Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kim had basically spent the day outside, in a bold contrast with the last few months she had basically spent in her duplex. After her metting with Bobby, she went to the beach to laze in the sun - that experience had been very surprisingly good, so much that she had felt asleep until about 15 minutes ago, where she realised she was hungry. After scooping the sand from her clothes, she headed to the cafeteria, and setteled for some shrimp, a few sushi rolls complete with sweet and sour sauce, a bit of white rice and a diet cola to start with, sitting on one of the tables to eat in sillence. After all, there was currently no one to talk to here.

She reminded herself to test her blood sugar when she came back - she really hated to do so in public. After all, she didn't know if anyone else would come in or not...

Amaya had surprisngly done almost the same that day. Basking in one of the trees while reading had started to become one of her favorite pastimes. Though after awhile, your stomach started to protest.

She made her way into the cafeteria, not really looking around to see if anyone else was there before making her way over to the food line. The green iguana had became even more wary of seeing others and despite certain urges to be with someone else due to her age, the animal DNA inside her was making her more and more solitary gradually.

Kim didn't seem to really notice at first, lost in her own thoughts as the shrimp almost seemed to dance in the chopsticks she held, humming to herself softly to some tune that seemed to exist only in her head.

She caught a flash of something green from the corner of her eye, which made her turn and smile a bit.

"Hey, Amaya." She greeted, trying not to startle her as it seemed the iguana hadn't noticed her presence.

Amaya blinked and turned to look at the other girl, offering her a smile as she made herself a salad. "Hey Kim." After grabbing her food and a bottled water, she wandered back over to her; tail swishing behind her from side to side.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure, go ahead." She was verry happy to see her, it had been so long - and the last time she had made a.... less than spectacular exit.

But she prefered not to mention that, making some space so that Amaya could sit beside her, shoving DS and PSP to her pockets.

"How have you been ?"

The girl sat down next to her, setting down her things awkwardly with her large hands. She also had to spin the chair around and sit on it backwards due to her tail.

"I've been... alright, I guess. Considering. Yourself?" She grabbed her fork and positioned it in her fingers before mixing her salad around a little.

She seemed to ponder for a moment, twiling the empty chopsticks in her fingers.

"...Very wierd. That'll about sum it, I figure." She shrugged, taking one of the shrimps and dipping it in the sauce. "With all the s**t that happened lately and all that..."

"Oh yeah..." Amaya had almost forgotten about the drama in the labs above them. "The whole Aubrey thing?" She frowned while taking a bite from her salad, only speaking once she swallowed.

"I've been trying to stay out of it... well, after taking the knife to the labs and stuff."

"Same here... I've been literally walling myself in my duplex for some time, yet... There was some part of me that wanted to get out so BADLY. And well, I guess it was right, because im feeling much better now than I felt stuck in those 4 walls... If that made any sence."

She paused to take a sip from the bottle. "...I still havn't figured out what im turning into. Part of me wants to know, but... part of me seriously doesn't, you know ?"

...That sounded so stupid, she couldn't help but think. When she was worring about things so trivial while the girl beside her probably had to worry about much graver things.

"Yeah... I didn't know until after my second change. When I grew a tail." The lizard's tail twitched a little, wiggling on the floor behind her. "Maybe after all this is blown over you should ask?"

"I should, I know... if only just to get over it sooner than later, but... I've actually thought about it, but I can't bring myself to push the stupid button of the intercom, it's... kinda stupid, isn't it ?" She couldn't help but give a small giggle. "Im here worrying about those things while some have it much worse..."

"Not really. I don't remember using the intercom for anything, really... too scared to ask them for anything. Especially not now that Aubrey has been hurt. Who knows what they'll do." Amaya nibbled on her salad more.

"And you've got the right to worry... everybody does." She shrugged.

"You're right." She smilled again, seemed a bit relieved. "And the last few days wouldn't have been a good idea, nope. Ill do my best and try to ask, but... Well, we'll see, ne ? I better take this slowly or else ill completely freak out again." The asian admitted, motionning to grap a california roll.

The teen nodded. "I hope whoever did it is caught soon though... that way we can go back to our lives without worrying too much about what Moreau might do to us."

