Chaos and Order

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Clack clack clack clack.

The rhythmic beat of claws on concrete punctured the otherwise still night air. It was a deserted street; something rare on Cloud City, but deserted it was. Save for the beast that now jogged its' way easily along. Muscles propelled it forward at an almost lazy pace - a strange thing as only two hours earlier it'd been scrambling furiously to escape the clutches of those that would keep it caged.

But now, safe within the knowledge that none had followed, the great white vornskr made her way through the sleeping city. None had bothered her in her travels, which left her to her own thoughts. How was she to get off this floating city? Her 'home', the Cat, had been abandoned on Hoth when she'd been taken by the bounty hunter, and retrieving the craft was forefront on her mind. Without it she'd be stranded. She had no way of contacting Sanis Prent, and that thought pulled horribly at her. Her daughter had been left with the smuggler, and it was all the beast could to to keep herself in check. Such anguished thoughts - of never seeing Tak once more never strayed from her.

She had to find passage to... somewhere. Preferably Hoth, but there was really no telling what the Lupine would be able to do. Her options were rather limited at this point.

And so she kept on, her gait easy and her single yellow orb taking her surroundings in.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The trip had been one huge, colossal frelling mess from beginning to end. From the preacher she'd taken on as a fare on Dantooine, to her stowaway in the form of the menacing Whitey, Arya Ravenwing had had just about enough.

Rev. Solomon was wanting additional passage with her, and she'd agreed, though why she still wasn't sure. He'd caused her Change, of that she was almost certain. Though he didn't seem to want to ever do it again, which was wise. Again, the why of him wanting to chance her ripping his throat out escaped her.

But... money was money. Arya tipped her glass up and saluted the ceiling, finishing off the last of her dark ale. They'd been at Cloud City for a few days, and Whitey had disappeared again. She knew he was an Imperial agent of some kind - keeping tabs on her and her mission. Solomon was understandably confused as to where the strange man had come from and why Arya put up with his rudeness (well, she didn't, not really, but she hadn't stuffed him in the airlock either, which had been her first inclination), and seemed to have latched onto her as though she needed saving.

As if.

And then it happened. The holoscreens switched to an All Points Bulletin, proclaiming that a dangerous fugitive had escaped custody and was loose in the City. Loklorien s'Ilancy, they said. Arya choked on her ale and nearly dropped the glass on the bartop, nose and throat burning as the report droned on.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still trotting along, the Lupine didn't deviate on her path. Where she was going was anyone's guess, least of all hers. For now she would stalk the streets and get as much of a feel for the city as she could. It wouldn't be much, as she would have to find shelter and a place to hide during the day, but until morning the vornskr would roam Cloud City unchecked.

It was as she was passing by one of the local pubs that the animal paused; her eye had caught something in through the glass. It was a holoscreen with her face on it - well, her human face at the very least. Stopping, s'Il watched with mild curiosity. She sat down, staring in through the windows at the builliten as it played out,

Such an unflattering photo, she grumped to herself.

But there was something else in the air, and the Lupine lifted her nose to the sky, sniffing at the unseen. It was something new; wholly different from anything she'd ever smelled.

It passed, and the vornskr went back to watching through the window.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"This fugitive is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach or attempt to aprehend under any circumstances. Contact City Security if you see..."

Arya wiped hurriedly at her nose and mouth, attempting to clean up the mess she'd made with her ale. Loklorien s'Ilancy was here?! And Whitey was here too... somewhere. Probably staring at her through the windows of the pub. She swiveled around, a prickly feeling on the back of her neck, but saw nothing.

The smuggler slapped a credit chit on the counter and abruptly left the bar, pausing a moment in the cool recycled air. What should she do? Arya checked the railgun at her hip automatically, and then realized what she was doing. Who was she planning on shooting?

Mind racing, she took a few deep breaths, leaning against a bubbled window that looked out on the encroaching darkness of Bespin's night. Something didn't smell right. Suddenly alert, she looked to the right and nearly shot herself in the foot at the sight of a big white canine staring at her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

That smell; it was back. And much stronger than before. It'd come with the woman who'd left the pub. No longer concerned with the holovid, s'Il turned her attentions to the raven-haired woman. Still sitting, the Lupine studied this newcomer.

