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Attached to the front of your duplex door is a handwritten note with the Feral Labs logo in the top left corner.
In a flowery script, the following message is written:



((OOC: The Halloween party will take place in a separate thread in the guild that will be made for the event. The event will last in real time from Friday Oct 28 till the end of actual Halloween, Monday the 31st. Feel free to come and go at your leisure. If you would like to get artwork of your character in costume, we can post it in the first post or two of the event thread - PM the art to Sabin Duvert and he will collect it to post when he builds the thread.))

The night breeze carried a salty tang on it, digging runnels in the white stretch of beach that ringed the island. Karma watched as the sun slowly sank into the horizon, painting the waters a furious orange-red as it went. She felt that she was finally getting a better handle on all of it.

Perhaps it was the total isolation talking, but when you really thought about it...REALLY, there were worse things than being turned into an animal. Oddly enough it was easier to stomach than the idea of being imprisoned in a detention camp had been. There was still no word from the Doctor on a secondary injection yet...though, she supposed that he wouldn't be warning her. Warning would give her time to try and hide and make things difficult.

For now, that wasn't on her mind. This time of the night was reserved simply for herself and the sea as the tide came in. The raven-haired girl stopped on a sandy rise, arms about herself as she stared out into the water, silent and stoic.

Vasile sulked down the beach, thinking to himself. Things here just didn't seem "right" to him. This was going beyond bad service. None of his requests to get word to his managers were granted, he still didn't have the rest of his belongings that were susposed to one the second helicopter, and for being an "acting camp" he didn't see anything that would indicate such save for a set of very impressive prostetics on the man who owned the cat that tried to kill his dog.

No one else had a script. There were no cameras, or coaches.

And worst of all, the only person who hadn't treated him like utter s**t was his downstairs neighbor who, curse his luck, was gay. He was lonely and depserate, but not that desperate.

As he continued down the sand, he spotted someone down the way. Maybe there was a god - it was female!! And a rather attractive one from his vantage point. He quickly started to make his way to her, after first straightening his shirt and messing with his hair.

At first she paid the footsteps chuffing through the sand no heed, thinking that it must be someone on their way elsewhere. When they seemed to be heading right for her, she turned her head, squinting a bit against the light of the setting sun.

The sight of the blonde hair in the distance immediately made her think that The Dude had come to visit her once more and she smiled brightly, preparing to wave at him, only to realize her mistake as the figure drew closer and out of the glare of feverish yellow light. No, that wasn't him, this was someone she hadn't met before.

Her smile faltered, but remained as she didn't want to be rude and she offered a wave anyway to the approaching stranger.

Vasile trotted over, giving a dashing white smile to her and returning the wave. As soon as he got close enough to speak, he smiled warming and nodded his head. "Hello there." He looked out over the ocean. "Wow, thats beautiful, isn't it?"


"Yes." she said quietly, her arms folding back around herself once more as she looked back out to the water. "Its nice this time of the night. Everybody else is inside." A strange feeling crawled over her that she should know who he was. Her mind ran a hasty check through the familiar faces at school, in choir, online friends who had sent her a picture, and she drew a blank. Strange...

Vasile looked back over to the woman, letting his eyes wander over her. Fate must have been with him tonight - not only did he find a woman, a beautiful, unescorted woman alone on a beach.

He held out a hand to her. "Vasile DiRossi," he said. It was a pleasantry, of course, to introduce yourself. Sometimes women were hesitant to immediately ask who he was, or just an impressive lookalike. He gave his best headshot smile as he extended his hand.

She hesitated before extending her own, accepting the handshake. "Katherine DeFeo. My friends call me Karma..."

Her smile faded into a look of quirked-brow thoughtfulness "Vasile DiRossi...." she repeated the name quietly, trying it out. Suddenly she blinked, a missing piece of the puzzle almost audibly clicking into place. "....from the movies....??" she asked, crimson eyes widening. She nearly dropped his hand in surprise and half-expected him to laugh and tell her no, but that he got that a lot. Or something to that effect.

Vasile nodded, giving a non of understanding. "yes, thats me. Don't be embrassed, I look a lot different on screen." That wasn't entirely true, Vasile thought, but at least it made the girls feel better when he said that. "Its so very nice to meet you Karma. That's a beautiful name!"

"I--uhm--thank you...!" she faltered, almost certain that her cheeks were flushed brightly with embarrassment at this point. It was bad enough she couldn't introduce herself to normal people without tripping all over her tongue, but put her in the presense of a pop icon movie star and you could consider her pretty much useless. What was someone like -him- doing here, she wondered?

"Its nice to meet you too, Vasile..." she said, hoping that if she kept talking it might keep her from looking like an imbecile.

"So, what's such a beautiful woman like you doing out here all alone. Don't you know sunsets are much better to enjoy with company?" He looked back over the ocean, giving an appreciative smile.

The girl inwardly flinched at being called 'beautiful'. Attractive men who appeared in cinema just didn't CALL someone like her beautiful. It had to be an unwritten law someplace.

