Toxoplasmosis and Us

[Morgan Evanar]

The Novgorod just completed it's first successful mission in it's new role as an E-War platform. Morgan's mouth was full of ration bar, and he was heading to the mess to grab some real food. Well, not ration-bar anyway. There hadn't been much in the cramped courier shuttle he'd taken besides himself, clothing, and lots of ration bars.

He piled the bowl high with food: noodles with cheese, vegetables, and "meat." The "meat" wasn't bad, but there isn't anything as good as a slightly bleeding version of the real thing with a dash of salt and pepper. Morgan looked up from the food and noticed Mara eating and working.

"Hey..." he hesitated, "...is this seat taken?" he asked.

[Mara Tallen]

Her fork absently prodded the pile of noodles and meat waiting in her bowl. A sigh escaped her lips as she took a bite and forced herself to swallow it. It was getting harder on a daily basis to contain her beast - she was going to have to go on a hunt, and soon. There was no substitute for devouring your own kill after the thrill of the chase.

Another quick bite, then she turned her amber gaze to the flimsis spread out beside her, and the datapads piled up to one side. Right...work. At least, she mused as she picked up a flimsi, the new formulation for Cresh Four seemed to be stable in testing. It wouldn't be long before she'd be able to have enough to use out in the field.

A few more bites, and then she pushed the bowl away slightly. Her mind wasn't even entirely on her work or her need to rip the throat out of some helpless animal. No, Mara's mind was firmly stuck on Morgan. And the painfully awkward conversation she knew they were going to have sooner or later. How did you bring up toxoplasmosis in a polite conversation?

Slender fingers coursed through her auburn locks, pushing them back over her shoulders. Amber eyes blinked as she looked up and found herself smiling softly in spite of the fear that may or may not have slithered down her spine at the sight of him.

"No, its not taken..." she said, reaching over to shift her pile of flimsis out of the way. "...sorry about the mess."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan opened his mouth to say something, but put food there instead. He chewed and swallowed.

"No problem." He said, a little too fast. Well, that wasn't a problem but there was a problem and they would have to figure it out. Morgan wasn't mad but he was, well, disappointed. Both that his normally indomitable immune system had sort of let him down and that he had a disease, and that Mara had it too.

"How are you?" He asked, and started to systematically eliminate his food.

[Mara Tallen]

"I'm ok. Been...busy. With...every single piece of flimsiplast on the ship, it seems." Mara replied, meeting his bright gaze for a brief moment before looking away and absently straightening out a pile of flimsis.

Tugging her bowl back over, she twirled a noodle around her fork absently. "How've you been?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"Looks like." He said between bites, and gave Mara a warm smile before returning to his food.

"I'm good. MARCUS and I just got an entire Trade Lanes fleet to chase it's tail. Right now MARCUS is running a detailed post-analysis of our data set. Things are solid, though. We're down to tweaks at this point. Honestly, we stayed a little longer than I would have liked. The shields held and all, but yeesh. I'm good at these last second escapes, but it's not a habit I want, really. Whatcha workin' on?" Morgan realized he was babbling and went back to attacking his food.

[Mara Tallen]

"Ohh! So that's why everyone's in such a good mood. Nicely done, Morgan." Mara grinned in response, pushing her bowl away as she spread a couple of the flimsis out in front of her.

She watched him for a moment before she answered, her voice bright with enthusiasm. "Last time I was on Bothawui, I had access to a lab and I was working on a variant of Cresh Four. Trying to make it burn hotter initially, so the explosion would be more powerful. I won't bore you and go into the chemical mixes I was fussing with, but I found one that worked. They've been testing it ever since, and these are the latest results. The compound is actually stable, which is amazing. If all goes well, I ought to have enough to use in the field in another month or two."

Amber eyes blinked and her cheeks warmed slightly. "Sorry about that. I get a little excited sometimes."

[Morgan Evanar]

"So it burns about as hot as it's inventor, eh?" that got a sly amber flash out of Mara's eyes, and her cheeks flushed more.

"That's really cool. I don't know anything about chemistry beyond the basics. Electronics are much more my area of expertise. He explained. Listen..." Morgan paused, trying to figure out the best way to start.

"First off, I'm not mad. Just so you know. I had a physical and..." he didn't get the chance to finish.

"Toxoplasmosis. I know." Mara said and grimaced.

