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 Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:54 am
The Journal of Jamal Reedy
: razz lease do not post unless you are:: 1) An island inhabitant 2) Any staff for the Island Jamal Reedy is (c) JadeEye in concept
Jamal Reedy is (c) Anya! XD in official art done for The Island of Doctor Moreau.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:56 am
  Name: Jamal Reedy Nicknames: Ja'Reed, J-dawg Gender: Male Age: 25 Birthdate: October 10th, 1980 Height: 6ft 3in Weight: 210lbs Sexuality: Straight Ethnicity: African-American Appearance: Medium brown skinned with tribal tattoos running down the arms. Toned and fit from working out but not overly muscled. Black hair done back in thin cornrows (generally never seen in any other manner unless he shaves his head completely). Sparce facial hair over the lip. Clothing upon Arrival: White wife-beater, baggy jeans, black doo-rag, various jewelry including earrings, a watch, and two chain pendants Previous Occupation: Unemployed unless you count his drug-dealing ring Skills: Pretty accurate with a hand-gun but other than that.... Medical Information: Bullet-hole scars on his abdomen, shoulder, and one on the back of his thigh. Occasionally suffers from tingling in those areas due to nerve damage but otherwise as healthy as one would expect given his lifestyle. Likes: Money, women, brand-names, the cover of night, anything of monetary value, drugs, being in control, guns, violence to get what he wants, large dogs, weight lifting Dislikes: Police, bright daylight, cheap immitations, racism (basically cocky white people), having to walk long distances, being lied to, any animal that isn't aggressive, being in touch with his emotions Hobbies: Drug peddling, picking up women, frivolous spending of drug money, working out, hanging with his friends Personality: Ghetto. Very, very ghetto. He has no problem in letting his language get as foul as it comes, is more concerned about posessions than anything else really, and is, for lack of a better way to say it, a womanizer. He's pretty egotistical too and isn't likely to admit when he's wrong. Violence is just another method of getting what he wants, though he'd probably never be allowed to have a gun so he will probably resort to physical assault if he had to (and most likely won't unless in an RP someone is willing to duke it out XD) He's on his best behavior right now though...he doesn't want to be kicked off the island and be handed to the police. Likes physical activity such as basketball.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 10:58 am
  Name: Jamal Reedy Nicknames: Answers to nothing else but Jamal Gender: Male Age: 26 Birthdate: October 10th, 1980 Height: 6ft 5in Weight: 250lbs Sexuality: Straight Ethnicity: African-American, unknown if he even acknowledges it anymore Appearance: His skin has bleached out to a faint tan and dark stripes are overlayed over most of his body. A 'cape' of white and black fur now goes from head, down the neck, down the back, and ends in a nearly fully formed tiger tail. His head, for all appearances, looks almost completely tigerized with his ice blue eyes, whiskers, and abnormally long canines. His cornrows have been without maintenance long enough to become more dreadlock-like. He has bulked up some throughout his body and gotten a little taller due to the digigrade leg configuration. Clothing Currently: Tattered and dirty jean shorts and a dirty, shredded t-shirt occasionally. No shoes ever. Jewelry is worn now and then when he's feeling nostalgic. Wears his headwrap most of the time. Skills: Stalking, mauling, and scaring the s**t out of anyone who bothers him. Posesses better than average night vision, hearing, and smell. Medical Information: Bullet-hole scars on his abdomen, shoulder, and one on the back of his thigh, all covered by fur. Severe scarring on the back of the neck, without fur, from the chip removal done by Billy. Suffers from random weakness in his limbs when exerting himself physically but is slowly improving. Likes: Blood, raw meat, making people scream, freedom, the jungle, smokeable plants, alcohol, revenge, sexual encounters, prowling, control of any kind, women Dislikes: Crowds, the staff and guards, medical equipment of any kind, confinement, arrogance, being challenged Hobbies: Hunting, climbing, stalking, dreaming of schemes to get the staff back for all of this, exercise Personality: Bitter, to sum it up in a word. He has let the tiger instincts drive most of his thoughts and actions now that he's transformed as far as he has. He has no hope of ever going back to how he used to be and has instead embraced his 'figerhood', using his newfound weaponry to the fullest by honing his hunting skills on unsuspecting prey. Although he is still a womanizer, he no longer actively seeks out any women for sexual favors, instead opting to keep to himself in order to keep his freedom. He no longer considers himself to have friends, feeling they're unnecessary and don't last anyway, having not been sought up by any of them in recent times (can you blame them?). He has an extremely short temper and does not suffer from guilt when going off on someone during an exchange. Violence is his answer to almost anything that isn't going his way.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:02 am
Jamal was born and raised in Detriot, Michigan down in the slums to a good-hearted mother and a highly respected (well, as highly respected as you can be in the ghetto) father. He had two older sisters and a younger brother, each thriving in the loving atmosphere of their home. They were poor and had a hard time getting by so once Jamal was able, he picked up a job at a local butcher shop at the age of 15 to help his family. However, Jamal found that even his small job proved to be useless while in school so he dropped out soon after taking the job in order to work full-time (and sometimes overtime) during the day and played some street basketball by night. It was after working at the shop for about a year that Jamal was introduced to a neighborhood gang while playing ball and found their support to be, what he thought, even greater than his family. He soon started experimenting with drugs and committing petty larceny, selling both goods to get money which he then took to his parents, claiming to have gotten a raise when they inquired on the larger than usual contribution. He ran the streets at all hours of the night, slowly working his way up to a full-time drug dealer and a part-time thief. When his parents finally found out, they gave him an ultimatum, not wanting to see their son swallowed by the clutches of the local criminals, thinking he would give up the gang and return home. Jamal, however, was too impressionable and afraid to to give up his new lifestyle, so he rejected his family and moved in with one of his gang brothers. There he was exposed to sex, more drugs, guns, and any other sort of negative energy one could think of. At age 25, Jamal was in the best possible position one could be given his living enviroment. He'd been in more fights than he could count and his sweet, good-natured disposition had melted into that of a sarcastic, violent, womanizer. Despite this, he had commanded a huge respect. He was an accomplished criminal and one of the best established drug-dealers in his neighborhood. It seemed ironic that this was when he made his biggest mistake. He found himself in a conflict with one of his better customers one night (and a close friend), an argument stemming from a misweighing of pot. It grew violent quickly and before Jamal knew what he was during, he lost his temper, drew a gun, and shot the man point-blank in the chest. His victim died upon impact of the bullet. He hadn't meant to kill him, just wound him and teach him a lesson. Not knowing what to do, Jamal fled the scene and returned to his parent's house, begging for a place to stay for the night, claiming he'd gotten locked out of his former living situation. They allowed him inside, unaware of what he'd done.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:03 am
Red = Enemy
Black = Neutral
Green = Friend Ambrose: I'll kill that ********>: She's a'ight...jus' a kid...knows betta then ta piss me off though. Emerwyn She cries too damn much. Suck it up. Greer: You wanna fight? A'ight then, stupid b***h. Bring it. Cassidy: Ain't talked ta her much so ain't formed no opinion yet. Lauren: I ain't carin' how tough yo' life been. Imma beat yo a** you be tellin' me what ta do. The Dude: Ain't sure 'bout this guy. Heard he be up on dat bird b***h...ain't sure I like dat much. Emelyn: She's a'ight. Ain't seen her much lately though. Hargun: We talk ev'ry now and then. She ain't so bad. Colche: Jesus christ put some ********' clothes on. You ain't legal! Vasile: Ain't bad guy, but I ain't really talked to him much. He stood up fo' me in the cafeteria though, so dat's cool. Anjali: She ain't bad either. Makes good tea. Chubbs: Big guy but a ********' wuss. Chana: She was a'ight but then we got inta a fight.... Joliette: She ain't worth anythin' any'mo. Kim: She a'ight...ain't run into her lately. Awen Zyn: Eh..ratha' not talk 'bout it. Antony: She's 'bout the closest thing ta a friend I got left now....but I ain't seen 'er in a long time. We had rough times.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:04 am
 Jamal's photo collection is located here.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:04 am
  Scientific Name: Panthera tigris tigris Range: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal Average Weight: Female: 221 - 353 Pounds Male: 419 - 569 Pounds Average Length: Female: 7 Feet 11 Inches - 8 Feet 7 Inches Male: 8 Feet 8 Inches - 10 Feet 2 Inches Prey: Antelope, Buffalo, Cattle, Deer, Pigs. General Information: In the public eye white, or more correctly, chinchilla tigers are perhaps the colour which is to be most admired. The correct term for these tigers is chinchilla albinistic: blue eyed, lacking in phaeomelanin, pale-coated, but having a pattern. These tigers grow faster and heavier than their orange counterparts and with their pale ice blue eyes, white fur with chocolate stripes, pink noses and pink paw pads they are indeed a beautiful sight. Unfortunately, beauty brings a curse and with the white tiger that curse is one of extreme inbreeding. A white tiger can only be born when both parents carry the unusual gene for white colouring. The double recessive allele in the genetic code only turns up naturally about once in every 10,000 births. For unexplained reasons it seems to occur only in the Bengal subspecies. Because of the abnormal coloration causes a difficulty in proper camoflauge, white tigers do not survive long in the wild. However, when kept in captivity, they live long and healthy lives like any other wild cat.
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:06 am
Upon his arrival, Jamal was given Duplex 7 to call his own. He lived there in relative peace for many months before transforming. Upon his first transformation, he grew to like his duplex less as living space and more as a place to store his belongings. As his transformation progressed, he spent less time in his duplex and more time in 'his' jungle territory until he completely abandoned his duplex in favor of freedom in the trees. He has a home territory that stretches to the village and the lake, then towards the deeper forest (meaning that's most likely where you'll find him).
