Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rayanya was so hideously bored right now that it wasn't even funny. She had finished off reading both 'Lestat' and 'Queen of the Damned' on the long-a** airplane trip, and by the time she had borded the helicopter she had no reading material left. So, to pass the time, she recounted Norse myths in her head, opening the small black sketchbook she constantly had on her person and trying to draw out her interpretations. Apparently her muse was not with her today; nothing she drew would come out the way she wanted it. She gave a harsh sigh and flipped another page, basing the head of what she hoped would be Loki with a simple circle, followed by a sort of trapezoid for the jaw. It was at this time that she noticed the 'copter was slowly descending.

This was it, her vacation, her stint into medical research that she sincerely hoped wouldn't leave her too deformed.

Moreau was waiting with the jeep as the helicopter descended. He looked at his watch, James was running a little behind. Suprising for James, in Moreau's opinion.

Moreau waited till the helicopter came to a complete landing then walked up to it and helped open the door. "Welcome to our lovely island Ms. VonStranz."

"If you'll just seat yourself in the jeep we'll be on our way to our facilities." Moreau chuckled internally, as he looked the woman over. It looked like someone Sabin would like, even had the silly top hat. Moreau never understood how people could dress so... pointlessly. Now lab coats... lab coats were always useful.


Rayanya nodded, grabbing her bags from the helicopter and reaching a thin hand up to tip her top hat at Moreau. "Thank you," said the eccentric, then moved into an immediate gait towards the Jeep... a walk that gave absolutely no motion to her form, obviously practiced. She climbed into the Jeep after throwing her bags on the floor, stuffing her black sketchbook inside one of the bags first. "So, Doctor -- I'm assuming you are a doctor -- will the research you do here have any side effects, or will I be able to go home in one piece?" The young woman cracked a smile that might have been friendly, but her painted lips destroyed the effect and merely made it look a touch spooky.

Moreau cranked the jeep on and began to run it through the jungle road. "I don't know of any side effects that cause random body parts to fall off, but we always have firsts." Moreau winked slightly and continued down the road.

After only a few minutes of driving the dense jungle was broken into a clearing where the full sized lab buildings were visible. "Ahhh there they are now. A quick shot and you'll be on your way to your room."


Rayanya observed the flora and fauna of the island in near-silence, merely giving a chuckle to the doctor's statement. "I hope I'm not one of those" was mixed in with the mild laugh. But she preferred to take it in; it was indeed beautiful out here, nothing like the cold concrete streets of New York City. At least until she spotted the complex... she sighed inwardly, wondering if she would ever truly get away from those wretched buildings.

"A... shot?" Rayanya gulped slightly, giving a shudder. She was hoping that she would have to take some pills, perhaps topical medications... but shots? She really didn't care much for the p***k of needles, and winced as she got a perfect mental image of one entering her arm.

"Of course a shot... we are paying you 5000 dollars here." Moreau smiled to himself he had to admit on some level he enjoyed the terror that even needles sometimes brought to people.

Moreau pulled past the gate that opened by itself and into the parking lot and got out of the car. "This way please." he said as he lead Rayanya to a door that also slid open itself when he walked towards it. Inside the door was a very nice lobby area that looked like it would belong in a real hospital.

Rayanya nodded, and a bit of color came back to her face. "Yes, very true. I suppose that I can suck it up." She shot the doctor another eerie grin, her unnaturally pale blue eyes glimmering in the sun as they darted towards the door. Self-opening... interesting. This must be a very good company if they can afford such things as what appeared to be a hydraulic door. However, her awe was soon erased by a touch of discomfort as she noticed the severely hospital setting. If there was anything that Rayanya really didn't like, it was the appearance of a hospital lobby. They all looked alike, which meant that even this one, miles and miles away from NYC, had enough similarity to the one her mother died in to make Rayanya at least a little uncomfortable.


Moreau motioned to the elevator, which dinged and opened as they approached. It also appeared to have no buttons. After he lead her in he spoke aloud "Floor 8" he said as the elevator began to rise.

After only a few moments it opened back into what was obviously a laboratory setting. The walls were lined with handleless draws and cabinets.

"If you'll just sit on that table and pull up your sleeve this will only take a moment." Moreau said as he walked to one of the cabinets and ran his hand past one part of it without touching. It also slid open on it's own.

Rayanya was beginning to become unsettled by the amount of technology in this building, wondering now how something way out here could possibly get the money and workers to install it. But the unnerving feeling was replaced by a new one, that of the impending shot. She followed the doctor's instructions as he commanded, wordlessly seating herself and pulling a flared sleeve from her forearm.

Moreau pulled out a vial and inserted it into a needle. He tapped it a few times slightly. He walked around behind Rayanya and couldn't help but smile. He then inserted the needle into her arm.

After pushing the contents of it into her viens he pulled it out and said, "There, not so bad eh?" he put a small bandage on her and walked to a clipboard.

"According to this your in duplex 24." Moreau chuckled to himself as he had set her above the island's new resident priest. "If you just go to the elevator it will take you down and someone will show you out. I hope you enjoy your short stay here Ms. VonStranz."

Rayanya winced at the p***k of the needle, a small gasp managing to escape her carefully painted lips. The b*****d just had to get her from behind, didn't he? Clenching her jaw and trying to look like it hadn't been a big deal, Rayanya stood up and turned towards the doctor. "Thank you. I suppose I'll see you again some other time, Doctor." She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but hey... she was getting 5000 dollars for this. Dropping her sleeve and smoothing out the wrinkles (at the same time nursing the small area her shot had entered) Rayanya gave another tip of her hat and turned about, walking to the elevator and, shortly after, out the building. She found outside what she assumed to be another subject, and asked the person where her room was: they pointed a finger towards the complex and Rayanya hurried along her way, bags in hand.

The doctor that Rayanya had met earlier was standing over her. She didn't know why he was, but he was nonetheless. And he had a most horrible grin on his lips. It was the type of smile that one thought would crack apart a person's face if they held it longer than five seconds. Rayanya stared back up at him, but she couldn't seem to move... or to talk.

The doctor winked at her as he had done earlier that day, though this time it seemed... vulgar. "Hello Ms. VonStrantz." His voice echoed. "Guess what, Ms. VonStrantz?" Ray tried to answer, but for some odd reason she seemed to be paralyzed. She couldn't even speak.

"I'll tell you what, Ms. VonStrantz," and the doctor stepped away from her. At this point she saw a hospital room with two beds and a door leading directly to a lounge. One bed was covered in a lumpy sheet, and she occupied the other: in the lounge was her angry, drunken father just looking for someone to beat up. Rayanya tried to shudder, but she still could not move.

"I shot your mother, Ms. VonStrantz." And with that the doctor whipped the other sheet from the bed without turning around: there lay her mother, complete with the bullet hole in her head. Just like when she had to identify the body. "Indeed, I shot your mother!" The doctor turned around, and was now holding in his hands a humongous sryinge. It was the size of his torso. "I shot your mother and now I'm going to shoot you!" And he approached, pulling back the tip of the syringe, which self-loaded itself with a noxious-looking black liquid. Rayanya tried to scream, tried to beg and plead for him to please stop, but the doctor kept coming closer, needle in hand. Closer and closer... now it was a few feet away, now the huge end of it was pressing against her chest and between her breasts, aimed right for where her heart was. Rayanya tried one more desperate cry of...

"NOOOO!" Rayanya shot straight up in her bed, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness around her. But she eventually noticed that she was in her new room, and that everything was fine. Whiping a bit of cold sweat from her forehead, Rayanya laid back down and forced herself back to sleep.

After finding a bite to eat, Rayanya left the cafeteria and turned her back on the complex. Her eyes were now scanning over the bits of island she could currently see, discovering just how much she had yet to explore. Her eyes eventually came to rest on the lush entrance to the island's jungle, then lit up slightly. Well, she thought to herself, I might as well start there. After all, I know the concret jungle like the back of my hand... I'm sure I can fare within a more natural one. And with that, the young woman set towards the woods.

Rayanya had found a decent path to follow through the woods and decided to take it as far as she could. As she walked, she would pause to sniff at a flower or get a closer look at a particular tree. It was so beautiful out here... she wished she had brought her sketchbook. That one particular tree over there really looked like it would be a comfortable place to rest and just draw for hours, in perfect, shaded silence.

About forty-five minutes into her walk Rayanya discovered that the path she had chosen was choking off: she followed along it anyways, believing idiotically that it was like an alleyway and a new, wide path was soon going to start. Fifteen minutes later she realized that she was quite wrong, and also starting to become quite lost.

It was at this time that she heard the howl...

The howl rose out of his chest and carried across the air. In the wild, wolfcalls traveled for miles as a method of long-distance communication, and this one was no exception.

Ambrose gasped for breath as soon as the howl finished its decline to nothingness. All at once he was speachless in fear. The only other time he had lifted his voice to the crescendo of a lupine howl was for a drunken and good-natured dare at a beach party, when he could look in the mirror and still see a man looking back at him.

Now... now he felt the howl in his bones, and the book he had read years ago in Jr. High and scoffed at the value, Call of the Wild, came into sharp clarity. Ironic... overly ironic. He was scared... scared at feeling the animal in himself - something wild that was at home in this jungle... something that before he would have been anxious about kneeling in the dirt let alone lifting ones voice to loosen the beast inside....


... and yet another part of him... found it exhiliarating. The song of his voice was more of a relaease than quivering tears... it was a shout to the skies itself... a long note of pure emotion.

And... after all... what were men but animals themselves... was growling or howling any less demeaning that being wracked with quivering, weak tears?

The thought hung in his mind in stillness for a moment before he lifted his short muzzle again, squeezed his eyes closed, and loosed another unmistakably lupine howl. This time, while it still screamed his injustice, his guilt, and his pain... it was stronger - intentional.


Rayanya froze in absolute terror at the first howl, and found herself absolutely unable to move. She knew pretty much nothing about wolves (only what she had seen in movies), and therefore she couldn't even come close to guessing how far away the beast was from her. But she most definately knew it was a wolf... and she also knew that wolves travelled in packs.

The second howl brought Ray back to life, and she tried to turn herself towards the direction that it came from. Her mind was whirring away, trying to think of anything she could about wolves, or at least her minor knowledge of them from the movies she had seen, and watching Animal Planet on those particularly boring days. Wasn't this a tropical jungle, not a forest? And didn't wolves live in cooler climes? What would a wolf be doing out here?

Could it be someone playing a trick on her again, like Joli's stupid little story? Perhaps it was Joli...

"Whoever's trying to scare me, its not going to work! And I swear to the gods Joli, if you are behind this you're going to regret it!"

Ambrose was just starting to breathe more evenly after his second howl... it... was amazing how much of a venting device that was.... Was... it a bad thing that it made him feel good...?

But before those thoughts could be followed to their conclusion... there was a noise.

A person. His ears pricked. And beyond that.... an unfamiliar voice.

He stood... slowly, hesitant, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and out of place. What would they think of him?

He took a few steps towards who it might be instinctively curious. Then he caught the whiff of fear... turned quickly to a mild anger. He paused, hung between curiousity and anxiety. Should he see who it is... or run.

But where? He thought indignantly. Back to his duplex to more issues? Deeper into the woods? He was no coward! He took another few probing steps in that direction.

ANything - even more conflict - had to be better than the mental wall he had been beating his head against.

Rayanya waited for a response for a few minutes, turning her head in various directions, trying to catch a glimpse of a fellow human being. The more she spent looking and not finding the more irritated the girl got.

"Come on, show yourself! Don't play tricks on a person unless you can defend yourself when you PISS THEM OFF!" The last three words were amplified, and it was becoming quite obvious that Rayanya was on edge.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Rayanya twirled around amidst the trees and foliage, trying to find the path once again. She was muttering heavily underneath her breath, along the lines of "Bloody idiots... stupid jerks who have to try and bother anyone they see just because they're different... honestly, I thought I had gotten away from them when I left highschool..."

She lifted a heavy boot and planted it into a tree, slightly scuffing the leather on the tree's rough bark. She cursed again, this time in an odd language, then went back to searcning for her path.

Ambrose had approached closer, his footfalls silent. Thus, her muttering did not fall on the deaf ears of the surrounding trees, but instead on the sensitive ones of the wolfman.

He swallowed seeing the form emerge through the brushes. Indeed somoene he didn't recognize. A tall woman, clad in clothing that didnt' suit either the tropical island or a forrested area.

He swallowed. He could go back to his little area in the woods and run his head against more problems... or he could face whomever this was... and hatever possible repercussions. And, if her newness to him were any indication along with the number of new people that had been coming to the isalnd recently was any indication, than it was quite possible that she was a very new-comer. And that promised MORE hurt. But... it might at least save some of the others the pain of telling somoene. And right about now, Ambrose felt about as low as he could get... what was one more punch.

Maybe... deep down, he wanted to be seen as a freak by someone.... someone to express how low he was feeling.

He approached closer, silently, hi words too caught up in his mind... until his foot (perhaps intentionally somewhere) snapped a dry branch underfoot.

Rayanya was still trying to find her path, seemingly intent on her search, with little mutters beneath her breath. "I always promised that one day I would show them what it really was to be a freak... how it really felt. But what could I even dream of doing to show those jerks exactly how I feel? Maim them, dismember them?"

She sighed. The anger in her voice was dying off, its sharp edge dulling and turning into depression. Her muttering stopped suddenly, leaving her in silence, listening to the noises of the forest. She didn't know why she dressed the way she did, nor acted the way she did... why she never had friends in school or ever found at least someone to talk to.

For the most part, the fear that had come with the two unnerving howls had disippated, and the noises were almost forgotten in Rayanya's memory. Heaving another large sigh, she thunked down on the ground and wished she had brought more than the single pack of cigarettes she had already smoked on the way here. And she would never get any more til she got home again, as the helicopter pilot had told her that the island was dry.

Rayanya sat on the ground in thought, blocking out noises until, from behind her, she heard the sound of a snapping twig. AHA! So the culprit had decided to show up in the end! Rayanya turned her head to look at the figure through the corner of her eyes, but couldn't quite focus... She stood up again and turned to face whoever it was, and fell over just as quickly as her eyes widened in horror. A step backwards had caused her fall as she tripped over a root, and she found herself paralyzed once again.

But instead of meeting the stranger with a snarl or a growl as his appearance might suggest, the figure instead whimpered, his tail tucking and his ears lowering.

He hesitated, realizing all at once that perhaps this was not the best of ideas after all. She... obviously had not been given "the talk" by anyone else. His own self-destructive perspective that this couldn't make things any worse suddenly was cast into serious doubt.

Taking a breath, he summoned the courage to take a step forward. He could be brave. This would be a distraction.

Right.

Remembering her train of speach he eventually found his voice. "Perhaps you are no longer the freak here." He said eyeing her with caution.

Rayanya stared at the wolf man with hideously obvious fear in her eyes, still unable to move. The appearance of him had all-out paralyzed the young woman as she tried to find some sort of rationalization in her mind. Was Joliette right? Could it be possible at all? Rayanya let out a whimper of her own, one of fear and confusion, efficiently human against the sound that had come from the man across from her.

Unfortunately, though, fear has this strange tendency to make people act like idiots, and instead of the rationalizing part of her brain accepting Joliette's theory, it came upon one based completely upon superstition.

"Oh dear Woden... a werewolf..." The statement was given in a whine; Ray was having a hard time getting a proper amount of oxygen into her lungs.

Ambrose whimpered again, and went to go take a step forward. However, after seeing and smelling the fear on her, he stopped.

From... the looks of things, she hadn't even been primed to the truth on the island.

A werewolf. Ambrose almost snorted. A werewolf would have been preferable. IF that were the case, at least he could be human looking most of the time.

His ears flicked back. At least... this was a very different problem. ANd honestly, maybe it WAS preferable.

"I'm... not a werewolf." He spoke quietly. "And... please... I'm not going to hurt you." He held up a hand - which furry, padded and tipped with claws - probably didn't help.

Rayanya stared at the wolfman for a few more moments (they seemed like eternity to her), waiting for her heart beat to slow and the paralysis to leave her body. She was so scared that each beat of her heart seemed to quake her entire body, and she was having a hard time concentrating -- and an even harder time keeping herself from passing out. Indeed, her world was slightly rimmed with darkness.

However, the wolfman stepping towards her and raising his paw got her into action. His words didn't seem to register in her mind as she tried to scuffle to her feet and, once again, toppled over by cause of that same damn root. This time, though, she fell face-first because of trying to turn her body to run. Now the marks of dirt on her back were visible and even more had been added to the front of her clothes; her top hat fell off of her head and rolled a few feet away along the ground. She bashed her nose quite viciously on the base of a tree, causing it to start to bleed.

I must not cry, I must not cry... death with dignity, Rayanya, go out fighting! But not even these mental thoughts were enough to get her back to her feet; however, she did manage to spare the beast her tears.

Once again the words Joliette had spoken to her edged back into her brain, and she was becoming terrified of the fact that she might just have to believe them...

Ambrose gave a growling swear under his breath. Things were NOT going well.

He took a breath. IF he couldn't fix his own problems right now... maybe he could at least help this new person's.

He quietly, and with as much dignity as he could summon walked to where her tophat had fallen from her head. Wordlessly he bent down, wishing that he couldn't smell her fear as pungently as he did, and picked it up.

Then, coming to a kneel besides the fallen woman he held it out to her.

"Please.... miss.... I'm not going to hurt you. Depite.... appearances to the contrary." He winced.

Maybe... maybe she was right... maybe he's telling me the truth...

Maybe this is all Loki's fault.

Rayanya kept her face hidden in the tree roots for a few moments til she could wrestle her way out of her coat (it was far too hot for it anyways) and get to the black tattered sleeve of the strange shirt she wore beneath. She moved this to her nose to catch the blood, trying to wipe away as much of it as she could. Slowly raising her head, Rayanya turned her head slowly towards Ambrose. As her eyes came into view, it was easy to see that they now lacked most of the fear that had occupied them... they were intense, watchful.

"If you even try anything on me..." Her hands were curled into fists, and her nose still bled.

Ambrose sighed, a frown crossing his features that still had a lot of human expression despite the short muzzle, combining with the very lupine mix with his ears adding to his expressiveness.

"I have no desire to hurt you... I assure you." An ear flicked back in irritation. "Besides... even if I were a beast of the woods.... no healthy wolf has ever been recorded as having attacked a person, despite fairy tales to the contrary."

He extended his other pawed hand, while still holdering her hat in the other, crouched in a squatting position.

"Can I help you to your feet...?"

"No, no. I'm fine." Rayanya got to her feet, albeit a bit too quickly. She swayed a bit and finally caught her center of balance, lifting her sleeve to her face and again wiping away the blood that was still pouring from her nose. She hoped she hadn't broken it...

