The Nature of Things

[s'Il]

By her count, or at least her best approximation, s'Il and Zem had been on their sanctuary planet for nearly a year. Or perhaps it had only been ten months; she'd not been to the yacht since they'd arrived and so had no definite way of being able to take measure of the days, weeks, and months that passed.

They sparred, meditated, and learned from each other as each day went by. His request that she refrain from practising Vapaad had been respected, and the Lupine pulled heavily from Soresu now; it was becoming a natural thing now, and while she was tempted from time to time to revert into the more comfortable - for her at least - form VII, s'Il never allowed herself the luxury. For her such a fighting style was far more useful. It meshed with her own beliefs and felt far more natural. To rely so on defensive fighting at times felt restrictive, but she was determined to honor her master's wishes.



It was mid-morning, and Zem was still asleep. She'd kept him up late, drilling him on his Bast'yr. She was quiet to not wake him though, and the Lupine set about her morning self-imposed chores with practiced ease. Things she'd done many times over; prepare tea, wash the previous day's clothes in the river that ran a short way off.

As the tea cooled, she neglected pouring it into cups in favor of retrieving a one of her combs and a knife. The latter she set about sharpening, doing her best to make the edge as keen as she possibly could.

Once that was done, s'Il set the wetstone beside the still cooling teapot. She moved to sit beside where Zem lay sleeping, on his side with his back to her.

She tweaked his ear.

"Wake up. It's time for a hair cut."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"What have I told you about that?"

I distantly heard myself speaking in a heavily drowsy and irritated voice. I was just getting used to my rustic appearance, and wasn't about to change it.

[s'Il]

A lofted brow was the only thing she afforded the back of his unruly mop of hair before speaking again.

"Come on," she pulled on his arm then, trying to turn him at least onto his back, "you need at least a heavy... trim. We both do."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Why don't you change, and let me trim you first?"

I remained as a rock, unmoveable from my spot.

[s'Il]

There was no response this time, and the Lupine gave up trying to turn him over. No matter. She could work around his obstinance.

The comb skittered across the floor from where she'd left it, coming to her hand with a simple pull of the Force. He'd still not moved, and s'Il pulled an odd face at her master's stubbornness.

"You need it more than I do at this point time."

And with that, she took a lock of his hair in a loose grip and began to run the brush down its' length.

[Zem-El Vymes]

With my back turned to her, she wouldn't see the slight movement of my hand, but she would sure feel it when one of the unoccupied pillows on the bed leapt up and whallopped her.

[s'Il]

An arm was thrown up to block the pillow, and s'Il pushed it back down to the bed.

She rapped his shoulder with the handle of her comb.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Indignantly, I sat up in the bed, my shaggy locks flipping forward into my eyes as I rose. It gave me a passingly Wookiee-esque appearances.

Before I could give her an opportunity, I ran my fingers through my hair, drawing it back with one hand, while I looked about errantly for the band I used to secure the small ponytail.

[s'Il]

s'Il palmed the tie he usually used, holding it up so that he could see it before wrapping it around her wrist.

"It needs to be done," she said, her tone of voice final; something strange to hear, since she had not used such a tone before.

"I won't cut it all off, just trim the edges a small bit.

"I've made tea, so you can sip on that while I work."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You're next" I growled, giving in to her insistence. Before I turned it loose, I reiterated our agreement.

"Just the edges."

[s'Il]

She smiled; whether it was a crafty smirk or a simple grin was anyone's guess. Either way, s'Il moved slightly to allow him easier access to stand and shamble over to where the tea waited. After he'd sat down once more, cup in hand, the Lupine settled herself behind him and began to run the comb through the tangled mess of bedhead that always managed to look visibly scruffier with each passing day.

She was as gentle as possible, but it was easy to tell that the tangles were presenting her with more than a few spots of trouble. "It's like a sarlacc nest."

Pulling a lock of hair away from the rest, s'Il brought up the knife and began to first cut away at the split ends.

"You look more like a shrub than a Jedi. I can't imagine what any of the masters would say if they saw you now."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Long hair is a mark of distinguishment on a Jedi Knight. I don't know if they would say anything."

I sipped the tea, letting it put me at ease while I was groomed. Ugh, groomed. What a farcical word.

[s'Il]

"There's a difference between having long hair and allowing a bantha to live on your head."

Another section was cut at, and satisfied with the results, s'Il continued on.

"Besides; Lupine men were known to allow their hair to grow long as well. But of course, they kept it brushed."

With the comb, she part his hair down the middle. By now it was tangle free, and she allowed a small bit of satisfaction at her small victory thus far.

"Not to mention; you look much better with your hair combed.

"... and far more 'distinguished'," she added.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"To my defense, I'm not five minutes out of bed."

I gave a slight smile as I sipped, which turned to a wince at the sound of the knife through hair again.

[s'Il]

s'Il only returned with a hrmph. Another slive of the blade, and she set it to the side before running her fingers along his scalp, from back to front. With the comb she straightened out the minor tangles she herself had created.

Another few cuts; it was becoming far more manageable. She took the tie from her wrist and fastened his now trimmed hair at the b ase of his neck in a short ponytail.

"Ok, turn around."

Now came the harder part - his beard.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Not the soupcatcher, no!"

I held my hand over it protectively. This was going too far.

[s'Il]

The Lupine was slightly taken aback, but only for a moment.

"Just a little trim," she reiterated, one hand reaching out to pull his own away as the other came up with the comb.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I relented with a loud sigh, waiting for her to pause before drinking my tea again.

"If you think this is bad, I can't wait till you get to my back hair."

[s'Il]

Working more delicately, s'Il canted her head to the side.

"A joke... ?"

