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 Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:59 pm
Natsumi let out a small breath and gave a smile when Kikue opened the door. There had always been the chance she'd have gotten the wrong duplex, it had been dark afterall...
"Yes.." she nodded in agreement to Kikue's words. "I.." she trailed off, suddenlly realizing she could speak her native language with this girl. It seemed so wierd to be speaking Japanese again. "I hope I'm not intruding..." Scratch wierd, it felt good... Technically she had spoken to Taro in Japanese, but that had been like speaking to a wall... And that had been completly dramatic.
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Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:21 pm
Kikue had almost not expected Natsumi to revert so smoothly back into Japanese. But hearing the words again, Kikue felt more than relieved. Quick to move into her native language, she answered Natsumi : "No no, not at all. I was just typing on the computer...it isn't anything much, though. Won't you come inside?"
As Kikue pulled the door open wider, a strange sensation hit her. A sudden defensive feeling writhed in her gut, making her want to bar Natsumi's way into her duplex. She didn't want the girl coming inside. This was Kikue's room after all --
Wait, what? Confused by her own feeling, Kikue stammered incoherently for a moment. She raised a hand to her forehead, giving Natsumi an extremely apologetic, as well as embarrassed, look. "I-I'm sorry...I don't know...what's wrong. I think it might be...the animal." She wrestled with her own compsure, trying not to let Natsumi think it was her fault in any way. What was it? What were these instincts trying to tell her?
That I don't want anyone in my room...like it's...my place. It was never like this before...it HAS to be the changes! Are leopards like this? Are they territorial? Is that what's happening to me?
Flushing red in embarrassment, Kikue slipped outside and closed her door softly behind her. She gripped the doorknob behind her until it felt like her knuckles must be white. "S-Sorry...I think...it's my animal, making me feel this. I think we should probably go to your room instead..."
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Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:39 pm
Natsumi smiled, about to come inside before.. well. It changed. The nice welcoming feeling had suddenly vanished into thin air. So she stopped, withdrawing her foot from the doorway.
She watched Kikue curiously, about to offer coming back someo other time before she spoke. "Aa.. I see." She smiled softly, taking a few steps back, slowly so as not to fall down the stairs. She knew all about animal instincts making you do things you just did not want to do... Like eat a big beatle infront of your friend. Yes, things like that. "It's okay." she reassured, turning to take a few more steps down the stairs to try and make her friend more comfortable. Maybe if she wasn't near her room then she wouldn't feel so upset?
Natsumi bit her lip some at the next part.. Her room. Eh. She paused to think about it... No, she didn't wan tto go back there. The room was still a bit messy since she'd been avoiding it except for sleep since Taro came there... Part of her feared he'd come back. Or worse, if he was sitting there waiting if her and Kikue went there? Kikue would have been able to understand him... And, even compared to eating bugs, Natsumi couldn't think of anything more embaressing. "How about we go for a walk instead? The island's kinda pretty if you think about it... The beach and the flowers, it can be very nice..." she nodded, looking hopefully to Kikue.
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Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:55 pm
Kikue was extremely grateful to Natsumi's reassuring words. Forcing a smile, she nodded and quickly locked her duplex door, since she would be gone. She felt much better at the thought of a walk, and joined Natsumi in going slowly down the steps. "A walk is a good idea...I've been cooped up inside a lot." Biting her lip, she exposed one of her long canine teeth without realizing it. "The instincts can be so strange. I've felt that one before, when I invited Nita over to my duplex...I think it might be a territorial issue. I can't remember what I read about the leopard."
Knowing she was blushing slightly at the thought of being at the mercy of her feelings, Kikue shook off the thought. She wanted to focus on Natsumi, and speaking Japanese with her already helped her do that. It felt so good to speak it again...so right.
"I'm so glad there's another Japanese on the Island," Kikue said softly, smiling at Natsumi. "To speak Japanese again feels so calming."
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Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:14 pm
Natsumi nodded, reaching the end of the steps and turning in a direction so they could keep their slow paced walk. It was nice to be out... Though.. Rather hot with that sweater she had on, she tried to ignor that. She wasn't too sure which direction she had chosen, she wasn't really paying attention. Subconciously, her new instincts would be leading her towards the hottest and sandiest place ont he island; the beach.
"I understand completely, but.. I've seen worse." she gave a soft laugh, covering her mouth. "Much worse." Not that she'd let out what that was, but eating bugs was hands down much worse than not wanting people in your house. She broke her train of though, letting her hand fall since she'd finished laughing "You're a leopard then?" She hadn't realized but.. she'd never asked. "So cute..." she clasped her hands together, grinning widely.. She'd had a normal sort of leopard plushie back home. Of course, she had alot of plushies back home. "I'm sorry though... The instincts must be a pain." She quickly added, hoping she hadn't been too upfront about calling it cute.
"But yea.. I am too." A Japanese girl, she mentally added "My english isn't too bad but all these accents can give me a real headache..." she covered her mouth once again, giving a soft laugh. Alecs was the first painful accent she thought of.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:00 am
Yamamoto Kikue Kikue unconsciously noted the direction they were moving in, noting that they were heading for the jungle...the thought made her uncomfortable, but she knew what lay on the other side of that thick band of trees and foilage. The beach was there, and that was something she was okay with. The openess of the area, while not as good as the cliffs, was still a comforting thought. Kikue nodded silently at the mention of instincts that were much worse. She had only to guess what others had to go through at this point. She hadn't even changed much; only once. Who knew what it was really like to be someone like Ambrose, or Colche? Pyroth? They were all so much farther along. Their animal instincts were probably solidified into their minds... Kikue supressed a shiver. It was Natsumi's exclamation of a leopard being cute that made Kikue break into a smile, and then blush a little. Already she had claws and teeth; she thought she scared people sometimes. Laughing, she got out, " Cute in pictures I guess...being one feels so strange." She held out her hands to Natsumi, where the sharp claws had already grown. Then she smiled again too, pointing at the thicker, longer, and sharper teeth that had grown into her mouth. " I thought I might have looked like a 'vampire' when I first saw myself! ...At least I'm not scary to you; I was afraid I would be." Kikue couldn't hold back with her question. Glancing over Natsumi's body, she noted her face most of all -- the Egyptian-like accents around the girl's eyes stood out most. " Do you know what animal you have?" Kikue then noticed something else : something like a bump under Natsumi's sweater. It wasn't very noticeable, but even with that quick yet observant glance, Kikue's mind began turning. Was that...? Could that actually be... She pounced on the feeling and held it down. It wasn't her place to ask about something like that... If it were even true. Smiling brightly then, Kikue nodded and laughed. " I know. I was in England for some time, so I heard many accents. Even still, I haven't heard them all, so it can still be hard." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi felt her mood lightening already, it was almost like being back in highschool with her old friends... Minus the current topic of discussion. She looked over the claws, giving a thoughtful look. Couldn't cat's retract their claws? She kept that to herself though.. she didn't want ot talk about future transformations. That was a bit too forboding to think of. "No, not at all..." she paused, looking her over again "Well now that you say it..." she gave a light teasing laugh, "No. You should see my feet! I think I'm turning into a shovel, not an animal."
She smiled as they made their way through the forest and onto the bright sandy beach. Somethign about it made her feel more comfortable... Though alot of people liked the beach, so she simply wrote it off as that. "I have no idea what I am... I haven't asked. And I can't even begin to guess." She certiantly wasn't going to ask now and have to face that.. jerk, Sabin. Shrugging all that off though she paused to kick her shoes off. "I hope you don't mind." Yamamoto Kikue " Wow!" Kikue said, looking interestedly at Natsumi's feet. What kind of animal had feet like a shovel? It must be hard to walk like that...hard enough with claws, but what about no toes?Being on the beach calmed Kikue considerably. She, too, shook off her sandals, exposing her clawed feet. " I don't mind at all!" Pushing her toes out, she realized she wasn't very fond of the hot temperature of the sand. But, it didn't bother her too much...especially when there was water to cool off in. Kikue looked wonderingly at Natsumi, a look of hard thought crossing her face. " I don't think I know enough animals to guess yours...you could ask the labs if you really wanted to know...they told me what mine was. A snow leopard; a leopard that lives in the moutains." Her cheeks flushed a bright red. Reaching up to her shoulder carefully, Kikue paused with her claws around the yukata fabric on her shoulder. She didn't know if doing what she planned to would offend Natsumi. She hoped it wouldn't. Pulling the fabric down carefully, she exposed the dark birthmark-like spots beginning on her shoulder : they ran down her back. " Some of my changes are hidden," she admitted quietly. She only then remembered her whitened bangs, and self-consciously brushed them out of her eyes. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi smiled, leaving her shoes there.. Not like anyone was going to steal them. Heck, most people were losing the ability to even wear shoes. Her feet, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the warm temperature of the sand. The gritty soft feel was pleasent too. With that done, she paused to wait for Kikue to finish as well, taken aback by the sudden action but thenthe little colorations revealed themselves nad it made sense. She let out a soft "oh" and smiled, nodding. "Yea," she paused to hike up one of her sweater's sleeves, showing off her speckled arm. "I know I have scales so some sort of lizard or something..." she almost grimanced. Lizards weren't quite as cute as Leopards... but atleast she wasn't a spider or something creepy like that.
With that, she pulled the sleeve back down, moving up towards the edge of the waves, and turning to head down one part of the beach, stopping and slowing to meet Kikue's pace. "So, you said you lived in Tokyo right? Is it really that crowded?" Okay so it was a fairly dumb question... Everyone knew tokyo was rather crowded, but it was conversation.. And she hardly remembered being there. Yamamoto Kikue "Hmmm," Kikue murmured, nodding at seeing Natsumi's arm. It did look scaley...a lizard might make sense. She wondered secretly what instincts had surfaced in Natsumi already, but it didn't feel right to ask such a question so openly yet. Kikue knew her own action could have been too bold; luckily, Natsumi was not offended as far as she could tell. She kept the slow pace with Natsumi's, strolling down the beach near the water. Carefully Kikue moved enough out of the sand to feel the cooler, wet sand under her feet, and that offered some comfort. The ocean was cool today. It brushed lightly over her feet as she walked, letting Natsumi walk where she was comfortable. Kikue couldn't help a bit of laughter. She nodded enthusiastically. " Tokyo is very crowded, especially at rush hour. It's hard to get anywhere because the subway is so full of people. It isn't unusual to be up against a wall in the subway, with a wall of people around you. Still, I love it there..." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi simply walked for now, until they needed to head back. It felt good to move around again, back home she would walk everywhere.. But here, there wasn't much to walk too. She felt herself getting more and more lazy.
"I would have loved to have visited more before I left. Farest I ever went, even with my friends or my brother, was the bigger areas of Kyoto. Ofcourse it was pretty nice where we lived. Quiet, except for the tourists." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue's memories floated up into her mind's eye. Immediately she thought of her mother, of the shrines in Kyoto that she had loved, of so many things... " What was it like to live in a shrine? I've always wondered." Kikue smiled. " My mother loved the old shrines. When we were in Kyoto, we visited them often. I miss the serenity of those places." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi gave a thoughtful look.. it was hard to really say since she'd never lived anywhere else. "I always loved it... Mom made me clean and cook all the time, but I always had so much fun with her. When I got older she let me help serve some of the food in the resteraunt, and sometimes I was even able to play as one of the backups in the traditional dance shows. Never a big part, but just being involved and all the kimonos and makeup was so much fun!" she smiled softly, almost sadly.. Talking about it both made her feel happy and sad. on one hand, they were such happy memories.. On the other it made her homesick. Still smiling though, she thought of another question "What school did you go to?" Yamamoto Kikue Kikue smiled, lost in her own whirl of memories. She thought of her own mother, of their times together...times she longed to repeat just once more, but would never be able to. She wasn't sure if there was truly a 'heaven,' or an after-life at all, but she hoped okaasan was looking down on her now. What was she thinking? There was no way to ever know... " I love the traditional arts and clothing," Kikue said brightly, clearly impressed with Natsumi's ability to perform in such a dance. " ...I went to an international school in London. I was actually born in England; my father was a Japanese diplomat attending to the embassy there. We returned to Japan after some years abroad." Kikue smiled again, knowing her past probably sounded at least somewhat exotic. It never seemed that way when she thought of it herself, but she knew it must be occasionally to someone else. Especially Natsumi, having always lived in Japan. I wonder how different it would be if I had been born there...I don't think it would change the fact that Mother is gone. It's stupid to think about it that way in the first place...Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi was indeed impressed, listning intently. "Aa wow, that's amazing." she paused to think, there were some peopel from england here right? Wasn't Thom one? Her memory failed her for the time being. Had he said just the book was from there, or that he was too? Either way, that wasn't important now. "What was it like there?" Yamamoto Kikue Kikue let the waves wash over her feet as she walked. " Well," she started, " it's a crowded place, kind of like Tokyo in that regard. But it's very different from Japan. The streets are much wider and more open, and there aren't as many people. Almost everything is in English : I learned it alongside Japanese when I was very young." She broke into a smile, and even stifled a giggle. " The food isn't very good at all...at least, not the real English food...it tastes very bland. Not like Japanese food." There are people from many nationalities there, unlike Japan. Many of them speak their own language. It could be confusing at times. I know small words from a few other languages because of it." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi nodded, once again listning intently. It was all very interesting... The other places of the world. She often had tourists pop into the shrines, so she knew of different nationalities... Kikue's mention of food brought on a nice time for a topic change though, before this conversation died. "It sounds like fun..." she nodded, giving a pause before switching incase there was anything left to speak on that. "What foods do you like? My friends always made fun of me for eating umeboshi..." she gave a soft laugh, figuring that was probably the oposite of bland foods. Yamamoto Kikue Being such a fan of Japanese food, Kikue was only to happy to switch the conversation to it. " You like umeboshi? I like it, but not too much of it. My favorite food is shikasashi. I love it! They actually have it here, in the mess hall. Isn't it strange?" Kikue stifled laughter again, not letting herself wonder if, somehow, the labs had found out that she liked it and brought it to the mess hall because of that. That was silly... " I love sushi and sashimi," Kikue admitted, as if her declaration of her favorite food didn't make it obvious. Natsumi Tanaka "They have it here?" she really needed to pay more attention apparently. "I'll have to get some, i haven't had any in so long." she paused to look over the ocean. "I like shikasashi.. sushi is okay too." Her conversation was broken as she watched a seagul suddenlly fly past them, jumping back some at it's sudden swoop by, then watchign as it landed. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue watched the seagull very intently, cocking her head slightly at it as it patrolled the beach in front of them for food. Kikue's rounded ears twitched, yet she didn't move. Something was very distracting about the bird...the way it bobbed its head; the way it constantly moved. Kikue was completely entranced for a moment, before shaking her head and looking back at Natsumi. She smiled softly, a bit confused by her own actions. " Yes, it's there...it doesn't taste as good as home, of course, but it's still good. I've been having a lot for some reason...maybe the changes." Kikue put her arms behind her head quietly trying not to look at the gull. But it was as if her eyes were drawn to it. She shut her eyes hard before opening them again. " Do you like...any anime, or manga?" Kikue asked, although her voice sounded preoccupied. The gull... Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi nodded, it was easy to beleive that food wouldn't be the same here... But still, it was nice to know there were some familiar foods here. She was suprised she hadn't noticed them yet though...
She breifly noticed the look Kikue had given the bird, "Anime? Oh Uhm... I never watched it myself, but my brother loved it. He had all sorts of toys and videos." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue knew the question may have sounded childish to someone else, but she had found that many anime and manga could be much more mature and sophisticated than at first glance. She was a bit surprised to hear that Natsumi had little interest in it. That thought alone broke her concentration on the gull, which had already begun to look faintly threatened. It flew off. " Really? I had brought some with me since I thought I would be here for some time...do you like it at all? Maybe we can watch some, some time." A smile spread gently across Kikue's face. Natsumi might not take to the offer, but the thought of watching something so native to both of them together made Kikue hopeful. It was then that she noticed it again : a strangeness about Natsumi's sweater, implying something that Kikue didn't dare mention openly. She tried not to look like she was staring, but only remembered after her glance had lengthened into something like a distinct 'look.' The bump under the fabric might be nothing, and yet... Kikue broke her line of sight and tried to look at the sky or the ocean distractedly. Oh gods I feel awful! I hope she didn't see me doing that... What am I thinking? That's so rude! Flushing slightly, Kikue looked around for the gull to quickly find a way to change the conversation. Unfortunately, it was gone. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi'd never really stopped to take intrest in it, the only thing htat had drawn her intrest was the toys of her brother when she was younger. She always wanted to play house with them, but alas.. He wouldn't let her near them. Though now, she could hardly blame him. Those things were expensive and as a child she'd have destroyed them in some way.
But when she got old enough for it, she'd gotten too wrapped up in her own highschool dramas of getting good grades and looking good...
"I would like that." Natsumi smiled, if anything it would remind her of her brother whom she so very much missed now.
Natsumi shifted under Kikue's sudden stare... feeling suddenlly nervious. She hadn't noticed had she? If she did.. well. Natsumi knew it wouldn't go over as well as any of the others. She wasn't sure why it had gone over so well... Or why none of them had asked where her husband was.
