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 Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:15 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:16 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:17 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:19 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:23 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:28 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:30 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:31 pm
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:38 pm
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Meetings
Ambrose briefly meets Father Stewart and Joliette, and speaks with Hargun
Stewart didn't know how to react when he saw the newest member to the group. The voice was of a normal human girl, but she appeared to be some kind of demon. Clutching his Rosary in one hand and stepping backward. Stewart began to recite the Lord's Prayer, it was the only thing keeping him from screaming. What was this place? Hell?!?
Awen quickly stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on the preacher' shoulder. "Calm down now.... It's okay. This is Hargun, she's not going to hurt you." She said softly to him. "She's an islander." Awen gulped a little bit. "Just calm down..." She looked up at Hargun and gave her a little smiled greeting. Hesitant though from the night before. "Hey Har..."
"Thats what the immunization is aparently supposed to do.. She's a bat" Joliette added quietly and looked towards Hargun unsure if she should be upset with her or not "Hi Hargun" she added
Hargun paused and quirked a brow at the man apparently freaking out. "Hi Awen, Joliette." she looked down and sighed. "Hey, Im.. Im really sorry about the other night Awen. I didnt mean for things to go outta hand like that, and such.." she turned to Joliette. "And so now you know the truth I presume? I bet you really dont like me now." she said with a lame grin.
"No...No way" He said still not believing what he was seeing "There is no way a shot can do this, no tool of man can cause that. She is obvisouly posessed."He said, attempting to connect it all.
Ambrose had had a long day previously, and set out of his duplex the next afternoon, surprised as he saw a large group forming in the middle of their 'village.' He was dressed in a short-sleeved polo and long khakis, but that did little to hide his feral appearance. Swallowing, and telling himself again that he would have to get used to this, he approached the group, despite the fact that Hargun was the only one there that he knew that well And her last reaction had been less than comforting. "H... Hi guys.." He said mustering courage, and looking warily at the two completely unfamiliar faces.
Awen turned to Andy as he approched Oh..crap. She smiled breifly to him but grabbed the preachers shoulders. "Hey Andy!" She said quickly. "Newlings to the island." She started pulling the preacher away. "I think he needs some air." She was all for the truth but not this, especially not for a religious person, he's acting like they're demons. "Hey How about we get you a glass of water?"
Joliette turned and blinked, ok somehow she should be startled or maybe surprised, the day before she would have thought it a costume but now she knew better. "Bye Awen... Father" she said to them her mind still distracted by the approaching male
Hargun looked rather pitiful now. Maybe Awen was still mad at her, or itwas just that freaked out man. She waved anyways. As soon as Ambrose appeared though she leapt and runned over to him and stared him in the eyes. "Ambrose, I am REALLY sorry about when we were talking with Greer! Im sorry!" she repeated. "I shouldnt have freaked out like I did.. but can you forgive me please?" she asked, putting on a bit of a dramatic show in front of Joliette, but didnt quite care.
Ambrose did a doubletake at the new figure that was being quickly ushured away by Awen. Dear God, it was a priest. His tail immediately tucked and that self-consciousness returned. Maybe.. it was for the best that he was leaving. But before he could say anything or introduce himself, Hargun was in his face. His expression softened, and his tail even wagged a little. "It... it's fine Hargun." He smiled. "Really. I.. I appreaciate your apology. I was just... I was just overly sensitive ... it was right after my change... and I know we're all going through a tough time. To be honest... situations reversed, I might have done the same thing. There's no right or wrong way to feel. I'm glad you were honest." He patted her on the shoulder, then.. realized that another new face was still there.
Joliette heard the name and it clicked easily. with a inhale of breath she walked towards the pair "So you are the Ambrose I keep hearing the name of... " she said biting her lip a lil
Hargun sighed with relief. The guilt had been nagging at her for several days now and getting out helped a lot. "Okay... good to hear I didnt completely offend you." She then turned to Joliette and held out her arm. "This here is Joliette. New to the island. No longer to the plot." she said with a sympathetic frown.
Ambrose nodded. The apology did help... and really, he couldn't blame Hargun. It had been eating at him, but he wouldn't tell her. She coudl get used to him... and they could continue here. Be some semblance of happy Ambrose gave a small bow with a smile to Joliette. "You've heard of me? I'm not sure if I should be flattered or worried." He gave an awkward laugh. "When did you arrive?"
Joliette scratched her scalp and looked a lil embarrassed specifically for the whole movie thing "Yeah, Mr DiRossi said he had to go get you, and Amaya was refering to you... I got here midday yesterday"
Hargun nodded along to what she was saying, then exclaimed. "She had a boat.. but after m her and the Dude went looking for it we couldnt find it... You havent seen it along the beaches have you Ambrose?" she asked.
"OH!" Ambrose said, realization dawning. "That was YOUR boat?? Vasile came to get me... we ran to the beach to see... but by the time we got there Moreau had already found it... was dissassembling it! I'm so sorry.. Unlike most of us, you weren't brought here... and you didn't even crash here. You had a boat, a way off... because you stopped now you're in the mess with the rest of us." He winced. "Vasile tried to approach the boat, despite Moreau's warnings. All he got for his courage was put to sleep like the Dude was at the party..." Ambrose sighed. "He hadn't known about that..."
"Oh no... well I guess I dont have to ever worry about my credit rating anymore anyways" she sighed "Yeah, course I didn't even know I was trapped here till like this morning" She nodded
"No way! He used the sleeping thing on Vasile too?!" Hargun shouted, looking quite disturbed. "Hes.. hes ******** crazy!" she sputtered. It was supising once, but a second time.. it was becoming creepily repetitive.
"That's one way to look at it at least.." Ambrose said sympathetically. "And I agree, Hargun. He's getting worse, if you ask me. Since the party. He's taking this too far." His ears pressed back against his head, his lip taking a bit of a curl to it as he spoke. "He seems to be enjoying abusing his power even more than he used to. And I want to know how the hell he's doing this to us." He finished adamantly. With a sigh he shook his head. "Anyway. I'm sorry about this, Joliette. But... if you need anything, at least us subjects, despite our appearances, are pretty friendly.." "But unfortunatley I was on my way to go by the entertainment room... check something out there. I'll see you around, I'm certain."
Joliette nodded "Yes I've noticed the kindness thusfar.. It was nice to finally meet you ambrose... " she hesitated a moment then stuck her hand out to him
Hargun tried to smile. "Hopefully we'll knock him off his throne soon enough." she said and gave Ambrose a hug before saying, Take care man!"
Ambrose smiled, glad she had the courage to initiate a touch, and reached out his own furry hand to shake hers. "It was nice meeting you as well." He squeezed for a moment before parting, and, after returnin the hug to Hargun waved to the two of them. "Take care. I'm around if you need me for anything!" And trotted off towards the side of the large building in the middle of the village.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 12:30 pm
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Ground Zero in the Cafeteria
Taking a moment to be indoors for food, Greer sat at one of the cafeteria tables wolfing down cubes of steak. Having only her lower set of teeth she couldn't really chew, and so was forced to eat her meat the way she prepared it for the Dude's cat. This would have made her self-concious, but luckily no one else was in the room at the moment.
She apparently spoke too soon.
Jamal sauntered into the cafeteria looking somewhat sullen and moody, dressed in baggy jeans and an oversized black t-shirt with what looked to be the front view of a gun with the barrel pointed at the viewer...below that was some sort of graffiti-style writing that read something along the lines of "Dare me" in white lettering. His jewelry was all there in full force, but his doo-rag was gone, exposing his somewhat frizzy braids.
He went to browse the selection of food and grimaced. Dammit...never anything he wanted. After a bit of an argument with one of the cooks, the black man settled for some kind of meat sandwich and a plate of chips.
Glancing up from her food, Greer froze for a moment when she saw the man come in. ...she'd met him at the Halloween party briefly, hadn't she? God, what was his name... bah, she had no idea. He hadn't freaked out on her back then, which could be chalked up to plenty of things that didn't mean he wouldn't freak out now. Meep! Her human fears mixed with her hawkish testiness, and adreneline was soon pumping into her system.
Tugging nervously at the side lacings of the black halter top Emelyn had made her, Greer did her best to smile around the beak and waved to the new arrival. Please let this go well!
Jamal turned to look for a place to sit, half-hoping Awen was around so he could avoid the rest of the island population (well, the males anyway). However, he was greeted instead by a wave from a vaguely familiar face. What was her name...Gren or Gwen or something like that... And...why was she still wearing her halloween costume? The feathers and beak were eyed with mild apprehension, but he decided to ignore it. Maybe the woman really liked halloween....
"Yo," he said, picking up step to approach her table, giving her a stiff nod and trying his damnest to not outright ask why she was still in costume. "Mind if I sit herr?"
So far, so good. Greer wanted to hope this meant the fellow knew about the island's dirty little secret and was dealing with it, but prepared herself for the worst just in case.
"Not at all. Please!" She continued to smile, gesturing at the open seats. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name, Mr.-?"
"Thanks," he practically grunted and slipped into a vacant seat, his plate more or less haphazardly tossed onto the table in front of him. "Da name be Jamal...it a'ight you ain't 'memberin'. Can't say I 'member yo's otha' than it beginnin' wit' a G. You was at the hall'ween deal, righ?"