Rayanya now took a moment to look over Ambrose now... how she had thought him to be a werewolf, she didn't quite know. He definately did not fit her own personal description of a werewolf, not even close.

After a few minutes of staring at him, Rayanya finally spoke again. "What... what are you?"

Ambrose pulled his hand back and put it into his pocket, feeling just a bit stiffed.... not that he could blame the woman. Wouldnt' he have been equally as freaked out were the situation reversed? If the first time he had wandered this island after coming here for a 'medical study' that he ran into a monster, despite how friendly it might be acting.

He eyed her nose, ears crumpling down. "Are you alright..?" He ventured. "That... spill looked painful." His tail gave a few nervous wags behind him.

He swallowed at the directness of the question. "By... the sound of things... you haven't been given the real explanation of the island." He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. But, as he reminded himself - as hard as this was - telling a total stranger, even one that viewed him as a monster, was a thousand times easier than telling Angelina, who had recognised him. And much, much better than dealing with the fresh wound of Emelyn.

"I..." He breathed. "My name is Ambrose. And... not four months ago.. I was as human as you are."

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I've taken worse than this in my life." By now Ray was just holding her sleeve over her nose, and the blood was finally starting to slow. She couldn't quite comprehend why she was so calm right now... perhaps because she was faced with something potentially dangerous (or so he looked) and trying to calculate how he could have come into being, her mind was forcing fear away in order to think.

"The real explanation of the island?" Ray raised a brow. "You mean the story Joliette told me about the shot I got eventually turning me into an animal?" Surprisingly, Rayanya scoffed and furrowed her brow at Ambrose. "Please. She got you in on this too, didn't she? You're just wearing some sort of a costume, aren't you?"

Rayanya folded her arms across her chest and gave Ambrose a glare that seemed to be able to peel paint off of a wall.

Ambrose frowned doubtfully at her claims to wellbeing. He was still overwhelmed by how sensitive his nose had become, and the scent of blood was overpowering even the smells of the jungle and her earlier fear that still clung to the small clearing.

His furry eyebrows raised. "So you've met Joliette? She... she's rather new here as well. Well, I presume you're new here...." He trailed off as she had yet to give him her name. At least, now, she seemed relatively calm enough.

"And as much as I hate to say it... from the sounds of it she told you the truth. And I have yet to see a costume as convincing as 'this'." He said, gesturing to the fur that clung to his body, that rippled with the passing breezes through the trees.

"As much as I would love to peel all of this off and confirm your doubts... I can't."

Rayanya pulled her sleeve away from her face to check the flow of blood, satisfied to see that it had gone down quite a bit. Everything was fine, and it didn't seem broken... thank the gods for that.

"Yes, I've met Joliette. And what she told me can't even be close to true. Its not possible, and there is no way it ever will be. Just because it moves doesn't mean its not fake."

At this point, Rayanya took a very bold action. Extending her hand, she darted to the side and towards Ambrose. Her fingers opened wide, clutching to grab at his tail. "I'll prove it!"

Ambrose crossed his arms, his eyebrows quirking further. Then he shook his head with a sigh. "I suppose I can't very well blame you. I would have thought the same as you had I been in your position. A prank is much more believable than the strange truth of this place. Had I not been the first to change, I probably would not have accepted anything until it happened to me-"

He stopped mid sentance as her hand darted out to his tail, only having a split second to brace himself for the impending tug. His ears flicked back and he winced, exposing long canines, but didn't pull away.

Rayanya gave the tail a couple more desperate tugs in hopes that it would pull away, but they were much softer than the initial. Horror had struck her face again and tears were starting to fall from her eyes, though she didn't seem to notice them.

All she did was stare at Ambrose's tail.

"It... can't be..." Her voice finally sounded out of a form that had forgotten to breathe yet again, and it was weak, at least until she pulled in a deep, rattling breath. She had gone paler than she already was, especially once she started screaming.

"Impossible! No! This is not happening! NOT HAPPENING!" She was in hysterics, since the story had just been proven, and she was forced to realize the fact that she would have to change, too...

The tail was... warm to the touch. And her hands wrapped around it revealed a structure of muscle and bone beneath the furry exterior. Certainly not a fake. Especially the way the muscles twitched with each subsequent tug.

Ambrose swallowed a whimper at the tugging.

He turned to her as the realization was seeping through her wall. His ears lowered, and his eyes turned sympathetic. "Miss.... I... I'm sorry. I wish it wasn't the truth..."

Flashes of Jamal's reaction flashed in his mind. And Ambrose began to realize that he was miserable at the whole "telling" part. Or was it just that there WAS no good way for some people. "Please... I... I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to be the one to spring this on you... it hurts both parties" He frowned. Lovely day. Simply LOVELY.

Rayanya finally let go of Ambrose's tail and moved her hands to her face, sobbing into her sleeves. Even the one that had been covered in blood. As a result, her face was now covered in blood and tears, but she found herself incapable of caring. A slight whimper was given as Ray once again settled to the forest floor, this time of her own will. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, now burrowing her face in her skirt. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her tears.

One thing, she could never go home again... Not that it entirely mattered, she only had two people back in the city that she considered friends. Another, she was going to turn into some animal, gods only know what... and how far would she change? Would she still be humanoid?

Finally, Rayanya felt a deep set pity for Ambrose... he had stated he was the first to change, and therefore, most likely the one closest to his doom.

Ambrose finally moved to squat besides her, and moved a furry hand to her shoulder.

"I'm sorry... I truly am. No one deserves the fate that's been set for us here. Whatever lie they told you to bring you here." He squeezed her shoulder lightly. Despite all of the problems of the day, he couldn't bear to see a woman crying... couldn't bear not to try to help. At least, here, maybe he could. Unlike the problem he created earlier today.

"Shhhh... shh... I'm sorry... It... well... I wish I could say that it will be okay.... but at least I can promise you this. There will be others here to help you through all of this. ALthough I'm sure that right now that's probably little consolation."

Rayanya didn't move when Ambrose put his hand on her shoulder, merely remained curled up and, now, silently sobbing. The only way one could tell that she was still crying was to feel the sobs rip through her narrow form.

Head still buried in her skirt, Rayanya tried her best to respond to Ambrose. Though her voice was a bit muffled by tears and fabric, her voice was still fairly easy to make out. "I'm so sorry... I don't want to know what's going to happen to me... to you... to everyone else... Dear gods, if there are as many people here as I noticed duplexes... even half as many..."

Rayanya refused to lift her head from her skirt, therefore it stayed where it was. After all, if she did, her face would be a MESS of make-up and blood.

Ambrose didn't move from her sigh, but he felt helpless. The hand on her shoulder was little support against the weight of the world that was pressing down on her. The cold shock of the horror behind the beautiful facade of the Island.

"THey say.... they say we will keep our intellect... our voices.... at the very least... althought... this is all highly experimental if you hadn't surmised..." He swallowed. "By my count... I think there is somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty of us now. But... our numbers seem to be growing by the day."

He didn't sound happy with this fact. HE wished they'd stop bringing people here - they had ruined more than enough lives. "I... know how you feel. Honestly I do. I had a life back home... goals... dreams." He whispered.

Rayanya seemed a little bit encouraged at hearing that they might not shift fully into an animal, that there might be enough hope for her remaining human. Well... humanoid.

And oddly enough, Rayanya startled to chuckle. It was weak at first, and the shakes of her body might have been mistaken for sobs... but within a few moments it was obvious that she was laughing.

Ray lifted her head towards Ambrose, her face a ridiculous mess of black eyeliner and blood from her nose, and allowed a few peals of laughter to escape her lips before forcing herself to stop.

"I'm sorry... I'm not laughing at you," she said apologetically. "Just... what you said about hopes and dreams... its kind of comical, in a horrid, twisted sort of way. Almost ironic... I came to this island because I was in debt. I was a starving artist still dealing with an alcoholic father, who had no friends and no life... I came here to not have to worry about that debt any more, and to get away. Its kind of funny that it worked out so that I actually don't have to worry about it anymore... but instead I'll be stuck here, turning into gods know what."

Ambrose moved from a squat to an awkward sitting position beside her.

His mouth actually started to turn up as she lifted her face to the rivulets of black mascara that coated her cheeks - especially seeing the humour in her eyes as opposed to the anguish he was scared he might see.

Admittedly, the laughter did catch him off-guard, but he was familiar enough with those who used it as a defense mechanism to not be that surprised.

He nodded. "I... know how you feel, honestly." He said after listening. "I... I came here for a 'medical study.' I was between semesters at college, and I was... well... I was broke. My scholarships were starting to run out, and while I still had tuition paid for another year, I couldn't afford housing. So I read about a study that offered Five grand for a 'two week' series of tests. I ... I didn't have enough work experience to get a job other than fast food... or Wal Mart or something in this economy... and, well, a whole summer of work wouldn't pay that even...." His ear flicked. "So I took the easy route. ANd this is were it landed me." His ears drooped. "I.... while I was in financial trouble... I was pursuing what I loved. I ... I stood against what my parents wanted me to do in college and went somewhere on a fencing scholarship." He gave a small smile. "I... just didn't think ahead enough."

Rayanya started to use her bloody sleeve to try to wipe away some of the makeup that was caked on her face, spotted the blood, stopped, and switched to her other sleeve. Thankfully, her shirts were black. See, there was a reason she preferred the color.

