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 Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 10:14 am
Colche Colche was happily sitting on her door step. What was she waiting for? Whoknew really she simply sat there, the mornings rays had long broken through the trees and the midday sun sent long dappled shade accross her slender body. Unfortunately today she had completely forgotten the need for cloathes on the island, so she sat, wriggling her toes in the sun her eyes closed and her chin raised to the sky, sun worshiper, she had becoem a sun worshiper since she had found out that it didn't bring bad men. Fortunately for her, everyone seemed to be having a long lie in and the sun playing accross her naked, scarred skin wasn't noticed by anyone except a parrot which happily buzzed in to the sky. She smiled softly, opening those perfect blue orbs and allowing them to wander about a bit, was noone here today? It was like everyone had just, vanished. Greer Cassenwari Walking merrily from her duplex to the cafeteria on a mission of plate returning and coffe absorbsion, Greer was highly suprised when she caught sight of a naked Cloche enjoying the late morning sun. Had no one taught this girl about clothes? Hurrying over, she greeted the girl while staring very fixedly at her face. "Good morning Cloche! Did you forget your clothes?" Colche "Cloathes?" Colche looked up at greer questioningly then looked down at herself and smiled a little "cloathes" she points in to her appartment, the door was wide open and her cloathes were on the floor, the simple pink scrubs Aubrey had given her on their first meeting, they were so easy to take on and off, she just wished she knew the reason she had to wear them, she really didn't understand the concept. She looks up at Greer her big blue eyes innocently staring at the feathery female. Greer Cassenwari Greer chuckled despite herself. The kid was utterly adorable. Fetching the scrubs, she held them out to the girl and decided to go for a bribe. "If you put on the clothes, we'll go build sandcastles, okay?" Colche "Sandcastles!" she takes the scrubs and wriggles her way in to the top first before standing and hopping in to the trousers. She smiles lightly at greer restraining from bouncing in the little hyper way she could at times before she popped in to her duplex and came back with her bucket and spade and a huge grun plasterd on ehr face, she loved the beach, it made her smile alot and building sandcastles was alot of fun in her books! Greer Cassenwari Glad she could make anyone this happy by mentioning sand, Greer held out a hand for Cloche to take as they headed down to the beach. "I'm not very good at making sandcastles, so you're going to have to show me how to do it right." Colche Colche gave a tiny giggle holding tightly to greers hand she swung her bucket like a big kid. Which was basically what she was. Her deep blue eyes followed the path they took, she was definately becoming more attentive of the places she was going, her long black hair flowed out behind ehr like a cape as acool breeze played with it. She licks her lips as they approached the line of trees that hid the beach from view, smelling the salty air and hearing the sea long before they even got to that point. Greer Cassenwari Ah, how quickly she returned to the scene of last night's wayward festivities. Smiling at the lovely stretch sand in the light of day, Greer took off her sneakers and socks to pad barefoot over the pale ground. "Where should we build?" she asked her castles expert. Colche Colche looked around, for some innane reason she knew it was far to hot to sit in the middle of the beach so she llead Greer over to a patch of shady sand where a huge palm tree cast a shadow. She smiled lightly, releasing Greer she padded off down to the water filling her bucket she came back and poured it in to the sand. the reason for doing this escaped ehr, byut that was the way Pyroth had taught her to do it. Finally she makes a smooth surface by rubbing her hands in the sand and starts scooping at her damp sand. She wroggles excitedly, this was thebest bit, watching her castle be built. he tipped the bucket quickly and slowly, ever so surely she lifted it the sand castle sitting as perfect as anything. She grinned at Greer searching for praise for her work. Greer Cassenwari It was a true feat of silica engineering, the perfect cylinder of sand that now sat between them, and far better than any she had attemtped in her younger days. One thing Greer had never learned was how you kept chunks of sand from staying inside the bucket when you removed it. Clapping her hands, smiled at Cloche warmly. "That's wonderful! You really are good at this." Colche Colche smiles holding her bucket out to see if Greer wished to have a go. he had gotten Aubrey to do it and Pyroth had shown her how. This world, it was so new to her she was learning all the time and the simple things delighted her. When first she had seen the sea, she felt so dissapointed that she had never seen it before, but now, it was always heer and she could come when ever she wanted to! That made ehr smile, though she hadn't dared come alone yet, what if she got lost in the jungle again? That was a frightening time. Her deep perfect blue eyes watched greer, her eyes were filled with the hope for acceptance from all that lived here. She knew, knew deep down some where they simply thought she was stupid, many had spoken to her that way already, but Gree, Ambrose and Pyroth had treated her nicely had spent time with her and taught her things, if she knew the word, she would have said friend, but she didn't so she simply smiled softly her happiness glimmering in those deep dark pools. Greer Cassenwari Greer smiled and shook her head, gesturing for Cloche to do it instead. "You build the castle and I'll get pretties to put on it, okay? If I try to make it I'll just mess it up." Standing, she walked down to the high tide line which was clearly marked with various seashells and knots of sea weed. Picking out some small pink shells, a few large blue ones, a scallop half and some bright green and rubbery kelp, she returned to the sand tower and began to array it with her treasures. Colche Colche smiled lightly, she wanted greer to have a go too but she obviously didn't want to. She returned to the wet patch filling her bucket again. By the time Greer returned with the shineys, she had built five little mounds all perfectly formed, she certainly was getting good at building sand castles. She smiles at Greer picking up a pretty blue shell and making it in to a castle window her eyes turned almost wistfully out to the sea. She wonderd if she was allowed to paddle in ehr scrubs, or did she have to have the bathing suit on? Maybe she had better ask greer first "Water" she asked pointing at the cool lapping waters. Greer Cassenwari Greer cocked her head, trying to puzzle out what the girl wanted. Did she want to swim? If so, neither of them was dressed for it. Hmmm, how to distract her? Remembering the tide pools and the possibility of fish and crabs in them, she pointed over to the rocky side of the beach. "Tide pools? Small water." Even if Cloche decided to go swimming in those, she was pretty confident nothing too worrying could happen. While Cloche made her desicion, Greer went down to the tide line again to look for more castle accents. The shells were all lovely, and while she vaguely recognized the shapes had no idea what the animals that had once owned them were actually called. She'd snag Sean at some point and make him tell her. What she really wanted to find was a sea urchin skeleton to show Cloche - she'd had one as a nightlight cover as a kid and had always liked it. She knew it was highly unlikely one would wash up on the beach, but it was worth looking anyway, just in case. You never knew what you might find on a beachfront... A curved, white, oval rock was sticking out of the sand, and at first Greer ignored it for the colorful detritus surrounding it. Giving the strange object a second glance, though, she bent down and pulled it lightly out of its resting place. Brushing the sand grains off of the disk, she realized she was holding the skeleton of a sand dollar. It was small, maybe an inch and a half across, and pearl white due to bleaching by the sun. Privately squeeing over the prize she carefully stowed it in a back pocket, planning to clean and preserve it back in her room. Gathering up more shells, wood, and seaweed, she returned to Cloche's side to decorate her small mass of fortifications. Colche Colche looked up at Greer, what was a tide pool? she looked a little confused but followed the pointing finger to the masses of rocks. Pursing her lips she stands and potters over the warm sand, jumping a little, it was getting rathe ron the hot side of things now. She ran a little way taking long, fluid strides before she leapt on to the black rocks and peerd around looking for the water. She bites her tongue softly untils he spots the glitterign waters and shuffles over, it wasn't big enough to paddle in, but something flashed beneath the surface and it made her tilt her head, wondering what a little fish was doing in this tiny little 'bath' of water. "fish?" she questioned pointing at the tiny crab that had settled on a rock under the clear watery pool. Greer Cassenwari Trotting after Cloche, Greer looked into the pool to figure out what she was pointing at. "No, crab. I'll catch it." Reaching in she felt around for the small fiddler crab she'd seen, waiting for the pinch of the big claw to tell her where it was. Ow! There! She snatched out the tiny, frantic thing, holding it by the back of the carapice so it couldn't hurt her. Showing the girl the two very different sized claws on the little beast, she smiled. "This is a fiddler crab. Don't touch or it might try to bite you." Colche "Fuh..Id..lur..Cuur..Ab" She spelt out the name of the little creature as she did with every other word she found interesting and watched it wriggle it's tiny pincers at her, she tiltedher head, it was a cat like manerism she had picked up over thelast couple of days, her huge blue eyes full of curiosity. she smiles "fiddler crab" she gives a little giggle, there were lots of different creatures in the pools it seemed and she was soon attracted by something else, a bluish body, almost seethrough really. She pointed at it and looked at greer"crab?" she asked pointing at the tiny shrimp, or prawn, or what ever the heck it was it was tiny. Colchegiggled softly watching the little creature flit around on the bottom of the pool, her whole head moving as it did, another cattish manerism she seemed to have spawned over the last coupel of days, little creatures were fun to watch she decided, though her fingers flickerd at the water at which point the little creature vanished in a whir of sand and she pouted "unnn" she made a little dissaponted noise looking at Greer to find out wheer it went to. Greer Cassenwari Putting the irate crab back in the water, Greer stretched to see what Cloche was pointing at. "Um... that's a shrimp I think. Moves very fast!" God, what she wouldn't give to have Sean and his ocean-filled brain here right now! She was going to run out of answers far before Cloche ran out of questions. Colche "Sh.ur..Imp" Colche continued to pout a little longer but another little beast soon caught her eye and she scooted over to another little pool, this one was rather deep, and she peered down in to the abyss. Her brow scrunched a little and she bit her bottom lip looking in to the clear water, the bottom was clearly visable but the sand was all brown and lumpy, not creamy white and smooth "Greer" she called pointing one again in to the abyss that was another facinating pool, at the bottom a small flat fish lay, but fish were silver and they sparkled about, Aubrey had shown her, this couldn't be a fish, could it? Greer Cassenwari Greer moved to follow her, rather amused at how she was being kept on her toes. Frowning down into the water, she racked her brain for what type of fish it might be. She knew what the flat ones in Seattle were, and hopefully they'd be the same here. Hoping Cloche wasn't a stickler for details, Greer pointed at the strange two-eyed creature. "Fish. Called a... flounder I think. There are many different kinds of fish." If Cloche was ever taken on a snorkling tour of the reef, she would die of amazement. Colche Colche smiled watching the strange flat fish, yes it was indeed a fish. She looked to Greer with big facinated blue eyes "flou..unn..dur" she smiled and wanted to touch the little fish it didn'teven look like it was alive but as soon as she put ehr fingers in to the water it, like the shrimp, flashed away in a whur of sand "flounder" shecalled looking in to the now rather sandy pool. She lets out a sigh, or rather a disgruntled hrumph and looked at Greer to find out wheer the creatures kept going to. Greer Cassenwari Greer smiled at Cloche's expression. "The animals keep hiding because they're afraid you want to eat them. They think you're a big scary monster!" Looking around for something that wouldn't escape, Greer caught sight of a small red starfish, which she carefully pried off a rock and put on one of Cloche's hands. "Starfish. Pretty?" Colche The little red star sat in the palm of Colche's hand and she gawped at it, her huge blue eyes filled with an endless facination. her fingers rolled along the strange lumpy surface and she smiled "pretty." she purured tilting her head softly to gaze at the beautiful little creature "star..fish" she smiles looking up at Greer. She wanted so much to keep hold of the little creature but she didn't want it to be scared of ehr "starfish scared?" she looked up at Greer for either an affirmative or a no, if it wasn't scared of her, would she be able to keep it? it wasn't escaping like the other little creatures int he pools. Greer Cassenwari "No, starfish very brave. It knows you're nice." Greer carefully pressed the girl's hand under the water, so the red star could be looked at and still breathe. "Animals that live in the ocean breathe water," she somewhat innacurately explained, "so we need to keep in the water as long as possible so they're okay." Colche "Breathe water" she whisperd, looking at her hands and geting the drift she nodded at Greer watching the little red star simply sit on her hands "brave" she whisperd smiling happily "brave starfish" she puurrs happily big blue eyes happily watching the little creature. Julian Vorpalle About then, the thin, tall figure of Julian came ambling along, walking slowly towards the water.
He had been in his room for days, napping and reading and writing...but presently, he needed some fresh air and a little sun.
His mood was fairly light, but more than a bit absent - he didn't even notice the women who were already on the beach as he kicked his way through the sand, playfully jumping from driftwood to driftwood as he found them. Colche Colche's gaze fled upwards at the sound of somone aproaching and those huge dazzling blue eyes fell on Julian. She pursed her lips, somone she didn't know. She shiverd slightly, no, it was okay, the men on this island were good, Pyroth had said that, then Ambrose had said that too and he trusted them. She managed a very weak smile, hher memories of the starfish in her fingers quickly fading as she let it sit against the sandy walls of the clear pool. She watched the guy worriedly, he wasn't fuzzy at all, men that weren't fuzzy, could they be trusted? Biting her tongue she watches him approach with worry in her eyes, hoping nothing would happen, but Greer was heer too, nothing would happen..right? Greer Cassenwari Grateful to see another adult, Greer waved to Julian cheerfully. While she enjoyed attempting to teach Cloche about the mysteries of the not-so-deep, she did want to get moving on her construction and various other reasons for tracking down Aubrey before she chickened out. Smiling at Cloche, she gave the girl a quick hug and stood. "You be nice to Julian, okay Cloche? He's not mean but he also may not be as brave as a starfish. I need to go talk to Aubrey about making something neat where you can look at lots of butterflies. I'll see you later!" Leaving the two to get aquainted and probably have one of the more interesting conversations the denizens of the tide pools would ever be priviledged to hear, she returned to the village to hunt down that coffee she'd been wanting and to get to work.
