Private Shuttle and Snarl

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Korriban
Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

Soah stood in front of the Lambda shuttle, her shoulders hunched and her tail lashing like a metronome gone wrong. The durasteel hull glared back at her, all angles and cold promise, a coffin dressed up as transport. She could already feel the void's teeth in her bones, unease running like ice shards up her spine.

The task itself was simple. Draethos. Keetael Force Tracking traditions. Darkseeker training. A path laid before her, if she could only take the first step.

But the truth sat heavy on her tongue: she couldn't fly the blasted thing. Couldn't stand the thought of asking someone to do it for her, either. Owing favors was a leash. Droids? Even worse.

Her lips curled back in the ghost of a snarl. Everyone was an irritation these days, her skin prickling with the raw sting of seemingly being tossed aside, as if Korriban were a refuse heap and she its latest scrap.

The ink writhed with her mood, crawling bolder across her face, thick bands swallowing the light around her amber eyes. One strip stretched horizontally across her brow, so dark it made her amber eyes flare a bright citrine.

After a second, the Felacatian drew a sharp breath, chest tightening as her gaze pinned the shuttle like prey.

The question was not why she would leave.

It was how.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Varin had decided to take the day off of training. He had been in his own meditating for a few days at this point. Practicing forms, follow ups. But most importantly he was training to understand Ignati. The more he understood him, the easier it was to live with him. Some progress had been made and a more cohesive relationship between the two of them was beginning to show. Varin had made it clear that no longer was Ignati able to just claim control of his body, though he suspected Ignati was only giving him answers he wanted to hear.

He made his way to the shipyard to observe how the repairing process for his ship had been going. It hadn’t seen flight in almost a year at this point since crashlanding. Thankfully Haro and Naami have helped him understand ships a bit better, even helping him get into a basic piloting class. The class itself was…..tedious at best. However his drive for improvement persevered.

As he made his way into the shipyard he didn’t see Haro anywhere. Likely spending time with his other two thirds or maybe having a smoke with Lysander.

As he came across his still ruined ship he gazed at it running his hand down its hull. The memories not only stained its systems but burned into them as well. He would not be landing like that ever again.

A feeling caught his gaze not far away. Somewhat familiar but still alien to him. He rounded the corner of his ship only to see Soah standing there staring at another ship before her. The look in her eyes he knew all too well. She was hungry. The kind of hunger that digs into the marrow, pulling your limbs like a marionette to where It wants to go. Where you NEED to go. He quietly approached her and gazed at the ship. Quiet for just a moment before speaking.

“You have a journey planned don’t you? A pull somewhere that you feel you have no choice but to go?”

He looked down towards her. She was short, but he had seen her skills. The stature of her being was but a ploy compared to what she was capable of.

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

​

The air shifted before the Felacatian Acolyte saw him. A ripple in scent and sound, that went prickling down her spine, stirring the ink across her arms until it writhed like restless serpents. By the time the shadow fell over her, it was only her pupils thar slid up to fix on the towering frame of Varin Mortifer .

Ah, it was him. The one who had thrown himself into the ring amidst the makeshift rescue for Nubs.

A sharp chuff slipped from her throat, more instinct than greeting. Strangers she could ignore, but this was worse. She knew him. That meant she had to acknowledge him and be… civil.

This was especially true when he seemed to speak in riddles. Did he not see the shuttle in front of her? Did he think she stood here admiring Durasteel plating for fun and not intending to go off-world for a reason?

Soah's lips pursed, irritation bleeding only through the slightest twitch at the tip of her tail.

However, after a second, she turned her head to look up at him. It was actually pretty alarming how she studied Varin quietly for a good ten seconds before finally asking in her typical, terse, flat tone.

"You can pilot a ship."

Not a question. An assumption as to why he'd be here.

Her amber eyes narrowed, and the ink bands darkened across her skin as if to make a point.

"Any ship, right?"

 

[Varin Mortifer]

The cat lady was quiet as she stared him down. Truth be told, even Varin found it awkward with the slightly long silent treatment. Perhaps he wasn’t speaking her language? Perhaps she didn’t hear him? The reasons were endless to Varin. One thing was certain, she was strange indeed. Almost reminded him of himself, but….less hairy and no tail.

Finally after a bit of time she finally spoke, she started with an assumption, then a question. Could he pilot a ship? Any ship? He laughed softly at the question, rubbing his brow. His attempt to make light of the situation.

