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 Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:23 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:25 am
Not So Happy Feet
21.01.07 - A run-in with Marshall doesn't go smoothly Osbourne Caldwell Oz sat quite sullen in the corner of the cafeteria, picking at his lunchtime meal of a half-finished ham and tomato sandwich, three chocolate muffins, a large fruit salad to quench the odd cravings, and a glass of juice. He couldn't stomach a cup of tea today, despite depserately needing it for his nerves. He seemed quite oblivious to the world, not carinf for the fact he was out in the open where people who hadn't alreayd seen could gawk and stare at his new physique. Marshall_Green Day three of searching for the blond haired girl with pointed ears. So far, no luck. He had met a kind beaver woman, but outside of that no dice. No one had even heard of her, from the sound of it.
Why am I doing this? Well...She is a fan, I guess...And I do hate to piss off my fans...Plus, Gaius won't forgive me if I don't at least try and find her...
Lost in his ongoing mental commentary, Marshall found himself wandering into the caffeteria, ready for a light snack. He was lost in his own little world, until a rather...musky odor greeted what remained of his nostrils. He looked over from where the smell came from, greeted with a sight he didn't want to see.
"Oz..." Marshall muttered under his breath, glaring at the man who broke his arm. Osbourne Caldwell Oz hadn't really lifted his head to greet any newcomers to the cafe all lunchtime, so why did he do it this time? Was it just a random choice in his head? Was it because he could remember the black and white colours that Marshall sported? Whatever it was, Oz lifted his head to see Marshall glaring right back at him. Inside, he wanted to avoid the penguin man's gaze, he winced at the sight of the cast, and his guts twisted at that niggling feeling of guilt. He'd caused that. It was his fault that Marshall had been hurt. But on the outside... He couldn't summon the courage to look at Marshall, and he continued to picka t his meal as though he hadn't seen him. Marshall_Green Marshall found it best to just ignore Oz. What was the worst Oz could do from across the room, right? But, even being in the same room aggravated Marshall to no end. Marshall grabbed a plate, putting a few room-temperature fish sticks on it. His fish cravings had just gotten strange, he decided. He decided to even out his meal, however, with a bag of Sun Chips and a grape soda. And for dessert, a cookie. A bit larger than his usual lunch, but Marshall was what some would call a "nervous eater".
He took a seat about four tables away from Oz, still trying to avoid eye contact or speech. The awkward silence was almost deafening. Osbourne Caldwell Oz watched the penguin man from the corners of his eyes, shifting between watching him intently and then pretending to eat his food. This was awkward enough as it is, he hardly needed a guilt trip being laid on...wait a min...wasn't it an accident? Why should Marshall be so mad at him? The careful thought process was quite visible on Oz's face, almost comical to watch and absolution was clear as day. With a deep breath, he pushed back his chair with a light screech and wandered over to Marshall, leaving his food behind. He sat opposite the penguin man. "How are you feeling?" he asked awkwardly. Marshall_Green Marshall blinked, as Oz moved to sit across from him. He immediately looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with the man. But, he decided that giving him a simple answer wouldn't hurt either of them.
"I'm fine." Marshall said coldly, as he took another chip out of the bag clumsily. Eating with a flipper was harder than you would think. It wasn't so much picking up a chip as scooping it and balancing it. Osbourne Caldwell Oz felt a little cheated by Marshall's response, but he should have seen it coming. His eyes travelled over the cast and his mouth spoke before his mind thought. "You don't look fine. What actually happened?" he asked, remembering nothing but blackness and a chaotic mix of pain. Marshall_Green "....You dropped the plank." Marshall said, looking away, "You dropped it, and well...It fell on me. I broke my arm. I can't use my good hand." Marshall said, trying not to show how...angry he was about all of it.
You should've known that you weren't okay! Marshall thought, wanting to yell that. Osbourne Caldwell As if Oz's face could have dropped any lower. The guilt and obvious apology was scribbled across his face. He looked down at his twiddling fingers, so much smaller compared to the lengthening palms. But even slouching as he was, he was taller than Marshall when sat down, emphasising his mishapen new form. "I'm...sorry...I didn't know...what was going to happen," he said slowly. Marshall_Green Marshall glanced up at Oz. He really did have a rough transformation, growing about three feet from the looks of it. That might've been a bit of an exaggeration, mind you.
"Yeah well...Neither did I." Marshall said, intentionally coming off as rather cold. Osbourne Caldwell "Its not like there are any warning signs," he kept rambling, trying to make excuses for himself. He continued to wring his large hands now that he had no meal to pick at nervously. Palms rolled over palms and fingers locked into fingers in this nervous habit. Why was he still being like this? He'd said sorry, what else could he do? Did Marshall want him to beg for forgiveness? Marshall_Green "What about the bloody nose? You said you broke it, but I know it wasn't any time recently. Old wounds just don't start bleeding y'know." Marshall said, not even bothering with the chips any more. He kind of lost his appetite.
Part of him knew he was being unfair; no one ever knew when they were going to change.
"...At least no one else got seriously hurt." Marshall added. Osbourne Caldwell Even though Marshall's attack made Oz quite cowardly at first, he was starting to grow a little impatient. True, he couldn't deny that a bleeding nose was suspicious but after working hard at the construction site, after months of being inactive, the stress and strain could trigger a nose bleed. And Oz made sure Marshall knew this. "Hey, have you ever broken your nose? Do you know what it does to the inside? You can't get through a single cold or flu without a bleed," he began fairly light-hearted with a slight sniping undertone. Oz felt quite hurt now, like he was being accused of some heinous crime. He should feel guilty up to a point... Marshall_Green Marshall still didn't look up at Oz, glancing down at his plate as if it was the most interesting thing on the planet.
"Well, whats done is done," Marshall said, his voice weak sounding, "My arm is broken, but it'll heal...Well, it'll probably be more of a flipper by then...Just kind of sucks."
Don't start crying, Marshall! Don't you ********' dare! Osbourne Caldwell Oz could have made a comment about Marshall not missing anything really, since he was just going to lose his 'good arm' anyway. But that seemed too insensitive for this moment in time. And even though Oz might not have made it clear right then, he could relate. The injury to his knee had ended his career. "If theres anything I can do to kind make up for things, you let me know, right?" he said, for lack of anything supportive. Marshall_Green "..." Marshall looked down at this food, almost glaring at it. How the hell could Oz make up for breaking his arm? He knew he was going to lose it eventually, but any time he had left with it...Oz took.
"...I just want to draw again." Marshall said, getting to his feet. He couldn't deal with this right now, any way. He had to find the blond-haired girl with pointed ears who might be named Lauren. He slowly started to leave, leaving his food untouched. Osbourne Caldwell Oz stared in stunned silence at the spot where Marshall was, and had soon vacated. He craned his ehad around to follow the penguin as he began to leave, an incredible sense of hurt washing over him. He'd made the effort to say sorry, he'd done everything in his power, so why did it feel like Marshall just didn't accept the apology? He put forehead to table in frustration, gritting his teeth in hopelessness. And then it happened. Oz growled viciously and stood up sharply, sending his chair scrambling across the floor. "Just what is your ******** problem?! You're not the only one to lose something in this insane asylum you know. Look around you. No one looks like they used to, they aren't the same people any more. Some have lost legs for ******** sake!" he ranted, standing at his full height and looking quite menacing. Marshall_Green Marshall turned around, taking a few steps back from Oz's rather...imposing look at the moment. Part of him was scared, but he'd have to get over that. Now.
"...I-I know that. I don't look like I use to. Neither does Gaius. Or you. Or any one. But I wanted to put it off as long as I could, okay?! I wanted to be able to draw! Just a little while longer! Thats all I wanted!" Marshall yelled. It seemed like he did a lot of yelling when he ran into some one in the Cafeteria.
"And I'm sorry! I'm just pissed off about the whole thing, okay?! Is that okay with you!? Is it?!" Marshall barked at the large Gorilla man. Osbourne Caldwell "Hey! You're not the only one pissed off at the moment. I look like an understudy for a bad horror movie, I-I daren't even look in a mirror anymore!" he ranted back, giving as good as he got in the yelling stakes. Oz was being a little selfish right about now. He could relate to poor Marshall, but all he thought about was how the labs had robbed HIM of his life. Not how the labs had done bad unto Marshall. In between his little rants, a disturbing and increasingly angry sounding growl emanated from Oz. "And just because you're pissed off at the labs or whatever, doesn't mean you can be pissed at everyone else! Its not anyone else's fault," he said, referring moreso to himself. He had yet to know of the argument Marshall had had with Sophie and Gaius. Marshall_Green "I'm not pissed off at the labs I'm pissed off at myself!" Marshall yelled back at Oz, his eyes shut tightly closed, as if that'd make every thing go away.
"I-I...I lost my arm. I'm useless now, Oz...And...My comic...Its being animated. With out me. Its been stolen from me, Oz. And I'm...Furious. With every thing. The fact that you broke my arm. The fact Gaius didn't come to visit until he was pissed off at me." Marshall opened his eyes again, weakly; he was still a penguin-thing and Oz was still a giant furry behemoth.
"...And I'm disgusted with the fact that I'm angry about that stuff." Osbourne Caldwell "If you're angry with yourself, stop yelling at everyone else!" he replied rather childishly, growling. He, like Marshall, closed his eyes for a few moments as he tried to calm down, taking deep breaths as the penguin continued to talk. The frustration of Marshall losing his beloved comic creation was like water off a duck's back to Oz - he knew nothing of Sno-Cone, at least not consciously. But he imagined that would hurt like hell. Oz was never good at placating a situation like this, at least notwhen he was equally as pissed off and frustrated at lifes great scheme of things. "Seriously, in this place where you have more things to worry about, is being this angry really gonna change anything?" he said, less forcefully than before. "If I could go back in time and stop what happened, I would. But I can't. Hell, I was useless before I even came here. My career was over before I was 22." Marshall_Green "You still have hands." Marshall said, unsympathetically, "You can still hold tools. Remotes. Books. People. You can function. I got none of that. You're useful. You can help people. I'm just a wash-up at 21." Marshall said, suppressing tears.
"...You're a real jerk, y'know that?" Osbourne Caldwell Oz was now caught between two hard rocks - still being totally frustrated at this life, and feeling like a useless lump. What could he do? Marshall was really hurting, and not physically. But so was Oz...or was he? He'd lost a lot recently, but nothing that affected his life so much as losing hands or feet or even a real mouth. "What do you want me to do? Don't make me come over there and give you a hug," he threatened light-heartedly. He was at a loss of what to do now. Marshall_Green Marshall sighed, a small smile showing on his stretched face. Oz wasn't the brightest of guys, and obviously a little less than empathetic. But he was a good person. He hurt him, yes, but it was an accident.
Don't you want that blond girl to forgive you for ******** up?
"Just...Don't call yourself useless, alright, Kong? And next time you don't feel good...Don't go to work, alright?" Marshall said with a smirk. Osbourne Caldwell Well, that at least felt a lot less angry than previously. It wasn't Oz's fault that he couldn't really see past was put in front of him. He could relate to Marshall, but that was as far as he could go. And even then, it didn't seem far considering his hinted insistance that Oz didn't have as bad a change as he. "Hey, I'm allowed to mope and feel useless if I want to. And I'll bear that in mind. Nose bleed equals bad," he said, an awkward playfulness at the end. He began to walk back over to his abandoned tray of food, feeling quite uneasy about what had just transpired. Things just didn't feel settled yet. Maybe Marshall would need more time before a better apology. "Just...take things easy...nothing's worse than a penguin with a nervous breakdown..." Marshall_Green Marshall stood there, that awkward silence forming in the room again, like the room was slowly filling up with water. Marshall shuffled his talon-like foot against the linoleum. With out necessarily thinking through it, he grabbed his tray, walked over to where Oz was sitting and plopped it down.
"...Mind if I join you for lunch? I'm still kinda hungry any way." Marshall said with a smile.
C'mon, I'm trying to forgive you here... Osbourne Caldwell "Umm sure," he replied as he sat himself down in the corner again, half-picked sandwich not looking attractive in the slightest. Oz was in no rush to be anywhere, he could sit and pick at his meal for the rest of the day if he wanted to. He settled into his chair, which creaked and groaned in protest, and started to feel a little better about this, although a part of him feared Marshall still had another ace up his sleeve. "What did you mean when you called me Kong just then...?" he asked casually as he peeled a banana, not yet making the link to the popular and recently remade film. Marshall_Green Marshall smirked, glad to see that him and Oz might have been making some process. Until Oz asked what he meant earlier.
"Kong? Oh...Umm...Well..." Marshall rubbed the back of his feathered neck, "You kind of look like King Kong...Y'know? The giant gorilla?" Osbourne Caldwell "King Kong? Isn't that the thing that climbs the empire state building?" he pressed further, a smirk across his face. "You think I'm turning into a King Kong?" The disbelief was hard to mask, even if he had tried to. Oz was still at that fine point between disbelief and despair. Having spent many of the previous moping about what had happened to him, he hadn't put any thought into what he was going to become. He'd wanted to avoid thoughts of that personally, since it would almost seem like an acceptance of what was happening. He looked at his hands, and in particular the half-eaten banana in his right hand. With a carefully considered expression, he put it on the table and slid it to one side, picking up an apple inside which seemed a lot less conspicious. Marshall_Green "Heh...Well...Yeah, pretty much. Not King Kong specifically but I think a Gorilla, maybe?" Marshall said with an unknowing shrug and smile as he took a bite of his cold fish-stick. He was surprised; it actually tasted better cold. He giggled slightly at Oz eating a banana, though did his very best to hide his amusement.
"Its actually not a bad deal, Gorillas are king of the Jungle y'know." Osbourne Caldwell "Hehe yeah...but I'd make a terrible king of the jungle," he half-chuckled, a part of him screaming at the fact he was discussing this so openly and light-heartedly when he'd just spent days hating himself for what he was becoming. "I'd almost started to think of a hairy rhino or something, look at this freaky thing on my head," he said, lifting up the black mop of fur that obscured the embryonic sagittal crest that was just forming on his forehead. It was almost like swapping gross out stories or battle-scars. Was Oz kind of proud to have this odd adornment to his head, just so that people had something to talk about with him? Marshall_Green "Dude!" Marshall laughed, in slight awe (yet still proper grossed out) of the swollen crest of Oz's forehead. "Looks kinda...Painful." Marshall said, sounding less sympathetic than he intended.
"And I'm sure there could be worst kings of the jungle...Take me, for example. I'm a farkin' penguin...They belong in the South Pole, durnit! Or maybe its North Pole..." Osbourne Caldwell Oz relished the reaction from Marshall, reminding him of the days when he used to show off a new bruise or a new scar from rugby to all his team-mates and drinking buddies. "Well, it doesn't hurt...at least not yet," he said, continuing to touch it and follow the length of it to the top of his skull even as Marshall kept talking. "Hah, king of ice more like then. I bet you prefer the warm weather though." Oz had made quick work of his apple and eyed one of his chocolate muffins with lust. Should he imbibe in something that was, or should, be in his diet? Did diet even matter anymore? Nope! He began nibbling on the muffin. Marshall_Green "Hey, I'm a California boy. Of course I prefer the warm weather. Mind you I've been keeping my duplex like an ice-box for the past couple of weeks..." Marshall said, looking at one of the two remaining chocolate muffins.
