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Oh, right. She was scared of snakes. He had forgotten. Briefly his smile faltered, but it returned when she joined him at the table. He wasn't...that snakelike yet, after all, save perhaps for his tail and scales, so she could tolerate him and eventually get over it? And by the sound of things, she always was. "Really, now? 'Ow'd you manage that? No offense, but I can't see you catchin' somethin' off the island."

It didn't occur to him to ask what kind of snake it was. He didn't even know what kind of snake he was turning in to, nor did he particularly care just yet. A snake was a snake was a snake, and that was that, and he was one. "Mn... Learnin' to tolerate it," he admitted, shrugging slightly. However, he soon grinned, fondly patting the crutch propped against the table at his side. "Could be worse, I s'pose. I don't need a chair."

"Did they?" He raised a brow, surprised by the show of generosity. Or perhaps the staff were trying to scare Cassidy out of her mind. Though, by the woman's reaction to the snake, he doubted that. And he had to admit, though he wasn't what one might call 'happy' here, he was well taken care of. They all were. It was just a matter of requesting whatever they wanted from the staff.

"Oh, no, I meant..." Standing was an easy process of simply balancing his weight with his tail while he rose to his feet, and Thom did so, palms flat on the table. "I don't need a wheelchair. Makin' due with a crutch." After a pause, he returned to his seat, nodding. "Second, yes. Is it? How so?"

"Much," he proudly assured her. Thom had only once been injured to the point that he had needed a wheelchair, and the weeks he had been limited to the evil contraption had been sheer hell. In this situation, he would avoid such a thing at all costs. It was bad enough that he was stuck here forever. Being stuck here and confined to a chair would be unbearable.

He listened curiously as she explained her second transformation, nodding slightly once she finished. "Mine's flattened out a bit, t'be 'onest... Let's see... More scales, my 'ands've changed a good deal. Tail's longer, one leg's shorter, an' I've got this...thing on my neck." He grimaced, lifting a hand to the odd formation. "'Aven't th' faintest idea what it is."

Since his change, the mere thought of the change to his neck had tugged at his mind, hinting that the answer to the clue was just out of reach.. He knew it, he was sure, but the pieces didn't want to fit together. Reptiles were not Thom's strong point. Nor, for that matter, were any other animals, or the Cardassion neck ridges their select features may remind people of.

"My thoughts exactly. But you also have feathers. Per'aps they mixed my serum with somethin' as well? There doesn't seem t' be a point t'mine, though."

"Eh, no worries." He shrugged, letting his hand fall back to the table. "They don't get in th' way or anythin'. I'm just curious as t' why they're there, that's all." They were utterly pointless to his knowledge. However, if she was correct, and she probably was, their purpose would be discovered once his changes were further along...

Oh goody.

"Any'oo," he began, changing the subject, "I 'aven't seen you since.. th' football match, per'aps? What've you been up to?"

"Ahh, you're right. I saw you shortly after my first change." He shook his head at his own forgetfulness, smile fading slowly at her quiet reply. "Can't say I've seen many either... Natsumi, mostly. D'you know her? Alec, but that didn't go well... And you. Since my change."

Pausing briefly, he searched for a way to end the silence, gaze finally falling on his still-full plate. "...D'you ever 'ave problems eatin' th' cafeteria food?"

"Natsumi's my upstairs neighbor," he explained absently. "Japanese. And Alec's a ruddy little b*****d. Irish." Thom wasn't feeling remotely amiable towards Alec at present.

"Ahh..." He grimaced, peering down at his plate. That had never occurred to him before. "I can chew well enough. That's not th' problem. I just...can't eat it. I lierally 'ave t'stuff food down my throat a couple of times a week t'eat at all. It's just... Limited activities." He shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "What d'you eat, then?"

Thom nodded, grimacing slightly. Blood...warm blood might do it. Maybe. He doubted it, somehow. But perhaps it would work. "I couldn't swallow somethin' that big whole yet. I nearly choked when I accidently tried somethin' much smaller. Mind, that was after my last change, but I don't think I've changed enough t' risk it yet... "

He paused, glancing towards the buffet. He hadn't seen anything that had really won his interest, but then, he hadn't thought rare meat would be the thing to do it, and thus hadn't looked. However, he didn't think he would bother just yet... The thought wasn't very appetizing. What he wanted was something, well... "'Ave you ever considered, ah...anythin' live?"