OOC: This happens after this thread.

Pia was wet. She had just scraped her leg too, climbing out of the sea. It was not a big gash, but it kind of hurt.

Pia sat down, and tried to clean her glasses, wet from salt water. She did not have much to clean them with, except her headscarf, and that was wet with saltwater too.. She tried using her spittle, to at least get some of the salt away before it dried.

She was not wearing much. In fact, she was naked except for socks and trainers. Putting on her glasses, she took of her soggy footwear, hoping it would dry faster if she carried them in her hands.

Pia had been swimming underwater in order to escape the tunnels she had been trapped in. She had been doing some research on ley lines, and had been hoping to find a convergence point, a place were mystic powers were stronger. Pia was an amateur mage at best, doing secret experiments in witchcraft, hoping against hope that the occult secrets would reveal to her a way to defend herself and her friends in this place.

She had not found anything. Instead she had fallen into a hole in the ground, and been the plaything of some snake woman. Pia shuddered with a mixture of fear and delight at the memory.

Now she had escaped, but she did not know where she was. She could make an educated guess, taking into consideration where she had been searching and the distance to the sea, but backtracking would be hard. And the sun was not far from the horizon. In a short hour, the sun would set. And she knew who came out to play in this place..

Pia got up. She forced herself to get moving. If she paused to think, she would cry. She was lonely, she was scared, she was lost and she had just been raped. And if something happened to her, less than a handful of people would notice or care.

Worry and concern ran through Susan's head as she went through the forest. She'd been supposed to meet Pia quite some time ago, but the other girl hadn't shown up at all. Even if she hadn't known about the school's secrets, this would have worried her. Knowing what she knew...

When she'd been sure Pia wasn't going to show, she'd checked the obvious places she could think of: the library, the nurse's office, and Pia's room. When none of those had borne fruit, she'd talked to the neighboring girl who had the spare copy of Pia's keycard. She'd been worried enough to let Susan into Pia's room after hearing that Pia was missing, only knowing that Pia had been planning to go on a hike. A map on Pia's desk had given Susan an idea of where to start searching. Now, after collecting a spare set of clothes that she suspected Pia would need and a first-aid kit which she hoped wouldn't be needed, that was where she was headed.

It wasn't all that long until the sun would start to set and Susan knew that the woods were dangerous enough during the day. Throwing caution to the wind, she called out, "Pia?" She might wind up getting a monster's attention, but if the other girl didn't know Susan was looking for her, it was quite possible Susan would walk right past her without either of them noticing the other; it was a chance she had to take.

At first, Pia had thought she might have a clue where she was after all. If she took into consideration where she had been when she fell into the ground, and the distance to the sea, she had a rough idea. And she thought she recognized the outline of a nearby hill.
She had spent a good 20 minutes trying to get up onto them, only to realize it was not the same place at all, and that she was now officially even more lost.

Thinking back, she was not sure she would recognize the place she had gone into the ground unless she was right on top of it. It had been in a clearing, the woods had been rather thick.. there was an opening, though, so one could view the sea far away. And her rucksack would be there! It was pretty brightly colored.

But still, it would be hard to find. Perhaps the logical way would be to go along the beach, eventually she would reach the school. But that would take hours! And all that time, she would be visible to any aquatic monsters.

So maybe she should try to go through the woods, and just hope she would hit the path? That seemed risky too..

And now the shadows were much longer, and the horizon red.. Pia was afraid again.

Suddenly she thought she heard something. Was that her name? It was far off. She could have heard wrong. With new energy, she started running. She was running like a startled deer, until..

"ouch!"

She had stepped on something. A splinter was stuck in her foot. She bent down to pick it out. She could not hear anything any more. "Hello!?", she called out, instantly regretting it. On Shokushu, most who hear you scream are not friendly..

I should've brought a flashlight. This might take longer than I thought. Susan was pretty sure she was heading towards the area marked on Pia's map, but she couldn't be sure how far it was, nor that Pia would actually be there when she arrived. Actually, I should've got a few more students to make a search party of sorts. If she's not there, I don't know how I'll...