"Agreed. That's what I thought up... If I don't attempt to seriously mess with the staff, they won't mess with me... too hard, I guess." She admitted, tossing a bang of hair away from her shoulder. "I wonder who would so something like that... I mean, with an island like this, with no way out ? That's pretty much screwing yourself over, wouldn't that be ?"

"Yeah, but from what I've heard a lot of the others were... I dunno. Feral I guess? When I ran into the jungle I came across Chubbs and Zach. He tried to eat me until Chubbs jumped in..." The reptile frowned.

"He tried to what ?" She bluted out, her brown eyes sightly wide. What the HELL ? She knew some had issues, but... She couldn't help but feel rather lucky not to have met this Zack.

"Gee... That's horrible... Thank god Chubbs was there, uh ?" It did look like the man could fend off almost anything, after all.

"Yeah, I booked it up a tree when he came crashing through and-" Amaya was cut off as she looked to the door, the sound of jeeps coming from outside. Looking at Kim, she hesitantly got up and walked over to the cafeteria doors.

Green eyes peeked out the windows just in time to watch the men tie up Zach. "Oh my god! It's Zach! They're taking him away or something!" Her voice was barely above a whisper and not much of her head poked up to the window... she didn't want to be seen.

And who was that guy with white hair?

Kim seemed to freeze as she heard the jeep as well and, glancing back at Amaya, she followed and comically swung a bit to the side to look over the iguana's shoulder.

It was clear to her which one was Zack - the one on the floor knocked out and... chained ?! Holy s**t, he probably was completely dangerous...

"Holy s**t." She whispered right back, as if speaking any louder would get them discovered and somehow involved in all this. "Then maybe he did it... They even got him chained up... Who's the other guy ? It looks like they're taking him too..."

"I dunno, I've seen him before though... at the Halloween party." The iguana continued to whisper as she watched Sabin get hauled off as well, ducking down quickly when she thought a guard looked their way. "Holy crap... Zack must've done it!" Even though the jeeps were leaving, she felt the need to whisper still.

"He must have..." Likewise, she continued to whisper. "Why the hell would they have him chained up like that otherwise ?"

This was all so... wierd and creepy. She couldn't help but follow the jeeps with her eyes as they rolled away.

Amaya however, was still "hiding" behind the door. "That's true... man... I'm so glad Chubbs scared him off. I'll have to go thank him again and tell him what happened." She swallowed, still whispering as if on reflex. "... That's so freaky though." Standing, she looked back out the window next to Kim. "I mean, I've met him before and he didn't seem TOO bad... but then he must have changed again and went awol or something..."

When the jeep was out of view, Kim seemed to finally relax a bit, and give out a sigh.

"Then maybe it isn't really his fault... one could argue that the staff made him this way." She said, softly, not quite whispering anymore, but still a bit quiet. "...I hope they don't like... kill him or something..."

After all... no one deserved to die.

"Yeah... it's not his fault that he's like that." The girl seemed to still be rather on edge, her tail twitching about. She remembered how she thought the same of Chubbs, the very man who saved her.

"I hope they just... put him in solitary confinment for awhile or something. He might've attacked me and Aubrey and maybe even more people, but that doesn't mean he needs to die."

"[No-one deserves to die, period." Kim sighed, shifting to go sit again, less she start pacing around in worry. "I really hope he'll be okay... expecially if it really wasn't his fault."

"Yeah..." Amaya headbobbed in agreement before following her to sit back down a few moments later.

She really didn't know what to say... and now her salad didn't look as nearly as appetizing as it had just seconds previous. Worry about what would happen to Zach, the other man she saw, everyone would be effected eventually.

Likewise, the lone, remaining shrimp in Kim's place didn't seem to look as tasty as they did a few minutes before. The asian's brow was creased with worry as she took the place and went to trash it.

"Man... I wish things where... simpler, some days." She sighed. She hadn't known the man, hadn't even HEARD of him by now, probably thanks to her antisocial bouts, yet... she couldn't stop herself from worrying.

"Yeah, me too..." The lizard trailed off and looked over at the doors while forcing herself to at least eat half of her salad. "Sometimes I wonder if this'll ever just end, y'know?"

"I hope it will, but... It doesn't seem likely that it ever will. I mean... things can only go downhill as people keep changing... I think." Kim usually did her best to keep a positive outlook but... it was so hard here, on this island, tapped, without her mother and the few friends she had back home...

