Nystao

Adelle raised an eyebrow. "Trouble? You? No, I never would've guessed."

One of the wandering attendants knelt to offer refreshment and Adelle lifted a tall flute of a light Coruscanti wine from the tray. After a moment's hesitation, she gently grasped the base of another wine glass and offered it to Sarah. It might not be received well, since she knew quite a few people who didn't enjoy wine, but it was polite and she had the feeling that "No" wasn't exactly in Sarah's vocabulary. She took a sip, enjoying the crisp taste and the floral notes. The finish was sweet but with a little bit of a bite. Wine wasn't her forte, but Adelle made up her mind to find this vintage when next she had creds to spend. She about choked when Sarah mentioned her fur. Her cheeks flushed and she dropped her eyes to the pale gold liquid in her glass, suddenly fascinated.

"I—uh, it— well, yes," she stammered. "It's— My mom, uh, spliced her DNA with Caamasi genes and th-that was part of it I guess." Subject change. "Your genetics . . . Do they hinder you or mark you as different?"

Outward cues of Sarah's internal struggle became apparent as she explained her unique biological oddity, belying her nonchalant behavior: a sharp breath, a slight flush to her cheeks, quick and sly glances, tension in her jaw, a strained exhalation. Adelle thoughtfully tipped the wine glass, drinking as she maintained eye contact. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the five lonely years, or even Sarah's desire that she felt burning through the Force; whatever the case, she found herself wondering what a night with this woman was like. The redhead's scent became potent, sweet citrus and the tang of hard liquor more noticeable than the mild herbs in the bath. Adelle found it altogether not unpleasant.

"That must be quite the struggle," she said, rotating the glass stem with her fingers. Sarah, it seemed, had completely opened up her body to Adelle; while the minerals in the bath fogged the water slightly, there was nothing hidden. Adelle drained her glass, trying to process the situation in spite of the light buzz of alcohol and the heavy heat of Sarah's compulsions. "How do you manage? Does your spouse take the brunt of it? Or are you unattached and left to cope on your own?"

She felt the press of Sarah's lips and the heat of her skin before the woman had even moved. Adelle tried to move back, out of her reach, but her back was already up against the wall. Her ears burned as red as her cheeks as Sarah's wet hand pulled her in suddenly, water running in rivulets down her neck and along her jaw. Lemon, antiseptic, and alcohol flooded her nose, almost drowning out the taste of her lips. Adelle clenched her fists even as the nurse pulled away with an apology. It left her a little slack-jawed and nonplussed but it gave her an answer. However innocent Sarah may have wanted this encounter to be, her compulsions had betrayed her.

"Yes, well, asking would have been nice," she said with a tight smile. She smoothed her hands out under the water, glancing around the bath. A few patrons and attendants had noticed and either refused to make eye contact or took furtive glances and whispered to their friends. "So public an area probably isn't the best place for someone of your... compulsions."

An image of Sarah kissing her neck on rumpled sheets flashed through her mind, derailing further thought. Adelle's jaw tensed as a breeze hit the water on her neck and she snapped her eyes back to Sarah's from the water.

"People might get jealous," she said teasingly. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want them to be.

Panic! Fear! Food! Panic!

For the most part, it was panic for Rini Takashi, known simply as Rin. It was nearly overwhelming at first, because in every direction, including up and down, she only saw, smelt, felt, heard and even tasted danger. Threats, everywhere! How did she even let herself get this exposed? Her mate, he was with her but a short while ago. She was going to drag him out with her, but his movements were slowing down, as he had been hit by something, and it was difficult to perceive what it was due to the extreme brightness that the Great One and others like him seemed to prefer for visual effectiveness. Like her mate, she spent most of her time squinting or just moving around with her eyes closed. But as she felt him stumbling while they followed their senses which led them to the outside, he urged her on, projecting an image of herself running alone. The image flashed insistently in her mind and she realized he was not brooking any arguments from her. At last, he collapsed, unable to continue on.

The seed of life was growing within her, and it was what was directing her thoughts and actions as of now.

She was moving, faster than she'd ever moved in her entire life. Desperation and fear lent her wings as she ran on the ground, but as she sensed movement and people through the vibrations, their sounds and their scents, it was like a bombardment of sensations that painted in her mind the exact image and location of every individual that was in her way, and she adjusted accordingly so that none of them had the slightest chance of even slowing her down in the least. She gripped the walls, digging extremely strong fingers and nails into material or finding gripping points most people would overlook or fail to notice, and ran on all fours, sometimes going up to the ceiling, down to the opposite wall, and the ground again, all the way moving at the same speed as she would while running.

She could feel the friction of the air itself as she raced along unfamiliar corridors, seeking escape. She knew it would be terrible, and worse, before it got better. Without her mate, she didn't know what she was doing. She only knew she needed a instinctual familiarity with the underground. Something she couldn't have in the home of the Great One. To provide a safe home for the children. Her children. She had no voice, no spoken language, and she could not convey this to the Watchers, servants of the Great One, whom Rin and her mate had often seen, or sensed. They seemed aloof, and tried not to spend too much time with the naturally curious pair of Rini. They learnt the language of the Watchers, and the Great One, who spoke the same language, but in a different manner. Speech was so foreign to the Rini, that they had a hard time understanding them, until they revealed that they could communicate by means of projecting images directly into the minds of the Watchers and the Great One. The latter seemed pleased by this, and could fathom their method of communication easily, which was why he was the Great One.

