"If you say so," came the flippant response, the words leaving her lips automatically. The rest of her remained anything but relaxed, her phrase belied by how ready she held herself. Siri knew from the moment their blades clashed that he was better, stronger; the power crept along the tremors of her saber on each hit. "Seems like I just have to be better than you." She wasn't fazed, not yet, at his speed or reflexes, or the clash as he parried. The better fighter was not always the winner of the battle, not when so much could change on a whim.
No, what bothered her was how well he seemed to know Obi-Wan's style. She was nearly on autopilot for the first part, letting muscle memory work with the Force to slash, cut, block. Just so she could watch, put these puzzle pieces together. Had this stranger been another padawan that she couldn't recall, one Obi-Wan had taken under his proverbial wing? It would be just like her old friend. But the dark side...she felt it in his determination, his arrogance. Not hatred but feeling as if it could fall that way.
Siri didn't fear death, not when she'd made the leap onto Magus' ship, and not now facing this duelist. But he was more powerful, and he was right. She needed to be better. So she stepped it up.
Deflecting his lightning fast strikes, Siri used the edge of the fountain to angle a flip over the whirling blade, seeking an unprotected side to his flurry of blows. He didn't provide one, but she kept it up, turning and twisting so he was forced to follow or fall back on the defense. She wanted to bring him out of the deadly Juyo-esque style that she was least familiar with. It seemed to be working, her own offensive movements forcing a reliance on defending against her.
She knew the longer the fight went on, the fewer her chances at beating him would get. Time was the real enemy in a fight, for even the unflagging Jedi. Yet Siri felt a small sense of satisfaction. It has been a long time since she'd faced a true threat like this. Better by far to die with her hand on her saber, than shot by a coward.