Welcome to Gaia! ::

In the past 24 hours the Dude had been doing a lot of soul searching. He didn't go back to the duplex once he left it with Ambrose and Cassidy. Instead, after eating, he grabbed a certain plastic baggie and headed for the Cliffs. There, he had spend the rest of the day and the entire night, thinking. There was a lot to think about.

Heavy s**t - meaning of life and what one should do with that. And Moreau. And his own less then bright future. The value of freedom. What freedom truly meant. But the bottom line of all this soul searching was the following: "If I am going down, I not gonna go down liek a coward."


And with that thought in mind he walked up to the gates of the Feral Labs and pushed the buzzer: "Hey doctor, I'm here to get my vitamins" - he waved at the security camera. Oh legs, don't fail me now ...

He was forced to wait for a few minutes, as the gaurds on the other side didn't move, but just glared him down emotionlessly. Finally, a rather flustered looking Aubrey was seen coming out of the main gates. She instinctly ran a hand through her hair and straighted her skirt as stepped out the doors. Putting on a friendly smile and gave the vocal command to open the gate.

"Dude!" She said, looking happy to see him. She met him at the gates, holding out to shake her hand. "Hows the bite? Are you okay?" She seemed nervous about something, but still genuinely happy to see him.

"Hey. Aubrey" - he replied, looking straight at her, but not taking his hands out of the pockets of his swimming trunks. "The bite's fine."

"I'm here to get the second shot, Aubrey. You know, for the study?" - he explained the visit. "Can you call the doctor?" That's it, be calm, Dude, you can do it. You've been screwed over before so many times, no reason why this new twist in your life could have been different ...

Aubrey looks surprised at his straightforwardness, and lowered her hand with a frown when he didn't take hers. "I, uh, I mean, I can give you the shot. Don't worry about the doctor. You, ah... you okay? I saw - I mean... you've spoken to Mister Ambrose? Have you?"

The Dude looked at her a bit odd: "Why do YOU care if I am okey. You should go ask Cassidy if she is okey. You took her family away from her. Or Greer. You took away her dreams. Or Ambrose. You took his love away. I never actually had any of those things to begin with, so yeah, I guess I am peachy. THEY are not."

Aubrey stopped mid step, looking like she had been punched in the stomach. "I... I... " She looked like she was about to a cry for a second, but then she stomped her foot on the ground. "Now look here, you! You have no right to say that!! I... I have a family. And dreams. And love! Where do you get off talking to me like that? I'm just trying to be your friend here! You don't understand whats going on here, MISTER Carroll!" She was steamed, but looked far more hurt than angry.

The Dude, shrugged, the cigarette hanging lazily from the corner of his mouth: "That's nice that you have dreams and family and love. And I am glad that you are trying to be my friend. Really, it's much better to be turned into an animal by somebody you know and like. Can you, as a friend, get Cassidy off this island, then? Because last time I saw her she was crying her eyes out. I am a bit worried about her emotional health in this heat, you know?" - he sounded calm and friendly enough. He was not trying to hurt Aubrey, he was just speaking the truth. Telling Aubrey she was a lunatic b***h REALLY wasn't gonna accomplish anything.

Aubrey looked guilty as she bit down on her bottom lip. "Its too late... she, she's already had the first injection..."

"Ah. What are you gonna tell her parents, by the way? She is worried sick about them. So is Ambrose. I'm just curious. I mean, I am lost at sea, that is what my old folks gonna put on my tombstone. What about Greer and Cassidy? Are they lost in the Bermuda Triangle, too?"

"I... I don't know.." she said, staring ahead dumbly and starting back up to the facility. "Thats not my job." She opened the door to the lab and looked to the Dude, waiting.

"Can't you find out? It would give them a kind of morbid peace of mind, to know how they died?" - he said, walking into the marble lobby. It was cold in here, colder then he remembered from before. The expensive carpet, the potted plants, the magazines scattered on the waiting table gave it all a strange sense of normalcy. Which only made the dark reality seem more demented.

Aubrey didn't know what to say. The scarey reality was that there was a department of Feral Lab's PR division whose whole job was dealing with this kind of thing. Cassidy was susposed to be here on a job, so the occasional letter would be sent out. Greer also made the research team, so it would be normal to not make contact for months. And Amborse, well, they had papers already ready to "proove" his safe arrival back home. They were not responsible for a young man with pockets full of money after he left the helicopter, so they would just please ignorance to his current whereabouts. But Aubrey didn't think brining this up would be a good idea to the Dude. "I'll see what I can do," she mumbled, ushering the Dude into the elevator.