After a few moments of mopping, Ray heaved out a short sigh and turned her head towards Ambrose.

"I'm really very sorry... from what you have said so far, you did have a future in front of you. It must have been painful to find out..." She couldn't quite bring herself to finish the sentence, and replaced the last few words with a wave of her hand and another nervous chuckle. "Well... at least we're here with others going through the same thing, right? Maybe... maybe that's why that red-haired doctor wouldn't tell me anything about the medicine testing I was coming here for..."

Rayanya put a hand on Ambrose's back and patted him gently, trying to avoid the 'mane' of fur he had developed.

Ambrose nodded quietly. "Y.. yes. yes it was very difficult. " He gave her a ghost of a smile. "It still is to be honest. I ... I don't want to be cut off from the rest of the world. But... well.. it's not exactly like I have a choice in the matter. But yes. At least everyone here is... well... supportive of eachother. No one is going to see you as a freak..." He hesitated.. "Well... unless you're new" He gestured to her with his chin. "But the more of us that arrive, the less liklihood that you're going to run into someone who hasn't heard yet. Then again... it's hard for us even... to see others change... become less recognisable. More...." He swallowed. "More like animals."

He sighed. "I'd reccomend you speak with Joliette again, though... she... she's got a camera and is setting up a darkroom. If you don't have a photo of yourself with you. It... it's nice to have something to remember what you looked like by." He looked uncomfortable again. "I... I'm sorry - you probably didn't want to think about that."

Rayanya nodded to Ambrose, intently listening to his words. Then, suddenly, she did something she never really quite thought she could do... Extending her arms, she wrapped Ambrose up into a hug, again patting him on the back. Everyone in this world had different ways of dealing with stuff, and apparently, Rayanya had just discovered that she was the type to dole out comfort.

"I will, if I ever find her again. I'll have to take a walk on a beach one morning and hope to see her exercising. I wish I knew just how much we were all going to change... or for that matter, what I'm going to turn into. Is everyone changing into the same thing?"

Ambrose stiffened in surprise before relaxing and returning the hug, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing his hand on her black-clad back. His tail thumped on the ground behind him a few times. He had begun to become a very touchy-feely person.

He spoke quietly over her shoulder. "No one knows... all they've said is that it is a series of injections... frighteningly enough I believe I'm only about halfway through the process after my second transformation. And no.... not everyone is going to become the same thing. I haven't seen another wolf...They.... they can tell you... if you ask. The intercom - press zero to talk to one of them. Though a warning - it might be more frustrating than helpful sometimes. Most people I know haven't had the courage to ask ahead of time."

Rayanya shuddered slightly, mostly to release what was left of the negative energy within her. She hugged Ambrose tighter momentarily before pulling back from him and offering a soft smile. She didn't look nearly as scary while lacking her make up.

"Perhaps I'll try that later on, then... it might work to some effect. I think I'd rather know than live through every day here wondering..." She sighed, straightening out the dirty sleeves of her shirt. "For now, I had best get going... I still would like to make my room more homely, especially now that it seems I am permanently trapped here."

Standing, Ray brushed herself off. "If you ever want to chat with anyone, come find me... my name's Rayanya, by the way. I live in Duplex 24. Stop by whenever you get bored, or whatever... thanks for telling me, being supportive..." And finally, jokingly, "and not eating me." Another grin was given.

Ambrose squeezed her back as well, giving her a few patts on the back before they parted. At least... after the shock, and the denial and the breakdown... she seemed to be recovering from the shock. Much, MUCH better than Jamal had handled it thank, God. Enough, that Ambrose was actually starting to feel a bit better as well - he had braved the response of yet another new 'victim' - at the very least, he could say that he had experience telling people, for better or worse - and he had saved people like Amaya or Hargun from having to tell her the bad news.

"That's brave of you... and I hope, for your sake, that they tell you something that you can live with." He gave her a soft smile. "I ... I think I woudl agree with you - the suspense can be maddening... "

He smiled at the final introduction. "Rayanya... it is nice to meet you. Honestly. And I'm easy to remember, Ambrose in Duplex number 1." He gave her a lop-sided smile. "And no problem. I promise to not eat you any day." He actually chuckled.

Rayanya spotted her hat on the ground and scooped it up, carefully placing it on her head. "Indeed... my faith tells me to go through life with a strong resistance to fear. I intend to keep that value." She winked and clutched the rune around her neck within her hand, lifting the symbol for Thurisaz up to her lips and kissing it gently before letting it fall to her chest again.

A chuckle escaped her lips at his final comment. "I'll remember that, Ambrose. Perhaps one day I'll stop by for a visit. Hopefully my makeup will look better next time and I won't be caught up in a breakdown." Finally, Ray turned her back on Ambrose and went back to searching for her path, which she found relatively easily... she now wondered how she had missed it so much before.

Ambrose gave her a half-bow as she said her farewells.

"And feel free to stop by at any time. I'll be here." He said with a note of irony.

As she left, Ambrose looked around again to the trees, alone once again save for the sounds of distant jungle animals.

He sat down on a fallen tree with a sigh, leaning against the trunk of another.

Now what... He thought to himself.

With Rayanya gone, it presented the same initial dilemma.... but... at least, he was feeling a little better. After the confrontation he had actually parted having done something. In a strange, roundabout way, helped someone. But should he feel guilty for feeling better? After all... Ambrose was almost certain that a certain someone was very unlikely to be feeling better.

He rested his elbows on his knees, and just closed his eyes, breathing in the scents of the jungle and listening to the sounds for a good few hours before finally picking himself up and finding his way out of the jungle and back to his duplex.

Ambrose almost felt like he was emerging from hiding as he walked, slowly, to the cafeteria with Angelina at his side. Between helping Chubb's construction and spending some much-needed time with Angelina since her arrival, he had barely seen any of the other Islanders who had grown quite close to him since he had gotten here.

He had made many quick trips to the cafeteria, briniging Angelina food, or getting food for himself before construction, but never spotted anyone else during his erratically-timed visits.

He wondered how Colche was doing... or Amaya... and he still worried about Emelyn... did she still hate him? And it seemed like ages since he had seen Greer or The Dude. Was Greer still having... issues?

He glanced over to the short brunette at his side. A blessing in disguise, mayhaps... he couldn't believe his eyes when she had come into his duplex... back into his life. And how his heart had panged for her.... but now.... now she was here - he knew the problems it would bring. She was scared, for her ... humanity... for her freedom. And... since her arrival... they had yet to share any real... "quality time". They had hugged, snuggled - certainly. She had even said that he was soft... but... they hadn't even really kissed - nothing more than a peck on his furry cheek. Ambrose was beging to fear that she no longer found him attractive.... no longer saw him as the man she had fallen for.

With a disguised sigh, he walked arm in arm with her quietly to the cafeteria, lost in his thoughts. He gave her another encouraging smile - or at least he hoped it came across like that. She had not stepped foot outside of his duplex for more than a few minutes since her arrival - she was making a big step - coming out with him.

Ambrose also hoped that she wasn't disturbed by his eating habits - that he had gone out of his way to hide from her. Between eating most of his meals at hte work site, or guzzling down some meat while bringing her her tray. He mostly had satiated his hunger before bringing her her meal, during which he could eat lightly with her. He had gone out of his way to tone down the lupine impulses around her - which only made them stand out more to him. Resisting the urge to lick her face, or shake himself dry....

But the longer it went, the more awkward it felt - like he was violating the sacred trust of a relationship - not letting himself be himself - despite how unnatural and artificially-induced these new impulses were.

So it was a big step for both of them.

Stepping through the doors Ambrose gave a small sigh as he saw it was empty of people save for the lunch lady at her typical post. Although... he wasn't sure if it was really relief or disappointment.

Smiling to her, he extended a hand to the food area. "Here we are. I know it's not a very nice restaurant... but.... well, it's the best I could do" he winked.

Angelina was not as brave or as strong as she would like to think she was. She stayed close to Ambrose, hesitantly letting her eyes wander over the setting. She was nervous about meeting other people had changed. She was afraid she would scream or gawk or something else terribly insulting or rude.

She also didn't want to accept that something like that might happned to her.

She gave a tight lipped foced smile and nod to Ambrose, looking over the cafeteria.

After that rather depressing conversation with Colche, Amaya made her way towards the cafeteria. It was getting to be a little late and she needed to grab something quick before heading back to her duplex.

As she headed into the cafeteria doors, she paused and looked at Ambrose and... some girl she didn't know next to him. Was that Angelina? Oh god. She physically winced, her first instinct to just get the hell out of dodge so nothing bad would happen. But if she had come out here with him then... that meant she was ready to face things?

With a shaky sigh she grabbed a fruit salad and very slowly made her way over, claws clicking on the tile floor as she did so. "Hey Ambrose... long time no see." She forced a tiny smile, one of her large hands holding her bowl in it's palm and the other balled up at her side.

Her tail gave a nervous twitch behind her and she kept her eyes partially down. If Angelina freaked out she really didn't want to see it face on.

Rayanya had become a bit of a shut-in since she found Ambrose in the woods. Now that she knew what was going to come of all this (though not enough for her own ease; she didn't get out of Moreau exactly what she was changing into...), she was starting to get a bit... upset. Not really scared, per se, but worried. And to think she would never see New York City ever again.

However, Ray had finally decided to step out of her room for more than a few short minutes and headed off towards the cafeteria. She was rather hungry; she had been eating very little the past week and her appetite was quite voracious. The little snatches of food she normally kidnapped from the cafeteria didn't really do anything to hold her over.