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Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 6:32 pm
Greer Cassenwari Greer was at a complete and total loss of where to find Aubrey. Not really used to tracking the woman down as it was, she'd ended up spending most of her time scouring her own haunts in hopes Aubrey might be there. Unsuprisingly, she wasn't. Eventually Greer gave up, traded her sneakers in for flipflops, and headed down to the beach to see if either Cloche or Sean was there. As luck would have it, of course, Aubrey was lounging at the bar when Greer padded out of the jungle and on to the sand. Swallowing her momentary panic at talking to the right hand of Doctor Moreau, Greer put on her best smile and sat down next to Aubrey. "Hello! I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey was wearing her sarong and had white streaks of suntan lotion on her cheeks and nose. She was sipping lazily on something tall and red, and had a big brim straw hat on. She peered over her sunglasses at Greer when she sat down, and a knowing smile crawled over her lips. "Hello there miss Greer," she said friendly. "I'm okay, how are you?" She observed Greer's featers on her hands through the faded view of the prescription sunglasses. Greer Cassenwari "Quite good, actually. As mush as I hate to admit it these feathers come with some very beneficial side effects." Smiling at Aubrey, she made a point to remember her as the kind woman who had met her at the helipad, and not the compliant pet at an angry Moreau's side. "I was wondering... could I beg a favor or two from you?" Aubrey Lockheart "Hmm, so I've heard," she said, and slid the sunglasses back up her nose and took a long sip from her drink. "Sure, hun, I'll do what I can." Greer Cassenwari Greer cocked her head, confused by the other woman's first statement. "What do you... oh. Right. The cameras." Tamping down the rush of embarassment the idea of being watched when she was with Sean threatened to released, she realized she'd given herself a decent segue. "Well, first off, did you guys see the note I left on my bed a little while ago? About the book on birds of prey?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey nodded. "There should be a large shipment of nature books coming in soon on everyone's animal, plus some." Greer Cassenwari Greer brightened. "Thanks! I've been getting a little bored not being able to do research, because I am a huge and total geek, apparently. Anyway," she sucked in a breath, preparing herself for her big request, "are we allowed to do construction projects?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey tilted her head. "What kind of... construction?" Greer Cassenwari Think confident. You can do this. "I'd like to build a butterfly house. Ambrose has offered to help, and I plan to co opt any slave island labor that cares to lend a hand." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey leaned back, thinking. "I don't know," shesaid honestly. I'll talk to Moreau about it." Greer Cassenwari Greer was quick to defend it. "It would be an open air facility, considering the climate, more a mesh covered frame than a building. Also, it would give us all something to do." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey lifted her hands defensively. "Okay, but I can't say yes or no. I'll have to ask the doctor, Greer, I'm sorry." Greer Cassenwari She slumped a little. "I know, sorry. It's just... I don't know, it's new for me to want to do something other than look at bugs all day. It makes me a little gung-ho." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey quirked an eyebrow. "I think its a good idea. I went to one, once. I had jelly with my toast for breakfast, and even though I had washed my hands, I couldn't keep the butterflies away from my fingers. It was cute." She smiled at Greer. Greer Cassenwari Appreciating the encouragement, she smiled back. "Yeah.. you know, it's weird, but I was never really a butterfly person before, but they seem to have become my insect of choice here." Reaching over the bar, she fished out a glass and filled it with water from the tap. "Do you think Moreau will go for it?" Aubrey Lockheart "I don't know. I don't see why not. I mean, I wouldn't cross my fingers for power-tools. But I'll do my best." Greer Cassenwari At that Greer laughed. "Regular tools are fine with me - heck, having ACTUAL carpenters bought and paid by the doctor is fine with me. I'm a klutz who never passed shop. I plan to focus on design, function, management, and holding nails." Aubrey Lockheart "I'm sure you guys can figure it out," Aubrey said with a smile. "Between Dude and Ambrose, especially. They both seem very eager to please." Aubrey let a smile slip into her voice. Her eyes twinkled deviously behind her dark lenses. This was better than her books. Greer Cassenwari Greer's eyes narrowed. People kept trying to imply things about Ambrose and her - first Vasile, now Aubrey. She liked to think she was a smart person, even if she'd be first to admit she was dumber than mud when it came to social things. What annoyed her most about these implications was not so much that the might be impugning her friend's good name - and if anyone on the island had the chivalric concept of a 'good name', it was Ambrose - was that they made her feel like an idiot for not seeing what others apparently did. "What are you implying?" Aubrey Lockheart "Nothing," Aubrey said, not all-too-convincingly. "They just both seem like a good boys who would jump at the chance to help you out." Aubrey finished her drink and set it aside, taking off her hat and shaking out her hair. Greer Cassenwari She blinked, last night's festivities coming to mind for some reason. She was clearly missing something. "I'm being a complete and utter dunce about something, aren't I?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey frowned, wondering how far she should intervine. "I just, well... you see it was me who suggested Ambrose might want to think about, ah.. moving on? From Angelina you see." She shook her head, she really shouldn't make it her business. "I think there just might be a very bad case of, hmm... bad timing going on..." Greer Cassenwari Greer sighed, rubbing her face and finishing her water. "Oy. I need to talk to Ambrose, I suppose. Social stuff is hard." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey rubbed her shoulder supporively. "Hey," she said, a more serious tone in her voice. "I know, trust me. I haven't exactly had the most normal social life either." That was understatement. After all, look at her current boyfriend. That should speal volumes. "But if all you guys are going to be here, and be friends... communication is key." Aubrey leaned back again. "I know you guys don't really believe me, but, given the circumstances, I would like everyone to be as happy as possible." Greer Cassenwari Greer looked up at her companion and smiled. "Actually Aubrey, I do believe that of you. Thanks." Aubrey Lockheart "You're welcome," she said, a large smile on her face. "That, uh, actually means a lot to me." Greer Cassenwari She chuckled, "At this rate the next thing I'm going to be asking to build is a meeting house for the mutual admiration society." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey chuckled a bit. "When it rains, it pours, doesn't it? I can promise you I never had two boys like me. At least its... flattering?" Greer Cassenwari Greer made a rude noise. "I've never had even one boy like me... well, maybe I have, but not so that I noticed. And as for flattering, well..." she sighed and poured herself another glass of water. "...I've never been good with that either. God, what if I hurt them? They're my friends!" Aubrey Lockheart "If they're really your friends, you won't hurt them as long as your honest. They both just want you happy, I'm sure." Greer Cassenwari Nodding, she drank her water, she sighed. "I'm sorry, you don't need to deal with any of this." Aubrey Lockheart "It's okay," Aubrey said quickly. "To be honest, I kind of miss it. I mean, I only really get to talk to Nick and, well, its not really the same as talking with another girl. You know.." Greer Cassenwari Greer chuckled. "Not really, but I'll take your word for it. Anytime you need 'girl talk', feel free to look me up. I'll oblidge as best I can." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." Greer Cassenwari Finishing off her second glass of water, Greer played with the empty cup. "Can I ask you a personal question?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey looked over. "Sure, hun." Greer Cassenwari "I'm sure everyone on the island has asked you this in some form or another but, why the Doctor?" she felt bad asking this of Aubrey, since she honestly liked her and didn't feel she knew her well enough to imply her judgement was suspect. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey stoped and opened her mouth, but closed it, the answer not coming to her immediately. "I've been facinated with him since high school," she said after a moment. "He's brilliant. And he treated me differently than most boys." She looked back over the beach. She had never really been asked to analyze her feelings for him before. They were just...there. She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know if I can really explain it. I understand better than most people I suppose." Greer Cassenwari Greer nodded. "Makes sense then. Even if I may not like him, I'm glad you're happy." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey couldn't help but smile a bit embarassingly. "Thanks. To be honest, it still doesn't seem real. I waited almost ten years." Greer Cassenwari "Ten YEARS?" Greer couldn't contain her disbelief. "Wow. What, was he as bad as me?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey coughed. "No. No, I don't think that was it. Moreau just didn't really have any interested in anything more than a professional relationship." She frowned. "I guess that's how I justified it to myself. You don't wait that long for someone if you don't love, right?" Greer Cassenwari "I guess not." she shrugged helplessly. "Not that I'm in the position to know." Aubrey Lockheart "You're probably better off," she said with a smile. Greer Cassenwari Greer rolled her eyes. "Then why does everyone else spend their lives chasing after love?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey shrugged. "Love is different for everyone," she said. "Hell, if it wasn't for Dude, I don't think Moreau would ever had realized it. To me, I was happy loving Moreau by just being the number-one woman in his life. Even if it wasn't romantically. Then there's Vasile who is basically in hysterics because the one woman he wants doesn't seem to have a sliver of romantic interest. And then you have romantics like Ambrose who feel imcomplete when they don't have their lady by their side." Greer Cassenwari She harumphed. "People are weird." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey laughed out loud. The image of a bird-woman sitting here on a beach saying that to someone who loved a man as issued as Moreau was just too amusing. "Yeah, yeah they are." Greer Cassenwari She wasn't entirely sure what Aubrey was laughing about, but it was still a nice thing to hear. Smiling a little, she sighed. "Insects make a lot more sense. I don't see why more people don't spend their lives chasing after them." Aubrey Lockheart "Eat. Drink. Deficate. Procreate." Aubrey smiled to herself at the quote. "You ever watch The X-Files?" Greer Cassenwari Greer shook her head. "I never owned a television." Aubrey Lockheart "Ah." How weird.. "There's an episode about a sexy entomologist. You just sounded exactly like her." Greer Cassenwari "Wow." she was speechless. "Until now I was not aware 'sexy' and 'entomologist' could coexist in the same sentence." Aubrey Lockheart She chuckled. "Her name was Bambi, and Mulder was a bit enamoured I think. Good episode, I should track it down for you." Greer Cassenwari Greer scoffed. "Bambi? That's not a name it's a cruel joke." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey smirked. "Yeah. Yeah it is. At least it was a girl. I think people forget that the actual Bambi was male." Greer Cassenwari Greer made a face. "Yet another reason why I'm not a Disney fan. That and they don't make B-movies." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey shrugged. "Speaking of movies, you can request anything you guys want and I'll do my best to get it for you." Greer Cassenwari Greer perked. "Really? Like 'Horror Express' and 'Day of the Trifids'? What about 'Beginning of the End'? That one is about giant grasshoppers." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey had never, ever heard these movies before. "Just write the names down and... I'll do my best. No promises on some of these B-movies, but we'll see eh?" Greer Cassenwari Greer nodded. Very few people and/or video rental places had her taste in films. Grabbing a napkin and producing a pencil, she scribbled the names down. "Thanks for trying. Okay, one more question and then I promise the inquisition is over." Aubrey Lockheart "Shoot," Aubrey said, taking the napkin from her when she was done. Greer Cassenwari "How exactly did Sean help you finally snag Moreau?" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey blushed a bit. The story sounded pretty sordid from an outsiders point of view. "Well, ah, you see, the Dude and I were kind of being very flirty," Boy this was akward to tell his new girlfriend. "I mean, I dont' think it was that bad. And I don't think the Dude really meant by it. But Moreau saw up on the monitors and, uhm, well I don't think Nick liked they way it made him feel." Greer Cassenwari Greer just laughed. "That makes perfect sense. Well, on Sean's side anyway. I don't know the Doctor well enough to say." Aubrey Lockheart "It was interesting, to say the least. I thought Moreau called me into his office to yell at me for being unprofessional." Oh boy, was she really telling someone that? Greer Cassenwari She continued to giggle, unable to stop herself. "Really? You poor thing you must have been scared to death!" Aubrey Lockheart "Yeah, I was. I mean, I had been waiting ten years to work on a project of this scale with him. And I thought I had blown it on some cute guy who actually had the kindness in his heart to make the scientist geek feel better." Aubrey comptemplated another drink, but decided against it for now. "This was before, well, anyone really knew anything, of course.." Aubrey's smiled faded at that, missing the friendship her and the Dude had. Greer Cassenwari Thinking her mirth had upset Aubrey, Greer quelled her laughter. "I'm sorry! I wasn't laughing at you." Aubrey Lockheart "Oh no," Aubrey said. "Its not that." She smiled again. "this was fun," she admitted. Greer Cassenwari "Oh! Good. Well, if you ever need anything I can provide I'd be more than happy to." Greer smiled, enjoying the irony of offering aid to the second in command of an entire island. Aubrey Lockheart "Thank you," she said, standing. "I really should be getting back to Moreau." She held up her napkin. "And I'll get to working on these for you ASAP." Greer Cassenwari Standing as well, she inclined her head. "Thank you again Aubrey. I'll see you around!" Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey waved goodbye and started back up the trail towards Moreau's manor. Greer Cassenwari Greer turned and headed back to the village, needing food and a little time to think.