...But she had new friends here, at least. Well, she liked to think so. With how withdrawn she had been, expecially the past few months...

"...But we got to do our best to make it better. Remember that we're not alone, that no matter what, we all got friends that can help us..." She sat next to Amaya again after having put away the empty tray. "...My mother always told me... that to make things better, you need to start by yourself..."

At those words, she felt her own heart sink even more. "...Mom..." She whispered, barely audible.

Amaya watched and listened to Kim as she spoke, non-existant brows raising at the small whisper and then falling right afterward. She gave a saddened frown and looked down at her salad.

She was such an a**. Here she was being emo about relationship issues and the woman sitting next to her had been ripped from her family.

"... I'm sorry." The teen said quietly.

"It.s okay, really." She did the best attempt at a smile that she could manage at the moment. "...Im over it... mostly... But I've been emotional lately." She gave a soft sigh. "I shouldn't dump all of this on you, im sorry."

"No, it's alright. Even though I can't really relate in that sense... I know what it's like to be ripped from your parents." Amaya smiled back at her and finished most of her salad, along with the water.

She wanted to stay and talk with Kim, but she could feel herself start to slip into a more mellow and laid back, sleepy mood. Not a good sign... damn air conditioning. Did Kim feel it too? Last she remembered she was turning into something cold-blooded as well.

"I see." She didn't ask for details... didn't want to stirr more bad memories that had allready been.

Kim kind of felt a chill... but it wasn't really that bad to make her want to sleep just yet. But then, Kim wasn't really that far into her own transformation to begin with.

She had the urge to continue her save of FF1, funilly the one she had been playing on her way to this place, but that would be later. Playing while talking to someone was pretty damn rude to her.

And maybe, maybe catch some sleep... seemed that the AC was just starting to get to her.

The reptile's tongue flickered and she glanced over at Kim with a half-hearted smile. "You feeling drained too? I think we should get out of here before we end up falling asleep." Standing, she turned the chair back around and then took her things their appropriate spots.

"Uh ?" She blinked, then seemed to get it, and started laughing. "Oh, you mean the AC ? I completely forgot about it since I turned mine off all this time ago." And she hadn't really thought the one in the cafeteria could affect her, since it was a decently sized room. "Yeah, I guess that would be a good idea, ne ?"

Amaya nodded. "Ever since I changed for the first time they made my room really humid and hot... though I can't say I'm complaining since that's the ideal tempature for me."

"Anyway, I'll see ya later Kim." With a smile and another headbob, she headed out of the cafeteria.

Finding herself at loose ends, Nita decided to check out the entertainment room again. She had already borrowed and read most of the sci-fi/fantasy novels, but she thought she remembered seeing seasons of The X-Files on DVD.

She settled onto one of the couches with the remote, flipping through the menu until she found an episode she felt like watching. For once, Nita's hair was freed from its customary thick braids and pulled back from her face by two slim plaits that were then braided together at the back. It had taken her quite a while to get them even, but overall she was pleased with the result. Nita sighed happily as the familiar theme music began to play.

Likewise... it was boredom that drew Kim to the entertainment room... which wasn't a place she adventured into all that much, oddly. She was much more of a fan of the arcade.

Her mind picked out the familiar theme song the second she stepped inside the room, and she perked. Well... someone had found something decent to watch in here... But granted, she had never really looked at the selection too much.

She was about to turn, however, until she semi-reconized the red hairs. She had seen this girl before, hadn't she ? This seemed to make her change her mind, and she instead went to sit on another couch, chirping a cheerful "Hi !" as she passed.

Nita sat up from her semi-reclined position as someone entered the room. Long dark hair, slanted eyes, about her height... "Hey there," she said, waving at the girl. "Kim, right?"

She smiled and gestured towards the TV with the remote. "X-Files fan?" Nita asked as the first few scenes played.

"Yup !" She seemed to think for a moment. "...Nita, right ?"

"Not all -that- much... I mean, I watched it when it happened to be on, but I didn't really follow the series or anything." She admitted. "I don't think I've seen this episode before..."

"That's me," Nita said cheerfully. Even though the girl had changed since she met Kim, she was still easily recognizable.

"I only watched it a little when it was on broadcast, but it runs on TNT late at night, so I got hooked when I'd stay up late."

