Wild Cards (open)

[Callomas Savoc]

"Do you know this woman?"

It was a line he'd repeated dozens of times, on several worlds. This latest time was on Sullust, in the shelter from a rainstorm which had just swept in. He met the man from an adjacently parked speeder, and they walked in tandem to the awning of a nearby bar.

"I may have seen her once."

A credit chit clattered on the ground between them.

"Perhaps you can get that for me?"

Savoc's guest looked at the old imperial suspiciously, and then stooped down, picking the chit off the ground. Verifying that the amount on it was agreeable, he pocketed it.

"I do recall her."

"She comes here often?" Savoc asked, lighting his informant's stim.

"I recall her." The informant replied emphatically. "Loklorien s'Ilancy. You do not easily forget a woman with eyes like hers."

The pair mutually tired of the rain, and stepped into the bar, finding a small table away from the windows. Savoc took the seat with his back against the wall, and invited his guest to sit opposite him.

"No you do not. That is why I expect good recollection."

Savoc slid another chit across the table. The informant viewed it again, and pocketed it.

"She has run guns here. My cousin has a clearinghouse. You're not going to..."

Savoc shook his head as a waitress brought him a bottle of potent clear liquor. He poured two small glasses.

"...kill her? No my friend. That, I have already done."

He didn't understand. He wasn't meant to. Savoc clinked glasses with his employee, and drank.

"No trouble will come to your cousin or his business. All I ask is her whereabouts."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'm tired of this rain," was the only grumbled complaint as the woman pulled herself from the passenger side of a speeder. The driver, a somewhat surly, constantly angry looking man, stood from the driver's seat. He was tall - much taller than the woman, and shutting his door, motioned for the woman to do the same. It would be much better than jsut standing and complaining about the rain. Not to mention it kept the inside of the speeder dry.

"The rain will pass."

No reply was given as the two made their way to the entrance of the hotel they'd beens taying at for the last week. Once inside and out of the rain, the woman shook off her overcoat - shaking it of any excess water that had accumulated during the trek from the car to the lobby.

She turned to them man. "I don't care if it's going to pass. It's been raining for a bloody week, and I'd like to, at some point while we're here, get out and run about some."

Of course she excluded the detailed version of what she meant by 'getting out'. It was so much easier to explain away her habits with 'getting out and running around'.

"You'll get your chance."

The woman remained unconvinced as they stepped into the lift that would take them to their rooms. She depressed the button for their floor, and the doors closed, sending them upwards.

"Yeah but when."

A pause.

"In time."

The doors opened, and the two stepped out. Making their way down the poorly lit hallway, they stopped at a door marked 48F. The man brought out the keycard they'd been given, and swiping it through the lock, waited for the indicator light to go green before pushing the door open.

"Yeah, but when??"

[Callomas Savoc]

An hour passed, and the two men continued their conversation over drinks. Savoc drank enough to be social, but not enough to cloud his judgment or reflexes, should either be needed. To take the edge off of the alcohol, he lit a stim as the informant spoke.

"Who does she work for?"

"Herself." The informant seemed confused b the question. "That is, I've never heard her speak of a handler. Everything I have suggests freelance."

"Hmm" Savoc nodded, swallowing a mouthful of dregs and ice. It all sounded like the same woman.

"You said her last delivery was..."

"Yesterday."

Savoc nodded. "And with the coming of the storm..."

"The spaceport is closed, until late tonight at the earliest."

She was grounded, and likely in the same city.

"And if you were an offworld traveller, where would you stay?"

"As a guess?"

"Your best."

The informant set his drink down, and pointed to the window at his left. Across the street, a six-storied edifice could be seen through the rain. Only a handful of the windows were lit.

"It's the most convenient location. It's only a guess though, but I've seen enough offworlders to hazard it." The informant's speech indicated he was holding out.

Savoc begrudgingly procured another chit from his coat, but set the value to half of the other two.

"I'll only pay for a hunch once."

The informant accepted it readily, and Savoc paid the bill.

"When you said you had already killed her..." he queried.

"Not your concern." With that, Savoc drew his coat around him snugly, and stepped out into the rain once more.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Two pair, Ace high."

"No way... "

The cards were layed out, the man' hand revealed to the woman.

"I don't believe it - you cheated - "

"I do not cheat."

"Well you obviously did just now."

The man frowned, looking across the small table at the woman he'd been sent to escort. She was not exactly what he'd expected her to be like from his employer's file, and it showed.

"Miss s'Ilancy, I assure you I did not cheat."

"Oh nerfrot." She dropped her own cards to the table in semi-disgust. Of all the people she had to be stuck with on this planet, it had to be this guy? s'Il honestly couldn't think of anyone else who could possibly be a worse companion than him. "Fine, you win the hand. It's not like we were playing for money anyway."

She stood, grabbing her still drying jacket from the back of her chair.

"Where are you goin?"

"Downstairs for a drink."

He laid his hands palm down on the table. "There are drinks here."

"Yes well," she grabbed a key card, pocketing it, "I don't feel like any of the drinks we have up here."

The man fell silent then as she stepped over to the door. "Don't leave the hotel," he said finally.

"What, and get drenched again? I think not. There's a small bar next to the lobby - I'm going there."

And with that, the door closed behind her, leaving the man to sit in solitude and lament his current situation of being temporarily stranded on Sullust with the single most ornery, stubborn woman he'd ever met.

[Callomas Savoc]

This time he was not so lucky. To cross the street, Cal endured a cold and driving rain. He drew his coat tightly around him, leaning into the brunt as he made his way to the hotel's front awning. He was nearly saturated by the time he stepped through the doorway and into the lobby. There he lingered on the welcome mat, dripping dry while he ran a hand over his thinning hairline.

Old habits began to take over, putting his mind on auto-pilot. His eyes moved quickly from the doorman, to the concierge, and back to the two bellboys loitering over a baggage sled. He glanced left - toward the bar, but returned his attention to the people in the forefront; the imminent threats. Or at least that's how he operated. Everyone, and no one, was a threat. Paranoia was always healthy in moderation.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still grumbling unhealthily to herself, s'Il stepped from the lift. Why her?! Why did she have to be stuck with that boring, no-fun piece of human flesh? Of all the people to be cooped up with on a planet like this, it had to be a coatrack dressed as a man? She could get better conversation from a doorstop.

The rush of cold air hit her first as she made her way across the lobby, and pulling her coat tighter, the Lupine narrowed her eyes, focusing on the small bar and cafe that was nestled cozily off to the side of the building. There she would be able to find a warmer atmosphere, and hopefully a drink to warm her throat.

No thought was given to whomever had just entered; just that when he or she had, they'd let in enough cold air to make her grind her teeth in aggravation. But still she stalked forward, paying no attention to the apparent newcomer...

After all. At times like this, when stuck on a rain-soaked, puddle-drenched planet, a drink was the only thing that could come close to keeping one warm. Or at least keep her warm.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Excuse me."

Savoc got the attention of the concierge clerk, as he blotted away the precipitation on his forehead with a handkerchief.

"May I help you?"

"I am looking for a friend who is staying here. If I give you her name, can you give me her room number?"

"I'm sorry sir, but that information is not available." The clerk said in a patronizing tone.

"Of course." Savoc nodded. "Perhaps you can call her and let her know her uncle is here?"

"I can do that. Who is the guest?"

"Loklorien s'Ilancy."

"I'll call her now."

"Thank you." Savoc smiled, placing a modest credit tip on the counter. "I will be having a cigarette under the awning. Let her know where to find me."

Cal turned, and headed back to the front door as the concierge clerk made a call to s'Il's room.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"No, she is not here."

A short pause.

"She is down at the adjacent bar. You will find her there."

The man switched off the comm and once more busied himself with the mundane task of reclining on the bed.


- - -

She had just been handed her drink. Not even taken her first sip. Of course it only stood to reason that that was deemed the perfect time for the message boy to tap her shoulder.

"What." The Lupine didn't even turn around.

"Ma'am, sorry to disturb you, but you have a visitor waiting for you."

"Oh really."

The boy had that universal 'please don't kill the messenger' look in his eyes. "Yes Ma'am. He said he was your uncle, and that he would be waiting for you just outside under the awning."

This caused her to stop, the glass halfway raised to her lips. s'Il set her beverage down slowly, then turned to face the messageboy more fully. The look in his eyes doubled in intensity as she stared him down.

"My... 'uncle'... is here."

"Y-yes Ma'am."

"Outside."

The boy nodded.

"Under the awning."

Another nod. By this time, the poor wretch looked as though he would faint. With nothing but disgust mixed with suspicion in her expression, s'Il slid from the stool. Glass in hand, she stormed from the cafe.

"Wait... Ma'am, you can't take that -"

"I can, and I will," was the growled response which cut his sentence in half.

She stepped outside, drink still in hand, and stood for a few minutes to let her senses adjust. Just ahead of her stood a man.

She said nothing for a few seconds, only visually digesting him as he stood, smoke in hand. Something ticked annoyingly in the back of her mind, and her eyes narrowed to steely slits.

"You're not my uncle," she said flatly.

[Callomas Savoc]

"That makes me a liar."

Cal said nothing for a moment, letting the staccato rhythm of raindrops on the awning do the talking as he smoked.

"You look well, my friend. Better than since we last met."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

And that's when it clicked. The drink fell from her hand to shatter on the ground, spilling its' contents on the already somewhat damp cobblestones.

"You... "

She fumbled in her pockets for a few quick seconds before mentally cursing.

