Welcome to Gaia! ::

Nita shut herself in her duplex until it seemed the walls were closing in on her. Her stomach growled angrily, but she couldn't force herself along the path to the cafeteria. Hungry, frustrated, and still in shock, Nita veered off towards the jungle.

Only moments later, she regretted her hasty decision. Every birdcall, each buzz of an insect past her head, was an enraged wolf, ready to leap at her and--

The snap of a stick made her freeze; Nita's eyes shifted frantically. No growling, no reek of predator...

"Amaya?" she called tentatively, relaxing slightly. "Is that you?"

Really, how many more giant lizards could one Island have?

Nita's breathing slowed, although her heart still pounded. "Hi..." she said softly. Tears welled up in her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time in the past 24 hours. She gulped convulsively, trying not to fall apart in front of yet another person.

No luck there.

Her breathing gone ragged again, Nita steadied herself against a broad tree trunk. "She's dead. Her throat-- Annie changed, and-- Oh, Amaya, it was awful!" Nita burst into full-fledged tears and curled forward, hands on her knees.

Nita stared into Amaya's large eyes. "Annie. Angharad. She killed Fiona." The few words came out softly but surely, echoing hollowly in her ears. And then she choked, her blank expression crumbling to be replaced with one of utter horror and despair.

Nita let herself cling to Amaya, trying to stave off another bout of hyperventilation. "They tried. I heard the buzzing. Annie was crazy, and," she paused for a moment, digging her palms against her eyes. She could see it all, over and over again.

"She.. she tore out her chip," Nita finally squeaked out. "She ripped it out of her own neck and attacked Fee."

Nita cried for a few long moments, shivering under Amaya's large clawed hands. Finally she sniffled and sat back on her heels, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry... I just.. I keep seeing it... They were best friends..."

The red panda girl shook her tear-streaked face. "I had to get out, and I couldn't stay in the village. But out here..." Nita was at a loss. She didn't feel safe out in the jungle, but her duplex was too confining.

In all actuality, being high up in a good sturdy tree usually was a comfort. Wolves didn't climb trees, did they?

"I guess... there's a tree I read in a lot." Nita chewed her lip. It felt a bit silly to admit it out loud, but then, surely Amaya would understand. She remembered vaguely Alec mentioning that Amaya's changes were finished. Her instincts must be pretty strong sometimes...

Just like a wolf's instinct to tear apart a rabbit. Nita shuddered.

Nita looked around, mentally mapping her surroundings. The beach was to the west, one branch of the river was south.... "It's not too far," she said. "It never seemed like a good idea to go in too deep."

She pulled herself up and brushed as much of the dirt and leaf litter as she could from her jeans. Not that it did much good; her face was still tear-streaked and dirt-smudged. "Thanks, Amaya," Nita muttered, attempting a smile. "I can get us there, but you don't need to stay."

Nita gave the lizard-girl a sort of one-armed hug and set off along a barely marked path. After a few minutes of walking, the terrain became much more familiar. Nita's sensitive nose could pick out her own personal scent- a rather strange sensation, but altogether useful.

She approached a large tree that didn't look much different from any of the others nearby and expertly hauled herself up. Settling onto her favorite branch, Nita leaned down and gestured for Amaya to come up. "There's plenty of room," she called. "This time of day, there's even quite a bit of sun shining through."

Nita smiled a little, thinking what a strange sight the pair of them must make. A red panda and an iguana, hanging out together in a tree. Just one of many bizarrities of Island life.

"It's kind of nice to have company up here," she mused. Avoiding the situation at hand? Oh no, not at all.

Nita grinned, more than happy Amaya was willing to play along. "I've hung out with Cass in a tree, too. And once I got chased up a tree." Remembering the latter situation, Nita wondered absently how Emelyn was doing, and if she was still avoiding the village.

"Of course, it turned out I was only running away from a small dog." Nita snickered and stared up through the leaves. She stretched her limbs, all the while precariously balanced on the wide branch.

Nita scrubbed at her face and yawned. "'Scuse me."

Nita made a face. To put it mildly, she and Zach were not exactly friends. "Yeah, true. At least you're okay." She yawned again. "Ugh. I think I'm about to crash..." Again, putting things mildly.

"I think... I think I'll stay here." Although she worried about running into Annie, her duplex had been too stifling. Maybe a little time away from everyone would give her some perspective. "Really, thanks, Amaya. I mean... just for letting me fall apart on you for a bit..." Nita bit her lip and stared at her knees.

Nita nodded slowly, realizing how little she really knew about Amaya. "I guess. Yeah." A bit of a real smile crossed her lips. "You're right."

She would be alright. For now, at least.

The sound of intense sawing could be heard throughout the duplex circle, a steady SKRRK-ZZZ SKRRRK-ZZZ bouncing off the buildings. Some exploration could find the source in the area near Duplex 62, where some crates and wood had been set up in a make-shift wood-working station of sorts. Gaius stood bent over a long plank, clad in sweat-stained shirt and work clothes adorned with what particles of wood flew off the wood as he worked the handsaw.

A couple pieces of cut wood sat nearby, but it was impossible to tell what project the horse-man was working on yet.

Gaius blinked away a trickle of sweat that stung at his eye. What he wouldn't give for a power saw right now.

Nita returned to the village after a day or so spent out in the jungle. Her encounter with Thom had left her wary of her fellow islanders, but she was grubby and ready for something more than the nuts and fruits she knew were safe to eat.

The red panda woman would appear much more self-possessed than on their previous meeting, as well as having obviously changed again. Her movements were slower and more deliberate, in accordance with her thickened (and furrier) body).