Nita brushed a few wisps of hair out of her eyes and continued, "I had a lot of episodes on my computer at home. This is a fun one, where there's going to be a movie made about Mulder and Scully."

"I usually watched Adult Swim if I stayed up late enough..." She said, visibely finding the conversation more interesting than the episode, but doing her best to keep track of both.

"But as far as anime go, I got plenty on my computer here." Ahhhh, her precious laptop. One could argue the girl would be heartbroken without it.

In truth, it didn't seem that she had even noticed that Nita had changed - visibely much more used to the most drastic changes of the friends she had seen lately. With the AC, the room was a bit chilly... Thank god she had thought about wearing those gloves. She had found them in Cass's box, and they had been sutch a wonderful catch.

"I can't remember that one." She admitted.

Nita watched the episode out of the corners of her eyes, familiar enough to know what would happen.

"I liked Adult Swim. Mostly Futurama and Venture Brothers." Nita grinned, happy to have found someone else with similar tastes. "Never watched much anime, really, but it's okay."

She had to admit she was just a bit jealous that Kim had her computer with her. Nita had had to leave hers at home, since it was a clunky desktop instead of a laptop. But it was her clunky desktop!

"Oh, I am a complete anime nut." Kim couldn't help but chuckle. She seemed to be the only one of her kind... which was a bit familiar. "I watch them in japanese subtitles alot. Of course, those are on my laptop." Well, duh. "Of course... with no internet... It's pretty much been reduced himself to act mostly as a tv, poor thing."

She leaned against the side of the couch almost comically, eyes on the television, but thoughts elsewhere.

"Hmm," Nita said, a sort of noncommittal 'I'm listening' noise. "I like the Miyazaki films, though. Subtitled, not dubbed."

She shook her head, as if sympathizing with Kim's poor, crippled laptop. "Aw, yeah, I miss the internet. It wasn't like I was online constantly, but it's weird thinking how disconnected we are here."

"Yeah, those where good." The black haired girl agreed. "I don't even think I have a favorite... I liked them all."

She sighed a bit at Nita's mention of how disconected they where. "True... It is a bit wierd. I had an hard time getting used to it." She couldn't help but laugh suddently at a memory. "You should have seen me when I came here... fighting for hours to connect on a wireless network that doesn't even exist. I was all upset at that time... Now I think back of it and I can't help but think it was so stupid. It was before I knew what was going on here."

Nita made a face and wrapped a strand of hair around her fingers. "For all we know, the rest of the civilized world has disappeared with out a trace. Guh." She shook her head. "But that's depressing. Everything's probably still there." Her tone was serious, but a smile threatened the corner of her mouth.

She laughed slightly, well able to imagine Kim searching frantically for the wireless connection. "So how'd they trick you here?" Nita asked.

"Yeah... I wonder how things are going back there, sometimes." She said, but seemed glad to change the subject.

"There was an ad in the paper about an experimental cure for Diabetes. My mom saw it and told me I should give it a try." She shrugged. "I didn't want to come at first because I was pretty sure I was about to find a job, but she wouldn't quiet down until I agreed to come. I don't really like traveling... So that was one of the reasons, too." She admited, a bit sheepish. "It was supposed to be a month... and well, I've been here since November. What about you ?"

Nita nodded slightly as Kim spoke. "Wow, since November?" Her whitened eyebrows rose at that revelation. So Kim was yet another who had been on the Island for a long time. "Did you get any help for your diabetes, at least?"

The redhead continued to twirl the strand of hair around and between her fingers. "It was supposed to be an independent-study slash study-abroad deal. College credit and all that good stuff." Nita rolled her eyes. "Unless you can major in 'turning into an animal' I'm pretty sure this won't count towards graduation!"

"They give me insulin. That's pretty much it." She sighed. "But that's better than nothing, I guess. Ill'd be majorly screwed without it."

The idea of having to depend on the staff for this didn't really make her happy at all, but she didn't voice her discontent... Even if the look on her face spoke volumes.

"If it did, I think we'lld all get full credit !" She couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Pass with flying colors, in fact... But... damn, they actually manage to take you guys out of high school for s**t like this ?" She knew some of the islanders where young, but she had never gotten a definite age for any of them. "That's bullshit. This kind of thing makes me so pissed off. That someone with their lives ahead of them wind up trapped here..." She muttered. "I don't know why, but it upset me more than myself being here in the first place."

