Shae decided that he did not understand women. Not in the least. At the moment, he was staring at his girlfriend, Nalasee Basar, as she stood a few feet away from him, lightsaber extended toward him. For most couples, this would be a sign that the relationship was no longer healthy for either party. But for Shae and Nalasee, sparring practice was just another part of their daily duties as Jedi knights. However, Shae decided that this was perhaps a little more than sparring practice for Nalasee as he gently eased himself away. Nalasee didn't let it happen. Violet eyes narrowing, she brought the lightsaber from the en garde position into a quick thrust meant to cover ground as much as force Shae to reengage. Shae managed to twist the strike away with his own green blade but was barely able to block the ensuing series of strikes that flashed at him. The purple blade snapped over and beside his head with the distinctive VZZZM of the lightsaber's passage. Shae dropped under an overaggressive slash and tried to roll away, but Nalasee extended a clawed hand and yanked his feet out from under him with the Force. He struck the floor so hard his sharp canine teeth clacked together. He rolled onto his back, just in time to catch the blade inches from his face. No, Shae didn't believe that this was just sparring for Nalasee. He managed to redirect the blade into the ground inches from his face, and plant both feet into Nalasee's gut. He pushed and she tumbled backward and off of him. Springing onto his feet and bringing his lightsaber back into a defensive position, he began trying to run through the day's events to see what would have elicited the full fury of his S'Vithilin girlfriend's wrath. True, she had a propensity for… strong emotion. She was fully displaying this emotion at the moment as, having given up on sliding a blow past Shae's stout Soreseu defense, had instead elected to hammer him into the training room floor with a series of powerful horizontal strikes. Shae barely deflected the first three and decided that the situation was untenable. Calling on the Force, he leaped backward and away to get out of range. Despite the current potentially hazardous effects of that strong emotion, Shae knew that it would more often than not be helpful. Nalasee used it in order to help fuel her preferred Vaapad form of lightsaber combat. Focusing on the user's ability to walk the line between the dark side and light, the style utilized a rapid, all-out offensive strategy that would hammer opponents down. It was incredibly hard to counter, the only truly effective method being the Soreseu defense. This calm, centered style focused far more on a user's ability to redirect attacks and wait for opponents to make a mistake. However, even Soreseu users often found it almost impossible to ride out the firestorm that was Nalasee Basar. Even Jedi Battlemaster Kyle Katarn had found his Soreseu defense unable to stem the tide of her advance and had only managed to defeat her in duels by relying on his wide range of combat styles. There was only one non-Jedi master in the temple who could beat Nalasee, Shae. Shae's own Soreseu technique was nothing particularly special, no unique tricks that even set it apart. Physically he was Nalasee's clearly inferior. The canine-like S'Vithilin was almost a head taller than Shae and built like a track athlete, with long muscular arms and legs that gave her an incredible blend of speed and power. Shae, on the other hand, was thin, and optimistically describable as wiry. In terms of actual lightsaber combat experience, Nalasee was almost ten years Shae's senior. Both were incredibly skilled in martial combat, and both were capable Force users. No, what set them apart was a matter of predictability. Nalasee relied on her raw athleticism and aggression to win the day. Her technique, while very good, could get sloppy. Her aggressive attacks were predictable. Shae, on the other hand, was a wildly successful improviser. His ability to think on his feet and Nalasee's own predictability had given him the edge in several fights. "And I had made the mistake of reminding her of the fact" He realized as Nalasee shortened the distance to him and attacked again, leaping into a pirouetting spin with her lightsaber. Shae only managed to stop it by sending one of the training room benches into her path with the Force, and bench exploding into dozens of pieces as Nalasee's blow eviscerated it. His recall of events continued as he scrambled for some way to slow Nalasee down.