Even with the amount of time they'd been alone together, he was still able to confuse her. His sense of humor was one that she'd yet to become completely accustomed to, and after months of trying to guess her way through interpretations, she'd settled for simply asking him when she wasn't positive.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"My student may not be sharp enough to shear hair, but I'll settle for being able to butter bread."

I gave a cheeky smile as I took another drink. How somebody could walk about naked with a face full of rabbit and not develop an intense affinity to laugh was incredibly confusing to me.

[s'Il]

With an eyebrow quirked, s'Il stared up at him. She kept her eyes locked on his before make a slow, deliberate cut that sliced a longer portion of hair than the 'trim' she'd been giving. The shorter cut was clearly visible, and stood out rather glaringly.

Her grin matched his then.

"Oops."

[Zem-El Vymes]

My grin wiped away, replaced by a heavy brow and a frown.

[s'Il]

Taking that as her cue, the Lupine swiftly set the knife to the ground and scooted away.

"All done," she chuckled, standing to stretch her legs.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I finished my tea in a few gulps, and stared at her with a monolithic expression. Then, carefully setting the teacup aside, I picked the knife up.

"Your turn."

[s'Il]

Taking note of the set of his features, s'Il slowly lowered herself to the ground once more, her back to him.

She'd already brushed her hair before he'd woken, and so her own mane would be much easier to work with than his had been.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Ahem."

It would be obvious to her that I had an entirely different hair trimming project in mind.

[s'Il]

She ignored him, sitting patiently.

"Well get on with it."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"One of you sheds on the floor in big clumps, and it's not the one of you that walks on two feet."

[s'Il]

Her shoulders slumped at that. Another few moments of quiet sitting followed, but soon enough s'Il relented without a word. Foregoing any sort of privacy, the Lupine opted to change where she sat, right in front of him.

Her whole frame seemed to melt, and her bones began to shift, joints popping out of their respective sockets with wet thwocks. Muscle structure reshaped to accomodate her reforming skeleton, and wild, unruly white hair sprouted - first starting at her extremeties and traveling over the rest of her body.

It took little time, and soon enough the vornskr sat facing Zem, ears swiveling back and forth in a visible show of nervousness as she turned her head to the side, looking at the wall of their home.

[Zem-El Vymes]

It began with a flick of the wrist. A little off the top that floated to the ground like a tumbleweed. I studied my work, and built on that, cutting again. There was something artful and peaceful about cutting hair. I vaguely recalled some Jedi colleagues doing much the same with potted plants. It had never appealed to me in my studies, but now I could appreciate the similarities.

Soon the wisps on the floor became a thin pile, and I continued on.

[s'Il]

She sat, mostly quiet, her bony tail lazily moving from side to side along the ground.

A string of garbled nonsense came from the depths of her throat then, and s'Il pulled her head back as he went in for another lock of hair. It was more than obvious that she thought he'd done enough. If he kept this pace up, she'd have no fur left.

[Zem-El Vymes]

The jokester in me wanted to continue onward, and to leave her at a close crop everywhere sans the head and the paws, but I let discretion be the winner. Putting the knife away, I ran a hand down her back and sides to slough the loose hair that remained from her, and then wiped my hands off.

[s'Il]

As he ran his hand down her back, s'Il eye the snowy white pile. Had all of that come from her?!

A swift reversion, much like the first with little concern as to his presence. Her whole body shuddered as she changed. The white pelt faded as her form seemed to solidify once again. In her humanoid form, the Lupine reached a hand up to test the effects his trim had produced. Mild horror flitted across her features; he'd managed to take more than half the length off!

Where her hair had once kissed the small of her back, it now fell to barely below her shoulders.

"I... you... all of it?!"

[Zem-El Vymes]

Now that was interesting! How was I to know that trimming in one state would effect the other.

I scratched at my hair, looking at her new "do" with a sheepish grin.

"Huh."

[s'Il]

She stared at him incredulously, hands running through her now short hair and frantically pulling it behind her ears. With little to no weight behind it now, it seemed far more wild than before and flopped back into her face.

Deliberately then, the Lupine reached out and behind Zem's head, untying the fastener that held his own hair back before using it to secure her own in a ponytail that was now just as short as his.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I shrugged my shoulders at her unspeakable demands.

"By all means."

I didn't mind 'blowing free', really. There was something pleasing about the act.

[s'Il]

s'Il pursed her lips at that, pouring herself a cup of tea and refilling his.

Pulling on her discarded shirt then, she lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip.

The morning's trim had not exactly gone as she'd planned, and she expelled a breath that told as much. What happened next she had a good enough idea. Like the countless morning's before, Zem would no doubt begin his lessons.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"So, what inspired your sudden foray into barbery?"

I sat on the floor with my tea, adjacent to the furpile, picking up handfuls absent-mindedly and letting them float back to the ground.

[s'Il]

"Well, if I'd known that it would end up like this, I'd not have insisted."

Another sip, and she watched as he plucked bits of her fur up, only to drop them again.

"Well," she decided to amend, "I thought it would be helpful. As much as it's nice to live away from others and civilization, it's good to not forget the basics.

"Like the Force I suppose." She explained a little more.

"There is order in the Light, and a sort of wildness to the Dark, right? It's like a padawan, taught and guided through lessons to uphold the Light; but if left to his or her own devices, the chance that a fall to the Dark is greater."

She blinked, then continued while looking at him from over the tops of her eyes. "And you do look better without a bantha mop of hair."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was immensely intrigued by her interpretations. It showed an eagerness to understand things, even if the answers she was looking for weren't necessarily grasped in the first go. Sipping my tea, I brushed a strand of hair from my face.

"Sometimes a haircut is simply that."

