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It was nice being able to go near the duplexes without fear, but Thom still found himself spending the greater majority of his time in the jungle. It was just altogether more comfortable and suitable for him. The duplex was nice when it rained--something that still unnerved him, despite the end to his fears--, and the bed was certainly more comfortable than the trees he slept in otherwise (especially considering that Natsumi was usually in bed with him). But the room was stuffy, predictable, and, despite the fact that both of its occupants were reptiles, often rather chilly, which didn't sit well with Thom at all.

The jungle, on the other hand, was usually warm despite the season. The cobra felt more comfortable amid the trees and vines, could move more easily, could hunt more easily. At the sound of someone coming, he could curl up around a tree and watch said islander walk right by him, something that was quite impossible in the village. He had quite adapted to life among the trees in the four months plus he had been spending on and off there, and even though he had Natsumi back at the duplex, it was good to escape back to the jungle for time to himself every so often.

Especially when he was hungry. He knew all too well that his eating habits would unnerve Natsumi, not to mention the fact that the cobra was seriously eyeing the gecko as a potential meal whenever he was particularly peckish, and so the safest option was to just wander off until he could catch his fill in the jungle. Today, said fill would be composed of rabbit...if he could catch the little bugger hopping a short distance away.

The cobra was laying almost flat along the ground, arms pinned to his sides as he approached the unsuspecting bunny in near silence. He had spotted the little creature a good while back, and been following it for the better part of an hour by that point, but was finally near enough that actually capturing it was beginning to seem possible. It never crossed his mind that rabbits were not native to tropical islands. There were more unusual things around.

Closer, closer... It hadn't even noticed him. A little further, a little further... The rabbit looked up, sitting up on its hind feet, and in a sudden burst of speed Thom was upon it. However, he didn't bite; instead, he snatched the rabbit up with a hand around its neck and, when it struggled, caught its back legs with his free hand, laughing aloud. "Success!"

Ack, it had screamed. Thom had forgotten that rabbits could scream. He frowned down at the little creature, repositioning his hand to snap its neck, but paused before doing so as Jordan's call drew his attention. The cobra drew himself up proudly, frowning down his nose at the stranger and, for a long moment, saying nothing.

However, another kick from the rabbit reminded him of the situation at hand, and, after a flick of his tongue, he addressed Jordan. "I'd think it's rather obviouss, so I'll refrain from explainin'. It's no concern of yours. Bugger off."

"How noble," he replied dryly, tongue giving another lazy flick to analyze this stranger. He needed fear to win out a bluff, else the encounter would result in a fight and he would most likely lose his meal during it. Thankfully, the fear was there, however, whether it was for the man or the rabbit was unclear. If Jordan was only worried about injuries to the rabbit, a bluff wouldn't do much good. If not, Thom could probably scare him away with little trouble.

Of course, the easiest solution would've just been to crack the rabbit's neck, but the fact that someone would be standing there watching him do it weighed heavily on Thom. That guilt saved the rabbit for the moment.

"Believe it or not, game issn't exactly eassy to keep up with when one doesn't 'ave legs, and I'm quite tired of lizards by now." The bloke wanted a staring contest, didn't he? A win to Thom--Jordan had already lost, for the snake could not blink, and was not about to look away. He met the bluff, holding Jordan's gaze with his own piercing glare, then laughed aloud, fangs visible only briefly. "If you expect me t' jusst set down my dinner an' watch it hop away at a word from a complete stranger, you're madder than I am."

Thom's limited patience was already beginning to wear thin. He listened, but grudgingly and only with half an ear, busying himself meanwhile with restraining the rabbit. Humming lazily to himself, but nodding towards Jordan to ensure the man that he was listening, Thom released his hold on the rabbit's neck, holding it upside down by its legs. He swept his tail around and looped that around the rabbit instead, tightly enough so that it wouldn't escape, but not enough that it would suffocate. It was just a means of freeing his hands, not killing his dinner.

"You 'refuse', do you?" The rabbit trapped and his hands free, Thom returned his attention to Jordan, gracing him with another short nod. Movement was fluid and effortless to the snake, and with three swift sweeps of his tail Thom was directly in front of Jordan, stretching just a bit higher with the aid of his long tail to frown down at the other man. His hood flared, a low, warning hiss escaping with his words as he spoke. "An' just what do you proposse to do about it?"

One point working in Thom's favor was that Jordan thought he had venom. In fact, he didn't, but he wasn't about to tell Jordan that--he wasn't entirely sure of it himself. Most things he ate were small enough that he just snapped their necks, and the one time he had bitten another islander, Miller, he had never seen the budgie again. So, theoretically, Thom could have venom, and could have killed with it, and just not know it....but he doubted that. Still, it was a handy bluffing tool.

"The rabbit would have a quick death," he slowly assured Jordan. "Just a quick twist--crack its neck." He demonstrated with a twist of one hand, chuckling. "An' there'ss no messy tearin' or shreddin', it's much easier to just sswallow it whole." Grinning, Thom glanced towards the rabbit in question, then back to Jordan, still laughing softly.

"Eat it in front of you? No, I'm not quite that impolite. 'Owever, if you continue to pesster me, I won't 'ave to. One quick little bite, an' your rabbit friend will be demoted to an appetizer, whereas you will become the main coursse."

"You 'ave th' nerve to try and take my dinner from me," Thom pointed out, grinning. "That in itself is hysterical." As the dog man turned to go, Thom looped his tail forward to transfer the still-squirming rabbit back to his hands, but the sudden lunge from Jordan threw him off.

The cobra retaliated immediately, striking down to sink his fangs deep into Jordan's shoulder, but it wasn't exactly the 'little bite' he had promised. He kept hold, arms looping around Jordan to pin his arms to his side, even as his tail moving to coil about the man, once, twice, a third time, and so on, taking the place of Thom's arms and only squeezing tighter whenever Jordan exhaled. Unfortunately, in order to propertly suffocate this annoying stranger, he first had to release the rabbit--but evidently he had injured it without attempting to, for the bunny only limped a short distance away to hide under a bush, unable or unwilling to risk a run for the jungle.

As with Miller, now that Jordan was in Thom's grasp, Thom wasn't about to release him. He had given the dog man fair warning, had given the option to just walk away and leave Thom alone. But the noble fool had ignored it, too determined to save the damn rabbit--who would still be dinner, Thom noted mentally, whether Thom managed to eat Jordan or not.

However, again as before, Thom's intended murder went unfinished. Alerts went off in the labs as Jordan's vitals dropped rapidly, and the moment the cause was pinpointed a shock ran down the cobra's spine. Thom tensed momentarily at the all-too-familiar zap, then slumped forward and lay still, out cold. However, that didn't change the fact that his fangs were still deep in Jordan's shoulder, or that he was still coiled around the dog man and, even unconscious, quite heavy.

Newt had left his meeting with Lucas, wondering exactly what he should do about his predicament. He couldn't believe the man hadn't known about the dangers of the jungle, or the predators that loomed about to eat smaller, more defenseless islanders like himself, but he supposed the boy knew now, didn't he?

It also had somewhat sapped what had remained of his desire and drive to be productive. He continued his trash combing, pleased to find a whole makeup kit someone seemed to have not wanted anymore, and quickly stashed it away in his "Keep" bag, when he suddenly heard what sounded like a scuffle further towards the edge of the village. Near the jungle.

His first fear was that someone had been caught by the wolf or the tiger, and his immediate reaction was to flee. There wasn't enough screaming for it to be either Annie or Jamal, though, and so his curiosity peaked he left his cart to hop towards the quiet sounds of struggling.