After a short walk, Ray turned to the doors that smelled so deliciously of food and took a deep breath, then pulled the doors open. She didn't look around, merely made her way to the food in hopes of snatching and running once again.

Ambrose was heading towards the lunch line with Angelina and heistantly loading up his tray with meat. There was a set of steaks on the buffet today - some of the pieces particularly rare and juicy that really was catching his attention - particularly after not having eaten since early yesterday when he did construction work with Chubbs.

Finally swallowing his pride, he put four big thick pieces on his plate, after an apologetic look to Angelina.

He turned, a smile widening in surprise as he saw Amaya. "Amaya! It has been a long time! How have you been doing?" he turned to Angelina, gesturing. "Amaya... this is Angelina" He smiled, and turned to Angelina. "Angelina.. this is Amaya. She's a really great person. Even letting me teach her how to fence." He winked at Amaya. "Speaking of... how's that footwork gone?"

Ambrose glanced up as the door opened once again to reveal another familiar familar. Rayanya... the strange woman he had encountered in the jungle and who had called him a werewolf.... but at least... she had eventually seemingly come to understand... and at least it had been he who had encountered her first instead of, for example, Amaya. And strange as it was, he had needed to help someone that day...
He nodded to her, giving her a small wave as he collected his tray.

The noise and bustle of the cafeteria was only contributed to as Jamal poked his head in, deciding to play "social butterfly" today as opposed to remaining holed up in his room. As of late he'd been feeling pretty aloof and cranky...which wasn't too abnormal for him, but still. He didn't feel completely right.

The first thing he did was search for familiar faces and saw them, which was good...but there was also two strange faces that had to belong to new folk, since they were unchanged like he was. Hm...

Angelina's eyes widened a bit at the four huge steaks Ambrose piled on his plate. She opted not to say anything and got a small peice for herself. She got a sampling of several things, not really because she was hungry but because it gave her somethng to do.

Then a few people started to enter and she nervously looked up. This was it. There was a handsome black man and a goth-looking woman. Okay, she could definately deal with them.

But then there was... she wasn't sure. She looked young, and female. But her face had blotches of green skin and her hands were large and, well, a bit freaky looking. Angelina caught herself staring, her mouth hanging a bit agape as she suddenly had a mental image of herself with long, freakish fingers.

She blinked a few times and swallowed forcing her eyes up to her face. "Nice to meet you Amaya." Instinctually she held her hand out to shake hers, hesitating a bit once she did, wondering how on earth to shake a hand that look like that...

..oh god, they were all going to hate her.

Hearing the door open twice, Amaya glanced towards it and winced when she saw yet another person she didn't know. Of all the times to come into the cafeteria... As much as she hated to, she tried to just ignore her. After what happened with Chana, meeting people who haden't changed yet scared her probably as much as it scared them to see her. Jamal haden't seen her since she changed either and he... didn't exactly react well. Crap.

Ambrose's rather enthusiastic greeting made her crack a small smile, forcing her to glance at Angelina and nod. "Nice to meet you too." She then gave a tiny laugh. "Not very well, I'm afraid. Even though I've been practising it's hard when your height differs so much." She went on her feet, dropping five inches before standing on the balls of them once more.

Green eyes went to Angelina's offered hand, a bit surprised. Hesitantly she reached out and shook her's with her thumb and three of her fingers. Jeeze, her hand was so tiny...

Rayanya looked around the cafeteria, which was currently the fullest she had ever seen it. Perhaps this was a bad time...

The young woman immediately recognized Ambrose, and she tossed a smile in his direction, but nothing more. Her eyes then shifted to the pretty young woman standing beside him, and finally to the scaled girl. Ray couldn't help but shudder a bit. She sincerely hoped she wasn't turning into that.

Ray was slightly startled when the door opened yet again behind her, and she turned around to face a very... buff black man. Shock was clear in her blue eyes; she never liked it when people suddenly appeared behind her. Combined with the two strangers, this new addition made Ray wonder if she should have left her room...

Ambrose hesitated, a bit of a frown as she drew attention to the awkward problems that her changed feet had brought. "Well... maybe there's something that could be done about it... adjust the stances to cater to your physique...." He swallowed. After all.... wouldn't he have to make his own adjustments eventually? From what he had read about wolves, they walked on the balls of their feet as well. While his feet hadn't changed much... yet... that didn't mean that they wouldn't eventually. "If you're still interested, that is.." He offered.

His tail wagged as he saw them shake. That was a good start, right? He watched Angelina... he could smell her anxiety, and his tail slowed. He wished he could make this easier for her... but how?! It had taken him long enough to seeing the others change - and that was only aided by his own change first...

He sighed, resenting the absence of alcohol. Maybe alcohol could help. He never used to think like that...

He looked up as the door opeend again and Jamal entered. He nodded to him, giving him a wave. On the good side, he was seeing several of the people he had missed recently.... on the downside... he hoped that it wasn't making things worse for Angelina.

"Here, let's go take a seat, shall we?" He offered, walking to a table and setting down his tray, taking a seat behind it and extended inviting hands to Angelina and Amaya, with nods again to Jamal and Rayanya.

He waited before digging in immediately on his stack of food.

Jamal hardly looked at all troubled by Amaya...perhaps he was comfortable now with all this genetic "bullshit" as he'd taken to calling it. Or perhaps the fact that Awen had changed, thus forcing him to believe this was happening, had given him a good dose of reality. Who knew.

He gave Amaya a stiff nod, showing that he saw her, then gave a wave to Ambrose. Jamal had gotten along alright with him lately, mostly because of the construction with Chubbs, realizing Ambrose wasn't a bad guy.

However, he wasn't pleased at the expression on the stranger that had come in before him. The look in her eye was completely interpretted wrongly as perhaps not shock over being startled, but...well, a completely racial bias. His own eyes narrowed some as he gave the girl a slightly intimidating stare, icy silence, and pushed around her to get at the food bar. After a quick round of grabbing, he turned and went to join the others at the table with his meal.

"Yo," he said flatly to the assembled group as he took a seat. "I ain't neva seen so many peeps in da caf'tera at once."

Angelina look Amaya's hand and gave it a quick shake. The skin was cool and dry, not slimey, but she knew that... she had a pet snake back at home. But still, a part of her brain just didn't want to compute that that was a girl - not an animal.

At Ambrose's suggestion, Angelina nodded, grabbing a can of soda and heading with Ambrose back towards a table. She looked back towards Jamal and Rayanya, focuses on them. They weren't changed, it was easier to deal with. She looked over the thug-ish Jamal. Angelina didn't exactly grow up in the best part of town, so his appearance wasn't very phasing. She looked at his tatoos and stature...

Suddenly her stomach fell as she caught herself admiring Jamal more than she really ought to... She quickly looked away and bit her lip, looking back over to Ambrose. It had been months since she had been... close... to someone, and she hated to admit to herself that it was beginning to bother her. Ambrose hadn't exactly been trying to seduce her recently. But with everything going on, she could see why that wasn't exactly forefront on his mind.

And she couldn't blame him completely. She didn't exactly give him any blazing green lights either. It wasn't that she found him repulsive... just things were do... different. She didn't even know he if wanted her to do anything, or if he just felt too weird. As much as she hated to admit it - she didn't even know how to kiss him anymore.

Gah, why was she even thinking about that right now. What was wrong with her. There lives were being drastically changed forever and she was lamenting to herself about her sexual frustrations?

Get a grip, Angelina, you sould like a sex-crazed little ...

She decided focusing her attention to eating was a better avenue for her thoughs. She looked down to her tray and began to eat, listening to the conversation around her.

"Oh yeah, I'm still interested." Amaya nodded up to him, looking a little surprised that he might think otherwise. She then gave a glance to Jamal and the woman she didn't know, nodding to them in recongnition before following Ambrose rather quickly. She felt very exposed right now and since he was the only other one changed in the room she wanted to stay by him.

After taking a seat next to Ambrose she started to poke at her fruit salad, holding the fork with three fingers clumsily like she had tried to teach herself. Jamal seemed to be reacting pretty well to her new change, which was a huge relife.

Rayanya moved out of the black man's way as he shoved past her, quickly darting her eyes away. Gods, she couldn't believe she just did that... Sighing and fingering the rune around her neck, Ray moved on towards the food.

After investigating the selection a bit she grabbed one of the smaller steaks and started to head to a table until a selection of fruit caught her eye. She rarely ate fruit, but that honeydew looked rather delicious. She contemplated a moment before moving to the buffet and picking up a few pieces, and finally found her way to a table.

A lonely table, of course. Rayanya Felt a bit like she was back in high school: one table was bustling with a crowd that had already known eachother, a group of people who, though some of them were transforming into animals, still looked fairly normal. And she had plopped herself at her own table, to hunch over her food. Rubbing the rune at her throat again, she began to gnaw idly at a piece of honeydew.

"Hi Jamal!" Ambrose smiled, oblivious to the looks that Angelina had been giving him. "Yeah... there do seem to be a lot of people here today..." He glanced around the room. "It's kind of nice actually.... in a way." He added quickly to the end after glancing at Anglina. "This is Angelina." He smiled, gesturing to her. "Angelina, Jamal" He returned.

"And excellent, Amaya! I'm glad to hear that. Maybe we could try some things this afternoon. Maybe even start some work with the epee." He grinned.

When Rayanya sat down at the table by herself, he hesitated, glancing curiousy over to her. Did she not feel comfortable sitting with them? Perhaps he overestimated how well she was handling things...

