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Emelyn had been so long in the water, floating and relaxing on the clear lake's surface- that her canine companion had taken to the shade, and slipped into a dreamless sleep. Every few minutes, the hedgehog-girl would turn one arm in the water, propelling her body into a lazy circle so that she might watch Reuben, assuring herself of his safety. But otherwise- it was a lazy day, and an easy one.

"And when the moonshines, over the cowshed... I'll be waiting at the k-k-kitchen door..." Emelyn sang to herself, letting the notes drift out over the still water as did her body. She let herself drift nearer to the shore, her eyes closed to the soft sun.

Were he awake, Reuben would have bounded out of his shady spot and licked the boy all over. However, the canine'd had a very long, very exhausting day, and was still curled into a ball in the cool grey stripe cast out by the tree's form. It was Emelyn, instead, who was alerted to the presence of someone new- simply by the sudden insertion of a new smell on the air, drifting over the water with the currents.

She let her legs sink into the water and swirled her arms until she was facing the shore- expecting to see one of her many islander friends, and so, a smile waited upon her lips. What she saw, though, nearly sank her.

The boy couldn't be more than 11 years old.

"Oh," Em said, the word escaping her in an exhale of surprise. Please let him be the son of one of the staffmembers... "Hello there."

"Hi Cody," Em said, treading water. She was only about ten feet away from shore- just close enough to talk to him comfortably- but also, far enough away that she wouldn't startle him. "My name's Emelyn, but everyone calls me Em. ...I didn't mean to surprise you. I know I must look a little strange to you, right?"

"Oh. Well, that's easy." Emelyn was somewhat calmed by the fact that the boy knew that she was partially animalistic. It was looking more likely that he was the son of one of the labworkers. "Hedgehog. If I came out of the water, you'd be able to see my spines a little better. But see?" She spun one arm to propell herself into a slow circle, revealing those spines that came from her neck and head.

"No, actually, they protect me." Emelyn said, the last words she said before breaking tread and swimming the last few feet to shore. It was obvious the boy wasn't afraid of her, and it was awkward to hold a conversation when one of the parties was nearly 75% under water.

Emelyn stepped up onto the shore gingerly, her clawed toenails automatically attempting to grasp the rocks as she climbed up onto the land. She sat beside Cody on his left side, so that the roughly hewn knife she'd tucked into the side of her bikini wouldn't show to the boy.

"I can put up the spines and keep other things away from me, if I wanted to. ...They only hurt if someone tries to rip them out. It's like your fingernails- you can cut them, and they don't hurt, but if you get too far down when you cut, or you try to rip them out, they hurt."

The question surprised her, and a bubble of laughter escaped from her proto-muzzle.

"Oh no. These suckers are pretty firmly lodged in there. The only way they come out is if someone yanks on 'em really hard- and then I bleed. Porcupines can release their quills, but not hedgehogs. ...If you want to touch one, you can. They're not actually that sharp."

She couldn't help but see how young he was- and that his arm was bandaged. It was that strip of white material that set her ill-at-ease once more. But her mind held the possibilty out- securing it as an impossibility- she couldn't let herself believe that Moreau could stoop to this level of monstrosity.

Emelyn's brows furrowed in concern- his words hadn't made much sense, and a strange look had come across his face.

"Cody, are you alright?"

Emelyn was silent, water dripping off her onto the rock on which they sat. Finally- here was an answer to why this child was here. Again... Emelyn thought of the picture of Moreau that had subsisted in her mind for so long- of a man with one foot in heaven and another in hell.

"...Is it just the neuropathy, or do you have vision and balance problems, as well? Would you like to stay here with me for a while, until it calms down?"

Emelyn, during one of her many stays in a foreign country, had lived only a few blocks away from the home of the legendary Jacqueline du Pre, the British cellist who had lost her life to the awful condition. It was not unfamiliar to her.

With the sound of his master's voice, Reuben stirred. Before he had a chance to even stretch properly, his floppy brown and white ears perked up and he made a beeline for the little boy, wagging his tail ferociously. Luckily, Em caught him in time to prevent him from knocking Cody over- but Reuben still strained against his collar, wiggling to try to reach the exceedingly green-eyed boy.

"Neuropathy," Em said again, pronouncing it delicately and without sounding condescending, "it means the numbness that you get on your fingers. Some people get it on their toes, too. ...My sister used to have it. Neuropathy- not MS," she explained simply. She didn't elaborate that it had been an effect of her sister's chemo.

"His name is Reuben. He keeps me company out here. ...Do you like dogs? Because I think he likes you." The mutt was indeed spasming gleefully beneath the boy's touch, ecstatic to feel the attention of someone new.

While Em reigned the enthusiastic dog back from his warpath of glee, her mind was also rife with thought. ...So he had been brought to the island- likely alone. It nearly broke her heart. A faint glimmer sparked when he said he'd like her to stay with him until his episode passed- but there wasn't nearly enough light in that glimmer to illuminate what was an essentially bleak situation.

