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"Oh god, I'm so sorry. ...To change into all those violent things... and then try to maintain even a shred of decency and humanity. I'm sure she understands." Without wondering how it would make the man feel, Emelyn put a comforting hand on his arm. She didn't put thought to it- it was an automatic gesture of comfort and understanding that came naturally, almost compulsively to the girl.

"But still, it must be frightening to have that temper building up inside of you."

A small smile crept onto the lips of the nocturnal girl. She was surprised by the question. She had been the constant comfort of so many on the island- a forgiver, accepter, and counsel to those who mourned either the death of their past lives, or the realities of their current ones. She was content to subsist in this manner, but it was always a refreshing thing- and a true point to the depth of someone's character- when they focused on her, as well.

"I'm surprised you want to know," she said, her voice holding no self-pity- for indeed, she had none, "I don't think more than two or three people on the island know more than a handful of things about me. I suppose I have one of those faces that say 'I listen', not 'I talk'." She grinned, plucking her goggles from her forehead to drop them in her lap, freeing those quills which had been twisted beneath them.

"Well... I came to the island... in the first 'wave' of people- back before anyone had changed. I washed ashore after my boat crashed in a storm that also brought someone else to the island in the same manner." She looked up the sky, rolling only her eyes upwards, as if to probe her mind for facts. "And before that, I was a youth diplomat for a branch of the United Nations, and travelled around the world doing various things as part of the Peace Projects. ...And... let's see... I think that's a decent handful of facts. You've now acquainted yourself more than pretty much anyone on the island with Emelyn Honor White." She gave him the smallest of salutes. "Nice to meet you."

Emelyn returned Chubb's grin at the sight of his return of the gesture, and at the click of his dark claws.

"Well, the animals that have infiltrated your DNA may be vicious ones... but they make you look very cuddly," she said, whispering- as if confiding in him. "...Not unlike a teddy bear."

At his mention of her past life, and how great it must have been, Emelyn took a deep breath and leaned back on her arms, her fingers stuck into the sand behind her and her palms crunching the grains almost compulsively.

"It was a nice life. ...But I don't think I miss it. I travelled because I was looking for something- or running away from something. Either way, I don't need either, anymore. ...What about you?" She asked, weaving the conversation back to him. "What did you do before being tricked into this "tropical paradise"?"

"Wow..." It was more an exhale of breath than a word, and Emelyn shook her head. 'With each new story about how Moreau's ruined someone new's life... I can't believe that there can be a creature on this earth with so little soul." The sand felt good in her fingers, and the cool, night air so delicious on her moist, furry skin- but that did not mean that this was paradise- or even where she wanted to be. ...Not that she had any idea where that was. The mainland held nothing for her, anymore- and neither did the wide world of travelling that had once been her home.

"Working with kids- that must have been great. I worked with orphans when I lived in the Czech Republic- we built them a new playground. You must like children quite a bit."

"I've never hated anyone before in my life," Emelyn said, "until Moreau. And I'll say this before anything else... for the benefit of the cameras," she said, leaning into Chubbs with a wry smile on her face, "...That I've never met a man so devoid of a human heart, and who, if you were to plumb into the depths of his soul, would be seen only to have mere scraps of humanity clinging to its caverns." It was a mouthful, and Emelyn would have rolled her eyes at herself- but the sentiment was to real to mock.

She sat up, no longer relying on the anchor of her arms to support her, and placed a hand back on Chubbs' arm.

"It's not our DNA that makes us human. I think Moreau is the best example of that of all."

Emelyn laughed, her stomach contracting in bursts with her mirth. She caught the wince, however, and wiped away where the moisture had started to form under her eyes.

"Oh, I should warn you- they're getting a little sharp. The new ones on my back are worse- but the ones that are forming out of my hair aren't so bad." She appreciated how gingerly he held her with those monstrous claws- even with her own, limited claws that were more an extension and thickening of her own, natural nails than those veritable blades that Chubbs wielded, she knew how difficult it was to manuever with a delicate touch.

Being pulled to her feet startled her- but the hug genuinely surprised her, though she let herself be wrapped in the great-sized man's affections. When they released each other, Emelyn let forth a hearty chuckle that originated in her chest and bubbled from her lips with a happy abandon.

"No wonder Joli loves you," she said, wrinkling her leathery nose to let the man know she wasn't trying to embarass him, "you're such a sweet man. ...Take care of yourself, okay? And say hello to Joli for me. Tell her to come and visit me out here in the wild."

Emelyn said nothing as the bearish man blushed and rambled back into the woods on the way to Joli... back to the mock civilization that Emelyn had so summarily dismissed. After he left, she turned, face to the ocean and eyes to the sky.

The nights were hers- and at least out here- her thoughts were her own. She waded back into the water, and dove in to the cool water, freshened from her respite with David.