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Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:19 pm
One of the great things about keeping insects as pets, and yes, there was more than one, was that unless you were careless and allowed some sort of fungus to start growing in their terrarium, cage cleaning was not an issues. Considering how many hamsters Greer had managed to lose during the process of a weekly sawdust-change, she appreciated this fact immensely. For the most part. Right now she could have used something to do. Cleaning the outside glass of her terrariums and display cases, she munched on a little left over ham while Mei mei chowed down on a dish of her favorite gelatin. It was funny, but Greer had recently realized that meat really didn't taste that bad. She'd never eaten it much as a kid, her father being both vegitarian and household cook. It was more the idea that, well, she was eating the flesh of another creature. That bit had always bothered her. Plants were fiberous in a way animals weren't. Meat was just so... familiar. And bloody. And full of a death you could really sympathize with, unlike that of plants. It was an odd view, but then she was good at those. Fishing Bernie out of his cage, Greer put him on her shoulder as she sat on her floor, pulling out an empty pin board, pins, and her jars of preserved butterflies. Arranging and labeling them, her mind was not on the work her hands could have preformed asleep and unattached. Friends were a wonderful thing, she mused, but they could very easily turn on you and make things difficult. Maybe it was just boys that did it, although she doubted it, being plenty aware of the different ways a person's preference for companionship could swing. Grr. For the first time in a while, she could feel her old familar preference for staying the hell away from other humans bubbling up. It wasn't that she'd been unfriendly, just... never looking to connect with people. It had been easier before she'd begun to want to spend time with humans, having just herself and her bugs to please. Not that that had really worked out, of course, since she hadn't managed to get her heart's desire without signing up for this freakish experiment... She needed to talk to Ambrose, even if she didn't have a very clear idea what about. Not being a relationship person and only going off of what she'd subliminally picked up from the world around her, she was muzzily aware that most people went for one person at a time, which honestly was more than enough for her in her current untried state. Still, there was a part of her that lurked in the back of her mind - her 'bird bit' for lack of a better term - that seemed to think staking a claim on two males at once sounded just dandy. Other than the 'being more social' stuff that this bit influenced her with, Greer could suppress the thoughts and actions it came up with. What worried her was what would happen after subsiquent injections, with more of the alien venom running through her veins. Could she control it forever? Would she want to? Would it take her over? She shuddered, worried over losing herself to this animal now sharing her body. Pushing the thoughts aside so she wouldn't have to worry over them anymore, she admired the finished pin board, slid it into a display case, and packed it away. Her walls were already covered - but maybe Cloche would like it? The girl had liked the living ones well enough. Hmm, maybe. For now, she had a pin and paper strewn floor that use some tidying up.
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:12 am
 Greer Cassenwari Greer's room was spotless, which meant she was bored and couldn't think of anything to do other than clean. Even her desk, which was usually covered in mounds of paper, pencils, pens and various bits of insect and insect catching equipment, was clean and visible. Tired of sitting on her bed and fidgiting, she stood and made up her mind. She was going to go check on Sean whether he liked it or no. And she was bringing food, because damn it, she was hungry, and it was ulterior motive enough it should disguise the fact that she was rather worried about him. He was a big boy and could take care of himself but, but... well for some reason she didn't fully understand she felt the need to see if he was okay. Greer was not used to concern. When she got to the cafeteria and started to load a tray with two full meals plus pork chops for Captain Morgan, the cafeteria lady just smiled, took the tray and disappeared for five minutes. When she returned she handed Greer a packed picnic basket, complete with blanket, and told her that they should 'enjoy themselves.' Flabbergasted, Greer thanked the lady profusely and beat a hasty retreat. Was the lunch lady magic? Walking up the steps to Duplex #12, she put the heavy basket down beside her and knocked lightly at the door, not wanting to wake the poor fellow if he was still sleeping it off. "Sean? It's me, Greer. You in?" The Dude XD The Dude had managed to force himself to stand up from the bathroom floor about ten minutes ago. He even brushed his teeth, in hopes that the taste of minty fresh toothpaste in his mouth would wake him up a bit. But all he trully wanted now is sleep so after exiting the bathroom he didn't get very far. Currently he wassitting on the edge of his bed, fighitng the overwhelming urge to lay down again. Greer's voice interupted the silence of the duplex. The Dude paniced but the little pity demons were far more obnoxious then his pride so instead of just being silent and sparing himself the embarassment, spoke up. "BEEEEEP The Dude's not in. Please leave a message after the beep" - he reponded in a husky voice because his thrioat was dry again. Greer Cassenwari Greer rolled her eyes. "Let me in, you lush. It's late afternoon and I come bearing edibles." The Dude XD Upon hearing that, the Dude's stomach insisted. "It's not locked, grasshopper. It's never ever locked, actually. Come on in." - he brushed his flipper thru the matted hair and mentally thanked self for having brushed his teeth. When Greer entered, the Dude looked up at her thru the curtain of blond dreads, going for his best "I am a stray puppy with a broken leg, please take me home" impression. Greer Cassenwari Oh. Right. She was a quick one. Hefting the basket and stepping inside, she shut the door behind her and went straight to his side. "Oh, hun, are you okay? You had a lot to drink last night. Did you throw up? Pass out? Do you need anything?" Mother-henning with the best of them, Greer smoothed the dreds away from his face to get a better look at him and make sure he didn't have any cuts from falling and hurting himself. The Dude XD "I'm okey" - he lied, enjoying being fussed over like that. The Dude's face didn't have anything on it, except the usual stubble, but on the back of his head was hug lump. When Greer's fussy fingers ran over it, he jerked, and covered the back of his head with a flipper. "Okey, fine. I fell and passed out, but I am okey now."- he smiled at her to cover things up. The Dude wanted to be cute to the lovely lady, say something nice, but the brain was adamantly refusing any coherent thoughts, much less flirting. Greer Cassenwari "Eep! Sorry." Greer jerked her hands back, not wanting to hurt him. God, she even messed up the making it all better thing... Remembering the picnic basket, she slid off the bed to kneel next to the hulking wicker contraption. "I was hungry, and thought you might be too, so I went to the cafeteria to get food and the cafeteria lady gave me this instead. Want to see what's in it?" She babbled a little and smiled up at him, hoping that whole cute thing everyone had been talking about lately would make up for her improvised search and rescue mission here. The Dude XD "Oh, you are so nice" - the Dude smiled at Greer and clumsily sat on the floor next to her, letting his hurt head rest on the bed. This way he didnt' even need to work to hold it up too much. Good. "Yeah, food sounds great. Thank you so much." - he added very sincerely. Greer Cassenwari Opening the basket, Greer pulled out all the food she'd been collecting prior to her tray being kidnapped by the cafeteria lady - two steaks and ceasar salad for her, a plate of turkey dinner and spaghetti with meatballs for him since she hadn't really been sure what to get him, along with a porkchop for the Captain - and things she hadn't grabbed, like two pitchers full of orange juice, two glasses, and an ice pack. Greer pulled out the cold bag, blinked at it, and handed it over to her companion. "For your head, I think. Man, that woman thinks of everything." The Dude XD The Dude gratefull took the icepack and put it against his throbbing head: "Man, this is one time I am glad they have cameras in my bathroom. Pervs ..." With his free hand he picked up the OJ pitcher and started drinking straight from it. He went thru about half of it, then sat it down next to him, wiped his mouth with his flipper and finally smiled in earnest at Greer: "You are sooo niceeeeeee ..." Greer Cassenwari Greer chuckled, spreading the picnic blanket out over the carpet and opening food containers. "Glad to be of service. I had to do something to convince myself you weren't dead in here." Doleing out cutlery and napkins, she started chowing down on her salad with gusto. "Be proud of me - I became an impromtu tide pool guide in your absence this morning." The Dude XD "Oh, no worries, half a bottle of Jack ain't gonna bring me down. Just create much embarassment." - he tentatively placed a meatball in his mouth and swallowed. The stomach approved. Glad about that, the Dude began eating in earnest. "Pool guide? Heh. Were you as successful as me in snagging a pretty girl, though?" - he grinned. Greer Cassenwari Greer coughed, blushing a little. Setting down her plate carefully, she folded her hands and sighed. "Her name is Cloche." The Dude XD The Dude put the ice pack down and flipped it over, then pressed it back against his head. "Ooooh. Colche. I heard of her ... from Aubrey. How ... how is she?" - the Dude remembered Colche back story and it made the hair on his neck stand. He concetrated on eating the meatballs, picking them out of the spaghetti. Trying to eat the pasta required agility and concentration, two thing that the Dude just didn't have right now. Greer Cassenwari She need to work on her attempts at humor. Picking her plate back up, she finished of the salad and started on the steaks. "A very sweet girl who's very eager to learn. I swear, if she had asked me about one more sea creature I would have had to make the names up. We also built sandcastles, which she is amazingly good at, and discussed the finer points of starfish bravery." Pouring herself a glass of orange juice from the non-Sean pitcher, she remember the item im her pocket. "Oh yeah! I also found this." She dug out the sand dollar skeleton and held it out to him. The Dude XD The Dude looked down when Greer spoke about Colche, his face hidden behind the curtain of matted hair. Greer must not know, the Dude thought. Well, for the better. He himself was a bit afraid to face Colche, since, being male and all, he didn't want her to get scared and look at him hate. How could somebody done this to a child ... Shrugging off the depressing thoughts, he put the fork down and stretched his hand to take the sand dollar: "Oooh ... I used to gather these when I was a kid. Is ti for me?" - he looked at her thru the dreads. Well, actually, when he stretched out his hand to take the sand dollar he mostly wanted to take Greer's hand, but you know ... details ... Greer Cassenwari "Yup! Doesn't really match my bug geek decor." She grinned, passing it over and perfectly happy about the hand contact that occured as well. An unbidden memory of things discussed with Aubrey earlier that day made her frantically search for a different topic to focus on. "Um, so, besides the waking up this morning pain, did you enjoy last night?" Not exactly a safe topic, but it was th best she could come up with on short notice. The Dude XD He put the now melting icepack down on the carpeted floor and looked at the sand dollar. God, his head hurt. But when Greer mentioend last night, the Dude jsut couldn't resist to tease her. "Yeah, especially the part where you shook your tail feathers. Now, that was a vision I will not forget for a while. Hot STUFF! How'd you learn to dance like that? And I thought you were all shy and bashfull" - he grinned at her, still holding the sand dollar. Greer Cassenwari Oh god. It was her own fault for bringing that up, really. Pity there hadn't been enough alcohol on his system to erase that particular memory. Sighing, she stood up and stepped over the foor to his side of the spread, sitting down next to him so she could bury her burning face in his shoulder. "I took latin dance classes when I was a kid. Mum was trying to make me socialize." The Dude XD "You looked incredible. Honestly didnt' think you had it in you, Greer. I am impressed to death" - he petted the raven head that was hiding in his shoulder, glad that Greer had finally come over. It's not taht he was playing hard to get, but it wasn't exactly easy to move around right now. And he wasn't quite sure if she wanted company right now, since he probably looked scary at the moment, that with his blood shot eyes and a growing lump on the back of his head. Thank heavens he brushed his teeth. "So is your mom Hispanic? Where did you get the dancing gene from?" Greer Cassenwari He was turning her into pet cat with all this hair petting. Smiling to herself, she snuggled under his arm and began to inspect one of his flippered hands as a rather lame excuse for the preceding action. "Mum's Irish - really, really Irish. That's where Greer comes from. They dance, but not like that. My Dad was the one who liked to dance - he was Moroccan straight from Morrocco - and he always played Spanish dance music on the stereo when he was in a good mood." The Dude XD "Oh wow, Moroccan, huh? Like, Casablanca and stuff? That's pretty exotic." - he mused. "I'm Irish, too. I bet you could guess that from my name ..." He let her hair be, watching Greer's slender fingers fuss over his flippered hand. The membranes were thin, almost translucent, but tough and leathery to the touch. Then something set of a little bell in the Dude's mind. "What do you mean your Dad ... was." - he asked quietly. Greer Cassenwari Playing idly with the hair on the back of his hand, Greer said softly. "He died of cancer when I was fifteen." The Dude XD The Dude smiled sadly to himself, watching Greer "I'm sorry" - he kissed the raven hair. It smelled fresh and nice, of some kind of fruity stuff one puts into conditioners. Certain memories came floating back but he squished them out very rapidly. "You miss him." - he stated more then asked. "I'm sorry I pryed." - the Dude then added as an appology. Greer Cassenwari She shrugged and wrapped her arms around his midsection, giving him a quick squeeze. "That's okay. Yes, I miss him but- well, it's been getting better since I came here." Greer grinned and sat up little more, getting her head level with his shoulder. "All this swimming, drinking, and kissing sea lions, I suspect." The Dude XD The Dude turned his head and grinned at her, the whiskers rising up when he smiled: "Yeah, I don't think your mom would have approved at all. Well, hey, at least I'm Irish, you know ... she'd like that, maybe?" The ice pack and the food and especially half a pitcher of OJ have done miracles to nurse the Dude back to coherence. But nothing was helping quite as much as having Greer cozy up to him like that. Whatever strange aftertaste was on his mind from last night had vanished into thin air. "Did you have fun last night or are you just horribly embarassed about it all?" - he asked her. Greer Cassenwari Greer chuckled, trying to imagine her mother's reaction if she ever brought Sean home, especially in his current state. "Are you kidding? She'd be thrilled. Her family is huge - I'm the eldest non-married, non-child producing grandchild Grandma Murphy has. They all think I'm too skinny and quiet, and I don't think mum's ever really lived it