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:04 am
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:05 am
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:18 am
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:29 am
Welcome to the Island, Mr. Reedy
Aubrey waited nervously at the helipad, Jamal's thick file clutched in her hands. She ran her fingers through her frizzy hair for the thousandth time when the helicopter started to approach on the sky, and she plastered a smile on her face and waited for the landing.
From inside the helicopter, Jamal peered nervously out the window offered to him as they began their descent to the landing pad. For one, he was never a fan of heights...for another he half expected a police chopper to come out of nowhere and shoot them down. Irrational, perhaps. However, he knew that his choices were pretty limited right now and an escape to a secluded island sure beat spending hard time behind bars...so he'd spent most of the trip silently figuring out his first line of action once he was turned loose. Damn...he really needed a drink.
Upon landing, the pilot, a rather large bulkish black name who introduced himself as James, opened the hatch to the chopper and stood aside. Waiting at the edge of the helipad with a tall woman with freckles, firzzy brown hair that was blowing wildly in the wake of rotors, and glasses. James went back and cut the engine to the helicopter and wordlessly grabbed Jamal's bag and threw it in the back of a Jeep that was parked off the helipad.
The woman stepped up. "Hello!" She said in forced cheeriness. "Welcome to the Island! My name is Dr. Aubrey Lockheart. You're Mr. Reedy, I presume...?"
The smaller black man blinked owlishly as the sunlight once again flooded the helicopter's compartment and he clumsily exited while adjusting his headwrap and his somewhat outlandish chain jewelry. So this was paradise? s**t...looked like a damn jungle as far as he was concerned. He refused to look as out of place as he felt, however. As the woman stepped forward, he cocked a brow and assumed a sly smile. "Yeah, tha' be me," he said smoothly, casually passing a glance over the woman's figure. "Yous onna the big shots 'round here, 'm guessin'."
Aubrey's smiled faltered for a moment as he spoke, obviously speaking much faster and more... well, black, she guessed, than she was used to. It took a second to click, then she smiled again. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. I'm second in command here, working directly under Dr. Moreau. He's the BIG big shot around here. He owns this whole island."
She turned and looked at James. "SO... James... don't forget the, uh, regulatory bag check everyone has to go through... "
James' eyebrow arched over his designer sunglasses. "I checked his bags before he boarded the helicopter, Dr. Lockheart."
Aubrey shot a glance over at Jamal. "Oh... you did, did you..." She tried to think of an excuse of why they would need to be re-checked, but nothing came to her. "Well..." turning back to Jamal, "First stop is the labs to get you your Dengue Fever vaccine!" She made her way to the car and took Jame's elbow as she did. "You'll be accompanying us to the labs right, Mr. Brodstrum?"
"Yes ma'am," the man said and hopped into the back of the Jeep and waited. Aubrey turned back to Jamal and motioned to the vehicle.
Jamal gave, what he thought, his most charming smile to the young lady. However, he only suceeded in looking somewhat wolfish and maybe even suspicious...though it quickly flinched briefly into an expression of annoyance and dismay as the woman secured the arm of the large and somewhat intimidating (though he would never admit it) man and practically dragged him to the vehicle. Way to rain on a guy's mackin' parade...
"Well s**t. Jus' put ma feet on this damn island and yous already wantin' to stick me with needles," he complained as he sauntered over to the Jeep. He hadn't really believed he'd need any sorts of medical work done on him. At least not yet. "This ain't gonna take long, righ?" His expression was somewhat sour.
Aubrey just smiled and got in the passenger seat. "I'm sorry, Mr. Reedy, we'll get this over with as soon as possible. But unfortunately, the vaccine is the first thing we have to do once we get here. Regulations and all."
As soon as Jamal was in the Jeep, Aubrey would head down the gravel path towards the labs. For several minutes nothing would be able to be seen but deep jungle.
Jamal grumbled a few choice obscenities under his breath but got in, casting a leery glance at James. "******** the gov'ment and their rules...they ain't good for 'nothin' anyways," he drawled as he made himself comfortable, practically sprawling and slouching in his seat at the same time.
As they drove, he peered at the dense jungle with a steadily growing distain. This place looked like a bad episode of Survivor (which he had managed to watch only because his sorry black a** was stuck in a hospital waiting room one time).
"Well," Aubrey frowned, hating having to tell this lie. "Trust me, you want this vaccine," she said, making her way through the jungle. "I mean, Dengue fever is really nasty. You won't WANT to get it."
After a few minutes, the Jeep came over a hill to reveal a large mountain. Up the mountain was a sprawling laboratory complex. The centail, largest building, had the red "Feral Laboratories" logo across it. At the base was a clearing where there seemed to be a small village. There was a town square surrounded by a series of duplexes. Some of the buildings looked rather strange. Inlcuding a building that was up on high slitls, and one attached to the river that seemed filled with water like an aquarium.
Aubrey drove the Jeep up to the main building. The front of the building was solid reflective glass, with no visable doors.
Of course, all this odd scenery caught Jamal's attention, completely making him drop the topic of vaccinations. He more or less stared at the strange houses, trying to make sense of it all; definately didn't have things like that in the ghetto. "How da hell does a brotha get in a house like THAT?" he asked after a long pause, just before they pulled up in front of the main building. "s**t, you got some ex-NBA star's up in this joint? I ain't seen nobody wit' ups like dat..."
The heavily glassed building they stopped before was vaguely comforting. It at least had qualities similar to his hometown skyscrapers.
"Oh, thats for...special circumstances. Don't worry, you'll be staying at one of the more grounded apartments." She smiled to herself and got out of the Jeep. Feeling more secure in the building than in the jungle, Aubrey went over and opened Jamal;s door for him. "Why don't you stay here and watch Jamal's things?"
Aubrey led Jamal towards the building. As she approached, sliding glass doors opened automatically with a smooth 'swoosh' sound. In side the complex was a grand lobby. The floors were marble, with area oriental rugs, and plush overstuffed sofa's positioned around hard wood coffee tables. "This way, please.." Aubrey said, making her way towards the elevators.
She pulled out what looked like a cel phone from her pocket. "Doctor? I'm here with Mr. Reedy? Yes, sir. .... Yes, sir. Yes, James took care of that. Yes, I'm sure.
Thank you, Doctor.."
Jamal more or less flopped out of the jeep and again let his wandering gaze linger over the Doctor's form before taking up step at her side. He tried to not look TOO much like a kid at a candy shop once he was led inside and saw all of the finery and "ritzy" furnishings.
"Kinda weird place fo' a doc office, ain't it?" he remarked to Aubrey just as she pulled out her cellphone, which he admired for a moment after realizing that his had been left back at home along with all of his other 'toys'. He wondered vaguely why people seemed so concerned about him or his belongings. All he wanted was a place to live, dammit.
"Oh, we're kind of a research facility as well. All our labs are in this building." As she approached the elevators, they also opened automatically. Inside the elevator, there were no buttons of any kind. Instead, once Jamal was with her, she simply said "Floor Three" and the quick elevators lurched upwards.
The door slid opened moments later to reveal a cold, steele lab. Aubrey stepped out, her shoes echoing as she made her way across the room. "If you'll just take a seat on the exam table, I'll get your vaccine ready."
"Ain't see no place as ********' crazy as this," he murmured, this time to himself, as the elevator wisked them away to the third floor.
He got out without a comment, but his lip curled a little at the strange appearance of the lab. Suddenly he wasn't so sure he was cool with this place any longer. As Aubrey walked away from him, he put a palm on the chilled exam table and looked for a moment as he wasn't going to comply, but finally he hauled himself up onto it and crossed his arms almost like a petulant child instead of a 25 year old man.
Aubrey went to the back of the lab and passed her hand over a black panel on the back wall. As she did so, the panel opened up to reveal a collection of vials. The vials were each filled with a different colored liquid. Aubrey flipped opened Jamal's file and ran her finger down his stat sheet. Her eyes went WIDE for a moment, and she nearly choked. What the hell was Moreau thinking??. She plucked out a light blue vial and double checked the numbers. She looked distinctly more nervous as she drew up the liquid into a syringe and made her way back over to Jamal as she closed the file. "Ready? This might pinch alittle..."
Jamal shrugged, again assuming the 'don't give a s**t' demenor he usually portrayed. "I been shot befo'...ain't gonna hurt no more than dat, I garren-damn-tee."
Aubrey forced a laugh, even if the joke was unintentional. "Oh! Funny pun!" she exclamed, trying to swallow her nervousness. She should have checked with Moreau, but he had just told her not to bother him for the rest of the day unless it was a dire emergency. And its not like Moreau makes mistakes...
Saying a silent prayer, he wiped his shoulder with alcohol and injected him with the needle. The needle pinched, a nd a tingling feeling shot down his arm. Bur it was over in a second, and Aubrey went to dispose of the needle.
Jamal quirked a brow, having no idea what the hell a pun was, but didn't bother to ask because he suddenly hissed softly as the needle sunk into his shoulder and then the strange sensation ran down it to the very tips of his fingers. Funny how he'd never experienced the latter before. Once it was over, he smirked and crossed his arms once again, admiring Aubrey's backside as she went to take care of the needle.
"So..." he drawled, his tone growing somewhat serious. "Yous got da brotha all hooked up now, yeah? Hows about you let da brotha hook you up now, a'ight? All work ain't no fun...girl's gotta let go sometime, hm?" His bright teeth showed between parted lips as he tried to run his 'game' on the lady even though really...she wasn't his type. You could take the boy out of the ghetto but definately not take the ghetto out of the boy.
Aubrey dropped the needle in the biohazard bin and waved her hand over the reader again and the panel of vials closed seemlessly into the walls. Then Aubrey turned back to Jamal, having no idea what he just said. "Come again?"
"Sounds like yous need a little teachin' in the ways of the ghetto, baby girl," he quipped cheerfully as he slid of the table and leaned back on it instead. "Maybe J'Reed could do the teachin'..." He winked at her and nodded his head.
