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 Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:19 pm
Relationship Issues & Camping OutAmbrose Maurlias Ambrose was in no mood to stay by the crash site any longer than necessary, and as soon as he was sure that the trio of ladies was following, skirted the helipad to the dirt path, emerging from the jungle blinking into the late afternoon light.
Things were much easier going on the packed dirt than fanangling his way through briars and thick foliage of the jungle.... though for him at least, not as hard as it had once been. But with three people, the going had been slow considering how little actual distance they had covered.
He kept quiet during the walk. He had considered some small talk, but wiht how tense things were, it would only fall flat. He did keep a furry hand in Angelina's, and would often glance back to make sure that Amaya and Emelyn were indeed still back there.
After about ten or fifteen minutes of uncomfortable silence, the tall metal gates with the ironically suiting Feral Labs logo with a wolf head loomed over them. twenty-foot chain link fence stretched from either side, forming a double barrier between the jungle and the clearcut land of the complex.
Just like outside the village, the complex was dead quiet. No electric hums, no sign of lights or movement. A jeep was the only vehicle that sat in the dirt parking lot beyond the gate.
Ambrose looked up at the monolithic, closed gate and the fence, with a large warning sign indicating a nasty electric charge that would be delivered if it's touched.
"Welcome to Jurassic Park" Ambrose murmured under his breath as he took in the obstacle.
An intercom box was on a post outside of the gate, and Ambrose punched the call button... The only noise it made was the tak of his claws on the plastic as the button was pushed in. No buzz, no pickup, no nothing. Angelina Swanson Angie never realized how much like Jurassic Park this place now feeled, and a creepy feeling crept into her stomach as she thought about it. She looked up into the sky, praying there would be any thunderstorms until they figured out what was going on.
She looked over the scenery, being quiet and silently brooding to herself. Emelyn "Lockdown," Em said, mostly to herself, though she was standing closest to Amaya. There was not a self-hating bone in her body that would have ever possessed her to stand even a fraction of an inch closer to the hand-holding couple. She ignored it... realizing all the while that it still made her a little sick to her stomach. "If there's no electricity in the intercom, maybe we could scale the fence," Em said tenatively, narrowing her eyes in the sun and staring cautiously at the monstrosity of a gate. "Well, we could try, anyway..." she said softer. Amaya Vaughan She had hoped to never seen that horrible building again. With a shudder she walked up to the gate and looked at it, then over to the fence. The electricity was off even up to the labs? Large, clawed feet clicked on the pavement as she stood in front of the fence and held her ear up to it. No buzz, no nothing.
They had never been this hi-tech, but she had seen electric fences before to keep cattle and horses inside and coyotes out. "I can't believe even the fence is off..." She said, mostly to herself. Though the second Emelyn had mentioned 'scale the fence' Amaya was on it.
Every long finger and toe would puncture through a hole in the fence as she climbed it rather easily and quickly. Her tail would sway back and forth with her movements and in no time she was sitting at the top and jumping down on the other side. "Well... that was easy." She blinked and looked back to the others on the other side of the fence. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose hesitated at the pronouncement that the fence was likely off. He approached it warily, sniffing. Well, he didn't smell any of the ozone that tended to come from charged objects.
Before he could test it or say something, however, Amaya was on it.
"Amaya!" He called out instinctively, fur on end, half expecting to see fried lizard girl come bouncing off the fence. However, he was relieved to see her continue to climb up. "You should have tested it first!" He reprimanded. "You could have electrocuted yourself!" He exasperated, but shook his head. "... But nice work!" He added with a half-smie.
At least she was alright. And Ambrose placed a hand on the fence himself. It was cool to the touch, no jolt of electricity. Letting go of Angelina's hand for the first time since reuniting with her, he slowly started to climb - much less adapted for the work than Amaya, but agile enough to not be met with too much problem. Especially not wearing shoes.
Pausing about 3/4 up the fence, he looked down at the other two. "Either of you need assistance?" Angelina Swanson Angelina pulled Ambrose's shirt down and chewed on her bottom lip. Praising the heavens she was wearing underwear, Angelina started up after Ambrose.
Being small and limber, helped, but the fact that she was only in socks made the wires cut into the bottoms of her feet uncomfortably. Regardless, she gave a smile and nod to Ambrose as he looked back. "No, I'm fine." Emelyn Emelyn was the last one standing at the bottom of the gate, looking up at the absolutely absurd sight. On the other side of the wire was a half lizard girl, and climbing up to join her was a guy with a tail and the half-naked usurper, who was being stubborn again, Em noted- not accepting help- although now she had some idea that maybe Angelina just had an independent personality, and hadn't been being rude earlier. But that was almost a positive thought about her. And Em didn't want to entertain any of those. Not now. "No thank you," she said simply, and not very loudly at all- why strain her voice? Ambrose could hear her just fine. And if she screamed, she might startle Angelina and she'd fall. .......... No, she thought. I really shouldn't. As the others scaled, Em reached down and yanked at the laces of her behemoths, untying them at no fast pace. Then she slipped them off, revealing her sockless hedgehog-esque feet, complete with paw pads, a light downing of fur, and claw-like toenails. Socks didn't fit her anymore, so she never bothered to wear them. But she wasn't quite willing to give up her beloved behemoths, and she tied the laces together, then strung them around her neck and scaled the fence with the others. Amaya Vaughan "Sorry!" Amaya half-laughed. Didn't this happen when she was with Greer once? Getting yelled at for climbing when it might not be safe? "The fence wasn't buzzing or anything, so I just assumed... sorry." She coughed nervously from the other side and watched them. Looked like her hands and feet were good for SOMETHING. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose made it to the top and swung his legs over - glad that there wasn't razorwire or anything at the top. Then, turned around and climbed down about 2/3 of the way before letting himself drop the rest of the way, catching himself on all fours before standing up and dusting himself off, and looking around the complex.
He patted Amaya on the shoulder. "Well, good climbing if nothing else, Sport. I just don't want to see you hurt here in my charge." He winked. "or hurt at all for that matter."
Ambrose waited patiently for Angelina and Emelyn to make it over, offering (and likely being rejected) from assistance in dismounting the fence.
Finally, he ventured closer to the building, stopping by the jeep first. Being open to the elements from the sides, it was easy to check it out and look for keys... to no avail. However, he paused, a smell hitting him as he checked the bottom of the car to confirm it. There was a large gash in one of the pipes, and a smell of some sort of motor fluid. Ambrose had little experience with vehicles and their mechanisms, but figured that a cut and dripping couldn't be a good thing.
((OOC - Break fluid))
"Looks like this vehicle won't be going anywhere." He murmured. Not that a jeep would get them far from the Island as it was.
Turning towards the lab itself, he walked towards the familiar doors that before had swung open at his arrival. This time, however, the mirrored doors stood obstantly shut. There was no handle, no knob. Just cold, mirrored doors that only served to reflect back his worried exasperation and nonhuman visage.
His ears lay back as he backed away from it - still not exactly fond of meeting his animalistic reflection.
"This is the only way I've ever entered before." Ambrose said, turning to the group, and eliminating him having to face himself any longer. Angelina Swanson "Look for a kaypad, or a fingerprint reader. Hell, they might even have a retina scanner," she said she she came up behind Ambrose, running her hands over the smooth glass of the doors, looking for anything that could be a data-entry device. Emelyn "Or we could just smash through something," Em said simply, sitting on the ground for a moment to put her shoes back on. "I mean, if the doors are glass, these suckers are steel-toe. I highly doubt an alarm's gonna go off." Amaya Vaughan Amaya gave the wolfman a small smile before following him to the doors... though she kept away from the reflective surface of it. Once again she fell into silence, only looking at the doors from the side so her reflection didn't show.
"Too bad we can't drive that jeep through it..." She commented quietly. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded, they were all good suggestions.
He walked up to the door and investigated around the edges. The glass seemed smooth at least from the outside. And even cupping his hands and looking through the glass he couldn't see through the mirrored door.
He shook his head, standing back. "I don't understand how it works. There has to be a motion senser or something, but I guess it's shut down. You would think there would be more safety alotments in case of a power out like now." A frown.
"Good thought. But apparently they spent a lot of money keeping their security tight." He harumphed.
"That leaves for crashing the gate." He put his hands in his pockets and took several steps back. "Want to try the shoes? The jeep would be great, though... too bad it looks sabotauged...."
Ambrose trailed off. "Helicopter exploded... sabotauged jeep... think there's a connection?" Angelina Swanson "Something tells me it wouldn't be that easy..." Angelina said, looking to Em. "Buildings made from glass are made from glass designed not to break. Its meant to take beating from tree branches and birds flying into them at full flight. And something tells me if Moreau was smart it might even be bulletproof."
She looked around. "The shoes won' work... maybe a brick if we could find one." Emelyn "A brick... something from the jeep'd probably do. The doors probably are too thick to kick through..." Em said, wanting to bite back agreement with Angelina, but not wanting to be stupid just for the sake of disagreeing with her. "A stone..." She looked around for a good-sized rock, puttering about and wishing the sun wasn't shining so brightly. Amaya Vaughan Green eyes trailed back to the jeep, wondering if somehow they could push it into the door or something and break it. Then, slowly, she looked back over to Ambrose. "You think maybe... someone found the island and did something to the staff? And did all of this to keep us from escaping or something?" Clawed hands went up, hugging her shoulders as she thought of all the possiblities.
Amaya shook all the thoughts away and looked back over to the jeep. "We probably can't push the thing into the door, can we?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose shook his head. "Probably not with enough force to do anything unless there was a hill we were pushing it down."
Ambrose's ears lowered at the thought of someone other than the staff maliciously taking them out... scattering them. "I don't know who did all of this." He whispered. "And I'm really disconcerted with how quiet it is. When I came here before... even the first time there were signs of life from the outside."
Ambrose took a few steps back, letting his eyes trail up the building. "There might be other entrances or exits... but I don't see them being any easier to get into even if we found one."
He took a few more steps back, observing. "THe labs look like they go into that mountain side... I'm sure there are loose rocks.... but..." He shrugged. "I guess it's worth a try. But I bet Angelina's right about this being some pretty resiliant material" He said with a hard knock on the glass for emphasis. Angelina Swanson Angelina started to wander around the perimeter of the building looking for vents or any other way to enter. Emelyn Emelyn stared up at the immense scale of Feral Labs, and noticed that there were windows higher up. Then the glint from the sun off the glass made her cringe, and she turned to Amaya. "Someone could climb and break through a window higher up. ...Probably not any one of us." She looked at Angelina's back as she walked away from them, then turned back to Amaya. "Too bad she's not further along. Maybe she's something that climbs," she said drolly. Amaya Vaughan 'She'? Amaya frowned slightly and backed up, looking away from Emelyn and up the side of the building. "Green iguana." She said flatly, kind of annoyed. "And I doubt iguanas can climb the side of a building without something to hold onto." Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose frowned. The tension was spilling over to people that didn't deserve it in the least.
"Amaya isn't a gecko." Ambrose countered irritably.
He was making such a superb leader. Couldn't even keep the tension down. This was never going to work....
A small voice in his mind jabbed that Emelyn was the only one here with a problem with any one else.... well, that and visa versa. He huffed. He didn't want to part company with her. He wanted to be friends - and he didn't see that as belittling what they had had like she accused.
But.... how could that be so? Maybe if they worked together... establishing a connection when it was necessary... when there might be a danger to them all.
That was being selfish.
And... without something better to say, Ambrose shut up, knowing that it wasn't alleviating the tension in the least. Instead, he stalked off towards the edge of the moutnain, scouting for a large rock. All else fails, try smashing something. How mature.
Eventually, he was able to dislodge a large chunk from where it had apparently fallen from higher up and started to bring it back to where they had gathered.
"we can try to hurl this.... of course... built into a mountainside... It wouldn't - nyrgh.... surprise me if the building has to be smash resistant for insurance against falling rocks - not to mention any standard security." Emelyn Em was practically writhing with the confusion. "Oi, no sweetie," she said, speaking apologetically to Amaya, "I didn't mean you. I was talking about Angelina. I'm sorry I wasn't clearer! I wouldn't hurt your feelings like that." She reached out and put a comforting hand on the joint of her arm. Then she waited for Ambrose to finish speaking, and spoke... a little less... apologetically to him. "And as for you, I wish you'd quit it with the sorry looks and the quick assumptions. I've been nothing but nice to your girlfriend, and she keeps whispering behind my back. So if you're gonna snark at someone, by all means do it at her." Amaya Vaughan "Oh... sorry." Amaya looked up at Emelyn appologetically, thinking she should have known better then to think she would have insulted her like that.
She wanted to stop the argument and opened her mouth to do so but... couldn't think of anything. Shutting her trap, she just watched Ambrose and considered trying to help him... though she'd probably just get in the way. What Emelyn said was right... Angelina had been the only one to really throw a tantrum of sorts. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose growled, more at himself and frustration than anything else.
"Look... I'm sorry. I can't be the only one sensing the tension here. I did think you were speaking about Amaya. But I don't wish changes on Angelina either. And She said one thing - following which she stopped a long time ago. And I haven't been blind to some of the looks you've been giving either. I can't expect us all to just be happy-happy.... but ... something's going wrong here... And I consider you all friends" He looked to Emelyn. ".... family... " he looked to Amaya... "And ... other things that I don't wish to try to laud over you, Emelyn."
He picked up the rock again, hefting it. Ambrose was certainly not the strongest person in teh world, but in his frustration he found a strength, hurling the miniature boulder towards the mirrored glass....
Against which is bounced off, causing a loud CLUNK noise... but resulting in no shattering... no spiderwebbing... just a followup THUNK against the ground.
He growled louder.
"Lovely."
He ran his hand through his hair again, turning away from the offending building. "Look. I'm sorry. I think that the tension has us all on edge. Perhaps we're picking up on subtexts that are building off of eachothers'. I don't know if getting things out in the open would help or not. I just know that I would like for nothign more than to band together during this - look after eachother... It will be getting dark soon and we can't get back in our duplexes and we can't get into the cafeteria either. " Emelyn Em seethed a little, but she was grateful that Ambrose had at least acknowledged that he was on edge. She still felt like she was entitled to the looks she'd been shooting Angelina, after all... it wasn't as if the woman had even made an effort to like me, she figured. But she shrugged it off, and rubbed at her eyes in frustration. "There has got to be a way in," Em said, not willing to acknowledge any of the more personal aspects of Ambrose's speech, "Maybe there's a window low enough? Or.. we could look for another door- maybe... ... Angelina found something," she said haltingly, saying the name rather than spitting it- for Ambroses benefit. Not that she was entirely sure he deserved it right now. ...Although, to be fair, she thought, he hasn't proved to have done anything really wrong. ...Except have bad taste. "If not, we should just head back into the jungle, find somewhere where we can hide. This all happened for a reason- someone had to have done this all, and I don't want to be around if whoever it is comes back." Angelina Swanson "Nice to know you all are so eager to have me turn into a monkey so I can skitter on up there and help you blokes out." came a flat voice from behind Emelyn.
"I was just around the corner looking for a vent," she continued, sounding a bit dejected. "I haven't been whipering behind your back, but trust me, I have a lot of things I could say, oh believe you me, do you want to hear?" She narrowed her gaze at the other woman. Amaya Vaughan Amaya sighed heavily as she watched the boulder simply thud off the door. Listening to Ambrose talk, she realized that she was probably the only thing keeping the group from total and complete awkwardness... or at each others' throats... or from making Emelyn feel totally alone if she had been paired up with the couple and she wasn't here. Well, looks like she had her work cut out for her.
Nodding to the hedgehog's last statement, she added. "And it's not like we can't come back and check again tomorrow if everything is still off." She haden't realized they had been outside ALL day and her stomach growled in protest at not being fed.
Though that was the least of her concerns. What happens to lizards in the nightime when all the warmth of the sun was gone...? And it was going to be nightime in the winter no less. Green eyes looked back to Angelina, almost pleading her not to start fighting. Ambrose Maurlias After the rock bounced off ineffectively from the door, Ambrose had little hope that anything else would succeed in breaking into the complex. And Amaya was right - with the approaching dusk, they needed to find shelter, food, and water before anything else.
"YOu're right.... we'll head to the jungle.... find a place by the stream for water... and make some shelter...."
Ears drooped as Angelina came back from around the corner. He could feel the approaching storm. "Angelina...." Errrgh..
Maybe it would be good for them to be able to get things off their chests.... maybe they could move forward from there. Or maybe it would just drive an unmovable wedge between them.
"Angelina..." Ambrose started quietly again. "Emelyn..." He floundered.
Sighing, he finally spoke again. "If you two must be angry... be angry with me. Angelina... I am so sorry once again... I had convinced myself that there was no way I would ever see you again. I was scared, and I needed companionship - I couldn't handle what I was going through alone. I missed you like nothing else - and that was driving me crazy. I needed a finality. After I changed the second time i knew I couldn't go home again. And I wouldn't wish being stuck on this Island on anyone - let alone you."
He turned to Emelyn. "And Emelyn... I had no right playing with your heart when I still loved another. You helped open my eyes to the reality of the situation around me... and there was no way either of us could have known what would have happen. No one is denying that we... had a connection. I don't want to lose your friendship. I don't want to rub my relationship with Angelina in your face. I don't know if there is any way that I can coincide those things together." He finished. It was off his chest. Now if it did any good was anyone's guess. Emelyn Emelyn felt so many things in that one instant- and she could feel the waves of emotion coming off the others in various degrees of sorrow, anger, confusion, and annoyance. They were mirrored by her own emotions, a veritable spectrum of combinations, all slurring together in a rainbow of feeling. She just shook her head. She wanted to come closer to Ambrose, but felt Angelina between them like a wall. "I'm not mad at you, Ambrose. It's just a ... bit of an unbearable situation. We were just starting to have something special, and then everything fell apart. It's not easy to be tossed aside for someone else, so summarily. But I understand. And I don't feel that way about you anymore." She turned to Angelina, still harboring some desire to clock her- but knowing it was unfounded, "I know you don't want to hear all this. I wouldn't, either. But you won, okay? If you really want to take shots at me, go ahead. I was the 'other woman'. But he came to me in grief, and the second he knew you were here, I was exactly what I am now. ....A poor man's Angelina." There were no tears in her eyes, for she'd squirreled them up, frowning to keep them all down. The wrinkle between her eyes deepened, and she shook it off, huffing into the air in the immense pause that followed. "I'm starving," she said, turning away from the looks of Ambrose and Angelina, wishing they weren't there- and towards Amaya, shooting her an apologetic look- she knew the girl didn't want to be a part of any of this. Angelina Swanson Angelina rolled her eyes are Emelyn's comment. "I won. I won. Nice to know that you think my four year relationship with Ambrose came down to a silly little competition between the two of us. Its hard enough to do I was apparantly so easy to replace." She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice but she knew she still must be seething. She hurled hefty, but handheld, rock at the glass angrily, knowig it would just bounce off. Amaya Vaughan The lizard-girl listened to everyone talk in silence, eyes going from one person to the other before straight ahead of her. She sincerly hoped this didn't keep up for the rest of the night for everyone's sake.
Having never been in a relationship before, she wasn't sure how to handle it or make anyone feel better, but arguing like this was NOT getting them anywhere. "Look. We can fight or talk or whatever you guys wanna do once we have a fire, shelter, and some food. Please?" Letting out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumped and she turned around to start climbing the fence whether anyone was following or not. Emelyn Em turned on her heels. "Why are you so insistant that you're going to hate me? Why do you have to pick at what I say- of ALL the things I said, that was what you focused on? If you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at him. I honestly have gotten clobbered enough from this. I don't see how it's any of my concern anymore." The bitterness was rising in her voice as well, but not towards anyone in particular. "He cast me off, so that pretty much gives me immunity from anything that has to do with this. It's a perk. You can't have it both ways." Angelina Swanson "Me insisting on hating you?! Oh please." Angelina paced around, frustrating tears forming in her eyes.
She didn't know what she was feeling or how to express it. What she was really afraid was looking like the 'other woman' in everyone eles's eyes. She looked at Amaya and Emelyn. She came to the island expecting to find her lover, sick and scared, welcoming her with open arms. Instead, she found something so beyond the realm of what she was expecting it through her for a loop. And worst of all, Ambrose, changed, already moving on. A few family, new friends.
Now standing here, she felt even more like an outsider than ever. She self-consciously hugged her arms to herself as she felt the eyes on her. She had taken Ambrose from Em, at least that what she thought Ambrose's island's friends would think. And SHE was yet to change. She considered herself a very dynamic person - usually able to blend into new situations. She had changed her lifestyle before, one for Ambrose already. But now.. .she felt completely normal - completely herself - the same person she was when she woke up that day...but this time it was everything else changing around her. Ambrose had changed, her view of reality had changed... even the definition of 'normal' had changed.
Moreau and the lab assistants - the fully human people. They were the bad guys. The victems, they were the good guys. And Angelina felt juxtposed... not knowing how the others felt about her retained humantity...and the uncertain looming cloud of uncertainty. Would she change? Now? Was she ever going to? Did something happen? Would they come back and then change her then?
Angelina shook her head angrily, wiping at her tears, not wanting to admit her anger was misplaced but not wanting to admit it. So she just stood there, staring at the ground, wishing she could just close her eyes and dissapear. Ambrose Maurlias The glimmering chance at mending broken relationships and knitting over injured feelings seemed to be receeding at each passing moment, taking away Ambrose's optimism in general with it.
Coincidentaly, the air was growing cooler as dusk was approaching. Despite Ambrose's increased night vision, he didn't want to try to navigate the dense jungle in the dark. Amaya was right - they needed shelter, fire and food if they wanted to establish themselves.
But one fire had been kindled - and it wasn't the sort that would keep them warm - only the sort that would burn. Perhaps burn up the chances of teamwork and frienship. "Please..." Ambrose whined. "Fine. Yes. If you must be mad - both of you - be mad at me. Neither of you have done anything to eachother directly. I was the catalyst in all of this. I was the one who reached out to someone else when there was no closure on our relationship, Angelina. And Emelyn - I did not see you as a substitute. If anything your appearance was a hesitance point for me in that I didn't want to try to replace Angelina. I am sorry for crushing you - for giving you hope only to "drop" you when Angelina returned. But yes, I never stopped loving her - I just imagined that if she had not arrived, that I could somehow reconcile that feeling along wiht something different."
"And Angelina... You were never 'easy to replace'. You know i thought I would never see you again. I thought they had told you I was dead. It had been months and I was so alone. Terrified as everything I knew, everuthing I valued and had loved was wrenched from me. Perhaps I was weak. But fine, be mad at me. It's not Emelyn's fault.... and it's not your fault either."
His ears dropped as he saw her withdraw within herself. Angelina's anger seemed to be boiling off to a more subtle depression. There was something more than her anger at Emelyn going on behind her eyes. Maybe they could make this work.... "Please. If you dont' hate Emelyn... and Emelyn doesn't hate you... then there is a tension over nothing. We can help eachother... But we need to get moving."
He moved to the fence, and started to climb. "Amaya's right. We need shelter and food and fire. It will be dark soon." He said quietly, dejectedly. "I hope that we can work together in that..."
He scaled it, more quickly this time, dropping down to the ground at the other side.
"If I recall the island correctly, there should be a stream intersection in the jungle directly south of here." He said quitly, feeling emotionally drained. But perhaps... maybe just perhaps things would work. Amaya Vaughan Amaya was already waiting for them on the other side of the fence, then looked over to Ambrose while waiting for the two women. "I don't mean to make you worry anymore then you are now, but... I dunno if I'll be able to move around much once it gets darker." She paused for a moment, fumbling with her fingers. "Ever since I turned cold-blooded I went inside when it got colder..." Emelyn "I'm sorry, Amaya," Em said, once she'd scaled the fence. "I hadn't even been thinking about you. That was selfish of me." She wanted to grab her up in a hug, but didn't know how comfortable the girl felt these days with human contact. She walked along with them, heading towards what would be a makeshift campsite, and didn't say a word. She was tired of trying to make Angelina understand, tired of Ambrose trying to make everything okay, and please everyone. If she'd thought about it, she would have understood that Angelina was in a lot of pain- and Ambrose could only help but feel like the source of all the blame. ..But she didn't want to think. She only wanted to walk... and eventually eat, and then drift into a dreamless sleep. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded to Amaya as he waited for the others to scale the fence. "I'm sorry - we'll make sure we get you somewhere safe and warm - even if it means carrying you." He gave her a small smile.
Once everyone had gathered, he led the way Southwards through the jungle. He knew he would encounter the stream as long as he headed in a straight line. Ambrose thanked his blessings that he had been a boyscout, no matter how ill prepared he actually was out here in the real untouched jungle. He might at least be able to get a fire started provided he could find some dry wood and fashion a sort of lean-to. Tomorrow, with light again, they could reinforce their settlement - maybe scavenge some better building material.
He stayed focused on the task at hand - letting the work and what needed to be done drive him past the sullenness in his chest.
Finally, the babbling noises of running water reached his ears - and he followed the sound just as the last remnants of daylight was being sucked away. Sure enough, a narrow stream cut through the jungle ahead of them. This was as good a place as any.
He turned to the others. "Alright... this is it. For tonight at least. We can follow the stream both ways tomorrow if we want and see if we can't find a better place to form a more permanent shelter.... Hopefully we won't need to. Amaya, I know you're tired... so why don't you hang around here and try to clear a space on the ground so we can make a fire or have something flat to sleep on. Angelina... why don't you see if you can find some dry wood. At least it hasn't rained recently. Bring back what you can find. Emelyn... why don't you see if you can find any fruit. I'll try to put together a few lean-to's and get a fire going.
With tasks delegated, Ambrose focused on assembling some crude shelters - also thanking his blessings that he had been doing a lot of construction recently. Even workting without tools, he had a better idea of what would hold and what wouldn't. He found some long branches and propped them in crooks of trees, then used that as a centerpole to drape broad leaves, more sticks, and anything else to form a covering.
After getting firewood, he sat down to work at a fire. It was... very slow going. But eventually... a thin curl of smoke rose out of the flat piece of wood, and encouraging it with some small dry kindling, he was able to get a fire started.
His stomach rumbled pitifully... and the fruit looked less than appetising to him, but it was something. Tomorrow... he would have to find something... with meat... Amaya Vaughan "S'ok." She replied timidly, waiting until Angelina was over the fence to start walking behind Emelyn.
