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Island of Moreau Vice Captain
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 Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:03 pm
Your last change, while perhaps not as torturous as many of the other islanders, was certainly no walk in the park. The massive gain of musculature in such a brief period of time and the shifting of your body mass left an impression and the memory of the pain that is still hard to shake. When you wake up again in a cold sweat with your muscles aching, its like the nightmare has rewoken. Pain, thankfully, is a difficult sensation to fully remember once it is over. But once your change begins again, that memory comes back in spades. Once again, your upper body begins to swell, the muscles bulging and your bones grinding, the process leaving you laughably misproprotioned by any human standard, and standing much taller on your shorter legs. Your nose flattens as your skull widens, and your head throbs as a small ridge along the top of your skull rises under the skin, tethering your bulging jaw muscles. But all that is hardly visable under your thickening, dark hair that curls over your head and shoulders in a distinctly... simian.. pattern. 
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 9:09 am
Inescapable
30.12.06 - Oz is now a 'halfie' Osbourne Caldwell Another Christmas alone, this one even more alone than the last. At least last year, he could drown his sorrows with work mates and even managed a meager Christmas dinner. But he was only to blame for this one. He'd avoided the Christmas party and chose beer as his bedfellow. No major lagging side-effects of his Christmas drink to speak of and a strangely desperate urge to be with others, Oz had a quick hot shower and threw some of his scruffier clothing on. He'd been prey to some feverish nightmares, once more consisting of only flashes of teeth, of claws, of blood, of bone. Nothing about them made sense, and the ache within his muscles upon waking made even less sense. His bedsheets were a little damp and he felt clammy all over. Not even some mornign stretches could chase away the aches. It must be a summer flu or something. I hope it isn't bird flu or cat flu...A quick painkiller raid at the medical centre, and a food raid from the cafeteria, Oz arrived at the construction site, rolling his shoulders to loosen up his muscles. He looked around for anyone he knew, or anyone to help. Marshall_Green It was about this time that Marshall, still a little weary from yesterday's festivities, found himself yet again on the construction site. Despite the fact that he detested physical labor, it gave him some thing to do. Besides, it was actually kind of fun when he didn't have to dig holes. The bird-boy released a small yawn as he looked around, seeing a familiar, all be it newer, face.
"G'mornin' Ozzy." Marshall said, waving with his 'bad' hand, the one that was practically a flipper. Gaius Harper Gaius rounded towards the table he kept the blueprints on, needing to make sure the framework was all going in as planned. Once that got underway, things would start coming together... Hearing Marshall's call, he craned his long neck up, bending it farther than would be humanly possible, and caught Oz out of the corner of his eye. He smiled, then turned back to the plans. Another day of work... Osbourne Caldwell Marshall was hard to miss, even for Oz's flu-clogged brain. He smiled as he walked over, that image of the penguin boy leaping a mile in his feathers the other night providing entertainment. "So I'm not so scary today then?" he teased. Oz did not look as well as he could have. Sure, grey skin wasn't exactly fashionable or healthy looking, but he looked particularly sallow and baggy eyed. A little clammy too. Marshall_Green "Eh heh heh...With your mug? You're always scary lookin'." Marshall joked, not noticing how Oz looked rather sickly. This was only the second time meeting the large gray man, how was he supposed to tell what he looked like regularly.
"So, lets go get our pay-less labor for the day!" Marshall chuckled, hands on the back of his head as he walked over to his long-necked friend. Osbourne Caldwell "Ha! You're the one with a beak for a mouth and you're calling ME scary?" he replied wittily, rather quickly for his small skull cavity. He shuffled along behind Marshall as they approached Gaius for their assignment for the day. Gaius Harper "I heard that," snorted Gaius amusedly as the two walked over, his long ears twitching up. "If you think you're up to it, we need to finish clearing out the dirt in the stage area and get those supports stuck in the edges. Think you two can handle that?" Marshall_Green "Ugh, MORE digging? I'm a bird, not a mole y'know!" Marshall joked as he picked up a shovel that was left lying in the open. "Alrighty. Oh, Gaius, um...You got my gift, right?" Gaius Harper "Bah, you're a penguin, not an eagle. You can dig as well as the rest of us!" he teased back, then his expression grew softer. "Yeah, I got it. It really... means a lot. Thanks." Hiding the sentimental feelings again, he waved a hand at the two. "Alright you grunts, get to work! I want this thing finished before summer, you know!" Osbourne Caldwell Oz rolled his eyes and shook his head at Marshall's little moan about digging. "A little hard labour never hurt anyone, you wuss," he teased, nudging Marshall