[Jessari]

 

Chayah shifted her weight from one foot to another as she waited for Kom'rk to arrive. They'd decided, or rather she had, that it would be a good idea for her to learn to fight like a Mando, and Kom'rk had been more than happy to volunteer as her training partner. This was a daunting task for more than one reason. Out of the two sisters, Chayah had always been the most flighty, the one most likely to squeal if she saw a spider, the one with the short attention span. As for fighting? Well, she'd only been in one fight in her whole life, and it had positively scared her out of her wits. She'd never actually hit anyone, and even now she had no idea if she could make herself do so.

But this determination to try wasn't just for her own benefit. A few short months ago, Ruach and her children had been kidnapped in front of Chayah's eyes, and Chayah hadn't been able to stop the kidnappers (not all of them, anyway). Despite the fact that there had been too many for her to take on, even with her power over fire to aid her, she had shouldered much of the blame for their kidnapping. Perhaps if she had tried to learn how to use her power, or perhaps if she'd taken time to learn to fight, she might have been able to at least stall long enough for Corr and Kom'rk to get there. But she hadn't.

The clones had mounted a rescue, but although Ruach and her children were safely back where they belonged, there was no guarantee that nothing of the sort would happen again. If it did, Chayah wanted to be prepared.

Chayah peered into the distance, trying to spot Kom'rk's vehicle. One good thing about the training, the only thing she looked forward to, was seeing him. He was often busy with his soldiering stuff, things Chayah knew little of, and at times it seemed like he was gone forever. It would be good to see her soldier boy again. Although she was nervous about the upcoming training session, she couldn't keep from smiling in anticipation.

[MillietheWarrior]

(Kom'rk Ref)

Kom’rk glanced at the seat next to him in his speeder, laden with small weapons and bits of armor. He smiled to himself, a giddy feeling of anticipation coursing through him. It felt much like the excitement before he bought a particularly good piece of candy. He quickly reverted his eyes back to the path ahead, peering into the distance for any sign of Chayah. His helmet lay on the seat, sitting atop the pile of assorted weapons and armor. It had been a long time since he’d seen Chayah; rather, it had been a few months, but to him, it felt like an eternity.

After the recent kidnapping of Jaing and Corr’s family (He was quite happy to say they were all safely back at their respective homes), Kom’rk had spent most of his time worrying. He worried about retribution from the kidnappers, about Corr and Jaing’s small families, about his brothers and the clan, but most of all, about Chayah. Kom’rk could honestly say with certainty now that she was his world; he could hardly imagine what he’d do without her. He’d never felt that way about any one, especially any woman. But Chayah had shown him how to live, and she wasn’t repulsed by what he was.

He smiled sadly as his hands tightened around the speeder’s controls; she didn’t care if he was nothing more than a Clone. He wasn’t unique or anything, yet Chayah had obviously seen something in him that she hadn’t seen in anyone else. Kom’rk glanced into the distance, and saw a lone figure standing in the plains. His smile instantly brightened, and as he pulled up to where Chayah waited, he waved from the speeder. “Su’cuy, cyar’ika,” he said with a grin as he leapt over the side of the speeder.

He landed with a ‘thump’ on the other side, before he was swiftly rounding the vehicle and sweeping Chayah up into a fierce hug. He didn’t seem shy or timid about his affections, and placed a chaste kiss gently on her lips. “How have you been? It’s been too long. I’m sorry I haven‘t been able to come see you lately. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get away from the army. You know, civic duty and all that osik.” He chuckled, still holding her close in his arms, almost afraid that if he let go she might just disappear.

[1/20]

[Jessari]

Considering the openness of the plains, it wasn't surprising that Chayah saw him coming even before she heard the purr of the speeder's engine. She clasped her hands in front of her, bouncing on her toes as she waited for him to arrive. Other women might have squealed, called out his name as he got closer, but while she wanted to do that, she had to settle for an enormous grin and a very energetic wave. She'd never been one to let her disability upset her, but at times like this, it was downright inconvenient.

