Private Get Out of My Face

[Varys Amun]

Everything was terrible. Varys didn't know why she even bothered trying to visit. She wasn't a Kryze, not really. She had Amun blood running through her veins through and through. She could never maintain the self-righteous I'm-so-much-better-than-you attitude her adoptive mother had. No, she was fiery, emotional, irrational, and now she was storming out without even going back to smooth things over.

One part of Varys told herself she needed to relax and stay a few more hours to sort things out at home. But her pride was wounded. She was angry and resentful, annoyed at the Jetii for intruding and hurt by being hung out to dry by Jenn Kryze . Moreover, it had unearthed the insecurity that always itched beneath Varys' surface: that she didn't really belong at the Clangrounds.

So there she stood, the clangrounds' outer wooden partition behind her. The sun had just set, and the jungle air was warm and damp. It was the end of the wet season, so rubber mats had been placed on the ground outside the entrance to walk on. Beneath them, the clay soil had turned to slick mud. It made Varys wonder why they had chosen to live here. It made the bare plains of Dantooine look like a holiday destination. Even the frozen wastes of Kestri were more welcoming than this.

Varys' dark mood was not helped by the fact there was only a single transport out of the highlands, to the spaceport that would take her away from Onderon. Usually, she would make Karrys fly her out, but Varys knew she wouldn't be able to look the pilot in the eye. Instead, she stood in line, trying not to pull her hair out in frustration.

Worse, a couple of the Mando'ade waiting wouldn't stop staring at her. Usually she was used to that, but something about it was especially off-putting today. Seemingly, word of her argument with Jenn had spread fast. After an eternity, the large rear doors of the aged shuttle opened with a groan, and Varys sighed with relief. She couldn't wait to get the first flight away, and fall asleep under one of those thin, complimentary blankets.

"Ah. Chit." Varys breathed.

It was only once she had taken her place at the edge of the crowded bench seat that Varys realised her mistake. Varys was not the only visitor desperate to get away from the ceremony. The transport would not only be half-strangers and distant kin, Rayia Si was walking up the gangway. Immediately, Varys lowered her head, unsure if the young Jedi had seen her. It didn't matter though, because there was only a single vacant seat. Right next to Varys.

It was going to be a very long flight.

Rayia Si ​

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun

---

For her part, Rayia had left the celebrations on Onderon with a similarly bad taste in her mouth and consolatory scraps of meat to grumpily chew on. When Jonyna had first mentioned meeting Jenn and her family to her, Rayia had been skeptical. Not because of any prior knowledge or any negative preconceptions, but because family had hurt her once before. And so it seemed, it would again.

Rayia hadn’t exactly relished the events that had transpired. She hadn’t intended to throw herself in front of Varys’ javelin on purpose. But she had fought for Onderon and been rewarded with vitriol and hostility. ‘The worst part is, I still don’t know why. At least on Weik, I knew the reason…,’ Rayia thought to herself, trailing off as she stalked through the crowd of people mingling about the city streets.

Rayia hadn’t expected anything different from so isolated a location, but being able to sense the vibrations of motion, scent, and sounds from each individual in her periphery made for a lot of noise. Her tail was practically alive with how it bristled with each tremor. Worse still, all those bodies crammed in one space made for a lot of heat and humidity. The Felacatians of Weik were made for an arid heat. ‘I can practically feel my fur frizzing. It’s going to take me hours to comb it out,’ Rayia despaired mentally. Little did she know, that was about to be the least of her discomforts on this flight.

Rayia nearly choked as she walked up the gangplank and saw that the only seat was next to Varys. ‘Hello irony, my name is Rayia…’

“We are taking off. Please find your seats,” announced a speaker near Rayia’s left ear with a crackle of static. With limbs like lead, Rayia staggered forwards and took the available seat. She shirked away from Varys, drawing her bloodied cloak around herself. Maybe they could spend the trip in an excruciatingly stretched silence like the one now?

No. No. As the seconds ticked by, Rayia couldn't bear it any longer. “So… Where are you going now?” Rayia asked. She was surprised that Varys was leaving so soon. She would have expected her to remain with the rest of her tribe, so to speak.

 

[Varys Amun]

“So… Where are you going now?”

Rayia's voice was barely audible above the whine of the engines coming to life. Varys stared straight ahead for a moment, unsure of what to say or do. Normally, in situations like these, she would just snap or cuss, do her best to scare off the person who was throwing her off balance, or run away herself, like she had done from the ceremony at the Clangrounds. But there was no running away here, and Varys knew reacting with her usual unpleasant attitude would make the flight unbearable for the both of them.