The black man picked at the top of his sandwich hesitantly. After halloween, he'd been leary to eat much of anything thanks to the bug-snacks that had been put out with the regular food during the party.
She nodded, tossing a few more bites of meat in her mouth and taking a sip of water. "I'm Greer. How have you been?"
"Yeah, dat be it...Greer." He smirked, proud to have remembered at least some close version of her proper name, and peeled a bit of crust off his sandwich.
"I be a'ight...but dis island be givin' me da creeps allova sudden. How long yous been at dis place?"
"Yeah, this place can be a bit unsettling at times." She rolled her eyes, chuckling a little. "How long have I been here? Hmm... almost three months now, I think. Wow. I hadn't realied it had been that long."
Frowning, Greer stared past Jamal's shoulder lost in thought. Three months... her mother probably thought she was dead by now. Mummy.
"Oh...I guess dat be a long time. I heard that dis place ain't dat old...so you onna da older peeps then." Older as in not age, but as in how long they'd been on the island...hopefully she understood.
"So...uh...yous must be likin' hall'ween," he said before finally picking his sandwich up and taking an experimental bite.
She blinked, jotling back to the present. "What? Older? Um yes, I'm one of the original islanders, as it were. I believe Ambrose beats me out for the title of numero uno, but it's pretty close."
She was babbling, which meant she was getting nervous. Eating a little more, she winced at Jamal's last comment. Ah. Crap. For once Greer wished she had less of a need to tell the truth. "You mean the beak and feathers? They're... they're not a halloween costume."
He arched a brow over his food, pausing before he took another bite. "Yous had 'em at the party. I figgered they be part of the party. Yous just like dressin' up like dat then?" Man...and people thought HE was weird.
A nervousness rose in his chest though. An uneasiness that reminded him vaguely of Awen's repeated insistance that there was something fishy going on here at the island. He sort of glanced at the long feathers draping from her arms, straining to see them better and prove to himself they were fake.
She shook her head, running a nervous hand through her hair and supressing the urge to hiss or flee. "No, they're not a costume. They're attached. Part of me."
Extending an arm, she put her hand in front of him and pointed at the feathers on the back of it with her other hand. "Feel. They're growing out of my skin."
Jamal lifted his brow so far that it was liable to disappear into his cornrows. As the rustling feathers were put in front of him, he stared. They....did....look like they were attached to her skin. He didn't see any glue, any tape, any staples.
"No ********' way," he said, a tone of disbelief coloring his tone as he hesitantly reached out to touch a few of the dark feathers. As they moved under his touch, yet remained firm to her skin, he suddenly recoiled, then gave her an accusatory look. "This ain't real...no way."
Ambrose really didn't have much reason to spend much time in the entertainment room. Admittedly, he had wanted to go back and check to make sure that there weren't any other nature books that might be useful to him before he really sat down to read. He had finally made the vow to himself that he would read up on wolves, it finally having sunk in just how in for it he was.
Finding nothing, he traveled to the cafeteria, now thorougly hungry.
As he entered, however, he saw Greer and... that new strange person who had been in the ghost costume at the party. He gave a nod to the man and a wave to Greer, picking up a big stack of meat from the lunch line before wandering over hesitantly, eying the .... black individual's reactions. He had barely spoken to him at the party - and he had seemed rather drunk then. But he had been here long enough... so he had to know the rundown... right?
Some part of Ambrose's upbringing also still gave him apprehensions. As much as he would deny being a racist, he just quite simply never really interacted much with black people where he was from...
Putting on a smile, he set his tray down with a nervous laugh. "This seat isn't taken... is it?"
Greer took her hand back, taking in a shaky breath to fight back the human tears in her throat and the prideful hawk rage boiling in her chest. "I wish I were lying to you, but I'm afraid I'm not. Whatever you were told about this island was a lie. We're all experiments here, and we're all being turned into animals."
Hearing a familiar voice, it was all Greer could do not to jump out of her seat. "Ambrose! Come sit."
Joliette capped her camera not figuring on using it in the cafeteria. She had waited for Hargun to get far enough away that it was doubtful the batgirl wanted to add anything to their conversation and then walked into the cafeteria... Her eyes were on her camera as she reset it's settings after being reloaded
Jamal ignored Ambrose when he came in...ignored him when he got his food...but couldn't ignore him as he spoke up and grabbed the disbelieving black man's attention. The man's reaction was immediate. His eyes were thrown wider than he ever thought possible and he nearly jumped backwards over the table behind them at the site of Ambrose. What. The. ********. He barely heard Greer's explaination.
"You...you...." he said in complete stammering gibberish, his mouth working like a goldfish. "Dis ain't funny. AIN'T FUNNY."
Ambrose's tail immediately went from wagging to Greer's enthusiastic invitation to Jamal's extreme reaction. But, biting the inside of his cheek (and afterwards realizing that was probably a bad idea), Ambrose seated himself.
Today, if nothing else, was certainly proving to be a test. If he could make it through all of this.... he'd be okay... right? Or perhaps it would break him... no... no, he had enough support here... enough strength of personality. He'd persevere, some hurt feelings aside.
Maybe Moreau was right, though.... if he ever went home again, though, Ambrose didn't think he'd be able to live with this sort of reaction from everyone he ever encountered. The only other option would be holing up somewhere... and how was that preferable to here... where at least there were people who could be his friend... and who could honestly understand what he was going through and not just feel awkward and - at best- treat him like some sort of cripple.
Ambrose swallowed again, organizing his thoughts as he turned to Jamal dead-serious. "It isn't intended on being so.... J.... Jamal, was it?" He reached back in his mind for the name. He started slicing the steaks before him. "I'm.... not sure if you remember me - you seemed to be somewhat drunk at the time... or even if you do if you recognize me... but we met at the Halloween party last week." He said, looking over to Greer.
At least, he thought, he was saving Greer from doing this alone. Jamal was, apparently, not quite informed. And he'd been here for some time already.
After taking a long shower, and changing into actual clothes, Vasile realized he was hungry, and a bit lonely. He was slowly getting over his aversion to cafeteria food, so he let Brutus out for a short walk, then headed over, hoping Ambrose, Cass, or Amaya were there.
Taking one of Ambrose's hands hostage, Greer tried to put down the feathers that were fluffing defensively at the back of her neck. "No, it isn't, but it's the life Doctor Moreau has given all of us. I'm sorry you had to be here."
Engrossed in the conversation, she didn't notice the entry of a girl she had yet to meet into the cafeteria.
Joliette looked up "Oh.. theres people here" she said quietly, she really only did recognize one of them even if their previous introduction was a brief one. "Hello" she said working up her confidence and heading towards the group
Jamal stared at Ambrose none too discretely, his face paling considerably.
"You...yous dat sword carryin' guy...? No ********' way. Yous ain't lookin' like dat at dat party...I knows I musta been a lil lit-up....but ******** no."
He almost glared at both Ambrose and Greer in succession, but the appearance of a normal human caused him to pause and sigh a breath of relief. He did not like this joke and he'd be damned if he didn't knock a b***h out if they kept this up and it didn't seem like the new girl was privy to the joke. The appearance of Vasile, however, was hardly comforting. He had a tail for christsake and Jamal could see it from where he stood, hands crossed defensively over his chest as he stared down the group of half animal people.
"I ain't findin' dis funny. Who put yous up to it...so help me if it been Awen, brotha gonna have some words..." Hands balled into fists as he spoke, a dangerous glint taking hold in his eyes.
Ambrose squeezed Greer's hand back in reassurance, giving her a sidelong apologetic glance for having to deal with this over a meal before turning back to Jamal.
"I... I'm sorry, Jamal. No... I wasn't like this at the party... well, not fully at least." He said, putting his free hand to his temple. "But honestly. THis isn't a joke. I wish it were. I wish that these were just costumes that we could take off as we wished, and that we could return home when we wanted. But it's not. And it's going to happen to all of us." He drove the point in. "I'm turning into a wolf... Greer a hawk." His eyes caught two figures emerging through the door and he smiled to Vasile. Excellent! Another friend in the know who might be able to help, especially seeing as how he had been in the dark for so long as well. And the young boat woman as well who, at least, seemed to be taking all of this quite well.
Ambrose picked up his fork, and took a large bite of steak, flashing his long, curved canines as he opened wide for the large bite.
Greer was an inately calm and peaceful soul, but when agitated found the hawk's vicious, predatory nature hard to control. Rocketing to her feet she knocked her chair back, hissing and practically spitting. "This isn't a ******** joke, you a**! This is real! That shot you got when you first arrived wasn't a vaccine, it was a serum praparing you to change! You're mutating, just like the rest of us, so you better pull your head from your rear and goddamn realize it!"
She wanted to tear something living to pieces, but Ambrose's hand in hers pulled her back to herself. Righting her chair Greer resumed her seat, quietly fuming as she swallowed her food. Self-centered b*****d! Did he think this crap was all about him?
Joliette slowed near the table... Had she walked in on another arguement, it seemed like it. She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a brief moment taking a deep breath. She was only a few feet away but didn't want to interrupt for lack of a desire to get her own head bitten off... She didn't think that would be literal but still...
