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 Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:32 pm
"Ahh, right." That made sense. Very considerate of her, at that, not waking him...much earlier. Nodding, he climbed off the bed, lazily stretching out his arms once more. "Thanks f' that, then. Slept well?" He waited only a moment for her response, eyes wandering around the sparsely decorated room towards the small bathroom. "...I don't mean t' chase you out, but I doubt I'll be completely awake until I shower. Force of 'abit, y'know?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:50 pm
"Yes." She nodded, once again full of her morning person shine and chipperness. "Did you as well?"
She watched him glance around, shaking her head when he finished his next sentance. "Yes.. I mean.. Not chasing out, as you said but habit. Yes." She nodded, "I would like a shower as well..." She frowned absent mindedly, fussing with her hair again almost nerviously. She had come straight home after the incident with Zach.. which meant she didn't even get a shower after all that time outside.. and then it had been straight to Thom's. She was still relitivly clean, but that hardly made a difference in the way she felt.
With that, she started towards the door, feeling confident that she was free to let herself out without being rude. "Aa.. See you, then?" the American phrase seemed a bit awkward, but atleast she had gotten it right.
She opened the door, ready to head on out when something brown caught her eye. Peering down at it, she found a brown package.. Not too much unlike the one she had received not too long ago. Pausing in her retreat to her duplex, she bent to pick it up, and turn around to hold it out to Thom. She looked a bit nervious at the simple sight of the packaging, but was trying her best to hide that.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:24 pm
"Lovely. Then I don't feel so bad for bootin' you." He cracked a grin, following her towards the door to see her out, only to pause when she did and peek over her shoulder at the package. When she passed it to him, he quirked a brow, peering down at the note. Almost immediately he brightened up, holding up the small package with a grin. "The World Cup! S'about time it arrived. I'll 'unt y' down later an' we can watch some of it, eh?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:01 pm
Natsumi watched quietly as he read the note, almost jumping when he enthusiasticly shouted 'The World Cup.' She almost looked releived when it clicked what that was. Not hentai, just the football thing Thom had told her about when they first met. "Aa, yes, I would like that." She gave a smile and a tiny bow of her head before she was moving back out the door again, no packages to stop her this time from her trip all the way out Thom's duplex and up the stairs to her own.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:30 pm
He bid her goodbye, closing the door only once she had reached the steps, and returned his attention to the package. He opened it, tossing the paper into a trash can in one corner, and absently flipped through the unimpressively marked DVDs. The entire Cup... To be watched over the course of a good while. Each match was at least an hour and a half long, they needn't all be seen on the same day. He would hunt down Natsumi to catch a couple later. Setting the DVDs on the dresser, he turned and headed for the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself and turning on the shower. Time to wake up.
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Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:33 pm
You're Just Worth Hating
Chatting with Emelyn Emelyn Reuben lay, asleep in the shadow of the mountain. Every once and a while he'd lift his head up and look around with lazy eyes at his surroundings- the bar of sand they were on- the foliage not thirty feet away that marked the edge of the jungle- or to scratch at an itchy spot... before tucking his head back down between his front legs and drifting away again. Another soul was on that beach- and she... was wide awake. It was Emelyn, sitting ten or so feet away from her tired little muttpuppy, cutting strips of dried fish that she'd pulled from her drying rack. Before her was a flat, grey rock she'd found in the caves and had been using as a makeshift cutting board. Her knife was in one hand, and, at her elbow, one of her baskets sat, ready to take not only the fish that had been completed, but also her whetting board for hauling up the mountain. It was repetitive work- and she knew that the salt she'd soaked the fish in would seep into the fur on her fingers and she'd smell like salt for days- but there were worst things than repetition. Thinking... was one of them. The monotony of her task blocked out all that. Made her mind as rolling and regular as the beautiful blue sea. Thomas Brinley Thom, on the other hand, had one thing on his mind: the small package of DVDs he had received that morning from Sabin. His recordings of the World Cup. They had finally arrived, and he had been hard pressed not to watch them the moment he had been completely awake. He had waited so long without them, endured the season with the knowledge that his team was playing, proceeding, moving on despite the lack of one certain player. However, that didn't mean they were doing well. He was quite sure they were managing, but he was worried all the same that their progress had been hindered. It had been all he could do to force himself not to run to the entertainment room and the TV there to watch. But when he had gone to find Natsumi to join him...she wasn't home. The bloody raving morning person wasn't home. And he had promised to wait for her to watch. Damn it all. But it was fine, it was fine... He could wait a few hours, could manage that long. To distract himself from temptation, he had retreated to the beach for a long jog. He had passed up Emelyn before he realized he had even seen her and paused in step, glancing back over his shoulder, then starting in her direction. "Hard work?" Emelyn Emelyn gave a soft smile. She'd been wondering if the man would run by her- or notice her there, in the sand. "Not really. Just time consuming." She held up a small square of fish- one that had already gone through her salting and drying process. "Would you like some?" She asked with a wry smile. "It's awful stuff." Thomas Brinley He crouched at her side, nose wrinkling as he eyed the fish, but at her offer he accepted a small piece, lifting it to eye level. "...You only live once." He popped the piece of dried fish into his mouth, chewing contemplatively, and finally grimaced slightly, swallowing nonetheless. "Mmn, you're right. Needs somethin'. Why don't y'just come pick up some food in th' cafeteria? I knw you're not fond of th' village, but... You wouldn't 'ave t' stay long." Emelyn A strange flash of something went through Emelyn's eyes. It could have been sadness, or perhaps a sort of understanding. But then it was gone as quickly as it came. "Well... then I'd still be accepting something from Moreau. I'd be giving him the opportunity to take something away from me." It was a rote response, to some extent. But then she smiled- not about anything that had to do with her boycott of Moreau's proto-civilization- but that he'd taken the bit of fish. She wouldn't say- but it had impressed her. Thomas Brinley "Well, yes an' no," he argued good naturedly, dropping to sit on the warm sand at her side. Thom had never been fond of sand previous to the island. It got into absolutely everything and was a pain and a half to wash off. But, since his change especially, there hadn't been much nicer than stretching out on the warm sand for a long nap, wallowing down and cleaning up with a quick dip in the waves afterwards. He had a new found love for beaches since scales had appeared along his arms and legs. He eyed the basket of fish, as if contemplating a second piece, but soon disregarded it in favor of continuing the conversation. "He very well could take the ability t' rely on the cafeteria from you, but you've learn t' survive without it. So abuse his generosity while y' can, then shove it in his face when you can fall back on your own skill if needed." Emelyn The look on Emelyn's face was that of a girl... who was tired. If she had been lax to let herself think before, now- was no exception. Something about the day, about how she'd lain awake the past few nights- left her in silence. And when she finally did respond, her words were simple- not tainted by anything other than her gentle smile. "I think the real question... is why everyone is so keen to have me return to the village." It was a rhetorical question... that Emelyn hoped Thom would have an answer