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 Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:00 pm
Cameo of the Beast Fiona Brooks Fiona wandered slowly up and down the beach, pausing every once in a while to inspect the terrain, occasionally scratching things into the sand with her foot. She walked up to the edge of the forest, leaning against a tree and appreciating the shade for a moment while she mumbled various things to herself. Zachary Bloodstone Zach looked out at the ocean, the edge of the waves splashing over his feet, as he clutched something small in his hand. His clothing was simple, white, and the sleeve of his shirt was short enough that a lot of red scale was visible on his arm. A pair of sunglasses protected his eyes from being seen. His feet were again bare - it was easier for him to walk on his feet now than it had been for a while, and he hadn't had the misfortune of stepping on anything he'd regret. He scanned some of the roving clouds that dotted the edge of the horizon, as if looking for something. However, with a look of defeat, the object was soon returned to a shirt pocket.
He was about to head back to the village, when he spotted a person he hadn't seen before. From where he was, he couldn't see a hint of change on them. More new people? He didn't dare count how long he'd been here, but he had to admit it was a significantly long time. The doctors like Sabin could easily have ensnared many more people. Frowning, he dug his feet into the sand and climbed up the dune, tail sluggishly swishing behind him.
"Lost?" he asked wryly, his voice a little fainter than normal. He was hoping she'd been introduced to the island already. The last time he'd tried to explain, it hadn't gone over well.
Nita MacNeal Nita lay stretched out on her towel on the ocean-side of a dune, thoroughly slathered with sunscreen, attempting a tan. Not that it would probably work-- she'd turn pink, acquire more freckles, and otherwise remain as white as ever. In any case, the sun felt nice, and it was relaxing. She'd been dozing, moments from sleep, when faint scratchy footsteps caught her attention. She propped herself up on her elbows and gazed around for the source. Fiona Brooks Taking in Zach's appearance with a quick, cursory glance, Fiona grinned and shook her head. "Nope. I'm actually scouting out a good spot to throw a party- you wouldn't happen to know any choice areas, would you? Maybe somewhere a sort of stage could be set up?" She allowed her eyes to dance curiously over his horns and fangs, an unobtrusive smile touching her lips. "I'm Fiona, by the way." The girl extended her hand in greeting, feeling no need to add on her surname. Formalities, pah. Who needed 'em?
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed something on the beach that wasn't sand or scraggly grass and, catching sight of movement, she turned to look momentarily at what she gathered was another person. Holding back the shout of welcome that threatened to spring from her mouth, Fiona waited to see if she would get up and approach or just roll back over. Zachary Bloodstone Zach wished he could disappear. He knew he had to get used to the looks, people attempting to read him like a book by the sight of his horns and tail. Grabbing any excuse to avoid her gaze a moment longer, he gave a quick glance toward the new sound of a person on the beach. Looked like someone was trying to cook themselves in the sunlight. The girl looked paler than even he had been before he'd begun to change color. No changes to that girl, either. He felt a spark of envy. The sunglasses threatened to slip off his nose as he turned back to face the girl, but he quickly readjusted them with the one hand. If anything, he wouldn't let her see his eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, he shook her hand. He tried to keep his fingers gripping hers as lightly as he possibly could, afraid of scratching her with his claws, and broke it off after a couple of seconds. Her reason for being on the beach stunned him for a moment. He forgot entirely about what she asked him, wondering how anyone could possibly have a reason for a party in such a dismal place. "A party? You... do you know what's going on here? Have you met anyone else who looks like an animal?"
"I'm just not thinking today." He shook his head. Probably, he'd have to enjoy this total lack of horror at his appearance for as long as it lasted. "Where are my manners? I'm Zachary."
Nita MacNeal Nita sat up the rest of the way and scooted off her towel, careful not to get sand all over it. Heedless of the sand's heat, she padded barefoot up the dune and over to the pair who'd interrupted her nap. Her sharp eyes took in the details of the man's changes, and she wondered what on earth he was supposed to be. The girl was tall and fair-skinned, and apparently still completely human. Suddenly realizing she was only in her bathing suit, Nita crossed her arms across her chest as she approached them. Picking up the end of Zach's question, she asked, "Are you Fiona then? I saw your sign in the caf." Fiona Brooks She beamed broadly at being identified by the girl. "That's me alright- Fiona Brooks at your service. Pleasure to meet you both." So the crappy little sign had actually worked! "Yep, a party is just what this place needs. Because all this ridiculous s**t is happening, I think people should lighten up and relax, and prove that no matter what the damn labs do to us, we're still human inside and our spirits can't be broken. Besides, parties are fun." Fiona added childishly, excitement leaking into her tone. "There's going to be a bunch of fire pits, waaa-aaay along there," she traced the shore with a finger, "and then somewhere in the middle of it all, a kind of make-shift stage, if I can actually find people to play music. And maybe one big fire to crowd around." Her toes began to curl in anticipation. "Either of you any good at music?" Zachary Bloodstone Zach's new redness hid what would otherwise have been a blush. There was one thing he wasn't used to, and it was the easygoing dressing style of people on the island. While nowhere near as drastic as Colche, he didn't feel comfortable looking at almost-naked girls, this one included. His tail picked up a little more pace from his discomfort. He opened his mouth a moment to say something to her, but closed it quickly as she asked a question and filled the otherwise odd silence.
So Fiona did know. This was strange. This was very strange. He silently mused how she wouldn't be so upbeat when the labs got to her as well. It wasn't a very nice thought, but he hadn't been having the happiest ones lately. The object in his shirt pocket seemed like a lead weight on him, but he'd let go of it eventually. It was keeping his spirits dampened a lot just having it close. Maybe he could just try to pretend things weren't as bad as they were, for the sake of the few sorry souls who'd just arrived. "Uh-huh... Sounds like a big job. When were you going to have this... party... anyhow?"
"You'd be surprised how easy it for them to win," he mumbled, leering at her from behind the tinted glass, though he doubted she could hear every word clearly. Louder, he masked his words with a real answer, giving her a flicker of a smile.. "I'm no musician, sorry."
Nita MacNeal "I'm Nita," she said, offering one hand to shake, then promptly recrossing her arms self-consciously, casting a sidelong glance at Zach. 'I met your friend; you guys live next door to me." Nita had never been the most social creature, but usually she had homework or studying to do. Since that wasn't exactly a pressing issue here, she was actually a bit excited at the prospect. Nita turned pink. "I sing, sort of," she offered. "I mean, I took voice lessons for years, and I was always in choir, but I kind of freak out when I sing on my own..." Her voice trailed off and she wondered why she'd volunteered that information. A simple "No, sorry," would have been much easier! Fiona Brooks Rather oblivious to Zach's discomfort at Nita's state of dress, Fiona stretched and tilted her face to the sky, enjoying the feel of warm sunlight on her cheeks. "Well, not too soon I figure, because I need to get enough people aware of it, and I need to find some people who'll help me dig the fire pits, and cook food and stuff. And of course, I need to root out all the musicians." Here she turned to Nita. "Well, you probably wouldn't have to sing alone. Will you do it if there are other people there with you? I'd offer to sing too, but I'm told I sound like a goose suffocating on a fifty-year-old clarinet." Fiona grinned broadly. Rex Vadnais Rex ran along the sandy shore as part of his daily routine. Clad soley in his jeans, accompanied by his cross necklace and ring, as usual, Rex soaked in the sunshine and enjoyed the sea breeze. His runs often felt repetitive, though they were relaxing and essetially the only thing he could do to keep working out. Back home he went to the gym nearly every spare second he had, the excerise was something he loved.
Padded footfall after another, he noticed three figures standing farther down the beach. Rex squinted his eyes against the sun's blaring light, though the only one he could make out was the red-scaled Zach, he couldn't tell who the other two were.
Eventually he approached the crowd and realized why he couldn't tell who the others were, he'd yet to meet them. Rex slowed to a stop a few feet away, panting, "What's up, Zach." He flicked his head in Zach direction, then looked to the two ladies standing to his side, "And I don't believe we've met, I'm Rex." He grinned friendily and extended a hand to shake. Zachary Bloodstone Zach glanced between the two girls but said nothing. His one hand creeped to cover the scales at the top of his neck, a habit he was starting to form. He was almost going to just leave them to their party planning when Rex arrived.
Rex was someone he knew, but barely. While the man appeared friendly enough, Zach was bothered by him somehow. He couldn't put a finger on it and never tried. Most likely he was still disturbed by how the man had changed from a human into something else, right before his eyes. Looking at Rex reminded him of the man that he'd met previously, and it was simply spooky to see how drastically people changed.
"Hey..." He nodded at Rex. What more could he say? The guy was shirtless in front of a couple of chattering girls. There really wasn't anything one could do but watch.
Nita MacNeal "Maybe..." Nita said, dubiously. Fortunately for her, a distraction! This new guy was considerably more chipper than the rather twitchy Zach, ( and pretty cute, too, she thought very quietly) and also exhibited minor but noticeable changes. "Er.. hi there. I'm Nita." She shook Rex's hand timidly, seeming to shrink back into herself. Why did I leave my towel over there? She twirled the end of one long braid, a subconsciously nervous gesture. Fiona Brooks "Hi!" Fiona said cheerfully, her attention pouncing from trying to lure Nita into her plans over to the fur that was sprouting on this man's rather attractive chest. Since when did she find hairy guys attractive? Ew. Without a single falter, her eyes met with his face and she grinned broadly. "I'm Fiona. I don't know if you've heard, it's sort of a new idea, but I'm going to be planning a beach party some time in the future and I'm trying to get people to come. Would you wanna help dig the fire-pits, or cook food, or play music or something?" A girl on a mission, she was. The other people hadn't had anything interesting to talk about anyways. She cocked her head at Zach and Nita. "That goes for you too, eh? I'll take all the help I can get. Can any of you guys cook? I'm okay at it, but I'd rather be wandering around meeting people and junk. I guess we could have shifts, if there were enough volunteers." Rex Vadnais Rex glanced around the small circle, examining the faces. he'd known Zach and been with him on several previous occasions, though the girls were a refreshing change of pace.
He shook the red-head's hand, "Nita.." repeating her name after the girl so it sunk into his head. But watched as she curiously shrunk into herself. A reserved one, huh? Though his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the chipper girl next to them, "Fio-" He started to repeat, as always, though was quickly cut off by the girl's recruiting. He smiled, stretching his arms and legs a little bit so he could cool down from the run. He wiped a little sweat from his brow and responded with, "I'll gladly help with whatever. I'm not the greatest chef, but I'll sure help you set up with whatever." Nita MacNeal Nita gave Rex a shy little smile and turned back to Fiona. "Depends what you want to have available. Grilling hotdogs or burgers would be pretty easy, or vegetable kebabs for any vegetarians around." She shrugged, deciding to focus on organization instead of her self-consciousness. "I can help keep track of who's doing what, at least. I'm good at that." Nita nodded again and forced herself to stop messing with her hair. Fiona Brooks "Hotdogs and vegetable kebabs sound perfect," she enthused, clearly happy to have found helpers. "That's great, I love planning stuff but I'm not much of an organizer. I could write up a list for you, if you wanted, of who's doing what. I could like... put a sign-up sheet on my room door. But that's so impersonal." Fiona wrinkled her nose.
"You could help with digging the fire-pits and gathering rocks from the jungle," she said to Rex, obviously taking his fine shape into account, "and maybe help me figure out how to make a sort of stage. If worst comes to worst we could just weigh down a bunch of spare blankets and sheets, I guess, but I sort of wanted to save those for seating." It was then that Fiona noticed the miniature stub of a tail hanging from his pants. What her eyes were doing on that part of his anatomy, goodness knows, but her reaction was instantaneous and irrevocable. "Oh. My gosh. Your tail is so adorable." Rex Vadnais Rex smiled, this was exactly what he'd been looking for since his arrival on the island. SOMETHING TO DO! He'd have to tell Avery as well, he knew that his little buddy had been dying of boredom. Obviously he was some kind of party king-queen back on the mainland. "What about you, Zach? Want to help us out?" Rex grinned broadly and would've punched the man playfully in the shoulder, though there wasn't an arm there to hit and he didn't want to jab the poor guy in the rib.
"I could do that," he nodded, glad he could finally be useful for something, "I'm in duplex 35 if you need to get me any information or something." He'd been lost in the thought of organizing a mental checklist of things to do when his thoughts came to a halt and Fiona's squeal. Rex laughed "Really?" he rubbed his arm bashfully, a cute grin leaking out the side of his lips. He wasn't used to people liking the changes, let alone his own. "Thanks..." a cough of a laugh followed in quick succesion. Fiona Brooks Fiona laughed a little, casting a long, sweeping glance across the beach. "Well, thanks a ton for your help, guys. If you can find anyone else who can help set up, or just spread the word about there being a party in a couple weeks or so. Ooohh, and keep an ear out for musical talents. So anyways, I can feel a nasty sunburn coming on and I'm parched, so I'm going to get back to my room. I'll see you guys again!" She waved, turned, and began the walk along the treeline to the duplexes. Zachary Bloodstone Zach had to admit that the antics of the two women as they fawned over Rex were somewhat predictable. They were girls, after all. Ignoring the reminding weight in his shirt pocket, he smirked at what they were saying. It was so... human.
So why the hell didn't he feel like one any more?
Fiona left before he could tell her he doubted he'd be there, to help or to hang out. Parties weren't enjoyable for him, even when he had been scale-free. Now that he was even more warped in appearance, it would be close to unbearable. He didn't feel right in his own skin. The reflection he'd seen in the river was still fresh in his thoughts, helping to keep him in constant turmoil over what he was really becoming.
He was snapped out of his idle thinking when the chittering conversation was ended and Rex had pointedly spoken his name. The sunglasses just couldn't seem to stay perched on his nose, so he pushed them back where they should have been and glanced at Rex. His voice had gone a little hollow again. "Oh. Oh, sure, I guess. I don't think there's a lot I could do, though..." He shrugged his shoulders, emphasizing his point without another word on the subject.
Zach's tail curled a little as a thought struck him. "Um, Nita... if you don't mind me asking, when did you get here?"
Nita MacNeal "Alright, Fiona, I'll let you know." Nita waved as the other girl left. It felt good to have something to plan. Zach's question took her by surprise. However, she'd been keeping track of the days, so she knew exactly how long it had been. "I got here almost a week ago, on Thursday the 6th. Why do you ask?" Rex Vadnais Rex made his final wave to Fiona, "Bye! It was nice meeting you!" Finally there was somehting to look forward to...
Rex wasn't surprised by Zach's uninterest. For some reason he always seemed awkward and insociable around people, Rex on the other hand adored having company and going out for the occasion drink. Nothing too wild, though. He simply nodded his head at Zach's statement and let him continue on his ways, maybe he'd change over time.
"A week ago? Wow, has everything settled in for you yet? Like, are you.. at peace with th'island?" Rex remembered his conversation with the boy, Alec, who also arrived here recently, though he didn't know an exact date. He merely shrugged it off as some odd coincidence. Zachary Bloodstone Zach's face fell, and behind the sunglasses his eyes went wide with realization. He hadn't had much interest in Nita's arrival, seeing as she was completely used to the island's odd-looking inhabitants. He figured she'd been stuck on the island far too long regardless. The only number he had to go by was the day he'd arrived at this new circle of hell, also, incidentally, on a 6th. He hadn't had the heart to try counting the days after a certain point, and the passing of time had turned into an uncertain and immeasurable blur. That was, until now. Five weeks. Five whole weeks.
"Oh... I don't know. I was surprised you and Fiona weren't bothered by... all of this." He swept his hand upward in the general direction of his horns and other facial changes, the less-than-stoic look in his eyes still hidden. "For your sake, I really hope you can avoid changing, for as long as possible. You still have a chance."
Such bland and blunt wording of what he was sure she already knew well. Zach's gaze jumped to Rex. An... odd choice of words. It sounded more like the lion-man was asking about a terminal illness. Though, in a way, it seemed like they were never going to recover. He leaned his head back as hes spoke, as if to include the sky in the conversation. "We're as good as dead here, huh? Or worse..."
Nita MacNeal "At peace?" Nita laughed nervously. "Not... really. I'm trying not to think about it too much. I was supposed to be away for a couple of months anyway. 'Studying abroad,' they told me." She shrugged and dug her toes into the sand. "I do think Fiona has the right idea. There's no point in moping around all day, and the people I've met so far have been pretty nice." Nita winced at Zach's final pronouncement. She'd been suicidal before... not recently, but such statements tended to weigh on her. Nita bit her lip and made a noncommittal sort of "hnn." Rex Vadnais "Well, I hope that things begin to clear up for you..." Rex trailed off in a lame attempt to be comforting. "It really isn't so bad here, I mean, how many people get to live on a tropical island for their whole lives?" He smiled and looked to the sky, "To me, the whole animal thing is just a set back we're going to have to live with." He shrugged, intense blue eyes looking down to Nita and Zach, unsure if this was helping change their philosophies at all. Rex truly liked it here, the twisted doctors probably didn't like to look at him being happy. Just the thought made a snerk on his face.
Rex yawned toothily and scratched his chest lazily, he'd been sleeping alot more than usual recently. Though Rex forced himself to get up early in order to keep his oh-so-busy scheduel in order. Zachary Bloodstone "I suppose... but I'm finding less and less to be happy about, personally. Very optimistic though, I hope it works for you." The object in his shirt pocket was still quite heavy in his thoughts. Zach shifted a foot out of the sand, his long toes looking strangely off. His head dropped back to its usual angle and he cast his eyes toward Nita for a moment. After a brief pause, he gave an wordless grunt and looked back at Rex.
