Checking on the new girl.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei Wu Wei walked down a hallway in the Dormitories. The Jedi Knight and Council member looked at the current roster of room assignments for Padawans, looking for where the latest addition to the Jedi Order, Scout Ravenwood, was assigned. He brought up the document on his datapad. The task was as simple as sorting the roster by date, from newest to oldest. A moment later, he stood outside the room.

The door was open, and what Wei found was pink. Bubblegum pink, neon pink, that "It's a girl!" kind of pink. Rose-pink, and a few more shades that had no association for the Force Cripple accented the room here and there.

Everything was perfectly clean and in its place.


Wei, however, showed a stark contrast. He sported the light brown traditional Jedi pants, but wore his blue shirt with the billowing sleeves. Jedi weren't supposed to have attachments, but he rather liked the shirt. The cut and style allowed free movement, and reminded him of his late wife. His face wore some wrinkles, and his hair was almost always puffy. He kept the unruly mess tied back.

The Jedi knocked on the doorframe. "Hello? Scout are you in here?"

It was hard to tell with all that pink where things ended and began.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout was touching up her make-up when the knock came on the door. It was her favourite habit when she was nervous. It gave her something to focus on and looking good always made her feel more confident. Confidence was something she especially needed for her class with Master Wei. She was fully flunking her lightsaber lessons and she was terrified what he'd make of her lack of skill.

"Master Wei! Hi!" She smiled, emerging from her room in her pink Jedi tunic and pink high heeled boots, perfectly camoflaged in the pinkness of her room (although personally she thought the room could use a little more pink). She even smelled pink. A sweet, girly, strong perfume that you just knew came in a pink bottle. The whole room smelled of the stuff.

"Greetings. I'm ready to begin." She said, hoping that she radiated the confidence she was trying to make herself feel.

[Wei Wu Wei]

The perfume wafted towards Wei as Scout approached, filling his sense of smell with fragrance. The saccarine smell clung to his nostrils so well, it could probably mask bantha farts. Thankfully, the lesson and interview could move outside.

"We'll just go outside and find a stretch of grass." He gestured towards the dormitory exit, far down the hall. "I believe by now you should have gotten most of the required reading downloaded to your personal datapad. How do you feel about it so far? Any questions about it?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

"A few, but I think they should wait." Scout answered honestly as she followed behind Wei, her feet click clacking in her heels as they did, the petite girl having to walk with a bit of speed in her step to keep up. Privately, and most importantly in her mind, was why did they have to go and find a stretch of grass? Couldn't they just train on mats? On mats she'd go barefoot to train, but grass meant soil and dirty and worms and other icky things. Scout hated getting dirty. And, of course, unless it was warm enough that the ground was solidly dried, staying in her heels would only make it hard for her to walk, let alone train.

"To be honest, Master, I'm not sure what today's lesson is going to entail. Is it... practical?" She asked, with obvious nervousness in her voice. She knew that she'd have to have practical lightsaber training at some point, but she was so bad at it that she was definitely not looking forward to it, and she was hoping that it would be far off in the future. Perhaps today they could just discuss theory. That would be nicer, and much easier, for her...

[Wei Wu Wei]

"It will be practical," the Jedi Knight replied. "Mostly we'll be working on the basic stance of Form I, Shii-Cho. We'll also practice one of the defensive velocities--that's a sequence of techniques you repeat in a pattern. We'll also work on a breathing technique that will help you clear your mind."

The exited out of the building and into the soft, warm afternoon sun. A slight breeze kept the temperature pleasant. Wei took a big, satisfied breath of the fresh Ossus air and released a satisfied sigh. "Yes! This will do nicely! Off to the left is a space. We'll use that."

The Force Cripple drew his lightsaber and hit the ignition plate. The sea-green blade hissed as it sprang to life, reconnecting Wei to the Force. The power of that grand energy filled his mind and body, sharpening his awareness, his senses, and lending him great strength and power. He felt as though he were made whole again.