The first part of the elevator ride was painfully silent. "You probably think I'm a monster," she finally blurted out, staring at the floor.

"Thanks, Aubrey." - he followed her into the elevator, the cigarette in his mouth smoldering slowly.

"No, I think you are an angel of mercy, Aubrey. Seriously. What do you expect us all to think? We have been assigned the role of human guinea pigs. Admittedly, living on a tropical island is pretty nice, but it only goes so far when you find out you can never leave." - he shrugged, as the elevator sped upwards. "By the way, what exactly are we gonna turn into?" - he finally dared to ask. The courage was beginning to dwindle and you could hear it in his voice.

"I can understand your frustration..." she seethed as the elevator opened. "But seriously - if you could really see -truely see- the vision we have. Its ... its amazing. You would be proud to be here. History books... you're all going to be in them one day..."

She led him out in the lab, gently plucking the cigarette from his mouth and snuffing it before throwing it away. "In the meantime, we're doing everything we can to make the transition as pleasurable as possible. We're here to take care of you."

Aubrey spun around. "Really, I'm here for you guys. To talk, to whatever. I do want to be your friends. Help you through this. But that will only work if you guys can accept the sacrifice!"

She pulled his file from the cabinet and began to prepare the serum. "And I'll tell you, but only if you really want to know..."

"We have no choice but be grateful to you till the rest of our lives, Aubrey." - he answered, then saw the room in front of him. The Dude swallowed hard. The gleaming whiteness of it all made the hair on his back stand. As Aubrey began fussing with the serum he realized that he was not able to move even an inch further. And so he stood there, hands in the pockets of his trunks, slowly turning ashen grey.

Aubrey once again looked like she was about to cry. "I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

She stood in the center of the room, one hand on her hip and the other holding a rather dreadful looking injection. "Well?" she flipped. "I thought you were ready for this." -.-

"You don't have to be cruel about it, hon." - the Dude said quietly, eyeing the needle grimly. There gotta be something left inside hie heart, something to make him walk up to this cute, fresh faced girl who held his destiny in her small hands.

"Can you tell me first what I am gonna be?" - he asked, his blue eyes wide like a child's. There was pain on the end of that needle, Ambrose told him. And who knows what else.

Aubrey sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just... I'm just frustrated. And sad. I.. .I didn't see things going the way they have in my head."

She looked down at the file and almost dropped the needle. To be honest, he hadn't even known what he was injected with. Obviously this was Moreau's sense of humor. "California Sea Lion," she mumbled. A suddent vision of a fat friendly looking sea lion sunning with a join and a beer bottle flashed in her mind and she did her best not to laugh. Laughing was bad...she learned that with Ambrose.

She coughed at looked back up at him. "I... I didn't chose it," she said.

A sea lion. That made him feel a little bit better. He liked sea lions. he'd much rather be a sea lion, then a rabbit or a dog or a monkey. He could dive as much as he wanted, he could live in the warm water of the Atlantic. In a way, that was all he ever wanted form his life.

Finally having the courage he walked up to Aubrey and smiled at her: "That's okey, hon. I like that choice." With that he rolled up the sleeve of his t-shirt and nodded: "Do your job, Dr. Lockheart."

Aubrey took a deep breath and wiped a spot on his arm with alcohol. She lifted the injection.... but hesitated. Her eyes welled up and her vision got blurry. Cursing silently under her breath, the tried to blink them away. All the things Ambrose and now Sean had been telling her... why were they getting to her? She was prepared for this. READY for this... right?

She took another breath. But the needle didn't go in.

The Dude was looking away at the moment, because he really wasn't fond of needles, especially the kind that spelled pain in the next 48 hours. But when he didn't feel the p***k he turned around to look ... and found Aubrey just standing there, syringe in her hand, pale.

He didn't say anything, just looked at her with a mixture of pain and pity. So the girl wasn't as rotten as he thought. There seemed to be a spark or two of mercy left in her. Or was it guilt? There was nothing in his face though that would make Aubrey think that he encouraged her to stab him already. The Dude was not going to give her that forgiveness quite yet. Maybe never. Aubrey had chosen her cross herself, in the name of her love. And it was hers to carry.

Aubrey looked away when the Dude made eye contact with her, and she pressed the needle in. The shot itself pinched, and a tingling sensation would shoot up through the Dude's arm.

