You're not a judge but if you're going to judge me

[misplacedqueen]

WHO: Alyss Heart and Kyp Durron
LOCATION: Training fields outside
WEEK: 56
TIME: After classes on Friday
WHAT: Alyss finally got Kyp to agree to teach her swordings
RATING: Ummm, PG to PG-13.

Comments

[sun_ofagun]

She wasn't early; Kyp was avoiding the meeting. In the time since the girl had hounded him for this meeting and he'd finally caved, the Jedi Master had been incraesingly wonderin what the hell was wrong with him. He was the most stubborn, obnoxious person he knew, he should have just kept on saying no. More than that, he should have just lied to her back when they were killing boggarts, should have smiled and said he relished every moment of it, that their faces didn't haunt him even now. It would have made things simpler; should would have hated him, and he knew how to deal with people who hated him.

He did not know how to deal with women who wanted to learn things from him. As was blatantly obvious by the way he and Jaina interacted

[misplacedqueen]

"You're wearing a cape."

Which was the first thing she had noticed and was able to say, because it was a slightly ridiculous sight. Maybe not as ridiculous as a man wearing a rather large, powdered wig upon his head, but still... Immediately, Alyss lifted her hand to cover the smile that had followed her words, hoping to quell it before it became too noticeable. At least she hadn't laughed, something that would have been just the slightest bit rude.

Finally able to get control of her own facial muscles, she lowered her hand and shook her head at his question. "Eager in what way?" Alyss didn't believe that she was eager to be exact, but a thrill of victory was present in her. After all, she had gotten Kyp to not only agree to this but to show.

Part of her had this feeling that this wasn't exactly a common occurrence.

[sun_ofagun]

Kyp was and always had been aware of the fact that the cloak he wore wasn't exactly what most people would call normal apparel. Even if he had cared, he probably wouldn't have stopped wearing it - the garment was his, and it was one of the few possessions he owened that continued to retain any particular meaning for him. The smile she ws obviously hiding didn't bother him; on the contrary, it was probably the first time in a long time anyone had been so considerate. He wasn't sure what to do with that.

"It's a disguise," he said easily, observing her. She was dressed for this at least; he'd been half curious to know whether or not she was actually taking this seriously, or if it was just some sort of game. The possibility of the latter was still there, but if it was a game she was at least putting effort in. Kyp could appreciate that. "You're early," he pointed out.

[misplacedqueen]

If he were comfortable wearing what he was wearing, then nothing else should have mattered.

"Why would you be in disguise?" You couldn't exactly fight in a skirt, at least not with swords, and so why shouldn't she have dressed for the part? Had it been a game for her, Alyss simply wouldn't have showed up. She was not mean spirited, however, and meant what she asked for. The woman wanted to learn to better her fighting ability. "Maybe you're late," she argued, a small smile touching her face again as her eyebrows lifted.

So she had been early. Alyss bit back a sigh. She didn't want to seem too eager.

[sun_ofagun]

"It wouldn't be much of a disguise if I told you why," Kyp pointed out. Alyss may have known that she wasn't mean-spirited enough to play games, but Kyp hadn't made it this far through life without being cautious.

--Okay, he had. In fact, it wasn't so long ago when he'd been blatantly uncautious whwenever possible. More it was that he hadn't made it this far through life without being a sneaky bastard, and suspecting everyone else of the same. The point was, while he had agreed to teach her, that didn't mean he trusted Alyss in any way, shape or form.

"The teacher is never late," he said, unclipping his lightsaber from his belt.

[misplacedqueen]

Alyss nodded. "I suppose that you're right." That small smile continued to hold as she watched him. A small sense of trust had already grown within her for Kyp, though in part that might have been because he had brought her back to her senses. In retrospect, it was silly, especially since her past had taught her differently about immediately instilling trust in another human being. Too often she had been let down, pulled down, kicked.

It was just in her nature, she supposed.

"Then I'm early." She pulled her hair back from her face before Imagining a sword in her hand.

[sun_ofagun]

"Look at that, you're learning already," Kyp replied, typical note of asshole humour very much present. If he'd known what Alyss was thinking about him and trust, he would have said one thing; Don't.

Well. After he'd finished laughing, that was.

He watched the sword pop into her hand out of nowhere, much has it had last time he'd seen her do it. There was no particular technique to it, then, or at least not one that he could sense. He wasn't here to study her Imagination powers though, or at least not yet, so he turned his attention to the task at hand. "If you can make it heat resistant, do it," he instructed. "The lightsaber has the same density as a steel sword, but it's also pretty hot so we're not going to get very far if you've just got a normal weapon."

[misplacedqueen]

"I've always caught on quickly," Alyss commented, not at all phased by his ever-present attitude and humor.

She was naive, something that was hard to grow out of. Thankfully, she had tact enough to not verbally express her thoughts or to reveal herself at all to this poor, pitiable man.

Alyss could suppose that the only technique to her power would be how open one's mind was. Since she was a child, she had been told she had the strongest of Imaginations. After going through the maze, it just seemed like second nature. She thought. It appeared. "Heat resistant?" With a blink, Alyss glanced at the blade in her hand, then at the one he had, before her eyes came back to hers. Could she do something like that?

"All right, I can try." She closed her eyes, imagining the sword in her hand to be protected from high-pressured heat. All she could do was hope that this was enough.

And make a mental note, of course, to peruse the library in search of more spell books once this session was over.

[sun_ofagun]

"Except when it comes to hints, apparently." It had occurred to Kyp that his life would probably be a great deal easier if he stopped being a smartass about everything in it. Three guesses why he hadn't stopped and probably wouldn't any time soon.

"That's what I said." The flippant tone was probably unnecessary, but that didn't make Kyp any more likely to stop using it. Hell, if he was lucky, maybe she'd get so annoyed by it that she'd leave.

He eyed the sword and the way she closed her eyes as she held it. Okay, so that wasn't likely. "Got it, then?"

[misplacedqueen]

"That has nothing to do with how I learn, only with how stubborn I seem to be." And Alyss was apparently quite stubborn, possibly a glutton for punishment as well.

Instead of becoming annoyed at the tone, she blinked and then smiled calmly at him. A wise ruler wouldn't become angry with such a flippant subject; it would only create strife, and there was no reason for there to be such strife between a partnership such as this.

And try as he might to deny it, Kyp had entered into a partnership with Alyss the moment he had met her out here.

"Yes, I believe so." Which could have been translated to: I very much hope that I did this correctly.

i'm sorry i can't stop using the term 'snap-hiss'

[sun_ofagun]

Kyp looked amused. "Somehow I doubt your stubbornness has anything to do with 'seem'," he informed her.

A familiar snap-hiss met his ears, quickly followed by a low thrum as he thumbed the lightsaber on. A dim glow of light violet flickered across his face as he held the weapon in an easy guard in front of him.

"Attack me, then," he instructed, not bothering to congratulate her on her presumed success.

I keep hearing the sound in my head when I read it.

[misplacedqueen]

"Perhaps I am only stubborn to those who believe me to be obstinate." She smiled at him, as though to say it was his fault she was stubborn and not as though she had been shaped into having such a personality trait.

Alyss's eyes roamed the weapon, finding it a curious thing now that she had the time to look it over without worrying about some creature trying to feast upon her fears. Or her body, as she was sure the boggarts could have attacked them that way if they hadn't disposed of them first.

With a nod, Alyss raised her sword, light on her feet as she swung the sword at him, smile replaced by a much more focused look.