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She watched him move gracefully around the floor, twisting, turning, blocking each of Qui-Gon's moves as they came to him. The boy was good, but he was a Master; that much was evident. She didn't make it a habit of observing lightsaber sparring, but Dooku, after the two of them had eaten together in the dining hall the night before, had invited her. After her conversation with Qui-Gon, she had begun spending more and more time around the quiet Jedi Knight. She and Qui-Gon had only been on two short missions, and for the rest of the two months, they had been here.

She had come to expect him in the archives, had watched him as he led the meditation classes for senior Padawans in the Room of One Thousand Fountains. She came to enjoy his sharp wit and dry humor, and found herself wishing for his company when he was away. Which is why she supposed she had come today; she had never seen him like this. He was the perfect embodiment of the control and discipline that all Jedi were supposed to endure; he moved like his bones were made of water and as she watched, he simply flipped qui-Gon's green blade over his head, caught it deftly and leveled the point of his curved blue saber at the boy's chest.

"You need to maintain your concentration, Qui-Gon. It was better than last time, but you lack focus."

"Yes, master." Qui-Gon breathed out, taking his lightsaber back from his master. He was almost eye-level with the older man now, having grown more and more. He was incredibly physically strong, but Dooku was right, he had become frustrated too easily by his master's movements. He would have to concentrate harder. Not that Dooku was unscathed, as he ran a hand through his thick black hair, she saw the beads of sweat that came off of his forehead onto his gloves. "I will do better next time."

"Of course you will, you learn quickly." Qui-Gon looked taken aback by the unexpected praise, "When you listen." And the boy blushed, turning away to grab his towel. "I'll be back at the room for the evening meal, you can have the afternoon to yourself."

"Thank you, master!" Though he bowed, level-headed, she could hear his excitement. A free afternoon in the temple was a gift to a Padawan learner, especially when she knew Dooku to be quite strict in their training regimen. The boy departed, walking in quick, long strides until the door shut behind him.

"He is quite gifted." She said, rising to stand near Dooku on the sparring mat. He turned to her, a half-smile on his face, his lips curved upwards.

"He is indeed. But I didn't invite you here to observe my Padawan, Madam." He said, and to her surprise, he bowed to her in invitation. "I wondered if you might do me the honor of sparring with me."

She widened her gaze in surprise. Though she was a Jedi Knight, capable of holding her own, he was practically a Form II master; there was no way for her to defeat him. But he extended his arm to help her on the mat, and she knew she couldn't decline. She wasn't one to back down from a challenge. She returned his bow and pulled back into her stance.

"Winner when the other would actually lose?" An equivalent to a hit, a disarming, pinning the other. Typical sparring rules. She nodded her agreement as his hand slid behind his back to give him better balance, his blade balanced on the tips of his fingers.

He waited, not typical of a Makashi fighter; for her to attack. Instead, she leapt into the air, and spun around to attack him. He grinned at her, blocking it easily before launching into his attack. Everyone of his swings, she parried; every one of her attacks, he blocked. They were a dazzling blur of blue light, much more involved than the fight with his Padawan; she was fully trained, particularly in Form III, which offered her the defensive blocks to his offensive style.

But more than that, she could feel a strange tension between them. Not unpleasant, it was full of vitality. It gave her an access to his force signature, she felt as though she could feel his breathing and heartbeat, working in tandem as their blades hummed with energy. It took her by surprise; it wasn't a new feeling, exactly, but not one she allowed herself to think of except late at night, when he was nowhere near her.

He was attractive, and now, moving athletically, his half-smile still intact; he was quite appealing. But she was a Jedi, and while these feelings and physical relationships weren't forbidden either, she valued his friendship. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, which broke her perfect concentration. She found the tip of his lightsaber at his neck and realized, now stopped, how hard she had been breathing.

"An excellent fight, Master Dooku." He pulled the blade back and bowed again.

"You are a worthy opponent, Jocasta." She liked that, when he used her first name. It sounded odd, in his accent, but not in a bad way. "Perhaps we can do this again soon, before Qui-Gon and I are called away on a mission."

She felt it again, that initial pull to him; physically, but also through the force. The connection between them. She tried to shrug it off, but his brow furrowed a bit and she knew he could feel it to. She refastened her hair, the ends slightly damp, in its position. He ran a hand through his own, stumbling over his words for the first time since she had known him. "Or, we could eat the evening meal together tomorrow, if you would like?"

"Of course. I believe its soup night in the dining area." She said, and he sucked in a breath before turning his gaze back to her.

"Or, if you were interested, we could eat somewhere in the city." He said all of this rather quickly, "I know of a few decent places. It could be nice to be away in the company of…a friend."

She looked at him for a minute, finding his false confidence rather endearing to her own chagrin. "I agree. Why don't you come by the library, and we can leave from there." He smiled and breathed out the tension in his face.

"Of course, madam." He gave her another short bow, a full grin on his serious features. "I'll clean up in here." She suspicioned he might have wanted a moment alone, and she couldn't help but feel the same way. She re-clipped her lightsaber to her belt and stepped out the door, wondering whether the force knew that it was prodding her forward, into this new, exciting, dangerous territory.