Emelyn understood this change in his mood. It was too coincidental that he mentioned his mother and suddenly became teary eyed. Emelyn put an arm around his shoulder, feeling innately and fiercly protective of the boy already.

"Well, any time you want to play with Reuben, you can. In fact, you can even take him back to your duplex with you some nights, if you don't want to be alone. ...Not that you'll ever be alone. You know that there are a lot of us here who will look out for you, right? I bet you've met some already who care about you."

"See? They're all great people. You can go to any of them whenever you need something. We'll all be here for you, no matter where you are on the island." She held him close, tipping her head down to rest gently on his, musing on his list of 'have mets'. She didn't recognize the name Thom- and sadly thought that there must be more than just this poor child to grace Hell Island's shores.

"And don't worry about Reuben. He loves company. He'd miss me if he was away for too long- but if you ever needed him, it would be just like a sleepover." She resisted the urge to brush some of the blonde hair away from his forehead tenderly- she was already feeling so protective of him.

"There are some people that you can go to at any time, and they'll not think you're bothering them. Ambrose and Amaya, most definitely. And I'm not easy to find- because I don't live in the village anymore... but I'm... here for you, too." Emelyn had almost said that she would 'always be there'- but truly, how could she make that promise when Cody would have no way to reach her? For the first time since the moment she said goodbye to the village after the lockout, Em had doubts about her choices, and whether she could serve a greater purpose in the village.

"...Are you in a duplex by yourself, Cody?"

"Well, I live out here. Up in the mountains, in a cave- and out in the open, here. It's easier now that I have more animal in me. ...Do you like being in the duplex?"

"Good, well, I'm glad you like having a room to yourself." Emelyn, who had dried off somewhat from sitting under the sun, pulled her goggles up off her forehead and back into the mass of quills. She leaned back onto her hands, and thought of a way to answer Cody's question.

"Well, when I say 'the animal in me', I just mean... by how much more animal-like I'm becoming. Sometimes the people here on the island call the animal and themselves by two different names- just to separate them, to still feel like themselves. We don't just look like animals- we all sort of act like them, a little bit. Which is why I can pull my spines up to protect myself. ...And why, if you see someone who looks like they're dangerous, or like they're going hunting- you should hide, or get help. Not everyone on the island is like Amaya and Ambrose."

Emelyn wanted to snatch the words from the air- there was no need to scare him... but it would also be irresponsible, she knew, to tell Cody that everyone on the island was friendly and safe- when she knew very well that there were dangers to be found.

"They don't always hunt others- only very rarely when one of the predators gets very hungry, do they slip and run after someone," Emelyn said, trying to be delicate but also warning, "but mostly, they hunt for animals- little ones, because they eat meat, now. Like Ambrose. He wouldn't hurt anyone, but sometimes he goes hunting so he can eat."

Em looked at the little boy and his wide green eyes, framed by that halo of white blonde hair. He was so precious and inquisitive- and saddled with such a condition... that despite what it meant for his life, Emelyn could almost be somewhat glad that he was here, that he had a chance at a new life. ...Almost. Those parentless eyes, wide with questions- nearly ripped the answers right out of Emelyn. But she strung together something, anyway, as Reuben settled down to a comfortable lay between them, rolling upwards to get his belly scratched.

"Well, you'll act a little bit like one, yes. Take on some of the physical traits. But if you're turning into a dolphin, I think that means you'll be very happy, and able to do some great things. But you'll still be you."

"Yeah... dolphins can jump, and they can send out high pitched sounds underwater to be able to 'see' things by the way the echos come back to you... let's see- dolphins can ride waves, too. That's a lot more than a hedgehog can do," Emelyn said, smiling. She'd since taken her arm from around Cody's shoulder, and brought it down to scratch Reuben in a sensitive spot he had, just under his left front leg.

"Ooh... almost a year I got by without someone comparing me to Sonic," Em laughed. "Well... I can go a little quicker than I used to- but not nearly as fast as Sonic. But I can do a lot of boring stuff, like being able to tell what foods are poisonous and which aren't- and to curl up in a ball. And I can see in the dark really, really well. Hedgehogs are nocturnal- which means they're out at night, usually."

"I really like that one, too. That way, whenever Reuben needs to go out in the middle of the night, I can walk him down the mountain- or I can go out for walks in the middle of the night and see everything clearly."

"You know what? I really don't know. But seas can get pretty dark, so I bet that they can sort of 'see' in the dark with their echolocation. But it's something you could probably look up."

Emelyn returned the hug, shocked to feel the tiny body against hers- and a wave of something that she couldn't quite place rushed through her. How was this 21 year old- who had always lived for herself, practically reeking of the smell of independence- to understand that maternal feeling? It was animalistic, it was strong... but whether that animal was human or hedgehog... she'd never know. She barely understood the desire to protect Cody and hug him and find some way to make his world make sense again. Her mind was swimming- and all she could serve to do now was to release her hold on him, and give herself time to think about it all.

"You're really welcome. I'm so glad I met you. ...Come and see me again soon, okay? Or I'll have to come and bring Reuben to spend some time with you." She beamed, and reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately.