Try Some of Column A, Try All of Comulm B

[Scherezade deWinter]

It had been several weeks since their mission with the Aeshma, during which they had both bonded and found Loth puppies. While it had not been their first meeting, that mission had been the one to bond them together as friends, and Madalena was excited now as her ship broke orbit into a planet called Columus. The planet offered the wonderful combination of breathable atmosphere and low gravity, which made it perfect for the sort of experiments she and [member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"] had planned on doing. They'd initially talked about meeting up for the purpose of running experiments with Dia's Shi'ido abilities, but with other missions popping up in between, it had taken a little while.

Still, Madalena was excited. Dianah had become the Vicedudette of Krant, and in between her new responsibilities and Madalena's own ever growing lists of missions to go on with the Knights Obsidian, it was a wonder they'd actually managed to find a time to meet up so relatively quickly without involving the rest of the Confederacy around them.

What she hadn't told Dia though, was that the experiments they'd planned on doing included another aspect to them that she wanted to test out. Madalena was a blood hound, for lack of a better term to use. She could smell species and blood lines through the Force, and she didn't need any Witch spells to track anyone down if there was a blood trail. It was as if blood called to her, which she'd always found so confusing, since her fortes with the Force had always been of the physical kind. She was a Warrior, not a Sorceress or a Witch. She knew how to stab things to kill them, and dealing with the arcane aspects of the Force was… Strange. It also required a different form of thought. She was also going to have to explain all this to Dia as soon as she met her.

"Come on Baal, let's go meet your friend, and Dia," she said with a smile as the Nutcracker completed its landing. The women had rescued two Loth wolf puppies, and Madalena had named hers Baal after a god out of legends. Only now did Madalena realize she still didn't know what Dia had named her own wolffo. "And when you're old enough you can tell me if you guys are siblings or not. I hope you remember by then."

But she would know soon enough. Madalena grabbed a Frisbee and got Baal to stretch his legs as they waited for Dia. He needed more than her little ship had to offer anyway. Especially since he was now as big as a full grown rottweiler.

 

[Darth Miseria]

During their dalliance with the cult they now knew as Aeshma, Madalena Antares and Dianah Vi'Dreya had become fast friends. They had a lot in common, the majority of their bonding came from the shared desire for knowledge and passion for the experimental side of life. Beyond that they both held a connection to a force so powerful and dark they would never know its true extent and both utilized it in brutal, merciless ways. Since their mission had ended a lot had changed for Dianah, days to spend on the leisurely things in life came few and far between, but this time she had insisted. Jaron and Kara had been left to spend the day together on Krant and Dianah herself had conveniently left her commlink behind on Serenity.

The tall, caramel coloured woman danced the path to Madalena, the not-so-tiny-anymore silver puppy chasing after the leather boots encasing her feet. Much like Dianah herself the Loth wolf, who had declared himself as Murugan, had become boisterous, eccentric and playful. They suited each other well. As she walked the events of that day on Pzob streamed through her mind, they often did considering the entire thing was wild from start to finish. Though today she lingered particularly on their escape and what she had extracted from the Mouse in regards to her friend. The truth of it was Madalena wasn't who she thought she was. At first Dianah had only suspected and even forced herself to believe that Maddy was an entirely different woman but the Mouse knew more and now, so did Dianah.

Either way, the knowledge would be kept to herself for the mean while. Madalena seemed blissfully unaware, even happier for it considering the timid woman she remembered from the Honey Boo's first night out. Maddy wasn't too far out now, she could hear her own Loth puppy yapping and panting away. Murugan was also a great help, the moment he picked up the scent of another wolf he was off, streaming through the leaves like a bullet. Dianah chased after him with a laugh on her lips and, moments later, spotted her friend in the distance.

'MADDY!' Dianah squealed out into the once quiet woods, turning her light jog into a run so she could wrap her arms around her in a hug. 'It's so good to see you again!'

The Loth puppies seemed to be well acquainted with each other, despite the month and a half spent apart. Barking and jumping around seemed to be the usual greeting, no matter human or wolf. A great big grin made itself present on her face the moment she saw Madalena and with what they had planned for the day Dianah knew it would probably remain there.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

The lower gravity on the planet was weird. It wasn't low enough for Madalena to feel like she was actually floating, but she did feel the difference. The same movements of her muscles caused longer and slower motions, and at the same time, her muscles felt like they weren't being sufficiently worked. She'd have wondered if Baal was enjoying it, but considering the amount of times he jumped on her and how the two of them tumbled in the grass, it was hard to be wrong about it; Baal was having the time of his life, his black fur now matching Madalena's hair – full of grass and tiny debris. Neither of them cared.

She could feel Dia's Force signature a few minutes before Dia showed up, and she was ready to grab her friend, hugs and giggles flying all around. "Vice-dudette!" Madalena almost screamed with a grin. The last time the two had seen each other was at the costume party where most of the people had been drugged. Madalena had been saved from it on account of her not drinking alcohol, but it was a close one. Still, the drugs had no long term effects, and everyone was back to themselves soon enough. And the Sithling most definitely more fabric on her body since that evening.