On another note she had only focused on what was ahead of her, she had not heard the star enter the cafeteria behind her
Vasile seemed to have walked right into the middle of an argument, and while he didn't know what was going on, he certainly didn't appreciate the attitude the Greer-person was taking with this other guys he had yet to meet.
"HEY!" he said, rushing forward past Ambrose and Joiliette, coming up to Greer. "Don't talk to him like that! If you hadn't noticed this is all pretty hard to swallow, okay? And some of us had a LOT of bullshit shoved down our throats to deal with!" He gave her a stern look, knowing all too well what it felt like for people to get mad at you for not believing what SHOULD be impossible to beleive.
But then he took a deep breath and something seeemd to click. He spun around abck to Joliette. "YOU! You're the paparatzi chick with the baot!" he said pointing. "How they hell did you find us! They took your boat, the bastards!" Vasile was still pretty tightly wound up from this morning, and his frustration was showing.
"No. No no no NO NO. Dis is BULLSHIT. I ain't playin' dis ********' game. I AIN'T GONNA DO IT YOU ********' GOT ME. Dis ain't real!"
Jamal wanted nothing more than to run over to Greer and yank all her feathers from her 'costume' or to tear off Ambrose's 'fake' ears or to pull out his fur....but instead he settled for a violent kick at the chair he recently left. The chair didn't go far; it left the ground for a few seconds before crashing loudly into another table with a metallic clang.
When Greer leapt from her chair, he turned his attention to her and his hands flexed back into tight fists, eyes narrowing dangerously into a fine icy glare. He wanted to sock her in her loudmouth face and it showed by the tension in his body language.
A sick panic started to swirl in his stomach despite his best intentions. He could NOT let them get to him like this. This was not real.
Ambrose looked back and forth as suddenly three people began yelling. He knew it was hard to deal with, but he could smell the tension rising.
In a moment, Ambrose was on his feet as well. trying to separate Greer from the large, and violent-looking black man. Vasile wasn't helping things by yelling at Greer as well.
"Whoawhoawhoawhoa!" Ambrose said loudly. "Calm down! Everyone!" His hackles were bristled, his ears pressed flat. "We're not enemies here!" Ambrose remembered the Dude's argument with him that was now a long time ago.
His eyes went from Greer to Jamal. Vasile appeared to have been diverted by the short woman. Papparatzi-? But he pushed the thought from his mind at the moment.
"Yes, this situation SUCKS. Yes, this is real. Yes, it's hard to sink in." Ambrose looked to Vasile. "Vasile wouldn't believe it until it happened to him. Somewhere, I think he did believe, but he wouldn't dwell on it until it was too late. I don't know if that was a better way or not. But the fact of the matter is we're all in this together. Jamal. You are welcome to put me to the test. Tug on my tail, whatever. Or wait until it happens to you and let that shatter your worldview."
Ambrose took a few deep breaths, trying to keep the emotions that started to fire under the surface down where they belonged.
Finishing her food, Greer glared at Vasile through slitted eyes and only barely registered his change. "This isn't your battle, pretty boy. Go do what you're good at and kiss the girls, hmm?"
Turning back to Jamal, she slowly stood again and pushed her chair to the side, giving herself space to kick and move. In back of her head Greer could hear her human self trying to persuade her to be calm and rational about all of this, but the hawk would have none of it. For the first time since her change the animal was in full control, and as much as the angry confidence and potential for violence scared her it intregued her as well. It was a strange situation, finding yourself protesting and rubber necking at your own actions, completely unable to stop them.
"Back off Ambrose, I can take care of myself. The big man is afraid and wants to take it out on us." She sneered at Jamal, adjusting her balance unconsciously as her sharp vision read the nuances of his body language. "Well? What're you going to do?"
Joliette was now completely distrcted away from the main arguement, she narrowed her eyes at Vasile "I Mr. DiRossi am NOT a paparazzi!" she said firmly and with a touch of distaste as if she were going to spit the word out "I AM a photo journalist who happened to follow a rumor that disappearances in this area were NOT what they seemed to be, and what did I find? You, but in case you haven't noticed I'm now in the same boat as you are, and that's not the Princess!" she hated that term and hated it even more when it was applied to her
Vasile looked with distaste at Joliette. "Photojournalist? You've got to be kidding me? Call it what you like, but a rose by any other name, my dear."
He just shook his head then looked back to Greer. "You got an egg stuck up your a** or something, Greer?"
Greer was pretty right. He -was- scared. ******** terrified. But his answer to fear had always been one thing: violence. And now this mismatched mess of a human being/hawk had peaked and shattered the delicate dam he had put on his temper.
"Oh, so yous wanna throw down? FINE. Bring it," he snarled gutterly, setting his jaw while wishing he had a knife on him. He did not normally challenge woman and he didn't normally fight them physically either....but if she wanted to start writing checks her a** couldn't pay, then fine. He'd been yearning for a good brawl anyway and if the twig thought she could bring it, then fine. Jamal had a feeling it wouldn't get that far though; there were too many bystanders.
He ignored Ambrose for the most part, though at the tail-tugging he smirked sarcastically. "Then get yo' a** ova herr and let me yank," he said without any sort of politeness to it. "********' prove to me dis ain't just a bad drug trip."
Ambrose had been more worried about Jamal being the threat since he saw him ball his fists, but as Greer stood up, bitched at Jamal and then Vasile for just trying to explain that they were all having a hard time, Ambrose did a double-take, turning to stare at Greer. This wasn't the sweet, meek, friendly Greer he knew. What the hell was going on? Ambrose admittedly hadn't seen her much since her transformation, but when he did he had never glimpsed THIS.
The snarl (and growl) was becoming more evident in his voice as the conflict was rising all around him. Ambrose may be many things, but he was not a coward. Perhaps a bit too overconfident in many situations. Albeit his chivalric nature was confused as Greer appeard to be trying to start the fight.
"Greer... what in the hell has gotten into yo-" He was cut off at Vasile's snide remark.
"Vasile!" He snapped, aghast at the vulgar insult to her avian nature.
HIs blood was pumping with the yelling, and he was feeling his temper boiling dangerously high. But he took some breaths, determined not to lose it... not to lose. He wasn't an animal!.... really....
He turned to Jamal, after giving Greer a warning glance, his respect for the man actually going up a few notches at apparently at least being willing to step up to the challenge non-violently. Even if it was laced with expletives.
"Fine." Ambrose said, and walked closer to Jamal, facing him. Feeling awkward turning his a** towards him, he settled for turning sideways, giving everyone in the room an "I'm watching you" look. "Knock yourself out."
She hissed at Jamal through her beak and teeth, seeing red and ignoring Ambrose. No one challenged her in her territory, which this was since as they'd discussed earlier she'd clearly gotten here first! She'd tear his eyes out with her feet-
Talons at the ready, she paused for a moment to respond to the movie star. "Just a little tired of being a nice, quiet little mother figure who holds every one's hand and tells them it'll be okay while the doctor's injection mangles my face. I haven't been angry about any of this for a full three damn months, so you'll have to forgive me if I think I'm a little entitled." Greer snarled venomously back at Vasile, envisioning her hand breaking his nose with a well-thrown punch. Imagine the rain of blood that would rush down his face...
Horrified, Greer grabbed fragile control of herself. What was she doing? She didn't hurt people! Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, the woman frowned and tried to stuff her murderous intentions back into their box.
Joliette fumed, she hated it she really did, but lashing out at someone when it was not self defense was not her style. Certainly she could if she wanted she had the training, but for now she bit her toungue in anger. Her eyes left the 'star' and moved to the others and watched Ambrose move closer she hoped for some calm soon...
"Look here, Birdbitch," he said to Greer, crossing his arms. "You have a right to angry, but don't be angry at... him." Yeah, good going, Vasile. Pick a fight defending a guy you've never even seen before. But oh had Greer hit a sore spot. All the time people got angry at him- yelled at him fo rnot believeing. And how stupid that made him feel. And how.. used. "Blame that limey excuse for a doctor who runs the place! That b*****d almost gave me a concussion today!"
When Greer didn't try to punch him, Jamal's hotblooded, raring and ready to fight disposition lessened somewhat. If anything, the woman looked conflicted; either she was scared to fight now or she decided against it for other reasons. Well, whatever.
Ambrose snared his attention again for the most part and Jamal gave the wolfman a look boardering on disgust that slowly morphed into an expression of impending meltdown as the blonde boy got closer. He didn't even have to tug on his tail. Jamal could see the fur rippling with his movements, held fast at the roots...the fangs that were firmly embedded in the man's jaws when he spoke with a canine-like growl to his syllables...and the tail that flicked and twisted without any outside forces. The black man's eyes searched Ambrose's face for a moment, struggling to see anything there he might even remember from their brief meeting at the party.
"My ********' gawd...jesus christa'pher christ...." he whispered after a pregnant pause, hands unfisting and now splaying over his face as he fought the urge to scream. Jamal understood what Awen meant now and understood why she had the urge to yell the other night on the beach. "G...get away from me. Jus' go. Jus' go ova' wit' dem." He turned his back on the group and dropped his hands to brace himself against one of the tables, leaning over it and breathing heavily as a wave of nausea swept his body.
