Tutoring: Augmenting abilities through the Force (J'ktal)

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei stood in the middle of one of the large training rooms in the GJO Academy.

"And a streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch," Wei said, bending down and grabbing the tips of his shoes.

Wei held his toes for a half minute, then stood up. "And the back." Wei twisted at the waist a few times.

Wei was waiting on a certain black mongoose that had made an appearance in the Council Chambers a short while ago. He had asked for a new master, and Wei had offered that the Padawan find several teachers to teach him one class.

Wei tilted his head to one side, listening to the small cricks his neck made. Today Wei would be teaching that mongoose about Force Boosting.

"J'ktal," Wei murmured, remembering the Padawan's name.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

J'ktal's boots made little noise as he walked down the hallways, despite their apparently hard heels. His tail swished lightly behind him as he rounded the corner into the training room Wei had instructed him to attend, and he nodded lightly to the Knight upon entry.

"Good morning, Master Wei," he greeted him, taking a moment to remove his outer coat and hang it on a peg on the wall. As usual, he was finely dressed, but not so finely that it would hamper movement, or slow him down in a fight. Though dressy, J'ktal's clothing was always utilitarian.

"Is this to be a one on one session, or are we waiting for others before we begin?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei looked up and squinted at J'ktal. Wei was sure that J'ktal had black fur. But this mongoose was grey. Wei raised his eyebrows and shrugged the thought away.

"Just us, J'ktal."

Wei bounced on his toes and smiled. "Today we talk about Force Boosting. Force Boosting is when you use the Force to enhance your natural strength or speed. You can even enhance vision and hearing if you want to."

Wei beckoned J'ktal into the room. "First things first. Do you know how to get control of the Force and manipulate it?"

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

The Death-Shadow looked back at the doors and they suddenly swung closed, and the lock switch activated. He turned his gaze to Wei with a thin smile and replied, "Yes, but only a little."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei met J'ktal's grin with a bigger one. "Well, as long as you can synchronize with the Force, you'll do fine. You'll learn to be more attuned to the Force as you grow in experience."

Wei pushed up his glasses. "Well, basically all you do in Force Boosting is to tune into the Force, and then focus the Force into the part of your body that you want to enhance. We'll start with our legs for speed. Grab a hold of the Force, then focus the Force into your legs. Sometimes it helps to imagine the Force as a liquid that flows from your middle into your limbs."

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

Concepts such as visualization no longer helped the Death-Shadow, as he had moved beyound them. It was the theory of the application that mattered, and he did as Wei said without question, focusing on the Force, and pitting that focus in his legs. If he could speed himself up, that alone would give him a further advantage than he already had from his training.

Adopting a horse stance, his feet shoulder width apart and his fists tucked to his sides, J'ktal stared ahead at Wei, and awaited further instruction.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "Good form, J'ktal. Since you've put so much power into your legs..." Wei reached in his pocket and took out a small ball in a piece of plastic wrap. Wei removed the wrap and and Wei soon held a stick ball in his hands.

"I have no idea how kids can appreciate these things..."

Wei tossed the ball up so it stuck to the high cieling over J'ktal's head. "Leave that there. We'll come back to it later." Wei had brought along his frisbee, and it rested on the floor next to him. "I throw the frisbee, and you catch it."

Wei picked up the frisbee and flung it toward the corner of the room farthest from the Padawan.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

His legs contracted, then fired, launching J'ktal to the side, and starting him on a dash down the length of the room. He was able to utilize some of his newfound speed, but it would not be enough. Like any skill, boosting would need to be practiced until he had it perfected.

The plastic disc ricocheted off of a far wall, and J'ktal was there to catch it. With a flick of his paw, he delivered the toy back to Wei in a perfect line, a rarity for a frisbee throw. "Again, I was not fas enough," he said before the Knight could suggest it.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shrugged and caught the frisbee. "No, you weren't. But that's ok. That's why we're going to do this a few more times."

Wei walked down to the end of the room with J'ktal. "After I throw it, count to three and then go after it."

Wei launched the frisbee across the room again.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

Counting to three, J'ktal burst off from his stand with speed that even astonished himself. Still, it wasn't enough, and he once again caught the frisbee on the rebound from the other wall.

The cycle was repeated over and over until the Death-Shadow finally started to come close to catching the disc in mid flight. His legs were sore, but he would not complain, or start to show it. If he could survive geting his left arm ripped off, he would deal with a few achy muscles. Flicking the frisbee back to Wei once more, he repeated, "Again, I was not fast enough."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shrugged. "It comes with practice. Your legs must be pretty tired out. We've been at it for a while. Let's take the time to learn something else and we'll come back to the frisbee afterward."

Wei walked to the middle of the room and motioned for J'ktal to join him. "Now this is a fun little trick for when your muscles are achy and sore. My teacher called it 'Force Rejuvenation.' It's a little like Force Healing, but it's mostly there to give you a second wind."

Wei cracked his knuckles and whirled his arm around a little. It was starting to feel a bit sore from throwing the frisbee. "I need this too, so we'll work on this together. Concentrate on the part of your body that you've been working out and then use the Force to lift the ache out of you. I've always imagined it like a liquid flowing out of my body and taking all the ache with it."

Wei gave an encouraging smile. "Ready? Let's get it done."