Baby girl?. Oh god, he wasn't trying to flirt with her,was he? Aubrey gave a quick glance up to the corner of the lab where she knew there was a camera. And she couldn't help but smile as she remembered what happened last time someone tried that. "Teach me in 'ghetto'?" She smiled back at him, walking alittle taller. Allright, so she couldn't help it. She wasn't used to the attention of men. "What does all that involve, anyway? Will there be a test?"
He grinned widely and tilted his head, very pointedly looking up and down Aubrey's figure for what had to have been the fifth or sixth time that day. "Maybe some studyin'...maybe a hands on test..."
Aubrey covered her mouth with her hand and hoped she wasn't blushing as he checked out her curvy, full figure. She found this somewhat amusing.. maybe alittle excited. Him being a killer and all. She knew he probably wasn't really serious, anyway. "You don't strike me as the scholarly type," she said with a wink and headed towards the elevator.
"Brotha will if yous want him to," answered the black man as he tagged after her with a little bit of a swagger, still grinning like the cheshire cat. "J'Reed don't mind gettin' some teachin' out of da deal."
The elevator slid open and Aubrey spun around on her heel, a large smile of her face. "I'm afraid I'm taken," she said with mock dissapointment. "I don't think he likes to share."
"Oh, ain't that a damn shame..." he said after a long pause, his game abruptly broke to pieces like an apple might be when shot with a bullet. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get in a turf battle even though he just got here. "Yous sure? Maybe we ain't gots to tell no one."
The elevator slid shut when Jamal came in, and Aubrey said, "Ground Floor," before turning her attention back to Jamal. "Oh, he has a way of finding things out..." she said, still grinning like a high schooler. "But I'm flattered by the offer."
Jamal mentally sulked. He wasn't usually denied like that. However, he shrugged and tightened his doo-rag in a highly nonchalant manner as if he wasn't too particularly distressed. "A'ight...ain't no problem. Not like you ain't gonna be able to find me later, if your mind change."
He leaned against the back of the elevator and waited, his mind turning to other issues since the thrill of the hunt was slaughtered with the mention of another man.
Aubrey just smiled and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." Once at the bottom, Aubrey led Jamal back out to where the Jeep and James were waiting. "I think you can go back to the helicopter, James," she said, handing him the key to one of the other Jeeps parked in the company garage. "Thanks for your help!"
James looked at her oddly, but then shurgged, taking the key.
Aubrey got back in the Jeep and, once Jamal was seating, headed down the dirt path towards the village.
The village was rather spartan. All the buildings where the same shade of beige with rust-red rooves. Most of the buildings were two-stories, connected by an outdoor stairwell. Aubrey stopped the Jeep in front of building 7, which was on the bottom floor.
Jamal followed silently, though he passed James a more neutral look than he'd given the larger man before, then climbed into the Jeep. As they drove, he muttered to himself about the lack of street corners, gas stations, a club, or a damn pizza place. He -was- in an episode of Survivor. Honestly, how could anyone survive out here without that sort of stuff...
His mental tirade was cut short as the Jeep shuddered to a halt in front of one of the cookie-cutter buildings. Jamal passed a look at Aubrey. "What's this?"
"This is your housing unit!" she said cheerily as she got out. She grabbed one of Jamal's bags and went over to the door. Pulling a keyring out of her pockey, she flipped them around in her hand before finding the one labeled "7" and unocked the door. The door clicked open and she stepped inside.
It looked like a cross between a dorm and a hotel room. There was one large room, with a double bed, bedside tables, alarm clock, desk with chairs, an armchair, and a chest of drawers. There was a open door in the back which led to a bathroom, and a bar that had a mini fridge and microwave.
"Housin'...unit," he said slowly, making a face at the strange terminology. He grabbed his other luggage, which there really wasn't much of, and followed her inside.
Once inside, he groaned. THIS was supposed to be home? "s**t...please tell a brotha he can add a little flava' to this place....I ain't diggin' the crib at ALL."
Aubrey frowned a bit. "You mean.. decorate it? Well, of course. This is yours. I don't see whats wrong with sprucing it up a bit." She pulled the ket from the keyring and handed it to him. "The building up the way is the Town Square. There's a cafeteria, and a little movie theater. And if you need any toiletries or asperin, anything like that, you can get that there, too. " Aubrey pointed to a number pad by the door. "And this is an intercom system. You can dial the other rooms, or press zero to get a hold of staff here."
He breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief and tossed his bag unceremoniously onto the bed. "I check it out lata'," he said, hunking over the bag now and pawing through it like his life depended on it. This building needed some seriously help. "What be upstairs? 'Notha person?...or is dat mine too?"
"Upstairs is another tenet. Her name is Emelyn. She's a nice girl."
Girl? Ooooh yeaaaah.... Alright, maybe he could roll with this. "A'ight," he said simply, still pawing through his bag until he produce a square of paper about the size of his hand, which he promptly started to unfold...into a huge poster of a barely dressed woman, which he then started to carry around as though looking for the best piece of wall for it.
Aubrey cleared her throat. "Well, thats about all the basics. The beach is abuot a ten minutes walk south of here... and there's a bar down there thats free to use. Other than that.. if you have any questions just hit the zero!"
He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a sharp nod as he stood by the wall that was directly in front of the bed. "A'ight. I do that if a brotha need anythin'...but righ' now this place be be needin' mo' help then Imma need." He looked dead serious as he spoke.
"Okay then..." Aureby shook her head and headed out. "Hope you enjoy your stay.." and with that, she closed the door behind her.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:03 pm
Oh Won't You Be My Neighbor?
As soon as Aubrey has left, Jamal found himself faced with a practically impossible task. The housing features of his new crib were NOT up to par with what he was expecting. He'd been in hospitals with more color and style to them and he felt that was definately saying something. Furthermore, the furniture layout was not working for him at all. The room was too organized, too clean, too straight-edge for his tastes. Definately not J'Reed.
After throwing all his belonging in the corner, he started the task of moving the bed so it was nestled in the corner, letting the legs of it grind noisily as it skidded across the flooring. He didn't pass a thought on the fact his neighbor might be home and be less than pleased with his racket.
The noise was... well, not quite deafening, but after being secluded in a dark, barren little duplex for months on a nearly uninhabited tropical island... Emelyn felt the thumps and the grinds that came through the walls and floors like some sort of tribal drum beating an irregular rythm in her mind. She ignored it for as long as she could, focusing instead on keeping her pen moving... but after a few lines, and a particularly loud thump, she realized her grip on the pen was like a vice. She sighed and threw it down to the desk, opening the door and going straight for her new 'neighbor's door and pounding on it.
"Gawd DAMN," bellowed the black man suddenly as he stubbed his toe on the bed as it rammed into the corner and abruptly stopped moving. Jamal sat back on the bed and clutched his toe through his scuffed Nike and let off a string of particularly wonderful obscenities until finally the severe pounding overcame the volume of his yelling. He glowered at the door and gave the person behind it the finger, but got up anyway and limped over to throw the door open, hopefully fast enough to startle the knocker.
Emelyn would have been jolted by the veritably flying door... but she'd been forewarned by the stream of colorful language that had preceded it, and taken a step back. Her first reaction, when she got a glimpse of the man inside, was to cross her arms at her front and raise an eyebrow. "My, you certainly like to make yourself known when you move in, don't you? I can hear you through the walls."
"You know these rooms need some help," he said without hesitation, hardly looking at all remorseful at the disturbance he caused. "Brotha just tryin' to get the crib a little mo' Jamal style, if ya know what I mean." He leaned forward on the door frame, peering at the woman. "Who be you, anyway? You that Emelyn Aubrey tol' me 'bout?"
Her arms dropped to her sides as soon as her minute annoyance had drifted away; she did understand the need to purge the stringently clean rooms. She was surprised, though, to think that she'd already been mentioned- particularly by Aubrey, who she'd not had any contact for... in quite a while. "Yes, actually. Emelyn White. Nice to meet you. And you are?" As soon as the introduction was made, she realized what she'd done. She'd not given any thought to the fact that she was already changed- that some of her hair was quill-like, and her nose was transformed. How could she explain away the peculiarites? Damn it Em, she thought to herself, holding her fur- frosted arms behind her back. You've done it now.
Jamal generally wasn't one to really look all that close at a woman unless he had checked out two particular features...which he had done in probably the most quick and nonobvious manner he'd ever managed. "Jamal Reedy at yo' service," he responded, now noticing that this woman had odd features. Was that hair on her face?...and what was on her nose?
He tried not to stare, but he failed miserably.
The stares were obvious, but it was at least what Em expected. She decided to ignore them- no need to have to be the one to bring him the bad news of what his situation was. It was apparent by the shock in his eyes at her strange countenance that he'd been fooled as to the island's purpose as well. "Jamal. I'll have to remember that. I can be bad with names," she said calmly, as if there was nothing peculiar about their meeting. "Where are you from?"
Jamal blinked slowly and looked for a moment like he was going to ask the question on his mind, but decided he would be cool and instead flashed her a smooth smile. "It a'ight...yous can call me whateva ya want, I don' mind. I ain't so hot with that sort o' stuff either." And boy, was that the truth. The only reason he remembered her name was because Aubrey had said it not too long ago.
"Brotha's from Detriot...yous know where that be?"
She laughed, allowing herself to believe that maybe he wouldn't ask about... the nose, or the sparse fur. "I know where most things 'be'. I was a youth diplomat before I came here. I've been pretty much everywhere. Not Detroit, but I certainly know where it is." She paused, looking over his shoulder at the havoc he'd wreaked inside. "Look, I don't really mind about the noise. It just surprised me, is all. You can keep... well, whatever it is you're doing in there." She had to stand on her tiptoes to see past the man- he towered over her.
Jamal looked like he approved of her knowledge of Detriot. That city was, of course, very important and the fact that she at least knew where it was...well, she was cool in his books. "Where's a pretty little thang like you from?"