Murugan and Baal were free to go have fun with each other, leaving the two ladies of the Darkside on their own.

"So…" Madalena grinned, forcing herself to keep the bounce down, "we talked about some things back when we were dealing with those stupid cultist. Aaaaaaand…"

Pulling a large datapad from her pocket, she almost pushed it into Dia. The excitement was hard to miss. "How would you like to see exactly what you can do with your awesome Shi'ido abilities? I got a list of cool things you can turn into, and we both wanted to check how losing parts translates, and... And there's something I haven't told you yet."

Now was the moment. Even among other Sith, Madalena had yet to find someone like her. Would Dia be taken back once she'd told her? Most people were mostly creeped out by it, but she and Dia were close enough for it not to matter… Or so she hoped.

"I wanted to run a few experiments myself," she started, "and see what I can do with my… With my blood hound abilities."


[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

'I have to say I'm disappointed I can't see so much of you this time round.' Dianah couldn't help but laugh at herself a little, Madalena certainly had more skin showing at the Halloween party the two had attended a month or two back. Dianah watched Maddy with amusement in her eyes, the woman bounced up and down on the spot almost in time with the puppies. Dianah would have done the same usually, but she found herself rather tired of late. Not only did she have the responsibility of an entire planet on her shoulders but she also had the responsibility of another life. All in all it drained a lot of her energy and she was eager to save some for the reason they were on this strange planet in the first place.

Dianah wrapped her fingers around the data-pad and skimmed through the list quickly. 'Wow, Maddy I'm seriously impressed.' The list seemed to go on and on, the further down she got the more the excitement built up in her chest till she was bouncing up and down in a similar fashion to Maddy. Dianah looked up from the datapad as Madalena trailed off, one pruned eyebrow raised in anticipation for what she was about to say next.

'Blood-hound abilities? Like, you can sniff people out?' The elation in her voice was hard to hide, Dianah had never met someone who could accomplish something like that. An idea sparked in her mind. 'MADDY THAT'S AMAZING! WE CAN PLAY HIDE AND SEEK!' Dianah flipped the datapad and held the screen inches away from Madalena's face. 'I can try all of these out, hide somewhere on this planet and you can test your abilities by trying to sniff me out!' Just like that, in the space of a minute or so, Dianah had forgotten all about her responsibilities. Being with Madalena made her feel like the seventeen year old girl who had stepped out of Sinner's Well on her own for the first time.

[member=Scherezade deWinter]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"You should be, I'm krakking awesome," Madalena replied with a smirk, making no attempt at false modesties, "but I'm disappointed in not being able to see you as much as I'd like to as well," she added. Like it or not, and there was absolutely no reason for a not, the two had become friends. In Madalena's utopic vision, she had all her family members and friends close by. Perhaps at some point in the future she would take over some moon or something and move everyone she cared about to there. It would certainly make keeping up with people easier.

The smile only widened as Dia said she was impressed with the list. Madalena was nothing if not full of imagination. Women like her and Dia had nearly infinite power at their fingertips; it only took a touch of imagination to come up with things they could do with it, and then a bunch of work to see how they could make it happen.

"Wait, wait, not exactly," she laughed as Dia asked if she could sniff people out and came up with even more ideas, "I can smell blood lines and species on pretty much anyone if I focus on them. That's how I knew you were a Shi'ido the second we met at that mission. I also knew immediately who your father was because I already had his blood scent. But I can't sniff random people out. Need to know them, and stuff. But if you ever get kidnapped or anything, make sure you bleed. I can follow a blood trail better than any stupid ol' Dathomiri Witch."

Chewing on her lower lip for a moment, the Sithling grinned again, "but if you wanna play Hide and Seek, we need Force dampening devices. Don't need to be a blood hound to find someone in that game if you have the Force."

Glancing at the Loth (henceforth "Lothies"), Madalena smiled again. "They're siblings," she remarked, remembering that initially she had said they'd wait until the pups could communicate with words, "same parents, both of them. But I don't know where from."

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dianah nodded in agreement, offering the eccentric woman a knowing smirk at her comment. 'That you are.' So far Dianah had never met anyone with a mind like Maddy's, brilliant and wild with just a touch of crazy. 'It'll be easier after my first year, once I get all the kinks ironed out Krant should basically run itself! Then I'll have all the free time.' Her words flew smoothly, with an air of confidence that Dianah had found she was hard pressed to hide. She paid close attention as Madalena divulged the details of her ability. The idea of someone being able to sniff anything other than a regular smell was intriguing, the fact that it was Madalena who could do it made it doubly so.