[Mara Tallen]

She sighed and propped her chin on her hands, staring down at the flimsis without really seeing them. "You're not mad?" Morgan shook his head.

"A fact for which I'm infinitely grateful. I have no idea what I'd do if you were mad at me."

Mara folded one leg beneath herself as she shifted in her seat and dropped her hands to her lap. Amber eyes clouded over as she glance up and continued. "Still feel awful though, and I am sorry."

[Morgan Evanar]

"It's ok. I'm... disappointed in my immune system. I'm seldom sick for more than four or five hours." Mara looked up and shook her head a little. Morgan's entire body seemed overclocked.

"It was worth the price of admission." He said, and struggled to keep a grin down.

[Mara Tallen]

Mara dipped her head as soon as it became evident that she wasn't going to be able to hide the warm smile blossoming across her features. She did, however, lean over and kiss his cheek before settling back into her own seat. Fingers fussed with a pile of flimsis, absently reordering them.

"Keep saying that and I just might believe you..." she said quietly, the smile still planted on her features.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan had finished his mountain of food. He reached over and gave Mara's hand a squeeze.

"Let me know when you're off shift." He said, and gave her a wink. He rose from the table and took his bowl with him. Morgan knew Mara's eyes left the flimsies and watched him walk out the door.

[Mara Tallen]

Bright amber eyes tracked his every movement as he left the mess, and sighed with disappointment when the door closed behind him.

Mara took a deep breath and got back to her work, her entire mood having shifted for the better. Which was a good thing...it meant that she might actually get a few things done this shift.

Abandoning her half-eaten meal, she gathered up her flimsis and datapads and carried everything back to her office where she spent the rest of her shift in relative peace. Well...relative being only six interruptions and comm calls she had to take. All of which could be dealt with from the comfort of her own space.

Even with the pleasant distraction of Morgan wandering through her mind in various states of undress, she tossed the last datapad in her desk and slammed the drawer shut with the chime of the shift change, every last bit of her paperwork dealt with. A quick comm call saw the responsibility officially handed over, and left her with free time. And ideas.

Wandering out of her quarters, Mara let her feral side slip slightly free of its usual shackles. Amber eyes were dark as she walked...alright, just about stalked...through the halls of the ship. She could have stopped and asked where Morgan was, but where was the fun in that?

Getting off the turbolift closest to the bulk of the troop quarters, she knew she was close. There were such advantages to feline senses. Her steps grew nearly soundless even in her boots as she rounded the last bend into the converted gym space. Now that, she mused, was a sight she could get used to.

Biting her lower lip, she got out of her boots and went the rest of the way soundless on bare feet. Amber eyes coursed across every line of muscle in his shoulders, arms, and chest as the weight rose into the air smoothly and then came back down. A considerable amount of weight at that as her mind absently added it all up. It was all she could do to not purr as she came up behind him and traced a single fingertip across the width of his shoulders without saying a word.

He'd told her to let him know when she was off-shift...he just hadn't specified how.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan's hands were firm around the bar, and he slowly brought the weight down, time all the way to his thighs instead of back to his chest. His hair sweat-soaked. His shirt clung to him, mostly wet through.

"Hey you." He said between heavy breaths, and set 200 kg of weight and bar down on the floor. Despite the thick rubber mats, this much weight could probably dent the deck if dropped from over 60 centimeters up. Morgan could smell her now. The perfume, yes, but also that unmistakable scent of Mara intermingled. Already high on endorphins, the scent-memory was intoxicating. He could hear a quiet rumble building in her body. He turned and looked at her, intense but not all the way back from the pure, singular task of moving weight. A smile crept onto his lips, his chest still heaved.

Mara traced a hand up his arm.

"Want to go somewhere more private?" He asked, his voice low.

[Mara Tallen]

"Hey yourself..." Mara replied, her voice trailing off before anything else formed at all coherently.

The things the man did to her senses were positively indecent. She drew in a deep breath and let a rumble of a purr start to build. He didn't just smell good, he smelled...wickedly delicious.

Mara splayed her fingers out against his chest, staring for several moments while her pulse raced. Somewhere, somehow her mind managed to kick in long enough to recognize that the low rumble of his voice contained a question. Damn, she was completely distracted already.

"I would love to..." she purred, the rumble soft and lush, then proceeded to do a very feline thing by sliding herself against him, and rising up onto her toes as she did. He was intoxicating.

