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 Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:20 pm
Shell!?! What the hell was she talking about???
Cody decided not to ask more about that. He confused enough as it is and talking to someone with a limited vocabulary was quite frustrating. Best to keep things simple
"Thina Arli-what?! Do you mind if I just call you Thina?"
He looked embarassed for not getting half of the name right, but that pronounciation was difficult
But now that things seemed stable (and he was assured she wasn't going to freak out on him), there was quite a few questions he really wanted to get out of his chest
"How long have you been here? Do you know what animal you're getting? and how did you get that scar?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:35 pm
Thina smiled. Many people could not get many of the last names, so she understood what he was going through trying to pronounce it. "Thina is my name, so alone it is good."
She leaned back and grabbed her socks and shoes to put them back on. Her smile broadened at the questions. She loved children, and Cody was still one in her mind.
"I do not know how long. I was..." the woman visibly searched for the word, "asleep?..." she put her head to the side and closed her eyes for a moment to emphasize. "...when I came. I been awake for enya" Thina nine fingers, "days."
"Animal?" Thina cocked her head to the side and stared blankly into Cody's eyes as she buttoned up one of her shoes. "No animal." She didn't know that, like him and the komodo creature she did not know that she was also turning into one.
Self-consciously, her hand went to the side of her face and rested on the scars. "God punished me when I was child. He made a... fire?... on my face." So, she had no idea how to explain a firecracker, but when she said fire, she splayed her hands to try and show something exploding.
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:04 pm
Seeing Thina smile at him felt good, more than he would want to admit. There was something in the back of his brain that urged him to feel more socially accepted. A feeling that got a lot stronger since t he dolphin attack. Each of the scars on his body were reminders of the exclusion he suffered. And apparently that blow hitted a lot deeper than it should
He tried to make sense of information she was giving him and then think and rethink on how he should speak his replies. For a moment he felt like a teacher teaching a little kid
"So, you're here for 9 days, right?" which meant she was still pretty new to the place
The second question was trickier. For what he could tell she didn't know yet. That meant he would have to be the teacher. But at least he felt a lot more confident in his work
"The animal I meant is the animal they're going to turn you into. I got the dolphin, Ambrose got a wolf, Cass got a snake and Gaius got a winged horse, a pegasus. Everyone here gets changed in one"
"Ohhh! I'm really sorry" he didn't get the explosion quite right, but it was more than clear fire could leave such a mark
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:30 am
Thina shrugged, "Was when I was little girl." It was her way of saying there was nothing she could do about it.... even though it was something that made her sad: for the scars had shown everyone -in and outside of the family- that she was cursed and barren. Thina never had a child, a bane in her culture.
"Nine," she mumbled, trying out the new word. Assuming that was enya, she nodded. "Neh - yes, nine days."
Her eyes almost bugged out of her head. "Ohee!!!" (No!) she shook her head in denial. "Athinatos!" (Impossible!) The rest of the words were a long string, and Thina spoke so face the individual syllables were lost.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:44 am
Cody tried to crawl closer and put his webbed, rubbery hand on her arm, a sympathetic gesture about her scars. In a way he knew how it felt to be marked, though in his case it had been the MS
He didn't completely understood Thina's later reaction, mostly because he couldn't make any sense of what she was saying
But considering it was just after him mentioning the animals, it was probably something about how impossible it was. All the adults he met reacted the same
To him a person turning into an animal wasn't at all possible. He saw the others and he changed himself, so why denying it?
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:58 am
Thina flinched away from his touch, for just a moment. She noticed what she did, but settled. It wasn't the boy's fault. It was her stubborn Greekness that made her stay, to continue sitting by this boy-dolphin instead of running away with her arms flailing.
Finally, her words calmed, and she took a deep breath. Thina's mind grasped at this new reality. After the initial shock and denial, her thoughts went to doubt of reality. Was it really possible? Was she going to be turning into some animal? Thina scratched and rubbed at her scars nervously, trying to fit them together.
The Ancients believed people could be turned to animals and even plants. Sure, their stories died as Christianity came around, but still. Maybe there was some truth lost to the world, as well as the magic and power of the gods.
