Welcome to Gaia! ::

Thom gratefully accepted the chair, sinking down on it and reaching over to retrieve his glass of water. Water was water, and water it would always be. It was safe enough. After downing half the glass, he set it back down and waved away Rex's apology, shaking his head. "Perfectly understandable. An' thank you. Good thing y' came along, eh?" He cracked a grin, finally breathing normally once more, and glanced over towards the door. "Did someone else come in?"

Zach, Zach... Thom didn't think he had met this 'Zach' yet. "Terribly thoughtful of him, I'm sure," Thom replied dryly, frowning towards the door. Scooping up his glass, he down the rest of the water, then climbed somewhat shakily for his feet. "I'm goin' to 'ead back t' my duplex, I think. Don't 'ave much appetite after that, y'know. Thanks again for your 'elp." Nodding to Rex, he picked up the tray and carried it over to be cleaned, then started for the door. "I'm in duplex 45 if y'need anythin'," he added, then slipped outside and was off.

~New RP~

Ian hobbled into the cafeteria and grimaced. He hated having to use a cane, it was such a pain. And for the millionth time since his change he wondered why he had to have the misfortune of a bad transformation.

At the counter he eyed the selection of salads and fruit before loading his plate with an oriental looking salad (vegetarian of course), and grabbing an apple juice. Somehow maanaging to balance his plate on a single hand/hoof he sat down at the nearest table, hunching over his food due to his thicker neck and chest. Life sucked right now, and he figured that perhaps he had to stop being so self conscious, after all, other people were turning into worse things, though that didn't cheer him up much.

Ian watched from the corner of his eye as the female entered the cafeteria. Looking at her he decided that he had never met her before. Reclusive as he was, there were lots of people he had never met, even ones that had been around to change at least a few times.

He watched as she gathered food, eating his salad awkwardly with a fork he could barely hold decently. It seemed she was into vegetables as well.

Swallowing the bite he was chewing Ian hesitated before speaking. "If you um. . .want company, you can sit over here." Perhaps the deer was craving some company, he hadn't seen many people since his latest change.

Ian blicked at her accent. He could tell she was Asian, but could not place her heritage being the sheltered American guy he was. And the way she introduced himself. . .he wasn't sure, but didn't sometimes some Asian people introduced themselves with their family name first. So was her name Natsumi, or Tanaka? He didn't know enough about her or Asian names to tell.

"Er, I am Ian Campbell" He didn't try to reach out to shake her hand. He knew enough to know that that would be foreign to her maybe. "Forgive my asking, but do you know what you are becoming?" There was nothing familiar to him in her features that he could place to an animal.

Some sort of reptile. Of course, the labtechs seemed fond of reptiles.

"yeah, a deer." though he had never been formally told, Ian had been reading books and figured out what type he was becoming. "I have a tail, though it is very small." He wondered briefly how the other people could handle having a longer tail and his ears twitched because he could not picture himself having a longer tail. "Except my last change went weird." he gestured to the cane resting against the table. "One of my legs changed more than the other so I can't walk properly." He hated it, he wanted to be able to walk properly again, even if it meant another change.

Then Ian understood a bit. He had wrongly assumed that everyone Moreau brought in would understand English, but Natsumi (he had decided since it became obvious that English was not her best language) was still learning. He hoped he hadn't said anything that she wouldn't understand, but if she didn't understand she would say so, right?

"I have a cane." In fact, the deer-man didn't even know the proper name for something that would lift the foot or leg. "Besides, Dr. Lockheart" (he hoped she knew who Aubrey was) "said that it should be fixed when I change again."

The deer frowned. He had realized that the reason he came to the island was completely stupid. Had he just stayed at home he would have been still working at a grocery store, he might have gotten a girlfriend, he would still be able to talk to his younger brother who would have just finished his first year of law school.

Without thinking, he gave an answer, but it was cryptic and Natsumi might not understand. "I came here because of what I was told it was. I thought it was something I wanted, but coming here taught me that even what I had thought I wanted wasn't really what I wanted."

He'd been there for about 10 months, and during that time he had grown to know himself and for the first time in his life, get real friends. It made him wonder that if he hadn't come, would all this have happened? "Why are you here?"