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Natsumi: Deep breath... Just relax. This wasn't hard, she wasn't even technically breaking up with him. She was simply bringing over a get well present and giving back the necklace she felt like she couldn't keep. They hadn't even been dating, she couldn't brak up with him... So why did it feel like she was? Ugh. The poor little Japanese girl's head was already starting to hurt as she neared Newt's duplex, double checking the number, then checking to make sure she had everything. Get well basket.. Check, necklace... check, courage... No check.

Swallowing, she lifted a webbed hand to lightly rap on the door, straighting herself up as her stomach twisted. There was a picnic basket in one hand, something she had salvaged from the main building to serve as her get well basket, around it's was a bow, tied neatly with a local flower tucked into the knot. Inside were as many bugs she had managed to find, worms, beatles, alot of the things he had brought to the picnic, all alive and trying to get out of the tightly sealed basket. It'd taken awhile to get them all, but she was hoping it'd be worth it.

She was dressed casually, hair done up like it always was, the necklace had been moved to a pocket instead of around her neck, and a nervious smile topped it all off.

Newton: After the knock, there was the sounds of distant music being dimmed and a flicker at the drawn curtains as someone peered out to see who it was. She could almost hear the squeek of terror befor the duplex fell silent again.

Natsumi: Natsui waited, heartbeat rising in anticipation for the anxiety producing interactions that were sure to follow. She didn't always understand what people were saying, but she wasn't cumb... Thom had told her Newt liked her, which meant giving back the gift wasn't going to be a good thing... And Newt was already so shy to begin with.

Speaking of shy, she caught sight of the curtains falling shut, the gecko in her mind breifly worrying that some sort of predator had just tried to pop out of nowhere before her mind could regester what that had been. And when it did, she frowned alittle, waiting to see if that squeak meant he was going to open the door or not... Gaius had said he wasn't looking that great.

When no responce seemed to come, she knocked again, trying to speak up through the door "Newton-san?" She started, leaning in "I brought you a feel better gift."

Newton: What was Natsumi doing here?? Of course she'd come by, she had to have come by sooner or later, right? Newt leaned against the door, his heart racing as he clutched his swollen stomach. He couldn't let her see him like this! He couldn't... but he had to see her eventually right? But not... he wasn't ready! He didn't even have any proper clothes to try to hide it... he was practically in his underwear! She could hear a terrified ribbit through the door befor his voice wobbled out, "KrrKIT! I... I'm n-not home!"

Natsumi: Natsumi frowned alittle, debating wether or not she should just leave the get well present and flee, give up on the whole 'sorry heres your necklace' stress. He didn't sound well enough as it was... She didn't want ot add to that.

Not home...? A brow raised. That was a pretty silly thing to say... "Newton-san..." She frowned, pausing... she could run, she really could... Nono! She'd run from everything enough. She'd been running from her problems since she got here... Hiding from them. Heck runing from a problem was the reason she wound up here in the first place. No leaving, no hiding. Deep breaths. "Gaius told me about your change... So I brought you this... And I need to talk with you." Oh the dreaded we need to talk, she paused a moment, before adding one last thing "You are home."

Newton: "N-no I"m n-not! G-gaius... g-giaus w-was lying!"*

Natsumi: "Why would he lie..? And if he did then why are you hiding?" She argued, frowning even more as she tried to be more forward than she ever liked to be, but it was kind of hard to play the submissive role when the person you were with beat you in every area on it. This was turning out to be more work than she'd imagined. She'd atleast thought she might make it through the door before it got complicated.

Newton: "I... I'm n-not hiding!" Newton was a terrible lier. Maybe she'd go away if he kept at it? No, he didn't want her to go away. He wanted her to come in and tell him it would be alright, that he was still a beautiful person on the inside and she loved him anyway. He didn't see that happening, though. So instead he called out, "J-just... j-just leave me alone! KrrKIT!"

Natsumi: Mn.. headache. "Then let me in...?" She asked, almost pathetically. Her senses were going crazy with her back turned to God knew what, blindly facing the door, without any good places to hide. The gecko wa screaming this was a bad idea, and the human was starting to think that too.