“Funny you should ask. I have some piloting experience. I wouldn’t say I'm as talented as ‘nubs’ or Haro. But I've been passing my courses, learning what is what and where is where. All the odds and ends.”

He looked her in the eye, almost studying her. Almost giving her the silent treatment as well, unintentionally of course, the whole interaction had been quite awkward. After a few seconds he looked back at the ship, looking over the body, its landing gear. Getting a feel of how it would operate.

“Why do you ask?”

He looked at her with a bit of suspicion as he knelt to take a closer look at the landing gear.

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

​

Varin's answer was suitable enough. Soah blinked once, then turned on her heel and started toward the Lambda shuttle.

"Come," she said without looking back, as if the matter was already settled. Her stride carried her in silent, steady steps, tail flicking arcs with the certainty that he would follow, whether he chose to or not.

At the ramp, her hand skimmed the keylock pad. Beeps answered, followed by the hiss of hydraulics as the durasteel mouth opened for her. She lingered there a moment, feeling the ink curl warmly along her arms, pleased.

Then she turned, fixing her wide citrine eyes on Varin, and for the next few seconds again, that blank, heavy stare held him with an almost unsettling stillness.

"Come. I need you to pilot this ship."

Flat. Simple. Not a request. Not an order. Just a singular statement of a need that he can now meet and provide for her. In the same way, they had asked her to come with him to locate Naamino, and she had come.

And honestly, better him than a droid or some stranger whose scent she could not stand.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

​

Her response both answered yet didn’t answer his question. Varin assumed she would need a pilot for this endeavor she was embarking on. Truthfully, he technically owed her for her help retrieving one of his own.

He followed her as she boarded the ramp, he watched as the ghostly and life-like ink on her body rippled and settled like some oily river. It was nearly hypnotic. As she typed on the keypad to open the door he had a few questions about these markings, but he kept them to himself for now. She then once again turned and stared at the young apprentice, and for a moment Varin was struck in a feeling of unknowing. She had a thing for just staring, so naturally Varin picked up on it and began to use the very similar communication. He stared back at her, eye to eye. Unblinking until the dryness and bothering feeling crept over his eyes.

“Come. I need you to pilot this ship.”

Snapped him out of his hypnotized stupor and he blinked a few times as he looked at the cockpit.

“Okay…Where are we going? I need coordinates.”

Before he could stop himself he brought up a finger and gently tried to tap her shoulder where the inky substance roiled and relaxed. Something about it was just fascinating and he wanted to see just how it would react.

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

If Varin thought he could win an epic stare down with the Felacatian, he was wrong. As expected, his eyes were the first to falter. Soah gave him a slight nod of approval, indicating that she was now paying attention to him, before leading him to the cockpit.

Good.

The dark braids of her hair swayed as she glanced down, pulling her datapad free to bring up the coordinates. That was when his finger dared to brush her shoulder. The ink stirred like it had been waiting, bulging outward until a swollen eye blinked at him from the curve of her flesh. Before he could recoil, the tar black tendrils peeled away from her skin, reaching out to curl hungrily toward his touch.

Her tail lashed once.

"Do not touch. Lest you be eaten alive by it," she warned flatly, her eyes never leaving the datapad.

A few more taps and she found what she needed.

"I have coordinates."

Soah lifted her gaze then, steady and expectant, as if the rest were obvious: that he would be he would pilot them to Draethos.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

An eye?! What in the Hells is that?

Varin noticed the inky substance bulge and blink as Ignati rightfully questioned the substances purpose.

I don’t know but-

Before he could finish his thought the inky substance lashed out towards him causing him to jerk his hand back.

Freaky…..When do we get markings like that?

Varin huffed at the question out loud without realising it as he glimpsed at his finger making sure no wounds had appeared. For all he knew it would just need to get into his bloodstream to taint his already possessed body.

We don’t. Simple as that

Ignati responded back to him with a quick huff, almost annoyed at the easily dismissed idea. The response was very unexpected to Varin, considering how much Ignati boasts about his perfect form.

It was then he received his verbal warning from the cat lady. Slowly he flexed his fingers to test the response of his body, all seemed normal. Soah revealed the coordinates to Varin as he settled into the cockpit seat.

