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 Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:34 pm
Visitors to the Swamp
Newt's not used to entertaining guests
Richard could no longer sit still in his duplex for more than 30 seconds at a time. It was coming soon this, week perhaps, any day, any hour now. Of course maybe it would be delayed like Emerwyn's was, it was a possibility. He might be worked up over nothing, the change could be minor, the mounds on his chest, an abrasion that would disappear. He tried to convince himself of any unlikely scenario he could think of. It didn't work. The pain of his last transformation lurked in his memory like a beast breathing on the back of his neck. He didn't want to feel that again, feel the sensation of his insides liquefying, melting, changing. The mere thought was enough to make his brow shine with slick sweat.
The duplex was of the labs, they who were subjecting him to this utter indignity. He couldn't stand it. He needed to get away, calm down somewhere without the walls that seemed to be closing in on him. With a savage growl he left, slamming the door behind him. Stamping into the jungle, not caring with he ran into Annie and Jamal. He'd almost welcome them, in this covered jungle, there were no walls here.
He had walked almost a mile when some semblance of rationally returned, he paused under the shade of a large tree. Breathing deeply of the humid air, letting the jungle's scents wash over him. It was calming, it made him feel more human, less like a caged animal.
Sitting there, collecting his thoughts he heard first the babbling of running water,and then the rest of the jungle seemed to come alive with sound as he sat. Bird squawked from the canopy, insects called for mates and frogs Krrtiked deeper in the jungle.
Frogs... Richard thought of nervous man he had borrowed a letter from. Newt. Perhaps this was the place? Or near it? He had mentioned a creek.
There was no harm in trying, he heaved himself to his feet, pausing to dig his claws across the bark of the tree he had leaned against. It felt alot better than his desk. Then he set out to follow the creek, where ever it might lead. Screw the Tiger, Richard would not be caged today.
Nearly a mile and a half from the village down the river and through the jungle following the creek passed before the strange but familiar scents of water and swamp filled his feline nostrils, and there was teh distant sound of a small waterfall. As he stepped, though, a thin cord twisted from stripped bark was pulled by his ankle just enough to rattle a pair of tin-cans strung high up in a nearby tree.
Richard started at the noise and hopped back a step. He recalled the frog's warning. The stories from Baghdad hurtled back to him. He hadn't been there when things had gotten really bad but even then the horror stories of booby trapped homes had circulated around the troops.
Only cans though, no trap. Richard knelt down, inspecting the cord, following it up into the tree. Clever.
He waited and listened for the owner of the alarm. His hand went into his pocket and gripped the swiss army knife. He suspected this was Newt's handy work but couldn't know for sure.
Off working waist deep in his swamp, Newt straightened at the sound of the alarm. It was instinct that made him grab the sharpened stick, but not frog instinct. There was still a man under the amphibious skin and his primal fear of being caught again made him take primitive measures as he lept through the underbrush towards the sound of cans to investigate. He landed heavily in a thick clutter of bushes, peering through the leaves at the trespasser. Was it Dee with the bag of goodies for him? No- someone larger- that old man! Er... what was his name again? The frog man huddled back, clinging to his make-shift weapon to see what the strange creature of a man would do.
Richard was not disappointed, as Newt's hopping combined with his bulk was hardly stealthy. Richard's ears detected him crashing into the nearby bush, but his eyes couldn't make out much more than Newt's huge eyes looking out at him. He didn't see the pointy stick.
Not believing the frog man to be any creditable threat Richard relaxed with a lash of diseased looking tail. His tentacles stayed in striking pose however, there was a limit to how relaxed you could allow yourself to be in the jungle.
He fixed Newt with smirk."You know its hard to bushes with eyes that big Newt."
He flinched when he was spotted, bright green eyes wavering behind his hiding spot before he flinched. "It's... it's... it's ver-ver-very far out... out in the jun-jun-jungle to be exploring!" He cried out in a loud, wavering voice, attempting his hardest to be threatening. The additional "KrrKIT!" did not help matters, unfortunately.
Richard shrugged totally missing the frog's intent. "Yes yes. There are murderous tigers and wolves out here. I know." And today he didn't care. He'd almost welcome the presence of the one of them. He feared them less than what would be happening to his own body soon. He took a step toward Newt, "Hiding in bush isn't very polite you know." He chuckled but it had a trace of growl in it. Like the sound was fraying around the edges.
Despite his shaking, the frog hopped out from his covers, spear at the ready as he inflated his throat as mightily as he was able and croaked as he spoke, "Wh-what do you w-want?" Short, and to the point.
Richard was honestly surprised by Newt's shortness and his stick. "Hmpf, woke up on the wrong side of the bog eh? I'm not allowed to just drop by to say hello if I'm in the neighborhood as it were?" Richard arched his brow. Really he had no ulterior motive other than distraction from his own troubles.
The frog bobbed anxiously in his crouch as though thinking it over while keeping his pent up energy tightly at bay. Finally, though, he lowered the spear ever so slightly, "It's.... aw-aw-awfully far out.... to.. .to just be walking." Newt never got many visitors ever, especially spur of the moment without any intent to make him do something for them. Liamh had been alright, but Liamh wasn't here.
Richard considered, yes it was far. "I.. was feeling a bit pent up to say the least. It been so long since I've been out of the village..." Richard shrugged helplessly unable and unwilling to explain why his duplex felt so small, why he hadn't slept much for the last week. The evidence of stress was there, the bags under his eyes, a slight twitch in his left ear, every five minutes or so and the nervous biting of his knuckle.
Newt fidgeted, looking the haggard old man over before lowering his weapon completely, "I... er... d-don't really... have a p-proper place to... to entertain... guests." He supposed he could lead him to the stump and fallen tree he had found, where he at least could sit himself. It wasn't too far away, closer to where the ground was far wetter and the water came up to one's ankles.
Richard chuckled a bit more at that but good naturedly, the growl gone. Then sighed and leaned back against a tree, his hands immediately digging into the bark, sinking his claws deep enough to feel the bark against his finger tips. "No I imagine you don't. How's life out here for you?"
Newt glanced from the cat-man to over his shoulder, pausing as he thought he heard the distant tinkle of cans again, but was mistaken. "It's... it's... b-busy..." He started, "B-but... but p-p-puh-pe-peaceful," He ended. He had indeed been busy, but considering the amount of time he had worked, there was still thousands of things to do. A few can alarms were nothing. It took far too long to make rope, but he did what he could.