'That is all kinds of cool. Memo made on the cutting myself in case of kidnapping front. What kind of stuff did you want to try out?' In truth, Dianah had already known of Madalena's abilities, it was one of the many titbits the Mouse had shared with her before his gruesome end. Dianah knew why she had lied about it and she was hard pressed to feel guilty. Scherezade was Madalena for a reason and that reason was pretty damn good if you asked her. 'Using the force would be cheating, but I can see your reasoning. We could use Ysalamir, just sort of... sling them to our backs. But then I suppose you'd realise where the person was when you lost the ability to control the force. HEY! Maybe we still have some of those collars from Rishi?'

Dianah shook her head quickly, offering Madalena a sheepish grin. 'But that's beside the point..' Maddy glanced at the puppies, who by now were bounding around the clearing, chasing each other at incredible speeds due to the low gravity. 'I hoped they would be, I'm overly pleased we found them. I'm not sure they would have been able to stay together if we'd left them for the KO crew to clean up.' Dianah knelt down and clicked her tongue loudly. The hollow sound disturbed the wildlife, sending a flock of birds fluttering up from the trees around them. 'Did you get a name from yours by the way? For ages I called him Cin'Ciri, but he says his name is Murugan. Which is miles better anyway.' The silver pup snapped his head in her direction, one ear flying over the other and turning inside out. He looked rather comical as he streamed his way over to the crouched figure of his Master. 'Good boy!'

[member=Scherezade deWinter]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"If you get all the free time after a year, what's the point of remaining for more than a year in the position?" Madalena asked with genuine curiosity, hoping it didn't come off as criticizing her friend. One of the reasons she was constantly on missions herself was because she was with the Knights Obsidian, but if being with them would not have resulted in a busy mission schedule, she would have probably resigned before now. Or so she thought, anyway.

What sort of stuff did she want to try? "If you shift into a tree and we hack off a branch, can you shift fully back into yourself?" she asked, "and if you lose a limb, can you regrow it or shift into another near identical version of yourself that has the missing limb?" came another question she had been interested in, "and when you shift, does your actual blood change?" came a final question. "I mean, I'm pretty sure the answer to that is a no, but we were too busy back at the evil cult lab for me to actually check back there."

At the mention of Rishi though, Madalena half froze for the split of a moment. She hated Rishi, and she'd had to return there for a mission with the Dominus. If there was any one planet that should've been blown up from its very core, that planet was it. Definitely. She was going to hold a grudge against it. Forever.

Deciding not to reply to it at all, the conversation moved to that of the Lothies. "He told you his name?" she asked surprised, and moved her gaze to look at her not-so-little Baal. "Baal's not speaking yet," she admitted, "I know he understands every word I say, and he responds with body language and barks, but actual words. Not yet. Or not at all? I'm not sure." She looked at him again. He was a healthy wolf, had a good appetite, got enough movement whenever they weren't on the ship… "Could I be doing something wrong with him?" she wondered worriedly out loud.

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dianah chortled and flashed Maddy a cheesy grin. 'Well, I suppose I won't have anything to do at all once it runs itself. I'll just be there for emergencies and viceroy things like meetings and diplomacy. I'll still be needed just not immediately and all the time.' In all honesty she had never really thought of what she would do once Krant had settled itself. She was sure there would be other things to accomplish and her plan wasn't exactly perfect, it would need tweaking as the years went by, but for now everyone seemed to like her. Krant seemed to be prosperous and happy under her guidance. That was enough.

Dianah clapped her hands together suddenly, as a statement that she was overly pleased with everything Madalena had suggested. 'Perfect! That'll keep us going all day.' She paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face as she considered what to do first. 'I think the easiest thing to try would be the blood thing. I can shift into one of my other practiced forms in less than a minute. It'll save us some time, though we don't necessarily need it.'

A finger scratched away behind the silver pup's ear as Maddy spoke. Dianah could hear the concern in her voice, which forced a small frown to appear on her face. 'No, I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I think it was because Kara tried to eat his tail. I shouted at her not to eat Cin'Ciri because he was a friend and he sort of... bellowed that he was called Murugan. He hasn't said anything else since. Maybe you ought to take him on a mission with you? He might come into himself.'

She stood smoothly and turned on her heel to face her friend. 'Shall we get started?'

[member=Scherezade deWinter]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena shrugged. She couldn't imagine what the life of a political must be like, other than the fact that it was something she couldn't see herself developing an interest for at any point in the foreseeable future. What Maddy needed was action, places to go to, and thigs to stab. Paperwork would drive her just crazy, but since her friend had signed up for at least a year of it… Mads was going to have make sure she dropped by to pull her away from the paper stacks as often as she could. Teehee.

Dia said she could change into one of her practiced forms. Madalena nodded. "Any chance any of them is non-human?" she asked once she'd had a second to consider it. While she had no way of actually knowing in advice, she assumed that the more drastic the change, the further the blood would shift. Theoretically, anyway. There'd be only one way to check, and that was to have Dia actually shift.

But that could wait a few seconds more. "Kara tried to eat his tail?" she asked, blinking. It was not a name she'd heard before, and for the life of her, she could not figure out why anyone would wanna try to eat a Loth wolf's tail. Or anyone's tail, for that matter. "Who's Kara? Why does she eat tails?"


