Welcome to Gaia! ::

Five days sulking in her duplex had been quite enough for Richard. While still quite distressed, she realized that she couldn't stay hidden forever. Richard had never taken well to isolation or containment and truthfully the duplex felt even small since the change. She had found herself gazing out the window at the jungle beyond the village. Its attraction had been growing more and more each day. Tonight it had won.

She dressed herself the best she could in her ill fitting clothes. The beasts were bound loosely, more for support than for concealment. To bind them tight enough so they weren't oblivious lead to considerable breathing difficulties. She knew she was going to have to place an order for... things soon but just couldn't bring herself to do it yet. So mismatched suit and stretched out polo shirt was the fashion for this late night excursion.

Walking along the river was an experience on her altered feet, the loose dirt and rocks caused her to stumble and fall more than once but eventually she made it to her fishing spot. Lit by the full moon the scene was familiar and comforting to Richard. She sat heavily under the tree by the river bank. Digging her claws into the huge roots at the tree she purred to herself contentedly. This was her spot.

For the moment she just watched the sky through the tree's many branches. Idly wondering if they would support her weight.

Under the tree Richard's altered form was mostly concealed by the shadows. At the sound of the voice her ears perked and her head swiveled in the direction of the sounds. Her eyes glowed from the moonlight, Two bright orbs staring out from the shadows of the tree.

She had identified the voice immediately as the eager to please manta girl. Richard wasn't sure what to do about it. The eyes studied the approaching face, there was no shock there. Had she not seen her? How good was her night vision. Maybe she could get through this without her noticing? Richard kept her mouth shut, not wanting her voice to betray the nature of the transformation. Indeed she raised a paw like hand and waved in a silent greeting

Damn she saw! By the moonlight Awen's features where as clear as daylight. She growled in annoyance at Awen's shock. How many times would she have to go through this? Tommy had done a far better job at concealing it but Richard had seen it anyway. She shifted uncomfortably, folding her upper arms across her chest, to shield them from Awen's eyes.

There was a long moment of silence as Richard stewed staring at Awen with an unreadable expression. Eventually she let her head slide back against the tree trunk and tilted it upwards. "A wonderful night..." The voice was not even close to Richard's original, it was far higher but it oozed with sarcasm and bitterness.

"Has it?" The question slipped out. "Is anyone really the same person they were? Am I a man in woman's body or am I actually a woman?" The voice wavered with emotion and she could feel the tears creeping up on her. It was the question wasn't it. Accept what had been done to him and move on or rail against it. She sniffled. What kind of of choice was that. This wasn't what he was, wasn't who he had wanted to be. Anger surged past the sadness, and a dangerous sounding growl rose across the water. But Awen was practically forgotten as she fought with her own emotions.

Slowly Awen's soft words made in roads into the surge of negative thoughts the were swirling around her head and she stopped growling. She sighed, a huffing sounded. It wasn't right to be taking this out on Awen. It wasn't her fault in the slightest.

The eyes returned to watch Awen, to see the offer to help in the aquatic's eyes. "I'll live." She looked down at her hidious body. The sparse fur on her hands and feet, really bothered her. It made her feel diseased. "I don't know why sometimes. But I'm not bowing out yet. I just... Don't know what to do."

Richard groaned at the mention of the newsletter and ran his claw through her dark hair. In his youth, it had been brown. "Don't remind me about that. Not to mention I've misplaced my laptop." She made a sound like a deep meow and shook her head. "I guess I'll finish it sometime."

The newletter had been nothing but a point of frustration lately. And she searched for a different topic. "Hey, did you get my note?"

Richard's tail flicked in annoyance at Awen's protectiveness. "Awen, if I wanted to publish an article on who had sympathy with the labs I could of done that long ago." Not to mention Awen's own entanglements with Sabin. "And I high doubt 50% of the islanders read the newsletter, let alone someone like Jamal." There was a bit of bitterness in that note. She hoped more would read it with each edition but being optimistic was difficult right now. "What I'm far more concerned is why Jordan is loyal to Moreau." Richard pulled herself forward, out of the shadows, allowing Awen to get a good look at her face for the first time. She crept forward on all fours until she was nearly nose to well face to Awen. "He's so loyal Moreau had him inject himself." It was a very low whisper.