"Your foot's sliding back a bit much on that thrust." He said from a bench as he had watched her practice against a sparring droid not 15 minutes ago. It had been his fourth comment of that type. Little jabs that were just him poking fun at Nalasee. Nothing out of the ordinary for a relationship that could occasionally spill into a rivalry. Except Shae had forgotten to account for that fact her training earlier in the day had gone sourly. She had beaten Katarn, but he had critiqued her poor saber skills rather than acknowledging her victory. Not enough to set her off, but just a little detonite for the thermal detonator. She had deactivated her lightsaber and stopped the program, turning to glare at her partner.
"If you don't shut up my foot will slide somewhere you'd really hate." She had growled.
"I'm not sure about that." Shae had returned with a sly grin. "You'd have to be able to beat me to do that."
"There it was." Shae deduced as he just managed to avoid having his front teeth knocked out by the hilt of Nalasee's lightsaber. That comment had been the one to redirect Nalasee's generally sour mood toward him.
"In a heartbeat." Nalasee had said as she'd reactivated her lightsaber and turned toward him. Shae stood from the bench with exaggerated ease and had mockingly done a few stretches before drawing his own blade.
"I have to warn you, I'm not as easy to beat as a practice droid, mando girl." That, Shae suddenly realized as he rapidly gave ground to Nalasee's strengthening advance, was where his final mistake had been. It was always Nalasee, sometimes Nala if she was feeling particularly romantic at the moment, but never mando girl. Insulting her adopted Mandalorian heritage was an instant pass to Nalasee's far less rational side. Now Shae could distinctly recall how her face had shifted from one of placid annoyance to cold rage. His processing of the day's events now complete, he diverted his full focus to trying to find a respectable way to lose to Nalasee without getting hurt. She was on top of him again, slash after counter slash intent on battering through his defenses. He stopped giving ground, attempting to stand in the way of Nalasee's seemingly unstoppable advance. He countered two blows before Nalasee swept his legs out from under him with a low kick but he managed to land in an almost controlled handstand and backflip away. He landed in a crouch, legs spread in a wide base. A loud war cry from above drew his attention skyward. He looked up to see Nalasee twirling in a frontflip, before extending her leg straight out for a kick meant for his head. He tried to slide out of the way, only half managing the movement. The blow intended for his face instead slammed down into his extended leg. With a pained yowl, he collapsed to the ground.
Nalasee let out a thundering war cry as she span through the air, her leg stretching out in a kick meant to smash some respect into Shae's thick skull. He seemed to see her at the last instant and tried to leap out of the way. He was only half successful. Nalasee's booted heel came down right on his thigh and with a howl, he crumpled to the ground. "Son of a bitch!" He groaned. Nalasee spat out a short laugh. Shae rarely cursed around anyone, and never around her out of respect. To get him to do that must've meant should caught him good.
"Serves him right." She thought to herself. The mando girl comment had been the step too far for her, and now Shae had paid for it. She lowered her saber to Shae's nose. "Give up?" She asked.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Shae asked painfully. Nalasee let the lightsaber drift a few centimeters closer. "Alright! Alright!" He said, rolling himself with a low moan into a seated position and holding up his hands. "You win." Nalasee smiled, satisfied. Shae extended a hand for help up, but Nalasee was still seething and stared at it in disgust. Shae slowly lowered his hand and instead tried to rise on his own. He got one leg under himself before the one Nalasee had kicked collapsed under him. He fell back to the floor, gritting his teeth. Nalasee frowned down at him.
"Are you okay?" She forced herself to ask.
"I can't put any weight on it." Nalasee's frowned deepened, her anger starting to fade away. She hadn't meant to hurt Shae, only teach him a lesson.
"Did you hear it pop?"
"I couldn't hear it over your war cry." Shae shot back. Sighing, Nalasee finally offered him a hand. Shae looked at it dubiously, as if she would help him halfway up, only to push him down later. He reluctantly took it and Nalasee helped him over to a bench. Shae tried straightening it, and he only half managed the motion before he stopped and shook his head.
"Do you need me to carry you to the infirmary?" Nalasee asked as she looked down at him.
"I can make it myself." Shae muttered. He shakily rose to one foot and hopped two steps before Nalasee shook her head and came up beside him to help him.
