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"I lived in Ohio my whole life. So we got nasty cold and nasty heat... sometimes within a few days." Nita rolled her eyes. "My freshman year of high school, we had a week of 70-something-degree weather in February, and then a snow day in April."

Nita bounce-walked out towards deeper water, hissing through her teeth as the chilly water crept up her body. Considerably cooler, and glad of it, Nita took a few deep breaths. Apparently red pandas weren't meant for such heat, and neither was Nita, with her fair skin and freckles.

"Yeah, that was.. an interesting meeting," she said, remembering the day well. The thought of Zach was still disturbing, and she hadn't seen him since his second change, nor did she have any idea that he was actually Aubrey's attacker. "So.. what have you been up to?"

Nita dunked her head and came back up, water streaming from her thick braids. "As I recall," she said, "You both said some pretty nasty things." Nita sighed. "I was scared, but not at you. I mean, yeah, at you, but not in particular.. more like the whole situation..." She trailed off, not really knowing how to express her thoughts.

"I try to maintain normalcy; keep myself me, in spite of it all..."

Although it was still a bit unnerving to see someone so content with their changes, Nita found it refreshing. In the quietest part of her mind, Nita didn't mind the island much at all. It was too much like the books she loved to read.

Nita laughed quietly. "Yeah, I'd say not," she drawled, amused. She lay back in the water, squinting up at the sun and trees overheard. After a few minutes of quiet companionship, she realized Rex hadn't answered her question of how he'd been.

"You didn't say... How've you been, Rex?" Nita asked. He seemed like such a sociable, outgoing kind of person; it was a bit odd not to hear of his activities.

Nita, on the other hand, preferred to stay in the shallower water, although still within easy speaking distance. She nodded as he spoke, well acquainted with the boredom that seemed to lurk around every corner.

"I've actually been fairly social, for me at least. Ugh, it's crazy, I've met no less than three brand new islanders in the past week. For two of them, I was the first changed person they'd seen; the third guy was in serious denial."

She gave a short laugh. "My theory is, Moreau's taking out his anger on the rest of the world, bringing more people here. 'Least he hasn't done anything directly to us, that I've seen anyway." That was actually worrying, not hearing anything about Dr. Lockheart or who was responsible. Nita was still wary of the jungle and had been staying close to the village.

"Geez," Nita muttered. "I guess in a sense they were lucky, since I still look relatively human, but that made it harder for me to convince them it wasn't a joke, or that I'm not absolutely crazy." She poked at a few waterbugs skittering by. Even though Thom had apologized, she still resenting him talking down to her like that.

"First person I met was Lauren. It certainly wasn't the best first impression, but we've gotten..." Nita searched for an appropriate word. "...Close," she managed, blushing through her fur.

Nita had met Avery, if only briefly at Fee's beach party/fiasco. "Avery seems like a good kid. Never really got a chance to talk to him, though. And Colche is a sweetheart, of course." She smiled, thinking of the cheetah-girl's sweet nature, as well as her obvious intelligence. After all, it had really been Colche who convinced Professor Rivers that the fur and whatnot wasn't some awful joke. Nita just filled in the details.

"It's funny, really, that Lauren and I work so well together. We're very different, but.. As cliche as it is, I guess opposites do attract!" Nita laughed sheepishly, hoping she didn't sound too silly.

Nita knew what it was like to "lose" a friend to a significant other, and had always vowed not to do that; not to get so caught up in a romantic relationship that everything and everyone else were swept aside.

She blushed again (Stupid red and white fur! Doesn't hide anything!) and nodded. "Yeah, so far. I've gathered that her particular views aren't exactly popular around here, and I can't say that I entirely agree, but we still work. Somehow." Nita grinned, her expression turning to one of surprise as Rex continued.

"What, a nice, good-looking guy like you?" Nita liked Rex, and thought of him as a friend. If, for some reason, she had to date a man, she'd want to be with someone like Rex.