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Island of Moreau
Vice Captain

PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:51 pm


Those awareness pills certainly seem to have been doing the trick recently! You've found yourself with a lot of energy, easy to focus on tasks, and best of all, your narcolepsy has been hardly acting up!

Over the past week or two, however, you've noticed a few, almost inconsequential 'side-effects'. Your body hair has been getting progressively thicker; your leg and armpit hair have been growing back faster than usual after shaving, for example. Also, your nails have been thicker and also growing at a faster rate.

However, things don't get better... in fact, after taking the last pill... things get... interesting. Over the course of an entire day, you go through a transformation. The changes are incredibly slow, almost imperceptable, but you feel horrendous. You have a fever all the day before, and even worse the day of. You're naseous, medicine-headed, and achy.

Over the course of the day, a pain in your tailbone heralds its defusing, and growth into a short, nubby, naked tail. Your nails and teeth grow thicker, longer and sharper. Your ears also grow point and longer.. and longer.

The changes - and your fever - only begins to abate about a day after they started.
PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 8:26 pm


It had been a long night, and as Sophie looked forlornly at the pile of things that had yet to be packed, she figured it was going to be a longer night yet. It didn't help that she felt sicker than she'd been in years, and that she was going through the toughest decision of her life. She didn't want to leave, somewhere within her...but she also knew that it was the only thing that would set her on the back course. Yawning, she reached for her medicine, and popped her daily pill without a care.

It was only a few minutes before Sophie began to feel fully awake again, but the headache had yet to disappear, and in fact, it got worse. Eventually, she shoved her bags from her bed and forced herself into bed, convinced that her room-mates would have a hangover the next morning, and that she could pack then. Things would get better by then, right?

Apparently not. The light filtering through her window from the new day caused Sophie to wince as she sat up in bed, rubbing her temples. Her back ached, and she felt like she'd slept on rocks. Rubbing her eyes, she stepped over the collective mess that was her and Terry's room, entering the bathroom and picking up her toothbrush to get rid of her morning breath.

As she looked up with her open mouth, ready to fight the night-grown plaque, she noticed two things. First, that somehow her shirt had managed to get stained while she was sleeping. Secondly...her teeth looked really sharp. Sophie put the toothbrush down, then pulled back her lips with a finger to further examine her vampirish canines. "Yuh...shtha's no' nawmul," she commented to herself, tilting her head. It was then that she noticed her fingernails...for the most part, they were the same as any other day, but at the cuticles, they had turned black.

"Uhh, Sophie? Get out of the bathroom. You've been using it for ages."

Sophie groaned, then left the room without even bothering to brush, allowing her roommate to take over. "I'm, uh...calling in sick today, okay, Terry?" she asked, flopping back into bed. She only got a rushed "Whatever", and in all honesty, she didn't care what Terry thought. Something was wrong, and it was only about to get worse.

All that day, Sophie didn't manage to get any sleep, but she certainly got the worst of whatever illness she had. The base of her back cramped like she was about to start her monthly cycles, but she knew she wasn't due for another two weeks, and besides, it didn't feel like typical cramps. It felt like someone was burning the small of her back. She reached down to rub the pain away...and felt a bump. She nearly jumped out of bed, but somehow managed to stay mattress-bound, her shock managed back to a surprise. She hadn't felt a bump...had she?

She made it a point not to try and rub the pain away again.

Her headache also slowly progressed into a more specified pain at her ears, and she wished that, for once, she would just be able to sleep her way through it. It was evening before she tried to get up again, and thankfully, her roommates were gone for the night. She decided to give brushing her teeth a second time, and when she entered the cramped bathroom and looked in the mirror, she was shocked with what she saw.

"No way..." Sophie put her face inches away from her reflection, her eye glued to the fact that, over the course of the day, her ears had...grown. There was no better way to put it: she now had huge, elf-looking ears. And her lips...they were black, which contrasted the whites of her canines poking out.

She backed away from the mirror, but as she bumped against the wall, a surge of pain ran up her back, and she turned around, only to see glimpses of the bump in the mirror. She circled herself for a few moments, then finally found herself a position where she could see her backside. It was no longer a bump anymore...it was some appendage. Needless to say, Sophie wasn't happy.

She rushed back into her room, wondering what had happened, when her eyes set upon the pills she'd been taking. She'd noticed how her hair had gotten thicker, but on the label it had been listed as a side-effect. Well, growing elf ears certainly wasn't a side-effect, and she needed to find some way to fix this. After all, she had an audition in two weeks, and even if she was hallucinating, she couldn't start having those kinds of symptoms!

So, picking up the bottle, she searched for the small hotline number on the label, and then dialed it into her phone, hoping that whoever was on the other line would be able to help her. After explaining the situation to a Feral Labs underling, she got put on hold, and started pacing as she waited for someone more responsible to pick up the phone.

Sophie C. Bell


Island of Moreau
Vice Captain

PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:58 pm


The hotline, after being forwarded through the entry level answering service and to an individual who spoke with her with the utmost seriousness, assured Sophie that they would have an ambulance sent to her straight away. The man sounded concerned, but not, intersetingly enough, surprised on the other end of the phone. He took her name, and kept her on the phone asking her background questions about her medical history, address, family that would need to be notified, duration she had been taking the medicine, and a number of other relevant - and sometimes tangential questions slipped in as well ("LA?" What are you doing out there?)

And the man kept his word. Within twenty minutes, there was a knocking at the door and men dressed in ambulance outfits were there. The individual on the phone bid her a good bye. They took her in her care, and to a Feral Labs clinic where her "symptoms" were examined, and bloodwork was taken. Finally, a doctor walked into the room and explained that they had a specialty center that they would need to take her to in order to reverse the side effects. It would involve travel to a laboratory out of the state, and asked if there was anythign that they could retreive from her apartment.

Within the hour, they were booking a private charter to Florida... and from there, a helicopter ride to a small island in the Carribbean.....
PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:32 pm


"Oh, uhm, Los Angeles...it's the Redwood Apartment complex on San Jose Boulevard...Uhm, apartment number 4C."

Sophie took the interrogation a bit worriedly: an ambulance? She needed an ambulance to fix what had happened? As she answered each question, she started trying to bite her nails, but found that her teeth could no longer actually break through, and just altogether stopped when a pointed canine came in contact with normal flesh, and she started to bleed. It wasn't much after that when there was a knock, and Sophie opened the door to a group of men in suits, and figured that her time had come: she was going to the happy hospital after all.

But no, as it turned out, she ended up at a private clinic, and after she'd been poked, prodded, and looked at in more times than she'd cared to ever be, they determined that Sophie would not need an ambulance, she'd need an out-of-state center.

It just didn't seem to be her day.

"In my room, I've got a few bags on my bed...I think that's everything I'll need for a few weeks..." Sophie responded meekly, suddenly feeling very intimidated by the whole situation. Hospitals, ambulances, specialty centers...it was a bit much to take after hardly getting any sleep. So, the moment she got on the charter to Florida, she buckled in and started snoring. There was no need for phone calls: anyone she knew she had planned to leave behind anyway. All that was left for her was a smooth ride and a little vacation...

Sophie didn't quite remember switching from the plane to the helicopter, but when she woke, it was to the roaring sound of the blades starting up, and the lurching feeling of rising into the air. Lazily, she peered out from her window to see a beautiful beach diminishing into a small bar of yellow as she climbed higher and higher from the ground, and after a moment, all she could see was a vast expanse of blue.

She watched the neverchanging scenery until suddenly, the blue became spotted with all sorts of islands, and her face lit up with excitement: she'd never been to the Caribbean before. But alas, after about ten minutes of island-spotting, the pilot had yet to find the one Sophie was to land on, and she was starting to get bored. However, with a familiar lurching sensation, she realized that they were descending again, and set her sights to a small bit of civilization on a respectively large island.

It seemed that was where she would be spending the next few weeks, and she could already tell from a gut feeling: she was going to like it.

Sophie C. Bell


Island of Moreau
Vice Captain

PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:52 pm


The stoic pilot was stony throughout the trip, but perhaps it was a welcome change from the inquisition from the doctors and the medical jargon spoken amongst themselves as if Sophie wasn't there half the time.

Her bags had been delivered to her before the first plane took off.

After many hours of flights - and sleep - the island in question finally appeared in view, the helicopter sowly circling and finally touching down on a landing pad.

There, she was assisted down onto the pad by a rather unique individual - a man with long white hair tied back into a ponytail under a dark tophat.

"Miss Bell... I must apologize for the inconvenience and probably confusing situation that you've found yourself in. My name is Dr. Duvert." He reached out to shake her hand as two men in guard uniforms loaded her bags into the back of the jeep. "I want you to know that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You have a team of specialists dedicated to your case, and we have gotten your bloodwork and notes on your symptoms flown in from our hospital in California. We'll get you situated in one of our accomodations here, and you'll be able to relax and hopefully get your mind off of the stress you've been under. We'll moniter your diet and run work on your blood in the meantime, and of course we'll moniter your reactions. Eat from our central cafeteria, stop taking the medications, and..." Sabin reached into his pocket and produced a small prescription bottle with a stock Feral Labs label and a string of words of latin origin "... take two of these twice per day."
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:10 am


Sophie couldn't help but stare at the man: for goodness sakes, he had long white hair, and with that clothing on, it looked like he was in some costume. However, after shaking hands, she put the staring to the side, and did her best to focus on his words instead of his appearance.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Duvert," she responded, wanting to get formalities over with as soon as possible. She took the bottle and gave it a glance before clasping it tightly and looking back up to him. "Uhm, if it's not too much of a problem, I'd like to ask a few questions...for instance, what happened to me?" She opened her free hand and looked down at herself to indicate she was talking about her physical deformities. "I mean...am I the first one to experience side effects like this? Why would all-natural substances give me pointy ears?"

Sophie gave the doctor a confused glance, and hoped he would have at least some answers for her.

Sophie C. Bell


Island of Moreau
Vice Captain

PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:19 am


Sabin nodded as she took the bottle of placebo pills and escorted her into the jeep as he began to respond to her inquiries.