[Morgan Evanar]

In less than a blink, they were in her quarters. Not willing to weather the extra scuttlebutt that would come from dragging each other through a lift and the Novgorod's corridors, he simply teleported himself and Mara.

She was dazed for only a moment. Morgan picked her up under her arms and pushed her against the wall. Her eyes were even with his. She inhaled sharply, a mixture of surprise and lust.

"Morrrgan." She purred, and wrapped her arms and legs around him, and kicked off the wall. They fell into her bed, Morgan first.

Questions flitted in and out of his mind. He wanted to talk to Mara about coping with her dual nature, as it might give him some insight into his own beast. It was not the time for discussion. A sliver of his brain thought about teleporting their clothes off, piece by piece. He'd never thought to try that. That went out the window when Mara simply tore his thin t-undershirt apart.

This woman, wow. Her yellow eyes were filled with purpose.

[Mara Tallen]

Her eyes were half-lidded and glittering darkly, as fingers flicked apart what remained of his shirt. She stared for a moment before pulling her her tank-top off and tossing it aside, leaving only lace confection of her bra behind.

Mara shifted slightly and leaned down, pressing her skin against his as her hands curled into the sheets on either side of his shoulders. Her purr darkened and deepened enough to just about vibrate down the length of her body. Lips trailed up his neck, lingering across his jaw, before nipping at his earlobe.

"Do you have...any idea...what you do to me?" she murmured breathlessly, tilting her head back to catch his gaze before kissing him roughly, barely remembering to breathe as his hands coursed across her skin.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan took a deep breath as he undid her bra with dexterous fingers.

"I..." he began but she kissed him. It was an aggressive kiss, filled with need. He kissed her back. He could feel her hand pulling his gym shorts away, while the other pushed him back roughly as the kiss ended.

"...think I'm starting to..."

"Shut up." she said, and kissed him again. Morgan's eyes went wide, but settled when she parted lips slightly, and Mara bore down. She bit his lower lip. Morgan gasped in surprise. Mara, no longer afraid that she might hurt him, was in for keeps this time. For her, the time to talk had ended, and there were more urgent matters to attend to. Morgan adapted quickly. He grabbed and spun before he slammed her back first into the bed. She reached upward to grab his shoulders to pull him close, but he was fast, and pinned her wrists near her head. She growled and did the only option available. She wrapped her legs around his hips and squeezed.

"Nooo." She managed through the growls. Mara arched her back and attempted to wriggle free. He put his face in her chest. She panted, a mix of frustration and need.

[Mara Tallen]

Her beast demanded that she struggle, and so she did.

Amber eyes narrowed to dark feline slits as she pulled against his hold with every single ounce of her strength. Her back arched in spite of his face pressed against her heated flesh, but didn't get very far off the surface of her bed. His grip was vice-like around her wrists as well, eliciting a sound that was somewhere between a whimper and a plea.

No one had ever been able to counter her strength before.

Mara had always been forced to hold back. To keep some measure of control. To deny her beast the freedom she demanded.

But with Morgan? She could let go...and it was still such a heady realization.

"Morrrrgan..." this time, she did whimper, a low, drawn out version of his name that had need and want clinging to each and every letter - her beast pacing in her gaze.

"...gedet'ye?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Please? Was that Mandalorian? The tone of her voice was clear as day, even if he wasn't certain about the word or the language. Mara gave another hard twitch, and Morgan released his grip on her wrists. He'd never seen a pair of pants disappear so quickly, nor had he experienced such pure animal lust. It was still disconcerting. He found it difficult to think in the haze of already-existing endorphins. On one hand, they were a fantastic physical sexual match, although there were moments where he wished that Mara was taller. She more than made up for it with energy and ferocity.

Part of Morgan questioned how much he enjoyed the psychological games with Mara. It was rather like a predator toying with it's prey. Mara, who knew her beast far better Morgan did his. It was more accessible. Morgan had only felt the edges of his, only when he was challenged to physical extremes. He needed to understand this. Until he did, he wasn't complete, nor in self-control. What was left of his functioning conscious mind decided it had a great deal to learn from Mara.

[Mara Tallen]

There, just beneath the burning surface of her skin, her beast lay quiet at last. Sated and content, she remained at the forefront of her mind, curled as comfortably into Morgan's side as Mara was. When in the past, she had always retreated once her needs had been met.

That deserved thought.

Perhaps...she'd give it some as soon as she'd managed to pick up the scattered pieces of her mind.