The ship rose into the air, she gripped the underside of her seat, bracing against the sudden lurch of its acceleration, climbing into Onderon's upper atmosphere.

"Alakatha." Varys said eventually, turning her helmeted head slightly to look at Rayia. "I have to meet... Someone, in Sith space, but you can't cross the border from the Alliance side, so, I will go around."

Varys was not looking forward to the journey, but the various hops from system to system, stretching her limited credits as far as they would go would at least be a welcome distraction from the disaster that had been her visit to Onderon. Varys was beginning to think that the wandering she was doing under the Pillar of Sacrifice was affecting her. She was tired and irritable all the time. Days spent without uttering a single word had made her awkward and tight-lipped around strangers, not to mention the near-misses she had already had with ugly characters and criminals. Varys was an adult by every measure that mattered to the Mandoa'ade, but even she could recognise her youth and inexperience was getting her into trouble.

Still, Varys had a path to walk, and she would not stray from it out of fear.

"What about you?" Varys asked, leaning her head back against the headrest. "The Coruscant Temple or something?" She snorted derisively, then immediately felt a pang of shame. Why was she like this?

Across from her, a Mandalorian Varys had never seen before with a striking spiked helm stood up suddenly. There wasn't much room to move around on the cramped shuttle, so every head turned to look at the one who stood. But the figure ignored them. Whoever they were, their attention was on Varys and the young Jedi sitting next to her.

"Aru'e. Ori chaaj'yc gar trattok'or."

Varys blinked, looking over at Rayia to see if she understood the threatening words. The voice was modulated and feminine, familiar to Varys despite the distortion, though she couldn't place it. Varys unclipped her harness and moved to stand from her seat, but the Mandalorian woman pushed Varys backward with a firm hand. The other passengers didn't move.

"Ni gotal'ur bic staabi."

Varys growled and shoved the woman backward, but all the did was laugh. She felt the shuttle shudder and slow. Gruff, jeering laughter filled the cabin, and the other passengers, the Mandalorians who had looked at Varys so strangely outside the Clangrounds, one by one they stood, drawing blasters and blades.

"Rayia." Varys hissed. "This is not Clan Kryze. Get ready to defend yourself."

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun

---

Rayia’s claws found the faux-leather of the transport’s seats as she stewed in the uncomfortable silence that followed. Privately, she wondered what she had been thinking when she had asked. Varys had clearly shown that she wasn’t thrilled about the new members of her family at first impression. Not that Rayia understood her own eagerness to smooth over what had, by all approximations, turned into a fiasco of a first family gathering.

A pealing squeak of claws slicing leather echoed through the cabin as Varys responded. Unexpected in and of itself, Rayia’s golden, slitted eyes grew only wider at the response that came. “Sith space?! Are you-“ Rayia exclaimed softly, managing to quash the unbidden questions “Are you crazy” and “Did you hit your head on the door lift“ just in time. A good thing too, since it seemed that Varys had decided to talk to her. Even if it was ridden with scorn.

“No. I’ll go back to the Reaper… to Cathar with Jonyna,” Rayia answered with a perk of her brow. It wasn’t the first time she had encountered the idea that Jedi were all sequestered away inside Coruscant Temple and its fancy, if dead, world.

Suddenly, Rayia’s tail bristled as the vibrations of motion of several mandalorian individuals intensified into hostility. Rayia did not need to understand them in order to pick up on this fact. In fact, her only response to the spoken words was a slight perk of one ear and a slight reach towards one of the handhold bars near her and Varys’ seat. Their swaggering aggression wafted off them in the movements they made, their scent, and even their body’s rigidity.

When Rayia saw Varys pushed back into her seat, she snapped like a blur. Not even waiting for them to finish speaking, Rayia pounced. Using her Felacatian strength, she wrenched the bar from the wall and swung it towards any opponent’s hands in reach drawing a weapon.

Was she likely to actually break the beskar? No. But the impact could shatter bone if absorbed. More importantly, it created space enough for her to twist towards Varys and batter the blasters and blades drawn on her to one side.

 

[Varys Amun]

For her part, Rayia scarcely waited for the words to leave Varys’ lips before she had leaped from her seat. In a blink, the girl was up, tearing a handle from the interior wall with a strength that astounded Varys. She blinked in amazement, and stood hurriedly. Rayia had made a bit of space for them with the wide swings of her improvised weapon, and she saw one of their attackers cradling what must have been a broken wrist, slinking to the back of the ship.