She followed his example and looked back out to the ocean, finding it easier to keep her thoughts in order when she wasn't looking at him. "I...I come here when it starts to get dark." she explained. "Its easier to think if I'm not holed up in my apartment or around everybody else."

She paused and tucked a stray strand of hair behind one ear absently. "But I don't mind company." she added quickly. That would be the last thing she needed...Mr. DiRossi thinking that she was snubbing him when ninety percent of the girls she'd gone to school with would have cheerfully killed to be in her place at the immediate moment.

It was about then that it occurred to her, with a sinking feeling, that she had not actually SEEN any of his films. She knew who he was, she'd seen his picture all over websites online, but as far as physically going to a theater and sitting through one of his movies...

....hopefully he was one of those guys who didn't like to "talk shop", otherwise she was about to be incredibly embarrassed.

"Yeah, the accommodations here are pretty cramped," he said to her response abut being holed up in her apartment.

He offered his arm to her. "Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked softly.


She blinked twice, startled, and she was aware that her hand, as though acting entirely on its own, was reaching out to accept the offered arm before her mind had even formulated an answer. "Okay." she said, her voice a near-whisper.

Vasile gave a smile that almost looked relieved. "Its been a long day," he admitted as he took her arm and started a casual stroll along the beach.

"So, how do you like it here so far? Its been hard to get used to for me..."

"Its getting better." she told him truthfully, walking alongside him at a sedate pace. "I was kind of a mess when I first got here..." Karma decided to spare him the details as he probably knew by now what they were all about here.

She hesitated and then ventured a question of her own. "Have you been here long? I've...not really met many people, so I'm not sure who got here when."

"I'm still a mess," he said reassuringly. "Over half my things haven't even arrived yet. And the treatment I've gotten has been appualling. And everyone has been so rude," he looked her in the eyes. "Except you of course. You're like a breath of fresh air.."

Vasile pondered a moment. "Only a few days. Still getting used to everything. I can barely eat the food here."

"Really? They've been rude...?" she asked, sounding disappointed. After meeting her upstairs neighbor and The Dude, she'd started to develop a slightly-more optimistic outlook on what the others must be like. Vasile's statement made her wary all over again, though.

She also thought the food here was just fine, but she kept that to herself. "I'm sorry you've had such a rough time...." she told him sincerely. Crackpot research project or not, Moreau must have been insane to not only lure a well-known celebrity here but to treat him badly. If they would look for anybody with a fine-toothed comb, it would be Vasile.

"If I can do anything, I'm over in building nine..." she offered. If they were all going to be here anyway, she supposed there was no reason they shouldn't offer to help one another and make the experience at large easier to deal with.

"I think I'll survive," he said, giving her a wink. "Especially since I'm feeling much more optimistic abuot this place now." In one smooth motion, his arm slid down her arm and across her back as he pulled her alittle closer. "Some people just don't know how to act around someone they've seen in a movie."

"Building nine, eh? Maybe you can show me sometime," he said, flashing her a smile, a glimmer in his eye. "I'm in 14 myself."

Her shoulders tensed a bit as he put his arm around her, but she did her best to simply go with it. Why not, after all...? It wasn't like she had a boyfriend. Forcing herself to relax, she kept talking.

"Well, that makes us neighbors, I suppose." she said with a lopsided smirk, realizing that it was stupid to say, considering all of the buildings were neighbors with each other.

The sun was now little more than an orange glow on the horizon, the indigos and blues of night painting the sky as the first of the stars began to wink on.

"Well then, neighbor, can I walk you home?" His voice was low and soft, and he leaned in close to her ear to speak. There was as subtle invitation to his voice, but just enough to put the thought in her head. His arm slid to the small of her back - but stayed above any off-limits areas. He gave her a comforting smile, then looked up to the stars.


The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood on edge momentarily at his question and a slight chill passed through her as his arm changed its position. ~Oh for crying out loud, get a -grip- on yourself, woman....~ she mentally chided herself. ~He asked if he could walk you home, that's all. He's trying to be a gentleman!~

"Sure." she told him, smiling. "I think I'd like that."

Vasile grinned and started to casually head back towards the village. "So where are you from?" he asked, trying to sound interested in her.

"Colorado." she replied, beginning to calm herself a bit. "I've been up in the mountains for so long that all of this tropical weather is really a switch..." she chuckled softly. She caught herself before asking where he was from in turn. Hollywood. Duh. Smooth, Karma.

"A snowbunny, then? I've never been much for the cold. I like it places like this."

The village was getting closer slowly. "So how did you land yourself here?" he asked.

"My parents sent me here..." she told him, chewing her lip thoughtfully, unsure of how much she should tell him. She didn't want him to think that she was some sort of angst-ridden headcase right after meeting her. "They thought it would be good for me." There. Good enough. She'd leave it at that.

"And you?"