to. Thomas Brinley He puzzled over her response for a moment, weighing the possibilities. Nothing particularly stood out. To stall for time, he amused himself by worming his toe-less feet down into the sand, hands soon joining them as they fell palms-down at his sides to prop himself up. "I'm not sure, t' be 'onest. I think, as unpredictable as this island is, it's reassurin' t' know everyone's in arm's reach. A short walk or a speaker away if y' need t' check on 'em or just want a talk. With you out 'ere.. No one can ever be completely sure that you're safe, or that you're around if they need t' find you for any reason. It's a bit unnervin'. Leads t' worryin'. That, an' I'm sure you're just missed." He flashed a grin, shrugging. "Either, or, all of the above." Emelyn In that instant... Emelyn did something that a woman should never do in front of a man- at least... for the sake of their general inability to deal with it. ...She began to cry. It was not a bawling, heavy torrent- nor one of those noisy, red-nosed breakdowns in which the eyes turn practically haggard with the exertion of one's misery- but rather, a quick welling of emotion that spilled out of her eyes with a soft, almost squeaking sigh that came as a ragged inhale of breath. An infant wealth of moisture poured down from her eyes in an instant and... almost as quickly, she reached up to wipe them away. But this was not a momentary welling of tears- these, like the complicated emotion behind their creation- would replenish themselves, and Emelyn realized that a hurried coverup would not and could not suffice here. She put her head down into her hands- not to hide- simply resting her cheeks on either palm and shaking her head in a show of self-disgust at the outburst. "I'm... sorry," she said softly, a hiccuping sigh breaking up her words. "I don't know what's wrong with me." She turned her head away. Thomas Brinley Tears? Why were there tears?! What had he said?! "Ah, no, don't cry..." Damn it all to bloody hell, what had he done this time? If someone punched him for this in three days time he may be forced to kill someone. Sabin sounded like a good aim, even if the man had just given him the entire World Cup on DVDs. Maybe some other staff someone. Or Antony or Kaveri. But for now, he should probably concentrate on cheering her up, rather than plotting the demise of other islanders should he fail to bring back a smile. "Oi now," he interrupted, shifting to one knee and lifting a hand to her chin. Turning her head back to face his, he wiped away her tears with his thumb, offing a half-smile. "No tears, right? Buck up, c'mon. Can't 'ave any of the others out for m' blood again." Emelyn Emelyn was- if not returned to her placid emotional state- at least surprised out of the bulk of her tears by Thom's gentle, almost desperate measures to dispose of her tears. She shook her head softly to move his hand away from her face- but not because she hadn't appreciated the touch of someone. Those who had come across her in the past handful of months- as few and far between as they had been- may or may not have noticed that the hedgehog girl found nearly any excuse to touch them- and whether it was a hug hello or a comforting hand on the arm... more often than not, Emelyn didn't realize she'd done it. She didn't realize that there was something that she couldn't create for herself out here. There was no wild, feral version... of human affection. It was something that Moreau had no hold on, no lease on offering it up to the islanders to try and gain their loyalty. If anything- it was the one true thing he could never touch... and yet, Emelyn had accidentally given it away with the rest of the village's comforts- scorned it as surely as she'd scorned her duplex. The months in the wild- over half a year, now- had taken its toll on Emelyn. And Thom- poor Thom, who barely knew the hedgehog girl- and certainly had never met her before her feral escapade- was receiving the climax of it. "I'm sorry." There were no rampant tears- only residual moisture, and a welling beneath her blue eyes that would not fall. Her voice, now, was the great betrayer of her emotions. It was soft- and yet- damaged, somehow. "It's just been a long time out here. I didn't know it was...getting to me the way it was. You didn't do anything wrong." She looked directly into his eyes, a silent apology waiting within hers. Thomas Brinley Thom was a very...physical person by nature. He had never really been a 'let's sit around a chat' kind of guy. He enjoyed talking, mind, but he had trouble focusing on the conversation if it went on for long. He much preferred chatting over a game of soccer, or going for a walk, or a swim, or ANYTHING but sitting still for any length of time. And this had expanded to other aspects of his relationships with various people. Back home, he had been in near constant company with some members of the team or other, and that meant joking punches and shoves and occasional all out tackles with brilliantly scored points. With women... Well, Thom was esily distracted from any intellectual relationship by his own impatience in conversations and, thus, those were primarily physical as well. Little touches here and there meant nothing to him. He allowed her to pull away without a word, pleased that her tears had slowed at the very least, even if she seemed prone to starting the water works up again. Sitting back, he shook his head, chuckling softly. "No worries, I assure you. But there you 'ave it, a perfectly good reason to return--You want to." Emelyn "Umh," she said- more of an exasperated sound than a word- a mere huff of breath peppered with noise as she wiped her face with her hand. "I don't even know if I want to. After all this time, going would be giving up." Of all things- a smile came to her lips. But it was a wry, ironic smile amidst the rest of her emotional canvas of face. "Not that I know what I'd be giving up. But I just don't think I'd be happy in the village." Emelyn stopped then, to realize what she was saying- and to whom she was saying it- and was aghast. "Thom- I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said anything. Look at me, putting on a scene. I don't even know how you've been doing. What was that you said- earlier... about... someone being out for your blood?" She said it incredulously, still using her fingers to gingerly wipe the fur on her face clean. Then, she had another sad moment when she remembered that she didn't even know what she looked like- what her last transformation had done to her- or how human her face really looked. What Thom saw- Emelyn had no inkling of. She hadn't for months. And- instead of imagining herself as her first transformation, what she had seen in a mirror before being delivered into the wild- a part of her let her pretend that she was as she had been before. Human- beautiful... normal. Thomas Brinley "So give it a try?" He raised a brow, glancing sideways to her. "You won't know until y' do, right. Where's the 'arm? Some risks're worth takin'." Rock climbing without a harness, jumping off a bridge for a dollar, those sort of things. Or, on a milder note, facing a fear, trying something new... Dare to live. It made life more interesting. And then...his grin faded, and he shrugged, turning his attention out towards the water instead. Almost immediately, however, he laughed, grin returning. "Eh, I 'aven't made th' best impression on...most of th' islanders, I'm afraid. We 'ad a football match a few weeks back, made m'self a few enemies. But 'ey, you're speakin' to the Official Island d**k'ead. I dare say I'm vain enough t' question th' title, but there y'go." Emelyn Emelyn did not repond to Thom's remarks about trying to return to the village. As far as she was concerned, the subject was closed. That... and she couldn't hope to explain any further to the man a subject that had become so important to her- how her decision to live in the wild and her subsequent troubles because of it had become a sort of framework for her life. She'd focused on surviving, on contesting Moreau's hypocrisy- first, to find some way to give herself comfort after feeling so lost and abandoned during the lockout, and after what had transpired between she and Ambrose. Even Moreau had promised to make her life worthwhile- to take care of her, give her precedence... and while she didn't care for the preferential treatment- she did hope that it meant she wasn't alone. But after she'd found herself unceremoniously dumped into the wild, cold and alone... she'd realized the true meaning of what it was to be abandoned. She had told this to no one- for, truly, she didn't quite understand it as being within the numbers of her motives- but one of the reasons she had refused to return to the village with