Rith silently prayed for the sudden apparition of a dark cloud to hasten the fall of night. Her prayers were in vain of course, as the bottomless blue sky hosted nothing but a brutal high noon sun. She was burning - inside and out, and though she hated to admit it, this was mostly due to a series of unfortunate errors on her part. She had stubbornly refused to slip into something lighter then her usual dark heavy garb before heading out to explore the shores of the isle - partly out of her innate resistance to change, partly out of a damnable sense of modesty. Her antisocial inclinations had driven her to walk further down the beaches then most bothered to wander. The put much welcomed distance between herself and the other students, but also left her a long trek from the school at this most sweltering time of day.

She pushed all these thoughts to the back of her mind as she walked along the shoreline in a mindless daze, her tired eyes half-lidded struggling to ward off the bright light bouncing off the white shores. Her shuffling was brought to a sudden standstill when a chilly sensation washed over her toes. It was enough to snap her out of her lucid dreaming. Clear eyes dropped downward to see a small stream cutting its way through the sands and emptying itself into the sea. Her dark eyes trailed the small trickle to the tree line at the edge of the beaches. Somewhere in that expanse of forest, there was a freshwater spring.

Curiosity pulled her to the trees. At the very least, trailing the stream to its source would get her into the shade. Rith walked through the cool steam at first, then trailed alongside it when its bottom became too rocky and moss covered to navigate safely. The air in the trees was thick with moisture, and as she climbed barefoot up rooted forest floor, it became difficult to breath. The struggle eventually became too much for the girl, and she submitted to taking a pause where there stream had pooled in a small clearing.

She set herself own on the cool rocks with her feet in the icy water. The stream, despite its soothing temperature, had little effect on the fire on her skin. Rith had never endured temperatures such as this. Her dark dress clung to her pinkenned flesh under a heavy blanket of sweat, hugging her small youthful breasts, wide hips, and thick thighs. Though her raven hair had been tied up before the trip, odd soaked strips had fallen to cling to her face and neck. Rith couldn't muster the energy to push them away. Instead she emitted a soft self pitying groan. This change in schools was seeming to be a terrible idea.

Again, she attempted not to dwell on the errors that had landed her in this particular mess. It wasn't difficult. In the heat her sharp mind could barely strew together a cohesive thought. She shifted uncomfortably on her rocky seat, discovering, to her sincerest surprise, that it was not merely sweat contributing to the stickiness between her thighs. Had the breathless beating the sun given her heated her flesh in more ways then one? A creature of curiosity, Rith glanced about the clearing. When she was satisfied she was on her lonesome, she tentatively slid a hand beneath the base of her long dress. Halfway up a milky thigh she felt the slippery thin texture of sweat ease into something thicker and warmer.

Her eyes lid shut and her lips parted in a breathless gasp when her pale fingers fell over her drenched underwear. Yes, the sweltering afternoon had indeed left her frustrated in many ways. Rith gritted her teeth and focused on the soothing babbling of the stream as she resisted the urge to press into herself. The bunched tensed muscles of her shoulders eventually released, and the girl reluctantly withdrew her hand and clenched a nearby stone and she released a shaky breath of relief.

From whence his thoughts had arrived he could not though he deemed their origins far less important than the subject matter that had nourished them. He had been left in idle thought letting his mind cascade over the possibilities of illusions and how best to use them. Such exploits had led him into considering masquerades for one reason or another, he could not recount how he had derived at the topic considering that he was caught up in a daze-like state. He simply allowed his mind to wander just as a bee would go from flower to flower pausing only long enough to gather what pollen it could before moving along to the next flower along its route. It did not matter how he got to thinking about it though he had to admit that the notion had been somewhat entertaining all things considered.

Shokushu, the school, the faculty, even this island had all been fictious. Everyone had been caught up in some sort of elaborate masquerade by which monsters such as himself were free to hunt to their hearts content. But the more he had considered this the more he had come to believe that there had been more to it than some prearranged agreement between alien nations and earth. Could it not be determined that they were being studied as well? The students that they hunted had become a double edged sword, some would be drawn away from this place in order to become breeders while others would be groomed in taking up roles in the ADD. Funny that what they preyed upon would be shaped into the very weapons used against them. But each masquerade came complete with an unveiling, an unmasking that would strip away an alias. Simplicity in his opinion had worked best in preventing the unraveling of a loose thread that would only seek to undue the rest of the illusion that had been woven into place. Could not the same be said of Shokushu itself? A great deal of work had to have been placed into maintaining this deception though it was work that he had not the need to trouble himself about.

