I'm Just Here {Cas/Closed}

[.:Falcon:.]

Nirisi came into the exercise gyms of the Temple. Despite the newness of the building, the gyms already bore a feeling of comfortable, lived-in concentration. Only a few people were there- a lone man, staring into space, an older and a younger woman and girl sparring...Nirisi closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She was still hurting from that cheater's fighting style- Jerek or whatever his name was. Her hand had been healed with the help of the Force, but there was only so much she could do.

She wasn't going to let it happen again. She'd train and work until she was as good as the blasted Sith Lord, if she had to. But she wasn't going to let herself be trapped like that again. She summoned her saber to her hand, its familiar weight reassuring in her hand. She slid into the first stance, activating the double blades.

Her boots bathed in red, Nirisi jumped forward, slashing at an invisible enemy. A thrust, a block, a parry...the calculated, smooth movments, perfectly synchronized, reached deep into her and smoothed knots of tension, working out the frustration she had felt for weeks.

She ended in a salute- saber held parallel to the floor, blades humming out on either side of her body. She paused for a few breaths, then leapt forward into another set of weaving motions. Spinning her saber, she smoothly slid across the floor in sync with the movements of her saber. Breathing a bit harder than usual, she ended with another salute, and deactivated her saber. A start.

[Casual]

Time had come to brush up on his skills. Xzun Grozmick, also known as Jack, made his way to the Temple gyms, he needed to practice, and to excercise. So he did. When he entered, he noticed a man staring into space, lost in thought, and unreadable in the Force, though, Jack's own skill in sense wasn't on par with the average Knight-level warrior, but, either way, he couldn't tell what the man's focus was on. He also noticed a young girl training with her older master. There was one other here. A young lady with a double-bladed lightsaber. That was a bit unique...

Jack stood by and watched her fight an invisible opponent, his arms crossed. He dove into himself in that moment on a whim. He wasn't one for any skill in sense, but when meditating, he could feel the darkness inside people, not well, but he could feel it... like a scent, fragile as a breeze. His late dark Master had had a knack for it, and Jack himself had attempted to learn to employ his ability, with limited success, but if this girl was open, and in training, she should be, he just might be able to discover what made her tick. He wanted to know why she was here, with the Sith, and what patterns of thought or darkness of past made her choose so.

So within himself he dove, searching out with his feelings and lighting upon the female not far from him. He sensed a need for power, but all Sith had it somewhere within them. He needed to know more. Why, though? Why did he have such an interest. She was much younger than he, and he wasn't one to make decisions based on attraction, so that couldn't be it. He chuckled in his meditation at the possibility of the Force guiding him to her. He hadn't believed in that hocus pokus in over 20 years, and he had no intention of returning. Whatever it was that pushed him towards her, he would humor it, and look at her more.

He found pride. Pride similiar to his own, and with that pride... there was a sense of selfish arrogance. There was also anger. Ah, anger. Jack's favorite emotion. The anger seemed directed at the people of light, the Jedi. This anger could be refined and redirected, however. It could be reforged to broader, greater purposes. What was he thinking? Was he considering an apprentice? This is nonsense. Or was it? Maybe an apprentice could benefit him? There was really only one way to find out.

He made his way over to the self-sparring Sith and asked, withdrawing his lightsaber and hiding his Force presence, making him seem neutral, rather than either dark or light:

Hello there, would you like someone to spar with?

[.:Falcon:.]

Nirisi had just ended when a voice spoke behind her. She turned, and her eyes fell on a dark-haired, older man. She extended her Force sense, attempting to read him, but came up against...nothing? That was strange. Nirisi more closely scrutinize the man. "Sure." she answered his question. "If you're any good."

He was definitely older than she, for the ravages of time had worked their own mischief. Yet he was still stronger thaan she, physically at least. She was unable to sense his true nature in the Force- he seemed to be neutral, but Nirisi had rarely found a neutral. So he must be artificially generating that sense. Interesting.

Her eyes moved to his saber. Ordinary. Hmm. Her eyes flicked back to his face. A mystery man then- interesting. She backed up a few steps and gestured with the hilt of her saber. "Shall we begin then?"

[Casual]

Jack was surprised at the eagerness within the young Sith woman. This would prove interesting indeed. He also felt her prodding in the Force. Curious. He would keep his distance, however, as he wasn't one to become chummy with those who didn't interest him.