When he leaped from the speeder and came towards her, Chayah met him halfway, her blond braid tapping against her shoulders as she ran. Her hand slid around the back of his neck as he hugged her close, so her squeal of delight was plainly audible in his head. As he spoke, she kept her arms around his neck, just as reluctant as he to pull away. There was a security here, in the circle of his arms. There always was, always had been, ever since he had pulled her from the dance floor to keep her from an aggressive Devaronian. It was just one of the many reasons she was attracted to him.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, forehead snug against his neck, she said, I've been fine, Kom'ika, although I've missed you something terrible. I'll promise to forgive you for staying away if you promise not to knock me in the dirt too many times.

[MillietheWarrior]

Her voice in his head was just as beautiful as he remembered. Kom’rk gently tightened his grip on Chayah, still seeming reluctant to let her go. He chuckled lightly, pressing his cheek against hers. “Don’t worry, cyar’ika. I’ll try my best, but I can’t make any promises. The only way to learn is through trial and error.” He suddenly pulled away and grinned, holding her at arm’s length. “I’ve brought you a surprise…and some weapons to test out.”

He said the last part with an amused smile, gently letting go of her arms to step back to the speeder. He rummaged around in the front seat, grabbing his helmet and quickly clipping it to his belt. Before long, he uttered a soft ‘Ah ha!’ and came back up with a small pack, stuffing something that ‘clanked’ down into it. “Here.” He stepped back towards her and held out the pack, carefully keeping a firm grip on it. “It’s heavy, so I’ll hold it while you open it. I had it specially made.” Yes, specially made to withstand extreme temperatures, both hot and cold.

He tilted his head, smiling quite happily as he waited for her to reach out and open it. Inside were assorted pieces of armor, each one part of the complete set. Her helmet still lay in the seat. The plates were a plain white, waiting for their new owner to choose a color and paint them. Kom’rk had thought ahead; he’d brought paint as well. She could mix, match and choose any color she wanted. But that didn’t matter to him right now; all he wanted was to see the look on her face when she received her first set of armor.

[2/21]

[Jessari]

Chayah sighed. I figured you'd say that. But not even the thought of what was coming was enough to dampen her joy at seeing him again.

His next words, though, made her forehead crinkle. Weapons? Surely he was kidding, right? She stepped quickly to catch up with him, touching his wrist lightly. Are you sure you didn't hurt while you were away doing your army thing? A brain injury, perhaps? She would have continued, but she was distracted by his rummaging. Had he said 'surprise'?

Chayah waited as he dug around, curiosity running through her. That curiosity only intensified when he pulled out a formless bag. Quirking an eyebrow at him, she reached in the bag and pulled out the first thing she touched. It was a piece of metal, weighted and sturdy, although she wasn't exactly sure what it was meant to do. Tucking it beneath her arm, she reached in again, sifting through the contents with her fingers. More metal pieces. Her green eyes flicked up to his, her expression questioning. Then she began to put it together, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Not trusting her legs to keep her upright, Chayah sank back against the speeder, the one metal sheet she'd pulled out clutched against her chest. It was an arm guard, something that was quite obvious now that she knew what the rest of the bag held. Beskar'gam. Mandalorian armor. Her eyes sought his out again, this time with a completely different question. This...was this his way of telling her she had the makings of a Mando? She was far from certain about that, but if Kom'rk believed it, she'd go to whatever lengths she had to to make him proud.

No matter the reason behind it, the gift had touched Chayah deeply. She blinked back tears (she was saving those back for after she'd been knocked on her butt a few times), and reached up to pull Kom'rk down to her level. It's perfect, ad'ika she whispered as she placed a kiss on his lips. You'll have to help me put it on, or else I'll probably end up with it backwards or something.

[MillietheWarrior]

Kom’rk chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “No, no brain injury, I can assure you. I’m healthy as a horse. But they always did say they tampered with our intelligence genes, so maybe they left something out when it came to weapons and women.” He smirked, tilting his head lightly to the side, before his eyes riveted on her face. He waited silently, practically bouncing on his toes as she pulled out armor piece by armor piece. She seemed confused by the metal, and indeed, stared at him with questions in her eyes. And then he watched as it slowly dawned on her, and she seemed to realize exactly what it was she was holding.

