The Park, Wednesday Afternoon

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan had a little bet going with Eliot. Sort of a bet. He was thinking of it as a bet, because if he didn't, he'd have to actually acknowledge that Eliot had expressed concern (in his own way) over Kanan's health and lifestyle, and he was actually doing something to address it.

Which meant that, true to his word, Kanan was out at the park this afternoon, waving around a sawed-off broomstick in lieu of a lightsaber. Yes, his saber was still in pieces on his belt. No, he wasn't about to assemble and ignite the thing just because Eliot had gotten on his case about training more and drinking less. Which was probably for the best, because he was feeling a little less than great today, twitchy and under the weather, and training was really the last thing he wanted to be doing just then.

Better to be threatened with a stick by an irritable Padawan than an actual weapon, okay?

Now if only the flamingos would stop wandering over to investigate what he was doing, he could get on with running through his Soresu forms instead of having to stop every twenty minutes to relocate somewhere away from the big pink birds.

[OOC: Open! Technically I'm at work, but pff.]

Comments

[livingartifact]

Jenkins just happened to be wandering by to visit the flamingoes (the only way he managed to get the one that had imprinted on him not to follow him home was to promise to visit regularly) and paused to watch the young man play-fight with a stick.

"Interesting form," he observed. "A bit of a blend of Japanese and European techniques, yes?"

[uncertain_dume]

It was fortunate that Kanan had seen both European and Japanese swordplay at work, what with all the field trips the school tended to take and his own classes with Dr. Lecter. It meant that when he relaxed his stance a little to look at Jenkins, he actually had an answer to that question.

"I've noticed there are some similarities to both," he agreed. "But this particular form was developed in a galaxy with no 'Europe' or 'Japan' to speak of, and draws strongly on defense over offense."

And on being able to out-stamina an opponent basically to death.

[livingartifact]

"Yes, I noticed that as well." Jenkins had many, many, many years of experience watching different fight forms. "Interesting that such a distant location would have so many aspects that are similar to those developed on Earth. Though I suppose, once the weapon is established, the number of variations becomes somewhat limited."

[uncertain_dume]

"There are only so many ways to use a sword?" Kanan smiled wryly, looking at the broomstick in his hand. "Or only so many ways to use one effectively, I suppose."

Sure, the Masters tended to have their own variations, but only a few of those had ever really managed to stand the test of time.

And none of them had saved the Jedi Order.

[livingartifact]

"There are quite a lot of different variations upon the theme, certainly," Jenkins said. "But I would posit that the total number is finite, yes." He nodded to the broomstick. "What sort of sword are you planning to ultimately replace that with?"

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan's mouth quirked faintly, and he lowered the stick to the ground, leaning against it more or less casually. His head wasn't agreeing with him today at all, but that didn't mean he had to make it obvious that he was propping himself up to save energy for later, either.

"Narrow, blade about a meter long and made of kyber-powered plasma."

Because 'lightsaber' didn't generally ring many bells around here.

"I tend to use that one sparingly."

[livingartifact]

Jenkins blinked once. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term 'kyber-powered'. Is that your galaxy's term for magic?"

[uncertain_dume]

"Not strictly speaking," Kanan replied, shaking his head. "Kyber is a kind of a crystal. It resonates strongly with the Force, and focuses and amplifies energy."

The crystal itself? Not inherently magic. The Force, on the other hand...

[livingartifact]

"Ah." Jenkins nodded slightly. "And . . . which force is that, then?"

[uncertain_dume]

"That would be the energy field that connects all living thing," Kanan answered. "In my galaxy, anyway. There's the Living Force, the energy of all living things, and the Cosmic Force, which binds the galaxy together."

He could have lifted this from a textbook from his Padawan days, really.

[livingartifact]

"We have some not-dissimilar concepts in my own world," Jenkins noted. "There's the Tao, certainly, though I'm not well-educated on the specifics of that philosophy. I'm more familiar with magical energy, that which flows through ley lines."

[uncertain_dume]

"Ley lines," Kanan echoed, looking about as curious as a stubbornly ignored cold sweat and a headache could allow. "That's not something I'm familiar with. Do the ley lines gather the energy, create it, or simply act as a focus for it to flow through?"

[livingartifact]

"They are simply the pathways along which the magical energy most typically travels," Jenkins said. "Much like rivers are the pathways along which water tends to flow. Your Force, I suppose, behaves much more like atmosphere? Filling the space evenly, rather than gathering in crevices and streams?"

[2_old_for_this]

Peter walked by the park, saw Kanan, headed home for his sword, and came back.

He hefted the blade in Kanan's direction. "Fancy a change?"

[uncertain_dume]

"You mean a bigger challenge than a stick?" Kanan gave Peter a thoughtful glance, and then tossed his practice stick to the ground near the water bottle he'd brought along. "I mean, practice with an actual blade would feel much less stupid, at the very least."

Look at him go, with his... stick.

[2_old_for_this]

Peter held the hilt out toward Kanan. "Be nice to it; it's seen me through a lot. Or seen another me through a lot, I guess."

[uncertain_dume]

"I know how that goes," Kanan replied, smiling wryly as he reached to take the weapon by the hilt. He tilted his head a bit, hefting it up and down carefully in his hand to get a feel for it.

Heavier than the stick. Lighter than his lightsaber. Well-balanced. Sharp. A good weapon.

"You just see me with my stick and figure you'd save me from another few hours out here looking like an-" How had Eliot put it? "-- an asshole?"

Earth insults were so to-the-point.

[2_old_for_this]

Peter laughed. "Thought I might join you."

With just a few moments' thought, a spur grew from his right palm, rapidly forming itself into a metal blade, and the rest of the sword followed, until he was "holding" one that looked almost exactly like the one he'd handed Kanan.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan paused at that. Blinked a little. And then looked down at his hand.

"Mine can't do that."

Just, throwing that out there. That was about all his brain could manage at the moment, really.

[2_old_for_this]

Peter grinned and shrugged. "No, it can't. But I only have the one, so it's that or wood against sword, or sword against lightsaber, and I can't see either of those ending well."

[uncertain_dume]

"Could give one of us an interesting challenge, though," Kanan mused, eyeing the sword - the one that Peter had just grown from his hand like a goddamn anime character, not the one he was holding - thoughtfully. "Fighting with only half a weapon, I mean."

Because again, neither other option would end well.

[2_old_for_this]

"Would you rather fight with half a stick?" Peter asked. "I'm not letting you cut my sword in half."

[uncertain_dume]

"I mean, I could probably do some pretty impressive tricks with half a stick," Kanan chuckled. "But then I wouldn't have anything to train with later."

Except his lightsaber. Which was just fine for training, Kanan was just being stubborn.

[2_old_for_this]

"So maybe we can stick to swords," Peter suggested, grinning. He nodded to the blade. "Is that near enough you'll be able to work with it?"

[uncertain_dume]

"Are you kidding?" Kanan snorted and shrugged his shoulders. "It's lighter than what I'm used to and it's got a hand-guard. I feel like I'm being spoiled."