[Journal]~Awen Zyn~Special Aquatic Duplex #1~

[Awen Zyn]

Life is but an RPG... with less monster battles

Awen decided to walk a little bit before her legs got too used to the water. She had been spending much too much time there. Besides though she had seen Chubbs and Joliette she hadn't seen Lauren anywhere. Worried she had gone to look for the tall blond girl.

By now her skin had lost that nice sheen it had when wet and her skin was starting the have that rough dried feeling to it. Her feet were sore from stepping on the million rock or stick combo since she left the water.

She sighed a little bit. "Where are you Lauren."

Lauren was in her own little grove of the jungle. A pile of arrows had laid beside her and know she was widdling on what appeared to be a bow. Her eyes looked distant upon her work as if looking past it and her arm had what appeared to be new cuts with old blood crusted over them.

She looked as if she hadn't ate anything the last few days.

She heard a familiar voice although it seemed a little odd through the fog of her hunger. Her knife slipped, cutting her clawed finger a bit. "********!" She yelped but soon after laughed a bit.

Hearing the exclaimation then laughter set Awen on edge. This didn't sound like it was very good. But it was Lauren. Looking around Awen turned and started towards the sound. "Lauren? That you...?"

She moved forward through the bushes into that little grove that Lauren was in. She looked at the arrows then to the cuts and dried blood. She frowned slightly. "Are you okay..?"

Lauren looked up at the voice, a feral look in her eyes. She didn't really recognise who it was at first, Awen had changed so much. A memory clicked here or there but she pushed it back as she lifted her knife weakly in defense.

"Who... who ******** are you?" She responded stumbling over her words. Lauren had saw her, she couldn't be Awen. Must be some form of look a like she thought to herself. Probably someone sent by the same people that got Moreau here to get her. She stayed on guard.

Awen was surprised and alittle hurt at Lauren's words. Why did she have to...oh. Awen looked at her hands and flexed them slightly, watching the webs flex and bend. She did look different. Looking back up to Lauren she realised that can't be an excuse. She was still Awen, wearing her own clothes and look blue hair. Even Timothy recognised her...

"Lauren, it's me Awen. I know I cahnged but come on not that badly...." She gave her friend a smile. "Come on now lets head back to camp okay?"

Lauren lowered her knife a bit confused. Memories came back to her, flushing into her mind. She remembered Moreau, remembered hugging him after her first change.

She shook her head confused. "He's... dead. You can't change. None of us CAN change. How?!" She got up dropping her unfinished bow reaching out to touch Awen's head prongs then pulling back.

Lauren was a mess, her hair was basically just a matte of rats on her head. She smelled of blood, sweat and an odd body odor somewhere in between human and animal. Her face was covered in dirt as was her body. All of this yet she looked as if she had accepted it as her fate.

Awen winced a little at her questions. Especially when she pulled her hand away so quickly. She didn't know, she was confused and frieghtened about how or why she was continuing to change.

Taking a good look at Lauren she knew Lauren wasn't really in the best situation either. "Lauren listen. I don't know how I am changing I don't know why. We don't know that Moreau is dead as you well know." She gestured back the way to camp. "Now come on. Let's get back to camp you shouldn't be going off alone and staying there. We can get you some food and wash you up."

"You don't know...." Her voice was fadeing. "How... how could you NOT know!" A bit of anger in that, as much as she could muster being so weak.

She was huffing, holding her knife up to Awen. "Yeah... food. You're not really Awen are you?" Her grip on the knife was weak and part of her was screaming in her mind to just give up and give in. Her slighly pointed canines were revealed in a smile. "Who sent you?! YOU KILLED HIM DIDN'T you!!" She nearly screamed in her face.

Awen saw the flash of knife as it was raised. She took a small step back and help up her hands trying to show Lauren that she didn't mean any harm. Her heart was racing wondering what to do about this. Keep her calm, keep her talking... She'll have to think of something else.

"Lauren... I changed without the injection. Moreau always said the serums were experimental. Maybe my body is just reacting to it and keeps shifting with the small amount. I don't know why or how I'm still changing. Without Moreau around I can't ask him."

Her tone was soft and gentle always. Trearing Lauren with the utmost care she didn't want anything to go wrong. "I would never kill Moreau, Lauren. Yes I do get bitter and angry about him sometimes. But we talked about this when we met, remember? Moreau has helped a lot of people, even if they're not willing to admit it. We need Moreau. Look at how we're doing without him! Lauren listen you need food. We have some boar left or I can snag you a fish or something... Please."

Lauren saw fear in Awen's eyes. Noteing that she wasn't in danger at least right now she put her knife back down. "It's... it's impossible to CHANGE without an injection." She remembered back in her studies.

The careing words of Awen soothed the beast rageing within Lauren a bit. But still she had to keep the wall up, the wall was blocking the tears and the pain. She didn't want to feel the pain. She didn't want to realise the possible truth that Moreau was indeed alive and torturing her, torturing her and all of those she had grown to love.

"Awen?" She looked at her with more of a question in her eyes then a realisation. "You... are Awen? But but but you can't be Awen... Can you? We can't change...." She nodded a bit, holding her own self within a hug. "I NEED Moreau." A tear or two ran down her face. "He's... he's dead."

Awen for the first time say the younger girl standing before her. Always Awen had looked up to the girl. She had rarely remembered how old Lauren actually was. The fact that Lauren had been taller, stronger, tougher... it all gave Awen the illusion the girl was older than her. But now she sees Lauren as the younger girl she is.

She stepped forward slowly. She cautiously wrapped her arms around Lauren, seeing the knife down. "He's not dead Lauren." At least...Awen hopped not. "I changed because my body had an unusual system that Moreau might not have suspected." She was going to stick with that until she could find Moreau for herself.

She pulled Lauren away only enough to look into her eyes. She had a caring feel to hers something confident in these 'truths'. "Moreau is probably locked in the main facility." She nodded a little bit. "He is working hard trying to get power returned to the island, but he can't get out of the building because he is trapped inside. He has not abandoned us, he has not died." She hoped these words were comforting, it was after all one of the things Awen was thinking may have happened to him.


Lauren cringed a bit, dead at the care in the touch, not wanting to open up enough to allow all the tears. She laughed a bit, but then some more came out and she laughed again. "Not dead... But HOW!" She looked, Awen had indeed changed somehow she had to be injected. "You WERE injected. Someone did it. The person that killed Moreau... he yeah HE did it." She could not let Moreau being alive get into her brain.

"Trapped? Trapped and trying to get out?" That seemed unlikely. "NO!! He can't be trapped he... he knows EVERYTHING about this island up to every last detail. Not not trapped." Then she jolted a bit. "OH GOD! He's trapped AWEN we must SAVE him."

She held her knife a feral look still in her eyes. "Awen... If someone is responsible for this I WILL kill them" Her sanity was starting to go back, all be it slowly. Lauren seemed to be hanging onto it by a frail string.

Seeing Lauren wasn't responding so well to her gentle compassion she let her arms drop and stepped away. A stern look was on her features. "And how do you expect to do that Lauren?" She paused briefly to let the question sink in.

"With you being so weak and pathetic?" She gestured at her ever thining form. "You haven't eaten since last I saw you at least I can tell!" Pointing to her knife hand accusing. "You can barely hold that knife steady, how do you expect to use it to avenge Moreau?"

Putting her hands on her hips she bore into Lauren. Though she was shorter than the girl in this moment Awen was truly towering. She had never felt such confidence before, she would never have stood up to someone with a knife. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You need your strength. You need food to keep your strength, and good rest to think clearly. I don't have all the answers Lauren, no one does right now. But if you just calm down then I promise I will do everything I can to help find out. I will help you avenge Moreau. But until we figure out just who did this we have to stay calm and save our strength. If you die out in the jungle widdling arrows and not eating who are you helping? Your enemy, because that's one less person he has to fear. Now please....let's stop this."

Lauren hissed weakly but knew Awen was right. "Food..." Her belly growled way more ferociously then that hiss. Lauren picked up her arrows and walked by Awen's side.

Nothing really made sense at the momment but if anything she could kill her if Awen tried to kill Lauren. If it was an abush, death would prove a sweet release to the torture the poor girls mind was inflicting upon her. "You sound like someone from a ******** rpg." A joke came from Lauren's lips. Was a strange thing to say something so normal, something that made sense. Yeah, she would say something like that normally now wouldn't she?

She chuckled softly and she turned and started heading back the way to camp. "Yeah I know, this whole thing is outrageous enoguh to be an rpg too." She mused with that idea now that Lauren had brought it up. She could just see herself and the other islanders apart of some video game. Someone sitting infront of the TV controller in their hand moving them around having them interact. Or maybe something like D&D, people decribing things around hte table with little figurines and dice and everything.

She shook her head a bit. Naw. Not enough monster battles.

Lauren walked slowly as she was low on strength. Three days without food to someone else wouldn't be so bad but three days without food to Lauren was horrific considering her lean frame and high metabolism.

She tried to make small talk, and perhaps the small talk would help her decide if Awen was still Awen or some form of Awen imposter. IF she was, she was a nice imposter, very nice so maybe Lauren didn't need to be on edge about her. Or maybe that's just what Awen imposter wanted Lauren to think so she grew more trusting towards 'Awen' and then she could kill her like she killed Moreau.

God all this thinking made her head spin. But what if this was really Awen and Lauren had just been aweful to her. Would she still be part of her family, would she still be a friend? Probably not, Lauren didn't deserve anyone or any friends.

"So.. ur you still afraid of water?"

She concidered a moment how to answer, but decided the truth was much better. "Not...really no." She glanced over to Lauren with a small smile. "Something about it still doesn't sit well in my stomach... but I'm not afraid like I used to be." She tapped her neck slightly, being careful of the gills. "I can breathe underwater now, so I don't have to fear drowning. And...I don't have to fear anything there. I don't know how or why but the creatures don't scare me. I feel...a peaceful dominance over the area, but nothing territorial."

She was stepping carefully, her large webbed feet making walking a little awkward, but she was getting used to it. Moreau really never lied to her. And honestly, despite circumstances, she felt great. She owed a great deal to that man. She jsut hopped he was alive to thank him.

"Breathing underwater must kick a**. You can go swimming with me now." She felt a tinge of happiness about this thought and sighed. Did she really want to be friends with someone, why didn't Awen run away when she pulled out the knife. Anyone else would drop her then and there.

Awen was different now, she looked odd too. Lauren didn't know how this would affect their friendship if at all. "I don't feel at peace anywhere." She revealed.

She paused and looked at Lauren. She felt a surge of empathy for the girl. Awen hadn't felt at peace either, that's why she'd been doing everything to distract her mind for years. If she had to concentrate on her video games, how could she have time to feel inadequate everywhere? If she was too involved with the current story she was reading or movie she was watching, how could she have time to think about anything else?

She knew the feeling well, so she gave Lauren another tight hug. "Then we'll just have to help fix that, won't we? What else are friends for after all..."

Smiling she turned and walked on.  

[Awen Zyn]

Rikki-Tikki-Badgirl
(You....really don't want to know...)

Lauren stumbled into the camp, feeling relieved just to look at the area. Her mind was still foggy and scattered.

She didn't know what she wanted to do first, bathe herself in the river or gourge herself with whatever food was there. There seemed to be some boar jerky, it was a little rank but not too bad. Ooh and some fish as well. Not much by the looks but probably just enough to get her to start feeling hungry again. Lauren had starved herself past hunger at this point.

She decided to dig right in, tearing into what she could find.

Awen smiled and nodded. She knew that Lauren would probably eat a lot if not most of their food. But Awen wasn't as concerned anymore. She could always catch more fish no problem. She wanted to stay close to Lauren just incase but the cracked and itchy-ness of her skin was starting to get frustrating.

"I'm just going to be in the water okay..?" She gestured to the flaky bits that were starting to form on her skin.

Walking over to the riverside and hearing the running water again just made Awen smile. As she walked into the water relief instantly spread to her sore feet and legs. She crouched down near the river bank so everything up to her gills rested in the water. It felt good to feel the running water across her skin.

She dunked her head in but only briefly. She didn't want Lauren to think she was running away or anything.

Lauren gobbled up the food fast, "Mheemkah, hiel beh hewh eahtin" Lauren replied with her mouth full. She accidently dropped some bits of fish but caught it and gobbled it up again. The food was going down, not a crumb left to be spared.

The fog was lifting... did she just try to hurt Awen. Lauren looked over, yeah yeah she did didn't she?

She looked at her arms. She cut herself didn't she? Yeah, she did that too. There were some good arrows and a good start to a bow. Just a few more hours work and she could use that to hunt. Took her three days to get what she had completed finished.

She bit into the last piece of food, leaving the camp bare. Her stomach was still very much growling but at least her head felt better.

Lauren chugged some water down to compensate for the rest of the space left in her belly.

"Look! Bad a** Awen swimming. Bet you can out swim me now." Lauren complemented towards Awen.

Awen chuckled a little bit. At least Lauren seemed to be a bit more herself now. Yes Awen definately noticed the new awareness in the girl's eyes. It was good to see that look again, it was far less frightening.

She bought a hand out of the water and wiggled her webbed fingers. "No doubt about that. There are advantages to being a mutant fish thing." She laughed a little bit. She frowned instantly and took a closer look at her hand. "Damnit.... this will make holding the controller a little... more interesting." She grinned at Lauren. "You might just beat me at Soul Calibur for the first bit eh?"

Lauren was amused for a bit but remembered that there just may not be any soul calibur anymore, "yeah... IF we can get back into our duplexes."

Damnit she missed her huge tv and her Xbox 360. She was going to show Awen that and Awen was going to be jealous. Damnit...

"Damnit..." She muttered under her breath.

Lauren really didn't have the mind for modesty at this point in time. She took off her clothes (trying really hard to time this when Awen wasn't looking) and jumped into the water. Then Lauren brought her clothing into the water as well, trying her best to wash them off.

Wow... those were some rank clothing. She noticed a slight smell of a skunk like odor mixed with human body odor.

She cringed. "That's sooo gross." And continued to wash up.

She noticed Lauren sort of fidget by the sore a moment before Awen decided she had better look away and swim out a little farther so she didn't have to crouch in the water anymore.. Lauren had undressed without Awen's eyes on her but soon the purple orbs returned, once Awen of course deemed it safe that Lauren was far enough in.

"Aahh... I dunno. It's not as bad as Timothy..." She cringed a little bit remembering the smell polluting the waters of the lake. All disipated by now certainly..but while they were there... "Mongoose is better than a skunk, eh?"

Lauren laughed. "God I geuss so... Still not getting used to scent glands. But I think I've smelled worse in my life. At least here we have water nearby to bathe in"

Another cringe. "You've gotta miss soap though." She tried her best to rub her skin with her hands. It did feel a bit less dirty but soap would of been like heaven right now.

"I wonder when I will change..." Lauren sighed. "I hope I'm awake so I can see if anyone injects me."



Lauren nodded, "Lucky. Gods I don't know what I'm going to do. Do you think I'll grow a... muzzle and body fur?" She stuck out her tongue a bit. "A muzzle will be weird. I wonder if Mongooses have tongues like a cat does or if they are smooth like a dog." Lauren pondered this.
"Yeah...awake would have been nice." Awen shook her head a bit. "Soap... Hm I don't know really." She looked at the rubbery texture of her skin. "I don't really know if I need soap anymore."

"I still wish I wouldn't hae passed out in the village when I had." She grumbled to herself. "Maybe I could solve at least one mystery." She rolled her shoulders. "Oh... Timothy had changed too appearently. That's why he was washing off in the lake..."

She was about to continue her thought when she hear a piercing scream echo around the trees. She wasn't sure of the direction is came from but it made what hair was left on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Damn he's changed too?!" Lauren made another face. "Figures, seems like everyone changes before me. Maybe my genes are too tough."

Lauren's ears twitched as she heard the scream. "What the ******** was that?" She asked towards Awen.

"A scream of some sort." She paused and listened to see if anything more would come of the sound. But after while her heart settled down as she looked towards Lauren.

"Maybe it was just someone... um ... Maybe they cut themselves on something? Or.. woke up from a nightmare, a lot of people have had them since coming to the island I hear I wouldn't be surprised..." She was always going for the softer conclusions. She was afraid to know what may be the truth, so she just clung to the lighter solutions.

Lauren shrugged. "Well if we hear another one... maybe we should investigate. Probably don't want to be anywhere near a scream." Plus the scream was male, so he could take care of his own damn a**, Lauren added in thought.

She laughed and splashed Awen.

Awen was frowning as she glanced towards the beach for a moment. She wanted to investigate pretty badly. Because she was almost sure she recognised who had screamed.