Kom’rk shifted the bag so he was holding it against his hip, wrapping one arm around her as she pulled him down for a kiss. He chuckled against her lips, quirking an eyebrow and giving her a wry grin. “Now you’re calling me ‘ad’ika’ too? You and Kal’buir ought to team up; your making me feel like a kid again.” Not that he wasn’t; technically, he was only 12 years old, going on 13. Ordo already had gray at his temples, and Kom’rk wondered how long it would be until he had the same. He was already getting a bit thin, and his armor hung a bit loosely on him; spending too much time in the outer rim was to blame. His face was a bit paler and shallower than the last time he’d seen Chayah, but Kom’rk had no doubts that after a few days of rest, food, and time spent with Chayah, he’d be back to normal.

“Anyway,” he continued, still smiling despite his train of thoughts. “It’s fire resistant, and can withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures. Besides, you can’t put it on until you paint it. And you need to get used to it one piece at a time. It’s too heavy for you to put on all at once. When Amala first tried out her armor, she couldn’t get up for hours. Jaing thought it was funny, but I’d rather not have you stuck in the dirt, thanks.” He chuckled lightly. “And the helmet will definitely have to wait; that’s something you need to get used to over time, or it can literally make you sick.” He also remembered Amala’s first time trying on a helmet; Jaing had told him all about it.

She was dizzy, confused, and very nearly threw up the first time she put it on. Thank goodness she’d gotten it off in time. “So…” Kom’rk smiled slyly. “What do you want to start with? Hand to hand? Blasters? Vibroblades? Spears? I brought just about anything you could think of. Not to mention we have to figure out how to deal with that fire problem of yours. We’ll deal with that when we deal with hand-to-hand combat. Trust me; after all this, your probably going to have a hard time even standing up. So!” He let go of her to place the bag on the ground, and clapped his hands together. “What’ll it be?”

[Jessari]

“Now you’re calling me ‘ad’ika’ too? You and Kal’buir ought to team up; your making me feel like a kid again.”

Chayah frowned thoughtfully. She'd thought she had chosen the proper word, but perhaps she'd been mistaken. Doesn't it mean 'sweetie', or something? During Kom'rk's absence, Chayah had asked Ruach to start teaching her what she knew of Mando'a, but there was still a lot she had to get a handle on. They'd only been here a few minutes, and it looked like she'd already made a mistake.

She listened appreciatively as he listed off the armor's qualities. That was one worry out of the way; no matter what happened during her training, she wouldn't be able to melt her new armor - once she got used to wearing it, anyway. Wondering how much Kom'rk had exaggerated about the weight, Chayah leaned down to where he'd set the bag and gave it an experimental tug. You weren't kidding! she exclaimed. I think...working my way up to wearing the whole thing sounds like a good idea. Amala must've been sore for quite a while, I bet.

As Kom'rk listed off each successive option, Chayah's face seemed to lose a little more of its color. When he'd finished, clapping his hands together as if he'd just finished telling her the most wonderful news in the world, she gave him a dirty look and a little shove, something that did nothing at all to a man in full armor. You are way too happy about this, mister. You could at least act like you're as nervous as I am. She gave him a crooked smile to let him know she wasn't truly upset, then pursed her lips. I think it would be best if we started off with hand-to-hand. Keep in mind I've never had a fight before, so, umm, basics first. She shifted uneasily. She was so not ready for this...

[MillietheWarrior]

Kom’rk chuckled good-naturedly, and patted Chayah’s hand gently. “It means ‘little one’ actually. ‘Cyar’ika’ means sweetheart. But at least your learning. I’m impressed by how much you’ve picked up in such a short time. Ruach has been teaching you, has she?” He reached down to dig about in the bag, before he pulled out two identical pieces of metal. “Here: gauntlets,” he said slowly, holding them out to her like a peace offering. “These will probably be the easiest to get used to. I haven’t put a vibroblade or anything in them yet, so there’s no chance of you  accidentally stabbing me…That would be messy and uncomfortable. Put them on like I have mine.”