Her file was interesting... a one in a million in a very literal sense. Her body reacted amazingly to the pills... or there was a very very wrong batch.

"Of course.... there have been.... a very very few number of cases where there was a physical reaction to the medicine." He got in the jeep, turned the ignition after she had taken a seat and began driving down a narrow path through the jungle.

"The tests didn't indicate any sort of problem like this... the medicines cleared inspections.... FDA... all that." Sabin gesticulated vaguely. To be honest, he knew little of the process that Feral Labs had used to get the drugs on the market as quickly as they did. Only that she was the only reaction.

"We're working on reversing the process, and have made some headway with a few of our other guests. We should have you back home and normal in no time. I could try to explain the process..... it's a bit complicated by to summarize it has to do with the body's integration of more than just the chemical properties of the synthesized DNA...."

The trees whizzed by, and before long, the trees gave way to show a cluster of two-story duplexes around a larger central building.
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:31 am


Sophie curiously stared at the duplexes as they whizzed by, a thought occuring to her as they did. "So...there are others? Who've reacted like I did?" Either way, the young woman found all of this rather confusing, and would be relieved when it was over. She wondered if it was in one of those rooms in which she'd be staying, and silently wished that hers was on the first floor: after all, a few years of living on the fourth story of a building had made her come to dislike the stairs.

A final thought came to mind, and she turned her attention back to the doctor: "How long will I be staying here, Dr. Duvert? I can afford a small amount of vacation time, but soon I have to go back. Bills to pay and such." She tried to sound professional, but from her point of view, she didn't feel much in that role.

Sophie C. Bell


Island of Moreau
Vice Captain

PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:56 am


Sabin eventually pulled up to one pair of duplexes and got out, helping her with her bags.

"There are a few others... yes... and you very well might meet some of them in your stay here. They're also among the residents of this little "Village" as it has come to be called. But you don't need to worry about expenses. Feral Labs has seen to covering your expenses back home - your rent and everything will be taken care of, as will your stay here. Everything is on the company - your meals, your accomodations, the hospital trip, and your therapy here. And.... other compensations will be discussed..." He gestured to, unfortunately, the top room - with "10" on the door. "As for the duration.... our estimate is three weeks based on the progress of our other cases."

"You'll be staying here, in duplex ten." He handed her a simple hotel key on a plastic keychain. "If you need anything or have any questions, you just need to hit Zero on the intercom to reach the labs. "
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:05 am


Sophie took the key, as well as slung one of her bags on her shoulder, putting the pills in her pocket to grab the other one. She looked forlornly at the second story, then decided to pout about it later: for now, her goodbyes were in order.

Her eyes widened at the thought of the cost of keeping her here, and paying for eveything back home, and a smile lit up on her face, any sense of professionalism wiped down the drain. "Wow...really? Thank you so much for everything, Dr. Duvert, thank you!"

Stepping away from the vehicle, she gave the doctor a grin and a wave before trudging up towards the stairs to her duplex. After she unpacked, she intended to explore.

Sophie C. Bell


Sophie C. Bell

PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:44 am


Cafeteria RP

Mmm...chicken wings...

Sophie C. Bell
-New RP-

One of the first things on Sophie's new Island resort agenda was to get herself fed: after all, if she counted correctly, it had almost been two days since she'd last eaten, and she wasn't the type to be used to something like going hungry. Originally, she'd just intended to eat the pop-tarts she'd packed with her, but unfortunately, they'd crumbled with her travel, so she was forced to look elsewhere for food.

Remembering Dr. Duvert's words, she headed to the cafeteria and peeked inside, seeing if anyone was around. No one? Good. She didn't want to be seen with the way her ears were, and she couldn't help that her nub stuck out just from under her shirt. Taking a tray, she started down the line, then picked something that looked edible before sitting down at the second-closest table to the line, just in case she was still hungry.

She poked at her food, looking around for a moment, before she finally deemed it okay to eat, and began chowing down.


Gaius Harper
The cafeteria door opened again, this time opened by a brown and black-blue mottled dog that had managed to stand on its hind legs and push on the door bar, using its weight to open it, and bounded inside. Gaius caught the door before it could close, an amused smile on his face. "Don't you know it's polite to hold the door open?" he playfully scolded the dog, but she was far too interested in the smells of the place to listen.

His modified sandals slapped against the tile floor despite being tied up his long feet. Today he'd donned one of the shirts Lucas had provided him with, sitting a bit tight around his thick neck, but providing ample room for the wings, and he'd even freshly washed and combed his tail. Considering his mood yesterday, Gaius was feeling much more chipper and it showed.

The only other occupant seemed to be another islander he'd never seen. Gaius paused in his steps, nostrils flaring as he unconsciously sniffed the air. The girl's human features left him uneasy... was she new...?

Shaking his head slightly, he continued to the food bar, though his ears and body posture remained alert as he made himself a salad, grabbed some fruits, and then the traditional cooked steak. Vixen bounced around his feet as he turned back, surveying the tables. He could go sit somewhere far away... but that'd be rude... Hesitantly, he approached the table close by, stopping a safe distance away and tilting his head with a sheepish grin. "Is this table available...?"


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie tensed at the sound of the door opening, and did her best not to stare as the man and his dog entered together. He...his neck was huge! And he had things poking out from his back...but those weren't actually coming from his back, were they? It had to be some weird choice in clothing. As he turned away from her, the long swishing tail at the base of his spine painfully reminded her of her own little nub, and she looked down, apparently very interested in eating. That, or just not looking at the man.

She jumped a bit when he spoke to her, looking up at him with a wide stare as she took in all of his strange features. It took her a moment before she collected her thoughts enough to speak, and then, she meekly replied, "Uhm, sure, I guess." She scooted from the edge to allow him and his dog room. "My name's Sophie: I just got here this morning."

Suddenly, she became very self-conscious, and studied his face to see if he noticed her differences, too. It suddenly occured to her that she should've asked for a hat or something, and she broke away from her glance, poking at her food with a fork. Biting her lower lip, she showed her pointed teeth without knowing it, and out of nervous habit, wiped her hair behind her elongated ears. "So, uh...what's your name?"


Gaius Harper
Her nervousness translated to Gaius, who's own nerves tensed to mirror it, his wings spreading from their folded position at the sense of 'danger.' The way she looked at him did nothing to help, making Gaius feel suddenly as self-conscious of his appearance as he hadn't felt in weeks...

Vixen paid no mind to the mood of the two, far more eager to greet this newcomer properly, nudging at Sophie's back and tail as she said 'hello.'

"This morning...?" Gaius repeated, tentatively sliding sideways onto the bench seating across from Sophie. His eyes caught the movement of her hand and the flash of fang, only leading to more confusion. Did she mean she'd just came to the caf this morning...? Despite that, he relaxed a bit. There was no way she could be new, showing all the signs of having a first change. That meant she'd been there several weeks already, but he couldn't shake an odd feeling that something was 'off' about her manner. He shrugged off her staring as just the normal surprise anyone would have at seeing his own unusual combination. Managing a nervous smile, he picked at the salad. "My name's Gaius... and before you ask, yeah, I know the wings are weird... You can thank Sabin's twisted imagination for that. My serum's 'pegasus' apparantly."


Sophie C. Bell
The dog's nudge both hurt and surprised the woman, causing her to jump in her seat. However, after a moment, she smiled and petted the dog affectionately, wondering if perhaps she should get a dog when she got things settled at home. A companion of sorts, since she didn't really have time for anyone else. She then turned back to her meal, and to the strange man, who started speaking.

Sophie had been in mid-sip when Gaius mentioned her wings, and rather frankly, it caught her off guard. She bent over as she coughed, shaking her head in order to get her bearings again. "Those are...wings? Your wings?" She blinked, then scratched her head as in confusion. "But...the side effects of the pills aren't that extensive, are they? And what's this pegasus thing? Was that the name of your medicine?" She tilted her head, waiting for an answer.


Gaius Harper
The man had just lifted a speared bit of lettuce and dressing part-way to his mouth when he froze, staring open-mouthed at Sophie, sputtering and apparantly surprised by what he'd said. His ears flattened back worredly and he lowered the fork again. "Y-Yeah, they're mine... what pills are you talking about? This is from the injections...." He stared disbelievingly at her. Surely she had to know? She was already CHANGED for chrissake...


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie didn't know what Gaius was talking about, but she certainly didn't like the way he was looking at her, and stopped pretending that she was concentrating on her food. The way his ears flattened creeped her out, and she hoped that it wasn't something she could do. Nevertheless, she put it on her mental list of things to try in front of a mirror later, just out of curiosity.

"Y'know, the pills..." she replied, hoping that in the silence, he would remember. However, after still receiving the blank stare, she sighed and put a hand on her brow, shaking her head. "The pills that gave us these side-effects." She pulled at one of her already stretched out ears and pointed to it. "I hope you didn't think I was born this way: I was taking some pills for a sleeping problem from Feral Labs, and these are some side-effects that Dr. Duvert's gonna fix in three weeks, tops. That's what he said this morning when I got my orientation."

She had a sinking feeling the more she talked, and eventually stopped on her elaboration. "I mean...isn't that what happened to you?"


Gaius Harper
Gaius caught the edge of the table in his hands, for if he hadn't, he would have fallen, the way his mind was realing. "That's... that can't be possible... You came in this morning and you're already changed?"

He shook his head quickly, trying to straighten his thoughts, and looked back at Sophie almost fearfully, almost... hopefully. "You say this was from... medicine from Feral Labs? They're marketing this stuff?" He disregarded Duvert's promise, knowing how empty those were. "When... Where did that happen to you?" He pointed at the ears. "Was it on-island?"


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie was surprised by his reaction, and ultimately worried: why was he so upset? "Of course I came here changed: that's why I'm here. They brought me here to reverse the side effects: Dr. Duvert gave me new pills to take to start the process. And no, this didn't happen on-Island: it was in my apartment." She looked away, slightly embarassed when he pointed at her ears: it still wasn't something she was used to.