playfully. "You hear what 'the boss guy' said, grunt work for us. Know the words to Heigh-Ho?" A hearty chuckle resonated in his cavernous chest as he headed towards the dig site, picking up a shovel as he went. Despite the nightmares that wouldn't leave his memory, or this flu that was plaguing his muscles, he was quite cheerful. Maybe he was subconsciously making up in karma for being a miserable git the other day. Marshall_Green "Finished before summer? Psh, you'll be lucky if its done by New Years NEXT year!" Marshall joked as he followed Oz, his shovel resting on his shoulder. "And if you break out into song I'm so outta here." Marshall snickered, glad about how today was going. Calm and peaceful; just the way he liked it. Osbourne Caldwell "Hey, I have a good singing voice I'll have you know," he laughed, obviously bluffing. "'Heigh-Ho! Heigh-Ho! Its off to work we go-'" Oz just couldn't resist. This was like the good old days, being able to just lark about without much else to care about. He hopped down into the foundation hole, shovel slung across his shoulder like Marshall, and set about digging straight away. "You got Gaius a gift for Christmas?" he asked whilst digging. He'd received a few gifts himself. Gaius Harper Gaius chuckled and shook his head. At least the antics meant they were in good spirits, and that meant good work. He only hoped they'd stick to the measurements and he cast a frown down at the table. While they were making good progress... it was still slow, to Gaius' eyes. So much excess effort, couldn't they do things more efficiently? The nails alone were getting eaten up like popcorn... Of course, what the architect-turned-pegasus failed to recall that these were volunteer workers, not even trained in this field, and of course far differed from the co-workers he'd built beside in years past. Marshall_Green "Huh? Oh...Yeah. Nothing much. I just burnt him a DVD, thats all." Marshall said, "And dude? Don't quit your day-job to become a Lounge Singer." he chuckled as he moved his first (today, at least) shovel full of earth.
"What did you get? A Coconut, perhaps?" Marshall asked with a small smirk. Osbourne Caldwell "Heh, we don't have lounges in the UK. Its the west end or pubs...or cabaret," he said, with a mock shudder to emphasis the sheer embarrassment of being a cabaret singer. Oz's digging abilities put Marshall to shame, simply because he could lift it with more ease after his muscle expansion. He was finding the going a little rough today though, stopping intermittedly to rub at his shoulders or his neck, or to scratch at inflamed skin along his arms. That had only developed in the past hour, possibly from the heat. "Ah yes, the personalised coconut. Makes me wish I'd made some kind of effort for Christmas," he said, speaking with regret. A part of him hoped he'd been missed at Christmas or something, but he wouldn't be disappointed if they hadn't noticed his absence. Marshall_Green "Eh, you didn't miss much. Apart from a painted rock from some dude named Cody and Gaius' coconut? No presents. Though they had a tree set up in the caf, which is kinda nice, I guess." Marshall shrugged, not noticing how much more efficient Oz was at digging. At least not at first.
"Wow. I think thats deep enough...Maybe?" he said, glancing over at Oz's patch of dirt. Osbourne Caldwell "I used to love Christmas. Just the whole atmosphere and things. The food, of course. And the lights and decorations. My dog Winston used tp love rolling in all the wrapping paper on Christmas morning," he said, recalling better times with evident fondness. Oz had come to a stop, jamming his shovel into the ground and resting on the handle. He spoke with such a longing about his past, yet with no hint of sadness. Had the discussion with Zach put things into a new perspective? "Yeah, I think we can put one of those support things in now," he said surveying their hard work. Suddenly, Oz felt something warm trickle down his lip. With a damp t-shirt from sweat, he assumed it to be the same substance. But then a metallic taste tinged his lips. His nose was bleeding. Marshall_Green "W-Woah! Ozzy, you alright?! Maybe you should, um...Go lie down or some thing?!" Marshall stammered, dropping his shovel. Bloody Noses only happened from heat-strokes or some thing, right? Never a good sign! Osbourne Caldwell Oz fumbled about his jean pockets for a handkerchief or a packet of tissues, he was certain he had something, whilst his other hand stopped the flow of blood. It wasn't as bad as previous bleeds have been, but it was almost a year since his last nose bleed. "I'll be fine," he insisted through a clasped nose. After finally finding the tissues in the crevice of his pocket, he'd plugged his nose in a temporary, if humorous, fashion. "See? I'll be fine. This happens some time, the pitfalls of breaking your nose on the field," he insisted, with a forced calmness. One nostril blocked with tissue did nothing for him. And before Marshall could say or do anything, Oz had already clambered back out of the foundation pit and headed for the wooden beams. "You just be ready for this, alrght?" Marshall_Green Marshall would be lying if he said he had full confidence in Oz at the moment. Mostly because he looked like some sort of walking gag, with two blood-stained tissues sticking out of his nose. But Oz was pretty confident in himself, so might as well trust him, right?