As the night drew closer and closer she began to feel weaker and weaker, lagging behind a little bit as they walked but glad they had found the stream nonetheless.
Glad she was given one of the less demanding tasks, she did her best to clear the area of any briars or sticks so they had a nice resting place. Once that was done, she sat down to rest as the others did their tasks. It was dark, she had walked all day, had nothing to drink and nothing to eat, so she was extreamly drained.
Only eating a little bit of the fruit found, she quickly fell asleep by the fire. Amaya had camped out before with her father, so the ground and bugs and nightime sounds didn't bother her very much at all.
She didn't even have time to think about tomorrow or what was going on around her... the lizard-girl simply went out of it for the night.
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:58 pm
Meeting A Cousin(Amaya wakes up the next morning to find a green iguana on her chest)Island of Moreau Whenever Amaya wakes up, she finds a 'visitor' in her lean-to. A large, familar-looking reptile found her shelter rather warm. There is a green iguana placidly sitting on your chest, looking you in the eye with a "what?" [removed](or as much as the reptiles have expressions) Amaya Vaughan Amaya's face twitched as she partially awoke and felt something on her chest. "Nnn..." A large hand reached up to brush whatever it was off and go back asleep to get away from the pang in her stomach and throb in her back but stopped once she realized whatever on her chest was too heavy to merely shove off.
"Wha...?" Green eyes squinted as she looked down at her chest and there staring at her... was a cousin. Her hand immediantly dropped to her side once more and her head hit the ground with a thump. "You gotta be shittin' me."
There was a green iguana... on her chest. Of ALL animals.
She wanted to yell at it, but as soon as she opened her mouth her stomach gave a loud growl. Okay. Too hungry to be mad.
"Guess you wanted to be warm too, eh?" Amaya said, still only half-awake. Slowly she sat up, holding the iguana with one hand so it wouldn't fall. It squirmed about, it's claws scratching her torso a little. With a grimace she sat up and placed it beside her.
It... didn't go anywhere.
A brow raised as she poked it with a claw, but it still didn't leave. "Hey. Yo. Git on outta here, else people are gonna wanna eat'cha."
It didn't seem to want to listen, merely giving her a few head-bobs in reply. Amaya was about to return them, but stopped herself and slowly turned away from the reptile to stare out in front of her. Jesus... she had almost head-bobbed like a ******** iguana... Was she that far gone?
The iguana-girl sighed and drew in her legs, hugging them with her arms. Her chin rested on her knees while eyes stared into the small fire in the center of the camp.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:44 pm
Getting in OrderAmbrose Maurlias IT's about two hours after Ambrose left that morning to go find supplies.
Finally, there is a crackling of underbrush - and the sound of more than one individual coming back towards the camp. Then, emerging into view is a familiar wolfman with an armload of .... stuff. There are a few mangoes, but it's primarily long branches and a few choice flat pieces of wood.
There is a smile on his face, but the hunger in his belly, that has been growing worse since he awoke (especially after a pitiance of a meal the day before of only a few mangos.)
"... And here it is" Ambrose finished saying to Cassidy and Vasile as they followed behind him - Vasile carrying the snakewoman... and neither of them with clothing. "IT might not be much, but... it will have to do. And I intend on trying to fix it up."
He turned back to the camp with a smile, looking to see who might be up and about. Vasile DiRossi Vasile shifted Cass's weight lower so she was more significantly covering, well, himself. He definately looked out of sorts for Vasile - sweaty, dirty, and covered head to toe, nearly, in mud. It was caked and brittle in his hair, and made his lines of swaet even more obvious. His hair was a tangled, dirty mess, and his thick fir down his spine and over his groin was started to painfully mat between the mud and the sweat and lack of a brush. He looked surprisingly ashamed or embarassed about his appearance, but he stepped towards the camp, repeating constantly to himself that people wouldn't care so much given the circumstance. Cassidy Smith Cassidy, feeling quite thoroughly silly, shifted to cover her chest. Almost as muddy as Vasile, her hair only half in its braid, and her unscaled skin scratched from treebark, she was looking just as disshevelled. "Home, sweet home." Cass's tongue flickered. "It's not bad at all." Just like camping, right. Just think positive. "Y'can put me down now, Vasile. If you need to. I can manage on my knees around here, really." Amaya Vaughan Amaya's head turned as Ambrose returned, though she quickly 'meeped' and hid her eyes into her knees at the sight of a very naked Cassidy and Vasile. It didn't help that she couldn't remember if either of them had seen her change yet either. Angelina Swanson Angelina came out, happy to see Ambrose had returned, but couldn't help but double take at Vasile. She blinked a few times at his appearance, but -homg- it really was him. And he was naked. "Vasile?" she squeaked out before she could stop herself. No need to act like a fangirl. She was better than that, dammit. But she couldn't help but continue to stare. She was even tempted, if only for half a second, to ask for him autograph. Then she smirked to herself on the irony of it all. And the surrealness. Emelyn Em was sitting in the nook of a braidwork of immense tree roots- somewhere she'd been for a while, waiting for the camp to come alive again. She'd awoken to a dead quiet- but not a calm. In this company, how could it be? She was there when Ambrose tromped back into camp, followed by... Cass, who she had met- and another man, who she assumed was Vasile. She'd seen him once before- briefly- at the Halloween party, but not since. And certainly not... So naked. She wasn't far away from them, and she cast her eyes down, more out of courtesy- for she'd already seen both of them- it was difficult to hide your nakedness in the plain of day, but she called to them with a voice croaky from not having spoken in hours. "If one of you'd like, you can have my shirt." ...Or Cass can have my bra, she thought, but didn't add to the sentiment. She figured it would be evident that she was offering either-or. ...The camp was filled with women, after all, except for Ambrose and Vasile. And well... there was no keeping secrets from Ambrose, and Vasile had no gains to ogling at the moment... Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose set down the heavy pile of materials and shook off his sore arms. He was no... weakling. At least he would protest if called one - but perhaps it may not have been the most inaccurate of insults. And carryign wood for the past twenty minutes left his arms burning. At least he had procured some more supplies for the extra lean to that they would have to build.
But there was still a lot more materials that they would be needing.
And food.
"Vasile... Cassidy.." He gestured to the two of them... "You've met Amaya I believe... and this is Angelina.... And Emelyn" He introduced, still not looking directly at the two new companions.
"And that's quite kind of you, Emelyn" He added with a smile.
With a hesitance, and an embarrassment for probably ought to have offered earlier... "Vasile... uhrm... if you want them... I could go back behind some bushes with you and loan you my... uhm... undergarments?" He added quietly to the silver-furred actor.
"We found eachother out in the woods towards the village... they'd been locked out too, and I told them what we found out. But they hadn't seen anyone else either." Vasile DiRossi Vasile swallowed and hesitantly set Cass down. Its not that he didn't think Cass could fend for herself. It was more becuase, well, she was proverbial fig leaf at the moment. BUT - he couldn't (literally - couldn't - his arms were killing him) use Cass to cover himself all day, so, might as well.
He blushed as Angelina recogized him, but tried to do his best to smile and nod friendly.
He nodded a thanks to Em and looked to Cass with a smile. But then he turned and just kind of... gaped at Ambrose. He'd never had to share anything with anyone before... much less -underwear- How embarassing. But was that...worse off than being stark naked? "uh, sure, thanks," he mumbled quickly, then briskly went behind a large tree with some underbrush Cassidy Smith Cass settled herself down on the ground, her arms still firmly across her chest. "If you really don't need your shirt, I'd appreciate it," she told Emelyn awkardly. "A lot." She'd just have to, uh, pretend it was a dress or something. But it was definitely better than nothing. She did wave to Amaya and Angelina. Amaya was looking... rather scalier since she'd last seen her. And Angelina...? ...wasn't she...? No way. No possible way. Amaya Vaughan Nodding, she looked back up but made sure to keep her eyes away from them. "Hey Cassidy... Vasile." Her eyes then went to the green iguana still inside her lean-to next to her to keep herself from looking over at them on accident. Angelina Swanson Angelina tugged at Ambrose's shirt she was wearing, but didn't offer to take it off, for, unlike the lucky and fully dressed Em, she wasn't wearing a bra underneith.
She waved at the introductions. Vasile seemed too concerned with getting into Ambrose's underwear to register, but the look on Cass's face told her that Ambrose must have mentioned her before. She looked over the scaled woman, trying to to stare but feeling a dread knot in her stomach form as she saw her legs.
Angelina almost felt like crying again. This not knowing BS was really starting to get to her. Each new person she met that was changing just ground the sick reality into her. Emelyn "Here," Em said, unbuttoning the white shirt down the front. It was that same shirt she'd come to the island in- somehow, of all the clothes Moreau had provided her, it was still the staple she went to in times of emotional crisis. It was strangely poignant to her that she was standing in the exact outfit that she'd first come to the island in... but before letting herself get nostalgic about the 'days before'- or to well up about anything- she cast off the thought. As well as her shirt. She felt a moment of embarrassment as she scooted the beige bra strap farther up onto her shoulder... but she pushed it aside. Who here would criticize? ...Well, who would have the right to, anyway, she thought on the second hand, and passed down the shirt to Cass. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose decidedly avoided looking as Emelyn offed her shirt in front of the group, using the same excuse Amaya had in looking at the small green fellow that lay obstantly beside her in her tent. He quirked an eyebrow. "Find something, Amaya?" He quieried. ANd almost as soon as he said it, his stomach gave an audible rumble. He swallowed. He had almost suggested cooking up the lizard to divvy - even though it probably wouldn't make for a very big meal for any of them - before catching himself as he looked again at Amaya's scaly legs that looked remarkably like the lizard's and clamped his mouth shut.
"Uhrm... I'll be right back... Amaya - why don't you help Cassidy set up a lean-two for her and Vasile....?" He looked at Cassidy. "Assuming that you don't mind sharing one..? It would probably be warmer.." He babbled, realizing that he might have taken too much for granted with their mutual nakedness.
"I'll be right back" He covered, taking the time to follow vasile behind the trees.
"Alright, Vasile." He sighed. "Believe me... I wish there were another way as well...." but I want to keep my pants... they're more covering.... He slid down his sleep pants and with a sigh, hooked his thumbs in his tightie whities that he wore beneath his sleep pants, and pulled those down as well, trying not to look and make it quick. Vasile DiRossi Vasile learned back on the tree, trying to find his center. But then he saw the dreaded tighty-whiteys and shook his head. "Oh, uhm, thanks but no thanks. I think running around named would be better than, welll..."
Well, first there would be the sure ridiculousness of his furry butt being stark naked and frizzying up all around the fruit of the looms.
Second, regular pants made him itch and chafe enough already. Those certainly wouldn't help.
Third..
Vasile took another double-take. "Hey," he said, pointed down, "You've got your own built-in modesty system going on!" he said, trying to decide if he should laugh or get disturbed. "I should take the pants. I wouldn't fit in those anyway, if you catch my drift." Cassidy Smith Cassidy buttoned up the shirty, and gave a small sigh of relief. At last, she could put her arms somewhere than over her chest. "Thank you so much." She snuck a glance at Amaya's iguana, and had to suppress a shudder. Honestly. She had no right to be creeped out... though it didn't change the fact that she was. And eh? What was this about a shared lean-to? If she could still blush, she would have. "Ahhhhm. Well. It's okay if Vasile doesn't mind..." Amaya Vaughan "Uh... you could say that. Or it found me." Amaya's tail twitched behind her as she scooped the iguana up with one of her large hands, being able to hold it well despite it's size. "I doubt he has much meat on him... that and I don't wanna become a cannibal." She smirked and snorted, though it wasn't in humor.
"And sure, no problem." The reptile squirmed in her grasp as she stood, walking over to the edge of the camp and setting it down before pushing it onward with her fingers. It scampered away into the brush, wanting to get away from whatever had been holding it. Angelina Swanson Angelina didn't know what to do, so she began to poke around and gather supplied to try and made another make-shift shelter for Vasile and Cass, her eyebrows raiding as she caught bits and peices of Ambrose and Vasile's discussion from behind the tree. Emelyn "You're really welcome," Em said, glad for the look of relief on Cass' face. "I think it's better that we're all partially naked than a few of us be fully clothed." She went the opposite direction of Angelina, looking for some long sticks to help make the new shelter, until she realized that she didn't actually want to stay there. A part of her felt it was time to move on. So she waited for Ambrose to come free of his conversation and ... er... exchange with Vasile. Somehow, he'd set himself up as a sort of leader amongst them... and it was probably for the best, since he had the most ties with everyone else. He'd be most likely to convince them to something. Anything- but staying here. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose blushed, his ears flattening against his head as he replied with a whisper between clenched teeth. His... changes down there were a bit of an awkward subject to say the least with him.
"It's not... Rrrgh.. It's not a 'modesty system'" He said quietly - but he was still unfortunately close enough to be audible by most of the group. "It's embarrassing... and .... things are only... more obvious... if things...." He gesticulated awkwardly. "Nevermind!" He finished quickly, removing the undies and pulling his pants back up quickly.
"And don't give me that crap about not fitting." He rolled his eyes at the veiled knock. "Besides! Something is better than nothing, right? You can... decorate them with leaves or something if they're that bad." He said sarcastically.
He returned to the camp, letting Vasile clothe himself, seeing the beginings of the shelter begun to be assembled. Running a hand through his hair, he pondered. What would they do now?
"Alright..." He started, rubbing his paw-pads of his hands together as he formulized a plan... of sorts. "The labs are only about half an hour north of here.... I say we make daily trips there to make sure the power doesn't come back on. We can also reinforce the lean-to's I built last night in a hurry. Make them bigger... more protected against the rain with some big leaves and bark... more branches ... and use some mud to fill in the holes. We also need to keep an eye on the fire, because that was a b***h to get started. " He ticked them off on his fingers. "And most importantly... food. We need to have more to eat than just mangos..." He winced. "at least I do..." He looked around the group in varying states of undress, dirty, and the lingering smell of anxiety still on the air, subconsciously trying to judge their strengths and weaknesses..
His face softened. "We can do this... things will be alright. I'm sure of it.... And I'm sure there are others still out there as well. Once we get situated... we can probably make forays to see if we can find more information... and make sure everyone else is alright too. "
He took a few paces back and forth, wandering closer to Angelina, who he gave a small squeeze on her shoulder with a smile. He knew she felt left out... she had arrived much later than all of the others here and knew very little of them. The talk they had had the night before had made that evident.
"We'll break down the tasks. Does anyone here have any experience with anything that might be useful? Hunting? Tracking? Construction or fishing or anything like that?" He looked around the group. "I... uhm... was in the boyscouts... I know some very basic things like how to build a fire... if you give me dry wood and a few hours... and these lean-to's...." He blushed a bit "I... could probably even follow an animal trail with my... nose... But I don't know how good I'd be at catching anything.." Vasile DiRossi Vasile grumbled and, swallowing his pride, quickly pulled Ambrose's undies up over himself. He tried to rid the image of how insanely silly he probably looked as he headed back into camp, taking a seat next to Cass and putting his arm around her shoulders.
And now, besides looking comical, he felt completely useless. He shifted uncomfortably as he realized just how few survival skils he had. Only stuff he learned about in movies and stuff. Not that any of that was probably really applicable. Cassidy Smith Cassidy grimaced, and squeezed Vasile's hand. "I'll, uh, volunteer to watch the fire. I'm not sure what else I can do, to be honest. I'd do more, I would, but..." Goddamn that Moreau. It had to have been something without any legs, didn't it? "And I'll help around the camp... I can get around okay on my knees," she said eagerly. "Mostly." Amaya Vaughan After setting free the lizard Amaya joined Angelina in rooting around for supplies. From what Ambrose had brought back she picked out the best one's she could find to make the lean-to and listened to him speak as she gathered things together.
"Uh... I know how to hunt a little." She spoke up quietly, still crouched by the stack of supplies. "And I know how to gut and skin animals for the meat if it's any help." She had never been more thankful that her father was a hunter and tried to force his daughter into being a son. Even though she had been young when he taught her, watching your father gut and skin a deer was something that wasn't easily forgotten. Green eyes trailed up to Ambrose. "Though I only know how to use a bow 'n arrows a little so... I dunno..." She trailed off, looking down at the pile of things again. Angelina Swanson "I don't have any bright ideas," Angie said, "but I'll help where I can. Build traps perhaps? Maybe a pit trap or something? Plus I don't mind walking to the labs if I need to." Emelyn Emelyn winced, but said what she had been planning to say before Angelina chimed in. "I wouldn't mind going to the lab, either. ...I'm good at starting fires in the wild, though. ...I wouldn't be much use on the fish-catching- I've never done it before. ...But to be honest, I was getting pretty cold last night, and now that we're all sharing clothes, I think we should probably either double up in the shelters or pack them with moss, or something insulating." She felt a little strange drawing attention to her half-naked torso, but it did need to be said. She was already feeling the hairs on her arm raise to the occasional gust of wind. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose listened to each one in turn and nodded. A flare of protectiveness burned quickly in Ambrose when Angelina suggested going to the labs alone. IT was probably ridiculous - he doubted that there was anything particularly dangerous in the woods between here and there... but still... it was jungle, and she could get lost.. or hurt...
He shook his head. She was independent... she was an adult, and she could make her decisions. But still... part of him wanted to latch to her side and protect her. .... what was with him?!
"Alright..." Ambrose finally said, directing his attention once again to the people around him. "Cassidy... why don't you and Emelyn work at reinforcing the lean-to's. It sounds like you know a thing or two about that, Emelyn - fill the gaps in the tops with mud... pack them with moss... maybe make a few of them bigger so we can double up. I'd suggest me and Angelina, Vasile and Cassidy and you and Amaya." He said, nodding to each pair in turn. It sounded like at the very least there wouldn't be any sleeping arrangement problems. "And the two of you can be in charge of keeping the fire going - and firewood. Without burning down the woods." He ended with a wink.
"I'd say our first order of business is to get the camp set up and situation to where it can support the six of us relatively comfortably. Angelina, you .... you sure you don't mind going to the labs? I can go with you if you need?" His ear flicked back. He was being over-protective and he knew it. "And you can try to set up some traps as well - just make sure you let us know where you build them so you don't catch one of us."
"Amaya... why don't you and I... urhm... " He took a breath. He didn't want to go back there. "I was thinking about heading back to the helipad... there was a lot of sharp metal there...." He trailed off. "From there maybe we could try to go hunting." He smiled at her. "I had no idea you had that kind of experience. THat's going to be useful, I bet. We can probably fashion a few knives from the metal by lashing it to sticks. I don't know about a bow and arrow, though...."
Finally he turned to Vasile, realizing that he hadn't given him anything to do. But then he hadn't volunteered any useful skills. Other than acting. And unfortunately, Ambrose didn't forsee him entertaining a deer or anythign to letting itself be eaten. "Vasile... you could try to help us hunt... if you think you could and not frighten anything away. YOu seem pretty quick on your feet - but I don't know if you could exactly chase down a rabbit or anything.... or you could help Angelina with the traps...?"
Even though Ambrose didn't realize it, taking charge of the mismatched group, giving them direction, rooting down in one territory to support and protect... despite his rational take of everything, he was very much leaning towards what his gut lupine instincts suggested to him would be safe and a good thing to do. Vasile DiRossi Vasile just shrugged and nodded. "aye-aye, director," he sighed, feeling very... un-useful. Cassidy Smith Cassidy nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Vaguely, she had a desire to go be by herself, preferably in a tree. And sleep all day. No, she was going to be useful. "I... don't know much about making shelter, but I'll do my best." Amaya Vaughan Even though she dreaded going back there... he was right once again. The metal would be very useful in making weapons and even though they probably couldn't make a bow and arrows, she could at least make a spear of some kind... and a knife if she ever caught anything so she'd be able to slice whatever they killed properly. She just hoped it was a rabbit... or maybe a deer if they got lucky. Her father had never shown her how to pluck a bird or much of anything else beyond that.
Amaya cracked a smile, standing up with a nod. "My dad was a hunter and since he didn't have a son, he kind of taught me little things here and there." Angelina Swanson Angelina squeezed Ambrose's hand. "I'll be fine, its not too far." She kissed him on his cheek and grabbed a mango to nibble at as she headed towards the labs to see if there was any change in circumstance. Emelyn "It's alright, Cass," Em said, picking up a longish-type stick that had come out of the tree she'd been leaning against. "They're pretty straightforward. Just two longish sticks to prop to make an inverted V, then one longer stick along the back..." she was envisioning the Sydney Opera house as she explained, even though that would be more of a cluster of shelters... the shape was about right. But as she spoke, she realized something else, and shook her head. "Never mind... I'll do the frame. ...I don't mean to be insulting- really- but if you can't get much higher than that, would you mind collecting some moss and leaves?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose gave Angelina a farewell hug. "Take care, I'll be back later... hopefully with some more to eat." He smiled at her. "Keep your eye out for anyone else... or other things to eat or things that might be useful." He patted her on the back and walked by Vaisile towards Amaya.
"Vasile - you're also welcome to go scouting for other people if you like - or you can help out wherever you like" He smiled.
"Well, it certainly sounds like we'll all need those hunting and skinning skills, Amaya." He said honestly. "Maybe you can show me a thing or two and we'll actually catch something." He smiled.
Ambrose gave a thumbs-up to Emelyn and Cassidy, and headed off with Amaya towards the helipad.
This time, however, he selected a few big leaves to cover or block his nose with when he got close. He doubted that the scent was still as strong as it was before, but he was goign to need that sense of smell if he wanted any meat to eat. Amaya Vaughan Amaya smiled slightly, following Ambrose towards the hellipad. "I never thought knowing how to skin animals would come in handy."
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:38 pm
A Hunting We Will Go(Ambrose & Amaya make weapons from the scrap metal at the helipad and manage to kill a capybara)Quote: Ambrose headed north-eastward with Amaya in tow, retracing his steps back towards the crash-site with no small amount of trepidation. He really didn't want to see that sight again. Nor have it clog his nose any more with the stench that only brought back flashes to his mind of what must have happened to the people inside. But... no matter how they cut it... they needed that metal. Ambrose paused to pick a particularly large and thick leaf from one of the plants. If nothing else... he could wrap this around his nose to help... "So..." Ambrose started up as they walked. "You used to go hunting, eh? What for?" Quote: Amaya silently followed the wolfman, looking straight ahead and only occasionally looking towards the sides of the narrow path at the surroundings. Her head jerked foreward as he spoke up, the daze snapped from her mind. "Oh... well, I thought it was pretty boring when my dad took me. I was still pretty young, so sitting in a tree doing nothing in the morning was pretty dull. The only times I went with him were when he went deer hunting. Only one or two times I saw him actually get one..." She paused, realizing she was rambling. Quote: Ambrose smiled back to her as they walked. "Well... it sounds like at least it was some good... bonding time with your Dad." Ambrose scratched the back of his head. "I would have killed - no pun intended - for some time like that with my father. He... we never really did anything together." His ears lowered and his eyes trailed towards the ground before he shook his head. The mood was already low enough without depressing talking like that. "Well... I wish we could set up a deer blind or something like that.... but we don't exactly have any rifles... or anything really that we could use to hunt from a distance... I could see us making a knife... maybe a spear from the shrapnel... but unless you know about how to make anything else..? I don't know if we can do anything else." Quote: "Yeah..." The iguana-girl trailed off, her large hands locking behind her back as she let the subject drop. It would do no good for both of them to get depressed.
