Diving Right In

Diving Right In
Date of Scene:	17 April 2024
Location:	Temple Training Grounds - Coruscant
Synopsis:	Ann begins training Cayde.
Cast of Characters:	Annelia Belask, Cayde Alexis

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Annelia Belask has posed:
    As the newly minted knight and apprentice duo step into an empty training room with a padded floor, Annelia wastes no time at all, stepping out ahead of Cayde and turning to face him. There's a certain confrontational tone to it- though given the young man is nearly the size of the grown woman it might not be all that intimidating.

    "Alright, step one, mix up your routine, no more sitting and stewing while meaningless other people chatter about you. And step one of -that- is simple as can be. Punch me. Chest, stomach, arm, shoulder, don't care. Just hard as you can, show me what kind kf muscle you're working with."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde stares at her, his mind swirling.

    Did he hear that right? Just... punch her? But...

    Ann's new padawan doesn't respond right away, instead just standing there looking rather baffled as if he didn't understand her or something. But he isn't deaf, right?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A wry smirk from Ann at the blatant confusion, and she shakes her head.

    "Cayde I've been beaten bloody by people twice your mass in this very room for practice and for *fun*. I promise you won't really hurt me. In fact, if I have your appetite for combat clocked, I half expect your knuckles will fare worse than my proverbial chin."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Well....all right then.

    Cayde nods slowly, balling up his right hand into a fist and throwing a punch straight at her abdomen. Although he might not have actually obeyed the "hard as you can" part as much as he should have...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    There's a moment's pause.

    Annelia looks down at where Cayde's fist is still against her lower chest, and shrugs.

    "Well you're not a weak kid, that clearly wasn't your best. But that's kind of what you're here for. Here's my theory. You've been so focused for so long on restraint in your force talents it seems to be all you think about. So I don't care if it's fighting, strength training, or gammorean poetry. We're going to find something you can throw yourself into wholeheartedly and break that pattern. And if it takes you seeing someone take some scrapes and bruises from you and turn out fine, you won't find many better candidates than your new master- though I'm not crazy about the term master if I'm being honest."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde watches her not even flinch, and listens to her thoughts. True, that probably wasn't the hardest he could muster. And it was also true that from a young age, he'd been told he had to suppress his abilities. Hold them back, due to a lack of control.

    ...[Yes Master] he signs. Then he steps back a bit and makes a fist again, watching her with an inquisitive gaze. Should he try it again?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Another pause from Ann as she considers the questioning expression, before she shakes her head.

    "Do you know the trick to jumping with the Force? Going to show you something the actual Masters get annoyed about," she notes, beckoning Cayde to follow.

    They only cross to a corner of the room with an alcove for supplies and tools for training- and enough space to take a few good broad steps across it. On the inner wall of the alcove, hidden from the view of the entrance to this training room, are a series of markings by way of scratches or various implements, all simple lines a fair ways up the wall with initials by them- it looks like quite a number over the years, and most initials appear more than once.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde puts his hand down and nods, following Ann into the supply room. He's seen that wall before, with all the little lines and markings with initials next to them. But never really took a good look or knew what they were for.

    He glances at them, and then back at Ann, waiting for her to explain what this 'something' was that annoyed Masters.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Rather than speak to explain, Ann steps back against the wall opposite the marked spot- launching herself into two steps to build momentum, a third planting the foot firmly to translate that momentum into a fairly impressive vertical leap.

    Someone with Cayde's knack for the force could easily tell that even if Ann knows the trick to enhancing a leap with the force, she hasn't used it here as her arm reaches as high as it can, fingertips smacking into the wall firmly just a couple of centimeters above the highest line marked with a conspicuous 'A.B.' in galactic basic.

    "One of the ways we tracked progress. And height, I guess? But mostly who was coming along in physical training and how well."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods, watching her jump and exceed her previous height marking by just a bit as well, even. He moves over closer to the wall with the markings, examining them more closely as he wonders if anyone else besides Ann had been doing this and how they stacked up against her...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    All manner of lines are present with the initials of all sorts of Padawans over the years, in a variety of languages. They run the gamut of much lower to much higher- physical as she is, Ann isn't the tallest person in the order or the strongest by a long ways. But even a cursory read of her mind or senses would show she pays that little mind- her focus is on the differences between the several marks of hers made over the years.