"You gonna eat that?" Osbourne Caldwell Oz wasn't even going to wonder how Marshall could make his duplex so cold and instead concerned himself with the penguin boy's request for a muffin. He pulled faces in mock thought, as though he was going to think and then refuse to give him a muffin. "Weeelll...go ahead. I shouldn't be eating so much anyways," he said, pushing a muffin across to Marshall. Marshall_Green "Much appreciated." Marshall smirked, pulling over the muffin, his arm using like some sort of bizarre feathered hook. Eating was equally as strange to watch, as he sort of just bit it in small bites from the table, like he was eating bird-seed or some thing.
And to even further the strangeness, Marshall didn't seem to find eating like this weird. Osbourne Caldwell Oz began eating his remaining muffin, and only became blindingly aware of how normal he still was when he saw Marshall 'peck' at his dismantled muffin on the table. He watched him with a morbid fascination, maybe staring a little too hard and a sort of disbelief etched on his face. The kind where you've just seen a snake swallow a rabbit whole. In between bites, he felt at his nose and face, for the fuzz factor and for any other signs of animals he was going to be. Maybe a trip to the entertainment room was on the cards. "Did I miss anything? Y'know, whilst I've been a hermit." Marshall_Green "Hmmm...Well, nothing big, as far as I can think. I know Gaius' project is still going on," Marshall said between bites, unaware of the theft of all the supplies, "I think I saw some duplex painted or some thing...It was pretty bad though. Looked like a bunch of worms or some thing." he said, talking about Miller's duplex.
"Outside of that, I can't really think of any thing too big that happened. Life moves kinda slow around here, some times." Osbourne Caldwell "I need to get back to work really," he said absently, forgetting for a moment of what had happened the last time he was working. When he DID remember, he kind of clammed up, hoping it was only a slip of the tongue and that Marshall wouldn't take exception to it. Instead, he quickly changed the topic. "Worms? Poor bugger. Isn't he the guy from the bonfire party thing a while back?" Marshall_Green "Huh? Ummm...Y'know, I was so stinkin' drunk I can't honestly say I remember much from that party. Other than the giant cat doing Little Tea Pot." Marshall said with a slight chuckle as he finished off his muffin. Damn did that hit the spot!
"I actually don't even know how I got home! Pretty stupid, huh?" Osbourne Caldwell "Heh, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and made the video," he sighed heavily in reply. Oz knew only too well what it was like to have no recollection of an evening. "I'm surprised I resisted the bottle m'self." Marshall_Green "Yeah? You like to drink or some thing?" Marshall asked, crumpling up the brown paper that was originally on the muffin. "I'm apparently a featherweight when it comes to drinking...In fact...I don't remember how I got home both times I've been drunk." Marshall murmured, tapping his chin with his flipper. Osbourne Caldwell Ah, this was probably the first real meeting with Marshall since the midnight movie marathon. He couldn't recall if he'd explained his reason for being on this island then. But it wouldn't hurt to say it again. "Oh yeah. A big drink problem," he said with a little shame. "Although a detox program wouldn't matter here." Marshall_Green "Oh...Um, sorry..." Marshall said awkwardly. What else was there to say? A lot of people probably did stuff that they weren't proud of before they came to the island.
"Well...Y'know...If there is a perk to any of this...Its um...Its kind of a second chance. Y'know?" Marshall said in a small voice, pushing the small piece of crumpled paper around the table. Osbourne Caldwell "Nothing for you to be sorry about. I'm the one who pissed my life away, literally," he said with a bitter-sweet laugh. Oz had never really seen it like that, at least not yet. Not until he could actually think about it. And truth be told, despite everything he'd had to face, he'd touched very little alcohol. Maybe this place had at leats one redeeming feature afterall. "...Hmm...I guess you're right." Marshall_Green "Heh heh." Marshall chuckled lightly, glad that Oz didn't hate him and almost...relieved that he didn't hate Oz. Yes, his arm was still broken, but still, bitching and moaning about it wouldn't help.
Gotta grow up. Stop being mad at people. All that s**t.
"Well Oz, I'm gonna go look for that blond-haired girl with pointed ears...Mind keeping an eye out for her?" Marshall asked, scooping up the piece of paper, throwing it into the trash with a rather impressive chuck.
"I'll see ya later, Ozzy Kong." Osbourne Caldwell "A blonde-haired girl with pointy ears? Okay, on an Island full of people with pointy ears and teeth, no problem," he teased with mild sarcasm, waving the penguin-man off as he left the cafe. After indulging on what his body thought it needed, Oz felt a study trip to the entertainment room was on the cards at the next available opportunity. Mimicking Marshall's leaving gesture, he tried to throw his rubbish into the bin...and missed. He shrugged off his ineptitude and left the cafe with at least a clear conscience. And a full stomach.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:44 pm
David Attenborough is a Pervert!
22.01.07 - Oz makes the worrying discovery that like the rest of the Islanders, cameras are planted everywhere, even in rooms Osbourne Caldwell Since the heated meeting with Marshall, and the not so cheerful meeting with Billy prior to that, Oz had a long time to just sit and stew over many things that had bothered him about the Island. A lot of things flashed through his mental list of grievances, not least the inappropriate timing of his changes towards beast. So far, whilst taking some blame for Marshall's accident, he mostly blamed the labs. And then another event popped into his mind, one that could have made life more difficult and miserable than it already was. Sayuri knowing about his time with Ant. He had to know - did she squeal to the mermaid? Or did the labs, by whatever means? He had a reason to go see her, since he had yet to properly thank her for his Christmas gift. So it was that he hobbled from his duplex and through the village core towards Ant's duplex, hesitating a while before knocking on her door. Waiting for an answer, he thought about his method of gleaming this information from her...which would no doubt not be subtle considering Oz's lack of tact. Antoinette Devereux There was a shuffle of feet behind the door, which soon opened to reveal the fully changed squirrel woman. She offered a smile to Oz while leaning lazily against he door frame, quite keen on absently accentuating her feminine curves. He didn't exactly seem to be in a good mood, after all. "Long time no see," she said simply, looking him up and down as her tails moved expressively on their own behind her. "What can I do for you?" Osbourne Caldwell Oz was very intent on keeping his concentration for the task at hand, so the last thing that had entered into his mind was the possibility Antony might have changed since their last meeting. Quite dumbstruck for a moment, all troubles melted away as he was struck by her new look, including the new hair colour. "Wow...you look different," he said rather bluntly. His whole posture had slackened in this moment, so it was physically visible when he regained purpose. "Oh...umm...I came to say...a very late...thank you for the Christmas stuff," he said, not masking his inability to be subtle very well. Antoinette Devereux She simply gave him a crooked grin and shrugged, "It happens." An eyebrow quirked upwards as he stood up straight once more, but she kept quiet while he stumbled through his words, a look of amusement etched softly across her furry facial features. When he was finished, she nodded and smiled, "Is that all then? Or was there something else you wanted...?" Osbourne Caldwell How could she take her change so well? Maybe because she'd been more of an animal for much longer than Oz had, although it scared him to think that when that time came for him that he'd shrug it off so easily. But back to the matter at hand... "...I'm sorry I couldn't get you anything in return...I wasn't really sure what I could have got you anyways," he continued, shrugging his even more expansive shoulders. "And yeah...could I come in? I need to ask you something," he asked a little sheepishly, the male bravado of their first meeting gone. Antoinette Devereux She waved off his apology and motioned him inside with another smile, shutting and locking the door behind him. Once inside Antony nodded to the couch, remaining standing herself. "What's up?" An index finger absently twirled a lock of red hair around her finger while she waited for his question. Her expression was too neutral to read. Osbourne Caldwell Oz shuffled inside awkwardly, having to crouch slightly to fit through the doorframe. It was a slight squeeze width ways too. Still incredibly sensitive about what had changed, he had to fight hard to stop himself blushing or just scrambling for the nearest opportunity to hide. He was a little odd that respect - a wilful act of humiliation was shrugged off quickly, whereas something beyond his control haunted him for days. Oz settled himself on the couch, trying to ignore its creaking protests to his weight. He looked to Antony, who was still standing, and wondered why she hadn't sat down. He hesitated a little, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with his fingers. "Well...its concerning...umm...our little...session," he said, quite