Finally Ready.....(Spar-Verse Dawnstrider)

[Xazor]

Xazor breathed in the cool air of the morning as she walked into the Academy. Standing in the middle of the room, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bathing herself in the Force. Smiling brightly, she opened them and looked around.

Master......I wish to spar with you once again.......I think I am ready.......

She said verbally, also sending the message through the Force.......she hoped he heard her either way. She shifted her weight a bit and waited in silence for his arrival.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse walks to Xazor sit a lopped sided grin.::

"You feel you are ready? Lets begin then."

::Verse ignited one of his grey sabers and stood ina defensive.::

[Xazor]

Xazor nodded and smiled as she looked into his eyes.

Yes, I am ready now.....

She said with a slight bow. Removing her saber from her belt, her finger slipped over the ignition switch and a blue beam shot forth from the hilt with a hissing noise.

You may have the first attack....

She said softly as she positioned herself in a horse stance with her saber parallel to the ground at waist level. Smiling brightly, she nodded for him to go first.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse rushed Xazor. Teh two blades met as the Jedi sent blow after blow to each other. Verse parried a blow from Xazor out the way and kicked his in her gut. He let the momentum of the kicked takes him to the right. And his foot touched groun his stooped low and slammed Xazor in the center of her chest with a Force push.::

[Xazor]

She countered the Force push by holding her ground with the Force. She jumped up and spun around, landing a hard crescent kick to the side of his head. Landing softly, she ran behind him and slammed the hilt of her lightsaber into the base of his neck as she swept his feet out from under him.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse blocked out the pain with the Force so he could consintrate. He fell backward as his feet were kicked from under him. Using Force inhanced reflexs, Verse let his hands touch the ground first. Using the monetuim of the fall, Verse pushed himself into a handstand, then in a fluid motion he grabbed Xazor by her neck withhis feet and slammed her to the ground.::

[Xazor]

Xazor hit the ground pretty hard and rubbed her neck as she slowly rose to her feet. Jumping at Verse, she jumped around sideways and labled him with both of her feet into his chest. He fell back several feet and she ran at him again, before he could block, she was there sweeping her saber down his left leg and then back up again over his torso from his waist to to his right shoulder.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse moved with blinding speed. He moved slightly to his left then to his right. Both sweeps were avoided this way. As Xazor finished sweeping her saber upward, Verse grabed her wrist with his left hand. This would keep his right hand from hitting the Light Saber. He pulled her in close and slammed a knee into her chest. He breathed hard as his chest hurt. It was getting hard to block out the pain. Time to get serious. He had to get her not only to use her body, but the Force as well. She needed to force her to fight like a Jedi.::

[Xazor]

Xazor gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of her by his powerful knee to her chest. She fell back a yard or so and tried to block to pain from her mind. Switching her saber to her left hand, she used her right to send a powerful Force blast his way. It nailed him in the stomach and sent him back a few feet. His footing was lost and she ran at him. As she ran, she picked up some dust in her hand and blew it his way, creating the image of butterflies in his face. It appeared as though there were thousands of them and it blinded him from her actions for a moment. She moved in close and slashed her saber across his shoulder. She then went in for another to the other side, but was blocked for the illusion disappeared after a moment.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse held his shoulder.::

"Not bad, Let me show you what you will be able to do one day."

;:Verse closed his eyes and a image of him appeared. It split into three more. All 5 verse smiled. Then they rush Xazor. He cut through each of them to relize they were not real. Then a sudden pain shot down her back. The real Verse had stuck up in the mix of things and punched her square in teh back.::

[Xazor]

Xazor fell to her knees and winced at the pain. Trying to block it with her mind, she rose to her feet and spun around quickly. She nailed him in the side of the head with a spinning crescent kick. He rushed at her and she created a Force wall and he plowed right into it, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him back a yard or so. She ran at him as he fell and sent a heavy Force push his way sending him all the way to the ground. It sure would come in handy if I could do those illusions now...... Xazor thought to herself as he regained his footing.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse laid on his back and looked at his padawan. She had come along far. She relied on her body to much. Verse threw his saber at her. She moved with ease. She laughed at his miss. As she did a very large tree branch fell on top of her. Verse called hsi saber back and it cut through another branch. It fell on her as well. Verse held his saber as it came back to him.::

[Xazor]

Xazor crawled out from underneath the branches and shook her head with a sigh. She got the message that he was trying to send to her. She would definatly have to use the Force more. She grinned as she looked at him. There was a small stream at the opposite side of the academy. Using the Force, she scooped up some water and sent it flying at him. It drenched him completely and she laughed. Rushing at him, she ran right past him and stopped a few yards behind him. He turned around and she scooped up some dust in her hand. Blowing it his way, she created the illusion of fire balls whizzing for his head. There was a mass of them and she took the opportunity to run at him and landed a flying side thrust kick into his solar plexis. As he fell, she cut her saber across the wound she had just made........creating an "X" on his arm.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse gritted his teeth as the "X" appeared. She was close. Real close. Verse killed his saber and threw it with added strenght given by the Force. The Saber hilt caught her right in the middle of her forehead. Continuing with the motion, Verse grabbed Xazor's arm with his good right arm and pulled her forward past teh left side of him. As his arm went with her, his rigth elbow connected with the side of her head. He let go as she started to fall and called his saber back to him.::

[Xazor]

