Along the Way (Kathrine)

[Southstar]

Southstar stood at the main gate, waiting patiently for his apprentice to arrive. He glaced out the window and saw the rains pouring down hard. Lightning lit the area up and a clap of thunder shook the palace. Training was going to be interesting today.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine stood under one of the overhangs sheltering her. She had been crossing beneath them to keep from getting wet, but it seemed this was the last one. Why he had to choose this weather to train in, I'll never understand.

She took a breath before breaking out in a flat sprint across the grounds towards the palace's main gate. She got there and dashed inside, shaking her hair. She fixed her eyes furiously on Southstar. "I'm here."

[Southstar]

"No need to dry off." Southstar said as he pushed his way out the door and into the rain. Leaning against the stone wall were two backpacks. Southstar approached them and grabbed one by the top handle. "We're going to go for a run with these." He handed it to her. "It's about seventy pounds."

"Now you see that small mountain?" He said and pointed behind the palace, away from the city. It was small for a mountain, but definitely big. It was covered with trees all the way up and towards the top it peaked in stone. "That is our destination. Judging that everything goes smoothly, we should get there within three days."

He waited a moment for her to realize how big the mountain was and continued on. "Now, you've felt the Force an can use it for telekinesis, body amplification and regulation is along the same lines. You need to open your body to the Force and allow it to work your body, as opposed to your nervous system."

"It will feel strange at first, naturally your mind will want to push the Force out, but don't let it. At the pace we'll be going you won't make it through the day without it. And I will leave you behind... Questions?"

[Kathrine]

She hefted the bag on her shoulders. It was heavy, but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. "Yeah, yeah...why don't you just try to keep up?"

She started walking towards the mountain. She was determined to show that she was superior to him and the rest of the people here. She would get to the top of that mountain before he did.

[Southstar]

"Yeah, good luck getting ahead of me." Southstar took amoment to energize his body with the Force. He slid the backpack on and took off in a dead sprint through the rain. Easily he passed his apprentice up.

You should learn to take some time to listen and do as I say. He sent telepathically as he passed by.

The base of the mountain was nearly a half hour away, for him at least. In the distance, with Force enhanced vision, he could barely make out Kathrine's figure running with the backpack. He leaned against a giant boulder to catch his breath as he waited for her to catch up.

[Kathrine]

Soon the girl came up next to him, huffing and puffing. "What...what are you stopping for? We aren't done...yet..."

She took in a gulp of air, trying to steady her breathing with the Force. She caught on enough to enhance her sprints, but endurance was definitely a no go for her. At this pace it would take her longer than three days to get there, but she was detemined not to let him see her fail. Even if it meant crawling to the top, which at the moment sounded easier than done for her.

[Southstar]

"Hmm?" He said as he turned his head toward his apprentice who slowly passed by him. He stretched his legs as he prepared to continue running. The mountain started to slope up here and it seemed there was only winding little trails that would take them to the top. He jogged ahead of her, but not by far and lead the way.

The trail he chose became increasingly steep as the progressed. Southstar soon found himself slowing down to try and take slow, sturdier steps in the mud. He dropped to one knee as one foot slipped from beneath him. Grabbing a small tree along the trail, he pulled himself ahead.

[Kathrine]

His apprentice however, it seemed was not as lucky as grabbing something to hold on to. No sooner had she seen him trip and a response was forming on her lips did she trip and land face first in the mud where she slid down a few meters before finally catching something to keep her from falling. She pulled herself up to her knees and wiped the mud from her face. She could see that Southstar had already continued going, so she stood and followed in his lead, trying to open herself up to the Force for strength, but she couldn't hold onto the effects for very long. It was there and then gone, but she was doing well enough to keep up. For now anyways.

[Southstar]

Hours had passed by and the weather showed no signs of clearing up. He stopped and leaned against a tree, sliding his backpack on the ground. Wiping a mix of sweat and rain from his eyes he looked back to find his apprentice, who wasn't as far behind as he expected.

"You can take that off for a moment." He said as she drew near. He sat on his backpack. "I think we're running on time. Once it gets dark we'll stop and sleep as we won't be able to see." She wasn't responding, he assumed she was out of breath. "You want some advice?" He asked in referance to using the Force to regulate her body.

[Kathrine]

When she was closer she shrugged her shoulders and the backpack fell off her slender body easily before she fell forward onto her hands and knees. She was spent. There was no possible way for her to muster enough energy to move another muscle, and as much as she wanted to give a smart remark about him offering her advice, she found it wiser to shut up and listen and save her energy.

"Sure...go for it," she said in a raspy voice

[Southstar]

"I think you may be trying to hard. You kind of need to just go with it. Find a rhythm for your body in the Force." He wiped his wet hair back. "I mean, you're lucky I stopped. For endurance tasks like this it becomes almost like sleeping. time passes by so quickly."

He glanced at his chronometer for a second. Unless she ate breakfast, she was likely to be hungry. "Third pocket down on the left side is somethign to eat, if you think its a good idea." He planned on picking up the pace a little and if she ate, she might get sick on the hike. He wasn't going to tell ehr that, it was up to her to make the call.

[Kathrine]

She shook her head. Even though she didn't like to listen and learn, being the child of renowned surgeons, one learned a few things. She had eaten before this little adventure started and already felt like throwing up. Eating now would only make things worse. "No...no food..."

She stood up and slicked her long blonde hair back. She took a small band out of her pocket and used it to tie her hair in a ponytail. As she did so, she stretched out with the Force, using it as she had sprinting, but this time tried to let it run its course through her body. Doing as Southstar suggested and letting it flow with her body's natural rythem. Soon she felt refreshed and ready to go, but it was then that the Force left her body, leaving her only with her natural strengths once more.

What's the deal here? I try what he says and I can't do it. I try it my may and you leave? What gives?! She screamed mentally. In that instance she felt the Force flare to life inside of her, but when she calmed her mind to feel it, she lost it again. Fine I will do it on my own!

[Southstar]

He felt a rush of the Force into his apprentice followed by a quick leave. She was having trouble touching the Force? He wouldn't have guessed if he didn't look for a problem somewhere. She needed to get angry.

"Alright, let's go."

He began again in a small trot which lead up into a full jog up the mountain. about an hour passed and the whole time he thought about his apprentice's problem with the Force. With the telekinetic Force he sent a log running down the hill behind him. She may guess it was him, maybe not, it didn't matter. The wind picked up, through the Force, and leaves and rain poured her way. Southstar wet the trail behind him by directing the rain to create a muddy and slippery mess. She was going to get very frustrated soon and it was only for her good.