"Heh, at least you don't have to mess with your insurance company..." Nita suddenly remembered that she only had a two-months' supply of her own medication. Would the staff notice that, or would she have to contact them about it? She sighed inwardly and made a mental note to find out.

She laughed softly. "Oh no, not high school! I was in my junior year at OSU- that's Ohio State- when my advisor suggested this program to me." Nita was used to people not being able to guess her age; they either seemed to think she was several years younger or several years older than she really was.

"I know what you mean about the really young ones here, though... My neighbor downstairs is only 17, I think."

"Oh !" Kim couldn't help but be a bit embarassed, her face reddening sightly. "Sorry... but I guess you could take that as a compliment ?" She smilled. "People always think im 16 or 17... it makes me laugh a bit. I guess im somewhere in the middle as far as islander age goes... Not that I really know the other's ages at all."

"But I think ill'd ratter have to mess with insurance than being there, but that might be just me." She teased a bit with a smile on her face.

Nita grinned, not at all offended. "My mom always said I'd appreciate it when I'm 40." She eyed Kim, thinking aloud, "So.. you're what, 20 or 21 then?"

In the background, the episode drew to a close, and zombies danced about the stage. Nita reached for the remote, which had fallen to the floor during their conversation, and switched off the TV.

"Hm... sprouting fur or dealing with insurance." Nita held her hands up as if weighing the options. "Insurance is probably the lesser of two evils," she snickered.

"22." She corrected almost systematicly. "Was 21 when I came here... I can't believe I spend my brithday locked out in the stupid jungle." She muttered lightly, but seemed to be cheered up by Nita's last sentence.

"Being cold blooded or dealing with insurance... Yeah, I think I know which one ill'd choose there." She gave a light-hearted laugh.

"Ugh, I heard about that lockout thing." Nita gave Kim a sympathetic look. "I just turned 21 a couple of days ago."

She glanced at the clock on the wall and stretched. "Hey, I'm gonna grab something to eat and go back to my duplex, but it's been nice talking to you." Her back popped loudly, causing Nita to grimace and roll her eyes.

Nita hauled herself off the couch and slipped her flipflops back on. She put the X-Files DVD back in its case and shelved it properly.

"I'm sure I'll see you around, though, and I'm in number 42 if you ever want to watch stuff on your laptop with someone." She smiled and waved at Kim as she passed through the door, ready to find food of some sort.

"I should probably get going too, before I fall asleep here." Kim answered, getting up as well.

"Im in 22... Drop in sometimes." She smilled, waiting for Nita to exit before she left as well.

It was pretty late... Kim was about to go sleep after a few rounds of Soul Calibur, but as she laid down on the bed, she couldn't help but notice the small bottle of pills there. One just before bed, that Dr Frost lady said. She had been... the asian couldn't explain, but there was something definitively OFF with the whole encounter.

...But hey, what could it hurt ? If she ran into something too bad, she could just stop or warn the labs. Good enough.

She popped the lid open, sliding one of the pills out and swallowing it without water, as she usually did, before curling up and falling asleep in a bundle of sheets.

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Loneliness. Some loved it, some hated it.

But what about being completely alone ?

Kim didn't think about it much at first as she went outside and saw no life in the town hall. Which was... extremely odd. But yet, as she walked, continued her way, there was this feeling of pure DREAD that washed upon her.

"...Hello... ?" The cafeteria was empty - not even Delia was there. Suddently not hungry anymore, Kim backed out, and headed torward Cass's duplex - it was one of the low numbers, proving how long the poor girl had been there.

She knocked, and waited... with no answer.

"...Cass ?"

Still, there was no answer. Maybe the snake girl was somewhere in the jungle ? Still, the dread grew, as she went on. Amaya's duplex was also empty. As well as Awen's, who was just under hers.

And as she checked, one by one... all the duplexes where empty. She was... the only one there.

She was completely, utterly alone, and she panicked.

"Anyone else ?! Hello ? Hello ?!" There had to be SOMEONE - armed guards, the staff ! But no one was there. She was alone. Everyone had gone, and left her behind.

All alone.

And she couldn't take it. She needed other people with her - if only just for their presence. To know she wasn't all alone on an island full of genuine animals and failed tests...