"But, I...why are you so worried about this? It looks like your side-effects are a little more extensive then mine, but they will get it fixed soon. I mean, they've got a whole medical team on the case!" Sophie began to thrum her fingers against the table, obviously nervous. "We'll both be out of here in a few weeks...won't we?"


Gaius Harper
He was listening intently now, ears perked up as Sophie spoke. Slowly, things were starting to come together... He arched his long neck forward, tapping his chin as he thought. "If they're trying to make a medicine from this experiment..."

Catching Sophie's look, Gaius straightened up again, though it was slower as he began to realize how little she knew. "These... aren't side-effects. I came here months ago, more human than you," he waved a hand at her features, an apologetic look in his eyes, "and I've only been like this since the labs began experimenting on me with their serums, just like they do with everyone that ends up here." He took a deep breath and shook his head, that odd tree-swaying movement his neck had adopted. "This isn't any cure... they've probably brought you here to finish the job..."

His eyes lit suddenly, though, as he shifted conversation gears. "But! You said you changed in your appartment... in America? Did anyone see you like this? Did you tell any authorities about what Feral Labs did? If someone knows, maybe they'll come after us, to save everyone..."


Sophie C. Bell
"Wait...what?"

After all the questions Sophie had received to come here, she wasn't quite in the mood for another interrogation. This guy seemed way too enthused about her life story, and she was beginning to think that there was a looney bin half of the Island. "Wait wait wait...I still don't understand. What do you mean 'finish the job'? I'm going home in a few weeks. I have auditions to make and schedules to keep up with." She shook her head in a similar way that someone did when they couldn't speak the language the conversation was in: confused, and a tad bit anxious.

"The only place I called was Feral Labs, and they picked me up soon after." She shook her head. "I mean, thank God my room-mate didn't see me like this: I would've been so humiliated..."


Gaius Harper
Gaius fell back in his seat, his enthusiasm draining away as Sophie revealed just how thorough Feral Labs was with covering their back ends. "So... no one knows..." he sighed to himself, running a hand over his far-removed face.

"No, you're not going home..." he sighed deeper, feeling aweful and guilty for having to break the news to this bright-eyed girl. "Don't you see? Doctor Moreau... the guy behind all of this... is turning us into animals! You've already gone through one change... you can see it's possible! Why else would I have a tail of all things?" He reached behind him and yanked up a length of the wirey black hair to punctuate his statement, watching Sophie and desperately hoping she wouldn't take it badly...


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie shook her head slowly, her face plastered with a solemn look of despair. "But...But Dr. Duvert said I could go home in a few weeks...H-he said that all of this was just temporary..." She bit her lip and stood out of her seat, suddenly feeling the need to pace. Her apetite had left long ago from the way something squeezed at her heart, and she looked away from the horse man, quickly grabbing her tray and disposing of what was left of her food. She then spun to face Gaius from a distance, wiping her eyes so that he couldn't see tears.

"So you're telling me that I'm some freaky science experiment? What am I supposed to be, then? Am I going to turn into your second dog?" She pointed with an accusatory gesture at Vixen, then backed away, slightly overwhelmed. "You...Please tell me this is all a joke, and that you're just being a jerk to the new kid on the block..."


Gaius Harper
Gaius got to his feet as Sophie did, standing his full almost-7 feet and watching her anxiously. Though he didn't see the tears, the movement and expression were all too clear. Gaius lowered his head, chewing on his lip. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and nodded. "We're all experiments here... That's what I told you before. I'm... supposed to be becoming a pegasus."

The jab at his dog brought a wince from Gaius and an ear quirk from Vixen.

"Believe me, I wish this were just a joke..." He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing for all the world he had a lack of morals like Zach, that he could just rattle off a lie so that he didn't have to face those accusing, frightened eyes. "It's not fair... it really isn't... I wish to God I could tell you you were going home in three weeks..."


Sophie C. Bell
"I...I don't know what to say to that."

Sophie looked Gaius up and down: she hadn't realized he was so tall. It was a frightened set of eyes that stared back up at him, suddenly feeling very small at a good 5'8'', and even without heels. She then looked down to her hands...her black fingernails..."It's supposed to get worse? How is it going to get worse than this?" She raked her fingers through her hair in a nervous attempt to calm herself down, and yet, it wasn't working, so she began to pace again.

She didn't want to believe him, she wanted so much to yell at him for making fun of her, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do it. The pain in his eyes was all too real, and she would know: she took drama. She wiped her face with the palm of her hand, desperately wanting a hug and some assurance that he was lying, but somehow she felt that she wasn't going to get it.

"So...what now, then? How long do they keep us here?"


Gaius Harper
Gaius winced sharply and lowered his eyes to the table and food still sitting in front of him. "Eh... Everyone I've spoken to who was here before me... has said it's 'forever.' They aren't going to let us go..." He clenched his hand, studying the veins that popped out along the back of it, still not wanting to look up at her face. "But... that doesn't mean we can't escape, just because no one has yet?"

A cold, wet nose brushed her other hand, the one that wasn't at her face. Vixen looked up at Sophie, nuzzling her hand and leaning against her leg, as if to lend a measure of strength to the girl.


Marshall_Green
Marshall wasn't sure how he found the courage to enter the cafeteria, but if he spent the rest of his life in fear of being beaten up, he'd end up as a hermit; never leaving his duplex even if there was a fire. So, here he was, right outside the glass doors of the duplex. He pushed the door open slowly, greeted with a mostly empty cafeteria. This was definitely a good thing; if that cow-woman-thing had been here, he probably would've gotten a nice broken leg to go with his arm.

However, he did see a rather upset girl with pointed ears talking to Gaius, who looked like he was about to burst a gasket. He gulped, feeling that he walked in on some thing he shouldn't have.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie winced, lifting her hand as she looked down at the thing that had touched her, then sighed a breath of relief, kneeling down to scratch her behind the ears. If nothing else, it was theraputic to her, and allowed her to forget for just a moment as she rubbed the dog, not even bothering to ask if she was the type to bite.

She somehow realized that someone else was in the room, and she tensed up, looking in the direction of the penguin man. "...Who's that?" she asked to no one in particular, curious but all the same worried. She couldn't quite tell what he was...from that distance, he just looked black, white, and fuzzy to her.


Gaius Harper
Gaius looked up the instance Marshall entered, catching sight of the cast-covered arm and everything. The expression of apology shifted to guilt that he hadn't gotten to visiting the guy after the accident.

"H-Hey Marshall..." He raised an arm weakly in a wave, then glanced back at Sophie and Vixen. "Meet Sophie... She's new." He stressed the final word, shooting the penguin-man a look out of the corner of his eye, hoping Marshall would understand the implication.


Marshall_Green
Yeah, Gaius, don't ask me about my arm or any thing... Marshall thought, shooting daggers back at Gaius. Perhaps it was because Gaius hadn't visited him, or maybe deep down he was kind of mad at Gaius' construction site for breaking his only good arm. Still, no point causing a scene in front of the girl. He looked over to her, seeing her pet Gaius' rather odd-colored dog, and smiled. He extended his flipper-hand to her, not thinking.

"Hi there...Um, I'm Marshall. Marshall Green." Marshall said, not sure exactly why he decided to give his last name. Then again, he hadn't really used his last name since he got on the island, any way.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie looked up at the odd penguin man, staring at his hand for a moment but not quite taking it. Something registered on her face, and she stood, hesitating as she took his feathery-furry-hand-thing. "Uh...nice to meet you?" She didn't know why, but somehow, she knew his name from somewhere...if only she could put it together...

It was then that she realized what animal the man was, and something clicked, her eyes lighting up. "Wait...are you the guy that does Sno Cone? That Marshall Green?" For someone who had just had their fate handed to them on a cafeteria tray, she was awfully easily distracted, and a smile lit up on her face. It was probably the first smile anyone other than a labtech had seen on the Island, and despite the fact that it was accented by two sharpened canines and black lips, it was kinda childishly cute.


Gaius Harper
Gaius balked at the look, taking a step back as his wings rose defensively. Then his expression sharpened as he looked over Sophie's back at the feathered friend. What was that for?

Sophie's enthusiastic greeting startled him out of his thoughts and he raised an eyebrow at Marshall, wondering what was up with the change of mood. "Do you... know each other?"


Marshall_Green
"Huh?!" Marshall blinked at Sophie's question. "Um...Y-Yeah...I drew Sno Cone. Still kind of do. Well, until recently, but um...Its nice to meet a fan?" Marshall said with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck, a little shy. He felt rather terrible not knowing her name when she was so enthusiastic to meet him.

"I could, uh, give you a doodle if you'd like..."


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie's eyes lit up with even more excitement, and she looked as if she'd seen a long lost friend. "Wow, you're so awesome! I mean, just...wow! I auditioned to do some voiceover work for the TV show, but I didn't get the part, unfortunately."

She looked to Gaius as if he were speaking blasphemy. "You don't know? He's the guy that created Sno Cone! That's so cool!"

Beaming, she held out her hand to the penguin man, since she hadn't taken it before. "My name's Sophie, and I'm a huge fan, if you couldn't tell."


Gaius Harper
Gaius scratched his neck, his head being too far to reach, and watched the interaction with confusion. Somehow, Sophie's outburst drew a roll of the eyes out of him, which he quickly tried to hide as she looked back at him, forcing a polite smile instead. "Oh? Right, I remember him mentioning that..."

But what was the big deal about it? Gaius wondered with an unsettled snort. And what was up with this girl, had she forgotten everything he'd just told her?

"Listen... Sophie... are you okay?"


Marshall_Green
"...Cartoon?" Marshall asked, a little more than confused. He did do a few shorts on Flash, but there wasn't any voice-work in them. He took her hand, shaking it with his flipper, still puzzled.

"What cartoon?"


Sophie C. Bell
"You know...the cartoon. It came out about a month ago." Sophie blinked, crossing her arms. "Why wouldn't you know about your own cartoon? They were doing auditions for the characters a while ago."


