We're Different Than the Rest

Chatper 8: Training Sabers

21 BBY - 7 Months After Geonosis

.oOo.

Aayla woke up to the feeling of Bly's arm on her waist. Her head was tucked under Bly's chin and their legs were tangled together.

I could be expelled from the Jedi Order for this. She could feel his warm breath on her forehead.

It would be worth it.

"Good morning, cyar'ika." Bly said in a sleepy voice. Aayla looked up at Bly and smiled.

"Good morning. Did you sleep okay?"

"Better than I have in a long time. Wait. When... what? What happened? Am I still sleeping? Did we..." Bly trailed off.

"Goodness no, Bly." Aayla shivered. "You had a nightmare."

"Oh, sorry." Bly's face turned sad as he remembered his dream from the night before.

"It's not your fault."

"What time is it?"

"Uh, around 0700. (7am) Some of the boys came back last night."

"They're probably so hungover." Bly laughed.

"I better leave before Reno comes up with a ridiculous story as to why I'm here."

"Yeah."

Aayla stood up and tried to stretch her bad arm. "Kriff." She muttered.

"You okay?''

"Yeah. Meet you in the training room at 0800?"

"See you then."

Thankfully, Reno was still passed out when Aayla walked by, or else his false rumors could actually get her expelled from the Jedi Order.

.oOo.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Bly walked into the training room, where Aayla was already fiddling with things.

"With my arm, not much, but I have an idea."

"Okay, what is it?" Aayla threw a metal stick at Bly. "What is this for?" Bly questioned.

"I'm teaching you how to fight with a lightsaber."

"Why? That's why you're here." Bly smiled.

"After the last battle..." Aayla paused. "I just need to make sure you can protect yourself and the others with more than just a blaster."

"Okay then."

"Hold the stick like this." Aayla demonstrated the proper way to hold a lightsaber. "Good! Now the basic forms. One, two, three, four, five, six."

Aayla and Bly worked on perfecting the forms for almost an hour. "Now the actual important stuff."

"Wait, wasn't that stuff important?"

"It is, but now put it into action. You have the advantage, I can't move my arm. Block high."

Aayla gracefully lunged at Bly. "Low." She swung her training 'saber'. "High again." They slowly started dueling faster.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Bly smiled.

"Oh yeah?" A mischievous grin came across Aayla's face. "A real duel then."

"I'm not that good yet."

"But you still have a big advantage."

"Okay, let's do it. You're gonna win."

"I don't think so, Bly."

"Should we do something Reno would do?"

"That sounds like a bad idea."

"It will be fun."

"Okay? What is it?"

"I'll bet you'll win and I'll lose." Bly said.

"Putting money on it?"

"Nope. Dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Loser buys dinner for the winner."

"Oh, you're going down." Aayla was now determined to win, partially because she had to credits to buy dinner with.

Bly smiled and blocked Aayla's strike. Even though she was fighting with her good arm (which wasn't her dominant arm), Aayla was still winning. They dueled for ten minutes before Aayla saw her chance at victory. She jumped over Bly and stole his training saber. Bly felt two cold metal rods, one on his neck and one on his torso. Then he felt one fall on his foot and a small 'ow' from behind him. He spun around to see Aayla holding her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. That was a stupid move on my part."

"It did get you a free dinner that isn't rations."

"True."

"What do you want to get?"

.oOo.

Bly walked into Tann Diner in his civvies. "Pick up order for Secura." He said to the Twi'lek waiter on the other side of the counter. The man and Bly exchanged food and credits before Bly left.

Ship 32LM-S2. LAAT. Where is that? Aayla thought to herself while walking through the main hanger. Here it is. The door was slightly open, so Aayla knocked just in case.

"Come in."

Aayla stepped inside to find a traditional Ryloth dining room with her favorite dish.

"Bly! Did you do this?" Aayla looked around the room. The table was a crate covered by a tablecloth, but the seats were pillows that were known as chairs throughout all of Ryloth. "This is perfect!"

"I did some quick research and shopping."

"This is too much."

"Maybe. You deserve it though, after everything you've done for us to make us feel... well, at home."

Aayla smiled. "Thank you, Bly."

"Of course. Wanna eat? I'm starving."

"Yes!" Aayla dug into her food, so did Bly.

"Holy force, that's spicy!" Bly grabbed his water and took a big gulp.

"Sorry. Should have warned you about that. Almost all Twi'lek recipes are spicy to humans." Aayla laughed.

"No kidding." Bly coughed. "Oh, the ARCs, well... mostly just Reno has set up activities for the whole battalion while we wait for the shinies to get here."

"What are they?"

"Not sure. With Reno organizing it, who knows. But since you're part of the battalion, you can come too."

"Yay!" Aayla squeaked.

.oOo.

Hi readers! The next few chapters are rather short so I'll post two every three days instead of one! Enjoy!