"You stay right there," she pointed at him, her gaze stern as if she was talking to a disobediant child, "I need to go get my gun. Don't move from that spot - " Another quick pat-down revealed that she was indeed without a firearm.

"I need to pay you back for last time."

[Callomas Savoc]

"How careless." Savoc glanced down at her spilled drink. "Fortunately I have a handkerchief."

He withdrew his hand from his jacket, with a white handkerchief wrapped around it - and something else in his grasp.

It was an unspoken and non-negotiable invitation to remain under the awning.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a decidedly sour look, s'Il remained where she was. Unable to retreat back inside, she opted to simply let her anger show in her words. The Lupine scowled deeply, stuffing her hands into her pockets then.

"You got a lot of gall to come dragging your carcass back to me after what you did.

"I didn't rightly appreciate Kessel - or your slug."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Your bitterness does not suprise me." Savoc conceded. "I didn't expect a warm welcome. I obviously did not prepare for one."

He casually walked around her, mindful to keep his blaster in between himself and the center of her mass.

"I have a speeder a short distance from here. I recall you being a good driver. Let's go."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She turned to face him as he strode behind her.

"Give me one good reason why I should do anything you say."

Her eyes flitted to the blaster momentarily before once more returning to his face.

" - Besides the fact that you've got a blaster pointed at me. By now I'd think that you of all people should know that it isn't all that easy to put a bullet in me and expect me to stay down."

[Callomas Savoc]

"That is why I carry more than one shot" He said flatly, gesturing the way he intended that she walk with a flick of his hidden muzzle.

"Stoicism doesn't suit you. You are a survivor, like myself. So, survive."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She was unable to really think of a counter to his words, and so s'Il resigned herself to giving him a glare that could cut through durracrete.

"Fine."

Turning on her heel, the Lupine marched out from under the awning and into the driving rain. Summarily soaked within the first few seconds, she shot an evil look over her shoulder to the man behind her before continuing on.

"Where's your speeder."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Second on the right."

Extinguishing his smoke, he retrieved the keys with his non-firing hand. He tossed them to s'Il as he moved to the rear right passenger door, climbing in so that he could easily bring his sidearm to bear on her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She caught the keys easily, lowering her frame into the driver's seat. After a moment of silence, she started the engine, listening as it turned over before settling into an idle rumbling.

"If you plan on taking me back to Kessel, I suggest you just shoot me now."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I have no interest in Kessel either. We are both equally glad to leave that place."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Sure, whatever you say."

Still unconvinced, s'Il decided against looking back at her abductor.

"Where am I going," she asked roughly while throwing the speeder into reverse.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Just drive."

Minutes passed, until Savoc finally spoke again.

"So, is the smuggling business as good to you as it once was?"

The former imperial leaned back in his seat, resting the gun upright in his lap so that it faced the driver naturally.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Just drive, he says," she grumbled.

And yet, she did just that. A this point in time, there was really nothing she could do. So she did as she was told, driving aimlessly down street after street, listening as the rain pelted the speeder.

At his query though, s'Il finally stole a look in his direction.

"It's always the same," she answered noncommitally, "It doesn't matter to me who pays the bills usually - everyone has something they need done."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I see. And if I were to offer you a job?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'd tell you to go frell yourself."

[Callomas Savoc]

"That would be a mistake." Savoc didn't bother to explain the obvious reasons why it would be so.

"Perhaps you aren't quite the mercenary you make yourself out to be."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Feet mashing the brake pedal, s'Il brought the speeder to an abrupt halt.

"You listen to me, you mynock sniffer," she started, rounding on him. His blaster went unheeded as her anger and frustration went unchecked. "I don't care who you think you are, and I certainly don't care how slick you think you are. I don't really find it easy to forget having a slug injection, and I certainly can't forget you sending me to Kessel. Now that being said, I find it very presumptious of you to even think of asking me to do a single thing for you."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Then let me do something for you instead. I'll make you a rich woman if you stop being such a stubborn mule. Perhaps it has escaped your notice, but I've had more than enough opportunity to kill you in the past few years. While gratitude may be too much, I would at least expect your cooperation."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I've already got enough money - I don't need your filthy credits."

s'Il scowled even deeper as she stared at him. She ignored his comment about how he could have ended her life over the last few years. The fact of the matter was that he hadn't. No, instead he'd seen fit to wait until now to rear his high-brow, condescending head.

"You, Callomas Savoc, are a lowdown dirty rat. I learned the hard way not to trust you the first time around, so I hope you understand my reluctance to do anything remotely connected with you for a second time."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Pull over."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"We're already stopped," she snapped, "Unless you hadn't already noticed that little fact."

[Callomas Savoc]

"We're stopped, yes. Get us out of the thoroughfare."

His intentions were unspoken. Away from witnesses was more to the point.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Foot mashing down on the gas pedal, s'Il angrily complied.

As the speeder came to a halt away from the main traffic, she turned the engine off, pulling the keys from the ignition and tossing them to Savoc.

"There. Are we through here yet? I have a drink I need to continue and a storm to wait through before I can leave this damn planet."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Put your hands on the wheel, at the two and ten o'clock positions, and your forehead at the twelve o'clock position."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Loklorien s'Ilancy was no idiot, and coupled with the fact that she'd already fallen to this man before, she knew what was going to be coming next. She placed her hands on the steering wheel where he'd ordered, however her head remained high.

"Oh now isn't this nostalgic. I must say though, that it's nice to see you've graduated from simple gut shots to execution-style killing. It so suits you."

Hands gripping the wheel in a white-knuckled grip, s'Il ground her teeth before slowly sending a glare over her shoulder to Savoc. Only instead of her normal, metallic gaze, what greeted him was a stare of tawny yellow - exotic and hopefully startling at the same time...

[Callomas Savoc]

At first, Savoc didn't pay the change in eye color any mind. He simply assisted s'Ilancy in placing her head against the steering wheel, by clubbing her on the side of the head with the butt of his pistol.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Stars exploding before her eyes, s'Il shook her head groggily as hands went out to steady herself. One gripping the doorlatch and the other holding on to the center console, the Lupine let streaks of blonde hair fall inf ront of her eyes.

It was then that the growl became audible. A growl that was coming from inside the speeder. A growl that was coming from only the front section of the vehicle.

Her head once again whipping around to look at Savoc, the woman sent him a murderous glare from the tops of flaming yellow eyes. Her lips curling back, it was easy to see that once very human teeth were sharpening to points.

And if he was to look down at her hands, he would have seen also that they too, were changing...

[Callomas Savoc]

At less subtle signs of her change, Savoc loosed three shots into the back of her seat, before kicking his door open and rolling out of the car.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

One of the bolts tore through the cushioning at just below her shoulder joint, missing by mere centimeters. The second unfortunately caught her side with a cauterizing slash and she winced a little in pain. The third however hit her just at the edge of her lower ribcage - just beside her spine, and the Lupine doubled forward to rest her slight bulk against the steering wheel.

She watched sidelong as Savoc rolled from the speeder, and slowly opening the driver's side door, s'Il painfully stood from her seat. She had since stopped the change, hoping that her brief "freakshow trick", as Sanis had once called it, was enough to deterr her kidnapper somewhat.

She looked down to Savoc. "People change. I've changed. I'm not the impressionable little greenhorn who's head you filled with hollow dreams anymore."

[Callomas Savoc]

Thoughts raced through Savoc's mind. Who was this woman? What was she? A changeling or doppleganger of some sort. Yet one with knowledge of s'ilancy that was irrefutably intimate. Could it be her?

Rising to his feet, he returned his blaster on-target.

"Changed to what?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il blinked.

She waited for a few seconds before answering as her body did its' best to deal with the pain of his blaster bolts. "Something much better than what I once was.

"Now." Standing taller, she pushed the door closed with a jerk. "You interrupted my drink, and I would very much like to finish it."

[Callomas Savoc]

Savoc was confused, but he wasn't intimidated. He considered his nemesis for a moment.

"You'll spring a leak."

He gestured to the maroon pucker that was visible through the hole in her shirt. A dome of near-black blood began to congeal to a lazy drip.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Without taking her eyes from him, s'Il lifted a hand to the wound he'd indicated, and pulling her fingers away she lifted them up into the lamplight.

"I'll heal."

And with that, she flicked a few drops of blood at Savoc.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Not if you don't seriously reconsider my offer."

Savoc snatched the handkerchief off his blaster, and wiped away a dot of blood on the lapel of his coat.

"Seven million credits. We need four people. We have three."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Frustrated, the Lupine screwed her face into a look of annoyance.

"You know, this is really getting old. You asked, I said no. Why are you so insistant on me joining you? Honestly - I would have thought you smarter than to come to someone you'd previously locked up."

[Callomas Savoc]

"You're the only person I know capable of the job. We need a smuggler, and you are the best I know of."

Cal smiled thinly.

"I've broken hundreds of people like you. I'd say that makes me qualified to recognize your talent."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"No one is like me," was the sharp retort, and s'Il found herself leaning against the frame of the speeder.

"You're barking up the wrong tree. I don't care how many elements there are in the equation, the fact of the matter is that it's you who's behind them; or at least offering to split the pot.

"And you'll have to forgive my rather adamant resistance, but the last time you offered to split the winnings, I didn't exactly get my cut."

Her eyes traveled the length of the blaster barrel though, rising to meet Savoc's face. She knew he wasn't one to give up, and as she continued to seemingly sag against the speeder, she knew that her own ability to walk away from this situation was rapidly becoming a non-factor.