Gaius Harper
Gaius ran a hand back over his neck, frowning and feeling like a third wheel in this conversation...

Finally, he couldn't wait anymore and coughed loudly. "Excuse me... but if you don't need me raining on your parade with the truth of the island... I'll just take my dog and leave you two alone."


Marshall_Green
"A month ago...?" Marshall said, staring at her. His teeth gritted, as if he just got punch in the stomach. When Marshall left, he had full rights to Sno Cone. It was his project and his alone.

"I've been here as long as he has!" Marshall yelled, pointing his hand at Gaius due to his lack of fingers, "H-How...Wha...T-There never was a cartoon, damnit! I didn't leave Sno Cone to any one! I-It was mine! Who...But..." Marshall was speechless, and looked like he was about to blow up or some thing. Or probably cry.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie winced, drawing away from the angered man. "I-uh...No one told you?" She glanced over at Gaius with a bit of a 'help me' kind of stare, but didn't think he knew her well enough to read her expressions, and turned back to Marshall to do some damage control.

"Hey, it's okay...I mean, they'll do it justice, right? I haven't actually seen it, but I'm sure you can find out what time it comes on and make sure, and if you get mad, you can call them, right...?" It hadn't occured to her that the Islanders couldn't make phone calls.


Gaius Harper
Gaius frowned, having rarely seen Marshall so upset, though he supposed it was possible to understand why... Catching him by the shoulder, he gave it a quick pat as he tried to calm the guy. Sophie was looking worried enough.

"Hey, don't worry... at least someone likes it enough to continue it with you gone? Like Peanuts and stuff... Who knows what story they were told? Maybe they think you're dead. But like Sophie said, they'll do it justice? Besides... what can you possibly do about it, stuck here?"


Marshall_Green
Marshall moved away from Gaius' touch, enraged.

"So what, huh?! Sno Cone was MINE. It was the only thing I ******** had that was completely mine! I made Sno Cone! No one else!" Marshall yelled, the blank walls of the cafeteria walls echoing his voice, "And since when the hell do you give a damn, huh?! You couldn't even find ten minutes to see if I was even okay!" Marshall yelled, his pent up frustration with Gaius coming out, "J-JUST LEAVE ME THE ******** ALONE!" he yelled, turning around and running as fast as he could.

This was it: This was the thing that made him realize some thing he never wanted to: No one missed him. They moved on. His fans didn't miss him. They were content as long as they got their Sno Cone. His job, his pride and joy, was probably gone as well, replaced with some other kid who got roped into working for ZOOM TV. And his Family? They were probably over him, as well.

...I'm all alone...


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie backed away, biting her lip as Marshall just lost it right in front of her. Because of something she said. It was all her fault.

Oh, great, just another thing she wasn't going to sleep over.

"...Nice to meet you, Marshall..."

She put a hand just under her mouth as she looked up to Gaius, the happiness drained from her expression. "Do you...think he'll be okay?" She put her hand down, but stopped when she noticed a blot of blood on it, and touched her fingers to her lips. As it turned out, she'd actually started to make her lower lip bleed with her sharpened teeth. She blushed, then dabbed at her mouth until the flow stopped.

"Maybe I should go...if you see him again, please tell Marshall that I'm really sorry." Sophie headed for the door, grabbing a paper towel on the way out for her hand.

It was just not her day, was it?


Gaius Harper
Gaius stared in blatant surprise as Marshall literally blew up. This was the first time he'd seen such temper come from the cheerful guy, and the shove-off only served to upset Gaius further.

However, the real last straw came when, after Marshall had stormed out, Sophie looked up at him, so obviously hurt. Gaius' expression darkened, anger with Marshall conflicting with sympathy for the girl, and he offered her a small nod. "He's... not usually like this. Really."

Before he could offer any more consolation, she was running away. Gaius watched helplessly, and Vixen moved to follow her, then looked back at him. Sudden anger swept over Gaius and he clenched his fist. "Marshall..." he growled. Damn that boy, he should know better than to treat a girl like that! Now not only did she have her new life on the island to face, but the heartbreak of seeing her idol lose his temper...

He turned on his heal and sat down hard on the bench, stubbornly stuffing his face with the much-needed food. He was going to have a word with that guy....
PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:32 pm


By the time Sophie got to her duplex, she'd had a lot of time to think, and it made her head hurt with all the things she'd thought. On the upside, she was on a tropical island. On the downside, it was to be some freaky mad scientist experiment and she wasn't going home. On the upside, she met Marshall Green, a comic genius in literal ways.

On the downside, something she said had made him furious.

Turning the key to her door, she sighed: she just wanted this to all be over. She locked the door behind her out of habit, then went to unpack some of her things, hoping that it would take her mind off of things.

It didn't. The clothes were easy enough to put away and all, but then she got to her personal belongings, and with it came her troubles. She pulled out her Sno Cone plushie and held it up to the light, her brows furrowing as she frowned. "I'm sorry," she said to it, as perhaps it might reach Marshall through the small trinket. She then shook her head, and put it on her bed under the covers out of her sight. The slippers, too, went out of her sight, under the bed until she'd actually need them.

However, it was a small DVD that made her stop, and she looked at the little plastic case for a moment before her lip began to quiver, and she wiped her eyes. Sure, it was only a DVD, but on it was a series of taped performances since she'd started drama, and if she remembered correctly, it had a dance recital on it, too. Looking at it reminded her that there was no going home, that there would be no more performances for her, that she was going to be some animal-thing.

Not feeling in the mood to unpack any more memories, Sophie pushed her bags aside and flopped on her bed, curling up until the moment when she would feel good enough to go outside again. She had a feeling it would take a while.

Sophie C. Bell


Sophie C. Bell

PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:24 pm


Cafe RP

Hunger Pains

Jordan Essex
Jordan had come into the village seeking out medicine to quell the pain in his stomach. He wasn’t exactly nauseous, but it hurt just the same. It felt like odd lumps moving, but there was definite movement- agitation from stress? That bizarre nightmare had shaken him and he was in a heavy, cold sweat since. Stress would explain that. He was somewhat afraid of Richard and he was fearful of what might happen for punching Seth in his snout.

The walk from his duplex on the beach, through the jungle, and to the cafeteria area had been much more difficult this time. He’d clutched his stomach the entire time. He wanted to get this over with ASAP. Once he’d gotten a hold of a bottle of Tylenol, he fumbled shakily with the bottle. He wiped beads of sweat from his brow, but his forehead was covered in more perspiration immediately.

He needed water with the pills and carried himself into the cafeteria. He seated himself with a bottle of water and the pills setting infront of him. He held his stomach once again, letting out a groan of discomfort.

Jordan fumbled to open the bottle of water, spilling a little on the table ad on himself in the process. He took a sip and popped the pills, following it by another sip. He just wasn’t feeling so well.


Sophie C. Bell
It had taken a while for Sophie to get out of her duplex: she wasn't even exactly sure how long she'd been sulking. Either way, she figured the best thing she could do would be to apologize to someone, be it Gaius for not taking his news so well, or Marshall for giving him news that he didn't take so well. She didn't know where they would be, but figured she could always check the cafeteria, since that's where she'd met them. It was a stupid idea, and she knew it, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try it.

However, when she opened the doors and peered inside, she had no such luck. There was, however, another man, and he might know where the other two would be. So, shyly, she came up to him, wringing her hands together before she was able to speak. "Hey...you didn't happen to see a penguin man or a pegasus guy, did you?" She tried not to notice that he was eating pills, just in case he was the kind of person who did it on a regular basis and would get offended.


Jordan Essex
He turned his head up to her, taking note of her nervous posture and at first glance, he thought that he’d met another fully human person, but that was quickly crossed out as he noticed that she had changed a little. After noticing she wasn’t human, he looked back down.

“Sorry, I don’t know either of them. Are you in some sort of trouble?” he motioned his face at the fidgeting of her hands. He was a bit curt with the new face initially due to not feeling well. He felt his stomach ‘kick’ and lurched forward, quickly taking another sip and popping another pill.

He really wasn’t feeling all too well. Was he sick?

“Dunno if I can help, but is something wrong?”

His jaw hurt a bit and he lifted his hand over his mouth, rubbing on either side of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie blinked, then put her hands behind her back, only now noticing that she was even fidgeting. "No, actually...I just got on the wrong foot with them this morning. I just wanted to talk to them." She watched as he took yet another pill, then got the distinct feeling that something was wrong.

"I don't think there's anything you can do...but are you okay? You're not looking too good, uhm...what's your name again?" She sat down opposite him, and if she'd known him better, would've checked his forehead for a fever. "I don't think it's healthy to be taking all those pills...maybe you should just relax and go rest a bit."


Jordan Essex
Jordan nodded as she explained why she was looking for the two. “I know about getting off to a rough start with people here. It’s probably best to give them some space and let them boil down before engaging them again.” He remembered the meetings he’d had and shook his head “Sometimes, people here just have bad days. I wouldn’t take it personally.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger over the bridge of his nose and then in the corners of his eyes.

At her question, he shrugged a bit, still rubbing his eyes. “I dunno.. I’m not feeling so great. I hope I’m not catching some jungle disease..” he tilted his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, applying more pressure between his eyes.

“I’m Jordan.” he answered, letting his head back down. “It’s just Tylenol. I know how many I need to take. Any more or any less and it’s ineffective.” He was getting a little cranky in his responses which surprised him. “I slept earlier, but resting isn’t going so well today.”


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie got the hint: he was in one of those bad moods that people get here, and she should back off. However, she couldn't help but think that there was something she could do to help.

"Uhm...I'm Sophie..." She responded, crossing her arms as she tried to think of a way to help the poor guy. "...Did you try eating something healthy? Like an apple or something? That might work," she suggested, gesturing to the cafe line to make her point. "It might be that you just have a lack of nutrients in your system."


