She could do it this time. 

Ice watched as the plane came down as usual. The skies were clear today, and the air was warm; the storm was long past, at least physically. Some scars remained in the form of toppled trees and overturned rocks, but for the most part, the beach had been cleaned almost to its former state. The air no linger held the thick smell of rotting timber and plant matter, but was instead being permeated by fresh growth from the inland forest.

It smelled like Hoenn. It put Ice in a relatively better mood. 

She could do it. She could be nice to the new arrivals. They could help her get out of this mess, out of this place where she was trapped between two worlds of pity and disgust. She could hold her tongue long enough to tell them the situation and rally them to the plans of escape. 

The plane touched down. Rubber ground against concrete. The tiny woman stood at the edge of the landing pad. 

She could do this. 

At least, she hoped she could. 

Fingertips tapping together in excited anticipation, Rick tried to ignore the shaking in his hands that accompanied the gesture. It was the sort of nervous energy that had him unconsciously reaching into his sport coat for the full pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket. There was no smoking on the plane, however, and he wouldn't have wanted to light one up in an enclosed space with such lovely company anyway. Speaking of, he took one final glance around the cabin and couldn't help but smile to himself. All three of his traveling companions were, in his opinion, uncommonly pretty, and if this was any indication of what he could expect on the island, this was going to be a very, very good summer. Of course, he had things he hoped to accomplish, ambitious things, and the opportunity to get to that is what excited him most. If he could be surrounded by beautiful women all the while though, his seventeen year old mind was really okay with that.

He'd chatted with each of them during the flight, so they all knew his name, and he theirs. Well, two of them, anyway. One of the two pink haired girls had seemed pretty shy. That one hiccup aside, he thought it had been a pleasant flight and yet seemed eager to leave the plane, leaping to his feet as soon as the movement stopped and the hatch began to lower, so exuberantly that his sunglasses nearly fell from his face. Polite as he tried to be, it took a considerable level of effort to keep him from grabbing his bag and running to be the first off the plane. In fact all he managed was to halt his momentum once he got to the exit, turning back to proclaim to the other three, “Ladies, our dreams await!” with a broad grin.

Okay... that was kinda the lamest thing I've ever heard. Clearing his throat in mild embarrassment, he stepped to the side to let the others disembark first, ready to follow them out and lead or follow wherever it seemed they were supposed to go.

Sierna’s heart fluttered in her chest as the plane touched down on the veritable paradise. She had been shooting glances out the window ever since they left the small airfield, “I can’t believe it’s happening!! They actually looked past my stupid legs and accepted me into the research program!!” She snickered a bit at her train of thought, and how it could be misconstrued as dirty. Then her snicker grew into a titter, which grew into a chuckle, which grew into a chortle, which grew into a giggle, which finally grew into a fully fledged laugh.

She couldn’t help it; she was in such a good mood. She got accepted to study one of her favorite legends on an island paradise! And if that wasn’t enough, she had made two great new friends! Maybe three even, if she could just get the shy girl with the pink hair to open up a teensy bit. She clenched her fists; if anyone could get that girl to open up, it was Sierna, and by Arceus she would do it. She enjoyed her laugh for a few more seconds as the plane slowed to a crawl, and finally to a stop. She took one more glance out the window at the waves of heat emanating off of the black runway. She shivered with delight at the thought of a tropical paradise; Sootopolis city tended to get cold during the winter, which was pretty dreadful. Here, she would have much less cold to worry about, which just made the job all the sweeter.

She took a deep breath, grabbed her two metal crutches and, with dexterity and grace that came with years of use, hoisted herself from her chair and sped to the front of the plane where her new guy friend, Rick was waiting. He stood near the door; arms extended towards the outside and proclaimed the cheesiest thing she’d ever heard. She laughed loudly again, and put on her best snooty British accent.

“Why thank you my good sir, though I do believe our dreams may be able to wait for a spot of tea and a tray of crumpets eh, wot?” She lifted one hand and tipped an imaginary top hat at him and then carefully descended her natural predator: Stairs.

Stairs were possibly the one thing that didn’t get easier with practice; they were always a pain to ascend and descend, requiring her to take them one step at a time, slowly and carefully. She could navigate almost any other terrain swimmingly, aside from maybe ice, open water, and lava, but stairs always put a small drop of fear into her consciousness. She hoped dearly that there would be ramps on the island, or at least an elevator that she could use in lieu of those conniving, perfidious stairs.

Once she reached the bottom of the deathtrap, she exuberantly soaked in the weather. It was gloriously hot, and humid, but with a warm sea breeze to keep it from being oppressively so; she could definitely get used to this. She turned towards the plane and smacked the side with one of her crutches.
“I say good chaps, our dreams may be willing to wait for us to have tea and crumpets, but I certainly cannot.” She dropped the accent, “So hurry it up will ya!?”

The entire trip? Agony.

Sunk deep into her chair, the seatbelt riding up around her middle, Diana kept her blue eyes focused only on the view outside the window. In the beginning of the flight, she’d thought that hiding in the very back, away from the other occupants of the plane would deter interaction, but her traveling companions were far more tenacious than she expected. She’d faced onslaught after onslaught of socialization, in the face of which she could do nothing but fidget in her seat, desperately wishing that the plane would crash into the ocean if only to end her misery.

When the plane came in to land, it was no less horrifying than when it had taken off. She’d spent both events holding her armrests in a death grip, eyes screwed shut until the plane came to a complete and utter stop. It was the sound of the man’s voice that jolted her out of her fixation, and she cringed as though the sound could do her physical harm, before peering out over the headrests at the theatrics.

Her movements were slow as she gathered up her things, the girl wanting to ensure that she was one of the last people out of the plane, to avoid the flood ‘excuse me’s and ‘sorry’s. Slinging her knit bag over her shoulder, she slunk out of her row and started down the main aisle, keeping her gaze on the ground. What kept her feet moving was the promise of being out of the stale-aired plane compartment, and in the sunlight.

She lurked in the dark hatchway until the boisterous be-crutched girl (Who, Diana noted, had seemed keen on leading most of the introductory assaults on her hiding place) before finally stepping out into the light, her bag clutched tight against her chest. For the first time, two audible noises emerged from her throat. A sigh of relief, and then a squeak of pleasant surprise. The island... It was beautiful.

Drinking in the sight, the tiniest smile appeared on Diana’s lips, and with some eagerness, she followed the man and the other pink-haired girl across the sand.

Faye tensed slightly as they landed. It felt like she had been waiting for this moment for ages. She looked down at the picture in her hands. The edges were singed, and it depicted a woman holding a small blonde toddler in her lap. Her fingers stroked the edge of the picture, and her steel grey eyes softened momentarily.