Even non-animalistic ears could hear the sawing; as Nita drew nearer, she recognized the man at work. She paused a few feet away, hooking her thumbs in her belt-loops. "Hey... Gaius, yeah?"

Gaius stopped mid-sawing at the address, looking up to see who it was. It would be easy for Nita to notice that Gaius wasn't entirely human anymore either, from the tail and stretched face. He spotted Nita, but it took him a moment before he recognized her and broke into a wide smile.

"Oh! Hey! Um..." His smile faultered awkwardly as he realized he'd forgotten her name. "...Natalie, right?"

There was something off, something that didn't match his memory, and Gaius scrunched up an eye as he looked at her. "You look different..."

"Nita, actually," she corrected, taking in Gaius' changed appearance. Her mouth opened slightly in a smile, her muzzle no longer particularly suited to smiling properly. "Yeah, I changed again."

Nita brushed a strand of reddish hair out of her face. "I see you did, too," she observed. "You don't look bad." Peering around him, she asked, "What're you making?" A bit of sawdust crept into her nose; she sneezed.

Gaius blushed ashamedly, kicking himself for getting Nita's name wrong, but his blunder was quickly forgotten after Nita's comment on his looks. It didn't bring much outward change to his behavior, except that he ducked his head to scratch at the back of his neck as he often did when nervous. "Th-thanks... I guess it's not as bad as some of the others I've seen..." He decided against mentioning the things bound beneath his shirt just yet.

"Ah!" He clapped grinned eagerly, brushing off his hands on his pants as he started explaining. "I'm building--" He was interrupted by Nita's sneeze. The little sound, coming from a girl, made him chuckle. "Bless you!"

"Anyways, I'm making furniture! ...Actually, I'm still figuring out how... but I want to make stuff for the islanders! Like chairs that will fit their - our - tails without having to sit backwards."

Gaius stood back, reguarding Nita again. "You know... when I first saw you, I couldn't figure out what was different. You look fuzzier, and kinda wider... ER! I mean-! You look bigger!" He panicked, realizing his slip too late. "No! Uh, just more defined, in a good way! I don't mean you're fat! Definitely NOT fat! I mean...!" He clapped a hand over his face and groaned.

Nita scrubbed at her nose, waiting for the fur on her cheeks to un-poof. "'Scuse me!"

"That's a really good idea. I've started having to turn chairs around now." She twisted around to indicate her tail, which was nearly as thick as her waist. "Clothing is another issue." Nita rolled her eyes-- and burst out laughing at Gaius' tactlessness.

"Maybe a little fat," she wheezed between bouts of laughter. "Your honesty is almost refreshing, Gaius." Nita grinned her open-mouthed smile and wiped her eyes.

Gaius winced, smiling sheepishly behind his hand. "I'm glad it's not violence-inducing..." He chuckled and shook his head. "I need to get an eraser for my tongue. Or a rewind button. That would be handy."

He ran the hand back through his hair and sighed. "Seems like everyone's been changing... I've been like this for a couple weeks, but just the other day I saw this guy in the laundromat... he... well... his jaw went all messed up." Gaius shuddered. "It was nasty. Now I know how Marshall must have felt..." The horse-man paused, frowning slightly. "You know, I haven't seen that kid in a while... I wonder if he's okay..."

Nita continued snickering, although her mirth was slightly less hysterical. "You're just lucky I was never particularly vain. And well..." She shrugged. "Red pandas are pretty squishy."

Her mood changed slightly as the subject shifted towards the inevitable. "I've seen some drastic changes, myself. I hate to tell you, but it doesn't really get easier... Watching friends lose limbs in front of you..." Nita shook her head slowly. "Marshall? Little guy, brown hair? You know him?"

"Red panda?" Gaius tilted his head. "I thought you were some kind of raccoon! What with the ringed tail and face and stuff..."

The image of someone's limbs disappearing made Gaius shudder. Ambrose had said he smelled like an herbivore, were there any herbivores with fewer limbs? He sincerely hoped not! However, he quickly nodded an affirmative to Marshall's description. "Yeah, the first normal guy I ran into... while I was still human..." His face fell. "It was nice to just forget about everything around us and pretend things were normal, just for a couple hours."

"Nope, red panda. They do kind of look like raccoons, though. But we're, er, they're not related. And they're not really related to giant pandas, those are the black and white ones, either." Nita grinned. "Sorry, I tend to babble."

She scratched at a bit of fur on her arm. "Heh, I was the first changed person he'd run into. Poor guy. Although there are definitely worse people who could have told him what's up," Nita added after a moment. As confused and disillusioned as Nita was about the island (and her promises to Moreau), she did still maintain that it was best for the newcomers to have things explained to them-- and she had to admit she had a knack for it. Or at least, she had a knack for running into the newbies.

"It's funny what ends up passing for normal around here."

"Well if they're not related to pandas, then why are they called red pandas?" Gaius laughed, though he quickly stopped as a snorting sound escaped his nose.

"You got to break it to him?" Gaius asked with raised brows, then broke into a relieved smile. "...I'm glad. You're a nice person, so I'm sure his let-down was much easier than mine. Of course, it's hard to disbelieve anything when you're watching a dragon and a lion duke it out..."

"Still, feel kinda bad he had to be there when I changed and saw those things come out of my shoulders-" Gaius stopped suddenly and winced. Dangit, rewind!

"Supposedly it's an anglicization of the Chinese word poonya, or 'eater of bamboo,'" Nita replied. She flushed slightly, not that it would be visible under her fur. "Sorry. I did a lot of research when I found out." Her embarrassment faded when Gaius snorted in a distinctly equine manner.

"Well, thanks, I think. Ugh. Let me guess, Rex and Zach?" Nita rolled her eyes at the thought of the dragon-man. There was no love lost between them, although it was good to hear Rex was out and about.

Nita quirked a brow. "Things came out of your shoulders?"

"Yeah," Gaius replied, heartened by Nita's apparant mutual distaste of the dragon. "That jerk was trying to convince me he was wearing a costume, and playing along with the lie Sabin'd fed me." He huffed, letting out another snort. "I may be gullible, but I'm not stupid. At least Rex nailed him with a nice fist to that snout of his. And from what I've gathered, not many others like him...?"

He shifted uncomfortably as Nita brought up what had to be one of the most embarassing features of his change. "Um, yeah..." He scratched at his mane, avoiding her eyes. "I, uh... well, I don't know what they are, but it looks like I have a couple of limbs growing out of the middle of my back..."

Nita shook her head. Just the kind of thing she expected from Zach. The mental image of Rex punching him was priceless.

"He told me he'd nearly attacked some people, and the only times I ever ran into him, he was yelling about something." Her ears twitched irritably. "And he made my friend cry."

How damning.

She quirked one of her now-even-more-oddly defined brows at Gaius. "Limbs? Like legs?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he HAS attacked people..." Gaius grumbled. "The way he hissed and snarled the last couple times we met..." His face hardened. "...He made someone cry? ...Next time I see him, I'm going to give him a real piece of my mind. After all that bragging about getting the labs to get revenge on Rex and some cobra-guy for him..." Gaius growled.

He cringed at Nita's suggestion, shaking his head. "I hope not! I don't know what I'd do with legs between my shoulders. Right now, well, they look kinda like..." Gaius blushed and quickly glanced around to make sure no one else was in the proximity before continuing in a hushed voice, "They look like feather-less chicken wings, like what you'd buy at the grocery store. But don't tell anyone, please!" He rubbed a hand over his flushed face. "It's really, really embarassing..."

Cobra-guy? Thom? Nita wondered if Zach's claims could have any truth to them... Perhaps he was somehow the reason why Thom had been acting so strangely.

"Ugh. Honestly, I'd avoid him, if at all possible," she advised. As for bragging about the labs, even Lauren could be more subtle. A slight pang of guilt hit her at the thought, as well as a considerable amount of worry. Where was Lauren, anyway? Surely she would be contacted if she'd been hurt or ill... and of course Nita hadn't felt brave enough to call the labs herself.

Nita shrugged, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. Much better to think about Gaius' problems than her own. "Maybe they are wings then. You could grow feathers laters." She covered an impending grin with a mask of concern and optimism. Embarrassed as he was, Gaius was awfully cute.

Gaius sighed and shook his head. "I try... it's hard since they let him back into the village... He's bad news, as far as I'm concerned. I hope your friend is okay?" He asked with concern.

His face shifted to something between hope and trepidation as he considered her optimistic advice. "Maybe... But I don't know if I want to grow feathers! I don't even want to grow fur! -er..." He winced and gave Nita an apologetic grin. "No offense... I just don't think I'd do 'fuzzy' well..."

It seemed the general consensus was that they were, indeed, wings, but that still left the question... What in the world was he becoming? He cringed to think Zach might be right, that some hungry labtech had gone and mixed a 'fastfood' serum of cow and chicken... or maybe he was someone's sick joke, to become the proverbial 'winged buffalo.' Whatever it was, he didn't want to think about it any longer. He shook his head back and forth, as if shaking out the bad images, and when he looked back at Nita, it was with a much more cheerful smile. "So! I'm trying to get a service together to make stuff for others to fit their, uh, bodies, like chairs and stuff... Is there anything you need?" he asked with a hopeful face that clearly begged her to say 'yes.'

"Oh, he's back? Great," Nita said with a sigh. Not that she had ever encountered him in the village to begin with, but it was the principle of the thing. "Yeah, she was fine. Upset at the time, but it was a while ago."

Natsumi was yet another person Nita really needed to check on... especially considering her pregnancy.

"Would you rather grow feathers or keep little wing-stubs?" she pointed out. Nita grinned. "None taken. Not everyone can look this good!" The red panda girl struck a pose, half-laughing at herself.

Nita took another look at the pile of wood. "Really, I think chairs would be the most useful, and not just for me. Tails are pretty common around here, and sitting on them is not comfortable."

"Eeeh... I guess you're right..." Gaius grimaced slightly and rolled his shoulders. "Though it's easier to hide them right now, even if it's not comfortable..."

He laughed with her as she showed off. "I'll have to agree with you there! I think I'd just look like a weird teddy bear if I was in your place."

"Hmmm, just chairs, huh?" He rubbed his chin, looking back at the wood. "It's going to be hard... I've never done much carving before for decorative stuff, and they're lacking most of the supplies here... but I'll definitely try!" He gave an energetic fist-pump, then laughed and rolled his eyes. "And don't I know it! I thought I'd broken mine the first time I flopped down on my bed... It's so short, it's no good for anything..." Gaius looked back over his shoulder and gave the little apendage a flick. At least he was learning to control it a bit better.

"Well, promise you'll let me know if you think of anything else you might need? Or let others know! I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do with my time," he chuckled.

Nita scratched absently at her forearm, mussing and then straightening the fur. "It may be embarrassing now, but seriously. Comfort. Very few people here are going to poke fun at your changes, because they're in the same situation. I mean, it seems weird now, but after a while? You just don't get phased by much." She shook her head and grinned self-deprecatingly. "Jeez, I make it sound like I've been here forever! I'll quit the lecture."

She snickered at the gesture. "I wouldn't be surprised if at least someone on this island knows how to do decorative carving. Ask around, maybe? Although I think functional stuff is a priority over looking great, at least at first, you know." Nita winced sympathetically and glanced over her shoulder at her own tail, which was nearly as thick as her waist.

"I guess you're right... I mean, I'm definitely not as weirded out now by the sight of people with weird faces as I was before... Still, sometimes I do a double-take when I catch myself in the mirror. Do you ever find it hard to match that image with yourself...?"

He grinned broadly, glad that Nita seemed positive about his project. "I'll have to learn how to do a little carving anyways, to get the seat parts done, but yeah! I'll ask around. Seems like they have all kinds of talents around here... and maybe I can ask the labs for some more books..." He tapped his chin and reguarded the wood again. "So much to do first..."

Weird faces. To put it mildly.

"Definitely. I mean, yeah, I've pretty much gotten used to the way I look... but I still think of myself as being the tiny little white girl with braids." Nita raised her hands to her furred cheeks. "I used to have freckles..."

She shrugged. "I have a Polaroid my dad took of me, before I got on the plane. I looked the same for so long, but now? Dozens of people will never see me that way."

Nita followed Gaius' gaze, no longer so excited about his project.

Gaius shifted uncomfortably, too late realizing that 'before' was not the best choice of topic in a conversation. His own mind recalled the image he had of him and his dad on a fishing trip... And now, there would be people who'd never known him without the flattened nose? Without the ears?

"That's a depressing thought..." he confessed, running a hand up the back of his neck. "I mean... I'm new, and meeting people... It's hard to think of the human they used to be, all I see is what's there now."

He smiled weakly. "If it's any consolation... you make a cute red panda?"

Nita looked away, suddenly aware of her bedraggled appearance. Her clothing was already getting that well-worn quality, and she could feel every speck of dirt in her fur. She rubbed her muzzle and sighed.

"Yeah. That's how it is though," she said softly. Her mouth twitched at his final comment. "Thanks, I think."

A moment of rather awkward silence ensued before Nita sighed again. "Hey, I really should get home and shower. I've been climbing trees for a day or so."

The awkward silence left Gaius feeling anxious, giving him far too much time to worry over what he'd said or done, and so it was with a relieved smile when Nita began to excuse herself. "Hey, no worse than me. I know I don't smell like any flower!" He turned back to the make-shift work bench and picked up the saw. "But I figure I can get another couple hours of work done before it gets too hot."

A thought struck him, and he looked back, hoping to catch Nita before she left. "Uh..." He smiled awkwardly. "Sorry... Which duplex did you live in again? For whenever I get something done?"

Nita gave Gaius a wan smile. "Have fun, then." She turned to step back onto the main path when he spoke again. "Hm? Forty-two," she said over her shoulder. "I really do think you've got a good idea, though." Her smile widened slightly for a moment and she headed off again, long tail swinging behind her.

"Thanks! It was good to see you again!" Gaius called after her with a wave, then turned back to his work, setting the saw into another piece of stubborn wood. Soon, the village was echoing with SKRRRK-ZZZ SKRRRK-ZZZ again.

Nita was on one of her frequest stops to the entertainment room; every few days she raided the bookshelves for new reading material to take back to her duplex or out to her tree in the jungle. The girl actually felt somewhat civilized on this particular evening, having recently showered (a considerable undertaking, what with the fur covering her body, not to mention her long, thick tail) and swapped in her jungle-worn clothes for a fresh outfit.

She crouched on the floor in front of the bookshelves, her back to the entrance, a small pile of books a few feet away. "They really need new stuff in here," Nita muttered, eyeing the selection. "I've read almost everything that looks good." She pushed her hair out of her face and skimmed the back cover of a paperback.

Sid was in his freshest t-shirt and jeans, which really wasn't saying much. His gray hair was, as ever, a mess that cascaded down his back to end just where his scaly tail began. He came to the entertainment room without any idea of what he wanted to watch or read, all he knew was he was bored and feeling woefully uninspired. His typewriter was gathering dust, and all the walking he'd done lately had only aggravated his knee.

The sound of him sucking back an excess of spit announced him before he stepped into the door. He regretted it the moment he saw it was occupied.

"Ah, sowwy," he said.

Nita made a face at the sound, turning around to see who had come in. "It's no problem," she began, stopping abruptly when she noticed Sid's jaw. Well, that explained the spit. Trying not to stare, (or touch her own face in sympathy) Nita stood up.

"Ah, hi," she ventured, a tentative smile across her face. "Did you want something over here?" Nita waved a furred hand at the bookshelves behind her.

"Ah hadn' qui... quite decided," Sid said. Watching him talk was, granted, fairly interesting. He remained in the doorway, unconsciously leaning against it to take some of the pressure off his cane.

"Ah coul' jus' come bahk," he offered, thumbing behind him.

He shouldn't have felt so self-conscious, but lately he'd been having abysmal luck with the other sex, and in the most mundane dealings, too...

Nita raised a brow and shrugged. "Nah, it's fine. Public place and all." She picked up the half-dozen or so books she had chosen and flopped onto one of the squishy couches. "Help yourself," she said easily, waving Sid into the room.

As uncomfortable as his mouth looked, Nita had certainly seen more alarming changes; there was no need for the guy to look quite so self-conscious about it.

"Righ'," Sid said. He hobbled in the room and went to the rack of magazines. As he scanned what was available he began to wondering what his fingers might do to the pages. He wasn't going to find out just yet, as nothing caught his eye that he hadn't already skimmed through. Maxim didn't seem like a good choice in present company, anyway. He sighed and turned away.

His manners caught up with him about the same time. "Mah name's Th-- Sid, by the way." He was mildly pleased that came out more or less like he wanted.

Nita situated herself sideways on the couch, one arm looped over the back. She watched the older man curiously, having no idea what kind of creature's DNA he could have been injected with. Something aquatic, it appeared, judging by the tail projecting from his back and a brief glimpse of the webbing between his fingers.

Oh right. Introductions. "I'm Nita. I see you've been here a few weeks at least," she commented, a hint of dark humor in her voice. Odd, she thought, to meet two older islanders in such a short time. First Richard and now Sid; both of them must be at least in their 50s.

Sid smiled at the comment, or rather his lips pulled up to make the wrinkles around his eyes more prominent. That way his mouth was he always looked, well, slack jawed.

"Yeh," he said. "Ah'f moved pas' denial. Next ih angah... buh ah'm nah in the mood fah thah now." He uttered a terse, somewhat bitter laugh.

Nita grinned. "Probably a good thing. Doesn't do much good to get mad here." She considered her next question for a moment, idly scratching at her arm.

"So, ah, any idea what they stuck your with?" Nita finally asked, as casually as she could. She wiggled her toes absently against the couch cushions.

"Some kinna anglah fish." He was almost getting used to the question, which made him feel guilty that he hadn't bothered to look up exactly what it was. The proper name hit him the same moment the fact there were encyclopedias in the room did. "Vipafish, thasit."

Rather than elaborate on the teeth and the glowing in the topic, he turned the question around. "You?"

He was inclined to guess some kind of red raccoon thing, but he didn't.

"Angler fish," Nita repeated, shaking her head. "Those the ones with the dangly, glowy things, right?" She held one hand up to her forehead and wiggled her fingers as a demonstration.

Oh goodness, that sounded wrong. She resisted snickering.

Nita gestured to her tail and her distinctive facial markings. "I'm a red panda, actually." Her eyes flicked towards the reference books, remembering clearly the time she'd spent researching.

"Ssomefin la... like thah, yeh," Sid said, irritation bleeding into the words.

"Lucky," he said when she explained what she was. They were cute and mammalian, at least. He inadvertantly followed Nita's gaze back to the books. "Guess ah coul' loo...k."

He still had yet to decided whether wondering or knowing were worse. If he was lucky there'd be no entry for the damn things in the books. He walked over to the shelves anyway.

Nita looked away. Someone wasn't thrilled to be questioned..!

"Yeah, real lucky," she said softly to the ceiling, trying to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. Cute and mammalian, yes, but it still didn't make her life a picnic. Ugh. The tip of one ear flicked at her twinge of guilt and annoyance.

Shrugging, she heard him move towards the bookshelves. "You could," Nita said, her tone non-committal.

It never cross Sid's mind that he was being maybe just a little rude, but he was fast developing a complex about people fortunate enough to stay in the same animal kingdom through their changes... At least, he was pretty sure you'd call that particular category a kingdom. He pondered that as he paged through the 'V' volume of the encylopedia. Sadly, he found what he was looking for, though it was little more than a tiny blurb with an illustration.

"Huh..." he said.

Some of the color drained from his face as the connection that he was going to look like that was made.

Nita peered over the back of the couch, catching a glimpse of an upside-down viperfish. Yeah. Sid was going to look pretty damn creepy.

Shaking her head, Nita slid back down and opened one of her own books. He probably didn't any more commentary from a 'lucky,' mammalian islander.

Sid slapped the book closed and slid it back into the shelf. So now he knew and... yeah, he only felt worse for it. He sucked back a little spit again, closed his mouth as much as he could stand, but those teeth were always at the edge of his vision when he did.

He walked over and sat down, putting a fair amount of space between himself and Nita. He laid his cane across his lap, freeing his hands so he could rest them on his knees.

"Okay..." he said. It was that or late the uncomfortable silence drag.

Unfortunately, he had no idea what to say.

"s**t."

Except for that.

Geez, why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? But then... it really was an obvious thread of conversation.

Nita shut the book and nodded at Sid. "Yeah. Pretty much."

She gave him a one-armed shrug, still not willing to look him in the face. "Sorry, man."

"Heh..." Sid shook his head. "S'not yah... your faul'."

"Eh." Nita shrugged again, examining a piece of lint on the cushion. "Well, uh... I've got my books, so I'm gonna go." She bit her lip and hauled herself up, still having to consciously compensate for the way her heavy tail changed her center of gravity.

She made her way to the door, books under one arm, before turning back to Sid. "So, um, yeah. See ya 'round, I suppose."

Sid nodded and tried to put on a more chipper expression. "Yeh, ssee ya..." He lifted a hand in a half-assed wave, and once he was alone again he opted to try and get his mind off things with a movie.

Which, granted, didn't help much.

It had been a quiet few days for the red panda girl, mostly spent in her duplex or in the jungle. Nita wasn't exactly avoiding people, but she was grateful for what solitude she had.

Nita sat in the corner of the cafeteria, chair backwards, and rather wishing Gaius had finished making more tail-friendly seating. She had her normal salad with bamboo and leafy greens, as well as a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, which was oddly comforting for its familiarity.

Tristan was famished. It took willpower not to run to the cafeteria. Instead, he opted for taking quick, large steps to get there. He had a cigarette tucked behind an ear, ready to be smoked after a what he hoped to be a nice dinner.

He didn't bother looking around once he was inside. Just made a straight dash to the food. He wasn't sure what half of it was and settled on a couple apples and a dinner roll. He had an apple in mouth by the time he turned around to scan the large room.

A girl was sitting nearby, clearly in some sort of costume, though he couldn't see her from that way she was sitting. He took a hearty bite out of the apple before calling out to the woman, "Hey, care for some company?" He'd sure like to meet someone else playing in this movie. He made his way over and took a seat before she had time to answer.