Zach grabbed the side of his sunglasses and neatly pulled them off, blinking the bright sunlight out of his starkly yellow eyes. There seemed to be little emotion in them at the moment, amplified by the odd color. "Just a setback?" he asked incredulously. Rex's easygoing attitude had grated on him before, but never like this. Just hearing the predicament they were in spoken of as nothing but a little problem seemed insane. He thrust Nita's presence out of his mind as he focused his words on the lion-man alone.
"You are becoming a lion. I'm becoming a... god knows what, some giant lizard. And... I've lost control of myself around several islander who I have nothing against, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with turning red and scaly. It's horrible. I don't know if it's happened to you, maybe it never will. But there's a few people I almost killed here, and to them, I don't think this is just a little setback in their lives. It sure as hell isn't for me."
Nita MacNeal Nita stepped back, alarmed at the bitterness and anger in Zach's voice. "Jeez," she muttered. He'd nearly killed people? What if this twitchy guy was one of those Emelyn had warned her about? And what if whatever she turned into made her lose control like that? Considerably shaken, she bit her lip and started messing with her braids again. "I'm, um, I think I'm gonna go..." She shifted towards Rex, not wanting to turn her back on Zach. "I'm in duplex 42, if you want to do more party planning or anything..." Rex Vadnais Rex simply watched in awe as Zach suddenly turned on him. His big blue eyes welled with anger at the sudden change in attitude, he stood with a shoulder in front of Nita protectively. This was going to be a new side of Rex, he rarely got angry, but Zach tugged at a new thread. "Zachary, what is your problem?! I haven't done anything other than be kind to you since the first time I met you, what do you have against me?! Don't think that I can't see it in you."
Rex's chest welled and suddenly the buff man appeared a considerable big larger. "I honestly can't figure it out, you're always such a negative person! I've been happy, cheerful and accepting to you for as long as I've known you, but whenever you're around things just get dark!" His voice was deep and stern, tail stiffened like a pole and the hair on the back of his neck was on end. "We're never getting off this island, we're never going to be human again and we're never going get to see people on the mainland again, EVER! Accept it!" His voice roared with a low rumble as he spoke and his hands were clenched in tight fists, Rex's claws digging into his palms painfully.
"Don't think that I'm some delusional pretty boy who is oblivious to everything thats going on, I've heard that steriotype too many times back in school. I KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE! You don't think I want to stop it?!" He paused, breathing heavily as the anger pulsed through his veins. Rex wanted to scream, yell, roar. He wanted to lash out fiercely and strike Zach hard, sink his fangs into the man's red scales.
WHAT AM I DOING?! "GggggrAHH!" Rex moaned loudly, clutching his wild hair with padded hands. The human mind began to kick back into gear. He breathed deep, strong and long breaths, slowly but surely getting back in control. He paced a few breathes back and forth (though still guarding Nita), then dropped his hands limply to his sides, breathed once more and continued in a soft, pleading tone. "Zach... I'm sorry, if I could do anything to change all of this," Rex tossed a hand in the lab's general direction, "I would... but I can't, and I know that." He was panting, eyes slowly getting more and more watery, Rex's emotions were on his fingertips. He felt like just breaking down... where was Julie... she wouldn't like to see him like this...
He continued to repeat the words over and over in a quavered voice, "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry..." Zachary Bloodstone Zach's mind was a blur as Rex snapped back. Almost instinctively, he bared his oversized teeth, and a faint mixture of a hiss and growl emmanated from deep in his throat. Something stirred in him, nothing he could have noticed, but it seemed to be in silent agreement with the rush of anger that had threatened for so long to come out. He took a few steps backward, as if in preparation to run, before he started to speak. "You know what it is about you? You think this place is okay. You think it's just fine to be turned into a- an inhuman freak! I don't think it's fair for you to lie to the new people! This is an atrocity! Neither of us are even halfway to what people like... like Cassidy, or Pyroth, are, but you can sure as hell bet that's what's in store for all of us."
His grimace was replaced by a grin, which tugged the corners of his mouth only the slightest bit further than they'd already gone. "Dark, huh? I didn't think it would be that much of a surprise. I'd like to see how enjoyable your life would still be if I ripped your goddamn arm off right now. It would probably still be happy. You know, I can't even so much as ******** CLAP. How would it feel, Rex? Just another 'minor setback' for you?"
He clutched his hand to his face and made another louder growling sound of frustration. Rex had spoken what he never wanted to hear aloud, no matter how much he knew it had to be true. "Don't give me that garbage either! You just accept it like there's no possible way to win! There has to be a way off of here, and a way to become normal again! I can't believe this! Just... just shut up!"
He took in a gasping breath and leered angrily at Rex with wide, thoughtless yellow eyes. The claws of his feet were trying to dig into the sand as hard as they could, though it sifted around them and prompted further attempts. His tail was lashing wildly, striking up the occasional flurry of sand as it slashed through. Several more times, and he could feel the beginning of a wheeze as he drew in air. The anger wasn't going to hold out much longer, as the first tendrils of regret had begun to creep from his words to strangle his thoughts. He shook his head. "********... I can't believe- I don't care. I'm sick of this... goodbye, Nita. Have a nice life, Rex."
Still wheezing slightly, he turned to clamber up the dunes into the shady jungle. Back to his graffiti-ridden duplex, his twisted reflection in the mirror, and an object of hope that had turned into a nightmarish reminder that he had none left.
For him, it was too late to be sorry this time.
Nita MacNeal Nita stayed well behind Rex, furious at herself for being such a wimp, but frankly, she was terrified. What were these men doing? How could they suddenly act like such animals? She was barely listening to their angry words, but the meaning was clear enough. She shook when Rex's voice approached a roar, wanting to flee, wanting to crawl into a whole and turn invisible. And then he broke down. She moved to place a comforting hand on his arm, but jumped back again when Zach growled. "Neither of us are even halfway to what people like... like Cassidy, or Pyroth, are, but you can sure as hell bet that's what's in store for all of us."Cassidy. She may be far more changed, but she had acted so civilized, so human, so much more so than both Rex and Zach were acting at the moment. She considered screaming something to that effect at Zach, hoping he'd just shut up and leave. And he did. Wheezing and seeming somehow broken, Zach walked away, leaving Nita holding back tears and feeling vaguely sick to her stomach. Rex Vadnais Rex listened in silence as Zach had his turn to vent. He sniffed occasionally, but sat there with damp eyes quietly. He had so much to say in retalliation, even though he'd never met these Cassidy and Pyroth people. His breathing quickened, however his countenence remained the same. Rex was seconds away from simply turning and walking away, though Zach beat him to it.
Rex watched bodly as Zach scurried back into the village, standing tall until the man was out of sight. And the instant he disappeared beyond the dune, Rex collapsed into a small ball in the sand, cradling his legs with and arched back. His cross tattoo sprawled to the cloudless sky and Rex mumbled a quick prayer, "O Heavenly Father... please forgive me and my actions in these times of despare. May you shelter us in your love and bless Zach's soul. I trust in you to point me in the right direction, Amen." he finished with a snivel as a tear ran down his cheeks.
After a moment silence save the ocean's waves, the man came to his feet, deflated, red and wet. He turned to Nita, who wasn't looking too well. He'd let her act how she felt was right since he'd only just met her and didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Rex wiped a tear from his face and smiled nervously, "Wow... I haven't done that in years." he sighed solemnly and waited for the sea breeze to cool his fury. Nita MacNeal Nita's jaw dropped as Rex plummeted to the ground. She crossed herself automatically when he finished his prayer and wiped a few tears from her own eyes. A lump in her throat made it difficult to breathe. She balled her hands into fists, furious and confused. "It's.. it's okay," she whispered. The guy seriously looked like he needed a hug. And even though she was still a bit afraid of him, she needed one too. Nita folded herself against his chest, not even noticing or caring that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and wept silently. Huge tears ran down her cheeks and her whole face turned blotchy and pink, but just at that moment, she really didn't care. Rex Vadnais Rex smiled and embraced the girl in a strong-armed hug. He'd soaked up most his tears, though was still panting and had a wet nose. It didn't matter to him though. Rex held her close against his chest, then pulled back and said, "I'll walk you back to your duplex... do you have everything?" He saw the towel and other eclected things down at the bottom of the dune.
Rex held them in his arms and hiked to the top of the dune, smiling and nodding his head in the direction of the village. "Which duplex are you?" Nita MacNeal Nita rubbed her eyes and sniffled for a moment. "Thanks," she muttered, a bit shaky. When he returned, she smiled, cheeks damp, but tears stopped for the time being. She slipped on her sandals and wrapped her towel around her waist, for once not worrying about the sand. "I'm in 42." Appreciating the company, she headed towards the little village and her duplex, which she'd left unlocked. Rex Vadnais Rex trudged slowly into the village, examining the duplex numbers until his eyes fell upon 42, on the second floor of one of the duplexes. The two went up the stairs and Rex stood outside her door, politely handing Nita the beach supplies.
"It was really nice to meet you Nita, and thanks for the hug back there on the beach..." Rex trailed off quietly and shuffled the ground with his feet. His blue eyes were bloodshot and Rex was just plain ehausted, but he had enough energy for a proper good-bye. "I'm in 35 if you ever need me or you want to talk or.. something," Rex smiled and began his decent down the stairs, "I'll catch y'around."
Rex walked what seemed like a mile to his duplex door and entered his room, exhausted. He stank from his run and the emotions in his mind, but he didn't care. Instead he curled up under the scratchy bed sheets and cried, hugging a pillow close to his body since there wasn't another person there to hold... He missed Julie... he needed Julie... but he couldn't have Julie, she'd already moved on...
Slowly, the tears were washed away by sleep as Rex passed into dreamland. Nita MacNeal "You, too," she said, attempting a smile. "And yeah, I'll see you around." Rex left, and Nita closed the door and locked it. She stood leaning her head against the frame for a moment, then turned, hung up her towel, and flung herself onto her bed and cried.
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:59 pm
A Sweet Couple
Avery Calder So far, Avery has managed to do a pretty good job of hiding from other people. Although he knew Tim didn't seem bothered at all by Avery's new appearance, he was still feeling self conscious about it. He knew he couldn't hide forever, though - eventually, he would run into someone, or someone would come looking for him. Although he was a little hesitant to go out, he decided he was bored and wanted to do something. Like watch a movie. He invited Tim to come along with him, of course, and together they left the duplexes and went to the entertainment room. Avery went over to the shelves, looking over the movies. "They've got a nice collection here, huh? Anything you have in mind that you'd like to see?" Avery was eyeing Jurassic Park though, if Tim didn't know what to watch. Timothy Matthews "I'm up for whatever Avery." He noticed Avery eyeing Jurassic Park. "Except maybe that too... familar." He reached in Avery's shirt and rubbed his stomach a bit. Timothy was glad he'd finally been able to get Avery out of the house, though he had no problem keeping him to himself. Still, Timothy knew better than anyone that it wasn't healthy to stay around the house too long. Even if it was fun. Rex Vadnais Rex awoke from his exhausted slumber the next day feeling like a total wreak. Though he somehow managed to make his way into the bathroom, tack a shower, pull on his clothes and head out of his duplex. Refreshed and ready to... do nothing, as usual, he wandered his way towards Avery's duplex, though after a tap on the door, he found that no one was there!
Disappointed, he decided to go to the entertainment room, there had to be something to do.
Rex didn't enter fully at first. He proked his head in, checking to see if anyone was inside and to make sure he wasn't wasting his time, and blue eyes fell on the two guys browsing the video selection. Most of his view of the two was shrouded by the billowing black and white tail, though Rex recognized the odd choice of clothes and long blonde hair right away. "AVERY!" Avery Calder Oh, right, Jurassic Park is on an island... well, I suppose that wasn't a great choice, Avery thought. "Okay then, hmm..." he browsed through the movies again, looking for something that didn't have anything to do with islands. "How about --" he had been about to suggest a different movie, when he heard someone call out his name. He looked up, and his tail started wagging immediately when he saw Rex. "Rex! Hi!" he quickly went over to the other man, giving him a tight hug. He was so happy to see his friend again, he forgot that Rex hadn't seen him since his transformation. "It's been a while!" he said, stepping back. "How have you been? Oh! By the way - this is Tim," Avery said, introducing them. "Tim, this is my friend, Rex." Timothy Matthews He smiled as he watched Avery go through the movie selections. He didn't really mind much what waas watched. "Oh, this is the guy you mentioned. You were right he is cute." Timothy smiled and walked up to shake his hand. "I heard you sort of saved Avery." he took the hand in both of his and grasped it firmly. "Thank you." Rex Vadnais Rex swopped Avery up in a big tight hug, he missed the guy so much. "I've been.. surviving. How about yourself?!" Obviously not too shabby. he thought to himself, not addressing the fact that this man had just had his hands in Avery's shirt.
He grinned broadly, extending a paw in Tim's direction, "Nice to meet yeh!" Though a brilliant red tone spread Rex's cheeks, blushing from the compliment, "Thanks, Tim."
His mind travelled to the night of the accident, a memory that seemed to occur years ago. "Well, uh I do what I can... though it wasn't good enough." Rex looked to the ground, shifting his weight a little...
And only then did Rex notice the discoloration of Avery's eyes. He did a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing something, the left eye was distictly brown. He gasped silently, eyes bolting from change to change across the man's body, "You changed!" Rex didn't say any more than that, knowing how much Avery despised speaking about them. Avery Calder Oh god, don't just tell him that, I don't want him to know I said that about him! is what Avery wanted to say... but he didn't. He kept his thoughts to himself, hoping Rex wouldn't hate him for it. He seemed to take the compliment in stride, though, so Avery relaxed a little bit. He was starting to worry about what other people would think when they realized he liked men too - not that it wasn't obvious by the way he dressed. "Don't worry about it, you did what you could," he said to Rex. "And I appreciate it..." After all, if Rex hadn't saved him, he wouldn't have met Tim... He blushed when his appearance was mentioned. "Uh. Yeah. Tim figured out, I'm turning into some sort of... dog, or something. Anyway," Avery said, wanting to change the subject. "We were just about to watch a movie... wanna join us?" he asked, glancing at Tim, hoping he wouldn't mind. Avery wanted to spend some time with Rex, since he hadn't seen him in a while. Timothy Matthews "Let Rex pick something then Avery." Timothy was glad to see Avery getting used to having people around him like this. He knew eventually Avery would learn to live with it. Of course then, it'd just get worse when he changed again. "Anyway, I just want to sit and enjoy something." he shrugged. "I just... I mean you don't care if we... are close during the movie do you Rex?" Rex Vadnais Well, at least he's getting a bit more comfortable. Rex noted the sudden subject change, moving on to the new conversation.
"A movie? Sure!" Rex smiled, running to carouse the movie selection. He tossed the words "Oh, and I don't mind." over his shoulder, hoping to make it seem as comfortable and unawkward as possible. He was glad that Avery had found someone, who doesn't like having a person to hold? Especially while being stranded on some bizarre island such as this.
He approached the wall and skimmed the cases of DVDs and VHSs with a clawed finger, eyes browsing over the titles idly, "What are you guys in the mood for? Action? Comedy? ...Romance?" Avery Calder Avery breathed a small sigh of relief. What was he thinking, anyway? Rex was cool, even saved him from the men on the boat... he wouldn't hate him. Avery looked at Tim and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze and smiling at him. "Anything is fine with me... how about a comedy?" he suggested. He felt like he could use a few laughs. He went over to the couch and sat down, leaving room for Rex and Timothy to sit down on either side of him. He felt happy to be hanging out with his two favorite people right now. He felt his tail twitch and he quickly grabbed it so it wouldn't start wagging again and thump against the couch. Timothy Matthews Timothy went over and got comfortable on the right side of the couch. He pulled his body up beside Avery snuggled close. He figured he'd leave choosing the movie and all that to Rex. Timothy prepared himself to just hang out and laugh for a bit. Of course shortly after snuggling up to Avery he found himself drifting off to sleep. He hadn't... slept enough lately. It had worn him out and he didn't realize how much till just now. Rex Vadnais "Then comedy it is then..." He continued his search in silence, then pulled a DVD off the shelf and turned around, proclaiming loudly, "How about Meet the P- OP!" He caught his tounge quickly, realizing that Tim had just fallen asleep suddenly on Avery's side. He dropped his voice to a much quieter tone and said, "Wow, I wish I could fall asleep that easily." He chuckled silently and moved his way around the couch's arm, taking his seat next to the central Avery. Avery Calder Avery smiled when Timothy leaned against him, and he put his arm around him, holding him close and snuggling. He looked up at Rex when he sat down too. "Yeah, me too... usually I can do that if I'm wasted," he chuckled, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Timothy. "Meet the Parents sounds good to me... I haven't seen it before, I don't think." Rex Vadnais "You've never seen it? Aw, thats a shame. Then we should watch it now!" He scooted off of the couch and slipped the movie into the DVD's holder, then turned on the TV hoping for the best. Rex wasn't the greatest with technical things.
He grabbed the DVD player's remote and plopped back down on the couch, selecting play. He leaned back into the cushions and sighed, looking at the sleeping skunk-man. "So, you like him?" Making conversation wasn't the best thing to do during a movie, but whatever. Avery Calder Avery hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I do." He smiled a bit, glancing at Rex. "He's really nice. Um... and he's a musician. He plays the guitar, and sings." He wasn't really sure what to say, but... he figured he could talk to him about anything. "So, er, you're not bothered that... well, you know..." he shrugged a little, biting his lip. "Um. That he and I are both guys?" Rex Vadnais "I'm glad. You're lucky that you found someone." He smiled sincerely and ignored the preview credits on the screen.