I let her consider that briefly. I knew that there were Jedi that abandoned themselves completely to simplistic life, and even the base amenity of trimmed hair, they rejected. But that was not important.

I reached to the end of her shorn locks.

"I hadn't the slightest inclination. Your species continues to intrigue me. So, do you consider this haircut to be a mistake?"

[s'Il]

"No, not really."

She reached up as well to tug lightly at a loose strand that'd escaped the tie.

"I've just never had my hair this short before. It feels different."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Do you regret it?"

[s'Il]

She thought about his question, staring at the tea in her cup. She took another sip.

"No," she answered finally.

"Change is a good thing mostly; I've learned that much from you at least.

"Form IV instead of form VII," she shrugged, "... short hair instead of long hair."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Good, bad, this isn't what I asked."

I reached down, grabbed a handful of her shed fur, and stuffed it down her shirt.

"Why do you not regret?"

[s'Il]

Her brow furrowed at that, and the Lupine gently pushed his hand aside before proceeding to pull out the fur from her shirt.

"It's just hair," she sighed in exasperation, "It'd be stupid to get so attached that I wouldn't ever cut it."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I could see she was trying to understand, but she was thinking in a pedantic and conditional way.

"Let's try something else."

I took her teacup from her, and with both in hand, I went into the kitchen to refresh the beverages.

[s'Il]

A mild frustration showed itself in her expression, and s'Il stared after him. What in the world was he going on about?

She wasn't willing to let go of the matter just yet, and called after him. "Should I regret it, then? Seems to me that that'd just be a waste of time."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I paused, and turned around to smile.

"That sounds like a good answer. And just in time, since I was going to have to resort to poison as my next example."

[s'Il]

The Lupine stared at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head.

"I think some of your sanity went with the hair I cut off your head. Or it might've gone with that extra bit I lopped from your beard."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I scoffed at her and smiled.

"Oh nothing fatal, but assuredly something that would give you inspiration for regret, if you were looking to find it."

[s'Il]

"So it's retribution, then... ?" Her expression matched his.

"That doesn't seem to fit in with the Jedi Code. Unless my interpretation is off."

She paused, thinking back to the day, long ago now, when she'd found him in the small earthen distillary that belonged to House Richter. It'd seemed strange to her then, and still now as she though back on it, that he'd allowed himself and her for that matter, to partake in such a thing as alcohol. What was it he'd said? Something about knowing what side you were on at the end of the day?

Unknown to him, the Lupine had brought one of the bottles with her. She'd left it on the ship, and it was still there. She was saving it for something; what exactly she wasn't sure, but when the time came she was sure that she'd know.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"No, nothing of the sort. More like, providing you a frame of reference. To give you every opportunity to regret, but as you said, why even bother?"

I filled each cup again, and returned, handing her one, and keeping another for myself.

"Regret is a journey to the gardens of your mind. Unlike the memories you look upon fondly, these gardens are sick and dying. There's neither beauty nor inspiration. Nor is regret a journey of knowledge. You are mourning for a missed opportunity that is indifferent to you, and that you will never see return."

[s'Il]

Accepting the cup, s'Il stared at the steam as it wafted up from the surface of the amber-colored liquid.

"So. No regrets."

Her tongue ran over the front of her teeth, and she brushed a now short lock of hair behind her ear.

"Would you say that you have none, then?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I would say that I strive for none."

I gave a slight smile at avoiding her question.

"It is a very natural inclination to regret. As you revisit the memories and choices you look on fondly, you are tempted to visit the ones you wish you could change. It is natural to have these weaknesses. The distinction is to recognize them, and to let them go."

Of course, I hadn't answered her question. I took a sip, thought again, and responded.

"Our rescue attempt on the confederate refugees, I spent a considerable amount of time in regret over this."

[s'Il]

Which to her, made sense. She knew then and she still knew now that it'd affected him deeply. She'd not been quite so moved as he'd been; they had done what they had been physically able to do, and saved the ones that they had the time to save.

"You did everything you could," she said quickly; an instinctive response.

s'Il took a sip of her tea.

Again, yet another thing that she'd never told him was how much his reaction had affected her. It wasnt so much the fact that they'd not been able to pull everyone from the ship, but that he had ached to - to the point that he, in her mind, was willing to die for what had become by then a lost cause.

She looked to the side at that thought.

They'd been alone, on a planet disturbed by none, for a long enough time now. It was strange how he was familiar and yet still so foreign to her.

"I don't get you," she said rather abruptly.

A sigh, and she idly blew at the steam from her tea.

"And I wish I could."

[Zem-El Vymes]

The sudden comment caught me off guard.

"Am I such a stranger to you?"

And there it was again. That strange flutter of mixed feelings I'd felt from her before.

[s'Il]

"Sometimes you are."

She held the cup up so that it was level with her eyes, staring at the thing with passive, neutral features.

"At the time there was nothing else we could do. We'd brought back the ones we could. Don't you think that the ones who died could've possibly fueled those who lived to begin fighting back?"

She stopped then, thinking through her own words. They didn't sound right; they sounded like they condoned what she'd warned Dan of a year ago; of vengeance. At the time she'd been so removed. Truth be told, even with the year that had gone by, she knew that if it had happened all over again she'd act in exactly the same way.

"It's sympathy; you have it." The words tumbled out of her then. "I can barely bring myself to feel empathy, let alone any sort of sympathic connection. But you. You connect with people so easily and it makes me scared.

"You were so ready to die trying to save people who were in essence already dead."

She stopped rather abruptly then, realizing that her words had - in a roundabout way - both revealed more than she'd desired known and proved that she was indeed able to connect, albeit...

"... I guess it just takes me more time," she mumbled, lowered the cup and staring at her hands.

[Zem-El Vymes]

She had more than a student's attachment to her master, or at least it was becoming such. I had a suspicion, but nothing else.

