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Kikue, miraculously, broke out into laughter. Calming herself, she wiped an eye for a minute before smiling at Pyroth. "I'm sorry, but, that's exactly what I was thinking when I got back into my duplex last night...'This is insane.' You've summed it up so eloquently." Looking out over the lake, she stretched out a leg, pushing off her sandal to dangle her foot on the top of the water. "...I don't know what made him do it." She hesitated, remembering how Billy had been acting. "I thought he'd been drinking, but it wasn't that. He had no idea who Avery was, or where we were. I was worried something was wrong with him." Kikue bit her lip, memories flicking slowly past her mind's eyes. She moved some of the lake water with her toe, thoughtful.

She gave Pyroth an understanding look. "I know. I've been trying to let myself just walk around here. Staying inside makes me feel trapped." Even she didn't know why that feeling was so distinct, but it was there.

With a shake of her head, she recalled Ambrose's profile in her head. "Ambrose isn't the same..." she got out softly, picking up on Pyroth's tone of voice that he already knew that that would be the answer. Kikue held her composure, not turning to pity or apologies. She got that the feeling that it wouldn't help. "He told me he thinks he has one more injection left."

Still, a wistful smile flicked across her expression. "I don't think I have much of a choice about the fur." She tapped the side of her head. "Leopard. Snow leopard. I think the island is going to get too hot to stand very soon."

Sighing, she sat back a bit father on her hands, nodding at Pyroth. "I'm from Tokyo, Japan. What about you?" There were no human distinguishing features about Pyroth anymore to tell where he might have been from. But by his voice, she thought she could narrow it down.

Ahh. So that explained a lot. Billy was probably taking something then...he was barely with us at all. But if he was doing too badly, the labs would have had to pick him up. Isn't he too precious as a subject to just let himself OD to death? She repressed a shudder at the thought. Pyroth was making light of the situation, and she enjoyed it. But Billy's slack jaw, black ink dribbling down his chin, his glazed yet angry and terrified eyes reared up in the back of her mind. She tried to shake it off.

Kikue nodded. "I think that too," she admitted, knowing how she had made plans for her studies and all sorts of things to 'do' to keep herself from sinking into a stupor. It had been increasingly hard recently, but there were times... She smiled, letting her foot rest in the shallows of the lake water. "I think all of it is still sinking in...but sometimes I forget when I can get out here. Have you met Colche?" The thought of the little cheetah girl caused Kikue to smile without a second thought. "I met her on the beach a few days ago. I think I almost forgot what I was doing when I was with her. Her cheerfulness is infectious." In a good way, of course...

She tapped her foot on the water's surface, sending out large ripples into the lake. "That's actually what I've been telling myself...I know it could be worse." She frowned at Pyroth. "Billy was the first person with a truly 'unlucky' serum that I met. After seeing him...I just don't know what I'd do." Holding up her bandaged hand, she glanced back over the water, lowering it into her lap after a moment.

She laughed aloud, almost grinning. "Appearances, huh? I understand, if you do." She paused for a moment and attempted a growl, but it sounded quite fake. She laughed again, softer this time, pushing some of her hair out of her face. "I'll have to keep the cat-ness for Colche. She's a fan."

On the subject of kareoke, Kikue couldn't supress laughing again. It was almost as bad -- or was that good? -- as being with Colche. "You like kareoke?" The word itself came out accented for her, being one of the few words that sounded distinctly Japanese when she said it. "We do have a lot of those bars though," she admitted, trying not to think of how many lined the back streets in any district in Tokyo. "I might try you one day. I like it myself." Then she added, "Except for the cocktails." She pretty much avoided alcohol at all costs, after her father. Not that she minded if others had a drink.

Smiling, she pulled her legs up to herself and felt a bit of kinship with Pyroth somehow, especially after hearing he had done some traveling. They shared some things in common.

I knew something had happened to Colche. Kikue had expressed an impressed look on her face after hearing that Pyroth had been here for almost a year... That time last year I was trying to keep up with school and my music...to think that this place was still running all the way back then... Kikue smiled softly. "I want to try and be like her, too. She's so carefree." Colche was someone Kikue was hoping to see again soon. Why did she feel so drawn to Colche? Probably for the same reasons Pyroth is, too...how can we be more like her?

Kikue nodded slowly, having no idea what Billy must be thinking or going through with the change like that. Pyroth's respect in that instance was surely well placed. Could she really hold it against Billy to be so drugged out of his mind? It probably wouldn't have been where she would have taken herself, but the end would have been the same...

She laughed. "Well, I'll have to learn from her. I think she's the only other cat I've met." It sounded strange to say that, but Kikue tried not to think about it. "I've never heard a coyote howl," she said, something like a faint grin tugging at the corner of her lips again. "Just because you don't think you can sing doesn't mean you shouldn't!" Putting her hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter, she was already imagining Pyroth sitting on his back legs, holding a microphone carefully in his paws and howling passionately into it. Ahaha...