Though... this one did. Though, he'd just test her regardless. Though he didn't know what he was testing her for, but he felt inexplicably drawn to the tenacious looking lady. It wasn't attraction, as he tried to keep himself unhindered by these things, he'd had his fare share of lady company back in the merc days, and he knew to get tangled up with a Sith woman would just be bad for business, so to speak, though he hadn't given that aspect of life much thought...

So if it wasn't this, was it the Force guiding him? A swelling disgust rose in Jack, the thought of the nonsense and superstition that originated with the Jedi and their beleif in the Living Force. That the Force guided decisions and pushed people to act in the way it desired for them. No, it couldn't be that. Regardless, he had the urge to give her a chance, and when she invited him with her statement, he couldn't help but feel some kind of attachment to one of such readiness for battle:

Shall we begin, then?

Jack grabbed his lightsaber and withdrew it manually from its holster and ignited it, giving a slight thrust of his hand as he did so. He then brought it up in a Makashi salute, which burst instantly into a flourish and a charge. In that same moment he said.

Sounds good.

[.:Falcon:.]

Nirisi activated her own saber, both blades snapping into existence with a hiss. She spun them in a lazy loop, saluting him before bringing the blades into the vertical opening stance, her body controlled and tense, yet relaxed and at-ease, as if she were a feline in human form.

He charged her, and she easily deflected his blow, sidestepping his frontal charge. It wasn't the most effective tactic he could have used- brute force rarely was- and Nirisi spun on her heel to gain the maximum advantage. A flick of her wrist, and her saber blades darted out. One looped in on his left, then stopped inches from his skin to lend momentum to an attack on his right.

[Casual]

Ah, so she's skillful, that's good He was testing her. Maybe it would be good for him to show her his mastery in Makashi. He began to make effective and strategic movements around his opponent, and found himself still testing her.

So then, what name shall I call you by?

With that he leaped back and changed forms to Ataru, then resumed the battle, allowing the lady time to speak beforehand.

[.:Falcon:.]

He was good. The thrill of battle kicked in, and Nirisi fought easily, double blades spinning and flashing. He gained no ground with her, but she none with him- evenly matched. They backed off for a moment, and he asked after her name. "Nirisi." she answered, before he came back at her, switching forms in the process.

She found the switch a bit disconcerting, but she easily compensated. She found herself enjoying battle as she hadn't in quite awhile; this man knew what he was about. She found herself losing some ground, and pushed back, calling on the Force to lend wings to her feet and accuracy to her thrusts. She jumped up and over, landing behind him to gain time. "So what should I call you?" she asked, twirling her saber before her.

[Casual]

She was formidable. Perhaps... There should be more tests before he jumped into such an assumption. Or at least a really good one. That was when she said.

Nirisi

Hmm... Nirisi. A strong name. But names don't mean anything. It's their owners, and whether or not person owns the name, or the name owns the person. This still didn't matter... yet.

So what should I call you?

Ah, this was expected.

You may call me Jack.

He danced and weaved, and just barely dodged a slash from behind, leaping to the side. He decided to test her mettle with the Force. As he moved to the side, he thrust a wave from his body outward, making sure that its reach didn't affect anyone else in the training room, but would be a rough one for the Sith lady he fought now.

[.:Falcon:.]

Jack. Nirisi barely had time to process the name before he launched his next attack- this time using the Force. A shockwave of energy lashed at her, causing tumult in the eddies of the invisible Force. Just in time, she flung a hand up and dulled the impact of the wave, but it still forced her back several steps.

The force of the wave abated, passed, and was gone. Nirisi looked at her opponent calculatingly. He was good with the Force- not her area of expertise. But if she played her cards right, she might be able to turn this around. Summoning the Force to her, she focused on the ground beneath his feet andthe air about his legs. In that split second, she sent a contained push at his lower legs, hoping to throw him off balance.

Pressingany advantage she had gained, she jumped forward with the aid of the Force, and swung her left saber blade about at the level of her hip, in an attempt to take off his arm, leg, or even head, if he was so unlucky.

