Of Love and War: Us Against the World

Fight Me

Yes, he was actually learning his mother's fighting ticks, and he was rather proud of that fact.

As Zelina advanced with a rapid slash from above, Luke side-stepped the move, redirecting her blade by using his own to guard his left as he moved. She returned with a low sweep at his midriff, which he blocked more aggressively with a sweep of his own, the force of their respective blows causing each of them to step back from each other before Luke leapt in on the offensive again, feigning to her right before trying to get in a quick jab at her left once he turned. His mother didn't fall for it, redirecting his momentum so he came close enough Zelina was able to push him away, Luke crouching to slow the skid before he charged again, descending on her with a swiftness that forced her to meet his blade in a brief lock.

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Anakin pushed back against Zelina's violet blade, his continued smirk giving away just how much he was enjoying this. She was too, but she was also genuinely trying to learn and improve from the experience, not just blowing off steam like Anakin seemed to be doing. At least some of his comments showed he was willing to make a teaching effort.

Not willing to let him get the upper hand yet again, Zelina was the one to disengage from their brief lock, sliding her lightsaber along his far enough towards the hilt that Anakin backed off to avoid being burned again. As he was pulling away, Zelina let loose with a sudden volley of attacks, coming at him from multiple angles as fast as she could manage. He managed to keep pace with her, his blue blade meeting her every stroke, though now he looked like he was concentrating more on the fight. Suddenly, as Zelina lunged at Anakin, he grabbed her arm, twisting the appendage just enough to get her to let go of her lightsaber while also taking a swing at her with his own that caused her to lean back awkwardly. Once he'd finished his sweep, Zelina rolled into the twist he'd put her in, managing to break free and push him away as she rolled to grab her lightsaber, gazing at him warily as she tried to calculate her next move.

Anakin wasn't going to allow her the brief reprieve to think it over—it wasn't like she'd get such a chance in a real fight. Instead, he advanced on her without waiting, adding a small taunt to his attack.

"Come on, Zelina, fight—"

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"—me!"

Luke snatched up his lightsaber from the sandy ground and rolled away as his mother descended quickly on him without giving him the chance for a breather. He didn't raise to her bait in her attempt to rile him up, but he did sharpen his focus as much as he could.

Today...today he was going to get somewhere. Maybe he wouldn't beat her...but he'd best her somehow.

Completely abandoning the trust of his senses, Luke gave himself over to the Force, letting pure instinct guide him as he launched from his temporarily crouched position back into the attack. The clash of their blades was much faster, now, both of them pushing for the upper hand as Luke finally—finally—pushed his mother onto the defensive.

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Blue descended on violet, pushed away as one hand grappled for the blue blade's hilt to Force the hand aside as the violet came in at an uppercut. Blue leaned back with the body of its wielder to avoid the attack, then twisted out of the grip it was held in, coming in behind the violet wielder, trying to attack from the unguarded rear before violet appeared behind the back, pushing blue down as the user spun to come face to face with them again, followed by another rapid barrage of blue on violet, back and forth, uppercuts, slashes, sweeps, footwork cutting into one another's dances and interrupting intricate moves. Sweat made grips harder to maintain but remained largely ignored, the force of the blows increasing with each measured strike.

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Suddenly, without warning, the violet blade shut off, allowing Zelina to roll behind her taller sparring partner and whip around fast enough with a suddenly activated blade to force Anakin to pause, the tip of her blade a hair's breath away from his gut in a finishing move.

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While their blades were locked once more in a furious back and forth, Luke took the chance to catch his mother off guard, adding in a Force Push she hadn't been braced for to send her tumbling backwards. He didn't hesitate in following her, jumping towards her with a hard downwards blow she managed to block with her own blade. With Luke standing above Zelina for once, Zelina on her back, Luke made sure his feet were firmly planted, reaching into her defenses to grab her wrist and keep her from knocking his blade away, locking them both in place.

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"That was a cheap move, it doesn't count."

"You told me to think outside the box—you didn't see it coming, and I won. Deny it all you want, Ani, it's the truth."

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"You didn't win, per-say, you just locked us into a stalemate. A win would be an entirely different situation."

"With you, that was a win. I didn't think it would actually work, but it did, and I actually caught you by surprise."

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"Yeah, well, don't let it—"

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"—get to your head. You still have a lot to learn."