visibly struggling with words. "Did you...." He broke it off. How could he say this without upsetting or accusing her? "Someone else found out...who then got upset at me..." he tried to hint at what he was going to ask. Antoinette Devereux She watched him with a keen eye for a moment before sitting down in a chair generally facing Oz. Again, his stumbling brought amusement to her features, but Antony managed to hide most of it well enough this time. His next statement brought an audible sigh, however. "Look, it's not my fault you got yourself caught by your girlfriend or other prospects... And you sure as hell better not have come here to get me to dig you out of the hole you dug yourself." Really, did she look like the kind of girl who made peace with girlfriends of the men she's slept with? Osbourne Caldwell "You told her?!" he whined, his face all kinds of horror. It took a while longer for Ant's other statement to sink before it garnered a reaction from him. Sayuri wasn't exactly his girlfriend, but he had never expected her to find out what had happened, no less be shown. "She's not my girlfriend, shes just...errm...look, I just don't like people finding out what I do, okay." Antoinette Devereux "Did you not listen to me? I don't like getting involved in the other girls, whatever their label," she snapped, eyes darkening dangerously. "I didn't tell whoever else you're ********. It was probably the god damn labs showing the camera feed to her. They like stirring trouble when they're sitting behind their safe little electrified fence." By this time, Antony had stood up and glared down at the much larger man sitting on her couch, arms crossed over her chest indignantly. Osbourne Caldwell Camera feed...what the...?"Camera? What camera? I never saw one," he replied, adding confusion into the mix now. As kinky as it would have been to be filmed, it wasn't something he'd ever want to do. And besides, surely he should have noticed a camcorder if she had one. Even the newest ones were big enough to see. "Wait a minute...the labs?" Antoinette Devereux Oh man this one was dense. She sighed raggedly to calm herself down, rubbing her temples slowly. "Yes, the labs have cameras... They're hidden, and everywhere. How do you think the labs are able to buzz people down during conflicts? We're nothing but a ******** experiment, and so what better way to make observations and keep people in line then have a big brother atmosphere?" Osbourne Caldwell Oz was dumb-struck once more. It might have been easy for him to shrug off any cameras in the village, had he paid enough attention to see them in the first place. He came from a CCTV culture, where surveillance cameras were the norm in cities. But the intrusion of cameras into the duplexes sank much deeper. "They put ******** cameras in our ROOMS!? Where?!" he said standing up abruptly and frantically looking for any sign of a lense or a flashing light or a wire. This was all he needed. After the week he'd had so far, the last thing he needed to know that he was the subject of a demented nature documentary. Antoinette Devereux Antony caught on to what he was frantically thinking rather quickly and held her ground, narrowing her eyes at the much larger man. "I don't know and you're not going to beat up my walls to find out." Her voice was firm and despite her smaller relative stature, she was not to be argued with. Period. Behind her, the nine tails lashed and were tense, ready in case she had to make a quick get away movement. Osbourne Caldwell "What...you're okay with being...watched all the time? You're okay with some retard wanking over your sex scenes? Or watching you take a piss on the toilet?" he replied snidely, his language becoming uncharacteristically vulgar. And whilst he was starting to feel riled enough to actually DO something, he had to admit that he didn't have the courage to defy Antony. He obeyed her comman by staying put, despite his need to actually find the offending camera. Antoinette Devereux "I've been here for over a year," she countered, standing up a bit taller, teeth baring slightly. "I'm used to it and we don't exactly have a choice anyways." Her retorts were bitter, and she had to hold herself back from taking any more steps towards him. He was twice her size, after all. Osbourne Caldwell "We do have a friggin choice. If I can't destroy your camera, I'm definitely going to get rid of mine!" he said with a growl, though not directed at Antony. Although not always the sharpest pencil in the tin, he somehow began to pick up on Antony's body language and the clear messages she was sending his way. As long as he wasn't bothering her, she might not be hostile. He made big strides towards the door, hesitating for a few moments. He looked over his shoulder and took a deep breath. "Umm...sorry I accused you of..." he trailed of, hoping his apology was clear enough without having to say 'snitching.' Antoinette Devereux "They'll just put in another one, you know," she stated, though she knew he really didn't care. He was probably on his way to hulk smash at this very moment. "I'd rather not have them come INTO my duplex to repair s**t because then that'd give them a chance to snoop around... And knowing the repairmen, I'm sure half my underwear would be missing by the end of it." Antony gave him a wave that told him he was dismissed at the apology, though it was unclear if she had accepted it or not via her body language. Osbourne Caldwell Antony's words did penetrate his thick skull, but not deep enough to take him away from his ultimate goal. All he thought about now was taking a little bit of control back. Even if they did replace the cameras, at least until that happened he was free. He could have a sense of release, knowing whatever he did wasn't going to be used for blackmail or personal amusment. Walking through the village back to his duplex, he made a point to just look around and identify any cameras. And now that he actually looked, they became quite obvious. He'd have to do this quickly. Working on adrenaline only, he began to search his duplex frantically for any sign of a camera or cameras, first in his bedroom, then his bathroom. It took at least three sweeps of his room before he found one. Right in the corner of his room, almost flush to the ceiling. Tipping over yet more of his fruniture and using it as a climing frame, he slouched greatly to accomodate his height as he inspected the suspicious area. Running a finger along the area of wall, he felt the uneven surface. His nostrils flared. The sheer fact that he'd found a camera in his room just fanned the flames of anger further. He almost didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was there. Growling excessively, he wanted to smash it with his bare hands. But it was in too awkward a place for that. In a moment of inspiration that did not strike Oz often, he hopped from off his upturned wardobe and retrieved a cricket ball from his duffel bag. A well aimed swipe at the camera... ...and it was gone. With only the slight sound of a smash, it was gone. Oz was liberated from its gaze, at least for now. A self-satisfied smile creeped across his mis-shapen face and his efforts doubled. He only managed to find one other camera in his duplex, although there could possibly have been more. This time though, he had soemthing to say to his tormentors. "You want a nature documentary...I'll give you a nature documentary," he sneered with malice, spitting at the camera before promptly smashing that one too. Armed with some more of his cricket balls, he charged from his duplex like a man possessed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:44 am
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:36 pm
Scot Free
23.01.07 - After blacking out in the village, Oz feels empowered It felt like a sledgehammer had whacked him squarely on the back, leaving every muscle, every nerve, stiff and unresponsive. Aware of a god-awful taste in his mouth first, his other senses slowly started to blink into operation. Oz licked his lips and found that his mouth had been open all night, resulting in a drool-patch on his pillow. His semi-flat nose wrinkled in disgust and his eyes began to focus. Before long, he'd managed to shake away the sleep and tried to take stock of the situation. His duplex. At least he was somewhere safe. He recalled the village, and his actions, but he couldn't recall much after ripping another camera from its position on the side of someone's duplex. He lurched to a painful sitting position, rubbing his neck deeply as he continued to observe his room. It was still a mess, just the way he'd left it. Nothing added, nothing taken away. At least until he spied the intercom. It had been replaced with a brand new unit. Oz stood up slowly, faultering a few times with his unstable back. He stared at the shiny black machine in a mixture of disbelief and bubbling anger once more. He strode over to it, running a hand over the new unit, even on the wall around it to see the extent of repair. Mind flashing back to what had enraged him so much the day prior, his head flicked to the corner of his room where he'd unearthed a camera in his ceiling and destroyed it. It too had been replaced. So, being returned to his duplex in the heat of a property damage spree was the worst he'd get? Oz had to question the labs motives for supposedly leaving him unpunished, but at the same time, it filled him with a sense of power. Did he have the upperhand? Had he exposed a weakspot, something to keep exploiting? EVen if the end result was simply pissing the labs off? Oz liked to think so, and mentally began his second wave of yob tactics. This time, he'd have to go unseen in his attack.
