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 Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:51 pm
"Care to make a donation?"Gaius wrestles an unwilling blood sacrifice for FFidatof Bochinsky It was a little while after Sayuri, Newt and F had parted ways when the cafeteria doors swung open with a tuneful hum. The hum had not, in fact been produced by the doors, but by the F that emerged from them. This particular F was armed with a small package under one arm, a paper bag in the other, and a cigarette slotted between his flea-like mouth bristles. After being quizzed by Delia about his reasons for wanting the contents, she had eventually agreed and cooked him up a nice little box of fun things. It had actually been easier than F was expecting, especially concidering that recent mess involving a syringe vs. Aubrey. As he neared his duplex once more, F flicked his cigarette butt to one side and came to an abrupt halt in front of the farmyard animal that was tied up just outside. Time to milk the goat.. The animal bleated impatiently, catching the scent of something tasty within the bag that was being held in front of it. Gaius Harper Still wood and tool-less, Gaius was once again left to his own devices to entertain himself. There was only so much time he could spend in the boring grey duplex before he felt himself growing restless and nervous. It was strange, he'd always been fine in confined spaces, having been a city boy most of his life, but for some reason the green openness of the island made everything inside seem too small and restricting. He'd left his duplex, clad in flip flops and shorts instead of his usual jeans due to the accumulating dirt - he really needed to do laundry some time - and wandered in the general direction of the village center, thinking to grab a snack or catch a movie. A jaunty whistle escaped his lips as Gaius walked, eyes up on the blue sky rather than on where he was going. Thus, he nearly missed the man and goat entirely, until he heard the insistent bleat. His head snapped around at the unusual sound, thinking it to be another strange island creature, before he saw the two. A goat was most unusual a sight on the island. Turning his feet in their direction, Gaius ambled over slowly, so as not to intrude. He held up a hand in a casual greeting, offering a smile. He couldn't see much of the guy from his angle, but he didn't look like anyone the architect had met yet. "Hey there! Out enjoying the sun too?" he said, though his eyes darted between the man and the goat, clearly curious as to just what was taking place, but too polite to ask what he was doing with the animal. Fidatof Bochinsky "Y' want some of vis, eh?" the man purred to the animal. He spoke in a rough Cockney accent streaked with strange foreign influences, his hand reaching into the paper bag and withdrawing to reveal a bunch of lettuce leaves. He waved them infront of the goat teasingly, which struck the ground with a hoof and tugged at its restraint. "Oh- Yes-" F spoke unthinkingly, raising his handfull of lettuce briefly before turning his head towards what had sounded like an American. He simply blinked in the sight of the taller, unchanged man, and then turned back to the goat, empty stomach steering his attention. He threw the vegetables at the animal's feet. "Lovely day." F said casually as the goat began to collected them up and munch on them greedily, three-pronged tongue running along his bristles absently. Gaius Harper Gaius smiled as he saw the fellow feeding the goat. Perhaps it was a pet? That was very nice, really... The smile quickly slipped as the fellow turned his face towards Gaius. He had the strangest looking moustache... that was a moustache, right? Gaius really hope it was, though the way it hung over the man's mouth... And what had happened to his face? It was like someone had come along and drew a knife straight down the middle, and then stuck the two halves back together like an apple. Gaius stared blatantly before shaking himself, thankfully missing the sight of the bizarre tongue, and shrugged, trying to regain his composure. "Ah, yeah... Er..." His eyes darted between the strange man and the goat, deciding the goat was an easier sight to handle. Just when Gaius thought he couldn't see anything stranger on the island... At least this guy looked largely normal except for his face. He stepped a bit closer to the goat, enough to hold a conversation without being too close. The fellow had a strong accent. Maybe he was from one of those poorer countries? Where they had farm animals for pets? That seemed likely with the goat. After all, it wasn't like they needed to kill anything for food! "So... uh, this your goat?" He spoke with a friendly smile, crouching slightly to examine the goat on its level as the creature ate eagerly. "Cute fella. Does he have a name?" Fidatof Bochinsky F only grinned slightly in response to the staring. "No, not really." he answered the first question simply. This was the second time someone had asked if it was his goat. F pondered the possible reasons for owning a goat by choice, and decided it would be a stupid thing to do. "It's on loan." he concluded, waving a hand towards it vaguely. "I like t' call it Lousy Git, but I don't fink it appreciates vuh name too much." F didn't bother correcting Gaius's mistake concerning the animal's gender. The food was only a distraction. Once the goat appeared sufficiently occupied, F kneeled down next to the animal and zipped open the package at his side. It looked a bit like a first aid kit. F seemed to consider the contents for a moment, then slowly tilted his head towards the other man. "You ever.. uhm, given blood?" he asked the other man casually, eyes straying back to watch the goat. Gaius Harper That goat seemed quite content to ignore both of them as it ate. Gaius shifted closer, reaching out a hand to scratch it atop its head, a small smile crossing his face. He was thankful the strange man hadn't commented on the impolite attention he'd paid to his unusual facial features. Though up close, it was much harder to pass off those lip growths as a moustache. Maybe he was becoming a walrus? They had odd lips, didn't they? "On loan?" Gaius looked up from the goat with a questioning expression. "How do you loan a goat?" A warm laugh escaped him at the comment about the name. "No, I guess not. But if the name fits!" He chuckled. "Reminds me of a guy I knew who had a dog named 'Dammit.' It was always 'Good boy, Dammit!' 'Get back here, Dammit!'" Gaius grinned as he continued to watch the scraggly creature between them, until F pulled out a kit from his other parcel. Gaius raised an eyebrow, and nodded slightly to F's question. "Yeah... when I was back in college..." His eyes followed the man's down to the goat, then back, clueless about the connection. "Why? Do you have to give blood at the lab or something?" Fidatof Bochinsky F gave an amused chuckle at the man's anecdote, momentarily distracted from the goat. "Sounds like a loving relationship." he laughed lightly, scratching absently at the bristles down one arm. F then began to rummage in the box by his side, and eventually withdrew a vacuum-packed needle sharp syringe and an alcohol swab. He eyed the animal warily while carefully unwrapping the syringe. The goat looked over at him blankly, lettuce leaves hanging from its mouth. F narrowed his eyes and shuffled forward on his knees slightly, then glanced over at Gaius. "Great! You can give me an 'and, ven." he said cheerily, ignoring the question. F figured it would be easier if he explained as little as possible. "Hold this git steady for me, will yer?" he said expectantly, as if it wasn't a question. Gaius Harper All conversation was knocked out of Gaius's head as the syringe came out. It'd only been so long since he'd been on the receiving end of one of those, but entirely different circumstances. A shiver ran down his back, but Gaius forced himself to remain casual, though he eyed the man as he prepped the needle. "J-just what..." his voice squeaked before he cleared it. "Just what are you, uh, planning to do?" Even as he asked, he knelt down and placed a hand steadyingly on the back of the goat, which eyed him testily, snuffling around for more lettuce. It was really quite obvious, even for Gaius. Completely confused but ever helpful, Gaius tightened his grip on the goat's back, causing the creature to bleat. Just as long as the fellow wasn't planning to kill the goat... Fidatof Bochinsky F gave a silent smile. "You show 'im who's boss." he assured the taller man simply. He inched forward and reached out a hand to pat the animal's side gently. It didn't stir, but continued to stare between the two of them. F took this as a good sign and edged a little closer, then settled down vaguely cross-legged on the ground next to it. After no objection from the goat, he leaned forward and.. realised he had no idea where to put the needle. F floundered for a moment, memory blank. He found himself debating numerous locations on the goat's body. "I'm not entirely sure.." the flea-man began uncertainly with a brief glance at the other man, but almost immediately cleared his throat and sat up straight. Of course he knew what he was doing. It sounded so simple when Delia explained it, it couldn't be too hard. F chose a randomly selected location on the goat's leg to wipe with the alcohol before jabbing the needle into the goat's skin with cheerful enthusiasm. Unsurprisingly, the goat didn't particularly appreciate this. It balked and struggled against its restraint, kicking backwards at Gaius before headbutting F squarely in the forehead just for good measure. "Guh-Ow!" the man exclaimed, rolling backwards and shuffling out of the snorting animal's reach. "Buggering Hell." he sat massaging his head while scowling at the animal. It looked blankly from F to Gaius for a minute before returning its attention to the remaining vegetables, the needle still stuck in it's leg. Gaius Harper Gaius tensed, watching intently as F proceeded with the make-shift blood withdrawl, the air of a witness of an operation about him. When the strange-faced man made his move towards the leg, Gaius nodded encouragingly. Doctors took blood from the elbow, right? So it made sense to get it from the goat's leg... The goat's sudden violent outbreak caught Gaius off guard. "Oomf!" A hoof nailed him squarely in the gut, sending the big guy doubling over. He gasped, trying to catch his wind, clutching his stomach. "Gah, ow..." He winced, straightening up slowly and glaring at the creature. Alright, no way was that thing going to get away this time. Blood be damned, Gaius's goal was to catch that bugger and make sure it couldn't pull another stunt like that. Holding up a hand for F to wait, Gaius crouched and krept forward slowly. "Hang back a sec, I'll get it..." He lunged, grabbing the goat around the belly. Not a good idea. The creature kicked and flailed with its free legs and tried to bite at Gaius. Ignoring the multiplying bruises, Gaius managed to get a hold on the back legs after some struggling, trying to avoid the front with the needle for the most part. "Quick!" he called, "Get the needle!" Of course, whether the needle had survived the wrestling was another matter... Fidatof Bochinsky As instructed, F sat back and watched the man vs. goat wrestling match, failing to contain a laugh as he did so. The shear determination- gosh this guy was hilarious. "So is vis 'ow vey did it back in college?" he chuckled, absently rubbing at his forehead. At the call for action, F shook off the laughter and hesitated a moment, unsure whether he wanted to get much closer to the fray. "Uh.. You sure you got 'old of it?" he cautioned, not particularly wanting any part of the animal colliding with him again. It didn't really register that the man probably wanted F to be quick because he was getting battered in the mean time. Gaius Harper Another sharp kick to the leg got a grunt out of Gaius, who was oblivious to the teasing at the moment, far more focussed on keeping the wild thing under control. What was the guy waiting for?! "Hurry up before I lose my grip on this stupid thing!" The creature was surprisingly slippery and agile for its size, wiggling about in Gaius's arms, slipping its head out and freeing one of its legs. Gaius practically threw himself on top of the goat, pinning it against the ground, his face pressed against the dirt. "Just get the blasted needle!" he called, half-muffled by the ground. "Before I lose my grip!" Fidatof Bochinsky "I'm jus' kidding." he grinned before springing forward. F sure picked his moments.. He lunged for where the goat's foreleg lay wriggling -which was actually an ear by the time he reached it- but F adjusted his trajectory and made a grab for the needle. He got hold of it, unceremoniously pulled up the plunger, yanked it out of the goat's leg and was then caught in the elbow by a stray kick. This caused the syringe to go flying, and F to helplessly watch as it sailed through the air and hit the ground a little way off. Thankfully it didn't appear to sustain any immediate damage. "Abandon ship!" F yelled without delay. He then lurched away from the flailing animal and scuttled towards the syringe to inspect the winnings, with only a brief glance back at his partner in between. Gaius Harper At the call to retreat, Gaius gladly released the goat, departing with one last kick to the shin as he scrambled away from the angry little beast. In the entire process, Gaius managed to not only get dirt and grass all over his shorts, but scraped his knees and tore a hole in his shirt. Little bits of grass stuck out of his brown hair. But he had prevailed! A triumphant grin beamed from the man's face as he sat on the ground. "Ha! We sure showed that goat! Lousy Git indeed..." He turned to see how F was managing. "Did you get what you need?" Fidatof Bochinsky "You seemed to 'ave a knack for vat. You done mud wrestling before?" he grinned over at the man who appeared to have come out far worse off than he. F looked down at the vessel clutched in his hands, and rotated it slowly on its end, mesmerised by the sloshing liquid inside. However. Despite how delicately and lovingly F fingered the syringe, the scrap had indeed taken it's toll. As he turned it over in his hands, the end came loose and completely fell clear of the syringe. The entire contents of the syringe escaped menacingly down F's leg. The man sat there a moment, watching his jean shorts soak up the blood. A look of utter devastation crept freely onto his features, mouth hung slack, eyes glazing over slightly. The goat simply looked over from where it lay recovering and bleated as if to say "haha." "You don'.. fancy 'aving another go, do you..?" F croaked quietly, a desperate note evident in his last few words. Gaius Harper Gaius laughed, grinned lopsidedly, and shook his head. "No mud wrestling... Just a lot of rough-housing back in the men's dorms at college." He watched as F picked up the syringe, holding the precious red liquid they'd fought to obtain... And then watched in utter disbelief as it all spilled down F's front. Every. Last. Drop. He reached a hand out as if to will the stuff back into the tiny vessel, an expression of agony on his face. Too late. At the question, Gaius looked up at F. Again? He looked back at the goat, which eyed Gaius suspiciously. The very idea was as painful as the aching bruises his legs were sporting. He flopped backward onto the grass with a dramatic sigh and groaned. "Unnnngh... Do we really need that blood?" he asked, hoping maybe they could go without... Fidatof Bochinsky With a slight wimper, F blinked out of his frozen state of shock. He then began leaning forward while slowly bringing his knee towards his head. The flea-man reached out his tongue to lick gingerly at the leg of his shorts. He could tell it would have been damn good blood, but the dirt and grime on his jeans sort of ruined the effect. He continued to lick at it anyway. "It's okay.." he finally said weakly. That was all he could he could gather the effort to say. Everything would still be okay. F just had to figure out how. Gaius Harper Gaius turned his head lazily from where he lay to see what F was doing, and started up suddenly into a sitting position. "Wh-What're you doing?!" He watched with horrified curiosity as the three-pronged tongue flicked over the bloodied pants, the man contorted like a cat cleaning itself. Despite all the obvious hints, it'd never occured to Gaius that the blood was going to serve that purpose. "You... You..." he stammered, suddenly feeling queazy. "What in the world are you anyways?! I thought that blood was just for a test or something!" His voice rose an octave. Once again, the island was lending itself to the feeling of a horror movie. "I-I didn't know you were going to drink it!!" Fidatof Bochinsky F sighed heavily, a placid smile slipping onto his features. "A flea." he snorted. "I'm turning into a ruddy giant flea." he announced dramatically, hands finding themselves in the air either side of his head. While they were there a thought struck him. "Y--" Nah. He caught himself before he'd uttered but a syllable. He eyed the man for a second, and then carried on anyway. F didn't like to exercise much self-control. "You wouldn' care to donate t' vuh cause, would you?" he gave a hesitant grin. Gaius Harper "A flea?!" Gaius practically yelped. His eyes bulged. "But! They're so tiny! H-How is that even possible?!" His mind reeled. An insect. He was sitting beside a massive insect. First an octopus, and now a flea... Having no clue what his own serum was, Gaius's hopes about his own fate weren't looking too bright. His eyes refocussed on F sitting across the grass from him. A... flea. 'Poor guy' didn't seem to do his situation justice. Gaius gulped, managing to regain a little of his composure, though he still looked unnerved. "S-Sorry about that... I didn't mean anything... It was just, uh, suprising to see the stuff with the blood and the tongues..." He worked his way up to a knealing position, getting ready to get up, and paused. "Donate?" He tilted his head. "But the syringe is broken, and the goat doesn't seem-" Gaius trailed off mid-sentence as F's implication dawned on him. "Oh. Oh ho. No. No no. Aha ha... Er..." He held up a couple hands defensively, chuckling nervously. "I, uh, I'm sure I wouldn't taste good. To much, er, salt? Besides, I kinda have a thing about needles after... you know..." As he spoke, Gaius got to his feet and started backing away slowly. Not that F was a nice guy, but Gaius wasn't so thrilled with the idea of having his blood drank. Fidatof Bochinsky F simply shrugged at the man's incredulous response. He didn't know how any of this really worked. Could have been magic beans and fairy dust for all F knew. He offered a nonchalant smile all the same. "Fair enough. I'm not going t' chase you down or anyfing vough.. You don't 'ave to run." he smirked slightly, tongue sticking out from beneath the bristles and wiggling a little. The guy suddenly seemed terrified. "Fanks for your 'elp-" he said with an appreciative nod. "-even if it was all for biscuits." He added with a light snort. It did seem like it had been a bit of a waste of time. This bloke seemed the dependable type though, a good guy to know, perhaps. F would have to fall back on the labs now, however. It wasn't going to work out with the goat. Much as F loved the thing's company. As Gaius backed away, the flea-man looked back down at his jeans, and leaned forward again, intent on retrieving as much blood as possible from the fabric. It didn't even cross his mind to ask the guy's name. Gaius Harper "N-No problem..." Gaius offered with a nervous half-smile. While F had promised not to chase him, he still couldn't help but worry about possibly being pounced from behind and jabbed with something sharp. Silly, yes, but watching F lick up the blood from his pants wasn't facilitating Gaius's clear thinking at the moment. "I'll just, er, be off then! Bye!" He managed a small wave and even a half-friendly smile before walking quickly away. Whatever happened to that goat was not going to be any of his business! And for all its struggling, he rather hoped the stubborn thing managed to live.
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:01 pm
A couple of days after Gaius's request, a dissapointingly small package is left by his doorstep.
On top is, precisely as requested, several cookbooks from various cultures: Spanish food, Asian Cuisine, Mexican food, and Greek food.
Underneath that, are a couple more books. Well, they're on tides... but they're very obviously written for someone with a 3rd grade reading level... at best. They're bright picture books that don't really inform you anything other than the fact that there are ocean currents, and talk about some of the MOST major ones.
Also included is a note:
Quote: Gaius, Don't even think about it. If you want building supplies, basic ones can be found in the storage room in the town hall. But we're not stupid.
((Indeed, there are basic building supplies in the town hall's supply room. Nothing electric, however.))
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Island of Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 11:48 pm
Reserved for RP with Zach - http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=5751651Gaius Harper The architect was out wandering once again, this time rather aimlessly along a path in the jungle. While it was a lovely afternoon, Gaius was in a glum mood. It seemed the labs were suspicious about him... at least enough to not give him any tools of his own. What he wouldn't give for a decent tablesaw! But not all was lost, for he'd learned there were tools in the town center, and after some searching, Gaius had discovered to be true. A hammer now dangled from his jeans loop, effectively 'claimed.' No one else was using it, after all! Besides that, he'd spied some wood available, and enough to be able to work with. It looked like he could finally get back in action! Gaius came out of his thoughts suddenly and looked around, realizing he had NO idea where he was. The jungle had stopped just behind him, and rocks cropped up ahead, and in the distance, he could glimpse the blue ocean. "Um... Huh. I didn't think I'd gone that far..." Zachary Bloodstone The dragon, on the other hand, had ceased his wanderings for the time being. He was some feet away from his cave, digesting what had once been a rabbit, but had wandered too far into an open spot of jungle. It was too much trouble to hold his wings up, so they spread alongside him instead like a ragged fleshy cape. Life was perhaps too simple - there was only the rousing heat of daytime and the damp chill of night, cycling without fail. His suspicions bloomed in his mind like a garden of poisonous weeds, sown by the vile half-snake who'd tried to murder him. Every rustle of leaves was someone sneaking, each lull between the crash of waves filled not with a hiss but whispers by unseen individuals. For all the seclusion he had he was trapped in his mindset, crowded in and surrounded by people who wished to harm him. To hear an actual voice was a relief, but a wary one. He looked up from his basking and saw a familiar looking face. It was the new guy he'd seen a while ago, still unchanged. He flicked his tail, though an icy feeling of fear oozed down his spine. First Newton, now this man. "Lossst?" Gaius Harper Gaius spun around at the voice, eyes going right to the mass of red scales that he instantly recognized. That same conniving, smirking face he'd first seen those weeks ago. When he'd still been innocent. Well, things were different now! Gaius lifted his chin brazenly, reguarding the dragon with a half-smirk. "Heh. Fancy seeing you out here. I heard about what happened... Been kicked out! Well, I'll have you know I'm not going to be falling for any more of your lies." He jabbed a finger in Zach's direction. "I won't be tricked by you again!" Zachary Bloodstone "You and everyone elssse," he grunted from his comfortable spot on the rock. With one open eye he scrutinized Gaius, noticing the glint of the hammer. His heart sank at the sight of it, but he was too tired to run away this time. Instead the worry just chewed apart his innards. He shifted his shoulders so that he could cross his arms in front of him and rest his snout on them. "Enjoying how missserable I am?" "Oh, I'm posssitively dissstraught," he replied flatly to Gaius's taunts. "But what differencsse doesss it make now? Whether or not you believe anything I sssay isssn't going to ssstop you from becoming an animal. I hope you're aware of that." Gaius Harper Gaius's smirk faultered, his little balloon of self-righteousness quickly deflating thanks to the dragon's sharp tongue. "Yeah... I know. Some animal... I haven't yet, anyway! I mean..." He shifted uncomfortably, scratching at his arm and looking away toward the jungle. "I, er... I don't really know what I'm becoming... I guess people don't find out until their first change... huh?" Zachary Bloodstone Zach rolled his eyes at the change in tone, citing it as a victory of sorts. There was still some uneasiness in him over the sight of the hammer dangling from Gaius's belt, but he couldn't do anything about that. He closed his eyes. "I don't really know. Sssome people ssseem to have a pretty good idea of what animal they're becoming after only one change, but sssometimes that'sss not even enough to go by. I know I had to asssk. Thought I was fated to be a chameleon or sssomething." Gaius Harper "Changes... everything changes..." Gaius straightened up. While he wasn't as cheerful, he wasn't about to let the dragon ruin his mood entirely. "So... what, you're living in the wild now?" A teasing smirk crossed his face. "Found a cave to hoard your gold in?" While he was talking, Gaius fidgeted with the hammer in his belt, loosening it a bit where it was catching on the loop's fabric. It was just a subconscious act, a way to keep his hand busy. He glanced around, then dropped his voice a tone as he spoke again. "Have you... seen any sign of that wolf-girl?" Zachary Bloodstone Zach didn't respond directly to the dragon jab, though he seethed inwardly at it. His voice wavered a little, but he tried to sound as biting as he could as he taunted Gaius right back. "Hmm... You probably got sssomething ssslimy, like a clam. Or maybe sssix extra legs, a ssspider. Maybe they'll dump you in a fish tank as a jellyfish." He stretched his stubby wings and snuck another glance at Gaius, who was apparently fiddling with the hammer. Zach pulled his tail closer around him. The heat could wait. He'd suspected as much from this guy. So vengeful. Gaius needed no cohorts to lie in wait when he had such a weapon at his disposal. The mention of the insane wolf only added to the agitation. Now there was a killer on the loose, an impartial one. If Zach had had even a hair left on his body, it would have been standing on end. His head bounced off his arms so that it swung in the air in Gaius's general direction. "N-no... Where has she been? Wasss she around here? Have you ssseen her?" he barked. Gaius seemed awfully calm about the chip-less lunatic. Too calm. What if they were in league with each other? Gaius Harper Gaius shuddered at the thought of a jellyfish. They wouldn't do something that bizarre, would they? His ponderings were interrupted by Zach's stammering. Gaius raised an eyebrow, midly surprised by the shift in the dragon's attitude. "No... I haven't seen her since she ran out of the village after the murder... As far as I know, she's still on the loose..." His hand tightened around the hammer handle. Talking about that predator made him feel antsy. Glancing back over his shoulder, Gaius wondered just where she could be hiding on that island. It wasn't all THAT big. "Maybe... Maybe the labs have caught her... It's not her fault, but if she's dangerous, that'd probably be for the best..." Zachary Bloodstone He tensed and peered in the direction Gaius looked, hoping to get a glimpse of the wolf-girl so that he had a good reason to flee into the safety of his cave. "It would... but we don't know they have her yet. She could ssstill be out there... jussst... jussst waiting..." Zach placed both hands against the ground and pushed off, wearily gathering himself into a sitting position. His wings stayed limply hanging behind him. Predators, enemies, mad killers loose in the jungle, they were all the same, weren't they? And they were everywhere. There was a dull ringing in his remnant ears, coupled with a horrible claustrophobic feeling, as though something bad was going to happen. Even the air around him felt constricting, like a snake tightening the noose around his neck... Living like this day after day was driving him insane. He watched Gaius grip the hammer, looking devoid of human emotion as his tired brain sluggishly made its many false connections. Only the ever-present reptilian panic grappled at his thoughts, kept him thinking, and kept him fearful. His main concern right now was that Gaius was toting a weapon. It was possible it was nothing, but he couldn't think of any reason someone would bring a hammer with them if they were wandering around the island. He couldn't avoid mentioning it any longer. "What'sss the hammer for?" Gaius Harper "Hmm?" The man pulled his mind away from the surrounding jungle to look back at Zach, expression openly questioning. "Oh! This?" He held up the hammer, a half-grin cracking his face. "Well, the labs wouldn't give me any personal tools when I asked them, but they told me about where they had some supplies away in the town center! I figured no one was using it, so why not take it? Besides," he pulled he hammer out and gave it a little twirl in his hands, grinning, "it it gives me something to do with my hands. I guess... it just makes me feel more in control. Like things are normal." Zachary Bloodstone "Uh-huh. I guesss every essscape attempt hasss to ssstart sssomewhere. Planning to build a boat with that?" His mocking was halfhearted. Every sudden movement Gaius made had Zach transfixed and worried, and it showed in his blank-looking stares and darting eyes. He whipped his tail from one side to another, looking away from Gaius and down at the rocky ground. Anxiety roiled inside of him, making him feel trapped and isolated. Everyone was plotting against him. How was he supposed to warm up to a guy who he'd barely even seen before? Verbally he lashed out at Gaius, trying to assure himself that he didn't need human company to survive the long days and nights out on the cliffs. "I'd love to borrow sssome of that optimisssm of yoursss, but I don't think there'sss going to be much left after you ssstart changing." Gaius Harper "A boat? You know, I hadn't thought of that..." Gaius pondered, ignoring the sarcasm. "It'd be hard, and I'd have to find a way to keep it hidden, but maybe... It'd take a lot of wood..." He rubbed his chin as the wheels in his head cranked. Zach's sudden snip caught Gaius by surprise, who looked up sharply. "What's wrong with being optimistic? It's better than giving up and sitting around on my lazy bum all day. I plan to get out of here before I end up like you!" Zachary Bloodstone "You can't be ssseriousss," he scoffed, a hint of laughter in his voice. The less the hammer was waved around, the better on his nerves. Maybe Gaius hadn't seen the sheer number of people here, and how hopeless it was to even consider escaping. He had an excuse for his naive thinking, still being human, but he felt sure the time would run out long before the guy could lash together even the simplest working raft. "Oh, I don't know, everything? It'll ssspare your preciousss ego when you finally get it through your head that you've got as much chancsse of getting away from here as all the other people on thisss island... none." The insult had stung his pride. Though he felt a little ill, he stood up and strided toward Gaius, spreading his short wings in his huff. Still, he wasn't about to gamble away his safety, and remained just out of hammer-swinging range. "And furthermore, you try getting thrown out of the village over a ssstupid misssunderssstanding and-" He stopped himself. Now there was a thought... Soon there was an evident smirk on his face, one he didn't bother to tone down in the least. He held the less scaly of his hands out to Gaius imploringly. "Sssay, let me sssee that hammer for a minute, won't you?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:06 pm
Who Brought the Buffalo Wings?Gaius turns 25 years old and undergoes his 25% transformationGaius Harper The cafeteria kitchens had been a mess of activity since early morning, much to Delia’s annoyance. In the middle of the chaos was Gaius, up to his arms in food stuff and happy as can be. The kitchen! It was so huge compared to what he had always had at home! Even his dad’s house with the large floor space was dwarfed by the caf facilities. Of course, that made sense since they were feeding an entire island! Gaius hadn’t been given free-reign of the kitchen of course, to his disappointment, but the space he’d been given by Delia was more than adequate, and he’d managed to snag a couple extra stoves after the cafeteria staff were finished with the standard lunch food. By early afternoon, the aroma of exotic foods wafted from the kitchen and even from the cafeteria itself as Gaius set out dish after dish of his hard work. He’d taken full advantage of the new cookbooks the labs had provided. Several of the tables were taken up with ‘themes’; Mexican on one table, Chinese on another, as well as some basic barbecue and grilled stuff and good ‘wholesome’ food that would normally show up at family gatherings around the holidays. And in the midst of it all he set a decent-sized sheet cake, iced white with red lettering reading “Gaius – Happy 25th.” Gaius stood back and regarded his work with pride. Sure, it wasn’t the same as getting special treatment from his family and friends back home, but the chance to play in the kitchen made up for that. All this was open to the public. If any islander happened to stop by, they were more than welcome to partake in the food as they pleased, even if they didn’t hang around for the ‘party.’ Gaius figured, with all that was happening on this small island, everyone could use a treat. The tall guy made a beeline back into the kitchen, hoping to wash the stains off before anyone arrived. Marshall_Green Marshall really hadn't kept track of the days since he landed on the island. It wasn't like he did it intentionally, he just kind of...forgot to. Not having a job can have that nasty effect on people. Regardless, Marshall knew what today was. September 20th, Gaius' Birthday. He only knew because Gaius had called him earlier and told him about it, but whatever.