Richard watched the man nervously contort to look back into the jungle at... something. He pulled out his pipe and pouch of tobbaco. He was almost out as he had been smoking at least twice a day lately. "Mind if I smoke?" he asked absently as he filled the bowl. "peaceful eh? Wish I could say the same for the village. Been exciting with Jamal's little rampage."
"Ah... ah, n-no..." Newt replied, glancing back up at him. His own nose wasn't very sensitive, so the thought of the scent of the tobacco drawing any sort of attention didn't occur to him. At the sound of the name of the tiger, though, the frog huddled low, "Ram-ram-rampage? With... with... with the g-g-guards? Did... did he get any more?" He perked up, eyes wobbling. He wasn't a member of the labs anymore! He didn't wear his uniform, he shouldn't be in danger, right? Right. That's what he insisted to himself every night as he huddled to sleep in the water.
Richard wasn't giving any thought to anyone's safety at the moment, his or Newts. He lit a match against the tip of his claw. Holding it in the bowl, he puffed on it until the contents caught. Then blew the smoke out of his mouth, savoring the nicotine. "Aah." Richard made a dismissive gesture warding off his own fear of the tiger man. "He went after Ambrose, crashed a jeep into his duplex. Fortunately nobody was home. Apparently there was bad blood between them. But he's is targeting villagers too now. No idea who exactly." Richard puffed on his pipe gazing up at the trees. His expression unreadable
That made the frog tremble, even as he watched the man puff away at his pipe in subdued jealousy. It had been ages since the ex-janitor had had a cigarette. He had never been a heavy smoker to begin with, but it had always been something that actually managed to calm his ever taught nerves. The sight of nicotine blowing int he breeze counteracted the terror of the seemingly random attack for a moment before it finally sunk in, "Ah- th-that's... that's m-mad! Why would he d-do something like that?"
"Because he's mad." Richard nodded, who knew what was going on in the head of the tiger man. "I met him a while ago, it was like talking to an animal that happened to know how to speak. It was all territory to him." Richard spat in disgust. Islanders that talked about territory like it was something that mattered on this island was the height of irrationality he had seen. "Somebody had better shoot me if I get that bad." His tail rippled with the shudder that passed down his spine.
"B-but... but it's n-no-not the villager's f-fault," The frog huffed, hopping through the underbrush to check on the trip wire and can set up Richard had set off to make sure nothing had been jerked out of place. The Y shaped stick he had embedded int he ground as a pulley hadn't broken or pulled out much and the twine itself seemed to be holding. He'd see how it handled the next rainfall before he'd know if it would need any repairs. "Eating g-guh-guh-guards is one th-thing. Tar-tar-targeting... in-innocent bystanders s-seems... re-re-ridiculous!"
complete but needs to be finished being compiled!
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:35 pm
TF Dream
It was a perfectly normal night for Richard. He'd come home late from the lab, exhausted from showing a group of trainees how to do simple procedures. As it often was, the house was dark when he arrived, a note on the refrigerator informing him that Cathy had a woman's rights meeting again.
Sighing, he had taken a raw steak from the fridge, sliced it into bite sized pieces and warmed them in the microwave. Then settling on the couch on his stomach, to avoid kinking either his tail or tentacles, he had eaten his meal while watching the news.
She stayed in that position, long after she had finished her meal and licked her paws clean, just flipping through the TV channels. It was near midnight when her ear's swiveled to focus on the sound of a car in the driveway. Richard slipped off the couch and onto all sixes, silently padding up the stairs. She slipped into bed so not to seem that she had waited up for Cathy. Her wife always insisted that waiting up for some one was a sign of disrespect. Richard did it anyway.
Cathy came to bed after a few minute rummaging around in the bathroom. When she did Richard scooted over and nuzzled her. Cathy smelt of cheap colon and sex. Just like she usually did coming home from the "meeting." Richard marked Cathy with her own scent from her muzzle, huffing indigently as she did so. Then she scooted back to her side of the bed.
It was a normal day.
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Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:42 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:52 pm
Cat Woman Exit Stage Right
The first thing Richard was aware of when her battered mind crawled away from sleep, was Dee. Not exactly Dee herself but more her essence. Memories of their encounter surface bubbled, he had changed. He was now a She. Richard shuddered and took in another breath through her nose, only to feel Dee's essence flow through her nostrils. Her impossibly bright green eyes snapped open in the darkness of the duplex. It wasn't essence at all! It was Dee's scent! The bed absolutely reeked of her. This wasn't Richard's home at all! Her thin lips curled up into a snarl as she pushed herself upright.
The pain in her limbs reminder her why she wasn't home. She surveyed the room, carefully breathing through her mouth to avoid further stimulating her now sensitive nose. It was an odd experience, the duplex should have been pitch black but she could see everything in it. Dee was on the floor, curled up among a blanket, snoozing quietly.
Slowly she maneuvered her legs over the side of the bed. She could every unfamilar inch of her body, the weight of her new beasts, the void between her legs. The hysteria was building up inside her again, breathing quickened.
"No, not here." Was the desperate thought that lashed back against the emotional wave. If Richard was going to fall apart again, he would do it in his own damn duplex. The anger over powered the saddness, the sense of loss for now. Teeth bared to the silent room, she pushed herself to her feet.
There was some confusion with exactly what was her foot though. Part of her wanted to stand up on her toes but the muscles protested, unable to muster to strength to do so. They seemed to be stuck some where between digitgrade and plantigrade, for now Richard shuffled across the room. The pawlike ends of her feet were like giant clown shoes. It wasn't comfortable in the least but she could walk.
Her knees wobbled but held, tail lashing frantically behind her to try to maintain a balance of sorts. Once stabilized she shuffled toward the doorway, trying her best not to make a sound but her claws kept snagging on the carpet, making little ripping sounds as they tore free.
She was panting lighty when she reached the door. There had to be an easier way than this. That was for sure. With the door opened she paused looked back at the figure sleeping on the floor. A small purr rose from her chest as she closed her eyes and rubbed her muzzle against the door frame. Then the cat woman shuffled into the early morning darkness.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:52 am
Mirror, Mirror on the wall...