[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dianah paused and put her hand on her chin. The silence stretched for the time it took to take two deep breaths. 'I've never done a non-human, save for the time I did a tree with you. I could try something human-like? A Chiss maybe, or a Togruta.' She gave Murugan a last rub of his head and sent him on his way to play with his brother again. 'But since we're here and I have all day we might as well get stuck right in. I'll try something a little bolder. It'll take a while though.' Dianah glanced sideways at the Loth puppies bounding around together.

'Yeah, Kara, you know? She's a c-' Dianah paused. Maddy didn't know! 'Well.. uh. It's a long story actually. I'll give you the short version.' As Dianah spoke her bones cracked and creaked. It was the only indication she was shifting, along with the occasional twitch of one of her extremities as the bones reformed. She wanted to warm up. Her chosen form would be good enough for now, she'd shift into that then back to regular old Dia. It wouldn't take long to slip into the familiar bones of her chosen form. 'Kara is my daughter. I adopted her. I'm not sure you heard or if you were even there but we went looking for subcontractors that went missing in the expansion region. The planet was a complete disaster. Honestly it would have made an awesome movie or a play. Anyway the people there had turned into cannibals. Kara was one of them. She led us to a trap, then ran away when it all kicked off. I followed her, accidentally killed her Mother then... took her home with me. She lives with me and Jaron on Krant now.'

She wasn't exactly sure how Madalena felt about children, or how she would react to the fact that her daughter used to eat people. Out of all the people she knew Dianah hoped Madalena would be supportive, if a little surprised at first. She had won Jaron over by giving Kara his Mother's name and honoring her, but everyone else seemed slightly put off. That mattered little though, she had never needed anyone's approval to do anything. 'So, what do you think about me trying to turn into a Loth Wolf? It would be easy, they're right here to copy off if I need it. That might be a big enough change to shift my blood as well'

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Never done a non-human before? Madalena blinked in surprise at that statement. She had somehow taken it for granted that Dia would've already tried the near-Human group and hadn't paused to consider that she might have not. She was going to have to rectify those assumptions next time she had grand plans for the two of them. Still, it would be interesting. "Hey, question," she said, "when you shift into another ace, or another person, do you focus on the abstract of it, like I want to look like this or that person, or is it more like okay now I want my hair to go blonde? How much do you have to nitpick the actual detail?"

And then to Kara. A c-? What did "C" stand for? Cat? Critter? Creature? Wait WHAT?! "Daughter" was D, not C! Madsy listened to the tail, her eyes going so wide that by the end of it her eyeballs looked like they were almost ready to jump out of their sockets. The C had probably stood for cannibal then. Cannibal. Dia had adopted a cannibal child after killing her mother. By accident?

It took her… Quite some time to calm the rush of emotions from that story. Had Dia even wanted to be a mother so soon? Was she really up for what went into taking care of a child? How did someone even take care of a child that was a cannibal?

Eventually though, Madalena shook her head to shake her thoughts off, and just smiled, "I'd have brought a bottle of wine and a big butt cigar if I'd known you were a fresh mommy," she said. "Did your cannibal corpse of a daughter try to eat you yet?" she laughed, trying to imagine it. Now was not the time, but Madalena most definitely wanted to meet the little child. If nothing else, she sounded interesting! And Madalena was sure she could get a human leg somewhere. Surely there were places that sold it, right?

When Dia offered to change into a Loth wolf, Madalena nodded, bringing out one of her knives and a clean rag. "Just give me a single drop before you do it," she grinned.


[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dianah furrowed her brows. The question was more complicated than it seemed. 'I suppose it's a little of both. For appearance sake, if I wanted to change my hair color, I've done it enough times to just think on what I want it to change to and it happens. But that's just one thing. When I created my second form I thought of each part piece by piece. It goes deeper than that though, I can't just think of the outward appearance. Technically I could but people are smart, you know? They know if there's something not quite right with you, like if you don't breath in the same way they do or you forget to blink as quickly or if they can't feel your heart beating where it should. So I go from the inside out. That means a lot of studying if I want to do an entirely new form perfectly.'

'But... there is also my telepathic ability. If I can't quite complete a shift to perfection, say I'm on a mission and I can't do it fast enough and miss something obvious like a tooth or an eye or whatever, I can sort of... impress on people that what they see is really real. Also comes in handy for things that sense their species with a certain kind of smell as well as looking at them. It takes an immense amount of concentration though, best off saved for when I'm in real chit. I'm still a little too young for it to be powerful enough to last longer than a few minutes.'

Dianah laughed at Maddy's offer, pleased that her friend was willing to celebrate instead of giving her the half confused half concerned look that she had received from most people. 'She has a few times.' The words came out littered with laughter at how ridiculous it sounded. Her own daughter had once or twice tried to bite a finger or nip at a piece of bare flesh. 'She's getting better though. It's like trying to climb a cliff face made of greased marble but... we're getting there.' Dianah grinned, feeling rather proud of herself for having managed to keep a human alive for more than a couple of months, never mind her slow but steady progress in returning her to a normal life.