He showed her his own gauntlets and laughed in mild amusement, before tilting his head. “Jaing found the entire 'Amala and armor' situation amazingly funny. I don’t have the same sense of humor as him, apparently; I’d rather not have to buy my girlfriend a dozen bags of ice for a dozen sore places, thanks.” Kom’rk was still his same, good-natured self. He didn’t seem bothered by anything, and he seemed rather happy to have an excuse to get out and see Chayah; even if that excuse was battle practice, he still didn’t mind. Besides, this would probably be fun, if not a bit entertaining for the Null, who already had a faintly warped sense of humor. He watched as Chayah’s face seemed to drain of color, and with each pale shade it turned, his smile only grew wider.

“I’m a terrible actor; I leave that stuff up to Mereel. But yeah, I’m pretty happy about this. I’m glad you finally decided to ask for some self-defense lessons. At least I won’t have to worry about you as much.” He prodded his cheek. “Look at me, making myself sick with worry. I feel like a mother hen.” He chortled in amusement, and gave her hand a soft squeeze to show he was only partially kidding. “All right then. Good choice. Just don’t…BBQ me quite yet, cyar’ika. Try to keep the fire under control. If it starts to get too hard, tell me, and we’ll take a break.” He stepped back, dragging the bag with him to set it by the speeder, and fell into a defensive pose. His feet were spread in a solid stance, allowing him to shift his weight in any direction without losing his balance.

He raised his hands, balling them into fists and holding them close to his chest, his head trucked slightly in behind them. “Try this stance. It will allow you to keep your balance when someone tries to knock you over.” He raised his fists slightly, before lowering them again, indicating she should mimic his pose. “And when you hold your fists like this, it allows you to both block the strike of your opponent and deliver your own should the need arise.”

[4/23]

[Jessari]

She still has a lot to teach me, Chayah said, smiling at her own mistake. She did her best, but Ruach was the one with the talent for languages. I doubt I'll ever be fluent, but I'm happy to work towards 'proficient'.

She accepted the gauntlets with a resigned sigh. Out of all the pieces of armor he could have chosen, these were possibly the ones she looked forwards to the least. Unless he reached out and touched her skin elsewhere, donning the gloves would effectively cut off her only method of communicating. It was like asking a normal person if they wouldn't mind sticking a gag in their own mouth. Kom'rk's reasoning was sound, though; if she couldn't learn to handle this, learning to handle the rest would be pretty much impossible. Chayah slipped one of the gauntlets on, testing it. It was, as she had expected, considerably heavier than a normal glove would have been, and she wriggled her fingers around experimentally, trying to adjust her movements to the weight.

Well, I'm glad myboyfriend is a little more considerate than Amala's. With her un-gloved hand, she maintained contact with Kom'rk's skin, threading her fingers through his. For the moment, it was the most convenient way to speak without running the risk of losing touch and having her words interrupted. Besides, she'd been waiting months to be able to do this again, and she wasn't willing to let go until the last possible moment.

And all too soon, that moment came. Chayah watched, a small pout on her lips as Kom'rk turned to lug the bag containing the remainder of her armor back to the speeder. It was too late now, she supposed, to try to talk him into delaying the training session in lieu of something more...well, fun. He'd probably laugh at that, considering how much fun he seemed to be getting out of the current situation. Despite herself, Chayah felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It was hard not to be happy when she saw him happy. She'd spent a few minutes in something resembling a war zone, and she'd had nightmares for weeks. Traversing war zones was his job, and so it was good to see him enjoying himself.

Slipping her remaining hand into its gauntlet, Chayah stuck her tongue out at him for the BBQ comment. It was the most eloquent comment she could possibly make at the moment, but it conveyed her feelings rather well. If they stuck to the basics, nothing too intense, she doubted her powers would be an issue at all. Watching his feet carefully, she slid her feet around to mirror the stance. This, she understood. Years upon years of dancing had taught her how to sense her body's center of balance, and although this position was a little wider than those of most dances she had participated in, it still felt right. She nodded to show she understood his words, her green eyes intent.