“That's quite the trip. Hopefully we have the fuel for that.”

One by one he flipped switches and pressed buttons starting up the ship.

“Please tell me you got us clearance for take off at least.”

He gave Soah a rather serious look.

“Otherwise we will need to come up with an excuse when we return.”

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

​

Soah slid her gaze sideways, amber eyes glinting as she regarded Varin. Her face stayed stoic, unreadable, offering him no real assurance on the subject of clearances...

She blinked.

"Clearance," she echoed blankly, as if the word itself was strange on her tongue. Another blink followed.

"Why? We can leave at any time."

In her world, that was how it worked. With Kasir, ships simply left and returned, and the details never mattered. She only cared about being free of the void, about touching ground again without having to claw through hyperspace for too long.

With the same casual grace of a predator at ease, she slid into the seat beside him and leaned back, watching him flip switches and bring the shuttle to life.

Her head tilted slightly, tail curling against the chair.

"Kasir took care of that."

Simple. Right?

A flicker over towards the controls confirmed a plentiful supply of fuel.

"There is fuel."

Really, this flying wasn't too bad as long as she had someone to do it.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

She blinked! Finally!

Ignati's voice grounded into the back of Varin's mind causing him to snicker slightly.

Shut up, I have to keep some composure here.

The cat lady very blankly asked if we could just leave any time as Varin prepped the last of the switches and buttons as the ship roared to life. The only thought that passed through his mind was

What would Haro do?

Varin sighed and pulled the ship up as it hurled into the atmosphere.

“That sounds like a problem for future us, truth be told.”

As they cleared the planet's atmosphere he transferred the coordinates into the ships nav. A few switches later and the turbines in the back began to whine as more power surged through them.

“Yeah looks like we have enough fuel to get there and back.”

If he was honest with himself, he was only kind of eyeballing it. The ship jolted forward causing the stars to blur as he set into his seat. He never got used to Hyperspace truth be told. It always surprised him how fast the stars blew past and not once did the ship hit one. A few moments later and the ship was brought out of hyperspace. Ahead of them was the lone marble. A quiet looking planet filled with rough terrain and mountains.

The ship pulled closer as it entered its atmosphere. The turbulence shook the cockpit as he looked at Soah.

“So I may need to be honest with you.”

He paused as they drew nearer and he flipped more switches.

“All my successful landings and flying were in simulations. Maybe buckle in and settle down tight?”

He glanced at her with a smirk of trying to maintain confident but he was certainly nervous. The terrain was not friendly even to most seasoned pilots.

“Maybe even pray to any gods possibly.”

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

​

Soah's ears twitched first, dragging her out of the thin veil of meditation. It was his voice, that particular tone he used that raked across her instincts like claws. Something about it did not bode well.

The ink stirred across her arms as if it sensed it too, twitching in response to her rising pulse. She forced her breathing steady, calling on training to keep herself anchored, to stop the sharp pull to shift into her other form.

But the words that followed nearly broke that control.

Amber eyes snapped open, wide enough that the whites showed stark against her dusky skin. She turned to Varin, staring at him with that pointed stare as if the meaning would change if she gave it time.

Simulations? Flying simulations? Flying simulations to land a shuttle? As in he hadn't successfully landed a shuttle before?

Her lips parted just enough to bare the edge of her teeth, amber eyes igniting in citrine flames as she locked on Varin.

"I thought you could pilot a ship," she said flatly, though the last word carried a thin thread of incredulity that she could not fully bury.

Her tail lashed once against the seat, and the ink across her shoulders rippled in agitation, shadows almost peeling from her skin.

This was not what she had agreed to.

She swiveled her head towards the viewport, her braids tickling her shoulders as that ink stirred and moved, seeing the quickly approaching, rugged edges of the mountainous terrain below.

"Varin. If you kill us. I will kill you." the phrase may have sounded ridiculous, but Soah was dead serious. She'd figure out a way to come back from the Netherworld to kill Varin just for that.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

In hindsight, it was probably best to tell her that it was all simulations. However he believed it was fair that he had not crashed once in those simulations. All of his attention pierced through the blastshield of the cockpit as the terrain came in fast. Pulling back on the sticks he attempted to stabilize the ship with a deep growl. He quickly flipped a few more switches to prep the landing sequence as he scanned for a relatively flat spot to land. All of the monitors and gauges began whirring, flashing and sounding small alarms.