"I didn't hit him that hard did I?"With her help, Shae managed to make his way to the Jedi Temple Medcenter. She sat him down in one of the chairs in the waiting area and joined him until one of the healers could come and see him. He wasn't talking to her, wasn't even looking at her.
"Is he mad at me?" Nalasee wondered. Why should he be mad at her? He had been the one to provoke her into a fight and he had been the one who had crossed the line. Then Nalasee noticed that Shae was trying to examine his leg. He had managed to pull his trousers down far enough to look at the spot Nalasee had landed her kick. Her ears flattened against the side of her head when she noticed the spot was an ugly black and purple. "Okay, maybe I hit him a little harder than I thought." Shae seemed to notice her attention and hurriedly tried to hide the spot. Finally, a healer came in and helped Shae to one of the small treatment lounges and Nalasee was left in the waiting room alone. For the first hour, she was simply bored. For the second, she was annoyed. By the third, she had grown fairly concerned. During the fourth hour she left to grab something to eat from the temple kitchen, and when she returned to the infirmary, the doorway was blocked by the disapproving figure of a Mon Calamari Jedi. Master Cilghal's bulbous eyes swiveled to focus on her.
"Jedi Basar." She said an undertone of annoyance in her voice. "Would you be so kind as to step into my office for a moment?"
"Of course Master Cilghal." Nalasee said nervously. Cilghal, the Head Healer of the order and a high council member, was not a Jedi Master who's bad side Nalasee wanted to get on. She followed the Mon Cal into her office. Cilghal moved to other side of a holoprojector before turning to face Nalasee.
"Jedi Basar, what were you and Shae doing this afternoon when he was hurt?" Cilghal asked. Nalasee frowned in confusion.
"Sparring Master Cilghal. Why do you ask?" Cilghal frowned.
"Because Shae told me the same thing. I have reason to believe that is untrue." Cilghal bent down and turned on the holoprojector. She clicked a few keys and the image of a bone appeared, the body of it shattered into dozens of tiny pieces. "Jedi Basar this is the image of a human femur with a comminuted fracture. Damage of this type is typically seen in airspeeder accidents and falls from buildings. Not from sparring practice." Cilghal made a few more adjustments, and a second hologram appeared beside it, this one showing the slightly differing anatomy of a S'Vithilin leg, fractured in the exact same way. "Jedi Basar this is Shae's leg. He got out of surgery an hour ago to set it so it would heal properly. Before I take this matter to Master Skywalker, I would like to ask you one more time for an honest answer. How did Shae receive a fractured femur?" Nalasee jaw hung slack, her ears flattened against the side of her head in shock.
"I can't believe I did that."
"Jedi Basar?" Cilghal asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"We were sparring." Nalasee said, still not quite over her surprise. "He got inside my head. I lost control and I kicked him. I guess I put the Force behind it."
"You did this," Cilghal said, indicating the hologram. "By kicking him?" Nalasee nodded slowly. Cilghal slowly pulled her chair out and sat down.
"Jedi Basar do you know how to apologize?" Cilghal asked Nalasee.
"Apologize, Master Cilghal?" Nalasee asked, a little confused.
"Apologize Nalasee." Cilghal confirmed. "Say you're sorry. If he has any food or little things he likes, that may help. I'm sure considering his personality and yours that he has done something along those lines already for you. I would suggest you take a page from his book and do the same." Nalasee opened her mouth to speak, before closing it under a hard glare from the healer. "Nalasee, Shae is a very nice young being. He's good for you. Between us ladies, he is certainly worth holding onto. Don't scare him off." Nalasee slowly nodded.
"Apologize." She mouthed, still in a little shock. Cilghal nodded and Nalasee meticulously turned around to leave. She returned an hour later, a small satchel containing her peace offering tucked under one arm. She made her way into the infirmary and, with an approving glance from Cilghal, made her way toward Shae's room. She knocked on the door.