For a moment she fell in silence and pondered the question. "Hard to say... I never really needed to make a weapon from what was around me, dad always bought them y'know?" Her scaled shoulders gave a tiny shrug. "A spear or knife seems simple enough though." She paused for a moment before continuing. " If we make a spear and then set out some of the fruit we found far enough from the campsite we might be able to attract something close enough to spear." Quote: Ambrose scratched his chin. "That's not a bad idea.... I've never really tried my hand at throwing much, really. Certainly not a spear. I did a lot of work with a rapier, but unless whatever it is decides to stand and fight, then that will likely not come in very handy. I can... probably find a game trail... it's crazy how acute my sense of smell has gotten. I guess though the main problem with just tracking something would be the whole.. pursuit part." Quote: Amaya nodded. "I'm not very good with throwing things either... and my hands won't exactly help any." She frowned and refrained from scowling at them. "Though if you can track something then maybe you could get close enough to attempt with the spear?" She asked, green eyes looking up at him. Quote: Ambrose mulled over the thought and finally shrugged. "You know... it's worth a try at the very least. Worst case scenario I miss... try to chase it... and after that we can try the whole hiding by a game-trail and waiting." He smiled to her. And almost immediately afterwards raised the leaf to his face. Even days later, it was still very obvious that they were getting close to the wreckage. Quote: "That's true." She nodded and looked straight ahead once more. By the look on his face she could tell they were probably getting close to the wreakage. Even though she couldn't smell it, Amaya knew she could probably taste it... so her mouth almost clamped itself closed. Quote: Ambrose walked a little further before pausing at the tree line. He snagged a vine from its cling of a tree, and wrapped it around the leaf at his mouth/nose to keep it in place while freeing his hands. "There" He said in a muffle behind the leaf. "You... don't have to follow. I'll try to be back in a bit.. but it might take me a little bit to get some of the metal without cutting up my hands..." Quote: Amaya watched him and then looked ahead. Her hands made themselves visable in front of her again as she fidgetted with her hands. "No... I can help. I can probably carry a lot." With how big her hands were it was no doubt... though she might get a few cuts it was no big deal to her as long as she helped out. Quote: Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" He didn't want to pressure her more than she already was. Picking up a long stick - hopefully to use as leverage and to get at some of the metal without having to use his hands - he turned back before leaving the jungle. Quote: "Yeah... I'm sure." She nodded, looking up at him once more. Though it was obvious she was nervous, the last thing she wanted was to chicken out and leave all the work to Ambrose. It was just unfair. Quote: He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry... nothing's going to jump out at us.." He gave a wincing smile before parting the foliage and stepping out onto the hot black tarmac.... To reveal a clutch of vultures hunched over the wreckage. A few of them looked up in irritation as they were joined, one with something hanging from its mouth gave a large SQUAK at them. The site was disgusting. Ambrose raised a hand quickly to the leaf over his mouth as he saw them ... picking... at the bodies. HE was thankful for the blocking of his sense of smell, but wished that he had something keeping him from seeing it as well. HE stood there, stunned, for a moment, before starting to wave the big stick at them. "Get! GEt out of here you damned vultures!!" Quote: "Oh my god..." Amaya stood at the edge of the foliage, staring until Ambrose finally ran foreward at the vultures. Shaking a little, for forced herself to run forward towards them as well. "GYAH! GET OUT OF HERE!" She swiped her clawed fingers at the ones who would simply hop out of her way instead of taking off. Her voice shook, a clear sign of how disturbed she was over all this despite if she was really allowing it to show through. Quote: Ambrose also was trying not to show how revolting and disturbing this imagry was. The thought of dying... having carrion-feeders pick at his bones.... Eyuuugh! "Scram! Get out of here!" He shouted at them. Finally, some of them, after some unfearful nips at the stick he swung at them and Amaya's proximity and volume, hopped further away, some of them taking flight only to perch on some of the trees at the edge of the helipad to wait their turn. Many squacked irritably at them for disrupting their meal. Ambrose shuddered, and eyed them again before forcing his attention back to the metal. Luckily... it appeared that no one else had scavenged at the metal yet... though this might also not be a good thing if it meant that there weren't many others around. Ambrose worried about the rest... Colche... Greer... Joliette and Chubbs... had they found eachother? Were they alright? He shook his head again, frustrated at the depressing subjects his mind seemed to be turning to. They were in luck and he should view it like that. Several of the twisted pieces of metal had apparently broken off from the main unit in the crash and was strewn on the helipad. They may not even need to pry the sharp, dangerous pieces away from the main cockpit at all. Quote: Once most of the horrible birds were gone or at least were away from the two corpses she took an unsteady breath. Think of it like roadkill on the side of the road... she used to see that all the time. After taking a few more labored breaths away from the cockpit, she turned and looked around at all the scrap metal. Quote: There were pieces of varying sizes - from pieces as large as a good chunk of a propellar or tail, to medium pieces of twisted metal unidentifyable as anything in particular,, or nuts and bolts and tiny scraps. Ambrose looked around and picked up a few of the middle-sized pieces, carefully feeling around the edges to see how sharp they were. Most he put back down, a couple he carefully cradled in the nook of his arm or held by a less-sharp looking side. Quote: Amaya gradually wandered over to a pile of chunks that had broken off the helicopter, leaning down and tapping the edges with her claws to help her determine how sharp they were. Some of them she would put aside into a pile, not picking them up until she was finished. Her tail gave a twitch towards the vultures in apprivation though she made no real move to look over and see if any had gone back to the corpses. Quote: The vultures, thankfully, remained on their perch, though several of them shifted from foot to foot or squacked in impatience as the two of them collected pieces of the wreckage. After Ambrose had found a few suitable pieces he gestured back to the forest. "This should be plenty, Amaya" He mumbled behind the leaf. "Let's get out of here and see what we can make of these." Quote: Amaya nodded and started to gather up the pieces of metal she had found, being able to hold more with her large hands. As she headed over to Ambrose, green eyes trailed back to the corpses. She felt so bad about leaving them there... to the vultures no less... but what was she to do? Drop everything for her own survival and take days to bury them? She sighed, a bad taste in her mouth from the wreakage. Quote: After they got back into the treeline, and traveled far enough away from the wreckage that the smell had diminished, Ambrose took a seat and set down the pieces, pulling off his impromptu 'mask'. He rubbed his hands off on his pants and gave Amaya a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry... you had to see that... But.... thank you for your help. I'm sure we can make a few knives and spears from these... and hopefully get the group some meat to eat..." He hesitated, remembering her food choice. "I... really do appreaciate you helping me with this. I know that you don't usually even eat meat anymore..." His stomach gave an audible growl at the mention of the food that he had been lacking. Quote: "It's alright, I'll live." She forced a smile, setting down the metal pieces before sitting on the ground, her tail giving a quick swish of the grass behind her. She had gotten a few cuts and scrapes from the metal, but it was still nothing serious or anything to be worried about. "And I don't mind helping you guys even though I can't eat meat anymore... we have to do what we can for each other if were gonna get through this." Quote: Ambrose nodded at her. "We have to look out for eachother... you're right. Maybe we'll get lucky and be able to find something we can eat for a while... or at least figure out how to do it.." Ambrose located a few long, sturdy branches and some vines and brought them to the pile before them. "I say use the longer pieces of metal for knives... the shorter ones for spears. We'll lash the vines around them to hold them to the handles... Some of the knives will need handles if the metal is sharp all around - but some we can just use as-is." He handed her some materials and got to work himself, remembering some of the old knot-tying. He paused as he worked. "Erm.... if... you have any problems with the tying... I can handle it.." He winced, thinking belatedly that her hands might or might not be suited for the task. Something to talk about..... Something not depressing.... "Though... I have to admit, Amaya... having you for a little sister has certainly been a silver lining to all of these dark clouds. " Quote: Nodding, she followed his example and set to doing what she could. "It's alright, I can adapt." Her hands were making it a little more difficult and she was certainly a lot slower then Ambrose, but she kept at it. Letting her transformation get the better of her was just what Moreau wanted to see. To watch them squirm. She would never give him the pleasure... well, aside from when it initially happened. Despite her will, it was always too painful to do anything but cry and scream.
She smirked and gave a tiny laugh. "Same goes for you, big brother." Quote: He gave her a quirky smile as he secured another knot, then picked up another set of stick, vine, and metal. "Glad to hear it, kiddo." The work went pretty quickly, and before too long, they had a small group of crude weapons: about 4 spears and 3 knives. Ambrose looked at the set with a smile. Quote: Even though Ambrose had made the majority of the weapons, Amaya was still glad she could be of some help at least. She smiled down at the weapons before up at the wolfman. "Now all we gotta do is get back to camp and figure out how were gonna get some meat." Quote: Ambrose clapped his hands. "Indeed! Well, we could also head off to the woods and hopefully come back to camp with bounties of meat!" He picked up one of the spears, and one of the knives, lashing one of the spears to his back." He gave her a feral grin. "Now, let's hunt us some meat!" Quote: Amaya laughed slightly and grabbed a spear and a knife as well. "Alright, well... follow your nose?" She gave a nervous laugh. Quote: Ambrose took a breath, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. Was it okay to do this? Depend on the lupine ... skills... that Moreau had left him with. He remembered a particular jab of the redheaded scientist about eventually coming to use the abilities he had been given. But he was hungry. And like it or not, because of the animal blood that was coursing in with his own, he couldn't subside on the mangos that the others had been eating. And with the hunger that seemed to be intensifying by the moment peaked again, the scents of the jungle seemed that much clearer... the plants, the salt from the sea... and most especially the wildlife. Before he even thought about what he was doing, he started off following something his stomach told him was food, his footpads keepign his steps silent. Quote: Amaya followed in silence, trying to be as quiet as possible. Unlike Ambrose, who was light on his feet from both fencing and the wolf in him, she wasn't. Her appendanges were larger and harder to manuver, though she still managed to follow. Quote: His ears pivoted on their base as he scented in a variety of directions, moving off diagonally for a few moments before squatting and getting a closer 'look' at a trail. Very, very quietly he whispered. "I... I don't know what this smell is.... but... I think it's food-er, I mean a...uhm... something we can hunt...?" He winced. Quote: "Alright." She nodded, seemingly unphased by the 'food' comment. After all, that's what it was. When her father had brought home a deer or rabbit or whatever he had managed to kill in season, she didn't really think of it as a poor defensless animal that had been killed... it was a meal for them, a meal they had worked for. Quote: Ambrose had found a trail... and it was fresh. He turned back to Amaya, raising a finger to his short muzzle. He padded quickly along he trail - which if Amaya looked there was a visable sign as well - the brush seemed disturbed and packed down - making traveling for them easier as well. Quote: Amaya nodded, keeping as silent as possible and doing her best to keep in tow. Quote: Time passed, And Ambrose seemed a man focused. Going several days now without meat had done something to him, and he needed real food. Suddenly, Ambrose crouched down, readjusting his hold on his makeshift spear. THere was a noise now to go with the now much more powerful scent. A cracklingrustling, and Ambrose's ears swiveled forward, his tongue subconsciously licking his chops. Quote: Green eyes watched Ambrose, causing her to crouch as well. By the look on his face she could tell he was 'in the zone'... if they got whatever animal this may be, it would probably be at his hand... or spear. She just hoped he didn't lunge with his fangs and teeth and the head on his shoulders was still the big brother she knew. Quote: Ambrose's eyes narrowed and he kept low to the ground, the spear tight in his fist. An animal shuffled its way along - it looked like they were near another river bank - nibbling on some of the new shoots.  And... quickly, Ambrose lunged! Quote: Amaya couldn't see the animal past Ambrose, so she remained still and quiet. Quote: With quick movements Ambrose uncurls, driving the spear into the animal's side in a lunge reminiscient of the fencing move. The animal squeals and lurches forward, the long spear sticking out of its side, hobbling the creature that looks like an oversized muskrat. Ambrose stands straight now, drawing the knife and hurrying after the injured creature with only a moment's hesitation realizing what he had just done... but the smell of the blood kept him from hesitating very long. Quote: Amaya barely had time to react, standing just in time to watch Ambrose take off after the large rodent. She could taste the blood in the air, much to her discontent and recoiled a little before following after him without a word. Quote: It was larger than it looked at first glance, standing a couple of feet at the shoulder, and probably weighing around 75 lbs - certainly a good several meals. It hobbled towards the river, and Ambrose tried to interpose himself, flashing a look to Amaya's spear with a nod as he drew his knife and made a stab at it, giving it another small slice across the shoulder.. The first spear was still sticking out of it, and the creature looked terrified. Quote: It was just like a bow and arrow... Amaya told herself as she ran foreward, getting a good grip on the spear and close enough to the capybara before plunging the spear the best she could into where she assumed the heart to be. Quote: Amaya's shot was good, and between their combined efforts, the capybara gave one more strangled cry before falling over, struggling, but doing so only seemed to make its blood pump faster and out of the spearwounds. It lay there, weakened and panting, as it was slowly bleeding to death. Ambrose swallowed, and, kneeling down, held the knife to its throat - intending on giving it a faster death. Squeezing his eyes shut, he drew the knife across is throat. Quote: She watched in silence, frowning but not looking as effected from it as Ambrose did. Walking over to him, she patted his shoulder in hopes of bringing him a little reasurance. Quote: Ambrose looked up to Amaya with clear blue eyes as the creature's twitching finally slowed... and stopped. He took a large breath and stood up, looking down at his bloody hands.... but they had done it... they'd made their kill.... and it would be very good eating. "Thank.... thank you." He nodded to her. "We... we did it. I.... I can't say that I know what it is... but I don't think there would be a problem eating it...?" Quote: "It looks pretty good. It can probably last you a couple of days at least." Amaya gave him a reassuring smile before leaning down and putting her fingers in front of it's nose. Feeling no breathing, she started to pull the spears out. "... What is it though? You have any idea?" Make light of the conversation, hopefully it would help Ambrose deal with it. Though not as brutal, she had seen animals get killed right in front of her before so it wasn't anything new. Especially when one needed the meat on it to survive. Quote: Ambrose was born and raised very much a city boy, despite some scouting escapades, the closest he had ever gotten to anything like this was fishing from the yaht - and there was a difference between catching and releasing fish and a bloody mess in front of him that was a few moments ago a living, breathing animal. But... he knew where the packaged meat came from, and he never had a problem with it. He just... never had to do it himself... never had to see it. But.... the carnivore in him... helped. It was right and natural.... and most of all, it was food. "I don't know what it is.... it looks like a giant... muskrat or something... but I'm sure... it will taste good cooked over a fire". He smiled to her, shaking off some of the adrenaline. He walked down to the streambank, and rinsed off the spears and the knife, and then himself before gathering some more vines and sticks, begining to tie the creature to it to form a simple shift to be able to drag it back without getting it all dirty. "Do we... uhm... clean it here...? Or back there..?" Quote: "Hm..." Amaya thought for a moment, looking from him to the animal. "We can probably use the insides as bait for other traps, but having them around the camp might attract something we really don't want. I should do it here, we'll drag everything else back to camp with us, okay?" Taking one of the knives in her hands, she manuvered the rodent so it's stomach was facing her. Okay... it's like a big rabbit... Putting the knife from one end of the stomach to the other, she sliced it open and let the organs spill out. For anyone not used to it, it was probably a pretty horrendous sight. The begining and smell of it has always made her flinch a little, even now. Quote: Ambrose nodded, listenign to her expertise. "Sounds like a plan... and I'm sure you're right... last thing we want is predators near the camp... or more vultures." He shuddered. He made himself ready to watch, that is until she eviscerated the animal. His paw-hand immediately went to his mouth and he turned. Apparently he wasn't that lupine just quite yet. But he didn't say anything, knowing full well it needed to be done, and impressed that she could handle it. "Uhm... you said you might be able to construct some traps..?" Quote: "Possibly, but I'm afraid that I don't know much about traps. Theres the whole dig-a-hole-with-spears-in-it thing..." She tried to make small talk while pulling out all the uneeded organs, wondering if Ambrose was okay with all of this. Then again... he didn't really have a choice. Amaya used the end of the knives to help pull them out, using her hands as little as possible. "We could probably make a shovel out of some metal or something, y'think?" Quote: If Ambrose had a problem, he didn't voice it. "Ah, well, we can bring back some of the unedible meat wrapped up in leaves.... I remember... was it Emelyn? who said she could build traps.... of course.... if we use meat for bait... wouldnt' we catch predators...? I say... for now.... we get this back to the camp... eat, and on a full stomach we can start setting up traps tomorrow perhaps." He glanced back around. It looked like at least the .... slimiest part was past. He patted her on the shoulder. Quote: "Yeah, but predator or not it's still meat... and I doubt there are many large predators on the island. We might have a better chance at catching something that way too, since blood probably carries on the wind moreso then fruit does." Nodding, she looked back at him before grabbing the large rodents legs and pulling it away from the pile of organs. "I'm not sure how we can preserve the meat longest though... does it rot faster when cooked or uncooked?" Amaya raised a brow and stood up. "Uncooked is faster, right?" For some reason she couldn't remember. Quote: Ambrose scratched his chin. "I... uhm... think it does cooked... or smoked... but I can't be certain. If we had an icebox... then probably raw. But we don't." He squatted by her, now that the viscera was out. "Can I help?" Quote: "Sure... I guess we need to find a way to get this back to camp... maybe we should wrap up some of the organs for traps or something." Amaya went to scratch her head but stopped when she noticed how bloody her hands and some of her toes were, having gotten caught in the line of fire when she had been gutting it. "I'm gonna go wash myself and the knife off." Grabbing her utensil she went down to the river's edge to wash up. Quote: Ambrose nodded. "I'll do that..." He swallowed, getting up and finding some large fronds. He squatted down and winced as he picked up the intenstines, quickly wrapping them up and tying it with the vines... which proceeded to drop through the cracks and be altogether nasty. Ambrose made a face... but still didn't say anything. REpeating a few times, and double-wrapping many of them, he got up to join her at the riverbank to wash his hands again. However, as he squatted to do so, not thinking, he licked at his bloody fingers... and froze, hackles rising. Quote: Amaya had wandered a few feet into the water, dunking herself under and cleaning the rest of her body of dirt along with any blood that still remained. Though as she turned around and started to make her way back to the bank she spotted Ambrose and froze as well. Quote: Ambrose, silently, but eyes wide just... quietly dipped his hands in the river, then furiously scrubbed. He hadn't just done that! .... but it had tasted so go- NO!. He shuddered, and continued to scrub. Quote: Swallowing, Amaya wandered back to the bank and kneeled down beside him. Gently she put her scaley arms around his neck in an embrace. "It's okay, Ambrose..." She knew it wasn't his fault, though she was a little frightened by it. Quote: Ambrose was tense, looking at the blood that was washing into the river. He shook his head quickly. "N..no! It's not alright! I just... I just..." He shook his head. That wasn't him...... maybe... maybe he was just really hungry.... no - that wasn't any excuse! Quote: Amaya frowned, letting her hands drop. She really didn't know what to say. Though she didn't leave his side and stayed crouched there in the dirt. Quote: Ambrose finally finished clensing his hands to his .. satisfaction and he sighed, slumping down to a sit, and wiped his hands through his hair. "I.... I Don't like to admit... how much this ... whole thing... is affecting me. I mean... it really doesn't bother me when Hargun eats bugs.... or... eating meat is one thing... but... I don't know...." He sighed. Was he being hypocritical...? But still... the fact remains he never would have done what he just did before coming to the island, no matter how hungry he was. Quote: She nodded and took a seat next to him. "I don't think any of us want to admit it... even I've been trying to keep myself from realizing how much I've changed. I don't remember if I told you or not... but I got in a fight a long while ago with Lauren. I think I hissed at her and I'm not as talkative or social as I used to be..." She paused, looking at the water's surface. "I hate to think all of this is effecting us outside of just our apperance..." Quote: Ambrose paused and looked at her directly. "I... know what you mean. I... havent' wanted to talk about this to Angelina... I know it would scare her." His ears lowered. "You hissed at her...?" He breathed. "I... I've been growling... from time to time.... though I've noticed you've been quieter. I've been worried about you - I wanted to know if you were alright... I didn't think that you might just be becoming less social..." Quote: Amaya nodded, looking over to him with scale-rimmed eyes and knowing that these kinds of things would probably worry Angelina moreso then she needed to be worried. "Yeah... though I haven't really mentioned it to anyone. My temper is a lot shorter then it was too... I seem to get angry so often. A lot more then I used to." She pushed a strand of revn hair from her view, water dripping into her eyes. "I read a lot about... green iguanas once I realized that's what they had in store for me. They're solitary and bitchy... the total opposite of who I am." Quote: Ambrose frowned at the cruel fate that he wasn't even aware was in store for her. "Oh Lord... Amaya.... I'm sorry.... " He squeezed her wet shoulder. "That... that really isn't fair at all... Do you even think that they even realize the things that they're doign to us... how much they are changing us with minor notes on the animals that they chose for some of us...? Amaya... you're the nicest sweetist girl I've ever known.... I don't think even Iguana blood can change that if you don't want it to." Quote: "It's alright... I can get through it." I hope... She added in her mind, and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Though I have a feeling they know what they're doing to us... Moreau is an evil, heartless b*****d. He undoubtedly picked each animal himself just to see what would happen. I mean, Cassidy is afraid of snakes and Hargun was an art student." Amaya sighed, her head dropping a little. "But thank you..." She cocked a tiny smile. Quote: Ambrose frowned. "I'm sorry... but... it's true... I do have a lot of respect for you, and if any of us can get through this with a positive outlook, it's you . And... if you ever need to talk, or need to vent... you can come to me if you like." He paused for a moment, and leaned forward to give the girl a hug. Is there a reason for each of the choices? I wonder why he chose a wolf for me? Is it because of the company logo? My old family crest? I doubt he did that much background into me.... or something else?Quote: Nodding, she returned the hug with a smile. "I will, definatly." She then pulled away and looked at him. "Though I think we should start heading back to camp... if we wait much longer, something might come along attracted by the blood." Quote: He gave her a few patts on the back. Her comfort was definately helpful to his frayed nerves. But yes, they definately needed to head back. He didnt' know how long it woudl take to cook the food, and he was starving! "You're right... let's head back - I'm sure the others will be happy to see our catch." Ambrose stood, and got to work putting the meat on their shift to drag back to camp. "Mmm.... I Feel like oversized swamp rat-thing tonight!" He parodied the chicken-song with a grin. Quote: Amaya laughed and gathered up the knives and spears, walking alongside him and stopping once or twice to grab some nice-looking fruit along the way for herself and anyone else that could still stomach it. Quote: It was about a thirty or fourty-five minute walk back to the campsite, but Ambrose was able to keep the way - the scents of the areas of the jungle were as much of a landmakr to him as any tree or bush. And after the talk, his spirits were higher as he joked with her and hummed their way back to the camp. Quote: Following Ambrose, she didn't really think twice about the possibility of getting lost even though the thought that he could literally sniff his way back to camp didn't exactly cross her mind. She joked right along with him and even would sing a lyric or two from a random song. Wow, she didn't realize how much she missed her poor abandoned CD player. Quote: Finally, the familiar smell of smoke crossed his nose - and he smiled - not only were they close, but the fire was still going. "The mighty hunters have returned!" He announce with a wide smile. "Bearing MEEEEAAT!" He glanced back to Amaya. "And Fruit!" Quote: "Whoohoo!" Amaya cheered, coming into camp right behind Ambrose with weapons and fruit in hand.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:26 am
CampoutEmelyn Em heard someone whooping as she and Cass came back through the underbrush into the camp area. She was glad to see that the party had mostly reassembled. Angelina didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. ...And that didn't much bother her, either. "We come bearing honey," she said, "not that it's even halfway decent sustenance, but it should taste pretty dang good." She put the honey-crusted comb down on one of the stones ringing the outside edge of the fire seating, and licked a sticky spot on one of her fingers before heading for the water. The stings were starting to burn, and she decided to take Cassidy's advice and head for the water. Ambrose Maurlias "Wow, Honey!" Ambrose said, obviously impressed. "That must have taken some doing.." He commented, eying some of the swelling on her hands. "But congradulations! Sweets are far underestimated hwen living off the landlike this!"
He set down the shift and went about gathering some more sticks to set up a spit over the fire for the meat.
"And we have meat for dinner! Some sort of furry... oversized swamprat of some sort. The thing looked like it must have weighed at least seventy pounds~!" He puffed out his chest proudly.
"Perhaps we can even have honey with the meat." He grinned.
Glancing around the campsite for the rest, he queried. "Angelina ever get back..?" Emelyn Emelyn turned back over her shoulder as she thrust her hands into the nearest crook of the stream. "...No. I suppose she's not gotten back from the labs. ...Maybe she found a way in." ...Or maybe she fell in a hole, Em thought. As if punishment for it, though, the back of her neck began to throb. Ambrose Maurlias "I hope so" Ambrose said, albeit nervously. He was begining to feel quite overprotective of this little group since they were turned out into the 'wild'. Especially Angelina. He should never have let her go alone... maybe if she had taken Vasile...? Not that he seemed any more capable than she at the moment. IT should have been him.
Looking up from his mental chiding, he skewered some of the slabs of meat over the fire, adding some more wood.
Soon the smell of meat filled his nose, and set him salivating. Even before the flames had barely licked the edges of the meat, it was all Ambrose could do to keep himself from snatching a piece for himself and sinking his pronounced canines into it. It had been days since he had had any meat, and it.... was having an effect on him. Usually he could eat a huge meal a day in the cafeteria, primarily of meat. Recently he had only been scraping by on pieces of intermittant fruit.
His eyes stared at the sizzling meat over the popping fire and wiped at his mouth.
not all of the meat is over the fire currently.... there is still on the shift... you could get some now, tide you over! There is plenty for all of us and it probably won't keep - a voice of his hunger seemed to speak into his mind. Without thinking, Ambrose's hand snaked to the nearby shift and was grabbing at one of the wrapped packages and fiddling with the vine-ties before consciousness snapped him out of it and he dropped it quickly back to the pile. It was raw!
He put his hands back into his lap quickly and tried to pretend nothign had happened. Amaya Vaughan "Ooooo, honey? Did you get stung?" Amaya asked, looking over to Emelyn as she sat near the fire. Even though the honey comb smelled good, her stomach told her that it wasn't exactly the first choice in food that was available. Looks like she was sticking to fruit.
Though luckily for Ambrose, she was still looking at the woman near the stream while he almost ate raw meat. She turned just in time to miss it, looking up at the sky. Amaya couldn't tell what time it was due to the thick canopy overhead. "Maybe one of us should go look for her...?" Her voice trailed off as she looked over at Ambrose. "I can go look for her." Ambrose Maurlias ((Unless anyone has any complaints, I'd like to do a smidge of skimming to be able to let us get to a point where the camp is functioning and assumptions can be made that, unless said otherwise, we've got food and notice that the facilities are still down. This way smaller RPs can come and go as you like, you can pull your character away from the camp for a time to do something, or if anyone would like to schedule a larger RP with us then they are welcome to initiate someting smile )) Angelina gets back to the campsite not long after discussions of worry of her absence are brought up. She had gotten a bit turned around on the way back to the campsite, and discloses information about the power still being down. Ambrose finishes cooking the meat (resisting the urge to 'snack' - just barely - distracted by Angelina's return and making himself stand up and pace around the cooking fire instead of sitting near the supply) and distributes it to anyone who wants some. That evening, he does the best he can at smoking the remainder of the meat and collecting it. It will last until it goes bad. Between the work done on the lean-to's, the supply of mangos and meat (and a few of the 'weapons' are distributed' if people decide to try to procure more) - there seems to be ample food and shelter.... for now. ^_~
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 7:34 pm
Survivor(Amaya meets up with Awen and sees her 50% change)Amaya Vaughan Amaya had wandered away from her camp for a little solitude and most importantly, a decent bath alone. She wandered far enough from her camp so no one would see her, but close enough to still know the way. After having checked all around to make sure no one was watching she drapped her undergarments on the river bank and waded into the middle of the river. It wasn't a hot spring or sauna or anything and was actually a little cold... but for some reason it felt really good on her scales.
She stood near the towards the center of the river, deep enough to come just under her armpits as she stood. There she began to rub down her body, getting off the dirt and that nasty burnt people smell that she knew still lingered there... she could taste it. Awen Zyn However Amaya wasn't as alone as she thought. The solitude she found was simply an illusion held by the water. Something by one of her scaled feet moved within the water and bumped against her leg as it raced passed, a dulled tone of blue and green could be seen from the surface. Whatever the figure was it had definately not been a fish. The shadow that moved under the water a little ways away now was far too big to be a river bearing fish.
The thing stopped now and broke the surface of the water. The figure now standing before Amaya was a soaking wet, still clothed, blue haired Awen. With just a few changes from when last they had met. She smelt a familiar scent from under the water when she bumped the scaley leg and grinned. "Amaya!" She was glad to see her friend alive and as far as Awen coudl tell, well!
It took a moment for Awen's eyes to adjust to the world of air and sunlight. She blinked slowly as her eyes adjusted. Blushing, something which brought the only colour to Awen's pale greying skin, Awen turned around. "Oh geez!" Amaya Vaughan "JESUS!" The iguana-girl screeched and almost started running towards the river bank until Awen's head... or at least it remotly looked like Awen's head, popped above the surface. For a minute she just stared dumbfounded... or at least until both of them realized she was nude. "YAH!"