With a quick jerk of the sticks he was able to just barely miss a section of rock that jetted out from the ground, scratching the surface of the ship and jolting the two inside the cockpit. Somewhere on the ship he could hear some items clatter to the floor from the impact.

“Don’t worry.”

He strained as he slowly began to stabilize the ship, they weren’t quite out of the woods yet, but they also weren’t hurling towards the ground anymore.

“This isn’t my first, nor second time surviving a crash landing. I’ve gotten quite good at it."

He glanced over to her with a nervous smirk.

“The secret is to not stiffen up.”

As he scanned the horizon he noticed a taller lone mountain ahead of them, with a nearly convenient flat spot in front of a cave opening near its peak.

“I’m going to try to land there. Ready yourself for anything, something tells me this pad was not naturally made nor was it just for decor.”

The ship began to slow down as he headed toward the landing pad. Bringing the ship to a gentle hover before landing just a tad bit hard on the pad, jolting the two of them again.

A deep slow sigh escaped Varin's chest before he looked at Soah again with a smile.

“Just like the simulations huh?”

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

​

"Not. The. First. Time. You. Survived A. Crash. Landing?!" For once, the incredulity escaped the Felacatian's voice.

The ship jolted, scraping rock, and the bleeping of alarms screamed, making her ears twitch in the flood of overstimulating senses. Soah's grip crushed into the armrests, her hands twisting painfully as bone and tendon warped, claws forcing their way out. Metal screeched under her grip as the sharp edges scored deep gouges through the plating.

When they hit the pad hard enough to rattle her teeth, her amber eyes snapped to Varin, narrowing into murderous slits. Her glare alone could have cut him open where he sat.

The ink rippled wildly across her skin, drinking greedily from the fury boiling in her chest and the nervous smirk radiating from him. It almost purred in delight, curling like smoke around her shoulders as if begging her to finish what the landing had started.

The Felacatian sucked in a slow breath, her jaw tight, a chuff escaping her lips and a low growl following, forcing her claws back as her hands trembled from the shift. The urge to skewer him where he sat gnawed at her, but she bit it down, each second a fight.

At last, she managed to unhook herself from the chair, the restraints frayed and half torn from her claws. She then rose in one smooth, tense motion and turned without a word, padding toward the back of the shuttle.

The ramp controls hissed under her touch. As the hydraulics began to lower, she stared out at the alien landscape, forcing her lips together in a purse so she didn't accidentally shift to mawl at the nearest thing.

Better to face Draethos than kill her only pilot. For now.

A few more breaths and she got herself together.

This confirmed it. She really disliked flying. Things were easier when Kasir took care of that. Now she had to deal with this on her own. It only angered her more, making her feel abandoned again, the Darkseeker likely still with that other fledgling that coated his scent everywhere.

Anger rolled over her again.

"Let's go." She told Varin, moving forward as if focusing on the task would make her forget the twisted icy void of being seemingly replaced.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

​

Unhooking himself from the piloting seat, Varin followed his new partner. He knew next to nothing about this planet. As the ramp descended downward he took in the surroundings. The cold damp air rushed with a cooling breeze past his body, sending a small mist trail off of Varin’s body as he followed Soah out of the ship.

“What is the story of this planet? And what is your goal here?”

Two questions he asked her as they made their way to the landing pad, two questions he probably should have asked before embarking on this journey.

Varin got a good look inside the cave mouth as they approached. It was the only real clear way forward that Varin could see, though his vision was severely limited compared to The Cat Lady that he accompanied.

The flesh of his body slightly sizzled as more of the damp air came in contact with him, the unfortunate side effect of his possessed body he could not control his body temperature, not yet at least, and this would affect any possible stealth skills he would have.

Ask her about the tattoos.

Varin sighed to himself.

“Very well, how did you get those tattoos? What purpose do they serve?”

A lot of questions in such a short span of time, but he had to admit, these questions did pick up his curiosity on the matter. Perhaps they could trade secrets? But perhaps not at the same time, the two were still practically strangers after all.

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

​

Soah's ears twitched at the sound of Varin's voice, his questions breaking against her calm like stones tossed into still water. Each one rippled through her patience.

Her brow ticked, barely. The ink answered for her, shifting restlessly across her skin as if voicing what she refused to. It curved, twisted, drinking at the thin thread of annoyance rising in her chest and at the curiosity bleeding from him.

