Chapter 20: New Normal pt.2

A/N: Sorry this took so long, editing this chapter took longer than I thought it would and then RLTM got insanely busy for me the past couple of months.

Guest: Story and I are not dead

Bob: I'm utterly thrilled you think this fic is good enough to promote! I shall do everything I can to keep this from dying.

jackina crak: Story isn't dead :) As I mentioned I just got really busy and wasn't able to post this as soon as I wanted to.

Reviews welcome and encouraged. As always, huge thanks to my betas! :D

-x-

Waking to the familiar sound of the sonic whistle, Rathe soon discovered the noise was the only thing typical about this morning. Instead of a tall, slim, human male with red hair and scarred milky white eye standing at the entrance to the dormitory, there stood a purple-skinned Twi'lek woman with bold black tattoos. Yes, Instructor Akiva was always awake at the break of down with them, but except for the end of the year graduation ceremony, no one except Instructor Trevin greeted them in the dorms.

"It hasn't been a year yet, has it?" He frantically hissed to Saril.

Rathe was almost positive it hadn't been that long, but given how he'd so easily lost track the year before, he couldn't help but worry he'd done it again.

Saril shook his head. "It's only been a few months."

'Then, why?'

As they stepped outside, Rathe's confusion only continued to grow when he saw Uthyn standing by the well where Instructor Akiva usually stood. The large human looked furious, though Rathe noted he averted his gaze when Instructor Akiva looked his way.

'Is Instructor Trevin sick?'

The pale man had looked fine the night before, but maybe it was a quick illness? No, Rathe couldn't imagine the man being brought low by disease, let alone showing a sign of weakness by not appearing before the students. Plus, a sick Instructor Trevin would be a better teacher than Uthyn any day. Again, Rathe wished he could read the instructors' minds or have an ability to spy on them to find out what they were thinking. Judging by Uthyn's furious expression, he figured the human was being forced to do this.

In what seemed like Uthyn's go-to move for when the large human was feeling impotent rage, he took it out on the students by purposefully spilling or dropping their cups of water. Rathe didn't even attempt to take his cup. Instead, when he got to the front of the line, he immediately turned and walked towards his allies.

Not giving Uthyn even a moment of attention was apparently too much for the man, as Rathe heard a snarl from behind him and felt something strike the back of his head. Pausing long enough to glance back, he found the cup that would have been his laying on the ground behind him as he touched the aching part of his head.

"Pick it up," Instructor Akiva said as he began to turn away.

Hesitating for a mere second, Rathe followed her command and set the cup on the table before walking away.

"So, is everything going to be different from now on?" He heard Seki ask as he reached his allies and Xeno.

"We will find out tomorrow," Saril said.

"Wonder why Uthyn is forced to be out here," Rathe mused.

He received several shrugged shoulders, and 'your guess is as good as mine' comments, but no one had any idea beyond it having something to do with the change to the arena fights yesterday.

Their speculation ended when Instructor Akiva announced the start to their healing and meditation period. Rathe watched Uthyn hightail it to the closest shady spot while Instructor Akiva began pacing back and forth. He couldn't tell if the Twi'lek woman was as upset about this arrangement as Uthyn was, but she looked bored. Usually, she and Instructor Trevin would spend this time off to the side, chatting. Knowing he wouldn't get anywhere just staring at the adults, Rathe sat down and closed his eyes.

Expanding his senses, he was quickly able to establish the standard six feet radius around him, immediately sensing Saril, Seki, and Oesut around him. Xeno, he noted, was on the very edge of their group, just outside his range. Narrowing his focus, he stretched his focus out towards where he'd last seen Instructor Akiva. Once again, by shifting his attention to a narrower view, he was able to double his range easily. Using the same method of balancing his rage with his control, he gradually stretched the field until it reached the plateau he'd arrived at the day before moving past it until the area had doubled yet again. His focus and force 'sight' began wavering as the pain radiating from his head grew too strong to ignore, drawing his focus away from keeping his rage under control. His control further slipped when frustration at not having better control over himself began seeping into his anger. Rathe continued struggling to maintain his focus as his rage and pain grew into a tidal wave of emotion; he was eventually forced to retreat from lest he be pulled under.

