Bruised knuckles (Daria)

[Silus Xilarian]

It had been awhile since Silus and Daria's last training session. The last time he'd actually even seen the woman was on Coruscant during their little stunt at the Jedi Order with a few other of the Circle's miscreants. Lately, Silus had been trying to keep in touch with Lilaena, making sure she the Jedi havent found her and her son. It was only earlier that day, while standing in front of the mirror naked (something he'd been known to do, a lot.) that he realized that his usually tanned skin was now getting a bit pale. He hadn't been working out as much either, and frankly, he was in need of breaking a sweat. It wasn't long after that he'd dressed into light clothes, windpants and a tee shirt, and was in one of his personal speeders on his way to Daria and Naj's place.

Usually, he prefered to meet Daria, whether it be somewhere in the city, or her coming to the palace. After today though, he figured neither of them would be in the mood to walk and use public transportation, so he opted to pick her up instead.

It wasn't a long drive before he was parked outside the apartment building where Daria and Naj shared a room. It was a two bedroom apartment, which Silus found kinda funny. Of course, he also couldnt picture a skinny little blue guy sharing a bed with a girl like Daria. To say the least, she was out of his league.

Either way though, Silus made his way up to the second story, just a few doors down the hallway to Daria's apartment, and knocked on the door.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Neighbours of the apartment occupied by the pair would often be quite perplexed by the sounds heard from within. On more than one occasion, building staff had been called out to investigate strange noises – bangs, crashes, little almost explosions. On one such occasion, the young woman who lived therein had answered the door wearing little more than a bikini, panting and soaked in sweat. After that, nothing more had been said about the odd noises.

Residents smiled politely at the odd looking Chiss man and his almost feral partner. Politely they requested that they keep their evening activities to a minimum. The couple abided such accusations, simply to hide what they were really up to, something far more incriminating.

“Xilarian,” she opened the door, nodding in greeting.

It was a surprise to see Silus here, but there was a first time for everything. Turning from the threshold, she began to walk back into the apartment. It was small, and cluttered. There was a large table, heaped with miscellanea, a kitchenette, and a door to another room, which housed a double bed and fresher. Najiri had been out for a couple of hours already that morning, picking up supplies. Daria had capitalized on the time alone to meditate and rest, a luxury that she hadn’t often been afforded since escaping Doz’rah.

“Something I can help you with?” she asked, gathering up the books she’d laid out across the couch to make room for Silus to sit, should he feel so inclined.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus continued to stand, making it fairly obvious that he didn't plan on being there too long. Daria was dressed down to Silus' level with a tank top and sweats.

"Yeah, we're goin to go train. Ready?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Oh.” Not the sewers again. She dropped the books and gave a small shrug, before ambling over to where her shoes were – pulling them on with a little more aggression than was necessary. “What are we doing today?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Something that doesn't involve me carrying you around the sewers on my shoulder. Sorry if you're disappointed."

Silus gave a quick nod then turned and walked out, which was his way of silently saying 'k, lets go'. Silus did a quick half jog down the stairs, jumping to skip the last four steps. He thought about hopping the hood to the speeder, but figured it would look silly. Instead, he hit a button on the remote in his pocket, and both doors opened. He sat down in the drivers seat and leaned around, waiting for Daria to make her way down.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Quickly picking up the keys to the apartment, she followed. Upon emerging outside and seeing that Silus was sitting in a speeder ready to depart, she smirked. “I hope you plan on driving better than you did last time,” she remarked, making a big fuss about ensuring that her seat belt was securely fastened as she got into the passenger seat.

[Silus Xilarian]

"You're lucky to have me at the controls."

Of course, he could spend the length of the drive giving her just a few details on his career in the Balmorran Empire, but he decided to spare her.

"So what kind of daily workout do you do?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

Straight on to business – you had to admire that about him. “I can assure you it is quite efficient. It has been honed and perfected by the Kuto over centuries, to ensure that each part of our body is kept in condition – though there is more of an emphasis on speed and stamina over strength.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"That's good. I didn't figure you were one to try and overpower an opponent."

They were already on their way. Of course, Silus ignored the main airways, and took a 'shortcut' which consisted of bobbing and weaving between the taller buildings in Iziz.

"If you had to fight someone, without using your mind, and they were bigger than you, how well do you think you could take a hit?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria tried to focus on the dashboard as they drove. Traveling by any other means than on a beast made her feel uneasy. Add to this how high they were and she couldn’t help but feel a little green about the gills, too. “Well, at first. I don’t think I’d be able to keep a good defense up for a long time, though.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Then you have three options I guess. You can try to end the fight fast, try not to get hit, or try to end the fight fast while not getting hit."

