AU: Not Milliways continuity -Obi-Wan Kenobi -aiming for angst free for once, damn it!?

[last_kallig]

Ibani has a mounting headache. Stupid Sith scholars of the past and their need to be damnably clever.

Oh, the LITERAL translation is clear enough, the word is blood, but given the time and cultural context, that has AT LEAST 12 different possible meanings.

"If you weren't already several centuries dead, I'd smack you for being insufferably vague," she mutters at the book as she closes it.

"I need a drink."

Comments

[acertainpov]

He's also got to learn to get past those things eventually so he'll ask for help with that, but for now, there's a pretty lady winking at him.

He leans forward, elbow on the table, chin on his knuckles.

"Bribe you with what?"

[last_kallig]

"Whatever you feel like offering," she replies, leaning in more. Her force presence is warm and electric and there is a definite flirtatious feeling in it now.

"I'm willing to be very flexible in such matters."

[acertainpov]

All that happens is Obi-Wan's eyebrows raise again. His Force presence doesn't change but that's not because he doesn't have feelings, just that he's really disciplined about what he shows.

He likes this. It's different from how Assajj would flirt and so far away from Satine it offers no awkward feelings.

"Maybe I'll just have to owe you - depending on how flexible you are."

[last_kallig]

"That will do," Ibani replies, chuckling warmly.

She glances at the glass that held her beer. "Tragically, my glass appears to be empty. Shall I show you how flexible I am on the battlefield first?" she teases.

[acertainpov]

"Probably best."

He grins and leans back finally, finishing his own beer with a few swallows.

"While we're both fresh."

And not too tired.

[last_kallig]

"Oh yes, I intend to give you my very best, after all. " The best that can be given non-injuriously/fatally at least.

"I'm sure we'll both enjoy it." Ibani reaches into a pocket and pulls out three training lightsabers. "Lucky I happen to have these on me." She puts the sabers on the table. "I'll even let you pick first."

The hilts are plain and straight, more or less identical. The crystal in one is blue, and the others are violet.

[acertainpov]

Obi-Wan hovers his hand over each of them in tern, and picks up one, which on extending with a couple of swoops, turns out to be one of the violet ones.

"You don't see these much anymore," he remarks. The only Jedi he knows with a lightsaber like this is Master Windu.

[last_kallig]

"They're relatively common among Sith, though not as much as red," Ibani replies. "Both of my lightsabers are violet."

"Shall we?" she asks, gesturing toward the door to the outside.

Oh, this is going to be so much fun!

[acertainpov]

His smile flickers, slightly, as he's never even heard of the Sith before and feels like he should. Red lightsabers also seem strange.

But then he's back, broad and friendly.

"After you."

[last_kallig]

Ibani presumes the flicker is due to the long running animosity between the Jedi and Sith.

She leads the way to a promising looking spot out back with lots of room. (Force-users can really MOVE.)

She activates both training lightsabers and grins wickedly at him. She exhales and her presence in the Force deepens. Ibani is strong, one of the strongest Sith in the Empire. She's surely as strong as any member of the Jedi Council in Obi-Wan's time, maybe stronger.

She crooks one finger at him in a 'come at me' gesture.

[acertainpov]

And poor Obi-Wan is just a Padawan, trained from a three-year old, but still not having been through the Trial. He has natural strength in the Force, of course, and gets a lot of praise from Master Qui-Gon so he might not be totally overwhelmed?

He also has a good chunk of enthusiasm, and is already running at her when she beckons.

[last_kallig]

She often forgets that she really ought to still be an apprentice herself. (Damn Darth Zash and wanting to steal Ibani's body for her own and damn Darth Thanaton for trying to kill her and thus forcing her to kill HIM.)

He won't be totally overwhelmed, no. Most of Ibani's strongest combat tricks involve force lightning, which isn't something you can use in a spar.

She meets his clash with both sabers, blue and violet. Then plants one foot, and pivots to kick him with her left leg.