down. Goodness, the very idea of me consorting with a male of the same species would be enough to bring tears to her eyes." After all, even her gay cousin Nathan had a partner and a child! The Murphys believed in breeding. "Honestly, I enjoyed myself. It's not as if I didn't do anything I didn't already have the compacity for... although one or two things I would have prefered to do in private." The Dude XD The Dude laughed. "Murphy, huh? Wow, your mom really is very very Irish! The Carroll clan isn't nearly as big. I got a younger sister, and my dad is one of ... what ... seven kids? Most of them are up in Minesotta, though." - he mused then "And I'm thrilled to hear that. I think you shoudl dance on table more often. Men will fall all over the place for you then, starting wtih me. What would you have preferred to do in private, though?" - he poked her nose with his index finger. "Cuz my memories of last night are more then jambled up. You dancing on the bar kinda bleached everything else out. Except for the look Vasile gave me when I made him rub my feet. That was pretty classic. Well ... and a few other things" - he trailed off. Greer Cassenwari "My mum is so Irish all the Murphys are catholic and live in Boston. And half of them are cops. We're a caracture." Shaking her head at him, she gave him a kiss and then declared his shoulder a pillow, being a little tired from running around all day. "I'll dance on tables for you all you want. Everyone else will just have to accept that last night was their first and last show. I think it's a little early in our occupation of this island for me to have that kind of a reputation." Remembering the main Vasile incident, she smiled, agreeing that that had been pretty priceless, although what happened to him towards the end with Cassidy. had been regrettable. "What other things?" The Dude XD "Really?" - he squeezed her. "Allright! I'll find a private table somewhere for you to dance on, I swear." That was awfully nice to say! Any thoughts of weird aftertastes had vanished. The Dude kissed Greer's forhead, and then, suddenly, scooped her up in his arms and stood up. "Hey, bug, would you hold it against me if I just put you on this bed over there and snuggled up next to you? That's all, I swear. Cross my heart and hope to die. I mean - you look sleepy and my head's requesting a horizontal state right now, too. Is that okey?" He was holding her in his arms like a doll, completly effortlessly. One might not tell underneath the toasted marshmallow apperance, but the Dude did swim every day, and he was, in fact, 6'3'' and 210 pounds of muscle, more or less. Greer Cassenwari "Meep!" Greer let out a suprised sound and probably would have protested - there being an arbitrary distinction in her mind between offering a guy unlimited table dances on request and being used as a clothed pillow - if Sean picking her up hadn't remind her a little of her father. After all, he'd been a big, brown-skinned guy, so it wasn't too suprising her current situation only reminded her of happy things. "Yeah, sure, I'll do pillow duty. I warn you though, I'm 'distressingly boney'." The Dude XD "Oh, I don't need ot use you as my pillow, but you can use me as one. I am not bony." - he grinned then put her on his bed and layed down next to her with a groan, grabbing his head that protested his sudden standing ******** Pyroth, he's gonna pay for this. I demand another Truth of Dare matchup." - he professed then put his arm under her head so that she could lay on his shoulder and closed his eyes. "Oh and in terms of other things - nevermind that all. Just, you know, stuff about the spider and Ambrose howling and Amaya decorating Vasile with shells." - he murrmurred softly. Greer Cassenwari Supressing a chuckle about what her mother would think, Greer snuggled into him. "I promise to go on a mission of pain-med seeking for you a.s.a.p. Later though. Now you've gone and let me get comfortable." Mmm, naptime. Closing her eyes, she tugged his arm over her to serve blanket duty. Hey, it was large and warm, right? Frowning, she tried to decipher the last bit of what he'd said. "What would I do with spiders in private?" The Dude XD The Dude's large flipper arm did serve a pretty good duty as a blanket and he had curled up his other arm to hold onto Greer's shoulder. His brown skin was warm and fuzzy and still smelled of salt and ocean and not that much of sweat (thank god for the Dude, lucky b*****d). "Thanks for being such a sport and humoring the lush. I haven't had such excellent hangover care in ages ... oh and I don't " - he stuffed his face into her hair, smelling the pretty fruity smell of it " ... don't know what you do with spiders in private. I just remember this huge spider on my arm from last night ..." The Dude strained to remember what it was with the spider, and how it came to be on his arm at all but couldn't. "I don't remember what happened though ... there was something about harems, too, but I also can't rememebr what that was all about. Who cares. We all had fun ..." - his voice was soft and sleepy Greer Cassenwari For once, Greer had an inkling what all the fuss was about with these 'relationship' thingers - getting all snuggled up with Sean was just, well, nice. "Since you put up with me last night it was the least I could do, really." She remembered the spider, and most especially his reaction. Hee. That was better left to a more conscious moment, though. And as for harems... wait, damn it! She'd said that hadn't she? While grabbing at Ambrose- crap. She wanted to panic and explain, really she did, but Greer was too far along in sleepy mode to manage it. Would have been rather wasted on her companion at this point anyway. Yet another, 'deal with later' item. "That we did." The Dude XD The Dude gave a non-committal grunt as a response to Greer's words and hugged her tighter. His hangover mind craved peace and quiet, and nothing provided that better then sleep. Soon enough the arms that were holding her relaxed and slid slowly down, as the Dude totally zonked out. He didn't really dream at all. His mind was instead flooded with darkness, which was soft and velvety, and smelled of something fruity. The fact that his face was buried in Greer's hair might had something to do with that. * * * The sun set a long time ago and when the Dude finally woke up, he was laying in darkness with Greer still snuggled up in his shoulder. Wow, did they really sleep that long? He turned his head and looked out the window thru the partially closed blinds. It was still dark outside but there were some chirpy bird noises outside, which was what woke him up. It must be near sunrise - the Dude concluded and looked down at the raven head resting on his shoulder. Greer's face was obscured by her bangs and one of her hands was resting on his stomach, partially enclosed in a fist, like that of a child. The cute brown feathers were pocking out of her hair around the ears and trailing down along the spine, disappearing under the green shirt she was wearing. Were these the feathers that Greer protested were sensitive the night at the bar? He resisted the urge to poke at them so as not to wake up the girl and instead looked out of the window again, listening to the ruckus the parrots were causing outside in the dark. Soon, the sun would rise ... Greer Cassenwari While Greer was a sickeningly coherent example of a morning person, even she drew the line at getting up before seven. Of course, she usually didn't go to sleep in the late afternoon either. Yawning, she stirred slowly, brain still coverd in the fuzziness of sleep. Snuggling a little closer to the nice warm thing next to her, she looked up, opened her eyes, and tried to figure out how in the hell her pillow had gone from bone white to chocolate brown in one night. I mean, it wasn't as if she never washed. Stretching a little, she curled her toes and discovered she still had her sneakers on. When did she wear her sneakers to bed? And why did her room smell salty? And why was the room still so dark? Shouldn't the sun be up? "What time is it?" she asked, mostly to herself. The Dude XD The Dude had spent about ten minutes watching the girl sleep. Well, he really wasn't watching her sleep, mostly starring at the ceiling, listening to the parrots squawk outside. It's been a while since he had dragged a girl into bed with him, mostly because most girls were a bit weary of "Liberty Manatee" and the fact that he didn't have a car. So this was nice and he didn't mind if it would last a while longer. Biding his time, he let Greer sleep, holding her carefully and letting the parrots do the wake up call. "I dunno ... before sunrise though." - the Dude answered in his raspy, morning, 'haven't had anything to drink yet' voice. Greer Cassenwari Greer's eyes popped open at his response - okay, now she was awake. She'd fallen asleep? In bed? With a boy? "Oh, well, that explains the darkness." Smooth, wasn't she? "Feeling better?" The Dude XD He could feel Greer's shoulders stiffen up when she replied and chuckled at that: "Oh yeah. Man, you were DA BOMB last night, babe! Now come here and give me a smoooooooooooooch." - he grabbed her and pulled the poor girl towards him. Greer Cassenwari She snorted, her mind clearing and revealing that there was absolutely no hanky panky preceeding the curling up in Sean's arms and zonking out. Reaching over, she grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the face with it. "Dork!" The Dude XD "HA HA HA HA HA" - the Dude was laughing, trying to catch the pillow with his flippers: "Finally, you are catching on here!" - he snorted, then attempted to get ahold of the pillow wielding amazone. "I thought you'd never figure out what to do to a guy when he's being an a** ..." Greer Cassenwari Dropping the pillow, she turned her attention to his midsection, tickling with gusto. "What, you like being assualted? Is this a kink of yours I need to know about?" The Dude XD "No .. ah .. stop ... not there ..." - the Dude was laughing and squirming, desperately trying to get away and catch the pesky little hands of hers. Finally, he grabbed both wrists in one of his flipper and held on: "Gotcha again!" He grinned and waved his free hand in her face: "Now, since you are exploiting my weakness ... I now shall exploit yours!" - he attempted to chuckle menacingly while making his hand "walk up" her shoudler for her neck. "Cuz I remembered a few things about certain feathers on a certain spine last night ..." Greer Cassenwari "Eeep! Nononononono..." Greer's entire body curved, trying desperately to keep her back feathers out of his grasp. She really, really didn't want to know how she'd react if he reached his goal, and honestly a lot of a girl's defenses are automatic. Especially when she's a sabre fencer. And when she runs a few miles every day to keep in shape, well, those reflexes can pack quite a punch. Or, in this case, a kick. Greer's leg swung out, catching Sean in the shin with the full force of her well-exercised muscular fury. The Dude XD The Dude instantly let go. He yelped then bent over, tears of pain on his face, hugging his poor leg: "Aichtatatata ... " He rolled around the bed a few times then looked up at Greer with big blue eyes full of hurt: "You win ..." There was an unspoken question of 'WHY?!' written all over his face. Greer Cassenwari Gah, damn it! She really hadn't meant to do that. "Oh, Sean, I am so so so so SO sorry! It was a reflex I swear!" Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she pulled him in close, smoothing his hair back and covering his face in kisses. For all her playing with swords and dunking bugs in killing jars, Greer was not keen on hurting anyone. The Dude XD It was more of a philosophical question what was more embarassing - being kicked in the shins by a girl in your own bed, or being smothered by pity and kisses shortly thereafter by the same girl. Whatever it was, the Dude's sense of manliness had just suffered a crushing blow. He would have to go wrestle a shark or something to restore it now. What was it about those feathers that deserved such ire?! Feeling more sissy then Vasile, he tried to gently pry fussing Greer away from his face. With a very impressed look in his eyes the Dude admitted: "Holly s**t you can kick." He didn't really dare to ask why he had deserved such punishment. At least not now. She might get embarassed and kick him again ... Greer Cassenwari Greer nodded, looking absolutely miserable. How could she have done that to him? He was only kidding around! "I've fenced sabre for going on thirteen years now and running keeps you in shape for that - any and all muscles I have are in my legs." She couldn't look him in the face after hurting him like that, so she simply stared dejectedly down at her toes. She was a bad person. The Dude XD Oh, great, and now Greer looked all heartbroken, too ... "Oh it's okey, it's okey. You are a real grasshopper after all, with strong legs to jump around on" - he grinned and stood up from his bed, limping a little, then pulled her off after him. "Let's go watch the sunrise!" - he offered to try and cheer Greer up. Greer Cassenwari Dear god he was limping. She was going to be beating herself up about this for days. "Okay." she stood, smoothng back her hair and slipping under his arm. "I'm really sorry." The Dude XD The Dude squeezed the kicking grasshopper, amused to himself how well that nickname actually fit now: "Really? How are you gonna make it up to me? Hmmmmmmmmm ..." Clearly he hasn't been hurt enough yet. Greer Cassenwari Greer blinked, blushing a little. Had she not felt like a total a** for kicking him, she probably would have used her new-found compacity to playfully smack him, but as it was she was far too guilty to retaliate. "Whatever makes you feel better, I suppose." The Dude XD OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO ... she didn't just say that, did she? Feeling a bit like Lucifer himself, the Dude pondered which scenario he liked better: Make Greer go skinny dipping with him? Make Greer smoke pot? Make Greer make out with Cassidy? Then he gave that dynamite leg of hers a thoughtfull look, considering which one of the possibilities would least likely to cause her to kick him again. Cuz that hurt ... and most likely each and every one of these little ideas would cause more kicking. Or lots of hurt feelings and embarassment. Hmmm ... better to opt for baby steps, as much as skinny dipping sounded like fun. "Wanna use me as your pillow tomorrow night, too?" - he finally asked. Greer Cassenwari Her jaw literally dropped open. She had expected something much more... uh, porn-esque, considering how open she'd left it. Recovering from the shock, she leapt up, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss. "I'd love to!" The Dude XD "Allright then" - he kissed her back. Baby steps. Man, she was hot, though. And light and soft and tiny. Well, if they were to co-inhabit the same small island till the rest of their natural lives, he'd better not ******** it up and make her hate him. It would be hard to avoid each other. That thought was pretty much the only thing that has stopped the Dude from dragging Greer back into bed right there. "Let's hurry now, though, the sun waits for noone" - he took Greer's hand and pulled her out the door and down the stairs of his duplex. It was still twilight outside, but the birds were getting quieter, which was a sure sign that the Great Star was about to rise up in the east in all it's glory. Greer Cassenwari Greer held on to his flipper and trotted after happily, grateful that all had been forgiven. She hadn't seen a sunrise in a while - not since those all-nighters in grad school. It would be nice to see the day star rise without cramming for a test distracting her. "Where are we going to watch it?" The Dude XD "Well, beach is on the west side, so let's run the opposite direction. We gotta hurry or we'll miss it for sure ..." He was pulling her along a narrow trail that led away from the lake and followed one of the many small creeks. The darkness of the jungle was overhead of them, but one could see sliver of blue up ahead. Whether it was sky or sea was yet unclear ...