"I've made peace with my decision. That's what a Jedi does."

I allowed a sigh.

"It's never guaranteed to be easy. And mine was certainly not. I apologize for making you share in the anguish of my decisions."

[s'Il]

"You made peace... is that even the same as really letting go of it then?"

She latched on to that line of thought, determined to drive the other meaning of her words deep into the parts of her mind that she kept to her core. She knew what the code said of such things, and while she very nearly loathed the stipulation itself, the Lupine was hard-pressed to make any showing of feelings contrary to it.

"I was always under the impression that making peace was accepting and going on with the knowledge of what you'd done.

"But letting go... isn't that more simply putting the matter behind you; not thinking of it any longer... and going forward in life?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"The two are the same."

[s'Il]

"Oh."

Well. It seemed that that was that. She took sip from the tea. There was another silence; a lull in this new lesson he was giving her.

Finally, "You've gotten good at making your tea."

Such a half-hearted attempt at trying to cover up the fact that she had nothing else meaningful to contribute. She looked at him from the tops of her eyes, a silent request for him to do something - anything - to break the feelings that'd been brought on by such talk. It was something that she knew she needed to learn, but still.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I paused, feeling the conflict roiling off of my student. She had more, many more, questions for me, and there was a thing in her mind holding those questions.

"I think there are things you want to talk about that are more than tea."

[s'Il]

"Well of course there are," she very nearly spat out; as it was her words were more let out in a long, pent-up breath than anything else. The sound of her own voice made her blink, pulling a strange face.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"We've been here long enough to be anything but honest."

I allowed her the opportunity to speak her mind to the fullest.

[s'Il]

She bit her lip.

"I still can't beat you when we spar, and I don't know why. We've been here for a year and I know I've learned more, but I don't know how to guage any progress; if there's even been any. I mean, I can tell that you've at least picked up on Bast'yr, even if the only time you use it is when you're frustrated.

"With Master Windu everything was so cut and dry, but you're just so different. There are so many ways to answer any of the questions you ask me every day that I have to always think far more than I would normally feel inclined to.

"Being diplomatic about life on the whole makes my brain hurt."

She tapped a fingernail on her cup, having somewhat run out of words.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You've handled the differences in philosophy with grace, and overcome your initial unwillingness. That's no small feat. That you haven't beaten me speaks more that I haven't taught you all that I should, and less of your ability with that I've taught to you."

I thought about that, and took another drink.

"I'm convinced that day will come. You have so much more potential than I."

[s'Il]

Now it was her time to scoff.

"I hardly think that that's very true. And even if you do, have you thought that maybe you haven't explored enough of your own self?

"Every morning we meditate, drink tea, and then lessons for the rest of the day. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the attention from you, but what about yourself?" Her gaze became soft then. "You spend so much time teaching me and making sure I learn whatever it is you teach me; isn't there something deeper inside of you that you haven't explored yet?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"It would be presumptuous to say there wasn't."

[s'Il]

Waiting for him to expound, s'Il recieved only more silence until she ventured a prompt.

"... and... ?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was perplexed at her questions now, and arched an eyebrow.

"There's a certain peace of understanding when you learn your lessons under study. There is then a sort of second learning when you apply those lessons to the real world. I've spent a lot of time in validation during these dark times. I've had times in which I've doubted, and been skeptical in the face of what I've seen. This skepticism keeps my mind sharp. It contests my morals and philosophy, and requires me to sharpen them both."

[s'Il]

The Lupine mulled over his answer, sipping at her tea.

"I suppose that's what makes you human."

Another moment of silence before she went on.

"Since this whole thing started, I've seen and done the same things you have, but I can't bring myself to examine my own beliefs in such a way. They're simply there as a guide; not to be questioned."

She remembered the way Dan had looked at her when they'd been on Schwartzweld, and knew that he'd not thought her much in keeping with the ways of what he'd heard of the Jedi.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Consider this, then."

I set my teacup down, and rested my hands on my knees.

"How many years will I train you before you are no longer a student? One? Two? Five? How many words can I say in that time? How many parables will you hear, and how many lessons will you undertake? No matter how many, this number will be finite."

I picked my teacup up, and took another drink.

"The possibilities of life are not finite. For everything you learn, you will have to interpret and question it to a great extent."

[s'Il]

"Than you make your decision according to the experiences of previous lessons that most closely resemble the current problem."

To her the answer was simple, but she paused for a moment, recalling something he'd said to her six months prior.

"Unless this is what you meant when you said that the very nature of what I was has me at a disadvantage... ?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"The burden of talent is that it can lead to the atrophy of perserverance."

She was now understanding, and this was important.

"Your talent, not just with the force, but the innate talent of your people, makes you gifted in ways that so few beings are. You are very fortunate in this. However, being so used to these gifts, it can make it harder to push and to strive, because you have the ability to do so much with ease that others must toil unendingly for."

[s'Il]

s'Il almost denied such a thing; that she took her gifts for granted. But holding back she let his words sink further in. He was right in his assessment, and she understood finally what it was he was getting at.

"Well then," she smiled lightly, "you'll have to stick around to make sure I don't go dull."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Of course. Synergy. I think we complement each other well. Even when you've learned everything I have to teach you, I think it will be a good match."

[s'Il]

Her smile grew at the thought of what he'd said, and it was easy enough to see that she was more than a little satisfied.

But still, the morning was progressing, and the Lupine waited for him to finish the last bits of his tea before taking both cups into the kitchen.

"What do you have planned for the day then," she called to him.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"First."

I stood, and went for a feather broom in the corner of the room.

"I intend to correct this horrible mess we've made."