"Training," the Felacatian said curtly. "The Keetael use the Force to sharpen their instincts with hunting, fighting, and tracking. Force tracking."

Then came another question, and the ink stirred again, the shadows crawling restlessly over her flesh, feeding on her thinning patience, and Varin's stubborn, giddy question filled persistence.

"Sentient ink," she replied, clipped but deliberate. "Found it in a ruin on a shriveled creature had made its den there. I killed it. Then the ink bound itself to me."

The ink pulsed then, as if mocking her words, shapes nearly forming over her shoulders and throat before sinking back beneath her skin. A low hum of amusement thrummed against her, like a predator pleased with its prey.

She ignored it, and instead, her nostrils flared, and she drew into the Force, pulling faint threads of direction while the ink hummed in quiet delight, feeding on the storm beneath her composure.

There, in her mind's eye, a path formed.

"This way," she said, her voice leaving no room for doubt as she led him into the jungle.

Odds were Varin was going to ask more questions anyway.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Her answers were short, quick and to the point. Just the way Varin liked it, there was no point in bantering with long explanations. As she led the way further he could tell she was getting rather irritable. Truth be told he didn’t care. Most of his care went to the fact they were going into a jungle in a mostly unknown jungle as it was starting to turn night time.

Soah may have had eyes built to see better at night but Varin didn’t like the idea of not being able to see well. Naturally he produced a small flame for some illumination. Concentrating on it to brighten it up but maintain its smaller shape. A small bright white flame danced off his fingers as they traversed. The deep shadows of the leaves performed their own opposing dance against the flames' light creating shapes that moved constantly around them. It was mesmerizing.

Smoke billowed from Varin's back encasing him in a cloak-like covering on his back. Every now and then the blackness of the night behind them would allow a smoldering peak of his bright scars that now lit up his body beneath his clothes. He winced slightly as the brandings from his back began to just slowly creep up to his neck.

Gently he reached into his side pouch and pulled out his bone rosary, muttering a quiet prayer to himself. More than anything the prayer was to calm his emotions. The prayer came forth in the ancient Sith language, spoken expertly almost like a first language for him.

That was when he realised it. The deafening silence of the jungle. Even closer to night time when traversing something small would have at least bolted out of the way creating some sort of noise. It didn’t feel right.

Varin stopped walking and began sniffing the air, slowly he gazed around the brush.

He spoke low to Soah, almost gravely.

“Something’s not right here.”

He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The slight gust of wing came to him like a whisper. Whispering promises of danger and hunger. He growled quietly to himself.

“Do you sense it?”

Slowly he pulled out his heavy mace as his eyes began to smolder like coals.

Behind him, two glowing orbs appeared and blinked.

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Varin Mortifer

​

The night had turned into weathering Varin's questions one after the next.

It was a lesson in patience.

And in how badly she wanted to get off world with a known semi capable pilot compared to having to find another one.

The whole aspect of it all just rubbed Soah the wrong way.

Nonetheless, Varin for all his proclivities to be a chatterbox, did so at least happily. Soah had to give it to him, it seemed the Acolyte had no waning energy when it came to talking, asking questions, or simply being entertained by just about anything

The house spent before night fall hit managed to get the Felacatian acolyte to learn more about the man that she'd likely have known if she had simply ignored him.

As it was, by all intents and purposes, had assisted her with getting here, so she had to at least give him that.

However, it was the odd way which he produced fire out of thin air that now mesmerized her. Then came the odd glow effect, the scent of burning flesh, and she caught the wince that twitched his lips.

Before she could ask the question, Soah stilled at the same moment Varin did, the braids shifting lightly as she tilted her head, listening. The ink along her arms stirred, sliding restlessly over her skin, the marks curling and reshaping as though they too scented the air. She didn't look at him when he muttered his prayer. She didn't need to.

Something was here.

Ever so slowly, Soah's claws slid free catching the faint firelight from Varin's hand. Her tail lashed once, twice as the ink went pooling higher across her collar, reaching toward her jaw, shadows twitching like they wanted to peel from her skin entirely, but instead crisscrossed over her dusky face in an ombre pattern from her forehead to her lips.

The girls body tensed, leaning forward ever so slightly as though she already knew what was coming and welcomed it. A soft growl rolled low in her throat, but there was no tension, no fear. Only inevitability.

