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 Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:46 pm
Natsumi let out a deep breath as she picked through the leftovers in her fridge, her stomach often urged her for food at this point as it worked the tiring process of child creation, leaving her feeling completley spent if she didn't eat proporly. So ehs was, lost of vitamin rich veggies and meats, and even the occassional bug here and there... But eating only made her think more, unless ofcourse she managed to catch someone to eat with her, but now wasn't the case, and she was thinking again as she bit into half a sandwhitch she had dragged home, her free hand on her stomach.
It seemed since she'd witnessed Thom's change, she'd been nervious about her own. So she'd kept inside, fearing that it might happen while she was out and about... Which she didn't want. She didn't want anyone to see her now, let alone see God knows what dissapere, and God knows what else grow. She'd arrived roughly the same time as Thom. And they'd always been changed almost equally, all this time it'd just been scales and a tail. So it stood to reason that she was now due for a change as well... but now... That had been horrible. His leg and... Egh. She shuddered suddenlly, trying to shake the thought out of her head. Don't think about it... That would be best.
Her stomach growled then, reminding her of the task at hand, a prompt movement came after, giving the mother a rush. The baby... Reminding her it was there, she took another bite, eating more readily now. What was in store for it though... Her little bundle of joy? Would it have the same horrible fate as her and all the other islanders? Injected with a serum... Or would the labs go easy on it? It was a baby afterall. But even then, what kind of life would a child have on an island of freaks?
Natsumi shook her head again, this time much more solemly, finishing the last of her sandwitch. She'd just have to do it, somehow... Just make it good. There wasn't any other options, they were here... no going back, no matter how many times she wished she could just wake up one day to find it all was a dream.
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Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:57 pm
Natsumi's sleep is very restless that night, and to any outside observer there are night-sweats, moaning and stirring as nightmares wrack her dreams. For Natsumi, it is a very restless night. Horrors plague her - it's like the pregnancy nightmares turned up ten notches - especially the sort that play on concerns for the child. By the time the dramatic conclusion of her nightmare wakes her, her body is slick with a cold sweat and there is an unmistakable hot welt on the back of her arm. She's been injected. Over the course of the next hour or so, the air conditioned room begins to feel gradually colder and more uncomfortable. That is until you hear it shut down without any messing with the thermostat and the click and small burning smell as the heater switches on. However, during this process, your stomach begins to feel... distinctly uncomfortable. It doesn't go away as the crawling sensation over your skin begins to pick up, starting at the areas of fleshy scales and spreading outwards - over most of your legs, all down your back, over your hands, and over your face. The toes in your feet lengthen and become distincty reptilian, as your 'extra' toes atrophy and are reabsorbed into your feet. Webbing spreads more between your toes, and is mirrored in your fingers. meanwhile, you thin, short tail extends longer and longer. Your eyes sting as your irises expand and turn an eerie silvery color. Your ears shrink until there is nothing by the ear canal holes left, and you watch in surprise as some of your hair falls out - leaving it thinner than it was before, but still just as long. However, even after the changes subside... even more than most, something feels very off. There is no more kicking from the small being in your abdomen, and if anyone were to feel - no heart beat. And, over time, a distinct cramping pain. It might be a good idea to call the labs. 
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Sabin Duvert Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:08 am
Over the days since Thom's transformation and mini-breakdown Natsumi hadn't been able to pull herself out of the proverbial pit called depression. It was a foreign thing to the young teen... She'd been upset before, yes. But it was over the fact she couldn't get that fancy new dress at the mall... Not that her best friends, ex boyfriend, and herself were all hideously mutating into monsters in a slowly but surely painful manor.
Torture, would be the general word for it. Though living it was much different than anything she'd ever seen in movies or heard on TV... After being in it the word didn't even seem to fit. It seemed all too short and meaningless compared to what it represented.
But that didn't matter now, the sun was setting and it was time to sleep. Despite the fact her back and sides hurt from laying in bed all day, she was still tired... and eager to accept the escape from reality that was sleeping. However, as what seemed to be happening all week, what she thought would have been good certainty wasn't.
The dream had started out nicely... she was back home, her family and friends all around. Though it had barely started, their laughter grew farther away... laughter twisting into sobs of shame, she could hear them speaking of her, though it wasn't even a real language.. too jumbled and blurred from the dream-world she somehow knew exactly what they were saying. They were speaking of her, her pregnancy. How she'd shamed them all and deserved to be turning into the creature she was.
"No.. I'm not! I'm not!" She pleaded with them, trying to give chase as they started to vanish into nothingness. However, her feet stuck to the ground, causing her to slowly fall. As she tried to futilely make sense of what was holding her, the nothingness morphed into something black and scaly. Coiling around her legs and drawing her closer to it. She went to give a scream of help but her voice failed her, turning to face the hideous monster. While the image was blurred, it was recognized as a two headed snake. Drool dripping from its wide hissing mouth. She tried to let out another scream... Nothing.
Helplessly she fought against the beast, as it struck down at her, fangs digging into her arm. A sharp sting followed, though not as bad as one would have thought a giant snake ripping into your arm would have felt. The other head went for her stomach. Though her paralysis seemed to release her arm suddenly, as she tried to fight the snake away from her baby.
The dream shifted suddenly, she found herself waking up on a beach... or maybe a desert. While there was a definate shore line the sand extended for miles... She lifted herself from the grains, wobbling some as the world tilted around her. There was no snake... "Just a dream..." she mumbled, before something familiar entered her vision. Red. Zach.
Immediately the man told her to stop staring, "I wasn't!" she argued, stepping back only to have the world tilt and fall. He said something else, something about hurting people. Something about how no one could save her now. She tried to tall out for Thomas, Nita.. anyone. No one was there... Zach took the form of her subconscious then, raising sharp claws as the world around her mutated into a horror-movie picture of dark twisted trees and blood covered ground. "They won't come for you now.. They all hate you. They think you're disgusting. and now..."
His claws rose back even farther, as once again she found herself unable to move.. scream. anything. Only watch in horror as he swiped down digging into her flesh, her voice returned, allowing her to scream in pain and horror, shoving herself off the ground and out of her sleep.
She sat up, eyes wide, panting, her blankets had been tussled into a coiled bunch just barely still clinging to the side of her bed. Was she really awake this time? Her mind raced, eyes darting about the room. There was no one there. They shot to her stomach, hands running over the plump belly. It was fine... She let out a breath, giving a tiny sob of fear. She wiped at her tear stained cheeks, pushing herself up against the wall next to her bed. She curled her knees up, promptly being blocked of a full curl by her stomach, something of which was nice for the moment.. It reminded her it was there, and not mauled by anyone. However as she wrapped her arms around her legs, she noticed the distinct mark and pain of the injection mark.
She bit her lip, choking on a sob as more tears ran down her face. This was it... Soon... she'd change, just like Thom had. Something horrible... Something that just wasn't her anymore. As fear welled up in the pit of her stomach she allowed more tears to stream down her face, burring it in her hands to muffle the sobs, still trying to be mindful of her neighbor downstairs... For once, she didn't want anyone around.
She stayed like that, huddled up crying, as time seemed to slip away from her, too scared to fall back asleep she'd drift in and out of being all there. Hours became minutes, minutes became hours... All the while her mind raced around it's thoughts. She found herself begging to any god there was to save her.. help her. Just get her away from here. For some miracle.
As that time passed, she found it getting colder and colder... She tried to huddle closer and closer to get some warmth, not feeling enough energy to make the trek all the way across her bed to fetch her blanket. Giving a few hiccups mixed into sobs, she tried to pry herself out from her little ball. Edging towards the blanket as finally the chill in the room had gotten too much for her. her stomach flopped when she moved, causing her to cringe as she reached her fingers out to try and nab the cloth object.
There was an obvious noise in the moment of silence, she turned her attention to the heater heart rate jumping up a notch as her previous nightmares tried to plague her waking moments. Just the heater... she reassured herself, giving another little hiccup.
Things seemed to snowball from there. The darkness began to give her chills, or perhaps that was just the cold air... either way, as she stood to change that darkness factor she found the cramp that she had wrote off as indigestion from eating bugs to multiply. It slowly progressed, into a cramping twisting pain. As she reached the light switch, the pain turned into something more. Nausea.
Migrating herself to the bathroom as quickly as possible, stopped once by a dry heave before she made it to the torlet. The morning sickness was gone... at least that's what she'd thought. Another heave, followed by a sob. Why was this happening? WHAT was happening? Gripping the sides of the toilet she finally lost something, pain over coming her body as she wretched, a few bits of hair falling forward and into the way of her actions.
As she was hunched over in the bowl, a crawling sensation spread across her entire body, or at least it seemed that way. As though the bugs had come to avenge their brethren and swarmed across her body. A bit confused, she reached a hand out to rub as the scales multiplied across her skin. Starting to wish they had been bugs as she raked her nails across the forin skin as if that might stop it, only to be interrupted by another heave, coughing and gasping for a good breath of air. The mixture of vomiting, panic, and sobbing keeping her from getting such.
"Aa!" she yelped as a shot of pain hit her foot, vaugely simmilar to a growing pain.. but far worse. Cramping, twitching, changing... Horrified, she shot a glance to the bare appendage, mouth falling open at the sight of her changing feat, distracted by a sudden heave of of an empty stomach, causing her esophagus to burn in reaction to the acid. She gripped the torlet as things shifted and changed. The urge to faint became stronger as the pain increased, though no doubt not as bad as some other transformations.. Natsumi hardly had a high pain tolerance. However her fear of sleep tried to keep her awake, as did the occasional heave and the panic her mind was facing in wishing to just have it all.. stop.
As her eyes stung, her vision blurred, at first she'd simply thought she was ready to faint... However, the blurr became stronger until she could barely make out the objects in front of her. She blinked once, holding back another gag only to turn it into a cough that took a moment of her time to still. Why couldn't she see? And as everything practically left her vision, she was met with more pain, reaching up to hold onto her ears as they shrunk back. When she felt the distinct feeling of missing ears, she pulled her hands away, feeling strands of hair follow with them... She could barely see the black against her pale and scaly skin. Her mind raced between the situations, almost finding herself unable to get a clear thought in her head. Confusion and panic overtook her mind, and she found herself feeling around on the ground, as if it might dissapeer as well.
A moment later, she found herself waking up from the floor... Her vision restored, the pain had left into a ache... And a wretched feeling in her heart, as though something terrible had happened. For the moment, it was paid no mind... Something horrible had happened. She flinched against the abnormally bright light of her room, reaching to cover her eyes she only then noticed the webbing, letting out a startled gasp at her hands, she shot her eyes down to the floor.. finding scattered strands of hair and a longer tail, though it seemed short after the sight of Thom's.. at the moment she didn't care about anyone else. At the moment, she was feeling selfish... And with good cause.