Eventually, the Rini and the Watchers fell into a state of acceptance. Rin and her mate would communicate to the Watchers by projecting imagery, and the Watchers would respond by speaking in what they called Galactic Basic. They showed the Rini incredible things. Objects of immense power that often intimidated them. They knew that the Watchers and their master, the Great One, could be terrifying if they wanted to be. Rin and her mate had very simple needs, but whenever they showed a warren, and underground, a nice moist construction with minimal to no light, it might have been misinterpreted, because the Watchers kept brightening their dwelling, until it hurt to even open their eyes, but they'd always kept their eyes closed for the most part since they were better with their other senses anyhow. It wasn't until recently that the Great One had learnt that their eyes were adjusted for nocturnal behaviour, but by then, Rin had begun exhibiting extreme agitation, and kept kicking at anything that was holding her in her dwelling.

This was the early stage of pregnancy for the Rini, when the expectant mother became extremely paranoid and wary of everything, sometimes even of her mate, unless both are in danger, then she would follow his lead...with caution.

After she had participated in discreet copulation, feeling embarrassed that the Watchers might be...watching, some days later, Rin began to panic at how exposed to the surface she was, and began violently attacking anything that wasn't her mate, but even he could not approach her while she was in this state, as she would bite her lips and slash at the ground in front of her, daring anything to try crossing the crudely made line. Her bleeding lips would serve to agitate her further, making her inconsolable, until, after some furtive projections between one another, her mate enacted a bold plan. They knew that there was more than just this place that they'd been living in for years, but as they were kept in relative comfort, save for the lights, they felt no need to try fleeing their dwelling...until now.

As she continued on her quest for an escape, she noticed a room in darkness, and it was small, she darted into it, pulling the door shut behind her.

For the first time in a long while, she opened her eyes, it was like the place was lit in bright sunlight for her, and she recognized the equipment used by a Janitor Watcher. He had never spoken to her or her mate, but they had seen him on occasion, during the times when the lights were low enough for them to open their eyes. Was he like them? Why were his belongings here? And why were they kept in suitable conditions for a Rini? Then a scent tickled her nose, and her eyes widened. The Janitor had been in contact with someone or something that had the same scent of a Rini, like her or her mate, but different. There were others? They'd never really thought to ask before, but now Rin was curious.

DANGER! PANIC! DANGER!

She heard them coming! She could smell them, feel them as they sent subtle vibrations with every step. They were close...too close! She was in her environment now, though, so she would turn and fight. No one was going to get to her children.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

The urge translated into fury, and she emitted one of the few noises a Rini would make, a kind of squeaky growling sound, that sounded like rapid chittering.

They opened the door and she rolled on her bottom, kicking out with both feet, hitting the Watcher directly in the midsection. He was the only one that had approached, but the others were hanging back. She didn't wait, and leapt for the nearest one, clambering over her very quickly, and leaping from her back, into the ceiling, clawed her way across for a moment, down the wall, and on to the floor, and away. She saw moving walls...no, they were called doors! She went for it and raked at it with her claws.

Her hand sailed through empty air. The door had opened for her.

She raced through it, and did not pause to think. RUN! KEEP RUNNING!

FOOD!

There was distracting scents of edible vegetation and fruits. WATCHERS! So many Watchers! They were everywhere. Most were surprised, some even afraid. Why were they afraid? If there was something that frightened them, it would be downright terrifying to her! She had to move, had to protect her children. If even the Watchers could not handle it, how could she? The Great One! What would he do? Where was the Great One? No time. RUN! FOOD! RUN!

She was distracted. The collection of food was impressive, and she needed sustenance. Her hand swiped out and she caught a palm-sized fruit that she ate as she ran along. A Watcher shouted in protest at her action, and this confused her, but she did not stop. Several Watchers were starting to turn their attentions on her now, however. She could feel their intent as if they were projecting their thoughts into her head, but that was not possible. She stopped running, and sank to her knees. The Watchers ruled the surface. Her domain lay beneath their feet. She could feel the call of the underground reaching into her mind like a deafening roar. She was fast, but she would tire if she were not allowed to pause, rest, and eat. Plus, she could not see because of the daylight. Her eyes were clenched shut tightly, but she could still feel the movements on the ground. Hear things. She suddenly clapped her hands over her ears and opened her mouth, and she let out a glass-shattering shriek for a few seconds, then struck the ground with her hands.

She tore through rock, gravel, and eventually, soil. After she was twenty feet in the ground, she turned and kicked desperately, creating a barrier behind her. And she tunnelled another thirty feet, and created a barrier. She continued to do this, tunnelling a short distance, then kicking down the tunnel behind her to prevent pursuit. In the darkness she could open her eyes and look around, though at this point she was relying more on the hair on her head to feel the ground and sense the easier parts of the ground to tunnel. The Watchers and their structures often sunk roots into the ground, like plants and trees, but they were foreign and seemed to her as injuries inflicted on the ground. She avoided these artificial roots and began burrowing further away from them, hopefully further away from Watchers, and unfortunately, the Great One. There was little that she could do about that.

Nothing mattered to her but the safety of her children.

Adelle walked out of the rented flat wearing her usual attire: a drab tactical shirt, cargo pants, and the green sash she wore around her waist. When she saw the speeder, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Well kriff," she said under her breath. Sarah herself was dressed in a glamorous cocktail dress more appropriate for a Coruscanti soiree than an impromptu date. Adelle rubbed the back of her neck as she approached Sarah.

"I'm afraid I'm underdressed," she said.