A call interrupted her thoughts. Was that...? "Pia? Is that you?" she called out, heading off the path in the direction she thought the voice had come from. Not hurrying yet; she wasn't sure she was going the right way. She also couldn't shake the worry that she might be walking into a trap, but there was nothing she could do about that; she'd always been protective of her friends, and she wasn't going to let this place change that about her.

Pia was not sure. Was it the wind, or a voice? She thought it was a voice.. a familiar voice as well, one she would recognize anywhere..

"SUSAN!", she yelled, caution be damned. At once she was running in the general direction of the sound. Never mind the uneven ground, never mind the occational branch slapping against her skin. Pia was bolting through the forest like a gazelle.

Susan has come for me! Sweet Susan! Brave Susan! Lovely, lovely, lovely Susan!

The image of the Asian-American girl was playing before her eyes. There was no vision in the world more appealing to her now.

"Aouch!"

Pia's foot slipped on a slick stone covered in moss. Pia fell. It was not a hard blow, just enough to knock the air out of her. But the ground was sloping, and now Pia was rolling down into a depression in the ground, ending up in a patch of large ferns. Her glasses, socks and shoes were spread out on the slope.

There was no mistaking the cry this time; despite the odds, she'd managed to find Pia. Well, almost; she hadn't quite found the blonde yet, but she was close. Her pace quickened as she headed towards the call. As she moved, she could hear the sounds of someone else moving towards her, and then...

"Aouch!"

"Pia?! Pia, are you alright?" She slowed down slightly, not wanting to fall to whatever hazard Pia had apparently run into, but reached the depression soon enough. The other girl's lack of clothing confirmed Susan's fears of what had happened to her. "Pia!"

Pia groaned. She was not too hurt, but the fall had knocked the air out of her. She might get a few minor bruises, but Pia had had worse.
She tried to get her bearings, but she had lost her glasses in the fall. Desperate, she squabbled about for them. She had an almost irrational fear of loosing them. Her eyesight was not that bad, but she felt really helpless without them near.

As she was searching, she heard Susan calling out for her. Looking up, she saw a shape she would recognize, myopia or not.

"Susan! Oh..my.. Susan!"

Pia began running up the slope, slipping a couple of times.

Susan put down her bag and reached out a hand to help Pia up to her as the other girl scrambled out of a depression she'd fallen into. "It's all right now. I'm here for you," she said softly as she held the blonde to her, as if trying to use her body to shield her friend from any threats lurking nearby.

As much as she wanted to remain like this for longer, it wasn't safe to remain here with a monster possibly nearby. There were also things that would be easier to do before the sun finished setting. Reluctantly loosening her grip, she said, "I brought some spare clothes, for if you'd been... well..." It was still a difficult topic to discuss; as she bent down to open her bag, she changed the subject. "Your glasses should be somewhere nearby, right? I'll look for them while you get dressed." She put the clothes, one of Pia's uniforms, on top of the bag and carefully started into the depression to begin her search.

Safe in Susan's arms, or at least as safe as she could be, Pia did not at all mind being short and nude. "Thank you..", she whispered. She had been scared, really scared. Falling into the hole in the ground, being chased and used by an unseen creature, then being lost and bewildered, it had taken its toll. But now, she was with Susan, not alone at all any longer. She felt the tension drain out of her.

"You brought me clothes?", Pia said. "You..you thought of everything!"

Pia was not all that used to be shown consideration lately. Much of it her own fault, really, as she was not too socially active. Yet it felt good that someone had been thinking of her, and even better that Susan had taken the effort to look for her. Pia figured most of the students who knew just what a missing person could mean would keep their heads down. Susan was really brave, and Pia felt kind of humbled.

She quickly put on the uniform. She felt less exposed now, even if Susan was one of the few people she did not mind being naked near. Susan was looking for her clothes and glasses. They should be easy to find. Pia's few belongings, glasses, socks and shoes were making a trail where Pia had fallen.

"Ugh.. I look a mess, don't I?", Pia said. Her hair was all tangled, messed up by sun dried salt water. She smelled of salt too. Her skin hurt a little. Pia realized that having walked about in the sun naked, she might have gotten a bit of a sunburn.