Nita looked up from her sandwich, surprised to be greeted by an unfamiliar voice. "Uh, sure," she replied, not that it mattered, since the guy was already sitting down. At least he wasn't freaking out about her fur or tail. Figuring he must already be among the initiated, Nita adopted a friendly manner.

"I'm Nita. You must be pretty new." She gestured vaguely at herself, as if that would explain her comment.

"Howdy, Nita," Tristan greeted. "Yup, I'm the new guy. Not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here while I wait for my costume. Getting kind of angsty really. Finally someone to talk to at least, eh?"

Tristan wondered if the woman before him was beautiful. Most actresses were, weren't they? Would she be a light skinned beauty or more exotic? The costume was pretty interesting, fit well against her body. Looked realistic as all hell. They spared no expense for this movie, did they? The hair looked real too, perhaps that was real. Red headed, pale woman. Not bad. Probably had cute freckles in the most shameless places. Tristan took a bite of his apple and forced his thoughts to clear. He wasn't in that line of work anymore. He needed to see beyond such things.

Costume. Oh s**t. So he didn't know after all.

"Oh boy," Nita began. "A costume? Is that what they told you?" Deliberately ignoring his wandering eyes, the girl went back to her salad.

She shook her head, wondering how she got herself into these situations. "Wait, before I proceed to shatter your illusions, what's your name?"

"Oh, I apologize. I'm Tristan Wylde. And I was under the assumption that all this," he waved his hand as he spoke, "was part of a movie set. That, or I'm a part of some elaborate hoax. I believe this Richard Harris might be behind it. Soon after I received a notice from him on my door, I realized some of my items, items mentioned in this letter, was gone. Things aren't exactly adding up. Not exactly how I pictured a movie set to be."

This woman was probably part of the prank. He should probably humor her. "Feel free to shatter my illusions. I'm all ears." They sure seemed serious on this island, even in their humor.

"Nice to meet you, Tristan," Nita said automatically. "But yeah. The only 'hoax' is this place being a movie set. This whole island is a giant experiment, turning people into animal hybrids."

She paused, waiting for Tristan's reaction. Would he believe her? And what on earth had Richard been up to? Hopefully he was being more tactful with other islanders than he had been with her.

Tristan broke out into laughter before trying to stop out of consideration to the female and her serious attempt. "That's priceless. Really. You guys try so hard. I admire that. But in the real world? This kind of thing doesn't happen. It's not even possible. The media would be all over this like bees to honey."

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end though. Hadn't that doctor, Moreau was it, said something similar to that effect? That the movie was based on a true story? That his great aunt.. used to work here? Of course, it was a relative he never heard of, one that there was no proof of having existed. So it could just be an elaborate ploy but then.. if it was.. why him? Tristan was no one special. Who'd take such lengths to do this to him? Still, this kind of thing just wasn't possible.

"If you're not in a costume, prove it," he stated. To be honest, he couldn't tell what kind of costume she was in. Resembled a raccoon, sort of. He hated that he came off a bit childish, but really, that was the most obvious place to find some sort of answers, right?

Nita's eyes narrowed slightly. Sure, it was hard to believe at first, but laughing in her face like that wasn't necessary. Her face flushed, not that it was visible underneath the fur.

"Unfortunately, it is possible. And the media doesn't know. Or if anyone finds out, they end up here too." She spoke as calmly as she could, trying not to lose her temper. Tristan was new; he didn't know.

"And it's not a costume." Nita held out one arm towards him, displaying the dark claws obviously growing from her fingertips and the fur, which was far too close to the skin to be fake. "See? The tail's attached, too," she said, the barest hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Okay, so everyone that finds out is brought here, I can understand that. But what the hell would that have to do with me? I'm nobody special. Just a wannabe actor. Why would they go through all the trouble of bringing me here, staging this s**t up? It doesn't fit. I'm sorry but I'm skeptical. I mean no insult. The costume work they did on you is top notch. I don't deny that it looks real, but that's the point, it's supposed to look real. They have come up with some amazing s**t these days."

Tristan took another bite from his apple and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, say I believe you, which I don't, but that's the point of an idea. Just how many people are here? What do they get out of doing this? What exactly does 'this' entail? How the hell do they get say, you, to turn into.. well, a raccoon?"

Nita shrugged. "I don't know why they'd bring you here. I don't know you. Hell, I was just a college student." She sighed and poked at the remains of her sandwich. It didn't seem quite so appetizing anymore.

"It is real," she insisted. "It all has to do with the injection you got when you arrived." Nita looked pointedly at Tristan's upper arm.

"And I'm turning into a red panda," the girl muttered.

Injection.. in the upper.. arm. But that was just.. precautions, to help against diseases and such that could be found on this island. Instinctively, Tristan rubbed his arm.

"If this is true.. there's more of you.. right? More.. creatures, red pandas.. people," he quickly corrected,"that are similar? Surely this is some kind of prank?"

Tristan reached over and peered closely to Nita's own arm before feeling it between his thumb and first finger. It sure felt real. He could feel the skin underneath and there was nothing like glue, nothing like cloth.

"I'm sorry."

He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. Touching her? Laughing at her? Questioning her? Sorry that if this is true, this happened to her? Sorry for what? This couldn't be real. Things like this didn't happen. Like the creature before him, he too, found he lost his appetite.

Nita nodded slowly as Tristan rubbed his arm. It seemed something had struck a chord, something seemed true.

"There are a lot of us. Everyone but the newest people to the island have changed..." She frowned sympathetically. "You will, too, before too long."

She held still, letting him inspect her arm again. "Whatever number duplex you're in? There are at least that many of us here, and most of us changed at least once. I've been here since April..." Nita trailed off, reclaiming her arm.