"Come in." Shae said from inside. She opened the door and walked in. Shae saw her, and the half-smile he had wilted. "Thanks for getting me this stylish sock." He said as he indicated a cast that went from his foot all the way up to his hip. "I better be careful about making that type of joke. You might give me a matching one on the other side." That hurt a little, but Nalasee realized she probably deserved it.
"I'm sorry." Saying the words made Nalasee feel like she was swallowing paint, but it was the right thing to do. Shae seemed taken back a little.
"You're sorry?" Shae asked as if the words were spoken in a language he didn't understand.
"I'm sorry for losing my cool." Shae seemed to consider the statement.
"Okay." Shae said evenly. That was not the response Nalasee had expected, but not entirely unexpected.
"I brought a peace offering." She said, setting the bag on the table.
"I hope it's a bedpan. I can't use the fresher on my own for a week." Shae replied.
"Fizzy corn." She said, pulling the small sweet smelling candy from her bag and placing it on the nightstand beside Shae.
"Great." Shae said as he looked at the bag with distaste. "Would be better if I wasn't allergic to them."
"Oh." Nalasee said, slowly replacing the candy in the bag. "I didn't know."
"Nalasee that's the problem." Shae growled as he turned to stare up at the ceiling. "You don't care." That hurt a lot more. Nalasee wasn't sure if she deserved that, although she decided that the pain he was in and the medication he was on was a reasonable excuse for his uncharacteristically cynical personality. Nalasee sat and let Shae vent. "You can't empathize with other people because you don't care. You are fine asking other people to deal with your 'emotional spectrum' but you don't care enough about what other people feel to do the same for them." Instead of responding, Nalasee reached into the bag and pulled out a small disk. She set it on the bedside and flicked it on. The room was overlaid with the scene of a forest, the scents of a woodland scene and the sounds of nature. "What's this?" Shae asked, tone suddenly becoming far more even kill.
"The temple's complete holo archive on Endor."
"How did you get it?" Shae asked.
"Let's just hope no one checks the temple's archives looking for Endor because all they'll find is the complete musical collections of Marlon 'shady' Matters."
"I never told you I had a soft spot for Endor."
"You didn't, but the dozens of holozines with the Endor articles highlighted and reread that you keep in your room told me enough to guess." Nalasee smirked at Shae's dumbfounded expression. She reached into the bag and pulled out her last gift, a small box of holodisks. "The complete collection of Wane Cregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi holodramas." She said as she put them on the nightstand beside the other gifts.
"I thought you once described them 'As a steaming pile of overacted garbage that exaggerates to the point of mockery the actions of the actual Master Kenobi'."
"I stand by that statement." Nalasee said, trying to keep her annoyance that even the thought of ridiculous holofilms tried to force into her voice. "However, I feel bad enough about kicking your leg into oblivion that I would be willing to not get them for you, but also watch them with you." Shae's eyebrow elevated a little.
"Nalasee… that's really…" Nalasee held up her hand.
"Shae you are right. I'm not good at the touchy-feely stuff with other people. But it's important to you and it's what lets you know you're important to me. So I can get over myself long enough to show you how much I love you." Nalasee smiled, walking over to Shae and planting a kiss on his cheek. "So make some room so I can watch these terrible holos with you." Shae adopted a crooked smile and managed to slide over to the edge of the bed enough to make room for Nalasee. She put the first of the holos in before maneuvering herself beside Shae. As the opening titles began to roll, Shae put his arm over her shoulder, and Nalasee rested her head on his shoulder. "And I do too have a sentimental side armor boy." She said.
"Nala, getting weepy when you decapitate people and their blood smears the wall in a pretty way doesn't count." Nalasee elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!" He looked down at her for a moment. "Okay tell you what. When I have use of all of my limbs again we'll go somewhere sentimental for you." As the movie began, his attention refocused on the movie again. "Where would that be exactly?" Nalasee emitted what sounded like a chuckle.
"The opera." Shae stopped watching the holo and looked down at her.
"Damnit." He groaned as he pulled her a little closer