Amidst what little remained of their clothing and her sheets, Morgan was sprawled out on his back on her bed, Mara tucked comfortable into his side. Her head on his shoulder and her amber eyes closed, her left hand lay on his chest, rising and falling with his every breath. The pleasure still echoed through her veins, leaving her uncharacteristically silent for a considerable amount of time.

Eventually though, enough of the broken shards of her mind settled back into place to allow her to do more than just feel. When thought proved somewhat possible, she indulged in it. Mara's beast lay amidst her thoughts and toyed with them as if they were so many prey animals dashing about in front of the predator. That made stringing a sentence together aloud a little more...interesting.

But she'd also never been so aware.

"She likes you, by the way." Mara purred softly, shifting a bit and draping her arm across his chest.

[Morgan Evanar]

Those few years of being on the Nar Shadda streets during puberty had taught Morgan more than a few incorrect lessons about women, and sometimes they were hard to shake. Right now the first thing that came to mind was to vacate with haste. Ignoring Mara's genuine dual nature, that sounded like full-blown crazytalk. Morgan was coherent enough to keep his mouth shut and think. He realized for the sake of his own curiosity (and their comical libidos) this was a good thing.

"Mara?" He asked, pushing through the sleep haze.

"Mrrrh?" Came the response, mixed with her soft purr. She was coherent enough.

He paused. The nerve to ask such a personal question took more effort than it took to ignore Mara's nakedness, which was very and shapely and soft in the right places. He forced those thoughts back down and focused.

"Can you tell me about how your relationship with your dual nature works?" He asked slowly, uncertain about the words. It was an awkward question. He was unsure if she noticed the change in him when they were together. It was a mutual narcotic effect and Morgan was worried about how much control he had after last night. He saw a vast potential for violence and it frightened him. His violent aspect had happened on Nar Shadda, but he had dismissed it as survival. Now he was less certain.

Morgan wished Adia was around, and wondered if she had a bestial nature. She had much more time to come to terms with it, and as a veteran of the Clone Wars, likely had done so much more quickly.

His mind raced while she stirred, paranoid that the timing was wrong or or or

[Mara Tallen]

"My wha-oh..."

She blinked, marveling at her own level of eloquence. That wasn't precisely what she expected him to say...but her beast rumbled in the back of her mind, a low, rhythmic sound of recognition.

One beast acknowledging the presence of another.

Mara purred softly and kissed his shoulder as she shifted, a gentle effort to ease his mind until she could gather her scattered wits and form semi-coherent thoughts. It was going to take a moment or three, so she took her time settling herself slightly on top of him, her head pillowed on her hand.

Amber eyes were still dark, and her pupils still lengthened into very feline slits. The effect seemed to last so much longer in Morgan's presence, and now she understood a bit of the why. She gazed at him, a soft smile quirking one corner of her lips.

"It doesn't so much work, to be honest. She fights me for control. Most of the time, I win. But it always comes at a cost. The last couple of days, for example...hold on. Let me back this up and explain a bit about being Felacatian, otherwise it isn't going to make any sense."

"Full-blooded Felacatians have trouble withstanding space travel, and hyperspace in particular, for long bouts of time. It sends their stress levels sky high and usually forces them to shift into their feline form. The Alliance knows this, and those serving them like my cousin Stali, get special dispensation to go planet-side and let their beast out roughly every eight weeks. But I'm just a half-breed, so mine isn't that easy to sate, nor does she adhere to any kind of schedule. She wants what she wants, when she wants it, and the longer I fight her, the worse the need becomes."

"I can either sate her with a hunt, or...temporarily...with sex. But if I don't, my fuse gets exponentially shorter with each passing day, until I either feed the beast or lose control of her completely. So back to the last couple of days..." Mara breathed, moving her hand to drape across him and resting her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart with her eyes closed.

"...I've been close to my limit this past week. We haven't put in anywhere that there hasn't been a mission involved, and that sad excuse for a space station doesn't really count. She's been restless and demanding, hasn't been letting me eat much...and almost impossible to soothe. Then...you happened along. And...well. You saw the effect you have on me." Her cheeks flushed with warmth as she opened one eye slowly, tentatively.