Southstar stopped to take a look back at what laid before his Kathrine. He might have overdone it, the section of the trail had steepened from the erosion; it didn;t look climbable. She'd have to find a way around. Oh well. He thought and continued without her.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine followed at a distance behind Southstar, and that distance was quickly enlarging, but she refused to give up. She would prove that she was better than the rest. The young girl looked back up and the color from her face drained at the sight of a log coming down towards her. She threw her hands up and tried to use the Force to stop the log, but it only slowed. No! I am not letting a piece of wood out do me! I said STOP!

The fallen trunk touched her hand and began pushing back on her arm and she closed her eyes waiting for it to crush her, but nothing. She chanced a peak and to her surprise, the log was still. It was sitting there on her hand. Kathrine was shocked. She gave an experimental shove through the Force upwards and the log moved backwards, but otherwise stayed in the air. Then she reached out and to her surprise the Force was there and steady. It wasn't leaving her.

She gave a small smirk and brought her hand around her and with it sent the log off to the side in the woods. This will definitely make things easier, she thought as she started forward once again, but stopping once more shortly. Her trail was ruined. There was little chance of her making up there this way, she had to choose a different path. Well...I'll just go the way Southstar went, she thought as she looked around for him. Not seeing him, she looked up and a small growl came up through her throat. He was still up there continuing on the original trail and if her was still on the path, it only meant that he was the one that had made this mess.

"Fine...you wanna play that way, I'm game. If you go this way I go that way," she said reaching out through the Force and began tossing leaves out of her way and turning the flow of the running water so as to let her hands and feet get a better grip. Now, she reflected, [/i]only thing is the steepness...hmm...well if I can use the Force for running, then I sure as hell can use it for jumping.[/i] She hefted her backpack on her shoulders and took a few steps back. She ran forward and sent the Force through her body and to her legs. As she neared, she bent at her knees and launched herself in the air.

This is easy enough, she thought as her feet touched a place on the ground and she leapt again. Three jumps and she had passed the obstacle. Nothing to that, she thought as she began walking forward, but as she took a step the ground cracked under her feet and dropped down. Kathrine fell on her face and started reaching for something to hold on to. Her failing hands grabbed a root and steadied her. She began to try and pull herself up, but the backpack was weighing her down and she couldn't.

She pulled one arm away from the root to slip it from the rungs that held the pack to her and then quickly did the same for the other arm. The pack began to fall to the ground, but stopped just short. Kathrine was using the Force to move the pack from under her to behind the root that was in front of her. Free of the extra weight, she used the Force in her body to give her the strength to pull herself up. Soon she was leaning against her pack trying to catch her breath. She knew she should keep going, but she body ached and she had a dozen tiny cuts and bruises that she was letting the rainwater wash out. After resting for ten minutes she stood and with a sigh, she hefted her pack onto her back once more and started back up the trail. Even if she didn't get to the top first, she would not let Southstar have the priveldge of breaking her.

[Southstar]

The rain had finally slowed and what little sun there was to be seen was fading fast on the horizon. He wouldn't be able to press on in the dark, even witht he Force, it was something he wanted to deal with. He withdrew his lightsaber and ignited it. Clearing the surrounding trees and tall shrubs, he made a spot to rest for the night.

He began to sort through the backpack in search of a tent and after only a second he realized he left it with Kathrine. He swore and pushed the pack onto the ground. After a few moments of contemplation of what to do next, he decided a fire was neccessary; but the rain.

He piledup some of the fallen timber and with the Force he set the pile ablaze. With minor concentration the fire would remain lit. He sat on a stump and thought about something to eat, but he didn't bring anything. One of the points of this little excursion was to allow your body to weaken and near depend on the Force. Allow it to work its way through the body and mind uninterrupted by the person.

---

A few hours had passed by and finally Southstar had felt Kathrine in the vicinity of the little camp. He broke from the little meditation he had and spoke outloud without looking. "I'm glad you could make it."

No reply. She seemed frustrated and angry to him. Good.

"There is a tent in your pack. Set it up if you like. We resume upon daybreak." He paused for a moment and took a deep breath of wet air in. "I think I'm going to stay here for the night." Before he closed his eyes he let the fire die down into smoke and ashes. All comforts on this journey were going to be earned by those who benefit. Like an immense wave of water, the Force came over him and sent him into a deep Force sleep.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine walked on the other side of the fire and narrowed her eyes at Southstar as he fell asleep. She didn't need the Force to help her sleep, as tired as she was she would fall asleep on her own pretty soon. Infact as soon as she had set the tent up, not the best job considering the weather, she had fallen asleep before er head had hit the ground.

[Southstar]

Almost in his sleep, Southstar's head turned and faced the sun. His eyes opened and it was time to move on. His hair was semidry as it seemed the rain had stopped during the night. He stood up and stretched his arms while looking at the tent haphazardly erected in the night.

With the Force he let off a siren of sorts in her mind to wake her up. "Come on, let's go!" He shouted. Daylight was only going to give them a limited time.

[Kathrine]

She jumped off the ground and out of the tent. Her hair was wild as she looked around dazed and confused. "What's going on?"

When she heard Southstar tell her they were going a grim look covered her face. He was the one that had woken her up. She went back in her tent and quickly got dressed. She came back out and dropped the pop up tent and placed it in her bag. "You know a simple 'wake up' would have down just as well. And what about breakfast? Aren't we going to eat first?"

[Southstar]

"No food today." He said as he looked impatiently at the rising sun. Should have left her to catch up. He thought. "We don't have time."

He slung the backpack over his shoulder and began to begin running. His legs ached for a moment, but soon faded as the Force erased the pain. Kathrine was keeping up and he had to say (to himself) was impressed.

"To divert the immediate pain, allow the Force to borrow it." He said between breaths. "But like all things borrowed, it will be returned." As he picked up the pace, he didn;t want to speak anymore. He sent her a mental idea of what the Force would do.

The Force could take the pain away, both physical and mental. But it would always return. Jedi did it too, but the way they handled it was different. They would allow it to come back and deal with it peacefully; meditiation usually. Sith, on the other hand, they used it for all it was worth. In combat, meditiation, anything. Pain and anger was the purest fuel for a Sith. Divert it and use it when you need it most.