"SOMEONE ! ANYONE ! PLEASE ! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE !!!" She yelled, almost hysteric as she cried.

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Kim darted up in her bed with the kind of scream that would have given a banshee inferiority complexes. The small girl was still slowly sliding back into reality as a thought hit it.

Last time she had gotten a nightmare this bad, it was...

Oh, ******** she waited... and waited.... and when nothing came, she slumped in her bed, almost weakly. Oh, god...

Days, nights, and most importantly nightmares succeded themselves like clockwork, always present, to the point that Kim was starting to become afraid to close her eyes. Likewise, the writing in the journals the Dr Frost have given her multiplicated, some dreams being explained extremely vaguely while others with sutch details that one could have sworn that they could see it play in front of their eyes. Almost all had loneliness for a focus, or a fear of rejection. Sometimes, it was from her parents, but most of the time, it seemed that the persons the nightmares focused around where the islanders, with three that re-occured often, and that one could pick out for being those Kim would find herself the most confortable around, and her best friends - Cassidy, Amaya, and Nita.

Kim sat on her bed, tapping the blue pen on the pages softly as she leaned against the wall and stared at the celling for a moment. Of course, she had noticed that trend herself... And wasn't too sure what to make of it. Was it linked to what she was turning into, to an animal that was usually the member of a pack and thus feared and hated solitude, or was it something that was actually her, not related to the changes in any way, something she deep down feared without knowing it ?

All those questions, and no answers... This was annoying. With a sigh, she gentely flipped the book closed and left her room in seach of some food.

With both the pills from Dr Frost and the transformation dreams in effect... Kim's dreams where very far from being lucid. In fact, they could have been best described as a bad acid trip without any acid involved. She felt herself in this, and saw all this, of course, but it seemed that the second she tried to understand what was happening, the dream changed, morphed, distorted... The small woman tossed around in her bed until she finally felt down, the pain from slamming down on the hard floor enough to wake her up and end the charade.

What pieces and fragment was still jumbeling in her head when she finally moved to sit on the floor, not bothering to make her way back into the bed yet. At first, she didn't register the feeling, thinking it was the leftover of the odd dreams, yet when it happened a second time, she grapped her glasses from the table on reflex and looked. There was something on her arm... something she knew all to well. A needle mark. And since Kim never actually did her blood testing on another other places than the tips of her finger... Suddently, logic, as sleepy as it was, connected to what was probably about to happen. She had noti,ced many people that had came after her getting further along than she was... and, visibely, she was about to catch up.

Oh no. Oh no. Ohnoohno-

That thought stopped drasticly, and was replaced by a surprised yelp, as her skin started changing before her very eyes, Kim instinctively backing up to the wall as if, somehow, it would make it stop. She couldn't tell what it was doing - lightning there, darkning there... until it finally setteted and reconized them as some kind of markings. She had the wierd impression that she had goosebumbs, but a test touch proved it was not. It was almost like... scales. Her own skin felt so alien to her...

She didn't get to ponder this for too long, as suddently the whole world turned blurry, and she almost lost hold and felt to her side in her own panic. What was going on, was she turning blind ? Kim wanted to scream but, for some reason, no sound escaped her open mouth, and as she felt the odd feelings around her nose and what had been left of her ears, her glasses fell to her lap... and the world once again became clear. Possibely clearer than she could remember seeing it. Again, she got maybe one second of staring oddly at the glasses in her lap before a new pain - this time her spine - stole all her attention, and again shock kept her from screaming. Something was growing there, she was sure of it - pulling the skin very painfully along the way, and a look to her back revealed the tip of an odd tail peeking out from the bottom of her pj pants - shorter than she would have imagined, with how much pain it had - and still - caused.

On the floor, the nails suddently became darker, a bit ticker, almost like... claws. Again, something else got her attention - those two fingers that annoyed her so much. The damned things where actually getting LONGER ! And ticker, and also, thanksfully, a bit easier to move around. She could swear there was a new joint in there... and then, in a burst of pain that left her hissing, new skin was taking form, and spread down on her arms, and a bit to her side, painfully breaking her way through the fabric that confined them.