"Now I know I seriously rambled on, but does that even begin to answer your question? She's...very hard to explain. And...no one's ever asked before."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan's face was impassive. He studied her as she explained, face emotionless and continued that way for a full minute after she finished. She had a firmly entrenched duality. It wasn't a system without influence, of course, but they seemed to be two very distinct entities. It was not the problem Morgan faced at all, but he wasn't certain that was the case. Morgan's internal ferocity was simply there, and he wasn't sure where the delineation from the rest of his normal personality started. That was the core of the issue.

"That makes sense." Morgan said. He looked away from her. He frowned, not at her, but his own puzzle.

"I don't think I have such a defined line." Morgan stated. That wild, primitive part of him, that growled when truly challenged in combat, that power-played to such an extreme during sex worried Morgan. He gently reached his arms around Mara and pulled her close.

[Mara Tallen]

She wasn't entirely sure what to say.

So for once in her life, Mara remained silent and thoughtful. He pulled her close, the gesture gentler by far than anything else that had passed between them. It spoke to his state of mind, of that she was certain.

For a few quiet, comfortable moments, she lingered there in his embrace in silence. Simply savoring the feel of it. She almost didn't realize that she was purring, though doing so faintly. It wasn't her beast asserting itself, it was simply a sound of comfort and contentment.

Mara gently lifted her head from where it rested against his neck. Gingerly, she propped herself up on one hand on his chest, while the other gently trailed fingertips along his features. Gently smoothing away the furrow that formed between his brows, before she pressed her lips to the corner of his soft frown. Fingers shifted higher to brush back the damp hair on his forehead as she spoke.

"The line is as defined as you want it to be. Mine is clear because it has to be. I learned the hard way that I can't live any other way." Mara said quietly, her voice fading away as her mind slowly clicked along.

"Morgan..." she whispered, amber eyes bright and warm and solely her. "...what's really worrying you?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan remained impassive and distant. He appreciated Mara, but was too preoccupied to show it.

"Have you ever caved someone's skull in and liked it?" he asked. He felt her pause.

"Mara, I mean, I've killed people, but that wasn't because I wanted to. Like on Coruscant." She nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and continued.

"When I was, oh, 14, I think, I ran with a street gang on Nar Shadda. I'd finally started to grow, and I've always been stronger than I looked. There was one fight where I actually got hurt. Someone managed to get a vibroknife in me." He tapped her shoulder with a long finger.

"There. It was just tissue damage, but I lost it. I shattered the guy's wrist, broke his jaw in at least ten places, and then caved his head in with a hunk of duracrete. After the third guy there wasn't a fight. Everyone else had started to run. I ran down three more guys and did the same to them. And more recently, when I was being trained with a lightsaber, I was put against someone who was my better, and was actually pushed, that came back, that elation of combat and loss of control." Morgan closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I enjoyed it. Last night I had that same rush, when I pinned your arms and watched you writhe. It terrifies me."

[Mara Tallen]

"It shouldn't terrify you...I...well, you know how much I like it. But still. If anything else in that moment hadn't seemed right, I could have gotten out. You'd never be able to hold me if I shifted."

That hadn't come out quite right, Mara mused, blinking slowly as she pressed her cheek against his and sighed faintly. She knew that turmoil all too well. Could still remember the shock and the pain registering in her senses...could feel it as if it were still fresh.

Could still taste Gavin's blood filling her mouth.

"I was sixteen, living on Corellia. Gavin was nineteen, and my first love." Mara began, shifting enough to tuck her head under Morgan's chin without dislodging his arms.

"We were out one night, curled up together on a blanket looking up at the stars. One thing led to another, and things got hot and heavy real fast. I had so little control, but I was so sure I could hold my beast back. I couldn't. She took over, and I...I ripped out Gavin's throat with one bite. Watched as he bled to death under me, and just reveled in the kill and the taste of his blood."

"So yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. But the thing is, we have the sanity and the presence of mind to be terrified of it. To want to control it. And that's a step in the right direction, towards understanding. Towards control."

Mara lifted her head and kissed the hollow of his throat before cupping his face in both of her hands. "Morgan, you'll be alright. We'll help, I swear it."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan gave her a sad smile.

"I don't need to hold you. I could just teleport you into space." he said glumly. Mara's face reflected shock. She was briefly unable to move.

"It's not quite the same for Jedi." Morgan stated. He pulled her hands away from his face and held them gently. He sat up and pressed his back against the wall.