Even at Katherine's experience level, the Force would take her pain away whether she realized it or not. It wasn't so much of a skill as it was a 'perk' of having access to the Force.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine felt the ideas he sent to her as she slung her backpack on and started running again. Her legs ached very badly, and it was almost to much to move them, but she tried what Southstar suggested, however not putting much faith in it. To her surprise it worked. She was able to fuel her body with the pain and while the Force consumed it she began to feel less of it.

Maybe he does know a thing or two, she thought as her pace quickened slightly. She could have gone faster, but she was not ready to wear herself out just yet. She would save her energy for later in the evening.

[Southstar]

It was noontime and the sun was high in the sky. It was becoming unbelievably hot out. Such a difference from the day before. He huffed as he pulled on the thin trees lining the steep section of the trail. Too much strength and he was going to pull it from the ground and fall.

The hunger was starting to get to him now. Thirst was killing him even more. The previous day hadn't been so bad with the rain and humidity, but this day... It was so dry, He pulled himself over the edge of the steepness and climbed back to his feet top continue running.

His head turned at a lightning quick rate as he saw something run in the woods. No sounds though and at a closer look, there was nothing there. It seemed the deprivation of food and drink was getting to him. But it was so big... He wanted to shake off the feeling that he had a slight halucination as what he thought he saw was so big. It wasn;t like somethng he caught out of the corner of his eye. It was there and gone within a second. Strange.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine pulled herself up over the edge and nearly ran into Southstar. Which surprised both her. She didn't expect to be this close to him. Sure she was doing better than yesterday, but she couldn't have been doing that much better could she? Well of course you could. You are better than the rest remember?

She looked at her master and saw him looking in the woods. When she glanced over there she didn't see anything. "What are you looking at?"

[Southstar]

"Nothing." He quickly said. "But I thought I saw something. Come on." He picked up the run again still thinking about what it was he might have seen.

---

Hours were flying by, at least for him. They had run into few obstacles this day and he thought they might even be ahead of schedule. Things seemed to be going smoothly, but hunger and thirst were really beginning to get to him.

"Just a reminder." Actually, he didn't think he mentioned this yet. "There is a water bottle in your back pack but you are not to touch it. Understand?" He said between breaths. Part of this excursion was that one resist temptation to please oneself immediately.

[Kathrine]

"And why is that?" She asked panting as she reached up for the side of a rock to help pull herself up. She didn't think it possible but she felt even worse today than yesterday, but she still kept on going. She could feel the Force inside of her and knew that was the reason, but she still couldn't stop thinking that it was indeed impressive, even for her cockiness.

[Southstar]

"Just don't." He said and sped up. Why couldn't she just follow orders? Time to make things a little more difficult.

Southstar entered Kathrine's mind and caused her to loose all sense of direction. At first she might have difficulty coordinating her body, but that was easily fixed. BUt the real damage was going to be a loss of the sense of where she was. Following the trail was going to be harder than it ever should be.

He kept on running ahead, intent on leaving her behind. One had do deal with these kinds of adversary when facing Jedi. They could make thigns difficult in such a way it would redefine the word. He stopped to look back and found that she was nowhere in sight.

He wondered if she would even make it back to camp that night. Unfortunately she had the tent, he would deal with that later; it wasn't raining. As he turned to run again the same image from before was standing still no more than fifty yards away. He started to run, but it soon disappeared. The Force was taking advantage of the condition of his body and playing tricks on him. He continued on regardless, but his mind couldn't forget it.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine kept her head down as she walked, trying to keep her eyes out of the sun. At first she had decided to just keep an eye on Southstar as he ran forward, but that was soon discarded as the sun blinded her.

After a short while she looked up and didn't see him. Oh well he couldn't have gotten to far ahead. I'll run into him sooner or later, she thought to herself as she continued walking. Soon however she came to a stop, looking around confused. Wait...I've already been here. But where am I?

She turned quickly. She could make head or heals of where she was or which way she was going. Is the sun really having that bad of an affect on me? Oh well I can deal with this.

She stretched out with the Force and felt Southstar. He wasn't anywhere near her, but he wasn't that far away. She started walking forward, trying to coordinate where he was with the feeling she was having, but couldn't do it. Finally she just started walking and his aura began to slowly fade. Then she turned around and started walking the other way, until he bagan to fade off again. Next she turned and walked to where she could feel him best and turned left and walked that way. For a long time she could feel his aura getting stronger, until abruptly she felt it switch and start fading. What's going on here? You know what, if he wants to play games then that's fine. I'll just walked in the direction that the feeling is getting stronger and change when it begins to fade. This can't be that hard, she thought as she began to try and change directions as she did before. She could tell that it was going to take a long time before she even got close to him again.

[Southstar]

The second day as coming to a close now, the sun was beginning to set behind the horizon. He was thankful, he wasn't sure how much more of the heat he could take. He slowed down and stopped in a clearing. Wiping the sweat from his eyes he looked back for Kathrine. Nowhere in sight.

He sat on a stone against a tree and closed his eyes. His apprentice was nearby, she had made her way well. He drifted off into sleep, his mind still thinking about the illusion.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine stopped next to a tree and slid down the trunk to sit on the ground. She knew she was near Southstar, but it was getting dark and she was too tired to go on anymore tonight. She instead opted to sleep for now and get up at dawn and resume her tracking.

As she set her tent up, she smiled at herself. Even though she had gotten seperated from Southstar she had made good time and even learned a few tricks. Now instead of walking in a direction until his aura began to fade, she could just project her senses in a certain direction and follow that. She had also learn to look at the ground and follow his tracks. Sometimes she lost them, but she was getting better. She couldn't tell exactly how long they were left, but she could tell which ones were newer and that meant she was going in the right direction.

She climbed in her tent, content with today's progress. She was growing stronger than she had thought at first, but she assumed it was only natural for her as she was the best.

[Southstar]

Again, the sun woke him up for the third day. His stomach ached for something to eat and something to quench his thirst. There was nothing however.

After stretching for a moment he began the run again towards the top of the hill. Within the day, he would be there. Hopefully Katherine would too. As he ran he searched for her in the Force and found her not too far behind.

Best catch up.He sent telepathically.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine had been up already and on her way. She could tell as she passed a spot that Southstar had been there not to long ago and that is when she heard him in her mind.

Not answering, she hiked up her backpack on her shoulders and rook off on a paced jog. At this she would reach their destination sometime today. Probably just before sunset, but she would get there. She reached out with the Force and pushed her speed a little more. She could also feel herself getting closer to Southstar. She was immensely proud of herself.