Finally, he picked up his utensils and began cutting up the steaks before taking a wonderful mouthful of juicy... rare... steak...

Jamal gave Angelina a very slight eyebrow lift, easily picking up the looks she was giving him. Not that he minded at all....Angelina was hardly ugly. However, he was smart enough to not comment on it in front of Ambrose. Jamal might be bigger, but Ambrose could probably do some damage being as he was being turned into a carnivore. Instead, he gave her a very smooth smile and lifted a french fry from his plate. "What up," he drawled. "I take it you be pretty new herr. Doin' a'ight wit' all dis?" She obviously had to know what was going on since she seemed to know Ambrose pretty well.

The black man pointed ignored Rayanya since she hadn't joined their table. That also irked him sufficiently and only confirmed what his first thought was. Perhaps she was too good to sit with a black man? Hmmph. Well, this wasn't the first time and certainly wasn't the last. Nevermind the fact that he was probably 100% wrong on his determination.

Angelina looked up from her plate and gave Jamal that Are you talking to me? look. Trying not to look as dumb as she felt, she shrugged. "Its all pretty hard to swallow. I guess... I don't know. I don't think its really sunk in yet." She looked him back over. "You seem...er, you know. Have you been...?"

Amaya swallowed a piece of fruit and glanced over to the woman again, feeling awfully bad about not inviting her over. But she didn't know her and the thought of the same thing happening again scared her to death. Even though it looked like Ambrose knew her... she still felt very out of place among so many normal people, two of which she really didn't know.

Though as Ambrose addressed her she looked back over to him. "Yeah, that'd be nice." She nibbled a little more at her fruit salad, stabbing a strawberry with her fork. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if she could hold an epee with her new hands.

Giving a small slurp, Rayanya finished off a slice of honeydew and sucked the remaining juice from the effective cup that its rine made. It was, indeed, quite delicious, and she wished she could eat it all day.

She set the rine down on her plate and pulled up a fork and knife, cutting into the steak. Ray kept getting a creeping feeling over her body like the others were looking over at her, which merely reminded her even more of high school. The only difference was that this cafeteria was considerably less populated.

Silently sighing, Ray took a bite of steak and pulled out her notebook and a pencil. Perhaps if she drew something or wrote, she could get rid of the feeling that she was being stared at.

Rayanya seemed to ignore Ambrose's silent invitation... maybe she hadn't seen... or hadn't caught the gist of what he was suggesting. He squirmed in his seat a bit. He thought about vocalizing the invitaition, but Angelina was uncomfortable enough as it was with only a few new people. Maybe she'd join them if she felt comfortable enough doing so...

At least Angelina seemed to be opening up a bit to Jamal. Despite an awkward first start, he seemed to be a nice guy. "She's only been here a bit over a week..." He explained to Jamal.

He nodded to Amaya again. "Glad to hear it" He smiled. He grinned to the others. "Anyone else interested?"

"Been herr damn near two months now...s**t, what be da date anyway? 16th?" He tried to figure it out in his mind as he ate the previously mentioned fry, confirmed his initial guess, then smirked. "Been 'zackly two months since ma sorry black a** got dropped on dis island. I basically know all da s**t dat goin' on herr...took a long time ta believe it though, so I ain't surprised you ain't quite on da same level as the rest o'us. At least ya know people already...it go betta dat way." He flashed her another smooth, charming smile before glancing at Ambrose.

"Ya talkin' 'bout dat fencin' stuff?" the black man said with barely concealed mirth, shaking his head in amused disbelief. Jamal saw fencing as a pansy sport, even if he didn't truely get the gist of it. Hardly sounded like something he'd be into. "...dat's a'ight, I be stickin' wit' da boxin' lessons fo' now."

He'd been getting his lessons during breaks in the construction yard and was getting better day by day, but he was hardly champion at it yet.

Angelina chewed on a carrotstick. "Its been two months?" Angelina thought to herself. "Well, maybe I'll have a little time then. Do you know what they said you were...going to be?"

She looked back over to Ambrose and gave him a small smile. She knew how important fencing was to him.

For the most part Amaya remained silent, watching Angelina, Ambrose and Jamal talk. She was finding herself becoming less and less of a talker these days... maybe it was because of the iguana inside her, or it could have just been all the going ons in the past few days... she didn't really know.

Rayanya began to quietly sketch in her book, taking down little bits of images both from her imagination and from the cafeteria. She found her eyes wandering to the other table, and, chewing another piece of honeydew, she began to draw simple sketches of its inhabitants.

Ambrose's ear flicked back and he gave a rueful twist of his lip to Jamal. "Yeah, I'm talking about fencing again. It's really fulfilling, you know. Much more elegant than boxing." He countered. "It's about precision and speed... not brute strength." He commented flippantly.

He shook his head, though. "But two months... wow, has it been that long, Jamal?" He seemed surprised. "It's been.... nearly four for me...." It seemed longer. His entire life had been turned upside down and closed away from everyone else.

"You alright, Amaya...? You've been quiet." He gave a small smile. Tension... he didn't need tension. He wished he could paint a perfect picture of the island for Angelina.... even though it was anything but that. Everyone seemed to be down or snappy recently... even before he pulled himslf away from a lot of it. Except for when he was working with Chubbs. The guy was sometimes refreshing company admidst everything else. He wondered if that would change when he ... changed. But... no one seemed to have changed recently - even joliette and Jamal... people who had been here a while. Awen too, last he had seen her.. he wondered if that was still the case.

Jamal grimaced a little at her question and sat back in his seat. "Naw, I ain't asked 'em yet. I ain't so sure I wanna find out. Knowin' them bastards, they gonna pick sum'thin' I ain't gonna like, but it ain't like I kin do nuthin' 'bout it now, so at least right now I kin pretend dis ain't happenin'." He passed a quick look to Amaya and Ambrose in succession, an odd look overtaking his features. "Not like I can really 'scape it when I got peeps like dis 'round. At least I ain't freakin' no more."

He prodded the top bun of his sandwich, feeling an odd aversion for the bread rise in his chest out of nowhere. Mmph...he always liked hamburgers before...

Ambrose did manage to get a bit of a spark back to Jamal's eye with his veiled irritation, however. He lifted his gaze to steadily fall on Ambrose's lupine face and though there was still a good-natured aspect to the black man's face, Jamal clearly wasn't in agreement with what Ambrose said.

"Look, brotha ain't carin' how elegant o' fulfillin' fencin' be. When it come down to it, if someone gonna kick ma a**, I rather know how ta hit wit' just ma fists than stick 'em wit' a fake sword. Plus if ya look at me, ya seein' anythin' elegant 'bout me?" He prodded an arm muscle to emphasize this point, casually flexing at the same time. "These ain't sayin' nuthin' 'bout bein' quick on ma feet. These be sayin' I'll knock a b***h out."

Angelina actually started to open up talking to Jamal. "Thats exactly what I think," she said, leaning forward. "I mean, here I am all paranoid they're going to turn me into a cockroach or something, so I'm too afraid to ask. I figure I can lve in ignorant bliss for, well, at least a little while before I have to face the reality of it all..."

She looked over him again. "Well, if it means anything I hope its not something really, uh... like a slug or something."

She took Ambrose's hand and tried to preimptively calm hiim down from Jamal's insults, while she watched him flex. She could help but shake her head ruefully and shake her head a bit.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... I'm fine." Amaya lied. A lot of things had happened since the last time she saw Ambrose but right now she didn't want to trouble him with them. Angelina was here, he needed to focus on comforting her through all of this.

She listened to Jamal and Ambrose calmly argue, but didn't interject. Right now she still felt very exposed and out of place. The less attention brought to her the better.

Rayanya had, by now, abandoned what was left of her steak in favor of sketching. She really should head back to her room, but being around other people , though not interacting with them, was starting to grow on her. It must have been caused by all the time she spent shut up in her room...

Her pile was smaller as she went from unit to unit after having checked the list in the town hall to find out where all her friends were... Joliette looked through her pile of envelopes she went through them as carefully as possible having already poked holes in the corners of many of them by accident with her new claws.

She found the one she was looking for and slid it under the door of her new friend.

Rayanya was sitting on her bed, digging her fingers through her hair, trying to figure out what she was going to do, when she spotted an envelope slip under her door. Perhaps the doctor's voicemail had died? Perhaps this was going to help her prepare for Jul? Ray dashed as fast as she could to the door and flung it wide open, wide, manic-looking eyes staring into the outdoors.

Joliette was just about to stand up again to move to the next unit when the door opened she blinked. It startled her she hadn't been expecting it and the girls frantic looking made her stare not thinking of words just yet, their last meeting didn't go so well

"Dammit, yo--" Rayanya had started to yell, then found herself looking at the familiar face of Joliette. She had only met her once, but remembered the occasion quite well. However, Joliette was different now, had changed. Rayanya blinked a few times, mouth moving comically with no words coming out of it, before she caught her bearings. "OH! Joliette! I'm so sorry, so sorry! Things are so stressful right now... Jul, and Woten, and Bulder... And the Wild Hunt..." She was speaking terms that probably only meant anything to herself, and herself alone.

