|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:33 pm
Time Alone So when's da hell start?Jamal squinted upward through the forest canopy at the sun as it peeked between the broad leaves of the tree that he was resting against, arms crossed and propped on his knees, which were pulled to his chest. He'd been feeling sort of withdrawn and anti-social the past few days, which was an odd feeling for one who usually preferred to be out and about with other people. The forest was oddly comforting for him as well; usually the beach was the first place he went when he was feeling like brooding. Maybe it was the darkness that the plant life cast on his figure as he rested against the rough bark of his tree that held some slim comfort for him. Deep inside, he felt this was true...but he wasn't sure why. He'd been thinking too much these past few days. So many had seemed surprised when he'd told them that he'd been around for a month and hadn't yet changed yet. To make an abnormal situation worst, now he was even more abnormal. Or maybe he was lucky. He wasn't sure. Awen had been here longer, right? And she hadn't changed. Nor had Anjali...so really, it wasn't that strange. A small part of him held out the thought that maybe there was a mistake and he wasn't really going to change. Maybe he never really got the injection that turns you into some freakish animal. It could have been a vaccine like the Doctor said. Jamal's lip wrinkled unpleasantly and he glanced back down at his surroundings, eyes squinting some as he peered into the shadows. "Maybe I be a'ight," he declared to no one, feeling somewhat foolish for all his worrying and dramafit. As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, he knew it wasn't true. These guys knew what they were doing...what were the odds that they'd have screwed something like this up that apparently had worked for so many other people. So many who had been affected...Hargun, Greer, Amaya, Lauren, Ambrose, The Dude...and that was hardly a full list at that. The black man stared morosely at one hand as he examined it carefully for signs of fur, scales, or feathers. The knuckles were ashen, but that was from dry skin, not approaching transformation, or so he told himself. He'd run out of lotion awhile ago. Part of him wanted this to get over with. He was tired of waiting for the Doctor to strike. He wanted the anxiety of not knowing to be gone. Yet...if he did start to transform, he'd feel like he was losing his humanity and he'd know that there was no hope any longer. Once it starts, he knew it wouldn't stop; he'd be stuck with whatever hand he'd been dealt. He tucked his hand back into the crook of his crossed arms and stared blandly at the greenery before him, dark eyes veiled with uncertainty.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:07 pm
Tea Time After a long session of brooding, Jamal finally surfaced from the thick plant-life, grumbling irritably as he swatted at a few highly persistant bugs that had followed him from his little 'hole' in the jungle. Back home, they never bothered him too much, but the bugs out here seemed like they were large enough to carry off a full-grown horse if the notion struck.
Thankfully the pests retreated as he scrambled away from the heavy greenery, propelled partly by his well-placed swipes, and he was left to walk the dirt trail back towards the duplexes. He was already quite near a few of them...mostly ones he'd never really paid any attention to because he didn't know the inhabitants, but today he cast a quick look over for signs of life. He vaguely remembered that he'd met someone who lived out here, but didn't remember who. The man was never good at remembering things like that. Anjali hummed under her breath, the notes just slightly off-key... the notes of a Christmas carol. She always adored Christmas, and even though the heat of a tropical island was hardly stereotypical weather... India hadn't been much closer to the supposed norm.
So, here she was, attaching a wreath woven from lianas harvested from the jungle, to her door. It was something, at least. They couldn't take this away from her.Surprisingly, Jamal found that his idly glancing had brought a familiar figure to his attention. However, being lousy at names as he was, he couldn't remember her name for the life of him. It wasn't something 'normal' sounding, like Laura or Ashley, so that didn't help either.
Regardless of that fact, he started to drift off in the direction of her duplex, wondering what on earth she was doing with that tangle of green planty stuff. He wanted a closer look...both because of the wreath and because of her. From this distance, it was hard to tell if she had even so much as sprouted a horn or a patch of fur from where he was and morbid curiousity required that he at least check it out and see if she had left the ranks of the unchanged or not.
After getting a bit closer, he offered her a grunted greeting of "Yo, what up?" and a slight wave, hoping to catch her attention but not to startle her in the process.Anjali turned quickly, stiffening - then relaxing as she recognized the man. "You are Jamal, right? We met on the beach a few weeks ago." She smiled at him, then turned to quickly straighten the lopsided 'wreath' before putting her attention back on him.
She was pleasantly surprised, though - Jamal was the first person who had actually sought her company, instead of the other way around."Yeah, dat be right," he said quickly, flashing her a hesitant grin of approval. "Sorry I run off so fast then...had stuff I had ta take care of. Plus lately I be feelin' kinda strange in crowds fo' some reason." Okay, so...lousy reason, but it was mostly true.
As he spoke, he eyed the wreath on her door with mild apprehension. What the hell was that supposed to be anyway? "It's quite alright." Anjali caught him looking at the wreath, and looked sheepish. "As odd as it might seem, it is drawing near to Christmas-time... I've always enjoyed the season, and I will be damned if I will let all this take that joy from my life as well. It's makeshift, but...?" Her voice trailed off. Jamal's brow quirked then. Holy s**t, was it really that close to Christmas? That only made his mood darken considerably, which reflected some in his face, causing his jaw to tense slightly and a set of wrinkles to crease on his forehead. "Well, ya gotta make do wit' what ya can then, I guess," he did concede after a pause. "I ain't see no christmas trees out herr...so it gotta figger you makin' that outta whateva' we got 'round."
He couldn't help but voice his morose train of thought however but adding "Kinna sad I been herr so long that I ain't 'memberin' what time o' year it be. It be snowin' back at home, I bet.""Yes, there are definitely no pines here... and it has been some time." Anjali frowned and peered up at the sun. "How long have you been here, Jamal? I'm fairly sure your name wasn't on the list of inhabitants when I arrived... but that was in September.""Too long," he said with a forced laugh, then rubbed at his chin briefly in a show of his uneasy state of mind as his gaze flickered back to Anjali. "I got herr in Octoba'...'bout da middle of it, I think. So...been herr ova one month. Month 'n' a half."
So, she had been here longer...and she didn't show a sign of changing into whatever it was she said she was turning into. He vaguely remembered something about a plant, but he never really got into any more detail about it. Could they even turn into plants?"I was planning on being here for some time - I was hired here, and I still am, because I love my work. You?" She studied the sun again, then smiled. "It's almost mid-afternoon. I don't suppose you'd like to join me for some tea?" He was odd company - but the world was no longer normal in the least. "I wasn't hired fo' nuthin...just decided I needed ta get away." That wasn't a complete lie, so he was comfortable at leaving it at that.
At the mention of tea, Jamal tried not to look too mystified by such an offer and nodded. "A'ight...ain't got nuthin' betta ta do." He did brighten a little though. Better than dwelling on his current state of affairs. Besides, she did look like she didn't mind the company."Come on in, then. Make yourself comfortable, there's a table by the window with two chairs - mind the fern, though, it has stinging hairs on the leaves," she added as she opened the door and showed Jamal in. She had changed the room quite a bit from standard, with silken curtains, a batik-patterned bedspread and assorted rugs on the floor. And, of course, plants. Lots and lots of plants.
The table by the window looked inviting, aside from the warned-about fern, but it was easy enough to ignore it. Around the room were more plants of various sizes, all in colorful traditional Indian pots. Still, it was tastefully decorated, more like living in a pleasant garden than in another jungle.Jamal had the impression he was once again in the jungle as he did a quick survey of the room, despite the potted nature of them all, and felt oddly complacent due to their abundant numbers. Why, he didn't know. He slipped over towards the indicated table and cast a curious look at this 'stinging' fern. He'd never heard of a plant that fought back when you messed with it and he was -almost- compelled to prod at one of the leaves but decided against it only because he really didn't need another reason for a foul mood.
All in all, the room was colorful and an improvement on the drab hotel-style furnishings they had all been presented with. He approved. Jamal sat down in one of the chairs and slouched, looking to see what Anjali was doing. "So, you do all the fancy plant stuff herr then? 'n ya get paid fo' it?" "Indeed. I'm the landscaper... the gardener and groundskeeper here. In addition to being an experiment," she said, dryly. "Needless to say, they didn't tell me about that last bit when I signed my employment papers. Still, I hope my job can make things a bit more pleasant here, once I am able to make the duplexes more cheerful..." She shrugged. "What type of tea do you take, do you know? Or... would you one of my blends?" she added, delicately, not wanting to offend - or make him feel ignorant by not knowing tea types if he didn't.The black man shook his head lightly. "Yeah, they be real good about not tellin' peeps what be really goin' on. I sure as hell didn't have no idea what I got mahself in ta. Not dat I'da believed 'em anyway. Anyone be tellin' me I'mma turn in ta some beastie...well, I'da thought them crazy."
Jamal wasn't really offended at her next question, but he was pretty uncultured in the ways of tea and knew it. "Uh, whateva' ya got be a'ight wit' me," he decided after a long pause and a quick decision. "I ain't neva' drank tea b'fo, so...""That's fine - basic breakfast tea, then, though I have far too many different kinds. Comes from the British side of me - tea is our answer to everything, you know." Anjali chuckled and opened a small box on her bookshelf, producing a normal teabag, a tea ball, and a packet of loose leaves. "And yes... I don't recall, did you mention what you were turning into... if you know? That other man, Chubbs, he didn't know." She frowned. "As if changing us against our will weren't enough. I cannot believe they would withhold information as well." She put the tea things on the table with unneeded force, then stalked into the bathroom to fill the coffee pot before putting it on the coffee maker and plugging it in.Jamal watched her get together all the tea things with a blithe expression until she brought up the topic of transformation again. He visibly winced, even though he tried to repress it. "Uh, I ain't asked yet," he said in a low mumble. "Not sure I wanna know...they prolly tell if I asked 'cause I ain't causin' no trouble. Yet, anyway.""I'm sorry," she said with a sigh, settling into the seat opposite him. One dark hand reached out to fiddle with the leaves of the nearest not-stinging plant. "I was told that my experiment is for a plant, if that makes you feel any better. No-one else has anything like that, so if that helps - at least you're not going to be lettuce?" She laughed half-heartedly, then stopped, shaking her head. "If nothing else."Jamal frowned heavily and sat forward in his seat, setting his arms on the table. "Fo' all I know, I could be lettuce," he said evenly. "I ain't got no idea what they plannin' ta do wit' me. I could be a plant, a bug, o' some beastie thing. Did you jus' outright ask 'em what yous turnin' into?"
He was starting to wonder now if he ought to ask...and maybe see if they would tell him what Awen might turn into so he could perhaps settle some of her fears of being turned into a fish."I didn't have to ask... well, not really. It was rather sordid, but after giving me the run-around, Doctor Duvert told me I was turning into a blended serum made from the drosera family. Those are sundews, if you've heard of them," she added. "Carnivorous plants, insect-eaters... the doctor seemed nearly excited to play with me." Anjali's usually pleasant face took on a momentary expression of anger. "As though it pleased him. Still, I also spoke to a woman... a Doctor Lockheart... over the intercom, and she seemed more congenial."Ah...a woman doctor.... "Oh, dat's prolly Aubrey. She be da one who gave me ma injection when I got herr," he said with mild amusement. "She ain't so bad. That Sabin guy be weird as ******** though. I met him at that hall'ween party."
"You met the big shot yet then, since you been hired in 'n all dat?"Anjali shook her head. "No, I haven't met Doctor Moreau. Only Doctor Duvert and the lower staff, and they don't talk much... I didn't properly meet Doctor Lockheart either, just spoke with her." She got up as the coffee pot began to hiss, indicating it was warm and done. "I did not go to the Halloween party - it's not something celebrated in my culture, so I forgot..."
Anjali carefully took two cups and saucers off of the shelf and put one in front of Jamal, and the other at her own chair, before she moved to fetch the hot water."Oh," he said, somewhat disappointed. He wanted to get some dirt on Doctor Moreau so he'd know who to look out for...but he didn't voice this vocally to Anjali. Jamal was certain now that cameras -were- in every duplex, given what he'd learned from Hargun, and figured that anything he said would probably be on a one-way trip to whomever was monitoring the place. "Well, ya didn't miss too much at da party. I ain't big on hall'ween...only cared 'bout it when I was little."
He restrained the urge to ask just what her culture was. The black man wasn't familiar with anyone that mimiced her physical looks or her decorative tastes.Anjali sat down with the coffee pot, then carefully put the teabag into Jamal's cup, and the filled tea-ball into hers, before pouring the hot water in almost reverently. "There we are - it has to steep for a bit so that the flavour works into the water, and then it will be tea. It's a very ancient tradition, tea. The Japanese hold it in high regard as well." She smiled happily through the rising steam at Jamal. "Even if I don't understand Halloween... at least I have this, and they can't take this away either."
She put the pot down with a sigh, swirling the tea-ball around a bit in her own cup. "But, well. Surely there are more things to talk about than our own sad plight? There doesn't seem to be much else to do, though... not compared to a city." She shook her head. "I can't even make proper teacakes and sandwiches to offer you."Jamal eyed the staining water somewhat apprehensively, thinking it looked more like muddy water than something he was expected to drink. This could be a disaster.
"I figger the docs got enough sense ta not try 'n take anythin' else from us b'sides our humanity," he said ruefully as he tore his gaze away from the darkening tea, casting Anjali a look of faint amusement. "'Bout da only thin' we got ta do on dis damn island is ta swim, get lost in da jungle, talk ta ev'ryone, o' dig in da dirt." "And I do plenty of digging in the dirt normally," Anjali said, ruefully. She leaned forward and carefully removed the teabag from Jamal's cup, then reached behind the stinging fern and produced a small bowl full of sugar packets and half-and-half creamer, appropriated from the cafeteria. "Sugar and cream to taste - and if you don't like it, don't worry about it. It can be an aquired taste," she said with a smile, before turning to tend to her own cup. The tea-ball came out onto the saucer easily, and she added just a bit of sugar before taking a long sip. Mmm. Jamal had almost forgotten about the tea, despite how briefly the tea had sat unattended, and once his attention was brought back to it, he pursed his lips and pondered a plan of attack...how to flavor this muddy water?
He reached over and grabbed almost a half-dozen sugar packets and tore into them, unceremoniously dumping their contents into the cup. This was followed suit by a generous dump of creamer which turned the dark, shiny drink into a cloudy brown pool that looked even more like mud. He blanched slightly at his creation but took hold of the cup anyway. Anjali raised both eyebrows at him, but decided it didn't really matter. "It won't bite, you know," she advised. "That plant is the only thing that does, since I don't hold with cactii," Anjali added, grinning over her own cup. "There's a water cup in the bathroom if you really don't like it, but I assure you this is one of precious few new things on this island you'll find that is completely harmless..."Jamal was only slightly encouraged by her good natured comments but steeled himself and hesitantly took a sip, a brow arching high on his forehead as he tilted the cup to his lips.
