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 Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:58 am
Sophie nodded as he spoke, then gently rubbed a hand up and down his shoulder in a comforting motion. Though he would know it better than she, the girl understood that looking at yourself and finding that you're completely different can be rough, especially after what she'd just watched him go through. It was understandable that he'd be hungry: in a vague and somewhat fuzzy memory, she remembered Jordan being hungry, too, after his first change.
"Yeah, we can go get some food," Sophie said, her tail beginning to wag. She could just run over there, grab some things, and maybe while she was at it, she could get something for herself, and then Gaius would be feeling better, so they could go play tag or something--
Get a hold of youself, Sophie. This isn't play-time.
Getting to her feet, the fox girl held out a paw for the horse man, in case he needed help walking. "Can you stand?" She asked, looking down to his feet and trying to remember if they'd been quite that hooflike before. She didn't think so, but then again, she couldn't be sure.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:11 pm
Gaius let out a sigh, feeling the tension in his chest easing under Sophie's rubbing. Much of him ached, and it probably would for the rest of the day, but it was no worse than a bad headache. He'd manage.
"Thank you..." he said, taking the offered hand. How glad he was he could still hold anything! Awkwardly, he got his feet beneath himself. It was strange, not having any ball of his foot to roll on. He stood up, catching at Sophie's hand as he felt himself falling backwards, his balance thrown off. "Ack! Wingsth!" He hadn't accounted for the wings! The things were so big now and added a great deal of bulk to his back. Gaius had to lean forward to accommodate for his shifted center of balance.
"I... I think I can manage..." he said, then gave Sophie a helpless shrug. "If you don't mind me leaning on you a bit..."
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:26 pm
Sophie compensated for Gaius's clumsiness by helping herself, both her arms outstretched to help catch him should he fall. Truth be told, she wouldn't stand a chance against the weight of the man, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. Upon being asked for support, Sophie put a shoulder forward with a smile, ready for him when he was. "No problem: that's what friends are for."
The rain seemed to have cleared up for the moment, but it was still sprinkling, and Sophie's nose wrinkled as she shook the light droplets of rain on her fur. True, it was a short walk to the cafeteria, but even so, the fox in her didn't want to get wet. Tail downwards, she looked up to Gaius, hesitating for a moment as to whether or not she could confide in him.
"Uhm...Gaius...do you have, uh, how do I say it...urges, I guess? Stuff that you never used to do before, but you have to now, like it's a part of your animal?" Sophie had wanted to use 'instincts', but it hadn't seemed right. After all, they were still people. "I mean, I'm not narcoleptic anymore, which is good...but I get so hyper sometimes, and the nuzzling thing..." She looked away, her ears flattening in a somewhat embarassed manner.
"I just, you know, it's something everyone does, right? Not just me?" Sophie wanted to make sure that her instance wasn't anything special, that it wasn't happening because she hadn't come there on normal circumstances. She needed to know if something was going wrong.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:05 pm
"Thank you," he said again, managing to pull his mouth back in something akin to a smile.
As they left the entertainment room, Gaius was struck by all the new, vibrant smells that met his nose. He hardly noticed the sprinkles as they walked out onto the grass. The rain had left everything moist. He could smell the rich dampness of the earth, the recent rain still in the air... and the wet, fresh grass. His mouth watered and stomach gurgled at the smell. It was so enticing, and all right there...
He jerked up in surprise. "U-urges?" he stammered, fearing she'd noticed him staring at the grass and guessed his mind.
"Er, well... Yesth- yes, I guess I do... Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's me, since what I want seems normal in my mind sometimes... Does that make sense?" He tilted his head towards her. "I'm glad you're not narco... uh, whatever it was. But, I think everyone deals with the changes... I hate it, that the labs can not only take away our bodies, but they can change our minds, who we are on a fundamental level..." He sighed and shook his head. "I... have a hard time being alone, or in small closed spaces. I don't like being in my duplex much, anymore."
"Don't worry about the nuzzling thing," he said, his tone lighter. "I... actually did something really similar, once... And, well, I think... it was kinda cute when you did it..."