She slid the picture back into its place. She couldn't help but smile at Rick's sappy remark. It was a dream come true, after all.

She gathered her things together while looking out the window at the island. She was in awe. So much land. So much life. So much... freedom.

Sierna's British banter pulled her out of her daydream, and she glanced over at Rick who was waiting for the girls to pass. She almost wanted to resent such cheer, but given the situation, she couldn't muster enough bitterness. They had every reason to be in a good mood. She stole a quick glance at Diana, who had yet to say anything more than a bit of a squeak, and followed her off the plane.

The beach was lovely. She kicked off her shoes and carried them as she walked across the beach. Warm sand squished between her toes as she followed the rest of the group, indulging in the delightful tropical heat.

The hell did I miss that? It perhaps wasn't the kindest thought, but nothing derogatory was meant by it. In the confined space of the cabin, Rick had gone the entirety of the flight without noticing that Sierna had any trouble walking. It probably had something to do with the way he'd been largely fixated on her face, admiring it's loveliness and enjoying how much chattier she was than the other pink haired girl. He was glad of his sunglasses as she neared, apparently not having noticed the way he'd stared at her oddly graceful trek down the aisle.

Snorting and then laughing honestly, he grinned and shook his head at her antics and adopted dialect. The girl was definitely cute in more than just her looks, and he could see her becoming a favorite over the coming days. Imagining that, it was a moment before he noted the way she had to carefully navigate the stairs, and he instinctively reached for her after she'd passed him, but then became unsure of how exactly he could help and seemed to almost get embarrassed at the thought of grabbing her from behind, quickly getting flustered and flailing a little uselessly before regaining his composure. Rough though the going might have been, she clearly knew what she was doing.

Of course he began feeling awkward again as Diana, the second girl with the pink locks, joined him at the front, awaiting Sierna's extended decent before taking her turn at the steps. He smiled at her as he had a few times before, but she still refused to even look at him. While not a dedicated socialite, Rick felt he was decently comfortable with himself and usually didn't feel too awkward with people. The way this girl seemed passionately intent on ignoring his existence however made him somewhat self-conscious, wondering if it was something about him she found intolerable. It didn't really make sense, given the way she'd seemed equally resistant to the other two ladies' attempts at interaction, but the thought crept in regardless.

Faye didn't cause any such troubling feelings, strolling past calmly. With a smile and gesture, he waited for her to descend before finally exiting himself, carrying his bag rather than let it roll/bump down the steps. It was very nice weather, a little warm for his tastes and he felt he'd soon need to shed his sport coat, but there was a nice breeze and the sun was pleasant. Taking a quick look around, he pushed his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose. Aha, he was right. There was someone standing over in the distance who looked to be waiting for them. Sliding the tinted lenses back into place, he pointed and said, “I think I found our greeter. Let's go get this party started,” before leading the way toward the second petite blonde he'd met that day.

“Hiya, I'm Rick. Rick Rolle,” he offered by way of greeting when they drew near, tapping the tips of two fingers against his temple in a casual salute. Stupid as he thought it might have made him look, he couldn't keep the huge grin from his face as he briefly looked to the other girls and then focused back on the one who was easily shortest. Pretty girls, tropical island, the opportunity to hopefully make a difference... If there was a way this situation could get better, he sure couldn't think of it.

Sierna watched as the other three descended boarding platform after her, and made an effort to catch up with Rick, who was leading the group. She eventually fell into stride next to him, intent on the small figure about thirty yards away from them. Her mind didn’t register the fact that the runway was ending and the sand was beginning until her crutches sank half a foot into the pulverized rock.

She yelped in surprise and toppled forward, landing face first on the sand. She looked at the others and grinned at them, blushing profusely. “Heh, no one told me that sand wasn’t crutch accessible…” She chuckled slightly, extremely embarrassed, and pulled one the crutches from the sand. She planted the crutch right next to her and tried to use it as a third leg, pulling herself up, but the instant she put any weight on the metal implement it sank deep into the sand, almost to the handle. She glanced up at her friends' feet, and dreaded any of them moving closer, trying to help, "Don't worry, I've done this before, I can get up on my own."

Of course her crutches were going to sink in it; sand was basically rock flour… She hadn’t been to a beach since before she needed these damned things, and now she could see why, whereas stairs were vindictive and hateful, sand was just plain evil. Stairs knew that they were made for people, who could walk normally, but they couldn’t do anything to stop anyone with a pair of crutches from hobbling up or down them, they could make it uncomfortable and tedious, oh yes, but they couldn’t stop them.

Now sand on the other hand, sand knew that it could stop cripples cold, and it reveled in it. People could walk on it no problem, save for a slight drop in traction. But when someone who needed crutches came along, Bam! Crutches sink into the sand and cripple falls, stumbles, or otherwise looks like a dumbass. A wheelchair? Hah, child’s play, wheels slowly sink and become immobile, making the occupant look like a dumbass. What made this whole thing worse was that sand was perfectly level, which lulled her into a false sense of security.

After her first failed attempt, she pulled the crutch from its hole in the sand and was forced to crawl back to the tarmac and try again there. Finally she succeeded but was mortified by what she had just been forced to do, and in front of other people no less! She didn't want to look anyone in the eye, she didn't want to see that damned pity that she always got when she couldn't do or flubbed around with something anyone with strong legs could do.

The horror on Diana’s face was evident, her blue eyes wide as she watched the girl struggle on the sand like a beached Magikarp. She was transfixed on the tarmac for a good ten seconds before she could no longer bear watching the other girl writhe about. As socially crippled as she was, she was not heartless, and with a squeak of “Oh dear...”, she rushed forward and attempted to help Sierna up, reaching to put her arms under the other girl’s shoulders and help her back to solid ground.

Faye was watching the sand for anything interesting as she walked along after the others. A seashell, some dried driftwood, maybe even dried seaweed? She smiled a moment at the thought. Would seaweed burn well? She would have to find out.

She lifted her eyes back to the group as Rick strolled ahead of the group toward the blonde ahead of them, introducing himself. He was so confident, kind of like Sierna.

Speaking of Sierna, she had suddenly face-planted just behind Faye, who quickly turned around in shock. As the girl struggled to stand, the shy girl had run to help her, and Faye did the same. She had to admire Sierna's determination, as she walked over to the now-sullen-looking girl. "Hey, are you okay?" She looked at her, slightly concerned about how she would make her way across the sand.

"Mind if I help?" Her sentences were so choppy. She mentally scowled and blamed the people who had taunted her for being an orphan or chastised her for 'playing with' fire. With a slight sigh, she tried to muster up a bit of a smile towards the girl.

Ice watched the group descend from the plane, growing more and more nervous by the second. Everyone was in such a good mood, laughing and taking their time. How was she supposed to tell them the horrible truth and still salvage their trust? This was a terrible idea.