"We're in a much more dangerous position in the universe. Mara, I can teleport. This is an exceedingly rare ability for Jedi, and I have no idea what my limits are. I've done people and medium sized objects, but there is no reason why I couldn't move entire ships. I can do hyperspace calculations in my head. I can perceive matter and space in a way," he took a deep breath, "that I simply can't describe, and I can do it for hundred of light years. I am a potentially tremendous danger."

"There are some people consumed by the Dark Side of the Force, like the Emperor was. It's an easy path Mara, and it's one that part of me might find enjoyable. The part that likes to split skulls."

"If you still want to help, I welcome it. But I need you to know how dangerous this could become."

[Mara Tallen]

With infinite care, she gently took her hands out of his. She drew a sheet around herself as she sat up, letting his words swirl through her mind as she picked them over and turned them around. Morgan was, in no uncertain terms, amazing - in spite of the danger his abilities presented.

He hadn't succumbed yet, and that, to her, spoke volumes. She trusted him, and surprisingly, so did her beast, who was always a better judge of character. For once, they were in complete accord. She almost had the urge to make a notation on her calendar of the date.

Mara shifted over to tuck herself into his side, snuggling in quite comfortably. Her fingers laced in with his as he slid an arm around her shoulders. "Morrrgan..." she began softly, her purr rolling through his name as she tilted her head back to gaze into his eyes, so much visible in her amber orbs.

"...of course I still want to help. I won't deny that some of your abilities unsettle me a little. But...it doesn't matter. You're stuck with me."

[Morgan Evanar]

He took a deep breath and let it out slow. Mara and her cat-eyes that contrasted so nicely against her hair.

"Thank you. And of course it matters." Morgan said, and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. He evaluated Mara's words with a degree of caution that comes with the responsibility of being a Jedi. Personal commitments were forbidden in the old Order, and Morgan understood why. He opted to not define this relationship with Mara for the time being. There was too much emotional information to process for one day.

"When you go on your hunt, can I come?" He asked. It wasn't something he asked lightly, and he hoped his tone conveyed the gravity of the request.

[Mara Tallen]

Her eyes fell half-closed as they sat there in silence for several moments. It wasn't awkward or peculiar in the least...it was oddly comfortable. It gave her mind time to wander a bit, poking at the various bits and pieces of thoughts and emotions the conversation had thus far stirred up. There were fascinating possibilities to contemplate, but even she knew better than to go there in the state she was in right then.

It hadn't precisely ended well the last time, now had it.

His question, when it came, startled her into blinking up at him. "You...want to? Seriously?" she managed after a second or three, absently running her free hand through her auburn curls, as he nodded.

"I...well yes. Of course you can come. I just...hope you have the stomach for it. When she takes over its not..exactly...pretty."

[Morgan Evanar]

"I'll keep up." He said, certain. He knew what gore smelled like. Morgan had sampled raw meat before, and was never worse for the wear.

"I've seen enough proper documentaries to know what a hunt looks like. It's beautiful in it's own way."
____
The combination of persistence, power and agility had been absolutely riveting to an 8 year old Morgan. He'd watched a two-hour Republic Conservation Service documentary about a Kath Hound hunt, which was almost entirely unedited and had minimal narration. The normally fidgety child remained entirely still.

"Don't you think that's kind of gross?" His father asked at the wide-eyed boy as the hounds tore apart a grazing animal.

"No." Morgan said, unmoving. His mind had absorbed the cyclical state of nature. These animals were as they were.

"They're all beautiful. All of them." He was later crushed to learn that the Conservation Service had been disbanded 7 years ago. He wanted to smell the forest and the clearing. The iron in the fresh blood. The musk of the herd beats, the breath of the hounds. Morgan wanted to see it in person. He'd forgotten, of course.
____
The distant 8 year old boy remembered, and fell into wide-eyed anticipation.

"I am many things, but squeamish is not one of them." He said and grinned. Forever the smartass. He grabbed her and pushed her back into the bed. He'd found a degree of mental resolution, and now desired a physical one. He bit down on her shoulder.

[Mara Tallen]

Her beast flashed into her gaze, her hunger evident in every sense of the word. There was a whole host of new possibilities swirling in her mind's eye, each one of them delicious in its own right.

She'd only had company on a hunt once before, and while she'd taken a great deal of pleasure in it...she'd terrified Eddic so badly they'd had to send him to a psychiatric hospital. Mara hadn't been the least bit sorry over it either.

Still wasn't.

