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Gaius flexed an arm proudly and grinned. "I've been working on making some specialized furniture for islanders! Chairs that'll fit tails and stuff like that... my first couple attempts haven't been very comfortable, and kinda fall apart, but I think I'm getting closer to getting it right! And anything to keep my hands busy on this island is welcomed..." His face dropped slightly. "I was working on ideas of escape, but it's been ages since I had word from any of my contacts... I'm kinda worried. I don't want to get caught by the labs, you know?" Out here by the water, Gaius doubted there were any cameras nearby. How could they be overheard so far from the trees and buildings?

"She's in the labs?" he blinked. "Was it something serious?"

"And I'm from Pennsylvania, though I grew up mostly in Arizona. I went east for school and then work, doing a lot of building-related projects. Was hoping to make a name for myself as an architect someday..." He shrugged. It was something that was still sore to think about, but he'd have to accept it sooner or later. "I'm hoping I can try to keep it up here, but there's not much need for work, far as I can tell..."

"Hm, yeah..." Gaius rubbed at his neck, glancing around. "But... eh. I figured how much can they really watch? The beach is pretty dang big... But then, I'm not exactly the best at covert stuff. It's not working out much anyways..." He winced and shrugged, knowing it was probably better to be careful, like Lucas advised.

He frowned at the mention of an injury. That had to be bad, to be taken to the labs... "It's good that she has a friend like you to worry about her. I'm sure she appreciates it."

"Hmm... hedgehog, huh?" He scratched at an ear. "They're like porcupines, right? Spikey? I wonder how a chair would work with those..." That would be quite a problem to solve. He looked back at Lucas, noting the ears. "You going... canine? Or feline? It's hard to tell..." He gave a sheepish smile and scratched at the hair along the back of his neck. "Heh, I guess a tail is kinda inevitable, huh?"

"Neh?" His expression looked confused. He turned slightly to look back over his shoulder, giving the little limb that poked through the crude hole he'd cut in the back a swish. "Yeah, weird is a good word for it. To be able to feel it and control it..."

At the same time, his wing-like protrusions gave a feeble moement, stretching back slightly before refolding. Gaius winced. "Control does take some practice..."

He let out a small sigh. "It's... I wonder when I got so used to them... I guess dealing with it every day will do that. But I don't want to grow complacent, you know?" He looked up at Lucas with eyes that searched him hopefully for a similar feeling. "I don't want to just let this happen... Not if I can help it. It's so easy to just roll over when life is so slow here, you know?"

The flat-nosed man blinked, his ears twitching back slightly. "The animal instincts? I... I'd never though about that..." It was true, all of his worries had been focussed on the physical aspects, it had never occured to him that they might be turning him into an animal in mind as well. Sure, Ambrose had mentioned it, but in all likelyhood, Gaius had forgotten it in the midst of everything else. "Just, uh, what do you mean by instincts? Just diet stuff, right?"

Gaius listened intently, his worried expression darkening as he absorbed the information. "So... whatever I am... it's going to affect how I act?"

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Marshall's determined saying 'you'll always be who you are' seemed suddenly far less certain. How could he stay himself if even his mind was being taken?

He smiled sadly at Lucas's assurance and shrugged. "Thanks, I guess... I don't know what I'd do if I started attacking people..." Like Zach... "...I hope you stay strong, Lucas. In your fight. And... yeah, thanks. Now I know what I need to watch out for, at least." Gaius shrugged again and looked down, once again turning his attention to the little dog. He gave it a light scratch between the ears, a bit of his smile returning as the dog seemed to radiate happyness. "We'll beat this yet, huh?"

"I hope that's the case..." Gaius said, though he didn't look convinced.

A cool breeze off the ocean caught Gaius from behind, sending a shiver up his wet back and making what hairs that weren't plastered down stand up. He straightened back up, rubbing a hand over his bare arm. "Brr! Much as I like the water, it's always hard getting back out."

He gave Lucas a friendly, if not quite cheerful, smile and offered a hand to shake in parting. "It was good to meet you... and thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I hate being left in the dark."

"Aye! The party!" Gaius nodded. Hm, he'd have to get a costume for that...

He watched Lucas go, then went ahead and fetched the towel and sandals waiting on the beach. Lifting his head, Gaius took a deep breath, taking in the tangy, clean evening air. Despite all the things weighing on his mind, it gave him a sense of exhiliration. Tossing the towel over his shoulder, Gaius took off back to the village at a jog, a grin spreading across his face. Not beat yet!

Aislinn hobbled down the path to the beach. Finally, she'd managed to get everything organized the way she liked it. She'd thought about going to the intercom to ask Dr. Duvert about sending a message to her family so that she could have them send some decorative touches for her room...but the beach really had called to her, so she'd put on her swimsuit and headed there instead.

The swimsuit itself was a bikini in bright rainbow shades, a find she'd been quite proud of when she located it as she felt it depicted her own bright nature. The leg brace and cane sort of detracted from the overall look, but she tried not to think about that-- soon it'd all be fixed!

The beach itself was fairly empty, though Aislinn spotted another young woman lying not too far away. She looked perfectly content on her own with her technology, but the Vietnamese woman figured that if she were going to sit anywhere, it might as well be close by. She was still at a fair distance, though, to give the other privacy.

She got out her towel, trying not to disturb the woman-- who appeared to be asleep-- and set about putting it down in the sand. Something was a little disconcerting about her, but at this distance she couldn't really place it.