The other assailants pressed forward. The space was far too narrow for Varys to draw her spear, so while Rayia was able to keep some of the Mandalorians at a distance, Varys found herself overwhelmed. An armoured hand grabbed at her shoulder, but a slice from her knuckle vibroblade freed her. She swiped at the closest figure, but this time her blade met only empty air. An instant later, Varys felt a pair of muscled arms wrap around her waist. It was the silver Mandalorian with the spiked helm.

Varys stumbled and fell to the ground with her, rolling around in the aisle a step or two behind Rayia. She felt something sharp pierce her side, she wriggled and kicked, managing to shove the larger Mandalorian woman off her her as she scrabbled backward. The woman stood up.

“Pitiful Var'ika.” she goaded in Mando'a. “You are no heir, not to any clan.”

Varys bared her teeth in anger. In a blink she was on her feet and swinging a wild punch at the woman. No sooner had she than her arm was batted away and pinned. Varys tried to block the return punch with her other hand as the woman's armoured fingers closed around Varys’ wrist, apparently without realising she had compressed the mechanism of Varys’ whistling birds.

There was a click, a moment of stillness, and then a half dozen of the micro-explosives rocketed out from their housing, impacting the fuselage on the opposite side of the cabin.

"Rayia!" Varys called out, her voice all but lost above the roar. "Look out!"

There was a flash of orange. Daylight poured in through a gaping, smoking hole. Then, the world began to spin.

Rayia Si

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun

---

Varys hadn’t answered her question. And while Rayia would normally say that thinking of things outside of the immediate battle was detrimental to your health, she couldn’t help the cold pit of dread that settled into her stomach. Something told her she wouldn’t like the answer, even if Varys had responded.

WHO would go into Sith space? Who would go into enemy occupied territory during a two front war? Scouts, or spies, the insane, or the desperate come to mind. Rayia couldn’t help thinking. She doubted someone like Varys would stoop to being a spy. And while the jury was out on the second, the third option seemed far more likely. The question is, why? Damn it all. Not for the first time Rayia wished she had a better understanding of Mandalorian culture.

Rayia’s mind snapped back to the fight at hand as she felt the shock of resistance shudder down the metal bar she was using as an improvised weapon. Her keen awareness latched onto the individual slinking towards the back of the pack, clearly cradling a broken wrist. For the briefest of moments, she felt the beast within rattle at its chains and fought to surpress the animal instinct of satisfaction at wounded prey.

‘That isn’t the priority now,’ Rayia thought as she could see that the space, or lack thereof, was hampering both her own and Varys’ efforts. While Varys wrestled with the spiked helmed Mandalorian, Rayia was intercepted by the others. With this many bodies hemmed in close inside the transport’s cabin, Rayia couldn’t push through the throng towards her new sister.

Rayia danced between blows, utilizing her Felacatian gift of being able to sense motion through her tail. But the sheer number prevented her from advancing. If she tried it, the numbers were on their side. Some of them were bound to sneak in some lucky hits. But it had to be done. Her nose couldn’t fail to miss the acrid scent of blood coming from Varys’ direction. Rayia only hoped she could manage to walk the already fraying line of controlling the beast.

Pushing forwards, she deflected the strike of one opponent’s vibroaxe into the transport’s pleated seats utilizing the metal pole she had wrenched from the wall. The seat exploded with a shower of stuffing, causing Rayia’s heart to beat just a bit faster. Thump. She released the pole and stepped into her opponent’s reach, simultaneously elbowing them in one of the flexible pieces of their armor. A gap intended to allow them to move. Even still, the disciplined warrior hung on, slugging Rayia across the cheek with beskar reinforced knuckles. A thin red line on her cheek bled as her skin burst from the scrape. Rayia only smiled, with a mouth suddenly filled with fangs. Far too many for it to hold.

It bowled them over, and Rayia shoved them into the aisle away from them. But another mandalorian in deep sea purples and greys stepped forwards even as she threw their buddy into a seat. Rayia twisted away from the thrust she could feel coming, but was caught off guard when a speaker on the man’s armored gauntlet blared. Thump. Thump.