the others... was due to that gnawing, cold feeling in her gut as she'd stood on the edge- watching the others happily returning to their showers and their comfortable beds. It meant not only that they were easily bought, but as a symbol that it could only be a matter of time before Em might be abandoned- yet again. But she knew that there was no way she could simply walk back into the village as if nothing happened. It would mean that Moreau had won- and, more than that- she would have cast aside a half a year of her life to a cause that obviously wasn't worth fighting for. It was too painful a thought to dwell upon... and Thom... would never understand. Emelyn barely did, herself. Instead, her words revolved around his. "...I doubt you're a... dickhead." She said, smiling genuinely at trying to force the imagery from her mind. "And no one makes a good impression on everyone here. ...Having 'enemies' peppers the boredom. I think people make up reasons to be offended just to have something else to focus on. It probably just means that you're interesting enough to be that new focus." Thomas Brinley He wisely made no further effort to press the matter of the village. If her reasons were truely that strong for staying away, they he wouldn't fault her. It was her choice, after all. They couldn't make everyone stay in duplexes. That was one hold they still had on their own lives. ...Thom just didn't like sleeping on the ground. Beds were wonderful, and so he would risk living in quarters granted by the labs. Thom raised a brow at her explanation, then laughed aloud, shaking his head in amusement. "Well, that's one way of lookin' at it." Still chuckling, he glanced back to Emelyn, grinning a challenge. "Who 'ates you, then? Let's see how 'interestin' you are." Emelyn It was a bizarre question- but one that made Emelyn laugh. After her tearful episode- her fur was still moist, and it felt strange to couple that feeling with genuine laughter. "I guess... I'm not very interesting. I can't think of anyone who hates me, off the top of my head. Ambrose's girlfriend isn't too fond of me- but I haven't seen her since January, and I bet she's probably gotten over it. ...I suppose that means I'm very boring, that I can't even come up with enemies." She smiled, letting Thom know she was kidding. Thomas Brinley "Ah, well there y'go." He sat back with a nod, letting his hands fall to the sand as if she'd just proved his point. "You've just disproved everythin' y'said. If someone as interestin' as yourself can get by without a single person 'atin' her, then there's somethin' wrong with your theory." Emelyn Emelyn only smiled, and gave a gracious nod. Her fish strips still sat in her lap where she'd dropped them, earlier- salting the fur on her legs ever so slightly. "Well, it's sweet of you to say so. But trust me- opinions change all the time around here. Someone who is a pariah one day can be redeemed the next. There is too much... change... going on to keep feelings straight, one way or another." TBC
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Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:00 pm
Immature, Hot-headed Schoolboys
'Meeting' Taro Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had been getting ready for bed, in the process of brushing her hair she paused when a knock echoed from her door. As she set the brush down and started for her door her first thought was Thomas, coming to get her to watch thsoe football video's of his. However, it seemed a bit late for that... Perhaps Newton asking for another bug hunt...? That seemed reasonable.
Either way, Thom or Newt, they had both seen her in her pajamas... Thom knew of the pregnancy, and Newt just plain seemed to not notice. So the thought of pausing to grab her handy sweater slipped her mind as she cracked open the door, eager to greet either Thom or newt.
What she found wasn't even close. Her smile seemed to fall off her face and shatter on the ground below, her eyes went wide, her heart pounded. She knew exactly who it was. But.. why would he be here? Oh God.. Her tail, her scales, he'd see. Sure everyone else here had seen them but this was drastically different. This was.. Taro.
He can't see. He just couldn't see the scales or her stomach... and before she could get a clear thought in her head, she was slamming the door as hard as she could shut, shakily trying to lock it as soon as she had got it shut. Taro Hirohito T aro's heart felt like it had stopped just as Natsumi's was speeding up. Natsumi! It was Natsumi but why was she doing Peace Corps? She was so much better than that, she was supposed to be going to college! "N-Natsumi?!"
And then the dark colouration on her forehead registered. His voice took on a whole new tone and he immediatly reached out as she slammed the door shut, pushing futily against the wood. What had that been? That looked suspiciously like a dark bruise. What was going on?
"Natsumi! Why are you here? What's on your forehead?" He leaned his shoulder against the door and turned the knob, pushing it open. He could feel her pushing her weight against it as well and did his best to be gentle. He got his arm and shoulder in through the door and leaned his head in. "Natsumi, it's me, Taro. What happened? Why are you here?"
He gave it another gentle push and managed to wedge himself further in. His eye caught something as he glanced around the room in an attempt to get an idea of the surroundings and he paused, coming back to it. Her feet looked... looked...
"Natsumi?"Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi gritted her teeth as the door was opening back up. She had to stop it... Stop. Her mind screaemed as she tried to force her weight against the door, sure she was heavier by a good bit due to her pregnancy.. but it wasn't enough. She felt her feet slide against the floor as he worked his way in. "Iie!" she shouted, rather desperatly.
She slid a bit more, deciding fighting that was pointless she turned tail, litterally, and ran towards the safety of her bathroom. She could hide there. Normally she was more careful about her movements being above Thom, but right now it was fight of flight mode taking over her slightly repteillian body. And it had chosen the flight option. "Stay out!" she managed to shout back before dissapereing into her bathroom. "Why are you here?" her voice was unreasonably loud, a mixture of panic, confusion, sadness, and anger. Quite a combo for the usually withdrawn girl. Taro Hirohito W as she that upset with him? She finally backed away from the door, allowing him to enter fully now. As he steadied himself he watched her retreat to another room something... what...
His eyebrows furrowed. What had that been? He followed after her in long strides, clomping over the floor loudly. He lodged his foot in the door and looked it at Natsumi, trying to peer around her at her a**. "Natsumi! I'm sorry if you're upset about me leaving. I had to! Please understand.. I'm sorry. What..... what is that?" His brows furrowed as he reached forward to try and take a hold of her. He caught glimpses of something brownish behind her, the same thing he'd seen earlier.
Through his distraction he kept trying to persue the topic. "Why are you at Peace Corps anyway?"Natsumi Tanaka "Go away!" Crap. She mentally cursed his foot that has kept her from shutting the next door. No where else to go now... She was cornered. Which made her heart rate seem to go crazy. The breif thought to dig occured, which was immediatly dismissed as insane, and impossible on the bathroom floor. She let out a yelp when he saw her tail, reachgin behind her to grab it and hide it, momentarily forgetting about actually holding the door... which only lead to it being flung open into her from the abrupt change in pressures. It wasn't hard, afterall Taro had been holding back so as not to harm her, but it was enough to shock her and send her slipping on her slightly wet (from an earlier shower) and fall on her rear with a loud thud.
"It's.. nothing. Go away...." she repeated, much softer and more pitiful this time. Her eyes filling with tears... He wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be moving on... Now her head was flooding with all the things she had tried to hard not to think about. Why had he left her like that? And why did she have to be changing into a whatever... "You're not supposed to be here, you're not, you're supposed to be in Japan...." She wasn't sure what he meant by her being at peace corps, but her head was spinning too much to think about it. Taro Hirohito " Natsumi." His voice was almost scolding as she slipped and fell onto the floor. He stood in the doorway looking down at her, leaning forward to look over her shoulder. She was holding something behind her back.
