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The leafy grass, largely untamed the further the horse-man got from the village, tickled at the bare undersides of his feet. Despite having struggled to try to accommodate his sandals to his new toes, they had proved simply not flexible enough. Besides that, he reveled in still possessing the sense of touch in at least part of his feet, something that he would enjoy as long as he could.

With him bounded his furry four-legged companion, tongue flapping in the wind as she ran about chasing the odd bird. The deep blue of the afternoon sky was enough to lift even his own spirits, and he found his attention drawn ever higher. What would it be like, to soar in that blue expanse, the wind whipping his mane and air beating his feathers. His wings stretched hopefully, giving an involuntary flap. Could he fly? Perhaps...

Gaius' attention was suddenly wrenched back to earth by the loud, almost anxious barking of Vixen. Looking around, he saw her standing within the line of trees, tail erect and barking incessantly at him. She seemed to be standing over something. A body? Gaius hurried forward. He'd heard whispers, despite being hidden away the past week, of something out there in the jungle, and of dead bodies. Heart quickening, the horse-man's pace quickened until he got close to the body, then he suddenly slowed. The body was thin, quite obviously changed by the ears and... hooves. A closer look showed it to be quite familiar as well.

"E-Emerwyn?" Gaius' heart caught in his throat. Had he stumbled upon a kill? Was she dead? But there was no blood. He crouched down, resting the palm of his hand against her throat, but he could already see she was breathing. Thank goodness! He moved his hoof up to brush her cheek, worried now if she was somehow hurt in another way, such as a broken bone or some poisoning. "Emerwyn!" he called again.

Gaius's ears flicked up. Ian? Who was this Ian? He could see the dreamy quality of her expression pass into recognition and felt a pang as it did so - their last meeting had not been one of his best.

"Y-Yeah, it's me. What... happened to you?" He glanced over her. Still no signs of injury, and he had not yet had enough experience with his heightened nose to trust the information he could gather from it. However, there was a certain tightness to the lines of her face, almost a drawn look that was still readable in her barely-human features. "Are you, er, alright?"

"Fainted?" Gaius frowned. Proper manners conflicted with emotions and residual guilt as he debated what to do. Should he take her hand? But would that be too forward, would she even want his help? She was all alone out here, surely it was his duty, having found her, to return her to her duplex or perhaps the clinic. Finally, he offered her a three-fingered hand, though his body language remained nervous, and he was shy of getting too close.

"But the sun hasn't even been that bad lately, what with the rain clouds passing through. Maybe you need some water? Have you, er, been eating alright?"

The horse-man's own worry grew as he watched her unusual behavior, misreading the hand she placed on her stomach. "W-Was it something you ate? Perhaps we should get you to the village center..." He held his hand out a bit more insistently. "Come on, maybe they'll know what's wrong..."

Gaius lifted his worried eyes to meet Emerwyn's gaze, the first time he'd done so since finding her. It amazed him how much depth those brown eyes held... There was something about her air, something solemn that he responded to by lowering his own voice as he spoke.

"W-What did she say? Will you be alright...?"

Emerwyn hardly saw or noticed Newton approaching. And just as the frog entered earshot, Emerwyn steeled herself up to say it.

"I think I'm pregnant."

It was the repetition of the P-word that made the frog loose his timing and land on his face rather than his feet. Newt tumbled to a stop beside Gaius, gaping up at both of them once he had finished seeing stars. "W-w-woo-woo-what?" Pregnant? What? Newt himself wasn't entirely sure of the whole process. He had read things in books, of course, and heard many a story from a rowdy guard or three, but having never experienced the process of baby making, it all seemed mysterious and unnatural. The idea that this... deer woman mutated hybrid had a little parasitic deer hybrid creature slowly growing inside of her made him feel a little ill.

"P-Possible?" Geeze, he was sounding like a parrot. Gaius flinched and rubbed his hoof-fingers over his nose awkwardly.

"I... I don't know. I never really thought about... you know? This!" He waved a hand at the belly she had laid a hand over, as if there was anything to see. "I mean, I guess if you're married it's the next step and all, I just hadn't really thought anything like that was possible here. I don't know anything about this genetic stuff or DNA, so I'm not really one to ask..."

It suddenly hit him. Emerwyn was married! He hadn't even thought of it - all the other islanders seemed to be single here! Lowering his head bashfully, the horse-man spoke in a warmer tone. "Er, ah, congratulations to your husband...?"