Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zach slipped into the cafeteria, the same outdated hat coveirng his head as he always wore. His silent arrival was foiled by the loud clicking of his claws against the floor. With routine monotony, he grabbed a couple of utensils, a large piece of unidentifiable raw meat, and filled a bowl with water. He turned around and noticed the other patron of the cafeteria. The distance gave him little to by as far as recognizing him. There didn't appear to be anything in the way of animal features, either. Just a regular, unchanged human.

The situation made him wonder how much this other man knew. It was likely he'd met someone already, or even been on the island a week or two. But there was only one way to find out - planting oneself in front of a newcomer and carefully watching the reaction. He unfurled his wings with impatience, then strided between the tables until he'd found a spot directly across from the newcomer to drop his tray. Deftly he spun a chair around so that he could sit comfortably without squashing all the things coming out of his back.

Without saying a word, he too sawed away at his food. Unlike the chicken breast across from it, however, the dragon's food was oozing blood.

Zach looked up from the delicate meat-cutting process. The stranger was staring. Wonderful. Expressions like that usually meant they either hadn't seen any islanders, and that was exactly what he was hoping for. The reaction he was already getting from his new lunch partner only made him more eager to mess with the man.

He finished slicing a piece of meat and speared it with his fork. This was going to be a bit of a challenge. Carefully the fork was lifted up, right alongside his long maw, and using his teeth he pulled the food off of it. He'd gotten so used to ripping, tearing, or swallowing whole that utensils had become nothing short of an impediment. He chewed carefully and swallowed, then lightly placed his bloody utensils down on either side of his plate.

"Any newsss from the outssside world?" he asked pleasantly, his tail slowly wrapping around a leg of his chair.

He snorted, though it didn't sound as human with his nose planted straight out in front of him. The question he offered had few answers that made one out to be sane. "Do I look like a hallucssination to you?"

He watched the other man and the knife, warily considering the trajectory. Muscles tensed in response, and the saccharine cheerfulness of his expression dimmed just a bit. The paranoia could not be helped. Did this guy want to kill him? In moments it became clear who the knife was being aimed at. The smirk on Zach's face peeled off immediately in the form of a slow motion jaw-drop, stomach churning at the sight. His thoughts were frenzied. No one - no sane person - he stabbed it right into his leg! He'd just been trying to have a little fun, he hadn't expected a reaction as masochistic as this one.

He leapt out of his seat in a hissing flurry of spread wings and frill when the man started screaming. Unfortunately, he forgot his tail was hooked around his chair, sending himself and it clattering to the floor in a heap in one swift movement. In afterthought, the appendage unwound quickly, allowing the dragon to push the chair away. He stayed close to the floor on his stomach, as still as he could be, for his instincts would allow him no other course of action. His whole back now hurt from banging his underdeveloped spine, adding some fury to the horror he felt. "What the hell did you jussst do!?"

"You're ******** crazy!" He swore a couple more times from the floor before managing to overcome his shock. After getting back on his feet, Zach cringed away from the sight of the blossoming bloodstain. He didn't feel sick at the sight of blood now, but something more hollow. It was hunger, a feeling he detested having around others. Especially when that hunger was for said others. He hadn't eaten all day, having gotten to a late start, and it made things particularly bad. Already he could feel his rational thoughts slowly hazing over in favor of more basic and primal urges, drawn to the other man's carelessness. The human was speaking gibberish now. Or was it that Zach could just no longer understand the words any more?

It allowed for a brief moment of clarity on the dragon's part. Obviously if he got anywhere near, he'd probably sink his teeth into the newcomer, which would do nothing to help the situation. His eyes flickered between the crazy guy and the first aid kit on the wall by the door. Definitely not enough willpower to bring it to him. There was only one solution. He fell at the steak, ripping it apart with his jaws and claws in the most inhuman fashion. He disregarded everything else until he'd finished it completely, leaving the plate, his face, and his hands suitably bloodsoaked. At least not having an empty stomach cleared his head.

"Ssstill alive?" he said weakly, turning his attention back toward the bleeding guy. He could feel his hat had fallen at an awkward angle, but he didn't want to get it dirtied with blood.

Anatoli was oblivious to the chaos surrounding him, at least the details of it. All he really saw was blood, and the dragon freaking out. His hands were clasped tightly around his leg, and he kept repeating the Shema in an ever-increasing crescendo until he was practically shouting.

"...ADONAI ELOHAINU, ADONAI ECHAD..."

He hadn't moved from his chair, and his legs were beginning to shake. This had to have been the best decision he's made in months. Really.

He didn't acknowledge Zach's question, instead continuing to yell out the prayer in a pitiful effort to keep his head.

Kikue's eyes were wide, staring at the lizard man as he stood up. Upon hearing his frantic declaration that it hadn't been him, in the case of the other man -- Kikue's head turned, staring. The other, normal-looking man was positively screaming at the top of his lungs in some language that she had never heard before in her life. Was it gibberish; was something wrong with him -- no, there's a consistency to those words somehow, I just have no idea what he's saying --

"Hey -- hey!" Kikue said loudly, surprised somewhat by the loudness of her own voice as she approached the screaming man at the table. Her whiskers were twitching; she only realized then that her mouth was open as she breathed. Something about the air...

She shook her head, feeling faintly dizzy. "Hey --" she broke off as the man kept screaming. "What happened to him?" she asked the lizard man, forcing her voice above the shouting. The blood was still running down the lizard's snout. Kikue was only vaguely aware of the fact that her rough, large tongue snuck out and licked her lips as she asked it.

...Huh?

So it seems Anatoli's screaming and incessant blathering in moon language has attracted a small crowd. His babbling slowed to a stop when he realized he was still conscious, albeit still bleeding. The adrenaline was still there and had yet to wind down.

"A... broch..." The man tried standing up on wobbly legs, one hand still placed firmly over the wound while the other held on to the table for balance. "Whadda you all lookin' at? I'm bleedin', that's all! I'll be fine!"

He started to feel a bit light-headed, probably both from the extra kick of adrenaline and blood loss. Defeatedly, he sat back down and propped up an elbow to bury his face in his hand, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses. "I'm... fine."