The memory of yesterday on the beach was still fresh in his mind and Rex wanted to talk to Avery about Zach, though he skipped that detail and rewound to the part about the party Fiona was setting up. "Oh! This new chick, Fiona, she's going to set up a big beach party! You two should come, she's looking for music too. Maybe Tim could play a bit for us." He grinned, glad he could transfer the knowledge off to someone else. "Spread the word."
Then Rex's eyes got wide, slightly taken aback by the fact that the two of them were guys could be considered a problem or something of the like, "Why would I be bothered by that? Sure, it's not my personal preference, but you're free to do whatever you want. I lived in San Fransisco before I came to the island, so I'm not really phased by gay things. It's everywhere there." Rex shrugged, "And besides, who am I to judge you? You're my friend and thats all I need to know." Avery Calder "A party!?" he looked excited about that, and tried to keep himself still and not get all worked up. Finally, something different to do on the island! "Yeah, that sounds great! I'll tell Tim about it, I'll try to drag him along to the party," he said. Avery smiled at Rex, feeling relieved that he wasn't bothered at all. "I dunno, I guess... I mean, I never really used to care about what people thought about my preferences. You know? It's my life, I like the way I am. I think if you're gonna fall for someone, then it'll just happen, the gender doesn't matter." He shook his head. "But, those guys on the boat - they attacked me, because they saw me hitting on some guy on the ship... and I've been having nightmares about it." Avery recalled the nightmare he had about the attack on the ship the night before his transformation, except in the nightmare Rex had attacked him too. "I haven't really told anyone. But I'm really glad you don't mind..." Rex Vadnais A dog was sure shining through right now as Avery got excited quite quickly. Must've been a pretty dang hyper dog that they injected him with. "I know that you've been really antsy about getting out and about, I knew you'd be excited. There isn't a time set yet, though she wants me to help set it up and stuff, I'll be sure to let you know somehow."
Then Rex turned solemn once more, the boat was obviously not a happy time for Avery. He patted his leg and said, "Don't worry about it. As far as I can tell, no one really cares much at all. I'm just happy that you're settling in well." He paused, formulating the next sentence on his lips. "Those guys were obvoiusly... well.. I don't know another way to say it than bastards, quite frankly. I'm just angry I could've been there to pull them off sooner before, well, you know. Things would be alot different if only I'd've been on top of things." Rex sighed, disappointed in the consequences of his failure. Avery Calder "If all else fails, you could just slip a paper under the door to my duplex when you find out when the party is," Avery said. "It's not your fault, Rex," he insisted. He wanted to say, it was my fault for hitting on that guy, but he kept his mouth shut. "Hell, for all I know they would have thrown me off the side of the ship anyway, and then I'd have washed up here all by myself. Which, I guess would have been better, then you wouldn't be stuck here too..." he trailed off, going quiet for a few moments as he thought. "But you know, if these things hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met him. And probably might not have met you on the ship, either. So, there's some good things about it I guess... you know?" Yes. He had promised he would try to be happy here. Avery had to look on the bright side of things. Rex Vadnais Rex shook his head in denial, subborn enough not to change his mind. Though he let it pass and moved on. My fault. All mine.
"Speaking about washing up, have you been swimming lately? I'm curious to see how you've progress!" Rex smiled, "And I've still got to meet your lady-friend that taught you. Em.. Emily or something. What was her name?"
Now that was a fairly optimistic view of things here on the island! Finally other people besides Lauren and him were getting to enjoy thing son the island! The fact that more people on the island were adapting to a new philosophy meant that it wouldn't be so bad for everyone all around... well.. except for Zach. Avery Calder "Oh! Um... no, not really." I've been busy doing other things, he thought, glancing at Timothy. "I've been preoccupied, really. And her name's Emelyn." Actually, he had been going to practice... in the river. Except that Zach had been there, and tried to attack him. Again. "You know... that Zach guy... I know you said he was an alright guy, but, he attacked me again. This time he wasn't even drunk..." Rex Vadnais "...again" was the sole word that struck Rex. "GOSH DARNIT! I knew that there was something about that guy I had to remember, but it'd been so long since you told me!" Rex fumed, angry at himself for forgetting and angry at Zach for being the jerkwad he is. He cursed silently, then continued with his thoughts.
"He is such an idiot. I don't know why I didn't see it before, I guess I didn't want to believe it, but he's truly a mean person. Close-minded, self-absorbed, insecure loser!" Rex's tone increase in rage with every word that slipped his lips. "I saw him on the beach the other day and just about laid it on him. God pulled my back." He shuffled, fiddling with his little cross necklace while running another verse through his head.
He couldn't get himself worked up. Rex took a few deep breaths and melted back into the couch, still fiddling with his necklace. Avery Calder Avery's eyes widened, surprised at Rex's outburst. He's never seen Rex get angry before, and he made a note to himself to make sure he was never the one to piss him off. He wasn't sure he should ask, but he was curious, and he hoped he didn't get Rex worked up again. "Er. What did he do..? He didn't attack you, too, did he?" he asked. Although he was pretty sure Rex would win that fight. Rex Vadnais Rex breathed heavy, deep, slow breaths to overcome the sudden anger once again. What had happened to tolerant Rex?
He swallowed and spoke in a soft tone, "Essentially, we were talking with this new girl about the island when Zach lashed out against me. He obviously hates living here and can't stand the fact that others could be happy here as well." Rex sighed, so much negativity. "I could sense that I was getting on his nerves somehow, but he was always passively hostile towards me. I yelled back at him a little, he'd just pushed the right button, but I got a hold of myself before I could do anymore. Instead I just stood there and cried like a wimp as he scurried away. The coward was only running away from what discomforted him." He stopped, collecting his thoughts and running over the scene on the beach in his head, "I really need to go appologize... It was stupid of me to get so offended." Avery Calder "I don't think you need to apologize," Avery said. "He sounds like he's just an a*****e... but, I mean... I can't blame him for being upset, really. Not everyone can be happy about the things happening to them here... I don't understand how anyone could like changing into an animal. But some people do, and some don't." Avery shrugged a bit. Even if he didn't see a problem with Zach being pissed about living here, he still thought he was an a** for attacking him. If he was going to attack anyone, it should be the doctors, not the innocent people who are trapped here as well. Rex Vadnais Rex mumbled grouchily about the man under his breath, "The only thing he's doing with his bad attitude is making the island worse for everyone, including himself." Rex wanted to be cheered up, but even Meet the Parents wasn't working all that well.
Rex groaned and came to his feet, though his stomach groaned louder. Some food was sounding quite nice right aboutt his time. "I think I'm going to get something to eat, it's been hours... But by goly we've got to see each other more, and Tim too, he seems like a nice guy." Rex looked to the peaceful skunk sprawled across Avery, he chuckled, "You're lucky that you two have got each other."
"Anyways, I'll be sure to keep you informed with party updates as I get them, mkay? Catch y'later, little guy." And with that, Rex beelined for the cafeteria. Foooood. Avery Calder "I do feel pretty lucky... I'll see you around, Rex. We definitely need to hang out more," Avery agreed, smiling at him. "I'm looking forward to the party." When Rex left, Avery picked up the remote and turned off the TV, tossing the remote aside. The warmth he was feeling from being snuggled up with Tim was making him a little drowsy, and he didn't want to wake the other boy, so he settled down, curling against him. Overall, he was feeling pretty happy right now. Rex accepted him for who he was and still wanted to be his friend, there was a party being planned, and now he was snuggled up on the couch with his boyfriend. Boyfriend. Avery couldn't help grinning a little to himself. It's been a while since he had been in a relationship with anyone, and he knew he was still young, but Avery didn't really like being single. The thought of knowing you had someone you could call your significant other, someone you could cuddle with and talk to about anything, someone who always knew how to make you smile - it was something he wanted. And maybe he had found it here, with Timothy - although it was still a bit too soon to be sure, Avery was certainly more than willing to give this a chance. He didn't have anything to lose after all. And hey, if Timothy was willing to look past the fact that he was growing a tail and becoming hairy and might even eventually start to smell like a wet dog after a shower, he was definitely someone to hold onto. You don't find guys like that every day.
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:48 pm
Not the Bed Rest That Was Ordered Rex Vadnais As Rex made his way to the cafeteria for a late breakfast, he spied a door that hadn't been knocked in quite some time. Antony's duplex sat off to the side of the road innocently and Rex had the spare time to pay the woman a visit. He made his few up the path to her door and rapped it a few times with a hard knuckle, then leaned on the doorframe, waiting to see if there would be a responce. Antoinette Devereux Antony blinked at the knock and ran her hand through her newly cut hair, grabbing her robe on the way from the bathroom to the door. After a peer out the peep hole, she opened the door and motioned Rex in. "Long time no see," she murmured. It was obvious that the dream was still effecting her, even after she had been awake for over an hour. Rex Vadnais Rex smiled as the door creaked open to reveal the woman dressed in naught but a bathrobe. He chuckled, "Do you always run around the house in these clothes?" Recalling how the last time he lent hjer a visit she was clad in a similar fashion. Then he noticed her hair, "Ooh, nice haircut. Who did it for you?" Rex ran his hand through his hair subconsciously and stepped inside, lingering patiently by the door for her to excuse him to sit or something of the like, "How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while..." Antoinette Devereux "I was just about to get dressed when you knocked," she pointed out, smiling slightly as she messed it up a bit, "I needed a change." Motioning for him to sit down, Antony made her way back into her bedroom to finish getting dressed. "Been decent enough... You? Looking a bit furrier since I last saw you." Absently, she fanned herself, feeling as if she were having a hotflash. Rex Vadnais Taking a seat on his couch, Rex scratched at his beard and sighed, "Heh, yeah, I uh, changed a while back. We're thinking that it's a lion. Isn't that awesome?" The idea of a lion perched in his mind surrounded by a golden light. He couldn't wait to change once again.
"I've been truckin' along, y'know? Just dealing with some people is..." He sighed once again, thinking about Zach on the beach the other day, "...a hassle." He leaned back farther into the couch, his body becoming one with the cushions. Antoinette Devereux Antony was about to make a retort about how 'great' it was changing into a lion when the feeling of impending change hit her like a truck. Her eyes widened in horror as fur began push its way out of her skin, covering her body like an ugly blanket. She whimpered at the sight, but soon simply cried out in sheer agony, tears brimming from her eyes as she fell to her hands and knees. Rex Vadnais Rex had his eyes on the woman exactly as she let out her cry of pain. He gasped audibly as she fell to the ground and more white fur erupted from her skin like snow falling on mountains of shoulders.
He clambered to his feet and rushed to his side, he'd seen a change before, Amaya, though she was a reptile and was obviously quite a bit farther along in her transformations than Antony. How were they different? What could he do?! He sat and watched in agony as the woman wimpered before him, "Antony! It's okay, it's okay!" He wanted to touch her, hug her, make everything feel better. Though what dangers could come from interupting something like a change? Antoinette Devereux Antony groaned in pain as her feet began to lengthen, her arms collapsing so she could take all weight off her legs. The squirrel woman's face twisted in an expression of sheer pain, the bones in her feet breaking and growing at an alarming rate, grinding and crunching loudly. "How... The ********... Is it... OKAY?!" She snarled between heaving breaths, eyes clenched shut. When her feet seemed to have finish, she felt as if someone had hit her in the face with a shovel. Clenching her teeth, she tried to curse, but could only cry out in anger as her face rearranged, now able to hear the bones shifting and breaking with her larger ears. Rex Vadnais Rex stood back in horror, frozen in time as he watched helplessly from the sidelines. The sound of shifting bones mixed with her mottled sobs struck hard in his heart just as Amaya's did during his change. His eyes widened as her feet stretched and he felt like just running away! If there was one thing that he couldn't stand, it was seeing people in pain. Though he couldn't run, even if he couldn't help her, the least he could do was comfort her through it...
His mixed emotions about the transformations clouded his brain and soon his eyes damped with wet tears. Antoinette Devereux The stench of sweat caused her eyes to pop open in confusion, sighing softly when she thought it was all over. Unfortunately, just as she began to feel safe again, the feeling of her spine being torn apart elicited blood curdling yell. She couldn't tell what was going on from her rear, but she figured it was just her tails lengthening, considering it felt like her spine was being ripped out of her tailbones. Antony tried to hide her sobs once the growing pain stopped, leaving her only with the usual ache, and the results of the change. "How bad?" She finally choked out, unable to look at Rex to see his expression. Rex Vadnais Beyond the blurred tears, Rex saw two new shoots erupt from her lower back to join the three already there. More tails? What animal IS she? He sniffed, wiping the wet from his eyes to try and appear stronger than he really was in bad situations.
The sight before him was something he'd never imagined he'd see. The fur, a pristine white, covered a good portion of her body and her eyes were now even bolder than ever. He had to be honest, but he tried to let her down easy. Rex began with one last sniff, then said, "Well, it could be alot worse..." He'd leave it at that, not wanting to get her hopes up since that would only lead to a longer fall.
He came to his feet and extended a paw, offering to help the woman up off the ground. Antoinette Devereux She sniffed, raising a hand to wipe the tears from her face, only to pull back the moment they made contact, her muzzle still sore. His comment only made her wince as she glanced over at him, eyes trailing down to his offered hand. Eventually, she took the paw and attempted to stand, but immediately stumbled over with a muffled cry. "My feet," the squirrel woman whispered, gaze flickering down to look at the damage, gasping and immediately looking away. "They're huge..." Rex Vadnais Rex winced as she made contact with her new changes. He remembered how sore he was after his first change, but this was obviously not the first time she'd undergone a transformation. "Do you have any advil? Painkillers? I regret not taking any after my first change."
He tried to catch her as she fell, though she slipped through his arms. There was too much to look at! The fact that this woman had just sprouted fur in front of him was enough of a spectacle, though her eyes, nose, feet... and scantily dressed body, were all big distractions. He averted his eyes, not wanted to think about something like that in a time like this. "Would you like to lay down on the couch?" Antoinette Devereux "In the bathroom cabinet," she said, waving her hand towards the bathroom, glancing up at him at his next question. After a look between the couch and her bed, Antony figured the latter had more room and then she wouldn't have to move too much to get to the bathroom. "The bed would probably be better," the furry woman muttered, clearly ashamed of her new changes. Rex Vadnais Rex took her gently in his arms, wary of her aching bones and twitching tails. He moved into the bedroom and placed her tenderly on her side in the bed then hurried into the bathroom to get the medicine and some water to down it with.
He offered her the pills and handed her the water, sitting on the side of the bed. Though the lion pushed eagerly to join her under the sheets, it knew what it wanted. Rex was ashamed of his impure thoughts, a woman was a woman, just because she's near naked doesn't mean you need to have sex! He looked at the ground, fighting off the lions instincts. Antoinette Devereux Antony chittered softly when she was suddenly lifted, blinking in surprise at the care he was taking to carry her over to the bed. She watched him after he set her down, half expecting him to run away screaming, but was inwardly pleased that he didn't when he returned to her with drugs. The pills were instantly washed back with a soft sigh before she drank a little more water. Setting down the glass, the squirrel woman watched him for a moment and then looked down at the sheets. "Can you... Stay?" She asked quietly, not able to make eye contact with Rex, "Don't really want to be alone..." Rex Vadnais Rex turned to her, "Sure, I can stay..." His stomache moaned for food, but he knew that if he was in Antony's place, he wouldn't want to be alone either...
The man kicked laid back against the pillows of the bed and sighed, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Things felt so jumbled inside him...
"Has the pain mostly stopped?" He knew she'd still be sore, but the fact that the source of the pain, changing, had stopped, maybe things would start to look up. Antoinette Devereux When he settled, she looked up at him as if to ask permission to move closer to him, maybe even use him as a source of physical comfort as well. Usually she wouldn't ask, but considering how she probably looked... "Yeah," Antony answered his question, sighing softly before daring another glance down to her feet. "I feel like Ronald McDonald with this things." Rex Vadnais Rex looked to the furry woman laying insecurely on the other side of the bed. The poor girl must've been really freaked out, he nudged his way closer to her without her coaxing and put and arm over her shoulder in a similar fashion to the night he arrived on the island. So many things had changed since then.
He laughed at her Ronald McDonald remark, "Clowns are pretty dang creepy, but apparently some people like them! Otherwise why would they still be around." He shuddered at the thought of the McRoadkillDonalds' creepy mascot and looked down at Antony's now white mohawked head, holding her protectivly close. Nothing was around to hurt her, but it was his instinct. Antoinette Devereux She gave him a thankful look when he scooted closer to her and carefully pulled her into an embrace. Her arms moved to wrap around his waist and hold him closer. Instinctively, she moved to nuzzle his chest, but tensed when the soreness kicked in, settling instead for resting her cheek there. "Can you do me a favor?" Antony questioned quietly, peering up at him, "Just... Don't leave me..." The squirrel woman sounded so unlike herself, scared and pitiful, her eyes pleading with the lion man. Rex Vadnais Rex adjusted his body position to the changes Antony made so he could accomdate the woman. Rex the Person had no problem with holding anohter one close. However, Rex the Lion had different things in mind. Thankfully, his overbaring self control pushed back the lion's thoughts about the lady on top of him, he focused on her favor.
"Of course I won't leave you.." His voice quavered as she begged on his chest. It would be awful to be alone in a time like this... Antoinette Devereux As she had with Alec days before, she tilted her head and pressed her lips to the crook of his neck in thanks before closing her eyes. She shifted to get more comfortable, careful of her tails, which were particularly sore at the moment. It was then she realized just how tired the transformation had left her, and it wasn't long before she drifted into a less than peaceful sleep. Every so often she'd wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares and flashbacks. However, eventually she fell into a deeper sleep, but it was only a catnap of sorts. Rex Vadnais Rex passed the kiss off as nothing and kept his arm around her, stroking her side gently. It would've been an odd sight from a different perspective, but things like this were bound to be normal on the island.