Rayia cringed away from the noise, ears laying back protectively. The small, fixed vibroblade on the man’s guantlet lanced into her shoulder and provoked an inhuman snarl. She could feel the beast seeping into her; her skin itching as a line of hot, wet crimson began to slowly trail down her arm. Thump. Thump. Thump. Muscles moved beneath her skin, tearing and reforming, as the strength of the beast infused her. Rayia grabbed for her opponent as he started to withdraw his blade. Her hand wrapped around his wrist with a crack as she jabbed her other clawed fingers forwards to piece his side underneath the armor plate. The man sputtered, staining Rayia’s cheek with flecks of blood.

Locked as she was, Rayia reacted a little late to Varys’ warning. She could feel the Whistling birds move through the air, heading towards the fuselage on her side of the cabin. Using her grip on the man’s rib, Rayia threw herself backwards and him forwards. The result was that he took the brunt of the explosion, even as it shoved Rayia back against the lip of an aisle. Air streamed from the hole, pulling at Rayia and the other mandalorians.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Rayia shut her eyes as the dizzying motion threatened to overwhelm her and buried her claws deep into the durasteel frame of the transport’s seats. There was a reason her people remained so isolated and disliked space travel. Being able to sense every motion in your vicinity isn’t great when your entire world is spinning, or falling, as the case may be. Cracking her eyes just a tad, Rayia fixed Varys with a wild, amber eyed stare. Letting go with one hand, she mimed the motion of a very simple question: “Jump?”

 

[Varys Amun]

“Jump?”

"Jump!" Varys echoed, holding out her hand for the Cathar to grab. She felt the clawed fingers grip her tightly, forceful even though her armour padding. Varys tugged at Rayia, pulling her through the smoke-filled cabin until they both stood before the hole. A single Mandalorian had made it there first, and raised a blaster to fire. Varys, however, was faster, and kicked the warrior square in the chest. His foot slipped, and without a sound he disappeared, leaving only the rapidly spinning emptiness behind him.

Varys clenched her teeth. The shuttle was in a flat spin and picking up speed rapidly. The rest of their assailants seemed to be pinned to the far wall by the force of the rotation. Hopefully, they would be unable to clamber to the exit before the shuttle crashed.

No luck. No sooner had the though crossed her mind then she spotted a widening crack of light at the back of the ship, their Mandalorian attackers lowering the boarding ramp for their own hurried exit. They too would be making it off. Shame.

"Time to go!" Varys shouted above the wind. She pulled from her pouch a short metal stick which she extended with a click, and a bundle of crimson cloth. "Arms around my waist." she instructed. "Bend you knees." Varys waited until Rayia complied, and the moment she was holding tight, pitched forward, tipping the both of them into the empty air.

They were lower to the ground than Varys thought, and though she deployed the kite in a quick and practiced movement, the billowing fabric only caught the the air with enough time to slow their descent, not arrest it. They crashed into a treetop, branches snapping and tearing at exposed skin, then broke through, and both of them smacked into the muddy ground with force, Varys face-first, digging into the ground and rolling, and Rayia still on top of her, bouncing off Varys into the brush. Varys felt the wind get knocked out of her and she rolled onto her back, gasping and retching. An instant later, she heard and felt the shuttle impact the ground not far away. After that, the unmistakable whoosh of jetpacks firing.

Having crawled onto her hands and knees, Varys pointed at the treeline, where the jungle swallowed almost all light. Hopefully, Rayia would understand she wanted the young Jedi to hide and wait for the enemy, for she too winded to explain herself. The visor of her helmet was cracked badly enough she couldn't see out of it. She tugged at the seals and threw it to the ground roughly, dark curls springing out wildly. Varys grabbed Rayia's shoulders roughly. Blood dribbled down her face where the glass shards had embedded in her skin.

"You're... Holding back." Varys hissed between laboured breaths. "Rayia. Kill. Them. All."

Sure enough, the rest of the Mandalorians arrived a moment later, the spike-helmed warrior at their head. They stalked towards Varys, who was apparently alone, and still struggling to her feet. Varys readied her Javelin, pointing her tip at their leader, talking loudly in Basic for Rayia's benefit.

"Who are you, vod, that you would attack Mando'ade?"

Rayia Si ​

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun

---

Rayia squeezed her eyes shut against the billowing smoke filling the interior of the cabin. Already, she could feel her eyes brimming with tears. They stung as Rayia followed Varys towards the brief snapshot of blue sky that the pair could glimpse from the gaping hole. The Felacatian said nothing as Varys kicked the lone opponent standing between them and their exit out that very same hole. Instead, she buried her face into Varys’ neck, drew her sensory tail into its sheath at the base of her spine, clung tight, and tried not to lose her lunch.

