Fucking hell, this planet was cold as a loanshark's arteries. Some more appropriate attire was definitely going to be Dei's first order of business, just as soon as the strange reptilian creature had the cash for it. It had cost every centicred she'd taken off the shithead to get aboard the freighter that brought her here, and while she'd managed to earn a few credits back from the other passengers and crew during warp, she had no idea how far it was going to get her on a world as isolated both spatially and economically as this one. Not having much experience paying for things herself wasn't going to help, either. For now, she concentrated on the feathers that shrouded her back and arms, and felt the surge of warmth rush from her sides up to her shoulders and down through her arms. A moment later, she shook her body, rustling out her newly thickened and elongated plumage. It wasn't much, but it would help for the moment. She just had to hope she wouldn't need another alteration in the next hour.<br/><br/>A worker at the spacedock had given her directions to a place called Cowry's as a good spot for making a fresh start, and while she had a healthy amount of skepticism about the trustworthiness of that advice, it was the best she had to go on, and she trudged through the freezing streets hugging herself and fantasizing about a nice, heavy, winter coat. The neon lights that surrounded every step she took made her head ache a little, and she marveled that there was a place that could out-gaudy some of the shitholes she'd been dragged to in her abandoned life. Just as she was starting to consider giving up on Cowry's and just ducking inside the next clothing store she came across, the bar's sign came into view.<br/><br/>"Finally," she grumbled. She picked up her pace, eager to be out of the cold, making her toe claws click and clack on the street. The gust of warmth that hit her when she wrenched the door open was the best thing Dei could remember ever feeling in her life at that moment, and she slammed the door behind her so fast it almost closed on her tail. Some deep-seated part of her instinctive mind noted the bar's other patrons, but it was entirely alone and ignored as she made a beeline straight to the counter.<br/><br/>"Hot caff," she ordered, not even caring about the price right now. If she didn't have enough, she could work it off or run. Part of her mind knew this was a dreadful lack of proper planning, but right now she didn't give a shit. She needed something warm in her five minutes ago. Fortunately, she did indeed have more than enough, and she ordered a second as soon as the first arrived, and was burping from the first by the time the second arrived. Tongue and throat burning in indignant protest at the abuse they'd just suffered, Dei took her second cup to an empty table along the wall and hunkered down over the steaming drink, bathing in the warmth it radiated across her face. All things considered, there were worse ways to start a new life, she thought. Finally, she looked up to take a cursory glance around the building, but her eyes were immediately caught by the occupant of the next table down from hers; a serpentine woman whose gaze made that deep-seated part of her mind that had been subconsciously sizing up the other patrons before tingle with alertness. Dei felt a sense of wary camaraderie for a fellow reptilian woman, and offered her a half smile and brief wave.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>