The girl with crutches caught her attention fairly quickly, and a perturbed expression crossed her face. Where did The Omnipotent get these subjects? A girl who can't walk, a boy with leukemia... why were they even here? Why were their lives being ruined more than they already were? In a way, it strengthened her resolve. She had to get these new arrivals early. The last Wave was a mistake, a bad day; today, she wouldn't make enemies. 

Of course, she almost blew it the moment she began to interact with one. Rick's introduction  drew an unimpressed look, and she was on the verge of a sarcastic comment when she apparently caught herself. With a deep breath, she offered an awkward, tight smile and an eloquent response.

"Uh," She prefaced, "Hi."

Apparently a lifetime of knee-jerk acid wasn't the best primer for casual conversation.

Her wobbly facade didn't last long; Sierna's sudden topple made her jump, and with a small noise she took a few steps forward. Her eyes were wide and her body frozen, entirely unsure of what to do.

"W-wha..." The girl managed to stand again, albeit after a short crawl, but Ice didn't seem quite so ready to let go. "A-are you, uh... are you... okay?" She was screaming at the stupid girl in her mind, for scaring her, for not being more careful... but even Ice had her limits when it came to vocal insults. 

Blinking in surprise at the uncertain response he got, Rick began to doubt whether he'd been right in assuming she was there to meet them. She was incredibly short, making it hard for him to guess her age and it occurred to him then that she may have simply been another young researcher accepted for the program who had just happened to be standing there to watch the plane when suddenly everyone got off and came barreling over as if they expected something from her. That would make the whole situation kind of awkward.

Rick believed firmly that no situation had to be awkward unless you made it that way, which was what let him confidently initiate a conversation with just about anyone. Were they to then react with uncertainty or shyness, the situation began to grow awkward and rubbed off on him. Diana had had that effect through most of the flight, and now the short haired blonde had done the same. So intent was he on figuring out what to say—and he'd been pointedly not letting his focus wander to Sierna and her condition—that he didn't even notice at first when she fell. He began to say more to the unknown girl. “Er, sorry. I'd thou-”

The jump certainly alerted him that something had happened, as did the soft sounds of surprise coming from the others. Swiveling, he grimaced briefly and moved to help, though for the second time he felt completely helpless, unsure what to do, especially with Diana already having reacted. Then Sierna spoke, her words seeming to wave them away, and he could imagine she would prefer to stand without anyone's help. Asking for help was one of the hardest things for some people to do, and receiving it unsolicited often just made the situation worse.

He managed not to flail this time, instead just tightly gripping his bag as he waited for her to stand. Maybe he could offer to carry her around sometimes. But no, she might take that as condescension. Maybe he could word it somehow so she wouldn't? He was pretty sure he'd like carrying her around, both to feel useful and just because the thought of her curled in his arms with her own hands about his shoulders and chest made him want to giggle a little.

Shaking his head, he tried to refocus on the present and making sure with the others that she wasn't hurt. Maybe when they started walking again he could try and fake a trip. That might make her feel better. He'd have to make it convincing though. The boy began looking about the beach for a rock or piece of driftwood he could bang his head or a knee on. That would definitely make it seem like legitimate clumsiness.

Sierna had never been more humiliated in her life. Yes, she had fallen before, and yes, on occasion she was forced to ask for help because of extenuating circumstances which kept her from being able to pull herself up, but those times were in the company of family, or close friends she had known for years. She scarcely knew these people, and she wanted to give off a strong, independent first impression, especially since they were going to be her co-workers. She had no trouble talking to them, well, save for Diana, but she had been able to give off an aura of confidence and warmth to them. Right now, however, she was giving off the aura of an octogenarian; she had fallen, blundered around on the ground and tried to get up herself, only to have someone else’s hands appear under her arms and gently pull her onto the tarmac.

She flailed her arms weakly a bit at the unwelcome assistance but couldn’t do anything to stop it. When she pulled herself up, she glanced behind her at the pair of legs that were closest and was dimly surprised that it was not Rick, as she had initially thought, but Diana of all people, who had rushed to her aid first. As it was however, she was in no shape to thank, or even acknowledge the fact that Diana had helped. She tried her best to put on a poker face and turned around mechanically. Ignoring the people around her she shuffled forward, to the edge of the tarmac, and tentatively put one crutch in the sand and slowly put weight on it, as she reached her full body weight, the crutch swiftly sank into the sand and she yanked it out. She scanned the near beach for any sort of walkway or paved path that she could utilize instead but found nothing.

She was doing her best to ignore the feeling of all of the others staring at her, and not actually seeing their eyes helped conceal the pity that was probably filling them right now, but what she couldn’t ignore were their voices; they came out, stilted and awkward, asking Sierna if she was okay, and if she needed any help; their voices were like weights on her back, which already added to the enormous burden of her fall, being helped against her will, and the fact that she was practically stranded on this strip of tarmac. The proverbial weights were too much for Sierna to handle, she swiftly felt herself overcome with a feeling of weakness, and had to turn away lest the others see her tears and make her feel even weaker. Why couldn’t she accomplish this small task? It’s not like she was climbing a mountain, all she wanted to do was walk across a beach.

Her voice came out softer, more subdued than normal, she did her best to conceal the fact that she was crying, but she thought it was fairly obvious, “I’m sorry that you all…” She swallowed, her voice growing slightly stronger, “I’m sorry that you all had to see that, and thank you for the offers of help, but, I’d… I’d like to do this by myself.”

Diana was not the strongest individual, and when Sierna began to wave her off, she was quick to let go of her hold, the result being that she nearly dropped the other girl back onto the hard ground. Straightening, she clapped her hands over her mouth and stared for a second, before reaching out a tentative hand again.

“I’m very sorry.” She stuttered, “I... I didn’t realize you... Ah!”

The exclamation, despite being sharp, was no louder than the rest of her tone. Faye’s sudden arrival had frightened her, and the other girl was offering help with no hint of stutter. That... That was probably better than what she could do. It was with some relief that she took a few steps back, brushing off her billowy skirt before reaching to pick up the bag she’d dropped in her haste.

In staring at Sierna afterwards, she was far from innocent, the shy girl’s blue eyes tracking her every move now. She didn’t know why Sierna looked upset. It was a simple mistake, though it was possible that Diana was missing something. Diana was concerned for the other girl’s safety and all thoughts of continuing across the sand had disappeared, despite her anxiety. At the sound of Sierna’s voice, so subdued from what it usually was, Diana was finally able to inch forward again, her heart pounding and her hand raised as though she were in a classroom.