He moved from the door way, indicating she could come inside if she wanted. He at least had enough manners to know not to let a lady just stand outside. Plus she could at least see what he was trying to attempt...nevermind the half-naked posters of women strewn about the floor and some very obvious drug paraphernalia.
Like most women, Emelyn liked flattery, even if it was laid on thick enough to carpet a floor, and if they knew it wasn't entirely specific to them. Emelyn figured Jamal would say 'pretty little thang' to any woman- but that didn't stop her from laughing out loud as she followed his indication to enter the room. "I'm from... nowhere, actually." She stepped over some obvious... contraband, and decided to pretend it didn't exist- not unlike her animalistic features. "Strange places." She hoped that might explain how she looked. But even if it didn't- he didn't seem to be 'dwelling'- so she wouldn't, either.
He shoved the few scattered belongings he had on the table to the side while chuckling, offering her a seat there and then taking up a nice piece of wall to lean nonchalantly against. "Hows can ya be from no place? Ev'rybody be from somewhere," he inquired, obviously not giving up on this topic as easily as questions on her strange appearance. He was being polite for the most part, even though mentally he was trying to place an age on her. She didn't look TOO young...but he wanted to be certain before saying something that could potentially border on ***** without meaning to.
"Thanks," she said, sitting down in the quickly-made-hospitable spot. "And... well, I don't really have a hometown, so I don't consider myself as being 'from' anywhere. I was born in Nebraska, moved two months later- my parents died when I was young, and I lived with my grandfather in New England until I was twelve..." she took a breath and rolled her eyes jokingly at the 'quick pace life story'... then I joined a youth diplomat group and traveled until I was 19 all over the world... then I... well, by the this year, I was...here. How about you? What... brings you to the island?"
Jamal caught the indication of age well enough...okay, so she was 20ish. That wasn't bad. But suddenly he wasn't sure if he wanted to really mack on her. She was kind of strange. Plus her story was pretty sobering.
When she asked why he was here, he flinched and crossed his arms. "Oh...jus' needed a place to stay, ya know? Detriot's kinda rough...stuff went down, ya know? Got offered a place herr and figgered why not." Well, at least it wasn't a complete lie.
"Well..." Em said, choosing her words very carefully, "You'll find that no one from the outside world can... get to you here." The sterile sentence seemed so unfair, however, to her ears- and she couldn't help but slip in some sort of warning. "I suggest you get comfortable here- enjoy yourself. Because... well, you just ...should."
His nonchalant manner turned slowly to one of uneasiness. She was tapdancing awfully close to his real reasons for being here, even if she had no idea. "What make yous think I wanna stay 'way from people?" asked the man, his voice a little clipped and edgy sounding. "An' I ain't goin' no where, or can't 'pendin' on how ya look at it...so I best get used to it here."
"I actually didn't mean to imply you were staying away from people." She crossed her legs, and rested her pointed fingernailed hands in her lap, away from sight. "I was just saying that... no one will come here. So we're as well as isolated."
"Oh," he said articulately, sweeping a hand up to fiddle with his hair-wrap. "Well, dat ain't so bad then....brotha gonna miss the 'scrapas though." 'Scrapas, or rather skyscrapers, were definately not going to be something he was going to find in this place. Or any large buildings. He chalked it up to being the price to pay for sanctuary from the police.
But then he figured maybe he just hadn't seen enough of the island to pass that judgement. Maybe there was a booming metro somewhere that he just hadn't seen.
"Scrapas?" She wrinkled her brow in question.
Jamal gave her a funny look. "Ya know...big buildin's...real tall. Lots o'glass..." His voice had a lilting question quality to it then, as though he was wondering if either his description was good enough or if Emelyn was just sheltered as all hell. How could someone not know about skyscrapers?
"Oh. Skyscrapers. Sorry. I didn't understand the vernacular." She thumped her palm on the front of her forehead as a sign of dizziness, and crossed her eyes to illustrate the point. "Well, you really are going to miss them. The biggest building we have around here is Moreau's mansion. It's built into the mountain. ...Have you met Moreau?"
"Verni...What?"
It was his turn to look confused as she spouted out that word like it was a simple "cat" or "dog".
"Vernacular. It means the common, everyday language. It's different for everyone." She explained simply, without rude inflection or even a 'know-it-all' tone. She was used to explaining her language, and never judged someone by their own speech- so she'd said the explanation without any malice or condescention.
"Oh. Righ'" he said as though he knew all along and slouched against the wall, waving a hand in the air as if to blow that brief cloud of stupidity away. "Anyways...I ain't met no Moreau...who dat be?" The name was familiar...he felt like he should know the answer to his own question, but he didn't. Probably didn't help he got a little intoxicated in celebration soon after finding that he had a way out of Detriot.
"He owns the island. I'm actually not surprised you've not met him yet. He's a little..." she swallowed the word elusive, which was the first one to come into her head, and replaced it with, "hard to find. He's the one who probably arranged your arrival here. ...Although you said you've met Aubrey already?"
Probably a good thing that she was careful in her words, otherwise he'd have to embarrass himself again to get an explaination, then pretend like he had another one of those random brainfarts. "Yeah...Aubrey got me and we went to some big buildin' wit'...a lab. Yeah, a lab. Gave me a shot...said I be better off wit' it than wit' out."
"Oh. So you did get the shot." She wasn't surprised, but it still seemed like a shame to her, and she tried not to show it in her eyes. "Well, we all did, when we came here." She smiled a small smile. "Now you're like us. ...There's a little over 20 of us here."
"Feh...brotha don't need no vaccine..." he boasted, even if it was a little pointless to do so since he got it anyway. "I aint got no problems, 'cept for a few lead." Pearly white teeth flashed in a cheerful grin in response to her own. "And DAMN. Only 20?...s**t...that's like the size o'my family."
More regret pinged off the back of Emelyn's throat. "Oh- so you have family back in Detroit?"
"Oh hell yeah. Motha, Fatha, brothas, sistas, and mo' aunties and cousins than I ever remember sometimes. They all know where I be though...tol' 'em I visit someday when I ain't...uh...when I settled down real good here." He hardly looked troubled at the fact his family was so far away.
"They know where you went?" She said, hopeful. Maybe if he'd given them coordinates... directions, they'd know where to look for him after he suddenly... disappeared. "Do you even know where this island is?"
"No..." he said slowly, as though he hated to admit it. Damn, she was doing a good job of unintentionally making him feel stupid. Not to mention that he was severely turned off of his womanizing game right now. He had started to get a suspicion that there was more to this island than anyone wanted to tell him. "I jus' tol' 'em I had to leave and it'd be fo' a long time."
"Oh. ..I'm sorry," she said, feeling the discomfort that was emanating off him. "I was actually just hoping you were so much more knowledgeable than me. You see... I don't even know where this island is." She shrugged, cocking her head to the side to illustrate the point.
"Less people dat' know, da betta," he said smoothly. "Means prolly that mos' peeps out there ain't got a clue. I like it like dat." He offered her another smile, though this one was decidely a bit more in his usual wolfish style. Hm...she wasn't so bad. He liked her eyes...and a few other choice regions. He could possibly look past the weird facial hair.
"Well, I'm glad you think you'll be happy here. ...It's really not so bad, once you get used to it. Say what you will about Moreau, but he cares for our needs. Here in the village, there's an entertainment center and a sort of community center with games and movies and books... well, whatever you'd like." She rose to her feet, accidentally kicking something at the base of her makeshift seat. It rattled across the floor... whatever it was. "And the beach is... superb." She smiled, a genuine one, and made a gesture that said she wouldn't be in the room longer- she stepped towards the door and rocked on her feet slightly.
"Yeah, dat's what Aubrey tol' me...about the village, anyways. I ain't heard 'nothin' 'bout the beach." He rose from his position at the wall and sort of tailed after her, disappointed that she was ready to go. Dammit, he hadn't even got to...well, nevermind that. Not like she lived that far away. "Ain't been to no beach in a long time...Detriot's beach closed half the time 'cause it's polluted or somethin'. Might check it out lata'. Maybe I see yous there?"
"Almost every night. I'm... a bit of a night dweller." She laughed silently at her own joke- boy am I corny, her mind whispered, and she opened the door while still looking over her shoulder at Jamal. "It was really nice meeting you. And any time you want some company, just come knock."
Ooooh ho ho...you could almost hear the sound of a cash regisiter "cha-ching" as she spoke her invitation. "Well a'ight then," said the man coolly, nodding slowly in understanding. "Maybe I will visit yous sometime at yo place...or maybe check the beach sometime. Yous welcome down herr anytime, a'ight?" He slide up next to the open door and held the door open for her, trying to keep his sauve demenor.
"Thanks. I might take you up on that offer." She knew that he was insinuating something more than just a friendly visit, but it was so fun to play with this idea of a trist, and with such double-sided banter. She didn't plan on anything ever coming of it- but it excited her, and gave definition to an otherwise dull day in 'paradise. "...Keep up the racket." She rolled her eyes skyward playfully, then winked and slid sideways through the door he'd opened. In a minute- she was gone.
He watched her saunter away and laughed to himself before shutting the door and heading back to his mess of a room. After a moment of thinking, he decided he'd keep up the racket: He started to move the bed again, deciding he didn't like where it was. Hey...she said she didn't mind.
