Welcome to Gaia! ::

Left outside your door is a small package, which appears to be a white trash bag and some red ribbon tied around it. Inside is a red and white blanket and pillow, both made from the same soft fabric. You'll also find a few pieces of hard fruit candy.

There is also a note in the bag.

He couldn't take it. Or at least his body couldn't
Despite of feeling like dying, Cody loved life too much to simply let go. And in such state of weakness there was no way he could keep ignoring his needs. And right now the biggest urge was food

But there was no food in the mini fridge. For a second he tried to reconsider and just get back to bed and let sleep ease his pains. The stomach didn't seem to agree though and with a large growl he clumbsily opened the door and started making way towards the cafeteria

Everything was fine in the first half of the way, but as he entered the second his energies started to fail and his eyes to unfocus. Without anything to fuel him, Cody's body couldn't keep up with the effort and shut down to save the little energy it still had left

He was already fainted when his body came in contact with the ground, breathing barely noticable as he simply laid there under the bicycle

Brian was out walking- as was the brown and white dog attatched to him at the hand by a leash. Blitzen strove to move faster and pulled ahead, only to pause and investigate some nuance of the neighbourhood. His tongue lolling and his bright eyes dancing about excitedly, the dog was the first to notice Cody. Brian allowed himself to be led to where the boy lay, and broke into a run upon seeing the crumpled figure.

"Are you alright??" He gasped, getting to his knees beside Cody and looking to try to see what was wrong. Blitzen whimpered, unnerved, and began barking. The shrill, unhappy noise rang in Brian's ears as he spoke to the boy, watching his chest for signs of breathing, feeling his wrist for a pulse, and checking around for anyone who could help. "Can you hear me? Oh s**t oh s**t, what's wrong with you?" The dog continued to bark.

It took a while for Cody to recover his senses. The first thing he noticed was the loud barking ringing in his small but still existing ears

"Shut uuuuuuup!"

He grabbed his head as the sound made it ache. His vision was a blur, distorcing everything into shapeless blobs of color and movement. And his body felt heavy as steel

"What's happening? Where am I?"

He tried to remembered what happened but his brain was sluglishly slow. The last thing he could recall was being hungry... and he still was as his stomach made the favour of telling him

"Blitzen! Quiet!" Brian said sharply to his dog, who shifted from paw to paw and continued barking until the command was repeated as Brian held his muzzle firmly closed with a hand. Blizten whimpered, but stopped barking.

"Sorry," the redhead apologised, looking Cody over with concern apparent on his features. "You're in the village. I'm not sure what happened. I was just out walking and saw you lying here," he glanced at the bike, "you didn't wipe out and hit your head, did you?"

Cody tried to focus on the person talking, but his eyesight wasn't completely restored. He could tell the blob had orange hair, but a bit of white and black as well. His mind must be playing tricks on him

"I-I don't know..." again he tried to recall what happened, but his hunger kept him from concentrating. The stomach started growling demandingly as he was now active again

He tried to get up, but he was still too weak. His limbs didn't obey to the movements as they used to, shaking with the effort but showing no results

"I'm hungry"

Hungry... if his first concern was hunger, and not pain, then that was what Brian would tend to first. Maybe it wasn't as drastic as it had first appeared; the boy seemed unable to stand. Brian felt that he'd be able to carry him, and prepared to do so.

"I'm going to pick you up and carry you to the cafetaria, okay? It's not too far from here. Once you've got some food in your belly we'll find someone to take a look at you and make sure you're alright. I don't think you're hurt more than a few scratches from falling, but it's better to be sure. Okay, ready?" Blitzen moved about, sniffing at Cody and then at Brian, back and forth between the two. He whimpered still, but didn't bark.

"Okay"

There weren't words that could tell how happy he felt for this man's help, even if it meant being carried there like a little kid
His appearence didn't even came to his mind, otherwise he would feel even more grateful

His mind hadn't made the connection and realised there was a dog present, so when he felt the cold nose come in contact with his skin, he twitched in surprise

Brian carefully lifted the boy from the ground, murmuring that they could return, later, for the bicycle. He kept the looped end of the leash around his wrist as he carried Cody to the cafeteria with some degree of awkwardness, due to the boy's changes, and somehow managed to avoid tripping over Blitzen. The biologist considered how strange it was to be lifting a human child in that familiar way that he once lifted sedated wild animals. He wished he had some help, but determined to make do. It wasn't too long before they reached the building, but Cody was heavy, and Brian was thoroughly worn out by the time he was able to settle him sideways into a cafeteria chair. Regardless, he stayed on his feet. "What can I get you to eat? Anything you don't like or are allergic to? Actually, nevermind, just tell me what you do want."

Cody stayed mostly motionless as he was carried, only shifting his tail slightly to allow some room to his leg
When sat on the chair he managed to stay somewhat upright by using his arms and his tail to support the position. But his head flopped on top of the table surface. His body was still in energy saving mode

"Fish!!!"

If his brain was working properly, he'd probably ask for other things to complement his diet. Prawns, squid and cake! Maybe some vegetables if he felt like it

In his hurry to get some sustinence into the boy and give his back and arms a rest, Brian had brought the dog with him right into the cafeteria. In any other circumstance, he would have left him outside out of respect for the establishment but found the urgency of the situation to be more pressing. He tied the leash to the table, instructed Blitzen to sit and stay, and, with one nervous glance at Cody, went off to fetch some fish.

He wasn't certain what kind of fish was wanted, or what would be available to islanders at this hour, not quite a mealtime when more elaborate and specific dishes were served. Regardless, he managed to locate some premade sandwiches and, procuring a pair that were very clearly tuna, brought them back to the table. As he went, he grabbed a bottle of water. "Here you go," he said, setting the tray down in front of Cody, "Do you want the whole sandwich, or should I get a fork and you can just pick out what you want?" He knew, in hindsight, that the boy was probably in no mental state to make that kind of distinction.

Cody didn't even gave him the time to finish the sentence. The smell and sight of food so close at hand was enough to summon that little energy left and have him dig in the food so fast he nearly choked
A little part of his brain was disapointed the lack of freshness of canned tuna, but his stomach was pretty happy with the choice. That is, until there were nothing but crumbs left. And he was still hungry

"More!"

Cody gave his plate to the red haired man for a second round. In other occasions he would get the food himself, but right now it was the stomach in charge, not the head

"Yes, sir," Brian replied faceticiously, glad to see Cody was perking up a little. He went off a second time and returned with a third sandwich, the last of the tuna. The rest were ham and chicken. He placed the food down on the tray and took a seat, ruffling Blitzen's ears when the dog came to greet him. "Feeling better?"

"]Cody gladly picked the other sandwitch and started eating, this time a bit slower

"Yeah. Thanks"

He spoke between bites and soon it was gone as the others. He was feeling a bit better now and though his movements were still a bit wobly, he managed to get up and fill his plate with a new round of food
Cody returned with a pile of shrimps, octopus salad and a large, raw salmon steak, along with a generous bowl of fruit salad

"Want some sir?"

"No thank you. And you can call me Brian. This here is Blitzen-" the dog looked up as he heard his name- "like one of the reindeer, from the song. What's your name?" He watched the kid eat, petting his new dog with one hand.

He wondered what had happened to the boy. How long had he been out cold? Was it simply hunger or exhaustion or a combination of the two that had caused him to pass out? Really, he ought to take him to the clinic attached to the cafeteria building. But Brian hesitated to draw him away from his feast, now that he seemed to be perking up.

