Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Jan 26, 2022 16:33:34 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Harnan had stayed awake for a bit after he had left Fiora in her room, searching up any information he could find within the Ren archives regarding the Shi'ido. It took a moment before the screen filled with several windows all populated with information from various sources. The shadowy former Master of the Ren had kept several files in the Shi'ido and the Knight of Ren belonging to the species. Others were more research related files, which described the Shi'ido's ability to transform into creatures and objects of near limitless shape and size. Harnan did his best to stay awake, reading through it all until he finally fell asleep
When the sun finally rose the next morning, Harnan slowly woke up at his desk. The holoscreen still displaying the plethora of information. He pushed himself up to his feet and got changed out the clothes he'd been wearing yesterday and into another set of similar clothing. This was not much need to don his full armour suit within the Citadel. Any attack would occur with enough warning he could easily get changed into his gear.
He shambled his way out of his room and down to the Kitchen, still somewhat half asleep himself. His intention had been to grab some food before returning to his room to finish his reading before Fiora woke up. Something he was pretty sure he was still ahead of as he walked into the kitchen and caught sight of black and purple curls
Jin...
He walked over to one of the cupboards and pulled out some cereal and poured some into a bowl. Neith and Jin must have gotten back from their latest mission late last night. At least that was what his half awake mind had initially assumed was the case
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Jan 26, 2022 17:21:49 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
She'd been so wrapped up in her cooking, Fiora hadn't noticed Harnan enter the kitchen until he was just about on top of her and spoke. She froze up and quickly looked around, searching for Jin, but instead finding just Harnan standing beside her in the kitchen. She stared at him a moment, wondering if he really thought she was Jin right now. Perhaps he was still not awake enough yet to distinguish her from the real Jin. She turned her attention back down to the food as she kept cooking
Oh... hey... morning...
She did her best to keep calm, even as she heard the foreign sounding, yet familiar, voice emanate from her mouth. It was weird, since yesterday her voice had sounded like her own, but today her transformation had apparently become a bit more advanced. She glanced at his bowl and back to the food she was cooking up
I've got some stuff cooking already, if you're fine with sharing?
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Jan 26, 2022 19:34:11 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
He wasn't awake enough to pay too much attention to the startled response from "Jin", instead only hearing her verbal reply as he poured out the cereal. He turned his gaze across to the cooktop then, eyeing up the food she had rather abruptly offered to share with him. There was a significant amount there, which begged the question if she had intended to share the food with someone else already? Fiora perhaps? The pair were quite close so it would make sense. But seeing as he was here now, perhaps she decided to offer him the extra food instead
Uhhh... Sure, why not, since you are offering. Might be a lot better than what I was planning to have...
He tossed the cereal away and set the small table with some cutlery and a couple plates to try and at least be helpful. He'd never given much thought into how Jin viewed him, their relationship had mostly been distant from what he could remember. Neith had trained the young woman up for the past several years. So perhaps this wouldn't be overly awkward or weird
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Jan 31, 2022 13:44:41 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
It absolutely is better...
She cut herself off before she said too much more, a mix of embarrassment and protectiveness kicking in. She kept her focus on cooking, using it to center herself and calm down, even as she spied Harnan getting the able set. It was weird to watch the Master of the Ren doing something so mundane. It caught her off guard a little to see it. But the crackling and popping off the cooking food pulled her focus back. She finished up the cooking and plated the various items onto the table before pulling out the several slices of toasted bread. As she placed those onto the table, she slid into the seat next to Harnan. It wasn't a conscious decision, so much as it was the place she wanted to be right in that moment
Let's eat...
She didn't wait before starting to stack various items on her plate. She was hungry and needed to replenish her strength
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Feb 9, 2022 17:53:01 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Harnan hadn't rained Jin personally since she joined the Ren, that task had been left to Neith. He had certainly received reports on her progress and observed training sessions. To that end, he was aware that she was not timid. Thus the rather abrupt comment wasn't entirely unexpected. Nor was it incorrect. So he did not dwell upon it all that much. What did catch him off guard, was when "Jin" suddenly slid onto the seat right next to him. The dining table wasn't exactly massive, but it certainly had space enough to seat them both apart. So it did draw some curiosity as she purposefully chose to sit next to him.
He glanced at "Jin", before she started loading up her plate with food. He then quickly grabbed a few items of food as he realized that it wasn't him that was going to have troubles with sharing, but "Jin" was with how fast she was loading up her plate. He did his best to grab a few items before reaching out once again, his hand brushing against "Jin's", causing a small shock to emanate from the point of contact. It was a strange sensation, which caused him to turn his gaze back to "Jin" to see her reaction to it
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196 
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Feb 24, 2022 22:46:26 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin, the real one, had just returned from a mission with Neith to a particularly muddy and filthy planet. The task had taken several days and sleep had been a luxury that they were not aforded. So the young woman stumbled off the ship and had to make a choice. Either go straight to bed or grab a snack to sate her rumbling stomach. Jin opted for the latter and wished Neith goodnight/morning and shuffled off to the kitchen. Bags were under her makeup smeared eyes, mud covered her uniform and armor, and if she didn't know any better there may have been stink lines visibly rising up off of her. But she didn't care. When it came to successful missions no one asked "How?" only "How many?" Eventually she stumbled into the kitchen. She clocked two individuals already inside, not taking the time to notice who they were. Her eyes were on the prize. And that prize was some toast. She retrieved some sliced bread from the cupboards and made her way to the toaster. After slapping the toast in she nearly fell asleep on her feet. But the 'ding' of the toaster brought her back to reality. Grabbing the warm bread, she covered it with butter and turned to leave the room. But the ding had woken her sufficiently that she now noticed WHO was in the room exactly. Uhhhhh... What's going on? The toast, only one bite taken from it, clattered to the floor.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Feb 24, 2022 23:25:17 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Given how hungry she was, Fiora hadn't taken much care to notice how ravenously she was grabbing food onto her plate. Nor did she take much notice of Harnan grabbing food as well, or the arrival of a third person into the kitchen. But both things were about to very quickly make her aware of them. The first was the contact her hand made with Harnan's, causing a similar shock of sensation as what he felt in that moment. Her hand jerked away slightly in surprise, her heart racing as she turned toward Harnan. The slight panic in her eyes would have been quite apparent. While she hadn't exactly lied to him, yet anyway, she was pretty sure he had believed her to be Jin up until that moment.
Any hope of regaining her composure was then quickly ruined by the ding sound emanating from the toaster, drawing her gaze toward the third occupant of the kitchen. Covered in mud, smelling of the Force only knew what, and looking like she needed a great deal of sleep was the very girl her features were currently resembling. Jin and Neith's mission had apparently ended and they'd just arrived back. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words seemed to come out. Instead, she closed her mouth and looked down dejectedly. This was going to require an explanation. As much as she wanted to run over and hug her best friend, it would not be fair to Jin to do that right now
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Feb 24, 2022 23:36:54 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
The small shock caused by the contact between their hands had already started to wake him up and make him aware that something was not right. "Jin's" panicked expression merely served to confirm that fact as Harnan's senses slowly started coming to him more and more. But the final confirmation came about as the toaster ding sounded and Harnan turned his attention to Jin... The real Jin this time, as she asked what was going on
That's a very good question...
He turned his gaze back to the doppelgänger seated next to him, finally piecing everything together as he sensed Fiora's presence within the Force emanating from the "Jin" closest to him
Fiora...
He let the statement hang for a moment, his attention then turning back to Jin. This was absolutely not how he had wanted this conversation to come about, but life rarely waited for that timing to come about
Jin... you might want to take a seat...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Feb 24, 2022 23:46:42 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Her hand had been sliding toward her lightsaber. Jin didn't know much about shapechangers or anything that could take on the appearance of another, but she did know that they generally led to trouble. Especially when the person they were impersonating walked in. But as Harnan spoke Jin's mind was already starting to put things into perspective. She had seen the look on "her" face before. It had been on one of the several occasions she and Fiora got caught sneaking about the Imperial palace together, or getting into trouble here in the Citadel. But Harnan confirmed it with his words. Jin relaxed her posture, no longer ready to defend herself, she picked the toast up off the ground, but still did not remove her eyes from who she now knew to be Fiora. She blew on the toast, "ten second rule after all" was the thought that floated through her sleep deprived brain. Then she moved over to a chair and followed the Master's command and sat. Eyes still locked on Fiora. She took one more bite of toast before saying through a mouthful. This is some impressive disguise.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Feb 25, 2022 3:48:41 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora had been so pre-occupied with Harnan's reaction, that she'd hardly noticed Jin reaching for her saber. She lifted her gaze up to Harnan, giving a solemn nod in response to him saying her name. While it hadn't been a question, she still felt the need to answer and confirm his statement before turning her gaze to Jin. Her best friend seeming to snap out of her shock as she bent down and collected the toast she had dropped. From then on, Jin's gaze was locked on her, something which caused Fiora to blush as she became unable to meet Jin's gaze. Her appetite had all but disappeared in that moment, even though she knew she needed to eat
It's not a disguise...
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Feb 25, 2022 4:22:08 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
In those first few tense moments, Harnan had been prepared to stop Jin if she'd acted prematurely. But thankfully she had also started to piece things together and relaxed her guard. She was surprisingly resilient and calm about everything after having momentarily freaked out seconds before. Likely a combo of the sleep deprivation, but also the strong bond she shared with Fiora. He didn't question her choice to collect her toast off the floor, despite the small buffet of food sitting on the table between them. Mostly because he was a little rattled by the fact that he was hearing Jin's voice from two separate people
Not in the traditional sense anyway... It's... complicated to say the least. But it would appear Fiora has inherited the ability to take on the appearance of others from her mother, though still quite involuntarily... Hence the situation we find ourselves in at this moment...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Feb 26, 2022 10:25:24 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin temporarily broke her gaze away from 'herself' and shifted it over to Harnan as he began to explain. So the princess was a shapechanger? This would take their mischief to a whole new level. A wistful smile crossed Jin's face as she thought back on the simpler times, before training with the Ren. But soon she turned her attention back to Fiora. The young woman took another bite of her floor-toast. Before nodding her approval to Fiora. Right on! That's hella cool. Though I would ask for a little heads up next time you're going to be me. I can lend you some of my cloths to complete the look too.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Feb 26, 2022 23:17:33 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
She slowly lifted her gaze to Jin, her best friend smiling and nodding at the revelation. If there was anyone in this galaxy she could and should have trusted to take this in stride, it was Jin. She'd just been so overwhelmed and scared about this whole thing that she hadn't exactly been thinking clearly. She slid out of her chair and moved around to behind Jin, her arms slipping around her friends neck and hugged her. The mud and stench definitely rubbed off on her as she hugged her best friend, but none of that mattered to her. Fiora then pouted at Jin's comment
It's not like I chose to turn into you... hmph!
She then broke her pout and offered a small smile in return
Some clothes would be greatly appreciated, not to complete the look or anything just... uhhh.... mine don't really fit...
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Feb 26, 2022 23:32:33 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Harnan watch Jin and Fiora interact, grateful that Jin was the way she was. The First Order had certainly become less stringent about it's humanocentrism ideals, but plenty of alien species were still discriminated against less officially. But then, Jin also hadn't come from within the First Order, so she did not hold the same prejudices. She was the friend Fiora would need to get through this. Harnan finished eating the sausage he'd picked up from his plate
It might be good for you two to stick close while Fiora is currently stuck with your likeness. At least until we can figure out how to get her powers under her control... Something even I am unsure how to accomplish...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Feb 28, 2022 22:36:29 GMT -8
Jin reached up behind her and ruffled Fiora's hair with her non-toast hand. Sure thing, I got plenty of shirts I'm not using anymore. Jin's attention then turned back to Harnan. Oh, uh, yeah, Master. As Jin seemed to finally realize who she as at the table with. She usually didn't mind sassing authority figures, but when said authority figure could crush her like a cup of caf with his mind, she tended to err on the side of caution. What, uh- if anything, would you recommend?