Shaking and sweating, Rathe allowed himself to fall backward as he opened his eyes. Dirt, sand, and rocks dug into his bare back as he labored to get his breathing under control. His head felt like someone had dropped a boulder on it and the lingering anger made him want to throw a fit over his newest failure. Instead, he just stared at the sky and thought.

There had to be some way for him to block out the pain while he was stretching his abilities. Or at least dampen it. But, dividing his attention between keeping his pain and rage in check would no doubt reduce the focus he could devote to his force 'sight.'

'Wait.' Rathe chewed on his thumb in thought.

Maybe he didn't need to dampen or otherwise make the pain go away. Perhaps he could instead use his pain like he did his rage to fuel his abilities. He would have to be careful that his pain didn't feed his anger too much and threaten to overwhelm him again.

Sitting up once more, Rathe closed his eyes and resumed his meditation. This time, when the stabbing pain began in his head, he didn't try to ignore or dampen it. Instead, the Pureblood boy allowed it to merge with his rage to create a new, more potent fuel for his abilities. It was difficult keeping such intense emotion in check, but eventually, he was able to extend his 'sight' until it finally reached Instructor Akiva covering nearly a quarter of the training area.

Rathe swore his heart stopped when the moment his senses reached her; he felt the Twi'lek woman turn and look directly at him. With a jolt, the Pureblood boy returned to himself, opening his eyes. The whiplash caused by going from such exertion to nothing as well as the pain and rage that hitting him all at once made him lightheaded and the world spin before his eyes. By the time the world righted itself enough for him to look at Instructor Akiva, she was turned away, looking at another group of students.

"Alright, that's enough lazing about for you lot," Uthyn bellowed.

Grumbling, Rathe got to his feet despite still feeling a bit lightheaded. Thankfully, he was still able to walk well enough that he was able to reach a twenty-pound bags of sand before they were all gone. The red-skinned boy frowned down at his hands as he grabbed the bag and realized they were shaking slightly. Before he could wonder about the cause, a loud rumbling came from his stomach. Hoping no one else had heard, he quickly threw the sandbag over his shoulder and began moving around the training area. He'd barely made it halfway around the circuit before his stomach began protesting again and he realized he was starving in a manner he hadn't felt since they'd first arrived. Yet, he'd eaten not just the night before but nearly every night since he'd found the stockpile of rations. Minus the night he'd run into Tadia, of course. So, there was no reason he should feel this hungry.

'Except, I've never exerted myself like that before,' the red-skinned boy reminded himself.

Sure, he'd overexerted himself physically a couple of times, so he was used to feeling physically drained, but he'd never pushed himself that hard that fast while using the force. Yet, it made sense that doing so would force burn through enough of his reserves to require he eat more.

'Guess I'll just have to wait until my abilities have grown before I try something like that again.' Regardless, Rathe made a mental note to increase his food intake to make sure his experimenting with the Force never leaves him ravenous again.

Trying to take his mind off the growling of his stomach, Rathe took the time to watch Uthyn and Instructor Akiva once more. The two still weren't interacting, with Uthyn staying firmly in the shadow of a building while the Twi'lek woman moved in a counterclockwise manner next to the first years under the blazing sun. She didn't say anything to any of the students, but silently scrutinized each student who passed her. As the day wore on, the red-skinned boy was further distracted from his stomach by watching Uthyn struggle to stay in the shadows as the sun moved through the sky. At one point, the massive human, looking very uncomfortable and covered in sweat just from standing, was forced to move into the shadow of another building when his previous cover proved to no longer be acceptable.