"I'm Cody. Hi Blitzen" he petted the dog before turning his attention to the food

One of bad things about fish and seafood is that they were quickly digested, so Cody steadily had been increasing the amount of food he ate, though he hadn't noticed
Right now his main consern was to quiet down the demands of his hunger, so he started digging in on the salmon. He still hadn't figured out why he was craving raw fish so much, but he made the happy discovery that eating fish steaks wasn't as disturbing as eating anything fish looking. Actually it tastes quite good, so soon he found himself attacking the raw fish section instead of the cooked one

While he was eating he observed Brian more carefully, now that he could actually focus on his features. He realised that the white and black patches on his red hair wasn't his imagination after all, and that started awakening his curiosity

"How did you get those cool patches?"

"Oh, this?" He asked, running his fingers through his hair, and then through the fur that covered his neck. "It's the markings of an African Wild Dog. The have a natural blotchy, patchy fur pattern. Have you ever seen a picture of one?" Brian held out his arm, turning to show Cody his fur-covered elbow as the pattern there was more distinct.

"So you're changing as well? Oh sorry... about the cool part"

There was a distinct change of behaviour now
Before he was happy for filling his stomach and meeting such a nice guy, who he mistaken for a normal person. But now he turning his face to his plate, looking ashamed and guilty

So he tried to turn the conversation to a different subject

"You've been here long? Did they let you bring your dog?"

"It's okay," Brian said, smiling, "I don't mind talking about it. I've been here since the end of October... around two months. And this guy here hasn't been mine for long. He was a Christmas present... from the labs, I imagine. I'm not sure why. But I'm glad for the company, and he's already well-trained. Isn't that right, Blitzen?" The dog looked up again and was rewarded with an ear-scratching.

"No... it's not that....."

Cody was feeling worse by the second. Ever since Gallen told him about the possibility of dying by the changes his attitude towards the results were changing... or at least he tried to see them by the other perspective
And the mentioning of christmas presents didn't help. It was still way too fresh in his memory, all the sadness and the loneliness that one gift brought him

"What is it?" Brian frowned, misinterpereting Cody's reaction. "Are you feeling alright? Maybe we should go to the clinic, now that you've had some food?"

Cody just curled himself in a ball, tail pressing close to his body to make himself as small as possible. His body was clearly shivering, while the sniffing told he was starting to cry

"I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't want to die. I want to go hoooome"

"Die? You're not going to die. Nobody's going to die. You're safe here, you've got lots of people looking out for you." Brian chewed his lower lip, unsure of what to do or say. "Do you have any friends that we can go find? Someone who looks after you?" In retrospect, it was rather startling that such a young child was being used as a subject for these cruel experiments. "You're not alone. I'm here for you, okay? Who else do you know here? I'll find them for you and all of us will look after you." This sudden change of attitute seemed to come out of nowhere. What had he said to have triggered it?

"People die! Changes can make people die! And I got MS!! I don't want to die"

His sobs grew louder and he kept shooking his head. He didn't had anyone as far as he considered. His parents were gone, he didn't get to spend christmas with them. He would never be able to see them again. The people in this island wasn't his family. He was alone

"Oh, Cody." Brian frowned, bringing his chair over to where he sat. "It's going to be alright. You'll be alright," he reached out and rubbed the boy's shoulder in a way he hoped was comforting, "there are lots of doctors and scientists here and I'm sure they'll do everything they can to make sure everyone here is healthy."

The rubbing did felt good, but didn't help calming him down. He had gone through a lot lately and all was quite overwealming, especially to a 10 year old boy who tried to face the world on his own
He just rested his head on Brian's chest, tears weating the shirt as the sobs kept on

"But-but they're the ones doing it!"

"They are, you're right, and it's unfair of them," he said evenly, frantically trying to figure out in his head who would be able to take care of this kid, and why on earth they would abduct someone so young and fragile for their wicked purposes. He tried to keep his voice relaxed and soothing. "But even if they're doing this to us, they're also responsible for keeping us healthy." He'd missed that part about serums killing people. "If I knew someone who was a doctor before they were brought to the island, would you feel more comfortable talking to them than to the doctors who work in the island labs?" The clinic he and Aislinn discussed so frequently seemed to look more and more realistic and needed around this place.

He was starting to call down, mostly because he wasn't still fully recovered than anything else
What Brian just saidkind of make sense. But since Aubrey had told him he would never see his parents again he had no reason to trust the doctors

"I think so"

He sniffled and tried to rub away the tears and runny nose on his sleeve. He hated to look so vulnerable in front of anyone. He was not a little kid anymore

He was glad to see the poor guy hadn't gone into hysterics. Brian just hoped he stayed calm this time. "Now, is there somewhere you'd like to go? Someone we can go see that'll make you feel better?" Oh by all that is good, he hoped that someone would look after him. He certainly wasn't up to the job.

"The lake"

Actually Cody would prefer saying the beach, but he didn't felt like he had enough energy to travel all the way there and then back again

He tried to get up, but apparently his legs didn't agree. There was a familiar numbness on his feet that had settled while he had been crying. But luckly it wasn't the effect of the MS, just the lack of proper blood circulation from sitting in a curled position for so long. Problem was that made his already unsteady walking even more unbalanced

"I'll walk you there," he said, getting to his feet and untying Blitzen. The dog stood ready to go at his heel, looking up anxiously, and Brian wondered for the hundredth time why the labs had made a gift of this handsome fellow. "Do you need any help?"

"No"

But Cody was obviously lying. Because he had no sense of touch on his already small feet keeping balance was a lot harder than normal. After a couple of steps he completely lost it, not falling because he managed to grab Brian's arm right on time

Brian's expression was skeptical. "Your sense of balance seems to disagree. I don't mind helping. Really." He held his arm out, bent at the elbow. "Here, you hold my arm and I'll be like a cane for you to lean on. Much more dignified than being carried, eh?"

Cody just nodded in reply. He had noticed that the more he changed the harder it was for him to keep his balance. But he related that to the growth of his tail and the smaller feet size, nothing else

The short trip to the lake was completely uneventfull from his part. But strangely he didn't felt like going in the water. Instead there was a bigger feeling of warmth in staying close to Brian tahn going out for a swim. But he didn't realise that

When they approached the water, Brian made certain he had a good hold on his new dog's lead. He had no interest in taking a wet, smelly pooch back to his duplex. Blitzen gave his fears no grounds, as he seemed equally disinterested in getting too near to the water, let alone getting into it.

'Now what...?' Brian thought, and looked to Cody to see what he expected him to do.

"I usually just go out an swim. But.... I feel too tired for that"

Partially that was true. With the food and the last day's strain still depleted strength, sleepiness was starting to settle
But he really didn't know what to do now. He didn't felt like swimming, he was too tired to take a stroll and he definitly didn't want to return to his duplex, to be alone again
What he really wanted was just to be there, to be in the company of someone older and not having to worry for a change. God that felt good

Brian could see that this boy just needed some rest and some company. He sat down on the edge of the lake, instructed Blitzen to lie at his feet, and smiled at Cody. "I'll stay with you for a while." And he did.

Nothing like getting more hair on such a tropical island. Brian's hair had already began to thicken and become hard to manage, but when he wakes up this particular day, its even worse. Everywhere you would have natural body hair is thicker, even more than after your last change. Its a few hours after Brian wakes up that the rest of the change begins to hit. Brian's whole body aches, especially the base of the spine and his feet.