Leisurely he rested in the forest feeling a bit sluggish on account of the heat of the day. While the forest provided him with a great deal of shade that kept him cooler than he otherwise would have been Aegir found that he would have much preferred remaining submerged beneath the waves today. Knowing that he could not do that and achieve his objectives he had sought drier ground coming here of all places. The forest had a certain appeal to him given that the rays of sunlight could not quite pierce the thick canopy overhead. Enough light did filter down through the branches for illumination though not enough where his overly sensitive eyes had trouble. Thus it was amongst his favorite haunts.

While the nearby pool had appealed to him Aegir had only spent a few minutes amongst the shallow waters. A quick dip in had allowed him to cool off that rubbery flesh of his although he had not dwelled within it for long. Not when he had heard the soft rustling of grass being trampled under foot. Not having expected anyone Aegir reached outward with his psionic gift to get a better sense of who had approached.

Of course, he should have remembered that there had been that school excursion, his node in its espionage work had uncovered some sort of information about it. Straining his ears he listened to the sounds that approached from the distance. Wait, this could not have been the excursion. For starters he was sensing only one mind, a lone individual. There had been no other sounds of banter or laughter, nothing to associate with a large outting though he supposed this could have been an individual that had gotten separated or lost. A straggler perhaps?

Rather than dwell about the matter on hand Aegir moved towards one of the older trees in the vicinity. Letting his milky white eyes cast over the thick tree bark he canted his head skyward towards the lofty branches over head, gazed back to the stream and seemed to consider the likely path that an individual would take when passing through this area before electing to scale the tree. Tentacle after tentacle reaching out to grasp the rough bark allowing him to pull his body upward. Appendage after appendage reached out, wrapping around the lower branches or employing his suction cups to affirm a solid grip against the surface he scaled. His progression was slow though he had plenty of time to reach the low hanging branches where he made a perch for himself. Instinctively his coloration adapted darkening from the light mauve skin tone to a rich brown. Once done Aegir had remained perfectly motionless though he kept a watch upon the area.

He had no need to wait for long before his solitude had been intruded upon. A student, though he could not say that he had seen this one before. Taking a moment to search through his memory he knew that he would locate no information about her. He possessed an eidict memory and thus believed that he would have remembered her otherwise. This meant one of two things that she was either new here or he had not deemed her interesting enough to have placed under observation. Normally he had at least rudimentary knowledge upon the students here which allowed him to be somewhat selective in the choices he made.

Despite not having any information about her Aegir found himself watching her actions, his posture becoming even more rigid as a faint musky smell called out to his nostrils. That sweet aroma could not be mistaken even amongst the smell of sweat. Sex ... there was nothing quite as sharp, nothing as stimulating as that fragrance that climbed outward from her upon the breeze to beckon him forth. But patience was a virtue that Aegir possessed in quite an abundance. Instead of rushing he bid his time using the moment to sift through her mind so as to better acquaint himself with her. While he did that she never left his sight even as he began to contemplate what to do with the gift that fate itself seemed to drop upon his lap.

Rith's breath came in short sharp pants, expanding and contracting her glistening chest. Though the fleeting breaths were deep, they seemed useless in carrying the air she so desperately needed to her struggling lungs. Rith needed distraction - something to occupy her restless fingers. Her finicky pale digits pressed back damp hair from her eyes as she glanced down the stream, then back into the shady depths of the forest. Her lids scrunched shut for a moment in thought, then opened wide with inspiration.

She plunged into her large black beach bag, tossing out the leather boots that sat in the way of the corduroy container's contents. Finally her fingers wrapped around the prized prey of their hunt. Rith Drew out a small leather bound book of blank pages, hastily whipping out the fountain pen that had been tucked safely within its cover. She began to feverishly scribble down whatever letters passed through her hot raven head: fragments of poems, obscure quotations. Eventually the autonomous stream flowed into a blur of alliteration: Shikushu, sea, sweat, sweltering, sadism, succumb, smooth, sticky, suckling, sin, sore, SEX.

The Pen nearly tore through the page when scratching out the final item on the list, underlining it thrice. With a small grunt of frustration the notebook was cast aside in a whirl of pages, landing splayed against wet rocks. Rith couldn't care have cared less. It was obviously of little good to her.

The student pressed her thighs together as she sat on the stones, her thumbs digging into the top of her thighs through the thick fabric of her dress. Her face wedged between her knees as she doubled over, gritting her teeth. Despite the sweat dribbling down from her brow along the ridge of her nose, Rith attempted to coolly talk herself down. There was no reason to be like this. No reason at all. She was heartbeats away from reducing herself to self-satisfying measures in this wild place. She snarled slightly at the thought. She had more control then that. The girl could keep it together until she was safe within the seclusion of her dorm.