Silus grinned a little bit, then looked back over.

"Or you could just lose the fight, but thats four options, and usually anything more than three options is just silly."

Silus cut a quick turn around a building and sent the speeder into a dive. He leveled out low to the ground, travelling down a semi crowded street. This made the pedestrians on the ground a bit uneasy, But Silus was a good ten meters above them, so they didnt do anything drastic, like dive under things.

[Daria Nytherciria]

The sudden downward bank caused Daria to grip at the sides of her seat, her eyes widening a little as she tried more than ever to avoid looking outside. “Option three sounds the best,” she said, peeking a moment out of her window – her heart slowing a little as she saw how close they were to the ground.

[Silus Xilarian]

After a brief run down the street, Silus cut a left and slowed the speeder to a stop. The building they stopped in front of was just a normal looking building, with no real sign of what it was.

"Alright, we're here."

[Daria Nytherciria]

With a sigh of relief, Daria unclipped her seatbelt. “Here?” she asked, peering out of the window for a moment before she opened the door – eager to get out. “Where’s here?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"A building, an empty one. Let's go."

Silus started toward the building with Daria to his side. He pulled the door open, doing the whole 'ladies first' thing. As they entered, they found the place to be a sort of gym, with a large mat in the middle, and a few punching bags around the walls, and of course, various exercise equipment.

There was only one guy there, and with a thought (from Silus) he found the place to be too uncomfortable, and he quickly gathered his belongings and left, leaving Silus and Daria with full run of the place.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Looking around the room, Daria smirked. Well, at least she knew what she was in for now. Giving the punching bag she was stood by a light shove, she commented, “You know, I have one of these in the apartment.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Good, use it. Get you a speed bag too."

Of course, they wouldn't be spending much time on the bags. Most of the equipment here that would even be used would be for warmup. The mat was the biggest reason Silus was here. It would be seeing some use.

"Go ahead and get warmed up. We're gonna be here awhile."

Walking over to the corner, Silus walked behind an unattended counter, retrieving two pairs of light gloves. He threw one pair to Daria, then pulled off his shirt. He left his shirt on the counter and pulled the gloves over his fists, then made his way over to one of the heavy bags.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Catching the gloves, Daria eyed up the bag as she pulled them on. There was something wholly satisfying about braying one of them – and she got right into the mood when she did, so much so that Naj was reluctant to approach her to stop her. She didn’t pack that much of a punch, but threw lots of quick hits that would have gotten him down by attrition, if nothing else. Starting with a few sporadic hits here and there, she began to work the bag, glancing occasionally over to Silus. For some reason, she thought that one hit from him would split the bag at its seams.

[Silus Xilarian]

The sound of light hits against Daria's bag began sounding off through the room. There was a rthyme to them, hinting that this wasn't the first time she'd been in front of a bag. Soon, heavier hits sounded off as well. They were fewer and farther between than her hits, but significantly harder.

As Silus got going, he started dancing a quarter circle around the bag, mixing quick jabs with hard straights, and the occasional elbow. He worked the top half of the bag, mixing high hits with lower hits. Pretty soon, he was dancing a little more, throwing punches with his weight behind them.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria didn’t move as much a Silus. Thi was similar to her method of fighting also. Rather than apply pressure to varied points on an opponents body, she would work at completely crippling a single area. This much was clear from the flurried barrage she was giving some small section of the bag. As her concentration grew, so did the anger with which she was approached the task. It was a fruitless exercise, to punch a dummy, which wound her up even more, so much so that one out of every few hits was being accentuated with a cry.

[Silus Xilarian]

After a few more minutes, Silus stopped hitting the bag. He threw a few punches into thin air then took himself a quick breather before walking over to Daria, intently watching her try to murder the bag in front of her.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria was vaguely aware of Silus’ presence behind her, but was trying to ignore it. She had begun, a minute or so ago, to really enjoy pummeling the bag – a half smile now playing on her lips as she shifted her weight from side to side with each blow.

[Silus Xilarian]

"Ok, good. Don't wear yourself out before we start."

With a bit of a grin on his face, Silus leaned over into Daria's view a bit. She seemed to have something against that one spot on the bag. Maybe it called her fat, maybe it didnt call for like, a month or something. This, of course, only made it more tempting for Silus to give the bag a good hard push. He decided against it though, figuring he needed to be at least half way serious through this.

