|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:01 pm
It had been a couple of days since Marshall saw the lizard-creature in the Entertainment Room. If he did gather his name, he didn't remember it; paralyzing fear had that effect on people. He wasn't sure what scared him more: How it looked, or how he knew that it was once a human being.
I just hope I never have to see some thing like that again... he thought as he pulled his orange vest over his now significantly tighter white T-shirt. He was still waiting for that new wardrobe from the labs, but he wasn't holding his breathe; the woman he talked to had been less than sweet about the whole thing.
So, with the sun high over-head, Marshall found himself heading to the Cafeteria for a bit of a lunch. Some fish, and for some reason ever since that night of drinking he wanted to attempt to drink a light beer again.
So, with the food on his tray, he found himself sitting alone in the cafeteria, staring out the window as he chewed his uncooked fish with a blank mind.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:11 pm
Ambrose, despite the horrors that he had been experiencing recently, found himself following a generally formulaic day. There were just a certain number of things that needed to be done regardless of the crack down his wall as wide as a spread hand... or the death threats of the white tiger.... or the continued agonizing wait to see whether or not Angelina would change again... or get sick.
The routine helped. Get up. Shower, Brush his teet, brush out his hair and fur, dress, go to the cafeteria.... but despite it all, even his routine had been encroached on. Nightmares of Jamal tearing his way into Ambrose's duplex had screwed with his sleep schedule... or Annie.... And his last encounter with the crazed she-wolf had limited even his runs down the roads that he had previously assumed were 'safe' spots. He had a lot of pent-up energy that didn't particularly have any productive outlet. He hadn't even been able to manage to find Gaius yet to help him with the theater. And with his and Angelina's desire to make their wedding night "special again.." Well.... that department wasn't much help either... especially with how... restless and... clingy he had been feeling since around the begining of the month. And even the duplex cleaning could only do so much. He couldn't exactly detract from the massive crack down the wall. God knew how long it would take the labs to fix it - they hadn't even delivered the supplies for their wedding. And in the meantime, he felt like he had no privacy.
So, following another early wake and his morning routine, Ambrose padded into the cafeteria with his mind a thousand miles away. He mechanically got his tray, piled it up with eggs, bacon, ham, and a small slice of toast and turned to head towards the tables, only then snapping to a realiziation that he wasn't alone this early afternoon.
There was a black and white bird person, whom Ambrose had a vague recollection of from one of the big gatherings... but he had likely changed since then, and he'd be damned if he could remember his name. But, eager for a distraction despite how standoffish he'd been feeling recently, he nodded and walked towards the table as his toenails clicked on the hard floor.
"Mind if I take a seat..?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:46 pm
Marshall looked up from his fish, startled from being pulled out his day-dream state. The man talking to him looked like a dog. No, actually, more of a wolf than any thing. He looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Ah...Yeah, shuah." he said, motioning towards the seat adjacent. He seemed like a nice enough fellow, and pretty far along with his changes as well. Probably done, if Nita's four-change thing had been true.
Marshall's speech had gotten better, he was proud to say. However, he still a few noticeable slurs in the way he talked.
"Names Marshall." he said as he managed to slip his plastic fork under the pop-tab of the Light Beer can, jimmying it up and down in hopes of opening it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:51 pm
Ambrose smiled, which despite Ambrose's practice looked awkward on the canine muzzle and seemed to resemble more of a snarl than a smile per-se.
"Thanks, Marshall... nice to meet you. I'm Ambrose" He responded genially and took a seat, happy to encounter a seemingly reasonable fellow.
If Ambrose noticed the slurs, he was too polite to say anything. After glancing at the difficulty the bird-man seemed to be having with the pop tab Ambrose held out a paw-hand again. "Need any help with that..? Though it seems to be awfully early in the day for alcohol..." He ventured with a slight humor in his tone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:58 pm
"Eh, its just Laight." Marshall said, holding the can out to the canine man with an equally odd smirk. How one smirks with a beak is a rather strange thing to see, but no stranger than a bird man enjoying a Light Beer (which he had never actually had before) before noon.