"Yes.. yes I am supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in Japan." He was growing a little frustraited... but then.. well he had left her high and dry. His voice softened a little and he tried to look into her face. "I came to Peace Corps so I could get into a college. I'm sorry I left but I was a failure! I didn't.. want you to see.....what.."
His face screwed up into an expression of curious horror. She wasn't holding something behind her back, she was holding something attatched to her back. Distantly he registered that his head was throbbing and he felt a bit hot - once again throwing it off as just the over exertion of seeing Natsumi again so soon and pushing through a few doors.
"What the hell..?" He moved closer, reaching down put a hand lightly on top of her head as he tried to lean further over her to see the growth. "Are you cosplaying? Is that a tail?" He couldn't see the strap that might be holding it behind her back, so maybe she'd glued a fake tail on?
Why on earth would she do something like that?Thomas Brinley Thom hadn't been home long himself, having spent the better part of the day out and about on the beach. He had returned to his duplex only a short while before and, deciding it was too late to drag Natsumi down for the Cup, settled for digging a book of crossword puzzles out of his still-packed suitcase and flopped across the bed to work on one. Sadly, he'd managed only a few words before he heard the door slam upstairs, briefly losing interest in the puzzle. He quirked a brow, eyes flitting towards the ceiling, but remained where he was, simply listening. That is, until the unmistakable babble of voices led to a thud from another area of the floor. Dropping the puzzle book, he slid off the bed and, still barefoot, hurried outside and up the stairs. Natsumi's door had been left slightly open, and without hesitation he let himself inside. From there, the source of the commotion was easily found in the small duplex. He hurried over to the bathroom, stepping in and and uncerimoniously catching Taro's shoulder to pull him out of the way. "Natsumi? What's goin' on up 'ere?" Natsumi Tanaka Her mind fuzzed in a skew of emotions, sorry? SORRY? He was SORRY? The wheel of emotions decided to come to a stop on anger. He was lying... He had to be. He didn't think he'd see her here anyways... This was all a big lie, just like before had been.
She frowned at him, only getting more and more frustrated with the whole situation. Her heart was still racing, he was here.. not leaving no matter how many times she told him to, and lyng to her, atleast that's what she wanted to beleive now. Because if he wasn't... Then they could both be back home, away from this damned island.
Oh god was he going to be trapped here to wasn't he?
Hormone swings weren't helping at all as she tried to find words to say... Not getting anything good things seemed to spew out like a backed up public torlet. "Cosplaying?!" was the first stumbled thing out of her mouth "No. I'm turning into a freak! And .. I said.. get OUT." her eyes welled with more tears as she helplessly tried to shove him away, only to find him moving...
Thomas... she looked rather pathetic, frowning, teary eyed, along with her face starting to red from the over excitment. She was already feeling dizzy... She just prayed she wouldn't faint, but if she did atleast she was on the ground. Swallowing hard, "Taro..." she pointed, trying to regain composure and failing. Composure was important... Never getting mad, always being faithful and forgiving. She certiantly was shattering the things her mother had told her... Then agian, her mother never had liked Taro. "H..He... is..." She tried to think agian, only landing on one word that caused her voice to go into a highpitched squeak. "The father.." She vaugly knew Taro wouldn't understand her english... but, part of her hoped he would. Taro Hirohito T aro gave a grunt as someone grabbed his shoulder and shoved him aside. He blinked, a vauge expression of surprise and confusion as this guy talked in english and Natsumi talked back.
"Huh? What? Natsumi, who is this guy?" Taro began looking the strange man over... what was with the tattoos... or maybe it was a skin condition.. it looked like either. "What are you saying?"
Emotions were high, really all he could focus on was that Natsumi was here for whatever reason and she was angry, really angry. He had been trying to explain himself but then this guy had come in. Taro shoved the stranger back in retaliaton to the earlier push and stepped further into the bathroom, moving to kneel down beside Natsumi.
He noticed something else with the quirk of an eyebrow. "Your getting kinda fat. What happened to Gymnastics?" He reached down to playfully poke her belly. He used to get her to forgive him before by making her cheer up and laugh, why not try the same method now?
He clenched his muscles slightly as his headache progressivly began to get worse. His stomach felt unsteady, it was all nerves though from seeing Natsumi again. It had to be.Thomas Brinley Crying... She had been crying, or close to it. The poor girl looked utterly miserable, not to mention rather ill, and her difficulty in speaking when she began only emphasized this point. Her voice rose in pitch over a clear bout of nerves, but still he managed to make out her final words. He blinked. ...Well, wasn't this awkward. Though, she didn't seem particularly pleased to see the father of her child...at all... But he wasn't quite sure if that was because Natsumi genuinely didn't like the guy, or simply because she was sorry to see him in the same situation as herself. And then he was shoved out of the way, and Thom quickly decided on the former. He frowned, glowering after Taro, expression darkening moreso when the man bent to poke at Natsumi's stomach. He hadn't the faintest idea what the Japanese man was saying, but somehow he was quite sure the actuion wouldn't please Natsumi. Stepping forward once more, he hoisted Taro up from the floor by the back of his collar, forcibly turning and steering him out of the small bathroom. He sent the other man away from himself with a shove, waving him towards the door. "I seriously doubt Natsumi appreciates you interruptin' her evenin'. You can speak t' her once she's feelin' better. Out." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi stared at Taro tried to return to her, expression wavering before he spoke. She looked shocked, was he kidding? Calling her fat at a time like this...? It seemed to be the last straw in the jumble of emotions, the dam broke,She wasn't fat was she? She had scales a tail, webbed feet and now she was fat to add onto that? "Fat?!" She whined out in english, it having been the last thing she spoke in she was prone to get caught in one or the other when she wasn't thinking about it. The baby kicked in responce to the man's poke, which only seemed to break her heart more. She placed a hand over the spot where the kick had come from... The baby... The baby's father. He was right here... She could tell him. She could tell him what she had tried so many times before she left to tell him.
Then he was leaving, with the aid of Thom, as she followed the motions a few tears made their way out of her eyes and down her face, which she quickly whiped at with her hand. She tried to curl her knees up to hide her stomach, "I'm not fat...." she muttered hald heartedly, as if trying to convince herself too. It was too much, Taro's opinion of her looks had mattered to her.. and here she was, fat and mutated. she quickly burried her face into her knees, covering one foot with the other to try and atleast hide one. She wanted him gone more than anything right now... and at the same time, didn't, the other side wanted to tell him to stay and accept the fact he was sorry. Live happilly ever after... That thought was shoved aside by his earlier words. Fat... That was it, he needed to leave no matter how she felt. She needed to think. "Thomas-kun said to get out..." After what seemed to be an eon for her, she translated, muffled by a tear-choked voice and her own pants. Taro Hirohito O ops, he'd said the wrong thing... He was about to fix it when that guy.. what Thomas? Whatever that guy was shoving him out again. "Thomas-kun? ...What is this guy to you, Natsumi?" A thought iced through his insides. No.. not she wouldn't.