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Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:53 am
Monkies Have to Stick Together01.02.07 - Oz meets a fellow primate in MarykeMonkey Meeting
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:44 pm
You Suck Your Thumb?
06.02.07 - Oz has fallen asleep at his post at the construction site, and is caught by resident ball of fluff, aka Nita Osbourne Caldwell A few nights of working by moonlight was taking its toll on the laze-about Brit. Oz was no stranger to hard work, even if it had been a while since his body was put through its paces, but he was certainly a stranger to waking up early or staying up late. Despite his best intentions to make up for the accident he caused by being a good guard...he'd fallen asleep at his post. After only a few minor physical jobs during the night, like moving anything heavy to a more convenient place or setting equipment out for others to use, Oz had assumed his sentry-like position, perched on the renewed pile of planks, wood and other ephemira. It was here that he fell asleep in a curled up position. Sucking his thumb. Nita MacNeal It was just before dawn, and Nita was awake. Comet had been fed and let out to do her business (having, of course, prodded Nita to waking and then promptly gone back to sleep). But Nita was restless; something in her was fond of the hours before sunrise. She left her duplex alone, wearing a light jacket over her cuffed up scrubs. Perhaps she would keep an eye out for Gaius at the construction site. She had heard construction going on during all hours, so presumably the workers had acquired supplies again. However, the site was quiet as she approached, her bare feet hardly breaking the silence. "Hello?" Nita called softly. Her keen eyes found a large lump on the wood-pile. She padded over for a better look. The lump was clearly alive, and probably an islander, although not someone she immediately recognized. Which was probably a good thing, since the person in question was sucking his thumb. Nita hid a smile and coughed quietly. "Ah, hello?" Osbourne Caldwell Oz's brow wrinkled slightly, which must have looked very odd considering how thick it was, and he stretched out an arm to feel for something. His elongate hand fumbled about across the wood-pile, then the dirt as he thought his alarm clock was going off. "Mmmmrrr.r..r...humph...five more minutes..." he mumbled past his thumb, eyes blinking open briefly. But as he rolled about on his odd 'bed', some of the wood beneath him shifted greatly and Oz awoke with a start. Nita MacNeal Nita backed away from Oz's reaching hand, whiskers twitching in amusement. "But I don't have a watch," she protested, although she doubted the guy was lucid enough to understand just yet. She squeaked and hopped backwards when the woodpile shifted precariously, threatening to dump the gorilla-man. "Woah, there, you okay?" Nita asked. She stood on tip-toe with her tail sticking out behind her for balance. Osbourne Caldwell After much comical flailing and attempts to get some kind of balance, Oz finally stood up straight, panting a little from the shock. He didn't acknowledge Nita's presence at first, looking about in that typical morning daze. The amount of light was his first surprise, considering it was pitch black when he mounted his post. He finally turned to face Nita properly, greeted by a big ball of fluff and very pretty eyes. "Uuuhhh..." he blinked away some more sleep. "What...time is it?" he asked sheepishly, already knowing the answer. Nita MacNeal Nita looked up (way up) at Oz, then glanced at the sky. "Ah, like I said, I don't have a watch, but it's probably around 6:30 AM," she replied. She poked at the woodpile for a moment and decided it was steady enough to sit on. After all, it had held the much larger man quite well until he'd started flailing about. As Nita had no such plans, she clambered up easily. At least she wouldn't have to crane her neck so much! Osbourne Caldwell Oz had been oblivious to Nita's presence until this point, so he'd missed her previous comment about not having a watch. His face wrinkled into a grimace and he rubbed the back of his thick neck sheepishly. "Oh bugger...I fell asleep," he chastised himself lightly, most likley expecting a backlash from Billy or Gaius later should anything be missing. ...oh crap! Oz walked a short way from Nita to just survey the work site and make sure things were okay. Nothing had been done to the site, no tools or materials were missing...and nothing about his person seemed peculiar. He was in one piece at least. He returned to the fluffy cutie with a relieved smile on his lumpy face. "Keep this between you and me?" he asked her, pleading with a cheeky grin. She seemed vaguely familiar...but he couldn't pinpoint where from just yet. Nita MacNeal "I noticed," Nita murmured, watching Oz as he wandered off. She thought she'd be kind and not mention that he had been sucking his thumb. She grinned at him when he returned, kicking her heels lightly against the wood. "Sure thing. I take it you're playing guard?" Nita glanced around, reaffirming that nothing seemed amiss. "I see you guys got your stuff back. I was here with Gaius when he found out everything got taken," Nita explained. " Damn was he pissed!" Her grin widened. "Anyway, I won't tell him." Osbourne Caldwell "Hehe, yeah. Personal request from Billy. I made such a balls-up a few weeks ago that I thought I'd try hard to be a good...wait a minute...stuff went missing?" he began, eyes already looking a bit brighter as he started to wake up. Nita's casual comment kind of took him off guard. "Who'd want to take construction stuff anyway?" Nita MacNeal Nita's brows rose in surprise. "Oh! I figured that's why you were guarding the place. Um, a couple weeks ago, Dr. Duvert took all the supplies. Left a note for Gaius saying so." She shrugged. "That's actually why I came by; to see if Gaius were around, and if he'd managed to get anything back." Osbourne Caldwell Oz was oblivous as always. Althought now that he thought about it, if Billy had known what had happened, that would give him cause enough to seek out a guard. He'd never actually elaborated on why a guard was necessary, and Oz was just eager to get back to working. "I didn't know...I've kind of been avoiding this place lately," he replied, his tone a little more subdued. "But its all back now, I've been using stuff at night without any problems." It bugged him that he knew Dr Duvert as the man who had greeted him when first arriving here, and had now become the subject of his vandalism. Until now, he'd only had suspcions and snatched whispers from Sayuri about Dr Duverts involvement in the Island. This just confirmed it, and now Oz had a name to his tormentor...and victim. "I haven't seen Gaius yet though, I'm sure he'll be around any time this morning," he offered with a smile, shelving his thoughts until later. Nita MacNeal "Ah... I didn't really get the full story, but Gaius said something about having a fight with Zach. Apparently they've had run-ins before." Nita grimaced. "And Zach is like, Duvert's little pet or something." She shrugged, kicking her heels again in an unsteady rhythm. "Um," she began rather suddenly, "This is kind of silly, but have I met you before? I mean, you seem kind of familiar, but..." Nita's voice trailed off. No reason to explain how much people changed around here. "I'm Nita." Osbourne Caldwell "Zach? Which one is he then?" he asked, again quite unaware that he'd already met the notorious dragon in a name-less exchange of Christmas blues. It disturbed him to think of an Islander being a 'pet' to the aforementioned evil bugger that was Dr Duvert. Had they gone so far as to literally turn them in a pet animal, like a dog or cat? Must be awful losing all humanity like that...it didn't bear thinking about. Oz gave a slight shudder. "You know, I had the same feeling," he chuckled. "My name's Osbourne, but its Oz for short. A pleasure Nita." He gave a gentleman-like bow that looked a bit corny really, but his intentions were sweet all the same. He gave a big yawn and a stretch. "I don't think I saw you at Christmas...since I was a miserable git and avoided everyone," he laughed. "Maybe Halloween...?" Nita MacNeal "Zach's the red dragon guy. Tends to be kind of a jerk?" Well, that was one way of describing him. Nita stared at Oz as she started to remember where she'd met this guy before. "I was at Halloween," she said carefully. The party itself had been fine, but that delightful trip through the jungle afterwards had been distinctly less fun. Thinking that Annie was attacking, the graveyard... "Wait," Nita said, seizing on another memory. "A couple weeks after Halloween, did you happen to be at a game of Truth or Dare on the beach?" Osbourne Caldwell Zach's the red dragon guyWhat the hell... the guy on the crutches he'd seen at Christmas? All of a sudden, some of Zach's rather cryptic comments made a lot more sense, and some of them just made Oz's head hurt even worse. But...a pet? Damn, that was a pretty nasty pet! The look of shock and slight fear graced his face only briefly as he shelved that snippet of information for greater rumination later too. His mind was far too groggy now to fully comprehend things. It was struggling with Nita's familiarity as it was! "Oh the bonfire