Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaius couldn't help his eyes drifting to Sophie's tail, watching it twitch with fascination. It was so strange to think that the fuzzy limb was her own, and that he might be sporting one within a month's time as well.

He blushed and ducked his head at the mascot comment, but his small smile spread a bit. "They told me there were some things here, but I haven't seen any of it myself... I'd be grateful if you'd help this poor helpless guy find his way around, rather than wandering aimlessly and end up dinner to some jungle creature." He smirked, not knowing how true his statement could be with some of the islanders running around.

"Oo! I heard they have a cafeteria! Is it a buffet kind of thing? We can eat whenever we like? I've been wanting a good sandwich since I arrived..."

[New RP]

Gaius sat himself down in the grassy clearing of the village with a grunting sigh, stretching out his legs and flexing the mass of black hoof that had once been his toes. He was glad he could still walk flat-footed at least, but shoes were impossible to wear, meaning his heels suffered a good deal of abuse.

It'd been... what, three, four days since his last change? Gaius was still trying to grapple with the most recent changes to his features. Not only had his nose melted into his face with the start of a bulging muzzle, but his pinkie and ring fingers had melded, leaving his hands rather grotesque-looking with the same thick hoof material taking up the entire end half of his fingers. The hair he'd grown in his first change had spread down the sides of his shoulders and arms, as well as all down his back and the front of his legs.

Gaius flopped back on the grass, squawking in discomfort as he was reminded of his strangest change yet, the tiny vestigial wings sprouting from his shoulder blades. Grumbling to himself, Gaius rolled onto his chest, exposing his black-haired back to the sun, and rested his face on his folded arms, closing his eyes for a short nap.

"Snrrrrrk-wah! Huh?" Gaius jerked up, blinking blearily before looking around to face his waker, giving her a perfect view of his bizarely shaped face. "Beach?" He squinted, brain slowly catching up. The girl was unfamiliar, with bright eyes, and entirely too human. Gaius's face dropped. Oh crud. Please, PLEASE don't let this girl be as new as he feared she was...

"Um, hey there! Er, the beach is down that path a ways," he waved off to the east of the village with his hooved hand. "It's a bit of a walk, though, I'd suggest some sturdy footwear."

He looked up at those big eyes, untouched by the trauma of life on the island and the knowledge of the horrors to come. At that point, he felt more like a monster than he had since first starting down the path of the hooved beast.

"Er... ah dear. I-I'm the first person you've met on the island, aren't I?" He pushed himself up into a sitting position, tail twitching out of the way. Eyeing her, he gestured to the grass. "Er, you should probably sit down for this."

Hooookay. How was he supposed to handle this, anyways? They really should start some kind of 'welcome to the island' support group training... Taking a deep breath, Gaius rubbed his muzzle, reminding himself of what he must look like to someone not 'in the know.'

"This... isn't a costume. Sorry. I know it looks weird, but this is my nose... or at least, what's left of it... And those are my actual feet." He held up one, wiggling the hooved end at her for inspection. "No shoes, I'm afraid. They don't really fit on my feet anymore." He rubbed the haired back of his neck awkwardly, wondering how in the world he could break it to her gently. "Uh, well, what do you think you're here for?"

"Ah, Duvert." Gaius snorted, sounding rather like an irritated horse. He held little love for the man who was so eager to turn Gaius into a mythical horse with wings of all things. "Duvert's one of the staff that works here... I came here thinking I was being hired to work as an architect for the place, and instead I ended up like this." He jabbed a thumb at himself, wings giving a twitch as if to enforce his words. "This whole place is one big mad scientist experiment. They're turning us into animals! I-I know you probably think this is crazy, but... well, here." He held out a mutated hand to her, offering it for her examination. "Go on, touch it. That's no glove. That's hoof growing out of my fingers." His face twisted with anger as he spat out all the grievances he'd been caging up the past few days. "Go ahead and feel my wings, pull my tail. They're all real, and all a part of me."

"I...thought the same, when I first came here," he sighed. "I thought something like this was impossible... But, then I changed." He turned his arm over, pointing to a red mark still present in the crook of his arm even after the growth of his hair. "See that? It's the injection mark. They give it to us when we first get here, and then we get a second one about a month afterwards, and that one starts the changes. I've had two changes so far, each one changing me more than the last one."

He looked up at her, sadness in his eyes as he watched her innocent hope be dashed into the ground. "Maybe... maybe if you work here, you won't suffer our fate. I mean, if you're a staff..."

Gaius gulped, knowing that mark for what it was. "I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Without really thinking, he scooted over beside her and gathered her into his arms in a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry. I wish I wasn't the one to have to tell you all this... that you've been lied to..." He rocked her back and forth gently, wondering again how the labs could be such monsters to rip people from their lives, people like this innocent girl, and subject them to such a hell.

"There now, chin up, okay? It's bad, but you gotta be strong. It's the only way to survive. I'd tell you everything would be alright, but..." Gaius chuckled weakly. "Don't worry, there's a lot of us here, and we'll all support you as best we can. At least most of us. Okay?"

"Heh, where are my manners?" Gaius managed a friendly smile, taking her offered hand in his odd one and shaking it firmly. "My name's Gaius. I live in the duplex over that a ways, in the 60's. As you can probably tell, I'm mostly horse, aside from the wings." He smirked. "That's usually the standard introduction; Name, duplex, and animal."

He looked her over, wondering how she was handling it all on the inside. "...the beach is probably out of the question right now, so how about we head to the cafeteria?" he offered with a grin, gesturing to the large building nearby. "I can whip you up an amazing chocolate and peanut butter milk shake like you wouldn't believe!" Sugar and chocolate, just the things needed to make any situation better.