"Uh, right, sure!" Marshall said meekly. Osbourne Caldwell Oz was just as concerned about the nose bleed as Marshall was, but he didn't outwardly show it. At least not whilst he was working. If he was going to make a fuss, it would be later or on a break. After a quick scan for the wooden beams used in the foundation support, Oz suddenly found himself feeling very feverish. He wafted himself with his large hands and even undid the top of his polo shirt a little more to get more air. But to no avail. The aches he had temporarily displaced came back with a vengence, shooting right up his spine. He'd already hesitated somewhat in his objective, and didn't want to keep Marshall waiting any longer. He wrapped one arm about the a wooden beam and lifted it until he was comfortable, dragging the heavy wood at a slow pace over to the pit. He'd done harder things in endurance training...but that was at least 8 years ago now. With a great huff, he dropped the beam to the ground and looked down to Marshall, puffing to get his breath back. "You...ready...for...this?" Marshall_Green "Y-Yeah...Sure...Just, um...Be careful..." Marshall said, every fiber of his being telling him that this wasn't a good idea, that Oz WASN'T okay, and that the nose-bleed did mean some thing. But the last thing he wanted to do was slow down production. And besides, he was just worrying too much, right? Oz was fine! Really.
He edged towards the wall of the hole, getting in position. Osbourne Caldwell Oz waved off the helpful warning from Marshall as the penguin boy being paranoid. Construction accidents could be nasty, and no one here was equipped with hard hats. But it was one little beam of wood, what could possibly go wrong? He felt this called for grabbing the beam and lowering it down vertically, so that all Marshall had to do was guide it into the hole and then secure it with dirt. So, with a renewed determination to overcome his flu-ish symptoms, the nose-bleed included in that, Oz lifted the beam and then got it to balance so he could 'bear-hug' it and then carry it over bit by bit. Teetering at the edge, he lined himself up with Marshall, who he assumed to be standing by the waiting hole. He began to lower the beam... Marshall_Green Marshall looked up, thinking he was in the right place. Just a little off, nothing too bad. Right?
"O-Okay Oz...Just lower it down..." Marshall said, wishing Gaius hadn't given him this job. Or at least given him this job with Oz. Newton Filinas Newt had come up with several attempts for pulleys using whatever materials he could put his webbed hands on, a was carrying them in a bag made from one of his old too-small shirts over his shoulder for Gaius to give his opinion on. At the sight of Marshall across the construction sight, the frog perked up. Gaius looked buisy anyway- he could affoard to take a quick stop for a hello. He hopped over, ready to show off his handywork and see what his friend had been up to when he noticed Marshall wasn't alone. "Ah..." His words were cut off by a shy krrKIT. Osbourne Caldwell Time just seemed to stop. All noise became tinny and muffled. All sight became blurry. He couldn't be sure what came first - the gut-wrenching sound, or the searing burning in his back. He clawed at his shirt and back, as if trying to scratch at something beneath the surface. The crippling pain doubled him over and he was awahs with an increasing sense of unbalance. Oz let go of the beam, sending it hurtling down to Marshall at a less than vertical angle. The sound? Bones. Each crack of his spine echoed all the way through him. Clenched at his stomach to make him retch. Strangled his lungs to make him cough. Wrap around his throat to make him wheeze. Marshall_Green "Oz watch ou-!" Marshall didn't get to finish his sentence as the large plank of wood came flying down. A loud crunch could be heard, as the ill prepared Marshall went slamming into the ground. His left arm, his "good" arm, was where the sound came from. An unnatural bend happened right between his wrist and elbow.