Aubrey pulled the needle out and stepped away, not saying anything. She threw the needle away in the biohazard basket and began to put away his file, doing her best to swipe away a tear in a way the cameras wouldn't pick up. At least she knew where they were.

The Dude was starring at the poke mark in his arm, then he stretched it out and formed the hand into a fist: "I have a question, Aubrey. How come none of the assistants and students that Dr. Moreau is abound to have volunteered for this experiment? If it is truly revolutionary - why aren't they lining up to be injected and sacrifice themselves in the name of science? Isn't it, like, their calling? Don't they want to be in the text books?"

Aubrey shrugged, trying to compose herself. "We're not without our own experiments." She turned back to him, rolling up her sleeve and showing him a very faint needle mark. "Its a different serum, but just as experimental."

She frowned. Moreau demanded loyalty, that was for sure. "And there's his lovely cousin. She's also taking the serum. We're convinced it will bring her hearing back."

The Dude quirked an eyebrow: "So Madison knew? She knew about the study and that we were turning into beasts?" - he asked calmly, folding down his t-shirt's sleeve. The poison was now pulsing thru his veins. It wouldn't be long now. He passively wondered what sea lion features he would sprout first.

Aubrey nodded. "Her hearing loss was devasting to her. She was willing to do anything to get it back."

"Ah." - grunted the Dude, because he really had very little to say about that subject now. He would have to ruminate on it and what he thought about little redhead psychologist in general. There was a silence as he gathered his thoughts. Finally, he reached into his pocket and gave Aubrey a carefully folded paper, on which in pencil there was a long list of things.

The Dude explained: "So this is what I think will be the bare necessities for you all to get, if you are gonna take care of us. I haven't really consulted with the other subjects yet, so I am sure the list will grow."

I t was a rather expansive list that included things like TV+Playstation, a long list of books, a hammock for some reason, movies, DVD player etc. etc.

I t was a rather expansive list that included things like TV+Playstation, a long list of books, a hammock for some reason, movies, DVD player etc. etc.

The Dude had clearly spent a lot of time coming up with everything he could POSSIBLY need for the rest of his life. To his credit, he didn't put radio or phone on it, but he WAS requesting current newspapers. And Playboy magazines.

Aubrey opened the list and looked it over. "I... I don't think any of this will really be a problem, Sean." Sean. That was her compromise between Dude (which Moreau hated) and Mr. Carroll. "We... we want you guys to be an comfortable as possible."

She read down the list, nodding. "Of course this might not all come at once..."

More reading. "I'll have to ask the Doctor.. of course, but I don't think anything here should be a problem. Cept, uh... shouldn't there be Playgirls to match the Playboys?" She actually smiled, and winked at him.

"As I said, I didn't consult with the rest of the subjects" - the Dude shrugged. "I'm sure if you ask Cassidy, she'll tell you what she'd like. I was also wondering that the $5000 that you so kindly promised me at the end of this study be transferred over to my old folks back home. Since I kinda can't take care of them, it'd be a nice help. I wrote down the address for you here" - he said, pulling out another sheet of neatly folded paper from his pocket.

"And finally. can you give me some pain killers? Ambrose had a rough night after you injected him. I am not sure what I am gonna sprout first, but some morphine might help."

Aubrey frowned and went back to looking sullen as her attempt at humor fell flat. Whatever.

"I'll talk to Moreau about the money, but its not my decision," she said honestly. "As for the pain, I'll have sent whatever we can give you down the Town Center right away for you."

"I signed a contract, Aubrey. I might not have read the fine print, and I really didn't expect that it'd take all my life. But I did sign a contract. You OWE me that $5000. All I am asking that you send it my parents. I don't care under what name." - he insisted

"And thanks" - he added after a moment

Aubrey sighed in frustration. "I said I'll talk to the Doctor. I don't run the things around here, Sean." She tried not to sound too harsh, but while she was second in command, she was NOT about to undermime the doctor's orders. "Really, I promise I will try. Okay? I'm sure there won't be a problem..."

"Don't call me Sean, hon. I'm the Dude. Sean Carroll has been lost at sea." - with that he stood up, put his hands into his pockets again and headed for the elevator. Half way he stopped and turned around: "But seriously, can't you guys find WILLING people for this study of yours? I just can't believe there aren't some tree hugging yahoos around there that would worship you if you turned them into cats and foxes and what not. I once saw a documentary on a guy who tatooed scales all over his body, cut his tongue in two, just so that he could be known as Snake Boy. What really makes me sad here is that I can't believe that you had to trick us, if you could have just found volunteers. Maybe your genius doctor could give that possibility a thought? Because, judging by the number of unoccupied duplexes, this study still needs more sacrifices."