Despite everything said and done to her she still missed Jamal a great deal. A lot of the nights spent sleeping out here, while she was with the others, didn't soften her want of Jamal's arms around her. Maybe she could do something now with her newfound confidence too. Maybe she could .... But that all depended on if he wanted her back too. She wondered vaguely if he missed her at all. She wondered if Antony was really going to take care of him... make sure he didn't get too badly hurt or anything. Sure Jamal was a big boy and could take care of himself, and yes Antony wasn't his mother...but... she could still care enough to watch his back. Awen wondered if...

But lost her train of thought as the water splashed agaisnt her face. She blinked reality returning to her distanced eyes as she grinned at Lauren. "You didn't...."

Lauren smiled. "I did!" She splashed Awen again and laughed.

This was fun, Lauren hadn't had fun in a long time.

"You are so going to regret that."

Awen moved a little ways away from Lauren before kicking ehr feet off the bottom so she was floating on her back. In this quick movement she used the momentum to push one of her large flippery feet from the water and bring it back down. This served two purposes: splash Lauren nad get out of range of a spalsh from Lauren.

Lauren emitted a tiney yelp as she was splashed and couldn't splash in return. She almost dived under water to hold Awen down until she couldn't breath but stopped herself thinking that was stupid.

"Damnit. Okay, when I reach my next injection you and me are going into my element DIRT.. then you will be sorry."

She waited until Awen could hear more. "Alright, so you win. I should of known to try and best a fish." She still planned at least one splash, as devious as Lauren was.

Awen was content to stay just out of reach for the moment. "Should have known better than to best a ray actually." She nodded a bit looking up at the sky. "Chubbs says I'm gonna be a manta ray." Glancing to Lauren a moment she smirked. "They are pretty cool... if the image in my dream is right anyway...."

She concidered Lauren's threat about taking her to dirt for their next little battle. Awen wasn't sure that it was such a good idea for her to be messing around in such an element far from her's. Lauren was okay... Mongoose... can swim right? But who ever heard of a manta in the mud?

She righted herself so she had to tread water. Smiling at Lauren he took a small breath. "Glad to see you're back to normal by the way."

Lauren coughed. "Yeah, but do you think you're going to be one.. I mean you could be uh... a... ur" She was obviously just trying to be contrary to that. "A flying fish?"

She snorted, "NORMAL!! Who ever said Lauren a.k.a Thorn was normal!?" Being very playful she turned and crossed her arms. "Nasty rumors."

Sure, the food was lacking but there was water nearby and people didn't attack Lauren. That was always a plus.

She had to work for it but she was still safe on the island.

She laughed softly and shook her head. "Lauren you know I didn't mean you were normal." She swam up to stand behind Lauren. "Just..back to yourself."

She pat Lauren's shoulder slightly and smiled. "You know without the stabbity-death look in your eye. The crazy....still there though."

Lauren blushed a bit backing away slowly. She needed to put he clothes back on but nearly forgot. "Yeah still crazy... "

As if it were almost a confession, "I've stabbed people before... but I would never stab a friend. I'm... I'm..." That word was hard to say. "Sorry..."

Awen had been around Colche before. And so far with her record on sneaking up on people that were trying to bathe in the passed day and a half alone Awen was getting used to seeing random people. Her newfound confidence wasn't really helping her modesty either...

She sighed very softly and shook her head. "Don't be sorry Lauren. I would have done the same if I were in your shoes." She gave her friend a smile. "You have food in you now, you're not delusional... at least no more than usual eh?" She winked a moment and tried to get a smiled from Lauren.

"yeah..." Lauren replied her voice trailing off. She didn't trust herself enough right now.

until the memories creep back in... she thought.

She blinked at Awen, surprised, wait a minute... was that a.. wink? And she touched me while I was... nah she's soo straight. She has to be.

Wait a minute... why do I care what the ******** ahhh! NO NO NO NO those were Lauren's sudden thoughts, pounding suddenly in her head.

"Urr... I uh need to go get some FIREWOOD. Yeah can't go without fire wood heh." She said nervously as she put rushed out trying to put her wet clothing on as fast as possible, a full blush on her face.

"Don't worry I will be back this time." Lauren replied predicting Awen's next thought. She just had to get away from Awen at that moment.

Lauren just realised something way too embarassing. She would have to push back those feelings, hide them stuff them away. She didn't want to loose Awen as a friend, she didn't want to have feelings like that towards anyone else.

Not after Fire was forced to dump her.

Just a stupid crush, now wait it's not even that. You're just tired.... oh ********> Lauren continued to mutter on in her head, even going so far as to mutter out loud once she wasn't within ears reach.

Awen blinked slowly, puzzled by the frantic behaviour Lauren just started in on. Had she said something wrong? She withdrew her hand and curled it into a fist under the water, trying to hide the webbing between her fingers.

She was confused by the whole reaction. But suddenly blushed when she saw Lauren rushing to put on her clothes. Oh dear... Lauren didn't think...? Oh Awen did wink too didn't she? Her thoughts started to ramble on like that before Lauren spoke.

Firewood? As Lauren had already started to rush off Awen took a single step forward. "But Lauren we already have enough firewood!"

But it was too late... and Lauren had disappeared into the woods again.

Did Awen somehow offended Lauren..make her uncomfortable? Did Lauren think Awen was...gay? Of course not... Lauren knew about Jamal after all. Bisexual then?

She blinked and stared after Lauren for a little bit. Crap. She had just offended one of her best friends on the island.... because Lauren was uncomfortable with the thought that Awen was bi.  

[Awen Zyn]

Unleashing the Beast

The black man entered the jungle with a series of strangled cries and sobs tearing themselves from his throat, mangled hands blindly shoving aside plant matter and foliage as he forced himself into the soothing darkness that the same materials provide. The musty, rotting smell of fallen wood brought additional sense of ease, yet smells can only do so much to temper inner emotions.

Jamal slumped down against a tree after having walked for maybe fifteen minutes or so, his bare back rubbing painfully against the bark and sending that burning fiery pain down again. The nub of his tail was also still tender, but he ignored it. If he ignored it, maybe it would go away.

He let his head fall back against the support of the tree and let an unbridled series of tears trace down his cheeks. Some pooled about the abnormal whiskers that sprouted from his face while others continued down to drip off his jawline to the blood splattered skin of his chest, sending ruddy lines down across the faint striping and tattoos there. He lifted a hand to touch a fluff of whiskers, tracing their length with the tip of a claw, then let that claw move across his nose. It all felt so alien.

But this was him.

The thought made his stomach wrench painfully and he dropped his hand into his lap, caring little that the claws knicked at his bare flesh of his thigh due to his carelessness. He was already a bloody mess....both literally and figuratively.

The seclusion this little bit of the jungle provided, while comforting to the beast inside Jamal, would sadly soon be broken. The once stealthy movements that was Awen in a forest setting was destroyed with her newfound changes. Her large flipper-like feet snapped twigs and crashed through bushes.

When she was close enough her nose picked up a distinct smell. Though that sense had dulled slightly above water the blood made sure to break through to her senses. She frowned and turned to where she thought it was coming from. "Hello...? Is someone hurt?" Maybe it was just a wounded animal or something,

Slowly, but surely she came closer to Jamal's little sanctuary.

Jamal heard Awen long before her saw her, thanks to his slightly improved hearing, but his sense of smell was hampered due to the heavy cloud of blood that wafted off his own body. He didn't care to move right then though...he figured it was just some animal coming through. Maybe it was something predatory and it'd eat his sorry a**. That'd solve a lot of problems.

When he heard the faint voice calling out, he couldn't completely suppress a growl. He just wanted to be left alone and already someone had to come and bother him. Jamal wanted to suffer in peace!

He wiped roughly at the drying tears on his cheeks and at his eyes, smearing faint traces of blood across his features like it was some sort of warpaint as he did so. The black man didn't get up from his position on the jungle floor, letting the plant life around him drape like a veil to semi-hide him from view.

"Jus' leave me alone," he called back, voice wavery from distress and how clumsy words fell from his foriegn mouth structure. "Jus' turn 'round and get da ******** outta herr." He didn't recognize it as Awen...at least not yet.

"Jamal?" She recognised the voice and the ghetto slang that came along with it. She looked at her webbed fingers and contemplated leaving but decided against it. Jamal must have been hurt... the blood... She stepped out into the open.

As she saw him she gasped. She noted the blood covering his arms first but soon noticed the changes as well. "Oh gosh Jamal!" She stepped forward quickly.

She couldn't bare to ask if he was alright.. knowing anyone after a change wouldn't be, but Jamal especially.

From behind the leaves of the bush he hid behind, his ice-blue eyes narrowed intensely and his lips curled into a snarl, the tips of his fangs peeking free of his mouth. Of all the people...the person that was so vivid in his dream...

"Don't say it," he snapped acidly, nostrils flaring as he inhaled snarply to hold back a challenging growl. Say what...well, that was up for Awen to decide. But whatever it was, Jamal didn't want to hear it and she'd be smart to not comment on it.

As she stepped forward, he moved abruptly from lying against the tree to being on his feet in a crouched position, ears flattening back as best they could, being that they were an odd human/animal mix. He gave Awen a very challenging stare, emphasized with the hue of his eyes against dark skin.

She frowned and stopped moving forward. She wasn't really sure what she was going to say but she stopped herself from saying anything for some time. She was wary with how he had reacted. She noticed his challenging stare she almost casped again feeling his bright blue eyes. They were a change but still er found them hauntingly handsome.

"Jamal.... I'm so sorry." Her brow furrowed with concern for him.

"So sorry...so ********' sorry...dat s**t don't fix 'nuthin!"

Claws lashed out to rip the foliage in front of his face down into ribbons, sending the shreds into a flurry of green that eventually settled onto the brown-toned ground. The remaining residue of tears had dried themselves by this point, taking away the impression of vulnerability and leaving a cold fury behind, except for in his eyes which were almost lost and empty.

He looked like he was going to either run off or explode into a whirlwind of claws and teeth, his shoulders heaving with each breath as he contemplated what to do. This was Awen...she held the gun in his dream and in his reality...he had wronged her and now perhaps she was back to get back at him. Maybe this was how she was going to get back at him...to enjoy watching his pain.

Jamal growled heavily and latched his new claws into the soft bark of the tree behind him that had been his backrest, hiding most of his body behind it except for most of his face, which was contorted heavily with anger and pain. "Jus' don't botha. I ain't nuthin' and now ya got yo' last laugh...jus' go."

She shook her head. "Jamal don't you think I know sorry doesn't fix things? Look at me." She spread her arms and emphasised her own change as well, the webbing that had grown under her arms was more clearly displayed. "I know that saying sorry doesn't fix anything."

Though she knew it was dangerous she couldn't help but take a step forward. "I know what you're going through Jamal, I lived it too. I'm not here to laugh at you. I would never do that..."

She kept her voice steady but gentle as she took another step forward. "Please come out Jamal. Just... settle down so we can talk. I told you I would be here for you Jamal, and damnit I am here for you."

To Jamal, her steps forward were a challenge. Each step forward made him that much more tense and edging towards the tiger's yearning for confrontation. Tigers were not social animals to begin with and that paired with Jamal's very clear vibe of "get away" clearly would spell disaster for anyone who didn't pay attention to his clear signals. Things were going to get out of hand very quickly.

"I -ain't- comin' out 'n' I'll be ******** if anyone gonna try 'n' tell me dat this s**t gonna be a'ight in da end. ******** dat. This ain't a'ight...this ain't ME. You ain't herr fo' Jamal. He ain't herr no more!"

He tore his fresh claws from the tree's flesh and thumped his chest hard in emphasis, a heavy snarl tearing from his throat.

"LOOK at this s**t. LOOK," he bellowed, the same hand now pointing rigidly at his face as his fangs were flashed to their fullest extent. He hadn't seen his facial changes yet, but knew it was extremely different from the face he identified as himself just from the way the muscles pulled. "How can you ********' tell me dat this s**t is gonna be a'ight...cause dat's what you gonna say. You 'n' Antony tellin' me da same ********' thing but LOOK AT THIS."

The hand that remained on the bark of the tree suddenly slipped downward and he tore a large section of the covering free from the thick trunk, flinging it carelessly in Awen's direction. It was hard to tell if it was intentional or not...if he was aiming for her or not...but when it fell a few feet away he had no sympathy on his face. He only leered at her, brows knitting above his icey eyes and giving his shadowed face a more intimidating feel to it.

She felt all of the confidence she had gained start to slip away from her as Jamal started to really loose it. She didn't flinch at his changes she had seen all too many people half transformed already, but the violence that had come with his frustrations did scare her.

Awen jsut barely stopped herself from backing away. She decided advancing would only anger him, but backing away just might confirm his fears that he wasn't Jamal anymore.

A squeak of fear parted from ehr lips as she cringed when the piece of bark was flung in her direction. It didn't hit her at all but the very act mixed with everything else brought tears to her eyes. When she looked at him leering at her she looked away again, fearing that the tears might just leak out.

"Jamal..." Her voice was shakey now. "I never said it was gonna be alright." She took a few slow breaths as she blocked away the tears. No she wouldn't. She couldn't. She looked back at him a fierce intensity in her own eyes, the itching and flaking skin reminded her of her fate. Of how she might just be stuck in water for the rest of her life. All of her fears, of Jamal as he was, of dying on this god forsaken island, of the water, of Moreau, everything came boiling through.

"It is not going to be alright! Did I ever say it's going to be alright?" She almost shouted at him. "I'm a ******** fish! If I keep changing like this you know what's gonna happen to me Jamal? I'm never gonna be able to do s**t again! I'll be stuck in the water, I don't be able to come on land or even try to regain any kind of life. You, sure, you're changing, but so is everyone on this ******** island. But at least you can have as normal of a life as possible here, you'll still be able to do something. I'm gonna be ******** stuck alone at the bottom of the lake for the rest of my life! If you'd just pull your head out of your a** for one moment you would bloody well see that you're not ******** alone! It's not going to be alright, it will never be alright again, but don't you dare sit there and throw ******** bark at me! I didn't do this to you and god damnit I'm in no better shape than you!"

Sure, blowing up on the possibly psychotic newly transformed Jamal probably wasn't the best thing to do... But Awen couldn't help it. As much as she cared for the man still trying to talk gently obviously wasn't going to help at this point.

She didn't shrink away from the clawed finger that was shoved into her face. She didn't move or anything but she was obviously afraid of him. She knew this wasn't Jamal, this was just his frustrations, his new instincts.

She got hit by him and wavered but didn't fall as he started to pace around her. She couldn't move from the spot as he was circling. False hope, yeah she could understand that. She was with him through and when that hope was revealed. She had believed it too. She had helped him believe in it, but what else could she have done? She stood still as he grabbed the branch and tried to crush it.

Her eyes lost all the conflict, all their fire. She simply looked at him as he brandished the branch at her. "Jamal..." Her voice was meak and defeated. "I told you I wasn't gonna leave you alone like this. I still care about you and I can't stand seeing you hurt and angry like this. But I promised I wouldn't leave you alone." She closed her eyes and tilted her head a little towards the ground. She wouldn't let him go down this path alone. He was better than this, he wouldn't... He couldn't...

"It's betta fo' all ta jus' leave me alone," he insisted heatedly, still staring the woman down from his position with the dead branch. "You ain't abandonin' me...you can't abandon someone who jus' don't give a ******** no mo' cause they ain't themself. You don't want me ta be alone? Go find dat part of Jamal dat got left on the beach this mornin'. You find dat 'n' then you come back 'n' then I ain't gonna be alone."

The branch in his hand shattered abruptly as it met the side of another tree as he turned his back on her and let it cut the air like a whip, pieces of wood scattering into the air. He wanted to destroy things. Jamal wanted there to be as much visible destruction there in the jungle as what he felt inside and it just wasn't happening. The black man wanted someone to physically hurt as bad as he was hurting and it seemed that Awen was going to be his willing subject. The rational part of his brain screamed at him to not even think about it...that this would sort out in the end and he would regret it...

But the other half would have none of it. He could smell her fear now and it was prickling at that predatory part of him that he held both as a human and as a his new animal-self. It was winning. He wanted blood. If he couldn't have his own, then he'd have someone else's. It's what the animal wanted and that's what Jamal was now.

Slowly the man turned again to face her, eyes leveling onto her smaller form, and his licked his fangs. He was suddenly glad that his claws were not retractable...it would make things so much easier...

Dream Awen might have had the last laugh, but the real Awen would not if he could help it.

A fresh snarl of rage erupted from his mouth as he lunged for her, hands reaching out to their absolute furthest reach as he went to tackle her and take her down. He'd given up on his inner human strength at that time. The animal had won...and so had the anger he'd built up since day one of being put on this island.

She knew that even if he gave up on himself, if she gave up it would be abandoning him. She knew all too well when someone gives up on themselves it was the most important time to be there for that person. She knew she could reach Jamal and it wouldn't be back on the beach. She was about to open her mouth to speak when the branch splintered against the tree.