[Callomas Savoc]

"You don't trust me."

He nodded, watching her rely more and more on the speeder's frame for support.

"That is good. I don't trust you either. That puts us on the level of anybody else that we might work with.

It's a binary choice, Loklorien. One involves a chance of betrayal. It also involves the chance of a massive payoff. The other choice? The certainty that I drain the power from my blaster's battery into you, and leave you on the pavement for the authorities to scrape off. Which alias would they identify you as tonight? Tell me now so I can send the cemetary flowers tomorrow morning."

He checked his chronometer, and raised his pistol again.

"Hating me won't change any of this."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a resolute stare, s'Il kept her gaze sharp even though her body was losing its' battle with pain. The bolt which had hit beside her spine was making itself very well known.

With the rain acting as the thinnest of veils between the two, she let it pelt her mercilessly as the halt in conversation went on.

Finally, she spoke. "Fine. But I don't want any of your money. I'm just doing this so you'll leave me be after everything is all said and done."

[Callomas Savoc]

A single clipped laugh escaped the former Imperial's lips.

"I won't hold my breath on your philanthropy. You'll get paid, like all of us."

He placed his handkerchief over her more serious blaster wound.

"Put your hand over it, and apply pressure until the bleeding ceases."

He led her carefully but without ceremony to the front passenger door, and opened it for her.

"I now owe you a drink."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Still breathing hot and cold air in the same breath, I see," was the only grumbled response as s'Il carefully eased herself down into the passenger seat. A hissed breath escaped her lips, but she remained otherwise silent while waiting for Savoc to skirt the front end of the speeder and get in himself.

A smug smile passed over her lips though, as she took a small bit of satisfaction in the fact that she'd neglected to re-adjust the seat back to where it had been before she'd been given the order to drive.

[Callomas Savoc]

Being somewhat short in stature himself, Savoc didn't have to maneuver the seat much. Nevertheless it was an inconvenience, especially when dealing with a person such as s'Ilancy.

Taking his seat, he started up the speeder, and accelerated back into traffic.

"Who is the man you are staying with?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il poked at the less painful side-wound. At Savoc's question though, she lifted her head to cast a cursory glance at him as he drove.

"Beats me. Though if I was to hazard a guess, I'd have to say a rock dressed as a human... only much less interesting than a rock."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Get rid of him however you see fit."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Now she looked at him more fully.

"You act like I have something to go back to the hotel for.

"Do me a favor and just take me wherever you're planning on taking me.."

[Callomas Savoc]

"So he won't pursue us?"

He couldn't tell if she was trying to protect him or not, so he simply asked for clarification.

"If not, I'll take you to my safehouse. Tomorrow, Coruscant."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"He might try."

Nothing else was offered as the Lupine went back to examining her two wounds. The blood had already coagulated, and the graze along her side was beginning to mend itself nicely. Her more serious injury had also stopped bleeding, but because of its' nature, was a little slower to heal.

She would live, but hell. Her shirt was ruined.

"I think you owe me a new shirt on top of a drink."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Perhaps."

Cal began to drive away from the hotel's direction, to what s'Il could only guess was his safehouse.

"We don't need any unnecessary attention."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine snorted. "Still all into that cloak and dagger dren, I see.

"Ok, I'll bite. What's so important about this job that you saw fit to waist three shots on me?"

She neglected to throw his earlier words of having more than one shot to finish her off back in his face. She'd save that one for later.

[Callomas Savoc]

"You give me too much credit. At that point, I was ready to kill you."

The speeder turned off the main thoroughfare and onto a dark lane in the city's run down manufacturing district.

"Biology smiles on you today, I suppose."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"But not on the upholstery, it seems."

As he turned down a more sparsely traveled road, s'Il reached over to run the palm of her left hand behind his seat, feeling the holes his bolts had made. A finger wormed its' way into the scored fabric to poke at his back and she lazily tilted her head to the side, giving him a tired yet unimpressed stare.

"You can bring as many shots as you want. I'm always going to get up."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Enough ego stroking. It's masturbation."

Cal pulled the speeder adjacent to a dilapidated structure with barred windows and edifices of corrugated durasteel, pocked with varying amounts of rust.

"We are here."

Coolly, he shut the speeder down, opened his door, and stepped out. This time, he spared his passenger the chivalry, and let her open her own door. He made his way to the front door, an electronic key in hand.

"Were we followed?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il gave him a rather nasty look as she stood from the speeder, slamming her door shut.

"Only by your attitude," was her only snapped reply.

It was easily becoming more apparent to her why she'd never enjoyed hanging around him for more than an hour at a time. The man was a complete jerk.

"You need to stop worrying less about or not we were followed," the Lupine grumbled as she followed him, "... and more about getting me my drink and new shirt."

[Callomas Savoc]

He curtly unlocked the door, and eased it forward half an inch, so that a sliver of light escaped. What was now visible to only the most attentive was a thin thread between the door and the door's frame.

Carefully, Cal eased the blade of a vibroknife forward, severing the thread. Only then did he fully open to door, revealing a concussion grenade seated firmly into a socket in the door's frame. A nail on the inside of the door held a string tied to it, which moments earlier was also tied to the grenade's pin.

"Get in."

He ushered her forward, and with a quick glance outside, closed the door without ceremony.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il obeyed wordlessly, only offering a raised brow at Savoc's obvious (to her at least) paranoia. Once he'd closed the door, the Lupine turned from her observations of the rest of the interior to look at him.

"Ok what is so damn important about this job that you have to rig your own safehouse?

"And don't tell me we're gonna be kidnapping the Chief of State - I've heard that one plenty of times."

[Callomas Savoc]

"No one said anything about kidnapping."

Cal didn't pause. He walked as he talked, going from place to place in the main room, eyeing things as if to mentally assure himself of his safehouse's integrity.

"The only time you are in danger is when you are sure you aren't."

He paused in his ad-hoc inspections, and sat in a metal chair next to an old desk.

"There is a sonic shower upstairs, and a wardrobe. I guessed on your size, so forgive me if it does not fit precisely. Do you need me to dress your wound?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Without ceremony, s'Il let the jacket slip from her shoulders before lifting up her shirt to inspect the two wounds. Or at least where they had once been. She gave Savoc a sly "nifty trick, eh" look.

"Oh, I think I'll be fine."

The shirt was once more lowered, and she headed past him towards the stairs. As she passed by though, she leaned in close to his ear.

"You can't kill me," was all she whispered smoothly before almost literally dancing her way up the stairs.

[Callomas Savoc]

"I haven't tried." was his only reply.

Whatever tricks she'd gained to recover from a few blaster shots might make for good conversation, but it didn't do anything to the former imperial other than stoke his curiosity.

"We leave early tomorrow. Our contact will meet us between Sullust and Coruscant."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Mm hmm, whatever."

Disappearing upstairs, s'Il opted to use the shower he'd so kindly offered.

Ten minutes later she was on her way back down the stairs wearing the clothes he'd provided. She was barefoot now, clad only in simple infantry trousers and a black tee.

He was in the same spot she'd left him. Hell, did he even move?? The Lupine gave a mental shrug then. It mattered little to her whether or not he would god forbid do anything to relax. Passing behind him once more, she stopped to look down at him.

"I'm impressed - you remember what clothes I like."

[Callomas Savoc]

"It was nondescript and inexpensive. If you enjoy it, it's a coincidence."

He passed her a datapad.

"Our contact has arranged a rendezvous point, some distance off the charted hyperlane. It will afford us some privacy, provided you can navigate an asteroid field."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a snatch, s'Il took the datapad from his hand while at the same time giving him a sour face.

"I really don't like you, you know that, right?"

She looked down to the 'pad then, committing the coordinates to memory. An asteroid field? Away from the chartered hyperlane? Good grief. s'Il returned the 'pad to him.

"If you even think of putting a gun to the back of my head while we're out in the middle of nowhere, I won't stop with just a little freakshow viewing. I'll make sure you get the full ride."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I wouldn't waste the fuel. If I needed you dead, I'd have done so."

He removed a pouch from his jacket and sat it on the desk. Laying a small square of paper down, he reached in the pouch, pinching a small amount of a coarse powder, which he laid in a line on the paper, before rolling it up.

"Like I said, this isn't about personal preference. We dislike each other. That is OK. We aren't required to be friends. We are required to do the job."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Fine then." s'Il had to consciously fight the urge to blow his carefully places powder from the paper. "Who's the job for, and what is it."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I do not know who the job is for. As for the details, we will be smuggling a cache of weapons into Coruscant."

Cal leaned forward, licking the end of the paper, so that it adhered to itself when rolled into a thin cyllinder. He pressed the stim to his lips, and lit the other end.

"We will be bypassing all of the usual obstacles. The New Republic navy, the Sector Rangers, the Coruscant Watch, and the Jedi."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"That's awful vague. But I suppose it'll do."

s'Il pulled a chair over to sit beside Savoc. When he'd taken his first drag, the Lupine nimbly plucked the stim from his hand.

"If I'm going to be driving for you, I'm going to need a few things speeder-wise." She pulled on the stim, "Got a paper and pen handy?"

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal removed a datapad and stylus from the desk, and set it in his lap.

"What do you need?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"First off I'll need a fast speeder for ground running. An HG Jinx Turbo should do the trick. Black, no markings, and spare plates. Some undercarriage mountable nitros would be nice, too. And make sure the steering column is tightened - the last car you got me was looser than a Twi'lekki hooker. The repulsar base needs to be permanently set on a slim switchover rate. I don't like any lag in my acceleration, ok?"