Wrapping her arms around her front she turned her scaley back to her friend. "Uhhh... I'm... gonna go get my clothes. Yeah." Still wearing the same startled, embarassed expression she made her way to the bank and hastily put on her undergarments. "Okay, I'm good." Awen Zyn Awen slowly turned back and started for the river bank herself. Once her feet hit dry land it felt uneven to her now flipper-like feet. Still she didn't care as she wrapped her-not-nearly-as-naked friend into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in ages. I'm so glad you're okay."
Taking a step back she looked at Amaya. She had changed further since Awen had last seen her too. More scales..and her hands... She smiled still seeing her friend after so long. Awen had changed twice since they last saw eachother so she couldn't be surprised. Amaya Vaughan Amaya was pretty surprised by the hug, but returned it with a smile nonetheless. Well, Awen had changed... that was for sure. Though how many times was unknown. Once? Twice like her? She didn't know.
"Yeah, you too." Her smile broadened as she cleared a patch of ground free of leaves and twigs near where they were standing with one swipe of her large feet. She then sat down, putting her feet into the water and gesturing for Awen to sit next to her. After shifting around a little bit so her tail could curl beside her, she spoke up again. "I was afraid I wouldn't find anyone else besides those I'm camping with... I'm guessing you were dragged from your duplex too? How have you been getting by?" Awen Zyn Awen sat next to her old friend and sighed softly when she felt the cool water around her ankles again. She didn't feel very comfortable in the dry air as she used to. She rolled her shoulders slowly but still was happy to hear of others.
"Oh we've...er.... been getting by. A boar attacked out camp and..well... we made jerky out of it.... and Chubbs' made some kinda make-shift fishin' rod and was fishing. It won't last much longer though and we've only caught like one thing. I went out to find fruit..because Jamal and Antony had got fruit coconuts and stuff.... but I er...failed." She looked at the webbings on her fingers. "And that's when I saw the village and ...changed."
She shook her head and tried to changed the subject. "So you have a group too huh? Who all is in it?" She was kind of anxious to know if everyone was safe. Amaya Vaughan Awsome, Chubbs was safe! Amaya's grin broadened as she wiggled her long, clawed toes in the water. Her feet were still a lot bigger then Awen's it seemed. What was with people's feet getting bigger? "Well, I've been camping out with Ambrose and his girlfriend Angelina. Emelyn is with us too, along with Cassidy and Vasile... we caught some big swamp rat thing the other day for the others to eat. I can't eat meat anymore though, so I've been sticking to fruit." Though despite that, she did seem a little thinner from all the activity.
Though at mention of her changing she froze and slowly looked over her. "You... changed? Now? How? I mean..." She trailed off and stared at her in almost horror. "The labs... there totally abandoned... how can you change without them around? Oh god, have you seen the helipad?" Amaya didn't even realize how much she was rambling. Awen Zyn She noted all the names of the people that were safe in Amaya's group. She smiled knowing people are safe, but she didn't really know who they all are. So these people have found fruit too though, wow everyone was finding fruit except them appearently.
She scratched the back of her neck a little bit. "I don't know how I changed. Labs are shut down and all you're right. I just kind of..changed..." She shrunk in a little bit now knowing what else to say. Now that the initial flare of instincts and everything had settled it did worry her. As far as she knew no one else changed without an injection...so how had she?
Thankful for the change of subject, not knowing what it entailed she tilted her head ot the side. "No what's at the helipad?" Amaya Vaughan How bizarre... could they change without getting injections? Her body shuddered involuntarily, tail giving a swish in the dirt behind her. Though she shouldn't worry about that just yet, now was the time to inform Awen of everything they knew. Maybe she could get it around to other camps faster then they could?
"Well... when I woke up, that's where I was. The helicopter crashed and... it's pretty bad... there were two bodies inside. Too charred to tell who they were. The labs are locked down tight as you know... and no one is inside at all as far as we know." She would let Awen think up her own theories before stating her own. Awen Zyn She bit back a feeling of sickness in her stomach. Questions floated through her head. Who were the bodies... what where they doing, trying to escape? Was it...Moreau and that girl he was with at the party? Or maybe Sabin and someone? It wouldn't have been the big pilot or they would have been able to tell... She shook her head with a frown.
"Well... things keep getting better and better, don't they?" Amaya Vaughan The iguana-girl just snorted. "Oh yes. Better and better." She sighed and looked down into the water, bringing her toes just above the surface and curling them before putting them back under.
"So who have you been staying with?" Awen Zyn Awen sighed a little bit and scratched her arm a little bit. Noticing a lot of her skin had begun to feel a little itchy actually. The sheen that she had seen before was getting duller.
"Well it was me and Jamal, then we found Joliette. Jamal saw smoke by the beach so he went that way while me and Joli waited for Chubbs. Then Lauren jumped us later on, she was real desperate for attention...." She smiled a little bit happy with their group. "Um..Jamal stayed with the beach group..which is just him Antony and...some lady I hadn't seen before." Amaya Vaughan "Well, it's good to know all of them are going alright... though I can't say I know who Antony is." She admitted, leaning back and kicking her feet through the water gently. "But if you ever wanna camp out with me, feel free to." Amaya smiled, looking over at her. "We have a fire, lean-to's, food, hunting supplies, almost everything." Awen Zyn Awen was gonna comment on how it was a good thing she didn't know who Antony was but surpressed it. She simply nodded instead. "Well I'll talk to the others about it. I don't want them to worry.... We..haven't had much luck. We tried to make a shelter but it was destroyed by a boar, as well as the booze Chubbs got from the beach bar. Er...purely anesthetic purposes of course. We still have some of the jerky left but... I dunno how good it's gonna be. Lauren made a knife out of bone though, it's pretty neat. And the shards of glass we figure are good for cutting too... but it's really a mess." Amaya Vaughan Amaya wanted to offer to go back with her, teach them what her own little group had learned. But two things held her back, one was she might not find her way back to Ambrose's camp and two was that it seemed Lauren was there...
"Well, I could give you pointers and stuff so when you get back you can hopefully straighten it out... Do you know how to make a lean-to?" Awen Zyn She shook her head a little bit. "Well I think Chubbs knows. We just haven't gotten around to working it out. I think we can make it, and things haven't been..too rough." She swished her feet around in the water. "But...I might see about having us join your group. It's probably better if we all stick together right?"
She swallowed a little. "I'll even talk to the beach group. If...you people don't mind. I mean...some of us don't...get along." Not talking about Amaya's apprehentions about Lauren but mostly thinking of Antony. "But really we need to concentrate on surviving. And if we do it has a group it would be easier. More people to help with tasks and things...more people to add suggestions and such." Amaya Vaughan "Yeah, the more we stick together the easier it'll be to get through this." Amaya nodded in agreement with her, then laughed at the whole 'not getting along' thing. "I know what you mean. Angelina and Emelyn both had or have a thing for Ambrose. Something went down earlier but now they're all... y'know... Not very friendly." She didn't care to explain what had happened to cause it. It was a story for another time. Awen Zyn Awen nodded. "Yeah... I know how that is." She crossed her arms and brought her knees to her chest leaning agaisnt them. But that was a story for another time as well. "Then it's settled. I'll talk to my people and you'll talk to yours and see what we can work out, right?" Amaya Vaughan "You betcha." Amaya grinned her sharp teeth and gave a salute with two of her freakishly long fingers. Pulling her feet out of the water, she stood up. It was getting to be late afternoon and she needed to head somewhere to bask, the tree canopy having hindered her heat-absorbtion over the past couple of days.
"After I bask a little and go fruit searching I'll let 'em all know and if you guys ever wanna merge with us, feel free." She paused for a moment and laughed. "Oh my god, this sounds like Survivor." Awen Zyn Awen chuckled a little bit. "Complete with hidden cameras everywhere. Wonder if they still work...." Probably not if the power was out. Unless maybe they are held up somewhere in the main building. And are surveilling the islanders in their "natural" habitat. All new possibilities came to Awen's mind but this wasn't the time.
She stood stepping back into the river. The cool water feeling nice as it rejuvinated her dryingitchy skin. "Say Amaya can we meet here again..say in a day or so. We've gotta meet up somehow without knowing where each others campos are really eh?" Amaya Vaughan "I doubt the cameras are on... I mean, not even the electric fence around the labs was on. If anything had remained on, it would have probably been that." Amaya looked around as if to emphasize her point.
"And sure, no problem! Maybe we can even trade supplies and stuff or something if one of our camps is lacking something the other isn't." She grinned and watched her friend decend into the water. Green eyes looked around, eyeing a tree that had fallen into the water on the other side of the river bank. "Okay, we'll meet up here in a day or two... we can remember where exactly by that fallen tree." A long, clawed finger pointed over to it. Awen Zyn "Unless they don't want us to know they're in there." Awen mumbled then forgot that whole convrosation.
She glanced over at the tree and nodded. "Alright then. You know though... maybe this change was a good thing. I'm not really afraid at all anymore... a bit uncomfortable..but not truly afraid. And.. I mean traveling this was is so much faster." She nodded slowly. "And if things get really bad.... I might be able to swim away from the island, try to find people to help."
I'd be a monster freak fish thing but.... Awen shook her head. No. People would understand once she explained.
She smiled back at Amaya and waved before diving back into the water and going back towards her own camp. Amaya Vaughan Amaya nodded and waved as Awen left. "See ya in a couple days!" The girl actually didn't look that bad... and it seemed like her change had kind of been good for her. Smiling she turned towards camp, hoping to find a place to bask and maybe some fruit on the way.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:11 pm
Talk With AmbroseQuote: Ambrose was poking at the fire with a long stick, his head rested boredly on his hand when he heard Amaya's return to camp with her arms full of fruit. His eyebrows raised and he was to your feet. "Wow, Amaya - nice work! Do you need any help with those?" Quote: "No, I got it. Thanks though." Amaya smiled and walked over to where all the other fruit was stored for the time being and set what she had collected down gently. "By the way, I ran into Awen by the river... you know her? The girl with blue hair?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him. Quote: Ambrose's brows furrowed for a moment before the blue hair comment was made. "Ohyes! I remember her! She's okay? So there are more of us out there still alright? What did she say?" Ambrose immediately barraged Amaya with a slew of questions, his ears pricked. Quote: "Yeah, she was alright." After putting all the fruit down, she stood up again to face Ambrose. "She's actually been staying in a camp with Chubbs, Joilette, and Lauren I think. As far as I know they're doing alright, if not a little dissorganized... I guess were one of the few camps that sort of have everything as order. Or at least the best we can make it. I invited them to join up with us, I hope you don't mind. But I figured it would be better for all of us to stick together if we could." Quote: Ambrose listened carefully. "So Chubbs and Joli and Lauren are alright as well! That's wonderful news. I was really worried about them. Well..." He cleared his throat. "Lauren wasn't first on my mind-I know that's horrible - but.... hrmm... she's out here too... I thought she was in good with the staff. Maybe that is a point of argument for the theory that this isn't a scheme of theirs..." His tail moved back and forth a bit. "Glad to hear they're doing alright, though.... but I wonder how and where the others are - if they've seen anyone else. Like... Colche... or Julian or anyone else..." Quote: Amaya nodded, relating all too well with the whole Lauren thing. "Yeah, though I wouldn't put it past Moreau to make her suffer like all the rest of us. Just because she's willing doesn't mean that he's not turning her into an animal." Her scaled shoulders gave a shrug. "I think she mentioned Jamal too... and a woman named Antony, though I don't know her." Quote: "Truuue.... although last I saw her she seemed all but giddy about her own transformation." Ambrose looked consideringly. "Jamal too, that's ... good. I wonder if he's still upset at me.." He scratched the back of his head. "He was really... touchy last I saw him - about this whole transformation - he hadn't changed yet but had been here several months. I don't know an Antony either...." He sat back down by the fire. "It's ... scary how many of us there are here now." His ears lowered as he looked up to Amaya. "Thank you... this is important news. And That's fine if they would like to join with us - I think the more we've got the better we can maintain a relatively well-working campsite. And keep tabs on eachother." Quote: The iguana-girl nodded and took a seat next to Ambrose by the fire, enjoying the warmth it let off. "And... about transformations..." She trailed off and rubbed the back of her head with one of her large hands. "Awen... transformed again... without an injection." Green eyes locked with the wolf man's, preparing for the shock that would follow. Quote: And she wasn't disappointed. His eyes widened and his back straightened. "Wh... what??" He paused, and then shook his head. "But... that's not pos-" He cut himself off. what the hell was he talking about? None of this was 'possible' - nothing more should suprise him. But still. "So... even if they're gone... even without the injections... we will still change?!" He swallowed anxiously. "Well, I mean... they said our DNA was unstable without the injections... that we could get cancer... maybe... maybe changing more by ourselves... is another possibility??" Quote: Amaya hugged her scale-covered legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, unable to keep her eyes locked on her older brother. "Yeah... That could be a possibility..." Her voice was low and her eyes stayed hooked on the fire. When you thought about it and realized that even if you would rather die of cancer then change again... not even that was an option anymore. Quote: Ambrose's ears lowered as he watched her again and he scooted closer, venturing to put a furry arm around her shoulders. "Amaya..?" He asked quietly. "Are... you alright?" He could smell her anxiety in response to that suggesiton. "I mean... the way I see it... even becoming more of an animal is prefereable to a painful death..." Quote: The young girl leaned up against Ambrose, her eyelids drooping halfway and a frown on her features. "I'm fine... it's just... scary. Knowing that even if we might not have gotten cancer we could sort of live like we are now. But now we don't have a choice at all, even with Moreau gone." Quote: He looked down at her hands and put his free hand on her big one. "But... even changing... we're still us." Ambrose hesitated on the last part, remembering some very distinct feral urges since they had been 'exiled.' "I think... together... we can even help eachother out. Stay... more human where it counts." his voice lowered to a whisper. "As long as we're honest." Quote: Amaya looked down at his hand on her's, dwarfing it with her own. Taking a deep breath she nodded and tried to force a smile, looking up at him. "Yeah..." Quote: "You don't sound too convincing, 'sis'." He looked at her expression. "And I want you to know, that you don't repulse me. I still see the adorable young lady I always saw in you." Quote: She smiled, this time not having to force it. "That's good to know." Leaning closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his torso and burried her scaley face into his fur. "And I think the same of you." Quote: He smiled very sincerely, hugging her tightly - her scales cool and smooth - not slimy at all like many people who havent' actually touched a reptile think. "Thanks, Amaya." He gave her a comforting squeeze, not hesitating at all with touching her. Quote: The iguana-girl hugged Ambrose for a few more moments before finally letting go. She felt a little better, but was still scared about the overall thought of it all. So she chose to change the subject. "Have you run into anyone else?" Quote: Ambrose smiled, worried for his 'sister', wanting to look out for her and protect her from her apprehensions. But he noticed her change of subject, and knew that perhaps the best way would be to cater to the change of subject. "Unfortunately not since Greer. But... there's got to be more of us out there. Maybe... I should go scouting." Quote: Amaya nodded, having spotted Greer around the camp upon arriving back from the river. "Only if you can find your way back though... I don't normally venture very far because I'm scared of getting lost." Quote: Ambrose nodded. "One thing I have to thank the transformation for is my new sense of smell. It... it sounds strange, but I can follow my nose from a decent way back to the fire... or even follow my own scent back." He gave a small half-smile. Quote: "Well that's good then I suppose." She smiled, trying to make light of the conversation. "I guess if I have to thank anything for it... I can climb better now." Though it wasn't much, she thought she might as well try and make whatever postive of all of this she could. Quote: He nodded. "it's not exactly something I ever sat back wishing I could do... and it's still a... strange reminder any time I have to use it.... It's really... odd to think on what's happening to us to say the least." Quote: Amaya nodded in agreement. "Though I'm used to being cold-blooded and stuff, I can still remember what it was like to be warm-blooded. I think that's one of the things I miss the most. Even more then being able to eat meat." Quote: He nodded. "I can only imagine what that might be like. It's still strange for me to run my hand down my arm... anywhere... and feel fur instead of smooth skin. Or... even to look in a mirror. It is frightening - in all honesty. But it helps knowing I have friends and those who love me here... helping me through this and at least don't see me like.... a freak..." Quote: The young girl nodded, able to sort of relate even though she didn't have nearly as many scales as Ambrose did fur. She wanted to ask what he thought about certain things... like what he thought would happen to them all and what they would do for the rest of their lives on a tiny island... but those topics were much too depressing. So she remained silent, not sure of what else to say. Quote: Eventually, Ambrose just closed his mouth. He let his mind wander to depressing subjects like this far too often for their mental health. "I"m sorry. I'm sure I'm not helping things at all, kiddo." Quote: Amaya laughed and looked up at him. "It's okay, I don't mind. It's not like we can help ourselves but dwell on these subjects... not much else to do." Quote: Ambrose gave her a lop-sided smile. "This is true... unfortunately no books, no TV, no fencing... my mind tends to wander to our predicament. We need some more distractions...." Quote: "Yeah..." She trailed off, then looked in the direction the labs were in. "Even though I hate his guts... Moreau is the only thing providing us with entertainment and living expenses." Quote: He nodded. "Maybe this is all one sick exposition of how much we depend on him." Quote: The iguana-girl frowned at the thought, though definatly wouldn't put it passed him. "That could well be it. That and maybe he's trying to force us to give into whatever animal instincts we might have already developed." Quote: He frowned. "I also wouldn't put that past him. But... It's not going to work." He said adamantly. Quote: Amaya nodded firmly, even though she didn't really know what 'instincts' she herself had. Aside from basking she really couldn't think of any... and she had given in to basking so she would end up a tired lump. After a moment she released a sigh and stood up, scratching the back of her head with her claws gently. "Well... I think I should go take a nap. I didn't sleep very well last night." Quote: Ambrose patted her on the shoulder and nodded. "I understand. You rest well, let me know if we need to get you any more moss to make your shelter more comfortable. Maybe sometime soon I'll go scouting to see if I can find out if anyone else is alright." Quote: "Alright, I'll see ya Ambrose." She smiled and waved before walking to the leanto she now shared with Emelyn for a nice little nap. Quote: Ambrose smiled and waved to her and stoked the fire a bit more, looking down at his furry paw-hands and thinking about what she had said.
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 8:24 pm
Bug Hunting(Amaya spends a little time with Greer)Quote: Greer was officially a fan of fires. Having gone out to hunt in the early light she'd returned to the camp Ambrose had invited her to join in the hopes of cooking her food. Now she sat by the fire, roasting two skinned rabbits. Mmm. It smelled heavenly, even if the hawk was grumbling about wasting time ruining the food. She couldn't care less what the bird of prey thought - meat was only really palitable when cooked and unsquishified. Quote: After Amaya had talked a little with Ambrose, she had taken a nap despite the time of day. The past few nights haden't been kind to her. Giving a small "hnnn" sound the lizard-girl stirred. It was kind of cold out... was it early morning or early night? She couldn't tell and slowly sat up, looking out of her leanto to try and make out what was going on. Quote: "Owwie!" Greer hissed at her food, burning her tongue and fingers on the sizzling flesh as she gulped it down. Eating meat off the bone was difficult with have a beak and half a face, but when you were hungry enough you managed it. The hawk's attention was drawn by movement behind her, but the entomologist was too hungry to respond. The camp was safe - Ambrose had said so. Quote: After slowly sitting up she tried to adjust her eyes to the dim light outside. "Hnn... Greer?" She asked, remembering the woman's voice and the fact that Ambrose had said she had come back to camp with him. Though she remained in her leanto, the back of one of her large hands rubbing at her eyes. Quote: At that her head turned. "Amama!" she said, her mouth too full of meat to speak right. Hastily swallowing her current mouthful, she tried again. "Amaya, good morning. Hungry?" Quote: "No... I'm good." Amaya blinked a few times before crawling out of her leanto and over to Greer. Letting out a loud yawn she sat next to her, grateful for the warmth of the fire. Her scales reflected the light, this probably being the first time Greer saw her from head to toe after her transformations since she wore so little. Quote: Finishing her skeletalization of the first rabbit, Greer smiled at her 'daughter'. It was good to see the girl again, even if she had far more scales on her then the entomologist remembered. Had she changed again? Greer opened her mouth to ask this, but thought better of it before the words came out. It was too early to speak of such things. "How are you holding up hun?" Quote: "Pretty good, you?" She tucked her scale-covered legs to her chest slowly and hugged them. It was still cold out in the morning, so her words were slow as were her movements. Quote: "Enjoying the fire." She lifted an arm, holding it out. "Want to steal some of my body heat?" Quote: "Don't mind if I do." Amaya laughed and scooted closer, grateful for the offer. Quote: Greer ruffled the girl's hair. "Ambrose told me you've been helping him with the hunting - catch anything interesting?" Quote: "Not really, he's the one that did all the work." The iguana-girl said, not bothering to smooth down the mess that was her hair. Quote: "Well, he is the big scary wolfman, so you have to give him something to do." Greer said, chaffing one of Amaya's arms to get some heat in it. Quote: She gave a small laugh and wiggled her long toes around the fire. "Yeah, guess your right." She chose not to mention what had happened between them at the river. Ambrose probably wanted to keep that little 'wolf instinct' to himself. Quote: Reaching forward, she pulled the stick with the second rabbit skewered on it out of the fire. Squee, cooked food! "Sure you don't want any? I sacraficed some of my knee cartelidge for this bunny." Quote: Amaya smirked, but shook her head. "Meat isn't exactly appetizing to my pallet anymore, if you know what I mean." She missed eating meat, but at times like these were it was actually something you had to make sure you cooked yourself she was sort of glad she could stick to fruit. Quote: Greer frowned for a moment, before smacking herself in the forehead. "Right, because iguanas don't really eat it. Yeah, okay. There are days you can really tell I went to college." Quote: The lizard-girl laughed a little again, but other then that remained silent for a few moments. Green eyes stared into the fire, having always found it almost mezmerizing. "So when you were out there, did you come across anyone else?" Quote: Sliding the meat off its cooking stick, Greer began to nibble as she responded. "Nope. Twas just me, the hawk, the prey, and the wilderness. Very boring." Quote: "Ah." She said with a frown, shifting a little in her seat so her tail could swish behind her and find another comfortable position again. "Everyone I've come across hasen't seen Hargun... I'm worried about her." Quote: She nodded. It was toughing being on your own. "Yeah, no one's seen Sean either... but I'm sure they'll turn up!" She said the last quickly, as if using to sweep away her doubt of the same. Quote: "Sean?" Amaya asked, looking up a Greer. She had no idea she was refering to Mister Dude, having never found out his real name. Quote: "The Dude. Being his girlfriend meant I got to use his real name." she explained, forcing a smile. The worry in the pit of her stomach always got worse when she talked about him... especially after her talk with Ambrose. Quote: "Ohhhh." Amaya nodded, resting her chin on her knees. "I haven't seen him since Halloween... though your right, we'll run into each other eventually. This island isn't THAT big." She tried to sound reassuring for both their sakes. Quote: "Big enough. I'm still suprised how long it topok me to bump into Ambrose." Greer chuckled, making light of it. "Are the others also in camps and such?" Quote: She nodded, glancing up at Greer then back at the fire. "I bumped into Awen and she said that her, Chubbs, Joliette, and Lauren were all in the same camp. Jamal and some lady named Antony were together too." Quote: She cocked her head, expecting a longer list. "What about the rest of us?" Quote: "... I really dunno. That's all I've managed to run into. Besides all of us right here." The iguana-girl frowned. Quote: Crap. Good job on the non-worry there. "They're either off on their own or in other small groups - we're all fairly capable and/or social people, so I'm sure we'll make it. I just wish I knew what this was all about." Quote: Amaya nodded in agreement, knowing that Hargun could survive off bugs... so there wasn't really any need to worry about her. And those who couldn't hunt could always eat fruit and find the river eventually. "Yeah, me too... I'm guessing Ambrose told you about the helicopter crash, right?" She asked, green eyes looking up at Greer again. Quote: She nodded, looking away. "Yeah. Those poor people." Sean wasn't one of them, damn it. Quote: "Yeah..." She frowned and stared back at the fire. Slowly she stood up silently and walked over to where most of the fruit was being kept. Picking up a few in her long fingers she headed back to the fire and plopped down. Despite it's heat, she could tell she was still a little drowsy. Quote: Smoothing down Amaya's hair, Greer smiled a little. "I swear, the world made more sense when all you had to worry about was a needle full of animal serum. This place never gets anywhere normal, does it?" Quote: "Doesn't seem like it." Amaya smiled a little and took a bite out of a mango, chewing it with her mouth closed. After swallowing she licked the juice that happened to trail out of her mouth with her large, pink tongue more out of reflex then anything. She always tried to hide it. Quote: The woman chuckled, casting the mango a loving glance. "Ah, fruit. How I miss thee." Quote: The lizard-girl just smirked, unable to reply after taking another bit out of the mango. Quote: The entomologist sighed happily, just glad to have her friends around again. She'd survived on her own, but there was a big difference between survivng and actually living. "Do you still have those comic books with you?" Quote: "Not on me, no. I was asleep when I was dragged out of my duplex." She said after eating, tongue flicking out momentarily. "Didn't even have any clothes on." She frowned, clearly not liking having to walk around in her undergarments. Quote: "Aww, sweetie!" Greer hugged her, knowing how bad that must be for Amaya. "Well, I only have the one shirt on me, but I'm happy to share it if you like. I only asked about the comics because I pine fore the written word." Quote: "No, that's okay... I can survive in just my undies." Amaya laughed a little, realizing how weird the conversation topic was. "I've been wanting to read too... read or TV or listen to music or anything to keep me occupied." Quote: The entomologist reached behind herself and pulled out her bug net. "We could always go insect hunting." Quote: Amaya blinked and looked at the net, then at Greer with a smile. "I guess I could. Though I probably don't really need a net for it, do I? They're everywhere." Quote: "This is true, but I'm a traditionalist." She winked at her friend, twirling the net idly. "Besides, some of them move pretty fast." Quote: "Guess your right." The lizard-girl said, watching her with interest while nibbling on her fruit. Quote: Greer grinned, standing and brushing off her pants. "Come on - there's some huge cicaidas that look like bad special effects in a 50's sci fi movie you have to see. As well as some actually pretty bugs." Quote: "Okay!" Amaya said enthusiastically and finished off her fruit before standing up. Quote: She smiled, leading her companion off into the jungle. Insects would be an excellent way to distract both of them from the depressing thought that their dear friends could be dead. Being sad and worried all the time was no way to make sure you survived and ordeal. Quote: The iguana-girl followed happily, glad that she had something to occupy her mind.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:58 pm