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:01 pm
Jamal Learns the Truth...About How Bad he is at Resident Evil and Information About the Island Colour Code Awen: Usual BlueEmerwyn: GreenJamal: Dark BlueEmelyn: Violet
Emerwyn wasn't certain of what she thought when she entered the entertainment room. She never played video games, and avoided television whenever possible. She did watch some movies. But what she was really looking for was the one material thing she lived for - books. There were a few scattered about, but the selection wasn't too good. In fact, she was disgusted at the number of electronics as compared to literature. With a sigh, she searched the shelves. Most of the books she'd already read, but she picked an old favorite, Brave New World. Then she remembered how much she hated the ending, and she put it back. Jamal sauntered into the entertainment room, his expression one of suspicious inquiry, a partially deflated basketball tucked under one arm. He hadn't yet taken a proper tour of the village and figured the rec center to be the best place to start with. Besides, it looked like it might be bustling with activity...and girls, of course. His gaze did a broad sweep of the room, mentally taking inventory of the electronics. It was rather disappointing considering how fancy the main building had been. He half expected a damn rollercoaster or a huge entertainment system. The black man gave an audible grunt of annoyance and a snort."Good lord, Captain Morgan- I can't follow you everywhere." She'd been at the orange majesty's beck and call all day, ever since the wee crack of the morning when she'd awakened to find the cat of the mellow-going islander mewling at her door. Now, he was persistant that she follow him into the gameroom and so she did, sighing as she went, and scooping up the orange beast as soon as they made it through the door. Only then did she realize- she'd never been in there before. And at least one of the current occupants... she'd never met before.Awen hadn't honestly noticed anyone else in the room until she heard the destinctively male grunt somewhere behind her. She finally turned away from the TV, now proudly displaying the GameCube menu screen, and saw three distinct people she had never met before. One near the bookshelves she sort of recognised... but she couldn't figure from where. Maybe she was the person by the river? Awen let the thought go because it didn't really matter that much. The other two, however, she knew she didn't know at all. She slowly stood up and smiled. Not knowing which of the three to adress she deided to just address everyone. "Um well... Hello. I don't think I've met any of you yet." She said seeming to be rather bouncy-cheeful. honestly she had been in a much better mood lately. "I'm Awen" She knew she probably looked like a complete dumby just annoucing something to the room like that, but she wanted to know as many people on the island as she could. Friends were the only thing that was probably going to get her through this whole experience anyway. But she blushed a little bit in the few seconds of silence that always happened in situations like that.Emerwyn was re-brousing through the book, trying to remind herself why she hated it, so she might give herself another shot at it, when a young lady's voice addressed the room. She spun around quickly. She was feeling rather jumpy for some reason. She saw the blue-haired girl who had disappeared at the river. She seemed to be in higher spirits today. Though the greeting was indeed awkward, Emerwyn complied. "Hello. I'm Emerwyn. We'd met by the river the other day." While waiting for a response, she skimmed more books, finding many on animals. Perhaps Moreau wanted to educate the islanders so that they can get used to their new bodies, and how they'll function. She wondered if she should do some research, for future reference... Jamal cocked a brow lazily at Awen as she gave the entire room a mass greeting, a spark of mischief flashing in his eyes as he casually checked out all of the ladies present. One he recognized as Emelyn, whom he shot a wink to in hopes of catching her eye. The other two...well...the blue haired one looked a bit young and a little more eccentric than what he was used to. Not many brothers in Detriot had strangely dyed hair. The second woman seemed to be about his age, so he also shot her a wink and sauntered more towards the center of the room to be a bit more involved. "Whatup ladies," he drawled slyly. "Da name be Jamal...but yous can call me whateva ya like."Emelyn took steps into the heart of the room, the orange tabby settling all his weight into her arms as she did so. It felt like a meeting of strangers- for although she'd met Emerwyn and Jamal before, they were one-time, bizarre encounters. The blue haired girl near the television, the one who'd spoken up to be introduced- was brand new, as far as she knew. "Emelyn," she said warmly, "And I'd shake your hand, except there's a cat sitting on it." She laughed, and turned to Emerwyn. "I'm glad to see you up and about. Moreau must have patched you up." She'd noted Jamal's wink at her- but for some reason, she felt strange entertaining flirting... after what had happened with Ambrose the night before.Awen smiled slightly more from learning everyones name. She glanced to Emerwyn, though Amaya had told her name to Awen she'd forgotten it in the rush to get away from the water and they hadn't really formally met but... technicalities didn't really matter. She just felt the awkwardness in the room and wondered what she should do now? Well... you started it Awen you'd better get yourself out of it, she thought to herself. But honestly she knew she should have just kept quiet. What was she thinking anyway? She noted Jamal, who had winked at the other two women in the room but not her. Not that she was surprised really, Awen didn't think she'd wink at someone who had just tried for a mass introduction either. But enough thinking time for speaking... Awen flustered a little bit with words. She hadn't planned that far ahead. She looked tothe cat in Emelyn's arms. Oh hey a tabby would be a cool thing to turn into to.... Wasn't she supposed to be speaking...? "Um well, nice to meet you all. Sorry for the... weirdness.... New, nervous and...uh yeah... I'll just go and.. uh..." She felt herself going red to her ears soe she just turned and crouched back down by her games. "stupid..." She mumbled to herself as she sorted through the stack of games deciding which one to put in.
Emerwyn saw the man across the room wink at her. She smiled wryly at him. Turning now to Emelyn, she said, rather cynically, "Oh, the Doctor patched me up all right." She realized the lighting in here took away from the skeletal look her face bore in broad daylight. Otherwise Em would've plainly seen that Emerwyn was far from being "patched up." Now, she turned her attention fully on the young Awen. The poor girl must have it so hard... As do we all... She abandoned her books and sat down beside her. "It's alright." She placed a hand on her shoulder. It was finally her turn to lend a hand and an ear."We're all in this together."Okay, Jamal's ego was effectively knocked down a few pegs when all he got was a smile from the strange older woman and hardly an acknowledgement from Emelyn. Jamal decided perhaps to check out the TV and gaming system was his best option for now. Besides, he did have some pretty wild gaming skills depending on the system. He nonchalantly tossed his deflated ball into an empty chair and hovered over Awen's shoulder, watching her paw through the games, hoping to see something familiar or potentially fun. A good shoot'em up kind of game maybe. He checked Emerwyn out, not all that discretely either, whilst he pretended to be absorbed in watching for something to peek his interest."Oh, well, I'm glad he did something..." Em said in a tentative voice to the back of Emer's head as she spoke softly to Awen- having noted the sarcastic tone in Emer's voice but not knowing quite what she meant by it. She'd also noticed that Awen had given Captain Morgan a look... which she mistakenly figured was a desire to pet or see the furry beast. So she released him onto a couch so all could enjoy the animal. Then she looked at Jamal- achingly aware that she was the only changed person in this room, and perhaps the only changed person he'd met. It made her feel a little self-conscious- after all, here was a man who probably just figured she was a freak... but in typical Emelyn fashion, she buried the insecurities and walked towards the other gamers.. "I hope that thing has four controllers."Awen gave Emerwyn a small smile and a muttered thanks. She looked over her other shoulder noticing the big man hulking over that shoulder. She was feeling both happy and awkward as she flipped through the games at being in the middles of all these people now. She pivoted a little bit laying the games out infront of the others so they had a better view. She grinned up at Emelyn when she spoke. "What kind of gamer goes without enough controllers? Especially on the GCN, really it's more of a party system than anything else... nintendo is notorious for making the most and sometimes best fun multiplayer games. Though...nothing really beats out Halo2 in my opinion nintendo likes the more fun party games, mario party, super monkey ball...that kinda thing." She had converted her own awkwardness into a possitive rambling about gaming. "But I don't limit my game buying to those, I've got like resident evil somewhere here.... but if you're all looking to play...." She trailed off, only Emelyn had really said anything about playing. Emerwyn was jsut there to comfort and she didn't really see Jamal as the "party game" type. She just pushed the games out for the others to pick and fell silent again. Emerwyn was certainly not the gaming type at all. She'd never played. Except for one time that Noah, the grown-up child that he was, had brought his video games to the bookstore for them all to play. She was lost completely and had no desire to pursue the activity ever again. She also felt the need to leave, because the poorly spoken man was looking her over as a shopper looks at different slabs of meat. Once again, she became very aware of how much less conservative her new clothes were, and she cursed Moreau and his personal tailor. She'd been leaning forward slightly, too, and she quickly sat up, wondering where her coat was. With all of this discomfort she simply smiled awkwardly; this island was driving her crazy. This was the second time she'd been at a loss for words. "If you'll excuse me, video games really aren't my thing." At last! she found her voice. She stood up slowly, giving a pat to Awen, and returned to her bookshelves."Resident Evil is ma game," he said enthusiastically after picking through her rambling and locking onto the familiarity of the previously mentioned game. "s**t, me and ma dawgs tear that game UP." For the moment, he had forgotten about either Emelyn or the woman whom one'd think he'd just assaulted with his mere (if not somewhat wandering) gaze. He vaguely heard her declare her distaste for gaming and heard her retreat away from the group, but didn't look up. Instead, he grinned at Awen in approval and clumsily knelt down to check out what she had there. Finally he had something to do other than sit in his room and smoke up whatever remaining pot stash he had left or try to place one-on-none with his partially deflated basketball which he had cleverly tried to fix with duct-tape when he was still living in Detriot."I've played games like this occasionally..." Em said, rifling through the titles with her almost claw-like nails- hoping that the scratch they made on the cartridges didn't disturb anyone. "But really, my favorite thing to do with gamers is to watch someone else play. ...My sister used to play things like... Final Fantasy and Tomba. I was in charge of the instruction booklets, and I'd keep her company while she'd play. Keep the boring parts like leveling up from making her not want to play anymore. " ...The memory stung, a little- and so did mentioning Mizzie. But she was going to have to start bringing the memory of her sister back into her every day life, if she ever wanted a chance to get over her death. This island was a strange place to 'move on'... but at least it was a definite starting point from a completely different perspective. Em sat on the couch and allowed the tabby to get back in her lap, drawing her legs up into an indian-style pose and settling back against the cushions. "Play away... 