With newfound resolve, Rith bent further forward so that she was on the rocky edge of the pool on hands and knees. This brought her face to face with her rippling reflection. She seemed angered with the disheveled brunette glaring back. With a upset snort, she scooped up a handful of the cool waters and splashed it about her face and neck. She went rigid for a moment as the waters settled from her touch. From the corner of her keen eye she could have sworn to have seen to white orbs suspended in the reflections of the waters.

A quick scan of the trees behind her yielded nothing. She didn't think much of it - not with her mind in its overheated state. Rith rose shakily to her feet, deciding it was best she braved the sun to head back to the school.

Having lived a long and full life had not meant that one had experienced all the universe had to offer. True enough life could be rather dull when you have seen the life and death of stars though in all that time Aegir could not account for ever coming across someone in such an aroused state. At first he had thought that Rith must have been coming from the trail end of an attack. What else would have her mind so full of such want and desire? But the signs had not matched up to this. First and foremost her attire had not been disheaveled at least no more so than had been acceptable on a warm day such as today. He could see where her outfit clung against her displaying more of her shapely features to his watchful eyes. Sweat plastering the fabric against warm skin that probably yearned to be rid of the material anyway. He had not sensed any fear within her either, no panic, no dread. Not even humiliation, anger or embarrassment. So none of the tell tale emotions rested within her which could be associated with the student having a run-in with another hunter.

Most puzzling ... Aegir wondered if humans went into rut like a great many other mammals. He had never considered it, though that would explain their rather bizarre courtship rights he supposed. Perhaps he should have dwelled upon that aspect of their kind with a little more detail though there had been so much to learn that he had felt that he had barely scratched the surface upon them.

Frustration climbed through her, he could feel the sensation eminating from her in profound waves nearly powerful enough to knock him out of the perch that he had rested upon. And while his vantage point had been good for observing her he could not read any of those scribbles she was making into her notebook, none save for the last given the size of the word in print, not to mention the emphasis she had placed upon it by starkly underlining it not once nor twice but thrice.

To watch a human suffering, why it was just down right cruelty. Some of the other monsters may have whispered behind his back that he was a human lover (he knew his own kind thought that he spent way too much time analyzing humans, interacting with them and studying them) but to hell with what anyone thought. Aegir had not been bothered by the beliefs or opinions of others choosing to ignore them. He was here for his own purposes and that was all that had mattered.

Why, Aegir had told himself, if she was in need of relief he could oblige her. He had not ventured forth today to hunt but could he ignore potential prey when it was the barest of meters beneath him? To do so would have marked him as insane. Letting his eyes sweep over Rith he took solace of her for the first time, really getting a good look at her. For many of his kind all humans looked alike but for Aegir he could distinguish one from another. Each had their own unique characteristics, their own aura and traits that had set them apart from others of their ilk. Each had different qualities, some qualities shining through to distinquish an attractive individual from a plain one notwithstanding the notion that Aegir had his own means of determining whom he found attractive.

Surprisingly though attractiveness had never factored into his attacks to date. He chose upon qualities or took advantage of a happenstance encounter though even such dalliances had allowed him to expand upon his own abilities for he would use the opportunity to see how far he could push the believeability of an illusion or if he could employ familiar gifts in new ways. It staved off the boredom that the long years delievered upon him while allowing himself a chance to enjoy himself.

Then it was there the twinge that flowed through Rith, her instinctive reaction in casting her gaze from the surface of the water to the trees above. There he had felt it for the first time as the startled pinge that gave rise to a sharp fear that had begun to drift away upon seeing nothing in those trees. Her elevated heart rate would calm in a few minutes time, the panic only temporary at being startled in such a manner.

Good eyes, he commented to himself, a simple notation that he stored at the back of that complex mind of his. Though he had not particularly liked the fact that she was getting ready to depart or so he had gathered that from her thoughts. And to think that she would do so before he had the opportunity to get to know her a bit better, perhaps even welcome her to Shokushu formally ...

Yes, he looked forward to that. She could not go, at least not yet.

Not being fleet of foot Aegir was going to have to depend upon quick reflexes and a bit of telekinesis as his back ups to his avenue of attack. As silently as he could he dropped from the branches making an audible plopping sound as he smacked against the ground. Being a mollusk Aegir had no fear of braking any bones at all and while the impact upon the unforgiving earthen ground did smart the pain had been nothing given what he had to gain from his actions. Just a short distance from Rith now Aegir brought his whip-like tentacles in motion hoping to snare her up in his grasp before she was even aware of what was going on. How successful he was depended upon her reaction times, he had not had the chance to really press into her mind, to pull out more information about her so he was acting upon instincts rather than logic for a change.