She stepped back from the door as the next part reached her. Leave him alone? There was a mixed feeling in that, one she was slightly mad he was taking it this way... the other was hurt that he actually wanted her to go away. She wasn't in love with him, but she still liked him, he was still a nice person to be around... "Alright." she shifted, kneeling to place the basket down, digging the necklace out of her pocket and placing it ontop. If he wanted her to go, then she would, she wasn't one to fight people. She went to turn and leave at that, before getting a pang of guilt and moving back to the door "If you need anything just call... Friends are there for eachother, ne?"

Newton: His own guilt finally bubbled up and he deflated, taking a deep breath. Finally, the door cracked open and a large green eye peered out, "G-gaius w-wasn't l-lying...."

Natsumi: She was about to leave, when the door cracked open, almost regretably so... She'd almost made it out without having to deal with the stressful confession, but when she saw a little green eye poke out she momentarily forgot about the whole speech of staying friends, Gaius indeed hadn't been lying... He looked very... Changed, what she could see anyways. With a frown, she kneeled to meet his froggy level, then offering a reassuring yet sad smile. "It is not that bad..." she tried, the eyes were pretty cute infact. Like some of the keychains she'd had in middleschool. Yea, that was a more positive approach.

Newton: He made a little noise in his throat as though trying to ribbit and not ribbit at the same time befor hopping back away from the door to open it for her. What she could see of his duplex interior was shocking on some levels... and yet in others very unsuprising. The carpet was as muddy as ever, his bathtub still converted into a permenant source of swampy wet, large piles of mud brought in from the outdoors to house ferns and vines he had planted fomr the outdoors to make the place seem more habitable, and his workbench covered in his bug-traps were as effective as ever, filling the room with buzzing and whirling insects all trying to get at the delicious scent of his carefully created composts.*

Natsumi: She smiled alittle as the door opened up, moving forward to a stand, grabbing up the basket and necklace in one fluid motion. The jewlery was held tightly in her palm, trying to hide it for the most part until she was ready to get to that part of this visit, which was feeling less and less like something she wanted to do. But then she was met with the sight of mud... And not just that 'oh i tracked some in on my big enourmous feet' it was like... a swamp. It came as a bit of a shock, newt was a janitor afterall... But who was she to judge? She was the one who wanted to dig a hole in the beach and live in it afterall.

So she entered, trying to ignor the weird uncomfortable feeling of mud on her bare feet. The buzzing of insects made her wonder if she even needed to bring a basket... but it was the thought that counted, right? So, now that she'd made it inside, she turned to greet him and hold out the basket with a reassuring smile.

Newton: Carefully, timidly, he peered out at her from behind the door, a hand raised to cover his scraggly, nearly-bald head befor he finally closed the door to keep the bugs inside and hte preditors out, reveiling his now rather rutound form. The muddy bathing suit indeed left little to the imagination, his large, cream colored froggish belly quite the contrast to his previously skin-and-bones frame. He didn't notice the basket, his eyes lowered shamefully as he waited to hear her reaction.

Natsumi: The door closed, and she had to hold back a distasteful look at the sight she got. It didn't look like newt at all, chubby slimey thing... Ech. But... Despite the look on the outside, she mentally reminded herself no one was goign to look good. And atleast he didn't look like he was about to eat her alive. So she held her smile, if not a bit of a wavered one, and continued to hold the basket out. "Here." She urged when he didn't seem to notice it.

Newton: He glanced up, eyes trembling as he blinked at it, "Ah.. w-what is...?"

Natsumi: She held it out further, shifting so that she didn't slip in the mud, "A feel better present."

Newton: He shifted befor finally hopping towards her to take it, biting his lip as he did so. It was evident he was still getting used to the weight shift, as well as the self conciousness of his current appearence. "S-so... so he w-was right, w-wasn't he?" He murmured quietly, settign the basket down in front of him to peer inside curiously. He didn't get presents often! But the joy was rather dampened by the situation.

Natsumi: She offered the basket forward, using her free hand to gather the hem of her skirt so she could kneel without it dipping into the mud, which she then did so. "Who? Gaius-san?" Was that the "he" Newton was reffering too? She was a bit thrown off because.. well. It was fairly obvious Gaius had been right that Newt changed.

