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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:56 pm
It had taken hours of struggling through a muddy jungle floor only to have the terrain shift to impossibly cumbersome, soft soil but he'd finally made it. The only evidence of the boy's battle with the landscape were the uneven tracks his wheels made as they trailed out from the treecover onto the exposed beach, eventually leading to the stationary figure in a wheelchair.
The sharkboy looked out of place to say the least, an awkward monument far enough from the beach bar to render an image of a stone statue alone in the sand. He didn't know why he'd woken up that morning determined to fight his way here, the rolling waves were offering no comfort; on the contrary, they just made him feel restless. Even with this, he still wouldn't take his eyes off of the swirling blue.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:16 pm
Billy had managed to push his chair through the softer sand to the harder layer between the waves and the dry dust. It wasn't unusual for him to go wheeling along the beach. Often he'd push himself down into the waves and quietly contemplate what it might be like to be a real octopus, but then felt silly afterwards and simply return to his chair to debate between whiskey and fish. Thus far he had always choosen fish since halloween. Today, though, as he rolled along in the general of the beach bar, he was weighing his options again. He stopped when he spotted another figure in a chair. Some other poor sap, huh? Who ever it was- he frowned, brows furrowing in faint recollection of green and purple hair on a grey head- the shark boy! Oh, bugger it, what was his name? "Alrigh' there?" He called hesitantly as he slowly rolled closer.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:26 pm
Oz almost missed the few days of practically being forced into semi- and full nakedness as a result of his physical changes. It was the only time he'd managed to keep cool on this Island! But now, having finally caved in to requesting larger sized clothing, he wandered around this day dressed in loose khaki shorts and a barely-breathable blue shirt - colours that did not match his deathly grey skin well.
Seeking out shade as he walked the path through the jungle, he instantly sought out the cool sea breeze upon leaving the overhanging cover. Two dark blocks punctuated the golden sands, casting a big blanket of fear and cowardice over Oz. Having been locked in his duplex for days, the sight of half-beasts in wheelchairs came as a renewed shock to him.
Even moreso when one of them had teeth and the other was slimy.
So what made Oz approach slowly? Morbid curiosity? Some kind of new kinship with them? He had started the change to man-beast afterall.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:47 pm
Alec didn't react at first, the crashing waters consuming his senses to the point where he was unaware of anything else. Eventually the man's voice registered and the boy turned marble-black eyes towards the familiar shape of the octopus man with almost a look of confusion. "Uh?" He gave the short reply like an old man demanding others to speak up though he didn't need it to be repeated, as he'd heard him fine the first time. "Ay."
He didn't have much to say, and left it at that for now. The teen felt more than a little awkward, now eye-level with the man he'd seen as an invalid no more than a month ago. What if anything, did he have to say to Billy now? The surreal imagine of them both now on equal terms made his head swell with dizziness, he wanted to lie down or just die.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:57 pm
As the octopus came to a stop in the soft sand across from the shark, he gave him a look up and down. His gaze lingered on the bark and the melded legs, his dim recollection of the boy reminding him that he had definatly been able to stand the last time he had seen him. "Y'look t'me li' a man wha' needs a drink. I c'tell by tha' look on yer face."
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:05 pm
Oz had continued to creep quietly closer, surprised he hadn't been found out yet. He could grab only snatched words from the sparse conversation, but just looking at the poor toothy fella told Oz a lot more than words could. He reminded him a lot of Thom, crippled and unable to walk. No wonder he was sad.
And the purple fella? Ew. He belonged in an aquarium or in a sushi bar. But he'd just spent a night with a mermaid, so who was he to judge. Aahh...drink...that was something that had been banished from Oz's mind all the time he'd been here. He hadn't exactly had a chance to crave alcohol.
By now, he was practically beside Billy, unable to wrench his eyes from that hypnotically slimy form, wondering just how much of him was still human anymore...and what he'd gone through to end up like that!
"That'd make two of us," he idly said, forgetting he wasn't part of the conversation in the first place.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:21 pm
"A' coul' use woon." The boy admitted weakly, finally able to pry his eyes from the sea to properly address his fellow aquatic man. Unfortunately it also gave him the opportunity to finally notice the giant of a man next to Billy whom he hadn't even noticed had approached. The sharkboy flinched in surprise, the twitchy motion of the creature he most resembled inhibited by his new metal prison. He would've run if he could have or at least leapt back a few paces, but his instinctual efforts only resulted in a dangerous rock of his wheelchair.
Flustered by his own reaction and before anything could be said about it, the boy could be seen attempting to turn the metal frame of his chair around to start a path towards the bar.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:35 pm
The octopus jumped as well at the sound of the other man's voice, a bit of black liquid glistening at the corners of his mouth, but he kept his inking instinct at bay for the most part, and swallowed the rest. "Th'more th'merrier!" ******** it. He had gotten high not too long ago with Sid. Where was the harm in a drink? It wasn't- no, his heart ached to think of it. He was recovered. He was clean. Hell, he had no choice but to be clean. ******** it. His various limbs snaked and coiled abou tto get a better grip of his chair to tug at the wheels with his suckers and follow along behind the shark. Poor kid. It was one thing for a crabby old man like Sid or a low-life like Bill to find themselves in a position like this, but the shark-boy was still young. What a miserable place to come into adulthood.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:42 pm
Oz stated backwards as poor Alec and Billy were taken off guard. He seemed to instinctively through his hands up in a defensive, apologetic manner.