The hair begins to thicken at an increased pace, spreading in patches over a majority of his body. Mostly black, with a distinct pattern of orange and white. His feet stretch, becoming longer, the pads fully forming on the bottom of his feet and palms of his hands. His nose puckers and broadens, becoming moist and sensitive to the touch. His hands begin to reshape, fingers becoming shorter and losing a lot of their dexterity.

Lastly, as the fur grows to cover his face completely, his tail, which was only a barely perceivable nub before, stretches out from his backside, growing long and bushing out. His spine shifts a bit, making his posture awkward and uncomfortable, throwing off his balance for a few days.

It was night time, and the air was cooler: cool enough for someone covered in fur on a tropical island to slip out of the air-conditioned duplex for a nice walk. In fact, two someones with fur were out and about that evening, one trotting along merrily on four legs and the other balanced precariously on two. There was a purpose to this particular late night stroll other than appreciating the scenery: the dog needed to vent some energy and get some excersize, and the dog-man needed to vent some lonliness and get some painkillers. Blitzen's nails clacked rhythmically along the path as he walked alongside his master, glancing up at him every little while. The pair went otherwise in silence, following the well-walked route along the line of duplexes towards the village centre.

Emelyn saw Brian and Blitzen soon after she stepped outside her duplex. Despite her night vision rivalling that of the dog's... Reuben saw them first. They were, after all, headed towards the village center, which was nearer those earlier duplexes, one of which was Emelyn and Reuben's begrudging home.

Reu wiggled and looked up at Em, opening and huffing his canine lips shut in a persisting whine.

"Okay, sweetheart. Hold onto your furry britches." Em reached down and pat-thumped the dog on the side of his ribs, adding the subsequent resounding 'whump' to the dog's panting excitement. Then she leaned forward over the banister that protected those on the upper duplexes from a short walk off into midair, were they not to follow the stairs. It was from this position, elbows to wrists along the pole, her palms gripping her upper arms, that she called down to the man below. She didn't know, after all, how good his night vision was- and she had little desire to surprise someone who might be dangerous if surprised.

"Hi! ...Down there. ...Mind if my dog come harrass yours?" She laughed a little, as if to say her choice of words was playful at best.

Brian looked up, his ears, curiously enough, turning in her direction before the rest of his face did. His hearing had certainly improved, but his ability to see in the dark hadn't- not by any noticable margin.

"Oh, hello," he said, hoping the way in which he curiously critiqued her appearance was unobtrusive. He couldn't tell, in the evening's light and from the distance he was at, much of what she looked like. Brian would have to go from voice alone that she seemed quite friendly. "I don't mind at all." Maybe this was one of the other people he'd noticed walking a dog after the 25th. "...did you get yours on Christmas too, out of curiousity?"

Blitzen strained at his leash and pulled Brian closer to the duplex, his nose working hard at identifying this new dog. He opened his mouth wide in a panting doggy grin, but didn't give any indication that he'd start barking his head off as he was wont to do when startled. Brian thanked his lucky stars- he had no interest in waking up the entire island.


Em turned her muzzle down to Reuben, clicked her tongue, and brushed her fingers against his side.

"Go ahead, sweetheart." The dog didn't understand her words in the slightest- however, the click and the touch were familiar signals from the wild- and he knew what they meant: until further notice, he could go where he pleased. And 'where he pleased' at that moment was down the stairs in a furious trot.

Emelyn followed suit at a slower pace- not needing to feel her way down the stairs, but going slowly anyway, taking each step with some caution and reaching the man and his dog- who was, by then, being avidly sniffed by Reuben- at the end of her words, which she'd begun with her descent.

"No, actually. He's been with me since.... spring? The months blur together here. But I've heard that there's been a bit of a canine Santa thing going on. His name is Reuben. I'm Emelyn." She reached him, and smiled, wondering how well his night vision compensated for the dark.

Spring? She'd been here for several months at least, then. As the woman (or what had once been a woman) drew nearer, Brian was able to pick out individual physical traits and make a good guess at what animal had been chosen for her particular serum. He idly wondered if there was a pattern to the serums they were given, if they were random, if they were all selected especially for every test subject. He brushed that line of thought aside in the same instant it had taken for it to appear.

"Ah. I found this rascal-" he gave the handle of the leash a little wriggle, "-waiting for me on my doorstep Christmas day. Apparently his name is Blitzen." The Australian Shepherd looked back at Brian briefly at hearing his name, and then returned to excitedly snuffing Reuben, pacing back and forth a bit at the end of his restraint.

"I'm Brian," he said, offering his hand to shake and internally cringing when he saw it. He'd forgotten how stunted his fingers were, how crooked and paw-like they'd become since the change. His tail tucked and his ears shifted back, visibly, and he forced his eyes up from his deformed hand to the face of his new aquaintence. The smile that parked itself on his face was automatic, although not insincere.

"Well hello, Blitzen," she said, not bothering to lean down and give the dog a pat in case it would interrupt the two dogs' greeting, "And hello, Brian. Nice to meet you." She didn't flinch at the stunted form that was presented to her- not for any sake of propriety or kindness- though such things Emelyn White breathed, almost to the point of irritating fault- but because she had been a denizen of Hell Island so long, it was the human hands that caused double-takes. Those appendages that were paw like or furred over, rear ends that sprouted long, dextrous tails or noses pushed out into muzzles... those were the norm. Emelyn's vision of what was normal and 'right' had been circumvented- and without her even realizing the change.

When the introduction was over, Brian tried to act unfazed: unfazed by his shame at being so inhuman, and then again unfazed at her nonchalance. Then he tried to think of something to say.

This was always the most difficult and most awkward part for Brian. Reciting his name and trying not to forget the one he got in return was all very well and good. But what did one say after that? Normally he would smile, say 'pleased to meet you, but I-', make his excuses, and be off. But something insisted he dally here, and he found he was in no particular hurry to continue down that empty path.

She seemed nice. Why not make the effort to be friends? He needed more friends in this damned elaborate, exotic rat-cage. Aislinn would start getting tired of him very quickly if he showed up at her door every day like a stray cat looking for food, and not spending time with people no longer felt like an option. Friends. Make friends. He personally felt that he wasn't especially good at that, and his confidence in social situations reflected that.

But this wasn't a university party, this wasn't a highschool math class. Everybody here had common ground. Not that it made for very pleasant conversation.

Oooh, he'd better say something. The long pause was becoming uncomfortable- at least, to him it was.

At last, he blurted something out.

"So I'd guess you've been here... quite some time?" Hah. Pathetic. But it was a start.

The pause- and subsequent response- made her laugh. "Don't worry," she said softly, her voice carrying through the dark too gentle to alert any of islanders who may be about, "I don't bite. But yes, actually. Since the... well, if you can call it a beginning. August of last year, I believe."

So this 'institute' had been in place since August of '05. He'd have to remember to write that down at some point. "That's... a long time." Brian replied, his most elaborate response slipping out before he could consider how deliciously redundant and obvious his statement was.

As for biting, he didn't feel he had that to fear from her. Then again, one never knew... all animals would defend themselves somehow. He suspected that was what those spines were for, though. Blitzen began inspecting Emelyn, sniffing her feet with great interest, and threw off Brian's train of thought.

"But I guess that's a conversation that's been done to death, especially since you've been here for so long. I should've come with a more interesting topic, eh?" Brian grinned sheepishly. He then gave the lead a sharp tug when he saw Blitzen preparing to give Emelyn's crotch a proper sniffing. The dog sulkily returned to his side. "Sorry," he said, but couldn't help laughing. "God, I hope I don't start doing that eventually."