She swallowed hard, eyes filling with tears as she tried to get to a stand, grabbing hold of the bathroom counter to hoist herself off the floor to meet her reflection. Shakily, she reached a hand forward towards the... thing she saw, trying to confirm it was really her. Yep... it was. her hand returned to her face, trailing over the tiny silky scales that seemed to cover every inch of her. She followed that to her shoulders, lip quivering. The red blotches looked horrible.. as though someone had lit her on fire and she was covered in burns... or maybe beaten.. something. They looked painful, if only because of their color. However they weren't of which she was thankful. That was one thing that wasn't hurting...
She took a few shaky breaths... Maybe it was over. Please let it be over... Unsure what to think, and head still spinning with thoughts all of which were negative, she tried to make it back to her bed. Flinching as she stepped down on her changed foot, and biting her lip, repeating the flinch when she stepped to the next foot. Doing so all the way from the bathroom to the light switch to turn off the brighter than usual light, and from there back to the comfort of her mattress.
When she made it to her bed, she simply crawled in, curling into a ball. Her tail wrapping up around her... While it was comforting somehow for her tail to curl around her, at the same time it disturbed her human mind. The thing was still foreign to her... Frowning, she reached out for her blanket, getting the sudden urge to hide under something. The blanket seemed most logical, especially in her hurt-childish state of mind. Untangling the object, she pulled it up over her head, pausing only to reach out and pull the picture of her family under with her. She let out a soft whine as she hugged the picture to her "Okaasan... Otousan... Niisan." She closed her eyes, still a bit too fearful of her dreams to wish sleep... but at the same time, too fearful of reality to wish to stay awake. Her thoughts wandered, and eventually, her body exhausted from the changes, got her to drift off.
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:12 am
Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi fidgeted as she stepped inside the center, tugging at her sweater to try and cover the new scales. Her hair was pulled foreward and up int eh back, carefully manuvered to try and look as though parts weren't missing. Her feet were bare, due to the changes to her feet, and her tail hang losely behind her, swaying whenver she stepped.
With a quick survey around the center, she started foreward, limping some in her step. Her feet were still sore, but that was why she was here... Goal in mind, her strange new eyes locked on the spot where she could get some painkillers, good... She'd just grab those, and go hide in her duplex. And with that, she started forward not noticing anyone else that might be around. Newton Filinas The frog Janitor had taken the whole rest of the day off, just now finally making his way to do some janitorial work. He wasn't feeling up for the cafeteria and had come to the conclusion that he really didn't have to that evening. Instead, he had hopped to the center to give a good sweep and mop. He had finished sweeping, and had graduated to mopping, a difficult task when half frog. He was halfway done, and thouroughly engulfed in his work. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi froze as Newton came into view, not that she reconized him at first. It was just.. someone. However, it only took a second for the familiar jumper to place itself. Afterall.. newt's wasn't the worst change she'd seen.
She smiled first upon reconizing him, opening her mouth to say something only to quickly shut it. Her depression nabbed her for a moment, debating with her wether or not she should try to sneak around him and go unseen. After a second, she shook the feeling. Her teenage will to be friends and socilize took over, besides.. Newton had changed too. Maybe he wouldn't care... Maybe.
She cleared her throat, fidgeting with her hair in fear that her missing ears might get noticed. "Aa.. Ahm. Hello." She started, offering a weak, nervious smile. The mop caught her attention, tryign to figure out why he'd be mopping in the back of her mind. It wasn't a hard one, the uniform and the cleaning along with the unknown word of being a custodian... That must be what that word meant. Newton Filinas In the quiet of the empty center, Newt jumped at the sudden noise, whirling around with a frightened KrrKIT! from the inflating pouches in his neck. He hopped backward, instinctively timid on both species's halfs befor spotting her. Had he met her befor? Not an islander that looked so- but no, the distinct webbing pattern of the feet and the odd bulge to her slight frame in the middle- "Ah... Nuh... nnn... Nasuuu... Nuh-natsumi?" He didn't seem to have ears either, nor the ability to grow hair on the back of his head, apparently, leaving the disk like growths in his skin that had replaced them easily spottable. Natsumi Tanaka She clasped her hands together infront of her, blinking some from the croak. It was interesting, a wierd noise... and if he had been significantly smaller and a full frog, she might have found it cute. However, he wasn't and it only brought her mind just to what everyone was. Which, in itself bothered her... She couldn't help but feel selfish for feeling so bad when there were people like Alec, whom had it much worse off.
She let out a breath as he said her name, mentally thanking whatever cosmos that she was still reconizable. She gave a nod of confirmation, "Aa... Yes." Swallowing, she looked over the recently mopped floor that stood between her and her painkillers. Deciding she could wait a bit longer to fetch them, it wouldn't take too long for the floor to dry and she was more than sure her feet would have left little muddy prints. But at that.. she was left with nothing to say or do, and ended up simply smiling at him awkwardly until the breif second of silence forced her to blurt something out. "Do you need help?" she gestured to the mop, widening her smile some. Newton Filinas "Y-yuh-you ch-changed again," He said stupidly, blinking at her with his giant froggy eyes. After a moment, he seemed to realize his apparent redundancy and frantically gestured to the pile of things he had brought with him, "I b-bruh-brought myself a muh-meal if... if y-you'd like some! I... I buh-built a dev-device in my ah... home that truh-traps bugs f-for me..." Natsumi Tanaka Her smile wavered and she nodded, "You did as well." she noted in return, looking over the changes. If it weren't for his jumper she doubted she would have reconized him... She was just lucky it hadn't been someone else in the same sort of outfit. He was losing his hair too... Seemed like everyone was. Her, Thom, Alec...
A meal? She blinked, nodding some. A meal sounded more than good... Chocolate, breakfast bars, poptarts, and the bugs gathering in her trash had barely been keeping her full. Pluss.. Trash bugs weren't exactly the best. "I would... If I am not bothering you that is." Her smile widened once more, and her tail gave a tiny twitch as a light blush hit her cheeks. However it was unnotticable under the already reddened markings covering her. She found herself rather impressed that he had managed to build somethign to catch bugs. Newton Filinas "Ah... ah... n-nuh-no.. I sh-should tuh-take a break anyway..." He smiled weakly, laying his broom down befor he managed to hop clumsily over to his stash on all fours without it. He sat in a crouch against the wall, lifting a paperbag that he had rolled shut and waved at her to come join him. Natsumi Tanaka She watched as she frogged his way over to his things, a bit suprised and disturbed... However, he was waving her over. It almost reminded her of highschool... Except highschool had more people, no one was turning into animals... Atleast not physically, and she wasn't about to share a meal of bugs. Okay so it wasn't much like highscool at all, but still the socilizing bit remained.
She walked over, settling herself across from him, legs tucked up underneigth her in the traditional way of sitting for Japanese. Setting her hands in her lap as she waited patiently. Newton Filinas He crouched, looking awkward as he opened the bag to let her reach in for her own selection. Since becoming amphibious and insectiverous, he had found the tropics to be an utter paridice. His human mind and memories seemed to be the main source of awkwardness at certain things- or so he had convinced himself in order to daily live off of nothing but insects. He was rather proud of the ever improving contraption in his duplex. It might not have looked like much, but he was sure someone like Natsumi would appreciate it.
Unfortunatly, he was too shy to bring it up outwardly. "Help yuh-yourself?" Natsumi Tanaka "Thankyou." She nodded, reaching foreward to get a handfull and quickly stuff them in her mouth before she could reconize what they were. She chewed quickly.. though not as fast as she had when Alec caught her. She swallowed, deciding to try and strike up some sort of conversation, and went to the thing that had been on her mind last. "What did you build?" And she was actually rather interested in that one... so it worked well. Newton Filinas "Wuh-what...? Ah... Oh! M-my... ah.. er... y-yes, w-well it's... um... s-sort of a truh-trap- an eff... an effuh.. ef-ffective trap," He managed, eating just as quickly and self conciously. Natsumi Tanaka She took another bite as she listened, managing to finish by the time he finished through his stuttered sentance. "Oh?" She said simply in a way that urged him to continue "How does it work?" she added for good measure, taking another bug to pop in her mouth and eat as she listened, her stomach thankful for the meal. Newton Filinas "It... ah..." He fidgeted self conciously, "I... ah... w-well... insects are... atruh-attracted by swuh-sweat and sticky and guh-guh-garbagy th-things, right? I ah... m-made a concoction- r-rather I'm... s-still wor-working on a con-concoction th-that works well... It's ruh-rather luh-luh-lovely! Th-they f-fly following the sc-scent and g-get caught in the gruh-grill- and I suh-siphon them out into a huh-holding ch-chamber I m-made- the sm-sm-small ones c-can escape, but the luh-larger, b-better ones get stuck you see-" He prattled on, ethused over his little busy project. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi listened intently, even stopping her chewing of the crunchy bugs so she could better understand and hear him. Though it was difficult to place the sentance due to second language issues and his stutter, she managed just as well. Atleast the stutter gave her some in between time to figure out what the words were. "Aa.." she noted, smiling as he spoke. "Maybe... When you get the right..." she paused breifly to remember the word he had used "concoction you could maybe make me one too?" she offered hopefully, it really was a pain to try and get her own. She wasn't exactly a bug expert... She'd done everything in her life to keep them away from her, not draw them closer so she could eat them. Newton Filinas The idea that anyone would want one of his silly personal experiments had never occured to the custodian. His neck suddenly stretched out in a pleased croak as he beamed at her, "Ah... s-sure! I duh-don't see why not..." Natsumi Tanaka "Thankyou!" she beamed in return, hiding the slight suprise that came with his sudden throat-puffout. Taking another bite of bugs, she chewed, running out of things to talk about... Though she thought it was really great he was willing to share his invention of sorts with her. Another bite... she found herself somewhat content with eating in silence, though she did feel a tad bad for taking his meal. Newton Filinas He meanwhile, beamed at her rediculously, proud of his having made a friend. He never had been good at making friends, and never could understand why. Doctor Lockheart would be proud. He'd have to tell her all about it, he decided. She'd tell him he'd done a good job. He offered the whole bag to Natsumi, "T-take the rest, I d-don't mind!" Natsumi Tanaka She was taken aback as the bag was suddenlly offered to her, silverish eyes going wide "Eh?" she blinked, giving a wide smile at his kindness in offer his entire meal to her. "I.. I can not take your whole meal." She insisted, smile remaining, as much as her pregnant-hunger added to Gecko instincts insisted she take whatever she could. (Even if that hunger was slowly but surely fading over the week.) Newton Filinas "Nuh-nnn-no, it's alright! I c-can go get muh-mm-muh-more from home luh-later," He beamed at her. "And... and..." His mind raced in a quick attempt to think of something else nice to say, hoping she woudl like him better, "And... y-your ah.... muh-markings are... are pruh-pretty." Natsumi Tanaka She took the bag, almost reluctantly.. If only to keep him from having to hold it there any longer. "Alright..." She gave in, not one to fight people too much.
