[FIN] Rendevous with Ambrose

[Anjali Frangipani]

Anjali, fresh from her encounter with Zachary, strode across the village until she reached Ambrose's duplex, her feet complaining even through the flip-flops. The rootlets didn't tolerate normal shoes at all, and the flip-flops were only a bit better.

Silently, she promised herself a good stand in the nice fresh mud later on, and knocked on Ambrose's door, wondering if he'd be home or not.  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose had been dozing on and off since his arrival back in the duplex early Sunday. After taking a MUCH needed shower, of course. HE had been moping, worried, and alltogether fretting about the possible events over the course of time that he couldn't remember despite how hard he wracked his brain.

Angelina had been in and out - and as a change, had been bringing him his meals as he rested. She was out again as he looked up at the knock on the door and padded over before opening it cautiously, half expecting armed guards to be at his door.

He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing instead the gardener woman he had met only briefly in the past, albeit with a much different face than he now sported - looking all the more like the literary Big Bad Wolf as he poked his head out of the duplex. Unwittingly, his new muzzle would likely serve her purposes even better now. Then agai, he noted, as he surveyed the woman herself - she had changed much since his last encounter. She had been human then. Now.... that condition was definately a thing of the past. His eyes widened as he saw the smooth green skin over her arms, the barky legs, and strange .... sticky tentacles at the ends of her fingers and hair. He had thought that even with all that had happened on the island, a plant was too far of a stretch, and yet the evidence stood before him.

"An..." He embarrassinly strained his memory for the woman's name. It was almost like Angelina... but it was shorter. And foreign-sounding. "- excellent surprise to see you!" He winced, covering his verbal stumbling.  

[Anjali Frangipani]

Anjali raised one eyebrow - Ambrose had changed again. Then again, so had she. "It seems we're both different from how we were before; nevertheless, it is good to see you again," she said, warmly. "I'm glad to see you back.... ah, did you... change recently?" she asked, a puzzled look creeping onto her face. Maybe the people being changed were simply being taken to the labs.  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

He smiled, the gesture feeling less awkward on his new face than it had when he had first learned to adapt it to convey more human expressions.

"Come in, please." He gestured, taking a step back and flicking on the light. Running a hand through his hair to do a quick detangling he turned back to her as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Not... that recently. A few weeks ago now, perhaps?" He thought back. "OR perhaps even a month. Time flies when you've got nothing to really distinguish the days." He sighed. "Or those days that are distinct you almost wish weren't."  

[Anjali Frangipani]

Anjali frowned, ever so slightly. "You heard the announcement, earlier? Of course you did," she said, with a sigh. "It sounds pretty bad... I ran into a man called Zachary a few minutes ago, saying he saw someone brown and furry with blood, and you and Chubbs are the only two I know... not that I'm accusing you!" she added, quickly, waving her tentacled hands in negation. "I'm just looking for clues.... and I'll admit I have an ulterior motive. I need someone with a good nose, who can help me find the scene of the attack... to see if I can get any information out of the plants there, if it was near any."  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose's eyes widened at the even hint of an implication, his ears dropping and tail seeking purchase between his legs.

"I... y-yes.... I heard the announcement." He said quietly, scratching at his arm. "But I haven't seen Zachary since before all of this started! .... At least.... I don't remember seeing Zachary." He winced. For all he knew, He could have seen Zach when..... when he didn't remember. He had seen Angelina, and didn't even remember THAT.

"But... my fur isn't brown!" He grinned nervously. "See?" He held out an arm, showing the cream, blonde and grey fur.

Ambrose remembered the glimpses he had seen and swallowed. Perhaps he SHOULD try to help. After all... if he sat here in the duplexes... who's to say that someone WOULDN'T pin the blame on him? If he went out looking... maybe he could find something to show that it couldn't have been him. Dear lord, he hoped that would be possible. That's what Angelina was doing out there, after all. For him. He shouldn't put that burden entirely on her shoulders, even if her assistance was appreciated.

Besides... he knew he could find the way back to the site. Slowly he stood up, nodded. "I.... I can help you. I'm pretty sure that I can. My nose is stronger than it has any right to be. But... let me leave a note for Angelina, first. I don't want to worry her." The last thing he needed was for her to come back to him being gone and think he had... disappeared again.  

[Anjali Frangipani]

Anjali made a face. "It's close enough," she said, mock-chiding him, then smiled. "Thank you very much, Ambrose, and of course I'll wait. Since changing I've sort of... been able to 'hear' the plants, how they communicate... and I'm working on 'talking' back. Perhaps they can be helpful, if only a tiny bit."

She paused, waiting. "How long were you gone? I was thinking of coming by to see you on Saturday, but I wasn't sure if you'd be back after I saw those men taking you to the labs on Friday morning. Just a routine checkup, then? No changes in your immediate future?"

It was kind of worrying. Surely Ambrose was done changing...? What more could they do?  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

"It's no problem... I'd like to be able to help out if I can. This.... news has been very distressing. Out of any of the staffmembers to have gotten injured... I wish it wasn't Aubrey. It seems like she was the only one on 'our' side of it all." He frowned.

"And ... that is fascinating. hear plants? I... I didn't think that they... well... no offense, I never thought they could really think." He pulled out the stationary and wrote a quick message:

Quote:

Angelina,
Don't worry - I went out looking for clues with Anjali. I will be back soon.
Love,
Ambrose

He froze when he heard the followup. "Gone...?" His brows knitted as he turned around. "Wait... men? Labs? What are you talking about?" He felt a cold hand grip around his spine and his hackles rose. "Friday morning...? I..." He shook his head. The last thing he remembered was going to bed with Angelina Thursday night.  

[Anjali Frangipani]

"No offense taken - I was a botanist, and I never dreamed that what I'm experiencing now was even possible. In more ways than one," she added, wryly.

Then, Anjali tilted her head curiously at him, one head-tentacle lazily lashing out to capture a hapless fly that had drifted in when she entered. "Friday morning....? I was out gardening, as usual, and I saw several Jeeps pull up in the village, enter some duplexes, and carry out several people - yourself included, and several I either didn't know or couldn't quite recognize. Must have been a good five or six people they took, though! You... don't remember...?" Well. That was worrying.  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose swallowed, hands fidgeting with eachother as she spoke about what she had witnessed. "N... no. To be honest... I... I woke up ... in the jungle on Sunday. I... I couldn't remember anything after Thursday night. Do... do you think they did something to me?" His ears pinned back. "I... I thought... I don't know what I thought. But Angelina saw me... she said... on Saturday during the storm. She said ..." He looked away, debating for a moment whether or not to continue. "She said I was acting like an animal. I approached her... licked her hand, but the thunder spooked me off."

He heaved a breath, eying the fly that was struggling against the sticky residue of what once was a lock of her hair. that's mildly useful He tnought, mind looking for a convenient distraction.  

[Anjali Frangipani]

Anjali's frown turned into an all-out scowl. "Yes, I say they most likely bloody well DID do something to you," she muttered. "What if this is all their doing... or even just a trick, like with the lockout? If they can bring down a helicopter for the sake of a show... I wouldn't put it past them to..." Ugh, it made her sick. She could practically taste bile. "Well, I guess we'll see... do you know what Aubrey smells like? I haven't the faintest idea where to begin."  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose got more nervous. What if this WAS their doing? What if they did it to... NO! No, he wouldn't think like that. And even if it WAS.... it wasn't his fault... right? They did something to him. And Anjali had said there had been others.... but who?

"You didn't recognize anyone other than me being hauled off, did you?" He frowned, curious now.

"At least... I'm better now... I hope." He breathed. He got to his feet and joined Anjali by the door. "Yes... I've met her enough times. As embarrassing as it is, I've begun to be able to ... regonize how different people smell. It's strange. But I am sure that from what you've described, I'm not the only one experiencing new senses." He gave her a small smile as he headed outside.

"Let's... ah... start walking? They brought her back to the labs, right? So... maybe I can pick up her scent along the road."  

[Anjali Frangipani]

"No, I didn't recognize anyone else..." Anjali thought hard as she spoke. "There was one person who was very long and... sort of drawn out, like a snake, I remembered that because it was so odd. But the others, I don't really recall. I know I didn't recognize them, though. Maybe if I saw them again?"

Anjali's tentacles waved as she moved to open the door, then grimaced and pulled back. "After you? I'm afraid I'll goo up your doorknob. The road sounds like a splendid idea, though - if you go on ahead, I'll keep up." She smiled. Finally they were getting somewhere, even if it wasn't particularly pleasant.  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose nodded. "Of course." He opened the door and gave a small bow with a smile, eager for the opportunity to play chivilrous to a lady. "After you, miss." He smiled, and then followed her out, closing the door behind him before starting out towards the road that led to the laboratories.

"Hrmm... the first one... that sounds like Cassidy. I saw her a few weeks ago, and her changes - into a snake... with parrot-feathers... that sounds like her. I wonder how she's doing." Concern trailed into his voice.

Ambrose had another reason for being so.. insightful about the road, of course. Not that he really wanted to let that out. But it was true. If she was brought back to the labs, he normally would have likely been able to back-trace her scent, esepecially if she was..... bleeding... so much. He shuddered.

It was a long trip to the labs, but of course, they didn't need to go the entire way.

About a mile down the road, there is a set of tire tracks off the side of the road, deep in the mud. then muddy tracks leading back towards the labs for a ways beyond that.  

[Anjali Frangipani]

Anjali peered down the set of tire tracks. "Is that the way...? That looks quite recent." All around her, the jungle was humming in vague annoyance; sensations of vibration/sound combined with noxious fumes and the sick feeling caused by them. "Ugh... yeah, I bet that's it. All the plants here are annoyed at the intrusion..." She reached out one hand and touched the crumpled edges where the jeep had passed. "This might be easier than I thought," she added, sheepishly. Maybe she hadn't needed to bother Ambrose...

"After you," she added. "I'm not as fast as I used to be."