Swallowing, she clasped her hands together infront of her, letting them sit over her stomach in hopes to destroy whatever idea Kikue might have been getting in her look. "So which ones do you have?" Yamamoto Kikue Kikue noted Natsumi's clasped hands over her stomach. It only served to solidify Kikue's assumptions...which made her feel worse. Something was definitely there, at least in the sense that Natsumi was trying to hide it -- which meant it was no bump made by her sweater. Oh...gods. I feel horrible. I wish I hadn't noticed this now...She quickly latched onto the new topic of conversation, dipping her clawed feet in the water as it continued to wash over her skin. " Actually, I have several with me..." It sounded so hollow. Kikue knew she wouldn't be able to begin asking openly about what she suspected; it was so rude that the thought of doing it made her stomach squeeze. " Most of them are shoujo anime...but they're very interesting. Have you heard of 'Shoujo Kakumei Utena'? I really like that one. Most of them are on discs, so I could bring them over some time." Kikue's thoughts on the matter momentarily distracted her from her suspicions. The mental image of sitting with Natsumi in a room, watching anime and giggling about some silly thing on the screen made her long to do it. She had never done anything like that with another girl, or anyone at all really. It seemed like it would be fun... " It would be like...a 'girl's night,'" Kikue said, breaking into something just shy of a grin and stifling a little laughter. It sounded childish. But fun. She hoped Natsumi would think the same way. ...Which brought around all of Kikue's thoughts on the girl walking placidly next to her, trying to hide something that was quietly becoming obvious to Kikue. Kikue wanted to say something; to reassure Natsumi somehow. She didn't know how. Or what the other girl would think. Before she could stop herself, she asked softly, "Is everything okay, Natsumi-chan?" Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi tried to think back.. Utena? Hm. It definatly sounded familiar, though not from her brother. "I don't think I have. Of course my brother was into all those.. fighting.. things." She gave a tiny giggle, "I guess... 'Boys will be boys,' ne?" She mentally hoped she got the old american saying right. And if she had, that Kikue knew of it. Though, Kikue seemed to know more about english than she did...
She bit her lip when Kikue mentioned a 'girls night.' A grin tugged at her face. She wanted so very much to sqeual and offer to bring candy. But she tried to reassure herself that she was an adult now and needed to act like one. "I would love that." She finally admitted, giving a soft 'teehee.' She started making a mental checklist of things she could bring... nail polish, shampoos, She could get some Shikasashi from the cafeteria.
She had noted that Kikue had said to 'bring them over,' no doubt due to the instincts. Not that Natsumi cared, but it seemed like a good thing to remember and keep track of.
"Mm?" she blinked at the sudden question. She hoped that Kikue had meant that due ot the fact she bit her lip... or maybe in the sense that was it okay for them to do that at her house. Or... Well, The one she didn't want to hear. "Yes, everythings fine." Whichever it was, she felt that responce about covered it. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue nodded heartily. " I'm not really a fan of the fighting anime...unless it has a good plot and interesting characters..." Relieved and somewhat excited at Natsumi's enthusiasm in the idea, Kikue began plotting exactly what to bring over. Utena? Tutu? Everything she had? She had some old Japanese movies too; some were a little scary but had good plot... Natsumi-chan might not like scary movies... Kikue had pictures from home, and her journal -- she could bring those things, too. If only she could play her violin, she could play something for Natsumi...or even write a piece for her. Kikue glanced self-consciously at her bad hand; it was no longer bandaged, but depending on how she moved it, jolts of pain would shoot up her arm. If only I could play...It didn't matter. She had movies, and anime, and books -- all in Japanese, that she could share. ...But it was Natsumi's answer to Kikue's lingering question that brought her to a halt. Natsumi's answer -- there was such finality to it, and strength in some way. A kind of reassurance. She doesn't want to talk about it...I understand. Would I want to? Probably not...yet...Kikue stopped walking. Turning slowly, she looked into Natsumi's expression. Sighing a little, Kikue turned her eyes out to the ocean. " Natsumi-chan," she said quietly, " I try not to think about what this place means too often...about not going home." Looking back over her shoulder at the girl beside her, Kikue flicked her fuzzy rounded ears. " You are the first person that I've met who can understand me in ways that others here can't. We are from the same place...I want to be able to be good friends with you." Emotion was welling up, as much as she tried to beat it down. She turned around fully now, facing the other girl. " ..I want you to be able to trust me." Kikue tilted her head slowly. She didn't let the claws on her hands deter her : she gathered up Natsumi's hands in her own for a few seconds, looking at her. She bit her lip. " ...You're not afraid of me. I'm not afraid of you, either. No matter what." With that, Kikue let go of Natsumi's hands, and placed the girl's hands back around her stomach, like Natsumi herself had placed them only moments before. It was all that could be done when it came to this : to simply tell the truth. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi looked on ahead, nodding as Kikue spoke. Once again her thoughts wandering over just how relaxing and refreshing it was to hear her own language. It wasn't too bad here right...? Even if Taro was here.. Natsumi had good friends. heck, she had more friends than she ever had back home. Maybe that's what came with being stranged somewhere.. But no matter what the reason she was still very thankful for them.
She paused when Kikue stopped, turning to look at her curiously. A part of her already seemed to know where this was going... She ahd noticed. Here it was.. The you're a dirty whore and discraced your family talk, right? She'd avoided such a talk for so long after all... Running from it, straight into a trap. This island.
"We are Friends." Sh emanaged to note during Kikue's pause, atleast she assumed they were now. Maybe not best friends but... They'd get there eventually, right? She flinched some as Kikue looked back at her, biting into her lip.
Whaat Kikue had hadn't been what she expected, not even close. Natsumi blinked, choking suddenlly. Her eyes tried to water up.. Even she didn't think poorly of her? No one did? What.. What if her parents would have accepted her? What if she idnd't have to be here? What if Taro really had meant that he hadn't meant to leave... What..
She gave a little hiccup, covering her face with her hands quickly. Don't think about that. "Y-You know then?" Aaa... Why'd she have to be so obvious? Yamamoto Kikue Kikue fought to keep her own emotions in check. She gave Natsumi a small smile, and then...she hugged her, tenderly. Something she had done so rarely in her own life. She could smell Natsumi's hair, a touch of ginger and lavender -- it must be whatever she washed it with. It smelled pretty. Kikue pulled back after a few moments, her hands on the sides of Natsumi's shoulders. Kikue didn't know how old she was, but by looking at the girl's face was any clue, she was probably young, too. Which means, it might have all been an accident...the baby.Yet Kikue could never allow herself to be so cruel as to let a decision in Natsumi's past -- a decision that Natsumi may or may not regret, even now -- keep a friendship from forming between them. She smiled softly again. " It's okay, Natsumi-chan. I could only guess at such a thing...but I am not afraid of you. I want to be close to you. I support you. I promise." Kikue held out her pinky finger, the first half of a promise that she was ready to make. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi blinked as she was pulled into a hug, smiling behind her hands. She would have returned the gesture, but the way she had positioned herself ceased her from moving her arms now that she had been hugged. It was comforting though... Just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. She'd longed for a hug for days now... So her eyes watered even more now that she'd gotten one.
She gave a soft sniff as she was let go, still covering her face. She nodded some in thanks, moving her hands at Kikue's pinky offer with a wise, wobbling, smile. She paused to white at her eyes with one hand, and the other to take Kikue's pinky and shake it with her own. She sniffed once, giving a tiny pause as her mind ran over something... Before she realized, who really cared about formalities? They were turning into mutants. With that, she reached out, wrapping her arms around Kikue and giving a soft held-back sob. "Thankyou... I'll.. Do the same." She wasn't exactly sure what she could promise Kikue that woud amount to the same meaning that she had just done... But.. Atleast she could offer. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue held her back, allowing herself the brief second of support. She'd couldn't remember the last time she'd given someone a hug, or had been given one. It was a distant, faint memory. Yet this was real; was now. So she held on. She let Natsumi break them apart at her own pace. Kikue could only guess what Natsumi was feeling -- as if the shock of the reality of the Island wasn't bad enough, to be feeling the strain of a pregnancy at the same time? Kikue was young, but she understood much. That very thought was heavy on her mind. Natsumi must regularly be a wreck. After she let go, Kikue broke into a smile. She didn't know everything that Natsumi would need, but she didn't think staying out for so long in the sun was going to help. " It's getting late," Kikue observed, nodding at the sun above them. " Maybe we should get something to eat...then sleep." Kikue suppressed a yawn on the word. Her altered schedule was making it hard to be up constantly at the times "normal" people were. A sheepish look flashed across her face. " The leopard makes it hard for me to stay up if it isn't near dawn, or dusk." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi clung for a moment, the last hug she'd had was whens he left for "America." Her parents, her friends, her brothers... She missed them all so much. She wanted to know how they were doing and... Wait. Taro... Taro had seen them. She carefully let go of Kikue, stuffing that thought away for later. Right now.. Kikue was here, Kikue was her new friend. "Aa.. Yes.." She sniffed once more, whiping at her eyes again. For the moment, she had forgotten the baking heat of the sun, but that feeling was back now. She vaugly hoped she wouldn't start to smell any time soon. That sounds good. She gave a small laugh at the mention of the strange sleep habits, Kikue sure did know alot about her animal... It made Natsumi curious to know her own. But then she'd have to go ask, and she still didn't feel up to that. "I wonder if mines been whats waking me up at night." She quickly explained the laugh with a smile. With that, she turned, looking back the way they'd came... Suprised at just how far they'd gotten. "I guess we should get our shoes, huh?"Yamamoto Kikue Kikue smiled and laughed a little herself. " Maybe it is. I didn't even think of it at first...Nita pointed it out to me. Then I read a bit more and realized that must be what it is. It's still strange, though." Natsumi's wondering thought reminded Kikue that the girl didn't know her animal. Some type of lizard, she's thought. The scales attested to that. But what did all of this, the Island, mean for Natsumi's child? ...You can't start to worry about this, Kikue. You need to keep yourself focused.She nodded, and began ambling back towards her sandals with Natsumi. The sand looked like it must be baking; Kikue was glad for the coolness of the water. Once she was to her sandals, she dipped her feet back into the water one last time before slipping them on. In the angled light, wet with water, her claws stood out starkly. ...Kikue pushed the thought away, waiting contentedly as Natsumi got herself ready. While she wasn't looking forward to the walk through the oppressive jungle, at least her room was on the other side of it. She already longed for the coolness, as well as darkness, of it. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had edged closer to the wet sand as the day had gone on, though a bit suprised just how well her feet were taking the heat... Especially with the added webbing on the side she would have thought them to be more sensitive. But her feet would be there to ponder about later.
She made idle conversation on the way back to their shoes, eventually reaching them, she knelt down to go through teh awkward process of folding up her feet to stick them inside the shoe. "Alright, ready." She announced, standing up.
And with that they headed off to the cafeteria, for some food then to part ways and move back to their homes that were so far away from home.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:23 pm
You begin to feel woozy and distorted. You attempt to breath deep to stabilize yourself and realize your sense of smell seems... keener. You reach up to touch your nose and realize it is wet to the touch. Even as it is blackening and changing shape. Your face changing to the early stages of a muzzle. You notice the same of your ears, even as you reach up and feel them you notice they, already round, appear to be growing a bit larger and more round. They stretch in a more upwards direction. You reach in to touch your mouth as your hand is already tingling as well, and notice the canines that appear to be growing longer and sharper. You pull your hand out and look down at it. You see that fur appears to be spreading across it and you notice darkened pads forming on the underside. The fur seems to push the fingernails you were born with, that you've had all your life, out easily. Even as the skin parts and new more dangerous looking claws push out of your hands. You notice similar is happening to your feet even as they, much like your hands, no longer appear to be human. You don't seem to have the control needed to retract the sharp claws yet though. You notice the same fur covering your hands and feet is also sprouting across your chest and shoulders, and before long it covers the entire area. But all this is just preparation for the change to come, the most painful. As your tail-bone lengthens, sprouting hair much like your chest and tail has. As it grows long and covered in thick fur. You feel the cat's instincts creep into your mind, as across your entire body you even feel more agile. Realizing that today, you are even further from being a human. 
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:48 pm
Journal Entry ID ID #: 005 Synopsis: Dreams trouble Kikue's sleep. When she snaps awake, she finds herself on the brink of her next transformation... Reaching out a hand, she pushed away the branches in front of her. Ahead, dense forest stretched -- the light was fading, and she felt afraid. Her hands, different -- her feet, just as different, as she stepped forward silently. There was barely a sound as she walked, slipping between trees. The ground was cool beneath her feet...the claws catching on a stray twig every now and then. Her nostrils flared, taking in the scent of the forest. She didn't know why, but the fear was eating away at her deep in her chest. Fur that lined her body was sticking out, making her fear impossible to hide. Yet she kept moving. There was a story about these woods, she knew. A story that a killer lived her, murdering whoever entered it. Why was she here? I have to get out, before he finds me!She was trying desperately not to let memories creep in on her. Before she'd run for the woods, she'd left her tiny one- room house and went into the place where she was supposed to eat. In there, she'd seen a woman who looked like a pig on two legs, and a man that looked like some kind of dog holding a lunch tray right next to her. Something about that woman, something, had been terrifying -- She manuvered between two trees as quietly as possible, stray thorns catching on the fabric of her clothes. No matter how scary the pig-woman had been, why did she have to run in here? I couldn't stop. I couldn't think. I just ran...But a killer lived here. Everyone knew it. She had heard them talking about it. The killer in this woods, who brutally murdered anyone that set foot here... She shoved her paw-like hands out in front of herself, pushing herself around another tree. The sky, barely visible through the branches above, was getting darker. She was losing the light. He came out at night, didn't he? "Don't say that," she whispered fearfully to herself, grasping a thick branch above her head for support. Her breathing quickened; her paw tightened around the tree. She could feel the bark. Everything's going to be fine...I will find the way back out, I just have to stay calm...listen to my instincts. Everything will be fine...She sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Her furred ears flicked. There...you see? I only have to stay calm. If I lose myself, I won't be able to focus...to get back out... She loosened her grip on the tree branch, starting forward through the heavy foliage again. The going was slow, but silent. She kept her ears pricked and her nose sharp on the scent of anything that smelled out of place. The light was already fainter now. Her eyes were large, watching. The trees moved in and out of her view as she walked, snapping her gaze around to any darkening tree that seemed like a person standing nearby, waiting for her. The fading light didn't make it harder to see; it only changed the landscape. What color was there drained slowly out of the landscape, but everything stayed where it was. She could see perfectly, but differently. She pushed herself to keep going. What felt like a at least another hour later, something stopped her abruptly. Freezing, she raised her head, breathing in deeply through her nose. A smell. A scent. It was out of place...something about it was oddly familiar, but it didn't comfort her. No. Something...something about it was wrong. She didn't move at all for moment, breathing in the smell. It was...to her left. Some way off, but not very far. Her body reacted to it, altering her direction. As she walked, the ground began to slope upwards sharply. It was some kind of hill. She climbed it, digging her claws into the ground and tree bark when she had to. Once she pulled herself upwards far enough, she realized that the trees were lessening. And the smell -- it became stronger immediately. She was going the right way. It doesn't smell...like it would be a man, following me. What is it...Her nimble limbs sent her nearly to the top of the hill. Crouching, she peeked out through the branches of the trees. It looked like the forest temporarily yielded to a clearing here. There was a house, but all of the lights were off. And behind it, a barn. She smelled no one nearby, but the smell stayed strong in senses. It was here. She knew it. But where? And what was it? Cautiously, she emerged from the treeline, walking across the clearing towards the house. Something about it sent her fur on edge; an eerie, creepy feeling hung over the place. It looked almost abandoned, yet it felt like there was something there, somewhere. It can't be, the murderer's house...don't be ridiculous, that's stupid... She tried to say it to herself, but it only convinced her even more that she'd walked onto something evil. That was what it felt like -- evil. Unholy ground. Something had happened here... She strained with every movement, hyper-alert to any sense. Something kept pulling her towards the smell, even though the rest of her didn't want to go any farther; this ground, this place, something horrible happened here, I shouldn't stay --The smell increased sharply, filling her nose. She moved her head, looking at where it was coming from. The barn. Some part of her screamed not to go any farther, to turn back, to leave it, but her paw-like feet wouldn't listen. They moved her forward. The shifting picture of the barn doors came closer, and closer -- the paint had chipped off; the color had run. Yet she kept walking. No, no, no, get out of here, it isn't worth it --No, the rest of her said. The smell drew her. It wrapped itself around her, pulled her to it. And there...she stopped. The barn doors stood in front of her. The wood was decayed; untreated. The night had come down fully, shrouding everything in darkness. Yet she could still see, and the doors stared back at her. Moving a furred hand, she rest her paw on the wooden latch of the door. The wood was brittle, and her claws sunk into it. She pushed at the latch, pulling it up. The door came open, a tiny sliver of opening, and she let the latch drop. The smell was intense now. It filled her head. She took another sniff of it. It's in there...Slipping her paws around the handles of the doors, she pulled them open slowly. The hinges of the doors creaked painfully, and yet it didn't stop her, she only kept opening it, finally pushing the doors open. She took a step forward, then stopped. Her eyes widened as her paws clasped over her mouth, gasping, trying to keep any sound stuck in her throat. Strewn across the floor of floor of the barn, resting on thin patches of hay, were bodies. It looked like three people, but it could have easily been more. Their bodies were horribly mauled, ripped open viciously. Dark blood splattered everything; soaked the hay on the floor. Their clothes were shredded, barely clinging to what was left of the bodies. They had no faces. What would have been their faces had been dug into and ripped out: they were merely gaping, bloody holes. The stench of blood clung to everything. She took a shaky, quick step backward, tears welling up in her eyes. Every breath brought the taste of blood. One of the bodies was small -- it could have been a child. This could have been a family. Murdered. Shaking her head in disbelief, her expression crumpled as she shakily tried to hold onto her compsure. Backing up fast, the scene only felt like it was getting closer. The mangled, tormented bodies -- how had he done it -- it was if someone had jumped upon and hacked at them without stopping, digging out their insides, their faces, carving down their arms and legs. Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods oh -- "YOU!!" The voice erupted from behind, and she whipped around, staring terrified at where it was coming from. The darkness couldn't hide him -- a fan, still a bit away from her, but close. HIM! Did he do it -- the murderer!! --He was older, gruff, and he held a sack in one hand and what looked like, had to be, a hunting rifle in the other. He was nearly screaming. "YOU!" he shouted, his voice strained. "It was you, wasn't it?! You tha' killed 'em!!" She froze, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Her heart felt like it had frozen in her chest. "What," she whispered hoarsely, his words not registering in her head. The man looked livid, and he threw the burlap bag at her suddenly; heaved it at her. It didn't go very far, but it landed with a low thud onto the ground -- and a painful mew. Her head swam. Her body felt like it was electric; she was ready to run as far as possible from this man, and the slaughtered family he was keeping. Why was he accusing her?! When he HAS to be the one who did it! What? It wasn't me --The bag, not far from her began to move. She stared down at it, her body tensing for flight. She was still watching the man; watching his aggressive stance, and the sneer on his face. He was holding his gun, looking like he was ready to do something with it. She didn't plan on being around for when he did, probably like he had somehow used it on those people -- Something small wriggled out of the sack on the dark grass. No, more than one something. They were tiny, and shaking. A fearful, tiny mew cut the air. She stared stupidly, her nostrils filling with a new smell, a smell like the blood but different. "Thas' right," spat the man, hoisting up his rifle slowly. He seemed to be taking his time. "Might as well do it rightly...like how yeh did it tah them...you filthy monsters..." Two little things were coming towards, as her ears flicked at the man's words. Somehow the things tumbling and tripping along toward her were arresting her attention, even when she knew that the man was going to turn on her. But these things, so tiny, and they were making such strange sounds -- sounds that began to resonate in her ears. Her body began to shake as they came closer, crying. Slowly, she crouched down on the ground. They were running to her. Two tiny kittens, spotted, crying painfully. They came, closer, and closer, and inside her it was as if a chord had been struck. Her body tingled. The kittens came to her, mewing fearfully, and then -- just as they had come up to her front paws, and kept going as if to hide underneath her -- the cries were gone. The kittens, vanished. Yet something was different. She looked down, and found that there was no inch of human skin on her arms -- only they weren't arms anymore, but legs. And the man was taller; her body felt longer. She could not stand up to walk upright. She had become herself with four legs. And something else -- a heaviness around her middle; she looked down again, her body feeling weighted down. The kittens were inside her body. She felt it. Her middle had swelled; her sides were round with the young now resting inside of her. She looked up suddenly, as the man raised his gun and pointed it at her. Immediately, she turned on her paws and bolted. Loping across the grass for the trees, she plunged loudly into the treeline as a shot rang out in the night air. And another. She paid little attention; she had to keep the kittens safe. Jumping and pushing between the trees, she kept running, running, running -- Running... Kikue blinked slowly. In front of her, a wall of rock stretched. She cocked her head slightly, looking at it. She reached out her hand, placing it carefully on the cool rock. Her hand -- yes, her hand. There it was, fine, as it always was...smooth, human skin, stretching over her fingers and thumb. She stared at it for some time, unable to remember why she would think it was strange. A sound came to her on the wind. It was the sound of a violin...being played absolutely horribly. The bow sounded like it was being dragged across the strings, making every note completely unbearable. Immediately she threw her hands over her ears, cringing at the sounds. Ugh! Ow...ow...what is this!The gut-wrenching sounds floated down to her, and she looked upwards, seeing that that the rock ended not much farther above her. Gripping where she could in front of her, she began to climb, moving cautiously as the violin screamed repeatedly. Kikue gritted her teeth. It only got louder as she ascended, and worse. I have to stop it!Reaching up, she patted her hand above the corner of the top of the rock. It felt level, and she pulled herself up, pushing herself somewhat painfully onto the top of the wall. A scene she couldn't have imagined looked back at her. Kikue stared. A violin was in the middle of the space, but there was no one playing it. Instead, there was a white leopard, crunching the violin its mouth. It ripped the strings out of the violin; broke the wood and chewed on it with its huge teeth. Every bite down brought the sound of a violin bow slicing painfully across violin strings. It was not any violin. She recognized it immediately. Her violin -- the one from her mother. Being broken into tiny pieces by the unforgiving mouth of the leopard... "STOP!" she screamed, tears burning in her eyes as she pushed herself onto her feet. She couldn't stop herself from breaking into a run, her feet poudning against the rock as she went straight at the leopard to rip what was left of her violin hanging from its mouth. GIVE IT BACK TO ME!! How could you?!Breaking into a wordless scream, she threw herself at the leopard, not caring what it tried to do to her. Her violin! OKAASAN -- NO -- GIVE IT BACK TO ME --The world spun upside-down; flipped over backwards, and with a painful thud she found the wind knocked out of her as the leopard suddenly, somehow, pinned her to the ground. She tried to suck in a breath, but she couldn't. Her body was devoid of air. It took a full minute before she could get in a sharp breath, all the while the leopard stood above her, staring down at her with its deep eyes. And Kikue noticed something else -- her own eyes looked over something that was not her nose. Instead of feeling her arms stuck out at her sides, pinned by the leopard, they were bent over chest -- they were furred. They were legs. She was... She stared back into the other leopard's eyes, feeling sure with a sudden anguish that she was the same. She felt it all along her body -- her senses were all different, she was -- like it.The leopard's eyes bore into her own. They flickered, and it lowered them slightly. There was a sadness in them...a sadness...Kikue stared at it. Its eyes. Something about them...was so familiar...the colors, the look...that sadness... "Okaa...san?" she whispered painfully, feeling as if tears would fill her eyes. The leopard looked back at her then, and it seemed happier, it seemed...oh gods, oh gods, how could it be that... The leopard pushed off her body, freeing her from the ground. It began to walk away. Kikue stood up, now on four legs, just like the other leopard. She looked down at the large, furry paws beneath her, only to them look at where the other leopard was. It was standing at the edge, looking over it. Kikue felt as if it was calling to her. The violin was nowhere to be found...she walked, her paws leading her to stand next to the other. Over the edge of the cliff, there was no end to the sky. The cliff face stretched below them endlessly. Kikue turned her head, looking at the other leopard as it stared into the abyss. It, too, turned its head, and they regarded each other. Kikue couldn't stop herself from whispering it again, painfully... "Okaa...san? Is that you?" The leopard almost seemed to smile, somehow. And then...it pushed off the edge of the cliff, and jumped into the air. And fell. Staring, bewildered, Kikue broke into a scream. "NO! OKAASAN!" Her body tensed as she pushed right off the edge, falling, trying to reach her, falling as the rock wall shot past and the air whipped her fur and her eyes and her face and -- falling -- OKAASAN! OKAASAN!!"OKAASAN!" she spasmed in bed, the sheet flying off her body. Sweat stuck to her, sucking her thin-strap night shirt to her body and the shorts she'd worn to bed. Staring up at the ceiling in the dark, she felt herself shaking. Everything felt too hot. Too hot. She felt like she had a fever. "Okaasan," she whiserped, her eyes large and glazed over. She saw the ceiling, but didn't. Her body was slick with sweat. Kikue tried to suck in a breath. Her chest hurt. As she did, something seemed...different. She blinked slowly, her mind barely capable of clinging to the thought. Something...different. She breathed deeply again, only now, it was impossible to ignore -- smells. There were so many...smells...as she breathed. Reaching upwards, she touched her nose tentatively. It was wet. It was also moving. Wait...why...The information sunk in. She placed her hands over her face, feeling it changing shape right beneath her fingers. No. Her ears began to feel almost tight, pushing, and they too felt like they were moving. No...There was a grinding sound, and Kikue moved her hands from her face, placing a finger cautiously in her mouth. Movement -- her teeth, her mouth -- even as she touched them, her canines grew even longer. Sharper. I'm...I'm changing. I'm changing. No!Flipping what was left of the sheet off of her bed, she hunched over from the pain racking her body. It felt like it was everywhere, but in some places, so much worse -- her eyes began to water as she turned her hands over, feeling something there. As she watched, the palms of her hands darkened. Skin began to layer; it was as if pads pushed out of her skin. At the same time, the claws already on her hands -- they grew, just like her teeth, pushing out of her fingers, even as she tried to keep herself from shouting out. No!!The exact same waves of pain washed across her feet; she grabbed her leg with her now paw-like hands, watching the pads push out of her feet; the claws sharpened and grow. Oh oh oh no no NO --The fur was like an itch; she reached up, yanking her shirt over her head and staring down, horrified, as the spotted fur spread across her chest. Her shoulders. And all of it was nothing to what began to happen. It was sudden -- even as she watched the fur rippling across her upper body, she felt it at the base of her back. Something -- and then, the pain, burning and ripping through her, as something began to happen, something she didn't understand, until she heard the very actual rip of it shoving through the seams of her shorts. She could barely move from the pain, even as she shakily pushed her hand behind her, feeling the other part of her body pushing out of her. Beneath her newly-formed pads she felt the thick fur sprout, fanning across the thing like grass. Tiny dots of pain stung her face, and her other hand felt for what it was -- sensative, sore points on her face, they were sticking out from near her nose and above her eyes. She touched carefully, her body rigid with pain. Whiskers. They had pushed out of her face. A strange feeling swept over her then, mingling with the pain. Her body felt...lighter, somehow, something -- something she couldn't, didn't, understand. It was bubbling up into her mind, too, and it confused her...without warning, feeling the pain all over her body, a yowl broke from her as she cried out in pain. All of her, throbbing, and the new thing that had sprouted from just below her back, now laying limply at her side -- she moved her head as best she could, to see it, and the tail looked plainly back at her. Overwhelmed. She was overwhelmed. She began to cry like an animal, yowling and moaning, unmoving on her bed. Memories of her mother flashed by in her head, and that only her pushed her even farther. The yowling and cat-like cries of pain echoed back to her. All she could understand to do was call out in pain.
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Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 8:54 am
Her eyes opened slowly...slowly. The ceiling came into view, a bit blurred and seemingly distorted. Her mind was groggy and struggling to grasp what was going on. Where...was she? I...unngh...I was...
Memories came to her. Drifting, broken memories; memories that floated in as flickering pieces to something bigger. Pain...something happened... Then someone...came. Someone came to me, said something was wrong... Said they had to observe me...
There was a flash of recollection in her mind. She remembered looking around herself, at white sheets, and a bed. Equipment had ringed the room. Someone had been standing nearby, with glasses on, making notes on a clipboard. She had wanted to ask them something, but the words died before she could even open her mouth. The man -- it had seemed like a man -- said nothing, only observed, and then he pushed a button or a switch on the bed.
Then, there had been only darkness.
Kikue struggled to mentally explain the memory. It felt like a dream. Had it actually happened? Maybe it was just a dream...I'll write it down today in my journal and it'll probably be gone by the time I get to schoo--
That thought was electric. Suddenly, everything came back to her -- or at least what could come back to her, did. The pain from before...a change. She couldn't go to school; she was on the Island. The people coming to get her, babbling about some kind of irregularity, something with her readings, and then she was out. Waking up...the labs? Her head swam. Oh gods, it hadn't been a dream, it had really happened.
She bent her head forwards. She almost as if she was floating inwardly; maybe they had drugged her... The room spread out before her was not her room at home, no, it was...her duplex.
Restraining a sob, Kikue let her head fall back against the pillows and closed her eyes tightly. She was too afraid to open them again, even as she felt out the newness of her body...and the extra appendage, even now, that had curled up against the side of her face.
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Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:45 pm
[Reserved - Symphony No. 1]
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Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:55 am
Roleplay ID ID #: 014 Started On: Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:16 am Completed On: Mon Oct 02, 2006 4:17 am Characters: Kikue, Anatoli, Zach, Sid Original Link: Click. Synopsis: Kikue finally leaves her duplex and slips into the mess hall to eat something that she can keep down. Unfortunately, she happens to walk in on two people -- and doesn't recognize either. The scene is a bit questionable, with one of the man sporting a gash in his leg with blooding running out. The other, a man that looks almost like a dragon, has a face dripping with blood but says the other man stabbed himself. Kikue has no choice but to believe him, and tries to help the other. A third man she doesn't reconize enters the mess hall. Meanwhile, the bleeding man reacts defensively, hitting at her, and she simultaneously sinks her teeth right into his leg. She goes wild as he continues to hit her, finally slumping into unconsciousness... Anatoli Schreier After the encounter with Antony, maybe an extended vacation on this island wouldn't be so bad, after all. Of course, he has yet to see the vast menagerie that is the isle's residents, especially its more... unique ones. Antony had a bunch of tails, but a mutant squirrel is still a squirrel. A walk to the center of the village leads him to the cafeteria, he hadn't eaten since getting to the island. The open buffet was quite appealing, and he picked down the aisle to collect whatever looked nice and kosher to add to his plate. Chicken breast, a light salad, and a fruit cup for dessert -- that looked just about right for lunch. He picked out a table at random, and sat down with his tray to begin cutting up his meal. Zachary Bloodstone Zach slipped into the cafeteria, the same outdated hat coveirng his head as he always wore. His silent arrival was foiled by the loud clicking of his claws against the floor. With routine monotony, he grabbed a couple of utensils, a large piece of unidentifiable raw meat, and filled a bowl with water. He turned around and noticed the other patron of the cafeteria. The distance gave him little to by as far as recognizing him. There didn't appear to be anything in the way of animal features, either. Just a regular, unchanged human. The situation made him wonder how much this other man knew. It was likely he'd met someone already, or even been on the island a week or two. But there was only one way to find out - planting oneself in front of a newcomer and carefully watching the reaction. He unfurled his wings with impatience, then strided between the tables until he'd found a spot directly across from the newcomer to drop his tray. Deftly he spun a chair around so that he could sit comfortably without squashing all the things coming out of his back. Without saying a word, he too sawed away at his food. Unlike the chicken breast across from it, however, the dragon's food was oozing blood. Anatoli Schreier Okay. A sexual encounter with a giant squirrel with multiple tails was strange, but that seemed kind of believable. Sitting across the table from a dragon on the other hand... well, it reeked of bullshit to Anatoli's delicate sensibilities. He had expected normal, terrestrial animals that actually existed. Maybe he was having a lucid, sleep drug-induced dream. Maybe the cabin pressure was getting to him. That would explain the sex, as Anatoli was a man doomed to virginity and he knew it. He was probably dozing on the plane with an excited 'friend' in the waking world when that thing with Antony happened, and if he wasn't scared stiff he'd be blushing at the thought. He froze up and his hands begun to shake, his right hand clasping tightly around the knife. He said nothing, and just stared. If that thing started talking, then he'd know it was a dream. Zachary Bloodstone Zach looked up from the delicate meat-cutting process. The stranger was staring. Wonderful. Expressions like that usually meant they either hadn't seen any islanders, and that was exactly what he was hoping for. The reaction he was already getting from his new lunch partner only made him more eager to mess with the man. He finished slicing a piece of meat and speared it with his fork. This was going to be a bit of a challenge. Carefully the fork was lifted up, right alongside his long maw, and using his teeth he pulled the food off of it. He'd gotten so used to ripping, tearing, or swallowing whole that utensils had become nothing short of an impediment. He chewed carefully and swallowed, then lightly placed his bloody utensils down on either side of his plate. "Any newsss from the outssside world?" he asked pleasantly, his tail slowly wrapping around a leg of his chair. Anatoli Schreier It talked. "Yeah. I've been readin' too much inta tha family history and took one too many sleepin' pills," Anatoli replied slowly, shifting his hips over to the side so one of his legs stuck out into view. His grip on the knife was so tight, his knuckles went white. Raising the knife up, he gives Zach a wary, but meaningful glance, before plunging the sharp object into his thigh as if it were nothing. This was a dream, it wasn't going to hurt. Of course not. Anatoli only stayed quiet for but a few moments, taking in a sharp breath as he bit down on his tongue. "A... broch..." he cursed through his teeth with watering eyes, before letting way to a hellraising scream. "YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"Smooth, Anatoli. Real smooth. Zachary Bloodstone He snorted, though it didn't sound as human with his nose planted straight out in front of him. The question he offered had few answers that made one out to be sane. "Do I look like a hallucssination to you?" He watched the other man and the knife, warily considering the trajectory. Muscles tensed in response, and the saccharine cheerfulness of his expression dimmed just a bit. The paranoia could not be helped. Did this guy want to kill him? In moments it became clear who the knife was being aimed at. The smirk on Zach's face peeled off immediately in the form of a slow motion jaw-drop, stomach churning at the sight. His thoughts were frenzied. No one - no sane person - he stabbed it right into his leg! He'd just been trying to have a little fun, he hadn't expected a reaction as masochistic as this one. He leapt out of his seat in a hissing flurry of spread wings and frill when the man started screaming. Unfortunately, he forgot his tail was hooked around his chair, sending himself and it clattering to the floor in a heap in one swift movement. In afterthought, the appendage unwound quickly, allowing the dragon to push the chair away. He stayed close to the floor on his stomach, as still as he could be, for his instincts would allow him no other course of action. His whole back now hurt from banging his underdeveloped spine, adding some fury to the horror he felt. "What the hell did you jussst do!?" Anatoli Schreier "That... was on purpose..." Anatoli said in a barely audible voice, taking slow, deep breaths as he pulled out the bloodied knife with a shaky hand. He firmly smacked it on the table, then immediately slapped his hand over the wound. Blood began to seep into the fabric his pants and out beneath his hand, "I... just ruined... a perfectly good... pair a' pants."How the hell was he going to rationalize that? He was lost in a world of pain, his head was swimming in adrenaline from the stab. It was dizzying; he could feel his heart beating in his ears. Seeing no other option, or without even having the sense to go ask for help or seek out a first aid kit, Anatoli begun to recite the Shema. "Shema yisrael adonai elohainu, adonai echad..." Zachary Bloodstone "You're ******** crazy!" He swore a couple more times from the floor before managing to overcome his shock. After getting back on his feet, Zach cringed away from the sight of the blossoming bloodstain. He didn't feel sick at the sight of blood now, but something more hollow. It was hunger, a feeling he detested having around others. Especially when that hunger was for said others. He hadn't eaten all day, having gotten to a late start, and it made things particularly bad. Already he could feel his rational thoughts slowly hazing over in favor of more basic and primal urges, drawn to the other man's carelessness. The human was speaking gibberish now. Or was it that Zach could just no longer understand the words any more? It allowed for a brief moment of clarity on the dragon's part. Obviously if he got anywhere near, he'd probably sink his teeth into the newcomer, which would do nothing to help the situation. His eyes flickered between the crazy guy and the first aid kit on the wall by the door. Definitely not enough willpower to bring it to him. There was only one solution. He fell at the steak, ripping it apart with his jaws and claws in the most inhuman fashion. He disregarded everything else until he'd finished it completely, leaving the plate, his face, and his hands suitably bloodsoaked. At least not having an empty stomach cleared his head. "Ssstill alive?" he said weakly, turning his attention back toward the bleeding guy. He could feel his hat had fallen at an awkward angle, but he didn't want to get it dirtied with blood. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue had finally gotten herself out of her duplex. She could not longer rationalize keeping herself from food, and she was starving. She had run out at least a day ago, forcing herself to eat leek and whatever else was left over in the mini-fridge from her take-out at the mess hall. She'd thrown up the vegetables; they hadn't gone down right. Finally, she was going to brave the outside world with her changed body. She slipped carefully to the mess hall. The heat from first walking outside had forced her to leave her yukata in her duplex -- a girl's-cut T-shirt from London and some shorts were all that she could bear to wear. Her tail hung out of a badly cut hole in her shorts. Her paw-like feet felt the change in the floor as she went inside. Immediately she noticed two other people -- and wished there hadn't been anyone. But it was okay; it wasn't many. Just two... Kikue went to pad over to the lunch trays, when the very sudden and electric smell of something she had never smelt before hit her. Flicking her head over at the two other people, she finally registered that...they were covered with blood. One of them, a kind of lizard-person, had it all over his face and running down his jaw. And the other one -- unchanged as of yet -- had a spreading maroon stain branching out across his pant leg. Kikue stared. Somewhat stupidly. Her tail lashed suddenly behind her, punctuating the awkwardness of the moment. What the... ... ...? Had the lizard...?! The smell of blood was like a visual smear across the air. Anatoli Schreier Anatoli was oblivious to the chaos surrounding him, at least the details of it. All he really saw was blood, and the dragon freaking out. His hands were clasped tightly around his leg, and he kept repeating the Shema in an ever-increasing crescendo until he was practically shouting. "...ADONAI ELOHAINU, ADONAI ECHAD..."He hadn't moved from his chair, and his legs were beginning to shake. This had to have been the best decision he's made in months. Really. He didn't acknowledge Zach's question, instead continuing to yell out the prayer in a pitiful effort to keep his head. Zachary Bloodstone "I'll jussst take the babbling asss a yess," he grumbled, putting a hand to his face and feeling the blood staining it. Zach moved around the table, tail swinging. The guy who stabbed himself was sure being a baby about it. Why stab yourself if- he gave up trying to figure it out. First aid kit first, napkins later. He glanced up in mid-step between the tables to see a furry girl staring at the both of them. His wings folded behind him. Gears shifted in his brain. Staring... screaming... blood... Uh oh. "It'sss not what it looksss like!" he blurted out frantically. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue's eyes were wide, staring at the lizard man as he stood up. Upon hearing his frantic declaration that it hadn't been him, in the case of the other man -- Kikue's head turned, staring. The other, normal-looking man was positively screaming at the top of his lungs in some language that she had never heard before in her life. Was it gibberish; was something wrong with him -- no, there's a consistency to those words somehow, I just have no idea what he's saying --"Hey -- hey!" Kikue said loudly, surprised somewhat by the loudness of her own voice as she approached the screaming man at the table. Her whiskers were twitching; she only realized then that her mouth was open as she breathed. Something about the air... She shook her head, feeling faintly dizzy. "Hey --" she broke off as the man kept screaming. "What happened to him?" she asked the lizard man, forcing her voice above the shouting. The blood was still running down the lizard's snout. Kikue was only vaguely aware of the fact that her rough, large tongue snuck out and licked her lips as she asked it. ...Huh? Sid Eisley Sid had terrible luck when it came to doing anything without being seen. People either walked in on him or, in the case, he walked in on people screaming. He come to the cafeteria hoping to grab a few things and leave. If he had any sense he would have turned around when he heard screaming from outside, instead curiosity got the better of him. Curiosity also made him overlook the fact that maybe, given how he had changed, his slipping inside to gawk would only make things worse. He slowly moved into the cafeteria, cane in hand as always, and stopped when he was close enough to get a good look at what was happening. Unfortunately that meant he was easily spotted as well. He looked to Zach, the one familiar face in the tableaux, then it was to the bleeding, babbling man, and finally the cat girl. "Khith," he said. It wasn't exactly 'Christ', but it was close enough. Anatoli Schreier So it seems Anatoli's screaming and incessant blathering in moon language has attracted a small crowd. His babbling slowed to a stop when he realized he was still conscious, albeit still bleeding. The adrenaline was still there and had yet to wind down. "A... broch..." The man tried standing up on wobbly legs, one hand still placed firmly over the wound while the other held on to the table for balance. "Whadda you all lookin' at? I'm bleedin', that's all! I'll be fine!"He started to feel a bit light-headed, probably both from the extra kick of adrenaline and blood loss. Defeatedly, he sat back down and propped up an elbow to bury his face in his hand, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses. "I'm... fine."Zachary Bloodstone Panic spread into his voice, making it higher and faster. "He was talking completely casually, when all of a sudden, he just - he stabbed himself with his knife! I swear!" He held his fingers out in front of them, occasionally moving them. He didn't want to touch anything for fear of getting it all over the place. He too licked his lips, unconsciously enjoying the sharp taste of blood. He looked away from the catlike girl, once more on his interrupted quest to retrieve the first aid kit, to see Sid wearing an expression that would make a cartoon jealous. Changed? Likely. Zach had no clue what kind of an animal had an underbite of such proportion. Now seemed like a bad time to ask. He was torn between running for the door and staying by the big cat's side. He could leave; on some level he felt responsible. If he hadn't gone over there meaning to taunt the guy, maybe he wouldn't have tried to stake his leg. At least the fact that the stabbing guy had stopped howling meant he must not have severed anything important. Yamamoto Kikue Slef-mutilation was not something that made sense to Kikue. Just as she was digesting what had, apparently, actually taken place -- another person walked in through the double doors, causing her to stare something awful. The bottom half of his jaw stuck out far beyond the rest, laced with needle-sharp teeth. Kikue thought, for a second, that she had to be imagining it. What animal had a jaw like that? Yet her fur had begun to stand on end, seeing the newcomer. The shouting man's standing up and sitting down, his constant movement, was making Kikue's whiskers twitch. Quickly she grabbed some of the stray napkins scattered across the lunch table near him, and kneeled down near the man's leg. "What'd you do this for?" she asked, almost sharply, as she held the wad of napkins over the growing red stain. No, it was no good, she couldn't help stop it with his pants soaked already. Almost on instinct, Kikue's claws shot out and she easily tore off the top layer of the man's pants that looked to be above his cut. Flicking the soaked fabric from her fingers, she stared at the gash in the man's leg. Blood was still seaping sluggishly outward. She stared at it, numb. Holding the napkins above it, but not yet pushing down to help clot the blood. Maybe she shouldn't use napkins, she should...use... Her rough, cat tongue passed out of her mouth again, she she licked her lips. The scent of blood was almost painful. Her stomach rumbled. Snapping her gaze up, she saw the newcomer into the mess hall clearly still. He had teeth. He would definitely be a threat. If...no. There was no threat, except this man's loss of blood! Do something!She went to press down on the wound again, then had second thoughts about using napkins, then -- it suddenly seemed like the man was about to move. The other two people in the room -- the overpowering stench of blood -- and Kikue's head jerked forward, sinking her cat teeth right into the man's leg. Blood filled her mouth. It was warm. It was good. And then, her eyes grew very wide. Sid Eisley "Ah fuhh," Sid said, the word ending with an odd wet noise as his tongue failed to cooperate and make a 'k' sound. He picked the cane up from the floor and limped over as quickly as he could. His first impulse was to hit the cat girl with it, but then he remember not only was she a person- mostly- it would probably only make her bite harder. Pulling her back by the collar of her shirt probably wasn't a good idea either, but it was only after he started trying to pull her back that it occurred to him she might take out of a chunk of the new guy's leg along the way. The cane was still in his other hand... that was plan B. Anatoli Schreier "What the hell are ya doin', ya overgrown pussycat?!" Anatoli squawked with dismay, balling his hand into a fist and pounding on the feline's skull the moment she put her face within inches of his leg. The hitting continued with both hands once she clamped her jaws onto his thigh. "Get offa me! Scram!" The hitting was probably to no avail, but what else could the guy do? Zachary Bloodstone Wide-eyed, Zach watched the rush as the cat girl pounced, the injured guy tried to beat her off, and Sid flew in to the rescue. He couldn't smell it, but he could certainly venture a guess that there was now even more blood. He licked at his claws frantically, trying to calm himself down while observing the spectacle of insanity. Once again, the mismatched combination of instincts left him with no clear, sensible idea of what to do. As a human, he wanted to run away with all due haste. As a variety of animals, the jury was out. He stayed frozen, wavering on the spot. The frill around his neck spread as he tried to follow every sudden movement. A worried noise escaped him. What to do, what to do, what to- The first aid kit! He darted away to get it, tail swishing. Even if he wasn't all that interested in actually doing anything for the newcomer's injuries, the task put distance between himself and the miniature insane asylum. Yamamoto Kikue Just as the man whose leg Kikue had sunk her teeth into began to beat her mercilessly over the head, whatever instinct had prompted her to go for him in the first place took over. She lashed out immediately at him, claws going wild as she slashed at him between his poudings on her skull. Fight! Fight!!She chomped down harder on his leg, grabbing it with her bloodied paws out of pure primal anger at being attacked. Just as the blood was running down her mouth, warming her tongue, blurring her vision between the tears of pain from the thumping overhead -- -- something from the nape of her neck burned, shutting her down from the inside out. With a burst of darkness, her vision was gone, and there was a distant, content kind of feeling at the taste of blood in her mouth. Her body went limp. She hunched over, unconscious -- gone. Sid Eisley Sid was still pulling the cat girl by the collar when she went limp. The cane was still poised for striking her as well, but there wasn't much room to hit her when he victim was wailing on her like that. He should have known what was happening by the way she tensed from the jolt, but no, as soon as she went limp he fell backwards and pulled her along with him. His other arm flailed, but the cane was no help there. He landed on his rear, which might not have been so bad if not for the tail. Sid, naturally, cried out in pain. He couldn't even enjoy the fact he a women lying against him... even if it was a fuzzy and unconscious one. "Ow," he said. Anatoli Schreier If there was any good time to start reciting the Shema again, this would be it. Saying it before when he was in minimal harm was insulting compared to this. A hand full of razor-sharp claws lashed out and dragged across his chest, tearing into his flesh and letting more blood spill from the already-injured man. "Shema yisrael adonai elohainu..." This was it. It was over for him. He was going to be cat food, and... suddenly, the beast stops. Anatoli trails off mid-prayer, his hands shaking wildly as Sid fell back and pried the feline off him. He slumped into his chair, peeling off the shredded undershirt and clumsily tying it around the affected leg. It was hard to get the knot very tight, with how badly he was shaking. "I deserved that."Zachary Bloodstone Zach hovered over the kit a couple moments longer than necessary, listening to the assorted sounds of violence emmanating from the other side of the room. His scaly left hand was slick with blood, but he used it to grab the first aid kit anyhow. The whole limb, as well as his scaly patches, had an odd, sterile kind of feel to them, like a permanent glove. When he returned, he found the problem had solved itself. He breathed a sigh of relief quietly to himself. Crimson veins of blood dripped down the handle of the box in his large hand, but he didn't really concern himself with that. The box was dropped onto the table in front of the bleeding guy, and Zach turned away having absolved himself of all responsibility. Words would only serve to complicate things. Shuffling around the crime scene, he grabbed a couple of napkins from a napkin dispenser and set about cleaning off his snout. The short pained noise that he heard coming from around his feet forced him to look down. "Sssid!" Oh, s**t. He'd forgotten about the guy. This gave Zach a better opportunity to look at him. The jaw was... terrifying. The pointy teeth looked like they meant business. The whole appearance of the jutting jaw on his face was surreal. He squatted down so that he was on some similar level to the fallen guy and the psychotic cat lady. "Are... you okay?" Sid Eisley The death grip Sid had on his cane hadn't helped him any, so for the time being he laid it aside. One arm went around Kikue, just to make sure he didn't make things worse by letting her head smack the tile. He reached back with the other arm and felt his tail. It didn't feel broken, thankfully. "Yeh," he said. "Ah'm okeh." He'd all but forgotten about the bloodied man sitting there, and once he confirmed nothing of his own was hurt in the fall he was able to focus on the cat girl. Maybe a little fur wasn't so bad after all, and in any case there was fabric between that and his webbed hand. He didn't exactly make a conscious decision to move his hand up a few inches, it just happened. He moved it away just as quickly, hoping no one noticed. You couldn't call it improper if she was still fully clothed and unconscious of the little slip. Then again, maybe you could. Anatoli Schreier Anatoli was a wuss, but thankfully he wasn't the kind that fainted at the sight of blood. Otherwise, he would have gone out long ago. This really made him not want to leave his duplex unless he absolutely had to, lest he be jumped by more ravenous cat people. He dragged the first aid kit across the table with a bloodied hand, forcing himself to stand as he held his head with a free hand. "I'm gonna go... gonna go somewhere else. Don't wanna get no moah... no moah cats tryin' ta eat me. Just gonna... just gonna get outta heeah," he mumbled, starting to slowly trudge his way towards the cafeteria door, "An' hope I don't die." He stuck the hand holding the first aid kit up in a defeated wave. Zachary Bloodstone He got up again, trying his hardest to keep his bloody fingers away from most everything. Zach failed to spot Sid doing anything unusual, too busy going to retrieve more napkins. Not that he wasn't used to bloody meals making a mess, but he was still self-conscious about looking like he'd just murdered something. Zach glanced at the still-nameless man leaving with the first aid kit. "Good luck with that!" he shouted in the man's direction, half-amused. Whatever had just happened was the first of much to come for that guy. Zach would have bet on it, if he had anything to bet. There were a few predictable things on this island, and getting mauled was one of them. After wandering back feeling somehow a little cleaner, he looked back down at the older man, trying not to get too weirded out by the jaw thing. A thumb was cocked in the direction of the furry, evidently unconscious psychopath. "What about the girl?" Sid Eisley "Ah cahnt cawy er," Sid said. He didn't even know how he was going to get back up to his feet. He looked around, but as far as he could see it was just him and Zach now. With his arms full of cat girl he had little choice but to keep talking, no matter how horrible it came out. "Y' know where she lifs?" Zachary Bloodstone Zach took a minute to decipher what Sid said, blinked, and got back down on his knees next to the two fallen people. "You can't? Oh, yeah. Well, I guesss I could carry her." "I don't know. I've never ssseen her before." He offered Sid a hand up, getting ready to pull himself to his feet in the process. He had yet to notice Sid's webbing, or he likely wouldn't have reached out in the first place. He couldn't help but pity the girl - he'd been so close to doing the same thing she'd gone through with. "I guesss I could alwaysss take her back to my duplexss or sssomething. I mean, it'sss sssomewhere, at leassst. She hasss to wake up sssoon-ish..." Sid Eisley Sid stared at the offer hand as though he had no idea what Zach was offering, but before he could decline he reminded himself that any dignity he had left had evaporated around the same time his jaw grew a few inches and forced him to talk like an idiot. Thus when he slid out from underneath the cat girl he grabbed Zach's arm a little too tightly. The feeling of his changed skin against Zach's scales was interesting to say the least. He grabbed his cane on the way up so he could stand. That just left the girl on the floor to be picked up. "She's gahna geh the wong idea when she waes," Sid said idly. Unfortunately all that talking with his mouth up meant for a build up of saliva. He sucked it up just in time to keep himself from drooling, and then he sighed- heavily. Zachary Bloodstone Zach immediately regretted his decision to help. The texture of Sid's fingers was disturbing, like loose cartilage. Older peoples' hands never usually felt like that. He snuck a glance and saw that they were webbed. It was pretty bizarre-looking. Zach never had managed to get over the shock of seeing people between changes. When the swamp thing had dislodged from his arm, he went back down on the floor to pick up the fallen girl. He slid his hands underneath her neck and knees (claws pointed away from her as best they could be) and counted to three in his head. It was a struggled back once again to his feet, grunting as he was this time towing an extra body. He spread his wings while his tail waved around, steadying himself as best he could. People were always heavier than they looked, even small people like this girl. The slurping sound was not pleasant. He glanced over at Sid, feeling a twist of fear at the older man's somewhat badly enunciated point. At the same time, it just wasn't safe to leave her lying in a public place. She could hate him for what he was doing all she wanted, but at least she'd have her organs on the inside. He shrugged his shoulders a little, grunting a little more as he coaxed her weight back into a more easily juggled spot for his arms. "Let her. If we leave her here, sssomeone elssse will probably attack her." Sid Eisley The thought of someone getting eaten in the cafeteria struck Sid as morbidly amusing, especially given his state of mind lately. At least when he snickered it sounded remotely normal, though with no frame of reference it likely sounded crazy, too. "Uh..." He figured he'd better try and cover for that. "Nee ehny he'p?" As if he could do anything more than trail after Zach and gasp if he dropped her. Zachary Bloodstone "Uh..." He trailed off in thought, taking a couple of tentative steps forward. So far, so good. He turned his attention back to the older man. "There isss sssomething..." "Go grab... a couple burgersss... on a plate for me... thanksss..." He stopped, shifting his weight again. It was a strain to talk and carry a furry girl. "Don't want her... to kill me... when she comesss to..." Sid Eisley Sid nodded, not wanting to discover how he might mess up just saying 'burgers'. The pain in his tail was only just subsiding to a dull ache, and on the off chance Zach was watching he didn't want to risk rubbing it as he walked across the room. At the buffet line he slipped his cane to the crook of his arm long enough to fill a plate. Not sure how firm his grip might be with hands like his, he carried the plate back by balancing it on the palm of his hand. That rekindled memories of all those past jobs that never seemed to last more than a few weeks. It was too much to hope Zach could, say, balance the plate between those horns, so it looked like he was stuck following anyway. "Reh'ee?" Zachary Bloodstone "Yeah... Let'sss get out of here..." With a steady determination, Zach headed out the door, Sid now in tow behind him. At least he wouldn't feel guilty if he knew she wasn't some other predator's lunch, unable to defend herself. The staff was somewhat... unreliable... when it came to stopping people from ripping each other apart in time. Even so, carrying the girl was all kinds of awkward, not to mention strenuous. He still had to take her up a flight of stairs, too. This was going to be a long day.