Just as the day's training came to an end, the door to the instructor's dorm open, and Instructor Trevin emerge from inside the building. The pale man looked fine as far as Rathe could tell, so he was pretty sure he was right about the man not being sick or injured. Even more noteworthy was Uthyn practically bolting towards the dorm the moment he saw his fellow human. Without a word to any of the students or Instructor Akiva, the skinny human took Uthyn's regular place by the well and handed out the second cup of water to students. Continuing to fill Uthyn's previous role, the red-haired man called out the names of fighters along with Instructor Akiva.

"Rathe Dresal," Instructor Akiva, called out after a dozen fights had taken place.

"Ciza Lonu."

The Pureblood boy eyed his opponent carefully as he took his practice blade. Ciza was a broad Twi'lek whose skin was the same shade as Dromund Fels' cloudless sky. The other boy was a third-year from what Rathe had heard, the same year as Kasal, slightly taller than Rathe, and moderately successful in his arena fights.

As they squared off, Rathe felt a thrill of nervousness. This fight would not only be the first time he fought someone in the arena he hadn't fought before, but Rathe also didn't have an inkling as to how the fight would turn out. At the same time, he was thrilled with the opportunity to test his abilities against someone new.

"Begin!"

Rathe did nothing in the moments after Instructor Trevin's shout except move into a ready stance as he waited for the other boy to make a move. When Ciza took a step to his right, Rathe mirrored the action by taking a step to the left. When he took a step forward, Rathe took a step back. This strange mirrored dance continued until the Twi'lek boy grew visibly annoyed and charged him.

The older boy was fast, but Rathe was able to dodge the two strikes aimed at him. Using the momentum from his final dodge, Rathe rolled onto his left hand, doing a one-handed handstand as he kicked out at the other boy's face. Ciza's forearm blocked his attack, but Rathe merely hooked his foot around the offered limb and pulled. The pull did little more than unbalance the Twi'lek, but as his foot slipped free of Ciza's arm; Rathe slammed his blade into the back of his knees. The older boy let out a cry of surprised pain as he toppled to the ground.

Before the Pureblood boy could take advantage of this opponent's prone state, he was forced to shift his weight onto both hands and awkwardly dodge out of the way of a punch that still hit his bicep. Unfortunately, flipping from a handstand to his feet took longer than it took Ciza to regain his footing. A mere second after Rathe's boots hit the ground, the Twi'lek boy's boot lodged itself in his abdomen. Pushing the pain away, Rathe dropped his blade and allowed himself to give in to the instinctual desire to curl his body around his injury, wrapping his arms around Ciza's leg in a bear hug. Clutching the shin pressed against his stomach tightly, and threw himself sideways onto the ground, dragging the other boy with him.

Ragged fingernails clawed at Rathe's bare chest, shoulder, and arm, as he rolled away from his fallen opponent in what he assumed was an attempt by the older boy to latch onto something and hold him in place. He wasn't sure if the welts scratched into his skin were a better or worse outcome than his shirt getting snagged if it had been in one piece. But Rathe was able to get away from the questing fingers quickly enough to jump up onto his feet, pick up his fallen blade, and launch a flurry of attacks at his downed opponents. Despite having just had his knee slammed into the ground, Ciza was still able to dodge most of his attacks. The few hits that struck home left purple welts on his blue skin.

Rathe's attack came to an end when the Twi'lek boy dropped into a crouch, making his blade pass harmlessly over his head, and popped back up, grabbing Rathe's arm.

'Damn!' Rathe cursed as his arm was trapped in the same manner, he caught Ciza's leg.

For a moment, he though the Twi'lek boy would copy his earlier move as well. Instead of being dragged to the ground, however, the Pureblood boy was hoisted into the air by his arm. The strain on his shoulder, caused tears of pain to prick the corners of his eyes moments before he was slammed face-first into the ground. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as his teeth slammed into his lip. The air was driven from his lungs as Ciza's weight crashed down on top of him, and he felt something in his shoulder pop as his arm bent at an awkward angle beneath the two of them. The force of the impact knocked the blade out of his free hand, and Rathe was forced to watch dazedly as it landed a couple of feet away. The weight on top of him eased off, and he was once again lifted into the air by his trapped arm. Reaching back, the red-skinned boy took advantage of their proximity by raking his fingers across Ciza's face. He clawed at the older boy's cheek for a moment before he found his real target; the Twi'lek's eyes.

