head he looked down at her leg where his saber struck.

"Hm... a new scar. Something to remember me by. I think we're done here. You kneeling before me will more than suffice. For now."

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She glared at him, but said nothing, as she returned her saber to her belt. Bracing one hand against the wall, she pushed herself back up, leaning to the side slightly to shift most of her weight off her wounded leg. You can keep telling yourself that, she thought as she listened to his gloating, if it helps you sleep as night. As long as you do your sleeping away from me. The pain in her leg still burned, but she was adamant about not letting him see it affect her.

It came to her notice that their fight in the hallways had not gone entirely unnoticed, as several initiates had ventured out into the hallway to investigate the commotion. A small group stood some distance behind her, peering from around a corner.

"You," she pointed to one of the initiates, a young Corellian man with an above-average belly and a face covered with scraggly patches of beard. "Call maintenance and arrange for them to have the gash in this wall fixed."

"Y-y-yes," the fellow stammered, beads of sweat visible on his forehead, nodding quickly before scurrying off.

She gave a slightly exaggerated yawn before turning around and shuffling back towards her room in the South Wing of the Citadel, where a kolto patch and a nice soft bed would be waiting for her.

[Dutch]

Jessoin's laugh echoed in the hall as he watched Zarene fight to stand. He leered at the crowd that had formed, teeth slightly stained green from the blood over his face. When she grabbed the attention of one of the initiates, Jess recognized him as the portly, smelly one rumored to cross-dress. Would be doing him a service to cut his throat.

Zarene began to shuffle by, and didn't make eye contact. Jessoin turned to face the initiates fully, and took a deep, exaggerated bow before them. With a flourish he switched off his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. Jess turned and began to walk away. As he passed Zarene he leaned down and gave a hearty spank to her rump before whispering.

"It was a good effort, Z. I look forward to the next round..."

Again he laughed before a light tune was whistled, a theme to one of his favorite soaps as he sauntered down the hall back towards his room nearby.

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Fin...