Joliette's tongue fliked out and back in before she stood gathering her own wits "Hello Ray" she said slowly, a bewildered look crossing her face with Ray started going on and on about hunts and... well she had no idea

Rayanya wrang her hands together and licked at her lips, looking frantically around outside. Dammit, damn that red-haired sadist... he did this on purpose, she just knew it. Finally, Ray's odd blue eyes locked back onto Joliette, and, in a hurried tone, she spoke again. "So sorry, come in, please come in for a minute." With those words, Rayanya backed away from the door to allow Joliette entrance to her duplex, should the other girl find it wise to enter the room of someone who was acting like a maniac.

Joliette nods and takes a few steps into the duplex looking around "Thanks" she looked back towards Ray "You seem worried about something" she mused aloud to her

Rayanya swept in after Joliette had entered, sending a glare towards the intercom box on her wall at Joliette's statement. "Very," she practically growled. "I needed stuff for the Jul ritual and I tried getting in touch with someone, and no one answered, and now I don't have the stuff to do the ritual, which is bad, very very bad..." Ray's voice was going up in pitch with each word of her horrid, panicked run-on sentence, and she had to take a deep breath after she was through to keep herself from panting.

"Ahh... I dont call anyone on those anymore, I don't trust the staff here at all..." she frowned "though I would think if you need them you might have better luck writing then calling, then you can say exacts and they can't claim to write them down wrong"

Ray took a claw-ringed hand and dug it through her hair, leaving a long scratch along her forehead. "I didn't get a single word back. I called, and I left a message, and said that it was urgent... and do you think he could have called me back? Of course not!"

Rayanya turned towards Joliette quite quickly. "Do you realize how important this holiday is to my religion? How much significance it has?" Ray was starting to pant again, and she had such a crazed look on her face that she appeared ready to start foaming at the mouth.

Joliette looked rather unnerved by Ray's franticness and yelling "Uhhh no I'm sorry, I'm afraid I dont have any idea" she said meekly and scratched her cheek with a claw her yellow forked tongue flicked out and in

"Bloody... stupid... guh..." Ray paced around the room twice, then spun towards Joliette once again. Her eyes widened; though she had been looking at Joliette for a while now, and had acknowledged it at least once, she still let out a squeal. "You've changed! Oh my gods! I'm so sorry, Joliette, for a while now I've been meaning to find you and apologize for not believing you!" Ray dashed over to the other girl, looking her over.

Joliette watched the taller woman pace for a time and startled when Ray spun to her... "Yeah.. a couple days ago" she said quietly her eyes watching her examine her. She glanced down at herself wearing her black gi bottoms and a white cotton t-shirt

Rayanya looked over Joliette once more before her attitude shifted entirely, the manic look from her eyes melting away. "Are you okay? Did it hurt? Do you want to talk?" Her speech was still frantic and quick, though.

"I'm ok yes, sore still but ok... It hurt very much" she admitted looking towards Ray again "David and I changed at the same time... He knows what he is becoming, I'm trying to figure my own out without going to the git for answers"

"I'm sorry, Joliette... Sorry I didn't believe you at first, and sorry that you have to go through this... that we all have to go through this. I seem to be... lucky. Its been a month now, in fact, over a month and I'm still... human. Perhaps the stuff they... shot in us to do this isn't registering with my body."

The name David didn't register with Ray, as she had not met the man yet. But she didn't think on it, as it was obvious that he had to be another tenant of the island. Rayanya heaved a sigh, then moved to wrap her arms around Joliette in a hug.

"I'm sorry we do too, none of us asked for this... it was over a month for me too..." she nearly took a step back when Ray moved to hug her but let her she was nervous around Ray just then due to her ranting and raving, but that ranting hadn't been about her so she gave it a chance that Ray wasn't going to freak on her

Rayanya wrapped the expansive fabric that covered her arms (and her arms) around Joliette for a brief moment, hugging tight and hopefully in a comforting manner before letting the girl go. She then stepped back and tried a smile, but she was worried: about her friends, herself, and everyone else on this damned island. Oh, what had she done to offend the gods into giving her this punishment?

Joliette smiled weakly "Thanks Ray, so much to get used to, I'm not sure how to get used to this, I have more difficulty with my camera now, I hate to think what hte future holds in that respect..."

Ray nodded her head. "I tried asking the doctor what I was going to become, and accidentally... blew up at him." Ray wrapped her arms around her own scrawny form now, clutching herself tight as she chewed on her lower lip. "He just told me that I was going to become the same animal type as another person on this island, but a different species..." She sighed. "I wish I hadn't lost my temper, I want to know what's going to happen to me. And I keep hoping that nothing happens at all."

"Which doctor did you reach who said that?" Joliette asked curiously

"The red-haired one who welcomed me here, Moreau I believe." Rayanya sighed again, running her fingers through her hair. "I really wish he'd just tell me. That man's evil, I swear upon it. You can see the sadism just glowing in his eyes." Not that it was necessarily a bad thing; Ray had always been attracted to sadists, she just never stated it out loud.

Joliette nods fidgetting slightrly with teh envelopes in her hand succeeding mainly in poking a couple more accidental holes "I've heard that, I have yet to meet him though so I couldn't tell you from personal experience"

Rayanya nodded. "Yeah." She seemed to be upset yet again, as her words were dying and she was becoming less social. "I hope we all get through this okay..."

"So far people have for the most part, but I guess we'll see what our future holds I suppose" her tongue flicked out of her mouth and in as she tried to ignore the mouthful of sharp teeth she had "Guess we all have a lot of life changes to get used to"

Rayanya nodded her head. "I wonder if we'll have to go fully animal, and if we'll lose the ability to speak, and do... human things." Ray's face was starting to look troubled.

"I don't know... I haven't the courage to ask... theres certain things people are unable to do now though... like Hargun and Ian" she sighed "I wonder when he's going to decide he has enough test subjects, theres already about 27 people here"

Rayanya shifted her eyes to the side, staring at her wall as she muttered in a spiteful voice. "Probably never... anyone cruel enough to do this has to be a mad scientist, and they don't stop til they die." Ray tapped a claw-ringed finger on her arm.

Joliette made a grimacing face "Probably... I think I wouldn't mind punching him like I did hte git..." she grinned a moment revealing the teeth she tried to keep somewhat hidden "but I doubt i'd get even a little close enough" she sighs

"I'm sure he's well protected," Rayanya said with a nod. "I mean, he's had to have been pissing all these people off... and he is, essentially, equipping us with weapons. He has to have a way to protect himself, so we'd probably never get to him." Ray looked relatively unhappy.

"Three little words that's all it'd take ... Subject... our name... sleep..." she shuddered at the memory. "He doesn't even need weapons, they can make us sleep without any true effort... just three words"

Rayanya blinked. "What? How is that even possible?" She sighed, though, realizing the stupidity of that statement. "But then again, I'm sure that on an island where people are turning into animals, hell, anythings possible. Hel, for all I know this could be the one place where Christianity is real." The last was a low mutter, not said to offend anyone, but as Ray's own personal expression.

Joliette blinked not commenting and shaking the words from her mind spoke "I don't know how they do it... we're still trying to figure it out... but I know they can do it.. I've experienced it first hand"

Ray nodded. "Yeah..." She turned away, went over to the door and lifted the envelope that Joliette had slipped beneath it earlier, turning it over in her hands. "Holiday card?" She asked simply.

"No... I didn't make cards, it's just a little gift of sorts.. best thing I could think of given teh lack of stores and all here" she said sounding rather downhearted about it all

Rayanya nodded. "Thanks... I'm afraid I didn't think of getting anyone anything, I was too wrapped up in the ritual that was supposed to have started on the 20th." Ray sighed, looking down at the envelope and feeling a bit guilty.

Joliette nodded "thats ok, I had no idea what I was going to do for a long while, I'm only just getting around to dropping them off now" she smiled

Rayanya returned the smile and carried the envelope over to her desk, setting it down on the top of the nearly-empty thing. Though she had spent most of her time here in her room, one could not really tell: she hadn't even messed it up, let alone bothered to try and redecorate it. "Thanks again, Joliette."

"You are welcome Ray" she nodded after ray put it on the desk "I hope you like it"

"I'm sure I will," Ray gave another smile, which, despite her makeup, didn't look as intimidating as it usually did. "I'd better let you get back to your deliveries, so you can get them all underneath people's doors in time."

Joliette looked down at her small pile "Thanks I do still have a few left to do"

Ray walked over to Joli and gave her a final hug. "Well, there is one thing to say about this... its definately a new experience." She chuckled. "Catch you later, Joli. Take care."

Joliette smiled and nodded "yes I'm sure we will catch each other as time goes past.. Oh I'm staying with David... Chubbs in 25 now if you want to find me you are more likely to find me there then in 27" she told Ray on her way to the door

Ray nodded, and walked Joli to the door. "Sounds good. I don't really come out of my room a lot, but if I want to find you at least I know where to go now." Ray smiled and saw Joliette out with a final goodbye, then shut the door behind her. Retreating to her bed, Ray fell onto it, and nestled deep into the covers. Sigh.

When you wake up you find a gift wrapped package in your room.

You also notice a box full of the materials you had requested in the corner.

The package contains a Black Ipod with very gothy music on it.



As well as a dress, that appears very similar to the one from the movie Legend.

Rayanya was having the time of her life ever since Moreau got her her iPod. She loved the little gadget to death, and seemed to have it constantly attached to her ears. The only thing better was the new dress she had recieved; after wearing it a bit on Christmas day she hung it up, fussed over it, and straightened the fabric of it like she was posessed. Now she was wearing it yet again, dancing around her balcony to the tunes of one of her favorite songs by Nosferatu.