With an oddly-wrapped gift under his arm, Marshall entered the decorated (and good smelling) Cafeteria with an impressed look on his face. I wonder if every one gets such good treatment for their birthdays... he thought.
With a quick glance around the room, Marshall concluded that he was the first person to arrive. In fact, he couldn't even spot the birthday boy!
"Now where's Gaius at...?" Marshall muttered, looking around the Cafeteria once again.. Gaius Harper Gaius reappeared through the swinging kitchen doors, in the act of tugging his apron off. He missed Marshall at first, his mind on making sure the food wasn’t attracting flies, and the warmer stuff wasn’t burning in its’ trays. Humming to himself, Gaius picked up a bit of chow mein that’d spilled onto the table and dropped it back into the bowl – hey, his hands were clean… enough – and took a step back to survey the preparations. It was then he caught sight of Marshall. A bright grin split his face from ear to ear and the big guy hurried across the room, nearly tackling his shorter friend in a big bear hug. “Marshall! I’m glad you could make it!” He said, releasing the guy from his spine-cracking hug and ruffling his hair with a hand. “What do you think? I’ve been working all morning!” Marshall_Green A loud "GAH!" escaped Marshall as he was tackled-hugged. Realising who it was, however, he just smiled and let out a small laugh. "Heh...Well you're lucky I could pencil you in. I mean, between eating, sleeping, and watching movies I barely even have time for myself any more!" Marshall said with a snicker as he had his hair ruffled.
"You cooked all of this? Gaius, you're supposed to make every one ELSE work on your birthday!" Marshall said, before he remembered his present. Reaching over and gripping the news-paper covered blob, Marshall handed it to his freind with a smile on his face.
"Its not much but...Happy Birthday, Gaius." Gaius Harper Gaius laughed, rubbing the back of his arm over his forehead. Working in the kitchen all day with the stoves had left him feeling over-heated, but he paid it little mind. "Hey! Why make you work when I can make better food myself? If I left this to you, we'd be having microwaved pizza!" he teased, taking the present in his hands. He picked at the taped-together paper before looking back up at Marshall with a hopeful smile. "'s okay if I open this now, even though the party hasn't really started?" Marshall_Green "Hey, its your birthday. Go right on ahead." Marshall said, feeling geniunely relaxed for the first time since he saw Josh change. He wasn't sure what to get Gaius for his birthday, since the nearest Wal-Mart was several hundred thousand miles away, but he went with what he had. It was shoddily wrapped and probably not the best gift Gaius ever got, but Marshall still put some thought into it.
"I hope you like it..." Gaius Harper The birthday boy tore apart the newspaper with fervor, eager to see the gift. At this point, he probably would've been thrilled to just get a rock! The fact that he'd managed to make friends in the three weeks he'd been on the island who were willing to give him anything was enough. It even dulled the homesickness that'd been nibbling at the back of his mind. The paper fell away to reveal a soft plush toy penguin, little blue feet sticking out below the pudgy white tummy, and a strapping bowtie at his throat. Gaius blinked at first, then broke into a grin and threw an arm around Marshall's shoulders. "Thank you! It's great!" His grin was geniune, though Gaius was just a little confused. He hadn't made the connection between the penguin and Marshall's animation work, not having had a chance to see it yet. Gaius held up the penguin in both hands and turned towards one of the tables, proclaiming as he went. "As my first (and probably only) birthday present, he shall have the place of honor!" He pushed aside a bowl of salsa to set the penguin atop a stack of plates beside the cake. "It's only fitting for such a well-dressed-" Gaius stopped mid-sentence, wincing visibly as a bolt of pain raced up his back, as if he'd overworked himself. Marshall_Green Marshall was happy, and some what relieved, that Gaius liked his gift. This sense of comfort was shattered, however, as Gaius winced in pain as he put down the plush toy.
"G-Gaius?! Whats wrong!?" Marshall stammered.
Oh god...No...Not now...Please not again... Marshall pleaded in his head to closed ears. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a sinking feeling of what was to come.
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Island of Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:23 pm
Dr. Duvert is not one who gives birthday presents that are generally... appreciated. While he might think that starting a transformation into a mythical pegasus would be certainly unbeatable by such trivial material objects like games or whatnot... Gaius may not agree. The excitement of a birthday party likely covers any of the initial 'symptoms' of an impending change to someone who has not yet experienced one: feeling uncomfortable in the heat, somewhat itchy and restless with an increased heart rate... However, the shooting pains in your back between your shoulders and at the base of your spine are unignorable. Your coccyx begins to unfuse, lenthening and pushing out into a thin, skin-and-bones appendage. While this is happening, two strange protrusions jut out of your back... and your face begins to ache something terrible as your nose and mouth widen. Your ears stretch longer, longer... everything seems to be assailing you at once. Over the rest of the changes, you barely notice your hair lengthening, darkening, and the roots of your hair spreading down your neck, and the tail you've grown begining to tuft with the same coarse hair. By the end of it, you've got long, equine ears (though still furless) that can swivel a little bit, the beginings of a tail, a much broader face, two bare chicken-like wings growing from your back.... and a certain larger bulge. 
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:08 pm
Who Brought the Buffalo Wings? ContinuedGaius turns 25 years old and undergoes his 25% transformationGaius Harper Gaius straightened back up, managing a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I must've done something in the kitchen that's catching up with me..." Another bolt from the base of his spine sent Gaius stumbling forward, his legs giving out beneath him. He managed to catch himself on the edge of a table. His breath came in short gasps as the pain in his back escalated until he was sure his spine was tearing itself out of his skin. It wasn’t too far off from what was actually happening. The tailbone worked itself free, like a revolting worm pulling itself from his back, each vertebrae cracking audibly as they flexed, and new ones grew rapidly. Gaius let out a whimper as he bit his lips, fighting to not cry out. Uncontrollable tears trickled down his cheeks. The mass poked itself over the back of his pants, unable to go anywhere else, and twitched painfully. “Ahhh gawd!” Gaius bellowed as the movement sent his mind reeling with pain from the new and too-sensitive nerve endings. His hand gripping the table was bone-white at the knuckles, everything tensed with agony. Even as the growing tail writhed, a pulling, burning sensation grabbed at Gaius’s ears. They grew larger, cartilage growing rapidly and stretching the skin over it as they pushed up and up. “Make it stop…” he pleaded. “Please, make it stop…” It felt like someone had just punched him in the face. Bones compacted and flattened, spreading in ways they shouldn’t as his face reshaped itself. An unholy scream erupted from his throat as a new and wholly disturbing pain flared between his shoulder blades. The violence of it caused him to lose his grip on the table and he fell against the hard surface, tipping it over and falling to the floor with a din of dishes and food. Quickly-knitting bones and tendons sent agonizing heat throughout his back, his entire body protesting the new and unnatural growths thrusting themselves from his skin, twitching and flapping awkwardly as they responded to unfinished nerve signals. Outside his shirt, the miniature wings were only visible as a bizarre mass of wiggling bumps beneath the fabric of his shirt. Gaius’s body shook as he curled up into a tight fetal position in the midst of spilled Mexican, eyes clamped shut and teeth gritted. He didn’t even notice when, during the process, thick black hair bushed out from his new tail and down along the back of his neck. His ears attempted to flatten back, only managing to twitch slightly, and a whimper escaped the grown man, no longer human. Marshall_Green Marshall stared in horror as Gaius changed before him. It wasn't like with Professor Rivers. He never even met the man before his change. But he knew Gaius personally. They were freinds.
"We're in this together, okay?"
"G-Gaius..." Marshall managed to say, falling to his knees amongst all the food. He didn't even notice the now-stained plush toy lying next to an over-turned bowl of guacamole. Slowly, he went over to his freind. He didn't even notice the tears running down his own face.
He couldn't find any thing to say. This wasn't right. Gaius wasn't supposed to change. He was supposed to stay normal. He was supposed to enjoy his birthday party. It wasn't supposed to be this way.
"...Gaius..." Marshall managed to say again, putting a hand on his freind's shoulder, still crying. Gaius Harper His friend quivered under Marshall's touch, still closed off from the world in his own little pocket of his mind that wasn't feeling the dull pain that still pervaded his body. Part of him that was still fully human and didn't believe anything that had just taken place was real. It was just a bad dream, that was all. All dreams must come to an end, though. Something in the spilled foods got into Gaius's flattened nose, making him sneeze. The violent action sent another throb of pain down his body, but nothing compaired to what he'd just gone through. He pulled himself up, finally opening his eyes, and rubbed at his face, noticing the strange placement of his mouth, and the odd sensation of his tail brushing against the floor behind him, but he still didn't want to believe it. Not yet. "Ungh... geeze, what truck hit me..." he groaned. He looked around him, finally noticing the mess he'd made, and slowly leaned over to pick up the gooed plushie. He held it in front of him, then looked up at Marshall sadly. "I'm sorry... I... ruined your present..." Marshall_Green Marshall looked down, shaking as tears continued to roll down his face. "You...You moron...Its...Its just a stupid toy..." Marshall stammered, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "You...Really scared me...you moron..." Marshall said, still sobbing.
He felt his fist clench. He was scared when Josh changed, but it wasn't like this. It wasn't like personally seeing some one you care about change. Marshall, for the first time in his life, knew was absolute fear was.
"I'm...Sorry..." Marshall managed to say. Gaius Harper Gaius frowned, brows furrowing, as Marshall continued to sniffle and cry. He reached a hand over to squeeze Marshall's shoulder. "Hey! Hey, it's- it's okay..." No, things were not okay. A spazztic flap of the fleshy limbs on his back made that clear. The blissful shock disappated, leaving Gaius painfully aware of his different body. He sucked in a shacky breath, still holding Marshall shoulder, and lowered his eyes to the floor. "How bad is the damage?" Marshall_Green C'mon, get ahold of yourself...Calm down already...
Marshall wiped his eyes, feeling incredibly embarassed now. Here he was, 21 years of age, and he was crying like he was a little kid. It was positively shameful, really. Marshall took a deep breath, looking up at his recently changed freind. He felt a ping of regret, seeing that it was Gaius now who was looking down at the floor.
"...Well...You're hair is...Longer. Kinda black looking...Your nose kinda flattened...Your ears are pretty damn big...But...Y'know...Its not that bad. And...You're still Gaius." Marshall said, trying to be supportive.
Its not about me. Its about Gaius. Gaius Harper Gaius managed a weak smile and glanced up at Marshall. "Heh, is that all? From the way it felt, I would've thought I'd have bits of bone sticking out of me or something..." He ran a hand back through his hair. Marshall was right, it even felt longer, and flopped through his fingers. His hand brushed the tip of his ear and he paused, running a finger and thumb over the smooth mass, his eyes distant. "It's... I don't know what I feel... Except... different. I feel different. But... you're right. I'm still Gaius." He let his hand drop into his lap, and stared down at it as he flexed the fingers. A small chuckle escaped him. "Heheh... I'm not making any sense, am I?" Marshall_Green "Don't be stupid...Its your birthday...You don't have to." Marshall said with a small smile. It was strange feeling; losing all sense of normalicy and basic reality. But it felt...okay. It wasn't a good feeling, but, seeing it happen...and seeing that Gaius was still Gaius...Marshall felt nearly...okay.
"Re...Remember what I said before? About...If you fall away...I'll pull you back...I meant it...So...Even though today you don't have to...Yeah. You're making perfect sense, man." Gaius Harper Gaius chuckled again, reaching over to ruffle Marshall's head again. "I'm not the only one not making sense then!" The fact that he was managing to smile despite the tear marks on his face heartened Gaius. At least he wasn't staring in horror or running away. It helped Gaius feel normal, at least a little. He pulled himself up to his knees, muscles protesting, and winced. The half of him that'd been on the floor was caked with all kinds of mashed food. Most of the dishes had scattered everywhere, ruining their contents, and the cake sat lopsided, broken into several pieces. Gaius sighed, face falling. "What a waste..." "I should clean this up... I don't want to have to leave this disaster for whoever's the janitor." Marshall_Green Marshall smiled, trying to wipe his face on his now stained sleeve. Marshall finally realised he had his knee in a chimichanga and his wrist in a puddle of Tortilla Soup. "Heh heh..." Marshall chuckled lightly, standing up himself.
"Oh, c'mon, its not a total waste..." he said, as he walked over and took and handful of cake, taking a bite of it, "I mean, c'mon...The cake's still good...Needs Ice Cream though." Marshall said. Sid Eisley What a time to stroll in. Sid's luck with eating in the cafeteria had so far been terrible, but as he walked in with a lit cigarette between his lips he had no idea of what had transpired. Marshall he knew, but his previous contact thus far had been limited to getting him to drag Marshall home. So for all he knew the horse-faced guy was just another islander he hadn't met. The food all over the place, that gave him some pause. He slowed his pace, took the cigarette from his mouth, and when he was close enough he nudge a fallen piece of cake with the tip of his cane. "This is a bad time, isn't it?" he asked, raising the cigarette as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Gaius Harper Gaius looked up from where he was piling broken plates, ears perking up slightly. He instantly recognized the old fellow with the cane as the one he'd seen at the beach bar with inebriated Marshall. It didn't occur to Gaius that his very recent change would make him unrecognizable. "Hey! You're the bar guy!" he said, getting to his feet. "Thanks for your help with the vodka!" "Uh... well, I guess you could say that..." he winced, looking around at the mess. "Still, there rest of the food is still good if you want some." Marshall_Green "Hey Sid! Try the cake!" Marshall said, picking up a few spilled bowls with his free hand. He sighed as he found Sno-Cone, dyed green with Guacamole and Salsa. He didn't say any thing though. It didn't feel...right to.
He picked up the plush toy and layed it on the table, making sure not to look at it. Wiping his hands on one of the few remaing clean Towels, Marshall looked back at Sid.
"So, here for the Birthday, right?"
Maybe if I pretend like nothing changed...Nothing will...Right? Sid Eisley Gaius's greeting gave Sid the mental kick he needed to place him, and the changes... After a few seconds of shocked silence his burning mouth and watering eyes reminded to exhale. He was, for the moment, oblivious to the fact most people didn't take kindly to having cigarette smoke breathed in their faces. "Whoa," he gasped, and almost in the same half-breath he tried to recover. "Glad to be of service, yeah... You've... You look..." His eyes drifted down. "Well, I'm jealous." He killed the nervous laugh he was about to emit by taking another drag off the cigarette. That gave him a little more time to put on something close to a poker face- and to actually listen to what Marshall was saying. "Birthday?" he said, looking blank. He was, perhaps, trying too hard, but the surprise was genuine. "Whose?" Gaius Harper During the entire transformation, and even after, there was one change Gaius had not paid much heed to, if he had noticed it. Sid, however, did a masterful job of shining the proverbial spotlight on it. Gaius followed his eyes down, blinked once, twice, and then made a funny grunting sound of suppressed surprise edged with horror as his face turned a red to match the salsa smeered on his shirt. Suddenly, sitting down seemed like a very good position. One he would like to take. However, there wasn't a chair at hand, leaving Gaius standing in embarassment. Sid's question brought a sheepish twinge from Gaius, who held up a finger. "It, uh, was mine... At least until I started growing a tail." He looked away, brushing a hand up over his head and feeling terribly self-conscious about his appearance. Here he was, another Tommy. Another Zach. "Hell of a way to celebrate 25 years..." he muttered. Marshall_Green Marshall sighed, feeling increasingly depressed. He knew that Gaius' birthday was ruined. There was no way around that.
I wish there was some thing I could do...Any thing? Please?
This was right before Sid made a comment about...Some thing. Marshall didn't really get it, but he looked up. And he saw it. A tail. A freakin' tail standing out of the back of Gaius' pants. Marshall raised his eye brows with a familiar look on his face. This look was biting both of his lips and suffering irregular breathing. He held tight to the plates that fell, trying his hardest not to do one thing:
DON'T LAUGH DON'T LAUGH DON'T LAUGH DON'T LAUGH!!! Sid Eisley "Yeah, well, it could be worse," Sid said, his tone a bit darker than what he intended. He was having a hell of a time keeping his emotions in check, or at least less obvious. He'd lost track of how many times he'd said that on the island, though before he had no idea what he was up for. Every time he set foot in the cafeteria he ran into a total buzzkill. Another drag off the cigarette helped to get his bearings. He'd almost pushed all those unpleasant thoughts aside by the time he exhaled. Sid watched Marshall struggle not to laugh for just a moment before he shook his head. "Show a little consideration, man. You gotta at least hold off on the johnson jokes for, I dunno, what's prudent?" He looked to Gaius for help. "Few days?" Gaius Harper "Worse?" Gaius frowned anxiously. He hoped it wouldn't get any worse. He turned, following Sid's eyes to see Marshall trying his best not to crack a gut. Gaius blushed, leveling him with a stern look, and gave his pants a tug up, though the tail kept 'em from sitting comfortably. "Great, getting laughed at from both the front and rear..." As his tail gave an indignant twitch, the little growths on Gaius's back decided they'd been ignored long enough and went into a flurry of activity, mainly in the form of spazming flaps. "Gyah-ah! What the hell is that?!" Gaius jolted straight with a yelp, and arched his spine back as the limbs slapped themselves silly. In short order, Gaius had his shirt off, exposing the winglets, but try as he did to turn his head, he couldn't get a good look at what was flailing about on his back. The sensation was probably the most disturbing thing he'd felt in his life, even worse than the tail or other areas. "Wh-what is it?!" he asked anxiously, hoping the other two could help. Marshall_Green Marshall looked up from the tail, seeing the small buldges on Gaius' back. He didn't even recognise them until Gaius took off his shirt in a panic. They looked familiar, almost like he had seen them hundreds of times before. He wasn't exactly sure WHAT they were, but slowly the gears in Marshall's head started to turn.
"...Chicken Wings?" Marshall said. He then realised what a crappy thing that was to say, and quickly tried to fix it, "But, um, y'know, they're proably not CHICKEN wings but y'know I think they're definatly wings but um uh..."
Smoooth... Sid Eisley Sid stepped up, examining the wings closely, even squinting. He took his cigarette from his mouth, and for one frightening moment it looked like he intended to poke them with the smoldering tip. Instead he leaned back and gestured vaguely At Gaius' wings the same hand. "Nah, that's about right," he said between another drag. "All they're missing is breading." Another beat, and he sighed, realizing he was going too far. So he added, "Ah, don't worry about it... They'll probably grow out. No ********' clue what has wings and all that, though." Time to gesture vaguely at Gaius himself. Gaius Harper "Chicken wings?! What?" Gaius spun around futily, trying to see his own back. That proving useless, he reached back a hand and caught at one of the little limbs, wincing as the new flesh protested the abuse. It felt... strange. The shape and texture was definitely like one of those little chicken wings you'd buy at the supermarket, only dry and with skin. And warm. But besides that, he could actually feel with the little thing. He could feel the pressure of his fingers on it, and the muscles twitch against his hand. As he absorbed the new discovery, Gaius's face went from one of stunned surprise to skepticism and mild curiosity to a sickly expression, like his stomach wasn't sitting well. He slowly pulled his hand away, letting the little limb snap back to it's half-curled state, and remained staring at the table in front of him without seeing it. He slumped forward, catching himself on the edge of the table. "What... What are they doing to me?" Marshall_Green "I...I really...I really wish I knew. I wish one of us would've been smart enough to consider asking what we were turning into...I mean..." Marshall fell silent, really wishing he knew what to do. He didn't plan on this today. He just wanted to enjoy a birthday with a freind. Maybe eat some decent food. But that was shattered. Most things on this island were.