"...AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!" Marshall screamed in pain, holding his shoulder with his mitten-like hand, eyes shut. He had never broken a bone before, and judging by this, he would never want to again. Marshall's arm had some how gotten in the wrong place when the plank fell, snapping the hollow bird bone. Gaius Harper Gaius had his back to the gathering as they worked, his attention elsewhere, until Marshall's scream made him jump. He spun around, ears and wings raised tensely, his eyes darting to the source of the noise. He began hurrying over, dropping the pencil and papers in his hands. "What happened?" Such a simple question... with not such a simple answer. Newton Filinas "Muh-muh-muh-MARSHALL!" Newt dropped his cargo in shock and for a breif moment had the sudden urge to hop away as fast as he could. Fortunatly, he had enough wits about him to leap forward instead to quickly try to help his friend. Oh no! Oh NO oh no oh no!! He hardly glanced to the fallen Oz on his way past. Osbourne Caldwell The situation that was unfolding could barely penetrate the veil of pain and confusion that had now consumed Oz. He pulled the blood-soaked tissues from his nose, the thick red liquid seeping down his features, mixing with spit as his jaws tensed and laxed in spasms with new growth. Writhing in pain, he grasped at his shirt. Tear it away, get cool air to fiery skin. But he wasn't quick enough. Seams ripped as muscles bulged. Intense burning and itching about his neck as thick, black fur began to force itself through thickening skin. He clawed at his every muscle, trying to rip them away if he could. What he wouldn't give for talons right now... CRACK! Another massive convulsion in his spine. His legs went numb. Gaius Harper His mind racing with possible remedies as he rushed over, Gaius' attention was first on Marshall. Once he got to the edge of the pit, he could see the boy clutching his right arm, a grimace twisting his od beak-lip combination. Gaius cursed under his breath, his concern jumping to a new level of panic. But then he caught sight of Oz, hard to miss as he writhed. With widening eyes, Gaius stared as the man seemed to re-enact something that belonged only in comic books and horror movies, his very body tearing the shirt around him. The horse-man stood frozen in place, even his own friend temporarily knocked from his awareness as he watched. The only movement he made was a foot shifting back, nose and wings quivering, looking like a horse ready to bolt, but the instinct wasn't enough to move him. Not yet. Newton Filinas "Muh-muh-Marshall, are... y-you're... ah... I sh-should... ah!" He panicked, trying to be usefull, but couldn't think of a thing besides searching to see if anyone could do better. He first spotted Gaius nearby, but he seemed preoccupied with something across the hole. The man Marshall had been working with- he... he was... "Ah...KrrKIT!!" Osbourne Caldwell Was he alert enough to notice the numbness in his legs? Or the now sweat and urine soaked jeans? Pain only seemed to swamp him from his belly-button upwards now. Maybe it was a blessing...maybe he was losing his legs. CRACK! Another shift in his spine and his legs tingled back into life...but his arms fell limp now. Thick muscle expanded into tight skin along his back and shoulders, burning like acid. More bone crunching sounds as his hips and shoulders widened even further! Patches of darker grey beagn to sweep across the exposed flesh like a virus. CRACK! His arms were back but to what effect. The pain was unbearable as he rolled onto his back, arched un-naturally as it continued to lengthen. Through all this, not a human sound came from Oz. "SOMEBODY! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! STOP! PLEASE!" Thats what he tried to say. What came from him instead was a frightful mix of inhuman growls and screams, gruff, hoarse whispers. Gaius Harper Gaius's ears flattened back and he clutched them to his head. He could hear it. He could hear each shift of the bone, each crack as it grew. Panic had overwhelmed his senses now and he stood helpless, wrapped in half-real nightmares. Oz was changing. He was changing. His neck was growing, all over again, the vertebrae aching with remembered trauma. He clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to will away the living nightmare. Bitter sweat and a piercing saline stench pierced his nose, all mixed with what he could only vaguely tell was fear. His own or that of the people around him, it mattered not. He couldn't get the sound out of his ears. Newton Filinas Newt couldn't tear his eyes away at the horror of the contorting figure, his throat dancing and his eyes wide and trembling. He couldn't find his voice, ribbiting and croaking and KrrKITing as he trembled on the spot, quaking in his jumper. He couldn't smell very well, nor hear, but he could hear well enough for the occasional gut-wrenching snap and pop nearby of expanding chemical reaction. Osbourne Caldwell Everything was coming to a climax. His neck and shoulders burned with all the new fur. His back was assaulted by metaphorical drills and hammers, chipping away at his very insides. New muscle began to anchor itself. His skin, whilst dark grey, seemed sore from the rapid expansion. He was 'lucky' this time none of his scars reopened. In fact, the thicker skin fortified them, even the intense scarring on his knee. Oz grasped his head with disturbingly lengthened hands, feeling every new muscle spasm in his jaw, feeling the bone above his eyes protude from what was once a human profile. A further extrusion was the budding saggital crest, where a silverback's jaw muscles were anchored for strength. Thick, bloodied drool seeped from a mouth he couldn't control. He shuddered and twitched all over. Surely this was it... CRACK! The final change to his spine sent him reeling into a horrifying scream