[acertainpov]

He leaps over the leg coming around, his upper body barely needing to move as his hips and knees fold up above her leg. He bears down where his lightsaber met hers, and uses that momentum to somersault up and over, aiming to come down the other side of her.

[last_kallig]

Clever!

And he would indeed have come down on the other side of her, if she hadn't pulled up a whirling vortex of purple energy, Obi-Wan's very own personal, tiny, tornado!

It won't hurt him, but he might get extremely dizzy if he doesn't get out of there quick.

[acertainpov]

Obi-Wan shouts in surprise, but after a second's spin he thrusts his lightsaber out horizontally to counter the tornado, force it to slow down, using only a working knowledge of angular momentum.

He then pushes himself out at the same horizontal angle, which if nothing else reduces the potential dizziness - he hits the ground on a roll and elaps to his feet, lightsaber in front of him.

Let her come to him then.

[last_kallig]

"Bravo! I've never seen that counter before," Ibani calls to him, grinning joyously.

She obliges by charging at him, swinging both sabers, one high the other low. With two blades, she can press him at different angles at once.

[acertainpov]

Obi-Wan's never learned Jar'Kai, but he's sparred against people using it and similar dual-saber techniques many times. The trick, he's found, is to let both angles converge, get out and bring his lightsaber to the point at which he can meet both at different places on his own blade, using both hands to get the extra strength to make up for only have the one.

"I've never seen that technique before," he says. "So we're even."

[last_kallig]

"I'm sure we have much to learn from one another," Ibani says, still smiling.

She intentionally lets Obi-Wan's next strike knock one of her sabers out of her hands, the blue one. The momentum sends it bouncing off the ground and rolling behind him.

She strikes quickly with the violet saber, then reaches out with the Force to turn the saber back on and pulls it back toward herself, blade first, aiming to hit Obi-Wan in the back with it.

[acertainpov]

He's not so preoccupied with countering her violet blade that he doesn't sense that coming. Again, Obi-Wan leaps up into a backflip that times it perfectly to leap over the lightsaber and land the other side.

He reaches out with the Force as he does so, ending up in a quick tug of war with her over the lightsaber.

She wins, but for a second there he gives it something.

[last_kallig]

Ibani is pleased at his counter and the tug of war and the Force echoes that.

She moves into a spinning leap, a whirling blur headed down toward him from the sky.

[acertainpov]

Obi-Wan grins at her for the moment that he can see her face before the blur starts. He steps back for a second, and then leaps in to meet her, hoping at least that his own speed and reflexes will at least keep her from doing too much damage to him, even if he can't get an advantage that way.

[last_kallig]

She doesn't do too much damage, he's quick enough that he can block most of the hits,

They spin around one another, sabers twirling, and Ibani reaches out with a foot to try and pull him in close. Previous Force users she's fought never seem to expect her to try and get in close and grapple...

[acertainpov]

But Obi-Wan's right at home with the physical part of a lightsaber fight! He doesn't jump her foot this time, but the the grapple doesn't quite go as planned when instead of tripping he flips backwards on to his free hand and lands a meter away.

He grins brightly and swings his saber low, on the off chance she's sent herselgff off balance with that move.

[last_kallig]

Obi-Wan lands a solid hit on her left leg with that one!

Ibani's grin brightens, despite the sting of the blow, and she decides to try the less physical side.

She swings both sabers at him, but the real attack is a delicate reach with the Force, just enough pressure to flip the power switch on his lightsaber.

[acertainpov]

It nearly works! Obi-Wan brings his saber up for what would be a perfect block, but notices his saber is off just in time, and leaps back with nanoseconds to spare, Ibani's blades passing within an hair's breadth of his body.

He inhales quickly, impressed, and has his lightsaber on in an instant.

He races at her, assuming that with enouigh speed he can keep her distracted enough to prevent any more tricks like that.