"Trust me, if there's something I'm not looking for here, it's more excitement and interest. Anything that borders on normalcy is... good." As for his suggestion that he might one day act like Reu and Blitzen... that she smiled at.

"Canine?"

"African Wild Dog," he said, unsure of why those words seemed to cheer him up. His tail waved a little, and his lower back shouted at it in agony. Don't do that, you idiot! It hurts still!

"And you don't want more excitement? You don't find it... a bit dreary, with nothing to apply your mind to?" This baffled him. "I... I for one, really miss working. Getting something done, I suppose... having a sense of accomplishment."

"I write. That's what I apply my mind to. And to coping." Reuben was, at this point, much more enthusiastic than his owner, whose voice had leveled into a soft truth. "But as far as excitement... I've been attacked twice, changed four or five times... and lived in the wild for nigh on eight months to prove a point. There's one thing with having a sense of accomplishment... and quite another with being tired."

A flush crept to Emelyn's cheek, doubly veiled by the fur against her skin and the dark that stood between them. "I'm sorry. You two were probably headed somewhere, weren't you? How crass of me to interrupt."

Brian was dumbstruck. "N-no, not at all. I was just giving this goof a chance to stretch his muscles a bit," he left out his intention to get medication, "I don't mind having someone to talk to. But if you've got other things to do-" (maybe she'd been sleeping before her dog woke her up) "-I'll let you go." He tried to process everything she'd told him. This woman definately deserved a mental and physical rest after all that. The wildlife biologist didn't blame her in the slightest, and felt rather insensitive for the comment he'd made.

"I'm sorry," she said, putting her hand on his arm for a moment, as if to emphasize her words, "I'm too sensitive sometimes. It's a flaw." She answered beyond his earlier words, closer to what she saw as the intentions, the meaning. ...That was another thing Emelyn White did- she read too much into things. (Which, not incidentally, was probably a large factor in her sensitivity.)

"I'll warn you now, just for the sake of it. I have many." She was jovial again, and if Brian was a true study of the human psyche, he may have realized what had happened... and what this quick shift spoke to. Emelyn was teetering, as she had been for a long time- trying to keep her emotions from surfacing, but unable to bury them too deeply. Quick shifts were the best she could do to try and return to some picture of normalcy.

Normalcy. That word, again- but so far out of reach.

"It's not your fault," he said quickly to her admission of sensitivity, "It wasn't the smartest thing to say. I should've realised if you felt that way, you'd have a good reason to." Brian would have normally extended this apology, nigh frantically, but her sudden change in tone of voice told him that a change in topic would be appropriate.

There was more, he realised, to Emelyn than just a nice person with a pet dog. Much more. She had endured a huge amount, and Brian strongly suspected she hadn't emerged unscathed. "We all have faults," he said, and added "After all, despite everything happening here... we're only human." He wondered if, perhaps, this was the only thing that would end up distinguishing the islanders from true animals: imperfection.

She laughed then- a sound mostly untouched by the sake of her animal instincts and physical structures. If anything, it was louder, due to the echo created by the elongated muzzle she'd sported for so many months now.

"We're only human. Indeed." Her eyes darted to the right, where Reuben was now trying to entice Blitzen to run with him around the village proper. He was safe, for now. The incessant checking was practically inherent to Emelyn's routine.

"I like you, Brian, you've got a sense of humor."

A smile spread across his face, and his ears pivoted forward slightly. "I try," he said, immensely pleased at her reaction. He was worried he'd offended her and driven her away.

Blitzen would have been all too happy to go off for a romp with his new buddy, but Brian hadn't had him long enough to trust him to return to him when called, or to find the duplex if lost. He stayed put, although the brown-and-cream dog whimpered plaintatively and followed Reuben around as much as he could.

"Someone once told me that laughter is good for the soul. And if you don't believe in souls, it's also supposedly good for your immune system." He tried to remember who'd told him that, but he couldn't remember. Maybe he'd read it somewhere. It had been so long ago.

"An answer for everything." She noted how Brian didn't let Blitzen stray too far off- and assigned it to a possibly meticulous nature. Everything a place, and everything in its place. "Tell me, Brian. What did you do before coming to Hell Island?"

His tail waved again, and he tried to ignore the aching it stirred up in his skeletal structure. "I was wildlife biologist, and I still am, sometimes, in here," he tapped one of his temples. "I specialized in canine behaviour patterns. I was doing work trying to see how much geography and scarcity of prey affected social interaction and behaviour, and spent the last year before I wound up here spending hour after hour watching wild dogs. Hence..." he extended an arm to display the fur gravitating near his elbow juncture.

"Oh." She crossed her arms before her- covering most of the bikini top she'd donned earlier in the day. She didn't say what she was thinking, for she assumed he realized it would be in the air: his serum had been hand-selected for him. "Well, then despite... everything, there might actually be parts of Hell Island that you like. There's a wealth of..." in her search for an appropriate word, her mind went deathly blank, providing only those euphemisms that offered little to what she wanted to keep as a conversational tone to the conversation. Finally, she succumbed to what was a writer's dread: the inability to find the perfect word. So she shrugged, and smiled. "...Biology."

He held in the chuckle at her choice of vocabulary. "I've noticed, actually. I spent a little time in the jungle, and I noticed a lot of birds and a few smaller animals. Mostly lizards and rodents- a lot of which are only found in eastern South-America, if I'm right. I did double-check with some of the books here, but I'm not entirely sure I identified all of them correctly. They're flighty little bastards, and a lot harder to spot than the larger mammals I'm used to working with. Not that I didn't try," he grinned.

Brian wasn't so sure if he'd be heading back into the jungle any time soon. It was much too humid, and he didn't fancy a confrontation with one of the more territorial islanders he'd heard tales about.

"Well, do you know anything about... ohh, I don't know- say, hedgehogs?" She smiled, naming her serum with a glib tone. Reuben, in the meantime, trotted back with his tail wagging, and stuck his nose almost directly in Blitzen's face. He was hardly a creature owned by subtlety.

Blitzen returned the invasion of space with a quick sniff and a lick-lick-licking of Reuben's face. He play-lunged at him, then dipped his forequarters into a play bow. If he had a tail, it'd be wagging quite wildly.

"Hedgehogs. Can't say I know a lot about them, no. I encountered one doing volunteer work at an animal shelter, but beyond that they're insectivores and really rather friendly, when not scared half to death, I don't know all that much." His little brother had had a hedgehog plush when they were younger. Brian had quite forgotten about it until that instant.

"Well, now you've got a chance to ...expand your knowledge base about natures friendliest pincushions." She smiled, and yet... was astounded. That sounded like a line. ...Was it?

The remainder of one of his eyebrows perked. "Oh?" He'd have to admit to himself, he'd definately thought about the possibility for learning a great deal about various animals, being them rather than just watching them. But what person, beyond a biologist like Brian, would willingly make themselves feel even more of a test subject by noting instincts and cravings and discussing them in the context of the species? It seemed silly to think people would just tell him about all the changes in behaviour and mentality they were undergoing. And here Emelyn was, apparently offering up this fascinating information out of the blue. He didn't really know what to say to that, and waited to see if she'd elaborate. Maybe she'd meant something else.

She laughed. Somehow, it was infectious tonight. Emelyn didn't know what it was- whether this was all some sort of way to add to her veneer of normalcy, to squelch the emotions that had been rolling around near the surface that spoke to her darker, more haunted emotions. Or maybe it was the night- this beautiful, deep dark night that sometimes she thought that only she could see through. It had been a long time since she'd encountered someone in the night, during those hours the hedgehog was happy and free. Usually, she went forth in the day, squelching more than just her emotions, but disallowing the hedgehog to feel comfortable, to take a part in their daily life. In any case, she found herself merrier than she'd been in a while- and it surprised her, like a drunk is surprised that they've managed to find their way home in tact.