"Ah, your parents just want to see you become great. You know, I bet you could be. If you're half as talented as your are lovely, you could be the next Hepburn." Vasile found himself coming awfully close to nine.

"Me? Oh, my manager set me up here. He also thought it could do me good. Let me tell you, managers. Just when you think you get away from your parents, you get a manager. They can be even worse sometimes..."

Vasile stopped in front of her door. "Home already," he said, a pout on his shapely lips. He turned to face her, lightly running a finger over her cheek.

The talk of managers set off warning bells somewhere in her head. .....wait, did he not know what was going on here? Had no one clued him in yet? As she turned to ask how much he'd been told, she found herself pinned beneath his gaze and her train of thought came to a screeching halt.

"Yeah..." she heard herself say, her heart speeding up a bit as his finger brushed her cheek. "Home already."

Pause.

"Would...." she cleared her throat and tried again. "Would you like to come in for a minute...?" she inquired.

Vasile had to resist jumping up and down for joy. "I would love to," he said in a very deep, bedroom voice. He waited for her to unlock the door, letting his eyes linger over her. Oh yes. THIS is what acting camp was good for.



*~*~*~*~*~


Vasile woke up fairly early the next morning. It was habit, for he usually spend a good hour running or working out in the mornings. Today, of course, he was feeling particuarly invigorated. He looked over to the sleeping woman beside him and gave himself a satisfied smile. Damn I'm good, he mused to himself. And he was. Vasile put much pride in his bedroom skills, and worked harder on skills as a lover than me most likely did for his skills as an actor. Women weren't exactly conquests for him like they were for so many men his age. He didn't objectify women. But he did love the hunt. Sex was fun, and thats all. He wasn't ready for any long-commitment relationship.

He stretched and slipped out of bed, gathering his clothes. Maybe he should go running. But a shower would be pleasant. Or maybe he should run to the cafeteria (he sneered even thinking the word 'cafeteria') and grab from orange juice and bagels. But he didn't want to send off too much of the "good morning, honey" signals. Nor did he just want to leave. He would be having to work with this woman for the next month.

Karma felt the mattress shift, and then stirred quietly at the minute rustlings of Vasile getting dressed. Her eyes cracked open just enough to see him in the dim light of the room and she quickly shut them again, her mind awakening itself rudely to recollect what had happened last night.

It had started innocently enough. The typical "Come in for a minute, can I get you something to drink?" but conversation had dried up quickly. And the surrogate for conversation had become....

....she'd found she couldn't say no. Despite the fact she and he had had no reason in the world to end up in bed together, he'd known all of the right things to say and all of the right things to do to convince her otherwise. Now that the heat of the moment was gone, her mind was clear enough once more to wonder what the hell she'd been thinking.

To make matters worse, it looked like he was hoping to slip out before she was awake. Maybe she'd let him....that would make it easier. And then once he was gone, she would be better able to get herself together and figure out what to do next. She continued to lay still, pretending to sleep.

Vasile got dressed and looked at the door, then back at the woman. Maybe in another circumstance where he could just slip away... but here...on an island. Women react so differently. But, she was a fellow actress, so as a professional courtesy he came back to the bed and sat down. He stroked her hair gently, trying to rouse her. He planted a caring smile, but tried to look more friendly than affectionate. "Morning, Karma."

Her eyelids fluttered and then opened as she looked up at him, managing a sleepy smile. Maybe she'd been too quick to judge him...

All the same, it was awkward. Though she hadn't been a virgin, she wasn't what one would call experienced by any stretch of the term and she just wasn't the type for casual encounters under normal circumstances.

"Hi..." she said softly, stretching and then moving to sit up in the rumpled sheets.


"I, uh.. I had fun last night," he said with an awkward smile. "I was just about to head back to my room and grab a shower. You want me to run an get you anything from the... cafeteria?"

"Oh...um....no, I'm all right." she faltered. She wasn't sure what was considered polite conversation at the moment. Somehow "K, thnx 4 s3x" didn't quite cut it. She supposed not everybody could say that they'd gone to bed with a movie star, but then that really wasn't something you discussed around the dinner table either.

Part of her felt relieved that he was leaving after all and part of her just felt....empty. "I'll...I'll probably head down there in a bit. I need the walk."

Vasile smiled and nodded, trying not to look too relieved. "I'll probably be seeing you around. We should do this again sometime." He gave her a friendly wink, and headed out the door - after first stopping to run a hand through his deshelved hair a few times. He gave her a final wave before shutting the door.

Once by herself, she sat still for a moment and then drew her knees to her chest, resting her head upon them with a heavy sigh. Again sometime...no, she didn't think so. Not that he hadn't been good at what he did, but it just....wasn't her.

Kicking back the blankets, she got out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom to run the hot water. Great...just when she thought things were calming down, she had to go and do something stupid and stir them up again.

Karma, still under monitering in the labs, undergoes another transformation.




((If/when you ever do decide to change Karma back into an RP character, just let us know and we'll work her back in)).