It wasn't...bad...he decided, but it was strange enough to warrant caution as he took another experimental sip. In truth, he wasn't sure what he thought about it exactly."Not too horrible, I hope?" Anjali said dryly, before taking a long sip of hers and setting the cup down with a clink of china. "As I said, if I had the means there would be small sandwiches... tea cakes... and other things. But I didn't happen to bring ingredients with me... I thought there would be a grocery or a fine resort kitchen. Hah!" She shook her head self-depreciatingly. "What were you told about this place? Fine resort indeed.""It be different," he offered lamely, setting his cup down too and sloshing a bit over the lip with his lack of care. "And don't worry none 'bout not havin' food...it a'ight wit me. Not like I know what ya s'posed ta have when ya drink tea." He entertained the thought of his buddies back home laughing their a** off right then if they saw him drinking tea out of china cups like some sort of british gentleman, then also shook his head, only to clear this notion from his mind.
"As fo' what they tell me, they just tell me this place be a good spot to...rest. I dun expect nuthin' really otha' then a place ta sleep. I got dat part o' the deal, so...maybe I best not be complainin'.""Well, it is a good spot to do that if nothing else," Anjali said with a sigh. "That and dig in the dirt, as you put it. We should take matters into our own hands - create our own interesting things, perhaps. Something to live for beyond the next... change. Whenever that occurs." She looked at her hands quickly, out of paranoia - though she'd been told she'd be warned and asked in for the next injection, she still couldn't help but look. "So you ain't got no idea when you be changin' then eitha?" he said without much thought. He had wondered if maybe there was a schedule somewhere posted that said "Subject A due for transformation on 11/29" or around here somewhere and he just hadn't found it. "I been wonderin' if maybe they screwed up n' I ain't gonna change at all. Some peeps soundin' surprised when I tell 'em I been herr for ova' a month and ain't changed yet.""No, no idea... when I spoke to Doctor Lockheart she said it was highly experimental." Anjali frowned. "I was wondering the same," she admitted, "if there was a mistake and I would be fine... I have been here longer than you, but no change..."
She looked right into his eyes for a momen, then shook her head once more. "No. Even if it happened, we would not be free. Just... used again, I suspect. Or left to rot. Still, the doctor said she would warn me prior to the next injection... perhaps if you ask, the same can be done for you?"
She didn't mention how she now lived in dread for the intercom's call, how she had dim nightmares about the plastic box."Awen's been herr fo' a long time too and she ain't changed," he added as an afterthought, not knowing that she -had- changed and he just hadn't seen her yet. Anjali's speech of being 'reused', however, struck a very odd feeling in his chest and he lost his air of indifference he had carefully formed about himself during this meeting. She had pretty much vocalized what he had figured...that if they had messed up, then there wasn't any way they'd just leave him be. The staff had a mission here, from what it looked like, and failure wasn't going to be tolerated.
The man slumped a little bit in his seat and sought out his tea in reflex, taking the opportunity to sip once or twice before finding his voice again. "Maybe I oughta ask...so at least I know when they comin'." He didn't bother to mention that if he did this, it would only be so he could either 1) be evasive or 2) try to physically overpower whomever was going to administer the shot."It gave me some measure of peace," Anjali replied, carefully. "Better than not knowing, at least?""I guess," he drawled, though looked far from convinced. "I wish I knew what they be tryin' ta do all this fo'. Jus' cause they can?...or do they got some otha' thing goin' on the side dat none of us know 'bout?" As if being someone's experiment wasn't enough...."Because... they can, I would guess," Anjali said, slowly, remembering the look on Doctor Duvert's face. "Because it is an experiment of great interest... I can admit, if the methods were different I myself might be excited by it," she admitted. "But only if it were done legally!" she added, quickly. "And with full consent. As it is? Barbaric."Jamal shook his head slightly in disagreement. "I ain't even sure I'd be okay wit' it even if things be mo' legal....jus' seems so wrong ta be doin' stuff like this." The black man was hardly a science-minded person, however. He lacked any sort of real motivation to learn and thus rarely felt the need to inquire on things unless it directly involved him and even that was pretty rare. "I wonda' if they eva' gonna get to a point where they decide they be done ruinin' lives o' if this gonna be onna them things that neva' ends.""If they do, and we are... changed..." She bit her lip. "You have seen Ambrose, correct? And Miss Greer? How can... we... function outside of this place like this? After some point it will be a haven, not a prison...""I ran inta both. At da same time." Jamal's voice was flat and reflected his displeasure at being reminded of that meeting in the cafeteria. He was on decent terms with Ambrose, but as far as Greer was concerned, he was more than willing to get into a brawl with her.'Oh... that must have been... did you... know?" She winced as it came out all wrong. "I mean, I met Sean, the Dude - he told me, and the doctor confirmed it and told me I wasn't immune..." She hid her awkwardness in another long draught of tea."Peeps been tellin' me 'bout it all, but I wasn't believin' none of it," he gingerly admitted, feeling stupid now that he had more than enough hints to have known what was going on, yet he refused all of it until that day at the cafeteria. "But it kinda hard not ta believe when ya run into a wolfman 'n a birdwoman."
He absently tapped the side of his teacup with his nail, staring into it's cloudy depths to avoid Anjali's gaze if she was looking at him."Yeah... kind of hard to believe. I didn't believe Sean at first either," Anjali admitted. "But who would? We trust the world is a sane place and things like this just don't happen...""I seen s**t b'fo dat make ya think yo be nuts o' somethin', but dat meetin' was definately da worst o' da worst." He lifted his cup up and again took a drink, deciding that tea wasn't that bad, but he probably wouldn't drink it casually on his own. As he lowered the cup, he glanced over the rim at the woman and offered her a weak smile. "Not like I be able ta' deny it once I seen them both.""I couldn't deny it either... the worst, I think, is the new people. I can come to terms with my own entrapment, but there are so many duplexes..." Anjali shuddered a bit, and put her empty cup down in the saucer. "They're almost half full now.""I run into a'coupla ones dat ain't got no idea what be goin' on...and I ain't plannin' on breakin' da news either." He shook his head to emphasis this point as well as waves his hands in front of himself in a "not me" gesture once his cup was replaced on the table. "I figger I might as well not be tellin' people until I ain't got no choice...cause if things be goin' as they say, I'll be like Ambrose and ain't gonna be able to hide it.""A good idea," Anjali agreed, wincing a bit as she remembered how it had been for Amaya and Chubbs on the beach, after Jamal had left. "Another cup?" she added, noting that his teacup was almost empty.Jamal glanced at his cup, realizing that it was pretty empty. Well...might as well take some more. He could perhaps experiment this time with the sugar and cream. "Lil' bit mo' be fine wit' me," he said, grateful at the subject change.Anjali got up and quickly fetched another teabag, then tested the water - still warm enough. "There you are," she said, after preparing another cup. "If you want another kind next time - if you'd like - just ask. I have many, and I plan on experimenting with some of the plants here for blends. Or, if you prefer fresh..." She pointed at a few fragrant-leaved plants. "I grow my own," she said, grinning. "It's a hobby, one of the few I can maintain here. What about you... what do you enjoy?" Anjali unconciously echoed the black man's feelings - a subject change was good. Everything didn't have to be about gloom and doom... that way lay madness.Jamal considered the question a moment, realizing just how loaded such an inquiry could be if he was still living in the city. Things had changed though and with it went the disposal of many of his old hobbies, most of which were probably not very socially acceptable. "Mostly basketball, I guess," he finally answered. In truth, there really wasn't much here he did that he considered a hobby. "I ain't really good at nuthin' else...plus I ain't learned much outside o'sports n' that sorta thing."
Once the tea was sufficiently leeched into the water, he added less sugar this time around and more cream."Theatre, for me - I loved going to it. And gardening... and the library. Gardening I continue, the other two... seem mostly lost to me." She sighed. "But basketball, that's good. Perhaps you could show me sometime, I could use something besides hiding with my hands in the dirt." Really, Anjali wasn't sure how she'd do - but it was an opportunity and she'd take it. Cultured and careful as she might seem, she was definitely not afraid of hard work and dirt.Jamal's brow lifted significantly. She...wanted to play basketball? He would have never pegged her for one to try that out, but he did grin and nod. "A'ight then. Maybe some time I might come out herr and drag you to da court and see how ya do. It ain't dat hard." He sipped at his tea demurely, then remembered something.
"There be a small library thing in the entertainment room...lotsa books. Not sure what they all be 'bout, but maybe ya find somethin' worth readin?" Jamal knew that most were about animals, from what Hargun showed him, but he was unable to read more than 25% of the titles due to his poor reading skills."Hmm, I may have to give that a try," Anjali said, thoughtfully. "Just let me know - I can be found outside often, working around this area, but I'm on no schedule beyond my own thus far - feel free to interrupt me if you wish." She stood up. "I am afraid, though, that I should get a bit more work done - I have a few seedlings I'd like to get in the ground before it gets dark. By the way, which duplex is yours? Feel free to request specific plants - I think they'd let me have anything, besides a ticket out of here. But those, sadly, do not grow on trees," she said, wryly."Duplex 7 be mine," he said, sipping more tea until he felt he had sufficiently drained his cup, then pushed his chair away from the table. "If ya get bored, ya can plant whateva' ya want 'round it if ya want. Damn buildin' needs all da help it can get." He flirted with the notion of asking for a pot plant, but...probably not a good idea. Besides, Dude told him to ask Moreau about that one. "Indeed it does." Anjali made a face and collected both teacups. "Clear-cut... disgusting, really, but an interesting challenge. Well." She smiled pleasantly as she walked over to open the door. "Thank you very much - it's been some time since I've had anyone for tea. I quite enjoyed it."Jamal sauntered over to the door after her, feeling somewhat full and sleepy despite only having drank tea. Maybe it was the warmth combined with a previously restless night of sleep.
"No prob," he said with a more uplifted tone, deciding to end the meeting on a high note than to dwell on their discussion. "I be mostly in ma duplex, so if ya get bored, jus' come ova and ya can botha' me. I ain't doin' much lately so ya prolly ain't gonna interrupt nuthin'." "Sounds like we're all in the same boat, then. Well, happy sailing, Jamal." Anjali quickly adjusted the wreath again with one hand as she opened the door, feeling a bit self-concious about the improvised decoration. He gave the wreath a closer examination as he passed through the door, deciding it was a fair substitute given the circumstances, and waved. "Have fun wit' yo plantin'" he offered before leaving her to her work, briskly heading for his own duplex. He felt better about some issues, but worse about others, but at least Anjali seemed to think similiarly to how he did and that was comforting in a sense. Plus she had introduced him to tea, which was new enough that it had briefly taken his mind away from the nonsense of the island. For that, he was grateful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:36 pm
Expect the Unexpected Awen walked towards the edge of town. She just wanted to get out of the place where people might possibly be. The jungle was easier to slip into and get lost in. The village big open space where....people could see and... Kim had been an unexpected visit, what could he say though? She had tried to play it cool but...failed miserably she was sure.
Awen sighed heavily. "What a day..." She grumbled.Perhaps in sight, perhaps not...Jamal was outside today also, but he was in a slightly better mood than Awen, for obvious reasons. At the moment he was catching his breath after a long string of fancy basketball drill work, clad his usual tank and a pair of baggy shorts but without his headwrap. He felt like a bit of exercise might take his mind off things so after the chat with Anjali, he had stopped at his place to get his ball and went straight for the makeshift court he had set up at the fringes of the town; done so to allow him to play ball at night and not disturb anyone and to also get away from the general population.
He didn't see Awen, as his back was turned while he stood there and wiped sweat from his brow, nor did he hear her.Awen froze seeing Jamal's basketball court. She had forgotten where he made it, but that wasn't the bad part. The thing was Jamal was standing right there. Awen's blood froze, but she got hot at the same time. What was she going to do...? How was she going to tell....? She looked around for cover, but the closest thing was the jungle and the other way was back to town. Awen contemplated just going back and locking herself in her room....
What good would that do? Eventually she'd have to go out. Eventually she'd have to show....
But she felt so strange now. So different from Jamal. She was no longer...human exactly. She knew she wasn't as bad off as someone like Hargun but.... Hargun isn't involved with Jamal now was she? Awen sighed heavily. She brushed her bangs trying to have them cover the horny thingie and stepped forward. "H-hey Jamal." She smiled trying to seem normal.Jamal turned, a mischievious grin plastered on his face as he did so, hearing the familiar voice call his name. "Hey shorty, there you is," he mock-berated as she came into view. "I figgered you be sick o' sumthin'..."
The rest of his sentence sort of died away as he immediately saw the dark patches on her shoulders and arms and his eyes narrowed immediately in suspicion. Were those bruises? What the hell... His gaze lifted quickly to her face, looking for a hint or a sign as to what the hell had happened; the little knobby parts on her forehead weren't immediately noticed as she had done a decent job at covering them.
Concern drew itself plainly on his face as he started to close the distance between them, brows knit in concern. "You a'ight?"Awen rubbed her arm a little bit, flinching a bit at the still tender grey skin. She tried to give Jamal a smile. Cut right to the quick, didn't he? She wavered a little bit, almost taking a step back but thinking better of it. "Y-yeah... I'm okay really."
She looked down at the ground a moment before looking up at the big man as she cleared that last bit of significant distance. Her smiled sort of failed but she hadn't looked away. She rolled her shoulders a bit. "No worries, hm?"Jamal peered at Awen closely, a hesitant smile on his face but he was unable to hold back his apprehension. Something wasn't right.
"Awen," he drawled, lifting a hand to trace the air above one dark shoulder patch, looking her in the eyes with the same apprehensive look. "It look like ya got the s**t beat outta ya..." The statement sounded more like a question in the way it hung in the air. Dark skin alone wasn't enough for him to realize that she'd transformed; he'd yet to see the knobs or her tail. She blinked a little bit. Hadn't he noticed...? He must not have.... Awen let out a short almost bitter laugh. "You could say that..."
She hesitated a moment. She tilted her head down and slowly brushed the hair away from her forehead and tried to stick it behind her ear. Of course her hair was too short and just fell back into place, there was definately enough time to see... Awen bit her lip a little bit. She didn't think she could say it but just...let him see.Jamal's hand dropped to his side as he saw the protrusions on her forehead and he blanced visibly, eyes darting quickly now from the skin patches to the faint outlines of the knobs behind a curtain of hair in quick succession. The bumps...they were too perfect and symmetric to be simple goose eggs from a blow to the head, which would have fit with her getting her a** kicked by someone.
"No..." he said abruptly, head shaking violently, a clearly pained look spreading over his features. He'd just been talking to Anjali about how Awen hadn't changed...and now this? The irony was bitterly obvious. "Don't say it..."For the first time, besides from the pain of it, Awen felt like crying. Tears welled to her eyes hearing his shock. She remembered the way Jamal had been in her dream. She didn't want to look. She'd see that grimace, that wrinkle of disgust. She knew if she looked up...
But she looked up anyway. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing... no words came. Her mouth worked trying to will the words but nothing happened so she just shut it. She just nodded a little bit. Well....he had said not to say it....The black man wasn't so good at tact and he should have known she'd take his reaction poorly but he couldn't help it. A heavy shiver flew down his spine as he stared at her, his hands shaking faintly against the material of his shorts.She knew.... she knew she shouldn't have.... She should have just skirted around the court and went into the woods. She breathed heavily as the tears trailed down her cheeks. She shouldn't have coem to Jamal. She knew.... she knew he would be...be....sick of her.