Her eyes snapped open as she watched the last bits of wood fall to the ground. She knew it, Jamal was there. He wouldn't hurt her, he had just proven it. She took a small step forward a smile gracing her lips. She could bring him ba...

The thought and smile was lost as he turned back around to her. That look in his eye, unlike anything else she had seen so far. Even earlier she hadn't truly believed he would hurt her..but as he licked his freshly formed fangs all her hopes evaporated.

Still she find herself crying out in surprise as the large man lunged towards her. Though she tried to move out of the way the smaller woman just couldn't move fast enough. Normally it would have been bad, but she might have been able to escape as she tried to move this time though her large webbed feet made her stumble.

And then the full force of the man hit her, the world spun as she suddenly found herself staring up at the cannopy of leaves. She was stunned and couldn't do anything as she was pushed to the ground.

He hit her hard from the charge and took her down like any old predator taking down prey, landing on top of her so she was pinned. Clawed hands took hold at her shoulders as he straddled her waist, his face hovering inches away from her own, whiskers bristled stiffly at either side of his face as he felt her breath on his face. It would be so easy to slit her throat in this position. Just a flick of the wrist... His fingers spasmed at the though, digging them into her flesh.

He stared unblinkingly down into her violet eyes, caring little for the fact that up close like this, he should be able to see that she had changed more from the last time he had saw her...those eyes were still so very familiar despite all of that, but it didn't seem to register either.

Jamal couldn't reconcile that he was still the same person with a different outward appearance. It didn't compute.

He hissed and lowered his face closer to hers, almost so his whiskers were brushing her cheeks, yet there was nothing seductive or gentle in his facial expression. It was anger, rejection, and a sense of hopelessness that guided his snarl and lit his eyes.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone, Awen," he drawled in slightly garbled speech, a slight growl accentuating his vowels. "Don't make me do it. Jus' fo'get 'bout me like ev'ryone else gonna do in time. I ain't nuthin'. You can't abandon nuthin'...cause there ain't anythin' ta leave behind."

Jamal realized his claws were dug in at this point and he pulled his hands away slowly, as though he relished the feeling of bleeding flesh beneath his grip. More blood...it smelt so good at that moment that he lifted a set of claws to his mouth and looked as though he was going to lick it. A pause followed before he tenatively lapped at one digit, pulling the ruddy material into his maw with almost a reverent-facade, then turned the rest of the claws to wipe across Awen's abdomen as though cleaning the rest off. He wasn't particularly careful as he did this, but he didn't really intend on hurting her further. Jamal was clumsy with his new weaponry, afterall.

He then slid off her slowly, landing on all fours to her side before standing up fully and walking towards the protective shadows. The tiger was suddenly satisfied...the need for explosion was lessened...it was time to just melt away into the shadows until the next time he needed to hunt. The darkness would be his friend. He had nothing to say to anyone. It was time for them to let go and accept that Jamal was not Jamal any longer. Jamal might still be there inside somewhere, but something had snapped deep inside and it would take a lot for him to mend it.

It was okay though. The tiger would take care of him.

Awen's eyes went wie and watered as she felt the claws pressing into her shoulders. A small sort of whimper escaped her lips as she looked into the feral blue eyes. Somewhere in her mind a connection was made, when she met Julian at the Halloween party she remebered also meeting his.. well Chesire. That same wild gaze was now reflected in Jamal's eyes. She knew that this wasn't Jamal....that similarity to Julian was the only way she could now keep in her mind that Jamal was still there. He was hiding deep inside, but..he had to be there. That was the only thought that kept her eyes looking into his, searching...

She was going to respond to his little speech when he then took his claws from her shoulder. She couldn't help but wince feeling the tough nail leave her flesh letting it bleed unhindered. She watched as he carefully licked some of the blood from his finger. No this wasn't Jamal. Jamal was the man on the beach that had regretted killing that man. Jamal may not think too clearly sometimes but he did not revel in that man's death, he did not hurt people intentionally like this.

As he tried to wipe the blood off of his claws all he ended up doing was tearing the bottom part of her shirt and cut into her skin, thankfully not very deep. She finally was able to take a full breath when Jamal moved away. For the moments where he stood up she just took in breath after breath staring up at the branches above her.

As he started to walk away Awen quickly flipped to her hands and knees. She winced as pressure was put on her wounded shoulder but she looked towards Jamal still walking away ignoring the pain. She tried to speak but all of a sudden she found her couldn't her throat was still locked tight from the panic of earlier.

Jamal, wait. She wanted to say. Don't do this..please don't leave. This isn't you... you're not like this. Don't walk away please stay. I want to help please.... Jamal...

"I still love you." The last part came out nice and clear just before he broke the line of trees away from the little area they had found themselves in. She didn't know what good that would do... she didn't know how much the instincts had taken over...

She just hoped... looking up at his back with her large purple eyes, tears stained her cheeks. Please.. turn around...


For all Awen's silent pleading, she was probably left sorely unfulfilled. Jamal didn't stop...didn't falter...didn't even acknowledge her words. He heard them, somewhere there deep inside his own head, but he did not and could not respond in kind if he wanted.

Tigers were solitary animals. They knew nothing of love or of relationships aside from what came natural at brief periods of time. It was so much easier to let the animal decide right now. The inner Jamal was so tired...everything hurt and he didn't care to go along with trying to pretend that everything was okay. Inside he was tired, weak, and scared.

Once the shadows engulfed his form, he set his claws again into the soft flesh of another tree and hauled himself upwards with a lack of grace that would surely get him laughed up had anyone watch, but he didn't care. Tigers didn't normally climb trees but he didn't know this..hell, he didn't even KNOW what he was turning into exactly. Trees were safer than being on the ground, he figured, and he could hide better up there. Maybe with luck he'd fall out of it at night and that would be that.

Jamal was not a graceful man with exceptional balance, but he managed to settle himself in the crook of 'his' tree and folded forward, covering his changed face with his hands to avoid having to watch his surroundings. The inner Jamal had grabbed a better hold on things now and now feelings of grief and loathing started to wash over him again. He wasn't meant to live like this. It was better for everyone to forget he existed. It wasn't hard...black men like himself disappeared nightly on the streets where he was from. It wasn't abnormal. If anything, it would be the most normal thing that he would deal with in a long time.

Awen knew he wouldn't turn around. She knew he was too far gone to let a simple thing like the word love stop him. Still she had hoped he would stop, that he would turn around that they could work things out together. Her eyes blurred as salty drops hit the dirt below her. Her arms grew much too weak to support her and she slipped, her cut stomach hitting roughly against the jungle floor. She gave out a soft grunt of pain as her laid there on her stomach sobbing softly as she brought her arms to hold her aching head.

She knew she couldn't stay on the ground forever feeling sorry for herself and Jamal. She slowly stood on shakey legs as she looked to where Jamal disappeared to. It would only be stupid if she tried to persue further right now. But she couldn't let him think she was abandoning him.

Having said it outloud only reconfirmed it in her heart. Damnit, despite everything that happened she still did love Jamal. And she would not let him sink so low. "Jamal!" She shouted to the darkness. "I won't abandon you! You give up on yourself but I have more faith in you than that! Just remember you're not alone, becaue I'm always here for you!"

She didn't know if he could still hear her or not, where he was or if he would have thought it was so cheesey. But she couldn't care about any of that right now... she just hoped he could hear her. She touched the wound on her shoulder and winced slightly. It hurt and felt slick with blood. She stumbled foward back in direction of her camp. Or.. at least what she hoped to be in the direction of her camp. She was so disoriented she could barely tell anymore. One thing she knew at this point though was the manta inside her wanted two things: water....and solitude.  

[Awen Zyn]

The Wrong Direction...

Awen wandered the jungle alone. After the incedent with Jamal she took a chance on the direction she thought would lead her back to camp, or at least closer to water. She could barely stand the itching flaking skin on her once deliciously rubbery arms. Thankfully she had gotten the bleeding of both her shoulders to stop by putting pressure on them, but without water to wash it off she wrecked of blood that was all too quickly drying and attracting flies. She would hate to know what else she would attract if she didn't wash it off soon.

Stumbling over a log she cursed her flippery-feet quietly. She wanted to wash up, she wanted to swim. Everything hurt, her feet, her skin, her shoulders and the stomach where Jamal had gashed her hurt a lot. Maybe it was the wound and the fact that she hadn't eaten in awhile. She was still very upset, she wanted to cry. But she didn't even have the energy to it.

Joliette, in her hunger had begun to give in to the beast, her belly growled loudly as she looked around her yellow tongue flicking out and in bringing her the scent.. the scent of blood, and she was following it, She wasn't fully upright rather crouching her fingers and claws keeping her balance as she moved through the foliage the leaves and some twigs crunching under her heavy feet, she'd slipped away while the rest of the camp was asleep .

Awen was unaware of the silent stalker as she fumbled through the bush. She was in no mood or condition to fend anyoneelse off. Already today she had talked Lauren down from her crazed hunger state, only narrowly avoiding a knifing. She wished that would have spared her but when she came across Jamal she tried a similar thing... only to get tackled, punctured and slashed. She just wanted this to be overwith.

She wanted her big comfy bed back at her duplex. A nice swim in the lake first though.... or better yet a shower. Yeah she'll have to scrub off the blood. No sense in attracting sharks...

Awen blinked a little bit. "Where the heck did that come from?" She couldn't help but chuckle.


Her tongue flicked as sshe got closer and closer to the source of hte scent, she couldn't distinguish exactly what kind of creature she was tracking, but the thought of food is all that ruled her mind, that and the beast. ... Can't be far, scent is close she thought to herself crunching through the underbrush

Awen heard the cautious crunch of leaves underfoot. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as her blood ran cold. Turn turned slowly to survey the junlge, not seeing anything. Could he have come back? Was the animal taking over enough to actually have him come back to finish the job...?

"Jamal...?" She tested at the darkness cautiously.


Joliette's figure slowly emerges around a bush her green eyes, surveying her 'prey', hold a quality they usually didn't. The long yellow tongue flicking a couple times, she says nothing as she watches her.

Awen not seeing the newfound look in Joliette's eyes she grinned broadly and stumbled a single step forward. "Oh thank god!" She felt the chill leave her as the relief flooded in. "Joli, you wouldn't believe..."

Awen paused seeing Joliette's oddly calm stance. Something..not quite right in the way she was looking. "Hey hun, you feeling okay...?"


Joli's tongue flicked a couple times her eyes coming to rest on the crying blood on Awen's shoulders. Her stomach rumbles a fierce hungry determination to put food in the place of emptiness clouding her normal vegan gentle thoughts

Awen groaned and backed away a couple steps. "Please don't do this Joli." She knew she couldn't outrun the part lizard on land. She had no hope of getting to water in time. And she was just so damn tired. Not another one...

"Come on girl...it's me, Awen." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I can get you fish..fish will calm the hunger please Joli..."

Joli takes a step forward at Awen's backing up. Her foot crunching a twig. She still said nothing What am I doing she thought to herself though it Komodo was in control This is Awen.. come on snap to your senses Joliette Her eyes never left the blood her tongue flicked, she was hungry and there was no way she could forget that, the berries she'd found over time were just no longer sufficing for the beast... And it had been getting worse since the day she woke next to the dead boar piglet

Awen couldn't stand it anylonger. Confidence and everything finally melted away for good. She simply snapped as she fell to her knees before her friend, tears bursting forth from her eyes. She couldn't take this, so many people trying to kill her in one day. She was sick..just sick and tired of it all.

"Fine!" She shouted. "If you're going to eat me just get it over with." Sobbing softly into her hands as she couldn't even bare to look at Joli at the moment. "Just make it ******** quick."

Joliette's head lifted some and she backed up again... Never once had Awen yelled at her before... Sure she'd seen her yell at others but not at her. She lets her head drop closing her eyes and shaking her head, trying to take control of herself from the beast, from the one thing that was demanding food, that had driven her to hunt out the blood she'd picked up the scent of... Joliette herself didn't want to hurt her friend, it wasn't something she would have done...

Awen sat on her knees shuddering. The loss of blood and all the stress had definately gotten to her. Why was everyone after her? This wasn't right, it just wasn't right. The manta must have thought so too. Nothing should be challenge the manta, these cretures, these varied beings should not be able to make her surcome all that easily. It told her to stand up, it told her to stand up proudly like the predator she is.

But Awen just didn't care anymore. She was tired of trying to negotiate for her life. She was tired of having to! She felt physically ill from the loss of blood, the heat and the lack of food. She was just giving up.

Joliette took another step backwards though tripping on a root tumbling backwards only to land on her arse "Hungry" she said .. a single word, nearly a whisper as she kept her eyes closed. She kept her tongue within her mouth attempting to keep the beast under control as she sat there

Awen didn't move. "Then just ******** eat me." Her tone was all at once deadly and defeated all at the same time. "I don't give a damn anymore Joliette. If you're going to do it just do it now."

The blue haired girl slowly looked up, her eyes were hollow and quite dead as she stared into Joli's. Nothing of Awen's normal self remained, just that cold shell. But before anything else could happen, before Awen found out if her life was spared or not... Everything spun.

She put a hand on the ground, the pain that seared up her shoulder was dulled by the bright whiteness she saw before her. And then once again, of what happens to be happening all too often... the world went black around her.

Joliette got up and turned she'd find someone who wasn't a threat to her friend, not like her to come move her, she moved into the brush in search of.. she didn't know what anymore  

[Awen Zyn]

A New Day, Andy Saves

The sun had come up a long time ago and still no one had come back for Awen. Luckily for her no real animals decided to think this bloody half fish girl was food. It was probably the first lucky thing to happen to Awen all of that day. However the new day had dawned some time ago and her luck would have reset itself. Were she concious she would not be very optimistic of the sun now shining over her.

The blood on her had crusted over and all three of her wounds were starting to scab over. As for the rest of her, the rubbery skin had dried out too much and large flakes had started to fall off. All of her skin was rough and cracked. Laying faced down on the ground the only indication of who or what this creature's identity was the bright blue hair and familiar green shirt.

"Not as bad as it sounds?!" Ambrose echoed incredulously. "Three of the Islanders went crazy due to lack of food and that alone is making them become more of the animal that he made us?!"

A small growl of frustration. "And Jamal's changed as well?! I remember he thought that he was 'safe' from the changes.... and... he hadn't changed at all before all of this right? I mean... I know Amaya said that you had changed again since all of this, but you had already gone through a transformation to begin with..."

Ambrose thought of Angelina... could she change as well, even though she hadn't changed could the DNA in the initial injections still be enough to force them to change without a followup injection??

"I haven't seen Jamal in a while... Last I saw him we argued... he seemed very .... touchy about the whole issue of transformation, but... before all of that we worked together with Chubbs on many occasions.... But threatenign to hurt you isn't a good sign at all - following through on it is even worse...."
Ambrose continued Westward along the riverbank from his campsite, hopeful that he might run into other faces of people who had been shunted out of the village. He hoped that he could come up with some feel that most of them were alright... figure out where people had been, how they were doing... if anyone was in trouble, and to pass along the word of who was in his camp, and that they would gladly take in more people if they needed it - or at least maintain contact.

Ambrose didn't encounter anyone all the way back to the village, which, in a way was reassuring in that he learned that he could follow the river straight back. It was... eerie. He hadn't been back to the Village in weeks now - depending on Angelina's periodic scouting to the labs that the power was still off. It was like a ghostly reminder of what his life had been before he was ousted into the jungle, living off of the land... without soap, without much in the way of clothing. He walked by his duplex and peered into the window. It was like a shadowbox.... a cruel diorama of his old life... he could see the photograph of himself still perched on the bedside table next to his unmade bed.
His heart ached.
Why had they shut them out? Away from their humanity, all trappings of their previous lives? And out in the jungle like animals.

He shook his head and forced himself to keep walking, taking a southern turn to follow that branch of the river. Amaya had said that Jamal and an "Antony" were on the west beach... so he might as well see if he could find any other groups of people in a different direction. He scolded himself for not doing this earlier.

As he walked.... his nose alerted him to a dangerously familiar scent: Blood. His ears lay back on his head and his fur prickled. Was it a hurt animal? Possible prey or food? Or was it an injured predator or boar that could mean more danger? He drew the knife from his pantline, gripping it defensively.

Or could it be one of the islanders? Hurt? And in need of medical attention. Softly, his pawpads patted closer until he peered through the foliage to see a strange rubbery-bluish figure lying in the mud by the riverside.

His mind first fumbled for what it might be until, is his embarrassment he recognized the green material as a shirt, and the blue as hair... his mind finally clicked over. Awen... Awen had blue hair, right?

He approached hesitantly, quietly, worried if she might be badly injured. Amaya had just seen her the other day, and she was unhurt then, right?!

A soft whine of worry escaped his throat unconsciously as he walked to her side and stooped down, putting a furry hand on her rubbery shoulder.