Slowly, Marshall took a few steps towards his freind, and put his hand on his shoulder, not even caring what little snide comment Sid would make, "H-Hey...Remember? We're in this together, 'kay? So...You're not alone. So...So don't be scared, okay?" Marshall said with a weak smile. Sid Eisley Sid had no further crass comments, at least not yet. His cigarette was getting close to the filter, but he kept at it. "I asked," he said, the words once again exhaled with smoke. "They're not candid about it, believe me." He ruined his oh-so-together facade once more by taking a very long drag. The rush of nicotine was something, if not quite what I wanted. Gaius Harper Gaius took a deep breath and looked up at the two, grateful for the support, and at least Sid was down to earth. "I... don't think I want to ask. I might end up getting Sabin, and I... don't want to deal with him. Not him or his pet." The changed man straightened himself, wings flexing slightly as he rolled his shoulders, and ran a hand over his face. What a hell of a day. His eyes drifted over the table, falling on a plate of barbequed ribs. He picked on up, turning it over in his hands. It was still warm, and smelled good, but Gaius found his appetite lacking. "What a waste of food..." he sighed wistfully. "Maybe I should just leave it out for whoever comes by..." Marshall_Green Marshall looked out of the corner of his eye at Sid, as if he actually expected him to do or say any thing to improve the situation. It was kind of unreasonable considering how Sid pratically ran away when they met Seth, but still, Marshall wasn't thinking logically. In the past seventy two hours he had seen two people transform before his one eyes.
...And I'm next... he thought, forgetting that Sid probably on the island before him. But that was an afterthought, so why even bring it up? Sid Eisley "Well, if you're not gonna eat it, I'll take it," Sid said. They weren't exactly words fit to be accompanied by touching piano music, but it was his way of trying to make the best of the situation. He'd come there to try and find something to get his stomach to settle, and even if he wasn't aware the consequences of the choice he was going to put the party food to good use... and later antacids, lots of them. He turned back once he'd grabbed a plate. "But, c'mon, seriously, it could be worse. You could be, like, some kind of insect or something. In any case-" he paused to bite into a chicken wing, and continued speaking with his mouth full, "wah cah eh-ee of uh do buh-" he swallowed. "But deal with it?" As far as he knew he still had plenty of time left before he proved himself a hypocrite. A long time, he hoped. At least he hadn't let the question of how long slip out. Gaius Harper "Yeah... 'deal with it.' I guess you're right," Gaius nodded to Sid. "But it doesn't mean I'm gonna accept it anytime soon." Yes, he'd have to step up the plan with Antony. He wouldn't be like the others and give up just because he was 'marked' now. Hell, maybe if he got back, he could still fit in... All that really set him apart were the tail and 'wings.' The ears he could hide, and he hadn't seen how bad the change to his nose was yet. Optimism springs eternal. A small smile crossed Gaius's widened face and he gestured to all the stuff set out. "Help yourself! The other table is still good at least, and we managed to get most of the cake off the floor..." He glanced back at Marshall. "You should have some too! After all, it's still a party, despite everything else. I'd like you to enjoy yourself at least." Sid Eisley "Whatever you wanna do man," Sid said. He saluted Gaius with a chicken bone and turned to pack as much food as he could on to the plate. His cane was transferred to the crook of his arm for the process, and likely no one appreciate the careful balancing act involved just with keeping his weight off the bad knee. "I can't tell you how to live or think," he said as he worked. "But at some point you gotta realize that even if you weren't trapped on some kind of nightmare island, sooner or later life would sneak into your bed and wake you up in the most degrading manner possible. All you can ever do in those situations is close your eyes, take it like a man, and never speak of it again." He slid his cane back to his hand and very carefully balanced the plate of food with the other. "On second thought, that's a terrible metaphor, forget it. Anyway, no offense to you fine gentlemen, but I've come to the conclusion that some malignant higher power doesn't want me actually eating in here so... Yeah, I'll just be going now." It was going to be a hell of an effort, and he was likely going to lose half the food before he settled for eating on the stairs of his duplex, but he'd be damned if he'd ask for help. "See ya guys. Thanks for the food." He turned and made his way for the door. Just as anticipated, an eggroll jumped ship along the way. Marshall_Green Marshall sighed as Sid left, slightly relieved and slightly disappointed. This really hadn't been much of a birthday for Gaius.
I wonder if the Labs KNEW this was going to happen...
"Um...Hey...Gaius? You can head back to your duplex or some thing if you wanna. I can clean up every thing. Besides, you shouldn't have to do this kind of grunt work on your birthday." Marshall said, continuing with his forced smile while trying his damnedest to finally fix this situation. Or at least improve it a little bit. Gaius Harper 'Take it like a man.' Gaius sighed. Easier said than done. He scratched at the hair behind his neck absently and looked at Marshall. "Huh? Oh, right..." They'd been able to tidy some of the mess up, but there was still a good deal of junk on the floor that would more than likely need a mop to clean. While Gaius loved to work on cooking, he wasn't much one for cleaning afterwards. He flashed Marshall a grateful look and nodded. "I think... maybe that's a good idea. You don't mind...?" Marshall_Green "Its fine! Really! You've had a hard enough day, right?" Marshall said, the forced smile not wavering. Even by glancing at Marshall's duplex it was plain to tell he wasn't so much for cleaning, but hell, in the right situation you would be amazed what people would force themselves to do.
"But...Um..." Marshall glanced over at the stained plush-toy, "Do you still want it? I mean, its going to smell like Salsa and Meat now. You probably don't want it stinkin' up your already Hobo-esque duplex..." Marshall said, cracking a small smirk. Gaius Harper "What? Of course I want it!" Gaius said, grabbing up the little plushie from where it sat. It was still covered in gunk, which was likely not doing good things for the white belly, but Gaius was sure he could figure out a way to clean it up. "It's my birthday present! The food just gives him character!" He nodded with finality. "It seems we've all gotten tossed around today. I'm sure he could use a good bath as much as me." Gaius smirked, bits of meat sauce and other foods still clinging to his pants and hair. "I think that's what I'll do... Once I grab some food for the road." He shifted Sno Cone to the crook of his elbow as he took up a plate, not letting the silly plushie out of his grip, and gathered up some of the food he'd prepared, piling on an extra helping of the appealing-looking salad and a bit of the veggie medlee he'd made for the less meat-inclined. And, for good measure, Gaius cut himself a healthy piece of cake and set it on another plate which he balanced precariously atop his forearm. He gave Marshall a grin as he began his careful movement towards the doors. "If you can, try and save the rest of the cake. We can share it later some time." Marshall_Green Marshall waved weakly as Gaius left. He looked over the mess, sighing. "What in the world drove me to volunteer?" he muttered aloud, as he picked up the last plate. Now all that was left was the globs of food and other gunk. Ohhh joy, THIS was going to be so much fun to clean up.
"I wonder when...It'll be my turn?" murmered Marshall, on his knees with the paper towels. He didn't say any thing until the bulk of the mess was gone. The rest? Ehh, he'd let the Janitors handle it.
Finally, Marshall got around to moving what was left of the cake into the industrial refridgerator. To discourage any one from stealing it? He hid it behind some of the greens and stuff the Cafeteria Woman used.
And with that? The party offically ended.
Happy Birthday...Yeah right.
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Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:24 pm
Reserved to be filled in once I get some danged inspiration going! xd
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Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:51 am
Chicken Wings and Hot SauceGaius has another less than stellar run-in with his least favorite dragonGaius Harper Ducking across the village commons had become a normal routine for Gaius. It wasn't that he wanted solitude, he just didn't want to run into people he knew. Or didn't know. Not in his current state. It was a paradox. However, the big-eared fellow couldn't resist the call of sun and open air indefinately, and the outdoors kept calling him. So he was out, lurking about the edges of the village, shirtless for the time being. He'd tried wearing the baggiest shirts he owned, but at best they rubbed on his winglets uncomfortably and at worst made him look like a hunchback. And jackets were out of the question with the island's climate. Not when it was so muggy. Gaius gave a loud sniff. Smelled like rain in the air. Maybe from yesterday, or coming tonight, it was hard to tell. He sighed, leaning back against a duplex building, and rubbed his head. Everything was so confusing. He wanted to get back to carpentry, to get over it, 'take it like a man,' but part of him was still fighting and screaming, and yet another part, one that tugged at the back of his mind, just wanted to run away from it all. He didn't know what to do with himself. Zachary Bloodstone Zach wandered back from the grassy field where he'd done his basking for the day, delighted that the hat we was wearing had survived a week without being ruined. Compared to the three miserable weeks he'd spent battling mother nature for his very survival, life was very wonderful. Humid heat only made the day better. It was a moment in which he would have tried whistling, if not for the difficulties he would have faced with his new mouth. To make up for it, he smiled, an expression made sinister by the way skin was stretched around the edges of his mouth. His casual walk was interrupted by the sight of a person with stretched ears and a bristly tail. It almost wasn't worth him saying anything, but seeing whose face those ears belonged to was very inspiring. Nothing bad could happen to him here, in the village. There were cameras here. He made a quick glance over Gaius, but there didn't appear to be a hammer. This day was just getting better and better. "Gaiusss! Wow, do you look different. Let me guesss - new haircut?" Gaius Harper Gaius's head jerked up in surprise even as his mood suddenly sank. That voice. Oh great... His face instantly darkened into a glower as he caught sight of the wickedly grinning dragon-man sporting a hat Gaius recognized as belonging to his least favorite lab staff. "Oh no..." he groaned, not bothering to mask the distate in his voice. "Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be in the jungle!" Even as he spoke, Gaius moved to keep his back against the duplex, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about being shirtless. Zachary Bloodstone "Don't concssern yourssself with what I'm doing here," he smirked, the sharp tips of his catlike canines poking out from under his lips. Some sufficient food and a locked door had soon cured him of the fears that had been plaguing him out in the wild. His instincts had died down considerably, lessening his nervousness and paranoia. "Not any more. Let'sss just sssay I had a little... help." He crossed his scaly arms and tilted his head to the side, trying to look critical as he focused on the funny-looking ears. Mammalian, by the looks of it. His hat barely moved, thanks to being hooked on the pair of horns. Gaius's shifty movements made the predator in him feel more assertive, standing in front of cornered prey. "Ssso you finally changed! I'd asssk what you got, but I figure if you knew you'd look twicsse as upssset as you do now." Gaius Harper Gaius could only imagine what kind of 'help,' what with the black hat and cocky attitude. Zach's piercing look only made Gaius squirm more. He arched his back stiffly, keeping his shoulders against the wall and back out of sight along with much of his tail, all while trying to maintain a confident facade. "So what if I changed?" he looked down Zach's long nose. "What is it to you? Huh? I don't care if I don't know what I am!" He winced at the last exclamation, not meaning to have let that information slip. He didn't want to feed the dragon anything to use against him. "I-I can get them fixed easily enough when I escape... they've gotta have surgeries for that..." Zachary Bloodstone Knowing Sabin was protecting him in some form or another was the driving force behind his bitter verbal vendettas. It was power, in its own way. Not that he could do much, but he had just a little more influence than other islanders. The notion was enjoyable, and made him feel secure enough to let loose some of his frustration on others. The stare he got from Gaius didn't faze him in the least. "It'sss nothing to me, but it should be a little more important to you. I think you'll want to find out what your luck got you sssooner or later. Can't live in denial forever, you know?" He shrugged, still grinning wickedly. He spread his wings out for subtle effect, the webbing stretching to its limits between the long fingers. "Sssame thing with the essscape plansss. It'sss a hopelesss caussse. Get usssed to thisss place, or you'll jussst end up sssuffering for your optimisssm." Gaius Harper "It's called 'hope,' moron," Gaius growled, an angry snort escaping him. He instantly blushed and looked away, one hand reaching up towards his nose. Dangit, what was wrong with him? "You know what? Forget this, I don't have to deal with you," Gaius said as he suddenly moved forward, shoving Zach out of the way, and stalked past. Every part of him twitched irritably, including the little misshapen limbs as he marched in the direction of the caf. Zachary Bloodstone "After you've essscaped, be sure to sssend me a possstcard." He chuckled at the snort, though in all honesty he wasn't faring much better with keeping his animals out of his vocalizing. Double-standards were so useful. Zach didn't take kindly to being shoved out of the way, letting a short hiss escape him as he was collided with. He stumbled back a couple steps, hands out to steady himself and tail whipping around to help. He looked over in Gaius's direction of retreat, ready to hurl another insult at the long-eared guy, but something else caught his attention. Two bare fleshy appendages seemed to be poking straight out of Gaius's back. He was momentarily lost for words, instead spreading his own pair of wings as his brain worked to make doubly sure that he wasn't mistaking them for anything else. But no. Those were most definitely wings. His manic grin returned instantly. "Hey! Hold up!" He scrambled after Gaius, only catching him by grabbing one of the two twitchy handle-like protrusions. Whether intentional or not, he dug in slightly with his claws. "And what are thessse?" Gaius Harper Gaius ignored Zach's call to wait, continuing on his determined path towards the caf until he was halted suddenly by the siezure of his wing. He yelped and overcompensated, stumbling back a couple paces. The new limbs were still quite sensitive to the touch. Zach's grab was the equivalent of pinching an ear lobe with long nails. He swiped at Zach's hand, trying to get him to let go without tugging, and shot him a dark look over his shoulder. " What are they? How should I know?! Go ask that over-dressed reject from a vampire movie, Sabin! He could probably tell you while you're licking his feet!" He tugged again, wincing as the claws were none too gentle with his skin. "Damnit, let go!" Zachary Bloodstone "Did they sssplicsse your DNA with fassst food? You don't jussst look like a cow, you've got ssstupid little chicken wingsss right here, too!" His eyes wandered down to the tail, which, while a bit long, looked an awful lot like a bovine's. It seemed to match up with the ears, though not the wings. The swiping made it difficult to keep hanging on to the twitchy little thing of skin and bone. Zach's face darkened at Gaius's insult, brows furrowing under the brim of the signature hat. Though the hat was pretty damning evidence in favor of Gaius's thought, Zach refused it, maintaining a belief that he wasn't quite as devoted as he really was. He ignored the swiping long enough to dig in just a little deeper and let go suddenly, the sharp tips of his claws releasing the stubby wings by practically popping out. "What the hell are you implying?" he growled, knowing full well the answer awaiting him. He took a careful step backward before moving around to Gaius's side, glaring daggers at him. Gaius Harper "They're not chicken wings!" Gaius protested, renewing his efforts to get away from the dragon. "And I'm not a cow!" He grit his teeth at the claw digging, inhaling sharply, but not about to cry out for Zach's pleasure. Lances of pain shot through the new nerves as they protested the abuse. It was like getting stuck with large needles, though Zach didn't do much actual damage. Just indents, and little red dots were he'd managed to break the surface skin. Gaius spun away when released, glaring at the dragon-man, and raised his fists defensively. Seemed Zach was as violent and unpredictable as ever. Well, Gaius wasn't about to run away this time. He'd been pushed around, insulted, and picked on by this dragon since the day he'd arrived and while usually a forgiving fellow, Zach had pushed Gaius to the limits of his good nature. "I'm implying, you stupid lizard," Gaius spat, "that you're just Sabin's pet iguana! He probably has you trained to fetch his newspaper and shoes every morning. Why else would you be wearing his hat? Probably because a collar wouldn't fit on you!" Zachary Bloodstone Zach bared his teeth angrily, letting a dangerous hiss escape him. His frill was spread wide, the cartilage 'bones' fanning in response to the tug of jaw muscles. It was certainly not the first time he'd been called Sabin's pet. The pet accusation was a terrible one, in his opinion. Terrible, but somehow he couldn't argue against it without giving up a little ground and admitting that there was some basis of truth to Gaius's sneer. "I am not Sssabin'sss pet!" he snarled at Gaius. "He'sss my friend. If it wasssn't for him, I wouldn't have thisss - my arm back!" He held his scaly left arm in front of himself, flexing fingers for show. It still felt a little glovelike, but the bizarreness of a limb that had never been without scales made dealing with everything almost glovelike. "And I asssked for a hat from him; I wear it becaussse I want to, not becaussse he asssked me to." He kept his wings spread. His tail lashed. A safe distance had to be kept, if he wanted to run. Gaius Harper To his credit, Gaius remained unyielding even under the aggressive show of Zach's. His brows lowered and his jaw clenched tighter, but he made no other movement. "'Friend'? What friend would turn you into a hair-less, half-scaled, winged freak? He probably doesn't care about you, you're just a project!" Gaius's own tail twitched agitatedly as he ranted. He had no clue whether any of what he said was true. At this point, he was ranting what he felt about Sabin more than he felt about Zach. Arm be damned, that wasn't worth losing one's humanity for. "You like the hat? What, it makes you feel special? I bet that's why you wear it! You like feeling special because you're a staff's pet!" Zachary Bloodstone " Dragon," he corrected sharply. "It'sss a lot better than sssome of the animalsss that people here ended up with. And it beatsss becoming a flying pig, like you are." Still, he was less than flattered by Gaius's snide insults about his temporary appearance. "Hairless" was especially grating, one of the parts of changing that he was still not happy about. His wings waved jaggedly a couple of times, still lacking the grace of natural limbs. Words were difficult to find that could adequately translate his anger at Gaius into speech. "He caresss! And my ssserum isss Sssabin'sss project, not jussst anyone'sss. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have gone out of hisss way to deal with Rexss and the cobra for me." That among other things that Zach wasn't as keen to share with Gaius, especially in a heated argument. Sabin had stuck up for him when Moreau would have had him euthanized on the spot. His tail began to curl just thinking about it. "I'm not anyone'sss pet!" he roared back, itching to slash his claws right in Gaius's smarmy face. His own was contorted by an ugly grimace, revealing the sharp teeth even better. "I wear the hat becaussse I lossst my hair - that'sss why I asssked for one in the firssst placsse!" As was his habit of late, he grabbed the top hat by the brim to adjust it slightly, shading his slitted eyes better. "Ssso it'sss one of Sssabin'sss hatsss - what are you going to do about it? Cry?" Gaius Harper Gaius snickered humorlessly. Pig. Right. "Pigs don't have bushy tails. Or did your brain shrink with your skull, dragon?" "You're still just a project to him, whether you like it or not. And I don't blame Rex if he comes hunting after you..." Gaius's eyes narrowed as Zach roared aggressively, his own ears twitching backwards on their little-developed muscles. "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt," he snorted again, but was too caught up riding an escalating wave of anger to care. "And like I give a crap if it's Sabin's hat! Just more proof of his ownership over you!" "You should've asked for a paper bag too, to cover your ugly face!" Zachary Bloodstone "I thought you sssaid you didn't know what you were becoming?" he asked with a bit of a smirk. Only an eyelid twitched in response to the insult. Unbeknownst to Zach, over his past three changes, scattered parts of his prefrontal cortex had not been able to stand the strain of trying to meet his volatile serum halfway, warping some cells to the point of being useless. "Shut up! Damnit, you don't know what you're talking about anyhow!" His tail switched back and forth on the ground, whipping even farther at the comment about the paper bag. "I know what it isss, though. You keep deluding yourssself into thinking you can get away from here. Think you'll get away and never have to sssee another half-human anything again, huh? But you can't leave. And you never will. I can't wait to sssee whatever ssstupid plansss you make fail - I'm sure the look on your facsse will be pricsselesss." Gaius Harper "I know what I'm not becoming," he retorted, though inwardly he cringed. Since when had he become so comfortable with discussing the transience of his appearance? Much as he hated to admit it, part of what Zach had been saying struck an echoing cord inside Gaius. What was he becoming? Wouldn't it be better to know his ultimate destiny? But it was hard for Gaius to think about becoming any less human. No, he was still human, despite the features. After all, having a tail didn't change that... right? Zach's harsh words made Gaius's expression darken. He jabbed a finger at the dragon, his voice dangerously low as he spoke. "Wait. Just wait. Someday I'm going to get off this island - me and the others. It may take time - even years - but we'll do it. Nothing you say will change that." With that bold declaration, Gaius turned on his heel and marched stiffly in the direction of the cafeteria, head held stubbornly high. Every muscle in his body was tensed and his nostrils flared wide as he huffed. And to add to his temper - all the while, he wasn't able to control the twitching movements of his back wings, which seemed to respond to his dark mood by flapping more. Zachary Bloodstone "I'll believe it when I sssee it," he spat, glaring from beneath the brim at Gaius's retreating figure and energetic chicken wings. "In fact, go ahead and try. You'll jussst find out the hard way!" Zach closed his mouth, running his tongue along the inside curves of his sharp teeth and brooding. The bony frills slowly draped back down around his neck, devoid of a reason to stay spread. His tail and wings fell with them, leaving him in his usual crooked-necked slouch as he turned to walk away himself. A defeated look crossed his unnatural features briefly, rolling away with a short sigh to be replaced by a sour expression. There were things he was too tired of questioning, points that Gaius had brought up that lacked simple explanations. It was pretty simple - unlike the islanders, Sabin didn't hate him. He'd been attacked so many times by various islanders that it seemed almost inevitable that he'd grow to despise them and what they stood for. No guilt wracked him for having transcended the common cause among islanders, to escape. Time and time again he'd learned by watching others in their failures that it was an impossible dream. He reached up as though to brush hair away, but upon some sudden re-realization that there was none, his wrist twisted in a different direction. Clawed fingers propped the hat into position again, where it was hooked neatly between his ridged horns. He had left nothing behind in his past that was worth compromising what he had now. Even if he did have to go bald.
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Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:33 pm
Reserved for RP with Alec! Teef! - http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=5899381(In Progress) Gaius Harper Mashed Potatoes. Medium rare steak. Pork ribs. A plate full of good-smelling food that would have anyone salivating, but Gaius sat poking at it. His appetite just wasn't into it. A week ago, he would've gladly dug into the hearty meal. Now? His eyes kept drifting to the broccolli added on the side as an after-thought. He cut off a chunk of steak and jammed it in his mouth, chewing stubbornly. He still savored the flavor, but it was as if his body wasn't satisfied by it. He and his body were disagreeing on what to crave. At least he still liked the salt. Alec Derring The door to the cafeteria barely opened a foot as a pair of grey eyes hesitantly peered through the space it produced. No one was there save for a sole stranger enjoying a meal and he watched him for a moment, hesitating entering the room as he considered turning right back around and making a mad-dash for his duplex. If it wasn't for his empty stomach, he probably would have.
After what seemed like forever, the teen took a deep breath and let out a small groan of dismay before bravely entering the caf to make a b-line for the food. He made sure his back was to the stranger as he mulled over what he could possibly dine on. Gaze travelled over oatmeal, somesort of cream of something-or-other, even jell-o but he couldn't care to eat such bland and unpalitable foods. Making a mental bet that he'd regret the choice later, he picked up a plate of meatloaf. God he'd missed that stuff.
Keeping his eyes low and his pace quick, he made his way to the same table as the man so as not to seem antisocial, but made sure to choose a spot a few seats down. Without a word, he began the depressing task of cutting the pieces of meat into tiny bits with his fork. Gaius Harper The sound of arriving company caught Gaius's sensitive ears. He looked up in the midst of chewing to see who was at the buffet, absently wondering if it was someone he knew. Since his encounter with Zach, Gaius had taken to religiously binding his back with a roll of bandages swiped from the town center, making it much easier to hide them under a baggy shirt. One look at the hunched grey back had Gaius doing a double take. At least the dorsal fin made it easy to recognize the animal. It wasn't every day he saw a shark-man. Quickly realizing he was staring, Gaius ducked back over his food and concentrated on downing the contents of his plate. It wasn't until the other fellow joined him at the table that Gaius felt brave enough to glance up. He wasn't familiar with any shark islanders... Well, at least he wasn't Zach. Gaius shoved the bit of meat he'd been chewing into his cheek and nodded to Alec casually. "Hey. Um..." He struggled to think of how one would greet someone turning into a shark. "Uh, haven't seen you around before... Do you hang around the village much?" Alec Derring Alec had been attempting to focus more on his plate than the fellow islander at the table, brow furrowed as he mashed the bits of meat into smaller peices even yet until his meal looked similar to plain ground beef.
At the man's greeting and attempt at the beginnings of a conversation, the teen felt his blood run cold with anxiety. Oh God, he's talking to me! I should've taken my food back with me, why didn't I think of that sooner!? His thoughts were frantic though it seemed to the casual onlooker than he was merely concentrating on his task. At first he raised his head to make eye contact, smiling with a tightly shut jaw to communicate that he was acknowledging him. Realizing such a simple gesture wouldn't suffice he struggled to think up a response that didn't entail much enunciation.
"Ay." His mouth movements were minimal and his jaw was quick to close after every syllable. "Yus go' bac'." He paused, sheepishly staring back down to his plate before he could see any predicted looks of confusion from the man. "Alec." The sharkboy offered his hand to shake, to save himself more speaking. Gaius Harper Gaius fidgeted as the thing seemed to consider replying. Maybe he shouldn't have been so impertinent to intrude on the guy's meal. Alec's closed smile was a relief, though Gaius got the definite vibe that it was mainly out of politeness. His speech, however, made Gaius tilt his head, wondering if he was hearing correctly. However, when the hand was extended, Gaius gladly shook it with his own. "I'm Gaius," he offered with an open smile. "Nice to meet someone not out to rip off my face." As he spoke, his eyes wandered down to the hand he was shaking, traveling along the grey skin until it turned brown and rough... and green? His eyes widened in confusion. "Is that a... feather?" he asked, pointing at the odd growth near Alec's elbow. It had never occured to Gaius to think anyone could grow leaves. Alec Derring Alec could tell that Gaius was staring at him, scrutinizing his appearance. Unfortunately, this only made him feel even more self-conscious, and anxious as he fought to keep his resolve. What was he so afraid of? Hell, if he could only gather the nerves to tell the guy his predicament, he'd probably understand. Right?
