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 Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:42 pm
I used to think maybe you loved me now baby I'm sure
And I just cant wait till the day when you knock on my door
Now everytime I go for the mailbox , gotta hold myself down
Cos I just wait till you write me your coming around
I'm walking on sunshine , wooah
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah
and don't it feel good!!
The dogman was singing the perfect song for his appropriate mood. Jordan was stoked and brimming with joy. He had a girlfriend now and a secure job on the island. Life was good, nevermind being slowly changed into a hybrid animal. It was all about perspective and as long as there was good to be seen from the situation, then there was no reason to think otherwise. He'd made the party a success and he'd gotten to spend time with Kim afterwards. He felt good for making her so happy; and; his efforts had produced fruitful results.
He was a good boy. A very good boy.
In his excitement, Jordan had too much energy to keep cooped in his duplex. He wanted to walk around and explore, but he wanted to go where he hadn't been before and that's how he found the river. His ears twitched and his nose did likewise as he took in the scents and sounds of the water, the sounds of the rolling river and the occassional movement of a fish at the surface.
It was peaceful out this far. It was just him and nature, the way he liked it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:11 pm
It wasn't far down the riverbank that he came to a rather dirty looking blanket thrown out across the lawn. A few bits of driftwood twisted with bent paper clips and string, as well as other curious bits and peaces of things apparently salvaged from the garbage or from deep in the jungle or along the beach. There was a small toolbox with a feral labs logo on the top, latched shut tightly. Whoever had been working here at this odd little picnic was no where to be seen, though, but there was a distinct scent about the place that lead towards the river.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:23 pm
His cheerful humming singing stopped as he spotted the blanket just sitting there. It was like a scene out of a horror movie: the happy-go-lucky dog walking along minding his own business when he finds abandoned possessions mysteriously left behind. What odd things to be collected.. he thought to himself. Then he saw the Feral Labs logo and his hart thumped with excitement again and his tail fanned the air. Moreau was Feral and Moreau cared for Jordan. Ah, the joys of mind-warping hypnosis.
Like a curious pup, he leaned down and started sniffing at the toolbox and the assorted possessions on the blanket. It didn’t smell like anyone he knew, but he’d only been able to know people by scent for three weeks, so..
“Hello…?” he called out, tilting his head to look around.
After receiving no immediate acknowledgement, Jordan became worried. He huddled down on all fours, crouching as lowly as he could, which was a bit awkward. His canine paws and semi-digitgraded legs made it a bit easier to be in this stance, but it was still awkward. He lifted his nose to the air and sniffed. What if the wolf had slaughtered whoever it was who left this here and dragged them away. A cold chill arced his spine as he felt vulnerable and paranoid at that moment.
“Hello…..?” he called out more meekly a second time, fear in his voice.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:51 pm
Fortunately, the owner of the toolbox had not been devoured by anyone, and in fact had been hunting smaller frogs and little birds that fluttered along the edge of the riverbanks. Newt kept low in the water as he stared boggle-eyed up the bank to where the dog-man had found his tools. Blast! He thought he had gone far enough off the path to be alone! He held his breath, hoping to goodness this intruder didn't try to take his toolbox, or he would be in trouble or sure! They had trusted him with them, after all, he couldn't loose them or have them stolen- it'd be horrible!!
There was nothing else but to do it. He swallowed, keeping himself as submerged as possible with only his balding head and massive eyes poking out of the water, "KrrrKIT! Ah... ex... excuse m-me?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:09 pm
Jordan nearly jumped out of his skin and fur as the croaking preceeded words from nowhere. He was really paranoid as he couldn’t see anyone at first, afraid to move from his position. He kept himself low to avoid being seen, but that apparently had failed since someone HAD seen him… There was only one thing he could do! And he dove behind a tree!
“Who’s there….?” He called out louder, keeping his back to the tree and looking around briefly every few seconds. This was so ridiculous. He was hiding from something he couldn’t see. He had to conduct himself in a more fitting manner, but he was afraid there was someone lurking who could tear him apart. Why’d he have to come out this far to an unexplored area??
Jordan took a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t about to get himself killed and held up his paws to show he was unarmed. “My name is Jordan Essex. Show yourself now and make it easier on yourself.” he made it the command stern and certainly not to sound like a request. “And why is there Feral Labs equipment just left in the open this far out..?” He leaned down, reaching out to claim the toolbox. If it was abandoned, then he had a responsibility to return it to the labs.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:28 pm
"Ah!" The moment he touched it, the frog-man leaped from the water to the bank in a soggy amphibious mess, "D-don't, th-that's muh-muh-mine!" With two more hops he was beside the frog man, reaching to pull the toolbox back defensively with a frantic ribbit.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:38 pm
Jordan tugged back on the toolbox, not letting Newt have his own property, until it clicked. Yeah, Jordan wasn’t always the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was good at what he did. He just let it slip from his paw and glanced over the frogman. His nose flared as the smell of riverbed muck hit his nostrils and it made him sneer.