He lapsed into sheepish silence as they continued to the cafeteria, unsure if he'd gone out of line somehow... Vixen, bounding around them, ran ahead to do her trick at the cafeteria doors, hopping up to plant both paws on the handle and push them open, then standing inside looking proud of herself.
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:19 pm
Sophie nodded, feeling much more relieved that she wasn't experiencing something stranger than usual. "I know what you mean: I always want to, uhm...'burrow', I guess. Be in close places, dark ones: don't really like it out in the open." She sniffed, looking up at the sky. "Don't really like rain, either."
The two of them reached the cafeteria without any problems, and Sophie's ears instantly shot forward, excitement building with the smells of food. She had to force herself to get Gaius to a place where he could sit, then looked over to the empty line before back to the horseman. "You rest for a bit, and I'll get you something. What would you like?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:26 pm
Gaius smirked inwardly. How different their preferences were now!
He allowed himself to be dragged along by the eager fox-girl, settling down on one of the benched tables. Vixen huffed, being ignored by the two, and crawled under the table to sulk.
"Uh... Something green would be good... a couple apples, whatever vegetables you can find... I'm hungry enough to eat just about anything!" he said, a horsish chuckle escaping him.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:14 pm
"Green-stuffs, coming up!" Sophie wagged her tail and saluted, bounding off towards the food line with a new burst of enthusiasm and energy. She picked up two plates: one with assorted vegetables, mostly raw, and to top it all off, a good heaping of lettuce straight from salad bowl. The second had a series of cold-cuts and croutons: Sophie wasn't quite in the mood to eat something hot, and the croutons were more habit than hunger-placed. Just as quickly as she'd left, she returned, sliding the plate of greens to Gaius and chewing on one of the hard, breaded blocks with a satisfied chomp.
"Hey, I just remembered something...how's the threater coming along?" Sophie blinked as she picked up another crouton to snack on, looking out of the window as if she expected to see it right behind her. "I hadn't gone out to look at it in a while...have they started, I dunno, making casting calls or anything? I'd still love to be a part of that, if there's any space for me." Nostalgia brought a bittersweet expression to the girl's muzzled face, and as she was already out of croutons, rolled up a piece of ham and began to chew on that instead.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:35 pm
"Thanks," Gaius said, pulling the plate towards himself, though he cast a glance at Sophie's food. How long had it been since he'd eaten meat? Weeks... months? And longer since he'd cooked a good meal. Silently, Gaius resolved to fix that last issue soon.
Picking up one of the pieces of broccoli, he twirled it in his hand as Sophie spoke. An amused look crossed his eyes. How soon things could go from gut-wrenching pain to pleasant chit-chat! But then, that was their strength, wasn't it? It'd be worse to dwell on the horror, as he was so prone to do. He admired her ability to continue on with life and remain so chipper.
"The theater's all complete, actually. Just finished it a couple weeks ago. I haven't heard anything about casting yet... I think Billy, the octopus guy, was in charge of that... Haven't heard from him in a long while, though. But I imagine if you go to the lake, you can find him under some slimy rock..." he said with a chuckle and lifted the broccoli to his face, but his bite fell short, only getting air. Coordinating his hands and mouth proved more difficult than he'd initially thought, though, especially since he could hardly see what he was doing.
Giving Sophie an embarrassed look, he put the broccoli back down on the plate and pulled it closer. His face was flushed with the shame of what he was about to do. "Er, uh... pardon me a sec..." And with that, he bent down until his nose brushed against the lettuce, and began grazing, his hands holding the sides of the plate.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:14 pm
"It got finished then? That's awesome!" A smile crept across Sophie's face, and her apetite lost track of the food, content if for only a moment. "So I can talk to this guy about casting, then...I'll definitley have to look into that."