of pain, so primal and inhuman...a deep roar from the very depths of his inner gorilla. Oz could no longer pass as a human or 'normie.' He was laughably misproportioned, laying weakly on the ground in a twitching mass. Neither beast nor man. Gaius Harper The man's pained scream snapped through Gaius, eliciting a mirroring one from him, a high whinying shriek, but it was cut off before Oz had finished. Somehow the jolt had knocked Gaius back to some kind of sense, and with adrenaline coursing in his body, everything around him became hyper-clear. Now was the time for decision. Leaping to Oz's side, Gaius jabbed a finger at Newt. "Take Marshall to the town center and call the labs! Get them down here! NOW!" Then he turned back to Oz, grabbing one of the rags of the guy's shirt to wipe the blood that was trickling down his face and clotting in his new hair. "Damnit to hell..." he gritted. The guy was practically having a fit. Then he grabbed another piece of cloth and a stick of scrap wood from nearby, wrapping the length of it, and held the thing to the big man's face. "Bite on this Oz, or else you might get your tongue!" Newton Filinas "Ah... krrKIT! I... Ah... KrrKIT!" Newt floundered and flailed, blinking in terror from Gaius to Oz and then to the spot Gaius had been and then back to now Gaius and Oz together, "I... I w-what?" Marshall! Marshall's arm! But that man just- but Marshall's arm- flipper-arm - which ever... With another useless ribbit, he managed to hop to action once Gaius's orders permiated his head, "Ah... c-c-cuh-can you w-w-woo-wuh-wuh-wah-walk?" At least he could form words at all! Osbourne Caldwell Finally, sound and vision returned as the pain ebbed away. But it wasn't functional. He could make out only snippets and syllables of Gaius' commands to the stone-stiff Newt, and the horseman himself was only a fuzzy blob. His eyes rolled about in his skull as if he was being spun around, unable to focus on anything. Gaius brought the wood to Oz's mouth...but he did nothing. Jaw muscles twitched and pulsed but remained lifeless and limp, drool continuing to slide from his slack jaw. Movement! Oz could at leats move his limbs amidst the shivers, but he couldn't do anything productive. When an attempt to bring a bulky arm up to Gaius resulted in searing pain, he simply shut down. He'd had enough and his brain just said no. He fell into unconsciousness. Marshall_Green Marshall's cries silenced as he watched Oz's change, horrified and disturbed as any of the others. But his arm...There was no ignoring it, really. "Erg...Ow..." Marshall grunted, looking at it. Even under the fluff of feathers, and his cheap cotton shirt, it was obviously swollen. And even brushing it hurt like the dickens.
"s**t...I-I think its broke or...Some thing..." Marshall said, rolling up his sleeve gingerly. Yeah, it was clearly a break. Newton Filinas "Guh-guh-gaius s-ss-suh-" It was no use. He couldn't speak when he was like this! With a pointed ribbit, he grabbed Marshall's good hand, leaping forward to drag him away towards the path that lead back to the village, "C-cuh-cuh-co-comeon!" Gaius Harper "Ah, damn..." Gaius tossed aside the wood as Oz went limp, his heart catching in his long throat. However, a quick check of the guy's chest proved he was still breathing. Good. He looked up to see Newt dragging Marshall away. "Hurry!" he called. Looking back down at the body beside him, Gaius grimaced. Oz was already big... He couldn't risk moving him, not after that trauma. He cast a glance at Oz's face, but quickly looked away. It hurt to admit... it frightened him. All that hair, the dark skin, flaked and crusted with dry blood, and the slack expression... He arched his neck down and ran a hand over his face. "Damn, Oz..." Marshall_Green "A-ARGH! DAMNIT NEWT!" Marshall barked, pulling his hand free of his grasp. "If its broken, moving fast is the last thing I want to do! O-Or some thing like that! Just go by yourself, okay?!" Marshall yelled, still holding his arm. Today had gone from great to...Well, a steaming pile of s**t was kind of an understatement. Newton Filinas At the sudden release of the weight he had been pulling along, Newt toppled feet-over-head, but managed to scramble up into a crouch again, "B-buh-buh-but G-g-gaius s-said- krrKIT!" Gaius Harper "Damnit Marshall!" Gaius shouted after the two as they slowed. Pushing himself up from his knealing position, he rounded on them, wings flaring up. "You need to get care from the labs!" "NEWT!" He turned his attention on the froggy man. "Go ahead to the clinic and get them to call the labs! Marshall, you go after him, they'll give you some pain killer until the labs can pick you up! Now go, Oz needs help!" Marshall_Green Part of Marshall wanted to argue with Gaius, that he didn't need help from the labs. But from the looks of it, the longer Oz was left unattended the worst off he would be, and arguing would do nothing but hold them up.
"Al-Alright!" Marshall nodded to Gaius, before motioning to Newt to (pardon my French) haul a**. Newton Filinas That was all Newt needed. He could hop off easier on his own, anyway, and it was rather impressive just how far and fast the frog could jump befor he dissappeared from sight. He didn't stop untill he came to the village square, heading straight for where he knew was a public intercom to place the call.
The crackling voice of the guard on duty came up with a short but professional, "What do you want?"
"Ch-ch-ch-chuh-cha... he... w-woo-we n-nuh..."
"What? I can't understand you."
"I... I... I'm t-tt-t-t-truh-" Newt swallowed, giving a trembling ribbit.
The guard checked the monitors for the cameras in shot of the incoming intercom caller, and cracked a smile at the jumper. "Oh yeah. It's you."
Throat puffing out in frustration, the frog man gathered his wits, inhaling deeply befor he managed, "W-we've g-got... w-wuh-woo-woo-wounded p-puh-people!"
