A/N: Hello! Been a while since I uploaded anything. Anyway, I suddenly got inspiration for this and just had to do it, so… Also, if Mara's characterization is off in any way, that's my b-- I've never read anything involving her so /shrug
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this quick lil oneshot! Cya!
1st draft word count: 1700
Luke hops through the ruins he used to train his students, clearing dozens of meters in singular bounds, his feet barely touching solid ground. He noticed that Mara was missing from the main Jedi Praxeum, and through a quick check on their Force bond learned that she was going through the kata for Ataru-- a form he knew quite well-- over in the training grounds. After a quick mental conversation, she'd managed to goad him into a duel, leading to now.
He leaps off one final piece of rubble and onto a semi-cleared out space he recognizes as an agility training course he'd used many a time before-- thin beams over drops hundreds of meters tall, vines all over, and varying height levels with varying ways to get to them. He looks around for a bit and spots Mara sauntering over, a smirk on her lips, her flaming red hair pulled into a ponytail.
"Finally showed up, Farmboy?" She teases, and he smiles back at her. "I couldn't not accept an open challenge, could I?"
She chuckles. "Then get over here, I've improved quite a bit." She leaps over and Luke follows, landing softly just moments after she does, and not 10 meters from her. She turns to look at him and sheds the outer, loose robe and he does the same. In sync they take their sabers off their belts and take their opening stances-- an Ataru stance for her, and a Soresu stance for Luke-- and they wait for one to make the opening move.
Mara's patience runs out far quicker than Luke's and she leaps towards him, her saber's purple blade hissing to life at the apex of her jump. She stabilizes herself while falling from the peak and does a heavy strike at Luke's emerald blade, held in a perfect block. She disengages the second she feels the resistance and spins around, her blade meeting his right over his thigh. She continues her offensive with quick slices varying wildly in her target, all of which were blocked or parried by Luke's impenetrable defense.
They continue this dance for a while, Luke parrying and blocking Mara's vicious offense and slowly pulling the battle towards the more agility based areas. Once he reaches his location he ducks under one of her swings instead of blocking, and uses the opening this creates to kick her in the chin, throwing her back. She flips in midair with the Force's assistance and lands on one of the thin beams, hundreds of meters of space below her. Her eyes flick down for a moment, which is when Luke attacks, jumping forward and slamming into her with a savage and heavy assault of Djem So. She backs up quickly, barely blocking most of the hits before she disengages with a quick Force push, using a Force-assisted leap to jump back towards higher ground.
They both take a moment to rest before Luke leaps up above her, sabers clashing as he sails over her, and then he lands and he rains heavy blows against her, with her again on the defensive. She grits her teeth and blocks a blow, pushing it back and flipping over Luke, quickly turning around and swiping her saber through where Luke's head is, or was. He'd ducked under her blow, the Force giving him plenty of warning, and retaliated, saber lashing out in a wide arc towards her midriff. She jerks back, barely dodging and Luke thrusts his hand out, pushing her away and back down. Mara flips midair to gain control and lands on one of the lower beams, quickly jumping away to higher ground. She notes that she's panting lightly, while Luke doesn't even seem winded. Damn Farmboy.
Luke smirks at her, as if knowing exactly what she's thinking despite her shields holding strong, and jumps at her with-- was that an Ataru flip?! She blinks for a moment as Luke uses a move from a form he doesn't know to cross the gap, but shakes that off-- maybe he'd found a holocron, she didn't know but right now, it didn't matter. She parries a stab from his blade that would've skewered her, blocks a flurry towards her upper torso and the battle lights anew, a Force-assisted and furiously paced assault on Luke's part, and a flowing, water-like defense on Mara's.
Eventually though, their sabers clash again, and she pushes his saber up, opening his guard and kicking him in the stomach before spinning into a backhand to the jaw. He blocks the backhand and grabs her by the wrist, launching her across the agility course and onto the lowest beam. She lands hard and looks up to see Luke's emerald lightsaber spinning at her rapidly. She swears and blocks it, bouncing it away, but it turns mid-air into Luke's hands-- Luke who was midleap towards her position. Mara swears again, much more vulgar this time, and gets into the standard Ataru ready stance as Luke lands next to her.
Luke dashes forward, landing a quick slice on her leg which didn't do much more than singe her clothes as she backpedaled. He follows with a slash to her face that she folds backwards to avoid, grabbing onto the beam beneath them and using it as leverage to change the dodge into a kick towards Luke's nose-- one he avoids by flipping backwards, making some distance. Mara thrusts herself into the air, landing on her feet. She takes her ready stance once more as Luke takes his, and they wait and regain strength as their pants and the dual hums of their sabers fill the space between them.
A minute passes, then two, but Mara doesn't take the initiative. She waits patiently, staring Luke in the eye as the rush of blood in her ears slowly peters down, her heart's loud thuds quieting as her stamina returns. Then, Luke flips forward in a standard Ataru flip-- one she'd been using the whole fight. She wonders at this for a second, but blocks the hit, and the ensuing slash towards her right thigh. They engage in a vicious back and forth here, the fight moving at speeds the naked eye could see only as a flashing blur as the light emitted by their sabers muddled into one from the sheer speed.
The exchange ends with their sabers slamming into one another, Mara's pushing against Luke's. Their eyes meet from across their crossed blades and she winks at him, which doesn't get a response-- he was embedded too deep in the Light side of the Force for it too. She rolls her eyes at this and disengages, leaping behind him and striking towards his stomach. He blocks her saber blow and pushes her back this time, taking the initiative as he whirls towards her, his blade slamming into hers from all angles, and yet her defense remains firm against his heavy-hitting blows.
She parries a stab towards her neck and pushes his saber outwards, exposing his torso. She slashes him, and his left hand comes up, a barrier made of the Force over it. He catches her purple blade with it and yanks her forward, planting a strong front kick into her midriff, forcing the air from her lungs as she's thrown back. She looks up at him, breathless with shock in her eyes as she stares at the hand that had somehow caught a lightsaber bare-handed. "How- what- huh?!" She splutters, and Luke chuckles.
"Tutaminis. The ability to absorb energy using the Force." He gives as way for explanation. "It's what I found in the old Jedi holocron I've been studying." Mara grumbles at this. "Of course you found some weird Force power." She rolls her eyes, taking the standard Ataru ready stance as Luke moves from Djem So to Soresu. They wait for a moment, but Mara knows that when he's defensive, getting him to initiate is impossible. So, she pulls a piece of rubble from behind him and launches it at his head as she leaps forward, purple saber flashing through the air.
The Force warns Luke and he turns, a hand stretching out to intercept the brick with the Force. Then, he grabs it and throws it in Mara's path. She jumps off of it and behind Luke, who'd been waiting for her. He stands, and blocks the first slice towards his legs, parrying the next stab towards his chest and backing up as he does-- not backpedaling. Mara continues advancing, with every hit blocked or parried, and her stamina draining quickly due to Ataru's massive Force-usage.
She disengages for a moment, just a moment to regain her breath which is when Luke begins his final assault. His Soresu defense changes in an instant to the heavy blows characteristic of Djem So, batting her saber around with vicious strength, Mara barely keeping up a defensive. Then, he uses the Force to move a single tiny rock behind her foot in the middle of his assault. Mara trips on it, her focus on Luke's offense, and she curses, knowing exactly what would happen next.
One of Luke's slashes catches her saber inside her guard and wrenches it away from her torso, and Luke applies a small force push to wrench her lightsaber's hilt from her hand, keeping it suspended mid-air using the Force. Then, he puts the tip of his blade to her neck, a smile on his lips and sweat running down his face-- although he wasn't panting, just breathing a bit hard. Damn Farmboy.
Luke de-activates his saber and attaches it to his belt, extending a hand to help her up as her saber attaches itself telekinetically to her belt. Mara takes the hand, getting up, heat in her emerald eyes and a blush on her face from exertion. "So, you win again."
Luke chuckles and nods, smile not falling from his face. "You've improved a lot though; in our first spar, you didn't last a quarter that long." She blushes a bit heavier from the praise but rolls her eyes fondly. "You still dismantled me though. I was barely keeping up."
"You'll only get better with time, Mara."
"If you say so, Farmboy."
