( She doesn't allow him the luxury - or time - to respond, cutting at him with all the savagery that he would expect from someone who spent the entirety of her formative years alone and without any means of protection other than her own merit, who woke suddenly and found that she could lift the hand that was dragging her back without having to touch it. He knows that strength and power, can feel it flowing through him now though it gets trapped behind the dam of her constant assault. For a girl as scrappy and small as she is next to him, she hits hard, and his boots slide through the mud and stick, ripping grass and wildflowers until they cling to his boots halfway up to his knees. His arms shake under the strain they take at repelling her and then push back.
He recognizes Djem So with some annoyance after five minutes of trading blows, though not because he's particularly learned in that particular form but because he knows it was a foundation of Vader's unique style, and while Kylo sees the advantages of blending the fifth form with the others that his grandfather incorporated into his technique, sees Rey utilize it in a way that smacks of old world flare and skill - interesting, that - and genuine, unrelenting talent, it's Niman that he favors. Ironically. Lacking the totality of sufficient training that she receives from Skywalker means that he prefers a style more grounded upon Force-based attacks, a speciality he's ready to employ when she hooks her saber into his and pushes his blade back into his sternum.
It's a struggle, as he has to use both hands on the hilt of his blade to keep her from bearing down on him so completely that he loses an arm, but he realizes halfway through trying to get her off of him that she's not going to kill him. He can tell by the way she veers the intention of her aim behind the blue beam of the lightsaber to angle at his shoulder rather than mirroring the way he ran Han Solo through. It's hardly mercy, but it's there, pulsing between them as heavily as the breath she draws and the effort she puts into trying to subdue him, her jaw tight and mouth an angry, sharp line of bared teeth, eyes hard and shining over the hissing in their hands. In the mud, it's more difficult to keep his balance, to work one hand off of the hilt of his own red blade in an effort to dislodge her once more without buckling under her willpower alone.
And then she calls him Ben and the world more or less turns and shatters on a dime.
When he has the opportunity to put her on the defense, Kylo swings his saber like a broadsword, hitting heavy and hard, harder than he was able to when he was injured on Starkiller Base. The opportunity comes as a single point of anger shrinks and then swells before popping like a balloon. Something uncurls in his chest and he lets her lightsaber cut into the top layer of his skin before dropping his shoulder, grunting sharply at the white hot burn and pivoting on his foot. He lets her knock his blade down with her own again and uses the momentum to reach out for her, the back of her saber arm slapping into his outstretched palm by virtue of momentary surprise and sheer close-quartered combat, as he jerks her around and into his grip the same way he has tossed her from it in the past. He locks his fingers around her wrist and knuckles, trying to hold her still, a flash of pain searing where his skin is split open on his own hand as the flesh pulls taut. )
I know who has the power to end this. I think you're the one who's confused.
( There's no chance in hell that she'll allow him to hold her in that position for long, and contrary to her probable belief, he still isn't interested in killing her just yet. He makes the active decision to let her go, kicking her away from him with a carefully placed knee to her back that he chases with a glancing blow from a red slash. He smells burning fabric but isn't sure if he scored a hit on her skin and rounds on her, ready for her strikes with heavy blocks, hitting back at her hard, angry and contorted under the armor. )
quietly hides all my bookmarked lightsaber theory and forms info pages i'm saving these for a friend
He recognizes Djem So with some annoyance after five minutes of trading blows, though not because he's particularly learned in that particular form but because he knows it was a foundation of Vader's unique style, and while Kylo sees the advantages of blending the fifth form with the others that his grandfather incorporated into his technique, sees Rey utilize it in a way that smacks of old world flare and skill - interesting, that - and genuine, unrelenting talent, it's Niman that he favors. Ironically. Lacking the totality of sufficient training that she receives from Skywalker means that he prefers a style more grounded upon Force-based attacks, a speciality he's ready to employ when she hooks her saber into his and pushes his blade back into his sternum.
It's a struggle, as he has to use both hands on the hilt of his blade to keep her from bearing down on him so completely that he loses an arm, but he realizes halfway through trying to get her off of him that she's not going to kill him. He can tell by the way she veers the intention of her aim behind the blue beam of the lightsaber to angle at his shoulder rather than mirroring the way he ran Han Solo through. It's hardly mercy, but it's there, pulsing between them as heavily as the breath she draws and the effort she puts into trying to subdue him, her jaw tight and mouth an angry, sharp line of bared teeth, eyes hard and shining over the hissing in their hands. In the mud, it's more difficult to keep his balance, to work one hand off of the hilt of his own red blade in an effort to dislodge her once more without buckling under her willpower alone.
And then she calls him Ben and the world more or less turns and shatters on a dime.
When he has the opportunity to put her on the defense, Kylo swings his saber like a broadsword, hitting heavy and hard, harder than he was able to when he was injured on Starkiller Base. The opportunity comes as a single point of anger shrinks and then swells before popping like a balloon. Something uncurls in his chest and he lets her lightsaber cut into the top layer of his skin before dropping his shoulder, grunting sharply at the white hot burn and pivoting on his foot. He lets her knock his blade down with her own again and uses the momentum to reach out for her, the back of her saber arm slapping into his outstretched palm by virtue of momentary surprise and sheer close-quartered combat, as he jerks her around and into his grip the same way he has tossed her from it in the past. He locks his fingers around her wrist and knuckles, trying to hold her still, a flash of pain searing where his skin is split open on his own hand as the flesh pulls taut. )
I know who has the power to end this. I think you're the one who's confused.
( There's no chance in hell that she'll allow him to hold her in that position for long, and contrary to her probable belief, he still isn't interested in killing her just yet. He makes the active decision to let her go, kicking her away from him with a carefully placed knee to her back that he chases with a glancing blow from a red slash. He smells burning fabric but isn't sure if he scored a hit on her skin and rounds on her, ready for her strikes with heavy blocks, hitting back at her hard, angry and contorted under the armor. )