"You're a strange bird, Brian. ...How old are you?"

Brian wondered what had been funny about his response. Her laughter, however, made him smile back. "Twenty-eight," he answered, his tone bemused. "And just what makes me so strange?" The question was unoffended, teasing almost. "Other than the fact that I have ears the size of teacup saucers."

"It's just that you seemed intrigued by an offer I'm not sure I'm making." That made her laugh again, which was now more a poke at herself than the biologist.

"I am a scientist," he said, with a slight trace of a smirk, "'intrigued' is my primary emotion. Anything else is unimportant. Except for 'in-need-of-a-bathroom-break'. That one tends to take priority." His smirk widened, drawing up along one side of his face more than the other and transforming into a lopsided grin.

"Aaahh. Science." A minute realization dawned on her... and thankfully, that amused her as well. "Well, anything you'd like to ask me, I'd be happy to answer. Not that I know how interested you might be in hedgehogs. ...Which reminds me, actually... can you see very well out here? Would you like to go to the community center? I didn't even think about it- I'm sorry. Nightvision is sort of a 'given' for me these days; I forget others don't have it."

"Nightvision?" He repeated, and pushed down the giggle of a thought that it made her sound like a superhero. Hedgehogwoman didn't quite have that heroic ring to it. "I don't think so, no. The changes have mostly been in my extremities... my eyes are still the same old pair I'm used to." He bent slightly to rub the ears of his dog, who had come to sit beside him. "I think walking down there would be a good idea... Blitzen looks pretty bored and annoyed with me for not letting him run amuck."

"Well, then, let me cease to be rude." She smiled, even though she now knew he wouldn't be able to see it very clearly. Then she led the short way to the community center, leaving him to either follow behind or go with his own devices. Reuben stayed near Blitzen, still trying to coax the Aussie to play.

The lights in the village were not especially strong- perhaps it was Moreau's way of cultivating a more wild atmosphere for his unwilling zoo... but the community center seemed to have been constructed to accommodate for their humanity as well as (if not surely more than) that of their animal natures. The lights were evident and available- and as Emelyn came nearer to the door, she turned, wondering how much of her Brian would be seeing clearer, and if he would flinch at all at her appearance.

Blitzen was quite happy to be moving again, although Brian was still slightly unsteady on his elongated feet and restructured legs. He made a valiant attempt at appearing casual, and at the very least he managed to keep his face the proper distance from the ground.

As they entered the lit area, he got a better look at Emelyn. He wasn't too surprised- he'd managed to make out the basics of her face in the darkness of the night. "So are you always up this late at night, or is it a trait of the hedgehog?" The question was relaxed and genuinely interested: this wasn't just one of his pathetic attempts at keeping the conversation going, for once.

"Well, it's hard, actually," she said, pushing open the door and holding it for Reu and the others, "to reconcile the one nature to the other- so I end up compromising, and sleeping from about three or four am to about noon. That way I'm up all afternoon and the rest of the night."

"That sounds like the best way to do it," he commented, waiting until the door was closed before unclipping Blizen's leash and allowing him to free-roam while indoors where Brian could keep an eye on him. "Although I suspect human nature is more adaptable than we give it credit for. I seem to recall one or two summers during my highschool years where I became completely nocturnal." He grinned.

She nodded and smiled- more of a noncommittal agreement than true attendance to his words- her traditional response when she didn't have anything in particular that she cared to say in return.

"So..." she looked down one length of the hallway, "cafeteria, laundry room.. exercise room... entertainment center, arcade..." she huffed a laugh, "supply closet. Your choice."

"Well, I have no laundry to do, I'm not especially hungry, and I don't have any overwhelming urges to mop the floor." He rubbed his chin in thought, still surprised to feel fur there rather than bristly hair, and twice as surprised to feel pawpads and short, stubby fingers touching that same chin. It was so unreal to lose things he'd had every day of his life. Brian wondered, absently, if having an amputation was somewhat similar in its mental 'morning after' stages.

"The entertainment center has some really good books, but that would be terribly antisocial of me. We could find a movie, if you're not tired at all or sick of me?" He smiled, but half meant what he'd suggested. Part of him was certain he must be grating on her nerves.

"Sounds good to me. But I warn you- I'm not a big action fan. ...Reuben. Don't go too far away." She whistled to supplement the words the dog wouldn't understand.

"I'm not either. I prefer plotlines that don't involve conspiracies to take over the earth and international spies and all that. I think someone ought to make a line graph of dramatic explosions in hollywood movies over the years... it seems like now they just do it because they can."

He made his way into the entertainment room, glancing at Blitzen (trying his luck at engaging Reuben in some friendly play) and deciding he wouldn't be able to get out of the complex. So far he'd come on command. Brian would just have to hope that applied still. "Any preference other than 'not action'?" He mentally sorted through genres in his mind. Serious movies, silly movies, sweet-but-silly movies, scary movies... he wasn't much of a fan of the latter.

"I like comedies," she said, walking far enough into the room to perch on the back of the couch- more of a lean than a sit. Reuben padded in after her, but didn't quite make it as far as Emelyn had, rounding on his paws to playfully open his jaws wide and half-latch them to Blitzen's shoulder in a game.

"I prefer comedies that aren't... destructive comedies, or frat humor."

Brian smiled wryly. "Well, that rules out only half of all comedy movies ever made. I'm not sure how much is here in the ways of actual movies, anyways," he said, going to the shelves and crouching down to peer at DVD titles. "I usually only get into the documentaries..." Brian sounded as through he had something more to add to that, but it went unsaid. What point was there, anyways, lamenting over a lost career?

"I don't know if these are organized in any particular order," he commented after a moment of scanning.


Em walked wide around the couch, headed for a chair that was tucked into a corner. She hooked the top rung of the back with her hand and dragged it nearer to where she'd originally stood. Then she turned its back to face the veritable wall of movies, and sat astride on it- backwards.

"I'm not very familiar with the selection." She didn't bother explaining that it was because she had been in the wild for a good percentage of her time on the island: somehow, she expected that would intrigue him into asking a series of uncomfortable questions. "But if you want, we can watch a documentary." She shrugged and smiled- indulgent.

"Oh no, I'm certain that would bore you. Besides, I've already seen the ones that are most interesting to me. We'll find ourselves a comedy." He began pulling out movie cases, reading the backs, and replacing him. Several (films like 'The 40 Year Old Virgin') earned a distasteful glower and a wrinkled nose. "You see anything?" Finding something to watch was proving more difficult than he'd expected.

"Have you ever seen the movie Clue?" She dropped her chin to the chair back, and wrapped her arms around it, only loosly gripping her wrists.

"No, actually, I haven't." Brian ceased his fruitless search and turned to peer at Emelyn, anticipating a description of some sort.

She closed her eyes in recall. "Tim Curry... Madeline Kahn... Leslie Ann Warren, Christopher Lloyd. It's the movie version of the board game, y'know, Clue, the old board game?" She opened her eyes. "I used to always be Miss Scarlett. I would have been Ms. White, but she was old. Oh," she realized, "my last name is White. That's what I mean by that. Anyway, it's a good movie. But I don't know if they have it here."

