Private Blood Ties

[Nyla Tacari]

Another day, another cred. A good, honest cred. As clean as a cred could be, in the bowels of Denon. Pocketing her chip at the end of a long shift, a young woman traipsed through the downpour, leaving the row of repair garages behind, bathed in city light, to fade into the evening smog.

Few souls stirred about on her select route home through the back alleys of Misery-Upon-Dream. None that she planned on running into. Brisk yet sure steps faltered at an intersection, eyeing a cluster of cackling silhouettes against the glow of a firepit ahead.

Nevermind. A short detour then.

She turned heel into an adjacent alleyway. Hands stuffed inside her pockets, shoulders stiff against the midnight chill. Acid puddles rippled softly underfoot, years of muscle memory having lured the lone woman into a false sense of security, as she braved the vacant darkness.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon back alleys
Tag | Nyla Tacari

Denon was like a new experience to Jackal, well new in a way. Like a brand new playpen of crime she could sink her fangs into, recalling back to a few days ago where she helped a Jawa steal a whole Ion engine... Because why not!

The deal might not have been fully in her favor, but she did get to have a little shootout and learn a new tongue.

Though speaking of sinking in fangs and such, her nostrils caught onto a whole new type of scent. And considering she had just gotten to the point where it was feeding time again.. Why not track down the smell?

Finding herself stalking on the rooftops, it didn't take long for her to find the interesting target. Did this person really just always walk in these dark alleys? Reminded her of when Aerith had done the same thing back on Nal Hutta... Oh well, easier pickings for Jackal.

She uses her goggles to get a scan of the area, seeing a spot ahead of the target that was lifeless and perfect for an ambush.

Right as Nyla Tacari had gotten far enough away from any eyes and or ears, she hears a cackle coming from the side entrance to a connected alley mere moments before a whipcord is locked tightly around them. They get dragged in with brutish force by Jackal, giving Nyla a quick flash of Jackal's crimson eyes and garb right before their attacker's maw latches upon their neck... Though soon they would let go, the blood tasting foul..

Jackal spits out the darkened blood on the ground before coughing, despite this she couldn't just let them go.. And so she tugs the cord, sending Nyla upon their back, a pistol being pulled quickly and a pale finger mere moments from pulling the trigger.

It was clear within their inhuman eyes that confusion had filled their mind, unsure what they had just bitten into.

​

 

[Nyla Tacari]

An eerie cackle halted Nyla in her tracks. Sight would not aid her, here. Nor her other senses as they scrambled to pinpoint the source in the darkness. Quietly, she withdrew a small hold-out blaster from under her coat. Wait, walk, or run. She had come too far to turn back now. Lingering seemed to be the more perilous option, allowing danger to catch up to her. Perhaps it was right behind her. Best make a run for it, and flee the trap before it sprung.

She broke into a jog, all too late to realize that her impulse had flown her straight into the spider's web. Momentum sealed the encasing of fibercord around her arms that yanked her abruptly backward. Hands flailed to steady herself, and her weapon clattered to the ground. Barely a yelp escaped her as the tendrils reeled her aside, into her captor's grasp. A flash of red eyes met her petrified violets, and it occurred to Nyla within that millisecond that she might want to start memorizing details of her attacker to recall to police, if she survived…

A rough prick against her neck sent a lightning bolt of shock through her system, the trickle of warm liquid triggering such primal instinct that flooded her with rage. "GETOFF!" She snarled, none to deter loosening the grip of her captor's maw as she wrestled ferociously against the binds, nor the hard shove that followed, smacking the back of her head against the wall. Stunned, yet standing, she propped herself upright. Glaring down the nose of the barrel pointed straight at her face, she bared her fangs at Adeline Noctua with a hiss and pulsating warning.

(( Back. Off. ))

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon back alleys
Tag | Nyla Tacari

Her crimson eyes widen before focusing on the fangs that were flashed at her... Wait a moment! Are they? Is that why they tasted like me?