[Casual]

Xzun Grozmick watched as the young lady raised a quick hand to deflect the blow he'd sent her way. It was when he saw her slide and the rushing of the Force around her that he found she was not as adept with the Force as she was with a blade. Quite like himself. She would need some sharpening, as a two-sided blade is much more efficient than a single-sided one. If she balanced herself but a bit more, she could become quite formidable. This was, of course, a grand assumption, not to mention the fact that he still hadn't decided to make such a jump as to accept her as apprentice.

The thought still had an odd taste in his mind. He didn't have time to consider this, however, as she had just launched a counter-attack Force push at his feet. That's fine, he'd use it to his advantage. He feinted the hit, taking it and allowing himself to be tripped, but though the Force and in the typical form of Ataru, he bent his body that he rotated with the blow, spinning in the air. As he did so, he saw Nirisi rush towards him, blade barred. He reacted swiftly, blocking the attack, and pushing it off. With this propulsion, he hoped to knock her off-balance with his raw strength while simultaneously flipping backwards and landing back on his feet.

For good measure, he thrust his power in the Force at her, using the power known as Force Choke on her lightsaber hand, rather than her throat. In this same instance he asked:

So, Nirisi, any reason you fight for those of the Dark side?

[.:Falcon:.]

Her trick didn't work quite as planned. In fact, he seemed to use it to his advantage, using it to roll and gain momentum. He pushed her blade away, but she easily kept her balance. He jumped backwards, and then she felt a constriction on her hand. Sithspit, he was using another Force trick. She pushed back with the Force, probing his mind for a weakness sh could exploit to distract him, as she gave half an ear to his question.

"Power." she answered simply. "Power is the most important thing. And the Jedi couldn't give it to me." she glanced at him. He was an enigma. First his neutrality in the Force, and his apparent study of her. She wondered from whence his interest stemmed. But there was little time to think about that now. The constriction on her hand steadily bore down, and herhand had begun to tingle as the blood flow ceased.

She glanced at him, calculating. Then, she threw her free hand up and repeated his wave maneuver, restricting it, as he had, to a small area surrounding him. She hoped to distract him long enough to free her hand from his invisible grasp and attack properly.

[Casual]

"Power."

Came the reply.

"Power is the most important thing. And the Jedi couldn't give it to me."

Well, then. A true Sith. Power was indeed an appealing item. It wasn't everything though. She did say it was the most important thing, which, he himself could not disagree with. The application of power came second to the acquisition of it. After all, what good was knowing how to use power and where to apply it if you did not even possess any? This girl was on to something, but there certainly was more. Again, thoughts of teaching this one rose in his mind. He then subdued them. He decided she would have to truly impress him now, otherwise these plans held no ground.

It was then that he realized that the girl was attempting to probe his mind. With a heavy mental smash, like a durasteel wall being thrust forward with the backing of a Rancor. Surely that should suppress any further attempts to gain access to his mind. He decided though, that if she wished to know more, he would show her. Like a beast long chained, starving and thirsting, he unleashed the binds on his anger and emotion, allowing them to surface. The room became stagnant with his anger and the darkness. His neutrality in the Force seemed a far-off dream.

As he did so, however, Nirisi hurled a wave of Force similar to his own, making certain to keep it suppressed. He pushed back against it with his own thrust of the Force, seeing what Nirisi was up to. He released her hand regardless, knowing that to be her aim, and this fight would not pick up if he continued to fight in such a manner. Not to mention the amount of strain it would have taken to divide his attention on the hand and the Force wave. They now stood opposed to each other but a small distance away.

Power...

He trailed off, considering what he could say that would convince her that she may be right, but only had half the answer.

Tell me. You desire a planet. You wish to rule it. How will power grant you this planet?

He still waited to be impressed, he wanted her to truly do so, as he signature in the Force was ever intriguing to him. He hoped he would soon discover why.

[.:Falcon:.]

His response to her Force maneuvers was quick. Abruptly, his mind was closed, but his emotions were loose- roiling clouds of anger, hate, aggression...all the range of emotions one expected to sense in a Sith. So he wasn't neutral. Of course not. The grip on her hand eased, but his stance was relaxed, indicating he was not ready to return to their conflict just yet.