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:03 pm
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose woke up early the next morning, the issues in his mind buzzing and refusing to let him sleep. Ambrose was normally up before dawn, but since coming to the lazy, laidback schedule on the Island, he had let his punctual, routenized self slip. But today, maybe for once, he wanted to turn back to the subtle reminder of his old life. He slipped on a pair of windbreaker pants and a t-shirt, his good running shoes, and left his fencing gear behind for once. While fencing was his passion, he wasn't opposed to a good run from time to time, and perhaps it would mean actually seeing more of this Island that they would be on for the rest of their lives.... No. Not to think of that. He set off towards the West-side beach first, and started to slowly make his way around the Southern side of the Island, following the thin sandy strip until it became only a thin strip of land between the jungles and a cliff face over the ocean. He would need to speak to The Dude soon.... him or Greer.... or both. Ugh. He really had made an idiot of himself, hadn't he? He hoped that he hadn't screwed anything over from what had happened at the drinking party. It was obvious they liked eachother. And he would be damned if he would be half the a** of his brother, hitting on women who obviously weren't interested, or were interested in someone else. They were better suited for eachother anyway - after all, they were both at least 5 years older than he was. He breathed in measured huffs as he jogged, making his way to a second sandy stretch on the East side of the Island. Greer Cassenwari Letting go of Sean's hand, Greer ran full-out, enjoying the rush of adrenline that hit her bloodstream in response to her flight. "Come on slow poke! Hurry up!" She laughed, breaking out of the jungle and on to the thin beach - and missed smacking into Ambrose by an inch and a half. As it was she attempted to skid to a halt, stopping only because she threw herself off balance and sat down hard. "Ooof! Morning Ambrose." Owwie. Now she had bruises too. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose was rather quickly jostled from his revere as the woman of his thoughts nearly ran headlong into him - causing him to wonder for a split second if she had tumbled out of his proverbial thought bubble. "Greer!" He exclaimed cleverly. "What... wow, I wasn't expecting to run into you here!" Speak of the devil, or DevilS in this case - he thought as he notied the Dude following shortly after him, patting after her on his webbed feet. It was as if fate itself had decided that he get this out into the open NOW. But talk about being on the Spot... wherever to begin, now faced with BOTH of them. "Greer... I... well. I was actually looking for you... maybe both of you... but.. well.. I ... thought I should probably try to explain myself...after that night." He winced, gesturing awkwardly. The Dude XD The Dude emerged out of the jungle, trotting along: "Hey, I'm injured over here. Did we miss it?" He looked to the east where the sky was now turning pink and yellow. "OH, good!" Then he realized that Greer was in fact sitting on the sand right next to Ambrose, who was sayign something to her. The Dude trotted up and pulled the grasshopper off the floor then hugging her from behind and looked at Ambrose. "Hey Ambrose! I am not sure whether you have been officially informed yet. But guess what - I think Greer's hot!" - he grinned wide. With that he turned his face back to the east, waiting for the sun with great anticipation. It is up to the debate whether that was done because of the Ambrose/Greer kiss memories or because the Dude just felt like stating the obvious. Greer Cassenwari Dusting the sand off of her trousers, Greer leaned back into Sean, frowning at his little 'declaration'. Where did that come from? "Sean, did you smoke something when I wasn't looking?" Turning back to Ambrose, she smiled. "Talk about what?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose looked between Greer and the Dude. He tried to make his expression look more like a smile than a wince when the Dude promptly declared Greer 'Hot'. "Yeah.... " he scratched the back of his neck in his nervous manner. "About that.." he hesitated, feeling quite on the spot. "I... I wanted to apologize - for my actions the other night... and I think I've been making Greer feel uncomfortable. Maybe... er... maybe she's been trying to play oblivious - which would make sense to me.... and... well... I'm really glad for the two of you - that two of my closest friends have at least found eachother and are happy." He rambled, running his shoe around in the sand." The Dude XD The Dude was listening only half ear to what Ambrose was saying at first, but the wolfman's words made him turn around. With a perplexed expression on his face, he very intelligently grunted: "Huh?" There WAS something to be uncomfortable about between Ambrose and Greer? Gah, stupid patchy memory. Greer Cassenwari Greer sighed. Well, at least she'd figured things out somewhat before this. If she'd still been completely oblivious this would have been worse. "Trust me Ambrose, I wasn't playing. I am this stupid. I just barely figured stuff out yesterday, and that was only because Aubrey pretty much explained it. Please keep in mind I'm relationship illiterate." She wanted to give the wolfboy friendly hug, but had a feeling this was not the time. Somewhat embarassed with all the attention, she began to fidgit with one of Sean's flippers. "I... I really don't know what to say. I've never dealt with this sort of thing to the nth degree." Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose swallowed and nodded, his hands seeking out something to fidget with as well. He wasn't exactly well versed in this... he had been on dates before, but other than his four year relationship with Angelina, he hadn't had much more expierience in this whole thing recently. Especially not dealing with feelings of liking someone who liked somoene else, and feeling rather guilty about harboring those feelings to begin with. He flicked his attention momentarily to the Dude, warily, hoping not to get a flipper-fist to the face. "So... ah... well... I'm glad that you understand... I think." So she hadn't known then? He had thought he was being pretty obvious, but he wasn't going to hold that against her. "I guess.... I guess what I'm trying to say..." He took a deep breath. "I want you to be happy. I...well... I didn't realize precisely how close you two were until the beach party. I... well... I think you're great. For all the reasons I stated the other day and more." He looked to the Dude. "And you're a great friend." He sighed. "I think... I don't know, Maybe I'm feeling rather confused. I... I really miss Angelina... I miss having some one to hold, and someone to hold me. I feel guilty even considering looking in new places, but at the same time I'm so used to her being there that It's hard dealing with things without having someone... like her... there.... and... well... It's just such a damn frustrating and unique situation. We didn't break up, there was no closure... " He shook his head, realizing he was rambling. "I guess... I mean... this just says it's not time yet. Maybe that's what fate's trying to say." He looked to them again, hoping that half of his rambling made sense. The Dude XD The Dude totally forgot the sunrise at this moment. He let go of Greer and looked at her, then looked at Ambrose, still way perplexed: "You guys had a thing BEFORE the party? I thought you only kissed during it ... " It was strange how he didn't seem to be mad about it yet. More perplexed. Of all people on the island, Ambrose was the very last one on his list of guys chasing tail. Didn't he profess his undying love for Angelina only a week ago? Almost got into a fight about it, too, when the Dude had suggested moving on. Greer Cassenwari "What? No!" Greer shook her head furiously, clutching at his hand. "No, nothing happened. Ambrose just... well... tried to tell me he liked me the day after we kissed on the beach and I was an utter moron and completely missed it." She winced, realizing how that had sounded. Damn it, she was so bad at this stuff! "I mean, crap. Ambrose, I'm not insulting you, really..." Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose took a step back; even though the Dude's tone wasn't angry, he had the right to be mad at the drop of a hat. "I... well... She's right - nothing happened. I just... well, I tried to talk to her... and realized soon after that if she had any cognizance of what I was talking about or had any sort of inkling in response, she would have said something.... I guess it was eating at me for a while... I mean..." he shook his head and sighed. "I don't know what I'm feeling. I DO miss Angelina. To no ends.... and I DO love her... I just... well... It's been like a month and a half - and I know that that's nothing in the scheme of things... but... I guess it's starting to sink in just how long I might be here" He frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I mean... I wish I knew what she was thinking.... does she think I'm dead? Is she looking for me? I love her... I always WILL love her.... but... ARGH! I hate this uncertainty. How long do I wait? There's no right answer, and no answer makes me be able to sleep soundly at night." He huffed. "I ... well.... I guess I'm lonely. I mean, I've got friends - which is wonderful. Without you guys this would be a million times more difficult... but I'm lonely in the other sense....." His face flushed. "I'm not used to being single. And, well, I guess my mind started putting things together behind my back... things Greer and I had in common. I'm sorry, Dude. And I'm sorry, Greer. I don't want to screw up our friendship." The Dude XD "Wow, you miss Angelina and feel lonely and that is why you decided to rebound on Greer? Of all the women on this island you choose a girl who never even had her heart broken yet?" - the Dude bristled. "And then you tell me about it, in front of her? Why ... why are you doign this? Do you want me to fight with you or something like that?" - he pleaded, not sure waht one was supposed to do in such a situation. "All was good, nothing had even happened ... and then you had to make things this awkward, Ambrose. Why?" Greer Cassenwari "Sean, Ambrose, please! Please don't fight!" She tried to sound strong and compitent, but the words came out sounding like a frightened little girl. Ambrose Maurlias "What??" Ambrose's voice came out in a squeak. "I.... rebound? Dude... I... what... I wasn't trying to hurt her! Anything but! And I'm telling you two becuase I thought that you deserved to know! And to tell you that I hoped you could be Happy! I'm not trying to start anything! I'm trying to close it!" He held his hands up, palms out defensively, taking a step back. "You win! You won before it started, Dude!" He was starting to really regret he had said anything at all. The last thing he wanted was for things to get awkward. The Dude XD "I'm not fighting ..." - the Dude said defensively. "And I don't care who wins here ... I didn't even know it was a contest." He opened his mouth to say a whole lot more stuff, but saw Greer's frightened face and totally forgot what it was. Why were they fighting again? Because Ambrose thought Greer was hot and butchered telling her that? Hell, after that dance on the bar Ian and Vasile probably thought Greer was hot, too. That thought put things a little bit in perspective ... "Sorry, grasshopper ..." The Dude looked at his feet then remembered the sunrise. Turning his face to the east, he looked up at the now orange skies and pointed for everyone: "Look guys, it's coming ..." Greer Cassenwari Something in her bristled at the 'won' comment, but Greer was too worried to pay it any attention. She snuggled under Sean's arm, watching the sunrise and looking for comfort. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose sighed, slumping his shoulders and returning his hands to his pockets. Despite the fact the argument had died down, he couldn't get past the feeling that there was silent resentment to his bringing it up. He turned his attention to the rising sun, squinting into it as the orb painted the clouds over the seas in brilliant colors. It had been some time since he had watched the sun rise. His heart ached even more as he thought of the last time that he had woken up intentionally early to watch it with someone by his side. Instead of a woman, he leaned up against one of the trees, and it was certainly no substitute, watching Dude hug Greer. It was official... he really, really missed Angelina. He turned before his eyes could well up. "I... I should probably get back. I'll leave you two be." He commented, his voice gravely. The Dude XD "No, you are not. You are gonna come over here, dork, and watch the sunrise with us." - the Dude let go of Greer and sat down on the sand, motioning Ambrose to come, too. Oh, do not misunderstand, the Dude was still plenty ticked off at wolfboy. "Because I don't want you to hate me for stupid s**t, like breaking apart your imaginary romances that never actually happened. We have to live on the same island here." Greer Cassenwari Greer looked at Sean, beaming. He was officially perfect. Walking over to Ambrose, she grabbed both his hands and started pulling him over to the future sea lion. "Sean is right and I continue to be an idiot. Now sit, watch, and enjoy yourself or I'll break your shins, Pup." Sitting down next to the dredlocked one she tugged on her friend's hand, encouraging Ambrose to sit down on her other side. Sean was going to get a thank you dance for making this better tomorrow night. The Dude XD "You better believe it, too. She can KICK!" - the Dude pointed at the big blue spot on his right leg Ambrose Maurlias Amrbose lifted an eyebrow and looked back over his shoulder as the dude invited... well, more like demanded, he to return. But he was right, he didn't want to screw things up and stalking off feeling sorry for himself wasn't helpful. "I don't hate you, Dude. Really. That's what I'm trying to say." He gave a small smile and plopped onto the ground besides them. He declined to comment about the imaginary romances part, knowing it would probably just start an argument. He looked indignantly to Greer. "Pup?" He gave a mock scowl, forcibly lightening his mood. "Though shins aside, you DO still owe me another epee match. You can't get out of that." He smiled, hoping internally that things could just... go back to the way they were before he complicated things. The Dude XD The Dude smiled when Greer went to get Ambrose then turned back to the east: "Thanks, man." - he said mockingly at Ambrose, still frazzled for some god unknown reason. Something about harems ... with Ambrose ... GAH, his memory sucked. Just watch the sun, Dude ... "By the way, for the record - rebounding is not a bad idea for you. There are other girls on this island, you know? Like ... Karma, she's nice. Or Emelyn ... they are both about your age ..." Greer Cassenwari Greer stuck her tongue out at Ambrose, looping an arm through each of theirs. The bird in the back of her mind nearly purred. Why did that make it happy? "Yes, pup. You're still a baby at twenty after all. And I assure you, I have no wish to avoid beating you at your own game." There we go, much better. She could handle social stuff as long as it was on the positive side of the spectrum. She turned her face towards the rising sun, cheerful and flanked by friends. Her mother wouldn't have recognized her. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose shrugged at the Dude's comment. "I've only met Emelyn briefly.... but... I don't know.... I mean... she looks a lot like Angelina..." he tried to avoid looking directly into the sun. "I worry that if I started something with her that it would get awkward because of that. And I've yet to meet Karma... It would be weird to go up to her and say 'Hi! I'm Ambrose! I just got separated from my girlfriend of four years. I hear you're single!' " He snorted. He looked over to Greer as she looped her arm around hers and leaned against her. "I'm not that young" he replied indignantly. "But you're on for the match. YOu need to see about ordering Sabres, though. Teach me how to beat you at those." He winked. The Dude XD "You don't need to say that, dork. Just say "hi". Both of them have been holed up in their duplexes for the past week, unwilling to come out. If not for your sake, do it for theirs." - he shrugged. "Or just walk up to Em and tell her "Hi, would you mind if I hug you for a while here? I promise to give you backrubs in exchange". I say it's a pretty fair trade ..." The Dude put his flipper on Greer's hand on his shoulder. It was warm and nice and the brown feathers moved a little in the breeze. His mind migrated back to the feathers along her spine and the violent reaction she had regarding it. The Dude coudlnt' figure out why she would have kicked him for trying to tickle her. S' not like he was violating her virginity or something ... Pondering that, he was gently petting her dawny hand feathers with his thumb. Greer Cassenwari "Teach you to best me? Please. As if I could." she smiled, shaking her head. "Yeah, listen to Sean. He's a real smoothy. If the backrub thing doesn't work just find her most prized possession and dump it in the ocean." Enjoying the colors the sky was turning, she giggled a little at the ticklish sensation illicited by the petting of her hand feathers but didn't try to stop it - it wasn't that bad. Ah, lovely. She should spend every morning like this, watching the sun rise with her friends. Well, mabye sans the pre-dawn revelations. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded, smiling over to her. "We'll see.... It will require some thought at the very least. Maybe I'm not ready for all this." He added quietly. Shrugging, he settled back and watched the play of colors across the sky, feeling good being around them. Friends. Some corner in the back of his mind smiled and wagged its tail, happy to be forming the preliminaries of a pack. He sat with them for a good twenty or thirty minutes before finally getting to his sand-covered feet. "Well, I should really be heading back now. You two take care. I'll be seeing you around." With a wave, and a much better attitude than the last time he tried to walk off, he headed back towards his duplex. The Dude XD The Dude waved good bye to Ambrose and then promptly put his arm around Greer. Talking about Emelyn to Ambrose had brought up his own memories of the blue eyed girl. He wondered how she was and how she was dealing. Emelyn was a very lovely girl indeed, but ... he kissed the raven hair of the girl next to him ... he liked the grasshopper better. MUCH BETTER. The Dude brushed aside Greer's hair and bent down to kiss her. "I like you." - he professed for no good reason Greer Cassenwari Greer smiled, curling her toes inside her shoes. She'd guessed that, judging from past actions and whatnot, but it was still quite nice to hear it said. "I like you too." she said, kissing him back.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:33 am
Boys were tricky. Greer came to this conclusion while brushing her hair, having recently kissed Sean goodbye and returned home to shower and dress for the day. She thought over the morning's events while arranging her cropped mane with her brush, frowning at any small tugs where her hair was making a halfhearted attempt to tangle. She liked Sean, as her recent admission had indicated, nad very much wanted to spend more time with him. Trouble was, since he was not an insect afficianado this meant she was neglecting her bug catching and studies. Hmm. She would need to find a balance, since the feathers had yet to drown out her enthusiasm for insects and it was highly doubtful they'd ever manage it fully. Not that liking Sean was a side effect of the feathers- well, not completely- Hissing to herself, she dropped her hair brush back into its drawer and tugged on her pants. And then there was Ambrose, who liked her and liked Angelina still and what if it was all just some side effect from the injections... well, it could be. Wolves liked packs, after all. And mates. And they liked them right there next to them too. Maybe she should point that out to Ambrose, that thinking she was cute and stuff was just part of the experiment- no, that was a bad idea. Especially since more injections probably meant stronger feelings. Did that mean some day the boys really were going to fight over her? Shouldn't they just get along and accept her dominance over both- She stopped dressing halfway into her shirt, staring at nothing for a moment. What the hell?Was she enjoying this? Did she want two men- Eeep! Scary thought. Shaking her head, Greer finished pulling on her top and slipped her feet into her flipflops, abandoning her room in the search for food and a quiet mind. This is what came of thinking too much: a perfectly lovely morning spoilt.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:06 pm
Emerwyn Emerwyn walked out of the cafeteria into the now chill air. She was feeling very dismayed after her encounter with some of the island’s inhabitants. Aside from Colche, her new neighbor, the others seemed distant. The young man with the dagger was just about anti-social. The other one, whom Emerwyn hadn’t even gotten a good look at, seemed to want to talk, but disappeared before she could say a single word to him. She ached even more than she already had for her home, and for her friends, and most of all, for Jerrick. The sky was gradually growing dark. She should get back to her room. Her clothes were still disgusting, clinging to her skin. The air made them grow damp again. Even though it was a warm evening, she got a slight chill. She was wrapping her long coat tightly around her when she saw someone walking nearby… Greer Cassenwari Greer was trudging along, lost in thought. She needed to go for a run, but couldn't work up the energy for it. It was all just, just... messy. It was days like this that remind her why she usually prefered bugs to people. Looking up, she noticed a woman she'd never seen before. Well, far be it from her to allow personal issues to get in the way of being polite. Heading over, she waved and put on a halfhearted smile. "Hello!" Emerwyn Emerwyn’s first reaction was shock. Then fear. This woman who was saying hello to her… Did she have some kind of growth? No, feathers sprouting from your body is not a growth… It’s a sick mutation! Emerwyn gaped for a few seconds, then tried her best to regain her composure. "Oh, please," She started lamely. "I’m sorry, I just-… … I’m Emerwyn." She tried to smile, but feared it came out like a grimace. Greer Cassenwari Greer nodded, not pleased with the reaction but understanding. "I'm Greer. You haven't gotten the talk, I take it?" Emerwyn "The... talk?" Did this have something to do with the feathers. "I suppose not. I'm not staying long you see. I was shipwrecked. The Doctor is trying to get me back home." Greer Cassenwari Doctor Moreau was such an utter b*****d. Smiling kindly, Greer turned and destured the woman to follow her. "Would you like some tea? There's a few things you need to know." Emerwyn Emerwyn was getting nervous. What kind of place was this? She didn't like the Doctor from the start, but he had been very convincing. Was he really trying to get her home? This woman, however disturbing her appearence, seemed very kind. "I would love some, thank you." She followed tentatively, but relieved that she may have finally found someone sane on this god-forsaken spit of land. Greer Greer led her back to her duplex, leaving the door open behind her and disappearing into the bathroom for a moment to switch on her hot water pot. Reappearing, she smiled and gestured at the two chairs by her desk. "Please, have a seat. Tea will be ready in a moment. Milk and sugar?" Emerwyn Emerwyn sat down. "Nothing, thank you." Lately, she'd been taking her tea bitter, leaving the tea bag in the cup until she'd finished drinking. Greer Returning to the bathroom, Greer poured two cups of black tea, put milk in hers, and returned. Handing the black cup to Emerwyn, she put her's on her desk and sat. "I... I have some bad news." Emerwyn She looked up as she placed her cup on the desk. "What is it?" Her stomach turned with anticipation. Greer Well, actually, there was a very slim chance it would apply to her... "First, I have to ask: did the Doctor inject you with anything?" Emerwyn "Well, yes. He injected me with a vaccine for diseases on the island." She paused. "That's what he told me." Greer Greer swore under her breath. One of these days she was going to have that man under her talons... "In that case, I'm afraid he lied to you Emerwyn. About everything. I am so, so sorry." Emerwyn Emerwyn's nerves were rising fast. Her blood rushed up into her face. She couldn't contain herself. The desk rattled as she stood up. "What did he do to me?!" Her voice shook as she spoke. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know. Greer Greer stood too, trying to coax the woman to retake her seat, "Shh, shh, I'll tell you, don't worry. We're in the same boat." Emerwyn Emerwyn cast a frightened look at the woman's hands. "Am I going... Is that..." She swallowed. "...going to happen to me?" She didn't sit down. Greer "I don't know, exactly. So far no one else has shown signs of becoming a bird besides me. So far we have a wolf, a sea lion, a snake, a coyote, and possibly a bat." Greer was a big believer in honesty. Emerwyn Emerwyn was speechless. Her eyes grew wider with each animal this woman named. "But- how?" She stepped away, began pacing. Then, frustrated with her own thoughts, turned back to the woman. "Who is this Doctor? How is he - Why is he - " Maybe it would be better if she just stopped talking. Greer Greer sighed, sitting back down and sipping her tea. Emerwyn needed to work out some frustration. "I'm not entirely sure, but I believe 'rich mad scientist' sums him up pretty well. He owns this entire island, and to some extent everyone on it." Emerwyn The young woman's relaxed attitude helped to calm Emerwyn's nerves a little. She wandered slowly back to her seat. "A mad scientist?" She couldn't believe this. She'd become the unwilling subject of a character right out of a science fiction novel. "How does he do this without getting caught? I mean, someone's going to notice I'm gone and-" She stopped short. Her entire ship sank. She knew of no other survivors other than herself. She was as good as dead to the outside world. But the others- "How did you get here?" Greer Greer smiled ruefully. This wasn't a story she really liked to admit to. "I'm entomologist -insect specialist- and I recieved a job offer from the Doctor to be part of a tropical research team he was forming. Since this is my life's unattained ambition, I was rather excited about the prospect." Emerwyn "I suppose the Doctor has fooled many people. How many are on this Island? I met a couple, but they were, well, distant. None of them looked..." She reached for a word. "different." Then she remembered the young man who ran away. It looked like there was something on his head. Greer Greer thought, drinking more tea. "I've met...eleven people? But there might be more." Emerwyn "This is sick." She couldn't think of anything else to say. "Please. There has to be a way to get away from here. I'll even swim if I have to. Someone very dear to me is in danger, and I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him, and I couldn't do anything about it." Her voice was pleading, though she had a feeling this girl wouldn't have any answers, otherwise she'd probably be gone by now. Emerwyn tried to fight back the tears that were on the verge of escaping. Greer Greer's heart went out to her, as always half glad and have worried that she had adjusted to island life so well. How horrible it must be, not only to have a home you miss but also someone you were worried about and wanted to help. Leaning forward, she grasped the woman's hands in her own, doing her best to give comfort. "If I knew a way off this island I would tell it to you in a second, even if that meant you could go but I had to stay. As farr as I know we are prisoners here, chained and bound. I'm sorry." Emerwyn The human contact was too much. Two tears ran down her face. She breathed deeply as she listened to this kind woman's words. Greer was genuine; there was no question. It was worse to hear it spoken that there was no chance of escaping, to be sure, but the comfort this woman brought did much to make Emerwyn feel better. For a while, anyway. Now she knew she had a friend, as close as she could get to one here. She struggled to speak. "Thank you." barely above a whisper, these two