She flushed at the next part, even if it was hardly noticable among the reddish scales. She gave a small, nervious smile and looked towards the bag she'd just taken, gripping it a bit tighter. She'd been so nervious about her changes and how horrible they looked that she never thought about them being.. pretty. And looking good mattered to her.. Even if she tried to hide that. "Really..? Thankyou..." Newton Filinas "At... at... at luh-least I th-think so..." His throat suddenly expanded and he gave a loud KrrKIT! Louder than his usual nervious croaks- more of the type that hinted towards mate attraction. Now Newt wasn't *attracted* to Natsumi, but for a brief moment, he had concidered it. The croak had simply gone from his control from there on it's own. Natsumi Tanaka She smiled a bit, not sure what the croak was for but generally feeling too good to bother thinking on it too much. She liked the thought that she was still pretty... Even in losing her hair and toes and ears. "Thankyou." She repeated again, looking back to him as she realized she should probably say something in return. "Aa.. I like your markings too. Green is my favorite color. It is..." she paused, the word for guys wasn't pretty but... Oh right! "Handsome." She nodded, even if he wans't the best looking, a bit gangly and slimey, but still she thought she owed him a compliment in return.
At that, a bit nervious, she stood clutching the bag tightly. "I... Should be going." She gave a tiny bow and a smile. Newton Filinas Newt was extatic with glee from their encounter, sitting up as tall and proudly as he could, "N-nuh-no one's ever cuh-called me handsome b-befor..." at the mentioning of needing to leave, he sagged a little, "Ah... wuh-well... I... I'll c-come by w-with... with a wuh-working t-truh-trap for you s-sometime th-this week, then?" Natsumi Tanaka She found that a bit suprising, while he wasn't the best she'd ever seen.. He wasn't the worst. Besides.. Whatever unattractive phsyical features he had, even now, seemed to be maskable by his sweet disposition.
Ignoring that for the moment, she smiled, nodding firmly. "Yes! I would love that." She shifted, before turning around to walk over and grab some pain killers, turning back to face him when she had acheived her task. "I will see you later then?" the more American phrase was still awkward, but she seemed to be getting better with it. Newton Filinas "Suh-suh-suh-sss-see you luh-later!" He croaked, beaming with excitement at his happy rondezvous. He liked his friend Natsumi, and couldn't wait to spend time with her again. Natsumi Tanaka His excitment was contagious, seeming ot completely cheer her from that earlier depression that laid so heavily on her shoulders... It was so nice to be liked and have friends. She gave a last nod and a wave "Goodbye!" she chirped, before moving out of the center with a bit more happy bounce in her sore-footed limp.
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Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:41 am
Bobby Reynolds Bobby decided she would overcome that fear today... She had never before been afraid of water, but ever since that fateful day she was terrified of the ocean. The beach was a frightful place now.
When her hooves touched the sand, the pig glared at the unrelenting ground. Lifting her gaze, she saw the ocean; the waves innocently breaking and coming ashore. The woman snorted; she, Bobby Reynolds, knew its cruel jokes and would not be taken unawares ever again. She had a plan: to simply not go in. Ha!
After a bit of quiet grunts and shorts, Bobby decided just standing here was no good. She didn't want to sunbathe... but neither did she want the beach and ocean to win this battle. That left just one thing... the beach bar!
It took her longer to get there, for though she'd been there before, it had been awhile. After struggling to one of the stools, which creaked ominously underneath her, Bobby pulled over the Guinness that she had grabbed.
As the liquid burned down her throat, the pig let out a happy sigh. Oh, it had been awhile since she had a drink. Bobby thought about as she continued to glare at the ocean. Joshua Rivers Joshua had come to visiting the beach quite often since his change, preferring the large open space to the cramped feeling of being indoors. At least he couldn't hit his head on any door frames out here. He didn't have books with him this time, deciding just to go for a walk instead. He saw, not to far in the distance, some type of structure in the sand. He made his way towards it, curiosity getting the better of him, wondering what could be built on the beach. As he got closer, he noticed he wasn't the only one on the beach that day. A larger woman was sitting at the bar of the structure, someone he hadn't met before. He didn't like to drink often, so he decided to forgo helping himself to anything, instead stepping up to the bar to introduce himself to the woman. "Hello?" he spoke up timidly, hoping he wasn't interrupting her solitude. Bobby Reynolds Bobby was staring intently at the waters and didn't even hear Josh come up. It wasn't until the man was directly in front of her that she noticed... and even then it was a shock to see anyone nearby. She had never been one for thing jumping out at her -though Josh was hardly 'jumping out'.
"AHH!" Bobby screamed in between squeals of surprise. She unbalanced on the stool by leaning back too much. Her Guinness spilled all over the taller man... and the woman was on her way to the ground.
The pig landed quite hard with a loud 'thump'. Gasping for breath, Bobby's eyes were blank as she tried to recall what exactly had just happened. Her heaving was obviously as she tried to force air in and out of her lungs. Joshua Rivers Joshua stumbled back quickly in surprise - but not quick enough, his shirt and pants now covered from the Guinness spilled on him. He may have been more upset had the woman not fallen off her seat and to the ground. "Are you alright?" he asked, quickly moving to her side to help her up. He was shocked to see her features, now that he was able to get a better look at her. He wasn't quite sure what she could be turning into, though... but it didn't seem like it was pleasant at all. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..." Joshua bent down and offered the woman his hands for her to take and help her stand back up. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had been strolling the beach alone, finding the sand on her newly changed feet to be calming in a way. She had found, with the webbing and changed size, she also didn't sink into the grains as she would have before... which was interesting in itself. It gave the beach a whole different texture, but other than that... she was there for her human side. She liked watchign the waves and hearing the general sounds that came with the shoreline... It was one thing she could appretiate about the island, and it gave her time to think without being curled up in an angst-ball in her bed.
She slowed to a stop as a loud noise caught her off guard, it wasn't close enough to startle her.. but still there to catch her attention. She moved a hand over her mouth in instinct, hoping the... big-boned woman was alright. Even though there was already a man there helping, she momentarily forgot her thinking time, and hurried over to help.
She got there quickly enough, a bonus to not sinking into sand as easily was that you could run on it better, moving to the oposite side of Josh, barely noticing him for the moment. "Are you alright?" her voice was still heavily accented with Japanese, also slower and more pronounced. However it was understandable, and much better than when she had first arrived. Bobby Reynolds Bobby blinked up to Josh, her eyes clearing but not with recognition. "Umm..." the woman started to reach to the man to get up, still clearing her head from the little stars of pain that appeared from the movement. She paused, trying to catch her breath and strength when another strange arrived.
"I... think I am..." this time Bobby put her hoof in Josh's hand and stood up, albeit shakily. She hadn't been this bad on her new feet since her very first changes. Rubbing her other hoof over her enlarged rump, Bobby sighed sadly, "That is definately going to bruise in the morning... if it hadn't already."
With a grunt and forlorn look at the stool she had just fallen from, Bobby turned to the new arrivals. "Oh, I am Bobby," she offered the hoof that had not rubbed her bum almost sheepishly, as if she thought it rude to not offer her name first. Joshua Rivers He helped the woman get back to her feet, letting go once he was sure she wouldn't fall back over again. "I'm really sorry," he apologized again, "I didn't mean to scare you like that." He glanced at the other girl that approached them. Another one he couldn't tell the animal they were turning into, but still obviously changed from human. And Asian, judging by her accent. "It's nice to meet you, Bobby... my name is Joshua," he said, shaking the woman's hand - hoof. Natsumi Tanaka She smiled in releif when she said she was okay. Or atleast thought she was, and she was standing so that was a good sign. She couldn't help but mentally note the other's changes, such as the.. nine? breasts she had. Nor could she miss just how long Josh's arms were. However, she tried to pay them no mind... She thought herself worse than them, after all. One was one's own worst critic.
"Aa." She squeaked when bobby introduced herself. Giving a tiny half-bow in return. "I am Natsumi Tanaka. It is a pleasure to meet you." She gave another bow to Josh as she picked up his name, even if it wasn't directed to her.
She went to take the next turn in shaking the woman's hand, however when she went to take it in hers she found herself met with a problem. Her thumb was webbed to her hand in a way that she couldn't actually put her hand into the position. Glancing down at the problem-thumb she gave a soft noise, like a choked nervious laugh. Then moving her thumb to her hand's side and simply shaking without an oposable thumb. There, that worked... She would have offered her hand to Josh as well, but after that she simply tried to fold them infront of her stomach, still unused to her change. Bobby Reynolds Bobby nodded to Josh as well as shook his hand in greeting. When Natsumi tried, the woman smiled encouragingly. Her bottom fangs may have been alittle menacing but the pig didn't really notice anymore. She had gotten used to them, and her sensitivety to such things were deminishing.
"It's alright," the woman waved off Josh with a smile and then went to the back to grab another Guinness, "it's good to be surprised every now and then..." Bobby paused, kicking herself with where that conversation could not intentionally lead. She was also a little intrigued as to her alcohol tolerance in this new body; for she never tested it. "Did either of you want something?" Joshua Rivers "It's nice to meet you too, Natsumi," Joshua smiled at the other girl's politeness. He tried his best not to be rude and stare at both women's unnatural features, sitting down at the bar. "Ah, no thank you... I'm not much of a drinker. The way things are going, though, that will probably change in the future," he smiled a little. "Thank you for offering, though." "So... when did both of you arrive here?" he asked, glancing between the two women. It was hard to tell judging on their appearances how long they have been around, as everyone seemed to change at different rates. He just hoped his were slow... very slow. Natsumi Tanaka She relaxed some when Joshua seemed fine with not shaking her hand, ignoring whatever stares she would get, she'd stared enough at the others in her time on the island... It was simply her turn now. She followed his example of grabbing a seat, smile widening when she finally sat. She hadn't realized just how long she'd been on her beach stroll, and as her pregnancy had progressed she found it harder and harder to stand for long periods of time. On that subject, she found herself shifting her sweater, the object was nearly useless in hiding her swell now... Though it was still better than any coverage a normal shirt would provide.
She blinked at the offer of a drink, the set-up was fairly easily reconized as a place to drink, and that thought was only confirmed at the man's decline. Which lead the young girl on a rush of thoughts... In Japan, she would have been old enough to have a drink. But in America, she had heard there was longer... atop of that there was the baby, hadn't that magazine warned her on drinking? "I... I can not." she blurted out, offering a nervious smile. The anxiety of someone finding out she was pregnant hitting her once again, even if no one had cared before. "I got here in may." she nodded, snatching up something else to speak about before someone inquired about why she couldn't drink. Bobby Reynolds Bobby shrugged as both decided against alcohol. She was about to walk back around when she grabbed another for good measure. That meant not as much getting on and off those drasted stools! "I've been here since March... though I am not sure what month it is..."
The pig made her way back around, squeezing through the door-gap and back to her stool. "Why can't you, Natsum-" it was then she noticed the swelled belly. Being at her previous height on the ground, and then the hand shakes, the woman had totally missed it before.