After that, it seemed finally over, and Kin was left there, laying on the floor with tears weiled in her eyes, tangeled in her own black hairs, drained and very, very hungry. For a second, she saw herself, flying over a body of water, suddently darting to catch a fish from it, but as quickly as it came, the flash was gone, leaving her to the harsh and painful reality.

Why I am here ? I... I do not belong here.

...Where had that thought came from ? Yet, it wasn't going away. She tended to agree - after all, she was... something, and also human, yet the thought seemed to go deeper than even that.

Slowly managing to stumble to her feet, leaning on the wall for a moment as she regained her stability, and still with those thoughts running into her head, Kim didn't even bother to change - who would be out this late as night ? - and, after barely managing to make her clawed feet fit through her sandals without completely mangeling them, she headed out, slowly, to calm her hunger, planning to return with her food then eventually passing out again.

After all, in the dead of night, who would be there to see her ?

Kim was literally on a mission.

After somehow scrambeling the courage to drag herself out of her duplex, and finding the entertainment room soothingly empty, the small woman took it over like a storm. Almost literally. Books where piled closeby, in a messy heap that would have made an ocd person get the fits of their lifetime. The tower of book also had the slight advantage of mostly hiding her from view for anyone who might enter. As stupid as it was, Kim was still scared that people might freak out.

She sat there, trying to forget her 5th finger existed as she turned the pages of the book that laid open in front of her akwardly.

She wasn't leaving this room without an idea of what she was supposed to be, spamitall.

Cassidy had come by the entertainment room to return a few of the snake books she'd borrowed; there was only so long she could stand to have brightly coloured photos of snakes staring her in the face. But this, she kept telling herself, was good for her. Yes.

She slithered into the room, taking care not to shut the door on her tail, and turned to face the room properly... and saw a mess of books, with some movement behind them. For a moment, Cass was too baffled to properly respond to this; she could, however, pick up a definite heat source there (even if it was a cold-blooded one), and after a quick tongue flick to place the scent--

"... Kim? What're you doing back there?"

Kim had been so absorbed into her reading that she had not heard Cass enter at all, until she spoke. The small woman almost jumped, but then seemed to calm down. It was Cass.... It would be okay... right ?

Thus, she peeked almost meekly from the front of the tower of books. "Oh, hey Cass. Im... reading, mostly."

Something about Kim's appearance did not seem right. "Fair enough," Cass said. She made her way over to the bookshelf, and shoved the books into a convenient gap.

"Er. Are you okay back there?"

"Yeah. Well... mostly." She admitted after some hesitation, pushing some of the pile away to make things less akward (and because the tower looked like it was going to topple over sometime soon. Thanksfully, her new skin tone did well to sightly hide the bit of embarassment and shyness she was feeling.

Cassidy stared for a moment, stunned; her tongue flickered again.

"Oh. Oh, wow," she said, and immediately regretted it. She added hastily, "Um, taken a bit by surprise there. Sorry."

She slithered over, and peered over the books. Judging it might be safest to change the subject, she said, "What's with all the books?"

"I- It's okay. Really. I reacted worse, I think." ...This was going a bit better than she thought.

"Well... Im pretty much trying to hide this charade and figure out what im supposed to be turning into, while avoiding to ask the staff up front." She sighed. "But I kinda feel like I am looking for a needle in the middle of a wagon of hay, if you get what I mean..."

"Well, I wish I could help," Cass said. She settled herself down nearby with a slight ruffle of feathers. "I think it's best to know that sort of thing. I went and asked them outright, because I figured there wasn't any way I'd ever figure it out on my own. But, um. Honestly? I have no clue about yours. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well... it's some kind of reptile. My skin of of has that beaded feel." God god god this was so AKWARD to say... "Ill'd assume not a snake since my feet havn't done anything freaky... Well asside growing claws and not fitting in shoes anymore." She mutted. "Im convinced they're wings now." She motionned to her hands, and the webbing. "...There's alot of things that stand out so I think I might have a chance to at least narrow the options."

Cass grimaced a little. "I guess your hands do look like wings... So, um. Reptilian and winged and clawed. That's... hell." Again, a thoughtful tongue flick. "I really don't know. I think I said once, or maybe I only thought it, that you could be some sort of hybrid? But I don't know..."

"I don't know, I... don't think it's an hybrid. It's crazy, but that's the impression im getting." If it was, wouldn't I have two voices in my head or something ?