"Draw your lightsaber."

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout looked apprehensive when Wei mentioned practicality, but she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he said it was only stances and defensive velocities. She'd studied all of those. She was awful at them, but she knew them, at least. It wasn't so much that Scout wasn't a very practical person, she was much more of a thoughtful, mental type than somebody to be hands on, but more that she just didn't have an aggressive bone in her body. Being aggressive just didn't come naturally to her, the desire to fight just never entered her mind, no matter the situation. Even when pushed to the very limits of fight or flight, Scout would always choose flight. It was incredibly difficult to learn to fight when you just had no drive for it, not even slightly.

Still, she responded as she should, drawing her lightsaber, it's soft pink blade humming in to life, and her taking up a bad approximation of a Shii-Cho stance she'd studied in the text books. Or at least, attempting to. As she put her foot back, her heel sank firmly in to the soft soil. She had, up until then, with the practised walk of a girly girl used to being on grass kept to her toes, but fighting required weight on her heels too.
"Ah! My heels are stuck!" She said out loud, almost losing her balance. "Can't we do this on the hard ground?" She asked hopefully. "If it's only practicing stances?" She tried her hopeful, adorable 'cute' smile that she always tried when she wanted something. Scout wasn't a manipulative person either, she didn't really have a bad bone in her body, but she did know she had a cute smile, and would often use it when she was asking for something.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei chuckled. "Just take them off. You're as liable to snap one of those heels on hard ground as you are to get them stuck and dirty in the grass. We'll get you some proper boots from the quartermaster later. I want you to learn these basics on your feet first. It'll be easier to adjust practicing in your heels once you've gotten the basics. It would be wise to be able to know how to move in heels: you never know when a diplomatic or formal function might turn violent--especially if the Empire is involved. For now, flat feet. When you're barefoot, take up the stance again."

[Scout Ravenwood]

"But... it's... dirty." Scout tried to complain, her brow wrinkling in disgust as she obediently did as she was told regardless. She placed the pink heeled boots by the grass neatly, to keep them clean, and wriggled her toes, which were of course painted pink. Scout might have been prissy and girly, but she was also a goody two shoes when it came to instruction, and she wouldn't want to disappoint even if she hated the idea. Unfortunately, hating the idea made her even more ineffective, as now barefoot, every step she took on the grass she acted as if it was some kind of lava, hands held out in disgust and cringe upon her face as if she was disgusted entirely, and trying everything to will her feet to levitate from the ground so she didn't have to touch it.

"I know how to move in heels..." She said, trying to continue the discussion to distract herself as she took up the stance. "...if it helps. I wear them all the time. Just, um, not on grass, to fight in..." She explained. "I don't... really do much fighting at all." She added with an innocent smile, her stance this time ruined by the fact that she was clearly freaking out about the dirt, hands held out daintily in disgust and her unable to quite relax and let her feet actually sit gently on the floor, instead being almost entirely on her tip toes to minimise the contact with the dirty ground.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I thought so. That's why we're having this lesson."

Wei looked at the petite blonde with perfectly manicured toes. "Dirt bothers you? Why should it? You can always wash. Don't let it get to you. Remember, the first line of the Jedi Code is 'There is no emotion; there is peace.' It's ok if you're uncomfortable. Just remember that it's temporary. There's a larger goal at stake. Bear that in mind and put your feelings aside."

Wei approached her. "We will stand here until your heels touch the ground and you show me a real stance." His tone stayed even, but still carried authority. "I won't let you leave until we have a functional stance out of you."

He'd dealt with hesitant fighters before. His wife hadn't wanted to learn to fight, either. Eventually, Scout would be brought around. She didn't need to be a hardened warrior--she just needed to be able to do what she had to if all else failed.

[Scout Ravenwood]

"I... I don't know, it just does." Scout replied, still very tense and obviously freaking out about the dirt. He reminded her of the code, which of course she remembered, but reading it was one thing, living it was quite another, especially when you were terrified of getting dirty and squirmy things like Scout was. She took a deep breath, and tried to relax, letting her heels touch the ground even if she crunched her eyes up tight at the feeling. And then she tried to relax, tried to feel like less tense, try to adapt the stan-

OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT BY MY FOOT!?