words meant more than Greer could probably tell. Greer Leaving her guest for a moment, Greer returned with a box of tissues and a sad smile. It was times like this she almost felt guilty for not being entirely upset about her new home. "We'll figure something out, you'll see." Emerwyn Emerwyn took a tissue with a nod and dabbed it lightly at her eyes. Of course, Emerwyn thought, she's just trying to cajole me... and it's working. She smiled inwardly. Finally Emerwyn turned to her tea. It was bitter, just as she liked it, but for some reason, she wished it were sweeter. Greer It would work out, Greer believed. Perhaps not the way this woman planned, but that didn't mean things couldn't get better. But she was probably biased. "So...which duplex are you in?" Emerwyn Emerwyn had to think for a long time. She couldn't remember. Her thoughts were so cluttered... "Eighteen." Finally. "Yes... eighteen... Right above that strange girl..." Greer Strange girl? Greer suppressed a chuckle - that could describe most of the females here, including herself. "What's her name?" Emerwyn "Colche. She didn't seem to have had much contact with human beings... I wonder if she was born here?" That last comment came out of the blue. She had never considered that before... probably because she was unaware of the nature of this place... Greer Greer shook her head. "No, this is an island privately owned by the Doctor, and as far as I know no one was born here. Cloche's a bit... delayed... but she's a good egg." She would have explained the girl's history if she'd known it, but as it was Greer was content just to like her. Emerwyn good egg... Emerwyn didn't quite like the sound of the term. "I see. She certainly is fascinating. She sees everything as an infant would..." Emerwyn yawned. "What time is it?" Greer Turning, Greer looked at her alarm clock, the only time piece she owned. "5:32." Emerwyn It wasn't even that late... Then again, Emerwyn hadn't slept in more then 24 hours. "I really should go back to my room... I'm about to collapse. Thank you so much... for everything." Greer Greer nodded, standing and opening the front door for Emerwyn. "Of course, go, get some rest. If you need anything don't hesitate to track me down." Emerwyn "Thanks... again." Emerwyn headed towards the door. "It's good to know I have someone I can trust." Then she turned, too tired to say anything else. She smiled the first true smile she had made in a very long time, and knew that now she would take sugar in her tea.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:48 am
You could never- no, wait, you certainly could have too many phasmids, but it was difficult and took a lot of effort. Greer returned to her duplex half covered in mud and smiling like an idiot, six preserved and two live sitck insects in tow. What a day! She'd gotten up at seven, skipped her shower and gone tramping around the jungle for hours, spending the first two just admiring the beauty of the place and taking in interesting sights. Well, she'd caught her first two preserved specimins then too, but they counted as interesting sights. Then the net had been weilded in earnest and she'd been rewarded with quite the catch. She couldn't wait to show these to Sean! He wouldn't appreciate the wonderfulness of her finds - well, he might when it came to the two living bugs that she didn't quite recognize and had the potential to be an undiscovered species - but he'd appreciate her excitement and that would be enough. In the time between her catching of the known, preserved specimins and the possibly unknown living ones, Greer had looked around for a spot to build the butterfly house, just in case. She hadn't seen anything, but she hadn't really been looking for that reason specifically, so she ought to go out again tomorrow or something and make a more dedicated search. And it had been cut short by the possibility of species discovery, which was of course too cool for words. She needed some texts to double check her theory, since her memory for different insects was encyclopedic but in no means complete. It would be so, so neat if they were unique though, only slightly less so if Doctor Moreau wouldn't try to find a way for her to get credit. Surely he could claim her dead and send out a post humous missive to the entomological community? Maybe? That would mean she'd only need one, but that was all you needed to live forever in a scientific community... Okay girl, calm. Calm down. We'll see, okay? Just... just get your male and female examples in a cage all safe and then go relax in the shower. Greer nodded to herself, following her mental instructions and shifting around the current denizens in her divided terrarriums to make space for this new pair. Whatifs were wonderful for passing the time, but she needed to be calm and scientific about this. She could OMFG all she wanted if it were true, but until then zen was called for. Not that any of that applied to the shower. You were allowed to act like an idiot in your own shower. This was one of the unwritten rules of the bathroom which existed mainly because you tended to be alone in there and it had great accoustics. In this case, Greer danced and sang an editted version 'Louie Louie' as badly and loudly as she could, changing the lyrics to 'Buggy Buggy' in light of the situation.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:40 pm
Amaya Vaughan Stupid demanding stomach. Why couldn't it... STARVE for a few days? Amaya's head peeked out of her sauna of a room and she looked around. Good. Coast was clear. Tripping a little bit, she wormed her way out of her duplex and made a beeline for the cafeteria. Ever since her feet had changed, she found it a lot easier to run like she was on tip-toes then normal walking now that her toes were so long.
Getting to the cafeteria doors her stomach gave a warning growl, indicating if she didn't pick it up it would digest itself. Growling at her own organs, she looked inside and sighed in relife as no one seemed to be in there. Good. Walking in, she got a rather large salad and a banana and sat down at a table.
For a few moments she merely sat there, stareing at her food and not wanting to eat it... but her stomach won out on the end and the young girl started to gobble down the banana. Even though her stomach had been demanding food ever since her transformation, she couldn't help but eat slowly and feel generally sorry for herself. Greer Cassenwari Mmm, food. Food was good. And as long as she ate large amounts of meat, Greer could generally convince her stomach to accept some greens too. Heading straight from jungle to cafeteria, she had a bit of trouble collecting her tray due to her insect net. Phasmid hunting was always way too much fun. Catching a glance at Amaya sitting at a table out of the corner of her eye, Greer took her plate of deli meat and cucumber over and sat across from the girl, smiling and digging into her food before getting a good look at her companion. "Hello! Boy, am I hungry!" Emerwyn Emerwyn felt even better the next day than she had the previous evening. She woke to find herself extremely hungry. She had skipped dinner the night before. Her walk in the woods took up most of the evening. She went into the cafeteria, once again taking only a salad. Now she began to wonder. Being aware of her transformation, she thought perhaps she was becoming a vegetarian. No problem with that Emerwyn thought, smiling. Jerrick had wanted to do that for a long time. We just couldn't stop eating Noah's steak!She saw two familiar faces sitting together at a table. It was Greer and Amaya. As she got closer, however, she discovered one was not so familiar. Amaya's face had scales on it. Emerwyn swallowed hard. She wasn't as taken aback as she had been when she'd seen Greer for the first time. She steeled herself and sat down by them. "Hello, there!" She smiled broadly. Then looked to Amaya. "I see it's your turn." It must have happened over night. Amaya Vaughan OhgodGREERANDEMERWYN! QUICKHIDE! Amaya squeaked and hid the best she could, pulling the strings to the hoodie she wore. The opening around her face quickly closed, only showing her eyes and a little of the scales going up the bridge of her nose and up the sides of her face. As for her freakishly long fingers she put her banana down and hid them in the hoodies pocket, her feet curling up the best she could manage even though her skirt was a little too short to hide them. Green orbs looked down at her lap, not able to match the woman's gaze or greet them in any way. Greer Cassenwari Greer looked up, catching her change and reaction to company in the same five seconds. The poor dear! Putting down her fork, she put a feathered hand across the table. "Oh Amaya, it's okay! You look fine." Emerwyn "Don't worry, Amaya. If you're worried about what people think, they won't think of you any less than any of us once we've begun to change... And some of us already have." she added. Emerwyn smiled. She's so young, so impressionable. It's not fair, especially for her. She had too much life ahead of her.She turned to her baby romain lettuce. It was even better than it used to be. Especially without the bacon bits. She didn't realize how much she hated bacon... Amaya Vaughan Amaya shivered a little bit, though not from how cold she was. Green eyes remained on her lap as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.
Even though she told herself this her head sank even further, tears falling out of the corner of her eyes and landing on the hoodie that covered her face. Why was she crying when they were being so nice to her? A few choked sobs came from behind her hoodie as she slumped. She was scared, that was why. Greer Cassenwari Greer stood, moved around the table, and sat down next to the young girl, putting an arm around her shoulders that was easily shrugged off if she didn't want it. "Shh, it's all right. At least the scales are pretty and match your eyes." Emerwyn Emerwyn smiled. Greer did not try to make the truth any smaller than it was. That's what she liked about her. "Just know that you have friends here." she didn't know what else to say, but she knew that this much was true. She leaned in closer to them, her chocolate eyes trying to tell her, and Greer too, the same thing. Amaya Vaughan The contact from Greer made holding in her tears that much harder, but she didn't make any kind of move to shrug her off. She choked a few more sobs, sniffing and crying before her face balled up and a fountain of tears erupted. The young girl dove into Greer, the closest one, and wrapped her arms around her waist, bawling into her stomach and holding her tight like a frightened child unwilling to let go.
The comforting did help, regardless of what it looked like but... it was just too scary to be able to deal with it on her own. She wanted her parents back and her grandmother. Anyone to just hold her and tell her everything would be okay. Timothy Matthews Timothy was up early, feeling a bit energized today. He walked to the cafeteria for food when he heard voices. Being his normal shy self he stopped for a second. Listening to the voices. He heard Amaya and Greer attempting to cheer her up. He smiled for a second, they were really nice here. So she had scales, big deal, he was turning into a skunk. But Timothy decided not to worry about himself, he had spent too many years doing just that. He smiled after thinking for a moment. He strummed his guitar and started singing right outside the door. "Sing softely a sweet sweet song,
To a girl who is so pretty.
Beautiful glistening scales,
Reflecting the sun.
Green eyes,
like the green of the leaves.
Sing softely a sweet sweet song,
To a girl who is so pretty.
Beautiful emerald eyes,
Reflecting the moon.
Green scales,
Green eyes like windows to the soul.
Sing softely a sweet sweet song,
To a girl who is so pretty."Timothy sang as he walked into the cafeteria and smiled at Amaya. He hoped he could make her feel better. Greer Cassenwari Greer rubbed comforting circles on Amaya's back, something her mother used to do that had always helped her. God her memories of her mother helped her through a lot of things... Smiling at Emerwyn and nodding to Tim, she patted the sobbing girl on the back. "Emer, could you grab us some napkins please?" Emerwyn Emerwyn looked up when she heard a beautiful voice singing. The song was obviously directed at Amaya. Did he make those up himself? She hadn't seen him before. He had already begun transforming, as well. He hade black and white fur... A badger... or a skunk?When he finished, Emerwyn simply stared at first, not for his looks, but for his music. "That was lovely..." She was sucked out of her trance when Greer asked her for napkins. "Oh! Sorry," She went and grabbed a few, handing them directly to Amaya. She was beginning to feel useless. Amaya Vaughan Amaya sniffed, her crying turning into short, choked sobs. Who was singing? She looked away from Greer's midsection with one eye, spotting Timothy. Her hood had been pushed off when she grabbed onto Greer, showing a shaky smile. They were all so nice here... Maybe this wasn't as scary as she thought it was.
Slowly pulling herself away from Greer, she sat up. "Th-Thanks." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "I just g-got scared." Her words were still being blocked by small sobs, but she did seem to be getting better thanks to Timothy's song. Timothy Matthews "No problem Amaya." he grinned and thinking about Moulin Rouge which he had loved. "I only sing the truth." Timothy went and got food and then came back and sat down. "So how old are you Amaya?" he smiled charismatically, he wasn't really interested in anyone else besides Vasile. But he had the charm that if he wanted to, he could find someone to be interested back. Greer Cassenwari Pulling over her tray, Greer stayed by Amaya's side as she munched on some cucumber. "Believe me, if there's one thing we all understand here it's being afraid. No one is going to fault you for it." Emerwyn "Yes. We all know whose fault this is..." Emerwyn returned to her salad as well, her expression growing dark. Amaya Vaughan "Fi-Fifteen." Amaya smiled and looked at her meal which she barely touched, clawed hand reaching out and taking the banana to nibble on some more. She nodded to Greer,glad she was there and let her cry on her. In some ways she kind of reminded her of mom... Her hand reached up and wiped at her eyes once more, getting the last few tears that fell.
