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Kikue paused outside Nita's door, one arm laden with some fresh bamboo that she'd picked up at the mess hall. She knew that the time between leaving her note and Nita getting it was probably nothing, but that lingering feeling that something had gone wrong prompted her to visit again -- this time with a gift.

Hoping Nita was home, Kikue knocked politely on her door and waited for a reply.

Kikue's heart jumped when the door opened suddenly, and she saw...Nita there, inviting her inside. Only Nita looked much different than Kikue remembered. She'd changed!

The girl was outfitted with much more fur than Kikue had seen on her last, as well as a face that would probably become a red panda's muzzle in her next change. The most startling change was Nita's tail, long and poofy with fur.

"Nita," Kikue breathed, coming inside with the bamboo shoots in her arm. "You changed, too." She felt a little awkward, but it passed. No doubt Nita could tell Kikue was different since they had last met, too.

Conscious mostly of her ears, Kikue forced herself not to raise a hand and touch them nervously. It was stupid to feel so self-conscious, but it was impossible not to.

"I've brought you something," Kikue said. She smiled and held out the food to Nita. "Just some food from the mess hall. But I thought you'd like some."

Kikue nodded understandingly, sitting on the other side of the bed from Nita. "Don't worry about it, I was just dropping by to say hello." The feeling again reared up in her mind. She frowned, looking around Nita's room for a moment. "I came by pretty early, so I was worried when you weren't here. Was it the change?" She knew the topic could still be touchy for Nita, even though the girl had graciously invited her inside and didn't seem to be afraid to show herself. Kikue still had a soft spot for her own changed form, and with Nita's now drastic changes, there was no reason to think that it wasn't the same.

Smiling at Nita's comment on her appearance, Kikue thanked her softly, barely audible. She let her hand come up to touch one of her furred ears. They were soft. She was still getting used to their strangeness.

Putting her clawed hands in her lap, Kikue smiled a bit nervously, only then realizing Nita could probably see her teeth. "Ah," she got out, putting another hand near her mouth. "I hope I don't...scare you." Embarrassment flitted across her face. "I talked to someone else a few days ago, and she had a rabbit in her. She was awfully jumpy talking to me for a little while." Kikue tried not to let her face flush, but it felt like it was already. She hoped Nita wouldn't mind her presence.

Kikue wasn't at all surprised to hear Nita's explanation. Although Kikue herself didn't take medication for anything, she had gotten dangerously close to the point where, inevitably, she would have had to resort to some. Her father would have barred that too, no doubt. Shaking her head to clear it, Kikue tried to fight his picture from surfacing in her mind. She didn't want to think about it right now. "I'm sorry to hear about that. Withdrawal can be horrible," Kikue said. She knew about it, but couldn't share Nita's experience with it. I hope she's okay...

"I guess the labs have something of everything here." They would have to, wouldn't they? Otherwise they wouldn't be able to support their own subjects.

It was that thought that caused a look of confusion to register on Kikue's face. "...I guess you didn't ask them for any more before it happened?" Her voice was far from accusatory. In fact, she sounded worried.

At the mention of Fiona, however, Kikue's face brightened. "Yes. That's her." ...And just as quickly, fell. "I don't know what she was doing. I think she was trying to break into the labs to get her friend out." It's crazy. She can't do it...please don't let her try it...

Kikeu forced a smile, hearing Nita admit she wasn't afraid of her. She hoped so.

Kikue was stunned. Part of her wanted to reach out to Nita, but she wasn't sure if the other would become uncomfortable. So, that was it. It hadn't been Nita's medicine at all. What were these people thinking? Kikue was nearly shaking in pent up anger, something so rare for her, yet this -- this was far beyond over the line. "That's -- that's sick." Sympathy filled her eyes; her expression was painful. "I'm so sorry. Gods I...I can't believe..." She faltered, swallowing hard. These doctors weren't afraid to mess around. How could they do this? How could someone so easily make a decision like that?

Gods she could have...could have KILLED her. What if she had reacted to it...?

Kikue didn't know nearly enough about medications or chemistry to make that call, but the fact it was merely possibly angered her all the more. "Dr. Frost. I'm going to remember that name," she nearly hissed, surprising herself with the emotion swelling in her chest over hearing Nita's explanation. What is WRONG with that woman? She could have hurt her. She could have...

Forcing a smile, Kikue got Nita's hint. She nodded, releasing her hands from her lap -- only then realizing they had clenched the fabric tightly enough to threaten a few holes. Pulling her hands back with some difficulty, she shook the fabric off and gave Nita a bit of bemused, albiet embarrassed, look. Leaning back a little, she sighed and moved on to the next topic. "Well, I've been...I've been alright. I only changed a few days ago...it's still hard." Holding up a hand, she examinined it with a faint curiousity, although she had done so too many times recently to look very closely.

Sighing in a way that made her white bangs flutter, she nodded at Nita. "I hope you're feeling better, now...after...all that." Anger flushed her face, but she kept herself composed. Gods if I ever see that woman, I will not let this go unsaid. "When I changed, I actually did it in front of some other Islanders...it was...very hard, afterwards."

She wanted to still seem open to Nita's suggestions of what to discuss, but knew if the panda girl didn't want to talk about what had happened Kikue would not press her. Kikue too had her share of things she would rather leave unsaid...at least until a different time.

Somewhat surprised, yet relieved, at Nita's relative comfort with being near her, Kikue forced a nervous laugh. "Well...it was Joliette, and Alec. I don't know if you know them...I was out at the cliffs and met Joli. And right as I started to change, Alec ran into us..." Kikue's mind was suddenly awash with the memories of what had happened. Again she could see herself, hear herself talking, saying Joliette's name, and then the opressive heat that began to grip her...

She shook herself, hard, trying not to go deeply back into the change just yet. It was still too raw to do so without fear. Biting her lip carelessly -- she pulled her teeth back quickly after her lip nearly suffered what her clothes had -- Kikue sighed again. Catching Nita's eye, she went back, briefly, to her change. "The two of them had to get me back here, to the village... I...when I began changing, the heat was unbearable...I felt like I might pass out from it." Nita's changes may be different, but Kikue knew she would understand how instincts took control like that so quickly. It was still a bit unnerving to think about...

Even just a hand on her knee was something foreign to Kikue. As a child, she had not really been touched by her parents -- in the sense of being cuddled, or hugged, or anything similar. She had rarely been in any situation like that growing up, too, which made Nita's act of comfort strange. Yet Kikue forced herself not to pull away, ( although the very sharp eye might notice that she moved slightly at the touch ) because she didn't want to seem uncomfortable -- that Nita would choose to reach out to her like this was something that touched Kikue very deeply; she had never had any close friends. Still, it was different, and had it been anyone else, Kikue would definitely have pulled back from the closeness. She was a stranger in that land.

"Alec? He lives downstairs?" Kikue blinked openly at that, distracted from her thoughts. You're kidding! ...So that's where he lives... Kikue dropped her head into her hand. "Oh, I still have his bandana...he gave it to me on the day I changed!" I washed it with my sheets and clothes, but I still haven't given it back. Kikue gave Nita a guilty look. "...I really need to give it back to him...soon."

Fatigue was, suddenly, creeping up on her. Kikue blinked slowly, remembering with a jolt that she had specifically decided to try Nita's duplex at the time she did because it was the afternoon and the panda girl might be more likely to be at home. Yet she had known she would have to fight her overwhelming tendency to sleep through the middle of the day...whatever that was still from. Suddenly Kikue became nervous, and she asked, "Do you happen to know what time it is?"