Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dee wasn't sure what day it was, exactly, but she had figured out that it certainly wasn't August. She *did*, however, remember what day it had been during her last bender.

Happy April Fools, indeed.

It couldn't have been too long afterwards. The eggs were still intact and there weren't any imminent signs of hatching, though she was sure that the date wasn't far off.

Dee was in the process of tidying up when she heard Richard's voice. Her mane bristled and she felt her face become red with embarrassment. Despite that and the still-horrendous shape of her duplex, part of Dee craved company. (Especially after the painful encounter with Newt.)

She shuffled to the door and cracked it a few inches, then relaxed (a little) and swung it open all the way when she saw who it was. "H-hey, Richard..." she mumbled through wriggling lips, her face pulled into a tired smile.

Dee chuckled weakly and gave Richard a 'yeah, right' expression. "You're too kind, hon, but it's good to see you." She scratched absently at the IV site on her forearm, then glanced back at her disheveled duplex. "Ahh, the place is a wreck, but please come on in." Dee took a step back and lowered her head a bit in invitation, looking out over the top of her empty glasses.

The duplex was indeed a wreck but it was still an improvement, all things considered. The dirty clothes had been piled into a singular heap, and her used bottles were bagged for delivery to Newt. It looked as if Dee was currently working on dusting and re-organizing her desk and shelves.

As if a switch had been flicked, Dee's demeanor turned from submissive and grateful at Richard's presence to feral anger--or, at least, as feral as her mostly-human face could manage. Her ears seemed as if they wanted to flatten against her skull, but they lacked the necessary muscles. Her mane, however, bristled again as she ground her teeth.

"Yeah, some joke," she growled softly, angling her arm towards Richard to display the IV site. There was bruising from when she had yanked it loose. "I woke up soaking wet with an IV stuck in me. Then I saw what they had done to Newt. It took me a while to figure it out... but the eggs tipped me off." Dee twitched a lip nodule towards the desk. "Same eggs, from what I can tell."

She sighed and closed the door, then opened the window wider to help air out the room. "Don't tell me they did something to you, too?"

Dee shook her head in disgust as she glanced over the remains of Richard's April 1rst gift. A few moments later, she reigned in her writhing lips and nodded.

"Pigeon eggs. Newt brought them to me a while back. Apparently he had made a meal of the mother and felt guilty, the poor thing." Her expression softened as she thought of the frog, and she hoped he was doing allright. She had wanted to go after him, but thought the better of it. What if she scared him again? What if something in her snapped and she really *did* see him as prey?

"You didn't happen to see him, did you? Someone drew lines on his tummy and chest with permanent marker...made it look like a dissection prep."

Dee knew that look. Practically every authority figure in her family was well versed in 'That Look.'

She grimaced and avoided meeting Richard's eyes. "What can I tell you that your nose can't? It's been a rough few weeks." Dee tried to meet the other woman's gaze, but her line of sight drifted over to the bags of bottles instead. "It was the worst binge streak I've ever been on. I don't know what I was trying to prove. I'm still feeling shaky and dehydrated."

Dee picked up the nearest half-empty water bottle and drummed her blunt talons on the plastic. April Fools had been a wake-up call for her, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it.

Dee stiffened at first, her lips pulling into tense 'points.' As she realized Richard's intent, the odd hybrid relaxed and leaned against her. She hugged back and closed her eyes.

"'Don't know what I did to deserve that, but thanks." Dee sounded embarrassed and frustrated. "I've been a Grade-A Slacker. One little mutation and I practically give up the ghost. How pathetic is that?"

Dee didn't pull away. She returned the hug, sympathetic and grateful, then leaned back. "That's good advice.

"Then you...had a pretty severe first change too, eh? And you're still doing all right." Her cheeks flushed red, nearly as bright as her lips. "Ah, so to speak." In a nervous gesture, Dee pushed her empty-frame glasses up the bridge of her nose. Despite her ever-present curiosity, she was still hesitant to dig for details of other islanders' changes.