The hands were more difficult. Chayah attempted to mimic his posture, but something felt off. Her hands, unused to being covered by anything, much less bits of armor, felt awkward. Were they supposed to restrict her vision like this? She understood the need for defense, but she'd prefer to see her opponent full-on, with nothing in the way. She lifted an eyebrow at her sparring partner, a silent request for critique.

[MillietheWarrior]

Kom’rk smiled kindly. “Any part of my language you can learn is fine by me. I’m just happy your willing to try and learn.” He relaxed his stance, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Good,” He said slowly. “Just give me one moment.” He stepped back around the speeder, and grabbed a bag from the backseat. He’d rushed straight to meet Chayah after finally finding a moment to sneak away from his work; he hadn’t had time not change into normal clothes. With the speed of long practiced ease, Kom’rk unclipped his armor plates and stacked them in the front seat of the speeder.

He reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of black pants and a dark green shirt, throwing them on over his jumpsuit. Once he’d adjusted the shirt and strapped his boots back on, he stepped around the side of the speeder, hands on his hips as he observed Chayah’s stance. “Good, very good,” He said, nodding slowly. He seemed to sense her discomfort with the gloves, and took a couple of quick steps forward, closing his hands over hers as he detached the gloves from the metal of the gauntlets and pulled them free. He stuffed them into his pockets, declaring; “I don’t think you need those right now, do you?”

He delicate moved her hands back into position, before he stepped back a pace. “Now, this is a stance you’ll want to try to fall back to if you can. It’s has it’s good points, and it’s bad. One of its bad points, for instance-” He swung one leg towards her in what could be mistaken for a roundhouse kick, but stopped short of actually hitting her. “-is the inability to defend against a kick like that. Of course-” He let his foot hit the ground, and reached forward to gently grab her hand, and guide her arm down to straighten where his leg had just been.

“-if your fast enough, you can stop it. I wouldn’t recommend it though; depending on how much power your enemy’s kick has, it can break or seriously sprain your arm.” He fell silent for a brief moment, before he stepped back and fell into the same stance. “Now…I’m going to gauge your abilities and assess your level of expertise. So I want you to come at me with whatever moves you happen to know. Give it everything you’ve got, and don’t hold back.” He smiled behind his hands. “And don’t be afraid to hit me; I’m tough, I can take it.”

[5/24]

[Jessari]

Much better, love, Chayah said, squeezing his hand briefly as he removed the gloves. If she'd known it was possible to take them apart, she might've done it herself. But that was the point of this training session, wasn't it? To learn new things?

The blond-haired woman allowed him to move her hands into position, trying to memorize the position as if it were the beginning stance of an unfamiliar dance. Perhaps, she wondered, if she could think of it as a spin-off of swing dancing, it wouldn't make her so nervous. In swing dancing, the steps normally weren't pre-planned. They were made up on the fly by the male dancer, who would then give subtle clues to his partner that would let her know what he needed her to do. The hint could be something as small as a twist of his wrist, and the female partner had to be very observant to avoid stepping on toes or losing the beat and stopping dead on the dance floor.

Then again, she thought as Kom'rk began to instruct her, it might be just a little more difficult than that. In the middle of a sentence, the Clone swung his leg toward her in an arc that would've impacted with her side had he not stopped it inches from her body. Before she could stop herself, Chayah reacted, flinching away from his leg and squealing silently, something Kom'rk couldn't hear but could certainly guess at. Once it registered that he wasn't actually going to kick her, she wrinkled her nose and corrected her position.

The adrenaline resulting from her surprise sent a rush of warmth to her skin, nothing noticeable to any but the most observing touch, but she recognized it for what it was. As she listened to Kom'rk's explanation of the block, Chayah took deep, calming breaths. He might joke about being barbecued, but she didn't think of it as a joking matter. She knew the potential she had to hurt someone, even if it was unintentional, and she was determined to keep her powers safely under wraps.

A quirky smile curved her lips. He wanted to gauge her experience level? Was he friggin' serious? Her eyes roamed his body, returning to touch on his eyes. She didn't want to attack him; it went against her nature to cause anyone harm, but that was what she had come here to learn. Chayah puffed out a sigh, bouncing on the balls of her feet in preparation, then stepped in, swinging her balled-up hands towards his body. All in all, she looked to be about as dangerous as a papercut.