Aubrey opened her mouth to talk about the importance of random studies, and the fact that most subjects needed to be in relatively good health - but she didn't bother. She just pulled out her radio-phone and punched in a number code. The elevator door opened. "You're free to leave, Dude," she said flatly, feeling really down on herself. Her conscious was wearing on her, and she hated being, well, hated. Especially by him. Though she would never admit that.

"Be seeing you, Dr. Lockheart. And thanks for the medical care!" - the Dude waved and walked into the elevator, pulling a cigarette out of the box in his pocket as he walked. A sea lion, huh? he hated to admitt it, but he was kinda excited about the possibility. Ah, s**t, being brave does so pay off.

Feeling pretty fly about himself, the Dude walked out of the lobby and down the sandy road leading to the Village.

Sabin was downstairs in one of the large garages that might one day house a small collection of vehicles, but was currently primarily occupied by large crates. Flipping through the packing slips, he was packing back and forth, doublechecking the contents against the lists. It was times like this that Sabin wondered when Moreau would decide to "trust" some additional help to do the menial chores like this. Of course, the contents of the box were rather interesting, he thought to himself as he pulled out one of the playboys from a rather sizable stack in one of the crates.

"Entertainment for the subjects".... He smirked in amusement. Of course there was a very large television in one of the crates as well, along with a sizable DVD collection. But still. He wondered who would have the gall to go grabbing at some of these magazines with all that was going on.

Speaking of adult entertainment.... Sabin smirked to himself as he thought back to the Doctor's and Aubrey's oversight the night before... in forgetting to "black screen" the recorder in the mansion while he had been on moniter duty. It had taken all of Sabin's willpower not to use one of the built-in intercoms to snidely comment at the most inopportune of moments. However, he felt that he was already treading on thin ice with the doctor and knew better than to press it sometimes. He had been here for less than a month, after all... No use pressing things too quickly.

Aubrey came down to the loading bay, eager to report to Dude that his X-Boxes where in. Walking in, she came upon Sabin flipping through one of the Playboy magazines. Smirking to herself and swallowing back her opinons on pornography and the ojectification of women, Aubrey cleared her throat.

Sabin stiffened immediately, realizing the compromising position he had just found himself in as he whirled to put a face to the noise.

"Aubrey!" He put on a smile, not bothering at this point to cover up what he was looking at. He was a grown man and had no reason to be ashamed. After all, he was inventorying.

"The shipments came in..." He gestured obviously to the boxes surrounding him with the magazine.

I see that" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Quality Control?"

Sabin grinned unabashed. "Quite." He tossed the magazine back onto the stack. "Well, more like making sure that everything's here. Care to check out the playgirls?" He tossed one of them at her before she had the chance to say anything.

Aubrey caught it, despite her surprise. She looked down, blushing a bit, but admiring the view. "Not interested. I don't need to get my kicks on paper, if you know what I mean." She winked and Sabin and tossed the magazine back in the crate.

Sabin chuckled, turning his back as he checked off the rest of the magazines and newspapers on the list. "So I heard..." he trailed off mysteriously.

"Oh?" Aubrey stepped up, honestly curious. She heard men like ot brag abuot their "conquests" but Moreau didn't seem the type

Sabin shrugged nonchalently, mentally debating whether or not he should even say anything.

The devilish side seemed to win out. A smirk crossed his face. "You guys... well... usually remember to hit the "black out" switch..."


"Huh?" It took Aubrey a moment. "Oh."

..."OH!"

She suddenly felt a bit weak at the knees and her cheeks began to burn. "you're not serious are you??"

Sabin liften an eyebrow - his face suddenly becoming unreadable. "Am I?"

Aubrey didn't know what to do. Her face was very red, making her freackles stand out even more than usual. "you mean... oh my god.. last night in the lab..."

Sabin shrugged, admittedly enjoying seeing her panic a bit, something in him wouldn't let him drop it quite yet anymore. Between playing with this, and watching some of the initial reactions of many of the subjects... he visably shuddered a bit, a smile on his face. It was exquisite. And beyond the almost permeable sensation of fear over the Island was the absolutely FASCINATING aspect of their physical transmogrifacations that tickled his imagination and curiousity on a very different level. In general, Sabin was having the time of his life.

"Mmmm... yeah... I guess that's always a wonderful way to get your mind off things, hmm?" His tone and posture was friendly... but there was a subtle hint of gloating that was difficult to nail down.