Madalena offered the knife, along with the rag, and Dianah took them without question. In the blink of an eye a thick droplet of scarlet red blood was threatening to spill over the edge of her milk-bottle finger. She caught it with the rag, soaking the material a little more then she had intended. 'I've only changed my outward appearance for this form so my blood should be the same as it is in my usual form, if your hunch is right.' Dianah handed back the blade and the rag. Her shoulders rolled back one by one as she loosened the muscles in preparation for the complicated shift ahead. Almost immediately her shoulder blades crept back, giving her two rather large humps that lined up with her spine. This forced her arms up in a rather comical way. 'You're lucky you know, I don't even let Jaron watch me try out new shifts. It can be real embarrassing sometimes.'

[member=Scherezade deWinter]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena listened as Dia began to explain about the shifting and thoughts that went into it. She supposed most of it made sense, though she couldn't have known for sure if she hadn't asked in the first place. The bits about the telepathic ability were also new information. Madalena knew there was telepathy involved, but she hadn’t imagined just how much of it was needed or what an energy drain it was to work it. Still, there was nothing in there that demanded her immediate response.

Speaking of the cannibal corpse child again, Madalena burst into laughter when Dia said her daughter tried to eat her a few times already. She could just imagine it; Dia and Jaron snuggling in bed, and suddenly one of them screaming because a snot of a little girl bit one of them. It was hilarious. There might be a recording of it from the security cameras somewhere. Maddy would pay good money to see the screams of surprise. "So like is she a feral child or something?" she asked once her laughter had calmed down, "what are you planning on doing with her? Has she met her grand-papi yet? Did he have a heart attack at realizing what his new granddaughter is?" Madalena didn't really know Metus, but from the glimpses she'd seen for him he was a big serious man. Big serious men tended to not like those sort of things.

She nodded as she received the rag with the blood, smelling it from up close. Madalena could smell Dia's blood through her skin if she focused on it, but having the direct blood offered much more information. While the blood was inside her, Maddy knew her bloodline and her species, but this close, and with the ability to actually focus it… She almost licked the spot on the rag, but Dia's words stopped her mid-motion.

"Aren't you planning on sticking with this guy 'till death you part and all that stuff?" she asked, looking up with a smile, "why keep it from him if he's to be your other half in that sense, anyway? Make it as embarrassing as you can. Fart and burp while you do it. If he can't handle it then he's not the dude for you and you can feed him to your daughter."

Staring at Dia as her shift began, Madalena was mesmerized. Sure, she'd seen Dia shift into a tree before, but his was different. They weren't fighting for their lives. She was changing into another humanoid. It was…

Madalena grabbed her notebook and her hand began to move wildly as she fought to capture a moment, the blood entirely forgotten for the span of a few breaths.

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dianah couldn't help but giggle along with Madalena. The more she talked about Kara the more she realized it was a ridiculous situation. Maddy had a way of making her look at life from a different perspective, it was hard to be upset or stressed out by anything when she was with her. 'She is one hundred percent feral. When I chased her into the ship one of the first things her Mother offered me was a box of severed fingers. Looked like it was all they had too. So along with only ever eating human meat she was starving, dehydrated, all her teeth are rotted to the point where we'll have to buy her new ones, she has a plethora of medical issues up to and including scurvy... Unfortunately, Kara was and still is the definition of feral.'

She snorted loudly at Madalena asking about Metus followed by a vigorous shake of her head. The idea of telling Metus was laughable. She had left Miranda early to avoid that exact conversation. 'I love my buir, he'll support me no matter what. I'm pretty sure he'll just be happy to have a grandchild who can visit him regularly... He'll be proud of me for choosing to adopt, it's a big part of Mandalorian culture. But he'll have to meet her when she resembles a human and not something we pulled out of a Duros Slum sewer. I'm nearly certain he won't be keen on the idea of a cannibal grandchild either. So we'll have to get food sorted out as well, but I can't even begin to tell you how much hard work that is.'

Dianah seemed to shrink rather rapidly then shoot back up quickly like a tightly coiled spring. She had already decided she was going to try something new, and she had seen enough of the race she was trying to make a decent go of it. Madalena's comment once again elicited a chortle from Dianah. 'Well, yeah! Which reminds me I have something big to tell you, but first to answer your question. Shifting into a new form is... personal. Almost as personal as relieving yourself. All kinds of stuff gets moved about. Between you and me I'm more than happy to do all that stuff around him, we have a force bond so he's privy to a lot of things. I'm just not ready for him to see all... this.' As she spoke her left leg popped loudly and her thigh swelled immeasurably. All of a sudden, as it reached peak point, it deflated like a balloon. The skin settled back neatly against the newly formed calf muscle and the other leg quickly followed suit.