Rayia was preparing herself for the transition from the rapidly spiraling craft to the glide of the kite that Varys was deploying. Only that smooth glide never came. Instead, Rayia found herself hurtling into a treetop as the pair exited at a dangerously low altitude. Branches slashed across Rayia’s face, legs, and arms, where her armor and cloak failed to cover her, leaving jagged splinters in their wake. Metal bloomed in Rayia’s mouth as a warm, crimson wetness seeped into its corners from a slash across the nose. A creaking would sound from the beskar armor where Rayia held on, unconsciously clamping down against the pain.

The fire in Rayia’s veins grew even hotter as deep within, her beast stirred. A growl, pitched high with notes of pain, erupted from Rayia’s hoarse throat. It soon cut off, breathless, as Rayia slammed into the ground atop Varys and was subsequently flipped onto her back in the brush. Fern like stalks snapped beneath her weight, even as the cushy moss sheltered near the mud’s edge softened the impact. A chain within snapped.

Rayia’s vision swam in and out of focus. She could see Varys pointing towards the tree line before ripping off her helmet and crawling towards her. But the light seemed brighter than it should be. More acute as it pierced the dark shadows of the trees. As Varys approached on hands and knees, Rayia stared up at her. Droplets of blood dripping from Varys’ cheek scattered across Rayia’s own. Feline pupils tightened into splinters at the sensation, darting towards the blood and then back towards Varys’ face. Though there was something else in those golden, feline eyes now too. A sensation that something feral was watching Varys as if peering through a viewport.

Muscle, bone, and skin moved beneath Varys’ fingers as she grabbed hold of Rayia’s shoulders. It unwound and rewound, snapped and stitched itself together as if pouring in to Rayia’s frame. Varys shaking her seemed to have the desired effect, as Rayia’s attention snapped to her. Cautiously, Rayia’s tail emerged from its sheath and bristled almost immediately. Even shaking off the still lingering disorientation, Rayia couldn’t possibly miss the movement coming towards them. Nor the shrill swooshing of jet packs that caused her ears to flatten.

Flipping herself over and rising slowly to one knee, Rayia contemplated Varys’ words. Had she been holding herself back? Absolutely. Shifting around Varys would make Rayia as much a danger to her sister as the Mandalorians. Maybe even more so. She hadn't trained enough to control it yet. But it was becoming more and more clear that Rayia couldn’t afford to avoid a gamble. ‘If I don’t risk a shift, we could die. Doesn’t seem like our new friends want to capture us.’

“Don’t… worry. T-they already got their warning,” Rayia muttered in response to Varys’ comment. Then, she stalked off into the trees to let Varys be the bait.

 

[Varys Amun]

Rayia Si
​

Varys saw the change in Rayia's eyes when she grabbed her, felt the rippling of her muscles beneath her fur lined skin, moving too quickly, with too much strength to feel natural. It made her shiver, as if for a moment she had caught a glimpse of something else that lurked inside the young Jedi. Seeing her like this, Varys felt a twinge of regret that she had so emphatically told Rayia to stop holding back. She glanced back at Rayia doubtfully as she retreated to the treeline. They were shaken and outnumbered. Could they really hope to survive with just the two of them?

“Don’t… worry. T-they already got their warning,”

"Do whatever you need to do." Varys murmured, turning back to the approaching Mando'ade, holding her javelin at the ready. The spike-helmed Mandalorian held out their hand and gestured, and the five remaining warriors fanned out, surrounding Varys. She had originally counted six, so Rayia must have killed one of them- the purple-armoured one- aboard the shuttle.

"I am not your vod, dar'manda. You are a traitor to the Clan, and your mother should have killed you the day you defected."

Varys reeled at the words, not just because they were spiteful and personal, but because she swore she could recognise the one speaking, but she was certain she had never seen that beskar'gam before.

"Who are you?" Varys repeated, her voice a low growl. The leader tilted their head, apparently amused.

"You don't recognise me?" Her voice was smooth and warm. Confident, with a slight threatening edge. With one hand, the leader flicked the catches of her helmet. Varys stiffened, finally recognising the woman standing before her. She was right, she hadn't seen the beskar'gam before. That was new, but the person wearing it was all too familiar.

"Sevaria." Varys said the name like a curse. "I thought you were on Jutrand."