"Well, let's see if we can find it," Brian said and, as he was putting his weight forward on his awkwardly shaped feet, lost his balance and fell on this rump. "JESUS CHRIST, AUGH! Motherf-" he clenched his jaw shut to stem the uncharacteristic outburst. Normally the short distance and the cushy landing gear would have made falling backwards no big deal in the slightest. He'd landed, however, on the still incredibly sore links of his tail and the end of his spine. Tears appeared in the very corners of his blue eyes and he did his best not to swear maliciously. "Agh- sorry- hope you're not religious- just transformed a little while ago- spine- hurts like a b***h." He grit his teeth. "Nnnng. I'm okay. I'm fine."

Emelyn jumped up as soon as he fell, and then started backwards when he screamed in pain. The spines along her head and back sprung into a warning position, but she ignored them, fighting through the urge to ball up and hide and pushing forward to where he'd fallen.

"No, don't... don't worry about it," she said, speaking over his words as he said he hoped she wasn't religious, "...Are you sure you're okay? Here." She offered him her arm, and crouched down to help him.

"I should've known better," he muttered, accepting her arm and, putting one of his own to the floor to push himself up simultenously, got up. "Still not used to these feet... balancing like that is tricky enough with normal feet. Nnnfff. Serves me right." He went to touch his lower back and winced, pulling his hand away quickly.

"Well, even when you're here as long as... well, you must have... it's easy to forget." She stood with him and gave a sympathetic look- otherwise, there wasn't much she could do.

He stood and shifted his weight from side to side, squeezing his eyes shut and then opening them again quickly. His ears, which had pushed themselves backwards, not yet able to completely flatten against his skull, returned to a more normal angle. "Ouch. Lesson learned. Hope I didn't wake anyone up." He looked around, as if expecting an angry crocodile in flannel pajamas to appear in the doorway and snap groggily at him for the disturbance. This did not, in fact, happen.

"I think they'd forgive you. And if not, hey- we've always got the dogs to sic on 'em." She gestured over to where her own dog was, in fact, half-chewing on the other, and she laughed. "Orrr... not. ...You sure you okay? There's a little clinic in the building that might still be open?" She said, raising the end in a question which was meant to ask if that was something he'd be interested in.

"I'll be fine," he said, sounding more confident in the words that time around, "Although I should probably get some aspirin or tylenol or something for later. But I can pick that up later. ey- is this the movie you were talking about?" Brian reached forward and pulled out the DVD case that had caught his eye. "Clue?"

"Mm, that's it exactly." The familiar cover of a faux mansion front within which, peering out the cutout of windows were the main characters was instantly familiar to her.

"Oh, or we can watch Shawshank Redemption," she said, spotting a title now that she was closer to the shelves. "Ever heard of that one? Morgan Freeman is so wonderful."

"Haven't heard of that, either," he replied. "I wonder what time it is," Brian muttered absently, looked at his bare wrist and, discovering that no watch resided there, shrugged. "On second thought, I'd probably rather not know." The redhead grinned. "I don't have any particular preference for which movie we watch. Which would you rather?"

Aislinn was...well, not quite as depressed as she had been. Things were getting better. She was managing to get around, though her room was still smaller than she would have liked for her bulk, and some things were just downright difficult to do. Still, she was alive and no longer in any pain now that the calluses on her hands had worn over from leaning so much on her walker. She wore long shirts that covered the tiny hooves nicely, and had left the rest of her clothing with one of the lab people. She was expecting Brian at any moment, and so had made some effort to clean the place up, but...well, it really didn't look all that much better than it had.

The announcement of the zoologist's arrival came first in the form of the scratching noise of an animal pawing the door, which was shortly followed by a muffled rebuke. After the scratching subsided, two knocks came. "It's me," Brian said, rubbing at the hair (fur?) on his chin.

The woman left the clothes that hadn't been picked up yet where it lie and hobbled her way over to the door, straightening her hair a bit. "Brian!" she beamed, opening it with less difficulty than she could have managed a few weeks ago and stepping back to let him have the space to get in. She blinked in surprise a moment later, though. He looked...well, distinctly more canine than the last time they'd been together.

"Aislinn," he said, his smile wavering when he caught the naunaces of her reaction to his appearance. He was no longer passably human, and he had come to terms with that. But could she? Pushing the thought away, he stepped inside and gestured to the dog at his heels. "I brought Blitzen along- I hope you don't mind. Normally I wouldn't, but there was something curious I've noticed about him that I wanted to ask you. You have more experience than I do with the domestic breeds of dogs." Though the words that spilled from his mouth were business, the quick, flighty glance that found its way to Aislinn's face was anything but.

After a moment or so, she recovered from the surprise and smiled, leaning down about as far as she'd found herself able to manage to scratch between Blitzen's ears, "Sure, I'm sure I can give you a few educated guesses anyhow." Her smile warmed significantly as she straightened and moved forward tentatively to hug him, "It's...I've missed you," she said softly.

Brian wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders and pressed his cheek to hers, regardless of strangeness of his face it might bring to attention. His tail fluttered back and forth like a banner on the breeze. "I've missed you too. How've you been?" He really didn't want to let go. It was much too nice to hold her again, breathing in the smells he associated with her.

She nuzzled him gently, sighing a bit. Her senses weren't developed the way his were, but she could certainly enjoy the feeling of being held just as well. She pulled back, taking in all of his changes. He was still adorable. She did love dogs...smiling, she moved back a bit more so they could both be fully in the duplex, "I've been allright. Adjusting and all." in a way it was good that they'd been apart for a while, just so that she could get used to her difficulties and changes. But she had missed him. And..well, that was for later.

Brian stepped inside and gestured vaguely, at which Blitzen trotted inside after him and set about exploring. "If you break anything," the redhead warned his pooch, "You're in trouble." The words would obviously mean nothing to Blitzen, but he understood that tone well enough. When he was satisfied that no unwanted gifts would be left for Aislinn in dark corners, Brian took a moment to just gaze at her. It had been... so long, it felt. But he'd wanted to give her some space, and give himself some time to accept the changes. He had no other choice but to accept them, really. "No too bad, then?" He asked, hopefully. It was obvious what he referred to.

She grinned, shaking her head and moving to run her fingers through his hair again, "Oh, no!" she leaned over the walker to give him a kiss on the cheek, "You're adorable. It was just a surprise, that's all." she looked over to where Blitzen had wandered, but wasn't really concerned. Anything he did to the room probably wasn't nearly as bad as what she'd done when she was first adjusting to her new form. It would be tough to clean up, but she'd manage.

A pleased but timid smile appeared on the man's face at the compliment, and even though he wasn't sure it was true it made him happy nonetheless. "Here, lemme show you this. I think you might find it interesting. Blitzen- here!" The dog came obediently, tongue lolling happily, and stood still while Brian maneuvered him to better make his point. "His tail, or what should have been a tail... normally when one is cropped, when they're pups, there's some nub or evidence of the severed bone, right? Blitz doesn't have any of that... it's almost like he was born completely lacking a tail. Is that normal?" Indeed, it would appear upon inspection that Blitzen had never been the proud owner of a tail.

Aislinn blinked, moving over to the couch to sit down, "Here, bring him over and I'll have a look." It was easier to get closer to Blitzen's height when she was on the couch than to attempt crouching with equine knees. And lying down always meant that at some point she'd have to get back -up-. She shook her head, "though you're right, usually there's some evidence of a docking. Though, I suppose it could be a genetic mutation....but I wouldn't think it's common in his breed. Only manx cats really have that tendency..."