"Maybe it is possible," Thina mumbled in English, "that the gods still live with power." She sighed, already beginning to accept it. Her dark eyes looked at Cody. "You know what animal I be?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:13 pm
Cody looked hurt when she tried to move away from him. He was just trying to make her feel better
He still looked sad when she asked him the question. He hated being in this situation, having people not believing his word
But she didn't called him a liar or tried to loudly deny reality. That often hurt his pride and set off his agressiveness
"You'll have to phone to the labs and ask. They're the ones doing this to us, so they know for sure"
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:28 pm
Thina didn't notice his look at first, for she was too distracted. But when she looked again, she saw his face, and wasn't quite sure what happened. It did not dawn on her that it was her reaction. But either way, she felt sorry. A rough hand settled on top of his own webbed one, and the woman offered a half-smile.
She was unfamiliar with the terms. Thina knew what a telephone was -maybe that was what he meant?- but was unsure about what it meant 'to phone'. The 'labs' was another issue - where they gods? It was obvious as her eyes took on a glazed look that she did not quite understand. "Oriste? Erm, What?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:37 pm
Uncosciously Cody turned his hand and grabbed Thina's in return. The webbing comming from his thumb was stretched to its limits, but he didn't really care. That small moment and the smile was very reassuring to his soul
"Sorry. There is a phone in every room and if you press zero you can call the labs and ask to talk with the doctors. They're the ones changing us onto animals. Some guy named Moreau created an injection that make us change. I already changed 3 times!"
He pointed to the top of his tail. Between the white skin it was visible the outline and color of his former legs
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:45 pm
Thina held his web-hand, and gave it a slight reassuring squeeze.
And then, he spoke some more. Thina followed as best she could, but there were too many words she didn't know. Eventually, the woman shook her head, "Phone, zero, ask." That was all she understood... many of the other words were either unfamiliar or too strange for her to work them out.
As she was shown part of his changes, she could only look in confusion. She was not well-versed with dolphins, so could not see the subtle difference he was showing her.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:03 pm
Cody felt frustrated against the language barrier, but there was little more that he could do. But maybe the labs would now how to explain things to her. Not that he trust them, but he had little choice if he wanted Thina to understand
"I grew out a tail and then my legs merged into it in my last change. I can still feel them in there. It hurted like hell"
He didn't really know why he was telling her that. Admiting the loss of his legs was something he always tried to avoid, but.... maybe it was just trying to get her to understand how painful and serious the changes could be
He grabbed her hand, gently as if he was trying to say he wouldn't hurt her, and motioned it over the remainings of his legs. Though covered by the skin they could still be felt in that area
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:15 pm
Thina chewed on her lip, noticing from Cody's new expression that he was not enjoying their communication problems. She couldn't blamed him; it was a common look that her family game to the balamii (non-gypsies)... but the boy seemed to be a lot more accepting than her past experiences. They were both trying.
Her eyes widened once again, "Painful." She agreed, that would hurt.
When he took her hand, Thina allowed him to move it. Looking at the boy with a strange expression, she leaned forward and rubbed the area. At the specific areas, she finally understood what he meant. She may not know dolphins, but she knew fish and other sea creatures had smooth bodies.
The woman shuddered, "I...." She didn't know what to say. Thina's other hand went to her face. That was bad enough, she still remembered the pain that was just a superficial change to her skin compared to.... a merging a bones and skin.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:32 pm
Cody was happy the message was getting through, but on the outside he still had that same pained expression the loss of legs brought
He also showed her his lack of ears and all the other body parts he gained throught he changes. He wanted to make clear how much the serums changed people, even if he was one of the less affected
The only thing he had that wasn't serum induced was the deep scars the dolphins had bitten through his skin. He was still young and still hadn't enough insulation to protect him from the damage
"The others say I got lucky. Most people I know look really like animals. But they're ok... most of them. I've heard a guy named Jamal is dangerous"
For a moment he considered talking about people dying in the island, but that was something he probably wouldn't be able to get through. Besides he wasn't still completely sure about it
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:55 pm
Thina watched as he showed her the other parts. She saw the scars, but they looked more recent. That, and they looked like animal bites.
"Jamal..." she repeated, remembering the name. She had a good memory, her role as a -somewhat recognized- singer in her family helped to develop that skill. "I will... watch Jamal." Thina nodded.
She gathered up Cody in her arms and gave him an awkward hug as she tried to position him comfortably for them both. "Want a song?" Thina gestured to the lyre by her hip.
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Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:02 pm
Cody was a bit surprised by the hug but he gladly returned it. It felt like forever since he last had that warm, close feeling
"Yes please"
He tried to sit in a more confortable position, to enjoy the lovely music that had brought him to her in the first place. Thina was a really nice woman
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