Eddie:
With the girls' help I managed to make my awkward, stumbling, painful way over to the Leopard. It seemed to still be entranced and was just outside my reach until the girls lowered me within reach of the magnificent spotted kitty. I reached out a hand to its flank, breathing a sigh of relief when it didn't try to kill me, and as I helped it slip back into the aquiring-trance once more.
"Okay, I got the kitty's DNA, now let's skedaddle before it decides we're lunch, or its friends arrive." I whispered urgently to the girls. "Next stop: Puma. Or Mountain-Lion, if you prefer to call it that. You should see how well they can jump!" I winked over my shoulder, showing I was thinking of abilities that would prove useful. "After him, I'd really like to acquire a Clouded-Leopard; They're not-only extremely beautiful, but also very fast and agile. And you should SEE the teeth on them! - Wow." I was really getting into this acquiring-thing now...
Reece feels around for a bit before eventually coming across the latch to the Condor cage. He motions to Christina, and looks inside. Light filters in. He eyes one of the creatures not too far away.
Alice: I follow Christina and Reece to the condor exhibit, watching as Reece unlatches the cage door and Christina boldly steps inside. I quickly enter the enclosure behind her, hoping Reece gets the hint to get inside and shut the door so the birds don't fly out of it.
(('Wonderful' JP, eh? *grr* ))
Eddie's cut-forward: ((This includes some auto-ing of Torrence and Kasey. As such, if their players would like any changes to their chars' actions, I invite them to repost the cut-forward with those changes in place.))
The renewed trance left the Leopard unwilling to chase and eat us, giving enough time for the girls to get me out of the habitat and back into the complimentary wheelchair. When I was safely seated, Torrence rushed to secure the door so the Leopard couldn't escape and chase us around the whole park. She was soon back behind me again, giving me the distinct impression of trying to limit how much time her panties spent in my field of vision. I thought back to Kasey and started feeling bad that Torrence and I had all our 'bits' covered while she was still so exposed 'down-below'. This feeling was intensified when I remembered how much I'd been staring at her exposure... Recalling what Torrence was still wearing, I felt a twinge of annoyance. - Was I annoyed at her for not giving up another piece of outer-clothing to cover Kasey's exposed privates? Well, no, not really; Torrence had leant us both her own clothes that we may regain some dignity, when she could just as easily have chosen not to offer anything at all. But I was annoyed that Kasey should have to stay so exposed when there was an alternative.
"Torrence? I was wondering..." How should I word this? Hmm... "Are you wearing anything under that top of yours? Like a bra or something? If you are, would you mind letting Kasey use that top as a skirt, so she's not so exposed?? - I mean, if you've nothing on under the top, I can understand you not wanting to get your boobs out. I don't mind offering her these jeans you leant me if you're unwilling or unable to give her that top without being exposed yourself. - Being naked myself doesn't bother me if the alternative is this poor girl having to walk around so exposed in the company of some bloke who can't stop staring at her because he's had no feeling 'down there' since the accident that severed his spine a few years ago and has suddenly regained said feeling only to witness her naked beauty. I mean, can you imagine the overload of sensation I've been trying to suppress here?" My last two sentences had been spoken faster and faster until the words kinda blurred into each other as my cheeks flushed red again. Yeah, I'd spoken of myself in the third-person, but somehow that had made it easier to convey what had been happening and why. I panted to regain my breath. Not only had my speech gotten faster, but I'd also forgotten to breath while I spoke.
When I'd regained my breath, I spoke again: "I accepted your offer of these jeans not only to lessen my own embarrassment, but also to lessen yours and Kasey's at having to see me like that." I turned my face from Torrence to Kasey, "Kasey, I offer you these jeans Torrence leant me. I'm truly sorry for staring at you so much, I simply couldn't help myself: You are a pretty girl, after all. Perhaps you can consider these jeans as a token of my apology?"
Kasey brushed my apology aside, but before she could answer, Torrence took off her top to give to her ((Player approved this via IM)) so my offer became a moot point. I found out on our way to the Puma enclosure that she indeed had a bra on under that top, but as the top hadn't had shoulder-straps, neither did the bra. Torrence was also a rather pretty girl, so seeing her in her current level of attire made me very glad of the jeans she'd leant me. I knew I shouldn't be looking really, but as I'd already explained the reason behind my staring at Kasey so much, and also because the 'condition' was still in effect, I simply couldn't help myself from burning another image to my memory. I merely hoped she'd understand and maybe even forgive me for this behaviour.