[Southstar]

In the last hours of the hike Southstar noticed Kathrine approaching from behind. He craned his head back to see how close she was; he was impressed. The trees were thinning now as they neared the top, the ground was getting rockier and the wind was picking up.

Southstar slowed down and watched his apprentice mkae her way up. He looked out and saw the hill they had just climbed. He could even see the city in the distance, even the palace. "Quite a view, huh?"

[Kathrine]

Kathrine stopped just short of ten meters from him and turned around to look.

"Yes...it is a view, but one I can look at when I am finished with this hike," she said. Her eyes were unfocused and she was relying deeply on the Force to guide her steps and give her the strength for every step. Pretty soon and her body and mind would just shut off, but that would be after she was done. That much she was certain of.

[Southstar]

"Well our journey still has some time left." He said. "Both our bodies are tired and completely open to the Force. This would explain the slight hallucinations I've been having as well as the reason why we made it all the way here. I trust you've noticed this."

"We're going to end the day with a short spar. Use the Force to guide you movements." He tossed her a generic lightsaber and ignighted his own. He easily lead into the attack swinging for her neck.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine caught the lightsaber and looked at it. It felt heavy and odd in her hand. Not like the others she had held. This one didn't feel real, but then again nothing felt real to her now.

She dropped her bag and held the lightsaber in front of her before igniting it. A green glow fell across her face and she stared hypnotically at it before looking at Southstar and nodding. She leaned back and brought the lightsaber up to a high gaurd.

When his attack came, she dropped her saber and held it perpindicular to the ground. The blade's crashed together with an evil hiss. She pushed his blade back and brought hers down and around in a slash to his abdomen.

[Southstar]

He twirled the blade in his hand, batting away her slash and swinging across at her shoulder. He barely needed to think as the Force guided his movements so easily. It felt good, relaxing almost.

[Kathrine]

She jumped back and almost slipped, in fact would have slipped if she hadn't been immersed in the Force. When her feet touched the ground and his blade past her, she pushed off and lunged forward with the blade for a forward thrust to the chest.

[Southstar]

The tip of his blade touched hers and as she continued to move forward, her lightsaber slid up until the two blades were perpendicular. He pushed off and stepped back, but only for a moment as he struck at a diagonal. It was easily deflected, as was the next from the opposite side. The third strike was intended to hit as he quickly swung lower than usual at her waist line.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine leapt backwards into a backflip. She landed on her feet and stumbled before regaining her balance. She jumped back forward. When she landed, Kathrine spun on her heels bring the green blade in a backhanded swing.

[Southstar]

A backhand swing had too much power behind it to simply stop. Southstar caught the green blade and caused it to slide over his head, taking its wielder with it. Southstar paused a moment before resuming. Another time he would have immediately taken advantage fo the opening. He thrust his blade towards the exposed ribs.

[Kathrine]

She simply stepped to the side and let the blade pass her. She took a step forward and spun across Southstar's body and brought her saber around low in towards his knees.

[Southstar]

With a Force amplified jump he took to the air and landed a few yards ahead of her. He charged ahead with force and slashed at her abdomen.

[Kathrine]

She took a few steps back and brought the blade down to knock his weapon out of the way. Kathrine did changed her direction and stepped forward. Holding his blade away she stepped into him with a right hook to the face.

[Southstar]

Southstar used his lightsaber with only one hand and this time he was thankful as he caught the fist before it hit his jaw. He smiled and kicked her gut, sending her backwards. He leapt into the air, blade over his head, intending to strike hard.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine stumbled backwards and lost her breath for a second. As she looked up to see Southsat coming down, she tripped and landed on her back. She brought her saber up in a high gaurd so that when the weapons connected it formed a cross over her face.

She even dropped it some because the force behind the blow was powerful. The blades were now held an inch from her face. Kathrine brought her foot up and placed it in Southstar's stomach and pushed him back. Her getting up however wasn't so quick. She held out her saber in front of her with one hand as she tried to slowly push herself up with the other.

[Southstar]

Southstar felt her foot in his gut and it push, seemily as hard as she could. It wasn;t much, but he went with it anyway. He flipped back and held his lightsaber at a point focused on her head. He watched as she got up slowly. She was getting frustrated and tired now. He couldn't blame her, he was tired as well.

"Come on, now." He urged her to initiate the next attack.

[Kathrine]

She took a step and fiegned a low attack to the right, but pulled back at the last second and attacked at his mid torso on the left side instead.

[Southstar]

He saw her indecision and caught it just on time to stop the blade from touching him. He caught it with his blade at a diagonal, pointing to the ground. He brought his lightsaber around, with hers, and attacked her right shoulder.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine dropped down into a split as the lightsaber went over her head. She brought her own blade down and thrust it upwards at Southstar's stomach.

[Southstar]

He jumped backwards, avoiding the blade.

"Come on." He motioned with his hand to urge her on. With the Force he was provoking her anger as he was now a few yards away.

[Kathrine]

She stepped forward to slash diagonally across his chest starting at his left shoulder and as Kathrine did, she used the Force to pick up a moderate sized rock behind Southstar and throw it at him as she did so.

[Southstar]

Southstar caught the blade with his own and used the Force to alter the path of the rock, so it missed him by a foot. She was multitasking with the Force now, he could tell she wanted to beat him at this. He pushed against her blade with his and sent her stumbling a little.

[Kathrine]

She did stumble, but caught her footing. with her left leg behind her. She whipped her body around for a tornado kick, but didn't get close enough to actually connect. Instead as she was twisting clockwise, she extended her blade so that it would come crashing down on Southstar when she came around.

[Southstar]

He drew his lightsaber vertical and it stopped the blade dead. As soon as the blades hissed together he extended his left foot and kicked her square in the chest.

[Kathrine]

Since her feet had yet to fully touch the ground, Kathrine flew backwards and landed on her back. Her lightsaber deactivated for a moment. She shook her head to clear her vision before she brought her feet over her head and launching them forward. She came with them and found her self standing once more. She twirled the hilt in her hand as she acitvated so that as it came back around in front of her, the green blade hissed to lift.

The young Apprentice ran forward, charagind Southstar from the front and trying her rock idea, but this time she brought one in from each side.

[Southstar]

Southstar took control of the rocks and sped them up and forced them to cross paths before they met him. They flew harmlessly behind him. Kathrine charged ahead with her lightsaber and he batted the blade away with his and thrust the butt of his palm forward, meeting her in the chest again. He followed it up with a short sweep to cause her to fall.

Just stay down, now. He sent telepathically.