Unable to ignore the obvious stare at his extended arm, the irish kid forgot about the extent of his 'damage' and offered an honest answer. "Meh, beh LEAFS-" Of course, just as he had struggled to pronounce the last word, he had unintentionally sprayed saliva far enough to most likely reach both their extended limbs.
"SOMMEH!... MUH!" Retracting his hand immediately, he frantic panic resulted in a drooly outburst of apology before the teen clamped his hands over his mouth. Eyes wide, he reached for a napkin in sheer humiliation. Gaius Harper "Leaves?! How can you grow leaves?" Gaius flinched at the spray, but his real attention was drawn by the glimpse of the open mouth he'd caught while Alec spoke. There was a disinctive lack of white. That, and the drooling, was probably even more disturbing than the fact Alec was sprouting leaves. The big guy watched Alec with a mixture of concern and disbelief, probably not the best for the poor teen's self-esteem. "D-Did your changes d-do that to... your teeth...?" he stammered. Alec Derring The teen was sort of amazed when Gaius almost skipped right over Alec's slip-up to inquire about the problem. He felt a little comforted by the concern, though he knew it mostly was an issue of self-preservation than genuinely caring for his well-being. "M-Mm" He shook his head to signify the negative, though he looked indecisive for a moment as he recalled his teeth falling out after the first change.
"Uhh... fust time." He inwardly winced at how ambiguous his responses were but he was much too embarassed to attempt full sentences. "Bu' mo. MOW-" He motioned to the table to signify the present tense. "Th'Doc..." His next motion was clearer, the gesture of someone pulling teeth forcibly out, then he nodded and waited to see if his poor explanation was understood. Gaius Harper Well sure the spit had disturbed Gaius, but the sight of a tooth-less sharkman was more than ample to sidetrack any response, especially when it was accompanied with the fear that he himself might suffer the same fate. The look with which Gaius reguarded Alec wasn't one of disgust, but dread. "F-first time?" he gaped, trying to understand the mixed signals he wasgetting from the shark. "I-I didn't know your teeth fall out before the animal teeth come in..." His hand rubbed the side of his jaw, which ached just at the thought. Sadly, charades had never been one of Gaius's strong games. His expression grew more and more confused with a rising eyebrow and blank look as Alec made motions with his mouth and hands. "'Th'Doc'," Gaius repeated Alec's pronunciation of the title, "Uh, he... did something to your mouth? Something with stitches?" Alec Derring Alec was pleased that half of what he'd intended had actually been communicated properly, though he was beginning to feel a little worried that he was causing Gaius some unecessary anxiety. "YUH.' He barked in affirmation as he nodded to the man's correct line of thought, until he suggested the stitches. "Muh-uh. Ee..." Looking around feebly for something to draw on, even WRITE what he'd meant to say but nothing was available. He'd have to remember to bring a pad of paper with him next time he went out.
Finally giving up on his poor talent at cherades (he really was never good at that stupid game anyways), he braced a napkin near his mouth and braved another pronounciation. "Ee pool 'em ou'." The teen made sure to speak slowly and deliberately. Gaius Harper Alec's affirmative nod encouraged Gaius, who, while still confused, couldn't help but feel pleased with himself. It was like a game! "Wait..." he frowned, brows knitting. "He pulled out your teeth?!" He shifted in his seat to face Alec more directly, his meal forgotten in front of him. The clear-faced man was clearly agitated as he drummed his fingers on the table. "First he makes you grow leaves, then he pulls out your teeth?" Alec Derring Alec was beginning to enjoy the 'game' as well, edging Gaius onwards until he seemed ot have grasped the overall message in all its significance. Once he was sure the man had understood, the teen smacked the table with his palm and pointed to Gaius, limiting his smile for the sake of minimizing the creep-factor of a grinning, toothless sharkman. "Eh, yeh."
He didn't seem as upset about his 'condition' as he'd been initially now that the secret was out, in fact he was just glad he got his message across. Nodding vigorously, he agreed with Gaius' short summary of Alec's existance. If his speech hadn't been impaired, he probably would have added in some sarcastic comments about his hair but he let it slide. Gaius Harper "Well... dang." Gaius leaned back in his chair and scratched at the back of his neck. "I didn't think Sabin was so nasty..." Sadly, Gaius still had yet to put a face to the actual head of the island he'd heard on occassion over the speakers; In his mind, Sabin was the only doctor he knew of. His eyes drifted down to his plate. He sighed and pushed it away, his already suffering apetite had gone belly-up. It was hard not to glance at the globs of drool wetting Alec's napkin, or dangling from his mouth. He dropped his eyes to the food Alec had been working with and winced, continuing to scratch at his neck in a nervous habit. "Sorry for, uh, interrupting your work... Um..." He chewed on his cheek a moment, debating whether it would be rude, then blurted, "Are you, uh, going to get replacement teeth? Ever?" Alec Derring Alec furrowed his brow when Gaius mentioned an unfamiliar name, wondering for a moment if that was the Doctor's first name or something of the sort. Shrugging it off, his eyes followed Gaius' line of vision and upon realizing he was staring once again, his gaze fell to his plate of untouched mush as he suddenly feeling a bit more depressed again. He probably looked so pathetic.
Picking up his fork and moving the bits in a circle around his plate, he decided to try and forget the looks from the man opposite of him and to simply attempt to eat his food. "S'ok." He mumbled, pausing with the fork-half-raised. "Theh gwow mack fast." Gaius Harper "They do?" Gaius blinked, staring at the shark guy. He'd never heard of teeth growing back. He thought that once they came out they were, well, gone! And all that could be done after that was dentures. But if this guy said they did, then maybe he'd heard wrong somewhere. Gaius shrugged, a smile crossing his face. "Well that's good!" Gaius cut off a good chunk of his own slightly-red steak, dripping with A1 sauce, and shoved it in his mouth, chewing determinedly on the tender meat. Whether it appealed to his hunger or not, Gaius was going to get that steak down if it was the last thing he did. For the time, Alec and his awkward situation were forgotten as Gaius focussed on the task at hand. Alec Derring Seeing as Gaius seemed to redirect his attention to his own meal, Alec thankfully returned to his task. Scopping the mushed meatloaf into his fork, he managed to stick the utensil far enough into his mouth so that the food didn't spill out right afterwards. Although he was most likely making a variety of funny sounds as he worked the mush in his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, overall he couldn't complain; the method was working well so far.
it would be several moments before the teen was sure the food was all down and that his salivating was under control enough to attempt conversation once again. "Sho... wha ye tennin n'teh? Ye neh?" Gaius Harper Having larger ears than normal, Gaius was not spaired any of the odd, squishy little sounds Alec's meal made as it went down. He shuddered slightly and closed his eyes a moment. Just imagine it was pudding. That's the key. Alec's eating pudding. With that in mind, Gaius kept his eyes focussed on the plate before him, until Alec's question brought him jerking upright, surprised. "Huh wha?" He blinked. "Ten-in-teh? Yeeneh?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:46 pm
Dirty LaundrySid changes to 25%, making a very awkward situation... even more soSid Eisley The time had come, there was no more putting it off... Sid had to do laundry. He wasn't in the habit of doing it in his boxers, but he never packed heavy and it likewise never occurred to him to ask for new clothes. The chances were slim, he hoped, that someone else would come in. If they didn't like what they saw then that was their problem. He sat hunched in a plastic chair across from the dryer his scant few shirts and pants were being run through, impatiently smoking a cigarette as he waited for the buzzer to sound. He'd tried reading earlier, and the magazine he'd brought along was still lying nearby, but he'd found it too damn hard to concentrate on the words. He felt off, and it wasn't just because he was wearing nothing but sandals with his underwear. Denial was a wonderful thing, it made him write off the stiffness and headache as the effects of a hangover that just wouldn't go away. He'd stayed up too late again, spent too many hours trying to coax his muse out with offerings of whiskey and cigarettes. The nightmares that followed faded out of memory within minutes of waking and throwing up, the usual morning routine. The pain wouldn't go away, his clothes still weren't dry, and the water bottle he'd brought along had been emptied before the rinse cycle had been completed. Sid glared at the dryer and kept smoking. This was why he hated laundry day. Gaius Harper Sid wasn't the only man who'd been in dire need of clean laundry. After an entire week of wearing one pair of jeans, and several of his t-shirts turned inside-out, Gaius had to finally succumb and tossed the dirty laundry lying around his duplex into a bag and hauled the lot over to the laundromat. He back up into the door, entering backwards as his arms were too full to manage, and thus didn't notice Sid until he turned around. Gaius froze on the spot and blinked. Sid... in far too little clothing. Well, there was a sight Gaius had never expected to see... and hoped he wouldn't have to again any time soon. The Rules of the Men's Room seemed best suited to this awkward situation. Gaius took the machine farthest away from Sid and avoided making eye contact as he loaded his shirts into the washer, trying to remember whether it was whites or color that went in cold water. Sid Eisley Sid, naturally, wasn't going to let Gaius get away that easily. "What?" he said irritably once Gaius passed. He looked down at himself. So he had a few extra pounds, you couldn't even call it a spare tire. Love handles, maybe, but the term itself was generous. He took another drag off his cigarette. The nicotine wasn't helping, but it was going to take a lot more than that to get his teeth to stop hurting. If anything he was gradually feeling worse. He blamed it on sleeping on his head wrong... somehow. And his clothes still weren't done drying. Gaius Harper Gaius looked up from the overloaded washer at the snappy question and almost winced. It wasn't that Sid was fat... it was just, well, the common things among older men that really shouldn't be shown in public. Still, the polite man managed an apologetic grina and shrugged. "Eh, sorry. I guess my laundry situation isn't as bad as yours if that's all you have left..." His tail twitched behind him, forcing Gaius to hitch up the shorts he was wearing under the old football shirt. It hadn't occured to the guy yet to modify anything to fit his new limb. But Gaius continued as normal, tossing a pair of jeans in the next washer and frowning, glancing around before looking back at Sid. "Hey, do you know where the laundry detergent is?" Sid Eisley Sid pointed across the room with the hand that held his cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke in the same direction. He was content with staying quiet if it meant avoiding more awkward conversation. He brought his hand back up for another drag. The cigarette was just a few inches from his lips when he paused. He frowned as he pressed his tongue to what felt like a suddenly sharp spot. Suddenly discovering canker sores was one thing, but this... "Ah, s**t," he said, his tone the kind of ire reserved for, say, suddenly remembering one locked their keys in their car. How could he have been so stupid? Denial, right. It wasn't supposed to happen so soon. The pain hit before Sid could say anything more, it forced him to his knees on the floor when he meant to stand up. The cigarette was knocked away as his hands went out to break his fall. The jolt from his right knee was old hat, the rest... that was new, and worse. Gaius Harper Gaius was about to thank Sid for the pointer when the man suddenly and violently fell to the tiled floor. "Hey!" Panic pumped through Gaius's head as he hurried forward, mind racing. Maybe it was a stroke? Or a heart attack? Sid was old and a smoker, it'd be expected. But what was he supposed to do in a situation like that?! He fell to his knees beside the guy, eyes wide. "What's wrong?!" Sid Eisley Sid didn't answer, he couldn't. His eyes welled with tears of pain as his mouth sagged open... and kept sagging with the distincting cracking of bone stretching. "Ah!" he exclaimed. He held one hand up as though he expected it to drop off entire, as if he meant to catch it if he did. Instead his lower jaw pushed out into a hellish underbite, each of his teeth growing into points at the same moment. The bottom front fused together to grow a little longer and leave wide gaps between them. He hadn't screamed yet, but the hand he was still holding up shook fiercely. The dryer beeped as it finished with the clothes. Sid, meanwhile, wasn't quite finished. Gaius Harper "Ah! Ahhhh!" Gaius jerked backwards, staring with blatant horror as Sid's jaw sagged like too much warm putty. If it hadn't been for Gaius's recent encounter with Alec-the-toothless-shark, he probably wouldn't be as freaked as he was as Sid's very teeth began pushing up. At least they didn't fall out like he fearfully expected. Still, he failed to be much help as he gaped, indecipherable noises escaping his mouth. For such a self-proclaimed 'brave' man, Gaius really was a whimp when it came to these horror scenes. "Y-your... w-wha... Ahh!" Sid Eisley Sid only had a moment to glare at Gaius before a new wave of pain hit, one even worse than before. That was enough to make him scream. He fell forward, his chair knocked aside as he stretched and dug his fingers in to the tile. His lower jaw smacked floor, but he was well beyond caring as something pressed outwards from just beneath the waistband of his boxers. The tail gave its first spasm when it was few inches long, then again as it broke free of the polyester blend. Dark scales dotted with a few odd light spots began to crawl up the length of the tail before it was even finished growing. "Ah... fuh... nah!" Sid gasped. He was panting heavily, unable to form words as elongated jaw didn't seem to want to close. The tears had fallen down his cheeks somewhere in the midst of that, stopping at the beard that had stretched with the rest of the skin. The tail gave a final, seemingly triumphant wiggle as it finished growing. The exposed bone at its end split, drawing a feeble whimper from Sid as at the same time thin webbing spread between fan created. Sid pressed his palms against the floor, meaning to push himself up. He only managed a few shaky inches, barely enough to lift his head up, when his fingers began to turn pale blue. He quickly forced himself into a sitting position, as if touching something at the same time would leave them stuck to it. He held his hands up and stared at them as thin webbing grew between his fingers to match his tail. He kept staring, kept shaking. It was finally over, but his mouth was still hanging open in shock. If he was lucky he'd be able to close it when it passed. Not likely. Gaius Harper Sympathetic pangs twitched Gaius's own tail as he watched the new development, remembering full well his own experience. It was only made worse as now he could see just what his own spine must have done as it tore off and grew. To his credit, Gaius didn't feel sick. Only... shaken. Very shaken. He was sure the image of Sid screaming with that unholy mouth wide open would haunt his nightmares for nights to come. "H-Hey..." The younger man held up a hand as if to reach out to Sid, but hesitated, unsure if he should touch him or not. Concerned eyes glanced over Sid, lingering on his ghoulish mouth. "I-Is it over? Can I help...?" Sid Eisley In response Sid grabbed Gaius's arm, then a handful of his shirt. It might have been a little more intimidating if he wasn't still trembling, but as he used the young man to haul himself up his face, gaping maw and all, was brought uncomfortably close to Gaius's... close enough to appreciate the needle-like quality the bottom ones in particular possessed. He grunted with the effort, his breath reeking of mint mouth wash that barely covered some less pleasant lingering odors. And then he let go. For a few seconds Sid seemed taller, but that was only because he was foolishly standing up straight. A few inches were subtracted as he shifted his weight back until his good leg and resumed his normal harrassed slouch. His cane lay not far from the overturned chair, forgotten in all the excitement. Gaius Harper Gaius stiffened reflexively, only craning his neck back to distance himself as far as possible from that wicked maw, nostrils flairing at the offending odors, until Sid released his grip, letting Gaius slump against the washers. He watched Sid stand, unusually erect for once, and wondered what was going through the defiant man's mind. If it was anything like his experience, Gaius imagined it was an incomprehensible mess of thoughts. It'd probably take Sid a while to sort them out too... Gaius cleared his throat, feeling rather dry-mouthed, and ventured, "Are you... okay?" Sid Eisley "Nah," Sid said. "Ahm vewy fuhking fah fom okay." Talking felt about as wrong as it sounded. His mouth wagged, but there was seemingly no getting it to close enough to let his tongue hit the roof of his mouth. He reached up and put his hand to his chin, but he couldn't quite work up the nerve to see if he could force it. If he looked down he could see it jutting out, and those teeth... He sucked in a breath, but turning his head to look away wasn't going to take it out of his line of sight. He pointed a shaking, webbed finger at where his cane lay. If he didn't ask, if he just pulled himself up, if he just pointed... it technically wasn't asking for help. The cigarette was laying a few feet away from the cane, the smoldering tip slowly burning a hole in the tile. Gaius Harper Gaius had to agree, Sid's state was far from anything resembling 'okay.' And was he himself 'okay' yet? Thankfully, the pointing finger was a clear enough sign of what needed to be done. Wordlessly, Gaius stepped over, bent down, and retrieved the cane, turning to hand it back to its rightful owner. He'd yet to notice the cigarette, but it wouldn't be long before his nose smelled it. Sid Eisley Sid nodded his thanks as he took the cane. He curled and uncurled his fingers around the grip as he put his weight on it, trying to get used to the strange new feeling. Something still felt off about them, but he was trying very hard not to think about any of it. Without a word he turned towards the overturned chair and, forgetting his little phobia of throwing his back out, righted it with his free hand. He sat down, yelped, and changed position so his tail could pass through the hole conveniently molded in the back. His expression, as least as much as was readable in his eyes, was grim. He winced as his tail gave another involuntary flick. Gaius Harper The crisis over, Gaius felt a growing awkward silence as he stood there. How could he minister to the guy when there'd been nothing they could do for Gaius? All the phrases that came to mind seemed empty, trivial, especially in the light of that mouth... Gaius shook his head and, looking up to meet Sid's eyes, said the only thing he could speak with honesty. "...I'm sorry." It felt awkward, seeing this older, crusted and hard shelled man exposed at such a vulnerable moment. Gaius only hoped Sid wouldn't hold it against him. Behind him, his laundry churned loudly in the washer, lending its noise to the thrumming silence between the two. Sid Eisley "Ah noh," Sid said. He could almost pronounce it properly. Almost. He sat there resting both hands on his cane, staring in the general direction of the dryer that held his clothes. They were going to be wrinkled, and for some reason the thought made him laugh. It died quickly, before it could have the chance to turn to sobbing, or maybe screaming. As soon as the noise died away, leaving nothing but that from the washer, he slid his chair forward and opened the dryer. There wasn't much to extract from it, he'd been able to carry what he hadn't worn on the way over. Now the thought of getting dressed against was almost as daunting as the walk back. He gathered it all into his lap and slide the chair back. The door he nudged closed with his cane. Every movement was mechanical, but if he sat still he was going to lose whatever shred of self-control he had left to cling to. He knew. That should have made it easier. The teeth he expected... but the jaw? He dug his fingers into the lump of shirts and jeans. He was starting to drool- or rather he just noticed he was. Rather than wipe it off, he dug his fingers in a little harder. " 'Emme... Lemme..." he shook his head and tried again. "Leath me thor a moment." Gaius Harper The laugh, far from humorous, made the hair on the back of Gaius's neck stand up. He glanced at the washer, willing it to go faster. While he would've been more than willing to comfort Sid, he knew that wasn't what kind of man he was. Gaius could be bolstered by words, to a point, but after that there was a point every man had to face his troubles alone. So, when Sid made his unintelligible request, though he didn't get what the guy'd tried to say, he understood the message clear enough. He pushed away from the washer and shrugged, making for the door. "It'll take a while for my stuff to wash..." He paused as he opened the door, and looked back to throw out one bit of advice that Sid'd given him only a week ago. "Remember... you can take it like a man." The door closed behind him, leaving Sid alone with his pile of laundry. Sid Eisley Hearing his own words thrown back at him made Sid wince as though he was physically struck. Once he heard the door close he slowly reached up and wiped his mouth off. Afterwards he lean forward and pressed his forehead against the dryer. No crying, no screaming, he was better than that. He was just going to set there until it felt like he was going to be able to keep it together, at least for a little while longer. Slowly, more awkwardly than normal, he pulled on his t-shirt, then his jeans. After several attempts to pull them on over the tail, he settled for letting them hang low. He was going to need or scissors soon... Trying to think about the practical issues didn't help anything. He put his sandals back on and stood, every movement still too deliberate. He wadded the rest of his clothes under his arm, the same way he'd carried them there, and walked towards the door. He made it three steps before he noticed the cigarette. He stared at it, at the trail of ash was almost to the filter. He snuffed it with his sandal, then he kicked it, and then at last he lost his cool. He screamed, he dropped his clothes and slammed his fists into the nearest machine, he threw the chair aside. He went on like that for several minutes until he exhausted himself. He hadn't even made a decent mess in the process. His hand throbbed but nothing felt broken, the dryer wasn't even dented. "Fuhk," he said quietly. Sid gathered his clothes and left the room. Along the way he pulled the rubber band from his hair, as always he winced as several strands came out with it. With his head bowed and hair in his face, maybe his jaw wouldn't be immediately apparent. He was too old for this s**t.
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:39 pm
What Makes A Man...Ambrose startles Gaius, and despite very different upbringing, they find they have some things in commonGaius Harper The past days had been busy, if not downright weird, for Gaius. And he'd yet to contact Antony, though he knew he really should sometime soon. The periods of inactivity in his duplex or just wandering around outside left the man with too much time to think, too much time to reflect back on images he'd rather not recall. So it'd been with determination that Gaius set out for the supply room that morning. It'd taken the better part of the morning, but Gaius had managed to unbury some lumber sitting in the back, probably saved for repair work, or left over after construction. He figured he could find something to do with it, even if he didn't know what yet. He had ideas, though. Gaius stood back and wiped his brow, looking over the beams he'd started to pull out. It'd take some labor to haul them over to his duplex alone... Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose was on his way back from the cafeteria, enjoying the hint of cooler weather following the rains. It looked like the Island might finally be touched by a hint of "fall", even if that only meant that the temperatures might actually dip below 80 at nights. Still, any respite was a welcome one to the man sporting a thick coat of fur which seemed to be constantly shedding all over.
Hearing the clunking of lumber from the storage room, Ambrose's ears pricked up and he wandered closer. Was a staff member about..? Or was it an islander thinking of putting their time to a purpose? It had been a while since Ambrose helped out with a building project - collaborative or even his personal projects that he had made around Christmas... back when there likely wasn't even half as many subjects around... and he had much more human hands.....
Shaking the thought from his head he padded in, peering around the corner and spotting someone from behind, wiping his sweat from his brow and looking in consideration at the lumber. The tail sticking out over his pants line spoke that Ambrose at least didn't need to worry about him being another newbie who he might startle.
So, with a friendly wag of his tail, he let his curiosity lead him into the room, his nails clicking on the concrete floor. Gaius Harper Gaius's right ear twitched slightly, catching the clicking of something approaching from behind. He looked over his shoulder, fearing it might have been one of the staff, or worse, Zach, coming to interrupt him. He was caught by surprise at the sight of the very large wolf-man heading his way. It was impossible to keep him mind from jumping to imagery from horror movies of werewolves. But that wasn't what got his hackles to rise. What Gaius saw in that face was the reddened maw of Annie, over the body of Fiona, only weeks ago. The images resurfaced all too clearly in his mind, and something in his instincts made him jump back, eyes wide. "Gahahh!" His mind was instantly racing, looking everywhere for possible escapes. Why was the wolf here?! Hadn't they hunted her-it down? Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose's friendly and curious attitude was shot out of the sky. His ears flattened and he quickly backpedaled a couple of steps, raising his paw-hands palm forward while tucking his tail. A gesture that, Ambrose mulled bitterly, was becoming all too habitual. A part of his mind prodded that rolling over onto his back would be the best way to seem non-threatening, or at the very least to drop down to all fours and try to look small, but Ambrose shoved that to the back of his mind.
"Whoa! I'm sorry.... uhm... there. I didn't mean to startle you!" Ambrose plaintively called out to the broad-faced man. "I... I mean... I saw your tail... I figured that you at least had seen some of the others... perhaps I was wrong... Ah... I mean... I know I'm a bit... further gone... than most of the others." He found himself babbling. Gaius Harper Gaius breathed heavily, the moment of fight-or-flight giving way to actual thought. "Y-You're not Annie..?" he asked stupidly. Of course this wolf wasn't Annie. For one thing, it was clearly a male, as the voice demonstrated, even if Gaius wasn't familiar with gender differences in animals, and his fur was distinctly grey. "I-I thought you were... you looked like the killer..." Gaius eased back from the tense stance he'd adopted, beginning to feel rather foolish. "I mean, you looked like her... being a, er, wolf..." He rubbed the back of his neck and ducked his head sheepishly. "Sorry, you surprised me and I panicked..." Ambrose Maurlias "Aah..." Ambrose's eyes found the floor, remembering what he had heard from Sid about... the attack. "That's right.... she ... was a wolf, too, huh?" Ambrose had never seen her as anything other than a human. The thought that there was... or at least had been another wolf on the island almost felt strange for some reason. He should have sought her out sooner. If so... could he have helped? Or would he just have borne witness to some macabre decline that would have terrified him even more.
