There was stifling silence in the air, so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Ren hadn't uttered a single word since entering the room, instead opting to stare down at Alma through the slits of his mask. The tension was palpitating. What was she meant to do? Was she meant to attack first? Or wait for him to lead? She just wished he'd take off that stupid helmet so she could at least gage the situation based on his expressions.

Commander Ren had come in his usual attire which Alma thought bitterly was to her disadvantage. Surely he couldn't train wearing all those cloaks and robes.

Alma swallowed thickly before clearing her throat. "How are we going to do this? Do you want me to start or?..." She trailed off when she saw Ren silently disrobe from his cape then to his outer robes until he was left wearing a black tunic with a matching belt and pants. He threw them aside carelessly all the while keeping a fixed stare upon the female before him. Alma was somewhat satisfied with his spontaneous disrobing until she noticed he had no intentions of taking off the helmet.

"Does it unnerve you?" The mask crackled.

Alma bit her tongue fearing that any sort of answer would be used as leverage against her.

"My helmet... it frightens you." It wasn't a question but more like a damning statement. Alma's cheeks had turned a faint shade of scarlet at his abrupt honesty.

"Man, droid or monster. I don't care..." She lied, falsifying the bravado she was feeling. "... I just prefer to see your face when I get to hurt you."

A distorted sound came from his mask which made Alma think she was sure it was a laugh of some kind. There was a brief pause in anticipation before she saw the Commander reach for the helmet, the action causing a wave of surprise to temporarily stun her for a moment; she hadn't thought her weak attempt at a taunt would have easily made him give in.

There was a click and a hiss as he unclipped the helmet from his head. He used both hands to pull the smooth carbon metal casing from his face. Alma's breath caught in her throat as she watched a wave of black curls shake into view as they slightly obscured the pale, handsome face that lie beneath them.

He placed the helmet carefully out of the way and straightened up his appearance with a hand brushing back the hair from his face. Her pale blue eyes finally made contact with his; deep chestnut brown and captivating.

"Now's your chance." He mocked. Alma noted how much his normal tone differed from the one the mask gave him. "Good." Was all she said before she launched herself into an attack on Commander Ren.

Kylo blocked her attempted punches with ease as he twisted and bended with her every movement. She had to give him praise; he was far more skilled than she had originally given him credit for. Back on Narron she was so used to fighting men and women that were far more unmatched in terms of strength that she wondered whether that's why Yarnek had kept her around for as long as he did and took care of her when the timing called for it. Alma was easily his best asset and it was still a shock to her that he even considered selling her to the First Order in the first place. That's the problem with Loan Sharks; they're never satisfied with the money they have. They always want more.

"Stop thinking about him! Focus on me!" Kylo barked at her in between an entanglement of arms and legs.

She was momentarily taken aback for a brief second; long enough for Kylo to jab a fist to her lip sending her spiralling backwards to the floor. Her tongue swiped at the blood pooling from her lip. Did he just read my thoughts?

She jumped back into her fighting stance and launched herself back at Kylo with all her strength thinking she could take him with the element of sheer brute force but again, he was able to deflect her away rather easily sending her skidding to the floor.

"You're still unfocused!" He chastised her. Ren strode over to her slowly, towering over her body, "If you didn't think so loudly, I wouldn't be able to hear you." His tone sounded irritated more than anything. If she was smart she'd have picked up the helpful tip he had just laid out to her.

"Easier said than done you know?!" She yelled back at him. "Anyway, don't you think you think I'm at a complete disadvantage with that?" She rather shakily got back to her feet doing well to mask her need to wince at the growing pulse of pain coming from contact with Kylo's fist.

"Believe me, there will be forces far more intrusive than me out there on the battlefield. You'd do well to practise a mental defence now while you still have the chance." Ren's thoughts instantly went to that of the Scavenger back on Starkiller base; the only other force user he'd come into contact with since Snoke had taken him under his wing.

"You say it-" Alma wiped away the lingering blood from her lip with the back of her hand. "-like I should already know how to do all of this... I don't know what Yarnek told you about me but all I did on Narron was recover money for him. That's it. Nothing fancy; just debt collecting." She reasoned.

Kylo had begun to circle Alma like a predator and she was weakened prey. He threw out his hand towards her grasping out at the air before clenching the fingers into his palm tightly. Alma felt her body scream out in pain "Focus. On. me." His words were low and threatening as Alma struggled against her invisible binds. She glared up at him with strained eyes taking in every detail of his form. Kylo increased the pressure on her whole body; causing her to grunt and splutter for breath. Alma could see stars begin to distort her vision.

Suddenly the pressure lifted from her. The abrupt lack of heaviness caused her body to cascade to the floor weakly.

"Pathetic. If I was the enemy you'd have been dead!" His tone was sharp as the words sliced through her like knives cutting through butter. He was now retrieving the discarded outer robes from off of the training room floor.

It took only a moment for Alma to collect herself before the rage consumed her. How dare he? She wasn't weak. If he was going to underhand her to beat her then she was going to give him some food for thought. She practically shot herself up from the floor and dove for Ren's retreating form. Because she was acting rather than thinking; the action went to fruition and she landed a devastating leg sweep on him.

She landed on top of the Commander as they both tumbled to the floor. In one swift movement she had straddled him and pinned his arms above his head; locking him in a death grip as she bared snarling teeth down on him.

"Is this focusing Commander?!" She growled.

Kylo was for a lack of a better word; taken aback with surprise. Just when he thought they were getting no-where, she had prevailed finally in the end.

Now beneath the fiery blonde; he could finally take in some features he would have earlier missed. Like the very faint freckles on the bridge of her nose or the ghostly white dimpled scar under her brow bone.

Alma was breathing deeply through her nose as she stared down at the man beneath her, clearly exhausted from the session she had endured with Kylo. Maybe she was caught up in the excitement of the moment but she could have sworn she had seen him smirk.

"Commander Ren... I've come to return the girl to her quarters." Came Phasma's voice interrupting the two of them. Almost immediately Kylo stood pushing off Alma from his torso as he sensed her force hold on him lift.

Alma brushed her blonde waves behind her ears as she watched the Commander quickly suit up and throw on his helmet. She wasn't going to even try and deny that she was a little disappointed when she saw his handsome face disappear behind the carbon metal helmet. Why did he even wear that thing in the first place anyway?