'dawgs'," she said jokingly, raising one brunette eyebrow pointedly.She nodded a bit to Emerwyn when she left the emidiate group. not everyong liked video games and she understood that enough. Maybe Emerwyn would like to borrow the book Awen had brought since she seemed so intent to find new books there. But she would ask her another time and grinned broadly at Jamal. "Good at Resident Evil huh? Maybe we'll just have to see about that sometime huh?" She looked over to Emelyn now on the couch She felt kind of bad that only one person wanted to partake in the gaming but she understood sometimes she liked it better just to sit adn watch others play. "Final Fantasy is the best RPG, I have from seven up in my room. Awen looked back to Jamal and nodded her head to the Game cube. "If you want just pop the RE in there okay? I was really just setting it up and making sure everything still worked. sometimes, ya know stuffed in a bag for hours controllers tend to get....busted. But feel free to play yourself?" She smiled a little bit.Emerwyn felt no qualms at all about leaving the group. She'd come here to read, and after her friends all split up, reading had become a solitary activity. She finally decided on Frankenstein, she remembered thinking about it when she first arrived at the island, the feelings and vibes she had gotten. She really looked up to Mary Shelley, too. She also made certain she'd grab a couple of animal books. So, she blinded grabbed one, tucked it under Shelley and started to exit, hoping she wouldn't be noticed"Don't mind if ah do," Jamal said saucily, plucking one controller off the ground and unceremoniously plopping the game into the system. He made himself comfortably on the nearest open couch, all but sprawling over the entire seating surface. He acquired tunnel vision shortly after, blocking out everyone else as he proceeded to get through the start of the game."Oi! Jamal! Stop bogarting the couch!" She laughed and edged over to the farthest corner, getting an irritated look from Captain Morgan as she relocated them. She kept her eyes on the game as it started but patted the couch next to her and spoke to Awen. "Sit down here. I haven't gotten a chance to get to know you yet. ...How long have you been here?"Awen smiled a little bit and moved over to the couch with the other two, but instead of trying to sit on it and crowding everyone she sat on the floor and leaned against the couch between Jamal and Emerlyn. "Oh: Something like a week I think..." As she got this closer view of Emelyn she noticedthat she had also been changed. She had been too distracted, embarassed, before to actually notice. "OH! So you're already-" She cut herself off and glanced at Jamal. She wasn't sure if he knew already or not... by his composure.... Awen had guessed not. She cleared her throat a bit after the stumble. "Um... already used to the uuhh.. time zone switch eh?" She laughed a little nervously, such a lame cover up. "I'm still not too used to it, probably why we haven't seen eachother... uhh weird sleeping habits.""s**t, der yous go usin' strange words again," Jamal quipped to Em in a friendly manner without removing his gaze from the TV. "Yous forgettin' a brotha don't speak that bullshit." He leaned forward as he blasted some poor soul into oblivion, his sprawling hardly contained still to his side of the couch though he did give Em more room. The man's brow quirked at Awen's slightly faulted statement but didn't find anything unusual about it. It was true he had no idea what was really happening on the island...and it probably wouldn't be a good thing once he found out."Bogart means to take. It's not actually a regular word. It's... slang." She stroked Captain Morgan, letting the beast turn over in her lap to get his belly scratched, and obliging it gladly. "Besides, it won't kill you to get a little schooled." She laughed to let him know she was teasing. "And Awen," she said, prodding the girl gently in the back of the head to warrant her attention, "Yes, I have... gotten used to the time zones." She understood the near faux pas of the blue-haired individual, and appreciated that she didn't want to alert Jamal as of yet. Besides, if he didn't yet know anything was up by the fact that she was 25% hedgehog... well, he obviously didn't want to know.Awen rubbed the back of her head where she had been poked and nodded a bit. "I see I see...." She was still looking forward at the screen though. "Oh oh Jamal to the left! Watch out!" She grinned knowing the level back and forth and he didn't look like he was gonna catch that one. She was curious though, she couldn't tell what Emelyn was going to be. She liked the double talk and decided to continue. "So emelyn, random question, what's your favourite animal?" She hoped the other girl would get the meaning well enough. She didn't mean to intrude or anything she was just curious about the people on hte island. Also taking in tallies for her "is moreau evil' poll...
Emelyn looked nervously away from the two speaking before she answered Awen's question, so as to hide the appearance of her nose. "Er... its... a hedgehog, actually." She coughed, and then buried her fingers in Captain Morgan's fur. "I see... sweetness, and kindness in him," she answered Jamal, still looking away. "Animals are soft and accepting in a way that people can't be. ...Haven't you ever felt like you had to fight to be understood, to just.. survive?" She stroked the purring cat. "Animals... just accept you. You never have to fight. Something in that is very appealing," she said softly, placing a single kiss between the orange cat's ears.
Awen nodded a little bit at Jamal. "I think Boxers...or pitbulls... I can't remember which... were outlawed by a bylaw in my town." She shrugged a little bit. "They had caused a lot of problems appearently though I never really noticed anything....." She tilted her head back to rest against the couch to look up at Emelyn. She smiled a little awkwardly from the possition but she meant it to be a nice smile. It just looked funny upside down. "Hedgehogs are cute you know." She looked back to the screen and was silent a bit during the fighting to survive bit. She always fell silent when Lauren said something like that too... She grew up in a rich family, though her family part might have been cut short when she was seven she was still rich enough to be taken well care of. She didn't really get into those convorsations because she knew nothing of them really. "Behind you Jamal." She said in a duller tone than before.
"I ain't got no use fer an animal unless it can ******** a brotha up that tryin' to steal my s**t." Jamal said this very matter-of-factly as he blasted the head off some sort of zombie-looking thing. That was a moot point, however. For all the smack he talked, he seemed to be getting his a**-handed to him. "I ain't keepin' no animal that ain't workin' fer it's meals...and that thing look like it ain't much for workin. Unless yous skerd of a mouse, that is." He chuckled at his own wit, but quickly his good mood soured as he was effectively wiped out by the baddie that Awen had pointed out second ago. He grumbled and tapped the blue-haired girl's shoulde and offered her the controller. "Lets see how good you be," he challenged, giving her a sharp nod to accompany it.
"Well," Emelyn said, choosing her words carefully, "I can understand wanting to surround yourself only in things that are useful to you. ...But to me, Captain Morgan... that's his name," she explained, "is useful to me. He wants to be taken care of, wants someone to love him, and I feel needed because of that. So he fulfills... his purpose." She didn't want to have to make him understand- because sh knew that his view on animals would change soon enough. ...At least, for his own sake, she hoped so.
Awen grinned. "Watch and learn n00b." Once she took on that controller the game changed around. She had played the game so much every enemy was mastered in moments. Every puzzle solved quickly as possible She laughed. "You tear this game up huh?" She rolled her eyes a little bit and her fire seemed to be ignited. She was totally showing the guy up. After all it was her game and she had had mroe time to practice... Not the point. When Awen got onto video games she totally got vicious. The sweet girl she seemed to be evaporated and she became a beast, at least by comparison. She was worst when she playes Soul Calibur 2.... She nodded back to Emelyn a bit. "And she has a point. Comfort is in and of itself a purpose man."
"Cats is pretty damn pointless to me," Jamal said with a shrug, making himself comfy again, which included more sprawling, which he did with a completely innocent expression though he looked at Em out of the corner of his eye. It was then again he noted how different she was, though he couldn't put his finger on it. All this talk about animals...he almost swore he could see a nose pad on Em instead of just a dark spot...no, that was silly. Some people just had features that made them look like animals. Hell, one president's picture he'd seen had been compared to a chimpanzee...he decided to drop the topic, even if it was a one-sided mental conversation. Back to the topic at hand, which was basically that he was getting shown up pretty badly by a woman. He decided to play it nonchalant though and smiled brightly, rolling his eyes in jest. "Naw, yous just doin' so good cause I ain't wanna make you look back....Dat 'n a brotha gonna admit to bein' rusty."
Emelyn brushed a stray quill behind her ear- damn, she thought to herself, I'm going to have to quit doing that- just buckle down and get used to it. She was starting to feel a little... strange, what with the end of the animal conversation, that had so much subtext it almost reeked of double meaning. She found herself yawning, and Captain Morgan signalled her leave by jumping off her lap and running out the door. She watched him go with a sleepy expression. "I guess that's my cue. It was nice to meet you, Awen, and I'll see you soon neighbor. I've got to follow the beast." She tapped Awen on the shoulder. "Kick his a**, girl." She winked at Jamal and followed after the animal. "See you." And then she was gone.
She looked after Emelyn and grinned a bit. "You know I will!" She sighed a little bit and looked over her shoulder to Jamal. "Whatever you say man, but you still got owned by a girl." She got up and moved over to the Cube and shut the game off, having sufficiantly proved her point. Wrapping the controller and putting it with the others neatly. She turned and moved back to sit before the couhc and look up at Jamal "So I take it you're new here too huh?"
He chuckled, giving her an indulgent grin as she put the gaming materials away, making room on the couch though he still let his arms dangle off the sides, remaining slouched. "Yeah...just got herr a few days ago...figgured I best get out and see what I gots myself into. When you get herr?"
She decided, since he made room and all, to hop onto the couch to get mroe comfortable, cranking her neck up to look at him wasn't really a nice experience. She was kind of jealous of Jamal though He'd been there a few days and he didn't know, where as Awen learned within hours of getting there. She wondered which one was worse...? Maybe it was better to know right away.... "Oh.. something like a week or so ago." She was actually debating telling him or not.
She rolled her shoulders a little bit. "I haven't much gone to... Well I've seen a lot of the jungle, the town, some of the..beach and a little by the river. Nothing real..." She sighed a little bit. Should she...? "Listen... Jamal..." She shifted a little but. "Er actually... Hey. Why'd you come here anyway?" She was trying to poke more information to stall for time. She was terrible at keeping secrets... because she had absolutely no poker face.
Jamal lifted a brow and instinctively stiffened, his jaw clenching uneasily. "Uh..." he mumbled, trying to fish around for a good lie. He was definately not into explaining that he'd basically murdered someone and ran off to hide on the island for safety. "Hidin' from cops...bad drug deals n's**t like dat." It wasn't a complete lie, per say... "Dat n' I ain't one to object to nice weather n' lovely ladies."
She half smiled ath the "lovely ladies" comment, though she was sure no matter who she was he would have said that anyway. She had gotten the information she had wanted from him, he really had no idea what the island was about. "So... no one told you what this place was about before you got here? When you got here?" Her stomach knotted as though she were facing down the ocean. She looked at the man with sad purple eyes. She didn't want to tell him... but... maybe she had to.
He grew suspicious now...Awen seemed way too serious, too sad even, to be chatting about something trivial. "I was just tol' I be allowed to hide out herr...they give me a place to live and ain't tell no cops where I be. Aubrey just said dat there be a lab out herr too..took me inna big buildin' thing and got me hooked up to some shot. Said it be better than gettin' some sickness yous guys got 'round herr. Ain't no one really tell me much."
She sighed heavily. Something in her had hoped that he knew but was just playing smug like he had when she showed him up earlier. She knew the hope was unfounded but... she had hoped. "Then I guess I have to be the one to tell you the truth...." She shifted again. "That shot you recieved..... wasn't for some sickness around here. Well, not for preventing a sickness anyway... You were injected with something that will soon change your life." She gave a little pause. She was sounding all foreboding.... "I don't know yet if it's a bad thing or not, some people are happy while others... well... not so much. But uh..." She tried to think of some example. "Have you noticed anything strange about Emelyn?"
Jamal hardly looked surprised, though still he remained suspicious. "s**t, what the hell that light blue bullshit gonna do to me that gonna change my life? It just be water-stuff," he said in a scoffing tone. "Ain't like I'mma sprout anotha' eye or somethin'." He shook his head lightly and fiddled with his chain jewelry, growing pensive over Awen's last question.: "She look a little funny, but I ain't bothered none by it. Peeps is all diff'rent."
"Very different on this island Jamal..." She bowed her head a little bit looking away from his eyes. "This islandis one big experiment. People from all walks of life are coaxed, kidnapped, or washed on shore here and Doctor Moreau uses us as experiments. That "light blue bullshit" is going to change you soon." She rolled her shoulders. "Emelyn is turning into a hedgehog.... Ian something with horns....Amaya some kind of reptile..." She paused and looked back to him. "You haven't met any of them I don't think but they're more obviously changed. It's a lot to take in... I thought I was crazy, or a victim of an initiation type thing to the island. ... but I wasn't." She sighed a little bit. "I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you. But I couldn't let you go on not knowing, if you didn;t find out now it would be more painful later." Awen was fully prepared for Jamal to think she was crazy. Only a little while ago she would have thought the same. She just hoped he didn't get angry.... She waited for his reply letting it all sink in.
Despite what she might think her little admission might do to Jamal, he still looked like he didn't believe a word of it. He laughed even. "Aw come on. That's some ******** up s**t iffn I ever heard it. What sorta drugs you be hittin' and can I get some? Cause s**t....that's like da best trippin' story I's eva heard." He shook his head and drew a hand over his mouth as though trying to hide the large grin off amusement underneath his moustache. "Damn, girl. Yous almost got me all worked up. I was thinkin this place gonna blow up or somethin."
Her shoulders sank and she sat back on the arm of the couch facing him. She looked at him with a sort of sad intense look. "I've never done drugs in my life." She said plainly. "And I'm not joking... I didn't believe it either Jamal. But once you meet a few more islanders... you'll know I'm telling the truth." Tears were slowly welling up in her eyes so she looked away from him. It was hard to accept the truth. Not just in relation to Jamal, but in explaining it, the situation finally hit home for her. As much as she kenw it to be true before... she always had a doubt of maybe she was crazy. But she had enough confidence in her sanity to tell Jamal the straight up truth. She couldn't deny it either. "It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. You'll find out on your own soon enough."
Unforunately, Jamal was a hard believer of "Once I see it, I'll believe it." He pursed his lips and shrugged, his whole attitude clearly reflecting the fact he didn't believe a word of it. "Well hey, yous bring me a coupla these peeps and maybe I believe it then. Righ' now though, I ain't seein' it gonna happen." He was growing a bit uncomfortable now though, seeing her getting so worked up about it. He wasn't really a fan of letting your emotions go...and certainly seeing a stranger crying only made him feel more alienated than he had felt previously. "Look...it gettin' kinda late. Maybe we best call it a night..."
She quickly wiped her eyes dry and nodded getting up. "Yeah, hey sorry." She sniffed a little bit but she managed a smile. "Maybe I am just crazy, maybe it's just a side effect from that shot I got when I came to the island. I doubt it but.... Hey, it could happen." She shrugged a little bit. "Play the Cube when you want man, maybe if you practice I won't own you next time. I havea PS2 in my duplex too, if you wanna play come over or borrow it sometime, ya know just come over and we'll work something out." She shrugged a little bit and after a small breath seemed to go back to as if she had never said anything about the true nature of the island at all. "Duplex twenty one by the way." She moved towards the door before pausing and turning around. "Oh, and if you run into a girl with pink scrubs, long black hair and looks like she has animal print tattoos on her body.... Please don't hit on her and try to be nice.... She's kind of fragile..." After trailing off and finding nothing else to saw Awen smiled brightly and waved a bit "Well, goodnight! Sweet dreams." She then proceeded out the door, barely giving him time to respond.
"Sweet," he said enthusastically as he slithered off the couch and stood, stretching briefly with his arms over his head before adjusting his sagging jeans. "Duplex 7 where I be livin," he added. "Swing by wheneva...I ain't gonna mind none." He hardly noticed that she had left, his back turned to get his basketball. Once he turned around, she was gone. The black man rolled his eyes. s**t...that Awen girl had a frightening imagination. He shook his head and hummed under his breath as he headed out the door, both amused yet also somewhat bothered from the events of the night.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 9:41 pm
Well Aren't You Clever? Awen sat on a fallen tree in the jungle. Swinging her feet just enjoying the peace and quiet she was humming softly. A sweet little melodic tune filled the area around her. She may not be able to stand going to hang out by the beach or the rivers too often with everyone else, and one can only stand the stuffy indoors for so long, so Awen found herself going out to sit in the jungle more and more. She was afraid at first for things that may be lurking in the bushes, but she still hadn't seen any dangerous animal activity, besides Pyroth anyway, on the island. SHe didn't see many people out in the trees, but she didn't mind it so much. Being alone, she was starting to find, wasn't as bad as she had thought.Perhaps it was because he was similiar in mind, or perhaps it was because he was lost...Jamal was also tromping about in the thick jungle growth. Odds were, however, that the poor man was lost; one generally didn't swear for no reason or look as sour-faced as he did if they had willingly decided to explore. He'd long ago taken off his shirt, finding even it to be too much for the warmth of the island, and draped it across one heavily tattooed shoulder. Periodically he'd use it to whip away a cloud of swarming insects that had been tailing him for most of his trip or to wipe his brow. "Gawd dammit...what the ******** did I gets myself into," he growled bitterly as he swiped away a low-hanging branch. He had no idea Awen was anywhere near him. Maybe Awen's soft tune was easy to miss but the big man's cursing and thromping ws definately a hard racket to ignore. She paused and tilted her head a little bit and turned her head to the side. He was coming from the left.... Awen and her mother always used to play hideand seek in the woodsback home. She knew how to judge direction even if the sound reverberated off of the trees. She hopped off of the fallen log. He was probably lost or something, or at least exploring and in need of a guide. Awen knew of a few places where if you weren't careful the Jungle opened up too suddenly and you'd fall off the cliffs, or into the river. Awen knew it would be just Jamal's luck.... so head headed towards him. Stepping out from the bushes behind him and notted the tattoos. Nice.... "Hi there!" She said, once more chipperlyJamal whirled quickly, instinctively balling his hands into fists and lifted his arms into a fighting stance, his shirt slithering off his shoulder and getting tangled in the resident plant life. The black tattoos that coursed across his shoulder and back continued onto his chest, swirling just below his collarbone. He stared briefly at Awen, then slowly dropped his arms, his expression sheepish.
"Oh...what up, Awen," he responded, perhaps less heartily than one might expect. Probably because he just had the s**t scared out of him.She grinned a little teasingly. "First you get owned, now scared by a woman?" She tsked. "What would the boys back home think about that?" She giggled softly, loving holding that over him, but not maliciously. Honestly it was one of her ways of showing friendship, she was terribly afraid of offending people and if she had the gaul to tease you over something, it meant she wanted to become, or concidered you a friend. She shook her head a little bit and untangled his shirt from the plants that were ccurrently clinging to it and handed it back to him. "You're definately too edgey...."He lifted a brow and crossed his arms over his chest, deciding to play it cool, though he was a little insulted that she thought he was scared. "Well s**t...if yous lived where I did...yous be ready for a brawl too," he said smoothly, then grinned, shoving aside his very mild annoyance. "And yous SO didn't own a brotha. I already 'splained that. Now what be goin' on out herr that yous wanderin' 'round here tryin' to catch a brotha offguard?" At least he was being a good sport about her teasing.
The shirt was taken once it was offered and he threw it over his shoulder, feeling the material to be too much against the humidity and he hiked his jeans up a bit since they were sagging to the point where he might as well NOT wear pants at all. She snickered a little bit but let his "I already told you you didn't own me I'm just rusty!" routine slide. "Actually I was sitting just over there quite peacefully and enjoying the quiet before you trampled though making that big racket." She smiled and added in an undertone "Not that I don't mind company." She looked at the big man before her, obviously out sized she found it sort of funny how awkward he looked to the jungle, as opposed to how tough he may look in the city. "You may know how to survive city style, but man you really attract enough attention with all the noise you make in the bush. What about you, why are you way out here?""Figgered makin' alot o' noise best fer keepin' things away...s**t, I ain't got no idea what be out herr." he said, trying to make it sound like he was being tough and really wasn't scared of the jungle, though a slight glimmer of uncertainty flitted across his broad features. It was true he looked positively awkward there amongst the greenery with his "bling" and his city-style personae.
"I figgered I'd check out the trees n'stuff...ain't got nothin' like this in Detriot. Unless yous count the trees people plant infront the fancy places uptown. And them ain't nothin' on these ********." The black man glanced upwards towards the tree canopy as he spoke.She smiled and looked up as he had. "Yeah, I'm sured to trees back home but Jungles are much different than forests." She tilted her head with a smile as she leveled her gave back to him. "You'd think trees were just trees eh? That they'd all be the same when grouped together in a cluster. But I guess that's not the way it is..."
She knew he probably didn't care about her view on trees so she stumbled onto a different subject. "Detroit though, that place is different. I've only been there a couple times before. Once when I was a kid and another time to see...uh... a doctor there after my parents died. Nothing like Toronto, like I had originally thought. Like trees... I mean cities are cities right?" She shook her head a little bit. "I would so never make it in a place like Detroit though....""Trees is all green n' tall," he said with a careless shrug. "These just huge...I ain't never really stop to check 'em out b'fore."
He plucked a leaf from one low-hanging branch and examined it before flicking it away and letting it drift gently to the jungle floor, letting it mix with the existing ground cover. Jamal listened carefully to Awen speak, lips pursing some as she spoke what she knew of his hometown. He offered her a small laugh in response. "Detriot ain't dat bad...just gotta find yer place in how it be there. Don't mess with no one you ain't willin' to buck wit' later on."She nodded a little bit. "Of course, you'd have to know your own limits to live there. I certainly would do my best to avoid messing with anyone honestly! It may not be that bad but it still seems like a tough city to live in at times." She nodded. "And besides I'm not exactly imtimedating." She spread her arms a bit making note of her small frame before letting them drop back to her sides giggling a bit. "I don't think anyone would take me serious even if I did try to mess with someone!"Jamal couldn't help himself and took the opportunity to check her out whilst she was drawing attention to herself, using the pretense of her actions and words to be why he was looking at her like -that-. Still, he was careful. He still didn't really know how old she was. Still...playa gotta play...no harm in looking until he knew the verdict as to if he'd get himself in trouble or not. "I dunno...I bet yous could kick some a** if ya had to," he quipped with a wink. "Small brothas is hard to take down...Thems too fast sometimes. I figger smaller ladies ain't got no problem. Besides, some shorties I seen in a fight one time, well, them can start n' finish pretty big fights."She didn't really take his lookings the wrong way. After all he had ample opportunity to check her out like -that- when they had met. But he didn't and reserved that only for Emerwyn and emelyn. So obviously she wouldn't suspect any alterior motives now. "Well, get people desperate enough and really they can do almost anything..." She shifted her weight a little bit. "But those girls grew up like that, having to be tough and stuff." Rolling her shoulders, she was as uncomfortable as when this stuff came up with Lauren. "I never really had to worry about being tough really." Which is probably what caused the problems with her psyche... she never had to be tough ...so she wasn't."Meh...I bet the time comes when yous kick someone's a**. Surprise yo'self."
He sighed then, looking vaguely homesick. Or perhaps digusted about some matter or another. "This place ain't nothin' like home. I ain't sure if I like it herr or not."She smiled a bit at his compliment. Lauren though Awen could be strong too.... maybe it was true...? The two toughest people on the island said she could be tough too. Awen actually beamed a little at that compliment. Brave like starfish, as Colche says. She faded a bit seeign the look on his face. "Well.... it's not like anywhere I've been either. But it's not so bad once you get used to it. Lots of nice people here too, you just.. have to get to know you're way around... meet some more people, that's all.""I ain't sure I wanna meet anymo' peeps," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I ain't so big on gettin' all up in ev'rybody's biz...ain't never a good idea. Then s**t goes down and yous left pickin' up pieces....or hidin' like a damn rat in a subway tunnel." He expelled a gruff sigh and leaned against the tree he previously stripped a leaf from. "I gots ta be careful, ya know...I mess up herr like I did back home, I bet they give me up to the cops and my a** goes in the slamma. Best to just keep ma biz to ma self...peeps wanna come to me, well that be fine. But I ain't gonna stick ma nose where it don't belong."She smiled a little bit and leaned against a tree, but sliding down to sit on the jungle floor. "Well one thing can be said about the island. There isn't anyone to rat to. There aren't any cops on the island and Moreau likes to keep it that way." She smiled up at him. "When they said you'd have a safe place to hide Jamal, they meant it. No one but the pilot.." She realised she still couldn't quite get his name.... "Really enters and exits the island regularly and he's paid a pretty penny to keep his mouth shut." She smiled. "Besides...the islanders are nice here, the only hot tempered one is Pyroth that I've met." She gave him a slight smoothly sly look. "Besides, there are more ladies on the island that you could get to know.""I ain't takin' no chances...though, dat big black b*****d took my ********' gun outta ma bag. Ain't seeing why a brotha gotta play me like that. ******** was expenive." He grumbled under his breath, most of it inaudible except for something along the lines of 'they think I gonna shoot someone again er something'.
He pulled his head scarf off, exposing the intricate braids in his hair to the warm sunlight, finding the cover to be too warm to be comfortable right now while at the same time laughing heartily at her comment on meeting more ladies. "Oh, so yous think you got me down, huh? All 'bout the ladies?" He paused, as though for dramatics, then winked. "Well s**t, I best be workin' on a betta cover then. I like workin' undacova."She laughed at the subtext of his words. "I'm sure you do." She shifted a little bit on the jungle floor. "Well the way you were lookin at Emerwyn and Emelyn the other day.... Maybe not all about hte ladies but ya know you can tell really man." She chuckled a little bit. real typical of a guy. He made a face and shrugged. "Brotha ain't gonna change his ways just 'cause he be in a new place," he remarked with a twinge of innocence. "Long as I know they ain't under legal age...s**t, fair game, far as I be concerned." Jamal hardly looked abashed by his comment. Just very matter-of-fact.She nodded a little bit. "Well glad you aren'....." She paused a second. "So is that why you avoided hitting on me?" She laughed a little bit. Well he did say they're fair game unless they were underaged... and he didn't go for her earlier. Not that she was overly concerned or anything, just curious. She had wondered if there was something wrong with her, but that would explain it really. If he said no... then ouch to Awen. She snickered a little thinking though. A sly grin flitted across his features at her question. "Jamal got love fo' any ladies long as he know they ain't young enough to get me in trouble...Don't discriminate othawise." So what...yous just clue me into ya propa age n'maybe I won't worry none anymo'."She lifted her head a little matter-of-factly. "Nineteen actually, twenty come Januray." She wondered why she was actually saying that. It just invited him to go and hit on her and...that always made Awen squimish to be honest. She never really knew how to act in such situations... It didn't happen too often to Awen and ... She just stopped there. "What about you anyway?" She tried to be all non-chalant about it.He chuckled and shifted his weight against the tree, amused that she actually answered. Was she -looking- for attention? Or did she just not want to be considered younger than she really was. "Jus' turned 25 in' July," he responded, eyeing her for a reaction.She smiled a little bit and nodded. She had thought somewhere in that range. She knew that he was older than her thought, she thought by maybe two or three years, but it turned out to be just about six. She blushed a little bit and brushed some leaves aside, drawing randomly in the dirt...He knew that was going to make things awkward, but he didn't care all that much. She wanted to know, afterall. However, the silence that fell over them both wasn't something he liked, being that he was from a part of the world where silence was completely unheard of. He slid his doo-rag back on and tied the back before standing up straight. "I don't know 'bout you, but I is tired of the damn trees...bout ready to go home." He, of course, left out the part about not knowing how to get back home.She sighed softly and got up. "Yeah..." She let a slow smile slipped to her lips. "Why don't you lead the way then Jamal?""Uh....."
Jamal looked left and right and mentally swore. Was she serious? He "uhhed" intelligently again and glanced at her. She giggled and started back towards the village. "Owned, scared and now having a woman lead the way." She glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "You are really slipping aren't you man?" Speaking of slipping.... She tripped over a root and practically fell, but caught herself. Blushing she walked really stiffley as she was embarrassedthat totally messing up her jeer.He was going to come back with a snappy retort, but seems that the root did the job for him. He chuckled softly. "God did dat, yous know," he said with a whisper, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he fell in step behind her. "Dat's his way of sayin' to take it easy on me."She chuckled softly. "Maybe, maybe." She smirked a little bit. "But really what fun would taking it easy be?" She glanced back over her shoulder and shot him a sort of look before giggling and looking forward again.Again, a brow arched (good lord, it might as well just stay there). Was she toying with him now? He was amused...but vaguely intrigued. Hm... He trudged through the jungle behind her, trying to behave. Now that he knew that she was in fact "legal", he found it pretty hard to do so.She just led him back to the village and finally broke out of the trees back to civilization. "Well..there you are it." She paused to turn and smile to him. "Try not to get lost next time, okay? I'm not always out there to rescue you.""Naw, brotha wasn't lost...just wanna see if yous knew the way," he said cockily as he winked at her and sauntered away from the treeline with his shirt draped over his shoulder still, heading toward his duplex. He glanced over his shoulder though at her. "See ya 'round, shorty."She laughed a little bit at his new excuse and nickname for her. "Goodnight Jamal!" She waved a little before turning to go towards her duplex. She wondered what had gotten into her tonight. She found something exillerating about toying with someone obviously more powerful than her, maybe she just liked the attention... whatever it was she was kind of tired again and didn't wnt to think more of it right then... she was going back home for a nice long rest.
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