Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196 
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 5, 2022 12:51:59 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin shrugged off the worry that was coming from the pair. I'll be fine. Plus this may give Fiora a fair chance at beating me sparring finally. Jin appreciated the gesture, but if she needed to help Fiora, she would. The imperial princess had few true friends, so Jin was ready to be their for her friend every moment she could. It had been hard lately, Jin's training took her on more and more away missions. But once the training hand ended, they would become an unstoppable duo.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 6, 2022 23:54:43 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora finished another mouthful of food as Jin made her comment, causing her to let out a disgruntled humpf as she swallowed
Rude much... We both know it'll give you a better excuse for losing...
She glared sideways at Jin for a moment, giving a brief nod as Harnan got up and took off out of the Kitchen. With just them alone, she relented her glare into a smile, glad for it to just be them
You may want more than just your floor toast, if you're going to stay up...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 8, 2022 10:53:14 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Almost on cue, Jin's stomach rumbled. She had originally just planned on crashing after her toast. But given the long day she saw ahead of her, some more food would be for the best. She reached over and filled a plate with what remained from Fiora and Harnan's breakfast. It was good, much better than the rations she had been subsisting on during the last mission. After a few mouthfuls, she stopped and looked Fiora who was still shapechanged into Jin, and took it in again. So... How long has this been happening? She asked using her hands to wave up and down Fiora's current form. Jin was impressed, though the closer she looked the smaller things she did notice. But at a glance, it was very passable.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 8, 2022 14:11:58 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
The grin spread across her face as she heard Jin's stomach rumble before her friend dug into the extra food laid out on the table. Fiora ate a few more mouthfuls of food, feeling more and more invigorated by the replenished energy. But she was soon torn from the last few bits of her food as Jin spoke up again. She rubbed her hand across her arm self-consciously
Me looking like you? or me being able to look like other people? This morning for the first, and less than a day for the second... It has been pretty intense. But probably less so than what ever left you looking like that...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 9, 2022 12:53:19 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Hey, Jin turned and took both of Fiora's shoulders and looked her friend in the eyes. What your dealing with is way crazier than crawling through several meters of mud and who-knows-what to plant some bugs on some pirates who may or may not be smuggling for... well someone. I didn't pay that much attention to be honest. I could see all that, I could smell all that, and I could fight all that. You don't have that luxury. But we are going to beat this together. Me and you. Like always. She gave a gentle squeeze on Fiora's shoulders before letting go and shoving the last of her food in her mouth. So, go get geared up. I want to see if you can maintain this while I'm swinging at ya. And if that doesn't work we can always try some more meditation.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 9, 2022 17:00:21 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora jumped a little in her seat, taken aback a by Jin's sudden assertiveness. It wasn't that it was unusual, just unexpected in that exact moment. She stiffened a little beneath her friends grasp, but she forced herself to meet Jin's gaze. But she slowly relaxed as her best friend spoke. To be honest, there really wasn't a lot more crazier things than learning you could shapeshift and currently had no control over it. It was also nice just hearing Jin confirm they'd get through it together, like they always did. A small smile appeared
Thanks...
She watched as Jin devoured the last of her food as she gathered the empty dishes and deposited in the washer
You? Meditating? This I will have to see to believe...
Knowing better than to let Jin reply, Fiora quickly exited the kitchen and made for her own room. She made a quick stop by Jin's room to grab some clothes to wear that would fit, before being on her way again. A few moments later, she had given herself a quick rinse and was changed into some gear hat fit her current form and was waiting in their usual training room. Her dual-bladed saber would provide a very quick distinction between herself and the real Jin
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 9, 2022 21:42:57 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin came to her room and quickly showered and changed. The shower did her wonders. she could feel her weariness wash away with the stink and grime. Freshly cleaned and in a training outfit, she grabbed her own saber and made her way to the usual spot. Luckily it was still early enough that most people weren't around the training rooms, so two Jins went relatively unnoticed. Once in the room though Jin started to focus herself. She knew the days she'd have the advantage were numbered. Every match Fiora got better and stronger, catching up to Jin. Fiora was destined to surpass her friend, but Jin had accepted that. It was her destiny to watch Fiora's back. But for now, Jin was still slightly better taught with a couple years advantage. A deep breath as she ignited her saber. The classic red of the Ren. Once she completed her training she would craft her own saber, and was determined to get a different crystal. But for now the standard assigned saber would do. Jin takes her Niman stance. Now, don't let me tire you out. Spot my openings and punish me for them.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 10, 2022 2:41:51 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
She wondered what it was like, facing off against a lookalike of yourself. From a distance it was probably like a dancer looking into a mirror as they practised their routines and forms. Fiora suppressed a slight smile as she mimicked Jin's opening moves, with one half of her saber activating as she assumed the same Niman stance. It had been one of the forms she had trained into a little bit early on, which had given her some insight into the form. It would be difficult to find the openings if Jin was as proficient as Fiora figured her to be
You'll tire long before me...
Fiora shifted her stance then. While she might look like Jin, she was not an exact copy of her best friend. She could look and sounds like Jin, but her experiences were still her own. Her grip on her hilt shifted as the secondary blade activated, with Fiora giving the dual blades a flourish before adopting an Ataru like stance. Some doubt started to creep into her thoughts about her statement. It was beginning to dawn on Fiora that while she may have gotten used to doing basic tasks such as walking around and eating, fighting was a whole other challenge. While her height hadn't changed too much, her weight, balance and flexibility were bound to be different.
Jin might be exhausted and in need of sleep, but she knew her own body and what its limits were. Fiora did not have that luxury. Her body was not her own, and she had no idea what it was capable of. Her opening flourish had already felt off, which did not bode well for how effective her usual fighting style would be from here on out. Fiora started to draw on the Force then, trying to focus her thoughts upon the fight and trying to prepare herself for any adjustments she was going to have to make
Ready when you are...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 10, 2022 12:47:32 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin quickly moved forward. While her temperament had started to even out, both thanks to her training and maturing with age, it didn't seem that way in her saber fighting. Though Niman was meant to be balanced with a slight favor to defense, Jin flipped it. If she could keep her opponent on the defensive, she wouldn't have to focuse so much on it. But the form did offer her a quick way to fall back and regroup behind her guard if things went poorly. And so she opened up this match with a few powerful strikes, meant to unbalance Fiora. Though she struck fast and hard, it was noticeably slower than usual. Her body was still exhausted, even if her mind was alert and sharp. She would take note and easy off, settleing into the more defensive aspects of her form.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 10, 2022 18:49:23 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora braced herself as Jin dashed forward. She had a few moments before the distance would be closed, in which she rolled her shoulders and tried to loosen herself up. She shifted her balance back and forth, going from a solid grounded stance, to one that would allow her to move more easily in response. Every move felt off, either slightly too fast or slightly too slow. One of the activities her and Jin had done long distance was play holo games. For the most part, their play experience had been seamless. However, a couple occasions had seen one of them one a world with less than ideal connections to the Holonet.
Playing games with lag was the closest approximation she could use to describe what she was experiencing right now. But unlike the minor annoyance it was in games, it was significantly more so in real life as she shifted her sabers around in preparation. As Jin's opening attacks came in, Fiora struggled against the slight difference in response. Her blades came swinging up and around to parry Jin's attacks, but never as fast as she wanted them to be. She directed the flow of the Force through her body, using it to help improve its motion of speed and response. With any luck it would help her move at the speeds she was used to as she did her best to move around the training space, keeping her blades between herself and Jin. As long as she kept up a decent defense, she could let Jin use up her initial burst of strength and wait for her friend to start making mistakes
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 16, 2022 11:05:25 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin smirked a little when she saw how reserved Fiora was being. It made sense, fighting in a new body most be weird. But if this was a skill Fiora wanted to grow and use, she would have to learn to adapt. So Jin pressed her. Renewing her attacks. She could feel the Force shifting around her friend, making her faster and more sturdy. But Fiora wasn't the only one able to use the Force here. The undercity urchin began to call upon the Force to make her own strikes hit harder. When the sabers collided, she would will the Force past the point of impact, almost using her saber as a focus to build momentum for the push. It was meant to further unbalance Fiora, but this technique was taking a toll on Jin's energy as well.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 18, 2022 4:34:39 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora was busy concentrating, trying to keep up with Jin's flurry of attacks. Her best friends smirk serving merely as an annoyance in this situation. The struggle to just match her unassisted performance was not something she needed in a fight. But then Jin decided to make things all the more harder, the Force assisting her strikes to hit harder. Fiora did her best to kept moving and light on her feet so that the attacks had less ability to impact and transfer their energy. But then an opening started to appear for her as the Force was concentrated into a strike of Jin's. Fiora moved with the blast, deactivating her blades as she used the momentum from the shock wave to roll backwards and to the side across the ring. Coming up in a crouched position she focused the Force into an attack of her own, sending a wave of energy out toward Jin
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 20, 2022 20:35:06 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin smirked again, but this time it was out of pride. Seeing Fiora so artfully avoid her assault made her proud of how far the Princess had come in her training. And that was all the hesitation that was needed. The force of Fiora's push knocked Jin off her feet and sent her spinning and slamming into the matted floor. Reflexively she deactivated her saber mid spin, but the wind was still knocked out of her. She rolled a little further away from Fiora before using the momentum to get herself back on her feet. Good one, she coughed out while standing, but can you back it up? Jin readied her saber, adopting a more defensive stance. Her breaths were heavy, as exhaustion was setting in, but she wasn't going to yield after one push.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 23, 2022 17:32:34 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
While the fight had not been particularly wrong, both of them had been pushing themselves beyond their normal limits. Right now it was a race to see who would collapse from exhaustion first, as Fiora ignited her dual blades again. Her attack had connected with Jin and battered her friend. But the fight was not over yet. She called the Force to herself, fueling her movements as she staggered forward into a run. It was going to be a lot more practice until she finally mastered this state of being, but there at least seemed to be some small improvement. Her leading blade swung in for an overhead strike, with the Trailing blade going for a lower cut on Jin's opposite side afterwards
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 23, 2022 21:42:35 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin focused on Fiora's movements as she charged, the subtle tells she had that came with years of practice with the same person. Though they were harder to read when it was 'Jin' doing it. All the same, the former street rat predicted the pattern of attacks. She sidestepped the downward slash, while bringing both herself and blade down to block the follow up. And in the same motion, while mostly crouched, she spun with one leg out, intending to sweep Fiora's legs out from under her. It was a risky move, but if it worked, Jin would try to quickly pin Fiora physically.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 24, 2022 0:19:56 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora would have seen the move by her friend and jumped out of the way by somersaulting over Jin's head... Under normal circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances. Even with the Force aiding her movements, she was unable to see and react to Jin's movements in time. Her best friends leg came sweeping at calf height, causing her footing to be lost. She silently cursed as her whole body started falling, her grip on her saber loosening. The blades extinguished once more as the hilt slipped from her grip. She did her best to keep track of it as she collided with the floor. Suddenly, however, she felt the weight of Jin's body atop her own.
Her gaze shifted from tracking the wayward saber hilt to straight above her as Jin's face appeared. Fiora knew she was pinned, even without trying to struggle free. Instead, her eyes were locked with Jin's. Her brain rushing through the positioning they were in. She blushed at first, her cheeks going a shade of pink. Her skin seemed to shimmer a little as it took on a pink hue. Her features then distorted as a wave of red spread through her black and purple hair. Her skin regained it's pale complexion, and her body returned to its original proportions. Her longer hair sprawled out across the floor as Fiora looked away, still blushing slightly as she let out a huff
I guess you win again...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 24, 2022 0:36:04 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin couldn't help but smirk as she sat straddled across Fiora's stomach. She deactivated her saber and let out a half-sigh and half-laugh. Her whole body relaxed and sagged as she saw the change begin to happen across her friend. It was good to see Fiora's face again. Then she noticed the blushing, more than simple embarrassment at the loss or fatigue. Jin realized how she was positioned and leaned to one side, allowing herself to roll onto the training room floor and lay next to the princess. I guess I do... But you keep improving. Plus you seem to have changed back. Any idea what did it? Or do I just need to kick your ass every time? Her hand stretched out and ruffled the red hair and let her fingers stay tangled in it for a bit, the lack of sleep made every thought a labor, let alone every motion. So for now, she stayed there, seeing how Fiora would respond to her teasing.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 24, 2022 0:54:45 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
A change of clothes was going to be in order once they were done here, with the clothes that Jin had lent her becoming looser in some areas and tighter in others. A much larger wardrobe was likely going to be necessary in the future once she learned how to master this ability, that was for sure.
A part of her was sad as Jin finally slid off from straddling her stomach, while another part of her was glad for it. Not that the change in position made her heart beat any slower as Jin rolled out on the mat next to her. It was nice looking and feeling like herself again with her best friend at her side. She smiled initially at Jin's compliment of her improving skill. But she only blushed harder as Jin asked what caused the change back and Fiora felt her hair get ruffled. A slight shiver running down her spine as she just laid there. Like Jin, she was a little too worn out in the moment to move. She laid there, her head a little involuntarily nuzzling up, before Fiora stopped herself and looked up at the roof. Trying to will herself to be fine
Uhm... no idea... probably just a coincidence with you beating me, you meanie...
Fiora didn't believe her own hasty explanation, and she doubted Jin necessarily did either. She tried to turn her thoughts to one day beating Jin and being the one to do the pinning, but such a line of thought didn't help at all
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 24, 2022 18:37:41 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin lay their smiling to herself as Fiora once more called her a meanie. You know I have to enjoy the gloating while I can. You're going to make a great leader someday. She started to zone out a little, think about the future herself. Standing at the side of Fiora, no doubt a high level member of the Imperial hierarchy, if not leading it.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 25, 2022 1:44:17 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
The sombre reminder that she would one day be a leader was enough to distract her thoughts and lessen her blush. Fiora rolled onto her side, staring over at Jin
The day you stop gloating, is the day I start worrying about you... Besides...
Fiora shimmied herself across the mat a little, and brought her head to rest on Jin's stomach
I'm going to need the amazing person who helped me get there by my side... To keep me in check...
She didn't want to lose her best friend. While Fiora had always been a little different from most Imperials in terms of her compassion for all those within the First Order's borders, it had not always been guaranteed. The Force had shown her visions of various timelines and the ways she could have gone. She was glad she met Jin and had followed this path. There were many crossroads yet ahead to encounter. But she had someone by her side that she trusted to help her with them
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