Mark Twain had once said, "If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat." Richard didn't think Moreau was doing either a favor in her case. Words such as ugly, hideous and pathetic came to her mind instead when she stood in front of the mirror. She felt so awkard and uneven, Richard was just at a loss with what to do with herself. Internally she still referred himself although it was somewhat difficult to do so when standing in front of the mirror. She told herself that it didn't matter what she looked like, Ultimately she was still Richard M. Harrison underneath the mangled looks and DNA. Richard was a man of courage and integrity! A man unjustly trapped in a woman-cat thing's body! He shouldn't let this latest challenge phase him! No matter what she said to the mirror, no matter how she ranted at herself, she simply could not chase away the desire hid in the corner for the rest of her life. She knew that wouldn't work, she was almost out food, she couldn't hide in the duplex forever, but the prospect of someone seeing her like this was just depressing. Two days after the change and the soreness had mostly faded except from her most sensitive areas. The fridge was almost empty, facing the world was becoming a necessity so Richard stood in front of that cursed mirror trying to cobble together an outfit that... that at least made her look somewhat less female. Getting into real clothing and out of a bathrobe helped restore some dignity but between the hips and breasts nothing fit right. The breasts were far too tender to bind and the way she had been using the bandages to support them was acting like a poorly made push up bra. None of the button down shirts fit around the chest without looking like they were about to burst. Richard settle for a pull over shirt and then pulled on a jacket. It wasn't working, the clothes stayed on but Richard just hated every thing about herself and snarled at the image. She still looked like a woman! Pulling back to claw at the image that taunted her but the momentums was too much for her chest and pulled savagely on the tender breasts. A cry of pain interrupted the strike, causing Richard to incentively cradle her chest and sink to her knees. As the pain slowly faded away Richard stayed in that position for awhile. Pondering her own misery. As she did, her head bent over her chest and she began to groom the sparse fur on the back of her enlarged hands. I don't even have proper fur to groom. The thought depressed her further. Eventually she got up. Richard M. Harrison always got up. And ultimately she was still Richard M. Harrison. She was not looking forward to convincing others of that fact.
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Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:49 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:50 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:51 pm
Richard's definitely a woman.
Darwin's law of adaption according to Billy
Lacking anything better to do and still putting off ordering new clothes, Richard had returned to her secluded fishing spot on waking that morning. She had brought a Tom Clancy novel that she had snatched from the entertainment and was making good progress through it, holding it in her lower hands while she ran her claws over the bark of the tree at her back. Now however the sight of something shiny in the water caught her eye. She scooted closer to that water's edge to investigate.
Billy, meanwhile, had taken to floating down the river to see how much salt water he could stand before it burned too badly and he had to swim up stream again. It was a game he often played when feeling stir-crazy. The lake only seemed big until it was the only place you could go. It was shallow, according to his octopus body, the water too still and too warm and too light and too murky and too crowded. His camouflage came in handy when another lake dweller had scooted by, but the longer he stayed while the rest of the island milled about, the antsier he became. He wanted the ocean. They might have made him reliant on fresh water, but he was designed for the ocean. He was on his way towards the inviting but forbidden terrain when he lazily slid his gaze over the passing bank and caught sight of a familiar multi armed individual with a pair of seemingly random (but not that attractive) tentacles. There was something... off about him- her- it, though, but he couldn't quite put his tentacle on it.
Peering into the water Richard could make out the outlines of a fairly large fish idling about in the river's eddy. It had been over eight hours since the developing displacer beast had eaten. A pink tongue ran along one side of her short muzzle. One fish wouldn't hurt, it didn't qualify as hunting. She'd sworn that she would never stoop to that unless forced. This was just fishing. She edged her body over the edge of the water, tentacles coiling into a strike position just above the water's surface.
Billy caught a rock, concentrating to send waves of gray and green and brown across his skin to watch the strange creature from a safe distance.
The tentacles surged downwards into the water to fast for the human eye to follow. They extended to nearly six feet in length and stuck... the muddy floor of the river. Richard had not accounted for the light diffraction of the water and missed the fish by half a foot. The taste of dirt filled her mouth and water got in her nostrils from the splash. She scrambled back onto the bank, sneezing and spiting.
"Nice aim!" Billy called with a chuckle as it seemed he missed whatever weird... squid thing he was doing. Danger past for now, he crept closer to try to get a better look.
"Snnnnt!" "Snnnnt!" Another pair of feline sneezes wracked the large cat woman's body. She thought she heard a voice but was to busy trying to get her nose under control to respond. She looked to be on the edge of another sneeze, nose wrinkled, huge paw like posed in front of it to catch it. If she had know it was Billy then she might have just turned tail and run.
He pulled himself along the bank, eyes sliding up over the features as the funny feline sneezes wracked his body. The lake monster's fins flared as his mouth twisted into a beaked grin as he took in the tone of voice and various pinched and altered features. "Ye've changed!" He wheazed in his half-lunged, breathy voice.
That last sneeze didn't come and slowly Richard lowered her hands and turned her hand toward Billy. She swallowed. "Yes, I've changed." She said flatly, in a voice that was far too high to have been Richard's. The tentacles returned to a striking position.
"Turn aroun'! Turn' aroun', lemme' ha' a look!" The octopus grinned further, half beaching himself on the bank to lean in as close as possible to see. His latest audition had been a shock but not a surprise- but after seeing Richard's little strapped secret, and these latest... well, where he didn't fill in those baggy old clothes where he used to.
Richard crossed her chest with her muscular upper arms and a low warning growl issued from her throat. Billy, of all the people to run into! He thought this was funny! "I am not putting myself on display for you." She did however display her new teeth.
"S'funny I coul' still .... recognize you!" He panted, still laughing in amusement. "Means y'probably aren't tha'... much o' a looker, m'afraid. M'sure... SOME nice young man.... migh' ha' a t'ing.... fer elder wimmen."
"Shut up!" Richard cries as her right hand-paw lashes out, the back of her hand impacting Billy's face with an audible slap! The wickedly curved claws of the left hand extend from her finger tips, promising a far more serious blow. "I have enough to deal with out your ******** sense of humor." Her eyes positively glowed with anger.
The octopus flinched at the slap, but continued to laugh despite the threat, "Well y'better... feckin' get feckin' used t'it, lassie, jes' as I gotta' ... put up wit' bein' called... Lake Monster."
"Your lucky I don't slash out your eyes for calling me 'lassie.' I'm not a woman!" She was aware the claim looked and sounded ridiculous. But you have to start some where. "My name is Richard, no matter what I look like." She sneered at him and shifted forward, toward him, one paw hand touching the ground. She wasn't sure if the posture was a bluff or not.
"An' I'm th'Queen o' England!" he chuckled, "Darwin's law here, lassie" he reiterated, drawing the word out across his pointed gray tongue. "Y'gotta' adapt if yer gonna' survive."
"I am not adapting to this!" It was a bold faced lie. Slowly but surely she was coming to terms with it. "I am not female! I was born male and I'll die a man!" There wasn't much anger in her voice there was far more desperation. The angry expression was falling, replaced by one of fear. She was arching her back.