Sympathy(Amaya & Greer find one of Moreau's failed experiments)Island of Moreau AMAYA & GREER: ((For whenever Amaya and Greer go out Bug-Hunting)) When you're out in the jungle, away from the camps of people, there are indeed many varied kinds of insects - some of them quite large and menacing if it weren't for Greer's knowledge that most of them could care less about people let alone do them any real harm. However, through your explorations, you hear a weak rustling sound in the bushes. Greer's instincts would p***k - suggest perhaps an easy prey. But when the bushes are pulled aside, the sad creature doesn't succeed much in its running. It looks like a mangled cross between a white labrat and a pigeon. But... oh so wrong. The beak is coming out of the rat's mouth, giving it a sort of double-mouth look. The wings are not adaptations of the forearms of the creature, but strange, half-formed and twisted, growing out of the elbow in the case of the one on the left, and jutting from the back in the case of the right. Its tail looks broken, a few errant feathers sprouting from it. All of its fur has fallen out, and a few pinfeathers have begun to sprout along its naked flesh - painfully by the look of the swollen pores at their base. At many places along its skin where the feathers aren't emerging are painful-looking boils and sores. The worst part, the creature is very much alive. It hobbles awkwardly, but does not appear to be in an awkward midpoint of a transformation, but physically stable. Occasionally, a leaf will catch at a partially-grown feather and it will emit a shrill, pained noise. Quote: Amaya was having a blast with Greer as they walked through the forest. She probably wouldn't remember most of the names Greer was giving the bugs, but whatever she said was dangerous she would definatly remember the apperance of. A little slow on her feet, she walked a few paces behind the woman clumsily due to her large appendages. The weather was colder then usual too, which made her a little weaker and slower as well... though when someone else saw her they probably just thought she was a little tired. It didn't look like anything to be concerned over, not even Amaya was worrying about her slower pace even though she knew what was causing it. Quote: The entomologist was in high spirits, walking at a reasonable pace only because if she went any faster she'd miss all the interesting insects. It was times like this, with a friend in tow and bugs everywhere, that Greer really enjoyed the island. It was a pity every moment couldn't be this fun. Sharp eyes catching the tiniest of movements, she stopped short at a tree and waved the younger girl over. "Look Amaya! A leaf insect." She pointed at what appeared to be a big, think, extremely green leaf. Had it not been for the legs, eyes, and antennae, it most certainly would have been vegetation. Quote: Head perking up, she jogged up next to Greer and looked at where she was pointing. It took her a few moments before she actually noticed it was a bug instead of a leaf. "Wooooah, I could barely see it." She resisted the urge to poke it and see if it would move. She didn't have any bugs like this back in Pennsylvania! "Does it eat leaves too?" She asked, genuinly interested. Quote: "That it does. This way, when a predator gets hungry, it thinks that the insect is just some more of the bug's food, and bird don't eat leaves. Such camouflage is called mimicry." Greer explained, always happy to lecture about her subject. If she did it enough, the world would hopefully agknowledge that bugs were cool. A faint noise caught her attention, and the woman found herself turning her head slowly, trying to locate the source. She'd never done that before the feathers. Quote: "Ohhhh..." Amaya said in understanding, green eyes still watching the bug until the woman's head turned slowly. Catching the movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Greer and fell silent. Her smile faded and slowly her eyes trailed to where the bird woman was looking at. She stood stock still, asking in a small whisper. "What is it...?" Her senses were nowhere near as developed as the others after they're second change. Amaya's large, pink tongue flickered out of her mouth to try and maybe taste whatever Greer had heard or something... but nothing caught on. Just Greer's and her own feelings which still gave her a creepy feeling in her spine. It was like being able to read someone's mind. Quote: She clacked her teeth together in annoyance, waiting for the sound to come again so she could be sure of where it was. She smelled something that made the hawk interested, but it always got excited about silly things... Quote: The iguana girl shifted her feet and glanced back at Greer. She was still unsure what had gotten the woman's attention. Was it a predator or wild animal coming after them? The faint rustling came again, this time loud enough for Amaya to notice it. Her head snapped to stare at where it was coming from and she hesitantly took a step back. Quote: "It's not dangerous." Greer said automatically, noting Amaya's move without turning her nead. "I'd know if it were. Too small." And too warm, were the words she didn't say. Not a snake or other reptile. Mammal. Smaller than a rabbit. Slower. But a mammal. Food, the hawk thought. She stepped forward in a slow, smooth motion, shifting her weight quickly to free one foot for slashing. Reaching forward with a hand she grasped the bushes, yanking them aside and intending to slap her talons down on the hapless creature in one fell swoop- Instead, she froze mid-attack, frozen in horror. "Oh my god." Quote: "Good." Amaya said, though made no approach and let Greer handle it. That is, until she froze. Blinking, the young girl's curiosity got the better of her and she walked up behind the woman and looked down at the... thing before her. Her eyes went wide and she froze just like Greer had. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Quote: It was a creature all right, but it defied any other type of description. It looked like it was in mid transformation like the rest of them, but its change had gone horribly awry. Part rat, part bird, Greer guessed it had begun life as a regular albino rodent, but it was hard to be sure. The appendages had not gone correctly. The feathers had not grown like they should. The small ball of misfortune was clearly regretting it's stay on this earth, mangled, pained, and barely able to move. The entomologist couldn't think of a thing to say- the only thing that was clear in her mind at that moment was that her appetite had fled. Quote: "... Oh god." Came the strangled, shakey babble from her throat as Amaya's large hand rose to her mouth. She continued to stare at the horrible mix between bird and rodent. It... it... Not even her brain could make any proper sentences to describe what she was feeling. As the pathetic creature hobbled foreward, a leaf got stuck on one of the painfully potruding feathers. The rodent-bird shrilled in pain, causing Amaya to give a startled scream. Quote: At Amaya's scream Greer reached out to her, automatically offering comfort. And seeking it. "An early experiment." she said flatly, knowing a lab animal when she saw the remnants of one. They were part of the reason she went into entomology - she might kill insects, but she didn't torture them. Quote: Taking a step back, she half-hid behind Greer and stay almost pressed up against her with her arm. She was shaking slightly and tears brimmed in her eyes. All she could do was nod to her, though eyes remained on the mangled animal. "We..." She paused, her voice cracking. "We gotta help it... somehow... we can't let it suffer." Her voice choked out, green eyes going up to Greer. Quote: The hawk woman smiled, giving the girl a hug. She too wanted to scream and run, but sometimes you had to be stoic for other people. Handing the controls over to her science brain, she looked at the creature with a detached air. Huh. Poorly designed. "Do you want me to kill it?" Quote: Large eyes went from Greer back to the helpless creature. She didn't reply for almost a few minutes before finally giving a tiny nod. The least they could do was put it out of it's misery. Quote: "Okay, sweetie. I promise it'll be quick." She was suddenly glad she'd hunted before - otherwise she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to do this. Stepping over to the half-thing, she placed a foot over the back of it's neck, elliciting the same horrible sound it had made before in reaction to the leaf. Poor thing. It struggled for a moment- and then Greer shifted her weight and it's neck snapped. Moving her talons, she reached down and picked the mutated mess up for a closer examination. Quote: Amaya twitched upon hearing the snap, but thankfully she had hunted before too... though she had never had to kill something out of sheer pity. Biting one of her long fingers out of nervousness, she approached behind Greer and looked at the thing as well but for now said nothing. Instead a long finger reached up and pet the rodent on the head, a sort of 'sorry' gesture. Quote: The woman looked the creature over critically, frowning from confusion. It had barely been able to move in the thick jungle under brush, and presumably had begun it's weak journey in Dr. Moreau's labs. So how the hell had it gotten all the way out here alive? I mean, it admittedly wasn't appetizing, but surely there was some creature that would be happy to pick off such an easy meal between there and here... Noting Amaya's sympathy for the unfortunate creature, Greer snapped back into her more empathetic mode of behavior. "What would you like to do with the corpse?" Quote: "Can we bury it?" The lizard girl asked, though couldn't look at Greer. Her mouth twisted up and a strangled sob came from her mouth. If there was one thing that made her cry more then anything, it was watching some helpless thing suffer. And the poor rodent had to be the definaition of exactly that. Another sob escaped her mouth and tears started to spill down her scaley cheeks. Quote: What she wanted to do was show it to the others and ask what they thought... but the entomologist took one look at the girl beside her and revised her opinion. They could figure out what this beastie meant even if it was stowed safely in the ground. "Why don't you find a nice place for him to be buried?" she said gently. Quote: Amaya sniffled and nodded, rubbing away some of the tears on her face with her large knuckles before stepping away and looking around for a clear spot on the ground. The thought of showing the others didn't even occure to her. The only thing she could think of was how pathetic and in pain the rodent bird had been. It deserved a final resting place in the least. Quote: Taking the moment to look the pigeon-rat over again for any clues, Greer flipped the creature over carefully, watching the limbs flop akwardly. It had to have been carried. Quote: Eventually she found a spot about 10 feet away from Greer. The ground was soft enough to dig into, covered in moss. Kneeling down on her knees, she stabbed one of her hands into the ground and shoved her fingers in as deep as she could before pulling back. It was amazing how easy digging was when your fingers were like spears and your palms were like shovels. Pulling what she could back off the top, she set the dirt aside and dug a little more deeper and at the sides. It didn't take long for it to get a decent size for the small animal. Another sniff and a wipe on her shoulder, Amaya called back to Greer. "Done." Quote: She trotted over to her friend, carefully laying the body in the hole with it's limbs solemnly folded. "Be at peace, little one." she said under her breath. Quote: Amaya couldn't bring herself to say anything to it and gently began pushing the dirt over it. She knew that some other animal might dig it up as an easy meal... but at least it would have had some moment of peace. Once all the loose dirt was back in place, she put the moss on top and pressed it down to try and make it look as undisturbed as possible. Quote: Greer smiled at the girl's kind efforts for the abused creature. "You okay?" she asked, smoothing Amaya's hair gently. Quote: Amaya nodded, sniffing her scaley nose and wipping her eyes with the back of her wrist. Her palms and under her long claws were filled with dirt. "I'll be okay..." Quote: She nodded, not believing her companion. "Why don't I we go back to camp? Maybe grab a bite to eat?" Quote: "Okay..." The iguana girl sniffed again and stood up. She was a little disoriented which was was camp, so she waited for Greer to lead. Quote: Taking the girl's hand in hers, the hawk woman lead the way back to the safety of their current home. She wanted to talk, to speculate on the nature of the thing they'd just buried and how it got there, but she knew Amaya wasn't the right audience.
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:11 pm
A Trade(Amaya bumps into Jamal and trades her spear for some fruit)Amaya Vaughan After the whole episode of finding that... creature with Greer, Amaya just had to go out. Take a walk after having a nap. She had never ventured this far away from camp, even wading across the river. Though she made sure she had taken one of the spears and a knife just in case she ran across something and managed to kill it even though she herself didn't eat meat.
Using the spear as sort of a walking stick, the knife handle was placed between her scaley flesh and the pair of black panties she wore. Wether she liked it or not, she was starting to get used to being so... exposed. It wasn't like she could help it or anything. Sighing, she continued to wander about rather loudly. Right now she wasn't thinking of keeping quiet, her large appendenges never really aiding in that anyway. Jamal_Reedy In the canopy of the jungle, Jamal rested on a branch of a tree, taking a moment to catch his breath after shucking some breadfruit from it to take back to the beach camp. He'd discovered them whilst he was out on a walk of his own, enjoying the security of the pressing foliage, and had noticed the heavy 'fruit' dangling down. They smelt edible...and perhaps they'd be decent for Antony to eat; he himself didn't particularly think them to be that tasty after biting a hunk from one, but he knew he probably needed to eat some fruit to keep a decent diet until his system was completely meat dependant. The breadfruit were more or less piled underneath the tree and there were quite a few there. The black man was still rather irritable, but not as much so thanks to Antony and her convincing. It was up in the air though as to how he'd handle interaction with anyone else...unforunately, it seemed that he would be finding out shortly. His ears pricked slightly as he heard something approaching and he immediately peered down from his perch, a switch inside him going to hunter mode. Perhaps it was something he could take down with his new claws...surely more meat wouldn't hurt! The view he had wasn't a good one though; he was relying most on his hearing and smell because branches obscured the ground for the most part. Amaya Vaughan It also didn't help that Amaya's green scales blended surprisingly well with the foliage. Even so, it didn't take long for her to come into view around 10 feet away. She didn't seem to notice him, having never really looked up at the trees unless she was sight seeing. Her face and clothing were dirty, though she would look a lot worse if she haden't crossed the river earlier.
With a sigh she pulled some weeds that had tangled around her long toes, using the spear to lean onto as she reached down. Her tail twitched as she stood up. Maybe it was time for her to take a break. Now her eyes went to the trees around her. Maybe she could find some fruit... Jamal_Reedy Jamal's face flickered with an expression of distain once he realized that it wasn't food that was approaching, but it was an islander...a...faintly recognizable islander. He huffed in annoyance and shifted position on his branch so he was gripping it more securely as he watched her tinker with her feet. Ugh...Lizard toes. He certainly couldn't remember her name, having met her only briefly and never long enough to really get a good impression of her. His gaze flickered down at the stockpile of fruit he'd managed to get down to the leafy earth, most of which hadn't exploded on contact. Hopefully she wouldn't see it and come to investigate or try to take some for herself...he really didn't want to have to lay the smackdown simply because he wasn't into exposing his new look to anyone quite yet. For now he'd sit there as silent as he could manage and keep tabs on her. Maybe follow her and get led to the other camp so maybe he could snitch stuff from them if they had stuff that he and Antony didn't have. Amaya Vaughan Unfortunatly for Jamal, the fruit on the large leaf caught her eye. Thinking it rather strange that a pile had been set up, she walked closer, eyes looking around and ears listening for maybe a camp nearby. She didn't hear anything, but her eyes certainly caught sight of something when she was a few feet away.
Green eyes blinked up at Jamal, recognizing him despite his change. "Jamal?" She asked, though stayed where she was. Only having met the man once or twice, she wasn't sure if he had seen her change last or not... she had certainly not seen him changed. Though despite this, she looked at him no differently then before... a little intimidated just by his size and demeanor. Jamal_Reedy Sonnovabitch. He was -really- going to have to learn the art of stealthy movement at some point because he was LOUSY at it right now. He glared down at the girl from his perch, claws sunk firmly into the flesh of the tree branch he was teetering on, and flashed her a sarcastic smile that exposed his canines. "Glad ta know people still rememba' my name," he retorted in a slightly icy tone before he clumsily dropped down from the branch; it wasn't that high from the ground but he still manage to nearly fall on his butt once he made contact. "I was startin' ta wonda' who else was still alive. You look like yer doin' a'ight." He eyed the spear with a sly glint to his eye; he wondered if it was worth trying to take it from her or not. Amaya Vaughan The iguana-girl twitched, frightened by the cold look in his eyes. Still, she wouldn't leave unless she knew he was doing alright... despite barely knowing him.
"Yeah, I've been doing good. I'm in a camp with Ambrose, Emelyn, Vasile, Angelina, and Cassidy..." Amaya trailed off, looking to the side as she recalled whom was staying with them. "Oh, and Greer." She had no idea any of them had gotten under Jamal's skin. "I meet up with Awen a few days ago, she mentioned you were at the beach with someone named Antony..." Green eyes looked around again, seemingly nervously avoiding his eyes with the excuse of wondering where the beach was. "How are you guys doing?"
Man, she was babbling and didn't even realize it. Jamal_Reedy Jamal's forced smile abruptly turned into a scowl and his eyes narrowed again at the mention of two of his least favorite people, being Ambrose and Greer. A low growl escaped before he could check himself and that familiar twinge of anger sparked whenever he heard the name Ambrose. Why couldn't that ******** b*****d just die already... "Dat'd prolly explain why I ain't seen hardly anyone since I got to da beach...you guys all holed up in da same damn place. Not dat I really care any but nice ta know dat we ain't all gettin' killed off 'cause of the Doc's little plan." He didn't have an emotional attachment to any of those people except for Awen, but he knew that she was doing alright, or was rather, before he attacked her. "Antony 'n' I doin' jus' fine. We got meat, fruit, 'n' wata...some tools too." Jamal didn't bother to keep the bragging tone out of his voice. "It's a ********' paradise at our camp." He tapped the tips of his claws together as he spoke, mostly an idle habit than trying to intimidate her. Amaya Vaughan Amaya couldn't help but cower a little at the growl. Something in the back of her mind told her to run away and fast. Her tail gave a few nervous twitches behind her, but she stayed where she was and fiddled with the spear handle with her long claws.
"Well, that's good." She managed to say, trying to avoid his eyes still. "Though if you ever need anything you only havta ask. We'll all be better off if we can help eachother, y'know?" Was it her imagination or did she sound a lot like Ambrose? Or... was it the other way around? Oh who knew anymore.
"So you don't need any weapons? I could always give you this-" Amaya moved the spear closer, though kept her hand on it like a walking stick unless he decided to take it. "-if you need it. Our camp is by the helicopter crash, so we have access to a lot of the scrap metal." If knew about the crash or not, she didn't know but she had known for so long the fact that others might not just didn't cross her mind. Jamal_Reedy "We don't need anythin', but yeah, maybe I might jus' make a little...appearance..." He wasn't actually thinking about going to the camp to get anything. More like to scope out the place and see if he could learn anything about the situtation at hand with the lockout. The man's nose wrinkled at the altruistic "help each other" attitude of the girl but he didn't comment on it. At the mention of the spear, he lifted a brow. Another weapon wouldn't hurt...and it'd be one less thing to make. He moved to take it from her hand since she apparently was willingly giving it up. Jamal wasn't going to pass up freebies. The helicopter crash was news to him, though...he didn't remember anyone telling him about it...though at the time he might have been told, he was higher than a kite. "Who crashed?" he inquired with a sudden interest, his icy blue eyes gaining a manic gleam. If it was Moreau, that was the most he could hope for...since obviously Ambrose was still alive and kicking from Amaya's report. Amaya Vaughan The lizard-girl dropped her hand so Jamal could take the spear, not wanting her huge limb to really come in contact with anyone who would probably recoil in disgust.
Though finally, she met his gaze again. "I really dunno. I woke up next to it and there were two bodies inside... too charred to really make out who they were. Even they're clothes were gone." She frowned, not liking to recall the moment. "Though we've come up with a few theories... it could have been an escape attempt. Or possibly the man who brought us here crashed with a new person." She paused for a moment, before adding and looking back up at him. "We checked the labs too. Everything is off and locked down, doesn't even look like the staff are inside." Jamal_Reedy Jamal tried to ignore the girl's deformed hand as best he could, deciding that he ought to not throw stones when he obviously was in no better position than her. The spear was set against the crook of his arm and he lazily wrapped his thickened digits around the shaft to test the strength of it. His gaze lost most of the glare, gaining an indifferent sort of look that matched his facial expression. So the far the girl was doing good at not ticking him off, so he was losing interest in trying to scare her or whatnot. As long as she was smart, she'd be fine. "I think I'll pretend it was da ********' b*****d Moreau 'til we know fo' sho," he finally remarked with a huff, whiskers flicking with the motion of his mouth. "Somethin' gotta be up if we all scattered all ova' 'n' da place locked down tighta' than a county jail...and it betta be good 'cause I'm gettin' real tired of this livin' in da wild bullshit." It was seriously cramping his style. Amaya Vaughan Amaya nodded, though she had her doubts that it was Moreau. "Though if it was Moreau, how did we end up strewn all over the place? From what I've heard, the helicopter crashed before we got moved... maybe more of the staff?" Green eyes looked up at him like a child seeking answers. He was an adult, right? So he was supposed to know stuff she didn't... right? Jamal_Reedy Jamal blinked slowly, looking pensive for a moment. She did have a point. "Well, I'm sure he had otha people who work on dis wit' him...maybe they wanted ta keep da project goin' or somethin'. Take the 'glory' fo' themselves. Dat ain't impossible." Jamal knew enough gloryhogs from his life in the hood to know that people would do whatever necessary if it meant that they might get some fame out of it. In truth, he had as little idea to what had happened as most of the other islanders, but he didn't want to admit it. He stooped over to pick up one of the fallen breadfruit, examining it with pursed lips and a skeptical air. These things were weird. Amaya Vaughan "Yeah, I guess that's possible..." Amaya said nodding slowly. She then fell silent, watching him pick up the fruit and her stomach reflexivly growled in protest. Had she eaten today...? Looking down a little embaressed, she then looked back at Jamal. "Well... I guess I better go. Still need to backtrack my way to camp. It's that way, across the river." A long, clawed finger pointed from where she had come from. "If you ever wanna come by or need anything." Jamal_Reedy Jamal's sensitive ears heard the growl and he almost smirked, but manage to keep a straight face. "A'ight..." he said in acknowledgement of directions to the camp, filing it away in case he needed to drop in for some reason or another. "Fair enough." Jamal didn't extend the invitation for her to come to his camp, nor did he give directions; he didn't want moochers coming to ask for meat or whatever. He did, however, in a gesture of rarely witnessed goodwill, picked up two more of the large, oblong shaped fruit and offered them to her. Maybe it was because she was a kid or maybe because she hadn't commented on his appearance...in either case, he didn't have a problem with her. "Consider it a trade fo' da spear. Dat 'n I prolly got too many ta carry anyway," he grunted, giving his whiskers another twitch. "They 'sposed ta be good...Anjali said they were 'n' I figger dat if anyone gonna know dat, she gonna. Bein' a gardener 'n' all dat..." Amaya Vaughan She blinked, having not expected the handout but took the fruit anyway with a smile. "Thanks a lot... and it's nice to hear Anjali is safe too." After securing the fruit in one of her hands (it was surprisingly more difficult with normal sized appendages), she turned to leave with a tiny wave and another smile. "Bye Jamal, it was nice bumping into you."
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:22 pm
Meeting KimKim Nguyet The last few days... week... whichever... had almost literally been a blur on Kim. The pain eventually subsided... but was never to be forgotten, and whenever night felt, the same thing happened - she became almost totally useless... for a reason she didn't understand.
It had to be linked with her transformation, but... what the hell was she becoming ?
That thought would never leave her head. She frowned a bit to herself from her sitting at the base of a tree, calmly chewing on a mango and watching the leaves fly in the wind, and trying to forget about her long "small" fingers.
It was a little distressing that she had seen no one since Jamal... Something inside her found this worse that it had been a few days before. She was sick of being alone... Amaya Vaughan Amaya had been finding herself wandering away from the safety of her camp farther and farther each day, though it still hadn't occured to her that maybe, maybe the solitary iguana instincts were kicking in. She had been around all the others for so long, it was begining to feel rather cramped... though of course, she used the excuse of 'going out to find others' to justify her human half for what she was doing.
Sighing, she tromped rather loudly through the jungle. Her knife was tucked in the waist of her black panties, the only protection she had now that she had given Jamal her spear. Kim Nguyet And then, there had been a sound.
She perked for a moment, sightly on her guard. Maybe it had been an animal... ? Hopefully not like the one she had seen before...
The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
She shook her head as if it could make her forget, finished her mango, and perked up.
"...Hello ?..." Maybe, just maybe... Amaya Vaughan Amaya had been walking in a daze before the voice snapped her out of it. She stopped, her loud rustling due to her large feet haulting as well. Did she just hear something or... was someone actually out here?
Green eyes looked around, but were unable to spot where it came from. Well, it wouldn't hurt to try... "Hello?" Kim Nguyet ....So there WAS someone. Thank god. That was eons better than something out to eat her prowling around.
She started heading out torward Amaya then, unknowingly, trying to spot her, even if part of her juat wanted to dissapair and hide, never to be seen like... this.
But it was stupid. Hargun hadn't hid. Awen hadn't hid. Geer hadn't hid. Why the hell would she ? They where all in the same proverbial boat.
Yet, her mind still debated this, but she forced it away for a moment. Hopefully, this would be more... pleasant... than her last encounter with an human being had been. Amaya Vaughan Turning her head to look in the direction where the shuffling was coming from, Amaya waited in the spot where she was. Whoever was out there was coming to her, no need to move. Though if she could remember... the voice did not seem familiar at all.
Eventually Kim came out of the brush to face her rather... scale covered back. Tail twitching, she turned her head around to look at her. "Oh... hey." She said timidly, waving a large hand in greeting. Kim Nguyet Kim had no special reaction to this, asside an eyebrow raising sightly. She was starting to be pretty used to see things she didn't think she'll ever see around here, after all.
A little more animal-like than she was... some kind of lizard for sure - Kim was starting to notice there seemed to actually be a step in between what she had been and most of the people she had met that where along the transformation, save Joliette.
She pushed it all away to ponder later, giving a shy smile and waving back... trying to find a way to bend her finger so that it didn't look so long next to the rest of her hand on pure instinct, and falling pretty badly at it. Her hairs where loose due to the... errr... bump on top of her hair, and some lenght seemed to have been chopped ratter inequally from the bottom, so they ended at the end of back.
To anyone who had seen how long her hairs had been before, this would be a shock.
"Hey..." Crap, she didn't know what to say. Stupid akward moments... "...How it's going ?" Amaya Vaughan The iguana-girl couldn't help but laugh at how awkward everything was at the moment. After her small chuckle, she turned back around and held out one of her huge hands... the girl seemed to be changing too, so hopefully she wouldn't be too disgusted.
"My names Amaya and... I guess I'm doing alright. What about you? Are you all alone out here?" Until now she hadn't realized how much her large feet had made her grow... the girl was almost five inches shorter then her, but looked older. Kim Nguyet Kim didn't really seem to mind, or notice, being used to being shorter than almost anything that walked as is. Neither did she seem really disgusted after the initial "shock" wore off.
"I guess im as good as I can be while lost in a jungle, with a bump the size of a building and fingers the size of palmtrees." All said in a too-cheerful tone that almost made her giggle imediatly afterward with how silly it sounded. "And yeah, im alone, pretty much... Havn't seen anyone since I woke up... I was starting to get a bit worried." Amaya Vaughan Amaya smirked slightly and the finger comment. "I know the feeling." She flexed her own, then raised a brow at the thought of whoever this was, was out here alone.