“Excuse me...” She breathed, ducking her head. A nervous smile appeared on her lips, her voice barely carrying over the breeze and the cooling plane engines. “I... I think it would be best if we headed for the edge of the trees. The sand is shallower there and you may have an easier time...”

Unaware if Sierna had heard, Diana stepped forward again, an earnest look on her normally worried face. “I can go with you... If you like... I wouldn’t want to see you fall again...”

Ice stood on the outskirts of the group, unsure, shifting her weight as Sierna shooed off the unwanted help. Well, good thing she hadn't made it all the way up there. She almost lost it again when the girl started crying; why did she have to cry? It irritated her, and it showed on her face, but she managed to restrain any comments. She could do this... she had to do this.

Her eyes scanned the group about, and she cleared her throat.

"Uhm."

She really didn't know what to say. She wished someone would snap at her, give her some outlet for her frustration, but everyone's mood was too good for that. Of course, it was her job to ruin it. She clutched at that small semblance of control on the situation. Job. She was the authority figure here, still. They were meant to listen to her. It did some good in calming her. In an astounding feat of consideration, she inched her way over to the tarmac, standing awkwardly alongside the rest of them. There. Now she wouldn't fall again until it wasn't Ice's problem anymore.

"Uh... welcome to our island." She didn't smile; it would just come out frightening.

"I'm sure you're all very excited to begin your research, but I'm afraid I'll have to--" A brief catch in her speech as she tried to find the least offensive way to put it. Surprisingly difficult. "To tell you the truth."

This wasn't natural. There was no room for passive-aggressive insults or grating sweetness. Ice could feel the lack of control there, and it scared her. Maybe she would find Malcolm later and complain about it.

"See dears--" She faltered; too acidic. She tried again. "There isn't any... real opportunity for you to research pokemon here. We actually brought you here to be researched."

Her arms wrapped around her chest as if she were cold. "It sounds like a joke," Her tone was irritated, as if one of them had spoken up to suggest that, "But it's the truth. It's the terrible truth."

It wasn't going to stop now; her control on the authority and her own emotions were slipping. Her voice wavered. "Have you ever heard of pokemorphs? Pokemon and human hybrids? That's what we do here. That's what we make. That's what you're going to be. And we're going to use the DNA of the very pokemon you came here to study."

She paused, then made a hasty correction. "Uh, I-I'm not the one doing it, I mean. I just... come out here to tell you. I don't actually do it." She stressed this earnestly, then fell into a period of awkward silence. She hadn't planned this far in advance.

"... So... uh..."

Faye was about to suggest a way to help Sierna get across the sand when she heard Ice's "Uhm." She turned to face the girl, who she could now see was an inch or so shorter than her, which filled her with an unreasonable amount of excitement. Finally, someone she didn't have to look up at!

Her excitement was slightly diminished, however, by how uneasy the woman seemed. Why was she so worried about welcoming them to the island? As Ice continued to talk, her smile faded, and that wall of bitterness Sierna and Rick had managed to break through on the plane began to rebuild itself. They had lied to them. She wouldn’t get to research Entei after all. “You mean… You lied to us.” She blinked, and her voice almost sounded harsh, but in all reality, she was more scared than anything. It showed in her eyes. She was stuck here. There was no one back in Lavaridge who would miss her. No one would come looking for her. She visibly shrank back, her eyes falling away from the group and toward the ground. “Why wasn’t I nicer to the women at the orphanage?!”

“Have you ever heard of pokemorphs? … That’s what you’re going to be.” Suddenly, the gears started turning in her mind. She was going to be Entei… The creature had so much power. It had great control over fire: fire hotter than magma. “I’ll be able to control fire…” Faye stopped to think a moment, and then looked up at Ice. Her eyes were a tad softer than they had been a moment ago.

She waited until Ice had finished her speech. “So, they just send you out here to do their dirty work, and they let you take the fall for it.” She looked at her expectantly, although she was slightly preoccupied with her thoughts. “And... I’m going to be an Entei morph?”

Grimacing, Rick tried not to watch. Sure, a strong part of him wanted to go offer his aid right then, to maybe even give the humiliated girl a hug and assure her it was alright. From the way she turned away from them and had brushed off the other girls' help, it was clear she didn't want further attention, that any effort at that moment to comfort her would have the opposite effect. So instead he tried to pretend like it was no big deal, turning his head off toward the surf and sea while his shaded eyes remained on Sierna.

When her voice slipped out, however, shaky and obviously spoken through tears, he couldn't help but turn back, one hand slipping into his jacket to momentarily grip the cigarette pack in his shirt pocket before releasing that and instead covering his mouth to hide the sympathetic frown he wore. She wasn't facing them, but he didn't want her to turn around and see that. It wouldn't help. He definitely wanted that smoke, stressed out by the site of another in abject pain and being helpless to do anything about it. Smoking wasn't as attractive as it had once been viewed though and he kind of didn't want to do anything to make himself unattractive, not so early in their collective acquaintance, anyway.

When the other girl whose hair reminded him vaguely of cotton candy spoke—though her words were almost impossible to pick out even from the couple of meters between them—he noted it as evidence that she was in fact just insurmountably bashful rather than snooty, and he hoped her words wouldn't cause Sierna more distress. Soon enough his attention was again redirected, now to the unknown woman he'd approached. She spoke with more volume if not exactly more clarity, and at first Rick approved, nodding and glad of her attempts to take the focus off poor Sierna. As she proceeded, however, his brow furrowed and he gazed on in clear bewilderment.

Was she...? But no, she said it wasn't a joke, and from the utterly humorless set of her features... Rick believed her. His mind couldn't begin to reason through what to do with this information, but he accepted it as truth. This was a deal-breaker on so many levels. He couldn't care anymore; he needed a smoke. Dropping his bag right there into the sand not two feet from the edge of the tarmac, he plopped down upon it limply before simultaneously sliding out a single cigarette from the pack and pulling his refillable lighter from a coat pocket. Hands shaking uncontrollably, it took him a good three tries before he managed to get a flame going, barely breathing out, “Fuck me,” before finally taking a long drag.

There he sat, left hand clamped across his mouth with the cigarette protruding from between his index and middle fingers, looking as though his brain had melted. Only at the very end of her response did he seem to notice that Faye was speaking, turning to stare at her in disbelief. Something in her voice... Was she... excited about this? Yes, what kid hadn't ever imagined having psychic powers and being able to read minds or, in her case, shoot fire from their hands or eyes or whatever. Didn't mean he was willing to trade him humanity for any such thing. Coughing into his elbow before taking another deep inhalation of smoke, he did his best to look at the shorter blonde's face as he responded, a little weakly, “Ma'am, I'd like to get back on the plane now,” obviously not really believing this to be an option.

