Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Kikue then? I'll try to remember that." He gave her a smile back, though it exposed the points of his sharp teeth just a little. Still, there was sincerity to his words and actions... so far.

"Really, don't worry too much about it. Ssstuff like this happensss to all of usss, whether we want it to or not. It's jussst part of life now. You did get zapped before anything worse happened, though. That'sss why the chipsss in usss are ssso important. I heard sssomeone got theirs out sssomehow, and..." His thoughts momentarily were of the escaped wolf-girl, and what she'd done. Had they caught her? "They killed sssomeone. I don't know who though. But that'sss why I thought it wasss better not to leave you in the cafeteria while you were unconsciousss - they could ssstill be out there."

After listening to Kikue's lengthy list of fears, Zach sighed and got up from the chair. He was an odd sight - almost changed, but not entirely, now up to nearly six feet in height. His wings stretched behind him, from the stubby arms to spindly webbed fingers. He did feel badly for her. Who wouldn't? There was, in his opinion, only one form of help here on the island for things like this. Definitely not the disgruntled other islanders - people who went a little crazy every now and then seemed to end up hated by all, not pitied. Not Moreau, either. He was far too mysterious, not interacting much except to worsen things. It didn't take him long to cross the room. He sat down lightly next to her, though not too close, minding his long tail. His hands were clasped together on his knees, different in size. His head was turned in Kikue's direction.

"I don't mean to sssound negative, but knowing what'sss happening to you isssn't enough sssometimesss. I hurt sssomeone oncsse after I'd changed, without ever realizing I did until weeksss later. It jussst... it'sss like you're not yourssself." And it was no lie - Aubrey had been pretty badly injured and to this day he couldn't remember actually attacking her. He'd have to be extremely delicate in trying to sell Kikue on what he was going to, given how practically everyone on the island resented the labs in some way. "But one of the doctorsss, Dr. Duvert, isss trying to fixss thisss problem. I mean, he and the other doctorsss don't want usss hurting othersss any more than we want to. He can help you, if you ever feel like you're going to be a danger to people."

"Unfortunately, yesss," he frowned, a difficult expression for him to make. Zach had gotten over the death much more quickly, having spent several weeks with the prospect of being the wolf-girl's next victim. The fact that he hadn't, and slept on the other side of a locked door, had given him some feeling of distance from the incident. "I think they're ssstill out there, but I really don't know for sure. I just haven't heard any word that they've been caught. I'll have to asssk. Fact isss, until you know, it'sss not a good idea to take a nap out in the open."

"Really? I did, too. I guesss he'sss the one who greetsss everyone who arrivesss here." Inwardly, Zach smacked himself. Next time, he'd just have to remember that all islanders, unless they specifically stated otherwise, hated the doctors. Not that they had very good reason to, he thought bitterly, thinking of some choice islanders like the cobra-man. Zach didn't look away from Kikue, though. Not much of his deceptive thought process could be read through them anyhow, since they had little to no human quality left in their yellow stare, and no real eyebrows to express with.

He shied away from her question, trying to mask it with a question of his own. "Wait, what brought you here, anyhow? To the island."

He glanced down at her fur-covered hand curiously, though judging by the somberness, he had a feeling he knew what was coming next, in some form or another. A thought occurred to him, a very, very interesting thought on what to say to the girl once he knew her story. Bingo. However, he was shocked to hear her mother died - he hadn't been expecting that. "Oh my god, I'm ssso sssorry... that mussst have been... I'm sssorry to hear that."

"No physssical therapy? I wouldn't sssay that... your hand isss fixssed, isssn't it? Nothing looksss broken, ssso far asss I can tell." But here it was, an opportunity to prove to her that the island was not all bad. "It'sss amazing what they can do here, though. I mean, the doctor hasss given you back the ability to play violin. That'sss got to count for sssomething."

Now it was his turn. "They lured me here under falssse pretensssesss too, but it wasss for a good caussse, sssame asss with you. About ten yearsss ago, I lossst my left arm." After having gotten it back, the story wasn't as emotionally draining as it used to be. It was in the past, almost as if it had never happened. Almost. He held up his left arm, which was completely encased in scale, and a little bulkier than the right because of it. "It grew back, jussst like thisss. Imposssible anywhere elssse. The animal ssstuff isss a sssmall pricsse to pay. And if it hadn't been for Dr. Duvert, neither of usss would have been thisss lucky."