Awen was for the most part unaware of the islander near her. In the darkness of her mind her she had been thrown from her comfortable place in the lake by a rough set of claws. She saw Jamal, Joliette, Lauren, Chubbs and Antony standing on the shore around her. She was confused and tried to ask what was going on, but as she looked to each face in turn she knew that their minds were no longer in control. She could see all their predatory nature showing through, each baring claws, fierce stares and Lauren brandished her knife. Awen tried to run, but was not fast enough anymore on the land. She saw water, the cool safe sweet water of a river, but just as she was about to dive in it disappeared and left Awen faced down in the dirt. She knew the islanders had drawn closer, each looknig for a kill.

A pain shot through her shoulder as Ambrose touched it and Awen stirred from her sleep with a cry of shock and pain. Not yet realising the waking world she flipped to her back and crawled backwards as quickly as she could manage. Her eyes scaned the area but she saw no one from her dream, her heart pounded as she breathed heavily. As the purple orbes landed on Ambrose she let out a soft groan. The others weren't there but this wolf was definately a predator.

"Please don't hurt me..." She whimpered softly. "If you need food I can get you fish... If you eat me I'll be gone... but I can get fish..feed you for longer. Please..."

Ambrose's mouth opened and just... hung there for a few moments. His blue flecked with gold eyes scanned her, brows furrowing in concern that might be mistook for anger. What had the poor girl been through?! She was bleeding from what looked like claw marks... her scent spoke of her terror at looking at him.

Was she deleirous? Had she been attacked by some wild beast.... or were things on this side of the island much much worse than his campsite in the east? Could other of the Islanders, the people have done this to her?

"Awen?" He spoke carefully, returning the knife made from twisted scrapmetal lashed to a short stick to the waistline of his sleeppants, now dirty and frayed at the bottoms.

He carefully raised his hands, pawpads facing her. "I'm not here to hurt you... It's... Ambrose - do you remember me?" He studied her again. Amaya was right.... she had changed.... so much since he had last seen her. Was this the result of just one change? She even smelled of the river, her rubbery skin more like that of a fish's, her liquid purple eyes staring back at him with fear. Perhaps she was delusional after a particularly traumatic transformation? But that still didn't explain the clawmarks that she didn't have the claws to deliver to herself...

"I'm... despite how I look, I'm no animal... I don't want to eat you."

But he didn't advance

She stared at him for awhile letting everything sink in. For a sort bit she just had to let things sink in slowly. As she glanced over her shoulder it almost appeared as if she was going to make a break for it. She looked back suddenly she took on a look of realisation.

"Andy!" As she had mistakenly thought of him after the Halloween party. Sure she had been corrected, and she just heard him say his name.. but at that moment she wasn't quite thinking straight.

She sprang forward and latched onto the nearest part of Ambrose she could find... with happened to be a foot. Slowly she crawled her way up so her arms were wrapped tightly around his stomach and she face was buried in his belly button. The poor girl was sobbing into him getting his nice fur a** wet with her tears and crusts of blood that flaked off.

"Thank god." She whispered in a gasp for air. "Thank god...."

Ambrose was about to correct her when she flung her arms around him and held on for dear life.

Bewildered, Ambrose gently patted her somwhere that didn't look cut and his ears lowered in concern.

"Dear lord, Awen.." He whispered. "What in God's name happened to you?? What did this to you?" He ran a hand through her short hair.

"Amaya... she said she spoke with you a few days or so ago... said you were staying with Joliette and Chubbs? What happened?! Were you... attacked by something? Are you alright? Where is everyone?" His words were coming quicker now.

Awen tried to settle herself down and was actually very comforted by Ambrose's gentle pat. She stiffled a few sobs as she pulled back to look up at the man. She tried to figure out where to start. Which question to answer first. Everything just seemed to crowd and overwhelm her.

Finally thoguh she wiped the tears from she eyes and took a breath. Okay... "I don't know where everyone is, some back at camp, others at the beach...some I have no idea. As for what happened..." She swallowed hard and bowed her head a little bit. "Was almost attacked by a half-starved Lauren in the morning, then attacked by a freshly changed Jamal near dusk, then I thought I was saved when Joli stumbled upon me in the middle of last night but then she almost attacked me too."

Her eyes watered again but she refused to cry again. She was afraid, terrified of everything that was happening but she wouldn't cry again. She actually tried to crack a smile. "I guess luck just isn't on a fish's side eh?"

Ambrose looked stunned at her description of the events. How ... how could they resort to that?? Attacking her?? What was going on??

"They... attacked you?!" He shook his head again and gave her another tentative hug.

"I promise, Awen, I am not going to hurt you. I... dear lord, we were hungry for a while too.... and I guess I felt a little more feral, but Amaya and I went hunting and caught a... uhm... I think they said it was a capuhberry... or something like that. But... Lauren... Lauren I could almost picture - she was always a little crazy. And I've argued with Jamal before, but he attacked YOU?! And Joliette? I have a hard time picturing Joliette hurting a fly!"

He took a breath and dabbed at her cheeks with the back of a furry finger. "I'm so sorry... I heard that you guys were out here... I came to see who else I might be able to find - make sure everyone was alright... but by the sound of things, my god..."

She raised her hands defencively at his comments. "We were doing okay. WE've had some fish, boar at our camp. Not sure about Jamal's. But Lauren went off on her own and she was getting delirious because she hadn't eaten in a few days. And Joliette has been eating nothing but berries she finds... the animal in her isn't liking it at all. And Jamal...."

She rolled her shoulders a little bit and bit her lip. "He just changed. He wasn't in the right state of mind... he was... I don't know. He thought he was safe he wasn't going to change. But his hopes were crushed, his dreams dashed...and whatever he was turning into took the opportunity to take control. He...gave me a chance to leave... He told me he didn't want to hurt me.. that I should have walked away." She shooker her head and looked straight into Ambrose' eyes pleading for understanding. "But I couldn't just leave him. I couldn't abandon him in the middle of nowhere..."

She sighed softly. "It's...not as bad as it sounds...."

"Me and Chubbs are fine!" She retorted quickly to his lack of food comments. "The food is fine people are just being stupid and not eating..."

Unlike Ambrose she actually seemed more calm, if weak, about the situation. Then again Awen was perhaps for forgiving than she should be after three near or directly physical attacks against her person.

"It's not Jamal's fault either. It was the change... He didn't..rightly know..." Her brow furrowed as she was straining for an excuse for him. She couldn't think of something so she just jumped to the next. "And....I'm glad, for once, I'm becoming more like the animal Moreau had in store for me. We can eat all we want and hey..no more stupid fear of water, I'm more assertive. I mean we might not be in such good condition had I not changed more into an animal Ambrose. It's not all bad... Gotta... look on the bright side. Like I said it's not that bad."

"Well.... I'm glad that you and Chubbs are still alright.... and it looked like he and Joliette were getting rather close - maybe he'll be able to help her snap out of it... convince her to eat some of the meat your group has collected instead of.... someone" He swallowed.

"And even if Jamal did jut change... that's no excuse to attack someone, let alone a friend. What is he turning into?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I wish we hadn't been locked out here... I don't like what it's doing to some of us... Have you seen anyone else out here? Jamal... and whoever Antony is... You, Chubbs and Joliette are all I know who are out here.... back at my camp is me, Angelina, Amaya, Emelyn, Vasile and Cassidy and Greer.... but that still leaves a lot unanswered for."

He breathed, trying to calm himself. "Here.... well... I'm glad that you're seeing a bright side... honestly that's better than I can say for most of us in dealing wiht all of this. I'm really glad to hear that you're.... comfortable with what's happening to you. It still scares the hell out of me to look in a mirror to be perfectly honest. Even if it had helped me find food and keep track of where our campsite is with my sense of smell. But you should go back to our campsite... it's safe there, we've got supplies of fruit and some able hunters... And we're on the riverbank - so uhm... I don't know if you need to stay ... moist or anything..." He spoke cautiously, not sure if he was sticking his foot in his mouth.

Awen picked a little at the flakey skin on her arm and nodded a little bit. "It's..probably a better idea that I did..." She muttered a little bit. Honestly though Awen had the advantage over most other islanders because she hadn't seen herself in a mirror yet. All she had to do was understand what all of her changes brought to her, but how would she react if she actually saw herself? She didn't really know what the whole effect of her appearence was yet. She didn't want to know either... so far three people, to her knowledge, could barely recognise her when they saw her, and those were people that were close to her.

"Timothy too... he was around. I told him where people are incase he needed help..." She wasn't about to tell Ambrose that Jamal had changed as well. She wasn't sure how he was going to handle it, he didn't seem to be taking any of this well so far.

She sighed a little bit nd shifted her weight. "Ambrose... I mean no offence at all. But when you changed you did have the nice duplexes, the food provided, the sweet comforts that Moreau really had provided for us." She shook her head slowly. "I don't know what he's turning into...something...white I think. But whatever it is he is a predator. Someone who is already hurt and confused by the events of the passed while, already being shoved out into the wild and having to survive, making our natural human instincts heighten anyway, the tension and instability everything has caused, worrying if we'll ever get back to some version of normality on the island or if we'll die in this ferral state. It already does damage to people's minds Ambrose. A change ontop of all of that... the instincts are overwhelming...I suspect... to a predator. I mean... I think manta rays, as Chubbs says I am, are more passive and so it hasn't hit me as hard. But whatever hit Jamal has hit him hard."

She really didn't want to backtrack on the subject but Ambrose did as and that brought up more issues for her. She sighed a little bit. "It wasn't him. And yeah... we'll get him back..."

"Anyway!" She said with a smile and a much cheerier attitude. "Amaya told me everyone that was safe. I'm really glad everyone is okay. Thanks for letting me in on your camp... "

Ambrose hung his head, feeling guilty for his pronouncement on Jamal... but still... Ambrose had a hard time picturing himself attacking someone else... let alone a friend... because of a beast inside of him....

But Jamal already had anger problems, and Ambrose remembered how he got when he hadn't had meat in a while... compounded with the unknown predicament they were all in, and Jamal's fear of the whole process.... it was enough to drive someone crazy. Not that he would be the first - his upstairs neighbor, Julian, was already flying high after his first change, and that was within the comforts of the duplexes. Lord knows where he was now... if he had changed again. He was becoming a feline of some sort - a predator - as well.

"I'm sorry, Awen.... I shouldn't have spoken badly of him like that..... I know he must be going through a lot just like we all are.... but still... attacking you... I'm sorry - you shouldn't have to face that either. Seeing a friend turn on you because of what's been done to us. I hope you're right about him not being beyond salvation. I'd hate to see more people being lost to this... lost to the animals..."

Ambrose took in the fact that she had seen Timothy as well. "It's been ages since I've seen Timothy either... For such a small Island and tight community I've been pretty cut off from a lot of us... Heck, I've never even met that "tattood woman" or "Antony" that I've heard a few make reference to. Then again... I became something of a hermit after ANgelina showed up for a time..."

He left her side long enough to fetch a handful of water to bring back to her, but most of it was slipping through his fingers by the time he got back and he winced sheepishly. Putting the remains on some of Awen's cuts he spoke up "Sorry... maybe we should try to at least clean some of these, and if you want, I can either direct you or take you back to our campsite."

Awen shook her head slowly. "No no, don't be sorry." She looked up at Ambrose with a smile, very ready to put all of this behind them. She was worried about Jamal and unsure if he really could be saved or not. She was optimistic but... How far could that take her? She definately didn't want to think on it at the moment.

She looked east in the vague direction of Ambrose's camp. "Well you could take me if you want but... it's slow going for me on land, in my condition..probably worse..." She shook her head and turned back to the wolf. "It would probably take most of the day if we go by land ith me. It might be better to give me directions, I could go by water... you said it's by the river right?"

She nodded definately. Besides Ambrose said he was out looking for others. "You go check on Chubbs, Lauren and Joliette? Maybe meet Antony if you want to keep checking on people." She paused a moment and bit her lip. If Jamal had roughed Awen up like that what happened to Antony? Was she hurt? Or was she...

She couldn't keep thinking like that. She gave Ambrose directions back to her camp briefly. "...and if ou stick to the rivers you should be okay."

Ambrose smiled, but there was a note of worry to it, esepecially after she mentioned her condition. "You're probably right... I followed the river here, so you shouldn't have much problem following it back to my camp. Just take it North to the lake by the village, then take it east. I think our Camp is on the Northmost brach of the river when it splits. So... after you get to the village, take a right and stick to your left. You should see our camp eventually on your left."

"I... I would go with you, but something tells me that you're a much stronger swimmer than I am now, and will probably be able to make better time by water than I could on land picking my way between the undergrowth. And yes.... I am worried about some of the others as well. I'll make my way to the beach... and see if I can find some of the others as well."

He offered his hand in good luck. "And dont' worry about anyone at our camp... they should be able to help you out... and we've got food and shelter if you need it."

She took his hand and gripped it as firm as her body would allowas she smiled up at him. "You take care Ambrose. And don't worry about me I'll be fine."

She turned and started for the river. Her legs did seem to be a little shakey but once she got in the water she knew she would be fine. It could always get a lot worse. Plenty of food, and shelter was what awaited her on the other end of things anyway and that would giver her strength enough knowing it isn't totally hopeless. She paused a moment and glanced back at Ambrose.

"Kind of funny though... How we've all adapted to this. I never thought people as sorted as everyone on this island would be able to get through this relatively fine." She shook her head and started walking again.

Even if they were surviving the former rich girl would rather the comforts return. How long could these groups last anyway, howm uch longer until someone else snaps? No. She would not get too confident in their own abilities just yet. They need Moreau back.... badly. Besides, Awen had only just started a file on SCIII and she really needed to get back to her old lifestyle.

She sighed in relief when her flipper-like feet finally touch the cool water. The sensation spread slowl as she dipped her flakey self back into the life giving liquid. It was great, she finally is back in her element. Her domaine. Her shoulders hurt and her stomach had a dull ache but still she felt good. She walked along for a short while to try to rub some of the blood off but couldn't help it and soon just dunked herself completely. Breathing deeply from her gills she started on her way.

Ambrose summoned a confident smile for the fish-girl as he shook her hand, doubly impressed with how well she was coping, both to her drastic changes and to the 'wild.' Ambrose unspoken sentiment mirrored hers, however - mournful of his loss of creature comforts - a pain that stung harder with his trip through the village and his glimpse into a duplex that he never imagined he would have thought of as "home".

"You're right... but as diverse as we are, together I think we can survive this stronger. I'm sure Moreau will come back... and things will return to as normal as they get around here." He gave her another smile and a wave. He watched her go, sliding effortlessly through the stream back in the direction that he came for a few moments before pushing on.  

[Awen Zyn]

I Love...

After tromping through the woods again for hours, soaking in the security of the pressing jungle foliage, it was no surprise that Jamal found himself thirsty. Being one with poor foresight, he had forgotten to grab one of the water bottles from camp and was now cursing his stupidity. Luckily, however, Mr. Tigerman wasn't far from the river, and he could smell the crisp cleanness of the water and the rotting smell of plant vegitation not far away. At least his nose was good for something.

Breaking the treeline, he found the river with little difficulty, and immediately headed for the bank. The water brought out a strange urge in him; he felt like just lying there in it and letting the water flow around his body. After testing the water temperature, he started to wade in, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be coming towards him. If he could help it, he'd duck back into the jungle and be gone before anyone saw him.

Unfortunately for them both, Jamal didn't happen to notice Awen, who was resting just under the water observing some neat little fish a little ways away. After her change Awen had been opened up to a whole world, and sometimes would just watch the life beneither the surface. But this time it didn't pay off as Awen felt a clawed foot step right on the back of her leg. Awen winced and jerked quickly trying to get away from the pain.

Jamal felt the jerk under his fook and about leapt the distance from where he was clear all the way back to the shore, fangs bared in instinctive readiness as he whirled to face whatever the ******** it was that he might have stepped on. It was big...with his luck, it was an alligator or some s**t like that. Great. He considered just running off into the jungle before whatever it was could surface, but for some stupid reason he figured he could take it. What if it was something that might be edible later once it was killed?

He waited in a semi-crouched position, eyes locked on the movement under the water.

Once the pressure on her leg was relieved Awen had the opposite instinct and pushed herself forward into deeper water. The little school of fish she had been watching scattered and vanished in all sorts of directions. Only when she was far enough out for her to feel 'safe' did Awen turn and look up at the blurry surface water.

Slowly she poked her head from the water to see what had attacked her. It hadn't persued anyway, that was good at least, but the blob of colour was still on the shore. After blinking a few times her vision cleared and Awen noticed who it was. She wasn't sure whether to swim away still or stay. Her shoulders still ached from the last time she ran into him. But she stayed her ground, or water rather, with her head and tops of her shoulders just above the surface.

