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'At least you know...' she had said, 'At least you like canines...' Lucas had said! This was, after all, no less than what Brian deserved. A taste of his own medicine, as it were. All the suffering made possible because of him. All the ruined lives.

"Nnooo," he grunted, testing his bare feet on the ground and trying to stand up, "Doesn't hurt much... just my feet'n'my back a little..." he scratched at his elbows, which were still becoming steadily fuzzier and steadily itchier, and accidentally drew blood with his new nails. "...gonna need another shower," he commented to himself, and then noticed he'd dropped his sheets on the ground. Hn. They hadn't really needed a washing. There were no mites, no fleas, no 'bedbugs'. The infestation of his body was on a much grander scale than that!

"I knew it had to come sooner or later," Brian mumbled, shuddering at the overwhelming feeling of billions of tiny prickles jeering at him from the expanse of his skin. His ears felt strange, too. 'Augh, and wild dogs,' he thought, 'have really big ears.' So it didn't surprise him when he reached up gingerly to find they, like his feet, had elonginated slightly.

Shenzi snorted as she got her arms under his, attempting to help him stand up, though it was most definately not a smart move on her part, as she promptly fell down from the pressure on her still unbalanced feet. As she was sitting back up, she noticed Gaius' glance, and raised an eyebrow. "Gryphon, apparently." She said shortly, brushing herself off as she tugged her tail into view, still as yet bare of feathers.

Reaching over for her crutches, she got them under her arms and pushed herself back up, her tail swinging under her skirt, the end poking out in view now and again. "Pfft, if I can't walk again, I'm kicking dear Sabin in the nuts. If I can't walk, I can't dance. If I can't dance, I can't make money." She said, glowering at nothing in particular.

"Sabin," Gaius growled the name, sneering as he did. "I wouldn't put it past the slimey b*****d..."

He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry you're both victims of his, uh, work... too." He looked away, avoiding Shenzi's eyes. So, another of Sabin's unusual handiwork. Just like Zach... Just like him. But perhaps the category would not be so bad with Shenzi a part of it, though the idea of being lumped with Zach still made Gaius' blood boil.

His thoughts were interrupted as his attention returned to Brian and the dark lumps of flesh swelling on his hands. Instantly his manner became concerned. "I thought it was done! Maybe we should, uh, get you back to your duplex? I don't think you'd want to be out here if something painful starts happening and you can't move..." He knelt down awkwardly to scoop up the bundle of sheets and shoes as he did so, stuffing it all under one arm.

Brian winced. "I'm on the upstairs floor of mine. Sixty-eight. I'm pretty far down the row." He swallowed, balling his hands into fists and glaring at the bulge of his knuckles and the raise in the skin where taut tendons punctuated smooth, pale flesh. 'Enjoy what you have while you still have it.' He saw Gaius take his belongings- Gaius, hadn't Zachary warned him about a man named Gaius? Oh well. A lot of what that 'dragon' had told him was dubious.

"Here, I'll get that," Brian said, extending his arms to take the load. As least he could carry his own things- the biologist told himself he shouldn't be asking for help from those worse off than he. "I'm fine now." He shuffled towards the pegasus-man and his feet twinged sorely as the pads forming and the bones subtly-reshaping were scraped against and put pressure on. The redhead tried not to wince and buried the discomfort under his determination to get back to his room. Worse things could have happened. At least this was it... for now.

Shenzi swung behind them, keeping up a fairly normal pace since she was on two crutches, merely swinging her legs between steps. "I take it this is your third week here, Brian?" She asked as they headed towards the duplexes, laundry forgotten. It had happened in her third week, despite that Gallen had said it would be about four.

"And how long've you been here, o gallant knight?" She asked with a teasing grin, her tone half mirth, half resentment at being stuck on a tropical island and turning into what was essentially her country's mascot.

"Just under a month, yes," the biologist said in response to Shenzi's question. He was silent for a while, partially listening to Gaius but mostly absorbed in his fervent wishing that the damn itching would stop already, and that he feet weren't so achey. When the man mentioned Thanksgiving, however, Brian arched one of his smooth orange brows.

"Thanksgiving was ages ago." But as soon as he'd said it, it dawned on him. "Oh, right. American Thanksgiving." He felt stupid. He wished he hadn't said anything at all. "I'm from Canada," he explained quickly, sheepishly almost, picking up his pace to get back to the duplex where he could be alone with nothing but his thoughts and some pen and paper.

His muscled twinged spitefully, but the change in pace was just enough to bring his sanctuary into sight before either of the two could bring up his past. "Thanks," he muttered awkwardly, "I'll take it from here." And then scooped up his belongings from Gaius and hurried down the path and up the steps, fumbled with his key, and then went through the door. "Pleasure meeting you both," Brian called from the doorway, and then he was gone.

Gaius frowned slightly at Brian's hasty retreat. He couldn't blame the guy... Last thing he'd want after a change would be to hang around strangers... at least that's what he'd think normally.

Shenzi's question drew his attention back down to the girl. "Laundry...? OH! Right!" He broke into a grin, remembering the bag he was still holding for her. Heh, regular pack animal he was. He grinned back, the prospect of company much more attractive than his lonely old duplex.

"Certainly! And, uh, we can take it easy. I know how the feet issue goes..." he gave a small smile, moving over beside the lightly-feathered girl to head back towards the laundry room. "And I'll definitely have to make you some of my family potatoes, for sure. And maybe some ham..."

"Heh, well, gotta have good stuffed potatoes!" Gaius grinned, easing a bit with Shenzi's light-hearted banter, though the blush remained. His eyes, unsure of where to rest, likewise betrayed his nervousness.

"Job offer," he answered. "They told me the place was an island park... As you can imagine, that was a bald-faced lie..." His face fell - literally, as his neck drooped forward. "What I wouldn't give to have passed up the job offer... I'd be home with my old job and my family, maybe doing some early Christmas shopping... It hardly even feels like fall here! I have to admit, I miss the changing leaves..." He lifted his head to look down at Shenzi, managing a half-hearted smile. "You said you were only half-American? Where're you from?"