Welcome to Gaia! ::

Richard walked down to the lake wearing a freshly laundered suit. After his encounter with Jamal he had thought of nothing but the control chip he knew was somewhere in his neck. He knew pursuing this avenue was foolhardy and dangerous but neither his curiosity nor sudden sense of hope would let him ignore the matter. He had to at least get his hands on the chip, find out just how lucky Jamal had been. Once he determined that the procedure was foolhardy maybe he could let the matter drop. But till he reached that point Richard felt he was honor bound to pursue the lead. It could be the islanders' only chance at freedom.

Lost in these rather dangerous and possibly foolhardy thoughts, Richard found himself at the edge of the lake sooner than expected. His chest was tightly bound underneath a dark shirt to prevent a sudden soaking from betraying his secret. Cradled under his right arm was a carton of Marlboro cigarettes.

He approached Billy's rocks but didn't step onto them. He peered into the shallow water from the shore.

After few moments and the Billy was no where to be seen, Richard called out over the lake. "Billy!" It was simple shout, no anger or irritation in it. Richard council himself to be patient. Billy probably couldn't hear him if he was under the water. There would be no point in shouting himself hoarse.

So Richard settled on a nearby rock and pulled an old pipe from his jacket pocket. He stuffed it full of loose tabacco and lit it. At first he coughed a bit but it soon faded. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself a smoke.

He mused that waiting for Billy was a bit like fishing. The cigs were the bait.

Richard smiled when Billy finally appeared and the grin widened when Billy mentioned it project. "I'm afraid not. I used to be able to do a couple card tricks but somehow I doubt thats what your looking for." Richard gestured at Billy with the end of his pipe. "How'd Shenzi do?" Richard had figured that Shenzi had probably ignored his warning and beat it to the lake for the auditions as soon as she had been able.

Like many men his age Richard shared Billy's opinion on popular music and chuckled at the description. "Pity that, she's got a good voice to waste on that. I'd bet she took offense to that though."

Richard flashed a pack of cigs at Billy, he wasn't sure it was smart to offer them to the man given his shortness of breath but hell he certianly didn't want them. "You still smoke? Or is it just fish now?"

While Richard had noticed Billy's voice, Billy had been a bit far away to notice most of Billy's changes thanks to the glare of the sun on lake. He had noted the lack of the white hair. He suspected something was different but didn't see all of Billy's face until he crawled closer. Then he saw the that Billy's beard was actually a mass of short tentacles, He stared for a moment, then quickly looked down to open the pack with a claw. He mental prepped himself before he looked up again.

He stood to bring the pack closer to Billy, revealing the tail that lashed behind him. He offered the pack to Billy with a clawed hand. He shrugged when Billy asked about where he had gotten them. There was only one possiblity after all. "You want a light?"

Richard let Billy snatch the pack from his grasp, trying more to avoid any of Billy's frantic tentacles from wrapping around him. His own two tentacles tracked Billy movements. Once Billy secures a cigarette, Richard reaches into his pocket and produces a cheap bic lighter. After a few tries he manages to produce a small flame. His eyes are on Billy many's tentacles.

Richard had really not expected Billy to be this desperate for a smoke. He found himself somewhat sickened by Billy's desperate behavior, like an addict who had stumbled upon a dealer's stash. Richard certianly wasn't going to mention the rest of the carton until he was well out of range of Billy's tentacles.

Of course there was the reason he was down here in the first place. As Billy leaned into light his cancer stick. He whispered, "Ran into a friend of yours the other day. Didn't know your a doctor." The last line was very quiet.

Richard drew back from Billy as he start hacking. His tail lashing nervously behind him. Maybe giving him that had not been the best of ideas. After all he was been weezing before. Had the latest change effected his lungs? Richard wasn't sure what to do. "You alright there?"