Lacking any knowledge of personal space or manners, Jackal tugs on the cord to bring them closer, taking a gloved hand to pry their mouth open and inspect the fangs further.

It would be then that she heard the voice in her head, causing Jackal to jump back, actually spooked by something for once. And as her little inspection went on, the more and more it felt like a kid poking at something with a stick to see what happened.

"Did you just yell in my head?! What are you some sort of wizard? The brooding ones or the ones that snatch kids? And why do you taste funny? Your blood tastes like mine, not tasty at all! Are.. Are you like me?"

To show some form of kindness, she holsters her gun along with recalling the whipcord.

"Sooo do you eat people too?"

Jackal leans in, her curiosity going sky high by now as her inhuman eyes blinked at Nyla like a curious puppy, one that just asked yet another question.

​

 

[Nyla Tacari]

Flashing between two states of mind and body, between monster and man, was disorienting, confused by what was happening and who her attacker was. Caught unawares, thrust into fight or flight, didn't help ease the transition any more subtly, much less rationally, than if she had a moment to collect and prepare herself beforehand. Enveloped in darkness, within the gullet of a narrow alley, her nocturnal senses had yet to adjust - at least, consciously - rendered blind by feral instinct.

A jerk forward on her leash, and the stench of blood - her blood - hit her nostrils, hanging over the warm breath of her captor. She would've snapped their fingers off, if not for the raw curiosity she sensed in the way they probed at her mouth. Instead, instinct compelled her to reach out, projecting a warning that only those of her kind would be able to hear.

"Did you just yell in my head?! What are you some sort of wizard? The brooding ones or the ones that snatch kids? And why do you taste funny? Your blood tastes like mine, not tasty at all! Are.. Are you like me?"

A barrage of questions fell on deaf ears as she retracted her fangs, though the response was welcome relief, a bit startlingly to her conscious. "Arms first," Nyla growled, bunching her fists together. A tight-lipped glare affirmed that she wasn't going to talk, otherwise.

The coil retracted, her wish granted, restoring circulation to her arms. She took a sideways step, tempted to run, before her feet planted to the ground, instinct binding her to stay. One hand massaged the other wrist while she cast a sulking glance at the stranger, detecting no further hostility from them.

"Sooo do you eat people too?"

She huffed, tugging a small smirk of amusement. Her night vision cleared, illuminating shapes and monotone hues, analyzing the figure in front her. "Hmph. Should'a known," she muttered. White hair, pale skin, and the sharp gleam of crimson eyes registered to her as familiar. "Jackal, right?" She straightened up, surer and more confident of the claim as she slowly approached Adeline Noctua . "Hellion? Hex?" She prodded the other's memory with a refresher. Tautly, she extended the introduction. "Nyla. AgriCorp. We're co-workers."

She reached a hand to the wound on her neck, and withdrew it, massaging the coagulated blood between her fingertips. If not impressed by Jackal's prowess, than by her own stupidity for allowing herself to be snatched in the first place. "How long've you been turned, kid?" No longer fearful or timid, her mood had become icily calm, pacing the interview at her own accord.

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon back alleys
Tag | Nyla Tacari

To her surprise, they seemed to already know Jackal... Thinking on it, hadn't she seen this woman before? Huh.. Funny how that all works out, this was also the first time she ever met any of her kind.

"Mhmm mhmmmm, though I am not Hellion or Hex. I am a freelancer, I just happened to be hired to help."

Then came a really tough question.. When was she changed? Had it been years? Months? She had been so absorbed by her hunts and new self that it never once came to thought, so she opens her datapad... Spending a while scrolling through various things, being sure that no eyes were peeping at what one could assume was a journal of sorts. A red gloved hand scratches at her chin as a thumb keeps scrolling by various text and images, only stopping once she found whatever it was she was after.

"It was four years ago, I was just a scrapper on Nal Hutta long ago...Then something ambushed me, I don't recall a face or voice. But now that I have turned someone myself, I know that ended up injecting me with whatever fluid gives me my strength. It must have been an accident though since I was almost killed before I passed out in the swamp.