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Feb 28, 2022 23:35:44 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora leaned into Jin's hand a little as her friend ruffled her hair, feeling some of her confidence returning and a genuine smile spreading. Harnan was the Master of the Ren and provided a certain level of comfort and security. But Jin was her best friend, and could always make her smile and feel safe. She was the one person that had stuck by her over the years, which meant more to Fiora than Jin would perhaps ever know
Thanks!
Fiora gave a gentle squeeze as her gaze shifted over to Harnan as Jin accepted being voluntold to stick by Fiora's side. Her gaze crossed the mini buffet of food on the table, reminding her of just how hungry she was. Her stomach emitting a small grumble, which caused Fiora to blush in embarrassment. She gave an awkward smile before slipping into the chair next to Jin and grabbing her plate over to start eating again. She needed to replenish her energy stores
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Mar 1, 2022 0:00:10 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
His gaze followed Fiora as she unhooked herself from Jin and took a seat and started digging into her food again. The copy was almost perfect, though if you looked hard and close enough with them together, there were subtle differences between the pair. No doubt once Fiora could control her powers such imperfections would disappear. But how to get to that stage was, for the time being, a mystery
I'm hoping something in the archives on Byss might help in that regard. So far her changes have been affected by some sort of memory of someone important to her... Could always investigate that route while I'm away. Sleep and mental intrusion have worked so far, so those seem like sure routes. If you can think of any other ways, by all means... I trust your judgement...
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Jin Song
Member
Posts: 196
Affiliation: First Order- Fiora Delvardus
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Post by Jin Song on Mar 2, 2022 16:29:24 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Jin tried to focus and think about how best to go about this. But the exhaustion from her mission was washing back over her. Maybe that sleep would be the best bet at the moment. However from the look of things Fiora had just woken up so that would likely not work. Jin finished her toast then stood up. Well, if I'm going to have to keep my eye on you all day I will need to wash up. So, finish up your breakfast and meet me at my room.
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Fiora Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 351
Affiliation: The First Order - The Knights of Ren
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Post by Fiora Ren on Mar 3, 2022 1:02:20 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Fiora felt some of her strength returning as she finally got some food into her. She couldn't help but wonder if this was how it was going to be every time she transformed, or if this was just because her powers were so rampant. She hoped for the later as she swallowed down some more food before turning her attention to Jin, as her friend stood up. The lack of sleep and need for rest was clear, but apparently Jin seemed intent on just working through it. She would try fight her friend on it, but Fiora was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to change Jin's mind even as she pouted
No one said you had to keep an eye on me all day, just for us to stick together... I should probably wash up after, since you got me and my clothes dirty...
Something which, in Jin's defence, was Fiora's own fault for hugging her friend. But it at least would provide some opportunity for Jin to get a little bit of rest, possibly
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Harnan Ren
Knights of Ren
Posts: 601
Affiliation: Knights of Ren
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Post by Harnan Ren on Mar 3, 2022 13:07:11 GMT -8
Birth of the Skin Changer
Harnan finished the last bite of the food he had been consuming during the conversation. It was nice to see Fiora happy and with someone at her side she could rely on. He gathered his plate up and placed it in one of the washers available before turning back to the pair
Don't push yourself too hard kid, you'll be no use to each other if you collapse... And thanks...
He made his exit from the kitchen then, the last comment made without leaving time for any sort of response or further questioning. He did mean it, he was thankful for Jin being there for Fiora. Especially as it would allow him the focus to work through the archives on Byss with its material relating to shapeshifters. He would head back to his quarters, don his armour and make his way to the hangar bay and take a shuttle from Prakith to Byss
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