Jamal peered at the 'thing' at it broke the surface, then nearly facepalmed out of relief and a feeling of stupidity.

"Jesus christ, Awen," he groaned, turning so he could sit on his butt instead of kneeling awkwardly on hands and knees. "I thought yous was a ********' gator or somethin'. I was all ready ta brawl...you a'ight?"

Truth was, he wouldn't have minded too much if it had been a gator or something equally nasty...it could have been fun...

Clearly he was in a better mood than he was when she ran into him despite the long lines of scabbed over wounds he had on his lower arms thanks to his temporary spurt of insanity.

She had been wary incase Jamal would have gone all primal on her again. He certainly seemed like he was going to only a moment ago. But his mood, seemed different, his eyes told that to Jamal again. She smiled softly and waded her way closer to shore, but she stayed in the water.

"No big deal. Nothing worse than what I've had since the blackout." She shrugged a little bit. "You...feeling okay?"

"Blackout?" he inquired before realizing that he probably didn't want to know...he was vaguely aware that he had a confrontation with her and hurt her to some degree, but the after-details he wasn't so up on, especially since he wandered off so fast. His wrinkled his nose and shook his head distractedly, glancing up towards the sky to get a gauge on the approximate time of day it was. That and he felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"I'm a'ight," Jamal remarked in a detacted sort of manner, as though he was saying it just to say it, not because it was entirely true. "Jus' out fo' a walk...cause...I dunno. Cause it felt right?" He glanced back down, eyeing her position there in the river with a bland expression on his face. He wasn't about to go apeshit on anyone, but he was still semi-stressed about his new situation.

"You know in the village..." She gestured towards the now ghost town. She wasn't implying anything else besides that and quirked a brow as Jamal had asked. She thought he had known...?

She felt the tension in the air and glanced down at the water as Jamal looked up at the sky. She nodded slightly hearing what he was up to. "Well that's cool then..." She wasn't about to draw attention to the scabbed over claw marks on her shoulders.

She rubbed her arm self consciously though. She hadn't a clue what to say. She was sure he was still at least sort of unstable about the whole change thing, so she couldn't bring that up, or even ask how he was doing. But the other thing she wanted to talk about, Antony, just wouldn't go over well either. So she found herself stuck staring at the water for a short time and sighed a little.

"Um... getting enough to eat?" She looked up quickly, glad to find something to say. "I could... get you some fish or something..."

"Oh, yeah..." Again he could have slapped himself. He had been thinking like...her...passing out or something. Whew...

The query of fish caught him a little off-guard. He hadn't thought about fishing, but it seemed kind of odd to take advantage of her fishing skills when she was so deathly afraid of water when he met her. Plus he wasn't sure how they'd handle the fish back at camp. Maybe later.

"We caught somethin' in a trap a few days ago so we got meat," he finally answered. "Doin' alright. Ain't really perfect, but what can ya do?" Jamal shrugged some, then cocked a brow. He wondered why she was still hiding out in the water, but then again, he couldn't blame her. He was too unpredictable. That made him sigh in frustration and glance skyward again, feeling uncomfortable once more.

She had been staying in the water because she felt more comfortable inside the cool liquid than land anymore... but when she felt the tension coming in again she wondered if he felt uncomfortable because of such the formal distance she seemed to keep. She moved close enough to just sit in the water before the bank, so she closed the gap between them, but still kept the water up to about her chest.

"Oh a trap huh? That's pretty sweet. We couldn't get a trap set up if we tried I don't think." Chuckling softly she shrugged. "I dunno... Amaya and a bunch of others have a camp too...they seem to be doing the best out of all of us, but I haven't been to your camp in awhile..."

Awen snapped and looked up quickly to Jamal. "Oh hey. Um... Me and Amaya were talking.. and we figured it might be better to...sort of.. join the groups together. I mean that way we can have more chances of survival if we worked together... Er.. so you know if ya want... I've been there it's pretty nice."

"Yeah, took us a few tries, but we finally caught somethin'...it was small but we got enough meat fo' awhile." He decided to leave out the part about the bones; those still gave him the willies, but he wasn't sure what Antony had done with them anyway. "Doin' a'right," he repeated, mostly to himself.

He listened to her talk about the other groups, then frowned at the mention of joining the others. Jamal wasn't so certain that was a good idea, for various reasons. That and he sort of liked how small and secluded his camp was.

"Might be a good idea maybe...but I ain't so sure it's a good idea fo' me ta be mixin' in wit' ev'ryone like dat," Jamal said flatly, his whiskers bristling as his jaw tensed a little. "I don't 'xactly get along wit' everyone as is 'n' neitha' do Antony." He smiled a little though and went crosslegged on the shore. "But I figger you best do whateva' works fo' you so you don't gotta worry 'bout anythin'. Keep yo'self safe 'n' all dat."

Awen listened to his explaination of the trap. She was really glad to hear they were doing alright. She sighed a little and nodded when she heard Jamal decline the group invitation though. She had figured they would, but she was trying anyway. She wasn't too sure she wanted to rejoin a group anyway. After she change she had spent most of her time by herself, at least the times where she wasn't being attacked by her fellow islanders. She wasn't too happy with joining a large group of people anymore.

"Yeah I understand. I'm not... really much for big groups anyway. I'm..doing pretty good on my own too. The rivers and lake don't offer much resistance and I can get fish and everything." She trailed her fingers through the water slowly, feeling teh added resistance of the webs between her fingers.

"You been hidin' here at da river most of da time?" he asked, sounding vaguely surprised. Wow, her instincts would have to be hellastrong to be overriding her fear of water. Amazing...frightening in a way, but amazing nonetheless. He wondered if this whole blackout thing was to teach them all some sort of twisted lesson. If it was, Jamal sure didn't see it. "Well, I 'spose if it's doin' well fo' you...ain't no reason ta change it. Hopefully this will be ova' soon."

The look on his face didn't seem to match his words though...he felt that this whole living in the wild thing was far from over.

She sighed and nodded. Knowing better than to keep her hopes up with the possibility that this may all be over soon she wasn't exactly sure how to reply to Jamal. Looking up to find the words she noticed he didn't really think so either.

She just looked back down to the water. "Jamal...." If there was one person she wanted with her while she was by the river it was him. After everything that had happened she still missed him. She wondered if he was still in the right frame of mine hte other night to hear her confession. She doubted it, but if she had heard it he didn't seem to want to talk about it.

She tried to give him a smile but it failed. "I just... hope you're okay. I mean...when I asked Antony to take care of ya.. I didn't mean ya couldn't on your own..or that she was supposed to be like your mom or anything. I just meant that..." She sighed heavily. "I just wanted you to be safe and...to let you know that I still cared about ya. It wasn't meant to...offend you or Antony..."

Jamal frowned and rubbed at the back of his neck, his characteristic action when he was feeling uncomfortable or debating something privately. "Awen, I'm -fine-. A lil' ******** up in da head maybe from all this s**t, but I'm fine," said the black man in a level, yet slightly gentle tone. "Things jus' come off wrong at da time o' somethin', I guess...I know ya meant well."

He hunched over his lap, careful to keep his claws from cutting into his leg on accident as he dropped the one hand back down to rest on his knee.

Awen nodded and gave Jamal a small smile, which didn't fail this time thankfully. "Yeah I know. I just..guess I wanted to say that it's been kinda bugging me." Among many many other things but Awen would not let those out. This was definately not the time. She was glad to see his personality showing through again, she recognised the rubbing his neck thing quite well.

She stretched her legs out under the water. "Say I wasn't stopping you from taking a bath or anything was I?" She just suddenly seemed to remember Jamal had been heading into the water before he stepped on her leg. She had interupted so many baths lately...it was embarassing.

"Naw...jus' gettin' a drink. Been wanderin' through da jungle fo' da last few hours cause I ain't got anything else ta do, then figgered the river was a good place ta get a drink. Was jus' gonna sit in da water 'n' think or somethin, I guess." Jamal sighed and flicked his whiskers absently, which as another habit he had started to pick up thanks to his transformation. The damn things were so sensitive that it was hard to ignore they were there.

He watched her stretch out in the water, thinking that maybe she might be hiding something from him by her facial expressions and body language, but didn't ask. He had a feeling where it might go and if she wanted to go there, then she would. He certainly wasn't going to ask for it.

"Well you're welcome to come sit in the water if that's whatcha wanted to do. No sense in just sitting on shore if you really wanted to be in the water." She gave him a small smile and gestured for him to come into the water with her. "Besides the water's nice."

She had a bias now however. The water is pretty much nice where ever she went now. She figured it would be better than the cracky flakes of doom she got otherwise.

Jamal considered it for a moment before more or less shifting forward onto his hands and knees, then moved forward in a crawling fashion until the water met his chest. The water had the same sort of calming effect as the jungle did, which was nice. Plus he probably wouldn't hurt to have a bath.

He easily floated/paddled out to where it was a bit deeper before submerging completely, then surfacing shortly after to shake the water from his massively-dreadifying cornrows. The water -was- pretty nice. Jamal let himself bob there whilst he let the water run down his neck, feeling better about stuff in general. Yay for the healing properties of water.

Awen smiled softly watching Jamal. She felt a lot more comfortable having him in the water almost as much as she suspected he felt by his expression. It was nice having the big mn in her element. Her domain. As if nothing could go wrong as long as the predator was in her area of expertise.

Now that Jamal was further in Awen skooted further into the water with a small grin. "You know it's kind of neat...." She dove under the water and moved around the man in the water. She surfaced a little ways away. "I can actually breathe underwater."

Jamal lifted a brow in mild surprise. "Oh really? Damn...that's ********' amazin'..." But then again, she was further along than he was and he knew how the senses could just with just one transformation. Like his whiskers. He could feel drops of water dangling from the tips and the sensation was weird as hell. "Pretty ******** up what ya can end up bein' able ta do after changin' once...so I kin imagine 'bout anything's possible where you're at. At least you're a'ight wit' it."

He smiled, this time more like his old self, and flicked water from his elongated ears before turning over to float on his back. Thankfully the current wasn't too strong, so he didn't go too far, too fast.

And Awen just kept with him at his slow drifting pace. "Well, I'm not afraid anymore. It just seems kind of right now, like it's supposed to be like this." She knew to avoid the name Moreau at the moment or she may have said something...halfway pleasent about the b*****d.

She was glad to see the old Jamal more and more within the man's cool features. Even if he changed he was still the same... Awen was glad to he was talking about his transformation, using that as a kind of therapy...Awen knew the tactic all too well.

As she watched him float along the river it just felt so peaceful. She remembered the feeling of waking up and Jamal was laying next to her in the duplexes. That bit of happy comfort rose back into her chest now. Her instincts didn't exactly agree with this little bit of her humanity but she shut the conflict away for now.

She sighed softly, but it was a happy sort of sigh as she closed her eyes and took in both the water and the sun. She just felt so relaxed and almost normal. With Jamal back to his self and them having some alone time Awen couldn't really help herself; the words "I love you Jamal" slipped from her lips too quickly for Awen to catch them.

For the few seconds before she had realised the words were spoken outloud Awen drifted along beside Jamal without a care in the world...

Jamal chuckled some, keeping his eyes closed as he drifted lazily. "As long as you doin' okay wit' it, then I guess dat's all anyone could ask fo'..." he mumbled. This was nice...this was relaxing...this was...

"I love you Jamal"

Fuuuuuck.

He opened his eyes, feeling a very painful twinge in his head as he heard those words. Oh man this was going to get awkward so fast...WHY couldn't things have just stayed uncomplicated. Love was such a strong word... Jamal thought maybe she had understood that a relationship wasn't right for him, but apparently not. She seemed to still be holding on.

"Awen," he started, slowly his floating by shifting into a sitting position, his face contorted into an expression of sadness and exasperation. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, even though it was too late for that. "I..I thought we..went through this..."

A stroke of colour came up to her greyish cheeks. She made a very ungraceful twitch in hte water which brought her back to reality. The peaceful moment had crashed around her in a second realising what she had said outloud to Jamal. For a second she had hope though... maybe he would take it possitively. Maybe he would....

And then his words followed and she realised just how big of a mistake it was to hope or let those words slip. She cursed herself silently and winced at the expression that had come across Jamal's features. She tried to quickly recover but words didn't seem to want to come easily to her.

"I'm sorry..." She said softly. "We...we did. It slipped, it was just so... peaceful. Made me kind of feel like... before." Yes this was the old fumbling Awen that should be remembered. Always good at saying exactly the wrong thing. "Just... never mind. Forget I said anything..."

Stupid. She not only ruined the moment but appearently ruined all hope of recovering a relationship with him. She could have waited, maybe for a better time, or at least spoken a bit more tactfully instead of just spurttering out 'I love you' out of no where. Stupid stupid stupid....

Awen looked away, though pretending it was just to look back to shore. She should have just swam away when she saw Jamal back by the shore. Now she had made everything awkward and hurt herself.

Jamal sighed. He knew...KNEW this was going to happen. Dammit to hell.

"Awen. Look at me," he said after a long pause, reaching out to carefully touch her shoulder, then wincing when he saw ugly, angry wounds there that he had inflicted at their last meeting. "We need ta talk 'bout this...it ain't doin' no good ta jus' keep avoiding it."

She winced slightly her shoulder sensitive to his touch. But she looked back to him slowly after she was sure there weren't any tears to show. "There's nothing to talk about Jamal.... you said you yourself... we've talked about it already. It was...a slip... I'm sorry.... alright?"

He gave her a very calm, level look, which was odd considering the situation. Jamal was not stupid; they had talked out it, but it was more HIM talking than her. He knew she had to have something to say.

"It wasn't a real talk cause I did most of da blabberin' 'n' it wasn't at a good time...now I know you got stuff you wanna say dat you jus' ain't sayin'. What good is dat gonna do? Don't apologize ta me cause ya ain't got nuthin' ta be sorry fo'."

He did feel bad; this was all his fault. He should have known better than to get tangled up in something like this.

She sighed a little bit and closed her eyes as she felt salty drops starting to work their way up. "It hurt... But I'm not blaming you or hating you or Antony." She shook her head. "And I'm over blaming myself for the situation too. I don't know what there is left to say Jamal." She ran her fingers through the water.

"I just.... kind of wished you would have been honest about it." Which was definately the truth. "I mean... that would have been better than finding out from Ant. It hurt Jamal but.... most of me has accepted it by now." She looked away from him and sighed. "There was a part of me thinking... that maybe we could still... well maybe we could somehow get back together or whatever. That was the part that let those words slip. It's nothing to worry about... I mean obviously I'm not gonna hope anymore, so that won't happen again."

She looked up to the man with a sad smile. "I guess we're just different kinds of people Jamal, neither better just different views and values." She steadied herself by holding his shoulder to press her lips softly against his.

"I'm still here for ya. I mean this shorty isn't going to abandon you so easily. But it's different now, and I got that. But no matter what happens I'll care about ya, in some way or another. Just don't worry about it, things will be fine with us. Just have ta concentrate now on surviving..."

She gave him her own sincere smile. Something just... something that showed she meant what she said, that everything would be alright, but in the depths still lingered a sort of pain. She was still hurt, but she was determined to make things better.

Jamal listened as she talked, having decided he had talked enough on the subject until she got her say in. They had to reach an understanding otherwise this was never going to go away. The kiss brought a feeling of guilt with it, but he tried his best to shake it off and instead pulled her closer into a hug which he hoped she wouldn't resist because he'd feel worse.

"I was gonna tell you somehow...I jus' didn't know how to. I shoulda known betta than ta think I could change fo' anyone," he said hesitantly, peering down at her with what he hoped looked as sincere as he felt. "We is jus' two diff'rent kinds of people...yous right 'bout dat...I can't hurt you no mo' wit' stuff I can't seem ta change. It ain't fair to you or me."

He sighed, brushed at her hair idly and super-carefully with his fingers. "Awen, jus' cause I can't commit ta nothin' don't mean I'm jus' gonna forget things. I want ya ta be happy so dat ain't gonna happen wit' me, but I'll be damned if anythin' bad happens ta you at da hands of anyone else wit'out me goin' after 'em. There be only two people on dis island dat got dat guarentee 'n' you is one of 'em. I don't care what happens ta me if I go after 'em but ******** me if I'mma sit back after someone hurts you. Ya still ma shorty...jus'...diff'rent, like you said."

Regardless of what happens between them, Jamal was not kidding when he said that he would seriously go after anyone who messed with Awen. He still cared for her, but not in a way that would allow Jamal to be who he was and have her be happy.

Awen didn't resist his hug but went along with it whole heartidly. She gave the man a soft squeeze and smiled. "Then it's all settled." She was extremly thankful to get everything off of her chest like she had to. Really it was liberating and she didn't have to feel brooding about anything anymore. She gave him another squeeze before letting go and slipping further into the water once more.

