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It was some time in the late afternoon when Gaius was walking Vixen around the edge of the village, getting a little change of scenery from the lumber and dirt of the construction site. The dog's collar was held loosely in Gaius' hand, so when a small island rodent darted between the bushes, Vixen yanked herself free of his hold and dashed off amongst the trees, yapping as she chased her prey. Gaius yelped, tearing after her through the brush, though his large body was far less nimble between the trees.

"Vix! Stop! VIXEN!" he shouted between breaths, his plodding pace picking up as somehow his long legs adopted a more bounding pace, the narrow feet better able to find purchase amongst the growth, though he nearly caught them on protruding roots, one time his foot sliding in and sending him tumbling to the ground, but he scrambled up and was after the dog soon enough.

The dog finally came to a stop at a massive tree standing apart from the others, barking and standing up against the trunk as something up above, some bird, seeked safety from the noisy animal. Gaius stumbled up behind her, catching the dog around the neck with both arms and grabbing the leash before she could squirm free again for some more chasing.

"Damnit, Vixen... you should... know better... than to run off..." he panted, large chest heaving with the exercise. Finally looking around, Gaius was surprised to find the trees behind him and rocky landscape before him. It was familiar, thanks to a previous encounter so many months ago with a dragon. He'd come all the way to the cliffs?

Gaius' head snapped up alert atop his long neck, not having realized he wasn't alone, but relaxed a measure when he saw Shenzi.

"She saw a bird or something and slipped right out of my hand..." he explained, walking over to the clearing and log the blue-haired girl sat upon. His smile was friendly, if a bit unsure. It was evident in the tenseness of the girl's body that something was bothering her. Gaius glanced around, noting the calm of the place outside of the racket he and Vix had just caused and ducked his head apologetically. "I'm probably intruding on your privacy, huh? Well, I can blame it on the dog this time for my bumbling..."

The mis-balanced fellow scooted over, taking the offered seat and ran a hand back over his neck in an attempt to calm down. It seemed to work a little as his shoulders relaxed, the half-spread wings folding back against them and he rested his arms on his legs, leash wrapped around his wrist now.

"I never got to thank you for the CD you sent me!" he said, looking down at Shenzi. "I, er, haven't gotten to listen to all of it yet, but I put it on while I was doing some work in my duplex. It's... pretty great! Interesting style of music you guys had..." He lowered his eyes, fiddling with the strap as something to keep his hands occupied.

Vixen was the first to sense something wrong, her playful manner vanishing as she stood up, watching Shenzi intently. As the girl grimaced, the dog gave a sharp bark and shot Gaius a look, as if to say 'Do something!'

Gaius caught the change of expression. His smile faded and he furrowed his brows, watching Shenzi with concern. "Hey, what's the matter? Are you feeling-" His words trailed off as his eyes trailed down her front, catching the movement of hiding her arms, if not the scale growth, and shot a searching look back up at her face, ignoring her attempt to cover it with conversation. "Shenzi... what...?"

A startled yelp escaped Gaius as several white, pebble-sized objects fell to the dirt from Shenzi's turned head. Wide-eyed, he opened his mouth to demand an honest explanation, but it became painfully obvoius as the goosebumps around Shenzi's shoulders and neck began to blossom into sharp spine-like shafts. Even more allarming was the movement along her back as something strained against her shirt, tearing at the material as two fleshy lumps forced their way out like alien growths.

Gaius gawked and stammered before snapping his mouth shut and catching one of Shenzi's changed hands, squeezing it. It was the only comfort he could think to lend in the absence of pain killers.

Gaius watched tensely, clamping down on the urge in his mind to turn tail and run for safety, only to remind himeslf just how far from the village they were as he glanced around warrily at the threes. He was grateful for how relatively quiet Shenzi was as she bit back the pain - any scream could have summoned that wolf-beast that terrorized the wilds.

When his eyes went back to Shenzi, he gasped. It was like a strange deja vu as he watched the lengthening limbs pulling from her back muscles, pink and naked with their fresh skin. Just like his first change, but far, far more massive. Gaius' wings twitched back in sympathetic pain, wondering how she could stand growing so much bone so quickly.

He clamped down on his emotions, trying his best to provide Shenzi with what he believed she needed right now - a strong, stalwart support. But when she turned those sharp, feline eyes on him, almost pleading from that inhuman face, his strength slipped, his face giving away the fear and sorrow eating away inside.

Gaius jumped up as Shenzi tried to stand, trying to catch her arm in a hand to steady her as she stumbled, worrying the girl was going to hurt herself by moving too soon after her change.

"H-Hey! Careful there..." he cautioned, frowning at her. The tears were too reminiscent of the other girl he'd just met recently... Seems he was getting a track record for making girls cry, he berated himself inwardly.

Squatting down beside her, he did his best to ignore the strangeness of Shenzi's new limbs, at the same time cursing the labs for their ability to steal away even a girl's lips. For once, Gaius took a bold move, catching Shenzi's cheek in his hand, and turned her to look at him. A pang of sadness flashed through him, mourning the loss of that pretty, human face he'd known, but more than anything, he was concerned for her. "Shhh..." he calmed her, running the thumb of his still-cupped hand along the side of her face, inadvertently brushing the edge of her feathered eyebrow. "Don't apologize... You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, it's my fault for not picking up on it sooner," he chuckled weakly. "How are you feeling...?"

"What? No!" Gaius protested, hoping her response hadn't come from anything in his expression. His expression softened and he let go of her cheek, thinking she was probably still sensitive and possibly shy of the touch. "No, you're still beautiful... even if it's different. It's still there, in your eyes."

"Besides..." he shrugged, "unlike me... you make feathers look good!" He chuckled.

Standing up, he offered her a hand. "You sure you're doing okay? All that growth..." Gaius shuddered, remembering his own previous changes. Extra limbs were never fun. "I could try carrying you back..."