:The arms getting tired part. Should help with nodes, too, just less, maybe. And yeah, I'd have to be around to help you - I don't know if I'm going to want to do that, I'd need to know a lot more about how things work around here. We could ask Savil about that, too.:

:Right. Let me check...: Vanyel's eyes go unfocused as he Mindspeaks Yfandes, waits for the answer to be relayed from Savil's Companion. :Sorry, she's busy with something right now, but she would be around tonight or tomorrow night: He takes a deep breath. :Would you, er, like to come over for dinner at her suite and talk about it?: That's something normal people do when they're making friends, right? It still feels horrifically presumptuous and probably rude and embarrassing. 

:Sure. I'll bring my droid, too.:

Vanyel smiles. :I would really like to see DZ too! Er, how's tonight at sunset?: 

:Sounds good. So, shields, today? What kinds are there?:

:Er, how long do you have?: Vanyel glances at the sky. :If you wanted to go rest before supper...? My aunt knows more anyway: 

:If I wasn't prepared to do this I wouldn't've suggested it. You don't need to look after me.:

Vanyel takes a deep breath. :Sorry: All right fine Yfandes is right, if he needs a break not around people he needs to say so for himself. :I, um, think that I need some time to myself for half a candlemark before supper, but my Companion says she'll remind me when that is. Anyway, shields. The main kinds are against regular magic attacks, against physical attacks, and against various other Gifts like Thoughtsensing or, I don't know, Farsight: 

:All right. I'm not actually sure which if any of those will block my Force effects, if I'm not doing anything special with them, so that's the first question.: A gentle pressure comes up against his chest, just enough to be obvious. :Can you block this?:

:Hmm. Let me - try...: Vanyel pokes around. Magical shielding alone doesn't seem to do anything. Physical shields, though... :I think I feel it less?: It's hard to tell if he's imagining it, he definitely still feels some pressure. :It'd be easier to tell if you could push slightly harder with it for a second: 

:Sure.: She does, hard enough that it might stagger him if it caught him unaware.

Vanyel grins. :That's helpful, thank you! And, I think my shields are catching some of it but not all? It's weird: 

:Seems similar to my telepathy, I see how I could shift it to get around them. Shifting the other way wouldn't work, I'm pretty sure, but I can also just pick something up and use that, should work fine.: She looks around for something suitable.

There's a basket in one corner of the Work Room with an array of wooden balls, possibly left behind by some teacher running a similar exercise. 

Yep, that'll do. She grabs a light one with telekinesis and brings it over to float in front of her.

Vanyel readies his shield. :Go ahead: 

She starts off easy, but quickly finds a range of power and trickiness that challenges him.

She's definitely making him work for it! Vanyel knows his strength isn't the issue, here, it's all control, but...he's not actually that good at shielding against projectiles, it's a lot less efficient than shielding mage-energy attacks, and he's practiced it less in total, and Starwind wasn't nearly as fast as her...

She keeps an eye on how tired he's getting; Yfandes is going to interrupt them any time now, but she won't let him get too worn out regardless.

Vanyel is pretty stubborn and isn't going to tell he when he's feeling tired – complaining of fatigue to Starwind generally just got him snapped at, anyway – but she'll notice his reaction times slowing and his shielding becoming sloppier and less even before Yfandes interrupts. 

Also she can just tell; Force senses are handy that way. She gives him a couple more rounds, not making it too obvious that she's going easy on him but nonetheless making sure he succeeds at shielding, and then takes the ball back. :Good job. We're done for now.:

:Thank you!: Vanyel is dragging his feet a bit on the way to the door, but he smiles brightly at her anyway. :I think my first mage-teacher would like you. I actually have no idea if you'd like him, though: 

:Oh?:

Vanyel struggles how to even find the right words for Starwind. :He's, um, very competent, he's...confident in his skill, he's pretty curt and impatient sometimes, um, I'm not saying you are! You're a lot more patient with me than he was. Which is why I guess I'm not sure you'd like him. But he'd think you're a very skilled teacher, I'm pretty sure: 

:I like people to know where the limits are with me,: she nods, :that's not the same as being impatient, but it looks like it, a bit. And confidence is important for Sith, we do have that in common. I might want to meet him sometime, if it's convenient.: