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Nita went through the cafeteria's buffet line, collecting her usual plate full of bamboo, assorted fruit, and some nuts. Along with her own food, she grabbed a styrofoam container and filled it with some lunchmeat to take back to her duplex for Lauren. Glancing around the large room, Nita chose a spot near the door. She sat, turning the chair backwards in the process, to keep her tail out of the way. They really did need more chairs like the one Gaius had made for her, Nita grumbled. Sitting backwards was not practical.

Rachel stepped into the cafeteria, and was disappointed to find someone already in there. She wasn't particularly fond of eating around other people, but...she would put up with it. Not having eaten since yesterday morning, she knew she had to eat something.

She glanced at the red-haired girl as she walked over to the spread of food, noticing that she was covered in fur and had a fairly substantial tail. Someone else who had been here a while. So far, Shenzi was the only person she'd met that was still human, like her.

She turned back to the food and passed most it, finally getting a small plate of plain, brown rice and a bottle of water. After grabbing a fork, she sat down at a table facing Nita.

Nita's triangular ears twitched as someone entered the room. Human, dark-haired, very thin. Much more slender than she had been before her latest change. She chewed her food quickly as the other girl sat down across from her. "Hey," Nita said cheerily, her mouth finally clear. "I'm Nita."

"I'm Rachel," she said in response, giving Nita a slight nod. Rachel studied Nita's face a little longer than was probably polite, trying to figure out what animal had been selected for the girl. Something seemed familar about the markings, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Realizing that she might appear like she was staring, Rachel ducked her head and pushed the rice around her plate a bit. Even if she wasn't the most social creature, she didn't mean to be rude...unless she was mad, but that's a different matter.

Not wanting the other gitl to think she was being blow off, Rachel took a stab at starting conversation with well...the obvious. Being here even a few more days had helped her become more comfortable with talking about it.

"So...you've been here a while then?" she asked, glancing at Nita's fur again, before taking her first bite of food.

"Rachel," she repeated, committing the name and face to memory. Not that the girl would look the same for very long... but it was the thought that counted. Nita let her stare, figuring it was sheer curiosity instead of anything malevolent.

"Yeah. Since early April, so..." Nita took a few more bites, mentally counting out the months. "Almost 8 months, I guess. And... I'm really really hoping you already know what's going on around here." Her voice rose slightly on the last word. Nita had informed far too many new islanders of their fate over similar meals.

Rachel nodded sadly in response to Nita's psudo-question, letting out a sigh and taking another small bite before speaking.

"Yeah...I think it was Emelyn, Tommy and Lucas, who told me..." she said, hoping she had recalled their names corretly.

"Even though I didn't want to come here in the first place, I think I much prefer the other reason to this...at least with that, I would have gotten to go home someday..."

"Good," Nita sighed, visibly relieved. "Yeah, I know all three of them, although I haven't seen them for a while..." Tommy, of course, was one of the islanders she'd had the privilege to disillusion, and it was a relief to hear the Emelyn was out and about.

Nita raised a brow at Rachel. "What did they tell you to get you here?"

"They were all pretty nice..." she said, covienently forgetting to mention how she reacted when she first saw Emelyn.

"Oh...uh...more like what they told my parents. They're under the disillusion that I'm too skinny and that the doctor's here would make me fatter." She frowned and shrugged off that notion with a wave of her fork, continuing on as if her parents were crazy.

"I told them they I shouldn't go, that the doctors didn't know what they were talking about, but did they listen?" She sighed shaking her head, and took a swig from her bottle of water.

Nita's other brow rose to join the first. "Ahh," she said noncommittally. "Hm." She glanced at Rachel's frail frame, thinking that her parents were probably right.

"Well," she ventured, brushing a strand of hair out of her face in an habitual gesture, "What would happen if they 'made you fatter'?" Nita made air-quotes around the words. There were certainly lots of animals that could provide just that... Even something as innocuous as a red panda was rather fluffy and chubby, as Nita could attest.

"You mean what would I do?" Rachel tilted her head to the side slightly at the question. She hadn't really bothered to think a great deal about it, as they had left her alone thusfar, figuring she'd cross that bridge if she came to it.

"I suppose that would depend on what method they used..." she said, not really thinking that the animal they had chosen for her would do that, and concentrating instead on the more conventional tactics. Besides, this topic of conversation never led her to think clearly, though she would say otherwise. All the talk about making her fatter was making Rachel self concious, and she set down her fork, pushing her plate away, even though she had only eaten about half of the small portion of rice.

"Hm," Nita said again. Someone definitely had something less than pleasant in store for this girl, who definitely had an eating disorder. Anorexia, probably, she figured, thinking back to health class years ago.