[s'Il]

The cups were rinsed, and s'Il placed them gently atop a towel to dry. Returning to what had become more or less a front sitting room - albeit a rather bare and rustic sitting room - she watched him set about sweeping.

In silence he worked, and in silence she observed.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Should've done this outside, in retrospect, and given your tumbleweeds the chance to escape by breeze. So much hair."

[s'Il]

"Well, we could always go outside after you're done so I can even out your beard."

[Zem-El Vymes]

My hand ran along the scruff, noting it.

"A little imperfection adds character."

Smiling again, I continued herding errant fur across the floor into a series of fluffballs.

[s'Il]

A smirk, and s'Il eyed him for a few seconds longer.

The room began to darken then, as the sun was hidden by the morning clouds, and the Lupine set about pulling her pants on. She decided against wearing her boots today; it would feel good to go barefoot during their activities.

She did however, gather up Zem's footwear, and his sabre. Her own was nestled in the crook of her arm, and s'Il padded her way outside to where he'd just finished sweeping the remnants of their morning's endeavors.

The sun emerged from the clouds then, casting their small clearing in warmth.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"No sabers today. Go ahead and loosen up. Stay comfortable."

I graciously took my shoes and put them on, setting my saber alongside her own.

[s'Il]

She gave him a somewhat blank stare, then a cheeky grin as the two weapons were put to the side.

Ever since that first day he'd adjusted the settings, they'd sparred in the same fashion it seemed every following day. Both had the telltale signs lacing their bodies - hidden beneath clothes - though hers rarely lasted till the evening. His though... s'Il actually laughed out loud at the though.

She did as she was told, stretching her muscles in anticipation of what would come.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I approached her, eyeing carefully the distance between us. Finally, I planted my feet and faced her squarely.

"Alright, punch me."

[s'Il]

Her light laughter melted away, replaced by a studious concentration as she assessed his position and stance. She herself dropped one foot behind her and settled her weight low.

Punch him. An odd request, but straightforward nonetheless. No need to be creative about it, she figured.

And without warning she came about with her left fist, only to pull it away as her right drove in toward his gut.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Her strategem was clever, and I smiled at her attempt sneak one in, but this too I was ready for. I met her fist with my open palm, using the force to solidify my base so that I could halt her motion at what I had judged to be the extend of her attack.

"Alright, stop. Don't move."

I had her to remain still, as a statue. Where my body was a moment ago, only my hand remained, at the same distance from her that I had been standing. She had been on target with her attack.

I examined her there, frozen in the midst of her action.

[s'Il]

Wordlessly she remained still, her muscles holding their position as he did whatever it was he was doing. Only her head moved, eyes remaining on him.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"This is a strike you should have never made. Why?"

[s'Il]

Had she left a part of herself exposed? Her feint was rather predictable she knew.

"Predictable?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"No, that was fairly clever. It's just too far from your center. No matter how easy of a target it seemed, you've got to reach for it."

I lowered my hand, and she began to pitch forward.

[s'Il]

Her feet moved to compensate, and with an easy shift the Lupine twisted her torso before bringing her left arm up once more. Her hand was not closed though; instead her fingers seemed to simply follow the motion as if dragged. Once more in a solid stance, s'Il brought her left arm around her body in an arc, tapping into the Force as she did so.

She could feel Zem's essence, his body as he stood there, and she flicked her wrist. The Force tugged at him them, pulling him close as if she was pulling him to her with a rope.

Her right palm came up then, to land jarringly on his chest and stop his motion.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"That's one way to do it."

I winced a bit, not quite expecting to turn this into a duel just yet.

"The point all returns to Soresu. You deal with what is at hand. What lies beyond does not concern you."

[s'Il]

She moved a step back then, but not before gently patting the spot on his chest that she'd hit.

"Than I am to remain at my center and allow things to come to me?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Correct."

I crossed my arms, the physical demonstration now at an end.

"This isn't a fixed reference, and you will use insight to determine the threshold, but a threshold will always exist. Perhaps longer with a saber, longer still with a blaster. There is always a point in which an enemy can present an inviting target and appear weak, only to get you to betray your discipline and to overextend yourself.

If you keep your discipline, this will never happen."

[s'Il]

She nodded in understanding; of course, weakness was a word that the Lupine was well aquainted with. It had been a loathed word among her people; Eh'ela'kha in Bast'yr, which itself was a word formed from the root eh'el, which directly translated to 'evil'.


Her stance solidified then, as she studied her own body and its' placement. She planted her feet firmly, her muscles rigid yet waiting.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"I'm going to bring my hand closer to you. At the point when you think I'm in your range, I want you to meet my hand with your own."

[s'Il]

She watched his hand, gauging the distance carefully before slowly bring her own up to meet his, her slender fingers wrapping around the fist he'd made.

Her elbow was still bent, and she allowed him to push farther as she began to apply pressure until she'd stopped it, less than a foot from her shoulder.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"This is good. Well within your range."

To emphasize, I tried to draw her from her base, and she was not easily dislodged.

"In fact, you could possibly manage more range than this. Find your boundaries. Feel them."

[s'Il]

Not quite ready to relinquish her hold on him, s'Il began to pull. She ducked her shoulder low, motions slow and precise, having transferred her push to the pull that would send him on a path past her and opening him up to attack.

The attack came, but it was far less lethal than a punch; instead she opted to exchange such a violent blow with a simple poke of her finger.

And then she released him, moving out of range with a parting foot to his rear.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I gave her a funny look at that. She was eager to slip one in on me, and I laughed.

"Very good control. You're not tempted into fighting outside of your terms."

[s'Il]

A satisfied smirk, and s'Il let herself fall back into a low stance, though it was easy to see that her muscles remained loose. She flicked her wrist, the fingers of her hand following the quick motion fluidly, again, like before as if they were attached only by a string.