She fell sideways and blocked the pain from her mind and body. Suddenly, she ran at him. Once close enough, she jumped over his head, forcing him to turn around. She was right there with a scoop of water held by the Force. It slammed into his face and drenched him once again. His eyes shut and she took the opportunity to ram into him with her right side. He fell back several feet and regained his footing quickly, but she had already gathered some dust in her hand and blew it his way. She created in her mind and right in front of him the image of a bunch of small knives. They were sailing right for his head. She quickly grabbed her two throwing knives from her belt and threw them along with the image. They wizzed at him and made slight contact with his right bicept and then fell to the ground. She called them back to her with the Force and slipped them in her belt as the illusion disappeared.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Luckly the knife had only made a scratch, but the water still made his eyes water. It was blirry and hard to see. Verse kept his eyes closed and opened his Mind's Eye with the Force. He could see with his mind now. Verse felt the leaves on the ground. Many were here on Yavin 4. He picked them up and sent the flying at Xazor with ungodly speed. The idea was simple. The faster the object the more power. Just like when a hurricane can send pinestraw through a tree trunk. Teh leaves zipped by Xazor giving here hundreds of cuts. None too deep, but enough to keep her from consintrating.::

[Xazor]

The purpose of his move had been successfully fulfilled......she could not concentrate. Shakind her head she closed her eyes and focused on the Force. Visualizing the small cuts all over her body, she closed them as best she could from the inside out. Slowly they disappeared, leaving only a small trace of their previous existance. It was still bothering her a little, for they itched now. She sighed and tried not to think about it. Suddenly, she got an idea. Thinking quickly, she grinned. She lifted a large group of rocks behind her Master and threw them at him with the Force. About twelve rocks came flying at him and a few made contact with the back of his head, sending a stinging sensation through his body. She grinned at his shocked expression and stood with her saber in a ready stance, prepared for his next attack........or trick.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Once more luck was on the older Jedi's side. The rocks were not big, nor were they thrown hard. The sensation was mostly shock, not pain. Verse reached out with his mind. He called a primal beast. Ones that have been around sence teh dawn of time, and will be here long after these races have dided out. One so deadly few could stop them, yet so simple once a thought is placed in their minds, it was almost permanent. Ants. Millions and millions on ants. Verse entered their minds and made them believe Xazor was food. He would not control them, because that was of the Dark Side. This was not though. They swarmed at Xazor. Untill Verse corrected the mistake, they would believe her to be their food.::

[Xazor]

Xazor looked paniced at Verse as the millions of ants came toward her. She back up slowly as she tried to think of what to do. Suddenly, she got it. She called on the Force and lifted gallons of water from the stream. She then dumped it all over the ants. They couldn't swim very well at all and many died.....but still more kept coming. She used the Force and sent a heavy blast at them, scattering their tiny bodies backwards. More and more came after that and she started to run out of ideas. She then got one just in the nic of time. She created a Force wall around her.....a sort of shield. She had used it in combat before and it proved very useful. The ants crawled all over the "wall". It looked like they were just hovering around her. She grinned.....but then thought about what would happen once the "wall" broke. She closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could on holding the "wall" in place.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse smiled::

"This battle ends her Padawn. You faught good. Well enough to give me a bit of a challenge. Time to end this...."

::Verse enters Xazor's mind and send a shockwave into it with the Force. The energy hit her numbing her mind. Because of this, she could not longer consintrate.::

[Xazor]

A confused expression washed over Xazor.

Why did you.........what the........that isn't fair!

She was totally shocked and couldn't think. She laughed slightly as she tried to figure out what had happened. She jumped at Verse and tried to attack, but it was useless, she stopped and grabbed her head in her hands. She dropped her lightsaber and it clicked off. Bending over, she picked it up and clipped it to her belt, still looking at Verse questioningly.

Is that legal?

She says with a slight laugh. She had no idea why he wished to end the spar.......she was doing so well.

[verse dawnstrider]

"I stopped it because you lost. Those ants would have torn you apart if your shield went down. You have done very well my Padawan. Your skills are more than fine. What you lack is mental. You rely to much on your body. This is a mistake many make. The Force is your greatest ally. That is what make us Jedi. Besides, what will you gain in fighting? Battle is not everything. You must only fight as a last resort."

[Xazor]

Xazor's eyes fell to the ground. I lost..... She thought over and over to herself. She shook her head and looked up at Verse.

I am sorry, my Master....I shall try harder next time. I will train hard and remember everything you have said.....

She said quietly. She placed her hands on her head once again. Everything seemed blurry, she felt dizzy and she wished she could concentrate. Turning slowly from Verse, she began to walk away from him.

Yes.....battle is not everything.....though maybe we shall spar again sometime, Master.....


She said as she walked away from him, thinking of what she did wrong and what she needed to improve. She had tried so hard.....but again, it was not good enough...it wasn't the best.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse smiled and opened his arms.::

"Come her Xazor."

[Xazor]

Xazor turned around and saw Verse with his arms open, calling her to him. She looked down for a moment, but then ran and fell into his arms.

Master, how come when I try so hard I fail?

She asked, a tear escaping and cascading down her cheek; kissing the ground like the morning dew.

[verse dawnstrider]

::Verse hugged the student.::

"Fail? You are far from it. You are just a padawan. You sould not think you can beat your teacher before the training is done. Soon though...I have a feeling you will be able to take me with ease. I think your doing great."

[Xazor]

Xazor hugged tighter when he spoke. He filled her soul with confidence and offered her encouragement like none other.

I just wanted you to see how hard I try.....

She said quietly, thinking more about his words. I think you're doing great. The phrase replayed itself in her mind a few times.

I'd be lost without you...

She didn't know where the words came from, but she thought they needed to be said.