"You've been alone out here?" She guessed by blackout, she meant when they had first been dragged outside. "Jeeze... well, are you hungry or have you been doing alright?" Despite not knowing this woman, she definatly seemed concerned. Kim Nguyet "Well... yeah, I've been doing allright..." She admitted, sliding into her habit to curl a lock of hair around a now much longer finger. "...Which is odd actually. So many things could have gone wrong by now, with how I am... I have the worst sence of direction in the planet... I got back to the duplexes once, but then I came back in here and been going in circles." She seemed sightly embarassed by this.
..OH ! "Man, how silly of me... My name is Kim, I don't think I met you before ?" Amaya Vaughan She smiled with a nod. "It's nice to meet you and no, I don't think we've met..." Amaya trailed off for a moment, looking around before looking North, the way she had come. "I stay at a camp north of the river." Once again, she pointed a long, clawed finger in that direction. "I could take you back if you want. We have meat and little lean-tos to sleep in. Safety in numbers, y'know?" Kim Nguyet Oh. god. Meat. *_*
Even if right now she wanted fish more than anything else in the world...
"Ill'd like that, actually. I... don't really want to be alone anymore... expecially at night. So many things just became ******** up..." She sighed a bit, then shook her head, stoping herself before she could go on. "...Yeah... ill'd really appreciate it." Amaya Vaughan The lizard-girl nodded and turned, motioning for Kim to follow as she once again brought someone back to camp. Though this time the person really needed it instead of moving from one camp to another.
"It's no problem. Ambrose and I have sort of made it our job to go out and look for people recently, make sure everyone is alright." Though whether she knew him or not, she didn't know. So just in case, she listed the people she remembered incountering. "So far in our camp there's me, Ambrose, Greer, Angelina, Emelyn, Vasile, Cassidy... and... I think that's it as far as I know..." She trailed off in thought, before adding. "And so far I've come across Awen and Jamal. Awen says that her, Lauren, Chubbs and Joliette are staying together and Jamal is staying with a woman named Antony."
Now she finally stopped talking, glancing back at Kim while leading her through the brush and wondering if she knew of any of the people she had listed. Kim Nguyet Kim followed ratter hapilly, relief at the way the situation was turning apparent on her face. This would be so much, so much better... She had grown out of her "im-a-b***h-leave-me-alone" moments a long time ago and she had been far too scared latly.
She listened as Amaya started talking about others, most of the names being lost on her while a few did hit closer to home, and she gave a small, relieved sigh when the younger girl had finished talking.
"...Maybe no one got too severly hurt, then." She didn't know how many people where on this island... but the girl had just listed alot. "That's good... So many bad things could have happened in our situation, really. Im really glad to know that, even if I havn't met them all... Someone being hurt is never a good thing."
She paused a bit then, then made a small smile. Amaya Vaughan "Yeah, me too... there is a lot that could happen out here." Amaya nodded, luckily nothing that could have physically hurt her had happened... yet. Our of superstition, she knocked on a tree while walking by one. A knock-on-wood gesture picked up from her father.
Though now with nothing else to really say, she tried to access what the woman had been going through all this time alone. "So where did you wake up when they moved all of us?" Kim Nguyet Kim laughed a bit, and knocked on the same tree as she passed next to it, knowing well what it meant. She was so glad, so happy to have someone to talk to, that she didn't realise she was about to almost throw her life story at Amaya.
"I woke up at the bottom of a mountain... with a ratter... pissed Jamal on top, actually. He was ticked off, he got me ticked off, it wasn't pretty... so I just went my way eventually because I was sick of hearing him. Better that than starting a fight." That, and she never felt confortable near a man with drugs. "I managed to get back, as I said, to find everything locked... Not even trying to break a window worked... so I went back in here and searched for others. I didn't really... manage it, as you can see." She gave a nervous laugh, then turned serious again. "...At first it wasn't too bad... I was really ticked, and... oh, hell, you're a girl, you understand what I mean." Lovely time of the month. "...But things began... getting bad. Im diabetic... and I ran out of insulin." She instinctively pointed to the black strap-on bag that hung on her hips. "I tend to get low blood sugar in the night so I always have some on me... But yet, I dunno, im not... I mean, I passed out once or twice, but it's like it's stablising itself somehow. Then I saw..." Did they all know... ?
"I saw some kind of deer in the woods. A deer... with feathers and a beak. I got really freaked out..."
She felt into sillence again, but it lasted longer. Talking about this... even to basically a perfect stranger... might help. Therapy by talking, they say... It was better out than in.
"...I just transformed all of sudden, out of nowhere. No needle marks asside my own... It was so scary, and it hurted so much... And when it was all over... it was like everything became so cold, that I just fainted on the spot. The same kind of thing happens every night now... I mean, I don't faint anymore, I guess shock helped... but I just... I dunno. It's like I can't think... I just slow down." Amaya Vaughan Amaya didn't interupt Kim's story, allowing her to talk would help her. "Well, it's good to know you didn't hurt yourself in the mountain. I woke up on the helicopter pad where... I found the helicopter had crashed if you didn't know already. There were two charred bodies inside. I screamed... and... that's when Ambrose found me. Ever since then we've been finding others and making a camp. We've even checked the labs. Locked up tight with no sign of any staff." She let out a small sigh, but kept walking.
The iguana-girl winced at the thought of being diabetic and having to stay out here so long. She could have died for heaven's sake. What the hell was Moreau thinking, throwing them to the wind? He was such a cruel b*****d. She scorwled just thinking about him, biting back the hiss that threatened to come forth.
"A deer with feathers?" She blinked, pausing for a moment to look back at Kim. "That sounds sickingly familiar... only a few days ago I was out with Greer and we found what looked to be a rat... bird... thing. It was so pathetic and in so much pain... we ended up killing it and burrying it." Her head droped at the remembrance of the poor creature.
"And, as much as I hate to say it... I think your cold-blooded now." Amaya frowned, looking back to the woman. It was such a horrible thing to befall someone. "I am too. When it gets too cold, my mind gets all hazzy and my body just... shuts down." Kim Nguyet She listened as well, and almost stopped clean when she mentionned the bodies. "What ? Oh... oh my god. That's horrible..." She swallowed the lump that was forming in her troat. "...Any idea... who ?"
"It didn't... look pained actually. It just kinda looked at me... then left. It was so wierd... I can't really explain what happened there. It was just... so wierd and surreal. But I know I havn't dreamed it... All the... dreams I've gotten since I came here focused on flying..." She had no idea if anyone else actually had dreams like her. "...You did the right thing, if it was in pain... but even then, I don't think I could have brought myself to kill it. I've been living off fruit since this whole thing started. I could never bring myself to kill another living being... even if it would be the right thing."
An eyebrow rose sightly, trying to stay focused on Amaya - it was relatively easy now that she was so close, but she had to make sure she didn't get out of the radius where her sight started blurring too much. "Cold-blooded... ?" ...Well, damnit. She hadn't thought about that one second... And she had to admit... "...It makes sence, actually." The woman felt a bit dumb for not thinking about it. "That's exactly what's been happening to me... Kinda like how frogs fall asleep in winter or something ?" ...This was odd. So odd.
"...That's seriously making me wonder what kind of reptile has creepy fingers like this, however." It wasn't hard to see that they where what was bothering her the much out of the whole thing. Amaya Vaughan "No... I really don't know." The lizard-girl said, frowning. "Not even clothes were left on them... but we've come up with a few theories. Some thing it might have been an escape attempt... or maybe that big guy crashed on his way to bring in a new subject." She shrugged a little. "It leaves so many questions unsolved though..."
She continued to listen to Kim, adding her own thoughts as they walked. "Yeah, I didn't kill it myself... Greer actually did." Putting her foot down on a vine, she grabbed it with her toes and pulled it out of the way before going on.
"I thought the same thing after me... first change." Amaya said with a tiny wince. "My fingers and toes grew a lot the first time, and even more the second." She frowned, holding them out in front of her and flexing them before dropping them to her sides once more. "I didn't know I was... turning into a green iguana until after the second time." A pause, green eyes glancing back at Kim. "I really dunno what you could be turning into... I'm sorry." Kim Nguyet "That's so odd..." She sighed a bit. "It's allright. Im not... too sure I want to know. But at the same time I do. It's... really ******** up. It's just wierd, really... it was only this one that grew, the rest didn't. At least not as much."
She was really thinking for a moment, extending her arm and pulling the fingers as far away as she could, a shape almost similar to a bat wing shape. "...Hm."
And it was when she walked right into a tree that the longer finger came in collision with, and she let out a yielp of pain as she withdrew. "Ha, how smart... Ow..."
Someone needed an ajustment in distance calculation. Amaya Vaughan "Huh... well... once we get back into the duplexes, maybe you can find a book that might point you in the rig-" She spun around at the sound of the collision, stiffling a laugh. "Oh jeeze, you okay?" Kim Nguyet "Yeah..." Didn't look like it was broken, with how relatively painless it was to bend it. "Without my glasses, I have the distance perception of a coconut."
This would, of course, had sounded better if coconuts could actually... see.
"Smacked hard, but I don't think I hurt anything. I better get used to it." She siffed a laugh. Amaya Vaughan Amaya laughed, though turned to start walking again once the woman seemed to be doing fine. "Yeah, we all have a lot to get used to... I've had to adjust to being out and about in only my underwear." Another nervous laugh as they came upon the river. She stopped and creeped down to the edge.
"Can you swim? It gets a little deep in the center." Green eyes looked back at Kim, one large foot already in the water. Kim Nguyet "Oh, you can't tell me im much better." Her shirt, beaten up and full of holes allready, was not getting any better, and she was unfortunaly lacking a bra - thanksfuly that area was still covered just fine. Her leave skirt was missing a few leaves, and, upon sight of the river, ditched it outright, revealing pink panties. Hey, they where both woman, anyway. And whatever male population back there was probably used to seeing panty shots by now.
"Yeah, I can swim just fine." She followed in, the coolness sending a tiny chill up her spine, but it overall wasn't too bad. Amaya Vaughan "Yeah, and I know someone who came into our camp nude. I've never been so thankful for clothes. Though no names will be given out." The iguana-girl smirked before wading as far she could into the river, then once she couldn't stand anymore she plunged under and quickly swam to the other side. One thing her hands and feet were good for, they were kind of like big paddles. Kim Nguyet Kim couldn't help it.
She laughed. And she laughed hard.
"Oh my GOD." Snrk. "Oh, that's awful... I figure that person managed to solve that problem ?"
Oh, that was just awful, yet she couldn't stop laughing. She only managed to when she almost accidentally shallowed a mouthful of water, swimming much slower that Amaya did. Her hands made it a bit more akward... But she still swam just fine. Amaya Vaughan Amaya haden't had enough time to respond to her, but she did once she popped up on the other side and waited for Kim. "Yeah, thankfully another 'camp member' was able to lend her a shirt." Kim Nguyet "Oh, thank god... I think I would have died if it had happened to me." She was embarassed just by thinking about it.
She came out about a minute or so after, instinctively staring to squeeze water out of her long hairs. The "bath" had been much welcome, and had gotten rid of most of the leaves that had wound up tangeled. Amaya Vaughan "I second that." She nodded and waited for Kim to finish squeezing out her immensly long hair before walking up the bank. "Camp is just a short walk away now."
After making sure Kim was following, she began to trek through the jungle again. Though it did seem like this side of the river had been more 'used'. It wasn't long at all, maybe 10 or 15 minutes before she brought Kim to their little camp.
"Welcome home, I guess." She smiled and gestured around to the wooden lean-tos, small fire, weapons, smoked meat and fruit, almost everything someone needed to survive seemed in plentiful supply. "You can stay here for as long as you want."
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:16 pm
Meeting Rex & AveryAmaya Vaughan Amaya had been wandering farther and farther from her little camp, even though it wasn't intentional. Heading South she had crossed three rivers before the sound of the beach started to echo through the dense forest... it would be a nice change in sceanary compared to the dense, uninviting jungle. With a sigh she walked on, her clawed thumb absently fumbling with the locket around her neck. Recently it had been the only real sorce of comfort she got... thinking about the past and her parents. The thought of them seemed to be the only thing that brought a genunie smile to her face in time likes these.
The sand pushed awkwardly between her elongated toes, making walking a little more difficult here then in the forest. She paused for a moment, green eyes looking at the ocean that lapped at the island's edge. Somewhere on the other side of that was home... or at least she liked to think so.
Then again, did she really have a home anymore? Moreau, or Feral Labs, had legally adopted her... so this was actually her home now. Or prison. It all depened on how you looked at it. Her larges hands dropped to her sides. She didn't have a place to return to... she had nothing left that beckoned over the ocean for it. Absently she wondered how much it had snowed back in Pennsylvania.
Bah, enough of those thoughts. Shaking her head, she started walking again and... could have sworn she had heard a voice. Her brow furrowed as she climbed up a sandbank. Who was that...? She squinted and slid down the other side of the bank. "Colche!?" She called out, wondering if it was the young girl. Colche was alright! Grinning she went to run towards her, but froze. Who... were those other two people?
She stood there, staring. Though she wasn't as nude as Colche, she was only in her underwear and her scales stood out like a sore thumb... not to mention her huge hands and feet. Ian Campbell Ian had had a lot to think about after his encounter with Chana. Luckily for him he was unable to smell Emerwyn anymore and he could leave his mind unguarded once more. Around his head he wore a small woven crown of vines. It served two purposes, the first was to keep his hair from his eyes, and the second was to remind him of who he thought he was. He found the trees growing sparcer and the dirt turned to sand beneath his hooves. In the distance he could see the ocean and 4 people. Squinting he could almost identify them. It appeared that Colche and Amaya were there, as well as two people he did not know. Walking closer he saw that Colche was naked and Amaya was wearing nothing but undergarments. Not that he was wearing much more - only a pair of leafy shorts barely held together by thin strips of vine. He would have to replace them soon, they could fall apart at anytime. Ignoring the lack of clothing on his two friends he smiled broadly and despite the fact that there was nothing to be happy about he made it appear as though he was happy. "Hoy!" he called cheerfully. Rex Vadnais "Well that's certainly a start! I'll glady teach you once we get to the resort's pool" Oh man, did that resort sure sound nice. He'd never wanted to see civilization so badly.
Water could be a problem, "All of this foliage had to come from somewhere! There's possibly a stream nearb--" his sentence was interupted as Rex something running at him from up the beach. Was it a person? It was! "Hey! Look down there! It must be a resort personel, see? We're safe and sound!"
Rex looked father up the beach and saw some other kind of figure, but it had a green tinge to it. What an awkward bathing suit that woman had. "Hey... there's more of them." Glancing around, Rex began to feel a little... uneasy. Where were these people coming from?
"Hoy!" He heard. The jumpy man whizzed around and saw a person. Wait.. that wasn't a person, it was brown everywhere and... furry? Something wasn't right. "These people look.. strange.. I don't like it" Rex braced himself, did he run? Fight? Wait..? Avery Calder Avery couldn't wait to get to the resort either - in fact, he didn't even care if it was a resort, or just a crappy little hotel. As long as there was water, food, a shower and a warm bed, he would be satisfied. Avery looked up when Rex stopped speaking, noticing the three figured emerging from the forest. But there was something... off about them. "What the hell... they have... fur? And... what is wrong with that other chick?" Avery gripped Rex' uppar arm, moving to hide behind him a little. Avery was no fighter, and Rex looked like he would be able to handle himself well in a fight. "Are they some type of weird animals?" Then, a little more quietly, he whispered, "you don't think they'd... eat us, do you? Where the hell are we?" Colche Colche turned almost instantly at the sound of Amayas voice. The grin which spead ehr kitty features made ehr look very childish and delicate but she managed to break in to a sprint and virtually fling herself at Amaya, being careful of her rabbit though "amaya, amaya, amaya!" she puurred happily so glad to have found one of those family members she had been searching so hard for.
Looking up with those dark, sweet blue eyes she noticed Ian too, he was little known to her but she certainly knew him, of course there were still the others to worry about. She desperately wanted to tell Amaya of her adventureds with Lily, about the pigglett and about the fact that Aubrey wasn't on the island any more. The black bird didn't house her 'mother' figure though so all the past thoughts were scuppered as wave upon wave of happiness flooded over her. She was so glad to be with them again. Maybe the other people would be happy too.
Grinning up at Amaya she started once again on her long legged saunter towards the two unchanged men "Hi" she smiled softly, tilting her head a little curiously, all men on the island were nice, even if they weren't fuzzy. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end any way, she stopped, maybe it was better to wait for Amaya and Ian, people she could definately trust. Amaya Vaughan As the lizard-girl was gawking at the sight of Colche running up to two strange men... naked, she was snapped out of her daze by Ian's call. Looking around, she spotted him coming from the brush and couldn't help but smile as well. Both Colche AND Ian were alright! Even though it was such wonderful news for her and she wanted to run up to both of them and say how happy she was to see them, she could tell by both of the men's reactions that... they didn't know what was going on.
So she stayed where she was, her legs screaming for her to run back into the cover of the jungle and to hide. Amaya felt more exposed then she had in a long, long time. Her legs twitched a little and she took a step back. The same thing that happened with Chana was going to repeat itself, she just knew it. Her large hands rose to her chest, fingers fiddling with the locket dangling around her neck.
"Yah!" Amaya said in alarm as Colche literally flung herself onto her. She had to push one of her feet back to keep her from toppling over. "Hey Colche... I'm glad to see your alright." An awkward smile came to her features as she pet the back of the young girl's head... afterall, Colche was naked and hugging her. But she had to remind herself that it was Colche, the poor girl didn't know better and even she was rather skantily clad.
Green eyes then watched her depart and greet the other two. The girl wanted to follow, just to make sure they didn't do anything to Colche... but she stayed where she was, the fear that the same thing that had happened with Chana would repeat itself. Ian Campbell Ian's smile became genuine when he saw Colche hug Amaya and he followed Colche as she went to greet the two strange men. The men both looked really confused and Ian knew how he and the two girls must look to them. Like freaks, an inner voice told him, and he had to agree. But he couldn't let the strange men know, he had to act happy. Let them know that they were safe-ish. Especially since that none of the buildings were currently running that they couldn't get an injection. They would stay human. "Greetings." he said when he was close enough. "I am Ian, Ian Campbell." He purposely did not reach out a hand to shake - neither would probably have shaken it. "The girl is called Colche." His smile did not fade, but the look in his eyes was tired, wary. Rex Vadnais Rex's heart began to race and mind running faster than the tap water from a sink, but he still held his ground, fists clenched and chin up, hoping for the best. "I don't have the slightest clue, but we'll find out soon enough." He'd fight if he had to, even though it was one of his least favorite things in the universe.
Rex saw Colche leap at Amaya, yelling her name. "Whoa! That first one just pounced the other! What was she screaming?" The adrenaline was causing his imagination to kick into overdrive. These villagers were insane. He couldn't show fear becuase he thought Avery might have a break down... Animals could probably smell their panic.
The green thing looked okay after being attacked by that first furry person, but then she began to walk over. She was actually rather sweet looking, the adorable expression of a small girl enveloping her face. He was naked.. and furry.. but spoke english? "Uh... hi?" Rex said nervously, unsure of how to react. His strong fists softened... this thing was just too cute.
Glancing nervously around his blue eyes, he noticed the green figure stayed back... a strategy? Maybe they weren't going to be eaten after all...
Then the third man approached, Rex less wary of this one. Who were these people?! It appeared that he had horns... and was covered in fur, but walked upright and didn't seem to show much fear. Then the deer thing spoke, like the cat girl, in english with a proper introduction. Ian? They had names... and rather normal ones at that, not some random tribal jibberish. "Yeah.. Rex... pleased to meet you?" He took a small step back, still confused as hell and scared to boot. Avery Calder "I don't know if I want to find out," Avery muttered. What the hell!? These things can talk? he thought. "What is going on here? I've never seen anything like... those... mostly naked... animal things." He felt like he was going to panic. Maybe he should run for it... no, they might try to chase him - Avery felt that he was safer staying near Rex. For now, at least. But he grew more nervous the closer the others got to them, and he tensed up, staying behind Rex. Ian? Colche? Well, their names were normal enough, he supposed. But he just couldn't stop staring. When Rex introduced himself, he figured that he should too. He wouldn't want these things to think he was impolite... "Uh. I'm... Avery," he replied weakly, and obviously afraid. Amaya Vaughan Amaya watched the two walk up and greet the strangers confidently, suddenly feeling like a incredible heel. Sighing, she walked forth as well, though made sure she stayed behind Ian and Colche. If they could do it... so could she. A little. "My names... Amaya." She added, albeit timidly while hiding behind Ian much like Avery was hiding behind Rex. Ian Campbell Ian suddenly felt very awkward. Both Amaya and Colche were practically hiding behind him. When the blond man spoke Ian almost lost his smile. So they were mostly naked animal things huh? Well, most of it was true, except that they weren't things, they had been people once too. Both appeared obviously afraid and Ian thought about what to do. He stood up straight to his full five foot nine height and spoke again. "It is a pleasure to meet thee. Do not be afeared, none of us will hurt thee, we were once human." Ian was no longer smiling, but he looked quite serious. "Just as human as both of thee, merely months ago." The truth was a valuable thing. People may not know it, but often the truth gave them more power than falsehood, and Ian needed to make sure that they knew the truth. Rex Vadnais Rex felt Avery tense up while he was still holding his arm. He would've glanced down at him, but instead had all of his focus on the "people" surrounding him. But as the animal-people closed in and spoke in english, the man began to feel safe and more secure. One thing was for sure, this obviously wasn't Florida's peninsula. He was glad that Avery was calming down too, with his attempt of introducing himself.
Rex watched as the green girl approached as well. Why was she holding back? She must've been a bit shy or something by the way she hid behind Ian the Elkman. Amaya. Gorgeous name... ooh, so thats what the Colche girl was screaming. All of the mutated people were actually quite nice! However frightening their appearance may have been. Rex nodded a head and smiled at the scaled lady. Was she a scared as he and Avery were? The didn't seem to hold back much while introducing, as if they'd done it before. Were Rex and Avery the first? How many others could there have been?
Then Ian stood tall and spoke. Old English? Rex hadn't heard them speak enough to know their accents or way of speaking. Had these people had outside contact in years, or were the exiled here? The questions continued to pour into Rex's brain. What was going on?
Ian mentioned they used to be human? "Bu-wha? How?" The man began to get even more nervous. How were these people turning into animals? It just didn't seem possible. Avery Calder When none of the strange creatures made any move to hurt them, Avery relaxed just a little, and let go of Rex's arm - he didn't move out from behind him yet, though. "Wait a second... you're human? I mean... were human? How did... why aren't you human anymore?" he asked. He was still afraid, but now moreso about how these people somehow became what appeared to be part animal than being attacked by them. They didn't seem to want to hurt them, so maybe they weren't all bad... just creepy looking. Amaya Vaughan The iguana-girl let Ian do most of the talking, her face peeking out from behind him at both Rex and Avery. She frowned at what the deer-man was saying before looking at the ground sadly. She highly doubted that either of them would believe them, despite the look on their faces.
She caught the smile Rex had given her and looked a little surprised, her eyes widdening a little bit as she shifted on her long toes. Though she didn't return the gesture, the sad frown still on her scaley features. Ian Campbell Ian's expression grew even more grim. "We became the victims of a cruel experiment. Some came on their own, under the impression that this island had a different purpose, while others washed ashore and have been held here." He could tell that they doubted him. He wouldn't have believed it himself after washing ashore. At least they were safe. They might be stuck on the island, but with all the buildings seemingly abandoned, they couldn't possibly get an injection. But he didn't mention that. He didn't want to give them any sort of false hope. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose was still parolling the Island looking for more Islanders after his encounter with Antony and her update on her and Jamal's situation. He was glad that more and more individuals were being accounted for. However, as many as he had located there were at least that many missing.
Instead of heading back into the jungle, Ambrose started walking around the perimeter of the Island, from the West beach around the point of the South, and then to the East.
As he walked, his acute ears and nose picked up people.... several of them by the sound, talking. His ears pricked curiously, he trotted faster towards the beach where several figures emerged into his vision. A few he made out almost immediately - Amaya's familiar scent... and... was that Colche?! Colche was alright! His tail began wagging and a smile came to his face as he made out more figures - Ian!
And then Ambrose's quick approach slowed as he saw two completely new people to him. No, they just had to be people that he hadn't met yet - lord knew that there were enough people on the Island to be people he hadn't met. Hell, He hadn't actually met Antony until earlier.
While a bit more guarded, he still approached, smling widely to the group. "Colche! Ian! I haven't seen you guys in so long! I'm glad you're alright!"
His eyes strayed to the two strangers cautiosly. "Ah... I don't believe we've met...." For the moment he assumed that they had been there for a while. "I'm Ambrose."
Then why did they smell afraid....? Rex Vadnais Avery said what Rex was trying to say, but he was too baffled by the situation to express his questions into undertandable words or sentences. When Avery let go, he shot a quick glance down at the man. Obviously, he was getting a bit more confident, that's good. Rex then looked back to the three people before him, unsure of what to say.
Unfortunately, Amaya still looked shy and reserved. There was probably some reason for it, but Rex didn't even know the slightest bit about these people or their background... well.. besides the fact that they once were human. Those leftover questions still brewed in Rex's head. At least he was now standing normally, no longer scared for his saftey.
"An experiment?" Rex said, finally forming a coherent sentence. He looked to see how the others reacted, but was only welcomed by stone solemn faces. "This can't be true. I mean, how is this possible? How many others are here? Naw, you're just kidding me, aren't you." Yet Ian, Colche and Amaya stood there in front of him as real as could be. He felt like pinching himself or looking for some hidden camera. "This is just some cruel joke."
Then he remebered the night before, once more. Avery and Rex had fallen off a ship and been marooned. It was all true. But, it just didn't seem right...