Usually, Bobby was not one to stare, but at the sight, she could not do anything but. Both Guinness's fell to the ground and crashed as her grip on them faltered. They went unnoticed. "What..." she whispered, praying to any god that would listen that the woman wasn't pregnant, "what are you turning into?" Hopefully, the extra space was just part of her transformation. Joshua Rivers "Well, it's August now... so around six months, it seems. I've been here since May." It was hard to believe he'd been here so long. Time seemed to have gone by quickly, all things considered. Four months, and he still wasn't used to everything here. He didn't think it would ever get easier. Lost in his own thoughts for a moment, he was startled to hear the crash of the bottles Bobby had dropped. He wondered if it was just because her hooves made things harder to hold (considering his now damp clothes that smelled of alcohol), but looking at her expression, the reason seemed to be different. Joshua looked at Natsumi too, wondering what Bobby could be staring at. Being male and having never experienced being pregnant (obviously), it wasn't something that even crossed his mind at all. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had simply been listning to the bits of conversation before the noise of crashing liquid caused her to jump. Her last change had made her much more skittish, something in the back of her mind wanted her to hide under something or go dig in the sand but it was ignored for the moment. "Because.. I am not old." there was a momentary pause as her brain tried to place what was missing in that sentance. "Enough." She quickly added with a smile. So it was half a lie, but it worked... Atleast until someone interjected with 'who cares we're all turning into animals.'
She shifted closer to the bar, feeling suddenlyl nervious at the stare. It was easy enough to notice.. and that was the look she always got when people found out. "I am not sure but... A lizard, I think? I have not asked yet." She swallowed, getting a light blush that was unnoticable since her face was already lightly reddened. "What about you?" Her tail twitched from it's position hanging off the stool. Atleast it was conversation... and conversation away from anything about her. Bobby Reynolds Bobby's mind seemed one-sided at that moment. A lizard? They wouldn't have a transformation bump, would they? She doubted it. Horror, and absolute sadness took over her look of shock as the pig lifted her glistening eyes to Natsumi's. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, tearing her gaze... the stool all of a sudden looked incredibly interesting. Being a mother of three, she couldn't imagine what Natsumi would be going through. When that child was born... who knew what kind of malformations it would have... Like Natsumi, she all of a sudden didn't want to think about it.
Plastering a half-hearted smile on her face, Bobby looked up and changed the look on her face to a lopsided grin. "I'm turning into a pig," she snorted with no ounce of humor evident in her voice. The woman always thought it was a cruel joke, over and above that she was turning into an animal at all.
She took a step forward, and her hooves crunched broken glass. Bobby looked down, surprised at what she saw. Oh yeah.. she had dropped them because... the pig needed a drink, badly!
Going /back/ around the counter she grabbed a bottle and opened it right there. The bottle was empty before she knew it, and Bobby grabbed another to take to her stool.
She made it this time and struggled once again to sit on it. Her eyes sparkled, some of the moisture still there from before. "Time does seem to fly.... but then again, I feel like it's been a lifetime I've been here. Sometimes..." Bobby sighed, a piggish grunt escaping her throat as well. The pig winced at the sound, as if it phyisically hurt. "Sometimes, I forget what my family's faces even looked like..." Joshua Rivers Joshua couldn't shake the feeling as if he had missed something along the way of the current conversation, but he shook the feeling off. A lizard and a pig... still, Joshua couldn't decide if he was better off or not. If he was one of the 'lucky ones.' Certainly people like Nita and Colche had it a little easier - all things considered, at any rate. They would just grow fur and a tail, plus some alterations to their face... they wouldn't have to gain so much height, or weight, or have their skin completely change. He felt bad for Bobby, noticing she was upset just talking about losing her family. He was sure, of course, others on the island had to leave their families behind as well. He supposed in that way he was lucky; all he had was his father who had moved away a while ago, and a daughter he never got to see anyway. "I think we all were forced to leave people we love behind... I've been trying as much as I can to find things to distract myself, and to take my mind off of what is happening here. It's not easy, though... but it's all I can do in hopes that I won't go crazy," he admitted. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi flinched at the eye lock, immediatly darting her silver eyes away from the pig-woman with a light frown. She knew, apparently.. and by the sound of her voice she was thinking some of the same things Natsumi'd been pondering. Not to mention it only brought back that unnerved feeling she'd been keeping down. It just.. felt wrong. Which drew her into a silence as her eyes tried to fill with tears again. She hardly knew why... Deciding it was probably just everything building up again.
Her attention was brought back at the mention of Bobby's family. Finding that sad as well, she fidgeted. Depressing thoughts welled up in her mind, ones she'd been desperatly avoiding. Thoughts of her friend's changes, her old family.. her new family. She flinched a bit, shifting her position to look away from teh bar and back out to the ocean. "It is pretty is it not?" her voice was a bit tight as she whipped out the subject change. "The water..." she gestured with a webbed hand, tail twitching. Bobby Reynolds Bobby sighed long and hard. "You cannot dwell on things too much, you're right. I guess luckily the pig is easily contented, which helps. I wake up every morning to the picture of my husband and children, but instead of always being down, I try to be strong for them." The woman smiled harshly, thinking about her previous occupation where she had to be strong...or destroyed.
Her heart almost lept to her throat at Natsumi's look. She wanted so badly to wrap her arms -though grotesque as they were- around the woman... but she was worried how the lizard would take it so decided against such actions.
Looking over to the water, Bobby shuddered, remembering her almost-drowned experience with an iguana-girl and shark-boy. "Oh yeah... it's pretty until it tries to kill you!" She gaze a sideways glance to Natsumi, half joking, "Don't let it fool you, that water is a strict taskmaster that gives no quarter." Joshua Rivers Joshua smiled at the subject change, glad to be talking about something else other than depressing thoughts. "Yes, it is very beautiful. At least this place has nice scenery..." he had to admit at least that. Although they were trapped here, they weren't locked in cells. He raised an eyebrow at the pig woman, curious. "Tried to kill you? Did you have an unfortunate encounter with the ocean?" Natsumi Tanaka She allowed herself to stare out at the blue colors of the ocean a moment more, tryign to calm her mind and distract her thoughts before she got all emotional. Then Bobby spoke, jerking her head around to stare at the pig-woman. Kill? She personally had never been swimming in the ocean... Was it really that bad? Her continuation confused the forien teenager, lacking the word taskmaster... and why would the water give you currecny? Ignoring that for the time being, she nodded to Josh's question, wondering the same... and also wondering how it could kill someone. She had wanted to swim in it at some point... However dieing wasn't on her to-do list. Bobby Reynolds Bobby was torn between yelling and grumbling. She chose in between for the sake of those she just met. It wasn't their fault. "Unfortunate, I'd say... I used to swim all the time, and in the ocean just fine. Evidentally," she gave a dramatic pause, "this body doesn't float too well... I'd think the extra fat would allow for better buoyancy... but that might be with no waves involved."
She ended it with a large gulp of her guinness. Joshua Rivers Joshua suddenly felt uncomfortable. He knew better than to make comments or opinions on a woman's weight. He cleared his throat, feeling awkward. "Ah, I see... I'm sorry to hear that... well, I know it's hard to adjust to to dramatic changes that we're all being forced to deal with. I'm still not used to my height, I feel like everything is suddenly too small." He figured Bobby must feel the same way, although not because of her height. He looked at the younger girl, smiling. "So how have you been handling your changes..? I hope they're not too difficult to get used to. Miss Natsumi, right?" Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi also knew the general idea to stay away froma woman's weight, though it was perhaps a tad les son her because she was a woman herself.. The only things she could say was how slim that made someone look, or how they weren't fat. However, she wasn't about to bring herself to say either about Bobby... So she simply nodded in understanding, and became thankful when Joshua spoke so she didn't have to.
She found herself lucky she didn't have to deal with not fitting through doors, or needing to sit in water, or having one leg shorter than the other. She smiled some as Josh's question reached her. He was polite, it was refreshing in a way... Even if she had't met anyone she'd consider rude just yet... Except Taro. He'd called her fat. Ignoring that for the moment... "I have been doing well. Colder... And... My food has been a bit different." She fidgeted some at admitting the last part... Though she was steadily becoming more and more okay with eating bugs thanks to Newton, the idea still turned her stomach. She went to nerviously brush a strand of hair behind an ear, only to find nothing. Flinching some she quickly returned her hand back to her lap trying to avoid fussing with her hair anymore. "I can not complain though." Bobby Reynolds Bobby was completely able to understand Josh's predicament. She almost immediately pounced on the topic. "I don't think it's you... it's those doors! I am sure they come while we sleep and make them smaller... or shorter," she added the last bit for his special circumstances.
Thankfully, bugs did not appeal to the pig.... though... some other things were disturbing. Bobby took another sip from her bottle. The drink wasn't affecting her yet, but the action alone helped keep her nerves calm. Joshua Rivers "Oh, I think we all have a right to complain," Joshua smiled at Natsumi. "You know, I think it's perfectly reasonable to request the doors be made bigger... after all, it's not like we are here by choice. They should at least make us comfortable as possible, right? I noticed there are new taller duplexes... I'm going to request to be moved there. I'm hoping I won't get any taller, but who knows with turning into a giraffe..." Natsumi Tanaka She smiled back, a bit releived to hear that from someone she thought looked much worse off than herself. She nodded to what he said, even though she had no reason to change her door... She atleast had a heater to keep her warm when she was cold, and thus figured they should have the right to wider and taller doors. But she kept her thoughts to herself, not too sure how to say it right she simply let it go as she watched the water move up and down against the shoreline. Bobby Reynolds Raising her bottle, Bobby nodded, "Here, here! I couldn't have said it better!" The drink wasn't getting to her, but just the setting alone was kind of helping her mood.
"A giraffe?" she eyed Josh, then saw the changes, "Oh, I see! I didn't get that one at first..."
It was at that time that the pig's stomach growled quite insistantly. Holding it with her free hand, a pair of boobs in the way which made Bobby grumble angrily about those; she sighed sheepishly. "I'm sorry... nature calls and I didn't bring in the reserves." Finishing her bottle, Bobby set it on the counter... the only one to survive the encounter. "I hope to see you both around," the pig slid off the stool and then limped a few steps. Obviously, that fall had hurt her more than she let on.
Turning back, Bobby waved a hoof, "I'll see you two around, okay?" Then, she disappeared in search of the cafeteria, snorting through the area to find any snacks along the way. It was all hurried, for the pig was getting hungry. Joshua Rivers "Well, it was nice to meet you, Bobby... I'm sure we'll run into each other again sometime," he said, watching the pig woman leave before he turned his attention back to Natsumi. "I think on that note, I should get going too... surprisingly enough I still have appointments to keep, despite being stranded on a tropical island." Joshua stood up, being careful not to hit his head on anything. "Take care, Miss Natsumi, I'm sure I'll see you around as well," he smiled at the girl before leaving the bar, heading back towards the duplexes. Natsumi Tanaka "Yes." Natsumi nodded with a smile, hoping to see Bobby around later as well. Meeting new people always put her in a good spirit... Even if she frowned some upon noticing Bobby's mild limp.