"Greer! You have every right to be angry! Hell, I'm tired of feeling guilty for saying that my problems matter too! But for God's sake direct your anger to the right party! This isn't Jamal's fault! This isn't Vasile's fault! Vasile's right! It's the Doctor's. And I know as well as anyone that he's untouchable as far as we can discern. But taking it out on your friends isn't the answer. It's letting him, and the damn Animal DNA that's coursing through your veins win." Ambrose barked. "I came dangerously close to getting into a fight with the Dude months ago. ANd I wasn't even as far 'developed' as either of us are now. But it scared the s**t out of me. And the last thing I want to see happening is us - ANY of us - giving into these impulses! The Greer I knew would never say things like this!"
And it was true. The Greer he knew was nothing like the woman before him. A small part of him, that Ambrose immediately felt guilty for even thinking, was almost glad that things hadn't cemented between them. No - that was horrible! This WASN'T her. This was what Moreau had done to her... he just hoped... desperately hoped... that animal instincts wouldn't take over Emelyn.... or... him.
Breathing, he turned back to Jamal, finally sensing that the tension might be begining to break. Jamal's critical eye was passing over his fur, his features... and the angered smell took on the acrid smell of fear as Jamal backed up.
But... with Jamal's fear and, furthermore, cry to send him back with the other 'freaks' in not so many words, Ambrose felt like he had been kicked.
Glancing backwards, but not moving, he took another steadying breath of his own. "Jamal..." He said more softly... "I'm sorry.... I ... I hate being the one to have to break this to people. I truly am. Just... just know that you're not alone here." Ambrose almost reached out to put a comforting hand on his back, but he paused, his hand frozen midway between them, looking at the contrast of fur and claws against the smooth skin of the fully human man before him.
He was a freak. Even if he was among others like him... there was no escaping that thought that became painfully obvious as he stood there, seeing the contrast between the two of them.
"I wasn't blaming Jamal, I was just-" Greer made a frustrated sound and tried to cover her face with her hands, jerking back from her own touch when her fingers brushed her beak. What had happened to her? This wasn't her body, this wasn't her temperment...
Eyes showing too much white as they flicked from Jamal to Vasile to Ambrose, she backed up skittishly, nearly falling over a chair. "I'm sorry, so so sorry! I didn't mean to- I would never- I-" She cut herself off, unable to finish a sentence and let them know the terrible things she'd been thinking. Wincing at Ambrose's chastizement, she held up her hands to ward the others off as she continued to retreat.
"Jamal, Vasile, please forgive me. I'm so sorry I said those things! Ambrose, I- don't hate me, please? Please?" Her voice was small and nervous as she bowed an apology to the female she didn't know. "I need to go. I'm sorry. Excuse me!"
Greer turned and ran, bolting from the communal area and back into her room. She couldn't stay any longer- for every word she'd said the hawk had snarled and shown her what these stupid challengers would look like mangled underneath her talons. Yelling was one thing, but if she ever hurt another person she could never forgive herself, animal thoughts or no.
Joliette was close to running herself, "what happened to the 'friendly' people Ambrosse had said inhabited the village" she whispered to herself, these certainly didn't seem to be them. Least not at this vantage. Her eyes darted from person to person and she held her ground from running... "O-okay" she said nervously and stepped out of the bird-lady's way, she wouldn't have likely stood in the way even if the woman hadn't said anything to her
Vasile sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I remembered why I hate cafetaria food," he mumbled, and headed back out the door, giving a frustrated look to Ambrose before he disapeared out the door.
And at this probably very inopportune moment, the Dude walked into the cafeteria. He looked tired and down. He had walked the perimeter of the island up and down, then SWAM around the entire island. And nothing! Not even a trace of the yacht ... How did Moreau do it, anyway!? How could on make an entire yacht just dissappear!?? Deep in those thoughs and miserable from all the fruitless searching, he almost ran into Vasile on his way out. Wow, Vasile looked like friggin Legolas ... huh? ... but then he heard the various shouting coming from the back and concentrated on that.
Jamal was panicing in the corner, Ambrose was saying something loudly, all agitated, Joliette was half frozen in the corner with her camera ... and then there was Greer, her feathers flustered, looking like a very pissed off chicken.
WTF?
"Hey ... erm ..." - he walked up to the group and next to Greer. "What's everyone so angry about?"
Jamal didn't know that Ambrose was behind him still or that the blonde boy was in a long-suffering internal battle as he compared his furry hands to Jamal's normal human flesh. His ears were ringing painfully as blood rushed out of his face, giving him an ashen complexion. The departure of Greer and Vasile were not noted at all...he was too busy falling to his knees there at the table side, his forehead pressing now against the cool edge of the table as his hands pulled across the table top until they clutched the same edge that propped his head up.
For once in his life, he felt broken. Even after he murdered the guy that got him in this mess, he never once felt like he wasn't invincible; he was clever enough to get out of that situation. But now he'd put himself into something he had no way out of.
He swallowed hard, feeling bile rise in his throat, and let his hands fall from their perch into his lap as he kneeled at the table side. They stayed there for several breaths before he suddenly took one hand and crossed it to the opposite shoulder, his fingertips feeling around until he felt a small bit of raised skin where he'd been injected at. Jamal touched it softly, sliding the finger tips across it a few times before starting to, for all purposes, claw madly at the site.
"Get it out....get it out," he moaned to himself in an increasingly crazed tone as his nails started to rub the spot raw. He couldn't handle this anymore.
Ambrose forcibly pulled himself out of his thoughts as Greer had reality crash around her. Turning, he looked to her and opened and closed his mouth. "Greer.... I... don't hate you. What's happening to us is terrifying.... just... don't let it win.." He finished finally, the growl gone from his voice, left only with a cold ache at the scene he had seen fall around him.
He winced to Vasile as he departed, holing up his hand in a dejected wave as he exited.
"And they are friendly, Joliette... usually.. Honestly... just a bad time." Ambrose sounded tired... but more than tired he felt disturbed. Greer was the last one who would do something like that. He could smell her fury, feel her at the cusp of violence... how could that happen to them?? They were all at a breaking point - nerves on HIGH
And it was then that Jamal really did break... falling, clawing at his arm, where the poison had been pumped into his veins. The liquid that would soon rob him too of his humanity. Everything that Ambrose had felt himself was suddenly made real by Jamal's actions, the denial turned fear.
The part of Ambrose that yearned to be a hero screamed at him to not allow this man to fall into his own misery... into madness like his duplexmate had.
With a flurry of action, Ambrose seized Jamal by the shoulders, forcing him to look him in the eye. "It's there. It's not going anywhere! I know how badly you want to wake up, to make all of this go away, to have never have come! And I know how much the reality of this terrifies you! It's closed in around me like a nightmare - betrayed by my own skin because of what they've done to me. But you HAVE to hold out! .... We need eachother... we can't let eachother break to this." He pleaded in a strangled yell.
Joliette nodded slowly at Ambrose's words, "Okay" she said meekly she sat down on the nearest chair her nerves severely rattled as it all started to sink in. She stared directly at the floor looking in shock as she heard Ambrose's words to Jamal
Digging...clawing...scratching. Whatever it took, he had to get it out. He couldn't do this. He was a ******** human being, not some experiment.
But he was literally shaken from his task by Ambrose's actions, his gaze only meeting the young man's because he was forced to. The fright that reflected in the black man's eyes as he looked upon what he'd probably eventually have to deal with was evident beyond any measure.
Ambrose's words were muffled and hardly distinguishable to Jamal. Nothing made sense anymore.
He did this to himself. This was payment for what he did back home. He was sure of it now.
He deserved this.
His eyes held Jamals' with an intensity for a few more moments before he released him from his grasp and took a few steps back.
He wasn't helping.... Like a slap in the face Ambrose realized that he couldn't help. Not right now. THe fear in Jamal's eyes that filled Ambrose's nose told him that... only worsening with Ambrose's touch.
He wanted so much to be the hero..
To help people through this at the very least if he couldn't help himself.
But he was too much of a freak to do so. He had hoped that, at the very least, he could still be himself - keep himself to his goals and be a good person despite the fur and fangs. But looking at the fear in the man's eyes as he was confronted with not only a monster, but his future... Ambrose's heart was wrenched into his stomach.
"I'm sorry..." He mouthed. "I'm so sorry!" He backpedaled, eyes stinging. He turned, and leaving his meal behind, fled back to his duplex.
Joliette looked up as Ambrosse sped past her and then looked towards Jamal, she couldn't think of what to say, and just looked at him the look in her eyes was like her whole world crumbling away
Jamal wasn't even aware of the girl's presence anymore. He was a ******** goner. It was all over.
"I can't be herr..." he said out of the blue, getting to his feet in a very clumsy manner (he almost knocked his head into the table). "I can't do dis. I can't."
His head pounded severely as he weakly and slowly headed for the door. Jamal needed to go home |
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:53 pm
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Ambrose fled from the confrontation to his duplex, slamming the door. Once inside, he let out a loud growl of frustration, trying to releive some of the pent-up stress and frustration.