Then yet another animal-person came running up the beach. Everyone here seemed to know each other, so there couldn't have been too many more, could there? Rex was too dumbfounded to say anything or even seem happy towards Ambrose. He just sat there, awestruck. Avery Calder Avery had to agree with Rex. "This is insane. People can't be turned into... animals. That's impossible!" When Ambrose approached the group, he couldn't help but think, how many more of them are there!? "No!" Avery suddenly spoke up, a little louder, when a realization came to him. "I get it! Ha ha! This is some type of furry convention! And you guys are playing a joke on us! We're really on some beach in Florida, right? At a resort!" He laughed then; it was impossible for people to turn into animals. This had to be some furry convention... it had to be, there was no other explanation. "I bet all this is fake, right?" Avery moved towards Ambrose. "You're all just wearing costumes," he said, and he reached out to tug on some of the fur on Ambrose's arm. Amaya Vaughan Amaya watched them, wondering if the two men had washed up on shore as well... if that was the case, they had picked the best time to wash up on it. The labs were shut down, even though the duplxes were too. Maybe they could find a way off the island before everything became up and running again? Or was it going to stay like this forever? She shifted from foot to foot, wondering what she could possibly say at this point.
"But..." She started, her voice timid and shy as she peeked a little out from behind Ian. "Everything shut down awhile ago. I don't think anyone is here to inject you..." Unlike the deer-man, her voice was perfectly normal... albeit it had a Pennsylvania accent.
Then another voice caught her attention. Her face literally lit up at the sight of Ambrose. There was a God! "Ambrose!" She almost squealed, eternally grateful for his pressance. He always made things go smoother. Once he was in the small 'group' she went over to him and took one of his arms into her hands like a small child, much like how Avery had been hiding behind Rex earlier.
The lizard-girl listened to Rex, her tail giving a small twitch behind her. She knew this was what would happen. Green eyes went to the ground again, not wanting to see as Avery started joking and laughing about it... just like Chana had. Her hands gripped onto her brother's arm a little tighter and she turned her head away from Avery and closed her eyes. She wished she could close her ears too... she didn't want to hear this. Ian Campbell "It's not fake." Said Ian quietly feeling very sad that those two had washed up on this beach. "These antlers on my head are attached. They have grown out of my skull. The fur is attached to my arm. My hands." Ian didn't want to think about his hands and he winced. "My hands are more hoof than hands it seems. If thou doubts you can touch them. Figure out that they cannot be removed." Ian looked behind him to Colche and saw Amaya and Ambrose together. His heart felt squeezed and he wanted to cry. To cry for all those already on the island and for those two that had just discovered it. "Ambrose, how art thou? I haven't seen thee for awhile. Perhaps thou has been faring better than I." Ian knew how he looked. There was dirt encrusted in his hair and on his face. Washing in a stream just didn't do much after awhile. He would love to have a shower if he could ever get back in his duplex. Ian's voice had sounded calm this entire time. Unknowingly, until Ambrose had arrived, he had taken charge of the situation. He had felt the need to make sure that Colche and Amaya were protected. Ambrose Maurlias ((D'oh - I guess Colche's gone >> - we keep missing eachother xd ))
Ambrose's approach slowed as he started to catch the conversation and really realize what precisely was going on. His ears lowered hesitantly and he exchanged glances with some of the familiar islanders who were all coincidentally about as changed as he was.
Talk about a shock for these two. "I.... ah.... assure it... it's genuine." He had heard of 'furries' from Angelina a few times, but only enough to know the term.
Ambrose didn't pull back when Avery reached to tug at the fur on his arm. However, the soft fur was quite genuine to the touch - soft an not with the plastic-y feel of feaux fur. ANd furthermore, it grew right into the skin, tugging against the arm, but not coming off OR moving a whole section of it as if it were a coat or a suit.
Ambrose smiled welcomingly to Amaya. "Amaya, good to see you... sorry about my absence recently." He glances around the group that has collected. "But it appears you have found about as many other people as I." He also spoke with a relatively unaccented voice - save for perhaps the hint of pretention that indicated someone from a wealthy New England family.
He took her big hand in his free one and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "How have you been...?" He added quietly, aside to only her.
The wolf nodded cordially to the stag. "Ian... I've been.... well enough as can be expected." His fur was also uncharacteristically matted, his hair disheveled.
He turned his attention back to the two newcomers, stepping forward and seeming unafraid to take initiative. "This... Island - I do not know how much they have told you.... but yes... there ... there were doctors here. And I use that term loosely. They were... experimenting on us. They brought us here under a variety of excuses. But they disappeared a month... maybe two ago. Perhaps you're lucky.... But regardless, to our knowledge we're still trapped here. Unless.. do you have a boat? Will people be looking for you?!" Rex Vadnais Rex looked to Avery with puzzled countenance. What the crap was a "furry"? He shifted uncomfortably and crossed his arms, unsure of what to believe. When Avery reached out to tug Ambrose's fur, two possibilities streaked through his mind. One, it would be a costume, the plan would be revealved and a camera crew would run out of the jungle or something. Or, this fur was real... and that could only lead to more possibilites. For some reason, Rex leaned to the latter.
He turned to the timid Amaya. "Closed down? The labs? Wait.. labs. AS in there are buildings here?" He gazed back towards the mountain and saw that same metallic glint as before. "So that's what those are."
Then Ian spoke once more, temporarily calming the conversation and settling Rex's doubt. This was real, you can't fake the feeling and emotion injected into his mini-speech. But would this happen to Rex? How was the animal determined? With each piece of information, new questions arose.
The Ambrose cleared the mist for Rex as well. Doctors? Like mad scientists? They were living in a sci-fi novel. Then Rex remembered home in San Fransico. "We both fell overboard on a cruiseliner and washed up here." The he thought about his parents, co-workers.. and Julie. He fiddled with the old engagement ring on his right hand insecurely. "No one will be looking for me." Avery Calder Avery quickly jerked his hand back when he felt that the fur was indeed very real. He stumbled back into Rex, and then got hid him again, whimpering. "It's real... but... no, I don't want to believe it," he said, tears springing into his eyes. "This is too much, I don't want to deal with this!" He knew he shouldn't be crying - he's supposed to be a man, after all - but he couldn't help it. He couldn't deal with everything that had happened to him, all so fast - first the fight on the boat, falling overboard, being stranded on some island... now these animal people were talking about experiments and doctors and labs? He reached up and covered his ears, not wanting to hear anymore. "My mom and dad were on the ship... they'll get people to come find us, they'll notice me missing. And we'll get rescued and get the ******** off this stupid island, and everything will be okay..." he sniffed, trying to convince himself that they would be rescued. There's no way he would be stuck here. Amaya Vaughan She squeezed Ambrose's hand back, though covered his entire hand with her fingers when they all curled around his furry palm. Silently she listened, eyes opening halfway but staying firmly locked on the ground.
Though as Rex spoke, she looked up slowly at him before meeting his eyes and looking towards the mountains. He seemed a little more... level-headed about the situation. "Yeah, the labs are over there." She pointed a long, clawed finger in the direction of the labs before she realized what she was doing. With a flinch, she pulled her groteque limb out of sight. "But... if you fell from a cruise liner, won't they know that you went missing?" Her eyes went back to Rex, but she didn't let go of Ambrose's hand. The wolfman could probably still smell her overall nervousness.
Amaya watched Avery, almost starting to cry herself. She wanted to reassure him somehow... but how could she? Look at her... She bit her bottom lip, forcing the tears gathering into her eyes to keep from slipping any further. "See? You have a chance to get off... the doctors are gone as far as we know and everything is turned off! You have a really good chance at getting rescued..." And it made sense, at least to her. When you thought about it, both of them DID have a good chance at getting rescued. Ian Campbell Ian remained silent as he listened to both of them. He liked Rex and Avery seemed a pretty decent fellow. He would probably be a bit different after getting over the fact that he was stranded on an island full of animal people. Ian was glad noth of them seemed to believe them now, but he still wanted both off the island. To spare them the same fate. "We can hope for your rescue." Unbidden a thought came to mind: It'll just be another disappearance in the bermuda triangle. No one would look for long.He sighed and his arm started to itch. Ian scowled and grabbed a handfulof sand and scraped it over his arm to relieve the sensation. "Forgive me," he murmered. "But the truth needed to be told. I'm sorry both of ye have to be here, but I doubt that ye will be leaving. From what I know this island is near the Bermuda Triangle. Ye will just be left as a disappearance in the triangle." Ian knew that he was making them have less hope, but the more truth they had now, the less hope they had to lose later. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose inwardly cringed at Avery's reaction, even though he knew part of it was coming.
His ears lowered and he took a step towards him, despite the fearful reaction lay a hand on his shoulder. "Look... I know as much as anyone how you must be feeling right now...." He trailed off on his name. "Hey... I know you're scared... but maybe it's true... God knows I hope so... but if they do come looking for you... they you'll go home... maybe we'll all be rescued. But if the doctors arent' here, then you two shouldn't be in any ... danger of all of this happening to you as well. Despite appearances... we're just people.... we aren't going to hurt you." Ambrose thought back to Awen's stories of what had happen with her run in with Joliette and Jamal... and decided not to say anything.
"Even if you don't have anyone" He looked to Rex. "Then Amaya's right... there is still the cruise liner. I mean... I'm sure they're liable... as soon as they realize passengers are missing, there will be a report." Ambrose sounded like he was half-trying to convince himself
His face fell when the Bermuda Triangle was brought back. "But..." he protested, "IT IS just a myth after all... the cruise liner can't just pass that off - they'll have to at least look for you guys... I mean.... they might give up, but perhaps we could try to get a signal fire going." Avery Calder While their appearances were still a little frightening, Avery no longer feared being harmed - or worse, eaten - by these... people. They seemed harmless, and were trying to calm him down, at least. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to crawl into his bed with his stuffed plushies and sleep and forget any of this ever happened. What did I do to deserve this? he thought. He looked up then, really looking at them now. The girl with scales seemed a little shy, but the deer man and wolf man - Amaya, Ian, and Ambrose? - seemed a little more confident. He glanced at Rex, who didn't appear to outwardly be afraid at all. He felt a little ashamed with himself, for being the only one that was scared enough to cry. "Yeah... we can get a fire going..." he sniffed, and rubbed his eyes. "They'll find us... they have to. I mean, it's not like we could have drifted very far from the ship, right?" he asked, and sounded slightly desperate for agreement. Amaya Vaughan The iguana-girl looked up at Ian as he spoke, her frown returning. He was right... both of them were probably doomed to the same fate everyone else was. She sighed, now unable to think of any real reassurance for Rex or Avery and let Ambrose handle it.
Now that she thought about it... what if they did get rescued? What would happen to all of them that had changed already? What would happen to her? She started to get worried that they would get rescued... she had no place to go. Her long, clawed fingers reached up and fiddled with the locket around her neck. No, she couldn't think like that... no matter what happened to her, most of the people on this island deserved to go back home. They had a home to go back to.
"Right." Amaya nodded to Avery, unable to come up with much else in the reassurance area. "We can make a fire... and get you some water and food." She wanted to say 'until you get rescued'... but she wasn't sure if that was a good thing to say at the moment. Ian Campbell Ian nodded as Ambrose planned a fire. A fire was a really good idea. "There is a stream not far into the jungle. The water isn't as clean as it could be, but it is better than salt water. If we are going to stay on the beach I know where it is and if anyone had anything to carry water in I could bring some back. As for food I do not know much about where to find any; I eat leaves and grasses." Ian was no longer ashamed to admit it. He was part deer now. He accepted that. He only wished that he was human again. Ian also had no clue how to get a fire started, he would leave that to Ambrose. He could get some wood however. "I want ye to get rescued. If the doctors do reappear I want you to be as far away from this island as you could possibly get." Ian had already made up his mind that if rescue did come he would stay on the island. There was nowhere for a deerman on the mainland. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose seemed more than happy to leap to agreement with Avery. "I'm sure they will! My camp already has a fire going, we could build a bonfire on the beach... and bring a torch from our fire... " Ambrose almost immediately started togo back into planning mode.
"You couldn't have washed far without a life raft or anything.... "
The wolf did sense the nervousness from his scaled 'sister' and he looked trepidiouly back to her again.... maybe it was just the new company... feeling sorry for them for being drug into all of this perhaps...? He gave her hand a squeeze again.
"Our camp probably still has some meat as well.... we were kind of split up when the buildings shut down." His ear flicked back in irritation. "We've spent the last month or so tryign to salvage what we could from the jungle... find out where the rest of us went. The Island is deceptively large."
Indeed, there was a makeshift spear strapped with vine to his back, a knife at the waistline of what looked like plaid sleeppants. They were branches that looked like twisted metal was tied to the ends. Avery Calder As if on cue, Avery's stomach growled at the mention of food. "I... I guess I'm a little hungry... and I could use some water, too," he said, grinning sheepishly. "I guess a shower is too much to hope for right now? I've got sand in my cuts, and they sting a bit..." Avery glanced at Rex, not wanting to go anywhere with these other people without him. He was the only one that was completely normal on this island, it seemed. Again, he felt relief that the man was here with him... but guilt that it was his fault Rex was even here. "How many more of you are there?" Avery asked. "And is the camp very far from here? Amaya Vaughan Amaya nodded to all of them. "I can probably gather some fruit. Though I don't have anything on me to carry water with... obviously." She nodded to Ambrose, knowing that getting some supplies from their camp and bringing them back was probably a pretty good idea.
Silently she agreed with Ian, even though neither of them spoke it outloud. If a ship was to come... she would probably choose to stay on the island with the few who chose the same. She had no family, the only realy family she had since her grandmother had died was right here. Beyond that, she had nothing else.
She then looked to Avery, glad that he seemed to have calmed down considerably. "It'd probably be better to wash your cuts out with salt water. Doesn't it help heal them?" She asked no one in particular. "And the camp is North of here." Amaya said, pointing a little again. Ian Campbell Ian nodded again and smiled again, feeling a little more at ease. But almost scowled at Avery's question of how many people were on the island. "More than twenty people are here." At least that was about how many people that Ian had met. "Would you mind if I stayed at your camp with ye? I've been sleeping wherever I can in the jungle, wandering around looking for people." Ian felt a pang of regret. Emerwyn, Julian, and Chana were alone in the jungle for all he knew. "Fruit?" Ian's eyes lit up. He hadn't had fruit in a long while and he loved it. What he wouldn't have given for a tomato or an apple right then. . . "Sorry, no shower. I want one too, but all the duplexes are locked according to someone else I've talked to." Ambrose Maurlias "You're welcome to either come back to our campsite.... You too Ian. We've been building lean-to's and are by the river for easy access to fresh water. We've been collecting people after a fashion - safety in numbers and we can work together to gather resources. Alternatively, you are free to stay here on the beach... or anywhere else, really. But I would think that trying to set up a signal fire while the boat stil might be looking for you would probably be a good idea. I don't mind gathering some firewood to bring over here. If you want to stay by the fire and have things brought to you, or go with someone to clean your wound and get some food is your decision."
He gestured to the north. "I'd say our camp is probably.... somewhere between thirty minutes and an hour's walk from here. Not that far. In total..... given the number of occupied duplexes before we got locked out.... probably around thirty of us."
Ambrose turned to Amaya as he headed back to where he had seen a collection of driftwood. "Feel free to come with me to get the bonfire going, or you can help them find the stream and food."((Translation - I should proabably be heading out >> - so Ambrose is off for firewood - and I'm out of the rotation :3)) Amaya Vaughan "I think I'm gonna look for some fruit, then come back here." The lizard-girl said to Ambrose and the others with a nod and a tiny smile before turning and heading into the brush.((And from here on out I guess we'll be spot-posting until were all back on at the same time.)) Amaya Vaughan Amaya had been having a rather hard time finding fruit for Rex and Avery, so when she finally did find it and walked out onto the beach all she saw was sand and the horrible dark clouds looming out at sea. "Damnit... I musta wandered too far." She took a step out onto the sand just as a large bolt of lightning struck the mountains.
"AH!" She screeched, jumping back into the cover of the jungle. "Holy s**t..." A strong, cold wind blew her way... and if she could still shiver, she would have.
Wait... if she stayed out here when it started to rain... would her body shut down once it got cold enough?
"CRAP!" At this realization she dropped the fruit and took off towards Ambrose's camp. The last thing she needed was to get stranded in the rain.((And thus, Amaya is outta here and off to wherever. 3nodding ))
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:22 pm
Reptile in the Rain(Amaya almost freezes to death due to the rain)Lily Delaney New RP Lily is walking through the jungle with her arms crossed, holding onto a mango. After she'd met Awen and been given directions to Ambrose's camp, she'd started off in that direction. She's made sure she's always near the river in case she does get lost, but hasn't made much progress. The jungle is a confusing place, and she's had to backtrack once but thinks she's on the right path now.
Thunder rumbles in the distance, and while she hasn't seen any lightning she's pretty sure there has been some. The jungle had gotten darker since she'd left Awen, and the approaching storm is quite evident now. She picks up the pace, hoping to find something before it starts to rain and doing her best to ignore any of the pain in her feet from stepping on pointed rocks or twigs.
She murmurs the directions Awen had given under her breath, going over the list to make sure she is going the right way.
'Hopefully,' she thinks, sighing. Amaya Vaughan After Amaya had seen the menacing clouds looming over the ocean, she had literally dropped what she was doing and booked it back towards the camp... Unfortunatly, she was halfway down the island and the camp was pretty much on the end of it.
She had gotten farther then she thought she would before the heavy rain that had been pelting her through the trees started to get her. Gradually she got slower and slower, the still human skin turning a cold shade of purple and covered in goosebumps.
It was too cold... her mind was already muddled and tired. Slowly she had pulled herself from the river she had crossed and found a slightly sheltered spot under a tree. The rain continued to pelt her, the poor girl unable to get herself moving again.
Do lizards die if they get too cold...? Amaya thought as she lay huddled on the ground with her face turned towards the tree she lay under. Am I going to die from a storm...? Eyelids half-closed and her mind went blank, too tired to think or panic. Lily Delaney When the rain finally starts, Lily gasps and gets beside the nearest tree as if it were an umbrella, dropping her mango. It takes only a second to realize that this doesn't work very well and then she pushes herself back from the tree, grabs the mango and tries to remember which way she's supposed to be going. Soon she's heading in what she believe is the right direction, trying to stay close to trees to avoid getting too wet too quickly.
She shivers, wishing she had a jacket and shoes as she jogs her way over the softening ground. Lily lifts a hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes and just as she starts lowering her arm her foot hits the root of a tree and she falls forward.
"Ouch!" she yelps, dropping the mango and putting out her hands to break her fall. The wet ground hadn't helped her not fall, and it certainly didn't make her feel any better about having fallen. Just about ready to give up and try to find shelter instead, she looks up and spots something huddled by a nearby tree.
"What?" she wonders, forgetting for a moment that she's on her knees in mud and that it's raining. It looks like a person, a very cold or panicked person. She gets to her feet and walks over to the tree, but not right up to the person.
"Hello?" she says loudly, speaking over the rain. Her arms are crossed again to try to keep warm, making her arms and shirt dirtier. Amaya Vaughan What was that? Slowly Amaya turned her head, her body covered in the mud she was laying in and her hair wet and matted. She probably looked absolutly pathetic... not that it was on her mind to make her apperance any better.
Her face was purple from the cold around her scales, tail laying motionless behind her and legs tucked to her chest. Her large hands were wrapped around her arms to try and help keep her warm, but it obviously wasn't doing any good.
"Hnnn...?" Was all she could manage to say. The water dripping from her black hair was getting into her tired and fatigued eyes, making her vision blurry. The voice wasn't familiar and the face was too fuzzy to make out. Lily Delaney Through the mud and her concern, Lily hadn't noticed Amaya's transformation right away. Her hazel eyes widen due to a whole variety of things- the reptilian qualities to this person is one, the pathetic seeming state of her another. What's wrong with her?!
Lily steps closer and kneels down, frowning, "Are you alright?"
Her voice is still loud enough to be heard over the rain but a peal of thunder breaks up her question. She jumps and glances upward, startled by the thunder. When she looks back down it hits her- scales meant some kind of reptile. Reptiles are cold blooded. That has to be what's wrong.
"Oh god," she bites her lip and reaches out to Amaya with a chilled hand. Amaya Vaughan Oh thank god, it was a person... someone she didn't know, but a person. Even though she hated relying so much on others... she didn't have much of a choice right now.
Amaya blinked slowly, barely phased by the loud strike of lightning. Though once the ringing stopped in her ears she managed to speak as loud as she could even though it was still rather quiet and labored. "I'm... really c-cold..."
It didn't matter if she was startled by her transformation or not. Right now her mind could only focus on one thing, and that was getting help before she... died or froze to death or... whatever happened the reptiles. Lily Delaney Lily leans in to try to hear what Amaya says, only catching the word 'cold,' which is enough for her to understand what she said. But what is she supposed to do? The poor lizard girl was obviously freezing, and wouldn't be going anywhere- how cold could it get on this Island?
Lily puts a hand on Amaya's shoulder and inches herself toward her, the best she can think of right now is that she herself has some warmth in her. Despite knowing it won't do very much good, she puts an arm around Amaya and pulls herself closer to her, willing to share whatever warmth she has until she figures out what the heck to do. Amaya Vaughan Amaya didn't resist, simply letting her head fall back down tiredly. "Thank you..." She said as loud as she could, her eyes drooping closed. Personally she didn't know if body heat would work with reptiles... but what else was she supposed to ask of the woman she didn't even know? Lily Delaney Lily, despite being right beside Amaya, still barely hears her over the thumping of the rain. What she guesses she said is about right, and doesn't really require a reply. She shivers, "What am I supposed to do?"
She looks around them, hoping someone with all the answers would come by.
A more sheltered area would even be better, but Lily doesn't know her way around very well and isn't sure she could even get this person to move. She sighs. Amaya Vaughan The lizard-girl looked around, her head barely moving. She had no idea who this woman was, but already liked her. She had stopped just for her and sat in the rain.
Amaya frowned, suddenly feeling very guilty. "I'm sorry..." Chubbs MacKraken Chubbs finally woke to a shower, a damn freezing one. His sleepy eyelids opened and blinked as the water fell in. A crack of lightning snapped him awake and he coughed at the taste in his mouth. It was no wonder, the remainder of a eaten snake rested beside him, the thought that he ate it raw almost made him vomit. It didn't sit easy in his stomach but he was feeling better than he had been in days. There about half the snake left, he was amazed he'd eaten that much. With a shiver he got to his feet. least he'd have a shower and smell better. With a wince Chubbs looked at his shoulder, there was the row of teeth marks from the snakes bite, but it had bruised up pretty good. He was glad the thing was a constricter. He picked up the remains, hoping it could be some food for later and slung it over his shoulder. Looking around and blowing water from his lips, he noticed the surroundings had gotten a lot less familiar. Chubbs was lost, he knew that. He couldn't see his footprints anywhere on the ground. He needed to find somewhere to hide from the rain, he'd be sick soon. Chubbs began walking, in a direction he thought might have been back to the river. Lily Delaney That time, Lily caught what Amaya said just before there was another loud clap of thunder. Caught someone between smiling and frowning, she shakes her heard.
"Don't be."
She wouldn't just leave someone out in the jungle in this unless they told her to, and, of course, seeing the disadvantages of the changes she'd helped to cause make her feel somewhat guilty herself. Amaya Vaughan Amaya just gave a tiny sigh and snuggled a little more into Lily. She couldn't even shiver anymore, her body directly influanced by the tempature and freezing rain coming down from above.
She looked down at her legs, covered in scales... though the skin inbetween them was a light purple. Guessing her body was the same hue, she closed her eyes and did something she haden't done in months.
She prayed.
Not only for the water to stop, but for her to live through this since she had no idea what would happen if she didn't get warm. The iguana-girl prayed for Lily too, for her to come out of this unscathed. For everyone on the island to be alright... anything her tired mind could think of. Dr. Madison Moreau Madison saw a figure out of the corner of her eye. He was a rather robust individual and had a snake over his shoulder.
It was so cold out here and she wished that she could be in her bungalow..but it was locked. All people had to be outside and that sucked a lot. Chubbs MacKraken Chubbs had been wondering for a while, and the darkness didn't help much. The snake bite twinged a little, he rubbed it, hoping the damn thing wouldn't get infected. Nearlly walking right past, he blinked when he saw a dripping red headed figure nearby. It hadn't been anyone he'd seen before, and she did look like she was part of the island. He hesitated a moment and finally made his way towards her. He kind of wished she hadn't, she was pretty cute, and he loved red hair, he thought about Joliette and wished he was back with her. This one looked all wet and hot and damn it what was with him. Chubbs figured now he had been fed, the animals had other things in mind. " G'day there, ya lost too?" Dr. Madison Moreau Madison could feel the man's gaze go over her soaked body. The icy rain probably wasn't helping to leave much to the imagination.
"Hello! I'm glad to see someone as I been out here a long time with no one around," she said and started to walk closer to him.
Chubbs MacKraken Chubbs took the snake off his shoulder, it probably didn't do any benifits to a first greeting. She really wasn't anyone he'd seen, he hoped she was nice. even through the cold weather and rain he blushed a bit. " I er.. I got a bit lost, I'd wish ya somewhere safe miss, but I do appreciate the company right now" Dr. Madison Moreau Madison suddenly got all these animal instincts when she saw the snake draped over Chubs. She could sense he was hurt.
"Hey ..do you need help?" Lily Delaney She needs to do something. Nothing is going to happen just sitting here, so she looks around again- still hoping for some epiphany, for some idea to spring into her head. Nothing comes to Lily just looking at the trees through the rain, but through the dreary weather she hears something.
"What?" she asks in a hushed, inaudible voice. She hears it again, this time hearing it as more than just noise. Not sure if she can actually hear voices or that's just what she hopes, she takes her chances.
"Hello?!" she yells out, then quieter to the person huddled beside her, "I'll be back.." She removes her arm and falls back, ending up seated on the ground. Not concerned about mud anymore, she gets to her feet and listens to the rain. Nothing, this time.
"Hello?!" she tries again. Amaya Vaughan "Hn...?" Amaya mumbled as Lily got up. Who was she calling for? Was someone out there? She turned her head to watch the woman, though remained silent as the rain continued to fall. Chubbs MacKraken Chubbs looked over at his shoulder and rolled it a bit, it hurt just a bit, but nothing that would hinder him much. He looked back at the red head and wiped some of the rain from his face. " I recon I'll be alright .. um.. don't think these things are poisonous" He smiled and motioned towards the rest of the snake and suddenly his ears perked. He swear he heard a voice, and there it was again. Turning his head, he spide a figure drawing near and waved his arm. Another red head, he wondered if he was wearing some weird aftershave that was reeling them in. If Joliette had walked around a tree right then and there, he'd probably collapse. " Oi!, over here!" Dr. Madison Moreau Madison felt better that there was more people around now. They were dressed in skimpy clothing too and she wondered why.