When the little basket was opened, a few bugs that were just waiting for release spilled out of it, though there were probably more bugs in the room than in the basket ther ewas still a fairly decent amount. Especially for Natsumi, who had plenty of trouble catching the crawlies without aid of a projectile tongue or any other abilities. And in the middle was a bottle of asprin, though it was a tad late for his changes.

Newton: Newt nodded, giving a little suprised cry as the bugs scattered, and without thinking his tongue snapped to work to quickly catch them with a delightfull crunch and slurp.

Natsumi: Natsumi half smiled, half cringed. On the one hand, it was good that he was eating them... On the other. Ew. Bugs. She still couldn't settle her human mind with that no matter how many she ate. Her hand shifted tighter on the jewerly... Now the hard part... Which was then put off alittle bit longer. "Other than the change..Have you been well?"

Newton: Other than the change. So she was avoiding the subject. He didn't blame her. He swallowed, throat inflating slightly in an embarassed fashion, "KrrKIT! Ah.. er... y-yes... I sup-suppose... I... I f-fixed M-mr. S-sid's t-typewriter for him! It w-was a b-bit tricky but rather a f-fun p-puh-puzzle." His wide mouth trembled into a Newtish smile.

Natsumi: She wasn't nessicarily avoiding it, just it was fairly obvious how he'd been when it came to that subject, there was mud everywhere and he obviously was a bit selfconcious... Which meant 'not good' as far as how he'd been. But then again, maybe that was avoiding it... Who really wanted to talk about that? "That is nice." She smiled, somewhat impressed "I could never.." Good good he was smiling. She hated when people were upset.

Newton: "I've.. always b-been g-good with g-gadgets," He admitted with a touch of pride.

Natsumi: "That is amazing!" she complimented, smiling alittle more, tail shifting to curl up around her legs. Alright... Just do it... Her stomach twisted and her expression dropped alittle, "Newton san..." Just do it... her eyes shifted to a wall, as her hand moved forward to uncurl and hold the necklace out to him. "I.. I can not take this. I... I think you should give it to a better girl... I mean, i think you are great but.. I ... " As quick as it all seemed to blurt out it all came to a stop, leaving her with nothing to say or do.

Newton: The brows above his enormous eyes on his forheadless head forrowed as he looked down at it in confusion, "B-better... b-but I d-don't... know of any b-better g-girl for it," His nervious smile returned as he twisted his hands demurely.

Natsumi: Guh, why couldn't this be easy... Like one of that dating sims games her brother had borrowed from a friend. You mess up, you just restart the game, simple as that. Heck, she'd even take just getting mutiple choice answeres. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, "But... I do not think I am the one for it.. I mean... It is really nice, and you are nice and... You can find someone who is just wonderful for you..." The more she talked, the more awkward everythign seemed to feel and get, only leaving her words more and more awkward.

Newton: Things seemed to slowly come together in the timid frog-man's mind, and his eyes suddenly widened, "Y-you... I... I... it..." He stammered, not sure what to say, although it was difficult to hide the growing tears in his enormous eyes.

Natsumi: She couldn't hold back a little frown as it seemed to hit Newt what she was trying to get across, guilt sweeping over her... Part of her desperatly wants to just pretend she liked him, make him happy, she felt he deserved it... But the other part of her wanted her to be happy, somewhat selfish but... In this case, weren't you supposed to be selfish? And if she wasn't happy, but went along with it, she'd just wind up hurting him further... Kinda like what was happening now.

But the part of her that wanted him to be happy urged her to keep speaking, and mentally wish he knew Japanese... It would have been so much easier to try something this complicated in her native language. "But... You are great. You are smart, and funny, and you build wonderful things..." she tried to give a reassuring smile, despite how bad she felt for that teary eyed look growing in his expression. "It is just.. Me... I..." she trailed off again, pausing to try and figure out what else she could possibly say.

Newton: He fell silent, lips pressed as he stared at the necklace being handed back to him. "Ah.... oh." It was difficult to tell exactly what he was feeling, and the absence of his usual tremble was undoubtably odd.

Natsumi: Natsumi fell silent at the oh, teeth digging into her bottum lip, she'd said it all, so now she just had to wait and see if he had anything else he wanted to say before chaning the subject as fast as she could, to something more happy. Something friends would talk about. Her stomach turned some more in the silence, making her glad she hadn't had too much for breakfast.