[Daria Nytherciria]

The barrage ceased, but Daria did not take her eyes away from the bag, as though daring it to move. She took a deep breath, and said. “I think I’m sufficiently warmed up.”

[Silus Xilarian]

As the word 'up' left Daria's mouth, an arm wrapped around her chest, while a foot pushed her feet forward. As soon as she hit the mat behind her, Silus was already backing away.

"Good. Let's get started. Would probably be best if you were on your feet though."

As he got a safe distance away, Silus pulled the gloves from his hands and tossed them aside. He was halfway standing on the balls of his feet, doing a bit of a half hop in place while slightly shaking his arms, loosening up a bit more.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria sighed. Heavily. She could tell this was going to be a long day. Sitting forward into a crouch, then standing, she set both fists in a guard – rolling her shoulders and shifting her weight from foot to watch as she eyed her opponent.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus stretched his arms once more and started slowly walking toward Daria, with no sign of an attack coming. He was more or less interested to see if she would stay purely defensive, in which case he would be nose to nose with her before his next attack. If she decided to gamble on offense, then he would be the one reacting.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria watched carefully as Silus approached. It seemed she was to be disallowed from using her natural abilities in this fight. She wagered she might have been faster than Silus, perhaps more agile, so perhaps that was a facet she could exploit. Perfectly still, she kept her eyes moving between her Masters body and eyes, to see if she could catch any telltale signs of what he was going to do.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus didnt break his pace, instead he kept dead center on her, keeping eye contact until he was but a step or two from her. At the last moment, he shuffled his step a bit, attemping to step on her left foot while reaching up to push her.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria moved backwards quickly, ducking as she did so. She was significantly shorter than Silus, so hoped that his shove would go right over her – allowing her to change her anger focus from the punching bag to her Masters gut.

[Silus Xilarian]

Well, she didn't fall for the oldest trick in the book, and in fact, she dodged it pretty nicely. Before he had time to turn around, she had already let loose on him. Usually, a shot in the gut was something he could shrug off pretty easily, but he quickly found that he was starting to lose shape a bit and Daria had little fists that felt like the pierced more then they pounded.

Rather than bolting forward to get away from her, or trying to turn around (which could result in a fairly nasty sucker punch), Silus dropped down and back so he could either:

a) Fall into her, setting himself up to grab her legs, or
b) land on his back, setting himself up to grab her ankles, or kick her.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Of the two outcomes, it seemed the latter was going to happen. Silus tumbled backwards and Darius fell with him. It was her intent to land on him and somehow keep him pinioned to the ground whilst still having hands free to give him a good beating. The simplest way of going this would be to get into a straddle on his shoulders, but she was unsure as to whether or not that was going to be likely – Silus already looked like he was planning something painful for her.

[Silus Xilarian]

A slight change in plans, but for the better, for Silus at least. Instead of falling into or in front of Daria, they both fell, with her set to fall straddled on him. Before he hit the floor, he pulled his arms in to make sure they ended up between himself and his apprentice.

Now on the floor, with his arms braced under her, Silus pushed up and off to the side, throwing Daria off the side of him.

He quickly rolled in the other direction and started scrambling to his feet.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria mirrored Silus’ movements – using the momentum from being pushed away from him to roll into a crouch. She looked up at him, fighting back a smile – it seemed she was performing well.

“Someday we will have to fight on my terms.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"If you fight so well on your terms, then you hardly need anymore training for them, am I right?"

And like always, he was right. She was gonna have to learn to be good in any situation. Of course, there was a bit of a challenge in her statement.

"But out of curiousity, what sort of terms are you refering to."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Of course you’re right,” she smiled, offering now point contrary. She simply would have liked a chance to give Silus a good beating.

“My terms means my choice of terrain, weaponry and rules,” she added, then standing up straight, making sure she didn’t allow her guard to slip while they spoke.

[Silus Xilarian]

Of course, being a man, Silus was good at ignoring bits of information that were less than beneficial. Usually it was things like "No." or "I have a headache", but that same skill could be applied to this situation.

"So you wanna use a weapon? Alright, be my guest."

Silus backed away, putting a safe distance between them before he plopped down on the floor next to his bag, patiently waiting on his apprentice to either present a weapon, or go and fetch one.

[Daria Nytherciria]

She shook her head, smirking slightly. “No. I said, my choice of weapon and terrain. That conflict will come another day. Now, get up and finish what you started.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"You sound like you're taking this fight a bit personally. I like that. Competition pushes us to better ourselves."