party thing...? Yeah, I was there. The highlight of that evening was some tiger singing to 'I'm a little teapot' and me making an a** of myself..." he trailed off as Nita's distinctive red hair and fur colouring flashed across his memory. OH s**t!"Oh god I am SO sorry! I never would have pointed at you if I'd have known you were...umm..yeah," he said, fumbling for an apology, his mouth suddenly not listening to his brain. Nita MacNeal Nita sat patiently, waiting to see if he would remember-- if he was indeed who she thought. And he was. Thanking her inability to blush, Nita sat fidgeting for a moment before letting herself laugh. Of course, at the time, she had been mortified, but in retrospect, it really was funny. "It's okay! It's okay!" she gasped amidst gales of (slightly hysterical) laughter. "You couldn't have known!" It was true. Nita hardly resembled a stereotypical lesbian, and she had been sitting with Gaius. Anyone who didn't know about her relationship with Lauren could easily have made the same assumption. She still felt more than a little guilty about that, but it was hardly Oz's fault. Actually, as she recalled, it was Thom's fault for 'outing' her! Osbourne Caldwell Nita's lack of any kind of reprieve or harsh comeback was a relief. In hindsight, the situation itself had been funny, and Oz needn't really have apologised for that. But it was the chain reaction immediately afterwards that had made his gut wrench on that night. Poor Gaius. It really wasn't any of his business to ask about what happened after that, since he barely knew either of them when it happened. He was curious, but at least he had made his peace now. "Umm...yeah...that night was bloody awkward from my point of view, still a 'normie' then," he said that puppy-dog look on his face. "Nevermind, eh? First impressions never count anyways." Oz was blissfully unaware of what took place after he had left. Nita MacNeal Nita worked to regain her composure, knowing that if she kept laughing like that she would probably end up crying. "Yeah well," she said, taking a few deep breaths. "We were all there at some point, you know." Nita shrugged; it was still difficult to come to terms with her appearance and how much she knew she had changed otherwise. Perhaps moreso now that she had no further transformations to look forward to or dread. "Eh, it was an interesting night all around," she said. Nita couldn't recall if Oz had still been around when Annie had attacked, but she had no real desire to examine those memories anyway. "So, ah, I'll just say it's nice to meet your acquaintance, under the circumstances." The red panda girl grinned and stuck out one paw. Osbourne Caldwell At least Nita seemed a little more understanding about this whole mess of a life. He didn't want to delve into any thoughts or possible queries about her time here or how she started out. Oz just seemed glad to have found someone who didn't look at his unchanged, or barely changed, status with ridicule, like Billy had done. "The pleasure is all mine," he smiled warmly at her, grasping her paw maybe a little too firmly than he should have. He was still unable to gauge his strength properly. "So have you been helping with any of the construction? Or are you gonna be a performer?" Nita MacNeal Nita returned the gesture, surreptitiously rubbing her right hand afterwards. Oz definitely had a firm handshake! She shifted her weight slightly to get a bit more comfortable. "Well, I didn't really know what was going on until the day I came by with Gaius and everything was gone. And then I changed..." She shrugged her plump shoulders with chagrin. "It left me pretty damn sore for a long time, plus I actually got shorter. So I dunno how much use I'd be around here. "I'm not really a performer at all. I sing, but I get terrible stage fright." Osbourne Caldwell Oz forced himself to ignore Nita as she rubbed her hand, scolding himself again. He'd have to be more careful, this was exactly what he was fearful of doing to the others. He kept his hands behind him for the remainder of the conversation. In fact, he actually settled himself on the floor, looking up a little to Nita. His back just wasn't comfy in any position - standing or sitting. "Ah," he said. "Well, I hadn't done much good here until my change put me out of action. Its a bit rotten that the labs would steal supplies though." An odd, short growl escaped Oz, much to his embarrassment. "Oh you know the trick for that don't you? Picture everyone naked...although on an Island full of animal people...it might not work," he said with an awkward chuckle. "And you're a step ahead of me. I can't really do anything. My brother is the actor in the family." Nita MacNeal It was actually a bit of a relief not to have to look up, even though they had been more even since Nita had climbed onto the woodpile. So many of her friends were tall, Nita had noticed, and some of them had become even taller from their changes; Oz was apparently one of them. "Yeah, it's like what I told Gaius. That's what they do here: mess with people." The girl shook her head, vaguely wondering if the labs were paying attention to what she'd been saying lately. Nita hadn't exactly been discreet about her increasing mistrust. She snickered. "Considering the people who already go around naked? Yeah, might not work so well." Nita glanced down at herself-- she probably could go naked without anything crucial showing. "I took voice lessons in high school, and I was in a lot of choirs over the years. Nothing major, though, and I was rarely a soloist. My brother did community theatre stuff for a while. He's a lot more out-going than I am." Osbourne Caldwell Now this is where Oz might not agree with Nita. Aside from the labs being vindictive enough to show poor Sayuri about his escapades with the Antony, they ahd yet to do anything to him that he would call 'cruel' or 'torture'. Even after destroying some of their property, they didn't lift a finger. This was incredibly dangerous for Oz, who had a growing sense of invulnerability...despite the things that had happened to others. "Oh I don't know...they didn't do anything to me when I took out their cameras," he said, a smug grin creeping onto his face and a slight bragging tone slipping into his voice. Oz examined the tattered shreds of a pair of jeans that no longer fit, painfully aware of how tight they were and how close he came to splitting them completely. "Ugh...I may have to request a friggin loincloth if I'm not furry enough to go commando," he laughed, no stranger to full-frontal nudity but certainly one to avoid it if he could. He looked up at Nita and actually took the time to really look at her this time. He couldn't identify what she was, but you'd have to be David Attenborough to do that on this Island! But she was cute. Very fluffy and quite 'chunky' but he attributed that to the fluffyness. "Oh my brother got as far as the film industry, but really, in all honesty, he was way too hammy for film. He stayed in the West End mostly after that." Nita MacNeal Nita, of course, had seen quite enough over the months. She sat up a little straighter. "You did what?" she asked, her voice a shocked whisper. "Holy crap, did you really? Where? Did they get replaced right away?" Nita shook her head slowly, frankly surprised that Oz hadn't been punished. Tugging rather self-consciously at her scrubs, the girl made a concerted effort not to look Oz up and down. "A loincloth or just some really big pants." Nita grinned, wrinkling her nose. "I'm still waiting for my new stuff to arrive." Osbourne Caldwell Oz's grin grew even wider as he felt his ego swell. That one act of vandalism could bring him his own brand of infamy on the Island. And if his plotted stage 2 worked, maybe even bring him closer to being a major pain in the arse for the labs. One they would regret ever bringing here. "Just some of the ones in the main parts of the village. I felt this god-awful pain in my neck about half-way through and blacked out," he said, instinctively rubbing his thick neck as he recalled the sensation. "They replaced the ones in my duplex and the high-tower ones practically overnight. But I've been keeping an eye out for maintenance teams to fix the smaller ones." Oz suddenly turned a little dark in his plottings, waiting for people who were still people, with obvious intent to cause more harm. "Heehe, I dunno if they'd make pants in extra extra extra large," he joked, a deeper part of him fearing just how much more weight he was going to put on. He had to admire Nita's look though. Even if she found them distasteful, the scrubs just seemed to aid her cuteness. Oz rubbed his chin in thought. "I dunno, the scrubs look is cute." Nita MacNeal "Ahh, the joys of being buzzed," Nita intoned dryly. Even though most of the cameras had been replaced promptly, it was heartening to know that some were still dysfunctional. The cameras, knowing that she was always under scrutiny, had always been something Nita couldn't easily forget. She had always valued her privacy and it took a lot of work to ignore the cameras. "Well, whatever they're bringing in for me would have pretty weird proportions. I wore a size 3 when I got here, and now..." She shrugged. "Not to mention I actually got shorter," Nita complained, indicating the pant legs which had been severely folded up at the ends. 