Circle Circle Dot Dot...

[Wyl Staedtler]

She moved so fast he barely had time to squawk in outraged alarm before he was collared. Wyl slapped at her forearm, twisting around in an attempt to free his shirt from her solid grasp. His efforts were rewarded by the thin material bunching up and becoming uncomfortably tight around his neck.

"Don't tell her!" Wyl hissed to Tak, punching ineffectually at Arya. "Don't tell her nothin'!"

He scrabbled and slapped a palm on the tabletop. Wyl tossed a flinty glower at Arya. "You better let us alone."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

So startled by the strange lady's grip on her wrist, that Tak found herself unable to reply. She stared wide-eyed up at the lady, her breathing suddenly rapid. The smell! So close it was overbearing, the little Lupine gave a gasp. Wyl's voice seemed to cut through the scent however, and she looked toward him as he glared up at the woman.

Emboldened by his resistance, the girl cast yellowing eyes back to the lady as she felt a rumbly growl begin in the bottom of her throat. It felt strange - even to her - and it made her sound like she had two voices, one regular and one ragged.

"Leave us alone."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya looked down with surprise at the girl, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled. Letting the boy go, she snatched the back of the girl's jacket, hoisting her up in the air. "The medallion. Where. Did. You. See. It." She gave her a little shake. "Don't you change on me, whelp."

[Wyl Staedtler]

This was really not good. Maybe they had miscalculated this outing a bit.

A bit. For one thing, being pinioned by a strange woman with gravel in her voice hadn't been part of the plan.

"Tak!" Wyl's breath hitched in his chest, and the girl's name came out half-choked. He didn't know her, not really, but she was a peer and they'd adventured away together despite the consequences; that was the stuff that loyalties were born from.

Arya wasn't just picking on them though, and that was what made Wyl's stomach twist apprehensively. There was something not right about the purposeful way she was clutching Teagan - what was she talking about, don't you change, and what was wrong with Tak's voice? Smells that he couldn't smell and necklaces and why oh why wasn't he taller or stronger or faster?

He grasped at the Force but it slipped away from him uselessly. Months and months of running had skewed his fight-or-flight response and the boy was given to panicking. Without calculation, Wyl launched himself at Arya's hip, lifting his shoulder to crash bone against bone. "Let her go! Let her go!"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Swept up by the grip on her jacket, Tak squirmed in the air for only a moment before slipping out. She hit the ground at a run, darting around the woman and grabbing a hold of Wyl by his arm.

"Run!"

Her eyes, still a tawny yellow, were wide and scared. She felt funny inside, and it wasn't getting any better.

Her grip on Wyl's arm was shockingly strong as she jerked him along with her.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya grunted as the boy rammed into her hip, her focus distracted momentarily at the collision. The little blonde girl slipped out of the jacket, dropping to the floor and running off with the boy, leaving Arya standing in the food court holding an empty jacket.

People were very pointedly not staring. She took off after the kids, pausing only long enough to grab the doodle the girl had drawn that depicted her father's medallion. The medallion that R. S. Esalis, head of Imp Intel, had taken from her months and months ago. Her boots pounded the pavement as she rounded a tight corner after the kids, only to face an empty alley.

Arya cracked her neck, inhaling deeply. Ah ha. The girl... she smelled so much like Loklorien s'Ilancy it couldn't be a coincidence. The smuggler dashed down the alley, taking a left and catching sight of the two kids still running like the devil was behind them.

"Wait!" she shouted, her long legs eating up the distance between them.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan had found the remains of a damaged Cloud Car, and wanted to tell Wyl. He'd been concerned - Wyl wasn't handling being couped up in the small area they'd cordoned off well. The boy had disappeared. He went to the market sometimes, so the Morgan banked on that. His concern grew when he was at none of the usual stores they frequented, on top of the fact that he had gone off without telling anyone. He positioned himself in a two-story cafe with an open balcony and... waited. Only careful attention to breathing kept his calm. There were questionable people who came through low traffic port cities that would see economic opportunities with a boy.

