Running with Scissors

[Cleo Némain]

It seemed like such a basic necessity of anyone who called themselves a Jedi that Cleo really had to wonder why it was that she was so reluctant to even touch one. They weren't bad, and she didn't see them as some sort of symbol of violence, even if they weren't really used for much else aside from that it seemed. Not that Jedi were violent! Oh no no, not at all. At least, they weren't supposed to be because if you were than you went all dark and sticky and inked out and that was never ever ever good. Cleo wasn't afraid of that happening neither. She wasn't afraid, at all. She'd watched other people use them, train with them, make their own that suited them oh so well, and she liked that part. It was just the thought of her, Cleo, using a Lightsaber, that seemed foreign, weirdo, and just downright... off. Maybe it was because she didn't know the first thing about even holding one, despite classes having been offered. Maybe it was something else.

But bad things had happened lately. Real bad. Scary bad. And it werne't Mosmos's fault or Dessles or Tripples or Stevie or no body else's. She'd had to use the only defense she'd had and it had been wrong and scary and maybe if she'd had a lightsaber like everybody else seemed to things would have been different and she wouldn't feel like maybe what she'd done was still lingering inside of her, threatening to suck her insides into a spiraly blackness that'd come out on the other side of the galaxy in someone's basement. That'd be just very unpleasant for everyone involved, after all.

So here she was, just a tiny thing, all alone in a room that still echoed with the voices of an earlier class where people had liked using these things. Excited people, happy people, maybe a few grumps over the fact they were just using training sabers rather than the real deal but Training was a good place to start. Hecks, Cleo would have liked to have a STICK to start with rather than the cool metal cylinder in her hand.

Maybe she should have done a class with the others. But she was Cleo and what she knew was mostly learned by doing and a bit of a nudge here and there from Master Navi and other people who knew what they were doing and she didn't want to stick out in a class when she fumbled and dropped something and OHMYSTARS WHAT IF SHE CUT OFF SOMEBODY'S FOOT?? Not that that could happen with a training doohickey but STILL.

Okay so maybe she was afraid. Just a little. More worried than afraid. More nervous than worried.

Cleo felt the bridge of her nose scrunch up as she eyed the training saber in her hand again and let out a heavy deep breath that it felt like she'd been holding in forever.

"Bet y' ain't even th' ri' color," she mumbled to it, as if this whole conundrum was all it's fault.

Yes. Because clearly that was the right approach. She sighed all heavy like, trying to breathe out that negativity that didn't belong in her and with some mighty overdone caution began trying to find a way that felt right to even hold the silly thing. With the unlit but could be there part facing away from her, of course.

[Masiri]

Though she had no master yet, Masiri knew from growing up with Jedi that she needed to keep in shape and train as much as she could with what she did know. Those that had taken her twin sister still had yet to be found, as did Lurianne. She hated knowing that all this time had passed without being able to seek out those that had taken the two of them from home, sold to slavers after watching their parents killed. She still found it hard to believe, as she walked to the training dojo here on Ossus, that her parents could have been caught like that. Jedi weren't impervious to grenades and other weapons that caused massive damage. A few things that lightsabers didn't reflect, it seemed.

Stepping into the warm atmosphere of the dojo, Masiri glanced to the auburn haired girl now talking to her practise blade and grinned. Though she had never seen anyone do that, she understood concern on someone's face when she saw it. Slowing her pace, dressed in her normal, tan colored workout outfit, Masiri's eyes went from the hilt in the girl's hand to her blue eyes. "What color is it supposed to be," the Padawan inquired, curious now at the thought.

[Cleo Némain]

Cleo hadn't expected anyone to talk back and so it was probably foolish and childish to quickly put the saber hilt behind her back as she turned to look towards the voice. She had expected someone, and on some level it to be someone like her in a way but not in so many others - because that was a lot of people here at the Enclave. What she didn't expect was to see someone like a forest morning near a pond but clouds had moved in; dark clouds, and the sun was just barely making it through. The light was there all right, but it was overwhelmed by oh so many shadows and swirls of missing space.

She looked at the other as if confused for a few moments - because really that's what Cleo was - and then slowly she drew the lightsaber in all it's guiltiness back from behind her back to sit proper in front of her as the question that'd been asked came fully to the light once it made it past all the heavy mist that settled between them.

"Oh, this'un?" Cleo asked, more a squeak than a question as she rolled the cylinder between her two palms. "I dunno. Maybe lik'a early morn'in sunshines orra warm sunset waters, or maybe likka Mosmos' an like mountains at th' calm ri' b'fore th' sun has ta say night."

A huff left her, barely one really, just a heavy breath as she mad herself stop staring at the muddled brightness that had talked and back to the simple silver sheen in her hands.

"But it's not gonna bes tha'. Will be greeny orra blue, just like they all is. Is proper like Jedi colors, yeah? Jus' nah s' good ferra those of us tha' nah all proper like, 'm thinkin'. Is fine an dandys like cause is nah mine, bu' still. Is... Difficult like then; like tryin' t' walk with th' wrong size boots."

[Masiri]

Though she had to focus on every word stated, Masiri found in this girl a common ground as the padawan had found few that understood how she saw the worlds that she had visited. Especially this one, regardless of the damage that had been done to it so long ago. Smiling at the reply, she found the metaphors more than charming and liked this girl immediately. Glancing again at the hilt in her hands, it's smooth metallic surface slightly glowing now from the overhead glowlamps reflecting down it's length. "I know that each one that we make," she shrugged, brown eyes rising again to Cleo's face. "When we get that chance, will be attuned to us. Our spirit."

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, the noise of others practising and working out filling the room beyond them, as they talked. "That's what my father told me, anyway. He always thought that mine would probably be yellow, or gold," Masiri grinned proudly, though that thought faded as the moments lingered knowing he would never see it. Turning to the auburn haired girl, "I'm Masiri."

[Cleo Némain]

A soft hum formed in her throat and buffeted against her closed lips as Cleo contemplated what the other was saying. She'd heard that bit about sabers being connected like to those that made them. It had to do with the crystals and the way they were made. There weren't many others in the Enclave she knew that had their own - well, there weren't many on Ossus in it's big wide self that she knew really - but Cleo could think of at least one example of someone who had made their own lightsaber and while he hadn't found the crystal inside in a cave or nothing like that and it'd once belonged to someone else, the finished product was very much him and she couldn't picture anybody else using it.

Her mind wandered thinking of what others blades would look like and if they would look like them. If that was the case then Dessles would have to be like a candle lit room and her? Well... that was hard to say. Too many things, too many possibilities that would distract her for hours and hours and it was better to focus on something like like the one who was speaking to her and her suggestions for her own colors. Cleo had to squint a bit, not quite sure how gold or yellow would work but maybe it was there, maybe it was hiding behind those clouds that weren't quite ready to be shaken off yet. They had parted there a little, just for a tiny bit while she was talking but then nope - back again. Well, Cleo couldn't fault her for it, it wasn't easy to make the gloom go away sometimes. Cleo didn't know much about that, but there were plenty of others in the same ship.

All questions about colors were pitched off to the side as the girl introduced herself, though. Masiri, yes, now that fit. Masiriri o' th' cloudy bu' maybe nah so cloudy forevers meadowish place. Okay that was too long. Masimeadows? Nono. That was no good. Too weird to explain and didn't roll off the brain wrinkles right. Usually this sort of thing just presented themselves! Maybe she'd be just Masiri. It was kinda fun to say inside her head anyway. She'd have to test it out loud.

"'M Cleo." One name said aloud deserved another, after all. It was only right.

Saying her own name was simple and easy and always left her with a grin with how much it fit. It was little like her, after all and Cleo always pictured herself shining whenever she said it. Not that anyone else would see so far as she knew.

It was the weight in her hands that had continued to roll and shift places that brought her ever wandering mind back to what they'd been talking about to begin with.

"Maybe it'll bes best when I go anna make one, thens. Dunno when that'll be." She laughed, genuine but short. "'M thinkin' they may nah wan' me t' have one ferra bit. Nah tha' Mas'er Navi would think sa bu' she's all kinsa busy anna... Yeah."

She trailed off, the rambling catching up with her a smidgen. She looked back to Masiri from where she'd half been letting her eyes meander over the saber and the other Padawats.

"You learn this stuffs yet? I mean, how t' use one? Some peoples make it look alla kin'sa easy bu' 'm thinkin' is nah so much."

[Masiri]

Now having a name to go with the face allowed Masiri to relax a bit more around this otherwise stranger. Even though they were both training for the same ends, it was amazing how little she knew about the other Jedi that lived and worked here. "I haven't been able to make my own yet either, but I have learned a few things about the Force and how to use one of these," her brown eyes glanced to the saber hilt again, then back up. "It's not too hard," she began and turned her gaze toward several using a practise saber to defend themselves against the training drones as well as two sparring with one another.

"Just have to allow yourself to let the Force guide you when to move and how," she knew that was pretty simplistic of a view, but that was about the essence of using one. "My dad told me that it was you, the Force and the saber being one, acting together to defend the helpless, or bring justice to a world, or a people." She shrugged, hoping she wasn't sounding too preachy, but growing up with two Jedi as parents had instilled more founded principles in the code than most. Sighing quietly, she shifted her weight as the sparring partners continued dancing around one another, blocking, parrying and striking where they could. "When I was younger, I always thought it was romantic to be a hero," Masiri stated, then chuckled and soon after sobered. "But, that was a child's dream. Reality is much different," she turned to Cleo again. "Isn't it?"

