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The dragon, on the other hand, had ceased his wanderings for the time being. He was some feet away from his cave, digesting what had once been a rabbit, but had wandered too far into an open spot of jungle. It was too much trouble to hold his wings up, so they spread alongside him instead like a ragged fleshy cape. Life was perhaps too simple - there was only the rousing heat of daytime and the damp chill of night, cycling without fail.

His suspicions bloomed in his mind like a garden of poisonous weeds, sown by the vile half-snake who'd tried to murder him. Every rustle of leaves was someone sneaking, each lull between the crash of waves filled not with a hiss but whispers by unseen individuals. For all the seclusion he had he was trapped in his mindset, crowded in and surrounded by people who wished to harm him.

To hear an actual voice was a relief, but a wary one. He looked up from his basking and saw a familiar looking face. It was the new guy he'd seen a while ago, still unchanged. He flicked his tail, though an icy feeling of fear oozed down his spine. First Newton, now this man. "Lossst?"

"You and everyone elssse," he grunted from his comfortable spot on the rock. With one open eye he scrutinized Gaius, noticing the glint of the hammer. His heart sank at the sight of it, but he was too tired to run away this time. Instead the worry just chewed apart his innards. He shifted his shoulders so that he could cross his arms in front of him and rest his snout on them. "Enjoying how missserable I am?"

"Oh, I'm posssitively dissstraught," he replied flatly to Gaius's taunts. "But what differencsse doesss it make now? Whether or not you believe anything I sssay isssn't going to ssstop you from becoming an animal. I hope you're aware of that."

Zach rolled his eyes at the change in tone, citing it as a victory of sorts. There was still some uneasiness in him over the sight of the hammer dangling from Gaius's belt, but he couldn't do anything about that. He closed his eyes. "I don't really know. Sssome people ssseem to have a pretty good idea of what animal they're becoming after only one change, but sssometimes that'sss not even enough to go by. I know I had to asssk. Thought I was fated to be a chameleon or sssomething."

Zach didn't respond directly to the dragon jab, though he seethed inwardly at it. His voice wavered a little, but he tried to sound as biting as he could as he taunted Gaius right back. "Hmm... You probably got sssomething ssslimy, like a clam. Or maybe sssix extra legs, a ssspider. Maybe they'll dump you in a fish tank as a jellyfish."

He stretched his stubby wings and snuck another glance at Gaius, who was apparently fiddling with the hammer. Zach pulled his tail closer around him. The heat could wait. He'd suspected as much from this guy. So vengeful. Gaius needed no cohorts to lie in wait when he had such a weapon at his disposal.

The mention of the insane wolf only added to the agitation. Now there was a killer on the loose, an impartial one. If Zach had had even a hair left on his body, it would have been standing on end. His head bounced off his arms so that it swung in the air in Gaius's general direction. "N-no... Where has she been? Wasss she around here? Have you ssseen her?" he barked. Gaius seemed awfully calm about the chip-less lunatic. Too calm. What if they were in league with each other?

He tensed and peered in the direction Gaius looked, hoping to get a glimpse of the wolf-girl so that he had a good reason to flee into the safety of his cave. "It would... but we don't know they have her yet. She could ssstill be out there... jussst... jussst waiting..."

Zach placed both hands against the ground and pushed off, wearily gathering himself into a sitting position. His wings stayed limply hanging behind him. Predators, enemies, mad killers loose in the jungle, they were all the same, weren't they? And they were everywhere. There was a dull ringing in his remnant ears, coupled with a horrible claustrophobic feeling, as though something bad was going to happen. Even the air around him felt constricting, like a snake tightening the noose around his neck... Living like this day after day was driving him insane. He watched Gaius grip the hammer, looking devoid of human emotion as his tired brain sluggishly made its many false connections. Only the ever-present reptilian panic grappled at his thoughts, kept him thinking, and kept him fearful.

His main concern right now was that Gaius was toting a weapon. It was possible it was nothing, but he couldn't think of any reason someone would bring a hammer with them if they were wandering around the island. He couldn't avoid mentioning it any longer. "What'sss the hammer for?"

"Uh-huh. I guesss every essscape attempt hasss to ssstart sssomewhere. Planning to build a boat with that?" His mocking was halfhearted. Every sudden movement Gaius made had Zach transfixed and worried, and it showed in his blank-looking stares and darting eyes.

He whipped his tail from one side to another, looking away from Gaius and down at the rocky ground. Anxiety roiled inside of him, making him feel trapped and isolated. Everyone was plotting against him. How was he supposed to warm up to a guy who he'd barely even seen before? Verbally he lashed out at Gaius, trying to assure himself that he didn't need human company to survive the long days and nights out on the cliffs. "I'd love to borrow sssome of that optimisssm of yoursss, but I don't think there'sss going to be much left after you ssstart changing."

"You can't be ssseriousss," he scoffed, a hint of laughter in his voice. The less the hammer was waved around, the better on his nerves. Maybe Gaius hadn't seen the sheer number of people here, and how hopeless it was to even consider escaping. He had an excuse for his naive thinking, still being human, but he felt sure the time would run out long before the guy could lash together even the simplest working raft.

"Oh, I don't know, everything? It'll ssspare your preciousss ego when you finally get it through your head that you've got as much chancsse of getting away from here as all the other people on thisss island... none." The insult had stung his pride. Though he felt a little ill, he stood up and strided toward Gaius, spreading his short wings in his huff. Still, he wasn't about to gamble away his safety, and remained just out of hammer-swinging range. "And furthermore, you try getting thrown out of the village over a ssstupid misssunderssstanding and-"

He stopped himself. Now there was a thought... Soon there was an evident smirk on his face, one he didn't bother to tone down in the least. He held the less scaly of his hands out to Gaius imploringly. "Sssay, let me sssee that hammer for a minute, won't you?"