Sierna stood on the tarmac staring at the plane and the ocean beyond, nursing her mortally wounded pride back to health, and thinking about what to do next. Her aforementioned pride just wanted her to go limp into the ocean and drown herself, but the rest of her emotions radically opposed that option, so that was out of the question. She thought about getting back on the plane and just flying back to the mainland…

“You know, the longer you sit here moping, the longer it’s going to take to change people’s opinion of you being weak and crying over every minor mistake.”

Damnit, she hated when that little voice in her head spoke logically. It was right, of course, she couldn’t give up now; she barely just got here. She would just have to figure out a way across the beach. Diana had suggested something smart, walking along the tree line where the sand would no doubt be shallower, thanks to the roots. But Sierna’s damaged ego was making it very difficult to take her up on that particular solution. She glanced over to the tree line; it was close enough to make it to the base of the trees with a few long steps with her crutches, much closer than the nearest pathway no doubt. Alternatively, she could walk along the surf; the sand would be firmer there, making it harder for her crutches to sink, but when she got to where she needed to go, she would still need to cross the dry sand…

She rubbed her face with her arm, erasing the tears that had trickled down her face, and with slight hesitation, turned around. She still didn’t want to look anyone in the eye,

“Are you just going to not look anyone in the eye ever again? There’s always going to be pity. There always has been. Get over it.”

Arceus… Her inner monologue was an asshole. But once again, it spoke the truth. Sierna clenched the handles of her crutches hard, and made the mammoth effort to raise her gaze a foot or so. What she saw first surprised her; Diana, who was the closest, was staring at her, smiling, and actually met Sierna’s gaze. Amidst her shock, Sierna took in her face; Diana had a very nice visage, high cheekbones, soft features, and beautiful light blue eyes. She would have no trouble getting a guy, that is, if she ever got over her crippling timidity.

Whoa, there was a thought.
Who was more crippled? Sierna or Diana?

Sierna’s mood was significantly elevated by her pondering, and actually managed to meet Diana’s smile with one of her own. Her eyes then shifted over to the next closest of the group, Faye. She was wearing somewhat of a smile, but it wasn’t genuine, her eyes were cold and distant. She found her mood plummeting again from Faye’s expression, but caught herself and tried to stay strong and positive. Her eyes then shifted to Rick, whose head wasn’t even turned in her direction.

Ouch…

Sierna was legitimately surprised by his apparent lack of interest, surprised and a little hurt. No, scratch that, very hurt. She expected Diana to not care, and Rick to rush to her aid. But he simply stood there, staring at the ocean as if waiting for her was boring him. The logical part of her brain tried to intervene again but these emotions were far stronger than silly logic, she brushed the voice aside and was about to address him when the small girl who was waiting for them spoke up.

The woman was short, had blonde hair, and was wearing some sort of uniform that was very, very familiar to her; familiar and a little unsettling. But whatever was unsettling about her clothes was blown out of the water by what was unsettling in what she said. They were going to be experimented on. Like mad scientist, gene splicing, Frankenstein monster experimenting. The truth behind this entire scheme was to create pokemorphs.

Pokemorphs in a nutshell, were Pokémon human hybrids, a feat which had been often tried, but never successfully achieved, after a few preliminary tests on willing subjects. Corporations like Silph closed their doors on this morally questionable and extremely expensive endeavor, only to have it picked up by villainous organizations like Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Team Magma, and… “Team Aqua…”

The realization of what this girl’s clothes actually meant sent a shiver down her spine… she was part of the team who had threatened the entire world with global flooding years ago… And if anyone was capable of doing something like that, it would have to be one of those teams. Then it hit her, she was going to be turned into a pokemorph… A Mew pokemorph… She was going to be mutated into a monster. And she couldn’t do anything to stop it. What’s more… she probably was never going to leave this island again. She would never see her friends again, her brother, her parents….

The fact that she wasn’t going to be able to see her loving family ever again pushed her over the edge. The woman was still talking, but Sierna couldn’t understand it. The world was spinning around her. Suddenly, she couldn’t get enough oxygen into her lungs, and she started breathing faster. It wasn’t working though, her vision was fading. She noticed that she had fallen again, but it didn’t matter anymore. She could barely see anything more than a pinprick of light in front of her, but that was fading too. Finally, it overtook her, and Sierna plunged into cold, black, unconsciousness.

A buzz of gladness shot through her at earning one of Sierna's smiles, but it took so much effort to keep her head up and her eyes focused on her that Diana didn’t even register Ice’s call for their attention. At least, at first. It was when Sierna looked away, apparently uninterested in the offer, that Diana took in her surroundings.

Their greeter, a young blond woman, had come to them, and was now standing on the tarmac, thank Arceus for that. She’d probably seen Sierna’s struggles. The look on her face wasn’t what Diana was expecting, however. She’d seen brochures for resort islands, or the websites for other study groups. There were smiling people on the front. This girl just looked upset.

As Ice started speaking, Diana felt a cold sweat run over her body despite the heat of the sun, and her eyes dropped back to the ground. Her next breath came as a stutter in her throat. Pokemorphs... They would be the ones who were researched... She could feel her hands start to shake. That... That wasn’t in the information packet, that was...

It was impossible to swallow past the dry lump in her throat, and she drew in a breath to... To... What? To speak? That was nearly impossible. Instead, an agonized whine of terror emerged from her throat and she cringed away from the short, blond harbinger of doom.

That sound was cut short by a jolt of surprise as Sierna started to crumple, and Diana reached out and tried to grab her. A mistake. A crutch dug painfully into her side as the other girl fell into her, and Diana tried to brace herself, to hold the other girl up, but failed. Bowled backwards, she hit the ground with an audible yelp, one hand going out to stop her fall, only to be rewarded with a sharp pain up her wrist. Squeezing her eyes shut, she curled the wrist against herself, rocking in place.

This, plus the news, plus everything else, made Diana feel weak. Hopeless tears began welling out of her eyes as she sat there, Sierna pinning her, and the sun beating heartlessly down on all of them. The heady smell of cigarette smoke and Faye's apparent excitement only served to make the situation worse. Shaking, she tried to adjust herself, to get Sierna up, but she wasn’t strong enough, and after brushing the other girl’s hair aside, she saw that she wasn't even conscious. Shoulders slumping, she finally looked around, glancing between faces, but not meeting eyes.

Her voice emerged, tear-stained, and weaker than before, if that was even possible. “I- I... Uh...” Eyebrows creasing with intensifying nervousness, she turned her gaze on the only male in the party. “R-Rick? Please... Sh-she’s fainted...”

Faye's first response made Ice bristle, but the girl managed to save herself with her next comment.

"Yeah... yeah." The answer was apparently supposed to suffice for all of her questions.

