Welcome to Gaia! ::

The ground was soft beneath her bare, brown feet, but even so, Bia found herself walking gingerly, looking down at every step, cautious. She'd gotten halfway into the jungle before she recalled not only the old riddle that her first college roommate had told her (how far can you run into the forest before you run out again? ...Halfway), but also that she realized that for some reason, she'd not put on shoes that morning. The result was a prickly briar that lodged itself within a callous along the side of her left foot- she'd picked it out with an indignation and surprise, having no idea how she'd managed to trump her way so far into the island's wild expanse without noticing. She likened it to the fact that her mind had been wandering recently- it seemed being an islander gave little to do but let your mind wander. The once and never again Doctor was not opposed to this- but it did give her pause to wonder how long this idle mental drift might last. She did not think to chalk the mishap up to instinct, at all- the bird, despite its obvious invasions upon her- was forgotten more often than she would have imagined possible.

She'd made a decision to continue on her walk, rather than turn back for footwear: she had managed thus far, after all- how would continuing harm her if she was cautious? And so, it was this light-footed, eyes to the earth walk that found Bia Grey in the vicinity of the most prominent bird upon the island, walking beneath a collection of massive trees... without realizing who was perched above.

A flurry of sound- however soft- alerted Bia upward, and she turned her face to the sky- then to the massive tree above her. At first, the figure presented only a large dark slur against the bark, but with the benefit of a few seconds where she allowed her eyes to focus, a bird-like form came forth and defined itself: first as something terrifying and out of place- it was an immediate reaction, more from Bia's human instinct than any animal notion- and then, realization in the form of a name crawled forth from the receesses of her consciousness. Cassenwari.

"....Hello." The word was clipped.

Bia nodded, giving her answer in that simple gesture rather than procuring the effort necessary to force the half-chewed syllables that were now the building blocks of her 'normal' speech. Somehow, she supposed this 'other bird' would understand: how the impediments of their unique changes would cause them to desire an earlier abandonment of human ... 'frivolities'... than most islanders would allow.

She shook her head. A no. But she could not find a way to express gratitude in a gesture, and so, found herself saying "Thank you," her head still turned up to the hawk-like woman above her. The bird instincts within Bia were delicate at this point, at best- or at least, those instincts she'd admit to/find herself understanding at this early a juncture... but even so, she felt comfortable here, and in this dynamic.

As she stood, her breath eked through what little was left of her pressuried nostrils: a rasp on the intake, and a thready whine on outward breaths- a reptitious pattern that Bia was only beginning to feel accustomed to.

Bia shook her head again, startled, yet not alarmed when Greer had swooped down and collected the animal and returned with it to her perch, it had been a play in slow motion: nothing so much like the quick motions of Sid or Thom or Richard that put her off so. It was a strange thing, to think that this could seem- if grotesque, at least... necessarily grotesque? It did not upset her or frighten her to watch the hawk woman feed herself, or to watch the blood drain down in a thin red waterfall to the ground below -but it did churn her stomach. It was a strange feeling- and Bia wondered how much of the distaste could be chalked up to her human sensibilities, and how much to the bird within her. Somehow, she imagined that whatever aviator was encroaching upon her humanity, it did not eat quite the way that this ...magnificent murderer did.

"I'm Bia." She said, interrupting the woman's meal.

Bia already knew what Greer was becoming- in fact, she knew her name, where she was from, and once she had even known her routing number. Ms. Cassenwari was one of the first arrivals, and back then, the staff had been so scarcely populated that everyone had something to do with the 'main production': meaning the islanders themselves. Only as newer, more qualified personell were brought to the island did Bia and a few of the others find themselves subjugated to menial 'must be dones' or procedural nightmares that had little need for human interaction or knowledge of the subjects. Beyond that first wave or so of islanders, Bia knew little more than name and serum for those who arrived- that, at least, could always be depended of the 'lab gossip'.

Luckily, Bia had no need to lie, or to suggest to the woman that she had not known these things prior. She'd not asked for her name, after all- nor her animal, and so, the volunteered information could be looked upon as a reiteration: nothing more.

She lifted her own proto-wings... and soon to be sacrificed arms- to shoulder level. Dark feathers sprung from her wrists in hapless clumps, and her fingers spread far beyond what was humanly possible. "Some bird. I don't know what ... they chose for me."

She cocked her head- an inquisitive gesture that was unknowingly avian. She did not entirely know if it was a question or not- but the feathers did itch, particularly as they had grown. She nodded.

"Do the words... ever get easier to say?"