She turned back to Joshua as he spoke, "Alright." She offered a smile, sliding off the stool as well, only to turn back and have to pull the rest of her tail off of it. She wasn't ready to start moving it with her mind yet... She hadn't quite accepted it being part of her, and thus chose to move it as though it were just another article of clothing. "Yes." She nodded, smile returning as she gave him a wave, and watched him go, deciding to head back out along the beach until the cooler night air started in and she'd have to retreat to the warmth of her duplex.
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:18 pm
Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi was once again wandering down the beach, doing nothing in paticular but walk... She liked walking. It made her feel like she was getting somewhere, even if she was only walking in circles stranded on an island. Thoguh she found herself working alot less as her webbed-feet kept her from sinking into the sand at her pace. Which was a strange feeling in itself, part of her missed the feeling of sand between her toes... And the other part enjoyed the minor ability.
Still, those weren't where her thoughts were. Her thoughts, as she watched the waves lap against the shore, were on her unborn child. Her mind wouldn't stop asking.. And there were little things she'd noticed, whenever her stomach growled the baby didn't kick like it had before. Infact, now that she thought about it... It hadn't kicked at all. Which worried her, though she didn't have the facts to back that worry up so she simply kept her behavior observational for now. Emelyn Sometimes- it seemed to Em that her entire life had been swallowed by the expanse of ocean paired with the long stretch of sand that was the edge of Moreau's Island. More often than not, the girl found herself here- collecting food, bathing, or just staring out at the horizon... and thinking. On that day, she had only just come down from the mountain- Reuben was still asleep up in the cave- with the intention of checking her drying rack. It was nice to have a little something for the dog when he woke up, to tide him over until her next big fishcatch. But on that day, something else distracted her- the sight of a girl walking along the sandy main- also, it seems, deep in thought. And deep in change. Emelyn raised a hand as she hopped off the final rock that connected with the sand. She didn't call out- not yet- but walked towards the girl, wondering what she was becoming, more every step as her features solidified. Natsumi Tanaka Movement eventually caught the girls attention, negated eyes darting towards the figure with a bit of a jump. Her hands automatically went to fidget with the edge of her sweater, she'd been debating giving up the old thing... It was hardly working anymore, though some of the men still didn't catch on. Joshua and Newton in paticular, of which she was thankful for.
Once the sweater was safely in place, she offered a tiny smile as she neared the woman... Whom she was just now noting the various changes on. Natsumi hadn't seen many people changed beyond what she just recently hit... Though she had no clue as to which was which. Either way, this woman was obviously changed... Though it wasn't scary like the others she'd seen. She gave a light bow and stopped, as the woman seemed to be heading to greet her. "Good evening..." She greeted, voice lightly accented. Emelyn "And you," Emelyn said, a pleased lilt to her voice as she found herself suddenly immersed in an almost poised atmosphere, born from those first few, almost meticulous words from the newcomer's lips, and the minute bow. The notion didn't occur to the hedgehog-girl in words, but it made her comfortable- almost at ease- to move out of the 'survival mode' that had surrounded her all these many months, and into a dignified, human setting. The cameras that watched the islanders without fail might pick up on this meeting- but not that human quality to it, or how they had summarily put aside their animal features to be something more- or less- than the 'sum of their parts'. "I'm Emelyn." She saw the way the girl had worried the edge of her sweater, as if the singular attention to the fabric would give her strength. "...I'm sorry if I startled you. I was just coming down off the mountain." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi smiled some at the general returned politness. She was, and always would be one of formalities... It had been too far shoved into her to ever be taken out by any animal serum, or atleast that was how she felt now... Uncontiously she had tilted and dug her feet into the sand.
"I am Natsumi Tanaka." she returned, smiling cheerily. Even if her more recent changes unnerved her it wasn't nearly as bad.. Newton had called them pretty, afterall... and that was enough reassurance to help the girl try and ignor them. "No, no." She shook her head a bit "I was just thinking..." she paused, trailing her eyes to said mountain curiously. "Really?" she brought her attention back to Emelyn, vaugly wondering why she would have been up on a mountian. At the same time, she was slightly impressed... Before her changes, she was one to generally avoid dirt and all those other things that made girls squeal in horror. Eating bugs changed that for the most part, but she still didn't see herself climbing up a mountain. Emelyn Emelyn nodded, a smile on her face and her eyes on Natsumi's. It was just another part of her subconscious desire to have some slight sanctuary from the world of Moreau- to pretend they were simply two women conversing, rather than a mishmosh of DNA just trying to survive in a hostile environment. The typical 'once over' that islanders traditionally gave one another- would not come from Emelyn this time. "It's a nice place to think," she said, not referencing Natsumi's apparent amazement at her having come off the mountain with anything more than that cursory nod. "All that ocean, all that view." She looked out, then, to the endless blue against blue- wincing in the light, but still afixing her stubborn eyes to that seeming eternity. "It's beautiful, isn't it? ...The horizon, I mean." She turned back to look at Natsumi after a moment, her smile replaced by another- somewhat sadder one. "But doesn't that say something... when the most beautiful thing around... is the sight of the furthest away you could go...." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had already given her the once-over when she was approaching, and was content with whatever she had gathered with that. However, Emelyn's attitude in pretending to simply be two women was contagious in a way, Natsumi found herself forgetting about the traditional 'what animal are you?' talk, and was rather grateful for not having to explain that she had no idea and didn't want to ask.
"Aa.." she nodded to show she understood, allowing herself to think on that a moment. She'd heard about people climbing mountains to gain enlightenment, so it made sense it would be a good place to think. She followed Emelyn's gaze out to the water, flinching at the initial burst of light as her eyes tried to adjust and barely watering as they should have.
She turned back as Emelyn spoke again, blinking several times to try and fix the momentary dryness that had hit her eyes. "Mm.. It is." she agreed, reaching her hands up to rub at her eyes in a last-ditch effort to get rid of that feeling. Thankfully, it worked, to which she dropped her hands again and blinked a few extra times as everything settled, noting that wierd occurance in the back of her mind. She listened quietly, biting her lip as the words tried to sink in... The tip of her tail twitched, and she nodded. "Yes..." she responded simply, returning the sad sort of smile with her own equally sad smile. Emelyn For a moment, Emelyn thought that there were tears in the girl's eyes. But then she recognized that sort of half-blinking, downward tilt of the head that she herself had to strain against- having been stubborn enough to experience it herself on a daily basis. It seemed she and Natsumi had something else in common, besides their commonality in 'thinking places': that stubborn human streak that caused them to rebel agains their animal weakness. "The sun bothers me, too," Em admitted- a delicate step into the realm of their transformations. "There's a shady bit next to the mountain. If it's not interrupting, would you like to come sit?" She smiled again, a friendly gesture to the poignantly strangely featured- yet beautiful girl. "I have some dried berries over near my drying rack- we can have an impromptu little sit-in." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi gave a soft noise, the kind that resembled a laugh in the 'oh you noticed' fasion. She decided against going into other various annoyances that had come with her changes, then nodded to the offer of sitting somewhere. "No, you would not be interupting... I would love to." she finished with a nod and a warmer smile than the one she had given before, taking a step - after moving her foot out of the sand with a breif glance to them - as if to say 'lead the way.' Emelyn Emelyn gave a deep nod, then lead Natsumi to the shaded area created by an overhang of rock that jutted forth from the great mountain. It was a favorite spot of Reuben, that shady enclosure- and that thought drew Emelyn's eyes briefly upward- towards the cave she knew was not visible from this angle, yet still, she looked homewards: wondering if Reuben had awoken, yet. But there was no sign of the brown and white fuzz-bucket, so she ducked under the overhanging and sat, reaching out to draw the basket nearer to her as she did. Her drying rack was right next to them- no more than a few feet away- and on it, several flayed and salted fish hung over the makeshift poles, waiting for the sun to ready them for Emelyn's saving and consumption. Em normally would have explained it- it was a strange sight, after all. But with their little mock charade of normalcy- the thought didn't even cross her mind. "Berry?" She offered a shallow handful of the small, sweet reds to the girl. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi followed quietly, not noticing the breif glance up the mountain. She slipped herself under, taking a seat in the traditional japanese style. Her hands automatically went to her lap, as her tail curled itself closer to her.
She glanced around the small area, feeling the releif on her eyes almost the instant she hit the shade. She glanced around, first noticing the drying rack. She wasn't sure what to think about it... She hadn't seen anything like it before, except perhaps in those novelty paintings that tried to depict ancient Japan... Still this definatly wasn't ancient Japan and therefore it seemed out of place. But ignoring that for the moment, she smiled and nodded. "Aa.. Yes, please." she held out a webbed hand to take the berries... Atleast the changes made a good mock-bowl. Cupping them like that, she pulled them closer picking one out and poping it into her mouth. She blinked some, a bit suprised... She used to like berries, hadn't she? Now they seemed to taste funny, and her stomach turned in disagreement. She hid those feeling sbehind a smile, assuming perhaps it was just these kind of berries. Emelyn Normally, Emelyn might have noticed the momentary change of expression on the girl's face- if only for that polite smile and proprietary face. She herself would go to any ends not to inconvenience anyone, or to offend another soul. So she would have recognized that put-upon smile. ...If she wasn't focused back out on the ocean. "Do you like to swim?" She asked gingerly, not intendnig to return to the water- but still, intent to have a conversation with this girl that did not include the harsh realities of the island. She also tread lightly forth with the question, hoping that whatever her transformation was... didn't hinder her, or make the question a sad one. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi shifted the berries in her hand, wanting to wait a moment before daring on the next one. Maybe it had just been a bad berry... She drew her attention up from the little red foods at the question, nodding some. "Aa... Yes. I used to back home in the school pool... I have not been able to try here yet." She admitted a bit sadly, though still smiling, vaugly wondering if she still could or if she'd end up like whatever had happend to Bobby... It had been a breif conversation, but enough to keep her a bit wary of wanting to swim. Emelyn "Hm." Emelyn said, realizing that her thinly-laid plans were already caving through. There was little she could say to keep the subject completely off the table. Anything at this point that she had to say, without seriously skewing off into the inane... would either refer to the situation at hand- or remind Natsumi of what she'd left behind. So Emelyn sighed, and wrapped her fingers around themselves and dropped them to her lap. "So how long have you been here, now, Natsumi?" The girl may not have been swimming since she left the old 'school pond'- but now, she would have little choice but to dive in to this conversation. Emelyn only hoped that she could 'swim'. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had allowed herself to get a bit distracted, also causing her to forget to do the polite repeat of Emelyn's question. However, her company was speaking again, so she decided to let that bit of conversation slip. It was probably better that way anyways... She didn't want to draw attention to the reason she hadn't been swimming yet. "I have been here since May." she paused, idly shifting the berries in her hand and lifting one to try again. "How long have you been here?" she offered a small smile, placing the berry into her mouth only to be met with the same off-taste and displeasure as before. Emelyn Her answer was short. "A year." But it said so very much. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi bit her lip at that... A whole year? Her head spun at the sudden reality shift. Perhaps.. somewhere, in the back of her mind she had hoped that it would only take a few months... Peopel would be noticed missing, or whatever would happen... It would have been stopped.