The Puma was asleep, leaning against the bars to its enclosure, so it was pretty easy to acquire without the need to even open that door. It merely took a silent approach and a brave hand.
The Clouded-Leopard, on the other hand, was more of a challenge: It had also been near enough to the bars to allow us to reach through, but when I'd reached toward it it suddenly got startled and chomped its massive kanine's right through my wrist! - The pain was immense, but while it was trying to pull my arm off I had the presence-of-mind to put it in the acquiring trance. It didn't let go, exactly, but it did slacken its grip enough that I could pull the remains of my ruined wrist out of harm's way. It sloped off out of reach as it swallowed the flesh it had managed to tear from my arm, which was now bleeding profusely and quite painfully.
Thankfully I remembered that the healing of wounds was part of the magic of morphing, so I decided to give my latest aquisition a try: I concentrated on the Clouded-Leopard's front paws as hard as I could through the pain, and to my relief that pain started to decrease immediately. My healthy arm grew fur as it got a little more toned, but the ruined muscles of my bad arm repaired themselves as they changed. Soon I had shaggy fur over most of my exposed upper torso and head, my ears had started migrating and enlarging, and huge kanines had started to fill my mouth. But when I noticed that my arm had healed, I stopped the morph.
I seriously considered completing the morph to try it out: After all, there weren't many people in The Gardens right now. But then I grew afraid of what was likely to happen to Kasey and/or Torrence if the cat's mind and instincts took over as fully as those of the Salamander had, so instead I reversed the morph and flexed my newly-repaired wrist and hand, turning to smile at my companions as I did so and almost forgetting what they weren't wearing in the process. As I smiled a big-toothed grin, the last of the changes receded along with my oversized fangs and I regained my human smile. They were staring back at me, arms folded across their chests, Torrence hiding hers behind her folded arms. I blushed when I realized I'd started staring at her again and forcefully tore my gaze away from them with a quick "Sorry!" of apology.
I felt guilty for Torrence's current state of undress, given that all these clothes had been hers after-all, so I suggested for our next move it might be a good idea to recover our own clothes.
On our way back to the Elephant statue I mostly wheeled myself along, but the girls helped push the wheelchair when we were going uphill, so I guessed they'd at least partially forgiven my behaviour toward them.
Kasey retrieved our clothes from under the statue so that Torrence wouldn't have to bend down and give me another sight to remember. When she'd pulled on her panties she returned Torrence's top to her, evidently not as bothered with my seeing her panties when I'd already seen what was hidden by them. She soon had her trousers on though. She threw my clothes at me before pulling her arms inside the zipped-up hoodie to maintain privacy while she put her own bra on. While she worked on that, I quickly donned my patterned button-up short-sleeved shirt then wiggled out of Torrence's jeans. When I turned to return them to her, I saw she had already got her top back on and seemed to be waiting almost impatiently for her Jeans. I apologized that they couldn't be washed before she she wore them again, which drew a dirty look from her. Suddenly realizing how it might have sounded, I quickly corrected that assumption, but she double-checked visually before putting them on anyway. I had considered offering her my own trousers, but there was no point now I'd taken hers off.
I turned away from her while she pulled on her Jeans to give her a little privacy, but it just so happened at that moment Kasey was taking off the hoodie, having successfully donned her bra but not her own top yet. Again I could only assume the same as I had before, but I turned away anyway, not having intended to look her direction in the first place. - I'd merely been turning away from Torrence, not toward Kasey specifically.
Torrence once-again assisted me getting into my briefs and trousers, the same way she had done last time, and that was me done. Most of us had had the foresight to leave our wallets/handbags etc behind at Alice's safe-house so we wouldn't be so easily identified if any of us were caught or any of our stuff was found. - Alice had let everyone assume the house we'd gone to to meet her friend was her own, but I knew better: I knew where she really lived from following her home once, a few months ago. But I hadn't said anything to anyone. If she wanted to keep her real home a secret for now, that was understandable. I'd ask her about it in a few days if she hadn't come clean by then.
Once we were all fully-dressed, we headed out together again to find some more morphs...