He wasn't nearly as tired as squirrel was for two reasons. 1) He's just gotten up and still had his energy for the day and 2) His body hadn't just changed into a partial rodent. While she drifted in and out, he sat patiently on the bed. Antoinette Devereux She finally blinked her eyes open, groaning softly as the soreness hit her like a persistant person with a stick. The warmth next to her did cause a small smile to form on her lips, which only widened when she looked up to verify that it was Rex that was still there. "You stayed," Antony whispered gruffly, shifting somewhat to stretch her sore muscles, wincing only slightly when she did so. It seemed the tylenol had worked, and she nuzzled the crook of his neck out of habit with her newly furry muzzle. Until she remembered how her face probably looked, and she pulled back suddenly, looking ashamed, "I'm sorry..." Who would want someone like her being physically affectionate with them? Rex Vadnais Rex smiled, looking down at the newly awakened Antony. Being nuzzled by her was akin to being nuzzled by a large cat or dog, The fur against his skin certainly didn't feel human. "Nice nap? Feeling better?"
"Of course I didn't leave, you asked me to stay..." He shrugged and stretched his arms, stiff from being statuesque for quite some time so he didn't wake up the sleeping woman under him. Antoinette Devereux She shook her head, "A little, but that's from the drugs probably... Nightmares." The last word was considerably less audible than the rest, and she sighed before pushing herself up into a sitting position. With her new look, Antony had lost most of her self-confidence, and fidgeted a bit before leaning in and pressing her lips to his cheek. "Thank you," the squirrel woman breathed, looking up at him with a sincere, though nervous, expression. Suddenly, her stomach growled loudly, catching her attention as she stared down at her stomach, a finger cautiously reaching down to trail along the new 'happy trail.' Her mouth hung open, but she couldn't find the words, even when she lifted the front of the fabric to take a peek, gasping in disgust when it was true. At least the fur wasn't black and curly? Rex Vadnais Rex nodded his head in agreement, his keen hearing picked up the word "nightmares...", they were oh too familiar to him from his first change, though he didn't pressure her to reveal their content. She'd say if she wanted to...
He tried to push her little pecks out of his mind, not wanting to set the lion off on another tangent. Though the fact that she practically flashed him her "forbidden parts" wasn't exactly helping either. He averted his eyes, not wanting to intrude on the girl's privacy (assuming she even cared) and mumbled, "Well.. that's the beauty of sheers and razors, right?" He hoped the joke would lighten the mood. Antoinette Devereux "Actually, waxing is more efficient," she explained, shifting so that she was sitting somewhat as she inspected herself a bit more. Once finished, she sighed and glanced over at Rex, who was politely looking away, and she chuckled softly. "Have you ever shaved yourself?" A brow cocked upwards as her tails pulled themselfs up against her back. The joke had lightened the mood, and now Antony was curious, male tainted mind starting to warm up. "It does cause one's... Male bits, to look much larger... Among other things," she gave him an innocent look, lips curling into an amused smile. Rex Vadnais Rex laughed as she explained the choices of hair removal, "What's that other stuff called...? N-... Nair?" Though his sentence trailed off at her question.
He blushed and smiled wryly, caught off guard. "Why, yes... I have shaved my face." The smart-alec sarcasm was too much to bear, why not tug at her fluffy tail a bit more, "But as for other places... well... You'll just have to find out on your own." He laughed with a toothy grin as the color came back to his face. Antoinette Devereux "Nair is horrible... Burns and irritates my skin," she pointed out, making a face at the thought of the cream and the first time she tried that. Antony clucked her tongue at his next comment, but noticed his blush and simply grinned, which grew wider at what he said next. "Is that a challenge?" If it was, the squirrel woman would have to tuck it onto her to do list for later when she wasn't so... disgusted with herself and sore, among other things. Her eyebrows arched and then waggled as she laughed softly. Rex Vadnais "A challenge? Oh, I 'unno, but I guess I'll just have to keep my guard up a bit more." He laughed once again and scooted into a more upright postition against the bed.
"I'm glad you're in a better mood..." he said quietly. She was either feeling better physically from the change or the conversation had simply blocked out the pain. His stomache moaned loudly, mourning over it's emptiness. Since he'd stayed with Antony on the bed there, it had been quite a while since he'd eaten a thing. Though she wanted him to stay and Rex couldn't ignore that. Antoinette Devereux "Don't worry," she murmured, glancing down at her changes with a fallen expression, "I'm not exactly my sexy self anymore." The second comment was said in a sad connotation, and though she tried to block it from her voice and face, she couldn't. At his next comment, Antony merely nodded, hearing his grumbling stomach and glancing up at him. "You should go eat." Rex Vadnais Rex frowned, disappointed she'd lost that certain self confidence she once had. He put his arm back around her shoulder and rubbed her carefully with a padded hand. Then he looked to her with her next comment, "Yeah... I'm pretty hungry... would yuh mind if I went to get some food? Y'wanna come with meh?" He wasn't sure if she was ready for him to leave, but even the lion's hunger for sex had changed to a hunger for food. Antoinette Devereux She shook her head to answer both questions, eyes looking away from him even though he had just given her a gesture of comfort. "Go without me," Antony stated simply, tails sorely wrapping around her as best as they could. Rex Vadnais Rex sighed, wondering if she was okay with him leaving...
He slid off the bed side and came to his feet. He walked to the door and turned around, "Alrighty, I hope that you start to feel better soon... and I'm in 35 if you need me... and don't worry about the changes, trust me. Get some rest, too" He paused, forcing himself to stop spewing out the things in his mind. "I'll see you around, okay?"
"Bye..." With that he slipped out and door and shut it quietly behind him. the scent from the cafeteria was so good...
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:01 pm
Stuck to the door of the duplex with a rolled up piece of duct tape is a sheet of paper, a note scrawled hastily on its plain surface.
Hey Tail-Guy! Fiona here. Your name is Rex, right? I hope so, otherwise someone is getting a totally random note on their door.
I'm thinking I'll throw the party pretty soon, so I need your hlep help carrying junk around. I've marked the spot on the beach where I'm going to have it with a long piece of black tape. It's tied around a tree, pretty near where I ran into you the first time.
If you wanna help, can you dig a bunch of fire pits and try and get firewood? Plus there should be rocks to put around the firepits. So s**t doesn't catch on fire, you know.
You might even see me there, cause I've been hanging out in the area a lot figuring stuff out. Thanks a ton! Don't forget to tell other people about it.
Fiona
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Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 1:24 pm
After an uneventful breakfast after seeing Antony's change, Rex made his way back to his duplex only to find the sheet of paper on his door. "Hrm..?" He plucked it from the wooden door and unrolled it. "Fiona..? Oh! Her!" he opened the door, eyes skimming back and forth across the note. He'd have to meet with her sometime soon and coordinate this thing.
He set the note down on the bed and went over to the intercom. He'd been meaning to get this over with for quite some time. Pushing the button, he waited until someone picked up on the other side. Eventually he heard a tolerant female voice come out of the small box. "Feral Labs, who is speaking?"
"Uhm, yeah, this is Rex in duplex 35. I was just thinking, since, well I've been here a while that I could get some new clothes sent to my duplex. These ones I have now are kind of tat-"
"We'll send them to you right away Mr. Vadnais."
He paused, slightly cut off. "Oh.. okay, thank you?" He cut off the intercom and sat back down on his bed. Finally some new clothes...
After a couple of days a small package arrived outside Rex's duplex door. Inside was a variety of shirts, pants, shorts, socks and underwear. About enough for a week or so. Rex tore into the box with excitement and checked out his new outfits. The labs had nice taste...
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Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:29 pm
The Beach Party Fiona Brooks The word was spread, the posters were posted, and the time had finally arrived. As the sun began to set, Fiona scurried between the five fire-pits dug intermittently along the beach, lighting the piles of wood and checking that the blankets were arranged on the sand just so. When night finally fell, the entire area was illuminated by an orange glow, and on two of the fires were placed metal grills. Logs and driftwood had been collected from the shores and jungle, pulled up close to the flames and covered with blankets which looked suspiciously like the extra bedspread available to islanders. Coolers with various beverages (stolen from cafeteria and beach-bar alike) scattered the sands here and there, and closer to the jungle in the middle of it all was a 'platform' constructed of sheets weighted down with rocks. Within a matter of minutes, the smell of cooking food wafted through the trees and towards the village. The party had begun. Continues here.
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Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:30 pm
Another One Snaps Rex Vadnais The morning after the big beach party, Rex woke up with a minor headache, thoguh nothing big. He hadn't had more than a few beers. He forced himself out of bed, took a shower and decided to go on a walk fo a change.
He made his way into the jungle for the first time since the labs had reopened. The familiar sounds of birds and monkies filled the air and the distant sound of the bubbling river could be heard humming in his ear. Nothing was more peaceful than a walk by yourself, though something deep inside him mourned for company and socialization. Alec Derring Alec wandered the thick jungle, away from the duplexes and any other builing he usually frequented. He had skipped out on the beach party, at the last minute allowing his anti-social and predictable knack at avoiding any and all social events kicking in to full gear. In all honesty he was growing a little tired of hanging out in the enterainment room, cafeteria and the like and was currently seeking relief by wandering through a part of the jungle he hadn't bothered to adventure to before.
"Fookin' trees." He muttered to himself, hands stuffed into the pockets of his shorts as he bitterly trudged through the wilderness with his face angled towards the ground. He didn't expect anyone to be around, and he wasn't exactly paying attention enough to notice. Amaya Vaughan Unlike the other two, Amaya had wandered into the jungle for a purpose. When you stayed outside for almost two months, you got to know the jungle pretty well... so today, she set out to have a little snack and bask like all the other days.
She sat high in one of the many trees littering the jungle, munching on an apple as she stared through the thick canopy above. It was a beautiful day out... hopefully nothing would go wrong.
Then she caught motion from below, her tail twitching as it hung off the branch she sat on. Shoving the rest of her apple in her mouth she leaned over and spotted no one other then Alec. A smirk played on her features as she manuvered the apple core in her long, clawed fingers.
Closer...
Closer...
"Yo!" Bombs away! Rex Vadnais Rex's slightly increased hearing picked up on the quiet rustles of Alec. He turned around, searching for the source as his tail flicked keenly behind him. Amidst the trees, his blue eyes caught sight of a white shirt, then a body. "Hello...?" He couldn't make out who is was through the dense underbrush, but there was deffinately someone there.
He pushed the trees and vines from his way, prowling remotely in the canopy's shade. Alec Derring Alec continued minding his own business until he was abruptly attacked by a projectile apple core. "Wha' th' SHITE?" The irish boy almost tripped out of utter confusion, stumbling and righting himself to glare up at the tree he happened to be under. He was about to spew curses up at the foliage until he noticed the familiar reptilian form amongst the branches. "A-ha.. vereh funneh." He muttered, turning his head as he heard the greeting and matched the voice to the lion-man he'd met before. "Aye." Amaya Vaughan The iguana didn't seem to notice Rex until he began pushing through the underbrush. From such a high vantage point, you could see a lot... even if your vision was less then perfect. Looks like today would be an okay now that her two favorite guys were around.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself!" Amaya called from above, then grabbed the branch she was sitting on, grabbing a lower one with her long, finger-like toes before dropping down onto it. She continued this until the branches became scattered and far apart. She then leaned foreward, her long claws digging into the bark and letting her come down rather easily head first. Rex Vadnais Rex came to the clearing that Alec and Amaya were in ust as Alec was wollapped promptly with the apple core from above. He laughed and took a few steps forward, looking up into the treetops. The camouflaged Amaya slinked down from the limbs, "Haddeh, guys!" He looked to the boy, pulling his name up from the jumbled mix of other islanders, he didn't want to make a fool of himself. "What're y'guys doing out here?"
Part of him was happy to have the unexpected company, though the solitude of the stroll had lost it's magic. At least he was now with people that he liked, as opposed to some others like Zach, for instance. He gave Amaya a big hug and nodded a head towards Alec, smiling inwardly. Alec Derring Alec gave a lopsided smile and waited for Amaya to crawl down from her vantage point before giving her a light shove, a weak comeback for the clever trick she'd pulled. "Ye ye."
He smirked and pivotted on his heels when he realized Rex was coming over, keeping his hands in his pockets. "Nuthin'." He shrugged blandly, not even having a viable reason for being there in the first place. Amaya Vaughan As soon as the girl has stepped on solid ground and stood up, she was swept into a hug by Rex. She grinned from ear to non-existant ear as she hugged him back. How she loved lion hugs.
Though at the shove, she simply stuck out her large, bright pink tongue. Ah, nothing like acting immature. Amaya stood by the tree, watching both of them from her lower vantage point now that she was out of her tree. "Wandering aimlessly?"
It felt odd to be with the two of them... kind of like a vetren hanging out with two young people. She was so changed, so different, so... animalistic. Sometimes the lizard felt she wasn't worthy of their company. Rex Vadnais Rex placed the lizard girl down and smiled. "Just a walk, well what do you know! The same with me. There was the party on the beach last night, but I got tired pretty early and bailed to bed." He shifted his weight and crossed his arms, still enjoying the luxury of clean, new clothes. Alec Derring Despite the 'relaxed' atmosphere he felt could be adopted around people he'd gotten close too like Amaya, Alec couldn't help but feel uneasy. It happened all the time, with Rex, Ambrose, any male he happened to meet, attributing it to a fear of getting his a** kicked. "Pretteh much." He offered the lazy response, kicking away some plant matter underfoot.
In an effort to make a better contribution to the conversation, the punk teen continued. "Was th' parteh fun?" He looked to Rex, then Amaya, assuming they'd both attended. Amaya Vaughan "A party? ... Ohhhh, yeah. That was last night?" Amaya blinked, having had no idea when it was supposed to take place. "I missed it. Oh well." She shrugged, not seeming too upset about it. After all, she had no idea who that Fiona person was and a large crowd with the possibility of people she didn't know being there was never really something she set out to go to.
The teen looked at Alec. "Guess you didn't go either then?"
Then she noticed something different about him, though it took her a minute of glancing to finally put her finger on it. "You ask for new clothes?" Rex Vadnais "Yeah! The party was alot of fun, met up with alot of people I haven't seen in a while and we played I Never." He remembered accidently revealing that Antony had been pregnant before. His stomache sunk and he slouched his shoulders a bit. "Alot of interestin' stuff happened." He forced a laugh as though some funny secrets came out, but really not a whole lot happened. Rex was still kicking himself for revealing his real first name, it should just be something he could be proud of, but he hated the connotation, no matter how Christian he actually was. "So neither of yeh went, huh?" One of the most exciting things to happen since his arrival at the island and these other two were locked up in their duplexes or something or the sort. Rex wished that everyone could've been there to have fun.
Then Amaya commented on his clothing, "Yeah! I just got them the other day. I finally just broke down and called the labs, my other ones were getting a bit gnarled anyway." He shuffled the dirt a bit with his foot, "You guys both came with your own supply of clothes right? I guess thats just one of the pros of not falling off a ship..." Alec Derring Alec shook his head about the party, skimping on an explanation for the sake of not furthering the subject. No matter how fun Rex made it sound, he wouldn't duck down to regret not going. He basically nodded to everything that was said, keeping quiet for the most part. He glanced between the two as they continued to openly converse.
"A' not askin' f'shite from th'labs." He suddenly decided to add, muttering low as if his comments would go completly unnoticed. He had a bit of a personal grudge going on, refusing to contact the staff for anything in an attempt to be self-sufficient and independant of their 'influences'. Amaya Vaughan "I Never?" Amaya raised a brow, having no idea what the game was really about.
"That good then." She smiled at Rex, though frowned at remembering he had fallen off a cruise liner. How horrible... "Yeah, I brought everything I owned with me since I figured I would be living here from now on. Guess I lucked out with the lie they fed me." The reptile gave an awkward smile.
Though on Alec's mutter, she nodded in agreement. "I hear that. I'm too scared of asking them for anything... ever since I changed I just started altering my own clothes. I've heard that sometimes they purposly give you things you can't even wear to mess with you." Amaya commented, remembering what Joliette had told her a long time ago. Rex Vadnais "I Never," He explained, "is a drinking game where you say something that you haven't ever done, then if the other people have done that, they take a drink. It's interesting, you sure learn alot aboout everyone that might not have come out before." He hated to judge by looks, but Rex could bet that Alec didn't mind a drink, no matter how illegal. Though Amaya was a different story.
Rex let out a short sigh at the discussion of the labs. "I'm not so gung-ho about what the labs are doing, and I certainly don't support the forced experiementation on humans... but the fact that they have a inclination to listen to our requests, within reason, isn't so bad. I mean, eventually we'll all be little animals runnin' about and they won't have to deal with getting us clothes, anymore.." What would it be like to be completely animal? He'd had small tastes of the lion here and there, but otherwise the end was nowhere within sight. How animal would they become? Amaya was the most animalistic person he'd seen on the island so far, but could they reallly take all of the human out of them? Would he lose his memories of being human... his friends...
Julie... Alec Derring Alec slumped, beginning to slowly regret not going to the party. Although he'd most likely get very pissed off if it was ever insinuated that he was a 'poser', the teen couldn't deny that he enjoyed a good drinking party. It was one of the 'activities' he was familiar with.
After the detour of party-talk, the conversation returned right back to the subject of ther transformations, much to Alec's dismay. What else were they supposed to talk about, right? It's was a reality they were all familiar with. But dammit if he'd ever enjoy it, no matter who happened to bring it up. He cose not to comment against Rex, one part spinelessness and one part 'not giving a s**t'.