"It didn't hurt th-that much... but it really scared me. Especially my feet..." She mumbled, looking down at her rather deformed toes. Timothy Matthews Timothy looked down at Amaya's feet. "Oh those are cute... kind like little finger-toes. Kind of neat." Timothy grinned. "I bet if I had those I could learn to play my guitar with my feet. Better than being a skunk. I could just stink everyone out." Timothy shrugged, "Still, the claws are useful. No more need for my pick." "I guess you can always find something decent." Timothy thought about how different this philosophy felt, especially comming from him. Greer Cassenwari Greer smiled at the girl's announcement of her age, suppressing a shudder. So, so young. She more than shared Emerwyn's anger. "At least you get to eat bananas. My stomach went from vegitarian to carnivore in just one night!" Giving Amaya's hand another pat, she downed a large chunk of deli meat and then stood. "I'm getting tea - anyone else want some?" Emerwyn So, she's only fifteen... A little younger than she'd even thought... Emerwyn smiled at the young man's light-heartedness... She didn't catch his name. Emerwyn almost vomitted seeing Greer down that meat. It's not her fault..."I would love some, please... If there's any Green..." Amaya Vaughan The young girl blushed a little bit but it quickly faded, having never been one to really get like that. "Thank you..." She continued to nibble on the banana, quickly finishing it and laying the peel aside. She smiled up at Greer. "Yeah, though I was pretty much the opposite... Can I just have a water, please?" For some reason tea or anything else besides water didn't really appeal to her anymore. Timothy Matthews "I'll take some Tea... sure why not." Timothy smiled. "I've pretty much only had a taste for meat too lately. Seem to really like the small crunchy pieces, like shrimp." Timothy shrugged and got a little hungry. "What brings you three pretty ladies down so early?" Greer Cassenwari Greer nodded to each in turn, getting black tea with milk and sugar for herself, a cup of strong green tea for Emerwyn, black for Tim and a tall glass of water for Amaya. Loading her tray she carefully brought it back to the table and resumed her seat. "I was up early hunting bugs. Phasmids are most active at dawn and dusk." Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose was emerging from his duplex, the thoughts of the rather disturbing reactoin of his upstairs neighbor to his own new changes still bothering him. An odd combination of sympathy and anxiety. However, Despite his anxiety, his stomach reminded him sharply that he had yet to have anything to eat today and that he should remedy that as promptly as possible. He headed to the cafeteria and spotted several familiar faces - including the woman who had been in the cafeteria the day that he had thought that Colche and Ian had fled from him and to whom he had never been properly introduced. Aside from her, there was Timothy and Greer.... and Amaya - at least he assumed so - seeing her from the back with the hoodie pulled up. He got his tray and piled it with cuts of beef and pork, and grabbed a roll to garnish - he hadn't completely lost his taste for other things, he just enjoyed the meat much more by comparison. Coming over to the table he gave a friendly smile to the group of them. "Good morning, everyone... even if it's not technically morning anymore" He smiled sheepishly. As he spoke, he did a doubletake. There was a reason Amaya's hood was drawn. There was a light pattern of scales running up the bridge of her nose and she looked distinctly uncomfortable. So the changes had hit her too... He frowned sympathetically and slid his tray next to hers, taking that seat and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Amaya... oh dear, I'm sorry..." He looked at the pile of veggies on her plate, his mind absently wondering what sort of reptile she might have been infused with. "How are you doing...?" He gave her a quick big brotherly hug. Emerwyn "I like the feel of the morning air. I'm not used to living so close to real nature any more." She tried to ignore the flirtatious nature of the comment, and wished she'd brought her coat. Emerwyn got up to help Greer with the drinks as she returned to the table, all of them perched precariuously on a tray. She started setting them in front of the respective people they went to. "Thanks, Greer." She smiled. Looking up, she saw another young man enter. Emerwyn realized this was the man she had barely gotten a look at the other day. She also realized what she thought she saw on him were indeed effects of a transformation. She smiled. Attention was averted back to Amaya. Emerwyn watched the comradeship everyone here already shared. She felt like an invader, and shrank back into her salad. Amaya Vaughan Amaya shifted uncomoftrably, starting to get a little cold and tired. "I was just really hungry after... everything happened. I'm kinda glad I got up enough courage to come out though, I feel a lot better." She smiled and started to munch on her salad, thanking Greer and Emerwyn for the water.
Seeing Ambrose she flinched, not liking how the group was gradually coming bigger... but she would rather this then being alone back in her room. She forced a smile and returned her 'big brother's' hug. "It's okay, I feel better now... I'm still a little scared, but nothing major." Timothy Matthews The thought of bugs made Timothy salivate a bit for some reason. He didn't want to bring this to the attention of the rest of the group. Although if Greer was paying attention she might have noticed. "Hey Ambrose." The skunk gave a wave and a bit of a tail wave to go with it. He decided to lean back and listen quietly for a bit. Greer Cassenwari "Pup, there you are!" She smiled at Ambrose, reaching behind Amaya to give his shoulder a friendly squeeze. Greer? Observant about other people? Hah. She completely missed Tim's reaction. Turning to Emerwyn, she polished off her meat looking longingly at the other woman's salad. "How have you been since we spoke last?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded to Amaya, focusing his attention on her - even before the plate of meat on the table. She was so young to be in a situation like this - and yet she had a full grasp of what was going on and still handling it very bravely. "It's okay to be scared." He said. "Trust me, we know what you're going through. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." He looked to Emerwyn and the rest of the group now, and nodded a greeting. "Hello there." He smiled to Emerwyn. "I... believe I saw you briefly here the other day.... you'll have to forgive me expedient retreat." He winced. "I don't believe we've actually formally met." At least, although she was new - she had obviously by now been given the run down of what was goign on, being she was surrounded by other people who had begun their changes. At least he hoped so and that she wasn't like Vasile. He nodded to Timothy. "Hello there yourself." He grinned. Timothy at least seemed to be doing better as well. Ambrose gave Greer a petulant look at the nickname. Great, calling him that in public now - what was next. He stuck his tongue out. "Hey, I'm older than several of the other Islanders here." He said ruefully. "And... well... I guess I'm doing alright. I can't complain in regards to some others' situations.... Especially my upstairs neighbor." He winced. He gave her a significant look. "Seriously Greer, though, I'm happy for you." He reached over and gave her hand a brief squeeze before finally appeasing his stomach and taking the first bite of food. Emerwyn Emerwyn was brought out of her miniature sulk being addressed by two different people. "That's perfectly fine. I'm Emerwyn, by the way," she said, addressing the new-comer. Emerwyn then turned to Greer. "I never have even come out of my room if it hadn't been for you. I'm glad you were the one to tell me. I took a walk last night. It really helped me to sort out my thoughts... But one thing still troubles me... how long did it take you to begin changing? I mean, I wouldn't want to be surprised." Amaya Vaughan She silently listened to the 'grown ups' chat, nibbling on her salad. Blinking, she then looked up at Ambrose. "What's wrong with your upstairs neighbor?"
Green orbs then looked over to Emerwyn. "Uhm... I've been here for... two weeks about, I think if that helps any." Greer Cassenwari Greer blinked at Emerwyn's comment, incredibly flattered. If not for her...? "Um, well, your welcome. I'm sure you would have done the same for me." Chuckling at Ambrose's expression, she flipped a cucumber slice at him. "You're still a baby to me! Unlike our Amaya here, who acts old for her age." She patted the girl on the shoulder, winking at her to play along. Ambrose Maurlias "It's nice to meet you, Emerwyn" He reached out his hand to shake after finishing his current bite of meat and setting down his fork. "You know, there's someone on the island with the name of Emelyn... though I've only met her once..." Ambrose nodded with Amaya. "Yes, I was here for about two weeks as well before I started to change...." Silently he thanked Greer for being the one to tell her. It was so hard to break it to people. He winced. "Well.... Julian - the boy who lives up the stairs from me.... well, to put it nicely I really don't think he's handling all this very well at all. He ... well... he changed very recently as well. And... well... I heard him yelling so I went up to see what was wrong. Aside from the changes he.... whew.. I think he's kind of... gone crazy..." Ambrose said it as he cleared his throat. "I was worried about him to begin with... even before he changed. He has the creepiest smile that's always on his face, even when he's not happy, you know? Like a forced, scared grin." Ambrose swatted the cuccumber slice back at her. He didn't show it, but the comments were starting to dig - pointedly expressing why he had made a bad decision in having affections for her to begin with, AND calling him childish. "Well..." he started, not quite sure how to respond to that and not prove her point even more. He was trying to be civil. "Amaya's a trooper." He smiled. Emerwyn She smiled at Greer. She would have. Two weeks... I think the anticipation is now worse than not knowing at all...As she shook Ambrose's hand, Emerwyn thought about the man who lived above him. It troubled her. How would she feel after she began changing? Amaya Vaughan Amaya yawned widely and stood up. "Well, I think I really need to go sleep. Stop by my duplex anytime, 'kay?" She smiled to everyone, obviously extending the invatitation since she didn't like being alone. "I see you guys later, bye!" Stumbling a little bit she bussed her tray and headed back to her duplex. Greer Cassenwari "Bye Amaya! Take care!" Greer watched her leave, worried about the young girl. She was too young to have to deal with all this. But she had hugged Ambrose, right? So he was taking care of her. Good. "Crazy?" she squeaked, staring at Ambrose with all attempts at humor forgotten. "What do you mean?" Ambrose Maurlias He glanced at Emerwyn. "Though... if you want to know what you're becoming... I know that they will answer the question. Once you know the truth they really don't seem to care about keeping up the facade of normalcy." He took another pointed bite of his meat. He nodded to Amaya. "Rest well... I know you'll probably need it after what you've been through. Take care!" He waved, calling after her. Ambrose hesitated before answering Greer. "He.... well... first he was talking about hearing voices... saying they were ridiculing him.... and then.... well... Then I think I witnessed an incident of Disssociative Identity Disorder.... he said he WAS the Cheshire Cat... spoke about "Julian" in third person as a separate individual that he was 'looking after' or something... that Julian was having a rough time and that he would try to take care of the voices for him." He winced... "And then he said he couldn't maintain dominance for long and "Julian" returned, not remembering what had happened." Emerwyn Emerwyn's rage took over her next comment. "I'm never going to speak to any of them... If I ever see Moreau of one of his 'comrades'....." Honestly, she probably wouldn't be able to do anything. As angry as she was, it wasn't in her nature to be vengeful... "Good bye, Amaya! It was nice to see you again! Feel better..." "Oh my God," Emerwyn reacted to Ambrose's description of Julian. She was frightened, but sad for the young man who seemed to survive underneath... Greer Cassenwari Greer gulped, rubbing her arms. "Dear god, that poor man! Do you think that could happen to one of us?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded. "I... I don't blame you." He murmured darkly to Emerwyn. "Though Aubrey isn't bad... she's still Moreau's through and through." He scartched the back of his head. "I honestly don't think that Julian was all that stable to begin with from my impression of the young man. Then all of this kind of set him over the edge - from obsession to schitzophrenia...." He swallowed. "I think most of us should be.... relatively okay. As long as we... well... hang in here. It's hard, it really is.... but if we have something to hold onto, and maintain our sense of self and what is important to that concept throughout this.... I think we can do it." He swallowed seriously. Ambrose went to take another bite of his meat but his fork clinked on the empty plate. He was surprised at how fast he had apparently made it through the stack of meat. "Anyway..." He stood up to bus his dishes, feeling a bit awkward with Greer, Amaya's and Timothy's sudden departure, and Emerwyn obviously had things on her mind. "I should probably head back for a while." He gave a chivalric bow to Emerwyn. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Emerwyn. Feel free to come and find me if you want to talk about anything." He smiled to Greer. "And take care to you as well." Emerwyn She liked Ambrose. He really had a grasp on himself. "Aubrey. I haven't met her..." and Emerwyn wasn't sure how his idea of "not bad" compared with hers. "Thank you. Goodbye, Ambrose. It was nice to properly meet you." Emerwyn fidgeted idly with her salad, feeling much less hungry than usual. She turned to her tea instead. Greer Cassenwari Greer nodded, glad for Ambrose's reassurances about her mental state. Smiling at him, she waved her good bye. Busing her empty tray, Greer returned to the table and smiled at Emerwyn. "Want to go to my place for tea and a view? It's more fun to talk there than here." Emerwyn "Oh, that would be wonderful!" Emerwyn looked at her plate. She barely finished half of her salad. She didn't want to waste it, but couldn't possibly bring herself to eat it. Sighing in resignation, she emptied her tray and went back to Greer, ready to go somewhere more comfortable.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:42 pm
Greer led the way, stopping only to pilfer some clean cups, saucers, and spoons from the cafeteria. Booty collected she walked slowly towards her Duplex, nudging the front door open with her hip when number four was reached. Setting her things down on her desk, Greer picked up a chair and headed towards the sliding glass doors.
"Grab the other chair and drag out here, please? It's a lot nicer outside."
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:00 pm
Emerwyn followed Greer out of the cafeteria. Greer seemed intent on doing it all herself, so Emerwyn was always a step behind trying to help her handle the cups, then the door.
She complied with Greer's request, however, and brought her own chair out to the balcony.
It was nice out. There were only a few clouds in the sky. Emerwyn glanced out over the horizon, and saw storm clouds far in the distance. If they even reached the island, it would be a while. But they were quite ominous...
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:02 pm
"You get comfortable - I'll be right back."
Greer bustled out, making the tea and returning with it. "You like it black, right?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:05 pm
"Yes, thanks." Emerwyn sat down and averted her stare. The view was quite lovely. Maybe in a while she could appreciate it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:06 pm
Greer frowned. "Are you okay?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:10 pm
Colche was wondering by the duplexses. Her new found courage to wander about was, to say the least getting the better of her and she mumblednumbers she knew, though she didn't of course know they were numbers perse. She had worked out that she lived at 'Seventeen' she recognised the lines on her plate and knew that was where she was going, how ever she couldn't recognise much else. She wanderd by Greers appartment still mumbling the numbers "one, five, seventee, one five seventeen" she pauses for a moment hearing voices, inclueding one she recognised she looked around confusedly searching for the voices not even remotely realising they were from above.
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