In Arms (Baracc Olra'en)

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Between Apprentices, Master, side endeavours and the odd duel, Je'gan had been working at a breakneck pace for a very long time. The calendar in the main room of his quarters contained mention of a vacation, upcoming within the month. Now, however, he had a few spare hours and nothing to do with them, prompting him to remember that his brother had been a member of the Sith Order for quite some time, and was beginning to complain of his lack of instruction.

The message he'd left for Baracc was perhaps the first such since the chastisement of Micheal Wondo; he hadn't payed much attention to the younger Olra'en sibling. Baracc had always wanted to spend time to himself, after all - or at least that was the excuse that Je'gan had used ever since the vote to allow Baracc to enter the Palace.

At this particular moment, Je'gan was sitting under a tree, letting the wind rustle the folds of the dark green cloak around his shoulders, and the hems of his black tunic and breeches. He was armed with his two lightsabers, Azubah and Magor, as well as an assortment of less deadly weapons. His black eyes were closed, and he was meditating. Baracc would be here within minutes. Even now, the lesser Darksider's aura was drawing near...

OOC: For purposes of teaching my little sister how to write, I'm giving her the Baracc account.

[Baracc Olra'en]

I walked towards Jeeg, lost in my own little world. I had always wondered why he was so conservative and quiet. I mean, we are twins technically, but I could never figure him out. Maby now was the time to have a little heart-to-heart. How difficult could it be?
Jeeg wasn't exactly the kind of person to open up a whole lot. In fact I had never heard him do anything of the sort.

"So, how is it going?" I asked, as I sat beside him. Unfortunatly I have a tendancy to sit without looking, and ended up on a particularly large, and extremly hard root sticking up fom the leaf-covored ground.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

His eyes popped open ias he stifled a smirk at Baracc's encounter with the root. As he rose to his feet and faced his brother, however, his face was anything but amused. Grave, cold, and a little bit frightening for anyone who didn't know him, it was his habitual expression.

"I'm here to give you your first official training session, Baracc, not to bandy pleasantries. If you must know, I'm doing quite well." More by habit than anything, he omitted asking Baracc how he was doing. Instead, he pointed at a small rock, about the size of a fist, half-buried in the dirt.

"Show me what you can do with that."

[Baracc Olra'en]

"Ok, I guess no talk then,"I muttered softly under my breath as I stood up from my uncomfortable position.
Focusing my thoughts, I concentrated on the rock, releasing anger until it started to shift, then broke free from the earth. It hovered about three feet from the ground, coming to about knee level, before settling back into the cavity it had left behind.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The sound of slow clapping broke the silence, lasting a handful of seconds only.

"For a self-trained amateur, very well done indeed. I've met people who've tried their entire lives to get where you are now, and these were people with genuine potential in the Force. You've done well.

"But then, I knew you would. Telekinesis always came far stronger to you than it came to me." A tinge of envy crept into his voice - whether Baracc knew it or not, Je'gan was very much a weakling when it came to levitation. He moved over to another rock, this considerably larger, the size of a human rib cage and shaped much the same. Scars and clods of earth decorated it; it had been used in many, many training sessions, and was entirely free of the soil's confines.

"And to do so without your wand...overcome your dependence on that, have you?"

[Baracc Olra'en]

"I've never had a dependency on anything," I replied tartly.
"Especially not on you," I added silently.
I loathed that sarcastic clapping and praise that I knew Jeeg all to well to have.
"I'll try again," I stated.
Concentrating and chanelling my anger was no problem now.
The rock shot streight into the air, high above our heads. It barely missed hitting my chin on its ascent, and at the speed it was going, I was luckey not to have given myself a concussion.
The projectile thudded back onto the ground right where it had started.
"Better? I challenged. I wonder what he will say now.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Quite," Je'gan said, indicating the larger rock he stood beside. He knew, of course, the tenor and often the actual wording of Baracc's thoughts - a mind so similar to his own was stupidly simple to read - and chose between alternatives. He could either beat this resentment out of Baracc, however deservedly the younger Sith sorcerer harboured it, or restrain his irritation.

"Please lift this one."