His question took her by surprise. What was he doing? She could still sense none of his thoughts from behind the solid shields he had erected about his mind, but she could sense an undercurrent of inquisitive searching under the anger that almost visibly coated the air. Nirisi transferred her saber to her left hand and flexed her right as she considered the question. There was quite possibly a trick here somewhere, a hidden trap he would use to gain entrance to her mind, or enslave her to his will. Or perhaps Nirisi had just been spending too much time around sadistic Sith and Dark Jedi- power hungry sadistic Sith and Dark Jedi, who would stop at nothing to gain power over others.

But he was still waiting for an answer. Keeping her mind carefully aloof, she answered. "There are several avenues I could take. I could exert control over key members of the government, whether through mind control or blackmail. Assassination would serve the same purpose. I could work my way through the planetary government, using my mind and the Force to increase my charisma and make me more appealing, hence exerting control." she could still sense his expectant attitude. She wanted to impress this cool-eyed man, for some unknown reason. "I could of course also rule through fear. A series of strikes would bring enough of the population under my control through that interesting emotion. Or," a slight smile touched her lips, " one could always set herself up as a Messiah. I have observed that religion is one of the easiest ways to exert control over a group of people."

Nirisi jumped forwardbas she ended, darting out with her saber. Returning to her double hold, she spun in, twirling her saber blades at his head before ending facing him and darting her bottom blade downwards, to spear into his chest.

[Casual]

Clever girl. As she ended, she launched herself at him. Her lightsaber dashing and dancing around him, he responding with Makashi blocks. He wasn't used to taking it slow, easy or defensive, all of the forms he knew were focused on bringing out his anger and using it to overpower his opponent. It didn't matter though, this would be good practice in teaching him more than one area of combat.

Interesting. You say power is most important, yet you conceive clever routes that allow you to use your power. And what's more interesting -

He stopped for a moment to deflect a particularly nasty attack he hadn't prepared himself properly to defend.

Is that each of those options each require various amounts of power and different kinds. What you've done here is contradict yourself don't you think?

He threw both his hands towards her, smashing a ring of telekinetic energy at her, his arms one above the other, chest height.

Or am I in some way mistaken?

[.:Falcon:.]

His question was disconcerting. Her forehead wrinkled, and she was distracted enough that she failed to sense the Force attack he had mounted until it was too late. She staggered back as it hit her, but reovered quickly. She pushed back, leaning her whole body into the effort. She pushed at his chest in a highly focused point, in an attack that might possibly kill if used correctly.

She let go with a slight outrush of breath after a moment. "I don't understand." she said plainly. Nuances of philosophy escaped her; she saw no need to consider the deep ramifications of ideas and use of the Force. Why should she, when what she wanted didn't need the added complexity of a philosophical analysis?

She followed up her question, as if making up for her confusion, with the solid reality of an attack- blades spinning through the air with the sharp hiss of displaced air following behind, and then a flick of her wrist to direct the attack.

[Casual]

His question was answered with a very lethal thrust of Force energy as the Lady Sith, Nirisi leaped back. He barely managed to avoid the pointed Force as it hurled past where his chest once was. Crafty. He would have to be much more alert and on his toes with this one. She was a surprising powerhouse. She then replied verbally.

"I don't understand."

He could tell she surely didn't. In his hours of meditation and through habit formed at the Jedi Temple, Jack often thought of such things, and what the purpose of this tasty power was. He could now impose these questions on another, much like teacher to student. No. I have not yet made that decision, and besides, I just gave her her opportunity to impress me, and instead she took a step backwards.

As he thought this, Nirisi leaped at him, blades barred, ready to rumble. Jack responded in turn with Makashi, using its prowess to defend as best he could. It was all he could do to battle her back and continue his questioning.

So, you do not understand. That is fine, it was quite a question for one to swallow.

He batted an attack aside, leaped back, took a breath, and charged back at her.

What I mean is, there is more to power than the Force or muscle, armies or control, death or survival. There is the use of that power. How we direct it, not so much control it, but direct it, that makes it worthwhile to us, what makes it so desirable.

He hurled a Force push at her, then straining in focus reached out to a bottled water resting on one of the tables of the sparring room and pulled it to his free hand. Keeping in time with the battle and pulling it over to him was quite taxing on his focus, so he stepped it up by switching to Juyo.

You see? I have used my power to satisfy a need. I could also have used my power to walk over to it and grab it. It is all in the use of the power. Tell me. To what end would you use your power?

