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Rex smiled but stayed looking straight ahead into the mirror in front of him to keep good posture. "That's right. Rex Vadnais, nice to officially meet you." There was a difference between introducing yourself politely and getting to know someone by pulling a rabid squirrel off of them in a brawl.

"Beh, I don't think there's many people in the world that would ask to have this fate willingly. Like, you look like a cool guy, I bet you had a good life going for you back on the mainland." Of course he did, idiot. He was a professional soccer player. Don't bring up the past. Rex huffed a little, signs of strain showed in the pace of each repetition. "Well, I figure that if you just don't worry about it... things won't seem so bad." His tail swayed gently behind him, also slightly tense from the work his body was doing. "Where y'from?"

Rex put the weights down once again with the completion of another set. He sighed, shook his arms, and placed on his hips.

"Not so great back there then? Heh, you're not alone." Rex sighed as memories of his old apartment, job, and co-workers returned to his mind for the first time in several days. Of course there was also the occasional visits to the cemetery. "Wait, just because you're a reptile doesn't necessarily mean that you're a snake... or did someone tell you?" Rex had heard stories of those nasty doctors slipping in their animal at the most inconvenient times. "And yeah, we figure a lion is the only thing I could be. I managed to get off luckier than alot of the others I've met around the island." He shrug and picked up slightly heavier weights for his last few sets.

Wide-eyed, Rex listened to the story of Thom's previous life. "Wow, well never mind then," He said frankly, "That's pretty amazing. But if you had it so well there then how did you end up on this stupid rock? They trick you? Or was it an accident like me?"

This guy was young, handsome, rich and famous. Rex was... young. Perhaps handsome in the right eyes. But that's about it. He felt so incredibly unaccomplished with his life, and now that he was stuck on the island in the middle of who-knows-where there was no way he could ever make up for lost time. Why wasn't he able to make something out of himself and his life back home? Was he just off on the wrong foot? Was he inches away from success in that stupid restaurant? Or was he simply destined to come here so God never even planned for him to get big to begin with? All of these questions troubled Rex's mind as so many had before them since his arrival on the island. He tried his hardest to look at the positive, stay optimistic, but with a reknown 'football' player here smakcing reality in his face Rex couldn't help but feel a bit put down. Things were incomplete, something was missing.

He sighed again, "Yeah... lucky..." He spaced out, eyes set on Thom's foot even though he wasn't even paying attention to the lack of toes.

This man sure had an interesting life story. What a remarkable life to lead. "That's terrifying! Was the crash that bad? Aren't you worried for your teammates?!" With every team that Rex had been on, the others there with you practically became your family. Your brothers. He could only imagine that degree greatly intensified when it came to professional sports. If Rex was in Thom's situation there would be no way he could stop worrying about his friends.

The last thing Thom said bounced around his head, a phrase he'd heard several times before. You never know what you have until it's gone. He could see how this was quite an applicable statement in Thom's life, but when put to his own things didn't match up. Rex always knew what his parents did was bad, though he was defenseless against their dominance. Almost as if it was an analogy to the island. The labtechs were Rex's new parents, doing bad things on the upfront and keeping the 'children' in a position where nothing could be done. Or Julie, for instance; he loved her, he knew what he had, he realized his fortune with her. Though that all came crashing down around him. It really was a circumstantial phrase.

He sat down on a work bench across the way from Thom, dabbing his forehead with his shirt and taking a couple more sips from his water bottle before putting it out before him, offering a drink to the Brit.

"Yeah, one of the things I miss alot here on the island is watching things like football and basketball..." He paused, remembering earlier in the conversation, "Wait, did you say you rock climb? I climbed a lot in highschool, our gym had a wall there for us to practice on and everything. I bet if we could get some equipment from the labs there'd be a few good places for a climb on the mountain! If you're ever up for I'm here for yeh. I just love sports like that."

Rex chuckled at the image of the doctors flipping their lid in the labs because one of the subjects was about to kill themself on a rambunctious rock clomb. "Yeah that'll be a real way to give 'em a run for their money. Though knowing the rich psychos we've got running this place I bet they'd get a helicopter out there stat... there's only one way to find out for sure though." He wry and devilish smile curled the lion's black lips. Maybe this could be a bit more fun than he suspected.

"Yeah, I have no idea how this kitty will do with heights. I think that most lions are used to lowland, like the savannah. Oh well, if I fall at least I know I'll land on my feet." Rex laughed, grabbed his waterbottle and headed for the door. "And some food sounds great. I haven't eaten in a few hours."

(( NEW RP ))

Odd as it might be, Avery has been a lot happier ever since he got his calendar a while back. He was able to know what day it was, didn't feel like he was just drifting along anymore. He marked down special dates - Tim's birthday, his own birthday, his mother and father's birthdays (which were later crossed out - if he didn't remember them, he wouldn't get depressed about missing them). There weren't many dates that were important for him to remember anymore, but at least there were some, and he wanted to make sure he didn't miss them.

But this still left the long, boring days. He was never quite sure what to do with himself most days - of course, he loved being around other people the most, but there was still only so much one could do. It wasn't until one day he noticed he was getting a little pudgy (of course, that's what happens when you laze about all day) and, being rather vain, declared that he and Tim should start making use of the workout room. Timothy had agreed since he had been feeling rather bored himself lately.

If there was one thing about Avery, however, is that he gets bored - and distracted - easily. He discovered that he much preferred playing around with the CD player and watching Timothy work out, than actually working out himself. He managed to keep it up for a few days, at least, but without new workout machines, he lost interest quickly. This didn't stop him from dragging Timothy along to the workout room every now and then, however. If there was one thing that could hold Avery's attention, it was Tim (and he felt Tim was pretty damn sexy when he worked out).

Most days, Avery felt a little too tired to work out, anyway. He had been having nightmares for a while now, waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble falling back asleep again. He would dream about being a dog, or that night on the cruise ship. He would dream about his parents not recognizing him, about Tim leaving him, about people not wanting him anymore - and sometimes he would have nightmares about his cowardice, terrible things happening to the people he loves because he was too afraid to help them.

Overall, despite the nightmares (and being part dog), Avery was feeling pretty happy. He felt more attached to Timothy than ever, more eager to please (and a bit more energetic too), although he wasn't quite sure if that was just because he was in love or because he was turning into a dog. Avery didn't dwell on this too much, because he didn't think it really mattered the reason why - he was happy.

Today, though, he wasn't worrying about anything - it was one of those special days he marked on his calender, and he'd be damned if he would let anything ruin it. He's been especially nice to Timothy all day today, at the same time trying not to let on that he remembered it was his birthday. He wanted to surprise him, even though he didn't have a lot planned - he managed to speak to the lab assistants and get a gift for him. Avery didn't think it was anything extravagant or spectacular, but it was still something a little special and he felt Timothy would like it. At least, he hoped he would.

He let the day go on like usual, which brought them where they were now, on their way to the workout room. Avery grinned at his boyfriend, reaching out to take the other boy's hand. He figured after they worked out (or, Tim worked out anyway - and Avery was definitely noticing that it was doing Timothy some good) when they got back, he would surprise Tim with his present.