“What are you doing?”
Kit startles and nearly loses his balance, flailing his arms and tilting to the side on one leg. It takes a slightly embarrassing amount of time to regain a dignified standing position.
He can hear Agen’s stifled laughter and knows it’s directed at him.
Kit ignores it with all the dignity of the venerable Jedi Master he will one day be and turns on his heel to face the questioner.
“Padawan Allie.” He greets with a nod.
She looks even tinier than normal from below Kit and Agen’s new sparring balance beam. She tilts her chin up and Kit grins, considering whether to tease her about how short she is.
She might try to bite him but she has been trying out her best impression of a respectable Knight lately so she also might not.
Kit thinks she’s got at least a decade give or take a couple years left as a troublesome padawan before she needs to worry about looking like a respectable Knight.
“We’re sparring.” Agen answers for them both.
“On that?” She asks with all the judgment a nosy little padawan can manage, which is quite a lot of judgment actually.
Kit and Agen look down at the makeshift balance beam they dragged into the training salle.
Kit bounces on it a bit.
It creaks ominously.
“It’s structurally stable.” Kit announces, which is mostly true.
Stass Allie does not look impressed.
Eh, Kit wasn’t looking to impress her.
“Why are you sparring on that?” She asks, as if the answer isn’t super obvious.
Kit tilts his head, considers nosy little padawans and his important responsibilities as a wise, respectable older padawan.
“We are seeking balance.” He nods sagely.
Agen makes a baffled face that is not selling Kit’s line very well. They’ll have to talk about improvisational coordination later.
“Balance?” She looks skeptical.
Kit nods again with a grin.
“Yeah, you see.” He makes a dramatic gesture with one hand and nearly stumbles again. “The Jedi seek balance, right?”
“Right…” Stass narrows her eyes.
“We seek balance in all things.” Kit continues, gesturing to the side for some support.
“Yes, balance in all things.” Agen echoes agreeably, a beat too late.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m getting to that.” Kit says and spreads his arms out. “Sparring is part of all things and so we must seek balance.”
“That isn’t what balance means though?” She sounds slightly less confident than she did a few seconds ago.
“The physical is the spiritual.” He says.
Hey! That’s actually a pretty good line.
“Our actions are reflections of our inner selves.” Agen adds, fiddling with his tabard. Kit’s pretty sure he’s heard that one somewhere.
“So…” Stass starts. “You’re sparring on a shaky beam to find balance and inner peace?”
Kit and Agen both nod.
“I’ve never heard of that before.” She scowls.
“Oh, it’s really advanced.” Kit dismisses. “I’m not surprised you haven’t run into it yet.”
She looks so offended he has to hold himself back from laughing.
“You could join us, if you want?” Agen offers, looking like he’d really like to get back to the promised point of this endeavor.
“I thought you said it was really advanced.” She challenges.
“Not that advanced.” Kit shrugs.
“Fine, I’m next.” She nods and Kit rolls his eyes.
Nosy little padawans and their lack of patience.
“Ready?” Agen asks and Kit faces him properly, lightsaber in hand.
“Ready.”
Agen dashes forward, lunges saber first.
Kit manages to stifle his first instinct to dodge to the left and jumps over his head.
He lands shakily behind Agen and grins, saber up in a defensive position.
Agen turns smoothly on his heel and tilts his head.
Kit has sparred with him enough times to know that’s never a good sign.
Agen lunges again, testing.
Cautious, Kit flips over him again.
Agen pivots like it’s the easiest thing in the galaxy and slashes horizontally in the same breath as Kit’s feet touch the beam.
“Kark!” Kit backpedals, except there’s nowhere to backpedal to when he hasn’t settled his weight on his feet yet. He stumbles off the balance beam and onto the mat below.
He groans and opens his eyes to see Stass leaning over him.
She tilts her head.
“I see that 'balance in all things' is still a work in progress, Padawan Fisto.”
Agen doesn’t even try to stifle his laughter this time.
“I’d like to see you do better.” Kit manages.
“I think I will.” Stass grins, in that smug little padawan way of hers and accepts Agen’s offered hand up.
She lasts twenty seconds longer than he did.
Kit smiles from his place waiting for his turn.
She’s going to be insufferable about that.
Ah, well, as a wise padawan once said: balance in all things.