Silus got back up and stepped back onto the mat.

"You've got good reflexes, but sometimes you gotta land the first punch. You know, cause not everyone will walk right up to you."

Placing himself a few meters from Daria, Silus turned his back and spread his arms.

"So have at it."

[Daria Nytherciria]

For a moment, she did nothing. Her eyes fixed with those of her Master, as though she was trying to divine something them. She smiled. “You and I have very different ways of thinking.”

And then she hit him. Perhaps he would expect it, perhaps not. Whatever the case, she threw her whole weight into the punch in an effort to strike home on his solar plexus. She predicted he would either take the blow and fall backwards, or step aside in that cocky way he did so well, sending her sprawling at his feet.

[Silus Xilarian]

As Daria stepped in, Silus casually stepped aside, leaving only a foot behind for her to trip over. He then swerved around so that he was facing her again, backing away a bit, allowing her to get on her feet.

"Don't throw all your weight into your first attack. Your opponent will be waiting for it. You're good if it hits, but in most cases, you're just throwing a slow punch that'll never land."

This time, he stayed facing her.

"Now try again."

[Daria Nytherciria]

She’d been right, at least – but that wasn’t enough to take the red sting from her cheeks. Righting her body, Daria set her stance once more and edged cautiously forwards. Much as before, she threw a punch, but it was nothing more than bait. He right hand snapped backwards and the left came in its place, swinging up in a hook for Silus’ jaw.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus dodged right, and prepared to lay his apprentice out for throwing another sloppy punch, when he found that he'd actually fell for the oldest trick in the book. It was the kind of thing you'd expect because no one ever tried it. Never the less, he took the bait. Even though it took him by surprise, Silus saw the punch out of the corner of his eye. He didn't really have time to dodge, but he did see it at least. It was good enough so that he knew what she was doing, so he could control the situation and all that great stuff that teachers do.

Instead of swinging back, Silus took the hit. It stung, but nothing he couldn't handle. Snapping to the side with the punch, Silus let out a curse or two, and brought his hand up to cradle his jaw, leading on that it hurt slightly more than it did.

"You little.... You sucker punched me!"

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria didn’t intend on stopping to gloat. She brought one hand to her chest and jutted her elbow outwards, driving it for Silus’ gut. Now that she had the upper hand, she wasn’t going to let it slip away.

[Silus Xilarian]

Her strike had caused her to lean downward slightly, thus breaking eye contact, and causing her to give Silus a bit more leverage. Clenching up, Silus took the hit, then dropped to one knee, driving an elbow between her shoulder blades on the way down.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria let out a hiss, as her body was pulled down by the force of Silus’ strike. It was such a pity, she had been doing so well until then, and now her back ached like hell. In her anger, she seized a clump of Silus’ hair in one hand and moved to knee him in the face.

[Silus Xilarian]

With his head pretty much stationary, Silus locked his neck and shoulders so that she couldnt move him as easily. He pushed her knee to the side with his right hand, and landed a solid left to her stomach.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria fell, dropping painfully to her knees, a grimace painted over her face. She muttered a curse in her native tongue. Fatigue was setting in, but she had to try and keep up the pace, so attempted to land another quick two headshots, first from the left fist, then the right.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus swatted the first punch away, but wasn't quick enough to block the second. Having swatted her left hand away with his right, it caused him to have his weight shifted to his left. Her right hand connected fairly solidly with his jaw, jarring his head slightly. Instead of waiting on the next punch however, Silus shifted his weight back to the right, bringing a hard right backhanded fist toward the side of Daria's face.

[Daria Nytherciria]

The hit struck home hard, and Daria was literally spun to the side from the force of the impact. Her hands came up to her jaw as she yelped out another guttural curse of pain. She could taste blood in her mouth. “Enough!”

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus went to follow up, until his student admitted defeat. Admittedly, he had to stop himself from kicking her teeth in, but considering the circumstances, Daria was probably right. He had size and strength on her, and Silus wasn't exactly someone to learn technique on. He was gonna have to find softer opponents to let her work her way up.

Of course, Silus never was the kind to admit defeat, and that mindset had gotten him pretty far. So after delivering a good swift kick to her gut, he relented.

"Pack your stuff, we're goin for a trip."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Allowing herself a moments respite, Daria clutched at her gut while she caught her breath for a moment or so before struggling to her feet. The Doz'rah shot Silus a glare and slipped off the gloves she wore. “Where to?”