"An' will sayin' m'still... a mammal grow me back me hair? Or ge' rid o' these... wriggly bits comin' off th'bottom o' me face? I used t'ha'... a real nice beard, y'know. Very impressive."
Richard shook her head trying to ward off the truth of that. She took a step back and then another. "No. No. I'm still a man inside, its different. Once this is over, I'll get this fixed." Another step back, her tail curled around her side, she was on all fours. "They can do that. Yes, thats what will be done."
"Y'think they can give me me legs back? Real ones?" He was half serious, although his expression was wrought with sarcasm.
"Thats... different. Those are bones." Richard just wanted to get away now. She glanced behind her, plotting her escape route.
"It aint different, y'daft b***h," He chortled, slithering along the bank as though ready to follow after, but kept his legs in the water just in case.
A weak growl followed the b***h comment. "******** you." The two smaller hands thrust forward, each bearing a middle finger. "I'm not giving into this!" Then she turned and ran.
"GOOD LUCK WIT' THA'!" The octopus called after as loud as he could muster with his limited air capacity, howling with laughter as he sank back into the river. For as ugly and disfigured and biologically impractical as he was, at least he wasn't that guy. Hell, at least that Vasille fox had been kind of hot in a .... severely mammal sort of way.
Richard ran on all fours as until she was far out of sight of the octopus, then collapsed at the base of a tree, panting heavily. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "He wrong." She said out loud. "I'm still me. I'm who I was." She pulled herself to her feet, trying to blink the tears away. "Just get a grip Richard. Just get a grip. I always get up." She repeated mantras all the way to her duplex.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 8:47 pm
Newton Filinas Instinct
descriptive tag coming when the RP is further along The run from Billy and all those words that were just not true had hurt in more ways than one. The breast had not taken kindly to the bouncing of the four legged run and hurt like hell. It had been almost a week and they were still tender! Almost as insignificant though had been the taste of dirt on her hand paws and the realization that she had run away on all fours like an animal. Worse, she hadn't even noticed! The changes were mucking with her brain, that much was clear. This was simply not acceptable. Richard was a Man. And he'd be damned if He'd act like some animal! She was firm in her resolve as she snuck out to her fishing spot early that morning. "No more dropping to all fours. Nope. Never again." She thought as dug her claws into a tree that looked like it had a branch that would support her. Within seconds she had scaled the trunk and was settling on that branch. Even after the encounter with Billy she was unwilling to give up her spot but wanted to avoid being spotted by the aquatics that used the river. In the trees seemed to be a good compromise. The book she had brought with her was entertaining but as the sun rose her eyelids began to droop. Eventually she nodded off, the soft cover book tumbling from her grasp and onto the forest floor. Meanwhile, left to his own devices out deep in the woods, the frog was having much more difficulty sorting out his cognitive capabilities. He swamp, he hopped, he hunted for food. He called out for Dee, but she didn't return is desperate croakings, which confused and frustrated the primitive creature. Wary to leave the safety of his swamp, Newt still hopped to the river where he remembered spending time with the human in question. She wasn't like him, he knew that, and it wasn't him as a frog that was attracted to her... the part that was still rational as Newt couldn't let go of the kindness the nice young woman had extended to him. He couldn't forget the actual attention and interest she had had in him that no one else seemed to have cared. Of course he couldn't quite remember everything to that degree of detail, but he remembered.... warm, happy feelings, and he wanted to feel warm and happy again. At present, he was feeling cold and numb and disconnected. He swam down the river, croaking out periodically in hopes that someone would reply, but of course none did. When the jungle opened up to wider banks, he was drawn by the buzzing of a nearby bee hive and leaped from the water to land heavily on the bank with a loud, firm, "KrrKIT!" Richard jerked awake at the sudden and forgetting where she was, tried to sit up. Unfortunately this movement unbalanced her, causing her to topple off her branch. With an undignified yowl Richard hit the forest floor with a heavy thump about ten feet away from Newt. The frog gave an immediate terrified croak, leaping frantically to hop back towards the water. Richard groaned, still disoriented. She had landed on her side. The tentacles limply hanging from her back. She blinked clearing away the sleep and the pain of her side. The croak didn't register as she tilted her head upward to stare at the branch she had been sleeping on. Her tail twitched as if to say it was alive. There was a loud splash as Newt hopped back into the river, turning so only his wide round eyes peered up over the surface of the water, boggling at the possible predator. He was in water, he was safe. He could swim away, he'd be safe. Right. Right. Richard slowly peeled herself off the forest floor wincing as she did so. It didn't feel like anything was broken but she could feel the bruises forming all along her left side. Her right arms gripped her left upper one, hand paw above the elbow, tiny hand above the wrist. Her tail flicked with irritation as her brain slogged through the backlog of sensory data. Had that been a croak? Her bright green eyes scanned the river fixing one Newt's. She didn't recognize them. "Who's there!" She demanded. "Krriiit!" Newt replied, giving a little splash as he flinched in the water from the shout. Everything told him to run, but the predator on the dry land was... was familiar, and he clung to that familiarity. That sound.... "Newt?" Had he changed? She pushed herself up onto two feet, wobbling just a tad before her tail restored her balance. She breathed in, a boggy overtone drifted through the usual jungle scent. She advanced on the river, visibly limping. Still she was driven by curiosity. The frog trembled, eyes wide as he pressed his belly down against the cold mossy rocks of the riverbed, watching in subdued terror as the other islander came closer. "KrrKIT!" He started, "Krriiit!" He ended, and crawled hesitantly back away from the bank in case the creature decided to pounce. "Newt? Jeezus Newt , I'm not going to hurt you. Stop croaking like that." Richard's voice was a few octaves higher than when Newt had seen him last. She could clearly see that the frog had changed but couldn't make out details with him in the water. "You've changed right?" A conversation starter at least. She stopped her advance an sat on a rock near the bank. Between the pain and Newt's strange behavior she had forgotten about her own awkwardness. Changed. He remembered that word. He knew this person... they were strange, different too by the look of things, but he couldn't quite articulate his thoughts on the matter. Instead, he took a timid crawling step up the bank again, lifting his froggy head up out of the water. He cocked his head, peering at Richard with one eye and then the other as his throat trembled curiously. "Ch-ch-cha-KRRIIK!" The croak ripped through the word and he swallowed. Newt's smooth and shiny head made Richard's tentacles quiver and she swallowed the saliva that had suddenly appeared in her mouth. Newt's behavior was more