And not only was she dancing on that balcony; oh no, she was also singing. Singing at the top of her lungs, without a care to controlling her tone. It wasn't that bad of a sound, but it was far from a professional voice, and some of the words of the song were, well, questionable. A common theme seemed to be coming in the night, goring open someone's throat and drinking their blood til the person became a midnight bride.

Stewart had finally gotten over the shock of his sudden transformation, he had not accepted it. Oh no, far from it, but he finally didn't look like he had a major hangover. Stewart was in the middle of cleaning up his room after he lost it last night, the main mirror in the room had been smashed and the large picture of Jesus now had a knife sticking out of it and was in shreads. He wasn't wearing his collar either, he still belived that he was being punished and did not deserve to wear it. As he was going through the naughty pictures Moreau had given him for christmas, he grimaced and was about to throw them away when some started singing very loudly from the duplex above his. It wouldn't of been so bad, if it wasn't that horrid rack music kids listened to these days.Throwing down the picture he had been looking at down at the table, he rushed outside to see who was making all that racket. He finally discovered the source when he looked up. "Excuse me!" He yelled up waiting to see if she could hear him

Ray didn't seem to hear the man below her; her music was blaring full-force through the small black earbuds attached to her iPod. She continued to dance around and sing, and now one could see that she was arranging candles around strategic points of her balcony as she moved towards a proper spot. She paused for a moment, put a hand to her lips -- perhaps she had heard something? No, no; she took a black candle and set it down, then started humming the chorus of the song.

Stewart's eyes widended as he kept looking at the girl... What was she doing? Chanting and performing a Satanic ritual?!? It was bad enough that he was turning into some kind of demon, but now he had a girl who looked like she was about to preform a Pagan sacrifice upstairs. This time he yelled even louder "What the hell are you doing up there!?!" Oh well, he cursed again. But that was the least of his worries right now

Ray was just bursting into a new line of verse that she quickly killed; she had, indeed, heard something that time. She blinked a couple of times before pausing her iPod, then removing the headphones altogether. Her form loomed to the edge of the balcony, dress consuming more space than her form usually did. Peering down, she caught the priest in her eyes. What's this, someone she had yet to meet? She really should get out more.

"Oh, hello, you been calling to me? Sorry, I was listening to my music. I just got this iPod with tons of great bands on it, Nosferatu and Princes of Hell, even some Satan's Cradle, and their music's really hard to find! Want to listen?" The call was meant on good terms, as it was the way she would greet any of her goth friends back at home.

"Oh..." He said nodding his head, but looking a little creeped out "Ah, no thanks. I think I'm good..." He told himself that he would not get too creeped out by this, she was probably a very nice girl! Even if she reminded him of a vampire. Trying to get the conversation on a slightly more normal level "I don't think I've seen you here on the island before, my name's Stewart" He couldn't bring himself to say Father Young, he didn't deserve that title anymore...

Rayanya smiled down at Stewart warmly, though it would seem creepy if the man should notice the makeup on her face.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rayanya," she called back down, lifting a hand in a beckoning gesture. "Why don't you come up here and chat, so we don't have to keep shouting between the balcony and the ground?" She was standing between two black candles and one red; there were other colors, but those two were primary. The young woman was preparing for a ritual, and should the priest indeed take up her offer, he would notice that the balcony floor was covered in chalk-drawn runes once he saw it.

"Okay!" Stewart yelled back up "I'll be right there!", a few minutes later he arrived at the balcony. His eyes went wide once more when he saw the symbols drawn on the floor. "Sweet Mary mother of God" he membeled as he noticed them. He made sure not to step on any of them as he walked over to the young woman. "Do I want to know what you're planning on doing up here?" He asked looking skeptical.

Rayanya shuffled away from the balcony as Stewart dashed up and had picked up a fresh piece of chalk. She had started drawing a mark of Thurisaz on the floor, a rune consisting of three simple lines (|>) and known throughout the modern world as the mark of the devil that had possessed Mike Meyers of Hollywood horror fame. When she heard him mutter, though, she quickly stopped, turned, and faced him.

She was scowling a bit now, seemingly slightly taken aback by his question. "Well, I'm working on finishing off the Jul ritual for the year. You can watch if you want. Careful not to step on the runes, this dress makes moving a bit hard and I've already redrawn a few by cause of it."

He took a step back when he noticed that she was drawling the mark of the devil. What kind of sick ritual was this? He knew that there were dark forces at work on this island, but were they all being summoned by this girl? No, she was probably just a pawn in all of this... "Jul ritual? You've not summoning any demons are you?" Most people would think this was a joke question. But he was being dead serious

Ray gave Stewart a wide-eyed look. "Oh Woten no, why would I want to summon the creatures of Hel? I only do that when I'm really, really desperate. And they don't listen very well... nor... do anything. Suppose its far too cold in Hel for them to be able to, though." Rayanya finished drawing Thurisaz and turned towards the priest again, standing from her crouch. She finally took a deep observation of him. "Where'd you get those clothes? They look like a priest's habit type outfit I saw at Hot Topic once."

Stewart wasn't sure if he heard her right, they sold priest clothes at Hot Topic?!? He was getting really confused right now, was this girl really serious? Looking very confused he said "I got them from the church I worked at, I am...Er, I was a priest. I'm not so sure about that anymore."

Ray completely stopped all motion and stared at the Father. After a few moments, she finally managed to say, "Oh." A priest? Oh gods. A priest on her balcony as she was performing a Norse ritual. Well... it was most definately interesting, and perhaps a touch ironic.

He noticed that she froze up after he said that, did she have something against the church? Was she one of those who thought they were witches? Or even worse, she might be one of those hardcore athiests. He shuddered at that thought. Trying to change the subject he said "Do you like it here on the island?" Terribly corny, but that was the only non-Satan related thing he could think of.

Rayanya leaned against the banister of the balcony, looking over at Stewart with a wary gaze. She hoped he wasn't going to start spewing fire and brimstone at her; she absolutely hated it when they did that. His question caught her a bit off-guard.

"Well... its kind of nice here, but something about the whole turning into animals thing makes it... a bit difficult to truly enjoy." She tried a smile. It was wary. "Other than that, the weather's nice. Bit too much sun, though, and I forgot to pack a parasol. How about you?"

He winced after she commented on the turning into animals part, how he was trying to froget about that. "It was nice until..." He wasn't able to finish the sentace though. He looked away from the girl and stared at a spot on the balcony as his hand reached up to touch one of his newly formed horns.

Ray nodded silent agreement. "Indeed. I just wish I knew... you know. What I was going to turn into, or when it was going to start happening."

Her hand moved uncomfortably to the collar of her dress, tugging at it gently. This was awkward. And odd. And she just couldn't figure out why he hadn't started ranting. "My first excursion on this island, my first full day here, I found out. I didn't want to believe... but..." She trailed off. "How long was it before you discovered?"

"I refused to believe it until it...happened. I kept making up excuses. But then it happened a few nights ago, and I can't deny it anymore... It's awful, and I still don't know what I'm turning to... Other than a horrible demon" He said sighing.

Rayanya nodded her head. "Well. I doubt that you're turning into a demon. So far as I've seen the doctor is only turning people into animals that exist on the mortal plane. Demons don't fall under that category." She looked at him, folding her arms. "Perhaps you're turning into a... let's see, what has horns. Mountain goats do..." She trailed off.

Stewart grew stiff when he heard that last part, goat? "Oh god, not a goat, anything but a goat. I can't be turning into a goat..." He look almost scared as he finshed that sentance.

Rayanya blinked. "What's wrong with a goat? They're rather noble animals. Well, at least in human view. They actually smell kind of bad..." Ray sinks, temporarily, into musing, then snaps out of it. "I mean, at least its not something totally despicable, like a slug." She shuddered.

"Oh no, I much rather be turning into a slug. The goat is the devil's animal, it's almost as bad as the snake. I-I" He paused after his studder, looking even more afraid "I'm sorry, but I can't talk about this anymore. I've got to go now. Sorry to leave like this" Looking almost terrified now, he left the balcony and headed back to his duplex.

Ray gazed after him as he left, muttering a quick "Goodbye..." She then turned and began to light candles, starting the ritual yet again.

Rayanya arose to a bizarre feeling coming over her, and began to wonder if she was getting sick. Perhaps an ear infection? She moved a hand to her ears to feel the area and determine if it was due to inner or outer ear problems. Eyes still closed, she touched what would have been the lobe of her ear -- and then flung her eyes wide open. Her ears have never felt like that.

Removing her hand revealed another horror: The backs of them covered in fur and the nails longer and stronger, it was no surprise her hands itched and fingers felt sore. Itching soon overcame her though, and she darted the longer, stronger nails first along the backs of her hands and then to her face. Rayanya nearly screamed. There was... hair... on her face; no, not hair... fur.

And it was on her chest, too, as replying to the itches there revealed, and apparently on her back as well. This is disgusting, Rayanya thought to herself, skimpering from her bed to her mirror. She doubled over on the way as her stomach seemed almost to shift, giving a strange sound.

After recovering from the odd feeling in her belly, Ray continued her course to the mirror. She stopped, mouth agape, about five feet away from it, then slowly walked forwards. It looked like she had mutton chops, and her ears were... deformed. That was the only way she could really put it. They were longer, and seemed to be ribbed on the insides.

Ray pulled off her shirt and inspected the rest of her body in the mirror. Indeed, there was fur growing on her chest and back, thick.

She wondered how many razors she would have to go through to get all this off.