Jordan Essex
He nodded once more at her suggestion. “Maybe.” He lifted the water bottle shakily, chugging down most of the bottle at one time. He was really sweating and bad. As he emptied the bottle, he pressed his hand against his cheek, so the palm was putting pressure on his aching jaw. He scratched just under his ear. The man had a five-o-clock shadow, but amidst the brown of his stubble, white flecks had sprouted down his sideburn line.

He stood up, holding his stomach and walked over to the food line, giving everything a look-over. Nothing seemed to terribly appealing, but he picked up an apple as suggested. Maybe he just needed something in his stomach.

Sitting back down, he was about to bite into the apple when he exclaimed a painful ‘ow’. “Dammit! I bit my tongue! That hurt a lot!” he licked his tongue around in his mouth, over his teeth and his eyes went wide. The tips of every tooth was much sharper than it had been earlier in the day.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie nodded, putting her hand on her chin in a sage-like manner. She didn't mention it, but she stared for a moment at his stubble: he couldn't be that old, could he? She watched without a word as he went over to the counter, took her advice, then came back. It didn't even strike her as all that odd that he had bitten his tongue with his enlarged teeth.

"Yeah, I know what that feels like," she said, casually plopping her chin in one hand as she rolled her eyes. "I bit my lip today and it started bleeding-Wait..." She straightened her posture, then looked at him closely. "I thought you didn't have any side effec- I mean, results from a, uhm...serum."

The girl shook her head, confused: he'd looked normal just a moment ago...maybe she'd just missed it...


Jordan Essex
He scratched more as the white was growing and spreading to give him snowy soft sideburns. Like with all itches, once you start with one, they spread and that it had. His ears were now giving him grief. And… was there something going on with his nose? It was becoming a shade darker then another till it was a light earth brown in color. His nose stretched a bit and the nostrils had lifted some, giving his human nose a less-than-human look.

He was breathing a bit harder as his stomach hurt a little more for a brief moment, causing him to lurch forward, sending his shades flying onto the table. His ears tugged against his head as they elongated in his hand. His eyes were closed, enjoying the scratching, which felt reeeeeeeeeeeeeally good. He wasn’t aware that anything was wrong until his hands began to hurt –specifically in his fingertips- as he scratched a bit to deeply and yelped. His eyes snapped opened and he began to panic as it dawned on him.

Jordan whipped his hands back to see the skin darkening on his palms. The terrified look in his eyes said it all. His lip curled back, revealing his enlarged canines and sharper teeth.

“No.. No. Nononononononononononono!!” he leapt back, thrusting the chair out from underneath him, staring at his hands, wincing as he clamped his eyes tight.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie's eyes widened, and she stumbled as she stood up, running around the table as best as she could considering that she was shaking. "Oh God...Oh God Oh God Oh God...You...you're changing, aren't you?"

The look on her face was nearly as terrified as his was, and she frantically looked for something to do to help ease what was going on. From what she had gone through, this was the end of it, but somehow, from the look on his face, she could tell it wasn't quite over yet. "What do you need, Jordan? W-what should I do?!" She stood beside him anxiously, clenching and unclenching her hands: she had no idea how to handle what was happening to him. She had barely handled it happening to herself.


Jordan Essex
“Yersh! I’m changiiiiiiiiiing…” he grunted out through gritted fangs as they filled out his mouth, her exclamations ringing painfully loud in his shifting ears. His alien nose twitched as he could smell her, smell the tense fear.

He gripped his right wrist in his left hand, cringing at the pain that coursed through him. The nails were darkening, thickening… growing longer! His breathing only became harder as he was crying out in pain, the skin on his fingers growing up and around the base of the lengthening claws. He couldn’t see his fingers thickening, but he could most certainly feel it and the calloused padding on the palms of his hands thickening and expanding into sensitive pawpads.

Jordan held his head to the ceiling, hissing through his fangs as he trembled in pain. He’d been told about the changes, about the pain, but nothing could have prepared him for this. The pain was excruciating. The claws of his left hand dug into his right arm which only caused him to grip tighter and those claws were burying into his arm.

Tears were welling in his clenched eyes and they rolled down his cheeks. Suddenly there was a pain in his feet and he dreaded the same thing was happening as with his hands. Jordan was shaking as he knew he needed to take off his shoes and grit his fangs so tightly he bit into his lip with his canines. He took a few quick, sobbing breaths and RIPPED his claws out of his arm, wailing horribly as he did.

He staggered backwards and tried to balance himself so he could bend over to remove his shoes. The toenails were digging into the toe of his shoes, his feet themselves were feeling swollen and tight. As he bent over his stomach kicked in pain and he fell head first onto the floor.

"Gert! GERT MY SHOES ORFF!" his growling speech was slurred in his panicked, fang-clenched attempts at speaking.


Sophie C. Bell
"Oh, God..."

Sophie was in a panic, and the changes weren't even happeing to her. Of course she remembered her own change, but it hadn't been this fast and it certainly hadn't been this violent. She stifled a yelp as he fell forward, and worked quickly to untie his shoes and pull them off, trying her best to be a help and not a harm. She pulled her jacket off and shoved it into his hands so that he'd have something to grab onto other than himself, then knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder as she frantically looked him over. It couldn't get worse...could it?

"I-It'll be okay, Jordan...It'll be okay..." she murmured, shaking. She told him this both for his sake and her own: she needed to tell herself that it would be okay, that this guy wouldn't just roll over and die with her tending to him. "...Now, w-what else do you need me to do?" She asked, doing her best to keep her voice calm.


Jordan Essex
This was his punishment for being bad. That thought raced through his pain-buzzed mind frantically as Sophie worked to undo his shoes, relieving the pressure minorly. His feet were swollen and swelling before their eyes. Just as his fingernails had done, his toenails were darkening, thickening, and their bases enveloped by the skin of his stretching toes. The claws had pushed through his socks, the fabric stretched out the fibers were weakening and snapping. The soles of his feet darken, like the palms of his hands had, becoming thicker with sensitive padding.

He wrung the jacket tightly, screaming in pain. His own voice was painful to his sensitive ears, but if it weren’t so painful he wouldn’t have to express it vocally. He squeezed her jacket tightly, his knuckles turning white as he clenched it for dear life. It hurt like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

Itchy! He was itchy all over! White hairs were sprouting on his arms, paw-like hands, legs, and contorting feet. He had to scratch and he did, trailing clawmarks on his arms as he did. He clawed at his pants, scratching and tearing at the fine material of his dress pants, shredding through the material to scratch at his legs. He ripped and tore the material off up to his knees, painfully leaving clawmarks everywhere e tried to aleve horrible the itchyness.

“Make irt shtop!” was all he could muster in a growling yell.


Sophie C. Bell
A new thought came to mind, and Sophie stumbled to her feet, running to the counter and grabbing some napkins and a bottle of water. Rushing back, she pressed a few of the napkins onto his arm to stop the bleeding from before, trying not to hurt him even more in his thrashing. She readied the napkins for the new scratches he was making, white hairs pushing up in between his frantic hands, but she knew that it would probably be better to stop him then just do damage control afterwards.

"Jordan? Listen to me," she said in her imitation of a calm voice, hoping he could hear it over his own screams. "Y-you can't keep scratching at yourself like this. It's hurting you." She never actually moved to wrench his claws from their targets, as that would be too invasive, but still tried to talk him out of it. She shook her head with dismay: it didn't seem she was being a very good help at all.

"I wish I could make it stop," she replied forlornly, both scared and worried for the man. The more she watched him writhe, the worse she felt, and the more she was reminded that eventually, it would be her screaming in pain. Her hands began to shake, and she wanted nothing more than to run away, but she forced herself to stay there and be with him, just in case she could be a help at some point.


Jordan Essex
His socks shredded from his enlarged feet as they grew longer and longer still. The fur grew in fairly quickly, a thicket of white covering the red scratches he’d caused. It still itched, but the majority of that sensation had passed. His bottom lip trembled as he looked at her. The poor girl… she’d been traumatized by his painful metamorphosis.

Jordan whimpered as he tried to move on his raw-as-exposed-nerve pawpads- claws clicking on the tile floor. He slid her the jacket, snuffling as he tried hard to hold back the tears to no avail. He was on his paws and knees as he moved himself towards her, believing it to be over. He lunged forward once he was close enough, hugging her tightly and laying his head on her shoulder.

“I-I‘m shorry..” his sore gums and new fangs were making him sound awkward. He hoped that he’d get used to it so he wouldn’t sound like a lisping child. He held onto her, not wanting to let go. He was embarrassed to have been so degraded infront of anyone like this.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie tensed up, not expecting such a close interaction, but decided that he must've still been a bit delusional from the pain and let it pass. "It's okay...at least it's over," she responded, pressing the cold bottled water to his face to allow the cool sensation to calm him down. As a mother might do to her frightened son, she gently put a hand on his upper back, rubbing up and down gently to comfort him.

"...You are okay, aren't you?" She pulled away to get a good look at his expression, as well as what the changes had done to him. It was certainly way worse than what she'd been through, and she sympathized for Jordan, even though she barely knew the guy. "Here..." She opened the bottle of water and offered it to him, hoping that some hydration would help at least a little bit. The relative silence lulled her into a sense of security, and her muscles relaxed. She, too, was relieved that the storm had passed.


Jordan Essex
It had lulled him into a false security. His defenses were dropping. He hadn’t anticipated any further changes after a few seconds. Jordan sighed uneasily, shaking from the experience.

“I-I don’t know.. I’m scared.. it hurt all over..” he was saying these things without thinking what effect it would have on her.

He accepted the water, sipping slowly, cautiously and swallowed. It was very cold on his aching gums and sensitive fangs, causing him to make a pained face. It was then he felt something very strange in the one place he did not expect to feel such sensation. His head titled to the side, his right eye twitching as he let out an awkward yelp. His lip pulled to the side as he gasped, panting a bit, trying to not focus on it. It was…. changing… down… there.. and he felt something very odd follow, like a blanket of fur surrounding it. It made his nose wrinkle as he felt VERY awkward.