frog like than ever and that head... must have hurt. A mrowl escaped her as she studied him. "Yes, you changed. Newt are you okay?" It certain hadn't helped the man;s stutter. His head bobbed with a little whine in the back of his throat. He knew this person.... but he didn't know this person. Change... change... the cat-squid had changed again too! "Ah..." As the thoughts managed to wade their way through his swampy head, he took a moment before he managed to process the next question. Okay? "N-nnn... nnnno-KRIK!" His voice broke that time, as though caught in a froggish puberty. She winced at the volume of the croak, her lips pulled back just enough for Newt to see the pointed tips of her teeth. "Could you please stop that! Its annoying." The frog flinched back, pressing his belly against the bank, covering his snout with his webbed hands. As she looked down on the plump frog man, she could not help a whirl of tangential thoughts from swirling through her mind. She could catch frogs with her tentacles, their skin would stick to the suction cups. But then she's have to go to the swamp then and get her feet stuck in that awful bog. Maybe she could stay in the trees? She licked the left side of her muzzle as she watched the frog man. She pushed the thoughts away, for later. Newt has here now and she wasn't going to eat him, despite how tasty he was starting to look. She took a breath, "Sorry, its probably something you'll have to learn to control. How long has it been?" The frog didn't answer, a whistle stuck in his throat as he glanced up and about frantically, leg and arm muscles trembling and twitching, begging him to leap away. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, slowly letting the words sink in before he managed to comprehend. "Ch-ch-changed..." he croaked, "h-hurt...." Now Richard was beginning to think something was seriously wrong. Newt had stuttered before but usually spoken in sentences, not single words. Her tail stopped moving as concern tool hold of his features. "How did it happen Newt?" A question that couldn't be answered with a single word. How.. what? The frog blinked at her, head bobbing as he tried to think. A pair of little brown island finches alighting unfortunately nearby to peck at the mosses of the bank diverted his attention and he thankfully seized the opportunity to ignore the pounding in his skull. He turned away from the cat-woman-man, creeping towards the birds with slow, careful intent. A crack and a squawk and a crunch and the rest scattered in a flurry of feathers. Two words was better, but something was definitely wrong as Newt stalked the bird in the middle of the conversation. "Newt! No!" She scolded him. "Tell me what happened!" There was a growl of threat in her voice. At the sound of the snarl, the frog gave a squeaking cry, bounding towards the water again. Blue! Blue! Away from green, green is filled with danger! Richard's tentacles snapped after the running prey but Newt had already dove into the water and the cat knew she was too injured to pursue. So she waited, tail lashing with annoyance, for the frog to calm himself. Staring at him with inhuman eyes. Newt whimpered, hiding in the water once again with only his eyes peering out in terror. Richard looks at Newt with a disapproval etched into her face. Both sets of arms crossed. "Alright Newt. I'm not going to hurt you. So just come over here and tell me what happened. Take as long as you need. I'm not going anywhere." It was a half truth, she was starting to get hungry but she would hold out for an hour or more. She didn't want to hit the cafe at prime time. The water seemed to calm him slightly, and he clung to the bank with a timid, dumb animal look. When the words seemed to drift past him unacknowledged, other words managed to surface from the mental bog. "Rrr....KrrIT! Rrrichard.... duh-d-d-differr-KRIT!...ent..." He might have been proverbially drowning in frog, but he was himself enough to dodge questions he wasn't comfortable answering. Richard nodded, She didn't exactly want to dwell on her changes either. "Yes I changed." Richard started speaking slower for Newts benefit. Richard main tact was to try to get the frog man to answer complex questions. If he didn't want to talk about his change then that was fine with her. She didn't want to talk about how she had bawled her eyes out to a perfect stranger. "So have you installed any more additions to the swamp? Any more clever contraptions?" The frog blinked at her stupidly, slowly absorbing each word. Swamp? His swamp was up the river. Contraptions? Gone... gone... everything had been taken... knocked over rocks and spilled charcoal and confiscated bicycles and cans and rope.... "N-no....KRIT! G-g-gone..." As though avoiding thinking about the painful event, the frog gave a kick to swim across the river and back restlessly Her black and far less bushy eyebrows shot up. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" The lab wouldn't have? Well maybe? Bilious42: Newt shook his head as he swam back to the bank again, "N-no... no k-k-kettle." "No kettle? I don't recall you having a kettle, just a bike. Did someone get you a kettle." Good Richard keep him talking. Where had his kettle come from? He remembered, he remembered creeping into the kitchen from the back door, and Delia chasing after him angrily as he hopped away with it. He remembered Dee bringing him teabags and the two enjoying it before... before... he gave a small, concerned sort of whistling croak and his neck sacks inflated with a powerful, "KrrKIT! KrrKIT! KrrKIT! KrrKIT!" As though that explained everything. The thunderous croaks were not entirely unexpected this time and Richard was able to bite back a threatening growl and keep her teeth behind her lips. The rest of her body was far less well behaved, her hackles rose as her body hunkered down and her toes dug into the sandy bank. "Newt." The voice was free of of growl but clearly not happy with the frog. "Stop that. Those aren't words." Newt gave a whimper, his hands rising up to his pounding skull once again, and it was unclear whether water had splashed onto his face or if they were tears rolling down his froggy cheeks, "W-w-wo-words..." He choked, clenching his bulbous eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. Richard tried to clam herself, Newt wasn't a threat he was a useful informant, an ally and perhaps a friend. She settle herself back on her rock but every muscle was like a wound spring, ready to leap on this annoying intruder should he make any sudden movements. She knew she should be more sympathetic but his prey like behavior and annoying noises were making it very difficult. "Yes words Newt. Use them to tell me whats going on." The voice was slightly less hard "Nnnn..." The frog gave a thoroughly frustrated whistling croak, mouth opening and closing a few times uselessly. Words. Words. Going on? He didn't understand completely, brain aching as it tried to digest the human words and sounds. It was far easier to read the tensed muscles of the cat about to spring, the threatening tentacles and thrashing tail. "Ahh... ah..." He whimpered, fidgeting in the water, "D-d-difficult..." He croaked. "Difficult?" A note of worry entered Richard's voice. "What's difficult." If the change had done something to Newt's brain, his thought processes. Except for her tail, Richard's position did not change. Newt scrambled for the words, rooting through his swampy head. It was indeed difficult. He felt coherent, but like a yawn engulfing his mind, his eyes would twitch to movement in the trees and he would be derailed and forget where he had left off and would need to begin again. After several moments of miserable chirps and groans, the frog managed, "Th-th-thi-KRIIT!