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Zach slipped into the cafeteria, for once in a good mood despite his pounding headache. Nothing alleviated them for long, and he supposed it was all part of the healing process. He still wore the eyepatch. It was to protect himself from seeing what had happened to himself more than anything else. There was just an empty socket behind his scaly eyelids, he knew and felt. It just wouldn't hit him as hard if he didn't look. He had the panic button at his side along with the medicine bag. It boosted his confidence considerably to know it worked. He was safer now than ever. And at least Sabin had taken action against the dhole and made him a warning to others. Zach didn't have to lift a clawed finger against him to get revenge. It was wonderful. But there was still the nagging thought that things would continue this way, an exchange between attack and punishment in which the attacker was constantly someone new...

For a change he slapped a raw fish onto his plate instead of steak. Like his instincts, his tastes changed every once in a while on a whim. Always raw meat, of course, but there was still some selection.

"Sure," Zach said distractedly, not even looking up at first. He'd brought a knife and fork with him but they weren't that efficient to use now that he had sharp teeth and long jaws. He eyed the fish a little wistfully before actually giving the newcomer some attention. He looked feathery, for one thing. Some sort of bird. But beyond that Zach didn't know or care strongly. At least it wasn't one of his many enemies.

Zach considered the utensils, but they just wouldn't work. He could be a messy eater this time. He picked the fish up by the head and tail. After some careful deliberating over distance, he snapped his feline teeth into it, ripping away a large chunk. He set the fish down again while he chewed. He'd learned over time that his stomach was equipped to handle digesting even bone, so he wasn't being a very careful eater.

He tried to decipher the odd accent. Food fight? Oh, that... he'd been too drunk that time to recall that any details of it. It had been before his final change, his rebirth, and that was probably what this bird was talking about. He craned his neck upward a bit, trying to get a sense of his stance on the labs. It was difficult to tell from sight, so he had to make some idle remarks. "I've been finished with my changes for a while now. I'm happy with the results. This place isn't as bad as everyone makes it sound like."

He glanced over the bird and offered a less-than-insightful comment. "I'm guessing you've grown more feathers since that day?"

Zach picked up a large piece of fish with his claws, one that had fallen off the bones when he'd set it down before, and popped it into his mouth casually. While he listened to the bird he followed it up with a small vitamin pill and a little splash of water from a cup to chase it down.

Against the labs. He should have guessed. He wasn't about to let it ruin his good mood though, but he did make sure to have his guard up now. The panic button was safely at his side. He'd be fine. His frill spread a little bit due to an unconscious clench of his jaw, but otherwise his face was as unreadable as a crocodile's. His tone was a little mocking and challenging, as though the bird had said something stupid. "What gives you that idea?"

"They're not magicians," he stated plainly. His door? He remembered Antony's little ploy, but he didn't know who she'd pranked. Maybe this was the guy, maybe it wasn't. It seemed likely. He grinned a little anyway at the thought. "Doors don't get fixed in a day anywhere. What were you expecting?"

"Oh... Thom. Attacking people is pretty typical of him. Not that he's the only one insane enough to go after everyone who disagrees with him. It's a good thing the labs can deal with the injuries from all these crazies, it's been getting worse lately. If they keep this up they'll just be as mindless as that wolf in the woods and they'll attack anyone, even their friends." It was an airy conversation, as though what he said was as casually discussed as the weather. He'd been thinking on these things for days and days. He scratched at the edge of the eyepatch lightly with a claw. Thom's name was spoken very distastefully. He hated the cobra for nearly killing him. He did latch on to the bird's admittance of needing the labs, but given the opportunity to chat he didn't shut up quickly enough. "Sorry to hear about the injury, though. You'll be fine. Lucky for me, I got Thom buzzed out before he could do anything to me the other day. He should have known better after the last time... he almost strangled me to death once, so Sabin had him locked up for a while and drove him crazy."

"Who's Awen?" he asked suddenly, remembering that Sabin had mentioned her name.

"Not the first, obviously not the last. He's completely insane. Though, tell me if he attacks you again." He picked off some more fish to chew, forcing him to pause the conversation briefly. If Thom was attacking people left and right like this, Sabin would have to hear about it. Well, he probably knew already, but Zach was taking a larger interest in Sabin's punishments lately, now that he had the dhole's eye. It was surprising not only what the doctor did, but the effects such things had on others. If only he could find out what state Lucas was in without having to meet him again in person. Maybe he'd learned, maybe the sacrifice of Zach's own eye hadn't been in vain, but odds were it hadn't sunk in yet. "The most disturbing thing is that everyone who lashes out like this wants to. Using these... these gifts-" The phrase Sabin had used had a nice ring to it, and in addition to saying it he held up his claws as an example- "against those of us who are actually happy here, like it'd bring us down to their level of misery or something."

"There's... there's ways." Miller's question made him realize his mistake in dropping information. The less people knew of the panic button, the better. It was supposed to be a last resort. He was glad for the sudden change of topic. Zach raised his water glass as well, smiling a little too eagerly. It was the summary of his current life here. "I'll drink to that."

After taking a tiny sip of water, he set the cup down. His claws tapped an uneven rhythm on the tabletop as he thought to himself. The way the bird spoke made him think that this was one of the few islanders who would understand and even appreciate what Sabin had done about the dhole. He gave a sort of triumphant, predatory grin to the guy across the table. "You should see what he did to the guy who clawed my eye..."

Zach nodded, filing the information away. He had the vaguest impression he'd met someone like that before, but he couldn't remember anything too solid. He'd just have to seek her out some other time to talk.

"Well, you're not done changing, yet. I doubt they'll stay that small." He rustled his own wings. Flying... he doubted his wings could lift his massive bulk off the ground. That would be pushing it. Either way, he wasn't keen on breaking any of his many bones, supposing he could stay off the ground long enough to get anywhere. He laughed a little dryly at the notion of defending himself. Sabin took care of that whenever it was necessary. "I don't have to defend myself. Violence doesn't solve anything. I'm not crazy like some around here. Besides, with claws like these, trying to stop anyone would end up a little... messy."

A few weeks, he could only hope. It made him a little distressed to recall how many times the possibility of getting his eye back had been denoted with an 'if'. He looked down at the table for a moment, all too aware of how only his right eye roved. Nothing moved in the left socket. He just had to give it time. He looked back up again, willing a more devious expression onto his face. In the end it merely looked like some kind of grimace. He slipped the jar out of the medicine bag and placed it on the table, resting a couple of large fingers along the lid. The eye within it stared off somewhere to the right of the budgie. "They took my eye... so Sabin took theirs."