From behind Zem a sound came, of earth shaking mildly; the pebbles that littered the dirt ground pooled together then, forming a solid block of earth.

"And why be tempted to be drawn out of my own terms, when I could bring my opponent into them?"

The Lupine widened her feet then, poised with her arm raised as if she held an invisible tether line to the creation she'd brought forth behind her master, ready to pull it toward herself.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I drew back, driving both fists into the pillar she had crafted, blasting it into oblivion with one fell strike. Nevertheless, I was impressed. She wasn't just accepting the teaching, but she was mating it to what she knew. The whole aspect of tackling obstacles was a vague remnant of her Vaapad learning, only now following the tenets of Soresu.

"Creative, though likely not effective against Soresu itself. I think perhaps you might find such an engagement to be slightly boring and less gratifying."

[s'Il]

A deflated look flashed across her features for only a moment, soon to be replaced with determined gaze.

"Than what if I widen my range... ?"

A bare foot hit the ground, and she brought her right arm down until her fingers barely touched the hard-packed dirt. Called into motion by her manipulations of the Force, solid chunks of earth began to rise up. Her arm swept forward in a straight line, and the protrusions followed the path she sent them on.

Much like a blurred chain reaction, blocks of terra firma lanced outward at Zem in a straight line.

And then her hand balled into a fist and she snapped it back. Right beside her master a small pillar, no higher than his knees, sprang up. The small cloud of dust generated by her action began to settle then, showing a line of uprooted earth leading from herself to him.

"... use what's around me as an extension of myself?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"This is a logical extension of Soresu. What you have at your disposal will increase your threshold. We practice unarmed to show you the concept. With a lightsaber, your comfortable range improves."

[s'Il]

"Comfortable... "

She held her position, making no other moves.

"Or a crutch?"

Now it was the Lupine within her talking. Reliance upon one single tool was something she couldn't bring herself to do.

"I can't allow myself to be comfortable with a lightsabre just because it's a traditional weapon. But with the Force, wouldn't everything around me be used to attack or defend?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Yes, of course. You take all of this into account. The lightsaber is simply the most common at your disposal. There is also the boon of familiarity. Using something else may be good improvisation, but you may not know your threshold as well."

[s'Il]

"But if I can end the fight without needing to find out what my 'threshold' is, wouldn't that just make the whole process unnecessary?"

Her brow had furrowed, her low stance relaxing. She shifted her weight to one leg while reaching a hand up to rub at her temple. It was easy to see that the Lupine was becoming flustered.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"This is a temptation you have to temper yourself against. You may think you have an opening, and a legitimate excuse to reach beyond your threshold, but you must show patience.

Then again, you will discover that your threshold is not some firm wall that is drawn around you. It is malleable against your instincts, and you will know when you strike that you have based your foundation upon solid rock.

To fight like this, you must spend a lot of time meditating, and looking inward at yourself, and outward at the world. The world, the hurricane about you, and you, the peaceful eye."

[s'Il]

Meditation. Always meditation.

s'Il made a face.

"But what if there's no time for that?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

I smiled.

"Then guess."

[s'Il]

She could think of nothing to say at first; he'd done a good job of turning her about in place.

"So then it all comes down to 'if you have the time to do so, meditate and learn your surroundings so that you're better able to defend yourself. And failing that, you just guess'?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You're a Jedi. Trusting your instincts is as solid as walking on rock."

[s'Il]

She pursed her lips in thought, then let a sigh escape her lips. One arm swept out, hand flat, and the stone slabs that she'd called up from the ground sank back down.

"Trusting instincts and the Force didn't seem to help the Jedi very much when the Sith came," she grumbled.

"They didn't even see the danger until it had already become too late."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"All we can do is to place our faith in the force. We can hope it is enough. If it is not, we should be prepared to meet our destinies. Because their efforts resulted in death does not mean ours will. The force is full of deeper mysteries than this."

[s'Il]

"So then it's nothing but blind faith."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I looked at her, and my brow furrowed.

"There's nothing blind at all about that."

[s'Il]

A frown. To her, this was making no sense. Shifting her weight to her other leg, s'Il had to keep herself from walking away in frustration.

"But, if I'm to guess when there's no other option, and trust in the Force, how is that not blind faith?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"The force is not blind chance. It has a will, and a voice. If you follow that, even when everything else betrays you, you will find your way."

[s'Il]

s'Il gave in then. As much as his words this morning confused her, she knew that it was best in this case to accept them. She would understand in time; she was sure.

"Well," she conceded, "I don't understand it, but I'll do my best to follow it."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Doubt is the companion of faith. It is natural to doubt. Your desire to understand will come from it, and compel you to explore your faith."

[s'Il]

"I don't doubt it, I just don't understand it."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I smiled and nodded, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

"I'd be wasting my time in training you if you did."

[s'Il]

The Lupine feigned a hurt look, staring up into his face.

"Well I would like to think of myself as something more than a waste of time."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Why teach the girl who knows everything?"

[s'Il]

She rolled her eyes then, taking his hand from her shoulder with a gentle grip.

"Such an overblown windbag you've become; I'm not so sure spending time on this planet is a good thing for you. Something in the water, probably.

"And with that in mind, I have to wonder if all the talking you've been doing for the last month has made you soft."

[Zem-El Vymes]

I quirked an eye at her.

"No soft living here. I get up earlier in the morning than you do."

[s'Il]

The Lupine made a face at that, lifting her arm. With her index finger pointed upwards, she made a swirling motion up into the air, and a small pebble smacked him in the back of the head.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I gave her a deadpan look as I rubbed the back of my head, then scuffed the dirt with my toe, using the force as well to blast her with dust and floatsam, covering her thoroughly.