Another drag, then she handed the stim back to Savoc.

"Oh, and please be sure to check the registries and titles. I don't need a repeat of the last little incident that happened because you got sloppy."

It was a deliberate barb on her part yes, and both had been at fault for not making sure the speeder checked out completely, but she still hadn't forgotten that little firefight and subsequent carchase that'd ensued.

"I'll probably think of other things by tomorrow," she murmured, reading over what he'd written with a cursory glance.

The Lupine sat back then, regarding Savoc with a lofted brow and lopsided grin. "Now. Are there any questions you have for me?"

[Callomas Savoc]

"The Jinx isn't large enough. We'll need more storage. At least fifteen cubic meters, and that isn't including you, myself, and our companion. Surely you can find a Sorosuub with a power train to your liking."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"No, I can't. If you're not going to get me a Jinx, then you can get me a Kholaris with a turbo charger and on-the-fly shifters. If it's size you're concerned about then go get yourself a truck and a new driver."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I thought you were a smuggler. As in, not only do you drive fast, but you do so when carrying cargo. If we have to take a few extra seconds, it's better than having to make two separate runs."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Well you thought wrong then. I'm not much of a smuggler anymore. I drive fast and usually live quietly; that's about the extent of my activities aside from turning into a monster and eating children for breakfast."

s'Il rocked back in her seat. "You can get yourself a truck if you want to, but I won't be driving it. If I do anything it'll be running blocker for your precious cargo.

"Take it or leave it."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I'll drive, then."

He rocked back in his seat slightly, digging in.

"As long as you pilot the freighter, there will be no problem."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Jerk," she mumbled while standing. "First you threaten me if I don't work for you, and now I'm not even driving. I fail to see what's in this for me.

"And before you say 'the credits', need I remind you that's not why I agreed to this. You wanted my skills as a driver. I don't drive trucks, I drive cars. I may be able to pilot ships, but I'm a package deal."

Disgusted, she stormed up the stairs only to return with her boots.

"I'm going back to my hotel, dammit. Forget about the drink you owe me."

[Callomas Savoc]

"We will need another man if you want your vehicles. It is the only way. If this is your only option, I need to know who else we can work with."

If s'Il's angry bluster was meant to phase Savoc, he seemed preoccupied, disassembling a blaster at the desk he sat at.

"We'll need two drivers, so who is the second?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il clumsily pulled her boots on, hopping towards where she'd dropped her coat.

"Don't know, don't care. You can get yourself a new set of drivers for all it matters. I run blocker if I can be bothered to do jobs like this in the first place. I'm not a through and through smuggler anymore. If you'd kept up to speed on things you'd know this. I'm a museum robber."

As if to emphasize her point, s'Il kicked a loose stylus that'd been laying on the floor at Savoc as she pulled her coat on.

"It's been great, what with the whole kidnapping and shooting me thing, but I'm afraid I'm gonna call it a night."

She smirked then. "Lucky for me you're taking apart your blaster. Makes saying 'adios' that much less noisy for me."

And with that, the Lupine turned, striding for the door she'd previously come in through.

[Callomas Savoc]

The bolt on the door slid shut with an inexorable pneumatic hiss.

"Sit down."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il stopped, her shoulders sagging just a bit as she turned to look back at Savoc. She gave an annoyed sigh, her features set in a decidedly frustrated expression.

"You better let me go or I'll eat your face.

"And I'm not kidding."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I'll call your bluff."

Cal removed his hand from the door control switch on the desk, and returned to cleaning his sidearm.

"A name, Loklorien. We have three. I need four."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Hands balling into tight, white-knucled fists, s'Il glowered at him. Her bluff, eh. After their last little misadventure which had landed her in Imperial custody, the Lupine had no compunctions about dripping Savoc dry. It was the least he deserved from her.

The coat fell from her shoulders as she vented another sigh, and she twisted her torso, cracking a few vertebrae in the process. Eyes tracking left, s'Il started for the first office door that was closest to her. She didn't need to be in any vulnerable position while changing, and thusly opted for a more discreet approach.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you could bribe Thomes or Joriah," she disappeared into the office under the guise of aggravated exploration and the need to at least be out of the same room as Savoc. Her voice shouted out once more. "Or maybe even Tulley; he was always a good driver."

Silence reigned then, as the Lupine made no sound whatsoever from the inside of the office she'd vanished into.

Thirty seconds later though, something was staring at Savoc through the doorway.

Something that let out a snarl before bursting out into the main room and bore down on him with murder in its' tawny eyes. Savoc would pay for everything he had done all those years ago.

[Callomas Savoc]

It took a lot to suprise Callomas Savoc. He was now suprised.

Seeing the vornskr charging at him, he weighed his options. He was in an exceedingly poor position to kill her...if it was her. His weapon was broken down, as was his guard.

That being said, he was adept at improvisation.

As s'Il lunged at him, he recoiled back, tipping the chair backwards as she fell upon him. The only thing he had to defend himself with was the recoil spring guide rod from his blaster...

...which he jammed firmly into the beast's neck.

Crimson blood squirted on his chest, and he used the minor feint as a distraction, rolling from under the beast's weight, and springing to his feet with a whip-like motion that managed to clip her across the skull with a boot heel.

Cal scrambled up the warehouse stairs, himself scratched considerably by the vornskr's scrabbling claws. He was bent as the Imperial Gear and twice as hard. She'd have to do more than suprise him.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a series of frantic swings, s'Il shook her head from side to side in an attempt to dislodge the guide rod from her neck. It slid out after the fourth shake, and turning her eyes to Savoc she watched him retreat up the stairs. A punctuated growl accompanied his own scrambling footsteps, and with a burst of speed, the Lupine started after him once more.

Aided by her quadrupedal form, the beast took the stairs four at a time, her whole frame lunging powerfully up the steps as her muscles propelled her forward; closer and closer to Savoc. She could smell him, his scent swirling around her like some ethereal soup - she even picked out his cologne. He hadn't changed his preference over all the years that the two had been at their seperate ways, and unconsciously she pulled her lips back over sharpened teeth. Not surprising, she supposed, and it did smell good, but the man who she associated with it wasn't worth two frells in her mind.

She reached the landing at the same time Savoc did, and rearing up she barrelled into him, sending the both of them crashing to the floor as her jaws closed down viciously on his left shoulder...

[Callomas Savoc]

A Caridan curse growled through the ex-Imperial's gritted teeth, indecipherable to s'Il's ears as she bit down on his shoulder.

He didn't attempt to pull away, as terrible as the pain was. Wrapping his legs under the vornkr's trunk, he wrapped an arm behind the beast's head, pulling his torso toward the back of her jaws. His other hand scratched for purchase, and a hook-like thumb jammed into her left eye, as the fingers curled into a tuft of fur, ready to rip it from the root, along with her eyeball should he decide.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a growl, the beast applied more pressure to his shoulder, and with a wrench, brought herself up; lifting him slightly off the floor in the process. His thumb in her eye was certainly not comfortable, and his fingers tangled in her silver pelt pulled painfully, but the vornskr didn't let up. No, this man was getting exactly what had been coming to him, and as she tasted coppery blood, a gleam came to her unhampered eye. It had been a long time since she'd tasted flesh, and now with this first taste in a long while, she wanted it all.

She felt his thumb dig deeper then, and her growl took on an injured tone, though still retaining its' vicious nature. She felt herself tip however, and with a lumbering downward motion, both man and beast fell. She scrambled in an attempt to regain her footing and position over Savoc, but his legs around her body made it difficult to maneuvre.

Not to mention his thumb in her eye was certainly not showing signs of letting up.

But the taste of flesh - that delicious taste - it begged to be consummed, and she wanted it.

It had been too long since she had partaken of such a delicacy...

[Callomas Savoc]

He could feel his bones groaning and sinew tearing as she clamped down harder. If he was going to survive, he had to end this and do it now.

Keeping close so as to render her bite as ineffective as possible, he removed his hand from her eye, instead seeking purchase beneath her stout jawbone, grasping the sinewy flesh at her neck, which wrapped itself over a vital artery to her brain. With an iron grip, he squeezed. If he could maintain control, the oxygen loss would knock her out in seconds...

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Almost immediately the Lupine released his shoulder, and her growl died in her throat. Massive paws placed themselves upon his chest then as she pushed against him, now desperate to get away from this new grip he had on her.

[Callomas Savoc]

To add insult to injury, Callomas flipped his legs out momentarily, chopping from each side with his heels below her floating ribs. A spray of phlegm and hot air from her muzzle blasted his face as her breath was knocked from her lungs, acutely complicating her recent oxygen emergency.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In any other situation, the very literal squeak that came from her throat as a result to his dual kicks would have been rather cute. But as it was, her position was anything but "cute".

Spots were starting to form at the edge of her monochromatic vision, and the vornskr frantically rocked back, inadvertantly dragging Savoc back with her. This jerked motion lasted only for a half a second though, as the added pull of his grip to her neck was increased.

Her weight suddenly dropped then, as her lung capacity was hovering dangerously above empty, and finally, the beast let out a groan. Her body shuddered then, as she began the reversion to human form.

Hopefully it would be enough to loosen Savoc's grip, as she prayed the feeling of her body shifting in his hands would be enough to startle him...

[Callomas Savoc]

And it was.