But a whole year? She hadn't even been here.. what? 3 months?
She swallowed hard, mouth opening as she tried to think of something, and after another moment of pause she let something slip out "... I am sorry." She shot her eyes to the side, tail wiggling some to find a more comfortable position. She fell into another awkward silence after that, trying to find something else to speak of. Some topic change... Something happier than the fact they were stuck here for what seemed like all eternity. The only thing her mind came to were her new friends... but it would do. "Have you met Thomas? Or... Nita?" she smiled, it was a random subject but... she thought of Thom and Nita as her best friends, and atleast for her the thought of them seemed to lift her mood. Then there was Alec and Newton... But she'd mention them after the first two. No need to bombard her with names. Emelyn Emelyn smiled, grateful for the obvious shift in the conversation. "Yes, I have. In fact, Nita and I had an... interesting interlude. My dog chased her up a tree, poor thing." Emelyn laughed. "She'd only just changed, and she didn't have any clue she could shimmy up a tree so quickly until there was a barking dog at her heels." She didn't mention the recent crying incident with poor Thom- that would only drag out another painful subject. Natsumi Tanaka Despite the few words lacking in her vocabulary, she was able to get the just of what Emelyn had said. A smile tugged at the yough girls lips as the mental image of Nita, calm sweet Nita, rushing up a tree came into her head. She bit her lip to supress the laugh that followed, covering her face with a free hand so she could let out a few soft chuckles.
As that subsided, she spoke through her hand "Poor Nita." she gave another soft noise, moving her hand down as she grasped at the next bit of conversation. "You have a dog?" Natsumi liked the conversation... It made her feel young in a way, like back in highschool where all life seemed to be was to make friends and talk together. Meeting new people nad hearing about their traits always filled her mind with thoughts about how they were doing... and other things about the new people, enough so that whenever she met someone new she was able to let go of any thoughts about herself and live in a rather blissful denial state. Still going~
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:04 pm
Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had just returned from meeting Emelyn on the beach, the sun was likely setting by now... but that wasn't what was on her mind. While she still wasn't sure how to place the thoughts swirling around in her head, her stomach had insited on food witha growl and a noticably absent kick. Which had once more, worried the young almost-mother. Deciding not to think on it too much and just get something to eat, she had headed to the cafeteria... So here she was, slipping inside the doors she'd been through so many times before and heading over to the set up of food. However, unlike before her strange cravings for thigns like carrots and ketchup were replaced with a general distastful look to almost all the food, causing her to move along the display and back as everythign she looked at made her stomach turn in a distinct 'no' fasion. Until finally she managed to settle on some of the sushi she'd heard about from Kikue. She pilled up a plate, a rather large one for such a small food due a mix her hunger, her pregnancy, and the fact it was the only food that had looked somewhat decent to her. Then she moved back to find a seat at one of the many tables. RidleyMarlow Trailing only a few moments behind her had been Ridley Marlow. Trailing was a good word for it too, the yound man appeared exhausted. Trying to maintain some semblance of fitness in his state had taken more creativity and energy than he usually cared to devote to such things. It was much simpler when staying in shape meant jogging in the park and doing a couple pushups, not spending half the work out dragging his body from machine to machine. And even after all that work, he could never really tell if he was even breaking a sweat. His body shimmered with moisture no matter what he did. With a huff of breath that caused his bangs to fluff momentarily he drifted towards the salad bar, grabbing a plate and a tong full of lettuce before his momentum sent him past the heartier choices and straight to the more meager sprouts and breadcrumbs. Even he had to turn his nose up at how lacking his own choice had been. But there was a fix for that. He turned about and made his way to the hiding place of the sushi spread and stopped in disappointment when met with a dismal selection. What gives? While not exactly the sort of quality one would find in the upscale resturants of the city, there was usually a fair amount of variety... and quantity. Mouth tentacles curling with the frown on his lips, he snagged 3 of the 4 remaining pieces and headed into the array of tables. Natsumi Tanaka Not noticing the fact she had swiped pretty much all the sushi from the man behind her, she had found a seat and settled herself into it. It was only after her first bite of the little peice of food that she noticed someone else in the cafeteria, someone in a wheelchair... she automatically flinched, and without knowing started staring. It was an awkward stare, though good-hearted in a way, her mind was racing with a variety of questions... Mostly relating around if he needed any help, he seemed to be moving around fine... but she wanted to keep watching to make sure he could get seated and the like. She'd never truely been around someone that was physically disabled in any way except for Thomas' legs, a thought in which lead her to wonder if this stranger's problems were related to his changes. RidleyMarlow As he scanned the tables for a place to sit, he couldn't help but notice the pair of eyes set dead in his direction. He stopped his searched and stared right back, blinking only once as he couldn't help but do each time he came across someone as far gone as she. In the space of that blink, all the usual questions passed through his thoughts. What? How long? Why for? As much as he hated always being caught off gaurd by it, he appreciated the instinct. Kept him from blurting his curiousities aloud. He waited to see if she made some invitation. Natsumi Tanaka It was only when he stared back that she caught onto the fact that she was staring, and with a nervious flush and an echo of Zach's words in the back of her mind she blurted out the first thing she could think of. "Would you like to sit?" Her voice was still lightly accented, and soft though it managed to carry in the empty room. She only flinched further when it managed to occur that he was technically already sitting, "With me... That is." She added inas an afterthought, mentally hitting herself. While the fact he had been staring as well didn't enter her mind, her changes were out of her thoughts since Newton had reffered to them as pretty and then Emelyn had, for the most part, ignored them. RidleyMarlow Marlow gave a little snort but smiled. "I'd prefer the company." He wasn't sure that was particularly true at the moment, but he took the chances to meet new islanders as they came regardless of how social he was feeling. Weaving though the chairs with his plate in his lap, he reached the table and engaged in the usual dance of pulling out a chair and taking its place. It was about then he noted the epic mound of sushi, standing as a monument to fine raw delicacies everywhere. Natsumi Tanaka She let out a breath of releif when he didn't seem to get mad at her or somethign of the like... giving a small smile as he wheeled over. "I am Natsumi Tanaka." She gave the littlest of bows, minding her hair so that it wouldn't become friends with her plate of sushi. When she returned to a full sitting position, her tail's tip twitched as she followed his gaze to her food. In the back of her mind, somethign demanded her to edge it away from a potential competitor... However, her human mind brushed that thought off, fairly confident that he wouldn't just reach over and steal her food. RidleyMarlow "Marlow." He offered, nodding back in the graceless Western semblence of a bow. He had never gotten the hang of it, and given the fact that he was in a chair and several thousand miles from Japan, he imagined that the young woman would forgive him. He placed his plate on the table and grabbed his fork from his back pocket. "Thank you for having me." Natsumi Tanaka Her small smile widened as he returned the bow, even if it wasn't perfected it was still appretiated as most of the people she met hardly bothered. And it was the thought that counted, afterall. Now that he was settled in and his chair was tucked mostly out of her sight her mind drifted away from the previous thoughts about it. Simply avoid the whole sit incident and she figured she'd be good. "Not at all... I like to have someone to sit with." she then poped the second half of her first sushi into her mouth. RidleyMarlow "You'd think with all the houses lining the plaza, lunch would be a more exciting affair than this." He stabbed a piece of lettuce and watched as it slowly wilted on the tines of his fork. "But I can't blame anybody. I tend to try and keep places like this out of my daily routine myself." Natsumi Tanaka She gave a glance about the cafeteria, she had noticed that no one was here before but somehow she felt she should confirm that thought once more. And low nad behold, they were the only ones there. Chew, swallow... Don't talk with your mouth full. She nodded some, "Yes..." A simple responce, as she reached for another peice of sushi, trying to think of somethign to stir up a bit of conversation with. "Aa..." Finding nothing good right off, she tried one of those dry general questions "Where are you from?" Deciding that would work, she took a bite. RidleyMarlow "Duplex 47" He said dryly, "but formerly of Boston and anyplace else I could manage when time allowed. You?" Natsumi Tanaka She gave a tiny nod, not automatically reconizing the name Boston but deciding against any further questioning as she finished her bite. "I am from Japan, in the Kyoto area." Still going~
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:20 pm
The young girl let out a wide yawn as she finished the last touch to her nightly ritual. Running the hairbrush very delicatly through what remained of her hair as she frowned at her own reflection. It made her nervious to brush it... bits would come out here and there and it always struck up the idea that maybe the rest woud be lost... However, she had no choice but to keep brushing it.. lest it get tangled and messy.
There. Done. She dropped the brush, not noticing the small unnatural pause before it hit the counter as she stepped back to her bed. Her changed feet were a bit larger, awkward... Still having problems with them as one might have with wearing flippers all the time. Well maybe not that bad... half a flipper.
That didn't matter at the moment, though. She was dressed in her soft comforting pajamas, and despite a tail and wierd feet she had she was at her bedside, crawling inside with a content sigh. Though she hadn't met anyone since Marlow she was still in good spirits, minus that persistant worry over her stomach. Along with the general stillness of her child that had become a big concern over the time... she was now having the tiniest bit of a cramp. It was small, but still there. She was writing that off as the fact she'd saved sushi for several days then eaten it anyways. As for the stillness of her child she had decided that either tomorrow or the next she'd go see what Nita thought... Maybe babys just didn't kick, like the morning sickness had come and gone. Maybe...
She doubted that. However this wasn't the time, with a hand on her stomach she pulled herself into bed. Shifting around on her side until she found a comfortable position between her tail and bulgy stomach. Then, in a swift movement, she pulled the blankets up over her head as she'd done every night since her transformation. There were several reasons for this... One, it kept her warmer. Seconly, her animal side felt as though she were burrowed under sand. And along with her human side finding it comforting as it was when she was young, it just felt good. Satisfying both sides of her mind.
And with her thoughts lingering on her child, she drifted off to have another vaugly restless night.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:52 pm
Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had awoken, done her morning ritual, ate a leftovers breakfast and now... She was making her way down the stairs and to the trail that lead to other duplexes. Intent on meeting Nita to ask her a few thigns... However, by now her stomach was twisting. A strong pain, overshadowing any mentural problem she'd had before. Leaving her to linger at the end of her stairs... A hand went to her stomach as she bit her lip, leaning back against the side of the duplex. Her mind gave a spin as a shot of pain progressed and then ebbed away... It wasn't that bad, not yet. But had that sushi really gone bad that fast? Newton Filinas The frog janitor had tried on his new "off duty" clothes underneith his jumper that day, a black T-shirt and a pair of shorts. He held a box under his arm as he hopped clumsily frog-style down the row of duplexes, searching for the one he knew to be Natsumi's, not noticing that she was already out and heading towards him. Natsumi Tanaka As the pain seemed to ebb down from her frozen position, she decided to start down the trail once more. She barely made it past the other side of her duplex before she stopped again, finding that walking was only making everything worse. Still.. she kept trying, however instead of intending to see Nita now she was intent of heading to the center to find some medicine for what she was now assuming was some rather nasty food poisoning. The thought of labor hit her, she was pregnant after all.. But that wasn't for another four months or so.