But he had just left. The thought niggled at the back of his mind but was quickly crushed. He'd left for a good reason, she couldn't have gone to college and waited for him to send a letter?! He was going to send a post card from this damn Peace Corps and here she was with some other guy.
"Hey." He headed back again, this time coaxed by an entirely different emotion. "********." His english swear words were alright, at least. He grabbed onto Thom's shirt and pulled him back out of the bathroom, wrestling with him for a moment before shoving him back against a wall. He drew back and lay a solid sucker punch to the side of Thomas' face. "Why do I have to leave and not him? He's the stranger!"Thomas Brinley And now, behind him, Natsumi was crying, and the stupid b*****d was coming back, and what the hell had happened to his quiet evening? He sneered, catching Taro's wrist as the younger man made to tug him from the doorway, and then--had the bloody b*****d just punched him?! There had been absolutely no cause for that whatsoever. It was clear Natsumi didn't want to talk to the boy, he'd might as well leave. But fine, if he wanted to go back to high school... Thom shifted his jaw slightly, checking to be sure it had sustained no real damage, then abruptly reversed their positions. Taro was strong, yes, but so was Thom, and he had a good six inches on the younger man. Without further ado, Thom planted a fist in his stomach, adding, for good measure, a knee to his groin. But as he raised his fist a second time, an odd tingling ran along the back of his neck. A short shock later, and he crumpled to the floor, out cold. Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi kept her head down. What to do.. what to do?! She couldn't think... That faint feeling was getting stronger the more she tried to figure out what to do... Fight it... Fight it.
His voice struck a nerve when she inquired about Thom... What she couldn't have friends? He had left her for pete's sake! High and dry to take care of a baby on her own...
Cussing and a sound caught her attention, she snapped her head up from it's position in her knees. "Don't!" she squeaked out when Taro punched one of her closest friends. That moment settled her mind, atleast for the time being. She had asked Taro a dozen times to leave... and he had simply ignored every word from her mouth. And here Thom was, rushing to her defence... Just like he had promised her.
She tried to get to her feet, staggering and grasping hold of the counter to regain the blanace she had lost. So dizzy... "How many times do I have to tell you to leave?! Get out. Now. You're being stupid..!" Okay so she wasn't the best at insults, but the feelings were there none the less.
Then the rest seemed to happen before she could blink, Thom retaliated, then fell to the ground, she had no idea about the buzzers, and simply assumed Taro's punch to the face had managed to do something afterall. "Thomas-kun!" she ran to him first, kneeling and trying to straighten him from the awkward position he had fallen to, then get him onto his back so he wouldn't somehow die on her floor. Taro Hirohito T he first blow was almost enough to set him off, it made his stomach recoile and his chest heave in pain, but it was the second hit that really did it. As Thom crumpled to the ground Taro vaugly realized that Natsumi was running to him.. He managed to stagger forward a step or two toward the bathroom before promptly going down himself. The nausia took over completely and he retched onto Natsumi's floor, trying to cover his mouth to prevent it, obviously to no avail.
He managed to stay upright until he was left dry heaving. He leaned on his clean hand and promptly fell onto his side, curling up in a ball of throbbing pain. Those two punches felt like they'd set off his enitre body. His stomach ached, he felt hot, shakey, nauseious and to add to it he'd been kneed in the ******** BALLS.
He managed not to cry - Thom had landed a good solid blow - but was for the moment very incapacitated on the floor, curled into a ball on his side, half laying in his own sick.
The world felt like it was tipping.Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi's attention was more than caught by the sound of Taro's little episode on her floor. It immediatly offended all of her senses, turning her own stomach but not enough to cause any loss... yet. She swallowed hard, her initial feelings of 'ew' quickly turning into concern for the other dieing man in her room. She tried to whipe at her face, the tears blurring her vision weren't helping at all. They kept coming as her heart broke all over again.
Nausia... He had his injection. He was going to be like the rest of them soon... She couldn't help but feel bad for the pathetic lump on her floor. But what would he be? And for another moment, the image he had held back home was dissolving. He was laying on the floor, going to turn into God knows what... And he didn't know any english. That hardly stopped her from being mad at him, but a spark of pity was there. Ofcourse her mind reminded her just why she was there too, already turning into God knows what and pregnant.
She frowned again, looking over Thom once more with some concern then standing... she wavered, finding she was still lightheaded. She let out a tiny choked sob, "If... You just leave... Then I'll help you later, okay? I don't want to see you right now.." She gave a tiny hiccup, moving a hand to her stomach when said hiccup made the baby give a kick. Only making her eyes fill woth more tears. Taro Hirohito T aro's eyes opened slightly when he heard Natsumi speaking. He was speant.. done. She had gone to that Thomas' side and was ordering him out for the thousandth time. Taro wheezed and lay still on her floor for a minute or two more until he decided he could move.
He got to his feet heavily, pausing to look down at Natsumi's floor and at himself... he was disgusting... He looked back toward Natsumi, his own heart beginning to ache. All this for nothing. She'd moved on. He dejectedly turned and stumbled out the door without a further word. Down the stairs and back through the night path toward his duplex him.
The night sounds didn't even make him nervous this time. When he reached his room he simply went into the bathroom and lay down on the floor. He was hurt, and he was tired. He fell asleep curled up beside his toilet.Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi had already been shaking... but when Taro left, it started up even more. She abruptly fell to her knees, legs having given out, flinching when she hit. She bit her lip holding in sobs for what seemed the longest while. Taro couldn't hear her... She'd just get hurt again if he had. Right? This was wrong in every way... And now that he seemed to be good and gone, she let herself sob openly, curling up on the ground not too far away from Thom... He was out cold though. He wouldn't hear her.
God only knew how much time had passed since her little breakdown... She was still left curled on the floor. Unable to get her mind out of the thoughts she'd been avoding for months now. She wanted so badly to just go to sleep there, not move again until she felt like it... But the parting gift left by Taro was begging to be cleaned... and so, very forced, she shoved herself to her feet, first shutting and locking her door, then dragging herself to get a towel to clean the mess up.
After gagging a few times, she managed to complete the job... Sleepy and completely emotionally drained, she staggered back to her bed. She slumped down into a sit infront of it, leaning back against it as a sort of chair. She went to watching Thom... In a caring sort of gesture. Hopefully he'd be okay soon, with no harm done. Ofcourse that thought didn't last long as she found herself nodding off to sleep even sitting up. Out of energy and out of tears, she had nothing better to do than sleep, which she did after only a few minutes of Thom-Guard-Duty.
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:39 am
I'm Not Dead Yet!