"Thanks Jamal... For everything." She really meant it as she smiled back to the big man. He had taught her so much and helped her be strong. She would remember it. She really did love him though, maybe it was just...a different kind of love than she had expected. It was strong as anything... but now that everything was out in the open and they both had their say, Awen resigned herself to thinking that maybe the love she felt was something other than the romantic kind she had thought it to be.

"Just do me a favour Jamal?" She paused a moment her tone a little more serious as she sighed and looked at the water. "Don't ever change."

She grinned softly and glanced back up to him. Giving hima quick wink sne turned and plunged back into the water. Something inside her just wanted her to be alone at the moment. And alone she would be...

Jamal let her go, as he knew that it was time to maybe let her have time to herself. Her parting phrase made him wonder...don't ever change...he didn't intend on it, but it seemed so hard with the s**t they as islanders had to go through. They had to make sacrifices and live in ways that no normal human should have to.

...but he'd try.

The tiger man eventually hauled himself out of the river, dripping dry a bit before using his senses to direct him back "home".  

[Awen Zyn]

Finding Fruit

Lily had gotten separated from Colche some time ago, but she hadn't really left the general area. She can still faintly hear the River from her current location, as she walks through the jungle at a liesurely pace in search of food or company.

Despite her usual horrid luck with finding food, she happens by a mango tree. She gives a loud and exagerated sigh of relief, for she had started to worry that she would have to go deeper into the Jungle- and after the episode with the boar she is quite reluctant to do so, especially on her own. She goes over to the tree and reaches for the rather low hanging fruit.

Awen had not noticed the girl for some time. She was nursing a cut she had on the bottom of her foot by the tree. When Awen had found this little fruit tree she was extatic, she could bring back the fruit she said she would find to the group. Indeed, fish and fruit, it would make for better living now. Even though she would probably mostly stay by herself.

But in her excitement Awen had failed to notice the rather sharp stick whose point was facing the air and stepped on it, causing the wound she now suffered. It was only a few moments before Lily arrived...

With a small flash of movement i nthe corner of her eyes she caught the sight of someone. She looked at the girl with the crimson-brown hair and tilted her head a little. No this person was new to her. But new to the island? She doubted it. With the blackout and everything the poor girl must have learned the truth by now.

Awen stood up slowly and put on a smile. At least the girl didn't appear to be in too bad of shape. "Hello there."

Lily doesn't notice Awen as she reaches out to the tree, but then starts when suddenly something moves and someone speaks to her. She lowers her arms and turns her eyes towards the speaker, where the surprises do not end. While initially relieved that it isn't a wild animal, the odd look the half-transformed manta ray has is startling enough.

She takes one step back in her surprise, and then relaxes a bit.

"Um, hello," she replies, though her eyes don't meet Awen's as she looks at the dark patches of skin curiously. What is this person turning into?! She glances up to the stranger's eyes and bites her lip when she realizes how rude she's being.

"S-sorry.."

Awen wasn't surprised by the girl's reaction, she was too used to being overly self concious about her changes. She didn't exactly feel good about the woman backing away, but again she wasn't surprised. She smiled reassuringly when the other girl finally met her eyes.

She stepped forward and took the mango from the tree and held it out to her. "The name's Awen Zyn." She glanced over the woman. She had indeed been around other islanders, or she probably wouldn't have apologised. Awen was thankful for that much.

Despite how rude she knows she's being, she can't help but be fascinated by this particular transformation. She'd only seen two other changed people, and each one had been unique in some way- a reptile, a mammal and now.. neither of those. In fact, nothing comes right to her mind about what it could be- until she holds out the fruit, making the webbing more obvious.

But she must stop looking.

"Thank you," Lily says, sounding more natural, taking the mango and smiling at her, "My name is Lily Delaney, it's nice to meet you Awen." She holds out a hand to shake Awen's, a friendly gesture to try to make up for being so inconsiderate.

Awen wasn't blind and could see how Lily openly stared at her. But it wasn't exactly the kind she was used to. It was curious for sure, but not in the way that Chubbs or Joli or Lauren had been. No this was soemthing different. It reminded her a little bit of someone, someone she had met on the island. But who she would never know. Her first month on the island was such a blurr anyway, too many things happening, too many new people met. Maybe Awen even saw this woman briefly and forgot about it, she wouldn't be surprised if this were true.

"You too Lily." She shook the other woman's hand delicately because of the webbing. What could she say to the girl now? How's the weather? Awen never was terribly awkward with meeting new people but since she changes she's felt a definate shift to the introverted. As she withdrew her hand Awen gestured around. "So... uh.. You seen anyone else arund?"

Lily is gentle when she shakes Awen's hand, this time being less obvious as she mentally notes the feeling of the webs. The awkwardness of the situation hits her as well, not sure what one says to someone after being so rude or while on this Island at all. Her last attempt at small talk had been a complete failure.

Lily lets her hand fall to her side, keeping the hand with the mango in it elevated.

"I was with Colche looking for other people," she says, looking back in the direction she had come from, "But she wandered off." She pauses thoughtfully and looks around.

"Is anyone else around here?" She asks, thinking about how ironic it would be if she suddenly ran into all these people Colche had been looking for after they got separated. She glances back at Awen..

At the mention of Colche, Awen's eyes definately brightened. It had been a long time since she had seen the poor furry...naked... girl. She missed the innocent blue eyes of that girl. Truthfully she had been worried about how she would be surviving.... Glad to hear she was alright Awen was very much more receptive to Lily's questions.

"Well not right around but I know pretty much where...most people are anyway. There's a camp on the beach with Jamal, Antony and another woman.... then there's my camp. Chubbs Joliette and Lauren are there. Ambrose and Amaya have a camp too with a bunch of others on the far side of the island. Almost everyone I know is accounted for, now that I heard Colche is okay."

Lily notices the slight change in Awen's demeanor, which is quite heartening. She nods when she answers her question- vaguely interested in where to find other people.

"Oh?" She murmurs, not loud enough to interrupt Awen as she lists off where the people she knows are. Listening for names she knows. She straightens up, more interested when at once someone she knows is mentioned. Antony and Anjali must have stayed at the beach. Joliette is someone else she's met, and Ambrose and Amaya were both mentioned by Colche.

"It's good to know everyone is all right," she says when Awen finishes. Chana is the only person she'd met that hadn't been mentioned- is she all right too? She ponders this, not noticing the darkening sky.

Awen nodded slowly. "Yeah...It's good to know most people are getting along alright." She sighed a little bit. "Just wish I knew if Moreau was. As much as everyone hates him we really need him." She shook her head a little before looking to the sky.

Dark clouds had begun to form above the canopy of trees without her noticing. She wondered what this would be like, a vague memory of one of her nightmares flitted to her mind. But now she wouldn't fear drowning; she couldn't rightly drown when she could breathe underwater.

Looking back to Lily, Awen smiled again and pointed to the fruit she held. "SO how have you been doing for food?"

Lily does her best to keep a straight face when Awen mentions Moreau and how much he's needed. She doesn't like to admit it, but the girl is right. They'd had food, shelter and someone who knows exactly what they're doing with this experiment before. She glances at the mango she'd been given.

"I guess," she agrees, thinking back to the explosion the night they'd been put outside and wondering what happened. She looks up at the sky, noticing how shadowy it'd become. The sunny weather just couldn't last, could it? She looks back down when Awen asks her about food.

"All right," she replies, "Coconuts and these-" she holds up the mango- "mostly. What about you?"

Only coconut and ...what mangos? She sighed a little bit. That was a little riddiculous now. Why is it everyone else found fruit and Awen for the life of her couldn't find a single thing until the day of a big damn storm! As she figures will be coming. Maybe Awen really was getting blind from all these changes not to be able to even to find fruit for a month in the jungle.

She nodded in hte direction of the river. "Fish, lately. We had some boar awhile back. It attacked out camp and Lauren and I had to...well kill it." Ahh memories of the boar's head going smoosh, not the best of memories but it got her food at least. "Not fairing too badly now adays...if you want some fish I could probably catch some for you."

Honestly, she hadn't been having much luck with food, but seemed to find it before she starved. To her, that's good enough- no chocolate cake, thinking like Colche, but something. She glances in the direction of the River when Awen nods.

"Fish?" she murmurs, she'd never even thought about fishing- and while it seems to obvious now, she knows she wouldn't have managed it. Fish sound so nice after living off of carbohydrates. But then she turns sharply back to Awen when she mentions the boar.

"You killed a boar?" she sounds slightly awed, after seeing the murderous rage of the mother boar she can't imagine taking on one and winning. She doesn't respond to Awen's offer right away.

Awen scratched the back of her neck slightly. "Well...it wasn't easy...Lauren got hurt and..." Her stomach lurched thinking of the smooshedness that was left of the boar's head. She gave Lily a smile. "You know I will get you that fish. But you should probably seek some kind of shelter. It might take a little while....hm... Hey I know. I'll point you in the direction of Ambrose's camp and you can go that way. It's pretty good because you can follow the rivers there so I can always get to you fairly quickly."

Awen then began to describe the way to Ambrose's camp as best she could. " If you get lost or come to a fork in the river and don't know where to go, just stay by the water and I'll find you. Alright?"

The fish-girl waved a little bit as she headed back to the water.

Lily nods when Awen explains the boar, "It's still amazing, we had a run in with a boar but we had to run away.." She frowns, looking down at the shady ground. She looks back up when Awen decides to get the fish and smiles.

"That's very nice of you," she says gratefully, and listens carefully to the directions Awen gives her to find Ambrose's camp. She repeats after her in a low voice to help her memory.

"Alright," she nods, "Hopefully I won't get lost."

She waves back to Awen as she leaves, noticing her tail for the first time, but she turns in the direction she was told to go and starts, still holding onto the mango.  

[Awen Zyn]

Chicken Little

Awen drifted under the water of the lake looking up at the surface. Once the storm had come in she hadn't really seen anyone. She wondered where that Lily girl had gotten to, Awen found fish but then could not find the one she was fishing for. She figured the storm had gotten too bad for the little land dweller and she had gone to find shelter. Awen however, had one of the most perfect shelters she could think of.

The surface of the lake was rough and choppy due to the strong winds, the lightning cracked in the skies dangerously, but under the water things were almost quiet and completely calm. It was a marvel for Awen to see how the stormy waters she was so afraid of were really calm further down. She did a few lazy laps around the lake before she started to worry about other people. Most people didn't have the advantage of breathing underwater, so they couldn't get to as nice a shelter as hers.
Most people? What was she thinking? Awen was pretty sure she was the only person who could breathe underwater! Still all the more reason....

Moving towards the bank of the lake Awen surfaced slowly. She could at least help people who were lost or not knowing where to go. But speaking of where to go... which way was Awen going to head in hopes of helping someone? She could get just as lost as the rest of them. She frowned slightly as she looked around.

After the meeting at the bach Colche had found ehr way back to the little islanders camp. She hadn't found anyone there though the scents of her friends were thick upon the air. The rain hadn't quite washed away ther strange mingled scents. She did however find one more unusual than the others. She knew the scent faintly so she had followed it towards the lake.

The rain drops beating down on ehr black hair though made her look extremely beddraggled, maybe she could find someone to let her inside. A pout lifted her lips as she clung to the equally wet and soggy bunny which was held fast in her arms. "Ambrose, Amaya, Ian"she called, she knew the names, though they were said in quick sucsession. She sniffled and sneezed, though only once, her huge blue eyes met with the water at last. The deep shining lake where the water was seemignly splashing upwards instead of downwards "Lily, Pyroth..Antony!" she sneezed again her ears plastered against her head as she shuffled closer to the lake "bad, nasty!" she shouted at the sky, though as usual she couldn't keep a sour face on forever and she was reminded of a song she had 'read' in her leap pad. She proceeded to sing it, any time she sang, she seemed to find somone, maybe singing was magic.

"Rainrain, go away..
uhmeh.."

She paused wrinkling her nose and sneezing again, she didn't like this rain, if she knew all this song she could make it go away.

"Uhm,
come again..anuvah day."

she nodded to herself repeating the lines over and over again until her toes touched the mossy bank of the lake. The rain came down heavier upon her dark hair and she pouted further, maybe she should go back to the camp, maybe everyone was there now.

Awen turned towards the sound of the cheeta's sweet little voice angry with the sky. She was only a little ways down the lake so Awen could see quite well the ragged condition that she seemed to be in. Amazed, though she was, at seeing this girl again after so long of being apart Awen chuckled at the little soaked fuzz ball Colche still held fast in her arms.

"Colche!" Awen called to her, though a loud crack of thunder drowned out her voice.

She moved towards the raven haired girl, water up to her ankles. She smiled broadly feeling grateful to see Colche for herself, instead of just hearing about her well being.

Awen must have looked a mess herself though. After the time out in the wild and even worse underwater Awen's hair was matted and taggled beyond repair.

"Colche!" She exclaimed when she was closer.

Colches flattened ears turned towards Awen as she spoke the second time and she smiled. Though weakly. She was cold and very wet and longed for the comfort of her Duplex. Perhaps in a way the Cheetah girl had become rather soft living happily in her plex. She hadn't felt this rotten in a long time though. A little pout came to ehr lips and she shuffled over to Awen snuggling in to her "Awen, no happy, bad, wet" her speach, as usual broken was further hampered by a shiver in her voice and a sneeze which closely followed, though she managed to turn her head so she didn't sneeze on the manta girls shoulder. She still managed to hold tightly to her rabbit despite the sort of hug she gave her. She was glad to see somone, especially somone she knew even if she had changed alot. Everyone was still the same to her, even if they did occasionally change their appearance.

Awen was glad her changing hadn't frightened the girl, though she should have known better than to worry. Colche was always so innocent like that, though Awen knew she preffered the fuzzies...

When the poor blue eyed girl snugged herself against Awen, the manta wrapped a webbed arm around her only to feel she was shaking. Awen frowned a little bit in worry. Though Awen was perfectly capable of coping with this rain and in fact loving being able to walk around without her skin getting itchy she was so painfully reminded how bad rain can be. She had almost forgotten how terrified she had been of storms, water lightning and loud noises never did her any good before.

She thought of Amaya and Ambrose's camp. They had shelters there. Awen would have offered Colche into her shelter but she doubted that would make Colche feel much better.

"Awen missed Colche." She gave the cheeta a slight squeeze. "But now Colche and Awen have to find shelter for Colche."

Colche made a little snotty snuffle but nossed softly "Kay" she whispered her ears flattening again. She didn't fail to notice that Awen looked happier though. She smiled a little a tiny, rather wobbly puurr escaping her "Awen happy" she smiled wakly, shivering and twitching a little as a sharp tongue of lightning lit up the sky. She dithered for a moment, searching the clouds for the strange bolt of light. But finding it gone she returned her large blue eyed gaze to Awen.

Her gaze now firmly fixd upon Awen she made sure the girl knew she was happy to do what ever to get out of this rain "Colche happy, for to find Awen, cold tho, no like wet sky falling" It was probably good that Colche hadnt read Chicken little.

Awen nodded at the observation before turning them both for Ambrose's camp. It was the best place for shelter she could think of, and most likely to be stable. She wasn't sure how the others of her camp was going, their shelter was destroyed by the boar and the beach couldn't have much in defence against the winds and rain.

"Awen happy to find Colche too. We can go see Ambrose, will Colche like that?" It was funny how Awen could still talk like this for Colche when she needed to. Terribly out of practice but being around the girl helped jog her memory.

As she started walking she did what she could to try to shelter the cheeta from the rain, but knew she couldn't do a good job.

Colche nodded softly "Ambrose" she mumbled stickin close to awen, though she managed another one of those little sneezes on their slow way in to the jungle once again. It was at least a bit drier under the canopy and with the help of Awen she definately stayed a bit drier though it didn't stop big rain dropletts pinging off the end of her nose.

The shivering of course was making her a little warmer though it didn't stop her from stareing upwards to look at the lightning ridden sky. Looking at Awen she made an uncomfortable little noise and sighed heavily. "number seventeen" she stated, meaning her duplex. She felt even more that she wished to be inside ehr duplex now. She missed ehr tent and ehr bed and even her cloathes. It would have been nice to have jeans and the cute top with the kitties on right now.  

[Awen Zyn]

Sitting in the rain

Wander away, come back wander away come back... Joliette couldn't seem to make up her mind, besides to know that she was still scared that she'd lose control again. Her hair drenched from the downpour her bangs matted against her face and the long curls pulled nearly straight from the wetness, and beyond that soaked to the bone she was cold, much colder then she would have expected to be in a rainstorm. She never really felt a lot from the air conditioning in the cafeteria or the duplexes, but today she felt it... and had this desire to be in the depths of a warm soily place as she slowly trudged into the large camp shivering with her arms around herself looking at the ground

Ambrose had fallen comfortably asleep wrapped around Angelina. While the lean-to wasn't perfect, at least the winds were lessened in the middle of the jungle, and he wasn't quite as wet had he not been inside.