-th-thinking..." "s**t." A small growl slipped past her lips as she took her eyes off Newt for a moment. She sighed, it was human sound for once. The serum mucked up the frog man's head, apparently more so than usual. On the positive side Newt seemed to be doing better than he had when he first crawled out the river. Maybe constant social interaction would help? "Newt if your having trouble, maybe you should come back to the village for awhile." He gave a chirp, head bouncing up and down at the mention of the word "Village" before he managed to shake his head back and forth, "B-bad..." There was no place for him in the village. He had resolved to leave and go as far as he could to work on his inventions, but it seemed not even that had helped him. Of course he couldn't exactly articulate these thoughts but he could remember the *feeling* of them. "You shouldn't stay out here like this Newt. You need some help." Richard her, him at the time, pledge to try and prevent anyone from going insane. Newt wasn't going to improve out here that for sure, alone with his not so inner frog. "I can help you fix up your duplex." Richard's form had begun to relax as she shifted into a more consoling mode of thought. The longer they talked the easier it was to think of Newt as a person and not an annoying morsel. "S-s-swa-KRIT! ... s-swa-swamp... f-for... for frog..." He managed to string together nearly a whole sentence this time, his breathing quick as he clung to the blank, happy to be in the water. The predator seemed to relax, which in turn made him a little more comfortable, but only marginally. "People need other people Newt, especially when one isn't thinking straight. Your not a frog, your a person too and right now you need to focus on being a person." Richard's throat rumbled softly at her words. She sounded like one of those happy camp councilors, paint happy but an untrue picture of the world. Newt was a frog, no doubt about that. Newt blinked dumbly, obviously confused by this statement. The words flowed in one yellow ear pad and vibrated out the other. "KrrrKIT!" "You have to practice talking and thinking." Richard snaps at Newt, frustration driving a trace of growl into her voice. Too many concepts the frog man seemed incapable of grasping, and his attentions had wandered. He crept along the bank, seeming to ignore the cat-man-woman's growing anger, drawn by a slight movement under the nearby ferns. Richard's eyes narrowed, annoyed at being a ignored. She slipped off her rock and started walking toward Newt, her bare feet soundless on the sandy bank. The frog didn't notice, too intent on his own prey. He crouched for a moment in front of the bush before his tongue flew out and the rat gave a sharp, terrified squeal before it was lost inside the frog's massive jaws, the fat, wriggling tail thrashing about the corner of his mouth like a worm until it was swallowed down whole. Richard stood behind Newt, four arms crossed, tail lashing angrily behind her. "Nnnneeeewwwt!" The name was stretched out on a rack of annoyance. She tried to tell herself that letting herself be annoyed with him was pointless. But understanding that actually replacing that annoyance with the vibe of a care giver wasn't an ability that she currently possessed. The frog's head jerked up, recognizing that word, at least. He gave a familiar croak, crawling around to huddle on his belly in a way he could cast the irritated islander a sideways glance. Richard forced herself to use small words. "Come on, Lets go. To the village." She gestured in the direction of the village with a paw hand, her claws halfway extended. Newt blinked again, throat trembling as he mulled over the thought. Frogs didn't ask things like "Why" or "What for?" The concept of the village ebbed in and out of his consciousness and the frog gave an anxious sort of noise, "V-village... d-danger." The village had people who chased him, threatened to eat him, hurt him and not nearly enough water to hide in. "Safer than jungle. Get you help." She wasn't planning on taking no for an answer either. She squatted down to Newt's level, eyes fixing on Newt's arm, ready to grab it if he attempted to escape. "Go on. To the village." Newt shook his head again, getting more nervous the closer Richard got. "N-n-no... no... s-swamp... s-swamp... s-sma-KRIIIT! S-safe..." Richard's paw hand darted out and into the water with a sudden splash! Aiming for newt's arm. Newt gave a frantic croak, leaping into the air in an attempt to dodge the sudden movement. BLUE BLUE FLEE TO THE BLUE! His brain screamed. Richard's hand met only river dirt and then Newt's leap knocked her backwards on her tail. She lets out a cry of pain, "Rrek!" The frog was quick to flee, landing back in the water with a splash and kicked off, preparing to swim away as fast as he could. Richard's tentacles lashed at the fleeing frog with a snarl but the frog's leap had carried him well beyond their range. With a few swift kicks, the frog swam away, up stream back towards the jungle and the safety of his swamp. Richard watched the frog swim away, fuming and frustrated. Newt needed help, but what kind and from who she wasn't sure.
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:16 pm
Denial Only Works if you can Avoid the Problem.
Richard chest was simply not an avoidable problem. The ace bandages she had been using to support herself simply weren't working. It was time to place an order...
(To be continued)
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:34 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:57 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:00 pm
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:01 pm
When Richard awoke, she didn't need to open her eyes to know that she was back in her Den/Duplex, the scent welcomed her home. She opened her eyes in the dim light of the room to find herself laying on her bed, fully clothed. She sighed be she saw the fresh bandages around her forearm, dark red spots standing out against the whiteness of the cotton cloth. They hadn't bothered to undress her, instead the labs had simply cut the sleeve of her heavily stained sports coat.
She hissed with pain when she moved her injuried arm. "******** idiot." She remembered what happened and the whole incident made her angry. As she tested the flexibility of her thick fingers, she replayed the entire confrontation in her mind.
Seth made her angry but her own behaviore made her frightened. There had been a point during that confrontation that she had been willing to kill some one, over a Tree! Of all the stupid things.
She looked over her room, her eyes falling the claw marks that adorned the furniture, they were on almost every wooden surface. The entire room looked more like an animal's den than apartment.
Something had to change.
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 6:39 pm
Dee's change!
******Part Two******
Hours later, after she came to, Dee was in no better shape. A fresh
wave of pain wrestled her from her fitful slumber and, despite the
several bottles of water she had consumed prior to her nap, she still
felt as if in the throes of an awful hangover. Now the feverish
flu-like symptoms had gotten worse. She groaned, clawed her way out
of bed, and staggered to the bathroom.
After relieving herself—to her dismay, she was hurting down *there* as
well—Dee stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes were closed, as if
she feared what she might see. And yet, her rational mind refused to
relinquish control. Yeah, quit fussing. You drank too much the
past few days and spent too much time out in the sun. Now that you're
rested and restored, you'll be fine.
At least,she hopes, I *look* a little more human, even if I
don't feel it.
