Nothing quite escapes a doctor's eyes. Even as he shuffled away the figurine, every little detail out in his peripheral vision gave him a clue. Not that he willfully did this. No, it was ingrained in him. But it provided a little light on the nature of who he was talking with. The way her hands clenched the figurine, protectively so. The softness and care taken with the name spoken between her lips. Her eyes darting to and fro, watching but also sometimes wanting.
Merlyn knew better than to take up someone's time at this stage in the festivities. A courtesy he would pay to her that he would not take up much more of her time.
His hands stopped for a moment, however, right before almost sealing the figurine into a spare compartment as she made her opinion of his choice. Different colored eyes. Seaglass. A brief glance inside at the figurine before looking back up at her and downward again. This happened a few more times before a small grin etched itself into the side of his mouth. His arms moved to close the bag before stopping. A pause and a discerning look fell upon the figurine.
"Well, if-."
His words were cut down immediately by the question posed by the woman keeping him company. A pair of raised eyebrows followed before his expression upon her turned confused for a moment. Before exploding in a mixture of chuckling and laughter. One arm wrapped around his side, clutching tight.
"You certainly have Jedi on the brain, don't you?" Merlyn breathed out between a few fits of chuckles before settling, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a finger,
"While I am flattered you would think so highly of me, I am afraid I am just a traveler. A friend passing through."
It would be made especially true if he touched that stone on her finger. Why did she wear it? Did she know? Ukatis was a planet that just recently came into the Galactic Alliance and opened itself up to be exposed to the greater galaxy. So, the question would be: did she know its properties? Suspicion reared its ugly head, especially in the context of her previous question, before settling back down.
This was supposed to be a festival, right? Full of dancing and music and food.
"Well, as I was trying to say before-. Do . . . do you hear that?" Merlyn peered over her shoulder, far past her. The sound of a child shrieking. And he could feel it too, the raw emotion behind it, even with the dull ache of the stone. The fear. Not shrieking due to childish wonder or upset at not getting her way. No, this was fear. A child's fear. Scared and running. Looking for safety. For family.
Gently gesturing his arms out to signal his conversational partner he was passing by her, Merlyn took a step around and past the fellow figurine collector before peering and locking eyes. A screaming child chased by a fully grown raycon. Rabies? Had it gone feral?
"Oh. No."
Without another mention or word, his feet took off almost without his body, leaning forward and rushing through the crowd. Snaking through and occasionally giving a slight push to those that simply needed to learn to get out of his way, Merlyn closed the distance almost rapidly. His attention remained on the vermin even as the child lept into the arms of her father. If the creature took a leap too, he could catch it mid-air before it-.
His feet skidded to a halt as his arms swayed about to help balance and stop himself as another
blur--well, perhaps to anyone not quick enough--leapt into the air and tackled the beast. A child? Tiny ripples in the force, all converging and singing in harmony around the child. And the army of raycons following her. What was happening here?
Bending his knees and crouching down, Merlyn draped his arms over his knees before shuffling closer to the scene, careful not to disturb or step on the army. His feet never left the ground, instead sliding and nudging the raycons with his legs and hands to let him through. He briefly rubbed an ear. Did he hear right? A talking raycon? Speaking basic?
His eyes shifted to the small girl who had brazenly tackled this creatures. A small thumbs up was given.
"You're faster than me. Good job. Solid form by the way," Merlyn nodded with a smile before rubbing a hand along the bottom of his jaw as he peered once more at the she-beast,
"But I think she's a shapeshifer. A shapechanger, if you will."
Cupping his hand up against and around the bottom of his face, Merlyn tapped his finger a few times against his cheek while in thought.
"I think we should let her go. So she can explain why she scared a child like that," Merlyn tilted his head at the creature before looking back at the rambunctious child,
"What do you think?"
The choice was, quite literally, in her little hands.