"But what if there was nothing you could do?" she pressed, not entirely sure why she was even bothering. It certainly wasn't her business... Nita eyed the unfinished rice, taking the last couple of bites of fruit from her own plate

"I...don't know...I'm sure I could come up with something..." she said, a bit uncertain. Rachel didn't like where this conversation was going. She didn't like being told that she might not be able to control what was done with her body. It was hers after all, why should anyone else have a say?

Nita certainly understood the desire to control her body and her surroundings. Her medication helped, but she had been forced to give up much of that control in the last few months: the changes were unavoidable and there were cameras everywhere. Nita had to deal, or lose her mind completely. And, as she had asserted to several people (trying to convince herself) she was still Nita. Fur and over-large tail and all. But how could she explain that to someone so consumed by their own body-image? To someone who hurt herself (as Nita used to) in order to exact that control? She sighed softly.

"Just... stay yourself. Inside. No matter what they do to us on the surface, you're still 'you' on the inside. Different, but... eh," Nita finished lamely. "I know it sounds dumb, but it helps. Sort of." She offered the younger girl a tentative grin.

Except for Annie. Was there anything left of her sweet, shy neighbor in that wolf's body? Nita pushed the thought away, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Rachel fidgeted in her seat, only halfway listening to what Nita had to say, her mind occupied with thoughts of trying to maintain her appearance. She was unaware of how much Nita had in common with her, otherwise she might have paid the advice more heed.

"Yeah...well I'll still fight them..." she said defiantly, and looked at the red panda girl, to make Nita think she was listening, while her mind continued down it's twisted path. Rachel half wondered whether she could hide somewhere on the island, so they couldn't do anything to her, as she was unaware of the cameras everywhere and the chip implanted in her neck. She also hadn't heard of the problems that came with not having the changes, but probably wouldn't have cared anyways. Rachel was starting to go into a form of self-preservation mode.

Nita quirked a smile, working hard not to seem condescending. "You do that," she said. "But..." Nita hesitated. Would this be crushing her hopes? Or just giving her useful information?

"We're all chipped. The doctors can buzz us out, and track us, too, I think. And there's constant surveillance." She reached up to touch the nape of her neck and glanced at the corner, near the ceiling, where a small camera was barely visible. Constant surveillance except for when we need it the most, she thought bitterly.

"Buzz us out? You mean like make us go unconsious or something? And they watch us all the time?" Rachel's eyes opened in horror and surprise. In it's own way, this news was worse for her than finding out about the nature of the island. It meant she was left with almost no control. She couldn't even try to hide and be on her own, without someone knowing where she was, which defeated the purpose. There was no way to protect herself from the enemy.

Nita winced. She probably should have kept her mouth shut. Too late for that, though. "Pretty much," she said softly. "I've been buzzed a couple of times... It's a weird feeling."

The red panda girl leaned towards Rachel, her voice low. "I hate the cameras. It's creepy, but.. after a while? Sometimes I forget they're there. It's part of taking back your own life." She bit her lip, wondering if she was having any sort of positive effect on this girl or just freaking her out more. Nita rubbed her forehead, her elbow banging the styrofoam box on the table.

"s**t," she muttered. "Um, I should get this stuff in the fridge..."

Rachel wondered how one could forget about cameras that were watching you all the time. I mean, she knew that there would be some kind of survailance, but she didn't expect it everywhere. And god knows she hadn't expected to be tracked. She was at a loss as far as what to do. This place was more of a hell than she had imagined.

"Hmm?" she muttered, when she heard Nita speak, the words registering a moment later when she saw the box.

"Oh...yeah...I have some things I should probably do as well," Rachel said, not knowing if she would actually do anything, or if she would simply retreat to the semi-privacy of her duplex. All of this talk made her want to work even harder at getting her body to where she thought it should be, but it also made her feel depressed and helpless.

Nita stood, turning the chair back around. She gathered up her dirty dishes, stacking them neatly on the tray and tucked the styrofoam box under one arm.

"Hey, I'm sorry I had to tell you that, but.. it's important to know what you're dealing with, right?" The girl smiled, standing a bit awkwardly between the table and the nearest trashcan. She noticed Rachel hadn't ever finished that small portion of rice. Ah well... There were real doctors on the island, and they could get the nutrients Rachel needed into, even if she wouldn't eat.

"I'll see you around, I'm sure." With a quick wave, Nita deposited her tray in the appropriate spot and exited the cafeteria. It was time to check on Lauren.

"I guess..." Rachel said as Nita got up and deposited her dishes, and then headed for the door. "I'm in number 76 if you want to know..." she called after her, giving a halfhearted wave.

Once Nita had left, Rachel slumped down on the table, burying her face in her bony arms and cried for a few moments. How was she going to survive in a place like this? It had been bad enough dreading coming here for a few months. Now she was here...forever, and worse than she had ever imagined.

Afraid that someone would see her, Rachel got herself under control after a few minutes and wiped her eyes, before running back to her duplex, the water and rice on the table completely forgotton