He just looked oddly, trying to play it off. “I-It’s nothing!” he says quickly, but before he can think of anything else, his spine aches and he arches, pressing against her as he howls in pain, gripping her tighter. “Ow! OW!” his spine actually bulged at the base as the extension pushed outward and curled, more white fur appearing till it looked like a fluffy white feather duster sticking down the pants leg of his shredded pants.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie nodded, giving Jordan a weak smile. "Well, as long as you're okay-" Jordan's clinging caused her to stop in mid-sentence, and her heart began to race again: it wasn't over. She looked him over, trying to see some other movement in his limbs that would indicate change, but nothing occured to her until she saw the extra puff of white fur appear from his pant leg. She blinked, having some idea of what it was, but looked over his shoulder to the bulge from his backside to make sure. Once he had quieted down, she decided to tell him what had just happened.

"Jordan...don't, uhm, freak out or anything when I tell you this, but...you have a tail."


Jordan Essex
It wasn’t over?! For the love of…! That was pain! He let go of Sophie to tentatively reach back, feeling the bulge in the seat of his pants. His eyes widened in shocked horror as he felt lower, going from cloth, feeling where his claws had shredded, and then… fur! Very soft down fur and a curling tail.

He took a deep breath and looked down, lowering the back of his pants-turned-shorts and tugged on his tail as gently as he could, yowling at the red hot poker searing jolts that shot through him. He pulled his curly tail as easily as he could up the pants leg so it could hang above the waistline of his shorts.

“Oh god… I have a tail…” he felt it resume its curly position and it even touched his back once or twice, which creeped him out.

“Ish irt over yet..?” he waited, paranoid, but nothing more seemed to change.

His mind reeled in the surrealness of it all, looking horrified at what he’d become. At least what he could see. His face would come as another shock all together later. He sat on his knees infront of Sophie. His expression reflected his regret for her having to see him change and for his embarrassment at being reduced to such pain infornt of anyone else.

"Pleash... don't be shcared.." he said that for both their benefits. "I think irt's over."


Sophie C. Bell
"I'm not scared," she replied, putting her best effort into sounding the part. "I was just...worried, you know? I've never seen that happen to someone before." Sophie couldn't help but stare at his tail after it had come out and curled up: it reminded her of one of those husky dogs she'd seen somewhere...

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sophie asked, getting onto her knees and then standing up, bending over to pick up the scattered paper towels she'd brought earlier and walked over to throw them away, pretty confident that she could leave him alone for a second. She walked back, then held a hand out to help him up if he needed it.

"Well, at least you know why you were sick," she said, laughing weakly as she tried to smile. It was so much for her to take in one day, but then again, she didn't have it as bad as he did. At least her 'tail', if that's what it was, was only a hairless nub.


Jordan Essex
He didn’t know how to respond to that. Was he okay? He’d just changed. He hurt in every fiber. He gathered the shredded pieces to his pants and set them on a nearby chair while she took care of the paper towels.

Great, he was her first transformation. That brought back the memory of seeing Awen freak out as she begun her own transformation and he wondered how she was. Boy, she’d be surprised to see him now.

He didn’t answer her if he was okay. He honestly didn’t know. “I hate to ask this.. can you.. tell.. what I’m.. are there any hints as to what… I’m becoming..?” he looked on pleadingly, hoping she could answer. The fluffy curly tail might have given him the answers he sought if he’d been in a better state of mind.

Jordan nodded. “Yeah.. I guess that’s how it feels just before the change..” he was so unnerved by his own change. The pain, the terrible pain. The fur covered his scratches, but they stung. He accepted her hand and winced as he lifted himself off the floor. Reaching for a chair at the same time, he twisted it sideways and sat down, pulling another chair close to keep his sore paws off the floor.

“This’s going to take some adjustment..” it was then his stomach growled- loudly. It hurt, but it was hunger pains. Holding his stomach, he smiled weakly. “I guess the changes take a lot more out of you.. I’m suddenly hungry.. and everything smells good..” he had caught the wonderful wafting aroma of hamburgers. Never had they smelled so good before. A bit of drool dribbled down the side of his mouth.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie helped him put his feet in the other chair once he'd settled in, then pulled up a chair of her own, sitting on it backwards so that she could lean forward on it's back. "Uhm...I dunno. The tail makes me think of one of those husky dogs with the curly tails and all that...but you never know. I mean, no one's told me what I'm supposed to be..." she admitted, putting her chin in the palm of her hand as a quizzical gesture. "But, I suppose then again I haven't been here long enough to ask anyone..."

She blinked at his sudden hunger pains, then began to laugh, both because it was amusing and because it was a good nervous release. "You want me to go up and get you something?" Sophie asked, standing up in her chair. After all he'd been through, she really wouldn't mind.


Jordan Essex
He nodded eagerly. “Yes, please…” he wipes the drool away with the back of his paw then made an ‘ew’ face as it clung to his fur. “Those hamburgers smell so good. You don’t have to put them on bread. A big plate of hamburgers would be great, please.” He forced an awkward fanged smile.

“I’d do it myself, but my feet are a bit sore..” he wondered silently how the hell he’d make it through the jungle on these bare paws. His legs were.. a bit unusual. They were sort of between a normal human’s and appeared to be somewhat more digitgraded with the large canine paws. He wiggled his foot-paws and jerked a bit in response.

“Thank you, Sohpie..” he tried to make it seem not as bad as it actually had been, trying to bite the bullet past the pain, for her sake. Poor girl… having to witness him writhing in pain.. changing into something less than human.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie smiled, then gave him a thumbs-up signal as she began to walk towards the counter. "One plate of burgers, coming up!" Quickly, she went through the line, picking up four patties before coming back. She would've gotten more, but she figured that there was no way he could be that hungry, and didn't want to waste food.

Sitting back down, she put the plate on the table within his reach, and went back into her slumped posture, yawning. "It's no problem, really...just what any person would do." Sophie lazily wondered why she'd even come here in the first place, since she wasn't hungry, but by this point she'd forgotten.


Jordan Essex
Oh that heavenly scent assaulted his flaring nostrils and he awkwardly grabbed one in both paws, piercing it with his claws as he fumbled to hold onto it. He brought it to his lips and his fangs tore it apart much easier than his human teeth could have, quickly scarfing down the first. Picking up the second, barely having swallowed the irst, he took another bite in his ravenous hunger, tilting his head at her yawn. “You okay?”

Oh his stomach thanked him, even though there was that odd feeling floating in the pit of his belly. His fluffy tail wagged happily and that caused him to choke on a large chunk of meat, completely unprepared for that.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie yawned again, but shrugged it off, trying to sit up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." She slumped in the seat of her chair, closing her eyes, and for a moment, it seemed she was totally unconscious, until she jerked herself awake, blinking to refocus her eyes. She then looked to Jordan and laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry about that...you see, I'm a little narcoleptic." She sighed, rubbed her nose, and decided to finish the story. "Funny thing is, that's how I got here. I started taking these pills state-side so that I wouldn't fall asleep randomly, and, well...one day I woke up like this." She lifted her arms to gesture that she was talking about her current appearance. "I called Feral Labs, and they sent me here. I arrived this morning, actually."

She bent over her chair, her gaze wandering as it darkened. "It's all been a little much, honestly...I didn't even know-I thought I was going home in three weeks..."


Jordan Essex
He was polishing off the last of the hamburgers (the third he’d practically eaten whole!). He was listening curiously as he tried to will his tail to stop its sore wagging. Ow, that was definitely going to be sore for a while.. so a dog, huh..? He’d have to do some research later to pinpoint which breed he was. His fur was white, but he hadn’t known of any husky that was pure white, though, there were a limited number of dogs with curly tails… American Eskimo dogs, huskees, and samoyeds first came to mind. His mind was a bit distracted to think clearly.

Jordan had finished the burgers and his nose twitched still. There was juices and grease on the plate, quickly picking it up and licking them off sloppily. He licked his lips as the plate was set back down, listening to her story, coughing at the mention of pills and Feral Labs. Well, that was an interesting twist!

“Oh god… you only just got here this…” his nose twitched again and his head shifted back over to the food “…morning?? I’m so sorry you had to see this on your first day here..” his tail wasn’t waggling as much at the moment, which was good, right?

“Oh wow..! Uhm… Forgive me for not knowing what to say.. still.. uhm.. you know..” he wiggled his claws at the end of his fingers, not finding the proper words. OH! There was hamburger juice on his laws too! Jordan sucked on his claws, whimpering as he did.


Sophie C. Bell
As the dog-like behavior was not lost on Sophie, she began to giggle, wiping her eyes and what would be tears. Oh, how easy it would've been to just collapse and sob all of her frustrations to this man that she barely even knew...but, alas, she didn't want him to be worried. "It's okay, really...at least I knew what was happening to you before-hand...otherwise, I'd be really freaked out right now."

She brushed the hair out of her face, then slumped back down to her chair, not having much else to do. "I can't believe the labs would do this to innocent people, though..."


Jordan Essex
He’d been taking pills when she came in and he nodded at how she could have mistaken that for her situation. He forced a smile at the mention of the labs. Maybe… just maybe… he could turn her to a more positive outlook on the entire situation. Jordan reached over and patted her shoulder, keeping up the fanged smile.

“It isn’t all bad. Not at all.” It seemed a bit hypocritical of him to say that so soon after her witnessing the transformation. “The labs are doing this for the benefit of all. They care for us.” His brows dipped a bit giving him a serious, but gentle expression “I can’t lie to you that it hurt. But, the soreness will go away and I’ll adjust to this.”

His tail wagged happily at the thought of the labs. Doctor Moreau was so nice and he really cared for Jordan. That made the dogboy very happy and comforted. “Please, don’t let anything I’ve said or done today to reflect poorly on the labs or the staff here. We live in comfort and it’s not like the labs are ogres. They’ll order things you request. And, there’s plenty to do here. There’s a lot to do in the village. They’ve seen to it that we’re well taken care of and given plenty to occupy our time. There’s an entertainment room nearby and an arcade room, I hear.”