[Kathrine]

She glared at him as she heard his telpathic message. Kathrine thrust her hand forward in an attempt to push Southstar with the Force and she stood up again and rubbed her chest. It hurt and she might have a few broken ribs, but used her anger to dull the pain and fuel her connection with the Force.

"I'll stay down when I feel like it," she hissed. She brought her lightsaber up in a low gaurd and took a few steps forward slowly. When she was close enough, she struck out with three attacks. One to his left knee, another that was higher to his right hip, and tehn swung back across his body for an attack to his left shoulder.

[Southstar]

He waved the Force push off and stepped back as Kathrine approached his lightsaber moved as if it knew the moves as they happened. He didn't attack, though he wanted to for her attacking him.

"Ribs hurt?" he asked while keeping his guard up. "I don't think they're broken, but unless you stay put, they will be." He warned.

[Kathrine]

"Then I'll deal with them then," she grunted through gritted teeth. She was out of her league and she knew it. Southstar might not have been used to these conditions, but he was more prepared for them. That didn't, however, stop Kathrine from playing her ususal cocky self.

She took another step forward and slashed in a vertical direction from right to left.

[Southstar]

"Come on already." He said as he stopped the blade cold. With the Force, he simulated a quick punch to the chest followed by a kick to the abdomen.

"Now it's killing you to breathe, that was quite a hard hit. You're in no condition to fight anymore." He said and prepared to use the Force to slowly crush her chest the more she resisted. "It's getting dark now, time to rest. Have I told you about Force aided sleep, yet?"

[Kathrine]

When he hit her, she heard a crack in her rib area and fell to her knees. She put her hand on her side. It was cracked, but not broken. Maybe she should stop for now.

Still panting and holding her side she looked up at him. "No...,"she said as she grimaced from the pain. "I don't believe so."

[Southstar]

"You're full of anger and hate and therefore the Force. Act as if you were going to sleep, let your body shut down, but do not let your thoughts calm. Before you know it, the Force will drag you into a comatose state." He said slowly, ever watchful for the slightest movement. Telekinetically he took the lightsaber from her hand and switched it off.

"Watch out for nightmares though." He added softly. He walked over to the opposite side of the clearing and sat down prepared to enter his own sleep.

[Kathrine]

She went to her own corner, still full of contempt for Southstar, but did as he said. She was hurt and continuing the fight would be pointless at this part of her traing, but someday soon she would show him.

She sat down in a lotus position and closed her eyes. Her side hurt like hell, but forced her mind to ignore the pain. She sat forced her body to relax. He was right. It wasn't long before the Force dragged her down.

There were no dreams that night, but still the swirling darkness frightened her. She could feel the Force for what it was and for the first time since starting her training she was afraid ann unsure of herself. Unsure of whether or not she could handle the power she possessed.

[Southstar]

His eyes opened to the direct sunlight, quickly he turned and looked away. As he faced the other direction, the thing he had been seeing before was right before him. It wasn't a creature as he had originally thought. It was just a person, a tall person, in a cloak that covered its entire body. "I know you're a mirage. I've done this before." He said softly then blinked. The illusion was gone within the second.

He contemplated yelling to wake her up, but refrained as he was sure the sunlight would do it for him. For the moment he hhought about his dream and the cloaked figure.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine's eyes warmed from the light and when she opened them, she rolled on her back as if physically struck.

"Aghh....someone turn the light off," she said as she jumped to get up. Then she remembered her ribs and took a deep gasp. "Uhhh..."

[Southstar]

"Things feel any better? They should." He said as he stood up. "You didn't do so bad yesterday, for as little experience as you have. But skill comes with practice. You need a lightsaber of your own, I suggest you think about that. You're going to have to build one, there's plenty of book on the subject in the library, back at the palace."

"But you can do that when you get back. Today, we're going to work on some mind manipulation. A little bit of unexplored territory. You've explored your own mind in the Force and learned much." Though sometimes he doubted it, she did have the tendency to slack. "Mind manipultaion is more difficult as you are dealing with someone else's mind. Sometimes you encounter the strong minded, or they may even have shields."

He moved a rock to face the woods and sat down. "But we won't be working with anything so difficult, right away. Animals are the most primitave minds and are easily manipulated. Take a seat." He instructed. "This is the most tedious part, waiting for the animal to make its presence known. The Force will guide it to you. Until it does, I suggest you prepare yourself for the task." He paused. "Questions?"

[Kathrine]

"Nope," she said nonchalantly as she sat down near him. She had heard enough and seen enough to understand what he was talking about as far as she was concerned. She put a hand on her ribs as she sat. They did feel better, but nowhere near perfect.

[Southstar]

For him, time was passing by rather quickly, but he could tell that hours have passed. No animal of great significance had come by, but that was expected, patience was needed. He had seen a bird, however, it flew in for just a moment right in front of them and left just as quickly. It must not have been what the Force wanted.

As if answering his questions regarding what it wanted, it seemed the Force had lead a small mouse to them. It scurried on top of a fallen tree trunk. It stood still for a moment and gazed at the two still humans before it. This was it, but he didn;t need to tell Kathrine that.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine looked at the mouse and cocked her head to the side. It did the same as it stared at her.

"What do you want?" She mumbled. In response the mouse stood up on its hind legs and sniffed the air. She tossed a rock at it and it scurried under the log and seemed to disappear before sticking its head back out tentively. Then it brought its entire body back out. "Brave little thing isn't it? I wish it would just come here and I'd smash its lil head in."

As she finished the thought the mouse scurried over to her and acted as if it was presenting its head just for that very thing. "Whoa! What is that?"

[Southstar]

He wasn't going to explain it to her, he had the feeling that she would understand it all soon enough. Something strange was going on, the best he would be able to describe it would be like feeling a magnetic pull on a piece of metal. But the pull was coming from his apprentice. He could feel the density of life increase in the area around him. Hundred of mice began to appear in the area, all presenting their heads for the appropriate bashing.

"Not quite sure."

[Kathrine]

Kathrine jumped up and took a step back as the mice scurried over to her. She stepped on a few, but the rest didn't seem phased. Infact they seemed to be trying to get under her feet.

"Get out of here!" No sooner had the words come from her mouth than the mice left. "Huh? Am I doing that?"

To test her theory, she tried something else. "That was it...just a few mice? Nothing bigger?"

The two Sith sat for a moments and then suddenly a large black bear came charging out of the brush near them. She jumped back as it ran past her and turned around and charged at her. She threw her hands in front of her face as she thought the bear was about to run her over and yelled for it to stop. She waited, but nothing came. When she lowered her hand she saw the bear staring at her with its beady eyes and breathing on her.