Just by the change in tone alone, it was clear that Jackal hated talking about her past.

"It doesn't matter anyway, I am Jackal, whoever it was that day in the swamps.. She died, and I came run the alleys red."

By now, Jackal had her own questions.

"What are we? Do we have a name? A history?"

Despite the handful of years, it was clear that the red-hooded woman was in the dark.

​

 

[Nyla Tacari]

Adeline Noctua 's disgruntled look had not escaped her notice. Nyla smiled softly, a smug gleam in her eyes.

"Let's get you a bite, first."

The smelly, stuffy back alley was getting to her nose anyway. She would rather walk and talk. With a small shrug and head jerk in the direction she came from, Nyla teased, "You're not you when you're hungry."

Deflecting Jackal's questions once more, Nyla, quite frankly, didn't know where to begin. Pity had sunk root for the poor Sangnir who had been abandoned with no clue of what she really was. A lost, feral, ignorant child, in the eyes of those enlightened. Nyla would not slip personal information so soon to any stranger, let alone one that tried to make a meal out of her. How to break the truth, and determine one worthy to receive such, was a paramount moment she had yet to narrow the best approach for.

As they say, Want to get to know someone? Take them to dinner.

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon back alleys
Tag | Nyla Tacari

The smug gleam did little to ease Jackal, her age old dominant personality already wanting to just punch the other Sangir in the face to show them who was boss... But that might not lead to the answers she was seeking, and at least they offered to help get a meal. So with a dissatisfied huff, Jackal crosses her arms and waits for the woman to stand.

"Well, luckily for me this place is an ultra chit hole. Give me around ten minutes and I can find food, plenty of people that won't be missed at all... But, what do you have in mind?"

This would like Nyla know that Jackal was a much more primal hunter, more than likely eating the target whole rather than only getting the sip she needed.

"For sure won't make the mistake of chomping into you again... That taste was just awful, and normally my palette isn't very discriminatory. Mm.... I do suppose I should say sorry for that, at least it will heal right?"

Not seeing much else of a choice, Jackal follows behind Nyla, settling for the whole walk and talk.

​

 

[Nyla Tacari]

"Well, luckily for me this place is an ultra chit hole. Give me around ten minutes and I can find food, plenty of people that won't be missed at all... But, what do you have in mind?"

"Something more civilized. Quick. And tastier." She hinted with a thumb-stroke, wiping the last crust of dried blood from her neck. The pad of her thumb drew in her focus, directing the flow of Anima in her veins to the tender puncture wounds beneath, as she turned to leave the back alley.

"For sure won't make the mistake of chomping into you again... That taste was just awful, and normally my palette isn't very discriminatory. Mm.... I do suppose I should say sorry for that, at least it will heal right?"

"You tell me." With a finger, Nyla pulled down the collar of her raincoat, revealing the assaulted area. Clean, pale skin intact. Not a leak of blood to be smelled.

"See this…" She gestured to her neck. "And that voice, from me, in your head…" Her penetrative gaze tugged again at Jackal's mind, projecting the memory of their earlier confrontation. "Is what you're capable of." Releasing her collar, she allowed the words to seep forth. Her eyes searched Jackal's intently as she whispered, pausing to ensure each revelation sank in and was understood, before continuing. "That voice…can only be felt by others of our kind. Sangnir, is what we are. We have a telepathic link of sorts, as a species. It's how we know, you're one of us." She gave a comforting smile.

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon back alleys
Tag | Nyla Tacari

Jackal squints, inspecting the area which she had previously torn right open.. Seeing that it was healed, she gives Nyla a slight nod.

"Quick? Well you have my attention already then if this is quicker than me just finding a new target, but as for it being civilized... What does that even mean? Slavery is brutal, but it is part of the civilized world is it not?"