It didn't take too long for Susan to find Pia's glasses, shoes, and socks; she was about to bring them back to the other girl when Pia asked about her appearance.

"Well... you certainly look like you've had a very bad day. Which, given this place, is probably an understatement." She handed Pia her glasses before continuing. "Nothing that a good shower and a comb wouldn't cure, though. Is there anything else you'd like to find before we head back to the dorms?" While whatever Pia had been wearing when she went out was probably gone for good, Susan didn't know if she'd left anything else around before she was attacked.

"Thanks!" Pia said, gratefully accepting the shoes and her glasses. "Uh.. not really. I mean.. I fell into a hole, but I had taken off my backpack before that, so it should be still there.. But I am not sure where to find it, and.."

Pia paused to think a little. What had she put in it? A bottle of water, some sunscreen, a notebook..
"There is nothing there I can't afford to loose."

Looking down at her glasses, she saw some dirt had collected on them. Cleaning it away, she noted it had a few large scratches. Nothing too bad, but noticeable. She was not sure if they had come now, or been there for a while. There were a lot of lesser marks too, and the stem was slightly bent. She pushed it into place easily enough.
"I guess I ought to get myself a new pair soon.."

And suddenly, her face twisted a little, and she felt really lost. It was just a stupid pair of glasses. But it was her third pair since coming here. The two previous ones had been lost in monster attacks. The really fancy ones, the ones who were tinted to work as sunglasses, those were lost at a remote beach, maybe still lying here along with the tattered remains of her swimsuit. She had bought the glasses and the swimsuit just before coming here. And before that.. her regular pair. Forgotten in the library, she supposed. That whole night was gone from her memory, but she had later realized she might have been attacked.
And now her third pair, having survived so many attacks, were at their last as well.
"..sorry.."
Suddenly feeling apologetic for almost being overcome by emotion, she hurriedly put them on.

Susan again held Pia as the other woman apologized for almost being overcome by emotion. "It's all right. You've been through a lot. More than anyone should have to." Really, it's amazing anyone manages to hold up at all, with what happens here, never mind everyone doing so. Admittedly, there were rumors of a student who'd snapped a few years ago, but that was all.

She shook her head briefly, trying to get off the somewhat morbid track her thoughts had taken. "We should probably start heading back. Should we head for your room or mine?" She wasn't sure if Pia's room had its own shower; if not, she was willing to let Pia use hers.

Pia's room did have it's own shower. It was cramped, but sufficient for her. But right now, Pia did just not want to return. She did not quite know why, but she had spent just too many evenings there, cleaning herself up, recovering from one frightening experience after another.

"If-if it is okay with you.. can I sleep at your place?", Pia said, taking Susan's hand in her own. "If it is okay with you, of course."

Glancing about, she could see that Susan was right. The light between the leaves spoke of sunset coming. In fact, if they did not move now, it would be dark before they were even out of the woods.

Unless Susan had other plans, Pia would not mind starting to walk.

Susan smiled gently at the request. "Of course it's okay. You're always welcome in my room." It wasn't much, and certainly less than she'd like to do to protect Pia— protect all the students, really— from this place, but she could at least offer a place where monsters looking for her wouldn't expect her to be and a sanctuary for when she didn't want to be alone.

"Let's get going, then," she said, taking Pia's hand and starting back towards the path. The things she'd met in the forest during the day were bad enough; she really didn't want to find out what lurked here after dark. "Is there anything you'll want to get from your room first?"

"No.. no.. Uh, I mean.. Yeah, I guess I should get some underwear and my pj's and such.."
Pia's voice was hesitant. It was hard to snap back to everyday reality after the dramatic events of the day. She held on to Susan's hand with her own, like it was a lifeline, a touch with a more pleasant and normal part of reality.
Pia's steps were fast, like she wanted to put as much of the forest behind them as soon as possible.

The woods became a bit thinner, allowing for a better view. Sometimes, the sea could be glimpsed. The sun was low, the horizon turning red.