[Southstar]

His hand was on his lightsaber hilt, ready to chop the creature in half. "Kathrine, you are not to speak unless I give you explicit permission." He said calmly. He overtook the bear's mind and sent it running away while he thought of the most possible explanation.

"There is a.... glitch, here." He lied. What was most likely was that Kathrine had a 'Force power', as they were termed. But he wasn't going to tell her that just yet, he wanted to be sure.

"I want you to try and attack my mind." He said, drawing attention away from the incident. He already knew that she wouldn't be able to get it, but she would also put up more of an effort than another apprentice at her level.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine stood looking at him for a minute and was about to ask who he thought he was telling her to quit talking, but then she remembered the bear and merely nodded.

When he told her to attack him however, her eyes only gleamed. This was something she had been wanting to do since last night. She stretched out with the Force. She hesitated for a moment, not know exactly what to do for attacking, but then just shrugged and tried to do what she was doing with the animals. She sent random thoughts and ideas to him, such as hopping on one foot and slapping himself. Anything that might get a rise out of him.

[Southstar]

Southstar made a note to keep his guard and shields up. At the moment, he was unsure of the power Kathrine contained. A myriad of images and thoughts flooded before him. Slowly they became clearer until he could pick out what Kathrine was trying to persuade him to do.

"Cute." He said.

It was only a quick evaluation, but it was serving its purpose as it told him that his apprentice was a fountain of telepathic power. More tests would be neccessary, but later.

"Do you think you have better control right now?" He asked. Since the meditation had been broken, it was possible her power had diminished for the time being. As the power had not manifested itself before, some form of great concentration must be necessary, at least for now. Within time , he expected, she would be able to summon the power at a moments notice.

[Kathrine]

"I believe so, but I won't know for sure until I try now will I?" She asked in a sarcastic tone.

[Southstar]

"You have my permission." He said and kept alert for anything that may happen.

[Kathrine]

"As if I would need your permission to speak," she mumbled. She looked towards the brush and scanned the area for any small animals. Soon after she located a small bird on a low branch.

"Come here," she said holding out her finger. At first it only looked at her, but after repeating herself, more forcefully, the bird flew down and landed on her finger and chirped.

[Southstar]

No more than seconds after it chirped it flew away in a hurry. "Since you seem to have taking control of animals under your control, let's talk about maintaining it." He said and began walking slowly away from his apprentice. "Easily, I took possession of the bird's mind and sent it on its way. Mind you, I am not a telepathy master in the least."

Some of the mice had not left from the previous experience and were scurrying around. Southstar took ahold of the mind of one of the little creatures and brought it stand before Kathrine. "I have quite ahold of this creatures mind and I want you to try and take it from me."

Immediatly he set up the construct in his mind. Often times when telepathic control was involved mentalists set up constructs, or scenes that resembled reailty. Who took the goal was not determined by who had the most skill and knowledge in whatever form of combat there was, but rather who had the stronger will and side of the Force. There was a giant mouse caged behind him and he stood with his fists clenched and in a defensive stance, ready for his apprentices attack.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine looked at the mouse and focused her thoughts. She organized them in her mind and tried to send them to the small animal. But it didn't do anything. Atleast nothing drastic. It seemed to want to come, but then gave it a second thought and stayed put.

"Oh yeah...," she whispered to the little rodent. She let up for a moment and built up her focus and strength. The young Apprentice then sent out a small shout through the Force at the mouse to get over there now.

[Southstar]

In his own construct Southstar felt a stark breeze pick up and dissappear. It wasn't anything that he felt remotly threatened by. Try the construct. He suggested.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine had heard of the Construct before but had had no practice with it, but she was more than willing to try it out with Southstar. Anything to try and hurt him she was game for.

She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts forming the image of an Acklay in her mind. Now she projected that creature's strength to charge at Southstar and attack at him with its huge claws.

[Southstar]

He smiled as the Acklay formed before him and charged. Instantly, the representation of his mind changed to a large tree, now dented from its encounter with the creature. The roots from the tree burst through the ground and formed tenticles. Suddenly the air became damp and turned to water. The Acklay was drowning in the tenticles of a squid-like creature.

[Kathrine]

The Acklay started to snap at the tenticles, but there were just to many to deal with. She thought for a moment and changed the representation of mind from the Acklay into a large krayt dragon. She used the dragon's improved strength and deadly teeth and claws and started raking and tearing at the squid's tentacles as it slowly tried to move forward.

[Southstar]

She was manuvering her way out of the water's effects, he was impressed, but barely. Then the dragon emerged and began beating the squid. Southstar pulled the squid out from existance and began to create massive stone walls that shot up from the ground. Before the dragon could escape, the walls arced over and formed a cave, sealing it in the darkness. Little bit by little bit, the cave filled with sand from the ground up. Soon there would be no room to move, no air to breathe.

[Kathrine]

She almost paniced, but then an idea came to her. This rock would fill up slowly and the more added, the more pressure it would it build up. Soon it cause the rock to explode out into every direction. Southstar however wouldn't let this happen. Her on the other hand...

Kathrine smiled as the dragon turned to sand and started to add to the sand already pouring in.

[Southstar]

As the dragon melted away into sand, the room filled up completely. He should have anticipated this, but he didn't and acted as best he could. The rock began heating up and soon the sand was falling into a pit of lava at the heart of a volcano. The lava rushed away after all the sand had fallen in and it left a giant piece of glass. A large version of Southstar picked up the glass and held it in his hand for a brief moment before it was locked away in a safe, followed by another and another and more upon that. Southstar formed a mountain and in the belly of it was the multitude of safes. He turned around to see the giant caged mouse, still unreached by Kathrine.

[Kathrine]

"Dammit!" She exclaimed as she dropped to her knees. Sweat was dripping from her forehead into a small puddle of the ground. She was exhausted from that little excursion and she hadn't even budged the mouse.

[Southstar]

Southstar exited the construct and wiped his brow. What he would to for a headache remedy. He sent the mouse away and into the trees as he gazed at the sun. "It seems we have a limited amount of daylight left, an hour or so. The time is yours to do as you please, but I suggest you spend it think about what has gone wrong."

He turned away from the sun and faced the more dense part of the woods, sitting on a fallen tree truck. It wasn't long before he was in a full daze, thinking of a myriad of things, but most importantly Kathrine and her abilities.