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 12:04 pm
Roleplay ID ID #: 015 Started On: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:27 pm Completed On: Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:51 pm Characters: Kikue, Zach Original Link: Click. Synopsis: Kikue wakes up in Zach's duplex after the incident in the mess hall. He has an interesting take on the happenings on the Island, as well as an indirect proposition for her... Zachary Bloodstone Zach stumbled into his duplex with the unconscious girl. He didn't know how he'd managed to get up the flight of stairs, but he had, and if he didn't put her down soon his arms were just going to give. Where? The bed, in all its totally unadorned splendor. Right. He moved with all the speed he could and set her down on it carefully, making sure to keep her from crushing her furry tail. Some months ago, he'd stuffed the pillows into the closet, not needing them much. He'd shredded a few already on accident and though they did get replaced every so often, it made a huge mess of stuffing everywhere. He shook his arms out a little bit to get some feeling back into them as he went to retrieve the plate of burgers down at the bottom of the stairs. Experience definitely paid off - Sabin had left Zach some pre-cooked food after some violent incidents, which helped stop them from happening for at least a little while. Up the stairs and back into the room he went, grabbing the doorknob as he moved so that he could close the door behind him. It was sweltering outside, but he guessed that with so much fur she didn't need the extra heat. The plate was set down at the bedside table, and he moved to go into the bathroom to really get all the blood off. When that was done, he settled down in a corner of the room with a borrowed magazine and read, making sure to right his hat between the horns with a now-clean hand. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue stirred slightly. Without opening her eyes, she felt a pounding headache move in. And yet...there was a metallic taste in her mouth still. She still hadn't eaten anything. The whole of neck and the back of her head ached. Wha...She could feel a bed around her. She must be back in her duplex... She remembered, faintly, what she had been doing. The thought alone forced her eyes to snap open, and she jerked up into a sitting position on the bed almost convulsively with a gasp. Her vision brought her images -- wait, not my room -- wait -- The taste in her mouth. She licked her lips, her paw-like fingers brushing against the whiskers. She was dazed. Her paws still had blood on them. Blood. Kikue's fur rose slowly, and she turned her head around her. The room looked back at her -- and someone in it, too. Lizard. Man. From the mess hall.Kikue's rationale felt blurred. She didn't know whether to be afraid, or angry. But she was not in her room; had he attacked her after she'd bitten the other man? Oh gods I -- I bit him!Her cat-like eyes stared dead at the lizard in his chair. Her tail had begun to lash slightly on the sheets. She had no idea what the hell was going on. Zachary Bloodstone Zach continued flipping through the magazine, pausing between the rustle of pages when something briefly caught his interest. The sound had almost completely masked those of the cat girl getting up, but the bedsprings groaned just enough to warrant a glance over the reading material. He stared back at her for a little bit, fearing that the silence meant she was still as feral as when she'd bitten the newcomer. His tail stopped dead in its lazy movements. Slowly, carefully, he put the magazine down in his lap. Sudden movements would be bad. Already he regretted the idea of bringing her somewhere "safe". What about his own safety? "Uh, hi." He gave a tentative wave at her. A clawed finger was pointed at the bedside table, where the plate of burgers had gone cold. Predators were predators - he'd figured a cat couldn't be that picky about meat. "You really should eat sssomething." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue turned to follow Zach's clawed fingers. Her ears pricked up at the mention of "eating" something. Forcing herself to swallow -- but then the taste of blood only spread out further in her mouth -- she glanced at the plate of hamburgers. Her stomach made a pleading sound, even as she tried to squash the hunger before it made itself known. Her eyes kept flicking between the plate and the man. Her expression crumpled, as she attempt to say something. She'd just bitten some man she hadn't known, hadn't she. And the pounding headache -- although probably from lack of food as much as anything else -- was probably a remnant of the chip shocking her. That had been what had happened, right? She'd lost herself...they'd knocked her unconscious... "Um," she whispered out hoarsely. She scratched her neck carefully, although the claws still left small lines since there was no fur there to protect her... "I, um..." She begant to pant, only catching herself after she had started. "I...I bit that man, didn't I?" Only the stupidest question. Yes, of course she had bitten him. Bitten him? "Excuse me," she got out, moving along the bed to the plate of hamburgers. The blood on her paws was still fresh. Seeing the meat -- tasting the blood in her mouth still, and smelling it on her hands -- she grabbed the plate to herself, sitting on the bed as her tail curled around her. She began to eat ravenously, ripping off large chunks of the cold burger and gulping it down. It was the only thing she could do to keep herself focused; to keep herself from doing anything else insane. Just eat and make the instincts stop -- She licked her mouth and her paws with her tongue, large and rough now. She hadn't even noticed from the last change... In-between stuffing down the food, her eyes would rise guiltily to the man in his chair. He had a funny kind of outfit on...and one could almost say he looked less like a lizard than Kikue had thought. He looked like a dragon. In fact...he had wings. She had overlooked it completely the first time. She swalled a very large piece, hard. Her stomach yet called for more, but she took a few seconds to look at him. How strange... Zachary Bloodstone She talked! It was a relief that he wasn't dealing with a psychotic islander after all. He couldn't have been happier to hear English. Her question seemed straightforward enough. No sense lying to her about what she'd done, if she could make an effort to avoid doing it again. "Well, yeah. But I think he'sss okay." He gave her a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry about it, they haven't solved the inssstinct problem yet." He bobbed his head once in a nod, completely understanding, and went back to reading. Every once in a while he looked up, studying her with equal interest until they locked eyes and he returned to what he was pretending to do. Most of the time, the catlike islanders were too dangerous for him to get a good look at and appreciate how their changes looked. Rex and Jamal, namely. This girl, as of yet nameless, didn't seem quite as terrifying. His tail had resumed its slow movements, hanging off the seat of the couch and bunched on the floor. There was no way he could sit normally in a chair any more, so he was curled across it instead, legs hanging out over one armrest and wings half-spread over the other. After making eye contact a few times too many, he grew nervous enough to fiddle with the hat, gripping it lightly by the brim and shifting it so that it didn't fall too far down his head. Oh, did he hate being bald... Yamamoto Kikue The way the man talked was like he understood exactly what Kikue was talking about. That, and the dismissive way of his hand -- she relaxed somewhat, seeing these gestures. He had taken her into what could be assumed was his duplex, after all... Kikue had lost count of exactly how many hamburgers were on the plate. She was just eating. Her stomach was grateful for the meat, unlike the vegetable she had tried to get down over the past day and a half. Yet while she licked the burger from her hands, there was still that longing for warmth. She was fairly disgusted by the thought, and tried not to think about it for very long. The blood...the rush, when she'd been in the mess hall. But that had been a person! What was she thinking?! She cleaned her face experimentally, doing it badly as only the flattened strip leading to her cat-like nose had any fur on it. No...I can't think like that, either. If I start trying to stay exactly to my thoughts as they were before...I can't! I'm changed...I'm different...I can't stop this from happening to me. If I don't stay attentive to these things, then something else like what just happened might happen again... Don't I have to be aware of these feelings? I have to...try to live with them, not against them... Okay, so I need to eat meat now, it doesn't matter what, even if it's this...which means I have to do it.
I can't play around...someone else could get hurt because of me... She hung her head at the thought. The shame was plain on her face. It had been stupid to stay locked up in her duplex after waking up. She had half set up the situation for this... But I didn't think I'd...really...actually...do something like that...
...But it looks like I will. She raised her head tentatively, catching the man's eye again. He fiddled with his hat. Kikue curled her tail tighter around herself. She glanced at the now-empty plate of food, and cocked her head slightly at the man. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For the trouble..." She swallowed, forcing herself to keep looking at him and not away. "My name is Yamamoto Kikue." She did her best to keep her voice as steady as possible. "I...I had just woken up...from a change." The thought surfaced in her mind that, technically, she had been changed for some weeks now. But...I only just woke up, from the labs...it was the labs, wasn't it? It had to be...She put one hand to the side of her head. The headache was still pounding. It had to be the labs...Zachary Bloodstone "Ah, don't worry about it. I've... had a few 'animal' problemsss myssself." By the way he spoke it was apparent he wouldn't elaborate unless asked to. He dropped the magazine on the floor. Now that she was awake, there was no need to pass the time so introvertedly. Though most of his animal thinking was already pretty strongly against a random person being in the room, his territory, he did miss having simple conversations with people that weren't skewed by strong emotions. "The only thing you can do that I know of isss to make sure you have a full ssstomach." "Oh, I'm Zach. Nicsse to meet you... Yamamoto?" he repeated her name, hoping he'd pronounced it right. At least it had no S's in it, or the way he said it would have sounded weird. His expression grew wearier at what she admitted, coupled with seeing the sad expression on her half-cat face. Changing seemed to trigger some kind of craziness in everyone. It would have been rude not to impart a little advice to her. No one should have to deal with unintentional murder, or anything close to it. "It'll probably go away pretty sssoon. You haven't gotten like thisss a lot, have you? You should asssk if you can get your injectionsss at the lab. That way, you can't hurt anyone." His tail quickened a little in its swishing, as though guiltily. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue broke into a smile. She held her hand up over her chest. "Actually, my name is 'Kikue.' I'm sorry, I forgot to switch my name to the English way." She smiled warmly still, not knowing why. The whole situation seemed quite absurd, sitting here on -- Zach's -- bed, discussing the unfortunate attraction to trying to make a snack out of someone else. Had she really just done that a while ago? I did...I can't believe I did that...Her expression fell a little, but she shook her head. "No. I've never been like this before...sometimes I would get protective if someone tried to come into my room, even after I invited them...but I never did this." She put a clawed hand to her throat, reliving the last moments that she was awake before being knocked out. It had only been that man's leg...but it could have been something else -- it could have been the end of his life... That power scared her. She didn't know how to control it, only to take the edge off it. And she wasn't even sure that she could do that much, yet... Kikue shook her head again, trying not to let her face mirror the sudden anguish she felt thinking that she could have killed someone by a chance encounter... "I can't believe I did that," she whispered, then looked back up at Zach. She wrestled away the tears from welling up. She had to control herself... "But...it's not like I thought it never would...I guess it was something I just didn't think about..." Kikue glanced at the pads on the palms of her hands. "...I couldn't stop myself..." She hunched her shoulders. She knew she was talking a lot now, but the fear kept her doing it. "I thought if I made sure to understand what was happening to me, I'd be able to control it. Either I haven't been paying close enough attention...or I'll never be able to...I'm not sure." Her eyes flicked up to him then, and she frowned. It was unlikely he would know the answer, either. Yet...he's like me, isn't he? In some way? He understands this...what can we do? Other then try to work alongside what we need, now? These things are different, but they are still us...and this is what our new selves require...what else can we do?Zachary Bloodstone "Kikue then? I'll try to remember that." He gave her a smile back, though it exposed the points of his sharp teeth just a little. Still, there was sincerity to his words and actions... so far. "Really, don't worry too much about it. Ssstuff like this happensss to all of usss, whether we want it to or not. It's jussst part of life now. You did get zapped before anything worse happened, though. That'sss why the chipsss in usss are ssso important. I heard sssomeone got theirs out sssomehow, and..." His thoughts momentarily were of the escaped wolf-girl, and what she'd done. Had they caught her? "They killed sssomeone. I don't know who though. But that'sss why I thought it wasss better not to leave you in the cafeteria while you were unconsciousss - they could ssstill be out there." After listening to Kikue's lengthy list of fears, Zach sighed and got up from the chair. He was an odd sight - almost changed, but not entirely, now up to nearly six feet in height. His wings stretched behind him, from the stubby arms to spindly webbed fingers. He did feel badly for her. Who wouldn't? There was, in his opinion, only one form of help here on the island for things like this. Definitely not the disgruntled other islanders - people who went a little crazy every now and then seemed to end up hated by all, not pitied. Not Moreau, either. He was far too mysterious, not interacting much except to worsen things. It didn't take him long to cross the room. He sat down lightly next to her, though not too close, minding his long tail. His hands were clasped together on his knees, different in size. His head was turned in Kikue's direction. "I don't mean to sssound negative, but knowing what'sss happening to you isssn't enough sssometimesss. I hurt sssomeone oncsse after I'd changed, without ever realizing I did until weeksss later. It jussst... it'sss like you're not yourssself." And it was no lie - Aubrey had been pretty badly injured and to this day he couldn't remember actually attacking her. He'd have to be extremely delicate in trying to sell Kikue on what he was going to, given how practically everyone on the island resented the labs in some way. "But one of the doctorsss, Dr. Duvert, isss trying to fixss thisss problem. I mean, he and the other doctorsss don't want usss hurting othersss any more than we want to. He can help you, if you ever feel like you're going to be a danger to people." Yamamoto Kikue A hand extended up over her mouth as she stared at Zach's face, horrified. "Someone...was killed?" The action of thinking about it had been one thing...but to know that it had actually happened? Someone...died? Her heart felt like it was going in slow-motion. It was so loud in her ears. Someone...had actually died. It just as easily have could been me to kill them. If I'm not careful, something like that could happen.Hearing that Zach had thought it safer inside than out, because this said killer was on the loose... "They're out there?" Kikue asked, her face just as much fear as worry and anger. "...What about the staff? Haven't they caught them?" If that chip gets taken out, then the staff have no control? ...That means... She took the information in, and thought it over silently. The gears worked quickly in her brain. As Zach crossed the room, Kikue blinked when he came so close as to be comforting. Normally Kikue shied away from close contact, but, like with Nita, she forced herself to keep a rein on those fears. Besides, she usually felt better after letting herself get through a situation that called for this... Her face fell as Zach confessed he had hurt someone previously without even knowing it. And then, the mention of Dr. Duvert... Kikue's eyes moved to the side. Of course she remembered him. "Dr...Duvert. I remember him." The very first person she had met on the Island. Also...the first person to inject her against the deadly jungle viruses. Which would be known as her animal serum. "..." Kikue set her face, but she was listening. "...I met him when I first came to the Island," she said. She was looking at Zach's eyes. They were strange. "...He was the one to give me my injection." She paused there. She let out a small sigh. "He lied to me. I've thought about it already...I can't know all of his reasons for being here." She raised an eyebrow. Her grey, cat-like eyes glanced up sharply. She was extremely talkative today, shook up still from the fight in the mess hall. "...He seemed cordial with me, but...what could he do to help?" Zachary Bloodstone "Unfortunately, yesss," he frowned, a difficult expression for him to make. Zach had gotten over the death much more quickly, having spent several weeks with