[Cleo Némain]

Masiri-iri kept referring to her Father, which Cleo took to mean that the man was important. Well of course he was, he was someone's dad and that was all kinds of important. But he apparently had told her a lot about The Force, which was way way different than Cleo's. Cleo's papa had taught her about other things like shipping lanes and bargaining and stuff that she had never really picked up on. It wasn't that it was bad knowledge, but being a merchant was all well and good for the Némain that was Liam, but not so much for the one that was Cleo. Cleo apparently took after her mum. Or so she'd been told.

Wandering thoughts were forced back into their pen as Masiri-iri asked her a question, one that seemed to have a lot of weight to it. The kind you could almost see the words hanging in the air like a balloon that was losing it's lift gas. It bobbed there for a moment, but only once before Cleo felt the need to pop it.

"I dun' think sa. Nothin' wron' with bein' a hero or wantin' t' be one. Tha's what we do, ne? Or at least, what we're s'pposed ta. Dunno 'bout that 'mantic part, but that kinna thing is always bit too big t' fit in m' thinkin'. Bu' is still good an' true. We help people. An' is nah easy, an' kinna dangerous anna hards bu' we pick t' do it an' I think that makes a bit offa dif'rence."

Cleo found herself glancing down at the training saber in her hand again and tried to take a bit of a better hold on it. Probably not how you were supposed to, but less play and more doing. The rounded end came to rest just past her thumb and finger. Her little finger squeezed against the button on the side and the green blade sprang to life behind her.

"Is nah a child thing. Is proper adult like t' make tha' big offa deal with y'rself, 'm thinkin'. An' maybe is 'mantic cause we do it cause wecare anna we love. Nah in that​ way, bu' y'know."

A few test swivels were made with her wrist before Cleo found herself making that face again that was like her head hurt from thinking too much and she turned off the saber, the green glow retracting and disengaging.

"Still don' fix the color, though," she laughed and looked back to the other Padawatsit.

[Masiri]

Very grounded, this one, Masiri mused as the girl spoke in her broken Aurebesh and made Masiri intentionally listen to every word, or part of one. Simple views of the galaxy wasn't necessarily universal, but many that gravitated to this life seemed to have that trait. Brown eyes fell to the hilt as the emerald glow faded and she chuckled as well, unsure what that meant. "You seem rather fixed on the color of that blade," Masiri smiled. "It's not yours, so I wouldn't worry too much about it." Shrugging, Masiri turned to head for the rack holding more saber hilts for practise, using the Force to draw one to her right hand, then caught it.

"If you want to learn how to use that, I can show you," Masiri suggested. "Best way to learn the way to use it." She had no intentions of sparring right off the bat, but perhaps having Cleo use one of the probes first would be the best way to begin. Pointing to a collection of hovering, silvery probes, "Those are set to beginners, so it'll react to your actions then fire a few harmless shots for you to deflect."

[Adia Issoris]

Adia grimaced as she cleared the threshold. While Masiri's intentions were good her training instruction was not. Many people had different instruction methodologies, but they needed to be fundamentally sound. From her estimation, Cleo was going to get a bit singed. She grabbed a training saber that fit her slightly oversized hands.

"I think we might want to start at the beginning. May I?" She asked the small-framed woman, who nodded.

"You'll want to make sure that you have your feet apart, a bit wider than shoulder width and your knees slightly bent." Adia demonstrated the stance, and Cleo quickly mimicked with enthusiasm.

"Good. We do this so you can shift your weight quickly from foot to foot and keep our balance when we're being pressed. Try and stay put." She motioned for Cleo to bring her hands up. Once she did, Adia gave her arms a gentle push.

"You get stability without trading too much agility." She explained and settled into a mirrored position in front of Cleo.

"Hold your saber out like this." Her own training saber extended from a single arm, set at a roughly 45 degree angle.

"Excellent." She turned her own training saber on and shuffled back quickly. "Like your feet, this is good for attack or defense and it's easy to transition to other positions. But most importantly, it mostly keeps the saber out of your body's arcs." The Jedi Knight demonstrated with three smooth, deliberate saber strokes. After each she returned to center.

"You try."

[Cleo Némain]

People were weird. Cleo had known this for a long time, often because she couldn't understand why people did what they did or couldn't see things the way she did. Weird was good though, because if everyone was the same that would be boring.