"Yeah, I know...You wah at tha beach partah a while back." Marshall said, for some reason forgetting the enunciation he had spent hours working on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:03 pm
Ambrose chuckled, a whuffling sound, and took the can and hooked a claw under the tab, popping the tab with a practiced fluidity. The fizz bubbled and popped as it was suddenly exposed to the air, and Ambrose slid the can back to Marshall's waiting flipper-hand.
"Light doesn't necessarily mean any less alcohol. Although I suppose that it never is exactly a poor time for alcohol around here." Ambrose lifted his glass of water in a vague 'cheers' gesture before taking a few careful laps and then picked up his fork.
"And yes! The party.... that was... an interesting night" He commented with a strange tone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:10 pm
"Eh, I wahs duhrunk like a skunk...I dun remembah any of et!" he complained, raising his can and taking a small sip. The grimace on his beaked face made it clear he was never going to be one to enjoy his drink. Trying to retain some dignity, he slowly put it down on the table, the taste still lingering on his significantly changed tongue.
"Nevah...Nevah been much of a drinkah..." he said with a forced laugh. Yes, this was definitely an embarrassing moment.
"So, why would yah need a drink?" Marshall asked, inexplicably curious as to why the wolf-man seemed vaguely bitter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:20 pm
"That's probably for the best." Ambrose commented between bites of ham and eggs. Despite his beastly appearence, he was careful, almost meticulously so, with using his utensils and pre-cutting his food. "I don't know if anyone told you, but later that night Angharad attacked the lot of us..." He reached up and pulled up a rough of fur around his neck, exposing a few scars. "Jamal and I held her off.... for a bit at least until the guards showed up. I was buzzed, though.." An ear flicked back in irritation.
"To be honest, I was never much of a drinker either. I came to the island just before my twenty-first birthday, however, and things changed. I'm still not much of a drinker... but I don't turn my nose up at the stuff. Lord knows that it certainly doesn't hurt to want to get your mind off of things from time to time. From rabid wolves... and being mistaken for them... to insane tigers and death threats... "complications" and going from the vantage of a forced vacation to not feeling safe...." He shook his head with a mumbled growl.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:39 pm
"Huh. I came heah right aftah mah 21st..." Marshall grumbled, popping and and immediately swallowing a piece of fish as he admired Ambrose's scars. As immature as it sounded, he did find them cool to a certain extent. Hard to believe two people with such different degrees of maturity were the same age. He pushed his beer over to the wolf man.
"Yah neehd it mahr than meh." Marshall said, listening to his complaints. Death threats by tigers? Being mistaken for that savage wolf? And Marshall was all to familiar with the fear of "complications".
"Yah know, yahr gonnah go bahld if yah keep wahrin' abaht that kindah stuff." Marshall said, half joking, "I mean," he cleared his throat, trying to regain of his speech, "Its...Its smart to worry. But if you don't stop and relax, your going to pull yer hair out and forget HOW to feel safe." he said, as if he actually knew what he was talking about.
Its amazing what even a small sip of beer can do to an alcohol pansy, isn't it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:47 pm
Ambrose shrugged. He was already starting to feel like he wasn't safe anymore. Those areas previously deemed as safe to him kept being encroached on. From the trails being okay, to not after Annie... even his own duplex had been attacked. It was true, Ambrose was begining to be paranoid, and he didn't like it. If he was going to be brought here against his will, transformed into... a beast... at least they could uphold their promise of making it comfortable. Even now with Angelina here... there was more than just him to worry about.
He looked at the beer consideringly. Despite the relief that it offered, he wasn't feeling much like getting drunk. He didn't want to let his guard down, and it would be a bad idea to do so anyway. As much as he wished things were easier, there was no use pretending that they were. At least not with a group of support around him....