She paused when she saw a familiar hopping man, giving a slight smile and trying to straighten herself up. "Newton!" she greeted, voice sounding the slightest bit distressed as she poorly tried to hide the fact she was in a bit of pain, holding back a cringe as another contraction hit... was it just her or were these pains getting more and more frequent? Newton Filinas Newt's face brightened up at the sight of her and he waved enthusiastically, and with one hand occupied with the device under his arm and the other waving, he missed his landing and ended up on his face in the dirt. He was quick to recoil, though, used to such clumsy missed landings and quickly came up to her, "Muh-muh-miss N-nn-natsumi! I w-wuh-was just looking for you!" Natsumi Tanaka She smiled as he returned her wave, however that faded and her eyes went wide as he promptly faceplanted in the dirt. She started to hurry foreward to him, only to be stopped as the sudden quick movement gave her a sharp jolt of pain. her hands wrapped across her stomach as she felt the sudden urge to move into the fetal position, despite the fact she couldn't do that in her current state. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "nn--Are you alright?" she first questioned, letting him come to her despite the fact it generally went against her mannors. At the moment, mannors were slipping from her mind. What was happening? She'd never heard of food poisoning doing this... "Looking for me?" she echoed, momentarily forgetting about his promise to bring her a bug-catching device sometime that week. Newton Filinas "Ah... fuh-fine! F-fine, I f-fall all th-the time... hopefully b-by the tuh-time I'm done I'll g-guh-get better at-" His face fell as he noticed her pained expression, "Are... are you alright, M-muh-miss Natsumi?" Natsumi Tanaka She looked a bit concerned at the mention that he fell all the time, however he seemed fine, and right now something else was taking up her attention. "Aa.. I am finnn.." she clenched her teeth, "Aa.. My stomach.. hurts." she frowned, trying to think of an explination as to what was happening... and a way to get it to stop. "I thoguht it was the fish but... I am begining to think it is not." Newton Filinas "Y-your... per-per-perhaps y-you ate a b-bug that had some pes-pes-pesticide?" He looked worried, his large eyes widening with concern. Natsumi Tanaka She shook her head no, "I do not think..." she trailed off as another contraction hit, yep.. definatly occuring faster than earlier. It couldn't be the baby... No. Nonono... too soon. It was far too soon. And then something new happend, though by an odd chance... it confirmed everything. Water. Water had just gushed out of unmentionable places, and she certiantly hadn't had to go potty. Her eyes went wide as she stumbled back, clutching her stomach tighter as it reminded her she needed to stop moving around. A nice little puddle left where she was standing, while it wasn't as big as a normal labor would have produced it was still there. "Iie... Iie iie iie" She squeaked out, the mixture of pain and a sudden rush of concern causing her to forget to speak english. And then... the real pain hit. "haa!" she squeaked, immediatly falling to her knees. Newton Filinas Newt gave a frightened croak, hopping back and dropping his box, "Ah- wh-whuh-what was... oh... oh...." suddenly he realized that maybe she *wasn't* just abit chunky- she was-" Y-yuh-yuh-you're... Y-you're- y-you're pruh-pruh-pruh-!!!" He couldn't get the word out, eyes wide with terror. Natsumi Tanaka This was not good... 'Too early' was all her mind could seem to think up. She gave a nod to the half a word that she assumed was supposed to be pregnant. Yes.. she was... And she was supposed to be for quite a bit longer. She flinched again, trying to get some of her racing thoughts out to the man infront of her in hopes that he could do something... Find some little switch on her back, put the water back in.. something. Anything to get it to stop. "December..." she squeaked out, "It is not december." Well that hadn't made much sense... "I was due... in december." That was better. Newton Filinas "B-buh-buh-Huh-!" He stammered, trying to hop backwards, but was inable to quite do it properly, and landed on his back, scramblign to get up again. "Wuh-wuh-what's wrong??" He managed, gaping in horror at the mess and her pained state. What was he supposed to do? He could bearly stand, let along help her get anywhere- He didn't know how to handle the situation in the slightest, and therefor found himself in a state of panic. It was definatly not the right question to ask a girl in her position. Natsumi Tanaka Owowow. Pain... Lots of pain. She wasn't good with pain... both of her transformations had knocked her uncontious. However, luckally for herself and Newt, her body refused to comply with fainting since that would only make the process more dangerous.
What's wrong? That was a good question. Too bad she had no idea.. "I do not know." she huffed out, breathing increasing as she was starting to panic herself, sudenlly squeazing her eyes shut as another jolt of pain went through her hips. "Aaa.. " she whined, no idea what to do. "I do not know..." she repeated. So she was in labor.. but she'd never had any classes on it. No breathing techniques, nothing. "Help?" she pried her eyes open to look up pathetically at Newton... Her friend, and only means of help at the moment, unless she could somehow found a way to get herself back up her stairs... Which didn't look like it was going to happen. Newton Filinas They needed a doctor! How the hell could they get- "Ah!" Newt straightened slightly, his neck suddenly inflating to croak out his astonishment at his own memory. They had a doctor! Handy! "I'll.. I'll... Juh-juh-just... Ah... y-you... you w-wait here and... ah..." He stammared befor leaping off in the direction of Duplex #1. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey was reading a magazine inside, near her post at the window so she could keep a watch out for tigers and dragons by taking a furtive peek every now and then.
Ambrose was still gone, and Aubrey was starting to worry. Angelina had stopped in earlier to grab her bag, but left shortly after. Newton Filinas Newt suddenly came bounding into view, leaping and jumping as fast as he could befor suddenly he collided with the door in a heap of limbs. From Aubrey's side, she would have heard a crash, followed by a bit of a tense pause before there was a frantic knocking. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey jumped and squeaked, checking the window and the eyehole before throwing open the door, worry written across her features. "Newt?? What the god's name..." Newton Filinas "Ah-N-n-nn-nnnuh-nuh-nuh-nuh!! " Newt managed frantically, pointing a webbed finger back int he direction he had come, his eyes worryingly wide, at their size. Aubrey Lockheart "Calm down!" Aubrey instructed, placing her hands on both his shoulders, breathing in and out slowly a few times and looking at him like she was instructing him to do the same. "I can't understand what you're saying." Newton Filinas "I... I-.. I... shh-shhh-shhh-sh-she... I ..." He gasped, giving a stress induced croak, and quivered under her grip. Aubrey Lockheart "Newt!" Aubrey said more sternly, giving him a quick firm shake. "Is someone hurt?" Newton Filinas "Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nah-nahnnn-n nuh-nat-!!" He groaned, trying to pull her after him. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey's mind started to race, wondering if there was anything she need to grab, but not having any clue what the matter was she figured it would be best to follow him and assess the situation from there. She tugged on a pair of slip ons and slammed the door closed behind her and gave Newt a serious look. Newton Filinas "Sh-shuh-" He gave up trying to speak, instead taking off back in the direction he had left her, pausing to make sure Aubrey kept up. He stumbled clumsily in his frantic hoppings. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey followed after him, the building dread of what she was being dragged into. She gave a quick to nod to Newt whenever we looked back for her. Newton Filinas Finally, the lizard girl came back into view, and Newt leaped his way straight to her side, "I-I-I-I g-got help!!" He managed breathily, panting painfully. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had done just as he said, stayed there. She hadn't moved an inch since he left, and was still hunched over on her knees holding on tight to her stomach as if that would somehow stop the pain that was getting progressivly stronger. She drew her eyes open as her friends voice reached her once more, Giving the breifest of releived smiles. Help. He brought help. Her eyes moved to the figure that had come with him, immediatly reconizing the woman from her first day on the island. Thank heavens. Aubrey knew she was pregnant... and that meant she wouldn't have to go through the problem of explaining the situation. So she settled for one simple word. "Baby." Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey felt her heart sink and turn to ice in her chest the moment the geckogirl came into view. She tried to convince herself what she was seeing wasn't what the problem was but the hand clutched to her stomach and the desperate words on her lips confirmed her fears. She knew this would most likely happen, she just never thought she'd be there to see the horror in her eyes. Something snapped inside Aubrey and she had nearly catch herself from stumbling as overwhelming feelings to be sick and break down sobbing overtook her in a powerful wave. But she had to hold herself together for now. She kneeled by the woman and put a hand to hand to her forhead. "You need to lie down on your back, right now," she said as professionally as she could though her voice was shaking horribly. Newton Filinas "Wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-what c-can I..?" Newt panted, staring at the doctor in terror. Natsumi Tanaka That breif moment of reassurance was lost at the breif change in Aubery's expression. Biting her lip some, she gave a half-hearted nod to the command and tried to lay back. "Haa..!" She flinched as the movement only made the pain worse. She felt her eyes welling up with tears as a vauge realization had hit her in the midst of what seemed like an eternity of cramps. The baby wasn't okay. This wasn't supposed to be happening... and no one could make it stop, no matter how much she wished they could. Nonono... This couldn't be happening. This wasn't happening. She trembled a bit as she stared up at her assumed Doctor, panic-struck with fear and pain she had no choice but to just lay down and do as she was told. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey ran her eyes over her quickly. She was less than two years out of med school, but she didn't have her license to practice - especially emergency situations.
She was a geneticist, dammit, and she was panicking in the time the woman needed her help the most. Okay... first things first. "I'll be right back," Aubrey said forcing a smile and squeezing her shoulder.
She fumbled quickly around the girl's belongings until she found her duplex key and then bolted towards it.
Once inside, she slammed open the communications panel and instructed someone to get there ASAP. The moment the connection to the lab was lost, she stripped the bed of its sheet and bundled it up in her arms. She went to the bathroom and forced her hands to be steady as she got a glass of water and pulled as many towels as she could carry along with the glass and sheet and started her way back. Newton Filinas Newt had positioned himself beside Natsumi, looking as though it was taking all of his concentration not to leap away in his utter panick, holding her hand as best he could in both of his webbed ones. "Do-d-d-do-doctor Luh-luh-!" Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi swallowed hard as she watched Aubery rush off, letting out a choked sob as the dam of tears broke. Her eyes darted to Newt, breathing hard and unsteadily-- enough so that she was starting to feel light headed. Gripping his hand as best she could with both of their webbing getting in the way, not wanting to let go of the comfort of having someone beside her. Her tail gave a hard thrash in reaction to her new position and another jolt of pain. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey came rushing back and pushed a towel under her head for a makeshift pillow. Licking her lips after a moment's hesitation, the woman spread the sheet from the bed over her lap and positioned her legs slightly apart. Giving Newt an awkward and almost apologetic look, she reached under the sheet and tried to remove Natsumi's pants. She needed to see if she was hemorrhaging, and if so, how badly. Newton Filinas "Wuh-what can I d-do??" Newt finally managed to spit out, squeezing Natsumi's hands between both of his. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi tensed as her skirt and other articles were being removed... However, the pain insisted that modesty be screwed for the moment, and she did all she could to help the removal of the clothing. She let out another sob, a few tears making their way down her face. Her water had broken before Newt had even left, and the contractions were reaching an unhappy point. Even if the baby wasn't bigger than grapefruit at the moment, it was still hurting quite a bit. Aubrey Lockheart "I don't know if you can so anything, Newt," Aubrey frowned. She gathered the sheets up around her knees and had to take a look. She was obviously in labor.. Aubrey chewed on her bottom lip. "How far along..?" Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi shook her head to the question... Her mind had been racing so much that she had no idea how long it had been. And it felt like it had been days, but she knew that wasn't right... She let out another pained noise, trying to clear her mind enough to trace back how long she'd been out here. "I.. left at ten... It hurt then.. but not this much." she managed out between pants and squeaks, while her body threatened to pass out in a mixture of panic and hyperventalation. Hopefully the time she left would be of some use because that was all she could remember. In the mean time her head would start to get filled 'what if' thoughts. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey shoved the glass of water towards Newt. "Try to help her sit up a bit and drink this." Unfortunately, Aubrey didn't know what else she could possibly do out here. It would be just a waiting game until the labs came and could get her to the hospital wing.