'Cute' they might be, but Nita missed her typical jeans and t-shirts. Osbourne Caldwell "Being buzzed?" he asked, his odd hand returning to his neck once more. The term might be well-known by most of the Islanders, but for one such as Oz, who had only been told about the chips once in his time here, it was foreign jargon. He hadn't thought about what the chips were actually FOR. Maybe just information, like a serial number, age, weight, that kind of thing. Like a digital personal file. But if they had the ability to be remotely activated and shock people...it was another major part of the Island's dark purpose that Oz failed to comprehend without rage bubbling around in his gut. Nita MacNeal "Yeah, we've all got chips in our necks that monitor us. And they can buzz us unconscious if we do something dangerous. I dunno what all they're for, exactly, but that's the gist of it," Nita explained. Except for Annie. She was unchipped, and the labs hadn't been able to keep her from being dangerous. Nita bit her lip, internally debating whether or not she should continue. Even thinking about Annie was usually enough to upset her... Osbourne Caldwell Oz was looking more and more disturbed by these new pieces of information. His hand rubbed nervously about his neck and then his shoulders, and rather than the outrage he'd felt at being monitored by cameras, Oz was filled with a fear and deep sense that he wasn't dealing with normal people. These were sick, twisted control freaks. "Can...can they be taken out?" he asked honestly, suddenly using his fingers to maybe probe for a physical trace of the chip. Nita MacNeal Nita hesitated, fingering the heart-shaped pendant she wore around her neck. "Technically...," she began quietly, "Yes. I saw it happen once." Nita licked her lips nervously. "I don't know if you've heard about Annie, but she used to live in the village. She and her best friend Fiona were brought here together... They were friends of mine. "Annie... Annie went crazy during a change. She tore the chip out of her neck, and attacked Fee. Ripped out her throat." The blood drained from Nita's face as she spoke, her voice low and steady. Her hands shook slightly. Osbourne Caldwell The name didn't strike a bell, but an awful feeling in his gut told him that he already knew about Annie, albeit the least amount of information. If Nita had lost colour, Oz was practically ashen. "...Annie? Is she a wolf by any chance?" he asked slowly and carefully, trying to piece the only two parts of the puzzle he had together. From Antony, it was a 'crazy feral wolf who lived in the jungle', and from Nita it was a name and a cause. As elated as he could be at finding out the chips could be removed, it was shadowed by the fact a change had made her crazy. Crazy enough to attack her best friend. Nita MacNeal Nita swallowed convulsively, staring into space. She answered with a quick jerky nod. "Wolf. The graves at Halloween... Fiona." The red panda girl didn't remember if Oz had gone on that midnight excursion, but it hardly mattered. She had been there. Osbourne Caldwell The graves at HalloweenAnother bombshell. Why did all the cute ones come with so much baggage? This was probably the worst time to say that he actually thought the graves were fake and just part of the whole Halloween party. But if they were real...had the dripping bags of...whatever...been real also? Oz went numb inside rather suddenly. He just couldn't process all this at once and still be rational. "Ah s**t! And the tossers up in the labs did nothing? Is it still on the loose?" his questions were like an assault on poor Nita, especially as his temper began to flare. Nita MacNeal Nita shrugged, hardly aware of his frantic questioning. She was too caught up in her memories to do much more than reply in a rather unnerving, emotionless voice. "They tried to buzz her, but the chip was out. Can't track her without it." Blinking slowly, a few tears crept down her furry cheek. "I think she's still out there... Haven't been in the jungle to check." Osbourne Caldwell "Oh bugger..." he growled into his hands as he slouched. His breathing was fast and his face wrinkled in anger, a low growl constantly rumbling around his ribcage. For a short while, he was wrapped up in his own concerns, his own worries, his own fears and angers. "I don't blame ya," he replied, quite easily relating to Nita's fear of the jungle now. But this is when he saw how shaken she looked. Her rather emotionless voice would be lost to Oz for a while longer, since he wasn't good at this. He looked at her curiously, trying to recall the details of what she'd said about Annie. Was she a friend of the now crazy feral? She'd seen it happen. "I'm sorry," he apologised for everything really. Anything he had said, anything he hadn't said, and anything he might say soon. Nita MacNeal Nita pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. After a few minutes of nearly silent crying, only marked by the occasional tear or ragged breath, she seemed to come back to herself. She breathed slowly and deeply, wiping her face on her sleeves. "'S not your fault," she mumbled. "You didn't know." Osbourne Caldwell In a moment far removed from this terrible place, from the terrible information he'd just learned, and from his terrible fate, all he saw was Nita crying. Oz shuffled a little bit closer to Nita, resting his head on a plank of wood. "Need a hug? I give good hugs, if you can get past the stale wood smell..." he offered with a gentle smile. He had to quiet so many screams of terror, fear, anger, and other kindred emotions just so he could see Nita as she was and offer a hug. Nita MacNeal Nita sniffed and nodded slightly, letting go of her knees. She leaned to the side and rested against Oz's shoulder for just a minute. If she stayed too long, she'd just fall apart more from the sympathy. "Thanks," she said softly, pulling away from the much larger man. "I try not to think about it too much, you know? But it's not something I can, or should, ever forget." Osbourne Caldwell Oz was a soppy bugger when he wasn't drunk or competing. He had always been the big shoulder to cry on for his little sister, so it hadn't taken long for the sight of Nita's plight to bring those 'big brother' instincts flooding back in. Not wishing to encroach too much on her personal space, he just wrapped an arm about her lightly, more for reassurance than anything. At Nita's first sign of being ready to move away, his arm moved instantly. "Its...certainly something I wish...I'd known sooner," he half-smiled, those previous fears starting to creep in again and tieing knots in his intestines. He'd already ventured into the jungle a few times, unarmed and often alone. It made him cringe to think of those times possibly ending in blood. "But I'll bet you're a tough cookie really." Nita MacNeal Nita had always hated crying in public: her face always got red and splotchy, her nose ran, her eyes puffed up and got bloodshot, and she'd once been asked if, after a crying fit, she were actually stoned. But covered in fur as she now was, she probably looked relatively normal. At least, as normal as one can look after being turned into a red panda. Nita forced herself to calm down; as it was she'd feel shaky for hours afterwards. "I guess they don't want us to panic," she said quietly. "Although panicking would probably be an acceptable response." A tiny smile tugged at her lips. "Tough cookie," Nita repeated. "That's a phrase I haven't heard in forever." Osbourne Caldwell "Yeah...screaming like a girl works too," he chuckled lightly. Oz stood up and brushed the dirt from his bottom and his tattered jeans, then offering a hand to Nita to help her up. "Well, since its morning, fancy some breakfast?" he asked fairly cheerfully, although maybe it was a little obvious that he wanted to be somewhere inside. Nita MacNeal Nita laughed in spite of herself. Accepting Oz's hand, she hopped down from the woodpile. She busied herself with cleaning off her own pants, although they could certainly have used a wash before. Only then realizing how light it had become, Nita nodded. "Sure, I could use some breakfast." Osbourne Caldwell "Same here," he replied, his stomach answering with a grumble of hunger before he could get another word in. Looking quite the odd pair (tall meets tiny) Oz escorted Nita to the cafeteria, discussing along the way all the pitfalls and high-rises of being an animal. Oz just couldn't help occasionally glancing a wary eye to the jungle, or to the shadows behind a duplex, or to any noise that reached his shrinking ears. He half-expected bloodshot eyes to be staring right back.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:42 am
..pro-labs? PISS OFF!07.02.07 - Zach, the labs-spokesdragon gets a mouthful of OzTesting the waters
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:43 am
Geisha of the Lake11.02.07 - Sayuri is more fish than woman now...and more painful for Oz to see than he can handleBittersweet reunion
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 2:29 am
The Answer is at the Bottom of a Beer Bottle