The man flicked his wrist at the couch and with the command of 'Up!', the dog was settled comfortably next to Aislinn, looking rather smug. I gets to sit on the big people chair. "I thought so. He's an Australian Shepherd, if that tells you anything." Brian's ears strained forward, enjoying greatly the sound of his dear friend's voice again.

Aislinn nodded thoughtfully, running her hands along the dog's back and towards his rump. Gently, she brushed against the area where his tail would be, putting a little pressure just to make sure there really was no tail bone.She bit her lip thoughtfully, then looked up at Brian, "That -is- odd," she informed him, "Aussie's usually have their tails docked when they're puppies in countries that allow it, but they usually start off with at least a stub of a tail."

"I wonder," he muttered, coming to stand beside her, "If it has anything to do with his life before he was given to me. I'm not sure if he was reared in the labs or if they bought him as an adult, but I'm curious as to why I randomly got a dog as a gift... beyond the cruel irony Duvert seems to get a kick out of. But that wouldn't explain why other people got dogs, too." He looked from Blitzen to Aislinn, who was still so pretty just sitting there. Her shoulder looked like a good place to put a hand or brush his knuckles against affectionately, and the urge to do so was difficult to resist. Resist it he did, however. Brian wasn't sure if she still felt... that way about him. Better safe than sorry.

She smiled, hugging Blitzen, "He's a good boy, though," she said, "So well-behaved..." she let her voice trail off, 'I really don't know. I suppose I wouldn't put it past the labs to do something like that, though." The woman adjusted herself a bit and patted the spot on the other side of her from Blitzen, "Come sit down," she smiled, "No reason for you to be standing about like that."

The dog recognised those two magical words of praise and looked up at Aislinn, maw wide in a doggy grin and eyes sparkling with happiness. Yay attention! Brian sat in the indicated spot, wondering why suddenly he felt awkward. He wasn't really sure... what to expect. The man struggled to say something, and failed, gazing at his knees in silence.

She smiled, rearranging herself a bit so that she could snuggle against Brian, "It's good to have you back," she said softly. She wanted to ask...but...she wasn't sure now was the right time. He seemed very stiff and uncomfortable, and if he didn't change that soon she'd probably have her answer without having to ask it.

The snuggling melted his defenses within a fraction of a fraction of a second. His arm went out to encircle her waist- or was it her lower back, now? Bah, it didn't matter. His eyes closed as he pressed his fuzzy forehead to the side of her head, inhaling deeply. "I've missed you," he reiterated.

She snuggled even closer now that he was responding, all but purring her response, "I missed you too. But now at least we're both...well, I'm in better condition than I was, so I can enjoy being with you a bit more." She wasn't going to fall asleep on him at a moment's notice or become inexplicably angry just because she was irritible or anything. And she was less likely to be solemn and all that jazz.

"Mmm," he muttered, not entirely following what she meant but catching the general drift. Brian placed a drawn-out, sentimental kiss on her cheek, and then gazed at her. After a moment, he asked, "When is your birthday?"
Aislinn made a face, "April 13th," she said, "I'll be twenty-seven. Another step closer to thirty and being old." She laughed, then snuggled up against him again, "Why d'you ask? Is yours soon?"

"Mine was in October. Just wondering if I should start panicking about what to do for a gift. And thirty is hardly old... or at least, I keep telling myself that." His eyes twinkled, and a wide grin exploded on his face without warning. Being here with here with her filled him with an inexplicable joy he'd nearly forgotten.

Aislinn laughed, "I'm just lucky I'm Asian so I won't -look- thirty until I'm fourty. Or at least, I hope not." ...how could she still be -vain- after what she'd been through? But she was so used to being careful about her appearance...it made her feel better to act in a way so familiar to her. "And really, I wouldn't worry about a gift. I'd be more panicked about how to help me make a totally -rockin'- party." She'd definitely have to get 'zee in on that if she did have a party when it came time for her birthday.

"I'm not much of a party person," Brian admit, "But for yours, I'll just have to ignore my... antisocial tendencies. I'm sure any party you're at will be fantastic." He couldn't, apparently, bring himself to say "totally rockin'". At least not without laughing at himself.

She smiled, nuzzling his neck softly. Oooh it was even more fun now that he was furrier! He was somehow even -more- cuddly, and she did crave the physical touching-ness. It'd been much too long since she'd had someone to hold her, "Aww, you're too sweet. I promise I'll try not to subject you to too much. Just some Karaoke and drinking, perhaps."

"I haven't been well and truly smashed in absolute years," he confessed drolly, "But I'll admit to doing some Karaoke in the past while before I wound up here." Brian was no singer, but he didn't sound horrible. Or at least, that was his perspective. "Jonathon would always pretend he didn't know me afterwards, but we were about ready to leave anyways, by the time I'd had enough to drink that I was doing any singing." He chuckled, remembering the days of old, and wondered if the island held any promise of more friends like Jon had been. He hoped so.

Aislinn giggled at the image of a drunken, fuzzy Brian singing karaoke. Of course, wasn't like any of the islanders that might be invited wouldn't be as ridiculous an image. ....really, why not have a karaoke party -before- her birthday? There didn't have to be an excuse for a Karaoke drinking party! She pulled away a bit and turned to face him, "Perhaps we should have a party anyhow," she grinned, "I'd love to see you drunk!"

Her enthusiasm made him laugh, and he raised a brow at her impishly. "Oh, I dunno. I'm not sure you'd be safe when I decided to throw away all decorum and self-restraint. Alcohol gives me confidence, I'll have you know, and it's a fearsome and unnatural sight." His self-depreciating comments were undermined by the fanged smile on his face and the gentle thumping of his tail against the couch.

She was falling in love with that tail by the second. It was like an eternal gauge of his mood. Something that she felt could be quite useful. She widened her eyes in an expression of mock innocence, "Really? Confidence and a lack of self-restraint? I wonder what would happen then?" she couldn't keep it up past that, though, and broke into giggles.

Brian cackled and tipped his head to nibble at her neck, drawing a thumb across her collarbone. "That's when the big bad wild dog jumps out of the shadows and eats you up," he whispered below her ear, smirking.

Something fluttered within her, but she managed to push that feeling aside. Definitely not something she wanted to deal with just now. Shivering gently, she leaned against his touch, her eyes half-closed, "Oh really?" she asked softly, sneaking her arm around his back and up it to play once again with his marvelous orange locks, "I don't know if that's such a -bad- thing..."

The wild dog man gave a playful growl, spreading gentle bites up and down her jaw. "Ohhh, it's terrible," he intoned, the odd word muffled as it was spoken with his lips to her skin, "The big nasty beast will break free of his chains and then goodness knows what he'll get up to once he's loose."

Aislinn sighed softly, "I know what I rather -wish- he'd get up to." She blinked, realizing she'd said it out loud and tinged red, waiting for a response. But perhaps he wouldn't really notice it so much. He did seem involved in what he was doing and she certainly didn't mind that.

Her words gave Brian pause, and he finished off his attack on her neck with a few gentle kisses before drawing back to look at her. "Oh?" He asked, one of his brows perking in an expression of inquisitiveness and, without really realising it, his head tilted ever so slightly to one side.
The distinctly doggy tilt made her smile and melted her embarrassment a little bit, "Oh, it's nothing. I didn't really mean it," Well, she had and she hadn't. In another situation she would have meant it, but given the circumstances... "It's just..odd.."