In the meantime, she did the best to assess how dialated she was. This baby was coming, and Aubrey winced, having no idea how much of a human baby might await them. If the baby, ragardless, would survive being born this. The labs had excellent equiptment, but it was hardly designed to be used for such..delicate situations. Aubrey tried to busy herself with the towels and obsevations, however, not dwellng too hard on those thoughts for now. Aubrey was well aware Natsumi could probably read her expression. Natsumi Tanaka While her body wasn't about to wait too long on the labs getting there. While it was perfectly ready to pass the small fetus to the world, it was missing one key factor. Natsumi had been refusing to push, despite how much her mind was begging her too. Fighting her instincts as her mind still tried to refuse reality... The baby wasn't coming, not now... Because it was too soon. And since it wasn't coming she refused to give into that concious pushing factor of the birthing process. Granted, that was only making everythign hurt more as her body tried to do it for her... Her hand was still desperatly clinging to Newt's, perhaps squeazing a little too hard here and there in responce to a contraction. The tears on her face weren't stopping anytime soon either, and Auberys various expressions weren't helping her calm down as she stared intently at her "doctor" in an almost pleading fasion, though she kept all thoughts and wishes to herself for now. Newton Filinas "Ah... ah... h-here... ah.. druh-druh-druh..." Newt babbled uselessly as he tried to offer her the water. His hands clutching the glass were shaking terribly, giving Natsumi a bit of a light shower where she lay. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey was started to sweat as she kept on eye on what happening under the blanket. She wasn't encouraging Natsumi to push just yet for the baby's head hadn't crowned, and she was praying the labs would arrive soon. Deep in her heart she knew the chances of the baby being born alive were slim to none.. but she had to hold onto the hope that it was possible. Six months along made it, technically, a viable fetus. "How bad are the contractions," she asked weakly, glacing up at her. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi cringed, propped up very slightly by the makeshift pillow... The mild spray of water was somewhat refreshing over the heat her body was trying to produce from the strenuious event. Using one hand to help steady Newt's she managed to get a small sip of the water, before she let out another pained noise, and going back to her unstable breathing method. How bad? She wasn't sure... She had nothing to compare it to at the moment, but all in all they weren't exactly a walk in the park. "Bad?" she offered weakly. Her human mind at the moment was being swallowed up by a low pain tolerance, and paniced thoughts of what was going to happen. However the gecko in her mind was getting more and more concerned about why someone was down there. To it, in the back of her mind, the birthing process should have been happening alone. And without much regard for Natsumi's thoughts, her tail gave a threatning lash at Aubery. It was slow, and useless... But it's sudden movement both caused a shot of pain and a goos startle to it's owner. "Haa!" she squeaked, staring wideeyed. "S-sorry!" she managed. Newton Filinas "Juh-juh-just... just l-lay still!" The frog managed to croak, setting the water down to give her his hand to attempt to hold. At least his wrist, if their webbing both got too much in the way. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey jerked, and somewhere in the distance she sore she heard the sound of a jeep engine...though she couldn't tell if it was her wishful thinking "oh god..." she sighed, looking down. "Natsumi you should probably start pushing between contractions." Natsumi Tanaka She gladly accepted Newt's hand once more, the movement of her tail had only made the whole experience more frightning... She then frowned at Aubery. Pushing? Her heart sunk. "Bu--nn... But... It is not due yet." The words were forced, and breathless, but they still held a sort of desperation to them. Part of her still clung to the idea that someone could simply stop it. Just stick the baby back in for a few more months like a cake or something. But the other part knew better... Which is what was causing that ripping feeling in her heart. Newton Filinas "Y-you... you m-mean sh-she's... sh-she's having it nuh-nuh-nuh-now??" Newt squeeked in terror. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey frowned. "You're water's broken. You're dialating and your having contractions... there's nothing we can do to stop it from coming now..." Natsumi Tanaka She looked crushed. Nothing. Nothing they could do... "D...Demo..." Whatever she was saying broke off into a few tears as she trembled. Newton Filinas Newt let her squeeze, giving frantic, sympathy breaths for her, unable to get his mouth to cooperate enough to form words. Aubrey Lockheart Aubrey tried not to look at her face as she felt her own panic rise. "If its.. I mean.. its too late, Natsumi. You should just push and pray for the best..." Natsumi Tanaka Her lip quivered, giving a few sobs to replace the previous groans. Tears were running freely now, as she gave a small nod. She had no choice now... So finally, she pushed, tail shifting it's position in responce to what was going on with the rest of her. Newton Filinas Newt kept up his attempt for support, his head getting dizzy from his hyperventilating. Aubrey Lockheart The next couple of minutes were a blur. It didn't take but a push or two before the tiny form emerged, slipping out Natsumi and into Aubrey's waiting hands. The same time the Jeep pulled into the village and the armed guards jumped out and made their approach. Aubrey barely got time to comprehend what was happening exactly, or understand why she suddenly was sobbing. Her shaking hands did the best to clear away mucus or facilitate breathing. She didn't know exactly what to expect, but the little, tiny thing in her hand looked looked disturbingly human, save a small tail and black lidless eyes. But there was no response from it, and the truth hit Aubrey hard. She wrapped it in a towel as the sobbed wracked over her and the feral guards started to lift Natsumi to help get her into the Jeep. Distantly Aubrey felt them lifted her up by the shoulders and taking the towel from her. Natsumi Tanaka There was a rush of releif as finally it was over, she felt her body suddelly get heavy with exhaustion, her grip on Newt releasing for the most part. Weakly, she tried to see the child... Maturnal instincts demanded she see if her fears were true. While she didn't get the best look at the undeveloped child, she did see Aubery start crying. Then some strangers were trying to move her away. She gave the breifest attempt at a struggle against them, as she burst into tears again, able to cry freely now that she wasn't having contractions breaking her sobs. Her mind couldn't seem to focus on one thought and before she knew it she was passed out on the ride to the labs. Newton Filinas Newt clung to her as though hugging her could make things better, and refused to move untill he was forcefully pried away. Aubrey Lockheart And he would be, a guard jerking him off and roughing pushing him aside. Aubrey was steadied on her feet, through barely, as she watched them pile into the Jeep and peel away.
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 9:20 pm
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Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:15 pm
Natsumi stepped out of the jeep that had been kind enough to bring her right up to her duplex, not bothering a wave of goodbye or anything. She simply stood there, staring at the plain duplex in a dazed fasion. She was wearing the clothes she'd been wearing that fateful day... Only now they were clear of dirt and whatever else had leaked from her body in the process. And one important factor... her sweater was tucked over her arm. Her stomach now noticably flat in comparison... While some pudge remained, it was practically nothing.
Her hair was unkempt, her face red and puffy with traces of tears still left on her face. She had noticable bags under her eyes clearly stating the lack of sleep she'd had over that near-week she'd been in the labs.
The silence and lonliness of her room had droven her to the brink of insanity. She had so desperatly wanted someone to hold her and tell her it would be allright... But there was no one. Her parents.. her brothers, friends.. She couldn't even reach her new island-friends to find comfort... And in that time her mind had delved into worse and worse thoughts.
Her child was dead. There was no doubting that now. While perhaps that was a better fate than being stranded her with the rest of them, even that thought couldn't rid the guilt she felt. This was her fault... If she had just stayed at home... Just stayed there with her family none of this would have happend. Now she knew her parents wouldn't have cared... Dissapointed, maybe, but they'd still have loved her... and supported her. And if Taro was telling the truth... He would have come back, and they could have gotten married and lived "happily ever after."
That wasn't the case though... It was her fault she was here, it was her fault she was mutating into some stupid lizard and it was her fault her child had died.
She cringed as another wave of guilt flooded her, her thoughts drifting into a repetitive loop My fault, my fault... echoed in what felt like a hollow darkness. A few more tears welled up and fell down her face again. Which she left there... she was too drained to bother whiping htem away. Too tired to care.
Finally she stepped foreward, towards her stairs to face her room. Her eyes locked on a figure settled outside her door. She blinked a few times, still carrying that dazed depressed look. "Newton-san...?" Her voice was softer and dryer than it should have been.
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Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:45 pm
He didn't respond, laying curled up in a froggish ball on her doormat like a lost puppy being waiting to be let in. A six foot six puppy curled in a ball. It was unclear how long he had been there, but judging by the dirt in his jumper, he had most likely only moved to relieve himself or find food somewhere nearby durring her absence. He had fallen asleep, long arms wrapped around himself as he lay waiting for her to return. There was even a little wet patch in the decking under the corner of his mouth.
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Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:13 pm
She looked him over, noticing the dirt and what not that had accumulated over the time he'd been there... While her mind didn't quite want to work enough to form a decent thought, the fact he was there and he had been there awhile did manage to regester, how long was missing... But she also wasn't sure how long she'd been gone. It had felt like months.
But no matter how long he'd been there, it struck her as nice. Slowly she started up the steps, not wanting to wake him, but at the same time she so desperatly wanted someone to do.. something. Anything to distract her thoughts. She gave a light sniff as she neared the top of the stairs, "Newton-san..." she whispered timidly, hoping not to startle him.
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Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:31 pm
Unfortunatly, it didn't take much to startle the frog man. At the sound and vibration of footsteps, Newt jumped into an upright crouch with a frightened squeek. His look of panic subsided at the sight of the gecko-girl and the timid sound of her voice, his eyes widening, "Ah- M-muh-miss N-N-na-natsumi!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 2:41 pm
She automatically froze when he jumped up, one hand resting on the rail of the stairs, the other held in the air uncontiously in the "i mean no harm" sort of fasion.
She swallowed, nodding a bit to her name, still looking out of it and holding back tears. "Why are you here?" Again, she sounded a bit timid.. almost doubtful that he was here for her.
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