'I'm not sure I can get this one spot on, but I'm shifting into a male so hopefully you'll get a noticeable difference.' Two thick trunks grew quickly from either side of her head, stretching up at least two feet into the air. 'Which reminds me, I wonder if my telepathic abilities can fool your bloodhound scent? I wonder if they can fool the force...' Dianah pondered for a moment and then nodded her head. 'We can try it out at the end of the day. Telepathic stuff really wipes me out.' The change was aggressive now. Bits of her body quivered, the surface of her skin bubbled like a pot of stew over a coal fire, her extremities seemed to double in size to match her new height of seven foot. A smile broached her expression, revealing a set of sharp shining teeth. The final thing to happen seemed to happen slowly. The trunks that had grown from the side of her head lost their rigidity and settled on her broad shoulders.

'There. What do you think?' Her voice was deep. It rumbled in her chest and completely took Dianah by surprise. She couldn't help but laugh loudly at the sound of it, which made her laugh even more.

[member=Scherezade deWinter]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Box of severed fingers? Madalena had a feeling she was supposed to look disgusted, but to her it didn't sound like didn't sound like something vastly different than bantha wings. Well, the meat sources was different, of course, but still. The idea of cannibalism didn't make her uncomfortable as it probably should have. But the state of the poor girl sounded utterly heart breaking. "I'm sure you'll take good care of her," she said with a soft smile, "if she came from such a hard place, maybe what she needs most is TLC. Snuggles. Love. All of that crap. And those new teeth, definitely. And hey, if you ever need a babysitter, you know my number. Might have to fight over it with Josh though, he's a daddy as well and I already volunteered to take care of his kid from time to time too."

As to the situation with the newly minted grandfather, she did not have much to add. It was just a shame that she wouldn't be there the first time they met. Madalena was willing to pay good credits to see Darth Metus' expression in those first few seconds.

When Dia shrank and sort of exploded, Madalena jumped back. Her eyes were deadly focused on her friend, her hand working so fast trying to capture the moment with what she had. "What big thing?" she asked, still looking entranced as Dia continued with her shifting. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why the woman was why about doing it in front of her partner. This was interesting as frack, if Madsy had a Shi'ido partner she would probably be regularly asking him to shift in front of her just of see over and over again how it worked. "I don't get it," she admitted, "you're force bonded. That's about as intimate as you can get. Told you, poodoo in front of him too. Better do it while you can still control it and not when you're old and wrinkly and lose muscle control. But like, only once. No one needs to constantly be around the smell of it." With that last bit she stuck her tongue out and burst into another short fit of laughter.

Still watching Dia, Madalena utterly abandoned now her attempts. She dropped her notepad on the ground along with the pencil. If Dia would glance at it, she would find a rough sketch of her mid-shift. But with all these changes and bursting bubbles, there was no way to capture a perfect still of it. Not right now, anyway. Madalena continued to look at Dia's shift, trying to guess the species she was changing into. She was wrong. All three attempts.

And then, Dia announced that she was done. Madalena looked, grinning like a kitten. Dia's voice had changed, her legs were trunks, she was big and ugly though she'd never tell her that.

"You shifted into your own species," she noted and stood up, walking around her friend to inspect her work, "I don't know the Shi'ido base form well enough to point out if it's entirely perfect," she admitted. A few very naughty options crossed her mind, but she let them aside for the time being. "This is way more impressive than turning into a tree," she smiled. Where could they go through from here?

Madalena called her rag and knife into her hands, and offered them to Dia. "Do Shi'ido pure-form bleed?" she asked with interest and then paused, stepping closer to Dia in order to inhale her scent deeply.

"I'm not sure," she mumbled, "I can still scent your bloodline. I can still scent you. I still know you're a Shi'ido but… But something is different. Sort of like taking a few steps away from fresh based cookies, not too far so you still know you're smelling cookies, but far enough to need a moment to realize it."

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

'We're smothering her in love. I'm not sure she quiet knows what it means yet, but like I said. We'll get there.' Dianah laughed as Madalena spoke of Josh. She had only met the Jedi once or twice but he seemed like he would make a good Father. 'Well, I don't fancy going toe to toe with him but if the need arises I'll for sure battle it out for your time. Though to be honest, Jaron has really settled into being a Dad. He'd probably be more reluctant to let anyone else watch her than I am.' A chuckle left her lips as she thought of how attached Jaron had become to the little girl. At first it had seemed they wouldn't quite gel together until Kara was more human like, but he had surprised her in more ways than one.