Unfortunately, despite a yowl of pain and the feeling of eyelids and a nose bridge against his fingers telling him he struck true, Ciza didn't release Rathe's arm. Instead, the blue-skinned boy buried his face against his neck, preventing Rathe's fingers from doing any real damage. Awkwardly, the Pureblood boy reached further back until he was able to reach the part of Ciza's head merged with his lekku and jabbed his fingers into the closer of the two tentacles. This time, his arm was released as the older boy reared back with a shriek of pain. Wasting no time, Rathe rolled onto his back and slammed both feet into the Twi'lek's face. Crimson blood came spurting out of his nose and mouth, dampening Rathe's shoes and splattering on his face.

As Ciza fell back, Rathe leaped after the Twi'lek. Working his arm under the other boy's chin as they hit the ground, the Pureblood boy was able to get Ciza in a chokehold. The blood pouring from the Twi'lek boy's face made his throat and neck a bit slippery, and the other boy thrashed about trying to dislodge Rathe. The red-skinned boy held on, grinning victoriously as Ciza's movements grew more and more sluggish. A sudden burst of energy caught Rathe off guard, allowing the Twi'lek to slam his head back into Rathe's face. The impact left the Pureblood boy stunned and bloodied as the other boy head-butted him again, and Rathe's hold on him loosened.

"That's enough! Ciza is the winner!" Instructor Akiva called out.

Rathe was still trying to get his bearings when a sky-blue hand entered his vision. After a moment of hesitation, he took the hand offered to him and let Ciza help him to his feet. The Twi'lek boy didn't say anything, just nodded and clapped Rathe on the arm before moving out of the ring.

"Shame about those last two head-butts," Seki said as Rathe rejoined his allies.

"You were amazing! I was sure you would win!" Oesut shouted, earning glares of annoyance from the students closest to the group.

Rathe merely grunted. He didn't know how to feel about his newest loss. On the one hand, Rathe felt furious and humiliated for having lost yet again, but on the other, the Pureblood boy found he oddly enjoyed having lost. Ciza fought so differently than Kasal and Tadia that Rathe had been forced to use tactics he would never have attempted when fighting the former and never would have needed to while fighting the latter. Plus, if the end of the fight was any indication, he was sure he'd gained the respect of at least one more person. Smiling to himself, the red-skinned boy resumed part of his old schedule by healing the damage done to his face. He would leave healing his arm for later when he could take his time and examine his arm and shoulder more thoroughly.

Instructors Akiva and Trevin called another dozen or so names before finally reaching the one Rathe had been waiting to hear: Kasal. The human girl, Maka Kene, who was Kasal's opponent, was tall and lithe with dark skin and long black hair pulled in two plaits that encircled her head like a crown. Rathe was pretty sure she was either a fourth or a fifth year.

The moment the fight began, the two humans rushed at each other, meeting in the center of the arena. Kasal attacked first, lashing out with a sword strike aimed at Maka's face, but the girl proved to be just as fast as her green-eyed opponent and blocked his attack. Before Kasal could move too far away, Maka unleashed a series of one-handed sword strikes that, although not making any impacts, came so quickly, Kasal was forced to keep blocking or dodging. While keeping her opponent occupied, the human girl brought her free hand up and held it against her stomach with the palm facing out.

From the sidelines, Rathe stared at the hand as he felt the force being drawn to it. The feeling was still as vague and undefined as when he'd felt others using the Force in the past, but he could tell it was happening much slower than when Instructor Akiva created the shield during the sandstorm. However, it was still happening much faster than anything Rathe could do, and Maka was doing it while attacking.