"But no... I'm no killer... nor am I a woman." Ambrose smiled, attempting to alleviate the tension, though revealing several long sharp teeth in his canine facsimile of the human expression. "My name is Ambrose... I don't believe we've met." Gaius Harper Ambrose's smile brought one mirrored in Gaius's wide face. He was relieved the wolf man had taken the mistake good-naturedly. "Yeah, you don't look much like a girl anyways. I'm Gaius," he said, extending his hand to the wolf. "And I haven't met a lot of people... only been here a month yet. But it seems there's a new face everywhere I look." He couldn't help but glance over the form before him. He'd seen many islanders that were far gone. Ambrose looked most similar to Rex... though something in the way his chest was shaped seemed off. Definitely inhuman. Gaius wondered how long it had taken him to go so far... and if he'd go any farther. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose's tension dissipated even further as the man reached out to shake. Grasping his hand with a practiced firm greeting, Ambrose met his eyes and nodded.
"It's nice to meet you, Gaius. And only a month yet? Things must still all be very... fresh." He chose the word after a moment of consideration. "How... has it all been for you? I mean, I am certain that it has been miles from pleasant, but hopefully you've met some other friendly faces at the very least?" Gaius Harper Gaius shook his paw-hand warmly, but his smile faltered at Ambrose's inquiry. "Eh..." He glanced away, then bolstered his smile, though it was less bright than before. "Fresh is one way to put it... I've met a bunch of people, some very nice... but some I'd rather avoid, though I seem to have bad luck, considering how often I run into them." He didn't know why, but Gaius felt almost relieved that there was someone asking him how he felt. Someone Gaius didn't have to play the strong shoulder for. "It's been... well, hell, really," he confessed, running a hand back through his hair. "It's like I've been torn out of my life and thrown into some alternate world where I've gotten thrown around like a kite in a storm. If I'm not making promises to one person, I'm consoling another or getting harassed by someone else. There's nothing stable I can set my feet on to try and right myself. There's nothing I can use to control the way I'm falling." Gaius took a deep breath and met Ambrose's eyes again with a sheepish apologetic smile. "Sorry, that was probably a lot more than you were bargaining for." Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded "Regretfully... not everyone here is necessarily... the friendliest of individuals. I have heard rumors of attacks.. namely... the one you mentioned yourself. But still, more people I've met have been friendly rather than otherwise. I've heard that Jamal.. the white-tiger man, can be rather dangerous - but I've been lucky enough to encounter him when he at least .... would speak to me as opposed to just outright attacking. And for the most part, one of the few good things about the lab is that they do ... try to minimize conflicts..."
Ambrose pulled a large crate closer and offered it as a seat. "Don't apologize. I know how you feel. I think that almost all of us have been through our own personal Hell on this island... Sometimes... you get used to it. It doesn't make it any more right, and it doesn't make the things, the people, that are still back there somewhere leave your mind. But... that's good... I think - to remember the people who touched your life before this place. And between the separation from our old lives, and being often forced into ... a role, and a shape that isn't your own... it's hard for everyone. You must have... made some friends already if they're looking to you for support. It's never easy, and it's impossible to do alone, I think. But if you absorb everyone else's problems and never have anyone to talk to yourself, you'll go crazy." Ambrose added with a small chuckle and a wincing smile. Gaius Harper Gaius chuckled as well, finally relaxing fully in Ambrose's presence as the slump of his broad shoulders showed. "Gee, seems like your speaking from experience there..." He shook his head at the offer of the seat, shrugging slightly, and leaned back against the wall of the supply room. "It's definitely been hard... I'm glad there are nice people. I hope I can meet more of them. This Jamal fellow... I hadn't heard of, though. Probably a good thing, I've had enough trouble dealing with Zach..." He gave a distasteful snort at the name. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded and gave a bit of a shrug. "I was... with the first wave of people here. We didn't know even what we were fully in for. It was definitely a struggle, and I know that I wouldn't have been able to make it through if I didn't make the friends that I did that I could talk to, that listened to my problems as I listened to theirs. It's kind of like a family in that. One of the few good things about this place as a whole is the people I've met. I never had close friends like this back home, outside of Angelina. But that's probably just me."
"Zach..?" Ambrose searched his memory. "I only met the man briefly... back at the beach bar a while ago now. He didn't seem so bad when I met him - but that might be due to the alcohol and the girls hanging off of him." Ambrose gave a bemused expression.
"Has he.... gotten pretty bad..? I know... some of the people here have had problems with their inner ... animals" He shook his head again and went ahead and took a seat himself on the crate. "I think... and ... maybe it's me, maybe it's a difference in the serums, I don't know... but I think that if you choose your battles, then you can keep what's important... you know?"
"I don't know who you've met... but Angelina and I are in Duplex 1... Emelyn is a really nice person, Amaya, Emerwyn, Vasile, Cassidy, Pyroth, Bobby, and Chana are all people who have been here long enough to have changed and are good people. Colche too, though, while she can bring a smile to your face may not be the best of people if you really want to have a long discussion." He said awkwardly. Gaius Harper "Family..." Gaius repeated, his eyes drifting down. It was hard... much of the time he'd been alone had been spent thinking of the family left behind back in the states, and what they'd possibly heard of his fate. But, to build a second family here, with the people he knew... "That would be nice..." He let out a dry chuckle at Ambrose's recollection. "He must've changed a lot, then, from what you remember... Taken a liking to scaring new guys - like myself - and has never uttered an honest word in all the conversations I've had with him. He sports a black top hat like that scientist does... Sabin, or whatever his name is. And... I think Zach thinks that he protects him. He's really cocky about it." At the list of names, Gaius just shook his head, feeling a corner of his hope being chipped away. "So many people... I'm down in Duplex 62, way over on the side. I haven't seen any of those people yet... Just Marshall, Rex, Antony, Sid, Alec, Tommy, and a couple others..." He sighed, suddenly wondering something, and fearing what the answer might be. "Have you... Has anyone tried... to escape before?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose shook his head at the description of Zach. "That's not right. This isn’t easy for any of us, and making it worse for new arrivals is just wrong. The labs do enough to screw with new people as it is - we don't need to be turning against each other. Changed or not, we're all in this together."
"And Sixty two.... wow. That many of us now? I remember when I thought I was alone here... It seems like it was a lifetime ago. But, I guess in reality it's just been a little over a year."
Ambrose listened to the list. "I've met Rex briefly, he seemed nice. And Sid, Alec and Tommy. Good people... though I heard the announcement about Alec and Tommy. I wouldn't have thought that they'd attack someone - even if it was a staff member. And no matter what they say, Dr. Lockheart is the closest we've got to an ally in the labs. she's the only one I've seen or heard of that actually has a conscience."
"Escape... We've all thought about it... several people have tried... something. Alec and Tommy, as I said, tried to attack a staff member... though I don't know what they thought that would have accomplished other than bringing punishment onto their heads. But between the cameras all over the island, the chips in our necks, and the thousands of miles to shore... I don't know what we can do. Or even if we did get back, how well received we'd be. I heard that... if you stop the process, and don't get the follow up injections till completion... that your cells can break down, you can get cancer, and all sorts of nasty things. At least... at this point... supposedly I'm done." Gaius Harper Gaius winced. "Oh, right, I forgot about the cameras..." The reminder that he was always watched made him glance around, wondering just where the camera might be hidden. Of course, it was useless, and he eventually gave up with a sigh. "They've really thought of almost everything then..." He chewed on the inside of his cheek. What Ambrose said about the cancer... He'd always kept a hope that he could escape the island before meeting the fate of the others, that a tail and other growths would be the extent of what he'd have to face. That hope looked to be sitting on flimsier foundation every day. "So..." he glanced over Ambrose, taking in again how much wolf there was in that body. "That's their end goal? Animal-people?" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded. "I hate to be the one to rain on your parade... and if you have any ideas that might work, I am certain that you'd have many people willing to follow you. But... they put a lot of thought into this prison. And as of yet, it's got a better record than Alcatraz. If anyone has somehow managed it, I haven't heard about it."
He spread his hands at the question. "Supposedly. I'm just glad that I'm finished. I turned out luckier than some. Pyroth, being one of them. I don't know why... they claim it's to find cures for diseases... but I don't buy that. I think it is something along the lines of 'because he can.'" Gaius Harper Gaius let out another distinctly animal snort as he scowled. "That's no excuse..." "Don't worry... I'm just learning new stuff about this place still... And I'm too darn stubborn to give up just yet," he added with a hopeful half-grin. "I'm sure someday we'll get lucky." The talk about being 'finished' made Gaius shift uncomfortably, all too aware of the little lumps on his back, buried beneath the bandage wrappings and t-shirt. They'd been painful coming in... how much worse would they get? "I was just wondering... are most people able to figure out what their animal is after the first... change?" Ambrose Maurlias "I hope you're right. But, regardless, that's a good attitude. But above all, escape or no... what's important is that you as a person hold on."
Ambrose looked the man over - the inhumanly broad face, the tail... the strange dual-colored hair. "Some are... others it isn't so easy. I figured I was canine after my first change... I was thinking wolf, but I had no hard evidence... until I called the lab and outright asked. Amaya just got a smattering of green scales - which left room for a lot."
Ambrose lifted his nose towards Gaius, not even really thinking as he took in his scent. Unfortunately, not having a great deal to compare it to, the best he could muster was that it smelled vaguely like some sort of prey animal.
"Do you know what you are?" Gaius Harper "No..." he grumbled, scratching at the back of his neck. He wasn't comfortable enough yet to mention the growths on his back - the most confusing aspect of his change. "People say to ask the labs... I dunno. I don't really want to risk dealing with that Sabin guy. The way he spoke so enthusiastically about this place, before I knew what it really was..." He gave a shudder. "Crazy. That's what." "I'm still torn... I'd like to know, so I know what to expect, but then, that'd mean I'd be living in dread - well, more than I already am - of what's to come. What kind of way is that to live?" He shrugged and tilted his head at Ambrose, a faint smile on his lips. "You seem like a real nice guy... It's good to know that's not something they can change. I don't know what I'd do if I ended up like Zach, or that squid-guy. I think I'd really be lost then, even if I was still kinda human, you know?" Gaius shuffled a foot and shrugged. Ambrose Maurlias "I... understand if you don't want to deal with them. But, at least as far as I've seen, they seem to be honest about that." Ambrose shook his head. "I've had very little dealings with the man myself... I was buzzed unconscious when I refused to leave the room when he was.. collecting Amaya to the labs. I couldn't leave her alone, though -she was terrified."
"Well..." Ambrose looked him over again. "If you don't mind me saying... your tail and the look of your ears... and the extra hair... That makes me think mammal, at least. Which means you're one of the luckier ones. You smell... like some sort of herbivore.... I'm sorry, I can't tell much beyond that, however." He scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed at the source of the information.
Ambrose nodded. "Not everyone goes crazy... really. In fact, most of the people who seem to had the propensity from the beginning. And... if you're an herbivore... then you don't need even to worry about predatory instincts." Gaius Harper Gaius nodded. The buzzing sounded like Sabin. At least, it reminded him of his encounter after Fiona's murder. "Herbivore?" he blinked. Suddenly, several things seemed to click in place. His diminished appetite when it came to steak, the nagging nerves at the back of his mind. He'd never been so skittish before. But that still didn't explain the stupid wings. "You mean they're making me a vegetarian?" He gave Ambrose a troubled look, quickly replaced by hardened stubbornness. "...We'll see about that. No lab's going to keep me from enjoying the food I cook." With that, he pushed off from the wall and looked over the wood he'd been pulling out, and scratched at his chin. "I thought, since all this stuff was just sitting here, I might use it to help, if anyone needs stuff built." He shrugged, flashing Ambrose a grin over his shoulder. "Though what I'd make... I dunno yet!" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose laughed. "Then more power to you. I've lost my taste for a lot of vegetables... but I still enjoy a good, cooked meal, rolls, pasta, and other things. It's just learning to accommodate a new palette or needs. I know that there are a lot of vegan dishes that people who make that lifestyle choice consciously make... just.. well, not really offhand."
"I know that it's not much consolation, and you certainly have the right to feel irritated, but there are others worse off. I think that's better than changing a vegan to a carnivore - which I've seen... or dealing with snake instincts to eat things whole." Ambrose gave a small shudder. "But... I know as well as anyone that even the 'lucky' people as far as animal choice aren't lucky at all. You want to feel bad, to bemoan the change, that you're losing your humanity at all.... but it doesn't fall on many sympathetic ears if you're changing into a mammal."
Ambrose looked over to the wood pile with interest. "You know... I did a little bit of building work not long after I arrived... did this kind of silly golf course thing with Chubbs and Jamal... before he changed the first time." The smile wavered for a moment before he continued. "We were going to build a butterfly house... given the humidity around we wouldn't need any special equipment... but .... we kind of got sidetracked with... other events. But despite the entertainment rooms, the beaches, and so forth, things can get slow around here. So... I'm all ears if you come up with anything you want to build!" Gaius Harper "I'm sorry to hear that... about the sympathy, I mean." Gaius frowned. "Even the 'lucky' ones should be able to get some kind of consolation, even if it's an 'I know how you feel' from others... If it helps, I'm sorry you had to become a wolf... I can only imagine how bad the tail was," he chuckled and winced, giving his own a swish behind him. He brightened at Ambrose's offer, looking back over the wood. "I think I'll ask around and see if there's anything people need first... Hadn't thought of a golf course! Or a butterfly house... Wonder if there's anyone who'd use it? But hey, if there's as many people on this island as there seem to be, someone's gotta want something the staff haven't provided, right?" He grinned. "Plus, help is always good! There's only so much I can build by myself. If you know any others who'd want to help, we could even get a volunteer crew going to make some things... Even adjustments to the duplexes. Heeey..." Struck by a thought, Gaius tapped a crate. "You know, I've wanted to try my hand at furniture... Maybe I can make some personalized stuff, like chairs for guys like us with tails..." Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose smiled. "It's alright.. And thank you, for what it's worth. And yes... the tail is excruciating... the muzzle is worse, though." He gave Gaius an apologetic look, hoping that it would serve as much as a warning as holding over his head an unavoidable future experience.
"And I'd be glad to help if you need me! The chairs sound like a decent idea. I usually end up spinning mine around backwards if they aren't otherwise compatible. I don't exactly have a lot of formal training... but I've learned a bit from other islanders. And the basic work itself doesn't exactly take a lot of thought."
"So, other than cooking and construction, what sort of things did you or do you do for fun?" Gaius Harper Gaius rubbed his nose at the mention of a muzzle. The possibility that his face was going to get worse was not something Gaius liked to think on. "Duplex 1, right? If I find some work for us, I'll leave a note or something!" he promised with a grin. "Well, I'm a simple guy... Hell, I've probably bored you to tears with some of my rambling about woes already," Gaius chuckled, self-consciously rubbing his neck. "But... back when I was in the states, I loved NASCAR and all those racing cars. Always have, since I was a kid. Dad and I would go out to the local raceway in Arizona to watch them. He and I built our own box cars together, too." He finally settled down on a crate nearby and leaned back, remembering some of his fondest childhood memories with a wide grin. "If I hadn't been an architect, I definitely would've become a mechanic." Ambrose Maurlias "Sounds like a plan!" Ambrose responded enthusiastically, deciding to ignore the uncomfortable look Gaius sported at the mention of a muzzle.
"And you haven't bored me. I don't mind lending an ear - or doing so again if you need someone to talk to. Heck, they're big enough as is." He smirked.
"And NASCAR? Interesting. Never really followed it myself to be honest." Ambrose tried to dispel the image that came to his mind of rednecks and beer when he thought of auto racing. Ambrose had learned a very strict lesson on this island that unlike his life beforehand, one really could not judge a book by its cover. And by meeting people from so many different areas of the world in a rainbow of occupations and interests, that there were a lot of good people out there when you got to know someone on an individual basis.
"Fencing was my passion." He finally commented. Gaius Harper "Fencing?" Gaius tilted his head, mildly curious. "You mean, like real fencing? Those pointy swords and the white suits and fancy poses and stuff?" He wouldn't have placed Ambrose for a fencer... but then, that was probably because he didn't equate big wolf-men, and the only fencing he'd ever seen was what had been fed to him through movies. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose puffed out his chest a bit, nodding. "Yup, exactly. It was great... the tournaments, the speed of the weapons and the matches, quick thinking and quick movement. And... I will admit, there was always the fantasy of it being the closest thing to the swashbuckling movies and chivalry... " He trailed off looking a bit embarrassed.
"Probably sounds silly... but I just always really loved it. I wanted to go to the Olympics some day and everything. Course, it just really shows that you cannot anticipate the changes that life might bring." Gaius Harper At the mention of swashbuckling, Gaius's grin brightened. Now there was something he could connect to. "No! That's great! Man, to feel like one of those heroes, fighting pirates and monsters and stuff, it'd be a blast!" He shifted forward eagerly, wanting to encourage Ambrose. "I actually do a lot of reading too, like those old legends about Arthur and stuff about the old houses and fighting for honor... My friends would joke about me being caught up on dreaming of being a knight or something." It was Gaius's turn to look embarrassed, but he smiled and continued. "When you were fighting... did it really feel like being a hero?" The comment on life got a warm laugh from Gaius. "Yeah, a real curve ball in our case, huh? I have to admit getting turned into some hairy animal was not on my list of life goals!" Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose nodded emphatically, a spark in his eyes at Gaius's understanding. "See! Yes! Exactly, you understand what I mean! Even when I'm on the piste with a tipped epee, I can still imagine that I'm facing off against some dastardly foe... And I say that they're wrong when they say that Chivalry is dead... it's just endangered." He chuckled. "I wish sometimes that I could have actually been there... you know? That swordfighting was actually a valuable skill... as opposed to what my parents though. They wanted me to go to medical school." He grimaced.
"It certainly wasn't on mine either, but ... I suppose we don't exactly have much choice. Adapt or die as it were. Make the best of it, never deny that what they're doing is wrong. But It's nice to meet someone with similar interests. You know, they do have quite the movie collection in the entertainment room. We could watch some sometime.... or hell, I'm always eager to teach other people if you want to learn epee." Gaius Harper Gaius sat back with a dreamy look, imaging what it must have been like to swing a sword... But in his mind, it was a broadsword in his hands, not a narrow saber. "Who needs medical school? There's enough doctors in the world already, and not nearly enough heroes," he grinned. "And I'd love to watch a movie some time, maybe I could convince Marshall to tag along if there's enough special effects." The crate was beginning to get a bit hard on Gaius's back end, and the wood still needed to be moved before the sun got too high in the sky, so Gaius started getting to his feet. He paused at the lesson offer and looked at Ambrose, an eager light in his eyes. "Lessons? For the fighting and stuff? ...Well... if you wouldn't mind a terribly clumsy student, I think I might be able to work it into my busy schedule." Gaius gave a grin that clearly said he was joking about that last statement. After all, time was one of the things they had in abundance on that island. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose's eyes softened and he nodded thoughtfully. "My opinion exactly.... I didn't want to be someone I wasn't for the rest of my life. My parents had already done a good enough number on me throughout high school forcing me into a mold.... I wanted to live my own life for once..... heh... and see where it got me." He shrugged his shoulders, looking down at his paw-like feet.
"But... at least I'm not tearing out my hair in medical school or pulling twenty hour shifts at the hospitals, eh?" He sported a wincing grin.
"But yeah, if you ever want to, clumsy or not, I'd be happy to try to teach you." He got to his feet as well, leaning back and stretching. "Because like you, my schedule is just overflowing here. But hey, it was great meeting you. Swing by sometime, and invite whoever you like to do movies in the entertainment room." Gaius Harper Gaius clapped Ambrose with a friendly pat on his furred shoulder. It was relieving, somehow, to find another guy on the island, similar, but different... that could bolster Gaius. It was nice to not be alone. "Ambrose, I'm really glad to meet you, even if we wish our situation was different... I guess that's one of the benefits of this place?" "I definitely owe you for today... I feel a little more sane after that talk," he smiled warmly. "Take care of yourself, and I'll definitely take you up on those offers some time. All of them! And if you want, my ears aren't as large as yours yet, but they're good for listening too." Ambrose Maurlias "I'm glad I could help. Honestly." He chuckled. "See, maybe take that hero bit down to a more realistic level, eh? But seriously, I try to help out where I can. And it's nice to meet people that you have things in common with."
He barked a good-natured laugh at the offer. "And thanks! I'll certainly keep that in mind if I ever have something I need to get off of my chest." Ambrose was about to say that it was good having people like him on the island, but he stopped himself short. After all, that meant that they had to be snared there as well.
"Don't be a stranger!" He said with a wave, and headed back to his duplex. Gaius Harper Gaius took the farewells with a laugh, though he caught the unintentional implication of Ambrose's words. They were all lucky to not be the only ones in their misfortune. And whether or not Gaius had a 'lucky' serum... He mentally shook off the idea. It wasn't something he'd dwell on. He waved until Ambrose had walked away, then set back to his work with the lumber. At least he had an idea of what to do now!