Aubrey rushed forward and hit him on his arm. Not really hard, it wasn't meant to hurt, but it wasn't really playful either. "And you watched??"

"Hey" Sabin said innocently. "You guys pay me to moniter the video cameras."

He let that linger on the air for a little bit, savoring her expression. "Of course, it was mostly in the background on one of the smaller moniters. I'm not THAT much of a voyeur." He shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Seriously, Aubrey, what do you take me for?"

Aubrey was still red and flustered. "Still. Really. Thats, you know... private."

She tried to busy herself with some of the inventory, too embarassed to look Sabin in the eyes.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Sabin protested. "I couldn't really flip it off..." he shrugged, checking on the rest of the boxes.

Finally, giving her an out "So - looks like everything is safe and sound." He turned with a smile. "They should be happy with all of this stuff."

"I dunno" she mumbled. "I guess it was kind of my own fault. I'm sorry you had to see that, though..." she cleared her throat.

"yeah.. I hope Dude is happy enough with X-Boxes. He asked for Playstation, but apparantly Microsoft is a big sponder for Feral Labs. No surprise there, huh?"

Sabin waved his hand dismissively. He was in a prime mood. "It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before, Aubrey."

Sabin nearly choked on his laughter. "you're kidding me.... no.. nevermind... that makes a lot of sense!" He closed up the crates and pondered the best way to get them down to the town hall.

"So.... how... have things been going with you, Aubrey?"

Aubrey began to file the packing slips. "Oh, well," she blushed again. "If last night was any indication, quite well, don't you think?" She tried not to giggle like a silly schoolgirl, but she was grinning. It was pretty obvious she had affections for Moreau for a while.

Sabin nodded, but also remembered back to some of what he'd been seeing on the moniters... some of the conflicts.

"Well... that's not quite what I meant, but I'm glad that you're getting on pretty well with him. "

"Well, what did you mean, then?" She knitted her brows, she was hoping someone would be just interested in talking. To be hoenst she was tired of talking about work all the time. The two were rarely seperated by the doctor, and the subjects, for obvious reasons, had much more pressing matters on their minds.

"In general" Sabin commented, pulling the tie out of his hair. He had been sweating down here in the unairconditioned garage, and doing a lot of lifting. He seemed to be doing a remarkable amount of that recently. Not having a brush on him, he sufficed at running his fingers through his snowy hair.

"Well, considering I've only been crazy for the good doctor since my freshman year of high school, thats pretty big news in my arena." She pouted a bit and flopped down on one of the crates. "I dunno... been talking to some of the islanders."

Sabin nodded, finally turning around and hopped up on one of the crates, sitting down. "That's a rather long time to follow after him" Sabin commented. "What have you been talking about?"

"Just.. things. They aren't handling it very well. I'm sure you can imagine."

Sabin nodded. "Well... it's a given. Weren't you expecting that?"

"Yeah, but I guess I never expected it to be this hard. Looking at them in the eyes and seeing the hurt. Ambrose apparantly has a girl back home he's missing pretty bad..."

Sabin nodded, recalling some of the videos. "Well.... he'll either get over it, or he won't. He's here now." He tapped a nail on the wood of the crate. "Life can be hard. Take you turns you don't expect."

"I guess so. I guess I just relate. I would just die if someone took me away from Nico- er, the doctor." She looked down, wondering if Moreau would appreciate her getting all mushy. "Its just something I've never had to deal with before, I guess."


Sabin nodded, sighing. He was making a specific attempt from getting personal with any of the subjects for just this reason. He could enjoy himself and the situation if he didn't allow that pesky human sentiment get involved. "Why are you talking with them, then? It's easier of you don't."

"Because, I'm hoping they'll learn to accept it one day. And it would be nice to know they have a friend."

Sabin picked at his teeth, watching her. "would you accept it?"

She shrugged. "I'm a special case. The doctor could do anything he wanted to me as long as he was here."

Sabin shook his head. "No no. If it wasn't the doctor. If instead of coming here from college, if some random geneticist had taken you here and done this?"

"I guess thats my point. I never really viewed it that way before. I never questioned the doctor - and I still don't! I guess it was easier for me to view the subjects like test monkeys. But its not the same as I thought it would be."

She swung her legs a bit. "Probably will just take me a 'lil bit a time to get used to it."

Sabin nodded. "That's why I say it's easier to view it from the outside. Don't talk to them and don't try to be their friends. Not unless one of them happens to settle into the life here. They'll either put up a big fight and rail against the proverbial bars... not that that will do any good - the security here's too good.... or they'll realize how futile it is and try to enjoy themselves."