Hovever, at the sound of someone else entering the campsite, his ears pricked and his eyes snapped open. Before even fully wakening, a low, defensive growl rumbled out of his chest as he disentangled himelf from Angelina and crawled towards the opening of the small shelter.

However, the growl stopped and he shook his head. Why on earth was he growling??. He had prided himself that he HADN'T resorted to such animalistic urges like some of the others had. Speaking of.... hadn't Awen mentioend Joli tried to eat her?? That thought set the hackles on edge again, and nearly began growling again.

"Joli...?" He asked carefully.

After some time Awen and Colche would emerge into the camp as Awen had promised. There was shelter around for Colche and Awen smiled brightly at this. It had been some time since Awen had been to the camp, and had only stayed briefly before flitting back to the lake.

She knew it wasn't anything like their duplexes, as Colche seemed to want, but she could do no better for the girl. Looking around though she wondered if everyone would welcome them, Ambrose and Amaya would but... she didn't remember who else was here.

"Hello?"

She glanced over to the other side of the camp when she heard Ambrose and smiled brightly. "See Colche, Ambrose" She whispered to the girl and blinked.

"Joliette." Awen moved forward into full view of the camp.


Colche wasn't long standing still as she saw Ambrose. Her big brother would make the rain stop. She virtually dived at the wolf man, glomp tackling him and sniffling quietly. She shivered still clinging tightly to the poor, wet, half squushed rabbit which she constantly held against her chest "rainrain go away" she mumbled looking up at Ambrose with huge blue eyes begging for him to make it stop. She was cold, very bedraggled and a little more than frightened by the severety of the storm.

She tried to clamber in to ambroses lap. If it wasn't bad enough she had launched her very wet self at the virtually dry wolf man she was trying to get closer, she wanted a hug, she wanted a blanket, she wanted to be dry, Ambrose would make it better he always did.

Joli came to an abrupt stop hearing her name, not once but twice. She looks up and towards Ambrosse then at Awen, and then finally at the pouncing Colche "Oh... Uh... Hi" she says in a rather quiet withdrawn voice as she stood shivering not sure if she should stay or not... Then it struck her she should say the words she'd been wanting to say for a while "Awen... I'm sorry" she says before looking down at the soil below her heavy feet once more her yellow tongue flicking once

Ambrose turned to look as two new figures entered the campsite. Anxiety rolled over him until the figures' faces and scents emerged through the curtain of the storm. Why was he feeling so defensive?? He should be welcoming anyone who decided to come to the campsite - safety in numbers, right?

But he calmed as he saw the two females. Before he really could give the two a friendly greeting, he was bowled over by the wet Colche. "Colche!" He exclaimed in surprise as the feline proceeded to reunify him with the wetness. But... he was coming out into the rain anyway... He patted her gently on the head. "Aww... you got caught out in the storm, too, didn't you sweety?" He glanced over at some of the unoccupied lean-to's. "I've been worried about you, kitten. I'm glad to see that you're alright... out here in the woods." HE smiled at her. "And you - any of you, really - are welcome to join the camp.... it's not much.... and it's not exactly dry - but it's drier than most other places."

Ambrose looked back to Joli, relaxing a bit - his hackles lowering - as he heard her apology. "I can't speak for Awen.... but... I've heard you've been through some rough times, Joli. I.... wel... I'd offer you some meat.. but I fear it's been rained on.... but you're still welcome to it." HE winced, gesturing to a small shift, a bundle of leaves and some rather soggy meat.

Awen nodded slowly to Joliette and moved over to the small girl. "Hey, no problem right?" She gave her a quick hug before backing away to let her at the food. "We've been through enough lately, I know you're not really liking what you're getting food wise..or at least your animal isn't liking it."

SHe grinned a little bit and simply sat herself near the long dead fire. "Actually I might be heading back to the lake soon. I'll stay for a bit though, it's nice to be able to visit without my skin flaking off." She chuckled a little bit.

She seemed to be in a rather cheerful mood, despite the stormy weather.

The bedraggled colche looked up at Ambrose. She was glad to see the older guy and delighted that he had been missing her too. That didn't change the fact that she was wet and cold and not very happy though. She sneezed and buried her head in his chest as a crack of thunder and a bold of lightning streaked accross the sky "want home" she mumbled through the fur. Being out in the jungle was all well and good when it was dry and sunny, it was completely another matter when it was cold and wet and scary.

The bunny in her arms finally lifted it's head too, it was very wet but didn't seem to mind being a bit squushed, it was drier nestled between colche and Ambrose. "Want chocolate cake" she managed to squeek still sniffling quietly. She had started to miss her creature comforts out in the wild, things she had gotten so used to had been ripped away from her in an instant.

A part of ehr wanted to ask Ambrose about the black bird, though she had been told irrefutably by several people that it wasn't Aubrey, her big brother would definately know. Ambrose knew everything.

Joliette would have pulled away if she had noticed Awen's approach, instead she took a step away when she was let go of. Her eyes drifted tot eh sogey meat... and her stomach let out an audible growl regardless of just how wet it was. "Yeah... Thanks Awen" she nods and thanks her quietly glad to know Awen wasn't mad.

These people hadn't really known her outside of her professional attitude of when she arrived, that gave her confidence, but she had reverted somewhat back to her quiet self in her non-professional side. "It's still meat, thanks Ambrose" she says moving slowly towards it shiveringand not really wanting to unwrap her arms from herself as she sat down beside the sogy food

Ambrose smiled to Awen. "No problem... make your self at home as long as you'd like. You're welcome here." He glanced up at the skies and back to her. "I guess for some there's a silver lining." He ineffectually brushed his hand along his fur that was quite damp again. Unfortunately for him, however, the skies promised that the rains weren't going to let up any time soon.

Ambrose's ears lowered as he looked down to Colche. "Yeah... I want to go back 'home' too... even the duplexes are a welcome change to this. Sometimes I wonder if this all isn't some sort of scheme to get us to be complacent with what we were given." HE glances to the others. "Or perhaps that is just wishful feelings... because that means we'll go back inside sometime." His eyes trailed down to the rabbit in Colche's arms, and he immediately chewed on his own lip. It's Colche's... you remember it... even if it is an easy meal.... you're not LIKE that.

"I'm sure we'll all be home and have chocolate cake eventually, Colche..." He petted her long black hair. "But... in the meantime... if you want to use one of our... erm... lean-to's. They're like tents..? But not quite as dry."

Ambrose nodded to Joliette. "Sorry it's not... fresher. I'm sure that this won't be a good ... sample of how meat should taste." He apologized.

In all, he hadn't budged much from the entrance to his lean-to, still sitting facing the outside, albeit with a colche in his lap.

She looked around to the others and sighed softly. She really hated being happy when her friends were down in the dumps. She missed all of the easy comforts that she had, her PS2 and gamecube must be getting lonely. Not to mention get brand new PSP! The modifications seemed to make sense now. She grinned a little thinking about the genious. Moreau made her game water proof!

A loud crack of thunder brought her back to the current moment. She scratched a little bit behind her ear. Turning to Ambrose at his words and hopes of Moreau, Awen bit her lip.

"If we can't get back sometime soon..." She shifted her weight uncomfortably. "I've been thinking about swimming off the island for help. We can only survive for so long in the wild like this right? And with people still changing without serums... who knows what will happen. Predators and prey is what this place will become, I'm living proof of it."

Bringing her knees up to her chest she started to drum her fingers along her knee. "But I can breathe in the water. I could go find mainland or something.... get help."

Colche nodded softly Listening to Ambrose, he sounded quite destracted. her nose wriggled a bit and she peered in to the darkness. Somone was inside, she didn't know who it was. Everyone had somone. It always seemed that way to her. She just, didn't entirely understand why everyone had somone and she didn't Aubrey had said it took time. She just had to be paitent.

With a final sneeze and a nod Colche smiled up at Ambrose and padded off as quickly as she could towards one of the lean toos, dissapearing in to the darkness. She was tired and she scrunched herself as close to the tree the leanto was coming off, curling in to a tight little kitty ball, her natural body heat starting to dry off her fur. She sneezed a couple of times more before her breathing became regular. It was sleep and dry off time, other things could wait. She could question Ambrose about the lady later, she could ask him about the 'big black bird' later, sleep was important now and her eyes aggreed as they closed and sent her off in to a nice little oblivious dream.

Joliettte picks up the meat 'wringing' it out a lil "Don't worry, I know that meat should taste like... I haven't been vegan all my life" she says looking up in the same quiet tone her eyes watching Colche disappear and then the pair who remained and she used a clawed fingertip to push her matted bangs from her faceand bit intot he meat not chewing it rather pulling it to tear a chunk off with her teeth, the water seemed to have 'diluted' the flavor for that she was glad.

Joliette pulls her knees towards her chest shivering as the cold rain continued to land on her, she listens to the converstaion, or least what she can hear of it.

Ambrose weighed Awen's suggestion. "It... sounds dangerous, Awen. Even if you can breathe under water.... there's still dangers out there. Shaks and.... other things. But... even if you could get to shore - how do you know that they would't just lock you up and study you there?" His ears flicked back. He was a freak now... his second change had killed Ambrose's hopes of ever returning to normal society. He couldn't hide what he was, and at least here.... people understood what he was going through. If only he could get back in the duplexes....
Of course, this didn't mean that Ambrose idn't miss home, or that he woudln't try to escape if given the opportunity - He had been the first to try to build the signal-fire....
Hell, who was he kidding, he was sour-grapes-ing the mainland.
"IT's your choice, Awen.... but... I don't think it's worth risking your life for it."

He turned to Colche as she got off his lap, and he stood slowly, shaking himself off instinctually, wincing afterwards. "Sorry." He mumbled. Like it was even helpful - it was still raining buckets.

"SLeep well, Colche." He waved to her.

Ambrose nodded to Joli. "Ah... I didn't realize. Hopefully it won't be too miserable.... it won't last much longer anyway. And you're welcome to use one of the lean-tos... maybe share it with Colche... you can help keep eachother warm if you like..."

"Sweet sleep Colche."

A shiver ran down Awen's spine at the mention of sharks. She had concidered it to be dangerous but she hadn't felt frieghtened by the sea creatures. Now that Ambrose mentioned it though...sharks hit home somewhere in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like the feeling, it made her feel that somehow the water wasn't hers anymore. But she simply shrugged.

"Well... Maybe.." She shruged slightly. "I just figured that if things got worse and we couldn't get into the duplexes. It's dangerous...but if there's no other choice..."

Still the manta in her wanted more open waters. She couldn't stand being cooped up in the rivers and lakes. The ocean was more what it wanted, a place to stretch out and call home. She thought a lot about what would happen on mainland, but... If it meant that risk or the risk of starving or tearing eachother apart. Yeah, she'd be swimming to mainland.

Share... with anyone... she stared at the meat in her hands. She'd been avoiding physical contact with anyone since she had encountered Awen last. "Uhm... I uh..." she wasn't sure how to put that... She'd appologized to Awen yes, but she'd already had the piglet episode, and then coming to her senses with Awen in front of her "It's probably ...not a good idea" she finishes glad that the falling rain hid tears that were threatening to slip down her cheeks... she hated what she was becoming

"Only if it comes to it, Awen..." HE could smell the spike of fear with the mention of Sharks, even above the rain. He shifted positions, edging closer to his lean-to. It wouldn't surprise him if Moreau had intentionaly popualted the waters with sharks.

He looked to Joliette with a puzzled look. "What do you mean..? Why?"

Awen stood up slowly. "I'm sure once you eat some food in you it won't be so bad Joli..." Looking around though she started feeling uncomfortable. The social scene wasn't exactly what she wanted to be a part of anymore. The manta in her just wanted to go back to the lake, or better yet the ocean, and swim around on her own.

"You guys take care.... This lightning and thunder is really starting to freak me a little bit... the water will be better..." She waved and started out of the camp. Funny though, she didn't head for the river at all but was going throguh the land. Was she headed back to the lake by land..? Or maybe she intended to go somewhere else...


"Bye Awen" Joliette says. She pauses for a moment before looking towards Ambrose "I've already woken up looking into the lifeless eyes of a dead boar piglet, and wound up hunting Awen... I... I don't know if I can trust myself, it's... it's like the beast inside is trying to take control ... Least thats what it feels like"

Ambrose stood to give a farewell to Awen. "You take care... don't hesitate to come back if you need anything. Seriously." He waved and watched her depart before returning his worried attention to Joliette.  

[Awen Zyn]

Make that three...

Rex had left the beach bar and Antony in search of Avery, Ambrose or someone that'd he'd met with the previous day to make sure that they were fairing well. He turned back into to the jungle, taking a slightly different path than he had before. Trekking through the dense foliage while trying not to brush up against too many plants as his cuts, while scabbed, were still sensitive.

Eventually, the jungle thinned and opened up into a rather large pond, a lake, rather. The rain drops pounded it's surface sending wild ripples out across the top. The chaos on the water mirroring the weather they were sticking through. Rex's clothes weren't entirely soaked from the shelter that the jungle provided and his skin was quite sandy. Just a rinse would do him well. He removed his attire and threw it to the side, then dove in. The rain had surely cooled it's temperature, but it was only unbareable for a slight bit. He was quite used to cold water from winter swells back home. Home...

He crouched over in the water so his head and neck were the only things above the choppy surface, even thought it was only about three or four feet deep where he was standing. Things seemed so beautiful compared the havoc he should be seeing. Lightning streatched through the air with a loud crack succeeding it immeaditately, yet instead of striking fear, it only added to Rex's tranquil mood. He lounged back in the fresh water, dipping his head under once more and closing his eyes. Hiking through the jungle could be tiresome.

Awen had been relaxing near the surface of the water just watching the storm from below when she heard a splashing nearby. This wasn't the splashes from the surface because of the storm, no, Awen could tell this was something..unnatural to the cool waters. Slow Awen swam towards the sound and soon had a clear view of Rex's lower half.

"Gah!" though the water garbbled her word that was the general sentiment as she pushed herself to the surface quickly.

Make that three island men, three and a half island women Awen has now seen naked, most of which were just from since she changed. She really has to be more careful when she hears noises. Next time she will apporche from the surface, like she hadn't learned her lesson!

She broke the surface and took a deep breath. "Geez..." She was still deep enough to need to tread in the water but her head and shoulders could be seen above the rough water. "Would you people start warning me when you're ...." She blinked as her vision began to clear and she saw a face she didn't regocnise. "Well... hello there." She blushed but from the distance and the lighting of the area it couldn't really be seen.

The beads of water tap against his face gently and the steady roll of the rains numbed the ears to all sound. Relaxation was so nice...

...until the surface ruptured, a head with two blue stalks and blue hair. "H'WHOA!" Rex yelled, he didn't expect anyone to be in the lake. He tried to figure what on earth it was, then remembered, the island. This was a girl, a changed girl, just like the others. "Wow, sorry about screaming. I hadn't thought anyone was here." He blushed an embarassed smile, realizing his nakedness in front of a stranger.

She spoke like this had happened before, no surprise if she didn't make herself known to others. "I apologize for not seeing you," he said, "I'm Rex."

He'd sure had to introduce himself alot lately...

She shook her head quickly. "No no. It's my fault. I just thought you were someone else..." She would have stepped forward and offered her hand but...he was still. Awen looked away and laughed a little bit. "It's happened too much lately I guess no one's really used to it yet. I should just be more careful is all."

She smiled awkwardly and looked back to him. "I'm Awen, by the way. I hadn't seen you around the island before all this happened. How have you been fairing? When'd you get here?"

She probably was assulting the poor guy with too many questions but instead of cutting herself off she just continued. "Uhh... are you hungry? I could catch you some fish...though.. I guess you cant cook it anymore that's a problem..."

By the looks of her, she seemed pretty dang far into her changes, but what animal was she becoming? Some kind of fish, oobviously, but the horn-things threw him for a loop.

Answering and asking questions was beginning to become a past-time of his, so he simply took the answers as they came. "Yeah, I washed up yesterday morning... fell overboard on a cruise liner." He smiled uneasily. Rex smiled alot, they all carried from one another, though. "The storm was pretty bad, but I found a girl on the beach who let me stay in her shack through the night. it was quite sweet of her."

He looked down at his warped reflection in the water, then past and below. Fish... "Well, I ate last night, so I reckon I'd better hold off until I need it more," his stomach growled in anger when he said this.

Awen brow furrowed a bit as she listened to his story. She noticed, of course, how he stared at her little..prong..things.. but she ignored it. Just the other day? Then he hadn't been here for the start. He hadn't been injected by Moreau! This was... new.