The sun had set behind him a while ago and he was sure Kathrine had dozed off by now. Then he started hearing noises. Twigs snapping, grunts and lightsabers... He stood up. It seemed logical that it was his mind, or the Force, playing tricks on him. But he persued it anyway. Out of sight from the camp he found two figures dueling, seemingly in an effort to kill each other. The first, he barely recognized, it was him from long ago. Before he had even joined the Sith. The other was a figure all too familier as of late. It was the cloaked man from the previous hallucinations.

He watched as his former self made a stupid and fatal move and was impaled upon the blade of the cloaked man. He has had these visions before, however, strangely, they were never prophetic. He always supposed that he just didn't possess the skill for prophecy, at least not yet.

Then the cloaked man noticed Southstar and stared for a moment. Southstar stared back, interested to see the face as the figure motioned to remove the hood. At first, he wasn't sure what to expect, but as the first details of the face became apparent he knew what was going on. With the hood completely removed, it was Kathrine who was staring back at him.

In the blink of an eye, she was gone and he turned to go back to camp. Daylight would break in only a few hours.

[Kathrine]

She slept for a few more hours before waking up. Southstar seemed busy doing some kind of stretches. She stood up and walked over to him. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

[Southstar]

"We're going to go back to the palace." He said. "We've covered a lot of ground these past days, I can imagine you're tired. As I am getting there myself." He slung the newly packed bag over his shoulder and headed in the opposite direction of which they came. "The hill comes to a cliff about half a mile that way." He said and pointed. The cliff lasts about half of the mountain and it's a bit rocky, but the rest of the hill leads into a small town. We'll eat and then catch a ride back to the Palace. So get your things ready and we'll go."

[Kathrine]

Kathrine turned and excitedly picked her stuff up, but as she bent down to pick up her rucksack a sharp pain went through her side and she remembered her ribs.

"Uhh," she moaned as she hefted the sack on her back and walked over to where Southstar was. "Ready."

[Southstar]

After a few minutes of walking through the woods, they came upon the rocky cliff. It seemed to go down for at least 300 feet. There was a group of seemingly random ledges that lead down the the base of the cliff. He kicked a stone off the ledge and watched it fall. He had navigated this cliff before, Kathrine had not.

"This is going to require all of your skill." He said and gazed off into the distance. The clouds were becoming dark, it was going to rain again, but hopefully after they had made it down. "Stick to the ledges that the Force tells you are sturdy."

Disspite the stiff wind that picked up, Southstar jumped over the ledge and landed gracefully on a piece of jutting rock that extended no more than three feet out. As the wind picked up, he looked to his apprentice above.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine watched Southstar jump and sighed. This wasn't going to do anything to help her ribs, but she didn't really have a choice. She jumped down to the first one and as her feet touched the surface she pushed off and went to the next one. Doing that wasn't so bad on her sides, though there was a sharp pain in her side.

She stretched out with the Force and let it guide her. Don't see what's so hard about this, she thought to herself. She continued down until she was about ten meters from the ground and only had two or three more ledges to go. She touched one and landed too close to the edge. She slipped and landed on her back before rolling off and down to the ground the rest of the way.

She hit the ground on her back and let out her breath with a huff. "Owfffff..."

[Southstar]

Fear leads to anger... Southstar watched her hop her way down, but the whole time his mind was in another place. The hallucination was bothering him. What did it mean? As she skipped down the the midsection he came to a conclusion. With the manifestation of her power, he feared being overtaken. He feared Kathrine would eclipse him.

Anger leads to hate... The thought swept through him like the darkside was telling him something. He watched her as she brashly skipped from ledge to ledge. The rain was beginning to pour down now. If she slipped, if she had an accident... His mind was wandering now. She was getting closer to the bottom and all he could think about was how much he did not like anything about her.

She slipped and he was very aware of it as he was the cause. But to complete the accident there needed to be more. The fall would not kill her. With his telekinetic power he broke the already loose ledge to fall. He watched as the shadow grew beneath Kathrine's body.



Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to the Darkside...



They stopped five feet away from Kathrine and the ground. Southstar waved the rocks away and began his decent. His mind was tore in two, the darkside screaming at him for his disobedience. Perhaps it was the darkside's wishes that he succumb to pure hate, but it was not his. He had a tendency towards the light this day, that he would not forget.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine watched as the rocks fell with a mix of horror and anger on her face. She had felt Southstar reach out to her before she had fallen and knew he was the reason. There would be nothing that she could do. She didnt' have time to think, to come up with a solution. All she could do was react, but before she could even do that the rocks were gone.

She waatched as he jumped down the last few rocks and as he landed. She rolled over onto her side and struggled to get to her feet. She was determined to stand to his face and confront him

"Wha...what was...th..that about..." Kathrine managed to get out as she stood up and limped over to him.

[Southstar]

"You should know. Stone gets slippery when wet." He said matter-of-factly. "The water was eroding the rock and the sediments that held it. The push from your fall loosened it and it seems its own weight pulled it to the ground." He grabbed the pack from her shoulder and held it in his hand. The kind gesture would convince her he was telling the truth; not to mention some Force compulsion. "You're in no mood to run with this. You'll end of collapsing and I'll be forced to deal with it." That came off as almost insulting, too much of a mood change would tip her off. "Now let's go, if we're lucky we'll make it to the town within two hours and home no later than dinner time."

[Kathrine]

If she had been practicing and tryign to keep up with everyone else, she would have been able to pick up on the lie, but she didn't. Kathrine let him take off the bag and hold it. "Fine then. Let's get going."

She turned and started walking towards the village, a little easier, but still slightly limping.

[Southstar]

Southstar slowed down to a jog as he entered the town limits, Kathrine not far behind him. He waited for her to catch up and told her a little about the town. The town was wedged between mountains, one being the hill they scaled, and due to this fact it was virtually untouched by high technology. It had a simple rail system which lead out to Coronet amongst the other surrounding towns and simple ground level roads of which speeders traveled on. The buildings, though not very tall, were made of decorated iron and brick.

"For being opposite of Coronet, this town is a little quait, isn't it?" He said and entered a two story building.

"Master Southstar? It is good to see you again!" A round man said and threw his arms in the air. Approaching him he threw his arms around him in an embrace. Grabbing him by the shoulders he continued. "Come, sit down. You look very tired."

"That I am, Gerhared." Southstar replied and took a seat at a four person table. "By the way, this is my latest apprentice, Kathrine."

