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Sometimes- it seemed to Em that her entire life had been swallowed by the expanse of ocean paired with the long stretch of sand that was the edge of Moreau's Island. More often than not, the girl found herself here- collecting food, bathing, or just staring out at the horizon... and thinking.

On that day, she had only just come down from the mountain- Reuben was still asleep up in the cave- with the intention of checking her drying rack. It was nice to have a little something for the dog when he woke up, to tide him over until her next big fishcatch. But on that day, something else distracted her- the sight of a girl walking along the sandy main- also, it seems, deep in thought. And deep in change.

Emelyn raised a hand as she hopped off the final rock that connected with the sand. She didn't call out- not yet- but walked towards the girl, wondering what she was becoming, more every step as her features solidified.

"And you," Emelyn said, a pleased lilt to her voice as she found herself suddenly immersed in an almost poised atmosphere, born from those first few, almost meticulous words from the newcomer's lips, and the minute bow. The notion didn't occur to the hedgehog-girl in words, but it made her comfortable- almost at ease- to move out of the 'survival mode' that had surrounded her all these many months, and into a dignified, human setting. The cameras that watched the islanders without fail might pick up on this meeting- but not that human quality to it, or how they had summarily put aside their animal features to be something more- or less- than the 'sum of their parts'.

"I'm Emelyn." She saw the way the girl had worried the edge of her sweater, as if the singular attention to the fabric would give her strength. "...I'm sorry if I startled you. I was just coming down off the mountain."

Emelyn nodded, a smile on her face and her eyes on Natsumi's. It was just another part of her subconscious desire to have some slight sanctuary from the world of Moreau- to pretend they were simply two women conversing, rather than a mishmosh of DNA just trying to survive in a hostile environment. The typical 'once over' that islanders traditionally gave one another- would not come from Emelyn this time.

"It's a nice place to think," she said, not referencing Natsumi's apparent amazement at her having come off the mountain with anything more than that cursory nod. "All that ocean, all that view." She looked out, then, to the endless blue against blue- wincing in the light, but still afixing her stubborn eyes to that seeming eternity.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? ...The horizon, I mean." She turned back to look at Natsumi after a moment, her smile replaced by another- somewhat sadder one. "But doesn't that say something... when the most beautiful thing around... is the sight of the furthest away you could go...."

For a moment, Emelyn thought that there were tears in the girl's eyes. But then she recognized that sort of half-blinking, downward tilt of the head that she herself had to strain against- having been stubborn enough to experience it herself on a daily basis. It seemed she and Natsumi had something else in common, besides their commonality in 'thinking places': that stubborn human streak that caused them to rebel agains their animal weakness.

"The sun bothers me, too," Em admitted- a delicate step into the realm of their transformations. "There's a shady bit next to the mountain. If it's not interrupting, would you like to come sit?" She smiled again, a friendly gesture to the poignantly strangely featured- yet beautiful girl. "I have some dried berries over near my drying rack- we can have an impromptu little sit-in."

Emelyn gave a deep nod, then lead Natsumi to the shaded area created by an overhang of rock that jutted forth from the great mountain. It was a favorite spot of Reuben, that shady enclosure- and that thought drew Emelyn's eyes briefly upward- towards the cave she knew was not visible from this angle, yet still, she looked homewards: wondering if Reuben had awoken, yet. But there was no sign of the brown and white fuzz-bucket, so she ducked under the overhanging and sat, reaching out to draw the basket nearer to her as she did.

Her drying rack was right next to them- no more than a few feet away- and on it, several flayed and salted fish hung over the makeshift poles, waiting for the sun to ready them for Emelyn's saving and consumption. Em normally would have explained it- it was a strange sight, after all. But with their little mock charade of normalcy- the thought didn't even cross her mind.

"Berry?" She offered a shallow handful of the small, sweet reds to the girl.

Normally, Emelyn might have noticed the momentary change of expression on the girl's face- if only for that polite smile and proprietary face. She herself would go to any ends not to inconvenience anyone, or to offend another soul. So she would have recognized that put-upon smile. ...If she wasn't focused back out on the ocean.

"Do you like to swim?" She asked gingerly, not intendnig to return to the water- but still, intent to have a conversation with this girl that did not include the harsh realities of the island. She also tread lightly forth with the question, hoping that whatever her transformation was... didn't hinder her, or make the question a sad one.

"Hm." Emelyn said, realizing that her thinly-laid plans were already caving through. There was little she could say to keep the subject completely off the table. Anything at this point that she had to say, without seriously skewing off into the inane... would either refer to the situation at hand- or remind Natsumi of what she'd left behind. So Emelyn sighed, and wrapped her fingers around themselves and dropped them to her lap.

"So how long have you been here, now, Natsumi?" The girl may not have been swimming since she left the old 'school pond'- but now, she would have little choice but to dive in to this conversation. Emelyn only hoped that she could 'swim'.