He kept going back and forth on how he felt about all of this - trying to justify things to himself, trying to tell himself that things would be okay, but sooner or later something would set him off - scare him, or grind salt into the would that he was trying to pretend didnt' exist. He had made himself accept the fact that his appearance would startle people... but only now was he begining to realize just how much of a barrier it was in trying to make friends... hell.. in trying to help people. Ambrose couldn't sit on the sidelines and see someone hurt. He had to try to do something. So when his attempted assistance to Jamal only made things worse....
And was it his imagination, or was the number of newcomers to the island increasing dramatically the past couple of days. He was seeing new people every time he left the duplex, it felt like. And as much as Ambrose didn't want to be confined here, isolated from people, it was hard to adjust to his situation here when there were so many strangers who might not know what was going on. For God's sake there was a Priest! Not to mention, these people would be suffering soon as well - also wrested away from their lives. He couldn't blame the doctor for Joliette- she had gotten herself into this mess - inadvertantly or not... but a priest? And the Gangster obviously wasn't here on his own accord. Didn't their pleadings mean anything to the Doctor? Aubrey even sympathized with them... damn their psychological experiments along with the physical ones.
And speaking of Psychology.... Greer's 'transformation' in the cafeteria had left Ambrose more scared than Jamal's reaction. What was happening to them!? How deep were these transformations reaching??? Would this happen to all of them? Ambrose had prided himself in his self-control, and... what if even that part of himself were challenged? He didn't want to become a snarling, ravening beast.... That was his antithesis! If he had to look like a beast... at least couldn't he be himself under the surface? Prove himself to others who might be startled initially? Hell, he could even deal with minor changes, but how deep would these go? Would they be themselves anymore in the end at all?
Where could they turn?? There was no where to run. No way to shut out what was going on inside of them! Ambrose had seen... had SMELLED the fury that was eminating from Greer... Above all, the woman in the cafeteria who had nearly attacked a gangster was not the Greer that Ambrose had known. Not the Greer that Ambrose had nearly fallen for.
So what could they do...? How could they battle this? Who could they turn to...?
The only answer he could come up with was eachother. They had to accept eachother, to help eachother cope with these changes. And... Ambrose's eyes turned to the two books on his desk... knowledge. To be able to recognize what emotions weren't their own. And to try to understand the "beast within."
Ambrose drew a shaking breath and walked over to take a seat at the table, opening the book on Wolves and begining to look through it, particularly anything about their behavior. Ambrose knew that there would have to be sacrifices... but he would be damned if it couldn't be on his own, rational terms. This was HIM after all. He had learned how to control himself - that's what he had spent his entire childhood doing. Like he had said before, this wasn't a foreign invader he had to battle. It was just emotions... hormones. And Ambrose was under the firm belief that you could be who you wanted to be. And in order to be happy, you have to accept who you are. So there would have to be changes... if he denied them, it would be like living with his parents again. Pretending he didn't like something, acting a way that they would approve of but he might hate deep down. He would get used to it... but he wouldn't be a beast.
And Ambrose sat down to read.
****
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:08 am
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Hours later, Ambrose closed the book. THe reading, if nothing else, had helped him focus, take away some of the burning frustration and let him concentrate on the text.
And.... more than that, it had quelled many fears. Reading through the book with an understanding, an acceptance that this really was what he was becoming, that it wasn't just a possibility but a fact helped him deal with the information as advice and important information more than just an interesting read.
The first thing the book did, much to Ambrose's relief, was quell the ancient myths of wolves as demons, monsters, and vermin. It cast the wolf in the light of a noble creature - one that had a highly organized family structure in the 8-15 member pack. That they were caring animals who never attacked humans - unlike most other large predators. They were only aggressive when asserting dominance, but rarely to any sort of serious damage to eachother. They were loving creatures, 'mating' much like humans - frequently for life, but ultimately only one mate at a time, and showed a great deal of physical affection to their selected mate. The "lone wolf" Stereotype was an inaccurate one; a lone wolf is a rare occurance and a poor, lonely animal. They are intellingent animals, and work together to both hunt as well as take care of other members who are less capable. The entire pack looks after cubs.
The pack structure is highly organized, with a specific ranking system. In fact, usually only the alpha male and female would mate... but that was because of food availability, and the liklihood that the strongest memebrs would produce the most capable offspring. In some years where food was plentiful, the beta male and female would sometimes mate as well.
Ambrose's nerves calmed even more when he read that wolves would even play with eachother, showing intelligence and behaviors beyond the simple hunt-eat-mate behavior that was generally associated with animals. Likewise, wolves are very expressive and communicative - through many vocalizations, and ear and tail signals... as well as howling. It said that the higher intelligence and communication stemmed from their pack-nature. Much like humans, wolves are social creatures.
Ambrose finally set aside the book after finishing reading about wolf socialness. Wolves were very rarely aggressive to the point of physical harm - usually intimidation factors were where it stopped - with the exception of actual hunting.
Ambrose just hoped that any hunting instincts would be limited to actual animals... and that the plethora of food available at the cafeteria would negate even that. The question would be whether any instincts (if they DID develop) would be for him to recognize the other subjects as 'like him'... regardless of species... or if the speciation between them would actually make a difference. The book spoke of wolves' interactions with various other predator (and prey) species...
Ambrose finally set down the book and curled up into bed, finally slipping into some relaxation.
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:48 pm
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:01 pm
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Ambrose and Emelyn
For the first time since the Halloween party, Ambrose and Emelyn actually have some alone time to talk... and more ninja
http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?page=8&t=1200728#38291987
Emelyn Emelyn didn't speak until they'd left not only the laundryroom, but also the building. She looked up at the island sky, noting the fresh air and the feeling of the air against the brush of fur covering her arms, and wondered how it must feel to Ambrose, who was absolutely covered in the sensation-altering hairs. "Thank you for suggesting the walk. It feels like I've not gotten to see you alone since the party."
Ambrose Maurlias The notion hadn't dawned on Ambrose until Emelyn mentioned it. Thinking back, she was absolutely correct. Whenever he had been out recently it seemed that he was virtually surrounded by people... maybe some sort of security blanket against the changes that he had been having a rough time in dealing with... or perhaps something else that the books he had been reading the night before suggested. Ambrose paused over that thought. Had the behavioral changes been hitting him as well as Greer, just in a much more subtle fashion? He shook his head and looked back to Emelyn. "I'm sorry... I... I haven't been intentionally avoiding you. And walks can be wonderful to clear the head." he rubbed the fur on his arm. The Island as it approached dusk was actually starting to become almost pleasant at this time of year, even under the fur.
Emelyn "Oh, I didn't figure you'd done it on purpose." Em said, "Actually, I figured it was either just an amusing coincidence or..." she paused, looking over at the wolfen features, debating whether to finish her thought, before finally deciding there was no need not to be honest with Ambrose, "that some of the instincts had kicked in. Wolves are pack animals. They need that sense of family, they're drawn in to groups that they feel comfortable around." She smiled, almost apologetically, for the assumption. "Like I said, though, I was just... thinking."
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose took a breath as he weighed his own words in his mouth. "Honestly.... I can't say for certain... but the thought had occurred to me as well just recently. I ... did a lot of reading last night. Finally got the courage to read through some of hte books I had borrowed from the entertainment room." He glanced over to her. "I learned a lot. And... admittedly, it was in a bizarre way comforting. There really wasn't that much alltogether frightening behaviorally in what I read. After... an incident in the cafeteria yesterday with Greer... I got scared." He shook his head. "I can handle gregariousness, to be honest, if that's the worst of the side-effects. I hadn't thought about it until today, really... but as much as I feel nervous about people seeing me like this... I want to be around people."
Emelyn "You shouldn't feel nervous about people seeing you, Ambrose. We all know what's going to happen- we all know that we'll have to face this ourselves. Actually, if anything, seeing you this far transformed is only difficult because it reminds us that it's going to happen to us, as well. At least, for me." She took a deep breath, kicking at a stone in the path and watching the steel toe of her boot shoo it off with a single motion. "To be honest, it's... comforting, to see you like this, even if it does take some getting used to- because it means that we're all together in this. ...Wow, I know that didn't make any sense at all," she said, both to Ambrose and to herself. "Maybe I mean... that seeing that you can go through it, and that you're still you- it makes me feel good. It makes me feel... like nothing's changed. ...Even if everything has." She realized how muddled her thoughts were, and that they were spilling out like ink from a pen- thoughts, like ink, were supposed to form into words that made sense, into reason and rhyme... but just as easily, they could flow out in a muddled mess.
Ambrose Maurlias "No... I think I know what you're saying." Ambrose said quietly, thinking back to meeting with Greer after her change... his reaction to her had been more of a realization that it really could happen moreso than rejecting her becuase of what she looked like. "I went through the same thing when I saw others change before me.... as selfish as it might sound... I think you're right. I was worried about my future." He kicked at the same pebble Emelyn did as they came up to it on the path with a bare foot. "But yes... seeing others cope... set an example... it does help. Show us that we can survive it. Still be... human where it counts, I suppose. But it doesn't help that I do feel like a freak... and ... and I ran into new people the past couple of days. Some didn't even know. And... it was hard! One of them had a damn breakdown in front of me... the black man from the party, Jamal? Did you meet him? He didn't know! Or at least didn't believe until he saw me. And there's a priest here, for God's sake! And a young reporter woman. It doesn't end.... " He sighed. "And every time I even seem to hint to the Dude that I'm Unhappy, he gives me this speach about how I should feel lucky because I'm not a bird like Greer." Ambrose glowered, but then felt guilty for saying such. "I mean... I DO feel sorry for her... but I mean, all I said - right after I changed mind you - was that I 'could be better' and he jumped down my throat." A small frustrated growl resounded in his throat for a moment. He paused, and looked to Emelyn. "I'm sorry... I'm ranting again.... I guess I havne't felt like there's been anyone else I could just get this off my chest to..."