The punk teen remained quiet, inwardly cursing at how godamn bored he still was. Amaya Vaughan "Oh... I'm kinda glad I didn't go then." The iguana said, crossing her arms slightly as if it would hide her scaley skin. She always felt horribly awkward when everyone around her was drinking.
Though at what Rex said, her throat caught. Had... he been told something? "What?" Green eyes went wide as she looked up at him. "I thought they were only going to give us animalistic features! And... and..." She started to fidget, looking upset and scared. Rex Vadnais Rex knew oh too well that the most of the people on the island weren't as lax on the subject of the changes as he was, and he could accept that. Though it was often hard to find something else to talk about on the island. Or do, for that matter. They needed to have some fun, a little spice never hurt anyone! But where could they go...?
His train of thought was interupted by a slightly panicked Amaya. For a second, he locked up, fumbling over his words while trying to find the problem. Eventually he managed to form a full sentence, "What? Oh, no, I don't know jack squat. I was just thinking about... well... the future... Just how bad are these things going to get?" He stopped, realizing he'd strayed from the path of not talking about the transformations. He didn't want to make the people feel awkward. But if it's something right there, inevidable, then why not confront it instead of hiding?
He had to change back to a happier topic of discussion, What was I thinking about earlier...? Oh, finding something to do! "Do you guys want to go to the beach? I could do with a swim... would you want to- err.. can you swim, Amaya?" Rex thought that he remembered something abour marine iguanas, but he didn't have the slightest clue when it came of stuff about animals. He only knew bits and pieces, basic knowledge. Alec Derring Alec flinched as Amaya grew suddenly frantic and upset, clearly disturbed by Rex's hypothesizing of their futures. He stared at her for a moment, trying to deicded how to comfort the lizard-like girl or if he should at all. He was human, how the hell was he supposed to make her feel better? She was clearly suffering. If he was in her shoes he's probably try to knock his lights out for trying.
But still Rex continued with the subject, and although the teen didn't blame him in the least for doing so, the situation only proved to further irritate him. "Why's evereh'un so ninneh about th' fyoocheh? Fook th' fyoocheh!" He yelled in the middle of the conversation, much louder than he had intended. He paused for only a moment, trying to evade the eyes of Rex and Amaya. "AN' FOOK THIS ISLAN'!" He ended bitterly, ignoring Rex's invitation as he turned to stomp off in the direction of the duplexes.
He was sick of hearing about animals, transformations, sadistic torture and suffering. He was ******** 17! He was supposed to be raiding malls and hurling eggs at the local school, not slumping around a paradise prison being poked and prodded and watched 24/7. The punkster had finally snapped under the pressure. Amaya Vaughan "Oh..." Amaya's breath caught in her throat as she let out a relieved sigh. Now that she thought about it... haden't Ambrose told her they each got four injections? Looking down, she counted on her fingers.
One when she arrived. One when she changed the first time. One when she changed the second time. And one when she changed this time... Was... she done? Was this as bad as it was going to get?
The girl swallowed a large lump in her throat, both overjoyed and saddened at the same time. No more pain, but now she had to live her life looking like some freak stuck halfway inbetween a green iguana and a human. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling like she was going to spit up the apple she had eaten previously.
Though before Amaya could even say anything or for Rex's invitation to fully register, Alec started off on a tangent. She jumped slightly, tail giving a nervous twitch behind her as she watched him then storm off. Swallowing, green eyes went down to her large, almost hand-like feet.
The poor guy was her age, she knew what he was going through... maybe... she could comfort him in some way. And he did seem a lot more quiet when Rex was around. "I'm gonna go see if I can help him... okay?" She finally said to the lion, looking up at him.
Giving him a quick hug the lizard looked up at him and took a few steps back before spinning around, tail flinging behind her as she ran after Alec. "Hey! Wait up!" Rex Vadnais Puzzled at Amaya's "Oh...", Rex wasn't too sure whether it was good or bad. Sadly, he didn't have much of a chance to ask what she meant as Alec slowly crashed.
He'd seen Avery do it before, breaking down to tears while cursing the island and all it stood for. Rex couldn't deal too well with emotions as they often were pushed back and forth too easily. He'd cried countless times since his arrival, though often on the accord of others. Avery... Awen... Antony... Amaya... Zach... it was hard to hold back the tears in a place as extreme as this. Everyone was touchy and there wasn't a whole lot you could do about it. But everthing would turn out alright in the end, it had to.
Alec stormed off, it had obviously just hit him. Rex never had a moment where he thought there wasn't a chance of survival. People had had it worse, much worse. The blonde watched the teen march off fuming, he had to let him have his space. Amaya obviously knew Alec better than Rex did, she could be just what he needed. He nodded his head, "I understand," returned her quick hug and sent her on her way. With his tail limp as ever and a deep sigh in his lungs, Rex slowly drudged back to the village.
Drama, drama, drama...
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Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:53 pm
You awaken in a sweat from a disturbing dream. You notice that your entire body itches and burns. You've only ever felt any sensations like this once before. You look at your arm and notice the fur is thickening as it grows in more places, thicker in some, but the thinnest of layers covering your entire body. You notice the pads on your hand become more pronounced, thicker, more durable, made to be ran on. Based on the sensation you feel spreading down your feet they are doing the same. As the painful change spreads you see your claws becoming more curved, and deadly looking. As they become much like a cat's and retractable. You feel the hair around your face has spread further, as it is still doing all over your body. Your nose blackens at the tip and becomes black. But this brings with it new sensitivity of smell. The itching gets particularly bad as your face sprouts whiskers. You feel your teeth lengthening further reminding you just how deadly you are becoming. The pain reaches your spine as what was once a small, nub of a tail has decided to thicken, and lengthen even as it moves back and forth involuntarily at your agitation of the change. Finally, your able to rest as the changes subside, but you can feel it deep down. You can feel that you are that much less human. 
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 9:23 pm
Thing had started to pick up pace around the island, with the arrivals of new islanders and meeting more new folks every day, Rex's boreddom was soon decreased though not forgotten.
He curled up to sleep, his bright eyes shut peacfully with his tails flopped over the bedside. Just another casual night... until the dreams came. The were terrible dreams, full of the people he'd met on the island, blurred colors and a distinct image of Julie falling into the sky.
In the wee hours of the morning. His eyes flashed awake, partly from the dream and partly from his subconscious scratching of his back a bit too hard. "Grah.. stupid claws.. mrrr..." He grumbled a bit, not thinking twice about the scratch, and tried to get back to sleep. But the annoyance continued, spreading rapidly across the most of his body. He drug himself out of his bed and walked into the bathroom to wash his face in the basin.
The cool water felt nice against his skin, but it was muffled or blocked by something... He splashed his face and looked into the mirror, orbs of eyes peered over the top of his padded hands. Before his very eyes hair washed over him like wildfire, legnthing visibly...
He threw himself back from the sink, hitting his back on the wall not too far behind, "What?!" The changes came so soon, they'd caught him off guard.
As if on cue, the rest of the changes followed suit. In addition to his whole body being on fire, his hands slowly became harder to move. The solid pads on his palms resisted the full freedom of his fingers. Rex clenched his hands in tight fists, though the soon unfurled as his claws were piercing into the newly guarded palms.
Rex flung himself forward onto the sink, flexing and arching his back as if that would ease the pain of his his teeth extending to greater sizes. "Uuuuurgrah...." He moaned, wrenching his face up in a twisted expression of pain. "This..sh.. is.. goingt'b'alright!" He groaned once again, trying to fight through the pain and drown it out with positive thoughts. Though the only picture his mind would conjur was that of Julie, thrown into the sky farther and farther away from him.
What would she think of all of this business? Obviously, she wouldn't like it, Julie always had a strong opinion of her own. But if they were stuck on the island together... well... things would be ideal... perfect.
All of this nonsense was flooded with the sudden intense smell of soap. Rex's nose tingled as the scents of mint toothpaste and flowery shampoo attacked his olfactories. He glanced into the mirror in one of his convulsions, his nose had grown black and thick whiskers extended from his upper lip. "Wha-!" he tried to exclaim through the pain, though it slowly proved harder to do.
He collapsed on the floor, his muscles spasming and twitching as the changes progressed. Rex curled up into a tight ball as his tail grew and grew. It gained a good two feet more, reaching a rather long length that flicked and swatted uncontrollably. Though staying as strong as possible, Rex fought back the pain, swallowing the tears back into his instensly red face. The stretching of his spine was like a big finale, saving the worst pain for the last! Though the birning had subsided, many parts of him were still sore from the prior change. He huffed and grunted gruffly, his deep voice becoming slightly raspier. He attacked back, a new will and passion in his heart fighting against the pain of his change.
Then... it stopped...
Rex laid in a heap on the floor, panting rapidly as he stared off into space. He didn't know what to think, mind racing and body exhausted. Eventually he dragged himself onto the bed and caught his breath, trying to muster any ounce of energy he could console. Eventually he made his way back into the bathroom and looked into the mirror at the reflecting beast. His breath was still quick, but slowly settled into long sighs and he ran his clawed fingers gently along the sensitive changes. His pads, fur, tail, teeth... even his thumbs and toes had adjusted a bit. My bone structure must be so jacked up right now.
Rex sighed once again then hopped into the shower, the water seemed to having soothing or healing properties along his burnt skin. At least it was over... and it could always have been worse...
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Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 11:20 pm
Well That's a Change! (Haha, I pun'd) Nita MacNeal Nita just above the tideline on her towel, watching the water slowly creep up the beach as the sun set over the horizon. She had slept in again, and her afternoon had been fairly mundane. More and more she felt the need to be outside, and at twilight she didn't need to slather her fair skin with sunblock. Her toes dug themselves into the cooling sand, her chin rested on her knees. She was quiet, not even listening to music, only the call of birds over head and the far-off crashing of waves against the cliffs. Rex Vadnais As the sun set slowly over the horizon, Rex made his way down to the beach for an evening swim. He'd been restless since his change, slowly staying up later and later into the night, then he'd wake up much later than usual. Sleep was getting thrown off, not that it mattered.
He slipped his shirt off at the tree-line and dropped his towel down next to it. He couldn't wear too many shoes anymore, only sandals. He was about to take off jogging into the waves when he stumbled upon that red-head he'd met before. "Oh, hey Nita!" He said, not thinking twice about the fact that he hadn't hung out with anyone since his change. It had been a few days and he got used to them, they didn't bother him in the first place. However he didn't think about what other's would think of him now. Nita MacNeal Nita jerked around, more surprised at having her thoughts interrupted than by Rex's appearance. "Oh hey," she said, and then: "Oh!" Her eyes grew wide as she realized that Rex had.. had changed. This was the first time she'd seen any Islander after a transformation, emphasizing how drastically different someone could look after just a few days. "When did.." she began, waving a hand in his direction. No use in ignoring the white elephant (or.. lion) in the room. Or beach. Whatever. Nita turned to look at him more closely, indicating he could sit down if he wanted. Rex Vadnais Rex smiled and chuckled a bit, large fangs overlapping the rest of his teeth. He was going to ask her how she was doing before she stated her question. "It happened a few days ago... are they that bad?" He swished his tail and plopped in the sand next to her. he was perfectly comfortable discussing the subject, unlike most islanders. Nita MacNeal "N-no," Nita replied carefully. "Just different. Noticeable... but not bad." She nodded slowly, thinking. At least Rex wasn't supersensitive about his changes. It was actually a bit of a relief. "I asked the labs what I'm gonna be," she said rather suddenly. Rex Vadnais He blushed a bit, scratching at his new chinstrap beard absently. "Well, that's good." He kicked his feet out in the sand and took a long breath, he'd never realized how amazing the jungle's refreshing plants and flowers smelled.
Though his thoughts were shaken as she spoke, "You asked?" Rex leaned back in the sand and propped himself up on an elbow, looking at the girl. "Aaaand...?" Why hadn't he thought about flat out asking before his first change. Nita MacNeal "Yeah, I figured I'd prefer to know. I talked to a.. Dr. Duvert? Sounded French. Anyway, he told me I was the first person to ask in a long time. Before any changes, at least." Nita shrugged. She hadn't told anyone about her conversation with the labs yet, although she'd mentioned the animal to Fee, who hadn't seemed to notice. "Red panda," she said finally. It was still weird to have 'face', as it were, for the serum in her blood. "I have to admit, they're pretty cute." Nita laughed slightly, poking holes in the sand with one finger. Rex Vadnais "Dr. Duvert...? I don't know him, though I think I've heard the name before." He picked up some sand in his paw and watched it slowly run between his fingers, trickling away as easily as water. Though he was surprised to hear that she wasn't the only one who had the courage to ask.
His blue eyes creased in thought, digging through his mind for what a red panda looked like. Obviously Red... but... "Oh! A lesser panda? I like those little critters!" He wasn't sure how she was taking to the news and treaded lightly on the subject's discussion. He didn't want another Zach outbreak... "So, what do you think?" Rex stated vaguely, letting her guide the discussion where she was comfortable.
"Why do you think they chose that? Your hair maybe?" He asked, lifting a hand to motion to her long red braids. "I have no idea why I got a lion..." Nita MacNeal "He seemed okay. A bit creepy, but at least he was fairly straight with me." Nita bit her lip. She really wasn't sure what she thought. There were definitely worse things to be turned into... A brief image of Billy's tentacles slithered through her mind and she shuddered. "Red panda, lesser panda, Ailurus fulgens," Nita rattled off. "I did some research," she explained absently. "Are you kidding?" Nita asked. "It's a play on your name. Rex. King of the Jungle and all that." She couldn't help but giggle. Word-play was something she was good at, even under weird circumstances. And this was about the weirdest circumstance she could think of. Rex Vadnais Rex huffed a little laughed and did a similar rant, "The good ol' Lion, Panthera Leo. You're not the only one that's done a little research." Now that he was confident in the fact that he was a lion, over the past few days he'd spent some time reading up on them. They were actually quite interesting animals.
Then Rex stared off into space, she must have hit the nail on the head. "Wow.. I think you're right!" He laughed and blushed again, feeling a little stupid for not realizing it before. He never really related his name with the latin meaning since grade school. "Though I don't think they knew my rea-..." he stopped abruptly, dropping the sentence quickly, getting awfully close to revealing his name on accident again. Nita MacNeal Nita grinned, much more at ease with Rex than she had been the first time they met. Changes aside, he was a lot more normal than several of the others she'd run across. "Don't make me start singing stuff from The Lion King," she teased. She quirked a brow at him when he cut off so suddenly. "Your real name?" she guessed quietly. "Mine's Juanita, and I can't stand it. I mean, do I look like a Juanita?" She rolled her eyes, hoping that her rather cajoling tone would help Rex open up again. Rex Vadnais Rex pulled himself back to to a normal sitting position and watched the waves roll in, he felt like humming Dock of the Bay. It was an appropriate song for the moment, thats for sure. And Rex was glad that she was loosening up to him, he must have made a bad first impression when he met her on the beach a few weeks ago.
"Lion King?! By goly I haven't seen that movie in ages." He remembered the massive movie collection in the entertainment room. They were bound to have it, that movie was such a classic.
Then he looked down, sifting through the sand a bit quicker. "Yeah, my real name. Christian." He mumbled and turned red again, cutely embarassed about admitting it. Nita MacNeal Nita, on the other hand, was having a hard time not singing "In the Jungle"... Pumbaa and Timon-style. She sat crosslegged, alternately poking at the sand and at the hem of her pants. "I watched The Little Mermaid the other day," she grinned. "With Colche. Hadn't seen that since middle school, I think." The slender redhead watched Rex carefully. "Christian? That's not so bad. If I'd been a boy, my parents were gonna name me Parke. How awful is that? Lucky for my brother, they got past that by the time he arrived." Nita tugged absently on one of her braids. Rex Vadnais Rex gasped, "Colche!? How is she? Aww, I haven't seen her in so long... Maybe I could watch the movie with her, and you could join if you'd like!" He smiled an laughed, remembering his naked cheetah girl fondly.
