It was an overcast day with the clouds gathering above the towering rock edifice of the Arconan Citadel, the wind loud beyond its walls. Kordath Bleu had sat himself propped against the oval fountain near the center of the grass with a cigarette in one hand and bottle in the other, staring up at the gray and black clouds. He’d always appreciated the quiet of this place, though he’d suffered his share of bruises from training bouts here, an excuse to beat on a Ryn he had always figured. Even with the chill that the weather was bringing on, he was determined to enjoy the small amount of peace and solitude he’d found in the middle of a day of reports and responsibilities.
So it was with some trepidation that he refused to look up at the sound of boots scuffing stone. He’d sensed her closing in and had caught a glance of her out of the corner of his eye as she’d stepped up onto the rim of the fountain. Now the Iridonian was pacing the narrow surface in relative silence, only the sound of her dragging her feet across the smooth surface. If her entire purpose behind it was to break his calm and annoy him, it was working. After several minutes of silence, the Ryn’s face twitched around his left eye and he stubbed his cigarette out on the ground.
His head fell back against the fountain so he could look up as the path around the rim brought her closer once more.
“Oi, do ya really gotta do that when I’m tryin’ ta have a smoke? What’d I do, Nath?”
“So it’s Nath now,” she murmured, dragging her combat boot across the stone surface above his head which caused him to grimace. “You never used to call me by name, Kordath.”
“Guess I grew up,” came a mutter as he considered the bottle in his hand. “Fine then. Can I help ya, Master? Are ya lookin’ fer me or just bored and lonely?”
While he tried to hide any worry he had when she hopped down from the fountain and squatted before him in her long coat, black eyes fixed on him, he wasn’t sure if there was a point. This woman had trained him, honed his ability to feel and see with the Force. They shared a bond, though not as deep as some pairings of master and student likely did, he’d never impressed her on the martial side of things which he felt she valued more.
“Do I seem bored?”
“Well ya do nae have yer knives out or hidin’ out in tha dungeon cuttin’ on somebody. So I’m guessin’ it’s a slow day, heh.”
She rose to her full, slender height, the crimson lines framing her features giving her the impression of a cocked eyebrow, though no curve tugged at her lips to suggest she was amused.
“Perhaps I am bored, or maybe I came to see my first student. It has been sometime since the incident with the Nighthawk.” Her tone was neutral though her voice tight, and the Ryn could just sense on the surface a tension as she brought it up.
“Yeah, well,” he fell back on sarcasm without a thought, “when you ‘betray the Clan unwillingly’ ya do nae stick around the lot you run with in Galeres. Been kickin’ about Port Ol’val where I’m less likely ta catch a knife in me side from a so-called friend.”
Realization of his words set in a moment later as he saw her go rigid, body stiffening up.
“I did...I do nae mean you, Master. Heard what ya did after I gave meself up to get tha ship out of it and ya know it wasn’t me choice ta turn,” he followed up with in a rush, wincing internally.
She didn’t respond vocally, simply gesturing for him to stand. Slowly he rose from his sitting position, working the kinks out of his legs and sighing. A warning from the Force rang through his mind but he chose to allow it to pass over him, he’d ran his mouth without thought to a woman who’d done more to keep him alive than most. If not for her, he’d not have made it through his first six months alive with these dark robed lunatics. So when the kick planted itself just below his neck, bruising his collar bones and sending him tumbling back over the edge of the fountain into the water, he blamed only himself.
With a sputter he surfaced, feeling his nerf hide coat heavy and sodden when he tried to stand. He shrugged out of the garment and tossed it out onto the ground, planting both hands on the lip of the fountain and giving his Master a lopsided grin.
“I deserved that.”
“It’s obvious that I cannot be in a position to protect you, or keep you from getting yourself in trouble, Bleu. So let's see if you’ve grown any more capable.” A hand wave, beckoning him closer accompanied her words and he saw no easy way out of this. Her love of sparring was a known thing to him, he just hoped he didn’t raise her ire any further, she was a vicious fighter when it came down to it.
Vaulting himself out of the fountain, water spilling from his pants and shirt, boots heavy and full, he cracked his neck and took a deep breath. Left foot swinging back, he lowered himself, raising both hands before him with palms open. Being soaked and water logged was going to take an edge off his natural speed but he was just going to have to deal with it. That or strip down to his skivvies, which he wasn’t sure she’d appreciate.
She slid in fast, her stance going from solid to fluid in a single movement before she pressed his defense with a few quick jabs and a kick. These were easily knocked aside though he was sure they were meant to be, she was testing his speed and form. Mentally he kicked himself for not studying his combat forms more often, something he chastised himself for every time he had to defend himself. The next set of attacks came quickly and he side stepped the majority of them instead of blocking, trying not to give away too much of his ability so early on. Once she got the measure of him she’d become decisive, he knew, and that's when things would start to hurt. They circled until his back was to the fountain once more and a wicked thought crossed the Ryn’s mind. He’d long thought Nath needed to lighten up, even when she was teaching him he’d did what he could to encourage her to have some fun. Part of that was to calm her down, he figured, though he later realized other reasons may have been his own natural attraction to women who could beat him to a bleeding pulp on the ground. Someday he’d see a psychologist about that little issue.
He drew on the Force, letting it strengthen his muscles while he waited for her next assault. The only indication she’d noticed was a narrowing of her bloodshot eyes as the Ryn stood a little surer of himself. Regardless he was staying on the defensive, his tail flicking back and forth behind him in amusement as he taunted her with simply inaction. Bleu almost questioned his tactics when he saw her lips curl back to show her teeth moments before she moved to strike with a kick towards his leading knee.
With little show of effort he pulled back, annoyed with the slowness of the movement even with his body fueled by the Force. The water in his boots was slowing him down still. The next kick came in high at his head and was ducked before she used the momentum to pivot around and swing at his body with one pale fist. Finally, the Ryn let loose a smirk as he turned his own body and wrapped an arm around her elbow, sliding it up to her shoulder as her inertia brought her closer. He saw the look of surprise and realization in her eyes moments before he turned his hip into her and used it as a fulcrum to toss her over it. Except instead of hitting the ground she found herself over the edge of the fountain.
Kordath backed away from the splashing water as he considered how much worse she was going to beat him now, but ignored the consequences for the moment. He watched his Master stand, water cascading off her coat and making her clothes cling to her light frame, giving her a little whistle through his fluted nose as a sign of appreciation. She turned to glare at him, a break in the clouds causing her scarlet horns to glisten in the sunlight and making her look all the more ominous.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re gonna beat the frak out of me for that,” he said with a nod at the drenched woman, her hair clinging to her head. “But it felt really bloody good.”