Emelyn "Oh, no, I completely understand!" Em said, feeling a bubble of relief burst and all the words contained inside just rush out without censor. "I feel sorry for him, too, but every time I talk to him, it's all about how troubled he is about Greer- which is fine, but he basically said 'why couldn't it have been anyone BUT Greer'- right to my face. Which I sort of took to mean, 'why didn't YOU get this debilitating change', as if it a) wouldn't matter if I was turning into a bird, and b) like my own change isn't going to be gruesome enough," she said, ticking the two points off on her fingers. "Don't get me wrong, I admire The Dude a lot. But it seems that he's in a very... negative place right now. I don't blame him... but I think a lot of the things I used to think about him- ... well..." she paused, not knowing how raw she wanted to get with her emotion right now. "Well, suffice it to say, he obviously doesn't hold me in as high a regard as I thought he did." She quieted, and then, wanting to get off the subject, brushed the hair and quill mass out of her eyes, and sighed gently. "Poor Jamal. I didn't know he'd had a breakdown. ...I suppose that means he found out. ...And a priest? Oh god.... what is Moreau doing?" She said the words, sad and rhetorical, placing a hand on her heart as if the answer lay therein.
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose felt a wav eof relief as well. So he wasn't the only one! Thank God! "Oh, thank you, Emelyn... I was feeling guilty for that! I mean... at first he was right, when we talked. That I needed to get past my problems and worry about the other people here. I understand - and he was right. I was wallowing in my own misery after my first change... and the important thing at that time was to warn the others.. and realize that htey were all going to be facing the same thing as well... but that's one thing... it's a completley different one to criticize someone for being the slightest bit unhappy about being trapped on a prison island - no matter how tropical, away from ones' family and friends, and being changed into an animal." He stopped to take a breath. "Yes... I agree with you... That's wonderful that he feels for Greer... but that seems to be the only thing in the world he's concerned about at the moment. I feel like our own frienship is a bit shifty right now because of it. And... especially since I basically told him about a month ago right as he was starting ot like her that I might have had feelings for her. I used to respect him... ironically, I know... given our disparate backgrounds... but he was always so optimistic... and realistic at the same time. He gave good advice and he looked out for people." Ambrose turned an eye to her proto-quills. "And I wish there was something I could do to help you..." He fidgeted. "As much as my... transformation hurt... I can only imagine what quills would feel like instead of fur." "Yeah... Jamal kind of had it hit him all too hard.... It does make me wonder what hte best way to 'initiate' new Islanders really is... the sudden shock... which they may or may not believe.... or perpetuate the lies. Honestly, I just wish that they'd stop destroying more peoples' lives."
Emelyn "I've wondered that myself," Em said. "I mean, I was the first person besides Aubrey that Jamal saw- and I was like this... but he still didn't want to believe anything was wrong. He saw so many of us transformed, but I think it just took that time to allow his system to accept it. ...I don't know if the shock method would work too well." She exhaled a sigh she didn't know had been stored in her throat. "You know... I don't envy these newcomers their realizations. I think our way was the easiest way to realize what had happened to us. I mean, we were all in the dark, and we learned together, slowly, either by transformation, or by... admission of guilt," she said softly, remembering that night in Moreau's mansion. "We all helped each other through it. I think that's why we're all so close. But these newcomers- they're coming across these transformed people, and they don't know who to turn to, what to believe. It's an immense, grating shock on the system, even if they try to learn about it 'gradually'. Eventually, they're going to realize they just stepped into hell."
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose paused at that, and shrugged. "I... I don't know. For me, it was really rough. I was the first one to change... and although we all had wild conspiracy theories being tossed around... and many of us believed that something fishy was going on, no one really had any real evidence of that. When I changed it was like my whole world was torn apart. I had a deep suspicion of what had happened to cuase it... but I didn't know if it was some freak accident. I had no idea it would happen to everyone else as well for certain until others started to change." He mulled over her point. "But I see what you mean about the others. They're coming here and seeing a number of us... at varying stages through the transformation... some of us .... admittedly quite disturbingly animal. And once they believe they're seeing their future. We had time to get used to the idea before our second change where we saw just how rough it would be. I wonder what will happen when there are some of us FULLY changed and still newcomers arriving. We... can't just quarentine ourselves for their sanities and let them be changed overnight. I mean... we could tell them more lies... some other excuse for what happened, or what we are... to make them secure in their normalacy... but there would be no way to get everyone to go along with it... AND it might be more damaging in the long run. Not to mention helping Moreau." his ears gave an irritated flick. "I... I guess there IS no right answer... And especially no good answer that could be applied to all the newcomers." He chuckled. "Maybe we should have some sort of Town Hall meeting or something." He said only half seriously.
Emelyn "Hm..." she said, musing over everything he said. "It's actually not a half bad idea. I'd at least like to get the islanders together so I can MEET all them. Not to mention that some may be... well... have skills that would be useful." She still felt badly for bringing up the idea of escape to Ambrose after his transformation- but his change had been so shocking that the threads of ideas and hopes for escape had rushed out in a furvor. She was still regretting.. having upset his balance that way, after she'd just gotten finished 'reality checking' him into his fate. ...But she herself didn't know how much the reality check was worth for her- not after all her opinions of Moreau had changed. ...Emelyn had been seriously thinking about ways to leave this place- and except for those whispered words in Ambrose's ear that morning, she had spoken of her desires to no one. She doubted that he even knew how much she'd been thinking about it recently. "You've said so much," she said, walking slowly, "I don't even know what to respond to first. ...I'd forgotten that you were the first one. At least, I wasn't thinking of it when I said that. Of course it would have been harder for you to find out that way. I was just thinking of me- I'm sorry. That was... rather insensitive. And just after we got finished talking about others being the same. I apologize. ...I think I just meant- we all had each other, going through it together. These others, they show up alone, and pretty soon they realize what's going to happen, and they don't have anyone to turn to who is at the same level they are- at least, not many." She stopped a while, musing. "Maybe it would be a good idea to have someone that we... sort of assign to each person, to get them used to the idea, so it's not overwhelming for them. Someone who is near their same level, who hasn't transformed yet, or something- anything that we figure may help them transition easier."
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded. "Sorry about my rant." He winced. "I haven't given word to alot of my thoughts recently. It helps, really, more than my words might suggest. I gues... in a way, because of this I really have sunk in that I'm not leaving. As Moreau himself said to me the other day." He sighed. "Even IF I got back... and somehow managed to avoid the cancer... I'd still be seen as a freak. At least here, we're a community." He stopped himself as soon as he said that "NOt that I think you're a freak!" He burried his face in his hands. "I just... I mean... we're all in this together. We can help eachother through this. I just wish..." He sighed. "I just wish that it hadn't happened." "But you're right about the idea! I could see that helping.... but admittedly Awen's pretty much latched onto Jamal. The problem was that he didn't want to believe, and she had no way to prove it to him. So it's a conundrum." He sighed. "Maybe we just let things happen. With so much of us here now, the chances are smaller that any one of us will be the first encounter of that many newcomers..."
Emelyn They had reached the steps that led to her upper duplex, and Em paused at the bottom, wondering whether they were going to continue up or if he was going to head back to his own. Instead of vocalizing the awkward mental moment, she grasped onto something she felt, based on what he'd said, poised on the bottom stair like a soul in limbo. "Well, what can I say, Ambrose? I am a freak." She laughed, rubbing at the light fur on her arms. "But.. in a good way, I suppose."
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose followed alongsider her, and as she paused at her duplex, Ambrose hesitated as well, unsure as to whether or not she wanted him to take his leave or not. So... he decided to hang along with her, to see if he received an invitation. He frowned and shook his head. "I don't think you're a freak." He put his hand on his hip... and hte other reached out to brush the spackling of fur along her arms ever so lightly, so as to send chills down her spine. "I think you're still beautiful." He blushed.
Emelyn The hair that brushed her arms- was not indigenous solely to that area. Indeed, that soft down of brown hair also coursed up her shoulders, in soft trails down her back, legs, and even in v on the back of her neck. And now, those hairs were all standing at... almost hopeful attention, as if to tell Emelyn that this touch... was not a bad thing. "Thank you..." she said, feeling something that she'd not felt.. ever. ...Shy. To this confident girl, the sensation was wholly unfamiliar, and she almost wondered if that fluttering in her stomach pointed to an illness, rather than what it was- that glowing blush of newness that was born out of such a moment. She hung still on the step, until finally those shy eyes looked upward to meet those still so human eyes in a body she was... still coming to recognize. "So are you going to make me ask?" She said, thinking as she said it... that he'd either understand what she meant, or not. And she didn't entirely know which one she'd prefer. If he knew... well... they'd take it from there. And if he had no idea- then perhaps she could pretend it meant nothing.