"I didn't really know my mom long enough to ask her what I'd've been named f'I was a girl, plus it never really crossed my mind." Rex shrugged, "My dad could've cared less. Then I didn't have any other siblings... thank the lord, I'd hate to have more kids spawn from my parents." His sighed, the memories came back slowly but surely... Nita MacNeal "Oh, she's doing fine. She decided to call me Ariel." Nita giggled. "Would you be Simba? Or Mufasa? Anyway, she had a big birthday party the other day and was all dressed up like a princess." Nita frowned slightly and put a hand on Rex's forearm. "Hey," she said softly. "I didn't mean to bring back bad stuff..." Rex Vadnais "Ariel? Ooh, like the Little Mermaid." He laughed and reflected in the sand, "That's my Colche. At first she was pretty dang afraid of me, but I think she's lightened up to me now." He smiled, and averted his gaze to their touching hands. "Oh yeah, don't worry about it. I'm just... I... My parents..." He sighed and finished with untied ends, "Yeeeeaahhh..." Nita MacNeal "She's a sweet kid," Nita agreed. "It's kind of hard to imagine anyone not liking her." Nita shrugged and sat silently, a bit uncomfortable. She felt bad for Rex, and annoyed with herself for pressing the issue. Even if she really hadn't meant to upset him. "I'm sorry," she murmured, reclaiming her hand. Rex Vadnais "Really! It's no big deal. I can accept that they were pretty awful people, but y'know.. whats passed has passed." They needed a subject change as the very last sliver of the sun disappeared over the endless sea, though the light still shone orange in the sky. "Want to swim? The water takes longer to cool down than the sand so it'll feel nice and warm." Plus that was the whole reason he came to the beach, anyway. Nita MacNeal Nita frowned again, but nodded. If Rex was willing to change the subject, so was she. "Sure," she said. "I'm out here a lot at night, since it means I don't have to worry about getting sunburned. Nita held out her freckled arms, the undersides of which shone slightly in the last of the sunlight. "I'm a pale, pale little white girl." Nita pulled off her jeans, revealing the same rather dingy blue swimsuit. She had gotten a lot more use out of it in the past weeks than she'd expected. Rex Vadnais Rex crawled to his feet and chuckled, "I never really had that problem. Good genes I suppose..." He made a few steps towards the waters and said over his shoulder, "Plus I don't have the whole 'girl' thing either." He smiled and jogged into the waves, flipping like a whale's breach before splashing into the water, splashing at the shore to encourage Nita to come in. Nita MacNeal "I burn, and then I peel... and then I get more freckles." Nita snorted. "And no, you're definitely NOT a girl!" Nita waded in, relieved to find that the water was still pleasantly warm. She stopped when the water reached her thighs. "Just a warning," she called out. "I don't swim that well." Rex Vadnais He'd swam out into the deeper water and treaded idly over the slowly sighing waves."Don't worry about it. I dove off a darn ship to try and save Avery! Then I taught Colche how to swim, you'll be safe with me." He smiled and stroked back to where it was easier to stand, the water came up to his chest. His fur and hair matted down wetly across his body and face, Rex shook his head to get his hair out of his eyes and sent bullets of water through the air in all directions. His hair stood on end, stiffer and thickker than his hair had been before he'd gotten to the island... Nita MacNeal Nita bounce-walked out a few more paces, having forgotten how buoyant saltwater was. Of course, water reaching Rex's chest was up to Nita's chin. She stood on tip-toe to keep the waves from splashing her in the face. After dunking herself a couple of times, Nita blew water out of her nose and leaned back, clumsily but effectively treading water. "And I thought kitties didn't like water," she joked. Rex Vadnais Rex laughed and moved in even closer to the shore so it was easier for the girl to stand through the pulsing waves, "Y'okay?" He couldn't help but smile, she was so petite!
He paused, thinking about the water and cats. "To tell you the truth, I frankly just don't know!" he laughed, but continued to analyze, he was still getting used to his new instincts, whether they were wanted or not! "I.. don't feel anything different in the water. It's not any different than normal." Maybe those insticts just hadn't hit yet, though he hoped they never would. Rex loved water in nearly any form, living out of it forever would kill him before the doctors did. Nita MacNeal "Oh, I'm fine," Nita said airily, although she did take the chance to move into shallower waters. "You're just too tall!" She blushed, realizing she'd said the same thing to Lauren only a few nights before. "I think some big cats do like water, though. I've seen stuff on Animal Planet with tigers swimming." Nita shrugged. Red pandas probably weren't too fond of the ocean. Rex Vadnais "Hey, I'm not that tall, you're just a shorty!" Rex laughed and sent a splash her way. He, too, had a memory of Lauren. He really enjoyed her company, though he'd only seen her briefly at the beach party since then.
Rex had a distinct memory of some kind of big cat swimming as well, maybe it wasn't so strange. There were some weird superstitions and presumptions out there, things were different when you were living as that lie. "We're pretty dang cut off out here, on the island... No TV, no computers, no phones." He kicked back in the water and bobbed gently along the surface. Nita MacNeal "Pff, that's what they all say," Nita shot back, sticking her tongue out at Rex. Oh yes. Very mature. She squeaked and dodged the splash, only getting water in her ear instead of full in the face. Nita folded her arms, pretending to be cranky. She sighed. "Yeah, I do miss the internet. And they've got a lot of TV shows on DVD in that rec room, but it just isn't the same." Rex Vadnais Rex caught a wave and floated in towards the shore, scrambling to his feet once again and trudging up to his towel. The moon in the sky reflected on the water's rippling surface, shaking in the wakes' disturbance. He dried off his face and chest, then ran his towel down his legs and wrapped it around his waist. "Well that was refreshing!" He sighed and smiled. Nita MacNeal Nita half-bounce-walked, half-swam back to shore and retrieved her own towel. She brushed the water from her arms and legs, spending a couple of minutes wringing out her braids. Shaking sand off of her towel, she wrapped herself up and slipped her sandals on. She nodded, staring out across the moonlit water. "Mmhm. And it was good seeing you again." A yawn split her face. "All this salt in the air makes me sleepy." Rex Vadnais "Yeah! it was nice to see you as we-!" Rex's sentence was cut short by a large, cat-like yawn. His fangs became much more pronounced and his tounge unfurled like a red carpet. He blinked a few times and said, "I think I ought to get to bed... I'll see you around though, okay? It was nice to see you!" Rex smiled and waved, walking back to his duplex through the jungle. Nita MacNeal Nita grinned, both because yawns were contagious and because of how feline Rex looked just then. "G'night Rex," she called after him. Gathering up her jeans, she walked slowly back to the village, following the tideline until she needed to make her way through the darkened jungle. Over the next few days Rex would continue on his daily routine. Up in the morning, eat, run, sleep, etc. Nothing exciting, nothing new.
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Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 8:03 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 8:04 pm
BOAR?! Emerwyn *New Roleplay*Emerwyn spent most of the next day wandering about, looking for Ian. The previous night had left her with such a feeling of helplessness. And fear. And now, she found herself in the jungle, all day. All day she wandered, until she'd forgotten just what it was she was looking for. The night was still frightening. No matter what she did or said to comfort herself, she still could not shake this terrible fear that she'd never known before. It wasn't even the knowledge that someone had been attacked, not the knowledge that there could be a killer somewhere. True, it had began with all of that, but now it had evolved. Or more, simplified. Into the pure fear of being alone, lost and helpless. A small, weak animal. This was not Emerwyn. Her step grew slower as her cause grew lost. Her head began to nod as fatigue threatened to rear its ugly head. Alec Derring The night had come faster than he had expected, blanketting the jungle in a shroud of pitch black. Alec sat beneath a large tree, legs splayed out lazily as he slumped his back against the bark. He wasn't sure why he was out there in the first place, having sat beneath that same tree most of the day following his meet with Julian. Truthfully, the teen was freaked out of the dark, moreso of the creepy noises that the jungle made once visibility was reduced to nearly zero.
The memory of the announcement never left his mind, the idea of a (potential) murderer lurking around the island made the night even less comforting. But in his mind he figured the jungle was safer than his duplex. He'd be expected to be there, so why be predictable? Besides, that place was getting damn well boring.
The dim burning of his smoldering cigarette left a trail of light as he brought it to his lips once and awhile, his arm pausing in midair as he heard footsteps. Rex Vadnais Over the past few days Rex's routine had been interrupted by several obscure new things on the island. The storm for one, the harm of Aubrey for another. What had particularly happened to her?
As a way to soothe his mind and thoughts, Rex went for an evening stroll which soon led him into the jungle where things got alot darker. The lion's eyesight was superb in the shaded lighting and things were able to be seen as clear as day. The new smells of the jungle wafted into his nose and the slightest breeze alerted Rex's new whiskers, being a cat had it's advantages and disadvantages.
He crept along until two new scents came to his attention. The hair on the back of his neck stood stiff where had been zapped the other day for no apparent reason. Maybe the smells were the murderers...
Suddenly Rex's steps inched through the dense jungle silently, sniffing down the source of the odor. Emerwyn Emerwyn's ears twitched as her eyes widened. An awarenss that she was not alone crept slowly upon her. Before this could bring comfort to her, she felt the strong compulsion to turn and bolt. She breathed in deep, her steps slowing further. She did not like either of the smells, but one was far less forboding than the other, if accompanied by the stench of burning tobacco. So, she continued towards the safer being, until she found a young man perched by a tree. She took in the figure for a moment before approaching him, an instinct in her telling her to appraise the situation before running in carelessly. "H-hello?" Emerwyn remained poised in the shadows, just visible in the dying light. Alec Derring Alec's heart was threatening to explode from his chest as he held his breath at the sound of approaching steps. He had actually slithered halfway behind a tree by the time he heard the female voice tentatively testing the air for any presence. He couldn't see a thing save for a few feet infront of him, and she didn't sound familiar.
"e...ello?" He hoarsely responded, finding it hard to spit out the word from his constricted throat. Rustling leaves shattered the silence and he could only assume she was making the noise. Rex Vadnais Rex slinked through the shadows, his sleek, furry body occasionally flickering visible in the few beams of moon and starlight that made it to the jungle's floor. He breathing steadied and heart slowed. Rex was stalking on instinct, he wasn't even trying to!
Then finally his piercing blue eyes landed on the body of a woman, though she gave of a distinct sent that suggested her inhumanity. Rex sat in the shadows for a moment, pondering his next mood. The lion wanted to pounce, and it wanted to pounce bad. But Rex fought back those emotions, straightened his stature and emerged from the brush, "Hello?" He rasped warrily, he didn't want to scare the lady too much. Emerwyn Only seconds after the young man warily spoke to her in the dark, another voice came up behind her. She jumped, and spun, and very nearly bolted. Her breath caught, and she saw something not altogether familiar. Yet, she could have sworn she'd seen him before. Slowly, she backed up, to take both of the men into her view. She smiled awkwardly. She'd been 'attacked' on either side by greetings. It was an uncanny coincidence that the three should all meet in this vast jungle at once. Alec Derring Alec was prepared to accept the female that had happened to wander into his little haven in the jungle but was completely caught off-guard when he realized she hadnt't been making the additional sounds he'd heard. "Wha' th' fook..." He quickly retorded as he jumped to his feet, Rex's approaching having been much more silent than he'd expected. In fact, the close proximity nearly made him leap out of his skin.
"S'there n' echo?" He laughed to calm himself down thouh he hadn't yet recognized either presence. Rex Vadnais Rex stepped out of the shadows and into a skinny moonbeam where he could make himself known to the public. It hadn't quite dawned on him that perhaps the others couldn't see as well in the dark forest as he could.
"Howdy Alec," he said, acknowledging the figured slumped on the bottom of the tree. Then Rex turned to the other woman, the deer. He could sense that he'd frightened her, or she'd been uneasy before hand. "I feel like I've met you before... but just in case," he offered a hand to the lady, "Rex." A smile creaked at his lips, toothy fangs baring themselves menacingly. The vicious connotation of the fangs was quite ironic compared to Rex's smooth and calm demeanor. Emerwyn Emerwyn stayed her hand a moment, halfway toward accepting Rex's. Yes, she remembered him. He'd come quite a way since she'd last seen him, though. She didn't like it. The dark of the night did things to her mind. She was more animal than human when the sun abandoned her. And seeing this sheep in wolf's clothing was no comfort to her, either. The disguise was too good. With a swallow, however, Emerwyn attempted to compose herself. Her hoofed hand made it shakily to his. "I'm s-sorry." Emerwyn breathed. Her voice was always soft now. But, in her fear, it was hardly audible. "I did not recognize you." She tried to smile, and she directed her attention to the other. They seemed to know each other. "I am Emerwyn." Alec Derring The punk teen calmed when he recognized the familiar greeting from Rex though he swallowed hard when he watched him step into the faint light. "He-..." His voice almost cut out but he forced himself to continue. This was Rex, he wasn't a monster. "'ey, mate. 'ow are ye?"
Attention turned to the woman who seemed clearly upset, somehow glad he wasn't amongst bad company. At least it didn't seem bad, since they were all pretty nervous of each other. "Alec." He nodded a greeting that was probably lost in the dark. Rex Vadnais Rex shook her hand politely, though not as firm as usual since she seemed a little on end. He tipped his head as the idea dawned on him. "Oooh, I remember, we met that morning in the cafeteria! Like, after the labs reopened..."
That was also the only time he'd met Aubrey, the woman who was hurt recently. Things had sure been sketchy around the island lately.
He turned his gaze to Alec, chuckling a bit as his sentence drained to null. It was obvious what it was about. "I'm good, yourself?" Emerwyn "Alec. A pleasure." Just how frequently were people brought to the Island? "Yes, yes that's right. I remember." She'd rather have not remembered that day. It felt awkward still. The two of them had obviously had some aquaintence with each other. And Emerwyn had an eerie feeling in the back of her head that there was something else she had to be doing. ... ... ... Nothing. She made herself comfortable then, leaning idly back against a tree, eyeing the foliage hungerly. Alec Derring "Am good." Alec remarked, trying to choose his words wisely. He didn't want to insult the lion-man in any way. "A' see ye doin... good." He started to laugh, finding his irrational fears amusing. He made a mental note to try and be a little less judgmental about people's appearances in the future. Rex would never hurt him, right?
Those fangs looked really sharp...
"S'what brings ye 'ere 'n th'jungle?" He let the question hang to allow either of them to answer. Rex Vadnais Rex furred his brow, unseen to the others through the night's curtain, as Alec also seemed to slip into a state of unease. He didn't let it bother him though, he should expect to get some odd remarks and emotions now that his transformations were blatantly obvious and inescapable. That was just one of the let downs about the island, though he still loved being a lion. "I've been truckin' along as usual. I went out for a walk and things got dark earlier than I was planning." Rex chuckled, he must seem like an idiot as he was only assuming the dark surrounding them actually exisited.
Rex felt awkward standing there in the clearing alone. Though instead of finding a tree of his own, the man simply flopped in the leaves and spread his legs out in front of him, peering at the distant moon through the tall canopy. Emerwyn What brought her into the jungle? Emerwyn thought hard. "I was looking for... something." Now that it came to it, she did not quite remember what. Why couldn't she remember? It was so dark. Oh, she could see well enough. But she didn't belong here, so late, so deep. Alec Derring Alec nodded, watching everyone relax against any available object nearby made him want to lean against the tree he'd been sitting under for so long. "Hidin 'ere," He smirked before continuing his sentence. "maybeh a'll miss gettin' hooked by th'crazy bah-sted who ganked th'girleh." He chuckled a bit, not realizing he was making jest of a serious situation as usual.
He glanced to Emerwyn distractedly. "Lookin' f'somethin?" Rex Vadnais Rex enjoyed the soft ground, he dug his clawed toes into the dirt and wiggled it between his toes, it felt nice and cool, comforting.
He listened to the idle chitchat between the two, throwing in his two cents, "Yeah, what the heck has been going on anyway? That Aubrey chick got hurt, but... I don't know. Some weird stuff was happening the other ni-..." he trailed off on the end, a newer scent caught on a light breeze entered his flaring nostrils. He paused, ears perked, listening keenly into the distance... something else was around... Emerwyn Emerwyn nodded slowly. She really wanted to understand just what had happened, if only to protect herself, but it was far too unnerving to think about in these surroundings. For all she knew, the lion-man's instincts could have gotten the better of him, and he was the attacker. Instead, she attempted to answer Alec's question. "...Yes. I came here this morning. And, I knew. I knew what I was looking for. But, then the sun started to go down... and I forgot." A feeling crept up Emerwyn's neck. She avoided looking at Rex. "Something in me has made me forget." Alec Derring "Oh?" Alec listened quietly, brow furrowing as he listened to the deer woman. She looked disturbed, upset and definetly unsure of herself. Maybe the serum was messing with her head too? He wondered if he was destined to be a perfect candidate for the nuthouse too.
The irishman crossed his arms over his waist and was beginning to feel a little sleepy until out of the corner of his eye he saw Rex stiffen. He tentatively watched the lion-man's posture slowly change, curious at first but over time it was beginning to creep him out a bit. "Rex?" Rex Vadnais Rex came to his feet, alert. He twitched side to side, adjusting his hearing to pinpoint the sound. The rustling slowly got louder and louder, the wrank smell getting a bit more intense. "I... smell something." He wasn't sure what to think and felt like he should always be on guard for the safety of himself and other. His claws flicked open and Rex got close to the ground, prowling around just past Emerwyn... "There's something back there..." Emerwyn There was no time to expound. The lion was on all fours, stalking toward her. She stumbled back as he moved around her. The way his body moved... her breathing grew rapid, her chest rising and falling. Her entire body was tense, and she had to cling to the nearby tree for support. Alec Derring Alec pressed his back into the tree, feeling the bark dig through the thin layer of fabric that was his shirt. "Wha' th'fook ye doin..." He snorted, having never experienced anyone ever acting like such an... animal.
The fact that his actions were clearly upsetting Emerwyn didn't help to settle his nerves.
"Somethin'? Wha somethin?" He looked around, eyes wide in growing panic. Rex Vadnais Rex responded to Alec with silence, all of his attention was focussed on that one little sound. It could be something dangerous and he didn't want the others getting hurt.
Something moved.
Rex's muscles locked and his body tensed. The creature was within sight...
All in one leaping motion, Rex hurled his body towards the boar with a roaring pounce. Though the boar managed to make its escape before Rex could catch it. He swiped at it a few times, but snapped out of his lion-like trance and came erect to his feet. He was only a couple meters away from where the others were.
"Gosh... I'm sorry... I... I wanted to protect you." He sighed, coming back into the clearing, it was getting harder and harder to control those compulsive urges. "I thought it could've been the murderer." He shuffle back with his eyes drooped to the ground, he must've looked like an idiot. "Sorry if I scared you..." Emerwyn But before Emerwyn could even hear Rex's words of reassurance, she let out a startled sound, hardly a yell, and bolted. Not before tripping over a large root and falling flat on her face. Quickly, her large, strong legs lifted her up, and she was gone, fleeing blindly into the dark night... Alec Derring "GAH!" Alec winced and shielded his face as Rex bolted for the boar, nearly tripping backwards on a prominant tree root that lay dangerously close behind his heels. If he wasn't blind as a bat in that jungle he probably would've been hot on Emerwyn's tail, fleeing the scene as well. "Wh' th'fook was tha!?" The irishman yelled out, completely disoriented.
