Welcome to Gaia! ::

They had fresh, shiny new human clothing -- which had Ever just about bouncing, oddly excited about the idea of venturing in the world and really, truly playing the part of a main man, of a proper dude, of a guy on the go. The portal, too, had a strange kind of appeal: the way it wobbled and spoke against his senses, a sound unlike any other he'd heard, and he thought he picked up a faint scent of ozone. It made him draw in a delighted sort of breath, and he traveled through it almost before the tech was done explaining the safety procedures.

Of course, when they got to the human world, to take on a job and play at normal, some of that enthusiasm faded away, from a bubbling well to a slow frown. Instead of wearing his layers and layers of shirts, Ever had to strip down and put on a uniform that fit his body too closely, too properly; a coat that was stiff and just a little bit scratchy. There were other people around, he thought, but he wasn't entirely sure what the difference was between them and him.

"Are we all just pretending?" He whispered in a hiss to Zyk, between introductions to other people in the lab.

Of course, this job would be more of Zyk's thing than his own. This was like what Zyk did for fun, back at home, wasn't it? Taking his odds and ends and assembling them into something that altered the world around him. Ever's task was usually more in the realm of collection, finding thing that were unusual, unexpected. In exploring strange landscapes and struggling to find his way back again.

None of it meant being cooped up in a room that hummed quite as obnoxiously as this one.

The animal was a welcome surprise. His was a guinea pig, a creature that would fit perfectly into his darkened hands, fuzzy and squirming and squeaking in a way that destroyed the quiet peace of this bland room. For a long time, Ever just listened to it, wishing he could let it run back and forth across his palms and arms. Let it bite him. He wouldn't mind.

The little room that locked his creature up was an obstacle that offered more interest than potions and the task at hand, but eventually Ever sighed and turned his attention to the science. In a way. Mostly by randomly combining ingredients together, a mish mash of strange scents and bubbling sounds, waiting until the air around it tasted positively metalic to his senses. He ignored the readouts, the computers, the folders, the explanations, and poured the rusty, viscous solution into its syringe.

From within the creature's room, the squeaking became more fierce, wild. For a little while, his guinea pig fought against the oncoming sleep scrabbled at the wall as close to Ever as it could get, as if he would save it. Then, slowly, its vitals faded to a low thrum instead, as it slid into a coma.

Ever huffed a breath out through his nose, and turned his attention to Zyk and his work, instead. "That was really disappointing."

"That smells terrible." Ever said it in a matter of fact way that wasn't exactly kind -- but it wasn't cruel, either. It was just thoughtful, listening to the sounds of the chimps and wrinkling his nose at the rotten egg smell coming from Zyk's station. In his hands, he held the survey form, slightly crumpled in his hands.

"Did it work?"

While he worked, Ever bounced and shifted and fidgeted around him, eyebrows pulled together and head tipped just slightly to one side. It didn't quite put him in the way, didn't quite make Zyk's job harder, but it was a close thing. maybe if Zyk hadn't been quite so used to Ever's distracted nature, like a moth or a butterfly, Once he was done, Ever clapped, the ring in his bracelet rattling just a little with the gesture.

"Perfect. Let's leave."

Before they could, though, he had to answer the survey. He made Zyk read it aloud to him and record his answers: