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"Just since yesterday." Goodness, was it really only a day? "I was supposed to be studying abroad, but..." Nita trailed off and sighed quietly.

"I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, you know? It's all a dream, and I'll write it down, and look at it later like, 'what the heck was I thinking that night?' But I've slept, and I don't think you're supposed to be able to sleep in a dream." She shrugged, glad that she had that tree at her back. At least something around here was solid.

"I'm sorry I stared like that." She cocked her head to the side, unconsciously mimicking Cass' posture. "It's not really scary, just.. weird, like you said."

Nita made a half-amused sort of noise and chewed on the insides of her cheeks for a moment. "I suppose you'd have to. Too easy to retreat into your own mind, convincing yourself everything is fine, is normal."

She shifted her weight uneasily. That sounded far too much like what she had done a few years before, and not for any good reason like being stranded on a tropical island surrounded by animal-people.

"I don't know where I am, really," she continued, only partially aware she was still speaking aloud. "Maybe call it a willing suspension of disbelief. Everything is so bizarre it has to become normal, but.. Oh, I don't know." Nita looked down at her shoes. "I'm rambling..."

Nita nodded. What Cass said made sense, and she knew she wasn't thinking properly.

"Actually, no," she admitted, watching the uncoiling with interest. "I was kind of lost to begin with."

"That's not too hard. I'd found a bit of a path, earlier," she explained. "And I may as well go back. I meant to go to the beach, but that obviously didn't happen." Nita smiled again, in spite of herself.

Nita followed Cass through the jungle, taking care not to step on her tail or anything. "Thanks a bunch," she said, and meant it. For the first time all day, Nita felt a curious form of optimism. Maybe it was out of place, but like Cass had said, people found ways to cope.

Invariably, regret had taken its toll on Zach. In order to take his mind off of the bitter exchange that had taken place between himself and Rex, he busied himself with meaningless tasks. After the sun went down, he made some halfhearted attempts to scrub the paint off his duplex door, which didn't work too well.

So the next day, he ventured into the jungle to find some quiet. Fed up, he put the ruined boots he'd arrived with on his feet, and his toes stuck out the front of them from a gaping hole they'd torn into the leathery material. He was glad that he wasn't getting them dirty and hurt from strenuous walking, though.

However, as much as he wanted to forget, he couldn't. There was no way he could speak to Rex again, at least for a while now. He stopped his walking for a moment when he realized he wasn't alone in this part of the tropical woods.

"Who's there?" he asked loudly, tail roving lightly across the jungle dirt.

Zach turned around in time to watch a black and white blur crash to the ground. He was startled, taking quick steps back, until he'd hit a tree. His heart was pounding. One of the last things he needed today was a scare.

On closer inspection, though, it was apparently a man. Or... what used to be a man. He seemed to have a lot of white fur. Zach was guiltily relieved to see the man also had a set of long horns. He could feel slightly less self-conscious about his own. However, he had no idea what had made this man land on the ground. Was he hurt? Was he trying to kill him?

After an awkward pause, he reached to brush some of his hair out of his face, the red scales going down his arm shining bright red in the dappled sunlight. He scanned the fallen man with his yellow eyes, but stayed against the tree for support. "Are you... are you okay?"

He stayed where he was, watching contemplatively. He wanted to shrink back from the studing gaze of the hoofed man, but there was nothing he could do. He was somewhat drained of emotion from the night before, so feeling angry simply didn't come to him. Suspicion, however, was somewhat welcome. He let his hand drop to his side, aware of the cameras that were no doubt nestled away in the most impossible of locations around them. "I can't disagree with that... we're trapped here, huh? No escape... ever."

He swallowed hard as soon as he'd said it. Rex was right. He absolutely hated to admit it, but Rex had been right the other day.

He tried to take his mind off of it by throwing out an easy question. The man looked rather like a satyr, but looks were decieving here. "So what are they turning you into?"