"I'm sorry..." She choked out and tore passed him and moved towards the trees. Her vision blurred as she crashed through the bushes. This was definately not a good combination of things... a little ways in, still visible to Jamal, she tripepd over...over... she didn't see what. She just fell to the forest floor and didn't get up. She sobbed softly and hit her fist against the ground. Stupid stupid....she was so stupid.
And this was all her fault.Jamal sort of stood there in a statueque manner, almost in a daze as she uttered her forced apology and darted away towards the safety of the trees, a pounding taking to his ears now as blood rushed to his face in a sudden indignant anger that swept his body. Not at her, but at the beasts that had done this to her...and to himself. He hadn't meant to make her more upset than she obviously was but he couldn't have known of her injection-induced nightmare. He was pretty much struck dumb at this point. He didn't know how to handle this. It was easy if it was someone he didn't know that well.
As she tumbled carelessly to the ground, he moved immediately after her, guilt rising in his chest as she beat the earth and refused to move from the leaf litter and dirt upon which she lay. She hadn't gotten far, which was probably good because if she hadn't fallen, he might have just let her go to cry herself to exhaustion, thinking she probably needed it.
He reached her within a few breaths and knelt next to her. A hand hesitantly wavered over her back, almost as if he was afraid to touch her. "Shorty..." he whispered, forcing his anger away to a time when it was proper to deal with it. Anger certainly wasn't going to help right now. She crossed her arms and buried herface in her arms. What could she say to him? How could he even understand? She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She peeked out from her arms adn noticed his arm out, his hand must be somewhere over her back. But he wasn't touching.... She got a bit sour with that and stuffed her face back into her arms.
"I'm not contagious!" She said in a dull but none to happy tone. Anger certainly wasn't going to help but... it was just building. She knew it wasn't to him, but... she sighed again heavily. "Sorry..." She mumbled, her voice even more muffled by her arms.It wasn't that he was worried she was contagious, but he didn't know if he might hurt her or something. And if he touched her, this would make it so much more real. He wanted to desperately believe this wasn't happening, but that was definately a stupid thing to think after all that has happened on this god forsaken island.
"Come 'ere," he said, almost in a command, after a long pause after her murmured apology, the hovering hand now gently wrapping about one arm.She shivered softly but she was too numbed to really refuse his command. She sat up to her knees and shuffled close. She leaned against him softly still trembling. She had figured the whole contagious comment hadn't gone over right. She knew he probably wasn't as dense to suspect that she was contagious... but he hadn't wanted to touch her and it was one of those comments....
"I'm sorry...." She said softly, almost a whisper."Now what in da hell you be sorry fo," he said firmly, though it was done completely for her favor, not his own. His ears still pounded unpleasantly and again that mild sick-to-stomach sensation rose in his belly. "You ain't got nuthin' ta be sorry 'bout."
He sat back, still kneeling, and tugged her carefully into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder and neck. She was shaking so badly..."I didn't mean to snap at you..you...you don't deserve it." She said softly. "I shouldn't take...it out on you." She nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder, but her little knobs bumped against his neck. She stopped imidiately. She was silent for a long him before she whispered something.
"I'm getting gills..... fish, Jamal, fish...""...a fish?"
He couldn't help but look down at her when she broke this news, his gaze wandering against his better judgement to her neck, searching for...
Oh my god. There they were, standing just beneath the light curtain of hair that lightly draped against her neck as she curled next to him. A fish...she was becoming A FISH. The one thing that she had feared the most and those bastards were doing this to her? Of all the things they could have chosen, they had to do a goddamn, ******** FISH.
The pounding in his ears roared now as he clenched his jaw so hard that pain shot across it and his teeth ached with the pressure. The sensation of pins and needles prickled at the back of his neck as he tensed, his skin flushing warm as he forced himself to remain composed. Those bastards...that ******** b*****d Moreau...
It was a good thing for the staff on the island that his gun had been stripped out of his bag when he was first brought to the island, because he would have up and stalked off to the labs and shot the place up every which way and not cared what happened afterwards.
Jamal tried to focus on the situation at hand, but had no idea what to say. He was hardly the comforting sort and hell, he had no idea what this was like, at least yet. What could he say? She nodded a little bit when he asked. She looked up at him and frowned softly. She placed a hand gently on his cheek. "It's....it's okay. Don't worry, okay? I..I mean...when this is over..we can go to the beach together, like you wanted to hm?" She gave hima weak smile.
She really didn't know what to say either but..he looked like he was going to blow a gasket and she didn't think that was a very good plan."No, this ain't okay," Jamal said in forced quiet, his voice nearly vibrating with anger as he spoke, eyes closed only because he knew he'd be glaring otherwise. "Ain't nuthin' 'bout this okay."
Her strained attempt at being nonchalant only made him exhale heavily and open his eyes again. The focus of his eyes was very pointed and harsh, which looked vaguely ominous when paired with his brown eyes. "I ain't carin' if we neva' go ta da ********' beach if this s**t ain't happenin'. This ain't 'bout me 'n what I be wantin'." She recoiled her hand and looked up at him through still watery purple eyes. "Jamal..." She murmured.
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. She nuzzled his cheek, being careful not to ...poke him in the eye or something with the horn thingies. "Maybe so...but... I want to be cured of this phobia.... and... I'm going to be." She slipped a hand to his arm and slid down until she was holding his hand.
"And...I'm glad I met you from all of this. The... only thing we can do is...you know make the best of it, right?"
She really was still shakey about this whole thing, nd definately not as optimistic as she sounded... but Jamal was really upset and she had to calm him down. She didn't like that look in his eyes, even if it was for her protection and benefit she didn't like him so...angry."s**t, they wanna cure yo' phobia, dat be fine wit' me, but -not- like this. This ain't right. Ain't right at all. Takin' a'vantage o' peeps like this," he all but snarled, the fury still very evident in his voice and in the gleam of his eyes. It was unlikely he'd be easily twarted from anger so easily. Sure, he could hide it maybe, which he was trying so hard to do, but it was still circulating in his mind, making him ache with the urge to act on the various violent thoughts that tempted him so badly.
But, for now, he wouldn't get up from his position on the jungle floor. He would have time later to think things through properly and to do whatever it was that he decided to do. Instead, he wrapped his free arm securely behind her back in a very posessive manner and squeezed her hand with the other. "They ain't got no idea...they ain't gonna mess wit' me o' my shorty and not 'spect nuthin' ta happen." There was a finality to his voice that barely masked the contempt he felt for the entire staff of the island. Awen just sank into his grip and fell silent. She didn't know what to say to all of that. Certainly she wasn't happy with this, yes she was angry. But she was worried about Jamal. What was he going to do... The Doctor was smart and befriended Lauren right away but to Jamal, Moreau wasn't high on his list of buddies.
The reason for Jamal coming to the island flashed through Awen's min briefly. No... no that was an accident. He said it was an accident. He wouldn't....no. No. He wouldn't.
Awen looked up at him. "And what do you plan to do Jamal?" She frowned a little bit with a sterner voice. "The Dude punched the Doctor and what good did that do anyone? The only thing I saw that happened was anything the Dude liked was taken away. What good did it do?" She didn't mean to be getting on his back but he really she needed to make him think. "And how are you going to do it? Waltz right into the main building and what, demand to see Moreau so you can beat the crap out of him? Jamal..."
She sighed heavily and lost any heat in her tone. "He's not a stupid man.... He's tricked all these people and made all this, he's not stupid. Don't you think he would have expected people to be angry...planned for enventualities?""I ain't sure yet," he said honestly without any sort of caution to his voice. "Gotta think 'bout it." He was a stubborn man when he wanted to be and could be overzealous and irrational as well at any given time. It had been awhile since this part of him had surfaced; the fear of the unknown had ruled his being for most of his time here and he was only recently becoming adjusted to all of this. Jamal did not looked worried, in any case, just determined and angry.
"What he gonna take away from me that gonna bother me any? s**t...if I can get at 'em n' kick his ********' a**, you think Imma care none if they take ma' basketball o' whateva? It be worth it to me."
The comment of the doctor not being a stupid man was entirely debatable in Jamal's thinking. In the black man's eyes, the doc was damn near a dumbass for thinkin' that Jamal wasn't going to get angry and go apeshit at some point. A man can only take so much...
Jamal took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, eyes closing again to try and stablize his cycloning thoughts. There would be time enough to retaliate, he was sure...but now wasn't the time. Stubborn herself she frowned up at him. She had so many lectures in her head, warnings and cautions. She wanted to tell them all, yell them all until they sunk into his braind but she didn't think it would help any. She narrowed her eyes for a moment up at him.
She sighed heavily and took on a concerned tone. "I just.... Just don't want to see you hurt... I've heard rumours..." She paused a second. "After I left the party, and some arguements....wehn the Doc was walking out he said a word and made the Dude pass out on the spot." She shifted a little bit. "Who...who knows what he can do Jamal? I... don't want to see you hurt."This was enough to give Jamal pause, his eyes narrowing sharply as she spoke.
"Da doc made 'im pass out?" he repeated in a manner that was very much disbelieving, yet at the same time Jamal took it to be a very serious threat. He would not discredit anything now...not after all that had happened. That revelation did stem some of his flooding anger, causing him to physically relax a little.She nodded a little bit, feeling his tension relax. "Yeah..." She said softly and curled into him. "I don't know what else he can do just at a command Jamal... All the Dude did was punch him...the look in your eye says that you'd wanna do a whole lot more than punch the Doc." She frowned a bit concerned up at him. "I really...don't want you hurt..."Jamal looked Awen in the eyes wordlessly for a few breaths, his expression dark and brooding intensely until he finally gave a deep, rumbling sigh and rested his cheek against the top of her head. "Don't worry 'bout me," he said in the most level tone he had managed the entire meeting. "I been through tough hit b'fo...this ain't no diff'rent." He didn't understand why she was so worried for him...she should be worried about herself right now. This tranformation was -her- problem that she had to be okay with. Jamal wasn't the one who was becoming a fish (or so he hoped)."Maybe...." She said softly. "But....nothing like this. He could... he could kill you with a command maybe?"
Awen just rested against him. She was worried for herself but the thought of Jamal in danger pushed the other thoughts from her mind right now. She cared for him a lot and she just couldn't bare to think what might happen to him. She wrapped her arms around his stomach and held herself close.Jamal could tell she was worried now...he shouldn't have said anything. Even now though, he was thinking more clearly now and knew that Awen was right even though his most stubborn side didn't want to admit anything in the slightest. The doctor had to have precautions against people like him; it's not like Moreau didn't know his past either. The doctor would be downright stupid to not have every measure available for his safety.
"What do ya want me to do, shorty," he murmured quietly as he stared off into the greenery around them. The question wasn't really one that he sought an answer to, but he said it anyway.She smiled softly and looked up to his eyes. She wasn't really sure how to answer but glad he was being a bit more sensible... She pressed her cheek against the side of his neck before kissing it a few times. She tooke a small breath and her smile widened a little bit. "I want you to kiss me..." She finally answered.
She needed to know if he wasn't completely repulsed by her. She needed to know the negative feelings were just for the Doctor.... Her dream flashed into her mind...that look of utter disgust. SHe really hoped that was jsut a dream.That was a rather random answer that did bring a ghost of a smile to his lips. It was a better answer than her just asking him to forget about all of his potential maiming of the doctor, in any case.
"Kiss ya, hm?" he said with mock-consideration, almost as though he truely had to think about it, again unaware of her worries. "Got me goin' from wantin' to tear the doc ta pieces to dat?" He did manage a bit of a laugh before tilting his chin down and giving her what she asked for.Awen returned the kiss softly and smiled softly. "I thought it a better alternative." She giggled softly and slowly stood up stretching. She held her hand out to him and grinned a little bit happily. "It's really not comfy on the ground anymore, hm?"
She heard the concidering tone, but she just took it as Jamal. His little jesting tone was a good sign in her books and it aliveated her worries. She was just... glad things seemed half normal again."Always betta'," said the black man simply in response, though he almost had to think about that one. Really, the thought of taking Moreau down with one well-placed punch or smack upside the head with a tree limb was rather pleasing.
Jamal let her get up and took the offered hand, though he didn't use it much to help him get up since he was considerably bigger than she was and probably wouldn't be so easy to tug up on his feet. Once standing straight, he dusted some of the crumpled leaf bits from his shorts while making sure Awen didn't appear hurt from her stumble earlier. "I dunno, I like da ground sometimes," Jamal quipped, trying to lighten the mood as well for her sake. She laughed a bit. "Yeah well...me and the ground have issues." She took on a pensive look. "Come to think of it me and roots....and rocks...adn cracked sideswalks...and..yeah I have issues with all of them...""We'll work on it," mused Jamal aloud, tousling her hair affectionately for a moment. "Ain't really no sidewalks out herr...so dat's one thing ya got beat." He was, of course, just joking around with her, but almost expected to get hit for that. She laughed a little bit and really did think about giving him a smack....deciding against it she just gave him a brief hug. "Really..." She rolled her eyes and smiled turning to the village. She started back slowly waiting for Jamal to follow. Jamal smirked, looking more like his usual, nonchalant self, and followed, having to take bigger steps until he was at her side again as they left the jungle. He wondered where she was heading originally before she ran into him. To hide?...that's probably what he would have done. But now what was the plan?
"So, now dat...dat...is outta da way," he drawled, careful not to linger on it too much. "Where we be goin?"She blinked a little bit and paused. "You know... I really don't know..." She gave him an embarassed smile."Too much excitement fo' one day, I be imaginin'. Hungry? Tired? I ain't really carin' none where we go. Ain't got a plan fo' the day. Was jus' playin' ball ta pass time." And get his mind off of his impending transformation that -had- to be coming soon, now that Awen had sprouted a tail, dark spotted skin, and little knobby things on her head."I.. don't really know I.. hadn't much of a plan either to be honest." She took his hand and smiled. "But today...hasn't been that great...." She laughed. "And that was before all of this happened." She gestured to the grey patches with her free hand. "I kinda just feel like going somewhere nice quite and safe.""Well, we best be makin' up our mind herr soon o' we just gonna walk in circles," he remarked in a manner that insinuated that he found that idea to be faintly amusing, yet not something he was really looking to do. They were pretty much in a place where they could go in any direction and it would all be about the same, walking distance wise. "Nice, quiet, n' safe works fo' me. Ya just chose da place. I ain't picky."Awen bit her lip softly. "My...duplex okay..?" She said in a small voice. It was her refuge, even despite what's happened."A'ight," he said with hardly a batted eye. "Lead on." She smiled and lead him towards the door with 21 on the front. She opened the door to her room which was nice and dark and she left the lights off, not feeling light illuminating the place now.Jamal carefully stepped inside, squinting a little until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her duplex was cleaner than his by far and smelled better for that matter, which he expected. He wasn't a big fan of picking up after himself and his place showed it on a regular basis. He hadn't been in many other duplexes and it was vaguely interesting to see how people had modified theirs to suit their tastes or whatnot. When she didn't flick the lights on immediately, a brow rose, but he figured she was calmed by the dark similarly to how he was (which was even more true as of late for some reason he didn't know).She shut the door behind him smiling. She hadn't changed much in the duplex ecept for her little gaming section set up with her PS2 and all. "Um..so yeah." She looked around a bit. "Normally I would offer coffee or tea or something...but yeah."Jamal snorted some. "Don't worry...had ma fill of tea earlier t'day wit' Anjali," he said with a look of mock-anguish, but winked. "Poor woman. She ain't got many friends, I don't think." Not like I got many mahself, he thought privately. "Anjali..." Awen furrowed her brow. "Don't think I've met her yet.""She does all da plant s**t...landscapin' I think she called it. They hired her ta do dat stuff 'n stuck 'er wit' a needle too." Jamal shook his head slightly in a regretful sort of way. "She says they gonna turn 'er inta a damn plant.""Into a plant?" Awen frowned. She knew the Doctor was crazy, and yeah she thought she had it bad. But at least she would still be an animal. "What the heck..." She mumbled a little bit. She shook her head a little bit trying to rid herself of the worries this was causing. Was that even safe though...? She looked up at Jamal and blinked.
"Oh hey um..want a seat?"Jamal took the invitation and sat on the edge of the bed because it was the closest place to sit and the wooden chairs really weren't all that comfortable. He knit his brows and rubbed at his chin a bit. "Yeah, a plant. She seem a'ight wit' it fo' da most part, but she been herr longa than you even and she ain't even grown a leaf on 'er." He then decided to let that sentence die away and hopefully the topic along with it unless Awen chose to inquire further. Surely she didn't want to hear about all this right now."Well.... I'm happy for her then." She wanted that branch of convorsation to die too, but she had to comment. She really was happy there were people on the island that had been there awhile longer and didn't change. Maybe... mayb there was still hope for Jamal. She let herself dwell on that thought for awhile before leaning down slightly and kissing Jamal. Jamal was pretty sure that deep down, Awen really wasn't as happy for Anjali as she might claim to be, but more pressing issues were at hand, such as the fact that Awen's lips were once against locked on his own...and he certainly couldn't just ignore that, now could he?
He wrapped a hand around one of her wrists and gently tried to tug her down into his lap amidst the kiss. She offered little to no resistance and fell...thankfully not literally this time... into his lap easily. She placed her free hand on the side of his neck. She was very happy for this.... this was normal...human... Nothing had changed...Jamal hugged her close once she was in his lap and trailed a line of kisses along her jaw line, but was careful to not get too carried away. He wasn't expecting anything in particular to happen and certainly didn't expect this to go too far, not after last time. He knew Awen probably needed some affection though after her earlier ordeal and this would take her mind (and his own) off of less pleasant things at least for awhile.Her fingers tickled his neck softly as she felt his lips on her jawline. She however really wasn't sure of anything but was glad for the distraction from reality.He grinned between smooches, the tickles at his neck sending appropriate shivers down his back. "Them damn hands o' yo's always workin' their magic, I swear," he teased as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck and planted a kiss or two there.Awen winced a little bit. His nuzzle had definately rubbed the would-be gills the wrong way. But it was quick and she didn't...think he noticed at all. She went back to smiling softly. She wasn't sure what to say to his comment at the moment so she just giggled.Jamal hadn't thought of the gills or the fact they might be sore, but he didn't notice her wince. It didn't matter too much because he left her neck alone soon enough. He had to be careful...couldn't let things get out of control again because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop himself this time.She smiled and kissed his cheek softly. She took a nice long look into his eyes before she took his hand. "You're...not disgusted then..." She said softly, still gazing nto those deep dark eyes.He laughed a dark, deep rumbly sort of laugh and lifted her hand up to kiss the back of it. "I tol' you it wasn't gonna matter none ta me what happened 'n I wasn't lyin' when I said it. Yo still Awen...ya jus' look a lil' diff'rent. Pretty soon ev'rybody gonna look a lil' diff'rent and dat's gonna be normal when dat happens."She smiled and nodded. "I just had a really bad dream..." She ended and nuzzled her cheek against his softly. "But it doesn't matter now....""Bad dreams is jus' dat...bad dreams. They ain't real unless ya make 'em real yo'self," Jamal countered gently, wrapping her up in a reassuring hug. "And yo right. It ain't gonna matta' unless ya want it too. All up ta how you want things ta happen." Jamal tried to look wise and all knowing, but he just looked silly because he couldn't help but have a half-grin peek through his attempt at looking serious and knowledgeable.She laughed at his half grin wise man act. "Speaking of things that won't happen unless I want them to..." She paused for a moment and bit her lip. Then smiled softly and leaned in against Jamal. Putting her head on her soulder. "I....well.... I do...want..um..to..."Jamal's brow rose at her lead in, wondering what she was even talking about for...oh...maybe three seconds. A positively mischievious glint lit up his eyes as he wondered if she was getting at what he thought she was getting at.She gave a little smile in return for his grin. "Still... still nervous mind you." She continued. "But..you know..like...ready..."Jamal gave her a long, searching look after that statement, unsure if she was saying this just to make him happy or if she truely was at that point in her life.She took a small breath and was open for his questioning stare. There was a hint of wanting to please Jamal in her features... after all she did want to make him happy... butthat didn't seem to be the dominant factor. Giving him a long look followed by a kiss to his nose she said "And I really mean it..."Jamal continued to watch her carefully, but ever so slowly did his hands unlock themselves from behind her back in a hug and gently cupped her face between them, this time careful of the gills. If this is what she really wanted, then he certainly wasn't going go running the other way.
He leaned in and again their lips met, but this time it was a deeper kiss than the earlier ones. It was if he conceeded to whatever it was she was saying and would go with it provided she was sure.Awen returned the kiss just as deeply, passionately. She wrapped her arms back around his neck and held herself close to him. She was sure... as sure as she could be. She cared for him so much.... This time, the situation felt right. He didn't feel like he was trying test any boundries or to push for more...it was finally a mutual feeling of electric nerves and desire. She was so warm and smelt so good in the tight proximity of one another that finally his resolve did break and soon his hands began their careful tracing of her figure through the fabric of her shirt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 6:26 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:50 pm
Nothing Better To Do Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose almost felt like he was emerging from hiding as he walked, slowly, to the cafeteria with Angelina at his side. Between helping Chubb's construction and spending some much-needed time with Angelina since her arrival, he had barely seen any of the other Islanders who had grown quite close to him since he had gotten here.
He had made many quick trips to the cafeteria, briniging Angelina food, or getting food for himself before construction, but never spotted anyone else during his erratically-timed visits.
He wondered how Colche was doing... or Amaya... and he still worried about Emelyn... did she still hate him? And it seemed like ages since he had seen Greer or The Dude. Was Greer still having... issues?
He glanced over to the short brunette at his side. A blessing in disguise, mayhaps... he couldn't believe his eyes when she had come into his duplex... back into his life. And how his heart had panged for her.... but now.... now she was here - he knew the problems it would bring. She was scared, for her ... humanity... for her freedom. And... since her arrival... they had yet to share any real... "quality time". They had hugged, snuggled - certainly. She had even said that he was soft... but... they hadn't even really kissed - nothing more than a peck on his furry cheek. Ambrose was beging to fear that she no longer found him attractive.... no longer saw him as the man she had fallen for.
With a disguised sigh, he walked arm in arm with her quietly to the cafeteria, lost in his thoughts. He gave her another encouraging smile - or at least he hoped it came across like that. She had not stepped foot outside of his duplex for more than a few minutes since her arrival - she was making a big step - coming out with him.
Ambrose also hoped that she wasn't disturbed by his eating habits - that he had gone out of his way to hide from her. Between eating most of his meals at hte work site, or guzzling down some meat while bringing her her tray. He mostly had satiated his hunger before bringing her her meal, during which he could eat lightly with her. He had gone out of his way to tone down the lupine impulses around her - which only made them stand out more to him. Resisting the urge to lick her face, or shake himself dry....
But the longer it went, the more awkward it felt - like he was violating the sacred trust of a relationship - not letting himself be himself - despite how unnatural and artificially-induced these new impulses were.
So it was a big step for both of them.
Stepping through the doors Ambrose gave a small sigh as he saw it was empty of people save for the lunch lady at her typical post. Although... he wasn't sure if it was really relief or disappointment.
Smiling to her, he extended a hand to the food area. "Here we are. I know it's not a very nice restaurant... but.... well, it's the best I could do" he winked. Angelina Swanson Angelina was not as brave or as strong as she would like to think she was. She stayed close to Ambrose, hesitantly letting her eyes wander over the setting. She was nervous about meeting other people had changed. She was afraid she would scream or gawk or something else terribly insulting or rude.
She also didn't want to accept that something like that might happned to her.
She gave a tight lipped foced smile and nod to Ambrose, looking over the cafeteria. Amaya Vaughan After that rather depressing conversation with Colche, Amaya made her way towards the cafeteria. It was getting to be a little late and she needed to grab something quick before heading back to her duplex.
As she headed into the cafeteria doors, she paused and looked at Ambrose and... some girl she didn't know next to him. Was that Angelina? Oh god. She physically winced, her first instinct to just get the hell out of dodge so nothing bad would happen. But if she had come out here with him then... that meant she was ready to face things?
With a shaky sigh she grabbed a fruit salad and very slowly made her way over, claws clicking on the tile floor as she did so. "Hey Ambrose... long time no see." She forced a tiny smile, one of her large hands holding her bowl in it's palm and the other balled up at her side.
Her tail gave a nervous twitch behind her and she kept her eyes partially down. If Angelina freaked out she really didn't want to see it face on. Rayanya VonStrantz Rayanya had become a bit of a shut-in since she found Ambrose in the woods. Now that she knew what was going to come of all this (though not enough for her own ease; she didn't get out of Moreau exactly what she was changing into...), she was starting to get a bit... upset. Not really scared, per se, but worried. And to think she would never see New York City ever again.
However, Ray had finally decided to step out of her room for more than a few short minutes and headed off towards the cafeteria. She was rather hungry; she had been eating very little the past week and her appetite was quite voracious. The little snatches of food she normally kidnapped from the cafeteria didn't really do anything to hold her over.
After a short walk, Ray turned to the doors that smelled so deliciously of food and took a deep breath, then pulled the doors open. She didn't look around, merely made her way to the food in hopes of snatching and running once again. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose was heading towards the lunch line with Angelina and heistantly loading up his tray with meat. There was a set of steaks on the buffet today - some of the pieces particularly rare and juicy that really was catching his attention - particularly after not having eaten since early yesterday when he did construction work with Chubbs.
Finally swallowing his pride, he put four big thick pieces on his plate, after an apologetic look to Angelina.
He turned, a smile widening in surprise as he saw Amaya. "Amaya! It has been a long time! How have you been doing?" he turned to Angelina, gesturing. "Amaya... this is Angelina" He smiled, and turned to Angelina. "Angelina.. this is Amaya. She's a really great person. Even letting me teach her how to fence." He winked at Amaya. "Speaking of... how's that footwork gone?"
Ambrose glanced up as the door opened once again to reveal another familiar familar. Rayanya... the strange woman he had encountered in the jungle and who had called him a werewolf.... but at least... she had eventually seemingly come to understand... and at least it had been he who had encountered her first instead of, for example, Amaya. And strange as it was, he had needed to help someone that day...
He nodded to her, giving her a small wave as he collected his tray. Jamal_Reedy The noise and bustle of the cafeteria was only contributed to as Jamal poked his head in, deciding to play "social butterfly" today as opposed to remaining holed up in his room. As of late he'd been feeling pretty aloof and cranky...which wasn't too abnormal for him, but still. He didn't feel completely right. The first thing he did was search for familiar faces and saw them, which was good...but there was also two strange faces that had to belong to new folk, since they were unchanged like he was. Hm... Angelina Swanson Angelina's eyes widened a bit at the four huge steaks Ambrose piled on his plate. She opted not to say anything and got a small peice for herself. She got a sampling of several things, not really because she was hungry but because it gave her somethng to do.
Then a few people started to enter and she nervously looked up. This was it. There was a handsome black man and a goth-looking woman. Okay, she could definately deal with them.
But then there was... she wasn't sure. She looked young, and female. But her face had blotches of green skin and her hands were large and, well, a bit freaky looking. Angelina caught herself staring, her mouth hanging a bit agape as she suddenly had a mental image of herself with long, freakish fingers.
She blinked a few times and swallowed forcing her eyes up to her face. "Nice to meet you Amaya." Instinctually she held her hand out to shake hers, hesitating a bit once she did, wondering how on earth to shake a hand that look like that...
..oh god, they were all going to hate her. Amaya Vaughan Hearing the door open twice, Amaya glanced towards it and winced when she saw yet another person she didn't know. Of all the times to come into the cafeteria... As much as she hated to, she tried to just ignore her. After what happened with Chana, meeting people who haden't changed yet scared her probably as much as it scared them to see her. Jamal haden't seen her since she changed either and he... didn't exactly react well. Crap.
Ambrose's rather enthusiastic greeting made her crack a small smile, forcing her to glance at Angelina and nod. "Nice to meet you too." She then gave a tiny laugh. "Not very well, I'm afraid. Even though I've been practising it's hard when your height differs so much." She went on her feet, dropping five inches before standing on the balls of them once more.
Green eyes went to Angelina's offered hand, a bit surprised. Hesitantly she reached out and shook her's with her thumb and three of her fingers. Jeeze, her hand was so tiny... Rayanya VonStrantz Rayanya looked around the cafeteria, which was currently the fullest she had ever seen it. Perhaps this was a bad time...
The young woman immediately recognized Ambrose, and she tossed a smile in his direction, but nothing more. Her eyes then shifted to the pretty young woman standing beside him, and finally to the scaled girl. Ray couldn't help but shudder a bit. She sincerely hoped she wasn't turning into that.
Ray was slightly startled when the door opened yet again behind her, and she turned around to face a very... buff black man. Shock was clear in her blue eyes; she never liked it when people suddenly appeared behind her. Combined with the two strangers, this new addition made Ray wonder if she should have left her room... Ambrose Maurlias ((I think the posting order is: Me-Jamal-Angelina-Amaya-Rayanya)) Ambrose hesitated, a bit of a frown as she drew attention to the awkward problems that her changed feet had brought. "Well... maybe there's something that could be done about it... adjust the stances to cater to your physique...." He swallowed. After all.... wouldn't he have to make his own adjustments eventually? From what he had read about wolves, they walked on the balls of their feet as well. While his feet hadn't changed much... yet... that didn't mean that they wouldn't eventually. "If you're still interested, that is.." He offered.
His tail wagged as he saw them shake. That was a good start, right? He watched Angelina... he could smell her anxiety, and his tail slowed. He wished he could make this easier for her... but how?! It had taken him long enough to seeing the others change - and that was only aided by his own change first...