"What?"
"Wuh-woo-wuh-woo-wounded p-people!!" Newt's eyes were streaming with the effort of forcing his mouth to obey him. "D-down... at... at th-the con-con-con-"
But the guard was already skimming the monitors, and sure enough, there was Marshall and his arm and Oz laying by the islander-dug hole in the ground. "We'll send a jeep down. Should be there in ten minutes."
"H-huh-hurry!!" Newt urged, relieved help was coming at the very least.
The man's patience for Newt's stutter had long worn thin, though, and the call was cut befor he even managed to get the word out. Gaius Harper Back at the site, Gaius remained at Oz's side, if only to make sure nothing came after him while he was helpless. He'd watched Marshall go off, hoping the boy would get the proper attention he needed... Deep worry lines creased the normally clear face. At last, after what seemed far too long, a jeep from the labs drove up, expelling several guards. They hustled around Oz, one driving Gaius back with a wave of his gun. "He's just out of it, nothing too bad," said one of the guards. "He doesn't need to go back with us." Gaius glowered, opening his mouth to protest that Oz was, in fact, in bad condition after a fit like that. Couldn't they see the blood?! But he was silenced by the guard brandishing a the gun again and was forced to back up another step as the men grunted and huffed as they picked up Oz's massive body and dumped it unceremoniously in the back of the jeep. "Alright boys, take 'im to his room!" With that, the jeep rumbled off towards the village, leaving Gaius alone on the edge of the construction site. Once back in his duplex, the guards afforded Oz no senstivity or delicateness in his handling. In fact, because of his unsightly appearance, the overpowering odour of sweat and urine, and the threat of a drool attack, they wanted to be rid of him as soon as possible. If they did only one thing right, it was that they'd propped Oz's head up on his pillows, so that there was little to no risk of him choking on his own tongue or saliva. He was now too long for his bed, and almost too wide, his feet hanging over the end and his arms spread-eagled. Thats how they left him. A crude check on his breathing and heart rate, just to make sure he was still alive, and they were out the door. Alone. In darkness. A coma like state, unable to rouse any kind of conscious thought. Left to be tortured by the memory of his own screams, so inhuman in origin. Neither man nor beast capable of that mangled roar.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:18 pm
Waking Goliath
03.01.07 - Having slept straight through the New Year, Oz finally has the will to live What was the driving force that penetrated the death-like darkness over Oz? A desire to keep living? A need to see others again? Just a stubborness to 'win?' If only it was so noble... Oz licked his dry lips only to find his mouth, his whole body infact, devoid of proper moisture. He was desperately thirsty, and was just pushing the limits of dehydration as it was. With the primal screams of his own vocal chords still ringing through his head, he opened his eyes and gazed blearily around the room. The room...the room! He wasn't at the construction site! Someone must have brought him back here after everything went dark for him. But...where were they now...? Surely...he wouldn't be left alone...and unconscious...where was this somebody he needed. His limbs felt like lead. His back felt broken. Just what else could go wrong with him? With his first attempt to rouse his limbs, it failed miserably and ended in sharp pain up the length of his arm. Breathing heavily and with a slight grimace on his face, not matching the still slack-jaw, he grew very frustrated at this turn of events...and found aggitated growls emanating from his chest. After trying hopelessly for at least 30 mins, the crushing need for water became ever increasingly important. The mini-fridge was stocked...if only he could get the strength...he slumped, overwhelmed by fatigue and began to whimper piteously.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:39 pm
What a New Years it had been. Oh yes indeed, Gaius thought moodily to himself, stretching an arm up to overcome the expanse of neck to gulp from the beer bottle he was holding. After the disaster some days ago, Gaius had been loathe to hang around the construction site, only visiting it briefly, and as quickly leaving. Half his work force was gone... injured or scared away.
"D-Damn labs..." he mumbled, staggering back through the village, returning from a trek to the beach bar. He hadn't celebrated the New Year, hardly noting its passing. He justified this indulgence in alcohol as 'making up for it.' And with his thought process muddled by the several cans he'd already downed, it was easy to make angry assumptions. This was all the labs doing. Once again, trying to destroy what he'd done... hurting those close to him because of their help. People like Marshall... Or Oz...
"Ozz..." Gaius rolled his head towards the duplexes. The man... he hadn't checked on him... how many days had it been? Had they even brought him back, or dumped him in the jungle for Annie to feed on? His unsteady feet turned towards the man's duplex and a bit of uneven walking brought him to Oz's door. Leaning against the frame, Gaius pounded on the door with the butt of the empty bottle. "Oz! Oz-man, you alive in there? Or have you been eaten by the wolf?" A too-loud laugh errupted from Gaius, pausing and stuttering like a braying animal. Oh yes, how witty he was in his own muddled mind.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:46 pm
The door had been left unlocked and slightly ajar by the guards, so the force of Gaius' knocking was enough to make it open further more. And the sound of his voice was much welcome to Oz's ears.