"AHHHHH!!!! THERE'S A WORM BY MY FOOT!" Scout suddenly screamed a scream of terror, freaking out entirely and jumping so high that Wei would be forgiven for mistaking it as a Force assisted jump. She ran, terrified, eyes wide with another shriek, behind Wei, as if hiding from him, and he'd protect her from it.

Of course, there wasn't even anything there, and it was just her imagination. She was so jumpy and terrified the feeling of a piece of grass brushing against her foot had caused her to freak out entirely.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei didn't budge. He was somewhat attentive to what Scout's lightsaber might be doing, but by now his combat sense was so refined, he knew immediately that he was not going to get struck.

"There is no emotion; there is peace."

Honestly, Wei found it amusing how this girl could be so highly strung, and yet wanted to do something that required so much discipline and sacrifice. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge, he thought to himself. He turned around to face Scout, and gestured for her to lower her lightsaber.

"Why do you want to be a Jedi?" he asked her.

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout obediently lowered her lightsaber, but her heart sank when she heard him ask the question. It was obvious why he was asking. He didn't think she was Jedi material. He couldn't understand why a girl like her ever thought she could become a Jedi. It was a terrible feeling, knowing that a Jedi Master didn't see you as good enough, couldn't believe in who you were. She looked sadly at him for a moment, and then at her lightsaber, suddenly feeling a little silly for making it so pink. She deactivated it, and looked earnestly at Wei.

"Because I want to help people." She said, her high pitched voice ringing with passion. "Because I have a responsibility to help people. I'm a Force sensitive. I was given this gift. It's my responsibility to use it to make the galaxy a better place." She told him, before looking awkwardly at the pink hilt in her hand. "But that doesn't mean I want to fight. There are so many ways our powers can be used to help people. So much we have to offer. And I feel like we... we always end up fixated back on these weapons." She held up the hilt. "I'm not naive." That was a lie, but Scout couldn't see it. "I know that sometimes you have to fight. But I'm not a fighter. I'll never be one of those people picked for that job. I want to help people. Not fight them. Heal people, help people with their problems, help improve people's lives... And I feel like I can with the Force. That's all I want to do. That's why I want to be a Jedi." She explained, eyes shining with hope that it would be enough.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Most Jedi, even during the Clone Wars, were diplomats and scholars. I made arrangements to teach you basic lightsaber stances and techniques not so you could know how to fight, but because there are meditative benefits to practicing the stances and velocities of lightsaber combat." Wei took a breath and looked at Scout seriously. "Sure, you want to help the galaxy. You want to use your Force Sensitivity to that end. That means you have the potential to be a Jedi. But being a Jedi takes the most serious mind. The deepest commitment. You must be able put aside your feelings, your squeamishness, apprehensiveness, and focus on the real goal. Balance in the Force."

Wei gestured towards her. "Recite the Jedi Code."

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout looked suitably abashed as Wei spoke to her. She knew that he had a point. Being a Jedi meant being serious. It meant being committed. She could see how to his eyes she was anything but that. She felt ashamed of herself. And yet, she still believed her convictions. Yes, lightsaber stances could be meditative, but so was yoga, and yoga didn't mean fighting. There were so many Jedi who were combat focused, she felt like they had forgotten why they existed as an Order. And yet Wei made her feel foolish for even feeling like she could be one.

"I'm serious about being a Jedi, Master, I promise you." Scout said earnestly, desperation in her voice. "I'm... Maybe I'm not Jedi material, or who most people would pick to be a Jedi... a-and I know there's a lot about me that's not right. A lot of things I'm trying to fix. There's a lot of things I'm told to do that I'm trying to do but I find a lot harder than people make it sound. L-like putting my feelings aside..." She explained fearfully. "But I am serious about what I want to do. Who I want to help. Being a Jedi means everything to me." She told him.

And then he asked her to recite the code.

"There are several versions, Master. The standard code, as is most commonly practiced; There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force'." She recited effortlessly. Scout was many things, but she was smart, and well studied. If it was in a holo and on the Padawan learning course thus far, she knew it. "In some texts, the 'chaos' and 'harmony' part is omitted. It's based on an original version of the Jedi Code that is actually rather different, one that read; 'Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force', but Jedi Master Odan-Urr refined it in to the version we know today. There is also a modern variation, less commonly used, that reads; Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy. Jedi use their powers to defend and protect, never to attack others. Jedi respect all life, in any form. Jedi serve others, rather than rule over them, for the good of the galaxy.Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training."

It was obvious the girl was trying to over-compensate for her various disappointments so far by showing off her book knowledge, but she was clearly trying hard to do so, to prove that she wasn't just a lost cause.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. Yep, definitely a scholar.

"Well, no matter which one you choose, the progression of ideas is the same. Without our emotions to carry us away, we can see things the way they are. When we understand how things truly are, we can choose the best course of action, then commit to it without hesitation or fear of death. As a Padawan, your goal is to master that peace, so you can have true insight and full understanding. Your shoes, your fear of insects in the grass, your reluctance to wield a lightsaber--they're all distractions. I can teach you to let go of these distractions. Are you ready to try again?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

"Master..." Scout seemed almost hesistant to broach a subject, but there was obviously something bothering her. She skipped from one foot to another for a moment, obviously uncomfortable barefoot, and looked over at him. "What if..." She began, before pausing, feeling stupid. "What if... I don't... entirely believe that?" She asked, obviously nervous to be countering the teachings of her Master. "I mean, the old Jedi teachings say that without emotion, we see things clearly, like you said... but... I think emotion is important. Without it, we forget what makes people people. If you see a sick dying child on a world at war, without emotion, that child is just one of many, right? A statistic. A thousand more will die that day, so why waste time and resources in saving him? Wouldn't the Jedi do better at the front line, fighting the enemy and slowing them down?"

"But emotionally, you know saving that child is the right thing to do, because it's a person, and to let him die would be painful to you." She said. "Isn't cutting off our emotions hampering our own judgement?" She asked. "And didn't cutting off our emotions lead to the downfall of the last Jedi Order?" She added, because again, that's what the books had taught her. Anakin Skywalker had repressed his emotions and they had gotten the better of him. If they had let him feel from the start, to speak openly about his emotions, perhaps it all could have been avoided.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Who said anything about not feeling? Repressing feelings does not make them go away: repression makes them fester. Had Skywalker faced his emotions, confronted them, then let them go, he would have been much more at peace. But, Skywalker's choice about how to deal with his emotions did not come from his Jedi Master. Every Master who ever spoke of feelings talked about letting go. It had everything to do with the fact that he was considered to be the Chose One of prophecy, and thought that it meant he could not show weakness by showing his feelings."

Wei shrugged. "I know life is precious without feeling a tug at my heartstrings every time I see a child. I can know intellectually that saving a life spares a greater community grief, and can prevent others from doing something regretful with their feelings."

"As for the destruction of the Jedi Order, I was there. Lack of emotion did not cause the downfall of the Order. A calculating, ruthless man exploited a deeply flawed boy who thought he was too special to need help, felt so much pressure he thought he had to save everyone, and refused the advice of his teachers. Had he let go of whatever fears and worries that drove him to the Dark Side, rather than hold them in, things would have been different."

Wei shrugged. "Yet, the Jedi survived. I survived. For days after the Purge, I grieved my fellow Jedi and the Jedi Order mightily. It took a good long time for me to finally let that go. But imagine if I hadn't? Suppose I had decided, emotionally speaking, that my pain and grief meant striking back at Skywalker and all those clones. I could not have succeeded: they had already killed nearly every Jedi in the galaxy. So I restored my peace of mind by working through my grief. I found smaller ways to help the galaxy. I got a job, got to know my new community, helped my neighbors lead happier, easier lives. I even fell in love, got married, and tried to make a family."

Wei smiled. Briefly. Sadly.

"Then the Empire came back. Murdered my family because my father, the only man who knew I used to be a Jedi, stole a secret from the Empire to try to make me happy. His compassion for me brought about the his death, along with the deaths of my wife and unborn son. I had let the Jedi go, but he loved me too much. He wanted to see me happy again, so with no thought the consequences, he invited their wrath."

Wei looked over at the Padawan. "Are emotions always helpful when there's a choice to be made?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

"But what of the Jedi of that time? Didn't they make mistakes based on emotions they claimed not to feel?" Scout asked, not obnoxiously, but with the tone of one genuinely trying to understand, a student debating philosophy with a master rather than a child complaining. "Was there not displays of arrogance, of anger, even of vengeance on show in the actions in that final day? Having identified the Sith Lord behind it all, Jedi did choose to attack, rather than wait. And no matter how much they may claim it was logical, it can't of been, because they all died." She pointed out. "I believe the Jedi Order was already seriously flawed in those final days. I honestly believe that our New Jedi Order shouldn't just copy the old..." She said, although she trailed off a little in to sheepishness, knowing that she was now arguing with a survivor of the old Order.

She fell silent as he told his story, and looked at him sadly.
"I'm... sorry, Master. I didn't know." She said meekly. "But you say yourself you worked through your grief. You felt it. It didn't not exist. Allowing yourself to feel doesn't mean running off in to battle. It just means... letting yourself acknowledge the world around you on a level beyond the visual. It means feeling the loss instead of just knowing it happened. You felt it. You had to work through it. And you fell in love. If you don't believe feeling is logical, or what we should do, how could you defend the idea of love?" She asked sincerely.

"I believe that emotions can be balanced. The Force can guide us. It doesn't mean we don't feel. It just means... it shows us how best to respond. But ... to not feel anything at all. I don't know if I'd like to live like that. I want to be a Jedi more than anything, but I don't want to lose myself to do so. If I let go of my feelings... how long until I'm no longer me? If I try and let go of my love for the colour pink, how far is it to losing my love for people too? And if I become truly detatched like some Jedi philosophy suggests, would I be little more than a droid, where every encounter and every person I meet means nothing to me, because I cannot form an emotional bond?"

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I think you understand my point better than you realize," Wei said. "Anakin Skywalker thought that to be a good Jedi meant to be more like a droid, and it backfired. I have said myself that a good Jedi learns to manage his feelings so he isn't given to bias and irrational thinking. Discipline is management, not excision of emotion. You and I have both said this."

Wei smiled. "Having had an 'emotional bond' as you put it, I understand your fear of letting go. Your fear of detachment. I love my wife dearly, even though she's been dead for years. I miss her badly. But that feeling has to be put aside. If I let my nostalgia for days spent with her to fill my mind, I cannot teach you. I'd just lay in bed all day wishing for something I can't have."

"All I am asking you to do today is put aside your disdain for dirt, your disgust towards insects, your fear of combat, and stand barefoot in the grass so you learn how to hold a lightsaber. Is that the same as asking you to leave behind a lover?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout listened, but decided to keep her opinion to herself that she felt Anakin Skywalker was not the only failure as a Jedi. She believed the entire Jedi culture at that time had been flawed, that Anakin had been a product of the failings around him. That to be a Jedi meant having to be different from that. She just didn't quite know how yet. And yet his lecture made sense, to forget what he had lost and move on, but she didn't understand how he made it sound so easy.

Of course, his final question made her feel stupid and guilty.
"N-no Master, of course not, b-but... it's... it's hard!" She said whinely. "I-I know in my head I should just do it but the dirt just makes my skin crawl and I just... I can't. I have a phobia!" She exclaimed, as if this was an excuse, like a kid with a doctor's note to get out of gym class.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei gave her a small smile. "It is," he said.