Rick's question irritated her, though. Was he stupid?

"Of course you can't. Don't you think they would have thought of that?" She wrinkled her nose at the strong smell of tobacco smoke. She caught herself again; she had to be nice, dammit. She had to make herself be nice. "I mean... uh... they check for stowaways."

The effort it took not to snap at everyone seemed to physically exhaust the woman. Thankfully, there was a wake-up call. Unfortunately, it was in the form of the girl on crutches falling to the ground again.

"U-uh..!" Ice flailed. Stupid, stupid girl! Why did she have to faint!? Why was this so hard!?

Diana's voice made her gaze snap up to the pink-headed girl, and for a moment, it looked like Ice might actually say something nice. Apparently incapable of doing so, however, she picked up on the end of the girl's vocalization with her own high-pitched order instead.

"U-um... yeah, pick her up, will you?" Her hands found her head. What a headache. "Um, listen... this kinda sucks, right? But, um... there are already people here. A-and some of them are trying to escape. A-and some of them... some of them already got changed. But they still want to get out. And... and if you want to get out too, um, you can... talk to them."

There was an awkward pause. "So... I guess I can... answer any questions you have." It was a pretty pathetic attempt at wrestling back some control over the situation, but an attempt nonetheless.

Faye barely heard Ice's response. She was completely lost in her thoughts, excited enough that the others were likely to be able to tell. This was a dream come true for her. She couldn't count the hundreds of times she had dreamed of finding an Entei, of befriending it, let alone to become Entei. There was simply no comparison. Her fear hadn't left her, of course. There had to be risks. I mean, pokemorphs were risky enough. This was legendary DNA they were talking about. It couldn't be the safest thing in the world.

When her thoughts were interrupted by Rick's comment about returning to the plane, her excitement was short-lived. No one else held the same excitement for this plan as she did. Rick seemed visibly irritated by her comparatively good mood, and Sierna and Diana didn't look like they were doing so well.

Just as her faint hint of a smile turned to non-existent, Sierna collapsed to the ground, bringing Diana with her. "Ah--" She looked at the pair, genuinely concerned, though she tried and failed to hide it. Her attempt at a poker face disappeared with Ice's biting command directed at Diana.

She almost felt defensive of Diana - the poor girl could barely speak when people were being gentle, let alone when they used such a harsh tone with her. It wasn't right. She looked up at Ice, her eyes suddenly frigidly bitter. "Pick her up, will you?!" She quoted Ice's words back at her in disbelief. "That's it? You aren't going to help?" Her tone was nearly hostile, although it wasn't very loud.

In her annoyance, she didn't bother to listen to Ice struggle through the rest of her speech. She shook her head angrily and turned away from her as she knelt down in front of Diana. Her eyes were softer towards the girl, and her voice was infinitely gentler. "Are you okay?" Faye quickly pried the crutch away from her side, giving Sierna a worried glance. Rick received an expectant look before she turned back to Diana. "You hurt your wrist?"

Consumed by his own churning, mostly senseless thoughts, the young man was aware of very little beyond the trailing wisp of smoke in front of his face. Slowly his head drooped and rose in a lethargic, absent nod as Ice responded to his hopeless request, looking well beyond taking any offense at her antagonistic tone. So withdrawn had he become that Rick didn't immediately take note of the commotion occurring only five feet away. It wasn't until he heard a soft voice call his name that he seemed to remember there were other people around, turning his gaze toward the collapsed girls instead of continuing to stare off into the distance.

“Shit,” he quietly spat as the cigarette was plucked from his mouth and quickly smothered in the sand by his foot. Rather than leave it there however, he shoved the cooled remains—still much more than just the filter—back into his shirt pocket with the pack. He had a feeling he'd need it later and besides, polluting the air was one thing, but littering was just wrong. Nobody liked seeing cigarette butts scattered all over the place. Springing to his feet, he was at Diana's side a moment later, squatting to slide his arms under Sierna's unconscious form and lift her off the other girl. He hadn't seen the fall, but figured either Diana had tried to catch her or had simply been fallen on.

Setting Sierna down upon the much softer sand, he turned back to ensure Diana was alright, but saw that Faye looked to have that covered. Instead he turned yet again and crouched over Sierna once more, making sure she was breathing and that she wasn't bleeding anywhere. As far as he could tell from a quick, noninvasive scan, she wasn't hurt, and in fact looked as though she might have just been sleeping peacefully. Probably had Diana to thank for that. Far from a doctor, he didn't even technically know how to perform CPR, so while it helped steady his nerves a little, he wasn't about to trust his own clumsy diagnosis.

Though he registered that the shorter blonde had continued to speak, he couldn't focus on her and only picked out single words or short snippets. Mainly what he got from her last words were “answer... questions.” Taking her up on that, he again scooped the fainted girl into his arms and spun to face her, asking, “Is there a hospital or something here? She doesn't really seem hurt, but fuck if I know.” He was aware he was swearing quite a bit, something he generally didn't do. The stress though tended to bring it out. His tone held no bite toward Ice, not having fully processed everything as of yet and currently having much more important things to think about than who he should be angry at.

Even after drawing the others’ attention to herself, Diana recoiled from them when they approached, hiding her tear-tracked face behind a curtain of hair. However, this behavior stopped quickly. Diana was more reluctant to just let the fainted Sierna go when Rick came to pull her off, and made an abortive motion to get up and trail after, but was stopped by the third girl in their party. Diana had seen and couldn’t help but admire Faye for her assertiveness, despite the strange excitement that had appeared on her face, but when that focus was on her, she faltered yet again.

Staying put there, she wrapped her fingers around her throbbing wrist, momentarily caught off guard by Faye’s concern. Blue eyes widening, she turned her gaze to the ground, and started to mumble, tilting her head in Sierna’s direction. Trying to direct attention away from herself was something Diana was good at, and really, Sierna’s plight was the more important one. “Uh... I... I’m just... I-Is she okay?”

At least, it felt like it was more important in this moment. Looming over the whole scene was the news Ice had just delivered. And the blond girl wasn't done yet. The words just swirled around inside Diana's mind. Escape... Pokemorphs... 'got changed'...

Rocking forward to catch her balance without putting pressure on her wrist Diana stood slowly, bending only once to pick up her bag. Eyes on the ground, she had nothing to say to anybody, and after a brief smile to Faye, she withdrew into herself once again.

Relief washed over her when Rick took Sierna off toward the sand to make sure she was okay. This meant she could focus on Diana for the moment. It would keep her from unleashing more of her anger on Ice. She could live without making the harsh woman dislike her more than she probably already had.