Tristan didn't want to believe this, but to find out what's going on, he would need all the facts possible. If what she said was true.. there was a lot of them. "I'm in Duplex seventy-one," he commented, barely above a whisper. How could so many people become victims of.. whatever this is with no one to find out. It was incredible. Too incredible to be real. Surely one of them would have been well known. Surely they could be traced in some way. Some clue to where they went. Didn't his own agent know where he was going? But then again.. he hadn't heard from Jacobson since then and the contact information was in an email.

"Does it just happen out of the blue? The changes, that is. Does it.. hurt? Do they tell you what.. you will become? Has anyone.. died from it?" He had a lot of questions going through his mind. It's not that he believed her, but some of the situations.. it certainly warranted more looking into. "Did it hurt for you?" He couldn't help but feel bad for the young woman. At least, she sounded young by her voice.

"Seventy-one," Nita repeated, stunned. How could there be that many people already? That many lives permanently derailed? She sat for a moment, idly twisting the ends of a lock of hair, pulling her thoughts together. Of course she had given this explanation several times before, but it difficult every time.

"Well... It's usually a surprise. They must knock us out or something, because there were two times I changed without knowing I'd been injected. I did know what I was going to be though, because I called the labs and asked. A lot of people don't... but I wanted to know." She nodded in emphasis, keeping her eyes on Tristan's face. Not only was she searching for his reaction, but also attempting to impart her sincerity.

Nita's gaze flickered to her own body which had changed so much, particularly through her last transformation. "Oh, it hurts. Fur itches, tails hurt, and gaining a good thirty pounds all at once is a serious b***h."

Tristan was an actor, trained in all ways to put up a front at any given time, yet here he could not. She seemed so sincere, so genuine. If she was an actress, she was a damn good one. But there was no cameras here, no crew. No stage hands, no assistants. Nothing. He hadn't seen anything along the lines of a director, producer. Hadn't been handed a script. There was truth to what she said. He might not want to believe it, some of it was too spectacular, though not in a good way.

"What do you think of it now?" He didn't know where the curiosity came from but he wanted to know if she liked what she became. Perhaps it was from the idea that crazy a** doctor planted into his head. Surely he wouldn't have had an aunt that.. did things like this. But it would explain whey they'd be interested in him. Man, he had a lot of thinking to do.

Nita took a deep breath, relieved that Tristan seemed convinced. She didn't mind answering questions now that his curiosity was peaked and he wasn't mocking her. Once more poking at her salad, she attempted a small smile.

"The changes themselves? Well... I guess I'm one of the "lucky" ones. I'm still a mammal, and, I deal, I guess. It definitely takes some getting used to." Nita shrugged, doing her best to stay positive, or at least neutral. What she was saying probably wasn't terribly reassuring, but she would try not to freak him out too badly. Some of the more strange-looking inhabitants would do that, no doubt.

Tristan leaned back in his chair and plucked the cigarette from his ear. He wasn't even sure if he could smoke in here but at this point, he didn't really care. He needed a cigarette. He scooted his chair back to get the smoke further away from the female before him. His nerves weren't in as much control as he'd have liked.

"That doctor fellow, Moreau, I believe it was.. he said that I had a great aunt that was working with one of his relatives once. On this island. That she sorta did this kind of s**t. He didn't get into the details because I didn't believe him, wasn't an aunt I had ever heard of. Of course, my father never talked about anything related to his family." Tristan paused for a moment to light his cigarette and take a long draw from it.

"He said that this 'movie' was based on a real story. Nice sense of humor, that one," Tristan stated dryly, "I don't want to believe this is real, to be honest. I'd jump for joy if you came out bullshitting me, claiming you're an actress, and those doors burst open with a shitload of camera men, but that's not going to happen, is it?"

Tristan didn't know what to think, to be honest. His hands were beginning to shake. It had been a long time since his nerves had been on end like this. In fact, he was sure the last time was back when he was at home.. around his father. "I thought this was my lucky break," he muttered, more to himself than to Nita.

Nita's nose wrinkled at the smoke, but intellectually she knew he probably needed it, and she appreciated the effort to keep it away from her. In any case, she wasn't about to call him on it.

"Really?" she asked, incredulous. "I didn't know this sort of, ah, research was a family trait for Moreau. But if this aunt of yours really did exist, Moreau's probably telling the truth. Seems like something he'd do, or at least it would have put you on his radar, as it were. Hm." Nita sat back, mulling over this new information. It was interesting enough to break her, at least temporarily, out of her slump.

"Well, there are cameras," she told him, holding up a hand to stall any misunderstandings. "But not for a movie. They watch us, up at the labs; it's part of the experiment. It bothered me for a long time, but I mostly try to forget about them now."

Tristan nodded. "My name is a family tradition, from my father's side, and has been in the family for generations, that's all I know from it. And this aunt would have been on that side. That in itself would have made me easy to track. Pisses me off that some ******** psycho doctor would know more about my family's history than I do. I guess if this is real, what he said about my aunt could be real. But if so, if my aunt did this.. why would it be done to me? Helluva way to pay someone back for their work and commitment, I'd think."

"So.. they watch us like some damn reality tv show? That's ******** up. ********. Surely these cameras can be found and.. trashed? Are they going to watch me when I take a piss? When I need a shower? When I need to relieve some tension? This is bullshit. They are ******** psychotic." Tristan tossed his cigarette on the floor and squished it with his boot. "I'm not a godamn lab rat." He took a moment to try to calm down. This girl didn't deserve his bitching. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to get upset towards you. This is just a lot to take in at once. This Moreau fellow, he knew things.. things he shouldn't. How the hell does a guy like that get connections without no one knowing what the hell he's doing here? How does he get the money to fund all this? I just don't see how all this could happen without someone outside knowing. What the hell is going to happen to me." The last part came off as a statement more than a question. The woman mentioned she was a mammal, so that implied others were.. not. What exactly would he find on this island? This young woman had a lot of humanity left to her, but would they all.. be like her? Or would some be wild and dangerous? Would he become wild and dangerous?