[SIZE=10pt]What big thing indeed. Dianah gave her friend a beaming smile that stretched her shifting mouth far wider than she had intended. 'Jaron and I... We're getting married. Or rather, we are married. We're just planning a more public wedding for everyone to attend.' Dianah nodded her head, grinning from ear to ear. Madalena was the first person she had told about their eloping in secret. 'I wanted to ask ages ago but it seemed more like the kind of thing you do in person..' She was bouncing on the spot, as much as her massive frame would allow. 'Will you be my maid of [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333px]honor when the real thing goes down? It's nothing major, I'm not even sure I want a bridal shower or anything, but I'd love to have you by my side.'[/SIZE]

'You know what? You're right. I have no idea why I feel so awkward about it.' A grin spread over her face as she came to the realization that it probably was a smart idea to let Jaron see her at her worst. He'd probably still love the chit out of her, so what did it matter. Once the shift was complete Dianah felt like... well. She felt like a bloody bulldozer. 'Dammit. I was going for a twi'lek.' Her heavy shoulders shrugged and shifted the air around her. Looking down at the rest of her body, from what she could see, she looked as ugly as anything. 'I suppose I'm lucky my buir is a human, otherwise my natural form would be whatever the hell this is supposed to be.'

[SIZE=10pt]Madalena offered her the knife and Dianah lifted her massive trunk like arms to take it. The effort she had to put behind it was immense, she wasn't used to muscles this size. With a swift flick of her thick wrist the knife flashed, catching the sunlight as it came down toward her grey-green skin. Nothing happened. 'Well kriff. Looks like my skin is about as thick as I feel.' Dianah dug the knife in a little harder, working the tip through the inch thick layer of skin. After a few minutes of digging a well of blood began to appear, though it wasn't exactly the color[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] you'd expect. More vomit like than blood like. [/SIZE]

'Mmm... That's interesting. Do you think it's my telepathic stuff or just because I'm something different?' Her slow, curious eyes shifted to look at Madalena's frame. As far as she was aware she wasn't doing anything telepathic, or at least not consciously. 'I can try something else, see if it's the same?'

[member=Scherezade deWinter]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena wasn't sure why, but she wasn't really surprised that Jaron had settled to being a dad. Something about the situation just clicked to her, and she gave Dia an encouraging smile.

But then came the news and… Madalena went back to the blinking thing. They were already married? She did not know that! Did anyone? But then, if they were already married, why were they… Oh! Public! Attendance! And Dia was offering her to be the maid of honor! Madalena screamed and jumped from her place, her arms flying around the woman who was now a bigger male, hugging her as tightly as she could.

"Oh my Force I'm so happy for you!" she squealed, "and I'm happy for me too! I get to be your maid of honor!!! YES! Put me in the most embarrassing puffy-sleeved gown you can find! YES!" She could accidentally smother Dia even in her current form with all the excitement. Coughing, Madalena took a step back and pretended not to notice that the pups had stopped their playing just to look at them.

"Smile!" she screamed again, her holodevice out as she grabbed an impromptu holo of the both of them together, "don't worry, we can make more when you're back to your own shape," the Sithling grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh come on, every species that isn't an insectoid is beautiful in its own way," she giggled as Dia commented about the whatever this shape was supposed to be, "and you can always try for a twi'lek next. If I'm not mistaken, their lekku are as sensitive as…. Well, you-know."

Taking the rag from her with more blood now, Madalena stared at the two drops. There was no denying that they smelled different. But they also smelled the same, at the same time. It was so strange.

"Yes, see if it's the same," she mumbled under her breath, still taken with the rag and the two blood drops.

And then before she could stop herself, Madalena leaned her head forward, and licked the human blood. Immediately, she stumbled back and blinked. What she was seeing around her wasn't what had been there a moment ago. Instead, she saw herself, holding the rag and the knife, the rag still clean. Madalena blinked again and the vision was lost to her, only its memory remaining behind.

Without waiting, she licked the second blood, the one that looked like vomit. It unsettled her stomach for the briefest of moments, and then once again – she saw herself, this time flying with excitement and girly shrills around Dia. And the vision moved down, as Dia looked at herself, Madalena realized…

"I think I just rode the blood," she whispered, blinking, and the vision was gone, "I saw… With every drop, I saw the last few seconds before it was taken. I saw you looking at me. And what I looked like. Every move I made."

She looked as bewildered as she guessed she as feeling in that moment. Realizing that seconds ago, Dia had asked a question about telepathy, Madalena shook her head, "no, I don't think you were doing telepathy… but try something else."

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

Dianah chuckled that deep bellowing laugh that shook her from the inside out. Her thick, tree trunk arms wrapped around Madalena as they embraced. It was a lot harder to control the sheer strength behind the rock solid muscle than it first seemed, Dianah had to physically restrain herself from crushing her friend. Her booming voice came shortly after Maddy's acceptance. 'I can't promise embarrassing and puffy-sleeved for the wedding, but you have free reign when it comes to the after party. Go wild.' Dianah gave her another gentle squeeze. 'I'm so happy you've said yes! I mean.. I wasn't worried you'd say no but still!'

The holodevice clicked and, despite her current form, Dianah beamed. The lopsided grin took up half her face, stretching her cheeks to a comical form. 'That is a just for me and you picture. I'm never going to shift into this form again if I can help it.' A heavy shudder ran down the length of her spine as she spoke. It wasn't just the sheer hideousness of it, but it was an awkward form as well. Her arms were heavy, her legs felt like dead weights, her back was twisted in ways she couldn't even imagine. To top it all off heavy balls of what felt suspiciously like pus hung off her skin in extremely uncomfortable places.

