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 Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:14 pm
Brian was never very good at lying. In fact, he was quite terrible at it. "Ah... no," he started, the word on his tongue like a cautious taste of some unknown dish, "you weren't wrong. It's... it was just-" time to make his descision now. Tell the truth? Oh, to hell with it. "I specialise... specialized, I suppose- in canids. My thesis was on the behaviour of grey wolves, and, well," Brian cut himself off. This guy didn't give a damn what he'd been doing with his entire life's work. Besides, the less he elaborated, the easier it would be to leave out that he was working for Feral Labs.
"When I woke up in my room for the first time, there was a note from one of the laboratory's doctors, pointing out some numbers... uh, the numbers of other rooms. I wanted to know what significance it was to me. I learned... a while ago... one of them is a 'wolf man' of some sort, and..." he paused, pursing his lips. "You're in number fifty-seven, aren't you?" Part of him hoped he'd been a fool, and that he'd get a 'no' for an answer. The other part hoped he wasn't completely off the mark with this guess, if only so he didn't appear to be an idiot.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:23 pm
A specialist on canines, huh? Lucas supposed that would be handy in case anything ever came up that couldn't be answered in the few books on dholes he had found.
"Yes, I'm in fifty-seven." He nodded, raising a furry eyebrow at Brian's behavior. "Wolf? Oh, that would probably be Ambrose. I think he's suppose to be a grey wolf."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:35 pm
"I thought so," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair and trying to squash the sudden thought that he was sitting here having a conversation with a dhole. "Then if I had to guess, I'd say that the other two people mentioned are being treated with canine DNA." 'The samples of which I provided. It's at my hands that these people are suffering. My research that enabled this!'
Brian had to look away for a brief moment before he could collect his thoughts. "Which means that I can most likely anticipate what they have in store for me, considering my room number was on that list."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:47 pm
The dhole's ears lowered a little. "At least you like dogs." After it came out he wanted to hit himself. Hard. He went quiet for a time before trying to speak again.
"Um... which doctor gave you that note?" Lucas had his guess, as this "game" sounded like something he'd do.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:54 pm
The biologist did not comment on Lucas's statement. It was true, really, and he beat himself up internally for being so pathetic, always grubbing for pity when others had it so much worse. I'm sorry, he wanted to say, but Lucas would not, could not know the extent to which he was sorry, or the reason behind the apology. Better left unsaid.
"Duvert," Brian muttered in reply to the question. The tone of his voice didn't leave any question as to his opinion of the man- he spoke the word as though it were some vile contraband, best to be kept under wraps and brought to the light of day only when the event became unavoidable.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:05 pm
"I thought so." Lucas muttered back. "He did about the same for me. I'm a bit of a paranormal, fantasy fan. Shortly after I arrived he sent me out into the jungle on my first evening here. That's when I encountered Ambrose. He'd just been injected and I watched as he changed. I thought he was a werewolf until he had to set me straight." The dhole sighed. "Dr. Duvert's way of showing me what I had to look forward to. Though, I didn't get the 'joke' until recently when I changed for the second time. I had kind of hoped I wasn't becoming a dog. ...but I guess it's better than some other things that came to mind before my first change." He realized he was probably going into things that Brian could care less about.
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:12 pm
Werewolves. Hm. "Have you met Zachary?" Brian asked suddenly, this discussion of fantasy and the paranormal bringing this fellow immediately to the surface of his mind. "He introduced himself as a dragon. Now that I think about it, he's either very dense, a person who was raised in the labs, or he was trying to screw with my head." That notion was rather unpleasant, but for some reason it made Brian laugh, a helpless, hopeless laugh that made very little sound and shook his narrow chest quite soundly. "You know, I'm really dumb."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:31 pm
There was a moment of thought. "Yes, the name Zachary is familiar. I've never met him, though. Created using several different animals so he'd resemble a dragon. I'm curious to see how exactly it was pulled off. I'm a bit of a fan of dragons." He scratched his nose.
"Don't kick yourself too much. You got tricked into coming here. How could you know that this is what they were planning? Pretty much everyone else here got tricked, too. Heck, if anyone here is dumb it's me. I could have recognized the warning signs and never agreed to come here. Had I paid more attention I'd probably be home right now." While he spoke there was a brief sad look in his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. "But really, no point in beating yourself up about what you can't go back and change."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:43 pm
Brian supposed this was true, and conceded with a nod. He glanced over one last time at Lucas, and touched the notebook in his pocket. He could jot down some notes when he got ho- when he got back to his duplex. The man ran his palms up and down the fabric of his pants, drumming at his kneecaps with idle fingers. "I... I think I'm gonna head back to my room, now." He needed a nap, and a shower, and then he'd go grab a bite to eat. Brian rose, smiling quickly, almost formally. "Nice meeting you, Lucas."
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Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:49 pm
He had noticed the man's fidgeting and as he started to wonder what it might mean, Brian spoke up. "Oh, okay. Nice to met you, too, Brian. See you around." Before he left Lucas quickly added, "And if you ever need anything feel free to get in touch with me."
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