the prospect of being the wolf-girl's next victim. The fact that he hadn't, and slept on the other side of a locked door, had given him some feeling of distance from the incident. "I think they're ssstill out there, but I really don't know for sure. I just haven't heard any word that they've been caught. I'll have to asssk. Fact isss, until you know, it'sss not a good idea to take a nap out in the open." "Really? I did, too. I guesss he'sss the one who greetsss everyone who arrivesss here." Inwardly, Zach smacked himself. Next time, he'd just have to remember that all islanders, unless they specifically stated otherwise, hated the doctors. Not that they had very good reason to, he thought bitterly, thinking of some choice islanders like the cobra-man. Zach didn't look away from Kikue, though. Not much of his deceptive thought process could be read through them anyhow, since they had little to no human quality left in their yellow stare, and no real eyebrows to express with. He shied away from her question, trying to mask it with a question of his own. "Wait, what brought you here, anyhow? To the island." Yamamoto Kikue Zach's question caused Kikue to smile a little sadly. She held out her left hand to him, holding it in front of her as anyone would. "My hand," she stated, straightforwardly enough. She began to touch it with her other hand, feeling how easily the muscles responded now. It wouldn't hurt to explain, would it? She had told so few people, after all. "I am a violinist." She smiled, one of ears flicking. "My family is Japanese. My mother died because of an earthquake in Kobe city, where we were staying. My father was never right afterwards. He crushed my hand, and I wasn't able to play anymore... I took myself to therapy to try and help heal it. Then I was given the chance to come here for physical therapy, they said. I left home without telling anyone where I was going, and came here. But there wasn't a physical therapy program." It was a mouthful to say, and even more to think over. Kikue gave him a sideways look, still occasionally looking at his somewhat eerie reptilian eyes. And yet, all of us here, are people? It's almost like a dream, if you don't think about it...Zachary Bloodstone He glanced down at her fur-covered hand curiously, though judging by the somberness, he had a feeling he knew what was coming next, in some form or another. A thought occurred to him, a very, very interesting thought on what to say to the girl once he knew her story. Bingo. However, he was shocked to hear her mother died - he hadn't been expecting that. "Oh my god, I'm ssso sssorry... that mussst have been... I'm sssorry to hear that." "No physssical therapy? I wouldn't sssay that... your hand isss fixssed, isssn't it? Nothing looksss broken, ssso far asss I can tell." But here it was, an opportunity to prove to her that the island was not all bad. "It'sss amazing what they can do here, though. I mean, the doctor hasss given you back the ability to play violin. That'sss got to count for sssomething." Now it was his turn. "They lured me here under falssse pretensssesss too, but it wasss for a good caussse, sssame asss with you. About ten yearsss ago, I lossst my left arm." After having gotten it back, the story wasn't as emotionally draining as it used to be. It was in the past, almost as if it had never happened. Almost. He held up his left arm, which was completely encased in scale, and a little bulkier than the right because of it. "It grew back, jussst like thisss. Imposssible anywhere elssse. The animal ssstuff isss a sssmall pricsse to pay. And if it hadn't been for Dr. Duvert, neither of usss would have been thisss lucky." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue, having mentioned her mother rarely to other people, was almost taken aback by Zach's sympathy for her. Yet, she shook her head, and forced a smile. "No, it's all right..." She stopped there, not really knowing what else to say. She rarely thought about her mother blatantly -- always it was through something like her music, or writing, or some other medium where she allowed herself to express those feelings. Facing them, still raw even now, was hard. She buried them quickly. And then...it was her turn to stare, quite frankly amazed. She extended a paw touching Zach's newer arm carefully. It had grown back? The scales felt funny under her paw pads. She withdrew her hand, but kept looking. She'd been taught not to stare so openly, but the discipline was fading when every day there ended up being something to stare at like this. The pain to grow that...was probably very bad, wasn't it.Kikue smiled, faintly. She did, in many ways, agree with him on this particular point. "I know," she said, as if to herself. She looked at her own hand. "I guess that, in some ways I can be thankful, because playing was everything to me." It was...how I kept going. She frowned. "But I've thought about it this before, too. Why use animals? Surely there must be a way to retain people, as, well people with this system? And to lie to them, to get them here..." She scratched the side of her head idly. "Not everyone can be from the same background...I was in a bad place, where I was before. In some ways, besides the drawbacks...it's almost better to be here then with my father..." Gods how it hurt to say those words. "But...what about you? And there are so many people here...the way they go about choosing people, it doesn't seem to matter if they had families..." Zachary Bloodstone "It'sss great to get back what you lossst, isssn't it?" The expression on her face boosted his confidence that he could convince her. He nodded at her encouragingly at her admittance. It was safer for her not to be thinking of escape, or rebellion, or anything of the sort - she'd only get hurt in the process. Zach didn't mind her touching his arm. It had taken months for him to come around, but the new limb had gone from being shameful to something to be proud of. He felt the slight scratchiness of the pads against his reptilian skin. "That'sss probably why they're doing thisss - to find a way to fixss peoplesss' problemsss without the animal ssside effectsss. We are exssperimentsss." "My family probably couldn't be happier that I've gone missing." He gave a wistful laugh. His mother and sister had almost nothing to with him anyhow. The Bloodstone family, from what little he knew of his relations, was full of misunderstandings. Everyone cut family ties on a whim to the point that only his immediate family considered him on speaking terms of a sort. Not that he'd ever taken much advantage of that - he loathed them as much as they loathed him. He'd heard plenty of stories that detailed similar reasons for coming - false jobs, false promises. Kikue didn't have to know he had a good idea of just how many of the islanders hated the place. "I guesss they're all here for sssimilar reasssonsss. I don't think anyone here knew what wasss going on here. Look at it thisss way - if they'd told you that they'd have to make you part cat to fixss your hand, would you have come?" Yamamoto Kikue The question that she had posed to herself more than once already, now looking back at her from someone else. She'd gone over it in her mind so many times, and yet...yes. It was the same as it had been then, when she first struggled with the answer. She smiled, albiet sadly. "Yes," she said softly. "I would still have come." She looked away, observing the wall to the left of her as if it held some kind of secret. ...I would still have come. Even if I knew...even if they'd told me the truth.But she couldn't speak for everyone. There were people here who had lost something more by coming here than they had by staying wherever there homes were. That, and...a memory. It surged up in her mind. She remembered Nita, telling her what "Dr. Frost" had done to her. Slipped her drugs that were supposed to be anti-depressants, but weren't. She had to go into detox in the labs...to get her system cleaned out.
There is corruption here. Kikue's eyes looked sharp as she rolled those thoughts over in her mind. "...But some of the people working on this project are still not trustworthy." She flicked her eyes to Zach. "I think that, even given the greater implications of this...experiment, some of the staff may not be working toward that goal." She began to flick the edge of her tail back and forth. "What about Dr. Duvert? Why do you trust him?" I did, too...what are his motives? He lied to me, in the beginning...yet there was something about him, some kind of sincerity, that was still there. Is that my own naivety? Am I just grasping for straws?Zachary Bloodstone And so would I. The words lingered at the tip of his tongue, but in all honesty he couldn't say them to her. The person he used to be would never have come, never have wanted to endure what he'd already done. It built character, some might dare to say, but through situations most people never wished to endure. He nodded, face for the moment somewhat masklike. In his mind, those untrustworthy individuals were people like Dr. Moreau, who'd never shown that much in the way of compassion for islanders. Dr. Lockheart, while he still thought ill of her, he felt guilty for considering. Dr. Duvert was the only person on the staff he placed any trust in. His voice dropped so that it was quieter, as if more secretive. "I agree with you, sssome of them aren't. But it happensss. If they were completely trussstworthy, they wouldn't be on the other ssside of a fencsse from usss. But Dr. Duvert meansss well. He picked both of our animalsss - there'sss people who've ended up with much worssse. Being a cat isss a lot better than, sssay, an octopusss." Zach had yet to hear of any other islander who'd ended up worse off than Billy. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue heard him, and yet, at the same time, didn't. In her mind, she immediately heard the distant female voice over the intercom -- "Snow Leopard, Miss Yamamato. You're luckier than most. Dr. Duvert is not usually so nice." ... "My parents - especially my mother - was never encouraging to my interests either. With that I can sympathize. That is the main reason I left home." ... "My name is Dr. Sabin Duvert. I hear that you've probably had a very long flight from Japan. But I assure you, just a few more formalities and we will get you to the duplex that you will be staying in and you can take your rest." ... Kikue blinked, and put two clawed fingers to her head. She looked up at Zach, with his expressionless eyes. How did he know Duvert had given her her serum? ...Clearly Zach-san, to whatever degree, trusts Duvert...it's not unlikely that he knows things. Could he be lying?
...I met Dr. Duvert. I can only base my knowledge off of what I've experienced myself...the rest goes to the winds. Even still, he helped me in the mess hall. I don't think something like that could have been a set up...too random?
No, I...I think like this. Like he does. Even if she couldn't completely trust someone like Duvert, it was more than doing and understanding nothing. She flicked the edge of her tail again, this time a little more noticeablely. "You are right," she consented, knowing that her serum could have been something else...something worse. Billy...Her eyes watched Zach carefully. She was interested, now. "...Do you work with him? That is, Dr. Duvert?" Zachary Bloodstone Zach realized only now how much he'd been babbling. He'd never had a chance to speak his mind on things before, but rather than sound silly to himself, his thoughts and theories seemed to solidify more. No one Zach could think of would have listened to him go on like some kind of heretic on such a serious subject without the interjection of some physical or verbal abuse. He gave Kikue an apologetic look - she'd been polite enough to listen to him go on and on about his opinions. "I'm sssorry if talking about any of thisss bothered you at all - I jussst get carried away. I know it'sss hard for sssome people to... dissscusss their fate here." Zach didn't know for certain Sabin had picked her animal, he only knew that the eccentric doctor had picked his own. However, this lead to his belief that anyone who met Sabin first had their serum handpicked by him. The theory hadn't failed him yet. "Work with him?" Zach repeated the question, glancing at the sudden movement of her tail. All he'd told her was a mixture of things he'd been told and ideas based off of that 'information'. His eyes briefly flickered upward, toward his usually telltale hat. Maybe she was getting the wrong idea from it? "No. I'm a sssubject, like everyone elssse." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue smiled softly. "No, it's fine...I think about it often." She she scratched the back of one of her furred ears idly. It felt strange. "...I don't talk to many others aboout it, though...I stay in my duplex a most of the time..." She tried not to think too much about that. She'd always been reserved and withdrawn, but it had been much harder to break out of it since coming here. She kept wondering if it was the cat... ...Kikue noticed Zach's glance at the hat, but she made no connection to it. "Ah...I understood you were a subject...I just thought, by the way you said Dr. Duvert could help...that maybe you helped him in some way?" She cocked her head, this time taking a liberal look at Zach's silk top hat on his head. ...Wait, is that...? Dr. Duvert's hat? The doctor had had something like that, she recalled vaguely. True the doctor's dress had been somewhat exotic, but she'd seen clothing much more so at home -- for better or worse. The tip of her tail continued to flick back and forth, like a pendulem. "Are you wearing Dr. Duvert's hat?" ...That was probably the strangest question she had come up with so far. Er?Zachary Bloodstone "That'sss the sssafe way to go about thingsss. There'sss some dangerousss islandersss out there..." Given how she was already changed at least once, he didn't have it in him to try offering up his thoughts on the cobra, Rex, Gaius, or the others he so despised. All in good time. "Not that I'm aware of," he shrugged. It was more like the opposite. Embarassingly enough, a lot of the situations Zach had been told of (by Sabin himself, no less), the dragon has only caused more trouble for the doctor. "Hisss hat? No. Well, yesss. Kind of. But it'sss not his hat, it'sss an exsstra one I... got from him. My hair-" He had started to look away from her as he spoke, until his view was of his long-toed feet on the floor. There was a pause in which he wiggled his wing fingers as far as they could be moved around. Kaveri was the only person to whom he'd admitted his frustrations with baldness in all the time he had been. Grudgingly, with both hands, he lifted the hat up along his horns just enough that it was clear his scalp was nothing but a mess of scales. It was replaced quickly. "I lossst it the lassst time I changed. I jussst feel more comfortable wearing sssomething on my head." Sabin Duvert Most of the after-effects of the malfunctioning chip in Zach's neck had abated weeks ago. The periodic numbness in his limbs, or a strange tingling in the back of his neck were almost a memory... Until that tingling starts again... like you're about to be buzzed, but it doesn't quite kick in. Then... it kinda starts to hurt. Then it kinda starts to really hurt. before you know it, The mini-buzzes are kicking in periodically from moment to moment. Finally, it passes to just unconsciousness. Anyone around you is buzzed for good measure as the labs come to collect you and take the time to figure out what's gone wrong with your chip. Apparently, there was some sort of long term damage done when the properties were altered to allow for the buzzing of Tommy and Alec, and it manifested in your chip. Fortunately, for you your lab time (as they know how dangerous you can be) is spent unconscious. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue's expression became tinged with pity. She sat up a little straighter, nodding. She understood. Still, it was interesting that Zach should have the doctor's hat...even if it were merely an extra, to be given it was something important, wasn't it? She logged it away, mindful of what it might mean, even though Zach had already made it quite plain where he stood as far as Dr. Duvert went. He sympathized with him. Kikue was interested in that. She forced a smile, scratching her furry ear again idly. "I'm a bit of the opposite, unfortunately." She gestured her paws to include the fur that had grown across her body. There was still small chips of dried blood beneath her claws -- she noticed, and tried to forget about it. Forgetting that it was already stained across her white shirt was harder. She forced herself to ignore it. I can't think about it...right now...Kikue moved her tail up to herself, putting a hand on it. Just as she opened her mouth to ask another question, she noticed a slight twitch in the corner of Zach's reptilian face. Immediately she thought, Feral?? and the fur along her chest and the rest of her body began to raise immediately. Suddenly, Zach was doing something close to convulsing, scratching with his huge claws at the back of his neck. He fell with a loud thump onto the floor, his tail writhing around his body. "Zach!" Kikue shouted, jumping easily off the bed onto her feet. She stood over Zach, watching him twitch and shake; an incoherent string of words tumbled out of his mouth. "Oh gods," she whispered, kneeling down next to him and throwing her furred arms around his head. He was kicking and rolling, the sounds of impact on the floor loud enough to wake whoever was downstairs and next door at the same time. They said don't let them hit their head, don't let them hit their head if they're having a seizure -- Zach's horns hit her arms; she was sure there would be huge brusies there after this. Tears started running down her face. Oh gods. She had no idea what to do. "Help...someone...help! Help!" Just as she started shouting for anything, anybody, she felt a tingle at the base of her neck. ...Oh...no.With a jerk, the electricity closed off her vision. The last thing she was was Zach's body, contorted, yet slowly going limp. Then, there was darkness.