Such a scent! It was familiar and foreign all at the same time. For the briefest of moments there was a giddiness in the pit of her stomach. She'd never felt anything like it in all of her years. Her mind reeled with the paperthin possibility of... NO. It wasn't possible. There were no more Loveloxx. Not a one. And yet, the fluttering in her chest continued.

Canting her head to the side, the animal regarded the woman with a critical eye as her whiplike tail wrapped around her front paws in a deliberate motion.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya stared at the beast, mouth hanging open, hand wrapped around the butt of her railgun. Very slowly she forced herself to let go of the weapon, leaving it still holstered at her hip.

This was too weird. The animal looked like it was studying her. Probably wanted a steak, if Arya was any judge.

"Frelling mutt..." Then she caught sight of the creature's unique tail, and hesitated. A vornskr? Not only was it highly unlikely, it was impossible for one of the creatures to be in Cloud City. That left only one startling option, and one that explained the strange odor she'd been smelling.

Arya yawned, reaching over to scratch at her side under her jacket... and to reach for her blaster in its shoulder holster at the same time.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still unsure, s'Il blinked slowly. There was simply no way for this woman to be a Lupine; let alone a Loveloxx. But still, that did not explain the smell.

She yawned in mimicry, exposing a toothy maw while scratching at her side with a hind leg. The barb-tipped tail whipped around behind her to settle along the other side of her body.

[Arya Ravenwing]

s'Ilancy seemed secure in her shapeshifted form, yawning nonchalantly and scratching while Arya reached for her blaster. If it was Loklorien, the famed Last Lupine and Arya's ticket out of Imperial hell.

Frell it, even if this wasn't her, it was worth the try. Hand on the grip of her blaster, looking like she was rummaging in the inside pocket of her jacket, Arya let the Change begin but stopped it before it changed anything other than the color of her eyes. They gleamed yellow as she pulled the blaster out and pointed it at the beast in one smooth motion.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The eyes. She'd seen it. That telltale yellowing that preceded a Changed...

And the the blaster. Well.

Her options limited, s'Il continued to stare at the woman. If she used the Force, the possibility of driving the Loveloxx into a rage was significantly high. That would have to be used as a last resort, and s'Il wasn't ready to deal with a mindless beast. It was too tiring. Compounded with the fact that she was in fact looking upon a Loveloxx Lupine, she wanted to savor the moment.

Quick as lightning, s'Il surged forward, her haunches propelling her at the other woman. With surprising grace, the vornskr reared up only slightly, and closing her jaws around the blaster, bit down while in the same motion turning her neck away in order to pull the weapon from the woman's hand. She felt the metal give way beneath her teeth, though the tangy taste was something rather unpleasent to her tongue.

Jogging a short distance into the street, the animal stopped and turned to look at the other Lupine. And sitting down once more, she dropped the useless blaster to the ground.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Frelling dren!" Arya yanked her hand back, but not fast enough as the beast removed the blaster from her hand before she could get a stun blast off.

The area outside the pub was deserted, though inside business was still going smoothly. No one had noticed the creature outside, or the woman confronting it. Just as well. The Imperials hadn't notified anyone that Loklorien was a shapeshifter, at least not in the part of the APB that Arya had heard, so it was unlikely that anyone would be calling Security down on her ears.

Although...

"I know who you are," she fumed, eyes still golden. "And that was frelling expensive." She couldn't risk drawing her railgun - one shot from that and they'd be picking pieces of s'Ilancy's brain from the opposite wall for weeks. Not exactly the results the Empire wanted.

"Why aren't you running?" Arya made a 'gun' out of her fingers and 'shot' the vornskr. "Pretty dangerous place down here."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The beast only hurffed, letting out a snort from her nose. A casual glance behind the woman at those still inside showed that none were paying attention to the goings on outside; no, their drinks and conversation were too engaging. Just as well.

The reversion was swift, smooth and flawless. It was bourne from years of repetition and a deep familiarity of her own body.

In the place of the white vornskr now crouched a very naked Loklorien, her single eye staring at the other woman. Rising to stand, she finally spoke.