He sighed, resenting the absence of alcohol. Maybe alcohol could help. He never used to think like that...
He looked up as the door opeend again and Jamal entered. He nodded to him, giving him a wave. On the good side, he was seeing several of the people he had missed recently.... on the downside... he hoped that it wasn't making things worse for Angelina.
"Here, let's go take a seat, shall we?" He offered, walking to a table and setting down his tray, taking a seat behind it and extended inviting hands to Angelina and Amaya, with nods again to Jamal and Rayanya.
He waited before digging in immediately on his stack of food.Jamal_Reedy Jamal hardly looked at all troubled by Amaya...perhaps he was comfortable now with all this genetic "bullshit" as he'd taken to calling it. Or perhaps the fact that Awen had changed, thus forcing him to believe this was happening, had given him a good dose of reality. Who knew. He gave Amaya a stiff nod, showing that he saw her, then gave a wave to Ambrose. Jamal had gotten along alright with him lately, mostly because of the construction with Chubbs, realizing Ambrose wasn't a bad guy. However, he wasn't pleased at the expression on the stranger that had come in before him. The look in her eye was completely interpretted wrongly as perhaps not shock over being startled, but...well, a completely racial bias. His own eyes narrowed some as he gave the girl a slightly intimidating stare, icy silence, and pushed around her to get at the food bar. After a quick round of grabbing, he turned and went to join the others at the table with his meal. "Yo," he said flatly to the assembled group as he took a seat. "I ain't neva seen so many peeps in da caf'tera at once." Angelina Swanson Angelina look Amaya's hand and gave it a quick shake. The skin was cool and dry, not slimey, but she knew that... she had a pet snake back at home. But still, a part of her brain just didn't want to compute that that was a girl - not an animal.
At Ambrose's suggestion, Angelina nodded, grabbing a can of soda and heading with Ambrose back towards a table. She looked back towards Jamal and Rayanya, focuses on them. They weren't changed, it was easier to deal with. She looked over the thug-ish Jamal. Angelina didn't exactly grow up in the best part of town, so his appearance wasn't very phasing. She looked at his tatoos and stature...
Suddenly her stomach fell as she caught herself admiring Jamal more than she really ought to... She quickly looked away and bit her lip, looking back over to Ambrose. It had been months since she had been... close... to someone, and she hated to admit to herself that it was beginning to bother her. Ambrose hadn't exactly been trying to seduce her recently. But with everything going on, she could see why that wasn't exactly forefront on his mind.
And she couldn't blame him completely. She didn't exactly give him any blazing green lights either. It wasn't that she found him repulsive... just things were do... different. She didn't even know he if wanted her to do anything, or if he just felt too weird. As much as she hated to admit it - she didn't even know how to kiss him anymore.
Gah, why was she even thinking about that right now. What was wrong with her. There lives were being drastically changed forever and she was lamenting to herself about her sexual frustrations?
Get a grip, Angelina, you sould like a sex-crazed little ...
She decided focusing her attention to eating was a better avenue for her thoughs. She looked down to her tray and began to eat, listening to the conversation around her. Amaya Vaughan "Oh yeah, I'm still interested." Amaya nodded up to him, looking a little surprised that he might think otherwise. She then gave a glance to Jamal and the woman she didn't know, nodding to them in recongnition before following Ambrose rather quickly. She felt very exposed right now and since he was the only other one changed in the room she wanted to stay by him.
After taking a seat next to Ambrose she started to poke at her fruit salad, holding the fork with three fingers clumsily like she had tried to teach herself. Jamal seemed to be reacting pretty well to her new change, which was a huge relife. Rayanya VonStrantz Rayanya moved out of the black man's way as he shoved past her, quickly darting her eyes away. Gods, she couldn't believe she just did that... Sighing and fingering the rune around her neck, Ray moved on towards the food.
After investigating the selection a bit she grabbed one of the smaller steaks and started to head to a table until a selection of fruit caught her eye. She rarely ate fruit, but that honeydew looked rather delicious. She contemplated a moment before moving to the buffet and picking up a few pieces, and finally found her way to a table.
A lonely table, of course. Rayanya Felt a bit like she was back in high school: one table was bustling with a crowd that had already known eachother, a group of people who, though some of them were transforming into animals, still looked fairly normal. And she had plopped herself at her own table, to hunch over her food. Rubbing the rune at her throat again, she began to gnaw idly at a piece of honeydew. Ambrose Maurlias "Hi Jamal!" Ambrose smiled, oblivious to the looks that Angelina had been giving him. "Yeah... there do seem to be a lot of people here today..." He glanced around the room. "It's kind of nice actually.... in a way." He added quickly to the end after glancing at Anglina. "This is Angelina." He smiled, gesturing to her. "Angelina, Jamal" He returned.
"And excellent, Amaya! I'm glad to hear that. Maybe we could try some things this afternoon. Maybe even start some work with the epee." He grinned.
When Rayanya sat down at the table by herself, he hesitated, glancing curiousy over to her. Did she not feel comfortable sitting with them? Perhaps he overestimated how well she was handling things...
Finally, he picked up his utensils and began cutting up the steaks before taking a wonderful mouthful of juicy... rare... steak... Jamal_Reedy Jamal gave Angelina a very slight eyebrow lift, easily picking up the looks she was giving him. Not that he minded at all....Angelina was hardly ugly. However, he was smart enough to not comment on it in front of Ambrose. Jamal might be bigger, but Ambrose could probably do some damage being as he was being turned into a carnivore. Instead, he gave her a very smooth smile and lifted a french fry from his plate. "What up," he drawled. "I take it you be pretty new herr. Doin' a'ight wit' all dis?" She obviously had to know what was going on since she seemed to know Ambrose pretty well. The black man pointed ignored Rayanya since she hadn't joined their table. That also irked him sufficiently and only confirmed what his first thought was. Perhaps she was too good to sit with a black man? Hmmph. Well, this wasn't the first time and certainly wasn't the last. Nevermind the fact that he was probably 100% wrong on his determination. Angelina Swanson Angelina looked up from her plate can gave Jamal that Are you talking to me? look. Trying not to look as dumb as she felt, she shrugged. "Its all pretty hard to swallow. I guess... I don't know. I don't think its really sunk in yet." She looked him back over. "You seem...er, you know. Have you been...?"Amaya Vaughan a Vaughan"] Amaya swallowed a piece of fruit and glanced over to the woman again, feeling awfully bad about not inviting her over. But she didn't know her and the thought of the same thing happening again scared her to death. Even though it looked like Ambrose knew her... she still felt very out of place among so many normal people, two of which she really didn't know.
Though as Ambrose addressed her she looked back over to him. "Yeah, that'd be nice." She nibbled a little more at her fruit salad, stabbing a strawberry with her fork. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if she could hold an epee with her new hands.Rayanya VonStrantz Giving a small slurp, Rayanya finished off a slice of honeydew and sucked the remaining juice from the effective cup that its rine made. It was, indeed, quite delicious, and she wished she could eat it all day.
She set the rine down on her plate and pulled up a fork and knife, cutting into the steak. Ray kept getting a creeping feeling over her body like the others were looking over at her, which merely reminded her even more of high school. The only difference was that this cafeteria was considerably less populated.
Silently sighing, Ray took a bite of steak and pulled out her notebook and a pencil. Perhaps if she drew something or wrote, she could get rid of the feeling that she was being stared at. Ambrose Maurlias Rayanya seemed to ignore Ambrose's silent invitation... maybe she hadn't seen... or hadn't caught the gist of what he was suggesting. He squirmed in his seat a bit. He thought about vocalizing the invitaition, but Angelina was uncomfortable enough as it was with only a few new people. Maybe she'd join them if she felt comfortable enough doing so...
At least Angelina seemed to be opening up a bit to Jamal. Despite an awkward first start, he seemed to be a nice guy. "She's only been here a bit over a week..." He explained to Jamal.
He nodded to Amaya again. "Glad to hear it" He smiled. He grinned to the others. "Anyone else interested?" Jamal_Reedy "Been herr damn near two months now...s**t, what be da date anyway? 16th?" He tried to figure it out in his mind as he ate the previously mentioned fry, confirmed his initial guess, then smirked. "Been 'zackly two months since ma sorry black a** got dropped on dis island. I basically know all da s**t dat goin' on herr...took a long time ta believe it though, so I ain't surprised you ain't quite on da same level as the rest o'us. At least ya know people already...it go betta dat way." He flashed her another smooth, charming smile before glancing at Ambrose. "Ya talkin' 'bout dat fencin' stuff?" the black man said with barely concealed mirth, shaking his head in amused disbelief. Jamal saw fencing as a pansy sport, even if he didn't truely get the gist of it. Hardly sounded like something he'd be into. "...dat's a'ight, I be stickin' wit' da boxin' lessons fo' now." He'd been getting his lessons during breaks in the construction yard and was getting better day by day, but he was hardly champion at it yet. Angelina Swanson Angelina chewed on a carrotstick. "Its been two months?" Angelina thought to herself. "Well, maybe I'll have a little time then. Do you know what they said you were...going to be?"
She looked back over to Ambrose and gave him a small smile. She knew how important fencing was to him. Amaya Vaughan For the most part Amaya remained silent, watching Angelina, Ambrose and Jamal talk. She was finding herself becoming less and less of a talker these days... maybe it was because of the iguana inside her, or it could have just been all the going ons in the past few days... she didn't really know. Rayanya VonStrantz Rayanya began to quietly sketch in her book, taking down little bits of images both from her imagination and from the cafeteria. She found her eyes wandering to the other table, and, chewing another piece of honeydew, she began to draw simple sketches of its inhabitants. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose's ear flicked back and he gave a rueful twist of his lip to Jamal. "Yeah, I'm talking about fencing again. It's really fulfilling, you know. Much more elegant than boxing." He countered. "It's about precision and speed... not brute strength." He commented flippantly.
He shook his head, though. "But two months... wow, has it been that long, Jamal?" He seemed surprised. "It's been.... nearly four for me...." It seemed longer. His entire life had been turned upside down and closed away from everyone else.
"You alright, Amaya...? You've been quiet." He gave a small smile. Tension... he didn't need tension. He wished he could paint a perfect picture of the island for Angelina.... even though it was anything but that. Everyone seemed to be down or snappy recently... even before he pulled himslf away from a lot of it. Except for when he was working with Chubbs. The guy was sometimes refreshing company admidst everything else. He wondered if that would change when he ... changed. But... no one seemed to have changed recently - even joliette and Jamal... people who had been here a while. Awen too, last he had seen her.. he wondered if that was still the case. Jamal_Reedy Jamal grimaced a little at her question and sat back in his seat. "Naw, I ain't asked 'em yet. I ain't so sure I wanna find out. Knowin' them bastards, they gonna pick sum'thin' I ain't gonna like, but it ain't like I kin do nuthin' 'bout it now, so at least right now I kin pretend dis ain't happenin'." He passed a quick look to Amaya and Ambrose in succession, an odd look overtaking his features. "Not like I can really 'scape it when I got peeps like dis 'round. At least I ain't freakin' no more." He prodded the top bun of his sandwich, feeling an odd aversion for the bread rise in his chest out of nowhere. Mmph...he always liked hamburgers before... Ambrose did manage to get a bit of a spark back to Jamal's eye with his veiled irritation, however. He lifted his gaze to steadily fall on Ambrose's lupine face and though there was still a good-natured aspect to the black man's face, Jamal clearly wasn't in agreement with what Ambrose said. "Look, brotha ain't carin' how elegant o' fulfillin' fencin' be. When it come down to it, if someone gonna kick ma a**, I rather know how ta hit wit' just ma fists than stick 'em wit' a fake sword. Plus if ya look at me, ya seein' anythin' elegant 'bout me?" He prodded an arm muscle to emphasize this point, casually flexing at the same time. "These ain't sayin' nuthin' 'bout bein' quick on ma feet. These be sayin' I'll knock a b***h out." Angelina Swanson Angelina actually started to open up talking to Jamal. "Thats exactly what I think," she said, leaning forward. "I mean, here I am all paranoid they're going to turn me into a cockroach or something, so I'm too afraid to ask. I figure I can lve in ignorant bliss for, well, at least a little while before I have to face the reality of it all..."
She looked over him again. "Well, if it means anything I hope its not something really, uh... like a slug or something."
She took Ambrose's hand and tried to preimptively calm hiim down from Jamal's insults, while she watched him flex. She could help but shake her head ruefully and shake her head a bit. Amaya Vaughan "Huh? Oh, yeah... I'm fine." Amaya lied. A lot of things had happened since the last time she saw Ambrose but right now she didn't want to trouble him with them. Angelina was here, he needed to focus on comforting her through all of this.
She listened to Jamal and Ambrose calmly argue, but didn't interject. Right now she still felt very exposed and out of place. The less attention brought to her the better. Rayanya VonStrantz Rayanya had, by now, abandoned what was left of her steak in favor of sketching. She really should head back to her room, but being around other people , though not interacting with them, was starting to grow on her. It must have been caused by all the time she spent shut up in her room... Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose ruffled a bit, although there was a smile on his face in response to Jamal's banter. "well, learning how to use a 'fake' sword teaches one how to use a real one. And... anyway, dueling is the gentleman's combat... just... well... people dont' tend to carry swords around anymore. But it still teaches me to be quick on my feet and deflect a blow.." He responded defensively.
"Besides... ladies tend to like a man with a leaner build instead of being all... musclebound... right Angelina?" He grinned to her.
"But I'm glad that you're doing better. Hell, not many people have been changing recently it seems at all... maybe their process is breaking down or something. That would be nice."
HE gave Amaya a couple of patts on her shoulder. He hoped it was true.
"You know.. as strange as it is... it's nearly Christmas. Can you believe that? Not that the weather would make you think so. I don't think it's dropped below Fifty."