[s'Il]

Somewhat flabbergasted at the sudden covering of dirt, s'Il shook her head to rid her hair of dust.

A nimble hop took her a further distance from him, and the Lupine lowered her body, hands up in a relaxed guard. Her feet twisted on the ground, pointing slightly inward as she swept her right hand in an arc in front of her.

Pulled by the Force, a whirlwind of twigs, leaves, and small stones followed the direction of her arm, head for Zem.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I stood my ground with a relaxed stance. Lok's barrage came toward me, and I answered it with the knife edge of my right hand, using the force to drive a subtle wedge, and using the minimum amount of force to peel away her assault so that it passed to either side. With that hand extended, I pointed my fingertips at her, giving a gentle nudge to knock my student off balance.

[s'Il]

She stumbled back a few steps, absorbing the Force push with a determined look on her face.

This was what was needed. They'd spent far too many days simply talking; lessons given with words and not with actions.

Standing solidly once more, s'Il once more lowered her stance, centering her body. Her feet twisted inward, and with a tug of the Force small rocks and earth grew from the ground to cover her feet and ankles, anchoring her solidly.

One arm swept behind her, ready to unleash her next onslaught.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I traced my fingers around me slowly, and the dirt and debris was airborne once more. I wrapped myself in a spiral of dust, obfuscating myself from her view. Only the column could be seen, twenty feet wide.

[s'Il]

Remembering what had happened the last time he'd done something like this, s'Il abandoned her previous attack in favor of defense. She knelt low, and slammed her hands palm-down into the ground.

In response, a solid grouping of slabs burst from the ground on all sides of her. They rose up in a cloud of dust, meeting over her kneeling body and entombing her.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Pleased that she had learned her lesson, I let the shroud fall and closed a fist. She was secure in her position, but she was now stuck there whether she liked it or not. I held the stones fast around her.

[s'Il]

In the dark, a coy smile pulled her lips back, and s'Il closed her hands into fists.

Stretching out with her mind, she closed her eyes and saw all that surrounded her outside of her rock covering... including Zem. And then she struck out with her left arm, hitting the rock slab with a solid blow.

On the outside of the slab, a stone the size of a fist broke away and rocketed toward Zem. Then another, and another.

And on the inside of her 'prison', s'Il continued to punch the wall with alternating fists.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I stepped out of the way of the first stone, dodged the the second, and kicked a third to the ground before taking a heavy graze across my back, sending me to the ground, but not before the structure, weakened by her strikes and my efforts to compress it, collapsed inwards on her.

[s'Il]

She could feel the slabs collapsing, crumbling beneath his press and her own actions.

Both arms shot out then, and she blasted the remaining rock to either side of her. Dust and debris filled the air, whipped up into a frenzy by her own manipulations, now obscuring her.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I waited serenely for her to tire of this exercise, safely away from her tempest. There was no need for me to see her, she radiated from behind her shroud. Such a prodigy, she was gifted in ways that anyone even slightly adept could see.

When I was ready to look into the shroud, I thrust the knife edge of my left palm out, peeling away the forward-facing spiral of her tempest and sending a geyser of dust over our heads.

Her small hurricane diverted, I walked toward her.

[s'Il]

Her eyes closed, s'Il watched him through the shifting colors of the Force, felt him cut his way through the dust that shrouded her.

Her feet were still anchored to the ground, but she made no other move to attack. Keeping low to the ground, her head remained as she waited; ready.

[Zem-El Vymes]

It was only at the last moment that I even drew up my hands to anticipate an attack. And none came.

We paused, studying each other, and inexorably as all things happen, began to circle each other. It was a risky, serious sort of dance, one that would be over abruptly if one party acted hastily, or another lost focus.

[s'Il]

Without warning, the Lupine thrust an arm out, the fingers of her hand splayed out. She balled her fingers into a white-knuckled fist.

Earth leapt up to grab at her master's feet, encasing his lower legs and stopping his movement.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I stood fast and undaunted. If she wanted to root me down to fight, I was able to oblige this.

[s'Il]

She took a step forward, one bare foot landing heavily on the ground, and Zem sank into the ground to his knees.

[Zem-El Vymes]

And still, I was unmoved. Eventually she was going to have to apply fundamentals and face me directly.

[s'Il]

He was waiting for something, she knew it. An opening, perhaps?

Taking another step, the Lupine seemed to falter, and she stumbled forward a few feet.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You have me. You should take the advantage."

I gestured to my predicament as testament to that.

[s'Il]

This confused her a small bit, as her feint had not drawn him into action as she'd hoped.

"You don't defend yourself?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Should I be defending myself?"

I looked up at her and quirked an eyebrow.

[s'Il]

A quick hand motion, and he was out of the ground, the dirt now solid beneath his feet.

"I thought that was the nature of Soresu," the Lupine grumped.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You're correct, but you can only apply defense when it suits you. You must always remember not to extend yourself. Zeal leads to overextension. My feet were rooted, yes, but my center of gravity was lower. I traded one advantage for another."

[s'Il]

She made a face, mentally chastizing herself for not coming to that conclusion on her own; as she had lowered her own body to solidify her center, she'd done the same thing - only far better - for him.

"Then what should I have done."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"You should have attacked me."

I spoke matter of factly, thrusting upward with two kicks to extract myself.

"You had your leverage, and I was within a sensible range. You already know better than to butt strength against strength, and where I gained leverage, you still had mobility and creative impetus."

[s'Il]

A frown, and she made another face. Sometimes he confused her. Hadn't she been attacking? It'd seemed like all he'd done was defend himself. Even at her feint, he'd done nothing.

With a slightly grumpy look on her features, s'Il wiped a hand over the ront of her shirt. "I could attack you now, then."