Nita shrugged a single shoulder. "Maybe she screwed up somehow, or maybe Moreau just thought it would be funny. Not so great for you, whatever happened." She sniffed, an amused, sort of sardonic half-laugh.

"They've got people watching the monitors all the time, ready to intervene if someone does anything dangerous." Except it didn't work so well for Fiona and Angharad, she thought bitterly. No need to mention that, though.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Nita said sympathetically. "And I have no idea how he manages all of this. All of what I know comes from little bits of information, pieced together over the last six months."

Jesus. Had it really been that long?

The young woman pushed her plate aside and finished her drink. "Sorry to be the one to dump all of this on you, but... Better to know what's going on, I think?" Her tone raised at the end, hoping Tristan wouldn't resent her for being the one to 'give the news,' as it were.

Six months. The idea of this woman being in this place for half a year was astounding. "Do they plan to keep you.. us here for the rest of our lives? Like caged animals at a zoo?" It was hard to categorize himself with her. Would that become easier in time? Would it ever become easy at all?

"I am thankful that you let me know, though perhaps, over a meal wasn't the best way to discuss it," he half-joked. "Really, it is nice to know that I might turn into something else one day, rather than it just happening out of the blue, you know?"

Tristan ran his hand through his hair. "It seems so surreal. Me, sitting here talking to.. a red panda woman." He couldn't go on, for fear of insulting the girl and she's really been nice to him, well, a bit apathetic at times but still, she seemed to have a niceness about her. She just.. didn't look much like a woman. Or maybe she did, but he just couldn't get beyond the animal qualities she had. It was just so damn weird.

This is what I get, he thought to himself for wanting out of porn. Wanting something better for myself. Heh, should have stuck to what I had. "This puts a whole new meaning to bestiality," he laughed though it had a hint of sarcasm to it. "Half the pervs in my old profession would probably eat this s**t up. Tyler Wilcott, Beast Master.. though I suppose, he's dead now. That was my alias," he explained, "when I was doing porn. See, I thought that this would be my break into real film."

What would his friends think of him missing? What would his mother think of him missing? She was a good woman that didn't deserve any of this s**t. What took place on this island was so cruel, not only to those here, but to friends and family of those here.

"You mentioned.. you were a college student? What.. how did you get here, if I may ask?" He wondered if everyone had a reason for being here or if some cases were completely random.

"I guess so, or until Moreau can go public with his 'research.'" Nita spat the last word. "Some people have already been here for a year or more and have changed all the way. Four times, that is."

She laughed. "You'd be surprised how many people find out over a meal, or drinks. It's where people tend to go first, see, and then they run into someone who's been here for a while, and bam. It is surreal," she agreed, sobering. "The range of people here is astounding, in and of itself, and when you add on the degrees of transformation..." Nita shrugged again, wryly. "It's a pretty whacked-out place. At least it's big, I mean, they did pick a pretty nice island to trap us all on." For all of her animalistic features, Nita was still very much herself, a young woman with an enquiring mind and an odd sense of humor.

"You were in porn?" Nita flushed slightly, not that it would be visible. "Were you, ah, well-known enough to cause a stir by going missing?

"I was at OSU- Ohio State-" she clarified, "In my third year, and I was supposed to go on a sort of independent study-slash-study abroad thing. And while this has certainly been educational, it wasn't exactly what the brochure promised." Nita rolled her eyes, wondering, and not for the first time, how she could have been so mistaken. Had her guidance counselor known what she was doing when she recommended the program? Had she been bought off by Feral Labs, or was it really all an innocent mistake?

"Four times? You change FOUR TIMES? All the same.. animal?" They ******** tortured people on this island, that's what they did. Sadistic ********. If he ever saw that red headed doctor again, he'd kill him.

"Yeah," Tristan answered, "I was. Not something to be proud of or anything, but it was a living. College, nice, what were you studying? I never even finished high school. Ohio girl, eh, I was originally from West Virginia." He was a little curious if her major had anything to do with her being on the island. He also liked the fact that she wasn't.. a city girl. Well, not a big city girl. They seemed to have more.. substance than the girls he had known in California. Girls he'll never know again. It was entirely too depressing.

"This is the result of my third change, and it's probably the most drastic one so far. I had to get a bunch of new clothes and even then, they needed to be altered a bit." Nita made a face, although she was rather proud of herself for being able to to it on her own- and that her hands were still suited for such delicate work.

"Not too far from me, then! I'm from Columbus, lived there just about my whole life. So I didn't exactly go very far for college. I was majoring in English, with a minor in Comparative Religion."

Tristan had no clue what Comparitive Religion was but her majors didn't seem the type that would end up here. Perhaps she was just.. a guinea pig for that twisted doctor. Tristan couldn't wait to get his hands around that mans neck. Did he not care what he put this woman through? Or the others on the island.. or him?

"I need to get back to my duplex, Nita." More like a cage than an apartment, he thought with a grimace. "Thank you for.. letting me know about all this. I just.. how to put this.. really need some time alone. No offense. It was.. nice meeting you. I hope we meet again." He was sincere on the last part. Despite the oddness of her appearance, she reminded him of home. That didn't happen too often.

He just need to get out. He was filled with confusion, pain and most of all anger. Not a good mix to be around any sort of woman. He pulled out a cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and turned to walk away. His walk was much slower and heavier than when he had entered.