[MillietheWarrior]

The situation was comical, even by Kom’rk standards. This tiny wisp of a woman, coming at him with everything she had, wouldn’t even be enough to put a bruise on his cheek. His tried to keep a straight face, but ended up snorting back his laughter, covering it quickly with one hand. The last thing he needed was Chayah getting upset at him because he found her attempt at self-defense absolutely hilarious. Kom’rk had already fallen out of his stance as he waited for her to approach, watching as she readied herself. So when she swung, he wasn’t prepared, but it didn’t matter, not really.

He reached up with deftly honed reflexes and caught her hand swiftly in his, giving it a gently squeeze as he smirked down at her. “Gonna have to try harder than that, cyar’ika. Oh, and did I mention I’m going to be a ‘volatile target?’ I’m not going to just sit here and take a ‘beating’ you know.” With that, he tugged one her arm, using just enough force to spin her around to pin her against his chest, holding one of her arms behind her back. He hooked his own arm around her neck, holding it there lightly so it barely touched her skin.

“If an enemy had you in this position-” he began, tightening his hold ever so lightly. “-what would you do, exactly?” He waited patiently for her to make a move, to decide what it was she needed to do to break his hold on her. “Just try anything, and I’ll tell you if it will work or not…There’s only so many ways to get out of here...” He suddenly chuckled darkly, his cheek inches from her own, sounding faintly amused. “But take your time. I don’t mind staying like this for a while.” He shrugged one shoulder, arm still resting just below her chin.

[6/25]

[Jessari]

“If an enemy had you in this position, what would you do, exactly?”

Well, that had gone about as badly as expected. Call for help? Chayah squeaked as his arm tightened a bit, mind scrambling about for anything that could help her out of this situation. Although he'd tried to hide it, she'd seen the amusement plastered all over his face, and the ease with which he'd halted her 'attack' had left her pride a bit bruised. Added to that was the fact that her arm was being held in an uncomfortable position, and his arm was in danger of restricting her air if he decided to squeeze any tighter. She was not liking this at all.

“But take your time. I don’t mind staying like this for a while.”

Her heart made a very awkward ba-dump noise in her chest, and suddenly her take on the situation shifted dramatically. Maybe this position wasn't quite so bad after all...The edge of panic that had started to creep into her thoughts faded, allowing her to take a mental step back and gauge the situation with more clarity. Kom'rk was giving her time to think, and she should make the most of that opportunity. Chayah still didn't have any battle skills to draw from, but maybe she could follow one of her dancing instructor's advice: when performing a complicated maneuver, especially at high speeds, she was supposed to view herself and her partner as a human knot, and envision the movement needed to untangle the knot and return to the starting position. The problem with this was this: her partner was working against her instead of with her.

To return to the starting position, Chayah knew she'd have to somehow slip away from the arm around her neck, and, if possible, twist her arm away from where it was being held half-way up her back. Although his grip on her was deceptively light, Kom'rk was much stronger than she was. Perhaps a distraction might help?

Chayah let her muscles relax as she leaned back against him. Turning her head so her cheek brushed softly against his, she sighed, If you wanted to take a little break to...catch up on things, I wouldn't be too hard to persuade. And she spoke the truth. It wouldn't take much convincing to make her throw the practice session out the window, but she knew better than to think he'd really take her up on it. Moving quickly, she stomped her foot, aiming her heel for his instep. At the same time, she turned, trying to wriggle out of the hold he had on her. Her free hand tugged at the arm across her throat, hoping to loosen his grip just enough to make escape possible.

[MillietheWarrior]

Kom’rk chuckled lowly. “Calling for help is always a good strategy. But unfortunately, I don’t think you can actually do that, cyar’ika…Remember?” He could practically see the cogs in her mind whirring, coming up with some kind of plan to get herself out of the situation she was currently stuck in. He only smiled, his hold neither tightening or loosening as he gave her time to think; in a real situation, she’d have no time to think, and would just have to react. But this time, he would allow her to gather her thoughts an wits about her and come up with a plan. Maybe if something like this really happened, she’d know enough to be able to think on her feet.