The table seemed to be swarmed by men dressed formally, each setting down different platter of food and offering a multitude of options for drinks.

"It's good to meet you, Kathrine." Gerhared said with a pleasing look on his face. "Now eat! Eat up!"

[Kathrine]

"don't mind if I do," Kathrine said as she tenderly picked up a piece of glazed meat. She bit into it careflly as it was hot and she had never had it before. "Umm...this is excellent. What is it?"

While she waited on the man to answer she grabbed a glass of water from one of the men and greedily drank i. As she finished she remembered something and looked over at Southstar. "That water should still be in my bag, but why didn't you let me drink it?"

[Southstar]

"That is..." Gerhared said but trailed off as he studied it. "A foriegn dish, sea dwelling creature I believe and its hind proportion by the looks of it, cured to perfection." He said and clasped his hands together. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business that needs attending to." He said and excused himself, heading for the back room.

"The water," He said between chews. "Was going to make you sick as a dog. A bit of a test. If you failed and drank from it, the training excursion would have ended prematurely and there would have been hell to pay in every imaginable way."

Southstar reached for a cup of a light wine and sipped from it. "The meal is fantastic." He said and turned to one of the formally dressed men. "Please inform the chef of my compliments."

"Right away, sir." The man said and left for the kitchen. No sooner before he entered it, Gerhared re-emerged with a clip board under his arm.

"Friend," Gerhared started. "There seems to be a bit of trouble within the town, you see..." He pointed to several points on one of the sheets of paper, then flipped ot the next. Between bites, Southstar studied what Gerhared was pointing out to him with concern. He took a large photograph and held it up and against the light; Gerhared pointing out several important parts. Again he glanced through the papers and then tucked them away.

"I'll make sure whatever happens is in the best interests of the townspeople. You have my word." Southstar said.

A smile spread over Gerhared's fat face. "Very good, dear friend. Very good! I'm sorry, but again I must retreat to the kitchen. I wish to make sure desserts are in proper order."

[Kathrine]

"Well whatever it is it is good," she said taking another bite before reaching over for a piece of bread. She quickly pulled her hand away as a sharp pain went through her side. "I'm going to need to have his looked at later."

She focused on the bread for a moment and then with the Force it rose into the air and came over to her, where she easily plucked it out of the air. Honey bread...this really is good.

Before she could say anything about the water though, Southstar's freind came out and showed him a few things. She waited till Gerhared left again before looking over to Southstar. "Trouble? As in what kind?"

[Southstar]

"Oh it's nothing serious. One of the communications companies wants to build a reciever in town and naturally, the town is upset by this. Every once in a while they'll tell me of something not going their way and I handle it. It's no big deal though, a phone call from a knight at the palace usually shakes people up enough to back off."

"This town is like a little project of mine." Sometimes he felt that they even looked towards him as their patriarch. "Its a strange place, especially for Corellia. This little mountainous section is almost a world of its own, but the people like it that way. I like it that way. Which is why I keep an eye on it from time to time, make sure things are going the way I see fit."

[Kathrine]

She looked around and nodded almost as if in approval. "It is nice, but why would you protect it? I thought Sith destroyed?"

[Southstar]

"You that's kind of interesting that you say that. I came in thinking that myself, but I'm coming to learn that what it means to be a Sith is seeking out what I want. As opposed to the Jedi, who want what people tell them they should; they're very depentant. Being a Sith is about personal glory, power and will. And it is my will that this town stay intact for my personal pleasure."

[Kathrine]

She shrugged. "If you say so. So, what you going to do about the company?"

[Southstar]

"I'll give them a call, tell them to back off." He shrugged. "But if they don't, it will be their heads."

"So what about your philosophy of the Darkside?" He said reutning back to the previous subject.

[Kathrine]

"I believe the same as you, but what we want is the thing that differs. Your seem to desire control, where as I desire death and destruction."

[Southstar]

"And why is that, Kathrine?"

[Kathrine]

"I've killed quite a few in my life. Most since becoming a Sith, but before that there was only two. And standing above them holding thier life in my hands... that was a rush. And the reason for me joining."

[Southstar]

He cocked an eyebrow as he listened and reached for something off the presented dessert tray. "So the galaxy is your playground then?" Her reasons were fine with him, he had nothing against it. "You know, I think that as you develop and get older you perceptions will change a little. I agree though, holding someone's life in your hand is exhilerating, but there's more to being a Sith than that."

[Kathrine]

"And what would that be? Everywhere I go, I here the darkside is the key to power. The Sith destroy and pillage...what else could there be?"

[Southstar]

"Not so much of what else could there be, but it is you who change. There's not some mysterious other cause out there waiting to be discovered."

[Kathrine]

She just shrugged. "Who knows? Guess only time will tell, but until then I'm happy with my outlooks the way they are."

She reached out and took another drink of her water.

[Southstar]

"That's fine." He said and finsihed the last of his dessert. He called Gerhared over to the table.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"Gerhared, the food was excellent. Here's a few credits..." He gave put them in the round man's hand. "And now, my apprentice and I must be going. We don't want to miss the train into Coronet."

"Very well. but do come back again, you are always welcome!" He said and called for a few men to clean the table.

"Kathrine. Say thank you." Southstar said and grabbed the bags.

[Kathrine]

Kathrine got up and shot a dirty look at Southstar,. She might have acted ruthless, but she did have manners. She turned to the little man and smiled nodding. "The food was excellent. Thanks to you and the chef."

She stood up and started after Southstar.

[Southstar]

"The train station is just around the block." He said as he caught sight of the railway heading into the hills. He was quiet for a moment as he reflected on his earlier rage against her. Taking on an apprentice was difficult. Being a darksider entailed not being able to work well with others, which proved problematic when training another darksider. Especially when the apprentice acted so arrogant. He could tell there would be much time spent thinking about htis particular training mission.

"How are your ribs?" He asked.

[Kathrine]

She walked towards the track and placed a hand on her ribs. They were still sore, but nothing she couldn't deal with for the time being.

"They'll be fine. Probably need a wrap put on them later, but nothing to serious."

[Southstar]

"Good." he mumbled as the train came into view. They boarded the train and it shortly took off down the tracks towards the captical city of Coronet. The journey was short and they were indeed back at the palace before dark. Southstar informed his apprentice that she had basic training in the next morning, and he headed to his quarters.

The training exercise was an overall success, though they stumbled in places. There was much for him to think about with the recent developments and there was much on the horizon as the disc retrived from the previous training mission was to come back from professional analyzation shortly. Much to think about.