Savoc dropped free, kicking at the amorphous pink flesh to send it down a few steps. He rolled away three times, and struggled to find his feet. His right shoulder was bleeding profusely, the fingers shaking as dots of crimson dripped from their tips.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A hand - a human hand - reached out to stop her decent down the stairs, and s'Il jerked to a stop as her body finished the last phases of its' transition. Her neck was already bruising, as were her sides, and her eye was showing the signs of Savoc's thumb. But she wasn't down quite yet, and pulling herself up, the Lupine placed one bare foot on the step above the one she'd stopped at.

She coughed, lifting an arm up to wipe at the blood - Savoc's blood - that covered her lips and chin. She grinned maliciously, going up another step.

She spoke then, her voice dangerously low as she advanced further.

"Exciting, no?"

[Callomas Savoc]

Using an adjacent wall for leverage, Savoc rose to his feet. With his senses returned to him, he regained his aloof demeanor, despite the injuries done to him. He favored his good shoulder, turning the bleeding one away from the Lupine as he spoke.

"Fool me once, shame on you."

He began to walk away from her, heading for stairs on the opposite side of the walkway.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il stopped then, watching as he turned his back to her. Was he asking her to kill him? After the damage she'd caused him with his full attention on her, why would he even dream of turning away from her?

She sniffed a little, wiping his blood from her face again with just the same lack of results.

"It got your attention though, I'd wager. Just remember that you're getting what you deserve."

[Callomas Savoc]

He stepped down the stairs, heading slowly back to the main lobby area.

"You're still so obsessed about deserve, when it simply isn't about that anymore.

I offered you a way out."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I think you're gonna have to refresh my memory then, cause all I remember was being shot."

She followed him in a roundabout fashion though, stepping down the stairs she was currently on as he descended the other flight.

"Besides. I think I'm entitled to backlash rights. You tricked me, then sold me out. But not before introducing me to the business end of your blaster."

s'Il had reached the last step then, and her bare feet shifted on the cool floor.

Unlike Savoc, who'd offered to dress the wound he'd inflicted upon her, the Lupine remained silent as she stared at her handiwork from across the room.

"You've sprung a leak," she said finally, her voice flat as she mimiced his earlier words to her.

[Callomas Savoc]

"I'll deal with it later." He replied flatly, walking toward the front door. He opened it, stepped through the threshold, and paused before stepping outside, looking back at her.

"One of these days, you're going to have to stop letting your emotions do your thinking. I thought you were a professional. The next time I see you, if you're still alive, we will talk."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"It's not just guns you're wanting to run, is it," s'Il said then.

Something had clicked as he'd made his way to the door. He wouldn't have come to her if it wasn't something of such importance as to warrant seeking out someone he'd sent to prison. The Lupine picked up the seat Savoc had been in before her attack, lowering her naked frame into it.

"We have history, you and I. Unresolved issues in my eyes yes, but I also know the old you. You wouldn't come to me - especially after what you did - if there was something more than guns at stake.

"So come back inside."

She picked up the broken down blaster, tossing the barrel to one side and the rest of the weapon's body to the other.

"You have my word that I won't do any further damage to you." Or your pride, if memory serves me correctly from your reaction right now.

[Callomas Savoc]

He paused, and loosened his grip on a lanyard, behind him and hidden from s'Il's view on the frame of the door. If he didn't have to use it, so much the better.

Slowly, he stepped through the door, but resisted in answering her question.

"Are we ready to discuss this?" He finally asked, as he bled.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I already said I was," was her only deadpan response. s'Il watched as Savoc once more stepped inside.

Resting her weight on the desk then, the Lupine gave her abductor a plain, unassuming stare. "On your way back in, think you could swing through that office there and get me my clothes?

"You're letting in all the cold air from outside."

[Callomas Savoc]

Closing the front door, he walked toward the refresher, instead of the office.

"You can get them. I have to tend to this." He gestured to his shoulder.

He left the 'fresher door open, and pulled off his black top with a groan. In front of the mirror, he inspected the wounds he'd taken. They were elongated triangles, which belied the nature of the impaling and tearing teeth. Pouring tap water from a cupped hand over the wounds several times, he reached into a medicine cabinet, procuring a half full bottle of vodka, which he liberally marinaded his shoulder with.

Wincing and muttering another curse in Caridan, Callomas made a fist, and with his other hand, reached for a spool of thread and a needle that looked like it had been used a few times. After a splash of vodka on that too, it was time to do the unpleasant deed...

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a grumble, s'Il stood. "Pain is good for you, you know. Builds character and all that other nerfrot."

Making her way to the office, she disappeared inside once more to retrieve her clothes from the floor. It was somewhat a tricky thing - not to mention a bit of a sight to see as she headed for 'fresher while at the same time pulling her clothes on. A hop here, a little skip there, and even a few close calls where she managed to catch herself before planting one on the floor.

The Lupine arrived at the door to the 'fresher amazingly fully clothed and without any bruises, and stepping inside to stand just behind Savoc, she nudged her way to his side, taking the needle and spool from him.

"Here, let me do it." And before he could object, she held the stolen goods behind her back and out of his reach, "You offered to patch me up, so I'm doing the same for you. Not everyone can be super cool like me and heal like I do."

[Callomas Savoc]

He merely made a stern face at her, curtly nodded, and then turned his head away.

"Who is number four?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'm not sure.

"It would help if I knew more about the job, you know. It would make this alot easier."

Threading the needle, s'Il pulled a length of thread from the spool before bringing it to her teeth and biting it off.

"Thank goodness you're not that much taller than me," she mumbled while unceremoniously digging through his front pocket for a lighter. A few seconds later yielded the prize she saught, and s'Il flicked her thumb over the igniter. Holding the needletip in the small flame for a few moments, she let the tip heat up until her best judgement said it was ready. Bringing the needle just next to the first bite mark. With the tip barely kissing his skin, she looked up at him, his head still turned.

"This is gonna feel kinda funny. On three. One... "

And without so much as a word, without even waiting to get to two, the Lupine pushed the heated tip into his skin.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal grunted, but kept his cool, and replied to her query.

"As I said, seven million, split amongst four. That is one point seven each. We have seventeen crates, three hundred and twenty blasters of varying grades. Our buyer will meet us at a casino, and we will arrange a delivery point a day later. Two drivers. Two point men. I have two point men and one driver, if you insist on the lighter vehicle. Thus, we need another driver."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Continuing with her work, s'Il stood on her toes to get a better angle. "That's just the basics though. What casino? And where is the casino? How are you being paid? Do you know anything about this contact?"

Finished with the first puncture wound, the Lupine went on to inspect the second.

"And also, if I'm going to be working with you, we need to come to an understanding. I won't try to kill you if you don't try to kill me. I don't promise to be professional about everything, but I'll do my part of the job to the best of my ability - as long as you understand that I will do it my way."

Another few seconds in the flame of his lighter, and s'Il brought it up to the second wound before beginning the process all over again. "Regardless of how much you and I can't seem to equate the word 'trust' with one another, I'm going to need you to do just that. And in return I'll do the same for you."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I do not like promises. They are limiting. That is all I can offer you."

He paused, and then conceded to her request for details.

"The Casino's name will be given to us on arrival. I can only guess it is located in the Coco district, our port of call.

Payment will be done by electronic transfer. Hand-written account numbers will be passed on exchange, and the balances executed by a broker. No hard assets on hand.

Our contact will be wearing a toupee. He is handled by our client, who is a member of the Sector Rangers."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Coco District?"

s'Il paused with the needle halfway sticking out of him. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

No other information was offered though, as the Lupine went back to work.

[Callomas Savoc]

"You have ties there?" He prodded. "Someone who could recognize you?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine bit her lip.

"I got into some... you know... trouble with the Watch. A few times... well, actually I don't really remember how many times it's been now."

s'Il offered a quick, sheepish smile and she busied herself with finishing up her patch job, the look on her face slightly apprehensive as she half expected to be given a good scolding.

[Callomas Savoc]

"That can't be avoided." Cal nodded, as he thought.

"These troublemakers, do they know of your unusual talent?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Only one that I know of. Guy's name is Commander Vymes. I don't know if he's told anyone else though."

The job finished, s'Il reached out her hand, silently asking for a wet cloth so she could wipe away the blood that had seeped from his wounds as she'd worked.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal passed a cloth her way.

"You may need to spend most of this mission on all fours."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"That's gonna be a little bit hard to pull off," she remarked, taking the cloth from Savoc.

"I can't exactly stay like that for a particularly long period of time. Thirty minutes max - and even then that's really pushing things."

s'Il dabbed the wet cloth over his freshly sewn wounds, taking care to be gentle regardless of how she felt about the man. "And even after thirty minutes it's gonna take me a while to... " the Lupine paused then, trying to come up with the best word to use, "... recover."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Explain."

Cal asked for clarification, watching her handiwork carefully.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il was quiet for a few minutes, working slowly as she thought. How did you describe something like a potential weakness such as this to someone who shot you three times in one night?

Gringing her teeth, she finally spoke.

"It's like a regression back into a simple animal intelligence if I'm changed for too long. It's an unavoidable side effect."

[Callomas Savoc]

"So, you would lose capacity of higher thought and speech?" He hazarded a guess.

"And yet still comprehend simple commands? This would be most preferable." Cal deadpanned, the faintest hint of a wry smile on his otherwise serious face.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine halted her task of cleaning and drying his shoulder, looking up at Savoc.