Kasal made to leap towards her, and finally, she moved her free hand. With the movement, Rathe felt the force surge towards her opponent, and the red-skinned boy watched in amazement as the human boy in mid-air was forced backward a few feet. The impact did not seem to do little to any physical harm to Kasal, nor did it appear to knock him off balance or do anything other than pushing him backward. Instead, the surprise from the attack caused Kasal to pause for a full second upon landing on his feet to gape at the dark-haired girl. His opponent quickly leaped after him and unleashed a flurry of two-handed attacks the blonde-haired boy had trouble fending off.

"Woah! Did you see that!? That was amazing!" Oesut shouted.

'Yes, it was,' Rathe thought in amazement even as Kasal put some distance between himself and his opponent by doing a backflip.

When Maka closed the gap once more, the dark-skinned boy dodged a follow-up attack by sliding past her on his knees and popped back up behind her. As he sprung up onto his feet, he spun to face her, deflecting a second attack. The deflection provided a small opening that Kasal exploited by striking at her stomach and attempted to follow it up with a swipe at her face. Before the blow could land, however, a spin kick from Maka caught him across the face forcing him to fall back. Kasal had just enough time to spit out a gob of blood before his left foot suddenly jerked back.

From the sidelines, Rathe was sure Kasal's foot had barely moved an inch, but even he was able to see being on the receiving end of the invisible force once again had thrown the other boy off.

Kasal regained his balance within seconds, but once again, Maka used the distraction to close the distance. This time, she punched him in the jaw, forcing his face to the side. Seemingly taking the punch, Kasal shifted his weight onto his back foot and returned her punch with one of his own. The force of the blow was evident to everyone on the sidelines as Maka was knocked to the ground. Appearing to try to use the momentum of the strike, she rolled across the arena floor. But, instead of being able to jump back up onto her feet, the human girl wound up sprawled on her back in front of the students opposite Rathe. She ungracefully scrambled up onto her feet, wildly swinging her practice blade around to ward Kasal off.

Her random flailing came to an end when Kasal dropped his weapon and grabbed the blade of hers with both hands. He yanked the blade first upwards and then to the side, dragging Maka along with it.

Rathe wasn't sure if she either lost her grip on her sword or seemed to finally understand she needed to let go but once again, she went rolling across the floor sans weapon. This time, she caught herself and was able to jump to her feet. Flipping the relinquished blade around, Kasal surged towards her with the weapon raised.

As he moved towards her, the dark-haired girl held her hand out as she'd done earlier. Kasal faltered for a moment, seeming to remember what had happened the last time she'd done that. On the sidelines, Rathe could once again feel the pulling sensation and eagerly waited for what would come next. Instead of one of Kasal's body parts being manipulated by an unseen force, he was struck in the back of the head by the practice blade he'd discarded.

Clutching his head, Kasal stared with a look of disbelief at the weapon in question while Maka extended her other hand. His distraction again cost him, as he had to scramble to duck out of the way as the blade flew back towards his face. While he was crouched down, his right hand suddenly shot out towards the ground. At first, Rathe thought the other boy was preparing a lunge of some kind, but when Kasal began desperately trying to pull his hand off the ground, he realized Maka was responsible. The dark-skinned girl approached her trapped opponent with a look of intense concentration on her face. With one hand seemingly attached to the ground and forced to stand in an awkward crouched position, Kasal attempted to fend her off and was moderately successful until his previously discarded blade clipped his shoulder.

A loud crack was heard upon impact, and Rathe could only imagine the pain and vibration currently shooting through Kasal's arm that forced the blond-haired boy to drop his weapon. With him disarmed, and only able to use one hand to fight, Kasal was barely a threat to Maka anymore. A knee to the face brought the fight to an end, with the dark-skinned girl being declared the winner.

Despite feeling ecstatic that Kasal lost and intrigued by the force abilities Maka displayed, Rathe felt disappointed by the outcome. Although Maka had technically won by valid means, it was apparent her physical prowess was lacking in comparison to Kasal. Rathe was confident that in a purely physical fight even he could beat her with little effort.

'Still, those abilities could be potentially devastating if used properly.'