Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Well, as far as the changes go- as soon as everyone arrives, they get their first injection. ...I'm sure you've... already had yours," Emelyn said sympathetically, "and then- in a few weeks, you'll receive your second. Sometimes they'll call you to the labs for the second- or they'll do it while you're sleeping. In which case, most people have nightmares- and they wake up while they're changing."

She held out her arms, as if to showcase those tawny-colored, fur-covered appendages, and turned them, showing her darkened fingernails on their way to becoming claws. "I've changed... twice. I don't know how many more there are. The first time, it didn't hurt much at all. I just had a little discomfort- chills- as the hair grew- and then some pain as my nose changed, and some internal changes. ...The second one was a little bit more painful, but it was over in a matter of an hour. And came months after the first change."

She sighed, brushing her proto-spines away from her forehead, collecting a smear of dewy sweat on her palm as she did. "And as for living on the island... well... you'll find that some of the islanders are wonderful, amazing people. And some you should probably stay away from."

"You can contact the lab at any time by using the intercom box in your room. ...But just a warning- they'll be able to see and hear you- they have cameras in every duplex." She didn't know how much of this Nita already knew- but telling the new islanders that they were being watched was a new staple for the anti-Moreau hedgehog. People had a right to know that their privacy- not to mention the sanctity of their lives and selves... were being violated.

"Ah," Em said, nodding at Nita's final words. "That would be Lauren. Also goes by Thorn. ...She's been on Moreau's side ever since he told her what she was going to be transformed into. ...And asked her to be on his side." Emelyn suddenly remembered that she hadn't answered the girl's earlier question. "Oh, and that's how I found out what I was turning into, as well. ...Hedgehog," she said, as if it wasn't already slightly obvious, "...But not everyone knows wha they'll be. Moreau only told me because he thought it would help sway me to his side."

Emelyn's heart was filled with nothing but pity for Lauren, when she heard Nita say that she was going about claiming to be Moreau's daughter.

"Lauren... had a rough life before she got here. ...I think she wishes very much that she was Moreau's daughter. But unless she was pulling the wool over my eyes when Moreau summoned the two of us to his mansion... that night he tried to sway us to his side, like he said- well, I doubt that she's actually related to him. ...I feel very sorry for her, more often than not." Emelyn sighed. This was not an easy conversation. Nita had not responded to this change quite like any other she'd met- and although Emelyn was not the first changed individual she'd come across- Em still was reasonably surprised that the girl still had not either panicked, wove a story of denial and disbelief... or dropped her head into her hands and sobbed.

What had her own reaction been? Emelyn tried to remember- but it was so long ago. She could hardly remember. Had she been on the island so long?

"To tell you the absolute truth, turning into an animal isn't even the worst part of it all. Some people- they've been saddled with burdensome serums- they're turning into sad things that change them completely. ...Have you met Cass? Or, Cassidy, rather. Or- god forbid, Jamal," she breathed. "But most of us who are mammalian- we've found that the changes open up a new world. I can see in the dark, after all. It's an amazing thing."

It was so good to see her smiling. It gave Em hope that the girl wasn't completley trapped behind the 'wall' she seemed to be so intent to stand behind.

"She must have gotten a kick out of that. ...Cass has been comparing herself to one since the wings started to grow."

NEW RP

Since returning from the lebs, Angelina was feeling the best she had in a while. Some part of her, as irrational as it sounded, felt like she had "beaten" it, and dispite the warning from Aubrey, she had a little flicker of hope that perhaps they would just leave her alone now.

Everyone that was human when she first came to the island had turned now. And she hadn't even run into anyone human in several days. It was a strange feeling, but one she planned to soak in while she could.

Grabbing her iPod and a beach towel, Angelina threw on her smallest bikini she brought with her and headed down to the beach. She figured she might as well try to get a tan while she still had skin to tan.

She laid out, belly up, on the towel, popping her headphones into her ears and zoning out in the sun.

Angelina barely heard the splashing of the other person over her headphones, but the presence of another person was enough to make her open a lazy eye to see who else around around.

She saw the figure backlighted against the sun, forcing her to drop up on her elbows and squint a bit. Upon recognition, her neautral, friendly smile faded quickly. "Oh its you," she said flatly.

Angelina raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you must have been strung out. We've met. You know, you insulted my boyfriend and I smacked you. Then you like, freaked out and ran away or something. Very dramatic, or something." She smirked to herself. "So, has it finally 'sunk in' yet?" She looked over him carefully, her smirk fading a bit as she caught the discoloration on his legs.

Angelina's brows furrowed as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. "So do you know what you are yet?" she asked, nodding to his feet, and hands. "Are those... suckers?"