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Kikue raised an eyebrow in spite of herself. It could be that the girl was annoyed at being bothered. Still, Kikue resorted to what she considered the best course of action -- certainly it had gotten her into trouble before, but she stood by it : telling the truth.

"I was just...wondering what you were doing," Kikue said, without anger. She smiled slightly. "Or if you needed help." She probably knows where most places are here than I do, judging by her changes. So what could *I* help with? But, it's the truth, that's all.

She continued to lean on her balcony, watching the girl curiously. Kikue wasn't always good at understanding why other people were operating the way they were, even though she could often tell clearly what they were expressing to her. Yet, she had know idea about this girl, so it could be anything that was bothering her...

She shrugged inwardly. She could just as easily go back inside, but she wanted to stay out, even with the heat. So she would.

"My name is Kikue." Kikue was now even more curious than before, watching Fiona dart her eyes around as if something was watching her. Was it some kind of new instinct because of her animal? I don't know what her animal is though. I guess it probably isn't a carnivore. Or maybe the girl was just paranoid. Certainly they were people like that... Kikue tried not to think of anyone she knew.

Even though the girl had demanded she not ask about whatever she was doing, Kikue was interested to know. The girl looked so guilty the way she was suspiciously looking around that it was like she was plotting something -- and if there was anyone to plot against, well, that'd probably be the staff, wouldn't it?

She moved her feet beneath her, the claws plain as day from her sandals. Yet she was distracted right now. Thankfully.

"Key-ku-eh," Kikue said aloud, slower this time. She gave an apologetic smile. "It's Japanese." Again she picked up on Fiona's twitching, and nervousness. Putting a clawed hand onto the wodd of the guard rail, she asked carefully, "Are you alright?" She still had no idea what animal Fiona was tied to, but there was something about her that Kikue couldn't put a finger on. As if she knew it, but yet, didn't.

Oblivious to the girl's reasons for being so jumpy, Kikue could only begin to hope that it wasn't some kind of condition. Unfortunately, perhaps, she bit her lip at being perplexed. Her lengthened teeth made an appearance then, although she was careful not to bite very hard. She'd already learned that the hard way.

"Are you sure you don't need help with something?" Kikue said again, worried.

Kikue looked thoughtful, still strangely alert to Fiona's body language and expression. Thinking back, she realized she must have been here around 3 weeks -- a bit over now. Within the next week, it would be officially one month.

"I got here about three weeks ago." She smiled wryily, glancing down at her hands. "I guess that's about the time to get something like these." The sharp claws looked back at her from her otherwise normal hands. She continued on. "I guess in another week, it'll be a month. How long have you been here?"

It was probably quite a bit longer than Kikue was. Fiona's changes were significant. I still don't know what animal...

Kikue actually blinked. Hard. March? Well, it was June now, wasn't it? And even almost July... "It's June right now," she said, not sure if Fiona would actually like to hear that. "Almost July..."

She sighed in the humidty, nodding sympathetically. "It's so hot here. I have to stay inside for a while sometimes, to cool off." A part of her wanted to add why that was, which was the serum, she knew -- but that some part warned that it might make Fiona angry. Kikue didn't know why, but that was her gut feeling. I guess it wouldn't be prudent to just...ask which she has... Under any other circumstances, that was what Kikeu would have done.

Thankfully, Fiona looked calmer, at least. This made Kikue calmer too, even though she didn't know completely why that was. Like so many things, she just accepted it and dealt with it accordingly.

It was then that a large tropical bird burst out of the trees nearby, completely catching Kikue's attention before she turned back to Fiona distractedly. There were still stray leaves gliding to the jungle floor from where the bird had erupted into the sky. Uhm, what? Oh, that was it, I was trying to figure out what animal she was...

Her mind focused on Fiona again, Kikue gave her an apologetic look. "...I thought I was coming here for a physical therapy program..." She held up her injured hand, stripped of its bandage since her shower the night before. She sighed painfully, sharing Fiona's pain about family long gone... "I left my father and didn't tell him where I was going," she said quietly. Guilt welled up in her chest. He probably thinks I ran away and just never came back. I want to tell him it wasn't his fault...not like that...

Giving Fiona a sad expression, she nodded at her. "Why did you come here? What did they tell you to get you to come?"

Kikue was shocked. The expression was clear on her face as she put a hand up to cover her mouth, not expecting an explanation like that at all. "They kidnapped you?" Stunned and dismayed, Kikue ran a hand through her hair, mixed emotions filling her. So much for somewhat willingly subjects. It was one thing to lie; that made the trip much easier for the the labs, because there was no fuss. But knocking someone unconscious and dragging them here?

"How the hell did they get you?" Kikue asked quickly, swearing for the first time in a while. She so rarely did it, but this time it came out on its own. They couldn't have just broken into her house, surely. Then they wouldn't have been able to tell the parents that Fiona was "on the run." And to say they had killed someone? Wasn't that just a bit extreme?

Something was off. Kikue couldn't but a finger on it, but Fiona's story either confirmed that the labs were insane, or there just needed to be more information to complete the picture. What where they thinking? Even if they had gotten her in a park or something...gods! It's such a risk. It doesn't make sense...

Kikue listened silently. The information trickled in, piecing itself with whatever else she knew. So, they did have facilities off-island. It made sense, didn't it? But would they really be testing the serums on the mainland? If they were investigated, they would risk losing their cover for this experiment. Fiona was saying they had a reputation in the first place -- for what kind of experiments?

What was even more astounding was that Fiona had gotten into one of the mainland sites. How? Had she just walked in, or had it been hard? Maybe they'd only caught her on the premises, not actually inside.

Feral Labs must be more widespread than even we know. The clinic I went to must have been associated with them. Are they recruiting subjects all over the world? If so, then what is the animal testing they're doing off this island? Preliminary experiments for the serums? Wouldn't the serums be too precious to risk being seized? It was possible that the Labs was confident enough in their security to conduct serum-based tests off the Island. Risky. And Fiona had been caught...

"Were you actually inside the facility?" Kikue asked, her face having grown quite serious as she thought through what Fiona's story might mean. "Or did they only catch you on the grounds?"