"It'sss great to get back what you lossst, isssn't it?" The expression on her face boosted his confidence that he could convince her. He nodded at her encouragingly at her admittance. It was safer for her not to be thinking of escape, or rebellion, or anything of the sort - she'd only get hurt in the process. Zach didn't mind her touching his arm. It had taken months for him to come around, but the new limb had gone from being shameful to something to be proud of. He felt the slight scratchiness of the pads against his reptilian skin. "That'sss probably why they're doing thisss - to find a way to fixss peoplesss' problemsss without the animal ssside effectsss. We are exssperimentsss."

"My family probably couldn't be happier that I've gone missing." He gave a wistful laugh. His mother and sister had almost nothing to with him anyhow. The Bloodstone family, from what little he knew of his relations, was full of misunderstandings. Everyone cut family ties on a whim to the point that only his immediate family considered him on speaking terms of a sort. Not that he'd ever taken much advantage of that - he loathed them as much as they loathed him.

He'd heard plenty of stories that detailed similar reasons for coming - false jobs, false promises. Kikue didn't have to know he had a good idea of just how many of the islanders hated the place. "I guesss they're all here for sssimilar reasssonsss. I don't think anyone here knew what wasss going on here. Look at it thisss way - if they'd told you that they'd have to make you part cat to fixss your hand, would you have come?"

And so would I. The words lingered at the tip of his tongue, but in all honesty he couldn't say them to her. The person he used to be would never have come, never have wanted to endure what he'd already done. It built character, some might dare to say, but through situations most people never wished to endure.

He nodded, face for the moment somewhat masklike. In his mind, those untrustworthy individuals were people like Dr. Moreau, who'd never shown that much in the way of compassion for islanders. Dr. Lockheart, while he still thought ill of her, he felt guilty for considering. Dr. Duvert was the only person on the staff he placed any trust in. His voice dropped so that it was quieter, as if more secretive. "I agree with you, sssome of them aren't. But it happensss. If they were completely trussstworthy, they wouldn't be on the other ssside of a fencsse from usss. But Dr. Duvert meansss well. He picked both of our animalsss - there'sss people who've ended up with much worssse. Being a cat isss a lot better than, sssay, an octopusss." Zach had yet to hear of any other islander who'd ended up worse off than Billy.

Zach realized only now how much he'd been babbling. He'd never had a chance to speak his mind on things before, but rather than sound silly to himself, his thoughts and theories seemed to solidify more. No one Zach could think of would have listened to him go on like some kind of heretic on such a serious subject without the interjection of some physical or verbal abuse. He gave Kikue an apologetic look - she'd been polite enough to listen to him go on and on about his opinions. "I'm sssorry if talking about any of thisss bothered you at all - I jussst get carried away. I know it'sss hard for sssome people to... dissscusss their fate here."

Zach didn't know for certain Sabin had picked her animal, he only knew that the eccentric doctor had picked his own. However, this lead to his belief that anyone who met Sabin first had their serum handpicked by him. The theory hadn't failed him yet.

"Work with him?" Zach repeated the question, glancing at the sudden movement of her tail. All he'd told her was a mixture of things he'd been told and ideas based off of that 'information'. His eyes briefly flickered upward, toward his usually telltale hat. Maybe she was getting the wrong idea from it? "No. I'm a sssubject, like everyone elssse."

"That'sss the sssafe way to go about thingsss. There'sss some dangerousss islandersss out there..." Given how she was already changed at least once, he didn't have it in him to try offering up his thoughts on the cobra, Rex, Gaius, or the others he so despised. All in good time.

"Not that I'm aware of," he shrugged. It was more like the opposite. Embarassingly enough, a lot of the situations Zach had been told of (by Sabin himself, no less), the dragon has only caused more trouble for the doctor.

"Hisss hat? No. Well, yesss. Kind of. But it'sss not his hat, it'sss an exsstra one I... got from him. My hair-" He had started to look away from her as he spoke, until his view was of his long-toed feet on the floor. There was a pause in which he wiggled his wing fingers as far as they could be moved around. Kaveri was the only person to whom he'd admitted his frustrations with baldness in all the time he had been. Grudgingly, with both hands, he lifted the hat up along his horns just enough that it was clear his scalp was nothing but a mess of scales. It was replaced quickly. "I lossst it the lassst time I changed. I jussst feel more comfortable wearing sssomething on my head."