More of a reason to try to get to another island. The Manta was pushing her to the ocean, something she didn't quite want to do. If Moreau does come back this poor guy will be trapped... if you could at least save him... Awen concidered it slowly. Maybe she should.... But we'll see what he thinks later...

She rose an eyebrow at the mention of the 'sweet girl' on the beach. Must have been that other person, she couldn't really imagine Antony being so..'sharing'. Scratch that, it was Rex, a man. Of course she would be sharing with him. But of course she wouldn't say anything... And it wasn't very critical, just..well..the truth.

"Well if you say so." She glanced back to the sore then to Rex. "Um...do you mind getting something...er..to cover..." She waved her flippered hand a little in a vague gesture that was supposed to mean his nether regins.

"Yesterday morning...? Well Rex that's excellent news.... Maybe there's hope for you yet! Get off the island, not changing all that."

Rex didn't worry about his body or appearance at all, to tell you the truth, he'd been caught up talking with this girl and had totally forgotten about the fact that he was buck naked. "Oh! I suppose you're right." His face reddend and he turned towards the shore. Still crouching in the shallow water, he looked over his shoulder, "Avert your eyes... or don't! I don't care," his smile extended ear to ear and he ran onto the lake's beach.

He had essentially given up hope on the thought of leaving the island. Rex quickly accepts changes into his life if he recognized the fact that an effort to alter them if futile. "Uhh, I doubt it..." he said nonchalantly, slipping on his boxers of jeans in one swift motion.

Rex didn't much seem to mind so Awen didn't avert her eyes. It's not that she was trying to sneak more looks or anything. She just didn't seem to bother with it all that much at all. Since she had gotten over her fears the timid shy girl that would have once been blushing to her ears and covering her eyes from the start was gone as she stared calmly forward until he had changed back into his boxers.

She blinked up at him once he said he doubted it. "And why is that then? I mean without Moreau and the staff it'll be fairly simple thing to get away..." She paused a moment. "Well at least more simple."

Rex zipped up his drawers and sent a confused glance at Awen, "Moreau? Who's th-- oooh... is he the scientist keeping all of us here?" He was slowly beginning to piece it all together. "What do you mean without them? Do you know what happened?"

He glanced to the skies, the storm not showing the slightest sign of letting up. He sighed and looked back to the girl in the lake, "Well, we were going to start a signal fire in hopes of having the boat we were on maybe seeing the smoke. But..." He tossed a hand in the air and rolled his eyes, motioning to the tempest above, "it doesn't look like thats going to happen soon." He pulled on his damp shirt and squatted by the water's edge with his tie in his hand. "Not exactly alot we can do... thank God the labs were here though, any other island and who knows what might've happened."

She ran a hand gently along the side of her neck showing the gills that were there to the human. "One good thing about becoming a fish, I can breathe underwater." She shook her head slightly. "And I don't know what happened to Moreau but he's not around anymore so no chance in stopping an escape. If he were around I mean this wouldn't happen, we'd all be in our duplexes nice and safe." An eyebrow rose to the man. Keeping 'us' here? He adjusted pretty quick... no one is really keeping Rex there at all. Or anyone else anymore for that matter.... but it was funny how quickly Rex seemed to be acculturating to the island.

"Who needs a signal fire?" Awen went on with her earlier thought. "I can swim and get us some help, eh?" She grinned proudly of her idea. The manta was quite pleased as well.

Rex had grown up with his life occasionally taking a violent turn. The death of his mother, his dad leaving, being sent off to school, the unexpected death of his fiancee, and falling of the ship. He'd learned to adapt to any changes quickly in order to make the most pleasant outcome in the end. Something as major as falling off a ship and being marooned on an island was bound to be destiny. As opposed to fighting back and complaining about his life, he recognized that this was where he was fated to be.

A fish, the freedom of the water meant alot to him. There was nothing that he loved more than the ability to move freely in all directions. Water held few bounds. The more he thought about it, becoming a fish would be nice. Or a bird, soaring over the island and seeing everything within eyes' reach.

He plopped his butt on the shore and wiped some water from his brow. "Do you know what kind of fish you'll change into?" He'd have to get used to the thought of people turning into animals. Each person on the island into a different creature. How had everyone ended up on the island anyway? Surely they couldn't have all been shipwreacked of fallen overboard, he recalled someone saying there were thirty-some people here. Maybe some people were volunteering, or perhaps they were being kidnapped. That was just plain immoral, this Moreau guy must be some sadistic b*****d.

Awen sighed, obviously this was another person going to ignore her idea of an escape route. She just needed someone to back it and she would go. Thought newly confident something held her back from going to the beach and jumping into the ocean to swim somewhere else. Common sense maybe? A lingering sense of her old fear? Possibly. But she knew it could all be dispelled with someone else's support, which she had yet to recieve.

She swam a little ways to shore so she could lay down on her stomach in the water, while still keeping her head above. Treading water was getting a bit tiresome. "A...er...manta ray.... I think That's what Chu--a friend of mine called it." She reached forward to the dirty and drew the little picture of the thing she saw in her dream. It was crude but the basic design was there.

"Ahhh! A manta? That will be interesting." Only now that she was closer to him did Rex see the thin webbing under her arms. Transforming must hurt like crazy, the thought of your body slowly growing and changing into that of a beast send chills down his spine. How long did it take? And was it gradual or did it happen in spurts? The man still had so many questions, but figured he'd learn in time.

Rex examined her little drawing of the ray and then looked up to her violet eyes. "What's it like? Being part animal, I mean. How did you change, what happened?" Interrogation flowing from his mouth like a fountain, hopefully he wasn't making a bad impresson.

He did take to things rather quickly. She chuckled a little bit when he thought it was 'interesting'. She soon laughed outloud at the thought of it. Maybe it was interesting anyway. Wiping out the drawing from the dirt she paused a little bit to think about his questions.

"Well..it's... different anyway." She turned her violet eyes back up to the man's sky blue ones. "It hurts, I won't lie." She said in a rather serious dry tone before turning to the more interesting facts. "For me, the manta doesn't speak very loudly. Well... I have the urge to be around water and in it and stuff. And I would really like to go out to the ocean but I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet..." She even shuddered a little bit.... so her phobia wasn't completely gone?

"Jamal though..." She brushed a webbed hand against her shoulder, mostly healed but still tender marks, she'll probably be scared by the wounds because they had gotten slightly infected before healing... "He... was a bit lost to his animal. Some kind of...predator I think. It was the lack of food too that got to him.. the confusion and everything... he had hoped for so long he wasn't going to change... It overwhelmed him is all..." She really didn't want Rex to think negatively of Jamal, too many people did that already. "So I suppose manta's are just a little bit more passive, patient than other animals."

She shurgged softly and then wondered how exactly it had happened. "When I got to the island... Moreau gave me a shot. Then.. sometime later I recieved another one. I didn't know I had but there was a puncture mark on my arm to prove a needle had been there. I had a strange dream...and..when I woke up well.... I changed. It was painful as everything started to grow. My skin just small patches of rubber and everything....Nothing very major though."

She rolled her shoulders and shifted herself so she didn't have to look at the man anymore. "It's my most recent transformation that worries me. It had been almost a month into this savage living.... when I changed again. Moreau isn't around... there was no mark of injection. And a few other people have changed while out here too. I'm worried our systems might have taken too well to the first serum. That..we're begining to change on our own. I don't know.... But it's helped me survive. Kept fish in my belly anyway. And..." She trailed off. She was about to say that she's not afraid of water anymore but even just admitting it felt foolish. How could she ever have heard this life giving liquid so much? "Well I can breathe underwater..."

He sat there and listened to her explain everything. And although brutal, it was nice to have someone give him the straightforward and honest truth about what it's like to change. He didn't interupt or do anything to cause her to pause until she was finished, adding in a few nods of agreement and understanding.

Once she was done, he shifted his weight and asked, "Who's Jamal?" now that she was nearer, he could also see the scarred gashes on her shoulder, similar to Antony's. However when Rex asked Antony where she got them, she was vague and evasive of the subject.

He then looked to the side, following the line of the lake. "So maybe this wole transforming business ended up helping you instead of hurting you." His eyes stopped and Rex stared off into thought, then he looked back to the fish-girl. "Who knows..."

Awen looked back to him and smiled a smile that held no humour to it. She decided to address the easiest thing first. "I used to be afraid of water..." She admitted running her hadn back and forth along the choppy surface. "It was only after this change that I got over it...mostly. Moreau... is a twisted but... amazing man. It might have helped me get over the fear but for months I was struggling between being terrified and longing for the sea. And the good doctor never did a thing to try to ease that. Moreau is a blessing and a curse on this island. He enhances people's lives and fulfills any promise I heard him make...but at the cost of people's homes, family...humanity." She shook her head slowly. "Rex it is better if you leave... trust me. Don't just accept it if you can leave do so..." She bowed her head a little bit.

"Anyway Jamal..." She brightened to this duller subject and smiled. "We...had a thing for a little while. He's a big black man who.... well his animal is some kind of white bodied predator because his skin is..well..lightening... which he's not very happy about. Antony... well had relations with him, which is pretty much what ended our thing, you know how it is..." She scratched the back of her neck a little. "But we're cool, no big worry. Jamal went a little spazzy...which is why I got these nice little shoudler piercings. But he should be better now. OR at least last I saw him he was a lot cooler." SHe smiled up at Rex. "It's like survivor we have our own little dramas on the island." She even laughed now at the thought, she..seemed quite over it. Confidence is certainly key.

Rex looked back at her with full attention and still eyes while she explained and retold what it was like. He nodded in agreement with many of the things he said, but kept quiet. But Rex had unaffiliated feelings for the two sides that this island's story held. He could see where this Moreau guy was a sicko and just plain wrong in the head, but with such extremely low chances of getting off this island, it seemed pointless to fight back... or maybe he was just weird and passive like that. It seemed more important to focus on survival instead of wasting energy on something that just isn't going to happen. The cruise ship was bound to be far gone and a plane wouldn't come searching for someone in a storm like this. He avoided responding to the subject as he was still unsure of his feelings, instead he drew circles in the rippling water and enjoyed the crashing of raindrops on his hunched over back.

Like a puzzle, this girl seemed to put all of the pieces in the right place. "So this Jamal guy did it to you, and he has relations with Antony. Have you seen her since he flipped his lid?" Rex questioned, remembering Antony's similar shoulder gashes."It's cool that you guys are still friends. Jamal and you I mean." He kept a straight face, unsure of how she felt about the tattooed woman.

A smile curled at his lips at the Survivor reference, "In a way, I guess it is," his smile turned into a huffed chuckle, "All y'all out here on an island just trying to make it through," but then his little chuckle caught a rough spot and turned into a raspy cough. Oh, if he got sick... well... that would be really bad.

Awen was taken aback by the question. Actually she hadn't seen Antony since...the coconut incedent on the beach actually. She wondered how she had gottne along. Appearently Jamal hadn't flipped on her too badly. After all, she lived to tell the tale and share with Rex right? Shrugged a little bit she simply shook her head at his question.

She was going to move onto something else when the man started coughing. Oh crap that's not good. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and frowned looking at him. "That sounds pretty bad..." She had forgotten what ill effects satying out in the wet could have on people. All her life she avoided getting caught in the rain as much as possible, and since her change she spent very little time out of the water and hadn't gotten sick.

"I think we've gotta get you out of this rain..." She frowned though, of course not knowing who had shelter enough. After Awen took Colche to Ambrose's camp she knew their shelters weren't water proof and Joliette's camp held nothing. Maybe... Antony had shelter for him again though.

He covered the cough with a fist and turned down, towards the ground. He then glanced back up at the rain with a recovering sigh. Getting sick out here could be a bad thing. "Yeah, that was pretty gnarly cough," he sniffed and brought his focus down to the girl, "I'll be fine. I'm just a little cold." His hands ran up and down his upper arms in a lame attempt to friction some warmth into them, he grinned flatly.

"We might," he looked up to the clouded grey sky once more as if they knew the answer. But Rex was only greeted with a flash of lightning, oddly, that sparked him! "Oh! You probably know Ambrose, right? Do you happen to know where his camp is?" He'd been sidetracked with this girl and forgotten why he even left Antony's warm camp to begin with.

"Ambrose's camp?" Awen tilted her head a little bit. He had already met Ambrose then? Well so wonder he didn't freak out about Awen's appearence, or word of Jamal. She looked over the way to Ambrose's camp. "It's a ways away..." She glanced back at him. "And their shelters aren't exactly waterproof though...."

Awen wondered vaguely why Ambrose hadn't just taken Rex to his camp in the first place. Why would he leave a newcomer all alone, especially in this. Glancing up at the sky briefly Awen decided to just let it drop.

"Antony's camp is a lot closer, an you seem to have a good dig in there. It's a quicker way to get out of hte rain for you."

"A ways?" His eyes looked the same direction as Awen did, gazing into the thick jungle. How far had he been walking yesterday? This island couldn't be that big. But who knows, it could be like Hawaii. "Vague estimation?" Rex had to focus on why he'd left Antony's beach camp, to ensure the safety of his... friends. The image of a frozen Avery kept crawling back into his mind, "I really think that I oughta go look for them." He sniffed again to keep his nose from running more. "My health can wait..."

She frowned. Honestly she couldn't give him a fair estimation. The only time she traveled there by land was with Colche and she didn't really keep track of the time or distance because she was talking and comforting the poor cheeta the entire way. "Nothing too far. You'll be able to get there within the day, but...still."

His health can wait? For what? Ambrose and the others have been surviving for months out here, she understood the man's concern but Awen was pretty sure the camp can take care of themselves, and told Rex the very same thing. "...really though... Andy's a big wolf man and has lots of people that can help him. Your health shouldn't wait. We can't take any risks out here, if you get sick it will be major because of the shape the island is in right now, we couldn't properly take care you."

He had no doubt in his mind that the three changed islanders he met yesterday were doing alright. He knew that they'd been on the island for quite some time and they were bound to know their way around to a degree. "I'm not worried about Ambrose, of all people he seems like he knows what he's doing. It's the other guy I fell off the ship with. We got seperated and... well I doubt his survival skills," He looked back towards the direction of Ambrose's camp. "He's different." Rex was unsure of how to describe Avery without sounding like a jerk. but maybe straightforward was better, "A cross-dresser."

He drummed his fingers along his thigh, weezing a muffled cough, "By the looks of things as they are right now, I think the only way I could get help is some medicine. If everything is locked down..." He trailed off, not exactly needing to finish his sentence. He didn't even notice how cold he was anymore, his feet were numb and his nose was clogged. Everything was desensitized.

This man was certainyl...stubborn. Refusing to even attempt to go back and take care of himself. But another person from his ship? Well now it made a lot more sense. Trying to stick together with someone who was at least slightly familiar, not changed and.... Maybe he really was worried about this guy though. She looked over him a moment and decided.... Yeah the guy wouldn't risk health just for some normality. After all he could have gone back to Antony..and she hadn't changed. Had she?

Wait. Did he say cross-dresser? Awen almost chuckled. For something that seemed so strange on mainland here... it was more normal than most things here.

"Alright...alright..." Awen ran throguh the directions to Ambrose's camp, twice to make sure Rex got it all down. "Just stick to the rivers... and you should be fine anyway. You'll find it eventually..."

Rex has always been concerned and caring, the thought of people suffering to him was nearly unbareable. He clambered to his feet and repeated the directions to the wolf-man's camp in his head, hopefully he wouldn't end up getting lost again. "The river's are a good landmark. Thank you for the directions... and for tolerating me and my questions."

He looked about out across the lake's disturbed surface and then back down to the manta-girl below him. He would've hugged her for her help, but she was still mostly submerged in the water. "You've been so helpful..." He smiled a big, bona fide smile, "And I'll deffinately see you around, we'll hang out."

Rex turned off to walk a bit farther down the lake line, coughing slightly, before turning where told to head towards Ambrose's camp. He looked back at Awen once more, then disappeared into the forest.

"Hey no problem..." Her small smile grew as she watched the man walk away. He was certainly one of the nicest people she's met. She tilted her head a little bit and sighed. She hoped he would be okay, she would cruise the rivers a little bit later make sure he was headed in the right direction. For now she might as well just...return to the bottom of the lake, back into the calm.

But something nagged at the manta girl. She wasn't exactly sure what it was. As Rex turned around Awen made sure to gie him a big smile and a wave before he disappeared through a line of trees. She was alone again... certainly the manta was happy. But Awen... something bugged her.

Antony.... she must be doing okay, right? But.. Jamal wasn't with her, or Rex would have known about him, and Rex didn't mention any other islanders, so the other woman must not have been there. So Antony was alone. Yeah she probably would like that. Awen started to slip back to the depts of the lake before pausing. No... Antony could surely stand being alone... but in this weather anywone would probably enjoy some company.

Awen sighed and pulled herself from the comforting water. Thank goodness it was still raining. She started off towards the beach.