    And then her hand is holding a well worn bag of chalk dust out to the boy. "What do you say, Cayde? Care to join a mischievous old tradition and see if having your legs almost too sore to walk from physical training keeps your mind focused on and anchored in your own body?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Some of the names are familiar, even. Quite a few padawans he's acquainted with, but it doesn't surprise him none of them ever invited him to join them in this before.

    Cayde looks over at the bag of chalk and nods, taking some into his hand and then backing up toward the opposite wall as she had done, before running towward it and jump up and reaching with that hand as far as he can.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A moment of Ann's eyes widening at Cayde's performance. "Huh. You've clearly trained at this quite a lot- your technique is better than mine," she says earnestly. "Engage in a lot of sporting events as a youngling maybe?"

    Even as she speaks she slides a stool over with a foot, using a marker that even the custodial droids struggle to clean off to mark through the chalk imprint left behind before handing it off for him to initial with.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde shrugs. [I trained hard] he signs, before taking the marker and putting his initials next to the line as the others had. [...nothing else to do] he adds to that. It wasn't as if he'd ever gotten invited to any 'hangouts' with the other kids, and hadn't even been allowed to leave the Temple until a few years ago.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Probably good that you weren't as obsessive as me at least," says Annelia wryly but earnestly, shaking her head as she puts the chalk and marker and stool away idly.

    "Just wait, all that gammorean poetry will keep you occupied for days on end soon enough," she adds as a more straightforward joke before continuing: "But on a more genuine note- what has your interest? All jedi duties and force concerns aside, in a vacuum outside all of that, what is a -Cayde- interest, to get back to the subject matter at hand?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde tilts his head to the side slightly at that joke. Gamorrean poetry...did Gamorreans even write poetry? Who knew...

    But at the question of his own personal interests or pursuits, he doesn't seem to have an answer. He'd always sunk himself into training and studying, as for a long time it mostly took all of his energy just keeping his emotions and telepathy under control, on top of his classes. The padawan just shrugs. [I do not know Master] he signs.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Well if nothing else, I think this confirms my suspicions," says Ann with another wry half-smirk and shake of her head. She strides out of the alcove as she continues.

    "Boy your age, who's in good shape, I get the temptation to just fully focus on avoiding the thing you don't want. But I suspect some of this wandering into other minds and losing track of yourself is pent up energy and restlessness. So for today we can do some more training- tomorrow, though? We'll see about figuring out an answer to that question."

    And, to end the statement on a more lighthearted note, she jokes; "Maybe we start with Huttball?"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde follows her out of the alcove, continuing to listen to what she has to say about his...problems. He arches a brow at her though, when she suggests Huttball. This was...well, it was certainly different from the way his first Master had been. She can already feel him searching her intentions to see if she really was serious about that.

    [...Okay...I have never played] he signs to her.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "It's a joke, Cayde. It's a sport that people on Nar Shaddaa of all planets like, and getting violent and cheating is the expectation. Not something I'd seriously suggest for someone with your mindset," Ann assures with a shrug, palms upturning.

    "Just give it some thought, hm? Not in terms of how safe it is with your struggles, or in terms of how 'appropriate' it is, just something that sounds like it might interest you. It's just about taking a constructive approach rather than a proscriptive one."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde stares at her, looking...genuinely confused. She was joking, or...did she really want him to seriously consider Huttball because it was something she thought might interest him? Or was that a joke too? Did she think he liked violence and cheating?

    Now he's -really- digging in her mind, trying to find out what she really means...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    All of a sudden, Ann's a tough nut to crack. Go figure.

    She starts leading the way out of the training room, shrugging and elucidating... maybe. "-Less- of a joke was the poetry thing. Well, the gammorean part was still a joke. I know I talk a lot about fitness and strength, but if suddenly you find you want to become a connoisseur of low-budget romance holovids, genuinely don't care. Just want to see what having other things to pour your energy into does to help."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, finding her mind a...confusing labyrinth that doesn't really give him a straightforward answer to the question.

    But it becomes clearer as she explains. Ah, yes so she just wanted him to find a hobby of sorts, something he enjoyed outside of his obligations at the Temple and further honing his attunement to the Force.

    The padawan nods. [I see...yes Master I will try] he signs, already thinking about where he might start. Probably not Huttball though...