Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shenzi groaned softly as she sat in the warm sand of the beach, rubbing her head. She had woken up with a fever, and hadn't the slightest clue why... She had never been one to get sick, and the doctor had given her that shot...

Shaking her head, she rubbed up and down her arms wearily. They were all dry and cracking, a faint yellowish color, and she definately didn't think that was good. Shenzi hadn't gotten much sleep last night, either. Aweful dreams, which were even now falling into her deeper memory, the details eluding her grasp even as she grabbed for them. Her a** was hurting, too, and her ears for some reason. Must be some kinda island fever, she had thought, trying to ignore the pain by taking a couple pills of i-prin, then throwing on a loose, opalescant top and half-cut jeans, going barefoot to the shore since it wasn't that far.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder as she heard her name called, and she smiled slightly when she saw Richard. "Uh, hey. Sorry for acting all weird yesterday..." She said, her grin turning apologetic as she stopped rubbing her arms. They felt hot to the touch, but she wasn't about to bring that up.

"Uhm, so, just takin' a walk then?" Shenzi asked, trying to focus her eyes on Richard's face, but the edges of her vision were fuzzy.

Shenzi grinned again, lying down in the sand with her hands behind her head. Her ears were starting to hurt, so she closed her eyes, her feet crossed at the ankles, even as a dull, throbbing pain started at her ankles. "There's a dragon, too? Jeez, these doctors have no ********' lives..." She said, grinning lightly.

"I've been good. Couldn't sleep last night, and woke up feeling funny. Damned island fevers." Shenzi was falling into a mumble, as more pain started pricking on her neck, arms, and her lower back. Wincing to herself, she tried shifting on the sand to make it more comfy.

She frowned as Richard fell silent, opening her eyes to look at him upside down, but her eyes wouldn't focus; his shape was all blurry colors right now, hazing in and out of clarity. "Mm, what's wrong?" Shenzi asked, sitting up with a struggle. Her back was killing her, her tailbone aching like hell. Her toes were starting to cramp as well, and she wasn't even wearing any shoes. She was starting to feel pin-pricks at the ends of her ears, too, and that wasn't entirely enjoyable.

Shenzi pulled her hat off, rubbing her forehead; the band of the hat was soaked with sweat, as the heat of Shenzi's skin climbed. The skin on her arms felt harder now, and it was getting a sort of light, shiny sheen to it, almost like scales...

Shenzi felt something at her lower back changing, growing. She could feel her tail bone extending, painfully, growing longer even as little feathers pricked their way through the skin around the base. She let a small moan of pain escape her lips as she leaned forward, the tail starting to wriggle in the sand, the end of it twitching like an irritated cat's. Her feet started lengthening, as the calluses on her feet grew rougher, seperating onto her toes while the nails grew and sharpened.

"Richard..." She mumbled, barely able to get that out. Shenzi was in excrutiating pain, and her eyes wouldn't focus on even her feet, changing right in front of her eyes. She held her head in her hands, and she could feel her palms turning rough against her cheek, felt the skin going hard, then turning smooth like scales. Her fingernails lengthened, turning a sharp obsidian black, the points pricking the skin under her hair, drawing small beads of blood. The pain was starting to get too much; it was getting harder to breath, and her vision started to darken at the edges.

Shenzi's hands, claws, fell into her lap, the fingers curling almost reflexively on an imaginary something, the sharp claws scratching her palms. But she didn't seem to notice the pain from the cuts, if there was any. Her ears were pointed now, with feathered tips, and small feathers could be seen poking out from the ends of her sleeves, and a few around the collar. After a moment, the tail stopped growing, and slowly went still, and her claws unclenched, just as she fell backwards into the sand, unconscious, face to the sky.

Shenzi groaned softly as she blearily opened her eyes. Her vision was still fuzzed out, though it was slowly, so slowly, creeping back to clarity. And when it was clear, she started noticing things she hadn't before. The texture of her pant leg. All the thousands of tiny little links in Richard's hands and face. Thousands of minute little details, as if she had a pair of binoculars. Holding a hand to her head, she immediately yanked it away, staring at it in growing schock. Not so much horror, since she had been expecting it, even looked for good points, but definately not in pleasure.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." She mumbled, flinching at the pat and waving off his hand as she struggled to stand up, the tail swishing behind her, from where it had went over the waist of her jeans. Wobbling slightly on her feet, her vision finally clear, Shenzi felt her head. Not nearly as hot as before, but the fever seemed to be disappearing, albeit slowly.

Shenzi leaned into Richard's arm, carefully rubbing a knuckle into her temple. She could feel the little pricks left by her nails, and didn't care to repeat that. Her hair had come loose from her braids, so long blue strands were hanging in front of her face as she took slow, deep breaths, making herself calm down. After a moment, she tried standing up straight on her feet, but immediately had to lean into Richard again. "Can't stand." She said simply, staring at her feet. Paws. Things. Her tail continued swinging behind her, the tip of it twitching back and forth, back and forth, betraying her growing anxiety.