The plan she concocted, however, came as quite a surprise to him. He felt her lean back against him, and frowned, wondering if she was just going to give up and hope he’d let her go. The feel of her cheek brushing against his made him shiver lightly, and he briefly contemplated letting go of her so they could catch up and perhaps find something more interesting to do than ‘battle training.‘ But then she was moving again, and Kom’rk was ready for her, despite how distracting she’d been only moment before. He felt her heel connect with his foot; it didn’t hurt too badly. His boots were thick enough to absorb most of the impact, and Chayah was just too small and dainty to inflict much damage.

She was trying to wriggle out of his grasp, but Kom’rk did not let go. His hand tightened around hers, and her attempt to pull his arm away from her neck was in vain; he had to show her that a real attacker wouldn’t be put off so easily. She hadn’t done what he’d hoped she would do, and she didn’t seem to realize she had more weapons at her disposal than she first thought. Teeth, nails, quick reflexes…She needed to learn to use everything she had. When she tugged on his arm, he relented finally, and lifted it off of her, letting go only briefly.

“Good,” he said, nodding slowly as his body tensed. “But not good enough. Think, cyar’ika. Use everything you have. Your teeth, your nails, your reflexes, your mind, your voice, your powers. You wanted to learn to control your fire powers; then use them! Take control, and don’t let them consume you. I won’t be so nice next time; I think you may need them.” She was only a few inches away from him; he hadn’t given her much time to get away. He dropped, his leg flashing out to catch her just beneath the ankles; he knew she’d come down hard, but she’d come down on the soft earth, so he didn’t worry too much. And besides, what was a fight without a few bruises or broken bones, right? When she fell, he would make a move to pin her to the ground, making sure she couldn’t get up.

[7/26]

[Jessari]

For a brief moment, Chayah thought her plan might succeed. Then his grip tightened. It wasn't enough to really hurt her, but it hovered on the threshold between discomfort and pain. The new feeling of hope drained out of her. Had she really thought to outwit a Null? A frustrated breath of air puffed through her lips as he loosened his arm to let her move away. She'd failed this one, and she knew it.

"Good, but not good enough."

She winced inwardly at the disappointment she inferred from his words. Actually doing well at this whole fighting thing had been a long shot, but she'd hoped to at least do well enough to satisfy Kom'rk. As his other words came, she flinched again, this time for completely different reasons. Chayah had wanted to stick mainly to 'normal' methods of fighting, at least for a couple of months or so, but he sounded like he actually expected her to get a handle on her powers today!

Despite her unwillingness to deal with her unusual ability, the warmth that had been lurking about her skin blossomed, heating her from her core outward as if he had called it. Chayah stubbornly pushed it downward, determined not to let it interfere, but like a school-bound child hearing the recess bell, her powers refused to be doused so easily. She grit her teeth, trying to focus both on the battle within and upon the next lesson she was sure Kom'rk was leading into.

It wasn't enough. Had she been in full control of herself, she might have seen the tensing of his muscles as he spoke, had a suspicion about his next move, but she wasn't quite that lucky. Chayah was caught completely off guard as his leg hooked her ankles, and despite her small form, she made quite an impressive thud when she hit the ground. The breath was forced from her lungs when she impacted, and before she could move a muscle to rise, Kom'rk was on top of her. Even without his armor, he proved to be a heavy weight.

Chayah panicked, but for completely different reasons than one might expect. During her momentary lapse in concentration, her powers had taken the opportunity to increase in intensity. Each second, her skin rose in temperature as the adrenaline-stoked fire within her grew more and more powerful. She struggled, anxious to wriggle out from beneath Kom'rk before she became hot enough to burn him, but he had her pinned securely.

Kom'rk!

That one word was all she could manage as she waged war on both the physical and mental fronts. Images flashed behind her eyes, ash and bones on the pavement. Painted fingernails dug unconsciously into his skin as she fought against him, fought for him. In true desperation, she sought to find the center of his weight, the key that would allow her to escape and distance herself from her soldier before she burst into flames. It was an event that loomed on the horizon of her mind, as inevitable as the revolution of the planets.