Amber eyes tracked the black surrounding them, until the jungle blinked back. Two orbs glowed from the dark.

The orbs vanished, only to explode forward with a shriek that split the silence. Branches snapped, leaves burst apart, and a mass of muscle and fangs slammed into the clearing with bone jarring force.

And it came for Soah.

Soah pupils snapped thin as the beast's shadow fell across her. At the last instant she pivtoted claws raking as its weight tore past. Hot musk and the scent of old blood washed over her senses, her lip curling but her eyes never breaking their calm focus.

The impact of the beast shook the earth, dirt spraying as it twisted back on powerful limbs, maw dripping, a guttural rumble rattling the leaves. Soah's tattoos stirred violently, tendrils peeling from her arms like living smoke, writhing, shaping themselves into jagged edges that mirrored her rising hunger.

Then she moved, shooting forward to the creature in a blur of shadow and amber, claws flashing as she met the beast head on, her growl colliding with its roar in a clash that sent both predators rolling and writhing in the ground in a ball of teeth, claws, and growling flashing fangs.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

In a flash of motion the beast was on Soah. Soah responded with a last second swipe just barely avoiding the creature's own claws as well. Her agility was swift and quiet. Both feline based beings clashed and collided one another in a frenzy of claws and dominance.

Varin had to act quickly. Without a second thought he swung his free fist into the side of the creature's skull causing it to jump back off of her with a loud blood freezing hiss. Varin lifted his mace to respond, the flanges whistling in the wind as his attack barreled towards the predator, now soon to be prey, before another collision met him head on.

Another nexu had flanked and targeted Varin while he was distracted, now sending him to the ground. Using his mace to protect his neck from the violent bite of the beast. Its saliva coated the handle dripping on Varin’s chest, sizzling away into mist as he roared in its face. Quickly he jammed his fist into the creature's throat causing it to emit a choking sound.

The ancient Sith runes began to glow brighter under his clothes as he jammed his now flaming fist into the creature's throat again with another yell in its face.

He now noticed the duo was now separated as he picked his mace back up and drew his saber. Its ignition roared into the night sky as its thick blade jetted forth.

He stared the creature down, daring it to move first.

Soah Ty’Jyn​

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Kasir Dorran

​

The clash was a storm of claws and teeth, muscle slamming into muscle. THe Nexu's maw of fangs snapped past her face by mere inches, hot spit streaking her cheek. Soah raked across its shoulder, tearing fur and skin with the attack but the beast's counterblow came faster than she could recoil.

A paw struck her like a durasteel hammer at her side. Pain lanced through her ribs and sent her skidding across the dirt. Soah gritted her teeth, a hiss tearing free from her as she slammed hard into a tree trunk. Stars struck her eyes, her vision flaring bright white as the breath went ripping from her lungs.

Soah's claws trembled as she pushed herself up, tasting metallic copper in her mouth as blood filled it, but her amber gaze never strayed from the Nexu. She spit out the blood baring bloody teeth as shadows bled from her dusky skin where the ink writhed wildly, tendrils curling and snapping like whips in the air.

The nexu didn't wait, lunging back at Soah's direction just as she met it halfway.

Her body blurred forward, claws outstretched, using the pain to sharpen her strikes. THe Force roared through her muscles, guiding the arc of her slashes as she collided with the nexu in a frenzy of limbs and fury. Her claws sank into its throat even as its own raked her shoulder, hot blood slicking her arm in crimson rivulets, the sting only fueling her rage.

They rolled, snarling, shadows and fur and blood tangling in the dirt. Her ribs screamed with every twist and her shoulder burned with a raw ache, but she refused to give up. She wasn't going to stop.

But yielding wasn't in her blood.

With a feral cry, Soah drove her forehead into the nexu's snout, bone cracking against bone. The Nexu reeled with a roaring mewl, shaking hits head and snapping its jaws shut as Soah took advantage to shoved it off, her chest heaving at the exertion and blood dripping from her claws.

Amber eyes flicked toward Varin, catching the blaze of his saber through the dark, then back to the predator stalking her still. Both of them wounded and both unwilling to back down.

Soah bared her teeth in a bloody grin, silent, those amber orbs ablaze like the twin Tatooine suns.

With a growl she went crashing against the Nexu again.