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 Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:23 pm
Nita was on one of her frequest stops to the entertainment room; every few days she raided the bookshelves for new reading material to take back to her duplex or out to her tree in the jungle. The girl actually felt somewhat civilized on this particular evening, having recently showered (a considerable undertaking, what with the fur covering her body, not to mention her long, thick tail) and swapped in her jungle-worn clothes for a fresh outfit.
She crouched on the floor in front of the bookshelves, her back to the entrance, a small pile of books a few feet away. "They really need new stuff in here," Nita muttered, eyeing the selection. "I've read almost everything that looks good." She pushed her hair out of her face and skimmed the back cover of a paperback.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:29 pm
Sid was in his freshest t-shirt and jeans, which really wasn't saying much. His gray hair was, as ever, a mess that cascaded down his back to end just where his scaly tail began. He came to the entertainment room without any idea of what he wanted to watch or read, all he knew was he was bored and feeling woefully uninspired. His typewriter was gathering dust, and all the walking he'd done lately had only aggravated his knee.
The sound of him sucking back an excess of spit announced him before he stepped into the door. He regretted it the moment he saw it was occupied.
"Ah, sowwy," he said.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:42 pm
Nita made a face at the sound, turning around to see who had come in. "It's no problem," she began, stopping abruptly when she noticed Sid's jaw. Well, that explained the spit. Trying not to stare, (or touch her own face in sympathy) Nita stood up.
"Ah, hi," she ventured, a tentative smile across her face. "Did you want something over here?" Nita waved a furred hand at the bookshelves behind her.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:51 pm
"Ah hadn' qui... quite decided," Sid said. Watching him talk was, granted, fairly interesting. He remained in the doorway, unconsciously leaning against it to take some of the pressure off his cane.
"Ah coul' jus' come bahk," he offered, thumbing behind him.
He shouldn't have felt so self-conscious, but lately he'd been having abysmal luck with the other sex, and in the most mundane dealings, too...
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:02 pm
Nita raised a brow and shrugged. "Nah, it's fine. Public place and all." She picked up the half-dozen or so books she had chosen and flopped onto one of the squishy couches. "Help yourself," she said easily, waving Sid into the room.
As uncomfortable as his mouth looked, Nita had certainly seen more alarming changes; there was no need for the guy to look quite so self-conscious about it.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:12 pm
"Righ'," Sid said. He hobbled in the room and went to the rack of magazines. As he scanned what was available he began to wondering what his fingers might do to the pages. He wasn't going to find out just yet, as nothing caught his eye that he hadn't already skimmed through. Maxim didn't seem like a good choice in present company, anyway. He sighed and turned away.
His manners caught up with him about the same time. "Mah name's Th-- Sid, by the way." He was mildly pleased that came out more or less like he wanted.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:21 pm
Nita situated herself sideways on the couch, one arm looped over the back. She watched the older man curiously, having no idea what kind of creature's DNA he could have been injected with. Something aquatic, it appeared, judging by the tail projecting from his back and a brief glimpse of the webbing between his fingers.
Oh right. Introductions. "I'm Nita. I see you've been here a few weeks at least," she commented, a hint of dark humor in her voice. Odd, she thought, to meet two older islanders in such a short time. First Richard and now Sid; both of them must be at least in their 50s.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:35 pm
Sid smiled at the comment, or rather his lips pulled up to make the wrinkles around his eyes more prominent. That way his mouth was he always looked, well, slack jawed.
"Yeh," he said. "Ah'f moved pas' denial. Next ih angah... buh ah'm nah in the mood fah thah now." He uttered a terse, somewhat bitter laugh.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:50 pm
Nita grinned. "Probably a good thing. Doesn't do much good to get mad here." She considered her next question for a moment, idly scratching at her arm.
"So, ah, any idea what they stuck your with?" Nita finally asked, as casually as she could. She wiggled her toes absently against the couch cushions.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:54 pm
"Some kinna anglah fish." He was almost getting used to the question, which made him feel guilty that he hadn't bothered to look up exactly what it was. The proper name hit him the same moment the fact there were encyclopedias in the room did. "Vipafish, thasit."
Rather than elaborate on the teeth and the glowing in the topic, he turned the question around. "You?"
He was inclined to guess some kind of red raccoon thing, but he didn't.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:03 pm
"Angler fish," Nita repeated, shaking her head. "Those the ones with the dangly, glowy things, right?" She held one hand up to her forehead and wiggled her fingers as a demonstration.
Oh goodness, that sounded wrong. She resisted snickering.
Nita gestured to her tail and her distinctive facial markings. "I'm a red panda, actually." Her eyes flicked towards the reference books, remembering clearly the time she'd spent researching.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:16 pm
"Ssomefin la... like thah, yeh," Sid said, irritation bleeding into the words.
"Lucky," he said when she explained what she was. They were cute and mammalian, at least. He inadvertantly followed Nita's gaze back to the books. "Guess ah coul' loo...k."
He still had yet to decided whether wondering or knowing were worse. If he was lucky there'd be no entry for the damn things in the books. He walked over to the shelves anyway.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:34 pm
Nita looked away. Someone wasn't thrilled to be questioned..!
"Yeah, real lucky," she said softly to the ceiling, trying to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. Cute and mammalian, yes, but it still didn't make her life a picnic. Ugh. The tip of one ear flicked at her twinge of guilt and annoyance.
Shrugging, she heard him move towards the bookshelves. "You could," Nita said, her tone non-committal.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:42 pm
It never cross Sid's mind that he was being maybe just a little rude, but he was fast developing a complex about people fortunate enough to stay in the same animal kingdom through their changes... At least, he was pretty sure you'd call that particular category a kingdom. He pondered that as he paged through the 'V' volume of the encylopedia. Sadly, he found what he was looking for, though it was little more than a tiny blurb with an illustration.
"Huh..." he said.
Some of the color drained from his face as the connection that he was going to look like that was made.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:05 pm
Nita peered over the back of the couch, catching a glimpse of an upside-down viperfish. Yeah. Sid was going to look pretty damn creepy.
Shaking her head, Nita slid back down and opened one of her own books. He probably didn't any more commentary from a 'lucky,' mammalian islander.
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