Ambrose Maurlias The tender touch of his fingers along the soft brown hair on her arms felt nice to Ambrose... and certainly reminded him of something he had not felt in quite some time... and a longing to be truly close to someone again. It had been over three months now since he had been cut off from his home... from his love.... At her query, Ambrose blushed deeply, catching her meaning, although the blush was probably only visible on the inside of his large ears. "I.... would it be alright... if I come up... with you?" He stuttered out after whetting his lips, his eyes hung on hers, seeking her approval.
Emelyn Oh Emelyn, what are you doing? What are you doing what are you doing what are you doing? It was a constant, repetitious whisper in her mind. She didn't know where the voice came from, but it was constant, and a blush crept up to her cheeks- happy but in shock. "Of course it'd be alright," Em said, a little outside herself as she said the words. Then she took his hand, and walked up the steps, holding that hand behind her as she walked. She couldn't see him- so she knew that he couldn't see the look on her face- the wonder, the joy, and even a little fear.
Ambrose Maurlias The same words were, coincidentially, reverberating through Ambrose's mind, although the name in question was slightly different. He swallowed, padding quietly after her as they traveled up the steps, watching her from behind, her movements... He tried to force the thoughts from his head. Somewhere the back of his mind protested... it was too early! Too soon! But no, what was he assuming? Emelyn was a wonderful woman... inviting him to her room didn't really mean anything like that!... did it? For once, Ambrose was glad for the fur that coated his face.. and disguised how red and hot his face felt as a deep blush burned the skin of his cheeks. His hands held hers loosely, feeling the slight tickling feeling of her claws on his pads... his tail wagging nervously behind him as the door loomed closer.
Emelyn Emelyn didn't know what was going to happen- there wasn't an agenda in her mind, but she knew the possibilities. She rested her hand on the doorknob, pausing, knowing that the opening of this door meant that a ...certain possibility- was then given certain permission to loom over her. Over ...them. But then she shook her head slightly, and told herself she was being ridiculous- inviting him in didn't guarantee anything, it didn't promise anything one way or another. It would mean what it meant, and she refused to agonize over it. She opened the door. "Come on in," she said, releasing his hand and walking in, finding her voice as she did so. "It's... a mess, but ah well." Her heart thumped in her chest. What was she doing? Did she mean to.... invite him in... that way? Is that what she even wanted? She didn't know. There wasn't something telling her yes or no, either way- she didn't have a desperate whisper that goaded her on- and there was no voice of reason telling her to tell him goodnight and see him off. Where were the little angelic and demonic consciences that rode around on your shoulder when you needed them? "Make yourself comfortable," she said, still not sitting herself.
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose tailed after her, following her quietly into her room. He could hear the pounding of her heart, and smell her anxiety... and with those clues he knew that at the very least the things passing through his mind were going through hers as well. "This isn't bad at all..." He delayed, gesturing to the array of her room. Smiling, he continued. "I know a lot more people who keep their rooms in much worse shape, believe me." At the invitation for comfort, he glanced around the room. There were two standard options: The chair.... and the bed. Presenting a metaphorical dilemma of what signal to send Emelyn. She was beautiful... she was nice... she was the biggest comfort to him here with what he was going through... he could talk to her... and... she reminded him of her - No! It wasn't that... Sure, she had similariries... but that wasn't why he liked her. Really...Realizing that his indecision was about to become very evident, Ambrose thought outside the box and remained standing, albeit close to her, his hand never parting from hers. "I'm comfortable enough standing by you." He responded, the little voice in his mind immediately raising flags of surprise and warning. had he really said that?? He could breath in her scent standing this close... and it smelled really nice... his own breathing got a bit deeper...
Emelyn "Oh," she said, more of an exclamation of emotion and breath than a word. "Ambrose...what are you doing to me?" She whispered, not unkindly. A hand went up to her forehead, and she pulled the goggles off and let them fall to the ground- her skin was hot to the touch, flushed- and she wanted to feel the coolness of her palm up against her skin. As soon as they hit the ground, however, she realized that it probably sent the wrong signal, and she took a step back. The blood pumped in her ears, and her heart pounded. The tension and impending possibilities were thick in the air, and yet, also, pulled tighter and thinner than a string between them. "What are we doing?" she said, whispering again, as she came forward to him, her hand still at her forehead. "Are we...?"
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose felt his attention tunneled to Emelyn, the room being pulled to the far corners of his consciousness. Her pounding heart mirrored his and he drew closer to her, wanting to run his hand down the side of her face... feel the silky hairs that followed her jawline. She drew the goggles from her head, letting her hair free, the small quills moving more freely. It was cute, he found himself smiling. But as he was reaching up to follow his impulse, she took a step back. More than ever, Ambrose was feeling his animal-side.... or was that just the natural way of things in a tense and heady situation such as this...? He opened and closed his mouth, pulling himself from the carnal images that had begun to tease his mind, and a feeling of awkwardness and guilt washed over him as she raised the question. "I..." He winced. "I... I don't know. I... I do care for you Emelyn." 'but I've only been with one other woman before' his mind finished without letting his lips know. 'but I've never moved this quickly' another option presented itself to him.... 'but I don't know how much of these passions are my own versus an animal desire' his logical side argued... 'but I'm still in love with Angelina' his heart screamed at his indecision. " -But... I feel so lost here..." His voice finally gave substance to a weak reply.
Emelyn "Oh good," she said, rubbing her hair back in a single motion in the dim light, knowing that he'd be able to see it as if it was clear day. "I mean... not good," she whispered, "but at least, I'm glad I'm not the only one." Of all things to come out of her lips in this moment... what came out next- was a laugh. A small, shy laugh that felt more like a trill, tripping off her tongue. "I don't have any idea what I'm doing. I thought that maybe you- I mean... you did have that... condom, and that look in your eyes- it's so... hungry. But I don't even know if that look in your eye is for me, or for something else." ...Or someone, she thought. Though the words seemed rebuffing, cold, they actually gave her the strength to come closer to him, to feel his hot, heavy breath and to touch his face.
Ambrose Maurlias His ears crumpled back at her description of his look. Did he really come across like that? So..... predatory for lack of a better word? But wasn't that how he was feeling? Hungry for a part of what he was missing as much as these changes made him hungry for meat in the cafeteria. With a wince, Ambrose wondered if there was a further meaning to the reason, as the books had jokingly pointed out, that the wolf was frequently used as a metaphor for hunger - both for food and for the carnal appetites. 'Hungry like the wolf', as the song claimed. A small whimper escaped his voice. "I... I don't know what I'm doing either." He said softly, finally connecting his hand to her cheek as she stepped forward, the pads of his fingertips gently brushing the fur that really was as soft as it looked. But his face looked... guilty? "The condom... I promise you that nothing more was intended than what I said before... a hope that even though I would be stranded here forever... that I wouldn't become chaste forever.." He breathed in her smell again, feeling heady. "I didn't think.... so soon.." The dim lighting of the room, her body close to him, it felt so sensual. "And... I don't know how... to rectify these conflicting emotions... a... relationship" the stress of the words signified that he meant more than just a friendly one "has never been something I have treated lightly. Angelina.... was my first... serious...." He trailed off, hopeing that his emotions were clear. He DID feel for Emelyn... and at this moment it was the most painfully obvious just how much he missed a physical relationship.
Emelyn Something about his conflicting emotions... set Emelyn at ease. So she wasn't the only one. And she could see the look in his eyes when he told her about the condom, and she believed him. She also understood how hard it must be for him to talk about Angelina, and to realize how hard this was for him. He was in love with her- and he'd lost her, in a way no one should ever lose someone they care about. ...It was enough to make her realize- that they weren't entirely ready for a night together. But that she did care about him, and that, over time, they'd be able to take the edge off of that raw feeling of loss. "A relationship. ...Is that what we have?" She asked, trapped in that breathy whisper that she knew he'd be able to discern from the raggedness of her breath. She tipped her head, rapt in the feeling of touch.. and came forward to crush herself against his chest, her hands sandwiched between them. "Well..." she said, confident about her convictions and words for the first time since the bottom of the steps. "You won't be needing that gift of Vasile's tonight. But I do..." she looked up through a frame of eyelashes, and kissed his bottom lip gently, "...want you to stay tonight."
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose watched her face closely as she thought. And with every passing moment he felt himself sympathize with her more and more. He felt the reassurance within himself that what he felt for her wasn't just an echo of Angelina. She was thoughtful, intelligent... and a wonderful person. That if Angelina had never been, then there would be no doubt in his mind that he would have still found himself very attracted to her. He smiled softly, wrapping his long, furry arms around her slender figure. "It is.... certainly by my definition." Ambrose responded, his mouth near her ear. His warm breath tingling the sensative fur on her neck. With a wave of relief, and satisfaction with her pronouncement, Ambrose found himself perfeclty happy with that decision. The closeness and intimacy he craved... without having to make that big of a leap just yet. "That... sounds perfect." He smiled, his tail once again wagging as he held her tighter for a few moments in an embrace. And he leaned downwards to return the feathery kiss, feeling the urge welling within him to express his fondness for the beaitiful young woman with a warm lick. With a swallow, he repressed the instinctual thought, and finished the kiss with an affectionate smile.