---

Twelve SpecForce soldiers sat in a clearing, arranged in a haphazard circle, displaying a mix of attentive and casual postures. Night had fallen, and a fire was lit in a stone lined pit. Major Stanton stood closest to it, feeding it sheared tree limbs until it blazed properly.

Parrok, Endhis, and Freel were absorbed in their dice game, while the others chatted mostly amongst themselves. She sat off to the side, mostly in shadow as she preferred it. Being the new person in an established company was hard, and being the only woman made it worse.

Having told the men she was now serving with what she was...well that had silenced most of them at first. Save for the Major, who had always known, and Eddic. That bloody bastard had taken to making her life a living hell for the last three months solid, in spite of the fact that she'd proven herself enough to have earned the grudging respect of the others.

"So when are you going to show off this cat-shape of yours?" he'd sniped, sidling up beside her.

Mara cast him a dark glare from her amber eyes, and resisted the urge to haul off and punch him. He outranked her, and as such, she'd be in a world of trouble. But the urge was mothering-strong. "When the Major gives me permission, Eddic. I'm not a sideshow entertainer. I'm a soldier." she snapped instead.

"Aww...kitty's getting a little testy. Is it that time of the month already?" he asked, his tone turning lewd. Several of the others sucked in ragged breaths as their eyes widened.

She was already on her feet with one half-furred, clawed hand wrapped around Eddic's throat before the others could blink. Another second, and Mara had lifted him off the ground with a seemingly effortless flick of her wrist and thrown him clear across the clearing. A deep growl formed in her throat, but stopped the second she felt a hand clamp onto her shoulder.

"Tallen." the Major's sharp voice cut through the crimson haze in her mind. It was enough to make her remember herself.

"Sir." she managed to say after swallowing hard and forcing her voice as far back to normal as she could.

"Take twenty and get it out of your system. We're here until dawn." he said a bit loudly, his dark eyes on the spot Eddic had landed.

"Yes, Sir." Mara bowed her head to hide her still-feline gaze and started to turn away. By the time she was facing back to where she'd been sitting, she'd shifted into her feline form. Auburn fur rippled in the firelight, fangs gleamed as she tilted her head back, and the row of thick spikes arrayed down her back glittered as she bounded out of the clearing to a collective muttering of 'Did you -see- that'.

She savored every single one of those twenty minutes, and every second of her hunt of the hapless night-grazer she'd happened upon. A bite had snapped its neck before she'd torn out its throat, reveling in its death throes and the taste of its fear-spiced blood. The snap of a twig sounded behind her, prompting Mara to whirl around, crouched possessively over her kill, growling.

Eddic stumbled out from his cover, wide-eyed as he couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Sith-spit...they let a thing like you into SpecForce?" he stammered, his tone somewhere between revulsion and fascination.

He cringed when she roared and started to walk backwards, slowly. That only served to inflame her beast's prey-drive and she easily closed the distance separating them. By the time she pinned him to the tree at his back, she was human again, though warm, still-steaming blood covered her mouth and chin, and dripped onto her heaving chest.

One hand at the center of his chest held him in place, while the other rose to dip fingers into the blood. She slowly and deliberately licked her fingers clean, purring, while her teeth remained elongated and sharp. He whimpered and she growled in response, half closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her beast reveled in his fear and he fainted as she shifted again.

---

Mara's amber gaze was already heated when Morgan's voice snapped her out of the old memory. It blazed brighter as he pushed her back onto the bed and held her there, his teeth pressing against the skin of her shoulder. Her back arched high off the bed, her fingers tightened in the sheets, while her voice emerged somewhere between a purr and a moan.

"If you'rrrre going to bite me...at least do it harrrderrr..."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan was still testing the limits with Mara. He was keenly aware of his own size and strength, and how easily he could hurt most people and things. Mara was not most people. No, Mara Tallen was half Felacatian. For her, a firm spanking would not do. Mara wanted the whole paddle, and put your back into it. Her metallic bones and denser muscle with flexible ligaments made her difficult to injure, but he was unsure how difficult.

Morgan tightened his jaw. Her moan deepened. Her skin broke under the onslaught. He could taste the iron tang of her blood. He could feel her pulse quicken and she made an unintelligible noise of agreement. Pulled his head back and looked down at her: her blood stained a corner of his mouth, and trailed down to his chin. She grabbed his head and pulled him in for a savage kiss.