13.02.07 - Oz confesses to his total lack of devotion to his goal of quitting the booze So, another week had passed on this floating insane asylum, and Oz was getting nowhere fast. A blow for his growing confidence, a fearful altercation with the Island's resident pro-labs dragon, and some heartbreak thrown in for good measure. What a spectacular week. Oz sat quite sullenly in the beach bar, glad that one, he could still fit inside it, and two, that no one was required to staff it. Which meant unrestricted access to alcohol, at least until the labs deemed it too much. He couldn't give a toss at this moment in time anyway, quite ensconced in the repeated pattern of picking up bottles of light American beer, swilling it around in the bottle, gazing at the bottle cap as an interior war waged on in his head. Three times he'd done this, and three times he'd popped the cap and supped the contents quickly. He had a good reason to be drinking. Several good reasons to need something to ease the pain. And its not like three light beers would affect him anyway... His whole face wrinkled up in disgust as he finished this fourth bottle, not a fan of American beer at all. If he ever wanted to talk to the lab staff ever again, that would be his only request - some decent lager. At least the selection of spirits was impressive, one large grubby hand gravitating to a distinctive black and white label of whisky. Working automatically without a second-thought to what he was doing, Oz had poured himself a 'Jack and Coke.' He savoured this a lot more than the beer though, quite comforted by the familiar taste and the warm memories it evoked. Damn. How he used to be. What he used to do. Places he used to go. All gone now. Save for snapshots of his memory, lurking at the bottom of a glass. Always lurking at the bottom of a glass. And when all the sultry liquid had gone, those snapshots would disappear. Pour another and get some new snapshots. And then those would disappear. Pour another. And another. And another. --- And thats how Oz's afternoon played out. No attempts to stop his relapse into drinking, just glass after glass after glass, safe in his excuse that he'd had a bad week. That he NEEDED the alcohol to ease his 'pain,' to alter his perception of reality into something more comfortable. But just how comfortable was it? All he had were memories in this dank little beach bar. No physical comfort. And even the mental comforts faded after each glass, becoming more and more blurry and mixed until current and past events swirled into one in his morbid state. Oz wasn't too drunk, he was intoxicated enough to see things and lose his balance but even after several months of a more relaxed drinking attitude, he could still hold his own. As dusk began to cast its glow across the waters and shore, Oz wobbled from the beach bar, convinced that his imbalance was more becuase of his current physical state - top-heavy. He made a bee-line for the construction site to start his night-guard duty, although a little guilty from not doing any work during the day. Of course, his bee-line was more of a zig-zag-line, and often took him close to the jungle that fringed the beach. Which is when he saw it. The glaring horror that his drinking had hoped to dull and cast out of his conscious mind. It was quite the sobering moment when Oz laid eyes on what looked like shredded clothing. With blood on it. In a brief moment, he regained balance and most mental functions, allowing him to slowly approach the offending piece of cloth. Each step seemed painfully slow, time creeped to a halt, and his heart thumped against his rib-cage. Amidst heavy breathing, his eyes kept looking towards the dark jungle, checking for anything. He didn't want to be ambushed...wait a minute! What if this was some kind of lure? All the other Islanders knew enough about the feral Annie to avoid the jungle. Oz halted. He licked his dry lips, then made a grab for the cloth. His curiosity had to be satisfied. But he began to wish he had walked straight on. Although fairly dry, the cloth still left distinct blood stains on his hands. In panic, he threw the cloth to the ground and looked about frantically. And then he thought he saw her. He could hear her. Heavy breath, deep growls. Oz didn't wait a moment longer to find out if she was really there or if the alcohol was making him hallucinate. He bolted back to his duplex, the adrenaline overriding most effects of the alcohol previously consumed. It didn't matter much anyway...since he threw up the rest of the booze as soon as he got back to his bathroom.
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Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 2:28 pm
Men and Their Men Games
15.02.07 - Its the beach-party all over again, this minus a fire and dangerous wolf, but plus one very obnoxious gorilla
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:07 pm
Bath-time03.03.07 - Oz has been having trouble taking a shower, so resorts to a bath in the riverRub a Dub-Dub
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Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:54 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:38 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:52 am
April Fool's Day
01.04.07 - When is it? Following Sabin's trick for April Fools Day, Oz slowly stirs into wakened life. Even though his mouth is incredibly dry, he still wipes it with a hand as if he was drooling. His neck is stiff and his muscles ache like they used to after a good day's training at the rugby field. It took another good 5 minutes before he felt 'human' enough to realise where he was and how he got there. With muscles screaming blue murder at him, he struggled to a sitting position, smacking his jaws as he did so, as if it might fight off the cottonmouth. Oz wheezed dryly, feeling an unquenchable thirst take hold of his throat. He could just vaguely remember leaving the beach bar at lunch, only three beers in his system. He was on his way to the construction site and could feel a sort of hot claminess in the atmosphere that just served to make him sticky and kind of tired. Then blackness. He absolutely hated the power wielded over him using the chips. He hated knowing that he could be knocked out at any instant, and worse still, there could be side-affects more severe than just a dry mouth. In the hour that followed as he regained composure, bodily needs made themselves known and his senses began to wake up. He was obviously thirsty, and his stomach voiced its discontent at being empty. Muscles began to stop wailing and Oz regained more easy movements in his abnormally long torso and musclar frame. The musty and stale smell soon drifted into stretched nostrils and eyes picked up the dust spread about his room. "What the...?" he groaned as a headache swept over him. Dust? How in the hell could it be dusty? He craned his heavy head to his desk alarm clock, where it read 9.38pm. Surely, it had only been a few hours. How can dust settle so quickly? Then Oz saw the rest of his clock's information. August. The display read August. I've been out for...MONTHS!?!He wasn't sure what this heady mix of feelings meant. He was horrified, frightened, angry. All mixed up together and making him feel sick to his stomach. He planted his fat feet on the floor and just hunched over, staring at them. But his toes didn't hold the answers. In order to stop or somehow slow down the barrage of horrifying questions concerning his time asleep, he got up quickly, fuelled only by adrenaline, and left his duplex. Outside, the air felt less clammy but as he descended his stairs, the ground felt damp under foot. He began looking around for any other clues or signs of the massive amoutn of time spent in a sort of coma. Of course, he looked first for signs of autmun - cripsed leaves, colour changes, chill in the air. But then he remembered he was on a tropical island, where the seasons worked so very differently compared to home. Oz just stood for a moment, breathing the air, smelling it, tasting it. It seemed so much fresher than his room...but was his mind playing tricks? Had a simple prank as changing all the clocks and calendar's been enough to fool his brain into feeling things that just weren't true? These skies...they hardly looked any different to the skies of that morning when he was supposedly buzzed out for months. But had he paid attention to the sky? Not really. Not with alcohol swimmign around his brain and some place to be. Like a lost child, Oz suddenly felt like his world had fallen from under his feet. The determination to keep the worst questions assaulting his brain gave way to fatigue of the mind and the body. What happened?
Where was I all this time?
Have...have they done anything to me? Anything ELSE?
What about everybody else?
Did they know I was gone?
Were THEY gone too?
Did they suffer anything?As each question ran through his mind, he hobbled about, his body working on automatic drive, feet taking him along an ingrained route in his head. First, the cafeteria, obeying his stomach's needs. In reality, he'd gone without food for only 6 or more hours, but his head just seemed to magnify his hunger pangs to make them feel like months. Only when he emerged from the cafeteria did the evening's darkness strike him. But it didn't stop his body's autonomy taking him to the beach bar next. He knew of only one thing in his life that he could depend on now and that was alcohol's unfailing ability to numb the pain. To numb any kind of pain.
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