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(This is a private RP between Gaius and Sophie, please do not intrude! ;3)

Gaius carried a plate laden with a ham and cheese sandwich, apple, carrot sticks, soda can, and a bag of chips with him back from the cafeteria. The morning had been less than pleasant, spent hunting down the dragon-man and giving him a stern talking-to. The guy'd been so meek, Gaius felt like a bully, practically yelling at him. All he wanted to do now was settle down with some lunch and blow off some steam.

Reaching his duplex, Gaius paused in front of the door and fumbled in his pockets for the key, muttering to himself as he tried to keep the soda balanced on his plate with one hand.

"Aha! Got 'em!" He grinned as he produced the keys victoriously and unlocked the door. "Thanks, by the way! I guess I'm just a big eater..."

Though he was glad to see Sophie and see her doing better, the morning was still fresh in his mind and he felt a bit ashamed in her presence, she who'd been so quick to forgive and rationalize away the attack. So when her question came up, Gaius looked away and stammered. "Me? Uh, n-not much... just talked with some guy this morning..." he lied lamely.

Opening the door, he offered for her to enter, trying to change the subject. "Er, want to come in? It's a bit messy..."

He followed her into the duplex, leaving the door ajar behind him. The floor was clean in the center, but piles of dirty clothing packed the corners along with the occassional loose book. The walls were graced with Nascar posters and photos of what Sophie assumed to be Gaius and his father. The desk was a mess, completely lost under piles of papers and scattered pencils, the top one looking to be a rough sketch of the duplex floorplans, with notes written in red over it. Gaius pushed the papers over enough to make room to set down his plate and sat in the desk chair.

"Er, new?" He squeaked. "N-no, not really... er, he's an islander..." He fiddled with the carrot stick, avoiding her eyes.

"Hm?" He glanced up at where she was looking and smiled. "Yeah, that's us out camping in Arizona, where I grew up. He and I spent a lot of time together. We are... were... really close, even after his second marraige," he added sadly.

"So, uh, sleep okay?" He asked, setting the carrot back on his plate. For some reason he'd lost his appetite. Maybe it was his nerves impacting it. At least Sophie was wearing more than she had been last night... A blush spread across his face at the memory.

"Adopted? Wow..." The fact that she'd been raised by adoptive parents surprised him. How'd they manage to live on the island together for a month and he'd only now learned of this.

He nodded at her sleeping comment. "Well that's good then. I can't imagine what it's like to have a schedule for sleeping. I have the problem of sleeping too much! My friends claim I'd sleep through a fire alarm if we ever had one."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay..." He ran a hand over his forehead, wondering why the appartment was feeling so warm. "I think... the sun might've gotten to me..." A dull pounding was beginning in his head, heralding the coming of a headache. Maybe it was sun-stroke?

"I... have some in the... fridge..." His breathing came heavily. Fear gripped his insides even as his feverish mind registered that something was seriously not right. The pain in his head was spreading, he could feel it localizing in other parts of his body, especially his hands and feet. A sudden terror swept over him and he he shot Sophie a wide-eyed look. "S-Sophie! I-I think... I'm changing!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the pain in his head seemed to focus in on his nose and he cried out, clutching his face. It felt like someone'd punched his nose in and then grabbed the nostrils with plyers and was pulling them in opposite directions. In actuality, his nose was moving down his face and flattening out.

Gaius was sure his nose was broken - that's what it felt like. Reluctantly he pulled his hands back, wincing as his face stung. It all looked longer.

He whimpered, looking up at her with worried eyes. "Augh, is it bleeding?"

A second jolt of pain racked his body as pliers grabbed his ears and his nails began expanding over his fingertips. He clenched his fists and arched his back, grimacing fiercely. "Aaaaauuugh!!"

To poor Sophie, it was quite a show. Between the growing ears and darkening nails, there was also his hair, which seemed to be darkening at the roots, and his curled position let her see that the hair was growing down the back of his neck past his hairline and under his shirt neckline.

Gaius groaned, looking back up at her with pleading eyes. The pain had silenced him, but his expression was clear - he didn't want her to go. Somehow, having her there, knowing she was nearby comforted him. She was his anchor through the waves of pain as he struggled to ride the change.

He gripped her hand painfully as his muscles spasmed. He was too caught up in the change to realize he might be hurting her, all he knew was she was there and she wasn't running away.

With her hand holding his, she could plainly see the changes his fingers had undergone. The nails were nearly pitch-black and had encased the entire tips of every finger and likely toe from what she could assume. They were far from the claws either of them had expected - they were flatter and rounder, giving his fingers and almost stubby appearance. Even as they sat there, coarse black hair pushed itself out along the back of Gaius's hands and up his arms, mirrored patches spreading down his legs and feet.

A jolt of agony at the base of his spine sent Gaius tumbling to his knees on the floor, unable to withstand sitting. He groaned and shook as he propped himself on three limbs, his hand still gripping Sophie's as his lifeline. It was fire, it was a hammer, it was someone ripping out the very bones of his spine. A scream escaped his lips as a stubby protrusion pushed out over the back of his jeans. It lengthened a good four or five inches, an ugly naked thing, before it finally started sprouting fur. It was like watching a time-lapse video as the hair cascaded over his tail and back end. It was black and glossy like the hair along the back of Gaius's neck, but it didn't stop growing until it was longer than Sophie's golden locks. The tail gave a pained twitch and Gaius heaved a rattling breath. The pain was finally over, leaving Gaius sore and tired. It was with fearful eyes that he looked up at Sophie, dreading the horror he imagined must be in her eyes at his monsterous appearance.