It was a relief that this guy wasn't hurt because he seemed really nice. Shivering in the rain, she held her fuzzy body with her pawed hands.
"Hello! My name is Madison. I'm glad to see you all. smile " she said with a warm smile. Lily Delaney Lily does her best to follow the voices, but she just happens to see them while looking around rather than finding them directly. They are not, in fact, very far away from where she'd found Amaya. For a moment she stands still, looking at the wet fur covering both of these strangers.
"Um- Hello!" she says, going closer, "My name is Lily.." she trails off, before deciding to see if they can help..
"There's someone over here- by the tree-" she's not sure how easy she is to hear, but she gestures there as well. But then she pauses, what is she supposed to say?
"Sh- she's cold," she finishes lamely. Amaya Vaughan Wait... that voice had sounded familiar. She turned her head farther and watched Lily head off in another direction. Had someone come across them? Oh good...
... Then again, what were they going to do about her situtation and their own? She frowned, feeling utterly helpless and slowly her head lay back down in the mud.
Her body quivered as she desperatly tried to haul herself up. Gradually she managed to get onto one of her elbows. There she stopped, trying to gather more energy. She had to try... Chubbs MacKraken Chubbs couldn't agree more on the situation, even with the fur he was freezing. He wasn't sure who the new person was, but even more company was good. He walked over to Madison, and put his arm around her, she looked like she was as bad off as he was. Given the situation, he figured he gave off the most heat anyway. " Can you ah.. take us there... i'll umm see what I can do?" Chubbs went towards Lily, trying to think of what anyone could do to stay warm in this situation. Dr. Madison Moreau (back sorry)
A warm sensation went through Madison's body. She felt very comfortable with this Chubbs fellow.. maybe too comfortable. The other girls were so nice and she felt so happy all a sudden.
"We better follow Lily so we can find out where Amaya is. I can't wait to get there," her voice boomed over the clash of thunder.
The storm was getting worse so they best get on their way.
Lily Delaney Lily looks relieved when Chubbs says he'll see what he can do, though she doesn't turn around right away- still somewhat caught on what Chubbs and Madison look like. In one motion when startled by the thunder she turns around and takes the few steps to where Amaya is on the ground by the tree.
She glances back to the two people (hopefully) following her, gesturing to Amaya.. Amaya Vaughan Amaya's head lazily turned to look up at Lily, her eyes moving more then her head. She wanted to ask who was there, but instead found the strenght used to keep her shoulder propped up was slipping away.
Stay up... don't go back down... don't... go back down...
Though despite her efforts her front slowly dropped again into the mud beneath her. Amaya Vaughan Amaya's face twitched as Chubbs blew into it, her body laying exactly where he had set it. The fact they were so crowded didn't phase her at all, since her mind was more focused on surviving then anything else. Her eyes squinted and opened halfway, the girl taking in a huge breath like she had been holding it. Did she just conk out for a minute there? She couldn't remember...
Though she didn't notice that rain was no longer pelting her. Green eyes scanned the tight surroundings, then lay back down on Chubbs' chest. Slowly she tucked her legs and feet close to herself and managed to mumble. "Dun lemme sleep..." The lizard-girl might've been half out-of-it, but she knew better then to sleep when you were at the risk of freezing to death.
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Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:32 am
The night brings little relief to the islanders huddled in their lean-to's. While the storm's anger seems to have quelled somewhat - the crashing thunder and lightning abating late into the night, the torrential rains have not yet given up. The small shelters stand bravely against the storm - rivulets of water finding each and every space in the lean-to's to pelt the occupants - but it's still drier than being outside. At least, small favors, the rains seem to be the clash of front, and the temperature is on the rise, although the night is still not what the reptiles could call "warm." However.... the night brings other horrors than the rain. Amaya - The chill over your body and the seeping cold that has been building since the starts of the rains began to lessen as you huddled against another for warmpth. However, as the night stretches, you are surprised to find warmpth returning, and then, as if some twisted dream, you feel warmer and warmer, until a savage, feverish, flushing heat seems to be consuming you - the body heat next to you uncomfortable. Your first thought is likely that you did indeed make yourself sick from being out in the cold - and it certainly feels like it - feeling warm despite all atmospheric conditions that should be speaking contrary.... but it's then that the itching... and the cramping begins, and an altogether familiar tightening of muscles and quickened heartrate that is the physical feeling of impending change. The scale-rash begins to spread over your skin, and before your eyes, every single reamining patch of human skin itches, and begins to shread away from forming green scales beneath the surface. Your already embarrasingly large hands and feet ache, and stretch even longer (particularly your feet). Your short tail aches, presing longer, and longer. The short 'spines' down your back grow longer, and growing nubs continue up the back of your neck, even growing in your hairline. These spreading scales, this time, however, do not bequeath your face and head with only minor touches. The maddening itch this time spreads completely over your face... over your head. And as the skin on your scalp begins to flake... clumps of your raven hair loosen... and fall, until the only hair on your body is the last strands clung in your immense hands.
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Island of Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:21 pm
75% Change(Amaya encounters Rex as she changes right before his eyes)Amaya Vaughan New RPFortuanatly for Amaya, Chubbs and Lily had done wonders at keeping her awake. She had been able to drift off once or twice but the dreams that had greeted her were worse then what was going on in consciousness.
So she had stayed awake, laying ontop of Chubbs. Her scaley frame rose every time he took in a breath as he slept, a nice rythmic feeling that was actually very calming. Though as time got on she got hotter and hotter... even though the weather outside had only died down a very little bit. Green eyes squinted as heat wave after heat wave hit her body. It was making her nauseaus. The storm had most likely made her sick.
Not thinking clearly, she gently backed off of Chubbs' stomach and into the rain to cool down. The rain actually felt good on her head. She undoubtedly had a fever.
She absently scratched at her face with the back of her hand, stopping as it lowered into her line of view. Was that... skin? Green eyes shot open. It was the same thing that had happened to her before... the...
Oh my god.
She had to get away from so many people. She had to hide. She had to- to- Amaya began to hyperventalate as she stumbled away from the camp.
Her stomach cramped and her muscles tightened as she tried her best to get away. Meanwhile, the remaining human skin was peeling away and falling off in the rain. Rex Vadnais Rex had been tromping through the forest around the camp site, taking mental notes of landmarks so he could find his way back. The rain continued to fall, but the wind had mostly died down and the claps in the sky became less frequent. The whole while, he'd been reflecting on his stay at the island. Avery and falling overboard, meeting all those twisted animal people for the first time, his night with Antony and much more. All of it pooled in his mind, fresh as the soothing rain.
Until he heard a loud, feline scream of what sounded like a dying animal coming from the direction of his temporary home-base. Was everyone alright back there? He'd travelled pretty far from where he started and decided to go back to investigate.
Nearing the washed camp, he saw something flash through the corner of his eye leaving flakey white leaves in it's wake. "Hello?" Rex called nervously, what on earth was that thing. For some reason, memories of a show he watched on El Chupacabra came back to him. Was this safe? He took after it, calling out to the thing, "Are you alright?" By the looks of it, he was persuing some sort of giant, green and scaly blob. Like a lizard... Amaya? Amaya Vaughan Amaya didn't reply to Rex's calls. Instead she continued on, not even Colche's scream seemed to register in her mind. Most, if not all, of the human skin she once had was gone. Parts of the pink flesh hung from her body or trailed behind her. She had to get farth-
"AHHHH!" She screamed as her legs gave out underneath her. The iguana tumbled onto her stomach into the mud as her feet grew even larger along with her hands. Heaving and crying she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and watched in horror as they grew. Strangled sobs escaped her throat, tiny cries joining them.
Then as if it isn't enough, a horrible pain panged inside her tail as it growed longer and longer. Amaya screamed again, pain filling the air around her that not even the rain seemed to be able to wash away. Long, sharp claws dug into the wet earth as the stripped tail pushed down her black panties farther as the base grew larger and it's overall lenght seemed to refuse to stop. Rex Vadnais He now ran through the forest, trying to catch up with the girl, passing what he now realized was her skin. His stomache growled from hunger and disgust, things just weren't right.
She fell and screamed, he had time to catch up with and cautiously dropped to a jog so he didn't slip and end up in the mud like her. "Amaya?!" He yelled, the event clicking in his mind. She's changing..., he thought to himself. He watched in silent horror as her hands morphed and tail projected farther from her tail bone.
What could he do? Each sob and tear was like a stab in the heart. No one should go through this kind of torturous pain. Would this happen to him? What motivates Moreau to do this to people?! Tears welled in his eyes as well as he threw himself down by her in the mud.
"Amaya, you'll be fine, I-- I promise." He spoke in hushed and quavering tones, trying to comfort the girl anyway he could. He, however, put everything he had in him to try and keep himself from touching her. For all he knew, the scales were tender and young, he'd hate to risk any more pain for the girl. Amaya Vaughan Amaya heaved and panted, her head turned to look at Rex as she continued to change. The spines that were already somewhat formed down her spine popped up farther, new ones going into her hairling and almost to her forehead before they stopped. She lurched as each new one sprung forth, her body screaming in agony as Amaya screamed as well.
Green eyes were filled with horror, fear and saddness as they tore away from Rex and went back to the ground. She couldn't look at his perfectly normal human face as she herself changed even farther, stepping deeper and deeper into the animal that had been so forced upon her.
The scales spread farther over her face then they ever had before, the ears she once had shrinking to nothing. Another terrified scream left her as she felt her ears completely vanish. Her chest was also changing, getting smaller then it already was. Amaya no longer had breasts, the two small lumps on her torso being fat stores and only that. Rex Vadnais All that Rex could do was watch and murmer, "Amaya, stay strong, we'll get you through this..." and other comforting messeges. Could she hear him? His eyes widened as he saw her ears mold back into her skull and the green spines erupt like shoots from the top of her head. His breathing quickened and he his jaw grew slack. The green spread across her young face like some kind of alien fungus, When will it stop?!
Her green eyes looked into his and added to the blows attacking his heart. The horror and pain that was expressed pierced his soul even stronger than her changing appearance. Drops plummeted from the sky, they as helpless as Rex was. He could only hope the transformation would be over soon.
He blinked tears from his eyes as his whole body shook, part from the cold and part from fear of the terrible pain. Amaya Vaughan Amaya continued to sob and stare at the ground. The rain was gone. The island was gone. Rex was gone. All that was there was the horrible pain.
But then... it seemed to slow down. Save for an odd feeling on her head.
Then the first clump of raven hair slid from her cranium and onto the ground in front of her. Her sobs stopped almost completely as she watched another clump fall to the ground.
Eyes wide in shock, she raised a shakey hand to her head and rubbed her hair before pulling it away.
There, wrapped around her long clawed fingers was her hair.
She sat back on her knees and simply stared at it, the remainder of her hair slid down her scaley shoulders and into the wet mud.
"My..." Came her tiny, innocent and youthful voice. It contradicted the strange, alien creature sitting in front of Rex. "My..." Tears spilled out her eyes and Amaya's body started to shake... but it wasn't from the rain.
The iguana lurched foreward, the little food she had been eating the past few days expelling onto the ground before her entire body crumbled to the side.
The second time she had changed she had done the same thing, though it was because of her hands and feet... now such a thing seemed silly and trivial. But the horror of loosing her hair had hit some deep rooted fear and drove her to unconciousness. Rex Vadnais Rex, too, watched in silence as the locks of hair slid from her scalp. They dropped like birds to the muddy earth beneath them. "Oh..." he barely whispered. He should've seen this coming, of course a reptile wouldn't have hair. His stomach churned and maind raced as the girl broke down to tears before him.
To add to the drama, he scurried to the side to clear room for her vomit, "OH! Gosh, it's okay. A little barf neve--" He stopped mid sentence as she shuddered then fell to the ground, "s**t!" he exclaimed, Whoa... did I just cuss? He only cursed when he found it hard to control his emotions, this was one of those times.
"Oh Lord, o-lord-o-lord-o-lord." He sighed, slightly panicked. This is not good.
Being a lizard must have been a pretty bad animal. All scaly and green, constantly basking in the sun to keep wa-- The sun! Rex remembered that reptiles were cold blooded and this rain was most definately not helping. He had to get her out of here.
"All right, here we go." He got to his feet and swept her up into his arms then trudged his way through the mud back to Ambrose's camp. He had to find warmth somehow. Amaya Vaughan Amaya hung limp in the man's arms, her long tail trailing over his arms and swaying from side to side as he carried her back to camp. Were she conscious, she would probably be protesting against it. The last thing she wanted as people to see her... even though that meant the risk of dying in the rain.
Now that the change was over, her body was regaining it's cold-blooded nature. Her fever was still there, but it was less severe as her body began to get cooler and cooler due to the outside tempature. Rex's body heat did help, though.
Her head rested on his shoulder, arms hanging at her sides. Green eyes were closed and her mouth was still knit into a saddened frown. Rex Vadnais Breaking the perimeter of the camp, Rex bee-lined straight for the lean-to that he'd stayed in the previous night. He sniffed, the cold making his nose run again, it was the last thing he needed.
He came to his knees in the structure's dirt floor and continued to cling to the unconcious girl in his arms. He held Amaya close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her back, then pulled her trailing tail under the shelter as well. Body heat was the only warmth he could provide for the girl as his clothes were wet and he didnt have a blanket. He breathed heavily and hoped for the best, slowly rocking back and forth with the near-stranger held tight. A prayer ran through his head while his mouth jumbled, "It'll be okay... everything will be alright..." Amaya Vaughan For a moment Amaya remained silent and still, though when the man's voice reached her ears her face contorted. She grabbed his short with her hands, claws thankfully not tearing his shirt to shreads. A tiny, strangled whimper escaped her throat and she leaned closer into Rex. Right now it didn't matter if he was a total stranger, to the iguana he was a disembodied force there to comfort her.
Her entire body was sore and ached. She was cold and sick. The vomit taste still lingered in her mouth as her large, pink tongue flickered to catch the anxiety lingering on the man that held her. Her still human-like nose sniffed as tears started down her eyes once more.
The past few moments came crashing down, a strangled murmur said into Rex's shirt. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He had seen everything even though he had just washed up on the island a couple of days ago. Rex Vadnais The rain continued to pound outside the window and blur just about every sound that was remotely quiet. His heart pounded and head sagged, looking to the person he clutched. She was motionless and frozen, he thought all hope was lost...
...until she pulled him closer. "Amaya..." he whispered, his heart lept with joy as he realized she was still breathing and... quite frankly, alive. This poor girl had been through alot. He held her in his arms tighter, just wanting this young girl to turn out okay.
Rex stroked her back with calm hands, ensuring her safety as best he could, "No, don't appologize. It's fine... it's fine..." He hunched over her as if he was guarding her from the pain himself. Why can't I help more? He continued to stroke gently and let out a deep sigh. Amaya Vaughan Amaya sniffed as she cried into his chest, her tail painfully curling around both of them on it's own accord. She let out a whimper between her cries, the very motion making her new limb throb. Her eyes remained closed, unable to open to see the monstrosity she had become.
She knew it was bad. Her hair had fallen out. It didn't get much worse then loosing that.
Were her eyes still the same? Did she look anything like her deceased parents? The girl had inherited her father's hair and her mother's eyes... now she probably looked nothing like them.
Amaya didn't care if she was saved. She knew that now there was no going back. This was her permanent home until she died. But Rex... there was still hope for him if the rain ever let up. If the doctors never came back.
Though another sob, she managed to say "You havta get off this island..." Rex Vadnais "You havta get off this island..." the words reverberated in his head, the gears clicking once again.
There was still a glimmer of hope for him to get off of this god forsaken place. But what would happen when he went back? Go about his normal life? That's not even possible after what'd happened to him these past few days, the memory of the pain Amaya had gone through replayed over and over in his head. He'd tell people of what he saw, but would they believe him? Would the islanders come back into society after the changes they'd gone through?
He sat, contemplating all possible scenarios until he looked down to her and gave her a response, "I know..." The doubt was deep seated in his mind, but he could only agree with the girl at this point. There was no need to further complicate the situation with thoughts of what'd happen if Rex stayed. Amaya Vaughan Amaya fell silent, the only sound being the constant pounding on the roof of the lean-to and the water droplets that leaked through the cracks above that constantly pelted them.
Her sobbing had eventually stopped and her eyes had opened. She lay huddled up against Rex's chest, her now bald head resting against him. Green eyes were half-opened, the look on her face saying that she had passed the initial shock. All that was left was misery. Would she ever get used to this? It was... her afterall. Rex Vadnais Rex noticed her breathing steady and looked down at her. Her brilliant green eyes now open, if not tinged with some remaining pain. He cracked a smile and wiped a tear from her cheek, trying to lighten the dark mood, "Glad to see you've pulled together." He examined her newly changed body with his blue orbs of eyes.
The scales covered the vast majority, if not all, of her body. The thought of being covered like that made Rex's skin crawl. The tafts from her head formed some odd mohawk and her hands were bigger than his head. Hoping some simple conversation was the remedy for this girl, a compliment was a nice kicker. "Now tell me," he paused, looking straight down at Amaya, "have your eyes always been that green? They're beautiful." Amaya Vaughan Amaya blinked, a bit surprised by the compliment... though she knew it was probably just to make her feel better. Nothing of her was beautiful anymore. Not like it had been in the first place. Her large, pink tongue flickered on it's own accord. Though despite herself, she wasn't about to be rude.
"Thank you..." Her voice was hoarse and tired. "I got them from my mother." Rex Vadnais Uh-oh, family... stear clear bud. But he couldn't let the topic drop so quickly, "Well, I must say that you, my friend are very lucky." His own eyes looked to the side and he began to absently rub his hand up and down the un-ridged part of her back.
"Warming up?" He said smiling, holding her strong against his chest. "...and comfy?" His 'must comfort' instinct was fully oiled and he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy. Amaya Vaughan Amaya gave a lopsided smile and nodded to him. "Yeah, thanks... for everything." She glanced up at him, but then quickly looked away. It seemed strange to look at him... she didn't even feel human anymore. It was very strange...
"I hate to be so dependent on others... but until the rain lets up, I guess I don't have a choice." The iguana frowned, her eyes trailing to the opening of the lean-to. Small conversation was nice. It kept her minds off... other obvious things.
"How long do you think it'll last?" Amaya asked, refering to the rain that poured outside. Rex Vadnais "A thank you is completely unnecessary, I'll always be here to help you and anyone else for that matter." He smiled and made eye contact when she looked up, but was surprised when she looked away. Insecurity? Embarassment? But he shurgged it off, this was about her, not why she didnt want to look at him. So Rex instead looked out at the muddy ground...
The weather, a nice neutral and simple topic. "The rain? Well it's been going for quite a few days now hasn't it? It can't last much longer." Really he didn't have the slightest clue how much longer it would last, but optimism seemed to be good right now. Not the reality that he had a lizard girl on his lap. Amaya Vaughan "I hope not..." Amaya closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them tiredly. "And no offense... but I hope you get rescued before you havta help anyone else." She paused for a moment. "You and everyone else. None of you should be here." The iguana had made a desicion before even this change that if rescue did come... she was going to stay here. Rex Vadnais "I understand..." Rex said quietly, "I can see where that would be important." He chuckled at his understatement. Actually finding a way off the island would be a miracle, but going back would also be tough. It would be nearly impossible to get his memories of the island and these people off his mind.
It looked like the conversation was destined to take a turn towards the emotional, "...what would happen with you if the ship came. If I left, would you follow? And what about the other islanders, you know them better than myself. How would they feel about returning to the normal world?" Amaya Vaughan "Most of them would probably go back in a heartbeat. Maybe find refuge with their families. Even if they're already changed and will keep changing, at least they would be with those they cared about." Amaya stopped, giving a tired laugh. "Anything is better then living under Moreau's shoe like a peon." Though when she was asked what she would do, she fell silent in thought.
"... I don't know what I would do. I think I'd stay here with the few other people that would too." Her tail twitched on it's own accord, causing her to grimace a little in pain. At least the throbbing had died down. Rex Vadnais Rex nodded in agreement. Hiding in the shadows with your family could be good. But then she spoke about continuing to change. "Wait... what do you mean 'will keep changing'? Don't you need one of these injections that I keep hearing about to change? I mean, you must've gotten an injection in order for..." He stopped, he realized he'd dug a bit far and didn't want to bring attention back to the present state of the girl.
"Hopefully, I'd get off before I got injected. Changing in the outside world wouldn't be so great." He chewed on the thought for a bit, if he were to change while back home, who'd care for him in the shadows? He obviously couldn't show his face without being poked at by the government or some science center. Maybe he'd live on the streets, or in the sewer like some horror movie monster. Hmm, I wonder what animal I'll turn int-- No, Rex, stop it. You can't act like there's no way for you to get off, you'll have to go, no matter how cool it'd be to chan-- NO! Stop thinking like that! His mind scurried in an internal struggle, all though being an animal seemed pretty neat to Rex, he knew the true drama behind it. Amaya Vaughan Amaya shook her head, unoffended by his questions about her changing. As long as he didn't point anything rudely out to her, she was used to it. "I didn't get an injection this time. It did it on it's own... Awen didn't get an injection when she changed last either. She's turning into a fish of some sort. We think once you get injected for the first time, your fate is sealed..." She let out a sigh. "That's why once this rain lets up, you need to get off the island as fast as possible. Who knows when, or if, the staff will be back to inject you." Rex Vadnais Rex's heart sunk, how were these people changing without injections? Did whatever they inject you with grow and change on it's own? Or were they somehow getting these injections without them noticing? THings just didn't add up. For all that he knew, he'd been injected and was forever trapped on this island.
He gulped a bit, "So weird... suddenly things feel like a race. Against the storm, the cruise ship, the lab scientist people..." He stared off blankly in thought once more, but snapped back eventually, "I guess only time will tell..." Amaya Vaughan "Yeah..." Amaya trailed off, letting her head fall onto the man's chest. The rythmic motion of his chest raising and falling comforted her, much like it had when she was laying with Chubbs. Rex smelled nice too... despite being stranded outside these past few days.
Once more silence seemed to envelop them, the lizard unable to think of much else to say. Rex Vadnais Rex was glad that she was taking comfort in him, even thought they'd only spoken once before.
Rex didn't stop the slow motion of his hand brushing up and down her back, the friction adding to the needed heat to keep this girl concious. He sniffed occasionally, but held back the coughs so he didn't disrupt the girl resting on him.
In times like these, Rex would never be able to do it alone. He needed someone to hold and comfort. Someone to care for and share the moment with. Solitady could only be delt with in times of depression or great sadness, these weren't the greatest times of his life, but certainly not the worst either.
He continued to stare absently out the entry, watching the rain leak off the roof or the occasional splat against his skin. The sound was numbing, just an omnipresent hum or roll of the rain was the only sound to be heard. The scaled Amaya in his arms curled up in his lap like an overgrown child and the wetness of his clothes stuck to his back. He could taste some of his last meal, berries, in his mouth, yet his nose was too clogged to smell the slightest thing.
"It's quiet... a peaceful quiet." Amaya Vaughan "Yeah... though I wish the rain would stop. It's driving me insane." Amaya said, her eyes closed and her body still curled into Rex to keep warm. The constant pounding of rain outside was like a hammer being hit overhead that never seemed to end. Rex Vadnais "Yeah, it's starting to get a bit old." He remmebered when they washed up on the beach a few mornings ago. The warmth of the sand felt so good on his skin, but all that Rex could feel now was the wet and bone-chilling cold given from the rain. At least Amaya, although cold blooded, was acting slightly like a blanket instead of giveing him body heat. "Is the weather normally really nice here?" Amaya Vaughan "Normally, yeah. Before I changed it was too hot for me, but after I became cold-blooded it was normally really comfortable... only recently did it start getting colder. Especially at night." The iguana said, her eyes half-opening.
She then blinked, something coming to mind. "... What date is it?" Rex Vadnais Cold-blooded. It was hard for him to imagine being cold-blooded. Always having to keep warm, and if you got too cold you'd... the image of Amaya fainting in the mud out in the forest was certainly not one he wanted to keep in his head. What would've happened if he wasn't there to carry her back? Would her whole body freeze all animation, or would she be able to make it back to camp herself? He shook his head, not wanting to think about it. At least he knew that the weather was nice. Maybe he'd finally get some time to pick up his surfboard again!
"The date?" He was slightly taken aback at the seemingly random question, "Uhh... gosh I've lost track. I think that it's about early March, like the third or something." He stopped, counting over the days that had passed so quickly. "Why do you ask?" Amaya Vaughan "March already? ... Wow." Time seemed to loose it's meaning when you lived on the island, no news or television to keep you up to date. "I just sort of lost track of the date ever since I got here. Time doesn't seem to exist, y'know?" Amaya said, her scaley shoulders giving a tiny shrug. Rex Vadnais "Yeah, it makes sense though. I can already see it happening to me. I've nearly lost count of how many days have passed since I first got here." It was surprisingly easy to forget about things like the date when you didn't have anything better to do. No appointments, no events... nothing worked like clockwork. Maybe things would change once, and if, the duplexes opened up.
Rex sighed, things in his life had gotten a whole lot more complicated and easier at the same time. Amaya Vaughan "Yeah..." The girl trailed off, her eyelids starting to get heavy but then snapped back open as something occured to her.
"If I... go to sleep, will you... still be here?" She looked up at him, for once not pulling away from his gaze. He seemed like a nice enough guy... but when it came down to it, would he really stay with her until the rain stopped? She had to be the one of the worst looking people on the island by now, even though she had no idea what she really looked like. Rex Vadnais "If you want me to stay, I'll stay." Rex said calmly, He smiled and also locked eyes. "Right now, you are in need of someone more than anyone else on the island." He pulled her closer to cover her more, more heat for the girl. At least she was concious and functioning well as far as Rex could tell. He remembered laying with Antony in her camp site, also huddling together for warmth, it seemed like a trend lately. Amaya Vaughan Amaya gave a sad smile, somehow looking like the same girl that had first arrived on the island. She snuggled into him and got comfortable before closing her eyes.
It didn't take her long before she drifted to a rather fitful slumber. Rex Vadnais Rex, too, began to feel the effects of drowziness after a few minutes.His head dropped to his shoulder and fell fast asleep. He was awoken by the occasional adjusting or roll of the girl beneath him arms, but continued to dream throughout the night.
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