It didn't matter now. All that mattered was finding her way out of this thing with all their hides still intact. And right now the odds of that appeared to be slim. Make that zero. Yetemna flew ahead to make sure the way was clear, and all had gone well until Athenai heard a thin squeal that tore at her heart. "...fuck." It was the humongous, four armed guy from before, glowering down at her with an expression of pure malice and clutching the struggling, biting, clawing, shrieking Devi in one of his massive hands. He reached out and snatched her up by her hair before she had the chance to react and hugged her close with all four arms. Zaiaku snarled with untold rage and leapt at him, only to be kicked powerfully aside. He hit a large pipe and slid to the floor, unmoving. "Udos ph' aluin ulu inbal jivvin xuil dos, lotha ligrr." the alien growled with a sneer. "I'm sorry, I don't speak 'dirty freak' but I can recommend a fine thing called a 'toothbrush' which, when used with something called 'toothpaste', can get rid of that dead-animal smell you have going on in your mouth." she snapped, trying in vain to free a leg, her tail, anything to get herself away. She also feared for Zaiaku, seeing the blood-smear his head had left on the protruding pipe.
Whether he understood what she said or not, the alien grinned even wider and slowly licked the side of her neck with a slimy, black tongue. One of the three he seemed to have in his mouth, she noticed. Either way, she wanted to retch. And the approaching mob was drawing closer, sounding louder and more crazed than ever. It dawned on her just what this alien and the rest had in store for her. "Oh hell no..." she muttered, turning even paler than she already was. The frantic desire to escape began to build inside, and she felt a familiar pain shoot through her skull and down her spine. "You won't... I w-won't let you..." He laughed, "Vel'uss della udos ssrig'luin siy- ?" but trailed off into a howl as she sunk newly formed talons on both hands and feet into his arms.
Black blood stained the corridor as he released her and staggered around in agony. Yetemna flew free from his grasp and fled to Zaiaku, trying frantically to wake him. Athenai dropped to her knees and placed her hands on either side of her head with a moan. "Dos orn yaith!" he cried and drew a crude looking blaster from his belt. A sickening cracking sounded from where she was hunched over on the floor. He crept closer and viciously kicked at her stomach. With unusual agility, she rolled and leapt to her feet, causing the alien to stop. Where had those wicked horns on her head come from? And when did she grow talons? Surely her mouth wasn't full of fangs like that before... But he had no opportunity to re-think his decision before she leapt and, with a feral snarl, ripped his throat out. More of the tar-like blood painted the corridor and the girl as he fell dead with a gurgling sigh. By now the rest of the mob had caught up and witnessed her murdering their comrade. They shouted in a mixture of languages but appeared to have one goal, kill this girl in the most painful way possible.
Athenai grinned, her teeth and chin colored with blood...
Esyscth capered ahead of Thea as they wandered along the docking bays. She was really keeping an eye out for shifty characters under the guise of being playful. Her bond was way too innocent and blind to the goings-on in this portion the station, honestly. Otherwise she would have chosen a much more wholesome level to be "drawn to". Thea walked with a casual saunter, hands behind her back, fingers threaded together. It was oddly peaceful here this evening. The bars didn't seem to be stirring up quite the ruckus as usual. Of course, the fact that only two of the docking bays appeared to be in use may have had something to do with it.
As they neared one of the occupied bays, a shrill and feral scream cut through the night air. Esyscth was immediately beside her bond, ready to snatch her up and get the heck out of there at a moments notice. But Thea really was too curious for her own good. She approached the bay the scream had come from, only to be driven back by gunfire and more screams, which sounded more bestial this time. Security guards began to swarm the area, driving Thea further back as they broke into the ship. Crates exploded out from the cargo hold as a gigantic alien that had the torso and arms of a man, but the lower half and head of some kind of giant beetle came tearing through and out into the station.
More shots were fired and more aliens burst forth, but the object of their furor was nowhere to be found. Some were covered with blood and nursing injuries, others firing blindly back into the ship as they ran into the waiting arms and chains of the security team. Dragon and woman backed into a corner out of sight and gunfire. The roars and blasts of the offending crew became louder as the hangar doors flew off of their own accord, as if peeled back by a giant, invisible hand, and something small and blue darted from the ship and into the shadows. It wasn't seen by the security crew, but Esyscth saw and urged Thea to come with her, to run away to safety. Come on! We don't want to get mixed up in this, and I don't want you to get hurt! she snarled, butting Thea with her head to get her to walk.
"Wait, there's something..." she trailed off, staring into the shadows with an unfocused gaze. Yes, there's something fast and angry hiding in this bay and we don't want to meet whatever it is! As Esyscth spoke, the blue blur reappeared from the shadows and made it's way toward them. Thea could finally make out what it was. A girl, running on all fours like a big cat would, with a large, purple dragon draped across her shoulders. She realized a second too late that the girl was too busy looking behind her to notice she was headed right for her and her dragon. The girl also realized a second too late that she was headed for a crash course and only had a moment to slow herself down before she ran into her, knocking Thea back and causing Esyscth to bellow in rage. The purple dragon flew from her shoulders and slid across the floor, coming to rest at the gold's feet.
It was a quick but silent scramble, the girl was too tired and weak to resist when Thea caught her wrists and pinned her to the metal floor. She was out of breath, panting hard and writhing in pain. She was also covered in blood of all different colors, it was hard to tell if she was injured herself or not. Her cloak was tattered, and it was apparent that she was extremely thin beneath it. The expression on her face was of blatant fear and when their eyes met, Thea felt a flash of connection.
"Help."
It was uttered inside her mind and not verbally, but was definitely not one of her own thoughts. Esyscth still snarled like she'd gone mad and would have ripped the two apart were she not feeling a curious mix of emotions coming from her bond. Thea? I think we better leave... The dragoness was right. A swarm of more security guards had filled the bay and were busy restraining the mass of outlaws still flowing from the vessel. It was clear that their intention in docking here was not legal. "Help me get her up." she instructed, standing and trying to lift her by her shoulders. What, why? She came off that ship! She could be a criminal! "Just help me and we'll sort it out at home!" Thea snapped. Esyscth blinked, her bond had never spoken to her like that before. She lowered her neck for the girl to be hoisted on to. A small sound of pain passed her lips as she clung desperately. Thea clambered up behind her and held the small framed girl steady, she wasn't confident in her ability to stay seated. "Let's go Esyscth, back to the apartment." A small, gray flit-like creature flew from the inside of the girl's cloak and flapped around the purple dragon she had been carrying, squealing loudly. "Wait, Zaiaku!" she cried, reaching for him. Esyscth delicately took him into her mouth and turned, going at a hasty trot toward home.