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Antony's mixture of wryness and pragmatism seemed to knock the intensity of Chert's anger down a few notches- at least, until she mentioned Moreau's plans. The man's face froze in an expression of horror and surprise- it would have been so much easier to deny the claim if he hadn't already seen the madman's earlier handiwork. But this was a whole new level of depravity. These people had been human.

Chert stood in place for a few moments, flexing and unflexing his fists uselessly. He stared blanky over Atony's shoulder at the two women talking softly to each other. They had been human, and Moreau had...

The stocky man's face collapsed into a dark and stormy frown, but his demeanor had lost most of its earlier heat. It was as if someone had placed a lid firmly overtop his anger- but that only meant it had time to build up against the pressure. "I've got to talk to someone," he growled, stalking past the little group of islanders.

Yeah, right. "Talk."

New RP~

Zach clutched his black-bound notebook in his single hand, a little shakily, but protective. He'd been writing in it less and less often as of late, and he had a lot of catching up to do. He'd thought of no better place than down by the beach, and it was from there that he came back, tracking a bit of sand that was still clinging to his heavy shoes.

His jacket was off, as the weather had been scorching that day. He had it slung over his right shoulder. His left shoulder was safely within the other side of his shirt, a threadbare knot marking the end of the sleeve not too far below it. He'd thought over Antony's advice, and was trying to slowly build up his confidence. If he ran into anyone, he could always throw the coat back on. One thing at a time.

He was so absorbed in thought that he barely noticed anything he was passing by on his way back to duplex 38. It would take some deliberate attention-getting to snap him out of it.

At the sound of a voice calling, he skidded to a stop in the dirt. He looked pointedly in the direction of the sound. A very attractive woman was coming at him from outside the bottom duplex, number 37. He blanched. How long had she been here? Not long enough. She appeared happy, which was one emotion that didn't click with Zach. He was wary of breaking the news to her, and even if he did, she'd simply consider him crazy.

Hell, he probably was crazy by now. Sanity was a word that had little meaning on this island.

Quickly, he re-realized the nakedness of his arm, but he didn't have the means to move his jacket. He hoped she wouldn't give him looks. He hadn't seen normality since Rex, and even that guy had gone fuzzy. Zach's voice had been reduced to its original fearful tone and slight stuttering of words. He hated to admit it, but he'd just been getting used to looking all around him and finding a zoo. Now, to finally see a woman who didn't have fur, feather, or scales, he wanted to hug her just for existing. Not that he would, as he wasn't one for a lot of physical contact.

"H-hello... you must be new here." He grimaced a little, and pulled the sketchbook closer to himself. "This? No. It's nothing. I just write sometimes."

Zach noticed her eyes dart toward his stump. He felt uncomfortable. He decided to do some looking of his own. This girl didn't look that far from being his own age, though she was probably younger. She seemed cheerful. How easily that would change when she had to deal with the process of realization. His mind teetered on the question. Would he tell her the island's secret? Or would he leave her to find out from someone who had the looks to prove it?

"Oh..." He looked blankly at her for a moment, savoring the innocence of those words. She actually thought she'd get out of this place so easily? How he wanted to be that naive. But reality beckoned. "Um... there is something you may want to know about this island. I know you won't believe me when I tell you. Don't even worry about that. You see, we're..." He felt his throat catch a moment. He had to stall. There was always the possibility that someone could just appear and take the whole matter of introduction to hell out of his less-than-able hand.

"Oh! I nearly forgot. My name's Zachary." He extended his right and only hand to shake. It was only polite, after all. "What's yours?"

Chert had also taken a round-about way to the cafeteria, although the building hadn't been his original destination. In fact, he looked a little bit surprised to find himself standing in the doorway of the building, looking in. The unexpected encounter with the changed islanders had been a little like someone taking a steel-knuckled fist to the head, but he probably would have gotten over the initial fit of panic and anger. Being internally tazered wasn't exactly pleasant either, although being unconcious was a welcome change compared to what else was going on. However, he was finding it a little more difficult to cope with the thoughtful welcoming gifts that had been left in his room. Most people went with the traditional fruit basket.

Chert let out a small giggle at the thought just before the rich smells of the cafeteria hit him. His stomach immediately tried to rebel again, and he slumped against the doorframe, neck muscles tightening convulsively. The tone of his skin had turned a sickly green underneath his tan.

Oh, God. Of all the people that could be in there, it had to be one of the women from earlier. Chert waved his hand in dismissal as he tried to get to his feet properly and make a hasty exit. "Just feelin' a little under the wheath- hurgh." The sudden movement turned out to be his undoing. It was lucky that Antony had had the foresight to bring the trashcan along, although there wasn't much for the man's stomach to expel since most of its previous contents were already sitting on the floor of his duplex.

After a moment he stood up shakily. The expression of nausea was rapidly fading, replaced by one of acute embarassment. Well, whatever impression he'd managed to make, it was probably memorable. "Fancy meeting you here," he muttered, and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.