“So. You work for Feral, then?” He was calm in the statement, trying to ham it up a bit. This guy was a frog! Come on! What could a frog do to him? Seriously! Jordan tilted his head to the side till he heard it crack. “Who are you? And what exactly are you doing out here with tools?” his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:43 pm
Newt wasn't sure what to say at first, hugging the heavy thing to his wide slimy chest. "I... w-well... er... y-yes... er... n-no... I m-mean... " He swallowed. Calm down, calm down, he wouldn't try to take them again, would he? No, he'd have no choice but to defend what was his, after all. "I... I used to w-work th-there... I... um... w-well, I w-was m-m-making things."
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:55 pm
Making things? With random junk? And what was this guy’s issue anyways? He was jumpier than Jordan. The dogman just nodded at the admission and took a step back to show that he wasn’t interested in stealing Newt’s tools, as they were clutched protectively. He threw his paws up infront of himself and waved them briefly and arched his brow. “To each his own, I suppose. I obviously don’t have the artistic vision to foresee what you could possibly make from this.” He pointed down to the blanket’s contents. He didn’t even think to ask why Newt was working way out in the middle of nowhere.
He was even more interested now. Another Feral employee. There was no such thing as being a former employee. He knew from experience. This man was a part of the company from now to eternity, just like Jordan. This brought a grin to his mouth, curling the corners back and displaying his elongated canines. His paws flexed and uncurled “So, Mr. Frog” with nothing else to call him, surely that’d get the name out of him “What’s your story?”
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:01 pm
"Oh... ah... er... th-these... are g-going to be w-wind chimes," He lifted up the cross-bars bit and the few rigged panels of driftwood he had set up to be hung from them in an attempt to illustrate, although it was still difficult to imagine. "And... um... Th-that's er... N-newt, not F-frog... KrrKIT!"
He set the pieces down again, shifting anxiously, "M-my... m-my st-story? I ah..." Shy was too light a word for what Newt was, but from his experience, sharing the fact he was an employee wasn't something to be proud of like he had first thought, but something that resulted in being beaten, bitten and trampled and teased.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:10 pm
Jordan emboldened by his sense of power over Newt, at least having succeeded in some form of intimidation in the dog’s own mind, stepped over to Newt and patted his shoulder with some disgust at getting muck on his fur. “Mellow out, Newt. I’m not going to hurt you. You see…” he paused dramatically, looking around to add effect, before leaning in to whisper “I’m a company man too.” He winked, thinking himself to be subtle with his lame wordplay.
He couldn’t help but smile at Newt’s creativity with making wind chimes from driftwood and scrap metal. “Wind chimes, eh? That’s pretty industrious.” He added a friendly smile, wanting to make the frog feel safe around him. “Are you making them for yourself? Or maybe a special friend?” Lure him into a sense of security by showing interest in his project and extract what he wanted to know all in due time.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:19 pm
The frogman huddled down bashfully, smiling a little. He was proud of his work. "I w-was.... hoping p-people w-would like to t-trade for them." When he realized what Jordan had meant by Company Man, his eyes lit up, "Ah- Oh! Er... wh-what d-did... er... what was y-your...?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:34 pm
“Well, it looks like you know what you’re doing. Anyone would be lucky to hang a handmade windchime outside their door. Sadly, I don’t know what I could trade for craftsmanship you’re showing.” Bait him along. Give him just enough rope to hang himself with and then… “What’d I do?” Jordan repeated, dumbfounded. He hadn’t been prepared to hear that, nor was he ready to answer that. He stepped away from Newt and turned his back to the frog, rubbing his eyes with the paw that wasn’t covered in muck.
“I did something I wasn’t supposed to, Newt. I listened to someone I shouldn’t have and I caused trouble. I made Doctor Moreau very mad. That’s why I’m here.” He sighed at that thought, but turned his head to face Newt, his expression genuinely regretful for doing anything that would displease the doctor. “But I’m here for a second chance. Instead of taking legal action against me and inevitably locking me in prison for the rest of my natural life, the gracious doctor has let me continue working for him. Yes, I’m becoming a dog, but you know what, Newt, my friend? That’s alright. I deserve to be turned into an animal. Doctor Moreau wouldn’t do this unless he wanted to show me the error of my ways.” He nodded sagely, those subliminals playing in his duplex were gradually digging deeper and nestling more into his impressionable mind. His tail waged excitedly at the thought of making Doctor Moreau happy.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:38 pm
Newt's brows furrowed as the other man completely failed to answer his question. "I m-mean... w-what... d-did you do for th-the d-doc-doc-doctor? I... ah..." He shifted, looking a touch embarrassed, "I w-was a cus-custodian. I... I m-made a m-mis-mistake too. S-several, I sup-suppose... B-but the others s-said th-they weren't s-so ter-terrible as to... to w-warrant being t-turned into a frog! KrrKIT!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:45 pm
What could Jordan say? How could he actually answer that question to another test subject and not expect to be pummeled. He rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming. “Well… what I did… uhm…” he looked down, sweating a little. This wasn’t going well now. It’d been turned around against him. “I was… a lab… assistant..” he slowly looked up to see if the frogman was about to go on the offensive. That was as good an answer as any. He was a lab assistant, but whether or not Newt was aware of what that entailed would soon be revealed.
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