The slightly odd whimpering noise continued, but in a more excited tone, almost like a dog who couldn't wait to see its owner. Thank god! Someone was here! Oz tried to move his jaw, his mouth, his tongue, anything to make a sound, and whilst the swelling in his jaw was not so severe, it ached almost too much to use.
"Its o'en! O..p.en!" he struggled to say, disregarding the 'wolf' comment for now simply because he had something more pressing on his mind.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:57 pm
Gaius squinted in the duplex, ears craning up at the whimpering sound. What was making that noise...? Somewhere in his fuzzy mind it occured to him that it might been a dog, and that reminded him that Vixen was somewhere outside, having accompanied him down to the beach and back, though he'd forgotten about her in his bitter inebriated ponderings. Turning his head back to the outside, he gave a sharp whistle and shout. "HOY! Vix! C'mere!"
Without waiting for the dog, Gaius turned back in, pushing himself off the frame. A quick fumble against the wall found the light switch, flipping on. The horse-man was clad in dirty worn jeans that were fraying at the knees and a crudely-altered old college football t-shirt hung around his neck. Considering his current state, the man's next comment was quite ironic. "Geeze, Oz... you look like hell."
Moving in to sit side-ways in the available chair, Gaius set down the six-pack he'd been dangling in his fingers, a lopsided smirk crossing his face. "So, this is what you've been doing, eh? Lazing about, hiding from work? Well I've caught you red-handed, what you gonna do now?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:05 pm
If Oz could have seen himself, he would have agreed with Gaius about his appearance. The blood from his nose still hadn't been properly cleaned from his new fur, and had formed a rather icky crust around his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. Not to mention the disturbing slackness of his jaw.
As much as Oz would have risen to this playful banter, he needed something from Gaius first. He lifted, or tried to lift, a great bulky arm, extending a distinctly simian finger to point at the mini-fridge in the corner.
"...at.er....war...ta...."
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:18 pm
Raising a confused eyebrow, Gaius followed the finger slowly, turning his head to look at what he was pointing at, then back at the hairy man, then back at the fridge.
After a long pause, it clicked. "Oh! Riiight, water. Why didn'tja just say so?"
Getting to his feet again, Gaius went to the minifridge, grabbing one of the water bottles while sliding the six-pack inside for later. He waved the bottle lazily as he walked back towards the bed, swaying just a little on his tip-toe stance. "So lazy you can't even go to the fridge, eh? What you need is a recliner and a TV..."
A sudden pounding up the stairs drowned out whatever else he was gonna say. A mottled blur dashed through the door, knocking Gaius off balance with her eagerness as she ran past him and went straight for the bed, getting her front legs up on it and shoving her nose in the gorilla-man's face as she snuffled this new being eagerly.
"Vix, damnit!" Gaius muttered from where he'd fallen against the bed-side table, pushing himself back up. "Get down from there. Let the guy have some room to breathe!"
Vixen's ears twitched back, her smile fading as she looked apologetic under the scolding, and pulled back off the bed as Gaius held the closed water bottle out to Oz, not realizing he couldn't rightly hold it yet. "Hope this was what you were wanting, and not water spelled V-O-D-K-A, 'cause I'm not going back to the beach bar for that..."
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:29 pm
The wave of relief just washed over Oz as water was finally within his reach, literally. Things could finally start sinking in since he no longer had a priority on his mind. The six-pack that Gaius slipped into the mini-fridge didn't go un-seen by Oz, and it had entered his mind to drink away the pain. But after so much dehydration and so little food...? Not a good idea really.
"I...I'm...no'.t...la.zy..." he said, trying harder to move his jaw.
A dog! Where did that come from?
Vixen's inquisitive sniffling and wet nose tickled Oz's thick-skinned face, bringing a lop-sided and weak smile. He tried to bring a hand to Vixen, to stroke her like he used to stroke his great dane Winston, but she was called down before he had chance. Determined to regain control over his body quickly, the concentration evident on his face spelled only one thing - he kept his arm out and his hand ready for the bottle of water.
He felt the plastic on his finger tips. He thought he had closed his huge paw around it...he had a grip on the bottle, but it was incredibly weak, and mere inches from putting the bottle on his bed, it fell from his grasp onto the floor.
"'ugger!"
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:35 pm
"Whoopa!" Gaius called as the bottle fell. "Careful!" Grabbing up the bottle, it finally occured to him that maybe Oz couldn't in fact down the bottle himself. The thought brought a troubled frown from Gaius, but he uncapped the waterbottle and crouching beside the bed, carefully tipped it to Oz's lips.
