Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Hey guys!" Awen waved them in and gestured to the chairs. "Have a seat, maybe a controller?" She'd taken the pleasantries in stride. In her condition she didn't really catch what Miller had said until the two were inside.

After a moment she blinked and paused her game. "Wait what did you say?" Her brow furrowed and her fuzzy mind struggled with the concept. "No way Miller it hasn't been that long since I saw ya."

Had it? Granted the manta lost track of time pretty easily sicne coming to the island but no she'd seen him just a bit before valentines day hadn't she? And that was only about two months ago, well -ish. But there was no way he'd been in a comma for that long. She may not have really talked to the pair but the island wasn't silent of the drama. The girl knew how to keep silent and listen to the whispers of gossip.

She shook her head. "Couldn't have been four months, I just saw you what early february or something? And the both of you?" Her face contorted slightly to a frown. "But seriously are you guys alright? Maybe you've just had some nasty dreams... or I dunno... as hell of a night as I must have had last night."

Lauren nodded, "I had the same damn thing happen and all the clocks say it's August." She shuddered. "There is dust everywhere. I've been in a coma for four months before, it didn't SEEM to have been months while I was out but it WAS. This is just like that only I'm not sick... or at least I don't FEEL sick." She wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. "I just don't know what the ******** is going on Awen and aparently you don't either?"

Miller sat the controller down walking back over to sit with Lauren, safely away from the pool for that matter. He nodded in agreement, "Butz the labz can cover upz us bein herez they can proablyz coverz other stuffz up on islandz too. We could havez gotten sickz, we just wokez up. Anythingz could have happenedz while wez was outz."

He shook his head and sighed, "Wez only been outz for a bit todayz, Laurenz came to mah duplex then we camez here, we didn'tz run in to any one on the wayz so maybez there all stillz out or somethingz?"

Awen looked over to her friend and sighed a little bit. She knew the fear, the panic for having been out for so long. She'd missed so much last time, lost so many connections... most of which had not been regained even now. But what could they do in this situation? Freak out? Run, hide, scream? Cry? No, no, they could do none of it. It wouldn't help and it wouldn't be productive at all. They had to figure things out, it was the only way to keep calm, just don't think of the moments you missed, the people that had been left wondering where you were.

Vaguely Awen had wondered if anyone had really missed her last time. If anyone had noted her absence or thought there was something wrong with not seeing her for so long. Last time she had been in this situation she had set herself into a bit of a depression, had anyone really cared that this little blue manta ray had gone missing? None seemed to have noticed all that much, but she wouldn't set herself the same trap. Not this time. She wouldn't worry about such things. What mattered was figuring out what happened while they were out.

Besides, these two had thought of her upon awakening. They had cared. They were worried. A small peice of Awen couldn't help but smile at that, and that part showed. "Ah Lauren, you should know by now it'll take more than that to get rid of me. I don't go down that easily. But I appreciate the sentiment... really."

She turned her attention back to Miller, her tone hardening as she did. "Still out? You think there were more like us Miller?" She tilted her head a little and glanced to Lauren. "Actually now that I think about it we were out the last time almost together weren't we Lauren? I mean maybe the same thing happened again, it's not likely but I suppose not as impossible as I had made it seem."

Lauren nodded, "Glad you're alright Awen." She said with a slight smile, leaning onto Miller's shoulder and grasping his hand. She was being unusually quiet right now, and whenever she did talk it sounded small and weak, like a beaten child. "Yeah does seem like the labs did this..." She shook her head not really wanting to think of why or how. They had controll over her life, not herself as she had often thought of. "We should search for others as well..."

Miller turned looking at Lauren he allowed her to snuggle up to him leaning his head to nuzzle her forehead gently before looking up to Awen again. "Labz or notz we needz to know whatz up."

"I don't recallz being sickz, just numbz and tinglyz like mah boddyz was just wakenz up forz first timez." He nodded and hefted the bag on his shoulder, "We gotz plenty waterz in here case youz need some whilez were out Awen'z next questionz were we gona goez?"

Awen looked at her old friend for a moment a little oddly. While everything she said currently was true she sounded off from how Awen had always remembered Lauren. The girl was a bit more nervous, a lot more angry with the labs and... mind you she was cuddling with Miller. Such a big change from last time the manta saw the mongoose.

"I don't know if they'll give us answers." She mumbled a bit as she pulled herself from the pool. "At least with me Sabin hasn't always been very forthcoming with information. Last time I called and he told me right away, but if it involves more than just me, if it involves everyone like you think Miller... then I just don't know. It's not like they told us about the lockout right away. At least I didn't get information readily from that."

She sighed as she grabbed a towel from the nearby rack and quickly patted herself dry with it. Not enough to get all the water off of her skin but enough to stop from dripping water everywhere.

"This is probably one of those things they won't be very open with us about. It has that kind of vibe to it."