'Thank Ragnaaa-' Dianahs immediately broke as the shift began. One minute her tone was rumbling and thunderous, the next it was high and velvety. '-aaaaa!' Her whole body deflated like the last balloon at the end of the party. Skin hung off of her thick bones and flapped comically in the stiff breeze that stirred through the clearing. 'I think I'll try the Loth puppies next. They can't be too hard. Four legs and a snout.' Her arms flicked wildly as the trunk like muscles drew in on themselves and shifted to form what would eventually be the dog legs. Her hands began to shift too. Fingers blended together, making two larger versions on each hand.

Dianah's eyes went wide as Madalena lent forward to lick her blood, though honestly she couldn't say she was really that surprised. Madalena was incredible eccentric, licking blood seemed to fit her personality. Her eyes faded from mild shock to intense curiosity as her friend stood dumbly, seeming staring out into space for a split second. Her head titled, though the weight was a little too much for her shrinking neck. Dianah ended up with her right ear pressed firmly against her shoulder. The look was meant to be inquisitive but it was likely she just looked like a fool. 'Rode the bloo-...' Madalena answered before she could ask the question. While she listened Dianah focused on trying to correct her head as the snout began to form.

'That is... crazy awesome. How far do you think it goes back? Can you see someone's whole entire history I wonder? What if I had five sets of eyes, which set would you see it from?' Her voice was turning from honey suckle to a rumbling, beastly growl. Her legs shrank, so quickly it almost appeared like she was dropping from a height. Dianah was forced forward onto her makeshift paws as the rest of the change completed itself.

[SIZE=13.3333px][member="Scherezade deWinter"][/SIZE]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

The after party? Madalena grinned from ear to ear. She'd never actually been to a wedding after party. Come to think of it, she could count on a single had the number of weddings she'd actually attended, and she hadn't been psyched about any of them before now. Now, it was one of her best friends that was getting married! And sure, yeah, the holopic was just for her and Dia. Dia's device already held the copy of the holo.

Looking up as Dia mentioned she'd be trying the Loth puppies next, Madalena flashed her a huge smile. "Are you sure you're ready for that?" she asked with worry. She didn't want her friend to get stuck in a form for longer than she wanted to. Loth wolves were very different on the physical level. Not just bigger, but their entire skeleton system was meant for something that walked on four and not on two. So many things that could go wrong. "Is there anything I can do with the Force to help you when you shift to make it easier or smoother?" she asked, wondering if there was something like that that was even possible.

How far she could go? Entire histories? Madalena shook her head. "I don't think I can do entire histories. But maybe…" she looked at Dia and squinted her eyes, deep in thought. "Maybe if there's more a drop, I could see more than a few seconds. I don't want to imagine how much I need for an entire life. But what if…" Could it be done? "when we're done with your experiments, I wanna see if you can give me memories with your blood. Sort of like how it's done through the Force, but using the blood instead. And maybe test if the memories can be falsified."

Wiping her hands on the sides of her pants, Madalena smiled again. "But you're turning into a Loth puppy first."

[member="Dianah Vi'Dreya"]

 

[Darth Miseria]

'I'm never ready for any new shift. You just kind of have to go for it. It's how I learnt how to do the tree. Not as complicated but still a big step. I honestly have no idea where my heart or my organs or any of that went too when I shifted into the tree. At least I have some idea with this one.' Dianah was now around half the size of Madalena. Four spindly legs supported the weight of a slightly bulbous body. Her face seemed to be mid shift, half snout half nose. 'I'm not entirely sure you know, nobody has ever asked before. The low gravity helps but it isn't really painful to begin with.'

Once the snout had settled and the teeth were beginning to break through the gum Dianah could focus on the easiest parts of the shift. Growing her leg bones to the correct size, sprouting a tail, creating tufts of shocking chocolate brown fur. When she spoke she did so through the force, pressing her voice into Madalena's mind. 'I don't mind a little blood loss. How much do you think a shi'ido can lose before it starts getting dangerous?' The fur was now thick and full, covering the entire length of her body. The haphazard paws that she had been standing on where slowly moulding into something much more similar to the real puppies, both of whom were watching with great interest. 'How do you think we'll go about doing that? Maybe it's sort of like a memory rub but on yourself? Does it work that way?'

All of a sudden a rumbling bark broke trough the clearing, startling the loth puppies and Dianah herself. Another one followed quickly, then another, then another. She bounced on the paws to test them out. 'Not bad! I wasn't sure I would get the bark down. Tail still needs some work though. Humans still have a residual tail bone so I thought I could work with that, but I've never really tried shifting it before.' She chased it, spinning in endless circle after endless circle in an effort to try and catch up with it. It was to short by half.

[member=Scherezade deWinter]