Vixen had propped herself back up on the bed while the two were distracted, watching the whole thing with great interest.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:43 pm
It was a situation he had wanted to avoid, but there was no denying that he needed to be 'fed' the water like a baby needed a bottle. His arm fell limp at his side as Gaius tipped the bottle to his lips, drinking the water like it was his last. Some of it enevitably escaped his weak jaw, dribbled down past his chin and soaking into his fur, and he almost looked pained to be drinking it.
It was gone in one go, he didn't stop to take a breath and as such panted heavily once the bottle was empty.
"T...t'ank you," he said as sincerely as he could through a mangled mouth.
With rehydration done, Oz set to the task, well multi-task, of getting movement back in his limbs. He rolled his jaw around in a comical fashion, wincing as it spasmed in occasional stabbing pain. He also tensed and untensed his arms alternately, flexing his long hands into grasps and relaxes.
"Where'd...tha 'og...c-ome from?" he asked, already his words sounding less slurred. However, his voice was very deep and gruff. Was it a result of being dehydrated? Or something new that had added itself to his new body?
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:01 pm
Gaius waved away the thanks, seating himself back down. "It's nothing..."
He watched as Oz worked his mouth, the buzz of alcohol lending a humerous light to what would have at least made him feel uncomfortable, if not scared him outright.
"Th' dog..." he drawled, turning to look at where Vixen was investigating one of Oz's shoes, sizing it up for chewability. "She came Christmas day. Christmas miracle, she was!" A high giggle escaped him and he grinned lopsidedly. "Can a miracle come from the labs? I dunno... maybe she's actually a curse... already chewed a perfectly good eraser to bits. Maybe... maybe she's actually an islander from the labs, lost so much o' her humanity she's no better'n a dog now... That'd be pretty funny, huh? Go so far you end up a pet to someone..."
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:13 pm
It wasn't nothing. It was big something for Oz, and if Gaius only knew how long Oz had been alone in his coma-like state, he'd probably feel a deep sense of satisfaction having pratically saved his life.
Oz's attention was fixed on Vixen as well, as he watched the dog tentatively test the shoe for chewability. He doubted he'd need them anymore. If his feet had grown anything like his hands, there'd be no shoe in the world that would fit properly.
"F'ro-m the...labs?" he asked, his thickened and protruding brow furrowing in an exaggerated way. "Poor...s-od if..it is...was a person."
Gaius' comment would later come back to haunt Oz like a curse. Strength was slowly returning to him but it would take a while longer and lots of food before he'd be fighting fit again. His mental state, however, was far from healthy and one thing plagued him.
"What happened? I don't...re-ember much..." he said, quite reluctant to face Gaius, worried about his grotesque new form.
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:24 pm
"Sod..." Gaius chuckled, finding the word oddly amusing. Hardly any of this discussion was hitting anything below the surface. It was like the alcohol had filled him up, and what might have bothered him before was just skimming along the surface of himself. He'd never been a drinker before, but somehow this freedom frm worry was oddly relieving.
"What happened?" He turned his head back to Oz, an ear flipping back oddly. "Well, you single-handedly managed to wipe out my crew... Broke Marshall's arm, you did, and nearly sent Newt wetting himself... and that other guy, with the thick tail, I think I saw him running off into the jungle. Yeah, real bang-up job you did there..." he chuckled dryly.
"As for you... looks like you've joined me int he black hair club," he chuckled again, reaching a hand up to tug at his own dangling bangs. "And got longer... around the middle, kinda. You'd make a good thug in a movie."
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:39 pm
His own use of British colloquial slang felt normal, and it had never dawned on him that American or otherwise Islanders may never have heard the words before. As such, it made Oz smile a bit more to think he made Gaius laugh in an indirect way.
But he also recognised the signs of being cheerfully tipsy, where just about looking at anything, even your own toes, could bring amusment. He had no reaosn to press the matter, or even think about it. Gaius still had enough mental tact to be sensible and easy to talk to.
Maybe a little too sensible...
Gaius' count of the construction accident was more than Oz could comprehend right now. He...remembered the big wooden beam...and seeing Marshall below him...good GOD! He could have seriously hurt Marshall! Inside, his gut was twisting and tensing uncomfortably, forcing a very bizarre but unmistakably sad sound from his cavernous chest.
"B-b-broken...arm...will he b'alright?" he asked, visibly concerned for the penguin. Yet, Vixen was as good a distraction as any, his eyes drifting back to her every now and then.
Oz tried to look up at his black fringe or down at his black 'mane', lifting a thick hand to his neck to feel the fur. It was...kind of soft...except for the areas where something had dried into it...gross.
"Well...black is al'ays fashion-ble..." he chuckled, the sound mangled by his deep voice.
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