"Oh that's very clever," she grumbled, tossing the wet cloth into the sink. "I see we've managed to retain our sparkling sense of wit and sarcasm over the years."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I suppose you are right. Were you on four legs, it would've gone over your head."

Jokes aside, the former imperial pulled away, inspecting her handiwork closer.

"We will simply have to use good judgment. I do not plan on moving in public unless necessary. You shouldn't have to worry about too much of your better half showing through."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il gave a snort, heading from the 'fresher at a brisk pace. "I'll do my job running blocker, don't worry about that.

"Just keep Force users away, and everything will be fine."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Is there anything else I need to know? Tell me everything."

It seemed that she had some new kink in the plan at every turn.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine gave him a look from over her shoulder as she made her way to the desk, and lowering her frame into the chair, she leaned back as far as the seat would allow.

A sigh as she propped her bare feet up on the surface of the desk. "Let's just say it's a somewhat adverse reaction to the Force. Like acid reflux, only a little bit worse. Think uncontrollable, insane vornskr that has no capacity for reason."

And yet, s'Il chose not to say anything about her body's reaction to silver or cortosis. The less ways of truly hurting her himself that Savoc knew of, the better.

[Callomas Savoc]

"I'll be sure to remember that, should I need to kill a Jedi."

He nodded, backed away from her, and gingerly eased a sleeveless white shirt over his frame.

"Now, it's time to sleep. We leave in eight hours. That gives us six and one half. I have a makeshift quarters upstairs. You can sleep there."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il only looked to him, affording the man a hmph as she stood from the chair.

"As long as you don't kill me in my sleep."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I do not make promises."

Exiting the refresher, Cal returned to his desk, and went back to cleaning the components of his gun, starting first with the bloodied guide rod, scooping it off the floor with a look of mild disdain.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A noncommital grumbling was all that answered him as the Lupine went up the staircase.

She found the room easily enough, and sitting heavily on the bed, s'Il let out a sigh.

What a way to get signed on for a job.

[Callomas Savoc]

He watched her make her way to her room, and after she was inside, he turned the main lights off in the lobby. With only a small desk light illuminating his way, the ex-Imperial returned to his tinkering.

He couldn't sleep.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Twenty minutes later found s'Il fast asleep - only, it wasn't the bed that she had chosen as her nightly 'nesting ground'. The Lupine had gathered extra blankets from the small closet, placing them beneath the covers of the bed so as to make it appear that she was in fact, slumbering peacefully.

Instead, she had kept a single blanket with her, and curling up tightly in the now open closet, she let herself drift gently into a light sleep. She'd closed the door mostly, leaving only a slight sliver of a crack so that she had easy access to any sort of escape should Savoc decide it was high time to put her down.

Soon enough though the Lupine was resting quietly, deep in a noiseless slumber, curled up into a ball beneath the plain wool blanket.

[Callomas Savoc]

Callomas awoke with a start, sitting bolt-upright in the desk's chair. At some point between sitting in his seat and waking up, he had cleaned and re-assembled his pistol, which rested in a cross-draw shoulder holster, with his opposing hand resting across the grip.

He blinked a few times, drew his pistol, and gave it a quick inspection before promptly returning it. Satisfactory. He then glanced at the chrono. He'd beaten s'Il's alarm by five minutes.

He took the opportunity to get a heated sonic shower. As he closed the door, Cal took a small glass from the sink, and balanced it between the door knob and the frame of the door, so that any unwarranted entry would be signalled by crashing glass. Behind the 'fresher's closed doors, he stripped naked, pausing in front of the mirror to inspect the wound s'Il had inflicted on him. There was some swelling, and it was hot to the touch. Frowning, the ex-imperial stepped into the sonic chamber, mindful to bring his gun with him, of course.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il was not a morning person. She was never up at the 'crack of dawn'. The 'crack of noon' maybe, but never the former.

And as such, the Lupine peacefully overslept, still curled up and nestled in the closet like a whisperkit snoozing in a sockdrawer. Her breathing came quietly, long and deep. The door to her hiding spot was still open just enough to afford a slight view of the room, but that didn't tend to do much good if the observer wanting to use it was asleep.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal finished his shower, which allowed him to awaken fully and limber up. Still gingerly favoring his good shoulder somewhat, he eased a shirt on, and then fully clothed himself from a modest wardrobe.

Still, no s'Il.

"Loklorien, wake up."

No response. Her door was still shut.

With a sigh, the gunman eased up the stairs, and carefully pushed her door open. An unmoving mound beneath the bed covers greeted him. Good enough to fool somebody in passing, but it failed under scrutiny.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine stirred, twitching just a bit, but for the most part remained unmoving. Savoc's silent entrance went vastly unnoticed as she slept on, oblivious to the waking world.

[Callomas Savoc]

The bars were still on the windows, so where was she.

"This is not the time for playing games."

Cal paced around, stopping at the closet door.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The sound of his voice slightly roused her, but s'Il only used enough energy to curl up a little tighter beneath her blanket.

She did reach out from beneath her covering though, and lifting her arm up, grasped the doorknob. With a quick jerk, she pulled the closet door fully closed.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Get out of there. We leave in thirty minutes."

Cal crossed his arms over his chest, now that his quarry had revealed herself.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Waking up was never one of s'Il's strengths, and it showed admirably now.

"I'm sleeping," she managed to mumble from beneath her blanket and behind the now closed door, "Gimme ten more minutes."

That being said, the Lupine shifted slightly, rolling to her other side and curling into herself to preserve warmth.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal reached for the door, stopped himself, and stormed out of the room, muttering something in Caridan as he went.

Five minutes later, he returned with a bucket of water.

"You have had five minutes, Loklorien. Get out."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I said ten."

Disgruntled, the Lupine unfurled herself from her position, and shucking the blanket from her shoulders, stood in the cramp confines the closet offered.

Groggy annoyance written on her features, s'Il barged out of the closet, ready to give Savoc the "who-what" of a lifetime.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Not negotiable."

Savoc held the bucket in the crook of his arm, appraising his groggy companion with a stern eye.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She stopped dead in her tracks, metallic eyes narrowing at the sight of the bucket he held. The full bucket.

Her next words were growled, their tone indicating she was rapidly waking up very quickly.

"You wouldn't dare."

[Callomas Savoc]

"It is a wake up call and a bath in one. Whether or not I dare depends on you and your five minutes."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I don't need your attitude at this time of the morning."

s'Il roughly stormed past him, her eyes angrily watching him before tracking forward once more as she marched from the room.

"I don't need your help by giving me a bath. I'll take my own shower, thank you."

And with that she headed for the stairs, leaving him in the bedroom with his bucket of water.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal watched her storm off, smirked privately to nobody but himself, and scooped a handful from the bucket, having a cool drink as he left the room.

"You have twenty minutes. I will get our things into the speeder."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il didn't even answer; given that if she did, he would most likely either not respond, or simply fire back with one of his dry, cynical little remarks.

Two minutes later found her in the sonic shower, shoulders slumped as she let the dirt from the previous day leave her body.

Seven minutes later found her once again putting on her clothes, and the Lupine stumbled out of the 'fresher - clean, yet still very disgruntled at having to be up at such an ungodly hour.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal walked past her briskly, with a large black suitcase under each arm. He closed the distance to the speeder with quick steps, getting the payload into the trunk before its weight caused him to lose a grip on it. With a grunt, he lowered each case into the back, and closed the rear hatch over them.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Following Savoc, s'Il watched curiously as he placed the two suitcases in the speeder.

Standing in the doorway of the safehouse, the Lupine idly ran a hand through her now clean hair as she leaned against the doorframe. His pace as he'd passed her had caught her attention, and she couldn't help but become just a bit interested in this new behavior.

"What's in the cases?" she asked, still leaning on the doorframe while twirling a stolen stim in her fingers.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Board games, to pass the time."

The Caridan slipped on a pair of shades, as the bright morning light got to him.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

An unbelieving look was all that was returned to him, and s'Il kicked away from the door to make her way to the speeder's passenger side.

"As far as I know, the only thing you do to pass the time is clean your guns. Unless since the last time I saw you, you've picked up some new hobby to wile away the hours."

[Callomas Savoc]

"It would suprise you if I did?"

Cal asked as he slid into the driver's seat.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Closing her door, s'Il sat for a moment, an odd look on her face as she made no movement. Then her hand reached down, adjusting the seatback so that she wasn't sitting ramrod straight.

"Well, I mean the only thing I know about you is from past experiences. Excessive compulsive to some degree, wound up tighter than anything, you spend forever cleaning your guns... " The Lupine settled more comfortable in the seat as she fastened the safety belt, then continued, "But see, you also lied to me, so I have no way of knowing who the real you exactly is - as my trust in the things you say is practically nil."

Her hand went up then, brushing gently over the serial number tattooed on her right shoulder. "About all I know is that because of you, I got to find out the hard way that mining and forced labor isn't exactly my favorite thing to do."

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal didn't reply to her statements. He started up the speeder, and headed for the starport. He was largely quiet the entire way down. Eventually, he spoke.

"I lie to everyone. What I did to you was not out of malice."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il scowled. "Oh I know that now."

She turned to look out the window. Thankfully the driving rain of the previous night was gone, though the clouds of the morning did hang ominously in the air; as if threatening to once again open up upon the lands below.

"But back then it sure felt that way. I mean, what else am I supposed to think while lying on the ground with a bullet in my gut?"

[Callomas Savoc]

"You were supposed to die, not to think."