[Baracc Olra'en]

Without even acknowledging that my brother dearest had spoken, I chaneled every ounce of anger I had in me towards that rock. It was larger then anythig I had tried before, but I succeeded in hovering it about eye level before it dropped. I glanced at Jeeg, expecting sarcasm.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Your telekinesis doesn't seem to need much work...and of course we know just how good you are with Force-pushes. So let's move on.

"Have you been practicing with the lightsaber I gave you with which to test Kes'La Bardo?" Bardo was dead, now, but during her lifetime he'd had Baracc and Rivin impersonate Jedi and confront her - a test that she'd come close to passing. It was a pity that she'd died on the blade of a real Jedi not long afterwards. In many ways, she'd been a superior Apprentice.

And, he supposed in hindsight, a good friend.

[Baracc Olra'en]

"I've not had much response when it comes to lightsabers, I'm decient with one."
I think.

"lightsabers arn't really my thing. I perfer weapons that are lightweight and easy to carry," I said in defiance. I always felt like he expected me to be Ghandi, or something.

I had practiced with one, and I felt that I was getting better, though not quite up to Jedi master level.

There was one move I had worked on especially hard.
Spinning the lightsaber over my head, I did a sort of half backflip, and chopped a branch from the tree with one final swipe. Unfortunatly, it landed on my head, giving me the glorious chance to see stars.
Shaking my head, I streightened myself, trying to regain my composure after that horribly embarrassing mistake.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"What," the Sith Knight said icily, "would ever possess you to attempt something as flashy and useless as that? Waste of a lightsaber, you are. Might as well teach you flat sorcery and nothing else for all you get out of it..."

He realized he was mumbling and shut his mouth abruptly. The knuckles of his right hand creaked as he formed a fist.

"The lightsaber is deeply symbolic, Baracc, in many ways. It's also the second most dangerous melee weapon ever to exist."

He cocked his eyebrow, daring his younger brother to think of the right response.

"What is the first?"

[Baracc Olra'en]

Having no clue what it was, I started thinking. What was more dangerous than a light saber at close combat?

Then it hit me. It was the Force.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Correct," he growled, regardless that Baracc's thoughts hadn't been expressed as words.

"Now, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to attack me."

OOC/ Be detailed!

[Baracc Olra'en]

Without a word, I ignited my lightsaber for the second time. I resented using it, due only to the fact that my brother glorifies them. I half expect him to set up a shrine in his sweet dedicated to lightsabers.
I snorted at the thought of this.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"If I like them," he said, a little put out, "it's because they've saved my life. Repeatedly.

"Go on," he said after a moment. "A Sith doesn't sit there waiting to be attacked."

[Baracc Olra'en]

I took a swing at Jeeg, then brought the lightsaber up and to the other side, knowing he would block it and tell me i could do better. I just didn't really like using it as much as my wand. I found it to be less cumbersome then the lightsaber and I could react faster.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Still reading Baracc's thoughts - knowing, in point of fact, each motion before it was made - Je'gan reacted with a pair of low vertical blocks, one to each side. He refrained fraom striking: at this distance, to kill his brother would take an eyeblink, no more.

"You'd like a totally weightless weapon, now wouldn't you?"

His voice tended towards mocking, but as he reached beneath his cloak, it became clear that he was in a serious frame of mind. A pair of weights on straps came out; drawing back, he tossed them to Baracc.

"Put them on your wrists, please."

[Baracc Olra'en]

OOC/ My sister has lost interest, so I'll be finishing this thread off...

IC/ I caught the weights with telekinesis - tricky, but doable. They weren't that heavy, maybe five pounds apiece. To put them on, I was forced to put away my lightsaber, which came out again as soon as possible. I settled my stance a bit and took a firm, two-handed grip on the weapon.

"Fine, I'll play your game."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

For the next two and a half hours, Je'gan taught his brother the basics, going over the blocks and footwork the most. His frustration had essentially passed with the decision of how to teach Baracc: give him the means to defend himself with the ancient weapon while battering away at his opponents with the Force. That seemed to suit the younger Olra'en perfectly.

The frustration began to return, though, as Je'gan pointed out the same mistakes time after time, with no sign of correction. At last he called a halt and left Baracc to his own devices.