He took a few more bites of the steak, nearly polishing off the second one. HIs ears picking up the skritching of Rayanya's pencil on paper, his ears pricked and he looked over to her curiously. SHe was drawing..? His thoughts flashed to Hargun... and her now grossly distended fingers. HE hadn't seen her draw in some time now.... he wondered if she could anymore - or if she had had the courage to try. Jamal_Reedy Jamal nodded in agreement with Angelina, casually checking her out as she leaned forward but hopefully not in a way that would get noticed by a third party, i.e. Ambrose. He wasn't trying to really make Ambrose mad with all his trashtalk on fencing, but Jamal did like to create some controversy when he could get away with it. Arguments like this were commonplace where he was from...that was something he sorely missed. He and his friends used to rip on each other so bad. Maybe it was how he developed a thick skin to most things people said. However, the comment on lean men getting the women, well, that was -highly- laughable. He had many reasons and ways to disprove that. "Depends on da ladies ya be talkin' 'bout, Ambrose," he said with a sort of cheshire-cat smile, glancing again at Angelina for the briefest moment. "Maybe some of 'em like it...maybe othas just pretend...or maybe they ain't so picky ta just pick guys like you o' guys like me and you just ain't knowin' it." He passed a look to Amaya and Rayanya also, wondering why they were both so oddly quiet. Rayanya...well, he had his owns thoughts as to why she wasn't saying anything, but he thought he'd remembered Amaya being more talkative. Angelina Swanson Angelina snickered, looking between Ambrose and Jamal. "I guess it just really depends on personal preference..." Amaya Vaughan After the pats on the shoulder, Amaya finished her fruit salad. "Well... I better go. I can't stay in air conditioning that long anymore." She forced a tiny smile to them and stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Angelina. I'll see ya later." Giving them all a nod, even the woman she didn't know, she then bussed her tray and headed out of the cafeteria. Rayanya VonStrantz Ray was now staring with utter intent at her sketchbook, apparently done with something and adding some sort of a detail to the piece. The dark woman was utterly oblivious to the world around her, and she didn't even see the scaley woman leave. Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose licked his chops after another juicy mouthful, a wry smile on his face. "Ah, but see - matching an opponent with a sword is the physical version of a witty banter... not too unlike this one. I bet you'd like it if you tried it." He replied, pointing at him with a clawed finger. "Although I'm sure both of you are right about ladies having various preferences... " Ambrose very nearly said something about how precision and agility had... other merits, but bit it back with a glance to Angelina, a blush coming to his face. He couldn't discuss... that sort of thing with her right there - especially as that sort of thing had not exactly been comfortable to discuss with just them let alone at the lunch table. He glanced to Amaya as well, she was hardly more than a child. But he couldn't just submit entirely.... "Well... and let's say not everything is best dealt with by a heavy hand or fist.."
He blinked as Amaya stood up. "I... I'm sorry, Amaya. Perhaps... perhaps we'll practice some other time." He gave her a small smile and a wave. Jamal_Reedy Jamal watched Amaya wander off, wondering what her problem was, but shrugged it off. The black man just smiled and shook his head at Ambrose, getting a vague idea of what the blonde was getting at. He was hardly stupid with matters of -that- kind. "Maybe," he said, though he didn't look at all convinced. "But dat's a diff'rent matter entirely, ya know?" He chuckled and picked up his burger, which was now suddenly more appetizing than moments ago, and took a big bite from it. It wasn't quite five-star quality, but it filled an empty stomach just fine. Angelina Swanson Angelina watched the green lady leave, staring at her tail as she left. She focused on eating the rest of her food with a small smile on her face as she listened to Ambrose try to defend his masculinity. Rayanya VonStrantz Ray flipped a page in her sketchbook to a blank page, then began a fresh process of observing and sketching. Ambrose Maurlias ((Ahh! WA, That rocks! ^____^ ))
Ambrose watched Amaya leave, raising the age level of the room. "I... well.... I don't think it's a very different matter at all." He smirked. "You know... they say if you can fight, then you can dance..." He opened and closed his mouth, putting a hand to his lips. "Er... well.... ahh.." He looked over to Angelina again, looking very awkward. "You know what I mean."
He slid aside his now empty plate.
He glanced over again to Rayanya's table curiously, hearing her pencil skritching away. He opened and closed his mouth a few times again. Jamal_Reedy Jamal smirked heavily at that little blurb, amused at how awkward Ambrose was about this subject. He himself could care less about being PG. "Oh don't worry...I can definately fight...and you kin ask Awen 'bout da dancin'." He took another big bite out of his burger, his expression nice and nonchalant as he chewed. Angelina Swanson Angelina chewed on her steak, raising an eyebrow. She wondered who his Awen person was, and she looked back over to Ambrose and gave him a smile. "Ambrose is the best 'dancer' I've ever been with." Rayanya VonStrantz ((No prob. Just doodling to keep my mind off of stuff. And now for the first black man I have drawn in quite a few years... sorry... )) Rayanya continued to doodle idly, her gaze once again intent on the form coming from her pencil and marring the perfectly white paper.Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose's eyes widened at Jamal's counter. He had no idea he and Awen had gotten that close! His face reddend in embarrassment even more as Angelina stepped up to defend him.
... only to be replaced with a proud smile, his tail lifting confidently. "Grace and precision." He restated, sliding the empty plate to the side.
He glanced self-consciously back to the artist at the adjacent table.
((Ooo! Nice job with that one too~! biggrin . *hugs WA* What is it about the holidays that bring a double dose of the good with the bad :/ )) Jamal_Reedy Hehehe....victory! He had caught Ambrose offguard and that's what he'd been trying to do the whole time. He finished the last bite of his sandwich off with a flourish and also shoved his plate away, now reaching for an unopened can of pop, which he cracked open with a satisfying click. Jamal decided to leave the topic lie, unless they preferred to bring it up again. ((Yeeeee! biggrin How awesome!)) Angelina Swanson Anglina finished most of her steak and finised off her drink, still amused by the banter between the two men. She watched Raynanya draw for a bit, the gently squeezed Ambrose's knee when she was finished. Rayanya VonStrantz As Rayanya looked up from her sketchbook to snatch another quick glance at her subject, she noticed that Ambrose was looking at her and locked eyes with him for a moment. What could he be looking at her for? Rayanya, as usual, was completely oblivious.((This didn't come out so good. x.x )) Ambrose Maurlias Ambrose sighed, smiling ruefully. "Well, anyway." He glanced to Angelina, who was signalling that she was ready to go. "It was nice seeing you, Jamal." He rose, picking up his tray. "I will be seeing you around."
He set aside the tray, and walked over by Rayanya on his way to the door. "You know... you don't have to be a stranger around here..." He said with a small wag. "There aren't that many of us around here, though most of us are pretty friendly if you give us the chance."
"You ready, Angelina?" He smiled. Angelina Swanson Angelina leaned over the table and offered her hand to Jamal. "Nice meeting you," she said with a smile and headed back over to Ambrose.
((THANK YOU Arsenic, that looks awesome :3 )) Rayanya VonStrantz Rayanya looked up from her sketchbook and gave Ambrose a temporarily bewildered look, at least until his words fully sank in. "Oh... yeah. Sorry. Old habit, and you know how those are." She gave him a small smile. "I'll sit with you guys next time; I'm sure there will be plenty of them."
Ray's gaze switched over to Angelina, and she gave another small, disturbing grin. Though she knew that the woman was leaving, she figured she might as well offer at least somewhat of a greeting. "Ah, you must be new as well. I'm Rayanya, I'm sure I'll see you around." Jamal_Reedy ((Sorry, got distracted with SS order filling D: )) Jamal nodded to Ambrose and shook hands with Angelina, who he gave his most suave smile, then watched them both amble out of the cafeteria...leaving him with the strange woman whom he was sure wasn't so pleased to be left in his company. Well, that's wasn't going to fly. The black man also stood and started to gather up his dinner articles, not giving Rayanya even a glance now. Rayanya VonStrantz ((Gack, so sorry. I deleted that post because I didn't know if Sabin and Kamiki were posting back or not e.e Yeah I'm an idiot who got ahead of herself. So repost then... or we can delete these and save them for later, Jade.)) Rayanya watched the black man for a few moments, contemplating, before deciding to take a bit of action. Granted, he could just blow her off without saying a single word, but she still might as well try. After all, where she grew up ethnic diversity was hideously common; hell, you could still occasionally catch a tinge of German accent in her voice. And she knew how to read people's faces, especially when they thought you were discriminating against them. You learn a lot in New York City schools, and by growing up in the middle of Hell's Kitchen.
"Hey," she said to him, raising her voice a bit to ensure she was heard. "I'm pretty sure I know what you thought I was thinking, and I wanted to say I wasn't thinking that at all. You startled me, that's all that look meant. Where I come from, bad things tend to happen when people appear randomly behind you."((To go before Jamal's last post)) Jamal_Reedy Jamal paused as he collected his pop can, glancing up with a manner that clearly showed he wasn't interested in hearing what she had to say, at least...at first. The fact she even said anything to him was more promising than a stony silence though so he did give her the benefit of the doubt. "Mmmph, I see," he murmured, disbelief still apparent, but not as thickly so. She was from a city...that made sense. Jamal understood that whole "watch your back" mentality. "Well, you not sayin' anythin' didn't help none, so ya know." Rayanya VonStrantz Swiping a bit of hair from her face, Ray kept her gaze on Jamal. "Just wanted you to know. I'm not like that, I don't discriminate, in case you couldn't tell. I'm not even close to normal." She chuckled, but there was little humor behind it. "And you're just another person, take no offense." Ray reclined in her chair a bit and watched for Jamal's reaction. "So basically, I'm sorry for any wrong impression I might have given you." Jamal_Reedy Jamal didn't say anything for awhile, but finally nodded. "A'ight then..." he drawled. "But sumtimes peeps dat look diff'rent be hatin' mo' then normal lookin' peeps, so you ain't impossible ta be one of -them-." He tossed his trash into the nearest available can and sauntered over to her table, vaguely curious as to what she was drawing that entire time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:51 pm
Never Short on Drama Cafeteria RP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:10 am
Jamal stormed angrily into his duplex, slamming the door so hard that one of his posters on the opposite wall fluttered weakily to the floor in a half-rolled heap. He was angry...so angry that he hadn't been this irked in a long time. Angry that he let a stupid white, rich kid MAKE him this angry...angry that accusations were flung around that had little to no base to support them...angry that he couldn't keep his jaws closed and keep the one thing that he was so wholey unproud of out into the open like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Anger practically oozed out of every pore in his body and it felt almost unnatural to ******** this ******** these ******** EV'RYTHIN'," he bellowed, grabbing the closest heavy item, which happened to be a shoe, and chucked it at his window with as much force as he could muster. The black man was rewarded with a tinkling of glass as it rained all over the carpet and down the outside wall of his building.
"They all gonna know me as the angry black man, well ********. Let 'em see then," he raged, slamming his thighs into the small table at the center of the room as his hands clutched the edge. Muscles twinged and burned in complaint as he tried to pick the furniture up, but only managed to scoot it across the flooring. This pissed him off more so he tried to shove the table out the broken window. Again he failed, so instead he just kicked one of the legs and was satisfied to hear a sharp crack as it broke off easily and clattered against the wall with the broken glass. Another kick took off a second leg, which he grabbed with nimble fingers and threw towards the bathroom. A loud clang as it struck the sink echoed from the bathroom.
He was tired of putting up a pretense of being a good guy...being someone who was easy to get along with. He missed his gang, he missed the city nights, and he missed being boss....here he was just a pawn. A pawn strapped with dynamite that would explode as soon as the trigger man decided he tired of this waiting game.
It didn't matter now...they all knew what he was here for now and it would spread like wildfire. No reason for a facade any longer.
Jamal growled and grabbed one chair and hefted it up into the air, throwing it with all his might towards the shattered window (it seemed to be his favorite target tonight). The wooden chair shattered like a toothpick, sending the fragments all over the grass outside. What didn't make it out the window completely hung there like a trapeeze artist.
So much anger...he had never raged for so long in his life and now he was realizing that something wasn't right. It was enough to stop him and take a deep breath.
Yet deep down inside, something wouldn't let the violence die. He wasn't sure what it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:46 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:48 pm
Joliette looked through her pile of envelopes she went through them as carefully as possible having already poked holes in the corners of many of them by accident with her new claws.
She found the one she was looking for and slid it under the door of her friend.
Note Enclosed with Merry Christmas Jamal I couldn't think of anything else to give my friends so I holed up in the darkroom for a few hours pouring through my Photographic work and thought you might like this one... ~Joliette
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:43 pm
Sometime in the middle of the night, a grey-furred figure quietly makes a stop on your doorstop to deposit a cloth-wrapped package. The cloth is cut from a scrap piece of blue tarp from the looks of things, and tied shut with a length of rope.
Pinned to it is a note on Feral Labs stationary (much like the pad found in all of your duplexes in the desk drawer), penned in an elegant, confident hand.
Quote: Jamal, I don't know what to say exactly. I regret our... argument in the cafeteria the last I saw you. I don't know the details of what happened to you. But from my experience in working and talking with you, you have proven yourself to be a good person. I never intended to anger you, and I know that we all have been under a lot of pressure - I was careless with my words and unthoughtful. I am by no means trying to "buy back your friendship", however it is Christmas, and I did not want to lose a potential friend, Jamal. I understand if you still do not want to speak with me, but it would sadden me. I did not think that you would enjoy some of the carvings I have been doing... but my dilemma seemed to be answered for me as I was walking the beach and saw this sticking out of the sand. I do hope you like it. Merry Christmas ~ Ambrose Maurlias
And once the rope is cut or untied, inside the package is a shark's tooth affixed with a small eye that has been threaded with a length of tied cord to form a necklace.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 8:07 pm
Hargun made her way out of her duplex quickly, irritated with herself for not doing this sooner. In one of her arms was a few pieces of paper with scribbly writing, and several, tiny little clay figures, each wrapped in a makeshift red ribbon for a tag. Each also had a label to whom it was for. Most of them were hearts, but a few were animal shapes. She pulled out one shaped like a heart.  Then she placed it down near the door, on top of a letter that read (In terrible handwritting): Quote: Dear Jamal, Although we've only met like, what? A few times?- I still wanted to give you a gift. I hope we get to talk again, and hope you have a happy holiday! Love, Hargun
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 12:07 am
When you awake Christmas morning you see a large unlabeled package.
When you open it you find various "bling" items. You also find a gold gun that when you push the trigger is nothing but a lighter.
In the box as well is a large bag of high grade pot. This bag is similar to the one he gave the Dude a long time ago.
Finally, at the bottom you find a copy of the new "50 Cent" game and "True Crime: Streets of New York" for Awen's PS2.