He was smiling through the pain. Giving her the ‘speech’ was making him feel good. Jordan gently took her right hand in both his paws and grinned. “Try to enjoy your time here.” He left out the part of malcontents and a killer loose on the island.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie listened to his little speech, but she was still confused: all that pain and such and he was supporting the labs? She took what he had to say and thought about it: all in all, he was right. Dr. Duvert had been kind to her, even if he'd been lying at the time, and it did seem that everyone was well provided for.

"You really think so?" she asked, her tone still unsure but slighty accepting to the idea. After all, if his loyalty could stay true after going through all that, then maybe the labs weren't so bad after all. "I mean, you don't want to go home?"


Jordan Essex
“This is my new home. I’ve accepted that and I don’t look back.” He lets her hand go and taps his nose gently with a claw. “Those hamburgers… they smelled so good to me. You think you can smell good things as a human? I smelled our fear.” He grins “And hamburgers.”

“Think about what we’re gaining here:” he was thinking back to what Lauren had told him in his duplex “we’re going to surpass any human limitations, be able to smell things no human can know, hear things that no human could hope to.” He gently tapped his pointed ears. “I’ve met a girl who was homeless. She was given a home here. She doesn’t look back either. For people like us, who have something to gain, we appreciate what the labs are doing. Many of the people here –unfortunately- only look at the negative side. Why? Because they don’t know what they’re gaining. They’re afraid. I’ve been afraid too, but I don’t want to go back. No, sir. It hurts, but pain is only temporary.”

Jordan was loading it on and grabbed her hand again. “Please don’t let others get you down here. You have friends here. People who know what you’re going through.”


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie weakly grinned, trying not to blush at the fact that he was holding her hand. She hadn't seen this kind of confidence in the others...all she'd seen in them was despair. Jordan, however, seemed to give her hope, and now that she mentioned it, she could smell the hamburgers, too. It wasn't something she noticed, nor was it as drastic as she might have thought, but the change was there, and she knew it.

"I...I guess you're right. It's just a little hard to adjust to in a twenty-four hour time span, you know?" She shook her head, chuckling to herself, then stood, breaking away from his hand.

"I really should be going...I never finished unpacking," Sophie explained, half of her begging to be rid of the cafeteria scenery, and half of her wanting to stay just a bit longer. "See you later, okay?" She began to walk towards the door, when suddenly, she remembered something, and turned back around.

"I'm in Duplex 10 if you need me, okay?" She called out, waving good-bye. "It was really nice to meet you, even if there were some complications!"

And, having said that, she opened the door, and began to walk out, a mental map to her duplex already appearing. She needed time to think things through...and more importantly, take a nap.


Jordan Essex
Jordan smiled even more brightly. His tail was going for the gold as he’d won her over. This pleased him greatly as subconsciously he knew he’d just done the doctor’s work.

He took note of her duplex number. This girl could become an asse for the doctor’s cause if she were to be persuaded infallibly that the island wasn’t such a doom and gloom end-all graveyard devoid of hope.

“I hope to see you again, Sophie.” He waved to her as she departed.

When he was sure she was out of range- and her scent was fresh to his nose- so he knew she was definitely gone. He leaned himself over the cafeteria table and sighed out in pain, whimpering as his claws scratched across the surface’s top. What a day.. He’d have to think about doing something for the pain- and for that matter, how he was getting home, through the jungle, without hurting like hell.

That smile crept across his mouth as his tail wagged again. He’d done good. He was a good boy.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:34 pm


Entertainment Room

Get Yer Papers Here!

Richard Harrison
Richard was could barely believe it. It was all coming together at last. After weeks of procrastination the newsletter was almost done. It still wasn't very big and needed a million more little things done to it before it went to print. But the content was almost done. Another couple hours and the rough drafts would be ready.

As he sat at a table in the entertainment, piles of paper spread out infront of him, he could barely contain his excitement and sense of accomplishment. After months in this god forsaken place he was finally about to finish something! As he worked on the current artictual his tail lashed behind him in an almost hypnotic manner. Every few minutes he'd clear his throat due of an odd sensation deep within it. His tentacles hovered upon him, curling and uncurling with restless energy.


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie didn't know what finally got her out of her duplex: maybe it was simple boredom. Maybe it was curiosity. Or maybe it was that she just didn't want to stay in that room any longer: either way, she found herself wandering back to the village, exploring the parts she hadn't seen from her first visit. In all honesty, she wasn't all too thrilled with the idea of moving about: moping had left her feeling drained, and her medicine wasn't working like it used to. She knew it was stupid to take it if it would just turn her into an animal, but she liked not having to go to sleep.

Poking her head inside the entertainment room, her eyes widened: stuff. Lots of stuff. She quietly entered and closed the door behind her with a soft click, her gaze glued to the mass amounts of DVDs, games, and the perfect centerpiece, that huge TV. If it was for public use...oh, Sophie had found home, and a constructive way to get rid of the empty feeling she'd had since she'd found out the Island's secret.

However, it seemed she would have to share: at the table, there was a...well, Sophie wasn't quite sure what it was. It had a lot of arms, and it twitched a lot, and most things fitting that description would cause Sophie to whap it with a newspaper until it was dead. However, it seemed rather interested in something, and therefore, Sophie became interested, too.

She shyly stepped up behind the man, peering over his shoulder from a distance. It was no use: she couldn't read the writing from that far away. But, she still looked for a while longer, hoping not to be noticed so that she could take inventory of the beautiful collection of stuff in so close a proximity.


Richard Harrison
Richard heard somebody come in to the entertainment room but was too involved with writing to look up immediately. In fact it wasn't until he felt a sudden presence. That indistinct yet indescribable feeling that you get when somebody is reading over your shoulder. A tentacle curled toward Sophie before Richard turned around to peer at the new comer.

Richard looked her over for a moment before speaking. He shook his head in disapproval, yet again Moreau probably chosen a perfectly healthy young woman with her whole life ahead of her to reside in his freakish zoo.

Remembering his manners he smiled and quirked a eye brow. "Hello there, I don't believe we've met."


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie stifled a yelp at the curled tentacle, backing away. It had curled towards her, but she certainly wasn't going to let it get any closer. When she finally looked to the man on which it belonged (or, at least, she'd thought him to be a man), her stance relaxed in the slightest bit, though she was still staring at his odd features. It took her a moment to get her brain in gear again to reply.

"No...I don't think we've met, either." Realizing that she might have sounded sarcastic, she added, "That is to say, I haven't been here long enough to forget the people I've met."

Deciding she'd done enough verbal damage to her first impression, she just dropped the subject and continued on. "I'm Sophie," she said, sidestepping to get a little bit closer to the table, but still not quite as close to him. "What exactly are you working on, if I can ask?"


Richard Harrison
He pulled back the errant tentacle, noticing her timidness with a slight frown. It had been awhile since someone had been afraid him. He'd never admit to it but he was quite sensitive about his current apparence. In particular the he hated the sparse hair on his tail and back, it looked unhealthy and diseased. Jordan and Newt didn't count, he had been trying to be intimidating.

When she mentioned her name his brow furrowed and he reached for a piece of paper. "Sophie Bell right? Duplex 10?" The name had appeared only a week ago, how had she changed already? "Um how long have you been here exactly?"

When she inquried about his work, he immediately brighted up, his tail curling with pride. "Ah, I'm working on a little project of mine. A community newsletter. Nothing fancy."


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie blinked, then gulped: the guy knew her name and duplex already? But how??? She nodded in response, but couldn't quite bring herself to answer for a moment. "...I've only been here a few days, really. It's been a bit hectic." She bit back a weary, despaired expression, then looked back to the papers, suddenly very interested once again.

"A newsletter? That must be a bit more than a little project. And...community?" She paused: it had never occured to her just exactly the size of the Island. "How many people are here, anyways?"


Richard Harrison
"Really? and you've changed once already?" He took his glasses from his shirt pocket and held it in front of his eyes to peer at her closely. The glasses no longer stayed on his flattened nose. Yup she had definitely changed once, not that much but certianly enough to see the canine features. "Do you know what your serum is?" He was doubly curious now.

"Oh yes there are about eighty people here now according to the list." It was said in an off hand manner.


Sophie C. Bell
"Yeah...I changed state-side because of some pills I was taking, and they brought me here to get rid of the side-effects." Again, Sophie hid the dismay of having to tell her story, and tried not to remind herself of the things she'd heard about the true nature of the place.

Her discomfort melted into a pensive stare. It had never quite occured to her that she would know what animal they were turning her into, and Sophie paused, thinking for a moment. Come to think of it, the guy she'd met in the Cafeteria the first time had known he was a pegasus...or that's what he'd said, anyways. "Uhm...no, actually. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be. Can you tell?" She turned around once to get a good look at her nub of a tail. "Because I have absolutely no clue."


Richard Harrison
With a closer look Richard had to admit he wasn't any closer to an answer of the serum question. In particular he looked at the hands and the eyes. "Umm perhaps a housecat? Claws don't look quite right though." He leaned back and desposited the glasses back into his pocket.

"Wait, you changed state-side? What happened?" The was a sudden edge to his voice. He stood up and leaned over the table, his inhuman eyes full of curiousity and the slight gleam of hope.


Sophie C. Bell
Oh, dear. The stateside interest. Sophie could tell by his look that he was hoping that she'd stirred up some publicity, but she shook her head as she pulled up a chair and sat down. "I didn't make any waves with it...I just called the company, they picked me up, and that was the end of it. No one outside of Feral Labs even saw me like this." She scratched the back of her head and gave a weak apologetic smile: it was the least she could do.

"I don't know how, or why, but after about a month or so of taking medicine that Feral Labs produced, I woke up like this." She held up her hands, then rested them in her lap. "I don't even know my way around the place yet, to be honest." Sophie shrugged, looking away. "I just got here."


Richard Harrison
"oh." Richard looks disapointed and slumped back into his chair. He used his hands to smooth out his whiskers. "Its alright. You'll have plenty of time to explore." He bit on his knuckle for a moment, collecting himself, trying to recover his good mood.