He said it entirely without ill inflection as he drove.

"Yet you did not. We all have to react to the unexpected. Sometimes it works in our favor. I would not know how to even begin to apologize for such a thing. That truth upsets you, and for that alone I am sorry. Now you know why I lie so often. I think it is easier for everyone this way."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Sometimes finding out about a lie is harder to deal with than if the truth were told just from the get-go," s'Il mumbled, still looking out the window.

[Callomas Savoc]

Eventually, the sedan pulled up to an expansive spaceport, just as sheets of morning rain began to pour down.

Callomas parked the speeder, and stepped out, extending a collapsible umbrella with a flick of his wrist. He walked to the opposite side of the vehicle, opening the door, and handing his partner the grip of the umbrella. An attendant dutifully detatched himself from the cover of a nearby awning, approaching the pair.

"Take our bags." Callomas spoke, as raindrops dripped down his hair and face. "I will assist you."

Callomas hefted a pair of bags onto a cart, and the attendant did the same. He glanced to s'Il between loads, water beading on his sunglasses.

"The ship is docked in terminal four. The tickets are in your name, Miss Layne."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a cocked brow, s'Il lifted herself up from her seat and stood beneath the umbrella she held. She gave only a simple nod, while watching as Savoc helped the attendant load the luggage. "Thanks."

When the last bag had been loaded, the Lupine headed off, leading the way into the terminal and making her way towards the ticket counter to claim the tickets which her partner had procurred.

My choice? Hardly. I bet the rotter planned on dragging me with him no matter what I said.

[Callomas Savoc]

The pair moved through the terminal, and stopped at the scanner booth. As the bags they carried were lined up on the conveyor one by one, Callomas watched the scanner operator's face, for anything that might betray what he knew. The bags passed through without ceremony, and so did Callomas, stepping through the portal to pick up the baggage on the other side. He hefted the smaller two bags, and gestured to the larger ones.

"Check those. We will carry the rest."

The attendant nodded, and Callomas strode ahead, after s'Il made it through herself. When he was out of earshot...

"Rare earth minerals will obfuscate the outlines a scanner can see. You only need a few ounces."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"My, haven't we thought of everything," was all that was returned to him as s'Il followed. Shouldering her way through the throng that littered the terminal, she reached out and grasped at his shoulder, holding on to his jacket as an Ithorian shuffled by and nearly knocked her over in the process. For being this early in the morning, s'Il was rather surprised at the volume of individuals traveling to and fro.

Hand still clenching at his jacket, the Lupine let him practically pull her through the crowds.

"Is there anything you don't have a contingency for?"

[Callomas Savoc]

"Yes. There is always something I have not thought of. Fortunately there are enough explosives in the luggage to vaporize anyone within fifteen meters. If our plan is ruined, then the evidence is as well."

He reached ominously into the inner breast pocket of his jacket...and then suddenly whirled about on a heel, pulling something out and pointing it at s'Il.

"Do you want some gum?"

It was a pack of mint chewing gum sticks.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Jumping almost out of her skin, s'Il released her deathgrip hold on his jacket and backtracked in slight panic; right into the person behind her - a decidedly grumpy looking Rodian who cursed at her before continuing on around her. Another group bumped her as they walked by, but she remained where she was, catching her breath while giving Savoc an evil look.

She moved then, her hand once more going up to his shoulder and grabbing a handful of his jacket while in the same motion forcibly turning him back around.

"Just walk, you good-for-nothing Imperial turncoat nerflicker."

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal afforded himself a slight, bemused grin, as he helped himself to his own gum. Any other person of a slightly warmer disposition would be laughing to the point of tears.

They arrived at the gate, presented their tickets to the gate clerk, and stepped aboard. After a bit of shuffling about, they found their seat. Callomas remained silent, passively watching the other people who boarded the ship as well.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il sat just as quietly, though the new arrivals weren't exactly being paid much attention as she stared grumpily at the back of the seat before her. A sidelong look to Savoc, partially accusatory as the recent gum offering was forefront on her mind.

The Lupine opened her mouth then, about to give him a rather detailed piece of her mind, when her seat jerked forward; helped no doubt by a pair of small legs kicking it from behind. Instead, the angered look turned to one of surprise, and as another kick was sent into her spine, s'Il blinked. She would have stood up and given the child a little introduction to manners, but apparently the mother was already telling the toddler to stop kicking the 'nice lady's' seat. A small boy's whining met her ears, and s'Il sighed dejectedly. This was going to be a long flight.

And, true to form and childlike disobediance, another kick was sent her way; this one just a little bit harder as if to assure her that it would continue no matter what 'mom' said.

With her elbow on the armrest, s'Il let her head fall into her open palm as another kick jostled the back of her seat.

"You just couldn't get first class, could you," she grumbled.

[Callomas Savoc]

"I did not think of it." He replied simply. "It must be the unforseen contingency you spoke of."

Something...wasn't right. Cal eased the frame of his sunglasses low on his nose with an index finger, and glanced around. Whatever it was, he couldn't quite say right now. It gnawed at his stomach though. Not specifically the child behind him, but nothing he could reach out and touch.

He continued chewing on his gum, at a somewhat more frenetic pace.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

At about the time Savoc began chewing his gum like he'd found religion, s'Il made the decision that as punishment for not thinking ahead, she would give the man sitting beside her a charley horse for every kick that she recieved.

It didn't take long for the boy behind her to resume his little task, and the moment she felt her seat jerk, the Lupine sent a particularly nasty fist into Savoc's bicep; completely oblivious to his new agitated state. In her mind, it was only fair if both of them suffered.

[Callomas Savoc]

"What are you doing?"

Savoc snapped out of his paranoia, and glared down at his arm.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il ground her teeth as she felt another kick. And subsequently, another fist was driven into his arm.

"For every kick I get, you get a punch. It's not fair for me to have to deal with this inconvenience alone."

[Callomas Savoc]

Callomas sat and endured it.

Kick.

Punch.

Kick.

Punch.

"Alright change seats already!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Oh no no, I think I'm rather enjoying this."

Another kick and following punch.

"It's very satisfying, you know."

[Callomas Savoc]

Kick.

Pu-THWACK!

Callomas caught the Lupine's closed fist in his hand, closing his fingers around it until the nails went white.

"I think you need a better game."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a look of surprise, s'Il only stared at Savoc as his hand closed tightly over hers. She sat, somewhat at a loss for words as her seat was kicked again. Briefly she contemplated reaching across to his other shoulder and digging a thumb into his still somewhat fresh shoulder wound, but thought the better of it.

Instead, she lifted a foot up and kicked her heal into his shin. Strangely enough, it was quite enjoyable to pester him in while in the safety of a large group of people.

"Fine; there's a new game."

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal tucked his lower lip between his front teeth.

"Why must you make a scene?"

The ship began to take off, lifting high through the atmosphere and into planetary orbit beyond.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine only gave him a sweet smile, reaching out with her free hand to pat his cheek.

"There there, be a good sport, son."

Metallic eyes then drifting, she watched absently as the sky visible through the window began to turn a deep black.

And once again, she found herself in the company of Callomas Savoc; only this time she had no choice in the matter.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal grunted, and reclined his seat somewhat. Not ten seconds after he rested his head against the back of the seat, he was asleep. The kind of shallow, uncomfortable, and controllable sleep of somebody who tried to avoid it if possible.

The ship continued its course to Coruscant, entering hyperspace.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The trip through hyperspace was blissfully uneventful, and s'Il took the opportunity to catch up on the morning's missed sleep. The kicking behind her had stopped thankfully, and so she was able to get her hands on one of the courtesy pillows and small blankets provided by the flight attendants.

Curling up as best as she could manage, the rather diminutive woman made the best of he cramped situation by lifting up the dividing armrest between her and her partner before proceeding to partially lay across his lap.

Now this was much better.

And very much unlike Savoc, she let herself fall into a deep, heavy sleep.

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal awoke to the warmth and weight in his lap, as the lupine occupied it. He watched her sleep for the remainder of the voyage...

...eventually, the transport eased out of hyperspace, gently reverberating with a decelerating hum as the sublights took control. Within minutes, the ship negotiated the congested approaches and skylanes around the city-planet, and descended towards a floating landing platform.

Savoc gently shook the napping lupine.

"Wake up. We are here."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

One eye opening, s'Il let Savoc shake her a second time before finally stirring. She pulled in a deep breath while sitting up, hair slightly mussed and the expression on her face somewhat listless, her mind in the first stages of cognisant thought.

"... already?"

[Callomas Savoc]

"It has been two hours. You slept enough this morning."

He found himself staring at the red lines on her face that matched the pleats and wrinkles of his slacks.

"Are you alright?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine stared back at him, blinking the sleep from her eyes as best as she could manage, and turning to return the borrowed blanket and pillow to the attendant, she leaned back while running her fingers through her hair.

The pilot began going through his whole 'Welcome to Coruscant' speech while bringing the craft ever closer to their destination, and s'Il turned a lazy eye to Savoc.

"I'll pretend you didn't just show any outward indication of feigned concern and tell you that I'm fine."

[Callomas Savoc]

Savoc let the lupine's barb slip past. He didn't have the time to humor her.

As the landing cycle began, he leaned forward, pulling his carry-on luggage out from beneath the seat.

"We should get something to eat once we land."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il busied herself with once more fastening her safety belt.

"Something quick and easy; I'm not in the mood for anything big. Ithorian take-out would be good."

[Callomas Savoc]

He nodded.