Emelyn Emelyn didn't speak- she just wrapped her own arms around him, as well, and returned the smile with a deeper kiss, lost in the feeling now that the semantics were out of the way. She pushed their entangled bodies over to the bed, now that the boundaries were set- there was no reason to be afraid of the tousled covers. Instead, she embraced them as they tumbled down, as well as she embraced him, and in the process, found that the buttons on her shirt had come undone, and it was slipping down her shoulders. In a moment, she thought- well, at least the light is off- he'll not be able to see.. but then, she laughed out loud, remembering his night vision, and tossed two things to the floor- the strange, out of place modesty... And the shirt. The night was young, but it would get deeper, and darker- and the morning... it was far away.
Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose's tail was wagging fervently as they tumbled to the bed, wrapped in her arms.. or was she wrapped in his? The boundaries between them were gone as he found himself laughing and growling in one wonderful mix. He kissed her deeply in return, discovering a use for his lengthened tounge... and thanking his improved eyesight as months of pent up anxieties and lonliness were, at least partially, released. *** It wasn't until quite some time later that he finally pulled her close to his now shirtless torso, and nuzzled his face into her shoulder, feeling her smooth skin against his warm fur as sleep eventually claimed them. He had not had such a wonderful nights' sleep, when he finally did, since his arrival. |
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 7:59 pm
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The Next Morning
Late the next morning, Ambrose could be found wrapped tenderly around Emelyn, wearing just a pair of slacks, his head nestled against his shoulder.
He slept long past the break of dawn, the noises of the jungle fowl not penetrating his restful sleep this morning. When he finally swam back to consciousness, it was the smell of food from the cafeteria that lured him awake more than any unpleasant dream or pressing obligation.
A tender smile passed his lips as he looked down at the woman nestled in his arms. The night before had been... wild. And despite his fervor, he was happy that they had discussed beforehand where they were - and agreed how far they would - or more appropriately would not - go.
But as he lay there, looking at Emelyn, part of him would not let him feel completely at ease just yet. Part of him still felt guilt... like he had betrayed Angelina. It would pass... he tried to reassure himself. It was natural.
He traced a claw lightly along the side of her face, whispering lightly, "Morning, 'sunshine..."
"Mmm," she said, reaching up to rub the eye that wasn't in the side of her head that was pressed into his warm, furry chest. "You obviously haven't seen me in the morning," she mumbled, yawning and wrapping her free arm around him with a groan.
"Mnmn... don't tell me you're getting up. I don't think I can move..." She inhaled the deep scent of morning, and also, that uniquely appealing aroma of a man who you've spent the night in the arms of. She was, in a word- peaceful, and she didn't stop to wonder why there wasn't a voice of reason, or at least skepticism in her mind, telling her to analyze this situation in typical Em fashion. Instead, all the demons were silent... and the only sound was a small contented sigh as she tried to keep the man anchored to the bed.
Ambrose laughed. "What's not to like about mornings?" He taunted, sounding far too awake for a normal person to be having just woken up.
He stretched in place, rolling his shoulders and extending his legs, while keeping one arm wrapped securely around the slender brunette. "how did you sleep?" He queried after all the kinks had been worked out of his legs and back.
All his rolling around woke the girl up a little more out of her morning fog, and by the time he'd looked down with his tousled blonde hair, she was conscious enough to tip her chin up to see his face fully, and smile back into the furry complexion.
"Well... when we actually got to sleep..." she said, her lazy smile filled with delicious, half- foggy memories of dark tumbles, "it was great. You're like a big soft pillow." She left a soft kiss on his chest and pushed herself up on her elbows to separate herself from him. "Did you...sleep well?" She said, laughing at the absurdity of asking such a commonplace question after what had transpired between them the night before.
Ambrose chuckled softly, pursuing his lips as he looked down into her clear blue eyes. "Thanks, I think." He grinned. "And yes, I must say that - likewise- when I did finally drift off, the sleep was grand." His tail thumped on the bed behind him, emphasizing his enthusiasm.
"You.... wow..." he said with a flushed smile. "I dont' quite know what to say."
"Then don't say anything!" Em said, laughing as she grabbed up a sheet that had gotten tossed to the foot of the bed. She wrapped it under her arms and around her middle and sat up, stretching her legs as she did so. Only then did she notice the noise and the motion that was going on underneath Ambrose, and she couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
"Is your tail... wagging?"
He watched her lackadasically as she made her own morning preparations, a dopey smile on his face all the while. "Fine then - I suppose I won't!" he stuck out his tongue.
And with his good humour that morning, her surprised question made him actually laugh, the thumping becoming quicker. "I suppose it is!"
"Eeeh!" She squealed happily, absolutely giddy with the absolute surreality of it all. So he wouldn't think that she was laughing at him, she spoke through her laughter as she fell back onto the bed in glee.
"It's just that.... it's so funny..." she had a massive case of the giggles, "that a w...wolfman and a girl with.... quills coming out of her head... oh, my side... I'm going to split my sides open.." she rolled onto her stomach, speaking into the mattress as she laughed, "spent a night together... and woke up with his tail wagging. Oh... I can't breathe...wheee.."
To able to laugh at your own predicament despite the surreality and scariness of it all was almost as much of a catharsis as the previous night for Ambrose, as soon after his deeper laughter joined hers.
"When you put it that way-!" He said mirthfully. It really did make for an amusing mental image. "Sounds like something from a weird fantasy movie... or horror... I'm not quite sure, really." He teased.
He liked seeing her laugh like this. Mischiviously, he tickled his claws lightly along her blanket-wrapped side.
As soon as she felt his teasing touch along her side, Emelyn had a split-second realization in which she was just able to get the words "Oh no... not tickling... not..." before she had the reaction that, although common to that sort of touch, looked like some of the most bizarre, tribal behavior.
She squealed, kicking up her legs and rolling up against herself, folding her abdomen as far down upon itself as it would go which, admittedly, wasn't far. ...Yet. Tears streamed unbidden from her eyes as she rocked with laughter. Words like "No" "please" and "UNCLE UNCLE!" were all interspersed with joyous giggles and squeals until she finally rolled off his grasp and off the bed.
"Oh..." she said, getting her breath as she crawled to her feet. She held up her makeshift toga with one hand. "That... that is below the belt, wolfy. I am... ticklish everywhere." She pulled the chair out of her desk and sunk down into it, taking deep breaths that didn't quite clear the smile off her face.
"Whoo..." she said in an exhale of breath. "I wonder how soon it will take the island gossip mill to pick up on this one."
Ambrose tail was lashing around madly as he was struggling to defend himself from flailing limbs and keep up the tickling, his own chuckles and giggles matching hers. Finally, as she went over the side, he got on his hands and knees on the mattress and peered sheepishly over the side at the jumble of Emelyn.
He rose to a sitting position, and perched on the edge of the bed as she recovered, a bemused, wolfish smirk on his face. "Ooooh... I'll have to keep that tidbit filed away for future reference." He teased before getting to his own feet and proceeded to attempt to locate his shirt.
"But! I shall keep milady's secret" He bowed, dashingly. " ... using it only for my own vile purposes" he added, ruining the effect with a twinkle in his eyes.
"No!" She said, pointing at him with her free arm, "No.... that is not good information for later. You have now forgotten you know this information. It is NOT useable," she laughed, digging out clothes from her dresser. As she dug through her shirts, she looked over her shoulder curtly.
"Are you hungry? Because I'm starving. ...Does the cafeteria even serve breakfast? I don't think I've ever gotten up this early."
Ambrose snickered, and then stood stock-still, swaying slowly from side to side, staring off into the void. "I... will not... remember... not... usable... " He repeated mechanically, before breaking the act with another giggle, and he wiggled his claw-tipped fingers in her general direction.
Finally locating the shirt, he pulled it over himself and brushed himself off, running fingers through his hair. "Breakfast sounds perfect." He smiled. "I've been smelling bacon since I woke. I think the cafeteria is open all the time... it just doesnt' necessarily have much food out at odd hours."
"No peeking," Em mumbled, half-kidding and half-laughing as, back turned to him, she let the sheet fall and pulled a shirt over her head. Her jeans from the day before were still wearable, in the 'Em etiquette of laundry' and she hustled over to the desk to pick them up from where they'd gotten flung during... well... things...
Once she was basically dressed, she found her goggles where she'd dropped them and used them to pull the hair and quills from her eyes. After that, she looked around- the room was an utter mess, but something about it seemed to be a battleground where both sides had won. The imagery made Emelyn laugh, and she opened the door, wondering if anyone would see them leave the duplex together.
"To breakfast it is, then."
Ambrose turned his back, ever the gentleman... despite the fact that with his eyesight he had gotten a perfectly good look at what was under the sheets the night before... and feel... and smell...
He shook his head, brushing some of the shed fur off his pants. It was far too late for the bed save a good sheet washing.
When she was done, he came back over to her, taking her hand. "To Breakfast!" He agreed, and walked out with her, smiling into the sunshine.
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