[Zem-El Vymes]

She'd barely finished her sentence before finding my boot make contact just above her waist in a spinning kick designed to spill her to the side.

[s'Il]

Taken by surprise, the Lupine locked her hand around his ankle in an instinctive reaction, dragging her with him as she staggered to the side.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Using her falling inertia, I sprung up with my planted foot and pivoted my body so that I could give her a further press kick as I 'fell' along with her.

[s'Il]

One hand on one ankle, she grabbed his other with her free hand. With the momentum of her fall, it wasn't a hard thing to use this new handhold to help stabilize herself.

Stumbling a few more steps, the Lupine fell to one knee, releasing her hold on one of Zem's legs. Her grip on his ankle tightened, and she pulled on the Force around her. With a mighty heave, s'Il flung her master up into the air.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I was hurled upward in one sudden motion, and I arched my back to cause me to right myself on the way down, so that I came back on my own two feet. A quick spring step, and I drew my hands up immediately.

[s'Il]

She surged forward, sprinting toward him. Feet making a soft patter on the hardpacked dirt, s'Il kept one arm trailing behind as she closed the distance between her and her master.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I waited for her charge, then bounded suddenly to the side, forcing her to waste her momentum in order to compensate and redirect her attack. At that moment, I also probed with a snapping kick, in case she was slower on her senses than she should be.

[s'Il]

Her body moved fluidly, and she saw him out of the corner of her eye as she came level with him. The arm that trailed behind came around then, beginning a smooth turn, and aided by the Force, s'Il spun on her heel. The arm that had begun her twisting motion came around to block his kick, and with her other, she lashed out sideways, hoping to catch him with a quick chop to his chest.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Unable to dodge, I snaked my arm around her incoming strike, which had the effect of dampening the force and deflecting the strike, so that she glanced off my shoulder. Grappled together, I drew the rest of my body back, keeping our connected arms between us as I gained a firm hold at her shoulder.

[s'Il]

The Lupine, stopped by his hold on her arm, opted for closer quarters, and she allowed herself to be pulled with him as he drew back.

Her muscles became loose, feeling the motions of her body as she was pulled with him. Only her legs made any sort of independant movement in order to keep her on her feet.

She lanced outward with her free hand then, fingers balled into a fist with the knuckles of her index and middle finger more pronounced. She struck just below his ribcage, and followed with a jab to his armpit.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I grunted at her strikes and bore them as best as I could, returning my own by straining my arm against hers, and then twisting about to kick repeatedly against her side.

[s'Il]

With a short yelp. s'Il absorbed his kicks to the best of her abilities. It was easy to see that they still hurt though, but she was loathe to admit it; or to give in.

Her free hand grabbed at his ankle as he kicked once more, and she planted her feet, muscles straining to hold him in position.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Now she was committed. Hand to hand, hand to foot. I had only one leg to stand on.

With a smile, I fell backwards, curling my free-standing leg against my stomach as I did, only to kick it into her belly as my back rolled against the ground below. My intention was to unceremoniously catapult s'Il over my head some distance away.

[s'Il]

It was a surprising move to her, but she made no sound as she hit the gound a fair enough ways away from him. With the wind knocked out of her, she lay still for a few moments, pulling in a few drawn out breaths.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I got to my feet, not much worse for wear, and approached my student. Dropping to my haunches, I extended her a hand.

"You fought with great cleverness."

[s'Il]

She took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"It wasn't enough though," the Lupine grumped.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Yes, but it plants the seed. Soon, it will be enough."

[s'Il]

Wiping dust and other loose dirt from her trousers, the Lupine looked toward the treeline.

"It's been a year already; things like this I should not be falling short on."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Don't be frustrated by your ambitions. When I was your age, I certainly wasn't as skilled as you are."

I thought about this, stroking my beard as I stood with her.

"Perhaps it's time that we leave the planet for a while."

[s'Il]

This surprised her, and s'Il pulled her gaze from the forest line to look up at him.

"Leave? To where?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

I thought on it further.

"Tattooine isn't terribly far. From there I imagine we can at least wet our beak in the affairs of the galaxy, and get an idea of how things are."

[s'Il]

She'd never been to Tattooine, but what she'd heard of the planet was enough to make her hesitate on his suggestion. But, above that, another more nagging thought tugged at her.

"What if it's still going on," she asked, calling to mind the Purge without naming it.

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Tattooine is a backwater. There are enough people to catch gossip, but I doubt enough trouble to get into if we mind ourselves."

[s'Il]

His words were a small consolation; a fact that was easily read on her features.

"When?"

The thought of leaving what had been their home for a year was something that did not comfort her.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I looked back at her with understanding. She never did take to transition very well.

"Think of it as a vacation. We have a good enough home for now. But a change of scenery may be of help to us both."

[s'Il]

"I don't need a change of scenery," the Lupine countered, "I'm perfectly happy where I am. No one bothers us here, and that... thing from Rumigaar... "

She paused then, memory taking her back to that horrid day. Whatever that thing had been, it was something that s'Il never wanted to encounter again.

"... it hasn't come for us.

"What if it's waiting for us to leave this place?"

[Zem-El Vymes]

"Staying fast here, for fear of that evil, wrongs us every bit as much as it could ever do."

My words were firmer this time.

"We cannot excuse our responsibilities, nor our destiny, for such fear."

[s'Il]

He was right. She knew he was, and the tone of his voice seemed to further chastize her.

"Being alone isn't so bad," she started quietly, "but I suppose it would help to stay informed."

[Zem-El Vymes]

"We'll leave tomorrow. Just a stroll out. Don't think of it as anything else. Maybe then we'll see which way the winds are blowing."

I placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked out with her into the distance.