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"Interesting, more than ugly, I'd say. But really, everyone gets looked at. It wasn't like my friend was laughing at him, or even blatantly staring." Nita shrugged and rolled her eyes again.

"I actually just ran into Gaius the other day. Apparently he's working on making more "islander-friendly" furniture. Like chairs with ample room for tails and stuff." She glanced at her own thick tail, which, as she'd informed Gaius, definitely got in the way.

Nita giggled as well, wondering if that was what had prompted the furniture project. In any case, it really was a good idea.

"Oh, goodness no!" Geez, had the poor guy been thinking they changed forever? "There are four changes; This last one was my third, so I'm almost done."

Nita grinned and patted Marshall's knee. "Well, ah, yay for being relieved?" She laughed. "Oh yes, I know Alec. He lives in the duplex under me."

Come to think of it, Nita hadn't seen her neighbor for a long time. She'd heard something about him being in trouble, but never got details... She really should make an effort to see how he was doing.

"Huh," Nita said. Alec didn't seem the type to live outdoors voluntarily-- something must have happened to him. However, she had heard his music downstairs recently, so she supposed he must be back. She must have missed a lot while she was hiding in the jungle...

"I don't really live out here, no. I just spend a lot of time outside. It's usually pretty quiet, which is nice."

Nita nodded in agreement. "When you get back to the village, you should probably put some ointment on it or something. Just in case." She stood up as well, brushing a bit of dirt from her behind.

"Thanks for the offer, Marshall, but I ate before I came out here. It was nice talking to you, though."

"I'll see ya," Nita called after him. She watched him head back towards the village for a minute or so before going off at an angle. The heat and humidity had made her thirsty, and a drink from the river would fix that before making her way back to her tree for a bit of a nap.

[Fin]

Thom had never quite settled to life in the jungle. Oh, he could live comfortably enough. The ocean kept him clean enough, the trees made for a perfectly comfortable bed once one grew used to them, and there was plenty of small game to be found near the river. But he had never picked one location for his own as many of other islanders who had experienced spells in the jungle had. The cobra grew restless if it remained in one area for long, and the exploration gave the man something to fill his days. It was a comfortable living, and a pattern they had grown used to, but it meant the cobra could be difficult to find on any one day.

Not so since Halloween. Thom had forgotten one minor detail upon leaving Emelyn at the edge of the village that night--he had no pants to change into, nor did he have the means of obtaining some. He had done what he could with what he did have, tearing and tying the garment to end up with something between a deformed skirt and modest loin cloth, but the resulting clothing left him feeling extremely awkward. He was not about to climb a tree wearing such a thing, nor was he going to wander around and risk tearing what little clothing there was. And so he had remained nearer to the village than he would have otherwise, hoping that someone would happen by, and hoping that he would be on good enough terms with said someone that they would agree to retrieve some clothes for him.

Boredom had long since taken hold, and Thom was in the process of counting the leaves on a branch nearby when the hedgehog girl arrived. Engrossed in his task as he was, he failed to so much as hear the woman's approach until she spoke, else he probably would have said something to nab her attention earlier on. As it was, he immediately forgot what number he us and, momentarily irritated, glanced towards her, brightening up once he recognized the girl and realized he could probably persuade a pair of pants out of her. "'Ello t'you too. What brings you 'ere, then?"