"It's alright... but thank you for the offer. It would take a lot of hair-pulling to get it all... and I might have already succumbed to the second... " he sighed. "I wish they could catch those damn menaces.... And just when it seemed as if Jamal had the capacity to be civil. He's a menace to everyone here - just as much if not more so than Annie, and she's an ocean away from sane. I don't like how things are going.... not at all." He looked back up to the penguin boy and sighed. "I'm sorry to toss this all on you. Hopefully, you won't have any of this to worry about. I've been trying to find things to be productive with... with the roads not even safe I was trying to find Gaius to help him with that theater project... but I haven't had much luck. And besides that... maybe that's not even a good idea with Jamal likely looking to catch me in the open..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:57 pm
"Huh...Jamal sounds like a douche bag, if ya ask me." Marshall said, grateful to regain control of his mouth again, "And don't worry about it. Listening is pretty much my only real talent I have." Marshall said, remembering all the self-pitying rants he had heard from Gaius over the course of several months.
"If ya don't talk about it, you're bound to go insane. And...I think you should come work on the project. Gaius and bunch of others are always there, so its not like you'll be unprotected. Plus, its a good way to keep yerself occupied...I'd be there myself but..." he held up his mitten-like hands with a weak shrug.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:01 am
Ambrose nodded, thankful to find another sympathetic ear that didn't mind his ranting. It DID help - one of the few things that seemed to. And Ambrose didn't like to be alone. Meeting new people, especially new potential friends always helped the wolf man feel at least a little better. Made it feel like he was less alone... less victimized, even if he didn't wish this fate on any other nice people.
"I'm sure you've got more talents than that. Don't sell yourself short." He looked at the flipper-hands again with a barely-disguised wince. Every time he saw something like that, it made him feel both lucky, and vaguely guilty. "I'm sorry... it must be hell to lose your hands... but I'm sure that there would still be things you could do. And you know Gaius, too, then? He seems to be really nice, stand-up fellow."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:10 am
"Yeah, it is." Marshall grumbled, in full agreement about the whole 'losing your hands is hell' bit. He perked up a little, however, at a topic that didn't involve his handicap.
"Gaius? Oh, yeah, I know him. I...Kinda adopted him as a big brother. Heh heh, how lame is that?" Marshall chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't sure why he was telling this to Ambrose, who was pretty much a total stranger.
"I...I actually think thats how I'm surviving all this stuff...I'm kind of making a pseudo family..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:17 am
Ambrose's face relaxed as he nodded. "No... it's not lame at all... it's actually remarkably similar to how I made it through all of this sane myself. The only upside to all of this is that I have met some amazing people here. And having a pseudo-family of people who understand and who help you through the rough patches... that's invaluable. Perhaps it's just that I was never the social butterfly as much as other people back in college.... but the people I've met here have been amazing... with a few rare exceptions. And take my advise.... don't lose contact with people if you can help it.... there... this island is hard on your own.... and I've seen it change people more than just physically." He gave Marshall a small smile. "So keep your friends close. Don't let them slip by the wayside."
Ambrose remembered the Dude... Greer who had been so long since he'd seen her.... and even Amaya's startling outburst after the Jamal incident. And how long had it been since he had seen Colche...?
He sighed, pushing some of the remaining food around on his plate.
Marshall seemed like a nice guy. Especially if he and Gaius were close. "So... who were you... before all of this..?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:29 am
Marshall was caught off guard by Ambrose's question, but he decided to answer as best as he could. "Hmm...Well...I was Marshall. I had a job as an Animator. Didn't bother to go to college. Though, I might still have hands if I had...I had a comic. It was about a penguin. Aren't those Lab Techs just masters of irony?" Marshall said, sounding more distant than he had previously.
"I had an older sister, a mom, and a dad. I loved them all. And I had a crush on the receptionist at the place I worked at. I was promised a two week vacation...And...Now I'm here." Marshall said weakly. He looked back at Ambrose, forcing a weak smile. It was about this time that he realized how much he had distanced himself from his previous life, the one he had before the island.
"So, whats your story?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
