Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had taken several days for Thom to grow used to his changes. He had left the duplex he shared with Natsumi some time earlier, and had spent the time since trying to grow used to his new body. Or sulking about it. Whichever had appealed more at the time.

He had found in the time since leaving that the long, sinuous tail was actually terribly easy to manipulate...if he allowed the cobra a bit more freedom. And so he had, only to come to his senses some hours later with a large lump in his stomach and a distinctly monkey-ish taste still on his tongue. How he had eaten something so large, he still wasn't sure, but he did know it had thoroughly exhausted him. He had retreated to the boughs of a large tree in the area and, for what he could tell, spent the next few days sleeping off the large meal.

But he was awake now. The lump had subsided, his stomach was back to normal, and he was starting to grow hungry again. The cobra was hunting, but Thom wasn't. He was sitting on the sidelines, observing the cobra and how it moved, and memorizing how to mimic the patterns for once he regained control. Which might as well be now, he decided as a flick of his tongue announced the approach of another creature. Shoving the cobra to the back of his mind, he slipped somewhat awkwardly into the flowing scale motions that allowed him to move forward, head only a foot or so above the ground as the sound of footfalls and directions from his tongue led him towards the...deer.

Said large and mysterious creature had been more than pleased when the deer failed to run even after noticing him. Keep confusing it, the cobra instructed. Make not a sound and keep it wondering what you are and what sort of threat you pose. The deer was easy picking, silly startled thing. He would feast today.

That is, until the deer began to move again, and it became apparent to the cobra man that she was standing on two feet and not four. And abruptly the attack came to an end, and Thom rose from the ground to 'stand' at just under his normal height. "So sorry," he quickly apologized, lifting both hands as if to show his innocence. "My misstake."

Her fear was, unfortunately, blatantly obvious, and only served to encourage an attack from the cobra. With each flick of his tongue, rare though they were, tasted fear, tasted the almost overwhelming desire to run. His tongue was one of the few things he remotely enjoyed about hsi change. It allowed him to read people to an extent he couldn't have dreamed of before. Of course...it also left him feeling decidedly awkward when people we quite clearly terrified by him.

"Again, my apologies." He ducked his head quickly in a nod. "I get carried away ssometimes. Only jusst gettin' the 'ang of this...no legss thing."

Thom still felt rather awkward at the idea of going unclothed, especially when the deer woman's eyes wandered below his waist...and then he remember there was nothing to see, and, if anything, felt worse. His expression clearly showed his disapproval as he pulled in the rest of his tail to coil around himself on the ground.

"No, unfortunately, it cannot." He spared a bitter glance towards the stub of his left leg, then leg his eyes wander to the deer's legs, which, as she'd said, had changed a great deal as well. "Yes, I can see how walking would be difficult. But still possible. Still possible," he repeated, lifting his head and offering a hand. "Thom Brinley."

Thom allowed himself a brief moment of smugness at the state of her hand, but almost immediately felt guilty for it. He should be willing misfortune on her just because his legs were gone. He should be glad for the islanders that were still...mostly human, not bitter that he wasn't among them. It was just difficult. "You do have a point," he admitted, glancing down to his own relatively-normal hands. "Though I'd gladly trade with you any day."

"That...is a very good question," he admitted, peering past her as if expecting to see the village just through the trees. Where exactly were they? He hadn't bothered to keep track of where he was, or even when it was. He had expected it to be easy enough to find the village again whenever he wanted to get back. It hadn't ever been difficult before.

His tongue flickered eye, head swiveling to face off to his right. "The beach is that way... Not very far that way, if that helps. But I'm really not sure. I haven't been to the village in...a week or so? What's today?"

"New Year?" Christmas had passed, certainly, but New Year... New Year just added a certain finality to everything. He had known for a good while that he wouldn't ever be going back, but he hadn't ever really thought about how long he had actually been away. Not that there was any point to even thinking on it, he reasoned, after seeing the tape of his own funeral. Everyone must have believed him dead for months, and even those who might have been suspicious would have stopped dwelling on it after so long. But even after admitting defeat, it was hard to give up hope entirely.

"The weather, yes," he mumbled, clearing his throat and snapping free of his thoughts. "I should probably be headin' back to th' duplexes myself, then. Natsumi'll be worried. Mind if I join you?"