I Feel~ Happy~ Natsumi Tanaka The night had passed. Natsumi's eyes cracked open... First thing she noticed was just how much her neck and back hurt. Reaching a hand back to rub at them, she pondered over the strange dream she'd had... Taro had shown up then he and Thom got into a fight.. Then Thom had collapsed for no apparent reason on her-- Her eyes widened at the sight of said collapsed man. Crap. She'd fallen asleep! What if he had died?! The thought didn't really occur to her about just how unlikely that was before she was edging over to him on her knees, shifting so that she had an arm on either side of them to peer over and try and see if he was still breathing. His chin was a bit colored where Thom had suckerpunched him, just the tiniest tinge of red it seemed.. Or maybe that was the poor lighting they had at the moment. Either way, that wasn't important. He was infact still breathing... and upon checking that she let ouf a sigh of releif. Thomas Brinley Though he was normally a late sleeper, and a deep sleeper at that, the floor was terribly uncomfortable and Natsumi's light sigh was enough to wake him, if not completely. No, the horrible soreness and stiffness in his limb from sleeping all night on the bloody hard floor was enough to do that. He groaned, shifting uncomfortably on the floor, but finally gave in and sat up. Stretching his arms out, he yawned, waiting until it passed to open his eyes and glance around the room, gaze finally falling on Natsumi. The memory of his fight with Taro came flooding back, and he blinked, quirking a brow. "...'ave I been out all night?" Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi pulled back as he woke up, she looked a bit drained form the previous night, as people often did after crying too much. Stressed, to put it simply.
Atleast Thom was okay though. She nodded, "Yes... Taro left after you fainted." More so passed out, but fainted was the most accurate word she knew. "Are you okay?" she folded her hands in her lap, looking a bit concerned. She couldn't help but feel responcible, if she hadn't made Thom promise to protect her he wouldn't have bothered fighting Taro.. And then he wouldn't have been knocked out like that. Thomas Brinley "Fainted?" He grimaced. He did not faint. At that, he hadn't the slightest idea what had happened at all. He was beating the s**t out of that Taro guy, and then the buzz on his neck... He lifted a hand to the back of his neck, playing his fingers thoughtfully over it, but soon shrugged and let his hand fell. "Bit stiff from sleepin' on th' floor. An' my jaw 'urts a tad. But I could be worse. 'E left without any more trouble? Whatsisface?" Natsumi Tanaka Stiff? She knew the feeling... Her hunched position was making itself more and more apparent when she tried to move. She nodded, "Taro...Yes, he did." Her head hurt... She had no idea what to do with Taro.
It didn't matter right now though.. Thom was here infront of her, he had to be delt with first. "Is there anything I can be doing to help?" Hm.. That hadn't sounded exactly right, oh well.. as long as he managed to understand what she said she hardly cared right now. She was too tired. Thomas Brinley Her english was a bit mangled, but Thom got the general idea of things. He shook his head, offering a faint grin. "I'll manage fine, I'm sure." With some effort he climbed to his feet, stretching once more before offering Natsumi a hand up. "Well, that went... well." Natsumi Tanaka Natsumi nodded, idly chewing her lower lip. Her eyes caught the movement, glancing up at his hand, and pausing a moment before her mind caught up with it. Only making it more obvious just how many thoughts were running around in her head. She gave a tiny nid, and a light sniff, before taking his hand and using him to help her pull herself up. "Thankyou..." She bit her lip again as she felt it start quivering. Don't think about it don't think about...
Atleast she had managed to assume he didn't mean well in it's actual useage. Normally something sarcastic threw her off, but.. That had been anything but well. She tried to offer him a smile, "I should... Get a shower." she nodded some... That sounded nice nad distracting. And she wasn't exactly working up the best smell after such a dramatic situation. Thomas Brinley Thom forced himself to keep smiling as he helped Natsumi to her feet, pointedly avoiding her eyes. She was going to cry. She was going to cry. Goddammit, he hated when women cried. And when men did without a very, very, very good reason. But she didn't cry! And she was suggesting a shower, which meant it was time for his exit. "Yes, right, me too.. I'll be downstairs if y' need anythin', alright?" Natsumi Tanaka "Mm...Thankyou..." she nodded, giving a tiny hiccup as she held back her wish to start crying again. Part of her didn't want him to leave, her head hurt, her heart ached... and apparently, she was fat. Which unnerved her. She wanted her brothers, or a hug, or chocolate.
Dismissing those for now she walked with him to the door, giving him a small bow of goodbye "Thankyou... again." Thomas Brinley "Just keepin' a promise," he quietly replied, pausing briefly at the door. However, after a beat, he nodded slightly in response, heading out the door and down the stairs for his own duplex. "You take care, Natsumi." Natsumi Tanaka "Thankyou..." She repeateted the word for the billionth time, slowly closing the door. Promise... Right. She locked the door, hearing the reassuring click before turning to slowly make her way to her bathroom.
Just calm down... Clear your thoughts... Don't cry.
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:40 am
Two Reptile in the Jungle
Apologizing to Amaya Amaya Vaughan After the whole fiasco with the labs and then Alec's change, Amaya felt particularly stressed out. Most of her days had been cooped up in her duplex, making small trips to the cafeteria to eat or gather up food for her minifridge. But today she felt compelled to finally take a decent trip outside to get some basking done.
She had begun to feel a little off, and knew it was because she hadn't been getting enough natural sunlight. Damn cold-blooded... ness.
The green iguana made her way through the thick jungle, feeling particularly awkward now that she was "complete". Though deep down she knew she would be able to feel a lot better once she got into a tree high enough and let the sun's raise come down onto her scales.
Her long tail dragged behind her, shifting this way and that to keep her heavy chest balanced and from falling over on all fours like an animal. She was also naked, the large white t-shirt she had getting too dirty and worn down after having to wear it for so long now that nothing else fit.
About the only thing that was the same as she had been was the silver locket around her neck, now a lot tighter but still loose enough to stay around her thick neck.
Amaya continued to walk along, her large feet and tail dragging loudly through the brush. Her head would tilt and pivot to the side as she looked for a nice, sturdy tree she could climb up as her green and black body blended in perfectly with the jungle surroundings. Thomas Brinley Thom, sporting a lovely bruise along his cheekbone, had retreated from the relative safety of the village to the solitude of the jungle. He had left Natsumi's earlier that morning, dropped by his duplex, wasted a few hours at the beach, and spent the rest of the day thus far wandering the trees. There were various reasons for this. For one, it was a chance for a long talk over the matters of Natsumi and whatsisface. Taro, Natsumi had said? Her baby's father. For some reason, this revelation bothered Thom, though exactly why, he wasn't sure. He reasoned that it was because of how badly the man had upset Natsumi just by showing up. That, and the punch that had resulted in his bruise. The ruddy b*****d. A second excuse to wander the trees: He was bored. This wasn't unusual. He had been tempted to attempt scaling the mountain, but decided it better to wait until he could contact Rex and manage some proper supplies. But trees worked just as well, and even toe-less man weren't difficult to climb. At present he was a good twenty feet or so up, sprawled out across a branch and lazily picking leaves from a branch beside them, tearing them to bits and letting the pieces float towards the ground. He glanced up at the crunch of someone approaching, but the sight of a giant lizard thing was rather unnerving, and for a moment he was silent. However, something clicked in his memory: the soccer match, the lizard girl. Was this her? This far...? "Amaya?" he attempted after searching his memory for her name. Amaya Vaughan The girl jumped slightly as her name was called and looked around. Yellow eyes went this way and that, then looked up at the trees. Thankfully, her vision was better than her hearing. Her large, pink tongue flickered towards the man and with her head cocked she stared at him for a moment.