However, that thought sparked another, a reminder of a memory.

Why should I be there ? I shouldn't be there.

...

Kim darted then, careful not to topple any books in the process, visibely not caring for putting anything away just yet, again gathering a few books... this time on instinct species, and dinosaurs.

"Im quite obiviously crazy, but..." She said as she setted back beside Cass and attacked the first book on the pile, starting to flip through the pages and dismissing the obivious.

"I don't know about voices in your head," Cass said, doubtfully. She moved a bit to see the pictures better. "There's your, um. Head thing. Crest. Sorry, there's really no tactful way to say that." She coughed bashfully. "But that's got to narrow it down some."

"Yeah..." She answered, putting the book asside and taking another, flipping until she got to a certain page, and stared almost blankly at the glossy photo that the open book gave her.

Head bump ? Check. Claws ? Check. Wings ? Check. Even the markings seemed similar.

The creature in question was a pterodactyl.

Sillently, she turned to look at Cass, as if asking if she was completely batshit crazy for even pondering it.

Cass looked.

"It can't," she said, blankly. "Where would they get the DNA to...? I read Jurassic Park, and it's... the whole thing is nonsense." She shook her head. "I know that's what it looks like. But it couldn't."

Hadn't she joked, once upon a time before she'd known what was really up, that they were working on cloning dinosaurs in the lab?

"I know..." She sighed. "I know it's damn near impossible, but it fits to a T..." Kim still stared blankly at the book. "Hell, they even mention fish in here... Dear lord. No way." She shook her head. "...I... Guess I don't have any other option than to ask." Kim bit her lip, visibely a bit unhappy with THAT idea. "I... I don't know if I can do it. I've been keeping away from the staff for a reason, I mean, I don't want to throw them more opportunities to ******** with my mind. I saw this one woman who gave me pills and now I am having nightmares like crazy... and now this."

She definitively felt like she was going insane.

"They did what?" Cass stared. "I can't believe they would... geez. Like we don't have it hard enough."

She stared at the picture a moment. "I don't know. I can't think of any living animals that have a crest like that, but it just seems so... ridiculous."

"Well, im not sure, but the dreams started with the pills. Im going to stop taking them tonight. If they stop, then that would be definitively it."

Kim was sillent for a moment, then sighed again. "...This is insane... But... I need to know. I think you said you could come with me if I was going to ask the staff and all... Uh... Would you mind ? I... Ill'd feel a bit better if you where there and all."

Cass winced slightly. She was not looking forward to dealing with the staff anymore than necessary. "I'll come," she said, after a moment's hesitation. "If you want someone with you, then you should have someone, and I 'm here. I think it's better to know, in some ways."

"If you'lld ratter not, it's okay... I don't want you to feel forced or anything. I mean, I understand where you're coming from..." She definitively didn't want Cass to feel unconfortable.

"You asked, and I will." Cassidy nodded decisively. "Vasile went with me when I had my second change, and I don't think I could have without him. I had an appointment and everything, and I probably would have lost my nerve." Painful thought. Let it go.

Kim just nodded. "...Ill'd probably chicken out too. I tried before, but I kind of stared at the intercom for half an hour then just went on to do something else." It sucked to admit that... But at the same time, it was relieving to get it off her chest.

"I think it might be a better idea to go to my duplex... I don't expecially went people to walk on this." Expecially if it turns out less than stellar.

"I just sort of... well, almost angrily demanded an appointment, because I was still freaking out over the feathers." She laughed wryly. "But that's understandable and a good idea," Cassidy agreed. "This is not a public place... and it is a private subject."

"I can see where you're coming from here." Kim nodded, getting up to replace all the books she had taken, asside the one she had found the pterodactyl in. "Ill'd freak like hell if I sprouted feathers if I was supposed to be a snake... Hell, ill'd freak if I was sprouting feathers period. That can't be a wonderful feeling." She cringed at the thought, as she did her best to place the books in order. Once she was finally done with the task, she tucked the book she was keeping under her arm. "Well... I guess we should be going before I chicken out of it again..." She swallowed the lump that was forming into her throat.

"Right, that might be a good idea... Do you want one as well ?" She asked, motionning to take out two glasses.

Kim's duplex wasn't a shining example of orderly, but it wasn't really too bad either. The only real mess where books and games laying around.