There was an odd pause in a cluster of tables situated near several food vendors. Morgan watched. He could see some kind of scuffle, when a kid with brown hair tried to tackle the black haired woman. Then, the two children ran. Morgan was already over the rail. He landed in a crouch, legs coiled, one hand forward and exploded. He navigated the crowd with an organic, liquid ease at tremendous speed. He slid under a large box carried, wove between tables, chairs and people, and cleared a few vendor booths with a meter to spare. He not only knew where everything was, but his mind/body knew where it would be. Wyl and the girl had headed towards the alleys and buildings that made the market possible. Morgan was coming up behind the woman, full speed. Morgan crouched, his left arm forward. Upon impact, her right leg collapsed, her back hit his shoulder, and he straightened. Arya was tossed into the air, three meters over Morgan. He turned and let his shoes slide to a halt.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Arya's voice echoed after them down the alleyway. It spurred Wyl on, a verbal whip that made his feet go like sixty; still, he only just matched Tak's pace. She was quick! And strong!

The alley dead-ended a few metres away. Wyl grabbed the seam of Tak's shirt and tugged as he veered to the right, down a narrow outlet that was lined with spare support beams and old fruit crates that stank of fermented juice. It, too, came to a sudden halt at a duracrete wall, but it was low enough that they could use the debris around them to climb over. The boy took cover behind a large dumpster.

Wyl doubled over, hands on his knees. He couldn't quite hear over the pounding blood in his ears, but whoever the woman was, she hadn't followed them down here.

"I think... we lost... her." Wyl panted. He looked at Tak, eyebrows angling n concerned confusion. Something was wrong with her. "Are... are you okay, Tak?"

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Now that they'd stopped, Tak used the moment to lean against the dumpster and wrapped both arms around her middle. Everything felt like it was moving around on the inside of her! Bones, guts, muscles, [i]everything![i/]

The little Lupine blew out a long breath and gave a worried shake of her head.

"I'm gonna change soon I think."

Sliding down to the ground while still cradling her tummy, the girl ground her teeth together. What would Wyl do if he saw her change? Especially since it was her very first time? Dama always used to say that the first change was special for Lupines, but Teagan sure didn't feel very special right now. She missed her Dama and Dad, and Zem wasn't anywhere. Not even Sanis, Daani, or Cirr were here.

But! Wyl was. He was nice so far, and he'd bought her lunch, and had seemed just as full of energy as she was.

Staring down at her hands, she watched as the first twitches beneath her skin began. Her eyes went to Wyl, and Tak gave him a worried look.

"I'm gonna change," she whispered, "... don't run away... "

[Arya Ravenwing]

Focused as she was on the smell, the chase, and the medallion, Arya didn't even notice the man coming up behind her. She grunted as he slammed into her back, and found herself flying through the air. The Lupine twisted in mid-air, landing heavily in a three point crouch facing her attacker.

She was surprised to see that he looked human, considering how strong he was. But then, she looked human too. And the kids were getting away! Arya quickly sifted through conversational possibilities, but the guy didn't look like he wanted to talk. His posture and expression seemed to project 'mama bear,' rather than good samaritan.

She got to her feet, hands spread as though she wasn't a threat, and then ran diagonally towards the wall, veering off at the last moment and bounding over some large rectangular trash receptacles that lined the alley to get around him.

[Morgan Evanar]

Apparently even her body was accustomed to lying. He hadn't expected the acrobatics, either, and missed a grab for her. Morgan bounced off one of the dumpsters. He stumbled for one step while his footing reset, and was off after Arya. Morgan was concerned. He could run down a human with little trouble, but gaining on her was slow going.

Why was she chasing Wyl and the girl who had arrived the other day? He pushed the thoughts aside and ran harder. He gained ground on Arya slowly, until he was a step away. He reached with his right hand, and she broke left. He caught the edge of her jacket between his thumb and pointer with his left hand and pulled. Arya's balance failed, but it brought her body into Morgan's legs. The pair tumbled in a high-speed heap against an empty dumpster with a loud, echoing gong.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Tak looked like she was getting ready to hurl but Wyl didn't back away. Instead, he knelt down in the grime beside her and placed a hand on her forehead. She didn't feel hot, but her skin was clammy. The boy wiped his palm off on his shirt and scooted closer.

He wasn't sure what 'change' Tak was talking about, but whatever it was it was weird and a little scary. Wyl watched her carefully. Was he supposed to go get a doctor? That's what you were supposed to do in emergencies, right? Was this an emergency?

A loud clatter in the main alley echoed down the narrow passage. Wyl jumped; if Arya was still out there, he wouldn't even get back to the food court much less be able to find medical attention. They were just going to have to be brave then.

The boy took a big breath and looked at Tak, hoping his smile wasn't tinted with as much worry as he felt. He put a hand on her knee and nodded solemnly. "I won't. I promise."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Another nod, and Tak gave a last look to Wyl before doubling forward. She gave the tiniest of squeaks as the first of her bones began to pop from their joints. Hands going out, the girl caught herself from tumbling to the ground on hands that seemed to shift beneath skin.