"As dangerous to you as it is to me," she answered evenly.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She watched, wide-eyed, as the vornskr changed into a woman. Her mouth was probably hanging open again. Arya snapped it shut abruptly, and snapped, "What the frell are you thinking, doing that... here." Her eyes were blue again, and her voice was shaking.

With excitement or fear, she didn't know. "I need to talk to you. But... not here. I have a ship." She ran her hand through her hair, tugging at the ends of her straight black locks. "And no, its not quite as dangerous for me. There are probably ten people just inside that bar who'd either report you or rape you in less than a minute."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a tilted head, s'Il took in the black-haired woman. She watched her lips move as she spoke, the movements of her hands, her posture, everything.

Lofting a brow, she turned to look left, casting a rather lazy stare at the deserted street before sending her gaze down to the ruined blaster. She looked up at the other woman over the top of her blue eye then.

"Talk? Lupine, you were ready to shoot me."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Her face squinched a little. "Yeaaah... I guess that looks pretty bad, huh." Arya licked her lips nervously, casting a glance back at the interior of the bar. s'Ilancy was out of sight, beyond the windows, but Arya was still standing in front of the pub. "Does it make a difference that my expensive blaster was set on stun?"

She shifted her feet, feeling a bit at a loss now that this was a war of words. The alchohol she'd consumed wasn't enough to inebriate her, but there was a tinge of fuzziness around the edges of her brain. Enough to make her a tad slower than normal when it came to a snappy comeback. "I can't explain anything here, and I couldn't take the chance that you'd leave."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Crossing her arms over her chest, s'Il gave a look to the Lupine. It bordered the line of being unimpressed, and the look on her features showed as much. To trust a Loveloxx was to invite treachery; she knew that from her father.As such, she maintained her distance. Still curious, but cautious none-the-less.

Clicking her tongue, she answered. "No difference to me. I've had my fill of being stunned, and do not need any more. Perhaps in the beginning if you'd talked with your mouth instead of your weapon things would be different. Of course, action before thought is the way of your Line, and I cannot expect any less. No matter that you are the first Loveloxx I have ever seen, I am not about to abandon my caution."

A flicker of her eye, and s'Il stepped backwards to disappear into the black pools of a shadowed awning as a rather drunken pair stepped out the door of the pub, hanging off one another and badly singing whatever tavern ballad they'd no doubt learned long ago.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"What?" Arya ducked out of the way of the drunken fools who were trying to run her over, and lost Loklorien in the shadows. "Wait!"

Almost frantic, she shoved past the two men, and followed the strangely familiar smell to where the other Lupine was standing. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not a Love-whatever."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In closer proximity, the scent was far stronger. Both stood in the dark, staring at one another easily within the blackness. s'Il could make out the woman's face as easily as the other could make out hers.

Voice low, she spoke. "Loveloxx.

"And yes, you are one. Tell me; what would happen if I used the force right now."

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Uh..." Arya took an uncertain step backwards. "I - I'm not sure." Mind reeling, the smuggler put her hand on her railgun unconsciously. Esalis had said that the other Lupine was a Jedi, but it hadn't made any sense. If what they said was true and Force use drove her mad, then how could Loklorien wield it?

"Just don't do it." A bluff. That was all. This wench was trying to rattle her cage, and Arya was letting her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A snort. "Of course I won't do it. I know better. You would go mad, and I don't feel like reigning in a mindless Lupine."

With the woman's step back, s'Il took a step forward to keep their distance constant.

"A Loveloxx can't handle it; you of all people should know that. Your blood may have been the first to be created, but it's the Losstarot that hold perfection."

She let a silence hang in the air then, studying the other's eyes. It troubled her to see the confusion, and her ears minutely ticked back.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you," she hissed.

[Arya Ravenwing]

If she'd been in Changed form, her hackles would have risen at the tone the other woman was taking. As it was her stance changed subtly to one a bit more... hostile. She almost felt cornered, though there was no wall at her back.

"I know I don't like being called mindless." Arya's eyes narrowed in the darkness. "Its not my fault you're talking nonsense. Like my mother." Just like her, actually. But Lysa Ravenwing had made even less sense than this haughty specimen in front of her. The words lovelocks and losty-rot or whatever it was seemed vaguely familiar.

She'd tried so hard not to think about her mother for a very long time.