These are games that have become popular and hot since you ended up on this island.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:04 pm
Christmas Morning Jamal awoke about noonish on Christmas morning, completely unaware that it was even a holiday that day. He'd lost track of the days as time dragged on at the island, so he was very surprised to see various items placed in front of his door. "What da ********," he growled irritably, glancing about the immediate area with an air of disbelief. Surely this was some sort of trick. The black man hung half in, half out of his duplex for several minutes, waiting for a sign of someone hiding nearby, waiting to jump him as soon as he made a move for the items by his door. However, when no one appeared, he was then slightly annoyed that no one was actually out to get him. Dammit...he needed a good fight. Well, whatever. He greedily gathered up all the smaller items and plunked them on the top of the larger box, then hauled all inside and set them on his bed since his table was still in pieces against the plastic-covered window. The clay heart produced much puzzlement in the black man and he wrinkled his nose at it, then read the note. This was from Hargun? He wasn't impressed, but he had the impression he ought to at least keep it since it was meant as a gift and who knew what she might do if he just chucked it in the garbage. He set it on the bedside table for now. The thin envelope was slit open neatly with one long finger and the picture fluttered out onto the ruffled bedspread. He admired it for a moment before putting it on his bedside too. It -was- a good picture...but too bad it wasn't of the city. Just another reminder he was stuck on this ******** island. The necklace was immediately snatched up and doned, a wicked gleam in his eye matching the grin on his face. He was a sucker for jewelry...at least, he was until he saw the note with it. It took Jamal several minutes of reading aloud to get the general gist of the message (he couldn't say a good half of the words in the note or knew what they meant), plus the signature at the bottom made his lips curl. With one smooth motion, he yanked the necklace off his neck by snapping the string and flung it into the corner amongst a pile of dirty clothes. "Good fo' nuthin' white b*****d," he snarled under his breath, tossing the note to the floor. "******** dat s**t..." He'd probably dig the necklace out in a few days when the wounds from the last battle weren't so fresh, but for now Jamal wanted nothing to do with the wolfman and that included gifts. He set himself on the large box now and started through it, producing the various glittery, gaudy jewelry items. He nearly squeed with joy (but didn't...how many gansta's squee?!) and put it all on, giving him the effect of looking like a cheap whore. Like he cared... "HOLY ********, A GUN?!" In the bottom of the box, he saw the gold, glittering form of a gun and that was snatched up fiercely, but a very distinct sadness passed when he found out it had no revolving chamber and that it was too light to be a real weapon. The trigger produced a sizeable flame at the tip of the gun's barrel....well, at least it wasn't useless. He should have known better to think they were going to give him a gun. The two games were given a respectable look over, but without a gaming system, they truely lacked any sort of appeal at that moment. But then, as he withdrew the last item, Jamal's eyes widened to the size of saucers. In his hand he held a very large bag of pot...and to judge, it was the GOOD stuff. He hadn't seen a grade of weed that high in ages; his last stash had been of medium quality and had run out about a month into his stay on the island. Oh ho ho...but now.... He didn't even try to look for a tag to see who this box was from, for he was too busy digging in his dresser drawer for his bowl. It was time to light up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:46 pm
Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll Antoinette Devereux Antony had given up on packing for now, and after changing into her bikini top and a pair of black board shorts, she shoved her feet into her flip flops and made her way to the door. With the keys safely in her pocket, she decided to not bring her cigarettes in case she wanted to go swimming. Wasn't it unsafe to swim drunk though? Whatever. It wasn't a long walk, and soon the path turned to sand. Immediately, Antony kicked off her flops and scooped them up before continuing towards the surf. Walking in sand was always better barefoot. Jamal_Reedy The beach was not completely unoccupied today, which was no surprise given the fairly decent weather. Jamal was down closer to the water, sitting in the sand in a slightly hunched manner, clad fully in jeans and a tight white tank. Today he was without his headwrap, but doubly clad in bling, thanks to Moreau's giftbox. From his fingers dangled a recently lit joint that emitted a faint trail of smoke from the tip. Oh yes...he was definately getting good use of his new Christmas presents, it seemed. He reeked of pot, yet he wasn't yet stoned or hadn't been recently. Probably remains of his last smoke earlier that morning. Antoinette Devereux When she made it past the dunes, her eyes caught sight of the black man down by the beach, and had it not been for the beautiful smell of pot, Antony probably would have continued past him to the beach bar. Instead, she was attracted to said smell like a moth to a flame, and instead of veering parallel to the shoreline to walk, walked straight towards him. Inhaling and smiling slightly, Antony reached down and tapped his shoulder with her free hand to get his attention first. She knew that she hated to be spooked while she was high, might as well be... nice and all. Jamal_Reedy Now that she was closer, she could probably see that he currently had headphones in, just the tiny earbud type, so it was probably a wise idea to tap him on the shoulder like she did, or he'd probably have never known she was there. Jamal made a face of mild annoyance, having had one of his favorite songs interrupted, and flicked the pause switch on his mp3 player before turning around partially to see who was bothering his peace. Dammit, all he wanted was some alone time to sulk and vent to the open sky. If it was Ambrose, so help him.... Instead he was met with a woman...and a highly tattooed one at that. This was enough to make him do a double-take of sorts; he'd yet to see ANY women on this godforsaken place have any sort of ink. That and she wasn't half-bad in a bikini either. "Yeah?" he said with a slightly confused quality to his voice, wondering if she needed something OR if she was going to tell him to put out his smoke. That would be his luck...can't even get high in peace around here. Antoinette Devereux A sort of suave smirk curled on her lips with his reaction, and she lazily chewed on the metal ring adorning the side of her lip. "Yes, I was wondering where a girl like me could get some high quality green 'round here?" It was clear that Antony knew exactly what he was smoking. Her eyes shown with a bit of mischief as she awaited his response, her free hand casually trailing from where she had tapped to the 'end' of his shoulder. That same hand soon came to rest casually on her hip, thumb hooking just inside the waistband, shorts falling a bit lower. Modesty, ha. Ganking some pot was her first priority. Not like modesty was ever a priority for, but still... Jamal_Reedy Well, since he was sitting on the ground, he had a fairly good view of her "assets" and being as he was, he certainly wasn't going to not notice her lack of modesty. He didn't mind in the least if anything. That and the fact that he was certain she just -asked- where to get some pot didn't hurt first impressions. "Well," he drawled, deciding to play it smooth, a brow arching up towards his meticulously braided hairline. "I ain't sure nobody else gonna have any 'cept me..." His voice was casual, yet his eyes too glinted in that same impish air that hers did as he took a nice, long drag on the blunt between his fingers. After holding it for a few moments, he exhaled lazily, then gave her a half-grin before letting that hand fall back to his knee where it dangled a few inches from the sandy ground. Antoinette Devereux Taking that as an invitation, Antony joined him on the sand and crossed her legs to sit 'Indian style.' "Well in that case, my name's Antony and it would bring me great pleasure if you decided to share yours with lil' ol' me." She made sure to emphasize a choice word or so since he seemed like a guy to appreciate extra efforts such like such. While she spoke, Antony allowed her eyes to finally take him in, a crooked smile adorning her lips. Not bad at all. Reaching out, she trailed an index finger along the ink closest too her. "I like these." she murmered honestly as she absently felt for scar tissue, "They healed beautifully." Jamal_Reedy Jamal was inwardly pleased when she took the inititive to settle on the sand with him, completely forgetting that Awen would probably have a fit if she walked up at this moment. His only defense at this moment would probably be that he was a man and this is how he rolled. Besides, this was completely innocent...at least, for now. He gave her an appraising look as she got settled and threw him her little line, that half-grin still plastered on his face as he put on a facade mental debate with himself. Again he took a puff, then after a moment of more mock consideration to draw out his decision, turned it so she could get it easily from his grasp. "I 'spose I kin share a lil' bit wit' a lady such as yo'self," he practically purred, starting to feel the effects of the drug finally settle pleasantly over his mind. As she traced a finger across a bit of his tribal pattern, he grinned fully, enjoying the attention, and puffed up a bit like a proud peacock. "Yeah, I thought they came out real nice maself...had a kickass guy back home who been doin' work like this fo' a long a** time and figgered he was worth hittin' up for some tat work." He paused as he looked at her sleeve work, appreciating the detail near the shoulder and chest...and a few other things while he was at it. Antoinette Devereux Her grin grew when he purred his decision, "Why thank you." Leaning in towards him and 'accidentally brushing against him, she carefully plucked the blunt from between his fingers. Before he could change his mind she was already taking a long, satisfying drag of the weed. Holding it in while an expression that resembled ecstasy appeared on her face, eyes half lidding before she exhaled, blowing a few smoke rings while she was at it. <******** brilliant," she murred between her first, and soon to be second drag. Antony did have to play catch up after all. Antony smirked to herself and replied, "Tell him that they do, in fact, kick a**... From one tattoo artist to another." Unfortunately, she was still under the belief that this was a normal island and that people came and left as they pleased. Jamal_Reedy Jamal watched her take two excessively long drags off his joint with mixed emotions. The stuff -was- pretty damn good, but...it was his! The one thing that stopped him from saying anything was the fact that there was more. Lots more. Hell, she might as well just keep that and he could start a new one. "Yeah...this s**t's betta' then what I started out wit', dat's fo' damn sure," he commented, stretching his legs out straight so he could dig in his pocket. He produced a tattered bandana fragment after a bit of clumsy exploration and unwrapped a series of five or six pristine, neatly rolled joints. He plucked one of those up to take the vacant spot between his fingers, then deftly rerolled the fabric piece, and replaced the package back into his pocket. "I was all out fo' awhile now...but someone dropped this s**t by my duplex yesterday. Glad someone wanna help a brotha out on dis goddamn island." At the mention of her being a tattoo artist, he gave her a look of mild surprise. She did inkwork? Hmm... "Well, I would, if ah could, but he be knowin' he onna da best in Detriot, so...he prolly 'preciate it though." Antoinette Devereux Antony was about to pass the blunt back to him, but ceased all movements of relinquishing it when he pulled out the headband. "Lucky b*****d," she grunted, shaking her head, "Wish someone would drop ME over a bag of green." Had she been clean and her mind clear, she may have stopped to ask what kind of person on such an island would give away bags of high grade weed as if it were candy. But she wasn't, so she didn't. "But damn, this is some good s**t." Not bothering to question why this guy, whoever he was, couldn't tell the guy who inked him all that, Antony simply blinked at the sudden realization that she didn't know his name. "Hey~ Does the brotha' have a name?" Not waiting for an answer, Antony stretched her legs out in front of her as well. Gracelessly, she allowed herself to flop onto her back so she was laying down, non-blunt hand tucking itself behind her head. Jamal_Reedy Jamal snorted some and dug in his waistband, producing a golden gun without much trouble. "If ya herr long 'nough, ya might get someone droppin' it off if they knows you like it." He didn't care to elaborate on that statement because he didn't really want to think about being trapped here OR the circumstances with it. He lifted the joint to the gun's barrel and pulled the trigger, sending a tongue of flame from the barrel to light his new smoke as Anthony inquired of his name. It was then tossed unceremoniously back on the sand, caring little if it got grit in the mechanism. Surely he could just get another. "Da name's Jamal," he replied after taking a drag, then exhaling the smoke through his nose like some sort of chinese dragon. The air above them was growing steadily more and more smokey even though they were out in open air. Antoinette Devereux "Pleasure," she crooned, absolutely and positively relaxed now, and with one final, long drawl of the blunt, it was finished. Puffing her cheeks out comically, she exhaled upwards and pretended to be some sort of volcano, or something. "Bam," she muttered, now empty fingers trailing absently on her stomach while she watched. It was then that Antony's eyes caught sight of the waves crashing in front of them, and her full lips curled into an absolutely evil smirk. "'Ey Jamal, how's the water here?" While waiting for an answer, the tattooed woman pushed herself from the sand, propping herself up with her elbows for the time being. Her index finger and thumb were already tugging on the tie that rested in the middle of her backpiece. Jamal_Reedy Jamal did smirk as she blew the smoke up and away and leaned back now so he was almost on the verge of rolling onto his back, casting the sky a calculating look. God damn it was nice out today....he absently wondered if maybe he was turning into something that could fly. That'd be cool...he could just fly off the island... His idle mind drift was interrupted by Antony's inquiry of the water. He glanced back just in time to see her start to tug at the back of her suit, a brow lifting immediately and his eyes gaining a very hawkish look to them. "It ain't bad..." he murmured in a nonchalant manner, yet the way he spoke had a bit of lift to the words that might have sounded encouraging in a very superficial manner. "I ain't been out there in awhile, but I figger it ain't changed much since I been out." Antoinette Devereux "Good." Antony smiled, pulling the tie loose before stumbling to her feet, the top somehow still adaquately covering the Girls. Blinking towards the ocean as she distrupted the looming cloud of smoke that had accumulated above them, Antony pulled off her top only seconds later. It was immediately flung up the beach behind her, away from the approaching tide. Thumbs hooking in her waistband, she shucked off her shorts and whatever else (she couldn't remember if there was anything else) down, stepping out of those and tossing that, along with her flip flops, up the beach as well. And then she was off running towards the water, clutching her assests as she ran. Running naked sucked for women, well the endowed woman, and damn, that s**t hurt. Once in the water, she waded out until it came to about even with her chest piece. "Yur right!" she chirpped loudly, "Water's nice." Antony absently bobbed her head to the tune that had snuck up into her head... Baby shark doo doo do do... Jamal_Reedy Jamal blinked rapidly as she disrobed, then appropriately stared wide-eyed in some sort of quiet reverence as her naked form sprinted across the sand...away from him. Alright, well, that wasn't exactly fair, but hell...he'd take what he could get! The mental haze that the drug had produced only made this more surreal. First off, he meets a strange chick with lots of tattoos who smokes pot and seems pretty cool...then the same strange chick decides to get naked and take a swim. Score! He hastily got to his feet and brushed the sand from his jeans, plucking his lighter up before it got buried, then started to wander towards the surf under the pretense that she was hard to hear from where he was previously sitting. He played this up by looking confused. "What you sayin?" He could hear her fine where he was, but hearing was one thing. Seeing was defintely another...and since she was definately legal, he had NO qualms about conversing with a completely naked woman on the open beach. Antoinette Devereux Hey, this wasn't fair at all. Waving away his previous question, Antony patted the water's surface like one would pat a chair next to them. "******** tha's**t! You... You look. You join..." Looking slightly disoriented for a moment, Antony soon shook her head and grinned cheekily. "Pants... Off!" She commanded, crossing her arms over her chest and blocking his view, smug look on her face. Backing a bit into deeper water, Antony forgot about covering the Girls and simply began to tread water, eyeing him expectantly. He didn't seem like the guy who would p***y out. Jamal_Reedy Jamal's eyes narrowed as his glorious view was 'unfairly' obstructed...dammit, she wasn't as ******** up as he had hoped. He uttered a small grunt of disapproval and disappointment as she demanded he strip too. Getting naked on a public beach was a little more out of his realm of normalcy, unless it was night and he had 'business' to attend to...but to do so in broad daylight where ANYONE could just walk up? Good god, he didn't want someone like Chubbs or Ambrose to come sauntering over to the beach. Or Awen. It was better to not even think of that right then. But he was a man. And men like to seize the opportunity when it presents itself...and what would any red-blooded man do when a naked female was inviting him CLOSER if it meant just getting rid of a few bits of clothing? He was sure that the answer would be to do as the lady commanded, of course...and even more so if it was said in a challenging manner. Plus he wasn't going to do anything -bad-. This was just skinnydipping, right? 8D Jamal tugged off his tank easily and let it drop in the sand at his feet, a very mischievious look in his eye. "Ya sure?" Antoinette Devereux "Unless ya don't wanna." Antony shrugged, lazily moving to float on her back since she was past the breaking waves. Finding this activity to be not as easy high, she stopped soon after and moved to where she could stand. When he took his shirt off, she stared, allowing her eyes to take in the sight before her, but after a while, she became slightly impatient. "Eet's okay if ya don't, lots of guys aren't man enough to handle me." Nothing like a little bit of good ol' peer pressure and threatening a man's ego. Raising an eyebrow, eyes gleaming sadistically, Antony put her hands on her hips and giving him an inviting wink. What straight, HIGH guy wouldn't want to swim with a naked, and also high woman? Jamal_Reedy This straight, high-as-a-kite guy certainly wasn't one to back down from an obvious challenge from said naked, high woman. Off went the bling, off went the jeans, and off went the boxers all in quick sucession. "Man 'nough fo' ya?" he said smugly with a bit of veiled insinuation before entering the water and sloshing towards her general direction. Antoinette Devereux Men and their egos. "Only if ya know how to ********' use it." Antony chuckled, not caring to avert her eyes, which despite her comment, held an air of approval in them. Standing on tip toes, she cocked her head slightly once she realized just how tall he was compared to her. Damn, it just kept getting better. Jamal_Reedy "Don't worry 'bout dat," he said with a VERY smug grin. "I ain't neva' heard no complaints." He slid easily into the water, disappearing briefly only to reappear about a yard or two away from her, the water obscuring the 'view' somewhat since it was deeper there, but not completely. This wasn't about him, as much as he didn't want to admit him. He'd give up all the ego-boosting if it meant he was going to get a free peep show. Antoinette Devereux She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyways, "I'll believe ya when I see... wait, feel it." Whatever, close enough. Balancing on her toes, here violet eyes followed his shadow until he reappeared on the surface in the deeper water. "'Ey," she complained, half whining and smile turning into a frown of sorts, "You're too ******** deep..." Trailing off and eyeing him in thought she finally came to another bright conclusion, "...and ******** too tall!" Jamal_Reedy Jamal didn't even bother to comment. He figured his smug expression would work well enough for a response to the first comment. The second, he let his mouth slide into a smirk and he lowered himself further in the water to completely obscure his nether region, very obviously teasing her. Bwaha. Antoinette Devereux "S'not my fault I'm bloody short," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest, but soon lost her balance without her arms and allowed them to return back to 'treading.' She didn't care that she could no longer see below his waist, she had already gotten a damn good looksie earlier. So Antony retaliated in the only logical way possible, hand coming out of the water and splashing as much water as she could in his general direction. Jamal_Reedy "Short ain't always bad, ya know," Jamal said agreeably, winking before a wave of water assaulted his face. He sputtered and nearly lost his balance as well out of surprise. You know what they say about a man with big hands...they make big splashes, of course. If she wanted to play that way, then fine. He reciprocated the gesture by sending his own wall of water at her, doing so in a slightly more clumsy manner than he'd have liked because the motion of the water was messing with his senses. Antoinette Devereux Her first reaction was to dodge the entirety of his spash, but of course, she only succeeded in flailing and then stumbling off her toes and falling backwards into the water. Underwater, Antony's hands went first to make sure that her glasses were, in fact, still there and that they'd stay there. She kicked hard off the sand the moment she found bottom again, head breaking the surface seconds later and several yards deeper thanks to the current. Coughing, she spewed some salt water out before realizing she had to tread water there, hand securing her glasses flopping into the water only to return to push her bangs out of her face. "You could have drown'ded me!" she accused, huffing slighting before grinning absently, "Butcha didn't! Ha." Jamal_Reedy "Feh, I'da saved yo' a** then," he scoffed. "Cause...I be a nice guy like dat." That and he could use that as a covert reason to TOUCH the goods rather than just windowshop. Yet he didn't offer her any help. She was doing alright he figured...she just ended up out a little deeper. He rolled onto his back and floated now, not really caring what was exposed because he felt distinctly lazy now...and damn, he was starting to get hungry too. Antoinette Devereux "Uh huh, I don't give out free gropes." Antony immaturely stuck out her tongue, barbell gleaming in the sunlight before she shut her mouth, tongue safely inside. His thoughts seemed to be on the same line as hers, one hand going to her stomach as it grumbled. She absently wondered where the food was on this island before she actually asked, eyes scanning the shoreline in determination, "Where're the eats around here?" Jamal_Reedy Jamal tilted his head back a little to try and look at her, but found himself swamped instead by a gentle wave. He sputtered in a rather unsexy manner and hastily stood, hands pawing his face to get the water away from his eyes and mouth. Blech. "Who said anythin' 'bout bein' free. I gave ya a few hits," he managed to say in his most piteous voice, but gave up on that line when his stomach lurched and almost gurgled loud enough to be heard over the water crashing the shoreline. "Uh...food...ain't far from herr, I think. Da bar down that way but last I knew all da booze been taken away. Da cafeteria ain't too far either, but it back by da duplexes. I'm ********' starvin'." That and his buzz was starting to wear down. He simply had to fix both issues. Antoinette Devereux "So?" The moment he acknowledged that there was food close, Antony was swimming to shore. Food was motivation enough for her. That and the waves were getting close to sweeping away their clothes and that was her only swimsuit. ******** that. "But I'd have to put my clothes back on for the cafeteria," she complained as she hurried up onto the beach to scoop up her clothes. Pausing, her eyes drifted to his pile of clothes, and after a look back to Jamal, cheeky grin included, Antony immediately swiped his clothes as well, bling and all, before darting in the general direction of away. He'd probably catch her, but she wasn't exactly thinking that far ahead. Jamal_Reedy He followed sedately, eyes glued to her backside as it emerged from the water a few yards ahead of him. However, when she stooped to get his clothes, then started to run, he face faulted. Oooooh no, that was NOT part of the deal. Jamal erupted from the water with an indignant, highly articulate shout of "HEY WHAT DA ******** YOU DOIN'?!", nearly tripping over the slight lip of sand that formed where the water had eroded away where the waves hit the shore, and pelted down the beach after her. Thankfully he had long legs, so he easily gained on her as sand sprayed out behind him as he ran, and stretched an arm out to try and grab wildly at her shoulder or an arm or SOMETHING that would make her stop. He needed his clothes, dammit! And that bling was ********' expensive...and...he had weed in those jeans! Antoinette Devereux His shout was inspirition to run faster, which wasn't much considering she had an armful of clothes and was lacking balance, so when his hand caught here wherever, Antony was thrown off balance and directly into the sand. Wind knocked out of her lungs, she rolled over onto her back, sand stuck to the half of her body that had hit the ground. Choking slightly as she got some air back into her, she raised her hands in a sort of 'I surrender' motion. Seconds later, Antony dissolved into peals of laughter, hand roughly wiping sand off of her face. Soon she regained her composure, eyes opening to blink upwards at where she guess he would still be standing. Jamal_Reedy Yes well, provided he was still standing, she'd probably be looking at him. However... When she was thrown off balance, so was he thanks to his dissolving, yet still obviously present high. In an effort to not step on her, he tried to dodge but somehow his foot didn't connect with the ground properly, but instead hooked under one of her legs and he did a neat flying somersault over her and landed face first into the grit. So now he was lying face down in the sand, muttering a slew of curse words into the deaf earth, with sand in VERY uncomfortable places. He wasn't sure if he wanted to roll over or not at this point, but he did anyway, throwing himself into a hunched position similar to how he was initially found earlier that day. One forearm went up to scrape some of the sand away from his eyes. His hair and the little facial hair he had was caked in sand, giving him a fairly comical appearance. He would have been more pissed had he not had a rather SPENDID view at this point. Jamal did have the presence of mind to grab his clothing away and jam them in his lap in a very posessive "MINE" gesture. Antoinette Devereux As mentioned previously, modesty was never something Antony had to worry about, and when she didn't locate him upwards, she looked to her left, and then to her right, finally spying Jamal and nearly succumbing to more laughter. Instead, she simply grinned at him through whatever sand was left on her face. "You would have gotten' em back," she explained, or rather stated randomly. If she hadn't been so hungry, Antony would have been content to stay laying there for a bit longer, but like Jamal, the sand was not so comfortable in various places. That and she definately had the munchies. Food, or shower? She contimplated the possibility of eating and showering, forgetting her mission to get up and go somewhere for the moment. Jamal_Reedy "You women be crazy sometimes...how da hell was I ta know? s**t." He tried to blow some sand off his top lip but gave up. He wasn't going to let go of his clothes for ANY reason now. Jamal grumped irritably and got up, clothes clutched protectively to his chest, and tromped back for the water, wading in partially to help rinse away some of the more troublesome sand, then came back out to put on his boxers and jeans. The tank was left off and thrown over a shoulder. Antoinette Devereux Yes, women were crazy, and that was one of the key reasons for her being completely and utterly straight. Not that she had any problems with homosexuals, but two sets of PMS was something Antony drew the line at. Eyes following him and the nice view of his rear to the water, Antony stood up to follow before noticing an outdoor, open shower just up ahead. Brilliant. Bending over to slip on her flip flops, Antony also scooped up her clothes, shaking them free of as much sand as possible before meandering towards said shower. Her clothing was hung on a nearby sign for the beach bar before she turned on the water and stuck her head under the spray. Ah, how she loved short hair. Taking her glasses off briefly, she tilted her head up towards the spray before replacing her specs and moving to rid her body of as much sand as she could. Cold water be damned, this sand was on its way OUT. Jamal_Reedy As the sand on his face dried, he was more capable of wiping it off with his hand instead of using more water. True enough, his hair was going to be sandlogged for awhile, but...he'd probably pick out the braids soon enough and redo them anyway. Damn hair. Being the gentleman he was, he didn't stare at her as she showered. Nope. Not at all. ...okay, maybe just a LITTLE. Antoinette Devereux She was done soon enough, shaking a bit of the water out of her hair before pulling on her clothes, or trying to as best as she could. Damned water. After a struggle, partially thanks to the wanning effects of the earlier smoking, her shorts were on and Antony turned toward Jamal, raising an eyebrow at his look. Striding over to him, she tugged the tank from his shoulder, and after shaking it free of sand, she took off her glasses and wiped them dry. Once they were spotless to her liking, the young lady replaced the shirt over his shouder and patted his stomach with a grin. "I'm ******** hungry," she announced, raising an eyebrow and glancing up at him expectantly. He had been on the island longer after all. Jamal_Reedy Jamal uttered a "Help yo'self" as she took his tank and used it for glass cleaning, then brightened when she announced she was hungry and gave him a look that clearly meant "lead the way". He dug around in his jean pocket again, producing the bandanna fragment and it's concealed treasure. One joint was again taken from it's brethren and put between his lips while the others were carefully put away. Then he put it between his fingers to speak. "Well....I figger the cafeteria got food in it fo' sho' so we might as well go there," he said with an indifferent shrug as he pawed for his lighter. Nothing like a predinner smoke to really get an appetite going. Antoinette Devereux "Sounds good too me." Antony glanced at the newly procured joint, but simply smirked inwardly as she began to head in the direction of the duplexes and, apparently, the cafeteria as well. As they walked, small talk was chosen by her to fill the silence, "So, what brought you to the island?" She ran a hand through her hair to try and get it dry faster, scrunching the back between her fingers to get it messier. Jamal_Reedy He followed along, lighting his new joint, and put the gun-lighter away in the waistband of his jeans. The question presented to him did cause him to blanch slightly. Did he really want to get into that?...if she was a new villager, he was certain she would find out ANYWAY. Best get it out in the open anyway and clear up any misunderstandings. "Well...brotha' had a lil' slip of da finga' wit' his gun 'n killed someone," he started, taking a long drag to emphasize the silence that fell after that statement. "So uh...kinda hidin' from the cops at this point. You?" Antoinette Devereux She vaguely remembered him mentioning this earlier, and simply nods, "Better than being a rapist, ain't no accidents there." It was partially a joke, and partially serious, shrugging seconds later, "Eh, I'm not going to judge you on that... Not one to judge usually, so we're cool. No worries." Somehow, she felt the need to explain that too him before answering his question with a lopsided grin, "Ah, my father entered me into some raffle and I won a vacation, so I'm only here for two weeks." Jamal_Reedy Jamal grew uncharacteristically quiet at her explaination and again took a long, strained hit from his joint, frowning intensely as smoke dribbled from the corners of his mouth as he held it in. So now the Doc was calling this place a vacation? "Two weeks?...yeah right," he mumbled louder than he meant to as he blew out the smoke. He didn't offer further on that though...he -really- didn't want to be the one to drop the news on new people, especially if he might have beat the system. He might jinx himself. Antoinette Devereux "Well yeah, I have two jobs and family back home, among other things..." she trailed off, chuckling softly at the thought of Owl before continuing, "Why would I stay any longer? Then I'd have to pay, and I ain't ******** rich." Glancing around at the various duplexes, Antony changed the subject unintentionally, "So where are you staying? I'm in duplex thirty if you ever... need anything." Jamal_Reedy "...Right. Well, sometimes things ain't always goin' to plan," he said cryptically before happily accepting the subject change. Whew...free from that particularly nasty topic, at least, for now. "Ma duplex is 7...da one wit' da broken window," he said with a nod, growing a bit more dazed and relax now as he was comfortably engulfed by a new high. He noted the hesitation in her statement and a brow lifted. Needed anything, hmm? Antoinette Devereux Broken window? Well maybe some punk threw something at his window and broke it... or something like that. "How'd it end up broken?" Antony spied a building up ahead that seemed to look like it might be a cafeteria and she motioned towards it with her question, "Is that the cafeteria?" Hopefully, it was. Jamal_Reedy "I did it," he said calmly, turning the blunt to offer her a hit if she wanted it, his eyes half-lidded in a blissful manner. "Uh...long story behind it." The black man peered ahead at the familiar building, hunger building intensely in his stomach now that the prospect of food was so close...so close... "Yeah, dat's it. They got good food in there most o' da time so we'll prolly be a'ight." Yet as they got closer, he could make out shapes through the windows of the building and heard the rattle of dishwear and voices as they got rather close. He paused, sure that he recognized the voices to be those of changed villagers...and he really didn't want to get into that right then. "Uh, actually, I think people got da cafeteria all hung up on some staff thing, now dat I be thinkin' of it," he said quickly, trying to come up with a quick lie. "Uh, da staff said somethin' da otha day, but I jus' remembered. Damn weed messin' wit' ma head. Uh...I got snack s**t at ma place, if you a'ight wit' dat instead." Antoinette Devereux Considering the offer while listening to him, she finally reached out and took the blunt from him, lazily taking a single hit before handing it back to him. About to ask for the long story that was behind the broken window, Antony opened her mouth, but soon shut it when he verbally veered her away from their destination. "The entire cafeteria?" She didn't sound convinced, but the prospect of going back to his place was, in her professional opinion, much better than any public venue. "Aight, lead the way." A quick glance back towards the cafeteria didn't offer her much explanation, only able to see general shapes and shadows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:04 pm
--Continuation of Beach RP--
"Eh yeah...them damn staff people always hoggin' ev'rythin'," he said with as much conviction as he could muster, trying to make his point valid and to squash any further questions about eating there.
He started heading towards his place, which wasn't too far from the cafeteria to be much of an annoyance, finishing off the last bit of his smoke before extinguishing the very end with a pinch between the tips of two fingers which he licked, then tucked it into his pocket. He'd get the last bit of pot out of that and use it sometime when he was desperate.
"I got some snack s**t at ma place...so it'll work a'ight fo' da munchies 'til them bastards give up our dinner place. Hope you ain't dat picky..."
As they walked, his place came into view and indeed the broken window was still quite visible from the beaten path from the cafeteria. Bits of wood still lay scattered about in the grass, but it appeared that the glass had been cleaned up somewhat, probably to keep those who walked barefoot from getting a nasty surprise.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