He biologist follows her line of thinking, and for a moment his baser instinct-driven thoughts wished that they'd met when they were both fully human. But then he remembered her legs- they wouldn't have been able to pursue that sort of romance anyways. Lose lose situation! But then, he was just happy to have found someone that he'd been able to make such a strong connection with. "I understand. Don't worry about it." Perhaps to apologize for pressing her on such an uncomfortable topic, he touched a gentle kiss to her lips.

Aislinn returned the kiss softly. That feeling fluttered up again, and she leaned against him. He was so much...nicer..more mature? Better, really, than the guys she'd been with previously. Even Erik, though he'd wanted to stay with her through all that...well, he hadn't known, had he? That she wouldn't be able to do...much. He probably would have left her after a few months anyhow and she'd spared herself that. Besides, they'd remained friends. She scratched at Brian's ears thoughtfully, "It's not...just that," she said, biting her lip thoughtfully.

Not just that? Hm. He leaned into her touch, trying not to admit what a pleasant sensation having one's ears scratched was. No wonder Blitzen liked it so much. "We don't have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable," he said, brushing his knuckles against her shoulder. Of course, he wondered what was bothering and hoped she'd tell him, but it was more important that -she- was happy.

She sighed, continuing to scratch and working out how exactly to word what she wanted to say. But-- in typical Aislinn fashion-- she realized the only way was really just to say it, "What...is this, exactly? I mean...are we just...friends who like to cuddle and kiss, or...are we something else?" she -had- to know. She couldn't just keep it bottled up. And it was difficult to just 'ask him out'...where would they go? It wasn't like there were dating areas on the island or whatever. It was a very...complicated situation.

At that moment, his ears did something fairly peculiar. First they poinked up, as if surprised, swiveled and pushed backwards, as though afraid or upset, and then titled forward, as though listening to something in the distance. It was a fairly accurate representation of the emotions that swirled through Brian's thoughts. "Well, uh," here he had to rub thoughtfully at his chin. "I'm not sure. I mean- uh, it's not that- I, uh-" he clamped his mouth shut and inhaled dramatically. Then he made a second attempt to speak his mind. "I... I'd like for us to be... more than just... friends who like to cuddle. But only if that's what you want."

Aislinn's body had seemed to tense a bit when she brought up her concerns, but it relaxed significantly now, though she refused to meet his eyes at least at the moment. Instead, she watched Blitzen rather avidly, "I...well, I'd like to be more, of course..I just..I don't know. It's hard to ask a person out when there isn't really anywhere to go, isn't it?"

Her response surprised Brian more than the actual question. Was that her only concern? Not, 'I'm sorry, I can't date you: I'm turning into a horse,' or 'You're just not my species'? "There are plenty of places to go. Have you ever been out and explored the island?" Then he remembered her legs and winced internally. Ooohhh, that was insensitive. Change gears. "When you've changed again you'll probably be able to walk on your own, and we can go to the edge of the lake, take-" a wide grin plastered itself on his maw "-long, romantic walks on the beach. Watch a sunset, even. Oh, and the beach bar. Is that Karaoke I hear in our future?" His voice has taken on an air of jest, and he looked hopefully at her.

She had to laugh, pulling him closer, "I actually do enjoy hiking about a bit. It helps build my confidence with the walker and all that jazz." she knew enough about physical therapy to appreciate how much assistance pushing herself to do things that were difficult for her could give. "And...well, I suppose. I'm so used to dating in the city...we'd always drive out to San Fran or something. There wasn't much in Davis besides the zoo...and most of the guys I dated weren't particularly interested in -that-." Another thing she adored about Brian. That reminded her, "And of course, we could always talk about animals. That's terribly romantic."

He smiled, rubbing the tip of his nose against her cheek. "Oh yes, terribly. That's definately the first thing I think of when I see you. Animals!" The sarcasm was so thick on his words and in his expression that it was almost droll. But he didn't allow himself to forget, it had been that mutual interest which had drawn them together in the first place. For that, he was grateful.

She grinned, "Well, I'm not surprised given I'm about half horse at this point." she flicked her tail without a thought, nuzzling against him and burying her face in his shoulderblade for a moment, then bringing her head back up, "So...you will, then? Date me, I mean?"

"I'd love to," he replied, sincerity in every fibre of his being and every timbre of his speech. He gazed at her, feeling the finer hairs on his back prickle with excitement and anticipation.

"Even if I'm half horse?" she let her insecurity shine through for a second, then masked it with a grin, "As that'll make sex pretty tricky, you see." It'd make -everything- pretty tricky, really. And what, she'd be dating a man turning into a dog. How odd was that? Well, she'd worry about how she felt over that another time.

Brian clicked his tongue against his teeth in a sort of 'tsk tsk'. "That's not important at this point. I'd rather have met you entirely as a horse than never have met you at all." He paused, and then laughed suddenly. "Better to have loved a horse than never to have loved at all? Christ this place does weird things to your sense of humour."

She laughed, "Well, I did always want a dog," she teased back, scratching his ears a bit to make up for teasing him. She stretched her arms a bit, "I'm glad we have that figured out, though..." she looked towards the kitchen, "Do you want some tea? I somehow seem to have a desperate craving for some."

Brian's tail went whump-a-whump against the couch. "Sure," he replied, shortly adding, "Do you want some help?" He prepared to rise, and his shifting make Blizten raise his head to have a peek at what was going on.

She shook her head, "I've figured it out now," she informed him, getting to her feet with only a bit of trouble, "But you're sweet for asking." She headed into the kitchen, "Do you have a particular preference? I completely raided the catalogue so I've got a little bit of everything."

"Apple, if you have it?" He asked, smiling brightly. Once Aislinn was up, Blitzen wiggled over to plop his big heavy self on top of Brian's legs, looking for some attention. Figuring he'd ignored the dog for long enough, the redhead mumbled nonsensical dog-lover gibberish into Blizten's fur and stroked his gleaming coat.

Aislinn grinned, "I do indeed," she said, taking the necessary teapot and strainer and such from the cabinet and getting the apple tea mix out. In a swift movement, she'd started the process and the tea was bubbling over the stove.

He watched her out of one corner of his eye while entertaining his pooch. "You're a good boy. Yes. Yes you are. Who's a good boy? Blitzen is. Yes he is, yes he is." The Australian Shepherd writhed with joy and effectively winded his master with a misplaced paw to the gut. "Oof. Now the good doggy needs to get off. Off, Blizten. Down." Obedience ruled over all, and Brian released a sigh as the relatively large dog got down to the floor and sat on his feet rather than his ribcage.

Aislinn finished with the tea in short time, and came over, leaning a bit to scratch Blitzen behind the ears, "He is an awfully good dog. I wonder if they trained him, or if he's just naturally disposed to obedience?"

"I've wondered the same myself. He seems a bit smarter than the average housepet, but I might just be extending my massive ego onto him." Brian sat up and extended a knobbly, paw-like hand in a silent offer to hold the tea while she sat down.

Aislinn laughed, giving him one cup and going back for the other, "I don't know if that's anything odd, though. I've seen dogs smarter than any other dog I'd met before-- a couple of them. And I've met a few that just seemed to be -good- dogs despite their owners." A lot of dogs had really cruddy owners back at the Vet clinic...she did sort of wonder how everybody was doing back there..

"Mhm," he said, taking a sniff of his tea before settling it on his knee to cool a bit. No sense in scalding his tongue. "Whether or not he's an Einstein or a complete dunce, he's good company and he forces me to get out and get some excersize."

Aislinn smiled, "Well that's good. It's nice to know you're taken care of," she settled herself on the couch again with her tea, leaning back against the back of it. She should probably get out a bit more herself. "Exercise is definitely a good thing."