She gave Pyroth a quick smirk. "What do you say. Whenever they make one, we go at it." It sounded so silly that she could almost picture it.

Pyroth's coyote howl split the air. Kikue simply stared for a minute before breaking into an amused smile, definitely catching the wild tune of the howl. "Wow," she got out, again picturing a long, drawling series of notes from Pyroth on a bad, makeshift stage as a spotlight fell on him. "Impressive. Are you sure it isn't worse than a cat yowling? Because I've heard that too, and it's pretty bad." Kikue was reminded of her grandmother's grey tabby cat, who often sat on the window sill at the front of the house and yowled out of his mind until she came back from shopping. That had to be worse than a coyote howl...perhaps.

'Never heard it? It used to drive me nuts at night.' -- Is that why they picked coyote for you, Pyroth?

Laughing again, she nodded hard. "It's a promise. Who knows how my singing will fare by then! We'll have to see." She stuck her hand out suddenly, shaking Pyroth by the paw and giving him a sincere smile. Did that mean all they had to do was convince Moreau to build a kareoke bar? This might be an ongoing project...

"That's true," she said, still laughing softly. Having been subject to the coyote howl for so long, no doubt Pyroth still didn't like it. And Kikue knew she could sing fairly well...she had thought her voice would stay the same, but with the addition of these strange new abilities. Like growling. She had no idea how to do that right now, though.

Kikue nodded, smiling. "I understand. Thanks for talking. I'll tell her if I see her." She too raised a hand, waving him off as he went to go relax. She watched him go, noting his strained, hopping gait. It was as if he was in-between four feet and two. She tried not to watch after much longer, not liking the way the thoughts sat in her head.

She stayed alone at the lake alone for a while longer, putting a toe in the water and swishing it around slightly. It wasn't until her eyes began to feel heavy that she knew she should head back to her duplex. It was happening again. The morning was still young; she might not sleep yet. But her body was already to lay down after staying up the night. Why couldn't she get back on her regular schedule?

Standing up, she pushed her feet into her sandals, looking back the way Pyroth had gone. He had already vanished.

Kikue shuffled off back to the village, looking at the jungle around her as she entered it again. It still felt too close for comfort when she was amongst the close trees and plants...but she kept walking, knowing, she felt somewhat sure, the way back to the village.

So...that was who was Ambrose was talking about...Pyroth.



[wrap!]

Content that he was alone and was therefore unlikely to be disturbed, Alec continued his slow decent into the water. As it reached his chest he dove out slightly, wading a few feet away from the edge of the lake with his neck strained at a very awkward angle as if he was still hesitant to emerse the new openings around his neck.

Finally, after inhaling a huge gulp of air for good measure, the shark boy dunked his head underwater and waited with minimal movement of his limbs.

And waited.

At the point where he was going to pass out from oxygen deprivation, his head shot upwards with a loud splash as he gasped for air. "Well tha' was stoopi'." He grunted, treading water once again. The cool water had definetly left a tingling and very odd feeling as it sloshed into the folds of gills but he hadn't breathed a single breath while under there!

.... maybe they were defective.
.... maybe HE was defective.

... Does that mean he was going to die?

Natsumi had, once again, been going after bugs.. But this time during the day, so as not to have an unfortunate run-in with the island's local dragon... again. So it was paranoid, she really didn't care at the moment... Afterall, she was hunting bugs.. That was much more to worry about than being paranoid.
She neared the lake, eyes catching on a little beatle on the ground. She smiled to herself, bending at hte knees a bit.. Then.. go! She fell down, trying to clasp her hands around the beatle. However, without an ounce of practice she was far too slow.. and the beatle simply buzzed up a few feet.

Again! She was determined.. She couldn't just call Newt and ask him to catch her some bugs, she had to do it herself. Though it was a wierd goal, it was a goal none the less. And so... completely focused on following this beatle she pounce and missed it all the way up the little trail to the opening of the lake. Not even noticing the fact there was someone in the water.

Again! she pounced, giving a little "oof" as she hit... "I got it!" she squeaked in excitment, lifting hte squirming beatle to pop in her mouth. And.. that's when she noticed just how close to the lake's shore and what was in the lake she was. She paled, ceasing her chewing as her heart seemed to stop. One, someone had seen her.. and.. Two, holy HELL what was THAT? Some lake monster? She stared, wide eyed a moment, still settled on her knees from the bug-pouncing. Her mind raced, before suddenlly landing on one thought. Just how rude it was to stare nad how mad peopel got at you when you did. And with that, she abruptly locked her eyes to the dirt infront of her.