"My studies have concluded." her half-sister said lightly. "Shall I show you what I learned there, little traitor?"

Varys scowled and lurched forward before Sevaria even moved. She ran forward, pulling back her spear and thrusting it forward with all her strength. The red light of a saber bloomed in front of her as Sevaria swatted away her strike. Varys kept pressing, jabbing at Sevaria. She got in close, way too close, and while she pressed the haft of the songsteel javelin against Sevaria's saber, the Amun warrior waved her hand, using what must have been a push with the Force to sweep Varys' leg's out from under her.

Sevaria dropped a knee onto Varys' chest, holding the saber against her throat. She could feel the humming of the plasma in her ear. The other Mandalorians crowded around her, jeering.

"You make this far too easy, Little Bird." Sevaria said derisively, she leaned in, so that her face was just a hand's breadth from Varys'. She opened her mouth to say something.

Varys' forehead jerked forward, and she heard the satisfying crunch of cartilage as her attack found its mark. Varys bucked her hips and rolled, throwing Sevaria off her.

"Rayia, now!"

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun

---

A crimson dappled trail followed Rayia as she crept into the shadow of the trees. If they had more time and Rayia was a little clearer-headed, she might have tried to obscure the trail a bit. Kick some dirt over the leaves to muss up the scent of blood. Or lay some double backs to keep them wandering in circles. ‘Something. Anything at all. Even a half-dead kit could follow this trail,’ Rayia thought as she leaned up against the bark of a tree.

The bark grated against her palm as she rested there, smearing a clawed handprint into its trunk. It was a small comfort that the wounds closed fast, muscles and flesh writhing under Rayia’s skin as they wove new flesh. But the cloying, sweet scent of her blood remained. And oh, how it sang to her. Rayia could feel the encroaching presence of their attackers drawing closer. Like an itch that wormed its way up her tail and spine, the vibrations of the mandalorians who had attacked them encircled Varys.

Rayia wondered if Varys had been right. Had she been holding back? And if so, was it because she hadn’t wanted to hurt Varys’ fellow mandalorians after having just fought with them to protect Onderon? Or, because she hadn’t wanted to lose her first real shot at calling someone sister in a long while?

Whatever the case, it seemed that there was some history between the silver helmed leader and Varys. One that Rayia wasn’t privy to, but that she found oddly familiar. Rayia’s jaw clenched as her ears strained to catch every word. ‘Is…this what it would sound like if I went home?’ Rayia could feel a snarl building in the back of her throat from deep within, but she clamped it down. It was imperative that she remain silent for their ambush to work.

But her heart was hammering within her skull. The smell of the blood was weighing down on her. She could feel the sea of amber tugging at her limbs as the beast within watched Varys’ fight. Each mark scored brought a flush of savage glee. And each time Varys faltered, a shot of thunder roared in Rayia’s veins. Every nerve in her body grew taut as Severus used the Force to topple Varys to the ground and place her sword at her neck. Rayia would not lose a sister again. The last thing Rayia remembered before the current of amber plunged her downwards was the awful sound of bone cracking muted through flesh as she fell towards the ground.

At Varys’ shout, the Mandalorians looked around warily. But nothing moved. Not a single leaf in the jungle rustled. Their momentary panic over, they turned their faces back towards Varys and began jeering again. “She’s not coming. Poor bird’s been left all alone. Your friend abandon-“

A sound cut their mocking celebration short. The crunch of bone breaking followed by the faint, whispering sound of dozens of wings. The sky was suddenly filled with birds of all shapes and sizes startled from their perches as they shot towards the sky with abandonment. A massive silhouette launched itself from the shadows of the trees, flitting to a stop as it engulfed the top of the closest man within its massive maw. It took one heartbeat. Maybe two.

It was feline, bedecked in metallic hair of tawny gold and white, with armored plates of dense bone hidden beneath its bushy fur. Saberlike fangs carved rents along the man’s beskar breastplate until they found an articulated gap at his hips. With a sound like wet fabric tearing, the man’s pelvis and legs were sent sprawling away as the beast cleaved him in two with a shake of her head. Her tail bristled and the beast jumped, weaving away from the enemy as blaster arms snapped up and fired. A lucky shot seemed to welt its fur on its right flank, sizzling against its dense plating as the beast growled at the annoying gnat. Then Rayia charged past Varys towards the looming shadows of the brush, moving insidiously quick and quiet despite her monstrous size.

 

[Varys Amun]

Rayia Si
​

Varys felt the presence of the beast before she saw it. The birds fled from their perches in a shriek. There was a great gust of wind and a growl, and then finally, the dark shape, the spray of blood from the Mandalorian warrior farthest from Varys. The creature bore only a passing resemblance to the Rayia with whom Varys was familiar. She was almost unable to wrench her eyes from it as it circled around for another charge, but she forced herself to look away and rolled to the side, scrabbling awkwardly onto her feet. Varys held out a hand and the familiar weight of her javelin found its way into her grip again. Her eyes flitted across the battlefield, taking stock of her opponents in an instant.

Sevaria was closest to Varys, clutching her nose, which Varys was pleased to note was streaming with blood. She resisted the urge to try and attack her again. She was not the most immediate threat. That was the Mando'ad off her right shoulder, raising his arm, wrist up, either to launch a volley of whistling birds or bathe Varys in flames. Instantly, Varys' many hours of drills kicked in. She stepped forward one, two paces, pulling back her arm, then throwing all her weigh forward as she followed through and released her javelin. It sailed through the air in a blink. Her aim was true, and it buried itself in the Mandalorian warrior's neck.

Varys didn't stop. She ran forward and retrieved her Javelin, which slid out of the Mandalorian's neck with a wet and unpleasant sound. The remaining attackers were reacting now. They grouped up in a huddle around Sevaria, who seemed to have realised her broken nose would have to waste, as she now held her saber at the ready, despite the steady crimson stream running down her cruel face. Varys spared them one last glance, before she turned and sprinted into the brush, following Rayia's retreating form.

After only a few moments, Varys lost sight of the Rayia-beast. But, she continued forward, crashing through the undergrowth, lungs and muscles burning, until she finally had to stop, doubled over, leaning on her knees. The coursing energy in her veins began to ease, and Varys could hear the sound of the remaining Amun party cautiously fanning out to search for them, calling out to each other in Mando'a.

"Rayia." Varys hissed, as loud as she could dare. "Rayia, come out."

Her skin prickled with a strange fear. And she wondered how much control Rayia had over this part of herself. Varys had no other choice, though. Rayia was her only real hope of evading the Mandalorian hunters and getting home. Varys had already put her trust in Rayia to save her, and she had. She just had to keep trusting her. Finally, her eyes picked up the pattern of Rayia's fur not far away, and the bestial glint of her eyes in the soft light. Varys approached slowly, a hand held in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak some soothing words. Varys had successfully riled Rayia up enough to let this out. Now she had to calm her down.

"It's okay Rayia." Varys cooed, trying to ease the usual harshness of her accent. "You have fought well." Varys kept going. She felt like she had to keep talking, keep soothing. For now, the jungle was quiet. They might not get another chance to get out of there before the other Mandalorians caught up to them. Varys approached Rayia, kneeling beside her hulking form. The realisation that the Jedi girl had saved her again was not lost on her. She had always known she'd have died in the Palace battle without Rayia's help. She'd have died today without her too, bled out alone in this sea of green, never to be found.

Varys continued, the words surprising even her.

"Ni Ceta. I... Am sorry."

"I've been cruel to you, Rayia." Varys said, her voice thick with tears she refused to show. Where has this emotion come from? "I know that you are a good person, it's just-" Varys let out a sigh. "Sometimes I feel like I'm broken inside, and if I let people in, they will see that and not want to be around me anymore." She rubbed her brow with her forefinger. "So I push people away, and mostly I dont care but..."

So looked over at Rayia's hulking form in the half shadow, still panting for breath. That was her sister now. How could she keep treating her so badly?

"I don't even know if you can understand me." said Varys mournfully. "Maybe that's for the best." Varys scoffed at herself and stood up. Pacing around Rayia.

"I don't deserve your help again. But I need it," said Varys. "Will you help get us out of here?"

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun
Location: Onderon Jungle

---

The verdant green jungle around Varya was silent as she crashed onwards through the brush. Motions that might normally have resulted in the protest of some small fauna, at the very least the variegated birds that peppered the treetops, went unanswered. They had fled, and now a dull silence reigned. Yet not entirely unbroken. Faintly through the trees behind her, Varys heard the sounds of pursuit growing cautiously closer. And more immediately, a heavy breathing rippled through the trees with such speed that it would be hard to pinpoint a location. Coupled with it was the squelching sound of wet ripping.