Rith was a few steps into her lazy return to the shores when the sickly plopping sound came from behind her. The dull thunk was faint but decernable against the gentle flow of the stream. She froze, her chest tightening into a tense bundle of flesh as the ominous sensation of being watched fell over her like an icy shadow. She was no longer alone - perhaps she had never been. The thought sent shivers cascading across her skin, cooling the slick flesh instantly. There was that daft desire to glance over her shoulder, but Rith recognized that stupid impulse for what it was. She had seen enough horror movies to know you never look back - next thing you'd know she'd be peering into the darkened underbrush like an idiot, timidly calling out "who's there?". No. She wasn't going out like some silver screen bimbo practically begging to be mauled to death.

She wasn't going to stick around to boldly discover what potential dangers lurked within the wilds of the island either. Rith had been raised in a home bordering untamed lands, but these tropical territories were a far cry from the deciduous forests she knew. This place was alien to her, steeped in all the fear the unknown had to offer: jungle cats, giant serpents, wild apes - who knew what nasty creature could be aiming on making her their next meal. Like a startled fawn, Rith wanted to run from the mysterious potential danger.

Alas, instinct was seconds too slow. Pale toes slid against moss coated stones as something entangled a sprinting ankle. The girl was thrown off balance by the blow and fell, colliding with the rocky shores with a jarring impact. Her large bag tumbled out of grasp, its contents splattering against the forest floor. A jagged rock slit open her right sleeve and tore across her skin. Rith hissed as the small crimson trail opened, even though the pain was barely noticeable through the torrents of adrenaline raging through her veins. Upon impact Rith had fallen on her belly, but struggling against the tension around her legs brought her onto her back where she finally caught sight of the strange octopus like limbs. Her dark eyes widened and lips parted in a breathless gasp at the sight of the rubbery appendages.

It was too horrific and surreal to process all at once - a giant jungle squid was out to make her a snack. Breath eluded her. She acted mindlessly, not bothering to trail the tentacles to their source, certainly not bothering to question weather it was attached to something sentient. Rith clutched the very stone which had cut into her own shoulder and attempted to drag it against one of the creatures limbs. She could only hope that if she put up enough of a fight, the animal would decide she wasn't worth the effort.

That rich coppery scent that had floated upon the molecules of air had been so familiar to him that it caused instant recollection of the past drawing upon his instinctual habits of feeding. It would have been a lie to say that he had not felt the pangs of hunger swell through him in such an enriching way though Aegir had recognized it for what it was, impulsive, instinctual, though unnecessary. His hunger would purely remain in the realms of those carnal delights that he could envision.

He was not a faultless hunter though, Aegir had known that he had a great many weaknesses some of which could be exploitable. His patience had been a great hinderance at the best of times as Aegir often took too long to act or felt he had plenty of time in which to accomplish his agenda once his trap had been sprung. He had to act with haste this time around least he ruin his chance. It had not been so often that the fly willingly comes into the den of the spider so when it did occur one was best to take full advantage of such a rare opportunity.

With a tentacle affixed upon her ankle Aegir had been confident that he had her. Thus he had not moved in for an immediate "kill". There had been no need to tare her clothing from her or plunge straight into the warmth of her body with his own time and time again. Instead he had sought to secure his hold further by incapacitating more limbs, looping her up in the entwining tentacles that he had to spare for the task at hand. Then and only then could he begin to peel or tare away her clothing; then and only then could he delight in those visions of pleasure that coursed through his head.

But alas, his slowness to react had allowed her to arm herself even if it were with a crude weapon. The clack of the stone echoed out against his ears as it came down upon his ensnaring tentacle. Hard. Thankfully evolution had spared him bones, bones that were vulnerable to being shattered, broken or bruised. Though he lacked an exoskeleton for protection his body had quite the resistance to it depressing a few inches, flattening out as the stone pressed against him. Oh it hurt as evidence by his tentacle twisting and looping about as if an electrical current rushed through it, his grip upon her ankle slackened though Aegir recovered quickly.

Bludgeoning attacks rarely had a lasting effect upon him given his very nature coupled with his fantastical ability in healing at an alarming rate. He could regenerate from most attacks so he should have had little to worry about from a stone. Yet its jagged edge could cut, and had done so lacerating his mauve tentacle in more than one place. Blood as blue as the sky above bubbled out from lacerated skin.