What was his name...? Ugh. She couldn't remember anything aside from the fact he was a proffesional soccer player and he had insulted her about her feet. Then that riot broke out. But she couldn't remember his name for the life of her.
Amaya looked down, her arms subconsciously wrapping around her bare chest. "... Yes." Though her voice was so quiet, she wasn't sure if he could even hear her, so she nodded along with it... or rather headbobbed. Thomas Brinley It was all Thom could do to keep from cringing. She was...a giant lizard. A really, really freaking huge lizard walking on two legs. Was that going to be him? A big snake thing with no legs to speak of? What if his arms went too!? Cassidy had hers, but they were turning into wings... He didn't have any feathers. He mentally shook off the worries, returning his attention to the girl. It was her, at least, and he had gotten the name right. He debated jumping down from the tree, but ended up simply sitting up, legs swinging over the limb. "Yes, well..." Now what? He had half hoped it wouldn't be her. It was a decidedly awkward moment, after the incident at the soccer match. "...I owe you an apology. Was terribly rude of me, back at th' football match. 'Ope you'll forgive me." Amaya Vaughan ... An appology? That was certainly the last thing she had been expecting from the man. The lizard's head cocked to the side, then up as her tongue flickered. Her mannerisms looked nowhere near human now.
She opened her mouth to say something, but paused as if what she was going to say had been changed at last minute. "It's... alright. You're forgiven. You were new and..." Amaya trailed off, her tail sliding back and forth through the foliage behind her. "You arn't the first to have said something like that. It's not you're fault."
Damn her voice. How she wished she could just talk louder... but at least she still had a voice. Yellow and brown eyes looked back up at him, but she made no move to climb up like she had intended to do today. The sight of a gigantic lizard crawling towards you up a tree was probably not the best image one could have. Thomas Brinley ...Don't stare. Don't stare. Try as he might not to, it was unavoidable. She hardly seemed...human at all. Even her voice was unusually soft, and he wasn't sure if she were just shy or it were a result of the change. Lizard. Lizards were close to snakes. Would he be doing that? Tongue flickers and heal tilts and whatnot? He felt rather ill. She had forgiven him, though. If he had heard correctly, of course. He decided to chance it, forcing a smile and nodding slightly in thanks. "I was still in th' 'I'm walkin' off t'morrow' phase, I think. But yes, I really meant no offense, I assure you. It was a side comment, not meant to 'urt anyone." Amaya Vaughan The teen headbobbed again, her own little version of a nod. "Most people go through that phase. I don't blame them. Normally it's in that phase when things are said that arn't meant later on. Once you actually know what it's like." She looked back up at him again, giving a small smile despite her inhuman features. Who said iguana's couldn't smile?
Personally, she had never gone through that phase. It had been replaced with an "it can't be that bad, we'll get through it" phase... though that was largely probably because she had nothing to go back to... and belonged to Feral Labs legally. Thomas Brinley "Exactly," he agreed, rising and climbing down to a lower branch to better hear her, even if the iguana-ness was quickly unnerving him. Sadly, that phase had earned him a good many enemies, it seemed. But he probably wouldn't have gotten along with most of them anyway, so booey on that. "You've, ah...changed since the match," he noted aloud, searching for a topic of conversation. "'Ow is it?" Amaya Vaughan Amaya's tongue flickered once more as he got lower, but she still didn't get any closer to the tree... she knew how she looked. "Ah... I'm... not really sure..." She trailed off, one of her large hands reaching up and rubbing against the side of her long muzzle. Her chest tightened up and she quickly stopped. "I'm thankful it's over, but now theres the feeling that this is how I'm going to look like... for the rest of my life..." She frowned and rubbed her arm. Change the subject.
"You have too, fairing okay?" Thomas Brinley "Understandable," he acknowledged, nodding slowly. It was undoubtably a hard change to get used to. Just the idea of such a thing happening to himself was absolutely terrifying. Not that the idea of it happening to Amaya wasn't, but she had already undergone it... "Could be worse though, eh? Just takes some gettin' used to.... An' you're one of th' first. Give it a few months, more people'll be...complete, an' it won't be so different." He hoped. How he hoped. At the question, he paused momentarily. While his social life had improved slightly, everything else...well, the foot of the hill was in sight, and he was dizzy from tumbling down it. He decided against replying positively or negatively, instead sticking with the bare fact and allowing her to make her own judgement. "I'm turnin' into a snake." Amaya Vaughan "Yeah... it could always be worse." The reptile headbobbed in agreement, silently wishing that no one else reached completion before the labs were overthrown... but that looked to be pretty impossible now.
Her head snapped up and stared at him. A... snake? Like Cassidy? And... he was a soccer player too. What a cruel sense of irony the labs had. She frowned and looked down. "I'm sorry,... uhm..." Was her automatic response. Damnit, what was his name? Thomas Brinley "Thom," he offered, realizing she had forgotten. He wasn't particularly offended. He had upset her back at the game. Had their positions been reversed, he probably wouldn't have remembered her name either. He merely shrugged in response. At the moment, he wasn't up to a pity party. "Irony. Ruddy doctors. But I'll make due... Some 'ow." Chin up and never say die. Amaya Vaughan "Thom." Amaya repeated, embarassed. But she'd remember it now. "Well, as you say, it could always be worse. Like... a slug. Or a worm. And Cassidy seems to be doing alright and she's terrified of snakes." She fumbled with her long, clawed fingers. Thomas Brinley "Indeed." And she was right. There were plenty of legless things worse than a snake that the doctors could have picked. As Amaya said, slugs, worms, jellyfish... It would be miserable to be a jellyfish. He debated mentioning that Cassidy was never a professional football player and was perfectly happy sitting and reading books, but decided against it. "Cassidy doesn't 'ave t'look at 'erself, now, does she?" Amaya Vaughan The green iguana gave a shrug of her small shoulders. "I dunno. Maybe. I remember her being scared of going into the bathroom and seeing herself." She rubbed her arm nervously. Thomas Brinley Hmm, she did have a point. But one could easily hang a towel over the mirror or something of the sort. He decided to keep his further complaints to himself. He had just made up with the girl, so to speak, and he didn't want her hating him again over a battle of 'who's worse off'. She had it pretty bad herself, he had to admit, what with being a giant...lizard...thing. With a few easy movements he climbed to a lower brach and hopped down from the tree, landing on his feet a short distance from the iguana girl. "Well, it was lovely 'avin' a decent conversation with you, but I think I'll be goin'. 'Ad plans t' watch th' World Cup with someone, but I 'ave t' track her down b'fore we can. You're welcome t' join us, if you'd like." Amaya Vaughan Amaya watched him jump down, her head cocking slightly to the side. She smiled at the invitation, thinking it awfully nice of him to invite the gigantic lizard girl... but she wouldn't intrude. "Thank you, but that's alright. Never been one particular to sports. It was nice talking to you Thom." Her head bobbed in a sort of "goodbye". "I'll see you around." Thomas Brinley "Oh really?" He cracked a grin, obviously skeptical. "Your performance at th' match suggested otherwise." Anyone who could block his goals obviously had talent. Nonetheless, he let it slide, merely chuckling softly and waving a quick goodbye as he started away. "Nice speakin' with you. 'Ope t' see you again, Amaya."