He made a strange noise, halfway between a sigh and growl. Then looked up with his trademark grandfatherly smile. "So you've met Giaus eh? He's a good fellow. Met anyone else? For just getting here your handling this awfully well."


Richard Harrison
"oh." Richard looks disapointed and slumped back into his chair. He used his hands to smooth out his whiskers. "Its alright. You'll have plenty of time to explore." He bit on his knuckle for a moment, collecting himself, trying to recover his good mood.

He made a strange noise, halfway between a sigh and growl. Then looked up with his trademark grandfatherly smile. "So you've met Giaus eh? He's a good fellow. Met anyone else? For just getting here your handling this awfully well."


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie looked up, and couldn't help but have the feeling that perhaps she should've done more to grab the attention of others to her deformities back when she was off-Island. She smiled at the mention of Gaius, even though with it came the pain of the truth, as well as the encounter.

"Yes...I've met, uhm, Gaius the pegasus man...and then, Marshall...and I met Jordan right when he changed." As a small amount of comfort, she brushed through her hair with her fingers for a moment, and then put her hands in her lap again, trying not to fidget too much. The man had an austere sense to him that made her give respect, if nothing else.

"I'm just trying to stay positive about the whole thing as much as I can...it wouldn't do any good to mope, would it?" Her voice quivered and weakened by the last statement, and it was clear that she was anything but okay with the situation. However, she regained composure, and began fiddling with her hair again.


Richard Harrison
"Oh Jordan changed? And how did he handle that." Richard opinion of Jordan wasn't high. Richard though him to be an incredably weak willed young man who he assumed was safely nestled in the middle of disgusting amounts of denial. Still he didn't truly dislike the boy, the question was fairly innocent. "Wait you saw him change? Well, everyone sees it at some point. Time doesn't make it much easier."

At her second question Richard started sliding some papers around on the table with his little hand while his first pair folded together. He found what he was looking for. A little scrap of paper with four names of it. Nathan Moriarity, Fiona Brooks, Matthew Brandovich and Sean "The Dude" Carrol. He looked at it for a moment. "I suppose I could sugar coat it. But I won't. Moping doesn't help but either does blinding yourself to the situation." He slid the paper at her. "Not everyone makes it to the end of the process."


Sophie C. Bell
"He took it fairly well, I guess: after all the screaming and everything, he was able to eat just fine." Sophie couldn't help but smile at her mention of the man: it was mostly his confidence that was feeding hers. The grin faded to a confused look as he presented the names on paper, then turned to one of surprise and fear.

"You mean...those people died?" She managed to squeak, trying her best not to fidget in her seat but doing so anyways. "People...people die here?" The confident tone in her voice was gone, replaced with a shaky uncertainty that came with those names. True, it was only one female name out of four...but all too easily she could see Sophie Cherise Bell put on the list, her last testimony to this world. She didn't want to die there, and she looked up to Richard hoping that it was some sort of sick joke.


Richard Harrison
Richard had been mulling over this particular aspect of the island the day before, when he had taken a hike to the graveyard. There was a fresh grave there. Another guard, which all things considered was probably a good thing. Still Anne worried him, Jamal didn't seem to think like a human at all, according to rumors Anne was much worse. How long would it be before Anne took her madness out on the villagers? "Well only three of them died due to their serum. Fiona was murdered." He sighed. "I'm afriad you haven't happened upon the happiest place on earth by any means."


Sophie C. Bell
Sophie stared at the names for a moment: just simply stared. Out of eighty people, three had died...that was almost a one-in-twenty-five chance that she'd be in a grave before the end of it. "...There was a murder, too?" She suddenly felt very much in danger, and pulled her knees to her chest in her chair, hugging them for support. "What...what happened to her?"


Richard Harrison
I should really stop scaring the poor girl. Richard thought as Sophie hugged her knees. Still like any good reporter, Richard just couldn't stop telling a story once he started. She hadn't run away either. Although in his opinion, Fiona's death was far more worrisome and tragic than any of the others. He tail laid still as he spoke. "It was shortly before I arrived on the island. You see, the changes are not just physical, they effect the brain as well as the body. Some more than others. Anne's was appearently an exterme case." He licked his lips before continuing, considering his words and watching Sophie's reactions. "See, Fiona was a rabbit and Anne was a wolf. When Anne changed her final time, something went wrong and she snapped. She killed Fiona, tore out her chip and ran out into the jungle. She's still out there."


Richard Harrison
(Continued via AIM due to techical difficulties)


Sophie: "...chip?" She asked, trying her best not to think of the whole 'killed' part. Sophie hadn't heard of the chips yet, and to her, it made the story incomplete, though perhaps she didn't want to know. Either way, her curiosity got the best of her, and she simply had to ask. Besides, it would be a good way to distract her from the fact that she was either going to die or lose her mind.

Richard : The sudden change of topic surprised Richard, who had assumed she would want more information. Still, Fiona wasn't really a topic he felt like explaining at the moment anyway. So much for his productive mood, anything related to the graveyard tended to give him a horrible writers block. Still he found her short attention span somewhat amusing.

He pointed to the back of his neck. "Everyone has chips in their necks that allow the labs to knock us out at any time. I just wrote an article on them actually." He smirked. "Or did you think everyone just went willing for their injection?"

Sophie:
"I...I guess I really didn't think of that."
Sophie's head sank to her knees, and she sighed, trying to get her thoughts in some form of order. The whole business was far too depressing for her, and she only wanted it to be over. Taking inventory of the haven beside her would have to wait. She needed to go.
"I should probably go," she said, standing up and stretching out her limbs. "It was very nice to meet you, Mr...?" It was only then that it occured to her that she hadn't learned his name.


Richard: Richard extended his paw like hand. "I'm Richard. Good meeting you." He felt a bit guilty about dumping the harsh reality of the island on the young girl. Still it was better if she found out now. Other islanders didn't talk about those depressing events as freely as he did. "I know its a bit overwhelming at first. You get used to it, you deal with it." Of course that was a bit of a bending of the truth. RIchard still wasn't used to have five extra limbs and has absolutely terrified of what might happen to his mind. There were only subtle changes that he had noticed thus far, but if they got worse....

Sophie:
Sophie took his hand and shook it gently: she wasn't much in the mood to give a nice, firm one. "Good luck with your newsletter, okay?" She then turned to leave, her stride not so sure as she made for the door, her head bowed and her thoughts muddled. She didn't need any more depressing thoughts: she just needed to go home, or whatever counted as her home now. And so, for the second time that week, Sophie began the walk to her duplex with an anxious mind and a weary body.

Sophie C. Bell


Sophie C. Bell

PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 9:26 am


Sophie couldn't remember for how long she stayed in her duplex after she left the Entertainment Room: she'd covered the clock in her room with her tattered jacket, and put up the blinds to shut out the light. She didn't want to know about time passing, or that her life was ticking away with it. According to Richard, there was a possibility that she would die, or lose her mind, or something awful like that, and it was rather sobering to the normally optimistic woman.

She knew about death. No matter what, people die, and that's a simple fact. Even if you exercise, eat right, never smoke, and live a life of total purity and chastity, you still get your turn to be wormfood, and every person knows it deep within them. To confront such a truth in your twenties, however, was not something most normal people cared to do, and it scared Sophie that she could be next.

After all, she wasn't even an official subject: she'd happened on accident, and they were just trying to compensate for an accident that they'd caused. What if it got worse? What if she took her medicine one day, and when she went to sleep that night, she never woke up? What if she never got the chance to try and make something of herself? And God forbid, what if she never got to explore that big pile of DVD's in the Entertainment Room?

Sophie forced herself to stand, shaking her head as she paced around the room. It wasn't like her to be this mopey...but, then again, it wasn't like her to be faced with impending an iminent death. It wasn't like her to look like a wannabe punk star with some strange lower back tumor. It wasn't like her to want to be with her lazy room-mates and trashed out apartment. It just wasn't her.

So, with a half-determined idea fed from the hope Jordan had given to her, she went to her door, unlocked it, and took a step outside her duplex, looking around with a sense of satisfaction. Oh, yeah: she'd gone outside. But...now what? Looking down to the Islander ground below, Sophie realized that she didn't want to go back just yet, and didn't want to meet more people with lives just as bad as hers or worse. No matter what, she still couldn't quite accept that she was okay with the Island and it's truth, so sighing, she turned to walk back into her duplex.

Something on her stoop caught her eye, and Sophie lifted a packet of papers, skimming over it with a bland curiosity. Richard's newsletter...so he'd gotten it done. Having nothing better to do, she shrugged, then closed the door behind her and locked it out of habit, flopping on the bed and opening up to a random page. Nothing really caught her interest until she found a picture of Gaius, and drawn by the allure of having pictures in her readings, proceeded to read the adjacent article about the man she'd only once met.

She smiled, tracing Vixen with one fingertip as she finished, then closed the booklet. The Gaius guy, even though she'd only met him once, was giving back to the community, overcoming the sadness of the truth (assuming he knew it, of course: hadn't he said he'd been there for months?). Perhaps the idea had a bit of a flamboyantly poetic flair to it, but Sophie liked it anyways, and it gave her ideas. That's what she'd have to do: she'd help out around the village even if she wasn't okay, and eventually, she would be.

Sophie discarded the newletter on the table beside her bed for future reading, then opened up the curtains to let some light in. Even if she wasn't ready to go out just yet, she would be soon, and the thought gave her some confidence. Jordan would be proud of how she was handling herself...she made it a point that she would have to visit him again sometime.

But, for now, she entered her bathroom and opened up the bottle Dr. Duvert gave her, shaking out the two pills she was to take for the day. She stared at them for a second, then closed her eyes and swallowed them, able to choke them down without a glass of water because of her experience in the past month.

Sophie knew she shouldn't take them, but there was too great an unknown for what would happen if she didn't, and she didn't want to make it possible for the Labs to have a problem on their hands because of her. She wasn't going to die for lack of following instructions, and at that moment put any blame of her harm on the heads of the Feral Labs staff. She had done all she could: now it was up to them.
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The Duplexes

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