"Hell, I probably would have found it fascinating myself if it happened to me when I was as young as some of them are"

Aubrey shrugged. "I guess I found myself being friends with some of them before they started to change. And now it hurts to see them so upset. Thats my own fault, though."

"That's a tough one" He raised his eyebrows with a frown. "But what can you do? They're here now."

She shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes just talking helps."

She hopped off the crate and dug through her keys. She tossed one at Sabin. "There's a forklift in hanger 4. Might help you with all these." Aubrey went over and picked out a single XBox system and a few games, flashing a smile to him. "I'm going to go deliver this to the Dude!"

Sabin smiled and gave a watered-down salute. "Have fun. I'll move these things over to the town hall. And good luck - try not to get too attached. Will probably just end up hurting you more."

Yeah, I'm realizing that, she thougt to herself. She gave a wave to him as she headed back up the trail towards the village.

Sabin waved back and slid off the boxes, tying his hair back as he spat on his hands and went to get the boxes moved.

Vasile was going stir crazy. He couldn't stay locked up in his room forever, and he knew it. It had been days since he had come out, except to go back and forth from Ambrose's duplex. Ambrose was the only one who he had seen since his transformation, and disprite Ambroe's repeated attempts to assure him he didn't look that much different, Vasile was still skeptical to come eye-to-eye with anyone else.

To be honest, it wasn't his appearance so much as losing face. He felt like the world's biggest fool. He felt like such an a**.

But this was getting ridiculous. Vasile had been doing nothing over the past couple days but learn new ways to style is longer locks, and find out what outfit combinations best compliment his silver fur.

Feelling cabin feverish and hungry, Vasile finally convinced himself to go to the cafetaria himself instead of getting Ambrose to bring him food again. So...he did. After spending at least an hour opening the door, changing his mind, checking his hair, brushing his teeth again, and going back to the door to do it all over again, he finally stepped out into the sun.

He reached for his shades as he heading down the stairs when he noticed there was someone else out and about. He swallowed his first reaction, which was to run back inside, and decided to just ignore them. It was someone in a wheelchair - so therefore no one he had met yet.

But as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he look a second glance, then double taked back at her. Was that... Cass??

He felt his stomach tie up in a knot and he quickly lost his appetite. The desire to run back into his room was even stronger now, but his concern for Cass, surprisingly, gave him the corouge he needed to walk over to her.

He slipped on his shades and took a few steps her direction. "Cass..? he called to her, hesitantly.

Vasile slowed down his approach at her less-than-enthusiastic greeting. He chewed on his bottom lip, his longer canines tugging at the flesh as his eyes, obscured behind his shades, looked her over more carefully. He nervously pulled off his glasses, to get a better look. She definately had more scales. A lot more scales.

Real scales...

No no, not the point right now. There were... feathers? Wait, snakes didn't have feathers.....

He open and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find what to say. "What...what happened, Cass?" he asked, motioning to the chair. He did look genuinely worried, at least.

Vasile was at a complete loss for words. It took him a minute to connect that she probably needed a wheelchair because of her legs because she was becomming a snake. "You're losing your legs??"

The flabergasted question left his lips before his brain could react. He immediately regretted asking it, or at least asking it sounding so shocked, and quickly gave her the most apologizing look he could muster. "I'm so sorry, Cass," he tried to cover, taking a step closer. "I... I'm sorry..."

As she asked about his serum, he felt his tail twitch. "They, uh... haven't told me," he started, looking down at his now-clawed hands. "Ambrose thinks another wolf, or fox."

Vasile stepped closer until he was right in front of her chair. He slowly kneeled down to make himself feel more eye-level to her. "Only okay?" He forced a smirk and tried to make a joke on his behalf - he wouldn't deny he was known for being a bit on the vain side- but mostly shook his head, realise it was a stupid attempt.

"Can I go with you? To talk to someone on staff?" Maybe she would feel better with another 'freak' by her side.

Vasile frowned, not knowing exactly what to feel. A mix between really feeling sorry for her, and having to deal with the fact that all this wasn't just make up. Real. All real.

He stood back up and dusted off his pant knees. Then he looked over to her chair again.

Oh god. How awkward. Would offering to wheel her be considered chilvarous or insulting....

Well, he really doubted she could dislike him much more, so he had little to lose. "Want a hand?" he asked softly, placing his hands on the handle on the back of the chair.