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 Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:36 pm
Cool air ruffled Ambrose's thick fur as consciousness slowly came back to the wolf-man. The scents of the jungle, eerie calls of night birds and the wet soil under his skin alerted him quickly that something was not right.
He shifted, his body feeling heavy and slow to respond, his mouth felt like cotton had been stuffed inside, and his head swam. But he had enough semblance to realize that he wasn't where he should have been. The last thing he remembered..... what was the last thing he remembered? He was in his room... he was reading... then nothing! Had he been buzzed? He had to have been... but why?? He hadn't done anything - he hadn't gotten in anyone's way or spoken back to a staffmember.... only.... A cold chill ran down his spine. Was this.. some sort of punishment for taking in Aubrey?? What if he had been locked out??
He raised his head and squinted up at the spaces in the canopy. It was well after sunset, but the moon shone more than enough light for him to see by... and he could probably find his way back to the village by scent if he didn't feel so.... off. That's when the realization hit him. He only felt like this a few times in the past. His hand quickly went to his arm.... and just as he suspected, there was a hot welt on the back of his arm. An injection. THE injection... A whimper escaped his throat. He knew it was going to happen... and soon, but the building pressure in his joints, the stiffness in his muscles and the fluttering of his heart... why hadn't he recognized the signs sooner??
All thoughts of returning to the village were abandoned. He didn't want to be around someone he cared about when it was about to happen. Angelina had been, well, and Angel during his last change, but what if his fears came true - what if he became an... an animal like Pyroth? No, he didn't want to face seeing her expression before he even knew himself or how to approach her.
It was appropriate that he was in the jungle. It felt right, the night animals calling out around him, he almost wanted to call back at them - respond to them with his own misery and fear.
He got slowly to his feet, starting to walk. He didn't know where he was going, but he felt the need to move, to immerse his senses in the jungle around him as opposed to the building sensation of Change that his body was churning for. His fur was on edge, and he could swear he could already feel a strange pressure in his feet, an ache deep in his bones.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:06 pm
Slipping the key he received from Sabin into his pocket, he took a few steps toward the jungle, then turned back to watch the scientist drive off. Now that he was alone he stretched and listened for a moment. There wasn't any human noises coming from the jungle.
Lucas wondered if agreeing to come out here was such a good idea after all. Looking around, the young man spotted a thick branch about the length of his forearm lying near the edge. Picking it up, he started breaking off some of the smaller branches with leaves still connected. He kept telling himself that the chances he would be attacked were low, that most animals would probably run if he entered their territory. Other than gators, it didn't seem he would need to worry about any serious predators. And what were the chances he'd run into the mystery creature on his first day? Even with those arguments, he felt better with the stick. It wasn't much, but it was something.
It was starting to become dark and Lucas really wanted to find the Romanian before it became completely dark. Venturing forward, he scanned the jungle floor for footprints. Other than a few undistinguishable marks, likely made by whatever else was indigenous to the island, there didn't seem to be any shoe prints. Spending what felt like forever wandering around with no signs of anyone and getting no replies to his calls, Lucas was starting to consider giving up. It was dark now and he was being attacked by insects. He thought he might have even swallowed one while he was shouting for the Romanian.
Looking around, he began trying to determine where he had come from and which way the village was.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:18 pm
The foreboding pressure was begining to mount, and his heart beating in his ears was drowning out just about all of the other noises that the jungle could make. He felt disoriented and off-balance, crashing through the underbrush ungainly as he struggled to keep himself moving, obeying whatever subconscious reason demanded that he do so, that stopping and lying down was a weakness that wouldn't be tolerated.
His thoughts were a torrent, lacking any sort of structure beyond primal fear and snippets of worry. When the first wet-cracking sound as his ribs began to barrel outwards reached his ears over the thumping of his heart, Ambrose yelped in pain, but kept trudging forward with all the grace of a drunkard.
But he could feel the changing coming faster now. His steps faltered as his feet began to lengthen even more. Where before, while forced to walk on his tipties, his hindpaws still retained most of the shape of human feet and toes. Now his toes swelled, the thick black pads on the bottoms became rougher, more defined, his claws growing thicker and longer.
He collapsed to the ground, whimpering as the foot lengthened and thickened, while the muscles in his legs swelled, bones grinded as his legs became powerful, built to run and leap.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:31 pm
A chill ran down the young man's neck and he rubbed his arms. That breeze would have been more appreciated earlier when the sun was cooking his skin.
While he walked he hummed lightly to himself, letting one end of the stick drag along beside him. Eyes focused on staying on his footprint trail and thinking back on his day, he was startled by a noise nearby. It almost sounded like a yelp. Scanning his surroundings, he wondered what had made the noise. Could it have been the Romanian? Had it just been an animal? Curiousity and concern pulled him toward where he assumed the sound originated from. Keeping his eyes and ears open, he called out softly. "Hello?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:36 pm
By the time Lucas's eyes found the origins of the yelp, Ambrose had fallen into the painful throws of the change. Moonlight shown down on his convulsing form as for the first time in any of his changes, his very physique and build began to shift, thickening and stretching and tearing his clothing.
Ambrose whimpered and whined as his body shifted, the changes seeming to move upwards from his legs, to his chest, and then a horrid sound as he could both feel and hear his own neck lengthening, vertebrae thickening.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:49 pm
The noises Lucas was now hearing were more chilling than the breeze from earlier. He hesitated, then took the final few steps before his eyes finally landed on Ambrose.
Lucas froze, his chest and the grip on his stick tightened, his eyes widened and he watched in shock. No thoughts. All he could do was stare for several seconds before he got the gears in his head to start working again.
Werewolf.
It was a real life werewolf!
He couldn't believe. He couldn't believe he couldn't believe it. It was lying right there in front of him. It was transforming before his eyes. He watched in a mixture of fear and disbelief and fascination. A part of him was trying to come up with an explanation, to find a way to debunk what he was seeing. It couldn't be real. Another part was excited by this discovery, wiggling with glee that he was actually witnessing something that had been believed for so long as just a legend. And the other was screaming for him to hightail it out of there.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:58 pm
It was hard to tell how long the change took place to Lucas OR Ambrose. The former likely mesmerized, the latter having no real way to judge the passing of time over eyes clenched shut and the pain.
Any noise lucas could have made was drowned out in Ambrose's mind by the bone-jarring pain as he writhed, his only cognizant thought was wishing that it would be over.
Finally, the changes reached his head. He had thought they were complete, but final tning went into the shape and length of his muzzle, his skull widening and flatening. Finally, panting, the horrific bone and muscular distortions abated, and fur thickened in areas over his aching muscles.
Ambrose was dizzy, and as much as he had wanted to scream during the change itself, the deep-bodied pain kept him more wrapped into a fetal ball than able to manage to fill his lungs. Now, the worst abating, he wrapped all of his fear, his pain, and emotion into a long, wavering note as he tilted his muzzle to the sky and let loose a resounding howl.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:09 pm
It wasn't until the transformation was complete and Lucas caught sight of werewolf's pointed fangs and yellow eyes shining in the moonlight did he start to think running would be a good idea. As much as he wanted to snap off a picture or get some proof of the encounter, he didn't want to risk being noticed by a potentially dangerous werewolf. The stories of the mauled boars that Sabin told him about came back and he knew he really did not want to be this monster's first human victim. With his mind screaming 'move', all he could manage was a small step back before halting again at the howl. It made Lucas shudder and it took several moments to regain control of his body. Unfortunately, in his hurry to leave he turned, only to trip over an unseen object jutting from the ground. Lucas swore under his breath after he dropped to his hands and knees, glanced around for a place to hide and then slowly looked back towards the werewolf, praying it hadn't heard or seen him.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:16 pm
After the howl came down from its crescendo, Ambrose lowered his head and a full-body quiver passed over him as his mind seemed to snap back and the repercussions came upon him at once. He felt so... different. He didn't want to see what he looked like. He didn't know how much more he could have changed after his last form and still keep any of his humanity, and yet the pain of his last change told him that he must indeed have transformed a good deal...
At the thud from nearby, Ambrose's head raised and turned in that direction, ears pricked. Now, his nose told him of the presence of another... a scent that he didn't recognise and did not seem blended with any sort of beast or bird, but reeking of fear.... He swallowed, eyes piercing the night as he saw a shuddering figure on the ground.
Perfect.
His body felt unfamiliar, but he - slowly - tried to get to his feet. His balance felt all out of whack.... but... he did it. Thank god, he could stand - on shaking legs that cried out at the further abuse, and with an arm on a nearby tree for support, granted. But he could stand.
Finally, he found his voice, another massive volume of relief. Shakily, he called out, "Who... who's there?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:27 pm
Holy smokes, it can talk.
Heart beating a mile a minute, he debated whether to respond or crawl away really fast. Because the werewolf spoke it obviously meant that the human part was in control. But by how much? Could it suddenly go wild on him? Was the transformation incomplete? It hadn't attacked him, at least. Perhaps this thing wasn't to fear. So far it had done nothing to threaten him? When would he ever get a chance to talk to a werewolf? He had to stay.
Pulling himself together, Lucas poked his head up and looked over at the werewolf. Pausing for a moment, pushing the glasses back up his nose, he waited until he felt he could reply without his voice shaking. "Um... me, uh. My name is Lucas."
He was talking to a werewolf!
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:33 pm
Ambrose raised his other hand to the side of his head, rubbing at his temples. His head was pounding, his very skull hurt... and at the moment he felt most vulnerable, he was running into a stranger.... did he even know the truth about the island yet? He was clearly still human... but seeing someone change would frighten anyone... in the know or not.
At least he wasn't running away.
"Lucas.." He pronounced slowly, his tongue feeling thick, his muzzle feeling strange. "You have.... quite the timing."
"I'm Ambrose."
I -AM- Ambrose... I can still think ... I can remember... I'm still me.. Thank GOD. I feel strange... so strange... but..
The werewolf lowered the hand he had put to his head a moment ago and looked at his fingers, splaying them and turning his hand over.
I still have hands.... sort of... I can speak... I can stand... I know who I am and think like myself.... those... those were the things that were most important to me. And... I'm done now, right? He risked a bit of hope, a tiny shred of optimism.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:43 pm
Lucas laughed uneasily. "Yeah... I've been told that before. Um... I'm sorry?" He slowly pulled himself to his feet, brushing off the dirt from his hands. His eyes, however, never left the werewolf. Lucas studied Ambrose for a moment. It, or he, seemed to still be in pain and unsteady. "Are you okay?" There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn't decide where to begin.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:48 pm
Ambrose's own golden eyes regarded Lucas right back, trying to determine just how much the young man knew of the island. He.. had to know... anyone else would be too terrified to talk... right?
"You.. shouldn't have to apologize. And to be pefectly honest... I have felt better." He slid his eyes closed for a moment, trying to steady himself.
The words were coming more easily at least... he had grown used to talking with a muzzle at his last change, but he still felt disoriented and it was taking a lot of concentration to keep up a civil conversation and not fall over into a quivering fetal ball. But Ambrose had always been about appearances, and repressing things like that. Maybe he could talk himself into more of a semblance of coherence.
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:56 pm
Lucas watched, wondering what to do next. Then it came to him. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a bottle of water he'd brought with him to the island. Even if the werewolf rejected the offer, at least it was a sign of goodwill. That Lucas, at least, didn't mean him any harm.
"Here, you can have this." He twisted off the top and handed it to Ambrose. "Also, um... you can sit down and relax. You don't need to worry about me."
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:03 pm
The water did look promising. The change was taxing, to say the least. And he was thirsty, and hungry, for that matter. But with everything so sore he wasn't sure if he could deal with food just yet.
He nodded thankfully, and reached out to take the bottle, slowly taking a seat again, situating himself for a moment to try to find a comfortable position. Finally, settlign with his feet out in front of him and leaning against one of the trees, he slowly poured the water into his mouth a little at a time before wiping his muzzle on his furry arm and setting the bottle aside.
"Thank you." He nodded to Lucas. "That... I needed that." He took a slow, deliberate breath before looking back over to him. "I... am sure that I startled you... and I apologize for that."
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