Still, Masiri-iri somewhat made her pout on the inside. Maybe Cleo hadn't said things right, or maybe the other Paddles had understood but wasn't letting on. She would have kept thinking about it until they were approached by one of the proper Bright Spots.

It felt like autopilot or autosomething or maybe mind control as she followed the lady's instructions. She just looked all authority like. Not in a mean way, but in the way that maybe would be good to tell soldiers what to do and they would do it because they knew they had to because the person telling them to do stuff was all kind of important. Only problem was Cleo wasn't a solider and she felt like she was being all tugged and pushed but she wasn't - well, except when she actually​ was for reals - but these were lessons and ones that Cleo had inadvertently agreed to when she'd even gone and picked up a training saber. Maybe it was some kind of inner knowledge that she needed to know this stuff that kept her from staring dumbfounded at the tall lady.

Who... Cleo didn't even know her name! She was bad that way, she knew sounds that represented people but named didn't stick until she heard a person say it for themselves. What she did know was that this was a Knight, maybe even a Master with the way she carried herself. And that meant you did as you were told because it was proper to show respect and the like. Cleo didn't feel like it was a burden sort of deal to do so, she liked it. It made the whole Jedi thing real in a way rather than just being a group of people trying to survive like they had been not all that long ago.

As she went through the motions that she was being shown, Cleo kept casting the occasional glance at Masiri-iri. She wasn't following along, but that was probably because she knew these lessons already. That was good, but maybe she wanted to join? Maybe? Cleo couldn't tell because people were weird.​

Okay then, Masiri-iri was on her own, thens. Not on her own because Cleo and the Authorilady were there but if she wanted to help or join in some basics that was gonna have to be her own choice. Just like it was kind of Cleo's choice to keep trying to follow along, even if holding the blade the way shed been shown felt... well, wrong. But Cleo didn't know enough to make that choice, she knew that. Maybe it was best to stick with basics at first, then you could find what felt right.

The first slash of the blade like she'd been shown was all kinds of sloppy and Cleo frowned at it, but only for a second. The next was kinda just as bad but she was determined to make it better on try number three. It came, and her arm moved and yet.. Nopers.

She looked from Masiri-iri to the brighter lady again and felt her mouth run a bit dry. There was something about her teacher that made her feel like asking a question right now might be wrong but Cleo was never very good at holding her mouth all stitched like.

"Urhm... Is'ere another way of doin' it? I mean, holdin' stuff inna firs' place? Nah with two hands or nothin' likea tha' bu..."

Her voice trailed off as she found her lips squished together and then drifted off to one side. It was her shoulders that shrugged up next in her best way of saying sorry for interrupting without actually saying nothing.

[Masiri]

Having the initial stance and how to breathe and hold the saber was already in mind, but Masiri hadn't gotten to that part yet when they were interrupted. Keeping her peace, the Padawan stood by and watched and noticed how uncomfortable Cleo seemed to be and having been with the untrained girl for some time now, she had come to learn the little tells. Watching as they went through the motions, she knew what the older redhead was offering was good advice, so she let them be.

Cleo's question was a valid one, but Masiri wondered if she was asking about something deeper as her own training had been with Jedi from a young age. Brown eyes gravitated from student to the new teacher as she waited to see if this older Jedi had picked up on that as well, or if she was naturally thinking on a deeper level as usual.

[Adia Issoris]

Adia paused. While there were many formal combat training dictates, the Jedi tended to be much more instinctive. She had learned that a Padawan's intuition was discarded at the peril of both the student and instructor. And Cleo clearly wasn't comfortable with a conventional lightsaber grip.

"Yes, there are other ways of holding a lightsaber, Cleo. Let's find one that works for you."

"Hmm. Not two hands? Reverse grip Shien?" Adia asked, and shifted into an unorthodox stance. Her feet were wider, with an open hand in front and the training saber was behind her, held roughly horizontal and ninety degrees from her centerline.

"It's effective against blasters if you keep your dominant foot in front." She shifted the stance, putting the dominant foot and blade hand in front of herself. The blade was angled down and to her side, but much closer to vertical now. Cleo mimicked, and this seemed to suit her much better.

"If you would do the honors, Masiri?"

[Cleo Némain]

It was better! Not that Cleo could ever say why or how or anything. But as she shifted her feets and rotated the training saber so it sat... well, backwards, as Cleo thought of it, it just felt right. It made sense, really. Backwards was probably a word that a lot of people would have applied to the little Padawan so of course she would find the whole thing making more sense than the more traditional stuff.

She liked something else that the brighter teacher said too, good against blasters. Not people. Defensive then, not offensive like? That was also good. Really really good.

Cleo looked towards Masiri-iri, since she was now all in the spotlight to act. The smaller Padathingie just hoped the more experienced girl would go all easy like on her.