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"I, er, don't know if we should jump to conclusionsss, but, uh..." He poised his claws on his head for a whole minute before letting them drop to his sides. "I guess it r-really doesss ssseem like that, doesssn't it?"

"You... what!?" He blinked in surprise. Somehow he'd tried to think maybe it was just one-sided, and she hadn't known what his instinctive intentions had been. He was both amazed and slightly worried that she didn't leave. Wavering, he shuffled forward and crouched down so that he was on her level. His head bobbed, though he caught it just in time and put an imaginary foot down hard again before he kept it up. This was not the time.

"Shh, shh, nothing'sss wrong with you... jussst calm down..." His hands hovered flat in the air between them. Fear kept him from touching her. The mating urges were getting stronger again just looking at her scaly lizardlike form. They had to get away from each other until this passed. He'd interrupted her... something about a person... why couldn't he remember?

"I'm ssso sssorry about all of thisss." Her wide eyes prompted him to finish his tentative movement. He leaned a little bit and with the less scaly of his two hands rubbed her left shoulder. Hanging his head, he sighed deeply; he'd broken the physical barrier once already, so the finely scaled texture of her skin didn't make him flinch. Guilt filled him, among other emotions.

Meanwhile, his strained efforts to remember what they'd started talking about were reaching their peak. He almost had it now... someone grey, started with an A... Andrew? No. Alex? Getting there.... Alec! "Um... weren't you looking for that Alec guy earlier?"

"Yeah..." His tail lashed.

So this was the same grey-faced guy who'd been holding Aubrey hostage, and announced over the intercom system. Though he was feeling more sympathetic to Sabin, the idea of Moreau or Aubrey dying held no extreme emotions for him. Likewise, he didn't demonize Alec in his mind. It was just that, well, trying to escape had been a pointless endeavor.

"Maybe you should keep looking... He'sss bound to turn up sssomewhere. I'll sssee what I can find out from-" For a moment he was going to blurt out his connections to Sabin, but caught himself at the last second. He knew the majority of the island hated the guy. Mentioning his name would not help Amaya calm down. "From asssking around the village or sssomething."

"Good, you'll- huh?" The hug surprised him, especially after what he'd just been doing with her. He stayed rigid for a short time, fearful that his instincts would take the opportunity to do something unspeakable. Amaya still looked very hot to him, in some inexplicable way, but the moment had passed and he was in control of himself again for however short a time. He relaxed, and with the arm already around her he gave her half a hug back. The other things his reptilian side wanted to do to her were forced out of his thoughts.

"Uh, heh, any time..." He almost didn't want to let go of her, so after the hug had spanned enough time he let his hand trail down her left arm to her large hand to squeeze it reassuringly. "Hey. Cheer up."

He looked at her, holding back a powerful desire to nuzzle her again. She still looked sexy to him. That didn't seem like it was going to change, and he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted it to.

"Yeah... I guesss you should." Zach drew his empty hand back to his side and stood up after her, his tail twitching. The fury of his inner lizard at having lost a potential mate seemed to mirror on him, making him even more nervous and upset she was leaving. "Good luck."

He stayed put and waved at her, his wings stretching behind him anxiously. She was going, but he'd find her again. Somehow. He didn't know if he could stand being away from her. Having his basic animal instincts fusing with his deeper human emotions was making the simple desire to mate start to become much more like a Shakespearian drama on several illegal substances. He was hardly aware of how alien the idea of courting Amaya had been before this encounter.

He nodded, grinning somewhat nervously. His frill flared again. "Oh, definitely."

Before he could lose his head and chase after Amaya, he shoved his claws deep into the tree. He began climbing back to his branch, his heart somehow heavier than he thought it could be over such bizarre new feelings.