When Varys came upon Rayia in her beastial form, the Felacatian seemed to be expecting her. Her body was low, muscles tensed as she crouched over something that had been dragged into the bushes. Her tail was alert, cocked as it vibrated with the motions of Varys’ arrival. Harsh, feline eyes were staring out at her from a silhouette eclipsed by the bushes. Likely a fortunate thing considering the spreading crimson stain along the golden, metallic fur lining Rayia’s muzzle.

Whether or not Rayia was simply responding to Varys’ presence or her words would be difficult to tell. Regardless, as Varys asked, Rayia would stalk forwards out of the brush towards her. A warning growl ripped its way through her throat as lips pulled back to expose her fangs. They were easily as large as Varys’ forearm, considering that the monsterous, armored feline that Rayia had become was several times larger than a human. And Varys had witnessed their effectiveness firsthand in that little skirmish with the party that even now pursued them.

Yet as Varys continued speaking, the beast had a curious reaction. Its ear twitched and it ceased approaching. As Varys came over to it and knelt, it paused to look at her lowering itself even further on its haunches. The intelligence hinted at within those golden eyes was clearly inhuman as compared to Rayia’s normal form, but there was a recognition there. Something in the beast’s gaze shifted from grievance to something more mollified in the wake of Varys’ apology. In response to Varys’ plea for help, Rayia lowered her head.

Nudge. Rayia’s beastial form shoved Varys in the chest with her head. If Varys stopped pacing to look at her, the massive cat would now have dropped to the ground. Its foreleg would spread out, offering Varys a step up onto her back. Her dense fur made it quite easy for Varys to grab hold if she wished, and the steely muscles and bony armor plates beneath Rayia’s coat would comfortably hold the Mandolorian’s weight.

 

[Varys Amun]

Rayia Si
​

Rayia's feline form emerged from the jungle, baring fangs that would have no trouble piercing the joints of her armour and impaling her neck. The moment Varys heard the growl she knew she was a goner. After she pounced, she would tear Varys to pieces, her beskar plated armour only prolonging her death, rather than preventing it. Worse, Varys knew that if Rayia came for her, she would plead, and beg for her life, and finally run and be struck down with her back turned away from her enemy. A dishonourable death, and yet she knew it would be so, for she quaked with a fear that was primal, programmed into base instincts of any being that had once been stalked by beasts in the dark.

But, Varys was spared that fate. Rayia did not leap upon her. In fact, Varys' words seemed to be having an effect, even if she still wasn't sure the girl could understand her. Her head lowered, and amazingly, pressed into Varys' waiting palm. Varys shuddered despite her efforts to remain perfectly still, muscles uncoiling their nervous energy. Gently, she gave the beasts head a reassuring pat. She watched in amazement as Rayia lowered down, settling on the jungle floor, crushing the creeping plants beneath her, her leg arranged such that it looked like a step stool to climb upon her back.

The invitation was obvious, but still Varys hesitated, images of the carnage Rayia had wrought upon their Mandalorian attackers running through her head. She steeled her nerves and awkwardly scrambled aboard, laying her torso as flat as she could along Rayia's broad back, her hands finding purchase in the thick fur around her neck. No sooner had she secured herself than they were away, Rayia bounding through the forest, trees looking like they were about to slam into her then veering away, each unrpredictable turn jostling her hard, threatening to break her grip, and send her to a quick and merciful end. Varys couldn't take it, she buried her face in the rippling fur and held on as tight as she could, willing it to be over.

-
​

An indeterminable time spent cowering and holding on for dear life had passed. Rayia had slowed to a trot as the jungle gave way to the rolling hills and canyons of the highlands. Varys sat up as they ambled along, finally catching sight of the Clangrounds' border wall up above. As expected, it was abuzz with activity, the news of the shuttle's crash no doubt having reached the warriors back home.

Varys pulled gently at the fur around Rayia's neck, prompting her to slow and stop. It would not do for either of them to pull up to the clangrounds in this state. Varys had to think about how she was going to explain this to Jenn Kryze , and she wasn't sure how private Rayia was about her bestial form, but sure as the stars in the sky nobody had ever mentioned it to her.

Varys slid off Rayia's back. Her knees wobbled and then gave out, and she crumpled to the ground, exhausted.

"Good job, Rayia." Varys called up from below. "We're done. You can rest now."

The girl had rescued her, and for once Varys was glad for it. She had a newfound respect for Rayia, and an equal shame for how she had dismissed her. I sacrifice my ego, she thought to herself silently.

"Then let's figure out how to explain this mess."

​