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:14 pm
Pandas and Saw BladesNita runs into Gaius in the midst of a new projectGaius Harper The sound of intense sawing could be heard throughout the duplex circle, a steady SKRRK-ZZZ SKRRRK-ZZZ bouncing off the buildings. Some exploration could find the source in the area near Duplex 62, where some crates and wood had been set up in a make-shift wood-working station of sorts. Gaius stood bent over a long plank, clad in sweat-stained shirt and work clothes adorned with what particles of wood flew off the wood as he worked the handsaw. A couple pieces of cut wood sat nearby, but it was impossible to tell what project the horse-man was working on yet. Gaius blinked away a trickle of sweat that stung at his eye. What he wouldn't give for a power saw right now. Nita MacNeal Nita returned to the village after a day or so spent out in the jungle. Her encounter with Thom had left her wary of her fellow islanders, but she was grubby and ready for something more than the nuts and fruits she knew were safe to eat. The red panda woman would appear much more self-possessed than on their previous meeting, as well as having obviously changed again. Her movements were slower and more deliberate, in accordance with her thickened (and furrier) body). Even non-animalistic ears could hear the sawing; as Nita drew nearer, she recognized the man at work. She paused a few feet away, hooking her thumbs in her belt-loops. "Hey... Gaius, yeah?" Gaius Harper Gaius stopped mid-sawing at the address, looking up to see who it was. It would be easy for Nita to notice that Gaius wasn't entirely human anymore either, from the tail and stretched face. He spotted Nita, but it took him a moment before he recognized her and broke into a wide smile. "Oh! Hey! Um..." His smile faultered awkwardly as he realized he'd forgotten her name. "...Natalie, right?" There was something off, something that didn't match his memory, and Gaius scrunched up an eye as he looked at her. "You look different..." Nita MacNeal "Nita, actually," she corrected, taking in Gaius' changed appearance. Her mouth opened slightly in a smile, her muzzle no longer particularly suited to smiling properly. "Yeah, I changed again." Nita brushed a strand of reddish hair out of her face. "I see you did, too," she observed. "You don't look bad." Peering around him, she asked, "What're you making?" A bit of sawdust crept into her nose; she sneezed. Gaius Harper Gaius blushed ashamedly, kicking himself for getting Nita's name wrong, but his blunder was quickly forgotten after Nita's comment on his looks. It didn't bring much outward change to his behavior, except that he ducked his head to scratch at the back of his neck as he often did when nervous. "Th-thanks... I guess it's not as bad as some of the others I've seen..." He decided against mentioning the things bound beneath his shirt just yet. "Ah!" He clapped grinned eagerly, brushing off his hands on his pants as he started explaining. "I'm building--" He was interrupted by Nita's sneeze. The little sound, coming from a girl, made him chuckle. "Bless you!" "Anyways, I'm making furniture! ...Actually, I'm still figuring out how... but I want to make stuff for the islanders! Like chairs that will fit their - our - tails without having to sit backwards." Gaius stood back, reguarding Nita again. "You know... when I first saw you, I couldn't figure out what was different. You look fuzzier, and kinda wider... ER! I mean-! You look bigger!" He panicked, realizing his slip too late. "No! Uh, just more defined, in a good way! I don't mean you're fat! Definitely NOT fat! I mean...!" He clapped a hand over his face and groaned. Nita MacNeal Nita scrubbed at her nose, waiting for the fur on her cheeks to un-poof. "'Scuse me!" "That's a really good idea. I've started having to turn chairs around now." She twisted around to indicate her tail, which was nearly as thick as her waist. "Clothing is another issue." Nita rolled her eyes-- and burst out laughing at Gaius' tactlessness. "Maybe a little fat," she wheezed between bouts of laughter. "Your honesty is almost refreshing, Gaius." Nita grinned her open-mouthed smile and wiped her eyes. Gaius Harper Gaius winced, smiling sheepishly behind his hand. "I'm glad it's not violence-inducing..." He chuckled and shook his head. "I need to get an eraser for my tongue. Or a rewind button. That would be handy." He ran the hand back through his hair and sighed. "Seems like everyone's been changing... I've been like this for a couple weeks, but just the other day I saw this guy in the laundromat... he... well... his jaw went all messed up." Gaius shuddered. "It was nasty. Now I know how Marshall must have felt..." The horse-man paused, frowning slightly. "You know, I haven't seen that kid in a while... I wonder if he's okay..." Nita MacNeal Nita continued snickering, although her mirth was slightly less hysterical. "You're just lucky I was never particularly vain. And well..." She shrugged. "Red pandas are pretty squishy." Her mood changed slightly as the subject shifted towards the inevitable. "I've seen some drastic changes, myself. I hate to tell you, but it doesn't really get easier... Watching friends lose limbs in front of you..." Nita shook her head slowly. "Marshall? Little guy, brown hair? You know him?" Gaius Harper "Red panda?" Gaius tilted his head. "I thought you were some kind of raccoon! What with the ringed tail and face and stuff..." The image of someone's limbs disappearing made Gaius shudder. Ambrose had said he smelled like an herbivore, were there any herbivores with fewer limbs? He sincerely hoped not! However, he quickly nodded an affirmative to Marshall's description. "Yeah, the first normal guy I ran into... while I was still human..." His face fell. "It was nice to just forget about everything around us and pretend things were normal, just for a couple hours." Nita MacNeal "Nope, red panda. They do kind of look like raccoons, though. But we're, er, they're not related. And they're not really related to giant pandas, those are the black and white ones, either." Nita grinned. "Sorry, I tend to babble." She scratched at a bit of fur on her arm. "Heh, I was the first changed person he'd run into. Poor guy. Although there are definitely worse people who could have told him what's up," Nita added after a moment. As confused and disillusioned as Nita was about the island (and her promises to Moreau), she did still maintain that it was best for the newcomers to have things explained to them-- and she had to admit she had a knack for it. Or at least, she had a knack for running into the newbies. "It's funny what ends up passing for normal around here." Gaius Harper "Well if they're not related to pandas, then why are they called red pandas?" Gaius laughed, though he quickly stopped as a snorting sound escaped his nose. "You got to break it to him?" Gaius asked with raised brows, then broke into a relieved smile. "...I'm glad. You're a nice person, so I'm sure his let-down was much easier than mine. Of course, it's hard to disbelieve anything when you're watching a dragon and a lion duke it out..." "Still, feel kinda bad he had to be there when I changed and saw those things come out of my shoulders-" Gaius stopped suddenly and winced. Dangit, rewind! Nita MacNeal "Supposedly it's an anglicization of the Chinese word poonya, or 'eater of bamboo,'" Nita replied. She flushed slightly, not that it would be visible under her fur. "Sorry. I did a lot of research when I found out." Her embarrassment faded when Gaius snorted in a distinctly equine manner. "Well, thanks, I think. Ugh. Let me guess, Rex and Zach?" Nita rolled her eyes at the thought of the dragon-man. There was no love lost between them, although it was good to hear Rex was out and about. Nita quirked a brow. "Things came out of your shoulders?" Gaius Harper "Yeah," Gaius replied, heartened by Nita's apparant mutual distaste of the dragon. "That jerk was trying to convince me he was wearing a costume, and playing along with the lie Sabin'd fed me." He huffed, letting out another snort. "I may be gullible, but I'm not stupid. At least Rex nailed him with a nice fist to that snout of his. And from what I've gathered, not many others like him...?" He shifted uncomfortably as Nita brought up what had to be one of the most embarassing features of his change. "Um, yeah..." He scratched at his mane, avoiding her eyes. "I, uh... well, I don't know what they are, but it looks like I have a couple of limbs growing out of the middle of my back..." Nita MacNeal Nita shook her head. Just the kind of thing she expected from Zach. The mental image of Rex punching him was priceless. "He told me he'd nearly attacked some people, and the only times I ever ran into him, he was yelling about something." Her ears twitched irritably. "And he made my friend cry." How damning. She quirked one of her now-even-more-oddly defined brows at Gaius. "Limbs? Like legs?" Gaius Harper "I wouldn't be surprised if he HAS attacked people..." Gaius grumbled. "The way he hissed and snarled the last couple times we met..." His face hardened. "...He made someone cry? ...Next time I see him, I'm going to give him a real piece of my mind. After all that bragging about getting the labs to get revenge on Rex and some cobra-guy for him..." Gaius growled. He cringed at Nita's suggestion, shaking his head. "I hope not! I don't know what I'd do with legs between my shoulders. Right now, well, they look kinda like..." Gaius blushed and quickly glanced around to make sure no one else was in the proximity before continuing in a hushed voice, "They look like feather-less chicken wings, like what you'd buy at the grocery store. But don't tell anyone, please!" He rubbed a hand over his flushed face. "It's really, really embarassing..." Nita MacNeal Cobra-guy? Thom? Nita wondered if Zach's claims could have any truth to them... Perhaps he was somehow the reason why Thom had been acting so strangely. "Ugh. Honestly, I'd avoid him, if at all possible," she advised. As for bragging about the labs, even Lauren could be more subtle. A slight pang of guilt hit her at the thought, as well as a considerable amount of worry. Where was Lauren, anyway? Surely she would be contacted if she'd been hurt or ill... and of course Nita hadn't felt brave enough to call the labs herself. Nita shrugged, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. Much better to think about Gaius' problems than her own. "Maybe they are wings then. You could grow feathers laters." She covered an impending grin with a mask of concern and optimism. Embarrassed as he was, Gaius was awfully cute. Gaius Harper Gaius sighed and shook his head. "I try... it's hard since they let him back into the village... He's bad news, as far as I'm concerned. I hope your friend is okay?" He asked with concern. His face shifted to something between hope and trepidation as he considered her optimistic advice. "Maybe... But I don't know if I want to grow feathers! I don't even want to grow fur! -er..." He winced and gave Nita an apologetic grin. "No offense... I just don't think I'd do 'fuzzy' well..." It seemed the general consensus was that they were, indeed, wings, but that still left the question... What in the world was he becoming? He cringed to think Zach might be right, that some hungry labtech had gone and mixed a 'fastfood' serum of cow and chicken... or maybe he was someone's sick joke, to become the proverbial 'winged buffalo.' Whatever it was, he didn't want to think about it any longer. He shook his head back and forth, as if shaking out the bad images, and when he looked back at Nita, it was with a much more cheerful smile. "So! I'm trying to get a service together to make stuff for others to fit their, uh, bodies, like chairs and stuff... Is there anything you need?" he asked with a hopeful face that clearly begged her to say 'yes.' Nita MacNeal "Oh, he's back? Great," Nita said with a sigh. Not that she had ever encountered him in the village to begin with, but it was the principle of the thing. "Yeah, she was fine. Upset at the time, but it was a while ago." Natsumi was yet another person Nita really needed to check on... especially considering her pregnancy. "Would you rather grow feathers or keep little wing-stubs?" she pointed out. Nita grinned. "None taken. Not everyone can look this good!" The red panda girl struck a pose, half-laughing at herself. Nita took another look at the pile of wood. "Really, I think chairs would be the most useful, and not just for me. Tails are pretty common around here, and sitting on them is not comfortable." Gaius Harper "Eeeh... I guess you're right..." Gaius grimaced slightly and rolled his shoulders. "Though it's easier to hide them right now, even if it's not comfortable..." He laughed with her as she showed off. "I'll have to agree with you there! I think I'd just look like a weird teddy bear if I was in your place." "Hmmm, just chairs, huh?" He rubbed his chin, looking back at the wood. "It's going to be hard... I've never done much carving before for decorative stuff, and they're lacking most of the supplies here... but I'll definitely try!" He gave an energetic fist-pump, then laughed and rolled his eyes. "And don't I know it! I thought I'd broken mine the first time I flopped down on my bed... It's so short, it's no good for anything..." Gaius looked back over his shoulder and gave the little apendage a flick. At least he was learning to control it a bit better. "Well, promise you'll let me know if you think of anything else you might need? Or let others know! I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do with my time," he chuckled. Nita MacNeal Nita scratched absently at her forearm, mussing and then straightening the fur. "It may be embarrassing now, but seriously. Comfort. Very few people here are going to poke fun at your changes, because they're in the same situation. I mean, it seems weird now, but after a while? You just don't get phased by much." She shook her head and grinned self-deprecatingly. "Jeez, I make it sound like I've been here forever! I'll quit the lecture." She snickered at the gesture. "I wouldn't be surprised if at least someone on this island knows how to do decorative carving. Ask around, maybe? Although I think functional stuff is a priority over looking great, at least at first, you know." Nita winced sympathetically and glanced over her shoulder at her own tail, which was nearly as thick as her waist. Gaius Harper "I guess you're right... I mean, I'm definitely not as weirded out now by the sight of people with weird faces as I was before... Still, sometimes I do a double-take when I catch myself in the mirror. Do you ever find it hard to match that image with yourself...?" He grinned broadly, glad that Nita seemed positive about his project. "I'll have to learn how to do a little carving anyways, to get the seat parts done, but yeah! I'll ask around. Seems like they have all kinds of talents around here... and maybe I can ask the labs for some more books..." He tapped his chin and reguarded the wood again. "So much to do first..." Nita MacNeal Weird faces. To put it mildly. "Definitely. I mean, yeah, I've pretty much gotten used to the way I look... but I still think of myself as being the tiny little white girl with braids." Nita raised her hands to her furred cheeks. "I used to have freckles..." She shrugged. "I have a Polaroid my dad took of me, before I got on the plane. I looked the same for so long, but now? Dozens of people will never see me that way." Nita followed Gaius' gaze, no longer so excited about his project. Gaius Harper Gaius shifted uncomfortably, too late realizing that 'before' was not the best choice of topic in a conversation. His own mind recalled the image he had of him and his dad on a fishing trip... And now, there would be people who'd never known him without the flattened nose? Without the ears? "That's a depressing thought..." he confessed, running a hand up the back of his neck. "I mean... I'm new, and meeting people... It's hard to think of the human they used to be, all I see is what's there now." He smiled weakly. "If it's any consolation... you make a cute red panda?" Nita MacNeal Nita looked away, suddenly aware of her bedraggled appearance. Her clothing was already getting that well-worn quality, and she could feel every speck of dirt in her fur. She rubbed her muzzle and sighed. "Yeah. That's how it is though," she said softly. Her mouth twitched at his final comment. "Thanks, I think." A moment of rather awkward silence ensued before Nita sighed again. "Hey, I really should get home and shower. I've been climbing trees for a day or so." Gaius Harper The awkward silence left Gaius feeling anxious, giving him far too much time to worry over what he'd said or done, and so it was with a relieved smile when Nita began to excuse herself. "Hey, no worse than me. I know I don't smell like any flower!" He turned back to the make-shift work bench and picked up the saw. "But I figure I can get another couple hours of work done before it gets too hot." A thought struck him, and he looked back, hoping to catch Nita before she left. "Uh..." He smiled awkwardly. "Sorry... Which duplex did you live in again? For whenever I get something done?" Nita MacNeal Nita gave Gaius a wan smile. "Have fun, then." She turned to step back onto the main path when he spoke again. "Hm? Forty-two," she said over her shoulder. "I really do think you've got a good idea, though." Her smile widened slightly for a moment and she headed off again, long tail swinging behind her. Gaius Harper "Thanks! It was good to see you again!" Gaius called after her with a wave, then turned back to his work, setting the saw into another piece of stubborn wood. Soon, the village was echoing with SKRRRK-ZZZ SKRRRK-ZZZ again.
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:16 pm
Orlando Who?Gaius and Marshall give Liamh The TalkLiamh Doradan The air was getting colder as it drifted in through his open door. The sun had long since started it's descent from the afternoon, and was swiftly dipping down behind the jungle. Liamh turned his head over from where he'd been lying, his neck bent at a funny angle off the foot of his bed, and gave a sharp inhale as he woke himself up. There was the momentary disorientation as he rolled over and sat up, rubbing his eyes and neck and wondering what the monkey he was doing in Buenos Aires and where his kidney was. "Oh, right," he muttered. "The resort." He got up and shut the door, glancing around. Unpacking could wait a while, right? It wasn't like he was going anywhere immediately. He still wanted a chance to look around this place, even if he *had* slept half the day away. He gave a shiver, chilled from resting. First? Pants. A few minutes later he thumped his way down the stairs, stretching and yawning in the evening air. Good thing he'd been innoculated, since the mosquitos were likely to be coming out. Maybe he'd explore... INdoors. He headed across the main area towards the buildings in the center of their wheel of civilization. He thought he saw a few people moving around, but none close enough to warrant greeting. Moving to the building, he pushed his way through the doors and glanced around. Nice clean corridors, the occasional potted plant, nothing much. He wandered down farther, poking his head into a more open room, one that looked a bit like a lounge. A lounge with a LARGE flatscreen TV. It sat there on it's entertainment pedestal like some dark rectangular god, demanding all approach and pay homage. And that was an offer Liamh couldn't refuse. Locating the shelving unit(s) lined with DVDs, videos, and Xbox games, he crouched down and began rifling through it. Now THIS was civilization, he thought with a grin. Marshall_Green Marshall sighed, walking bare-footed down the path from his duplex to the hear of the "Civilization Spiral". Not like he had much of a choice on the shoe thing, since his feet grew about 7 sizes in 14 minutes or so. He had a large stack of DVDs under his arm and a disgruntled look on his face, realising how he'd kept them since his first day here.
"At least now I can take the Magical Girl Ultra Marinn box set with out feeling guilty." he sighed, opening the glass door to the Entertainment Room, stopping in his tracks as he saw some one he didn't recognise browsing through the DVDs. Marshall felt himself break into a cold sweat.
Oh s**t...Argh! I can't be seen like this! Well I mean sure Pyroth saw me but Pyroth is a dog! I mean...I CAN'T BE SEEN WITH A SHNOZ LIKE THIS!!! Marshall thought, gulping, not moving from his spot. Gaius Harper Ever since his conversation with Nita earlier, Gaius's thoughts had been naggling on Marshall. He wanted to know how his friend was doing! So, as evening came on, Gaius had gone to Marshall's duplex and knocked on the door. No luck. Cafeteria? The same. He'd even stopped by the arcade. The only other place Marshall could possibly be in the village was... "Of course!" Gaius snapped his fingers. "The movie room!" He hurried on over, taking deep breaths of the cooling air. The building was just up the way a little, he could even see the door open, a figure sillouetted against the light. He could just make out the brown hair and light build of his little friend, though from his view the nose was still hidden. "HEY! Marshall!" he called as he approached. Liamh Doradan Liamh had collected a fair-sized stack of deliciously entertaining possibilities next to him, categorized by media type, date of release, and urgency of consumption. He'd pare it down later, he thought, sticking another plastic box on the DVD pile. He hummed the ThunderCats theme to himself as he eagerly traced a finger down the next row of possibilities. It was like a whole video store along these walls, only free... So beautiful, he just might cry. "HEY! Marshall!" Liamh's head popped up, staring at the shelf for a moment before turning and glancing over his shoulder. Invad - er, other guests? He tilted his head, straightening his glasses and leaning backward from his crouch to get a better look around the doorway. Well, an orange vest was there, at least. He gave a shrug and let his attention be drawn back to the siren call of the Xbox titles. Ooo... Shiny. Marshall_Green Marshall dropped the DVDs, hearing that familiar, freindly voice. Marshall closed his eyes, feeling his teeth clench, as if he was biting down on a bullet. Marshall slowly turned around, eyes closed and head pointed down at the ground.
"Eh...Hey Gaius." Marshall said, to embarassed to look his freind in the face. Marshall seemed to have forgotten that Gaius had changed before Marshall did, and quite more drastically still. Despite that knowledge, it didn't really help Marshall's embarassment.
...And who the hell IS this guy any way? Gaius Harper Gaius slowed as he approached, glad to have finally found his buddy. "I've been looking all over for you!" He frowned, wondering why Marshall wasn't looking at him. "Hey, you okay...? I'm sorry I haven't been around to see you lately, I've been busy with this new project I'm working on..." He moved into the doorway, trying to see Marshall face-to-face. "You're not angry at me, are you?" As of yet, Gaius had not noticed the blonde guy over by the DVD's, or how very human he was. Liamh Doradan Liamh glanced over his shoulder again, noticing that there were two now. He flicked his glance away for a moment, but did a doubletake. Was he seeing things? One of the guys seemed to have long pointy ears. He squinted and pushed his glasses back up. Eh. Must be some kind of costume thing. Fantasy convention? Cosplay? Sweet. They seemed to be having some kind of important discussion so he glanced away for another moment, but he figured it would be impolite to eavesdrop.. Maybe he should say something. He glanced over his shoulder again and raised one hand. "Hey... there..." He smiled winningly. Maybe they wouldn't be too annoyed if they hadn't seen him. Marshall_Green Marshall wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Die by slowly banging his head into a rock that was conveineintly in said hole. Being seen after your transformation...It was almost as bad as the transformation itself! And then Gaius had to act like he was hurt! Guilt + Embarassment = One very stressed former cartoonist.
Marshall looked up, revealing his large shnoz to Gaius, frowning to prepare for the upcoming laughter. "Um...I guess I kinda...Changed?" Marshall said somberly to his freind, before hearing a rather weak greeting from the blonde man.
Okay. Great. More people to laugh at me. WHY NOT JUST BRING OUT A FREAKIN' SPOT LIGHT ALREADY?!?! Gaius Harper Gaius blinked. The... nose... No, it didn't fit. Marshall wasn't supposed to have a deformed, blackening growth in the middle of his face. He was supposed to be the smiling, overly-energetic guy who would tell him everything was okay. Gaius felt suddenly sad, reflected in the sag of his face and in his eyes. He placed a hand on top of Marshall's head. "Hey, remember what you told me? You're still you, even if you look different... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." He offered an apologetic smile. "I'll do better next time. I promise." His ear twitched at another voice, one he wasn't familiar with, spoke up from behind the couch. Gaius looked up, blinking at the guy waving, and raised his own hand hesitantly in a small wave. "Um, hey!" It never occured to him that Liamh might be the newest Moreau Island virgin. Liamh Doradan Liamh chuckled, covering his self consciousness. Well, this was awkward, wasn't it. At least they knew he was there, now. "Heh. Sorry 'bout interrupting, just figured y'oughta know someone was lurking back here. You know, so i don't suddenly jump out and give anybody a heart attack..." Blast. Schmoozing powers activate, already. Go-go gadget say-something-cool-already-dammit..."So, you two wanna use this room? I was just lookin'.... man, they've got EVERYTHING in here. Makes it almost like civilization, eh...." He smirked, glancing away at the shelf again. Marshall_Green Marshall had one character trait that could easily be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing: His mood could go from 0 to happy in .25th of a second. "Heh, thats nothing!" Marshall said, jumping over the couch. "They even got box-sets for pretty much every thing! And they even have really crappy movies, like "Japanese Kotatsu Attacks Bombay", a modern classic if I do say so myself." Marshall said, smiling again.
His heart sank, as he realised what he did. He had not only prooved what a complete and udder dork he was, he just unintentionally blew off Gaius AND revealed his nose (and feet from the jumping over the couch bit) to a perfect stranger.
...Hole. Rock. Need. Now. Gaius Harper "Nah, sorry for bothering you!" Gaius waved a hand at Liamh's explanation. "We can head out-" He was cut off suddenly by Marshall's mood swing. Gaius blinked, following slowly until he was standing behind the couch as Marshall babbled about obscure entertainment. An amused grin crossed his face. Now that was more like the guy he remembered. He didn't notice Marshall's squirming as he turned to look at the blonde guy, his nostrils flaring as he unintentionally tried to take in his scent. "I don't think I've seen you around here before... Been on the island long?" Liamh Doradan "Kotatsu Attacks Bombay? Sweet! Uh, wait, is that the one with the alien girls who try to saw open people's heads? No, no, that's something else..." Liamh eyed Marshall's nose sidelong as the guy vaulted the couch, but his demeanor didn't change. "Wait, why's a heated table.... nevermind." He tipped his head back a bit and laughed. "But yeah, man! Lookit this stuff. I bet some of this you can't even GET anymore..." He held up a box with giant fanged rabbits mauling a truck driver on the front cover, in gruesome black and white. Liamh tipped his head up, looking upside down at the other guy who'd walked over to the couch. "Ah, i got in a little while ago, you?" He grinned upward. Yeah, so what if they're walking around with prosthetics? That's kinda cool. I mean, whatever floats your boat, right? Maybe there was some kinda party... or they came in from a movie set? This place would be great to film on....Marshall_Green "Gaius and me got here about...Ummm...Three weeks ago." Marshall said, relaxing a little as Liamh failed to bring up their strange...'parts'. Marshall sat next to Liamh, showing him all of the really good stuff, like "Cannibal Cheerleaders" or "The Couch Eaters from Pluto: The Miniseries".
"Yeah, they even got some good Anime things here some times." Marshall commented, motioning for Gaius to join them in their DVD raid. Gaius Harper Gaius couldn't help rolling his eyes at the two geeks and chuckled. "Gee, should I leave you two alone?" He grinned teasingly and leaned over the back of the couch to tap Marshall on the large nose. "Now I know where the rest of mine went!" Since Liamh was acting so calm, Gaius had no reason to suspect what was going through his mind at the moment. Instead, he walked around the couch, giving what space there was a critical look before shaking his head with a grin and turning around to pull up one of the easy chairs. As he did so, his tail gave a casual swish back and forth. Gaius settled back, fidgeting a bit as he tried to get his back comfortable with the pinned wings. "And Marshall's right... about three weeks or so. Maybe a month? It's hard to tell sometimes... Seems they've trapped a bunch of people here. I keep running into new faces all the time!" Gaius shook his head, his ears flapping a bit, and looked up at Liamh. "At least you seem to be enjoying yourself despite everything, which is good! Everyone needs an escape from reality sometimes, huh?" Liamh Doradan "And they've got the ENTIRE Bruce Campbell Appreciation Collection. Totally gotta have a zombie madness marathon one of these days. All zombies, all the time, until we can't feel our fingers." Liamh said eagerly with a manic expression. "Ooo, yeah, i was perusing their anime collection. I was totally gonna watch, er, Ninja Scroll and some Evangelion, uh... right after some other stuff..." he eyed the pile warily, hoping the girly shoujo boxes with pink labels were far enough into the stack to not be noticeable. Hey, what wasn't to like about cute schoolgirls in short uniforms with crazy hijinx? "Three weeks, huh." That was about how long he was slated to be working here, he thought. "Trapped is definitely the word," he chuckled wryly. It would be so easy to stay longer - he himself was already thinking - planning, even - to ask for a week vacation after the work was up. "They're making it a popular place. And yeah, it's gonna be a pain, but at least it's a nice location to be stuck in, if you've gotta." He wondered vaguely if they were working on-site too, instead of just vacationing. Would make sense - they'd need a lot of staff to get this thing up and running. Most likely he wouldn't be seeing much of all this gorgeous location, stuck in flourescent lighting and closed in walls for three weeks working on the networking stuff, but hey, at least he had a great view to come back to. He reached over and gave Gaius a quick pat on the shoulder. "Ah, escaping reality. That, my friend, is exactly why we're here. Gathered before this flat-screened, liquid crystal monolith, we make supplication and recieve endless brain-numbing entertainment goodness. All hail modern living, eh?" He grinned, glancing at Marshall with a gesture. He really did wonder what sort of event had prompted them to get up in those weird getups. Marshall_Green "Yes! All hail the great king Plasma TV!" Marshal chuckled, looking over the DVDs (and not forgetting where Magical Girl Pichi Pochi was). Now that Liamh had brought it up, he had the sudden urge to watch some thing silly involving zombies. As he looked, he thought over what Liahm had said. For some one so new, he was taking the news exceptionally well.
"So...Zombie Chainsaw Massacre or Vacation to the Nile of Zombies: This Time Every One Dies?" Marshall said with a smile, holding up the DVD cases like he found some ancient mystical ruin. Gaius Harper Gaius groaned, rolling his eyes in a blatant fashion. " More zombie flicks? I don't know what it is with you and movies about gory undead stuff... If you two want to watch that, fine, but you're not going to get me to!" He folded his arms, firmly standing behind his view. "If you want me to stay, you'll just have to choose something different!" "Besides, there's so many better movies available!" He gestured to the shelves with a hopeful grin. "Can we pleeease watch something other than cheesy horror?" Liamh Doradan Liamh folded his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes at Gaius. "Bah, spoilsport. Okay, what would YOU pick, Orlando?" He glanced from Gaius to Marshall. "We'll totally have a zombie marathon later in the month. Halloween and all, you know?" he grinned evilly. "Unless we wanna start with the 1950's B-horror stuff and work our way up to the really scary...." He glanced over at the pile and the shelves with an appraising glance. "Hmm. Action, drama, sci-fi, anime, what're we up for?" Marshall_Green "You, Gaius, obviously have no taste for high-quality art!" Marshall said in a mockingly snotty voice, putting the two "classics" back on the rack. Lets see...Action, action, action...Hmmm... Marshall thought, picking up a copy of Princess Monoke. It was actiony, right?
"Oh! Yeah! Halloween IS coming up! Heh heh, I totally forgot! And Liamh, you got yerself a Marathon Buddy." Marshall said, looking up from the DVD case, happy to find some one else with a love of the under-appreciated B movie. Gaius Harper "Fine... Fine. We can watch zombie movies later." Gaius rubbed his head wearily. "Just not tonight... I'm fine with anything else you two want. Sorry to be selfish, but I've had a long day cutting wood, and making furniture to fit the other Islanders looks like it's going to be harder than I thought..." He rolled his eyes and grinned at Liamh, expecting the guy to know what he meant. "Who'd have thought making chairs to fit tails would be so difficult? 'Course, that's not something you'd normally learn anywhere else! Besides I've never made anything besides a bookcase..." Liamh Doradan "Woo, you're on..." Liamh leaned over to high-five the guy with the black nose, then glanced back at the elf-ears fellow. Chairs to fit the what now?Liamh raised an eyebrow. "Yeeeaaah, i never was good with building stuff." He wrinkled his nose. "Great that you can, though, making stuff for everybody else must be rewarding. I'm lucky if i can set a card table up without it collapsing. Gimme a nice VCR to program, and i'm your guy." He folded his arms behind his head proudly. Marshall_Green Marshall proceeded to high-five his fellow nerd with his webbed hand. "Heh heh...You're both better off than me. All the stuff in my apartment back home was all IKEA junk that wobbled like you wouldn't believe. Still...You kinda grow to miss that junk, y'know?" Marshall sighed, coming to the same conclusion Gaius had. That Liamh knew every thing about the island already.
Still think its weird how well he's taking it...Its kind of nice, actually.
"So, What about 'Princess Monoke'? Its Animated, zombie-free, and features mindless action!" Marshall said, holding up the DVD case proudly. Surely Gaius couldn't complain about THAT! Gaius Harper "Eh, IKEA's not too bad, just the nicer stuff tends to be pricey! But still, great for a budget appartment..." He shrugged. "And I'll keep you in mind if I ever need help with programming, uh..." He blinked, realizing he hadn't even asked the blonde guy's name yet. "Er... sorry, I think I missed your name...?" At Marshall's suggestion, Gaius tilted his head, one ear tilting back in confusion. "Mono-nookaay? Is that one of those Japanimation things?" He shrugged. "Well, I guess if it's in English, and not too girly, it'll be fine." Liamh Doradan "Aaaahhh, Mononoke! The ultimate anime classic. Good old Miyazaki stuff." Liamh tilted his head, trying to get a good angle to read the back of the box from where he was sitting. "Eh, it SHOULD be the subtitled version... unless it's the dubbed - good lord, i hate dubbing. They always pick the lamest voices for the characters, and the dialogue is never the same..." he sighed. At Gaius's query, he turned, eyebrows arched, looking over the top of his glasses. "Oh, right, I'm Liamh. Liamh Doradan. Pleased ta make yer aquaintance, Orlando." he held out a hand for Gaius to shake, and turned his head to nod at Marshall. "And same to you, Bruce," he grinned cheekily. Marshall_Green "Actually, its pronounced Marshall. But common mistake, really. Nice to meet you, Doradan." Marshall chuckled, checking the box. Yep, it was the Dubbed version. Nothing wrong with English voice-overs, as long as Marshall was concerned at least.
"Thats Gaius. He's kinda like my Older Brother or some thing...And its called an Anime, no ones called it Japanimation since the 1980s, Gaius." Marshall snickered, getting to his feet, putting the DVD into the player. He needed some mindless Japanese Animated Violence after the past few days. Gaius Harper "Well, whatever," Gaius chuckled. "I just prefer to watch my movies, not read them. If I want to read, I'll go find a good book!" Gaius accepted the shake warmly, engulfing Liamh's hand in his own and giving it a good, firm squeeze. He quirked an eyebrow at the nickname, though, unfamiliar with the pop culture reference. "Who's Orlando? And... Bruce?" His smile brightened proudly at Marshall's comment. What he'd told Ambrose the previous day about making friends on the island was the truth, and maybe the wolf man was right about starting an adoptive family... It made things easier to handle. Still, Gaius wasn't about to let Marshall get away that easily with his teasing, and reached a hand over to noogie him playfully. Liamh Doradan Liamh grinned. "You actually get used to subtitles after a while, i've learned to prefer it. Never learned to like coffee, but gimme the subtitles." Liamh smiled, rubbing his hand a bit after Gaius' enthusiastic handshake. "Well, Marshall and Gaius, then. Got kind of a Roman thing going there?" He smirked. "Emperor Gaius and 'Martial' Law?" He removed his glasses and looked at the lenses in a pre-movie clearness check. "Eh, you know, Bruce Campbell, god of B-horror zombie movies? And Orlando Bloom?" he said, polishing them on his shirt. Marshall_Green Marshall let out a small chuckel at Gaius' noogy. He was serious about what he said, though; he really did kind of see Gaius as an older brother. He rolled his eyes at the Roman joke as he plopped down on the remaining free chair. "Marshall Law? Yeeep, you and Gaius are gonna get along to gether perfectly...Bad puns and all." Marshall snickered, press the "PLAY" button on the remote. Movie nights were becoming one of his favorite activity.
...They made him feel normal. Gaius Harper "Orland Bloom?" Gaius gave Liamh an odd look and scratched at one of his ears. "He was that guy in that Pirates movie, right? The one the girls were all crazy over?" He wasn't sure how he felt being compaired to him... He'd never considered himself the 'pretty boy' type, and was sure he'd panic with that much female attention. "Hey! My puns aren't that bad!" He protested with a laugh, settling back down in his chair. It was impossible to sit comfortably. If his wings weren't getting in the way, his tail was getting crunched under him. He grumbled to himself. There was a reason humans weren't supposed to have tails, and it was easy chairs! Liamh Doradan Liamh shook his head, grinning, as the video started running and the screen flickered to life. The first musical advertisements started to run. "Hey, if you can't pun with the big dogs...." he cackled, inspecting his glasses and then setting them back in place. "Yeah, Orlando Bloom's been in quite a few movies recently, Pirates, LoTR," he pronounced the letters alphabetically, "and... you know, uh, that other thing... i'm too lazy to remember what exactly." He shrugged, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Hey, do the have any microwave popcorn or something? And how do you two feel about M-S-T-3-K'ing movies, sarcasm-rays on full or check 'em at the door?" Marshall_Green "The last movie was...Umm...Elizibeth town. Yeah, thats what it called...It stunk." Marshall said, smirking as Liahm mentioned Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
I wonder if Gaius will get it... Marshall thought, giggling slightly.
"Well, they got Popcorn and junk in the Cafeteria if you wanna go grab it." Marshall said, sitting up, remembering his obsessive-compulsive need for M&Ms during good movies. "I'll come with ya if you want." Marshall said, already seeing the movie several times. Gaius Harper "'MST3K?'" Gaius tilted his head, confused by the term. "Uh, I haven't seen it, and I'm not much one for commentary unless I'm listening to the extra features..." He rubbed his flat nose and chuckled. He watched his friend start to get up and waved a hand. "Marshall knows where to get the stuff, and if you two are going, can you bring me back a coke? I've just gotten comfortable and don't want to have to work around my tail again!" Liamh Doradan "Eh, never saw Elizabethtown - that must be why." Liamh gave a snort. "But Mystery Science Theater 3000, now that's high quality entertainment," Liamh said grandly, "They do all sort sof horrible old sci-fi movies, do really funny jokes and commentary. You should see it sometime." He stood up and cricked his neck. "Junk food run sounds friggin' awesome, I'll help carry it if Law here can show me where it is." He grinned at Marshall and glanced at Gaius. "Anything else with that coke? We'll be back in flash, and then get down to some serious cinematic influx." Marshall_Green Marshall got to his feet, streaching out his one arm like he was actually going to accomplish some thing by getting junk food. But still, whatever kept him occupied. "So, one Coke, a bag of M&Ms, and popcorn...We forgetting any thing?" Marshall pondered, before shrugging it off.
"Heh...Yeah right Gaius. You're probably just too darn lazy." Marshall snickered. He knew that Gaius' tail must be a pain for him, but he figured that if he didn't find the humor in it? They'd all go insane.
"C'mon Nielson." Marshall said to Liamh. He figured if he was going to have 4 new nicknames by the end of the night? He might as well give Liamh one. He winced, his feeting feeling rather sore from jumping over the couch. It was DEFINATLY not one of his smarter ideas. But it was only sore, not painful. Gaius Harper Gaius waved them off as the string of trailers came to an end, his attention on the TV screen. "Yeah yeah, just a drink will be good. Careful to watch where you're going out there!" Liamh Doradan Liamh gave Gaius a glance as they headed for the door. Why was he keeping that weird tail thing on if it was bothering him? Had to be some sort of bizaare anime thing... the lengths some fans would go to, really. Bishies. "Yeah, Mom," he called back to Gaius. "We'll look both ways before crossing the street..." He chuckled to himself as he followed Marshall's flipper-shoed footsteps out of the entertainment room. "If we hurry, we won't miss the beginning with that tentacle monster..." Marshall_Green "Heh heh...You make it sound like some sort of Hentai." Marshall chuckled, his feet slowly feeling better. He looked up at the sky, greeted with a lot of stars. "Never got those back in San Diego..." Marshall found himself muttering.
"So, Nielson, whadidja do before you got here? Like, for a job and junk?" Marshall asked. It wasn't a particuarly long walk, but Marshall HATED silence. Espically when he had new freinds to make. Liamh Doradan Liamh folded his hands behind his head, grinning at the nickname. The friendly punning and sparring made him feel a lot more at ease than he'd been since the moment he stepped out of the helicopter. "Before?" he said, with a slightly bewildered tone of voice. "Ah, I'm in data security. Mostly network stuff, making sure internal communications aren't disrupted by firewalls and that all the wifi stuff is locked down tight. Never know who's gonna be out wardriving with their pringles, you know." He grinned. He'd never stooped to that himself, of course... But if this place didn't get any connection out in the Barracks, he might be tempted to go pirating around the 'Offices', so he thought. "What about you? What do you do when you're not hangin' out here? Lemme guess, you're one of those 'net stock traders who made their first million by the time they were 20, right?" He laughed. "If so, i'm totally going to pretend to ignore you while sucking up." Marshall_Green "Nah, nothing like that...I was a cartoonist. Nothing big. But still...Gotta be happy when you love your work, right?" Marshall smiled, a slightly somber tone in his voice. It kind of...stung, remembering life before he got here. Before his hands were webbed and his nose was large and black, and before he knew about any of this stuff.
"Y'know...You don't really appreciate your job until you know you'll never have it again..." Marshall said with a small sigh as the two young men reached the Cafeteria. Liamh Doradan Liamh trudged along behind him, squinting to see the path ahead of them in the dim lighting from the buildings. "Eh? Get laid off? They send you here as part of a severance package or something?" Liamh raised an eyebrow, hands still folded on his head. "Cartoonist, huh.... You know, what's to stop you from still drawing it? Even if they fire ya, they can't stop the creative process..." He raised a fist skyward, still draping the other arm over his head. "If the art's still in ya, they can't take it, man!" he cackled for a second, then was silent again. Marshall_Green "...The fact I can't go home kind of poses a problem. And the fact my hands are webbed now." Marshall said, trying not to sound upset. He really was. But...Lord, why was this guy acting like nothing was up? Maybe he was just a blind optomist. This, of course, made Marshall wonder if he himself was just weak-willed.
"Lets see...Where was the popcorn?" Marshall murmered as he came into the Cafeteria. Liamh Doradan Liamh stopped in his track, letting his arms slide slowly to his sides, with a confused look. "Can't go home?" He reflexively pushed his glasses up his nose. Webbed? Couldn't he remove the prosthetics? There was something funny going on. Funny strange. Funny like he'd been hearing the joke over and over, but missing the punchline. "..... There something going on? You mean you don't have anywhere to go? Dang! Dude, we'll totally set you up, i mean, I'm gone every few weeks, but i keep a pretty clean place..." Liamh held the door open. "Ahhh, i've been wanting to find out where the Caf was, i'm gettin' hungry.." Marshall_Green Marshall gave Liahm an equally strange look. Of course he couldn't go home! None of them could! They were stuck here! He couldn't tell if Liahm was being a blind optomist or if he really didn't know about that "minor" detail. He couldn't help but laugh lightly.
"Heh heh...Nah. Its okay. Living here isn't so bad. I mean, no internet or cable sucks but hey, you saw that DVD collection. And I think the Labs are pretty generous with stuff, as long as its in their twisted version of 'reasonable'...I just hope I'll be able to use a Wii once every thing is said and done." Marshall said lightly, walking over to where they stored the popcorn, taking a bag and placing it in the microwave. Liamh Doradan Liamh let his thoughts wander for a moment while they foraged, running over the various things he'd heard from them since he'd met them - all of less than an hour ago, all together. It wasn't even the things he'd heard, it was... something in how they acted. That creepy Duvert guy had had that vibe about him as well. Something definitely seemed out of place... Liamh stared down his nose for a moment, then picked up on a word he recognized. "Mmmmmm." he said appreciatively. "Wii." "That whole separate handed thing is totally either gonna rock, or suck monkey. Gotta hand it to them, though, they know how to turn the industry upside down." He glanced around, snagging a couple bags of things - pretzels and some bbq potato chips - and rummaging around for anything more substantial. Nachos sounded really good right now, nachos and peanut butter and guacamole. "Wait, no internet? Aw man!" Liamh had rewound the last few words from Marshall in his head after a moment, and snapped out of his peanut-guacamole daydream with a horrified look. "I'm gonna go insane, i swear! I'm already behind on my forums and my blogs and my mail and my webcomics! Not that m'favorite has updated for like, a month, but whatever..." He scowled, crinkling the bag of chips. Marshall_Green Marshall snickered, "My money is on that its gonna kick mayjor a**." Marshall said as he got a bag of M&Ms before the Popcorn begun popping. Marshall's ears perked up when he heard the word 'webcomic'.
"Heh heh. I was always partial to the Megatokyos and Joe and Monkeys...Even if Fred was a total d**k at Katsucon." Marshall snickered as he opened the small brown bag, popping some of the multi-colored candies into his mouth, "So, what was your favorite?" Liamh Doradan As the glass plate carousel spun lazily and the first sudden POP! noises of kernelly deaths were heard, Liamh leaned against the wall and munched a stick of jerky he'd rummaged up. "That son of a motherless goat! - You went to Katsucon?" Liamh grinned. "Er, i read the usual, you know - Penny-Arcade and PVP, GU, Ctrl-Alt-Del, VGcats, Questionable Content... couple of other awesome ones, Wapsi and Scary-Go-Round and that one with the cute penguin." He took another mouthful of dried meats and chewed thoughtfully. " 'ats th' one tha 'asnt upda'ed in li' a monf.." He reached over and grabbed a couple other bags of candy and looked around for something to put their haul in. Marshall_Green Marshall did a chocolatey spit-take when Liahm mentioned 'the one with the cute penguin'. He couldn't mean...HIS comic, could he? People were still reading? Perhaps he had just thrown it into the back of his mind, but now that he thought about it, his web-comic WAS still there. Stagnent. Forever saying "I'll be back soon- M.G." in that silly font.
His stomach sank. AND he had chocoate-spit to clean up now.
...s**t. Liamh Doradan Liamh glanced over his shoulder with the jerky hanging from his teeth like a cigar. "Uh, you okay?" He found a paper sack to stuff the chips and pretzels in and hoisted it. "Ah, sounds like the popcorn's getting close to done. Better get back before Gaius loses his appetite from the tentacle demon." He paused, thinking about that, holding the jerky stick next to his mouth and wiggling it in a rather Groucho-Marx-esque fashon. "Well, maybe that would be a good idea after all, more for us..." Marshall_Green Marshall sighed, trying to regain his composure. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, before smiling at Liahm. It still hurt, thinking about his comic. In fact, he really WANTED to be upset about it. But...If Liahm was taking every thing so well, he could to, right?
"Heh heh...Dude, don't say Tentacles like that...Makes it sound like we're watching a Hentai." Marshall joked, taking the now-finished popcorn out of the microwave. "And we still need sodas." Liamh Doradan "Hentai, hentai, everything's hentai with you," Liamh ribbed him, sighing dramatically. "Ah! Sodas. Right. I'll grab 'em. Err...." he set down the bag and turned this way and that. "Uh, where do they keep 'em, and whaddya want?" He crossed his arms with his fingers pointing both ways like the scarecrow in search of a brain. Marshall_Green Marshall pointed over at the large, industrial-looking metal refidgerator. "That behemoth...Oh, and if you see any cake in there? Don't touch it." Marshall added quickly. He still need to give it to Gaius, or some thing. Even refigerated he knew it'd go bad soon.
"Hmm...I'll take an Orange Soda. And get Gaius a Coke." Marshall said, feeling like he was giving orders now, "And make it snappy!" he added with a chuckle. Liamh Doradan "Aye aye, Cap'n!" he threw a salute and wandered toward the giant steel fortress. "Thar be a bilge-scuttlin' scallywaggers off the starboard... plank...." He went over to rummage in the refridgerator, producing a couple of cokes, oranges sodas, and a pair of rootbeers for himself. "Cold cold cold," he muttered, juggling them in his arms as he quick-stepped back over and arranged them in the bottom of the sack. "Okay! How's the popcorn? We all set?" Marshall_Green "Yeah! Lets go! By now Gaius is sitting there with a dumbfounded expression on his face trying to figure out what the foot is going on." Marshall snickered, shaking the popcorn bag a little to evenly coat the kernels with the synthetic butter stuff.
"So, know what you're gonna do for Halloween yet?" Marshall asked, proping open the door for Liahm and his magical bag of junk-food. "Every costume idea I've had is kinda thrown out the window with this giant shnoz..." Marshall chuckled, tapping his nose with a free finger. Liamh Doradan Liamh breathed in the tropical night air, mosquitos temporarily forgotten. He hefted the bag to a more comfortable position and took long legged strides back in the direction of what he hoped was the recreation center. "Heh. Well if nothing else, we've got junk food and i've figured out where the Cafeteria is." He glanced over at Marshall, squinting. "Schnoz? Oh that thing? I dunno, isn't it some kind of..... beak.... thing? Could use it for a, like, chocobo costume?" he chuckled. "Or Sam Eagle? Have anything else?" Marshall_Green "Heh heh...Muppets, eh?" Marshall chuckled, never actually considering the posibility that it might be a beak. To him, it was still just his nose. It was large and black, but he still breathed through it. Then again, his large feet did look rather bird-like.
Marshall opened the door with his shoulder, greeted with the sights and sounds of one of Miyazaki's masterworks and a comfy couch to lie down on. "So, what'd we miss?" Marshall asked Gaius, plopping the popcorn in his lap from behind before taking his seat on the couch again. Gaius Harper The guy was leaning forward in his seat, eyes locked on the flashing images playing across the screen, a stunned expression on his face. He didn't even acknowledge when the two entered until Marshall spoke up, which got a twitch out of the guy. "What in the world kind of cartoon is this?!" Gaius asked with something between reverence and accusation. "It's bloodier than any action movie I've seen! The kid took off a guy's arm with an ARROW! And that pig thing? What was up with that?! How can they show this kind of stuff to kids? It'd be sure to give them nightmares for months!" Liamh Doradan Liamh set down the sack of treats and started unpacking, giving Gaius a weird look. "Man. You've never seen anime?" He turned to Marshall. "He's never seen anime? He doesn't know. Aw man." He turned to Gaius again. "Gaius.... there's something we gotta tell you...." He handed the orange sodas to Marshall, and then held out the coke to Gaius. "Gaius, anime isn't for kids. Well," he glanced at the tv screen. "Some of it is, some of it isn't. It's an art form in Japan, it's meant for all ages. And some of it is really not for kids. Lotta blood and violence and sex and more violence and ninjas.... " He sat himself down on the couch. "Of course, a LOT of anime, even the lighthearted funny ones, all have messages like," he raised his hands in a 'big drama' gesture, "Don't kill the planet, or Human Nature is Like This, or Death and Life is like This, or other philosophical things. It's kinda cool." He grinned, glancing at the screen again. "Mononoke is about the struggle between mankind and the natural world - the animals and the environment and our place with them, and what we do to them to save ourselves, and how both sides are right in their own way. It's..." he paused. "It's about balance between man and nature." "With a lot of blood." he cracked open his root beer with a quirky half-smile. Marshall_Green "Ehhhh Liahhhhmm! You're making it way too difficult! Basically...Its an Animated Action Flick." Marshall said in a knowing voice as he opened one of the Orange Soda cans. He was use to explaining anime for his brother-in-law. They never got along, but hell, at least they tried...Kinda.
"Its basically an hour and a half public service announcement on not polluting...Or sumthin'. I just think its cool." he continued, sipping on the orange soda as he reached over and took a handful of pop-corn. Gaius Harper "Aaaahhh..." Gaius said with a note of understanding, though he still looked perplexed. "Japan sure makes some weird stuff..." Not that it was a bad thing, of course. Gaius had to admit that he was enjoying the movie, even if the combination of animation and adult-level violence and themes was a bit off-putting, and some of the characters were really strange-looking... He reached over the table and felt around, eyes still on the screen, until his fingers found the unopened coke and pulled it toward himself, popping it open with a hiss and sipping from it. As they watched the movie, a thought made Gaius chuckle. "Heh! Better not show this to Sabin. He could get ideas for another serum from it." "And I don't think the labs really appreciate whatever 'balance' there's supposed to be between man and nature, judging from this place..." he muttered, shoving a handful of popcorn into his face. Liamh Doradan "Sabin, Sabin, that's that weird guy with the long white hair and the bright orange shorts, right?" Liamh asked, chewing on bbq chips and fruitsnacks and washing it down with the rootbeer. Labs? Did they mean the medical wing of the resort office? He wrinkled his nose at the sense-memory of the sterile rooms. On the screen, white wolves appeared to wreck havoc among the caravan of oxen and riflemen. Rain and gunfire and blood and cattle hurtling over cliffs flashed across the screen. Marshall_Green "He looked like some medieval reject when I met him, but yeah. Long white hair, top hat. Likes to ruin people's lives. Y'know it." Marshall said slightly bitterly, sipping on his soda as he watched the wolves wreak havoc. He never WAS partial to this scene.
"I don't hate him...But...Kinda hard to say you don't when they do this to you." Marshall sighed, not paying much attention to the movie any more, looking down at the orange liquid in the aluminum can. Gaius Harper "That guy's capable of wearing color?" Gaius flashed Liamh a surprised look before turning back to the screen. "He was all in black getup when he picked me up from the hellicopter... But yeah, he's got the white hair. And a crazed grin, for that matter." The man gave a distasteful snear. "He also lies through his teeth, just like his pet Zach. I don't take lightly to having the wool thrown over my eyes... Besides all the pain I've gone through because of their project..." Liamh Doradan Liamh tore his eyes away from the screen with great effort, the epic animated battle reflecting in glowing miniature on the glossy surface of his glasses in true dramatic anime fashion. He looked at the other two, who were still staring at the scene. "Wait, what? What's he lying about?" Liamh frowned, his brow furrowing. "What project?" The little hamster in the little wheel in his head picked up the seed and started running. "Wait.... wait, are you saying that... they, like.... test drugs on people here?" He looked at Marshall. "Is that why you said you can't leave?" An eyebrow arched incredulously. "They, like, lure people here and then do some kinda chemical warfare stuff on 'em?" He shook his head, his brain spinning some kind of zombie virus warfare flick in his head. Marshall_Green Marshall dropped his soda on the carpet, but he didn't even notice. That little voice in the back of his head telling him that he was a moron was SCREAMING loud and clear. So THATS why he was taking it so well. Thats why he thought Marshall was homeless.
He didn't even KNOW!