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:04 pm
 It always starts with the itching. First around where the swollen injection mark is on your arm, then spreads. Your skin feels flaky and dry for a few minutes, then the scales start to form and grow. Spreading out from where they were already starting to form like a fungus, they almost seem to crawl over your skin, hardening and expanding. Over your face, into your hairline on the back of your neck, causing hair to fall out in clumps. The vertebrae in your neck start to change shape, flattening and causing the skin to change shape and texture, making a mockery of what will one day be the hood of a cobra. The bridge of your nose flattens and looses definition, the pain of the bones shifting taking away the edge of the itching as the scales completely cover your feet and hands.
Several hours after the scales started their journey over your skin the dull, throbbing pain at the back of your tail begins to pick of severity as your tail starts to grow out more than before. Over the course of time becoming long and prehensile, easily teaching the ground and farther if standing out. At the same time, your stomach muscles contort, flatten out, and shift to the more scoot like scaling of a reptile.
However, the most disturbing part of the transformation is when your toes start to absorb back into your feet. Horrifying as that is, surprisingly the right foot's shift subsides after about twenty minutes, leaving you with only slight deformation. The left foot's toes, however, absorb into a hard, pointed spike, and over the course of the rest of the day, the entire leg starts to shrink back up into your body. By the time its said and done, the left leg is considerably smaller than the right. Any chance of standing up must be aided by your new formed tail.
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Island of Moreau Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 5:50 pm
The day had not been promising. After another series of nightmares involving bus wrecks, broken glass, blood and monstrous snakes, Thom had given up on sleep and set about pacing his room, all too aware of the swollen injection mark on his arm. He was slightly feverish, mildly nauseous, and both sensations only continued to worsen as the day wore on. But nothing more.
Later in the morning he had thrown caution to the wind, deciding perhaps this was not what he thought it was and heading out to the beach for a refreshing swim and run on the sand. Exercise. Exercise always made him feel better, and the thought of the cool water was most welcoming to his fevered body.
He ran, he swam, he wasted a good hour or two on the beach, and he felt utterly miserable for it. Maybe he was just coming down with something... The flu, something, anything at all. He would just go..rest for a bit... He retreated back to his duplex, dropped to sit on the bed, and there paused, lazily scratching an itch near his shoulder. It was only when his skin began to peel off that he drew his hand back, staring in horror at the patch of black scales developing on his shoulder.
From there the changes progressed rapidly. Flakes of skin fell to the ground as scales spread along his arms and legs, patches of hair soon following as the scales moved up the back of his neck. He hissed through his teeth as a dull pain began at the back of his neck, lips parting in an agonized shout despite his best efforts as the vertebrae in his neck began to shin, to mold, stretching shape and skin in a downsized mimicry of the cobra's hood. At the same time, he felt his nose shifting, changing, the pain from the center of his face joining that at his neck to nearly blind him.
And then there was a lull, and he was left with only the dull throb of past pain and the continued itch of scales still moving along his skin. Exhausted, he fell backwards to lay on the bed, asleep almost instantly. Hours later, sore from the facial changes and still feeling the occasional scale pop up here or there, he awoke and, reaching over, tapped the number of Natsumi's duplex on the intercom. He didn't feel like moving, dammit. Let her come to him. He didn't dare look in the mirror just yet. "...Natsumi?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:04 pm
Natsumi, luckally for Thom, had been hiding aroundin her duplex again. She'd been avoiding leaving for fear of happening into Taro, after their incident... She didn't want to hear what he had to say about her pregnancy. So, she had been sitting on her bed, eating some chocolate icecream she'd picked up and hoarded a few days back from the cafeteria.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when her intercom piped up, nearly choking on a mouthful of icecream. She pulled herself ot a sit, coughing and hitting her chest to try and fix where she had inhaled the icey chocolatey goodness. "Th-" She coughed again, "Thomas?" She flinched as her voice wheezed out, coughing weakly a few more times as her throat tried to completely clear. He sounded.. miserable. She set the icecream aside, scooting closer to the intercom to hear him better and make sure he could hear her. "Are you alright?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:18 pm
He grunted slightly, shifting awkwardly where he lay. The back of his neck was still throbbing painfully, and he now became aware of an identical throb at the base of his tail. He hadn't noticed any change there before... His neck must have distracted him. "N-not," he paused when his voice wavered, cursing himself mentally and taking a moment to clear his throat before trying again. "Could...be better, t'be 'onest... Mind comin' down?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:46 pm
Natsumi frowned at the phone, nodding a bit even though he couldn't see. "Yes... I will come right down." She stood, a few scenerios of what could be wrong were running through her head. Taro and the fact he was prone to stupid actions was one of them... But that didn't fit. Which left Thom either being sick, or what was bound to happen sooner or later... his next change.
Whatever it was, he had asked her to come down. So without a further thought, she rushed out her door down the steps and to Thom's front door. It was a quick trip, she paused outside it though. Her worry urged her to rush in but... Her mind begged her not to be so rude and to knock and wait instead. What ended up happening was a mix of the two, she gave a light knock, then opened itslowly. Poking her head in. "I am here..." she annouced softly, timidly.
She was right. He had changed. More scales... She stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her. It wasn't too bad... Just... Whatever was wrong with his neck now. Her eyes immediatly locked on that bit, frowning some. Still... It wasn't bad as Alec. She could deal. Swallowing hard, she moved all the way over to the man's bedside giving him a soft, worried, smile. "Can I get you anything?" She fidgeted with her shirt some, as she waited for his responce.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:01 pm
He lifted his head slightly, and managed to summon a smile from somewhere, nodding stiffly in greeting. With some effort he sat up, grimacing at the discomfort this brought to his already sore tailbase, but ignoring it. Instead, he chuckled softly, spreading his arms in a gesture to himself. "...Not so bad, right? I mean, I 'aven't looked in a mirror just yet, but I've still got m'--"
He grimaced, hissing through his teeth in discomfort as the pain in his tail suddenly doubled. Before long, the pressure was enough that he forgot about Natsumi and fell to his knees to lessen the pain, gritting his teeth against a second cry as lengthened and widened to nearly the width of his torso. The muscles along his stomach began to shift and contort, leaving him feeling terribly nauseated once more. The transformation trailed on, agonizingly slow, and finally there was a second lull. He didn't bother to look up this time.
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