He heard Rex's explainations, but at that point the boy wanted to be far gone from that area and completely out of the jungle. "Look, am g'na 'head back t'me du-plex." He grimaced, flailing an arm to try and steady himself and failing horribly. "See-ye, be careful geezus merceh." The boy was beyond exasperated, confused by Rex's odd actions and by the nervous deer, he just wanted to be back in his room as he took off abruptly into the black. Rex Vadnais "Yeah... okay..." Rex whispered under his breath as Alec slipped back towards the village. "I'll catch you around." He was embarassed at his actions and spoke slowly. He'd only meant to protect them, instead he ended up scaring both of them off... this just wasn't his day.
Rex mumbled under his breath and drudged back to the duplexes in silence.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 8:06 pm
A Hot Workout Fiona paused in her running, slowing down the treadmill to a crawl, and twisted open her near-full bottle of water. Still walking along on the machine she guzzled nearly half of it, the cool liquid dribbling a bit down her chin. The girl gasped for air once she'd had her fill, re-capped it, and turned up the speed a little. From the two other bottles (empty, to be certain) lying on the floor next to her, it would seem Fiona had been there for a while. Her skirt, suddenly inadequate for the activity she was bent on, had been replaced with a pair of scrubs which had been modified to be shorts. The alteration was shabby, at best, and at worst, well, the legs might have been chewed off by a crocodile.Rex mosied his way through the village from his duplex, towel in one claw, a sport bottle in the other. He was dressed in a fit tanktop and shorts, there wasn't any need for shoes (not that he could fit his feet in his current ones anyways), there was nothing better than a good work out. Rex nearly died with glee when he discovered the weight room that had been added into the Town Hall, though he hadn't seen many people in there before.
Before he was even at the door, Rex could hear the whir of the running machine coming through the door. He turned the nob and pushed open the door, blue eyes glancing across the expensive machines to find Fiona running. He chuckled and spoke up over the machine's noise, "Well it looks like my hiding place has been taken!"
Rex wrapped his towel around his neck and held the ends in tight fists, adjusting his weight to rest on one leg as he pondered what to work first.Her attention whipped across the room with a sharp, wary speed, nervousness betrayed in her face for a split second before a wide grin broke out. Fiona immediately switched off the machine and stepped off, leaning against the support bars. "Rex! I haven't seen you in ages- you changed again." She said, a hand resting on her heart as she panted a bit. "I have too, I guess. Seems like everyone's changing these days." Her tone became dull at these words, and she was at a loss for what to say for perhaps a moment before she blurted out, "Your tail got longer!" This, undoubtedly, put her smile back where it belonged.The lion-man laughed again, she seemed... hyper. "Yeah, I changed. Though you're looking a bit furrier y'self." He motioned to her elongated ears while his smile revealed menacing fangs, stretched in a similar fashion.
He walked over to the girl and hugged her in greeting, though just about jumped out of his non-existant socks in surprise when she burst out about his tail. Looking down there again, are we? "Yup, quite a bit longer actually. But I don't mind it. I like it, honestly." He spoke truthfully, though promised himself that he would cut down on the talk of changes. Thankfully Fiona didn't seem to mind the topic like most the other islanders.Fiona accepted the hug gratefully- for the social butterfly she'd been at home, she certainly wasn't getting enough human contact these days. "You like it?" She repeated with a snicker, touching the slight extention of her own spine. "I'm getting one too, and it's a real pain in the a**." The girl stopped, heard what she had just said, and burst out laughing. When she had recovered from the fit of hilarity, Fiona explained her reasoning. "I keep forgetting it's there, right, and then I sit down and it's all like, hey, there's something jabbing into me. Oh, it's myself!" The girl shook her head sadly, although a grin remained steadily on her features. "It's just not cool.""It's not so much that I like it. It just doesn't bother me." He looked down to her tail, a small nub. "You'll get used to it." He laughed along with her, though much more about her exuberance than the pun in itself.
He walked over to the nearest running machine, hung his towel over the rail, and turned it up to a moderate pace to warm up a bit. Rex had already stretched. "So you don't seem all that angry about the transformations yourself, little missy. Any word on the animal you've got?" His had been noticeable from the tail to begin with.She sighed, reaching to her water bottle for a quick sip. "Well I mean, I can handle it. It's insanely freaky. But it's better than having hairspray splashed in my eyes or being forced to inhale cigarrette smoke day in and out." At the mention of these injustices her blood began to boil, and so she got back onto the treadmill in hopes of running off the emotion. "So yeah. The changes itself? Not so awful. Except for the pain. And the itching. But anyways- my point is, it's more that they're doing this at all that pisses me off. Ruining lives. Breaking the law so much it isn't funny. And another thing- this doesn't even prove anything! So they can turn people into animals- is that going to cure AIDS or feed the millions of starving, dying people, or reduce the pollution problems? No. I don't think so. It's so stupid!" Best increase that speed- she'd begun to get herself worked up. Oh dear.Rex continued to run while he listened to her vent with open ears and an open jaw. He sighed while keeping his pace, the poor guy always seemed to say exactly the wrong thing to every person he encountered. "Man, I hear yeh. Though... I honestly think that it's completely out of our power, y'know? They seem to have thought up every little aspect of this operation so there's essentially nothing we can do." The very thought made him angry. He didn't support the labs in any way, shape or form; but deep down he'd discovered how much he loved the idea of change. He felt enpowered and strong, the thing he'd hoped, searched and dreamed of since his high school days. Rex was torn between sides.
He waited for Fiona to cool off a bit when he realized it was actually him that was heating up. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and under his arms. To save himself the laundry, Rex took off his shirt in a swift motion and tossed it to the ground behind him, then continued running. It wasn't any big deal.The sound of the garment hitting the floor caught her attention and Fiona looked over to see what it was, nearly tripping herself on her awkward feet as she appreciated the view. Rex didn't seem to have much to worry about- the changes had been quite kind to him. Had nothing interfered with her train of thought, Fiona would have railed on and on about how it was indeed possible to overthrow these damned scientists, but the lucky man had saved his ears the torment by discarding his shirt just in time!
Turning her attention back to her running, she hiked up the speed another notch. A light jog. "You know..." she said, a touch breathlessly, "I never did much... fitness kinda stuff... back home. I never really had to. But now I feel like... I should keep in shape. Cause you never know when you're gonna need to be able to run long and hard."Rex choked in laughter, but made it into an odd cough. The last part of her sentence gave the lion inside him some unneeded thoughts. Though he kept running, almost tripping, himself. I'll just push those little thoughts away, now. He'd been a bit lacking in the "significant other" section of his life for the past few years. Was Rex ready to move on...? Loneliness leaked slowly but surely into his emotions.
Get on topic, man. "I love to work out. I've done it religiously since i was in high school, it's just sort of become routine to me. I feel really unfulfilled if I don't... and I can't stand leaving something unfinished or incomplete." He jogged. That held his attention. Jogging. Only jogging.She glanced over again when he 'coughed' and raised an eyebrow, but otherwise kept going. "What made you start working out in the first place? I tried, just because it's good for you and all, but I really can't do one thing that long if it's not interesting to me. Especially if it's something tiring like jogging and whatever. I just get so bored. I mean, it's not like I have ADD or anything." Fiona mashed the "slow down" button until she was walking slowly and bent over to grab her waterbottle and drain the remainder of it before getting back to the conversation. "But if something is really important to me, I can put a lot of attention into it. Or something that's just really interesting, you know?" She laughed at her own gregarious nature. "But really, I do actually want to know what got you started working out. Ignore me, I talk too much."Rex ran in thought, there wasn't really one full, true answer to the question. "Well, to begin with, I was involved in alot of sports. So, that called for me to spend some time in the gym. And from there I just realized how much I liked it! It's a good stress reliever and is also a productive way to pass the time. Soon enough i just spent all of my time in there and now it feels like... like brushing your teeth. Thats a weird analogy but it makes sense to me, something that you should do, and you always feel so good afterwords." He ended his rant, doubting he was making much sense."Yeah..." she said, nodding as she walked, deciding to keep her pace even for a change and keeping her fingers away from those fun buttons. "I can understand that." Fiona was silent for a while, listening to the whirring of their machines and the sound of her own footsteps and trying to think up a new topic of discussion. One other than Rex's lovely tail-changes. Since when did tails turn her on, anyways? Weird."What about you? What did you do before the island? Where are you from?" He turned up the speed of his machine and dabbed at his forehead and chest with his towel, then took a long drink of his water. Running inside was certainly more different than running on the beach like he had been doing recently."I'm from Canada," she responded automatically, before elaborating, "Peace River, British Columbia." Fiona stopped to think before answering his other question- a part of her didn't want to reveal the fact that she was a highschool student. Well, dropout, technically. She didn't want him to think of her as a kid, or anything. "I did a lot of work with PETA, had a few odd jobs in coffee houses. Nothing really amazing.""Canada? So there's more of you!" He laughed and finished off with, "I've met quite a few of Canadians here on the island. Though I'm from... uh, long story short; I was in San Francisco working at a restaurant before I came here." Rex didn't want to bore her with his long and drawn out story about living in LA, then the east coast, and moving back with Julie and how she died. He shouldn't ruin the mood like that. "I don't really have a true home that I'd care to relate myself to." Living in LA held too many bad memories and you can't exactly call boarding school your home.
He slowed down to a walk and panted heavily, this sure was a good workout."Cool. I applied for a job at a restaurant once. They told me I was too... blunt, or something. Anyways, I didn't really want the job. I forget why I applied." Her twitchy button-finger got the best of her, and the speed went back up again. "So there are more Canadians here than just Annie and me? I would have thought it'd be mostly Americans- bigger population, and all. But like, how many others do you mean? Anyone I'd know?" Fiona stole a glance at his handsome furry chest- hey, no sense in letting a good thing go to waste.Rex laughed inwardly at the 'blunt' comment. It was blatantly obvious, but he didn't want to make her feel awkward so he laughed silently. He looked over at her when her machine's noise increase, only to catch her staring at his torso. He looked striaght ahead, laughing out loud abruptly now.
Pull it together..., he calmed down and continued with her questions. "Uh, heh, the first one that comes to mind is Awen. I'm sure that there's more though." Or maybe there wasn't more, Rex wasn't thinking straight. He mind was in other places.Woops, caught in the act. Fiona wiggled her eyebrows at him in a 'I totally meant to do that' fashion. She hadn't planned on being caught, but that wouldn't throw her off. The wide smirk on her face, however, disappeared the second he uttered that name. "Awen?" She uttered in disbelief. "She's from Canada?" An angry prickle pushed past the pleasant endorphins she'd been gathering, and in desperation she set the speed higher and began to run. She would not let herself ruin this fun encounter by stressing about her. "Stupid b***h," she mumbled vindictively, for no apparent reason. Ah, teenage girls.The eyebrow wiggle caught him off guard. He had no skills when it came to relationships. He only knew how to be himself, that was perfect for Julie and came easy to him. He didn't know how to act around women when a potential relationship began to hint into the conversation. Suddenly he got a bit nervous.
Aparently she did to, or something. He sense her tense up and she ran much faster now. Instead of questioning why, he took another swig of water and sighed, cranking the speed up once more.It suddenly struck Fiona that was was, in fact, ridiculously tired. She hadn't noticed with the distraction of having someone to talk to- and look at- but when she began to push herself too hard a stitch formed in her side and her legs began to cry out in protest. With a wheeze she brought the speed back down and shut the machine off, flopping down on the treadmill and simply lying there nearly spread-eagle. It was a good thing, her mind mentioned absently, that she wasn't wearing a skirt. "I... I think I'm done for the... the day," she panted, her chest heaving. "I'll... hang out and chat... if you want."Rex saw her flop, worried that she'd fainted at first, but kept running when he saw she was okay. "Y'alright?" He had more stamina than her for practice, but the girl could certainly hold her own.
He stopped the machine after a few more strides, drank again, and panted heavily. "Oh no, I'm beat as well." He certainly wasn't as down as she was, but tired none-the-less. He wiped himself over once again with his towel and sighed. A nice shower beckoned him."'Kay," she muttered, and took a deep breath before hauling herself to her feet. "Grarg... this is the part I hate, where it burns after. Maybe I'll grab a bite to eat, have a shower, and take a nap or something. Maybe just skip it all and take a nap. I'm bushed." Fiona rubbed at her sore leg muscles, leaning against the treadmill. Eventually she made a face and left her support, walking towards the door. "Guess I'll see you around, then?"Rex helped her to the door with an arm supporting her as she walked, "Rest'll do you good." He should get a bite to eat anyways. "Do you want some help back to your duplex or have you got it alright?" He chuckled and scratched his chest, his shirt was thrown limply over his shoulder.Despite the complaints of her over-worked muscles, Fiona was quite pleased with the results of her pushing herself too hard. Being supported by an attractive, shirtless guy? Definately an ideal situation, regardless of the cost. Did she want help? 'You could walk me to the duplex and stay there for a little while,' her thoughts purred, but the words she spoke were rather different. "I think I'm good. Just got a bit of a stitch. I'll live." She grinned.Nodding, Rex let the girl go back to her duplex. Rex got his towel and water bottle, then wandered through the cafeteria to get a quick bite. Eventually, he got his much needed shower and a nap worthy of note. What a good day.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 8:07 pm
You Too?! Rex Vadnais Rex drifted lazily down the river; enjoying the sparce sunlight and cool water. Nothing was better than taking a kick back and letting the water wash over you. He wore nothing but a Feral Labs Swimsuit and a happy expession.
Over the past few days, he'd been completely oblivious to the frantic happenings of the island, he was glad to take it easy. Then again, what more was there to do on this darn island? Nita MacNeal Nita wandered barefoot along the riverbank, enjoying the breeze off the water. The heat and humidity had been worse than usual, and her fur didn't help at all. A way down the river, a familiar shape floated in the water. With a smile, Nita padded more quickly towards him. "Hey, Rex!" she called out. Rex Vadnais Rex's blue eyes flicked open to find the red-head along the shore. He stood up in the shallow waters and waved a hand to the girl. "Why hello there, Nita!" He waded to the river's edge while holding himself back from soaking her with a greeting hug. His hair and fur was sleeked down against his wet body, but his smile made up for a lack of attractiveness. He shook his head and sent little beads of water flying through the air, and as a result his hair flew back to it's typically perky fauxhawk. "What's up, girl?" Nita MacNeal The bit of water that did get on her was delightfully cool. After returning the hug, Nita grinned back and brushed her hair out of her sweaty face. "Oh, not too much, I don't think... I guess it depends on.. well, when was the last time I saw you?" She laughed slightly. "I've been keeping myself busy." Her voice was muffled for a moment as she tugged off her t-shirt and jeans, revealing her same faded bathingsuit. "It's hot!" she complained. Rex Vadnais "Yeah, it is getting pretty dang hot. I never stopped to think that islands like this got so humid! I'd never been on one before the incident on the ship." He wiped from water from his brow and put his hands on his hips.
He stopped in thought, recalling the days. "The last time I saw you waaas... that day on the beach, I think. And you told me about the chan-" He paused mid-sentence, the hug did feel a little furry. "Heeey, mah shorty changed!" He stepped back to examine the patches of red fur that had sprouted up on her skin. "Welcome to the ranks, I suppose." Nita MacNeal Nita waded into the shallows, sighing with relief. "I'd never been any further south than Virginia, so being in the tropics is a pretty big shock." She leaned over and scooped water into her furred hands, splashing her face. Wiping her arm across her forehead, Nita nodded. "Yeah, a few weeks ago, actually, right after Dr. Lockheart was hurt. It's not so bad, except the fur is awfully warm. I don't even want to think about full summer and having more of this stuff." Rex Vadnais Rex follwed her into the water, submerging himself underneath the chill water for a stroke, then emerging on the other side of Nita. He ran his hands through his and sighed. He began to drift lazily once again and stated, "I've lived on both coasts, Cali and in the north-east. Neither place got this kind of weather though; it's kind of a nice change though."
"My changes, the both of them, happened quite a while ago. I think I met you before my second change though. When Zach blew up on me." He sighed and blinked up into the sun above. Where were your sunglasses when needed? Nita MacNeal "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?" Rex Vadnais "Ahh Freshman year, that was a cold winter if I'm remembering correctly. Cold and awkward. I didn't know a soul at that school for the longest time." He chuckled and remembered his days in the dormitories of boarding school. Good times, back then.
He, too, could picture that day strongly in his mind. "I was an idiot, I shouldn't have gotten mad at him. I haven't seen Zach since then... I should appologize." He sighed once more and came to his feet; the water only reached his furry chest. "I'm sorry if I scared you... emotions were high..."
"It definately can get even hotter with all of this... hair. But honestly I couldn't care less!" He scratched his pecs gently with clawed hands and grinned. Nita MacNeal 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. Rex Vadnais He chuckled, embarassed, and rubbed the back of his neck with a padded paw. He smiled nervously and said "Yeah, that wasn't the greatest 'Nice to meet you!' day for me. I'm never like that, I don't know what came over me." He wanted to sink into the water and hide there for ages until the memory was washed away in the current. But he shouldn't hide from his problems and wait for them to leave.
Not like Zach.
He was glad to see that Nita was pretty comfortable with her changes, there was only so much that you could do to ensure your sanity in a place like this. She seemed to be making the right strides. How many people could be 100% comfortable around someone who was part animal and nearly attacked an innocent man? Suddenly Rex felt like a criminal in his own house. Nita MacNeal 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. Rex Vadnais He pushed the water away from him with his arms and legs so he suspended himself above the river-floor in a particularly deep part of the stream. He was enjoying this simple and unplanned meeting.