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 4:59 pm
Roleplay ID ID #: 016 Started On: Sun Oct 22, 2006 1:22 pm Completed On: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:50 pm Characters: Kikue, Nita Original Link: Click. Synopsis: Kikue visits Nita at her duplex. The two catch up on what has been happening. Kikue then discovers the truth about the death of Fiona by Annie. After the emotional moment passes, Kikue brings up the database that she has been working on. They decide to work on it and to complete it together. Although they don't know how the other Islanders will react, it feels like a step in the right direction. Nita MacNeal Nita had returned to the village not too long after her encounter with Marshall, ready for a good soak in the bath and perhaps a short nap. With her hair still damp and twisted into a large knot at the nape of her neck, Nita pulled on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts, so very thoughtfully provided by the labs. She laid a large towel out on her bed and sat with her tail on it to work on getting it dried and groomed. A few clicks of the remote kept by her bedside provided music, advertising her presence in the duplex. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue came up the steps quietly. Her ears flicked to the sound of music, coming from what she felt sure was Nita's room. It had been a long time since she had visited... Kikue climbed the last step onto the landing, then gave herself a quick one-over to make sure that she looked presentable. Her large tail stuck out plainly from her shorts, the hole that had been cut in them already fraying around the edges. She stood completely still for a little longer, outside the door. I have to remember to ask if she knows where Zach's duplex is... Kikue had tried to find it again, after waking up on the floor in her own duplex. She had no idea where she had been before...or what had happened. Only that something had been wrong, with Zach suddenly convulsing on the floor like he was having a seizure. He had been ripping at the back of his neck... She shook herself awake. Turning her paw, she knocked on the door. Nita MacNeal "Just a minute!" Nita called, hauling herself off the bed. She folded up the towel in one smooth, practiced motion and gaver her tail a final quick finger-combing. Standing on tiptoe, she peered through the peephole in the door to be met with a very welcome sight. The girl was changed, but still all-together familiar. "Kikue!!" Nita exclaimed, flinging open the door. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl happily. "Come in! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in forever!" Yamamoto Kikue Suddenly wrapped in Nita's enthusiastic hug, Kikue stared for a moment before throwing her arms around Nita and giving her a tight one back. She smiled happily. "Hello!" She quickly dug her hand into the pocket of her shorts and held out some smaller pieces of bamboo, wrapped into a tiny bundle with a ribbon. It was like a little package. "I haven't seen you for so long, either...I made this for you." Kikue laughed. "There wasn't a lot in the mess hall so I made it small." She couldn't keep the smile off her face. Kikue could see, plainly, that Nita must have changed again, too. Why was it that she always came to visit after another change had happened? Yet Nita didn't look too different...the most striking look was the muzzle that had developed much more prominently. She probably noticed my changes, too.. Kikue was suddenly conscious of her tail again, but she couldn't exactly hide it. She tried to keep her behind her legs. It's too much like Nita's tail. It's huge. I couldn't hide it if I wanted to. Ugh. Nita MacNeal Nita finally released Kikue and grinned, obviously thrilled to see her. "I was worried about you! Have you been okay? When did you change? You look good!" She clapped her hands over her muzzle and laughed. "Sorry," she said, taking a couple of breaths to calm down. "I'll hush so you can talk." She accepted the small gift gratefully and moved away from the door to let Kikue in. After sticking the bamboo in the minifridge to keep it fresh, Nita perched on the edge of her bed, maneuvering her tail out of the way. "So. Spill." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue laughed slightly through a quiet "Thank you" at the compliment; Nita's rush to ask about how things were going bringing back the mental waterfall of recent events. Zach? The labs? Attacking that new person in the mess hall? The very thought brought a redness to her cheeks. It wasn't exactly the best topic to discuss, was it. "Well," she started, taking a tentative seat near Nita. "I don't think I know where to start. It's been...interesting." She folded her paws in her lap and looked squarely at Nita. The change...she should start with that. It was the first thing... It felt awkward to talk about, since the last time she'd discussed it she'd been trying to think of an excuse for sinking her teeth into some person's leg. "...I changed a long while ago. I don't know how long it was...because they took me to the labs. Something about a complication...I'm not sure what. I was unconscious almost the entire time...it was easily weeks... I just remember changing...some man came to my duplex; I could tell he was some kind of guard...then, nothing. I woke up in the labs, but it's very blurry...it was white, and there was some man making notes. I must have been sedated." Kikue tried to keep herself from cringing. It sounded bad. The dreams before the change had been horrible; the change itself not exactly pleasant, either. Somehow the missed time, though, was even more unsettling...she knew nothing about it. What they might have been doing to her. The thought of that helplessness and uncertaintly make her skin crawl. She swallowed, forcing a smile. She took her tail, which had instinctively gone around herself as she sat down, and held it up. "But I got this, huh? It's probably going to get longer..." And bigger. Aren't they as long as the cat's body in the wild? Gugh...not looking forward to that pain... "What about your change?" Nita MacNeal Nita's eyes widened as Kikue related her recent experiences. No wonder she hadn't seen her lately, if she'd been holed up in the labs. Maybe that's what had happened to Lauren... but surely they'd tell her. Right? "Oh my god," she whispered. "But you're feeling better now?" Nita shook her head slowly, although the tail comment elicited a smile. "I think mine beats yours though." She glanced at her own tail, which was good three feet long and almost as big around as her waist. "My change..." Nita paused, her good mood slipping away. "I was in the jungle." Hiding from Annie, hiding from her memories, hoping it was all a sick joke or a nightmare... "It was pretty painful." To someone who knew Nita fairly well, as Kikue did, it would probably be clear that she wasn't giving a thorough account. Yamamoto Kikue "I'm feeling better," Kikue nodded slowly, knowing that the mention of the labs might bring up Nita's past experiences there...including, no doubt, the infamous Dr. Frost, which Kikue now unfortunately associated with the meaning of the phrase "the labs." She forced another smile at seeing Nita's roung, larger tail. There was definitely no competition. "You're right...I wonder whose will be longest by the end." I also wonder...what we'll look like, at the end...Kikue picked up on Nita's change in tone immediately. Studying her face, she could tell that whatever Nita was recalling was not exactly pleasant...although, were the changes ever pleasant? They were always going to be painful... But...it's like it's something else...maybe something happened. Like...like what I did, in the mess hall.
Did the animal take over?Kikue frowned, her expression sympathetic. "...If you don't want to talk about it...I understand," she said softly. She had carefully avoided the mention of what had happened in the mess hall... Kikue's paw-like hands shifted uneasily in her lap. Nita MacNeal "I've only got one more change left, so I guess we'll find out..." Nita shrugged and stared at her tail, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the room. Had Kikue known Fiona or Annie? If she'd been in the labs, had she even heard something had happened? "I was in the jungle.. I was hiding. I was kind of crazy, I guess." She gulped convulsively. How could she say it? "Before I changed, I mean. Because of.. what happened.." Nita's skin felt hot, causing her fur to prickle up; she shivered. Yamamoto Kikue Only one more change? That means Nita knows how many there are, altogether? "How many changes have you gone through, so far?" Kikue asked curiously, although the curiousity was weak due to Nita's obvious mood. Something was wrong... "Hiding?" Kikue echoed. The word brought a sudden flash of memory -- of Zach saying someone was out there, in the jungle. Some Islander gone mad, who had killed someone. The thought made her bring up a hand instinctively, somewhere between covering her mouth and touching Nita to give comfort. "I -- I heard about something. After..." Now it was Kikue turn to feel especially uncomfortable. She knew Nita would see it, just like she herself had noticed Nita's tone. "...After...I did something after I woke back up, out of the labs. But...after that, someone, Zach, told me that there was an Islander out in the jungle." Fear crept across Kikue's skin. "Are -- are they still out there? Did you get hurt?" I don't know what happened but I... Nita MacNeal "Four changes," Nita mumbled. "I've been through three already. Only one more..." Nita's shoulders hunched and she drew her knees up to her chest, toes grasping the edge of the bed. "Hiding from Annie," she whispered. Her breath came ragged; not even mentioning Zach's name could distract her just then. "It was Annie who went crazy. She ripped Fiona's throat out. I saw it." Nita looked at Kikue, a haunted expression on her face, despair lurking about her features. "She killed her, Kikue." Yamamoto Kikue Four changes -- and I --The breath caught in Kikue's throat. Unconsciously she stood up from the bed, her hand hanging in space somewhere in front of her mouth -- like it hadn't quite gotten there. "Annie?" she repeated, saying the name as if it were unfamiliar to her -- as if English were unfamilar to her. "...Fi...ona?" "Annie and I spent weeks planning before we actually did it. We cut open the fence, and got in a second story window. . ."
"At least it's not a carnivore. I'm a vegetarian, eh?"
"She was... she was brought here too. A little while ago, they... they took her into the labs. I tried... tried to get in, asked to see her... they said she was sick, that something had gone wrong, but I know it was an excuse, that they were lying. . ."
"One of the scientists was nearly killed a while ago..." she said quietly, ignoring the niggling little fear in the back of her mind. "I think they found out who it was, but... I still don't know. Somebody else might... I tried not to get involved. But... it does happen, obviously. Whatever they're sticking us with, it does more than just change you on the outside. . ."
" . . . They've taken her away from me... either to break my spirit, break hers, or..." Fiona's voice began to crack and waver, "just to experiment on her further. . ."
"I hope so..." she fell silent for a bit, and then sighed. "I... I need to be going. There are some things I want to do, and it'll be dark before too long." The girl smiled a little. "Thank you. . ."Kikue's paw, suspended in the air, had begun to shake slightly. "Annie?" she repeated. "Fiona's friend, Annie?" I never -- I -- never saw her, she -- but Fiona --"Fiona's dead?" She sounded something like a child. "...Mother...mother's dead?"She clapped her paws over her mouth, staring at Nita with a look of blind horror on her face. The thoughts were coming too fast; Nita had been there, had seen it; Fiona's friend Annie; Fiona was a rabbit; wait how could Fiona be dead; people didn't die, the chips stopped people from... The chip had stopped her from... Hot tears welled up in her eyes. Controlling her emotions had always been such a priority, and yet none of that discipline came to her now. There was only a barren, empty space hole where it should have been. Nita MacNeal Nita knew Kikue was upset, could see it in her stance, could almost smell it radiating from her. But she couldn't comfort her, couldn't comfort herself. She could only spill further details, her voice cracking every few syllables. "Annie. And Fiona. They lived next door to me. They were best friends. A wolf..." Nita gasped, rocking back and forth on the bed. "And a rabbit. Annie changed, oh, she changed so fast, too fast. I was in a tree, couldn't stop it, couldn't move..." She bit her lip until it bled, staining the white fur around her mouth. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue stared. She began to cry, although she couldn't really remember ever starting. See Nita begin to rock, she immediately sat back down on the bed and embraced her, clung to her, not knowing what to say to somehow ease the memories that must be flooding Nita's head. Couldn't imagine seeing it. Could barely imagine it happening. That girl...Fiona. 'Like trees in November...'Annie. Annie had been in the labs. So she had been a wolf. Yes, Fiona, Fiona was -- had been -- a rabbit. No, how could she even be thinking that she was really dead? It had been long ago that she'd talked to her -- but it had been real, and no one was supposed to be allowed to die... Kikue's thoughts were gibberish -- a childish denial took about residence in her brain. Yet she could remember, so clearly, her mother being dead, the same words her left her mouth... Fiona was such a clearly defined picture in her mind. Zach had said someone had died, but how... how? Annie...changed, killed her? Ripped her throat out...
Nita hiding in the trees...She abandoned thought and any shred of dignity she had ever clung to. Burying her face into Nita's fur, she put her paw around the other girl's head and held her. She cried without holding an ounce of it back -- loudly sobbing, remembering that the last time she had ever let herself do something like it was after Father had broken her hand. Can't be. Can't be.
But it is.Nita MacNeal Nita didn't start to cry until Kikue sat down, but that simple action pushed her over the edge. She clung back, huddled in a ball of misery, weeping loudly and profusely. She had tried so hard to forget, to banish the images from her mind, but the sounds, the smells-- those were just as evocative of that horrible event. Escaping to the jungle had worked for a while; she had finally been able to walk about the village without seeing the bloodied pair in her mind's eye. Annie must have been captured, dragged back to the labs if not shot on sight. Gone forever, even if, by some slim chance she were still alive. And Fiona was dead, killed like an animal. Hunted like an animal, by an animal. Nothing left of either of them-- their humanity and lives taken by the labs, who were unable to prevent such a crisis. And Nita hadn't been able to help, frozen by fear and disbelief, stuck up in a tree. Like an animal. Yamamoto Kikue In the flurry of emotion, Kikue quite lost herself. She began to react without realizing it; her tears slowing as she nuzzled Nita as if she were a fellow, distraught over something. Her actions were operating from a purely instinctively level -- these simple things seemed to speak the most now, where words could do nothing. Kikue almost didn't notice what she was doing, as she leaned forward with her rough tongue halfway out of her mouth to wash Nita's face. Quickly she slapped a paw over her mouth, mumbling out something to the extent of "OhmygodI'msorry" from behind her fingers. It sounded completely unlike her, but the impulsive action generated an equally spontaneous response. Her ears crumpled noticeably and put her arm back around the other girl and let Nita's head rest on her shoulder. The tears came back in spurts, randomly trickling down her face and wetting the fur that led down to her nose. Fiona...Fiona. She couldn't really be dead... Kikue's imagination had already created the scene; what it must have looked like...yet she knew it couldn't be anything near what it had been like to see it...to see... Much as she tried to hold it back, she began to cry silently again, imagining that other girl who she would never now see again. But how... And Fiona's friend, Annie...she had killed...had they... But they must have...killed her too... But Zach...seemed to say she was still out there...oh gods but. Wouldn't she remember herself after a while...out there....or maybe she's still lost in it...oh...
I can't believe this...Nita MacNeal Nita almost laughed. A choked, somewhat hysterical sob pried itself from her lips. "It's okay... It's okay," she mumbled. After a few moments, her tears began to slow. Nita took deep, ragged breaths, feeling distinctly shaky but not wanting to start hyperventilating. Pulling away from Kikue, Nita sniffed and dug the palms of her hands into her eyes. A tiny trickle of blood still stained her lip; she licked it away, hardly noticing the coppery taste. She pulled the bottom part of her shirt up to wipe her face before leaning back over to give Kikue a gentle hug. "I'm sorry to have to tell you all that," Nita whispered, reaching up to wipe tears from Kikue's cheeks with one thumb. Yamamoto Kikue Although still somewhat embarrassed, Kikue felt much better after she watched Nita begin to calm. She was able to feel it herself, her train wreck of emotions finally coming to a moderate speed...and then slowing. She took a deep breath to help the composure come back to her. She smiled as Nita apologized. "It's okay," she said softly, surprised for a moment at Nita's touch...then upon remembering what she herself had almost done about a minute ago, she thought it probably shouldn't be strange at all. She was able to feel like she breathing again. She sat quietly for a little while, then met Nita's eyes again. "I'm so sorry, Nita...I had no idea..." Kikue forced the impending tears back with a hard swallow. "I met Fiona...but it was a long time ago, now. I never met Annie. Fiona only told me about her." Kikue felt as if someone was squeezing her heart in her chest. It hurt. It ached. She placed a clawed hand onto Nita's again, letting her know that she was still there. "...I heard someone had died...I find out almost by accident...they said that the person was still out there, so they were worried about going out." Kikue flicked her back up. "I suppose I should tell you what I did..." It didn't feel right to hold back, after Nita had had to relive Fiona's death just to tell her. "I attacked someone in the mess hall. I...I was stupid. After I woke up I didn't eat...for a few days. Then I went there to get food, and the person...had stabbed himself in the leg. I have no idea why, but when I came in it was like that. There was blood everywhere. I couldn't...control myself...once I got close to him and tried to help." Kikue's eyes looked out with anguish. "I...I know that might make you afraid of me...I would understand... If I keep on top of things, I seem to be fine...but I..." She cringed inwardly. She treasured Nita's friendship, and was nearly terrified to lose it. Nita MacNeal Nita crossed her legs, calm enough that she didn't feel quite so much like huddling in a fetal position for the rest of her life. "They lived right next door," she explained quietly, holding onto Kikue's hand. "Annie was... just about as sweet and smart as anyone could be, and well, if you met Fiona you knew how she was." She nodded slowly as Kikue spoke. Nita herself wasn't afraid of Kikue, although the part of her that urged her to take refuge in trees was unhappy. But this was Kikue, her friend. Like Annie had been Fee's friend. "I see... I... We can't let them take us from each other. Besides," Nita glanced at Kikue, hesitating. "You have your chip. Right?" Yamamoto Kikue "Yes," she answered softly, putting a paw around to the base of her neck. "And it works..." A frown worked its way across Kikue's face. That was unsolved part of the puzzle, wasn't it. How had Annie been able to kill Fiona? With a troubled look, she asked, "...How...how was Annie able to hurt Fee like that? Wouldn't the chip...?" She knew it was prodding back into the danger zone, but it was the piece that didn't make any sense. The labs seemed vigilant about the chips. Maybe even too vigilant...Kikue still couldn't explain what had happened to Zach, either. He hadn't been about to attack her, as far as she could tell. And yet she had also been shocked. Why? She brought her hand back to rest in her lap. She had never wished so much that she could make her claws disappear...they stuck out so noticeablely, and were so sharp -- it was as if they spoke volumes on their own. Like they were taunting. Nita MacNeal One more piece of horror to share... "She tore it out. Annie tore the chip out of her neck," Nita explained, her voice dull and emotionless. "Her changing like that must have moved it closer to the surface... I could hear it buzzing. The labs tried to knock her out but it didn't work." She shook her head slowly, eyes downcast. "Fiona was so sure the chips could be removed. I guess she was right, but..." Nita trailed off, the unspoken thought hanging thick in the air. She was right, but the knowledge killed her.Yamamoto Kikue Kikue felt like her stomach had dropped to her feet. So. That was it. The chips could be removed...no doubt it was dangerous to do it. Kikue felt no real inclination to have hers taken away. She liked the knowledge that if she were about to do something relatively stupid, the labs would stop her from really hurting anyone. Pretending to think she would always be in complete control was something that was impossible now...the mess hall had proved it. Once was enough to show that. Kikue touched the base of her neck again, rubbing the pads that had formed beneath her fingers on the spot. I can't believe that ripping it out like that wasn't enough to stop Annie...it must have been gruesome. But her neck...then again, she had changed, hadn't she. And a wolf...I have no idea what it would be like. She gave Nita a kind of weak smile, placing her hand back into her lap. Her ears were crumpled again. "Ever since what happened, I have been trying very hard to make sure I eat and take care of myself...I don't want anything like that to happen ever again." Yet she couldn't bring herself to say, 'I would never hurt you.' Kikue no longer trusted herself, something that unnerved her, being that she was the only person she could trust in the past. But now, everything was different. That iron grip on her composure had weakened; fallen prey to these instinicts...these emotions... "I'll try never to do anything," she whispered painfully, wrestling with the overpowering urge to be upset. Her voice still cracked slightly, but she retained some amount of control. It was better than nothing. Forcing a smile, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her ears flicked a little. "I know my chip works...it knocked me out in the mess hall. But I actually didn't wake up there." Kikue flicked her tail a little, her spirits rising a bit as she moved away from the memory of what she'd done. "Do you know Zach?" Nita MacNeal Nita winced, but it was a slight relief to have told the rest of that gruesome story. "Yeah," she said, rather lamely. "I guess just.. keep yourself fed..." Who was she, Nita thought, to give anyone advice on how to control their instincts? She gave into hers, but then.. she wasn't dangerous. But Kikue was just a little girl. Annie was only a couple years older. She nodded solemnly at that promise, fully aware that Kikue had said 'try.' Nita grasped both of Kikue's hands in hers. "I know you will. You will." And she was unaccountably relieved to know that her friend's chip was fully functional. Her eyes narrowed. Why did he have to keep coming up in conversations? "Zach? What did he do to you?" Yamamoto Kikue Kikue nodded hard, knowing full will while she could promise nothing, she would do everything in her power to never, ever hurt Nita. It was why she had tried so hard afterward...made sure to eat, to take care of herself. No one else deserved to be put into a position by her mania just because of a stupid decision. Kikue would make sure of it. She blinked, momentarily surprised at Nita's reaction to Zach's name. Tilting her had curiously, she asked, "Do anything to me? No...he was actually the person that helped me, after the mess hall. I woke up in his duplex..." Quickly she attempted to dispel any suspicion that Zach might have done anything than bring her there. She knew what it sounded like...she had even thought of it, just for a moment, when she had woken up there. "He didn't do anything," she got out in a rush. "He was very cordial with me." Kikue flicked her tail. "Did he do something to you?" she asked, her tone conveying faint worry. She trusted Nita, probably more than she had trusted anyone else, ever. She had never exactly had friends before the Island. Still, Kikue was even know worried about what had happened to Zach. Something had been wrong, when they had both blacked out. She couldn't find his duplex again...was he okay? Nita MacNeal Nita frowned, automatically looking Kikue up and down as if Zach-inflicted trauma would spring up in front of her eyes. "Well, as long as he didn't hurt you..." she began doubtfully. "I just don't trust him," she stated. "The times I've met him, he was yelling and upsetting someone, and he told me once that he's come very close to attacking people. He made Natsumi cry." Nita paused for a moment. "Ugh. It's just, every time I hear about him, he's done something similar." Yamamoto Kikue "Natsumi?" Kikue blinked again in surprise. She frowned, not liking the sound of Nita's statement that Zach had made Natsumi upset. Kikue knew that she couldn't know the circumstances completely, but it still. Natsumi was a hard person to get angry with. Kikue's ears drooped slightly. "Well, I found him to be very nice. He helped me. He even brought back food from the mess hall for me, when I woke up..." Although that could have been in his own best interest as much as anything else... She sighed, scratching the back of one of her ears. "I was worried about him, actually...when I was there, talking to him...something happened." She looked pained. "I think it was because of the chip, but I'm not sure... He began to convulse. A seizure, almost." She paused, remembering. She still couldn't understand what had gone so wrong. That didn't happened when people were zapped normally, as far as she herself could remember. "I called for help." Her voice was soft. "But then I was knocked out, too. And I woke up in my duplex...a few days ago." She sighed, scratching her ear again. Forcing a smile, she said, "I hope things have been less hectic for you, in the past week or so, that is..." Kikue watched Nita's eyes. No doubt the memory of Fiona haunted her...how could it not? Kikue put out a paw again, hoping to be comforting. Nita MacNeal "Huh," Nita said shortly. Of course she knew objectively that Zach couldn't be a bad guy all the time, but it's so much easier to see people in black and white. But he had helped Kikue, even if there could have been some ulterior motive. Nita shrugged and turned her attention to Kikue's rendition. "Annie convulsed, too," she said thoughtfully. "But... if he wasn't doing anything, it doesn't make sense." She chewed her lip, breaking the scabs that were just beginning to form. "It just doesn't make sense," she repeated. Zach helping someone or him randomly having a seizure!Yamamoto Kikue Kikue winced, but she was glad that mentioning Annie again didn't get Nita too upset. She nodded, not really seeing any explanation for what had been happening to Zach. But if Annie had done it...some kind of problem with it? Had he tried to take it out before? Fear immediately took up residence in her gut, eating away at her confidence. But that would have left some kind of noticeable wound...even if it had been a while ago, and healed over... I didn't notice anything... I could have missed it, but...It was still something to consider. She didn't really know Zach. She was grateful to him, and remained as such. She wanted to follow up and make sure he was all right, either way. I still think that attempting to rip your own neck open would have some kind of ramification... Isn't it also possible that it was overloading? Something gone wrong with it? Maybe something happened in the past to make it like that... I blacked out swiftly, not like Zach...Chances were, by examining what she knew, that it was an isolated problem...until she saw otherwise. Whether or not Zach had actually tried to remove his chip she couldn't know for sure. "I don't know...he wasn't doing anything at all, just talking to me. Then he fell back onto the floor. I couldn't do anything; they knocked me out almost right after it..." She frowned. "But I didn't have any reaction like he did, not in the mess hall or there in his duplex... Maybe there is something wrong with his chip..." Nita MacNeal Zach with a malfunctioning chip was not something Nita wanted to think about. "I really don't know," she repeated. "But.. if they did get him knocked out, maybe they knew there was a problem, and took him in to check it out?" She shrugged again. At least the topic of Zach distracted her from dwelling on Fiona and Annie. Perhaps it was just another distraction, but it was a welcome one. Yamamoto Kikue "That's true," Kikue mused. Yes, that much made sense. If he was in the labs...would he still be there? "I was going to go and check to see he was all right...but I wasn't sure what his duplex number was...do you know?" Kikue cocked her head. Nita MacNeal Nita shook her head. "We weren't exactly on great terms when we met, so it's not like I asked him. He got here before me, though, so the duplex number would be lower than mine... Oh!" she exclaimed. "Isn't there a list by the cafeteria?" She sat back on the bed, resting her still-damp hair against the pillows. "Oof. It would be nice if we all had a copy of something like that..." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue's ears perked up immediately. Wait, a list? By the cafeteria? "There is?" she asked, clearly more than just interested. She'd never heard of a list of duplex numbers, but if there was one, it would be extremely useful in her project. There was almost an edge of excitement to Kikue's voice. "Do you know specifically where it is? I could use something like that..." She stopped, blinking again. She had never told anyone about the database, although she had been about to offer with Zach until his chip began to malfunction ( if that was what it really had been ). Kikue leaned forward as if she was about to tell Nita something secretive. "When I first came to the island, I started a database on my computer with a program that I have...every time I meet someone, I fill out a file for them and keep it there. I write down information about each person...I wanted to use it as a directory, so that once it was complete there could be a master copy somewhere." She smiled, the excitement creeping into her expression again. "It would be interesting, don't you think? I was thinking it could be used to send something like mail...and also know a little about someone if you were to visit them. It's still incomplete though...I'm easily missing ninety-percent of the village. "If I had that list though, I could have a base file for every person...and be able to fill in where the people I've already met live. I didn't know there was a list like that. I wonder why no one gets one in their duplex...to know everyone's names would be better. Like a community...seeing as we are all here now, anyway." Kikue smiled, wider this time. She had come to terms with that long ago. Zach had been the only other person to mirror her views, but... "I wonder how long that list is..." Nita MacNeal "Not exactly, but it's in that big building with the cafeteria. And it looks like someone put up a bulletin board outside, too." Nita sat up again, genuinely interested and excited. "Are you really? That's really cool. Seriously." She fidgeted slightly, pulling her hair out of its bun. Working on getting the knots out gave her fingers somethign to do while she thought. "I've met a lot of people, actually. I'd love to help you fill in blanks, if you want the help, of course." The young woman paused. "I mean, I don't want to butt in on your project or anything." Yamamoto Kikue The excitement was contagious. "You think so?" she asked, genuinely pleased that Nita approved. "I think it might be very helpful, especially to newcomers. Of course they'd have to find out about the Island first but..." She sighed. "After that, though..." Smiling, she shook her head and held back a laugh. "No, not at all! It's a huge project...I haven't even be keeping to it as much as I should." She clapped her paw-like hands together, the feeling strange as it no longer really felt like she had human hands. "I could use your help! You've probably met a lot more people than I have..." Kikue glanced around Nita's room. She didn't see a computer anywhere. "It's on a computer file though...but I think, if I give you the entry fields I'm using...you can probably do the same thing and then I can enter into the computer." Already she was becoming more excited, thinking about it as a real possibility. It was give Nita something to work on, as well as Kikue herself. In the end it would surely be beneficial to all the others on the Island. How will we use it? Everyone will need a copy...it's the best way. But if new people keep coming...and if someone does not to live in their own duplex room...we will need a way to keep it updated.She wasn't sure how to do that yet, but she knew something would come to her. The focus right now was attaining the all-important information first. They could do so much with it. No doubt the labs had it all on file, but what good was that to everyone else? We need a system...a way to communicate and begin to know about each other. This is the first step.Nita MacNeal "For newcomers, and the people who have been around for a long time... I know I keep running into people who arrived after me. I do try to keep track, mentally, but I don't really have anything written down. Hm." Nita mentally cursed her lack of a computer. While the labs had provided her with clothing, and Moreau had given her that big bed, and entertainment center, asking for a computer was probably a bit far-fetched. Especially if it was for a project like this. "I've got notebooks, though. I can keep track of stuff there, and we could even take turns entering it." A project was just what Nita needed, really. While she had been enjoying her 'vacation' from school, her trip to the island was supposed to be educational. At least this would give her something to focus on. "We could even pass out little surveys, maybe. Have people fill them out and give them to one of us. Unless you're trying to be more discreet?" Yamamoto Kikue Kikue looked thoughtful. She hadn't thought of the surveys before, but she had been able to gleen most of the information she needed from merely talking to the people. "I'm not sure about surveys...it's a good idea. I don't want someone to get the wrong idea..." She frowned, her whiskers twitching. It was obvious that someone, at the very least, would probably accuse her of 'giving in' to the labs; resigning to her 'fate.' It's like what I talked to Zach about...but I doubt every single person will agree. What then?Kikue held up a clawed fingre enthusiastically. "I still think it's a good idea, though. And I can show you how to use the program, it's relatively easy." Already she was becoming more excited, thinking about Nita staying over in her room and working on this together. They could talk about things too, it would be fun! But those select few people...what about them? Kikue rubbed a paw pad on the ridge of her nose. "I know there will probably be some people who disagree with this...when I talked to Zach, it came up then too...someone will have something to say about it. Someone will have the accusation that this is allowing the staff to gain a foothold, simply because we aren't trying some plan of escape." Her whiskers twitched, and she looked Nita in the eye. "I don't agree with it. But I suppose we should be ready to hear it." Nita MacNeal Nita knew that some people would object to a survey. But they wouldn't have to answer it. They could rip it up and throw it away. "I just.. I don't know how effective any kind of escape plan could be. At all. But.. Maybe if we explain it so that it's obvious we're not doing this with any sort of help from the labs. Other than the original list of who's in what duplex, at least. We're on our own." Hopefully this wouldn't backfire too horribly...Yamamoto Kikue Kikue smiled, flicking her ears. "Yes. And the survey would probably be the quickest and easiest way to gather what we need. So maybe we should do it anyway. There's always going to be someone who disagrees, but the with the duplex list we'll at least have a name and room for everyone." Kikue didn't like to think that someone would turn down the survey. There was nothing to be gained from doing that. But stubborness and pride kept people from doing things since the beginning, and that was going to change now. We'll just have to be ready for it."But I think it'll be really helpful. I've wanted to see it finished since I started it." The enthuasiam was back again; Kikue couldn't help but be confident. With Nita helping her it would go so much faster, not to mention be more fun. "Maybe we could spend time in each others' duplexes to work on it," Kikue said, holding up a finger again to illustrate that she had an idea. She smiled again. It was like when she had talked to Natsumi -- ideas of spending time, working on things, giggling about things...why did it appeal to her so much? It had never meant much before, at home... Even as the cat in her tried to retreat from the socialization, she still wanted some of it. Kikue. Herself. I am me.It leaked through noticeably then. An embarrassed look crossed her face as she met Nita's blue eyes. "You know...when I was in the labs...my birthday passed. I didn't know it until I woke back up in my duplex and could actually figure out what day it was... It's strange to think that it happened and I had no idea... I don't think I've ever felt so different after a birthday before." Her tail rested on the bed, curled around her body. She had never been anything but human before being fifteen. Surely that was what made it all seem like a dream sometimes. Nita MacNeal "I'm more than happy to help. Seriously, I need something to work on. I've liked my, ah, vacation, but I miss having a project," Nita admitted. "And I don't mind hanging out here, or at your place. The jungle gets kind of lonely..." And the village was lonely too, without Lauren around. Her eyes clouded at the flicker of thought, only to brighten at the mention of a birthday. "Birthdays are special, no matter what. How old did you turn?" Nita remembered how she'd spent her last birthday, sulking on the beach. It wasn't exactly her finest moment. Yamamoto Kikue "...the jungle gets kind of lonely..." A tiny bead of guilt formed in her chest. If only she had the resolve that she had had at home -- the resolve to still do everything she needed to do. It had been waning here, and she had begun to slack on even studying from the textbooks she'd brought. Sometimes it felt like there wasn't a point, but she would rally against that thought as quickly as it surfaced. I should have come more...to visit her. But...blaming myself won't do anything. If I can help now, in the present, that is what's important."I'm sixteen," Kikue said, titling her head and putting a paw on her her whitened hair. When I remember what I was doing on my last birthday, this really feels like it must be a dream...Kikue smiled again, then she gave Nita a small thumbs-up. "We can do it. Let's work on it together." Nita MacNeal Sixteen. When Nita was sixteen, she was a high school student, flattened by depression and stress. Now she was twenty-one, and, she supposed, better off. Sort of. Maybe. "Wow... So young," she murmured. But Kikue's cheerful gesture was reassuring. "Practically a baby," Nita teased. "You sure you're up for it?" The red-head winked and returned the thumbs-up. "Hell yes. We'll do it." Yamamoto Kikue Nita's response to her age was something Kikue had rarely ever seen -- if someone had thought it, they never said it to her. Her parents had rarely ever expressed anything like Nita had. She secretly wondered what Nita's age was, too, but it didn't feel polite to just ask it right out. Kikue almost didn't know what to say; she a almost a little embarrassed, but she rose to meet Nita's challenge immediately. "I am ready," she said, smiling too. "But only if you are." Gah. She wasn't much for trading friednly banter. But it was true. Kikue thrust out her paw to Nita, to shake on it, her smile broadening. She was confident. This was going to happen, and it would change things. Nita MacNeal If Kikue had asked, Nita would have answered. But then again, she could always just answer their survey. "Awesome. If you give me the questions from your database, I can get that list from the cafteria. Unless you happen to have a printer, we'll have to hand-write a bunch of surveys. I've got paper, though." She shook Kikue's furred hand firmly, bouncing a little in her seat. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue shook Nita's hand back, and with that she stood immediately to her feet. She still had no shoes on them -- there didn't seem to be a point anymore. "Okay! I can get the input fields without a problem. I don't have a printer..." A thought came to her, and she had to pause once she realized it. "Oh...I almost forgot. Everything I write is in Japanese, since I was sure the labs would be watching me either through cameras or something else. Everything on my computer is in Japanese, too, and my written journals." She looked at Nita thoughtfully. "My computer isn't on a network here, so it should be safer...I can translate the database into English for you. The program itself will still be in Japanese but if I do a write up of the fields it should be okay, ne?" Kikue smiled again. "You can type in English for the input. I can go do a write-up now...we can meet up again and trade what we have. Do you think that'll be good?" Nita MacNeal "Oh!" Nita laughed. "Yeah, my Japanese is practically nonexistant. But as long as you show me what's what, I should be fine." She stood up, grinning. "That sounds just perfect. Stop by in a couple of days, then? I'll make sure I've got paper and pens." Yamamoto Kikue Kikue nodded cheerfully, standing right up off the bed. The excitement to start immediately was impossible to ignore; she hadn't felt so driven for what must have been weeks. Or longer. "Yes! I will. I think I'll go start on it right away. I will come back later with a list of people I have a few things written down about already, too." She bowed to Nita out of habbit, straightening up quickly. "And I hope you enjoy the bamboo!" The smile didn't leave her face. Nita MacNeal Nita imitated the bow, a little awkwardly, before giving in and giving Kikue a quick hug. "Thank you, I'm sure I will." She made her way to the door to escort the leopard-girl out, full of plans and excitement. Some people might not react the way they hoped, but at least they were doing something. Yamamoto Kikue Kikue took the hug in stride, enjoying it. Once at the door, she gave Nita one back, hoping it was all right. With that Kikue turned, almost feeling like she should give a military salute -- she held off, but the mental image amused her. "I will see you soon," she said cheerfully. After waving goodbye, she moved fast down the duplex stairs, heading for her own. Ideas were brewing in her mind, and she needed to keep track of them all. Whatever the outcome is...this will change things as they are now.
I want to see what we can do!
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 5:31 pm
[Reserved - Halloween reaction]
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 5:38 pm
Roleplay ID ID #: 017 Started On: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:38 pm Completed On: Sat Nov 04, 2006 1:41 am Characters: Kikue, Zach Original Link: [Here]. Synopsis: Kikue catches sight of Zach while outside reading, and the two catch up on what has happened since they last met. KIkue invites him inside after starting to feel ill from the heat, and has him fill out one of her surveys. Kikue opened the door of her duplex, slipping outside after bringing her laundrey back from the dryer. For some reason she felt like being outside, even though the heat was all the more oppressive to her now. Wearing shorts and a small shirt still didn't help...but something in her yearned to be outside, at least for as long as she could stand it. Leaning against the side of her duplex, she looked up at the sky, following a few birds with her eyes. She let her whiskers twitch; took in a few breaths through her nose. She'd become more accustomed to all the new senses, but some still surprised her. Flipping the book she had been holding behind her back out into her paws, she flipped to the page she had marked and began reading where she had left off.
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