"But, have you noticed that while you've been arguing with me, you've also been standing barefoot in the grass? How long has it been? 5 minutes if we're lucky?"

He placed a hand on Scout's shoulder. "Youcan ​do it. Now, let's get back to the basic stance."

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout looked down automatically as Wei pointed out that she'd already been standing there, shrieked, and went to leap in the air, lifting one foot off the ground in comical terror like a cartoon woman who'd just seen a mouse in a children's holo, before pausing, and realising that Wei was right. She lowered her foot, prodding the grass with her toe, as if testing to see if it'd burn her, and knowing that Wei was correct, settled down a little.

"Okay. Okay. I can do this." She said, more to herself than Wei, taking up her stance nervously once more.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Now, your stance is good, but we need to work out a few small details. A strong foundation ends conflicts quickly. This isn't only true for combat--it goes for debating and negotiating as well."

The Force Cripple adjusted Scout's feet and helped square her torso. Then he stood in front of her. "Point the tip of the blade at my nose, and then you're good. The tip of the blade always points towards the opponent's nose. If you look along the length of the blade, you can see it neatly splits me in to halves. This is the strength of Form I: you'll always have a good foundation to attack or defend yourself. How does it feel?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout certainly knew about the foundation in debates and negotiation. She was pretty good at that, although it definitely helped she was particularly skilled at mental manipulation. It always helped when you could give others' thoughts a gentle push in the right direction. But combat? Combat still utterly escaped her, and in fact, being told she had a good stance was probably the first compliment she had ever received about it. It probably helped that she'd learned the stances in high heels, meaning that it was now suddenly much easier to get it right. That and mastering how to stand and hold yourself wasn't that far off fashion related posing (which Scout often did in the mirror, not that she'd tell anybody) so she was certainly had experience of a sort at it.

But then Wei adjusted her stance asked her how she felt in her stance, and she frowned a little.
"I'm... not sure, Master." She admitted, her lightsaber wavering slightly in her hand. "It feels... aggressive. I... don't like it." She admitted. Scout hated conflict, at least physical conflict, and holding her weapon in a dangerous stance, ready to harm somebody, ran against every natural instinct in her body.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"Can be. Doesn't have to be. An ocean wave erodes the shore it washes upon, but isn't aggressive. Aggression is an attitude--it's intention. In combat, whether attacking or defending, a Jedi does not have to be aggressive. Like the ocean waves. In this stance you're in a good position to attack your opponent's give target zones: the head and torso, the two arms, the two legs. You're also in a good position to defend your target zones. It depends on what your goal is."

The Jedi Knight gestured towards the blade of bubblegum hue. "Listen to the hum of the lightsaber. Breathe. Settle into the stance. You might ache after a while, but as they say, 'bitter before sweet.' Focus on these two constants--your breathing and the blade's humming. It'll help clear your mind and wash out distractions. It helped me when I was a Padawan."

The Force Cripple moved next to his student, ignited his lightsaber, and slowly eased into the stance. He settled into it like he was sinking into an easy chair. Calm, relaxed. "The feeling of your weight on your legs and feet should be nearly even, with a little more on your back leg than your front leg."

[Scout Ravenwood]

"I.. don't know. It feels more natural to hold the lightsaber like this..." Scout explained, bringing the 'saber around so that it was no longer pointing at Wei, but instead running across, ready to block but not attack. Scout just didn't have that aggressiveness in her to point the weapon at him. But she also understood instruction and did as she was told, and so returned the weapon back to face him as she was instructed. Even if it felt incredibly unnatural to her.

She did a little better with the stance, and leaning back on her back foot felt natural, since it took her back from her opponent. She smiled uneasily.
"I... I usually just skip straight to 'sweet'." She joked lamely and uneasily, still feeling uncomfortable. But she listened to his advice the best she could, focusing on her breathing and the humming of the blade, trying to tune everything else out, and to ignore the ache setting in in her untrained legs and arm. She didn't think she could hold this stance for long, but she knew that she'd better not give up. Not yet...

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei could help but turn one corner of his mouth at Scout's quip.

As they settled in, he took his time mulling over what she had said about the positioning of the lightsaber in Form I. Scout's fear of hurting someone might get her hurt if she ran across the Inquisition. If he approached that topic too fast, he'd lose her. For the moment he had to play up the defensive aspect of fighting. It was just as well. Learning to defend came before learning to attack in Wei's mind anyway.

"I suppose I undertand your feelings on pointing the saber at my nose," he said at last. "But bear this in mind: the sooner your blade can meet your opponent's, the sooner you can stop them from hurting you. If you hold the blade to one side, (let's say pointing left), you can easily defend against attacks on your left side. But if I attack from the right, you have to turn the blade all the way over before you can stop me. Perhaps you could dodge, but in tight spaces movement is limited. Every second counts. The vertical positioning gives you equal response times to the left and right, and you can also meet an overhead strike sooner by angling the blade only a little as you bring it up."

Wei demonstrated these motions as he talked through them.

"Sure, your legs are vulnerable, but to truly get to anything below your knees, your opponent will have to be shorter than you, or crouch down to reach. That leaves their head and shoulders exposed, and that's dangerous for them. Here, we'll practice the basic blocking techniques for your five target zones. I promise we won't be sparring. I just want you to follow me as I perform them. Ready?"

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout knew that Wei's advice made sense. Keeping the blade central meant that she could easily move it to either side. But it all felt so unnatural to her. She just wasn't a fighter. None of this felt natural to her. She felt at home studying philosphy, learning about Jedi history or theory, but not when it came to the fighting. Regardless though, she also always tried to do her best, so she took the instruction the best she could, holding her lightsaber pointing at Wei's nose.

"My arm aches." She whined. Scout was most certainly not a physical girl, and the act of holding her arm out straight was beginning to hurt. She knew though that they had to press on, as much as she didn't want to. She thought at least if they did the basic blocks, maybe they could finish for the day. That would be nice, given that Scout wasn't really having the greatest training session of her life.

"O-okay." She nodded nervously, preparing herself to block the attacks as they came in, as according to the images in the Jedi Handbook. The ones that she had never really been able to master because, again, fighting simply wasn't something she was any good at.

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei nodded. "We're going to go slowly on these. Really feel the technique. Keep your joints flexible."

The first blocking technique was high to protect the head. One large arc traced with an easy, small turn in the wrists. The second movement crossed the saber back across the body and to the outside, deflecting a strike at the arm. The third passed across the body a second time to defend the other arm. Across and low for the fourth technique, stopping a slash to the knee, and then across one last time to turn aside a strike at the other knee.

"Then we start again at the head."

[Scout Ravenwood]

Scout struggled with the basic movements. Where to position the lightsaber to block the attacks should have come intuitively to most, but for Scout, it seemed an utterly alien concept to her. How to angle it to block an incoming attack, where to place it, it was obvious the girl had to think about it all. Nothing came naturally to her. Every movement was jerky, slow and she had to twist her wrists until she was happy with the positioning.

But the repetition helped. She was getting better each time she repeated, but each time the movements were still unnatural, difficult, and she was clearly thinking every time she moved 'is this right?'. It seemed Scout was utterly serious about having no talent for fighting. Even the basic blocks just never even began to start coming naturally to her...

[Wei Wu Wei]

"You're doing well. Take your time. When I started my training as a Youngling, I practiced these techniques for an hour every day. It took months of practice before they felt familiar."

When Scout had repeated the velocity to Wei's satisfaction, he put his own lightsaber away and stepped out of his stance. He gestured for Scout to do the same.

"Not bad for a first day," The Force Cripple said. "I want you to practice this velocity every other day. Do it three times in a row. Do it slowly. Get the techniques right. It'll keep you in shape and also boost your confidence with your lightsaber. If you're going to keep one, you may as well learn to use it."