Those white eyes glared upon her, the quartet of tentacles surrounding his mouth danced though not in their joyous dance of overconfidence at having snared a victim. Rather it had been in agony that they danced, an agony that would have already begun to mitigate itself had she not struck out at him repeatedly in her frenzy to escape his clutches. That of course had only made him more determined to subdue her. Despite the pain that rushed through that appendage Aegir attempted to shut it out, to blank out the feeling of those wretched smacks. For most that would have been akin to asking the impossible. For Aegir it was not entirely impossible for him to shut down some of his pain receptors though all he could do was numb himself to a point, numb himself in the same fashion as someone upon painkillers.

Other appendages worked to neutralize the arm that was inflicting this damage upon him. His own adreniline spiked and though he did not enjoy being harmed such wounds he knew would rapidly be healed. Besides, he did admire those with fight within them finding it quite stimulating. Oh he could have cheated, could had drawn upon his psionic gifting to usurp control of her body but he so rarely did that when dealing with one of his subjects. He quite enjoyed a hands on approach overcoming them through force or guile. In this case it was the former as he had no time to employ the later.

You put up quite the fight, Rith, he chimed into her mind through his telepathic ability always one to lend compliments when they were deserved. But it is to no avail.

Anger, hope, and adrenaline escalated with every blow delivered to the assailing limbs. It didn't matter if the battle was in vain. If she were to be this creature's lunch, she'd at least give him a few nasty nicks to remember her by. Writhing and kicking, Rith lost herself in the savagery of her attacks, bashing away as if her life hung in the balance. In her mind it very well did. Blue spattered her porcelain skin. This was not enough to make her stop, but the sound of her name stalled her mid jab.

The bloody jagged rock flew free from Rith's hand at the sudden startle of hearing audible words take form in her mind. A tentacle soon lopped around her wrist with panic inspiring strength. The first flickering comprehension of the sounds foretelling her defeat were that they were of her own conscience. Even being the agnostic she was, the girl would sooner believe a deity was projecting into her mind then pause to consider whatever creature attacking her was making itself heard.

Her dark eyes finally flickered past the bubbling blue to the proprietor of the limbs looping about her. Evolution failed her. There was no instinctual reaction to fight upon seeing the alien looking humanoid. There was anything but. Her eyes widened, pupils constricted and lips parted in terror. The flushed tones of her face drained. Though her heartbeat pulsated through ever inch of her, she was as still as if frozen solid, becoming a tense mass of dead weight in the powerful limbs. Her chest didn't even expand to take in breath.

Rith had never understood why dear became caught in headlights of oncoming vehicles - why they simply stared statuesquely at impending death barreling toward them. Now she knew. It was hard to tear your wide eyes from something alien - even more so when it would likely be your undoing. It was like gawking at the scene of a murder. One simply can't help but look, and look, and look...

She stared momentarily into the milky eyes of her captor, recognizing them instantaneously as the orbs reflected in the pool. Her fright escalated tenfold at the sight of the wriggling tentacle lined mouth. She imagine the terrifying orifice making a meal of her flesh. Breath finally found her lungs and she released a scream of which the likes she never fathomed she could produce - high, shrill, ear shattering and startlingly feminine. Now that the rubbery limbs had an undeniably good hold - she could only hope someone would hear her cries.

OCC: I've been hospitalized for a great deal of time so forgive my lateness in responding if you wish to continue well here's my post.


He absorbed her attacks, his boneless body virtually springing back with blow that she had landed, Despite his efforts in moving her lauched rock had found it's mark though it too had brought little affect on his mauve body as it bounced off his torso.

In agitation his mouth tentacles twisted every which way as he allowed her to continue her struggles in an effort to let herself tire herself out as she struggled against the hold that he had secured on her much like a fly caught in the web of a spider.

He slithered a bit closer, his land speed had been atrocious not that that had seemed to matter any. Once he had secured a hole on Rith he could be quite patient.

If anyone heard her shrill cries he would deal with them though he doubted that they had been anyone around to hear. He had observed her struggles as his mind connected with her own.

You need not fear being eaten though I am going to devour you.. He tried to place her a little at ease though his appearance and what he had intended on doing had been a matter that he would not conceal even if he had been capable of it.

He lumbered forward as if to acquire a better look at her, to see what in fact he had caught up in his grasp. He would have grinned to himself if he had been capable of doing so. Instead he found his mouth tendrils fanned out in excited glee as pheremones, exuded from his body. The musky scent that he had released would do nothing to her senses as it had been an throw back to times that his kind had perhaps even forgotten about.