The fox girl suppressed a giggle as she watched the man struggle, then, realizing his difficulties, found it not so hard to keep from laughing, looking away in embarassment herself. "No problem," she responded, looking to any random place other than the horse man and his business: after all, it could be her by next change. Swishing her tail back and forth impatiently, she finally lost focus and her gaze returned to Gaius, new ideas springing forth.
"So, what're you doing now? I mean, the theater was your big project, right? Are you going to play a part at all?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:20 pm
"You really want to do some acting?" Gaius asked, cheek bulging with chewed food. "I mean, if you want to, I think that would be great. You should go for it! Just, uh, be careful of Billy... he's a strange character, and I don't entirely trust him."
He gave her a surprised look as she inquired about his plans and gulped down his mouthful quickly before stammering. "Wha? Me? No, noo... I've never been in a play before... I couldn't do it. I mean, the theater's finished, I'm content for now... Don't really have any plans..." He shifted self-consciously and glanced down at his plate.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:39 pm
At the mention of acting, Sophie laughed, tugging at one ear like it had been a stray lock of hair. "Well, it's just, y'know, I was trying to get a steady gig acting before I came here...I'd like to get back into it, if at all possible." She seemed just as equally amused by his shyness as far as acting. "Someone told me you can sing pretty well. You could at least give it a try: the stage is wonderful, once you get used to it."
An idea occured to Sophie, and she leaned forward against the table, unaware of the view she gave Gaius from the summery cut of her shirt, despite her fur. "Hey, you know what? We could put a skit on together. I mean, I need a routine to show to the casting guy, and it could be something fun for you to do. If you like it, we could get you up on stage, and if you don't...well, at least you burned some time, right?" Nodding, her tail began to wag again as her ears twitched excitably: there was no hiding that the stage was her life, and she was rejoicing on the inside to have it so close again.
"We could get Marshall to join, too, if you want, and, wow, I don't know that many people, but there has to be others, right? Who'd want to perform?" The truth was, Sophie wasn't used to working alone with all the spotlight on her. She'd need the extra support if she were to be at her best. "And besides, everyone can be all awkward together because hey, I've got a whole new body language to learn." She held up her tail to prove her point.
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:24 am
Glad that Sophie wasn't paying much attention to his method of eating, Gaius allowed himself to relax a little, although he'd always be self-conscious.
His eyes smiled at the cute gesture of tugging her ear. It was a small thing, but so endearing. Like the way Nita'd brush down her tail...
"What? Who told you?" he asked, eyes narrowing. Someone was blabbing? They should've known he wasn't fond of the stage! "Well, I don't know... I mean, I'm- I'm not very good on stage..." He fidgeted, twisting a piece of lettuce around his thumbs. "I'm sure you could find someone better to perform with..."
Gaius was a stubborn one, even when he was shy. It would take some leg-twisting on Sophie's part to get him on stage... especially in his current state. Though he couldn't help but chuckle at her mention of body language. How well he knew what she meant!
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:08 pm
Sophie grinned, rolling her eyes. Oh boy, a shy one. "It's not important who told me, but even so, it'd be fun. It's not like there's a bunch of actors here anyways, and I can't think of someone else who I'd rather practice with." This time, the smile she gave Gaius was more sincere, and her arms folded against eachother as to match the reassuring look she wore.
"You don't have to go on stage if you don't want to, but at least give it a try."
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:28 pm
One of Gaius's ears twitched back uncertainly as he stared down at his bowl. Even then, he couldn't get Sophie's smile out of his mind. It was so hard to resist girls when they gave him that look...
"Well, maybe just for practice..." he conceded, grumbling. "If... If you actually want me, anyways. Just don't ask me to dance, I seriously doubt I could manage as I am..." he said with a dry chuckle, gesturing at himself.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:19 pm
Sophie's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but show her excitement with a swish of her tail, her ears pointing skywards. "Really? That's awesome! Oooo, thank you thank you thank you!"
The girl had never been terribly good at acrobatics before, but in her happiness she leaped over the cafeteria table like it was nothing and slid into the seat right beside Gaius, giving him the biggest hug she could with her tawny furred arms. "You won't regret doing this, I promise!"
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