But when she opened her eyes, 'human' wasn't exactly the first thing
that came to mind.
"No…"
The lighting in the bathroom seemed hellishly intense, far more brutal
than she had remembered. They made the new details of her body stand
out all the more. Dark stripes had appeared all over her body,
wrapping around her shoulders, arms, legs, and disappearing under her
clothing. Her lips still shone red, only now they were even more
intense in color and were joined by tinges of yellow. Bright yellow
stripes in the shape of a starburst ringed each of her eyes.
Her eyes…
It was what had happened to her eyes that had horrified her most.
Her irises were gone. The yellow that had been cast across them this
morning now pervaded the rest of her eyes, spreading until there was
no distinction between the structures. Her pupils were compressed,
flattening down into animalistic horizontal rectangles. Her
pain-addled brain, reeling and trying desperately to catalog the
change, rattled off mental lists of possible source species.
Ungulate? Reptile? Invertebrate? She didn't even know where to
begin.
Dee began to shake. She tore her eyes from the mirror and had to
physically push herself away from the sink. With a strangled sound,
she shuts off the bathroom light and stumbles back into the main room.
"This ishn't happening," she slurred, her lips feeling heavy. "This
ishn't happening." As if on cue, ripples of pain raced down her arms
and legs and collected in the tips of each digit. Her fingers and toes
felt as if they were swelling, and in the low light of the room Dee
could see the nails begin to grow. She whined, watching as they
darkened and thickened, compressing into blunt claws.
It didn't end there. Her protests grew louder as the aching in her
mouth became more intense. Her canine teeth were growing and
sharpening into predatory little points, and the sensation of
twisting, changing enamel and dentin was almost too much for Dee to
bear.
Next, the change swept back and upwards. Dee lifted her tender
fingertips to her ears in time to feel the lobes stretch into severe
points. Her eyes were closed and her newly-changed teeth ground
against one another as the woman clenched her jaw. Moments later, her
brain switched into a near full-on panic mode.
Help! I gotta get help!!! SOMEONE HELPMEHELPMEHELPME…
******
She feels the queer waves of changing flesh continue down into her
neck. Dee's voice breaks into a panicked, wavering cry and she makes a
run for the door. A flock of island finches at her feeder scatters as
she bursts outside…
It was a few days after Richard's territorial dispute with Seth and
the event still loomed large in her mind. Her behavior had been...
inhuman. She had been ready to kill him over a tree, of all stupid
things. Regardless of the fact that he was acting like an a*****e, it
wasn't an excuse! It was the first time Richard had noticed that she
not only was she acting animalistic but she was thinking like one.
It was time to get over this. She had been sitting around moping in
the forest too long. It was time to get over this and get back to
work. It was time to act like a human being again.
The first step of this was to get some comfortable clothing and then
work on the newsletter. This was going to require a trip to Dee's,
she still possessed her laptop and some one needed to show her how to
measure Richard's new dimensions. She was almost there when she hears
Dee's calls for help. With a worried yrowl, Richard hurried to Dee's
duplex, she could run with her mutated feet but she hustled as fast as
she could. She had almost reached the door when Dee burst out of it.
The momentum has the wide-eyed Dee nearly falling flat on her face,
but she cartwheels her arms and comes to a halt. Almost immediately,
she cries out again and puts her hands up to her face as the sunlight
burns her retinas. "AUGH, gawd…" she sobs. Her newly-minted black
claws glint in the light, and her multicolored stripes gleam in sharp
contrast to her human skin. She breathes heavily and peers through
her fingers, spotting the feline.
"Rih-Richard!!" she gasps, her voice heavy with panic and
embarrassment. "It…it's h-happening. You gotta help me!"
Startled, took a half step away from Dee and immediately felt her lips
draw back from her teeth. "Deeee." She whispered as her eyes
registered the new inhuman features. She caught the glint of Dee's
strange eyes before they were hidden behind the clawed hands. The
scent of fear is practically flowing off her, beneath it is the scent
of something unnatural. For a moment Richard is paralyzed, caught
between observing the changes and mentally exploring the scent, the
delicious fear with Dee's curious undertones. Dee's plea shook her
out of it.
What the hell am I doing? She scolded herself as she stepped forward
and wrapped an upper arm around Dee's shoulder. "Shhh! Its okay! It
will be alright!" She gently sheparded the woman back inside her
duplex, out of the sunlight.
Tears poured out of Dee's oddly-colored eyes and down her cheeks.
Delirious with pain and confusion, she allows Richard to help her back
inside. "I…I thought I'd be different," she stammers. "I thought I
was just here to study…I-I-aaaAWGH!!" Dee bends forward and falls to
her knees beside the bed, clapping her hands behind her head. Erect
black hairs begin to sprout from her changing neck, poking through her
fingers and around her hands despite her efforts to keep them down.
They sprout all the way down her nape, forming a stiff, thick
continuation of her hair-line. Dee's hands curl into fists as the
neck stretches to accommodate the growing mane.
"Rissird…" she slurs, white canines catching the light of the reading
lamp incubator on her desk.
Richard had no idea what the woman was changing into, those stripes
looked more alien than anything else. She knelt down besides Dee,
prying a hand free of the mane and envelopes the clawed hand with her
own massive handpaw. There was nothing to be done at this point
except wait it out. "I know. It hurts. Hang in there." Her voice
was soft, mothering almost. A little voice screamed in her head, "It
will only get worse!"
And it does. Dee is sobbing, trying to concentrate on Richard's voice
as her body warps beyond her control. The discomfort and aching in
her private parts suddenly increases, and Dee's face twists into a
distorted expression as she feels herself changing down *there* as
well. Something swells…mutates…splits…and Dee can't even begin to
fathom what's happening.
"Noooo…" she keens softly, grabbing at the blanket of her bed, trying
to cover herself despite the fact that she was fully clothed. Her
face is nearly as red as her lips. If she were in her right mind,
Dee might find this ironic.
Being there is the only thing Richard can do, she keeps a death grip
on Dee's hand and draws Dee closer to her. "Just hang on Dee, it will
be over soon." She had no idea how far it would go or how long it
would last but it would end. Dee just had to hang on.
Then Richard caught a scent of something, something vaguely familiar.
Then when Dee attempts to cover herself, it hits home. "Oh god! Dee,
what the hell have they done?!" Her voice takes on a high frightened
tone. They wouldn't have? It could go the other way? But why? Dee
hadn't done anything to them! Richard abandons her dignity and wraps
her arms around the mutating woman. "Dee I'm so sorry. It going to
be okay." It was a lie, but sometimes the truth was to painful.
