After finishing getting settled with finishing getting enrolled with school, Alicia felt that she need to escape from the stress. And for her running on the beach was exactly what she needed. She had not been on the Island long so she had trouble finding and asked several of the students for directions. They gave them to her hesitantly and by the time she got to the beach it was dusk.

"I guess the run is going to be a short one today", she said
She took off the outer layers of her clothes till she was only wearing her pink sports bra and her running shirts that she always kept in her School bag. She then took off her shoes and once her bare toes squished into the semi wet sand she started her run.

The ocean breeze was fantastic, and she could feel the spray of the ocean when the waves crashed on the beached. Instantly she felt the stress of the day melt away with the warmth of the setting sun. She would think about her sister who dumped her at this School. She loved her sister but she was so mad that she would maker her come here. She undertood why but Alicia was still unhappy about it. She was alone in a strange School with no freinds. She noticed that no one even hardly talk to her. Except that one big chested bitch who didn't want to give up the directions. Her stress started to peak again but she as soon as another spray of the water hit her. Her stress, anger, and jealousy melted away.

When she turned around it was already getting dark. She would hope she could make it back in time before she would get lost in the dark.

He hardly lurked at the beach preferring the forests for the trees helped dim the light somewhat to his sensitive eyes but now he had returned to the cove that he called home anyway. He rarely hunted at night unless going to the dorms for many of the other hunters were lurking about and he did not wish to run a foul of them, not that he was overly concerned he just had a knack for keeping to himself.

As evening gave away to the dark clouds he could sense some familiar minds coming to life knowing that they were not human. He had been on the island long enough to know most of the brain waves by now. Of course humans were always the easiest to read. He sensed one close now too which was unusual but not uncommon at this hour but he thought little of it.

He did sense another mind though, one that was not quite human and he knew it well. Thudd, the large giant-like creature that he ran a foul of once before. And it was likely Birch was with him too. No, not Birch ... the forest was too distant for him to make use of his unusual talents.

And Thudd was too large to hide efficiently but as he pondered his mind he came to realize that Thudd was aspriggan and could alter his size as he did know. He also realized that Thudd was stalking this girl for awhile now and ready to move in for the kill.

He left the cove albeit slowly focusing on the mind of this human, reading both thoughts and memories.

"Excuse me miss," a voice called from the darkness, masculine from a shadowy figure of a dwarf-like stature.

Alicia froze in mid step. She just heard someone speaking to her. She looked around and noticed this dark figured that seem too blend in with the growing darkness.

"Yes" she replied softly. She was unsure if she should talk to strangers but for some reason she felt like she could handle herself looking at the size of the figure at hand. The sun had finally set and she was unsure about being alone in the dark.
Maybe this person can help me find my way back at least." she thought.

He was somewhat interested, more so in ruining Thudd's plans then anything. The giant did dare attack one of his favorites and while not totally possessive there he did not want any undo harm to befall them. Fortunately he was in the right place at the right time and it appeared that he was tonight too, just that his motivation was different.

In the darkness Thudd gazed at Alicia. He saw just as well in dim light, bright light or darkness. His eyes swept over her small frame though she was a good deal taller than he at this stage by about a foot. It probably wasn't often that she was the larger of the two individuals in a conversation.

Of course that would change soon, very soon.

"You're new here right? Allow me to welcome you to the island," and with that there was a loud taring sound as the little man bulked up before her eyes, growling as bones and muscles began to pop beneath his flesh as he began transforming to his larger self.

She was was relieved that he was being so nice and welcoming her to the Island. She noticed that he was probably just a funny little man. That was true until she could thank him She could hear growling and watched in horror as he doubled in size. She was frozen in fear she could almost hear his bones and muscles pop as they expanded in size. Something finally clicked in her brain and she began to run as hard and as fast as she could. She did not even half enough breath to scream she was running so hard.

She had to get away.

He seemed to want her to run, the altering of his size giving her a little head start as she ran across the beach. Of course his stride was longer and while she was quicker his stamina was bare none. The once blue sky had since darkened to a deep blue and still darkening, the dorms in the opposite direction though she could hardly risk getting that close to him.

She could see him following her, rushing toward the end of the beach and a dark cove that was there. Despite her efforts the thing was gaining on her, she could hear it breathing somewhere behind her in the darkness as it closed in on her.

"Run. it will do you know good."

She could sense that he was getting closer but maybe she could trick him or fake him out so in one quick motion she turned around and headed straight toward him catching him off guard. In a split second she phased out. It took all her focus but she managed to phase out long enough to pass through him. Even though she thought that she made it she lost her footing in the uneven sand and fell face first into the sand.

She scrambled to her feet but somehow she already knew it was too late...

It was rare but there were instances where seals turned on sharks instead of fleeing attacking and ultimately confusing the predator until it simply gave up for more "normal" prey. This is what happened here. Thudd was not expecting her to turn back on him and thus she managed to elude him though her victory was short lived as the giant wheeled about when she fell on the sands behind him.

He was chuckling as he approached in the waning light, her own misstep serving to be her undoing here as she clearly expected to see the giant glaring down at her. Rather one second it was dark, the next it was day and a young man was extending a hand down towards her to assist her up on a nearly empty beach.

Her attire had change too, a bathing suit now clad over her. The young man she recognized as Jeremy her boyfriend. He was smiling down at her, shaking his head slightly.

"Klutz. You alright?"