His mind was cleared of its nothingness upon her question. "Oh! Heh, yeah, I've been good! A little scatter-brained if you couldn't tell, but good. In actuality, I wish I could say that I was doing more. But in the end it's mostly eat, sleep, work-out and chill. I wish that there was more to do, I ought to get out and meet some more people." There was a major shortage of things to do to hold your interest or entertain on the island. Maybe being addicted toa video game or a good book would be good for him. Or perhaps he could ask for a surfboard or some climbing gear. That mountain ought to have some nice places to scale. "But yeah, boring boring boring. I do enjoy company though, feel free to drop me a visit sometime. What about you? Been out on the 'town'?" Nita MacNeal 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. Rex Vadnais His eyes widened in slight surprise. "Three more in the past week... wow." He stared into the clear and fluid water, his beastly reflection shone back at him with an uneasy expression.
"I've been lucky enough to not have had an experience like that yet. I mean, I've met newcomers that hadn't changed yet, but there had certainly been at least some span of time between when they arrived and when I encountered them. Breaking the news must have been a tough job." He sighed at the bittersweet memory of his arrival on the island with 'the blonde damsel' Avery. "I was greeted with four significantly changed islanders. About as animalistic as myself. Goly, that was a scary day. Alot of stuff happened way too fast." Nita MacNeal "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. Rex Vadnais "I guess that you could say the first person I met was Avery. Since we washed up on the shore and woke up next to each other. But from there is was..." He dug deep in his mind, the memory wasn't fully clear, "guh, it happened so fast. Amaya, and Colche... and Ian... Oh, Ambrose too! I need to get to know those last two better."
He smiled at the mention of Lauren, the end of her sentence hadn't exactly flipped the lightswitch in his mind about their relationship. Instead, his memory went straight to all of their similarities. "Oh Lauren? Yeah! SHe's a nice girl, I've met her a few times. We have alot in common." It's a shame that she isn't into guys. She hadn't said it to Rex directly, but Lauren sure dropped a hint. Nita MacNeal 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. Rex Vadnais "I love Avery, he's my little guy. But goly do I miss him, I feel like I haven't seen him at all since he got with Tim. At least he likes him." He sighed and listened to Nita explain further about her and Lauren.
It hit him.
He tried hard not to look surprised, but to hide his sudden change in countenance he washed his face with the river water. then continued on with, "Oh! I didn't know that you two were together? So that's working good for the you?" There was so many couples on the island, more and more girls were slowly being marked off the singles' list. "Much longer and I'll be all alone!" Rex chuckled a little and sighed. He remembered the feelings that lingered in the work out room with Fiona a few days back, was that a possibility? Should Rex go for it?
He hadn't seen anyone since the death of Julie, maybe thats just what he needed. Nita MacNeal 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 every one 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. Rex Vadnais Rex recovered from his shock quickly and was soon back to a normal color. "I think she's great! I mean, just because you have different views about things doesn't make you a bad person. It's the same thing when I tell people that I'm Christian. Well.. in a religious sense, not in the fact that that's my name as well." He slowly told more and more people about his real name, glad that they didn't act awkwardly towards him like in his teen years. "Just because I believe in a different god then you r'something doesn't make me a bad person."
He shrugged and blushed immensly at her compliments. "D'aww, shush you. You're making me blush..." He waded his way to the beach and shook his hair wildy once again. Nita MacNeal "Exactly!" Nita said, perhaps a little too loudly. Rex understood. Why couldn't certain others? She grinned, amused at making the lion-man blush. "But it's true!" she insisted. After a moment, however, she stopped, not wanting to take the teasing too far. "Aww, are you on your way back to the village?" Nita stood up in the thigh-deep water and worked on wringing out her hair. Rex Vadnais "Well all that I know is that I'm not all that 'good-looking' with these." He fluttered his claws through the air and smiled toothily, his fangs overpronounced. "But you, little missy, are the one with a girlfriend. I'm the one left lady-less." He chuckled.
Then responded with a "Not exactly..." and promptly flopped in a grassy patch not far from the river's edge. The solid ground was sure different from the free water. Nita MacNeal Nita stood, hands on her hips, in a mock-lecturing mode. "Hey now, I've been informed that fur is sexy, and you've got more of it than I do." She snickered and brushed off most of the water from her arms and legs. "As comfortable as that looks, I think I'll head back to civilization," Nita snickered. "Turn the AC way up for a bit." Rex Vadnais Rex chuckled in the grass, slightly in denial that the changes were attractive. "If hair... err.. fur.. is so hot, then why do so many guys shave their chests now a days?" It was weak support, but support for his side of the debate none the less.
He pressed his chin into his chest to watch Nita emerge from the river. He patted his belly temptingly and said, "Well you won't leave me without a hug, now will you?" He sat up, legs extended in front of him, "Git over here, you!" He opened his arms wide and reached playfully towards the red head. Nita MacNeal "I dunno," Nita quipped. "I'm not terribly interested in guys' chests!" The red panda-girl squeezed a bit more water out of her hair. "Oh alright, I think I can manage a hug." She padded over and knelt down in the soft grass. Nita poked Rex in the belly. "But you're gonna have to sit up more than that." Rex Vadnais "Fine, make me work for a little love." He clambered to his feet upon being poked in the abs and embraced the girl in a hug. "Have fun in your cool room, I'm going to head to the gym... it's like I've been living there more than my duplex." Rex chuckled quietly and let Nita out of his grip. Nita MacNeal Nita pulled a face at Rex, but gave him a willing hug. Once released, she gathered up her clothes, tugging on her t-shirt and not bothering with the jeans. They'd just get over her bathingsuit anyway, and the shirt would dry faster. "Oh I will, and you too. Stop by whenever, I'm usually around." Rex Vadnais "Good stuff, I'll catch you around the village then, girl. Adios!" He pawed off through the jungle to the village, tempted to use his arms to run along, but resisted the urge. Darn it, you lion. Nita MacNeal "See ya!" she called after him. With her jeans folded under one arm, Nita took a more circuitous route back to the village, walking along the riverbank and occasionally cooling her bare feet in the water again.
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:18 am
Two n***s and a New Girl Rex Vadnais NEW RPThe cool summer water felt nice against Rex's skin and his fur swished and swayed in the currents of the passing waves. It was yet another clear, hot summer day on the island and Rex wanted nothing more than this cool swim in the ocean. His clothes were left on the shore and forgotten, for now all of Rex's focus had vanished. Simply drifting aimlessly was all that he needed for some relaxation.
One of the thoughts that crossed Rex's mind was why hadn't the cat inside him been afraid of water? It didn't match up to anything that he'd been taught through television or books. Some big cats liked water, but all of his memories of lions just had them lounging around lazy as could be or off chasing some random gazelle. Whatever, Rex thought to himself, he couldn't help but be happy. The man would simply die if he couldn't go into the water; it was such a bit part of his life. Colche She hadn't been down to the beach for several days so insconced in trying to read as much as she could. Today though she had felt drawn to the water, to the white sands and the heat. She hummed a song as she went occasionally singing the odd bar of the song she had wedged in ehr head "under the sea..under the sea..darling is bettah..uhm hmm hmm hmm hmm" he couldn't remember allof the words of course but the tune was catchy and her body bounced with each sylable.
The cheetah girl now had a whole lot of grace at her disposal but that just didn't seem to stop ehr bouncing. The cheetahs long graceful sombre stried were interupted spariodically by the little happy girl hyperness.
Of course, whens he stepped on to the beach and saw the floating lion man, she paused, who was that? Her nose wrinkled, it had been so long since she had seen the man, was he ful human the last time she had even glimpsed him? Blinkling a few times the little cheetah in her told her to run. this was a lion the killer. She could always override this instinct though and with a giggle and a grin she went running full tilt to the water and pounced the man without a moments hesitation "REX!" she shouted at the top of her sweet voice a largewatery splash surrounding them as she hugged the man. Ivy.Ferris I crouched down, up to my ankles in the sweet ocean water. I picked out a starfish and stroked its bumpy exterior. Thank goodness I'm at least on an island, I thought. If I'm going to change into an animal, at least I get to play with sea critters too. I looked up at the sound of splashing and shouting. I'd been so spaced out, I hadn't realised there were other people on the beach! A blonde boy who seemed covered in fur, and a shortish girl also covered in fur, with spots. Both were naked. Geez, no shame... Well, I might as well introduce myself. I put the starfish back on its rock and began walking toward the two. Rex Vadnais Rex bobbed in the waves' wakes, but soon heard a splash, splash, spl- "OOOF!" Colche landed him a tough and love-filled hug, neearly knocking the wind out of the lion. Rex flailed about wildly until he realized the familiar spotter pattern on the girl's fur. "COLCHE!" He embraced her tightly, ignoring the fact that she caught him skinny dipping. If she could be naked... then he supposed it would be alright that he could too.
Over Colche's should down the beach he saw a figure he hadn't recognized. But one thing he could tell was that she was fully human. A red tone struck Rex's face and he stayed standing in the waist deep water. He waved to the girl on the shore and said "Hello!" partly embarssed, partly shameless. Colche The girl giggled as she held on to the lion man looking up at him with a huge girly grin on her face. Yes she was naked, but then she had alot of fur! It hid the most important bits, not that she cared, she was happy to wander around as she was. "heeh rex fuzzy!" she stated her round tufty ears flickering and flattening as her mind went through, as it usually did, a flock of chracters she could link the blond to. "Aslan!" She giggles at last though her laughter was interrupted by the arrival of another.
New people. There were alot around of late,some accepted what she was otehjrs freaked out. She didn't usually enjoy the second kind of meeting but usually people calmed down if they just sat and had a chat "hai" she puurrs at the woman her long tail swaying under the water causing little waves around her slender form. Ivy.Ferris I stared at the furry people embracing each other in the water. "Uhm...hi? I'm Ivy...I'm new here and I don't know what I'm turning into." I said in a rush. Rex Vadnais Rex crouched down in the water and looked to the girl on the shore. He heard what she siad but his mind was in other places, but he was glad she didn't seem very uncomfortable around his nudity.
He decided. Rex made a break from the water to his clothes on the shore not far from the waterline. He tossed his pants casually, but quickly, and turned to the new girl while zipping the fly. "Ivy? Nice to meet you, my name is Rex." He buttoned the them up then extended a paw to the nervous girl. He glanced to the naked cheetah out in the water, "That is Colche, welcome to the island I suppose." Just how new was this girl? Obviously she knew about the changes but that didn't mean she hadn't just arrived. "How long have you been here?" Colche Colche sat in the waves letting the water cool her fur, the waves lapped around her shoulders as she listened to Rex speak to the new girl. she raised a paw and smiled when her name was mentioned only to let it sink in to the salty deapths once again. her jet black hair flowed on the waves for a long time before it got wet and sank below the furface creating a sort of black wave around her.
Alot of what rex said simply went over ehr head, even though now she was much mroe educated than she had been the words 'how long' were beyond her understanding. She watched the blond haired man intently as he zipped up his jeans and giggled "lots like aslan" she smiled happily splashing in the water a bit. It was hard to stay still for very long in Colche's world. Ivy.Ferris I sighed, glad that they seemed sane...well saner than that Fiona girl. "I think I've been here for...about a week, I guess. I've only met Fiona and Zach, and I'm trying to find a doctor to tell me what I'm goingto turn into..." This last comment of mine faded out. I really hoped I wouldn't turn into anythinig strange! I giggled, though, when the girl named Colche said that Rex looked like Aslan. "Tee hee...he does, doesn't he!" I laughed, immediately liking the girl. Rex Vadnais Rex chuckled as he scratched his chest and crossed his arms, "Aslan sounds familiar..." Then he remembered that movie he saw back in November, The Chronicles of Narnia. "Oh! Aslan that lion?!" Rex burst out laughing at his new nickname, "I supposed that I fits. I mean, now that I've got all of these changes." He motioned to his tail hanging low to the ground; it swayed peacefully.
Then he turned to Ivy, "I didn't know what animal I was turning into until my first change." The thought of that first night and how surprisingly painful the changes were was branded into his mind with a hot iron. "Though you don't seemed to worried about it." He glanced over to Colche flopping playfully in the water. He chuckled under his breath; he missed that girl and her silliness. Colche Colche giggled happily as she splooshed in the water sending a few sprinkled from ehr furry fingers at the two on the shore. It was much too nice to be sitting in the water and not playing a little.
Looking to ivy her perfect blue eyes rested on the girl. She didn't know what she was becoming? Well it didn't take too long for the first change to happen she would find out soon enough. Grinning at Rex though she gave a soft throaty puurr as she spoke "Brave an stuufs like Aslan rex" she whispers her sweet baby blue eyes fixed on the man whom had taught her to swim. She still remembered that and appreciated it muchly.
"I is learny readings rex" she grins "gots a larny man" she grins broadly, she liked to inform those whom knew her of her currant happy situation,s he was learning to read and write and speak much betetr thanks to Josh. of course the little flutter in ehr chest when she spoke of him made her a little flustered but she usually maanged to shake it off quickly. she really didn't understand the feeling of what exactly it was. Ivy.Ferris I smiled at the girl. She seemed a bit 'simple' at best, but at least she was cute. "No, I guess I'm not." I answered Rex. "I guess maybe it hasn't sunk in yet..." Rex Vadnais The beach was nice and the water was tempting. He'd already spent quite some time in the water already and his fingers would have been pruned if it weren't for the thick pads on his hands. Rex sat down on his shirt on the shore with his arms resting on his knees.
He deciphered what Colche said and suddenly got really happy for the girl, "Someone is teaching you how to read?! Oh thats great Colche!" Rex beamed a fanged smile towards the cheetah girl and sighed. She'd changed so much since when he first met her. She was braver, speaking better and even more adorable that ever. But who could be the person teaching her? Aubrey had seemed really attached to the girl in his quick meeting with her months prior, maybe she was taking the time to. Colche Colche grinned and nodded "Uh huh, him professor Josh" she giggles her ears twitching in a strange manner as she said his name "him nice, Giraffe, like Melman" She nodded an affirmative her soft dusty blue eyes smiling up at the lion man. Giggling a little she played with a strand of her long black hair for a moment "gunna learn like everyone else" she puurrs softly, this was her dream, it may have been simple for some but for her it was a challange and she was loving it.
"i readins Charlottes web. s'hard, Josh help" She grinned again "s'bout a piggy calls wibur" The book she was reading was hard for her, above ehr level but she was trying so hard that Josh was letting her continue reading it under his supervishion though she was often going back and re reading the pages on her own. It was nice being able to learn and she was opbviously happy, not that, that was an unusual thing, it was imply that she seemed even mroe elated than usual. Ivy.Ferris I blinked. "There's...a professor on the island? And he's turning into a giraffe?" And why did her ears twitch like that? I smiled at the two of them. "So, are you guys good friends? I haven't really made any friends just yet..." Rex Vadnais "Professor Josh? I haven't met him yet. It's nice of his to teach you how to read, though." His blue bold eyes grew large when he heard the book that she was reading. Charlotte's Web was a pretty darn advanced book for someone's first time reading. Josh must be quite a good teacher.
Then to Ivy, "Actually Colche was there when i washed up on the island. We've been friends ever since!" Rex recalled who the girl said she'd met, "Who'd you say that you've met? Zach and Fiona? Zach... isn't the nicest guy on the island in my opinoin." He sighed, leaving their bad history at that, "but Fiona is a really nice girl! Alot of the people around here are pretty nice, actually." Colche Colche giggles and nods "Uh huh, him good learny man" She puurrs happily looking to Ivy. She had been here for a very long time. She wasn'treally sure how long exactly but she was one of the furthest along in her changes. She had been very fluffy for longer than most people had been on the island for.
Fiona? Had she met her? she wasn't entirely sure. There were people around she didn't know at all. So many people here now, her little family had extended qquite alot and she had alot of friends amongst them but there were people she had to avoid and fear. This place was her safe haven she didn't like that she had to stay away from people.
For a moment she looekd thoughtful the waves still lapping from her shoulders. she shivered suddenly and padded clambered to her paw like toes. She always walked on ehr tip toes now, infact she couldn't remember a time she hadn't walked in such a manner. Stepping formt he salty brine she shook her self making her fur go all puffy for a moment, even her cheeks fluffed out. this added to the exceedingly cute effect for a moment as she was a very fluffed up kitty. Her fur soon settled though and she wrung her hair out her tail flicking back and forth as it drip dripped on to the sand.
Looking at Ivy she gave a kittyish grin. She guessed by the hight of the sun it was probably nearlly time for ehr lessons, plus she was getting pretty hungry "Hungry. cafeteria" she puurred looking to Rex she gave a smile and a little wave. "Lessons, see soon okies" she puurred and gave the lion man a hug as she bolted up the beach. She gave Ivy a quick, farewell smile too but she was swiftly away up the path to the illiage, she really did have to fill her tummy before ehr lessons. Rex Vadnais Rex looked to his adorable girl and nearly accepted her invitation, he was pretty hungry. "Actually I think that I'm going to go take a shower to wash off all of this salt wate-...." He yawned at the end of his sentence, a long tounge lolling out between his two fangs. "And take a nap." He chuckled and came to his feet, got his shirt and headed back towards town, yelling over his shoulder "I'll see you guys around, I guess!" And took off. Ivy.Ferris I grinned as the two dashed off in nearly opposite directions. "Bye, you guys." I said softly. I really hoped I'd meet the two of them again. Sighing, I turned to head back to my duplex. Time to do some sketching.
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