"I-I don' know…" Dee blubbers. "Ish all wrong.." She's slurring her
words badly. Mirroring some of the changes down below, her lips begin
to tingle and swell. Tiny facial muscles twist and grow, and Dee
wriggles an arm free of Richard's embrace to reach up and touch the
sensitive tissue. As she does, the lips seem to perforate and then
split into distinct portions. Horrified, she clamps her hand over her
mouth, feeling the new nubs of flesh move and wiggle against her palm.
The nubs on what used to be her lower lip are more pronounced, and
the motions are almost perverse in their control. As Dee sobs, they
jerk around, mirroring her agitation. The alien movements prove to be
too disturbing, and she pulls her hand away.
"W-What am I, Rissard? Awwgh, it hurs.."
Richard's grip loosened when she saw what was happening to Dee's lips,
she couldn't help but stare. Mentally she scrambled for something
that had segmented lips like that and came up completely empty. Was
she a failed serum like Victor? Or was she one of Sabin "special"
projects like she was? At Dee's question she could only manage a tiny
shake of her head. She had absolutely no idea. It had to be a
mythical, with those stripes and eyes like that. Had to be.
Dee closes her eyes and tries to control her scared, rattling breaths.
Even though it hurts, she clenches her jaw and closes her mouth
tightly. Her expression turns disgusted as the palps on her lips
wiggle and writhe between each other. For a few moments, she manages
to get them under control, until she rubs her multicolored arms. Two
bumps on either shoulder have begun to swell and protrude, and a thin
flap of webbed skin is growing from the outsides of her arms. Though
these recent changes aren't the most severe, they have Dee utterly
baffled.
Then, finally, it seems as the mutations have trickled to a halt. Her
lips quiver and she collapses against Richard, limp and breathing
hard.
It was finally over. Richard lets Dee fall against her, enveloping
her within all four arms. "There, its over. You survived. Your
going to be alright." More lies, she hated herself for telling them,
but she knew truth just wasn't going to be helpful at the moment. Dee
had just started a long and painfully journal that was only going to
get worse. And there was a selfish part of Richard that desperately
wanted to feel needed and human. Supporting Dee through this sated
that for the moment.
For a long moment they sat there on the floor. Richard's leaned down,
sniffed at Dee mane, Richard could see the flecks of skin on the newly
erupted bristles. Her tongue flicked out once, then again.
Dee shudders a bit. The sensation of contact with the new mane is
bizarre and reassuring. She still itches terribly, but feels too weak
to even lift a black-clawed hand to scratch her oddly-marked skin.
After a few more long minutes, her heartbeat and breathing begins to
even out. Dee's eyelids flutter open and she finally returns the hug,
even though it hurts to do so.
"Thank 'ou, Rissard," she whispers through her weird ribbed lips. Her
skin is hot to the touch due in part to her embarrassment. "I don't
know what I'd do if you hadn' come along…" Dee trails off and shudders
again, feeling the lip-nubs respond when she concentrates on them. "I
s'ill don' know what I'm gonna do."
As Dee didn't protest and Richard wasn't quite aware of what she was
doing other than comfort the woman, the grooming of Dee's mane
continued until she stirred. The hug caught Richard mid lick and her
eyes widened when she saw what she was doing. Flushing slightly she
pulled back her head and squeezed Dee back a little.
"Its okay Dee. You were there for me not too long ago. I've seen--"
Well she certainly hadn't seen Dee's change before, " A change
before." She inhales, registering the scent as the new Dee. At Dee's
second question she gave an sigh that was blended with a purr, a very
odd sound. She petted Dee's mane with a small hand once, curious to
what it felt like. The hairs were stiff but they weren't anything
that prevented the motion. "You live. If you're me you sulk in a
tree for awhile first." She gave weak chuckle.
Dee nodded and heaved a great sigh. "Righd aboud now, I'd do thad if I
could." She shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a position that
wasn't painful. Finally, she leans back to look Richard in the eyes.
Exhaustion has twisted her alien features into a truly pitiful
expression. "Budt I'm not looking forward to even getting indo bed.
Everything hurts…" It's clear that she probably won't be conscious
much longer; her lids are heavy over those strange yellow eyes.
Inhuman eyes looked into inhuman eyes for a long moment. The strange
pupil reminded Richard's of Billy, was she some type of squid or
octopus? That wouldn't explain the claws and teeth at all though.
Richard's tail lashed once, indicating uncertainty. Changes were
always emotional things, they'd been through two together now, there
was a definite connection some sort. "Well you'll thank yourself in
the morning if you make it to bed. Better than a tree branch. Come
on now." She slipped her upper arms under Dee's and hoisted her up
onto the bed. Dee was quite light in her muscular upper arms.
Dee nodded and gently bit her lower lip, then jerked a little at the
increased sensitivity of the mobile nubbins. She allows the other
islander to help her onto the bed with nary a peep of protest. "'m
sorry," she slurs, curling into an achy little ball and peering up at
Richard. "'m sorry if I seemed like I was ever patronizing you…what
you were going through. I-I think I'm figuring it out now. Bit by
bit." Her 'p's' and 'b's' are exaggerated as she works the sounds out
through her new teeth and nodules. "Oh, and y-your computer is on the
desk…next to the nest."
Richard looks over at the desk and sees the computer sitting there
before turning back to Dee. She smiled down at Dee and gave her hand
a squeeze. "Its alright. Don't worry about it, I was in either in
too much pain or too drunk to realize it if I was." She smirked a
little at that. "You need anything before I leave?"
Dee's little hand returns the gesture, if in a much weaker fashion.
"If there is, I can'd think of it right now. Maybe a visit once this
calms down? I like our visits…" she yawns, and there is a strange
muffled sound as her jaw 'pops.' "…even *if* we either end up in heaps
or drunk or both."
She chuckles warmly at that. She leans over and brings Dee's hand to
the side of of muzzle, rubbing it with her scent gland, then licks it
once before setting is back down. "Get some rest then and I'll check
up on you later."
"Yes'm," Dee mumbles, grinning very slightly at the much-appreciated
affection. A thought crosses her addled mind, but before she can
offer Richard one of the good bottles of beer or wine from her fridge,
she's out cold. Her lip-nodules twitch a few times, then fall still.
"Sleep well" Richard pats the hand a last time then turns heads out,
collecting her laptop on the way. She feels decidedly odd, with a
silent rumble in her chest as she exits the duplex.
((END RP. Dee is now fully at 25%))
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