Newton: He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, silently attempting to form words but seemed inable. "I... I'm s-sorry... t-to... to h-have.. t-to have b-bothered you..." He managed finally, in a strained, forced voice, and finally took the offered jewerly stiffly.

Natsumi: She swallowed hard, shaking her head allitle and drawing her hand back as the jewelry was taken... Step one... "No... You have not bothered me." She corrected, with a tiny smile, "It made me happy." And it had, at the time, it'd been wonderful to hear she was liked, and part of her really wished she could give him the same. But that would be lieing, and lieing was bad... Her mouth opened to try and find a subject change, but the air had suddenlly gotten tense, no suprise really... So she gave an awkward expression, "I... Should go then?" She offered, juding by the look on his face now might not be the best time to linger around for casual conversation.

Newton: "If.... if y-you w-want..." He murmured distractedly. Keep your breathing even. Don't look up. His eyes were locked on the necklace in his hand, but the tremble had returned to his eyes. How long had she felt this way? How long had he been making a fool of himself? The girl had just had a miscarriage! She was young and afraid and upset about turning into a lizard! Of COURSE she wouldn't... not to mention the fact he was a fat ugly frog, that didn't help matters either, did it? By the time the tremble had reached his hands again, he couldn't see it from the water that had welled up in his massive eyes.

Natsumi: She frowned alittle, "I can stay as well." Goodness this was hard, why did she have to pine for attention like that? If she'd just said this to begin with it wouldn't have been so bad, would it? Atleast he still would have had his hair back then. She tilted her head, to catch his expression, which was sadder than she coul dhave hoped, big watery frog eyes had to be the most pitiful thing on the planet, far worse than any puppy eyes someone could pull up. She felt a pang of guilt, leaning forward and letting her knees and skirt drop into the mud to draw him into a friendly hug. "Gomen..." She mumbled, then quickly corrected herself. "Sorry."

Newton: He flinched backward as though stung by her touch, his throat pouches inflating and he gave a defensive croak.

Natsumi: She gave the breif tighten of a hug before quickly dropping it, and backing off. That would be the sign that she needed to leave, let him come talk to her if he wanted, but until then she felt like she might get a 'you've done enough' responce. "Sorry." she repeated, then stood, quickly moving to the door to retreat. "Please feel well... and be safe." A hand went to the handle, lingering there to wait to open it.

Newton: "Ah-" He opened his mouth to try to speak, but whatever it was that made him stutter also strangled his voice in the back of his throat untill th eonly thing that could come out was a dismayed ribbit. He wanted to say "Stop!" He wanted to say "But I love you!" He wanted to ask if it had been the party or the way he dressed or if he should ask the labs for a wig and a girdle, but he couldn't even bring himself to speak. "KrrKIT!" The frog spoke for him.

Natsumi: It looked like maybe he wanted to say something... But then there wasn't anything. Just a frog noise... Which was sad too, who wouldn't feel sorry for someone like that? Especially when you felt like you may have just crushed them. "Bye." She spoke up after the ribbit, opening the door and peering out to do her routine check before she could fully move out.

Newton: He let her go, clutching the necklace stiffly as he did so and concentrated on breathing. In... out... krrKIT... In... Out...

Natsumi: Coast was clear, Newt didn't have anything more to say... And she was out, shutting the door behind her and hurrying back down the paths to her duplex. There... It was done... With that thought came a mixture of releif and guilt... Thos normal thoughts that came with such things, what if you messed up and all the sorts. But it was done now.

Newton: Once left alone, the frog-man dropped the necklace as though burned. With a strangled, miserable ribbit, he lept to his overflooded bathroom to sink deep into his mudbath and cry where the world couldn't see him. The wet dirt was all he needed, imagining it to be invisible arms around him in a gentle hug. It was alright, it was fine, really. She didn't want him. He didn't blame her. His father had so often reminded him how he wasn't wanted, it was a familiar feeling. It didn't make it hurt any less, though. And so, sunk into his mud, the frog cried his little aching heart out over the gecko he had tried to woo so hard.

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Checking in on Marshall
http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=5374945&page=7

construction group RP

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