Her views might have been... A little interesting, but one couldn't deny the point that was made. Even in "civilized" places you could find brutality, just takes but a moment to squint and look at it in some cases. Other cases where it is just evident is right here on Denon all of places, brutal practices were commonplace.

"Sangir.. I see. I did already know about our healing actually, my work with machines has lost me a finger or two. It amazed me when it just grew back within a week, what wasn't fun though was learning what new hunger I could feel... Actually no it was pretty fun once I figured it out."

Jackal snickers, still rather proud of making those alleys run red, they all deserved it didn't they?

"So you can hear this thought? Is it a thought? It feels like one, yet also feels like a whisper without moving my lips."

It took effort, and even then it was but a faint whisper on the wind... Just loud enough for it to take residence in Nyla's mind, Jackal of course had no experience speaking like this.. So it sounded scratchy in a way.

​

 

[Nyla Tacari]

"Quick? Well you have my attention already then if this is quicker than me just finding a new target, but as for it being civilized... What does that even mean? Slavery is brutal, but it is part of the civilized world is it not?"

Nyla simply gave a curt sigh in reply as she walked on, not inclined to waste her breath over a trivial philosophical debate. Adeline Noctua would find out soon enough what she meant. There were more important things to discuss, at the moment.

"Sangir.. I see. I did already know about our healing actually, my work with machines has lost me a finger or two. It amazed me when it just grew back within a week, what wasn't fun though was learning what new hunger I could feel... Actually no it was pretty fun once I figured it out."

"Oh, you wouldn't know fun till you've run with a whole Sangnir pack," she teased, a wicked gleam in her eyes proclaiming that she was no saint either. "But…" She regained her mentor's composure. "Before one can hunt, they must learn to talk. Eyes are the window to the soul." She leaned forward, gazing into Jackal's eyes to help crack open that door just a bit, for her first time.

"So you can hear this thought? Is it a thought? It feels like one, yet also feels like a whisper without moving my lips."

(( Good. )) A wave of approval lapped gently, toward Jackal. (( It will grow stronger with time. And practice. ))

"We call it the Gaze. I'm sure you've noticed." She needn't explain that, just like with Sangnir healing, power of the eyes was an innate tool that Jackal couldn't have gone unaware of. How others were attracted to her, enchanted by a single glance. "Once you master it, you can have anyone you want." It was becoming clearer as to what 'civilized' method Nyla meant, though perhaps not as 'fun' as Jackal was used to giving in to. Restraint wasn't so much about saving the lives of victims than it was to save Sangnir from themselves.

"Temperance, control, is crucial for survival," she warned sternly. "Go too far - 'run red' too many times, too long - and you'll stay that way forever: Turn into a Feral, a mindless monster. Danger to us all." A distant look of sorrow and anger filled her eyes, hardening onto Jackal's face.

"You need help." Her tone softened. "Knowledge and control. There's a coven of us in the Slums, that can teach you more." Casually, she breezed over the offer, waiting to see some initiative from Jackal. "If you want."

If intervention was too late, then death would be the only merciful option, rather than let another Feral emerge on the streets.

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio
Location | Denon
Tag | Nyla Tacari

Jackal tilts her head to the side, the thought of a whole "pack" of her kind was rather interesting for sure, yet it also clicked an instant primal response of "Then who is the leader?"

"Not to be a stick in the mud, but at least for now I think my kind of fun might be a bit different compared to what you do... Though the thought of meeting more of my kind sounds nice."

She hears Nyla speak in her mind, getting more used to this by now.

"I have used my stare to calm targets before, and I do know what you mean by control. I may eat people whole, but I do make sure to not overindulge."

Jackal speaks to Nyla using her mind once again, this process started to become easier, such was evident due to Jackal's voice being much more clear.

"Well I have been surviving with this newfound ability for five years now, not fully a lost puppy."

They speak normally to Nyla now, giggling a little bit before pulling some gum out of a pocket.

"Though I have learned some nice things, I am more than willing to learn more.. Want some gum, it's mint."