"Um...Uh...You can...SAY they're...Testing drugs...Its...Um...Its not as bad as Chemical Warfare..." Marshall said weakly, unable to make eye contact. He figured it'd be easy after his first change. I mean, it was easy enough for Nita. However, just like with Seth, it was still hard. REALLY hard.
"But they're...Um...Testing something..." Marshall said, looking over to Gaius hopelessly. Gaius Harper Gaius was staring at Liamh with utter disbelief, the movie completely forgotten at the moment. His mouth hung open slightly, the soda poised half-way. "You can't be serious..." He looked at Marshall, then back at the blonde fellow sitting there. "But you didn't even say anything! How could you not have noticed these?!" he cried as he tugged at one of his ears violently. "You took everything so well, we thought you'd already been told the truth!" Liamh Doradan Liamh tipped his head and blinked. "What, those are attached?" He glanced at Marshall, looking him over, and then back to Gaius. "Seriously? I thought it was some kinda weird convention thing. Haven't you ever been to one of those? ...... probably not." Liamh shook his head. "So, wait, you're just kinda.... mutating?" he took another look at Gaius's ears, reached out, and poked at it. He felt warm flesh, and the ear twitched away from the tickling finger reflexively. He leaned back against the couch, still staring, and blinked a few times. Then he tipped his head back and laughed. He put a hand over his face, still laughing. "Ahahahh... man... you're not kidding, are you? Hahahah. That's so freaking sci-fi." he pulled off his glasses and wiped his eye, his head still tipped back against the couch. "I swear i knew that was gonna happen someday if i watched too much Twilight Zone.... hahahhhh..... well, except i didn't, but... hahahhh..." He leaned forward and shook his head again, trying to find his face to put his glasses back on. "... D*mn..." Marshall_Green Marshall wasn't sure WHAT he was feeling. Was he furious? Was he sad? Did he find the humor in it? No. He wasn't sure what he felt. Liahm's reaction was just so...unexpected. Especially since Marshall thought that Liahm knew what was going on.
"...Liahm...Its...Its going to happen to you too!" Marshall said, not looking up at the blond man, "..Its...Its going to happen to all of us...Its nothing to laugh about...I mean...We don't...We can't go home again. We're trapped here. Being turned into...things. Animals, from what I gathered. With a Dragon or some thing thrown in for good measure." Marshall said, looking down at the carpet. The movie might as well have been on mute for all he cared.
It was harder to explain this time. Maybe because he was actually kind of friends with Liahm. Kind of like when Gaius changed, how much it scared him more than when Josh changed. Gaius Harper Gaius flinched at Liamh's prodding, but let him anyways. If he needed physical proof... But still, it was hard to see the guy, this quirky nerd they'd only just met, go hysterical. It made Gaius's already long face fall farther. "And the ears aren't the worst of it..." he sighed, lowering his head. "What Marshall says is the truth... ask anyone who's been here a week. It's an experiment to turn us into animal-people things... I guess mutating is a good word. Everyone gets an injection when they arrive... The labs pass it off as some anti-virus... that apparantly just sets us up for the later stuff. A wolf-man I met a couple days back said there's a series of injections... Marshall and I have both had our second ones... and... well... you can see we don't exactly look human..." he hung his head ashamedly. It was one thing to be self-conscious of his appearance, but to have to point it out to someone made it far more vulnerable. "I dunno what they told you you're doing here, but whatever it was... it's a lie. I was brought here for a job that isn't real, and they've done the same to others." He looked up at Liamh with dark, sad eyes that begged for his forgiveness. "...I'm sorry, Liamh. I'm really sorry you're here." Liamh Doradan Liamh took a couple of deep breaths and wiped his eyes again, setting his slightly smudged glasses back on his nose. He looked up with a lopsided, sheepish grin. Dang. Well, HE certainly felt like a putz. He looked them over again, examining the strange details with a completely different set of perceptions. Yeah, that was pretty hard to miss, now that he factored in the possibility of there being people with ACTUAL animal parts growing out of them. He leaned back again, still absorbing the info they were dumping on him... he took another deep breath and glanced at Gaius. "Hey, it's... okay," he said, rubbing the back of his head. The poor guy looked like he felt so bad. "Well, i mean, it's not. Unless it's all a big prank, in which case i WILL KILL YOU BOTH LATER." He shot them dark looks over his spectacles. Then he slumped slightly again. "But really, i don't think you came out here just to mess with me. And i've been getting weird vibes since i got here, i just....." he hunched up a bit, looking annoyed. "I just jump to my own conclusions, i guess." He smirked. "Really sorry about, uh.... thinkin' they were... fake, you know?" he looked sheepishly back at Marshall. "And the beak comment." He pulled up his short sleeve and looked at the injection mark. "Well. Looks like they got me too. " he poked at it for the first time, after being careful with it for hours. "Dang. Looks like i won't be reporting for work on Monday." Marshall_Green Marshall sighed. Even though now that he KNEW that Liamh knew...He still took comfort in how he was taking the news. No screaming. No denile. Just...acceptance.
"Well...Its not so bad, y'know? I mean..." Marshall put up two webbed fingers in a sort of 'peace' sign, "No matter what, you're still gonna be Liahm...Only with like...Fur. Or...Some thing." Marshall said, trying his best to smile at his new freind. "Not to mention every one here is really nice...Except for Zach. If you see a giant red dragon thinger? I suggest you go in the opposite direction. Or some thing." Marshall said, feeling like he was giving a lecture. TURNING INTO AN ANIMAL 101.
"And if you need any thing, me and Gaius are here to help! I promise!" Gaius Harper Gaius chuckled slightly, amazed that Liamh could still be so perky despite everything they were telling him. He had to admire that show of character. "Hey, don't worry, I just assumed you'd seen changed people already... just, uh, be careful about staring, everyone here is kinda sensitive..." His expression darkened suddenly at the mention of that name. "Zach..." he growled the name like a foul curse, his hands clenching. "If anyone on this island is a b*****d, he's the one. I hope he gets what's coming his way..." Gaius shook himself, trying to get rid of the harsh feelings. Liamh was warned, that was enough. He didn't need to go into his colorful history with the crazy lizard. Instead, he gave Liamh a sheepish, anxious smile and scratched at an ear. "You, uh, doing okay? This is a lot to take in and all, and we don't mean to be throwing you in the deep end... You just kinda have to learn to swim as you go, I'm afraid." Liamh Doradan "Thanks, guys... i mean, this has gotta suck monkey arse for you." Liamh scratched his chin, despite there being much there to scratch besides bone and one or two stubble hairs. "Zach, eh. Dragon? I'll keep an eye out. I haven't seen him.... haven't seen ANYBODY, really," he contorted his face in a strange thoughtful grimace. "I kinda slept all day - i just got in around, like, one or two this afternoon.... took a nap after i got my crap up to my room." he shrugged, looking sheepish again. "Congrats. You're the welcome party." He glanced at Gaius and Marshall. "I'm not sure it's really sinking in, frankly," he admitted. "I mean, i'm willing to accept it as what serves as reality right now, but... i guess it doesn't really CHANGE anything for me, not yet. Maybe once it's more real, it'll catch up with me, but..." He glanced at the screen out of the corner of his eye. They'd missed a chunk of the film, one of his favorite parts with the god's pool, and he wasn't sure how he felt. It was really out of place. He really just wanted to keep enjoying his evening, continue on like nothing had happened, and figure out the whole mess later. It was like laundry. He could just heap it in the corner until he had to wash it all. He wrinkled his nose and glanced away again. "So..... you guys really sure all this is happening? I mean, if i wake up tomorrow and you're all still here..." Marshall_Green Marshall let out a small sigh. For one, he didn't want to explain the island again. Hearing it was the mental equivilent of a punch to the kidneys. But saying it? It almost made you feel responsible for what was happening.
Also, he just didn't understand WHY Gaius hated Zach so much. Marshall wasn't exactly a fan of the dragon either. I mean, he was a bully, right? But whenever some one even mentioned the name Gaius just looked...different. He wasn't sure if he liked that.
"Yeah...Its happening alright...And don't worry. We'll still be here tomorrow...Maybe we could show Gaius some thing a lil' more family-freindly, neh?" Marshall chuckled. Gaius Harper "I wish it wasn't happening..." Gaius sighed. He could understand how Liamh felt, some people had to carry stuff for a while before it finally hit them. Gaius just hadn't been one of those people. It was kinda hard to 'deal with it later' when he'd been faced with two dangerous animal-people snarling in front of him. He shifted in his seat, feeling warm and emotionally taxed, and the pinned wings were cramping under the bandages beneath his shirt. Any attention he'd had for the movie was long gone, and it was doubtful he could handle another one. "Listen, Liamh... If... tomorrow... you need help after it 'sinks in' and everything... just call me in duplex 62, okay? And Marshall's in 59." The big guy pulled himself up slowly, easing himself to his feet, and cast the TV one last glance. Someone standing on a rooftop with fire... Gaius shook his head, a dry chuckle escaping him as he turned away. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn in for now... Maybe we can have a proper movie night another time, like Marshall wants." Liamh Doradan Liamh nodded at Marshall. "Yeah... We'll start him on Cowboy Bebop or something... or maybe Ranma 1/2," he added, an edge of his cheeky smirk creeping back through the fog of creeped-out disorientation. "If he likes cute little red-head girls." he shook his head and gave an amused snort. He reached over and gave Gaius a light cuff on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. If you suddenly get called at 4 AM and all you hear is some incoherant screaming, that's probably me. I'm in 66, feel free to swing by sometime. Both of you," he nodded at Marshall. "And we're still having our Zombie Flick night. It's October, you've gotta have at least one." He glanced at the screen again. "If you guys are taking off... i, uh... i might stay here for a few minutes... might finish this, you know." He cleared his throat slightly. He really didn't want to face the silence of his duplex right now, and he still had half a film to stave off sleep or thinking. Mostly thinking... Marshall_Green 66? It took Marshall a moment to digest that bit of information. He was in duplex 59. Subtract his neighbour, Gaius, and Gaius' Neighbour, that meant that in under a month over...5 new people showed up? He never was much for numbers. Its figures. Marshall thought, sighing.
"Okay. So if we get any random messages of incoherant jabbering, we know where its coming from. Got it." Marshall said with a smirk, still trying to lighten the mood as he got to his feet. Part of him wanted to keep Liamh company, but the other part of him knew that it wasn't a good idea. Besides, with Gaius in the mood he was in, perhaps making sure that he didn't go ballistic and (in a probably justifiable rage) find and beat the living crap out of Zach wasn't a bad idea.
"Well, I guess I better be heading off as well...But don't forget, Zombie movie thing. Soon. Its a promise." Marshall said with a smirk, putting both webbed hands in his short's pockets. Gaius Harper Gaius noticed Marshall get up out of the corner of his eye, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He appreciated that Marshall would give up a good movie just to keep his silly friend company. He didn't say anything, though, glancing back at Liamh instead with a smirk and a wave. "Enjoy the movie, and take care of yourself!" The horse-man ducked out of the entertainment room, waiting a moment for Marshall to catch up before trotting off towards their duplexes. Once they were a short ways away, Gaius smacked Marshall on the back of the shoulders. "Hey. Thanks," he said, still looking ahead of them. A small half-smile had finally surfaced on his face. Liamh Doradan Waving as they left, Liamh let out a sigh and slumped back on the couch, letting his attention drift back to the screen, where somebody was talking to somebody else. Oh good, a fight scene was coming up... He scowled and pulled the junk food closer in reach. Time for some action. Just as long as he didn't have to think for the next hour... or however long... he'd be fine. He eyed the stack of anime next to the TV and shoved some more chips in his mouth. Maybe a couple hours. Marshall_Green As Liamh zoned out with Japanese Animation, Marshall and Gaius were still on their long walk home. That was until Marshall received a playful smack from Gaius, along with a small thanks.
"Thanks? For what?" Marshall asked, his hands moved into his vest pocket after he got smacked on the shoulders unexpectidly. He was pretty happy to see Gaius in a better mood than before, but still, Marshall never was one to just leave things as they were. Gaius Harper "For giving up your movie to come along, of course! Unless you didn't actually want to stay there and watch the rest of it..." Gaius shrugged, looking away. "I just appreciated the gesture. That's all. ...It's nice not to be alone." Marshall_Green Marshall looked up at Gaius, smiling. "Heh heh..." he chuckled, as they continued walking, "Yeah...I mean...I feel bad for Liamh though...I just figured he'd need some Alone time, y'know? Besides, like I said, you're kinda like my Big Brother or some thin'...Can't let ya roam the streets with out proper supervision now can I?" Marshall said jokingly with a shrug. Gaius Harper Gaius's face fell. "Yeah... I feel bad for him too... that was my first time having to tell someone else about the truth... Wonder if the others feel like this when they meet us..." He sighed and rolled his shoulders, loosening the tensed muscles, and tilted his head back to look up at the stars as the two walked. "I think I saw myself in him... Still human, innocent to everything, and no idea of the pain..." It was a sad thought. "And he's only gonna remember me looking this way... I think I understand the 'Orlando' nickname now, at least." The crunch of twigs and grass beneath his shoes drew Gaius's attention back down to earth. He gave a small forced chuckle. "What, don't trust me out after hours?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 8:07 pm
Orland Who? (Continued)Marshall_Green "Nope. Certaintly not. I mean, knowing what a rucus you can cause." Marshall said, joking of course. Thinking back on it, he knew that Gaius wouldn't go out of his way to hurt any one. Its just not in his nature.
"Hey...Don't go getting all depressed now. Remember what I said? No matter what, you're still Gaius and I'm still Marshall. Some new body parts and stuff isn't going to change that! And in case you forgot," Marshall said, pointing at his nose, "You're not the only weird lookin' one here any more, 'kay?" he managed to say all of this with a smile, though. Maybe because he actually believed in it. Gaius Harper Gaius half-grinned, tapping Marshall on his large nose. "Yeah, I was wondering where mine'd gone! Nose-thief!" It was nice to just joke and tease. That was what Gaius had been needing... a relief from the sense of responsibility that the encounter with Liamh had dumped on his shoulders. He was normal, after all, at least as far as Marshall was concerned. Still human. That was the key. Marshall_Green "Psh...I HAD a nose thank you very much...I fear now its just doubled in size. What a pity." Marshall said in a mock whiney-voice as they headed up to their duplexes.
"Well, here's my stop...You gonna be okay?" Marshall asked Gaius with genuine concern. Last thing he wanted to do was to leave Gaius in a time of need. Gaius Harper "Yeah, yeah," Gaius waved him away with a smirk. "I'll hit the sack and be as good as new in the morning!" He started up the steps for his duplex, taking them two at a time, and glanced over his shoulder as he got near the top. "Just take care of yourself, 'kay? I'll be seeing you, and sooner this time, I promise!" Marshall_Green "I'm holding ya to your word, 'kay?" Marshall said, waving goodbye with a webbed hand. He still felt a ping of guilt for leaving Liamh alone, but now that he was at his duplex? All Marshall could think about was sleep. With out even getting undressed, Marshall lied down on his bed and fell into a deep, deep sleep.
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Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 9:26 pm
Boyscout's Honor!Gaius tries to help a huffing and puffing RichardRichard Harrison The first draft of the introduction letter now composed, Richard was busying himself with taping a copy of it to the doors of the unoccupied duplexes, numbers 71 to 75. 71, 72 and 73 had been no problem but the two to others had... stairs. Richard was currently huffing up to duplex 72, one hand on the railing, pulling and the other on his cane, pushing. His weight and the heat were making him a feel a bit old. Gaius Harper The morning for Gaius had been spent out further from the duplexes, in the shade of the buildings before the trees, slowly and painstakingly carving an indent into what would one day by a chair seat, using a chisel and hammer. However, he'd taken a break and made a run for the caf to fill up on some much-needed nutrition, and was heading back to his work place when the sound of someone panting and grunting caught his ears. Curious, Gaius peered around a corner. "Are... you okay?" he asked the back of what looked to be an elderly man trying to get up the stairs. "Need some help?" Richard Harrison Richard didn't stop until he reached the top of the stairs, cane thumping heavily againist the wood. He paused to catch his breath at the top of the steps panting heavily. He turned to look at down at Gaius, "I'm... quite... alright..." Richard managed between wheezes. God he hated stairs. He withdrew a white envelope from his jacket pocket, a scotch tape dispenser from his pants pocket and start a fixing it to the door. Gaius Harper Gaius frowned slightly, not fully believing the man. "Hey, you should take it easy. You could catch heat stroke if you over-exert yourself in this weather...!" he said, taking a step up the stairs. His eyes went to the white envelope and his brows bounced up in curiosity. "What's that?" He pointed at the item. "You writing letters to people?" Richard Harrison Richard hated when people advised him on his health, if he was interested in longevity he would have spent his "Retirement" playing golf and spending the winters in florida. "Bah! I'm fit as a fiddle." If said fiddle looked more like a string bass and had high chlorestol, that might be true. Regardless Richard finished taping the envelope to the door and turned around to find Gaius coming up. Richard had zero reaction to Gaius' face, he was getting used to people around here and after Tommy and Ambrose, Gaius' flattened nose was a drop in the bucket. He smiled at the mention of his letter, he was quite proud of it. He took out another envelope from his jacket, he had made nearly twenty hand written copies. All of them baring the word WELCOME on their face in big friendly letter. "These are the start of an information packet I'm compiling." He offered one to Gaius. Gaius Harper Right, fit as a fiddle. And Gaius was Queen of the Island. Still, Gaius persisted politely. "Sir, it's really no laughing matter..." However, he stopped when Richard handed him the letter, taking it with interest. "Information packet? What for?" He hadn't heard of anything being organized on the island... The horse-man looked up at Richard expectantly. "And... I just want to make sure..." He glanced the man over. The fellow was still very human, from what he could tell. "...You do know about the island and what's going on, right?" Richard Harrison Richard chuckled. "I got a personal explaination from Doctor Moreau. Appearently most people don't get the.... pleasure of meeting him. Thats why I wrote the letter. Might as well they be informed of the important bits even if they don't believe it at first." If Gaius scans the letter it reads: Welcome to the Island! This document is intended to serve as a "welcome tour" to life on the island. Please read it entirely before venturing beyond your front door it contains information that is critical to the island´s day to day operations and to your own survival. First is your duplex. This is your home, you will find the access code on your dresser, please note your duplex number. Take care of it, there is no regular cleaning service here. Note the intercom, dialing zero will get you an operator at the labs, you may request personal items for your comfort. Nearly any reasonable request will be honored except communication gear. Dial # + (a duplex number) to call another duplex. Beyond your duplex is the village proper, the village center contains the cafeteria, it serves hot food three times a day but is always open for snacks. There is also an entertainment room with a vast library. However the most important aspect of the island are the residents of the village. Pleased do not be alarmed by their strange appearances, these people are human beings and do not appreciate being gawked at. They are all the (mostly unwilling) subjects of Dr. Moreau’s experiments that fuse normal humans with animal DNA, producing an animal human hybrid. The changes are caused by a series of five injections administered by lab personnel. The first shot causes no changes. It prepares the body, probably at the molecular and cellular level. The proceeding injections induce physical changes in the body with hours of the injection. The process is incredibly painful. The villagers are prevented from escaping by the natural remoteness of the island and chips that are implanted under the skin at the base of the neck. They enable the labs to render anyone unconscious at the touch of a button. The chip can also paralyze the subjects. There are camera’s every where, both in the open and hidden. The villagers are observed 24 hours a day, nothing is unrecorded. No one to date has escaped. There have been attempts. This is the reality of the island. Anything else the staff has told you, the reason you are here, is a lie. No one has left the island in over a year and everyone who stays within a duplex is a subject. I’m am sorry but this includes you. Sincerely, Richard Harrison, Resident of Duplex #70 If you have any more questions please seek me out. I will answer them to the best of my ability. Gaius Harper "Hehe, sorry, just was worried, since you look new, for the most part..." Gaius smiled apologetically, then opened up the packet. Gaius read over the letter, slowly at first, but his interest quickly grew. Yes, this was all the information he'd gleaned from numerous islanders, but that had taken several days... "What I wouldn't have given to know all this right off the bat..." he sighed. As he got to the part about chips, his hand went to the back of his neck, but all he felt was the mane that had grown there. Still, he remembered that sensation the day of the murder, a shock just after Sabin had voiced some kind of command... "So, you're hoping to get these to whoever comes after us?" Gaius asked, refolding the packet and holding it back out to Richard. Richard Harrison Richard nods, "Sooner rather than later is the idea. I'll put a longer version in the library after I write it. I need to pick Ambrose's brain some more before then. That should be more than enough information for anyone who's just arrived." Richard knocked a leave off the porch with his can. "Yeah I'm still new, been here for six days now." Gaius Harper "Only six days?" Gaius blinked. "They must sneak new people in all the time..." It was weird, seeing someone who'd arrived after him. It was still a new sensation, no longer being the 'new' guy. He'd changed, after all, and at this point it couldn't be called all that 'recent.' "Five injections? Huh..." He rubbed at his neck. "I'd heard there were more... I didn't know how many... That means I have... three more?" He glanced back at Richard. "Do you, uh, have any idea if there's a timer for the changes...? Like, set dates?" Richard Harrison Shaking his head a bit, "All the complete islanders I've met have been here for over a year but I've also met one that has been here from almost the beginning and she looked barely halfway. Some go further than others appearently." Richard frowned at both the comment and the fact that Gaius was now blocking the stairs. He head wanted to get this done fast, hoping that the labs weren't paying all that much attention to him. Gaius Harper "Hm, yeah, Ambrose had said he'd been complete..." Gaius glanced up at Richard, then tilted his head. "Do you, uh, need help getting down?" Richard Harrison Richard's eyes narrowed, that was it. "DO I look like an invalid to you." The change in demenor was sudden, his pale eyes glisened like wet ice. "The only help I need is for you to get. Out. Of. My. Way." Each word was accented by a sharp poke from Richard's cane. Gaius Harper "Gah! Ow ow ow!" Gaius yelped, throwing his hands up to ward off the painful prodding as he quickly retreated back off the steps. "Right, sorry! I didn't mean anything!" He rubbed at his chest where the cane'd bruised him, letting Richard get himself down the steps. He was as stubborn as that Sid... Still, best to be polite to one's elders, even if they were grouchy. "So... it's nice that you're trying to educate people before they run into islanders... If I'd known then what I know now, I'm sure I could've avoided a lot of trouble... 's there any way I can lend a hand?" Richard Harrison Richard followed Gaius down the stairs, slowly but he had a far easier time going down than going up. It was one thing when Moreau made sly comments about his age but the pure... Richard wasn't sure what to call Gaius'... Eagerness to help, other than insulting. Richard produced a stack of envelopes and slapped them on Gaius' chest. "Here." He said tersely. "If any of these get taken down by the staff, put them back up. Keep a couple to give to anyone who seems confused." With that Richard plodded towards the stairs of Duplex 74. Gaius Harper Gaius took the stack with a confused expression. "But... I don't have any tape!" What a big help he was... "Should I, uh, slip them through the doors maybe?" He followed after Richard as he plodded along, rather like an over-eager dog. "Hey! Maybe we can leave a bunch of these in some of the common rooms? Like the caf even! Or wait, do you think that'd be too obvious? Would the staff even care if we're informing people, since they'll find out eventually anyways?" He babbled as he tailed the older man, easily keeping pace with him and rather over-excited to have a 'mission' of sorts. Richard Harrison Richard gives Gaius an exasperated look as he reaches the stairs. For a moment Richard imagined Gaius turning into a small over excited dog. Didn't quite fit the wide nose though. "Just get them to people who need them. I don't care how and I'd perfer you didn't inform the staff." Richard was referring to anynomous persons who we probably chuckling at this little scene. Richard was glad to meet someone with out a pity party but Gaius was proving to be highly skilled at annoying the piss out him. He started up the stairs, daring Gaius to try and stop him. Gaius Harper Gaius stopped short of the stairs, watching him go up. "Well, uh, alright then... I'll just put them in the doors that don't have envelopes yet? And don't worry! My lips are sealed! Not a word!" He nodded strongly. "You have my word!" When it appeared Richard had nothing else to say, Gaius looked a bit awkward as he tried to figure out the best course of action, then began to back away a bit. "I'll just, uh, get to my job then?" Richard Harrison Was the man THAT dense? Appearently so. Subtly was appearently lost on this man. He suppressed a sigh. "Yes, yes." Richard made a shooing gesture, as if Gaius was a small child. "Go to it." Richard began to laborously pull himself up the stairs. Gaius Harper "Right, um, well, have a good day, then!" Gaius turned tail and trotted off along the duplexes, leaving Richard to his own troubles. The horsey fellow was too glad to be 'helping' to pester him more about his health.
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