He took a drink, as quickly as he could, given the circumstances and the fact that he had to move his head in order to maintain the battle, and threw the emptied bottle to the ground. Surely she could answer this question in a more suitable manner than she had before.

[.:Falcon:.]

Ah so that was it. Nirisi neatly blocked a counterstrike, launched one of her own, then pushedthe offensive. She hated philosophy and these pedantic questions. She would much rather have just fought, letting herself fall into an easy pattern- she, the Force, her blades, all as one, her mind floating free to observe, connect, memorize, respond to the infinite number of possibilities.

But he seemed dead-set on continuing the line of questioning. Taking advantage of a brief lull, she answered his query. "The answer depends on the circumstances. What is required of me, and in what way would my power serve me best?" a few bats of her lightsaber blades, another lull.

"The uses I would put my power to would change with my circumstances, as with your water. If I were thirsty, I would use it to gain water. Ifhungry, to attain food. If at a loss for battle tactics, as a weapon or to gain inspiration." this answer wasnt the best, she felt, but she was growing bored with the conversation. She couldn't pin him down in the spar match, and he was excessively interested in philosophy.

[Casual]

Jack kept up his attack, but found her being drawn in more and more to the conversation, though it seemed she hated every bit of it. He could tell from her emotions and the way she responded that she wasn't interested in a discussion, but a battle. That, too, was good. Now all she needed was a reason to fight, rather than to fight for the sake of fighting. He listened as she explained that she would use power to satisfy a need or want, that power was important because it served her, and that it was what was necessary to meet the circumstances. They both knew it wasn't the best answer, but he found that they were really getting somewhere now. He decided that it was an answer he could accept.

I see. Well then, I would have to agree with you. Power is indeed dependent on the circumstances.

He then hurled a force push at Nirisi's lightsaber hand, to see if he could catch her off-balance, but even if he did, chose not to follow the action up.

And that is when we run into the opposition. When getting a drink of water, the opponent is distance. When it is a lightsaber match - he gestured to himself - it is the one on the other side. When it is the Dark side, it is the Light side who you oppose. Without strong philosophical standing, something to fight for, something to stand for, then falling becomes that much more difficult. A blade without a target is a useless thing, it has nothing to pierce and will instead simply deteriorate.

He leaped back, taking great care to give the impression that what he had to tell her was important.

Tell me, then, what is it you seek to skewer with your blade?

[.:Falcon:.]

Ah, so he agreed with her. Nirisi couldn't help feeling a bit smug. So this silly philosopher had finally decided she had something worth saying, after all. She felt a push on her hand, and with some difficulty kept her hand in place, continuing the swing she had begun as the force of his blow relented. He didn't follow up on the attack, which indicated he wasn't trying very hard in their match anymore. A slight twist of her mouth showed her displeasure with this turn of events, and she prepared to redouble her attack when he started talking again.

Only half her mind paid attention to what he was saying, though what little actually permeated the many layers to her brain made some degree of sense. Just enough for her not to actually try to end this quickly and get away from him before he bored her to death. With a cock of her head, she swung her saber around, but he- jumped backwards?

Stifling a sigh of impatience, she stared at him, her yellow eyes boring into his with an intensity born of exasperation. Then came the inevitable question, and she found herself blinking at him. With a bit of floundering within, she processed the question, and then carefully began to think through an answer.

Finally, a slight smirk curled her lip. "I wish to kill anything that stands in my way." she answered. "Anything that dares to keep me from power and everything it brings."

Shallow. Something inside her squeaked, Something that hadn't dared speak for quite awhile. The Something that always awoke when someone tried to prod the more philosophical parts of her being. The Something that still had too much of the Jedi for her comfort. She deliberately turned inwards and stuffed the Something back into its box. She'd deal with it later, when she wasn't distracted by this maddeningly obscure man.

[Casual]

He felt it. She tried to hide it, but he felt it. Jack felt the sensation of the Sith Lady's thoughts moving toward a place they did not want to be, and with them, a hint of a past that she desired to be forgotten. And as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. This promised to be very interesting.

So... You seek the ability to control and gain more control without losing any and to kill that which hinders you from this? Perhaps having a firm foundation of knowing why you do this will help you to maintain your resolve when it comes into question. I believe that I can help you with this, and many more things. This, however, is up to you.