As Diana recoiled slightly, Faye realized she had been a bit too brazen for the timid girl. She sat back slightly, making herself relax, and softened her voice further to ensure that none of her fierceness toward Ice would slip out at the girl. She wasn't the one who deserved it. "Uh..." She glanced quickly towards Rick and Sierna. It certainly looked like she was fine, other than being unconscious and all. "Rick will take care of her... I'm sure she'll be fine."

Her eyes floated back towards Diana, not once swaying to pay Ice any attention. As she stood up, she was caught off-guard by a smile from Diana. She hadn't expected the gesture from any of the others, at least not genuine, let alone from Diana. She couldn't help but let a slight smile escape her lips.

"I, uh..." It was a whole lot easier to snap at people than it was to be kind and gentle. She'd had a lot more practice at it too. "Are you sure your wrist is okay..?" Maybe it'd make Diana feel less uncomfortable if she payed attention to her wrist rather than directly at her? Ah. This was more difficult than she had thought.

Ice's fists clenched and she narrowed her eyes at Faye. It was fairly obvious by the discomfort in her face that she was literally biting her tongue to keep from snapping. Geez, that girl grated on her nerves!

Faye, however, directed her attention elsewhere, and it wasn't long afterwards that Rick posed a question.

"That building in the distance has a hospital in it. The one behind the living complex... uh, the white one."

She made some weak gesture in the direction of the lab complex, her eyes back on Sierna. She did look genuinely concerned, but hell if she'd say it. Faye's awkwardness when trying to be nice made a smirk crack over the woman's face; apparently she wasn't the only one.

"Well," She stood up a little straighter, making full use of her meager height. "If... if no one has any more questions, um... you can go on and settle in."

She lingered for a few seconds, then turned slowly and started back up to the complex. She figured someone would stop her if they needed to.

Immediately turning to see what he could make of the directions he was being given, Rick nodded affirmatively when it was clarified that he was seeking the white building. That made it much easier to know where to go, but he turned back before setting off. He was glad he did, catching the concern plainly stamped across their host's face. He tried to think back on all she'd said. The news she'd delivered was... Upsetting wasn't a strong enough word. But she'd never seemed to take any pleasure in it that he could recall, and... No, it was all still hazy, and just thinking about it was causing the extinguished cigarette to start calling to him once more, begging to be relit.

He could focus on only one thing, and at the moment that was the well-being of the unconscious girl in his arms. Taking a couple steps over to Faye and Diana, he smiled—if a little weakly—at the pink haired girl. “Thanks for catching her. You should maybe come too, if you're hurt.” He vaguely recollected hearing something about her wrist from the other girl. He couldn't make her go though and needed to get on his way.

It wasn't difficult to catch up to Ice as she began making her way back toward the buildings. As he reached her side, he gave a sidelong glance and offered a simple, “Thank you.” He'd have to try and find her later to clarify some things, but for now he'd stalled enough. Easily outpacing her much shorter legs, he walked briskly toward the white building in the background, doing his best to keep his stride steady for Sierna's sake.

Sierna stirred to the gentle sway of what seemed to be a horse. She was being cradled the same way that her daddy would cradle her when she was a little girl. Still regaining her mental faculties, she took this at face value to be true; her father must have found her and was carrying her home. She threw her arms around her father’s midsection, snuggled her face into her his shirt, and inhaled deeply. Where she expected the sweet smell of her father’s coconut body wash mixed with the floral detergent her mother used, she got a pungent earthy musk, which alone would probably be very nice, but was overpowered by the immense stink of cigarette smoke.

“Wait a second… Daddy doesn’t smoke…”

She frowned slightly, something was wrong with this situation, but it seemed like her brain was stuck in molasses, it was moving in slow motion; the dots were getting connected, but it was taking a while.

“How did he find me...? I thought I went away to do research on Mew…”

Her brain started picking up speed and she started noticing other things, she heard the sound of the waves crashing on a nearby beach, and her father was carrying her faster than normal.

“No… I wasn’t there to study, it was a lie… that girl… the Team Aqua girl… she lied… told us we were going to be experimented on…

The person carrying her suddenly spoke, thanking someone else nearby. The voice was familiar, somehow, but she couldn’t place the person, though she was now aware it wasn’t her father.

“We were going to be experimented on… turned into pokemon… That’s what we came to this island for…”

She must have gotten knocked out or something, and was now being carried.

“The person carrying me must be taking me to get experimented on!”

Sierna tensed her arm muscles, getting ready to fight off whoever was carrying her. Once she was down, she could figure out the plan from there, maybe jump back on the plane or something. When she was ready, her eyes snapped open and she started flailing, though she stopped almost instantaneously as she saw the person who was carrying her was not a creepy scientist, but Rick.

Rick was carrying her bridal style…

She had hugged him…

And snuggled into his chest…

Shit.

She blushed furiously and flailed again, but was once again cut short by an overwhelming sensation of dizziness, the world was spinning, and her stomach didn’t like it one bit. She breathed deeply but was once again assailed by the ugly stink of cigarettes and resorted to breathing through her mouth. She closed her eyes once again and swallowed continuously, trying to ward off the threat of vomiting. Eventually, the sensation of spinning left her, and she felt like she could once again speak.

“Rick…? Where are you taking me…? Why did you pick me up like this? And… do… do you smoke…?”

At mention of following Rick and Sierna to the hospital, Diana vehemently shook her head. It was just an overstretched ligament, she recited to silently to herself, normal for a sprained wrist. Despite her worry after Sierna’s condition, she didn’t need to make more of a spectacle of herself than she already had, and going to the doctor would do just that.

However, it seemed that Faye was not to be deterred. Diana’s eyes flicked up to the other girl’s face for a split second before finding the ground more interesting again. It seemed like Faye was making a real effort to be kind to her, something Diana truly appreciated. However, she only nodded, one hand gripping her aching wrist.

Well, that was all she thought she could do. Everyone was being so nice to her, despite how little she could speak to them. She could try for a little more. As she opened her mouth, her brain frantically searched for the right words to send to her mouth, and came up with, “No, thank you- Uh, I mean, yes. I mean yes, it’s fine... I... Thank you. Faye.”

Oh, that was terrible... Shrinking back, Diana hunched her shoulders, prepared for what she expected to be a harsh backlash from the fiery girl.

Faye's eyes lingered on Rick and Sierna as he carried the girl away. Sierna was certainly in for a surprise when she woke up. Faye silently pondered over the her reaction, wondering how the girl would react to the fact that she was being helped, rather than walking on her own. She seemed to really like being independent, unhappy to let others do anything for her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Faye saw Diana nod that she was okay, acknowledging the nod with a quiet "Um.." After failing to think of something else to say, she simply returned the nod. She didn't want to make Diana more nervous than she already was. The current situation didn't really help matters.