Gasping as her shoulders hunched over, Tak opened her mouth to cry out, but no sound came out; instead, her entire head slowly started to become narrower. Teeth grew long, ears flattened against the side of her head as a wild mane of silvery grey began to sprout out - starting first at what were now paws, and steadily spreading up her arms.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Adrenaline pumping, Arya barely felt it as she crashed into the side of the dumpster, legs tangled with her pursuer's. She thumped her fist hard into his flesh as she scrambled up, hoping to contact with his gut, or, from the squish of it, his manhood.

"I just want to talk to her!" she shouted, scrabbling for freedom as he grappled with her, insanely strong despite what should have been a debilitating punch.

[Morgan Evanar]

Initially, his eyes crossed. Even through adrenaline Morgan felt that. He knew it would hurt later, but a second after impact, he couldn't feel anything, anywhere. His entire body had gone numb to pain. They pulled and tumbled for a moment longer, but Morgan's size and surprisingly large mass advantage came to the fore, and managed to force her left arm into a hammerlock. With one hand on her shoulder, and the other pinning her arm against her back, Morgan lifted her up and planted her against the alley wall, probably a little harder than he meant to.

"Well maybe" he growled, "you should have said that in the first place." He took a deep breath.

"For the next five minutes my pain receptors won't work at all, so start talking."

[Arya Ravenwing]

"The... drawing..." she spat into the faux stone that faced the wall he'd smashed her face into. "Pocket. Jacket."

He kept her pinned into the wall as he located the napkin the little blonde girl had been drawing on. Arya wriggled a little in his grasp and gasped when he pulled her caught wrist even tighter, her shoulder creaking a little. "Its... its my... its mine... Need to know... where she saw... it!"

[Wyl Staedtler]

Oh. Oh. Oh.

Wyl was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating. It felt that way - like he'd maybe died and all the blood in his veins was freezing up. Only the fact that his breath was currently tumbling out of his chest at lightspeed convinced him he was still in the land of the living.

He'd seen plenty of things growing up on Coruscant and attending public school. Lots of bizarre, gross, probably-inappropriate things. Nothing could have prepared him for... well, whatever was happening to Tak. This change.

Wyl backed away on his knees, clapping a hand over his mouth. He jerked instinctively as Tak's skeleton buckled and shifted. Even without his promise, Wyl didn't think he'd have been able to move, not with this happening in front of him.

"T-Tak!?" The query was muffled by his palm and followed by a startled yelp when a particularly loud crunch sounded from the... girl? Wyl gulped, and pressed himself against the dumpster.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Her clothes were too big now, and didn't fit right. With a shimmy, the little silver vornskr pup wiggled free. The pain was mostly gone now, only some sore joints and stuff.

Standing on all fours, the pup breathed in and out rapidly as she tested the air around her... it smelled so much stronger now than it had before. She could smell every thing in the dumpster they still hid behind, even the lady that had been chasing them. And Wyl; his scent was so strong!

With a full body shake, the little vornskr tried to settle the butterflies in her stomach before letting out a tiny sneeze.

She turned to look at Wyl then, lips curling back over sharp teeth in a funny looking smile. All of the pain was gone now, and she felt great!

This was fun!

[Morgan Evanar]

It was one of the most far-fetched loads of dren he'd ever heard. And one of the most sincere. Morgan considered the drawing and eased her feet onto the ground.

"Fine. You try anything and I'll hit you so hard you won't wake up for a week." Morgan was confident of that. He was so wired on whatever his body dumped into his bloodstream that reality had taken a different tinge. He let Arya turn around. Morgan wasn't far from two meters tall. His long, lean body was wiry, and had patches of blood dried through the ripped gray shirt. Parts of his face were scraped and bruised. A ring of intense primary-color green rimmed his dilated pupils.

"Here." He held out the napkin.

[Wyl Staedtler]

She was... a puppy.

The horror on Wyl's face trickled away, replaced by wonderment. He leaned forward on his knees, bending down so he was almost nose-to-nose with the fuzzy little creature. For a moment he was worried that maybe the pup would bite him - this was a pretty big change, after all! - but he was too entranced by the vornskr to stop. It was so cute!

"Tak?" Wyl whispered. "Is that really you?"

He held out his fingers, wriggling them a bit, so she could sniff them.