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The days had gone by as usual. Slow, monotonous. He got up, ran with Vixen on the beach, had breakfast, worked a little, maybe took a walk along one of the rivers, though he didn't stray too far from the village. He was fearful of running into that wild wolf-woman, but he did want to catch Seth again. He was anxious to get things started, though he knew patience was what he needed.

He'd left Vixen behind this afternoon, not wanting to worry about losing her in the jungle as he ventured out to the tree line, in the part that was still barely the Village. He could see the duplexes behind, and the lawn, but the cool shade and fragrant breeze, as he lifted his nose to it, were welcome refreshments. It'd taken some time, but he was starting to get the hang of his new nose, able to process the information it brought him. It was amazing how intensely he could smell the rich earth, and though he wouldn't admit it, the aroma of all the wet foilage made his mouth water. So it was with a half-dreamy consciousness that he wandered along the jungle edge, parallel to the line of buildings.

Gaius heard her before she reached him, his ears swiveling to catch the sound of light padding on the turf. His heart quickened as his mind warned him to be wary, never know what might surprise him out there amongst the threes, but he forced himself to calm down, knowing he could easily make a break for the village from there. So he turned his head towards the sound, catching the red figure of Nita out of the corner of his wide vision. He welcomed her with a warm smile, glad to see her out and about, especially after what she'd gone through lately.

"Hay? That's what horses eat!" he joked as she touched his arm. He moved around, wrapping his hairy arms around her in a quick, friendly hug. "It's good to see you! Doing any better...?"

Gaius laughed as well, more because he'd managed to get a giggle out of Nita, and stuck out his tongue in an equally childish manner.

His expression grew less cheerful and more concerned as the smile went from Nita's face. His ears, the tell-all of his moods, perked up to listen. "Did something happen?"

Gaius blushed at the first bit of information, a bit embarrassed to be hearing about such intimate info of that sort. His eyes widened and even his wings flared a bit as he looked at her with surprise. "Miller? That kid? But... he's not even old enough to be legal yet, is he?"

It did surprise him that she'd been dating a girl that was SO young, and he couldn't keep that out of his face, but she looked so distressed that he quickly pushed that shortcoming aside.

"Oh Nita..." Gaius wrapped his arms around her again, hoping she wouldn't mind his attempts at physical comfort - it was the best he could offer, being poor in the verbal kind. "I'm sorry... You're right. She shouldn't have done that. And I'm sorry she did, because she shouldn't hurt you like that..."

It's one thing to hear bad news, another to see it. Even though Sabin told him his eye was gone, and though he could feel absolutely nothing in the socket, it didn't mean it registered in his mind. After a week or two passed, he finally worked up the courage to take a peek under the eyepatch. In retrospect he wished he hadn't. His eyelids were sunken inward, and opening them revealed a dark red hole in his head that burned when exposed to air. It was disgusting in an entirely new way, and he had nearly thrown up at the sight. There were four long and jagged scars that swept across the previous location of his left eye that the eyepatch hadn't fully covered. It would have been comical if it wasn't so disgusting and worrying. He hoped Sabin would help him get his eye back. Forever was a long time to live without an eye, now that he'd seen for himself what had happened.

He needed some fresh air right away. Being cooped up in his duplex was making him nervous. Though the duplex had never changed, it was so small now. There were plenty of spots on the ceiling where his horns had scratched it up. He double-checked to make sure the panic button was on his belt before leaving. It was a physical assurance of protection. Above all else, he didn't want to die. He was getting too close to death with each passing day.

As much as it appealed to his more primal urges, he couldn't wander around the jungle. It didn't take long for his nature walk alongside it to be ruined by a familiar sight - Gaius. And with him, or on him, some furry little creature he suspected was Nita. As if the duplexes didn't afford the privacy people needed for makeout sessions, he mused. The sight did make him angry out of jealousy. He didn't feel anything for anyone but Kaveri, and at this point he saw her so few times that even that could easily have been illusory as well. If he couldn't have love then certainly he wouldn't let it happen when he was around - especially if Gaius was involved. His tail whipped about irritably as he stood poised a couple feet away. "Huh. I guess it takes a pretty feminine man to get a lesbian to fall for him."

Nita turned to the newcomer, momentarily wondering who'd be so rude as to interrupt them. Her question was quickly answered. It had to be Zach. Although it had been months since Nita had seen him last, as far as she knew there was only one red draconic man. She shifted to Gaius' side, her paw discreetly moving to grasp his hand.

She was so not in the mood for this.

It only took a moment after the initial sighting for Gaius to notice the eyepatch covering part of Zach's face. Normally, he would have just stormed off rather than taking the dragon's lip, but feeling Nita's paw holding his own misshaped hand lent him courage and he couldn't in good conscience turn tail in front of her. So he stood his ground, giving the dragon an equally scrutinizing look as he edged a bit closer to Nita.

"...What's wrong with your face? If you were trying to cover it to spare the lady from seeing it, you'll need more than that little patch." He cast Nita a quick smirk before looking back at the dragon.