Her thoughts dragged her away from reality for a moment - or perhaps closer to it. These people, the other... subjects. They had homes, families, lives... a place to go back to. A short sigh accompanied her realization that while this may be an escape for her, it was the entrance to a prison for them.

As her thoughts continued to wander, a soft voice pulled her back to the present. She looked at Diana. The girl had almost managed to muster up a few sentences to thank her. She blinked her steel grey eyes in shock.

"I..." As the girl shrank away from her fearfully, Faye swallowed slightly, her voice unconsciously quiet. "You're welcome... Don't worry about it." For once, there was genuine, unforced kindness in her voice. It seemed that Diana had garnered a soft spot from Faye.

Faye stopped to think a moment. Did she say her name..? After a moment's consideration, she concluded that the girl hadn't yet told anyone, and hoped it wouldn't be rude to ask her. "Um.. What's your name?"

The blush that colored Rick’s cheeks as Sierna started to stir and then wrapped her arms about him and nuzzled his chest was deeper than the ocean, and the stupid grin it planted on his face was just as wide. It was a good sign that she wasn’t too hurt and was at rest, he supposed, though really it was hard to think anything beyond “Heeeee.” He was a little glad at that point that the other girls weren’t following him to the hospital and thus bearing witness to the spectacle, and that feeling only intensified when the girl in his arms started flailing wildly.

“Wah! Sierna! What are you-?” He was cut off by a flailing backhand catching him in the jaw, and stumbled backward and to the side a bit as he tried to keep from dropping her. She stopped struggling and he took the moment to catch his breath, but then she was only flailing more insistently and he began to worry that she was having some kind of convulsive seizure. Maybe she had hit her head on the unforgiving synthetic ground when she’d fainted. She stopped again just as quickly, leaving him standing there and bracing himself for round three, taking a wider stance with his feet to be able to maintain balance despite her inevitable third assault.

Which never came. The both of them remained silent for a time, each breathing heavily and trying to figure out what exactly had just taken place. Finally she spoke in a somewhat halting outpouring of questions. Blinking, he tried to review them all in his head before answering, continuing to stand dumbstruck for a moment. “Uhm, yes. To the medical ward, hospital thing they have here. Because you were unconscious on the ground and I didn’t think dragging you was a good plan. And yes, again. ”

That about covered it all. Reminded of his goal by repeating it aloud, he took up the journey once again, walking forward and showing no intent to put her down. “Are you okay? I mean, well, you know, comparatively. For the situation we’re in, I mean. Obviously you’re not going to be ecstatic, but I… Yeah.”

Smooth.

Every few seconds, Diana was glancing up from her favored patch of ground, and taking in her surroundings. The woman, Ice, was gone, Rick and Sierna were on their way to the hospital... It was just her and Faye. Well, one on one was a thousand times better than a crowd of people. She rubbed the heel of her palm into her eye, trying to wipe away the tears there.

As a short silence fell over them, Diana’s thoughts went back to the news they’d just had the misfortune of hearing. Immediately, her thoughts went to the plane, and the beginning of their journey, when everything seemed right and normal with the world. Now, she was to be genetically merged with Cresselia and... And what then?

For once, it was a blessing to be interrupted from her downward spiral of contemplation. Faye’s question was not a hard one in the least, but Diana still had trouble issuing the words. It was the first time she’d managed to say her name to any of her fellow travelers.

“Uh-” Or, at least, it should’ve been the first time. She tried again. “D-Diana. She managed. “Uh- I... I already know yours.”

Oh, but she’d said it only a few minutes ago, of course she already knew it. Gah, this was so stupid.

"Diana?" She thought a moment before a faint smile crossed her lips. "That's a pretty name." She let out a half-chuckle at Diana's revelation that she already knew the name she had spoken not more than a few minutes ago. "Yeah.." She smiled softly and nodded.

Okay, so being kind couldn't be too hard, right? At least, not just to one person. Besides, it was okay being nice to Diana. She hadn't done anything to annoy Faye. She couldn't really imagine being rude to the girl. It would only make her social problems monumentally worse. Ice on the other hand...

But that wasn't the point. Faye glanced around her. Everyone else was gone, so they were pretty much alone now. It was weird, being on the beach without everyone else. Maybe they should leave and find the... the what? The anything, actually. There were living quarters and food, right?

"Should we, uh. Should we find... somewhere? Like rooms, or food or... I dunno. Something?" Well. That didn't come out as confident as she intended. Oh well. Too much confidence might be a bit much anyways.

Sierna relaxed a bit after hearing Rick’s explanation, partially because he meant her no ill will, partially because she knocked him pretty hard in the jaw when she flailed last time. She wasn’t sure what to feel, she wanted to feel comforted, and she wanted to feel lucky to have an excuse to be this close to the guy she was crushing on; but there were two major obstacles in the way: First was her pride, which was grievously wounded back when they were on the runway, it was now stirring in its hospital bed, making a valiant effort to have her reject all of his help, insisting that she was well enough to do this herself, even though they were currently in the middle of the dreaded beach. Second of all was the simple revelation from Rick that he smoked.

Rick smoked. Sierna knew that in light of the bigger picture, this was a complete non-issue, but she couldn’t help but feel more emotion because of that small revelation. Being abducted and transformed into monsters wasn’t something Sierna usually encountered; the true gravity of the situation wasn’t showing itself to her after the initial shock of the whole thing. An attractive guy turning out to be a smoker? That happened a lot to Sierna, and it really disappointed her. She had a strict no smoking policy and she refused to date anyone who did.

She sighed; it was time for the ultimatum she gave every smoker. As of now it had a resounding success rate of exactly zero point zero percent, but hey, maybe he would be different. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy, but, uh… Rick… I… like you a lot. But…” She sighed, frustrated. This was always the annoyingly hard part. “Listen, I don’t like smoking, at all. If… you had any intentions of getting close to me, you would have to stop smoking.” She glanced over at the ocean, steeling herself for the revelation that yet another guy would choose his revolting addiction over her.

Damn it, what had gone wrong? This day started so well.

A bright blush appeared on Diana’s face at Faye’s compliment, and the faintest smile curled her lips. She didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing, only nodded.

Diana was glad that Faye was not as frightening as Diana originally thought. She didn’t know how she would’ve fared, left alone with her.

“Yes.” She breathed, before indicating the path Ice had taken. She found it terribly inconvenient not to be given a tour of the place. They were sure to get lost, but, they couldn’t stand on the beach forever. “Food would be nice.”

Leaning down to pick up her bag, she slung it over her shoulder, and pressed it close to her side, wincing a little at the pain in her wrist. It would go away, she was sure. For now, she and Faye could explore the compound together, and for the first time, Diana was glad for the company.

((Diana’s ready to go off and explore! Unless more needs to be said.))