Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tommy watches Richard walk off before shaking his head and looking back to Gaius, "Jesus Christ that was ******** up..." he mutters out, "What the ******** is he turning into? I've never seen anything like that."

He shakes his head, "Nah...no...I'm sorry...I just uh...well...echolocation's a b***h if you've never experienced it before...that's all."

"Nah, listen...I understand, man. Tentacles..." he shudders a bit, "I'll have to talk to you later though...I'm usually watchin' a movie in there or somethin if you ever need to find me," he says while nodding over to the entertainment center.

"I'll uh...I'll see you around then..." he mutters before walking back in the direction of the aformentioned entertainment center.

[New RP]

Gaius had spent the majority of the previous days locked away in his duplex. That was the best way to avoid being seen, and besides that, it was a pain to move around.

But everyone needs to eat, and Gaius had depleted the stores in his mini-fridge yesterday. When the grass outside the duplex started looking appetizing, Gaius knew there was no avoiding it.

Using a wooden rod he'd been planning to cut down into chair legs as a walking stick to keep himself upright, Gaius made his slow, shuffling way down the stairs, pausing at the bottom to look around. It looked like the coast was clear... Perking up a little, Gaius headed in the direction of the caf.

Zach was just returning from the cafeteria when he saw a vaguely familiar face and a very familiar face nearby. The body of the first one was the same as it had been the last time they'd met, but the second was very different, changed again. He didn't care much for the guard, as he'd only treated Zach like some kind of animal. Gaius, however, made him break out into a grin at the sight of him hobbling along with a walking stick, dimmed only by the parallel to Kaveri the last few times they'd met.

As he was walking over himself, he heard the guard make a snide remark. He didn't make the connection immediately, but Gaius's pointy ears and tail did look remarkably like a horse's, if nothing else on him did. Like those nearly-naked bird wings growing out of his back. He had to give credit to the guy for trying, though.

Casually he planted himself on Gaius's other side, across from the ugly guard. He laughed quietly, looking Gaius over again from under the brim of the hat, and let his tail meander along the ground as though bored. Talking with Sabin the other day had made him feel bolder again. At least someone was on his side for once in life. He crossed his arms. Maybe the guard would run, maybe Gaius would run, maybe they'd both run. His own batlike wings spread as though he were idly thinking of flying after them.

Freddie eyed Zach uncertainly as he positioned himself on the other side of Gaius. It'd be just his luck of Duvert's pet monster stepped in and defending Gaius. He was just jumping to conclusions and silently lamenting how he never got to have any fun when his target tried to move past.

He threw a wary look Zach's way before he pushed himself away from the wall and followed Gaius.

"Aw, now why d'ya gotta go and assume I mean you harm?" He said, sounding hurt. "I was just gonna say you look like yer havin' a damn hard time of it."

He was already eyeing the walking stick, waiting for the opportune moment. Since he could only focus on one thing at a time, the presence of the dragon- who for all he knew might interfere- was forgotten.

"Yeah, and I don't need any help!" Gaius snorted in Freddie's direction.

His attention turned to Zach, watching the dragon suspiciously. He didn't doubt Zach was fully enjoying the sight. However, his attention was on the upper body, where those teeth and claws were, not the tail slinking below.

"Gah-ha!" Pinwheeling his arms, it was already inevitable. He fell like so much baggage with the supports kicked out, landing roughly on his face. His stick tumbled away, just out of reach.

"Damnit, jerk..." he spat, dirt clinging to where his face had planted. "I'll get you for that!"

Zach couldn't contain his laughter this time, the slightly high and annoying howls seeming almost excessive, watching Gaius tumble to the ground and land face-first in the dirt. His tail unwound from the ankle and quickly returned to swinging behind, with a lot more zeal than before. Using it that deliberately had been a little odd, like having a fifth arm. Not a bad feeling, but it made him uneasy. Just like when he'd first started making use of his new left arm. He supposed he'd have to get used to it, since it wasn't a temporary part of his anatomy, and was apparently useful.

"Just this?" he grinned down at Gaius. Zach's mind wandered to the imminent revenge that Sabin would inflict on Gaius for him. He was almost impatient for it to happen. The last two had been so wonderfully evil that he knew better than to rush things. The guard's movement made him look away from the victim of his prank. While he'd been busy laughing at Gaius, the guard had scooped up the stick. He narrowed his eyes at how the man had cut into his fun and opened his mouth to bark at the man not to give the stick back. He didn't have to say anything at all, though, as the guard's words to Gaius grew suddenly vicious. His expression lit up once again with cruel mirth.

It was a pity most days weren't like this.

Freddie stepped back from Gaius to assure there was no chance of him, say, reaching out and grabbing his leg. With a safe distance between them, he began to tap the walking stick in his open palm as if it were a baton.

"Why should I?" he asked. "It's a nice ol' stick. I could do a lot of stuff with something like this." He eyed Gaius as though he was seriously considering demonstrating.