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 Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:50 pm
When she started to sink down to the sand, Lucas followed, sitting down nearby.
"It's kind of hard for me to hate anyone. I'm more than a little upset at Duvert for lying to me and the labs tricking me, but I was also dumb enough to fall for the lie. And I poked my nose into something I shouldn't have. I guess what I'm more bothered by is how the labs have ruined other people's lives. How they've toyed with them." He recalled Emelyn's retelling of the lockout incident and how it had embittered her toward the labs and Moreau. He also thought of what Ambrose had told him on the first day there. Emerwyn also came to mind. Even though she said it did not bother her, he wondered if that was really the truth. Surely she missed her boyfriend and her family.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:54 pm
Her eyes rolled off Lucas as if the man had suddenly been coated with something slick- impossible to focus on- and instead fell upon the endless sea. In all the time she'd been on the island- well over a year, now... she'd never been to the beach. Even in the beginning, she'd arrived by helicopter- and never after had she stepped out into the sun- almost more figuratively than literally.
"They do... do that." She said. "The higher ups at the labs, anyway. They have a very... 'end justifies the means' sort of thing. Unfortunately- they're the ends." She moved her legs out from underneath her and tucked her knees- now warmed with the sun- up against her chest. "And we're the 'means'."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:04 pm
"Yeah..." He looked over at Bia and studied her for a moment. There was something about this woman that bugged Lucas. He had no idea what. It wasn't a bad something, just a mystery about her that made him curious.
Not wanting to be caught staring, he turned his head to look over his shoulder to see the ocean. However, instead of an eyeful of water he got a good whiff of dog breath and a big black nose in his face. "Gah!" Lucas backed up, ready to gag. "Breath mints!"
Reuben just wagged his tail and turned his sights on the stranger. Fur sopping wet, he leapt over Lucas and went to greet this new person.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:08 pm
"Hi there pooch." Bia gave the dog's scruff a good ruffle, but kept her face tilted away and her chin pointed upwards to prevent the insistance of his tongue. Reuben just wiggled and tried, anyway- but Bia held him mostly at bay, scratching around his ears while her eyes left the ocean.
"Well... I'm sure you could find out what you're becoming," she said softly, still looking at the dog, rather than Lucas.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:19 pm
Lucas rubbed his nose. He knew it was probably unlikely, but he still hoped that his sense of smell would not become any better than this. Out of all of his changes, his nose bothered him the most.
"Yeah, I could. I just balk every time I consider it, though. I make lots of excuses, but I'm not really sure why I won't call them." He shrugged. "Maybe I'm worried I'll have to ask Dr. Duvert and he'll just laugh."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:23 pm
"Dr. Lockheart is harder to get a hold of. ...But she'd be more likely to tell you outright." The dog settled in beside her, which surprised her somewhat- and she didn't quite know what to do with him, rather than lay a tentative hand on his coat and wonder if she was supposed to drag it down the dog's length or just let it sit there.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:31 pm
"Hey, he likes you." Lucas was more amazed that the dog was actually settling down.
"Dr. Lockheart?" He was sure he'd heard the name mentioned before, but he couldn't recall what he had heard about her. "Maybe..." He looked over at Bia. "What do you think I'm turning into?" He chuckled, not really expecting a response.
"I wonder if I should just let whatever will happen happen and not worry about it. Whether or not I find out, I'm still going to turn into it."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:33 pm
"I would say...something canine." She lay her cheek on her knees, bending over into a curl as she faced Reuben. "And obviously a red one." A part of her had already decided to avoid the case of letting the others know who she was and where she'd come from- there was just too much that she wouldn't be able to explain.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:49 pm
Lucas stared at her for a moment. Even though he wondered about what he was becoming everyday, he had never really gave it a lot of thought. He would, of course, cross off possibilities, but he realized he always tried to avoid making guesses. All he would allow himself to accept was the obvious, like remaining mammalian and that he might be something carniverous, due to his increased taste for meat.
"Canine?"
Not that Lucas disliked dogs, he didn't really mind them, but becoming one...? Of course, he still wasn't exactly thrilled that he'd become any kind of animal, but a dog? He looked down at Reuben.
"Uh... maybe a dog. Might even be, uh..." He tried to think of another possibility, but now all he could think about were dogs.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:52 pm
"...Dingo. Wolf. Regular canid. ...Dhole." She said them quickly, as if they were being rattled out of a pool of guessing, and not the shallow drips of memory that reminded her of the specifics on his file. "But you never know. In any case, at least you're mammalian." She paused then, and took her hand off the dog. "I'm sorry. I hate it when people say 'at least' in a bad situation. As if it makes it better."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:57 pm
The youth raised an eyebrow. "What on earth is a dhole?" He'd never heard that before. Had he?
"To be truthful, after my change, I also thought 'at least I'm mammalian'. I had been worried up until my change that Sabin had picked something like a platypus or squid for me."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:01 pm
"It's a type of wild dog. I think." She shrugged with a certain sense of honesty that she was grateful to be able to express. "I've never known that much about animals." Any other person might have gone on to explain what was their 'thing'- someone who did not hate the idea of needless words would have told Lucas that they liked science, but were more 'chemical' in interest, less earth/life sciences. But Bia said nothing of the sort.
"Well, I don't know who chose my serum. It could have been any of the higher ups. For all I know, I am going to be a platypus or a squid."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:07 pm
"Animals aren't my thing, either.
Lucas inwardly winced. Way. To. Go. "Sorry... I'm sure it won't be anything bad. Think positively."
He dug his fingers into the sand. Him and his big mouth.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:09 pm
She sat up straight- pulled her cheek from where it rested on her knees.
"No." Her voice was calm. "Really, it's okay. I'm not worried about it."
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:13 pm
He nodded. Instead of letting it become quiet and even more awkward, he decided to ask what he hoped was a simple question. It didn't seem like Bia would be upset by it, but one never knew.
"What brought you to the Island?"
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