"Woah, sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he mumbled as Alec began to wheel himself away.
The octopus-man's accent was thick, but that wasn't what was gaining Oz's attention. The way he manipulated those limbs, those inhuman limbs, was just...it made him shudder all over for a brief moment. Following like a sheep does a shephard, he left heavy footprints in the sand. He'd gone beyond caring who he was sharing a drink with. He just wanted a drink. For the first time in possibly 2 months. He just wanted a drink.
"Uuhh...my name's Oz," he hesitantly introduced himself.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:19 pm
Alec grunted as he fought the sand to push himself into motion, glancing briefly over his shoulder to ensure that the other two were aware of where he was headed. Who the heck was that big guy and why the hell did he look so creepy? With how often he'd been drifting into solitude recently, he hadn't even realized the sheer influx of new people onto the island. It made the place seem that much more alien and uninviting when the sourrounding faces were strangers to his memory.
Regardless, if Billy thought this guy was ok then he wouldn't complain. Perhaps more company would get him out of this slump he was stuck in. It seemed unlikely that hope would ever return but he sure as hell wouldn't let himself give up on living. "...Alec." The boy meekly responded after a short pause, angling his wedged head to the side to project his voice over his shoulder.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:35 pm
Alec. Oz. Brilliant, he was last and therefor wouldn't be embarassed by not having a clue what the shark kid had been named. "M'names William," He grunted and urged his chair faster to catch up beside the other boy, "So ye've been crippled too, eh?" He was a blunt sort of man, but what was the point in softening the blow? They were both in the same predicament, afterall- it would be nice to have someone to b***h to. "I'd push y'in return, bu' I don' know how well tha'd work out."
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:47 pm
"A pleasure to meet you both," he said, formality surpassing reality. Did he really need to sound so...posh?
The shock caused to his knee from the sudden expnasion of attached muscles had worn off, giving Oz just a slight limp now. He didn't require the cane anymore. Just as he had done in his youth, he was stubborn in his refusal to use the cane, using it for as little time as possible. This had been no different.
He moved to one side and picking up his pace, so that the trio moved in a line along the beach towards the beach bar. Occasionally, his gaze swept to the right to glance over the two cripples, his mind acknowledging their state but just too numb to react anymore. He half-expected one to suddenly attack the other though.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:09 pm
Alec nodded mutely at Billy's blunt observation, unfazed and somewhat less irritated than if those words had been spoken by anyone other than the octopus man. After a short moment of quiet contemplation, he gave a better acknowledgment. "Like bumpeh caw'rs a' c'n imagine." He commented amusedly, having put more expression into his joke had he not been so down at the time.
Frowning to himself but not letting it show outwardly, the teen slowly glanced up at the large, greyish man as if to communicate that he knew he was being stared at. The fact that Oz seemed to have gone through at least his first change didn't affect his mood at all, he simply didn't like to be stared at, most likely less than Billy really minded. "So wuh ye been up teh?" The sharkboy asked alloud though to whom he was directing the question to was left up in the air by his ambiguity. The group approached the bar and the boy was preoccupied trying to decide how to organize himself to leave room for others.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:32 pm
"No' much, no' much... hey, legs," He grunted to the grey-man that had followed them to the bar, "Pour this poor lad a double whiskey. Strongest y'can find back there. An' feck it, wha' say we join him? A toast fer me project, eh?" The shark seemed content enough to stay quiet, so Billy was content enough to talk. "They turned it off, if y'din' notice," He tapped the collar with a tentacle tip as he parked his chair behind the stool befor taking a hold to clumsily pull and worm his way up. In the end, he needed to prop himself up on the bar itself with his front tentacles and cling to the stool with his bottom tentacles and webbing in order to not fall, but he was comfortable enough. A break from the chair was welcome, as he was sure the forlorn shark was familiar with. "M'buildin' a theater. Y'know, wit' a stage an' th'like? Got me lad Gaius- tha' long necked fellow wit' th'chicken-wings, y'know? Aye, go' him t'hop on it. Think it'll be good fer me. Fer all o' us, y'know?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:28 am
Oz caught the glance from Alec and got the message. He didn't dare look at them both again until they reached the bar. Billy's attempts at hauling himself onto a bar stool was a strange mixture of hilarity and sympathy. Flailing and slimy limbs. Determined expression. The octo-man's request for a drink provided a necessary distraction for Oz as he clumsily rummaged around the other side of the bar for glasses and drinks.
He'd never been much of a whisky drinker himself, but the Jack Daniels bottle was easy enough to recognise as whisky. Whilst pouring three glasses, he tried to listen to Billy's rambles, picking out key points from the accent.
"Err...what was the collar for?" he asked, his brow furrowed in worry.
English manners creeping in, he even went so far as to put coasters on the bar top before putting the glasses down in front of Alec and Billy. A great grin came to his face as Billy mentioned the theatre plans.
"Oh, so you're the mastermind behind it. Gaius has roped me in as labourer for that," he smirked and chuckled lightly.
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