"Acceptible."

A slave to routine, Savoc was always a believer in the virtues of a proper breakfast. It was, as many doctors would tell you, the most important meal of the day.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Unlike Savoc, s'Il harldy ever ate food in the morning - she usually slept through breakfast anyway.

"I don't know if I can deal with breakfast all the time though," she sighed, watching him fiddle with his carry-on. "My stomach would explode. Too much food."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Then take only what you need."

The pair debarked from the ship, and collected their baggage, leaving the starport tarmac for an adjacent commercial district. It did not take long for them to find a venue with Ithorian food.

Several minutes later, Cal and s'Il took a seat overlooking the busy skylanes. The assassin munched on a plate of fruits, cheeses, and a flat loaf of whole grain bread. He washed it down with a tall glass of nerf's milk as well.

"I will place the rental speeder reservations under an alias. Do you know of a safe house we can occupy, before we make the switch?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A glass of water and a small plate of shaak bacon was all that sat in front of the Lupine. She watched passing speeders with little interest, one hand resting on the table around the cup while the other stayed in her lap. At Savoc's question, s'Il turned her attention to the man before her, blinking.

"Safehouse? Not a clue. About the only thing I can offer is my old apartment out on the edge of the district. It's small, but it should work well enough."

She poked noncommitally at a slice of bacon, making a face in the vain hope that it would jump from the plate and run. What she wouldn't give to be able to run a meal into the ground.

[Callomas Savoc]

"That will do."

Biting into a wedge of melon, Savoc reached into his pocket, and pulled out a comm unit. He slid it across the table.

"It is a closed circuit, compatible with my wrist unit only. Set the channel to 11. If there is a problem, contact me."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Confusion replaced her previously passive expression.

"Wait - contact you? As in, we will be seperated? Forgive my concerns," the Lupine had made no move to pluck the unit from the table, "but I'd rather keep you in close proximity due to past... incidents."

[Callomas Savoc]

"Risks are to be expected."

Savoc popped a grape in his mouth.

"Otherwise, anyone would do this."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'll superglue myself to you if I have to."

Finally picking up a strip of bacon, s'Il took a bite. Her eyes wandered the traffic, and she shifted in her seat.

[Callomas Savoc]

"You do not seem to understand."

Cal frowned somewhat from behind his glass of milk.

"The more time we are observed in key locations, the greater chance we are compromised. The innocuous, such as this, can be risked. Can we afford it elsewhere?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With an incoherent mumble, she finished the slice of bacon.

"I look out for number one these days."

Though she did find it interesting that he seemed to take her seriously in regards to such a thing. s'Il wondered briefly if it was due to her delivering on the threat of seriously hurting him, though. If that was the case - and she liked to think that it was - she couldn't help the smile that crossed her features.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Do not mistake my concern for comraderie. We are alike."

He adjusted his glasses before continuing.

"There is, however, an alternative. It will require your unique skills."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Let me guess - a leash and collar as well."

[Callomas Savoc]

"It may be predictable, but it is also effective. You get security, and I get the required element of incognito. Agreed?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il thought for a few minutes, then finally nodded.

"Just don't be taking too long. I rather like my higher brain functions."

[Callomas Savoc]

"No promises."

Savoc finished up his breakfast, and paid precisely half of the bill.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a disgusted snort, the Lupine tossed a few credits on the table, along with a small tip while in the same process standing.

"You know, it's somewhat a bad situation for you as well - I mean, do you really think you can handle an unruly vornskr who's pretty much just that?"

[Callomas Savoc]

Savoc smiled politely, and patted the faint bulge in his jacket where his pistol was concealed.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A look was sent his way, and s'Il made a face at him.

"You keep threatening that, and it just doesn't work - hoping third time's a charm or something?"

[Callomas Savoc]

The polite smile still on his face, Savoc entertained her hypothetical.

"If it comes to that, then yes. Unlike the second time, my sidearm is in one piece. Unlike the first, I'll aim where it counts."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Stepping away from the table, the Lupine pushed her chair up to the table so that it was out of the way of other customers. A hand went through her hair then as she blew out a breath of air, looking to either side of her before turning her eyes to Savoc once again.

"Are you done playing the tough guy?"

[Callomas Savoc]

"If you are finished jockeying for position, then I am finished as well."

The assassin paused to police up the luggage, and was on his way again, with s'Il tagging along.

"The rental area is just down the promenade. Find a place along the way...and be discrete."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a slight hmph s'Il followed like a pouting child, scuffing the souls of her boots as she trailed in Savoc's wake. She did keep her eyes open though, searching for somewhere where she could change, as her partner had indicated. To her right was nothing but open shops - too many people. But to her left... it was perfect. Construction had shut down a portion of the shops to the left, and as such no one saw any need to venture past the yellow caution tape and barriers.

Veering away from Savoc, the Lupine quietly slipped past the warning placards, her form silently picking through the small piles of rubble and left behind tools.

Thank frell they're not working today...

s'Il hadn't even looked behind her to see if Savoc had noticed her absence, and with a look over her shoulder to ensure that the streaming crowd hadn't taken too much notice to her trespassing, the Lupine ducked behind a barrier wall erected to protect the shop windows...

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal didn't slow his pace, and continued walking toward the rental agency. He situated himself in a line with two other customers, and waited for his turn at the counter.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The change was smooth and fast, as s'Il had shed her clothes before-hand to save herself the trouble of having to wrestle her quadrupedal form from them after the fact.

Shirt, pants, and boots were left behind as she trotted out then, heading once more for the more populated portion of the promenade.

Stares were sent her way, and even a few of the passerby recoiled in shock at the sight of the silver-backed vornskr, but s'Il paid them no mind as she slowed, nearing Savoc as he waited in line. Reaching his side, the Lupine stood for a few moments before settling on her haunches with a whurffle and turning tawny eyes up to him.

[Callomas Savoc]

The clerk seemed slightly uneasy at the Vornskr. Cal smiled politely, easing the tension somewhat.

"I am interested in renting two speeders."

"Two?" The clerk inquired, a curious expression on her face. She wound up returning her eyes to the vornskr.

"Yes. One for myself, and another for an associate, who will be meeting me tomorrow. Identical models and colors if possible. HG Jinx Turbo, champagne."

"Checking..." The clerk responded, as she browsed through the computer in front of her.

"We currently have two such vehicles on the lot. Charge is two hundred credits per day. Will you want any damage insurance?"

"No, that will not be necessary."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Lips curling back to reveal a vicious row of teeth, the vornskr gave her best attempt at a smile as her tongue lolled out. He got the Jinx. s'Il had always wanted to drive one, but never got the chance. And so when Savoc had asked what vehicle she would be wanting, the HG was the first thing to come to mind.

Letting out a content hurff, she inclined her head, casting her 'smile' up to Savoc before rising, rearing up to place her forepaws on the counter and craning her neck forward to better see the paperwork being done by the clerk.

Oh this was going to be so much fun!

[Callomas Savoc]

The clerk recoiled as s'Il rose to peer over the counter. Savoc gently but firmly clenched a handful of skin and fur at the back of her neck, easing her back down.

"Here is my charge account. I will call and give a delivery address to your valet."

After a few more minutes of negotiation, Savoc said his goodbyes, taking the keys of the first speeder.

"Here girl." He called, somewhat awkwardly to s'Il. It was obvious that Savoc didn't own any pets.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Ears going forward, the vornskr happily trotted off, leaving the clerk to tend to the next customer.

Jogging after Savoc, s'Il let her tail lazily sweep from left to right, her body rising and falling with the gentle stride. Massive paws hitting the ground, she fell into step at Savoc's heels, and slowing to a leisurely walk, the beast cast her eyes about, taking in the greyscale world around her before focussing her attention back to her partner. And even though her form limited her ability to speak, she still let loose a string of half garbled mumbles and groans. It was rather cute actually, and the few individuals littering the lot couldn't help but turn to look at the vornskr as it 'spoke' to her 'owner'.

[Callomas Savoc]

The assassin and his "pet" found their ride out in the open-air lot. Cal unlocked it and opened the passenger door, letting the vornskr bound inside. Wasting no time, he loaded the baggage in the trunk, and started her up, veering toward a nearby skylane merge point.

"The ball is in your court now."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She had changed smoothly, the sensation - while as normal as breathing, was still a touch painful, and s'Il let out a slight gasp as the last bone thwocked into place. And so she sat; unfazed by her lack of apparel in the middle of Coruscant traffic and running fingers through her hair.

"It's in the lower levels; not too low, but low enough to be out of the way. So when you get the chance, just start heading down.

"And give me your jacket."

[Callomas Savoc]

Cal glanced over to his companion and quickly averted his eyes for the sake of whatever vestigial modesty she might have. He squirmed in his seat as he rolled his jacket off his shoulders.

"Take it."

That uncomfortable task aside, Savoc began to drift down through the vertically-stacked traffic lanes, descending into one of the nearby artificial canyons.

He audibly sniffed, a sound that could have very well been a sniffle, but wasn't.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Make a right at 734th and Gunnering," s'Il answered as she fidgeted in her seat, pulling Savoc's jacket over her shoulders.

"It'll be the fifth on your left; Gunnering Flats."

[Callomas Savoc]

He piloted the craft with little conversation, following her instructions to the letter. The apartment complex was homey, but far from decrepit. It seemed to adequately represent the transition between the upper and lower levels. Everything was utilitarian, with a bit of dirt around the edges, but enough dignity to make it feel lived-in.